Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 3

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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 3. The Mythic Accomplishment
Park Chan-woo was one of humanity’s five strongest.
First, he had reached the cap of Level 99 for the fourth time.
Among the Awakeners at Level 99, he alone possessed the Dual Class, making him an object of reverence.
Yet no matter how many times he broke through the level cap or how many treasures he accumulated, he could never match a Master Species like Sephiro the Dragon God.
Simply put, they occupied a different tier.
‘Humans push against the threshold of the Tenth Tier, but Master Species are monsters that transcend the Thirteenth.’
Those who crossed boundaries used the term “tier” to express strength.
For instance, the First Tier corresponded to human levels one through ten.
Humanity, with its maximum level of 99, could never surpass the boundary of the Tenth Tier, no matter how strong it became.
Moreover, without undertaking a Limit Break Quest every ten levels, no further leveling was possible.
Once Level 99 was reached, even the Limit Break Quest ceased to appear.
But the Twelve Master Species were different.
They grew stronger simply by breathing.
They drank water, slept, and naturally transcended Level 100.
And what of their ruler, the Twelve Master Species themselves?
A sovereign. An absolute. A monster of another dimension. No description sufficed for these “apex” beings.
‘…The last time I saw Sephiro’s true form, it was beyond even that.’
Distasteful as the memory was, the Dragon God Sephiro exceeded any Master Species Park Chan-woo had ever encountered.
Especially his true body—that transcendent dragon lay entirely beyond the realm of comparison.
Was he perhaps the strongest among all Twelve Master Species?
In any case, bridging a thirty-level gap seemed impossible.
Even a gap of ten levels made victory exponentially less likely.
Yet here—a Level 99 him against a Fallen Demon at Level 10?
Simple math: a difference of 109 levels.
‘Nothing is beyond me.’
Park Chan-woo was a Mage.
Though he came to the magical path late, he was one who pursued and pierced through truth itself.
A Mage must aim to transform the impossible into possible, and layer further possibilities upon what already is.
So then.
‘It seems impossible…but possibility exists.’
He would not overlook even the slimmest chance.
The greater the trial overcome, the greater the Abyss’s reward.
With a gap this vast to bridge, he could scarcely imagine what compensation awaited.
“Hey! Park Chan-woo! What the hell are you doing over there!”
That was when it happened.
A man came running toward me from nearby.
He had a sturdy build and a face I recognized from somewhere.
‘Who was it again?’
Park Chan-woo narrowed his brows.
Then he nodded slightly.
‘I think he was my old supervisor.’
At twenty-seven, Park Chan-woo had been working at a company.
It was a securities firm in Ilsan, and the man seemed to be that supervisor who used to curse him out viciously every time performance fell short.
Though Park Chan-woo had quit a few months later due to poor sales, he had long regretted not leaving sooner.
The experience had left him with severe depression and social anxiety.
‘Right. Kim Byeong-han.’
Now it all came back.
The first Abyss opening had occurred during a weekday lunch hour.
He had been caught in it while taking a walk in the Park near the company.
Kim Byeong-han had likely been swept in for similar reasons.
Though they had never directly encountered each other in that first Abyss.
They had both been too busy hiding—hardly surprising, all things considered.
“Chan-woo. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” Kim Byeong-han asked as he drew near, his tone thick with concern.
Then his eyes drifted toward the Dorungdo.
‘Damn. I need a weapon to protect myself.’
Since the Abyss had opened, the Park had become hell.
Some monster had emerged and was slaughtering people.
Every available hiding place was packed with survivors, so staying still meant only death by the creature.
He had to act now.
That was when he spotted Park Chan-woo.
His subordinate near the lakeside, gripping an enormous sword.
With that blade alone, he’d be unstoppable.
He could drive people away and hide in a good spot.
At worst, he could attack monsters or use Park Chan-woo as monster bait.
Though Park Chan-woo held quite a large sword, he was introverted and timid by nature.
‘Lucky me. Finding a pushover here of all places.’
To Kim Byeong-han, Park Chan-woo was nothing more than a tool to exploit.
A little coaxing and flattery, the same as always, and he’d obey.
“It’s dangerous out here. Stay with me, yeah? If you wander around alone, that monster will eat you alive.”
“Long time, pig.”
“Pig? What did you just call me?”
Shing.
Park Chan-woo raised the Dorungdo and brought it close to Kim Byeong-han’s throat.
“Gah—! What the hell are you doing, you bastard? It’s me! Team Lead Kim Byeong-han!”
Despite its attack power of only 1, it looked like a perfectly normal sword.
Unaware it was a -99 Level blade, Kim Byeong-han went rigid with fear.
“Y-you idiot! Park Chan-woo! What are you doing?! Put the sword down right now!”
“Keep yelling and the Fallen Demons will come. If you want to be eaten, go ahead and scream more.”
“Kh……!”
Kim Byeong-han clamped his mouth shut immediately.
Then he stared at Park Chan-woo with an expression of complete disbelief.
‘Did this maniac take something? Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’
This had never happened before.
Park Chan-woo always obeyed without complaint, taking whatever was thrown at him.
Whenever stress built up, Kim Byeong-han would humiliate him, tell him he was useless to the company, order him to pack his things and get out. He’d done it often.
But not once had Park Chan-woo ever pushed back.
And now this coward was holding a blade to his throat.
“Chan-woo, let’s not do this. Can’t we just talk—?”
“Forward.”
“…What?”
“Move forward if you want to live.”
Tap. Tap.
He poked the sword point repeatedly into the back of Kim Byeong-han’s skull.
‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’
Kim Byeong-han glared at Park Chan-woo, anger flashing across his face.
And then—
‘What… what is that?’
Eyes he’d never seen on Park Chan-woo before.
A cold, emotionless gaze that met his own.
In this chaos, Park Chan-woo showed no hint of agitation whatsoever.
‘Was he… always like this?’
No.
Park Chan-woo was weak.
In a situation like this, he was the kind of man who would panic and faint—fragile in both mind and body.
But this Park Chan-woo was someone else entirely.
More like a ghost. A malevolent spirit.
Had the Abyss opening driven him truly mad?
The old adage surfaced in Kim Byeong-han’s mind: a kind man who crosses his limit and loses his reason becomes the most terrifying person in the world.
“Fine, fine. I’m going. I’ll go.”
Kim Byeong-han walked forward slowly.
Kiiiiiiiii—
The cry of a Fallen Demon echoed from not far away.
Tap.
“Forward.”
“But there’s a monster right up ahead……”
“For… ward.”
Had he actually gone insane?
Unless he meant for them to die together!
‘Damn it……!’
Kim Byeong-han bit his lip.
If he’d known it would come to this, he wouldn’t have come at all.
Who could have guessed that Park Chan-woo would lose his mind to this degree?
Yet he couldn’t refuse.
Park Chan-woo held the blade.
After a few more steps forward.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Ugh……!”
A man and woman nearby met their end at the hands of a Fallen Demon.
He watched it happen in real time.
In the end, Kim Byeong-han could no longer move.
His mind had gone blank white.
That was the moment.
“Ah, ah…….”
Their eyes met.
His and the Fallen Demon’s.
Kiii, kiiiiiii!
The Fallen Demon changed its target.
It began charging straight at Kim Byeong-han.
‘I’m, I’m going to die!’
Kim Byeong-han’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.
He wet himself and clenched his eyes shut.
“Just as I thought. It doesn’t perceive me at all.”
In that instant, Park Chan-woo stepped in front of Kim Byeong-han.
Using Kim Byeong-han as bait, he could now be certain.
Even as the Fallen Demon drew near, it only had eyes for Kim Byeong-han.
He’d deliberately stepped back a little further, yet the demon’s target never shifted.
All eight of its eyes saw only Kim Byeong-han.
‘One test remains—whether it perceives an attack even if it can’t see me.’
Non-existence.
The lack of presence was now certain.
But whether it could recognize his very existence was something that still needed testing.
“Piss-pants. If you want to live, run like a dog toward the lakeside.”
Park Chan-woo pointed toward the lakeside.
“Hgh, hghaaaaaah!”
Kim Byeong-han regained his wits, scrambled to his feet, and bolted in the direction indicated.
Kiiiiiiik!
The Fallen Demon pivoted and gave chase.
Park Chan-woo steadied his breathing.
And the moment the Fallen Demon passed by him.
‘A Fallen Demon’s weak point lies below the navel.’
The passage through which magical force flows.
Being the most vulnerable spot, a solid punch there dealt considerable damage.
Park Chan-woo drove the Dorungdo precisely below the demon’s navel.
Clang!
“…….”
In an instant, the Dorungdo bounced away.
‘Insane…….’
He was at a loss for words.
He’d never imagined that despite being a blade, it wouldn’t even leave a mark—it would simply bounce off entirely.
A strength of 1 combined with an attack power of 1: a maddening collaboration.
His shoulder throbbed as if it might dislocate.
Kik?
The Fallen Demon, now standing still, tilted its head in confusion.
It must have felt something strike it, and so it had no choice but to halt.
The Fallen Demon turned its gaze toward Park Chan-woo.
“……I offer the Dorungdo as a sacrifice to strengthen my body for ten seconds. God of Sacrifice, hear me.”
《You have offered the ‘Dorungdo’ as a sacrifice to the God of Sacrifice.》
《The ‘Dorungdo’ is a treasure of Epic grade.》
《More offerings are required to revive the God of Sacrifice.》
《For 10 seconds, Park Chan-woo’s entire body activates Lizard’s Vigor (Strength +20).》
《After 10 seconds, the Dorungdo will vanish as a sacrifice.》
The God of Sacrifice did not answer.
Instead, a system message materialized with similar implications.
Offering up a high-grade treasure for only 10 seconds of enhancement.
Since his base stats had always been low, the boost was rather substantial.
‘The contract still holds.’
After all, it was a covenant sealed into his very soul.
As long as his soul existed, the God of Sacrifice could not help but follow.
‘But a sacrifice for resurrection?’
The one thing that troubled him was the phrasing—a sacrifice for “resurrection.”
Keeeeeee!
…There was no time left to think further.
At last, the Fallen Demon succeeded in fully perceiving Park Chan-woo.
Crisis.
But crisis was said to be opportunity.
Park Chan-woo gripped the Dorungdo at an angle.
Close enough that their breath mingled; a miss was not an option.
With all his strength, he drove the Dorungdo through the Fallen Demon’s abdomen.
Thwunk!
The blade of the Dorungdo sank deep, carving a crater.
Then he twisted it.
Keeeeeee!
The Fallen Demon shrieked.
But it did not die.
He had to finish it within the 10 seconds.
Thwunk!
Crack!
Blood sprayed across his face.
Even as gore obscured his vision, he did not falter.
He continued to slash with the Dorungdo, annihilating the Fallen Demon’s weak points.
Stab, slash, twist, stab again.
In just over 10 seconds, Park Chan-woo’s entire body was drenched scarlet with blood spattered from the Fallen Demon.
Crash!
At last, the Fallen Demon collapsed to the ground.
And simultaneously.
《The Dorungdo is offered as a sacrifice and vanishes.》
The form of the Dorungdo faded, then disappeared without a trace.
That was not the end.
《Condition of ‘Muscle Soreness’ sets in.》
《Condition of ‘Anemia’ worsens.》
《Your body is utterly depleted. You have contracted ‘Severe Cold’.》
《Your temperature rises to 41 degrees.》
《You cannot move any further today.》
The backlash crashed over him.
The moment the tension released, every muscle seized as if wracked with cramps.
He had no strength left to endure it.
Park Chan-woo collapsed flat on his back, sprawled like a great cross.
“Ughhhh……!”
He could not move a single finger.
He wondered if this was how he would die.
Just as consciousness began to slip away.
《Condition ‘Limited Lifespan’—you will die within 500 days.》
《Condition ‘Utmost Weakness’—your base stats are fixed at 1.》
《Condition ‘Sickly’—you fall ill and contract curses with ease.》
《Condition ‘Frail’—you are always drained of vigor.》
《Condition ‘Non-existence’—your presence fades to an extreme.》
《To improve these conditions, restore your Level to normal.》
What?
I’m going to die in 500 days?
Park Chan-woo screamed inwardly, but he had no strength left to open his mouth.
It was worse than he’d imagined.
No—far worse than anything he could have conceived.
Yet there’s an old saying: when misfortune passes, fortune follows in its wake.
《The Abyss has ended.》
《824 survivors have successfully made it out.》
《Survival rate: 93.5%!》
《A survival rate that far exceeds all projections!》
《All survivors have obtained a Gold Box.》
《Victory achieved against the Fallen Demon!》
《An unfathomable gap has been closed.》
《This transcends incomprehensibility—it is a miracle.》
《Your level has increased.》
《For achieving a Mythic Accomplishment, a Platinum Box (★★★) has been awarded additionally.》
…….
《The Creators show interest in your deeds.》
《The One Crouched in Darkness offers an Apostle proposal.》
《The Scales’ Observer offers an Apostle proposal.》
《The Whispering Revealer offers an Apostle proposal.》
《The Loose-Tongued Gossip offers an Apostle proposal.》
…….
《If you accept, you may obtain a Class related to that Creator.》
《Moreover, should you enter an Abyss created by that Creator, you may receive their aid.》
Message after message bloomed in his mind.
Staring at them, Park Chan-woo could manage only a single utterance.
“……This is absolutely insane.”

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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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