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But then—

Thunk!

“…What’s that?”

Just as he was about to throw the last body of Haid, it got caught on something midair.

At first, he thought it might be a tree or a rock jutting out of the cliff.

‘It doesn’t seem like that.’

Theo narrowed his eyes.

In the middle of the empty air, where there should have been nothing, the corpse had hit something invisible, leaving behind a smear of red blood.

The shape resembled a square block.

It was right at that moment.

Ding!

[A quest has arrived.]

—

[Tutorial Quest #15]

Find the invisible staircase and explore the cave glowing with blue light.

– Difficulty: A

– Reward: Relic of the Ancient Dragon

– Upon failure: ■■

—

Theo clenched his fist tightly.

He had been wondering how he might descend the cliff, and it seemed this was the answer.

‘But considering it’s rated as A difficulty, it won’t be easy.’

There were the strong upward air currents and the blizzard swirling around.

Even if he found the device, the question remained of how he would move along it.

A single misstep would send him plunging straight down the cliff.

‘Still, finding a way and not finding one makes a big difference.’

Determined to examine the area around the bloodstain more carefully, Theo directed his magic power toward his eyes.

Thump…!

Thump…!

As his heart pounded loudly and the resonance between his core and his magic occurred—

Whoosh!

“…!”

Theo flinched without realizing it.

Things that had been invisible were now starting to appear, one by one, in his field of vision.

A world seen only in shades of black and white.

Along the narrow canyon, block-shaped transparent steps spiraled downward.

‘Spiritual Essence…!’

Theo instinctively realized why his vision had suddenly changed.

It was due to the special ability [Inspiration] that he had gained when his magic coefficient surpassed 200, which had mentioned a “change in bodily abilities.”

At first, he hadn’t understood what it meant.

But now, it seemed to indicate the development of his physical senses.

—

[Spiritual Essence]

– Type: Special Ability

– Effect: Changes in bodily abilities. Magic recovery rate increases by 1.5 per second.

—

With Spiritual Essence in his eyes, he could now see things that had been previously invisible.

In that case—

‘What about other areas? Like my legs?’

Theo quickly directed his magic power toward his soles.

Then, Theo felt as if his body had become as light as a feather.

Swish!

Riding the momentum, he lightly pushed off the ground.

The result was surprising.

He had succeeded in jumping much farther than he had anticipated.

It felt as though he had small wings attached to both his feet.

‘This didn’t happen when I was climbing the mountain slopes before.’

When he had used the technique earlier, he hadn’t felt this kind of lightness. He wondered why it was suddenly different now.

But then, Theo realized the crucial difference—he hadn’t activated magical resonance back then.

‘When I only used the magic power from the Aura Hall, all I gained was speed. But now, with the Aura Heart added, Spiritual Essence has activated. Could this also be an effect of magical resonance?’

He didn’t know the exact reason.

But he thought that if he could make good use of this difference, it could become a powerful weapon in the future.

Fwoosh!

Theo twisted his body lightly in midair.

He aimed to land on the transparent staircase he had set as his destination.

Thud!

The landing was much softer than before.

The reduced strain on his body would certainly be useful in battle as well.

‘Now, I’ll head straight to the hatchling’s nest.’

Theo’s eyes gleamed.

It was time to explore the hatchling’s lair.

At that moment—

Flutter!

A black lark nearby suddenly flew into the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile…

“Currently in first place is Axion Ragnar. He has collected a total of 41 demonic bells, leading a group of 21 people. The next in rank is Ray Ragnar…”

Every time the interim report on the second Blossoming Ceremony was delivered, the expressions of the Nine Dragons subtly changed.

It was because there had been no mention of the person they were waiting for.

“What about Theo Ragnar? What’s his status?”

At Julius’s question, the reporter hastily searched through his notes.

“Theo Ragnar… has collected no demonic bells so far. He has no companions. We assume he is either hiding in a nearby shelter or lying in ambush.”

“Hiding…?”

Julius furrowed his brow.

The Theo he knew would always face things head-on from the start. He wasn’t the type to hide somewhere, waiting for the right moment.

At that point, the Mistress of Plum Blossom Palace spoke up.

“You mentioned earlier that it was just an assumption. Does that mean no one has confirmed it?”

“Y-Yes… at the moment… w-we’re still assessing the situation…”

First Julius, and now the Lord of Plum Blossom Palace.

The reporter, now facing back-to-back inquiries, could only sweat nervously as he shuffled through his documents for quite a while.

“Both of you, enough. What could this man possibly know? He’s just the messenger, after all. That’ll be enough, you can leave now.”

The reporter, relieved to be rescued from the growing tension, bowed deeply to Wolfgang, the Elder Council Head, and quickly left the room.

“Just because someone stood out in the first stage, doesn’t mean they’ll do the same in the second. Who knows? Maybe he’s too rattled to stay calm during the real thing and he’s just hiding.”

Although Wolfgang’s words seemed to defend Theo, his tone was laced with unmistakable mockery.

Julius and the Lord of Plum Blossom Palace glared silently at Wolfgang, but he didn’t care. His mood was too good, a smug smile plastered across his face.

‘It seems those thunderheads did a far better job than I expected. Hahaha!’

The faces of Haid’s group, to whom he had given the order to track down and eliminate Theo, flashed in his mind.

「…Could it be that you were involved in this, Elder Council Head?」

Suddenly, Ed’s voice rang in Wolfgang’s ears through a voice transmission.

「Ah, my! I forgot to give you a heads-up. But as you can see, things went quite smoothly, so no need for thanks. We’re on the same side, aren’t we?」

Wolfgang assumed that, by now, Haid’s group had already assassinated Theo, disposed of the body, and erased all evidence by throwing him off a cliff.

No matter how talented Theo was compared to others his age, it would be hard for him to stand a chance against those who had been trained as assassins since childhood.

He felt something lift, a pressure that had been weighing on his chest for the past few days.

‘That low-born dared to think he could stand above the rightful heirs, and look what it got him. The others better learn from this. They should know well who Ragnar belongs to.’

Did Julius and the Lord of Plum Blossom Palace know?

Did they realize that the order in Ragnar, which they had been trying to disrupt, had finally been restored to its rightful state?

‘The Nine Dragons lack so much common sense, it’s truly ridiculous. That’s why a family always needs an elder.’

If it weren’t for Ed, who at least possessed a sense of reason, they would have been in a much more troublesome situation. Ed also harbored resentment toward Theo for taking the Camellia Palace, so he was likely pleased with how things had turned out.

Everything was proceeding according to ‘natural order.’

That was what Wolfgang truly believed.

Because of that, he didn’t notice.

He didn’t see the slight twist in Ed’s gaze as he looked at him.

‘Damn it…! That crazy old man pulling such a stunt without my permission!’

Ed, too, had planned to kill Theo in the Winter Mountains.

There was, in fact, a more pressing issue that Ed had to resolve first.

‘I must stop this!’

Ed swiftly sent a voice transmission to his subordinates waiting outside.

「Hurry and relay the message to Axion! Before the Elder Council’s hounds find the Cripple of the Rose Palace, do whatever it takes to save him! We can’t afford to let the clue to the relic be buried like this. Hurry!」

The relic of the Ancient Dragon, which he had never been able to locate even after coming to the Rose Palace—Theo undoubtedly had it.

That meant securing Theo’s custody was now essential.

Whoosh, swish—

In response to Ed’s orders, agents from the Security Bureau began to move quickly, mobilizing the test overseers connected to them.

Ed, seething with frustration, clenched his trembling fist. This unscheduled “rescue of Theo” was grating on his nerves.

* * *

「It seems quite clear that both the Elder Council Head and the Security Bureau Director are plotting something.」

Julius, sensing the subtle tension between Wolfgang and Ed, pursed his lips thoughtfully.

The Mistress of Plum Blossom Palace nodded faintly.

「They will certainly try to manipulate the second Blossoming Ceremony to their advantage. We should take action first. I’ll pass word down to our people.」

「Sigh! I had hoped to avoid meddling with the test… but for now, I’ll leave it in your hands.」

Julius let out a light sigh, though he couldn’t help shooting a sharp glance at the Mistress of Plum Blossom Palace.

「However, I won’t just let it slide that you met with Lord Theo behind my back. We’ll settle that matter later.」

It was clear he was displeased that the Lady had met Theo despite Julius having staked his claim on the young man and explicitly warned against it.

「Isn’t Theo’s heart the most important thing in this matter?」

Of course, the Lord of Plum Blossom Palace remained unfazed, easily brushing off the remark.

In fact, she even smiled with a relaxed confidence.

She firmly believed that Theo would eventually come to her.

Julius chuckled dryly and shook his head in resignation.

‘If this keeps up, the difficulty of recruiting Theo will only get harder, not easier.’

Looking back, Julius regretted not pressing harder when Theo initially rejected his offer. Perhaps he should have continued to push.

Julius sighed softly at the troubling thought.

But then he raised his head again.

Whether he managed to recruit Theo into the White Armored Dragon Cavalry or not, ensuring his safety had to come first.

And so, it began—

The scheming between the four dragons, set against the backdrop of the Blossoming Ceremony and the Winter Mountains, with Theo at the center.

No, not four—

Rustle!

But five dragons.

* * *

When Theo arrived at the hatchling’s lair after passing through the transparent stairs, he experienced three distinct feelings.

It was cold.

It was dark.

And—

‘I feel dizzy.’

– I don’t want to die…

– I want to live…

– I don’t want to be here…

– The living…

– I hate them…

– Get out of here…

Woo—woo…

The eerie wails echoed throughout the cave like a haunting melody.

Even Theo’s sense of vision was distorted, making it difficult to properly assess his surroundings.

‘I wasn’t told there would be spectral creatures here. This won’t be easy.’

Specters, banshees, ghosts, phantoms, ectoplasm—
Monsters classified as spectral beings, those without solid forms, were notoriously difficult to deal with.

They were impervious to physical attacks and often employed mental domination or curses in their assaults.

This time was no exception.

Theo found himself trapped in an illusionary prison created by these spectral beings.

It was a curse that triggered the traumas buried deep in one’s memories, producing hallucinations and auditory illusions.

If he fell for it?

He could be trapped here for eternity, doomed to become one of the spectral creatures.

Fortunately, Theo had an incredibly strong mental fortitude, as demonstrated by his ability to resist the mind control attempts of the Moon-White Sword.

Naturally, he could withstand the illusionary prison to a certain extent.

The real challenge, however, came afterward.

That challenge was—

Sensory Disruption.

Humans perceive the world through their senses.

But when those senses were disrupted, it became almost impossible to accurately analyze one’s situation.

Explore the cave.

That was the mission written in the quest.

It seemed likely that it referred to pushing through this very challenge.

‘The quests are always interconnected. There must be an answer here. How did Black Snow manage to pass through this place in my previous life?’

Theo didn’t think passing through this place was impossible.

The quests always provided missions that were achievable in some way.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Then, carefully extending his hand to feel along the wall, he cautiously moved forward.

Feeling his way…

‘When Spiritual Essence was granted to my eyes, I could see the hidden side of things. What if I were to extend that Spiritual Essence to other senses, like my ears or hands…?’

Humans have five senses in total.

Sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste.

Theo slowly circulated his magic power, allowing Spiritual Essence to spread throughout his entire body.

Soon, changes began to manifest within his senses.

First, the sensitivity in his fingertips sharpened.

He could now feel the shape, texture, length, and hardness of the wall, and even sense the structure of the passage beyond it.

Next, his hearing opened up.

He could distinguish between the spectral whispers and the wind blowing through the cave passages.

Then, his sense of smell became heightened.

Through the scent carried by the wind, he perceived the humidity, the curves, and the contours of the cave, one after another.

And finally, his remaining senses—sight and taste—also opened, bringing all five senses into harmony.

Even with his eyes closed, the entire layout of the cave was vividly etched into his mind.

So clearly.

‘This is…!’

It was an entirely new sensation for Theo, one he had never experienced before.

The harmony of all five senses.

—

[You have awakened Synesthesia.]

[You have mastered the usage of all five senses. From now on, you can sense Inspiration.]

[The path begins to reveal itself.]

—

In that moment, Theo felt as though he had stepped into a new world.

It was as if a thick veil that had been covering his eyes and ears had been lifted, allowing him to glimpse the “true” world beyond.

Following that true world, Theo moved forward.

The ghosts, which had been haunting him, gradually faded into nothingness.

Instead, a long, glowing blue light remained, guiding him like a beacon.

And when he finally reached the end of that light—

Thud…!

A massive iron door, easily over ten meters tall, appeared before him.

‘This is it.’

Theo swallowed dryly as he stared at the iron door, identical to the one he had seen in his previous life.

And then—

Creak!

Summoning all his strength, he pushed the door open.

As the door swung wide, rays of light poured through the gap, striking Theo’s eyes.