The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

“Y-You’re… Black Scythe!”

Heo Tae-seok and Alex lowered their weapons with shocked faces.

To think they had attacked the Black Scythe himself.

It wasn’t intentional, but it was an unthinkable mistake.

“Are you okay!?”

“As you can see.”

“I-I’m so sorry, Black Scythe, sir.”

“By the way, what brings you here…?”

At Heo Tae-seok’s question, Ryu Min only gave a subtle, unseen smile.

‘I got a tip from Eom Jun-seok. Alex is building a faction, he said.’

Chasing Alex to confirm the impossible claim had led him here.

He hadn’t expected to find him fighting Heo Tae-seok, though.

“How I got here doesn’t matter. What matters is why allies like you two were fighting in the first place.”

“Black Scythe, sir! I can explain everything!”

As if he had been waiting for the chance, Heo Tae-seok shot Alex a glare and began spilling everything to Ryu Min.

“For the past week, that guy has been meeting with followers for some reason—Dorothy, Victor, Sophia, Russell, Jo Yong-ho, and others. I personally saw him secretly meeting these people of different nationalities. He’s clearly plotting something malicious, trying to form a faction among the followers to undermine our Death Church!”

It was the same as what Eom Jun-seok had reported, though Heo Tae-seok’s account was more detailed, likely due to his personal investigation.

“I’ve heard your side. Now I need to hear the other side as well.”

Ryu Min turned his head toward Alex.

“Alex.”

“Yes, Black Scythe, sir.”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Speaking in fluent English, Ryu Min asked, and Alex furrowed his brow before passionately explaining, pointing his staff at Heo Tae-seok.

“Black Scythe, sir! Be cautious of Heo! He lured me here with a false message, then suddenly used a skill to restrain me and threatened to kill me!”

“And you don’t know why?”

“I have no idea! He kept demanding that I confess to some scheme, but I swear I’ve done no such thing!”

“Hm…”

Alex wore an expression of utter grievance.

Was he telling the truth?

This was where the Rune of Insight came in handy—it eliminated the need to agonize over the truthfulness of someone’s words.

‘He’s telling the truth.’

Though Alex looked utterly wronged, it was easy to doubt anyone endlessly once suspicion took root. But Alex was speaking sincerely.

“Contrary to your claim, Heo Tae-seok believes you’re plotting some sort of sinister scheme…”

“A scheme? Me? That’s absurd!”

“He thinks so because he caught you secretly contacting followers from all over the world. He believes you’re forming a faction behind everyone’s back.”

“Ah…”

“Is that true?”

“It’s not true! I did plan to form a team, but…”

“A team?”

Alex confessed the reason he had been gathering people.

“During the 16th round, seeing everyone fight the monsters together made me realize something. How strong we are when united. That’s what teamwork really means. But then, watching my comrades get slaughtered by the angels, I came to a conclusion. Teamwork won’t last forever. We can’t save all 576 people. Eventually, the numbers will dwindle… until only a small elite survives.”

Alex’s voice grew heavy, like a sponge soaked with water.

“So I made up my mind. To survive more efficiently, I decided to form a team. If I could select skilled members and train them for teamwork, it’d make survival easier, wouldn’t it?”

“Because it’s impossible for all 288 of us to synchronize as one team?”

“Exactly. If I pre-select people who’ll be useful in the future and form a small elite team, we’ll be able to respond more flexibly when crises hit.”

Ryu Min nodded, signaling his agreement.

Alex’s argument was this: identify those capable of surviving until the 20th round and get them accustomed to teamwork early.

While it sounded cold and calculated, it was also rational.

In a way, it wasn’t so different from what Ryu Min himself had been doing.

“So you were planning to gather competent people to train them in teamwork beforehand.”

“Yes, sir. I had no ambitions for leadership or malicious intent.”

“But Heo Tae-seok thought otherwise. He assumed you were forming a faction to betray the Death Church.”

“Ha… Absolutely not! Why would I betray anyone? What would I even gain from betraying, especially with you around, Black Scythe, sir?”

Alex shouted as if utterly wronged, his cry brimming with sincerity.

In fact, he even hoped that forming a team would be helpful to the Black Scythe.

“And the people you approached all agreed with your idea?”

“Yes, sir. They all understood my intent and promised to join willingly if it was for such a team.”

Dorothy and Sophia were distant acquaintances, but Victor, Russell, and Jo Yong-ho had all accepted eagerly?

That alone told Ryu Min that Alex was a trustworthy person.

However, allowing him to form a private team was another matter.

“I understand your intent. But it doesn’t look good. Stop forming a team. Haven’t you already been misunderstood as a traitor?”

“Well… that’s true, but forming a team would still be more efficient…”

“No, it’s unnecessary. Teamwork isn’t an issue. I’ll be coordinating everything myself, and all you have to do is follow my orders. The Death Church is essentially a team already.”

“I-I see. If you say so, Black Scythe, sir… I apologize for acting on my own.”

Alex apologized sincerely, his words genuine.

Yet, whether due to the language barrier or personal mistrust, Heo Tae-seok still looked displeased.

“Black Scythe, sir. What excuse did that guy give you?”

“He claims he had no ulterior motives and insists he’s innocent.”

“That’s impossible. We should interrogate him until he confesses—”

“That won’t be necessary. It was a misunderstanding from the start.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“I’ll explain.”

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