Chapter 12
“Huff, huff…”
Lee Hyuk-soo let out rough breaths.
He had just achieved 60 consecutive wins without rest.
Now, during the 61st booking, a level 13 ghoul had appeared and was cornering him.
‘…Is this the limit?’
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin as he watched Lee Hyuk-soo’s condition.
To be honest, even with top-tier gear, a level 1 facing an enemy above level 13 wasn’t easy.
The equipment might be high in grade, but they were still level 1.
Without his innate combat instincts, it would’ve been impossible.
Above all, he hadn’t taken a proper break in nearly seven hours.
‘20,000 points. That should be enough to buy almost everything I want.’
The goal had long been achieved.
With the 20% discount, the Philosopher’s Stone cost 4,000 points.
That alone was enough to buy two pieces of [Legendary]-grade equipment.
At this point, he had practically obtained everything possible from the ‘First Night of the Abyss’.
“Focus, bus driver.”
But Park Chan-woo wasn’t satisfied.
Instead, he kept whipping Lee Hyuk-soo onward.
Every time Lee Hyuk-soo seemed on the verge of exhaustion, every time he looked ready to give up—
“Saving your life with an elixir isn’t everything. If you want to protect your family, you’ll have to become far stronger than this.”
“Tsk. At this rate, you won’t last even a week.”
“What are you planning to do with that rotten mindset?”
“Get up. Or just die already.”
“But if you die, that’ll be a sight. The ones you’re trying to protect will end up in this hell too. You think they can survive even a day without you?”
“The Abyss doesn’t show mercy for comatose patients. They’ll be summoned as they are, lying in bed, and be eaten alive by demons. If they’re lucky, they’ll remain unconscious—but the demons will forcibly awaken their senses and make them die in agony.”
“F…!”
At exactly the 63rd win,
Lee Hyuk-soo could no longer hold back and spat out a curse.
“Shut up! I get it, so shut your damn mouth!”
He howled like a wounded beast.
The 64th booking opponent was two level 16 Zombie Bears.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyuk-soo was still level 1.
This nightclub didn’t grant experience for victories.
“Shut it… Just watch from there. I’ll kill them all myself.”
Lee Hyuk-soo glared at Park Chan-woo.
But even Park Chan-woo was secretly surprised by this reaction.
‘Is it because his mother’s still alive? Looks like his emotions haven’t died yet.’
The Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo of the past had been emotionally dead.
He lived without direction or purpose.
If something bothered him, he cut it down. If something blocked his way, he smashed it.
He never let emotions control him, nor had he ever cursed like he did today.
But now, it seemed Lee Hyuk-soo still had some feelings left.
Thud!
Boom!
Before long, the two Zombie Bears collapsed beneath Lee Hyuk-soo’s greatsword.
Staring at the two massive corpses sprawled on the ground, Park Chan-woo couldn’t help but be stunned.
‘A miracle.’
He had defeated enemies 15 levels above him.
No matter how good the gear or how refined the technique, the typical limit was a 10-level gap.
On top of that, Lee Hyuk-soo had gone more than seven hours without rest.
And yet he endured.
If this wasn’t a miracle, what was?
[You have achieved 64 consecutive wins!]
[Total Points: 24,800]
The more he won consecutively, the greater the point accumulation became.
Just four wins after the 60th had netted him 4,800 points.
“Buy the Immortal King’s Belt.”
“Huff! Huff! You’re not even human…!”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
To be called inhuman by the Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo—
It was a new experience.
Wasn’t the Sword King the one who used to be the most inhuman of all?
Following Park Chan-woo’s instructions, Lee Hyuk-soo purchased the ‘Immortal King’s Belt’ and asked,
“So-called prophet. The Dragon God General isn’t dying. Are we just going to sit here?”
Only 30 minutes remained until the end of the ‘First Night of the Abyss’.
It had already been over 40 minutes since only the Dragon God remained among the Twelve Divine Generals, and yet it hadn’t been cleared.
Everyone else in the nightclub had already disappeared, having taken the warp to Dragon God General.
They could go anytime they wanted.
Park Chan-woo asked quietly,
“Why? Think we can’t clear it with 1.8 million people still alive?”
“That bastard Dragon God General has already killed 50,000. By now, the rest must be too scared to do anything but run away…”
Lee Hyuk-soo knew.
No matter how many charged at you, if you struck down the one in front with overwhelming force, the rest would scatter.
So Lee Hyuk-soo always crushed the leader among his attackers.
The ones who followed would naturally flee in all directions.
The fear caused by the Dragon God General, who was killing tens of thousands, was beyond description.
“There’s no way we’re winning like this.”
Park Chan-woo nodded.
The people who had been busy watching Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo at the nightclub had all left because they would die without accumulating [Contribution Points].
The only way to earn [Contribution Points] was to defeat the Twelve Divine Generals.
If you wanted to make it into the top 20,000, there was no time to waste.
Naturally, Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo, who were still just running bookings nonstop, had zero [Contribution Points].
Dead last out of 1.8 million.
If another 30 minutes passed like this, death would be certain.
Lee Hyuk-soo spoke with a dumbfounded expression.
“And yet… you’re going to keep doing ‘Death Bookings’?”
“Why ask something so obvious, Engage.”
[The 65th Death Booking has been ‘Engaged’.]
[Using the Lucky Dice.]
[Target’s level is reduced by -4.]
A level 17 monster should’ve appeared, but thanks to the Lucky Dice, a level 13 ghoul popped out again.
“…You lunatic.”
Lee Hyuk-soo shook his head.
He couldn’t begin to understand what Park Chan-woo was thinking.
“Now that the Immortal King set is complete, it’ll be much easier than before.”
“You… you’re the real demon here.”
“Enough chatter, time to go, bus driver. We’re going to be late.”
Lee Hyuk-soo bit his lip.
Time was limited.
There was no way they could keep booking endlessly.
Yet Park Chan-woo showed no intention of leaving the nightclub.
Still, Lee Hyuk-soo had already chosen to follow him.
A self-proclaimed prophet. A man who had slain demons and armed him with mysterious means.
But… Lee Hyuk-soo instinctively knew.
That this man bore him no malice.
Unlike those who had rejected Lee Hyuk-soo for being “different,” this one genuinely wished for him to grow stronger.
‘What a monster.’
Maybe it was because he’d met someone more monstrous than himself.
Strangely, he felt at ease.
Whoosh!
Lee Hyuk-soo swung the Immortal King’s greatsword at the ghoul.
And then—
[Due to the effect of the ‘Immortal King Set’, Attack Power increases by 1,000 when facing the dead.]
[All stats increase by 1, and you gain the effect: ‘Indomitable.’]
[‘Indomitable’: Upon receiving a fatal blow, you resist death for 3 seconds.]
[The ‘Indomitable’ effect can only be triggered once.]
He decapitated the ghoul more easily than before.
“Engage.”
“…….”
Without rest, the next opponent appeared.
Then three more after that.
After exhausting all the Lucky Dice and achieving 68 consecutive wins—
[Your Booking Points have exceeded 30,000!]
[You have achieved the challenge: ‘An Unreachable Score.’]
[A Hidden Piece has been triggered.]
[An additional ‘Treasure Vault’ hidden by the ‘Master of the Moon’ is revealed.]
Shrrrrk!
Another veil lifted.
And beyond that veil, what Park Chan-woo saw—
“……!!”
His pupils involuntarily dilated.
He never imagined this kind of ‘Hidden Piece’ was buried here.
And among the items—
‘Void…!’
There was ‘Void’.
An item every mage dreamed of.
Far superior to the Philosopher’s Stone.
Although the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ was a growing artifact, making direct comparisons pointless—
Even so, among the newly revealed treasures, this was undoubtedly the best.
Before he realized it, Park Chan-woo’s hands were already moving.
[You have purchased ‘Void (Eternal).’]
[20,000 Points have been consumed.]
By the time it sank in, he had already made an impulse purchase.
‘The legacy of Void once used by the Infinite Mage. How could I not buy it after seeing it?’
Of course, there were no regrets.
‘Void’ was the artifact of a powerful Incarnation who suddenly appeared three years later, sweeping across the world—once known by the alias ‘Infinite Mage’.
It was one of the most coveted treasures Park Chan-woo had desired on his path as a mage.
He never thought he’d find it here, of all places!
Glancing sideways at Lee Hyuk-soo, Park Chan-woo spoke.
“Lee Hyuk-soo.”
“…Only 15 minutes left now.”
“Let’s fight just two more times.”
“……Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“It’s fine. Killing the Dragon God General only takes three seconds.”
“……?”
The very thing 1.8 million people had failed to do—he claimed he could finish in three seconds?
That doubt only lasted a moment.
“Engage.”
Lee Hyuk-soo’s will no longer mattered.
Park Chan-woo intended to march forward like a bull’s horn until he achieved his purpose.
“Please, just stop……!!!”
…Unable to endure any longer, Lee Hyuk-soo screamed.
* * *
At the site where the 63 Building should have stood, the Dragon God General stood with arms crossed.
After wiping out all the surrounding humans, none dared to approach him anymore.
“Ahheta, things will not go as you planned.”
The Dragon God General once again called out the name ‘Ahheta’.
Ahheta—the name of the Master of the Moon who presided over the ‘Night Abyss’.
He was the one who had trapped The Dragon God General and the other Twelve Divine Generals in this ‘Abyss’.
Though he had slain the other Generals, the Dragon God General could not be killed.
“Foolish. Such feeble creatures could never bring me down.”
Humans were far too weak.
They couldn’t even get close to him.
Even if they came in droves, the gap in class between them and the Dragon God General was insurmountable.
And such a gap could never be filled with numbers alone.
Ahheta should have known this.
Off in the distance, the humans merely watched.
He could feel their gazes, but they were nothing more than a ragtag band that had already lost their fighting spirit.
They had no will to charge—what could they possibly do now?
There were barely five minutes left until the night ended.
Once the sun rose, this Abyss would disappear.
“Hmm?”
It was then.
A human began walking toward him from nearby.
“Oho. Your aura is certainly different from the rest I’ve fought. But…”
Lee Hyuk-soo.
It was him.
He was approaching The Dragon God General, clad in the Immortal King Set.
Even The Dragon God General could tell this human’s armament was far beyond the others’.
But it was strange.
‘He’s nearly dead… and he dares face me, the Dragon God?’
Lee Hyuk-soo had already crossed the threshold of death.
His lifeless eyes, slumped shoulders—
The countless wounds on his body clearly showed he could collapse at any moment.
‘Foolish.’
The Dragon God General extended all twelve of his arms.
Even in that pitiful state, he would show no mercy.
Wielding twelve crescent moon blades, he swung them at the human who approached, unaware this was where he would die.
“Be shredded mercilessly.”
Swishhhh!
His technique, akin to divine authority, activated.
Lee Hyuk-soo would be sliced into hundreds—no, thousands—of pieces.
“Hmm?”
But contrary to The Dragon God General’s expectations, Lee Hyuk-soo remained unharmed.
The Dragon God General tilted his head in confusion.
Not only was Lee Hyuk-soo intact—
Tudududut!
He suddenly dashed toward The Dragon God General like a madman.
And in moments, Lee Hyuk-soo reached The Dragon God General and swung his greatsword—
KWAHHHHHHHHH!
