Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Uninvited Guest
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Crack!
Lee Hyuk-soo thrust his sword forward, piercing the Fugitive's Mark.
Whoosh!
The moment the Mark was destroyed, the Fugitive's body crumbled into dust and scattered.
He had pierced and slain five Fugitives at once.
Thanks to that, he had earned an enormous amount of Contribution Points, but Lee Hyuk-soo's expression remained grim.
"...The Fugitives are starting to band together."
He had no choice but to think so.
It had been about four hours since the second night began.
The creatures that had only been fleeing until then had suddenly started grouping up to attack him.
Doppelgangers.
They took on human forms, but they were monsters.
Abominations that mimicked humans to slaughter them.
Lee Hyuk-soo felt no hesitation in killing things that weren't human.
'Not a single Abyss monster will be left alive.'
Killing one more meant fewer chances of them invading Earth.
The best way to protect his mother was to exterminate every last monster in the Abyss.
But as time passed, a growing sense of disconnect began to creep in.
'...The Doppelgangers are becoming more and more like humans.'
The Doppelgangers had surpassed mere mimicry.
They learned the knowledge, thought processes, and language of the humans they copied.
With each new copy, they gradually transformed into something indistinguishable from real humans.
It was a massive leap from their initial beast-like state.
No—evolution was more like it.
In just four hours, they were speaking like humans and acting like them.
Who could have imagined that these beastly things would now form packs to hunt the strong?
It meant they had developed group intelligence.
Just like early humanity banding together to hunt massive beasts.
The Doppelgangers were slowly cornering the humans.
'The balance between humans and Doppelgangers is crumbling fast.'
A few more hours like this, and it was obvious the roles of "Pursuer" and "Fugitive" would completely reverse.
This wasn't wishful thinking.
It was certainty.
Survival rate of 11.1% would become reality.
Out of a million participants, only around 100,000 might barely survive.
Maybe even fewer.
"...Here they come again."
Lee Hyuk-soo clicked his tongue and gripped his sword.
Before long, another group approached from no great distance.
"Strong human. We kill you and learn."
"Devour the strong, surpass the strong."
X-shaped Marks on their chests.
All Fugitives.
Seven Doppelgangers had gathered to hunt Lee Hyuk-soo.
He had no idea how they knew to find him.
'Hive mind? Sharing information?'
There were too many suspicious signs.
They knew him even without ever meeting.
And unlike before, they weren't trying to copy him.
Because copying had failed.
The problem was what the Doppelgangers did after failing.
'If they can't copy a human, they hunt and eat them.'
...They were trying to eat him.
Coming in numbers to hunt him down.
Cannibalism.
That seemed to be the Doppelgangers' second method of copying a target.
Of course, every time they came, Lee Hyuk-soo destroyed all their Marks.
He left not a single one alive.
Yet, information that shouldn't be shareable kept flowing to them.
There was only one conclusion.
'Destroying a Mark shares the location. Along with info on the one who destroyed it.'
No matter how he thought about it, that was it.
The silver lining was that information didn't exchange in real-time.
Destroying a Mark just seemed to share a limited amount.
Not everything.
If it was all shared, they'd target him more precisely.
No reason to waste time on a lone guy with pointless battles.
...Or was there?
Maybe this war of attrition meant more against a solo fighter.
Did they know the power gap and were trying to wear him down slowly?
Had the Doppelgangers evolved that far already?
It didn't matter either way.
Lee Hyuk-soo gazed at the Doppelgangers surrounding him and spoke coldly.
"I'll kill every last Fugitive."
All he had to do was kill the Abyss monsters masquerading as humans.
Kim Byung-han intended to be the star of the "second night."
To make up for his past mistakes and humiliation, there was no other way.
The most crucial part was intel on the Fugitives—the Doppelgangers.
With zero info provided, he had to investigate himself.
"Can you 'copy' every human?"
Kim Byung-han asked the prisoner he had captured.
A Doppelganger in the form of a burly man.
A very strong one.
He had sacrificed all his other prisoners to barely capture this one.
He had nearly died himself.
'Worth 2,000 Contribution Points. Even Fugitives have ranks.'
A single Fugitive Mark gave just 100 points.
But this one's was a whopping 2,000.
Just as he suspected.
Fugitives definitely had ranks among them.
Catching a higher-rank one naturally boosted Contribution more.
And that wasn't all.
"If the level gap is too wide, we can't copy."
The Doppelganger answered.
It spoke human language fluently.
All previous prisoners had been incapable of proper conversation.
Thump, thump.
His heart raced.
Bound by the rule of absolute obedience to a Pursuer with its Mark, the Doppelganger answered Kim Byung-han's questions dutifully.
'Information is power.'
Fortune had smiled on him.
With this one, he could dominate the second night.
Kim Byung-han envisioned a golden future once more.
"Can't copy if the level gap is too wide? Then up to how many levels can you copy?"
"Varies by individual."
"You?"
"Up to 5 levels difference."
Short answers, but they hit exactly what he wanted.
Five levels, huh.
A decent number—not too high, not too low.
"What's your level now?"
"16."
"...Oh ho."
Higher than expected.
Considering Kim Byung-han's current level of 19, it was well within "copyable range."
If he hadn't captured it, a Doppelganger version of him would be prowling the Abyss by now.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
'I didn't get rewards from the Tower of Arrogance, but I got massive experience instead. That's why my level rose enough that Doppelgangers couldn't copy me.'
The mystery of why Doppelgangers hadn't copied him, unlike others, was solved.
The Tower's bankruptcy denied rewards but granted huge EXP.
A true "power leveling" experience.
It had turned into a blessing in disguise.
'In the Abyss, high levels are king.'
Another proof that his thinking was spot on.
Level was the absolute metric in the Abyss.
The higher it climbed, the more benefits multiplied like a gift basket.
'As time passes, level gaps will widen dramatically.'
Those with low levels would hit a wall they couldn't overcome against the high-level ones.
Humans were still in growth phase, with level gaps occasionally bridged, but soon those differences would sharpen starkly.
But his questions weren't over.
"So, you can keep leveling up through copying?"
"Yes."
"What if there's no stronger human to copy? Can't get stronger then?"
"Doesn't matter. Copying something I lack builds experience and levels me up."
Indeed.
Even copying weaker beings worked, as long as they had something he didn't.
That alone granted EXP, levels, and strength.
"Still, there must be a level cap or something?"
"No."
"...No cap?"
Insane.
It felt like a hammer to the head.
So...
'They can grow infinitely?'
Kim Byung-han realized the number of prisoners wasn't key.
How well he "raised" one mattered more.
Raise this one right, and he could be the second night's final victor.
"Any limits to how strong you can get? Like a cap on copies?"
"Unless you're a 'Lord,' you reset every day."
"Reset?"
"All copied info, memories, levels—gone. Back to zero."
"Back to that initial slime form?"
"Yes."
"Hm..."
A variable.
But it made sense.
No way the Abyss would be littered with unrestricted infinite-growth monsters.
Kim Byung-han asked again.
"Become a 'Doppelganger Lord' and no reset?"
"Correct."
"...How do you become a 'Doppelganger Lord'?"
"Reach level 80 before reset."
"..."
Kim Byung-han was stunned for a moment.
The 'Orcmaster Kankun' from the Tower of Arrogance was level 83.
To become a Doppelganger Lord, it needed that kind of solo-wipe power?
"...Possible in one day?"
He asked in disbelief, and the Doppelganger replied.
"Possible."
"How?"
"Become the last Doppelganger."
The last Doppelganger?
Vague answer.
'The final one remaining in this Abyss becomes Lord?'
He probed several more times, but got nothing clearer.
It just repeated "last Doppelganger."
'If I could turn this one into a Lord and keep it...'
He let his imagination run.
Owner of a Doppelganger Lord?
Invincible.
No rivals.
Not just this second night Abyss, but every Abyss ahead—he'd reign supreme.
Gulp!
Kim Byung-han swallowed dryly.
Just picturing himself with a monster like Kankun was exhilarating.
Endless rising messages.
'A 10x reward event just for me.'
The 10x Rewards Event had begun.
A massive event exclusive to Park Chan-woo in this Abyss.
10x destructive power was no joke.
He bought the 'Masterpiece Map' and got moving right away, breaking 100,000 points in just over an hour.
'Just destroying one Shelter gave 60,000 points.'
A hidden spot.
A Shelter that helped Fugitives hide!
'Finding it is the hard part; destroying is easy.'
Shelters were tough to locate.
But the 'Masterpiece Map' marked every one.
He just used the spell 'Heavenly Punishment' on one.
'Didn't expect ten Doppelgangers hiding there.'
20,000 from the Shelter, 40,000 from the ten Doppelgangers.
Lucky.
But odd.
Shelters were plentiful, and Fugitives had to find them themselves.
Ten Doppelgangers in one?
Were Doppelgangers sharing info?
Of course. Didn't matter.
Park Chan-woo moved away from the ruined Shelter.
Soon, another Doppelganger group appeared around it.
"A Pursuer's doing?"
"No info at all."
"How'd they find the 'Shelter'?"
"Looks like they blasted it with powerful magic too."
The group wandered, tilting their heads.
Confirmation: Doppelgangers shared Shelter info.
They poked around for clues.
Utterly unaware of Park Chan-woo.
Opportunity.
While clustered together.
"Wait, weren't we six?"
"Why does the map show seven?"
"Hold on. Where's the other one..."
'Heavenly Punishment.'
Rumble!
Park Chan-woo slammed Heavenly Punishment down on the Doppelgangers' heads.
Heavenly Punishment was a mid-range spell.
Clustered nicely, so clean sweep.
No more groups came after the six exploded.
Park Chan-woo shrugged and kept hunting Shelters.
Contribution bred more Contribution.
Snowballing like compound interest.
While others scrambled for 100 points, Park Chan-woo casually amassed nearly 300,000 like a stroll.
How many before night ended?
'At least 10 million.'
That should rattle the Moon's Lord.
Ways to earn Contribution were endless.
10 million was a breeze.
Weeeeng!
Then it happened.
Sirens blaring from all directions.
"......"
Park Chan-woo frowned at the sudden message.
'Is it talking about me?'