Chapter 492
Chapter 492
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 492
Chapter Title: True Completion
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Park Chan-woo hesitated.
Transcender Lil.
His master, who had left this Tower of the Gods to him.
The being who first taught him about the depths of mana and the path to becoming a true archmage.
Without her, he might still be a half-baked mage, lost in superficial knowledge of mana, drunk on power and spiraling out of control.
He could still see her clearly.
In the serene space of the Transcendent Abyss, gazing at him like a fascinating toy, yet deep in her eyes holding genuine hope for the next generation.
―The first stage is ‘Awakening.’ The second is ‘Flow,’ and the third is ‘Coalescence.’ These are the fundamental three stages of mana that form magic. You have passed ‘Flow.’
“Are you saying I’ve only just cleared the second stage?”
―Most mortals halt at the first stage, ‘Awakening.’ Few can reverse their mana.
“How many stages are there in total?”
―Nine stages. From the fourth onward are the advanced stages: Resonance, Creation, and Dominion. Starting from the seventh are the ‘Transcendence stages’: Transcendence, Divinity, and Genesis.
“What stage did you reach, Master?”
―I reached the very threshold of the seventh stage, ‘Transcendence.’
And so, beyond the ninth stage lay the ultimate tenth stage, ‘Apocalypse’—one said to have been attained only by the Creator.
‘What stage am I at now…?’
Through his training with Lil, he had entered the fourth stage, ‘Resonance.’
The countless insights gained at the Mountain of Trainees and within the Tower of the Gods—especially those from absorbing the lord of Intelligence—must have propelled him even higher.
If he chose the first mana core here…
He might stand at the threshold of that true pinnacle even Dragon God Sepiro had yearned for his entire life: the tenth stage, ‘Apocalypse.’
His heart pounded fiercely.
It was an impossibly sweet temptation.
As a regressor, his life had always been a battle for power.
To claim even a scrap more strength, he had staked everything.
He exploited comrades, deceived enemies, and at times even lied to himself.
In the end, he had stepped into the divine realm and become a force that upended the Abyss.
Yet he remained unsatisfied.
‘Sepiro is still alive.’
He would surely return, far stronger, from beyond the great rift.
The destroyer lurking in the shadows would one day emerge to devour the entire Abyss.
And the curse of ‘limited time’ binding his life was still seared into his soul like a brand.
To conquer it all, he needed power.
Overwhelming power—absolute, beyond challenge.
The perfect solution to every problem lay right before him.
But.
Park Chan-woo’s gaze shifted to the second core, radiating serene light.
……Lil.
She had exhausted most of her existence to steal this tower away.
Wasn’t she slowly fading outside the flow of time?
The second core was the only power that could halt her annihilation and anchor her back to this world.
The sole chance to save her.
He owed his master.
Beyond mere magic, she had taught him the path of existence itself.
She showed him the value of ‘stillness’ and the importance of self-reflection.
Even the absolute magic ‘Rest’ that saved Balmoong traced its roots to her teachings.
Could he ignore that grace?
Could he stand idly by and watch her fade for the sake of his own strength?
The old him would not have hesitated.
The pre-regression 99-level magic swordsman Park Chan-woo, obsessed with survival and power, would have seized the ‘Core of Genesis’ without a second thought.
He would have viewed others’ sacrifices as mere stepping stones to his goals.
But he was different now.
Through bonds forged with so many, he had changed.
He had witnessed Lee Hyuk-soo’s unyielding conviction, felt Adora’s fierce devotion, and seen the noble sacrifices of nameless dragons.
And through the warm dinner Lee Hyuk-soo’s mother prepared, he had rediscovered the human warmth he’d long forgotten.
He was no longer alone.
His world brimmed with things worth protecting.
And among them, in the world he must safeguard, was Transcender Lil.
‘Power… or bonds.’
The choice imposed by the Lord of Mana probed the very core of Park Chan-woo’s being.
Was he still the solitary warrior chasing selfish desires, or had he learned to live alongside others as a true savior?
Park Chan-woo closed his eyes quietly.
Two futures clashed in his mind.
The first: choosing the first core.
Becoming an untouchable ultimate being in the Abyss, subjugating Sepiro and the Destroyer, ending all conflict.
But his throne would be cold, his side empty.
Possessing everything yet nothing—a lonely god wandering eternity.
The second: choosing the second core.
Saving his master, but forfeiting absolute power.
The battles against Sepiro and the Destroyer would grow grueling, precarious.
Perhaps he would fall, losing all.
Yet in his final moments, his master and comrades would stand with him.
Which future did he desire?
After an eternity of silence, Park Chan-woo opened his eyes.
Park Chan-woo moved.
His hand reached unhesitatingly for the second core.
The Lord of Mana halted his action.
A final confirmation. A warning before an irreversible choice.
Park Chan-woo replied steadily, his hand unwavering.
“The old me chased only power.”
His voice echoed through the empty space.
“I cast aside everything to grow strong. Severed bonds, buried emotions, imprisoned myself in solitude’s fortress. I foolishly believed it was the only road to supremacy.”
……But now.
“I crave warmth.”
Park Chan-woo’s gaze drifted into the void.
As if reflecting on the self he’d glimpsed amid the tower’s trials.
“Climbing this tower, I realized it endlessly. How radiant a blessing it is to age alongside someone. How the simple act of striving for an ordinary meal—one I never knew—carries more weight than the entire world. And how resisting the current isn’t life’s entirety.”
At last, he understood the stubborn thirst buried deepest in his soul—one no logic of power could quench.
“And… at the root of every choice… was my master, Transcender Lil.”
Their encounter had been a mere instant.
Yet Park Chan-woo had never once forgotten her.
Beyond magic’s stages, she taught him existence’s stages.
To the power-drunk, rampaging him, she revealed ‘stillness’ and ‘introspection.’
Without her, he’d never have reached the tower’s 100th floor.
“Master opened the path for me. For this disciple to repay that debt is only right.”
The Lord of Mana fell silent for a long while.
At the end of that silence came a will like a profound sigh.
It was sincere.
For the first time since becoming the Lord of Mana in the Tower of the Gods, a novel surge of emotion washed over him.
Because.
The Lord of Mana had witnessed the rise and fall of countless heroes, villains, gods, and mortals.
But you.
His form blazed brighter than ever, incomparable to before.
The pure ecstasy of one beholding a new era’s potential.
The Lord of Mana no longer viewed Park Chan-woo as a trial subject or challenger.
He was the singular ‘answer’ they had awaited across eons—the one to shatter this stagnant tower’s fate.
The Lord of Mana imposed no further choice.
Instead, he fused the two cores—his very essence—into one.
Whooooosh!
Light and darkness, creation and annihilation clashed violently, birthing a flawless sphere.
The perfected mana essence drifted gently toward Park Chan-woo.
Park Chan-woo seized it.
Ding!
A storm of light enveloped his body.
His soul and flesh were being reborn as pure mana—the very origin of the Abyss.
And.
With all five shackles shattered.
His vessel was finally complete.