Chapter 2: It’s Actually Quite Good?
Level!
When the Abyss opened, Awakened humans gained the ability to level up like characters in a game.
It was a blessing and a preparation against the twelve powerful races that would attack humanity in the future.
As a result, humanity could somewhat resist these monsters.
…But it was just a change from the size comparison between an elephant and an ant to one between an elephant and a rat. Still, it might be worth a shot.
The max level is 99.
Only five individuals have reached this level.
In this world, level is an absolute indicator and the most important milestone.
Because.
‘Everything you can obtain from the Abyss is based on the Awakened’s level.’
For example, equipment.
Special, top-grade equipment imbued with mysticism, obtainable only from the Abyss.
To fight the twelve races of monsters, such equipment, only obtainable from the Abyss, is essential. However, the level of that equipment cannot exceed the level of the Awakened who cleared the Abyss.
‘Damn it, even equipment has levels.’
Equipment has two standards of ‘strength’: ‘level’ and ‘grade’.
Imagine a level 10 Awakened obtaining a level 10 sword.
It might be the highest level sword the Awakened can possess, but if the grade is poor, its performance might be worse than a lower-level sword.
Conversely, even with a low level, if the grade is high, a certain level gap can be ignored.
The problem is with the level.
In the Abyss, you cannot obtain weapons exceeding the user’s level.
This was the decisive reason why Park Chan-woo was frowning.
‘…Even if I clear the Abyss now, it means I can only get -99 level equipment.’
…How did it come to this?
Before his regression, Park Chan-woo’s level was 99.
Naturally, his equipment were all 99-level treasures.
As the strongest sword mage, he wore only the best equipment that could leave one’s mouth agape just by looking at it.
Of course, there might be hope if trades or exchanges were possible, but all items obtained from the Abyss could only be possessed and used by the person who acquired them.
If transferred to another, they would simply vanish.
‘Many people suffered losses early on because they didn’t know the rules of the Abyss.’
They would transfer hard-earned equipment, tools, or skill books, only for them to vanish into thin air, causing them to regret bitterly.
…Anyway.
Park Chan-woo, hoping it was just a simple error, once again checked his status window.
Affiliation: Earth / Human / South Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 71kg
Level: -99
Strength (1)
Endurance (1)
Agility (1)
Intelligence (1)
Mana (1)
Status: Weakest, Frail, Feeble, Nonexistent, Time-Limited
“Cough!”
It wasn’t a mistake.
Coughing up blood in disbelief, Park Chan-woo realized his current status.
‘Coughing up blood and feeling completely drained… I guess the status window I’m seeing is correct.’
Park Chan-woo felt his condition keenly.
It was a cursed situation, but it was reality.
He had an idea why he had ended up like this.
— Whatever it takes! If what I have is insufficient, I’ll sell my future if necessary! If that’s still not enough, I’ll offer my soul as a sacrifice…!
He had sold his future as a sacrifice.
That was why this ghastly status window was displayed.
Was there even any meaning in returning to the past like this?
Just having a frail constitution was hard enough, but what about the weakest, frail, and nonexistent statuses? And what about the last one?
‘Time-limited. It’s like being a walking time bomb.’
It was literally that.
It was maddening.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath.
He was afraid that his heart might burst from excitement.
“Awakened?”
“Status Window?”
“Hey! What’s going on! Something really appeared!”
People in the park looked in amazement at the suddenly appearing status window.
Meanwhile, time flowed helplessly.
《Remaining time: 20 seconds!》
《Earthlings, prepare for shock!》
《The Abyss will open soon!》
Park Chan-woo quickly moved towards the lake.
“Look at that person!”
“He’s walking into the water all of a sudden?”
Ignoring the murmurs of the people, Park Chan-woo waded into the water.
Submerging up to his neck and keeping his head above, he surveyed the situation.
Once the Abyss opens, this park turns into hell.
There was no way to escape or run away.
‘Whether I can clear the Abyss with my current body, I don’t know.’
Although his condition was the worst, his memories and experiences remained intact.
He knew exactly how things would unfold and how to resolve them.
First, the monster that would appear in the first Abyss, this lake park, was none other than.
《Time’s up!》
《The Abyss opens!》
《Hide and seek~ Your hair will be seen~》
《Survive for 1 hour against the Corrupted Demon (Level 10)!》
《881 people are participating in this Abyss.》
《Estimated survival rate: 21.7%》
《You will receive higher-grade ‘boxes’ based on your survival rate after clearing the Abyss.》
《There are also many hidden quests, so don’t give up and challenge them.》
Corrupted Demon (墮落鬼).
A level 10 monster and a scout.
It is not among the twelve races. They still have a long way to appear.
However, it was threatening enough for current humanity.
Since it was impossible to defeat Abyss monsters without Abyss weapons.
‘There is a way to clear hidden quests and get weapons to fight the Corrupted Demon…’
But with his current condition, it was an impossible task.
Even if he cleared quests, he would only get -99 level weapons, so it would be more realistic to smash the Corrupted Demon’s head with an egg.
All Park Chan-woo could do was hide.
‘The Corrupted Demon doesn’t dislike water.’
He might be able to buy some time.
Helping others?
First, he needed to survive himself.
To plan for the future, he had to safely get through the first Abyss.
“Ah, the sky suddenly turned red…!”
“Why is the ground like this?”
“Wh-what is happening?”
When the Abyss opened, everything changed.
The sky, the ground, even the trees.
It was no longer the previous scene.
Red sky, cracked ground, trees with faces like holes, and numerous roots jutting out of the ground.
Screech—
…And the Corrupted Demon, which made a bizarre sound as it appeared.
“Argh!”
“A-monster!”
A three-meter tall beast.
An abnormal creature with huge ears, four noses, and eight eyes!
It immediately reached out to a woman who screamed first.
Slash!
Splurt!
《The first death has occurred!》
Its elongated hand decapitated the woman.
As blood gushed out, people could only panic.
“Someone died… Ah!”
“H-help me!”
《Seven people have died.》
《Currently, 874 people are alive.》
《Remaining time: 59 minutes 12 seconds.》
It was a game extremely unfavorable to humans.
They had to find a way to deal with the Corrupted Demon and keep running until then.
Even with everyone working together, it wasn’t enough, and only a few could think calmly in such chaos.
‘…Damn it.’
Among them, Park Chan-woo, who was observing the Corrupted Demon coldly, frowned.
With his current condition, there was nothing he could do.
Watching passively was the best he could do.
Yet, why did he feel so uneasy?
Eventually, Park Chan-woo moved to the middle of the lake.
The lake was shallow, and with a bit of swimming, he reached the center.
“Phew!”
Holding his nose and diving, Park Chan-woo scanned the lake’s bottom with his eyes.
‘Found it.’
A golden glowing box.
Hidden quest and hidden equipment were there.
Park Chan-woo dived deeper and grabbed the glowing box.
《Found the ‘Hidden Gold Box’!》
《Obtained a random ‘Epic grade’ equipment!》
《‘Dorongdo (-99Lv, Epic)’ acquired.》
“Gasp! Gasp! Ugh!”
Emerging from the water, Park Chan-woo gasped for breath.
Just a bit of swimming had exhausted him.
He felt acid reflux rising from his mouth.
Park Chan-woo looked at the Dorongdo.
‘As expected.’
His bad premonitions were correct.
It was a -99 level sword.
He had hoped otherwise, but it was reality.
Park Chan-woo held the sword adorned with a lizard on its hilt and stepped out of the water.
A related information window popped up when he swung the Dorongdo.
Name: Dorongdo
Level: -99
Grade: Epic
Description: A sword imbued with the ‘Energy of the Lizard’. Although the grade is high, the level is so low that the ‘Energy of the Lizard’ does not manifest.
Equipable by: One-handed weapon
Attack Power: 1
Unique Option: Increases stamina by 1.
Maybe because his stamina increased from 1 to 2?
It was a bit easier to move than before.
‘An attack power of 1…’
But still, the sword had a special option.
Perhaps it was more useful than the sword itself.
Park Chan-woo aimed to survive until the end with this.
Survival in the Abyss with current status is difficult.
But having some weapons was better than nothing.
‘Let’s survive this first Abyss.’
He swam carefully to the shore.
Abyss 1 – Survival Duration: 58 minutes 23 seconds.
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