Jun and Maya worked in sync while tracking the Giant Mantis.
“Over there. The leaves are pressed down.”
“The indentation is small but deep. That’s definitely its trace. We’re already inside its territory.”
Maya who had spent nearly her entire life in the wild would find traces, and Jun would analyze them to determine which monster they belonged to.
Aiden listened carefully to their exchange, preparing for what was to come, while Eleanor stayed alert for ambushes from the Giant Mantis using [Mind’s Eye].
Before they knew it, two days had passed since they began the search.
Whereas the colosseum had been focused on battles against large monsters, this floor leaned more toward psychological warfare and reconnaissance.
As a result, the stress was more mental than physical…
“It’s not like we’re on a timer or anything. There’s no need for us to rush.”
Jun led the operation with calm composure, steadily narrowing the search area.
“Let’s call it a day.”
Although the day’s exploration ended there, the day’s schedule wasn’t over.
“So, you’re saying we should implant an additional strand of the World Tree’s energy into the wind spirit?”
“Exactly. But doing it temporarily won’t help. We have to make sure it stays connected continuously.”
“That’s going to be way harder. The effects of my staff don’t last indefinitely.”
“That’s why I think we’ll need to add some sort of mechanism directly into the World Tree’s essence.”
Eleanor and Jun were brainstorming various methods to awaken the wind spirit residing inside Aiden.
One of those methods was to artificially generate the World Tree’s energy using Eleanor’s staff, End of Sorrow.
“This is giving me a headache.”
“I’ll come up with the theory. If we strip out everything related to communication and focus only on soul-to-soul connection, it might get a little easier.”
“Easier said than done. Just trying to understand the theory is already breaking my brain.”
Eleanor complained, but she had actually begun to take a genuine interest in magical theory.
It might feel like her brain was about to explode, but if they succeeded, it would open up many new possibilities for her holy magic.
Meanwhile, Maya tried to follow the conversation to offer help, but…
“Are they even speaking Imperial?”
“Haha…”
With no understanding of magic, Maya muttered gloomily, and Aiden could only offer a sheepish laugh.
Time passed steadily, and about a week later—
It was the Giant Mantis who finally ran out of patience first.
***
While the two were deep in conversation, discussing magical theory, and one more was mentally drained from trying to understand their alien language—
Aiden quietly closed his eyes, feeling the night breeze of the forest wash over him.
I’ve hit another wall.
Reflecting on his recent progress, Aiden was feeling a growing sense of frustration, as if he was on the verge of understanding something but couldn’t quite grasp it.
The possession phenomenon he experienced in the alchemists’ city, Hedravan.
Since then, Aiden had begun carefully examining his inner self to avoid falling into the same danger again.
Why were these phenomena happening?
He thought maybe if he pushed his mana usage to the limit, he might gain some clarity. So he tried moving alongside Joseph’s companions.
But the more he explored, the more it felt like he was sinking deeper into a bottomless swamp.
Senior said this was a clash between innate and acquired talent.
That remark had hit him like a bolt of lightning in the head.
The domineering mana inherited by all imperial members traced back to the first emperor.
And Aiden’s own disposition, which sought to view the world as peacefully as possible.
These two forces refused to mix, like oil and water, and now they stood as an invisible wall between him and deeper understanding.
Even this only happened because I’ve finally begun to understand my mana better…
Though past realizations had helped him break through previous growth barriers, now he was once again facing a brand-new wall.
How do I overcome this one…?
It seemed tempting to fully surrender himself to his mana. But some instinct screamed that doing so would tear something vital away from him.
He didn’t know exactly what that “something” was, but every fiber of his being warned that he must never lose it.
“Hoo… this is tough.”
Unbeknownst to Aiden, his personality had already diverged significantly from Adrian, the version of him that existed in the game Blackout.
In the game, Adrian had been far more cold-blooded, detached, and ruthless.
But here, after meeting Jun, Aiden’s current personality had remained intact.
Isn’t there a way to blend these two sides naturally…?
As he was pondering this—
A breeze drifted past.
The wind spirit.
The wind spirit with whom he’d formed a sudden contract during the ancient ruin incident with the awakened giant golem.
Though it still hadn’t recovered its full power due to being in a deep slumber, Aiden could feel that his very senses had transformed just from the contract alone.
He closed his eyes and awakened the sensations flowing through his skin.
One breeze had just brushed through the leaves and grazed his cheek. Another had wandered across the swaying grass, whispered in his ear, then vanished.
He felt as though he had become one with the wind, as if his entire body were floating.
His soul seemed to rise out of his flesh, drifting along effortlessly.
And that sensation led his consciousness to flow backward into the past. Deeper into his memories.
But it didn’t go very far.
Most of Aiden’s vivid memories only stretched back about a year.
If his life before this had been a quiet brook, then his time in Blackout felt like a roaring waterfall.
And in that turbulent current, Aiden’s gaze landed on a single mage.
Back then, Senior was…
A red world.
The Twin-Headed Troll, born as an Irregular and ultimately consumed by erosion.
How had Jun dealt with that huge beast?
Aiden could recall the scene as vividly as if it had just happened.
Yeah… Ice was surging into the sky, and fire was roaring from the ground.
Two forces that should never have been able to mix came together.
And then—
Fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!
A lightning bolt that could have overturned heaven and earth struck down upon the land.
Like water and oil, the two forces seemed forever unblendable. But in truth, they could merge, and from that union, a new power was born.
Once more, lightning struck.
But this time, it wasn’t lightning from his memory.
It was lightning that had crashed directly inside Aiden’s mind.
Fsshhht…
As though possessed, he drew the Sword and swung. At the same time, his soul that was struggling against the torrent of memory snapped back into his body.
And when he opened his eyes—
Creeeak—.
A giant mantis, nearly ten feet tall, lay on the ground, with its arms, head, and legs all shattered.
In that instant, like a lightning bolt, a single realization blazed through him.
Aiden gazed upon the result he had created.
And then—
“…The hell, man?”
Eleanor, who had just woken up for her watch, was staring at him in shock.
****
This second floor of the ancient tower.
For one person, it had been a moment of enlightenment. For others, it was nothing but sheer frustration.
Jun found himself recalling the scene from the previous dawn, muttering inwardly,
So he’s the protagonist of the game after all. Just wakes up in the middle of the night and suddenly achieves enlightenment?’
Meanwhile, Eleanor gave her own vivid account of the moment.
“No, seriously… he was just standing there in the middle of the night like he was possessed, right? Then out of nowhere he pulls his sword and swings it. And bam! This giant mantis pops out of thin air, and in an instant it’s hacked to pieces and crumbles to the ground! Crazy, right?”
Eleanor who was half rambling trailed off. Maya, however, looked down at the mantis’s mangled corpse with a shake of her head.
“Seems like he could find me even if I were hiding now.”
Her voice carried a hint of sulkiness, and Jun lightly patted her shoulder.
It was only natural to feel disheartened when standing next to a true genius.
Of course, Maya herself carried monstrous potential for growth as well.
Anyway.
Having cleared the second floor, the party returned once more to the white room.
But this time, unlike before, there was something new amidst the pure white space.
“Senior? What’s that?”
“Oh? Now this is lucky. It’s an Ancient Merchant.”
“An… Ancient Merchant?”
There stood a small stone building, barely large enough for one person to enter. Beneath its tiny window, a stall was set up.
And on that stall, a pure-gold goblin statue was holding out its pouch.
“They say if you put gold into that pouch and reach in, it’ll give you whatever item you need most.”
“Gold? You mean human currency? Why on earth…?”
“How should I know? Must be the whim of whoever built this tower.”
Even in the game, how much gold you put in—
And depending on which character was chosen, the items would vary.
But curiously enough, the items always filled the gaps in that character’s stats.
“Sometimes it even gives you things you couldn’t buy with money.”
“Then… how much gold should we put in?”
“Hold on…”
He had prepared for moments like this, stashing away a hefty amount of gold coins in his dimensional bracelet.
“The best way is to put in as much as you can afford.”
With a grunt, Jun pulled out a chest from the bracelet.
The box was large enough for a child to crawl into, and it was overflowing with gleaming gold coins.
“A-Are you giving it all away?”
“Yeah. I thought about bringing more, but any more than this would’ve been pushing it.”
When it’s time to spend, you spend.
Without hesitation, Jun poured the chestful of coins into the golden goblin’s pouch.
“That thing looks like it’s grinning at us.”
“Yeah, I get that feeling too.”
The statue itself hadn’t changed in the slightest, yet somehow, everyone felt as if the golden goblin was grinning at them.
“So then, who’s going to reach in?”
“Mhmm… I think I’ll pass.”
The first to step back was Aiden.
He was still busy sorting out the enlightenment he’d gained the night before. Not to mention his recent contract with the slumbering wind spirit.
Next, Maya raised her hand.
“I’ll pass too. I’m busy training with this.”
She had been immersed in mastering Basai’s vision lately.
That left only Jun and Eleanor.
“Well, I think I’m fine too. I already have this, after all…”
Eleanor pointed at her staff, clearly intending to bow out. Though she was never particularly greedy for items to begin with.
“Mmm. No, Eleanor. I think you’re the one who should use it.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“Because…”
Jun’s eyes drifted to Eleanor’s black blindfold.
More precisely, he was staring at the dark circles creeping out from beneath it.
“You look tired.”
As if anyone wouldn’t notice.
There was a chance that a skill book related to magic might appear from inside.
For Eleanor, that would be a huge help.
Jun, on the other hand, needed some breathing room like the others to process the insights he’d gained from watching Shylock and Marshar’s work.
“Ahem… Then, if no one minds, I’ll go ahead and take it?”
Still, she couldn’t help but smile just a little, with the corners of her mouth lifting faintly.
Please, just let this hellish grind be over.
Being able to modify divine magic in various ways was great but it also meant more work.
A lot more work.
And above all, there was no end to magic.
For Eleanor, who had never been involved in anything like this her whole life, that was the hardest part.
So please, just make this nightmare of studying a little easier…!’
With that desperate hope, she plunged her hand deep into the golden goblin statue’s pouch.
And then…
“H-Huh?!”
She pulled out a finely crafted wooden box.
“Whoa? You can actually pull something out?”
“Senior, that’s…”
“What is that?”
Jun was the first to react in surprise, followed by Aiden who recognized it, and finally Maya who tilted her head in confusion.
“I-It’s hereeeee!!”
A growth orb.
Among players in the game, it was known as a “Skill Growth Ticket”. It was a multicolored orb that now shone brightly in Eleanor’s hand.
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