Chapter 38

Radiant Anubis.

A being that emerged from the “Black Box” laden with a powerful curse!

Originally meant to be summoned as a bringer of death, the fortune of the [Easter Egg] had transformed Anubis into something radiant.

The Anubis Park Chan-woo knew was a monstrous guardian of the temple of death, a nightmare to all.

But this Anubis, adorned with a title he had never seen before, was far from that nightmare.

It was merely a tiny, fluffy creature, resembling a small ball of fur.

“You… why…?”

That made it even harder to understand.

Only Park Chan-woo himself could offer tributes to the God of Offerings.

No one else had ever offered a tribute in his stead.

Certainly, it was unthinkable that the Radiant Anubis would sacrifice itself.

…Unless it was possible.

‘Deep bond.’

The explanation written on the Golden Aura.

Only those bound by a deep bond could share the “Golden Aura.”

In other words, Park Chan-woo already had a “deep bond” with the Radiant Anubis.

But what exactly constituted a deep bond?

It had only been a very short time. He had only rushed forward without once exchanging feelings or caring for each other.

“What are you doing…!”

Park Chan-woo was flustered.

He was so flustered that he could barely speak.

Self-sacrifice.

Radiant Anubis was sacrificing itself to help him.

To drive away the encroaching darkness, to dispel the curse, it threw its body without hesitation.

If the situation had been reversed, Park Chan-woo would not have sacrificed himself for Anubis.

He had tried all along not to grow attached to Anubis.

In the world to come, “attachment” was a luxury.

If he wished to keep moving forward, he couldn’t afford to look back.

That was why he had never given Anubis a name.

A life that could turn to dust and disappear at any moment.

Both he and Anubis were walking on a knife’s edge.

If one of them died, the other had to be able to move forward without regret.

He had tried his best not to form a relationship.

And yet—

《Radiant Anubis sends a final request.》

《Radiant Anubis wishes for you to give it a name.》

…Only now.

Only after becoming a tribute.

What was the point of giving a name now?

Besides, it was a burden Park Chan-woo himself should have borne.

The shortened duration of the [Terminal] status was because he hadn’t offered enough tribute.

Even if he sacrificed everything to buy more time, the outcome wouldn’t change. The equipment and tools he had painstakingly acquired were all future “possibilities.”

To throw away possibilities to buy time?

No.

He had to leave possibilities behind, even if it meant sacrificing time.

Thus, he intended to endure and accept it.

Whooong! Whooong!

Radiant Anubis’ small body floated into the air.

Soon after, messages related to it appeared before his eyes.

《Radiant Anubis has been offered to the God of Offerings as a tribute.》

《Radiant Anubis was a Legendary-grade pet.》

《The shortened deadline for [Terminal] caused by the ‘Sealed Demon God’s Chalice’ has been restored to normal.》

《After the deadline is fully restored to normal, Radiant Anubis will disappear as a tribute.》

Once something was offered to the God of Offerings, it was final.

There was no undoing, no retrieval.

Knowing this, Park Chan-woo’s eyes trembled deeply.

“Is this… all because of the name? Because I didn’t give you a name?”

Kyuu…

Radiant Anubis shook its head.

His mind went blank.

Then why?

Why sacrifice yourself to save me?

But to Radiant Anubis, this sacrifice was only natural.

To Radiant Anubis, Park Chan-woo was no different from a parent. The very first being it had met upon entering the world was Park Chan-woo.

Anubis, trapped with a terrible curse.

The one who had given it the light of hope was Park Chan-woo.

From the beginning, Park Chan-woo had been Anubis’ entire world.

It didn’t want to see him die.

Nor did it want his death hastened.

Moreover, Anubis understood Park Chan-woo’s pain.

It felt the emotions he felt.

In the lonely, cold, deep cave—

That was the world Park Chan-woo lived in.

Anubis knew he deliberately tried not to grow attached. Though it was sad, that only made Anubis burrow even deeper into his embrace.

What Anubis truly wished for was not a name.

It wished for Park Chan-woo to escape that cave.

To transform, just as Anubis itself had become radiant.

“…Boksil.”

Park Chan-woo finally opened his mouth.

He thought of how Radiant Anubis looked so fluffy and soft.

With its full, white fur, no other name felt more fitting.

Thus—

“Your name is Boksil.”

He finalized Anubis’ name.

At that moment—

《Radiant Anubis has been named ‘Boksil’.》

《’Boksil’ is overjoyed.》

《Affinity has greatly increased.》

Kyuuu!!

Boksil cried out joyfully, clearly delighted with the name.

Naming meant remembering.

Surely, he would never forget.

‘I should have given it earlier…’

If he had known Boksil would be this happy, he would have named it from the start.

But it was already too late.

Thanks to Boksil’s sacrifice, the darkness that had engulfed him was disappearing.

Once this darkness was fully gone, he would never see Radiant Anubis—Boksil—again.

Whoooooosh!

At the same time, pure white light began pouring out from Boksil’s entire body.

At first, he thought it was to dispel the curse and drive away the darkness—

But he quickly realized it wasn’t that.

Above Boksil’s head, a flower of light bloomed, larger than anything he had ever seen.

《The ‘Bond’ has reached its maximum.》

《’Divinity’ is overflowing in the surroundings.》

《Absorbing all Divinity.》

《The ‘Flower of Life’ blooms!》

The moment came suddenly.

Upon giving a name, the Flower of Life bloomed and triggered an evolution.

The Flower of Life absorbed all the overflowing [Divinity] around it.

‘Even the Divinity lingering in the Combination Zone is being absorbed.’

The Combination Zone had appeared after acquiring a large number of rewards.

When he placed numerous “Boxes” into it, a divine light had exploded, producing the 7-Star Gold Box.

But that wasn’t all he had gained.

He had risen three levels and forcefully broken through his limit level.

Such overwhelming energy.

Now, all the residuals and Divinity lingering in the Combination Zone were being absorbed.

‘This… it’s real.’

Certainly, the [Arahan’s Golden Mystery] was an extraordinary piece of equipment.

A transcendental item with the potential to rise to the unreachable [Zero] grade.

But the true miracle was here.

The Divinity created by combining everything!

A miracle ushered in by multiple fortunes.

Something Park Chan-woo alone could never have achieved—’Boksil’ was absorbing it all.

Fwoooosh!

《’Radiant Anubis’ evolves into a higher existence.》

《’Radiant Anubis’ grade has ascended from ‘Legendary’ to ‘Eternal’.》

《’Boksil’ has been perfected as the ‘Eternally Radiant Anubis’!》

Boksil’s appearance did not change.

But everything else had.

To a degree dazzling to the eyes.

It had become an even holier being.

Ah.

At last, when all the darkness vanished—

《The deadline for [Terminal] has been fully restored to normal.》

《The tribute ‘Boksil’ has exceeded standard conditions.》

《The tribute has been adjusted accordingly.》

《Instead of ‘Boksil’s’ entire existence, half of ‘Boksil’s’ lifespan has been offered.》

《To resurrect the ‘God of Offerings’, more tribute will be required.》

Kyuu!

Boksil, now gently landed on the ground, began hopping joyfully all around.

Expressing joy with his entire body.

Park Chan-woo bent down and offered his palm.

Boksil climbed into his hand without hesitation.

As if nothing had happened.

Even after sacrificing half of his lifespan.

Seeing this, Park Chan-woo spoke sincerely.

“…Thank you, Boksil.”

Kyuuu!

—

After the situation had settled.

Park Chan-woo couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

‘When I tried to erase the status ailments, the ‘Sealed Demon God’s Chalice’ suddenly tried to shorten the Terminal deadline.’

The [World Tree Fruit] was supposed to erase harmful status ailments.

Instead, its entire effect had been nullified, and worse, the deadline had been shortened.

Because he had tried to forcibly remove his status ailments.

The backlash had sprung out like a compressed spring.

‘…I must not meddle with it.’

He would have to carry the status ailments with him.

Trying to erase them only provoked stronger backlash.

Still, he had gained something.

‘Offer tributes to resurrect the God of Offerings. Then I’ll know exactly what’s inside the Sealed Demon God’s Chalice.’

For now, it was all speculation.

But if he revived the God of Offerings, everything would be revealed.

No matter how many tributes it would take… it had to be done.

Park Chan-woo steadied his breathing.

‘Status Window.’

He opened the Status Window to confirm the changes.

What had changed and what hadn’t needed to be carefully examined.

And then—

“Huh…”

The sight that greeted him was pure shock and terror.

—

‘…Unbelievable.’

Dagon, the Devil Merchant.

He trembled slightly as he recalled the human he had contracted with.

Sephiro. A being so feared that even the Lords of the Abyss recoiled.

Naturally, he hadn’t believed it at first.

He had doubted constantly.

But now, those doubts had evaporated into nothing.

Because—

‘It’s definitely Sephiro. That overwhelming magic ability…!’

He had seen him clearing dungeon after dungeon, slaughtering bosses.

With magic alone, wiping them out in a single blow.

Of course, if one’s stats were overwhelmingly high, such feats were possible. But his “level”—or total “stat sum”—was clearly much lower compared to Dagon himself.

Yet he was hunting bosses that should have been impossible to defeat.

Casting spells fluidly, naturally, as if breathing.

‘Given his stats, he should collapse from exhaustion after casting just once or twice.’

What was magic?

Something borrowed from the Dragon race, the true Lords of magic.

A formalized set of formulas.

Non-dragons could not truly comprehend it—they could only use it mechanically according to set spells.

The mana required, the formulas needed, and the conditions for spellcasting were all predetermined.

Only dragons could freely alter and wield magic.

Eating a dragon’s heart could grant a slight imitation, but it would never match the real thing.

Yet this man, with a human body, had achieved transformations beyond even dragons.

He had dominated magic.

The brain and body should have burst from the strain.

‘He controlled mana. That’s not mere talent.’

Mana was the origin.

To peer into and manipulate the origin was something demons didn’t even call “talent.”

…They called it “monster.”

More than anything—

‘He used the absolute magic that conceals presence.’

Not only dungeon bosses, but even the Creators themselves failed to detect him.

According to Dagon’s knowledge, there was only one being capable of this.

Sephiro!

The Lord of Magic, the one who had reached its pinnacle.

Only he could manifest “absolute magic” beyond ultimate levels.

…Thus.

It wasn’t that Sephiro was borrowing a human’s skin—

‘He is Sephiro himself.’

That human was Sephiro himself.

“Dagon. You’re dead last in performance. Have you just given up?”

At that moment.

A demon jeered at Dagon as he entered the Merchant Association.

“You idiot. You had a golden opportunity and wasted it.”

By “opportunity,” they meant the rare chance to encounter and trade with a human while clearing dungeons.

Opportunities to meet humans were rare enough.

Especially when the Creators themselves had prepared the “feast.”

Thus, they called it a banquet.

And Dagon had recorded the worst performance among all devil merchants during this golden opportunity.

As a result, the other merchants whispered snidely around him.

“Pathetic. A disgrace to his father’s name.”

“Even after getting so much preferential treatment, to come dead last… If it were me, I couldn’t even show my face.”

“Pffft! Well, he was a failure even before becoming a merchant.”

“Just being near him is embarrassing.”

But Dagon didn’t pay attention to their words.

“……”

If they knew he had signed an exclusive contract, they would mock him even more, so it was better to say nothing.

After all, he was confident that all their scornful gazes and contemptuous words would completely flip in the near future.

The more insults he received, the brighter Dagon’s eyes shone.

‘Mock me all you want. I’ve seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!’