Chapter 9
Lee Hyuk-soo stared at the man standing in front of him.
He’d met all kinds of people in his life, but this was the first time he’d encountered someone like this.
‘What is this guy…?’
At first, he thought he wasn’t even human.
He was wearing armor and a helmet that looked like something a demon might wear.
On top of that, Lee hadn’t sensed his presence at all until he revealed himself.
It was only after hearing Andariel speak that he realized the man was human too. And when the man chose him, only one question filled his mind—‘Why?’
Lee Hyuk-soo preferred to be alone.
Forming a party with others and overcoming trials together didn’t suit his temperament.
– Monster bastard!
– You’re not even human!
From a young age, Lee Hyuk-soo had always been different.
His emotions were dull, and he couldn’t relate well to other people’s pain.
By nature, he rarely got excited, but that didn’t mean he avoided fights that came his way.
People who didn’t understand his ‘difference’ always tried to reject him. But Lee Hyuk-soo had never lost a fight to anyone.
Even if he bled, even if his wounds burst open and his bones broke, he never backed down.
He was so relentless that among his peers, Lee Hyuk-soo was often called a ‘demon’ or a ‘psychopath.’
That’s why he preferred being alone.
“Hey.”
“……”
“What’s your name?”
“……Lee Hyuk-soo.”
“Lee Hyuk-soo. Know how to drive a bus?”
“……A bus?”
Lee Hyuk-soo repeated the question, confused by Park Chan-woo’s sudden inquiry.
Drive a bus? There wasn’t a bus in sight around here.
No—even if there were a working bus.
“Ah, right. You don’t have a driver’s license.”
“How do you…?”
……Lee Hyuk-soo didn’t have a license.
But how did Park Chan-woo know that?
Park Chan-woo let out a quiet chuckle.
Same as ever—that blunt attitude hadn’t changed.
“The scar on your forehead. Didn’t you get it from a car accident when you were a kid?”
“……”
Instinctively, Lee reached up and covered his forehead with his hair.
He’d grown it a bit longer to hide the scar.
He’d hidden it well, yet Park Chan-woo had seen through it in an instant.
Granted, anyone who saw it could tell it was from a major accident.
But the problem was—that wasn’t all he figured out.
“You had surgery three times, crossed the threshold of death even more than that. After that, your personality changed, and you developed a fear of cars. A driver’s license was out of the question.”
“……!!!”
For the first time since entering the Abyss, Lee Hyuk-soo was shaken.
Even in the face of death, he hadn’t wavered like this.
But everything Park Chan-woo said was true.
His emotional numbness and pain insensitivity all began after those surgeries.
‘How?’
But how could Park Chan-woo possibly know that?
– Freak. You’re talking about me in a situation like this?
Of course, it was all information Hyuk-soo had shared himself.
In the alley leading to the Temple of the Dragon God—
When the final resistance force that started with 100,000 was down to just around 100—
At the moment when everyone realized there was no victory, no returning home—
Park Chan-woo asked them.
If they could return to the past, what would they want to do?
What regrets did they have?
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo was one of them.
–I… was alone. I was just… different from others.
Lee Hyuk-soo was always quiet.
He never shared his story with anyone.
But perhaps it was because death was right in front of him.
Only then did he start to open up.
Park Chan-woo memorized every word of Lee Hyuk-soo’s story.
And so, he came to know Lee Hyuk-soo.
The only one in the world who truly did.
He knew what he wanted—what he desperately longed for.
“Isn’t there someone you want to save?”
“…Did you investigate me?”
“I’m a ‘Prophet.’ I know the past, and I have a rough idea of what’s going to happen in the future.”
Lee Hyuk-soo still stared at him with a look of disbelief.
But Park Chan-woo didn’t mind.
He reached out and pointed beyond the curtain.
“Booking Points: 3,000.”
“……?”
“Gather 3,000 points and buy the Elixir. Then your mother, who’s in a ‘coma,’ will wake up.”
“……”
“But only if you do exactly as I say. Understood?”
– I want to save my mother. If I could go back, that alone would be enough. But I missed that chance during the ‘First Night of the Abyss.’ 3,000 points was an impossible number to reach.
Park Chan-woo had heard it.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo’s greatest wish.
The one thing he would give up everything to achieve.
“If you miss this chance, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. This opportunity only exists today.”
Tomorrow evening, Lee Hyuk-soo’s mother would breathe her last.
If today passed, she could never be saved.
“Take my hand, Lee Hyuk-soo.”
“What do you… want from me?”
“For you to get stronger.”
“You want… me to get stronger? That’s it? That’s the whole reason for this?”
His expression showed he just couldn’t understand.
Park Chan-woo nodded.
Yeah. That’s all.
The first human to ever reach level 99.
The one who pretended to be a savior—the true [Incarnation of the Great Nine Lords]!
Lee Hyuk-soo was the perfect counter to him.
Invincible, undefeated, the Absolute Sword King.
Push him to reach level 99 even faster than before, and turn him into the new savior.
‘I’m not interested in playing the hero or being a savior or any of that crap.’
Park Chan-woo never intended to become a savior himself.
It was hard enough just trying to escape his current situation, and mastering magic in pursuit of truth was no easy feat.
Most of all, standing out wasn’t a good thing.
This world was overflowing with all kinds of ‘trolls.’
So he’d put forward Lee Hyuk-soo as the savior and fix everything from behind the scenes.
That was the ideal future Park Chan-woo envisioned.
“If you’re lying… I’ll kill you.”
Tap.
Lee Hyuk-soo grabbed the hand Park Chan-woo extended, his expression emotionless.
Park Chan-woo smiled.
“The contract is sealed. Now then… fight alone.”
“…Fight alone?”
“Exactly. You’ll be fighting solo on this battlefield. What, are you scared?”
“That’s not it… but why?”
“If I step in, it’ll end way too easily. Then the booking opponent’s level will skyrocket.”
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
Of course, that was a lie.
In reality, it was the exact opposite.
He just didn’t want to waste stamina by getting involved.
To deceive the demon manager Andariel, he needed to maintain his dignity at all costs. He couldn’t afford to show his limits.
《‘Skeleton Soldier’ has appeared.》
《Will you engage?》
《Or will you pass?》
《If you wish to pass, one of you must be offered as a sacrifice.》
Before they knew it, Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo were standing inside a ring-shaped arena.
Park Chan-woo pointed to the other side and said,
“Go on, bus driver.” (T/N: In gaming terms, the one who drives the bus usually is the “booster/smurf”. It simply means, Chan-woo is just a parasite leeching of the “exp” from Hyuk-soo)
* * *
The Hell Booking had begun.
‘If you offer up all your coins, I might let you live.’
Andariel kept her eyes locked on the arena where Park Chan-woo stood.
She couldn’t care less if other humans lived or died.
Her objective was singular.
Coins.
She intended to steal every last one of the coins Park Chan-woo possessed.
With those coins, she could construct her own Abyss.
Become a Creator.
However, forcibly taking them was impossible.
Nothing in the Abyss could be transferred by force.
And as a game master, she couldn’t kill humans without a valid reason.
‘At best, he’ll win one or two rounds. And even that’ll be barely.’
She was genuinely curious what kind of opponent would show up.
She expected Park Chan-woo to give up and beg for his life, offering up the coins.
Then, pretending to show mercy, she’d let him live.
There was no downside to having the [Incarnation of the Great Nine Lords] owe her a favor.
But then she saw the booked opponent and tilted her head.
‘…A skeleton soldier?’
A mere skeleton soldier?
And not even a special one—just a generic skeleton soldier without any weapon.
A bottom-tier monster designed to appear when a party’s average level is around 1.
This game was created by the ‘Night Abyss,’ the ‘Master of the Moon’ floating in the sky.
It was a game governed by absolute rules.
Booking opponents were set based on the strength of the participants.
So why a skeleton soldier?
Given that human’s strength, shouldn’t at least a level-30 monster be appearing?
Then something even more absurd happened.
“What… is that? That ridiculous durability.”
Tap—and it collapsed into dust with a crumble.
It was unbelievable.
How could a skeleton soldier be that fragile?
Even for a level-1 skeleton soldier, this was excessive.
‘Is this a bug?’
She thought there must be a bug.
But Andariel composed herself.
The booking continues. And with each win, the next opponent appears at ‘one level higher.’
In other words, the booking opponents grow stronger with every victory.
The game was designed so that it would be impossible to accumulate booking points beyond a certain threshold.
In short, all those treasures were just bait you could never reach.
But then—
“Am I… seeing this wrong?”
Tap!
Crumble!
Tap!
Crumble!
Skeleton soldiers appeared nonstop.
And only skeleton soldiers appeared as opponents.
All of them pathetically fragile skeleton soldiers.
Andariel rubbed her eyes.
It didn’t feel real.
She didn’t know how, but something impossible was happening.
At this rate, she could lose her position as game master.
But—
Tap!
Crumble!
“No, this can’t be…!”
* * *
《The 36th booking opponent has been set.》
《Will you engage?》
《You are on a 35-win streak. You’ve currently accumulated 2,080 points.》
With the stunned Andariel behind him, Park Chan-woo leisurely folded his arms behind his back.
Through 35 rounds of booking, Park Chan-woo hadn’t taken a single step.
‘So the points can be duplicated.’
