In addition to an attack method so fast and powerful that it was impossible for a Mage to counter, there was also the viciousness of blocking Spatial Movement.

Setsu’s Supernatural Ability pushed away the Red Light dust, creating a perfect green domain, but that was only within 30 meters around him.

Using Blink into the Red Light dust was still a suicidal act.

However, within the green domain, he was free.

That alone provided some breathing room.

Swoosh-!

Before Setsu’s domain could expand to its maximum, a dense Red Light burst through.

The speed was so fast that Setsu couldn’t catch it. However, he emitted repulsive force in all directions, blocking its movement.

The Red Light stream flew around as if it had wings, but the moment it entered the domain, its speed drastically dropped.

It was like a bullet entering water.

‘Still fast.’

There was no time to confirm with his eyes. He identified the path and position of the Red Light stream by sensation, then immediately took action.

Blocking the last incoming attack with multiple layers of defensive Magic, he used Blink to move in front of the closest beam of light.

He barely managed to spread his palm and extinguish the beam of light.

Clang clang clang!

Meanwhile, the defensive magic was being broken without mercy.

Even though its power must have been greatly reduced upon entering Setsu’s domain, it was relentless.

The dark mage named Songha was more skilled than expected. Considering the mages’ habits, it was highly likely that the magic shown now was not even their maximum power.

‘Three.’

Kim Songcheol blinked two more times in an instant, erasing the red light beams.

Four remained.

‘No time.’

Kim Songcheol clenched his teeth as he erased the fourth attack.

He would be able to use Blink about one more time.

That would mean erasing five out of the seven attacks.

Two remained.

It would be fortunate if they targeted Kim Songcheol, but they wouldn’t.

They would clearly change direction and target Setsu.

This was because Setsu’s role was to push back the red light particles and create space for Kim Songcheol to maneuver.

Kim Songcheol had to make a decision here.

Should he aim for a counterattack, or trust Setsu?

If he aimed for a counterattack, now was the opportune moment.

They would naturally expect Kim Songcheol to move to erase the red light, and that very thought was a vulnerability.

‘…?’

At that moment, Setsu’s domain began to shrink. It was a subtle difference, but Kim Songcheol clearly saw it.

‘Should I trust her?’

Kim Songcheol’s gaze fell downwards. It was where Setsu stood. Setsu was also looking up at Kim Songcheol.

Setsu’s eyes were clear.

Even revealing confidence.

Setsu hadn’t just relied on Kim Songcheol to get this far either.

As if to prove it, Setsu’s domain greatly fluctuated once and then rapidly contracted.

Simultaneously, Ether Wings formed behind Kim Songcheol, firing towards the dark mage.

Meanwhile, Setsu’s domain had shrunk to about 3 meters in diameter, and its density had noticeably increased.

Green grains instantly swarmed towards the two red light beams.

Crack!

The red light beams stopped abruptly, right under Setsu’s chin and in front of her chest.

They had been completely caught by Setsu’s supernatural ability.

Rupture! Buzz!

The red light vibrated, trying to shake off the supernatural ability that bound it, but Setsu remained unmoving.

Instead, she pressed down with powerful pressure.

Rupture! Ba-ba-ba-bat!

The two light beams convulsed greatly before disintegrating into light grains and scattering.

In the meantime, Kim Songcheol had already greatly narrowed the distance to the dark mage.

“Do you want to die?”

The Black Mage’s lips twisted into a sneer.

Nine red lights appeared around her. The beams of light surged towards Kim Songcheol without hesitation.

Even from afar, he couldn’t deflect all seven, having to leave two to Setsu.

At such a close range, deflecting all nine was almost impossible.

However.

“…?”

A rapidly expanding green area caught the Black Mage’s eye.

Beyond Kim Songcheol’s shoulder, who was getting closer by the second, Setsu could be seen flying in quickly.

The green area had already enveloped Kim Songcheol and even the Black Mage.

The area’s width was roughly 70 meters.

It was twice as large as the previous 30 meters.

Of course, the red light beams were fired without delay.

Their speed slightly decreased within Setsu’s area, but that was all.

This was due to Setsu’s supernatural ability being insufficient from expanding the area.

Rupture! Ba-ba-ba-bat!

The nine beams of light passed right through Kim Songcheol.

“…?”

It was then that he realized something was wrong. His body had clearly been pierced, but Kim Songcheol was merely suspended in mid-air.

‘…An illusion?’

The Black Mage’s face, which had been consistently listless, was now filled with shock.

She hadn’t noticed the illusion magic casting.

Such a subtle technique.

She hurriedly tried to turn her body around. Her neck moved first, and her eyes met Kim Songcheol’s, who was standing right behind her.

Intense electric shocks were already surging from Kim Songcheol’s entire body.

His hand, wreathed in electric shock, was rapidly approaching.

“This…!”

It wasn’t that the Black Mage hadn’t considered Kim Songcheol’s blink.

But the moment she saw through the illusion, she let her guard down, even if just for a moment.

That opening.

For a mage like Kim Songcheol, it was practically an open main gate.

The Black Mage’s face changed again. It contorted like an evil spirit. She hurriedly raised her hand to activate her magic, but.

Thump!

Her limbs were bound by Setsu’s supernatural ability.

The pressure was immense. Although it was merely her arms and legs being held, her bones instantly broke, severing the flow of magic power.

And Kim Songcheol’s fingertips touched the nape of her neck.

Rupture! Crackle!

The Electric Shock that had been burning only around Kim Songcheol was amicably transmitted to the Dark Mage.

Of course, it had no impact on Kim Songcheol, who had activated the Magic, but for the Dark Mage, it was nothing short of divine punishment.

The Dark Mage swayed, emitting black smoke from his entire body, then fell with a thud from a high branch to the ground.

‘Was that a bit too close?’

It was also a concern that he had narrowed the distance too much by directly touching his finger to the Dark Mage, not knowing what would happen if he cast Magic from within the Red Light dust.

But Kim Songcheol trusted Setsu, and Setsu lived up to that trust.

“Well done.”

Kim Songcheol gave Setsu a thumbs-up.

“I trained hard too, you know.”

Setsu replied while looking around, checking the situation even after the battle ended.

Maeng-gal’s special training was being put into practice.

A little distance away, the battle between the White Tiger Squad and the Dark Mages was in its final stages.

Since the strongest Dark Mage was tied up by Kim Songcheol’s team, it was reasonable to assume that Pyoreun was dead.

Originally, Dark Mage Songha probably didn’t even consider saving Pyoreun.

Because the plan was to deal with the White Tiger Squad after killing Kim Songcheol, regardless of what happened to Pyoreun.

Swoosh!

A brilliant Sword Aura left a large trajectory in the air. Following that trajectory, the last remaining Dark Mage was split in half, top to bottom.

The White Tiger Squad had zero casualties from the recent battle.

They had completely overwhelmed them.

After confirming that the Dark Mages had stopped breathing, Namgung Jin approached Kim Songcheol.

“Are you unharmed?”

“Yes, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry

about it.”

“Indeed… it was the same before, but you are always unwavering.”

Namgung Jin watched Kim Songcheol fight. There were moments of hesitation and danger, but Kim Songcheol made clear judgments and acted upon them.

And those decisions were always correct.

From Namgung Jin’s perspective, Kim Songcheol, who always made the right decisions, was truly admirable.

“I’m just good at pretending to be okay. Inside, it’s always a mess.”

Kim Songcheol replied with humility and changed the subject.

“The mission is over, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then let’s move somewhere else for now. We don’t know when other enemies might swarm us.”

Lucifer is also looking for this Stone Slab. If this Stone Slab is that important, it’s possible that other forces have already departed.

“This way, for now.”

Kim Songcheol took the White Tiger Squad members, Namgung Jin, and Setsu away from the location using Teleport Magic.

Kim Songcheol and Namgung Jin exchanged greetings at a certain base.

Namgung Jin then left, saying he wanted to treat Kim Songcheol’s team of ‘three’ to a grand meal next time.

Was mentioning the three of them an implicit pressure from Nothingness to bring the Celestial Spirit Maiden?

Kim Songcheol thought he should ask the Celestial Spirit Maiden and saw off Namgung Jin and the White Tiger Squad members.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Soon after, Duke Dorabin also appeared at the Base.

As soon as he received the message that the Stone Slab had been found, he entered the Dungeon using Nothingness breathing.

“Is, is it true that you found the Stone Slab?”

Duke Dorabin asked with a trembling voice as soon as he saw Kim Songcheol.

“Yes, surprisingly, it’s true.”

“No, how on earth…”

When Kim Songcheol took out the Stone Slab and handed it to him, he even stopped what he was saying and gulped.

It was a real Stone Slab.

How on earth did they find it?

They had searched all of Arcadia. Not the entire A-rank Dungeon, but a considerable portion of it.

And yet, they hadn’t even found a corner of it, and now he appeared with it in just a few days.

It was natural for Duke Dorabin to be surprised.

“Take it. It was a request, wasn’t it?”

Kim Songcheol placed the Stone Slab in Duke Dorabin’s hands.

Anyway, for Kim Songcheol, the Magic Formula written on the Stone Slab was important, but the Stone Slab itself wasn’t particularly important.

Besides, if he ever needed the Stone Slab later, he could just borrow it for a short time.

For now, officially placing the Stone Slab in Arcadia would be the safest option.

Because he didn’t know what Lucifer might do.

“Such a moving event…”

Duke Dorabin teared up, holding the Stone Slab in his hands.

The Bormil Empire citizens and Kim Songcheol had different attitudes towards the Stone Slab.

He held the Stone Slab with both hands, as if revering a castle relic, and looked down at it with an emotional expression.

‘I might have made that…’

Kim Songcheol thought to himself words he couldn’t possibly say, watching him.

He would never say it in the future either.

He wouldn’t be believed, and even if he were, he didn’t want to break the illusion.

“Oh right, I’ll give you the commission fee.”

Duke Dorabin quickly put the Stone Slab into his Subspace, as if someone might steal it, and transferred Points to Kim Songcheol.

The transferred Points amounted to 70 million.

At this level, it was the highest amount for a single item retrieval request.

“Oh my, so much…”

“Not at all. Thank you so much for finding the Stone Slab. I wish I could give you more, but the Dungeon’s rules are regrettable. If you find any other Stone Slabs, please contact me anytime.”

“Of course. I’ll contact you without delay. Oh, by the way, could I see the Stone Slab analysis data later?”

Kim Songcheol now intended to delve deeper into 3rd Tier Magic.

This was because he planned to find another Stone Slab and activate Magic.

Even if he were to forcibly activate it through sheer will, he still needed to possess the necessary Magic knowledge.

At that time, Bormil’s Stone Slab research materials would prove extremely useful.

“There’s no need to ask. Those materials will soon be made public to the citizens of Bormil’s Empire. They are no longer classified. If Mage Kim Songcheol wishes to see them, I will send someone to deliver them at any time.”

“Oh, to that extent… Thank you.”

“Not at all. We are the ones who are grateful. Thank you for always helping Bormil.”

Duke Dorabin repeatedly expressed his gratitude and then returned to Arcadia.

Now, two Stone Slabs would be displayed in the Stone Slab repository.

Furthermore, with an increase in Stone Slab interpreters, interpretation data would accumulate moment by moment.

And those materials would later be delivered to Kim Songcheol, becoming his magical blood and flesh.

Arcadia is a very helpful place in many ways.

He felt like he hadn’t done much for them, but had received so much in return.

***

The coast near Base ‘Bayhan’.

It was a place where the sea and sandy beach were clearly visible.

Of course, since it was inside a Dungeon, no one was leisurely enjoying a vacation.

On the contrary, people were reluctant to approach the sea because marine Monsters are more difficult to deal with than land Monsters.

As if to prove this, there was only one shop on the vast sandy beach.

Neither the owner who set up a shop here nor the single customer were ordinary people.

An orange Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and flip-flops.

A male staff member in his 40s wearing black-rimmed glasses.

The sole customer at the pub.

He was none other than Do Chi-ryang, the Three-Eyed Instability.

Do Chi-ryang held a yellow cocktail and gazed at the distant horizon.

“I saved Namgung Jin, so the Murim Alliance seems to be taken care of for now. I also prevented the Stone Slab from falling into Lucifer’s hands. This bought us more time until the ‘Descent,’ but… how do I get the Pioneer involved? It’s difficult, so difficult.”

“That’s what happens when you keep trying to do things from behind the scenes.”

The long-haired Bartender said, sipping his beer.

“My combat power is weak, isn’t it? What if I die? Will you take responsibility?”

Do Chi-ryang pressed him as if cross-examining him. Of course, the Bartender didn’t bat an eye.

“It’s true that your combat power is weak, but there aren’t many Hunters who can kill you, sir.”

“Didn’t I tell you? If you include my life in the possibilities, your calculations get too complicated. Oh, but why isn’t there any contact between the Pioneer and Kim Songcheol?”

“How would I know that? You’re the only one who sees…”

“Just be quiet for a moment. I think I’m about to see something.”

“You won’t even let me speak…”

The moment the Bartender grumbled, a line appeared on Do Chi-ryang’s forehead, and his eye snapped open.

A strange light emanated from the eye on his forehead, and soon, his other two eyes also flickered with a peculiar light.

All Creation.

Future and fate, cause and effect,

Do Chi-ryang’s gaze followed the tangled threads of that chaotic entanglement.