Jeliel could confidently make a statement.

She felt it was much harder and more exhausting than when she personally led an expedition to explore ancient ruins.

Naturally, it had to be this way.

This place was the Maze Forest. It was a high-level field.

Therefore, it was a more familiar place for Baek Yu-Seol. In lower-level fields, items and levels could easily overpower challenges, but in high-level fields, that approach was impossible.

There was only one way to easily overcome such an extreme field: by studying, familiarizing oneself, and directly confronting it over and over. Only by facing death countless times can you master it.

Low-level mages couldn’t hear sounds here, and even those of a certain level completely lost their sense of direction.

Exploring the Maze Forest made it clear that mental strength was more important than physical endurance.

The visibility was poor with no proper light, and powerful demons would emerge suddenly from the dense fog.

There was no room for relaxation, and even a moment's carelessness could lead to disaster.

"This way."

Fortunately, they didn’t need to wander through the forest. They had a clear guide.

Following Baek Yu-Seol’s special compass, the exploration team easily ventured deep into the forest.

Even in unexpected situations that flustered veteran mages, Baek Yu-Seol calmly led the team, subtly retreating whenever demons appeared. Frankly, with his current skills, he couldn’t even scratch the demons here.

Shriek!

“Wh-What was that?”

“What’s that sound?”

As they passed a ridge bared by thick fog, they heard a high-pitched scream from somewhere, but Baek Yu-Seol spoke as if it was nothing to worry about.

“It’s a Fog Devourer.”

“Fog… Devourer? What’s that?”

“It’s not even in the records.”

The Maze Forest hadn’t been properly explored yet, so the records were incomplete. However, Baek Yu-Seol’s mind was filled with information about this place.

“The fog surrounding the Maze Forest is due to the giant demonic ‘Mist Tree' located at the center of the forest. It exhales fog containing narcotic substances, and the creatures that live off it are the Fog Devourers. It’s a positive sign. When there are Fog Devourers nearby, our senses somewhat return.”

“Oh… I see.”

“Come to think of it, visibility is better than before.”

“Yeah, it was hard to even talk before, but now we can hear each other clearly.”

“Let’s proceed quickly during this window. Fog Devourers tend to wander off soon.”

Just as he said, the Fog Devourers soon disappeared. Everyone wondered, ‘How does he know such things?’ but they didn’t ask.

The expedition ventured deeper into the forest, and when the fog thickened so much that they couldn’t see an inch ahead...

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the fog cleared, and the ruins appeared.

The ancient ruins of Carmen Set.

“Oh…!”

“Finally…!”

Everyone let out small exclamations. Though it felt like a short time, the Maze Forest was truly a dreadful place. Feeling a sense of relief, the expedition slowly walked towards the ruins.

However, something felt off.

“This… Wasn’t it said to have been moved just recently?”

The ancient ruins of Carmen Set was a floating dungeon whose location changed constantly, so they couldn’t be easily found.

But look at this…

"These traces... It’s as if they have blended into this place for thousands of years."

Vines from trees hundreds of years old surrounded the ruins, and the moss and weathered marks on the ruins were certainly not recent.

The mysterious phenomenon intrigued the mages deeply. The answer came soon enough.

Baek Yu-Seol stared intently at the ruins, and suddenly spoke up.

"Remember I said yesterday that the Spiral Time Theory was wrong?"

"Oh, yes. It appeared in a different location after just two weeks."

"I was wrong. The doctor was right. The ruins of ancient Carmen Set transported itself, transcending not only space but time itself."

"What... What did you say?"

"Perhaps it was moved to the Maze Forest thousands of years ago. It must have remained here ever since."

"Impossible..."

While spatial movement was now common and no longer surprising... Time travel was something magic had not even come close to mastering. It was an overwhelming barrier felt by all.

Everyone fell silent, unable to utter a word. That included Haeseongwol. Even for a Class 9 mage, time was an ungovernable realm.

‘It’s truly astonishing.’

In fact, Baek Yu-Seol had known about this 'setup' from the beginning. Pretending not to know yesterday was merely a pointless act.

‘Time travel, huh.’

Even in the Aether World, beings that controlled time were extremely rare. In fact, New Moon Silver was practically the only one. However, since New Moon Silver could bestow 'blessings' as one of the Twelve New Moons, it was impossible for there to be no beings that interfered with time at all.

Ancient Carmen Set was exactly one such example. He was a poor soul who once received the blessings of the New Moon Silver, but he was stripped of that power and left to wander the nine heavens eternally.

Even without his blessing, he had trained himself to manipulate time to the extreme and eventually learned to interfere with time.

"Let's proceed. From now on, I will follow. There are more expert explorers for the ruins."

"Sure. We’ll take the lead."

Although Baek Yu-Seol had led the expedition thus far to avoid wandering in the maze for too long, there was no need for that in the ruins.

Inside the ruins were numerous magical traps, gimmicks, and puzzles. One needed quick wits to advance to the next stage, and a single mistake could be fatal. But as seasoned veterans, not a single casualty occurred.

A stark contrast to the exploration party led by Jeliel, which proceeded slowly and had to bear some injuries.

“We’ve arrived.”

Haeseongwol gazed at the towering door in front of him with a troubled expression. Beyond this, the spirit of ancient Carmen Set awaited.

"I’m not sure if this is really the right thing to do..."

Is it really okay to use Carmen Set to stop the disaster caused by Carmen Set? He didn't know. But there was no other way, and it was too late to turn back now.

"I will go in alone."

"Chess is my..."

"No, I'll go in."

Jeliel hastily reached out, but Baek Yu-Seol shook his head.

"You met and defeated Carmen Set before, right?"

"... Yes."

"Your pattern would have been long read. The opponent is the god of chess."

"Impossible..."

Jeliel had won previously because she was familiar with Carmen Set’s chess strategies. She had simulated the scenarios over a thousand times to prepare for the encounter, ensuring her victory.

But now, things were different. The god of chess had completely seen through her patterns.

Could she truly win against such an opponent?

Impossible.

"So you think you can win?"

Baek Yu-Seol chuckled and forcefully opened the door leading to Carmen Set.

"Have you forgotten who taught you chess?"

"Oh...!"

Creak! Thud!

The heavy iron door opened effortlessly, revealing two red lights flickering in the air. It was undoubtedly someone's glowing eyes.

The vengeful spirit of Carmen Set spoke with a chilling voice, his eyes flashing.

"Hehee… A great and noble soul has come to visit. What’s the reason you have awakened me?"

"Shut up and set up the chessboard."

"..."

The mages of the Sanwol Tower were speechless at Baek Yu-Seol’s bluntness even in front of this ancient being. Even Carmen Set appeared taken aback as if this was a first for him.

"Foolish one. There’s nothing to gain by being rude to me."

"What are you talking about? You're terrible at chess. Worse than me. I don’t use honorifics for inferior players."

"... This won’t do."

Rumble! Suddenly, the ground began to flip, and the mages waiting by the main gate stepped back in alarm.

The terrain under Baek Yu-Seol’s feet quickly turned into a giant chessboard with black and white squares. Enormous chess pieces fell with heavy thuds, but the position of the 'king' was vacant.

"You will be the king and play Soul Chess with me. If you win, I will grant your wish, but if you lose, your soul will be mine."

"Yes, I know."

At Baek Yu-Seol’s nod, the chess game was about to begin when...

Rumble! An unexpected loud noise shook the entire ruin.

"Ah?!"

"What’s going on?"

"Ugh...!"

The ground shook so violently that it was hard to stay balanced. The mages used their magic to anchor themselves in place, and Baek Yu-Seol quickly drew his sword and crouched low.

'What’s happening? What’s going on?'

This sudden situation caught even him off guard.

"This is bad. It seems the Mist Tree has awakened."

Looking towards the exit of the ruins, Haeseongwol grimaced.

“Mist Tree, you say?"

"Yes."

The Mist Tree was known to awaken once every hundred years, causing chaotic dreams that could overturn the landscape. Although this was an extremely rare occurrence and usually not a concern, it had awoken at this critical moment.

"Baek Yu-Seol, you need to return."

"But, Master!"

Haeseongwol made a calm judgment. "If you don't evacuate, you might get caught in a disaster. I can handle normal terrain collapse, but if we're swept into the collapse of a 'spatial dungeon,' you know very well what will happen."

Of course.

Being caught in a dungeon collapse could mean immediate annihilation.

But... this place was different.

As mentioned before, the ruins of Carmen Set were not a spatial dungeon but the world's only ‘Floating Dungeon.'

Perhaps, even if swept away, Baek Yu-Seol might not be annihilated.

"No, I will stay here and play chess. Please lead the expedition team to safety first."

"... You're crazy."

"I have no choice. It’s already a miracle for a floating dungeon to exist twice in the same era. If we lose the ruins of Carmen Set now, we might never find Chairman Melian again."

After finishing his words, Baek Yu-Seol turned back and gazed at Carmen Set.

Thud! Thud!

Even as they spoke calmly, the dungeon continued to shake violently.

"Master!"

"We must get out of here!"

Haeseongwol briefly observed Baek Yu-Seol’s back. He had the power to forcefully drag Baek Yu-Seol’s out to ensure the future, but he chose not to.

"Let's go."

"Oh...!"

As soon as Haeseongwol spoke, the expedition team quickly began to evacuate the dungeon. It might have seemed cold-hearted, but staying behind to wait for Baek Yu-Seol was not an act of kindness, but a foolish decision.

While the mages frantically escaped the dungeon, the soul chess match between Carmen Set and Baek Yu-Seol began. With his back to them, Haeseongwol leisurely turned to leave.

Or so he intended.

"... Jeliel."

He spoke to a lone girl who stayed behind, intending to watch Baek Yu-Seol’s chess game.

"You go ahead. I will stay here and watch Baek Yu-Seol’s chess game until the end."

"No, you can't."

"This is a fight to reclaim my father. I can’t just leave..."

Before Jeliel could finish her sentence, Haeseongwol placed his hand on her forehead. As he did, her strength gradually faded, making it impossible for her to resist any longer. Despite her efforts to move her trembling body, she couldn't muster any strength.

She looked at Haeseongwol with resentful eyes, but he remained unfazed.

"I'm sorry. Your father would not want you to die like this."

From the beginning, she had no authority to make decisions. Haeseongwol had never intended to let her engage in dangerous activities.

Leading the now limp Jeliel out with magic, Haeseongwol never looked back.

‘... How sad.’

The genius boy who had left such an impression from their first meeting. Although he couldn't use magic due to his physical condition, he might become a great archmage who would lead the world someday.

‘We are losing a precious talent.’

Even as Jeliel weakly struggled, Haeseongwol was the last to leave the ruins.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the ruins of Carmen Set completely vanished from the world.

"Oh...!"

Thud.

Seeing this, Jeliel collapsed to the ground. Her vacant eyes stared at the spot where the ruins had been for a long time...

But there was nothing left now.