The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 348
Chapter 348 – The full story of the incident (3)
Gaia, who had heard the details of Min Do-jun’s design, sought out Chaos.
Then, she spoke as if the idea had sprung from her mind.
[Incorporating a familiar game system for humans? It’s quite a good idea.]
[Don’t give me superficial compliments.]
[No, it’s not just a compliment. I mean it. You have a talent in this field. That’s why you were born with the power of creation.]
[Then, I’ll do it this way.]
[Come see me from time to time, like now. I also need to check if the system is well made.]
Chaos smiled as Gaia turned away abruptly without responding.
‘Bringing me ideas directly. It’s unexpected.’
He thought his threat had worked, but he didn’t know that Gaia was collaborating with Min Do-jun to design a weapon against him.
———————
In time, the system was completed.
A space was created in another world that would develop in 20 rounds, and beings were created to live there as NPCs.
Humans, elves, dwarves, realms, empires, monsters, etc.
Following Min Do-jun’s advice, they were inspired by fantasy novels familiar to humans.
Although they were creations made for the rounds, they were actually living beings that moved and breathed.
‘Now everything is ready.’
With the power of Chronos, a rune that reverses time was created, set to affect a random human.
It wasn’t known who would be affected, but that human would experience 100 regressions, become divine, and turn into a transcendent entity.
‘Will the human be able to kill the Gods and achieve the second divinization according to my intention?’
Originally, gods could not steal the terra of other gods, but Gaia was a goddess of creation.
She could design the impossible to make it possible.
After all, the other Gods were also her own creations.
‘Having to raise humans by sacrificing the Gods…’
There was no other option.
To free herself from the yoke of Chaos, she needed to strengthen humans.
Until they killed the gods, accumulated 10 billion terra, and had the power to crush Chaos.
Of course, she wouldn’t let them fight alone.
‘If Chronos and I support them, it won’t be impossible to destroy Chaos.’
Gaia fervently wished.
‘A weapon against Chaos. Please grow like the blade that will cut the God’s neck according to my design…’
———————
Soon after, the third Great Celestial and Demonic War began.
The result was obvious.
The demons won once again, and the defeated angels implemented the program for the first time.
They didn’t like the idea of having to raise humans.
‘Very well. According to the design, the rune that reverses time has been implanted in a human.’
One out of billions of humans was lucky enough to obtain the rune.
The lucky human went through the rounds experiencing 100 regressions.
So far, everything was going according to plan.
However, variables always appear unexpectedly.
‘Didn’t he surpass the 20 rounds despite having regressed 100 times?’
The human did not grow according to the intention.
It wasn’t easy for an ordinary human to endure 100 regressions.
Of course, Gaia didn’t know the records of the previous rounds either.
Regression affected even Gaia.
She could only deduce how many times he had regressed by looking at the number of uses recorded in the rune.
‘Damn it, I didn’t even get to round 20 and already exhausted all the opportunities…’
Although she failed to raise the human, Gaia was not discouraged. There was still the next Great Celestial and Demonic War, and maybe the human of that occasion could achieve it.
Thus began the Fourth Great Celestial and Demonic War. The angels, outnumbered, lost again. It was the fourth consecutive defeat since the first war. As expected, the Gods no longer trusted the angels.
[Will the demons win again?]
[Probably.]
[Who knows? Maybe the angels will manage to raise the human mercenaries well and take them to the final round.]
[And how strong could those human mercenaries be?]
[Still, just in case, I’ll bet on the angels, who have a high reward.]
[I bet safely with the demons.]
All the gods predicted the victory of the demons, and the defeated angels searched for another planet to kidnap humans and continue the program. However, despite the expectations, no human passed the 20th round, and another defeat was expected for the angels.
But an unexpected change occurred. In the Fifth Great Celestial and Demonic War, the angels achieved their first overwhelming victory without the help of human mercenaries.
[The angels won!]
[Ah, if only I had bet on the angels…!]
[Damn it! I bet almost all my terra on the victory of the demons.]
Joy and sadness were mixed, and the angels who achieved victory were promoted to archangels. In contrast, Gaia couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
‘They didn’t even pass the 20th round… If this continues, it’s pointless to have put a rune of 100 regressions.’
Since she couldn’t wait passively, Gaia asked Chaos for permission.
[It seems that the difficulty of the rounds is very high. What do you think about changing the settings a bit?]
[I was also thinking about it. Okay, lower the difficulty a bit. Don’t change the general scheme.]
[Understood.]
Smiling, Gaia adjusted the system behind Chaos’s back. She modified the reaper class item, which was somewhat difficult to obtain, to make it easier to get by killing angels or demons. Additionally, she made it so that by killing a combat angel or a higher demon, one would receive a blessing from the devil or the angel, a great benefit.
‘This will facilitate growth.’
Additionally, she configured that by killing one of the seven archangels or one of the ten most powerful demon nobles, one would achieve the first deification.
‘Growth will be faster, so this will be achieved easily.’
Not forgetting to lower the difficulty of each round as Chaos had requested. After making these adjustments, the defeated demons implemented the program for the first time.
Was it because the difficulty had been reduced? The demons managed to bring a human mercenary to the final round, although only one, the only human who had gone through 100 regressions.
‘The player [Kang Han-sik] has reached the final round.’
But unfortunately, Kang Han-sik was not the human Gaia desired. Despite having regressed 100 times, he had not achieved significant power.
‘Stupid human. If only you killed angels and demons, you would grow quickly…’
Additionally, in the end, he made a very simple wish: to become rich. A common wish from the perspective of the Gods.
‘Is there no one who grows by killing angels and demons and can contact Rubuahi?’
They had no choice but to wait for the Seventh Great Celestial and Demonic War, anticipating another possible disappointment.
Then, Gaia finally found it. The weapon to face Chaos: Black Scythe.
——————
[How is Black Scythe doing?]
[He is doing very well. He obtained the reaper class early and has been ranking first in each round, advancing smoothly.]
[Really?]
Gaia shone with excitement at Min Do-jun’s words. Finally, the long-awaited talent had appeared.
But Min Do-jun’s expression was grim.
[Why that face? Isn’t he growing well even according to the God of the Slaughter?]
[Yes, he is, but he doesn’t try to capture the archangels, who are the most important.]
[Why not?]
[It seems to be due to the influence of a god called Artaros. In the 68th round, his intervention caused Black Scythe to perceive the archangels as unattainable beings.]
[Artaros intervened?]
When a regression occurs, everyone except Black Scythe loses their memories. That’s why Gaia couldn’t remember what had happened in the previous rounds. Only Min Do-jun, who was not affected by the regression, could observe the whole situation. That’s why they met to hear his advice.
[Why did Artaros meet Black Scythe?]
[In round 16, Black Scythe killed a battle angel with overwhelming force, which caused Artaros to intervene. Then he pressured Black Scythe and asked him several questions about how he had obtained such power.]
[I had no idea…]
[Of course, Black Scythe didn’t say anything, but Artaros used his skill to erase those memories. However, he left intact the memory of having faced him, which made Black Scythe develop the perception that the archangels are extremely powerful.]
[Ah…]
Because of Artaros’ intervention, the weapon against Chaos had weakened.
‘Artaros, damn you! You’ve ruined my plans!’
Gaia was upset, but Artaros was one of the first celestial generals she had created. She had promoted him to divinity in recognition of his merits in the war, so she couldn’t blame him.
‘It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have made Artaros a god…’
Additionally, he had gone to a forbidden dimension on Earth and returned with a curse of immortality, making him even stronger. Chaos could destroy him, but it was too late to ask him to do so.
‘According to the information on the rune, this is the 99th round. There’s no time.’
How could she make Black Scythe kill the archangels?
How could she…?
[He knows this is the 99th round, right? He’s reaching the end, what will he do?]
[According to the God of the Slaughter, does he think Black Scythe will pass the 20th round?]
[At this pace, he will do so without problems.]
That meant he would reach the stone of wishes without having killed the archangels or deified himself.
In other words, they would lose the opportunity that had arisen after so long.
‘How could I lose a weapon I obtained… how…?’
After reflecting, Gaia made a decision.
[We can’t waste such a talent we’ve found after hundreds of years.]
[What are you going to do?]
[We still have a chance, don’t we?]
[It can’t be…]
Gaia smiled and turned around. There was no time to waste if she wanted to intervene before Black Scythe completed the 20th round.
——————–
[Here ends the story. Since then, you reached the 100th round and, after many difficulties, you have come this far.]
Gaia finished her story. Although it had been a long story, it could be summarized in a few words.
‘You did all this to protect your son Chronos. I’m just a tool entangled in this to face Chaos.’
Ryu Min realized that he was just a toy and a weapon for Gaia. That revelation made his mood somber. Despite being a primordial Goddess, Gaia seemed to notice Ryu Min’s discomfort.
[What’s wrong, Black Scythe? Are you upset to know that your existence is due to my personal grudge?]
“No.”
Ryu Min’s voice was heavy.
“I understand that you used me as a weapon against Chaos. I knew it from the moment I joined you. Although I knew it, I accepted it because we shared a common goal: to defeat Chaos.”
[Then, what’s the problem?]
“But there’s something missing in your story.”
[What is it?]
“The action you took in the 99th round to not waste the opportunity that I am. What was that?”
[I won’t comment on that.]
Gaia remained silent. She wasn’t breaking her contract by not lying, she was simply not saying anything. However, Ryu Min already had a suspicion.
He recalled the information he had heard from Kang Han-sik.
“Did you change the configuration of the boss room? To prevent him from surpassing it easily?”
[As I said, I won’t comment…]
“I’m asking if you changed the entry condition to the boss room to require at least five people instead of one.”
Ryu Min looked at Gaia with a murderous expression. Gaia sighed, realizing there was no point in hiding the truth.
[Nothing will be resolved by keeping silent, right?]
“Tell me the truth.”
[Alright. Yes, I changed it. I did it to take you from the 99th round to the 100th.]