the small light in the darkness.
The high-speed crystal train surged forward.
With a "BOOM", like the cracking of an egg, the mysterious shadow was sent flying backward!
In an instant, it shattered into pieces!
Its limbs and bones crumbled under the overwhelming surge of mana, obliterated down to the cellular level, vanishing from existence!
All Scott saw was a blinding white flash—
And the mysterious old man was completely gone!
---
Scott let out a helpless sigh from deep within.
Having grown up in the Ruins Graveyard, a terrifying place filled with dangers, encountering dead bodies was nothing new to him.
When it came to death, Scott was not like the ordinary people who reacted with fear and panic at such sights.
Yet, in the end—
That was still a living being.
Watching a life disappear before his eyes in such a pitiful way left a strange feeling in his heart.
---
"Maybe that person was just a crazed sorcerer. That's the only reason someone would do something like this," Scott thought.
The crystal train remained completely unaffected by this minor incident, maintaining its high speed before vanishing into the horizon.
---
Scott knew what would happen next.
There were security officers aboard the train.
They would definitely report this to the local police.
Then, the military would arrive, sending in large numbers of military police.
As a scavenger in the Ruins Graveyard, Scott's actions often bordered on the limits of the law.
As always, he avoided any involvement with the magic police to prevent unnecessary trouble.
Adjusting his clothes, he quickened his pace and crossed the drainage canal.
---
However—
What Scott did not know was that, in a separate level of existence, one invisible to him—
A black crystalline figure appeared at the exact same spot where the mysterious shadow had once stood on the railway bridge.
It looked like a perfect replica of the mysterious shadow.
The figure stood there, looking confused, observing its surroundings.
Then, finally—
Its eyes flickered.
---
Suddenly—
The transparent crystal shattered into countless fragments, leaving no trace behind.
The fragments glimmered in the moonlight, like a thousand radiant butterflies spreading their wings.
And without warning—
They silently entered Scott's body.
---
"…Did it just get colder, or is it just me?"
Scott felt an icy wind pierce through him, making his skin crawl.
It almost felt like he could hear a faint whisper, speaking in a language ancient and mysterious, right by his ear.
An indescribable terror filled him.
His body shuddered involuntarily.
---
"Strange… this is too strange."
The hairs on his body stood on end.
His blood felt frozen in his veins.
Adjusting his school uniform, he started running.
Logically, when a person runs, their body should generate heat.
But no matter how much Scott ran, no matter how much he pushed his speed to the absolute limit,
Even as his lungs burned, even as he gasped for air—
That biting cold never faded.
It clung to his soul like a shadow, swallowing him inch by inch.
---
Scott stumbled back home, barely holding himself together.
As soon as he threw himself through the door, his entire body felt like it had been frozen solid inside an ice cube.
But if someone were to look at him—
They would see his face flushed red, his forehead drenched in sweat, and his body surrounded by a white mist of steam rising into the air.
An unexplainable phenomenon.
---
"Damn it… I feel cold… Did I catch a cold?"
Scott's voice trembled, his words barely coherent.
His vision darkened, making it impossible to even search for medicine.
His eyelids grew heavier, battling against each other.
His legs weakened—
And he collapsed onto the floor.
With a sharp wheeze, his breath rasped—
And then, he lost consciousness entirely.
---
It was as if he had sunk into a deep swamp.
His five senses were almost completely stripped away.
He was drowning in an endless void of darkness.
A darkness so vast and suffocating, it felt like it had no end.
---
But in the very moment before he lost his mind, before he wished for it all to end—
His body suddenly relaxed.
The darkness receded, like an ebbing tide.
And then—
He breathed fresh air again.
---
But this time—
The air he inhaled felt many times purer than anything he had ever breathed in his life.
---
"What… is this place?"
Scott looked around, feeling a deep sense of confusion.
---
He was in a mysterious, eerie space—
An infinite void, where shapes and colors ceased to exist, where everything was surrounded by absolute silence.
There were no beginnings and no ends—
Just an endless, dark expanse that swallowed anything that dared approach.
When one stared into it, it felt as if it stared back.
A strange sense of loss filled Scott, as if he were drifting weightlessly in nothingness, without direction, without purpose.
There were no distant points of light.
No illusions of reflections.
Only pure darkness—
A void so deep, it defied comprehension.
It wasn't just a color—
It was a feeling of emptiness.
A void devoid of sound, devoid even of the echoes of one's own thoughts.
Everything dissolved into the abyss—
Even time itself seemed to stop flowing.
There was nothing to focus on.
Nothing to break the endless, empty stretch—
Except for a vague sense that perhaps…
This void wasn't empty at all.
---
Despite nothing existing here—
Scott felt as if everything existed here at the same time.
An indescribable feeling…
---
Scott couldn't sense time in this place.
He had no idea how long he had been here.
His senses weren't functioning—
Yet, strangely, he could still use them in some way.
---
After what felt like an eternity,
A brilliant white light suddenly appeared,
Illuminating a small, limited space within this endless darkness.
---
Immediately after—
White crystalline shards materialized, glowing with an unprecedented radiance.
---
"What are these things?"
Scott wondered, his curiosity piqued.
With nothing else to do, he decided to touch one of the shards.
Even if it was dangerous—
It was the only thing he could do.
---
Scott floated in the dark void,
And as soon as his fingertip made contact with the shard—
It shattered instantly!
Scott recoiled in sudden panic—
And at that very moment—
The entire world was flooded with light.
The light was so bright that Scott had to close his eyes. Even though his senses hadn't been working before, for some reason, they were now fully active. Scott gradually opened his eyes.
He instinctively realized that he had fallen into a dangerous and terrifying nightmare. This dream world was incredibly vivid, filled with powerful elements from an ancient era.
He stood atop a vast and unparalleled military ground. In every direction, there were countless massive weapons and enormous golden statues, towering high, stretching into the clouds. They surrounded this immense field, which spanned thousands of kilometers. Surprisingly, this land was situated atop a floating mountain in the sky.
Below the edge of the mountain, there was an unforgettable sight—massive waves rippling across a gigantic black sea.
The scent of blood and the sweat of smoky figures assaulted Scott's nose, nearly overwhelming him. Surrounding him were hundreds of heavily muscled men, with fully developed limbs, explosive physiques, and fierce expressions. Each of these powerful individuals carried a hammer that appeared to weigh over two thousand pounds on their shoulders. They spared no effort, completely engrossed in their training.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several two-thousand-pound hammers struck the ground simultaneously, causing the entire floating mountain to tremble and shake.
At that moment, Scott was in a state of shock. He suddenly realized that he had become one of these towering giants, standing at nearly ten feet tall. Even his appearance had completely changed. When he touched his chin with his hand, he felt a light beard, as sharp as iron needles.
In his hand, he gripped a bronze hammer, the size of a tree. The handle, wrapped in leather, had worn against his palm, causing it to crack and bleed.
At the front of this massive military square stood a giant, twice the size of all the others. He wasn't simply a large human—he was a true giant. He opened his massive eyes and bellowed like a thunderstorm:
**"You worthless pieces of scrap! You have now been officially accepted into the Iron Sovereignty Guild, one of the great guilds of the Supreme Realm. You were nothing more than ordinary slaves, toiling for us like beasts. But now, you have become the lowest-ranking workers of the Iron Sovereignty Guild. This is the result of the accumulated efforts of our ancestors!
Thanks to the wealth passed down from seven generations of great mages, we, the Iron Sovereignty Guild, are one of the greatest and most powerful artisan guilds in the world! With our Hammer Art and the strict guidance of our guild, you will become unparalleled blacksmiths! Even if you hold the smallest and simplest position in this guild, you must dedicate your life to the art of forging!
As common workers, each of you must carry 5,000 pounds of water daily, cut down 100 trees, and journey to the borders of the 'Endless Void Sea' below to hunt at least 20 iron sharks. That will be your food!
But most importantly… you must master the fundamental technique of the Iron Sovereignty Guild— the 'Thousand Metal Smelting Technique'!
Once you finish listening, you fools, each of you must strike your iron hammers 8,000 times a day, without missing a single strike! When you can carve a deep hole into this molten floor made of pure Wizirium Metal, you will be promoted to a third-class blacksmith worker and gain access to advanced techniques!"**
"Strike! Strike! Forge and smelt weapons! Give your life to blacksmithing!"
Then, the giant's gaze locked onto Scott.
"Scott Walton! Why are you just standing there? Why aren't you working?"
Scott hadn't even begun to understand what was happening when he noticed that the entire group of workers was staring at him with deep pity. His heart instantly froze.
A fierce storm of rage surged toward him. The massive giant, standing hundreds of meters away, suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye, he used some kind of technique to appear directly in front of Scott. Towering over him, the giant glared down with a terrifying expression.
**"So, you're Scott Walton! The one who was rambling nonsense at dinner yesterday… The same fool who claimed he would become the leader of the Iron Sovereignty Guild in the future!
What's wrong? Do you think the 'Thousand Metal Smelting Technique' is too primitive? That it's unworthy of someone like you, the future guild leader?
Fine then. Today, I'll let you personally experience just how powerful this technique truly is!"**
The giant's hands spread wide. Black smoke condensed in his palms and transformed into a massive hammer—larger than Scott's own skull.
With a swift motion, the giant swung the hammer, generating a powerful gust of wind. Then, it struck down with full force—smashing into Scott's head!
Scott hadn't even processed what was happening before he felt his body flying through the air. His head felt as if it had exploded a hundred times over.
In his heart, he screamed endlessly:
"What the hell is wrong with this guy?!"