The Thunder Spirit King

Rumble! Crackle-zzt.

Hundreds, thousands of lightning bolts rained down from the sky onto Kim Jehyun.

No matter how skilled Kim Jehyun was, there was no way to dodge that many strikes. He simply trusted in the power of Dragon Scale and took them head-on with his body.

"Ngh."

ZZzt-zzzt.

Electricity coursed through his entire body. A groan escaped his lips. A dizzying, electrifying pain surged across his whole form.

Even amid that agony, the light in Kim Jehyun's eyes burned fierce and unwavering.

I can handle this.

He had two reasons for thinking so.

First, the pain was more bearable than he'd expected.

Second, it was because of the system messages floating before his eyes.

This was practically a form of training. His lightning resistance and affinity had risen, and on top of that, even the proficiency of Dragon Scale had gone up. And since he was undergoing the Spirit King's trial, it was like hitting three birds with one stone.

Rumble! Crackle-zzt.

The lightning bolts poured endlessly down on Kim Jehyun. Every step he took forward brought him into the range of another cube, which unleashed more bolts at him without respite.

He couldn't help thinking that without Dragon Scale, he'd never have made it through here.

If I hadn't had Dragon Scale, this would've been insane difficulty.

In the end, Kim Jehyun endured the pain and passed through the cube section completely.

"Huuuuh."

A burnt smell wafted from Kim Jehyun's mouth. Sure, the gains made the suffering worthwhile, but if he had to endure this kind of pain for nothing, he'd have quit in frustration. His brain cells still felt like they were tingling.

Groooowl.

As Kim Jehyun stepped out of the cube section and stood before the tower, the doors at the entrance—which had been shut tight—creaked open. The entrance leading inside looked like a pitch-black abyss.

Kim Jehyun set foot toward that abyss.

* * *

"Hm?"

While on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her way to find Jeon Jung-sik, Jang Boyoung spotted him walking ahead. Her eyes gleamed like a hawk spotting prey.

She suppressed her presence and swiftly closed in behind him. Once she was close enough, she called out to Jeon Jung-sik and lunged.

"Jung-sikiiiie~."

As she launched herself, Jang Boyoung gazed at Jeon Jung-sik's back with an inner ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smile.

Gotchaaa... Huh?

Whoosh.

Right in front of her nose, Jeon Jung-sik's figure blurred and vanished.

"Eek! Ngh! Argh! Dodging it again?!"

Jang Boyoung barely avoided face-planting and landed on the ground.

"I told you I don't like those kinds of pranks."

Jeon Jung-sik regarded her with a cold gaze.

"No, why?! This big sis is just showing some affection! Can't you play along a little?!"

Jang Boyoung puffed out her cheeks and threw a tantrum, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠undeterred by his icy stare.

"......"

Jeon Jung-sik crossed his arms and stared at her silently.

"Tch! Fine, fine. Yeah, it's all my fault. Hmph."

Jang Boyoung crossed her arms right back and turned her head away, looking thoroughly sulky.

Pfft.

In the end, a chuckle slipped from Jeon Jung-sik's lips. Truth be told, if it weren't for the setting, Jang Boyoung was stunningly pretty and cute—no one could hold a candle to her, not even the cutest idol concepts out there. She had a complex about her short height and thought herself plain, but that only added to her charm.

Seeing her pout like that melted even the usually stoic Jeon Jung-sik's defenses.

"Alright. My bad. Next time... ahem. I'll let you land one."

At those words, Jang Boyoung peeked back with a sly grin.

"......Three times?"

"Urgh...... Two. No more than that."

"Okay! Two it is—deal!"

Jang Boyoung flashed a bright smile, her eyes crinkling like cotton candy. She pumped her fists and struck a victory pose, yelling "Nice!"

At that adorable sight, Jeon Jung-sik chuckled again and spoke.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Oh! Well, I need someone with high magic resistance......"

"Hm. For that experiment on the correlation between physical strength and mana?"

"Yeah, exactly. The higher the magic resistance, the better for testing."

Jeon Jung-sik stroked his chin at Jang Boyoung's words.

"One candidate comes to mind, but......"

The promising dual-wielder. He thought of him.

"His clan is fairly large-scale, so conflict is inevitable."

"Psh, what's there to worry about~? Worst case, we wipe 'em out and take him."

Jang Boyoung mimed slitting a throat in response.

"You sure talk easy."

"What'd you say?! What was that?!"

"Nothing. Anyway, I'll bring him in soon enough."

"Hey! I heard that! Just you wait."

"Might take a bit longer than soon, then."

"Ahaha~ Just kidding, right? My dear Jung-sik oppa~ Pretty please!"

As they bickered, Jeon Jung-sik chuckled inwardly.

Guess I'll have to see if I can move the Extermination Squad.

* * *

"This is......"

Kim Jehyun entered the tower's first floor and looked around. It was a vast space the size of a gymnasium. At the far end stood the entrance to the second floor, and floating above the ground in this area were orbs about the size of soccer balls, crackling with lightning.

Crackle-zzt.

The problem was that every single one of those orbs was emitting electricity from its body.

Dragon Eye.

Kim Jehyun scanned the info on the orbs before him.

Electrons, huh......

??? must be the name of this Thunder Spirit King. When a name showed as ???, it usually meant the entity possessed an exalted presence. He'd been able to read Ifrit's name at first, but not Rollin's. Which meant this Thunder Spirit King might rank a notch above Ifrit in stature.

"So that's how it is."

Kim Jehyun took a step forward, leaving the five-foot entry zone. The electrons whipped their heads around to face him. For a split second, he could've sworn exclamation marks popped up over their heads.

Crackle-zzt.

The electrons began emitting lightning from their bodies. Lightning spears, arrows, swords—all manner of electric attacks surged toward Kim Jehyun.

This place was another trial. To reach the next floor, he'd have to break through all these electrons.

Kim Jehyun grinned inwardly.

Looks like I'll rack up a ton of lightning stats and Dragon Scale proficiency here.

With that thought, his vision tinted blue. System messages popped up relentlessly.

The strikes here were even fiercer than the entry cubes. If the electrons were low-rank soldiers, the cubes outside were the lowest-rank grunts.

Kim Jehyun gripped his mind amid the onslaught and pressed forward. It was a bit rougher than the cube section, but still manageable. And watching the nonstop system windows made a smile tug at his lips—his lightning stats ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were climbing steadily.

By the time he'd reached halfway through the first floor, the pain felt slightly less intense than at the start.

The rising lightning stats are making a difference.

This wasn't mere illusion; his stats were genuinely increasing. Kim Jehyun grasped the meaning of this trial.

It's telling me to forge my qualification to face him amid this ordeal.

In a way, this trial was the process of earning the right to meet the Thunder Spirit King at the tower's peak.

"Hoo."

Right before the entrance to the second floor, Kim Jehyun endured the lightning barrage to his limit before stepping forward. As if by magic, the electrons halted their attacks, stared at him for a moment, then returned to their spots.

"Whoa! At the end there, I really thought my brain was gonna melt."

No exaggeration. The cubes had stayed fixed in place, so once you passed their range, the attacks stopped. But the electrons—the ones that started attacking stuck with him to the end. In other words, hundreds of them had swarmed and hammered him.

Steam rose from his body. Kim Jehyun took a brief rest and checked Dragon Scale's proficiency. In just those few minutes crossing the floor, it'd jumped 3%. Total proficiency had already surpassed 10%.

At this rate, he'd hit the 30% needed for enhancement in no time. Absurd speed. Some special power must flow through this space.

This might be the fastest spot to level up Dragon Scale proficiency?

To his surprise, he'd found a goldmine for raising Dragon Scale.

"Man......"

Kim Jehyun eyed the first floor, licking his lips. He wanted to dive back in. But he shook his head and turned toward the second floor. No major damage yet, but it was accumulating. And his stamina wasn't infinite—he needed to reach the top and face the Thunder Spirit King before it ran out.

Should've pumped more into stamina.

It drove home the importance of physical stats again. With that, Kim Jehyun ascended to the second floor.

This time, birds made of lightning flitted along the ceiling, scattering bolts.

Thunder Birds. Mid-rank soldiers of this Thunder Spirit King.

"Hoo......"

Kim Jehyun took a deep breath, sensing power several times that of the electrons.

This won't be easy.

With the thought, he leaped into the flock of Thunder Birds.

* * *

"Hahk, hahk."

Ragged breaths burst from Kim Jehyun's mouth. Passing the second floor with its mid-rank soldiers had finally started dealing real damage to his body. Still, he'd endured and made it to the third.

Facing the upper-rank soldiers on the third—the Thunder Drakes—even their mere breath made his skin prickle. Fortunately, the Thunder Drakes only unleashed the natural electricity flowing from their bodies, not directing bolts straight at him.

If upper-rank Thunder Drakes had blasted him directly? He wouldn't have stayed on his feet.

Bearing their gazes, aura, and sparks, Kim Jehyun trembled through on shaky legs.

Thud.

He collapsed at the entrance to the fourth floor. Sweat beaded his forehead.

Way tougher than the Fire or Light Spirit Kings' trials. No comparison.

Of course, the gains matched. Dragon Scale proficiency was nearing 20% already.

An astonishing figure. It had taken him nearly a year to raise Dragon Eye by just 20%. And here, almost 20% in a single day.

"But...... I might actually die like this."

No joke. Even his exhales through his nose carried a crackle. Trembling, Kim Jehyun rose and eyed the fourth floor.

"Wonder what'll come next."

With those words, he stepped up to the fourth.

And beheld it.

Crackle-zzzzzt.

Vast waves of lightning filling the fourth floor.

And the being spewing those waves.

What is that? A dragon? No...... A wyvern?

A colossal lightning-formed entity crouched in the center of the fourth floor.