A mystical phenomenon was happening in a certain area of the Mirror World. Red flames were blazing on one side, while a blue lake was bubbling on the other. A rocky zone was beside it, and small hurricanes were generated across from it. From above, it was as if the area was divided into fire, water, earth, and wind, resembling a pinwheel. This was the Spirit Land, hidden deep inside Forestis.

An entity covered in white flames appeared from the fiery zone. He was a beastly man with hair fluttering like a lion’s mane made of fire.

“You look terrible, Ellaim. Kehe! So much for being a spirit monarch,” he said.

“Shut... up... Sallion...” a voice sounded from the bubbling lake.

A woman in an archaic blue dress and a tiara surged from the lake. She was Ellaim, the water spirit monarch, who had engaged with Insectum, the Insect King. Her usual pale blue complexion looked even paler than normal.

“Nothing would have changed... even if you were there...” she continued.

“Kekek! Big words for someone who was almost annihilated. I’m sure you want to act like a queen until the day you die, but... get it together. This isn’t Animismus. Our home dimension is done for,” Sallion remarked.

“Son of a...” Ellaim mumbled with a frown.

Just then, a voice sounded from the rocky zone, “Both of you, stop. It is not the time for us to bicker with one another.”

A wrinkly, hunchbacked old man with a cane sprouted from under the rocks.

“Gnoass is right. We should be thinking about how to stop Insectum’s advance,” agreed a woman who walked out from the hurricanes.

She wore light blue full-body armor, and a spear longer than herself was on her back. She took off her helmet, revealing light blue, smooth, silky hair that fluttered in the wind.

“Oh, it has been a while, Sylphid, my other half,” Sallion said.

“You’d better stop with the nonsense before I skewer you with this spear, Sallion,” Sylphid replied.

“Aha! It would only fan my flames. We’re made for each other.”

Gnoass shook his head and said, “Enough chat. Four spirit monarchs have gathered at last. The situation is urgent.”

The spirit monarchs had gathered in the Spirit Land. Sallion was the fire spirit monarch, Ellaim was the water spirit monarch, Gnoass was the earth spirit monarch, and Sylphid was the wind spirit monarch. They were the monarchs of the four elements most well-known throughout the Mirror World.

Gnoass turned to Ellaim and asked, “How did Insectum look to you?”

“He... wasn’t in the right state of mind. He destroyed and killed everything he saw, only thinking about advancing. Words won’t go through to him,” Ellaim answered.

Gnoass frowned, wrinkling his wrinkly face even more. He remarked, “He is traveling in a straight line, and is headed for—”

“Here, the Spirit Land,” Sylphid finished Gnoass’s sentence.

Sallion retorted, “You can’t be sure of that. Sefirot, the World Tree, lies deeper inside. He might be aiming for the tree.”

“Are you suggesting that Insectum is aiming to clear the Lumber the World Tree quest?”

“He could be, right?”

Gnoass shook his head and said, “Even if his true objective is the World Tree, it doesn’t change anything. Either way, he will pass through the Spirit Land.”

The other spirit monarchs remained silent.

Gnoass continued, “You don’t expect him to just pass through after discovering that, do you?”

He pointed at the center of the Spirit Land, and the others turned in that direction. It was where the four elements were in contact with one another. A small altar stood at the center, and on top of the altar was a jewel that looked as if its four corners were bitten off.

“Are you saying... He’s after the Spirit Stone?” Sallion said as he exuded fiery flames.

Gnoass replied, “There is no reason why he wouldn’t. Although incomplete, it is still something people would covet. A void curse is applied to it, just to be safe, but against Insectum...”

“That’s impossible. Only the four of us know that the Spirit Stone is here. Are you saying there is a traitor among us?” Sylphid said as she looked at each spirit monarch one by one.

Gnoass denied, “That is not what I mean. This world is filled with various skills that do not exist in Animismus. Even the Spirit Stone could have been detected by one of them.”

The three other spirit monarchs remained silent, their expressions solemn.

Sylphid stared at the altar and mumbled, “We can’t afford to let that be taken. It was moulded by the sacrifices of Archane, Shinea, Dryad, Freinture, Rore, Elifea, Esimed, Lioner... and so many of our comrades.” Hurricanes were generated from her body as she continued, “Insectum... I will kill him right now!”

“Calm down, Sylphid. You will only be defeated like Ellaim if you face him by yourself,” Gnoass said.

Ellaim frowned but did not refute it.

“Then, we will face him together!”

“Our opponent is Insectum, the Insect King. He is one of the few entities in the Mirror World who has reached the peak. He may be at the bottom, but he is still one of the Ten Lords and Fiends. You all know how powerful those monsters are. We are no match for him, even together.”

“What if we ask the elves for help? We have a mutual agreement with them, don’t we?” Ellaim suggested.

Sallion laughed, “Hah! The armies of Echion, Orbis, and Necrophilia are gathered outside Forestis right now. They have no leeway to help us.”

“And even if they did, they wouldn’t help us. They may call it a mutual agreement, but all they’ve done is exploit us,” Gnoass said, his voice filled with distrust.

The spirits maintained a cooperative relationship with the elves since they were nearby, but they had never once truly received help from them.

Sylphid said in frustration, “Then... Is there no other way? Are we unable to stop him by ourselves?”

Sallion hesitantly mentioned, “There is one way. We could give rise to Elementum.”

A deathly silence filled the Spirit Land; it was as if time had stopped for a few seconds.

Ellaim broke the silence, glaring furiously at Sallion. “You’re insane, Sallion. We would have done so long ago if that were possible. If we fail... the spirits will be eradicated.”

Sallion shrugged and replied, “Then what do you suggest? Let Insectum raze the Spirit Land and take the Spirit Stone? That will also lead to our eradication. It’s a matter of whether it’s sooner or later.”

“I agree. Let’s give rise to Elementum,” Sylphid said.

“Sylphid!” Ellaim shouted.

Sylphid put her helmet back on and continued, “Even Archane and Shinea, who recently sacrificed themselves, implored us to give rise to Elementum, and entrusted the future of the spirits to us.”

“Even so, it’s not possible yet!”

“Then when will it be? After the spirits have been eradicated?”

Ellaim gritted her teeth.

Sallion, who had been listening to their argument in silence, said, “I have been in contact with the fairies. Although contact has been thin because the Vindicta Resistance has recently become reclusive, if we can get their cooperation...”

Gnoass said, “It will raise our chances of success. Huuu, it would have been much easier with the Fairy Queen.”

“Even you, Gnoass?! All of you... Get it together! What the hell are you all thinking?!” Ellaim shouted hastily once she saw even Gnoass agreeing with Sallion.

Sallion grimaced and shouted, “You’re the one who needs to get a grip, Ellaim! We are not absolute beings like we were in Animismus. We are small and weak in the Mirror World! We must do whatever it takes to survive in this place! Or, what? You’re not going to tell me you’ve gotten scared after how far we’ve come, are you?”

“U-urgh...” Ellaim clenched her dress and shook from the humiliation. She wanted to refute it, but couldn’t find the words.

I... I know, too! I know that Elementum is the only way for us to survive! But... Why don’t they understand that it’s also a farewell with everyone... and the beginning of eternal solitude?

Ellaim remained silent in agony for a while, then agreed quietly, “If you want to die so badly... Do as you like.”

***

“What a fascinating disguise.”

“Oh, I suppose it wasn’t good enough to fool a Sefirah’s Veritas Oculus,” Kang-San said as he removed the Myriad Cheoyong Mask, revealing a human man with black hair and resolute eyes.

The man staring at Kang-San was a male elf with mystical, pale skin with a golden sheen.

“You’re not angry, are you, Hod?” Kang-San asked.

“Of course not. Congratulations on your promotion to eighty-eighth in the world ranking, Tortoise Emperor.”

“Thank you.”

Kang-San smiled as he glanced at the male elf before him. He had been on standby in Qetseb for days to meet the leader of Viridis.

“That aside, what a surprise. To think the leader of Viridis... was a Sefirah. I thought your ten bloodlines were banded together.”

The man before Kang-San was the lord of Hod, one of the ten ultimate bloodlines of Sefirot.

Hod smiled dryly and replied, “The treatment of our bloodline has not been what it used to be after the former Hod’s quarrel with Keter, the Fifth Lord, and his exit from Elvenheim.”

“The former Hod... You’re referring to the current Seventh Fiend, Lapsus, the Fallen Tree.”

“Correct. He was a genius on par with Keter, but the former Hod... was ashamed of being born with the thickest blood of the high elves.”

Kang-San scoffed and remarked, “How high and mighty of him. Ashamed of the enormous privilege of being born with superior caliber? Sounds like hypocrisy to me.”

“I suppose you have the right to say that... as a monstrous human, born with inferior caliber, who rose to become a World Ranker.”

I truly wonder whether you are a human, Hod said inwardly, shaking his head.

Lee Kang-San, the Tortoise Emperor, took the Mirror World by storm by becoming a World Ranker after only a decade. His growth was unprecedented.

Kang-San smirked and thought, If I’m a monster, what is Cheon Seong-Hwi?

Seong-Hwi, a junior who came out of nowhere, was already of superior caliber despite not being a Chaos Human. He had grown strong enough to be on par with High Rankers without anyone’s help. Not only that, but he was still developing; Kang-San was sure Seong-Hwi would be even stronger compared to when he last saw him.

However, Seong-Hwi’s unprecedented growth speed was not the most surprising part about him. His keen eyes could predict the path of the future and steer humanity to a course that would benefit it. Kang-San was only here because he had decided to go along with Seong-Hwi’s plan.

“So... What is it you want?” Hod asked.

“Could you arrange a meeting with Keter?”

“With... Keter?” Hod frowned and continued, “Keter is in a place higher than Peri. We call it Cherec, or the sun.”

“Can you get there?” Kang-San asked.

Hod shook his head. “As a Sefirah, I can access Peri, but it is impossible to enter Cherec without Keter’s summon. The last one who entered it was Volkanu, a consul of the Sēmen.”

“But you could at least make a request, can’t you? I would appreciate it if you passed on that the Tortoise Emperor wishes to negotiate.”

“Negotiate?” Hod asked, then looked behind Kang-San, where Radix was standing.

Radix said, “Kang-San claims he knows how to stop the World Tree’s rampage.”

Hod’s eyes widened. Sefirot was currently in wartime because of the armies surrounding Forestis. A fierce war would soon break out, and countless elves would be sacrificed. However, they couldn’t avoid the battle since it was to protect their mother, the World Tree.

But he claims he can stop the World Tree’s rampage?

“Is that... true?” Hod asked.

Kang-San nodded confidently and replied, “Of course.”

He thought, He should’ve succeeded by now, right? I won’t forgive you if you’ve failed.

***

“Achoo! Argh!”

“Oh, and you have a cold now? You’re really something else, aren’t you?”

Jurie clicked her tongue as she stared at Seong-Hwi, covered in bandages. Seong-Hwi felt his wound reopening with the sneeze.

“Urgh... I feel horrible,” Seong-Hwi remarked.

“Of course, you do! You came back practically as a rag!” Jurie shouted in frustration.

“It was an S-rank dungeon quest. It could’ve been much worse.”

Seong-Hwi recalled the examination of his condition after the battle. His external injuries were bad enough as they were, but the real issue was his internal injuries.

The power of vibrations... Quake Force, was it? What a wicked power. I wonder if I could learn it, too?

Seong-Hwi thought about the Seismic Force, which he could now use thanks to Tellus.

I should give it a try after fully recovering. That aside... Where should I invest my Karma?

A thirteenth wing was not the only thing he gained in the dungeon. He had earned three hundred million Karma after clearing the Adaptation quest, and he awakened Bulgasal by investing most of that Karma into the Steel Rice Grain. Once the battle was over, Bulgasal dashed to him and trumpeted in delight. He was currently asleep in Seong-Hwi’s hoodie pocket with just his trunk sticking out.

Is he digesting? Seong-Hwi wondered, recalling that Bulgasal had devoured the Iron Vein Seal.

He glanced at his hoodie pocket and went back to wondering how to distribute his Karma. He had earned much more Karma besides what he made through the Adaptation quest.

He earned more than a hundred million Karma by defeating the boss Chaos monster, fifty million from clearing Tellus’s Request, and a hundred million plus four A-rank stat cubes from clearing Rest to Subterra. That was not all. He had also earned ten more A-rank stat cubes from the dungeon closing reward. In terms of Karma, they were worth a hundred million altogether.

With this, I can restore my stats, which went down after my caliber was heightened, and even upgrade one stat to S-rank!

He would become a Double-S, the same as his stats in his past life.

And the biggest accomplishment of all...

“How is it, Lina?” Seong-Hwi asked Lina, sitting on the couch across from him, her eyes glued to the eyepiece of her Microscope of Truth. The Earthquake Stone fragment was placed on the microscope’s stage.

“Crazy... This is crazy! Albeit a fragment... It’s still a Race Stone. A Race Stone, I say! Come on and reveal your secrets to me, you cutie!” Lina mumbled crazily as she manipulated the microscope.

Jurie shook her head and said, “She won’t hear a word you say right now. You’ll have to wait.”

“In that case, let us talk, Seong-Hwi,” said Remy, who had been listening to their conversation in silence. “Is that small fragment the negotiation item you’ve mentioned?”

“It is.”

“Hmm...” Remy expressed skepticism as he stared at the Earthquake Stone fragment on the microscope stage.

Seong-Hwi understood how Remy felt.

I would’ve also been unsure if it wasn’t for my past life knowledge.

No one would think that tiny fragment would be the key to stopping the World Tree’s rampage, the current hottest issue throughout the Mirror World.

“Well... Okay. Since I’ve already decided to trust you, I will follow through with it. After all, you’ve already demonstrated results, and Kang-San is already on the move.” Remy organized his thoughts and continued, “Then I suppose you will be taking that thing with you to Elvenheim.”

Just then, Seong-Hwi smirked and said, “Why should we?”

“Hm?”

“We have the upper hand in this negotiation. Sefirot should come to us.”

“Wow... You have some balls on you. Power tripping against Sefirot?” Jurie said dumbfoundedly.

Seong-Hwi answered, “What do you mean, power tripping? Don’t paint me as a villain. I’m a patient, so I need my rest. Naturally, they should come to us.”

Remy stared at him, dumbfounded. Sefirot was on another level compared to the Union and even Faber, with whom they recently allied. They were led by Keter, the Fifth Lord, who could eradicate humanity if he so wanted. He couldn’t believe Seong-Hwi was abusing his power against such an organization.

“They are the ones who will feel urgency over time, not us. Well, unless an anomaly were to occur...”

Seong-Hwi, covered in bandages, smiled nastily. Seeing that, the Martin father and daughter expressed skepticism in their heads.

Can we trust someone like this?

This troublemaker is turning this into a world-class issue!

Meanwhile, Seong-Hwi thought about the next step of his plan. Come to think of it... Has Elementum been born yet? If the opportunity arises...