Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 86

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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 86. The Meaning of Level
The warrior—the Gatekeeper of the palace—immediately objected.
Fighting at the same level simply would not satisfy him.
‘How dare they speak of combat before a warrior of Valhalla!’
It was absurd.
The warriors of Valhalla were uniformly exceptional.
Forged through countless wars, each was a soldier worth a hundred men.
When it came to pure combat, they surpassed any other race without question.
These challengers before him, recklessly invoking the word “battle,” were beneath contempt.
‘Other warriors don’t even dare to meet my gaze.’
And who was he, after all?
Incomparably superior—Khan himself!
And he was the Gatekeeper who guarded the entrance to Khan’s Palace.
Naturally, the palace’s Gatekeeper could be no ordinary being.
It was proof that he possessed martial prowess that set him apart from the rest.
It was not merely a matter of level rankings.
It meant his raw skill had been honed to an incomprehensible degree.
He was trained to respond to any situation.
A superior soldier who had crossed countless battlefields and transcended death more than once.
And as for the ‘eye’ with which he beheld his opponents—what of that?
He possessed Observation, the ability to grasp every aspect of those who entered the palace.
The Insight and Observation to read an opponent were essential requirements for a Gatekeeper.
“Personally, I’d lower my level further, but yours doesn’t seem particularly high.”
The Gatekeeper smacked his lips.
He was saying it was a pity to lower himself merely ten levels for this fight.
It had been so long since a true battle.
After Khan was sealed away by Aheta, the Moon Lord, the Gatekeeper had spent eons in this place.
But all the warriors of Valhalla were war-mad.
Standing here guarding the palace alone—how tedious, how interminable it had been.
……The problem was the gap in caliber.
‘Heh. Challengers who’ve traveled such vast epochs to reach me, and they’re this pathetic.’
The Gatekeeper’s gaze shifted between Park Chan-woo and Yi Hyuk-soo.
He analyzed it all—the volume and quality of visible muscle, their flexibility, their stance, the faintly radiating mana, their bearing before him, their momentum, everything.
Both what could be seen and what could not, synthesized together to pierce through the Essence.
The conclusion was dire, nothing short of tragic.
Having observed the two humans, the Gatekeeper reached his assessment.
Their spirit was competent enough, but the measure of raw power he perceived…… their level itself was not particularly high.
‘Barely exceeding Level 20, it seems.’
At most in the low twenties.
And that estimate applied only to Yi Hyuk-soo.
Yi Hyuk-soo appeared to possess the makings of a true warrior.
He had swiftly steadied his breathing, masking his emotions.
He now confronted the Gatekeeper with the momentum of a finely honed blade.
He cast fear aside, replacing it with a faint killing intent.
Knowing the disparity in caliber, yet refusing to withdraw.
Unafraid of death, instead seeking out his opponent’s openings.
The posture of a true warrior.
What was more.
The Essence emanating from Yi Hyuk-soo was not merely that of a warrior.
‘……There’s a faint aura of death about him. Has he inherited the name of the Dead?’
Many beings called themselves the “Death King.”
Not a few claimed to be death itself, speaking with empty arrogance.
Fakes.
Blusterers who didn’t even understand what true death was.
Perhaps this was one of those genuine abominations’ names.
Soon the Gatekeeper’s gaze fixed on Yi Hyuk-soo’s shadow.
At the same moment.
‘Ah.’
The Gatekeeper’s eyes trembled faintly.
He was beginning to understand.
The name that Yi Hyuk-soo inherited.
It was no fabrication—it was genuine.
‘The Death King. Or the one once called the King of Shadows……!’
The Gatekeeper knew that name well.
The Death King was an ‘ancient being’ like Khan.
‘Of course. That’s how he managed to reach this place.’
The true body before him wasn’t Park Chan-woo at all—it was Yi Hyuk-soo.
Yi Hyuk-soo’s Level would be far higher as well.
Though even then, it wouldn’t break Level 30—pathetically weak by absolute standards.
Whereas he stood at Level 99.
A difference between heaven and earth.
So vast in weight class that a breath could blow him away.
‘If he’d grown a little more before coming here, it might’ve made for an interesting fight.’
As it stands, he’s far too fragile.
Even bearing the true Death King’s name, he’s only now beginning to develop.
To fight properly, some equilibrium in weight class was necessary.
Lowering himself ten Levels below their combined average was purely to level the playing field.
He wanted to push lower, but should he drop below Level 1, an automatic defeat might be triggered—so he’d called out a reasonable threshold.
Levels below 1 didn’t exist, after all.
But what of Park Chan-woo?
‘No need to look further.’
He’d never seen anyone so pathetically weak.
A body like a newborn just torn from the womb.
Not a trace of callus anywhere.
The flabby muscles seemed like mere decoration.
A man who should’ve been bedridden and motionless was somehow dragging himself forward, cobbled together with outlandish gear like rags.
He could sense considerable magical force, but to wield it, the flesh itself must provide some foundation.
Magical force was that being’s rank, and the power of the world—the Abyss itself.
What use was a body where the balance of Essence, Qi, and Spirit had fractured?
It seemed the one who inherited this Death King’s name—the warrior-type—had simply charged in on faith alone.
“I swear upon the ‘Abyss’ itself: in this fight alone, I shall meet you at ten Levels below your combined average. Moreover, should I fall, I shall serve you within this Palace.”
The Gatekeeper opened his mouth.
He accepted the challenge.
He even added a condition: should he lose, he would serve them.
If he truly did fall, what greater shame could exist?
The Gatekeeper wasn’t even entertaining the possibility of his own defeat.
And his gaze fixed not on Park Chan-woo, but solely on Yi Hyuk-soo.
The warrior to whom an ancient being had entrusted his name.
At first, he’d harbored no expectation, but now his hands itched.
He wanted to fight immediately.
Desperately wanted to clash!
So the Gatekeeper restrained himself.
He didn’t bother asking the two men their Levels.
He trusted his own eyes and Observation.
A battle he couldn’t lose—to ask would be a humiliation in itself.
Whoooooooosh.
Soon before him appeared the ‘Oath Reaper’.
One of the reapers who governs the Abyss, bearing scales.
An entity who judges whose oath is just, yet also serves to enforce one’s own Seal.
There was no need for oaths from Park Chan-woo or Yi Hyuk-soo.
Defeat meant only death anyway.
Gulp.
Yi Hyuk-soo, staring at the colossal reaper, swallowed hard.
‘This scene… I’m certain…….’
A searing sense of déjà vu consumed his entire body.
He’d seen it before.
A scene like this, or perhaps identical to this.
The first night.
In his confrontation with the Seer and the Game Master Andriel.
Hadn’t the Oath Reaper burst forth then and severed Andriel’s heart?
Screech!
……The scale began to move.
It tipped toward the side where the Gatekeeper stood.
Whoooosh!
All manner of power began draining from the Gatekeeper’s body.
The drained power collected upon the scale.
According to the oath, he was sealing away a portion of his own strength.
But.
‘Is he… smiling?’
The Gatekeeper’s expression stiffened for a moment.
Park Chan-woo was smiling as he watched the scale.
A smile of certainty—one he had never worn before!
What could it mean?
What had given this man such confidence?
Whoosh! Whoooooosh!
《Enforcement by the Oath Reaper has begun.》
《According to the terms of the oath, your Level is decreasing.》
《According to the terms of the oath, your Level is decreasing.》
《According to the terms of the oath, your Level is decreasing.》
……
His Level fell rapidly.
As expected.
It couldn’t be helped—those two had such low Levels to begin with.
The Gatekeeper watched the Oath Reaper with ease.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Reaper.’
The Abyss was a world.
An infinitely expanding cosmos.
And the Reapers were unconscious, selfless entities that governed the rules of this Abyss.
One might call them administrators.
The Oath Reaper was one of the most powerful among them.
That the Reaper had been summoned meant that the seal on the Palace was truly broken.
Khan had been given his chance to command the world once more.
His duty as a warrior could be fulfilled at last.
“Hmm?”
Even so, the Gatekeeper tilted his head.
His Level continued to plummet.
Even when it had reached around Level 20, he had accepted it—but now, at this very moment, it had clearly plunged below Level 10.
Could the average Level of the two challengers truly be below 20?
‘So it’s that human causing the problem.’
Yi Hyuk-soo, bearing the makings of a true warrior, surely had a Level higher than 20.
But Park Chan-woo, the owner of a pitiful body, certainly ranked below him.
‘Level 8.’
Messages of decreased Level flooded his vision.
The overlapping messages made it impossible to tell exactly how many Levels had fallen, but from the state of his own body, the Gatekeeper deduced his approximate Level.
His body was growing heavier.
Still, it was manageable.
‘Level 7.’
It dropped further.
Simply standing still now made breathing slightly labored.
‘Level 6.’
Even raising his spear had become difficult.
But it didn’t matter.
He could fight with his bare hands alone.
‘…Level 5.’
The descent in Level was beginning to feel precipitous.
With each Level lost, it felt as though chunks of flesh were being carved away.
If the oath had lowered him to Level 10 or below for combat, it would have been disastrous.
The Gatekeeper shifted his gaze to Park Chan-woo.
Just how low was that man’s Level?
Even so, this should be…
‘Wait. It’s dropping further?’
That made no sense.
By now, the Gatekeeper’s level had reached 4.
It was probably correct.
The trap lay in the concept of ‘average level.’
Think about it.
If Yi Hyuk-soo was Level 20 and Park Chan-woo was Level 10, the average should be 15.
Since they had sworn to lower it by 10 levels, the Gatekeeper’s level should have been fixed at 5.
Yet it had fallen lower than that.
The warrior’s level was certainly 20 or above.
Meanwhile, that Mage’s level seemed to fall short of even 10.
There was no other way to explain the situation.
‘Level 3……!’
The Gatekeeper’s eyes widened in shock.
Could it be—this wretch.
Was that the reason for that radiant smile?
“You bastard, what exactly is your level……!”
What is it?
And yet, no matter how he reasoned through it, something felt wrong.
It defied all logic.
There was no conceivable way a single-digit level creature could withstand his aura.
Moreover, such a being couldn’t have entered Khan’s Palace in the first place.
‘Level 2.’
It kept dropping.
The level continued its relentless descent.
‘Level 1.’
Thud!
The Gatekeeper collapsed to his knees.
His massive frame could no longer be sustained by a level so low.
Strength drained from his body.
He couldn’t move a single finger.
He couldn’t even open his mouth.
But.
This was only the beginning.
He couldn’t believe it.
For the first time, a look of sheer horror flooded the Gatekeeper’s eyes.
No—it wasn’t mere horror.
It was fear.
A terror beyond anything he had ever experienced!
The Gatekeeper, a warrior of unparalleled strength with countless trials behind him, had never known such a thing.
Because.
‘It’s dropping even further?’
……Level 1 was not the end.
He was falling now into a realm unknown.
Level 0.
Beyond that—into a space that should never exist.

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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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