Guardian of the All-Gods Brazier
“Uwaaaaaah---!!!!”
Baek Yiheon’s scream echoed up the incline of the plateau.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-!
He started swinging his sword wildly as he ran uphill. Anyone hearing it might think a battle had broken out, but the plateau path was utterly silent, far from any fight.
“It’s freezing as hell!!!”
Baek Yiheon shouted, shivering violently.
Black Eye floated around me, watching him.
I chuckled at his words. Maybe because I’d experienced the north’s chill, climbing the plateau wasn’t as tough as I’d feared.
The summit’s coming into view.
I’d worried about running into the Torong tribe on the way up, but disappointingly, I sensed no sign of them.
“Touch the brazier, and I won’t let it slide this time.”
The All-Gods Brazier was a massive fire basin built on Muhama Plateau by ancient primordial priests. Its magical flames, burning eternally 365 days a year, honored the divinity of the continent’s gods. Transcending distinctions like upper or lower gods, it symbolized reverence for all deities watching over the land. That’s why priests of the church that recognized only the Devotion God viewed the All-Gods Brazier unfavorably.
The brazier’s flames die out, triggering Midnight and devastating the Deus Union.
Suddenly, the cold from the plateau, melted by the brazier’s fire, rushed down the slope, engulfing the Deus Union. But fortunately—or perhaps not—the Deus Union had the continent’s most mages. Without the magic tower wizards, they wouldn’t have survived Midnight.
To think the culprits were the Torong tribe...
From U-ryu-ga, who killed Black Eye, to stealing Norpa’s Torong—it was time to reconsider their presence.
The problem is U-ryu-ga’s level...
The prodigies who inherited Chil-ya were exceptional enough for Black Eye to choose personally. Even Kael, a disciple of sorts, was level 75. Given time since his apprenticeship, U-ryu-ga’s power was undoubtedly top-tier now. And having fought alongside him as one of Glory’s 9, I knew his strength better than anyone.
Black Eye growled lowly.
“You’d better.”
Even after absorbing mid-tier experience scrolls, my level stayed at 50. Black Eye, thanks to two scrolls, hit 45. Compared to my measly +1, his growth was strikingly fast. With a Mythic class and shared experience as a familiar, my progress lagged, but his wasn’t normal either. It felt less like leveling up and more like recovering his original strength. Plus, he retained absurd traits from life, making his growth explosive in speed and scale.
Level:45
Class:Sin-su Body (Legendary)
The more I look, the more ridiculous it gets.
Despite a lower level, his Strength and Agility growth was overwhelmingly high.
Excluding natural gains, I’d dumped all points into Strength and Vitality, yet it held up. Thanks to recent gains like the Unwavering Scale, Green Circlet, and Torong’s [All Stats Up], my totals edged higher—but not by much.
And after devouring Kuntaka and the White Knight via kin consumption, his Sin-su Power rose too.
Stamina recovered faster than mana but capped at 100 even on level-up, boostable only by titles or items. Black Eye’s increased with each kin consumption.
“What about Beheading Sword?”
“Too bad. Seeing Form 2 might help my sword skills level up.”
I murmured lowly, recalling the Insight progress from first seeing his Beheading Sword.
“Yeah? A bit disappointing.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at his words.
“...Skill creation?”
Ridiculous—I’d never considered it. Across loops, dream-swordplay I learned was elite like the Iron Kingdom’s Yong-gong Geom-sik or continent masters’. Never creating my own.
Why...?
His words sparked my own doubt.
“...What’s that mean?”
He hinted subtly.
I couldn’t answer easily. Even Yong-gong Geom-sik, once my strongest, felt lacking post-Chil-ya.
“So only the absolute strongest create skills?”
I nodded slowly.
“If a Chil-ya completer made one?”
I frowned slightly.
“Not S?”
He eyed me.
“What’s that?”
“Really?”
I looked at him, surprised.
“...Huh?”
Another system limit?
I listened quietly.
“Got it.”
A chill raced up my spine like a shiver; my shoulders twitched involuntarily.
“Then teach me the remaining two Chil-ya forms first.”
Hiding the thrill, I replied calmly.
Black Eye was no pushover either.
Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!!
Then, hammer strikes echoed from the summit. My hand drifted to my sword.
“Fine. At least today, I’ll claim one of the three forms.”
In this barren land, hammer sounds meant one thing.
“Torong tribe.”
Different reasons, but we both awaited them.
“Baek Yiheon, see that boundary ahead? The moment we cross, strip your outer layer and tuck the cooling orb inside your clothes. The brazier’s heat dwarfs this chill. At your level, without it, you won’t last 10 seconds.”
I turned to the shivering mad dog.
“10 seconds? Plenty. I just wanna escape this damn cold.”
“Wonder if you’ll say that up top.”
Baek Yiheon shook his head and strode ahead.
“Who goes there!!”
Reaching the summit, Baek Yiheon shed his outer layer like he’d waited forever—but the joy of warmth was fleeting as intense heat choked him.
Shing-!!
A sharp sword aimed at him from the hilltop.
“Damn it! Now it’s scorching as hell.”
Baek Yiheon shoved the cold-emitting orb into his bosom, face twisted in agony.
“Who— Mmph?!”
He grabbed the Torong tribesman’s face blocking us and tried shoving past toward the plateau below, unable to bear it.
“Argh...!!”
But around the brazier, like a barrier, one side poured cold air while inside raged insane heat. Baek Yiheon glared at me, stuck.
“What’re you doing?”
I eyed him pitifully.
“Too tough? Use a teleport stone back to the shrine.”
“Came this far the hard way—no way. You found this place; something big’s here. Smells Legendary.”
Baek Yiheon stuck out his tongue.
“Muhal gave crap loot. Gotta score big now.”
“Suit yourself.”
Not much to gain on non-dungeon Muhama Plateau, but I wouldn’t stop him volunteering to fight.
“Who’re they?”
“Said no one’d be here!”
“Hurry!!”
Our arrival stirred the summit; anvil hammers clanged loudly near the brazier.
Shing-!!
A crude sword pointed at us.
“Ask again. Where you from?”
The Torong tribesman whose face Baek Yiheon had shoved earlier glared and yelled.
Shing-! Clang-! Clang-!!
Five more Torong tribesmen surrounded us.
“Whoa... fight now?”
Baek Yiheon tapped the ground with Hijack Sword, eager.
“Don’t start trouble, Mad Dog.”
In the tense standoff ready to snap, I stepped forward.
“You’re the Torong tribe?”
Black Eye used Threat Detection Lv4.
Detecting stealth and traps within 15m radius.
Familiar's ability shared.
Whoosh...!!
With Black Eye’s skill, terrain unfolded transparently like a map. Excluding the five around us, ten more clustered by the brazier—one exuding intense aura.
That’s U-ryu-ga.
“Who’re you? Why come here?”
As I scanned the summit, a Torong tribesman yelled.
Staring back,
Discernment Lv4 proficiency increased.
Proficiency exceeding familiar's trait level allows skill acquisition.
Unsafe Discernment: Cannot fully view target status.
Caution: Lower-level skill on higher-level target may be detected.
Race:Torong Tribesman
Level:35
Class:Torong Tribesman Warrior
Not fully mastered Discernment yet—only level visible—but enough.
35’s fightable.
Hadn’t checked U-ryu-ga’s yet, but Torong levels seemed modest. Good news.
“You bastards...! Why climb this plateau?!”
“Ain’t your land. What’s it to you?”
Baek Yiheon yelled past me at the blocker. I’d held him back fearing high-level NPCs, but no need now.
“Huh? Not stopping me?”
Surprisingly, Baek Yiheon checked me.
“Go wild if you want.”
“Heh?”
His mad dog grin spread instantly.
Roooar---!!
Then, the summit brazier flames surged wildly; anvil workers panicked.
What the—?
Remembering Midnight from the flames dying, I watched tensely.
A hazy voice whispered in my ear. Startled, I glanced at Baek Yiheon—but he heard nothing, just eyeing the Torong.
Roooar...!!
Summit flames flared again.
The flickering flames seemed to wail in pain. Then,
Discovered the guardian of the lesser god All-Gods Brazier.
A notification rang out.