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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: So the Points Are Being Copied
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Lee Hyuk-soo stared at the man standing before him.
He'd met all sorts of people in his life, but this one was a first.
'What the hell is this guy...?'
At first, he hadn't even thought the guy was human.
The armor and helmet he wore looked like something a demon might don.
And until he revealed himself, Lee Hyuk-soo hadn't sensed his presence at all.
It was only after hearing Andariel's words that he realized this was another person—and even then, when the man chose him, all Lee Hyuk-soo could think was, 'Why?'
Lee Hyuk-soo preferred to be alone.
Teaming up with someone to tackle the trials just wasn't his style.
-Monster bastard!
-You're not human!
From a young age, Lee Hyuk-soo had always been different.
His emotions were dulled, and he struggled to understand others' pain.
He rarely got excited by nature, but he never shied away from a fight that came knocking either.
People who couldn't grasp his 'difference' always tried to shun him. But Lee Hyuk-soo had never lost a single fight.
Not even when blood flowed, wounds burst open, or bones snapped—he never backed down.
No wonder his peers called him a 'demon' or 'psychopath.'
So yeah, Lee Hyuk-soo preferred to be alone.
"Hey."
"...."
"What's your name?"
"...Lee Hyuk-soo."
"Lee Hyuk-soo. You know how to drive a bus?"
"...A bus?"
Lee Hyuk-soo echoed Park Chan-woo's question.
Drive a bus? Out of nowhere?
There wasn't a single drivable bus anywhere around here.
Not that it mattered if there was a proper one.
"Oh, right. You probably don't have a driver's license."
"How did you...?"
...Lee Hyuk-soo didn't have a license.
But how had Park Chan-woo known that?
Park Chan-woo chuckled softly.
That same blunt, hot-tempered personality—unchanged from past or present.
"The scar on your forehead. From a car accident when you were a kid, right?"
"...."
Lee Hyuk-soo instinctively reached up, brushing his hair over his forehead.
He'd grown it out a bit specifically to hide the scar.
He'd covered it well, yet Park Chan-woo had seen right through it at a glance.
Anyone who looked closely might guess it was from a major accident.
The problem was that Park Chan-woo knew more than that.
"Three surgeries, and you must've brushed death even more times than that. Your personality changed after, and cars started scaring you on instinct. Getting a license? Not even a dream."
"...!!!"
For the first time since entering the Abyss, Lee Hyuk-soo faltered.
Even as people died around him, he hadn't flinched.
Every word from Park Chan-woo was spot on.
His dulled emotions and pain insensitivity had come after the surgeries.
'How?'
But how did Park Chan-woo know all this?
-Psycho. In a situation like this, you're asking me to spill my life story?
Of course, it was all information Park Chan-woo had heard straight from him.
In an alley on the way to the Dragon God Temple.
Around the time when the final desperate band, starting at 100,000 strong, had dwindled to about a hundred.
The moment everyone realized they couldn't win, couldn't survive.
Park Chan-woo had asked them.
What they'd do if they could go back. Or what regrets they had.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo had been one of them.
-I was... alone. Different from others, you know.
Lee Hyuk-soo was taciturn.
He never shared his story with anyone.
But perhaps because death loomed so close.
That's when Lee Hyuk-soo finally opened up.
Park Chan-woo had memorized every single word.
And so, Park Chan-woo knew Lee Hyuk-soo.
The only one in this world who did.
He knew what he wanted, what he desperately yearned for.
"Don't you have someone you want to save?"
"...You investigated me?"
"I'm a 'prophet.' I know the past, and I have a rough idea of future events too."
Lee Hyuk-soo still glared at Park Chan-woo with distrustful eyes.
But Park Chan-woo didn't care.
He pointed beyond the curtain.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Booking Points: 3,000
"...?"
"Gather 3,000 points and buy an Elixir. That'll wake your mother from her coma."
"...."
"But do exactly as I say. Got it?"
-I want to save my mother. If I could go back, that would be enough. But I missed that chance in the 'First Night of the Abyss.' 3,000 points is an impossible amount to gather.
Park Chan-woo had heard it.
Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo's deepest wish.
The one thing he'd sacrifice everything for.
"Miss this chance, and you'll regret it forever. It's only available today."
Tomorrow evening, Lee Hyuk-soo's mother would pass away.
After today, she'd be beyond saving.
"Take my hand, Lee Hyuk-soo."
"What do you want from me...?"
"For you to get stronger."
"Me... getting stronger? That's why you're doing all this?"
A look of utter incomprehension.
Park Chan-woo nodded.
Yes. That was it.
The first human to reach level 99—the pinnacle of humanity.
The true 'incarnation of the Great Nine Lords' who pretended to be a savior!
Lee Hyuk-soo was perfect to check that bastard.
Invincible, undefeated, Absolute Sword King.
Get him to level 99 even faster than before, and make him the savior.
'I have no intention of playing hero or savior.'
Park Chan-woo had no plans to become the savior himself.
Escaping his current predicament was hard enough, and properly mastering magic in pursuit of truth was no easy feat.
Above all, standing out brought nothing good.
This world was overflowing with all sorts of 'trolls.'
Prop up Lee Hyuk-soo as the savior, and Park Chan-woo corrects mistakes from the shadows.
That was the most ideal future he envisioned.
"If you're lying... I'll kill you."
Thud.
Lee Hyuk-soo grasped Park Chan-woo's outstretched hand with emotionless eyes.
Park Chan-woo smiled.
"Contract complete. Now then... fight alone."
"...Alone?"
"Exactly that. You fight solo on this battlefield. Scared?"
"Not that, but... why?"
"If I step in, it'll end too easily. Then the booking opponents' levels will spike."
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
Of course, it was a lie.
The truth was the opposite.
He wanted to avoid wasting stamina by moving unnecessarily.
To fool Demon Section Chief Andariel, he had to maintain maximum dignity. He couldn't let his true bottom be exposed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 'Skeleton Soldier' has appeared. Will you maid? Or pass? To pass, one of the two must be offered as sacrifice.
Before long, Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo stood in an arena-like ring.
Park Chan-woo pointed to the opposite side.
"Go on, bus knight."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Hell's booking had begun.
'If you offer all your coins, I won't kill you.'
Andariel stared intently at the arena where Park Chan-woo stood.
He didn't care if the other humans died.
He had only one goal.
Coins.
He planned to seize every coin Park Chan-woo had.
With those coins, he could create his own Abyss.
Become a creator.
But he couldn't just take them by force.
All items in this Abyss were non-transferable by default.
And as game master, he couldn't kill humans without special cause.
'He'll win one, maybe two at best. And even that with great difficulty.'
How strong would the opponents be?
Andariel secretly anticipated it.
Park Chan-woo giving up, begging to live, and handing over the coins.
He'd pretend to show mercy and let him live.
It wouldn't hurt to indebt the incarnation of the Great Nine Lords.
But when the booking opponent appeared, he could only tilt his head.
'...Skeleton Soldier?'
A mere skeleton soldier?
One without weapons or special traits, at that.
The weakest monster designed to appear when the party's average level hovered around 1.
This game—the 'Night Abyss'—had been prepared by the 'Owner of the Moon' floating in the sky.
An absolute game with ironclad rules.
Booking opponents were determined by the participants' strength.
Yet a mere skeleton soldier?
Given that human's power, at least a level 30+ monster should appear, right?
Then something even more astonishing happened.
"What... the hell is that? That ridiculous durability."
Thud—one poke, and it crumbled to dust.
It was absurd.
Was there ever such a shoddy skeleton soldier?
Even accounting for it being level 1, this was ridiculously weak.
'A bug?'
He almost thought a glitch had occurred.
But Andariel steadied himself.
The booking continued. Each victory raised the next opponent's level by 1.
The stronger you got, the tougher they became.
It was designed so you could never accumulate enough booking points beyond a certain threshold.
In short, all those treasures were mere pie in the sky.
But then.
"Am I... seeing things wrong?"
Thud!
Dust!
Thud!
Dust!
Skeleton soldiers kept coming.
Only skeleton soldiers as booking opponents.
And every one was pathetically fragile.
Andariel rubbed his eyes.
It felt utterly unreal.
He didn't know how, but something impossible was happening.
If this continued, he could lose his game master status.
But.
Thud!
Dust!
"No... stop...!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 36th booking opponent has been decided. Will you maid? 35 consecutive wins. 2,080 points accumulated so far.
Park Chan-woo, hands clasped behind his back, leisurely ignored the aghast Andariel.
Throughout the 35 bookings, he hadn't moved a single step from his spot.
'So the points get copied.'