Although Baek Yu-Seol had told Scarlet he would act alone, the truth was that he had no intention of handling everything completely on his own.

The Green Core was an inherently difficult artifact to manage, and for someone to go so far as to steal it from the Green Tower, it was clear they had considerable power and organization.

The first person that came to mind was Florin. She was skilled enough to handle artifacts as challenging as the Green Core with ease, and her abilities were exceptional.

Unfortunately, she was busy.

Calling the Elven King over something like the Green Core was a bit excessive, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. After all, the mere existence of the Elven King contributed more to natural restoration than the Green Core ever could.

She was currently balancing her royal duties with purifying the natural world. Having grown unafraid of public attention, she occasionally ventured beyond her kingdom to restore nature.

The next person who came to mind was Leafanel.

A thousand-year-old fairy, she had been quietly regaining her strength while residing within the World Tree. Recently, she had become active again.

"So sleepy..."

However, when Baek Yu-Seol went to see Leafanel, she was still drowsy and unwilling to move.

Her growth was noticeable compared to before, she now looked mature, nearly crossing the line from a high schooler’s appearance to that of an adult woman.

Seeing her lying atop a flower, clad in flowing garments and dozing off peacefully, was a scene of exquisite beauty. But for Baek Yu-Seol, who desperately wanted her to accompany him, it was an utterly frustrating sight.

"Leafanel, so you’re not coming? I’m going to do something really fun."

"Mmm..."

Her response was barely audible and sleepy. It made it clear she wasn’t even fully aware of what he was saying.

She might not even realize he had visited at all. After all, truly sleepy people often couldn’t distinguish between dreams and reality.

"Sigh, I guess it can’t be helped. Fine, I’ll come back later to visit you again."

— Hmm...

As Leafanel fell back into a deep sleep, Baek Yu-Seol left the garden. The area was surrounded by an incredibly powerful barrier, set up autonomously by the World Tree to protect her.

Though Leafanel had once been corrupted and brought suffering to the World Tree, the ancient being still loved her despite everything. Perhaps because she was a thousand-year-old divine spirit.

’This security system has really stepped up since it was breached before.’

Those who were close to Leafanel could enter without any formalities, but for anyone else, the World Tree would retaliate with powerful light-based magic.

After the illegal intrusion of a dark mage that led to Leafanel’s fall, the World Tree seemed to have tightened its defenses even further. As a result, leaving Leafanel here alone was now much less worrisome.

’She’s not the kind of spirit to fall for the same trick twice...’

Even though Leafanel had the mentality of a child, having experienced such pain once, she would not fall for the same scheme twice.

After all, she was still a thousand-year-old spirit.

’If Florin and Leafanel can’t help, I guess it’s better to handle this on my own.’

It wasn’t a mission that would take too long, anyway.

Although it felt a bit impolite to ask, if he sought the help of Soft Green Spring Moon, managing the Green Core wouldn’t be an issue.

After all, the Green Core was a divine relic of Soft Green Spring Moon herself, so she likely wouldn’t object to assisting with it.

Whoooosh...!

As the vibrations of the flying vehicle reverberated around him, Baek Yu-Seol returned to his personal VIP room. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he steadied himself.

With little time left, he made use of every spare moment to practice controlling the energy of the Twelve Divine Moons or to meditate. Strangely, these short sessions were proving to be more effective than spending hours training in a single stretch.

Perhaps because one of his energy channels had been fully opened, his progress was now growing at a remarkable pace.

He had even gained significant control over the energy of Silver Autumn Moon, to the point where he could slow down time if he so desired.

[The ’Resting Time’ of Silver Autumn Moon has been activated.]

After a long period of focus, Baek Yu-Seol gathered the silvery energy and activated the ability. Suddenly, the movement of the air slowed dramatically.

Opening his eyes in that state, he immediately looked out the window.

The propellers of the airship seemed to move as if nearly frozen, spinning at an incredibly slow pace.

The time-slowing magic, which had previously only been possible with the help of Silver Autumn Moon, was now being activated by his own power.

But it still wasn’t enough.

The flow of time had slowed, but not to the extent he desired, the propellers still moved visibly, albeit slowly. Worse, his own body was partially affected by the slower time, making his movements cumbersome and challenging.

Even so, it was faster than the normal movement of others, but still far from sufficient.

What he wanted was the perfect mastery shown to him by Silver Autumn Moon, a state where the world came to a complete stop, leaving only him capable of movement.

"Hooh..."

Stopping the activation of Resting Time, Baek Yu-Seol wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

Next, he decided to test the skill of Pink Spring Moon called [Your Emotions].

As his gaze turned a soft pink and he focused his energy, the emotions of the people scattered throughout the airship began flowing into him.

Anger, sorrow, and happiness - the three core emotions - blended to create countless derived feelings. These emotions turned into colors, forming a multidimensional map in Baek Yu-Seol’s mind.

This allowed him to pinpoint the exact positions of everyone on the airship without seeing them directly. It was far more accurate and vivid than simply relying on his Sixth Sense to detect where people were.

As Baek Yu-Seol continued practicing the Twelve Divine Moons’ powers, the speakers installed throughout the airship crackled, and the captain’s flustered voice came through.

"Ahem, attention passengers. This is an announcement. Flight Duelis No. 3, which was originally scheduled to dock at Brightly Port, will instead be landing in Bahana City, located approximately 30 minutes from here."

"Once again, this flight was originally scheduled to land at Brightly..."

"What’s going on?"

Baek Yu-Seol frowned and stepped out of the VIP room. For passengers heading to Brightly, including himself, this was an utterly shocking announcement, and the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Pushing through the murmuring crowd, he made his way to the cockpit, where a group of people had gathered, arguing with a man who appeared to be the co-pilot.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"There’s no direct transportation between Brightly and Bahana City! It’ll take at least six hours to get back!"

"W-we’re very sorry, passengers, but this is the only way to land at the closest location."

"Damn it! I have no reason to go to Bahana! Why not turn the ship around?"

"We don’t have enough power in the magic engine to make the return trip..."

"Is making excuses all you’re good for?!"

Middle-aged nobles, both men and women, raised their voices, yelling at the top of their lungs. Their outrage prompted others in the crowd to join in, further escalating the chaos.

The co-pilot was unable to offer any solid explanation and eventually stammered and retreated to the cockpit, claiming he had to handle the controls, leaving the female flight attendant to deal with the angry passengers.

Naturally, the female flight attendant had no better answers for the passengers. Before she could even say anything, passengers were shouting at her to go to Brightly, leaving her helpless.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get any answers this way, Baek Yu-Seol sighed and stepped forward.

"Excuse me for a moment."

"And who are you supposed to be?!"

A middle-aged noble turned around and barked at him upon hearing his young voice. However, upon noticing the cadet uniform from Stella Academy that Baek Yu-Seol was wearing, the man visibly hesitated and shrank back slightly.

After all, Stella Academy cadets were regarded as individuals from the highest social tier.

"Let’s listen to the explanation first, shall we?"

"What’s there to listen to?!"

"If you don’t want to hear it, then feel free to leave."

The airship was undeniably at fault. Announcing a change in destination from Brightly to Bahana was bound to upset the passengers, it was only natural.

So, the man couldn’t exactly be labeled a troublesome customer for being angry.

However, to understand the situation and possibly receive compensation, a conversation was necessary. Yet, the man didn’t even make the minimal effort to attempt one.

"What did you say... leave?"

The middle-aged man was now visibly indignant. He turned red and pointed a finger at Baek Yu-Seol, ready to hurl more words at him. But before he could, Baek Yu-Seol waved his hand dismissively and directed a question at the flight attendant.

"What’s the reason for not landing at Brightly?"

"Oh, um... it’s because four dark mages of risk level 7 have appeared at Brightly Port, and a suppression operation is underway. If civilian airships were to land and risk being taken hostage, it would be dangerous. That’s why the order was given to redirect all airships during the conflict."

The female attendant explained with a trembling voice, her expression showing she was near tears. She seemed almost relieved to finally have a chance to explain herself.

"Dark mages?"

It wasn’t unusual for dark mages to appear in a rural area like Brightly, but four of the risk level 7 showing up was strange.

Such high-ranking dark mages had no reason to go to such a remote place.

"The association has dispatched mages to handle the situation, but the air routes are currently blocked. It’ll take at least an hour, so we’ve been instructed to conserve engine power and land at the nearest airport."

"The association dispatched mages just now? And what do you mean by conflict is underway?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You said earlier that there’s a battle taking place at Brightly Port, didn’t you?"

"Y-yes... that’s what I heard..."

The attendant’s expression suggested she didn’t see anything wrong with what she had said.

She didn’t seem to realize the contradiction in her words.

"...So, what you’re saying is, the main magical force hasn’t even arrived yet. Then who is supposedly battling the four risk level 7 dark mages?"

Speaking in a calm tone to clarify, Baek Yu-Seol waited, but the attendant only shook her head.

"I-I don’t know. I’m just repeating what I was told by my superiors."

"Hmm..."

Baek Yu-Seol pondered for a moment.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man thought the conversation was over and grabbed Baek Yu-Seol’s shoulder to yell at him.

"You little brat, how dare you...!"

"How about this: once the remaining engine power is confirmed, we head to Brightly Port under the condition that I deal with all the risk level 7 dark mages?"

"What?"

As Baek Yu-Seol pulled out his Honorary Mage identification card and showed it, everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

An Honorary Mage title was only given to those who possessed at least Class 7 magic skills and knowledge. If a Magic Warrior held such a title, their abilities were undoubtedly considered above the Class 7 threshold.

And yet, a cadet from Stella Academy possessed such a credential?

A teenager holding the Honorary class 7 Mage certification, it was a rarity in itself.

In fact, there was only one person in the entire world who fit this description.

"Ba-Baek Yu-Seol...?"

The middle-aged nobleman quickly removed his hand from Baek Yu-Seol’s shoulder, brushing off his clothes nervously.

"Haha... I thought there was some dust on you, that’s all..."

Ignoring the man completely, Baek Yu-Seol locked his gaze on the flight attendant.

Flustered and unsure of how to respond, she quickly excused herself and hurried into the cockpit.

Moments later, the captain himself stepped out, extending his hand for a handshake with Baek Yu-Seol.

"Pleasure to meet you. I’m the captain of the Duelis No. 3 airship. Pardon me, but... did I hear correctly that you hold an Honorary Mage certification?"

When Baek Yu-Seol showed his ID, the captain sighed in relief and nodded.

"Even if we head to Brightly Port with you on board, it’s not without risk. With the remaining engine power, we can only sustain flight for about an hour. And we won’t be able to land until the battle ends."

In other words, even if they arrived at Brightly, the airship would hover above the port, leaving Baek Yu-Seol to figure out how to jump down and handle the Corrupted Ones on his own.

That’s exactly what he meant.

It might seem cold, but the captain’s decision was the most rational one he could make. It was also the most considerate one for Baek Yu-Seol.

If they landed at the port, it would only make things more complicated as they would have to defend the airship while fighting.

"Yes, that’s fine with me."

"The conflict... must be finished within 30 minutes. If the fight isn’t over in that time, we will have no choice but to turn back to Bahana, considering the remaining engine power."

"20 minutes."

"Pardon?"

"20 minutes will be enough. If the battle isn’t over by then, you may head to Bahana. Waiting the full 30 minutes might endanger the engine."

"...Understood."

The captain appeared reassured by Baek Yu-Seol’s confident demeanor and gave a slight smile as he returned to the cockpit.

"Then we’ll depart immediately. Please prepare yourself for the battle ahead."