“Hello?”

It was a Female Staff Member Mage with striking curly hair. She had clearly greeted him with a smile, but Setsu couldn’t respond with such good humor.

Others had already begun fighting. They were exchanging blows in a fierce atmosphere.

Setsu gulped. This Female Staff Member Mage was his responsibility.

It was the moment Setsu’s wavering eyes fixated on the Female Staff Member.

“You didn’t even say hello, you’re a bad child.”

The Female Staff Member’s voice cut in, perfectly breaking the flow. As her leisurely voice, unfitting for the brutal atmosphere, continued to flow, Setsu, being inexperienced, couldn’t grasp what he should do.

“Hmm.”

The Female Staff Member touched her curly hair, seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened her mouth.

“Want to play tag?”

“…What?”

“I’ll be ‘it’. But if you get caught, you die.”

The Female Staff Member smiled ominously and drew her thumb across her neck once.

…

Setsu’s eyes wavered again, and the Female Staff Member held up her palm.

“5.”

One finger folded down.

“4. You’d better start moving.”

The Female Staff Member smiled and folded another finger.

“3.”

Only then did Setsu bite his lower lip and soar into the sky.

At the same time.

“2, 1. I’m catching you!”

The Female Staff Member instantly folded all her fingers and shot up towards Setsu.

Thus, the semi-forced game of tag began.

It was a very clever method. First, she confirmed that Setsu was young, then understood his disposition through conversation, and led the fight in a way that was advantageous to her.

She was, after all, a Mage. When she was on the chasing side, it was as good as having continuous attack rights.

But there was one thing she hadn’t considered.

Whoosh!

Setsu was faster than she thought.

‘What is this kid…?’

The Female Staff Member’s expression, which had been smiling as she followed, soon hardened.

She had increased the output of her Advanced Fly Magic, and now it was at its maximum.

Yet, the distance wasn’t closing.

It felt like if she reduced the output for even a moment, she would miss him.

Each of them was assigned to one person, and she couldn’t even handle one brat properly?

There was no greater disgrace, and perhaps her position might be shaken.

The Female Staff Member reluctantly maintained maximum output and strenuously Casted Magic.

Using another Magic while fully exerting one Magic also proved her Magic Thread power.

The moment the Magic Circle was completed, a blue light flashed in the center of the Magic Circle. It was an Arc Linear, fast and highly accurate.

Rupture chch!

That was when Setsu glanced back.

Suddenly, a large cube appeared behind him and blocked the Arc Linear. Since Kim Songcheol’s Arc Linear had once penetrated it, he deliberately made it large and dense.

There was no way the Female Staff Member Mage’s Arc Linear could penetrate it.

‘I tried to get something for nothing and ended up with a mess.’

The Female Staff Member laughed as if in disbelief.

Such a strange Supernatural Ability.

She should have just confronted him on the ground.

“Hey! You, stop for a second!”

“Would you stop if you were an old lady!?”

“What? Old lady? This little brat!”

The Female Staff Member increased the output of her Flight Magic beyond its limit. She intended to catch him no matter what.

As she saw the Female Staff Member gradually catching up, Setsu’s speed surprisingly increased even further.

Rather than hiding his power, his power had grown stronger.

The growth potential of a growing adolescent was immense, and he still had considerable hidden potential.

Just by flying with all his might, his limits were increasing.

‘I have to fight.’

That was when Setsu changed his mind.

Just running away won’t allow him to do his part. Roaming the Dungeon with Kim Songcheol and Celestial Spirit Maiden gave him stability and joy, but if he couldn’t do his part, the day would surely come when they would have to part ways.

He couldn’t let that happen.

The moment Setsu made up his mind and was about to slow down.

Kim Songcheol, clad in red Electric Shock, soared up.

He had spotted Setsu and was chasing him.

…

The Female Staff Member’s face became stern, unlike when she was chasing Setsu. Soon, Mana began to boil around her.

Kim Songcheol stood in front of Setsu. It meant he would deal with the Female Staff Member Mage himself.

“I can do it…”

Setsu said in a serious voice.

“No, not now, next time. Take care of Sister. She needs help.”

“Ah…”

“Go quickly.”

“Yes.”

Setsu hesitated for a moment, then descended to the ground.

In the sky behind, a red light flashed, and a female staff member’s cry and scream erupted.

Setsu tried to ignore it, scanning the ground.

The ground was littered with people lying down. It was hard to tell who was breathing and who was dead.

“Are you alright!?”

Setsu first approached the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden was lying on the floor, only blinking her eyes, and next to her lay a corpse with a pierced abdomen.

Then, the Celestial Spirit Maiden suddenly turned her head and coughed up blood.

“Cough!”

She, too, had pushed herself quite hard dealing with her opponent.

“Bring Sipho’s bag.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden told Setsu.

“Ah, yes!”

Setsu looked around, then spotted Sipho and immediately flew over. He was lying face down on the ground. A charred corpse lay rolling in front of him. It seemed to have been directly hit by Kim Songcheol’s magic.

Setsu took Sipho’s bag and flew back to the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

“Here it is.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden silently rummaged through the bag and pulled out three small wooden boxes.

She kept one for herself and gave two to Setsu.

“Give one to Guho and one to Sipho. One for each.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden said that, then opened a wooden box and put a dark green elixir into her mouth.

It was an elixir that stabilized internal injuries and aided recovery.

Guho and Sipho must have been severely battered from the after-effects of the Mad Dragon Blood Pill. The cost of exerting several levels of power, even for a short time, was harsh. If it had been a cheap elixir instead of the Mad Dragon Blood Pill, which concentrated Ilwol Corporation’s technology, they would probably have lost their lives.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden looked up at the sky, which was flashing red, then struggled to sit upright.

“…What a mess.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden briefly activated her Mystic Knot to put out the immediate flames.

Soon, Kim Songcheol was seen descending from the sky.

He, too, appeared injured. Burns on his arms and thighs were noticeable.

However, his expression was worse than his injuries.

“Are you worried about another raid?”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden asked.

Kim Songcheol nodded silently.

“That won’t happen.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden’s eyes gleamed once.

***

The Celestial Spirit Maiden was looking down from below the window. The towering buildings, neon signs adorning the sky, and the long lines of car headlights dazzled her eyes.

The building she was in was quite tall. She could look down sufficiently, but there were even taller buildings.

It was when she raised her eyes and looked at the proudly rising buildings.

Click.

With the sound of the door opening, footsteps echoed out.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden turned her head slightly.

Sa Gwang, the Director of Ilwol Corporation, the Mad Wolf Star Demon, was seen walking in.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden only turned around when Sa Gwang stopped behind her.

She naturally put her hand in the pocket of her training clothes top.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. It was Sa Gwang’s sniffing sound that broke the quiet.

Sniff, sniff.

“I smell blood. Are you hurt?”

He eyed her like a beast that had smelled blood. While he wouldn’t actually lose his reason and attack the Celestial Spirit Maiden like a real beast, his expression seemed oddly pleased.

Inside the sleeve of her training clothes, the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s left arm was still bandaged. It was a wound from the Flying Eagle Eight Claws of the Blood Serpent Gate.

“…Don’t mention it.”

“Alright. It doesn’t seem like a serious injury, after all.”

“You’re stalling. Hand over the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art immediately.”

“You’re speaking so unkindly. I persuaded the Board of Directors with a bleeding heart. If you had seen me…”

“Stop your nonsense. I’m the one who proved it. You merely conveyed it.”

Sa Gwang’s smile deepened. But he couldn’t speak any more.

The Board of Directors’ decision to allow the practice of the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art was based entirely on the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s achievement of ‘conquering three Field Bosses’.

Furthermore, allowing the practice of the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art was tantamount to recognizing the Celestial Spirit Maiden as a legitimate ‘Divine Demon successor candidate’.

The rights of a Divine Demon successor candidate are not limited to that. The Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art is merely the martial art representing a successor candidate; they also have access to various other martial arts of comparable standing.

Additionally, they can possess an organization of Nothingness power under their command and receive treatment equivalent to a Director within Ilwol Corporation.

“Hand it over.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden held out her hand.

Of course, I should give it to you. That’s why I brought it.

Sa Gwang reached into his pocket, took out the Black Plate of the Demon God’s Face, and placed it on the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s hand.

It was the key to access the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden clutched the Security Key.

It was the moment the last successor candidate was registered.

“Oh, by the way, as Celestial Spirit Maiden ‘Miss’ was registered on the internal intranet, her achievement spread among the employees. I don’t know if they were moved or what, but there are quite a few guys who want to transfer to her direct department. For now, it’s just the riff-raff, though, haha.”

“If they want to, I’ll accept them.”

“Isn’t this the time when even one or two people are valuable? Haha. Then we’ll have to decide on the name of the direct department. How about the Hui-ryeong Squad? It sounds like a fan club.”

“Do you really want to die?”

Killing intent exploded from the Celestial Spirit Maiden’s entire body.

Of course, Sa Gwang didn’t bat an eye, but he did bow his head and take a step back.

“I’ll name it the ‘First Division’ and approve transfers automatically.”

“I’ve always felt this, but your naming sense is really…”

“And I’ll give you your first mission. There’s an organization called Pain.”

“Hmm… I’ve never heard of them.”

“They are foes ranging from C-rank to B-rank.”

“They’re some unheard-of, minor foes. Even the First Division will be more than enough.”

“Annihilate them.”

…For now, I obey your command. But from next time, please choose a Squad Leader and give orders directly. I don’t even want to touch that ‘First Division’ because its name is terrible.

“Hmph.”

Without a word, the Celestial Spirit Maiden took the Security Key and entered the cultivation thread.

Initiation into the Heaven-Shattering Grand Divine Art.

It was something that didn’t need to be delayed.

***

“Your reaction speed is still weak, isn’t it?”

Kim Songcheol fired an Arc Linear at Setsu.

A red light beam cut through the air, and Setsu immediately created a cube to block the magic.

“How is it?”

“It would be better if it were a little faster.”

“I’ll try.”

Kim Songcheol and Setsu were training.

The Celestial Spirit Maiden had declared that she wouldn’t be able to enter the dungeon for a while. It seemed she was learning some great martial arts.

So, the two of them hunted monsters to collect points, and when they had spare time, Kim Songcheol would help Setsu train her abilities like this.

Rupturebabab!

Once again, an Arc Linear cut through the air. This time, Setsu’s reaction speed had also increased slightly.

It was still a bit short of Kim Songcheol’s standards, but the important thing was that it was getting faster.

‘Is her nervous system also being strengthened?’

Thanks to achieving Oneness and cultivating Mana, Kim Songcheol’s nervous system was stronger than that of an ordinary person. His reaction speed was fast, and his dynamic visual acuity was also better than average.

Of course, it was no match for a Martial Artist or a Swordsman, but it was still not an ordinary level.

Currently, Setsu was slightly below Kim Songcheol’s level.

He used to be just a normal person. It seemed that his Supernatural Ability also affected his nervous system.

“That was good this time.”

“Really?”

At Kim Songcheol’s praise, Setsu smiled faintly.

“Let’s do strength training this time.”

Strength training is a bit easier than reaction speed training. Kim Songcheol would just create a cube of the highest intensity and then cast Magic to test it.

Kim Songcheol created a large Electric Shock spear with 2nd-tier Magic and plunged it into the cube.

The cube, having received a shock beyond its limit, scattered immediately.

“Not yet this strong, again.”

“Yes!”

It was when Kim Songcheol was gradually reducing the power to check the cube’s strength.

Ding!

A small sound came from the Medal he had attached to his chest. It was a sound only Kim Songcheol could hear. That’s how he had set it up.

“Just a moment.”

He took out the Medal and opened the Magic Alliance site.

There were two alarms.

They were for quest completion and answer completion.

The quest was to understand the trend of Pain.

It wasn’t about understanding a strike team, but simply understanding the trend of Pain.

And the result of the quest could be explained in two words.

‘Deleted’.

That’s right.

Pain had disappeared.

Kim Songcheol tilted his head, thought for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and then moved to the QnA tab.

The question he had posted was about the ‘unique Magic Diclo used’.

3rd Tier Magic interfering with 2nd-tier Magic.

It was absurd when it happened, but it was also quite interesting, as it was a Magic not available in stores.

Also, if he knew it properly, he would be able to respond if the same situation occurred, and if he had the chance, it would be best to learn it himself.

So Kim Songcheol included all that content in his question post.

Then this answer was given.

[Gambler™: Go here once. The coordinates are (2440, 50932, 523).]

‘Gambler™’, who occasionally appeared in question posts, appeared in Kim Songcheol’s post.