Chapter 66
[‘Night’ has fallen.]
[‘The Abyss of the Second Night’ will soon open.]
[Earthlings who wish to participate, please look at the ‘moon’ right now.]
[It will begin once 1,000,000 participants have gathered.]
[If the above number is not reached within 60 minutes, the ‘Abyss of Death’ will open across the entire Earth.]
“……Has it appeared again.”
A hospital room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo muttered quietly as he looked out the window.
On the night of the full moon, without fail, ‘night’ had begun.
But for this day, Lee Hyuk-soo had trained himself.
‘Mother.’
Lee Hyuk-soo turned his head to look at the hospital bed.
Breathing softly, gently.
A woman who had fallen into a deep sleep like a child.
Ten years ago, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, Lee Hyuk-soo’s mother, Kim Ji-yeon, had become a vegetative patient.
Though her body had once been so emaciated her bones showed, now her health was in very good condition.
She had gained weight, and her skin had regained vitality.
She wasn’t fully recovered, but she was undoubtedly healing rapidly.
Not only that.
In the past month, she could now converse lucidly for about two hours a day.
—It’s a miracle! A miracle has occurred!
Just as the doctor said, a miracle had happened.
Everyone who knew her condition was astonished.
Because they believed there was no hope.
Doctors, and even Lee Hyuk-soo himself.
Even if she did wake up, they said she would never be the same as before.
They said some parts of her brain might not function properly.
However, the awakened Kim Ji-yeon was just as before.
She treated Lee Hyuk-soo no differently.
It could only be called a miracle.
All of this had happened after the ‘First Night.’
‘The Prophet.’
If he had not met him, he would not have witnessed such a miracle.
If, on that day, he had not been able to give her the elixir…
Kim Ji-yeon would not be here now.
Lee Hyuk-soo would have been left alone in the world.
There would never have been light in the world he saw again.
But that day.
From the moment his mother, Kim Ji-yeon, woke up.
Lee Hyuk-soo’s world was clearly different.
‘You’ll try for the Second Night too.’
And Lee Hyuk-soo devoted everything for today.
He did not climb the Tower of Arrogance and ceaselessly ran the Abyss.
While everyone’s attention was on the Tower of Arrogance, Lee Hyuk-soo could monopolize nearly every Abyss in Korea by himself.
He earned a large number of coins, obtained better equipment, and rapidly raised his level.
The Prophet told Lee Hyuk-soo to become a savior, but he had no intention of becoming something so grand.
His purpose was just one.
To become strong enough to protect his mother in any situation.
‘I’ll catch up. And surpass.’
To do so, he had to surpass even the Prophet.
In Lee Hyuk-soo’s opinion, the Prophet was the strongest—an unapproachable being.
The one who hunted the Water God Dragon alone.
A unique monster who could tease and ridicule demons!
Lee Hyuk-soo wanted to catch up to him.
No, he wanted to surpass him.
So that, standing side by side, he could ask him.
What is your real identity, your name?
……If his guess was right, the Prophet would also participate in this night.
He had no intention of only receiving help like before.
He was now a world apart from who he was then.
“…….”
Clink!
Lee Hyuk-soo took out a leather pouch with [Security Magic] from his chest.
A leather pouch containing as many as five coins.
It was a treasure with multiple overlapping spells, including [Invisibility Magic] that made it visible to no one except him and his mother.
A safeguard to protect his mother in any possible situation.
Even if Creators opened an Abyss in this hospital, she would be safe.
At least his mother would be.
Smile!
Lee Hyuk-soo smiled.
And then.
“I’ll be back, Mother.”
He looked out the window.
Looked up at the ‘full moon.’
[Participation completed.]
[1,000,000 participants have gathered.]
[From now on, participants will enter the ‘Abyss of the Second Night.’]
[Each participant will be granted one of two qualifications.]
[‘Chaser’ and ‘Fugitive.’]
[‘Chasers’ must catch the ‘Fugitives.’]
[‘Fugitives’ must escape from the ‘Chasers.’]
[Time limit is until morning.]
[All participants with a contribution score below 100 will die.]
[You can earn at least 100 contribution points by catching a single ‘Fugitive.’]
As he read the flashing messages, Lee Hyuk-soo tilted his head.
Chaser and Fugitive.
‘Is it like tag or cops and robbers?’
It seemed to have a similar nuance.
Depending on the qualification assigned, participants would compete against each other.
It was somewhat different from the ‘Twelve Species Guardian’ hunt that took place during the First Night.
Back then, the main focus was to team up and strategize together.
‘Which qualification you get will be important.’
Will you chase, or will you be chased.
Lee Hyuk-soo stroked his chin.
Soon, additional related messages appeared.
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a ‘Chaser.’]
[If you solve hidden quests and more throughout the ‘Night Abyss,’ you can receive additional rewards or significant help related to chaser abilities.]
[Additionally, ‘Chasers’ can take the mark engraved on the chest of ‘Fugitives’ and turn them into ‘Prisoners.’]
[‘Prisoners’ must absolutely obey the words of the ‘Chaser.’]
[If the mark is destroyed, the ‘Prisoner’ dies.]
[Marks can be destroyed, exchanged, or seized.]
[Be careful not to have your ‘mark’ taken by another chaser.]
[At the end of the time limit, your contribution is calculated based on the number of marks you have, as well as the types and numbers of quests completed.]
[The higher your contribution, the better your ‘final reward’ will be.]
[Estimated survival rate: 11.1%]
[Good luck!]
—
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a ‘Chaser.’]
Han Shin slowly read the words that appeared.
In a game of chasing and fleeing, he was on the chasing side.
Given his personality, catching was better than running away.
However.
‘For a simple game of tag, the expected survival rate is absurdly low.’
Only 11.1%.
This indicated that this game of tag would be extremely brutal.
A death match where everyone kills each other.
But that couldn’t be all.
‘No way that’s all Ahheta has prepared.’
Although he received some advice from the Master of the Moon, Ahheta, after completing the [Incarnation Contract], Han Shin did not know the full details.
That was the rule, apparently.
Even Ahheta could not be free from the rules and regulations of the Abyss.
…In any case.
‘Everyone is a competitor.’
Even the chasers were rivals.
It wasn’t just about brute force; there was also the suggestion to complete quests and improve ‘chaser abilities,’ which was intriguing.
Depending on those abilities, the power dynamics could change.
Han Shin clenched and unclenched his fist.
Honestly, he didn’t care.
No one stronger than him could exist.
The part of Ahheta’s advice that stuck with him was just one thing.
【For this night’s Abyss, many Creators are interested.】
Creators are interested…
Not just any random ones, but Creators at a level even Ahheta had to be mindful of were interested in this night’s Abyss.
‘Are there really Creators of a higher class than Ahheta?’
From his experience so far, there were no Creators higher than Ahheta.
But the way it was said, it seemed there were even greater beings.
‘Having the attention of all Creators isn’t bad either.’
Han Shin smiled softly.
This field, the ‘Second Night,’ was entirely his domain.
—
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a ‘Chaser.’]
Lim Chang-yeol, the leader of the Seoul Union, looked up.
The union members with him also began to show unusual expressions.
“Even if our qualifications are different, we are one.”
Lim Chang-yeol encouraged the union members.
Whether chaser or fugitive, their unity came first.
And at that moment.
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a ‘Chaser.’]
Kim Byung-han, too, obtained a qualification in the Abyss of the Second Night.
‘I’ll make them all prisoners.’
Just as he wanted.
A chance to correct a past mistake.
How humiliating it was.
The tower went bankrupt, and he received no reward.
—Hahaha, what’s with that Kim Byung-han guy?
—Wow, that’s hilarious. Is he a pathological liar?
—Isn’t he a Ripley syndrome case?
—Is he trying to play the hero or what?
—As if history would actually change.
—Is his legendary weapon called ‘Why am I the only one embarrassed’?
—Hahahahaha, that’s just hilarious.
He became a huge star just as he wanted.
He received every possible insult, being called a pathological liar.
He was so insulted everywhere—online, newspapers, television—that he nearly lost his mind.
But Kim Byung-han was not a pathological liar.
He would prove it tonight.
Absolutely.
No matter what!
……Also, at the same time, in another place.
[Congratulations!]
[You have been selected as a ‘Fugitive.’]
“Hmm…….”
Park Chan-woo swallowed hard.
It seemed this night was flowing in a rather different direction than his memories.
—
Chasers and Fugitives.
Normally, in a game of tag, there are more fugitives than chasers.
But this was the ‘Abyss.’
What’s more, after failing the Abyss of the First Night, the Master of the Moon, Ahheta, prepared the Abyss of the Second Night with a vengeance.
“What is this, why are there only chasers everywhere?”
“Are there even any fugitives?”
Everyone’s expectations were shattered.
Things progressed contrary to common sense.
No matter how hard you looked, no one could be found in the role of ‘Fugitive.’
From the start, there was not a single mention of the ratio between chasers and fugitives.
Only then did people begin to realize.
‘Is the ratio of fugitives insanely low?’
‘If you don’t catch even one, you die!’
‘Is the reason the expected survival rate was only 11% because of this……?’
If you do not achieve a contribution score of 100, you die.
It wasn’t about ranking—it was about absolute points.
If you don’t catch even one fugitive and clear no quests, your end is guaranteed.
There were two ways to survive, but there was a problem.
“Even if you clear a quest, you only get 1 point?”
“Is this meant for everyone to die or what!”
Most quests only gave 1 contribution point.
To collect 100 points, you would have to clear 100 quests, but there was less than half a day left.
There wasn’t enough time.
People grew anxious.
A brutal survival competition had begun, where only a tiny few could live.
Fortunately, finding ‘Fugitives’ was easier than expected.
About an hour after the ‘Second Night’ began.
“Are all those red dots on the map fugitives?”
“Looks like it!”
“T-they’re nearby!”
“Everyone, run!”
“Whoever catches them first gets them!”
A map had appeared.
The red dots on the map were clearly ‘Fugitives.’
People rushed towards the red dots.
They instinctively knew that only by catching fugitives and increasing their ‘prisoners’ could they gain the upper hand in this ordeal.
Finally, as they drew close to a ‘red dot’—
“Wh-what’s that?”
“Insane……!”
“Is that… a fugitive?”
People could not help but be shocked at the true identity of the ‘Fugitives.’