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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Archmage's Return
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"Impressive, human!"
Dragon God Sepiro gazed down at his own chest from the midpoint of the Dragon God Temple, letting out a cry of admiration.
Human. A inferior race not even worth considering a mere insect, yet it had pierced the heart of a Dragon God!
But what was most astonishing was that the blow damaging his body came from magic.
Dragons, hailed as the progenitors of magic.
And Sepiro, the Dragon God, was their lord. For the being who governed all magic to be struck by magic itself was utterly inconceivable.
"I shall personally dub thee 'Archmage.' Feel free to boast of it anywhere!"
The human who received the Dragon God's acknowledgment was one of a kind.
Moreover, across all races, no one else had ever been called 'Archmage' by him.
Those who merely mimicked draconic magic were all pathetic.
Incapable of properly wielding even what was given to them, they were nothing more than ignorant fools who couldn't even qualify as average.
But the human before him was different.
"Human. What is thy name?"
"...Your mom."
Park Chan-woo spat out ragged breaths as he extended the middle finger of his right hand.
A finishing blow of conviction. The final strike into which he had poured every last drop of his mana.
Yet it had merely burst one of Sepiro's twelve hearts.
Dubbed an Archmage, but his opponent was the god of magic.
Among the twelve invading races that had assaulted Earth, he was at the pinnacle of the overwhelmingly powerful dragonkin, one that could be counted on three fingers.
There was no way he could match him.
The outcome had been decided from the start.
Before long, the pierced cavity in his chest had been perfectly restored by super-regeneration.
Sepiro tilted his head, ignoring Park Chan-woo's words.
"Yet why dost thou use only basic magic? With thy level of intellect, thou shouldst have been able to comprehend and master advanced spells."
"... ."
Park Chan-woo fell silent.
Because it was true.
The magic that had pierced Sepiro's heart was Fireball.
The most fundamental of basics, the spell that 90% of all mages learned first.
Realizing why Park Chan-woo was silent, Sepiro smirked.
"Ah, I see. Thou didst embark on the path of magic far too late. Thus, thou hadst no choice but to cling to basic spells. Elevating first-circle magic to the level of tenth-circle is miraculous in itself, but there are limits, after all."
...Exactly.
Far too late.
Originally, Park Chan-woo had not been a mage.
His first class was Barbarian Warrior. After three class advancements, he became a Knight, but it was much later still that he realized his true talent and began studying magic.
The only spells he could cast were basic ones.
Thanks to that, he earned the title of 'First Magic Swordsman,' but to Park Chan-woo, it was a nightmarish moniker.
"But despair not. At the very least, the basic spell thou used transcended the framework of our progenitors. It could even be called an entirely new system of magic. In eons upon eons, thou art the first to pique my interest so. Therefore..."
Sepiro grew excited.
It was the first time he had spoken so much.
Magic was incantation spoken aloud.
Words themselves held power, and thus should not be uttered lightly.
Yet the human before him had stirred his curiosity.
Clap!
Sepiro clapped his hands.
At the same moment, twelve suns materialized above his head.
Tenth-circle magic and beyond, realms the so-called Archmage could not touch.
Even ancient wyrms required thousands of pre-engraved formulas to cast tenth-circle or higher.
He unleashed it without formulas, without incantation.
An overwhelming disparity in talent.
A being like the period at the end of a sentence, forever beyond human reach.
And so, he showed it.
That there existed supreme realms humans could never attain.
That no amount of struggling would avail them.
With that period in place, Sepiro smiled as he spoke.
"I shall have to dissect thy brain once."
"...When did I say..."
It was then.
Park Chan-woo raised his head.
Having witnessed the vast gulf, would he now succumb to despair?
No.
Park Chan-woo's eyes held not a shred of despair.
On the contrary.
"When did I ever say I could only use basic magic?"
"...?"
"God of Offerings! I offer all that I possess and Dragon God Sepiro unto thee!"
"Hm? Offering me as tribute?"
Sepiro blinked in bewilderment.
An offering meant dedicating something to another.
But only what one owned could be offered.
He had never even heard of a God of Offerings, and the idea of offering himself was even stranger.
"...Wait."
Sepiro looked down at his chest.
The wound, healed by super-regeneration, was reopening.
Even more shocking, one of the twelve hearts he thought destroyed was still beating intact.
'An illusion? No. I wouldn't fall for such paltry magic.'
Illusion magic couldn't fool a Dragon God's discerning eyes.
Something far more intricate.
Not mere visual trickery, but...
"...Control magic. A mere human hath mastered twelfth-circle magic?"
He had poured every ounce of mana to seize control of one of Sepiro's hearts.
Sepiro had mistaken it for destruction.
He hadn't suspected.
Because he believed the human before him could only use 'basic magic.'
Indeed, up to reaching the Dragon God Temple, Park Chan-woo had used only basic spells.
But the gulf between basic magic and twelfth-circle was immense.
Especially control magic, which demanded ultra-complex formulas.
Precious few in this world could wield it.
"Even so, 'tis but one heart."
"Sufficient."
Park Chan-woo bared his teeth in a grin.
Thanks to stalling for time, he had fully dominated one of Sepiro's hearts.
The dominated heart was now recognized as his possession.
Yet offering that heart as tribute wouldn't kill Sepiro.
"To make thee rampage... one is enough."
Rumble rumble rumble!
In an instant, Dragon God Sepiro's entire body swelled.
Soon, his form vanished, replaced by writhing masses of flesh.
Even the magic maintaining his humanoid shape had gone berserk.
Kaboooom!
Losing control of his magic, the twelve suns he had summoned slammed straight into him.
A primordial explosion engulfed the Dragon God Temple.
But Sepiro wouldn't die from this.
It merely bought a fleeting moment.
Thirty seconds, and he would return to normal.
'If not now, while all his magic rampages... impossible.'
This singular instant was the sole purpose of his life.
Park Chan-woo immediately drew a chalice from his inventory.
'Chalice of the Demon-Sealing God.'
The vessel that had sealed the God of Offerings.
As he opened the chalice's mouth, Sepiro's flesh masses began to be sucked inside.
For a brief moment, Sepiro's existence became 'Park Chan-woo's possession.'
The conditions to offer as tribute were met.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —Park Chan-woo, my contractor. What dost thou desire in exchange for all thou possessest and Dragon God Sepiro?
"Turn back time. To the moment I first awakened."
Park Chan-woo answered instantly.
From the beginning, he had sought only regression through time and space.
With all his treasures, Dragon God Sepiro, and the Chalice of the Demon-Sealing God, he believed it sufficient tribute to rewind time.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —'Tis insufficient for that.
"...What? You said it would be enough!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —What is sealed in the chalice now is but half of Dragon God Sepiro.
"Half? What the hell does that mean?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —Dragon God Sepiro hath two true bodies. —I only just realized. ...Soon, his other body will arrive.
"Fuck...!"
A situation where he couldn't hold back the curse.
The almighty Sepiro. The monster that stole humanity's hope was only half a being!
He had already poured everything in.
Used up all he had to reach this point.
Pushed comrades into the pit of death, used a hundred thousand suicide squads as meat shields.
All for this one purpose.
To turn back time and grasp hope anew.
And yet...
"Anything! If what I have is insufficient, I'll sell my future! If that's not enough, I'll offer my soul as tribute...!"
Thud!
Thud!
Ruuuumble!
In the distance, a being larger than the entire Dragon God Temple was approaching.
A transcendent dragon that had surpassed even draconic proportions.
Only then did he realize.
The flesh in the chalice, thought to be Sepiro's true body, was nothing compared to that colossal form.
💥 CRITICAL ALERT 💥
[I shall grant thee the greatest despair.]
[Humans, begone.]
Ah...
Beneath the Dragon God Temple.
All of Earth's humanity was being erased.
Turning to dust and vanishing.
Park Chan-woo desperately reached out, but he couldn't reach them.
Couldn't reach.
His own hand was gradually fading away.
Just one word.
Humanity's desperate struggle couldn't withstand even that single phrase.
Infuriating. Heart-wrenching.
To meet extinction without proper preparation, without even starting right.
If only he could start over... at least it wouldn't end like this.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —The transaction is complete.
"...!"
It was then.
Tick, tock.
Suddenly, the gears of time began turning backward.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —Contractor Park Chan-woo. Initiating thy final spatiotemporal regression. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Chirp chirp chirp!
Birdsong rang out.
It was strange.
There shouldn't be a single bird left on Earth.
'This place...'
A park.
The all-too-familiar Lakeside Park.
A dream, or reality?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ All Earthlings begin awakening. From now on, shouting 'Status Window' will allow you to check your abilities. Prepare! The 'Abyss' opens in 60 seconds!
The text floating before his eyes.
Seeing it snapped him to attention.
'...I'm back.'
He had succeeded in returning to the time just before awakening.
No time to dawdle, then.
Park Chan-woo urgently opened his mouth.
"Status Window."
Soon, a window appeared before him.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Affiliation: Earth / Human / South Korea
Name: Park Chan-woo
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 180cm / 71kg
Level: -99
⚡ Strength: (1) 💪 Vitality: (1) 💨 Agility: (1) 🧠 Intelligence: (1) ✨ Magic Power: (1)
At the same time, Park Chan-woo's face hardened completely.
"Wait. What the hell is this...?"
Even having turned back time, he couldn't simply rejoice.
Because it wasn't the Status Window from the past he remembered.
"Level -99...?"