Chapter 2

But… Isn’t This Actually A Good Thing?

Level!

When the Abyss opened, awakened humanity gained the ability to level up, just like characters in a game. You could say it was both a blessing and a strategic preparation to counter the powerful twelve races that would attack humanity in the future. Thanks to this, humanity managed to hold its own against those monsters to some extent.

…Although it was like moving from the size of an ant compared to an elephant to maybe a mouse compared to an elephant. Still, it was a bit more manageable, wasn’t it?

The max level was 99. Only five humans had officially reached that level. In this world, level was the absolute measure, the most crucial milestone above all else.

Because—

‘Everything obtainable in the Abyss is based on the level of the awakened individual.’

For example, equipment.

The special and superior equipment, imbued with mystery, that could only be obtained in the Abyss. To fight against the monsters of the twelve races, this equipment was absolutely necessary, and its level could never exceed that of the awakened person who cleared the Abyss.

‘Damn it, even equipment has levels.’

Equipment had two dimensions of ‘strength’—‘level’ and ‘grade.’ Let’s say an awakened person at level 10 obtained a level 10 sword. Even though it was the max-level sword the awakened person could wield, if its grade was poor, it might perform worse than a sword of a lower level. Conversely, if the grade was high, it could somewhat ignore the level gap.

While grade might not be an issue, level was the real problem. In the Abyss, you couldn’t obtain weapons above your own level. This was the critical reason why Park Chan-woo couldn’t help but frown right now.

‘…This means that even if I clear an Abyss now, I’ll only get equipment at -99 level.’

…How did this happen?

Before returning, Park Chan-woo’s level was 99. Naturally, all his equipment were treasures at level 99. As the one known as the strongest magic swordsman, he was equipped with the best gear, the kind that left people speechless.

Of course, if trading or exchanging was possible, there would be some hope, but everything obtained in the Abyss could only be held and used by the person who acquired it. If transferred to someone else, it would simply vanish.

‘Many people suffered losses early on because they didn’t know the rules of the Abyss.’

They’d beat themselves up over it, having handed over hard-earned equipment, tools, or skill books, only for them to disappear completely.

…Anyway.

Park Chan-woo checked his status window again, hoping it was just a simple error.

Cough!

It wasn’t a mistake. He let out a dry cough in disbelief, and blood came up with it.

‘Coughing up blood just from coughing and feeling completely drained… I guess this status window is accurate.’

Park Chan-woo painfully acknowledged his situation. As infuriating as it was, this was reality. He had an idea why things had turned out this way.

—Anything will do! If what I have isn’t enough, I’ll sell my future! If that’s still not enough, I’ll even offer my soul as a sacrifice…!

When told the sacrifices were insufficient, Park Chan-woo had sold his future. Yes, he had sold it to the God of Sacrifice. That’s why this cursed status window had been dealt to him.

Was there even any point in returning to the past like this? Having a frail constitution was bad enough, but what was this “weakest” and “feeble”? And what about the conditions listed after that?

‘Terminal. I’m like a walking time bomb.’

It was just as it sounded. It was maddening.

Park Chan-woo took a deep breath. If he got too excited, his heart might burst.

“Awakening?”

“Status window?”

“Whoa! What’s this? Something really appeared!”

People in the park marveled at the status windows that appeared before them. Meanwhile, time continued to tick away mercilessly.

Park Chan-woo quickly moved toward the lake.

“Look at that person!”

“He’s suddenly walking into the water?”

Ignoring the whispers around him, Park Chan-woo waded into the water. He submerged himself up to his neck, leaving only his head above water as he assessed the situation.

When the Abyss opened, this park would become a hellscape. There was no avoiding it, and it was too late to run.

‘I don’t know if I can clear this with my current body.’

His condition was the worst, but he still had his memories and experience intact. He knew how everything would unfold, how to solve it all.

The first Abyss, the monster that would appear in this lake park, was none other than—

The Fallen.

A level 10 monster, and a tracker.

It wasn’t one of the twelve races. They were still far off from appearing. However, it was more than enough to be a threat to humanity as it currently stood.

Without weapons from the Abyss, it was impossible to defeat Abyss monsters.

‘There’s a way to obtain weapons by completing hidden quests and defeating the Fallen…’

At least in his current state, it’s impossible.

Even if he completes the quest, he’d only get a weapon at level -99, so it would be more realistic to try cracking the Fallen’s skull with an egg.

All Park Chan-woo could do was hide.

‘The Fallen doesn’t like water.’

He might be able to hold out for a while.

Saving others?

First, he needed to survive himself.

To prepare for the future, he had to at least make it through this first Abyss safely.

“The sky… it suddenly turned red…!”

“What’s happening to the ground?”

“W-What in the world is going on?”

When the Abyss opened, everything changed.

The sky, the ground, even the trees.

They were no longer what they had been.

A red sky, cracked ground, trees with holes that looked like human faces, countless roots bursting out of the ground…

Screech—

…and the eerie sound of the Fallen as it appeared.

“Aaaaah!”

“A m-monster!”

A massive monster that seemed to be about 3 meters tall.

A grotesque creature with enormous ears, four noses, and eight eyes!

It first reached out to the woman who had screamed.

Slash!

Splat!

Its elongated arm sliced through the woman’s neck. As blood spurted out like a fountain, people were thrown into a panic.

“Someone just died… Aaaah!”

“Save me!”

This game was overwhelmingly stacked against the humans.

The rules were to find a way to deal with the Fallen and run away until then.

Even with everyone working together, it wouldn’t be enough, and only a handful of people could stay calm enough to think in this chaos.

‘…Damn, this sucks.’

Among them, Park Chan-woo, who had been observing the Fallen coldly, frowned.

In his current physical condition, there was nothing he could do.

Just watching was the best option.

But why did it feel so frustrating to stay still?

In the end, Park Chan-woo moved toward the center of the lake.

The lake was shallow, and with a bit of swimming, he reached the middle.

Whoosh!

Holding his breath, Park Chan-woo dove underwater and scanned the lakebed with his eyes.

‘There it is.’

A box glowing with a golden light.

The hidden quest, the hidden equipment was there.

Park Chan-woo dived deeper and grabbed the shining box.

Gasp! Gasp! Hukk!

He gasped for air as he barely surfaced.

Just swimming for a short while had pushed his stamina to its limit.

A bitter taste rose in his mouth, as if stomach acid had refluxed into his throat.

Park Chan-woo turned his gaze to the Dragon Slayer.

‘Just as I expected.’

Bad premonitions never miss their mark.

A level -99 sword.

He had hoped otherwise, but this was the reality.

Holding the sword engraved with a lizard on the blade, Park Chan-woo emerged from the water.

As he ran his hand along the blade, a related information window popped up.

Maybe it was because his stamina had increased from 1 to 2?

At least moving around was a bit easier than before.

‘But a sword with an attack power of 1?!’

He’d never seen such a stat in his life.

Even a rusty sword should have at least 10 attack power.

Should he be grateful that it wasn’t in the negatives?

‘…Everything, including equipment, has a minimum adjustment value. It’s impossible for anything to drop below 0.’

Minimum Adjustment Value.

It refers to the minimum value that an item can have.

A weapon’s attack power is set so it can’t go below 1.

Of course, the minimum adjustment value also applies to the status window’s stats. There was an unspoken rule that no stat could drop below 1.

Likewise, the level was not supposed to drop below 1.

But it had dropped.

All the way to -99.

Isn’t that strange?

Even if he sold his future, a negative value shouldn’t exist.

Similarly, it should be impossible to hunt the Fallen with a sword that has an attack power of 1.

Since it was an Abyss weapon, it would probably do some damage, but the level gap between the Fallen and himself was a staggering ‘109’.

Even a billion people at level 1 couldn’t defeat a single person at level 99. So with a 109-level difference?

Dying would be quicker.

“Hey, ugly! Yeah, you!”

And yet, Park Chan-woo raised his voice.

Of all its senses, the Fallen had the sharpest hearing.

By now, people were beginning to realize that the Fallen attacked those who made noise first.

Naturally, Park Chan-woo’s voice was the first thing to reach the Fallen’s ears.

Screech—

But the Fallen didn’t even glance at Park Chan-woo.

‘…Just as I thought.’

As expected.

There was one thing that had bothered him when he saw the status window right after returning.

‘Nonexistent.’

It meant either nonexistence or a lack of presence.

He had never seen or heard of such a status condition, but the fact that it was listed meant that the state of nonexistence was indeed active.

And sure enough, the Fallen didn’t perceive him at all.

Even though he shouted, it didn’t give him a single glance.

How far could this non-perception go?

Park Chan-woo pondered.

‘…But actually, isn’t this a good thing?’

If the Fallen truly treated him as an invisible man.

…Maybe this situation was more manageable than he thought.

Moreover—

‘What would I get for hunting a monster 109 levels higher than me?’

His curiosity as a mage began to flare up.

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