The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

If you’re a South Korean male, chances are you’ve played a strategy simulation game at least once in your life.

“You know that game where you collect minerals, right? It’s pretty similar to that.”

Ryu Min was explaining to the members just how easy it was to win a war.

“You don’t need to overthink it. See here? The troop menu. If you press this and then this again…”

“It says ‘Upgrade Troops’?”

“You can use gold to strengthen the soldiers?”

“That’s right.”

When Ryu Min directly pointed at the screen and explained, they quickly caught on.

“As the commander, you can spend your gold to upgrade or add equipment for your troops. If you don’t have enough forces, you can also hire mercenaries. Of course, that costs gold too.”

“Exactly. The more commanders, the more gold there is to go around.”

Having more commanders on one side was naturally advantageous. Just as a server’s performance improves with more CPUs, having more brains strategizing in a war also provides an edge. And right now, the disparity in gold was already significant.

Even so, the players still looked troubled.

The reason? They had taken a closer look at the prices.

“Upgrading the weapon of a single soldier costs 1,000 gold?”

“So, for 10,000 soldiers, that’s 10 million gold?”

“This… these prices are insane!”

Adding mercenaries was even worse.

“Adding just one veteran mercenary costs 10,000 gold?”

“T-That’s way too expensive!”

No matter how many people they had, the players didn’t have enough gold to make it feasible.

“L-Let’s check how much gold we all have. What’s everyone holding onto?”

“I’ve got 1.3 million gold.”@@novelbin@@

“I’ve got 1.1 million…”

No one had more than 2 million gold. And even that was only because they had received 1 million gold each as the reward for completing the 16th round.

At that moment, a player spoke in disbelief.

“Even if everyone here has 1 million gold each, we’re only looking at about 300 million gold in total…”

“300 million? What can we even do with that?”

“The kingdom’s army is 320,000 strong…”

“So hiring 30,000 mercenaries is all we can manage?”

The kingdom’s army of 30,000 versus the Holy Empire’s army of 320,000.

A gap over ten times as large.

Could they really bridge that chasm just by adding 30,000 mercenaries? Could that alone turn the tide of the war in favor of the kingdom?

People shook their heads in disbelief.

The overwhelming difference in numbers crushed their spirits.

Some even muttered under their breath, lamenting their doomed fate.

Seeing this, Ryu Min clicked his tongue in annoyance and said, “Didn’t I tell you? There’s no need to worry.”

“Black Scythe-nim, do you have some sort of plan…?”

“Do you know how much gold I have?”

When people shook their heads, Ryu Min smirked and revealed, “60 billion.”

“W-What?!”

“A-Are you serious?”

“T-That much…”

In truth, he had closer to 100 billion, but he deliberately understated it. He had already budgeted 60 billion for this round.

‘Besides, it’s better to make it seem like I’m pouring everything into this than to let them think I’m holding something back.’

Even the lower figure was enough to shock everyone present.

“Surely, you’re not planning to invest all 60 billion?”

“I will. Considering the rewards for victory, it’s worth every coin.”

The despair on their faces turned to hope.

Some even gazed at Ryu Min as though he were a saint.

“There’s no need to worry anymore. If Black Scythe-nim is spending all 60 billion…”

“No, I can’t spend it all by myself.”

“Huh?”

Though they were confused at first, the reason quickly became clear.

“There’s a cap on how much each person can use.”

“A cap? How much?”

“Each individual can only use up to 1 billion gold. I’m not sure why this restriction exists, but it’s there.”

Although he claimed not to know the reason, Ryu Min had a good idea.

‘The system probably didn’t expect anyone to have more than 1 billion gold at this stage.’

But here he was, a player with 100 billion in reserve. Even though he couldn’t spend it all himself…

“Since there’s a limit, I can’t spend it all alone. So, from now on, I’m going to distribute 20 million gold to each of you. Everyone, accept my trade request.” 𝘳Ἀɴồ𐌱Ε𝘚

Ryu Min initiated trades, distributing 20 million gold to each player.

However, Min Juri and Christine received more than the others.

“Um, did you give me the wrong amount?”

“Why so much…?”

He had given them twice as much as he promised, which was naturally surprising. But there was a reason for it.

“You two need to spend it all. That way, you can secure the rank rewards.”

“Ah…!”

This round’s rankings would be determined by how much gold was spent.

By giving the two of them a larger sum, he ensured they would place in the top ranks.

‘But of course, I’m not letting go of first place.’

Using 1 billion gold himself would guarantee his spot at the top.

After distributing 20 million gold each to the 285 others, he had spent 57.5 billion gold.

“You all know what to do with the gold I’ve given you, right?”

“Yes!”

“You can use it however you see fit—upgrade weapons and armor, or hire mercenaries. As long as you pour every last coin into this, the tide of war will shift in our favor. Got it?”

“Yes, understood!”

Ryu Min’s words carried an authoritative power that compelled obedience.

It wasn’t just a metaphor—there was a real force behind them.

It was none other than the temporary skill he possessed.

[Temporary Skill – Commander]

Effect: A passive skill that ensures players follow your orders.

Active only during the 17th round; the effect vanishes once the round ends.

‘With this, there’s no chance of them disobeying.’

No one would dare misuse the gold for personal reasons or hoard it. The skill’s effect was absolute.

‘Now that the war is in the hands of these 285 commanders…’

Ryu Min looked out of the barracks.

During the war, he had another task to accomplish.

‘I need to slay the dragon in its lair.’

It wasn’t every day that he had the chance to acquire a god-tier accessory on top of titles and runes.

‘But first, I need to spend my own 1 billion gold.’

Approaching the status board, Ryu Min used his gold to recruit an additional 10,000 troops.

Satisfied with the result, he exited the barracks and took to the skies.

To claim the dragon’s reward for himself.

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!