Chapter 7
“You’re below expectations.”
The day Park Chan-woo first met the Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo in the Abyss.
Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo crossed swords.
That was what Lee Hyuk-soo said to Park Chan-woo after their duel.
He had said Chan-woo was below expectations.
He passed by with a disappointed look in his eyes.
After that battle, Park Chan-woo broke his own sword.
He had denied it at first, but he eventually had to accept it.
That when it came to talent and understanding of the sword, Lee Hyuk-soo far surpassed him.
‘A dazzling talent for the sword. That wasn’t given to me.’
He had thought he had talent.
He had grown stronger quickly despite starting later than others.
But he was wrong.
It wasn’t swordsmanship talent—it was just luck.
He had simply walked a path paved by others who died before him, mistaking that for his own skill.
Because he had never truly seen someone with real swordsmanship talent.
But Lee Hyuk-soo was different.
His sword had class.
Even though it looked like he was swinging wildly, not a single movement was wasted.
He had the fundamental insight and perspective to read several, even dozens of moves ahead.
He could read his opponent, break their flow, and make it his own—with a chilling combat sense.
All of that combined to create the ‘Undefeated Sword King.’
In every way, Park Chan-woo couldn’t surpass him.
Only after experiencing the difference in skill and talent firsthand did Park Chan-woo realize the sword wasn’t his path.
‘Back then, my level was 90.’
A level far too high to start over from scratch.
After wandering aimlessly, he discovered he had a talent for magic, but it was too late.
He had almost no level points left to invest in the Mage class.
Even so, he walked the path.
Blindly, aimlessly.
That was how Park Chan-woo began to seek the truth only after surpassing Level 90.
“…….”
And now, Lee Hyuk-soo stood before him, very much alive.
Not as the Sword King, but as an ordinary man named Lee Hyuk-soo.
He looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties.
Holding a wooden sword, wearing a blue jacket and jeans.
Eyes with deep double eyelids, filled with melancholy.
There was no way he had seen wrong.
He looked much younger than in Park Chan-woo’s memories, but he was definitely Lee Hyuk-soo.
He hadn’t even done proper farming yet.
But his stance was solid.
Just holding a wooden sword made it feel like he was wielding a real blade.
Lee Hyuk-soo was silently watching the entrance of “Pretty Faces Nightclub,” alert to his surroundings.
“Good evening, everyone! This is your demon manager, Andariel!”
At that moment, a demon appeared at the nightclub entrance.
A giant spider’s body, four black wings, and a clown-painted face—Andariel had finally revealed herself.
Andariel immediately addressed the people.
“Before entering, please form your parties. As you know, booking works better with two than one, better with three than two, and even better with four.”
Ding!
[Form a ‘Booking Party.’]
[You can form a ‘Booking Party’ with up to four members.]
[Party members cannot differ in level by more than 10.]
Park Chan-woo frowned slightly.
Parties are usually formed by those of similar levels.
Naturally, there wouldn’t be anyone here who could party with him.
His level was –98, while most of the people gathered here were likely between Level 1 and 10.
“Is this hell? Did you invade Earth?”
Amid the chaos, a man holding an axe spoke.
To which Demon Manager Andariel chuckled.
“Is that a question?”
“Yes.”
“You humans voluntarily entered the Abyss. Brave, I must say. The answer is: this is not hell, and we are not invaders. Now, since I answered, I should be compensated, shouldn’t I?”
“…Compensated?”
“One life per question.”
Stab!
“Urgh…!”
A thick spike was already lodged in the axe-wielding man’s chest.
In an instant, his blood evaporated, and he shriveled up.
As the man, now like a mummy, collapsed—
Fsssh!
His corpse evaporated completely.
“Anyone else with questions?”
“…….”
Of course not.
Just one question cost a life.
And it was done so effortlessly.
That wasn’t all.
Stab!
Off in the distance, a man who had tried to sneak away was stabbed in the back by another spike.
Instant death.
Now, two had already died.
“Everyone here has no other option but to enter. Now, please form your booking parties. Just hold hands and it’ll proceed automatically. You have exactly 3 minutes.”
[180]
At the same time, a number appeared in front of everyone.
The seconds left from the 3-minute countdown.
“Once time’s up, everyone will enter ‘Pretty Faces Nightclub’ and start booking. Oh, don’t worry—we’ve prepared some very beautiful companions for you!”
Everyone realized it.
It was already too late to run.
‘An upper demon.’
Park Chan-woo immediately identified the demon manager Andariel.
She was one of the game masters in charge of this place—’Night Abyss.’
Upper demons were the kind who loved entertainment the most in the Abyss.
They considered the Abyss a playground along with the Creators, so sometimes they’d show up in costume like this to act as guides for the humans.
‘Guide, my ass. They’re just twisted freaks who enjoy watching people fall into despair.’
Of course, that was Park Chan-woo’s perspective.
To him, upper demons weren’t guides, but perverts with sick hobbies.
[168]
“A-anyone want to party?”
“Hey! Let’s group up with the strong-looking ones!”
“We’re running out of time!”
As the timer dropped, people rushed to form parties.
The strong grouped with the strong, the weak with the weak.
Kind of like birds of a feather.
Thanks to some decent farming, Team Leader Kim Byung-han quickly found a group.
But there were those whom no one approached.
That was Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo.
‘I really must have zero presence.’
Park Chan-woo had been sensing it for a while now.
Despite wearing an outfit so ridiculous that even a demon priest would cry, no one paid him any attention.
Not even the demon manager Andariel.
Nonexistence.
Unless he revealed himself first, no one would notice his presence.
‘At least I won’t be getting ambushed from behind.’
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
He essentially held the absolute right to initiate attacks.
If he could silently approach and land a killing blow in one strike, there could be no more broken ability than that.
Even though he had reverted to Level –99, not everything was bad.
But thinking it was 100% safe would be a mistake.
There was one time Park Chan-woo’s presence had been exposed.
‘But how did Team Leader Kim Byung-han recognize me at the lake park?’
Was it because he already knew him?
Or were there other conditions that allowed someone to recognize him?
After all, here, Team Leader Kim Byung-han hadn’t noticed him at all.
“How about that guy?”
“Pass. He looks too gloomy—not really suited for party play.”
Lee Hyuk-soo, on the other hand, was too “ambiguous.”
All he had was a wooden sword.
No proper equipment, not even a good physique—just a guy brooding with a mood.
He didn’t seem like a good choice for a party.
He could ruin the vibe, or be hard to work with.
[3]
[2]
[1]
“Time’s up! Exactly 58 parties have been formed. Ah, and solo players are also welcome. I’ll assign the rest into parties myself. Now, there are seven remaining… hmm?”
As she spoke, Andariel sensed something off and scanned the area.
‘What’s this?’
There were 199 people gathered in this zone.
She could read through her authority that 58 parties had been formed, and seven individuals remained.
Group those seven into two more parties, and you’d get a total of 60 parties.
But no matter how she looked—
‘One’s missing.’
…there were only six.
Andariel, the owner of this zone, could sense 199 humans.
But only 198 were visible.
‘Stealth?’
If someone wasn’t visible, that meant they were hiding.
But no human should be capable of escaping the gaze of an upper demon like Andariel.
Especially among humans who were only facing their second Abyss.
So where on earth was that last person?
It couldn’t be a system error—so it meant she simply couldn’t find them.
An unexpected variable had appeared from the very start.
Andariel focused her mind and heightened her awareness.
Tap, tap!
“Hey.”
“Keeheeheeheck!”
Startled, Andariel leapt back in alarm.
Someone had tapped her torso with a staff.
A chill ran down her spine.
Even while on high alert, she hadn’t sensed any presence.
No color, no scent.
With the sudden appearance of this presence, Demon Manager Andariel was shaken.
“W-who are you? When did you get next to me?!”
“Seems like there’s no one here who can party with me. Mind if I enter alone?”
…Was he human?
That made it even harder to accept.
‘He’s only wearing a Demonic Set?’
Upper demons often wore those. They were unmistakable.
To the humans here, it was a treasure, but in the Abyss, it was as common as dirt.
And yet, with nothing but a measly Demonic Set, how had he approached undetected by an upper demon?
Andariel attempted to use her granted authority to forcefully assign him to a party within the zone.
Then—
[Due to an extreme level difference, party formation is not possible.]
That message appeared before her eyes.
…Extreme level difference?
That meant there was an insurmountable, overwhelming level gap between this human and the rest.
Not a single human here was capable of forming a party with this man.
Suddenly, Andariel’s gaze dropped to the staff the man had tapped her with.
At the same time—
‘W-wait. That staff is…!!’
