The core filled with magic power—a mana core.
The sight of sigils slowly revolving around it was like a constellation of stars.
Hundreds of magical sigils spun in gentle light.
Starting from the innermost ring, composed of the most basic sigils, right before the mana core.
The second, the third rings—the number of sigils increases with each, and the connections between them become ever more intricate.
The combinations of sigils increase exponentially, and the magical power borne by the Circle becomes weightier and more stable.
When the fifth ring is finally completed—
It truly becomes like a galaxy.
A myriad of stars filling the vast universe.
Hundreds of sigils shining as they slowly revolve in a fixed pattern.
A feeling of fullness surging through the entire body.
Enormous magical power lurks, its strength hidden, ready to be unleashed at any time—granting a sense of omnipotence.
Hio’s eyes, having reached the level of a Magus beyond that of a high-class magician, slowly open.
A brief, piercing glint—a mysterious depth unique to magi, as if they held countless stars in their gaze.
A subtle energy flows throughout his body, together with the power of Fire passed from the Flame Guardian’s Bracelet, proving that a massive amount of magic now flows stably within him, enough to reach the Fifth Circle.
‘I should record you as the monster who reached the Fifth Circle in the shortest time in history.’
At last, the dignity of a magus, on the cusp of transcending the human, flows through his form.
“How does it feel? Becoming a magus?”
Furnel’s main body, with its comically large eyes, grinned slyly and asked. Hio looked over his own body and smiled back.
“I feel like I can do anything.”
-Kulkulkul. It’s only because you advanced so quickly. But this is what it means to be a magus. A human on the verge of transcendence. Even in Tetiradia, where geniuses are as numerous as stars, you are rare—worthy to have your name go down in history.
Furnel’s words were apt.
The number of sigils had doubled, and their applications had become even more complex.
If Furnel hadn’t made Hio master and inscribe every sigil perfectly onto his Circle before this, he would have been stuck for a long time.
Of course, he had only reached the appearance of a magus for now.
He hadn’t yet read any of the actual Fifth Circle grimoires.
“How much time is left?”
‘There’s about 36 hours before the raid begins. That means you broke through the wall of the Fifth Circle in roughly five days.’
“I think I could have shortened it even more… What a shame.”
-Heh… For most, it takes years to rise a single Circle. To fully mature at the Fourth and even step into the Fifth takes at least several months, up to several years.
Some even consider the Fifth Circle an impossible dream and give up. You should look at your accomplishment more objectively and experience the greatness of magic itself.
Furnel landed on Hio’s shoulder, offering a serious warning.
Indeed, Hio’s rapid ascent to the Fifth Circle was nothing short of a miracle.
Of course, from the Sixth Circle onward, raw magical power alone is not enough, but reaching the Fifth Circle was already the realm respected by all magicians.
“Well… I did start with skills like Blue Flame and Thunder Emperor from the beginning.”
Still, in every battle, it was always skills that took center stage.
There were no spells that could rival the destructive power of Thunder Emperor or Blue Flame, so magic seemed inefficient.
But now things would be different. He would show the greatness of a magus.
Furnel smiled confidently, certain that Hio’s perception would soon change, and gestured behind himself.
-Among some special magic schools, you should choose which ones to learn, but here are the essential Fifth Circle grimoires I think you must master.
Every book stacked on the desk was a Fifth Circle grimoire.
Unlike before, where Hio could pick and choose his own spells up to the Fourth Circle, this was different.
-You need to master at least this much. Only then can you be called a magus.
At Furnel’s firm declaration, Hio approached the desk and began to read the titles one by one.
[Barrier]
[Explosion]
[Fire Pillar]
[Flare]
[Firewall]
[Ray of Frost]
[Ice Cannon]
[Gust of Wind]
[Wind Blade]
[Anti-Magic Field]
More than ten grimoires in all.
As Hio read through them, he looked up at Furnel, a question in his eyes.
“There are a lot of elemental spells. Especially fire ones?”
Until now, he had deliberately avoided elemental magic.
As previously mentioned, using Thunder Emperor or Blue Flame was simpler and more effective.
Yet, more than half of the grimoires Furnel prepared were of the elemental variety.
To Hio’s question, Furnel kindly replied.
-Those two skills are powerful, but they have their drawbacks. For starters, they consume too much magic power.
Even though his mana pool had increased at the Fifth Circle, one could never predict what might happen, so conserving energy was always wise.
-Fifth Circle spells have high destructive power and wide areas of effect. You need to use spells that fit the situation. Are you planning to get by using only Blue Flame and Thunder Emperor every day?
“I have been relying on those two for both offense and evasion… I do need to make up for that.”
-Exactly! And that’s why your most powerful skill, Summon Death God, has basically been sealed. When you summon the Death God, you can’t use Blue Flame, Thunder Emperor, or Celestial. But if you master all of these spells, you’ll be able to summon that clingy, or was it squeaky, Death God without worry. These spells are just that good.
“Squeaky… Well, there’s really nothing better for dealing with Abyss Monsters than Squeaky.”
The Abyss had reached the 52nd Floor, the midpoint.
From there on, facing masses of monsters was unavoidable.
Even when facing a single powerful boss, one always had to cut through hordes of Abyss Monsters first.
In other words, the Death God—ruler of death—was in his element.
Endless magic, life force, and the energy of death could be supplied from the Death God while unleashing Fifth Circle spells in a barrage…
Now, he understood what Furnel was getting at.
The only issue was whether these elemental spells could match his expectations in power.
-Their power is guaranteed. There’s a reason elemental mages are the most common among wizards. Popularity means they have advantages. Plus, don’t you have the Flame Guardian’s Bracelet? That treasure increases the power and casting speed of fire-element spells.
Hio glanced at his wrist.
The bracelet emitted a gentle red glow.
The Flame Guardian’s Bracelet was a unique artifact, won in the Gray Castle alongside Kreutzwald’s Three Sacred Relics.
It automatically protected its wearer in times of danger, and enhanced fire magic—he’d always worn it, but had never truly made use of its abilities.
Having fully grasped Furnel’s intentions, Hio nodded.
“…Alright. I’ll learn them all as you suggested.”
-Hehehe. Good choice. And that’s not all. You must absolutely learn Necromancy, and for the special schools, choose at your discretion.
“There’s so much to learn…”
-That’s a blessing, not a curse, for a mage.
More than ten elemental and basic spells, plus Necromancy and specialized schools of magic.
It was impossible to guess how long it would take to master them all.
But he wasn’t complaining.
A smile of anticipation spread across Hio’s lips.
With only 36 hours left until the raid, there wasn’t even enough time to master a single spell properly—that was what he regretted most.
“Let’s see… Which one should I start with?”
From Fire Pillar, which created towering columns of flame, to Barrier, an advanced version of Shield…
As Hio scanned each book, his gaze lingered on the last one.
“This is…”
[Blink]
Once again, the lack of time was painfully regrettable.
The time had come.
The day the Gate would open for the 52nd Floor raid.
Though all Gates had been blocked off since the failure on the 51st Floor, a month wasn’t enough to recover from the damage.
This raid had to succeed, no matter what.
If the damage kept piling up and the accursed energy accumulated, the world would head toward ruin.
“According to the advance team’s findings, the 52nd Floor is expected to be the Conquest Floor.”
Most Gates were under strict lockdown.
Of course, it was impossible to control every Gate completely, but after the last flood of Abyss Monsters, no one wanted to enter unless they had ten lives to spare.
“The Conquest Floor… That’s an interesting surprise.”
Thus, there were two main expeditionary forces challenging the 52nd Floor.
First, the Imperial Expedition, sworn to defend the world from the Abyss.
Second, the Bingija adventurer guild’s expedition, comprised entirely of possessors.
Both major powers sent their own advance teams through different Gates to assess the situation.
The advantage in intelligence lay with the expedition led by Daphne, Sirbert, and Antiphus.
With Antiphus stepping down as commander and leaving the imperial palace, all Bingija under him left as well.
The Empire knowingly let them go.
They knew the Bingija would act for the raid and also knew who they were, so there was no need to create unnecessary friction.
Thus, the adventurer guild’s expedition became an all-Bingija unit.
The Imperial Expedition was comprised solely of people from this world.
Without Bingija among their ranks, the Imperial Expedition lagged in Abyss raid intel, but it wasn’t a critical problem.
They had plenty of information from Hio, and anything missing could be filled in once he returned.
Besides, the Empire had no shortage of talented people.
“It’s an abnormally large fortress. We couldn’t enter due to walls that seemed to reach the sky, but conquering it is likely the main objective.”
The Bingija team had already concluded it was the Conquest Floor, but the Imperial side was a little behind in information.
“Walls reaching to the sky, you say…”
But their military might was far superior.
“How fascinating.”
Sword Saint Vitalianus.
The ten Royal Knights under his command.
Three main knight orders, excluding the 1st Order that protected the imperial palace.
A battalion-sized unit of skill users.
And—
“The Apostle of the Goddess has come to guide us.”
“Ah, O Saint.”
Even support from high-ranking priests of the Order of Liphyue, capable of wielding divine power.
Every elite force that didn’t require excessive resources was assembled here.
This showed just how important Sylvia Verden, the Empress of the Empire and pinnacle of the continent’s power, considered this first full-scale raid.
Thus, it was only natural that the great Sword Saint was appointed expedition commander.
“So, where is our guardian knight?”
The answer to Vitalianus’ question came from a high-ranking priest of Liphyue—one of the dozen or so who’d voluntarily joined the expedition.
“The Apostle will join us by the end of the day at the latest.”
“Not the Apostle—the Empire’s Guardian Knight. Well, anyway, we’ll proceed to enter and set up camp first.”
“…Yes. The Saint wishes for that as well.”
“Not the Saint… The Empire’s Guardian Knight… Never mind.”
‘What did he do to earn such titles—Apostle, Saint—from these people?’
Vitalianus shook his head slightly and fixed his gaze on a figure amidst the priests.
A person hidden deep within their hood.
He couldn’t say for sure, but there was an odd, mysterious aura about them.
Rumor had it they were with the mages, but their exact relation was unknown.
Sensing traces unique to Hio Pavlenko, Vitalianus asked the mysterious figure,
“Are you the mage’s summoned creature?”
He already knew of the undead Teordo’s existence.
A being both human and not, exuding a magical aura.
So it was natural for Vitalianus to think as he did.
But what came back was an utterly unexpected, beautifully melodic voice.
“A summoned creature? I am not such a primitive being.”
And a boldly assertive answer.
“I am to be wed to Hio.”
Hearing the reply, the Sword Saint swiftly stretched his senses to scan the area.
Thankfully, Sylvia wasn’t nearby.
That was a relief.
“…I see. An unexpected relationship. Well, it’s the mage’s business. In any case, let’s proceed.”
The preparations for departure were all complete.
The only one left was Hio Pavlenko.
He seemed to be running a little late, so the expedition would go in first to get acclimated to the Abyss.
Adaptation was essential, as this space was nothing like the outside world.
“Entering now!”
There wasn’t a single ordinary soldier—this was the ultimate elite.
The Empire’s hero, Sword Saint Vitalianus, personally led the first expedition through the Gate to the Abyss 52nd Floor.
“To the Abyss!”
What greeted them first was a sky dyed crimson.
And a fortress wall so imposing, it seemed to reach the very edge of the heavens.
At the same time, the Bingija expedition, led by the top three rankers, entered through a different Gate, beholding the same scene under the same sky.
“…We must conquer this quickly.”
Thus began the full-scale assault on the 52nd Floor.