The specter approached.
A half-hearted roar emerged from the split jaws of a snake.
The air trembled, and a faint poison surged.
Death came to mind.
Feeling the prickling sensation all over her body, Choi Ji-yeon didn’t hesitate to move.
She drew the earth into her and elongated the axe handle.
With all her strength, she firmly gripped the handle.
Next, she infused it with her power.
A thick green aura wrapped around the axe.
Especially at the blade, the aura exploded upwards.
‘Taesan.’
Taesan was the unique ability to manipulate the earth.
In handling the earth, she also directed the life force contained within it, using it to control the specter.
But at its core, it was all about manipulating the earth.
For ages, the earth had symbolized both the source of life and strength.
Choi Ji-yeon drew upon the earth’s power.
Planting her feet, she grasped the earth’s mana and vitality tightly, pulling it into her body.
Crack! The fully gripped handle vibrated as if it would shatter.
A chilling explosion echoed between the handle and her grip.
Grinding her teeth, Ji-yeon swung her arm.
The axe head sliced through the air splendidly as it descended. In an instant, it struck down upon the head of the approaching specter.
– KWA-A-A-AANG─!
“Ugh…!”
The axe sank into the snake’s head, burying it into the ground.
At the same time, a gust of wind swept in all directions.
As if an explosion occurred, dirt flew everywhere, and the already thin trees broke in the middle and flew away.
Ji-yeon couldn’t afford to worry about that. She leapt into action before the aftershock settled.
Crack! A sinister tail blade plunged down right where she had been moments before.
‘So sturdy…!’
Her arms were numb. The trembling arms felt like they would snap at any moment.
Ji-yeon looked at her shaking hands.
Crunch… The axe, now just a handle, lay abandoned.
The tip had completely shattered upon impact.
– KYA-A-A-AK!
But still, she had inflicted a decent injury.
Lifting the head stuck in the ground, the remnants on the snake’s broken head served as proof.
However, it wasn’t a fatal wound.
Her face contorted involuntarily.
The initial strike.
She hadn’t delivered a proper lethal blow with that heavy strike of Taesan.
‘Around tier 4? Not an Alpha though.’
Ji-yeon assessed calmly. The speed it came at, the durability it displayed against her strike.
The tier she estimated was lower at even tier 4.
A tier 4 monster would typically be a beast of an Alpha entity within a level 2 dungeon, a creature potent enough to occupy a small territory even inside the Mages’ Realm.
The disparity wasn’t despairing. It wasn’t invulnerable. If she kept pounding, it would eventually die.
Though she had never taken down a tier 4 monster alone, she knew it was possible.
‘But…’
An unsettling chill covered her body.
The sense of danger earlier now felt like child’s play compared to the impending sense of doom.
The snake closed its mouth, puffing up its jaws as if containing something.
The empty hole, lacking flesh, leaked the substance it held.
– Chiiiiiik…
A thick greenish-black liquid dripped out… along with a menacing smoke…
This was a far more dangerous poison than before.
“Avoid─!”
Ji-yeon yelled as she slammed her feet into the ground.
While Ji-yeon reacted, her team members also braced themselves, digging their feet in.
The snake, with its ripped eyes flickering, opened its mouth.
A wave of green poured out.
The space, once basked in sunlight, was now engulfed in darkness, tainted by the green hue.
What remained of the solitary stump was submerged by the toxic liquid, melting away instantly without a trace.
Not only that, but the poison spewed forth like vapor, continuously releasing toxic gas.
First, the liquid poured out, then spread in gaseous form in all directions.
The earth, buried beneath the poison, began to sink, while the untouched ground withered and decayed.
The sky turned a deep green, soon filled with poisonous gas.
– Saaaahhhh…
Even at this point, the snake’s jaws would not close. The pouring liquid showed no signs of stopping.
It seemed as if a dam had burst, unleashing a massive volume of water all at once.
The surrounding area was dead.
The regions submerged in poison were no joke, and even areas further away were succumbing to the toxic air.
And the range continued to expand exponentially.
They barely escaped the area engulfed in poison, standing on a raised patch of earth and staring blankly at the toxic tide.
“…This is insane.”
Ji-yeon muttered in shock. Her face was as pale as that of a corpse.
The team members looked equally pale.
This far away, just the air laced with poison made her face turn white.
‘…That’s…’
The snake was a specter.
A corpse of something already dead, forcibly moved by a specter inserted into it.
Nevertheless, it would have to be weaker than when it was alive. There could be amplifications, but they often don’t exceed the original.
More than that, looking at the snake’s form, there were no signs of enhancements at all.
In fact, it appeared unstable.
There was no need for a detailed inspection.
Even a casual glance revealed empty spots of flesh, bone, and scales.
That emptiness was filled with black mana and various specters, clearly showing its unstable state.
Moreover, to Ji-yeon, who had learned specter magic, it was clear that the construction of that specter seemed tattered.
An unstable corpse puppet like that would likely belong to the tier 4.
In that case…
‘What about the original?’
Ji-yeon’s complexion hardened.
‘Wait.’
A sudden thought popped into her head as she looked at the specter spewing forth the poison from afar.
It was a snake.
Its size was several times greater than an ordinary shop building.
With mottled green scales and eerie yellow eyes.
At the end of its tail dangled a massive weapon, its neck split into two…
Above all, the poison that gushed from one remaining jaw…
Where had she seen a form like that before? In historical texts and classifications of high-tier monsters.
A tier 3, deep green snake, with two heads and poisonous gas spewing from one mouth.
‘Twin-headed Poison Dragon…’
An Alpha of tier 3.
A monster that had severed China’s lifeline.
That kind of beast had reappeared as a specter.
– Saaaahhhh…
There was no time for confusion.
The specter that had ejected a wave of poison… the Poison Dragon shook its head and turned towards Ji-yeon’s direction.
The distance between them closed.
The imposing figure leading a tide of poison was nothing short of terrifying.
Ji-yeon felt terror gaze her way.
She sensed the intense threat to life.
She could feel the greenery losing its vitality and rotting away due to the poison.
She felt the specter that had been annihilated upon contact with the venom.
Her survival instinct screamed.
The physical tier of the Poison Dragon was considered low even at tier 4. Not an Alpha. Ji-yeon could easily kill it.
Only judging by physical tier, that seemed to be the case.
What about that unique ability… thinking of that poison?
No way to kill it. Approaching would be difficult with poison surrounding it.
Finding and dealing with its main body? Would the Poison Dragon sit quietly while that happened?
Even if she managed to find the main body, it was the specter magician who had forcibly turned the Poison Dragon into a specter, even in its unstable state.
It wouldn’t be an easy fight.
Logically speaking, confronting it with her current power level was tantamount to suicide.
She had to retreat first.
She had sent a support request to the Main House. Even if the mana wave was chaotic, it probably got through.
If things were this chaotic, the guild would have noticed the situation too.
Ji-yeon turned her head.
She needed to give orders to her team members, who were equally frozen.
“…Retreat─”
— She’ll do it.
Her words abruptly cut off.
In her line of sight was a girl being held by one of her team members, vomiting on the ground.
‘Ah.’
The girl rescued from the nameless one.
The child’s complexion was ghostly pale.
Even counting that, her skin looked murky overall.
Her eyes were glazed, pupils twitching, and her fingertips were stiffening.
Signs of poisoning.
Despite Ji-yeon and her team’s attempts to protect her with magic and unique abilities, she had been poisoned by inhaling the minute amounts of toxic air.
At least, thanks to those protections, she hadn’t died instantly.
But she was poisoned.
One team member continuously fed her antidote and poured healing magic, but there was little improvement.
“……”
They all had to retreat.
What about the approaching Poison Dragon that was closing in?
“Damn.”
She couldn’t even count how many times she had sworn.
Her head throbbed.
She wanted to run away.
With her survival instincts screaming, who wouldn’t want to escape?
But she held the title of the heir of the Taesan Clan.
Also, she was meant to lead Team 1 in this search operation.
“…I’m giving orders. All team members, retreat with the rescue target.”
“What about you, Miss?”
One team member asked anxiously.
She glanced at the approaching Poison Dragon.
It was terrifying.
Ji-yeon wanted to run away.
“I’ll hold it off for a bit and retreat separately.”
The heir of the Taesan Clan, the head of operations, couldn’t do that.
“Miss!”
“Absolutely not!”
“Let us—”
“Shut up all of you. Before I kill you for disobeying orders.”
Immediate rebellion erupted.
There was no room for her to entertain that. Ji-yeon coldly suppressed the dissent and turned her head.
“Team leaders 2 and 3. Adjust your formations and break the encirclement. After that, detoxify the rescued target and send an urgent signal to the guild for civilian evacuation.”
“But…!”
Resistance persisted.
“…Don’t look at me like you’re about to die.”
Ji-yeon, feeling their worry and sadness in their eyes, softened her tone.
“I can escape, so I’m doing this.”
Saying that, Ji-yeon shared a vision with the specter.
Before, she had seen the vision of the specter deep within an unfathomable canyon.
In the air, rippling illusions danced… and the entrance to the dungeon came into view.
*
Her hair had turned completely white.
She checked it multiple times, but the color didn’t change.
‘What’s this again?’
Rubbing her hair caught in her hand, she couldn’t help but frown.
Her hair, which had been black until earlier, had turned completely white.
Reviewing the information processed not long ago, she realized it had started changing roughly ten minutes ago.
The transformation was still ongoing.
Even now, it was changing slowly but surely.
It was too fast to be called graying…
It wasn’t dye, either; how often would hair change color on its own?
‘Oh?’
Suddenly struck by a thought, she rubbed her hair again.
The color seemed somewhat familiar.
Even if they are similar shades, there are always small differences.
It could be subtle changes undetectable to the eye or glaringly obvious.
This color was so unique that it was easy to tell apart.
‘This is almost the same as Seo-yul’s hair color.’
A pure white like untouched snow that shimmered with a spectrum… hair that didn’t belong to this world.
Although it wasn’t glowing with colors right now, upon closer inspection, it was practically identical.
Hair that only the fairy Seo-yul had, so mysteriously beautiful.
And now, her hair was changing to match it.
– I thought Lee Ha-yul wasn’t human but a fairy.
Those words continued to make her heart race…
‘I don’t know.’
After rubbing her hair for a bit, she sank back into the lake.
After all, a trivial wound was easily healed, and even the broken, severed limbs regenerated thanks to her mysterious body.
So, the changing hair color shouldn’t be too surprising.
She fully submerged her body in the lake.
– Bloop, bloop…
Dunking her head underwater, she absentmindedly created bubbles on the surface.
She was still concentrating on absorbing more mana.
She didn’t want to shift her mental focus to anything else just yet.
‘It’s about time the proof of the guardian should appear.’
She casually observed a waterfall pouring into a corner of the lake.
It was surprisingly large, and its flow remained gentle.
Thanks to that, the ripples on the lake were quite calm.
Inside that waterfall was a small cave.
Soon, this would be the place where the proof of the guardian would appear.
Based on the original timeline, it was practically the perfect time for it to show up.
‘I need to hurry to Seo-yul…’
A significant amount of time had passed.
Even now, if she went, she could spend a few days with Seo-yul.
In her impatience, the number of bubbles she created increased.
One by one, spirits that had been enjoying the surroundings began to return.
‘They came back faster than expected…?”
The spirits gradually gathered over the lake’s surface.
The surface of the lake became brilliantly colored.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but the spirits seemed to be brighter than before.
That wouldn’t be strange.
‘What are these guys?’
The odd thing was that the number of light clusters gathering around the lake was increasing.
She had sent back just over a hundred, but now about three hundred were returning.
With a dumbfounded expression, she poked a nearby spirit that was fluttering right in front of her.
The blue water spirit flitted around, as if tickled, then widened the distance a little.
For reference, it wasn’t the spirit she had formed a contract with.
She had no idea where it came from.
‘What’s with you all?’
She cast out that vague thought… but received no tangible response.
Just a feeling of joy, saying they wanted to be petted more, tickled, etc… just simple emotional waves returned.
Lower spirits don’t have a clear self, so genuine communication was impossible.
‘…Should I form a contract?’
She casually checked her capacity for spirits.
There was more than enough room.
The reason the contracted spirits had stopped at a hundred was not due to her limit but that there were simply no more spirits to contract.
It wouldn’t hurt to have more contracted spirits.
She approached the spirit gently to form a contract.
– Wooong!
Suddenly, the surface of the lake trembled.
A multitude of waves surged as if numerous small earthquakes occurred, and the lake water turned yellow.
The same color as the yellow leaves floating on the lake.
‘It’s come out.’
A signal that the proof of the guardian had shown itself.
A nuisance yet easy gimmick that forces players to spend several days submerged in a lake.
Within ten seconds, the lake water returned to its original color.
But new information was being observed from the cave inside the waterfall.
She headed toward the waterfall, colored in hues of warmth. The waterfall was on the opposite side.
Dodging clusters of floating yellow leaves and shimmering colors, she approached the waterfall.
She traversed the central area of the lake. The water was fairly deep, enough to submerge her mouth completely when standing upright.
– Wooong!
‘?’
The lake trembled again.
Waves erupted, splashing water onto her face.
‘What’s going on?’
A gimmick isn’t supposed to trigger twice.
She stood frozen, scrutinizing the surroundings. Perhaps an unexpected accident was occurring, so she kept her guard up and scanned her surroundings.
The spirits mirrored her unease, fluttering around, bracing for any potential threats.
– Splash!
‘?’
An anomaly occurred in her observations.
Not just observations, but the very space itself began to acknowledge it.
Above her.
The space in the sky shimmered and spat out something.
‘Intercept— No, wait!’
In that moment, she was about to unleash the prepared spells; she was jolted into stopping everything.
The spirits ready to unleash all manner of elemental attacks were startled and shrank in size.
From the space that spat out appeared a very familiar figure.
‘Choi Ji-yeon?’
The prominent character, heir of Taesan, whom she had planned to meet during the second semester.
She hadn’t imagined running into her here in the Lake of Mana.
Especially in such a battered state.
Ji-yeon, unable to control her body, fell down helplessly.
She seemed conscious but not able to move properly.
A floating spell activated.
Ji-yeon, who was supposed to fall helplessly into the lake, descended slowly towards its center.
As she reached out to catch her, a sudden thought stopped her hand.
Due to her small stature, it seemed tricky to just catch her.
With a perplexed expression, she manipulated the tendrils of light above her.
The strands of light gently caught Ji-yeon.
“Ugh, I… don’t want to die…”
As she planned to bring Ji-yeon down onto solid ground, her body twitched.
As if having a nightmare, Ji-yeon’s eyelids fluttered before slowly opening.
Green eyes appeared.
The expression in her eyes conveyed confusion.
She didn’t seem to grasp the situation at all.
After briefly scanning her surroundings, her gaze swiftly landed on Ji-yul.
“…Ah…”
A faint gasp escaped Ji-yeon’s lips.
“…Angel?”
“?”
Had she hit her head or something?
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