Chapter 4

Obtaining a Catastrophic Reward

Rewards poured in like a tidal wave.

Considering that these were rewards from the first Abyss, the names were almost shockingly prestigious. The Gold Box was already impressive, but a Platinum Box? And not just any Platinum Box.

“A 3-star Platinum Box… I didn’t even get a regular Platinum Box until after reaching level 70. I never even saw a 3-star one before that.”

It was called a miracle that transcended the incomprehensible. Hunting down a Fallen 109 levels higher on his own was indeed a “mythical feat,” deserving of all the praise in the world. But even Park Chan-woo was surprised to see a 3-star Platinum Box as the reward.

There were five types of “boxes” that could be obtained in the Abyss: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The Diamond Box was an exclusive reward only obtainable upon reaching level 99, making the Platinum Box the highest achievable tier for nearly everyone. With each additional star, the reward level of the box increased exponentially.

But three stars? He couldn’t even imagine what it would contain.

“Only about 1% of participants managed to get a Gold Box in the first Abyss.”

In truth, obtaining a Gold Box was already an extraordinary achievement. In the past, less than 20% survived, and those who did often walked away with just a Bronze Box. Only about 1% of the entire population managed to get a Gold Box from the first Abyss.

Yet now, a miracle had occurred with 777 people surviving, resulting in a survival rate of over 90%. All 777 survivors received a Gold Box, which was unheard of.

“No one ever got a Platinum Box.”

Despite this, Park Chan-woo was confident that there hadn’t been any Platinum Boxes before. If there had been, he would have known.

The equipment from a Platinum Box would have given anyone a massive advantage in navigating the Abyss, rapidly increasing their strength and allowing them to monopolize all the benefits. There’s no way someone like that would have gone unnoticed by Park Chan-woo.

The reason he returned to the moment the first Abyss opened was precisely because of this.

‘Your growth speed depends on the rewards from the first Abyss.’

In the past, he had been too slow and too late. He didn’t start actively challenging the Abyss until over half a year after this point in time, when society had already begun to collapse. How much he had regretted it. If he could have shortened that time and secured a high position faster, he wouldn’t have resorted to the extreme decision to sacrifice Sephiro and return to the past.

He was convinced that if he had just secured the rewards from the first Abyss properly, his “growth ceiling” would have been different.

‘But still…’

Park Chan-woo looked again at the words floating in the air. The rewards were insane, but what came after them was even crazier. Numerous creators were showing interest in him. Park Chan-woo smirked.

‘The creator of this Abyss might be bankrupt by now.’

The “creators” are the beings who craft the contents of the Abyss. There is a supreme being who arranged for the Fallen to be placed here and made 881 people play a deadly game of tag. These “Lords of the Abyss” have no connection to the twelve races.

The creator of this Abyss had bet on an “expected survival rate of 21.7%.” But with a survival rate of 93.5%—over four times higher—the creators who bet on this Abyss likely lost all their “coins”, and the main creator who opened the Abyss and was responsible for distributing 777 Gold Boxes and a 3-star Platinum Box likely went bankrupt.

‘They should be showing up any minute now.’

He gathered his dizzy thoughts and focused. Then, as expected, another message appeared, making him feel like shouting “Eureka!”

Just as Park Chan-woo had expected.

‘So they really don’t want to go bankrupt.’

There had been instances in the past where creators went bankrupt. Whenever that happened, the creators would twist and turn to find any way to recover, often trying to entice those who cleared their Abyss with various offers.

The most common tactic was to ‘reduce the rewards’. They’d make it seem like they were offering something better, but they’d subtly reduce the actual rewards to avoid bankruptcy. They’d try to reduce not only his rewards but also those of the other 776 survivors as much as possible.

‘If I didn’t know anything, I might have accepted.’

If someone didn’t know any better, they might find the offer tempting. The idea of becoming ‘allied’ with the one who created this hell could easily lure them in.

They might think that having 100 Gold Boxes is better than just one, and dream of becoming an unprecedentedly powerful being through the Vassal Contract instead of the Apostle Contract.

But Park Chan-woo knew better.

He knew this was just bait.

He knew it was nothing more than a desperate attempt to avoid bankruptcy.

A hundred Gold Boxes? It’s not even a joke—they can’t compare to a single Platinum Box. The higher the box tier, the less they can be substituted for each other. The difference in the quality of equipment you can obtain becomes vastly different.

And especially when it’s a 3-star Platinum Box.

‘And a Vassal Contract is nothing but a slave contract. It’s just wordplay.’

It was better to keep a distance from the creators—the Lords of the Abyss. Becoming a vassal would mean falling heavily under the influence of these creators.

You could be forcibly summoned to the Abyss they created or be ordered to manipulate the ‘survival rate’ in their favor.

If the survival rate was higher than expected, you might be commanded to secretly kill people, for instance. There had actually been vassals who trolled like that.

“Get… lost.”

With a satisfied smile, Park Chan-woo raised his middle finger.

In that instant:

‘Just as I expected.’

One creator was down right from the start. It felt incredibly satisfying. He hadn’t even eaten, but he felt full. And on top of that, he’d earned some coins.

‘Getting three escape coins right from the start… My comrades would have been envious enough to pass out from jealousy.’

Coins were the best treasure. The treasure among treasures. Being able to escape from a wretched Abyss whenever you want is invaluable.

As time goes on, the difficulty of Abysses increases. Some Abysses offer hardly any rewards, but waste your time endlessly. There are also Abysses designed to target specific individuals, so-called ‘sniper Abysses’. If you get sniped and don’t have a coin, your chances of survival drop to 95%.

The problem is, getting an escape coin is like plucking a star from the sky. That’s why it’s crucial not to attract too much attention from the creators. But now, he had earned three escape coins right off the bat. It meant he had nothing to fear from the creators.

‘The creators who open sniper Abysses will be under considerable pressure too. If their target escapes, they take a big hit.’

The Abyss is a battleground between the participants and the creator. Naturally, if the creator’s goal fails, they suffer as well. They might even go bankrupt, as happened this time.

So—

‘I won’t be making any deals with you.’

‘If you’re upset, go ahead and snipe me.’

He no longer cared if they opened a sniper Abyss. Obtaining a class through an Apostle Contract? That was one way to do it, but Park Chan-woo had no intention of striking deals with the Lords of the Abyss.

Creators are beings who, if you give them one thing, will demand two in return. He intended to walk his own path, free from their influence.

Finally, Park Chan-woo could close his eyes in peace.

***

When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.

“‘Abyss,’ experienced simultaneously by people worldwide—where is it?”

“Currently, the death toll in Seoul alone is estimated to be at least 100,000.”

“What is the future of humanity after awakening, and where should we go from here?”

“The apocalypse has arrived!”

TVs, newspapers, the internet—everywhere was filled with talk about the Abyss.

In the late afternoon, Park Chan-woo finally made it back home. After taking a shower, he sat on his bed, rubbing his hair with a towel while fiddling with his phone, the news playing on the TV in the background.

“…Was it always this difficult?”

Having lived far from electronics for 20 years, using a smartphone, even by recalling old memories, was not easy. In six months, the social infrastructure would completely collapse.

‘A large-scale Abyss will open in six months. That’s when humanity will first encounter the twelve races. If only we can minimize the damage by then…’

At least the state should still be functional.

The difference between maintaining the infrastructure and letting it collapse is like night and day. However, the “large-scale Abyss” that will open in six months, known as the “First Interspecies War”, will be anything but easy. Even against the weakest soldiers, humanity suffered an overwhelming defeat.

As a result, humanity had to offer 120 million people as sacrifices to them. Each race received 10 million people as tributes.

Just thinking about that still makes Chan-woo’s blood boil.

“God of Sacrifice, how long do you plan to sleep?”

He muttered to himself.

The God of Sacrifice still didn’t respond. If he had returned, he would have surely come back with him, yet there was no reaction.

There was something else strange, too. He distinctly remembered seeing a message that said more offerings were needed to resurrect the God of Sacrifice.

“Hey, you didn’t offer your soul to bring me back, did you?”

He said it as a joke, knowing it was unlikely. The God of Sacrifice was all about give and take. He never made a bad deal.

Even though Park Chan-woo had made a contract with him while walking the path of magic, the God of Sacrifice had never given more than what was offered to him in return. It was unthinkable that he would sacrifice his soul just to send him back to the past.

‘…He’s probably just sleeping.’

There were times in the past when he wouldn’t respond for days. Park Chan-woo shook his head, trying to push the thoughts aside. There were more pressing matters to focus on right now.

‘My level only increased by one.’

From -99 to -98.

It didn’t make sense. Honestly, he expected his level to rise by at least five. Since his level was so low, he thought he could quickly level up, but that wasn’t the case.

‘If I don’t return to a normal level, I’ll die within 500 days.’

A normal level meant reaching level 1. In other words, he would need to level up 99 more times. And in all this chaos, he had barely managed to gain just one level.

For a moment, everything seemed bleak.

The thought of dying within 500 days, not after 500 days, was terrifying. Other than that, it literally felt like he could die at any moment!

But most concerning of all—

‘…My stats didn’t increase despite leveling up.’

His stats were still stuck at the minimum of 1. Due to the “Weakest” status, his base stats were fixed at 1. But that didn’t mean there were no ways to get stronger.

‘I can still raise my additional stats through equipment’s unique options, class effects, support magic, and sacrificial offerings.’

While his base stats were fixed, he could still increase his additional stats. And there were many ways to boost those additional stats. The rewards should also be better now, thanks to the significant level difference he had overcome.

With his thoughts organized, Park Chan-woo brought out the two boxes—the Gold Box and the 3-star Platinum Box.

‘It’s time for an exciting unboxing.’

There was no reason to delay. This was far more thrilling than unboxing some expensive luxury item. Park Chan-woo loved this moment the most—collecting boxes in the Abyss and discovering the treasures inside. He started by opening the Gold Box.

“Oh…!”

Park Chan-woo let out a brief exclamation.

Not bad.

Though it was the same grade as the Dragon Slayer, its unique options were much better. It was exactly the kind of equipment he needed. The shoulder guards, engraved with a skull, adjusted to fit him perfectly as he placed them on his shoulders.

‘Much better.’

With his stamina and strength each increased by 2, his body felt significantly more comfortable. While his base stats were still fixed at 1, it seemed the additional stats were applied as intended.

Now, only one remained.

Although waiting to level up before opening it was an option, Park Chan-woo had a different thought.

‘If you save it, you’ll just regret it.’

The Abyss was unforgiving, and there was no room for hoarding treasures. If the equipment wore out or if something better came along, he could always offer it to the God of Sacrifice for other benefits.

With that in mind, Park Chan-woo carefully opened the 3-star Platinum Box.

《Opening the ‘Platinum Box (★★★)’.》
《The reward from the Platinum Box transcends three times.》
《You are guaranteed an ‘Eternal’ grade reward.》
《Choose one from the following five rewards:》
《World Tree Staff, Helm of the King’s Demise, Heart of the True Dragon, Book of the Stars, Gaz Knight’s Greatsword.》

“……!!!”

 

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