Chapter 4: Acquiring a Catastrophic Reward
Rewards pour in like a tidal wave.
Especially the names of the rewards from the first Abyss are shocking.
Aside from the Gold Box, a Platinum Box!
And not just any Platinum Box.
“A 3-star Platinum Box… I only received a regular Platinum Box after reaching level 70. I’ve never even seen a 3-star one before.”
It was beyond incomprehensible; it was a miracle.
Having single-handedly hunted a corrupted demon 109 levels higher, it would be an understatement to say the feat was praised as ‘mythical.’
T/n: MC is Lv -99 while Corrupted Spirit was lv 8, so the Difference is 109 Levels.
However, even Park Chan-woo was surprised by the 3-star Platinum Box being offered as a reward.
There are five types of ‘boxes’ available in the Abyss:
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
Diamond Boxes are ‘exclusive boxes’ that can only be obtained after reaching level 99, so for most people, the Platinum Box is considered the highest grade.
The quality of the rewards increases dramatically with each star.
Three stars?
It was beyond imagination what could be inside.
“Only about 1% of people obtained a Gold Box in the first Abyss.”
Even just getting a Gold Box was a significant achievement.
In the past, only around 20% survived, and they ended up with just a Bronze Box.
Those who got a ‘Gold Box’ in the first Abyss were in the top 1% of the population.
But no one had received a Platinum Box.
If there was a Platinum Box, Park Chan-woo would have known.
The gear from a Platinum Box would be a tremendous help in navigating the Abyss.
Although Gold and Platinum are just one tier apart, the treasures from the boxes are on a different dimension.
If someone had received a Platinum Box, they would have rapidly grown stronger and monopolized all the benefits.
Park Chan-woo would definitely have known such a person.
The reason he wanted to return to the opening of the first Abyss was precisely this.
“The rewards from the first Abyss dictate the growth rate.”
In the past, he was too slow and late.
He only began seriously tackling the Abyss more than six months ago.
He regretted it deeply.
If he had shortened that time and secured a high position faster, he wouldn’t have had such extreme thoughts as offering Sephiroth as a sacrifice to return to the past.
Especially if he had properly secured the rewards from the first Abyss, he was sure his ‘growth peak’ would have been different.
“By the way.”
Park Chan-woo glanced at the floating text again.
The rewards were astonishing, but so was the message that followed.
Numerous creators were showing interest in him.
Park Chan-woo smirked.
“This Abyss creator might go bankrupt.”
The creators are the ones who design the Abyss.
They are the supreme beings who placed the corrupted demons and made 881 people play ‘tag.’
They are the ‘lords of the Abyss,’ not related to the twelve races.
Their bet resulted in an ‘expected survival rate of 21.7%.’
However, the actual survival rate was over four times that, at 93.5%.
The creators who bet on this would have lost all their ‘coins,’ and the creator of the Abyss would likely have gone bankrupt, spewing out ‘Gold Boxes x824’ and ‘3-star Platinum Boxes.’
“It should be time for them to appear.”
He managed to clear his dizzying thoughts.
Soon, Park Chan-woo was inwardly shouting Eureka as a new message appeared.
《The creator ‘Panting Abyss’ is offering a better reward and is asking for a reward exchange.》
《If you accept, you can receive ‘100 Gold Boxes’ instead of the ‘3-star Platinum Box.’》
《Additionally, you will be able to make a ‘Divine Contract’ with ‘Panting Abyss.’》
《If you proceed with the ‘Divine Contract’ instead of the ‘Apostle Contract,’ you will receive a correction effect from the Abyss created by ‘Panting Abyss.’ You can also inherit a ‘Secret Class.’》
As expected.
“Seems they really don’t want to go bankrupt.”
In the past, there were cases where creators went bankrupt.
Every time, the creators tried to revive by any means and would try to lure those who cleared their Abyss with various excuses.
The most common method was ‘reducing the rewards.’
They would pretend to offer something better, but actually reduce the rewards subtly to avoid bankruptcy.
They would try to lower the rewards for the other 823 people as well.
“If I didn’t know anything, I might have accepted.”
If someone didn’t know, they might have been tempted by the offer.
They might have thought they could become ‘allies’ with the one who created this hell and grabbed the offer.
100 Gold Boxes instead of one? That might have seemed like a better deal.
However, Park Chan-woo knew.
It was a trap.
Just trying to avoid bankruptcy.
100 Gold Boxes?
That’s no joke; it can’t compare to a single 3-star Platinum Box.
The higher the box level, the greater the disparity in the quality of the gear obtained.
Especially a 3-star Platinum Box.
“A Divine Contract is a form of slave contract. It’s just a play on words.”
Creators.
It’s better to keep distance from the lords of the Abyss.
Becoming a ‘Divine’ would mean being heavily influenced by those creators.
They might summon you to their Abyss or order you to manipulate the ‘survival rate’ in the Abyss.
If the survival rate was higher than expected, they might secretly kill people.
There were quite a few ‘Divine’ beings who played tricks like that.
“Get lost.”
Park Chan-woo raised his hand with a smirk.
In an instant.
《“No! This can’t be happening! How did I get such a qualification!”》
《The creator ‘Panting Abyss’ has gone bankrupt!》
《‘Panting Abyss’ has lost their creator status.》
《Due to massive debt, the creator’s rank has been downgraded.》
《You, who greatly contributed to bankrupting the creator, are awarded ‘3 Coins.’》
《Using the coins, you can escape from unwanted Abysses.》
“As expected.”
One creator had already started from the beginning.
It was quite satisfying.
It felt like being full even though he hadn’t eaten.
And he got coins too.
“To get three escape coins from the start. If my comrades saw this, they’d be envious.”
Coins are considered the best treasure.
They are truly treasures among treasures.
Being able to escape at will from a wretched Abyss.
As time passes, the difficulty of the Abyss increases.
There are Abysses with useless time and no rewards.
Or Abysses targeting specific individuals.
Known as ‘Sniper Abysses.’
Without coins, the chance of dying when targeted by snipers is as high as 95%.
The problem is that getting escape coins is as hard as picking stars from the sky.
So it was also crucial not to be too noticeable to the creators.
But to have received three escape coins from the start.
It means there’s no need to be cautious with the creators.
“A creator opening a sniper Abyss would bear a significant burden. If the target escapes, it would be a huge blow.”
The Abyss is a place where participants and creators battle against each other.
Naturally, if the creator’s goal fails, the creator also takes a hit.
They could even go bankrupt like this.
So.
“I’m not making any deals with you.”
《All Apostle proposals have been declined.》
《The proposing creators are displeased.》
“Too bad if you’re mad.”
Even if they open a sniper Abyss now, it doesn’t matter.
Gaining classes through an Apostle contract?
That’s an option, but Park Chan-woo had no intention of dealing with the lords of the Abyss.
Creators always want more.
He planned to walk his own path.
With that, Park Chan-woo closed his eyes comfortably.
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.
“Where is the ‘Abyss’ experienced simultaneously by people worldwide?”
“Currently, at least 100,000 deaths have been reported in Seoul alone.”
“What is humanity’s awakening and the path it must take?”
“Apocalypse has arrived!”
Everywhere—TV, newspapers, the internet—was filled with news about the Abyss.
In the late afternoon.
Park Chan-woo, who had returned home with difficulty, sat on the bed after a shower.
He was rubbing his hair with a towel while fiddling with his phone, the TV news playing in the background.
“…Was it always this difficult?”
Having lived 20 years away from electronics, it was hard to use the phone even by recalling memories.
In another six months, societal infrastructure would collapse.
“If I can minimize the damage when the large-scale Abyss opens in six months and we encounter the twelve races for the first time…”
At least the state should be able to function.
The difference between having and not having a functioning base is like heaven and earth.
But the upcoming ‘large-scale Abyss,’ the ‘First Race War,’ is not to be underestimated.
Even against the weakest soldiers, humanity was overwhelmingly defeated.
As a result, humanity had to offer 120 million people.
Each race received ten million sacrifices.
Thinking back to that time still made him shiver.
“Divine of Sacrifice. How long do you plan to keep sleeping?”
He muttered to himself.
The Divine of Sacrifice remained silent as always.
If he had returned, they would have returned together, but there was no reaction.
There was another strange part.
He had definitely seen a message saying that more offerings were needed to resurrect the Divine of Sacrifice.
“Hey.”
He had tried calling out the Divine several times.
Eventually, the response came in a small whisper.
《[Abyss of Sacrifice: The world you know has changed, and you are now an entity in a different world.]》
《[The return of the ‘Divine of Sacrifice’ is not possible under the current conditions. Please understand.]》
《[A new method of awakening is being reviewed. Please wait for a while.]》
《[You, as the Divine of Sacrifice, will be revived in the new world. Please, wait for that day.]》
《[Be prepared to gather sacrifice points as a form of compensation. Good luck.]》
Park Chan-woo smiled.
The future seems to have become an interesting place.
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