Trial of Mana (1)

The moment we crossed through the gate, a massive fortress unfolded before our eyes. It was not a conventional castle; the central structure rose high like an imposing spire, encircled by relatively low stone ramparts.

"Look at that..."

Perched atop the soaring peak was a luminous blue sphere that radiated sheer power. It was no ordinary orb—currents of cerulean light rippled around its surface like a living aurora.

All around us stood ranks of armed soldiers clad in medieval plate armor. Even though our modern tactical gear made us stick out like sore thumbs, none of them spared us a second glance.

"What are you lot standing around for! Fall in over here!"

An officer bellowed from the front, assigning our detachment a position in the battle lines. It was a narrative-type scenario gate. Lee Hongju of the Iron Wall Guild stepped forward to respond, and the rest of us moved in lockstep behind him.

—I know this place.

Chunbae’s voice echoed in my mind.

'You recognize it?'

—Affirmative. This is the world of the pre-predecessor Space Lord.

I suddenly recalled Chunbae mentioning that the Space Lord from two generations back had been an archmage.

'Is she in there right now?'

—Negative. I merely possess historical records of this incident. However, the scenario before us deviates significantly from what actually transpired.

I couldn't focus entirely on Chunbae's explanation. The strike team was already assessing the battlefield as we fell into formation amongst the NPC soldiers.

"The layout seems straightforward enough."

"Yeah. It's a scenario gate. Looks like we've been slotted in as regular infantry. Guess all we have to do is march alongside the army and tear that magic tower down."

"There must be a reason why Liu Zhen failed, though... Could it be that?"

"Right. That blue orb atop the spire. It definitely isn't just decorative."

Lee Hongju glanced across our gathered raid force.

"For now, we play along with the scenario's script. We maintain our agreed formation: Iron Wall and Maze hold the vanguard front line. Dinosaur Guild will operate on situational discretion."

Designated as the independent strike unit, our Dinosaur Guild was nominally supposed to move at Lee Hongju's direction, but we had agreed that if battlefield conditions shifted, we could act independently.

'Past experience is paying off.'

During the first Outbreak Gate, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was my call to bait the Grendels into a prolonged mobile withdrawal. In the second Outbreak Gate, it was my choice to pivot and suppress the secondary gates. Lee Hongju had taken note of that record.

"The Dinosaur Guild possesses capabilities beyond our knowledge. Even if I give an order, feel free to alter course if you see a more viable opening," he had told us earlier.

Asking other guilds about their specialized gear or hidden skills was a breach of etiquette, so Lee Hongju had graciously deferred to our initiative. By rights, as a Level 40 Knight, he held the authority to issue absolute commands, yet he showed us genuine respect.

'You said things are different here?' I returned my thoughts to Chunbae once our guild's role was settled.

—This incident originally took place at the Golden Magic Tower of the East. The conflict centered around that Mana Core.

The Mana Core was the blue sphere hovering above the spire.

According to Chunbae, when the ambient mana concentration in the atmosphere surged due to dimensional erosion, the wizards of the tower had harnessed the excess mana to construct a colossal power generator.

'A massive engine that continuously draws in natural mana from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the environment.'

Wizards linked to the Mana Core could cast spells without ever exhausting their personal reserves. Given that status windows originally restricted an awakened being’s innate potential, it was an ingenious countermeasure. By weaponizing the encroaching erosion against the monsters, they had turned the enemy's own strength into their weapon.

The tragedy, however, arose from that very same core.

—As the Mana Core hyper-concentrated mana throughout the surrounding region, two Super-Large Gates simultaneously ruptured open. The Golden Magic Tower was utterly annihilated.

'Two Super-Large Gates? Are you insane?'

—Indeed. That is why I noted the present scenario differs. The Golden Magic Tower never fought against human armies.

He was right. Looking around, the legions laying siege to the tower were entirely human.

—Furthermore, judging by this gate's level cap, the tower's defending strength has been adjusted accordingly. In the historical timeline, the Golden Magic Tower was guarded by an Archmage of Level 85.

'Well, yeah. If a Level 85 Archmage were in there, we wouldn't stand a prayer.'

—In other words, this domain has been reconfigured, much like the Night of Despair.

'Still, this feels wrong.'

A bitter taste lingered in my mouth. This was the world of the second previous Space Lord—a realm already consumed by erosion. Back then, the mages in that tower had stood on the front lines against dungeon beasts to protect their realm. Though separated by different dimensions and eras, they were essentially comrades fighting the exact same enemy we faced.

Yet here, artificially staged by the gate, we were forced into the role of invaders tearing them down.

'Is this that deity's sick idea of entertainment again?'

I couldn't help but remember the God of Play. Still, I couldn't let sentimentality cloud my judgment; surviving required completing the mission. I lifted my gaze toward the heights of the tower.

'So the real problem is that Mana Core.'

—Affirmative. That core is the crux of their defense. Unless it is destroyed, the defending mages will enjoy virtually limitless mana.

I surveyed the fortress defenses and let out a soft sigh.

'This won't be easy.'

The theoretical solution was simple enough: ascend to the summit using Leap or ride Yongyong to smash the core directly. But this wasn't just an isolated tower sticking out of empty plains. There was a reason it looked like a fortified citadel. Encircling battlements protected the base, and clusters of mages were stationed along terraces and ramparts all the way up.

'It’s a full-on siege.'

Worse, those mages were backed by inexhaustible mana. Ascending through the air meant exposing oneself to a relentless anti-air barrage without a shred of cover.

—While arduous, you are uniquely qualified to resolve this, Master Han Hye.

'Can't argue with that.'

Between Yongyong’s flight and my spatial Leap, no one was better suited to strike the spire than me. Ordinary hunters would have no choice but to breach the outer walls on foot and fight their way up floor by blood-soaked floor.

'No wonder China hit a brick wall here.'

From their perspective, it must have felt like ramming their heads against solid bedrock.

"All forces, advance! Bring down the magic tower!"

With a thunderous battle cry, the grand assault began.

Though I understood the underlying mechanics of the gate, I couldn't simply blurt out the explanation to the raid party. We were still far out, and claiming to recognize the floating orb as a continental mana collector with zero prior intel would invite unwanted suspicion.

Fortunately, the hunters quickly deduced the situation on their own.

BOOM!

KABOOOOM!

The instant the attacking army surged forward, a torrential storm of spells rained down from the tower ramparts—incessant, deafening, and unrelenting.

The army's front ranks projected magical barriers, but the incoming bombardment was simply overwhelming.

"What the hell?! How can they spam heavy artillery spells like that? Just how many mages are up there?!"

"It's not a massive unit! The exact same casters are firing without stopping!"

"That makes no sense! Every spellcaster has mana limits!"

Every gaze turned toward the azure sphere above the tower. Its ominous aura was unmistakable.

"That orb! It's channeling mana into them! Look at the streams feeding downward!"

"Are you saying they have infinite mana?!"

"Nothing else explains this kind of firepower!"

Recognizing the bottleneck, Lee Hongju immediately signaled me. He knew that the key to cracking this gate lay with the Dinosaur Guild. Without flight or teleportation, reaching that spire through the frontal kill-zone was practically impossible.

"Han Hye! Can you and Cheol-gi take that thing out from the air?"

"I'll have to test the waters to know for sure."

Even from here, I could see reserve mages standing idle along the battlements. As the army drew closer, the incoming bombardment was only intensifying.

"Can we count on you?"

"I'll make an attempt."

When I nodded, Choi Cheol-gi immediately gripped his spear to join me, but I held out an arm to stop him.

"I think it's better if I go alone on this run, Uncle."

"You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"There are still plenty of mages waiting in reserve up there. Even with the Sand Soldier Armor, dodging that volume of fire will be brutal. At least I can block lethal hits with my subspace."

Choi Cheol-gi gave a firm nod. I vaulted onto Yongyong’s back, and with a powerful heave of his wings, we rocketed into the sky.

My aerial maneuvering couldn't match Choi Cheol-gi's; as a Dragon Knight possessing Dragon Unity, he moved in seamless harmony with the beast. Even with Yongyong’s fond attachment to me, we lacked that telepathic sync. Still, having drilled flight maneuvers regularly for contingencies like this, staying aloft was second nature.

"Tsk..."

Closing the distance, however, proved almost impossible. The moment we breached the tower's airspace, an avalanche of spells redirected straight at us.

"Dive! Get down!"

The sky turned into a nightmare bullet-hell. I ordered Yongyong to break away toward the ground and engaged Leap to propel myself forward, but the air was saturated with magic. Continuous short-range blinks had an internal cooldown, and the attacks weren't just targeted projectiles—massive area-of-effect spells detonated across entire airspace sectors, creating impassable barriers of elemental destruction.

Spells converged from every angle. Dodging became untenable, forcing me to snap open a subspace rift as a kinetic shield just to deflect the closest blasts.

"He can't break through that!"

"Signal him to abort!"

From below, Lee Hongju nodded in grim agreement with his team. Even from the ground, the aerial density of fire looked lethal. A mage from the Iron Wall Guild launched a blue flare into the clouds, giving me the withdrawal signal. Acknowledging it, I disengaged and plummeted back toward our lines.

"Are you alright?"

I hit the dirt, drawing ragged breaths. Twisting mid-air to evade carpet-bombing while chain-casting Leap had drained a sizable chunk of stamina.

"Yeah. None of the heavy spells scored a direct hit."

"Looks like an aerial assault is off the table."

"For now," I replied.

"For now?"

I pointed toward the fortress walls ahead.

"Their spells have range brackets. The closer we push, the more casters join the bombardment."

Lee Hongju nodded; he had observed the same pattern as the army advanced.

"If the main ground force can lock their defenses into full-scale melee at the walls, it might create an opening for me to slip through the crossfire."

We needed chaos on the ground to split their focus. It would cost the vanguard frontline dearly, but it was the only viable tactical opening.

"Then that's our window."

"Right. Let's conserve our strength until that clash happens."

The raid party needed to stay intact until I could shatter that Mana Core. When the moment came, they would have to unleash maximum firepower to drag the tower's attention away from the sky.

Moments later, the army advanced to within striking distance of the outer walls—close enough that the humming vibration of pure mana rolled over our skin. Suddenly, an ominous pressure gathered along the upper parapets.

VRRRRR!

At the apex of the ramparts, a high-tier mage raised a hand, swirling with blinding azure light. Even from this distance, the sheer mass of gathered energy made the air feel suffocating.

"B-Brace! Take cover—!"

The raid party threw up defensive barriers simultaneously. The compressed sphere of blue brilliance—the size of a refrigerator—tore through the air in a dead-straight trajectory.

Fortunately, the projectile wasn't aimed at our unit. It slammed into the ranks of the allied army a short distance to our flank.

KABOOOOOOOM!

The resulting detonation, however, was anything but fortunate.

"Holy shit..."

As if an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠artillery shell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had detonated at point-blank range, an entire sector the size of a soccer stadium was completely erased. Soldiers, earth, and fortifications vanished in a cloud of scorched dust.

Watching the crater smoke, Lee Hongju swallowed dryly.

'Now I see why China got wiped out here...'

Yet standing right beside him, an entirely different realization crossed my mind.

'It's fast... but that's well within my reaction time.'

Ever since mastering Level 2 of my Subspace ability, I had drilled one specific counter-tactic obsessively: opening two connected spatial portals simultaneously to catch and redirect baseballs hurtling at over three hundred kilometers per hour.

And that spell? It hadn't even approached three hundred kilometers per hour.

Which meant that devastating magical bomb could be caught—and fired right back at them through my subspace.