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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Rather Good?
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Level!
The Abyss had opened, and awakened humanity could now level up just like characters in a game.
It was both a provision and a blessing to stand against the powerful twelve races that would soon attack mankind.
Thanks to it, humans could at least put up some fight against those monsters.
...Granted, it was like going from elephant-versus-ant odds to elephant-versus-rat odds, but wasn't it worth a shot?
The max level was 99.
Only five humans in the world had reached it.
In this world, level was the absolute benchmark, the most crucial milestone of all.
Because...
'Everything you get from the Abyss is based on the Awakened's level.'
For example, equipment.
Mystical gear of supreme and custom quality, infused with divine mystery and obtainable only from the Abyss.
Essential for battling the monsters of the twelve races, these could only be acquired in the Abyss, and no piece of equipment could exceed the level of the Awakened who cleared it.
'Damn it, even gear has levels.'
Gear had two measures of "strength."
Level and grade.
Say a level 10 Awakened got a level 10 sword.
It might be the max level sword they could wield, but if the grade sucked, it could perform worse than a lower-level blade.
Conversely, high grade could bridge some level gaps even if the level was low.
Grade wasn't the issue; level was.
You couldn't get weapons above your level in the Abyss.
And that was the decisive reason Park Chan-woo was grimacing right now.
⚙ STATUS WINDOW ⚙ Affiliation: Earth / Human / Republic of Korea Name: Park Chan-woo Age: 27 Gender: Male Height/Weight: 180cm / 71kg Level: -99 ⚡ Strength: 1 💨 Agility: 1 ✨ Intelligence: 1 💪 Stamina: 1 ✨ Magic Power: 1 Status: Utmost Weakness, Sickly, Frail, Non-Existence, Terminal
"Cough!"
He wasn't seeing things.
A disbelieving cough brought up blood.
'Coughing up blood, no energy in my body at all... yeah, this status window is spot on.'
Park Chan-woo fully grasped his condition.
It was bullshit, but it was reality.
He had a hunch why he'd ended up like this.
—Anything! If what I have isn't enough, I'll sell my future! If that's not enough, I'll offer my soul as sacrifice...!
When they said sacrifices were lacking, Park Chan-woo sold his future.
Yeah, he sold it.
To the God of Offerings.
That was how this vicious status window came to be.
Was there even any point in turning back time like this?
Sickly constitution was bad enough, but what the hell were utmost weakness and frailty? And those after?
'Terminal. A walking time bomb.'
Literally.
It was maddening.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath.
Getting worked up might make his heart explode.
"Awakening?"
"Status window?"
"Whoa! What is this? Something really popped up!"
The people in the park stared in wonder at the status windows that had appeared.
Meanwhile, time ticked away relentlessly.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Time remaining: 20 seconds! Earthlings, brace for impact! The Abyss opens soon!
Park Chan-woo hurried toward the lakeside.
"H-Hey, look at that guy!"
"He's just walking into the water?"
Ignoring the murmurs, Park Chan-woo waded into the lake.
He submerged himself up to his neck, keeping only his head above water to watch the situation.
When the Abyss opened, this park would become hell.
No escaping, no hiding in time.
'Not sure if I can clear it in this body.'
His condition was the worst, but his memories and experience remained intact.
He knew exactly how it progressed, how to solve it.
The monster appearing in the first Abyss, here at Lake Park, was none other than...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Time limit ended! The Abyss opens! Hide tight~ Don't let your hair show~ Survive against Fallen Ghost (Lv10) for 1 hour! '881' participants in this Abyss. Estimated survival rate: 21.7% Higher survival rate yields better grade 'Box' upon clear. Numerous hidden quests exist. Don't give up, challenge them!
Fallen Ghost.
A level 10 monster, a scout.
Not one of the twelve races. They were still far off.
But plenty threatening to current humanity.
You couldn't kill Abyss monsters without Abyss weapons anyway.
'Completing a hidden quest for a weapon and taking down the Fallen Ghost... possible, but...'
Not in his current state.
A -99 level weapon from the quest? Might as well crack the Fallen Ghost's skull with an egg.
All Park Chan-woo could do was hide.
'Fallen Ghosts don't hate water.'
He could hold out for a while.
Saving others?
Survival first.
To plan for the future, he had to clear at least this first Abyss unscathed.
"H-Huh? The sky just turned red...!"
"What's wrong with the ground?"
"W-What's going on?!"
Everything changed when the Abyss opened.
Sky, ground, even trees.
No longer the same.
Red sky, cracked earth everywhere, trees with human-face holes, roots bursting from the soil.
And the Fallen Ghost, emerging with a grotesque shriek.
Kiiiiieeeeeek-
"Kyaaaaack!"
"M-Monster!"
A hulking brute, easily 3 meters tall.
Enormous ears, four noses, eight eyes—an aberrant lifeform!
It lunged first at the screaming woman.
Slash!
Spluuuurt!
💥 FIRST DEATH! 💥
Its elongated hand sliced her throat.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, sending people into panic.
"Someone died... Aaaagh!"
"S-Save me!"
⚙ SYSTEM UPDATE ⚙ Seven deaths. 874 survivors currently. Time remaining: 59 min 12 sec.
A game stacked brutally against humans.
Find a way to fight the Fallen Ghost while fleeing until then.
Even uniting everyone wouldn't suffice, and in this chaos, few could think straight.
'...Shit.'
One such thinker, Park Chan-woo, calmly observing the Fallen Ghost, frowned.
His body couldn't do a thing.
Best to just watch.
But staying put felt so damn off.
In the end, Park Chan-woo moved to the lake's center.
The lake was shallow; basic swimming got him there.
"Hup!"
Pinching his nose and diving, Park Chan-woo scanned the lakebed.
'There.'
A single glowing golden box.
The hidden quest, hidden gear.
He dove deeper, grabbing the glowing box.
🎁 HIDDEN GOLD BOX FOUND! 🎁 Acquired random 'Epic grade' equipment! Obtained 'Dragon Slayer Blade (-99Lv, Epic)'.
"Gasp! Gasp! Hiss!"
Surfacing, he gasped for air.
Short swim, and his stamina hit limit.
Bitter taste rose, like stomach acid reflux.
Park Chan-woo turned to the Dragon Slayer Blade.
'As expected.'
Bad hunches never missed.
A -99 level sword.
He'd hoped otherwise, but reality struck again.
Gripping the blade etched with a lizard motif, he emerged from the water.
Stroking the Dragon Slayer Blade once summoned its info window.
⚔ ITEM INFO ⚔ Name: Dragon Slayer Blade Level: -99 Grade: Epic Equip Slot: One-Handed Weapon Attack Power: 1
Description: A blade harboring 'Lizard's Energy.' High grade, but critically low level prevents manifestation of 'Lizard's Energy.'
Unique Option: Stamina +1
Stamina up from 1 to 2?
Felt a bit easier to move.
'Attack power of 1? What kind of sword is this!'
First time seeing such a stat.
Even a rusty knife had at least 10.
Thankful it wasn't negative?
'...All gear and items have a minimum correction value. Can't go below 0 normally.'
Minimum correction.
The baseline value for that item.
Weapons couldn't drop below 1 attack power.
Status stats had it too—an unspoken rule that no stat goes below 1.
Levels couldn't drop below 1 either.
Yet his did.
To -99.
Wasn't that weird?
Even selling his future shouldn't allow negatives.
Likewise, slaying a Fallen Ghost with a 1-attack sword was impossible.
As Abyss gear, attacks would land, but the level gap was 109.
A billion level 1s couldn't beat one level 99, let alone 109 gap?
Just die faster.
"Hey! You ugly bastard!"
Even so, Park Chan-woo yelled.
Fallen Ghosts had sharpest hearing among senses.
People were just realizing it targeted noisemakers first.
Naturally, his voice hit the Fallen Ghost's ears first.
Kiiiiieeeeeek-
But it didn't even glance at Park Chan-woo.
'...As I suspected.'
Indeed.
Right after regressing, one thing bugged him from the status window.
'Non-Existence.'
No presence, or nonexistent.
Never seen or heard of such debuff, but listed meant it was active.
And truly, the Fallen Ghost wasn't registering him.
No glance despite the shout.
How far would it ignore him?
Park Chan-woo pondered.
'...Rather good, isn't it?'
If the Fallen Ghost really saw him as invisible...
...This might be more doable than thought.
Plus.
'What do I get for hunting a 109-level gap monster?'
His mage's curiosity began to boil.