#33 Serena's Ice Palace (1)
A bolt of lightning, forged from an immense surge of mana, slammed down onto the dummy planted in the center of the training room. But it didn't end there with just one strike.
Dozens of lightning bolts materialized simultaneously across the room. Astonishing enough on its own, the sight of them all converging on a single point was nothing short of miraculous. Flash, flash. With every burst of light, fresh wounds scarred the dummy—crafted from what was said to be the world's toughest material.
It was an artifact capable of self-repair even after being shattered and crumbled, yet it couldn't withstand the relentless barrage of thunderbolts crashing down upon it.
Whoosh. In the end, the man who had reduced the dummy to dust opened his closed eyes.
At the center of his mystical blue irises, his pupils gleamed with a pale light.
"Mr. Seonje! You should probably head out soon. Sub-guild master Jin Yeonhwa is on her way."
At the voice from beside him, Yuseonje turned his head slightly. Meeting his gaze, Jiyuri blushed anew at his radiant face.
She saw him every day, yet his appearance never failed to stun her.
His eyes, dyed blue even in the irises, didn't quite suit a Korean face—but Yuseonje was the exception. Blessed with mana from birth, every feature of his was so flawless it made him seem like a different race altogether.
Still, if there was one flaw in his perfect looks, it had to be that utterly unchanging, impassive expression. She'd been assisting him for years now, yet she'd never once seen him smile.
Yuseonje responded to Jiyuri's words.
"Understood."
He gave a compliant reply, but his mood wasn't great.
The reason Yuseonje had chosen Sirius out of all the guilds vying for him was simple. First, it was Korea's top guild. Second, they'd promised not to throw him into the spotlight until he was perfectly honed.
Yuseonje glared at the dummy he'd pulverized.
It was the kind that A-grade hunters could pummel all day without a scratch, yet he'd succeeded in turning it to powder.
But...
His gaze shifted to the scorch marks beside the shattered remains.
Yuseonje had aimed to land thousands of lightning bolts he'd summoned squarely on that dummy. Yet even with his godlike mana control, a few had slipped away.
A handful out of thousands—that was an achievement worth marveling at. But it didn't satisfy him.
One Point. The name of the technique he sought to perfect.
The pinnacle of lightning arts: channeling thousands of bolts into a single precise strike.
Lightning was nature's domain by origin—something no mere human could wield freely. That's why his mana was so wildly untamed and destructive, notoriously hard to control.
Condensing that power into one tiny target bordered on the impossible.
Most lightning wielders didn't aim for delicate control; they focused on summoning massive, wide-area blasts.
It suited their talent for crowd control over single targets, and true mastery of lightning was near unattainable anyway.
But Yuseonje, who dreamed of perfection, wanted even his lightning under absolute command.
He hadn't fully mastered the technique yet.
Yet the world—and Jin Yeonhwa—wanted to unleash him under the Sirius banner.
Hoo.
He knew this was his own greed, too.
He knew he was strong enough already.
But not yet.
He was aware that the schedule had been pushed up because of Beltsmets' lightning user.
'Just because of that loser.'
To Yuseonje, Beltsmets' lightning guy was nothing. Sure, the raw destructive power was impressive, but his control was abysmal.
The footage was grainy, but those wildly arcing bolts were clearly out of control.
Recalling how the guy just summoned and dropped lightning without finesse, Yuseonje's brows furrowed ever so slightly.
He planned to show everyone just how foolish it was to lump him in with Beltsmets scum.
At least when it came to lightning mastery, no one in Korea surpassed him. He'd prove it this time.
Leaving the training room, Yuseonje meekly slipped on the jacket Jiyuri held out.
After hours of training, not a drop of sweat beaded his skin. Perfect self-control.
"Shall we go, then?"
He nodded and followed her. Though a rookie yet to make his debut, eyes trailed him everywhere he went.
His striking looks drew attention, but so did his status as one of Korea's rare S-grade awakeners.
"He's debuting in an S-grade dungeon this time."
"Skipping straight to S-grade from A? Well, with Yuseonje, it's justified. Bet he'll go for 7-star certification after clearing this gate."
Expectations, envy, jealousy, a hint of fear. Familiar gazes to him.
Jiyuri stopped before a door. Blue light shimmered around her, and it slid open.
Jin Yeonhwa, lounging on the sofa, straightened slightly and spoke.
"Oh, you finally caaame."
"Hello! Sub-guild master Jin Yeonhwa!"
Jiyuri bowed so deeply her back nearly snapped. But Jin Yeonhwa's eyes fixed only on Yuseonje beside her.
He gave a curt nod to the sub-guild master in return.
"You called for me."
"Have a seat first?"
Directed solely at him. The chair was a single-seater. He sat before the sofa.
"You know what this is about, right? You're debuting this time. Clap for him!"
Only Jiyuri clapped. Even Lee Hyewon standing behind Jin Yeonhwa didn't budge.
Jiyuri awkwardly stopped.
"Anyway, that's the deal. Problem is, the schedule's ahead of what I promised."
Yuseonje replied bluntly.
"No issue."
He hadn't perfected One Point, but he was overwhelmingly strong already. He'd grinded lower gates for experience. No A-grades under his belt, but he was confident for S-grade. Not arrogance—certainty.
Jin Yeonhwa had verified it multiple times via internal intel. Her apology was surely empty words.
Jin Yeonhwa's eyes sparkled as she watched him.
"You know how those rampaging villains made us look like fools, right?"
Beltsmets. He'd seen the lightning. A crude mana dump. Nothing beautiful or precise like his.
It only evoked pity.
To the ignorant, it might seem impressive. Not to his eyes.
Yet they couldn't dismiss Beltsmets entirely because...
"If not for the compound talents, he's nothing."
The guy handled water attributes too. Lightning and water synergized perfectly. If he truly wielded both, Yuseonje couldn't guarantee victory easily.
"We don't even know who fired that bolt. Could be a hidden fourth member."
Frankly, a fourth member made more sense than an A- or S-grade compound talent.
"Exactly! That theory holds more waterrr. So like you, Seonje. Still, their fanboys are multiplying pointlessly. Can't be helped."
Jin Yeonhwa's eyes darkened.
"You can make it crystal clear, right?"
Yuseonje met her gaze squarely.
"Yes."
"Great!"
The suffocating tension lifted in an instant.
"Then let's talk strategyyy."
Before that, her eyes flicked to Jiyuri.
"Manager, mind stepping out?"
Jiyuri's eyes widened in shock. But she soon bowed her head and exited.
Even as his full-time manager, she wasn't cleared for this strategy.
For all their security, Jin Yeonhwa's plan was straightforward.
Sirius didn't need gimmicks. Their pillars were rock-solid.
But for a must-win, she had an ace up her sleeve.
"Don't worry. Whatever happens, I have a way to bring you back alive."
Dawn broke.
Before the glowing blue S-grade gate, Jin Yeonhwa hummed a tune.
Always casual, today she was sharply dressed.
Yuseonje, about to enter, matched her.
"You look like a celebrity nowww."
"Thank you."
"You're no fun at allll, Seonje."
Grinning down at the raid team, she said,
"Perfect. All prep's done."
Sirius raid team's lineup:
Two 7-stars.
Thirty 6-stars.
Thirty 5-star+ supporters.
Forty porters.
Total: 102 members.
Unbelievably lean for an S-grade clear. Average raids took 300+; this was under half.
Sirius could muster more, but conquering with the bare minimum was the point.
Few in number, but all elite—her cherished assets.
Veterans of multiple S-grades, armed with top-tier artifacts.
Small but elite.
Especially the handpicked supporters—flawless for any gate type.
Failure wasn't an option.
They'd guarded the gate post-entry too, against intruders.
Droves of reporters swarmed, hyping the historic challenge.
Her confidence in minimal forces was ironclad.
"Seonje, over hereee."
As Yuseonje stood beside her, flashes erupted from the press.
Interviews followed relentlessly.
"First S-grade raid—nervous?"
"Minimal team—any worries?"
"Even Sirius faces 'overreach' talk. Think you can pull it off perfectly?"
Yuseonje fielded them all.
"Yes. We can."
His answers stayed consistent.
Arrogant, perhaps—but he backed it up.
As the raid stepped into the gate,
Eyes locked on the frontliners—raid stars.
Some on supporters next—essential salts: detection, pathfinding, buffs.
Last, porters for logistics. All 3-star+ veterans to dodge mana poisoning. Pricier than rookies sometimes.
But porters were porters.
No one spared them a glance.
No one knew.
A few uninvited guests had slipped in among them.