-99 Level Archmage

Chapter 14. Black Box

Lee Hyuk-soo looked around. The hospital room was filled with the smell of disinfectant. He was by the window where he first looked up at the moon.

‘It’s morning.’

As he gazed outside, he squinted slightly against the bright sunlight. The sun had risen in the sky. It was not the eerie, moving-eyed moon from the night before. It felt like he had just woken from a long dream. But it was not a dream. Lee Hyuk-soo lowered his gaze.

‘The Lion King’s Equipment.’

Armor, greatsword, gloves, belt, boots, and helmet. He was still wearing the exact set he had obtained from the Abyss of the First Night.

“…!”

Realizing that this was reality, he quickly searched his belongings. Then, he found it, a small potion bottle, about the size of a baby’s fist.

“It’s here…”

Inside, a shimmering blue liquid glowed brilliantly.

Elixir.

He had bought this miracle potion for 3,000 points. The Prophet had told him, “With this, you can wake your mother.”

Tap.

Before he knew it, Lee Hyuk-soo was already moving. He rushed to the hospital bed and looked down at the woman lying there. She was so thin that her bones were visible. Her hair was lifeless. For nearly ten years, his mother, Kim Ji-yeon, had not woken up.

‘Oh, God.’

He had prayed thousands, no, tens of thousands of times. But God had never once answered him. Yet, for the last time, he called out to the divine.

Pop!

With trembling hands, he opened the potion bottle. Carefully, he tilted it against his mother’s lips. Drop by drop, slowly. It took almost ten minutes to pour it all in.

‘Why isn’t anything happening?’

But there was no change. Had the Prophet lied? Was an elixir useless against a coma? Just as countless doubts filled his mind—

“Mmm…”

“Ah…!”

Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes trembled. For the first time in ten years, his mother opened her eyes, albeit weakly.

“Are you… awake?”

“Who…?”

“It’s me, Mom. Hyuk-soo. Ah.”

He removed his helmet. Kim Ji-yeon, seeing her son drenched in sweat like a soaked rat, smiled faintly.

“My Hyuk-soo… You’ve grown so much. I can barely recognize you.”

“M-Mom…”

“But I still feel so sleepy… Just a little more…”

Their reunion did not last long. Kim Ji-yeon suddenly went limp again. Lee Hyuk-soo’s expression hardened. What if she never wakes up again? Dark thoughts flooded his mind.

“Mmm…”

“…!!!”

His whole body shuddered. She was just sleep-talking. This was completely different from when she was completely unresponsive. His vision blurred with emotion. For once, his dulled emotions overflowed. Clenching his lips to suppress his feelings, Lee Hyuk-soo reached into his belongings again. This time, he pulled out a coin.

— “I told you, saving your mother with the elixir is not the end.”

The Prophet’s words echoed in his mind.

— “From now on, this world will become hell.”

— “If you want to keep your mother alive in that hell, you’ll need that coin.”

— “But more importantly, If you truly want to protect her, become a savior, Lee Hyuk-soo.”

Before attacking the Dragon General, just before casting his spell, The Prophet seemed to already know what fate awaited him afterward. Of course, Hyuk-soo had no interest in being a savior or anything that pretentious.

However.

‘I must become stronger.’

That was the essence of the Prophet’s words. He must become so powerful that no demon would dare approach him. So strong that they wouldn’t even think of touching his family. He must acquire overwhelming strength.

‘Starting tomorrow, the world you knew will change. An unimaginable catastrophe is coming. Don’t be surprised. Don’t be afraid. Just charge forward, like a bull’s horn. Go forward.’

If he just kept moving forward, everything he wanted to protect would naturally follow. Lee Hyuk-soo turned to the window again. Earlier, the bright sky had blinded him, preventing him from seeing what was happening on the ground.

“Emergency patient!”

“We’re running out of hospital beds!”

“Aaaaagh! It hurts! Help me!”

“You bastards! Can’t you see the injured?!”

…The world was already a living hell. Wounded people were desperately trying to enter the hospital. But the overwhelmed medical staff couldn’t handle them. Everything was collapsing. But—

‘For the first time… the world looks clear.’

Not for Lee Hyuk-soo. For the first time since his brain surgery, his vision was sharp. For the first time, his world was making sense to him. He gently placed the coin in his mother’s hand. And then—

‘I will follow your words, Prophet.’

Without hesitation, he left the hospital. He had called upon God countless times, but received no answer. Yet, the Prophet answered him in one single meeting. So, From today onward—

‘You are my God.’

***

After returning home from the Abyss of the First Night, Park Chan-woo stared at a black box for more than 30 minutes.

“A black box, huh…?”

What could it be? He had never seen a box of this color before. Of course, there had long been speculation that the colors of the boxes known to humanity were not all there was…

Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond.

Aside from these, there were plenty of rumors about seeing a “Pink Box” or a “White Box”. However, none of them had ever been proven true. Even among those who spread such rumors, some were “Avatars.” They deliberately spread false rumors to lure people into the Abyss created by their contracted creators. Given the situation, most rumors were not to be trusted. Park Chan-woo had also been certain that no other colored boxes existed. But now…

“To think that a different-colored box actually existed…”

His long-standing belief was shattered. This was something that destroyed all expectations held by “Creators.” Not a single creator had believed that humanity would succeed in hunting down a “Twelve Divine General”.Yet, Park Chan-woo made it happen. As soon as he obtained the Original Mage Class, he used “Reflection Magic.”

‘My attack power has limits.’

A mind-numbing negative level. Even when he leveled up, his base stats did not increase. Not only that, the weapons he obtained were all equally weak. Would it even be possible to deal proper damage with offensive magic? That’s when he thought of “Reflection Magic”.

‘If my attack power is low, I just have to use someone else’s.’

The “Reflection” magic, elevated into a Great Magic, was powerful enough to even reflect the attack of a Dragon God General.

‘Before opening the box… I should check other things first.’

It was a black box filled with ominous energy. He had no idea what might jump out of it. The unspoken rule for survival was to never touch the unknown. But at the same time, he couldn’t just leave it unopened. He just needed a moment to prepare himself.

First, he had to organize. Before anything else, he needed to check and sort the things he had gained from the Night Abyss. Park Chan-woo muttered the Status Window command aloud. As soon as it appeared, his eyes locked onto the center of the screen.

Class: Mage (Level 2)

Available Magic: Reflection (Great Magic, Rare)

Remaining Class Level Points: 2

“…!”

His pupils trembled slightly. By clearing his first Night Abyss, he had gained two levels. Even though his base stats hadn’t changed…

‘I can still obtain Class Level Points!’

That was even more important. Even if he had to give up base stats, he could never abandon Class Level Points! In the past, Park Chan-woo had only been able to raise his Mage Class to Level 9.

‘…Thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes.’

He had made a foolish decision to dual-class, reaching Level 90 as a Knight before switching to Mage.

‘The reason I could only learn basic magic was because of this Class Level restriction.’

In a world where Level was everything, having a low Class Level meant there was little he could do. For warriors, leveling up their class allowed them to wield Aura Blades, Sword Force, or other specialized techniques. For mages, it was the same. Only a high-level Mage could learn advanced magic. A Level 9 Mage could only use normal-tier magic.

‘Just to upgrade basic magic, I had to sacrifice all the equipment I had as a Knight.’

His Fireball, which once touched the heart of the Dragon God Sephiro,

was originally a normal-tier spell. Yet, to raise it to the Eternal tier, he had spent nearly everything he owned. And Sephiro had mistaken Psychokinesis for a Domain magic. That too had been raised to the Eternal tier. It was only later that the “Domain” category of magic was officially recognized.

‘They said that if you don’t have talent as a mage, no matter how many sacrifices you make, you can’t raise your magic’s tier.’

Park Chan-woo only realized his talent as a mage thanks to the God of Sacrifice.

— “God of Sacrifice, what is my talent? Do I even have any talent at all?”

— “Contractor Park Chan-woo. Your magical aptitude reaches the very heights of the ultimate.”

He had offered an enormous sacrifice to ask about his innate talent. This happened right after he lost to the Sword King, Lee Hyuk-soo. The God of Sacrifice revealed that his true talent lay in magic. Saying that his potential could reach the ultimate realm, Park Chan-woo immediately abandoned his sword and began walking the path of a mage. But this time, things were different.

『Used 2 Class Level Points.』

『Mage Class Level increased by 2.』

In just one day, he had reached Level 4.

If he could overcome his negative level and continue leveling up properly, his potential Class Level cap was 198.

‘Almost stepping into the 20th realm. That’s insane.’

The possibility was slim, but it wasn’t zero. Taking a deep breath, Park Chan-woo placed the Philosopher’s Stone and Void relic on the ground. The Philosopher’s Stone was exactly what its name suggested, a stone. A darkish-blue stone with a slightly murky color.

Name: Philosopher’s Stone

Grade: Legendary

Description: A stone discovered in the ruins of a collapsed Magic Tower. A legendary mage is said to have poured their entire being into it.

Equip Slot: None (Possession Effect Only)

Unique Option:

For every level gained, permanently increases Mana by 1.

Current additional Mana from Philosopher’s Stone: 2

A growth-type item that directly boosted a mage’s power and rank. The earlier he obtained it, the greater the snowball effect of its benefits. This was why Park Chan-woo had desperately sought after it.

And then, there was the “Void.” A tiny gemstone, barely the size of a fingernail. It emitted a grayish glow that seemed to draw in his gaze. As soon as he focused on it, a description appeared.

Name: Void

Grade: Eternal

Description: A fragment retrieved from a place where nothing exists.

Equip Slot: None (Possession Effect Only)

Unique Option:

Allows opposing elements to coexist

A ridiculously short description. It hardly explained anything. However, that one Unique Option alone made it completely a cheating factor. It was simply overpowered. The description only said it “allows opposing elements to coexist,”

but in reality, it meant “holding all elements without penalty”. This completely removes all elemental disadvantages.

“This is… excellent.”

In just one day, he had obtained so many valuable things. Even in the past, Park Chan-woo had failed to obtain treasures like these after years of effort. Now, only one thing remained.

“…Open.”

Park Chan-woo carefully opened the Black Box.

Then…

『Opening Black Box.』

『A powerful curse surrounding the contents begins to leak out.』

『Easter Egg (001) activates.』

『Luck (1) neutralizes the curse.』

『Another Luck (2) activates, enhancing the box’s contents.』