-99 Level Archmage

Chapter 9. The Points Can Be Duplicated

Lee Hyuksoo stared at the man standing in front of him. He had met all kinds of people in his life, but this was the first time he had encountered someone like this.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

At first, he thought the man wasn’t human. He was wearing armor and a helmet that looked like something a demon would wear. Moreover, until the man revealed himself, Lee Hyuksoo hadn’t sensed his presence at all. It was only after hearing Andariel’s words that he realized this man was human. And when the man chose him, all he could think was. “Why?”

Lee Hyuksoo preferred being alone. Teaming up with others to overcome trials wasn’t his style.

— “You monster!”

— “You’re not even human!”

Since childhood, Lee Hyuksoo has always been different. He was emotionally detached and had difficulty understanding other people’s pain. Although he rarely lost his temper, he never backed down from a fight. Because people couldn’t understand his differences, they always tried to push him away. But Lee Hyuksoo had never lost a fight. Even when he bled, even when his wounds tore open and his bones broke, he never retreated. Among his peers, he was known as a demon or a psychopath. So, he preferred being alone.

“Hey.”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

“…Lee Hyuksoo.”

“Lee Hyuksoo, do you know how to drive a bus?”

“A bus?” Lee Hyuksoo repeated, confused.

Why was this man suddenly asking if he could drive a bus? There wasn’t a single bus in sight. Even if there was…

“Ah, right. You don’t have a driver’s license.”

“How do you know that…?”

Lee Hyuksoo indeed had no license. But how did this man know? The man, Park Chanwoo, let out a small laugh. Hyuksoo’s blunt and rigid personality hadn’t changed one bit.

“That scar on your forehead, you got it in a car accident when you were young, didn’t you?”

“…”

Hyuksoo instinctively reached up, brushing his hair over his forehead. He had grown his hair a bit longer to hide the scar. He had hidden it well, yet Park Chanwoo had noticed it immediately. That much might have been a lucky guess. But the real problem was what came next.

“You had surgery three times. You crossed the line between life and death even more times than that.

After that accident, your personality changed. You developed an unconscious fear of cars. Getting a driver’s license was out of the question.”

“!!!”

For the first time since entering the Abyss, Lee Hyuksoo was shaken. Not even the sight of people dying had fazed him—

But this?

Everything Park Chanwoo said was true. His dulled emotions, his inability to feel pain properly, It had all started after the accident and surgeries.

“How…?”

But how could Park Chanwoo possibly know all of this?

— “Are you seriously asking me to talk about my past in a situation like this?”

Of course, all of this had come from Lee Hyuksoo himself.

It was in an alley leading to the Dragon Temple. The Final Brigade had started with 100,000 people, but by then, only around 100 remained. When everyone realized that victory was impossible, That none of them would return alive, Park Chanwoo had asked them:

— “If you could go back in time, what would you do?”

— “What regrets do you have?”

The Sword King Lee Hyuksoo had been one of those who answered.

— “I was always alone. I was… different from others.”

Lee Hyuksoo was never someone to talk about himself. But perhaps, standing at the brink of death, he had finally decided to speak. Park Chanwoo had remembered every word. Every single detail.

So, he knew better than anyone in this world. What Lee Hyuksoo truly wanted. What he longed for more than anything.

“There’s someone you want to save, isn’t there?”

“……Did you investigate me?”

“I’m a ‘Prophet.’ I know the past, and I have a general idea of what will happen in the future.”

Lee Hyuksoo continued to glare at him with suspicion. But Park Chanwoo didn’t care. He simply pointed beyond the curtain.

“Booking Points: 3,000.”

“…?”

“Gather 3,000 points and buy an Elixir. Then your mother, who is in a coma, will wake up.”

“…”

“But you have to do exactly as I say. Understood?”

— “I want to save my mother. If I could go back, that’s all I would ask for. But on the First Night of the Abyss, I missed my chance. 3,000 points was an impossible amount to gather.”

Park Chanwoo had heard it. The Sword King Lee Hyuksoo’s greatest wish. The one thing he would give everything to achieve.

“If you miss this chance, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Today is your only opportunity.”

Tomorrow evening, Lee Hyuksoo’s mother would pass away. If he didn’t act today, there would be no saving her.

“Take my hand, Lee Hyuksoo.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to become stronger.”

“You want me… to get stronger? That’s it?”

Lee Hyuksoo looked at him in disbelief. But Park Chanwoo nodded. Yes. That was all. The first human to reach level 99. The true incarnation of the so-called Great Nine Lords who played the role of humanity’s savior. To stop the enemies, Lee Hyuksoo was the perfect weapon. Unrivaled. Undefeated. The Absolute Sword King. If he reached level 99 faster than in the past, he would have become the true Savior.

‘I have no interest in being a hero or a savior.’

Park Chanwoo had no intention of playing that role. He barely had the means to escape his own predicament. Mastering the Truth and fully understanding magic was an impossible task. More than anything, there was nothing good about standing out. This world was overflowing with all kinds of “trolls.” Lee Hyuk-soo was put forward as the savior, while Park Chan-woo corrected mistakes from behind. That was the most ideal future Park Chan-woo envisioned.

“You… if you’re lying, I’ll kill you.”

Tap.

Lee Hyuk-soo grabbed Park Chan-woo’s outstretched hand with an emotionless gaze. Seeing this, Park Chan-woo smiled.

“The contract is sealed. Now then… fight alone.”

“…Fight alone?”

“Exactly as I said. You’ll fight alone on this battlefield. Why are you scared?”

“It’s not that, but… why?”

“If I step in, it’ll end too quickly. Then, the level of the booking opponent will skyrocket.”

Park Chan-woo shrugged. Of course, that was a lie. The truth was the opposite. He was avoiding unnecessary movement to conserve his stamina. To deceive the demonic chief, Andariel, he had to maintain his dignity. He couldn’t afford to reveal his limits.

『A ‘Skeleton Soldier’ has appeared.』

『Will you engage in battle?』

『Or will you pass?』

『If you choose to pass, one of you must be sacrificed.』

Before they knew it, Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo were standing inside an arena-like battlefield. Pointing to the other side, Park Chan-woo spoke.

“Go, bus driver.”

The hellish booking had begun.

‘If you offer all the coins you have, I’ll let you live.’

Andariel stared intently at the battlefield where Park Chan-woo stood. He didn’t care whether the other humans lived or died. His goal was one thing only.

Coins.

He intended to take every last coin Park Chan-woo possessed. With those coins, he could create his own Abyss. He could become a creator.

However, forcibly taking them was impossible. Everything in this Abyss was originally non-transferable. And as the game master, he couldn’t kill humans without a valid reason.

‘At best, he’ll win once or twice. And even that it’s barely possible.’

Andariel was curious. Just how strong of an opponent would appear? He imagined Park Chan-woo struggling before eventually begging for mercy and offering his coins. Then, he would pretend to be generous and let him live. There was no harm in putting a great debt on the incarnation of the Nine Lords. But then, as soon as he saw the opponent that appeared, he tilted his head in confusion.

‘…A skeleton soldier?’

A mere skeleton soldier? And not even a unique one, just a skeleton soldier without any weapons. A monster designed to appear when the party’s average level was around 1. This game, Night Abyss, was prepared by the Lord of the Moon floating in the sky. It operated by absolute rules. The opponent in the booking system was supposed to match the participant’s strength.

Yet… a skeleton soldier?

With that man’s strength, at least a level 30+ monster should have appeared. Then, another surprise followed.

“What… is that ridiculous durability?”

Tuk!

Crack!

A simple tap, and the skeleton soldier crumbled to dust. It was absurd.

What kind of flimsy skeleton soldier was this? Even for a level 1 skeleton soldier, this was beyond weak.

‘Is this some kind of error?’

For a moment, Andariel thought it was a glitch. But he quickly composed himself. The booking system continued. And with each victory, the next opponent would be “one level higher.” That meant that the more he fought, the stronger his opponents would become. The game was designed so that players couldn’t accumulate too many booking points.

In other words, all those countless treasures were meant to be “out of reach”. However…

“Am I seeing this wrong?”

Tuk!

Crack!

Tuk!

Crack!

Skeleton soldiers kept appearing. Only skeleton soldiers. And every single one of them was just as weak. Andariel rubbed his eyes. It was so surreal that it felt like an illusion. Something impossible was happening. If this continued, he might lose his status as a game master. And yet—

Tuk!

Crack!

“No, no way…!”

『The 36th booking opponent has been set.』

『Will you engage in battle?』

『35 consecutive wins. Currently, 2,080 points have been accumulated

』

Park Chan-woo leisurely put his hands behind his back, ignoring Andariel’s stunned expression. In 35 matches, he hadn’t taken a single step.

“The points are duplicating.”