Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The Meaning of Negative Levels
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The warrior, the gatekeeper of the palace, immediately shot back.
It was because fighting on equal terms felt utterly unsatisfying.
‘How dare they speak of battle before a Valhalla warrior!’
It was absurd.
Every warrior of Valhalla was exceptional.
They were peerless one-man armies, forged in countless wars.
When it came to pure ‘battle,’ they could proudly claim superiority over any race.
The challengers before him, so brazenly discussing combat, seemed utterly pathetic.
‘Even other warriors can’t hold their heads high in my presence.’
Let alone who he was.
An unparalleled existence—Khan!
He was the gatekeeper stationed at the entrance to the palace housing that very Khan.
Naturally, the palace gatekeeper couldn’t be just anyone.
It proved his skills set him apart from all other warriors.
This wasn’t merely about high or low levels.
It meant his raw prowess had been honed to an absurd degree.
Trained to handle any situation.
An elite soldier who had traversed innumerable battlefields and leaped over death time and again.
And what of his ‘eye’ for foes?
He possessed ‘observation’ sharp enough to grasp every facet of those seeking entry to the palace.
Insight and scrutiny of opponents were essential for any gatekeeper.
“If I had my way, I’d lower it even further... but your levels don’t look all that impressive.”
The gatekeeper smacked his lips.
His tone conveyed regret at committing to just a 10-level handicap.
It had been ages since his last real fight.
Ever since Khan’s sealing by Moon Lord Aheta, he had lingered here for eons.
Yet Valhalla’s warriors were all mad for war.
How dull and suffocating it must have been, standing guard motionless.
...The issue was their sheer disparity in caliber.
‘Good grief. Challengers who’ve crossed unfathomable ages turn out to be this pitiful.’
The gatekeeper eyed Park Chan-woo and Lee Hyuk-soo in turn.
He analyzed the visible bulk and quality of their muscles, flexibility, posture, the faint mana leaking out, their demeanor toward him, their aura—all of it.
Piercing to the essence by weighing the seen against the unseen.
The verdict was devastating.
After scrutinizing the pair, the gatekeeper concluded:
Their spirit burned bright enough, but by his gauge of power—their levels proper—they weren’t impressive.
‘Barely scraping past level 20, it feels like.’
At most, around level 20.
And that applied strictly to Lee Hyuk-soo.
Lee Hyuk-soo showed real promise as a ‘warrior.’
He steadied his breath in an instant, masking his emotions.
Confronting him with the poise of a razor-honed blade.
Fear erased, a subtle killing intent woven into his stance.
Holding firm despite grasping the gulf between them.
Shunning death’s shadow while hunting the foe’s flaws.
The mark of a fine warrior.
Above all...
The ‘essence’ radiating from Lee Hyuk-soo wasn’t purely martial.
‘...There’s an odd whiff of death about him. Has he claimed a name of the departed?’
Plenty proclaimed themselves ‘King of Death.’
No shortage of fools strutting as death incarnate.
All fakes.
Braggarts clueless to death’s true face.
One such monster’s moniker, perhaps?
Soon, the gatekeeper’s gaze drifted to Lee Hyuk-soo’s shadow.
At once...
‘Ah.’
The gatekeeper’s eyes quivered faintly.
He knew it now.
The legacy Lee Hyuk-soo bore.
No counterfeit—this was authentic.
‘Lion King. The one dubbed King of Shadows...!’
The gatekeeper knew the name well.
The Lion King was an ‘ancient existence,’ akin to Khan.
‘No wonder he made it this far.’
The true contender wasn’t Park Chan-woo before him, but Lee Hyuk-soo.
Lee Hyuk-soo’s level had to dwarf the other’s.
Even then, a laughable tier shy of 30.
He, meanwhile, stood at 99.
The difference might as well have been sky and soil.
Weight classes feather-light by comparison.
‘Had he bulked up a touch more before arriving, it could’ve been a thrilling bout.’
For now, far too green.
True heir to the Lion King or not, still fledgling in growth.
To clash properly, their classes needed evening out.
Dropping 10 below their average was purely for that ‘match-up.’
He ached to slash deeper, but dipping below 1 risked instant forfeiture—levels didn’t exist under that.
Park Chan-woo, by contrast?
‘Not even worth a second glance.’
First specimen of such frailty.
A physique akin to a newborn’s.
Zero calluses.
Flaccid muscles like mere ornamentation.
A bedbound wreck, clumsily draped in outlandish gear like tatters just to shamble about.
Mana pulsed strong enough, true—but wielding it demanded bodily backing.
Mana embodied one’s rank, the Abyss’s very force.
What feats from a frame where vitality-essence-spirit lay in ruins?
Likely banking solely on that Lion King heir, the warriorly sort, to throw down the gauntlet.
“‘I swear upon my heart in the Abyss. For this fight with you, I commit to a level 10 below your average. And should I fall, I shall serve you within this palace.’”
The gatekeeper spoke.
Challenge accepted.
Even tossing in fealty upon defeat.
True loss? Unthinkable disgrace.
Yet he dismissed defeat outright.
His gaze fixed solely on Lee Hyuk-soo, ignoring Park Chan-woo.
The warrior blessed with an ancient’s mantle.
No hopes at first—but now, his palms itched.
Craved the fray.
A mad clash!
Thus, he bound himself.
No need to quiz their levels.
Faith in his eyes, his judgment.
Unwinnable for them. Asking? Insulting.
Swaaaaa...
Soon, the Messenger of Oaths materialized before him.
One overseeing the Abyss, scales in grasp.
Judges of oath’s truth—yet wielded here for self-restraint.
No oaths needed from Park Chan-woo or Lee Hyuk-soo.
Loss meant oblivion anyway.
Gulp!
Lee Hyuk-soo swallowed hard, staring at the colossal messenger.
‘This scene... it’s definitely...’
Déjà vu crashed over him.
He’d witnessed it.
This exact—or eerily similar—moment.
First night.
Versus the prophet, Game Master Andariel.
Messenger of Oaths bursting forth to carve Andariel’s heart.
Creaaaak!
...The scales stirred.
Tilting toward the gatekeeper.
Whoooong!
Every aura drained from his frame.
Those energies piled onto the scale.
Per oath: sealing part of his might.
Levels plunged fast.
As anticipated.
Those two’s levels so paltry, no helping it.
The gatekeeper watched the Messenger of Oaths with ease.
‘Seeing a messenger again after so long.’
The Abyss was the world entire.
An endlessly unfolding cosmos.
Messengers: mindless, selfless enforcers of its laws.
Operators, of sorts.
Messenger of Oaths ranked among the mightiest.
Its summons heralded the palace seal’s true breach.
Khan’s return to world-domination.
His warrior’s duty revived.
“Hm?”
Midway, the gatekeeper cocked his head.
Levels kept tumbling.
Level 20? Expected.
But now, clearly cratering below 10.
Their average under 20? Impossible.
‘That human’s dragging it down.’
The warrior’s level topped 20, no doubt.
But Park Chan-woo’s frail shell? Far lower.
‘Level 8.’
Drop notices flooded his sight.
Overlapped now—exact tally lost—but his state let him approximate.
Body growing leaden.
Still fight-ready.
‘7.’
Further drop.
Just standing taxed breath faintly.
‘6.’
Spear felt cumbersome.
No matter.
Bare fists would do.
‘...5.’
Decline steepened now.
Each level shed like gobs of flesh hacked away.
Thank fate he pledged 10-plus down.
The gatekeeper shifted to Park Chan-woo.
Just how low was that one?
Still, this much...
‘Hold on. Still dropping?’
Made sense?
Now at 4.
Likely spot-on.
‘Average level’s’ cruel snag.
Consider:
Lee Hyuk-soo at 20, Park Chan-woo at 10—average 15.
Minus 10 locked him at 5.
Yet lower still.
Warrior’s surely past 20.
Mage’s? Sub-10 vibes.
Nothing else explained it.
‘Level 3...!’
Gatekeeper’s eyes bulged.
No way, him.
That bright grin’s source?
“You... your level...!”
How low?
Still, defied reason.
Absurd.
No single-digit lifeform withstands his presence.
Couldn’t breach Khan’s palace doors.
‘2.’
Falling.
Endlessly.
‘1.’
Thud!
Gatekeeper dropped to one knee.
Too feeble now for his massive frame.
Power ebbed.
Fingers unresponsive.
Mouth locked shut.
Yet...
That marked the onset.
Unfathomable.
First shock glazed his eyes.
No—terror.
Utter dread, newborn to his soul!
He, veteran of ordeals, iron-willed warrior paramount—unprecedented.
Why?
‘Even from here... it drops further?’
...1 wasn’t bottom.
Plummeting into the unknown.
Level 0.
The void beneath—forbidden territory.