Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 8

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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 8. A Misunderstanding
Demon Vice-Commander Andariel.
He was a high-ranking demon and a Game Master.
His role was to run “games” against humans in his sector here in the Abyss of Night.
The most crucial ability required of a Game Master was discernment.
So he couldn’t have misjudged what he saw.
‘A staff crafted from the World Tree as its material. One inscribed with a formidable rank at that. It’s unmistakably an artifact of the highest caliber, of an immeasurable grade.’
Even the lords of the Abyss couldn’t easily procure such a thing.
A treasure of supreme standing that couldn’t be acquired even by selling hundreds of high-ranking demon souls.
And a mere human was wielding it.
‘Unless this human wasn’t merely human?’
Think about it.
Within his assigned sector, this was a human who could approach while evading his spiritual perception.
The fact that he’d managed to slip close to the side of a Game Master—one invested with absolute authority—itself testified that the human before him was no “ordinary human.”
The problem was that the Abyss had only recently begun its encroachment, and not much time had passed.
There was no way a human could already possess equipment and strength of such supreme caliber.
‘…Is he an Incarnation who forged a contract with one of the great lords of the Abyss?’
Creators.
Even among the lords of the Abyss, there existed a hierarchy.
Among them, only nine beings were known as “Great Lords.”
Yet those nine showed little particular interest in the human world.
Naturally, they gave humans no attention whatsoever.
But what if…… this human had formed an “Incarnation Contract” with one of them?
A Great Lord would certainly be capable of gifting a human that degree of power and equipment.
Gulp.
Andariel swallowed hard, tension evident in the motion.
Whether apostle or Incarnation, in the end they were still “human.”
Demons wouldn’t concern themselves with whoever they’d contracted with.
But……the Nine Great Lords were different.
If this human had formed a contract with them, then the one standing before him now belonged to a station above his own.
‘He must think I’m an Incarnation of one of the Great Lords.’
Park Chan-woo suppressed an inner smile.
Everything was unfolding as intended.
The shift in Andariel’s gaze the moment it landed on the Staff of World Tree.
Eternal Grade.
He’d recognized at once that it was a treasure beyond reckoning.
Though it was at level –98, Andariel would have no way of knowing that fact.
Deliberately approaching him to make himself known was meant to induce confusion and misunderstanding in the demon.
In this era, no human could possess such abilities and equipment except an “Incarnation of one of the Nine Great Lords”—that’s what he would think.
‘The way the Game Master has laid out the path is impossible to clear.’
He would have to become a thorough rebel.
The same went when facing the Divine Dragon Commander.
Following the prescribed route only leads to failure.
After all, every Creator has wagered on “failure,” which is why this Abyss is so hopeless.
Park Chan-woo straightened his chest and shoulders.
“Take my silence as affirmation.”
His voice was utterly devoid of hesitation.
His composure was such that Andariel found himself caught off guard.
‘He truly has backing!’
This was not a reaction an ordinary human could possibly display.
He’d watched two people die even before entering, yet he didn’t so much as blink.
Instead, he met Andariel’s gaze directly, head-on.
‘…There’s not a shred of emotion visible in his eyes.’
Yet Park Chan-woo’s gaze revealed nothing at all.
Proof of a human who knew how to mask his emotions entirely.
And yet his bearing seemed to press: ‘Surely you’re not foolish enough to deny me entry?’
Andariel felt his lips go dry.
If he truly were an Incarnation of one of the Nine Great Lords……there was no harm in letting him pass.
Yet certainty was required.
“Unfortunately, those who have failed to form a Booking Party cannot be admitted to the Water-Good Nightclub.”
“Take it.”
Ting—!
A golden Coin spun through the air.
Andariel caught it instinctively, his hands moving faster than thought.
Then he stared at both sides of the Coin, his eyes wide.
No matter how he looked at it, this was…….
‘A tip.’
And not just any tip, either.
“Th-thank you, sir.”
……A Coin — the exclusive domain of Creators.
Madness.
There was only one way for a human to obtain a Coin: bankrupt a Creator.
But for a mere human to bankrupt a Creator—a Lord—at this point in time was quite literally ‘impossible.’
Now it was certain.
‘This man must be an Incarnation of one of the Nine Great Lords!’
A being incomparable to ordinary humans.
He must have bankrupted a Creator in the first Abyss.
Surely worthy of catching the attention of the Nine Great Lords.
But no matter what…….
……Did he really just leave a tip for the Game Master himself?
Of course, he’d introduced himself as a ‘demon manager,’ and this place appeared outwardly to be a nightclub, so tipping a waiter wasn’t unusual—but it was an audacity that defied all convention.
A human daring to tip a demon.
He couldn’t refuse, either.
Every demon wanted this ‘Coin.’
It was the only currency in circulation in the Abyss.
Andariel slipped back into his role.
“I shall serve you to the utmost. However…….”
He lowered his head and let his words trail off deliberately.
Then he continued carefully.
“You still cannot enter alone. By the rules, even if a party is not formally established, at least two must go together.”
“So I just pick one of the remaining people here?”
“Of course, you may choose more. I did say I would serve you to the utmost.”
Andariel’s eyes gleamed.
A game that requires at least two people to proceed unfolds within this place.
At minimum, one party member was essential.
“Please—please choose me!”
“I’m confident I can fight!”
Those who hadn’t yet formed a party scrambled forward desperately.
All of them were marred in some way, gaunt, or young.
Choosing all of them was certainly one option.
‘Never trust a demon’s words.’
Because demons never speak only truth.
Park Chan-woo knew all too well that they were liars.
「A Booking is said to go far more smoothly with two than with one, with three than with two, with four than with three.」
‘The fewer the better.’
Then the opposite held true.
The fewer, the better.
Two was exactly right.
Park Chan-woo raised his hand and selected one man.
“……?”
The man—the future Sword King Lee Hyeok-su—looked at Park Chan-woo with a slightly bewildered expression.
“That one.”
“Are you selecting only one person?”
“Yes.”
“……Understood.”
His tone carried a hint of reluctance.
Park Chan-woo was certain his choice was correct.
“The remaining guests have formed parties at my discretion. Now, let us proceed to the entrance.”
* * *
Inside the nightclub.
In a place where brilliant lighting spread in all directions, those who had formed the “Booking Party” took their seats.
Booking was slang used in clubs when waiters matched up pairs of men and women, but here it was used somewhat differently.
“From this moment on, you will experience an unusual form of ‘booking.’ I’m speaking, of course, of Death Booking.”
At once, the color drained from everyone’s faces.
Though they’d anticipated something, the word “death” struck their ears with a clarity that was impossible to ignore.
“Depending on the number of party members, you will encounter an appropriate ‘booking partner.’ If you become the ‘maid,’ combat will take place, but if you wish to ‘pass,’ a price is required.”
“Wait. Surely you don’t mean the price is…….”
“Yes! As you’ve guessed, the life of one party member!”
“This is insane……!”
The faces of the crowd turned ashen.
Now I understand why Andariel regretted it.
Had he added those riffraff who lingered to the very end, the party would have suffered terribly.
“You may use whatever method you choose. You must offer up one life within five minutes, without exception. If you don’t, the entire party is annihilated. After three ‘victories,’ or alternatively three ‘passes,’ you will be granted rewards commensurate with your performance and the right to leave this nightclub.”
You needed four members to pass three times.
Even then, only one would walk out alive.
With fewer party members, you couldn’t even attempt a pass.
In Park Chan-woo’s and Lee Hyeok-su’s case, they would need to win at least two of the three ‘bookings’ for even one of them to escape this place.
“After three rounds of victory or defeat, you are free to proceed as you wish. You may continue with more bookings, or simply leave. Ah, does anyone have questions about the rewards?”
“I’m curious.”
Park Chan-woo spoke.
Andariel’s eyes gleamed with a desolate light.
“Understood. I shall now show you treasures so sublime that even I dare not lay hands upon them!”
Swoosh!
A crimson curtain fell.
Behind it stood a transparent barrier.
‘There it was.’
Beyond the barrier lay a profusion of radiant treasures.
And there, among them.
‘The Mage Stone.’
And along with the Mage Stone, all the treasures obtainable from the first Abyss of Night.
Everything Park Chan-woo desired.
“The Twelve Divine Commanders who command the first Abyss of Night—powerful equipment and tools capable of facing them can be acquired here. Of course, for items of higher grade, an appropriate price is required—’Booking Points,’ that is.”
Numbers were written beneath each item.
A minimum of ten, and as high as ten thousand.
“Simple enough.”
“Yes. Please, do enjoy ‘booking’ to your heart’s content.”
Andariel regarded Park Chan-woo with a casual smile.
One who was strong enough to bankrupt a lord in the first abyss, an incarnation chosen by the Nine Great Lords themselves—he might think three victories were simple.
‘A delusion.’
But it was a delusion.
It would not be easy. Never.
Booking, by its nature, occurred between ‘comparable levels.’
In this Water-Good Nightclub, the Death Booking was arranged so that opponents were determined by the party’s size and ‘combat level.’
That was how it was set.
Therefore.
‘The stronger you are, the higher your level, the more party members you have—the more impossible victory becomes. Foolish human.’
Andariel’s derision settled over Park Chan-woo.

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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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