Inside the damaged Black Fang flagship, the atmosphere remained heavy and tense.

Several pirates were busy repairing destroyed systems while others searched desperately through countless information networks.

Meanwhile, Varkas, the captain, sat silently on his massive chair with an ugly expression on his scarred face. His anger still hadn’t faded at all.

Then suddenly... One of the pirates hurried toward him nervously. "Boss! We found new information about that silver ship!"

Varkas immediately raised his head. "Well?"

The pirate quickly activated a hologram screen. "According to nearby tracking stations, the silver ship already returned to the Cosmic Terminal."

Varkas sneered coldly. "So they’re hiding behind the territory now?"

But the pirate quickly shook his head. "No... that’s the strange part."

Varkas frowned slightly.

The pirate swallowed nervously before continuing. "The ship didn’t return through the public docking zones."

The room immediately became quieter.

Varkas slowly narrowed his eyes.

A ship that bypassed public terminal access...

That already meant it wasn’t some ordinary civilian vessel.

Only high-ranking personnel or people with special authority usually used restricted routes.

The scarred pirate captain clicked his tongue irritably. "Then where the hell did they come from?"

Another pirate quickly stepped forward. "We investigated the route before the battle."

He hesitated briefly. "...It came to and left the Violent Brutal Planet."

Several pirates instantly looked shocked.

Even Varkas’s expression changed slightly. "That insane planet?"

The pirate nodded quickly. "Yeah. According to rumors, even Star Realm cultivators avoid going there unless absolutely necessary."

Another pirate added nervously, "The gravity, storms, beasts, and disasters there are completely abnormal."

Varkas slowly leaned back in silence.

A dangerous ship...

Connected to restricted Cosmic Terminal routes...

And coming from one of the most brutal planets in nearby territory space.

Something about this situation felt increasingly strange, but the humiliation still burned inside him.

Finally, Varkas spoke coldly. "For now... stay silent about this."

The surrounding pirates immediately nodded.

Then his scarred face twisted slightly again. "But keep investigating."

His eyes darkened dangerously. "I want to know exactly who those bastards are."

---

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, Garion barely left the freezing lake.

The brutal cold, heavy gravity, and violent currents crushed his body from every direction, but instead of stopping, he kept swimming again and again like a madman.

By now, the surface of the lake was covered in broken ice.

Garion’s head suddenly rose from the water. "Haa..."

Steam rose from his body as his muscles trembled slightly from the cold.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

Garion raised an eyebrow before grabbing it from the shore with a wave of energy.

The moment he answered, Alira’s calm voice came through. "I’m here."

Garion grinned. "Already?"

"Come to the landing point."

"Got it."

A few minutes later, Garion walked out of the frozen mist while water dripped from his body.

Alira stood beside her silver ship, staring at him with a strange expression. "...Were you swimming in that lake?"

Garion nodded casually. "Yeah. Good training."

Alira went silent for a moment. Then she decided not to ask anymore. Instead, she raised her hand and opened a storage box.

Inside were ten glowing crystals of different colors.

Red, blue, green, silver, black, golden, and several other strange lights pulsed softly inside them.

"These are ten Awakened Grade [Origins]," Alira said calmly. "Multiple attributes, just like you requested." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Garion’s eyes lit up immediately. "Ohhh..."

Then Alira took out one more crystal.

This one was different.

Its glow was deeper, heavier, and far more powerful than the others. "And this is one Star Grade [Origin]."

Garion raised an eyebrow. "You’re giving me this too?"

Alira nodded. "A gift from Manager Paren."

Then she looked at him seriously. "He said if we’re investing this much in you, you need to do your best in the Newbie Tournament."

Garion grinned. "How high does he want me to rank?"

"At least top three."

Garion stared at Alira for a moment. Then suddenly, he burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Top three? That’s easy."

Alira frowned slightly. "Easy?"

Garion casually tossed the Star Grade [Origin] in his hand and grinned. "Yeah. But since you brought me something this good..."

His smile slowly widened. "Let’s make things even more interesting."

Alira immediately felt something was wrong. "What do you mean by that?"

Garion didn’t answer her right away.

Instead, he turned his head and shouted toward the distant snowy mountain. "Dahlia!"

A few seconds passed.

Then...

BOOOOOOM!!!

A violent gust of wind exploded from the distance as a figure rushed across the snow like a storm.

Dahlia landed heavily beside Garion, sending snow flying everywhere.

Her white hair fluttered wildly in the freezing wind while her dragon aura spread faintly around her body.

She cracked her neck and grinned. "You called, Master?"

Alira’s eyes widened slightly.

She immediately looked at Dahlia, then back at Garion. "Who is this?"

Garion proudly placed a hand on Dahlia’s shoulder. "This is Dahlia Draconia. My disciple from my original world."

Alira froze. "Your disciple... from your world?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "How can she be here?"

Garion smiled casually. "I just suddenly met her here. Pure coincidence."

Alira stared at him silently.

Her expression clearly said she didn’t believe a single word.

But after a moment, she simply sighed and decided not to ask further. "...Fine. Since she’s here, I need to register her first."

Dahlia blinked. "Register?"

Garion grinned. "Don’t worry. Just stand there and look strong."

Dahlia immediately crossed her arms proudly. "That’s easy."

Alira opened a holographic screen and scanned Dahlia’s body.

Several lines of information appeared one by one.

---

[Name: Dahlia Draconia]

[Race: Dragon]

[Age: 24]

[Cultivation Realm: Late Awakening Realm]

[Threat Evaluation: A1]

---

The moment Alira saw the final line, her calm expression finally cracked.

She stared at the screen in disbelief. "...What?"

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Alira slowly turned toward him, then toward Dahlia.

Her voice came out lower than usual. "How the hell is she A1 too?"