-99 Level Archmage

Chapter 28. Hunting the Water God

Brrrr!

His eyes twitched violently. The moment he saw what was inside the treasure chest. As soon as he identified it. He couldn’t hold back his curses.

‘…This is what they call an arrangement?’

It was something he never could have imagined. At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange about it. It merely took the form of a small, round pill. Meaning it had been artificially processed. However, it was completely different from the arrangements he had encountered so far. The arrangements that creators had prepared for their contracted incarnations were, for the most part, pure energy-infused spirit herbs. Natural, unrefined elixirs. Unprocessed and unmixed, making energy absorption easier. At this early stage, not long after the Abyss had opened, incarnations still had a long way to go in their growth. If they consumed an elixir containing explosive energy or impure substances, the chances of dying instantly were overwhelmingly high. Naturally, the arrangements should have been prepared within reasonable limits. Yet, the pill before his eyes had far exceeded any ‘reasonable limits.’

『”Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill”』

What exactly was an immortal pill? A pill personally refined by an immortal. It was typically created by blending various mystical herbs in precise proportions. If it had been just a regular immortal pill, he wouldn’t have been so horrified. The issue was the “Ten Thousand Blood” prefix attached to its name. A pill that contained the blood of ten thousand beings.

‘A pill refined by extracting and blending the blood essence of ten thousand individuals.’

The creator of this thing was insane. They were clearly an immortal obsessed with blood. It was incomprehensible that the blood of ten thousand beings could be contained within such a small pill. That meant someone had personally extracted and refined the blood essence, gathering the amount equivalent to ten thousand individuals before processing it into this form. In other words—

‘…This pill contains the life force of ten thousand beings.’

And yet, it had been prepared as an ‘arrangement.’

Worse still, there was a high chance that humans hadn’t even been used as the ingredients for this pill. It was far more likely that another species, another kind of life form, had been massacred to produce it. And that species was probably Orcs.

The Lich Necromancer who had been guarding the altar. His people were imprisoned within this tiny pill. Park Chan-woo furrowed his brow as he recalled the words of the Orc Priest, Yan.

— “…Ahh. Why do I still guard this altar? Even though they have placed something so vile here, mocking us?”

— “It is painful. I want to follow my fallen comrades… to follow them in death.”

He had said he wanted to follow his fallen comrades. A war had taken place, and Yan must have deployed a powerful barrier to protect the altar. The fact that the barrier only allowed fellow Orcs to pass through suggested that they had fought against an entirely different race, or perhaps something even more foreign. Yan had said that something vile had been placed upon the altar, mocking them. But in reality, it was the Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill, an ‘arrangement’ made from the blood of his own people.

‘This is an insult.’

It was an outright mockery and desecration of Priest Yan. This act of humiliating the defeated had gone far beyond acceptable limits. It was difficult to imagine a more despicable deed than this. The blood of the vanquished Orcs had been harvested to create the Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill and placed atop their sacred altar to dishonor them. Even worse, Priest Yan had been forced to guard it. All for Han Shin, so that he could obtain the Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill in perfect condition. That meant the creator who had prepared this pill was the one responsible for the massacre of the Orcs. And at the same time—

‘The Abyssal Lord that contracted him.’

A vague outline started to form in his mind. The one who had turned Yan into a Lich and given Han Shin his Life Vessel. The creator who had committed such atrocities, who could it be?

He had been wondering about this for a while now. If Han Shin had already made a contract with one of the ‘Great Nine Abyssal Lords’ at this point, then there would be no hope of keeping up with his rapid growth. No matter how desperately he tried to grow stronger, it would be impossible to match Han Shin’s pace. The benefits that the Great Nine Abyssal Lords could provide to their incarnations were virtually limitless. Even if Park Chan-woo monopolized all the rewards, bankrupted countless creators, and tried to seize control of the entire Abyss, surpassing such an existence would still be nearly impossible.

‘It’s not one of the Great Nine Abyssal Lords.’

Park Chan-woo was certain. They had no reason to slaughter Orcs or to set up something like this to mock Yan. Among the so-called “Named Creators,” there were only a handful of beings this cruel. Could it be one of them?

‘No, it’s not a Named Creator either.’

He shook his head. Even the most demonic of the Named Creators had their own sense of dignity. They wouldn’t orchestrate such schemes in this manner. Besides, it was absurd to think that an Orc Priest would be significant enough for a Named Creator to feel insulted by. Thus, it wasn’t a Named Creator. However, if it wasn’t a Named Creator, then preparing an arrangement of this scale should have been impossible. There was only one type of being capable of preparing this level of arrangement without being a Named Creator.

‘Only one creator comes to mind.’

A being that wasn’t a Named Creator but was on par with them, an Abyssal Lord. He had encountered that wretched being’s depravity multiple times before. Binding someone in such a humiliating way was exactly how that creature operated. Park Chan-woo recalled the name of that horrifying existence.

‘…Aheta.’

The Lord of the Night, Aheta! Aheta was the sole ruler who governed the Night Abyss. And it was highly likely that Aheta was the creator who had contracted Han Shin. Another mystery had been solved.

‘So that’s why Han Shin didn’t participate in the first Night Abyss.’

He hadn’t even bothered with the Twelve Divine General hunt, or even joined the first Night Abyss at all. Because he simply didn’t need to. Since Aheta was backing him, whatever rewards he could have obtained in the Night Abyss were trivial in comparison. Especially considering that no one expected the Dragon God General to be hunted. From Aheta’s perspective, there was no reason to send Han Shin to interfere.

‘Did Aheta ever have an incarnation before?’

But there had never been any records of Aheta contracting an incarnation. Among all the countless creators, Aheta was one of the only ones whose name was publicly known. Meaning that forming a contract with an incarnation would have been a massive risk. If an incarnation learned the true name of their contractor, they could potentially nullify the contract. And yet, Aheta still made one. Did he desire Han Shin’s talent that much? One thing was clear.

‘I just need to make sure that Han Shin never catches the attention of the Great Nine Abyssal Lords.’

Everything had become crystal clear. Now that he knew Aheta was behind it, he couldn’t recklessly attack. But at the same time, more paths had opened.

Park Chan-woo took a deep breath. Then, he briefly bowed his head in silent prayer toward the altar. The lingering spirits of the orcs on the altar, though they were not particularly close, as fellow warriors against the same enemy, he could at least offer them some final solace. “Rest in peace. I will make sure to bankrupt ‘Aheta.’” Without hesitation, he reached into the treasure chest and grabbed the ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill’. Then, he threw the ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill’ into his mouth.

Gulp!

『You have consumed ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill.’』

『The boundless energy that forms all things swirls within your body.』

『Your ‘Immunity to a Hundred Poison’ constitution has been improved to ‘Immunity to a Thousand Poisons’.』

『Attack power increases by 1,100 for 100 hours.』

『Defense power increases by 1,100 for 100 hours.』

『…The overflowing energy is difficult to contain.』

『If you do not release the excess energy, your body may explode.』

『Among the unabsorbed energy, a powerful curse is included.』

Simply consuming it improved his constitution and increased his attack and defense to a level equivalent to all the elixirs he had taken so far combined. And yet, he still couldn’t absorb all of it. To make matters worse, there was also a cursed energy mixed in.

‘It must be expelled.’

Curses worked especially well on his body. As unfortunate as it was, he had to know when to give up. Just as he was about to release the excess energy—

Rumble!

Suddenly, the ground shook. And then—

Fwoooosh!

A dazzling light burst from the altar. The light pierced straight through Park Chan-woo’s entire body.

『The spirits of Yan and the orc warriors, freed from death, express their gratitude to you for comforting them.』

『‘Orc Priest Yan’ and the spirits of the ‘Orc Warriors’ sealed in the altar have activated the ‘Altar of Prayer.’』

『The dormant ‘Altar of Prayer’ has begun to function.』

『You have obtained the achievement ‘Liberator of the Orcs.’』

『You have obtained the achievement ‘Friend of the Orcs.’』

『You have been granted the blessings of ‘Death, Life, and Fertility.’』

『The above blessings will be used automatically and will disappear after one use.』

『The ‘Blessing of Death’ erases the cursed energy filled with death.』

『The ‘Blessing of Life’ allows you to fully absorb the life force contained in ‘Ten Thousand Blood Immortal Pill.’』

『The ‘Blessing of Fertility’ ensures a 100% success rate in reproduction during the act.』

* * *

“You’re… quite something.”

At this point, they had passed more than half of ‘Water God Abyss.’ Looking at Hyuk-soo Lee, Han-shin let out a remark of admiration. Only a day had passed, yet Hyuk-soo moved like a fish in water, constantly fighting without rest. Once he set a goal, he wouldn’t stop until he achieved it. Before they knew it, only the two of them remained.

‘Originally, I was supposed to lead the others to the swamp…’

He had planned to show them a miracle there. However, Han Shin changed his plan. He realized that Hyuk-soo was more important than the others. The rest of them couldn’t even dream of keeping up with the two. What use was there in impressing such weak and cowardly people?

‘This guy is the real deal.’

For the first time in a long while, he felt excitement. Forming a party and growing stronger together, this guy had brought him that joy.

‘With him, we could hunt the Water God right now.’

Han Shin hesitated for a moment. His mission was to obtain the ‘Arrangement’ here and prevent the ‘Water God Abyss’ from being cleared. If Hyuk-soo decided to go after the ‘Water God’, Han Shin would have to stop him.

“Hyuk-soo. Let’s hunt the ‘Water God’ together.”

Yet, Han-shin didn’t want to stop him. Hunting the ‘Water God’ alongside this guy seemed incredibly fun. A surge of fighting spirit set his heart ablaze. His pulse quickened. If they overcame this trial with their backs against each other, Hyuk-soo would come to trust him. Han Shin genuinely intended to make Hyuk-soo his ‘right-hand man.’ To that end, hunting a ‘Water God’ was nothing. It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible.

“…Right now?”

Hyuk-soo asked, and Han-shin shook his head.

“If we work together, we could do it, but to be fully prepared, we need two days. Of course, if it’s not us, no one else can kill the ‘Water God.’”

Han-shin already possessed complete knowledge of the ‘Water God Abyss’ and every dungeon.

‘I know everything.’

Not only that, but he had also absorbed countless pieces of information that no other Awakened beings or deities knew. All thanks to the unique abilities of the creator he had contracted with.

‘To make sure we can kill the Water God, we need to break through the First Limit Level.’

No matter how monstrously talented Hyuk-soo was, he had yet to break through the First Limit Level. Though, if he put his mind to it, he could likely do it in a single day, not two. If he obtained the ‘Arrangement’ in the process, things would become even easier. However, the ‘Water God’ was a boss monster that no one but Hyuk-soo could kill. Han Shin meant that Hyuk-soo needed at least two days to stand a chance. Hyuk-soo nodded calmly, expressionless.

“Understood. Let’s do that.”

What a refreshingly decisive guy. Curiosity rising, Han-shin asked,

“But why do you want to kill the ‘Water God’? Do you want to be a savior or something?”

“…I don’t care.”

His tone was genuine. Hyuk-soo truly had no interest in being a savior.

Han-shin smirked slightly.

“Good. Then we won’t be at odds.”

“……?”

“Because I do intend to become a savior.”

Han Shin declared confidently. Though his original plan had gone awry, now that things had turned out this way, he decided to hunt the ‘Water God’ and solidify his foundation. That would also smooth out his relationship with Hyuk-soo. Hyuk-soo claimed he had no interest in being a savior, but his actions and demeanor suggested otherwise. He would make an excellent companion.

“Hyuk-soo. Once the ‘Water God’ hunt is over, let’s—”

Let’s work together. However, Han-shin never got to finish his sentence.

Suddenly. A loud sound came from the far edge of the Abyss.

RUMBLE!

A massive ‘thunderclap’ roared through the air. And at the same time—

『‘Water God’ has been slain!』