Light and Darkness (1)

『See anything you like? If there is something you desire, speak it.』

At the Floor 4 Manager's words, I looked over the equipment floating before my eyes.

Nine items in all. Every one of them radiated mana that was anything but ordinary.

When I examined them through Sage's Sight, each and every spec proved extraordinary.

They're all Mythic grade, and every one carries at least 5 bonus Magic stat.

Whichever I chose, these were endgame-tier items among 4-Star equipment. Even picking at random, anything with a direct bearing on combat would raise my fighting power by a huge margin.

But.

My gaze moved. To the item tucked into the farthest corner of all nine.

I walked toward it. Tear of Moonlight.

Specs that made one question whether it was truly a Mythic-grade item — because it was a material item.

At a glance, it seemed the least useful of the nine.

And yet. For me, this item before my eyes held more value than any of the other equipment.

Forty points of Magic stat. An overwhelming number. This was something I absolutely had to obtain.

With this, I could finally awaken Dragon Blood.

It was a shame to pass on the other Mythic gear. But the Tear of Moonlight didn't have to remain a mere material forever. If I could later forge a new Mythic-grade item from it, that might well turn out to be an even better outcome.

"I'll take this one."

The moment my mind was made up, I selected the Tear of Moonlight.

『Hm? You truly mean to choose that? Honestly speaking, that is the worst choice available here. Would you not care to reconsider?』

"No, I'm fine. This is the one."

『Very well. You must have your reasons for wanting it. Take it.』

Shuuuung.

Flaaaash!

With the Floor 4 Manager's words, the Tear of Moonlight blazed with brilliant light and flew toward me.

Finally. My Magic stat would reach 100.

I swallowed hard and received the Tear of Moonlight.

And then—

Kuaaaaaaah!!

A soft silver moonlight began pouring out of the Tear of Moonlight!

Ah!

In that instant, starlight exploded inside my head.

Ghhk.

It burned. The blood coursing through my body boiled like fire — like molten lava.

I wanted to throw my head back and scream right then and there, but I held it in. I knew instinctively that this was a critical moment.

If I let even a scream slip now, precious mana will leak out with it.

I could feel my body transforming. My five senses expanded in real time, and the density of the mana I carried grew thicker and more potent with every heartbeat.

『To witness such magnificence with my own eyes!』

I faintly heard the Floor 4 Manager cry out in awe.

As I endured and endured, my consciousness began to blur. I lost track of time.

…….

….

Suddenly, my mind snapped awake.

How much time has passed?

The moment consciousness returned, I realized my body felt light enough to take flight.

……!

Good grief.

I could create a Dragon Heart? A Dragon Heart — a Draco cor, the organ of true dragons themselves.

"Ha…."

Heh. Hehehe.

An incredulous laugh spilled out of me unbidden.

So the power of those dragons that once pressed the Abyss down beneath them — I could wield it too?

So how do I actually make this Dragon Heart?

The answer lay within the Dragonia privilege skill.

Heh.

Magic stat 300 and Spirit stat 300. Insane numbers.

But looking at it closely, neither was beyond reach.

Spirit? That was the stat with the highest growth rate in my build. Reaching 300 — I was confident of that.

Magic, on the other hand…

I'll brute-force that one with gear.

I'd push it with equipment, just as I'd been doing. Sooner or later, I'd hit the mark. Maybe sooner than I thought.

Good.

The power called Dragon Words. It was something I had wanted more than anything. Last time, Aleon had told me that the stat most crucial to both the use and the destructive power of Dragon Words was Spirit.

And when it came to Spirit stat — wasn't that me, Kim Hajun, personified?

Heh heh.

Just picturing myself unleashing Dragon Words sent a thrilling shiver through me.

That said.

There had been something else that surprised me when I checked the Dragonia skill a moment ago.

…This is insane.

For any mage-type Ascender, these traits were each and every one the stuff of dreams.

What if I hadn't picked the Dragon privilege skill? Just imagine.

The moment my Dragon Blood awakened, I became certain of one thing.

No one on Floor 4 could stop me now.

The Seven Celestials? Come at me, all of you. With this momentum, I felt like I could flatten even that dark-skinned fellow — João or Juão or whatever his name was — whom I'd seen before, without breaking a sweat.

『So the Tear of Moonlight was the trigger. Truly remarkable.』

Ah.

Come to think of it, I was still standing in front of the Floor 4 Manager. I'd been so absorbed that I'd momentarily forgotten where I even was.

『It was no wasted choice after all. And I nearly led you into a mistaken choice with my advice. I must apologize.』

Oh, come on. There was no need to go so far as to apologize, I thought—

Oh.

Well. Now that's an apology worth accepting.

The corners of my mouth curled up on their own. I still had to upgrade the Sage's Robe down the line — with this, a Limit Break was something to look forward to, wasn't it?

"Thank you."

『Thank me for what? Thanks to you, I was granted the sight of a rare spectacle — if anything, I am the one in your debt. Kim Hajun, Kim Hajun, Kim Hajun. I have committed that name firmly to memory. I hope we may meet again.』

Flash!

With those words, A-One vanished.

At the same time, two streams of starlight descended from the heavens.

There they are.

Among the countless points of starlight — two brilliant emerald glimmers.

Well then. On Floor 4 as well, the acquisition of Mythic-grade skills was a success.

As I reached out my hand, my vision flooded with emerald light.

Now what is all this?

Back in the Square of Courage, I blinked.

Along with the stream of messages announcing my privileges, a crimson aura flowed out of my entire body like a mantle.

Apparently, this was the Buff of Courage.

So this is the Orb of Light and Darkness.

It was a fist-sized orb resting in my palm, half white and half black. It seemed to be the item used to initiate the hidden scenario.

I never dreamed that finishing the Proof of Courage would chain into a hidden scenario.

— What in the world did you do while you were gone?

While I was still blinking, Aleon's voice reached me.

Aleon had not been able to accompany me through this Proof of Courage. Presumably because the stage was tied to Spirit.

I cleared the Proof of Courage all the way to the end. So it's giving me all this.

I told him everything — the Tear of Moonlight I'd obtained, the awakening of my Dragon Blood, and the items I'd just received, right down to the hidden scenario that had been unlocked.

— Breathtaking. Simply breathtaking.

Aleon fell completely silent. Apparently, even he had never envisioned me conquering the Proof of Courage to its very end.

"Do you know what this is?"

I held out the Orb of Light and Darkness as I asked.

— This is….

Aleon, manifesting in his holographic form, narrowed his eyes. He wore the look of someone who knew exactly what it was.

Just as Aleon's mouth opened to speak again—

Kugugugugugu!!

A massive roar thundered from behind me.

"Whoa!"

"Wh-what is that?!"

"N-no, that's…?"

From every direction came the sound of people gasping in disbelief.

Unbelievable.

I had no choice but to let out an incredulous laugh of my own.

Why?

Because above the massive cliff face, an enormous silhouette modeled after my own figure was carving itself into being.

The moment Hajun claimed first place in the Proof of Courage, the Ascender Community erupted — it had no other choice.

Before Unknown, who had set yet another one-of-a-kind record, the Ascenders of Korea went especially wild.

The same was true overseas. Unknown's exploits were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠splashed across headlines and thrust into the global spotlight.

The stigma ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Korea being a minor power in the Ascender world was being overturned in real time with every record Unknown shattered.

In Japan, too, a movement to venerate Unknown was beginning to stir.

In China, they still could not shake their lingering belief that Unknown was one of their own.

And so, while the entire world seethed and churned before the great record Unknown had established, Unknown himself was busily on the move to begin Floor 4's hidden scenario, Light and Darkness.

"So I have to head to the place where the Barrier of Light and Darkness stands?"

— Yes. Head straight east and you'll come upon a great mountain range. There lies the Barrier of Light and Darkness. That orb appears to be something you can use there.

I moved east, following Aleon's guidance.

After traveling for some time, I spotted it — a place where white light and black light mingled from the heavens themselves, a barrier enclosing the land as though the world had been split clean in two.

This is the place.

Wuumm!

As though answering my thought, the Orb of Light and Darkness let out a resonant hum.

Let's head over there.

The moment I moved toward the point where the two energies met—

"We meet again, Unknown."

A familiar face appeared before me.

"João?"

An uninvited guest, appearing without warning. One of the Seven Celestials, the so-called King of South America — the Godly Archer, João.

Behind him stood more than a hundred Ascenders at rigid attention.

"Don't tell me — you came looking for me?"

I could feel it. He had come with ill intent.

"Can you not see it for yourself?"

At João's gesture, the hundred-odd Ascenders behind him visibly dropped into combat stances.

Yeah. I had a feeling it would come to this.

"If you believed this body would quietly swallow such humiliation, then you are a fool. Carve it into your bones. Though I doubt you'll live long enough to see the light of another day."

Wrath burned in João's eyes. He was apparently furious beyond measure at being bested by me twice in water.

As the scene made plain, they had come thoroughly, painstakingly prepared. Not just João himself — the Ascenders lined up behind him gave off anything but an ordinary presence.

However.

What am I going to do about this.

My combat power right now could be called the greatest in my entire history.

My Dragon Blood had already awakened and driven the ceiling higher still — and on top of that, the Buff of Courage, lasting a full twenty-four hours, had granted me the greatest fighting strength I had ever possessed.

To add a spoonful of exaggeration: I honestly doubted I would lose even if I fought every single Ascender on Floor 4 at once.

"What a shame, João."

"What?"

At my words, João's brow twitched.

Right — he had no way of knowing what I meant just yet.

But from here on out, he'd understand perfectly.

The instant the corners of my mouth curled upward, the battle between me and João's band began — the kind that would one day be recorded in the annals of history.