Chapter 17

King of the Hell of Thorns (Lv.84)

 

It was honestly a rare opportunity.

The ‘Creator of the Invisible Hand’ was notorious for his insatiable greed, so for him to abandon something stolen in this way was almost unheard of.

The fact that he framed Kim Byung-han and prompted the opposing Creator to ‘snipe’ him meant one thing—the ‘Creator of the Invisible Hand’ had given up on owning this ring.

That left only one remaining obstacle.

‘The Creator who gave Andariel the Ring of the Covenant of the Dead and allowed him to act as the Game Master in the Night Abyss… It must be the same entity who opened this sniper Abyss.’

Who could have opened the sniper Abyss?

The Ring of the Covenant of the Dead that Kim Byung-han had stolen was worn by Game Master Andariel to seal his power. But chances were, the ring didn’t originally belong to the demon Andariel.

After all, the mere presence of a high-ranking demon in the First Night’s Abyss was an irony in itself.

The Abyss War had only just begun.

Even Creators needed coins to open an Abyss, and creating a powerful Abyss required significantly more coins.

Given the current timeline, it was unlikely that any Creator had enough coins to recklessly place a high-ranking demon in an Abyss.

Even for the ‘Master of the Moon’, who opened the Night Abyss, this was no exception. A high-ranking demon wouldn’t have been considered as a Game Master from the start.

And yet, one Creator had gone out of their way to force Andariel, a high-ranking demon, to lower his status and participate in the Night Abyss.

Park Chan-woo was convinced that this Creator was the same entity behind the sniper Abyss.

‘To own this ring in peace, I’ll have to bankrupt the Creator who sniped Kim Byung-han.’

It was the only way to claim the ring.

Gyeok [격 (格) ] —a concept akin to status or even the essence of a being’s soul.

The Ring of the Covenant of the Dead sealed Andariel’s gyeok entirely.

The fact that Kim Byung-han was caught the moment he stole the ring meant the Creator who owned it had been keeping an eye on him.

Given that a sniper Abyss was opened, it was unlikely the Creator would give up just because Park Chan-woo took the ring.

The chances were high that the harassment would continue.

Therefore, if Park Chan-woo wanted to keep the ring without any repercussions, he needed to ensure the Creator was thoroughly bankrupted in this sniper Abyss.

“W-What do you mean by ‘framed’?”

When Kim Byung-han asked, Park Chan-woo shrugged.

“It means the entity you contracted with pinned all the blame on you.”

“Th-Then what should I do? If I just get rid of the ring, will it all end?”

Kim Byung-han looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

Wouldn’t it be nice if that were the case?

“It won’t end.”

“What…?”

“Even if you throw away the ring or pass it to someone else, the one who created this Abyss will stop at nothing to see you dead.”

Park Chan-woo answered honestly.

Because this sniper Abyss clearly showed malicious intent toward Kim Byung-han.

‘This Abyss was designed solely to destroy Kim Byung-han.’

The moment Kim Byung-han arrived at his office—the heart of the organization to which he had devoted half his life—the sniper attack began.

Only the people in the same building, his colleagues, had been summoned into the Abyss, and they were the ones ordered to kill him.

As if that wasn’t enough, during the day, everything around Kim Byung-han reflected his surroundings, exposing him. And at night, spectral bats followed him, wearing him down to the brink of exhaustion.

But the swords—those were only ever placed in the hands of humans.

The betrayal of those he trusted.

The intention was clear: for Kim Byung-han to despair and die, consumed by that betrayal.

If this isn’t malice, what is?

Thus, even if Kim Byung-han discarded the ring, he wouldn’t survive.

…Not unless Park Chan-woo gave him coins.

“A-Ah…!”

Kim Byung-han was devastated.

Tears and snot flowed freely as he clenched his fists and pounded the ground. He wanted to plead his case, but the overwhelming surge of emotions made it impossible to speak.

“Please, save me…! You can save me, can’t you?”

In the end, Kim Byung-han reached out, grabbing the hem of Park Chan-woo’s pants.

Park Chan-woo looked down at him with cold eyes.

“Why should I risk my life to save the likes of you?”

“I’ll give you the ring! Anything I have… it’s all yours… Cough!”

Kim Byung-han coughed up blood, sobbing uncontrollably.

Even so, he didn’t forget to hand over the ring with trembling hands.

If left alone, he wouldn’t survive for long.

It was impossible for him to make it out alive by himself.

“Fine. I’ll save you.”

“…!”

“But on one condition.”

Park Chan-woo bent down.

Then, he whispered in Kim Byung-han’s ear.

“You must fulfill my request next time. No exceptions.”

“Ah, I… understand. Kuugh!”

Kim Byung-han gasped for breath. His face was pale, dark circles heavy under his deadened eyes.

This was enough.

‘The Creator of the Invisible Hand. When that guy goes after the Tears of God during the Interspecies War in half a year, I’ll be sure to pilfer it.’

In six months, the first ‘Large-Scale Abyss’ will open.

Commonly known as the Interspecies War, it was a game in which 120 million humans were offered as ‘sacrifices’ in the past.

On that day, humanity and the ‘Thirteen Species’ would meet for the first time, competing against each other, and would receive rewards or punishments depending on their ranking.

During the first Interspecies War, humanity couldn’t even avoid last place, despite facing the weakest opponents.

And amidst all that, the Creator of the Invisible Hand and his avatars succeeded in stealing the ‘Tears of God’ from the game master.

Park Chan-woo planned to make that his own.

‘…This time, we need to at least place in the top 8 during the Interspecies War.’

From 8th place and above, there were no penalties. If they could secure 8th place or higher, humanity could avoid the catastrophe that would reset everything.

The problem was that Park Chan-woo’s strength alone wouldn’t be enough to achieve that.

This would be a battle watched by all of humanity and the twelve other species.

To make it to the top 8, Park Chan-woo would either have to become an ‘unbreakable wall’ himself or rapidly nurture prodigies like Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo.

‘It’s not easy for me either.’

Level 96.

Even Park Chan-woo had no time to help others grow, as he was focused on his own growth.

Complete monopolization.

Just as wealth allowed one to help others, one had to become strong to protect and lead others.

For Park Chan-woo to look after others, he had to first grow strong enough himself.

Park Chan-woo snatched the ring from Kim Byung-han as if taking it by force.

At the same time, notifications appeared.

 

 

‘…I knew it would turn out like this.’

But it didn’t matter.

The ring’s level was never the important part.

 

 

“…!”

Park Chan-woo cheered inwardly.

Just as expected.

Jackpot.

No, it was beyond a jackpot. It was a colossal jackpot.

‘So, he was a demon with the status of a king.’

The King of the Hell of Thorns!

That title not only described Andariel, but it was also the core magic Andariel had sealed within himself.

But why would a demon who was a king act like a jester in the Night Abyss?

 

 

The rules had changed.

‘They’re overexerting themselves.’

Changing the rules of an already established Abyss required a significant coin investment. It could only be done by spending extra coins.

That showed just how attached the Creator was to this ring.

Frankly, it was puzzling.

Was the Ring of the Covenant of the Dead really worth enough to warrant the additional coin investment?

‘Fine. I’ll bankrupt you.’

It was better this way.

The Death Knight would appear in just two hours.

If Park Chan-woo killed it, the Creator of this Abyss would naturally go bankrupt.

Whoosh!

Thunk!

At that moment, an arrow flew toward them from a distance.

Thankfully, Radiant Anubis detected it first and blocked it with its body.

“That bastard’s not a demon, he’s human!”

“Kill them both!”

“Hurry! We don’t have much time!”

People began to appear, one after another.

Their numbers quickly exceeded a hundred.

Even with Anubis, it was impossible for Park Chan-woo to fight them all alone.

‘To use the Ring of the Covenant of the Dead, I’ll need to make a covenant with the entity sealed within it.’

In other words, only those who had made a covenant with ‘Andariel’ could use this ring.

This meant only Andariel or someone very important to Andariel could use the ring containing his magic.

But that didn’t bother Park Chan-woo.

He had already made a strong ‘covenant’ with Andariel once.

‘The Abyssal Covenant. There’s no greater covenant than that.’

What is a covenant?

It is a solemn pledge, a binding promise.

Through the Abyssal Covenant, Park Chan-woo and Andariel had sworn upon their very hearts.

Though Andariel had perished as a result, a covenant was still a covenant, wasn’t it?

Watching the people charging toward him, Park Chan-woo spoke.

“Engulf them all, King of the Hell of Thorns.”