Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 21

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

Episode 21. The Savior
“…This is insane.”
The words spilled out unbidden.
The moment Park Chan-woo saw it, a tight pressure bloomed in his chest.
Two days of forced marching, all that accumulated exhaustion—it evaporated in an instant.
The highest grade potential ability!
The odds of drawing the highest grade from a ‘Potential Ability Scroll’ were less than one percent.
It was already hard to find one, and now he’d gotten the maximum rank too?
There could be no greater fortune in this world.
Park Chan-woo drew a deep breath and turned his full attention to the World Tree Staff.
Name: World Tree Staff
Level: -98
Grade: Eternal
Description: A staff crafted by Agzos, the god of blacksmiths, using the World Tree as its material. According to legend, in ages past, during a civilization where magic had reached its highest development, only those called the “Archmage”—the greatest mages of their era—could wield this staff.
Equipped Slot: One-Handed Staff Weapon
Attack Power: 31
Durability: 1,500
Unique Options:
(1) Magic Power increases by 10.
(2) Elevates the grade of all spells by one tier.
(3) Transcends one spell of your choice into ‘Grand Magic’.
Unlocked Potential Abilities:
(1) Vitality +10
(2) Attack Power +49
(3) Attack Power +51
“……Done.”
Park Chan-woo closed his eyes, absorbing the full weight of what he’d gained.
Two days without rest, pushing forward without pause.
Not a single hour of sleep, throwing himself into the Abyss like a madman—all of it had been worth it.
This was the crown jewel of all his rewards.
When you applied a Potential Ability Scroll, three random options would be added, but the range of outcomes shifted depending on the grade of the equipment.
The result: he’d drawn vitality +10 and two attack power options that reached into the fifties.
True to its name of “highest grade,” the World Tree Staff had been pushed to the absolute limit of its current capacity.
‘All three options are exactly what I need.’
More than that, the added potential abilities were flawless.
Park Chan-woo had been battling a catastrophic ‘Status Abnormality’ problem.
Weakest, Sickly, and Frail—a three-stage combination.
All pure stats locked at 1, easily susceptible to illness and curses, perpetually without energy.
The only stat that could help him overcome these ‘Status Abnormalities’ to any degree was Vitality.
He’d been desperate to find a way to supplement his pitifully low vitality.
And given his low level, boosting attack power was equally difficult.
The Potential Ability Scroll had solved both problems at once.
Beyond that, an attack power of 100 was no small figure.
At least at this moment, Park Chan-woo could say with certainty that he possessed the highest attack power of every human alive.
Moreover, for a Mage, “attack power” was something where more was always better.
‘I can easily get another twenty levels out of this.’
Vitality 10 and Attack Power 100.
To close that gap, he’d need to raise his level by at least another ten, maybe more.
With the existing options all being valuable and irreplaceable, it seemed he could keep the staff in active use for a minimum of twenty more levels.
Honestly, even if he raised his level by twenty more and acquired a new staff, he couldn’t be confident he’d find anything better than this.
‘All that endless running paid off.’
A contented smile bloomed across his face without effort.
Even though he hadn’t eaten, his stomach felt full. The world that had grown dusk seemed as bright as early morning.
Everything had gone perfectly.
Park Chan-woo invested his Class Level Points without hesitation.
《You have used 1 ‘Class Level Point’.》
《Your ‘Mage’ class has been elevated to Level 5.》
His Mage class level had reached 5.
How far he’d come.
A dream impossible in the past.
In his past life, Park Chan-woo had turned to the path of a Mage far too late.
He’d only reached Class Level 9 after switching to the Mage class at level 90.
How far could he go this time?
Would he finally glimpse the pinnacle he’d dreamed of—the ultimate mastery of magic?
“Status Window.”
Park Chan-woo spoke the words aloud to take stock of himself.
Immediately.
Affiliation: Earth / Human / South Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 68.5kg
Level: -95
Strength 3(1+2)
Vitality 13(1+12)
Agility 3(1+2)
Intelligence 3(1+2)
Mana 21(1+20)
Status: Weakest, Sickly, Frail, Non-existence, Limited Lifespan
Total Attack Power: 159
Total Defense Power: 46
Class: Mage (5Lv)
Available Magic: Reflection (Great Magic, Rare), Heavenly Punishment (Lightning Magic, Rare)
Remaining Class Level Points: 0
Currently Equipped Items:
World Tree Staff (-98Lv, Eternal)
Frostborne Helm (-95Lv, Legendary)
Demonic Armor (-98Lv, Epic)
Demon’s Pauldron (-98Lv, Epic)
Demonic Gauntlets (-98Lv, Epic)
Intoxicating Belt (-95Lv, Unique)
Demonic Boots (-98Lv, Epic)
Iron Shield (-98Lv, Rare)
Abyss Items in Possession:
Easter Egg (001), Mage’s Stone (Mana +3, Legendary), Void (Eternal), Coin (7)
Pet: Radiant Anubis (3lv)
…Excellent.
There was nothing more to see.
Park Chan-woo lowered himself onto the bed at once.
Though he’d lost two and a half kilograms in just two days, that hardly mattered.
He’d gained far more than he’d lost.
‘It feels like ages since I fell asleep in a soft bed.’
He couldn’t even remember when he’d last slept properly in one.
The last time he’d drifted off without worry, without tension—that was at least five years ago.
…He’d always been anxious.
No matter that he was one of humanity’s strongest, ranked fourth in the world to reach level 99—in a world that had crumbled and fallen to ruin, peaceful sleep was impossible.
The Abyss emerged without cease, and the twelve species of monsters hunted and enslaved humans like cattle.
For nearly five years, Park Chan-woo had never let his guard down for a single moment.
No one who’d survived had either.
As time passed, humanity’s destruction became ever more certain, and later, every Creator imaginable descended to torment the survivors.
Unless you entered into an Avatar Contract and offered yourself as bait to lure people in,
or accumulated Coins in mountainous heaps,
…it was impossible to sleep at ease.
It was one reason Park Chan-woo harbored such deep hatred for Avatars.
“…….”
Swish.
Park Chan-woo shifted his position, pressing his back against the wall.
He drew himself into the corner, pulled his knees to his chest, and buried his face.
He even placed the World Tree Staff within arm’s reach, ready to react at any moment.
For the past five years, this had been the only position in which Park Chan-woo had managed to sleep.
Perhaps that was why.
Despite having a soft mattress and blankets, despite being in a situation where he could sleep without worry.
…Only in this position could Park Chan-woo finally drift off.
* * *
Three days since the Abyss appeared.
Humanity could no longer deny that the world was undergoing upheaval.
Over the past two days, they had felt it with every fiber of their being.
Countless people had died.
Without distinction of age or gender, status or class, they fell steadily, relentlessly.
Survivors had endured hell itself, while those fortunate enough to escape the direct assault trembled in acute dread.
The ‘Abyss’ was unknowable—when it would come, where it would emerge, how it would strike.
Against such unpredictable terror, nations and humanity alike stood helpless.
But as the third day dawned.
A greater transformation occurred.
“…What is that?”
“A Dungeon Abyss?”
For the past two days, the ‘Abyss’ had arrived at random.
It respected no schedule, no location.
But on the morning of the third day.
Changes began appearing across the world.
So-called ‘Dungeon Abysses’ had manifested—’gates’ through which the Abyss could be entered.
They had formed primarily before the historical ‘Landmarks’ of nations and peoples.
In Seoul alone, ‘gates’ leading to the Abyss appeared before sites like Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bongeunsa Temple, the statue of King Sejong, and the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
“…If we don’t clear it within the set time, disaster strikes?”
“From now, we have four days. If we fail to clear the Dungeon Abysses and secure a certain number of points, an ‘Invasion Abyss’ will open across the entire nation…?”
Messages cascaded before their eyes all at once, and panic seized the people.
An Invasion Abyss!
Dungeons breached, monsters poured forth—that was what it meant.
‘It’s begun.’
And at that very moment, Park Chan-woo sat on a café terrace near Gwanghwamun, leisurely sipping coffee.
He already knew of today’s great upheaval.
A signal that the true war with the Creators had commenced.
Park Chan-woo began reading through the message slowly.
《Unite your strength and clear the ‘Dungeon Abyss’!》
《This Abyss unfolds by ‘nation’.》
《Over four days, the citizens of each nation must combine their strength, clear the ‘Dungeon Abyss’, and accumulate points.》
《Each ‘Dungeon Abyss’ that appears before a symbolic structure holds a different point value (100~1,000 points).》
《Should ‘South Korea’ achieve a total of 5,000 points within four days, no ‘Invasion Abyss’ will emerge.》
《However, should ‘South Korea’ fail to achieve 5,000 points within four days, ‘Invasion Abysses’ will open across the entire nation, and all monsters from every uncleared ‘Dungeon Abyss’ will pour forth simultaneously.》
《The ‘Invasion Abyss’ will persist for twenty-four hours, and should all dungeons invade, the projected death toll for ‘South Korea’ within twenty-four hours is 3,810,000.》
《Do your utmost to clear as many ‘Dungeon Abysses’ as you can!》
《With unified hearts and combined strength, nothing is beyond your reach.》
‘…Garbage Creators.’
No matter how many times he read it, it was abysmal.
Unite their strength, they said?
Then nothing was beyond their reach?
‘As long as the Avatars don’t sabotage the effort.’
They were the sort to commit every atrocity to obstruct the accumulation of 5,000 points.
Having witnessed the devastation wrought by the ‘Invasion Abyss’, Park Chan-woo knew well what a miserable game this was.
‘We fell short by exactly five hundred points.’
In the past, South Korea had failed to reach 5,000 points, and monsters from several uncleared ‘Dungeon Abysses’ had spilled into the world, massacring the populace.
Over two hundred thousand souls perished, and a pall of darkness descended upon Korea.
‘North Korea suffered far more catastrophically.’
Even so, Korea’s situation was better than the North’s.
North Korea had Dungeon Abysses appear before the statues of Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Il-sung.
No one had dared attempt them, let alone cleared them.
Afterward, every uncleared ‘Dungeon Abyss’ across all of North Korea manifested, and the death toll exceeded a million—a grim tale he’d heard whispered.
‘I only need to clear one.’
Park Chan-woo intended to clear one dungeon and no more.
‘The Water Deity Abyss.’
Clearing the Water Deity Abyss, which connects to the Yi Sun-sin statue, yields exactly one thousand points.
It’s the highest score among all public Abysses that have appeared in South Korea, and boasts overwhelmingly brutal difficulty without question.
‘…I must succeed. I have no choice.’
If he doesn’t clear the Water Deity Abyss connected to the Yi Sun-sin statue, South Korea will never reach five thousand points.
‘The Avatars contracted with the Creator will begin operating in earnest.’
They’ll fight tooth and nail to prevent South Korea from achieving five thousand points.
And among them was one in particular.
‘Humanity’s strongest. The first to reach Level 99.’
Park Chan-woo’s eyes darkened.
The worst, the most powerful Avatar—the one who had posed as humanity’s savior.
‘That bastard will be here too.’
Without a doubt, he would be here.
Somewhere in Gwanghwamun.
“Is there not a single brave citizen willing to enter the Water Deity Abyss with me!”
“We must not flee! We must not turn away! We must all join our strength together!”
“Let’s show those accursed demons what we’re made of!”
Then, from somewhere distant.
……a voice that seemed strangely familiar reached his ears.

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