The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

When she brought the coffee, Ryu Min took it with a slightly bewildered look.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

For a while, they drank their coffee in silence.

‘W-what should I do? Now that I’m here, I don’t have the courage to ask.’

She was scared, but she had to do it.

Even if it meant hearing a rejection.

Min Juri finally managed to open her mouth.

“Hey… Don’t you have something to say to me?”

Ryu Min let out an awkward chuckle.

Or rather, a troubled one.

“You want to hear my answer from before, right?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, but I need a bit more time…”

“Again?”

At his attempt to postpone, she burst out impulsively.

“How much more time do you need?”

“…”

“Three weeks should be more than enough, shouldn’t it? That’s plenty of time to sort out your thoughts.”

“It’s not something that’s easy to decide…”

“Ryu Min!”

Min Juri’s shout was firm, her gaze piercing straight into his.

“Stop dragging this out and make a decision. How long do you plan to stall? Don’t you know this is more painful for me? It’s like torture.”

“…”

“While you’ve been taking your time, I’ve thought about it too. Whether my feelings for you are true, or just a fleeting spark.”

Min Juri’s eyes were as serious as ever.

“But the more I thought, the clearer it became. I knew I wasn’t wrong. Even if I regret it later, I needed to be honest with my feelings.”

The hardest part was taking that first step.

Once she opened up, Min Juri spoke without hesitation.

“So now, I want to hear it. Your true feelings. I can’t wait any longer.”

“…”

“Tell me. Do you like me?”

Ryu Min raised his head and, with serious eyes, responded.

“I like you.”

Min Juri was surprised for a moment, but only briefly.

“But only as a friend, not as anything more.”

His firm rejection turned Min Juri’s expression to stone.

Even though she had anticipated this answer, hearing it still felt like a dagger piercing her chest.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“N-no, thank you for being honest.”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell between them again.

A more stifling silence than before.

‘It hurts.’

So this is what it feels like to be rejected by someone you love.

Min Juri didn’t know what else to say.

It was as if her mind had gone blank.

Just when the suffocating tension became almost unbearable, Ryu Min broke the silence.

“I’m sorry. But you’re a really good friend to me. So much so that I don’t want to lose you.”

“…”

“So, can we forget about this and go back to being friends?”

‘Friends…?’

It felt strange.

The word that once felt familiar now felt so distant.

‘Can we really go back to how things were? Pretending this never happened?’

Doubt crept into Min Juri’s mind.

Had she opened Pandora’s box?

Maybe postponing, as Ryu Min had done, was the right answer.

“Juri.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not answering. We’re still friends, right?”

“Of course. We’re friends.”

Min Juri found herself wondering.

Was there ever a case where someone went back to being friends after a confession and rejection?

Was it right to erase the memory of the confession and act as though they were just friends again?

“I’m glad. That we can still be friends.”

“…”

“Well, let me tell you the strategy for the 15th round now.”

“Yeah…”

Min Juri felt lost, as if her confession had been erased from reality.

‘Did she really hear me?’

After parting ways with Min Juri, Ryu Min felt uneasy.

Throughout his explanation of the strategy, she hadn’t seemed fully present.

‘I had no choice but to reject her since she wouldn’t back down, but…’

He wasn’t confident he had made the right choice.

He could sense Min Juri’s turmoil as she wrestled with whether they could still be friends.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is clearing the round.’

He’d given her the invisibility potion and explained the strategy for the 15th round.

Even though she might be heartbroken, Min Juri would have no choice but to press forward to survive.

‘I even considered using the memory-erasing potion to wipe her memory of the confession. But it felt too wasteful to use such a valuable item for that.’

Contrary to his worries, Min Juri didn’t seem as shaken as he’d feared.

There was no need to erase her memory.

‘If we continue as friends, she’ll eventually move on.’

With that thought, Ryu Min lay in bed as midnight approached.

At the stroke of midnight, his eyes gently closed without him realizing it.

When he opened his eyes, an entirely different world spread out before him.

‘The 15th round begins.’

In the grayscale space, people appeared one by one.

Ryu Min stood still, mentally reviewing his objectives for this round.

‘The five key members with the invisibility potions should be fine for the first mission. The second mission can be easily cleared using the Despair Cult followers. For the third mission, Christine’s performance will be crucial.’

With the temporary healing skill he had, protecting Christine wouldn’t be an issue.

He planned to keep an eye on Berber as well, so nothing unexpected would happen.

‘The only wildcard for this round is the angels…’

There was no telling when the archangel might appear again.

Or if they had incited players like before.

‘I can’t let my guard down.’

Just then, as he surveyed his surroundings warily.

“Ah, hello, Black Scythe.”

Someone approached him and greeted him.

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!