Kim Songcheol sat in the center of a large room. Behind him were two senior Mages, and in front of him were four senior Mages.

Geometric magic formations floated in the air, surrounding Kim Songcheol. There were so many that it was impossible to count how many types of magic were layered.

At a glance, it looked less like a magic formation and more like just a beam of light.

Also, at the edges of the room, apprentice Mages were waiting with writing implements and tense expressions, and senior Mages not directly participating in the experiment looked inside from beyond a large window.

“Alright.”

Nikoren, the project leader of this massive endeavor involving all eight senior Mages, rubbed his hands and spoke.

“The 19th Source Absorption experiment will begin. As usual, try to extinguish it through the Prosthetic Arm.”

In front of Kim Songcheol, five spheres of light floated.

All were created with first-tier magic; they weren’t simply light spheres but rather a type of test dummy magic, an aggregation of various spells.

Since it was an experiment that had been repeated many times, Kim Songcheol raised his hand in a familiar posture.

He activated his Prosthetic Arm and brought it to the leftmost red light sphere first.

His palm touched the light sphere, and as it smoothly passed through, the light vanished without a trace.

The other spheres were the same.

They disappeared along the path of his hand, as if erased by an eraser.

“This time, follow it properly!”

Juryung, who was standing behind Kim Songcheol, raised his voice.

His eyes were overlaid with green light, tracking the movement path of the magic absorbed through the magic.

Of course, as a senior Mage specializing in Great Beings, he could not directly use complex and detailed magic related to the Source, so he was borrowing the power of another senior Mage.

“Honestly…”

Shuhart, a senior Mage specializing in the Source, glared but meticulously controlled the magic formation.

The first-tier magic absorbed through Kim Songcheol’s Prosthetic Arm emitted a special signal and was immediately sucked into the world of Nothingness.

Then, as if waiting, Nehtual extended its tentacles and swallowed the first-tier magic.

Once inside Nehtual’s body, the first-tier magic’s signal disappeared. Its structure scattered, and the magic disintegrated.

“Oh! We finally caught it.”

Juryung raised his fist and let out a cheer. Other senior Mages tended to be less expressive, but Juryung was a little different.

He dispersed the green light overlaying his eyes and walked over to the whiteboard.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you my hypothesis, so everyone listen up. As revealed in other experiments, Nehtual and the Source of Nothingness have very similar properties. So, what I mean is…”

Juryung’s story continued for a long time after that.

After all, he was a Great Being specialist and had done a fair amount of research on Nehtual, so he had a lot to say.

To summarize that long story, it could be condensed into one sentence.

The Source of Nehtual and Nothingness formed an unusually stable symbiotic relationship.

It was as stable as if it had been born from the Source of Nothingness.

As Shuhart, the Source specialist Mage, had mentioned several times, it was theoretically impossible for such an entity to take root within the Source.

Of course, he couldn’t argue too strongly, as there was actual evidence in front of them that it was possible.

“Perhaps Nehtual’s Main Body is also doing something similar to what is happening within this friend’s Source. Although it’s difficult to confirm since it’s in the Dark Realm.”

“Alright, let’s leave you to research Nehtual on your own. The important thing is that we need to develop a new 1st-tier Magic.”

Nikoren stepped in to redirect the discussion.

This was not a place to research Nehtual.

They needed to create a 1st-tier Magic suitable for Kim Songcheol, and Juryung seemed to be excitedly chattering about his own area of expertise.

It was necessary to adjust the direction appropriately.

“No, no.”

Normally, he would have joked around a bit before getting back to the main point, but Juryung became serious.

“I’m not talking about something completely unrelated. I told you, didn’t I? Nehtual and the Source of Nothingness have very similar characteristics. If we ‘use’ Nehtual, we can quite easily…”

“Easily?”

“No, ‘relatively’ easily construct a 1st-tier Magic, I mean. Shuhart, what do you think?”

Shuhart, the Chief Mage specializing in the Source, who had been singled out by Juryung, pushed up his glasses and began to speak.

“Hmm… I’ll have to discuss this in more detail with Senior Nikoren, but honestly, the Source of Nothingness is too vast. No, it’s simply infinite. It’s perfectly fine to consider this very thread as a 1st-tier Magic in itself.”

It was already more powerful than any other 1st-tier Magic in that it nullified other 1st-tier Magics.

Shuhart was pointing out that exact fact.

“And manifesting the Source in an area form, as requested by Mage Kim Songcheol, is indeed ‘relatively’ easy. We have enough theoretical groundwork for that part. But we want something even higher than that, don’t we?”

“Exactly! That’s the combination of a Great Being and 1st-tier Magic! That’s the creation of Magic in an unprecedentedly beautiful way!”

Juryung’s eyes sparkled as he raised his voice. Shuhart calmly opened his mouth, letting that intense emotional outburst wash over him as if it were nothing.

“But Senior Juryung, can we perfectly control Nehtual? That seems to be a prerequisite.”

“Of course we can…”

Juryung drew out his words and crossed his arms. His eyes briefly lost focus.

In Juryung’s mind, various Magic theories, including the blueprint for controlling Nehtual, flashed by at an incredible speed.

“…can we?”

Juryung’s gaze turned to Kim Songcheol.

First, creating Magic is a significant challenge.

Contacting a Great Being is normally done through a Contract.

Even if it’s only a part of Nehtual, it won’t be easy to control.

There’s also the issue of the Magic’s difficulty.

Theory and practice are different.

Because it is humans who use Magic.

When creating Magic, one must consider the magical abilities of the human who will actually use the Magic.

In this case, the approach and difficulty of creating Magic will change rapidly depending on Kim Songcheol’s magical abilities.

Noticing Juryung’s concern, Nikoren stepped forward. He lifted Kim Songcheol’s right hand from his lap and placed it on the table.

“You haven’t checked this prosthetic arm yet, have you?”

Nikoren suddenly brought up the prosthetic arm.

Juryung tilted his head and looked down at the prosthetic arm. The prosthetic arm, which looked just like a normal hand, was simply resting on the table.

“The prosthetic arm? Why the prosthetic arm all of a sudden?”

“This was made by an engineer named Devilock Jusan-nan. Take a look. See how it works.”

“Devilock Jusan-nan? Ah, I’ve heard the name before…”

“If you’ve heard of him, that says it all. Take a look. It’ll be interesting.”

Juryung tilted his head, but still approached and created an analytical magic circle around the prosthetic arm.

He already knew that this prosthetic arm was quite an amazing item.

It was an item that drew human source and connected it to the right hand.

It could be called a ‘masterpiece’ that expanded the base of magic engineering.

He had already acknowledged that part, so what more was there to examine?

“Hmm?”

Juryung, who was analyzing the prosthetic arm’s operating method, frowned.

“This can actually work…?”

At first, he thought something was wrong.

No matter how much technology and magic developed, there were limits.

Because the user was a mage, a human.

But this prosthetic arm didn’t seem to be made for human use.

The complexity was enormous.

He estimated that the manual alone would be over a hundred pages.

That wasn’t the only surprising thing.

One part completely deviated from the way humans used mana.

That is, instead of continuously connecting mana, it had to be moved by leaping it.

Like with a superpower, for example.

“How was this used…?”

“Haha…”

As Kim Songcheol gave an awkward laugh, Nikoren interjected.

“How is it? With that, you should be able to create magic quite freely.”

His words were correct.

If impossible mana control was possible, magic creation would be much easier.

Considering Kim Songcheol’s situation, he had to create magic assuming combat or urgent situations.

Then there would inevitably be a difficulty adjustment, leading to a situation where magic was easy to use but difficult to create.

However, if Kim Songcheol’s magical ability was this level, from the perspective of creation, it was as good as having a free playing field.

Because there was no need to consider human limitations.

***

Kim Songcheol was hunting monsters in the innermost part of the Pioneer, that is, in a space created by opening a gap within a gap in the space where the Pioneer was built.

It was a process of standing still in an empty space, and then when a monster entered, killing them one by one.

There was only one type of monster. It was a creature called Vexa, characterized by its house-sized bulk and tough outer shell.

Of course, to Kim Songcheol, it wasn’t a formidable monster.

Boom!

As the space in front opened in a circle, another Vexa leaped out.

It flaunted its shimmering purple hide, looking around for prey.

But its aura lasted less than a second.

Crash!

Because lightning fell from the sky. It wasn’t just a simple electrocution; the electric shock went right through its head.

The intense heat generated by the electric shock melted even its tough hide.

There was a pile of Vexa corpses accumulated like that.

A mound of corpses had even formed in one corner of the space.

“As expected, the efficiency isn’t great. It’s a temporary measure, so I guess there’s nothing for it…”

Kim Songcheol muttered, preparing to activate his magic again.

This temporary hunting ground was provided by Pioneer, and its structure relied purely on the labor of the apprentice mages.

They were all disciples of Archmage Tsukiaka, a spatial magic expert, and were mobilized under the pretext of training in spatial superposition magic.

Since the spatial rift was opened twice, it wasn’t easy to pass monsters through to the inside.

Because the space itself was unstable to begin with.

Nevertheless, the apprentice mages were supplying monsters quite stably.

They might be apprentice mages in Pioneer, but outside, they were high-ranking mages, so it was natural.

“Is the hunting going well?”

Nikoren walked in as the space in front opened.

His eyes were even more hollow than usual.

“Hunting isn’t difficult. It’s just that everyone seems to be struggling too much. I feel a bit uncomfortable, you could say.”

As Kim Songcheol cautiously confessed his feelings, Nikoren waved his hand as if it were nothing.

“Apprentice mages are best when they’re put to work. If they don’t like it, they can just become Archmages, can’t they? It’s all fertilizer for magical growth.”

“…Is that so?”

It seemed he genuinely thought so, not just saying it for Kim Songcheol’s sake, but a corner of Kim Songcheol’s heart still felt uneasy.

It was an unavoidable method, as Lucifer would pursue them if they left Pioneer, and they needed to earn a certain amount of points.

“How’s the research coming along?”

Crash!

Kim Songcheol asked, lightly dropping a bolt of lightning.

Because a new monster had just entered.

“For now, our friend Juryung is working day and night. We’re discussing the subsequent problems. Even if we manifest your source in the form of a domain to create a foundation for Nehtual to move stably, controlling Nehtual perfectly comes first.”

“Is manifesting it as a domain still not done? I heard that was relatively easy.”

“Shuhart is too much of a perfectionist, even among the Archmages. I heard he’s been pulling all-nighters for days already.”

“To that extent…”

“It’s not something you need to worry about. We’re doing it because we enjoy it. It’s been so long since Pioneer was this lively. It’s also the first time all the Archmages are working on one project, haha.”

It was then.

“Hey!”

A space opened in the air, and Juryung, whose hair was a bird’s nest, fell out of the air.

His appearance was a mess.

His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes were bloodshot, red as if he had pinkeye.

But his voice was full of power.

“First of all, the prototype is out! I need to activate the Trial once. You’ll be able to summon Nehtual without losing consciousness. Well… it might be a bit difficult for you too… but we’ll adjust that gradually.”

As Juryung waved his hand in the air, Magic Formulas ruptured and appeared. Magic Formulas made of light unfolded before their eyes, enough to fill four or five large blackboards.

Nikoren read the Magic Formulas and glared at Juryung.

“Didn’t you bring this out too hastily? Even to me, this seems a bit… it’s still in the Trial stage.”

“That’s why I said it’s a prototype, right? If something goes wrong, we can just put it back.”

“How?”

“By reverse-engineering the mechanism that brings it to the current world if you lose consciousness, the Kill Switch has been perfectly manifested. Look at the last part.”

“Hmm…”

He was not wrong. Juryung was a Mage who would confront things head-on, but as a chief Mage, he did not disregard safety.

Kim Songcheol read the Magic Formula several times with speed reading magic.

The difficulty was high even for Kim Songcheol, but the Magic Formula itself was not very long.

This was because the focus was on summoning Nehtual while fully conscious.

“I’ll try it.”

“Already?”

“I think I’ll only know if I try it.”

Kim Songcheol took his stance, concentrated on the Magic Formula, and activated the Magic.

Simply put, it was a Magic that created a pathway for it to come into the current world.

As Kim Songcheol activated the Magic, Nehtual began to move through the pathway without hesitation, as if it had been waiting.

Soon, a black circle opened in front, and Nehtual poured out.

As soon as Nehtual came out, it wildly swung its long Tentacles, searching for prey.

As dozens of Tentacles thrashed through the space, it instantly became chaos.

“Ugh!”

“Wait!”

Juryung and Nikoren were surprised and moved to avoid the Tentacles, frantically using Blink and movement magic.

This was an opponent that 1st-tier Magic wouldn’t work on from the start.

Even the chief Mage of Pioneer had no choice but to avoid it.

“I can’t control it!?”

Kim Songcheol shouted urgently.

“Ah, it seems my Magic Formula for that part was wrong.”

Juryung spoke in a calm voice that didn’t match the urgent situation.

Wasn’t he, in fact, observing Nehtual’s intense reaction?

“Damn it! Cancel the Magic!”

Nikoren then shouted, his voice unusually filled with irritation.