The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player TL

8. Angel Killer

[You have killed an angel.]

[You have been confirmed as the first player to kill an angel.]

[You have acquired the title 'First Angel Killer'.]

[You have obtained 'Angel's Blood' as a reward for the first angel kill.]

[You have obtained the 'Rune of Massacre' as a reward for the first angel kill.]

[The obtained rune is automatically engraved on the player's body!]

While ordinary people might have been unable to process the stream of messages appearing, 

'I've experienced this situation dozens of times and received these rewards dozens of times.'

Ryumin calmly checked the rewards.

[Angel's Blood]

-Category: Consumable

-Grade: Unique

-Effect: Enables class change to 'Reaper'

-Usage Restriction: Level 10 or higher

-Description: An item provided to the first player to kill an angel. Only one who has killed an angel, the natural enemy of reapers, is qualified to change to the Reaper class.

Players can have a job from level 10.

There were about 30 various jobs, and the method to change class was simple.

Obtain the class change item.

'Just like what I've obtained now.'

A golden liquid item icon was visible in Ryumin's inventory.

It was the Angel's Blood, said to be given only to the first to kill an angel.

It was also the item that allowed changing to the unique Reaper class.

'As expected, I'm the first to kill an angel.'

While it might be different later, at this point no one would dare to oppose an angel.

Unless they had a death wish.

Of course, he had to be the first.

'I got a title too.'

Ryumin touched the acquired title to check it.

[Title - First Angel Killer]

-Acquisition Condition: Obtained by being the first to kill an angel.

-Effect: All stats doubled when facing holy-type enemies.

Checking it, it was indeed the title he had obtained before.

It's an excellent title when facing angels or holy-type monsters.

Ryumin's gaze turned to the last reward he received.

[Rune of Massacre]

-Effect: All stats increase by 1% for each kill (up to 100%). Lasts until the end of the current round.

The rune was engraved on Ryumin's body.

It was a reward for being the first to kill an angel.

'The angels would be shocked to know I've already obtained a rune.'

Runes were that difficult to obtain.

It's hard to get even one rune per round.

It could be considered on par with the difficulty of obtaining a unique item.

'That's by the standards of ordinary players unfamiliar with strategies though.'

This didn't apply to Ryumin, who had already strategized to the point of boredom.

'I need to obtain more runes than in the previous regression and become even stronger.'

With this being the last chance, there was no room to back down.

He had to become stronger by any means necessary.

'It's a shame, but I probably can't get rewards for killing angels anymore.'

The current rewards are only given to the first to kill an angel.

Even if others kill angels, they won't get anything.

That's why there was only one Reaper class in existence.

'The angels probably don't even dream that such rewards are hidden in their bodies.'

Ryumin didn't know this fact until his 12th regression either.

Like others, he was scared of the angels' abilities and recognized them as beings not to be opposed.

But from the 13th regression, he learned about the first kill rewards while taking revenge on angels.

'To think killing an angel drops materials needed for a hidden job...'

After that, he killed angels every time he repeated regressions.

There was no reason not to kill them when they tried to backstab him and even gave hidden rewards.

'That's when I started seriously delving into the Reaper class.'

Until then, Ryumin had survived with the Hunter job.

But the moment he changed to Reaper, he realized.

That Reaper was a far better job than Hunter.

'Bonus stats, class change rune, skill composition, etc. It's a flawless job in every aspect.'

It wasn't a unique class for nothing.

It was such a strong and good job that other players would be envious if they saw it.

'Even so, I came back without clearing the final round.'

Still, there was no job better than Reaper, so Ryumin targeted the angel this time too.

He deliberately provoked the angel and induced her to change locations.

He struck first from behind before getting stabbed, just like now.

He killed the angel and obtained massive rewards from Round 1.

'That's when I abandoned Hunter and switched to Reaper.'

With each regression, Ryumin killed angels in the same way.

He showed no mercy to those who tried to backstab him.

In the process, Ryumin learned.

How weak angels really were.

That their head-bursting ability was just a one-time thing.

'I learned various other information too.'

Not just rewards, but he also extracted information by torturing angels.

About the angel species and their ecology, roles, the game's purpose, system usage authorities, etc.

But even angels didn't know the core information.

'They're just long-term pawns assigned guide roles from above.'

There must be someone comparable to a god behind it all, but...

'I'll have to reach the stage where I can defeat the final boss and fulfill a wish to know the details.'

After finishing checking the rewards, Ryumin reached for his inventory.

It was time to use the special reward selection box received for ranking 1st overall.

'Use.'

[You can select one of the following special rewards.]

[Please touch the reward you want.]

└ 1. 3x Experience Gain Buff (Limited to Round 2)

└ 2. 2,000 Gold

└ 3. Information about Round 2

There were three options, but Ryumin didn't hesitate.

'What's important now is to quickly reach level 10 and change class.'

Ryumin immediately selected reward 1.

[You have selected the 3x Experience Gain Buff.]

[The buff will be automatically applied at the start of Round 2.]

There was still a month until Round 2, but he chose the reward in advance.

There was nothing worth choosing besides the 3x experience.

'Getting 2,000 gold wouldn't be bad, but changing class as quickly as possible is better right now.'

Changing class gives you skills.

And the value of skills in this game is beyond imagination.

'Skills have value comparable to about 3 runes.'

Of course, having skills or not doubles a player's power.

Moreover, since you get a rune reward for changing class, the sooner you get a job, the more benefits you can reap.

'The 3rd reward isn't even worth considering.'

The 3rd reward giving information about Round 2 was meaningless to Ryumin.

He already knew the information up to Round 20.

Ryumin looked down at the angel's corpse with indifferent eyes.

The golden blood began to evaporate along with the corpse.

Sssss-

Eventually, the angel's corpse scattered like dust and completely disappeared.

Being originally spiritual beings, they disappear along with their physical bodies after a certain time.

'It's convenient not having to clean up the corpse. No evidence left either.'

Just in case, Ryumin looked around.

He thoroughly scanned even the sky, but there were no witnesses.

'I killed her at the same spot and timing as before, so there shouldn't be any problems.'

He killed her the same way he had done all along.

Not only were there no witnesses, but other angels wouldn't know either.

'They're selfish beings with strong self-love who don't care about anyone but themselves anyway...'

They might wonder why she's not visible, but that's all.

'From Round 2, she'll be replaced by another angel. Just like I've experienced before.'

There were no witnesses or evidence, so there was no need to worry about aftermath.

He can return without problems even without the angel.

Though he won't receive detailed guidance about returning.

◀ ROUND 1 END ▶

[All Areas]

└Survivors: 900,514,645

[This Area ESKS45-5]

└Survivors: 5,143

[Your soul will soon transfer to your body in the original dimension.]

[Round 2 will begin at midnight on February 1, 2022. We'll see you in the next round. Congratulations on surviving.]

With this final message, Ryumin and the people trapped in pillars disappeared.

* * *

"Gasp!"

Hwang Yongmin sat up, exhaling as if he had come back from the dead.

The first thing he saw was a crowd of people.

'Wh-where is this? The bell-ringing site?'

People who had been lying collapsed on the ground sat up.

They looked around in confusion, just like he had moments ago.

Yongmin immediately checked the time on his phone.

'5:20...'

The date was January 1, 2022.

5 hours and 20 minutes had passed since the bell-ringing ceremony.

It roughly matched the time spent in the dream.

"Ugh, my head..."

"My arms and legs are all sore."

His friends who had been sleeping on the nearby street also came to their senses one by one.

"Oh? Yongmin!"

"You're up?"

"Was I sleeping?"

"Yeah. Not just you, but everyone here."

"Whoa..."

"What's going on? We all fell asleep together?"

"Wait, then that was a dream?"

"I had a really weird dream too..."

"Oh, me too!"

"Yongmin, did you dream too?"

"Yeah, but..."

Looking around, Yongmin said with a serious expression.

"I don't think it was a dream."

"What?"

"Listen carefully to what people are saying."

At Yongmin's words, his friends listened.

"Did we really come back? Did we really return from that hell...!"

"What's going on? I clearly killed goblins..."

"I'm alive... I'm alive!"

Hearing the murmurs, his friends' faces gradually turned ashen.

From the content, it seemed they all had the same dream.

"All these people fell asleep together and had the same dream? That doesn't make sense."

"You're right..."

It was too many people experiencing the same thing to dismiss as a dream.

"Then was it all real? The goblins, Round 1, all of it...?"

"Th-then does that mean we'll be called to Round 2 on the 1st of next month?"

"Ha... damn it."

His friends hung their heads at the grim reality, but this wasn't even the worst of it.

"Hey, why isn't he waking up?"

"Taesik, wake up. Taesik!"

One friend was still asleep.

Motionless, as if dead.

"Damn! I checked his nose, but he's not breathing!"

"Listen to his heart! Can you hear a heartbeat?"

His friends urgently checked Taesik's vital signs.

But the result was devastating.

"His heart's not beating."

"What?"

"Then... is he dead?"

"Taesik... died?"

They couldn't believe their friend's death, but it wasn't incomprehensible.

"Don't tell me this bastard... didn't kill all 100?"

"Or maybe he didn't make it into the first half..."

According to the game's rules, their friend's death made sense.

Moreover, Taesik wasn't the only one not waking up.

Nearly half the people were still lying on the cold asphalt.

"Don't tell me all these people who aren't waking up are..."

"Cor...pses?"

"Urp...!"

Thinking of them as corpses made them nauseous.

Goblin corpses were one thing, but human corpses induced vomiting.

"Did really only half survive?"

"Damn, what do we do about the next round?"

"Will I be able to survive?"

While his friends were already worrying, Yongmin was calm.

No, he was pretending to be calm while actually holding back laughter.

If he laughed in this situation, not just his friends but others would look at him like he was crazy.

'If this isn't a dream but reality, it's not just me who's screwed, but everyone in the world, right?'

Strictly speaking, it was only those aged 15 to 29, but what did that matter?

When so many comrades with their lives at stake had appeared.

'This is killer, isn't it? Everyone has to survive equally, whether they're born with a silver spoon or not?'

He used to envy people living comfortably because they were born to good parents.

On the other hand, he felt bitter about why his life was like this.

'No need to lament about my unfair life anymore. Kukukuku.'

A ruined life his parents had already given up on.

He was planning to become a gangster right after graduating school.

He knew modern gangsters made good money through illegal activities.

"Don't worry, guys. We just need to survive, what's there to worry about?"

"But it's unfair... If we die without even having properly enjoyed life..."

"What's unfair when it's not just us, but everyone else caught up in this too?"

His friends couldn't say anything to Yongmin's words.

They could only curse inwardly.

'Damn... You have nothing to lose even if you die right now because your life is already ruined.'

'I still have so much I want to do...'

Unaware of his friends' thoughts, Yongmin was looking around as if searching for someone.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, I suddenly thought of it and looked, but that bastard's not here."

"Who? Your personal shuttle?"

Yongmin nodded.

No matter how much he looked, he couldn't see Ryumin.

'Where did that bastard go? I think I saw him over there before falling asleep... Did he die without even passing Round 1?'

Yongmin soon accepted this and gave up searching.

'Well, a loser like that would have died long ago.'

There's no way such a weak guy could survive the competition.

As he clicked his tongue inwardly and turned his head.

'Huh?'

Yongmin's eyes caught someone wearing strange armor.

'What's with that person? Where did such tacky clothes come from...'

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Yongmin's mind like lightning.

'Could it be?'

Immediately putting his hypothesis into action, Yongmin shouted to his friends.

"Hey! Everyone try opening your status window! It works!"

"Huh? Status window?"

"There's no way that would work..."

"Oh? It really does work!"

When they said "status window" in their minds, a translucent window only visible to themselves appeared.

They could use the system they thought only applied in the other world in reality too.

"How is this possible?"

"Could we use it in reality from the start?"

"Whoa... Then do stats and items all apply too?"

In other words, this meant they could exert superhuman strength in reality too.

'This is huge.'

Yongmin and his friends' lips curled up pleasantly.

It was a ray of hope seen in the midst of despair.