Chapter 13
The Game Master, Andariel, once said:
Everything needed to conquer the Twelve Divine Generals could be found at Pretty Faces Nightclub.
That it was possible to clear them using the treasures beyond the veil.
And to an extent, that was true.
‘The problem is that it’s impossible to earn that many points.’
Under normal circumstances, it couldn’t be done.
Each individual had to earn the points and buy everything themselves.
Due to the nature of the Abyss, only the person who acquired something could use it.
The only exception was the [Coin], which could be transferred.
However, if you had a cooperative “party member,” it was a different story.
Roles could be divided.
Park Chan-woo giving Lee Hyuk-soo the [Immortal King Set] was for that exact reason.
‘The Immortal King Set’s one-time “Indomitable” effect.’
[Indomitable] activated when taking a fatal blow—
A one-use invincibility skill lasting three seconds!
Once triggered, it disappeared—but in those three seconds, The Dragon God General could be defeated.
Of course, there were still obstacles.
Would Lee Hyuk-soo move as he expected?
After all, it meant willingly walking into a death trap.
Could someone really throw their life away based solely on the [Indomitable] effect?
Honestly, even he would’ve refused.
That’s why Park Chan-woo prepared a sweet offer that couldn’t be rejected.
“Lee Hyuk-soo. We’re going to kill The Dragon God General.”
“…Can we really kill him?”
Roughly ten minutes remained.
Lee Hyuk-soo asked with a half-doubtful expression.
It was the monster that had killed 50,000 people single-handedly.
Even if Park Chan-woo had killed the Game Master Andariel, The Dragon God General still looked stronger to Lee Hyuk-soo.
“If everything goes according to plan, you can kill The Dragon God General within the three seconds [Indomitable] is active.”
“…Wait. [Indomitable] only activates when taking a fatal blow… you’re not telling me I have to walk into death, are you?”
“Oh, sharp as always. Yes—you’ll need to take a fatal hit to activate [Indomitable] and then reach The Dragon God General within those three seconds.”
The entire plan hinged on triggering [Indomitable].
He had to start by getting fatally struck.
“…And why the hell should I do that?”
But Lee Hyuk-soo had already bought the Elixir.
He’d followed Park Chan-woo’s instructions all the way through the endless bookings in the nightclub.
All he had to do now was exit the Abyss.
With the gear he’d acquired here, it would be easy to rack up enough [Contribution Points] to make it into the top 20,000.
Even if Park Chan-woo was a monster who’d slain demons, asking someone to run headfirst into death wasn’t something to follow blindly.
Exactly as expected—Park Chan-woo pulled a [Coin] from his pocket.
“Take this.”
“…A tip?”
Lee Hyuk-soo blinked as he caught the coin.
It was the same coin Park Chan-woo had once handed to Andariel.
The only item that had remained after Andariel’s death.
Without hesitation, Park Chan-woo explained,
“I told you before—reviving your mother with the Elixir isn’t enough.”
“You did say that, but…”
“Give that [Coin] to your mother. As long as she has it, the demons of the Abyss won’t be able to take her easily.”
Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes widened.
“…What kind of item is this?”
“It’s an Escape Coin. As long as you have that, you can escape the Abyss.”
“Escape Coin… it can be used even here?”
“Of course. You could use it right now if you wanted.”
Hearing that, Lee Hyuk-soo looked down again at the [Coin] in his hand.
Andariel had treated it with reverence.
It was clearly no ordinary item.
If holding this meant avoiding entry into this hell, or escaping it—
Then perhaps it was even more valuable than the Elixir.
“And what makes you think I won’t just use this and run away?”
“Lee Hyuk-soo. You’re just a little ‘different’—not selfish.”
“…….”
Lee Hyuk-soo shut his mouth tightly.
Because Park Chan-woo’s words had struck something deep within him.
—Hyuk-soo, you’re a good boy. You’re just a little different from others. That’s all. They just don’t understand that.
His mother had always told him that.
Even after a fight, she had always been on Lee Hyuk-soo’s side.
She had believed without a doubt that her son would never start something without reason.
“…Just tell me what to do. I’ll do exactly as you say.”
Finally, Lee Hyuk-soo put his life on the line.
He’d come this far—might as well see it through to the end.
‘That’s it.’
Park Chan-woo nodded.
The preparations were complete.
Only one thing remained now—
‘I just need to awaken my class as a Mage.’
—
[You have taken a fatal blow.]
[The one-time effect ‘Indomitable’ has been activated.]
At the same time, Lee Hyuk-soo dashed forward like a lunatic.
Three seconds of [Indomitable]. In that time, he had to reach The Dragon God General.
If he didn’t make it, he would die.
Charging head-on when even fleeing wouldn’t be fast enough—
“Slash. Cut. Cut again.”
Even with three seconds of invincibility, the path to The Dragon God General was treacherous.
The Dragon God General wasn’t standing still.
Twelve arms, each holding a long crescent moon blade.
Approaching him was sheer madness.
And yet, Lee Hyuk-soo didn’t hesitate—he sprinted straight at The Dragon God General.
—Lee Hyuk-soo. I’m going to cast a spell on you now.
Park Chan-woo had said that.
He told him to get close and swing his sword after the spell took effect.
He hadn’t said what the spell was.
But what was clear was that when he cast it, Park Chan-woo’s entire aura had changed.
‘Was he a Mage?’
He didn’t know.
He’d called himself a prophet—so why magic all of a sudden?
But there was no time to ask.
Just like Park Chan-woo said, Lee Hyuk-soo closed in on The Dragon God General—
[The effect of ‘Indomitable’ has ended!]
And at that precise moment—
Shhk!
He swung the Immortal King’s greatsword.
“You’re nothing, human.”
The Dragon God General scoffed and swung his crescent blade to deflect it.
At the moment the greatsword and crescent blade collided—
KWAHHHHHHHHHH!
With an eardrum-shattering blast, a massive explosion erupted.
And yet, Lee Hyuk-soo was unscathed.
The only one caught in the explosion was The Dragon God General.
Every ounce of that blast had been directed precisely at him.
Engulfed in the flames, his skin burned and peeled away—The Dragon God General could only scream.
“Graaaagh!”
It was unbearable agony.
But what tormented him more was the realization—
He understood, instinctively, what caused this explosion.
‘It’s my mana. It bounced back my own attack.’
The mana gathered on the Immortal King’s greatsword had all come from The Dragon God General himself.
All the mana he had spewed in those three seconds was condensed and detonated back at him.
‘Reflection magic? No, that can’t be! Reflection has its limits. You can’t just gather someone’s mana and blow it up like that!’
It may have looked like reflection magic,
But this was something far beyond the kind The Dragon God General knew.
Traditionally, ‘reflection magic’ referred to a type of [barrier].
A basic spell all mages learned to protect themselves.
But over time, it had been abandoned.
It consumed far more mana than it deflected, and a solid [defensive spell] was far more practical.
No one learned or used it anymore.
And yet—
Someone had refined that outdated magic to such a degree?
“Whoever that great mage is… you’ll regret helping Ahheta!”
The Dragon God General realized now—
A great mage was hiding behind the human who had just attacked him.
But that would be his final cry.
He had just received the full brunt of his own high-output mana.
The Dragon God General was reduced to ash and disappeared.
[‘The Dragon God General’ has been confirmed dead.]
[All ‘Twelve Divine Generals’ have been defeated.]
[The ‘First Night of the Abyss’ will end in 3 minutes.]
“…….”
Meanwhile, Lee Hyuk-soo stood in a daze.
He’d simply done as Park Chan-woo instructed—and The Dragon God General was really dead.
Even the claim about casting magic on him had been true.
That slash, that explosion—
None of it came from his own strength.
‘…Three seconds really were enough.’
A shiver ran down his spine.
He could barely breathe.
He’d sensed something extraordinary from the moment Park Chan-woo summoned a Reaper and killed a demon—
‘A monster at the apex.’
That man had done in three seconds what 2 million people couldn’t.
Even The Dragon God General had said it—
A great mage.
Maybe Park Chan-woo had never needed his help to begin with.
To Lee Hyuk-soo, that self-proclaimed prophet was clearly a ‘Archmage’ who had reached an unfathomable level.
Clap clap!
Just then,
Applause echoed from somewhere.
The first to appear was Team Leader Kim Byung-han.
“As expected! I knew you’d pull something off the moment I saw you at Pretty Faces Nightclub! I believed in you!”
He strutted over, pretending to be close.
Now that it was clear Lee Hyuk-soo was human, the crowd began to appear one by one.
Clap clap clap clap!
“The Dragon God General is dead!”
“He killed The Dragon God General!”
“A hero is born!”
In an instant, people surrounded Lee Hyuk-soo.
Too many to count.
“What’s your name?”
“Where did you get that gear?”
“Which country are you from?”
A barrage of questions rained down.
Lee Hyuk-soo barely opened his mouth.
“I didn’t kill—”
“Ah, modest too!”
“No one else even dared get close, and he felled that monster in a single blow!”
In the end, he couldn’t answer at all.
…Because technically, he hadn’t killed The Dragon God General.
‘Where did he go?’
No matter how hard he looked, the ‘self-proclaimed prophet’ was nowhere to be seen.
Lee Hyuk-soo instinctively knew—
He was gone.
Having done all he set out to do, he vanished silently.
A strange emptiness lingered in his chest.
Their time together had been brief, but what he experienced during the First Night of the Abyss would never be forgotten.
‘I should’ve at least asked his name…’
* * *
Park Chan-woo stood alone on a deserted roadside.
Having confirmed The Dragon God General’s death by his own magic,
He slowly looked to the sky.
To the floating [moon].
“Thanks, Master of the Moon.”
Squelch!
A sound like flesh slithering—the eye engraved on the moon stared down at him.
The moon had turned red.
Seeing it, Park Chan-woo smiled.
That bloodshot eye—seething with fury—was almost amusing.
“Thanks to you, I finally became a Mage.”
And so, he provoked it openly.
Because he had finally achieved what he had longed for.
Then, as he calmly invoked his [status window]—
Affiliation: Earth / Human / Republic of Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 69kg
Level: -98
Strength: (1+2)
Stamina: (1+2)
Agility: (+2)
Intelligence: (1+3)
Mana: (1+12)
Total Attack Power: 47
Total Defense: 11
Status: Weakest, Frail, Feeble, Nonexistent, Terminal
Class: Mage (Lv. 2)
Available Magic: [Reflection] (Great Magic, [Rare])
Remaining Class Level Points: 0
Equipped Gear:
– World Tree Staff (-98Lv, [Eternal])
– Demon’s Pauldrons (-98Lv, [Epic])
– Demonic Helmet (-98Lv, [Epic])
– Demonic Armor (-98Lv, [Epic])
– Demonic Boots (-98Lv, [Epic])
– Demonic Gauntlets (-98Lv, [Epic])
– Iron Shield (-98Lv, [Rare])
Set Effect ‘Demonic Heart’: Significant aura of pressure, Intelligence +1
Held Abyss Items:
– Easter Egg (001)
– Philosopher’s Stone ([Legendary])
– Void ([Eternal])
– Coin (2)
Gazing at his rising status window, Park Chan-woo clenched his fist.
This was only the first day.
With the beginning of the Abyss, he had obtained his class.
He had always regretted walking the path of a Mage too late.
At last, he had corrected that regret.
‘Getting an original class in the Abyss is actually the hardest thing to do.’
An ‘original class’ referred to those with basic names like Mage, Swordsman, or Archer.
In the Abyss, these ‘original’ titles were actually the highest tier.
‘That’s because almost every class acquired in the Abyss comes with a modifier.’
For example, even among Mages, most had names like ‘Fire Mage’ or ‘Star Mage’—words that modified the class.
However, these modifiers essentially imposed a limit.
They looked cool on the surface, but you could only use magic associated with that word.
A Fire Mage could only learn fire magic. A Star Mage could only learn star-based spells.
Which meant—
‘The Mage with no modifiers, the original Mage, is the strongest of them all.’
This was especially true in the world of Mages.
Having no modifier meant the freedom to learn anything.
You wouldn’t be specialized, but you could master a wide range.
You could learn more and go further.
Of course, that didn’t mean you could freely learn completely opposing elements.
But Park Chan-woo could.
‘Void. The relic that allows one to learn magic from opposing elements.’
Because he had [Void].
[Void] removed the repelling force of conflicting attributes—a literal [Holy Grail] for Mages.
This was a strong start.
Stronger than anyone else’s.
His level may be catastrophically low, but that was more than compensated for.
Glancing at the time remaining, Park Chan-woo gave a shrug.
‘Still… I can’t believe the book for the original Mage class was actually here.’
Books that allowed you to inherit an original class were extremely rare.
It had been hidden beyond the veil.
That was why, after hitting 70 consecutive wins, he dumped all his remaining points into buying the book to awaken the [Original Mage] class.
All thanks to the ‘Master of the Moon’.
Truly a generous benefactor—if one could call him that.
“See you next ‘Night’.”
Park Chan-woo grinned, baring his teeth.
A smile full of resolve—to utterly bankrupt the Master of the Moon next time.
At that moment—
[The ‘First Night of the Abyss’ has ended.]
[You contributed 99% to the defeat of ‘The Dragon God General’.]
[You contributed 49.9% to the total defeat of the ‘Twelve Divine Generals’.]
[Survival Rate: 86.5%]
[This is 86.5 times higher than the expected survival rate of 1%.]
[‘The Creator Who Yells Rudely’ has gone bankrupt.]
[‘The Creator Who Wants to Avoid the Sun’ has gone bankrupt.]
[‘The Creator of the Sinister Cave’ has gone bankrupt.]
[A total of 10 [Coins] will be distributed based on ranking and contribution.]
[You have received 5 [Coins].]
[All survivors receive a ‘Gold Box (★)’.]
……
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have earned 2 ‘Class Level Points’.]
[……Incredible!]
[No mythological feat compares to this single accomplishment. As your performance has exceeded all expectations and understanding of powerful beings, a ‘Black Box’ will be awarded additionally.]
“…Black Box?”
