A barren rocky terrain covered in pitch-black stones.
A desolate wasteland without a single tree or blade of grass.
Everything scattered around was obsidian.
The sky was shrouded in thick dark clouds, with several black mountain peaks piercing through them.
From atop the towering obsidian throne, Maslow looked down at us.
Eyes like those observing ants.
HardboiledPC surveyed the surroundings and said.
“What the heck is this? We suddenly moved from the corridor to a rocky mountain!? Sodam sweetie, is this illusion magic?”
“No. There’s no sign of the mana fluctuation unique to illusion magic. If anything, it could be teleportation magic… but there was no hint of mana usage.”
The Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam looked at Lee Geuk.
“Old man Lee Geuk, know anything?”
“Hmm, even I’ve never experienced this phenomenon.”
“You don’t know either, huh. Tsk, this is dangerous.”
Tension seeped into the eyes of the A+ rank hunters.
At that moment, Jeanne spoke.
“…This is a mind world.”
Then, the Blue Mage Tower Lord Han Seoha asked.
“Mind world… does that mean we’ve entered that monster’s mind?”
“Precisely, it’s the mind landscape manifested in reality. Naturally, it’s the space most advantageous to the monster itself.”
“But how do you know that? You’re a newbie who just joined A+ rank.”
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you, blue mage. The consequences are yours to bear.”
Han Seoha bit her lip hard and turned her head.
Then, Shin Sodam spoke this time.
“Hey, Ravianglily. How do we break this mind thing or whatever?”
“There are two ways.”
Jeanne pointed at Maslow and said.
“First, kill the caster who manifested the mind world. Second, expel the caster from the mind world.”
“Wait. I get the first method. But what do you mean by expel for the second?”
“The mind world is a subspace manifested in reality. The range where the mind world applies, that is, the domain, is fixed. Drag the caster out of that domain, and the mind world collapses. Any means will do. Confining the caster in a completely separate subspace is one method.”
Shin Sodam fell into thought.
Then, she asked one more question.
“How large is the application range of the mind world?”
“It could be as small as a single room, or as vast as a city.”
Meaning it could be from a radius of a few meters to tens of kilometers.
Obsidian mountain peaks densely rose as far as the eye could see.
To the point where the end couldn’t be gauged.
Soon, Cheok Junseong said.
“The second method seems hard to realize.”
“No need to overthink. Means the choice is one anyway.”
Shin Sodam said in a resolute voice.
“Kill that monkey bastard. Simple and good.”
Shin Sodam pulled a potion bottle from her bosom.
A crystal bottle filled with bright red solution.
Purple embers burned fiercely within the red solution.
She pulled out a total of three potions.
Soon.
“Here, catch.”
Shin Sodam tossed the potion bottles.
The potion bottles arced through the air toward the Blue Mage Tower Lord Han Seoha and the White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek.
The two quickly snatched the potion bottles.
“Waah! You startled me! What the heck, suddenly! Say something before throwing!”
“Shin Sodam, what is this…”
To Yun Yeobaek’s question, Shin Sodam grinned.
“Red Mage Tower’s special mana elixir. Not only fully restores mana, but doubles attribute damage. Plus, one-time only, cuts casting time for higher-class magic by nearly half. How’s that, badass?”
Han Seoha and Yun Yeobaek blinked.
An elixir with overwhelming performance.
Each effect was worthy of being called ‘cheat-level.’
Soon, Yun Yeobaek said.
“With such high-performance potions, are there no side effects?”
“There are. Only one bottle per day. Unless you want to die from mana rampage with blood spurting from all seven orifices. And as a side effect, you can’t use mana at all the next day. Well, that side effect only matters if we make it back safely anyway.”
Han Seoha opened the potion cap and said.
“Sounds like a precious potion. What’s with you, you miser?”
Shin Sodam grinned and said.
“Who said it’s free? White Mage Tower Lord, since you’ve owed me a lot, special 50% discount: 550 million won. Han Seoha, you’ll pay full price. Bill it to each tower.”
“…Geez, gonna get rich. If we survive, that is.”
Shin Sodam, Han Seoha, Yun Yeobaek.
The three mage tower lords downed the elixirs simultaneously.
Then.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Mana burst explosively from the three’s bodies.
Red. Blue. White.
The tri-colored mana mixed and swirled.
Soon, Yun Yeobaek chanted buff spells in succession.
<Blessing of Heaven’s Grace: Temporarily greatly enhances all stats of the target.>
<Guider of Time: Temporarily greatly enhances the target’s casting speed.>
<Mana Amplification: Greatly increases the damage of magic cast by the target.>
<Guardian of the Spirit King: Halves damage received by the target and increases status ailment resistance.>
<Teachings of Great Nature: Reduces the target’s mana consumption by 50% and increases all attribute damage.>
<Oath of the Sea: Envelops the target in the sea’s barrier, protecting from massive damage.>
Dazzling radiance seeped into Shin Sodam and Han Seoha’s bodies.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
The two’s mana erupted even more fiercely.
Red hair and white hair fluttered wildly.
Humm— humm— humm— humm— humm—
Six red mana rings and six blue mana rings began rotating in opposite directions.
Heat and cold mixed, whipping up winds.
Soon, Han Seoha said.
“You’re going for that, right? The operation we used to take down the ‘Obsidian Golem.'”
“Ooh~ Han Seoha~ Picking up without extra explanation. Impressive?”
“Things from your head are all the same anyway.”
“Ooh~ Han Seoha~ You have a talent for adding that one word to make me wanna punch you? Shut up and cast fast! Now while that monkey bastard is dawdling is our chance!”
Shin Sodam, Han Seoha, and Yun Yeobaek.
Despite the three mage tower lords preparing their ultimate strike, Maslow just sat silently on its lofty throne, watching.
Soon, Shin Sodam shouted loudly.
“Han Seoha, now!”
“I know!”
Han Seoha extended both arms forward.
The six blue mana rings spun rapidly.
『Blue Ultimate 4th Freezing: Blizzard Storm』
A fierce blizzard began raging around the towering obsidian throne.
The Blue Mage Tower Lord’s ultimate, 6th-circle freezing magic.
Sharp ice fragments tore everything apart, and the absolute zero storm froze whatever it touched.
The obsidian peaks were instantly covered in frost.
Crack— crack-crack—
Soon, Maslow and the obsidian throne were entirely trapped in ice.
Immediately after, Shin Sodam spoke.
“Han Seoha! You know? Obsidian is ‘volcanic glass’ formed when lava cools.”
“I’m concentrating hard right now! Don’t talk to me!”
Shin Sodam grinned and said.
“Then know this too? What happens when you heat cooled glass!”
The six red mana rings spun rapidly.
『Red Ultimate 7th Fusion: Fire Dies When Fuel Ends』
Red flashes flickered below the obsidian throne engulfed in the blizzard storm.
Soon.
Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—
Five small embers rose around the obsidian throne.
They took the form of fairies wearing conical hats.
The fire fairies began circling the obsidian throne.
Once, twice, three times, four times…
With each complete lap, the fairies’ sizes grew larger.
Whoosh— whoosh-whoosh— whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—
Fierce flames rising even in the harsh blizzard.
By the ninth lap, the fairies’ sizes had swollen like giants.
Shin Sodam shouted toward Yun Yeobaek.
“Yun Yeobaek, now! Deploy the barrier!”
“Understood!”
Layers of pure white barriers enveloped Maslow.
Dozens of layers of divine protective barriers formed a bunker-like shape.
At the same time, the fire fairies completed their final tenth lap.
At that moment.
Boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
A resounding explosion echoed, and red light enveloped the obsidian mountain range.
Five red crosses rose around the obsidian throne.
They merged into one, swallowing the obsidian throne.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-bang!
A bright red flame cross stood tall at the center of the pure white blizzard storm.
Soon, intense shockwaves began devastating the obsidian rocky terrain.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—
Objects reduced to nothingness as if swept by a nuclear explosion.
Cracks spread across the layered divine protective barriers.
Blood dripped from Yun Yeobaek’s nose as she deployed mana.
How much time passed like that?
Shooo—
Steam clouded the surrounding vision white.
At the same time.
Patter— patter-patter— patter-patter-patter-patter~!
Ice pellets began falling from the sky.
“Uh…”
Yun Yeobaek staggered and collapsed.
The divine protective barrier, with only one layer barely left, scattered like bubbles.
Shin Sodam and Han Seoha panted with hollow eyes.
The other A+ rank hunters seemed entranced by the sight before them.
The obsidian terrain completely devastated.
Ice fragments stuck everywhere, and smoldering embers still burned.
White-frozen obsidian fragments crumbled to powder one by one.
Jeanne whispered to me.
“Fire and ice, two starkly opposing attributes, harmonizing like this. The power was impressive.”
I nodded.
The combined strike squeezing the utmost from the three mage tower lords’ power.
‘Definitely. That just now had destructive force rivaling an S-rank skill.’
But at that moment.
Whoosh—!
A fierce hot wind blew away the steam and hail in one go.
“N-No way…”
“It can’t be. How…”
Yun Yeobaek and Han Seoha’s faces turned pale white.
Shin Sodam also muttered with a pallid face.
“Ha, fuck. Knew it felt off.”
The obsidian throne cracked all over.
Maslow, perched atop it, was unscathed without a single wound.
Just some soot and ice dust on its fur here and there.
Soon, Maslow spoke.
[That was interesting… just a little.]
A voice that tingled the entire body.
Han Seoha bent over and began vomiting her guts out.
“Urp— Uuuugh~!”
Mana sickness from rapid mana depletion.
Plus the result of overwhelming despair added on.
At that moment, Maslow slowly wagged its index finger.
Then.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
The obsidian terrain shook fiercely, and the ground began rising.
As if to scatter the hunters apart, eleven obsidian mountain peaks rose in different directions.
The rising obsidian peaks stopped only when they reached the clouds.
I looked around.
The place I stood was a mountaintop about the size of a small concert hall.
Jeanne and the other hunters were far away.
‘…This makes reuniting hard with ordinary methods.’
Soon, Maslow’s resounding voice echoed.
[Prove yourselves. Whether you are beings worth it.]
No sooner had the words ended than black whirlwinds began swirling before each hunter.
Soon.
Great-great-great-great-great—
The black whirlwinds took form.
Head, neck, shoulders, upper body, waist, lower body, arms, legs.
Black mana was taking human shape.
But somehow…
‘Why does it look strangely familiar?’
A face seen thousands, tens of thousands of times in the bathroom mirror.
Standing opposite me was none other than.
‘…Me?’
Cha Hasang, identical from head to toe.
Except entirely dyed pitch black.
The same for the other hunters.
Each faced an opponent modeled after themselves.
In a duel arena atop an inescapable skyscraper!
Soon, Maslow’s voice echoed.
[…Now, kill each other.]