Chapter 3: Accomplishing a Mythical Task
Park Chan-woo was one of the five strongest humans in existence.
He was the fourth person to reach the maximum level of 99 and became an object of reverence as the only “Dual Class” among the 99-level Awakened.
However, no matter how many maximum levels he achieved or how many renowned treasures he collected, he could not defeat the ‘Race Master’ like the Dragon God Sephiroth.
Simply put, the level was different.
‘The limit of humans is the Tenth Realm, but the Race Masters are at least Thirteenth Realm monsters.’
The boundaries of strength were often expressed in terms of ‘realms.’
For example, the First Realm (一界) refers to levels 1 through 10 in human terms.
With a maximum level of 99, humanity could never surpass the Tenth Realm no matter how strong they became.
In reality, one could not level up further unless they completed “Breakthrough Quests” at each 10-level interval.
It was a matter of climbing up each step.
But the Race Masters, the “Twelve Great Rulers,” were different.
They were monsters of at least the Thirteenth Realm.
In terms of levels, that would be around level 130.
With a difference of more than 30 levels, it was only natural that defeating them was impossible.
‘…The Sephiroth I saw at the end was beyond that.’
It was unpleasant to recall, but the Dragon God Sephiroth was stronger than any Race Master Park Chan-woo had encountered.
Especially its true form… that transcendent dragon was beyond the realm of possibility.
It might be the strongest among the Twelve Great Rulers.
In any case, a 30-level difference made victory impossible.
Even with a difference of just 10 levels, the probability of winning drops exponentially.
But 109 levels?
‘There’s no such thing as impossible.’
Park Chan-woo was a mage.
Although he took up magic later than others, he was someone who pursued the truth and penetrated it.
Turning the impossible into possible, and adding more possibilities to what is possible, is the path a mage must follow.
So.
‘It looks impossible, but… there is a chance.’
He didn’t miss even the faintest possibility.
As one accomplished more difficult trials, the rewards of the Abyss were bound to grow.
He couldn’t even imagine what rewards he might receive if he narrowed such a gap.
“Hey! Park Chan-woo! What are you doing over there!”
At that moment, a man came running toward him.
With a solid build, the face looked somewhat familiar.
‘Who was it?’
Park Chan-woo squinted.
Then he nodded.
‘It seems like an old boss.’
At 27 years old, Park Chan-woo was working at a securities company in Ilsan.
It looked like his boss, who used to constantly berate him for poor performance.
He regretted not leaving the job sooner, which led to severe depression and social anxiety.
‘Yes, Kim Byung-han.’
The memories came back.
The first Abyss opened during lunchtime on a weekday.
He had been caught up in it while taking a walk in a park near the company.
Kim Byung-han must have been caught up for a similar reason.
However, he had never encountered Kim Byung-han during the first Abyss.
They were probably too busy hiding from each other, so it was only natural.
“Chan-woo, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Kim Byung-han, who approached, spoke with concern.
Then he glanced at the great sword in Park Chan-woo’s hand.
‘Damn it. I need a weapon to protect myself.’
The park had turned into hell after the Abyss opened.
Monsters were emerging and slaughtering people.
Since every hiding place was packed with people, if they just stayed here, they would be killed by monsters.
At that moment, he spotted Park Chan-woo.
Holding a large sword near the lake.
With that sword alone, he would be invincible.
He could drive people away and hide in a good spot.
In the worst case, he could attack the monsters or throw Park Chan-woo to the monsters as food.
Despite the large sword, Park Chan-woo was introverted and timid.
‘But it’s lucky. I didn’t expect to find a mark here.’
To Kim Byung-han, Park Chan-woo was nothing more than a pushover.
He would obey if he was properly coaxed and deceived.
“If you want to live, follow me. You’ll be eaten by those monsters if you stay here.”
“It’s been a while, Pig.”
“Pig… what? Pig?”
Swish.
Park Chan-woo lifted the Dragon Sword and brought it close to Kim Byung-han’s throat.
“Gah…! What, what are you doing, you bastard? It’s me, Team Leader Kim Byung-han!”
Despite its attack power of 1, it was a perfectly fine sword.
Kim Byung-han, who had no idea it was a level 99 sword, was shaking in fear.
“P-Park Chan-woo! What are you doing! Put down the sword now!”
“If you scream, a corrupt spirit will come. Keep shouting if you want to be eaten.”
“Ugh…!”
Kim Byung-han quickly closed his mouth.
He looked at Park Chan-woo with a look of disbelief.
‘Did he take some drug or something? Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’
This was completely out of character for Park Chan-woo.
He had never once acted like this.
He used to be obedient and had never once shown any resistance.
He would often be reprimanded and told to pack his bags and leave the company for not being helpful.
He had never stood up for himself.
Yet now, Park Chan-woo was holding a knife to his throat.
“Chan-woo, let’s not do this and talk…”
“Go forward.”
“…What?”
“If you want to live, go forward.”
Stab, stab.
Park Chan-woo poked the blade into the back of Kim Byung-han’s head.
‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’
Kim Byung-han glared at Park Chan-woo in anger for a moment.
And then.
‘What’s going on?’
He quickly lowered his eyes.
The cold, abyss-like gaze from Park Chan-woo was something he had never seen before.
There was no emotion.
He wasn’t flustered by the situation.
‘Was he always like this?’
No, Park Chan-woo was a weak person. He would have fainted from panic if put in this situation.
But now he seemed like a completely different person.
He felt like a ghost or a demon. Had the Abyss driven him mad?
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. I’ll go.”
Kim Byung-han slowly started moving forward.
Creeeak!
The sound of the corrupt spirit was heard from not far away.
Stab.
“Go forward.”
“There’s a monster ahead…”
“Forward, or…”
Isn’t this guy insane?
If he wasn’t planning to die with him, why would he act like this?
‘Crazy bastard…!’
Kim Byung-han bit his lip.
He shouldn’t have come.
No one expected Park Chan-woo to be this out of his mind.
But he couldn’t refuse.
Since Park Chan-woo was holding the sword.
He walked a few more steps.
“Aah!”
“Crack…!”
A couple near them were killed by the corrupt spirit.
Kim Byung-han witnessed it live.
Eventually, he couldn’t move any further.
His mind went blank.
At that moment.
“Ah, ah…”
He made eye contact.
With the corrupt spirit.
Kiiiii!
The corrupt spirit changed its target.
It began to charge at Kim Byung-han.
‘I’m going to die!’
Kim Byung-han’s legs gave out, and he sat on the ground.
He wet himself and tightly closed his eyes.
“Indeed. It doesn’t recognize me at all.”
In an instant, Park Chan-woo stood in front of Kim Byung-han.
It was confirmed that the spirit came for Kim Byung-han.
Even though it had gotten close, the corrupt spirit was solely focused on Kim Byung-han.
Park Chan-woo tried moving further back, but the spirit’s target didn’t change.
All eight of its eyes were focused on Kim Byung-han.
‘Now, the only thing left to confirm is whether it recognizes me when attacked.’
Non-existence.
It was clear that Park Chan-woo had no presence.
He needed to check if it would recognize his existence if attacked.
“Hey, pisspants. If you want to live, run like a dog over there.”
Park Chan-woo pointed to the lakeside.
“H, hwaaaaah!”
Kim Byeong-han, who regained his senses belatedly, got up and started running in the indicated direction.
Kieek!
The corrupt spirit also changed its direction and chased after Kim Byeong-han.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath.
And just as the corrupt spirit was about to pass him by.
‘The corrupt spirit’s weak spot is below the navel.’
A conduit for magical power.
It was the most vulnerable spot, so even a proper punch would deal considerable damage.
Park Chan-woo took out a sphere from his pocket.
The sphere had various colors, from black to blue.
When it was thrown, it created a storm of magic.
The very same magical storm that gave Park Chan-woo an advantage against strong opponents.
‘Although I don’t know the exact effect… Let’s see if it works.’
He clenched his teeth and tossed the sphere at the corrupt spirit.
Pshht!
The sphere burst and a magical storm erupted.
The corrupt spirit was engulfed.
“Roaar!”
A scream erupted from the corrupt spirit.
The magical storm had a considerable effect.
The corrupt spirit struggled violently.
“Damn it, it worked. Now, let’s get this over with.”
Park Chan-woo raised the sword.
The sword, with a 99-level attack power, was different from the typical swords.
With one slash, the Fallen Demon’s lower body was cut off.
And finally, it was Killed.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath and looked at Kim Byeong-han, who had fallen on the ground.
“Cowardly bastard.”
Park Chan-woo said that and left.
The magic sphere’s effect didn’t last long, but it was enough to deal a fatal blow.
Kim Byeong-han was trembling on the ground.
After Park Chan-woo was gone, Kim Byeong-han laid there, losing consciousness.
‘He’ll probably die in a few minutes.’
He wasn’t the only one.
All the people who had been with Park Chan-woo were either dead or severely injured.
Park Chan-woo, completely exhausted, laid on the ground. With intense pain and extreme fatigue, he was unable to move. Yet his eyes were still focused on the system messages that were defining his current condition.
《Status ‘Doomed’: You will die within 500 days.》
《Status ‘Weakest’: Your base stats are fixed at 1.》
《Status ‘Sickly’: Easily affected by diseases and curses.》
《Status ‘Feeble’: Always feels weak.》
《Status ‘Insignificant’: Your presence is extremely diminished.》
These statuses starkly revealed Park Chan-woo’s current situation. With the threat to his life and his stats drastically reduced, and his presence virtually nonexistent, it was a situation making survival in the upcoming world extremely challenging.
However, the system messages offered a small glimmer of hope.
《‘Abyss’ is ending.》
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