Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Awakening to the Truth
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About two hours had passed.
In front of Park Chan-woo, a mountain of "treasures" had piled up.
The roughly two hundred treasures that Bokssil had brought.
Every single one was a genuine masterpiece of wondrous quality!
A few pieces of gear that looked extraordinary at a glance stood out.
Items beyond simple grading—truly rankless treasures.
But.
'Among these, there are real ones.'
He had to find the true gems among them.
Because he could only take one carefully selected item with him.
However, there was a problem.
'The mana waves all feel similar.'
The two hundred treasures before him.
Their waves' thickness, intensity—everything was alike.
There were slight differences, but nothing meaningfully standout.
Simply sensing the "mana waves" wouldn't reveal the treasure Aheta had hidden.
'It has to be here somewhere.'
That much was certain.
Among these two hundred treasures, Aheta had hidden the real one—or ones.
He needed to find some other distinction.
An hour remained.
Could he sort them out in time?
Park Chan-woo began touching the treasures one by one again.
'The waves and patterns. The answer lies there.'
It wouldn't be easy.
He could read his own "mana patterns," but grasping those of other beings or objects was incredibly difficult.
Unless he possessed something like Han Shin's "magic eye."
They said a magic eye let you see the mana patterns of all things around you.
A mana pattern was its inherent trait—an individual, unique characteristic.
Thus, magic eye users could dismantle spells. By unraveling the pattern and slicing against it, the magic itself would nullify.
Being able to see "mana patterns" allowed deeper, more precise insight into objects or foes.
Unfortunately.
'I don't have a magic eye to see others' mana patterns.'
He lacked a magic eye.
He knew his own patterns, but not those of others.
Of course, Han Shin was clueless about mana waves in turn.
Not just Han Shin, either.
Park Chan-woo had met a few magic eye owners himself, but he'd never encountered anyone else who could read "mana waves" besides himself.
Yet to uncover Aheta's hidden treasure here, he needed both abilities.
He had to read the mana waves and patterns together.
"Bokssil. Can you read mana patterns by any chance?"
Kiue?
Bokssil tilted its head.
As if asking what that even was.
Park Chan-woo inwardly clicked his tongue.
Bokssil's ability to read mana waves stemmed from him.
If he couldn't read patterns, it was natural Bokssil couldn't either.
He bit his lip lightly.
'It'll have a very unique mana pattern.'
This was a treasure deliberately hidden by the Moon's Lord, Aheta.
Hiding it among these dazzling, eye-popping treasures meant he didn't want to give it to anyone.
It was a treasure he wanted completely undetectable.
Such an item couldn't have an ordinary mana pattern.
If it had never appeared in the world, it was bound to bear a special one.
You couldn't tell by looks alone.
Selecting by appearance had its limits.
Park Chan-woo tapped his chin.
"...There were no rules against breaking them."
He double-checked the rules on the signboard.
Nothing said he couldn't damage the treasures.
Though using gear or tools was forbidden.
Kung!
Kung!
Smashing and throwing should be fine, right?
Park Chan-woo collided the equipment against each other.
An act that would horrify Aheta if he saw it.
Not just Aheta—anyone who knew the treasures' value would gasp in shock.
But Park Chan-woo didn't stop.
He slammed them together with all his might.
Creeeang-!
Tung! Tooung!
Upon collision, even stronger "mana waves" burst forth.
The Abyss's existences repelling each other as their presences overlapped.
With amplified waves, distinguishing became a bit easier.
He filtered out about fifty treasures with relatively weak waves.
Now 150 remained.
"Hmm..."
His dilemma deepened.
Patterns were fixed, but waves could be amplified.
Using the boosted waves allowed finer distinctions.
Park Chan-woo scratched his head.
'Where do mana waves originate from?'
A question that had long puzzled him.
Awakened humans could exist in the Abyss because awakening granted them "mana waves."
The link between mana waves and awakening was undeniable truth.
'Awakening. Awakening.'
So, what was "awakening"?
The level-up system?
Acquiring a structure to surpass limits?
Park Chan-woo shook his head.
'Even awakening has limits. Humanity can't exceed level 99.'
Thus, calling awakening a "system to break limits" was wrong.
Species had different limit levels.
If awakening were just for leveling, all species would share the same limit—or none.
Therefore, awakening awakened a species' inherent traits.
And if it only awakened "traits," then everything already had "mana waves" even without touching the Abyss.
'No matter how much I researched, I couldn't pinpoint it...'
Park Chan-woo shook his head.
If lifetime researchers couldn't uncover it, how could he easily?
Regardless, awakening and mana waves were deeply connected.
A fact more fundamental than mana patterns.
A higher concept.
But without reading patterns, he couldn't solve the immediate problem.
'...If only I could discern patterns from waves.'
An idea he'd never considered.
No one had tried inferring mana patterns from mana waves.
Before his regression, his magic was mostly basic spells.
Basic spells had simplistic patterns, and even readable waves offered little use.
Honestly, he didn't know why reading "mana waves" marked an archmage's talent.
But.
'Amplify the waves infinitely.'
Could infinite amplification reveal patterns too?
Mana waves were the power emanating from existence itself.
The Abyss's ultimate shield protecting all that endured there.
If he could amplify it infinitely... perhaps he'd glimpse the pattern's outline.
'How to amplify further here?'
Strong waves clashing produced even stronger ones.
He'd figured that much, but mere equipment collisions had limits.
He needed something with vastly stronger waves.
Like, say, "Khan's Palace."
Khan had linked his life to the palace.
Thus, the palace itself emanated immense waves.
Those waves blocked all "observers'" gazes while sustaining the sealed Khan and his warriors.
They'd endured in the Abyss for ages because the palace spewed powerful mana waves.
Vibrating on its own, gushing amplified waves like mad.
In a word.
Khan's Palace was a mass of "mana waves" enforcing absolute rules.
Something similar existed here.
'...That signboard.'
The signboard floating in the air.
The lump of mana waves inscribed with rules, sustaining this entire "hidden treasure warehouse"!
Similar to Khan's Palace.
'It's linked to Aheta's own presence.'
Ah.
Realizing that, Park Chan-woo shivered faintly.
This hidden treasure warehouse held Aheta's weakness.
Destroy it, and Aheta would die or suffer a fatal blow.
He immediately climbed the treasure mound and lifted the man-sized signboard.
Fortunately, it wasn't fixed in place.
Thud! Thud!
He punched it once.
A sharp pain shot through his fist.
Beyond hard—it felt like his bones might shatter.
"...Can't break it right now."
He was certain. Not at his current level.
But it wasn't "indestructible."
Though he couldn't prepare or smash it now.
What if he raised his pet... Bokssil more, to chip away at the signboard's durability?
Or grew strong enough himself to shatter it?
Returning here later, he could destroy the signboard and deal a fatal wound to Aheta.
'This is... the Moon's Lord Aheta's wave.'
He read the waves from the fist's impact.
He knew it now.
The bastard had "mana waves" too.
If Aheta did, other creators must as well.
It made sense, but this was his first encounter.
'Incredible.'
A mere light punch sent enormous waves flooding the warehouse.
His own waves surged simultaneously.
Waves this potent could endlessly amplify the treasures' waves.
He carried the signboard down the treasure mound.
Then.
Kwang!
Kwang!
He slammed it hard against the 150 treasures.
And then.
Ziiiiiing-!
Exploding waves tangled and intertwined, creating intense vibrations.
Waves dozens of times stronger than equipment collisions.
Within them, Park Chan-woo could read.
'...I see it.'
He felt it.
The mana patterns.
The waves' vibrations were shaping the patterns.
As waves amplified endlessly, the patterns lingering in the treasures began quivering, their forms becoming tangible.
That was when it happened.
"...?"
Park Chan-woo tilted his head at the sudden messages.
Had discovering he could read mana patterns through mana waves triggered it?
Awakening to the truth had showered rewards.
And among them was something unexpected.
'Class Level Points?'
Class levels only rose through leveling.
No other way to raise class levels existed.
That common knowledge had just shattered.
Breaking one axiom granted another extraordinary reward.
'...Not everything I knew was complete.'
A smile crept onto his face unbidden.
Truth was.
The more you uncovered, the more fascinating—and fun—it became.
Afterward, Park Chan-woo relentlessly pounded the signboard without rest.
Having checked all 150 treasures' mana waves.
"Aheta. So these were the treasures you desperately tried to hide?"
Park Chan-woo rolled his aching shoulders to loosen them.
His body screamed in protest, but it didn't matter.
The thrill he felt outweighed it.
Before him now stood the sorted treasures.
Not 150.
...Exactly three treasures.