The Celestial Spirit Maiden circulated her Internal Energy. The Dark Heavenly Energy that had vigorously coursed through all the vital points of her body returned to her dantian.

She exhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Her deep, dark eyes sparkled like obsidian.

The place she was in now was the training room. It was a small, dark room. The Celestial Spirit Maiden got up, opened the training room door, and went outside. In the wide, luxurious hall, a middle-aged man was seated on a sofa. He was wearing a perfectly fitted suit.

“Did you finish your training well?”

He was Sa Gwang, the Director of Ilwol Corporation, also known as the Mad Wolf Star Demon. Contrary to his sobriquet, his long, snake-like eyes gave off an eerie aura.

“The item?”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden replaced her answer with a question.

“Hmm, here it is. It’s a Small Heavenly Pill.”

Sa Gwang took out a small wooden box from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. As he opened the lid, a red Elixir was revealed, and a pungent, heavy scent soon touched the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s nose.

However, instead of savoring the scent, her eyes sharpened.

“I told you to prepare a Great Heavenly Pill, didn’t I?”

“Please understand my circumstances. I barely managed to get a Small Heavenly Pill… but you can’t achieve a Great Undertaking by treating your subordinates so harshly, haha.”

“If they were ‘my’ subordinates, I wouldn’t treat them that way. Do you think I don’t know you’re connected to this and that?”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden shot back coldly, but Sa Gwang merely smiled, unafraid.

“For now, she is a subordinate. Even if she is a daughter born from the belly of an ordinary woman who knows nothing of Martial Arts, isn’t she of the Divine Demon bloodline? I cannot challenge the Chairman’s authority.”

Sa Gwang skillfully uttered provocative words, feigning politeness.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden walked over and snatched the Wooden Box from his hand.

“Next time, prepare a Great Heavenly Pill.”

“Hmm, I can’t do business at a loss either. The young lady is still a young Tiger. If she were at least the fifth child, not the nineteenth…”

“I am the best right now.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden cut off Sa Gwang.

“If your eyes aren’t knot-holes, you can’t deny it. What else do you need?”

The best among the Divine Demon bloodline.

She could truly be called the best of the best.

“I told you. It’s a certainty.”

Pill

“Haha, the Directors are nervous. The second young master’s succession is already being prepared… If the Chairman were here, I wouldn’t have to come here and receive looks as if I’m ‘unwillingly shaking dirty hands.’ All these things are happening because the Chairman is absent, aren’t they? So…”

Sa Gwang’s smile deepened.

“Give me certainty. Show me a token. Then I will put you on the stage. So you can compete with the second young master.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden glared at Sa Gwang. Sa Gwang calmly savored the Dark Heavenly Energy flowing from the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s entire body.

She was definitely the best right now.

Soon, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s red lips opened.

“…Wait.”

“Oh ho.”

“I will bring that token.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden turned and headed out. Sa Gwang’s voice followed her.

“I trust you know that time is not on your side, haha.”

***

“Monsters.”

The Haetae Team encountered a herd of Unicorns. Approximately 20 of them. It was quite a large herd.

They would have avoided them in the past, but now it was different.

“Let’s go!”

Without any particular strategy, Kim Jongwon and Song Yeongjin drew their swords and charged. Park Juhyeon and Kim Sujin’s Magic followed behind them.

Clang!

As the two Magic spells struck different Unicorns, the Swordsmen leaped in, brandishing their swords.

“Hup.”

It was then that Kim Songcheol’s Magic was activated. Magic circles flashed simultaneously in front.

Red lightning shot from the Magic circles. It was a Lightning Spear with the 2nd-tier Magic Formula, Fulmen Rubrum, applied.

An Electric Shock that was compressed into a single stream, beyond just twisted multiple strands of Electric Shock.

Five surprisingly red light spears streaked across the sky.

Whoosh!

The five light spears flew in a straight line, each piercing a different unicorn. The sound of them piercing wasn’t loud either. It was a high-heat electric shock. It melted through the hide and passed through the body, exiting on the other side.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of the attack.

As Kim Songcheol wiggled his five fingers as if playing a piano, the light spears scattered in all directions and shot out, targeting other unicorns.

After achieving oneness, the power to intervene with will in magic grew even stronger.

It was possible to not just slightly change the angle, but to make them turn around.

The mere five 2-circle lightning spears disappeared after killing thirteen unicorns.

Originally, they aimed for fifteen, but two barely escaped with their lives because the lightning spears weakened in power as they pierced through nothingness.

Of course, their breath was cut short by the magic that flew in afterward. They could be said to have survived for about three more seconds.

“What? When did it die?”

Song Yeongjin, who had just turned around after cutting down a unicorn, raised an eyebrow.

Just a moment ago, there was a unicorn behind him, but now there was only a warm lump of meat.

Kim Songcheol’s gaze, which had been watching that sight, lowered.

‘Is it like this here?’

He was looking at the points displayed below his vision.

Originally, he would consistently get 1268 points for catching one unicorn.

But today, it was 1267 points.

1 point had decreased.

If the points had been fluctuating, he wouldn’t have noticed, but since he had been receiving the same points, it stood out.

Kim Songcheol had almost reached the limit of a D-grade dungeon. If he became stronger here, the points seemed like they would gradually decrease and converge to zero.

‘Because of oneness, I became strong too quickly.’

He had achieved oneness and learned quite a lot of magic. Considering the average difficulty of a D-grade dungeon, Kim Songcheol was completely off the charts.

“He’s looking around again.”

Song Yeongjin approached, wiping his sword. He was speaking to Kim Sujin.

“That female staff member might appear…”

Kim Sujin stopped talking and pointed in one direction.

“Look! She’s here!”

At that, all the team members’ gazes turned in that direction.

There, the Celestial Spirit Maiden and her two male staff members were walking towards them, wearing the same training clothes as before.

This was a wilderness terrain. In the hot sunlight, the figures of the three people shimmered beyond the heat haze.

Kim Songcheol naturally stepped forward, preparing to greet the expected visitors.

Dust swirled between the two of them.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, who had approached at some point, stood in front of Kim Songcheol.

Her long hair was tied up high, as expected. The black hair tie fluttered with her hair.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes were calm, but inwardly she was surprised.

‘Innate energy…?’

It was because of the feeling emanating from Kim Songcheol. When she met him before, she only felt a pure yang energy, but now it was different.

An energy as dense and vibrant as innate energy was spreading from him.

‘What exactly did he do?’

When he asked for a month, I just thought he was stalling for time.

But the Sorcerer in front of me had accomplished something with Thread during that time.

And something great out of nothingness.

…It seems you’re ready, Sorcerer.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden spoke her first words.

Tsk.

Kim Songcheol simply responded by clicking his tongue.

He didn’t think he could avoid it anyway.

If the Celestial Spirit Maiden insisted on a fight, he had no choice but to confront her. He didn’t want to cause harm to his other teammates.

Well, let’s do it. It won’t be easy.

As Kim Songcheol extended one hand forward, the Celestial Spirit Maiden smiled faintly and clenched her fist.

The two men behind her stepped back, and the Haetae Team members saw this and also widened their distance.

I’ll give you three moves.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden said. It was something she had decided when she requested the non-violence, and she couldn’t change her mind just because Kim Songcheol had become stronger.

She had her own sense of propriety.

It could be considered a self-imposed penalty for specifically requesting non-violence.

Really?

Yes.

Hmm…

Kim Songcheol scratched his cheek for a moment, pondering, then sharply brought both hands down.

A large magic circle instantly appeared in front of him, and a bright red light greatly flared up in both his hands.

It wasn’t an Inner World Projection.

The heat emanating from the red light was even changing the surrounding air flow.

…Bolt Bringer.

As Kim Songcheol extended both hands forward, two red lights moved in a straight line, then intertwined, forming a spiral.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes widened significantly. The red spiral was reflected in her obsidian-like pupils.

This…!

She instantly raised her power by ten castles.

Isn’t that excessive for an attack launched after scratching his cheek?

Her hair instantly shot up into the sky, and black energy exploded around her.

Kwa-ga-ga-gang!

Black energy exploded from a punch thrown at a speed almost imperceptible to the eye, countering the red spiral.

Rumble! Bang!

Her fists continuously shot towards the red spiral. Each time, black energy burst forth, exuding a fierce aura.

The red spiral did not scatter from the punches; instead, it pushed the Celestial Spirit Maiden back.

The moment her firmly planted feet were slightly pushed back, her brows furrowed, and at the same time, a twin palm strike shot forward.

Kwa-ga-gang!

Suddenly, the trajectory of the red spiral twisted and changed its path to the right.

But before the Celestial Spirit Maiden could catch her breath, the spiral’s trajectory bent again and rushed towards her.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden gritted her teeth.

The black energy that enveloped her entire body gathered into a single point in front of her fist, and as she unleashed her punch, a pitch-black light beam tore through space.

Whoosh!

Not a massive explosion, but a small noise swept through the surroundings.

The moment the black light beam passed through the red spiral, the red light scattered and seeped into the air as if by magic.

The two looked at each other. They were surprised by each other.

Just now, Kim Songcheol had unleashed the strongest magic without collapsing.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden also used the secret technique of the Dark Void.

It was a magic she had trained for less than a year and a void technique she had trained for her entire life, but for now, it was a test of their true abilities.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, who had barely calmed her ragged breathing, opened her mouth.

“…That was two moves.”

“Wasn’t it one move?”

“The strike was one, but since it attacked twice, it’s two moves.”

“Really? Then there’s one move left, right?”

“…That’s right.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden channeled a lot of internal energy, preparing for the next attack.

For the first time in a long while, her fingertips tingled with tension. She wasn’t sure if she could block an even stronger attack.

However.

Whoosh!

What flew was just a single red light beam.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, with a cold expression, simply waved her hand once. It required quite a bit of power, but it was nothing compared to the first attack.

The red light beam plunged straight into the ground.

“Are you… mocking me?”

“No, I just thought it was unfair that only I was attacking.”

Kim Songcheol grinned, uncharacteristically.

To gain an immediate advantage, he should use Bolt Bringer one more time.

However, using the same attack twice is tantamount to revealing that it’s his best attack.

Moreover, Kim Songcheol saw the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s expression directly.

Her constantly changing expression indicated that the black beam she shot last was her strongest technique.

Kim Songcheol had figured out her true abilities, while the Celestial Spirit Maiden was unaware of his.

He decided to maintain the advantage of information.

‘I have a feeling she’d fall for a little trick…’

Kim Songcheol had already considered close combat.

If the advantage of information was added to that, he would have secured a significantly favorable position.

“…You will regret this.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden bit out her words. It seemed she felt deceived.

The three conceded moves were over. The moment the Celestial Spirit Maiden slightly bent her knees, her body shot forward.

Rumble! Bang!

He tried to stop her charge with a shield, but a bundle of shields broke against her fist.

The magic that followed cut through the air, but the opponent was no longer there.

Her figure, constantly closing the distance, appeared at the edge of his vision.

‘She’s damn fast.'”

Kim Songcheol immediately used Over Brain.

And just like that, the world briefly slowed down.