New Guardian (4)
Have you ever seen space itself fold in on itself while you're alive?
Most people would say no.
They'd probably follow up with a ninety-nine percent chance of asking, "Is that even possible?"
I was the same way.
Insane.
The space crumpled like a sheet of paper being wadded up.
Krunch, krraaack!
Space itself was distorting.
Was something like this even possible?
Dimensional Authority may cause fatal damage to the training grounds.
"Whoopsie!"
Creamson snapped his fingers with a quick flick.
Twang!
Crack, craaackle!
Like rewinding a video, the warped space snapped back to normal.
The space was pristine, without a single trace left behind.
The bizarre monsters that had appeared moments ago vanished as cleanly as if erased with rubber.
Elemental (All Attributes) Training Stage 3 cleared.
Creamson had revealed his presence with a perfect display of unexpected power.
Since he'd seemed like a non-combat type at first, his stunning performance left an even stronger impression.
"Whoa. The power of dimensions! Handling such a dangerous force."
Azkai, who usually wore a lazy expression and shrugged off most things, had his eyes slightly widened.
It was the first time I'd seen him look this surprised.
"Whoa, Creamson. That was seriously amazing."
"Heh heh. You're too kind."
He responded to my praise with a sleazy grin.
"Can you keep using that power you just showed?"
"As long as I have enough dimensional energy, yes. But right now, my dimensional energy is nearly depleted, so it'll be difficult for a while."
The dimensional seal on Creamson's right arm was now glowing faintly at only about ten percent.
It had been around twenty percent just moments ago, so he'd used at least ten percent or more.
Can't spam it recklessly, huh.
Of course.
If he could wield that kind of power freely, Creamson would already be on par with a god.
Still, it's incredible no doubt.
A power that could flip the entire battlefield in an instant.
That was the authority he wielded.
"Alright, then."
I turned to look at Wispent.
She'd been gazing at Creamson with slightly widened eyes but stepped forward the moment I spoke.
"Ready?"
"Yes, Master."
Wispent entered the training grounds.
Elemental (Light) Training Stage 1 beginning.
She'd chosen the Light attribute.
Fwaaaah!
The training grounds filled with brilliant light as a horde of angel-like light spirits appeared.
Maybe because it was light?
There seemed to be way more of them than before.
"Like an ant swarm."
"Hmm. If the bow's her main weapon, crowds might be tricky."
As Azkai and Creamson exchanged thoughts,
Wispent raised her bow, drew the string, and aimed forward.
The noticeable thing was that there was no arrow on the bow.
Twang!
Without hesitation, she released the empty bowstring.
"......?"
No arrow?
The moment I made a puzzled face,
Kraaaaaaaa!
A hazy silhouette shot from her bowstring at blinding speed toward the light spirits.
Fwaaah!
It split in an instant.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!
The hazy silhouette split into hundreds in a flash.
Its true nature was translucent spirit shades.
Kraka ka ka ka ka ka!!!
The shades devoured all the light spirits in a heartbeat.
Kiiiiiiieeeeeek—!!!
Eerie wails filled the training grounds.
"......!"
I clenched my arms without realizing it.
The scene was so shocking, goosebumps rose on my forearms.
But it didn't last long.
Shaaaa...
Moments later, every light spirit vanished without a trace.
Elemental (Light) Training Stage 1 cleared.
She cleared it in under ten seconds, just like the others.
Everyone was finishing their trials in ten seconds flat, like it was a competition.
"Whoa."
I couldn't hold back my admiration as I looked at Wispent.
She possessed overwhelming combat prowess beyond my expectations.
Against that insect horde, she might shine even brighter.
I recalled the spirit arrow she'd just used.
It wasn't something you could block physically.
I was certain the insects wouldn't stand a chance against her attacks.
Perfect.
I spread my arms wide toward the two of them, eyes sparkling.
"Welcome, both of you."
It was an even warmer reception than when they'd first entered.
"Let's head out of the lair and hunt some monsters first."
After confirming Creamson and Wispent's powers, I decided to head outside right away.
But not to face the insect horde's main force just yet.
First, I needed to test how efficient it was to gain EXP using Dragon Words in real combat.
We'd wipe them out when the time came, but maximizing my level-ups alongside that would be killing two birds with one stone.
My goal was to push my level to nearly 200 while crushing the insect horde this time.
『Seojun! I wanna go out too!』
As we were gearing up to leave,
Dania spoke up.
Her cheeks were puffed out hugely.
She'd apparently been frustrated watching us go out while she stayed cooped up.
But no can do.
Dania was someone who absolutely needed protection.
She couldn't get even a single scratch outside.
The lair wasn't designed to keep her in until she became a full dragon for nothing.
But...
Looking at those massively puffed cheeks and those eyes full of grievance, I couldn't just flatly say no.
In that case.
We'll do it this way.
"Has our Dania been feeling cooped up? Wanna go out and see the world?"
『Yeah! I wanna look around outside too.』
"Good. But you can't come when we're going out to hunt monsters."
『Then?』
"Elatrium's spread out there, so let's explore inside Elatrium together."
There shouldn't be much danger if we stick to Elatrium.
Time to introduce her properly to the Elatria, Lili tribe, and shadow wolves too.
『Ung. Got it. I'll wait!』
Adorably, Dania obeyed right away.
Pat pat.
Cute little thing.
I ruffled her head thoroughly and stood up.
"Let's move out."
Me, Lulumiel, Azkai, Archeron, Creamson, Wispent.
A party of six.
We headed straight out of the lair.
『Lair's... master... greetings...』
『Your... group... has grown... since last time...』
『Gaia's... blessing... upon you...』
We received greetings from the Elatria.
"Lili!"
"Hello."
"Greetings to the lair's master!"
Then the Lili tribe's greetings too.
"Huh?"
I was startled by what the Lili tribe was doing.
Why?
"Whoa! You've grown a ton."
The fields of spirit herbs the Lili tribe was cultivating.
A wave of blue stretched before my eyes.
This was the result of allowing the Lili queen to cultivate spirit herbs outside the lair last time she visited.
"We're working hard on it!"
"We'll turn this whole place into spirit herb fields!"
"Lili!"
The Lili tribe was tending the fields with fanatic zeal.
The plot they'd claimed was over ten thousand pyeong at least.
And they were filling it all with that blue wave.
This was practically a spirit herb factory.
This could sell on Earth too?
A hunch that it'd make a fortune flashed through my mind.
But later for that.
We moved out beyond Elatrium.
Then headed west—the opposite direction from where the insect horde was coming from the east.
To avoid their eyes just in case.
The Ice Garden visible far in the west.
Even at the entrance, ice-attribute monsters started appearing.
"Kieeek! Kirrr!"
"Grrruk! Grrrk!"
A group of about thirty monsters.
They were none other than.
Crystal Goblins.
Creatures clad in ice crystals.
"Kieeek! Kirrrrr!"
They mistook us for prey and charged at tremendous speed.
But.
"Ki, kieeek?"
The moment Azkai stepped forward, they instinctively sensed something was wrong.
As they tried to backpedal and flee,
"Grrrrraaaawr!"
His primordial intimidation crushed them all at once.
The crystal goblins frothed at the mouth and collapsed.
With Azkai stepping up, capturing them was easier than pie.
"Alright then."
After receiving Lulumiel's buff, I immediately invoked Dragon Words.
"Whirl, lightning."
⟨ Wrath of Thunder God ⟩
Pzzt, pzzzzaaap.
Purple lightning poured from both my hands.
"Wrath of the Thunder God."
The 9th-circle lightning spell manifested through Dragon Words.
Kraaazzap!!!!
The purple electric orb sparked violently as it hurtled toward the downed crystal goblins.
Kraaazz z z z z z z zap!!
The electric orb multi-hit them before exploding.
Even after the blast, the lingering electric field wrapped around their bodies, stacking damage continuously.
"Kirrruk...!"
"Kirrr!"
Of course.
With the massive level gap,
It didn't deal severe damage.
However.
It clearly inflicted some damage, however minor.
Slight scorch marks appeared all over their skin surfaces.
Using Dragon Words definitely amps the damage.
I clenched my fists tight.
As expected.
The answer lay in Dragon Words.
"I'll finish them!"
Azkai swept them all away in one go.
I felt growth surging in like a tide.
Level increased.
It led straight to my level-up.
Yes.
This method could really power-level me!
......Or so I thought.
"Ugh."
Before I could do it twice, I collapsed to the ground.
Mana drain like crazy.
My head was spinning.
Whew. This won't do.
At my current level, spamming Dragon Words wasn't easy.
But without them, damage wouldn't stick at all.
For power-leveling, Dragon Words were essential.
In that case.
Only one way.
Gear it up.
Items that reduce mental power consumption and boost recovery would make Dragon Words far easier to use.
Gotta ask Bellerin.
Confirmed power-leveling via Dragon Words was possible.
Mission accomplished.
We headed straight back to the lair.
"To reduce mental power consumption, you need the Crystal of Clarity! And for mental power recovery, the Crystal of Serenity!"
I furrowed my brow at Bellerin's words.
Even Bellerin, who could whip up anything on the spot, couldn't easily craft gear for mental power reduction and recovery.
Enter Platinum Lounge.
I entered the Platinum Lounge to check if I could get the Crystal of Clarity and Crystal of Serenity.
Entered Platinum Lounge.
Current Platinum Lounge users: 1
Still a solo spot.
I searched the lounge shop for the two crystals right away.
Low-grade at a billion coins each.
Cheaper than Supreme-grade magic stones, but at my level, I'd have to go all-in to afford even one.
But once Mado Corporation settles the mithril payment, it's doable.
With coins saved so far plus the mithril payout, I could manage.
The issue was no time to wait idly for settlement.
Ask Section Chief Lee Jeong-won for an advance.
Perfect timing—Bellerin said the gauntlets Taesan requested were done.
Hand those over and contact him via Superhuman Net.
But.
"Huh?"
The moment I logged into Superhuman Net, a flood of messages.
What the?
70-level gear?
The word "level 70" popped up commonly in many.
I opened the first message.
And understood why.
The Silver Whisper Staff (SSS) I'd entrusted to Section Chief Lee Jeong-won to sell.
Seemed like big chaos on Earth over it.