Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 37

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

Chapter 37. Seven-Star Gold Box
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
A Gold Box?
I’d fed an absurdly excessive number of boxes into the combination—even multiple one-star and three-star Platinum Boxes mixed among them.
Yet the result that emerged was merely a Gold Box!
‘Wasn’t the maximum number of stars that could attach to a box five?’
Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary Gold Box.
Seven stars, no less.
Normally, the number of stars that could attach to a random box was strictly limited.
Five was the absolute ceiling—common knowledge among anyone who’d handled boxes.
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond.
All other specially colored boxes likewise could not be enhanced beyond five stars.
I’d never even heard of a six-star box appearing.
Yet here was a seven-star box, defying all expectation.
…a phenomenon that shattered every convention I knew.
Park Chan-woo himself stood stunned, experiencing this for the first time.
‘More stars were added, but the tier dropped.’
Still, the core problem remained: the box’s tier had fallen.
Despite multiple Platinum Boxes going into the combination, the result had been downgraded to Gold.
This, too, had never happened before.
The standard understanding was that when a ‘Combination Zone’ appeared, the tier went up. I’d never heard of it dropping.
‘…In most cases, a higher box tier matters more than numerical star enhancement.’
No matter how many stars accumulated, tier could rarely be substituted away.
For example, a three-star Bronze Box could never replace an ordinary Silver Box, and a three-star Silver Box could never replace a Gold Box.
Four stars and beyond were said to be different, but the principle held: tier advantage was almost always more absolute than raw enhancement numbers.
Park Chan-woo gazed at the completed seven-star Gold Box and drew a long breath.
‘Considerable fortune went into this. There has to be a reason it became a Gold Box.’
When the combination occurred, the Easter Egg (001) had brought luck flooding in.
The Easter Egg possessed the ability to generate one fortune with each level gain, and the phrase “brought luck” made it abundantly clear that a substantial amount of luck value had been added.
The fortune it delivered was rarely ordinary.
A single piece of luck had once transformed the “Cursed Anubis” into the “Brilliant Anubis.” Beyond that, it had repeatedly improved box rewards and, without exception, had never caused harm.
And now, here was a seven-star Gold Box completed with multiple fortunes poured in.
There had to be some reason the box’s tier had fallen.
But…if by any chance.
If the contents fell short of expectation, the blow would be irreversible.
I’d invested enough boxes to replace my entire gear several times over.
Whoosh.
I steadied myself once more and fixed my gaze on the box.
‘Open.’
《Opening the ‘Gold Box (★★★★★★★).’》
《You have obtained the ‘Golden Mystery of Arahan!’》
Name: Golden Mystery of Arahan
Level: -89
Tier: Ancient
Description: The ultimate ideal that practitioners can reach. A mystery finally completed by one who possessed no ignorance regarding gold, having exhausted every path of learning and refinement—a sage who needed to master nothing further.
Equip Slot: Shoulder (Pauldron type)
Defense: 35
Durability: Indestructible
Unique Option: (1) A ‘Golden Aura’ is generated around the wearer.
(2) Attack power and defense power increase by the number of coins you possess.
(3) When held coins exceed a certain threshold, the tier of ‘Golden Mystery’ upgrades.
(4) Unlocked when possessing 100 or more coins
(5) Unlocked when possessing 500 or more coins
“……!!”
My eyes flew wide open.
The impact hit like a cudgel striking the skull.
The reward that spilled from the seven-star Gold Box was that stunning.
Not negative stunning—positive stunning.
‘Arahan!’
The name Arahan carried no small significance.
The ultimate ideal state that a practitioner could achieve.
The title of “Arahan” belonged only to an exceedingly rare few practitioners worthy of it.
It meant one had reached the pinnacle of a single discipline.
So the Golden Mystery of Arahan meant mastery in the realm of gold itself.
‘Indestructible, power rises according to the number of coins possessed.’
Fantastic in every sense of the word.
The value of gold lies in its eternal indestructibility.
Equipment bearing an indestructible option was virtually nonexistent even in the Abyss.
There was even a saying that “indestructible” gear was harder to find than stars in the sky.
Moreover, attack and defense rose according to the number of coins possessed, the grade could be elevated, and there remained room for further “unlocking” as well.
‘There’s no limit to grade elevation. Could it possibly climb all the way to Zero Grade?’
Zero Grade equipment emerged only from the Diamond Box.
The Diamond Box could only be obtained after reaching level ninety-nine, so it was a distant grade for Park Chan-woo.
If the Golden Mystery of Arahan raised its grade according to coins possessed with no upper limit, it could certainly aspire to Zero Grade!
Park Chan-woo quickly examined the Golden Aura he’d just acquired.
Name: Golden Aura
Description: Shares its aura with the aura-bearer and those of deep connection. The ability of the “Golden Aura” is equivalent to option two of the “Golden Mystery of Arahan.”
Increased attack and defense: 41
Beings with aura applied: Park Chan-woo, Brilliant Anubis
‘……It stacks.’
The Golden Mystery’s option and the aura’s ability overlap.
Which meant attack and defense rose by double the number of coins possessed.
With forty-one coins currently held, both attack and defense rose by eighty-two total through the equipment’s option and aura’s ability.
……Insane.
Absolutely, utterly insane.
‘No wonder I’m called the Creator’s natural enemy.’
Coins that could only be obtained by bankrupting a Creator.
Their uses had just multiplied.
He could escape the Abyss with them, trade with them, or simply by holding them, his stats rose.
Unlocked options, and with grades rising according to coins possessed—he couldn’t even imagine how much stronger the gear could become.
And yet the Golden Mystery of Arahan was armor.
Armor with attack power options was extraordinarily rare.
On top of that, it carried an aura.
A treasure among treasures with rarity stacked upon rarity.
A mystery born from astronomical odds—it was impossible not to rejoice.
《Unequipping ‘Demon Pauldron (-98Lv, Epic)’.》
《Equipping ‘Golden Mystery of Arahan (-89Lv, Ancient)’.》
The moment he equipped it, golden radiance bloomed across both shoulders.
The aura’s light immediately linked with Brilliant Anubis as well.
This was the strength of an aura.
Strengthening together.
‘It would apply to pets, summons, or party members and so forth.’
Though he didn’t know the precise criteria for deep connection, if it applied to Brilliant Anubis, he could certainly expand that range further.
Excellent.
Assuming he held multiple coins, the Golden Mystery of Arahan was equipment capable of rivaling Eternal Grade or exceeding it.
…Now there remained only one thing.
‘The World Tree Fruit.’
What he’d planned to consume once the Dungeon Abyss ended.
A fruit that erased all negative status ailments.
Perhaps the Extreme Weakness, Frailty, Feebleness, Non-existence, and Limited Time he currently carried could be negated by it.
Of course, he’d gained considerable benefit from Non-existence, but strictly speaking, it was also a debuff.
‘I really hope the Limited Time gets cleared.’
A status ailment where death came within five hundred days without removing the Negative Level.
Yet no matter how he considered it, removing the Negative Level within five hundred days seemed impossible.
He still needed to raise another ninety levels, and even with abnormally fast growth, there were limits.
Even if not all status ailments vanished, he at least hoped the Limited Time curse would be removed.
He slowly withdrew the World Tree Fruit and placed it in his mouth.
Gulp!
《You have consumed the World Tree Fruit.》
《A miraculous effect settles within your body.》
《Cleansing negative status ailments.》
《Cleansing status ailments.》
《Cleansing status ailments.》
《Cleansing status ailm……》
《Unable to cleanse.》
……What did it just say?
Unable to cleanse? What on earth was that supposed to mean?
The efficacy of the World Tree Fruit is absolute.
It can break even a custom-tailored curse that the creator wove through the Sniper Abyss!
《The efficacy of the ‘World Tree Fruit’ has been nullified by the ‘Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God.’》
《The ‘Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God’ has shortened the time limit of ‘Limited Time.’》
《To restore the time limit of ‘Limited Time’ to its original duration, an offering must be made to the ‘God of Sacrifice.’》
Whoooosh!
In an instant, a cold wind rushed across him and everything before his eyes went dark.
He could see nothing.
The world was swallowed by shadow.
‘The Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God?’
Why had that name suddenly emerged from nowhere?
The Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God was originally the vessel that had imprisoned the God of Sacrifice.
It wasn’t something Park Chan-woo possessed now.
Yet the message claimed that this very object had nullified the status ailment effects of the World Tree Fruit.
Worse still, it had shortened the time limit itself.
Something impossible was happening.
To begin with, the Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God had been used as an offering to return to the past.
Something lost could not suddenly reappear.
‘Wasn’t the Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God consumed as an offering?’
And why it would nullify the effects of the World Tree Fruit—he couldn’t begin to fathom that.
Park Chan-woo gritted his teeth.
The darkness was steadily closing in.
He knew it instinctively.
This darkness was death.
As the time limit shortened, death drew near.
To counteract this, he would need to make an offering to the God of Sacrifice.
‘The God of Sacrifice still aids me. But the Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God is driving me toward the cliff’s edge.’
He thought with cold clarity.
When he had returned to the past, the God of Sacrifice had vanished without a trace, yet the system the god had left behind continued to operate.
Similarly, if something remained within the Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God after it disappeared, and that something was now functioning……
Wait.
What had been inside the Holy Grail of Sealing Demon God?
‘…Sephiro.’
Half of Sephiro.
Could it possibly be connected to the status ailments like Limited Time?
Was his curse gnawing away at me all this time?
…Could the silence of the God of Sacrifice be related to this as well?
《Offering the ‘Demonic Helmet’ as sacrifice.》
《Offering the ‘Demon Pauldron’ as sacrifice.》
《Offering the ‘Demonic Boots’ as sacrifice.》
《The offering is woefully insufficient.》
He had offered everything he didn’t need, but still it wasn’t enough.
To offer something of true value, he would have to sacrifice his equipped gear and coins—inevitably.
But he couldn’t do it.
Even if he did, death would come for him anyway.
He couldn’t let all his efforts up to this point come to nothing.
‘I may die, but I cannot let this go.’
His vision blurred.
He sank deeper into the engulfing darkness.
He tried desperately to steady his mind, but couldn’t.
Squeak! Squeak!
At that moment, a familiar sound reached him from somewhere.
Just before consciousness slipped away.
Like a hallucination or phantom voice…….
In that instant.
《’Brilliant Anubis’ offers ‘himself’ as a sacrifice.》
A miracle had occurred.

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