Chapter 101

Han Shin inwardly smiled.

It was certain that heaven’s luck was with him.

As the old saying goes, no one can defeat a man blessed with fortune.

Normally, Han Shin wasn’t one to rely on luck, but just for today, he had no choice but to believe in it.

《Valhalla’s blessing spreads across the entirety of the ‘Second Night,’ restoring a portion of the health of participants who possess the title [Witness to Legend].》

《The ‘Doppelganger’ horde begins to weaken.》

A message appeared before his eyes.

It said those with the title would be healed.

And at the same time, the doppelgangers had been weakened.

“…Whoever you are, I sincerely thank you.”

Han Shin bowed his head.

Toward whoever had achieved the Legendary Quest.

At the very least, it wasn’t that damned mage who had put him in this state.

The man had only stood in his way and had shown no signs of progressing through a Legendary Quest.

…Who could it be?

Surely it wasn’t that mage who had monopolized Adora’s attention.

No, it couldn’t be.

There was no way such a coincidence could exist in this world.

Han Shin offered sincere gratitude to the unknown person.

At that moment—

《You have obtained the title [Witness to Legend].》

《Valhalla’s blessing takes hold, restoring a portion of your health!》

Light enveloped Han Shin’s entire body, and a spark of vitality returned.

Some of his health and mana were restored.

Thanks to the blessing, the immediate threat of death was averted.

“Why now, of all times…!!”

Kim Byung-han bit his lip.

The timing was maddening.

No—perhaps the mistake had been in acting too cautiously, just in case.

The replication was already complete. In just one hour, Han Shin would die on his own.

So he had planned to simply watch Han Shin die quietly.

He had wanted to see Han Shin beg pitifully for his life.

……But in that exact interval, the Legendary Quest had been completed, triggering a feature that healed participants.

What rotten luck.

Luck so rotten, it was almost absurd.

Grin!

Han Shin bared his teeth in a smile.

A smile that didn’t suit his blood-soaked appearance at all.

‘This is enough.’

He could barely move, but that was fine.

As long as he could bite down on his prey.

Even if it meant his death, he wouldn’t regret it.

“…Just because you’ve recovered a bit of health doesn’t mean you can take on the two of us. Why don’t you just accept death quietly?”

Kim Byung-han regained his composure.

Han Shin’s condition was still at its worst.

It was obvious that even walking was difficult for him.

Taking on both the doppelganger and himself in that state?

‘Impossible.’

If he could have, then replication wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.

A being with too great a gap in strength couldn’t be copied.

The fact that replication had succeeded meant that the gap wasn’t so large.

Victory was already in the bag.

There was no need to be afraid.

Srrng!

Kim Byung-han gripped his sword.

If Han Shin hadn’t ignored him, he had been willing to treat him as an ally.

He had planned to spare him and make him a companion.

It was Han Shin who had rejected that vast generosity.

Now they had crossed a river with no return.

Twitch, twitch!

Han Shin twitched his fingers.

As if telling him to come at once.

‘This bastard…’

…Had he gone mad?

Did he really think that a little health recovery meant he could win?

That arrogant, insolent expression and attitude were enough to stoke Kim Byung-han’s rage.

“Fine. Looks like you’re desperate to die—I’ll hack off your limbs and throw you to the dogs!”

—

“H-Huff…!”

Shiver, shiver, shiver!

Kim Byung-han’s body shook like a leaf.

His face was pale, and his legs gave out, dropping him to the ground.

It was simply unbelievable.

He had been certain of victory.

But Han Shin had ignored his own injuries, focusing solely on killing his opponent.

Trading bone for bone.

Showing no sign of feeling pain.

Mercilessly, indiscriminately butchering the doppelganger, Han Shin had terrified Kim Byung-han.

The replication should have been perfect.

The doppelganger should have become a being stronger than Han Shin himself, yet it couldn’t respond to his swordsmanship.

The lack of experience.

The sheer, overwhelming difference in skill.

In the end, it was defeated without even putting up a real fight.

The real problem came after.

Once the battle ended, and the doppelganger was defeated—

“Y-You insane bastard…!”

Kim Byung-han wet himself.

He couldn’t tell if what he was seeing was real.

This was beyond violent or brutal—it was inhuman.

Yes. The man wasn’t human.

Chomp, chomp!

……If he were human, he wouldn’t be eating a doppelganger alive.

It was unbearable to watch.

Kim Byung-han turned his head away in desperation.

Still, the sounds reached him.

He wanted to block his ears, but his fingers wouldn’t obey.

‘Move. Move, damn it!’

He wished he could run, but it was impossible.

The sheer insanity of the scene and the act had broken him.

He had provoked something that should never have been provoked.

A monster more monstrous than any monster.

He had encountered many in The Abyss, but none as terrifying as Han Shin.

Who knew how much time had passed—

Plop!

Han Shin’s grotesque act came to an end.

Ssssshh!

The doppelganger turned to dust.

He had kept it alive as much as possible while eating it, but in the end, its life ran out.

“So this is what it feels like.”

Han Shin twisted his lips in a smile.

Then he looked up at the sky.

It was the first time he had felt this way.

“So this is what it’s like to come back from the dead.”

Right now, Han Shin had crossed the boundary of death.

By devouring his own doppelganger, he had absorbed its innate mana.

Normally, this was impossible.

There was no creature that could do such a thing.

But Han Shin could.

His instincts allowed it.

An insane obsession with life and madness.

A true, first-time experience of pure hatred.

Perhaps that was why—

One of Han Shin’s eyes turned blood red.

His magic eye had transformed.

His left eye remained a magic eye that read mana, but his right eye now crossed the boundary of life and death, awakening an entirely new ability.

More accurately, it had been altered after absorbing the doppelganger’s innate mana.

‘I can see death.’

He could see the souls of the dead.

The soul and the patterns of innate mana.

That was how he had been able to absorb the doppelganger’s mana.

[Death Spirit Eye].

Reading the flow of mana and even recognizing the patterns of innate mana—there was no longer any reason to fear fighting that mage who had cornered him before.

‘I’ve become a mage’s natural enemy.’

And that wasn’t all.

The doppelganger he had devoured wasn’t just any doppelganger.

It was one destined to become a Lord.

By consuming it, Han Shin had seized the Lord’s seat for himself.

《The qualification of [King of the Night] has been promoted to [Night Lord].》

《The qualification is converted into a class!》

《Absorb the remaining doppelgangers within the time limit to ascend the path of a true Lord.》

He had nearly lost everything, but in the process, he had gained it all.

If this wasn’t heaven’s luck, what was?

‘Legendary Quest achiever. If we meet someday, I might just spare you once.’

Han Shin regained his composure.

The composure of the strong.

Achieving the Legendary Quest meant one had the qualifications, but Han Shin was confident he could grow even stronger.

So that he would never have to experience this again.

He would reach a height no one could follow.

“Are you watching, Ahheta?”

Ahheta’s eyes still watched him.

The plan to replicate him into a Lord using a doppelganger had failed.

Instead, Han Shin had become the Lord himself.

He had survived, grown stronger, and become irreplaceable.

Ahheta would have no choice but to acknowledge it.

He too had suffered a major failure.

To recover from it, he would need Han Shin even more.

…Then it happened.

Slaaash!

Ahheta’s pupils widened sharply.

As if something had gone wrong, his eyes darted quickly.

And at the same time—

Kuaaaaaaang!

In the distance, light erupted.

Han Shin closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again—

‘…A goddess?’

He could see the Goddess of Light.

But that wasn’t all.

Ding!

《Someone has achieved a Mythical Achievement.》

《All participants are awarded 1,000 contribution points.》

《If you bow your head in gratitude, you will receive additional contribution points from the Mythical Achievement achiever.》

《Additionally, depending on how many participants bow in gratitude, the Mythical Achievement achiever will also gain 1,000 contribution points per participant.》

《Note: These bonus points are not affected by reward multipliers such as qualification or maps.》

“Mythical Achievement?”

He’d never heard the term before, but he knew what it meant.

It referred to the one-and-only achievement Ahheta had set when creating the Second Night.

The Master of the Moon was a Creator who gifted ‘nights’ to countless races.

Naturally, he had hosted countless Second Nights.

And this Mythical Achievement, which no one had ever cleared, had remained untouched until now.

It had been broken.

Right here, right now.

‘Could it be the Legendary Quest achiever…?’

Han Shin’s expression hardened.

He too lost his composure.

Because—

‘A million participants. Say 800,000 survived.’

If all 800,000 expressed their thanks—

What would that score be?

Finishing the calculation quickly, Han Shin’s face twitched.

‘Eight hundred million points…!’

……Was that even possible for an individual?

It was an absurd amount for one person to gather.

If even Han Shin was this shocked, how would Ahheta feel?

Those widened pupils were proof that Ahheta was aghast.

Frankly, he couldn’t understand why Ahheta had even set such an achievement.

Now, a single person would be flooded with an astronomical amount of points.

‘With eight hundred million points… I can’t even imagine what reward they’ll get.’

The higher the contribution, the better the reward—of course.

And this wasn’t a collective 800 million—it was for an individual. Who knew what treasure Ahheta would lose?

The vault was about to be ransacked.

Han Shin pondered.

Astronomical contribution.

“…Thank you.”

Han Shin bowed his head once more.

One more show of gratitude here wouldn’t change much.

But more than that, it was a small act of revenge against Ahheta.

Ding!

《You have expressed gratitude to the Mythical Achievement achiever.》

《Both parties receive an additional 1,000 contribution points.》

Han Shin looked up at the sky.

Once again, his eyes met Ahheta’s.

Eyes that seemed to chastise him, asking what on earth he was doing.

Han Shin didn’t avert his gaze.

Instead, he stared back as if to provoke.

‘Let’s just exploit each other to the fullest. That’s the kind of relationship we’ve always had.’

—

An hour later—

Park Chan-woo dusted off his hands.

He had spent the remaining time gathering as much contribution as possible.

Completing as many hidden quests as he could.

Thanks to that, he’d managed to significantly boost his contribution score.

Ding!

《Time is up.》

《The ‘Second Night’ has ended.》

《Estimated survival rate: 11.1%》

《Actual survival rate: 86.7%!!!》

《Incredible. Far surpassing the estimated survival rate!》

《A phenomenal result. This will be recorded as an unprecedented ‘Second Night.’》

《21 Creators who had heavily bet on the survival rate have gone bankrupt.》

《All participants are awarded a [Platinum Box].》

《Commencing contribution calculation.》

《Total contribution: 2,500,100,000 points.》

《Searching for reward matching contribution level.》

《……No reward matching contribution exists in ‘Ahheta’s Treasure Vault.’》

《By rule, ‘Ahheta’s Hidden Treasure Vault’ will be forcibly opened.》