Level -99 Archmage - Chapter 88

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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 88. The Jackpot
Ding!
《Agzos, Gatekeeper of Valhalla, has been subdued!》
《Unprecedented! An unbelievable outcome.》
《Agzos’s final words are being replayed.》
《’I would offer even my soul, I beg you!’》
《This signifies an absolute, irreversible defeat carved into the soul itself.》
《You obtain the Title: One Who Subdued a Warrior of Valhalla.》
《By the Oath, Agzos shall obey you within Khan’s Palace.》
《The Oath is carved into his soul, granting you a command hierarchy higher than the Great Khan himself.》
《Gatekeeper Agzos shall fear you and obey absolutely.》
Park Chan-woo smiled as he watched the messages cascade before him.
‘Incredible.’
He’d obtained a far more decisive victory than he’d anticipated.
The moment he’d bound Agzos with the Oath, victory had been assured.
No matter how much the Gatekeeper struggled, there was no escape from it.
A warrior who’d never experienced Minus Level stood no chance of winning against him.
Yet something unexpected had occurred.
‘Agzos lost consciousness and saw something. The instant he crossed beyond the Zero Realm, the moment he touched Minus Level.’
Of course, he’d also been distributed across the Minus Level.
But he hadn’t descended through that realm one step at a time like Agzos had.
When he’d regressed and opened his eyes, he was at Level –99.
There was undoubtedly a clear difference between him and Agzos, who’d descended sequentially from Level 0.
He was desperately curious what Agzos had seen, but the Gatekeeper couldn’t open his mouth.
In other words.
‘…There’s something that must not be seen, something that cannot be spoken aloud.’
What could terrify a warrior who’d touched the Tenth Tier so deeply?
An Oath carved into the soul itself.
He’d carved a new Oath—one where the soul itself was offered—right before the Oath Deity.
Since the soul represents one’s entire existence, this contract clearly ranked far higher than a common Oath.
Wasn’t it maddening?
Park Chan-woo felt he’d go mad from curiosity.
What in the world was this thing that must not be seen, must not be spoken?
Absolute submission.
Even in a state of thorough obedience, Gatekeeper Agzos had silenced himself.
Could it be that his state of submission was false?
‘The fact that I even obtained a Title proves otherwise.’
Park Chan-woo studied his newly acquired Title.
Title: One Who Subdued a Warrior of Valhalla
Description: You have subdued Agzos, Gatekeeper of Valhalla, to the very soul. As long as this Title exists, Agzos shall obey absolutely within Khan’s Palace. Furthermore, he shall fear you instinctively—deep within his soul.
A Title that forced someone into submission.
A remarkably unusual one.
The existence of the Title itself was proof that nothing was false.
Yet still he could not speak…
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin.
‘Is there an entity that ranks even higher than the Oath Deity?’
A Deity that governed the balance and rules of the Abyss.
Could there exist something of even greater rank than the Oath Deity—whose power was unparalleled among them?
The Oath Deity was a monster that could match Named Creators in combat.
He shifted his gaze slightly.
To where his eyes fell.
There.
Quiver-quiver-quiver-quiver-quiver!
…Was Gatekeeper Agzos, trembling like an aspen leaf while staring at him.
Who would mistake this Agzos for a warrior of Valhalla?
His eyes were exactly like those of a young fawn that had encountered its natural predator.
There was no doubt—Agzos was gripped by fear of Park Chan-woo.
‘Looking at him, the Title seems to be working perfectly.’
Yet despite the Title’s function, he could not speak.
If he forced the man’s mouth open, there was no telling what side effects might occur.
So I decided to take a step back for now.
“Let’s move on to the next trial. Lead the way.”
“Ah, yes, understood!”
Agzos nodded sharply and turned on his heel.
After that, he advanced slowly ahead, as though escorting Park Chan-woo.
A Level 99 slave… or rather, escort.
‘Reassuring.’
I never did find out what he’d seen beyond the Zero Realm, but this was enough.
What mattered now was clearing Khan’s Palace.
Park Chan-woo followed confidently in Agzos’s wake.
They passed through the entrance and moved into the next chamber.
Ding!
《You have resolved ‘The First Trial’ within Khan’s Palace!》
《This is a solution method that did not previously exist.》
《Additional Contribution Points have been awarded.》
《You have obtained 20,000,000 Contribution Points.》
“……Huh.”
“These Contribution Points are… what exactly?”
At Park Chan-woo’s exclamation, Yi Hyuk-soo was equally astonished.
He too had obtained Contribution Points from clearing the trial.
“How many points did you earn?”
“…Two million points.”
Even Yi Hyuk-soo, whose emotions usually remained unmoved, could not help but be surprised at suddenly obtaining twenty million Contribution Points.
While Yi Hyuk-soo had earned two million points, Park Chan-woo had earned a full twenty million.
A simple calculation showed it was ten times as much.
Why such a difference?
‘With the Masterpiece Map and the Secret Destroyer qualification, I can earn Contribution Points at a twenty-fold rate.’
The base Contribution Points from this trial were one million.
Yi Hyuk-soo had received a two-fold bonus according to his qualification, while Park Chan-woo had received a twenty-fold bonus.
This far exceeded all the Contribution Points Park Chan-woo had accumulated throughout the Second Night combined.
‘Twenty million from the very first trial.’
What made it even more remarkable was that this was only the beginning.
He had cleared the trial by presenting a solution method that did not previously exist.
A basic trial that could be overcome simply by presenting the Key.
Who would have thought to subjugate the gatekeeper like a subordinate, when defeating him in combat would suffice?
And it would continue this way.
Each time Agzos cleared a trial with him, Park Chan-woo would naturally present a “non-existent solution method” and continue to earn additional Contribution Points.
‘……This is incredible.’
And not just incredible in an ordinary sense.
It was truly mind-bending in its magnitude.
* * *
The gatekeeper Agzos was quite a formidable warrior even within Khan’s Palace.
True to his title as gatekeeper, Agzos never strayed beyond the palace entrance.
When he appeared, another warrior overseeing the next trial cocked his head in confusion.
“……Hm? Agzos, what are you doing here?”
“It’s complicated. Sorry, but step aside.”
“Wait. You’re abandoning your post at the palace entrance to interfere with my trial?”
“…It’s complicated. I apologize.”
Agzos gripped his spear.
The second trial was to move a warrior standing within a circle even a single step.
But the warrior presiding over the second trial was vastly inferior in level to Agzos.
At most, Level 80.
No comparison whatsoever to Agzos at Level 99.
When Agzos resolved himself and swung his spear.
Crash-crash-rumble!
The palace trembled.
With overwhelming force, the spearpoint tore forward, and the ground where the shaft had passed carved out a deep furrow.
A thrust so powerful and swift, it seemed to cleave the air itself.
“You crazy bastard……!”
The one on the receiving end could do nothing but curse.
To survive, he had to move.
The warrior quickly stepped out of the circle, and his brow furrowed immediately.
“…The great Khan will not forgive this. Gatekeeper Agzos!”
“The great Khan will understand.”
Agzos shook his head.
The Khan was a conqueror.
Once, he had terrified even the demon races of the Abyss.
Though he had been sealed away after his defeat by Aheta, the Lord of the Moon, he was not one to be dismissed lightly.
The great Khan revered and respected above all else the principle of irregularity.
If he understood Agzos’s circumstances, he would surely grant his forgiveness.
Above all else.
……That challenger behind him.
He cannot defy that man’s word.
‘Even turning to look back terrifies me. Frightens me. I have never felt such an emotion in all my life.’
A terror he had never experienced on any battlefield was carved into every fiber of his being.
Agzos could not even bring himself to consider turning around.
All he could do was obey the command and move forward.
Absolute submission!
If it became known that Valhalla’s finest warrior had prostrated himself before a mere human, he would become the laughingstock of all.
‘……That challenger is not human. Something far more incomprehensible. An abomination that should not exist, could not exist—a mystery given form.’
Beyond the Zero Realm.
One who manipulates the negative domain with perfect freedom!
He existed within an abyss without end or bottom.
If what he had seen was the complete truth…….
‘What could possibly lie even deeper, in the most profound depths of all.’
Shudder.
His body trembled again.
Beings like gods.
Not merely the demon lords that existed in the Abyss.
If he dared speak plainly, they were something far more complex.
And Agzos had only glimpsed down to Minus Level 44.
That man existed far deeper still.
In the most profound depths imaginable.
‘Do not think of it. Do not remember.’
Agzos shook his head repeatedly.
He had to forget.
It would be better to erase it from his mind entirely.
Otherwise, he felt he would lose all sense of his own existence once more.
“The gatekeeper has lost his mind!”
The warrior clicked his tongue and withdrew from his position.
The Second Trial had been cleared with ease.
Beyond the door again.
Ding!
《You have resolved the ‘Second Trial’ within ‘Khan’s Palace’!》
《This is a resolution method that did not exist before.》
《Bonus Contribution Points have been granted.》
《You have obtained 20,000,000 Contribution Points.》
Forty million points already.
“…Is it really permissible to obtain Contribution Points so easily?”
“Didn’t I tell you? Forge your own path and walk it.”
In response to Yi Hyuk-soo’s question, Park Chan-woo gave a slight shrug.
A path that no one else takes is insufficient.
In the Abyss, the true way to reach the highest places was to create a path that didn’t exist at all and walk it.
Besides, it did him no harm for Yi Hyuk-soo to accumulate vast quantities of Contribution Points.
Though it was a tenth of what Park Chan-woo received, four million points was enough to earn him VVIP treatment even at the Contribution Shop.
If Yi Hyuk-soo grew stronger and was reborn as the savior of mankind, then perhaps he could achieve respectable results in the Racial War as well.
The Racial War was not an individual competition; Park Chan-woo could not solve everything alone.
And this was far from the end.
“Agzos. To reach the end of Khan’s Palace, how many Trials must be overcome?”
As Park Chan-woo asked, Agzos answered cautiously.
“…Ten of them.”
“Unbelievable.”
Yi Hyuk-soo found himself exhaling a word of wonder before he could catch himself.
Ten trials.
Eight more waiting ahead!
Yet Park Chan-woo, though he said nothing, was equally shaken by the revelation.
‘If I clear all of them this way, that’s two hundred million Contribution Points.’
Two hundred million—surpassing even his original target.
“And if you overcome all ten trials? What comes after?”
“Once you have conquered them all, the Great Khan himself will lift the seal and make his appearance.”
I see.
Now the design of these trials made sense.
A challenger bearing the Key, ascending toward the Great Khan.
And when they finally reached him, fresh opportunities to harvest Contribution Points would await.
Opportunities that could rival everything accumulated thus far.
‘Khan’s Palace. Minimum three hundred million Points.’
Three hundred million.
The number alone was dizzying.
He couldn’t even fathom what reward awaited if he completed the Second Night with three hundred million Contribution Points in hand.
‘Steel yourself, Aheta.’
In that moment, the image of the Lunar Lord Aheta weeping crystallized vividly in his mind.

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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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