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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Impulse Buy
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"Haa... haa..."
Lee Hyuk-soo let out ragged breaths.
He'd achieved sixty straight wins without a single break.
As the sixty-first booking kicked off, a level 13 ghoul burst out and started cornering him.
...Is this the limit?
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin, eyeing Lee Hyuk-soo's condition.
Honestly, no matter how well-equipped you were, it wasn't easy for a level 1 to take on enemies over level 13.
The gear might be high-grade, but it was all still level 1 in the end.
Without his innate combat instincts, it would have been impossible.
Above all, he'd been going nonstop for nearly seven hours without proper rest.
20,000 points. That's enough to buy pretty much everything I want.
He'd hit his goal ages ago.
The Mage's Stone at 20% off cost 4,000 points.
On top of that, it was enough for two pieces of legendary-grade gear.
This meant he'd squeezed every last drop out of the "First Night of the Abyss."
"Get it together, bus driver."
But Park Chan-woo wasn't satisfied.
He kept whipping Lee Hyuk-soo on.
Every time exhaustion set in, every time he looked ready to quit.
"Just saving your life with an Elixir isn't enough. If you want to protect your family, you need to get way stronger than this."
"Tch. At this rate, you won't last a week."
"What do you plan to do with that rotten mindset?"
"Get up. Or just die."
"It'd be a sight if you died, though. The people you're trying to protect will end up in this hell too. Think they can survive even a day without you?"
"The Abyss doesn't care if you're in a coma. You'll respawn right on that hospital bed and get torn apart alive by demons. If you're unconscious, that's a mercy—but demons will force your senses awake and make you die in the worst agony imaginable."
"Fuck...!"
Right at sixty-three straight wins.
Lee Hyuk-soo finally snapped and spat out a curse.
"Shut up! I get it, so shut the hell up!"
He howled like a wounded beast.
The sixty-fourth booking brought two level 16 zombie bears.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyuk-soo was still level 1.
This nightclub didn't award EXP for wins.
"Shut up and... stay there and watch. I'll kill them all myself."
Lee Hyuk-soo's eyes glared at Park Chan-woo.
But Park Chan-woo was inwardly surprised by this attitude too.
Because his mom's still alive? Looks like his emotions haven't died out yet.
The old Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo had been emotionally dead inside.
He'd wandered aimlessly without purpose.
Anything annoying got sliced; anything in his way got smashed.
He never let emotions sway him or spat curses like today.
But this Lee Hyuk-soo still had feelings left.
Boom!
Rumble!
Before long, the two zombie bears met their end under Lee Hyuk-soo's greatsword.
Staring at the massive bear corpses on the floor, Park Chan-woo couldn't help but be shocked.
A miracle.
He'd killed foes fifteen levels higher.
No matter the gear or skill, the normal limit was ten levels.
And he'd done it without rest for over seven hours.
Yet he'd overcome it.
What else could you call this but a miracle?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Successfully achieved 64 consecutive wins! Total points: 24,800
The longer the streak, the bigger the point haul.
Just four more wins past sixty, and he'd racked up 4,800 points.
"Buy the Lion King's Belt."
"Huff! Huff! You're not even human...!"
"Thanks for the compliment."
Hearing "not human" from Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo?
It felt oddly nostalgic.
Wasn't the Sword King the least human of them all?
Following Park Chan-woo's orders, Lee Hyuk-soo bought the "Lion King's Belt" and asked,
"Self-proclaimed prophet. The Dragon God General's still alive. We just gonna sit here?"
Thirty minutes left until the "First Night of the Abyss" ended.
It had been forty minutes since the Dragon God General was the last of the Twelve Divine Generals standing, and it still wasn't cleared.
Everyone from the nightclub had already warped away to face it.
They could go anytime they wanted.
Park Chan-woo asked quietly,
"What, you think they can't clear it with 1.8 million people left?"
"That Dragon God General's already killed 50,000. Everyone's probably scared shitless and running by now..."
Lee Hyuk-soo knew.
No matter how many rushed in, crush the front-runners early and the rest scatter.
That's why he'd always taken out the leader first when swarmed.
The followers would naturally bolt.
Especially against something massacring them by the tens of thousands—the terror was unimaginable.
"They can't win like this."
Park Chan-woo nodded.
The crowd that had been spectating Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo in the nightclub had all warped out—because without contribution points, they'd die.
The only way to earn contribution was tackling the Twelve Divine Generals.
To crack the top two million, they had no time to waste.
Obviously, Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo, endlessly booking here, had zero contribution.
Dead last out of 1.8 million.
Thirty more minutes, and death was certain.
Lee Hyuk-soo gave him a baffled look.
"And yet... you're still doing 'Death Bookings'?"
"You're asking the obvious, maid."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The 65th Death Booking has been "made." Using Luck Dice. The booking target's level decreases by 4.
A level 17 monster should have appeared, but the Luck Dice dropped it back to a level 13 ghoul.
"...You're insane."
Lee Hyuk-soo shook his head.
He couldn't fathom what Park Chan-woo was thinking.
"With the full Lion King Set, it'll be way easier than before."
"You're... the real demon here."
"Got it. Time to head out, bus driver. We're gonna be late."
Lee Hyuk-soo bit his lip.
Time was limited.
They couldn't book forever.
Yet Park Chan-woo showed no sign of leaving the nightclub.
But he'd already decided to follow him.
This self-proclaimed prophet, killer of demons, armorer of himself—an unknown human.
Still... Lee Hyuk-soo instinctively knew.
He harbored no malice toward him.
Unlike the group that rejected his "difference," this guy just genuinely wanted him stronger.
Monster bastard.
Maybe because he'd met someone even more monstrous than himself.
His mind felt at ease, oddly enough.
Whoosh!
Lee Hyuk-soo swung the Greatsword of the Lion King at the ghoul.
Then.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Due to the "Lion King Set" effect, attack power +1,000 when facing the undead. Additionally, all stats +1 and gain "Indomitable" effect. "Indomitable": Resist for 3 seconds upon receiving a fatal blow. "Indomitable" effect applies only once.
He decapitated the ghoul even more easily than before.
"Maid."
"..."
The next opponent appeared without pause.
And three more after that.
After burning through all the Luck Dice and hitting sixty-eight wins.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Booking points have exceeded 30,000! Achieved challenge "Score Impossible to Reach"! Hidden Piece activated! An additional "Treasure Vault" hidden by the "Owner of the Moon" is revealed!
Shwoosh!
Another curtain pulled back.
And when Park Chan-woo saw what lay beyond...
"...!!"
His pupils dilated in shock.
He never imagined a "Hidden Piece" like this.
And among them...
Void...!
Void was there.
It was the dream of every mage.
Far superior to the Mage's Stone.
The Mage's Stone grew over time, so comparing them wasn't fair—but even so.
Among the new treasures, it stood above the rest.
Before he knew it, Park Chan-woo's hand was moving on its own.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Purchased "Void (Eternal)". 20,000 points consumed.
By the time he realized, he'd impulse-bought it.
The Infinite Mage's legacy of Void. No way I could pass this up.
No regrets, of course.
Void was a relic of the powerhouse incarnation called the "Infinite Mage," who swept the world three years from now.
One of the treasures Park Chan-woo, walking the mage's path, had coveted most.
He'd despaired of ever obtaining it—and here it was!
Park Chan-woo glanced at Lee Hyuk-soo and said,
"Lee Hyuk-soo."
"...Only fifteen minutes left."
"Fight two more times. Last ones."
"...You really wanna die?"
"It's fine. Three seconds is plenty to kill the Dragon God General."
"...?"
Solve what 1.8 million humanity couldn't in three seconds?
The doubt was short-lived.
"Maid."
Lee Hyuk-soo's will didn't matter anyway.
Park Chan-woo would charge like a rhinoceros horn until his goal was met.
"Please... stop...!!!"
...Lee Hyuk-soo screamed in desperation.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
At the site where the 63 Building should have stood, the Dragon God General stood with arms crossed.
Having cleared the surrounding mob, no more humans dared approach.
"Aheta, things won't go as you planned."
The Dragon God General called the name "Aheta" once more.
Aheta was the owner of that moon overseeing the "Night of the Abyss."
He was the one who'd trapped the Dragon God General and the other Twelve Divine Generals in this Abyss.
But while he might have killed the others, he couldn't kill this one.
"Fool. How could these weaklings do anything to me?"
Humans were too frail.
Not one could even approach him.
Numbers meant nothing against his overwhelming tier.
No quantity could bridge that gap in realm.
Aheta knew that full well.
In the distance, humans just watched him.
He felt their gazes—rabble who'd lost all will to fight.
What could gutless fools do now?
Only five minutes until night's end.
At dawn, the Abyss would close.
"Hm?"
That's when it happened.
Not far off, a human was walking toward him.
"Oh ho. This one's aura stands out from the rest I've faced. However..."
Lee Hyuk-soo.
It was him.
Clad in the Lion King Set, approaching the Dragon God General.
The Dragon God General recognized the exceptional gear.
But something was off.
Near death, and he wants to face me, the Dragon God General?
Lee Hyuk-soo had crossed death's threshold.
Dull, lifeless eyes. Slumped shoulders.
Countless wounds screaming he could drop any second.
Foolish.
The Dragon God General extended his twelve arms.
He showed no mercy for the foe's state.
Gripping twelve crescent blades, he swung at the human approaching what might be his grave.
"Be shredded mercilessly."
Shhh!
A technique near his divine authority activated.
Soon, he'd be diced into hundreds, thousands of pieces.
"Hm?"
But contrary to the Dragon God General's expectations, Lee Hyuk-soo was unscathed.
The Dragon God General tilted his head.
More than unscathed, Lee Hyuk-soo...
Thud-thud-thud!
...started charging at the Dragon God General like a madman.
Reaching him in no time, Lee Hyuk-soo swung his greatsword.
Kwaaaaaang!