Chapter 161 – Kim Songcheol of Nothingness (1)

It was a White Space. It was enclosed on all sides and not very wide.

It was a spatial rift that Tsukiaka had hastily created.

Given time, they could have rebuilt the Capital City of Pioneer, but for now, this was the best they could do.

On the flat white floor were the Mages of Pioneer. They had been moved through a large-scale Spatial Transfer.

“Aargh…!”

“My arm! It hurts!”

“Tear off some clothes! The bleeding won’t stop!”

“Damn it, my Mana is depleted! I need some healing magic here!”

“Isn’t there anyone else who knows more healing magic!? At my level…!”

They were truly a defeated army. They had barely managed to escape with their lives under Arkejar’s threat.

Even if they hadn’t fought Arkejar or Hexacar, there were too many invading dark Mages.

Overcoming such numerical inferiority and having this many people survive was proof of Pioneer’s potential, but…

“Damn it…”

Nikoren muttered softly as he poured out healing magic. Emotions of anger and despair mixed within him, to the point of hindering his magic. Nevertheless, his hands radiated a powerful green light.

Under his hands, a trainee Mage groaned.

He was a Mage who had trained under him. They had been together for over 10 years, and he was practically his best disciple.

His injury was severe.

It was a long tear from his left chest to his right flank, exposing his internal organs.

Even Nikoren’s recovery magic could only maintain the status quo.

Even for a Nothingness-level Pioneer, making a wound disappear instantly was impossible. Unless the Source itself was a first-tier magic related to recovery and official position, there were limits to second-tier recovery magic.

“Hold on. If you just hold on, I will surely save you.”

Nikoren further increased his magic power. This was to compensate for the insufficient recovery with output.

His already damp forehead was instantly stained with cold sweat.

Even for him, using magic in this way was impossible.

‘Recovery is slow…?’

He was putting all his strength into it, but the recovery wasn’t happening as much as he thought.

He thought it was just because the wound was severe, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

But there was no other way.

His condition was too bad to stop the magic and examine the wound.

“Stay still.”

At that moment, Kim Songcheol’s voice was heard. Nikoren, with one eye closed, raised his head towards him. Sweat had gotten into his eyes, making it impossible to open them. The wrinkles on his face deepened.

Kim Songcheol’s shoulder was also soaked in blood. Blood was still spreading on the hastily wrapped bandage.

Although it was a serious injury, Kim Songcheol’s face remained composed.

He ran his hand over the mage’s wound. A few black tentacles emerged from under his hand and gently licked the wound.

Then, the wound noticeably began to heal.

“There were traces of dark magic left.”

Tiny fragments of dark magic had remained, preventing the wound from healing.

Once Nehtual absorbed them, the recovery proceeded properly.

“Thank you. If you had been a little later…”

“Let’s treat it first.”

Kim Songcheol assisted with the recovery magic from the side.

Although the wound was healing again, the situation was still precarious.

The two silently poured out recovery magic.

After overcoming a certain critical point.

“I didn’t think I’d come back alive when I charged at Arkejar.”

Nikoren said. As the apprentice mage’s condition improved, his voice also had a bit more composure.

“I had every intention of coming back alive.”

“Your back didn’t look like it, though.”

“I didn’t have a detailed plan, though.”

“Hmph, thanks to you, we were able to escape like this. If you hadn’t stopped Arkejar…”

Nikoren briefly scanned the surroundings. There were about a hundred mages in this space. That’s about half the original number of Pioneers.

But even this many could be considered fortunate. He clearly remembered the moment Wemble died and the Pioneers were engulfed by Arkejar’s power.

It wouldn’t have been strange if the Pioneers had been annihilated.

At that moment, Kim Songcheol soared into the air, scattering blue electric shocks.

Nikoren thought he would end up like Wemble.

He couldn’t pull his body away and could only watch, but if he had even a little leeway, he would have intervened.

However, contrary to his worries, Kim Songcheol bought time against Arkejar.

Didn’t he even manage to wound Arkejar’s face?

The sight of red blood droplets forming on that dog-like kid’s cheek was still vivid.

“Agh! What is this!?

At that moment, a shout came from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw strange mushrooms sprouting from the wound.

As expected, it was a trace of dark magic.

First-tier magic is all different, making it difficult to predict its effects, and the rupture methods also vary.

Properly treating it in this situation is quite difficult, but Nehtual can provide a fundamental solution.

Because it erases the magic itself.

“I think we’ll have to discuss the details later.”

Kim Songcheol moved around, helping the mages recover.

Not only were there mages with injuries, but also many mages afflicted by unknown dark magic.

***

After the lengthy emergency treatment ended.

Seven hours after moving into this space, the chief mages and Kim Songcheol finally gathered in one place.

The eight chief mages had dwindled to five.

Juryung, moreover, was severely injured and unconscious, so he couldn’t even come.

Essentially, there were only four chief mages capable of active participation.

“Is your wound alright?”

Nikoren worried about Kim Songcheol’s shoulder. It was a wound inflicted by Arkejar. He couldn’t know what kind of after-effects it would leave.

“For now, yes. It’s better than I thought.”

Kim Songcheol nodded.

Arkejar clearly tried to leave a mark on Kim Songcheol. The red light that pierced his shoulder at the end was more than a curse; it was malice itself.

Even Nehtual might not have been able to absorb it, but it couldn’t overcome the source of nothingness.

The trace left by Arkejar had long since been absorbed and disappeared.

The fact that he was injured in his Lightning God Transformation state was merely surprising. Nothing more, nothing less.

“That’s a relief. Ah, we’ll be moving again in five hours. I think it’s safer to change locations at 12-hour intervals.”

Tsukiaka said. If Arkejar were to suddenly appear again, there would be nothing more dangerous.

They planned to keep moving so that he wouldn’t even think of finding them.

It was a temporary measure, but there was no better way.

“No time to rest…”

Shuhart, the chief mage specializing in The Source, murmured.

Not to mention Tsukiaka, who had to prepare for spatial movement, the other mages also needed to recover their mana and tend to their comrades.

Comfortable rest was a luxury.

“I wish I could have told you under better circumstances.”

Nikoren pulled out a small metal fragment from his pocket.

It was a round, sharp piece of metal.

He handed it to Kim Songcheol.

“This is a first-tier magic for you. I never thought I’d be giving it to you under such dire circumstances.”

“Oh, this is…”

He had heard that the creation of the magic was almost complete.

Juryung had long since created and released the Nehtual control magic, but the magic utilizing the Source of Nothingness took much longer, even with all the senior mages working on it.

Kim Songcheol took the metal fragment and ran his hand over it. The center clicked open, and characters appeared as a hologram in the air.

They were magic formulas, simplified into runes, the language of mages.

Kim Songcheol found himself beginning to read the magic formulas.

And he grasped the general content.

This first-tier magic, as expected, was to manifest the Source of Nothingness into the current reality and unfold it in the form of a domain.

It was structured with Nehtual as its framework, greatly enhancing its stability. The more the domain expanded, the more Nehtual was used, and the more it contracted, the less Nehtual was used.

In this ‘Anti-Magic Zone,’ no one can use first-tier magic.

If a mage is hostile to Kim Songcheol, they must engage in a ‘Kim Songcheol vs. second-tier magic duel’ in this Anti-Magic Zone for no reason.

It would be a nightmare for most mages.

“This is the limit. Although the research period wasn’t long, I still felt it. In an A-rank Dungeon, you won’t be able to use your Source any better than this.”

Nikoren looked exhausted in many ways. This was not only due to Arkejar’s invasion but also because the magic creation process was by no means easy.

It had begun with the anticipation of creating new magic, but thinking about the eight senior mages debating in one place made him shake his head involuntarily.

Furthermore, as the magic neared completion, he felt a great sense of inadequacy.

The other senior mages would all agree with that.

Nikoren wasn’t the only one who felt small the more he delved into the Source of Nothingness.

“Would it be different if we went to an S-rank Dungeon?”

Kim Songcheol merely asked casually, but Nikoren hesitated somewhat awkwardly.

“That place…”

“It’s an unknown place.”

Shuhart cut him off.

“There’s hardly any information. If you go in, you’re likely not to come back. I hear Ilwol’s Divine Demon has been gone for over ten years without a word.”

“Try not to think about going up there. I know the situation in your world, but you should be able to handle it sufficiently even in an A-rank Dungeon.”

Nikoren believed that most of the Hunters who didn’t return from S-rank Dungeons had died.

Otherwise, there was no reason for them not to return.

It wasn’t just the Divine Demon. Although it wasn’t mentioned here, Dean Wemble’s master also went up to an S-rank Dungeon and lost contact.

Although the sample size was small because so few people ascended to S-rank Dungeons, those two were currently in a state of being gone forever.

“I see. Actually… it’s a story for the distant future. It’s hard enough just surviving here now… an S-rank Dungeon…”

“I feel like you’ll be able to ascend soon.”

Nikoren said in a serious voice, with a hint of fear.

This was unlike him.

Mages are the kind of people who almost have fantasies about the unknown.

Furthermore, the name of the organization Nikoren belongs to is ‘Pioneer’.

It meant Pioneer.

Nevertheless, among the Head Mages, there were no people who were curious about the S-rank Dungeon.

Perhaps it was because it was slightly outside their ‘curiosity zone’.

Even among the Pioneers who lead Magic, only one person ascends to an S-rank Dungeon every 100 or 200 years.

It was as if it had already been decided that the Head Mages here could not ascend.

Even if they were curious, they couldn’t ascend, and fear filled the void of curiosity.

“We’ve strayed a bit from the topic.”

At that moment, Tsukiaka interjected. He stood up, putting his hands on his knees.

“I’ll prepare the Spatial Transfer again. Everyone, get ready.”

Tsukiaka was right. Arkejar was still outside, watching intensely.

It wasn’t the time to talk about things that weren’t immediately important.

The Head Mages dispersed. They began to look after the trainee Mages, recover their Mana, and prepare.

Kim Songcheol went to a corner and began to learn 1st-tier Magic.

There were quite a few similarities to controlling a Nehtual, so the Magic Formula itself wasn’t difficult. The difficulty was, as expected, bizarre, but that part wouldn’t be a big problem.

And so, Kim Songcheol moved with the Mages of Pioneer.

After about six Spatial Movements, which meant three days had passed.

It was when Tsukiaka was taking a short nap.

Creak…!

A small noise came from somewhere. It was the sound of space tearing.

Tsukiaka, who had been lying down, opened his eyes wide. It was the space he had created. He wouldn’t miss any damage to the space.

He jumped up and turned his head towards the tear.

Through the gap, a face wearing horn-rimmed glasses poked through. Soon, a body dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts completely moved into the space, and the torn space closed as if by magic.

Tsukiaka, who had gathered a lot of Mana, dispersed it the moment he saw his face.

“Three-Eyed Instability…?”

Because it was a familiar face.

Do Chi-ryang simply raised his hand to greet them and then slowly descended towards Kim Songcheol, who was sitting in the corner.

Thud.

As his feet, clad in slippers, touched the ground, Kim Songcheol, who was practicing Magic, also looked up.

Upon recognizing Do Chi-ryang’s face, he couldn’t hide his delight.

“Oh? How did you get here?”

However, Do Chi-ryang replied with a serious expression, unlike his usual self.

“It’s the Final Phase. I’ll have to use the Crystal.”