Chapter 33: Avison’s Eccentric Gift

The ceiling suddenly began to collapse.

At the same time, the wall that Lee Tae-seong and Baek Wun-ho were looking at also caved in.

The two men were startled. However, the change was not limited to this spot.

As the ceiling shook, rocks tumbled down, and the walls in all directions cracked and broke.

The guards grew tense.

However, the researchers felt more excitement than a sense of crisis.

“It’s open!”

“The barrier is finally gone!”

The wall they had been struggling to break through had opened, and what they saw inside was quite significant.

“Oh! My goodness!”

“The lifestyle of hundreds of years ago is all preserved here!?”

Inside were old-fashioned clothes, daily necessities, and various tools that showcased the era from centuries ago.

It was speculated that people had lived here for quite a long time.

The researchers entered with excitement, but conversely, the guards looked disappointed.

“What is this? It’s just a bunch of old rags.”

“There are a few pieces of metal, but they’re all rusted.”

It might have historical research value, but it didn’t look like it would be worth any money.

Regardless, because of the situation, no one paid any attention to Lee Tae-seong and Baek Wun-ho, who were in a distant corner.

Thanks to that, the two were able to act independently.

Lee Tae-seong stared into the hole in the wall in front of him.

It was hard to see clearly, but it looked like some kind of magic circle was drawn on the floor…

“Master Baek.”

“Let’s go.”

There was no need for long explanations.

Feeling that this was the place, the two immediately stepped inside.

*Rumble!*

Right after they entered, falling rocks from the ceiling blocked the entrance.

***

The place Lee Tae-seong and Baek Wun-ho entered was a cavern slightly smaller than the previous one.

There wasn’t a single point of light inside, but instead, the magic circle on the floor was glowing faintly.

“Haha. It seems Avison was a mage who enjoyed surprising people,” Baek Wun-ho chuckled.

Just seeing that he had created such a secret space made him feel like he knew the personality of the Flame Master, Avison.

“Usually, mages with this kind of personality prepare gifts for anyone who discovers their space.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It probably won’t be just any gift, either. It would also serve as a congratulation to those who passed his trial…”

It was at that moment.

*Clatter, clack!*

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

“…”

“…”

Lee Tae-seong and Baek Wun-ho fell silent.

Passages were scattered across the cavern walls, and golems were walking out from within them!

They looked even stronger than the golems they had seen in the ruins earlier.

Their bodies contained more steel than rock, magic formulas were even drawn on their exteriors, and a red light flashed from their eyes.

“…Are those the gifts?”

“Avison must have been quite an eccentric mage.”

Baek Wun-ho shrugged his shoulders as he took a combat stance.

He felt it was a nuisance, but he wasn’t particularly afraid.

Golems weren’t that difficult an opponent for someone like Baek Wun-ho.

Lee Tae-seong felt similarly. No, he actually felt good about it.

If he stayed by Baek Wun-ho’s side and just poked them once in a while, his skill proficiency would go up!

“Let’s finish those things off and search the interior.”

“Understood.”

“Hah!”

*Thud!*

Baek Wun-ho stomped heavily.

At the same time, he unleashed the Heavenly Net Flame Hand.

“?”

“…What is this?”

Baek Wun-ho’s face was colored with confusion.

His outstretched palm had not turned red at all!

“…Master Baek?”

Lee Tae-seong tilted his head, and Baek Wun-ho’s expression became serious.

He quickly looked down at the floor.

“This! This magic circle is preventing the use of the fire attribute!”

“What?”

Lee Tae-seong also instinctively looked at the floor.

It felt as though the dimly glowing magic circle had become a bit brighter.

“Damn it. What on earth did Avison create?”

The Heavenly Net Flame Hand was a technique where countless flames were condensed at the tip of the palm and then unleashed.

What if the flames were removed from that?

*Boom! Boom!*

Nevertheless, he moved among the golems, crushing them.

The Heavenly Net Flame Hand was excellent even when viewed purely as a martial art.

Since a peak-level Hybrider was performing it, the powerful palm strikes dented and smashed the golems.

Even if the destructive power had dropped slightly because of the magic circle, they were no match for Baek Wun-ho.

Lee Tae-seong also joined in from the side.

*Ting! Ting!*

‘As I thought, the Flying Star Soul Hunter is useless.’

He tried throwing daggers, but they bounced right off.

No matter how much internal energy he channeled, Lee Tae-seong’s proficiency wasn’t high enough to pierce those chunks of rock.

Next was the sword.

The flames symbolizing the Flame Sword Technique did not appear.

The moment he tried to convert his internal energy into flames, he felt a powerful force from beneath the ground pulling it away.

And the magic circle glowed a little more brightly.

‘I’ll have to find and learn a decent sword technique.’

The Flame Sword Technique without flames was almost on the same level as the Three Talents Sword Technique.

If he had a high-level sword technique, he could have been active even now with the flames sealed.

Of course, obtaining one was its own task…

Since he would accumulate quite a bit of contribution by completing this quest, he decided to look for one in the Flying Dragon Sect.

Lee Tae-seong used his footwork to approach Baek Wun-ho and supported him from behind.

Just channeling internal energy significantly increased the cutting power of the sword.

It was enough to finish off the golems that Baek Wun-ho had heavily damaged with his (flame-less) Heavenly Net Flame Hand.

*Ding!*

**[You have contributed to defeating a powerful enemy.]**

**[You have contributed to defeating a powerful enemy.]**

**[Level Up!]**

Fighting frantically, he heard the level-up notification a few times.

However, he had no time to pay attention.

The golems were numerous and powerful.

No matter how many they defeated, they kept coming endlessly.

Even if Baek Wun-ho was a powerful Hybrider, there was a limit since part of his strength was currently sealed.

The speed at which they defeated the golems gradually slowed down, and they were slowly pushed into a corner of the cavern.

If time continued to pass like this, they would be surrounded by golems and die.

“Hey! Don’t you have some kind of trick!”

“Even if you ask me that…”

“Do something, anything!”

At Baek Wun-ho’s words, Lee Tae-seong activated Hidden Detect.

He hadn’t been using it to save mana, but since he was told to do something, he had to try.

‘But it’s not like I’ll gain anything from this…’

This was a ruin created by one of the top archmages from hundreds of years ago.

This magic circle wouldn’t be just any ordinary magic circle, either.

There was no way Lee Tae-seong’s Hidden Detect could perceive something like a weakness.

It would have been better if a research mage had come along…

‘Huh?’

Lee Tae-seong flinched. He saw a clue from Hidden Detect flickering in a golden light.

Baek Wun-ho noticed just from Lee Tae-seong’s reaction.

“There must be something!”

“I can’t guarantee it’s anything good.”

“That’s fine. We have no hope if we stay like this anyway, so just try anything!”

“Then, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Lee Tae-seong kicked off the ground and moved.

Dragon Shadow Wind Step.

It was a martial art treated quite well even in the Flying Dragon Sect, which was famous for its lightness arts.

He felt grateful to Elder Dam once again.

How many times had he broken through a crisis because of this?

The golems moved their arms from all directions to strike Lee Tae-seong, but their movements were too large and sluggish.

Passing between them wasn’t that difficult.

*Ding!*

**[Dragon Shadow Wind Step’s proficiency has increased.]**

**[Dragon Shadow Wind Step’s skill level has increased.]**

**[Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Level 3) -> Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Level 4)]**

He arrived at the spot indicated by Hidden Detect.

There was something glittering.

It was a crack in the magic circle.

Lee Tae-seong recognized it immediately.

‘It looks like it’s decaying naturally because it’s so old!’

Avison was a mage from hundreds of years ago.

Naturally, this ruin would be just as old.

No matter how well it was preserved, problems were bound to arise somewhere.

There were cracks in a part of the floor where the magic circle was drawn, and Hidden Detect had read that.

Lee Tae-seong immediately drew his sword and struck down.

*Clang!*

Once.

That wasn’t enough.

He continued to raise his sword and strike down.

*Clang! Clang, clang!*

The magic circle itself had defensive functions, but it couldn’t hold out for long when he repeatedly struck the already cracked part with his internal energy at full capacity.

*Crunch!*

A magic circle is like a sophisticated piece of machinery.

If one axis collapses, the entire thing rapidly falls apart.

And the moment the light of the magic circle dimmed…

*Whoosh!*

“These damn chunks of rock…!”

Bright red flames erupted from Baek Wun-ho’s hands.

*Sizzle!*

*Crack!*

Now that he could properly unleash the Heavenly Net Flame Hand, Baek Wun-ho swept through the surroundings as if to vent all his pent-up frustration.

Lee Tae-seong also assisted him by unleashing his own flame-based techniques.

As a result, the swarm of golems was completely wiped out.

*Ding!*

**[You have contributed to defeating a powerful enemy.]**

**[Level Up!]**

“Pant, pant…”

Lee Tae-seong collapsed into a sitting position after defeating the last remaining golem.

He heard the level-up and proficiency increase notifications several times, but he couldn’t even pay attention to them.

It had been such a chaotic battle.

Baek Wun-ho, also looking exhausted, wiped his sweat as he approached.

“Good work. Thanks to you, we survived.”

There was sincerity in Baek Wun-ho’s words. He had thought of Lee Tae-seong as a comrade he met while following the Flame Emperor’s footsteps, but he hadn’t thought he would be of much help yet.

‘That was my mistake.’

They could have been in real trouble this time if things had gone wrong.

Baek Wun-ho completely discarded his previous thoughts of underestimating Lee Tae-seong.

Although his current skill was lacking compared to his own, various possibilities were visible.

*Wuuuung!*

And then.

The light completely disappeared from the magic circle, and a warm heat began to spread throughout the cavern.

Baek Wun-ho’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly sat down and spoke.

“Use your mana cultivation technique!”

“What?”

“There’s no time, so hurry!”

He looked so urgent that Lee Tae-seong followed his words.

And soon, he was startled.

The air was overflowing with fire attribute energy!

It was even processed, so it was directly accumulated into his body just through breathing.

*Ding!*

**[Solar Star Power Technique’s proficiency has increased.]**

**[Solar Star Power Technique’s skill level has increased.]**

**[Solar Star Power Technique (Level 2) -> Solar Star Power Technique (Level 3)]**

*Ding!*

**[Solar Star Power Technique’s proficiency has increased.]**

**[Solar Star Power Technique’s skill level has increased.]**

**[Solar Star Power Technique (Level 3) -> Solar Star Power Technique (Level 4)]**

It was a very short period of time, but his Solar Star Power Technique proficiency had increased by two levels.

Lee Tae-seong opened his eyes.

Looking to the side, Baek Wun-ho was also wearing a satisfied smile.

It seemed he had made significant progress.

“This is…”

“A miraculous opportunity.”

Baek Wun-ho tapped the floor.

“It seems that as this magic circle collapsed, all the fire energy that had been accumulated until now was released into the air.”

Both Lee Tae-seong and Baek Wun-ho had learned Hybrids related to the Flame Emperor.

Although Baek’s wasn’t a direct lineage like the Solar Star Power Technique, it was still one of the best fire-attribute mana cultivation methods.

Naturally, they could only see great achievements in such an environment!

Baek Wun-ho pointed to the center of the magic circle with his finger.

“Go there and perform your mana cultivation technique one more time.”

“Why?”

“A little bit of energy still remains in the center. It’ll dissipate soon, so it’s better to absorb it all, isn’t it?”

“Then what about you, Master Baek…?”

“With my cultivation method, the fire attribute I can absorb at once has already reached saturation. But the Solar Star Power Technique will still have room.”

“If you say so, I won’t refuse.”

Lee Tae-seong moved quickly and took his place in the center.

Just as Baek had said, his stomach grew warm, and a quite heavy amount of mana was absorbed into his body.

‘The results are incredible.’

He would have to examine it properly, but it felt like his mana had increased by about 5 or 6 years worth.

While Lee Tae-seong was cultivating his mana, Baek Wun-ho kept watch, and when it seemed finished, he pointed to the wall.

“If a magic circle like this was inscribed, there might be other clues… Let’s search.”

“Yes.”

The two of them moved in separate directions.

Lee Tae-seong’s eyes sparkled with golden light.

There was nothing like Hidden Detect for finding small and trivial things.

Most of them turned out to be useless, but occasionally, something good would turn up.

**[#Research_Journal]**

Just like this!

“I found something!”

What Lee Tae-seong found was a small gray pill and an old booklet with “Research Journal” written on it.

Baek Wun-ho came running in an instant.

“Is this a spiritual medicine?”

Lee Tae-seong, picking up the gray pill first, asked with expectation.

If it was something found in a place like this, wouldn’t it be an excellent spiritual medicine left behind by an archmage?

Since he had been feeling a lack of mana, he had hoped to obtain a spiritual medicine in these ruins.

Baek Wun-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“Who knows. Don’t just eat it recklessly. It could be a poison pill. The person who made this place didn’t seem like just any ordinary eccentric mage, but if you want to just pick it up and eat it, go ahead.”

“…”

Since everything he said was true, Lee Tae-seong quickly put the pill down.