The ATV carrying Soohyeok and Seriniel sped swiftly toward the Black Fang Mountains.
The desolate, shrubless expanse of the plain stretched endlessly, so vast and empty it felt almost surreal—but there was no risk of losing their way.
"Advance 17 kilometers from here. Then turn right and go straight for another 20 kilometers."
Human—or rather, elf—navigator Seriniel's precision was awe-inspiring.
With the information she had obtained through "The Shade" the previous day, she guided Soohyeok comfortably all the way to the Black Fang Mountains.
True to its nickname, "The Rat's Nest," swarms of rat-like monsters from the Trianon dimension attacked them intermittently along the way, but none posed a serious threat.
"Nome."
At her call, as Seriniel sat holding onto Soohyeok's collar, the earth suddenly rose up and swallowed a swarm of red-eyed rats in an instant.
Even the giant, over-one-meter-long poisonous monsters known as Acid Rats were no problem for her.
"Undine."
At another command, a boy made of glimmering blue water appeared in mid-air, transforming into a sharp spear of water that pierced an Acid Rat's skull.
"That's a spirit?"
When he first heard the name Nome, Soohyeok hadn't realized it.
But the boy who appeared at the name Undine, and the power he displayed, made it clear to Soohyeok: Seriniel was summoning elemental spirits.
Even when more monsters appeared afterward, Seriniel ensured Soohyeok's travel remained smooth and undisturbed.
Thanks to that, he was able to spot their destination from afar much sooner—and more comfortably—than he'd originally expected.
"So that's the Black Fang Mountains?"
The name suited it perfectly. The mountains were jet-black, devoid of any greenery, their jagged peaks rising sharply like horns. They looked exactly like the lower fangs of some beast—justifying their name.
"No more navigation needed from here," said Soohyeok.
Seriniel nodded silently, her eyes gleaming as she pointed toward a massive black bat diving down from the sky.
"Undine."
In response, the water spirit reappeared, splitting into dozens of icy spikes that tore through the bat's body and wings. The bat was reduced to a mangled heap and crashed lifelessly to the ground.
"Phew…"
Seriniel exhaled. As she opened her mouth again, Undine appeared by her side and dropped a bead of water into it.
Catching the moment out of the corner of his eye, Soohyeok couldn't suppress his admiration.
"Spirits are incredible."
"…Would you like some water?" Seriniel asked, her face turning slightly red for some reason.
Of course, Soohyeok gladly accepted, and the water spirit approached, letting a drop of water fall between his lips.
Suddenly, Soohyeok's eyes widened.
"Wait, this water…"
It wasn't ordinary water.
Could it be because it was created by a spirit?
It carried the unmistakable energy of nature.
Soohyeok hastily activated a simplified form of Geongon Hapil Divine Art, his inner energy cultivation technique.
Ideally, he would've sat in proper meditation, but driving meant he had no choice.
Ping!
Geongon Hapil Divine Art has been activated through ocular focus.
Physical purification complete.
Internal energy efficiency increased by 200%.
Then came an unexpected, delightful message.
Contrary to his assumption that he wouldn't be able to fully absorb the energy due to the simplified activation, the result exceeded expectations.
And it was a very welcome surprise.
"That's a whole year's worth of internal energy right there."
His face lit up at the unexpected windfall.
"Spirit water has the power to make anyone happy," Seriniel said, interpreting Soohyeok's expression in her own way.
"It really does. They're kind, adorable—spirits are amazing," Soohyeok said with a laugh, his gaze following the boyish figure of the flying spirit.
"…?!"
Seriniel's eyes widened in shock.
"You can see the spirit…?"
She spoke, bewildered—but before any answer could come—
BOOM!
From beneath the ground, a massive black rat burst upward, blocking the ATV's path.
SCREECH!
The ATV screeched to a halt with the smell of burning rubber.
"Nome…!"
Startled, Seriniel quickly summoned Nome again, surrounding the monster in a massive wall of stone.
CRACK.
The ATV skidded to a stop just in front of the stone wall. Soohyeok jumped out and narrowed his eyes coldly.
"Giant Rat."
Though similar in behavior to Earth's moles, this beast was over 3 meters tall—one of the largest monsters in the Trianon dimension.
And just like humans, in monsters too, size often meant power.
Indeed, the Giant Rat ranked among the top three most dangerous solo monsters in Trianon.
CRASH! KIEEEEK—!
It was no surprise when the Giant Rat smashed through Nome's massive earthen wall with a roar.
As Seriniel gritted her teeth and began extending her hand again—
"You damned rat bastard…!"
Soohyeok surged forward, leaving a trail of blue light, and threw a punch.
His energy gathered in a swirling vortex, his clothes fluttering with the force.
And then—an explosion.
BOOM!
Though it didn't manifest like the formal Hundred Steps Divine Fist technique, the concentrated energy distorted the air and launched forward like a sharpened blade.
A massive hole appeared in the Giant Rat's open mouth and blasted through its skull in an instant.
"You dare come after my 800 million?"
Soohyeok growled, his eyes blazing, panting with exertion.
Though he lacked the internal energy to perform Hundred Steps Divine Fist Technique at its peak, this improvised version—imbued with sharp, compressed ki—was powerful enough to satisfy him.
He had just delivered a perfectly satisfying retaliation against the one who dared target his 800-million-won ATV.
"A wind spirit? No… that can't be. That's impossible for a human."
Seriniel, startled by Soohyeok's display, murmured to herself with wide eyes, then shook her head.
"It's not a spirit or anything. I just forced the surrounding air together using my energy and launched it forward. On Earth, we usually call it something like jangpung (energy wave), and if you shoot it with your fist, the force concentrates even more."
Soohyeok casually waved his hand and gave a brief explanation.
But to Seriniel, who had learned a bit about jangpung through Shahar, this explanation didn't feel "brief" at all.
"He's talking about jangpung like it's no big deal…? And even unleashing it through a fist?"
The reason jangpung became more widely known than kwonpung (fist wind) was simple:
It was easier to strike a wide, flat area of air.
Even so, jangpung was still a difficult technique—and among the elves Seriniel knew, only a rare few warriors could execute it so effortlessly.
And striking with a fist rather than a palm? That required a whole different level of precision and strength.
"If it were Master… she could probably do it."
Shahar was one of the most powerful elves and also a master of wind spirits.
But aside from Seriniel and Shahar, no elf in her mind could perform a feat like Soohyeok just had.
Now she finally understood why her master had praised Soohyeok so highly.
She felt a shiver run through her whole body, goosebumps rising across her skin.
"And he's still growing? A human like this…?"
She couldn't even begin to imagine where his potential would lead.
Just then, Soohyeok—who had been looking at her with a faint, awkward smile—suddenly tensed, his expression hardening.
A surge of heat flared behind him.
"Undine!"
Startled, Seriniel swiftly summoned her water spirit.
A massive barrier of water rose, and Soohyeok's arm shot out, pulling her close around the waist.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the area, sending dust flying—but by then, Soohyeok had already leapt far from the blast with Seriniel in tow.
"Thank you."
Seriniel, who had realized the danger thanks to Soohyeok and escaped unharmed, offered her gratitude.
Then they both saw it—two SUVs racing toward them, engines roaring and dust trailing behind. A man leaning out of a window lit a small lighter with a flick.
Both of their gazes turned cold as ice.
"Do you know them?" Soohyeok asked.
"That's what I was about to ask you," Seriniel replied.
They shook their heads.
Neither of them knew these people.
But the hostility was obvious—and the enemies had attacked first.
There was no reason to show mercy.
A shared expression passed between them.
"The vehicle's been magically reinforced."
Seriniel clicked her tongue as the earth she had summoned with her spirit's help crumbled uselessly before the oncoming SUVs.
"So spirit magic is treated like a form of magic too?"
Either way, if her spirits' magic couldn't penetrate the vehicle, that meant it was made by skilled dwarves—and expensive.
Which also meant their enemies were well-funded, and likely powerful—Awakened Ones among the elite.
"Charging head-on into those vehicles isn't a great idea."
Power equals mass times acceleration.
Even with Soohyeok's martial arts, taking all that force solo wasn't ideal.
"Tch… if I were in a transcendent state, this would be easy."
He clicked his tongue again at the familiar frustration of still being short of that overwhelming level.
Still—that didn't mean there was no way.
Just an inconvenient one.
"It'd be easiest if they stepped out on their own…"
But judging by how fast they were coming, that wasn't going to happen.
In the end, a frontal breakthrough was the only option.
The word evasion had never existed in Soohyeok's vocabulary.
Holding on to a faint hope, he turned to Seriniel.
"Can you drive?"
"I have a dimensional vehicle license."
Wait, there's such a thing? he wondered briefly, then simply nodded.
"Then you're driving."
Without hesitation, Seriniel ran to the ATV and took the driver's seat.
VROOOM!
The ATV let out a deep, rumbling roar.
Her lips pressed into a straight line, her expression locked in steely resolve.
Soohyeok climbed onto the back and asked—
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]