The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 86 (Part 1)

Chapter 86: I Decline (Part 1)

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“What? I decline,” Ryu Min asserted firmly.

The response caught the other party off guard, and their expression shifted from anticipation to puzzlement.

“Heh, Black Scythe, you might not be aware, but the boss isn’t a pushover. Do you see that thing over there; the muscular minotaur?”

Everyone’s attention shifted to a minotaur that exuded an aura of strength, even from a distance.

“That creature is the boss we must confront, and I assure you, he’s no walk in the park.”

“How can you be so sure? Have you faced him before?”

“Yes, not personally, but we witnessed another party attempt a solo challenge and end up in utter defeat. It was a sobering sight that made us realize the importance of cooperation among parties.”

“Take care of it yourselves; we’re not interested,” Ryu Min responded curtly.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better if we helped each other out? We’ll even allow you to deliver the finishing blow first, so consider it…”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted.

“This is the third time. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Ryu Min retorted sharply.

“Alright, my apologies…” Subdued by Ryu Min’s aura, they reluctantly retreated.

As they reached the gathering of parties, discussions, and deliberations commenced.

“It seems we won’t be able to recruit Black Scythe.”

“Did you try to recruit them?”

“We did, but they declined and said we can defeat it on our own.”

“Why’s that? Black Scythe should be part of this or we won’t be able to take it down.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe they’re intimidated by the boss, or perhaps…” one player sighed, trailing off.

“Well, it looks like we’ll have to face the challenge alone.”

“Since Black Scythe declined, we had planned to tackle it independently anyway.”

With nods of agreement, the group finally prepared to hunt the minotaur.

With each heavy step, the massive creature, standing at a towering 6 meters tall, emitted a resounding thud that reverberated through the air. It walked with a human-like gait, shouldering a colossal axe.

Five parties cautiously approached the minotaur.

Slurp…

From a distance, the creature didn’t appear as intimidating, but up close, its immense size was even more apparent.

“Do you think we can defeat it?”

“Well, our group consists of about twenty members.”

Despite their words, uncertainty still clouded their expressions.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the minotaur sensed something and turned its head.

The players, who had been quietly advancing, froze in their tracks as if caught in a game of tag.

“Kwaaah!”

Excitement surged through the minotaur as it spotted the humans, and it charged forward.

“Fire! Attack!”

“Waaah!”

Twenty players rushed in to engage, fighting for their lives against the towering beast.

Ryu Min observed the situation calmly, contemplating, ‘How long will it take them to bring it down?’

He had no doubt about the outcome. The minotaur wasn’t as formidable as it appeared. Its attacks lacked finesse, and it was far from swift. Its somewhat sluggish movements made it predictable and easy to evade.

‘If all twenty of them attacked, that creature won’t stand a chance,’ Ryu Min thought.

However, the minotaur’s strength lay in its extraordinary endurance, surpassing even that of a jewel. From its perspective, humans were nothing more than buzzing flies.

‘Twenty flies buzzing around won’t pose much of a threat…’

At least, that’s what it believed.

As the battle raged on for over three minutes with no end in sight, he continued to watch, as the demise of the boss would provide them with the motivation to focus on the hunt.

Finally, after more than seven minutes had passed, the minotaur let out a pitiful cry and collapsed to the ground.

Boom!

“We got it!”

“We finally killed it!”

The party members rejoiced, but there were casualties.

‘Three out of twenty players didn’t make it.’

There were no injuries, though. After all, even a mere brush against the creature meant certain death.

Nevertheless, defeating the boss with minimal losses was a commendable achievement.

“Who landed the final blow? It doesn’t seem like our team did.”

“It was our team! We’re the ones who brought it down! Hahaha!”

Amidst the victorious cheers, a radiant pillar of light descended from the sky.

One of the four teams that had been battling the minotaur found themselves enveloped by a translucent pillar.

“It looks like our team has survived!”

“I checked the quest progress window, and it proudly displays ‘Success’!”

“That’s great news!”

“Ah, well, we’re just making others look good.”

As the people trapped within the pillar celebrated, a few who hadn’t managed to defeat the boss grumbled, but it was short-lived.

“But… do we really have to stay here until the time runs out?”

“Is it true that we need to be trapped here for over 5 hours?”

“It seems so.”

“It’s nice to rest early, but it feels like we’re missing out on something…”

Although defeating the boss first was a triumph, the idea of being stuck within the pillar, having to while away the remaining time, felt somewhat uneasy.

“Well, then, let’s go and find other parties. We need some reinforcements.”

“Agreed.”

The remaining parties briefly cast glances at Black Scythe but soon shook their heads and departed.

They knew that talking wouldn’t change their minds about cooperation.

Whether they did or didn’t, Ryu Min quietly reflected on the battle he had witnessed.

“It’s fortunate. If we had defeated the boss too early, we would have squandered the remaining time”

“Yes, just as Black Scythe predicted.”

“Hunting slowly and defeating it as late as possible was the right approach.”

Without altering his expression, Ryu Min addressed his companions, “We’ve rested enough; now let’s move on.”

“Follow me.”

Once again, the party members’ exclamations began.

***

While Ryu Min hunted the Centaur,

Other teams joined forces and concentrated on the boss hunt.

“Are we the fiftieth party?”

“I don’t know, the rankings aren’t displayed.”

“Who cares! We’ve defeated the boss, so we’ve survived, right?”

“Let’s just lie down and rest for the remaining time.”

The players within the pillar of light dropped to the ground. Even though they were trapped, they were safe from monsters. The Minotaur didn’t seem to acknowledge their presence; they were like invisible entities.

“Hey, look at that! Look!”

Suddenly, a player holding a scythe appeared, followed closely by four teammates.

Swish – Thud! Swish – Thud!

With each pass of the scythe, the Centaur heads rolled to the ground.

“Isn’t that Black Scythe?”

“They defeated it in one shot?”

“Heh, that’s what you’d expect from a level 40 player.”

While it was impressive that they had taken down the Centaur with a single blow, the victorious players didn’t envy them. They were already winners, having defeated the boss and now resting.

What puzzled them was why Black Scythe was only targeting the Centaur and not the boss.

“Why are they not going for the boss and resting early?”

“Isn’t it better to defeat the boss quickly and take a break?”

“No, they’re below the top 50 now. They’ve missed the top ranks, so they’re probably focused on leveling up.”

“I see! That makes sense.”

“It’s a shame. I thought he might aim for first place again.”

“Even though they’re Black Scythe, they can’t stay at the top forever.”

“But they still have good judgment. They’re clearly trying to gain experience points.”

While the group that had already defeated the boss believed they were superior to Black Scythe, they were unaware of one thing—their record of 11 minutes and 30 seconds in the boss hunt was the longest and ranked last.

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