CHAPTER 108
Our return from Nox.
A month had passed since we came back.
During that time, my party and I focused solely on getting stronger.
We needed to be even a little bit stronger to handle whatever situation might arise.
And so, it was training, and more training.
“Mm, the sprout is growing vigorously.”
“Do you think it will start blooming soon?”
“It seems it will take more time for the flower to bloom.”
I had Aigis check the state of my Seed of Light, but it seemed the blooming stage was still far off.
Hey, Seed of mine, don’t you feel a sense of crisis?
You’re going to die at this rate, you punk.
Of course, saying that wouldn’t make the sprout grow any faster.
I could only pray for it to grow strong and healthy.
Still, someone other than me had grown.
And that someone was Mimyong.
Upon reaching the 2nd Stage Sproutling phase, Mimyong grew wings!
Of course, it just looked like a small pair of wings attached to a furball, but it was growth.
Mimyong fluttered around me.
Anyone could see it was showing off its wings.
“Your Apostle has reached the 2nd Stage! In this state, low-level commands and sensory amplification should be possible.”
“What can it mainly do?”
“It should be able to do something like distracting an enemy’s line of sight.”
Excellent, Mimyong.
Continue to grow big and strong.
I hadn’t grown much, but if someone else grew, then all’s well that ends well.
“Still, your Divine Martial Arts have matured a great deal. At this level, I believe you can move on to the intermediate level.”
“Have I been learning the beginner level this entire time?”
“Everyone must go through the beginner level, must they not?”
That’s true.
Whether it was Holy Magic or Divine Martial Arts, nothing was easy.
In the end, effort was the only answer to getting stronger.
“If the beginner level focuses on tempering the body, the intermediate level and beyond focuses on techniques.”
“So there are techniques in Divine Martial Arts.”
“Hahaha, you say the funniest things, Harua-nim. Anyone would think we are barbarians who only know how to charge in with our bodies!”
So I was wrong.
I decided not to voice the image I had built up of the Divine Knights until now.
“Once you surpass the beginner level and reach the intermediate, you can use a number of techniques that can only be achieved by those who have trained their bodies. For instance.”
Aigis gestured for me to come at her.
At her gesture, I had no choice but to clench my fist tightly and swing.
The moment my fist reached Aigis, her hand moved in kind.
SHRRIIINK!
My skin, touched by the edge of her hand, tore open and blood flowed out.
My Holy Magic naturally flowed in to heal it, but I had clearly just been cut.
And it wasn’t just a simple cut.
It was as if I had been ground down by a saw blade.
“……Aigis-nim, this is…”
“It is the result of sharpening Holy Power and rotating it at high speed. Of course, normally, doing such a thing would have the drawback of grinding down one’s own hand or weapon as well, but…”
“For a Divine Knight, such things are meaningless.”
Whether your hand gets ground down or not, you can just heal it.
“And there is the opposite case as well. Come at me once more.”
Aigis took a stance and pulled both her arms back.
Seeing this, I once again swung my fist with all my might.

THUD!
My fist slammed into Aigis’s stomach.
A tingling sensation traveled up my fist, and the skin on my hand and arm split open, blood spurting out.
It was as if I had punched a wall of thorns.
“This is Divine Reflection, which returns the opponent’s force as is.”
No, she had to be more precise.
“……It’s less a reflection and more like you’re taking damage too.”
You contain the force the opponent has dealt to your body.
Then, you send it back in the opposite direction using Holy Power.
It was a ridiculous self-destruct technique where you took damage yourself to damage the opponent.
“Yes, but we are Divine Knights.”
“So it means that in exchange for taking damage, we can guarantee that the opponent takes damage as well.”
“However, it is impossible if the destructive force is beyond what the body can withstand. Furthermore, things like magic won’t work.”
Still, in close combat, it was a reflective skill that could turn the tables in an instant.
“Aren’t these basically techniques that grind down your own body, relying on your infinitely regenerating flesh and the pain tolerance you’ve trained up until now?”
“They are techniques excerpted from the path of penance that a Divine Knight must walk.”
What in the world is a Divine Knight?
They seemed like a bunch of madmen who couldn’t endure unless they were grinding their own bodies into dust.

“Please teach me.”
But this was the path I had already chosen.
Anything I learned would be useful somewhere.
I wasn’t in a position to be picky about my methods.
“As expected of Harua-nim! Let us aim to become the strongest Divine Knight together!”
My goal isn’t to become the strongest Divine Knight.
Being strong enough to hold onto my own lifeline was enough.
It’s just that the path to get there would be incredibly arduous.
“I’ll be in your care.”
I stepped onto this path of thorns a long time ago.
Did they think I’d cry out just because my feet were bleeding a little now?
I’ll get stronger until the day I die.
Of course, it’s not like I’ll ever actually die.

Training, and more training.
The days were spent repeating my training to the point where I wondered if my body had been replaced with a new one.
“Harua!”
This morning, as I was about to head out for training again, Aranseol called out to me urgently.
At her call, I instinctively felt the time had come. As I walked over, I came face to face with a familiar person, just as I’d expected.
“Ririran-nim.”
“It has been a while.”
The Fairy, master of Space Magic.
Ririran, having finished her long pursuit, appeared with a gentle smile.
Cain was with her.
He had looked quite haggard before, but his face looked much better now.
The moment Cain’s eyes met mine, his brow furrowed.
He hadn’t seemed pleased to see me before, and that hadn’t changed.
“Yo, Cain. What kind of manners did you learn, scrunching up your face the moment you see someone?”
So I gave him some shit for it right away.
Cain looked dumbfounded at my jab.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to call him out so openly in front of Ririran.
“…………Aren’t you, the Korean, the one with no manners?”
“This guy is still going on about being Korean. Look at you, not over being a Transferee yet. You wouldn’t have a leg to stand on even if you were discriminated against by other Transferees, not just this-worlders.”
Cain’s face went blank.
“So, Ririran-nim, did you teach this guy space magic?”
“You noticed, I see.”
I’m a man who has survived in this world by reading the room.
I could notice something like this in a heartbeat.
“Did you take him on as a disciple?”
“He has the talent. Perhaps thanks to his Ability, Dimension Eater, his sense of space is on a completely different level from others.”
“That’s great. Cain, you would’ve died in a ditch long ago without your Ability.”
Aranseol was giving me a strange look from the side, but I paid it no mind.
“Anyway, if you were lucky enough to become Ririran-nim’s disciple, you better serve her respectfully. If you start getting cocky just because she’s being nice to you, I’ll personally smash your ass.”
“……I’m already doing that, even without you telling me.”
Cain knew what he had done.
Having belonged to Black Dawn and become a modified being, his life in this world was already over.
Wherever he went, the labels of Black Dawn and ‘Modified’ would follow him.
Ririran had nullified that by accepting him as her disciple.
He had no right to complain even if he had to bow his head to Ririran for the rest of his life.
“A person can’t live alone.”
That’s why, as a senior Transferee, I offered him one last piece of advice.
“So cherish the bonds you make.”
It was advice I had learned and experienced firsthand.
For some reason, Aranseol smiled brightly when she heard my words.
I had no idea what part of that she found so pleasing.
Cain also nodded without a word.
He must have experienced something similar himself.
“More importantly, the fact that Ririran-nim has visited means…”
“Did you find it-ssumka?”
Just then, Lululio appeared.
She had seen us leaving and had hurriedly prepared to follow.
Found it.
Everyone here knew what that meant.
“Yes. I have located the Black Dawn headquarters, located in the void space between the 1st and 2nd Worlds.”
My fists clenched tight.
Finally, we had found Black Dawn’s headquarters.
“What about the Regular Army?”
“I spoke with them before coming here. They had already finished their preparations and were waiting. They will move out as soon as you are informed, young man.”
The war with Black Dawn.
The Regular Army had been preparing for this continuously.
At last, the chance to crush Black Dawn had arrived.
They must be watching the Regular Army’s movements as well.
We can’t hide anymore.
There’s no time to waste; we have to move now.
“Lululio, bring Horizon and Babiyen.”
“Yes, I understand-ssumda.”
Lululio had been by our side for this very day, so she moved swiftly.
As she scattered into light and vanished, I turned back to Ririran.

“Additionally, Ririran-nim, there is something else I would like to discuss with you.”
“Oh? Yes, I understand.”
Ririran followed me without question.
A moment later, when we were alone, I discreetly told her about my insurance policy.
After hearing my story, Ririran’s expression went beyond bewilderment to something more complex.
“……Young man, I have known for a long time that you were no ordinary person, but this is certainly beyond that.”
“Isn’t it always best to be prepared for anything? I’ve been practicing for this. I got something good from the Owner of Nox, as it happens.”
“I imagine if your friends were to find out, they would be more than just horrified and would give you a piece of their minds.”
“I’m used to getting an earful by now.”
In one ear and out the other.
When I gave her a thumbs-up, Ririran let out a bitter sigh and accepted what I handed her.
“I will make sure never to lose this.”
“It’s my last lifeline. I’m trusting you with it.”
“At this rate, you wouldn’t have anything to say if people started calling you the Finger Lord.”
“Do I have the makings of a Lord?”
“The things you do are even more extreme than what they do.”
A guy who could do things more extreme than a Lord.
That was me.
All preparations were complete.
“Harua-nim, I’ve brought them-ssumda!”
Just in time, Lululio returned with Babiyen and Horizon.
I could see the firm resolve in both their eyes, ready for the decisive battle.
Alright, you Black Dawn bastards.
The world’s best bait is on his way.
Open your mouths wide and take the hook.