White Tiger Commander Namgung Jin.

His name was frequently mentioned in the Murim Alliance these days.

It wasn’t just because he was the son of the Murim Alliance Leader.

At some point, Namgung Jin had completely changed.

His former self, who enjoyed the arts and advocated for peace, was nowhere to be found; he had been reborn as a complete martial artist.

He dedicated most of his time to martial arts training and greatly increased his activities within the Murim Alliance.

Murim Alliance activities involve carrying out missions. The Murim Alliance is fundamentally a power organization, and substantial power is essential for its operation.

As the White Tiger Commander, Namgung Jin actively carried out the missions assigned from above.

Thanks to this, his standing as the martial artist Namgung Jin was gradually expanding. At the same time, he was slowly emerging from the shadow of being ‘the Alliance Leader’s son’.

“…”

Namgung Jin, dressed in tight-fitting light armor, hid himself among the bushes.

Behind him, 17 members of the White Tiger Squad were on standby.

No killing intent or presence could be felt in the forest where they were hidden.

This was proof of the considerable level of martial arts prowess of Namgung Jin and the members of the White Tiger Squad.

Namgung Jin’s clear eyes gleamed through the leaves.

He was currently observing a single dark mage.

These days, there were frequent minor skirmishes between the Murim Alliance and Lucifer. In fact, they clashed with Lucifer more often than with Ilwol.

The reason was Lucifer’s expansion.

There were many Murim Alliance branch offices near Lucifer’s territory.

Namgung Jin was assigned the mission of dealing with one of Lucifer’s dark mages.

This dark mage was quite infamous in the Murim Alliance, with the number of martial artists killed by his hand exceeding double digits.

However, the mission had been progressing slowly.

As with most sorcerers, he never left his base.

But today, it seemed something urgent had come up, as he was seen rushing out, and they followed him.

“Are you saying the Stone Slab is in the Gigant Forest?”

Namgung Jin’s target, the dark mage Pyoreun, asked.

His voice was urgent.

“Yes, contact was lost inside there.”

The dark mage at the front of the 15 subordinates bowed his head and pointed towards the forest.

Gigant Forest.

It was a place inhabited by large monsters that even A-rank hunters could not afford to be careless around.

“Let’s go in.”

Pyoreun turned towards the forest, and all the dark mages followed him, turning their backs to the White Tiger Squad.

This was their chance.

[Attack.]

The moment a low telepathic message swept through the ears of the entire White Tiger Squad.

Led by Namgung Jin, the White Tiger Squad members simultaneously shot towards the Black Mages.

Pyoreun, who was just moving, stopped abruptly. A deep gray magic power surged from his entire body.

At that, the other Mages flinched and stepped back.

Clang!

“Gasp!”

The moment Namgung Jin’s blade was drawn and cut the Black Mage’s throat was almost simultaneous with Pyoreun’s loud shout.

“It’s an ambush!”

Two large gray hands appeared above Pyoreun. Enveloped in gray smoke, their fingertips were raised like an eagle’s talons.

As the two hands swept downwards, dozens of magic power threads, crossing each other along their fingertips, struck the White Tiger Squad like a rupturing blade.

Kwa-ga-ga-gang!

A blue sword aura surged from Namgung Jin’s sword, who was at the very front.

Emperor Sword Form First Style: Heavenly Radiance.

The moment the sword smoothly cut through space, a large sword aura, in contrast, fell from the sky.

Boom!

As the sword aura blocked the front, the rupturing blade of magic power threads split into two, spreading to the left and right.

Cha-ja-ja-jang!

The White Tiger Squad members also created sword auras, resisting the rupturing blade of magic power threads. Namgung Jin, on the other hand, climbed against the rupturing blade, constantly closing the distance to Pyoreun.

Pyoreun’s subordinates hurled magic indiscriminately, but it wasn’t powerful enough to affect Namgung Jin.

The afterimages of the sword covered everything, splitting the magic one by one.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Pyoreun shouted loudly and stretched out his hand towards Namgung Jin. Then, the hands floating above his head quickly pressed their palms together, and the magic power threads extending from each fingertip twisted together, shooting towards Namgung Jin like an awl.

With added rotation, it cut through space like a drill, approaching rapidly.

Namgung Jin greatly increased his internal energy. His sword aura glowed blue once again.

Emperor Sword Form Fourth Style: Imperial Path to Peace.

Suddenly, the air became heavy. Along with a crushing pressure that made his shoulders feel heavy, the sword aura greatly expanded and shot forward.

A desperate thrust at a single point.

The two sharp points clashed in mid-air.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-gak!

The advantage was with Namgung Jin.

The sword aura tore through the magic power threads, scattering them, and as it did, it drew closer to Pyoreun’s neck.

It was then.

Rupturing Flash!

A red light bounced wildly in the air as if reflected by a mirror, then fell towards the crown of Namgung Jin’s head.

An attack that was clearly not a mere inner world projection.

Ka-ang!

Namgung Jin quickly raised his sword to deflect the red light, while turning his head to find the culprit.

There was a Mage in mid-air. She was looking down with a blank expression.

I couldn’t feel any presence of when it appeared.

Rupture! Swish!

The Red Light that Namgung Jin deflected returned to her palm, swirling through the air.

“Pyoreun.”

“Yes, Lady Songha.”

Pyoreun swallowed hard and replied. He was older, but in the Lucifer hierarchy, he was two ranks lower.

“You can handle the small fries, right?”

“Of course, Nothingness.”

“I’ll trust you.”

As she slightly tilted her hand downwards, the red light began to wildly tear through space again, as if released from a Prison.

Namgung Jin gripped his sword tightly. The power imbued in that red light was extraordinary.

After deflecting it once, his hands were tingling from the impact.

It looked simple, but it was the result of investing everything in speed and power.

The strength of that Magic was already proven by her rank as an 8th Castle Dark Mage.

Clang, clang!

Namgung Jin began to strike down the red light. He was in a hurry.

It was for the safety of his White Tiger Squad.

When the Magic Power Thread extending from the gray hand touched a White Tiger Squad member’s body, the White Tiger Squad member couldn’t move.

Meanwhile, attacks from other Dark Mages rained down, and eventually, there were even White Tiger Squad members who were controlled and attacked their comrades.

“You’re holding up quite well.”

She swiped her finger through the air once. The red light brightened even more, and began to push Namgung Jin back completely.

Clang!

It was a powerful force, strong enough to deflect the sword each time it struck.

Moreover, the attacks were precise. It seemed to even have a method to assist dynamic vision.

‘This one time…’

Namgung Jin crouched low, waiting for an opportunity.

And just as he found an opening and was about to surge forward.

Hazy Threads of Magic flew towards him, targeting his entire body.

From Namgung Jin’s perspective, it was a completely unexpected interference, and for the Dark Mage, it was intentional interference.

The moment Namgung Jin’s movement faltered, the red light flew in with an immense Aura.

Clang! Clang!

The red light attacked seven times in an instant. On the seventh strike, Namgung Jin’s chest was wide open, and the red light ruptured through the gap.

‘This is…!’

It couldn’t be blocked.

It was when Namgung Jin sensed death.

A Mage appeared before him as if flickering.

The Mage extended his right hand towards the red light.

Then, as if erased by an eraser, the red light vanished.

It didn’t end there.

The Mage swept across the battlefield in an instant, eradicating all of Pyoreun’s Magic Power Threads that were attached to the White Tiger Squad members.

There was no significant movement of Mana. They just disappeared as soon as he touched them.

The Mage returned to stand in front of Namgung Jin, blocking the Dark Mage floating in the sky.

“How have you been?”

Kim Songcheol glanced back and greeted him.

“Sorcerer…?”

Only then did Namgung Jin manage to utter a single word.

The Dark Mage floating in the sky silently watched Kim Songcheol, then opened his mouth.

“Pyoreun.”

“…”

“Pyoreun.”

“Yes? Oh, yes, yes!”

Pyoreun, who had been shocked and dazed by the sudden disappearance of his Magic, belatedly replied.

“Let’s go. It seems we won’t have any fun.”

Pyoreun immediately led a few surviving subordinates into the Forest, and Songha, as if escorting them, waited a moment longer before finally flying towards the Forest.

Once the Dark Mage Nothingness had completely vanished, Namgung Jin finally dispersed his Sword Aura and sheathed his sword.

He gestured to the White Tiger Squad members. It was a sign to attend to the fallen member.

There was one fatality.

Considering how completely overwhelmed they had been, it was a surprisingly small number.

If Kim Songcheol hadn’t appeared, they would have been annihilated, but for now, it could be considered a minor loss.

“…I am grateful for your saving grace.”

Namgung Jin offered his greetings first. That was the priority.

“People who know each other should help each other out.”

Kim Songcheol smiled as if it were nothing. He hadn’t done much with the Thread either. And Namgung Jin wouldn’t have deliberately bothered the Dark Mages.

“Hello.”

Setsu also flew in belatedly and greeted Namgung Jin.

As Setsu appeared, Namgung Jin instinctively surveyed his surroundings.

He wondered if the Celestial Spirit Maiden had come as well.

“Oh, the Celestial Spirit Maiden said she’s training.”

Kim Songcheol read his gaze and spoke a step ahead.

“That’s…”

Namgung Jin waved his hand as if to say that wasn’t it, but a hint of regret was already evident on his face.

“But what brings you here?”

Namgung Jin changed the subject.

It’s too long to explain everything… I just received a coordinate and came here. There’s nothing here.

Kim Songcheol said, looking around. The coordinates he received from Gambler were precisely this spot.

The very place he was standing on.

Because of that, he wondered if Gambler had sent the coordinates for him to save Namgung Jin.

“How did Mr. Namgung Jin get here…?”

“Oh, I was assigned a mission to hunt down the Black Mage who killed a Murim Alliance member, and I followed them all the way here…”

“The Black Mage who uses red light?”

“No. It was a different guy, but suddenly he intervened, and the battle went awry.”

“Originally, that… grey hand?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

“But he’s retreating surprisingly easily? Did something happen?”

The Black Mages seemed to retreat too easily. Even considering Kim Songcheol’s abilities.

They wouldn’t have turned back so readily unless there was something more important going on.

“Oh, now that you mention it, I heard they were looking for some Stone Slab.”

“A Stone Slab?”

Kim Songcheol perked up his ears.

“Yes. I distinctly heard ‘Stone Slab’. It seems they contacted someone, saying they found a Stone Slab in the Forest. But the one who contacted them was a Thread species. So I think they might have come out of the Rupture.”

“They’re not just Black Mages, right? Aren’t they part of Lucifer?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Lucifer is looking for a Stone Slab…?”

Lucifer is looking for a Stone Slab.

If that ‘Stone Slab’ was truly ‘the’ Stone Slab, it implied a lot of information.

That other Stone Slabs exist.

That Stone Slabs exist in Dungeons too.

That Lucifer has already secured a Stone Slab, though the exact number is unknown.

And that the Magic inscribed on the Stone Slab is valuable enough for a large Black Mage organization like Lucifer to take a keen interest in it.

‘This isn’t the time to be idle.’

Kim Songcheol turned to Namgung Jin.

“I also need to find a Stone Slab. Shall we move together? We can help each other out.”

Namgung Jin would carry out his mission, and Kim Songcheol would search for the Stone Slab.

There was plenty of room for them to join forces.

“Of course.”

Namgung Jin nodded.

Joining forces with Kim Songcheol was always a good idea.

Kim Songcheol subtly cast a small Magic. It was a Magic to detect the presence of a Stone Slab.

It could cover a radius of about 2km, but nothing had registered yet.

“Let’s go in for now.”

Kim Songcheol floated up like a thread, then sped up and flew into the Forest.

It was a considerably fast speed, but no one failed to keep up.

‘The nothingness is enormous.’

As I entered the Forest through the thread, that was the first thought that came to mind.

It felt even larger than when I saw it from afar.

The Gigant Forest is not only wide, but everything in it is huge.

Each tree of nothingness was at least 50 meters tall, and it felt like flying between buildings.

Namgung Jin and the White Tiger Squad members moved by leaping from branch to branch as if they were stepping stones.

With each leap, their bodies shot forward dozens of meters, achieving high speed.

Thump, thump, thump!

Then, suddenly, the ground rumbled, and a huge Monster appeared between the trees of nothingness.

It was about 15 meters tall.

It was a humanoid bipedal Monster.

“Squad Leader Baek.”

As Namgung Jin gave the order by calling his name,

Squad Leader Baek instantly changed direction and shot towards the Monster.

He drew his sword, and a brilliant Sword Aura enveloped it.

The distance rapidly closed.

The Monster reached out its hand towards Squad Leader Baek.

Squad Leader Baek dodged the hand by flipping his body in mid-air, then instead ran up its arm.

Leaping greatly from around the elbow, Squad Leader Baek ruptured under the Monster’s ear.

He swept past its nape with two sword strikes.

Crackle!

The Monster, whose neck was severed, fell forward helplessly.