Chapter 29
…He thought he had seen wrong.
It was something that could never happen unless it was a hallucination, an illusion, or a dream.
The only possibility was that Han Shin had been poisoned by the curses and toxins rampant in the land he stood on.
However, not even a trace of poison was in sight—only lush green grass flourished around him.
And—if something was disturbing his mind, he would have noticed it in advance.
His body, mind, and soul were so perfectly unified that even the Creators marveled at it. That meant he could never misjudge his own condition.
He had the talent to comprehend a hundred things from just one, and he knew himself that well.
It meant he had achieved complete objectivity about himself.
Han Shin had reached the state of oneness at a young age. With talent so coveted even by demons, there was no way he would be confused.
‘……The [Water God] died?’
……If that was the case, then the message he was seeing had to be real.
Han Shin’s face twisted instinctively.
At this point in time, there was no human—or group—capable of hunting the [Water God].
Except himself.
However, even he had to scour the Abyss to find what was necessary to kill the [Water God].
If they fought head-on right now, the odds of killing the [Water God] would be exactly fifty-fifty.
If Lee Hyuk-soo helped, maybe sixty percent.
If they lured the [Water God] onto favorable ground and used Lee Hyuk-soo’s death as a shield, the odds would rise to seventy percent, but considering the future, Lee Hyuk-soo’s death would be a clear loss.
‘Who the hell did it?’
Was his calculation wrong?
Could there be another irregular like him?
The world was vast, and humanity numerous, so it wouldn’t be strange if someone else with exceptional talent existed.
But the Creator he contracted with had said:
【Among all humans, you are the greatest.】
And Han Shin agreed with that.
He had competed against world-class athletes and repeatedly shattered ‘world records.’
From events where physical ability mattered, like running, swimming, and long jump, to ones requiring technical skill—he had mastered them all.
Of course, it was all unofficial or done alone, but the difference wasn’t slight—it was overwhelming. So it was far from mere self-consolation.
Therefore, there was no human greater than him.
A man with the talent of a true [God of War].
That was Han Shin.
Han Shin turned his gaze toward Lee Hyuk-soo.
‘From what’s known, it was this guy who killed the Dragon God General.’
Wasn’t it said that he killed the Dragon God General in a single blow?
Even if it was slightly exaggerated, if it was Lee Hyuk-soo, it wasn’t an impossible tale.
He might possess some hidden trump card skill.
More importantly, he was fully equipped with the [Immortal King’s Gear Set].
He had confirmed it with the [Insight] skill that pierced through everything.
Unless he got it through a contract with a top-tier Creator, that meant he had earned it with his own ability.
If someone could acquire gear of that level with raw skill alone, killing the Dragon God General wasn’t out of the question.
Thus, Han Shin was convinced that Lee Hyuk-soo possessed a ‘special trait’ or ‘skill’ like himself.
But now, someone other than the two of them had hunted the [Water God].
‘There was definitely a lightning strike.’
Lightning struck where the [Water God] had been—and it ended in a single blow.
If he wasn’t mistaken, someone who wielded lightning magic was over there.
And it wasn’t just ordinary lightning magic.
It was top-tier lightning magic—so powerful the entire Abyss lit up and his ears hurt from the noise.
‘Unless the God of Lightning appeared…….’
What kind of destructive power was that?
To make matters worse, the message simply said, “The [Water God] has been slain.”
Which made it even more suspicious.
There should have been more to follow, but that one line was all there was.
“There appears to be someone besides us capable of hunting the [Water God].”
Lee Hyuk-soo spoke.
Han Shin had stated flatly, “No one but the two of us can kill the [Water God],” but in reality, someone had just done it.
Moreover, perhaps because he had aimed for the [Water God]’s death from the start, unlike Han Shin, Lee Hyuk-soo’s expression remained relaxed.
Then it happened.
‘…There’s an additional message.’
An additional message popped up in front of his eyes.
He didn’t know why there was a time delay, but Han Shin focused on reading the message that appeared.
《‘[Water God] Abyss’ has been cleared.》
《The expected clear rate for ‘[Water God] Abyss’ was 0.1%.》
《All challengers currently inside the ‘[Water God] Abyss’ will receive a [Gold Box].》
《South Korea gains an additional 1,000 points.》
《South Korea’s current total score is 2,200 points.》
《22 hours have passed since the ‘Dungeon Abyss’ began.》
《76 hours remain until the end of the ‘Dungeon Abyss.’》
《If 5,000 points are not achieved within the remaining time, the ‘Invasion Abyss’ will begin across all of South Korea.》
《Everyone, prepare yourselves.》
《‘[Water God] Abyss’ will close in 30 minutes.》
《Once the dungeon closes, all individuals inside the ‘[Water God] Abyss’ will be forcibly returned to the location they first entered.》
《All parties formed inside the ‘[Water God] Abyss’ will be automatically disbanded.》
“……”
Messages that drove in the final nail.
It appeared to be true that another ‘human’ had cleared it.
And even a [Gold Box] was granted.
If it was given just for being inside, that meant a very special event had occurred.
However, there was no time to dwell on it.
“…I have somewhere I need to go.”
When Han Shin spoke, Lee Hyuk-soo nodded.
“That’s good. Same here.”
“See you outside.”
“Sure.”
As soon as they agreed, Han Shin and Lee Hyuk-soo moved in opposite directions.
Han Shin headed toward the area with the ‘Poison Mist Swamp,’ while Lee Hyuk-soo headed for the massive lake where the [Water God] had been.
Lee Hyuk-soo thought to himself.
‘It’s him.’
The one who just killed the [Water God].
The monster who could wield powerful lightning and annihilate the target in a single strike—Lee Hyuk-soo knew of only one such person.
‘The Prophet is there.’
Lee Hyuk-soo picked up his pace.
* * *
“…Goddamn it.”
The Poison Mist Swamp.
Han Shin, having arrived at the altar, let out a sigh.
Something even more incomprehensible than the [Water God] being hunted had happened.
The deadly poison zombies that once roamed the swamp were nowhere to be seen. The barrier had completely vanished. Even the [Lich Necromancer], who was supposed to guard that barrier, was absent.
And that wasn’t all.
The altar itself had collapsed.
‘The box is open.’
……The treasure chest stood wide open.
He couldn’t understand what in the world had happened.
It was already strange that the life force in the [Life Vessel] had disappeared.
But he never imagined someone would actually open the treasure chest.
‘How did they figure out the magic pattern sealing the chest?’
Destroying the barrier and killing the Lich with overwhelming force was possible.
But opening the treasure chest was a different matter.
Only he and the Lich knew the pattern.
How had it been uncovered and unlocked?
Because of that, the ‘arrangement’ that should have been his was gone.
It had been completely stolen.
Han Shin looked up to the sky.
“If you have a mouth, then speak. What the hell happened here…!”
He shouted in fury toward the Creator he had contracted with.
Such words were unthinkable in a typical relationship between an [Incarnation] and a Creator.
But no response came.
From the very beginning, the contract terms had stated as much.
That this Creator was different from the others. That while he could offer more potential, his interference would be minimal.
【I am a being who does not require an Incarnation. I was merely drawn to your talent. Be grateful for our contract.】
That was why the contract demanded absolute secrecy.
Even if it was discovered that he was an Incarnation, revealing the identity of the Creator was forbidden.
Perhaps it was shameful for a Creator to be caught contracting with a human—but because of that, a proper conversation was impossible.
Of course, Han Shin didn’t need any arrangements.
He was strong in and of himself.
Even without arrangements, he had the confidence to reach the peak.
This was purely rage over having ‘his’ belongings stolen.
‘How dare you steal from me?’
Han Shin was the one who took—never the one who got taken from.
Never in his life had anything been stolen from him.
He always achieved what he set out to do. While he had brought others to despair, he had never once experienced the pain of being robbed.
But now he had been robbed.
Plundered.
‘No way?’
Han Shin turned his gaze toward the direction where the [Water God] had been.
The one who killed the [Water God].
Could that person be the one who stole his ‘arrangement’?
More than that, there was a high chance they had swept up the other arrangements too.
‘An Incarnation?’
The locations of arrangements were shared among Incarnations.
A map of the entire [Water God] Abyss had been distributed to all of them.
Under an unspoken rule to not tamper with each other’s belongings.
Unless one sought catastrophe, no Incarnation would touch another’s arrangements.
But one had broken that rule.
And that Incarnation might be the same person who killed the [Water God].
‘No Creator would take such a risk for their Incarnation…….’
The problem was, if they were caught, they’d become enemies with the other Creators too.
Would any Incarnation or Creator really take that risk?
Would any Creator stake their honor and existence just to nurture some Incarnation?
Then could it be that they weren’t an Incarnation?
That an ordinary human had stolen the arrangements and killed the [Water God]?
That made even less sense.
Crack!
For the first time, Han Shin ground his teeth.
This was the most furious he had ever been in his life.
He was so enraged, he wanted to grind them down and drink them.
《‘[Water God] Abyss’ will close in 3 minutes.》
《Once the dungeon closes, all individuals inside the ‘[Water God] Abyss’ will be forcibly returned to the location they first entered.》
Just before the [Water God] Abyss closed.
Han Shin’s eyes caught the final line.
‘Forcibly returned.’
Which meant—
He would be transported outside the [Water God] Abyss, to the area near the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin.
If that was the case, the culprit would be among those who had been transported.
The condition for entering the dungeon was proximity.
It had to be a location where the entrance was visible within ‘line of sight.’
‘They should be near the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin.’
He would take them all in at a glance.
Anyone capable of killing the [Water God] would surely stand out.
It wasn’t just his body that was exceptional—his ‘eyes’ were precise too.
‘There is nothing my [Insight] cannot discern.’
His ability to identify and assess opponents was second to none.
Upon awakening, he had bloomed several abilities—and one of them was the [Insight] skill.
His [Insight] could read not only the opponent’s gear, but also parts of their [Status Window].
If they had plundered his arrangement and slain the [Water God], they would be drastically different from the rest—impossible to miss.
《‘[Water God] Abyss’ is closing.》
Whoosh!
A [Warp] opened beneath his feet.
The warp forcibly transported Han Shin.
At the same time—
“We—we made it out!”
“Ugh. I really thought I was going to die in there!”
Everyone who had entered exited the [Water God] Abyss.
Most of them were in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, while the others had been transported to the surrounding area.
Han Shin’s eyes sparkled as he examined them all without missing a single face.
And then—
‘……That one?’
His eyes lit up with intensity as they locked onto Park Chan-woo.
