Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 75

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

Episode 75. Ancient Being
Twenty Shelters existed in the Second Night.
Park Chan-woo had no intention of destroying all of them.
To do so would draw far too much attention.
The Fugitive and the Pursuer, along with other Creators like Aheta, would naturally try to identify who was responsible.
But after the Uninvited One appeared and he became certain that numerous high-ranking Creators were taking interest in the Second Night, he changed his mind.
He made a decision.
To monopolize it all.
To achieve overwhelming contribution and carve humanity’s dignity into those wretches’ very eyes!
As a result, his Hidden Traitor qualification evolved into Hidden Destroyer.
Along with an option to double reward acquisition.
The Masterpiece Map’s tenfold reward multiplied by two, effectively allowing him to gain twenty times the normal reward.
It was astounding in itself.
‘……Legendary Quest?’
But the most surprising part was the phrase ‘Legendary Quest’ written at the end of the message.
It had never appeared before, and even before his regression, he’d only seen it a handful of times.
‘I didn’t expect it to show up this soon.’
His heart began to race.
His excitement soared.
Creators hide multiple quests within the Abysses they’ve created.
These are classified as ‘Secret Quests’, ‘Hidden Quests’, ‘Masterpiece Quests’, and so forth—ordinary participants couldn’t even know of their existence.
Sometimes, Creators would also leave behind personal entertainment under the name ‘Hidden Pieces’ known only to themselves.
But a Legendary Quest was different.
This wasn’t a quest prepared by Aheta, the Lord of the Moon.
‘It’s a quest in the same vein as an Easter Egg.’
An ‘Easter Egg’ was one of the few keywords that transcended the Abyss.
It referred to a ‘mystery’ that couldn’t be achieved, shouldn’t be achieved, and existed outside all theory and common sense.
Even Creators had no idea what an Easter Egg truly was.
Not even the Nine Great Lords knew.
Park Chan-woo believed it was a trace left behind by the first god who birthed the Abyss.
And the Legendary Quest carried a similar context to such Easter Eggs.
‘A quest related to the core narrative of the Abyss would be a Legendary Quest.’
It was something like an epic poem.
A story that penetrated the entirety of the Abyss.
A quest tied to the hidden narrative that even Creators didn’t fully understand.
However, unlike an Easter Egg, a Legendary Quest was announced to all participants the moment it appeared.
Behold.
Someone is challenging legend!
It was a call to join in that journey.
Soon, the relevant details became visible.
《This ‘Second Night Abyss’ was originally the territory of another Ancient Being.》
《Moreover, the twenty hidden ‘Shelters’ were serving as seals to weaken that being’s power.》
《O one who has broken all seals alone!》
《You are granted the ‘Challenger’s Key’.》
《Find the traces left by the ‘Ancient Being’ and open the door.》
《Yet to open the door, you will need another of your ‘Kin’.》
《The location will be marked on the ‘Masterpiece Map’.》
《……The remaining time in the ‘Second Night Abyss’ is extended by twenty-four hours.》
《However, should the Legendary Quest challenger die or fail the challenge, the ‘Night Abyss’ will immediately end.》
《Should the challenger succeed, all participants will be granted the title ‘Witness to Legend’.》
* * *
At that same moment.
Before the eyes of all who had entered the Second Night Abyss.
《A ‘Legendary Quest’ has appeared!》
《Someone is challenging ‘legend’.》
The message emerged.
But it was content that could only provoke confusion.
“Legendary Quest?”
“What even is that?”
“Who’s attempting it?”
Who was challenging, and what were they challenging.
There was no way to know.
But that wasn’t all.
《……The remaining time in the ‘Second Night’ has been extended by 24 hours.》
《The moment the ‘Legendary Quest’ challenger dies or fails the challenge, the ‘Night Abyss’ will end.》
《If the challenge is successfully completed, all participants will be granted the epithet ‘Witness to Legend.’》
The message that followed was shock and terror incarnate.
“It got extended by 24 hours…?”
“What? Does that mean this won’t end until tomorrow?”
“What in the world is happening?”
It was pandemonium.
No one could make sense of it.
The Night Abyss was meant to proceed only at night, true to its name.
No one had ever imagined a single day would suddenly be extended.
If anything, this justified the name ‘Night Abyss’ all the more.
After a moment of shock, those gathered all turned to the last part of the message and tilted their heads in confusion once more.
“Wait. They’re giving us an epithet?”
“What’s an epithet?”
“Insane! Epithets are incredibly hard to obtain……!”
“They said all participants get one if we succeed!”
“Whew!”
Those who understood the value of epithets couldn’t help but be excited.
An epithet was an alternative name of one’s being, and one of many methods to strengthen one’s abilities.
Yet most epithets raised statistics that could not be increased by equipment or tools, making them treasures that must be obtained if possible at all.
For instance, attribute resistance thresholds, special effects, mental fortifications, and so much more!
The advantages were countless, but only a select few could ever possess an epithet.
They were that difficult to obtain.
“……How much commotion.”
Han Shin spoke, gazing at the message.
His expression was somewhat displeased.
Behind him now stood a legion of Doppelgangers numbering nearly five hundred.
To anyone’s eye, in this ‘Second Night Abyss,’ he was the main character.
No one dared harbor thoughts of opposing Han Shin.
Han Shin was the king of the Second Night.
…Yet here was someone drawing more attention than the king himself—an absurdity.
And they were making a fuss over something that couldn’t even succeed.
‘The Legendary Quest is still a challenge humanity cannot reach.’
Through his contract with the Moon Lord Aheta, Han Shin had completed a thorough understanding of the Abyss’s system.
Naturally, he was aware of the Legendary Quest’s existence.
But it was a task humanity, not yet having reached the heart of the Abyss, could not accomplish.
‘Legendary Quests appear only in the Abysses of Creators who have a name.’
The Demon King, the Demon God, and the Nine Great Lords!
Legendary Quests emerged only within their territories.
Truly, the monsters that reigned in the heart of the Abyss itself.
Perhaps this ‘Night Abyss’ happened to be the domain of the Moon Lord Aheta, which was why the ‘Legendary Quest’ had randomly manifested.
……But he was somewhat curious.
Who could it be.
Who had opened a Legendary Quest before him.
‘A Mage.’
Han Shin turned his head.
Soon, a wide expanse of charred blackness entered his field of vision.
The place where the Shelter had been.
Someone had attacked it.
And in a single strike, they had annihilated the Shelter.
From the magnitude of the attack and the traces left behind, it was likely the work of a Mage.
The problem was that this was not the first time.
‘A skilled Mage has been selectively destroying Shelters.’
But Mage was a shunned Class.
With many restrictions, weak constitution, and limited equipment options, only a tiny handful would choose the Mage’s path.
Whether such a Mage existed among humans who could wield magic of this caliber was unclear.
Judging by the destruction of the Fugitive’s Shelter, it must be the Pursuer—a human, no doubt.
Tap.
That was when it happened.
At the sound of footsteps, Han Shin spoke.
“You’re a step too late, Yi Hyeok-su.”
……
The figure that emerged was Yi Hyeok-su himself.
Though he must have witnessed the 500-strong Doppelganger legion, he approached without fear.
He’d already sensed it in the Water Deity Abyss—this man was not of sound mind.
And yet, Han Shin admitted it.
Yi Hyeok-su was the King of the First Night.
He possessed sufficient strength, and his talent was extraordinary.
If Han Shin were being honest, he would have wanted to keep him at his side.
“Whose work do you think it is?”
……Well, who can say.
Yi Hyeok-su gazed at the scorched earth with unreadable eyes.
Then Han Shin spoke.
“Powerful Lightning Magic. It’s the same as the magic used by whoever killed the Water Deity before us.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Yi Hyeok-su played dumb, utterly convincing.
In truth, he’d known the moment he saw it.
‘The Oracle. His magic. He’s here.’
That the Shelter’s destruction was the Oracle’s doing.
He had slain the Water Deity in a single strike, and unleashed Lightning Magic so devastatingly powerful that it had evaporated the entire lake where the deity had dwelt.
Han Shin’s observation was remarkably sharp, but Yi Hyeok-su had not the slightest intention of enlightening him.
He didn’t know why, but Han Shin was an extraordinarily troublesome presence.
Moreover, Han Shin had gathered the symbols of the Fugitive to forge his Doppelganger legion.
‘Not destroying the Doppelgangers means standing by while others died.’
Five hundred of them, no less.
Could such a vast army truly have been assembled without sacrifice?
For a Doppelganger to maintain its human form, the replicated human had to die.
Which meant that for these 500 Doppelgangers to exist, at least 500 humans had perished.
Whether Han Shin had killed them directly or not, there was a strong likelihood of indirect murder.
‘Han Shin is like an Avatar.’
It wasn’t certain yet whether Han Shin truly was an Avatar.
But Han Shin was clearly harboring a tremendous secret.
Unpleasant, uncomfortable, somehow unreasonable.
Every action he took felt steeped in hypocrisy.
After a moment, Han Shin tilted his head, having heard Yi Hyeok-su’s reply.
“Is that so? Did I misread it?”
“…It could also be the work of that thing called the Uninvited One.”
“Ah, him. I forgot about him.”
Han Shin stroked his chin.
It wasn’t an impossibility, after all.
In an instant, Han Shin’s eyes sharpened as he asked.
“Do you have no desire to stand with me now?”
“None.”
An immediate answer.
His tone was even more resolute than before.
Han Shin smiled thinly.
“And if I said I would kill you should you refuse to join me?”
He was smiling, but the Murderous Intent was genuine.
If he cannot possess, he will destroy.
As if that were his very intention.
Yi Hyeok-su met Han Shin’s gaze directly.
500 Doppelgangers, and Han Shin himself.
Even in a one-on-one match with the man, victory could not be assured—defeat would be certain if it came to combat.
But.
Schling!
Yi Hyeok-su grasped the Lion King’s Great Sword.
Thus he answered Han Shin’s question.
He had no intention of fleeing.
He would fight with everything he had.
“……Tsk, a pity.”
Watching Yi Hyeok-su’s stance, Han Shin clicked his tongue.
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to bring him into the fold just yet.
Still, it would be wasteful to kill him here.
What to do about it?
Perhaps he could take his time and slowly win him over?
Time was on his side, after all.
The world itself, and all its principles, bent to his will.
Han Shin shrugged his shoulders.
“I was only jesting. There’s no need for us to fight here. Instead, I’ll offer you a word of advice.”
As he spoke, the smile vanished from his face.
All warmth drained from his eyes.
He regarded Yi Hyeok-su with absolute coldness.
“If you raise your blade against me once more, your head will fall.”
With that, Han Shin turned away.
He departed from the place along with his prisoners.
The moment Han Shin’s figure vanished from sight—
“…….”
Yi Hyeok-su slowly lowered his sword.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart hammered wildly in his chest.
…This feeling was entirely new to him.
Despite having faced countless monsters, he’d never experienced such tension.
‘He was holding back.’
He could be certain of it.
Han Shin had yet to reveal his true power.
Gathering those five hundred Doppelgangers was mere amusement to him.
If they truly fought, victory would be impossible.
Not yet.
Not as he stood now.
Perhaps from the sheer magnitude of his fear—
His body had gone rigid, unable to move.
Yi Hyeok-su stood motionless for a long time.
“Hey.”
Tap.
…Until someone touched his shoulder.
Having sensed nothing, Yi Hyeok-su furrowed his brow and turned his head.
And then—
“……!!!”
He quickly retreated and seized the Lion King’s Great Sword once more.
Yi Hyeok-su, who had shown no emotion even before Han Shin, cried out in visible distress.
“You……!”
“It’s been a while, Yi Hyeok-su.”
A familiar face.
The one who had appeared was none other than the Oracle.
His appearance had changed slightly, but it was unmistakably the Oracle.
Yet upon his chest blazed the symbol of an ‘X’.
Yi Hyeok-su’s eyes grew cold in an instant.
His expression turned glacial.
Yi Hyeok-su leveled his blade at the Oracle.
That thing was not the Oracle.
That thing was—
“……a Doppelganger.”
A Fugitive wearing the Oracle’s face—a Doppelganger.

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