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It was dawn. The sky was still dark, but the faint light was gradually increasing as the night shifted toward daybreak.

The port city, with no obstacles like mountains blocking the horizon, welcomed the dawn even faster. A ship slowly entered the harbor, guided by the lighthouse’s glow in the dim morning light. The ship was preparing to dock at the pier.

“Hey, the ship’s coming in!”

“Over there, hurry up and clear the way! You’re blocking the docking area!”

The pier was bustling with dockworkers who had come to help with the ship’s docking and unload the cargo. The sailors and passengers on the ship, watching the lively scene, couldn’t help but smile faintly.

The journey from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea had been long, with nothing but waves and the horizon in sight. It was only natural that they were starting to miss the sight of people.

Moreover, the route from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea was often tense due to drifting icebergs. There was no reason not to welcome the chance to set foot on land.

“Alright, let’s dock and get off. I could use a cold beer after all this time.”

“I can’t wait to step on solid ground. After days on this rocking ship, my sense of balance feels off.”

Though everyone’s words were different, the sentiment was the same: they wanted to get off the ship as soon as possible.

With a creak and a thud, the ship finally docked at the pier, and the sailors were about to lower the gangplank.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in the ears of all the passengers and crew.

“Wait. It’s not time to disembark yet.”

The voice seemed to come from all directions at once, as if someone were whispering right into their ears. The strange voice, which defied any sense of direction or distance, left everyone confused and looking around in bewilderment.

“Hey, did you just say that?”

“What? Are your ears rotten? That was clearly a woman’s voice. Do you not see this glorious beard of mine?”

As people looked around in confusion, Karl, Brantley, Conra, and Maria began checking their weapons and preparing for battle. They knew the source of the voice.

Hearing the warning, they realized something was off about the pier and began to cautiously raise their guard, scanning the area outside the pier.

As the crowd’s unease grew, a brilliant light suddenly illuminated the pier.

At the source of the light stood a figure. A nun knight, surrounded by a golden and jade halo. Who else could it be but Sophia?

Sophia, looking around with a smirk, finally spoke.

“What a crude illusion.”

Before her words even finished, as soon as Sophia stepped onto the pier, a burst of light swept across the area. In the next moment, people couldn’t believe their eyes.

“What?”

“Whoa, the people just turned into monsters!”

“Don’t lower the gangplank! Not yet!”

It felt like the sound of glass shattering.

The dockworkers, who had gathered at the pier at dawn, transformed the moment the light from Sophia touched them.

{Grrr, Gyaaak!}

{Krrrk, Krrrk!}

Monsters. Demons, demon worshippers, witches. The cursed creatures that always followed these three types. The dockworkers, who had been disguised by the illusion, were actually monsters that had gathered to attack the ship’s crew and passengers.

Realizing this, the crew and passengers broke out in a cold sweat. If the voice hadn’t stopped them from disembarking, and if they hadn’t seen the illusion break before their eyes, they would have been in serious trouble.

The scenery of the pier and the city was no different. Unlike the illusion of a peaceful dawn, the reality revealed after the illusion broke was horrifyingly distorted.

It would have been better if it had just been broken and shattered.

It would have been better if it had been burned and charred, at least then they could have mourned without being shocked or angry.

But those who saw the true state of the port and the city beyond couldn’t help but gasp and clench their fists.

The ground and buildings had transformed into a texture resembling animal skin, with something like blood vessels writhing beneath. Hideous pustules hung everywhere. The man-made structures, which should have been made of stone and brick, were twisted and distorted in a way that was far from pleasant to look at.

Seeing the familiar scene, Karl Hector Meyer and Brantley Somz frowned.

“Is it him?”

“I don’t know. These demons leave such messy traces of their magic that it’s hard to tell.”

Seeing a scene similar to what they had witnessed in Vienna, Karl asked, but Brantley shook his head, cautioning against jumping to conclusions. He tried to analyze the magical traces left by the demons, but it was no easy task to decipher the spells of demons, whose magic systems were fundamentally different from those of human spellcasters.

Regardless, they couldn’t just stand by while monsters swarmed.

While Sophia’s halo pushed back the monsters and began to restore the city’s appearance, a group of people began to emerge from the docked ship.

At the forefront were the four who had been preparing for battle. Karl, Brantley, Conra, and Maria rushed out, striking at the disoriented monsters exposed to Sophia’s light, followed by others who began to join the fray.

“Hahaha, Valhalla! Our ancestors await us there!”

“Damn it, you bastards, what have you done to the city!”

The northerners, returning home after a long time, those who had boarded the ship for fur trade, adventure, or to visit acquaintances, began to emerge. Some had been hired as escorts to assess the city’s situation, while others threw themselves into the fight against the monsters.

If the four at the forefront were the spearhead, those who followed were the reinforcements. In an instant, guided by Brantley Somz’s direction, they felt a wave-like energy bolstering their strength.

In that moment, Conra, realizing what was happening, smiled faintly and immediately pushed off the ground, diving deeper into the gaps between the monsters.

With the flexibility of his spear and the precision of his sword, Conra moved effortlessly through the battlefield, his strikes growing more powerful as he tapped into the energy of the battlefield.

Monsters fell without even a chance to scream. As the front lines crumbled, Karl, Brantley, and Maria pressed forward.

“……!!!”

The young swordsman’s eyes widened as the countless sword techniques he had mastered began to unfold like tentacles, sweeping through the battlefield. His mind moved, and the sword techniques followed, cutting through everything in their path.

The results were inevitable. The blade cut through arteries and tendons, or pierced vital points, leaving gaping wounds.

Even if the demons were immortal, they would have been shaken by such techniques. But the lesser monsters, mere byproducts, had no such protection. Karl’s sword danced effortlessly through the space between the monsters.

First, the intangible sword techniques passed through the monsters, followed by the physical strikes that left at least three monsters falling to the ground with each movement.

Following Karl, who seamlessly linked countless sword techniques, was Brantley Somz, holding a black obsidian wooden sword in his right hand and rune stones between the fingers of his left.

Wielding the obsidian sword like a conductor’s baton, Brantley recited an ancient northern epic in a cheerful, unstrained voice. Suddenly, with a single incantation, he scattered the rune stones he held.

“ᛞ(Dagaz-noon), ᛊ(Sowilo-sun)!”

The rune stones, no larger than marbles, swelled dramatically upon hitting the ground, transforming into knee-high steles engraved with runes that blocked each direction. Soon, a strange energy began to flow between the steles, merging with the flow of the army Brantley led, creating an even more complex pattern.

The flow of energy in a formation typically originates from the collective will of the army. The task of a formation master is to refine and control this dynamic, living will in real-time.

Thus, renowned commanders throughout history have mastered the art of controlling the army’s will through rigorous training or their innate charisma and strategic insight. The former stabilizes the army’s will through strict discipline, while the latter drives it in a single direction with the fervor of battle.

Of course, Brantley, being a spellcaster, approached this in a completely different way.

Brantley Somz had no particular charisma to command an army, nor had he formally studied military strategy. He didn’t have soldiers to train over time, and even if he did, they weren’t here now.

So, he chose a simple method.

“ሯሙሤቝሚ, መሡሙጫ…….”

The incessant murmuring from his lips, like the chirping of crickets, carried no particular meaning. He was simply combining countless syllables of spells in real-time to adapt to the changing flow of energy.

If manipulating the flow of spell energy through the collective will of an army is called a military formation, then rearranging the natural flow of spell energy, particularly through the energy of stones, is called a stone formation.

Using inanimate stones as a medium, the flow of energy in a stone formation is inherently stable and static. Unlike a military formation, which can lose its power with the slightest disturbance in the army’s will, a stone formation specializes in maintaining and enforcing its unique energy and phenomena, though it lacks explosive destructive power.

The rune formation Brantley was now deploying was a variation of such a stone formation. The rune-engraved steles, each possessing their own spell power, interconnected to paint the entire space with a mysterious rune magic.

Combined with the flow of the army Brantley led, the possibilities were endless!

In an instant, those who entered Brantley’s rune formation felt the world around them change. Their vision expanded while their focus sharpened, and the sounds they heard became more distinct. Their perception and reaction speeds increased, and even in the chaos, they could clearly discern what they needed to do.

Such soldiers are called elite troops. At this moment, the untrained and uncoordinated individuals were temporarily moving like elite soldiers, thanks to the strange spell’s effects.

At this point, Brantley finally stopped his meaningless murmuring and began to showcase his true skill.

Wielding the obsidian sword like a conductor’s baton, Brantley sang.

“The dwarf brought gold from the wilderness! The hero of the sun fiercely swung his sword, slaying the dragon there! Hero of the sun, you swore with your sword to banish evil forever!”

In response to the skald’s resonant and melodious voice, the rune steles and the obsidian sword resonated, emitting a crimson sunlight. The effect was dramatic.

{Squeakrowl-whoo―!!!}

{ieKsyyaaa――gagak!!!}

The space itself rejected and resisted them. Moreover, an overwhelmingly pure energy suppressed the corrupt energy of the monsters. The bodies of the monsters touched by the sunlight burst into flames like dry kindling, crackling and spitting sparks as they burned fiercely.

Unable to move easily under the pressure of the space, and with their energy suppressed, making every action difficult, the monsters now had to deal with being set on fire.

The monsters rolled on the ground, thrashing to extinguish the flames, but this was no ordinary fire. It was a purifying flame that fed on the corrupt energy, growing stronger until it consumed the last trace of impurity.

Amid the crumbling monsters, a figure darted through the gaps, leaving a fleeting trace.

A young girl, unarmored and clad in simple cloth, moved boldly against the monsters’ rusty blades and sharp claws. It was none other than Maria.

Like a snake slithering through the grass or a cat navigating narrow crevices, Maria’s movements were incredibly fluid and graceful.

Despite the danger of the chaotic battle, she weaved through the enemy’s ranks, creating openings with her agile movements. There was even an aesthetic quality to her actions.

Maria’s mastery of the Sphere Exercises had reached a level where her control and execution of combat techniques were unparalleled. The transitions between footwork and hand techniques were as swift as lightning, yet her movements remained flawless.

With each step, Maria’s movements combined lightness and stability, her upper body turning freely without a hint of sway. Her steps moved east while her gaze and focus shifted north or south, showcasing another aspect of the Sphere Exercises’ versatility.

In the blink of an eye, Maria’s highly refined combat sense and the Sphere Exercises’ principles allowed her to unleash the full potential of her techniques, amplifying their power beyond their usual limits.

Her previous experience at Strabenher, where she had pushed her limits against a demon, still influenced her now.

However, up to this point, it was merely an improvement in Maria’s own skills, with no fundamental change from before.

But now, there was a distinctly different element in Maria’s fighting style.

“Shuuuu―――――――.”

As Maria regulated her breathing in a peculiar way, a series of movements twisted, bent, and threw the monsters around her, accompanied by flashes of white light.

“Huuuu―――――――.”

The white light, which had been flickering, stopped abruptly as Maria’s breathing changed, traveling up from her heels through her thighs, back, and shoulders.

The light’s destination was none other than the palm of Maria’s left hand.

Originally, striking with the left hand while turning the upper body to the right was highly inefficient and unstable in combat. The turning motion inevitably lengthened the attack’s trajectory, making it difficult to use both hands freely.

However, if that single strike could decisively end an enemy’s life, the story changed.

The martial arts Sophia had taught Maria included the Eight Extremes Fist, the Whip and Hook Palm, and the Eight Trigrams Palm.

The Eight Extremes Fist focused on mastering the explosive force of the “Chong Chu” technique, delivering powerful strikes with the full weight of the body and the ground’s rebound. Practitioners of this style often believed that if a single strike didn’t land effectively, there was no second chance.

This technique resembled spear techniques, where the opponent’s attacks were either suppressed or deflected while simultaneously closing the distance to deliver a concentrated thrust.

The Whip and Hook Palm involved using the body like a whip to strike the enemy from above or below. This was used to deliver a series of strikes from a distance, requiring flexibility and footwork to maintain distance and avoid giving the opponent an opening.

The basic technique, the Wind Wheel Strike, combined downward and upward strikes, while footwork like “Continuous Steps” and “Linked Changes” kept the opponent at bay, a unique style in Chinese martial arts.

The Eight Trigrams Palm was one of the pillars of the Sphere Exercises Sophia had taught her disciples. Practicing the “Walking the Circle” training method of the Eight Trigrams Palm allowed one to maintain balance even when the upper body turned perpendicular to the direction of movement, a crucial skill for maintaining stability during complex movements.

At this moment, Maria’s single strike reflected the power of the Eight Extremes Fist, the flexibility of the Whip and Hook Palm, and the balance of the Eight Trigrams Palm. Her upper body turned to the right, using her left hand to deflect the monster’s attack, while her left palm strike carried the force of a rising dragon, smashing into the monster.

Crack!

Maria’s left hand shattered the monster’s vital point, and a pale light flickered from her palm. Without losing momentum, she took two steps and followed up with an elbow strike from her right arm.

The light sometimes flashed with Maria’s movements, sometimes amplifying her strikes, and at other times adding magical damage to attacks that required it.

Watching Maria skillfully wield the light, Conra nodded in relief.

‘My junior is using the wisp quite well. It seems her training hasn’t been in vain.’

The light that flickered with Maria’s movements was none other than the Will-o’-Wisp.

Refined by the alchemist Kaliastra and the druid Setanta, the Will-o’-Wisp was an artificial spirit, almost like a product of alchemy. Unlike when summoned independently, it now resided within Maria’s body, enhancing her movements and amplifying her techniques at crucial moments.

Maria’s fundamental weakness was her lack of internal energy or ethereal muscles, making it difficult to generate the necessary force for combat. The Will-o’-Wisp, residing within her, perfectly compensated for this weakness.

“Yah, this isn’t the time to get distracted.”

Taking advantage of Conra’s momentary pause, a monster lunged from behind, only to have its core sliced through by a swift sword strike before it even realized what had happened.

With a casual gesture, Conra dispatched the monster and resumed his movements, spear and sword at the ready.

‘He’s truly become a monster now.’

Glancing at Conra’s renewed onslaught, Karl forced a bitter smile.

When they had first sparred, Karl had clearly been the superior fighter. Back then, Conra had shown genius-level talent and skill, but he was still inexperienced, like a fledgling.

Even after some time had passed, with Conra gaining experience and training, Karl himself hadn’t been idle. Logically, Conra shouldn’t have caught up to him, or if he had, the gap shouldn’t have been significant.

‘But reality is harsh.’

Watching Conra’s bizarre, almost physics-defying movements, Karl sighed. If Hildegard had been here, she would have said Conra’s movements resembled the Heart Sword technique Sophia had used to slay the dragon in Arden.

But what impressed Karl wasn’t just the seemingly result-only, process-skipping movements. What made Karl feel a sense of urgency, almost envy, was something else entirely.

Unlike Karl’s meticulously controlled movements, Conra’s were filled with an overwhelming sense of ease. If one didn’t know better, it looked like he was simply taking a leisurely stroll through a garden.

Yet, with each casual step, each seemingly careless thrust of his spear or swing of his sword, Conra’s strikes inevitably found the vital points of the monsters.

Not fast, not heavy, not clean or sharp, and not precise in posture. Yet, no matter how ferocious or bizarre the monsters’ attacks were, they couldn’t touch Conra, and no matter how swift or agile the monsters were, they couldn’t evade his seemingly half-hearted strikes.

Under such circumstances, it was only natural for Karl to think this way.

‘It’s as if he’s moving while seeing the future.’

Of course, Conra hadn’t acquired any future-seeing abilities. What was happening was simply the result of Conra’s “reading” ability reaching a new level.

Conra’s previous secret technique, Ge-Bolg Vein, involved opening his senses as a warrior, druid, and alchemist simultaneously, then sealing two to maximize the remaining one.

Naturally, controlling and coordinating these senses required a somewhat cumbersome process. The senses that sought the essence of matter, resonated spiritually, and accumulated combat experience all functioned under different algorithms.

But after reaching the level of the Heart-Generating Qi Method, things changed.

There was no longer a need for the tedious process of controlling the senses. The senses were now controlled in real-time, effortlessly and naturally, guided by the flow of true energy following the unified will.

This waste-free, concise, and natural sense control was inevitably reflected in Conra’s movements and combat

 

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