Chapter 28
Brrr!
His eyes twitched.
The moment he saw what was inside the treasure chest—
The instant he identified it—
He couldn’t hold back the curses that surged to his lips.
‘…This is what they call an arrangement?’
…It was something he hadn’t even imagined.
On the surface, it didn’t look particularly strange.
It simply took the form of a small, round pill.
A manufactured pill, in other words.
But it was vastly different from the arrangements he’d seen so far.
The arrangements that Creators had prepared for their contracted Incarnations were, in most cases, spiritual herbs containing pure energy.
Natural, unrefined elixirs.
Untainted and unmixed, making them easier to absorb.
At this early stage in the Abyss’ emergence—
Even Incarnations still had a long way to grow.
If they recklessly consumed an elixir packed with explosive energy or something impure, the odds of dying on the spot were far too high.
Naturally, arrangements had to be prepared within reasonable limits.
Yet the pill before him had far surpassed any such limit.
[‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill’]
What is an Immortal Pill?
A pill personally crafted by an immortal.
A combination of countless mystical herbs in precise balance, refined into a single pellet—this was typically called an Immortal Pill.
Had it been a regular one, he wouldn’t have been this horrified.
The issue lay in the prefix: ‘Ten Thousand Blood.’
An Immortal Pill steeped in the blood of ten thousand lives.
‘An Immortal Pill created by separating and blending the serum of ten thousand individuals.’
Whoever made this was insane.
Clearly a blood-obsessed immortal.
The idea that the blood of ten thousand lives had been blended into one tiny pellet was beyond comprehension.
They had drawn blood themselves, refined it into serum, and then collected ten thousand units’ worth to process it again.
In other words—
‘…The lives of ten thousand beings are sealed inside this.’
And this had been prepared under the label of an ‘arrangement.’
Worse still, it likely hadn’t been made from humans.
It was more probable that some other race—another form of life—had been massacred for it.
And that race was most likely…
‘Orcs.’
The Lich Necromancer who guarded the altar.
His kin were imprisoned within this small pill.
Park Chan-woo furrowed his brow as he recalled the words spoken by Orc Priest Yan.
— …Ahh. Why am I still guarding the altar? Even though something sacrilegious has been placed atop it to insult us. It’s painful. I wish I could follow my fallen comrades…
He said he wanted to follow his fallen comrades.
There had been a war, and Yan must’ve deployed a powerful barrier to protect the altar.
Given that the conditions allowed only his kin to cross, the war was likely against another species—or something even more alien.
He claimed something sacrilegious had been placed atop the altar, but in truth, the so-called ‘arrangement’ was a ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill’ made from the blood of his own people.
‘This is an insult.’
It was a complete desecration and mockery of Priest Yan.
It went far beyond simply humiliating a defeated foe.
This was as despicable as it got.
To create the Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill from the blood of fallen orcs, place it on the altar meant to worship their god, and then force Priest Yan to guard it—
All so Han Shin could claim it in its entirety.
In that case, the Creator who prepared this pill had to be the one who committed the orc genocide.
And simultaneously—
‘They must be the Abyss Lord contracted to that bastard.’
A rough outline began to form.
The one who turned Yan into a Lich and handed his Life Vessel to Han Shin.
The Creator responsible for such a heinous setup…
…Was someone he couldn’t stop thinking about.
If Han Shin had already formed a contract with one of the ‘Great Nine Lords’ at this stage, then there was no countermeasure.
No matter how desperately Park Chan-woo trained, he couldn’t match Han Shin’s rate of growth.
The benefits granted by the Great Nine Lords to their Incarnations were limitless.
Even monopolizing all rewards and bankrupting countless Creators wouldn’t be enough to surpass the rulers of the entire Abyss.
‘It’s not one of the Great Nine Lords.’
Park Chan-woo was certain.
They would never go out of their way to massacre orcs, nor would they ever create such humiliating mechanisms to disgrace Yan.
Among the so-called ‘Named Creators,’ those with this level of sadism could be counted on one hand.
Could it be one of them?
‘Not a Named Creator either.’
He shook his head.
As demonic as some were, even Named Creators carried a certain dignity.
Unless they intended to personally deliver a humiliation, they would never do something like this.
Besides, not even a Named Creator would feel insulted enough by an orc priest to justify such an elaborate disgrace.
So—definitely not a Named Creator.
Yet anyone other than a Named Creator shouldn’t be capable of preparing an arrangement of this scale.
To have this level of setup without being a Named Creator—
Who could it be?
‘There’s only one.’
Only one came to mind.
‘Not a Named Creator, but an Abyss Lord whose power is equivalent.’
He had witnessed that despicable one’s depravity many times before.
The way they forcefully bound others and imposed disgraceful duties—this was exactly their signature move.
Park Chan-woo thought of that detestable name.
‘…Ahheta.’
Ahheta, Lord of the Night!
Ahheta was the one and only ruler who governed the Abyss of Night.
It was highly likely that Ahheta was the Creator contracted to Han Shin.
Another lingering question also naturally resolved itself.
‘So that’s why Han Shin didn’t appear during the First Night Abyss.’
He hadn’t participated in the First Night Abyss at all, let alone hunted the Twelve Generals.
There was no need.
If he had a contract with Ahheta, then he would’ve been given rewards far better than anything obtainable in the Abyss of Night.
Especially since no one expected the Dragon General to be defeated.
They must’ve judged there was no point in sending Han Shin to interfere.
‘Ahheta has an Incarnation now?’
However, Park Chan-woo had never heard any rumors of Ahheta forming an Incarnation.
Among all the Creators, Ahheta was the only one whose name was publicly known—meaning forming a contract to create an Incarnation was a massive risk.
If an Incarnation’s Creator was identified by name, it became possible to void the contract entirely.
And yet, they still created one.
Was Han Shin’s talent that tempting?
What was certain was…
‘All I have to do is stop him from drawing the attention of the Great Nine Lords.’
Everything became crystal clear.
Now that he knew Ahheta was backing him, Park Chan-woo couldn’t make any rash moves—but at the same time, many new possibilities had opened.
Han Shin—
The bastard had grown rapidly stronger thanks to Ahheta, and that’s what made him catch the eyes of the Great Nine Lords.
Ultimately, Han Shin would betray Ahheta and form a new contract with the Great Nine Lords.
If Park Chan-woo could take advantage of that brief opening, he could reap unimaginable rewards.
He took a deep breath.
Then offered a brief silent prayer to the altar.
The spirits of the orcs lingering around the altar—though they had no real connection, as a fellow enemy of the same foe, this was the least he could do.
“Rest well. I’ll make sure to bankrupt ‘Ahheta.’”
Without hesitation, he reached into the treasure chest and grabbed the [Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill].
He tossed it into his mouth.
Gulp.
[You have consumed the ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill.’]
[A boundless energy that forms all living things swirls within your body.]
[The constitution ‘Hundred-Poisons Immunity’ has been enhanced to ‘Thousand-Poisons Immunity.’]
[Attack power increased by 1,100 for 100 hours.]
[Defense power increased by 1,100 for 100 hours.]
[…You are struggling to contain the overflowing energy.]
[If the excess energy is not expelled, your body may rupture.]
[Among the unabsorbed energy, a powerful curse is included.]
Just by consuming it, his constitution improved, and the rise in attack and defense was equivalent to combining every elixir he had ever taken.
And still, it wasn’t fully absorbed.
To make matters worse, it included cursed energy.
‘I need to expel it.’
His body was particularly susceptible to curses.
As unfortunate as it was, he knew when to let go.
Just as he was about to release the excess energy—
KURUNG!
Suddenly, the ground shook.
And then—
Fwoooooosh!
…A radiant light burst from the altar.
The light pierced directly through Park Chan-woo’s entire body.
[The souls of Yan and the orcs, freed from death, offer their gratitude to you for comforting them.]
[The soul of ‘Orc Priest Yan’ and the sealed spirits of ‘Orc Warriors’ have activated the ‘Altar of Origin.’]
[The dormant ‘Altar of Origin’ begins to operate.]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Liberator of Orcs’]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Friend of Orcs’]
[You are granted the Blessings of Death, Life, and Reproduction.]
[These blessings activate automatically and are consumed upon use.]
[‘Blessing of Death’ purifies the cursed energy of death.]
[‘Blessing of Life’ allows full absorption of the life energy within the ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill.’]
[‘Blessing of Reproduction’ guarantees 100% success rate when performing reproductive acts.]
* * *
“You’re… quite the guy.”
At this point, more than half of the ‘Invasion Abyss’ had been cleared.
Watching Lee Hyuk-soo, Han Shin let out a genuine note of admiration.
Barely a single day had passed, yet Lee Hyuk-soo was fighting endlessly, like a fish in water.
He didn’t stop until he achieved his goals.
Before long, it was just the two of them left.
‘Originally, I was supposed to lead the people to the swamp zone…’
He had planned to let the masses witness a miracle there.
But Han Shin had changed his mind.
He realized someone far more important than the crowd was Lee Hyuk-soo.
The people didn’t even dare to follow these two who charged ahead like madmen.
What benefit was there in impressing such weak, cowardly sheep?
‘This guy’s the real deal.’
He hadn’t felt this excited in a long time.
Since forming a party, it was thrilling to grow stronger with someone like this.
‘With him, we could hunt the [Water God] right now.’
Han Shin hesitated for a moment.
His original mission was to secure the ‘arrangement’ here and prevent the Invasion Abyss from being cleared.
If Lee Hyuk-soo moved to hunt the [Water God], Han Shin was supposed to stop him.
“Lee Hyuk-soo. Let’s hunt the ‘[Water God]’ together.”
But… Han Shin didn’t want to do that.
Because hunting the [Water God] alongside this guy sounded like the most fun thing in the world.
The desire to fight made his heart blaze. His pulse raced.
If they overcame trials together, back to back, Lee Hyuk-soo would eventually come to trust him.
Han Shin was serious about making Lee Hyuk-soo his ‘right hand.’
To that end, he could kill the [Water God] as many times as needed.
It wouldn’t be easy, of course—but it wasn’t impossible.
“…Right now?”
When Lee Hyuk-soo asked, Han Shin shook his head.
“Together, we could probably manage it, but to be fully prepared, we’ll need two days. One thing’s for sure—no one else can kill the [Water God] but us.”
Han Shin already possessed knowledge of the ‘Invasion Abyss’ and every dungeon.
‘I know everything.’
In addition, he had absorbed a massive trove of information that not even other Awakened or Incarnations knew.
All thanks to the unique characteristics of his contracted Creator.
‘To be sure of killing the [Water God], I’ll need to break through the First Limit Level.’
Even with his monstrous talent, he hadn’t yet surpassed the ‘First Limit Level.’
If he really focused, he could do it in a day—two at most.
And with the right arrangement in hand, it would be much easier.
But the ‘[Water God]’ was a boss monster that no one else could possibly kill.
For Lee Hyuk-soo to face it properly, he’d need those two days.
Lee Hyuk-soo nodded silently with a blank expression.
“Got it. Let’s do that.”
What a straightforward guy.
Suddenly, Han Shin felt curious and asked,
“By the way, why do you want to kill the ‘[Water God]’? Trying to be a Savior or something?”
“…Not interested.”
Lee Hyuk-soo’s response was honest.
It was the voice of someone who genuinely had no interest in being some kind of savior.
Han Shin smiled faintly.
“Good. That means we won’t clash.”
“……?”
“Because I intend to become the Savior.”
Han Shin declared it without hesitation.
Though the original plan had gone awry, now that it had come to this, he figured he might as well slay the ‘[Water God]’ and firmly establish himself as a symbol of salvation.
Doing so would also smooth out his relationship with Lee Hyuk-soo.
Lee Hyuk-soo may have said he had no intention of becoming a Savior, but his actions and demeanor already closely resembled one.
He could make for an excellent partner.
“Lee Hyuk-soo. After we finish hunting the [Water God], you and I—”
Let’s do this together.
But Han Shin never finished that sentence.
Suddenly—
From far away, at the edge of the Abyss—
KWA-RRRRRRRRRRNG!
A tremendous thunderclap roared through the air.
And at that exact moment—
[The ‘[Water God]’ has been slain!]
