When I opened my eyes, I saw Irellin.
Her exquisite elven beauty.
She quietly kept her eyes closed, enjoying the natural surroundings. I slowly sat up.
Then, Irellin opened her eyes and looked at me, speaking softly.
[You’ve already made the contract?]
“Yeah.”
Irellin’s eyes widened as she stared at me. It seemed like she was curious about which spirit I had contracted with.
“Lightning Dragon.”
At my call, a bolt of lightning struck down from the clear sky.
Kuguguguung!
With the thunder crashing in my ears, a small dragon about the size of a forearm appeared.
The creature settled itself comfortably on my shoulder.
[Lightning Spirit?]
“The Spirit King.”
[Wha—? The Spirit King?]
Irellin jumped up from her seat and stared intently at the Lightning Dragon resting on my shoulder.
[…I don’t feel that kind of energy at all?!]
“I sealed its power.”
[Sealed? Why?]
“It said I’m too weak to handle its full strength.”
The Lightning Dragon beside me nodded its head.
“Weak. You’d have to be much stronger to fully harness my power. But don’t worry. Sometimes, maybe once in a while, I can lend you a hand.”
[…Didn’t you make the wrong contract? Is this really the Spirit King?!]
“You doubt me? Yongje, what’s with this woman doubting my existence?”
At the Lightning Dragon’s words, Irellin crossed her arms and put on a haughty expression.
[I hate to say this, but I’m also contracted to a Spirit King. I know better than anyone what the Spirit King’s power really is.]
“Seems so. Judging by the energy I feel, you’re probably contracted to the Spirit King of the Wind, right?”
[That’s obvious if it’s a spirit.]
The corners of the Lightning Dragon’s mouth twitched.
“Hey. Wanna throw down? I’m trying to be polite, but do I look like a pushover to you? Huh?”
[Throw down? What are you even talking about? Stop spouting nonsense.]
Irellin looked at me and asked.
[Is this really the Spirit King? Did you see it with your own eyes and make the contract?]
“Hey, unseal me for a moment. Let’s settle this with this suspicious patient here.”
The Lightning Dragon floated down from my shoulder and hovered in front of Irellin’s face.
There seemed to be some misunderstanding.
It didn’t look like it would be resolved with words, so I unsealed it at the Lightning Dragon’s request.
At that moment, electricity burst explosively from the Lightning Dragon’s body, and storm clouds gathered in the sky.
Lightning flashed between the dark clouds.
Thunder roared in all directions.
The Spirit King of Lightning cloaked the area in darkness in an instant. Its overwhelming presence pressed down on the surrounding land.
The enormous Lightning Dragon curled its long tail and looked toward Irellin.
“Do you believe me now?”
[…This is impossible. This is the Spirit King?!]
Irellin’s expression was strange.
As if entranced by something, she shook her head in denial.
[This isn’t a Spirit King. It’s a Spirit God. How could a Spirit King possess this kind of power? What the hell happened inside the Spirit Realm?]
“Spirit God? Hahaha, you actually know something.”
Feeling the misunderstanding was cleared, I resealed the Lightning Dragon.
Pasuss.
Even though I had unsealed it only briefly, my whole body tingled painfully. My body still couldn’t handle the Lightning Dragon’s energy.
After recovering with a potion, I approached Irellin.
“Is the misunderstanding all cleared up now?”
[Everything I knew got shattered. How can the Spirit King of Lightning possess the power of a Spirit God?!]
“Spirit God? What’s that?”
[The strongest among the Spirit Kings. We call that a Spirit God. But the Spirit King of Lightning has never ascended to that status before.]
“Why not?”
[Because the Spirit Realm is heavily influenced by the connected worlds. So fire and water, essential elements to humans, always occupy the Spirit God’s throne.]
Listening to Irellin’s explanation,
I understood why she had misunderstood.
Why I had such difficulty controlling the Lightning Dragon’s power.
‘It’s a difference in environment.’
The elven world, based on the Middle Ages, valued fire and water more.
But on Earth, where I live, the dependency on lightning attribute is extremely high—enough to pour full power into everything.
It seemed that the Spirit King of Lightning’s tremendous strength was due to that influence.
The Lightning Dragon’s sometimes informal community slang must have been because of this as well.
“This seems like a problem caused by the difference between your world and mine. But still, thanks. You were worried about me, right?”
[Still, I’m sorry. Sorry to the Spirit King of Lightning too.]
“If you’re sorry, then introduce me to a pretty female spirit…”
I summoned the Lightning Dragon.
At first, it gave off a dignified air.
But the more we talked, the more unique its personality became.
‘Not normal.’
I shook my head and sent Irellin on her way, then checked the time in reality.
Soon, the Hall of Glory would open.
The Hall of Glory was a kind of national competition.
Hunters representing their countries participated and completed various missions to test their skills in the arena.
A big event.
Another successor had warned that apostles would target successors in such events, so I needed to be careful.
Fire, ice, earth.
One of these three elements meant to be after me.
I couldn’t predict what traps they might set to hunt me down, but as long as Blue Cat’s Eye was active, I had little to worry about.
Activating stage two would allow me to track the apostles.
Before they came for me, I could find and deal with them first.
[Researching Instant Death Magic of the Fire Dragon God’s Body.]
[Researching Instant Death Magic of the Earth Dragon God’s Body.]
I studied magic so that I could instantly kill any opponent who appeared, then teleported to where the Red Dungeon was.
To activate Blue Cat’s stage, I needed a sacrifice.
For maximum efficiency in a short time, the creatures inside an S-rank Red Dungeon seemed ideal.
“Let’s go.”
[Entering Red Dungeon.]
- At 7 p.m. today, the eighth Hall of Glory will commence.
- Before the grand start, let’s take a look at those who have won so far.
On the TV screen appeared the face of Colonel Rod of the Twelve Constellations from the United States, the very first champion.
Following him were the second winner, the Sword Saint from China; the third winner, Kenji from Japan; and then the fourth through seventh champions, the faces of Cheonma in succession.
- Cheonma is truly incredible.
- Every time he participates in the Hall of Glory, he shows overwhelming dominance. I wonder how much stronger he has become this time… Unfortunately, Cheonma will not be participating this time.
- Why not? Is it because China was sanctioned due to the recent Blood Fiend incident?
- Oh no, that’s not it. Cheonma’s absence is due to a new rule.
- What kind of rule?
- Those who have cleared more than 30 floors of the Labyrinth cannot participate in the Hall of Glory.
- So only the so-called rising stars who haven’t cleared 30 floors can participate?
- That’s right.
- Then, let’s check out these rising stars from each country.
Like the champions, faces of promising hunters representing each nation appeared.
From the United States, China, Japan, United Kingdom, France,
Starting with the world’s top five hunters and including lesser-known yet highly skilled individuals.
Finally, Korea’s Dokkaebi was introduced.
[Dokkaebi]
- Possesses skill high enough to capture the Blood Fiend of the Twelve Constellations.
That single description ended all debate.
- Then… Korea will definitely win this time, right? I heard Dokkaebi, who captured the Blood Fiend of the Twelve Constellations from China, has not cleared 30 floors yet…
- Yes. That’s what everyone thinks. I think so too. But we have to keep one thing in mind.
- What’s that?
- This time, a new rule was introduced. That’s why Cheonma and the Twelve Constellations-level contenders cannot participate.
- Yes, you mentioned that earlier.
- The upcoming Hall of Glory may not proceed in the way we know it.
- Meaning with the new rules, the format could change?
- Exactly. If the Hall of Glory changes, we can expect some huge variables to emerge.
The broadcast also highlighted various other points of interest.
- The Chinese representative is the Swordmaster’s successor from Korea, right?
- Yes. Hunter Kim Muhyeok joined the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect created by Cheonma and has participated in S-rank dungeon raids, showing considerable skill.
- Is he as strong as Dokkaebi?
- He hasn’t revealed much yet, so it’s hard to say. But judging by his talent shown in Korea, he’s definitely a contender.
- Hmm… I see there’s another participant from Korea who is also a Swordmaster’s disciple?
- Correct. Hunter Yoo Seolha, known as the Tower Master of the Magic Tower unique to Korea, is a disciple of the Swordmaster. She’s also the daughter of Yoo Baekjun, who led Korea’s golden age.
- So it’ll be a sibling rivalry?
- Yes. Their encounter should be an interesting point.
- Moving on. The American representative is the daughter of the U.S. Association head?
- That’s right. She’s a highly promising hunter directly trained by Colonel Rod.
As voices narrated, a phone suddenly rang.
The Japanese Association President, Yookai, staring intently at the screen, shifted his gaze to the right.
Dding ding!
Dding ding!
He picked up the phone to announce his presence.
- As you said, preparations are complete. S-grade skills and equipment have been delivered to all participants from China…
The voice of Chinese Association President Joo Wonseong came from the receiver.
His anger was palpable from just the tone.
Listening to Joo Wonseong grind his teeth, Yookai spoke.
“Good work.”
- But do we have a chance to win?
“I don’t know.”
- What kind of vague answer is that? We spent so much because of you.
“Think big picture. You failed because you only saw the trees, not the forest.”
Yookai chuckled with a sneer.
“It’s just a trial run, so don’t expect too much and watch calmly.”
- How can I stay calm? The Labyrinth is controlled, and we can’t even raise hunters now.
“That’s your karma.”
- Damn…
“But here’s some good news. Another apostle faction seems to be moving as well. They want to target Dokkaebi with us in the Hall of Glory. Pray they succeed in killing him.”
- Another apostle? There’s more than one?
“Yes. Like I said before, restrictions will be imposed on participants in the Hall of Glory. If preparations go well, this could be promising.”
- Preparations are perfect.
“Then quickly get control of potions and equipment. That way, I can have a say at the World Association meeting.”
To move forward with the plan, China was essential. But first, the restrictions imposed on China had to be lifted.
‘I have to make China need me.’
Currently, Chinese exports account for 80% of the world’s potions and equipment.
If that supply was temporarily cut off,
it would be fatal for Hunters everywhere.
Of course, with time, each country could solve the situation, but
‘The coming change’
the apostles mentioned would leave no time to waste.
This would naturally give China leverage for extortion.
- That’s already happening. By tomorrow, Chinese potions will run dry.
“Good.”
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
As Yookai smiled with satisfaction and ended the call with Joo Wonseong,
a message appeared before my eyes.
[The Hall of Glory is starting.]
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