There was no point in relying on Anemone’s senses anymore. With eyes sharp enough to catch the flow of mana, he spotted a faint mist wavering through the air. This was characteristic of a swarm of monsters packed in so tightly that the mana around them turned heavy and visible.

Hmm... I can’t think of any way out of this.

Of course he couldn’t think of one. Dozens of Mantis Predators were swarming in, and there was no solution that could actually work, nothing even remotely feasible. Against the impossible, there could never be a plan.

I guess this will be my first death. Well... the first one since looping back.

Judging from how those monsters were piling up, the moment had finally arrived.

It’s not the worst way to go out for the first death of this life.

Do-Jin watched the approaching death roll toward him and smiled like a man tasting cheap wine. He didn’t expect to dodge it, but he had zero interest in going quietly. The Mantis Predators kept creeping forward, using their antennae like walking sticks. They smacked aside pebbles with twitchy, irritated movements.

Then, a thought hit him. Why the fuck are there so many pebbles?

Do-Jin sneered and triggered Psychokinesis. He hadn’t been planning anything complicated. He only lifted one of the stones beneath the swarm and slammed it hard into the dirt. A short, sharp blast ripped the air, and then another. They kept coming, one after the other, piling up into thunder that beat against his eardrums. Each explosion stacked onto the last until the noise became a single, deafening roar that hammered into his skull.

A chain reaction had begun, the result of the mana stone bombs he had planted earlier triggering a massive cascade.

There goes my fucking money...

There were dozens of bombs, and none of them were the cheap kind. These were top-grade explosives that players at this stage had to bleed for. The problem was that they each packed the punch of a Tier 1 spell, making them overpriced junk if used one at a time.

When dozens went off together, however, the power problem took care of itself. The only downside remaining was the tens of millions now going up in smoke.

“That’s what money’s for, goddamn it!” he shouted, laughing.

Who gave a shit about the cost? Watching the bastards who had been grinding him down get shredded into pieces was worth every last coin.

“Come on, bug fuckers! You think I’m dying alone? You’re all rotting in hell with me!” Do-Jin hurled more mana stone bombs ahead, and laughed like a maniac as the swarm pushed forward.

Even with their kin torn apart by the blasts, the Mantis Predators kept crawling closer. They did not care or hesitate. Do-Jin gave them another round of pure hell, blowing them to pieces all over again.

For a final tantrum, I’ll probably only take two of you bastards down at best.

Do-Jin hurled the last few bombs, completely emptying his stash, then lit a Mana Cigarette. It was the first he’d smoked since the fight began, simply because he hadn’t had the chance until now. The rush of mana in his circuits cooled the moment the smoke filled his lungs. His body calmed down and his mind followed right after.

Anemone should go back, he decided.

“Do-Jin, what are you doing!” Anemone cried out in protest as she dematerialized.

If he tried to play it off with some spiel about sparing her the trouble, she’d blow up at him and stay pissed for days. Telling her it drained his mana wouldn’t help either. That would leave her sulking instead.

It’s better to deal with her being pissed off than watch her deflate.

“I’d feel better not dragging you down with me...”

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

“It does. To me.”

“Do-Jin!”

Their childish bickering was drowned out by another blast. Even at a safe distance, shards from the explosion cut across his cheek. The heat licked at his skin as blood trickled down.

After the heat died down, a chittering shriek echoed through the cave. Clearly, a few mangled Mantis Predators had survived, and more were still untouched, closing in with murderous intent.

Do-Jin answered with more spells, firing recklessly into their ranks. There’s no point saving mana now. I’ll burn it all before I go.

The instant his magic dropped one of the shriveling insects, a message flashed before his eyes.

[Level Up]

Huh? He blinked.

Do-Jin hadn’t expected this turn of events. This single level he had just gained pushed him to Level 100, the minimum requirement to wield Tier 5 magic. It came right as the next pack of Mantis Predators charged at him, screeching in fury.

Well, shit. Looks like I get to go out with a bigger bang.

There was still a way to make this death burn hotter. Do-Jin pulled a book out of his inventory and used it without a second thought.

[New spell, Flame Shell, has been recorded.]

The Grimoire of Truth unfolded, and it already began to manifest the newly inscribed spell. However, Do-Jin had only just reached Level 100, and as a Tier 5 mage, he was basically taking his first baby step. There was no way his casting speed could match the spells he had already pushed to a high level of proficiency. Not only was this Tier 5 magic, he was using a wide-area spell to top it off. The completion speed was painfully, agonizingly slow.

I don’t give a damn if I die. I’m firing this off even if it kills me!

While fire mana condensed at his fingertips, a Mantis Predator charged straight in, closing the last of the distance. The leading Mantis Predator’s scythe tore straight through Do-Jin’s shoulder and his HP drained away in a stream. One more second, no, even a fraction of a second more, and his torso would be split apart and his life force would collapse to zero.

“Fuck offff!”

In that razor-thin instant, the spell finished. A crimson sphere, forged by relentless compression and crushing pressure, fired forward. The very release of its force cracked the air with a thunderous boom.

The Flame Shell slammed into the abdomen of the Mantis Predator that had been attacking Do-Jin. However, it didn’t explode right away. The sphere was packed with power far too dense to detonate from such a weak level of resistance. The compressed sphere of fire blew the Mantis Predators back, traveling some distance before finally exploding. The high-pressure blast of heat tore five Mantis Predators to pieces at the same time.

A normal Tier 5 spell might not have managed that, but Do-Jin was wearing the Rune Gauntlet, causing his Flame Shell to land with a guaranteed critical hit. Although there was a level gap between Do-Jin and the Predators, the damage it caused was still on a completely different scale. But Do-Jin hadn’t come out of it unscathed, either. He had already been throwing out spell after spell, and then he suddenly learned and cast a Tier 5 spell on top of it. The sharp drop in mana left him reeling, and his head spinning.

Just as Level 99 and Level 100 stood on different planes, Tier 4 and Tier 5 spells were not just a step apart. The gulf between them was wide, brutal, and absolute.

In this state... if I push it, I might manage two shots at best.

The thought had barely formed when a cry rang out. It was not the same as the others. It was lower, deeper, and far heavier. The undergrowth shook harder in the distance.

“Shit.”

It was an elite, and not only that, a male specimen bred purely for battle. The creature was easily three or four times larger than the rest, and its scythes were just as massive as its body.

Do-Jin stared at it with exasperation. If that thing hit me, would I still be sliced apart or just crushed flat...?

While preparing his last and probably useless attack, he heard something shatter. It was not an object but something else entirely.

“I was going to just open the way and leave, but I suppose I will linger.” A strange woman appeared right before his eyes. “It seems I have stumbled on a familiar face, so I thought I would stop by.”

Her deep blue hair billowed in waves, and a black cape trailed from her shoulders. It was the unmistakable cloak that symbolized Elthomagia. There was no other ornament to mark her rank or color, as the black cloak itself was her color and her mark.

“It’s nice to see you again, child of another world. The one who once brought me good news.” It was Sion Grace, the Black Rank of Elthomagia’s Imperial Magic Tower.

“What are you doing out here...?”

“There was a reason. Let’s just say I came out to repay a debt of sorts.” Her golden eyes shifted as she spoke, focusing on something in the distance. “Fortunately, it looks like the debt was already paid. If you had died after I risked leaving the Tower, I would not even have been able to keep my dignity intact.”

Sion flicked her fingers. The elite Mantis Predator, still bound in her Psychokinesis, was compressed down to the size of a baseball in an instant, then burst apart into scattering motes of light.

“How long has it been since we last met?” Her golden eyes scanned Do-Jin as she recalled. “Seeing how much you have grown already, it must have been some time.”

Spending too much time at the edge of dimensions always carried this problem where one’s sense of time became distorted. Judging from Do-Jin’s growth, she estimated at least three years had passed.

She tilted her head as she calculated and sorted through her memories. “It has not even been a full year. So the Regenians must grow rather quickly.”

Sion Grace nodded to herself as if she had confirmed her own deduction.

Do-Jin, who had stayed silent until now, looked at her and thought to himself. Does she not know I smuggled out the Grimoire of Truth? No... that’s impossible. That means she’s letting it slide.

In reality, Sion’s memory regarding that event had been redacted by the system, but Do-Jin could never have known. To him, it looked like Sion was ignoring or outright approving his possession of the Grimoire.

Dropping his caution, he finally opened his mouth. “I never imagined you would appear... but thank you for saving me.”

“Not at all. It is I who should thank you. You helped me settle my debt, did you not? By protecting those children.” Her gaze turned toward the cave where the students were hiding. “Even from here, the lingering traces of your magic tell me everything I need to know. You did the right thing.”

At her words, the tension left Do-Jin’s body all at once. He collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Are the kids safe?” he mumbled.

It was only now that the thought struck him. He had been too focused on the fight to even wonder if the Mantis Predators might have reached them.

“Do not worry. They are shaken and crying, but every one of them is alive.”

As Sion waved her hand, a light rose in the distance. It was probably a signal, marking the cave’s location for someone else to come and retrieve them.

“This is as far as I can manage with a projection. Everything feels more constrained with each passing day,” Sion said, her hand already turning translucent.

She looked at Do-Jin with something like regret. “Seeing your face reminded me of a moment that truly made me happy, and I would have liked to speak longer. But unfortunately, this is the end for now. Right, before I go, I should at least leave you a gift.”

Something flew toward him, and Do-Jin caught it on instinct.

Before he could check what it was, she spoke again. “Keep it. It will serve you well as you live the life of a mage.”

With that, the fragment of her projection vanished completely. She had appeared in an instant and disappeared just as suddenly, leaving Do-Jin sitting there with nothing but confusion.

“What the hell am I even supposed to say to that?”

At the very least, she could have said goodbye before disappearing. That would have made things less awkward.

“Seriously. Every damn mage is a weirdo.” Grumbling under his breath, Do-Jin opened his palm.

He finally saw what she had given him. “Wait... Isn’t this... an Elthomagia emblem?”

It was a badge, proof that its holder belonged to the Imperial Magic Tower of Elthomagia.