Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 48

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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 48. Clear
Kankun lay sprawled on the floor, unconscious, arms and legs splayed wide.
Park Chan-woo opened his mouth, looking down at him.
“You did well, Boksil.”
Squeak!
Boksil burst through Park Chan-woo’s sleeve in a flash.
The Death-Devouring Ability that Boksil possessed had worked on Kankun as well.
It had consumed the Death Magic that the witch Adora had woven into Kankun’s heart.
‘Boksil’s consumption of a target’s death has one condition: that target must trust me.’
Blooming the Flower of Life to devour death did not apply to everyone.
Not to the orc priest Yando, and not to Kankun either.
Only after developing a certain level of trust in Park Chan-woo could the Flower of Life bloom.
It meant he could not simply erase death at will.
Park Chan-woo had wagered against Kankun, won, and then rapidly built trust by offering enlightenment.
Thanks to that, the condition was satisfied and the Flower of Life had bloomed.
‘Kankun. He’s quite remarkable.’
Park Chan-woo was genuinely impressed.
What he had given Kankun was merely advice.
Don’t fear magic, don’t be afraid of it, stand and fight!
It was advice anyone could offer.
He had simply added a bit of seasoning to make it easier to accept.
Yet Kankun had immediately severed the Death Magic.
‘A Heart Sword user. Even at max level, it’s not easy to wield…….’
Though he hadn’t severed it completely, that had unmistakably been the Heart Sword.
…He had only meant for Kankun to use Sword Force to remove the magic alone.
But Kankun had heard Park Chan-woo’s words and drawn a sword in his heart.
‘Layer 10. Kankun is a monster capable of extending far beyond that.’
It was extraordinary talent.
This was the first Heart Sword user he’d ever seen among the orcs.
Just how formidable must Adora, who had frightened Kankun, be?
‘…The Tower of Pride wishes for Kankun and Adora to fight again.’
Park Chan-woo stroked his jaw thoughtfully.
The danger had passed, and Kankun’s fear had been erased.
Now all he had to do was cultivate Kankun until he reached Layer 10, then arrange his battle with the witch Adora.
……But was that truly all?
The picture the Tower of Pride desired.
Was it really just making the two of them fight again?
‘Is it thinking of killing one of them in their peak condition and using them as a sacrifice?’
Kankun was the finest orc Park Chan-woo had encountered.
Adora would be as well.
Beings of such radiant talent and power that their very stature transcended dimensions.
Once they ascended to Layer 10, they would inevitably clash.
And one would die, one would survive.
They would reach Layer 11 in their peak condition, at their strongest.
‘Layer 11 is the summit.’
That was the summit.
But no one knew what would happen there.
Given that he’d been told to ascend together, something would undoubtedly transpire on Layer 11 as well.
Park Chan-woo’s thoughts deepened further.
He drew out every clue he could infer from both future memories and present experience.
The warrior Kankun and the mage Adora, growth through Sacred Artifacts, Layer Guardians powerful enough to slaughter everyone, a confrontation on Layer 10…….
And.
‘……I need to examine the Altar.’
The Altar!
There had definitely been an Altar.
The goal was to place a Sacred Artifact on the display case above it, but ultimately the Altar was what made that possible.
He hadn’t paid it proper attention, obscured by the display case and the Sacred Artifact.
It had no special characteristics at all.
Yet thinking back, Kankun had never left the Altar’s side.
Except when placing the Sacred Artifact on the display case, he had threatened to keep it from approaching the Altar.
His massive frame seemed to obscure a portion of the Altar, as if deliberately hiding something.
…Now, while Kankun was unconscious, was the perfect moment.
Park Chan-woo quickly examined the Altar.
‘What language is this?’
But he couldn’t read it.
The script and symbols inscribed on the Altar were nothing like Orcish.
This was no Orc’s Altar.
Wasn’t that suspicious?
An Orc Master guarding an Altar that wasn’t built by Orcs—now that was strange.
Moreover, it was written in a language he’d never seen before.
“Dagon.”
Poof!
The moment Park Chan-woo spoke the name, smoke billowed forth and the demon merchant Dagon materialized.
“…What business do you have summoning me now?”
Again, he sprawled in an awkward posture.
One leg stretched out straight, both hands raised—he’d clearly been sitting somewhere reading.
Park Chan-woo addressed Dagon, who was brushing dust from his form.
“The language inscribed on the Altar—do you know it?”
“Surely you don’t mean to say you don’t?”
Dagon asked, his eyes widening in astonishment.
There was something the Master of Magic didn’t know?
“I could interpret it, but it’s exhausting.”
“Is it because of that Orc?”
Dagon turned his head to look at the unconscious Kankun.
At a glance, he was a formidable creature.
A monster far more powerful than Dagon himself, who was a demon.
The Mana density radiating from him was thick enough to pierce the nostrils.
‘…A creature of tremendous value.’
Through a merchant’s eye, Kankun was top-tier.
He possessed worth that transcended the highest grade and reached beyond.
His raw power alone was in a different league entirely.
Even if one gathered thousands of dungeon bosses that Park Chan-woo had shattered with a single blow before, they couldn’t compare to this one Orc.
Could someone have actually knocked out a monster like this, a creature that even Dagon instinctively wanted to avoid?
And that too, in a human body, without a single wound?
“Yes.”
Park Chan-woo nodded, and Dagon’s eyes flickered.
Dagon had assumed Park Chan-woo was Sephiro, but he’d thought that even a human body had its limits.
Yet if he’d rendered a creature at the 9th Layer unconscious, that changed everything.
‘Truly boundless!’
It was an achievement and majesty befitting Sephiro’s name.
He’d suspected as much since witnessing the summoning of the divine beast.
Now, astonishment gave way to pure reverence.
Dagon swallowed hard and gazed at the Altar.
“…It’s Demon Language.”
“Demon Language?”
“Ancient Demon Language, no longer in use—from ages long past.”
“Can you interpret it?”
“Most demons couldn’t, but I’m capable.”
“As expected, quite competent.”
Park Chan-woo had never encountered a demon who loved books before.
It spoke volumes about Dagon’s knowledge surpassing that of all demons combined.
Upon hearing Park Chan-woo’s praise, Dagon immediately began interpreting.
“…’I shall give you life and grant you light, child of Pride. Ascend to the Summit and become master of the Tower. Do this, and I shall birth you anew as the Lord of the Abyss’…?!”
Having finished the translation, Dagon recoiled in shock.
Park Chan-woo was equally taken aback, though he concealed it.
“Is the Tower of Pride designed to create a Lord of the Abyss?”
“It, it appears so. However, a Lord of the Abyss cannot be made artificially. One must prove oneself and ascend through their own merit. So, to be precise…it seems intended to create a Creator instead.”
Create a Creator?
That was an unexpected answer.
‘A Creator is a qualification. The qualification to freely shape and create within the Abyss’s domain.’
That was what Park Chan-woo understood.
And such a qualification could only belong to the Lord of Pride who ruled the Abyss.
A being who was not the Lord of the Abyss could never become a Creator and freely command the Abyss’s domain.
‘The Lord of Pride. A name that does not exist in the Abyss. He has a true hidden purpose in creating Creators.’
Everything that appeared bearing the name of Pride.
If those things were meant to produce ‘Creators,’
then what was the Lord of Pride scheming to create through those Creators?
Creators are, quite literally, those who create.
They painted the Abyss in their own colors and imposed trials upon it.
When they gathered, they could fashion an entire world.
So then.
“…Is he trying to resurrect himself?”
Park Chan-woo murmured softly.
Had the Lord of Pride created his own Creators and sought resurrection through them?
By fashioning a world befitting his desires, he might resurrect himself—or descend into it entirely.
Yet even in the distant future, the ‘Lord of Pride’ had never appeared directly.
The name of Pride had been heard countless times, but that was all.
“If this fact becomes known, the Abyss will be turned on its head.”
Dagon wore a grave expression.
If someone could deliberately create beings bearing the qualifications of a Creator, the upheaval that would sweep through the Abyss would be beyond reckoning.
Yet the Lord of Pride’s true objective had never been revealed.
Was that not peculiar?
If he had left inscriptions like this on everything related to ‘Pride,’ surely someone would have deciphered them.
‘At this point in time, the name of Pride has appeared on Earth for the first time. This is magic on an unprecedentedly massive scale, and naturally I should inscribe the formula—my objective—upon it.’
The reason was simple.
The name ‘Pride’ had appeared in this world for the first time,
and he had carved the formula upon the Altar.
Only from the first layer of the Tower of Pride could that formula be verified.
It was only natural that, going forward, no one would ever know what the Lord of Pride truly sought.
‘By making one defeated person a sacrifice, was the Lord of Pride planning to create a Creator?’
Kankun and Adora.
He would strengthen both with Sacred Artifacts, subject them to endless trials, and when they had accumulated sufficient standing, pit them against each other.
And the survivor would be made into a Creator—that was the crux of it.
It seemed his purpose was to multiply Creators in this manner and achieve his own resurrection or descent.
…Or perhaps he himself would be created as the true ‘Lord of Pride.’
If he was truly a Lord of the Abyss who did not yet exist, then creation, not resurrection, would be the more fitting word.
Ha.
‘Truly a prideful creature.’
Park Chan-woo shook his head.
“For now, we keep this secret.”
“…I agree that doing so is best for the moment.”
“Go back and finish reading the book.”
“Yes!”
Pop!
As though afraid to linger any longer,
Dagon vanished the moment the words left Park Chan-woo’s lips.
After that, Park Chan-woo turned his gaze to the unconscious Kankun.
‘First….’
Time was running short.
It was time to wake Kankun and set out to hunt Layer Guardians.
* * *
Splat! Splat!
Kankun regained consciousness.
His cheeks stung faintly, though he knew time was pressing.
There was no leisure now to question why his face ached.
“Layer Guardian, creature of magic Trog! I, Orc Master Kankun, hereby challenge you!”
Kankun immediately advanced toward the Layer Guardian’s domain.
Magic no longer frightened him.
Trog, creature of magic.
This bizarre life-form, born of magic, was no different.
It resembled a massive toad, but thousands of tentacles writhed within its gullet.
He had avoided it before—a being made of magic itself—but now, with his newfound clarity and an Intermediate Mana Sacred Artifact on display, Trog was no match for Kankun.
Shriek! Shrieeeek!
He severed the lashing tentacles and drove through the death-fog that Trog exhaled.
Dense mana coiled around Kankun’s heart again, yet it found no purchase.
Kankun drew a sword within his mind, and that Heart Sword cleaved through every death that rushed toward him.
“Remember my name even in death—the great warrior Kankun!”
Kankun crushed Trog’s entire body beneath his blade.
Then Trog’s core shattered.
《The Layer Guardian of the Tower of Pride’s First Layer, Trog, has been vanquished!》
《The path to the Tower of Pride’s Second Layer opens before you.》
《Rewards are granted to all of Kankun’s allies.》
《Greater rewards go to those who displayed Sacred Artifacts.》
Roaaah!
Kankun bellowed.
This surge of victory, this feeling of being reborn as a true warrior.
Then he sought out the one who had made it all possible.
“…?”
But Kankun could only tilt his head in confusion.
“Warrior—where have you gone?”
Kankun had acknowledged Park Chan-woo as a warrior.
As a comrade to fight beside him.
Yet Park Chan-woo, who had been visible only moments before, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did Park Chan-woo go?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t appear to be anywhere nearby.”
The Seoul Alliance members, led by Im Chang-yeol, gave the same answer.
Park Chan-woo.
He had vanished without a trace, as though he had evaporated.
* * *
Park Chan-woo looked around him.
“…?”
A place he had never seen before.
He had been hunting the Layer Guardian Trog alongside Kankun mere moments ago.
The instant the magical creature Trog vanished beneath Kankun’s blade.
《An outcome beyond imagination.》
《’Kankun’ has grasped the Heart Sword!》
《You are his closest confidant and a mighty ally.》
《You have displayed an Intermediate Mana Sacred Artifact in the gallery.》
《As reward, you receive 10 Coins and 3 Boxes of Pride.》
Rewards corresponding to the outcome appeared.
Nothing strange so far.
The problem came next.
《Pioneer.》
《Arrogant one who bears the spirit of ‘Arahan’!》
《The ‘Tower of Pride’ summons you to the faction of the Death Witch Adora.》

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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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