Chapter 336
Chapter 336
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 336
Chapter Title: Bankruptcy (2)
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Bankruptcy.
The word every creator feared the most.
Even the Demon King, the Demon Gods, and the great Nine Lords dreaded that single term—"bankruptcy"—more than anything else.
There were countless paths to bankruptcy.
But the most humiliating one, the kind that invited finger-pointing from all sides, was without a doubt going bankrupt in one's own Creation Abyss.
A world they had designed themselves, one that most deeply reflected their will.
The events and environments unfolding within it were all a stage testing the creator's capabilities and control.
To fall in such a personal domain was akin to publicly exposing one's inadequacy as a creator.
Whether it stemmed from a lack of ability to handle the variables in the world they made, being devoured by their own creations, or falling into a system trap and losing everything...
No matter the reason, bankruptcy in one's Creation Abyss was the ultimate stigma proving a creator's incompetence.
Such creators often became laughingstocks among their peers.
In the end, they lost all influence and authority within the system, plummeting into the abyss.
Even if they barely survived, they could never rise again.
Right now, Park Chan-woo, the Lord of Pride, faced that very humiliating bankruptcy.
In the Creation Abyss he had designed himself, amid the trials he had brought upon himself, his coins had hit zero, putting his very existence on the brink of system-induced annihilation.
The death of a creator, truly.
However, there was one difference from a typical bankruptcy.
He had reached bankruptcy through the transcendent hidden piece he had achieved himself within his own Creation Abyss.
A historic situation where success led straight to failure.
For the highest achievements within the system's rules to result in existential erasure by the system itself—what contradiction could be greater?
The hidden pieces he had consecutively unlocked went beyond mere accomplishments; they had shaken the very foundations of the system's reward structure and coin economy.
His mind grew hazy, his soul felt like it was separating.
All sensations in his body vanished, as if he were being sucked into darkness.
'This is... bankruptcy.'
A familiar yet alien sensation.
Remarkably similar to the "death" he had experienced before his regression.
Exactly like the feeling when he had offered himself as a sacrifice to the Demon-Sealing God's chalice to return to the past.
Back then, he had chosen to make his own existence the offering.
Yet there was a clear difference from that time.
'Death... and beyond.'
He could see it.
Something was perceptible.
If his previous death had been a complete blackout, an absolute void where everything severed and ended, this was different.
Beyond the pitch-black darkness, faint lights rose like heat haze, detectable.
The fundamental information of existence, or the primal laws before the massive structure of the system was erected.
The countless "pieces of the inexplicable" he had absorbed and accumulated without fully understanding—they finally resonated, speaking directly to his soul.
Paradoxically, amid the agony of his existence being forcibly dismantled by the system, his consciousness sharpened even further.
As the system role and ego of the "Lord of Pride" disintegrated, the essential "Park Chan-woo" within surged to the forefront.
And all the experience, wisdom, and inexplicable power he had amassed condensed into one, advancing toward a realm beyond the system's interference.
'It dismantles me. It fragments my self.'
Like a sturdy vessel shattering, spilling and mixing all its contents.
The sensation of his very being splintering into countless shards of light.
But those shards did not dissipate into oblivion.
On the contrary, each piece emitted its own light, recognizing one another, drawn together, seeking to connect.
'It reconstructs me.'
This was the path "beyond death" discovered within bankruptcy.
...But time was short.
The dismantling progressed faster than his realization.
Death enveloped Park Chan-woo.
In this process, his "limited lifespan" did not activate.
It seemed even the "death" awaiting his end under the limited lifespan could not overcome this system's bankruptcy.
Or perhaps it was simply observing.
'Just a little more.'
It was regrettable.
Was the end of this madness truly death?
No, even actual death would be fine.
If only he could make this realization his own.
He had finally begun to grasp the essence.
That was when it happened.
The system continued its mechanical processing amid the contradictory situation it had created itself.
Park Chan-woo, the entity that made the greatest contribution to bankrupting the "Lord of Pride," deserved a reward, but the recipient had been annihilated by bankruptcy, leaving no entity.
No, it never had a true entity to begin with, so there was no recipient at all.
It had vanished along with the stripping of qualifications.
But.
The system's declaration was unflinching.
The debt of the "Lord of Pride," now in default, would be collected from the "Black Witch," identified as its origin.
Invisible tendrils of the system reached out toward the "Black Witch" in the realm of "Night."
To recover the negative coins generated when Park Chan-woo, the Lord of Pride, achieved the hidden piece.
No matter how powerful the being, once the system deemed it the "origin" and linked it, it seemed impossible to completely evade responsibility for the incurred debt.
The system would "somehow" eliminate all errors to operate normally.
More precisely, it appeared to go to extreme, even benevolent lengths because errors could not be allowed to exist within it.
In an instant, Park Chan-woo returned to his original form.
His body, which had been crumbling into pieces, was restored to normal.
"......"
Amid the shock of being forcibly returned to reality, Park Chan-woo's mind sank cold as ice.
The fleeting sense of emptiness and rage swiftly turned into a cool analysis of the situation.
He meticulously reviewed every step of the system's procedure he had just witnessed.
'The system's paradox.'
With the debt cleared, the system, as if unable to tolerate the "bankruptcy state" error any longer, canceled the bankruptcy and forcibly restored all his states to "normal" for the sake of its own logical integrity.
As if the system had to be perfect.
And.
'Again.'
Within the system's mechanical, contradiction-filled operation, Park Chan-woo discovered a path.
What seemed like a forced restoration closing a door might actually be a repeatable passage.
The endpoint of bankruptcy could paradoxically be a starting point he could revisit endlessly.
His goal was clear.
The state "beyond death" he had experienced on the verge of annihilation, right before bankruptcy.
To repeatedly dismantle and reconstruct himself in that profound realm, transcending the system's limits.
To complete the realization he had missed due to lack of time.
To do that.
'Repeat death and rebirth.'
Artificially repeat the pseudo-death state, advancing toward ultimate enlightenment through that agonizing dismantling process.
Park Chan-woo looked around.
The remaining "pieces of the inexplicable" and choices.
Resolving them all and achieving even greater results was the only way to induce bankruptcy upon himself once more.
It repeated.
Bankruptcy. Death.
And recovery. Normalization.
Park Chan-woo fragmented himself, continually pursuing enlightenment about his true essence.
"......"
The Black Witch's head slowly tilted.
Her head already ached from repelling the divine beasts' invasion.
And now, such messages kept popping up while she held them at bay.
It had been a very long time since the Black Witch last wore such a bewildered expression.
'What is this?'
It made no sense.
Why was it suddenly forcibly recovering her coins?
Both the Lord of Pride and her heart had been taken by Dragon God Sepiro.
Why collect the debt from her instead of Sepiro?
And it didn't end with just once.