Savoring the Debut Cup of Tea
In that time—short if short, long if long—I'd been through far too much.
……Damn formalities are killing me, for real.
I'd overlooked it completely. Grandfell's love for tea time……!
Bomb tea mixed with anything was an impossibility in Grandfell's dictionary. And so, I had no choice but to sip, one cup at a time, the brew of eternal snowflower followed by scorching sunflower.
And then the agony began.
Eternal Snowflower
Ice affinity massively increases.
Ice manifestation massively increases.
Status ailment: Chill applied.
I'd braced myself, but this was beyond imagination.
Siberian winds? Hokkaido's brutal cold? This chill was on another level entirely. If I had to compare, it'd have to be Senior Mage Yugweed's eternal snows.
Shiver, shiver.
Yet I brazenly declared,
"A refreshing coolness most pleasing."
Who the hell looks like they're about to freeze to death? What bullshit is this!
I couldn't just freeze solid. I immediately brewed the scorching sunflower leaves and slurped them down.
And regretted it once more.
Scorching Sunflower
Fire affinity massively increases.
Fire manifestation massively increases.
Status ailment: Fever applied.
Perfect in theory, but reality was different.
It felt like my body was shattering. Crash—
How bad was it? I blacked out and dropped the teacup to the floor.
An aftershock too fierce even for formalities to overcome. I realized I'd done something utterly insane.
But it's not the strong who survive. It's the survivors who are strong.
I endured, opened my eyes, and that was that.
"Most unseemly clamor, unbefitting of Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo."
For this moment, even my motormouth was a welcome friend.
And once more, I felt it keenly. The effect of First World Tree's Blessing……!
First World Tree's Blessing rejects Chill.
First World Tree's Blessing rejects Fever.
Chill and fever each in their own way. Without the World Tree's blessing?
I wouldn't have made it past the snowflower. I'd have frozen solid with the teacup to my lips, stuffed in a museum as the world's first tea-drinking icicle……
It wasn't just a warmth buff level thing.
Even after both elixirs. Yes, the effects neutralized—but inside my body!
First World Tree's Blessing rejects Internal Injury.
In my hazy consciousness, I glimpsed that chilling message.
Anyway, no wonder I welcomed Grandfell's bravado.
Transcendent
……Thump— And the heartbeat that thrilled me most.
What to check first? Thoughts swirled, but I summoned mana immediately.
The flowing mana enveloped the shattered teacup.
Always hating any disarray, no matter what.
Crack— Reversal magic manifested.
The teacup, smashed on the floor, reverted to its original form.
But wait. It looked similar yet different……?
Somehow more luxurious? Reversal magic is pure reversal. Just restoring the original state, no additions.
Yet it felt like Aesthetics had activated……?
Only one guess.
……The circles' effect.
Elder Mage Yugweed had said: Before and after forming circles, manifestation power differs by factors of ten.
I thought it meant raw power, but no.
This versatility is insane.
I marveled anew.
No wonder it's the transcendent realm.
……Good. Let's check the precise effects.
I opened the status window and checked the title.
Confirmed the unlocked Transcendent effects.
Your transcendent realm is sufficient to be called Transcendent……
Current Achievements: Circles (All magic manifestation 1,000% increase) / None / None / None……
The opening line felt familiar.
Where had I seen it? Same tone as Sublime.
Sublime one, the Arcana continent remembers you.
Did I have to clash directly like with Sublime to feel it? Worry crept in.
No. The Transcendent title's effects weren't that brief.
Too long, in fact—that was the problem.
Current Achievements? Not just circles?
Realms vary, naturally. Arcana classes alone are countless.
I'd reached sword aura and circles—swordsmanship and magic extremes.
But seeing it in the system hit different. Huge meaning for me, for Grandfell.
"Indeed, my path was true."
My path. Poking every possible hole, digging every well.
Not in vain.
With Grandfell's personality, those blanks would drive him relentlessly.
No more slacking under efficiency excuses. I'd be the one dying……!
Lee Hoyeol's life is truly arduous and harsh.
But no whining. The achievement effects were overwhelming.
I continued,
"Yet to deem these true achievements is premature."
Life-or-death brink. Or rather, dying once skipped steps to 'sword aura' achievement.
Still, not transcendent level yet. Even Harcon's sword aura outshone mine.
Need Segwin's caliber.
How many elixirs to devour? How diverse the efforts? Unfathomable now.
I said calmly,
"Yet a sword without pride is weightless as air."
Yeah, real comforting. Confidence unmatched, Grandfell.
Finally, the last message.
Transcendent effects checked. Nothing left to surprise, right?
……Overlooking much today, Hoyeol.
Transcendent Exclusive Skill: Spacetime Salon
Title. Massive effects. Concrete goals. Now even exclusive skill.
Too generous? Starting to suspect.
I eyed the skill suspiciously.
And declared,
"I believe not in coincidence."
Utterly shameless.
"Better to forge ahead than await chance."
*
AAU Korea Branch.
Tap tap tap!
Yoon Sugyeom hammered the keyboard relentlessly.
Seong Hyunjun, glancing nervously, slyly placed coffee on his senior's desk.
No reaction. He grabbed a passerby and whispered,
"Do you know why Senior Yoon's like that?"
"Ah, Hyunjun, you took leave, right?"
"Yes, back today…… The vibe's off."
Lee Hoyeol's leave request—perfect excuse for workers. Seong Hyunjun followed suit, burning leave.
During days off, he'd tried everything.
—"……Tch, not this pose?"
Gardening with Hoyeol, watering pots, even smacked for overwatering mom's cactus.
Loaded with stories, back at AAU—yet Yoon Sugyeom intense from morning.
Too focused to interrupt.
"Finally got contact."
"Contact? With who?"
"Cosmo-era teammates."
"Ahh……!"
AAU exchanges dwindled amid national tensions. But Yusra Branch launch revived early cataclysm buzz.
"We're all busy. Debts to Yusra Branch Chief."
Yusra Branch Chief. Hoyeol's AAU title.
"Gathering scattered info post-disconnect. Our team snagged something useful. Dragon-related……"
"Dragons?!"
"Later, when confirmed."
"Ahh……."
"Anyway, good work, Hyunjun."
The man brushed past.
"Y-yes! You too, Senior!"
Seong Hyunjun sat meekly, waiting for Yoon Sugyeom's keyboard break.
An hour later.
Tap!
Chance! He pounced,
"Senior, coffee here!"
"Coffee? Ah, thanks."
"What was that meeting about?"
Wide-eyed sparkle. Yoon Sugyeom chuckled.
"Not as grand as you hope."
"……A secret?"
"No, really nothing big."
Yoon Sugyeom pointed at the monitor.
Blink— Draft text appeared.
Seong Hyunjun sighed.
"Damn, why didn't I think of that?!"
Ultra-high-level player content. Game devs' eternal curse.
Cosmo days flooded back, fresh as spring.
"Thursdays were war, right?"
"Yeah, weekly updates trashed for lack of content."
"Grinding bones for real. Korean gamers' tenacity…… Month-long raids cleared in a day!"
Arcana-as-game era. Player consumption insane.
Meetings: Jot every high-level idea.
Yoon Sugyeom contacted branches for that.
"Digging old ideas?"
"Yeah, worth a shot."
"Makes sense. Demon Kings, dragons—all concepts. Rifts spawn them like always existed."
Stalled high-level ideas might lurk in Arcana already.
"Need that info now……."
Seong Hyunjun's pupils dilated.
"For Chief Lee Hoyeol."
"Others maybe not, but could help him! Or…… does he already know?"
"Either way, gather max."
No room for cactus-smack tales.
Seong Hyunjun had his own itch.
"Senior, one last question?"
"Shoot. No one's bugging me, bored."
"Score."
Drag— Pulled chair closer.
"Among ideas, what's most useful for Chief? Deep Sea City you typed? Or Zero Mountains' 100,000 Caves?"
Hmm. Yoon Sugyeom stroked chin.
"All key, but not immediate. Needs related rift first."
If existing, and Hoyeol meets conditions……
Instant utility: ……
"……Old-Timer Community?"
*
More opulent than Yusra's Golden Palace.
Surrealer than Mage Tower.
No such place in Arcana Continent.
Yes. This was the Spacetime Salon.
In other tongues: Old-Timer Community.
Exclusively for transcendents.
The space of 'consciousness'.
Rare salon for the elite.
"?"
A stranger's presence after ages.
All eyes turned.
Sword Saint Segwin's gaze too.
The presence neared.
With crystalline clarity.
Click—