On the 14th day of the journey…

The Igyris Storm Triangle was a dangerous place where storms never ceased raging. The magicians floated in midair, drenched in rain. They had just squeezed every single bit of their mana to defeat the Great Storm, Poonchas.

Kang Yoon-Soo had swung the Great Lightning’s Staff at the soul fragments hiding in the storm. The rain had served as a conductor to amplify and spread the lightning from the golden staff, and sixteen fragments had been destroyed in an instant.

On the 22nd day of the journey…

They had marched through a harsh blizzard to massacre countless Yetis on the Aquile Ice Mountain. The Great Ice, Coldhan, had used all sorts of powerful Ice magic. However, Kang Yoon-Soo had unleashed seventy-four corrupted salamanders he had caught in a volcano, and the ice mountain’s climate had changed.

Coldhan had been exhausted by the heat, and was easily hunted down in the end. As the ice melted, the soul fragments appeared one by one, and the magicians had hurriedly cast spells to cut the fragments’ tongues off. The fragments could not cast any spells, and were thus easily disposed of by the party of magicians.

That was how Kang Yoon-Soo had destroyed seventeen more soul fragments.

On the 28th day of the journey…

Kang Yoon-Soo sipped some alcohol while sitting alone atop a rock. The magicians were resting in a ravine deep within a mountain range.

A few of the magicians huddled up and stole a glance toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

“What are you looking at?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“Ah… It is nothing…” the magicians replied as they shrank back.

Professor Railsen coughed and cleared his throat. He was in a secluded place away from the group, along with two other magicians. He lowered his voice and said in a whisper, “I am sure that both of you are aware of what I want to say right now.”

Professor Rehond and Timero nodded with serious expressions.

“Let us run away. We cannot live like this,” Professor Railsen said.

“The journey will end in two days, but who knows what that madman of a magician will end up doing?” Professor Rehond added with a scowl.

Their respect toward the Archmage had disappeared after spending numerous days with him. In fact, it had completely changed into anger and hatred.

Timero said, his voice filled with concern, “I am quite the easy-going type, but I am skeptical as well now. That is not the Oblion-nim I knew.”

Professor Railsen and Professor Rehond both nodded in agreement. The main reason why the three magicians had decided to run away was not simply because the journey was arduous and exhausting, but also because Oblion’s personality was so different from how he had previously been.

“He drinks too often these days, and it is also strange that his way of speech has become too blunt. That is not at a level that could be explained as his personality changing; rather, it is already tantamount to his soul being swapped with another person’s,” Timero said.

“It has felt as if we were going around with a demon dressed as Archmage-nim,” Professor Rehond added.

Professor Railsen nodded in agreement before asking, “Are you all prepared?”

“Of course,” the other two magicians replied.

However, they were surrounded by other magicians that were almost as skilled as they were, if not more so. There was no way they would try to escape without any prior preparation.

The Centaur Timero took out a leather pouch and took some brightly shining dust out of it, sprinkling it around and saying,, “They will not be able to sense our mana with this.”

Professor Railsen and Professor Rehond both drew a magic circle and chanted a spell.

“May others’ eyes be blinded under the brightly shining sun, and our presence be hidden within this barren wasteland.”

Then, the three magicians suddenly disappeared from sight. They had successfully cast an invisibility spell. It was well worth their efforts to pour out their mana and prepare for several days.

“Let us now separate.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Let us be free from the hands of that demon. See you alive soon!”

The three magicians scattered—no, it was right at the moment that they were about to scatter that…

Shwoop!

A net suddenly sprung out from underneath their feet, and the three magicians were helplessly done in by the trap as the invisibility spell they cast was immediately dispelled.

“Eok!”

As the three wise magicians were all tangled up with each other within the net, they saw a young man sitting on a rock across from them. The young man leisurely blew into a leaf flute as he walked up to them.

Professor Railsen looked at the man and shouted, “Haselit!”

“That is quite a sight, professor,” Haselit said. He set aside the leaf he was blowing before giving them a courteous bow, then added, “Archmage-nim asked me to set up a magic-dispelling net over here.”

“…”

“You will not be able to use invisibility magic anymore. I will set you free, so please come with me,” Haselit said.

“A demon! That guy is a demon!” Professor Rehond screamed in despair, pulling his hair out.

The four magicians soon returned to the camp where the other magicians were staying.

While Equinn was putting jam on her bread, she looked at the men and remarked with a smirk, “Omo, did you barbecue your faces? There is a pretty checkered pattern on them.”

Professor Railsen replied dejectedly in a weak voice, “These are marks from the net, Lady Equinn.”

“I know. I just wanted to tease you,” Equinn said with a smile.

Haselian looked at her younger brother with utter disappointment on her face, grumbling, “You are too mean, Haselit.”

“What is the matter, noonim?” Haselit asked.

“How could you go and blow a leaf flute without me?” Haselian grumbled.

“Actually, I brought one for you as well,” Haselit replied with a smile as he took out a long leaf from his pocket. Haselian smiled and took the leaf, then blew a clear and soothing tune from it.

“This journey will be over by the day after tomorrow,” Hawelmon said while polishing his magic hammer. They all had different ways to express their joy for the coming salvation and freedom, but Hawelmon was different. He walked away from the other magicians, looking depressed.

Haselian asked, “Haselit, why does Hawelmon hate Oblion-nim so much?”

“That is because he lost the top spot at the Academy of Magic to Oblion-nim,” Haselit replied.

“Just because of that?” Haselian asked while tilting her head in confusion.

“Is resentment not a hard liquor that has been fermented with hatred for a long period of time?” Haselit replied ambiguously.

Hawelmon walked deep into the mountain. He stepped on branches strewn across the ground and kicked stones away with his short, stubby legs.

Suddenly, however, he noticed something. Unable to hide his shock, he asked, “Since when have you been here…?”

“Since a while ago,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo, who had been leisurely sipping on his alcohol while sitting atop a rock just moments before, was suddenly sitting on a tree stump right before Hawelmon’s eyes.

Hawelmon seemed to be in disbelief as he said, “You really aren’t the Oblion I know. There’s no way that guy would ever waste mana on something as meaningless as this.”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo readily admitted.

Hawelmon let out a sigh and sat across from him, asking, “Then what the hell are you?”

“A regressor,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Regressor…?” Hawelmon muttered in surprise.

“Someone who has regressed 999 times for 20 years at a time,” Kang Yoon-Soo explained.

“That’s crazy…” Hawelmon said.

“It is crazy,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“But why are you in Oblion’s body?” Hawelmon asked.

“This is only a trial in a world created by magic,” Kang Yoon-Soo explained.

Hawelmon was silent for a while, deep in thought. Eventually,  he nodded and responded like a true magician, “I understand the gist of it.”

Kang Yoon-Soo brought the bottle of alcohol to his lips, and Hawelmon said with a sigh, “Give me some too.”

“I don’t want to,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“…”

“You have a bottle with you right now,” Kang Yoon-Soo added.

Hawelmon licked his lips, then took out a bottle of hard liquor and downed it. Then, he let out a sigh once again and asked, “If this is a world generated by magic, everything should be fake, right? Including me?”

“It does not affect my ‘reality’ in any way,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“This is a philosophical problem, then,” Hawelmon muttered. He was silent for a moment before asking, “Then what kind of world are you from?”

“From the Sylphia Continent 345 years from now,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“How do I meet my demise?” Hawelmon asked.

“While fighting,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What a grand way to die,” Hawelmon said, and stopped asking any further questions.

Kang Yoon-Soo silently drank his alcohol as the sun started to set, and its glow blanketed the mountain.

It was then that Hawelmon bitterly smiled and said, “Revenge seems meaningless at this point…”

***

On the 29th day of the journey…

There was only a day left before the time limit would be up.

The magicians looked at a large structure floating high above the mountain peak. It was the Azure Heaven Ruin.

The ruin floating high up in the sky was familiar to Kang Yoon-Soo; it seemed to resemble another place. He eventually thought, ‘It looks like the Temple of the Angels.’

However, the Azure Heaven Ruin was much larger than the temple where Kang Yoon-Soo had met the angels. That was only natural, as the purpose of the Temple of the Angels was only to host feasts, but this ruin housed hundreds or even thousands of monsters within it.

‘There are forty-five soul fragments in that place,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He would finally complete the second trial when he destroyed all of the remaining soul fragments.

Timero asked while looking up at the ruin, “How do we plan to reach that place when it is floating so high up in the sky?”

As the magicians looked to Kang Yoon-Soo, Equinn asked, “This must be the final battle, then. What do we have to do?”

“We won’t be fighting anyone,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Huh?” Equinn exclaimed, unable to hide the surprise on her face. Did he plan to give up after coming all the way here?

Kang Yoon-Soo silently took out three staves from his dimensional bag. They were the staves that he had obtained after killing the Great Thunder, the Great Storm, and the Great Ice. He cast a spell. “Staff Break.”

The staves shone brightly before starting to crack.

[You have used three unique-rated staves as an offering.]

[You have absorbed the magic power stored within the staves.]

[Your magic power will be amplified for a short while.]

A powerful rush of mana suddenly flowed into Kang Yoon-Soo.

[Overwhelming mana!]

[Your spells are going to be greatly amplified.]

That was not the end of it.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the magicians, and they could not hide their nervousness as they slowly backed away from him. He extended his hand and muttered, “Magic Drain.”

Magic shot out from his hand and enveloped the magicians; they did not even have the time to react and cast a defensive spell, or even to run away. All of the other magicians collapsed and fainted.

[You have absorbed the mana of 32 magicians.]

[The magic you cast will be at its pinnacle.]

[You may use lesser spells at zero mana cost.]

The already powerful Archmage had his magic power amplified severalfold.

Kang Yoon-Soo then cast the final spell. “Life Break.”

[A once-in-a-lifetime spell has been activated!]

[You have offered yourself as tribute!]

[The sacrifice of a great Archmage!]

[A boundless amount of mana is being channeled through your body.]

[You may use any spell you wish to use even without casting it.]

[You are now capable of annihilating an entire city without leaving a speck of dust behind.]

[You may even be able to kill a dragon in one strike.]

[Time will freeze for ten seconds after you exhaust all of your mana, and you will die five minutes later.]

Badump! Badump!

His heart was beating like crazy.

“Hooo…” Kang Yoon-Soo exhaled. Just then, the bark slowly started to peel off the trunk of a tree in front of him.

Kwachiiiik…!

The ground underneath Kang Yoon-Soo’s feet cracked, and the air around him trembled violently. The objects around him started to disintegrate just from his presence alone.

‘I have to kill all of the remaining soul fragments at once without engaging in battle,’ he thought.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked up at the Azure Heaven Ruin, then extended his hand toward it. He did not have to chant or cast anything at all.

Kwachiiiiiiiiiiiik!

The ruin began to be crushed just like Hawelmon’s magic hammer had been; this time, however, it was a much larger object up high in the sky. As the intense force compacted it, the blood of the hundreds of monsters residing in it flowed out from the cracks forming across its surface.

[You have annihilated the monsters living within the Azure Heaven Ruin.]

[You have become the fastest person ever on the continent to raid an entire ruin.]

[The boss of the Azure Heaven Ruin, the Jewel Wyvern, has been crushed into pieces.]

[The treasure at the heart of the ruin has been destroyed…]

Kang Yoon-Soo’s wrist device kept showing message after message, and he checked the last message that popped up on his wrist device.

[You have destroyed the soul fragments of the Archmage, Oblion.]

[The soul fragments have returned to their owner.]

[Remaining Soul Fragments: 1]

The soul fragments hiding inside the ruin had been destroyed, and yet there was still one fragment remaining. Kang Yoon-Soo looked around the ruin.

‘There you are,’ he thought as he spotted the final fragment falling from the sky with his mana-enhanced vision. He took a step and instantly arrived where he wanted to be.

“Keuuuh…!” The soul fragment groaned as its half-crushed body hit the ground. It was in such a state that it would die if it received the slightest hit from anything.

Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward the fragment, his face void of any expression as usual, and extended his hand toward it to kill it.

“Keuuuh…!” The soul fragment waved its broken hand in a desperate attempt to survive, but its jaw was so severely damaged that it could not even chant a spell.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared down at the fragment that appeared identical to him.

It was then…

“Ah…” Kang Yoon-Soo groaned. His head suddenly hurt, and his heart had started to beat even harder. He thought in confusion, ‘What’s going on…?’

He still should have had some time left before he would die from the side effects of Life Break, but his body was already suffering from extreme pain and spasms. His body was trembling so much that it was difficult for him to even breathe. It was as if he were experiencing a panic attack from remembering something traumatic, and he ended up on his knees coughing and wheezing for air.

“Keeeuuuuuh…!” The soul fragment fled with all its might, dragging its half-beaten body away as fast as it could.

Kang Yoon-Soo would die if he did not chase and kill the fragment.

‘I have to move. I have to move right now…’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought desperately. He pressed down on his wildly throbbing forehead. He could not use any magic because a splitting headache came back whenever he tried to.

Ziiiing!

His wrist device vibrated loudly.

[Ten seconds remain until death.]

There was no time left.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his trembling hand and aimed it at the soul fragment that was desperately crawling away from him. However, he could not do anything, as his mana scattered whenever he tried to use a spell.

‘I can’t use magic… I don’t have time to focus,’ he thought. He limped toward the fragment, but his body would not listen to him.

[Five seconds remain until death.]

Kang Yoon-Soo finally caught up to the soul fragment. He thought, ‘I have to kill it without using magic, but how…?’

He had no weapon with him at the moment—not even a staff. He did not have the physical power or time to kill someone with his bare hands. There was no time for him to think; he rummaged through his pockets in search of anything he could use to kill the half-dead soul fragment in front of him.

[One second remains until death.]

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the bottle of alcohol and smashed it against the soul fragment’s head.

Kwachik!

[You have cleared the second trial!]

[You have received additional rewards for killing all 217 soul fragments.]

Reward: Purple Stone

Additional Reward: You may bring one item from your next trials back to reality.