Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 78

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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 78. Aheta’s Wrath
While Yi Hyeok-su opened his eyes to a new world.
Park Chan-woo gazed at him and drew Inspiration.
It was a new understanding that bore the name Enlightenment.
What, after all, is Enlightenment?
‘A blessing.’
Yet blessing does not arrive for just anyone.
Only those who faced the Abyss with genuine heart, only those who held conviction without losing themselves, could reach the blessing of the Enlightenment Domain.
Those who walked only easy paths, who refused to learn, who could not accept—Enlightenment would never find them.
Which meant Yi Hyeok-su possessed sincerity.
Both in how he confronted the Abyss and in how he faced himself.
He approached everything with absolute seriousness, without a shred of jest.
‘Envious.’
It would be a lie to say watching him sparked no jealousy.
He possessed talent, yes—but it was his open mind that made it possible.
The current Yi Hyeok-su was like a pristine blank page.
He absorbed everything as it was written.
Park Chan-woo was his exact opposite.
The current Park Chan-woo knew far too much to change himself.
He had watched humanity’s extinction from beginning to end.
Knowing too much, he could no longer set foot in the Enlightenment Domain over ordinary matters.
He had gained the advantage of Regression, but excessive information had become his poison.
In the end, he could only build with what he possessed.
The stage of gaining Enlightenment from a single word spoken by another was long past.
If Yi Hyeok-su was a blank white page, Park Chan-woo was one stained black.
……
When Yi Hyeok-su’s eyes opened at last, both pupils were far clearer than before.
Like a high monk freed from all suffering.
With a radiant gaze, Yi Hyeok-su looked at Park Chan-woo and spoke.
“Thank you. Prophet.”
Just a few words casually thrown his way.
Yet Yi Hyeok-su, who had set foot upon reason itself, expressed his gratitude with all sincerity.
“…There’s no need to thank me for this.”
Park Chan-woo shook his head slightly.
Honestly, this hardly warranted such gratitude.
‘Is he embarrassed?’
Park Chan-woo’s manner as he turned his head and spoke was quite unexpected.
It seemed as though he felt shame at receiving thanks.
It seemed Yi Hyeok-su had misunderstood the Prophet until now.
From their first meeting, he’d assumed this was a man of supreme arrogance who paid no mind to others’ gazes whatsoever.
‘I thought he was someone living entirely alone. But he’s more modest than I expected.’
Yi Hyeok-su let out a quiet laugh despite himself.
Because he had felt ‘humanity’ in Park Chan-woo for the first time.
The Prophet was capable of embarrassment too—he realized they were the same, two human beings.
Moreover, those few words were far from trivial to Yi Hyeok-su.
A top-ranked player had just imparted honey-sweet tips to a newbie only now stepping into the world.
It was nothing remarkable for a ranker, but what could be ordinary for a newbie?
Information that became one’s blood and flesh—knowledge only those who had experienced it could truly grasp.
Information worth untold riches, given freely without any price.
Of course, Park Chan-woo could affirm it with certainty, having already walked that path.
Yet all of humanity save Park Chan-woo had yet to form even a proper understanding of the difference a single word could make.
Because of this, Yi Hyeok-su had found himself placed from the start upon a path different from all others—one from which he could soar even higher.
“…Then let’s depart soon.”
After a moment of silence, Park Chan-woo spoke.
Every second, every moment counted.
They had wasted more time than intended.
The Legendary Quest—how much time would be consumed searching for traces left by the Ancient Being, no one could say.
The path ahead was truly uncharted territory.
“Follow me. It will be quite a grueling journey.”
“Hmm? Should we not form a party?”
“Just keep up with me.”
“Ah, right… There’s a level gap, so we won’t be able to form a party anyway.”
A party could only form if the level difference was within ten.
Yi Hyeok-su was laboring under a complete misunderstanding.
He believed his own level was too low to form a party with the Seer.
He wondered what expression his face would wear if he learned the truth was the exact opposite.
That Park Chan-woo’s level was far too low to form a party at all.
Park Chan-woo turned away and walked forward.
‘Aheta won’t simply stand by and watch.’
The territory here in the Second Night belonged to Aheta.
But before Aheta claimed dominion, the Ancient Being had been master of it.
She couldn’t kill it outright, so she’d sealed it away using twenty Shelters.
What that meant was clear.
‘The Ancient Being—something so formidable that even Aheta couldn’t easily destroy.’
She wouldn’t welcome the sealed Ancient Being awakening once more.
She would find ways to interfere, one way or another.
Park Chan-woo unfolded the Masterpiece Map.
This had never happened before.
A challenge beyond all prior experience—the unknown itself!
No name quickened his pulse like the word “unknown.”
And if he succeeded, he could deal a devastating blow to Aheta, the Moon Lord—could anything be more beautiful than such a journey?
“Keep close.”
Park Chan-woo began moving swiftly toward the question mark that had just appeared on the map—what he believed to be a trace left behind by the Ancient Being.
* * *
The place where every Creator joined to share their thoughts.
The Creator Community was burning hot.
《This is the real-time category number one page for ‘Earth’.》
Category: Earth.
Posts from that place where the Second Night unfolded were being updated at an astonishing pace.
―Releasing Doppelgangers to examine the potential of humanity?
―Even if they were the first to conquer the Tower of Arrogance, is it really worth that much?
―What a waste. Do people just have Coins lying around?
At first, negative opinions dominated.
They mocked the intention to release multiple Doppelgangers into the Second Night, replicate human information, and unearth hidden “potential.”
Pointless work, they said. A squandering of Coins.
Yes, humans from Earth had conquered the Tower of Arrogance, but the Earth and human potential they’d examined was utterly negligible.
Compared to the Twelve Races, they were fireflies beside the sun.
―The human body is painfully inefficient.
―They can’t wield Special Abilities or dominate phenomena like witches.
―They have no extraordinary physical prowess.
―Among all the species discovered since the birth of the Abyss, they rank dead last.
―The human information the Doppelgangers replicate won’t be worth much.
―Conquering the Tower of Arrogance was probably just chance.
Besides, Doppelgangers were beasts that cost considerable Coins to raise.
Releasing them in such numbers meant accusations of Coin-wasting were inevitable.
Of course, the Doppelgangers’ Replication Ability was exceptional.
Should a Doppelganger uncover hidden human potential, the discoverer would earn an enormous quantity of Coins.
They might monopolize the valuable information entirely.
The real question was whether a talent surpassing the Twelve Races would ever be found at all.
While that opinion prevailed among many, no shortage of Creators argued against it.
―Do you really think the Tower of Arrogance could be conquered by chance?
―A feat no other species has achieved—accomplished by accident?
―Humans possess something we haven’t discovered.
―Even if only a single human carries such a talent, if we find it, dissect it, and replicate it, we could refine it into a species surpassing the Twelve Races!
―Imagine the incomprehensible quantity of Coins we’d obtain. We could become a unique Creator surpassing the Great Nine Lords themselves.
―Just thinking of it sends shivers down my spine.
Not every human—even one human’s singular talent would suffice.
Find that mutation, and replicate the brilliant talent.
That’s what the Doppelgangers are for.
If discovery came to pass, billions in investment would be worthwhile.
The debate raged back and forth, supporters locked against opponents in a stalemate.
―Wait. Someone has forcibly invaded the Second Night.
―Who is it? One of the Twelve Races?
―The Twelve Races have already taken interest in humans?
―It could be a Divine Beast that emerged through a rift.
―A witch, perhaps?
―Aheta! Why haven’t you found them yet!
An unforeseen problem had arisen.
An intruder had appeared without warning.
They had to respond quickly.
If the intruder disturbed the Second Night, all the Coins they had invested could evaporate into thin air.
Yet they could not intervene in the Second Night directly.
Only the host, the Moon Lord Aheta, could intervene to any meaningful degree while the game was in progress.
They could only peer into the interior of the Second Night through Avatars contracted to them, or barely manage to confirm the “Messages” delivered as results.
Aheta had to find the intruder and either drive them out or obliterate them personally.
Naturally, the investors were frantic.
If they lost all their invested Coins to the “intruder,” it would be a catastrophe without equal.
They would receive some compensation from Aheta, but full recovery was impossible.
Of course, Aheta was no less frustrated.
This investment had not been conducted with one or two Coins—it was a massive undertaking.
Aheta had no choice but to search desperately.
And yet.
―What?
―???
―What in the world is this now…
Trouble upon trouble.
Another problem had surfaced.
As a result, posts on the Creator Community’s forums began exploding at a rate incomparable to before.
―Insane!
―This is absurd.
―A Legendary Quest?
A “Message” appeared to the Creators who had invested in the Abyss of the Second Night.
A message announcing the opening of a Legendary Quest.
What this implied was far from trivial.
Especially since the target was the Moon Lord Aheta, the Creator Community ignited rapidly.
―Wait… Humans opened a Legendary Quest?
―Isn’t it too soon?
―Has there ever been a race that opened a Legendary Quest in Aheta’s Domain?
―If I recall correctly, this is the second.
―They’ll already be struggling against their Doppelgangers, and now a Legendary Quest on top of it?
―Who is it?
―Could it be the human who conquered the Tower of Arrogance?
A Legendary Quest referred to a very special ordeal that occurred only in the Domain of those called “Named Creators.”
The most representative Named Creators were the 108 Demon Kings, the 72 Demon Gods, and the Great Nine Lords.
Though Aheta was not included in these three groups, she was an extremely peculiar and exceptional case comparable to them.
That was why she could open a Legendary Quest.
However, Named Creators do not welcome the opening of a Legendary Quest in their own Domain.
Because.
―Aheta’s name has been tarnished. To have a Legendary Quest opened in the mere Second Night.
―Will she actually lose her Territory?
―Hahaha! Things are getting interesting!
Mockery flooded the Creator Community.
Once a Legendary Quest was opened, if the one who opened it cleared it, they would claim the corresponding Territory.
To lose land to mere humans—how utterly humiliating!
If she truly lost it, the standing of the Moon Lord would be dragged through the mud.
―I’m curious what Aheta will choose.
―Will she find the intruder, or will she interfere with the Legendary Quest?
―Failure in either would be a severe blow.
―What if she fails at both?
―Who would invest in any trial Aheta conducts after that?
―Even the Lord of the Moon wouldn’t find it easy to proceed through a ‘Night’ alone.
―Wouldn’t the Lord of the Moon’s position become precarious?
It was why the Creators watched the situation with such keen interest.
More and more Creators had begun to take notice of Earth and the Second Night.
They were desperately curious what outcome this crisis would produce.
Flash!
In that instant.
The moon that hung in the night sky of the Second Night finally opened its eyes.
Eyes filled with capillaries, blazing with fury.

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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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