Chapter 3

Achieving a Mythical Feat

Park Chan-woo was one of the five strongest humans. He was the fourth person to reach the maximum level of 99, and he became an object of reverence for being the only one among the level 99 awakeners to possess a ‘dual class’.

However, no matter how much he reached the maximum level or wrapped himself in the finest treasures, he couldn’t defeat a ‘Lord’ like the Dragon God Sephiro.

It was simply a different league.

‘The limit for humans is the tenth tier, but the Lords are at least monsters of the thirteenth tier.’

They often expressed their power using the term ‘tier’ to indicate levels beyond normal. For example, the first tier corresponds to levels 1 to 10 in human terms.

The fact that humanity, with a maximum level of 99, couldn’t surpass the tenth tier meant they could only go so far. In reality, unless they completed a ‘limit-breaking quest’ every 10 levels, they couldn’t level up further. They climbed the hierarchy one step at a time.

But the ‘Lords of the Twelve Races’ were different. They were at least monsters of the thirteenth tier. In level terms, that’s roughly level 130. With a gap of over 30 levels, it was no wonder they couldn’t be defeated.

‘…The true form of Sephiro that I saw at the end was even beyond that.’

As much as he hated to recall it, the Dragon God Sephiro was stronger than any Lord Park Chan-woo had encountered. Especially its true form… that transcendent dragon was in a league of its own. It was probably the strongest among the Lords of the Twelve Races.

In any case, overcoming a level difference of 30 was impossible. Even a difference of just 10 levels drastically reduced the chances of victory.

But 109 levels?

‘Well, it’s not impossible.’

Park Chan-woo was a mage. Although he embarked on the path of magic late, he was someone who sought and understood the truth. The path a mage should aspire to is one that makes the impossible possible and adds even more possibilities on top of what is already possible.

If that’s the case—

‘It may seem impossible… but there’s a chance.’

He wouldn’t miss even a slim chance. The more challenging the ordeal, the greater the rewards from the Abyss would be. He couldn’t even imagine what kind of reward he’d receive for bridging such a vast gap.

“Hey! Park Chan-woo! What are you doing there, you bastard!”

At that moment, a man came running towards him. He was quite stocky, and his face looked familiar.

‘Who’s that again?’

Park Chan-woo furrowed his brow.

Then he nodded in realization.

‘He was my boss, I think.’

At 27 years old, Park Chan-woo was working at a company. It was a brokerage firm in Ilsan, and his boss constantly berated him for poor performance. He quit a few months later, but he regretted not quitting sooner. That experience had given him severe depression and social anxiety.

‘Yes, that’s right. Kim Byung-han.’

It all came back to him then. The first Abyss had opened during a weekday lunch break. He had been caught in it while taking a walk in the park near the company. Kim Byung-han must have been caught in it for a similar reason. However, Park Chan-woo didn’t specifically remember encountering Kim Byung-han during that first Abyss. They were both probably too busy hiding, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Chan-woo, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Kim Byung-han asked in a concerned tone as he approached.

He glanced at the Dragon Slayer in Park Chan-woo’s hand.

‘Damn. I need a weapon to protect myself.’

After the Abyss opened, the park turned into hell. Some monster had appeared and was massacring people. Every hiding spot was already packed with people, so if he just stayed put, he’d be killed by the monster.

Then he spotted Park Chan-woo. His subordinate was holding a big sword near the lakeshore. With that sword, he’d be invincible. He could drive people away and hide in a good spot. In the worst case, he could attack the monster or throw Park Chan-woo to it as bait.

Even though Park Chan-woo was holding a big sword, he was an introverted and timid guy.

‘Lucky me. I didn’t expect to find such an easy mark here.’

To Kim Byung-han, Park Chan-woo was nothing more than a sucker. If he coaxed him enough, he’d do as he was told.

“It’s dangerous, so let’s stick together. Okay? If you stay here, that monster will eat you alive.”

“It’s been a while, pig.”

“P-Pig? What? Pig?”

Shiing—

Park Chan-woo raised the Dragon Slayer and brought it close to Kim Byung-han’s throat.

“Huuk…! W-what are you doing, you little bastard? It’s me, Team Leader Kim Byung-han!”

Even though the sword’s attack power was just 1, it looked like a perfectly normal blade. Kim Byung-han, who had no idea it was a level -99 sword, was terrified.

“P-Park Chan-woo! What the hell are you doing? Put the sword down right now!”

“If you keep yelling, the Fallen will come. Keep shouting if you want to get eaten.”

“Mmph…!”

Kim Byung-han quickly shut his mouth. Then he looked at Park Chan-woo with disbelief.

‘Did he take some kind of drug? Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’

This had never happened before.

Park Chan-woo had always done as he was told, without a word of protest. Whenever stress piled up, his boss would humiliate him, telling him he was useless and should pack his things and leave. Not once had he ever talked back. That coward was now holding a sword to his boss’s throat.

“Chan-woo, let’s not do this and just talk…”

“Move forward.”

“…What?”

“If you want to live, move forward.”

Poke, poke.

The tip of the sword pressed firmly against the back of Kim Byung-han’s head.

‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’

Kim Byung-han glared at Park Chan-woo in sudden anger. Then—

‘W-What is this?’

He quickly averted his gaze. He had just locked eyes with a cold, bottomless stare he had never seen in Park Chan-woo before. There was no emotion. No reaction to the situation at all.

‘Was he always like this?’

No, Park Chan-woo was a weakling. In a situation like this, he would have been so mentally fragile that he might have fainted from panic. But now, Park Chan-woo seemed like a completely different person. He felt more like a ghost, or even a demon. Had he lost his mind when the Abyss opened?

“Alright, alright, I’ll go. I’m going.”

Kim Byung-han slowly began to walk forward.

Eeeeeee—

The sound of the Fallen echoed nearby.

Poke.

“Forward.”

“But there’s a monster up ahead…”

“Move. Forward.”

Is he really insane?

Was he planning on getting them both killed?

‘This crazy bastard…!’

Kim Byung-han bit his lip. If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn’t have come over. Who could have guessed Park Chan-woo would be this far gone? But there was no way to refuse. After all, Park Chan-woo was the one holding the sword.

After taking a few more steps forward—

“Aaah!”

“Argh…!”

A man and woman nearby were killed by the Fallen. Kim Byung-han watched them die in real-time. Eventually, he couldn’t move any further. His mind had gone completely blank.

It was at that moment—

“A-Ahh…”

He locked eyes with the Fallen.

Eeeee! Eeeeee!

The Fallen changed its target. It began charging toward Kim Byung-han.

‘I-I’m going to die!’

Kim Byung-han’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. He wet himself and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Well, well. It really can’t perceive me at all.”

At that moment, Park Chan-woo stood in front of Kim Byung-han. Thanks to using him as bait, it was now clear: even though the Fallen had come close, it was still focused solely on Kim Byung-han.

Park Chan-woo even deliberately moved back a bit, but the Fallen didn’t change its target. All eight of its eyes were fixed on Kim Byung-han.

‘Now there’s just one more thing to check—whether it can sense me if I attack it.’

The state of nonexistence.

It was clear that he lacked presence. What remained to be seen was whether the Fallen could perceive his existence at all if he attacked.

“Hey, piss pants. If you want to live, run like a dog over there.”

Park Chan-woo pointed towards the lakeshore.

“S-S-Sh!t!”

Kim Byung-han finally snapped out of his daze, got to his feet, and started running in the direction Park Chan-woo had indicated.

Eeeeeeeee!

The Fallen also changed direction to chase after Kim Byung-han.

Park Chan-woo steadied his breathing. Then, as the Fallen was about to pass by him—

‘The Fallen’s weakness is right below its navel.’

It’s the channel through which magic flows. Because it’s so vulnerable, even a solid punch could deal significant damage.

Park Chan-woo swung the Dragon Slayer directly at the area below the Fallen’s navel.

Thwack!

“…”

The Dragon Slayer bounced off instantly.

‘What the…’

He was dumbfounded. It was still a sword, after all, so he hadn’t expected it to bounce off without even leaving a scratch.

The combination of Strength 1 and Attack Power 1 had produced a disastrous result. His shoulder ached as if it might dislocate.

Eek?

The Fallen froze in place and tilted its head. It must have felt something hit it, so of course, it stopped.

The Fallen looked directly at Park Chan-woo.

“…I offer the Dragon Slayer as a sacrifice to enhance my strength for 10 seconds, O God of Sacrifice.”

The God of Sacrifice didn’t respond. Instead, a system message with a similar context appeared. Offering a high-grade treasure granted him a brief 10-second enhancement. Due to his extremely low base stats, the increase was significant.

‘The contract is still intact.’

It was a contract and an oath bound to his soul from the beginning.

As long as his soul existed, the God of Sacrifice was bound to follow.

‘But what’s this about offerings for resurrection?’

There was just one puzzling thing—the mention of offerings for ‘resurrection’.

Kiaaaaaak!

…There was no time to continue his thoughts.

Finally, the Fallen successfully perceived Park Chan-woo.

This was a crisis.

But they say that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.

Park Chan-woo held the Dragon Slayer at an angle.

He was close enough that even a breath could reach. It was impossible for his attack to miss.

He thrust the Dragon Slayer with all his strength into the area below the Fallen’s navel.

Thwack!

The tip of the Dragon Slayer sunk deep.

He twisted the sword.

Kiaaaaak!

The Fallen screamed, but it didn’t die.

He had to finish it within 10 seconds.

Thrust!

Splat!

Blood splattered across his face.

Even with his eyes blinded by the blood, he didn’t stop. He continued to slash and stab, obliterating the Fallen’s weak spot.

He stabbed, slashed, twisted, and stabbed again.

In just over 10 seconds, Park Chan-woo was drenched head to toe in the Fallen’s blood.

Thud!

Finally, the Fallen collapsed to the ground.

At the same time—

《The Dragon Slayer has been sacrificed and disappears.》[/sc]

The form of the Dragon Slayer grew faint and then vanished.

But that wasn’t the end.

The aftereffects hit him hard.

As the tension released, his whole body ached as if gripped by cramps. He had no strength left to hold on.

Park Chan-woo collapsed to the ground, spreading out in a large ‘X’.

“Ugh…”

He felt like he couldn’t even move a single finger. It was as if he might die right then and there.

Just as he began to lose consciousness—

What?

I’m going to die within 500 days?

Park Chan-woo shouted internally, but he didn’t even have the strength to open his mouth.

It was worse than he had thought.

No, it was far worse than he could have imagined.

But as they say, after bad things pass, good things come.

Countless messages appeared before him.

As he looked at them, Park Chan-woo could only utter one word.

“…Huh.”

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