Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 2

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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 2. Actually, Not So Bad?
Level!
When the Abyss opened and humanity Awakened, people could raise their Level like characters in a game.
It was meant to be humanity’s preparation—or perhaps a blessing—to stand against the powerful Twelve Races that would soon attack.
Thanks to this, humanity gained the strength to face monsters.
…Even so, it only changed the gulf between elephant and ant to something like elephant and mouse—but wasn’t having something better than having nothing?
The maximum Level was 99.
Only five people in the world had reached that cap.
In this world, Level was an absolute measure and a guiding star.
Why?
‘Because everything obtainable from the Abyss was based on the Awakened one’s Level.’
Equipment, for instance.
Premium, bespoke equipment imbued with mystery—the kind that could only be obtained from the Abyss!
These were absolutely necessary to fight monsters, and they could only be acquired from the Abyss.
Moreover, the Level of equipment could never exceed the Level of the Awakened one who cleared the Abyss.
‘Damned as it is, Equipment has Level attached to it too.’
Equipment possessed two standards of ‘strength.’
Namely, ‘Level’ and ‘Grade.’
Say an Awakened one at Level 10 obtained a sword at Level 10.
The maximum-level sword an Awakened one could wield.
But if its Grade was poor, it might perform worse than a sword of lower Level.
Conversely, even a low-Level sword with high Grade could overcome a certain Level gap.
At this moment, his greatest problem was undoubtedly Level.
There was an absolute law: the Abyss would not yield Equipment above the user’s Level.
That law was exactly why Park Chan-woo couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
‘…It means even if I clear the Abyss right now, I can only obtain Level -99 Equipment.’
…How did things come to this?
Before the Regression, Park Chan-woo’s Level was 99.
Naturally, all his Equipment were treasures of Level 99.
As one called the mightiest Mage-Swordsman, he wore only the finest Equipment that made anyone’s jaw drop merely to behold.
Of course, if trading or exchange were possible, there would be hope—but all Equipment and tools obtained from the Abyss could only be held and used by the person who obtained them.
If transferred to another, they would simply vanish.
‘Many people took losses at the start from not knowing the Abyss’s rules.’
There were countless who, having barely survived and obtained Equipment, tools, or Skill Books through tremendous hardship, transferred them and watched them evaporate—beat the ground and wept with regret.
…At any rate.
Park Chan-woo checked his Status Window once more, desperately hoping it was a simple error.
Affiliation: Earth / Human / South Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 71kg
Level: -99
Strength (1)
Stamina (1)
Agility (1)
Intelligence (1)
Mana (1)
Status: Weakest, Frail, Feeble, Non-existence, Limited Lifespan
“Cough.”
It was not a misreading.
Stunned into laughter, he coughed—and blood came with it.
‘Coughing alone brings blood, and my entire body has no strength at all. This isn’t a hallucination, it seems.’
A falling snowflake could split his skull; even rain would weigh him down so he’d collapse.
Only then did Park Chan-woo truly sense his condition.
It was real.
He had some idea why he’d ended up in this situation.
―Anything! If what I have isn’t enough, I’ll sell my future! If that still isn’t enough, I’ll offer even my soul as sacrifice…!
When told the sacrifice was insufficient, Park Chan-woo had sold his future.
Yes. He had sold it.
To the god of sacrifice.
And so this terrifying Status Window was complete.
…Was there any meaning in turning back time?
Frail constitution alone was difficult enough—what was this Weakest, and what was Feeble? And what were all these things written below?
‘Limited Lifespan. A walking time bomb, plain and simple.’
It was exactly as it sounded.
It was enough to drive him mad.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath.
If he got worked up, his heart might burst.
“Awakening?”
“Status Window?”
“Wait! What! Something really did appear!”
The people in the park gazed at the Status Window that had manifested, wonder written across their faces.
Time slipped away relentlessly.
《Twenty seconds remaining!》
《Earthlings, prepare yourselves for the shock!》
《The Abyss will open shortly!》
Park Chan-woo walked briskly toward the shoreline.
“Hey, look at that person!”
“He’s just walking into the water?”
Heedless of the whispers around him, Park Chan-woo waded into the lake.
Submerged up to his neck, he kept only his head above water, surveying the situation.
When the Abyss opens, this park becomes hell.
There’s no avoiding it, no escaping in time.
‘I don’t know if I can clear it with this body.’
Though his condition is dire, his memory and experience remain intact.
He knew exactly how it would unfold, exactly what had to be done.
First, the initial Abyss.
The monster that would appear in Lake Park was none other than—
《Time limit reached!》
《The Abyss opens!》
《Hide, hide away~ don’t let your hair show~》
《Survive for one hour against the Fallen Ghost (Level 10)!》
《Eight hundred and eighty-one people are participating in this Abyss.》
《Predicted survival rate: 21.7%》
《Upon clearing the Abyss, you will receive a Box of higher Grade depending on your survival rate.》
《Numerous Hidden Quests exist as well—do not despair and take up the challenge.》
A Fallen Ghost.
A Level 10 monster—a scout.
It’s not among the Twelve Races.
It’s still far too early for them to appear.
But this was threat enough for humanity as it now stood.
Fundamentally, it’s impossible to kill an Abyss monster without an Abyss weapon.
‘There is a way to complete a Hidden Quest, obtain a weapon, and kill the Fallen Ghost—but…’
In his current state, it was impossible.
Even if he cleared a quest, he’d only get a –99 Level weapon; cracking the Fallen Ghost’s skull with an egg would be more realistic.
All Park Chan-woo could do was hide.
‘The Fallen Ghost hates water.’
He could endure for a decent stretch of time like this.
Saving people?
First he had to survive himself.
To plan for the future, he had to get through at least this first Abyss unscathed.
“Oh… oh my, the sky just turned red!”
“Why is the ground like this?”
“What… what on earth is happening?”
Everything changed the moment the Abyss opened.
The sky, the earth, even the trees.
Nothing was as it had been before.
A crimson sky, cracks spider-webbing across the ground, trees pockmarked with holes like human faces, countless roots erupting from the earth—and
Screeeee—
…the Fallen Ghost emerged with a sound most grotesque.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
“A monster! There’s a monster!”
A colossal creature that appeared to be at least three meters tall.
Massive ears, four noses, eight eyes — an aberration of nature!
It reached toward the woman who had screamed first.
Splurch!
Whoooosh!
《First casualty confirmed!》
Its elongated arm severed the woman’s neck clean through.
Blood erupted like a fountain, and panic consumed the crowd.
“Someone’s dead—ah, no!”
“Save me, please!”
《Seven deaths recorded.》
《874 survivors remaining.》
《Time remaining: 59 minutes, 12 seconds.》
Humanity was desperately outmatched in this game.
They had to find a way to combat the Corruption Specter while running for their lives — those were the rules.
Even with all their strength combined, it wouldn’t be enough; and in this chaos, only a handful could think clearly.
‘……Damn.’
This is hell.
Among them, Park Chan-woo, who had been studying the Corruption Specter with cold calculation, grimaced.
In his current state, there was nothing he could accomplish.
Watching from a distance was his only option.
But standing still like this — why did everything feel so wrong?
Eventually, Park Chan-woo moved toward the center of the lake.
The lake was shallow.
A brief swim would carry him to the middle.
“Hup!”
Pinching his nose, Park Chan-woo dove and scanned the lake floor with open eyes.
‘It’s here.’
A box gleaming with golden light.
The Hidden Quest, the hidden equipment — all waiting at the bottom.
Park Chan-woo dove deeper and seized the luminous box.
《Hidden Gold Box discovered!》
《Random Epic-rank equipment acquired!》
《Doryongdo (-99Lv, Epic) now in possession.》
“Hah! Hah! Gasp!”
The moment he broke the surface, his breathing came ragged.
A brief swim had pushed his stamina to its limit.
Bile rose at the back of his throat, leaving a bitter taste.
Park Chan-woo turned his gaze to the Doryongdo.
‘Just as I feared.’
Ill omens rarely deceived.
A sword with a level of -99.
He had hoped otherwise, but his worst suspicion had come to pass.
Park Chan-woo gripped the Doryongdo by its hilt — the blade bearing the etching of a lizard — and waded from the water.
As he ran his eyes across the blade of the Doryongdo, an information window materialized.
Name: Doryongdo
Level: -99
Grade: Epic
Description: A saber imbued with the ‘Essence of the Lizard.’ Though its rank is high, the level is so drastically low that the ‘Essence of the Lizard’ cannot manifest.
Equipment Slot: One-handed weapon
Attack Power: 1
Unique Option: Stamina increases by 1.
‘…I gained Stamina.’
Now that his Stamina had climbed from 1 to 2, the difference was noticeable.
Movement felt less labored than before.
‘But a sword with 1 attack power?’
The number was extraordinary.
Even a rusted blade typically possessed at least 10 attack power.
He supposed he should be grateful it wasn’t negative, at least.
‘…All equipment and objects have what’s called a Minimum Correction Value. It’s impossible for anything to fall below zero.’
Minimum Correction Value.
The lowest stat an object could possibly have.
A weapon’s attack power could never drop below one.
The Minimum Correction Value existed in Status Window stats too.
There was an unspoken rule: all stats could never fall below one.
Level followed the same logic—it couldn’t drop below one either.
But it had.
All the way to –99Lv.
Wasn’t that strange?
No matter how much of his future he’d bartered away.
Similarly, it should have been impossible to hunt a Fallen Ghost wielding a sword with 1 attack power.
As a weapon from the Abyss, the attack would land—but the level gap between the Fallen Ghost and him was a staggering 109.
Even if a hundred million Level 1 hunters existed, they couldn’t defeat a single Level 99 one. A 109-level gap?
Dying would be the faster option.
“Hey! You ugly bastard!”
And yet Park Chan-woo raised his voice.
Among all their senses, Fallen Ghosts’ hearing was the sharpest.
People had begun to realize that Fallen Ghosts attacked whoever made noise first.
Naturally, Park Chan-woo’s shout registered in the creature’s ears above all else.
Shrrieeeek—
But the Fallen Ghost didn’t even glance at him.
‘…I had a feeling.’
Just as I suspected.
Right after Regression, when he’d checked his Status Window, one thing had bothered him—just one.
‘Non-existence.’
An absence of presence.
Or perhaps, an absence of being noticed.
He’d never seen or heard of such an abnormal condition before.
Yet it was listed as an ‘Abnormal Status’—which meant ‘Non-existence’ was clearly taking effect.
The Fallen Ghost didn’t perceive him at all.
It didn’t spare him a single glance, even as he shouted.
Just how far did its obliviousness extend?
Park Chan-woo considered this.
‘…This might actually be good.’
If the Fallen Ghost truly treated him as invisible.
……This might be worth attempting after all.
And besides.
‘What does hunting a monster with a 109-level gap even give?’
His appetite for adventure and discovery, dormant since he’d become a Mage, stirred to life.

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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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