Leveling with the Regressor in Apocalypse

As the bet was made, all that was left was to wait for the Stage to be cleared so that the Contribution Table could be shown.

"It should take a few more hours before this stage is over," Kim Seojin guessed.

Lee Taehyung stood up and walked towards the two teams that were still left in the game.

"You are wrong this time. The stage will end in a few minutes."

"Huh, where are you going?"

"To end this stage. They were going to die anyway. I would just end it faster."

Lee Taehyung went to the two teams.

Kim Seojin had already guessed what this guy was going to do. But he didn't have a way to stop him.

What could he even do? Hold his hand to stop him? He was someone who could kill people with just a touch. Getting physically close to him was the last thing he wanted.

"It seems he is suspicious about this bet. To make sure he wins, he wants to take more contribution points."

He had already guessed what Lee Taehyung was thinking. On one end, he was clearing this stage faster. On the other hand, he was increasing his chances to win.

Moreover, the two teams were going to be killed by others. They didn't have any role in the future of this world. So their death didn't affect anything for the Regressor.

The two teams were still trying to find the identity of the killers when they saw Lee Taehyung approaching them.

"What do you want?" A young man arrogantly asked Lee Taehyung.

"You talk too much."

Lee Taehyung appeared behind the young man, tapping his shoulder.

The man's eyes went blank and he fell on the ground with a thud.

Before the others could react, the Regressor appeared in front of another person, placing a finger on his forehead.

A second person died.

[Team 16 has cleared the second stage. The Survivors have won]

Lee Taehyung didn't bother with the other two people on this team. It was only a matter of time before they were going to win. So he just made the process a little faster.

In the second team, the Killers were already scared as they saw Lee Taehyung approach them.

They prepared to fight him, but they were left shocked when Lee Taehyung moved past them.

[Team 19 has finished the second stage]

[The Killers have won]

[The Second Stage has been completed]

"This guy..."

In the distance, Kim Seojin watched the things that had transpired.

He was more certain than anyone else. The Regressor didn't help anyone. He just made sure that the present wasn't changed from the future that he knew.

He already knew who was going to win from those teams. And he made sure they won while stealing their credit.

After finishing the stage, the Regressor looked back at Kim Seojin in the distance.

The Second Stage was over. All that was left was to see the Contribution Ranking and find out the winner of this bet.

[The Second Stage has been completed]

[The Scores from the first two stages have been combined]

[Contribution Ranking]

It was the thing that everyone was waiting for. A ranking screen appeared in front of everyone.

[1] [Kim Seojin] [1049 Points]

[2] [Lee Taehyung] [538 Points]

[3] [Moon Sang-hyun] [113 Points]

[4] [Park Minji] [78 Points]

.....

[Players with no Contribution: 279]

[Reminder: The Players with no Contribution at the end of Tutorial will be erased]

Lee Taehyung looked at the screen before him, going through the names again and again.

'This doesn't make sense. He had no points in the first stage. How could he get over a thousand in the second stage?'

Kim Seojin had been with him all this time. Both of them had killed one Killer from their team. And he had killed people from other teams as well.

It didn't make sense for Kim Seojin to get so many points with just one kill.

"How did you do it?" he asked Kim Seojin after walking back.

He wasn't angry. He was just surprised. He had lived through so many regressions, but this was something that even he couldn't understand.

He felt like a librarian who had read all the books in the library multiple times, only to find out a book about which he knew nothing.

"You were right. It was impossible to surpass your score with just the points received in the second stage. But what if one was lucky and had a unique achievement?"

Kim Seojin didn't care about hiding this. Unlike the Regressor, he couldn't go back in time. This was the only life he had. If he died here, it was over for him.

He already used this trick, so it was useless for him now. If he could get the trust of the Regressor, it was worth more than these thousand points.

"A unique achievement? Did it have something to do with you killing that man after the first stage?"

"That's right. I became the first person to kill a Player outside the Stage. So it came as a unique achievement."

"So that's what it was. I had no chance to win this bet from the start. That was clever."

Lee Taehyung sat down, his back resting against a tree.

He wasn't angry. If anything, he was amused. It had been a long time since something happened in his life that surprised him.

It was a refreshing feeling. He had forgotten how many lives he lived, going by the same cycle, trying to change the future.

This was the first time something like this had happened. Kim Seojin had done something that he didn't think was possible, and it was just the beginning of his current Regression.

"This time, it might actually be different."

"Are you jealous?" Kim Seojin asked proudly. "I'm the top ranker."

"Are you sure you want to flex before me? You do know, I can kill you and take those points, right?"

"You won't. Because that's what I use that bet for. My wish for you is that you aren't allowed to kill me yourself or have me killed by others."

Kim Seojin didn't know what kind of future was in store for him. But he knew that the Regressor was dangerous.

He wanted to ensure his own safety before even thinking about teaming up with this loose cannon.