The Sultan's Magic Mirror (1)
I stored the Snow Flower Stone in my relic slot. I pushed the stone into the relic slot that had opened near my chest. It wasn’t simple storage—this was more like hammering the Snow Flower Stone directly into the slot itself. In other words, it was no different from implanting the stone into my body. After all, the relic slot existed on a higher-dimensional blueprint than reality, yet it was still ‘my body.’ Even if I wasn’t physically embedding it, the effect would be the same.
It was obvious that my mana would increase. Unlike other relics that required me to inject mana directly to use them, the Snow Flower Stone was a vessel that contained mana on its own. However, when I tried to force it in, an overwhelming resistance pushed the stone back out.
Snow Flower Stone implantation has failed.
But my expression brightened. Possible. Failure meant that success was also within reach. Previously, the only message had been a warning that my ‘rank’ was too low to store it. I kept pushing the Snow Flower Stone into the relic slot.
Snow Flower Stone implantation has failed.
Snow Flower Stone implantation has failed.
Snow Flower Stone implantation has failed.
Snow Flower Stone implantation has failed.
Countless failure messages repeated. Then, at some point, I felt something catch. I applied more force, shoving the Snow Flower Stone into the open relic slot near my chest.
“……!”
An overwhelming surge of mana flooded in. Whoosh!Crack! The mana of fire and ice came rushing in like a tidal wave. It was a surge far beyond what an E-rank hunter’s body could handle. Under normal circumstances, my flesh should have burned to ash dozens of times over and shattered into frozen fragments. That was how immense the total mana contained within the Snow Flower Stone was.
But… I accepted the wave of mana and drew the Snow Flower Stone into the open space. Grrrrk—Krrrk— I slowly forced it in, as if cramming it into a space that refused to accept it. Whoosh!Craaaack! The sensation of my entire body’s skin melting from flames and shattering from frost assaulted me, yet I never actually burned or froze. My physical body might not be able to endure the mana, but the relic slot could. So I simply had to endure it. This was the process of merging with the Snow Flower Stone. The excruciating pain was the agony of the stone engraving itself into me.
Grrrrk. Krrrk— The deeper the Snow Flower Stone sank, the more my mana skyrocketed. It was like a flood bursting into an empty space. If expressed numerically, it felt something like this.
The mana kept rising without end. And when it surpassed thirty thousand and raced toward forty thousand—
Snow Flower Stone has been successfully implanted into the relic slot.
A new window appeared along with the success message—one I had never seen before.
Choi Seojun
Mana: 38000 / 38000
The combined total of the Snow Flower Stone’s mana and my original mana was now displayed alongside my name. And it was shown on the Snow Flower Stone’s information window itself.
“It worked!”
I shot up from my seat with a shout. “I’ve successfully merged with the Snow Flower Stone!”
But no voices answered me.
“?”
Only then did I realize that the general store felt ‘bright yet dark.’ I turned my head and froze in shock.
“!”
At the center of the general store, pitch-black darkness had gathered like a cocoon. Beside it, the holy stigmata on Joan of Arc’s body, with her eyes closed, radiated a brilliant light.
The spiritual power of Vanessa Walker, the woman who twisted fate, has increased dramatically.
The holy power of Joan of Arc, the saved girl, has increased dramatically.
“So this is what happens when mana explodes.”
The total mana possessed by my summoned beings, Vanessa and Joan, was directly proportional to my own mana pool. It was only natural that as my mana increased, theirs would rise as well. But the phenomenon they displayed was closer to ‘evolution.’
It took a full hour for the darkness and light that had swallowed the general store to finally dissipate. As the light faded, Joan opened her eyes first.
“I’m sorry, Seojun-nim. Did you wait long?”
“Not at all. It didn’t take that long.”
I had been so absorbed in watching that I hadn’t noticed the time passing.
Joan of Arc’s Holy Relic
While possessing an item belonging to the Saint Joan of Arc, you can perfectly transmit holy power to her regardless of distance within a certain range.
※ Joan of Arc can sense the mana of the person holding her holy relic.
“……!”
My eyes widened. Previously, simply carrying one of Joan’s items had allowed us to share holy power even when apart. However, because of the distance, some of that power had been lost in transmission. There had been a clear difference compared to receiving it directly. But with this new ability, that weakness had completely vanished. Moreover, the ability to sense the mana of the relic’s holder meant she could perceive situations beyond her line of sight.
A perfect remote buff.
Above all, Joan’s holy power had grown far stronger than before.
“Joan, may I check your stigmata?”
“Yes.”
I moved behind her, lifted her clothes slightly, and examined the stigmata engraved on her back. As expected, a major change had occurred there too.
“How does it look?”
“Half of it has turned white.”
The imitation stigmata that had been stained with blood was now half bleached white. The right wing resembled that of a white angel, while the opposite wing remained a blood-red wing. It seemed that one day this too would transform into a perfect ‘stigmata.’
Shortly after I finished checking Joan, the darkness enveloping Vanessa lifted.
“It seems I kept both of you waiting.”
“Not at all.”
“I just woke up too.”
Just like Joan, Vanessa had gained a new ability.
Fate Severer
Having twisted fate itself, she can cut and trim anything. Even things perceived as impossible to cut hold no power against her.
“It feels like I could cut through anything now.”
Snip snip. Vanessa smiled brightly while opening and closing her scissors. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn the air itself was being sliced apart.
No, it’s not just my imagination.
With a slightly bewildered heart, I reread Vanessa’s new ability. The power to cut and trim anything. People often say “cutting water with a blade” as an expression for something that can never be cut. Yet according to the description of Fate Severer, Vanessa could even cut that water.
And not just water.
Water, fire, slime, light, darkness… liquids, gases, and even ghosts. Anything normally considered impossible to cut, Vanessa could now slice through as easily as cutting paper.
“Thanks to you, Eungong, I’ve gained such a wonderful ability. Thank you.”
“Thank you too, Seojun-nim.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you two. I only obtained the essence because you were with me.”
Without Vanessa and Joan, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat even a Hydra, let alone Cerberus. So the gratitude was mine to give. As I exchanged thanks with them, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
“?”
Before I could turn at Joan’s warning of “Behind you, Seojun-nim,” a translucent hand reached out and wrapped around my neck. A voice whispered into my ear.
“……Artemis-nim?”
I looked over my shoulder in surprise at the goddess resting her chin on it. The one embracing me from behind was none other than Artemis, the goddess from Greek mythology. However, she wasn’t manifesting in a physical body but in a spiritual form.
“You startled me.”
I shook my head at the mischievous smile on Artemis’s face.
“Still, I think you should let go now.”
Joan was staring at Artemis with clear displeasure. Vanessa was smiling brightly, but I could feel killing intent hidden beneath it.
Artemis clicked her tongue and released me.
“Could you always appear like this?”
A vessel would be hard to come by.
Even taking that into account, Artemis’s ability to appear in spiritual form like this was truly astonishing.
Anyway.
“Since you’ve come after so long, why don’t you look around before you go?”
I had just returned after a long time and was planning to unwind, so we headed out into the streets together with Artemis. We toured the city with its cars, then went to a meat restaurant and ordered some beef.
“It’s been so long. This is delicious.”
Joan smiled happily as she tasted doenjang soup for the first time in half a year. Vanessa didn’t say anything, but she looked content as well. While we were in Greece, it had been difficult to enjoy modern food. Although we had some stored in the general store, the selection was limited.
Artemis watched the hanwoo grilling over charcoal with fascination. Unfortunately, being a spiritual body, she couldn’t actually taste it.
That was when it happened—while we were enjoying our late dinner of beef.
A disaster had begun.