Chapter 39

Affiliation: Earth / Human / Republic of Korea

Name: Park Chan-woo

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Height/Weight: 179 cm / 65.3 kg

Level: -89

Strength: 3 (1+2)

Stamina: 13 (1+12)

Agility: 8 (1+7)

Intelligence: 3 (1+2)

Mana: 27 (1+26)

Status: [Weakest], [Frail], [Feeble], [Nonexistent], [Terminal], [Poison Immunity]

Total Attack Power: 255

Total Defense Power: 147

Class: Mage (11Lv)

Available Magic: [Reflection] (Great Magic, [Unique]), [Heaven’s Judgment] (Lightning Magic, [Unique]), [Super Regeneration] (Passive, [Unique])

Remaining Class Level Points: 0

Equipped Items:

World Tree Staff (-98Lv, [Eternal])
Frost Helm (-95Lv, [Legendary])
Demonic Armor (-98Lv, [Epic])
Arahan’s Golden Mystery (-89Lv, [Ancient])
Demonic Gauntlets (-98Lv, [Epic])
Chwik Belt (-95Lv, [Unique])
Hermes’ Boots (-92Lv, [Ancient])

Abyss Items in Possession:

Easter Egg (001)
Mage’s Stone (Mana +9, [Legendary])
Nihility ([Eternal])
Coins (41)

Pet:

Boksil (15Lv, [Eternal])

Park Chan-woo doubted his own eyes as he looked at the status window.

An impeccable appearance.

Everything was on a sharp upward curve.

Attack power, defense, level—every stat had risen significantly.

Moreover—

‘The class level increased, and the magic grades rose as well.’

As the Mage class reached level 11, all his magic had advanced by one tier.

From Rare to Unique.

Something he had never experienced before.

Because he had only advanced to the Mage class at Level 90, he had never raised a class to Level 11 before.

‘Special effects occur when the class level reaches certain thresholds.’

The magic grade rises, stats spike drastically, or the number and cap of learnable spells increase.

To Park Chan-woo, this was nothing short of a miracle.

He should have been trembling with joy—but instead, his expression was grave.

“…My height and weight decreased.”

Because some things had fallen.

His height had dropped by 1 cm, now 179 cm.

His weight had fallen from 71 kg to 65 kg.

Compared to immediately after his regression, it was a drastic change.

And it wasn’t as if he had gained muscle either.

‘Though I ran constantly, I made sure to eat properly.’

He hadn’t taken any real breaks, but even so, this was an extreme change.

Moreover, he had made efforts to eat properly—balancing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

He didn’t eat to excess, but he hadn’t eaten too little either.

‘It must be because of the status ailments.’

He was dying.

Raising his stats did not seem to stop his body from deteriorating.

Simply boosting stats wasn’t a solution.

Moreover, when he had tried to fundamentally resolve the issue with the [World Tree Fruit], it had almost backfired and shortened the [Terminal] countdown.

Park Chan-woo stroked his chin thoughtfully.

‘I have to at least stop my body from deteriorating further.’

Growing stronger was important, but preventing further decline was even more urgent.

Usually, physical strength and bodily condition increased proportionally to strength.

But for Park Chan-woo, it was the opposite.

The harder he tried to grow stronger, the worse his body became.

…Then what should he do?

“Dagon.”

Pop!

The moment Park Chan-woo called Dagon’s name, he appeared with a puff of smoke.

In a very awkward, uncomfortable posture.

“……Please refrain from summoning me outside our agreed dates.”

Twice a month.

It had been agreed that they would trade only at midmonth and month’s end.

But “emergency situations” were an exception.

And this was, without a doubt, an emergency for Park Chan-woo.

“What were you doing?”

“I was reading.”

“Demons read books?”

At Park Chan-woo’s unexpected question, Dagon straightened his knees and back before answering.

“There is no end to a merchant’s studies.”

“Your performance was bottom-tier, but you have a fine attitude.”

“…….”

Bottom-tier? He had actually been dead last.

Ashamed, Dagon kept silent.

In truth, he had wanted some time to wallow in despair alone, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Though he said “reading,” he had really been digging through books related to “Sephiro.”

‘The one most fitting to be called an Absolute.’

…The more he learned, the more monstrous Sephiro seemed.

He understood now why even the Lords of the Abyss hated Sephiro.

Arrogant, prideful, scorning even the Lords.

His “Absolute Magic,” which had repeatedly toyed with the Abyss, was described horrifically in every text.

Why Sephiro, of all beings, had appeared in this miserable world as a human form, Dagon could not comprehend. But Sephiro had always been an unpredictable dragon.

Moreover, how could a lowly demon merchant understand the mind of such an overwhelmingly high being?

‘Unfathomable. No one fits that word better than Sephiro.’

Sephiro had countless titles.

The “Godslayer” who had killed a Great Lord, “One Who Transcended Truth,” “Bringer of Chaos,” “Speaker of the Apocalypse,” “One Who Stands Above Infinity,” and so on…

“…Why did you summon me? Do you have an urgent item to trade? No, wait…”

The being with over a thousand titles had called Dagon.

Naturally, Dagon tensed as he observed him—and then he recoiled in shock.

To be exact, he recoiled upon seeing the ball of fur resting on Park Chan-woo’s shoulder.

“W-What is that horrid creature?!”

“…Horrid creature? Are you talking about Boksil?”

Tremble tremble tremble!

Dagon instinctively took a step back, his body trembling.

An unconscious, primal reaction.

That was how shocking “Boksil” was to Dagon.

Kyuu?

“Ack!”

When Boksil tilted his head, Dagon screamed.

Baffled by Dagon’s behavior, Park Chan-woo took a step closer.

“P-Please don’t come any closer!”

Dagon’s face immediately paled.

Reacting like that to tiny, adorable Boksil was anything but normal.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“That’s… that’s a Divine Beast!”

…A Divine Beast?!

A sacred beast.

Or a sacred animal, metaphorically speaking.

However, Boksil’s true identity was Anubis.

Even though it had evolved by consuming Divinity and had become radiant, it was still far from what Park Chan-woo understood to be a Divine Beast.

‘There were times when creatures called Divine Beasts popped out at the borders of the Abyss.’

Massive, majestic beasts wielding unbelievable divine power.

Occasionally, when a Creator’s Abyss overlapped with another realm, these creatures would emerge, setting the entire Abyss on high alert.

Most demons would flee, and even Creators would be forced to retreat.

Divine Beasts did not distinguish between demons and humans. Anyone who intruded into their domain was annihilated.

In most cases, the Abyss itself would be destroyed.

If a Divine Beast appeared, the only sensible thing to do was to use a Coin and escape without looking back.

‘Shit! Carrying around a Divine Beast like a pet!’

Yet, there was no way Dagon could have been mistaken.

Demons and Divine Beasts were natural enemies.

The aura emanating from that tiny ball of fur was unmistakably that of a Divine Beast.

Though not yet strong, the dormant energy within was anything but ordinary.

Previously, he hadn’t felt this energy.

Had it been hidden before?

Regardless, the only one who could treat a Divine Beast like a pet would be Sephiro.

‘…It really is Sephiro.’

Dagon swallowed hard.

The certainty that this human was Sephiro grew even stronger.

“A-Anyway… What business do you have with me?”

Dagon straightened his posture.

Even though demons and Divine Beasts were natural enemies, the one he faced was Sephiro.

No, he was a client.

He took a deep breath and looked at him.

Then Park Chan-woo said,

“Can you pay a price to buy back height or weight?”

“…We can only sell items and information available from the Merchant Association.”

Devil merchants only dealt in goods and information.

Buying height or weight was completely out of the question.

Such things could not be traded.

“What about something like a potion to gain weight?”

“Hmm, we have transformation potions that temporarily alter appearance… Or are you referring to elixirs that restore vitality?”

Park Chan-woo shook his head.

Elixirs would only give temporary buffs.

Only increasing attack and defense for about a hundred hours.

‘…There’s no answer.’

Of course, the Merchant Association wouldn’t stock something like a “weight-gaining potion.”

No one would ever need such a thing.

How could he return his height and weight to normal?

“Um…”

“…?”

“A human body is extremely inefficient.”

Dagon observed Park Chan-woo.

He immediately noticed the drop in height and weight.

He could also guess why this was troubling him.

‘Even the great Sephiro doesn’t seem to know much about human bodies.’

It made sense.

Dragons did not need sleep or food.

Their bodies did not deteriorate.

They were more like spirits that lived on mana itself.

If Sephiro had transformed into a human body, naturally he wouldn’t understand how inefficient it was.

“The human body requires considerable time to recover. And that must be supported by proper meals and rest.”

“I know that.”

“May I take a look around?”

“Do as you wish.”

Upon receiving permission, Dagon moved.

Instead of examining Park Chan-woo directly, he rummaged through his living environment.

Opening the fridge in the kitchen, Dagon scowled.

“There’s nothing but convenience foods. Are you even eating properly?”

“It’s nutritionally sufficient.”

“Some of these are past their expiration dates.”

“No issue eating them.”

“The smell is… Why haven’t you thrown these out?”

“Don’t worry. They’re not spoiled.”

Dagon’s eyes twitched violently.

He knew quite a bit about humans.

It was essential education for becoming a merchant, and knowing humans better made trading easier.

Still, Park Chan-woo’s lifestyle was far from what he understood as typical human behavior.

Even if Sephiro was merely pretending to be human—

It was like seeing an imperfect side of an otherwise perfect being.

Dagon sighed softly.

“……Please sit down.”

“…?”

“First, I’ll go buy proper ingredients. Then I’ll cook for you. Just sit and eat.”

Park Chan-woo tilted his head and asked,

“A devil merchant can cook for humans?”

“Cooking various cuisines from different races is my hobby.”

A demon having such an odd hobby made Park Chan-woo think, ‘What a strange guy.’

—

Dagon’s cooking exceeded all expectations.

It was better than most professional chefs.

Nutritionally, it was flawless.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Excellent.”

“Ah, for the record, this isn’t a trade. Consider it a service for my exclusive contractor. Rest assured.”

“I know. I’ll ask you from time to time.”

“…”

There had never been any talk of a trade.

This was something Dagon offered of his own volition.

Thus, Park Chan-woo accepted Dagon’s assistance.

For three days afterward, Dagon took care of Park Chan-woo’s meals.

Perhaps thanks to that—

His weight, which had dropped to 65 kg, recovered to 67 kg.

His height also returned to 180 cm.

‘Good.’

Proper meals and rest.

It seemed those two simple things had been the real issue.

It wasn’t just about nutritional balance; proper “full meals” had been necessary.

‘I need to thank Dagon for this.’

Before regression, Park Chan-woo could survive on minimal food.

But now, he was fully a modern human who needed a sense of fullness to function normally.

Without proper meals, even basic physical activity was difficult.

Thanks to Dagon’s careful cooking and care, his body was now in top condition.

‘Rest is complete. Now… it’s time to climb the Tower.’

All his preparations had been for this.

Once he started climbing, he would have to see it through to the end.

While he had been resting, the world had undergone great changes.

Countless towers had risen all over the world.

‘Tower of Arrogance!’

Structures known as the “Tower of Arrogance,” accessible only to those who had achieved their first limit breakthrough.

These towers were designed to train and pit Awakeners against one another.

‘One of the reasons Creators prepared the arrangements for their Avatars.’

The Creators had known in advance that these towers would appear.

Thus, they had attempted to “arrange” things by feeding elixirs and other enhancements to the Avatars they had contracted.

Because only Awakeners who had achieved first awakening could climb the Tower of Arrogance.

‘The Creators hope their Avatars will perform well in the Tower of Arrogance.’

Even the Creators didn’t know who had built the Towers.

Only that they were said to have been created by an unknown Creator called the “Lord of Arrogance.”

However, if an Avatar climbed the Tower and achieved good results, considerable rewards would also return to the Creator who had contracted them.

Moreover, in the Abyss, the name “Arrogance” carried significant weight even among Creators.

‘The Lord of Arrogance. Even Han Shin failed to uncover the meaning of that name.’

Many had tried to unravel the meaning behind “Arrogance.”

Han Shin—he had been one of them.

But across all Towers bearing the name of “Arrogance,” humanity had, not even once—

‘No one in the past ever reached the summit.’

No one had ever seen the top.

No one had ever set foot on the summit.

Especially since the Tower of Arrogance imposed harsh conditions.

Only “first awakened” individuals could enter the Tower.

Those who had achieved second awakening were barred.

Even among first awakened, one could enter only once, and only once.

That was why Park Chan-woo had focused on recovering his body.

‘I’ll see it through to the end.’

And Park Chan-woo was determined.

He intended to be the first to reach the summit.