The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

It was a little past 3 a.m.

“Ugh!”

Hwang Yong-min, who got out of bed quickly checked his arms.

“They’re still here. Both of my arms are fully intact!”

When Hwang Yong-min’s arms were severed by Black Scythe, he felt a deep sense of despair.

He worried about how he would live without arms.

“As I expected, as long as I don’t die, I can return with a perfectly healthy body!”

Overjoyed, he jumped around on the bed, waving his arms. But that joy was short-lived.

When he thought about the player known as Black Scythe, who had inflicted extreme pain on him, cold sweat trickled down his spine.

“Never again… I ain’t messin’ with Black Scythe, no more.”

There was no room for pride.

No pointless thoughts of revenge.

Hwang Yong-min, facing a stronger enemy didn’t even entertain those ideas.

“Damn it, I ain’t gettin’ caught up with that cold-blooded dude ever again.”

Just the thought of it gave Hwang Yong-min the chills as he picked up his phone.

He was worried about his friends.

“Hey, how you holdin’ up? You alright? My arms grew back, man. Let’s get the gang together and meet up.”

After contacting his crew, Hwang Yong-min stepped out onto the streets.

In the dimly lit alley, a group of folks were puffin’ on cigarettes.

“Yong-min, you made it?”

His crew, the survivors from Round 2, were there.

“Look at this dude, arms and legs all intact!”

“And you look unscathed too. Not a single bruise on your face.”

“Damn it, still get the creeps just thinkin’ ’bout gettin’ whacked by Black Scythe.”

“Ah…”

As soon as Black Scythe was mentioned, his friends shivered.

“Let’s make a pact. We don’t ever bring up the name Black Scythe again.”

“Yeah, have you seen the final rankings? That guy was all alone at the top, he reached level 16.”

“While we’re stuck at level 5, damn it…”

“And he’s a freakin’ Reaper.”

“A real damn Reaper…”

Seems like this whole incident gave them some serious trauma.

“Damn it, we all nearly died and barely made it out alive after losin’ our limbs.”

And they could say with confidence that they never experienced something worse than that.

That was a very close call from death.

“Yeah, I said it, right? Messin’ with Seo Arin was a reckless plan. Look at us now, we barely survived!”

“It’s because of this guy, all hyped up ’bout Seo Arin before.”

“You were hyped too, don’t lie!”

“To be honest, it wasn’t a totally reckless plan. But we were this close to pullin’ it off.”

“Yeah, right. If we had just offed that bodyguard next to him.”

“Sigh… Who the hell would’ve thought Black Scythe would show up?”

The group hung their heads low, smoking their cigarettes.

Regretting the past ain’t gonna do them no good; it’s already too late.

“But you know what, thank goodness our real bodies are unharmed.”

“We ain’t gettin’ into that mess no more. Gotta live peacefully, like extras. Damn it!”

“Forget about chasin’ after Seo Arin. We should’ve just gone huntin’ in the woods or somethin’. We could have at least scored some rewards.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Once we hit level 10 and advanced, we could’ve shrugged off the area rep’s orders.”

“But you know what? The new area rep they picked is a real scumbag.”

“Heard he’s some gangster from a faction?”

“Dude had some serious balls goin’ up against Black Scythe.”

As the conversation shifted to the area rep, Hwang Yong-min pondered.

“Don’t you guys know Jo Joong-sik?”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s the boss of the Zhongshi Gang! He’s like my idol! Ah, guess you guys ain’t into gangs.”

“Hehe, our Yong-min, dreamin’ ’bout becomin’ a gangster? Already got yourself a role model?”

“Hehehehe.”

Hwang Yong-min snapped at his friends’ laughter.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me! I’m dead serious!”

“So, when we had to vote, did you choose Life is a Documentary, because you want to join him?”

“Um, the gang I always wanted to join is the Zhongshi Gang. The problem is, I don’t know how to make contact.”

“Since he became the area rep you can talk to him in the next round.”

“That’s the plan, man.”

Hwang Yong-min thought to himself.

As soon as they enters the other realm next month, he planned to go find Jo Joong-sik.

“I’ll go and talk to him. I’ll ask him to let me join the Zhongshi Gang.”

A mischievous smile played on Hwang Yong-min’s lips.

He wasn’t sure if Jo Joong-sik would accept him, but it was still worth a shot.

***

“Well done, Arin.”

“What did I do? It was the bodyguard-nim who went through a tough time…”

Seo Arin, returning from the other realm, looked at An Sang-cheol with eyes full of gratitude.

An Sang-cheol, the one who had drawn his sword to protect her from the pursuers.

Even though their relationship was mostly business, gratitude was still gratitude.

Seo Arin’s gaze shifted to An Sang-cheol’s thigh.

“Are you okay where you got hurt?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. And what about you, Arin? Not a scratch on you.”

“Just as like I told you. Even if we get injured in the other realm, our physical bodies in reality remain unharmed.”

“Thank you for looking out for me…”

An Sang-cheol chuckled, seemingly amused by Seo Arin’s sudden gratitude.

“Haha, no problem. It’s just part of my duties as your manager and bodyguard.”

Having considered abandoning her before, An Sang-cheol couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt.

“I also want to express my gratitude to Black Scythe… I wonder if there’s any way.”

At Seo Arin’s words, An Sang-cheol raised his head.

“We don’t know how to find him in reality because we don’t know his true name or appearance. Besides, it seems like Black Scythe doesn’t want to reveal himself either.”

“He doesn’t?”

“I didn’t ask for his bank account number for no reason. But he flatly refused. That indicates that Black Scythe was aware. He might be afraid that sharing the bank account number would lead to his real identity being exposed.”

“Ah…”

“If you truly want to show your gratitude, maybe we can meet them in the next round and give him an item or something. Or we could find something useful to him. Even though he seems like he can survive just fine even without our help…”

“Hmm… That’s a good idea. I’ll have to think about how to express my gratitude.”

“Well then, rest well today, and let’s meet tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

As Seo Arin turned around, saying her goodbye lost in thought, and An Sang-cheol stepped out of the penthouse, raising his phone.

Though it was dawn, he had something urgent to report.

“Mr. Ma?”

-Ah, Director An Sang-cheol.

“You’re still awake?”

-I poured a glass of whiskey as soon as I got back.

“I saw the final rankings. Congratulations on advancing to Dark Knight.”

-Why make a fuss about that? How did things go on your end?

“Seo Arin and I could only reach level 8. Leveling up turned out to be harder than expected. We got injured along the way, which hindered our hunting…”

-You got injured?

“I was actually planning to report that… Do you have some time? It’s related to Black Scythe.”

-Black Scythe?

The voice on the other end of the phone turned chillingly calm.

-Come to the hotel. I’ll hear the details in person.

“Sure, I’ll be there within 20 minutes.”

After An Sang-cheol hung up, he quickly got into his car.

Little did he know.

There was someone tailing him from behind.