Chapter 19

Named Creator

 

Countless words filled Park Chan-woo’s vision, overwhelming his senses.

As he read through each line, his brow furrowed.

‘…Not bankrupt.’

He had overcome an insurmountable gap—taking down a Death Knight at least level 41 while being at a crippling -96 level. It was, indeed, a leap across dimensions.

As a result, more than a hundred people received a Gold Box (★★) as a reward, while Park Chan-woo, who had single-handedly hunted the Death Knight, was given a Platinum Box (★★★) and a Potential Power Enhancement Scroll.

The rewards were overwhelming.

Especially for him, the treasures he obtained were of the highest order, worthy of being called celestial.

‘Any ordinary Creator would have gone bankrupt three times over by now.’

But this one hadn’t.

This meant they possessed a significant amount of coins.

At this point in time, very few Creators held enough coins to sustain such an endeavor.

This implied that the one behind this Sniper Abyss wasn’t any ordinary Creator.

‘If not a Named Creator…’

It was even harder to understand.

Even among Creators, there were hierarchies and rankings, but most of those currently involved with humanity were lower-tiered.

For example, the most powerful Creators were known as the Nine Supreme Monarchs—a group so revered that only nine of them existed across all the Abysses.

These were beings so awe-inspiring that even the Twelve Sovereigns of the Abyss dared not challenge them, and even demons and other Creators worshiped them from afar.

Below them were the 72 Demon Gods.

While they weren’t as exalted as the Nine Supreme Monarchs, their influence across the Abyss was nearly as formidable. They were the practical rulers and managers of the Abyss.

Below the Demon Gods were the 108 Demon Kings, who, despite having less territory, wielded immense power.

These three tiers were at the very top of the Abyss, referred to as Named beings. However, they had little interest in humanity.

Only lower-ranked Creators engaged in games involving humanity, a species deemed weak and insignificant among the 13 Lineages.

It would take at least a few more years for a Named Creator to even glance in humanity’s direction.

In other words…

‘Could it really be a Named Creator?’

The host of this Abyss, who had sniped Kim Byung-han, might just be a Named Creator.

The evidence? Despite the messages appearing, Park Chan-woo had received no request for negotiation.

No offers to exchange the rewards or reduce them. Nothing at all.

Even though the blow to the Creator must have been significant.

Named Creators were notoriously proud. With their status and power, they never lowered themselves to trade with humans.

And if…

If this truly was a Named Creator—one of the Nine Supreme Monarchs, 72 Demon Gods, or 108 Demon Kings—then…

 

―The Queen has commanded thus: To annihilate every human here, and especially to make sure that you are utterly obliterated.

 

Suddenly, the words spoken by the Death Knight resurfaced in his mind.

How many Creators could be called ‘Queen’ among the Named?

You could count them on one hand, and each of them was terrifying in their own right.

Which meant…

‘…This is bad.’

One must never make an enemy of such a being.

To antagonize them at this point was no different from committing suicide.

No ordinary Creator could refuse a request from a Named Creator.

It would be near impossible to navigate the Abyss without running into significant obstacles.

Or worse, he could be endlessly sniped, just as Kim Byung-han had been, with his colleagues turned against him.

The Creator could easily find a way to exploit Park Chan-woo’s weaknesses.

Not that he feared the sniping itself, but the delay in his growth could cause him to lose in the Race War, which was the greatest threat of all.

How could he resolve this situation?

He had a feeling he knew the answer.

Park Chan-woo looked up at the moon and spoke.

“Andariel and I swore an Abyss Covenant with our lives on the line. And he died honorably. For a demon, death means complete and absolute finality. But Andariel didn’t truly reach that end.”

He had reached only one conclusion through his experiences so far:

The owner of the Ring of the Covenant of the Dead—Andariel—and the Creator had a deep connection.

And that’s why this Creator harbored such overwhelming hatred toward Kim Byung-han for stealing the ring.

In the end, the root of all this was the ring.

Slowly, Park Chan-woo raised the Ring of the Covenant of the Dead toward the sky.

“Andariel’s existence still remains within the ring. For a demon, no greater dishonor exists. I can fully understand your anger.”

When a demon dies, they vanish entirely—evaporating without leaving a trace.

But the ring remained.

Thanks to the power engraved by the Creator of the Invisible Hand, who had forged a Vassal contract with Kim Byung-han.

Perhaps the Creator was enraged by this, furious that the demon with whom they had a special bond hadn’t met an honorable death.

“Creator, whose name I do not know, great lord of the Abyss! If you wish, I will surrender the ring. I ask for no reward in return.”

 

 

Ahh!

Park Chan-woo shuddered internally.

The Creator’s voice pierced through the message window.

It was a voice filled with dignity and majesty, the kind of voice one would expect from a Queen.

This meant the entity was indeed a Named Creator.

And not just any Named Creator—one of significant power!

Among the Creators currently invading Earth, there was no one who could compare to such a monster.

Suppressing his emotions as much as possible, Park Chan-woo spoke.

“Do you think I’m doing this because I want a reward?”

With a tone of disappointment, even mingled with a hint of anger, Park Chan-woo acted his part to perfection.

“I, too, wish for Andariel, who fought with me under the Abyss Covenant, to find eternal rest. I moved only for the honor of a worthy opponent, expecting nothing in return.”

The truth was, Andariel hadn’t been that worthy.

He failed because he took a bribe and abused his authority.

If he had followed the rules and not allowed Park Chan-woo into the game without forming a proper party, Andariel wouldn’t have met his demise.

But if the Creator and Andariel had a special bond, it was only natural for the Creator to want Andariel to be ‘honorable’.

And if the one who killed him spoke praises and elevated his honor, it could be a great consolation.

 

 

Thud!

A door appeared in the air and opened.

From it, a hand extended.

Without hesitation, Park Chan-woo placed the ring in the open palm.

‘In any case, after two more uses, its spell would have been depleted.’

Much of the ring’s magic had already been consumed during the battle with the Death Knight.

After two more uses, the magic would have run dry, rendering the ring useless.

 

 

There was no risk of exposing his own level, as the ring automatically adjusted to the recipient’s level.

At that moment, the Creator’s voice echoed across the world.

 

 

***

 

As soon as the Abyss ended and Park Chan-woo returned to reality—

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Park Chan-woo gasped for breath he had been holding back.

Cold sweat poured down his back.

His heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst out of his chest at any moment.

His face had gone pale, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

The being that had appeared when the door opened.

From the moment he faced the one who extended their hand, the tension he had been suppressing exploded all at once.

‘As expected, it was a Named one.’

To possess such overwhelming presence in a fleeting moment of contact—

Had he been in that being’s presence for just a few more seconds, his heart might have literally burst.

Park Chan-woo quickly headed home.

The moment he arrived, he collapsed onto the floor.

‘I had my suspicions, but to think it was a Demon God.’

He stared at the ceiling, reflecting on what had just transpired.

He still couldn’t fully believe it.

A Named Creator.

He was almost certain it had been one of the 108 Demon Kings.

There was no need for an even higher-ranking Creator to pay attention to humans.

Even when he had reached level 99, the Demon Gods considered Earth and humanity insignificant—nothing more than toys that could be wiped out at any moment.

And frankly, Park Chan-woo had felt the same way.

The sheer number of coins possessed by those at the level of a Demon God and above was incomparable.

‘…I almost didn’t live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.’

A Demon God was the true ruler of the Abyss.

They commanded vast territories, legions of demons, and wielded powers so extraordinary they defied comprehension.

With a mere thought, they could obliterate a single human.

Most Creators in the Abyss couldn’t disobey a Demon God.

Doing so would result in the complete annihilation of everything tied to that Creator.

The owner of the hand that had appeared earlier was one of them.

A being who proudly occupied a Demon God’s seat.

When that name came to mind, Park Chan-woo bit his lip once again.

‘Gremory of Lamentation!’

Known as the Queen of Sorrow, Gremory was the only Demon God among the ranks who was referred to as a queen.

Had Park Chan-woo not played his role well and performed his desperate act, he might not have lived to see the next day.

Moreover, she had taken only the ring and left the rest of the rewards untouched.

‘Help from a Demon God… I can’t even imagine what form that will take.’

But on second thought, there was no greater boon than this.

He had managed to make a Demon God indebted to him over a single ring.

Given that such a being had personally promised assistance, the scale of the help he could get would surely be nothing small.

Unlike lesser demons, beings like her never spoke empty words.

Ssshhhh!

Park Chan-woo showered in cold water, scrubbing his hands vigorously.

He still felt the cold sensation of the Gremory’s hand, and no matter how much he rubbed, it seemed to linger.

Afterwards, Park Chan-woo sat in his room and pulled out the three rewards from his inventory.

‘A two-star Gold Box, a three-star Platinum Box, and a Potential Power Enhancement Scroll.’

While he had received another three-star Platinum Box after returning to the past, this was his first time obtaining a Potential Power Enhancement Scroll.

He would have been quite disappointed if the Gremory of Lamentation had taken it.

In some ways, it was even harder to come by than the three-star Platinum Box.

Gulp!

‘…I can’t believe I got this already.’

 

T/N: Minor edit— Great Nine Lords → Nine Supreme Monarchs