Chapter 72
Crash!
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo pierced the fugitive’s mark with his sword.
Whoosh!
The moment the mark was destroyed, the fugitive’s body scattered into dust.
《‘Relentless Chaser’ has destroyed the fugitive’s mark.》
《You have instantly acquired 300 contribution points.》
《By swiftly destroying five marks, the secret quest ‘Quick Resolution’ has been completed.》
《An additional 250 contribution points have been awarded.》
He pierced and cut down five fugitives at once.
Thanks to this, he earned a massive amount of contribution points, but Lee Hyuk-soo’s expression remained stern.
‘…Are the fugitives gathering in groups?’
It couldn’t be helped.
It was now about four hours after the start of the second night.
Those who had only been fleeing suddenly grouped up and attacked him.
Doppelgangers.
They looked human, but were monsters.
Abominations that mimicked humans and hunted them.
Lee Hyuk-soo felt no hesitation in killing non-humans.
‘I will not leave a single monster of the Abyss alive.’
Killing even one more meant one less risk of them invading Earth.
The best way to protect his mother was to exterminate all these monsters of the Abyss.
However, as time passed, he began to feel a growing sense of alienation.
‘…These doppelgangers are becoming more and more human.’
They were not just imitating humans anymore.
Doppelgangers learned the knowledge, thoughts, and language of the humans they copied.
The more they copied, the more they became like real humans.
Compared to their beastlike beginnings, this was a remarkable development.
No, it might be called evolution.
In just four hours, they were talking and acting like humans.
Who would have thought that those beastly creatures would start hunting the strong by banding together?
They were forming groups and acquiring intelligence.
Just as ancient humans once banded together to hunt giant beasts.
The doppelgangers were slowly driving humans into a corner.
‘The balance between humans and doppelgangers is collapsing rapidly.’
At this rate, within a few more hours, the roles of ‘chaser’ and ‘fugitive’ would be completely reversed.
This wasn’t a complacent prediction.
It was certainty.
An 11.1% survival rate would become reality.
Out of a million participants, maybe only about a hundred thousand would survive.
Maybe even fewer.
‘…Here they come again.’
Lee Hyuk-soo clicked his tongue and gripped his sword.
In the distance, another group was approaching.
“Strong human. We kill you, and we learn.”
“Eat the strong, surpass the strong.”
The X-shaped marks on their chests.
All fugitives.
Seven doppelgangers were closing in to hunt Lee Hyuk-soo.
He had no idea how they were finding him.
‘Hive mind? Are they sharing information?’
Too many things were suspicious.
Despite never having met, they knew who he was.
And unlike before, they were not trying to copy him.
Because they had failed to copy him.
The problem was what the doppelgangers did after failing.
‘If they cannot copy a human, they hunt and eat them.’
…They tried to eat him.
Coming at him in numbers, trying to hunt him down.
Cannibalism.
That seemed to be the doppelgangers’ second method of copying their target.
Of course, whenever they came for him, Lee Hyuk-soo destroyed all their marks.
He didn’t leave a single one alive.
Yet somehow, information that shouldn’t be shareable kept reaching them.
There was only one conclusion.
‘If you destroy a mark, your location is shared. Along with the information of the one whose mark was destroyed.’
That was the only explanation.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like information was exchanged in real-time.
It just felt as though a certain amount of information was shared when a mark was destroyed.
Not everything.
If everything had been shared, they would have come after him more directly.
There’d be no reason for them to keep fighting pointless battles against someone wandering alone like Lee Hyuk-soo.
…Or was there?
Was the battle of attrition more meaningful because he was alone?
Did they know the gap in strength and want to wear him down slowly?
Had the doppelgangers already evolved that far?
It didn’t matter.
Looking around at the doppelgangers surrounding him, Lee Hyuk-soo spoke chillingly.
“All fugitives must die.”
Fugitives—Abyss monsters that mimicked humans—just had to be wiped out.
—
Kim Byung-han intended to be the main character of the ‘Second Night.’
The only way to make up for past mistakes and humiliation was this.
The most important thing was information about the fugitives, the doppelgangers.
There was no information, so he had to find out himself.
“Can you guys ‘copy’ every human?”
He asked the captive doppelganger.
It looked like a burly man.
It was a strong one.
He had to sacrifice all his other captives just to barely capture this one.
He almost died himself.
‘This is worth 2,000 contribution points. There are definitely grades among fugitives.’
You usually get just 100 points for a fugitive’s mark.
But this one’s mark was worth a whopping 2,000.
As expected.
There were definitely grades among fugitives.
Naturally, catching a higher-grade fugitive gave more contribution points.
But that wasn’t all.
“If there’s too much of a level difference, we can’t copy.”
The doppelganger replied.
It spoke fluent human language.
Until now, the other captives hadn’t been able to converse properly.
Thump, thump.
His heart pounded.
Due to the rule that a captive must obey the chaser holding their mark, the doppelganger answered Kim Byung-han’s questions sincerely.
‘Information is power.’
Luck had come his way.
With this one, he’d rise to the top on the ‘Second Night.’
Kim Byung-han pictured a golden future again.
“If there’s too much of a level difference, you can’t copy? How much of a difference can you manage?”
“It depends on the individual.”
“How about you?”
“I can copy up to a 5-level difference.”
Brief, but informative.
A five-level gap.
Depending on perspective, that was a lot or a little.
“What’s your current level?”
“16.”
“…Oh?”
Higher than expected.
Since Kim Byung-han was currently level 19, this meant he was within the ‘copyable range.’
If he hadn’t captured this one, by now there’d be a doppelganger wandering the Abyss in his image.
Just imagining it gave him chills.
‘I missed out on the Tower of Arrogance reward, but I gained a ton of experience instead. That’s why my level rose so much that the doppelgangers couldn’t copy me.’
He finally understood why, unlike others, the doppelgangers couldn’t copy him.
When the Tower of Arrogance collapsed, he didn’t get the reward, but he did get a huge amount of experience.
A true power-leveling.
It ended up being a blessing in disguise.
‘As expected, the higher your level in the Abyss, the better.’
It proved his thinking right again.
In the Abyss, level was the absolute metric.
The higher, the better—the more benefits you received.
‘As time passes, the gap between levels will only grow.’
There would come a time when the low-leveled simply couldn’t surpass the high-leveled.
Humans were still in the growth phase, and sometimes the gap could be overcome, but as time went on, the difference caused by levels would become glaring.
But he still had more questions.
“So you can keep leveling up through copying?”
“Yes.”
“What if there’s no one stronger to copy? Can you still grow?”
“It doesn’t matter. Even just copying something I don’t have gains me experience and levels.”
Of course.
Copying something you lack, even from a weaker being, grants experience and levels.
“But there must be some sort of level cap?”
“There isn’t.”
“…There isn’t?”
Insane.
It was like being struck with a hammer.
So…
‘You can grow infinitely?’
Kim Byung-han realized it wasn’t about the number of captives.
It was about how well you ‘raised’ one captive.
If he raised this one right, becoming the ultimate winner of the Second Night would be more than possible.
“Is there any restriction on how you doppelgangers grow? Like, a limit on the number you can copy or something?”
“Unless you are a ‘Lord,’ you reset after a day.”
“Reset?”
“All information, memories, and levels of all copied targets disappear.”
“You return to your original slime-like state?”
“Yes.”
“Hm…”
A variable.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
There was no way monsters could just endlessly get stronger without any limits.
Kim Byung-han pressed on.
“So if you become a ‘Doppelganger Lord,’ you don’t reset?”
“That’s right.”
“…How do you become a ‘Doppelganger Lord’?”
“Reach level 80 before you reset.”
“…”
Kim Byung-han was momentarily dumbfounded.
The ‘Orc Master Kankun’ he faced in the Tower of Arrogance was level 83.
So you had to be at least that strong to become a Doppelganger Lord?
“…Is it even possible to do that in a single day?”
In disbelief, he asked again, and the doppelganger replied.
“It is possible.”
“How?”
“Become the last doppelganger.”
The last doppelganger?
A vague answer.
‘Does that mean the last surviving one in the Abyss can become the Lord?’
He asked several more similar questions, but never got the answer he wanted.
It just kept repeating ‘the last doppelganger.’
‘If I could make this thing a Lord and keep it with me…’
He let his imagination run for a moment.
The master of a Doppelganger Lord?
Invincible.
Unstoppable.
He would stand at the top not just of the Abyss on the Second Night, but in every Abyss to come.
Gulp.
Kim Byung-han swallowed dryly.
Just imagining having a monster like Kankoon at his side filled him with excitement.
—
《Secret Quest ‘Destroy the Fugitive Shelter’ completed!》
《You have obtained 20,000 contribution points.》
《‘Stealthy Betrayer’ has destroyed 10 fugitive marks.》
《You have obtained 40,000 contribution points.》
《First to surpass 100,000 contribution points!》
《Hidden linked quest ‘The Highest Place (1)’ cleared.》
《You have obtained 30,000 contribution points.》
Message after message popped up without end.
‘A tenfold reward event for me alone, huh.’
A tenfold reward event had begun.
And Park Chan-woo was enjoying this big event in the Abyss all by himself.
The tenfold destruction was immense.
As soon as he bought the ‘Masterpiece Map,’ he started moving, and in just over an hour, he had surpassed 100,000 contribution points.
‘Just destroying one shelter earned me 60,000.’
A secret location.
A shelter where fugitives could hide!
‘Once you find them, they’re easy to destroy.’
The hard part was just finding the shelter.
But on the ‘Masterpiece Map,’ every shelter’s location was marked.
He simply used the magic ‘Heaven’s Wrath’ to destroy one.
‘I didn’t expect ten doppelgangers to be hiding in there.’
20,000 points for destroying the shelter, and the other 40,000 came from the ten hiding doppelgangers.
He was lucky.
But it was odd.
There were multiple shelters, and fugitives had to find them themselves.
Who would have guessed ten doppelgangers would be in one shelter?
Were they sharing information?
No matter. It didn’t matter.
Park Chan-woo moved away from the destroyed shelter.
A little later, another group of doppelgangers appeared around the destroyed shelter.
“Was this the pursuer’s doing?”
“There’s no information.”
“How did they find the ‘shelter’?”
“Looks like they destroyed it with a powerful magic.”
The doppelgangers began prowling around the shelter, tilting their heads.
It was clear now—they were sharing shelter information.
The doppelgangers circled, trying to figure things out.
They had no idea Park Chan-woo was there.
This was his chance.
While they were all together.
“But weren’t there six of us?”
“Why does the map show seven?”
“Wait. Where is the other one…?”
‘Heaven’s Wrath.’
《‘Heaven’s Wrath’ descends from the sky!》
Boom!
Park Chan-woo unleashed Heaven’s Wrath above the doppelgangers’ heads.
《‘Stealthy Betrayer’ has destroyed 6 fugitive marks.》
《You have obtained 24,000 contribution points.》
Heaven’s Wrath was a mid-range spell.
Thanks to them gathering in one spot, he finished them off cleanly.
With those six blown to bits, no more doppelgangers came his way.
Shrugging, Park Chan-woo continued searching for shelters.
《You have destroyed the second ‘shelter.’》
《7 ‘Fugitive Marks’ have been destroyed together.》
《You have obtained 48,000 contribution points.》
《You have destroyed the third ‘shelter.’》
《6 ‘Fugitive Marks’ have been destroyed together.》
《You have obtained 44,000 contribution points.》
《First to surpass 200,000 contribution points!》
《Hidden linked quest ‘The Highest Place (2)’ cleared.》
《You have obtained 60,000 contribution points.》
Contribution points were multiplying like compound interest.
While others were desperately trying to gather 100 points, Park Chan-woo had already gathered nearly 300,000 as if on a stroll.
How many points could he amass before the night was over?
‘At least 10,000,000.’
That’s the minimum needed to make the Lord of the Moon wary.
There were countless ways to gather contribution points.
Naturally, his plan to collect 10 million points would proceed without a hitch.
Vwiiiiiiing!
Then—
Sirens blared from all directions.
《Warning!》
《An ‘Uninvited One’ has entered the ‘Night Abyss’!》
《The ‘Uninvited One’ cannot be seen.》
《You cannot currently confirm their existence.》
《Find the ‘Uninvited One.’》
《If you identify and specify their existence, you will be awarded 1,000,000 contribution points.》
“…”
Staring at the sudden message, Park Chan-woo furrowed his brow.
‘Are they talking about me?’