Chapter 11
‘Easter Egg…!’
Park Chan-woo shuddered slightly as he stared at the message floating before him.
[Easter Egg] was one of the rare keywords that pierced through the entirety of the Abyss.
A [Mystery] that existed beyond all theory and logic—something that was believed to be utterly unattainable.
‘Didn’t they say the Easter Egg is the key left behind by the God of the Abyss?’
People speculated.
If a [Creator] crafted their own personal Abyss for their own amusement, to toy with humanity—
Then surely there must be a [God] who had created the grand Abyss where all Creators reside.
Humanity had, in all history, only obtained an [Easter Egg] twice.
And yet, not a single Creator understood what the Easter Egg truly was.
Not even the [Incarnations of the Great Nine Lords].
That’s why people were convinced.
This was it!
The Easter Egg was the true key left behind by the God of the Abyss—to clear all Abysses.
‘It’s nonsense to think a Creator wouldn’t know what’s inside their own Abyss.’
Creators crafted every inch of their Abyss.
They personally placed every single item, from small consumables to hidden quests and impossible challenges. Nothing escaped their touch.
They knew everything that existed within.
Yet even they were baffled by the Easter Egg. They had no idea what it was or why it existed in the Abyss.
They hadn’t even realized someone had planted the Easter Egg in their domain.
‘There is a true God who governs the Abyss. The Great Nine Lords are not the real rulers of the Abyss.’
Of course, this was only a theory.
The Great Lords claimed to be gods and masters of the Abyss.
But Park Chan-woo didn’t believe they were gods.
He was convinced there was a true God overseeing the entire Abyss.
A mischievous God who liked to leave traces of themselves behind in secret.
Just like now.
A mere first-day Awakener achieving something impossible—killing a [Game Master] that could not be killed.
And Park Chan-woo had done exactly that.
Killing a high-ranking demon like Andariel was harder than defeating the [Twelve Divine Generals], the final objective of the [First Night of the Abyss]!
‘A high-ranking demon is strong enough to kill all Twelve Divine Generals combined.’
As a game master, Andariel had only been using the bare minimum of her power to serve as a ‘guide.’
If she had used her full strength, newly awakened humans would’ve suffocated and died just by standing near her.
Which meant—
[Surpassing the final objective. The reward for killing an unkillable being.]
The Easter Egg was that reward.
Park Chan-woo looked up at the white egg floating in the air.
In its center, the number 001 was engraved.
He reached out slowly and claimed the Easter Egg.
Then a description appeared before his eyes.
Name: [Easter Egg (001)]
Level: None
Rarity: [Normal]
Description: A mysterious egg whose nature is unknown. It is said to be a gift for those who achieve extraordinary feats. Holding onto it may bring luck?
Equip Slot: None (Passive effect)
Unique Option (001): As long as you hold this, luck will find you with every level gained. Every 20 levels gained while holding [Easter Egg (001)] will upgrade its rarity, and greater luck will come with each upgrade.
Once it reaches its final rarity, something incredible is said to happen.
Current Level at time of acquisition: -98. (Next upgrade at Level -78.)
After reading the description, he nodded.
‘A growth-based luck reward, huh.’
As expected of an Easter Egg—it had a truly unique ability.
‘The final rarity must mean [Zero]. Equipment rarities are divided into eight tiers. It’s a level no human has ever achieved.’
However, there was something odd.
If the rarity upgraded every 20 levels, then it would take a total of 140 levels to reach the final rarity of [Zero].
14th Realm… even the strongest elder dragons never reached that territory.
Unless one was one of the [Twelve Progenitors], the thought was laughable.
Above all, the max level a human could reach was 99.
No one had ever surpassed that limit.
‘…It really is like a prank from a god.’
Even the description felt like a joke.
An item earned by overcoming an impossible trial.
And to see its final reward, you had to step into a realm that no one else had ever reached.
Except Park Chan-woo.
Starting from Level -99, he alone had the potential to reach the Easter Egg’s final rarity.
‘Only I can do this.’
…Isn’t that funny?
He’d once thought that selling off the future had cursed him with the worst start imaginable.
But now, returning to Level -99 had become a massive advantage.
Killing Andariel, obtaining the final reward item known as the Easter Egg, all became possible because he started at Level -99.
“…So what do I do now?”
Lee Hyuk-soo asked, his voice slightly trembling.
‘He’s strong.’
There was a reason Park Chan-woo stood still with his arms behind his back.
He finally understood what Chan-woo meant when he said things would end too easily if he got involved.
He had summoned a Reaper and sliced apart a game master like it was nothing.
His gaze showed not the slightest tremble. His attitude held no tension at all.
Lee Hyuk-soo had never encountered someone like this before.
‘Didn’t think I’d meet someone who felt less human than me.’
It was astonishing.
For the first time in his life, Lee Hyuk-soo felt overwhelmed by another person.
And he hadn’t felt an emotion like this since the surgeries that dulled his senses.
But it wasn’t just Lee Hyuk-soo throwing him that look.
Everyone present was staring at Park Chan-woo in a daze.
‘What… what did I just witness?’
‘Is he even human?’
‘Monster. He’s a monster!’
Questions piled up.
But not a single person dared to say them out loud.
Instead, their eyes were now filled with fear.
A reverence for a being that defied common sense.
“You asked what you should do?”
Park Chan-woo looked over at Lee Hyuk-soo.
Hyuk-soo stood calmly, gripping his greatsword, awaiting further orders.
As expected of the future Sword King—he regained composure far faster than the others.
With a casual shrug, Park Chan-woo spoke.
“Obviously, we keep booking.”
Only the game master had died.
The [Booking of Death] hadn’t ended yet.
This game wasn’t created by some mere high-ranking demon.
It was designed by someone leagues above them—
The [Master of the Moon], who hovered in the sky.
Unlike regular Creators, Park Chan-woo could never hope to bankrupt such a being, no matter how hard he tried.
But—
‘It must still sting a little.’
Could they really be fine?
After all, in this [First Night of the Abyss], they had opened their vault wide.
Park Chan-woo’s eyes gleamed.
Beyond the curtain, radiant treasures shimmered so brightly they could blind.
It felt like they were within arm’s reach.
Park Chan-woo opened his mouth slowly.
“Engage.”
《The 43rd Booking of Death has been engaged.》
《With the +20% win streak bonus applied, you will earn 396 points (330 + 66) upon victory.》
《Total Booking Points if victorious: 8,414》
The 4,444 points he gained from killing Andariel had already been added in.
It wasn’t just the win streak bonus.
Every treasure purchasable with booking points was now 20% off.
Naturally, there’s no way the [Master of the Moon] had created such a system on purpose.
It was the one who created the Easter Egg that made this possible.
A being so powerful it could shatter even the rules set by the [Master of the Moon], a being above even the Creators.
‘I’m going to the end.’
Park Chan-woo had made up his mind.
Even though he already had enough points to buy the [Philosopher’s Stone], it wasn’t enough.
Before this night was over—
“Engage.”
《The 50th Booking of Death has been engaged.》
《Total Booking Points if victorious: 11,512》
He was truly determined to see it through.
“Engage.”
《The 55th Booking has been engaged.》
《Total Booking Points if victorious: 15,455》
Even after repeated battles, his smile only deepened.
“Engage.”
《The 60th Booking has been engaged.》
《Total Booking Points if victorious: 20,000》
Tonight felt like it would be the greatest night of his life.
(T/N: The plot armor is armoring. LoL. Sorry guys, but I can’t help it. I’m really a sucker for this kind of genre. )
* * *
《[Tiger God General] has been slain.》
《Confirmation of the death of the 11th of the [Twelve Divine Generals].》
《Once the final [Dragon God General] is defeated, the [First Night of the Abyss] will end.》
《A warp gate leading to the [Dragon God General] has been created before all challengers.》
《Remaining challengers: 1,848,194》
《Time left: 1 hour 17 minutes 19 seconds》
《If the [Dragon God General] is not defeated within the remaining time, all challengers ranked below 20,000 in contribution will die.》
The hunt for the [Twelve Divine Generals] was going smoothly.
They had already succeeded in defeating eleven of the twelve.
“We’ve got plenty of time.”
“An hour’s more than enough.”
“Let’s finish this and get out!”
Excited players poured through the warp gate en masse.
Their numbers easily exceeded 100,000.
And at the place where the 63 Building should have stood—
There stood the [Dragon God General].
“Is this Korea?”
“Why does that guy look totally fine?”
“Scared little Korean bastards must not have even tried to fight him.”
“Heh. What could those weaklings possibly do?”
The foreigners who arrived in Seoul via the warp tilted their heads in confusion.
The [Dragon God General] looked completely untouched.
As if no one had dared challenge him. Not a scratch in sight.
Standing about two meters tall, with the head of a teal dragon and a humanoid body, he stood with arms crossed, unmoving.
Like the other Generals, his body was mostly human aside from the face.
“Ahheta… Did you really think you could bind me to this pathetic place?”
The [Dragon God General] murmured as he looked up at the moon.
He didn’t seem the least bit interested in the humans that had suddenly appeared around him.
“There’s the last one!”
“Kill it!”
The frenzied masses, drunk on momentum, charged in mindlessly.
So far, every General they’d faced had eventually fallen before the power of sheer numbers.
This final one would be no different.
But—
“I shall cut them down. Mercilessly.”
The [Dragon God General] unfolded his arms.
At the same time, twelve guandao blades appeared in his hands.
Swishhh!
The twelve arms moved faster than the eye could follow—
And in the blink of an eye, everyone within several dozen meters—
Slice—
Shlick!
…were cleanly cut down.
Their bodies were bisected like vegetables chopped by a master chef.
A scene so unreal it couldn’t even be processed.
Sshhhhhh—
The corpses vanished into dust, completely erased.
“W-What was that?!”
“W-Where’d everyone go?! What just happened?!”
Hundreds of people had vanished in an instant.
Those following behind froze on the spot.
And only then did they begin to realize.
‘He wasn’t untouched because no one tried…’
‘He’s on a whole different level!’
The lack of wounds, the eerie silence around him—
…It was all because the [Dragon God General] was simply that powerful.
Everyone who had challenged him had already met their end.
But even those thoughts didn’t last long.
“I shall cut them down. And cut them again.”
Swishhh!
They couldn’t even get close.
“H-How are we supposed to win against that?!”
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Please! Let me live!”
Even the brave ones who had charged in were now turning tail in a panic.
It was simply a different realm of power.
The only choice left for them—
Was death.
