The Soul Stone and the Mad Dog Cult
The Extreme Martial God Sect.
To the people of the continent, they were known as the Extreme Demon God Sect—a group so powerful they inspired both fear and revulsion.
Go Wonjin had described them as pure seekers of strength, but in reality, such individuals were few and far between.
Among those who secluded themselves in Monster Land to train relentlessly, some might fit that description. But the majority chose easier paths.
They were the ones who wiped out entire villages with vile sorcery to steal power, the ones who believed drinking the blood of the strong would make them stronger (a completely false belief), and the ones who had pursued power so obsessively that their minds had half-rotted away.
Because of this, the Extreme Demon God Sect was treated as a public enemy across the entire continent. Even for major factions, engaging them in battle came with significant burden.
“I will assist you with all my heart and strength!”
Of course, that enthusiasm wasn’t directed at Lim Dojun.
‘I was wondering where to even begin looking for those bastards, and now they’ve shown up like this!?’
Judging by the condition of the soul stone, he needed to find them as quickly as possible, but the path ahead had seemed completely blocked.
If the soul stone deteriorated here, who knew how long it would take to track down the Ghost Temple again and dig through the traces of the past? When an opportunity presented itself, he had to seize it immediately.
“...Thank you. As expected of a mage from the Blue Magic Tower. You truly have honor.”
Olivia was deeply moved by Lim Dojun’s words.
Even though they had made a promise, there was no real coercion behind it. Yet here he was, willing to step forward even in a fight against the Extreme Demon God Sect.
What a truly honorable mage!
After that, Lim Dojun parted ways with Olivia.
Upon returning to his lodgings in Milberg, he ran into Gunter and Dietrich and asked if they would be willing to help.
“Senior. Dietrich. There’s a matter I’ve become involved in...”
Although he had been searching for the Extreme Martial God Sect, a cold assessment made one thing clear: those bastards were dangerous. That was a fact.
Rather than helping the Rodonos House alone, it would be far better to bring Gunter and Dietrich into the fold.
One was a third-year senior from the Blue Magic Tower, and the other was a mid-tier mage from the Blazing Flame Tower.
“Of course I’ll help! If it’s related to the Extreme Demon God Sect, we’ll rack up a ton of contribution points!”
Gunter accepted his junior’s request without a moment’s hesitation.
His pride as a mage of the Blue Magic Tower kept him from fearing the Extreme Demon God Sect.
There was also a practical reason.
Capturing or eliminating members of the Extreme Demon God Sect granted far more contribution points than killing monsters.
Since most mages from the towers wandered the outside world precisely to earn contribution points, there was no way they would pass up such an opportunity.
“You ask for my help as well? It is an honor. I will assist.”
Dietrich nodded as well.
His reason for joining was slightly different.
He held a deep admiration for the genius mage from one of the great towers—an admiration he had felt from the start.
The man had even suppressed a drake with nothing but a glance. He was extraordinary.
When someone like that asked for his help, how could he possibly refuse?
“Thank you, both of you.”
Lim Dojun hadn’t expected their odds of agreeing to be very high, so he was quite satisfied to have so easily secured the help of such skilled mages.
It was late at night.
No matter how bustling and lively Milberg was during the day, even this city had many quiet, deserted spots once the hour grew this late.
In a vacant lot tucked away in a corner of the city, a secret meeting took place between the hidden merchants of the Rodonos House and members of the Extreme Martial God Sect.
“Have you given it any thought?”
Three cultists.
They wore pitch-black robes and masks that revealed only their eyes.
“What thought? Surely you don’t mean that insane proposal where you demand fifty percent of our monthly revenue?”
The elderly merchant leader on the opposite side spoke in a voice thick with rage.
A short while ago, the cultists had coincidentally discovered the true identity of the merchant group.
They hadn’t realized the group belonged to the fallen Rodonos House, but they had figured out that a noble family stood behind them.
Even that much, if revealed, would deal a serious blow.
These kinds of operations only worked when kept secret. Once rumors spread through the streets, the backer was bound to be exposed eventually.
And these people were supposed to be the hidden blade of the Rodonos House.
That was why the cultists had begun threatening them some time ago.
“So you choose to receive punishment.”
“You robbers who demand half our revenue sure talk a lot.”
“Heh heh.”
One of the cultists shifted his gaze behind the merchant leader.
There were people disguised as members of the merchant group.
Of course, they weren’t actual employees. They were Olivia and the other vassals of the Rodonos House, along with Lim Dojun and the two other mages.
“You seem to have something you’re relying on. But do you really think that will be enough?”
It was at that moment.
-BOOM!
-CRACKLE!
A single fireball flew forward, only to be blocked by an ice shield that materialized in midair.
It was a chantless fireball. Lim Dojun had stopped it with a chantless ice shield.
Ice powder scattered in all directions as the cultist who had launched the attack frowned slightly.
“Doesn’t look like we’re dealing with small fry.”
As he spoke, several spells activated simultaneously.
Five fireballs descended from the air while glowing embers like fireflies surrounded the area.
-CRACKLE!
But the ground around Lim Dojun froze over, and ice spikes whipped out like living whips, striking down or blocking every single attack.
Not only was he using chantless magic, but he was also manipulating cold energy like a living creature. The sight left the Extreme Martial God Sect members—and even the other mages beside him—stunned.
Gunter steeled his resolve once more.
‘This time, I’ll show my dignity as a senior!’
A third-year specialist in offensive magic.
Yet in the Western Mountain Range, his junior had performed so brilliantly that he hadn’t had a chance to shine.
It was humiliating.
He might not be as good as his junior… but he didn’t want to be seen as a completely useless senior. He wanted to prove that much.
If he could play an active role in this battle against the Extreme Martial God Sect, he could at least save face in front of his junior!
Gunter raised his mana. Beside him, Dietrich and Olivia did the same.
-WHOOSH!
The massive gust created by the collision of flame and cold swept through the area. Lim Dojun’s robe fluttered, and the soul stone he had been carrying in his chest slipped out and rolled across the ground.
‘Oh no!’
For the first time, Lim Dojun’s usually calm expression filled with panic.
He had been constantly checking the soul stone’s condition, so he hadn’t stored it in his subspace. On top of that, opening and closing subspace consumed a great deal of mental energy. Since he had met with them right after dinner, he had simply kept it on his person.
“......”
“......”
Lim Dojun quickly snatched the soul stone and tucked it back into his robe, but the cultists had already seen everything.
Their eyes changed instantly.
“...The Soul-Shattering Heart Heaven Sword’s soul stone? Why is that here…?”
The Soul-Shattering Heart Heaven Sword was a technique only high-ranking members of the sect were allowed to learn.
Since soul stones were the byproduct of that technique, any mage from the Extreme Martial God Sect would recognize it immediately.
‘Could he be connected to the sect?’
For the first time, worry appeared on the faces of the ever-confident cultists.
If this matter involved a high-ranking member of the sect, then they were making a grave mistake.
“...Ahem. Now that I think about it, the hour is quite late. Wandering around in the middle of the night is unwise, so we’ll take our leave.”
After a brief exchange of glances, the cultists reached a unanimous decision.
They exploded with mana and retreated in an instant.
“......?”
“??”
“Did they… just run away?”
The Rodonos House side, who hadn’t expected them to vanish so suddenly, could only blink in disbelief.
The madmen obsessed with strength were running from a fight?
‘Is that mage truly connected to the Extreme Martial God Sect?’
This question occupied the minds of the retreating cultists.
They had panicked and withdrawn for now, but they hadn’t sensed the usual aura associated with their sect.
“We should investigate this.”
“Let’s visit him when he’s alone.”
Finding his location wasn’t difficult.
Since they were disguised as ordinary citizens of the city, they had already heard the rumors about him.
There wasn’t a single person in the city who didn’t know where the mage who rode a drake was staying.
He was that famous.
Of course, when they had first heard about it, they had scoffed.
“Taming a drake and riding it around? What a joke.”
“No mage in the Extreme Martial God Sect has ever succeeded in doing so.”
Since the sect’s headquarters were in Monster Land, there had naturally been attempts to tame the powerful monsters that lived there.
They had succeeded with a few types of monsters, but not once had they managed to tame a drake or any other sub-dragon species.
Dragon blood cannot be controlled!
After countless failures, that was the only lesson they had learned.
That was why the cultists assumed Lim Dojun had used some special method to subdue the drake and ride it. At night, however, even he would need to rest, so they expected the creature to be asleep.
‘As expected! My prediction was correct!’
Seeing the drake snoring loudly in front of the private annex of the inn where Lim Dojun was staying, one of the cultists smirked.
They didn’t know why he was dragging the beast around, but at the very least, it wouldn’t be able to guard the house.
The cultists stealthily hid their presence and slipped into the inn.
They planned to secretly find Lim Dojun and uncover his true identity.
“Grrrr!”
“......”
“......”
At that moment, a spine-chilling aura emanated from behind them.
The startled cultists turned to see a pair of bright yellow eyes staring straight at them.
“Kyaak—!”
Late that night.
Lim Dojun sat quietly in his room, deep in thought.
‘Those guys recognized the soul stone and ran.’
Dropping the soul stone had been a mistake, but looking at the result, it hadn’t been entirely bad.
His plan to capture an Extreme Demon God Sect mage and interrogate the soul inside had been completely ruined.
However, Olivia and Vex were satisfied.
“Just driving off those insane bastards is enough. We couldn’t kill them, but the fact that they ran away means they probably won’t come back. And even if they do, by then our forces will be stronger and we’ll be fully prepared.”
They had only recently arrived in the city and had just regained control of their merchant group. That was why the cultists’ sudden intrusion had been such a problem. But once more time passed and their power became more solid, they would be able to handle such threats far more cleanly.
In the end, the incident concluded with only Lim Dojun feeling unsatisfied.
He had to be content with the fact that he had fulfilled his promise to help the Rodonos House once…
“Hoo. Then I guess I have no choice but to focus on my research.”
Lim Dojun looked down at the soul stone and crossed his arms.
Thanks to his dragon senses, he could feel that a soul was trapped inside. But he couldn’t handle it recklessly.
What if he accidentally stimulated it and caused the soul to vanish?
But now there was no other way.
The cultists had fled, and searching the entire city for them was nearly impossible.
‘It would be nice if they just rolled in on their own while I sit here… but that’s not going to happen.’
He briefly wondered if his Luck potential of 8 might make it possible, but Lim Dojun simply chuckled.
Waiting for a lottery ticket to fall from the sky was not his style.
Whether it worked or not, he had no choice but to manipulate the soul stone directly.
There was a high chance it would be ruined… but there was nothing he could do about it.
It was at that moment.
“Aaaaagh!”
A terrible scream came from outside.
Lim Dojun quickly looked out the window and saw masked men screaming as they were being bitten by Dreck-i.
“......?”
Without realizing it, Lim Dojun glanced up at the sky.
Was a lottery ticket actually falling from heaven?