Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 40

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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 40. The Tower of Pride
Upheaval!
It was truly an age of great upheaval.
Everything changed when the Dungeon Abyss appeared across the globe.
Korea had managed to exceed 5,000 points and avoided Invasion, but nations that failed to meet the target score were devastated.
The Invasion Abyss had raged for twenty-four hours.
Seventeen nations failed to achieve the target score.
Over twenty million lives had been erased.
There were even rumors that North Korea’s population had shrunk by more than ten percent.
Every person in the Republic of Korea exhaled in relief.
Had they failed to reach 5,000 points, what would have become of them—the very thought was unbearable.
“We must respond to the Abyss with active measures!”
“The situation has already surpassed what the government alone can handle.”
“The military is not enough. We need civilian cooperation.”
Military weapons were useless in the Abyss.
Since no one knew when or where the Abyss would strike, real-time response proved nearly impossible.
Coordinating military units within those spaces was harder still.
Mere systemic improvements would not solve this problem.
The fundamental systems that society rested upon needed to change.
“We must develop professional Abyss Resolvers.”
“We must grant them special privileges and spare no support.”
“Already, the business sector has been quietly hiring Hunters at sums beyond imagination.”
“…The private sector is moving as well. Countless small groups, and coalitions formed from those groups.”
Ironically, the slowest to respond was the government.
From a civilian perspective, waiting for government action was folly—the Abyss was too merciless a hell.
There was no safe zone left in this world.
To survive, they had to stand together!
Without anyone commanding it, people began gathering in small clusters.
Neighbors whose names they’d never known began to recognize one another, solidarity formed, and that solidarity multiplied endlessly into coalitions.
Organized around districts, or crystallized around the strong.
They sought to prepare for the Abyss that might emerge at any moment.
They had instinctively grasped that this was the only way to survive.
Martial law had become meaningless.
The military could not resolve this crisis.
To endure the unknown hell, they had to unite completely.
And then.
《The Tower of Pride has appeared.》
《This opportunity comes but once.》
《Only Awakeners who have surpassed the First Limit Level may enter.》
《Ascend the Tower of Pride with full preparation.》
《There, display your strength and talent.》
《Countless treasures and destiny await you.》
《And reach the summit, grasping the name of Pride itself.》
《While the Tower of Pride stands, the Abyss shall not encroach upon the lands surrounding it.》
The Tower of Pride rose in various locations across the world.
A form utterly different from the Abyss that had appeared before.
There was no coercion, and no penalty was imposed for failure.
Yet the final line moved the hearts of masses.
“……The Abyss won’t encroach on the area?”
“Three Towers of Pride appeared in Korea!”
“Seoul, Daejeon, Busan!”
A tide of humanity crashed forward like waves upon a vast ocean.
People flocked to the Towers of Pride—some seeking personal safety, others desperate to protect their families, all driven by the same instinct to survive.
Yet there were those who grasped the deeper meaning hidden in the message.
“This is clearly different from what came before.”
“Pride? Does that name hold back the Abyss?”
“The creators revere the entity called Pride. Or perhaps they fear it.”
“But what’s the time limit? Why isn’t there a deadline for how long the Tower will remain?”
“What radius does ‘surrounding the Tower’ refer to exactly?”
“…Looks like they’ll decide that from within.”
“We have to go up. We must.”
“The Coalition has to stand together, and the strong must unite.”
Vague explanatory language.
Only by entering would everything become crystal clear.
But the chance to enter comes only once.
Awakeners who’ve broken through the first Limit Level account for barely one percent of current humanity.
From among them, we had to separate the wheat from the chaff.
That didn’t matter.
Massive crowds were already converging on Seoul.
And wherever people gathered, trouble was bound to follow.
* * *
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Young man in 505! You in there?”
Someone was pounding on the door.
At the same time, he felt the presence of people outside.
“Isn’t he already dead?”
“No. Someone said they saw him coming and going.”
Neighbors from the same apartment building.
Dagon vanished at once, and Bok-sil tucked himself deep inside his shirt.
Park Chan-woo approached the door calmly.
He knew well enough why they’d come.
“May I help you?”
“Ah! Young man in 505—you’re alive? It’s me, Dong Leader!”
“Yes, I’m alive.”
“Phew! Listen, about this Tower of Pride that’s appeared—I’m thinking everyone in our building should move together. Don’t you think it’s better if we neighbors stick together?”
A similar situation had happened around this time before.
The residents of Building 105 had united and moved toward the Tower of Pride near Seoul.
Currently, the area around the Tower of Pride was swarming with countless people.
Moving alone meant you couldn’t secure your position.
Only with numbers and a strong person among you could you be assigned a spot within the Tower of Pride’s sphere of influence.
Dong Leader must have known this and was gathering people accordingly.
‘What should I do?’
Park Chan-woo hesitated for a moment.
He’d have to move to the Tower of Pride’s entrance in order to enter anyway.
Going alone would make it difficult just to reach the entrance.
‘Non-existence only activates in the Abyss.’
It doesn’t work in reality, on Earth.
Moreover, in all likelihood it wouldn’t activate in the Tower of Pride either.
‘The Tower of Pride isn’t the Abyss.’
Things that appear bearing the name Pride have no connection to the Abyss.
They’re treated merely as belonging to Pride’s domain.
A tower has simply risen on Earth.
Wasn’t that remarkable?
Something affecting Earth despite not being the Abyss.
For this reason, the Lords of the Abyss treated the name Pride with great importance.
The fact that no Abyss appears in the nearby area stemmed from the same logic.
It mattered that much.
But humanity didn’t know the reason.
No creator had revealed it.
Which meant: reaching the Tower of Pride, and climbing it, would be difficult without Non-existence’s aid.
‘The creators will spare no effort in securing their incarnations.’
A flood of Awakeners who’d broken through the first Limit Level would appear.
They might even court him.
He had no intention of accepting, of course, but he needed to move carefully.
“Understood.”
“Good thinking! That’s the spirit—we have to pool our strength at times like this!”
“I’ll prepare and head out.”
“Take your time getting ready. Let’s meet in front of the building in an hour!”
Moving with them wasn’t a bad choice.
Dong Leader had drive and initiative, and he’d prove quite useful in getting closer to the Tower of Pride.
“…Are you thinking of climbing the Tower of Pride?”
Dagon’s voice came from behind him in that instant.
“‘Pride’ carries quite symbolic meaning for demons, doesn’t it?”
Park Chan-woo glanced sideways at Dagon.
Dagon nodded in response.
“The Lord of Pride doesn’t exist in the Abyss.”
“How can something that doesn’t exist wield influence?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know. The Lords above Demon King level might understand, but…….”
The Lords would never speak of Pride.
Just as they never spoke of Sephiro’s name.
To them, the name Sephiro was a shame that must never be uttered.
The one who killed one of the great Ten Lords, an absolute deity of the Abyss.
This was the first time anything like this had happened since the Abyss was born.
“Be careful. Now that the Tower of Pride has risen, even the Lords who had no interest in Earth will begin to take notice.”
Dagon spoke with sincerity.
If his identity were ever exposed to the Lords.
They would never leave Park Chan-woo alone.
They would try to erase everything connected to the name Sephiro.
Even Dagon himself, bound by contract to him.
“Don’t worry.”
Park Chan-woo answered with deliberate calm.
This was different from anything he’d experienced in the Abyss so far.
There was no need to bankrupt the Creators or stand opposed to them.
Climbing the Tower of Pride.
It was something he had to accomplish with his power alone, nothing more.
Shallow tactics wouldn’t work here.
‘I’m prepared enough.’
Still, it was fine.
The achievements he’d accumulated thus far were far from insignificant.
The World Tree’s Staff, the Frost Helmet, Arahan’s Golden Mystery—brilliant equipment like gems, and even the divine beast Bok-sil.
He’d grown relentlessly for this alone.
He’d pushed forward without rest from the very beginning, driving forward like a madman.
The Tower of Pride.
To stand at a summit no one had ever reached!
* * *
Thus, a crowd numbering some eighty people arrived at the Tower of Pride.
“Wow…….”
“Looks like all of Korea’s here.”
“This is insane, really…….”
The people couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
The throngs, the sheer press of bodies—there were far too many.
The tower was visible, but drawing close enough to reach it seemed impossible.
“Don’t push, you bastards!”
“You want to die?”
“Aaah!”
A sea of humanity.
As people gathered, conflict erupted.
Injuries mounted, yet everyone just kept shoving forward.
Among the chaos, some people were shouting into megaphones.
“Are there any Level 11 or higher Awakeners here?”
“We can escort those who’ve broken through Limit Level and their parties up close to the Tower of Pride!”
From a distance, recruiters were calling out to the masses.
They were scouts sent by high-level Awakeners positioned near the tower.
They were offering special treatment to those who’d surpassed Limit Level and their companions.
“How do they even know if you’re Level 11 or higher?”
“Can’t people just lie and get in?”
Some voiced complaints.
But the recruiters remained confident.
“You can try forming a party. Anyone who knows about this system will understand—if there’s a level difference of 10 or more, you can’t form a party.”
“Our recruiters are Level 1! We can’t form parties with anyone Level 11 or above.”
There exists a way to filter out lies.
At that, a man stepped forward.
“I’m level 12.”
“We’ve confirmed it. You’re right—the party doesn’t form. How many people came with you?”
“Around fifty?”
“Everyone, please line up and follow us. Our Coalition will clear the path for you.”
Those with strength held all the cards.
Under the name Coalition, lawless men moved freely near the Tower of Pride.
Their numbers were great, and their high-level hunters numerous enough that ordinary people couldn’t object to their order.
Dong Leader was taken aback.
He’d assumed that with enough people, they could simply approach the tower.
So strength—or the lack of it—mattered more than sheer numbers!
“…Is there perhaps anyone in our building with a level of 11 or above?”
“We have someone at level 9, but…”
The highest-level man in the building was a 9.
That meant he hadn’t yet broken through the Limit Level.
Dong Leader raised his hand and asked.
“Would level 9 not be acceptable?”
“It won’t be. Go hunt in the Abyss for a bit, raise your level, and come back. If your numbers are large and you cooperate actively with our Coalition, we can move you a little deeper inside—but not before that.”
His words were uncompromising.
At this, the people from the building stared at the level 9 man.
“……Staring at me like that won’t change anything.”
The man frowned and shook his head.
He’d come this far to escape the Abyss.
He had no intention of facing that danger alone.
The situation seemed hopeless.
Then it happened.
“Park Chan-woo! You were alive?”
Someone called out Park Chan-woo’s name with evident joy and appeared.
Park Chan-woo turned his head.
‘…Kim Byung-han?’
Fate or misfortune, he couldn’t say.
The one who had called his name was none other than Kim Byung-han.
The man who had survived the sniper Abyss before was standing before him again.
“Whoa…”
“Who is that guy?”
“Golden armor?”
“And he came riding a tiger!”
“His level must be insanely high!”
……And he arrived in such a dazzling display.

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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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