Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Monster of Despair
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In that instant, it felt like electricity surged through his entire body.
The target indicated by the message's content.
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no one else but himself.
All the circumstances pointed squarely at Park Chan-woo.
Even scrutinizing every detail of the wording, he couldn't imagine it referring to anyone else.
And above all, it wasn't just the message's content that was the issue.
...The explosive contribution gained through bug-like play.
The Moon's Owner, Aheta, might have noticed that fact.
'So he's trying to track me down?'
Well, of course.
If he'd caught on, he would undoubtedly seek him out and eliminate him.
Even a named Creator like the Moon's Owner would fear bankruptcy above all else.
It was the one thing all Creators dreaded in common.
For a Creator, bankruptcy meant death.
It wasn't just losing their status as a Creator.
They would forfeit every bit of the 'aura' they'd desperately built up to attain that position.
Would the Abyss's demons leave a lord stripped of aura and power alone?
Countless demons would swarm to claim the spot, stripping flesh from bone and devouring it raw.
'To avoid bankruptcy, they have no choice but to minimize risks.'
Creators viewed the Abyss as a sort of 'game' or 'gamble.'
But they'd rigged the board overwhelmingly in their own favor.
The entry restrictions were a prime example.
Every Creator Abyss had an invisible 'entry restriction.'
Creators set the criteria arbitrarily, then selected entrants to suit their tastes.
Levels, stats, classes, attack power, defense—restrictions on virtually everything.
'We called it the Invisible Cursed Hand.'
The Invisible Cursed Hand!
No joke—it was the honest truth.
You could see the conditions allowing entry with your own eyes, but the restrictions blocking it were invisible.
For instance, take an Abyss with an 'entry condition' of level 10 or higher.
That condition would naturally display for all potential entrants.
But for such low-level Abysses, they always imposed a 'maximum level' cap.
Level 30, or lower.
They cherry-picked entrants incapable of clearing—or who would struggle to clear—the Abyss, then toyed with them as they pleased.
'What a truly cursed mess.'
They called it a 'gamble,' but this showed just how little they treated Creator Abysses like actual games.
Lose, and you forfeited just one game coin—you could always jump back in.
Human loss, on the other hand, always ended in death and oblivion.
Unfair.
Not just tilted—the whole board was flipped over.
The problem was how hard it was for humans to detect this 'unfairness.'
Almost no one could spot those restrictions.
The Creators set them slyly and ambiguously to evade detection.
As a result, midway through, we'd believed there was hope in this gamble.
That someday we'd win, that we could catch them off guard!
Foolish hope.
There had never been any hope in this Abyss to begin with.
Humanity was nothing more than their playthings to toy with and discard.
If we'd known from the start that victory was impossible, we wouldn't have poured our all into conquering the Abyss.
What vicious deception.
'The Night Abyss surely has entry restrictions too.'
...Exactly.
The Moon's Owner, Aheta, was no different from other Creators.
He'd layered all sorts of restrictions on his 'Night Abyss' as well.
That 'uninvited guest' was likely someone who'd breached those restrictions.
'The moment someone enters a Creator Abyss, Creators can't access participant info.'
Not even as the host of the Night Abyss could Aheta view entrants' details.
'So he's resorting to this method to hunt the uninvited one.'
Who could it be?
Who was this 'uninvited guest'?
Was Aheta truly targeting him?
'First off, I'm the only one who's a fugitive.'
He pondered deeply.
From everything confirmed so far, every participant was a 'pursuer.'
He alone differed, the sole bearer of 'fugitive' status.
Why?
'The second Night Abyss doesn't limit entrants to humans alone. Doppelgangers—they're participants too, just like us.'
It clicked.
Humans and doppelgangers.
Both races were participating in this 'second Night Abyss.'
His 'fugitive' designation might stem from currently resembling a doppelganger more than a human.
This strongly suggested Park Chan-woo was the 'uninvited human.'
Moreover.
'User of undisclosed information.'
By exploiting info no one knew or could know, he'd claimed tenfold rewards—hard not to arouse suspicion.
Someone achieving absurd contribution levels.
Aheta might believe he had to find and eliminate them before nightfall to keep his plan on track.
However.
'...Even so, the chance Aheta noticed is extremely low.'
Not zero, but approaching it—he was certain.
Once participants began play, the host's options were limited.
No info access, no individual scrutiny.
Even in a stacked game, they didn't allow peeking at opponents' cards.
This was one of the few protections—and absolute rules—for Abyss participants.
Not even the Nine Great Lords could break it.
Normally, they wouldn't even know who'd breached entry restrictions.
There were hardly ways to bypass them anyway.
'No doubt about it—someone brazenly ignored the restrictions and entered.'
In any case, he'd gazed at the full moon and entered normally.
Being allowed entry meant he hadn't fully violated them.
Thus, Aheta couldn't know how Park Chan-woo was playing.
The other intruding Creators were the same.
The board was set, the game begun.
Creators could only check results afterward.
Their only influence was over their contracted 'avatars.'
Even that came with heavy constraints.
At best, sending a few lines of advice via messages.
Why else would they pre-plant contingencies in the Water God's dungeon?
If Creators could freely meddle with avatars, no need for such setups.
Therefore, the 'uninvited guest' wasn't him.
'If not me, then who?'
He racked his brain relentlessly.
A mage verified all variables before acting.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
...Similar incidents had happened before.
Hosts hunting vague 'uninvited guests' directly.
'Only mighty beings who can withstand Abyss rifts can arbitrarily enter others' Abysses. Witches, divine beasts, powerhouses of the Twelve Races, and such...'
Realms humans could never reach.
Monsters of rank 11 or higher could somewhat ignore Creator Abyss restrictions.
Such entities occasionally intruded as 'uninvited guests' into others' Abysses.
But why would one fixate on Earth, where the Abyss had just opened?
No matter that he'd conquered the Tower of Hubris.
No reason to barge into a Creator's Abyss, wreak havoc, and make enemies.
Yet here one was.
Aheta was seeking someone who'd entered his Creator Abyss without permission.
Daring to trespass his domain—he'd crush the fool.
'Invisible, unconfirmable existence. Magic.'
Recalling the message, he deduced the uninvited guest's identity.
Soon, Park Chan-woo was convinced it was a magic user.
Not just any—ultra-high-tier magic.
Only pure magic could evade a Creator's eyes.
'A being wielding magic of this caliber...'
He nodded.
The outline emerged.
The intruder's identity, most likely.
'Dragonkin.'
One of the Twelve Races—the dragonkin.
Their magic even made Abyss lords tremble.
And not an ordinary one.
'At least ancient dragon tier.'
...Park Chan-woo's expression hardened.
A monster of despair capable of dooming the world alone.
An ancient dragon or higher had entered this Night Abyss.
The black dragon, Ataraxia.
This elder monster, dubbed the 'Despair Ancient Dragon' among dragonkin, surveyed his surroundings.
'Moon's Owner Aheta. So this is his Night Abyss.'
A place he'd experienced several times before.
Long ago, the Abyss had reached the dragonkin world too. Demons calling themselves 'Creators' had inflicted Creator Abysses on them as trials.
Of course, no one dared open one there now.
Ordinary Creators trying would just become dragon fodder.
But the Moon's Owner Aheta was no ordinary Creator.
'It's been ages since I entered a Night Abyss.'
Ataraxia smiled, recalling distant memories.
It had been war.
Dragons versus demons.
A bloodbath for supremacy.
Dragon God Sepiro, watching idly from the Dragon God Temple, had risen—and the war ended instantly.
A dull dragonkin world, but that had been entertaining.
Especially the Moon's Owner Aheta—he'd slaughtered countless dragonkin.
In turn, Ataraxia had slain hundreds of Creators.
'The bearers of Wish and the Star of Hubris are here.'
Ataraxia's reason for entering the 'Night Abyss' was simple.
Under the Black Witch's orders, he was tracking 'Wish' and the 'Star of Hubris.'
Confirming a human had conquered the 'Tower of Hubris,' he'd followed the trail to this Night Abyss.
Yet Aheta was a demon lord or greater.
Not even dragonkin touched him lightly.
The Twelve Races and Abyss currently held a 'non-aggression' pact.
A misstep could reignite war.
But Ataraxia didn't care.
He was a 'radical' craving war with the demons again.
Of course, it required Dragon God Sepiro's permission.
'He has no interest in worldly affairs anyway.'
Dragon God Sepiro ignored all worldly matters.
He'd scarcely care even if dragonkin faced extinction.
His sudden intervention in that old demon war was because one of the 'Ten Great Lords' had piqued his curiosity.
The black dragon Ataraxia.
This Despair Ancient Dragon sought war anew with Abyss demons, backed by the Black Witch.
'Can't blatantly reveal I'm dragonkin.'
Whoosh!
In moments, Ataraxia's colossal body shrank to human size.
Then, just as swiftly, he became 'human.'
Not merely in appearance.
Thanks to the Black Witch's index finger, he'd fully claimed 'human' status.
Dispelling his 'invisibility magic,' Ataraxia shrugged.
'Aheta. You'll never find me.'
Aheta had sensed his forced entry into the Night Abyss, but that was all.
He couldn't pinpoint Ataraxia, who'd assumed human status via the Black Witch's body.
This was why an ancient dragon followed the Black Witch.
To sow discord in other races' forms, provoking Abyss lords into all-out war.
Then, victorious, offer all glory to Sepiro and earn his favor!
The ultimate honor for dragonkin.
Ataraxia smirked.
"This should be fun after so long."