The Spearman's Silent Triumph Beneath the Lake
In the dim, oppressive hush of the underground chamber, a single lantern hung from the ceiling. Its oil had long since burned away, leaving only a faint, flickering glow that danced weakly on the walls.
The air was heavy with solemn weight, the kind that pressed down like the silence before a storm. In the very center of the room sat Kaltes at the old desk, his eyes as sharp and merciless as ever, fixed on the subordinate standing before him.
“……You missed him?”
“I’m sorry! I tracked him all the way toward Elbarphiel Lake, but then—poof—he vanished without a trace!”
The subordinate’s words hung in the air like a death sentence. The chamber fell into an even deeper silence, the flame inside the lantern trembling as though the room itself had gone still.
Anger surged through Kaltes like a living thing. Bashnel, that elite upper assassin, had been taken down by them, and the man’s fate was now unknown. Yet even in that moment, failing to follow the target’s trail was unforgivable.
“How do you expect to run this operation if you can’t even manage a simple chase?!”
Kaltes’s shout finally broke the silence. With it came a heavy clang as the copper cup on the desk flew straight toward the man’s forehead.
Crack!
The impact split the skin, and blood poured down in a crimson streak.
The subordinate bit back a scream and bowed his head even lower, voice trembling.
“I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry!”
“Curse you. I don’t need to hear that crap.”
Kaltes’s glare could have burned holes through steel as he continued, voice low and ice-cold.
“Find the bastard at any cost. No matter what it takes, capture him and eliminate him completely!”
Kaltes was the kind of man who never failed at his missions. But in recent days, failure had become all too common. One more slip, and he wasn’t sure how long his head would stay attached to his shoulders.
His eyes flashed with rage—and beneath it, a flicker of fear.
The subordinate, sensing the danger, shivered violently as he answered.
“I-I’ll carry out your orders at once!”
But then—
Kaboom.
A heavy thud shook the floor. The door swung open, letting in a blast of cold air. Kaltes’s gaze snapped toward the entrance, killing intent flaring in his eyes.
“Whoever dares—”
He never finished the sentence.
The intruder wore a hood that hid his face, but Kaltes knew exactly who it was. The moment their eyes met, the middle manager’s composure shattered.
“H-Huh?!”
Kaltes staggered back, eyes wide, as the same subordinate who had just been kneeling suddenly shot up and stumbled out the door along with the others. The moment the door clicked shut, Kaltes was on his feet, robe in hand, rushing to stand before the hooded figure.
“You… you sent word ahead? I would have met you at once, but—
“What’s the matter?”
The stranger walked in with long, unhurried strides and dropped into the chair at the desk. His voice was calm, almost bored.
“What happened to the target?”
“It… it’s like this…”
Kaltes hesitated, sweat beading on his forehead.
The hooded man’s tone turned even colder.
“Stop everything you’re doing right now. Prepare the next mission.”
“……Huh? What does that mean—?”
Kaltes lifted his head in confusion, only for the stranger’s eyes to flash with something far darker behind the hood.
“It’s an order straight from above. Focus entirely on Iryakle from this moment forward, and begin preparing the operations that follow.”
……
Kaltes’s eyes widened in shock.
Iryakle… and the operations that would come after?
He asked urgently, voice cracking.
“Then the mission from above was—?”
“That’s enough.”
The stranger cut him off with a single, icy word.
Then, slowly rising from the chair, he continued.
“I came here myself because I was simply delivering a few commands. Do not forget how important this matter is.”
Delivering a single letter in person was already a sign of absolute gravity. Kaltes immediately dropped to one knee, pressing his forehead to the floor.
“I will carry out the orders immediately!”
The stranger’s gaze sharpened again.
“There must be no more failures in the operations ahead. If there is even one more—
The words that followed were cold enough to freeze the blood in Kaltes’s veins.
“I will take your life—and my own—with me.”
Kaltes swallowed hard, then nodded without another word.
———
Arteon’s footsteps echoed heavily as he walked forward.
At the center of the chamber, a vast space pulsed with an ethereal power that seemed almost alive. The silver heart of Ether radiated a brilliant glow, far brighter than anything Arteon had ever witnessed.
“So this… is the real Ether’s Heart?”
Arteon muttered, unable to help himself. The aura rolling off it was nothing like the golden light he had felt before.
In his past life, the man who had absorbed the heart had described it as golden. Was this silver version the same entity?
“Even the ordinary soldier who absorbed it reached the 5-Star realm.”
If he could fully claim this power…
“Would it truly be such a difference from failing to kill the statue?”
Perhaps this was the strength he had only dared to imagine.
Yet no matter how he looked at it, the power before him was—
“Real.”
The realization sent a jolt through Arteon’s body. The sheer pressure threatened to crush him, a small fear creeping into his chest for the first time.
“Hah!”
Arteon took a deep breath, then reached out toward the trembling core.
Low-boom.
His hand made contact.
And then—
Boom!
Blinding light erupted, wrapping around his arm like a living storm. The heart seemed to have been waiting for him, plunging deep into his body.
Arteon felt as though he had been swallowed by a hurricane. His breathing locked tight, pressure hammering down on every inch of his skin.
“What… the—?!”
The force was unbearable. His instinct screamed to retreat, but he bit his lip and forced himself to sit down hard on the spot.
“Gah—!”
Every nerve in his body screamed in warning.
He hastily began the Vargas Mana Cultivation Method, channeling his energy to meet the incoming torrent.
Whoooosh!
The circuits throughout his body opened, swallowing the ferocious waves like a dam holding back the sea.
Puuaaaaak!
The core’s power spiraled inside him like a storm gone wild. Arteon moved with calm precision, guiding the maelstrom in the direction he wanted.
It was not easy. Every time he pulled harder, muscles tore and his stomach twisted. His vision blurred, nausea rising, but he gritted his teeth and poured every ounce of concentration into the core.
Time passed. Sweat dripped from his body, pooling on the floor until it formed a small lake.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the raging power began to calm. It flowed like a river finding its path, gathering deep inside the mana reservoir at his lower abdomen.
……
For a moment, peaceful silence returned.
No more crushing pressure. Only a deep, quiet warmth remained.
“……Hah… hah…”
Arteon exhaled slowly, opening his eyes. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his fingertips trembled, but his gaze was sharper than ever.
“This is the power the Ether’s Heart possesses?”
He frowned, examining the core within him. Compared to the power already inside the mana reservoir, what he had absorbed was barely ten percent.
Yet—
“Insane…”
The mana volume that had stubbornly stalled at the beginning of the 4-Star realm had suddenly surged past it into the late stages. And—
“It’s slow, but it’s still being absorbed… bit by bit.”
Arteon swallowed hard. If he had tried to absorb it all at once—
“His body would have torn apart…”
This was already close to the limit of what he could hold. Learning to absorb it slowly was the only way to claim the entire heart.
And—
“If I can absorb it all… just how high can I climb?”
But then he stood up. He had lingered here far too long. It was time to leave.
Low-boom.
Arteon stepped out of the chamber. A veil of light enveloped him instantly, and the world blurred—
Space shifted.
When the familiar stone corridor of the temple came into view, he frowned.
“……What?”
He looked down at the floor, which now shimmered with shallow water. It had risen quickly, almost to his ankles.
And—
“No way…”
The water continued to rise at an alarming speed. Arteon’s eyes widened.
“The lake water is rising again?”
His heart dropped like a stone.
If the temple sank completely, he would drown here with nothing to show for it.
“This madness!”
Teeth clenched, he poured power into his legs. Muscles tightened like steel cables.
Kaboom!
Charging toward the entrance with everything he had.
Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom—
Every footstep made the water level climb higher.
The entrance was still visible, but the water now reached his thighs. The pressure inside the flooded tunnel was far stronger than he had expected.
“Just a little farther—!”
He would never make it out before the water finished rising.
“Damn it.”
Arteon scanned his surroundings, then focused mana into his legs and slammed his feet against the floor.
Crack!
He launched upward like a spring and used a pillar for leverage, hurling his body sideways along the wall.
“Yaaaaah!”
Racing along the wall toward the entrance, he roared with a thunderous cry as the water reached the temple’s ceiling.
Hwa-paaaak!
He burst out of the temple, crashing into the open air.
Splash!
Cold water enveloped him. Then—
“Puaa!”
He gasped, lungs burning as fresh air flooded them. Arteon staggered onto the lakeshore, coughing and trying to catch his breath. Behind him, the entire temple had vanished beneath the rising waters.
“If I’d been a second later…”
A chill ran down his spine. He would have drowned without gaining the heart’s power.
But—
“Still… I gained enormous potential.”
Absorbing the heart meant he would receive overwhelming strength. Even he had once thought it was too good to be true. Yet now he understood: such power demanded a strong body to wield it properly.
“Even with infinite mana, it’s useless without the skill to control it.”
Still—
“I can reach far higher than in my past life.”
That alone was an incredible harvest.
Arteon raised his mana and dried the water from his body.
Then—
Low-boom.
He turned and looked toward one direction.
“Time to move on.”
He had obtained everything this place could offer. Next mission.
“To Iryakle.”
Without hesitation, Arteon stepped forward once more.