The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

“Thank you for allowing me to join the Messiah. But I have to ask…”

Zhang Shu, who had been waiting at the location for the Black Scythe, suddenly felt a tinge of doubt.

“Will the Black Scythe really come all the way to this distant land in America?”

“He’ll come. Whether with good intentions or bad. Most likely, with bad intentions.”

“What do you mean? If it’s bad, are you saying they’ll come here to kill us?”

Yang Chiwen didn’t deny his subordinate’s question.

“Yeah. They’ll probably come to kill us. The one who killed the other 12 Apostles won’t just leave us alone.”

“Then shouldn’t we get out of here? We need to run right now…”

“Zhang Shu.”

Yang Chiwen’s gaze turned cold as he looked at his subordinate.

“What are you doing acting like a coward? Since when do we, of the Black Society, fear death?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just that our opponent is… Well, wouldn’t it be better to avoid a meaningless death?”

“Hey, who said it’s meaningless? Didn’t you hear the plan? Just getting the Black Scythe to come here means half the mission is a success. We’ve been given a chance to smash his head.”

“Is that so…?”

“Don’t worry about it. All you need to do is stand with us and distract the Black Scythe. Dark Soul will handle the sniping.”

“I understand, boss.”

Yang Chiwen patted Zhang Shu’s shoulder and extended his hand to the Spaniard next to him.

“Give me the radio.”

“Here you go.”

Static noise

Yang Chiwen turned on the radio and did a quick sound test.

“Can you hear me, Dark Soul?”

-Loud and clear.

“Can you see us?”

-I can see every detail, down to your nostrils.

“Cut the nonsense and focus on sniping. You won’t get a second chance if you miss.”

-Don’t worry. If the target stands still, I’ll hit them 100% of the time.

“Good. We’ll make sure the Black Scythe is distracted, so shoot carefully.”

-I said not to worry.

Yang Chiwen let go of the radio, but his face still looked dissatisfied.

“To think our lives are in the hands of that Japanese bastard. It’s annoying.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Muttering in Chinese, Yang Chiwen handed the radio back to the Spaniard and checked the time.

There were 10 minutes left until the scheduled time.

‘Will they really come?’

Despite his confident words to his colleagues, Yang Chiwen wasn’t entirely sure the Black Scythe would show up.

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t come, knowing it’s a trap.’

But the Black Scythe might come anyway, precisely because they were confident enough to scoff at any trap.

He had always been at the top, and his pride was high.

‘Considering he took care of the 12 Apostles, it’s unlikely he’d leave any loose ends. It’s more likely he’ll come. We can’t let our guard down.’

Yang Chiwen looked at his comrades with a serious expression.

“Just a reminder: when the Black Scythe shows up, don’t get scared. Keep your eyes on him. If you look away, he’ll turn his attention elsewhere too.”

“You’re saying we should hold his attention as much as possible, so Dark Soul has a clear shot, right?”

“Exactly. The Spaniard will offer to surrender first and draw the Black Scythe’s attention. Act like you genuinely want to join him. If necessary, all three of us should even kneel to make him drop his guard. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Now, brace yourselves. Today might be our last.”

Gulp

The tension was palpable as they waited.

And then, all three of them turned to look in one direction.

Step Step

A figure wearing a white mask and carrying a massive scythe was walking toward them.

*

When Dark Soul first became a sniper, the feeling was pure excitement.

It was a job perfectly suited for him, especially since he was a fan of FPS games.

‘Sniping is my calling. There’s nothing like the thrill of taking someone down with a single shot.’

But in reality, it was a mess.

At 26 years old, he was unemployed, living at home, and playing games all day.

That was the real Dark Soul.

No one saw him in a positive light—neither his family, nor his friends, nor society.

‘Why do people look down on games when they’re more beneficial than smoking?’

People constantly meddled in his life, even though he wasn’t harming anyone.

‘It’s my life, so why do they have to interfere?’

His motto was simple: you only live once, so why not enjoy life to the fullest, even if it’s short?

People accused him of making excuses, but he didn’t care.

‘Why bother working hard? It’s not like I’ll ever catch up to those born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Better to spend less time trying and more time enjoying.’

In the end, the world turned out just as Dark Soul had expected.

The hard work of 1.8 billion people amounted to nothing, as they were all living on borrowed time now.

Even though he had survived up to this point, Dark Soul knew it wasn’t because of talent—it was luck.

‘But that luck might run out today.’

If he missed his shot, if he failed to assassinate Black Scythe, that could be the end for him.

‘Like I’d miss. I’m the number one-ranked player in Japan. I’ve cracked countless skulls.’

Sniping in Reality wasn’t like in the Otherworld, where you had to assemble the gun, account for wind, distance, and bullet velocity, then take the shot carefully.

All he needed to do was pull out the sniper rifle from his inventory, get into position, and lie down.

The [Sniper’s Rune] would take care of the accuracy.

And if he fired from a prone position, his accuracy would triple.

No need to worry about wind or any of that nonsense like in the real world.

‘As long as I line up the crosshairs, it’s a guaranteed hit, just like in a game.’

There was still the matter of range, of course, but as long as he was within that limit, even a novice could hit the target.

‘As long as I’m lying down, there’s no chance I’ll miss. Once he’s in my sights, I’ll pull the trigger and finish him off.’

Combined with the [Penetration] skill, which ignored defense, and the [Sure Shot] buff, he could punch a hole in anyone’s head.

‘Bring it on, you Korean bastard. I’ll kill you in one shot.’

He had no fear of retaliation.

At 1 kilometer, the maximum range of his current sniper rifle, he could snipe the Black Scythe without any worry of counterattack.

All he had to do was wait for the Black Scythe to show up and take him out.

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!