Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Divine Beast
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Affiliation:Earth / Human / South Korea
Name:Park Chan-woo
Age:27
Gender:Male
Height/Weight:179cm / 65.3kg
Level:-89
Status:Weakest, Sickly, Frail, Non-Existent, Terminal, Immune to All Poisons
Total Attack Power:255
Total Defense:147
Class:Mage (11Lv)
Available Magic:Reflection (Great Magic, Unique), Heavenly Punishment (Lightning Magic, Unique), Super Regeneration (Passive, Unique)
Remaining Class Level Points:0
Equipped Gear:
Abyss Items:Easter Egg (001), Mage's Stone (Magic Power +9, Legendary), Void (Eternal), Coin (41)
Pet:Bokssil (15Lv, Eternal)
Park Chan-woo stared at the status window, doubting his own eyes.
A flawless sight.
Everything was on an upward curve.
His attack power, defense, level, and every other stat had surged dramatically.
And that wasn't all.
'Raising my class level upgraded the grades of my spells too.'
Upon reaching level 11 in the Mage class, the 'grade' of every spell he possessed had risen by one tier.
From Rare to Unique.
Something he'd never experienced before.
He'd switched to Mage at level 90, so he'd never pushed his class level all the way to 11.
'Hitting certain class level thresholds triggers special effects.'
Spell grades improve, stats skyrocket, or the number and grade limits of learnable spells expand.
For Park Chan-woo, it was nothing short of a miracle.
He could tremble with joy and cheer all day, but his expression was gravely serious.
"...My height and weight have dropped."
Something had shrunk.
His height had fallen by 1cm to 179cm.
His weight had plummeted from 71kg to 65kg.
A dizzying change compared to right after his regression.
And it wasn't like he'd bulked up with muscle in exchange.
'I've been running nonstop, but I paid attention to my diet too.'
Sure, he hadn't rested once so far, so losing weight made sense—but this was far too extreme.
Plus, he'd eaten on schedule.
He'd made an effort to balance carbs, proteins, and fats.
He hadn't gorged himself, but he hadn't starved either.
'It must be the debuffs.'
He was dying.
Raising his stats didn't seem to halt his body's decline.
Just boosting numbers wasn't a solution.
Heck, he'd nearly shortened his terminal countdown by trying to fix the root issue with World Tree fruit.
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin, deep in thought.
'I have to stop my condition from worsening any further.'
Getting stronger mattered, of course—but preventing further deterioration was priority one.
Normally, strength and physical condition scaled together.
Park Chan-woo was the opposite.
The harder he pushed to grow stronger, the worse his body got.
...So what now?
"Dagon."
Pong!
Mentioning the demon merchant's name summoned him amid a puff of smoke.
In a hilariously awkward pose.
"......Please don't summon me outside our agreed days."
Twice a month.
Mid-month and end-of-month—that was the deal.
But 'emergencies' were exceptions.
And to Park Chan-woo, this was the ultimate emergency.
"What were you up to?"
"Reading."
"Demons read books too?"
At Park Chan-woo's surprised question, Dagon straightened his knees and back before replying.
"A merchant's studies never end."
"Impressive attitude for someone who's dead last in sales."
"......"
Dead last, not just bottom ranks.
Too embarrassed to admit it, Dagon glossed over the fact.
He wished he could wallow in despair alone, but now wasn't the time.
Dagon had said 'reading,' but he'd actually been digging through texts on 'Sepiro.'
'The being most deserving of the title Absolute.'
...The more he learned, the more Sepiro seemed like a mad monster.
Dagon could see why Abyss's lords despised him.
Arrogant, presumptuous, scorning even the lords themselves.
Sepiro's 'absolute magic' had toyed with Abyss endlessly, described in horrific detail across countless tomes.
Why he'd appeared in human form in this pathetic world was a mystery, but Sepiro was an unpredictable dragonkin through and through.
How could a mere demon merchant fathom the thoughts of such a lofty existence?
'Unfathomable. Is there anyone more fitting of that word than Sepiro?'
Sepiro's titles numbered beyond count.
The 'Godslayer' who'd uniquely slain a great lord, 'Transcender of Truth,' 'Harbinger of Chaos,' 'Prophet of the End,' 'One Above Infinity,' and more...
"......Why did you call me? Do you have something urgent to trade? Wait a second..."
The monster with over a thousand titles had just been summoned by Dagon.
Tensing up, Dagon eyed him closely—then recoiled in horror.
More precisely, at the furball lounging on his shoulder.
"Wh-what is that horrific creature?!"
"...Horrific creature? You mean Bokssil?"
Tremble tremble tremble!
Dagon staggered back a full step, shaking violently.
An instinctive reaction, not conscious thought.
Bokssil's presence had shocked him to his core.
Kyu?
"Gah!"
As Bokssil tilted its head, Dagon screamed.
Puzzled by Dagon's behavior, Park Chan-woo stepped closer.
"Pl-please don't come any nearer!"
Dagon's face instantly paled.
Hardly a normal reaction to a small, cute Bokssil.
"What's wrong?"
"I-it's a divine beast!"
......Divine beast?
A sacred animal.
Or a metaphor for one blessed by the gods.
But Bokssil's true nature was Anubis.
It had evolved after devouring divinity and turning radiant, but it was no divine beast.
At least, not by Park Chan-woo's knowledge of them.
'Sometimes, monsters called divine beasts would pop out from the Abyss's borders.'
Enormous, majestic creatures wielding absurdly divine power.
Occasionally, their territories overlapped with creators' Abysses, triggering full alerts.
Lesser demons fled, creators balked.
Divine beasts slaughtered demons and humans alike invading their domains, no distinction.
Nine times out of ten, the Abyss got wrecked—so if one appeared, you used a coin and ran without looking back.
'Insane! Carrying around a divine beast!'
But Dagon couldn't be mistaken.
Demons and divine beasts were natural enemies.
The aura from that furball matched a divine beast's exactly.
Not overwhelmingly strong yet, but the dormant power inside was no joke.
It hadn't felt like this before.
Had it been hiding it then?
Only Sepiro could casually keep a divine beast as a pet.
'...Sepiro through and through.'
Dagon swallowed hard.
Another nail in the coffin of his certainty that this human was Sepiro.
"A-anyway... what did you need me for?"
Dagon adjusted his posture.
Divine beasts and demons were predators and prey, but the man was Sepiro.
His trading partner.
Taking a deep breath, Dagon met his gaze.
Park Chan-woo spoke.
"Can I buy height or weight back with value?"
"...I can only sell items and info from the Merchant Guild."
Demon merchants dealt solely in goods and knowledge.
Height and weight were off the table.
Impossible to buy or sell anyway.
"What about a weight-gain potion?"
"Hm, we have transformation potions that alter appearance temporarily. Or do you mean vitalizing elixirs for recovery?"
Park Chan-woo shook his head.
Elixirs would just register as buffs.
A hundred hours of boosted attack and defense at best.
'...No answers there.'
As expected, no demon merchant had fattening potions.
No one needed them.
How to restore his height and weight to normal?
"Um..."
"...?"
"The human body is terribly inefficient."
Dagon eyed Park Chan-woo.
He spotted the height and weight loss instantly.
He could guess the dilemma.
'Even the great Sepiro doesn't know human bodies well.'
Made sense—dragonkin didn't sleep or eat to survive.
Their flesh never weakened.
They were spirit-like beings sustained by mana.
If Sepiro had transformed into a human, he'd naturally be clueless about mortal frailties.
"Human bodies need ample time to recover, plus proper meals and rest as prerequisites."
"I know that."
"May I take a look around?"
"Go ahead."
With permission, Dagon sprang into action.
Not examining Park Chan-woo, but ransacking his living space.
He opened the fridge in the kitchen and scowled.
"Just instant meals in here? Are you eating properly?"
"Nutritionally sufficient."
"Some are past expiration."
"Safe to eat."
"The smell is... No, why haven't you thrown them out?"
"Don't worry. They're not spoiled."
Dagon's eyes twitched wildly.
He knew humans well.
Essential knowledge for merchants, key to smoother deals.
But Park Chan-woo's lifestyle defied norms.
Even if Sepiro was playing human.
It felt like glimpsing imperfection in perfection itself.
Dagon sighed softly.
"......Sit down."
"...?"
"I'll fetch ingredients first, then cook for you. Just sit and eat."
Park Chan-woo tilted his head.
"A demon merchant cooks human food?"
"Cooking dishes from various races is my hobby."
Park Chan-woo thought demons had the weirdest hobbies.
Dagon's cooking surpassed expectations.
Better than any pro chef.
Perfectly balanced nutrition too.
"To your taste?"
"Excellent."
"Oh, and this isn't a trade. Consider it service for my exclusive client."
"I know. I'll call on you more often."
"......"
No trade had been mentioned.
Dagon had offered voluntarily.
No value required.
Knowing that, Park Chan-woo had allowed it.
For the next three days, Dagon handled all his meals.
And so...
His weight rebounded from 65kg to 67kg.
Height back to 180cm.
'Good.'
Proper meals and rest.
Surprisingly, those were the issues.
Beyond mere nutrition, he'd overlooked the need for 'real meals.'
'Gotta thank Dagon for this.'
Pre-regression, small portions sufficed.
Now, he was a modern man craving 'fullness.'
Without proper eating, even basic activity suffered.
Thanks to Dagon's meals and care, his condition was peak.
'Rest's done. Time to climb the tower.'
Recovery was solely to tackle the tower.
Once started, he'd see it through to the end.
While he rested, the world had changed drastically.
Towers had sprouted across the globe in vast numbers.
'Tower of Arrogance!'
Climbable only by those who'd broken through the first level cap.
These 'Towers of Arrogance' trained and pitted Awakeners against each other.
'One reason creators prepared 'provisions' for their avatars.'
Creators had foreseen the towers' rise.
Thus, feeding elixirs to contracted avatars under the guise of provisions.
Only first-stage Awakeners could enter.
'Creators want their avatars scoring high in the Tower of Arrogance.'
Even creators didn't know who built them.
Known only as the nameless creator, 'Lord of Arrogance.'
But high rankings by contracted avatars brought creators major boons.
Plus, 'Arrogance' held grave weight even among creators.
'Lord of Arrogance. Even Hansin failed to unravel its meaning.'
Many probed 'Arrogance's' secrets.
Hansin included.
Yet across all Towers of Arrogance, humanity never once...
'In the past, no one reached the top.'
No one had summited.
No one had seen the peak.
The towers' conditions were brutally strict.
Only 'first-stage Awakeners' could enter.
Second-stage barred entry, and first-stagers got one shot—hence his recovery focus.
'I'll see the end.'
And Park Chan-woo intended to claim that summit.