Chapter 88
Ding!
[Warrior of Valhalla, Gatekeeper ‘Ajos’ has surrendered!]
[Unprecedented! An unbelievable result!]
[Replaying Ajos’s dying words.]
[“I’ll offer even my soul, please!”]
[This signifies a flawless defeat engraved upon the soul.]
[You have acquired the title: ‘One Who Subjugated a Warrior of Valhalla.’]
[According to the oath, Ajos will obey within ‘Khan’s Palace.’]
[The oath is etched upon the soul, granting you a command hierarchy above even the ‘Great Khan.’]
[Gatekeeper ‘Ajos’ fears and submits to you.]
As the stream of messages popped up, Park Chan-woo smiled.
‘Incredible.’
He had obtained a result far more certain than expected.
From the moment the oath was accepted, victory was guaranteed.
No matter how Ajos struggled, there was nothing he could do.
There was no way a warrior who had never experienced a minus level could defeat him.
However, something unexpected happened.
‘Ajos clearly saw something the moment he crossed into the Realm of Zero and touched the minus levels.’
Of course, he too existed within the minus level range.
But unlike Ajos, he had not passed through those realms one by one.
He had opened his eyes after regression to find himself already at level –99.
There was a distinct difference between them.
He was immensely curious about what Ajos had seen, but Ajos could not speak.
Which meant—
‘…There’s something that must not be seen, must not be spoken of.’
What could possibly terrify a warrior who had reached the 10th tier?
An oath engraved upon the soul.
A new oath made before the Reaper of the Oath, offering his soul.
The soul represented one’s entire existence, so this contract was clearly a higher-tier oath.
Wouldn’t you be curious?
Park Chan-woo was practically going mad with curiosity.
What on earth was so forbidden that it couldn’t even be spoken of?
Absolute submission.
Total obedience—yet Ajos still covered his mouth.
Could that mean the submission was false?
‘Even so, a title was granted as proof.’
Park Chan-woo examined his newly acquired title.
[Title: One Who Subjugated a Warrior of Valhalla]
– Description: You have utterly subjugated the soul of Gatekeeper Ajos, a Warrior of Valhalla. As long as this title exists, Ajos will obey you unconditionally within Khan’s Palace. Furthermore, he will instinctively fear the titleholder—down to the depths of his soul.
To subjugate someone through a title…
It was a truly special kind of title.
The fact that it existed meant the submission wasn’t a lie.
And yet, he couldn’t speak of it…
Park Chan-woo rubbed his chin.
‘Is it someone even higher than the Reaper of the Oath?’
The Reapers oversaw the balance and rules of the Abyss.
And the Reaper of the Oath was among the most powerful of them all.
Was there truly a being superior to that?
The Reaper of the Oath was a monstrous entity even among named creators.
His eyes drifted.
And there—
Shiver—
…stood Gatekeeper Ajos, trembling like a leaf while staring at him.
Who would believe this man was a Warrior of Valhalla now?
He looked like a young fawn before a predator.
Without a doubt, Ajos feared Park Chan-woo.
‘Judging by that look, the title is working perfectly.’
Despite the title’s effects, he couldn’t speak.
If he were forced to talk, who knows what kind of backlash might occur?
For now, he decided to take a step back.
“Let’s move on to the next trial. Lead the way.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Ajos quickly nodded and turned around.
Then, as if protecting Park Chan-woo, he calmly led the way forward.
A slave of level 99… no, a bodyguard.
‘Reassuring.’
He hadn’t been able to learn what Ajos had seen beyond the Realm of Zero, but this was good enough.
For now, what mattered most was clearing ‘Khan’s Palace.’
Park Chan-woo confidently followed behind Ajos.
As they passed through the entrance and entered the next room—
Ding!
[You have cleared the ‘First Trial’ of ‘Khan’s Palace!’]
[This method of resolution did not previously exist.]
[Bonus contribution points have been awarded.]
[You have acquired 20,000,000 contribution points.]
“…Wow.”
“What is this contribution score…?”
As Park Chan-woo voiced his amazement, Lee Hyuk-soo was equally shocked.
He too had received contribution points for clearing the trial.
“How many did you get?”
“…Two million points.”
Even Lee Hyuk-soo, usually devoid of emotion, couldn’t help but be surprised at acquiring two million points at once.
Compared to his two million, Park Chan-woo had obtained a staggering twenty million.
A tenfold difference.
Why the gap?
‘Thanks to the Masterpiece Map and the Secret Destroyer’s Qualification, I’m eligible for 20× the contribution points.’
The base contribution for this trial was 1 million.
Lee Hyuk-soo, with his qualification, earned 2× that, while Park Chan-woo received 20×.
This one trial alone earned him more than all the points he had gathered throughout the “Second Night.”
‘Two million just from the first trial.’
Even more shocking—it was only the beginning.
He had cleared the trial in a way that hadn’t existed before.
A basic trial that required only presenting a key to pass.
Defeating the gatekeeper in combat was one thing, but who would have thought to subjugate him like a servant?
From now on, the same principle would apply.
If he cleared more trials with Ajos’s help, he’d continue gaining extra contribution for “nonexistent solutions.”
‘……This is huge.’
No—this wasn’t just big.
This was a god-tier jackpot.
—
Gatekeeper Ajos was a powerful warrior even within Khan’s Palace.
As his name suggested, Ajos never left the palace entrance.
When he appeared, the warrior in charge of the next trial tilted his head.
“…Hm? Ajos, what are you doing here?”
“There’s a reason. Sorry, but step aside.”
“Wait. Are you saying you’ll leave the entrance unguarded and interfere with my trial?”
“…There’s a reason. I’m sorry.”
Ajos gripped his spear.
The second trial required moving a warrior out of a designated circle—even by a single step.
But the warrior assigned to the second trial had a far lower level than Ajos.
At most, level 80.
Compared to level 99 Ajos, it was no contest.
When Ajos swung his spear with intent—
RUMBLEEE!
The palace trembled.
The path carved by the devastating spear left a deep indentation.
Such force, such speed.
“You lunatic…!”
The receiving end couldn’t help but curse.
But if he wanted to live, he had to move.
The warrior quickly stepped out of the circle and scowled.
“…The Great Khan will not forgive this, Gatekeeper Ajos!”
“The Great Khan will understand.”
Ajos shook his head.
Khan was a conqueror.
A being who once made the demons of the Abyss tremble.
Though defeated and sealed by the Master of the Moon, Ahheta, he was not to be taken lightly.
The Great Khan valued and respected “unpredictability” above all else.
Once he grasped the situation, he would surely understand.
More than anything—
…That challenger behind him.
He could not defy that man’s words.
‘Just turning around is terrifying. I’m scared. I’ve never felt this way before in my life.’
A fear etched into his entire being—something he’d never felt on any battlefield.
Ajos couldn’t even think of turning around.
All he could do was obey orders and move forward.
Absolute obedience!
If word got out that a proud Warrior of Valhalla had submitted to a mere human, he’d be ridiculed.
‘……That challenger is no human. He’s something far more incomprehensible. Something that shouldn’t exist, can’t exist—a mysterious monster.’
Beyond the Realm of Zero.
A being who manipulates the negative world at will!
Dwelling in an endless abyss.
If what he had seen was all true…
‘What lies deeper—at the very bottom?’
Shiver—
He trembled again.
Godlike entities.
Not merely demon gods of the Abyss.
No, far more complex beings than that.
And all Ajos saw was up to level –44.
That man was far below even that.
At the very deepest part.
‘Don’t think. Don’t recall.’
Ajos repeatedly shook his head.
He had to forget.
Erasing it from his mind would be safer.
If not, he might lose his own existence again.
“The gatekeeper’s gone mad!”
The warrior clicked his tongue and stepped aside.
The second trial had been cleared easily.
Once more, they passed through a door.
Ding!
[You have cleared the ‘Second Trial’ of ‘Khan’s Palace!’]
[This method of resolution did not previously exist.]
[Bonus contribution points have been awarded.]
[You have acquired 20,000,000 contribution points.]
That made 40 million.
“…Is it really okay to gain contribution this easily?”
“I told you. Make your own path.”
Park Chan-woo shrugged in response to Lee Hyuk-soo’s question.
It wasn’t enough to walk an untrodden path.
In the Abyss, the true way to reach the highest point was to forge a path where none existed.
And it was good that Lee Hyuk-soo was earning lots of contribution too.
Even if it was 1/10 of his, 4 million points was enough to be treated as a VVIP in the ‘Contribution Store.’
If Lee Hyuk-soo grew strong enough to become humanity’s savior, he could score high in the “Species War” as well.
Since the Species War wasn’t an individual event, Park Chan-woo couldn’t do everything alone.
And this was just the beginning.
“Ajos. How many trials are there to reach the end of ‘Khan’s Palace’?”
When Park Chan-woo asked, Ajos replied cautiously.
“…Ten.”
“Insane.”
Lee Hyuk-soo couldn’t help but mutter in awe.
Ten trials.
Eight more to go!
Though he didn’t show it, Park Chan-woo was equally stunned.
‘If I clear all of them like this, that’s 200 million points.’
Two hundred million—that was more than his original goal.
“What happens after we clear all ten trials?”
“If you overcome them all, the ‘Great Khan’ will be unsealed and appear.”
Of course.
Now he understood the purpose of this trial.
A journey for the challenger who holds the key to reach the ‘Great Khan.’
And once they reach Khan, there will be another opportunity to earn even more contribution.
That opportunity would rival everything they’d earned so far.
‘Khan’s Palace. A minimum 300 million-point zone.’
Three hundred million.
Just imagining it was overwhelming.
What kind of reward would come from ending the ‘Second Night’ with 300 million contribution?
‘Be ready, Ahheta.’
For a moment, he clearly pictured the Master of the Moon, Ahheta, weeping in his mind. (T/N: At this point, I’m still unsure what’s Aheta’s gender. Maybe I’ll refer to him as “him” since his title is Master instead of Mistress.)