The True Cintamani

The moment I devoured the fallen Imugi's essence, a familiar surge of power flooded my body.

Seon Magic Path, huh. I had learned a similar skill in my previous life, but I never expected the Imugi's power would be categorized under it.

“Seon Magic?”

“In the East, they say anyone who attains true enlightenment can become a god.”

Seon Magic was the road to becoming that very ‘god.’ The methods might differ, but it was still a gateway to the realm of transcendence. That was probably why the word ‘Path’ was attached to the essence’s name.

Nyx wore a strange little smile.

“This power does not suit thee at all, my partner.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Transcendence referred to any act of surpassing the limits of mortality. There were many paths to that realm besides Seon Magic. In my last life, I had transcended both mortality and species to reach godhood myself.

Well now. Both were essences I had never obtained in my previous life. I had no idea whether fusion was even possible, or what kind of synergy it might create. Still, there was no harm in trying.

“Fuse them.”

“Holy shit.”

My heart hammered wildly. Just one extra character in the skill name, yet the upgrade was so ridiculous it felt embarrassing to compare it to the previous version. The first change was the massive increase in how much qigong it could hold. Before, it could only store about ten percent. Now it was nearly three times that.

Even that alone was incredible, but the second change was what truly blew my mind.

“It can convert mana into qigong…”

Thanks to Primordial Dragon Heart, I was practically drowning in mana. My mana stat ballooned on its own without me investing bonus points, and fusing the mana core with the dark matter core had boosted my recovery rate even further. Since awakening as a player, I had never once run dry.

But if I could convert that mana into qigong?

I could finally solve the chronic internal energy shortage I felt whenever I used Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts and Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword.

“This is the real deal.”

A low chuckle slipped from my lips. “Heh heh heh…”

“There you go again,” Nyx said, shaking her head.

I had come to the Courtyard Where the Dragon Resides for a different reason. Yet absorbing the Imugi’s essence felt like far greater ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠profit than my original goal.

“Don’t kill the vibe, Goddess.”

“Then wipe that sinister grin off thy face before making demands.”

“Even so, isn’t it a bit much to criticize someone for how they look?”

I wasn’t exactly ugly. Maybe watching all those dramas had raised her standards.

“Do not speak of me as if I were some narrow-minded mortal! More importantly, I told thee that smile was the problem…”

“Hold on. Let me check the reward first.”

I cut Nyx off and pulled up the book’s information. Just as I remembered.

“What an ominous tome,” she muttered.

“It’s a grimoire that lets you wield the power of the demon lords from Pandemonium.”

“I would prefer it be kept somewhere my eyes cannot reach.”

“Why?”

“It is unclean.”

Nyx frowned. She genuinely seemed to detest Ars Goetia. It was one of the grimoires written by the great mage king Solomon, who had commanded the power of the seventy-two demons. Since that power stood in direct opposition to divine providence, it made sense that she would hate it.

Still, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had finally gained a way to use dark mana. In my previous life, a bloody storm had raged over the five volumes of Lemegeton. To unleash the true power hidden within the grimoires, one had to collect all of them. As far as I recalled, the Korean who had obtained Ars Goetia died during the struggle to become the master of Lemegeton.

“Shall we test its performance?”

I opened Ars Goetia. Three spells were currently available. The higher my comprehension rose, the more spells I would unlock. It would be interesting if it contained dark magic that used Baal’s name.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Primordial Dragon Heart pumped violently, pushing out dark mana. The same dizziness I felt after chaining Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts washed over me. After a massive amount of mana drained away, an inverted pentagram several meters wide formed in the air. A gigantic iron mace materialized above it.

I swung the fully manifested Barbatos’ Iron Mace at the waterfall.

The very next instant—

BOOOOOOM—!

The entire valley shook. Nyx’s eyes widened into perfect circles.

“What manner of power is this?”

“What else? I borrowed a demon lord’s strength. It has to be at least this impressive.”

The waterfall had been reduced to rubble. A mountain peak dozens of meters high had been crushed into nothingness by the mace, leaving not a single trace behind.

When I opened Ars Goetia again, I saw that Barbatos’ Iron Mace now had a cooldown. Twelve hours. Not something I could use often, but it would make an excellent trump card.

“Still, it’s a pretty good hidden ace.”

“Must thou truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carry that sinister book with thee?”

“It’s a bit different from a regular skill book.”

I waved my hand dismissively. In the Tower’s system, skill books could be learned instantly as long as the conditions were met. But grimoires like Ars Goetia were different. To cast the desired spell, I had to physically open the corresponding page.

“It’s not exactly easy to use in the middle of a chaotic battle.”

I stored Ars Goetia inside the Pocket of Desire. Carrying it around would be too distracting. The other two spells were debuffs, so I would need to test them in actual combat.

* * *

While Jinho was away clearing the Courtyard Where the Dragon Resides, Lee Jiyoung threw herself into training without rest.

“Carla, I’m counting on you again today.”

“Likewise.”

Jiyoung beamed. Carla, standing across from her, replied in the same expressionless tone as always.

Yet despite her bright appearance, the one grinding her teeth was Jiyoung.

This time, I’m definitely landing a hit!

She took immense pride in being Jinho’s first disciple. The connection they had formed in the tutorial was what allowed her to stand here now. But that pride felt meaningless in the face of her two new teammates.

Carla and Ping Lei were simply too strong. No matter how many sparring matches they had, the gap barely seemed to narrow.

I can’t tarnish Master’s name.

With renewed determination, Jiyoung exchanged a glance with Carla. Without any signal, they moved at almost the same instant.

Carla charged in low, scythe held ready. Jiyoung immediately deployed her barrier along the reaper’s path.

The scythe traced a trajectory through the air, slicing the hexagonal barrier cleanly in half. Jiyoung rebuilt it in 0.1 seconds. A second wall appeared right behind the scythe’s path, blocking Carla’s advance.

“You won’t beat me by only defending.”

Carla swung her scythe with calm indifference. The second barrier shattered instantly.

Jiyoung created two more, one on each side of Carla. The vibrations resonated and amplified between them.

“How about this?”

“Not bad. But still lacking.”

Carla activated her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unique ability. She distorted space to bleed off some of the vibrating force, then swung her scythe the moment she regained freedom of movement. The barrier was sliced apart like paper. Amplifying the vibration coefficient required intense concentration, so chaining them back-to-back was still difficult for Jiyoung.

The compressed space behind Carla exploded outward, creating a powerful gust. She rode that force into a leap, closing the distance in an instant.

“You think I’ll fall for something I’ve seen that many times?”

Jiyoung bit her lip and built a barrier directly in Carla’s charge path. Having grown familiar with the speed of Space Compression and Double Dash, she had managed to place it one step ahead.

“One layer won’t be enough.”

Slice!

Carla’s scythe cut through the barrier without mercy. The defensive power of a Vibration Barrier far exceeded ordinary defensive magic or skills, yet a single layer couldn’t stop that scythe.

Space Manipulation. Carla’s unique ability could be applied even to basic attacks. While distorting or erasing space required enormous mana, breaking a barrier was simple. In other words, Carla was Jiyoung’s perfect counter.

Even so, I won’t give up.

A fierce light burned in Jiyoung’s eyes—the same look Jinho wore when a delicious essence appeared before him.

First, I have to stop that charge.

Then, unconsciously, she recalled Carla’s movements. That monstrous charging power came from combining her unique ability with her skills. By compressing space and then releasing it to propel herself, the leap became far faster than any normal rush skill.

Compression… Can’t I do something similar?

If I overlap the barriers, the vibration amplifies!

The idea flashed through her mind. Jiyoung put it into practice immediately.

She overlapped two layers, then placed a third right behind them. The third barrier repelled the first two, amplifying the vibration coefficient. When she released the repulsive force of the rear barrier, the stacked pair shot forward like a cannonball.

Even Carla was momentarily startled by the barrier flying at her with terrifying speed, but she instinctively swung her scythe and sliced it apart.

Clang-clang-clang!

The collision generated an enormous repulsive force. Carla was pushed back, skidding across the ground. A normal attack could no longer cut through the overlapped barriers.

“Ugh. Not bad.”

Carla reset her stance. Her whole body tingled. It wasn’t a heavy blow, but the unexpected attack had caught her off guard.

Meanwhile—

“Eh? Ehhhh?”

Instead of pressing the attack, Jiyoung simply stared at Carla with her mouth hanging wide open.

“Are we ending the spar here?”

“N-no! That attack landed just now, right?!”

“Yes. But I can keep going.”

“No way! I actually landed a hit on Carla!!!”

Jiyoung let out a triumphant roar. Not only had she discovered a new way to use her ability, she had also achieved her sparring goal. Pure joy bubbled up uncontrollably.

“Alright! We’re sparring until I master this technique perfectly!”

“I don’t know what you just did, but we can start again, right?”

“Yeah! I won’t go down so easily anymore!”

And then…

Lee Jiyoung was thoroughly beaten into the ground by Carla.