Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 15. Sniper
《Opening the Black Box.》
《A powerful curse wrapping the contents of the box seeps outward.》
The moment Park Chan-woo opened the box, black smoke began curling out from within.
Woven through the smoke were glimmers of light like tiny, twinkling stars.
‘The Anubis Curse!’
Park Chan-woo stumbled backward in alarm.
He recognized at once that the curse clinging to that black smoke was no ordinary thing.
He had seen smoke like that before.
‘That’s the smoke from the Ancient Anubis Temple—the kind that turned people into monsters.’
There had been a massive Abyss that appeared in Egypt.
In that place, named the Ancient Anubis Temple, everyone who entered had touched that smoke and become monsters.
And yet, people hadn’t stopped entering the Ancient Anubis Temple.
They had all witnessed the Anubis guarding its entrance holding the Staff of Earth.
The Staff of Earth was a final-tier artifact comparable to the World Tree Staff.
Park Chan-woo himself had gone after it, nearly died in the attempt, and barely managed to escape.
In the end, no one had ever cleared the Ancient Anubis Temple.
There was no way to overcome the black smoke that Anubis exhaled, nor the curse that clung to it.
And that was only half of it.
Anubis itself was an insurmountable wall.
Only those who had faced it understood.
The memory was still vivid in his ears.
—Roooooooaaarrrr!
The roar of Anubis, that black beast.
A Top-tier Clan had assembled a conquest team of three thousand hunters and launched an assault, yet they couldn’t overcome a single Anubis. All were annihilated.
After that, the clan dissolved, and the Ancient Anubis Temple received a judgment of impossible to clear.
‘So it was a Black Box because it contained a curse…!’
The contents were wrapped in a curse, as the system had said.
But there was no time to confirm what the contents were.
The smoke had already filled his entire room.
He was about to hurl himself through the window when it happened.
《Easter Egg (001) activates.》
《Luck (1) arrives and the curse is avoided.》
《Another Luck (2) arrives and makes the box’s contents shine brilliantly.》
Poof!
The black smoke vanished without a trace.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
Park Chan-woo’s brow furrowed.
‘…I never thought the Easter Egg’s Luck could dispel the Anubis Curse itself.’
It was the Easter Egg (001) that had erased the curse.
He wondered if that was what was meant by Luck visiting each time a level rose.
…To be honest, he was shocked.
What countless humans had failed to achieve despite their efforts, a mere Normal Grade Easter Egg’s Luck had just accomplished—he would never have dreamed of such a thing.
‘If a Normal Grade Luck can do this much…how powerful must a higher-tier Luck be.’
Indeed, now he understood why the Easter Egg was called a Clear Item.
Overwhelming possibility.
The Easter Egg could crush everything with just that single ‘possibility.’
Park Chan-woo approached the Black Box once more.
White light was now leaking from the box, unlike before.
‘Like Pandora’s box.’
The Black Box looked ominous to the eye.
Because he had opened what should not be opened, all manner of disaster and despair had poured forth.
And so only ‘hope’ remained inside the Black Box.
Park Chan-woo peered carefully at the contents within.
“Hmm…?”
At the same time, his head tilted in confusion.
The contents were somewhat—no, drastically—different from what he had expected.
The phrase about making things shine brilliantly.
Naturally, he had assumed there would be equipment or tools befitting such a description.
“…A clump of fur?”
Inside the box lay a clump of white fur.
Soon the white bundle lifted its bowed head and looked toward Park Chan-woo.
Yip?
《The Luminous Anubis recognizes you.》
* * *
Team Leader Kim Byung-han was in high spirits.
In just one day, the world had undergone a radical transformation.
And Kim Byung-han had seized the opportunity within that upheaval. He’d gained power. He’d acquired a standing that set him apart from ordinary people.
“What’s this? Only this many people came in today?”
Kim Byung-han frowned as he surveyed the office.
No matter how topsy-turvy the world had become, there should have been fifteen people, yet only three had shown up.
“They’re saying the world’s gone to pieces.”
Employee Lee Min-soo spun his chair in a circle, speaking in jest.
His point was that if the world had ended, what was the use of coming to work?
“Gone to pieces? What nonsense. This is what’s wrong with kids these days. Always making excuses to take time off. Tsk.”
Kim Byung-han’s face turned disapproving as he clicked his tongue.
Yet the truth was, ever since the Abyss appeared, the earth had been paralyzed within a single day.
The only reason they’d come in today was to prepare for an emergency.
Even so, there was hardly any work to do.
“You haven’t had any trouble yourself, Team Leader?”
He meant to ask whether anyone among Kim Byung-han’s acquaintances or relatives had come to harm.
According to yesterday’s casualties, South Korea’s death toll had already surpassed one hundred thousand.
Team Leader Kim Byung-han shrugged his shoulders.
“Me? Well, I’ve always been blessed with luck.”
It was as though the heavens themselves were aiding him.
He’d gained the strength to adapt to change, and he’d cultivated connections with Lee Hyuk-soo, whom everyone was calling a “hero.”
If he could only bring Lee Hyuk-soo to his side, he’d have nothing to fear.
That terrible power that had obliterated the Dragon God’s Fortress with a single sword strike.
Just watching it had sent shivers down his spine.
Then, seized by a sudden thought, Kim Byung-han spoke up.
“But where the hell is that bastard Park Chan-woo?”
“Probably cowering at home, blubbering like a mess, don’t you think?”
“That’s about right. The guy should be scared enough, at least.”
“Isn’t that all because of you, Team Leader?”
“What?”
“Since you’ve been taking such good care of him, Chan-woo acts clingy. Ha ha!”
“……You’ve got me there.”
“Team Leader, you’re the best!”
Lee Min-soo gave a thumbs up.
Kim Byung-han shook his head slowly.
In any case, Park Chan-woo was that kind of guy.
Everyone else acknowledged it too—the man was thoroughly timid.
Do as he was told, obey without question.
But the Park Chan-woo he’d seen yesterday was different. So different he couldn’t believe they were the same person.
He still couldn’t forget the look in those eyes as they’d stared at him.
‘It’ll be different now.’
Kim Byung-han clenched his teeth.
If a situation like yesterday unfolded again, it wouldn’t be Park Chan-woo crying and begging for his life, lost in fear—it would be him.
“Look at you, Team Leader. You’re quite the gentleman after all.”
“Yeah right, seriously.”
It was then.
As Lee Min-soo was trading idle gossip with Kim Byung-han, he casually glanced toward the office entrance.
Kim Byung-han followed his gaze, and his face lit up cheerfully.
“Park Chan-woo!”
Park Chan-woo stood at the office entrance.
A smile spread across Kim Byung-han’s face of its own accord.
Walking briskly forward, Kim Byung-han wrapped his arms around Park Chan-woo’s shoulders in a fierce embrace.
“Bastard, I was worried! You’ve been alright since yesterday?”
Crunch!
With all his strength, crushing Park Chan-woo’s shoulders.
With Rare Grade equipment and his level and stats raised, his strength now surpassed that of most professional athletes.
Hiss!
That was the moment.
‘Something’s getting warm down there…….’
Noticing a strange dampness, Kim Byung-han looked down at the floor and couldn’t help but grimace.
“Oh, piss! You moron! Who brings a damn dog to the office!”
On the floor sat a small white tuft of fur.
Small enough to be called a “teacup dog,” it looked like a living ball of white hair rolling about.
Despite the sudden assault, Kim Byung-han cursed, but Park Chan-woo simply went about his business with an unmoved expression.
“Piss-pants. Here.”
Thud.
Park Chan-woo pulled a letter of resignation from his pocket and tossed it.
While the social infrastructure was in motion, he needed to file one to avoid getting tangled up in annoying matters.
“Piss-pants……?”
“Was the team lead a piss-pants?”
The two arriving employees murmured quietly behind them.
Kim Byung-han’s face flushed crimson.
‘So it really was you, Park Chan-woo!’
It hadn’t been a dream.
What had happened in the Abyss during lunch yesterday.
Park Chan-woo had indeed been the one to kill that fallen creature.
There was no other way he would call him “piss-pants” otherwise.
But having endured the Abyss at night, Kim Byung-han had grown.
There was no need to be afraid like yesterday.
“Park Chan-woo. Don’t get cocky.”
“I’ve turned in the resignation letter, so handle it yourself.”
Of course, it was a threat that carried no weight whatsoever.
Park Chan-woo turned his back.
Then.
Grab.
Kim Byung-han seized Park Chan-woo’s shoulder.
“That’s no way to treat your elder, don’t you think?”
……
Park Chan-woo stood motionless, his back still turned.
Watching him, Kim Byung-han grew animated and spoke up.
“Apologize for yesterday. Then I’ll let you go quietly. Otherwise, try threatening me like you did yesterday.”
……
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you’re scared?”
“…It’s an Abyss.”
“Hm? An Abyss?”
Hearing Park Chan-woo’s words, Kim Byung-han’s brow furrowed.
For a moment, he didn’t understand what was being said.
But then Kim Byung-han simply laughed.
“No message appeared at all, so what’s this about an Abyss…… What, what, what is that?”
Then, looking out beyond the door, Kim Byung-han’s pupils dilated sharply.
At first, he thought it nonsense, but the hallway outside the office had transformed completely.
“No, no, why is the hallway like that?”
“Team lead. What’s happening?”
“Uh, um……?”
The employees who came closer couldn’t help but be alarmed.
The hallway was decayed as if abandoned for decades, with cracks running through it.
Soon, the office where they stood underwent a similar transformation.
The world across the globe changed rapidly, as if infected.
There was only one situation that brought about this phenomenon.
“That, that can’t be! No message appeared!”
……When a Sniper Abyss appeared.
Kim Byung-han’s body trembled.
Based on yesterday’s experience, a message appeared the moment an Abyss manifested.
But no message came to mind.
‘It’s a Sniper Abyss.’
Of course, Park Chan-woo understood what this meant.
Some Creator had forcibly opened a Sniper Abyss.
An Abyss that “targeted” a specific person, true to its name.
There are no warnings. It simply arrives one day without notice.
Without a Coin, the odds of surviving a Sniper Abyss exceed 95%.
Some said it was 99%.
‘Was I the one targeted?’
It had only been two days.
Which Creator wanted him dead badly enough to open a Sniper Abyss?
Park Chan-woo, who had bankrupted four Creators yesterday—could it be him they wanted dead?
‘…If they knew I bankrupted those Creators, they’d know I have Coins too.’
Park Chan-woo possessed seven Coins.
And a Creator who knew he had Coins wouldn’t simply open a Sniper Abyss on him.
The standard tactic was to force him to expend his Coins in other Abysses first, then open the Sniper Abyss.
Was this revenge for bankrupting those Creators?
That didn’t sit right either.
Creators had no loyalty among themselves.
They were indifferent to one another.
In fact, they were the type to cheer gleefully whenever another Creator went bankrupt.
And he couldn’t recall having made any specific Creator hate him enough to warrant a targeting.
“H-hey, look outside! Look at the sun!”
Everyone turned to look out the window.
And then Park Chan-woo grasped what this Sniper Abyss meant.
Lee Min-soo pointed at the sun with one hand, then shifted his gaze to Kim Byung-han and spoke.
“…Team Lead. Isn’t that your face up there?”
He was right.
…Kim Byung-han’s face hovered above the sun.
“What, what? Why is my face up there?”
Kim Byung-han muttered in disbelief.
And shortly after, a message appeared before everyone’s eyes.
《Find and kill the person floating above the sun.》
《Upon Clear, the Abyss will end.》
《Time limit: 72 hours.》
《Failure will result in the appearance of a Death Knight.》
“…….”
Kim Byung-han’s face drained of all color as he read the message.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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