A core that harbored magical power—the mana core.
The sight of the patterns slowly rotating around it was like a star.
Hundreds of kinds of magical patterns rotated, glowing faintly.
Beginning with the first ring, composed of the most basic patterns, positioned directly before the mana core.
As it moved on to the second and third, the number of patterns increased, and the ways they connected to one another grew more complex.
Accordingly, the number of patterns that could be combined increased rapidly, the power of the mana carried within the circle grew heavier, and its stability deepened.
And when, at last, the fifth ring was completed.
It truly became like a galaxy.
A cluster of stars filling the vast cosmos.
Hundreds of patterns, shining as they slowly rotated according to a fixed rule.
A sense of fullness that filled his entire body.
An omnipotent feeling, as though an immense amount of mana lay coiled within him, concealing its power, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Hio, who had surpassed an upper-rank mage and reached the realm of a magus, slowly opened his eyes.
The light that flashed in them for an instant was the profound mystery unique to a magus, as though countless stars were contained within.
The energy flowing faintly through his body, together with the power of fire transmitted from the Bracelet of the Flame Guardian, was proof that an enormous amount of mana—enough to reach the Fifth Circle—was now flowing stably through him.
- I shall have to record you as the monster who reached the Fifth Circle in the shortest time in history.
Only now could it be said that the dignity of a magus, one who stood on the verge of becoming a superhuman, flowed through him.
- How does it feel to become a magus?
Purnell’s main body grotesquely widened those enormous eyes of his as he grinned and asked. Hio looked over his own body and smiled in the same way.
“I feel like I can do anything.”
- Klklkl. It is only because you raised your realm so quickly. That is what a magus is. A human on the verge of becoming a superhuman. One granted the qualification to leave his name in history, rare even in Tetradia, where geniuses are as numerous as stars.
It was indeed a realm worthy of Purnell speaking so.
The number of patterns had doubled, and their methods of utilization had grown even more complex.
Had Purnell not previously made him perfectly understand and master every pattern before allowing him to engrave the next circle, he would likely have been blocked from this point onward and lost quite a long time.
Of course, for now, he had only just reached the realm of a magus in outward form.
He had deliberately not even read any of the true Fifth Circle magic tomes.
“How many days are left?”
- About thirty-six hours remain until the攻略 begins. In other words, you broke through the wall of the Fifth Circle in roughly five days.
“I feel like I could have shortened it a little more… What a shame.”
- Hah… For others, advancing a single circle takes several years at the very least. After reaching a mature Fourth Circle, it takes at minimum several months, and at maximum several years, to even set foot in the Fifth Circle. No, there are even those who despair, regarding the Fifth Circle as a realm of dreams. So you need to view that realm a little more objectively and experience the greatness of magic.
Purnell landed on Hio’s shoulder and offered his advice seriously.
Just as he said, Hio’s progress in magic up to the Fifth Circle had been so fast that even calling it instantaneous was insufficient.
From the Sixth Circle onward, he would likely be blocked, as it was a realm impossible to reach through mana alone, but what sort of realm was the Fifth Circle?
Was it not the realm of a magus, one respected by countless mages?
“Well… I did start off with skills like Blue Flame and Thunder Emperor from the beginning.”
Even so, what always formed the core of battle was ultimately skills.
There had been no magic capable of matching the immense offensive power of Thunder Emperor or Blue Flame, so magic had not been efficient.
- It will be different now. I shall show you the greatness of a magus.
Purnell smiled, confident that Hio’s perception would change, and pointed behind himself.
- You may choose the magic from certain special schools yourself. For now, these are the Fifth Circle magic tomes I believe you must learn.
Every book neatly stacked atop the desk was a Fifth Circle magic tome.
It was somewhat different from before, when Hio had chosen whatever magic tomes he wanted up to the Fourth Circle.
- In my opinion, you must learn at least this much. Only then can you be called a magus.
At Purnell’s firm words, Hio approached the desk and examined the titles of the magic tomes one by one.
〔Barrier〕
〔Explosion〕
〔Fire Pillar〕
〔Flare〕
〔Fire Wall〕
〔Ray of Frost〕
〔Ice Cannon〕
〔Gust of Wind〕
〔Wind Blade〕
〔Anti-Magic Field〕
……
There were more than ten magic tomes.
As Hio read through them one by one, he suddenly looked at Purnell as though puzzled and asked.
“There’s a lot of elemental magic. Especially fire-attribute?”
Until now, he had deliberately avoided elemental magic.
As mentioned earlier, if he was going to use magic, he could simply use Thunder Emperor and Blue Flame instead.
But more than half of the magic tomes Purnell had prepared were elemental magic tomes.
To Hio’s question, Purnell kindly answered.
- It is true that those two skills are powerful, but they have many drawbacks as well. First, do they not consume far too much mana?
Even though his total mana had become sufficient after reaching the Fifth Circle, there was no telling what might happen or when, so the more mana he conserved, the better.
- Fifth Circle magic has excellent killing power and wide range. You must use magic suited to the situation. Do you intend to get by with Blue Flame and Thunder Emperor every day?
“Since I’ve been relying on those two skills for both offense and evasion… I did need to supplement them.”
- Precisely! That is why your top-tier skill, Reaper Summoning, which is outstanding above all else, has been practically sealed away. If you summon the Reaper, you cannot use Blue Flame, Thunder Emperor, or Celestial. But if you learn all of these, you will be able to summon that Reaper, Kkingkking or whatever it was, without worry. These magics are that excellent.
“Kkingkking… It’s true there’s nothing quite like Kkingkking for dealing with Abyss monsters.”
The Abyss had reached the 52nd floor, entering the middle section.
From the middle section onward, it meant they would have to face large numbers of monsters no matter what.
Even in types where a single entity—that is, a powerful boss monster—had to be dealt with, it was basically assumed that they would first have to break through countless Abyss monsters.
In other words, it was the best possible place for a Reaper who governed death to run rampant.
Fifth Circle magic unleashed as though in a barrage, while receiving an endless supply of mana, life force, and the energy of death from the Reaper…
Once his thoughts reached that point, he began to understand what Purnell meant.
The question was whether this elemental magic would be powerful enough to meet Hio’s expectations.
- I guarantee its power. There is a reason elemental mages were the most numerous among mages. The fact that it became widespread means it has that many advantages. Moreover, do you not also possess the Bracelet of the Flame Guardian? I mean the treasure that increases the power and casting speed of fire-attribute magic.
Hio’s gaze turned toward his own wrist.
A bracelet emitting a faint red light.
The Bracelet of the Flame Guardian was a unique artifact he had obtained in the Gray Castle along with Kreutzwald’s Three Divine Artifacts.
It possessed the function of protecting its wearer on its own in times of danger, as well as strengthening fire-attribute magic, so he had always worn it, but it was an artifact he had never once used usefully.
In any case, Hio, having fully understood Purnell’s intent, nodded.
“…All right. I’ll try learning them all, just as you advised.”
- Hehehe. A wise decision. And that is not the end of it. Necromancy is essential, and as for magic from special schools, judge and choose for yourself.
“There’s way too much to learn…?”
- As a mage, it is a blessing. A blessing, I tell you.
More than ten elemental spells, basic magic, necromancy, and even magic from special schools.
He could not even begin to guess how much time it would take.
Of course, that did not mean he was dissatisfied.
After all, a smile of enjoyment had spread across Hio’s lips as well.
It was to the point that he regretted there were only thirty-six hours left until the攻略, and that time was too tight to properly learn even a single spell.
“Then let’s see… What should I learn first?”
Starting with Fire Pillar, which created a pillar of flame, and Barrier, the higher version of Shield.
As Hio skimmed through the books one by one, his gaze stopped on the final book.
“This is…”
〔Blink〕
Once again, he could not help but lament that there was so little time left.
* * *
The time had come.
The day the gate opened for the攻略 of the 52nd floor.
After the failure on the 51st floor, they had blocked all the gates, but one month was not enough time to recover from the damage.
Therefore, this攻略 absolutely had to succeed.
For damage would accumulate in this way, and cursed energy would build up, leading the world onto the path of destruction.
“According to what the advance party has determined, the 52nd floor is expected to be a Floor of Conquest.”
Entry into most gates was strictly forbidden.
Of course, it was impossible to perfectly control every gate, but had they not experienced the Abyss monsters that poured out from the previous gate?
Even if one had ten lives, no one would deliberately try to enter a gate.
“A Floor of Conquest… Something rather interesting has popped out.”
Thus, the expedition force攻略ing the 52nd floor was broadly divided into two groups.
The expedition force dispatched by the Empire, devoted to protecting the world from the Abyss.
And the expedition force of the Adventurers’ Guild, composed of possessors.
The two great powers each sent advance parties from different gates and identified the type.
The advantage in information lay with the expedition force led by Daphne, Sirbert, and Antipus.
Antipus had stepped down from his position as commander and left the imperial palace, and all the possessors who followed him had left with him.
The Empire, though aware of this, had allowed them all to depart.
Since they knew those people would move for the攻略 anyway, and also knew their true identities, there was no need to create friction.
As a result, the Adventurers’ Guild expedition force became a group composed entirely of possessors.
And the Imperial expedition force became a group composed solely of people from this world.
The Empire’s expedition force, which had no possessors, was naturally bound to lag behind in information regarding the攻略 of the Abyss, but it was not enough to become a major problem.
They had obtained a fair amount of information from Hio, and whatever was lacking would be resolved once he returned.
And even within the Empire, there were plenty of people of outstanding ability.
“It is an abnormally enormous castle. We were unable to enter because the walls seemed to reach all the way to the sky, but we believe攻略ing it will be the main objective.”
Unlike the possessor group, which had clearly concluded that it was a Floor of Conquest, they were a little behind in information.
“Walls of a castle high enough to touch the sky…”
But in terms of military force, they were far superior.
“How intriguing.”
Sword Saint Vitalianus.
The ten Royal Knights under his command.
The three main knight orders, excluding the First Knight Order that guarded the imperial palace.
A battalion-sized unit composed of skill users.
And.
“The Apostle of the Goddess has guided us.”
“Ah, Saint.”
Even the support of the high-ranking priests of the Church of Rifyue, who were capable of using divine power.
The greatest military force they could muster without requiring excessive supplies had all gathered.
That alone showed how important Sylvia Verden—the Empress of the Empire and the woman at the pinnacle of continental power—considered the Empire’s first攻略.
Therefore, it was only natural that the great Sword Saint had been appointed commander leading the expedition force.
“So, where is our Guardian Knight?”
The one who answered Vitalianus’s words was a high-ranking priest of Rifyue.
He was one of the dozen or so high-ranking priests who had willingly joined the expedition force through the Holy Kingdom’s voluntary cooperation.
“The Apostle said he would join us by the end of today at the latest.”
“He is not the Apostle, but the Empire’s Guardian Knight. In any case, then we can enter first and establish a formation.”
“…Yes. The Saint must surely wish for that as well.”
“He is not the Saint, but… the Empire’s Guardian Knight… Never mind.”
Just what had he done to be called things like Apostle and Saint by them?
Vitalianus shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze toward someone mixed in among the priests.
A figure with a hood pulled low.
He could not state it with certainty, but it was a being with some kind of subtle, mysterious aura.
From what he had heard, this person was said to be affiliated with the mages, but their exact relationship had not been revealed.
Vitalianus, having detected the distinctive trace of Hio Pavlenko from that being, asked.
“Are you the mage’s summoned beast?”
He already knew of Theordo, who had been revived as an undead.
A mysterious being that seemed human and yet not, and the traces of the mage felt from them.
So for Vitalianus, thinking that way was only natural.
But what returned was a completely unexpected, extremely beautiful voice.
“A summoned beast? I am not such an uncivilized being.”
And an exceedingly bold answer.
“This body is one that will marry Hio.”
Upon hearing that answer, the Sword Saint quickly spread out his senses and examined the surroundings.
Fortunately, Sylvia was not nearby.
That was truly fortunate.
“…I see. An unexpected relationship indeed. Well, that is for the mage to handle. At any rate, we shall now enter.”
Preparations for departure had already been completed.
The only one left was Hio Pavlenko.
But since it seemed he would be a little late, they intended to enter the gate first and adapt to that space called the Abyss.
It was a space entirely different from this place, one that absolutely required time to adapt.
“We enter!”
An elite force with not a single ordinary soldier among them.
The Empire’s hero, Sword Saint Vitalianus, personally led the first expedition force through the gate and into the Abyss’s 52nd floor.
“To the Abyss!”
What they faced first was a sky dyed red.
And the sight of imposing castle walls that reached all the way to the end of that sky.
At the same time, the possessor expedition force led by the three highest-ranked rankers had also entered through another gate and was witnessing a similar sight beneath the same sky.
“…We must conquer it quickly.”
It was the beginning of the full-scale攻略 of the 52nd floor.