Chapter 28

Water God Hunting

 

Brrr!

His eyes twitched involuntarily.

The moment he saw what was inside the treasure chest, the moment he identified it—

He couldn’t hold back a curse.

‘…This is what they call an arrangement?’

It was something he could never have imagined.

At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange about it.

It simply took the form of a small, round pill—

Indicating that it had been artificially processed.

But it was vastly different from the arrangements he had encountered so far.

Most of the arrangements that Creators had prepared for their contracted Avatars were like spiritual herbs infused with pure energy.

These were natural elixirs, unrefined and unblended, making it easier for the Avatar’s energy to absorb them.

At this point, not long after the Abyss had opened, Avatars still had a long way to go in their growth.

If they consumed an elixir packed with explosive energy or one that wasn’t pure, the risk of dying from it was overwhelming.

Naturally, the arrangements should have been made with appropriate caution.

However, the pill in front of him far exceeded any appropriate level.

 

 

The question was, what exactly was a life elixir?

It’s a type of elixir crafted by an immortal being.

Typically, a life elixir is made by carefully combining various miraculous herbs into a pill form.

If it were just an ordinary life elixir, it wouldn’t have been so shocking.

The issue was with the phrase ‘ten thousand blood’ in front of it.

An elixir infused with the blood of ten thousand beings.

‘It’s an elixir made by extracting and blending the blood of ten thousand beings.’

The one who crafted this pill wasn’t in their right mind.

They were undoubtedly an immortal obsessed with blood.

It was simply unimaginable to contain the blood of ten thousand beings within this small pill.

They must have personally extracted the blood, refined it into serum, and then collected enough to make this pill.

In short—

‘…The lives of ten thousand beings are contained in this.’

And this was the arrangement that had been prepared.

Moreover, it was highly likely that this pill wasn’t made from human blood.

It was probably created by massacring another species or lifeform on a massive scale.

And that lifeform was most likely…

‘Orcs.’

The Lich Necromancer guarding the altar—

His kin were likely bound inside this small pill.

Park Chan-woo frowned as he recalled what the Orc Priest Yan had said.

 

—Ah… Why am I still guarding this altar? Even though something so vile is placed upon it, mocking us… I want to follow my fallen comrades… to join them…

 

Yan had said he wanted to follow his fallen comrades.

There had been a war, and Yan must have cast a powerful barrier to protect the altar.

Given that the barrier was set so only his kin could cross, it was clear that the war had been fought against another species, or something even more alien.

He had said that something vile had been placed on the altar, but in truth, it was this Ten Thousand Blood Life Elixir, made from the blood of his own kin, that had been placed there as an arrangement.

‘How insulting.’

It was a mockery and humiliation to the orc priest Yan.

This went far beyond simply shaming a defeated foe—

It was a level of degradation that was difficult to imagine.

They had taken the blood of the defeated Orcs, crafted this Ten Thousand Blood Life Elixir, and placed it on the altar dedicated to their god to dishonor them.

And then, they had forced Priest Yan to guard it.

All so that Han Shin could eventually obtain the Ten Thousand Blood Life Elixir in its entirety.

In that case, the Creator who had crafted this pill was likely the one responsible for the massacre of the Orcs.

At the same time—

‘He must be the lord of the Abyss who made a contract with that guy.’

A vague outline was forming.

The one who had turned Yan into a Lich and placed the Life Vessel in Han Shin’s hands—

Who could have carried out such a malicious act?

…It was something he had wondered about for a while.

If Han Shin had already made a contract with one of the Nine Supreme Monarchs at this point, it would be a nightmare.

No matter how hard Park Chan-woo tried to grow stronger, it would be impossible to match the pace of Han Shin’s growth.

The benefits that the Nine Supreme Monarchs could provide to their Avatars were endless.

Even if Park Chan-woo monopolized all the rewards and bankrupted countless Creators, surpassing an entity that controlled the entire Abyss would be an insurmountable challenge.

‘It’s not one of the Nine Supreme Monarchs.’

Park Chan-woo was sure of it.

They had no reason to massacre the Orcs, nor would they create such devices to mock Yan.

Even among the so-called Named Creators, there were very few with such a malicious disposition.

Could it be one of them?

‘No, it’s not a Named Creator either.’

He shook his head.

No matter how demonic they might be, Named Creators still had their own sense of dignity.

They wouldn’t go about things in this manner unless they were directly insulted.

Besides, they wouldn’t feel humiliated over a mere Orc priest.

So, it couldn’t have been a Named Creator.

But if it wasn’t a Named Creator, no one else would have been capable of preparing such an elaborate arrangement.

Who could have prepared an arrangement of this caliber without being a Named Creator, yet on par with one?

There was only one person who came to mind.

‘Just one…’

The one person who wasn’t a Named Creator but was comparable to a lord of the Abyss.

He had encountered that despicable figure’s lowly actions several times.

Forcing people into humiliating situations like this—this was exactly the kind of thing that figure would do.

Park Chan-woo recalled the name of the detestable individual.

‘…Ahata.’

Ahata, the Lord of the Night!

Ahata was the one and only ruler of the Night’s Abyss.

There was a high likelihood that Ahata was the Creator who had made a contract with Han Shin.

One more question that had been bothering him was naturally answered.

‘Now I know why that guy Han Shin wasn’t active during the First Night’s Abyss.’

Han Shin hadn’t participated in the hunt for the Twelve Divine Generals, nor had he taken part in the First Night’s Abyss at all.

There hadn’t been any need for him to participate.

If he had contracted with Ahata, he would have received rewards far better than anything that could be obtained from the Night’s Abyss.

Especially since no one had expected the Dragon General to be defeated, there had been no reason to send Han Shin to interfere.

‘Did Ahata have an Avatar?’

However, this was the first Park Chan-woo had heard about the Lord of the Night creating an Avatar.

Ahata was the only one among the many Creators whose name was widely known, which made contracting an Avatar a significant burden.

If a Creator’s name was revealed through an Avatar’s contract, there were ways to nullify the contract altogether.

And yet, Ahata had created an Avatar.

Han Shin’s talent must have been irresistible.

One thing was clear…

‘I just have to prevent him from catching the eye of the Nine Supreme Monarchs.’

Everything had become clear.

Knowing that Ahata was behind him meant that Park Chan-woo couldn’t easily confront him, but it also opened up many more paths forward.

Han Shin.

Because of Ahata, Han Shin had grown powerful enough to attract the attention of the Nine Supreme Monarchs.

Eventually, Han Shin would betray Ahata and forge a new contract with one of the Great Nine.

If Park Chan-woo played his cards right, he could gain unimaginable benefits from that transition.

Taking a deep breath, Park Chan-woo directed a brief moment of silence toward the altar.

The spirits of the Orcs surrounding it—though he wasn’t particularly close to them, as someone who shared the same enemy, he could at least offer this final comfort.

“Rest in peace. I will make sure that ‘Ahata’ is destroyed.”

Without further delay, Park Chan-woo reached into the treasure chest and grasped the Ten Thousand Blood Life Elixir.

He immediately swallowed the Ten Thousand Blood Life Elixir.

Gulp!

 

 

Just consuming it had improved his constitution and increased his attack and defense power by an amount equivalent to all the elixirs he had ever taken combined.

And yet, he hadn’t been able to absorb all of it.

Moreover, the energy included a curse.

‘I need to expel it.’

His body was already highly susceptible to curses.

As much as it was unfortunate, he knew when to give up.

Just as he was about to expel the excess energy—

Rumble!

Suddenly, the ground shook.

And then—

Whoooosh!

…A radiant light burst forth from the altar.

The light pierced right through Park Chan-woo’s entire body.

 

 

 

* * *

 

“You… you’re quite something.”

Han Shin remarked as he watched Lee Hyuk-soo, now more than halfway through the Water God Abyss.

It had only been a day, yet Lee Hyuk-soo fought continuously, like a fish in water, without stopping until he achieved his goals.

By now, it was just the two of them, alone.

‘Originally, I would have led people to the swamp…’

He had intended to show the people a miracle there.

However, Han Shin had changed his plan. He realized that Lee Hyuk-soo was more important than the others.

The others didn’t even dare follow the two of them, who were advancing at a reckless pace.

What good would it do to impress those weaklings full of fear?

‘This guy is the real deal.’

For the first time in a long while, Han Shin was excited.

Forming a party with Lee Hyuk-soo had brought him the joy of growing stronger together.

‘With him, we could even hunt the Water God right now.’

Han Shin briefly hesitated.

His mission was to acquire the ‘arrangement’ here and prevent the Water God Abyss from being cleared.

If Lee Hyuk-soo set out to hunt the Water God, Han Shin would have to stop him.

“Lee Hyuk-soo. Let’s hunt the Water God together.”

However, Han Shin didn’t want to interfere. Hunting the Water God with this guy genuinely seemed like it would be a lot of fun.

His chest swelled with a sense of competition, and his heart raced.

If they faced the trials together and fought with their backs against each other, Lee Hyuk-soo would come to trust him.

Han Shin sincerely wanted to make Lee Hyuk-soo his right-hand man.

For that goal, he could hunt the Water God multiple times if necessary.

It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible.

“…Right now?” Lee Hyuk-soo asked.

Han Shin shook his head.

“Though the two of us could pull it off, we’ll need two days to fully prepare. But rest assured, no one else can kill the Water God except us.”

Han Shin already had knowledge of the Water God Abyss and every other dungeon.

‘I know everything.’

In addition to that, he had gained countless pieces of information that other Awakened beings or Avatars were unaware of.

This was all thanks to the unique abilities of his contracted Creator.

‘We’ll need to break through the first limit level to kill the Water God properly.’

No matter how monstrous Lee Hyuk-soo’s talent was, he had not yet broken through his ‘first limit level’.

If he really pushed himself, he could probably do it in just one day, not two.

Acquiring the arrangement during that process would make it a bit easier.

However, the Water God was a boss monster that no one else but Lee Hyuk-soo could defeat.

That’s why Han Shin had said Lee Hyuk-soo would need two days to properly prepare.

Lee Hyuk-soo nodded quietly, his expression calm.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

He was so straightforward and decisive.

Suddenly, Han Shin’s curiosity got the better of him, and he asked,

“So why are you trying to kill the Water God? Do you want to become a savior or something?”

“…I’m not interested.”

Lee Hyuk-soo’s response was genuine. His tone made it clear he had no desire to be a savior.

Han Shin smiled faintly.

“That’s a relief. Then there’ll be no reason for us to clash.”

“……?”

“I do plan to become a savior, after all.”

Although his original plan had gone awry, he had decided to solidify his standing by hunting the Water God.

That would smooth things over with Lee Hyuk-soo as well.

Even though Lee Hyuk-soo had claimed he had no intention of becoming a savior, his actions and demeanor were already quite close to that of one.

He would make a great partner.

“Lee Hyuk-soo, after we finish hunting the Water God, join me and…”

Let’s work together.

But Han Shin couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly—

From far off, at the edge of the Abyss—

RUMBLE!

A tremendous thunderclap roared.

And at the same time—