Chapter 220
Outside the Tower.
While receiving treatment from the emergency team waiting outside, Lingling stared at Lee Hyuk-soo.
‘The rumors weren’t all lies, it seems.’
Lee Hyuk-soo’s skills were the real deal.
He made it to the 10th floor and slaughtered the Black Evil God single-handedly.
In a single strike, no less.
There had to be a reason people called him the Savior.
She had wondered whether it was true that he’d been active in every Night of the Abyss, but he far exceeded her expectations.
‘Skills that use a giant Shadow… He must have inherited them from an Ancient Being.’
Lingling, too, had received skills from an Ancient Being.
With talent so close to the celestial realm that all sorts of Creators would covet it, it was only natural.
Moreover, she had grown explosively under the government’s full support.
She took every reward.
Her growth rate was unrivaled.
Of course, she was curious about the skills of Lee Hyuk-soo, the one called the strongest.
But Lee Hyuk-soo had more than just skill.
‘To think he ran up to the 19th floor in that condition…’
Lingling was genuinely impressed.
Unbreakable. Lee Hyuk-soo wouldn’t stop even if he broke a hundred times.
He wouldn’t stop unless he died.
If his disciple Han Min-oh hadn’t cried and begged him to stop, he would’ve challenged himself to death like a rhinoceros beetle.
Even after clearing the 19th floor, Lee Hyuk-soo’s face was full of regret.
‘It’s even more absurd that someone cleared the 20th floor.’
Who could it be?
Beings had performed better than Lee Hyuk-soo, the Savior—and even better than herself, China’s hidden weapon.
It was unbelievable.
Sure, their party was a mess.
They lacked members to support, heal, and defend.
But even with a perfect party, breaking through the 20th floor would’ve been difficult.
They retreated the moment they saw the boss monster that appeared on the 20th floor.
A Dragon Tooth Warrior.
A knight made of dragon’s teeth greeted them.
The moment they saw it, they knew.
They couldn’t win.
Lingling was confident.
If she unleashed her full power, she could defeat Lee Hyuk-soo.
Yet even Lingling’s will to fight shattered the moment she faced the Dragon Tooth Warrior.
She felt like she’d need at least ten more Levels—and far better equipment—just to have a chance.
And that was only if she had a full party of four at a similar Level.
‘…There’s no way someone is stronger than me.’
Whoever broke through the 20th floor had defeated the Dragon Tooth Warrior.
It didn’t look like a normal victory.
They must have used a trick.
They had to be a completely different type from Lee Hyuk-soo, who insisted on forcing his way through head-on.
Unlike Lee Hyuk-soo, who never knew how to retreat and only pushed forward, they must have used some cowardly method.
“Your wound is deep. Are you okay?”
“…Yes, I’m fine. I’m okay now, so please treat the others who need it more urgently.”
Lee Hyuk-soo spoke to the doctor disinfecting his wound.
He meant they should prioritize patients in worse condition than him.
Lingling couldn’t take her eyes off him.
…Lee Hyuk-soo was a man.
An honorable man—strong against the strong, gentle toward the weak.
Infinitely firm against the powerful, yet strangely soft when facing the vulnerable.
“I like strong men.”
“……”
Lee Hyuk-soo didn’t even pretend he’d heard her.
It was a conversation she’d started more than once already.
But Lingling didn’t give up.
“Why don’t you come to China with me? China will treat you far better than Korea.”
“My master will never naturalize.”
Han Min-oh, who had been listening in silence, stepped forward.
South Korea was already suffering serious brain drain.
Even now, promising Awakeners were flowing into China.
If Lee Hyuk-soo naturalized, there’d be no stopping it.
And if Lee Hyuk-soo went, his disciple Han Min-oh would have to follow.
‘As the needle goes, so goes the thread. I can’t let my master go to China.’
The two were already needle and thread.
An inseparable pair.
Of course, that was only Han Min-oh’s opinion.
“Climbing the Tower together once was the condition of the contract. Now go back to your country.”
Lee Hyuk-soo broke the silence.
He had only accepted Lingling into the party at the Minister’s request.
Now that the contract was over, there was no reason to keep her close.
Lingling scoffed at his cold tone.
“There’s no hope for your country anyway. Do you know why?”
“……”
“The number of Creation Abyss is far too high for your population and land area. It means you’ve already exceeded what you can handle.”
“So what?”
“Still don’t get it? Korea has become a target for demons. If you stay here, you’ll be the first one they go after, Lee Hyuk-soo. Do you think the Creators will leave you alone when you interfere with everything?”
Lingling was confident.
China was far ahead of Korea in research related to The Abyss.
They ground people down for experiments, so the volume and quality of information they had was on a different level.
That was why the Chinese government had already finished evaluating Korea.
Lingling paused, then said quietly.
“…And have you ever considered that you’re the reason there are so many Creation Abyss on this land?”
“Stop talking nonsense! My master has nothing to do with The Abyss!”
Han Min-oh frowned.
He thought Lingling was spewing garbage.
Lingling didn’t care.
“Lee Hyuk-soo. You killed the Dragon God General in the First Night of the Abyss. You earned a Unique Achievement in the Second Night of the Abyss, and you led people in a war against the Army of Death in the Third Night of the Abyss.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“All the Creators in The Abyss know you now. They see you as an adversary—an obstacle. And as proof… you were sniped right before you climbed the Tower, weren’t you?”
“Sniped? Stop talking nonsense…”
“Didn’t you even tell your disciple? Is it because he got sniped with you?”
“……?”
Han Min-oh blinked.
How did she know he’d been sniped?
And it was the first time he’d heard Lee Hyuk-soo had been sniped at all.
“…Is that true, Master?”
“You’re quick to catch on.”
Lee Hyuk-soo answered, deciding he couldn’t hide it anymore.
It was true. A Creator had sniped him.
It happened at dawn in the training ground the day before he climbed the Tower Of God.
It wasn’t a big deal.
He killed a few monsters, and it was over.
It felt like probing—testing the waters, measuring his strength.
Lingling shrugged.
“It’s only the beginning. If you stay in Korea, you’ll get sniped to death. You’ve become too famous.”
“……!!!”
Han Min-oh’s eyes widened.
Lee Hyuk-soo was going to die.
If the Creators truly set their minds to it, killing someone was nothing.
Even Lee Hyuk-soo had limits as a human.
“Do you think I came all the way here because China ordered me to? China didn’t ask me in the first place. Korea begged us. They begged us to protect you.”
That meant China didn’t discover the sniping on their own—Korea told them.
Now everything clicked.
Why Lingling had suddenly come to Korea.
‘Minister Park Sang-min.’
It was probably him.
Lee Hyuk-soo had collapsed once, his heart stopped.
Even then, Minister Park Sang-min had cried, knelt, and begged him to rest.
After that, he must have learned about the sniping and asked China for help.
“Tell them I don’t need any help.”
Lee Hyuk-soo stood up.
Then he turned his back and left.
Lingling wasn’t wrong.
But—
‘I have to deal with everything.’
He had known this would happen.
It all started with the Prophet.
From the moment he began pretending those achievements were his.
The Prophet wanted to hide their identity.
Probably because they feared being caught by the Creators.
That was why.
Lee Hyuk-soo wanted to shoulder it himself, to protect the Prophet.
It was obvious he’d be sniped as he became the target instead of the Prophet.
What he had been waiting for had only just begun.
But it was fine.
‘You broke through the 20th floor. And you did it with overwhelming results.’
Lee Hyuk-soo smiled.
A sincere smile he never showed in front of others.
The one who reached the highest floor of the Tower Of God was undoubtedly the Prophet.
The moment the Prophet reached the 20th floor, the remaining time exploded.
[Remaining Time: 754 hours 1 minute 2 seconds]
The Prophet alone had increased it by around 400 hours.
Lee Hyuk-soo had only increased time by about 50 hours after reaching the 19th floor.
Thanks to the Prophet, they had gained over thirty days.
Without the Prophet, Balmung would have been summoned in about ten days.
Look.
It was something he could never accomplish, even if he died and came back to life.
The Prophet was bringing hope to humanity.
And it was clear the Prophet had annihilated Master of the Moon (Ahheta) by producing overwhelming results in every Night of the Abyss.
So—
‘I have to endure it.’
He would hide the Prophet completely.
That was the only way to save the world.
The Prophet was the only hope for creating a world where his mother could live safely.
He didn’t care if he was sniped a hundred times—
[‘Creator in the form of a Blue Crab’ has ‘sniped’ you.]
[‘Creator of Diamond Indestructibility’ has ‘sniped’ you.]
[‘Creator of Death Valley’ has ‘sniped’ you.]
[An Abyss is created.]
[You are forcibly entered into the ‘Sniper Abyss’.]
The moment he stepped out of the Tower, endless sniping began.
—
A golem was the product of alchemy and magic engineering.
It was no exaggeration to call it an extension of magic itself.
Of course, a magician couldn’t create or handle a golem alone, but strictly speaking, that was how it worked.
‘Golem creation is a difficult field with its own related Class.’
The process was so difficult and intricate that only a Golem Crafter could even consider it.
It wasn’t something you could jump into just because you had materials and crafting skill.
But—
“…The prototype of the golem is the Dragon Tooth Warrior. Soldiers made of dragon’s teeth, guarding a dragon’s nest. The form of the Dragon Tooth Warrior that spread to other races became the ‘golem.’”
Ataraxia stood beside him.
The Species Lord of magic.
A dragon, a symbol of wisdom.
And Ataraxia was well-versed in knowledge of the Dragon Tooth Warrior.
Yet Ataraxia was panicking in his own way.
‘…To think Death’s Creator (Adora), the Black Witch of Death, is ruling Ahheta’s territory.’
Ataraxia had been horrified the moment he entered the Land of Valhalla.
This was clearly the territory where the Second Night of the Abyss had taken place.
Yet Adora—the witch he believed dead—was holding the territory in the form of a Creator.
‘You used the Black Witch’s finger on Adora.’
The Black Witch’s body granted false qualifications.
It was turning Adora into a Creator, allowing her to possess territory and create a Creation Abyss.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
She was doing things only a Demon Lord should be able to do.
He had no idea what Sephiro’s intentions were.
But once Sephiro began Golem Creation, Ataraxia felt like he understood a little.
Because Sephiro asked him directly.
To recite the proper method for creating a golem.
At first, Ataraxia was puzzled.
Then he nodded.
‘Sephiro has no need to create golems. Come to think of it, this is the first time.’
Sephiro had never made a Dragon Tooth Warrior from his bones or teeth.
He would never create a low-grade golem.
He’d had no interest in it, so it made sense he didn’t know.
He was the kind of being who didn’t keep what he wasn’t interested in inside his head.
So Ataraxia explained from the basics.
Sephiro went through repeated trial and error, shaping a golem’s form with materials brought by the devil merchant Dagon.
As that continued, Ataraxia’s doubts grew.
…Why was Sephiro suddenly interested in golems?
“Great one. Are you perhaps thinking of creating a ‘Colossus’?”
“That’s right. I’m thinking of forging it with Arcana’s soul as the core.”
“Ah…!”
He was foolish.
It was a truly stupid question.
Ataraxia blamed his own ignorance again.
Why would the great Sephiro suddenly take interest in golems?
It was all for Arcana.
It was to revive the Dragon of Despair who sacrificed himself—by giving him a Colossus body.
It was moving.
His chest filled.
“…Please wait half a day. I will forcibly raid all the dragon archives and find a more reliable crafting method.”
A Colossus existed on a different level from ordinary golems.
Not even a Dragon Tooth Warrior could compare.
A method for crafting a Colossus had to be somewhere in the dragon archives.
The Colossus itself was made in the image of a dragon.
And exactly half a day later—
“I found it!”
He searched his clan’s archives and threatened Ancient Dragons of other clans until he found it.
[How to create an ‘Original God’]
A book containing the crafting method he was most confident in.
And he didn’t bring only the book.
“…Where is this, Ataraxia? Why did you bring me to a place like this?”
“You’re the only dragon who has ever made a Colossus.”
“Haa. I was sleeping soundly…”
“You’ve slept for over a hundred years. It’s time to stop.”
Ataraxia scolded him, then explained.
“You are famous for being a weirdo among dragons. You like studying alone, and when you have nothing to study, you sleep. They call you Drakan, the Hermit.”
“You’re the weirdo, not me…”
The man called Drakan.
No—the dragon—sighed.
Then he tilted his head, looking at Park Chan-woo.
“But Ataraxia. Who is this human, and why are you doing this? Is he some kind of fragment?”
“Bow your head.”
“Why would I?”
“He is a great being.”
“A great being? Let’s see… how many great beings have you had…”
“……”
Ataraxia glanced around.
Park Chan-woo stepped forward.
“I’m going to make a Colossus. Will you help me?”
“…Well, I’ve heard a little about it.”
Drakan didn’t bow.
He couldn’t even imagine Park Chan-woo was Sephiro.
That was because Ataraxia never said it.
He was so fired up he dragged Drakan here, yet he hadn’t even secured permission. Of course he couldn’t speak Sephiro’s name openly.
Drakan asked.
“What are you going to do with the Colossus?”
What was his plan for using it?
Of course, it wasn’t simply to commemorate Arcana.
Park Chan-woo’s ultimate goal in creating the Colossus—
‘The Colossus isn’t for defense.’
It was for attack.
If he had a Colossus, his golems would be strengthened as well.
In other words—
‘With a Colossus, you can attack other Abyss.’
He couldn’t target the territory of a massive being like a Demon King.
But with a golem army, he could invade and destroy the territory of small Creators.
If Death’s Creator (Adora) joined him, he could expand territory as well.
‘I’m going to wipe out the territories of the Creators who spawned Creation Abyss in Korea.’
He planned to erase every low-quality, useless Creation Abyss in Korea—along with the territories of the Creators who made them.
“…No, the intent is good. But do you have enough materials? The materials needed to make a Colossus are things even dragons can’t easily obtain.”
“Is this enough?”
Park Chan-woo opened his inventory and listed the materials.
Each time a material appeared—
“Twenty Superior Spirit Stones, Top-Grade Spirit Stones, and even Special-Grade Spirit Stones…!”
Drakan was flustered.
It was the first time he’d seen so many Spirit Stones gathered in one place.
In particular, Top-Grade and Special-Grade Spirit Stones were treasures only Sephiro was allowed to possess.
But that was only the beginning.
The moment Park Chan-woo took out two Kirin horns—
Then the Scale of Despair, the bones, and the heart—
“…Wh-who… who are you?”