A new skill appeared before Lee Taeseong.
‘Summon Ascendant?’
Just looking at the skill name, he felt like he knew what it was.
Did it not mean he could summon the Flame Emperor—someone he could currently only contact via communication—right in front of him?
The reaction of Lee Taeseong, who saw this skill, and Abeson, who had been listening to their conversation beside him, was…
“Wouldn’t this be a bit difficult?”
They shouted in unison.
-What!?
Why!!!
Abeson retorted with a snort.
Lee Taeseong also knew the reason, but he understood it quite desperately.
Even though he had only been following the traces of the Flame Emperor, had he not heard enough to make his ears ache about what kind of trouble the man had caused hundreds of years ago?
Summoning such a Flame Emperor again?
There was no way that could be okay.
-I want to go to the lower realms, too!
It’s so boring here!
I need some entertainment!
How can a person live just by working!!
After shouting furiously, the Flame Emperor changed direction at some point.
-Look here, disciple.
It looks like you haven’t even broken through the wall of the Peak Realm yet?
You seem a tiny bit—a very tiiiiny bit—stronger than last time, but it’s not even noticeable.
“…Are you mocking me right now?”
-No, no.
That’s not it.
If this great master were by your side, I could guide you so you can grow in the right direction.
Don’t you know how golden and precious the advice I throw your way is?
“……”
Lee Taeseong could not refute it.
Because it was all too true!
-Calling me a devil!
What kind of insulting remark is that to an Ascendant?
That is blasphemy.
-I got sick of the continent, which is why I ascended, you know?
It’s just that it’s more boring here.
I won’t cause any trouble!
I’ll just watch, just watch.
I just want to catch a whiff of the lower realms.
It was while Abeson and the Flame Emperor were bickering.
“!”
A lightning-like idea flashed through Lee Taeseong’s mind.
“Master. Is there any place in the lower realms you have not been to?”
-Hmm.
I suppose there might be if I look.
“Then that means there is almost nowhere left. In that case, I would like to make a slightly different suggestion.”
Lee Taeseong explained that he was an Outsider and that he could go back and forth between this world through logging in and logging out.
Having heard everything, the Flame Emperor was dumbfounded.
-An Outsider, you say.
Something funny has appeared.
Did a Great Mage who refused ascension appear after I disappeared?
How can a human from another dimension visit?
“Well… I’m not sure….”
Lee Taeseong did not dare say things like, ‘This is a game.’
From the beginning, there had been several situations where he even doubted if this was truly a game.
Regardless, he put that issue aside.
“Abeson, a Spirit or Death Spirit I am contracted with, can reveal himself in reality as well. How about you try observing our world in that same way, Master? Wouldn’t it be much more interesting than here?”
-Hmm.
A new world, you say….
“Yes. I guarantee it will be a world completely different from this one. And you might even be able to see monsters you have never seen before.”
That statement stimulated the Flame Emperor’s curiosity.
He was the Flame Emperor who had roamed the whole world, to the point where it was no exaggeration to say there was nowhere he hadn’t been, from the West Continent to the East Continent, and the great sea in between.
In truth, even if he were to go back down to the lower realms, he would surely get bored quickly.
In such a situation, another world?
It was natural that the Flame Emperor’s interest had immediately shifted.
-Not bad?
Fine.
Let’s do that.
Lee Taeseong smiled broadly.
“You have made a very excellent choice!”
***
***whoosh***
Lee Taeseong logged out and got up from the capsule.
Checking his awakened skills, he could see ‘Summon Ascendant’ clearly appearing at the very end.
‘I’d like to use it right away if I could… but I must use it in an optimal situation.’
Maintaining only the communication consumed an immense amount of mana.
In such a situation, he had no idea how many seconds he could maintain it if he summoned him directly.
From the moment he decided he would summon the Flame Emperor to Earth, there was something Lee Taeseong had planned.
Grinning, he muttered.
“Enter Ranking Mission.”
-Ding!
**[You have participated in a Ranking Mission]**
Lee Taeseong’s field of vision shifted, and a moment later, a wilderness made entirely of stone spread out before his eyes.
There was a white gate connecting to the Republic of Korea, a Dimensional Barrier existed, and monsters were swarming beyond it.
Since they had escaped the previous crisis of the Dimensional Barrier and it was being maintained stably, there was no one in the Ranking Mission.
Rankers would probably visit once every time they obtained a Dimensional Barrier Fragment from a Hunter Mission to replenish it before leaving.
Lee Taeseong moved quickly and exited the Dimensional Barrier.
As soon as he crossed the barrier using his Lightfoot Technique, the gaze of the pack of monsters that were pounding on the barrier turned toward Lee Taeseong.
“Graaaah!”
“Kyaaaah!”
***whoosh***
Jumping high and drawing his sword, Lee Taeseong unleashed the Flame Tide Wave Sword.
Because Lee Taeseong had become able to imbue his will of fire into his consciousness, the stronger wave of fire swept through the surroundings.
Most of the monsters could not withstand the flames and collapsed.
Lee Taeseong stepped on the red ground once more and moved forward using his Lightfoot Technique.
He focused only on evading most of the monsters with his Lightfoot Technique.
Even if he fought them, he wouldn’t gain a Score and would only waste mana.
Since he had to save as much as possible right now, he moved along the most efficient path.
As he continued to move forward like that, he reached a position similar to where he had been last time.
***vwooom***
And immediately after, a Black Gate appeared.
‘As I thought!’
Lee Taeseong’s eyes shone.
He didn’t know if that Black Gate was visible to other Hunters who reached here, or if it only reacted to him.
But his speculation that he would definitely be able to see it again if he came here was correct.
Although he did not hear the strange voice like last time, the same monster slowly revealed itself.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Lee Taeseong glared at the monster with 3 heads and 6 arms that had jumped out of the Black Gate.
Last time, he had only fired probing attacks at that guy and executed a strategic retreat.
‘Can I win now?’
He had gained enlightenment, his skill level had gone up, and his mana capacity had increased.
He still had no intention of fighting a power battle head-on, but he didn’t feel like he would lose just like that.
However, there was an easier path than that right now.
“Master!”
-Ding!
**[Skill: Summon Ascendant is activated]**
The moment Lee Taeseong shouted loudly, the space beside him split like shattered glass.
Immediately afterward, it broke into pieces, and someone walked out from inside.
Red hair that looked like a materialized blazing flame, bright red eyebrows and pupils, and even a red beard.
The middle-aged man, entirely filled with the color red, looked around with curious eyes.
“Oh-ho. What is this. Is this really a different world?”
The Flame Emperor.
The strongest person on the West Continent hundreds of years ago, the Greatest Under Heaven who had built immense fame and notoriety at the same time.
And at the end of it, a demigod who had even ascended to the heavens appeared in the Ranking Mission grounds.
“Your disciple greets you, Master.”
While greeting him, Lee Taeseong contemplated his own internal body.
It was certain that since the Flame Emperor had come out into reality, a much larger amount of mana was being sucked out than when he was with Ashaka.
However, thanks to the High-Grade Elixir Potion he had taken earlier, he was barely able to endure it.
“Yeah. Disciple. This is the first time I’m seeing you in person after only hearing your voice. You’re quite young, aren’t you?”
The Flame Emperor looked at Lee Taeseong while stroking his beard.
“How long has it been since you learned my Hybrid?”
“It hasn’t been a few months yet.”
“A few months? You’re at that level in just a few months?”
“My disciple has some special abilities.”
“Hah, well. I take back what I said about you having no talent. You have quite decent talent, don’t you?”
The Flame Emperor liked the disciple he had accepted for the first time.
Although it wasn’t a disciple he had chosen after seeing him in person, but one who had appeared because the strings of fate touched, his skills and character seemed quite decent.
‘Above all, he’s also giving me fresh entertainment.’
A disciple who could bring him to another world!
It was a pass.
“Graaaaah!”
At that moment, the monster that had popped out of the Black Gate let out a hideous shriek and began to rush over.
The Flame Emperor frowned.
“What now. Where are you interrupting when this old man is talking, you insolent… When I was active on the continent, there were no such things that dared to act without concepts like that, tsk tsk.”
The Flame Emperor flicked his finger.
That was the end.
The monster that had been rushing over turned into ash and disappeared just like that.
Lee Taeseong blinked.
Just a moment ago.
He hadn’t perceived the cause and effect at all.
He didn’t know what technique he used, or what the opponent died from.
That big, hulking thing just suddenly turned into ash.
‘Whoa…’
Lee Taeseong’s eyes sparkled.
To think he had become a disciple of such a person.
Did that not mean even following half of that level would be tremendous?
Such expectation arose, but at the same time, Lee Taeseong’s complexion turned a little pale.
Unlike when he only summoned him, the mana being sucked out while he was even using force was at a level he couldn’t handle.
“Master. Please take it easy. My mana…”
“This was really going easy. You want me to go even easier here?”
“Yes.”
“Aigoo. It’s truly difficult to communicate with such a weak disciple.”
The Flame Emperor brushed the scattering ash away with his hand and approached the Black Gate.
“But disciple. Even though I have just arrived in your world, there are quite interesting things here.”
Standing in front of the gate, the Flame Emperor, who had a fishy smile on his face, thrust one hand inside.
It looked like he was moving his arm as if searching for something, and then the Flame Emperor’s eyes sparkled.
“Caught you.”
When he pulled his arm, what popped out from inside was a strange monster with dozens of tentacles.
It was a monster with a bald head, strangely shaped eyes, nose, and mouth, and below that was a bundle of tentacles instead of a torso. [Kieeeeek!!]
“Kwahaha. It looks quite disgusting too. What is this guy, hiding so suspiciously in there?”
“I, I’m not sure.”
Lee Taeseong was also flustered.
That gate itself was unusual, but what on earth did he catch from inside?
The Flame Emperor looked at the tentacle monster a few times, and then, as if he lost interest, he put strength into his hand.
***crunch***
The fellow’s head burst, and soon its body went limp.
***
Florida Beach, Southeast United States.
This place, which is sometimes called one of the top 3 beaches in the world and is in contact with the Atlantic Ocean, was a place where countless tourists came for vacation, and various wealthy people who had built villas here even lived.
And people were curious about who the owner of the villa with the best land among them was.
Not only had he bought an enormous piece of land on this golden ground to build a luxurious mega-mansion, but he had even purchased the connected beach to make it a private beach.
It must have cost at least tens of billions, and he must have had to get permission from the state government, so who on earth was the owner of this place?
There were questions from wealthy people who had villas nearby or tourists passing by once in a while, but the owner of the villa did not reveal himself to the outside.
At the very top of such a villa, in a bedroom with the sea spreading out beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a muscular black man was lying down. Lying with his eyes half-closed, he twitched and then sat up.
“The manager has died?”
His pupils were shaking with confusion more than ever.
If there were anyone who knew him, they would have been surprised.
In the sense that this always-composed man could show this much agitation.
Alex Caesar.
He was a man who was always mentioned without fail when people were asked who the strongest Hunter in the world was, and although the public didn’t know, he was a hero who had dramatically blocked things several times after a Gate Incident was about to happen or had happened.
He, a distinguished guest the government cared most about, began to prepare to move, breaking his long seclusion.
“Uh, it’s me. Book a plane. Right now.”
Alex, who had called someone somewhere.
“The destination is… South Korea.”
The place where the gate reaction he had felt was connected.
It was South Korea.