"I'm not interested in the Blood Cult's schemes or whatever right now. Do you think it's possible that some of the others got swept over here, too?" I asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"You said countless demonic leaders and ancient monsters are trapped there! I'm asking whether there's a chance some of those bastards got dragged over here as well!" I shouted.

"..."

"..."

"Yes..." Baek Ri-Hyun mumbled.

"..."

"I believe that’s likely. Even before I saw the red light, I had occasionally witnessed flashes of red appearing from somewhere. I still can’t say for certain whether that red light was what brought me here, but if others were affected by it as well, then perhaps..." He trailed off.

'Damn it... this is really annoying.'

"So, how dangerous are they?" I asked.

"..."

"Didn’t you hear me? Compared to the Demon Lord Star Swallower, how dangerous are the demonic leaders trapped down there?" I asked.

"I can’t say for certain. I did encounter a few demonic leaders there, but most of them were imprisoned with a ruined dantian or crippled bodies. At least, those I met would be difficult to describe as dangerous. However, according to the stories I heard, there are some who have not only retained their internal energy but achieved even greater heights despite being in there," he answered.

"..."

"Of course, many of those stories are so absurd that they’re difficult to believe," he added.

"Let's hear some of those absurd stories," I said.

"There's the tale of the Fiend Elder Mad White, who supposedly remained trapped beneath the Bottomless Abyss for seven hundred years..." he said, "There's also the Blood Tyrant King, who is said to be the most notorious demonic leader in history. He recovered his former power through the inner core of a spiritual beast that dwelled within the Bottomless Abyss..."

"..."

"There's also the Heavenly Yin Witch, who is said to possess unrivaled martial arts and beauty despite being over a hundred years old," he said.

"..."

"And the Mad Immortal, once a great pillar of the forces of righteousness, but he was betrayed, and he lost his mind beneath the Bottomless Abyss," he added.

"..."

"They’re all stories that are difficult to believe and mere rumors that circulate beneath the Bottomless Abyss. Surely, they were spread by people who enjoy making up stories..." he said.

'Damn, they all sound like completely insane villain bastards...'

The truth was, I had absolutely no information about any of them, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. Still, the stories made those figures sound ridiculously dangerous.

Their titles alone spoke volumes—Fiend Elder Mad White, Blood Tyrant King, Heavenly Yin Witch, and Mad Immortal. Even without knowing who they were, they all sounded like monsters in their own right.

More than anything, the claims that they lived for seven hundred years or a hundred years were unbelievable. Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss it as the ramblings of a lunatic. Now, however, I knew it wasn’t complete nonsense.

'Transcendents?'

The idea that mana could halt aging was no longer particularly surprising. But if the supposed age was like seven hundred years, it was impossible not to feel suspicious about it.

The most natural conclusion was that they had somehow surpassed the limits of humanity.

'And all those bastards are about to come pouring into this world?'

Kim Hyun-Sung, Jung Ha-Yan, Cha Hee-Ra, and Jin Cheong. Those were the Transcendents on our side. Then there were people like Rafael and Jo Hye-Jin, along with a handful of others who had glimpsed fragments of transcendence.

Calling them candidates was one thing, but they were fundamentally different from the four names mentioned above. In truth, only those four could truly be called Transcendents.

I still had no idea how many Transcendents existed on the other side, but hearing him casually describe individuals who sounded very much like Transcendents was enough to make me uneasy.

'Damn it. Damn it... this can't be happening... this is really bad.'

Of course, I had no doubt that Kim Hyun-Sung was the strongest being in the world, but who could say that for sure? What if some bastard even stronger than Hyun-Sung were to appear out of nowhere?

The idea of Transcendents clashing with each other wasn't exactly pleasant either. It was even less so when I remembered how the topography had literally changed the last time Jung Ha-Yan and Cha Hee-Ra went at each other.

Whenever two Transcendents grabbed each other by the collar, a small city would get erased off the map.

'Seriously, why the hell don't they just kill them instead of throwing them into the Bottomless Abyss? Why go through the trouble of keeping bastards like Ito Sota or Jung Jin-Ho alive in some underground prison? Why leave monsters like Bahamut alive at all? Shouldn't they just kill them on the spot?'

I had no choice but to ask, "Objectively speaking, where do you stand? Judging by what I've seen, it doesn't seem like you even have a title yet..."

"I believe I’m stronger than the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, the rising stars in Murim. They're at the Peak Realm, whereas I am at the Transcendent Peak Realm," he answered.

"And how strong was the Demon Lord Star Swallower?" I asked.

"He was a master of the Transformation Realm," he answered.

"Wait, explain it again from the beginning. How are the ranks usually divided?" I asked.

"Generally speaking, they’re divided into Third Rate, Second Rate, First Rate, Peak Realm, Supreme Realm, Transformation Realm, Mysterious Realm, and Life-and-Death Realm," he explained.

"..."

"Third Rate refers to those who have only just begun learning internal energy or martial arts—"

"Start from the Peak Realm," I said, interrupting him.

"A Peak Realm master is someone capable of freely controlling internal energy and can wield Sword Energy. By wielding sword energy, I mean they have the ability to imbue a blade with internal energy and project it outward," he explained.

"Next," I said.

"A Supreme Realm master is someone who has completely mastered Sword Energy and has achieved enlightenment, allowing them to wield Sword Aura to a limited degree. Many martial artists spend their entire lives unable to overcome the wall of the Transcendent Peak Realm," he said.

'Pretty similar to us, huh?'

It sounded like the equivalent of people who had acquired advanced mastery over magic.

"The Transformation Realm is the stage at which one can fully control both Sword Aura and internal energy. Those who reach it generally undergo a process of rebirth; their bodies are reconstructed through a complete transformation. As such, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them true superhumans," he said.

"Right. What comes next?" I asked.

"After that comes the Mysterious Realm. Even among the countless martial artists in the world, only a tiny handful have ever reached that stage. The Heart Sword, the ability to forge a sword with one's mind alone, can only be manifested in this realm. In truth, those at this level can be described as half-human, half-immortal," he explained.

'About Semi-Mythic grade...'

"There isn't a realm beyond that?" I asked.

"The next realm is known as the Life-and-Death Realm. In truth, it is a realm that exists only in legends..." he replied.

"Tell me about it," I said.

"It’s said that those who reach the Life-and-Death Realm become immortals. Most ascend to the Immortal Realm and cease involving themselves in mortal affairs, though there are exceptions. From that point onward, they no longer age or fall ill, and it’s said that they can split seas and mountains with a mere gesture. Of course..." he paused.

'If they're talking about ascension, then that's probably Mythic Rank.'

"You have an Immortal Realm over there, too?" I asked.

"I've heard of it, but few truly believe it exists. I, myself, never believed one could attain enlightenment and become an immortal, but... after seeing you, Mr Lee Ki-Young, I find myself wondering whether immortals might truly exist in our world as well..." he answered.

Roughly speaking, it seemed safe to classify the Supreme Realm as upper Epic, the Transformation Realm as Legendary, the Mysterious Realm as Semi-Mythic, and the Life-and-Death Realm as Mythic.

"I assume you've never actually met a Life-and-Death Realm master?" I asked.

"No," he answered.

"What about a Mysterious Realm master?" I asked.

"I have encountered one," he said.

"What were they like?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he questioned back.

"Compared to the person standing right in front of you, who do you think is stronger? Come on, Commander Jin, show him your true power for once," I said.

"What a pointless thing to ask..." Commander Jin commented.

"If it were pointless, I wouldn't be asking you. Do you have some kind of one-hundred-percent power release mode? If you can transform, then transform. Don't you have wings or something? Spread them out. At least do that Lightning God mode you showed at the debutante ball. Anything's fine. Just make yourself look as inhuman as possible. If all else fails, use Bankai or something..." I told him.

"What's a Bankai?" he asked.

"Ah... never mind. Forget it. Just hurry up and do something," I said, urging him.

"..."

"..."

In the end, Commander Jin let out a long sigh before turning toward Baek Ri-Hyun. Naturally, it didn't seem like he intended to suddenly transform. Instead, he simply met the man's gaze in silence.

"Look into my eyes, disciple of the Demon Lord Star Swallower," Commander Jin said.

Naturally, I found myself staring into those violet eyes as well.

Whoooosh!

Just then, I felt myself being sucked somewhere else. Every nerve inside me stood on end. I had only blinked, yet it felt as though I had been left alone in the universe.

No, I was actually standing in space. I found myself in the middle of an endless black void where nothing existed, and nothing had ever existed. In the middle of the void, I saw a colossal violet eye staring at me as if it were the sun itself.

'That is some unusual eye.'

What an overwhelming presence. There was no other way to describe it. It felt as though I was witnessing something that had transcended humanity itself. It was similar to the feeling I felt when I glimpsed a fragment of Belial's existence.

Commander Jin's eyes were pleasant to look at for me, but Mr. Baek here was probably experiencing sheer terror. He was likely convinced that the being before him could crush him with a single finger at any moment.

It struck me once again just how impressive this bastard could be. Every time he revealed one of these hidden sides of himself, like when I first saw the Shadow Manor, he would always seem to become far more extraordinary than usual.

There was simply no way to believe that he was the same guy who had spent his time cooking mapo tofu in a kitchen that had literally collapsed around him.

“...”

“...”

When the enormous violet eye slowly closed, I watched Baek Ri-Hyun drop to the ground before violently vomiting.

“Pant... pant... pant... bleeeeurgh! Ugh! Bleeeeurgh! bleeeeurghhhhh!”

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” he screamed and scrambled away from Commander Jin.

'What a ridiculous spectacle.'

“So? Compared to that Mysterious Realm master that you mentioned, what do you think?” Commander Jin asked.

“AAAAAH!"

“I'm asking how they compare,” he asked again.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

“Come on, Commander Jin, I think this guy's actually gone insane. Ah! Damn it! Why are you grabbing my pants?!” I shouted.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Why are you doing this to me?! Commander Jin, get him off me! Ah! Stop clinging to me! You're getting vomit on me!” I complained.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

“Goddammit!”

While I was desperately struggling to shake off the lunatic who suddenly latched onto my pants, a message came through.

— Sir.

— My apologies for the delayed report. Miss Cha Hee-Ra is fighting—no, she is about to fight an unidentified man. Mr. Choi Young-Ki and Colonel Smith have both suffered critical injuries. Miss Jo Hye-Jin has also been wounded. Based on the circumstances, we believe the enemy has escaped from the Tutorial Dungeon...

— They say reinforcements aren’t necessary. However, they’re concerned about the damage to the city and would like assistance with that. Right now—wait! Get away! Run!

— BOOM!