“Come with me.”

Kim Songcheol and Setsu quickly followed the Celestial Spirit Maiden. She entered the Portal first, and the two immediately followed behind her.

Again, the view suddenly changed, and a new landscape unfolded.

It was a gray Ruins. The broken buildings were so old that it was impossible to guess the Flow of time, and most were weathered beyond recognition of their original form.

The Ruins stretched to the horizon. It was an unreal Thread-like sight.

It was while the three hunters were surveying their surroundings.

Whooong-!

With a single tremor, a pressure that seemed to weigh down the air spread out.

“W-what is it?”

A red figure slowly rose above the ruined building.

It was about 5 meters tall.

It looked like a human whose skin had been peeled off. Its fingernails and toenails were long and sharp, and its jet-black eyes glinted ominously.

Just as the foe’s maw opened, revealing its serrated teeth.

Kaaaak!

The monster’s roar tore through space. It wasn’t just a sound rupture. It pressed down on the body and oppressed the mind.

“I-I don’t think this is… right…”

Setsu collapsed. Her hands were trembling like an aspen leaf.

This was because she couldn’t withstand the fear emitted by the monster.

Even Kim Songcheol felt his mind go blank. He had to use all his resources to suppress his fear.

Whoooosh!

But the oneness, feeling that mental pressure, vibrated greatly and revealed its entire form.

With that, Kim Songcheol quickly regained stability. The complementary relationship between the oneness and its caster was quite powerful, too strong to be severed by mere fear.

And that’s when the Celestial Spirit Maiden moved.

Clang!

She stomped hard. Cracks spread across the floor, and the ground shook once.

“Snap out of it!”

Her entire body exuded an energy rupture, pushing back the fear emitted by the monster.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden is a martial artist who has undergone rigorous training since she learned to walk. Her mental strength was incomparably stronger than that of an ordinary person, and she resisted the monster’s fear on her own.

As the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s aura enveloped Setsu, the trembling in her hands gradually subsided.

“Let’s go.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden gave the signal, then shot forward.

Setsu would still need more time, but Kim Songcheol was fully capable of fighting.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden, who had instantly closed the distance, appeared in front of the monster and threw a punch. Following its trajectory, a large explosion of ink-black aura erupted.

Kwaaaang!

A fierce explosion sound erupted, but it didn’t even touch a single hair on the monster. This was because a powerful barrier had been created around it.

But the Celestial Spirit Maiden did not back down. She launched seven chain strikes, pushing the monster back along with its barrier.

Keiing!

In the meantime, Kim Songcheol’s arc linear tore through space. The extremely compressed electric shock flew as if to pierce everything, but it only shattered into pieces as it hit the barrier.

The monster, which had been pushed back, stopped abruptly in mid-air. One finger pointed towards the Celestial Spirit Maiden. Black energy seemed to gather at the tip of its sharp nail, then transformed into a thick energy rupture that shot towards her.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden resisted by covering her entire body with aura, but she was helplessly pushed back.

Kwagagak!

It was then that a green barrier appeared in front of the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

The thick barrier blocked the energy rupture, allowing the Celestial Spirit Maiden to regain her balance and stand on the ground.

Setsu reached out while sitting. The terror that had gripped her entire body still lingered, but she vividly remembered that she had to do her part.

Setsu gritted her teeth and fired the Green Sphere. Her eyes, hidden by her bushy bangs, were bloodshot.

The green sphere instantly grew in size, completely enveloping the Monster. As Setsu clenched her fist, the sphere gradually shrank, pressing down on the Monster.

The Monster’s shield and Setsu’s Supernatural Ability briefly vied for power.

That stalemate soon became a matter of time, and Kim Songcheol seized that fleeting moment.

He flipped his hand upwards and soared into the air.

Blue light gathered on his hand, beginning to draw a three-dimensional Magic formation.

At first, it was crude. It was barely recognizable as a sphere, but it quickly took shape, completing a complex and intricate sphere.

Rupture-zzzz!

Red Electric Shock discharged from Kim Songcheol’s entire body at the same time Setsu’s green sphere exploded.

“Celestial Spirit Maiden!”

Kim Songcheol shouted loudly and moved his fingers. Pieces of the sphere Magic formation detached and opened, beginning to transform into a three-dimensional shape.

During that time, red Electric Shock continued to shoot out, striking down towards the Monster.

Kagagagang!

The sturdy shield briefly shook from the Electric Shock’s Explosion. And the Celestial Spirit Maiden did not miss that moment.

The Dark Heavenly Energy that enveloped her entire body instantly converged into her fist.

The Dark Heavenly Energy had already reached the tenth level. Its power had already reached a state of complete mastery.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden kicked off the air once and simultaneously extended a powerful punch.

Spot!

The moment the black Light Beam struck the shield.

Crackle!

With a sound like grinding glass, transparent fragments scattered in all directions, and the shield shattered.

The Monster violently swung its arm. Following its movement, a massive Black Energy was generated, sweeping over the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

Setsu created a hemisphere-shaped object to catch the Celestial Spirit Maiden, who was hit by the attack and flew backwards.

It was also at that moment that the sky suddenly turned red.

The Electric Shock, gathered to its critical point, was instantly discharged and shot towards the Monster.

Kwagagaga!

The Monster, unlike before, quickly raised both hands.

A shield was generated once again, blocking Kim Songcheol’s attack.

‘It’s blocking this?’

Kim Songcheol gritted his teeth and increased the output. The Oneness glowed golden and hummed, and the Magic formation on his hand vibrated finely.

It instantly reached maximum output, pushing the Monster with immense pressure.

Eventually, under that force, the Monster’s left arm bent sharply, and a red Lightwave swept over the Monster’s upper body.

The Monster spun like Pyeong-i, spraying blood everywhere and falling to the ground. But it wasn’t over yet. Kim Songcheol knew that.

He immediately moved above the Monster’s head. Looking down, he saw that only its left shoulder was gone. This wouldn’t be a fatal injury.

The Monster, still lying down, spotted Kim Songcheol and immediately floated its body up.

But Kim Songcheol had already finished charging.

“Let’s die.”

Once again, a red Lightwave struck the Monster.

‘…!?’

The Celestial Spirit Maiden frowned at the sight.

No, her brow was already furrowed the moment the first Lightwave was fired.

Because its powerful might completely exceeded her expectations.

‘I’ve fallen further behind…?’

Through the Field Boss’s rewards, the Celestial Spirit Maiden had achieved a significant increase in her Castle, even satisfying herself. Furthermore, with her recent enlightenment, her Dark Heavenly Energy had reached 10 Castle.

Although she lost the sparring match when she first met Kim Songcheol, she thought the gap might have narrowed a bit. When she achieved enlightenment, she even felt for a moment that she might be comparable to Kim Songcheol.

However, the power Kim Songcheol displayed now was beyond her expected range.

Although she was the youngest, she was the most talented among the children of the Divine Demon.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s Castle growth rate was so remarkable that it moved the Directors, even though the succession had already begun.

Yet, she couldn’t catch up to a single Mage and even fell behind.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes blazed like fire.

Even as an Illegitimate Child, she was still the offspring of a Divine Demon.

That intense Competitive Spirit was harder to suppress than primal fear, and there was no need to suppress it; instead, it became a driving force, spurring her on.

‘I’ll catch up.’

It wasn’t a base emotion like jealousy or envy, but pure competitive drive that consumed her.

Thanks to the Directors’ actions, the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art, which only recognized children could master, was now in her hands.

With her Dark Heavenly Energy reaching 10 Castle, her preparations were complete. If she cultivated the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art, catching up to Kim Songcheol wouldn’t just be a dream.

Kwagagagang!

Unaware of the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s gaze, Kim Songcheol struck the Monster with two more Lightwaves.

There was no time for leisure, so all of them were at maximum output, and he felt dizzy as his Mana and mental strength were greatly depleted.

“…It must be dead now.”

Kim Songcheol pressed his forehead and looked down at the Monster. Not only its shoulder, but its waist and head had vanished without a trace.

If it were to revive in this state, there was no other way to think than that the difficulty was wrong.

“…”

Indeed, the Monster didn’t even twitch. After confirming the Monster’s death, Kim Songcheol flew to Setsu.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I feel a bit better now.”

In the interim, she seemed to have recovered her complexion. It was fear caused by the Fear skill in the first place. With its target gone, the reason for feeling fear also disappeared.

Kim Songcheol patted Setsu’s shoulder, then suddenly felt the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s gaze and turned around.

“But… why are you looking at me like that?”

“This is how I normally look.”

“I don’t think so. Or am I wrong?”

Upon closer inspection, her usual sharp gaze didn’t seem much different.

Kim Songcheol wasn’t omniscient. He couldn’t guess all of the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s inner thoughts.

Rupture!

At that moment, a pure white beam of light descended from the sky.

Three items appeared one by one before Kim Songcheol, the Celestial Spirit Maiden, and Setsu.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s beam of light contained a small box, while Kim Songcheol and Setsu’s only shimmered with a golden aura.

“Is this the reward?”

When Kim Songcheol reached out and touched the golden aura, a notification appeared saying he had gained 3.22 million Points.

It was quite a lot of Points for clearing just one Altar.

Setsu, on the other hand, earned 980,000 Points, and an aromatic Elixir emerged from the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s box.

Given their contribution, it might not be the best Elixir, but it would certainly be helpful.

“Wow, I earned almost a million Points!”

Setsu smiled brightly, even with 980,000 Points. It was the first time she had earned so many Points.

After collecting all the rewards, the light pillar vanished without a trace. Instead, a blue Portal appeared. It was the exit.

“Ugh, let’s go.”

Kim Songcheol passed through the Portal with a look of exhaustion.

Having used Magic so intensely multiple times, his whole body felt heavy and drained.

When they emerged, the Altar had already disappeared. The spot where the Altar had been turned into an empty lot, and as Setsu and the Celestial Spirit Maiden exited, even the Portal scattered.

“You have succeeded. You’ve worked hard.”

Dishao, who had rushed over upon hearing the news of the Altar’s disappearance, greeted Kim Songcheol and his party.

“We handled it as quickly as possible. If any more problems arise, please send us a request.”

“Of course, haha.”

After finishing his business, Kim Songcheol left the Base and displayed a Hologram with his Medal.

Since the request was completed, it was time to receive the Magic Alliance’s reward.

Entering the request tab, the ‘In Progress’ request had changed to ‘Completed’.

Next to it, the ‘Magic Imprint’ button was activated.

Pressing Magic Imprint brought up a list of Magic that could be Imprinted.

All 3rd Tier Magic and some 2nd-tier Magic appeared.

It would be foolish to obtain 3rd Tier Magic when 2nd-tier Magic could be Imprinted.

Kim Songcheol erased all 3rd Tier Magic, leaving only 2nd-tier Magic.

Cutting Magic that manifested the concept of cutting, Telekinetic Magic that evolved Telekinesis to its extreme, and Spatial Magic that controlled space caught his eye.

However, Kim Songcheol had already decided which Magic to learn.

It was one of the elemental Magic. Kim Songcheol intended to learn all five major elemental Magic one by one.

Since he had already learned ‘Thunder Shock’, he had obtained one electric element.

The rest were water, fire, earth, and wind.

The five major elemental Magic, like 3rd Tier, are also fundamental Magic in the 2nd-tier.

Because they are frequently used in 3rd Tier Magic, there were some overlapping Magic Formulas even with a difference in hierarchy, and it was easier to grasp their concepts.

As for their power and versatility, there was no need for further explanation.

However, Kim Songcheol’s reason for wanting to master all five 2nd-tier elemental Magic was because of the sixth element, ‘Light’.

In general, the concept is important in 2nd-tier Magic.

It’s different from 3rd Tier Magic, which simply operates like mathematics and science with just Magic Formulas.

In 2nd-tier Magic, light is the primordial element, and the five major elements originated from light. To manifest that ancient and brilliant light element, a journey of reverse-calculating the five major elements to find light was also necessary.

The explanation was grand, but simply put, it meant that one had to master one of the 2nd-tier five elemental Castle Magics to learn Light Castle Magic and Heal.

A Thread Mage would naturally have at least one elemental Castle that suited them well.

Currently, Kim Songcheol was mainly using Electric Shock Magic, but he didn’t have any particular feeling about it.

The reason he chose Electric Shock Magic was because of its advantages of high attack power and fast speed from activation to impact, not for any other reason.

So Kim Songcheol was thinking of finding an elemental Castle that suited him.

If it wasn’t light, he would dabble in the darkness that arose from light, and if it wasn’t darkness either, he would have to try the sub-elements of the five elements.

However, Kim Songcheol already had a little certainty about the Light element.

He didn’t know why, though.

‘First, with Nova.’

As compensation, Kim Songcheol first chose the 2nd-tier Fire Attribute Castle Magic, Nova. Then, that knowledge began to pour into his mind.