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“…What did you just say?”
Levius narrowed his brow at the abrupt question.
Hanbit asked again with a composed expression.
“You’re curious about what kind of power it can produce, aren’t you? Wouldn’t breaking the tower’s barrier be sufficient?”
-?
-Why would you break it;
-He said to stir curiosity, and instead he’s going for lawsuit behavior……
-Act first, report later.
“…….”
Levius held silence and met his gaze.
A moment later, the faintest of smiles crossed his face.
“You’re saying you can destroy my barrier.”
“If you’re anxious about it, I won’t touch it.”
“No need for concern. My barrier won’t be broken.”
A subtle battle of nerves running through the back-and-forth exchange.
Levius held a fierce pride in his own work.
But his curiosity and drive to explore were just as great as that pride.
Shhk—
Just then, Nia, who had been watching the situation, quietly sidled over.
The girl leaned her head in and said in a small voice:
“Please change to a different method quickly. A barrier made by our director is something you absolutely cannot touch.”
“Absolutely?”
“Isn’t it obvious just looking at him? That look of someone who knows nothing but research! He wouldn’t have left even a single gap!”
Nia waved her hands and warned him strongly.
It was also a reaction rooted in her trust in the director’s ability.
Watching her, Hanbit smiled and said:
“You’re helping me?”
“Of course. Both Dad and the director think incredibly highly of you, adventurer? That means you’re someone with both great character and great skill. And helping protect Ifrit together on top of that…….”
Nia rattled off her reasons for helping one by one.
Such pure concern brought a smile naturally.
-So cute. Lol.
-Let’s listen to Nia.
-I agree.
-I support this.
“Anyway! You have to try a different method instead of the barrier. How about gathering magic materials or something? You’re an adventurer, so you must know about plenty of unusual things, right?”
“Right. It’s dangerous, so go stand near the director.”
“Hm? But the barrier really can’t be…….”
“Yes, yes.”
Hanbit pushed Nia’s back and sent her to a safe spot.
Watching that, Levius slowly moved his feet.
“You may begin. Please do not be discouraged if you fail.”
“Understood.”
He stood beside Nia with his expressionless look.
Surely filled with curiosity on the inside.
The girl was still behind them, jumping up and down with her arms crossed in an X.
‘Quite a feeling, seeing this again.’
The method to satisfy that blunt man’s curiosity.
It was truly not an easy thing — but the current Hanbit could manage it.
Because he possessed a power that man could never have anticipated.
Shhk—
Hanbit took a supply-grade staff from his inventory.
Raising it toward the sky, he focused his mind.
Whoosh—!
Saelion’s flames igniting along the surface of the wooden staff.
Using Elemental Manifestation on a supply-grade weapon like this was not ideal.
It would inevitably shatter, unable to withstand the power of the elemental king.
But this time, once was enough.
“……!”
Levius’s eyes went wide at the flame and heat that bloomed.
It was not magic.
Nor a magical device.
It felt like something more fundamental — a force that should not exist in this place.
“Phew.”
He could not preheat as much as he would like.
Even if unstable, he had to focus on releasing the power.
Whoosh—!
The flames growing steadily stronger had, before anyone noticed, fully enveloped the staff.
The surface already beginning to char and break apart.
Having waited until the very last moment, Hanbit raised the staff toward the sky.
“Fire Lance!”
Fwoom—!
The flame launched with the incantation transformed into the shape of a great spear.
And the moment its sharpened tip reached the transparent membrane—
Clang—!
With a sharp sound, an intense red shockwave burst.
Whoosh—!
“Ugh!”
“Whoa!”
Everyone reflexively lowered their stances at the scorching aftermath that swept over the rooftop.
Only two people remained upright, looking toward the sky.
“……!”
Levius looking upward with wide eyes.
At the end of his gaze, his own barrier, dyed in red flame, was spread out before him.
-Wow.
-Insane. Lol.
-Combining magic with Elemental Manifestation is broken;
-But did it actually break?
-The fire is still burning.
The blazing flames made it impossible to tell the barrier’s state.
But Levius already knew the result.
“At the wall, this was…….”
Words murmured without taking his eyes away.
It seemed he had been watching the first wave subjugation after all.
Nia was staring blankly at nothing but the sky.
Shhk—
The rippling flames gradually began to fade.
The center of the barrier revealed through them.
It was in a state of complete piercing, with a distorted crack running through it.
Crumble—
The supply-grade staff in Hanbit’s hand crumbled to ash.
It was nothing but gratitude that it had held out long enough for the magic to be released.
“…….”
Levius’s silence continued for a long while.
Hanbit knew well that his heart was racing.
Perhaps that sight connected to the dream he had been chasing.
His gaze fixed on the barrier, Levius murmured as though to himself:
“When did you begin using the power of a spirit?”
A question brought out in a voice carrying many emotions.
Hanbit too looked at the broken barrier as he spoke.
“Not very long ago. Just now, it was borrowed power from the traces of an elemental king.”
“…An elemental king? You mean Saelion?”
“Traces, nothing more. I came across them by chance.”
“Ha.”
The true nature of the power, far removed from what he had expected.
But recalling the beautiful flame, he had no choice but to nod.
Levius’s eyes took on a somewhat distant look as he continued with one more question.
“How does the power of a spirit compare to magic in terms of feeling?”
“Hmm. Unlike formalized magic, it’s… I can only describe it as the power of nature.”
“That’s right. They are nature itself. Carrying overwhelming power and beautiful terror within. Like that beautiful flame that just pierced my barrier.”
The remaining flames had, before anyone noticed, completely faded.
Levius, gazing distantly at the dying fire, reached inside his coat.
Then he drew out a thick book and held it out to Hanbit.
“It was deeply astonishing, and moving. Perhaps you might be the one to someday complete this magic.”
Ding—
[The quest has been completed.]
[You have obtained Levius’s Research Spellbook.]
[15 stat points are awarded.]
[Your experience points have increased by 200,000.]
[Your level has risen by 2.]
[2 stat points are awarded.]
Shhk—
He touched it and quickly turned the cover.
A hologram window with a gold border appeared.
[Will you use it? (Yes / No)]
Click—
The moment he touched ‘Yes,’ the hologram disappeared.
The message appeared right after.
[Hidden Skill: Elemental Amplification (Rank 4 — Epic) has been added.]
‘…Elemental Amplification?’
Hanbit focused on nothing but the skill’s name.
He quickly opened the skill list and expanded the contents.
[Elemental Amplification]
Rank: 4
Grade: Epic
Type: Active
Description: An unfinished magic conceived by Levius in his longing for the power of spirits.
Consuming a large amount of mana in a single burst, it instantly elevates the performance of all techniques imbued with elemental power.
Meeting an outstanding researcher may allow for the advancement of this magic’s study.
-Hidden skill vending machine is insane;
-Magic strengthening.
-Since it’s elemental, doesn’t it work for spirits too?
-Probably not for spirits?
-How dare a human;
-Turning it off makes it nothing?
-And it needs to be researched on top of that?
-Unfinished means it can grow……
The viewers poured out all manner of opinions at the new skill content.
Avantgarde, standing beside him, eyes shining with radiance, whispered:
“There have been more than a few NPCs who longed for spirits. I never noticed a thing about Levius… but at this level, he was more sincere about it than anyone. The element of researching magic is truly groundbreaking. And the spellbook is even still intact.”
His string of analysis trailed off as his gaze fixed on the book in Hanbit’s hand.
A spellbook that should normally have disappeared the moment the magic was learned.
It remained in place, making itself known with unmistakable presence.
“You’re telling me an unfinished magic? Teaching it to me?”
Hanbit asked a question he was genuinely curious about.
Levius was someone who enjoyed trial and error, but not someone who would make his incomplete research public.
He had always thought that was surely why he had never heard about this magic in the past.
“This is not research for the sake of my own achievement. I simply wish for this magic to be completed someday.”
“…You’re entrusting that to me?”
“Someone of the caliber to use an elemental king’s power has more than sufficient possibility. Reading the contents will help you understand a little better.”
He gestured with his hand, suggesting he turn the pages.
Hanbit lowered his gaze and moved his hand to open the first page.
⟨This magical research began from a memory I have of being eight years old. The sight of the fire spirit incinerating an entire horde of monsters……⟩
The content began with a record listing events of the past.
This was something he knew far too well, having heard it directly from Levius.
An honest account of receiving help from a spirit in a moment of crisis.
⟨Imitating a spirit’s magic is an impossibility. And so I endeavored to interpret the natural elements manifested within magic. That led to the analysis of atmospheric mana……⟩
The pages that followed were a research journal.
An endless record of every manner of trial and error and effort.
The passion packed tightly through repeated failure upon failure had not wavered in the slightest.
‘It really is different.’
What Levius had been trying to accomplish was something fully understandable.
Various attempts to mimic the power of spirits had genuinely been made by many mages.
But having constructed such concrete theoretical frameworks was quite shocking.
Flip—
Hanbit quickly scanned through the contents.
Detailed interpretation would be needed for actual research, but right now a general grasp was more important.
Looking at him, a slight tension had settled in Levius’s expression.
Thud—
Having confirmed through to the final page in no time, Hanbit closed the book.
“I understand the general flow. Your interpretation of spirits is almost entirely accurate.”
“…You understood it?”
Those words made Levius’s eyes go wide.
Hanbit gave a nod and answered.
“Being someone who borrows a spirit’s power, much of it resonated. Did you arrive at all of this theory on your own?”
“I referenced materials left behind secretly by the Sage. They became the foundation of my research.”
An answer returning with the smooth calm of flowing water.
But Hanbit asked back in a puzzled voice.
“The Sage left behind materials secretly?”
