Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 71

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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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Chapter 71. Masterpiece
It made no sense.
Even if that man’s true identity was exalted and pure, a transcendent beyond the ultimate, a being close to omniscience and the primordial source of all things, he was currently operating in a human body.
Yes. Human.
A resident of the planet Earth, which had only recently touched the Abyss.
‘Humans are the most unimpressive race in terms of physical form.’
A bungled body running the gamut of inefficiency. Pathetic talent!
Sephiro was indulging in amusement through a human form possessed of no single extraordinary quality.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Human bodies lack both productivity and efficiency.’
Humans must eat and drink every day.
Go without for merely a few days and they die.
They must rest and sleep at regular intervals to preserve their strength.
Skip sleep for a single night and their performance drops below half.
In Dagon’s estimation, humans were truly a cursed race.
A hapless collective that required far too much merely to survive, yet could accomplish nothing alone.
Park Chan-woo was no exception.
‘……I’ve done all his chores, prepared all his meals, washed all his bedding. Park Chan-woo’s body is unmistakably human.’
He had attended to it personally so many times that he could be certain.
Both on Earth and in the Tower of Pride, Dagon had seen to Park Chan-woo’s needs with his own hands.
Though Sephiro’s soul dwelt within, the body was undoubtedly that of the human Park Chan-woo.
Yet Reputation itself naturally accrues to the body it inhabits.
Clearly, that human body was not Sephiro’s true form.
If so, Reputation should not be shared between them.
And yet the notion that Park Chan-woo had already accumulated Reputation points far exceeding ten thousand was not merely absurd—it was impossible.
‘Unless the flow of time alone passes differently for him……!’
Dagon had observed segments of Park Chan-woo’s story firsthand.
Though he accomplished one remarkable feat after another, Park Chan-woo moved through time like any other human.
He simply wielded and utilized absolute time with greater mastery than anyone else.
Yet there remained limits.
Park Chan-woo had been awakened for merely two months.
Moreover, he had traversed fewer than ten Abysses.
Less than sixty days—an exceedingly short span.
To have explored barely a handful of Abysses and somehow amass over ten thousand Reputation?
‘…He conquered the Tower of Pride. He achieved what even the Twelve Races could not. But still—it’s impossible!’
The sole variable was the Tower of Pride itself.
He could not determine Park Chan-woo’s exact Level, yet the man had certainly experienced far beyond his Level.
But even if a Level 1 encountered a Level 100 trial, the Reputation earned would barely breach three digits.
Dagon had estimated Park Chan-woo’s Reputation at three thousand, maximum.
Seventeen thousand?
He had never imagined such a thing.
It was a figure even the demons of the Abyss rarely attained.
One would need to be a warlord of a minor faction to accumulate that much Reputation, wouldn’t one?
‘……He’s testing me. Sephiro, that capricious king, is testing my nimbleness in this situation. I’m certain of it.’
Ah. He was probing him.
Dangling bait to see how Dagon would conduct himself in such circumstances.
Dagon struggled to calm his bursting heart.
He drew his breath slowly and forced his trembling eyes to still.
A merchant’s spirit was to remain unruffled, to treat every guest with ease regardless of circumstance.
A merchant must behave like a merchant.
Dagon opened his mouth with all the composure he could muster.
“W-w-we h-have other, other good items t-too, and m-many, many more. W-w-wouldn’t you c-care to l-look around a b-bit more… sir!”
……A failure.
Composure had been impossible from the start.
He knew the customer was no ordinary one.
Who was Sephiro?
A god of dragonkind and master of magic—a being for whom no amount of flattery could suffice.
Surely someone of that magnitude would not speak idly for amusement.
Every word, every phrase from that monster bristled with majesty and dominion—such was Sephiro.
Even if he played in a human body, his true nature would remain unchanged.
Park Chan-woo answered.
“For now, these three will suffice.”
For now?
Did he mean he might purchase more later?
“Ah, I understand, sir. Shall I… shall I proceed with the calculation?”
One final hurdle remained.
The purchase.
If his available Reputation fell short, the transaction would never go through.
With trembling hands, Dagon placed the three items on the counter.
The Trace of the Sacred, the Ultimate Gauntlet.
And the Masterpiece Map!
‘But how did he even know the Masterpiece Map was available here?’
The Second Night Abyss.
This Abyss contained twelve shops.
Each shop sold different wares, and some items remained hidden altogether.
Yet the hidden items could never be mentioned by the shopkeeper directly.
Only if a customer spoke the item’s name could it be retrieved—such was the rule.
In short, they were the shops’ Hidden Pieces.
Moreover, the Masterpiece Map was the highest-tier Hidden Piece among them all.
Abyss participants could never even know of its existence, and even if they somehow did, they could never afford it—it was nothing but a mirage.
How had Park Chan-woo learned of it?
‘Don’t doubt. He is Sephiro.’
If it was Sephiro, it was possible.
The very name Sephiro contained all answers.
To doubt that name was to commit blasphemy against an omniscient god itself.
“Proceed with the calculation.”
“…Yes. Then I… shall do so.”
Whoosh!
Dagon borrowed the merchant’s authority and began the calculation.
His hands suddenly blazed with brilliant light.
《Calculation of the Trace of the Sacred is complete.》
《The buyer’s Reputation has been consumed: 3,500 points.》
《Calculation of the Ultimate Gauntlet is complete.》
《The buyer’s Reputation has been consumed: 3,500 points.》
One by one, the calculations proceeded in order.
By now, Dagon’s eyes had gone so wide with shock that only the whites showed.
He had half-doubted even now, but this confirmed he possessed more than enough Reputation.
Yet one item remained.
The Masterpiece Map—a staggering ten thousand points.
The first two items combined couldn’t match this alone.
‘Surely not this one too?’
…Could it really be?
With a mere seven thousand points, Dagon’s achievement already exceeded sufficiency.
If another ten thousand points were added…
First place across every shop and merchant in the Night Abyss would be all but guaranteed.
Given how many shrewd merchants had entered, Dagon—always mocked as last place—would shine all the brighter at the top.
His merchant rank would rise, opening doors to far greater varieties of goods.
Ching!
《Calculation of the Masterpiece Map is complete.》
《The buyer’s Reputation has been consumed: 10,000 points.》
“Gasp!”
It was done.
It had truly happened.
Dagon gazed quietly at Park Chan-woo.
“Do visit again.”
The moment the goods were transferred, Park Chan-woo turned and left without a backward glance.
Watching that retreating figure, Dagon felt his vision blur.
Demons did not dream, and yet—it felt as though he were dreaming.
Then, slowly, Dagon bowed his head toward Park Chan-woo.
“Thank you, sir.”
My praise to you, Sephiro.
* * *
All the preparations were complete.
Far exceeding the level of what had been initially planned.
As Park Chan-woo left the shop, an inward smile crossed his face.
‘Dagon. You’ve got quite the eye for goods.’
He was unmistakably different from other demon merchants.
Every demon merchant Park Chan-woo had encountered conducted business by creating artificial need—manufacturing desire in their customers and forcing sales—rather than simply selling what people actually required.
And to prepare items in advance, anticipating what a customer might want?
It was unthinkable for a demon merchant.
They lacked the eye to truly assess goods.
They simply didn’t possess that knowledge.
Most demon merchants knew only that higher grades were better.
But Dagon was different.
Even among items of the same grade, he understood precisely what Park Chan-woo needed.
He had accurately identified his customer’s requirements.
Park Chan-woo hadn’t known that Dagon sat as the proprietor of the Reputation Shop, though in hindsight, the merchant’s earlier reticence made sense.
A mere merchant who divulged information about an Abyss created by another Creator would face annihilation.
And if that Creator happened to be Ahetha, the Moon Lord, the entire Merchant Guild could have been erased from existence.
‘Thanks to him, this shopping trip turned out to be genuinely pleasant.’
Thanks to Dagon, he’d been able to purchase two additional pieces of equipment he needed.
Park Chan-woo began equipping the items he’d bought, one after another.
《The Demonic Armor (-98Lv, Epic) has been unequipped.》
《You have equipped Trace of the Sacred (-89Lv, Legendary).》
Immediately, the relevant information materialized before his eyes.
Name: Trace of the Sacred
Level: -89
Grade: Legendary
Description: Armor forged from sacred power. The traces of a sacred being’s passage remain etched into this armor.
Equipped Slot: Armor
Defense: 50
Durability: 5,000
Unique Options:
(1) Defense +100
(2) Defense +100
(3) Defense +100
Options that raised nothing but defense.
With just this single armor piece, his defense had jumped by 350.
He’d essentially purchased Trace of the Sacred for these unique options alone.
After all, the most critical option for armor was defense.
Beyond that, it had long been time to replace the Demonic Armor he’d obtained from the first Night Abyss.
‘The aesthetics are quite good, actually.’
True to its name, Trace of the Sacred bore a lightning-shaped scar across its front.
Even someone indifferent to appearance like him had to admit it looked rather impressive.
Next, Park Chan-woo equipped the gauntlets.
《The Demonic Gauntlets (-98Lv, Epic) have been unequipped.》
《You have equipped the Ultimate Gauntlet (-89Lv, Legendary).》
Name: Ultimate Gauntlet
Level: -89
Grade: Legendary
Description: A masterwork crafted with total dedication by Elemore, the legendary blacksmith, in an ultimately failed attempt to surpass Agzos, the smith god.
Equipped Slot: Both Hands / Gauntlets
Defense: 40
Durability: 5,000
Unique Options:
(1) Strength +5 for each Legendary or higher-grade equipped item
There was only a single unique option.
Yet that alone had justified its Legendary classification.
It was an option that defied reason to that degree.
‘I’m currently wearing a total of six pieces of Legendary or higher-grade equipment.’
Star of Pride, World Tree Staff, Frostborne Helm, Arahan’s Golden Mystery, Trace of the Sacred, Ultimate Gauntlet!
In total, he was equipped with no fewer than six pieces of ultra-high-grade equipment.
To think a single piece of equipment could fill the missing thirty points of Strength—was there any option more abundant than this?
Unlike others, most of Park Chan-woo’s equipment was of such exceptional Grade that it was something he couldn’t bear to go without purchasing.
‘Status Window.’
All equipment changes were complete.
Now that the equipment had been swapped, it was time to check the altered stats.
The Status Window soon materialized before his eyes.
Affiliation: Earth / Human / South Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 67.4kg
Reputation: 12,000
Level: -89
Stats:
Strength 43 (1+42)
Stamina 23 (1+22)
Agility 18 (1+17)
Intelligence 13 (1+12)
Mana 37 (1+36)
Condition: Weakest, Sickly, Frail, Non-existence, Limited Lifespan, Heaven’s Poison Unpierceable
Total Attack Power: 615 (415+200)
Total Defense Power: 851 (651+200)
Magic Critical Hit Rate: 32%
Magic Double Casting Rate: 25%
Magic Effect: +25%
Mana Regeneration: +322%
Active Auras:
Golden Aura (Attack and Defense increase twofold according to Coin count)
Seeker’s First Step (All stats +1 for every 10 Coins)
Class: Mage-Swordsman (11 Lv)
Available Spells: Reflection (Great Magic, Unique), Heavenly Punishment (Lightning Magic, Unique), Super Regeneration (Passive, Unique)
Class-Related Hidden Traits:
(1) “Eternal Sword” – ???
(2) “Eternal Destruction Magic” – Destroys the ‘foundational magic’ possessed by a species
Remaining Class Level Points: 0
Equipped Gear:
Star of Pride (∞Lv, Quarter God, Ultimate Sacred Item Necklace)
World Tree Staff (-98Lv, Eternal, Staff Weapon)
Frostborne Helm (-95Lv, Legendary, Helmet)
Trace of the Sacred (-89Lv, Legendary, Armor)
Arahan’s Golden Mystery (-89Lv, Ancient, Shoulder Pauldron)
Ultimate Gauntlet (-89Lv, Legendary, Gloves)
Intoxicating Belt (-95Lv, Unique, Waist Belt)
Hermes’ Shoes (-92Lv, Ancient, Boots)
Park Chan-woo nodded after examining his Status Window.
‘Since my Class is Mage-Swordsman, raising Strength significantly boosts my overall Attack Power.’
It was a tremendous change compared to before.
Though his Level hadn’t increased while climbing the Tower of Pride, this much could rightfully be called a sea change.
He had grown several times stronger than he was before ascending the Tower of Pride.
‘One thing remains.’
Park Chan-woo’s gaze shifted to the map.
The Masterpiece Map.
Why had he been determined to obtain this map by spending ten thousand Reputation?
Looking at the map’s options made the reason crystal clear.
Name: Masterpiece Map
Unique Options:
(1) All quests existing in the ‘Second Night Abyss’ are revealed.
(2) All quest rewards increase tenfold.
(3) Contribution rewards scale tenfold based on your qualifications.
Simple, yet each point commands a reverence all its own.
The Masterpiece Map becomes essential—these three options alone justify its pursuit.
‘All rewards, tenfold!’
It extends beyond quests.
The Secret Traitor Class holds distinct advantages.
An ordinary fugitive earns one hundred points for rescuing captives, but the Secret Traitor earns four hundred points—a fourfold multiplier—each time a Fugitive Mark is destroyed.
Applied to the tenfold bonus, that yields four thousand points per mark.
Tenfold in name, but it amounts to forty times the base reward.
Park Chan-woo lifted his gaze to the crimson full moon hanging in the sky.
‘Now it truly begins. Ahetha.’
Ahetha, the Lord of the Moon—the preparations to bring him to ruin were finally complete.

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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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