Cheoriban’s swift handling of Soya was something Baek Yuseol had anticipated.

Their abilities were polar opposites, and in their past battles within *Aether World Online*, Cheoriban had decisively defeated her countless times.

He also knew Cheoriban would eventually notice his presence.

Despite his best attempts to conceal himself, it was impossible to remain entirely undetected by a black mage of 9th risk level.

But then…

“Are you the one behind Soya?”

This development was entirely unexpected. His expression hardened as he leaped forward to land in front of Cheoriban.

Although his physical abilities had improved, he lacked control over mana, which meant he could easily shatter his knees with such a landing. Yet, he managed to execute a controlled descent, aiming for an impressive arrival.

*Thud!*

Upon landing, Baek Yuseol saw Soya, barely conscious, tears and snot streaming down her face in utter humiliation.

Though once beautiful, her current state might have seemed pitiful to an observer. Surprisingly, Baek Yuseol felt no sympathy at all.

Instead, there was an odd sense of satisfaction. After all, he had orchestrated this encounter with Cheoriban specifically to teach her a lesson.

"You should suffer a bit more," he thought.

Soya had dared to target Ifanel’s heart and even attempted to corrupt her noble soul, a disgraceful act for a black mage.

“Hm, up close, you’re even more of a regular high schooler than I thought,” Cheoriban mused.

“That’s because I am a high schooler,” Baek Yuseol replied.

“Oh, really? You come all the way here and pretend not to know anything?” Cheoriban smirked. “Yet her expression tells me all I need to know.”

Despite her pain, Soya managed to turn her gaze to Baek Yuseol, desperation clear in her eyes as if he were her only hope.

She looked at him with a pleading expression, perhaps clinging to him as her last hope. But Baek Yuseol had no intention of helping her.

Not that he had the power to do so anyway.

“So… ordinary…”

Cheoriban frowned, scrutinizing Baek Yuseol.

As someone who had honed the power of thought control for centuries, Cheoriban could sense hidden power within even the most concealed beings.

Strangely, Baek Yuseol seemed to possess no power at all.

He was neither more nor less than an ordinary person.

Which only made him more suspicious.

“Can an ordinary person really enter Stella Academy?”

Even if he did enter Stella Academy with a mundane body, could he really have resolved all the countless incidents that had unfolded there?

"Something’s not right…”

Cheoriban’s expression hardened as he stamped his foot, breaking a twig beneath him, which caused Soya to scream in agony.

“Argh…!”

Though he had only snapped a twig, Soya felt it as though her wrist had been shattered.

He wasn’t one to derive pleasure from causing pain, but at that moment, the presence of the young man in front of him was far too bothersome to ignore.

“It seems you have no intention of confessing willingly. Very well. This isn’t my style, but…”

Cheoriban clenched his fists, summoning the last remnants of his dark mana. A reddish haze shimmered around his body, twisting the air.

“I’ll just have to force the truth out of you.”

Cheoriban was certain that Baek Yuseol was the one who had manipulated Soya to attack him.

It seemed only logical to assume that Baek Yuseol was also the one who had directed her to steal the spirit’s heart.

It was a natural conclusion.

But there was no way to disprove his assumption.

‘This is troublesome…’

Despite Cheoriban’s reasonable suspicions, Baek Yuseol knew any attempt at denial would be futile. He was aware that pleading, "I didn’t do it!" would fall on deaf ears.

‘Fighting wasn’t what I wanted…’

He had his reasons. One was simply that Cheoriban was strong enough to hold his own against the most powerful entities in the world. Another was that Cheoriban, though technically a villain, was a character Baek Yuseol had grown rather fond of during his time playing the game.

Now that he was no longer merely a game character but a real individual, expressing that fondness was hardly possible…

*Swoosh!*

“Gasp!”

Cheoriban slammed one leg onto the ground, swinging his arm. His dark-red mana crackled like a whip.

It moved faster than sound itself, disregarding the resistance of the air.

Baek Yuseol sensed the deadly force just in time and barely managed to roll aside, dodging the attack by a hair’s breadth.

‘That… was insane!’

He hadn’t even seen it coming.

It was only the faintest hint of his sixth sense alerting him to imminent danger that allowed him to dodge in time.

‘So this is what a 9th-risk mage is capable of…!’

Earlier, he had commented on Cheoriban’s low attack power, but that was only in the context of pure magic combat.

Cheoriban’s thought control alone was enough to place him among the elite 9th-risk ranks. Yet his physical prowess was just as formidable.

Until now, Cheoriban had never needed to rely on his physical strength, so few took note of it. But now, with his mana almost entirely depleted, Cheoriban’s true might was finally emerging.

*Boom!*

Cheoriban lightly pushed off the ground, and the earth beneath him sank and shattered. Soya, who had been writhing in agony, felt the full brunt of Cheoriban’s violent stomp, sending her rolling helplessly across the ground.

But no one paid her any mind.

*Slash!*

A massive tree that had once been part of the World Tree split cleanly in two, collapsing where Baek Yuseol had been standing, only for his figure to vanish like an afterimage, reappearing ten meters away.

‘Now!’

Baek Yuseol activated his blink. Within seconds, he had calculated the gap between blinks.

‘The delay between blinks is just 0.3 seconds.’

To some, that interval might seem like the briefest moment, but to a 9th-risk black mage, it was ample time.

‘Damn it…!’

Baek Yuseol knew it was only a matter of time before Cheoriban launched another attack within the gap between his blinks.

However…

He had no way to counter.

In order to execute the next blink, he needed to calculate both the precise location and distance, which required control beyond the limits of ordinary human reflexes.

With no other option, Baek Yuseol aimed for the clearest space available and executed a blink, narrowly evading Cheoriban’s strike. However, a stray branch grazed his arm, leaving a gash.

*Drip!*

Blood trickled down.

Baek Yuseol jumped back, clutching the wound to stanch the flow. Without even a basic healing spell at his disposal, an injury during battle could be fatal.

‘…Something’s off.’

Cheoriban’s expression grew tense.

The young man had evaded his attacks several times, showing impressive skill, yet something about him seemed rough and unrefined.

His combat instincts were sharp, yet his body seemed to lack the agility to match.

‘Well… maybe it doesn’t matter.’

For reasons Cheoriban didn’t fully understand, if Baek Yuseol had indeed grown weaker, then perhaps things were working out in his favor. Cheoriban, despite his reputation for absolute defense, could no longer summon his powers or abilities.

'Now that Cheoriban’s defense is down, I have a chance!'

*Whoosh!*

Dodging multiple whips of dark mana, Baek Yuseol’s gaze turned steely.

Avoiding a fight was impossible.

Though he had once admired Cheoriban, survival demanded that he face him with all he had.

‘Can I win?’

He didn’t know.

But it was worth a try.

*Tap!*

Using blink consecutively, Baek Yuseol reached a nearby branch and paused to catch his breath.

While it was mainly to regain his energy for another blink, the brief pause gave Cheoriban a moment to pull back his whip, leading to a tense standoff.

‘I have to focus.’

Closing one’s eyes to concentrate in the middle of combat was insane.

But just for a fleeting instant.

As Cheoriban retrieved his whip and prepared to strike again, in less than 0.5 seconds, Baek Yuseol closed his eyes and swiftly entered his inner mind.

**[Blessing of Spring]**

How had he fought until now?

Blink count: 3.

Maximum distance: 15 meters.

That was his clear limitation, branded onto his soft human body.

And not just that.

His physical abilities were riddled with weaknesses.

Blinking was fast enough to elude even a 9th-risk black mage’s immediate reaction, but how fast could he swing a sword?

‘Pathetically slow.’

To Cheoriban’s eyes, it was probably as if he were moving in slow motion, and he would only laugh at the clumsy swordsmanship. No matter how fast his blink was, his attacks were easy to evade.

Increasing his sword speed was out of the question.

Despite constant training, his growth had hit a wall.

‘It’s time to change my approach.’

He had read the entire martial arts philosophy left by Tae-ryeong, the predecessor who had fought ancient mages with his leaking mana condition.

Tae-ry

eong had laid out techniques for confronting mages as a sword wielder with mana leakage. But none of it addressed how to deal with black mages.

With superior physical strength compared to humans, they couldn’t be handled with mere swordsmanship.

‘Then I’ll have to create my own way.’

Baek Yuseol had often scraped by with luck, but that wouldn’t work against Cheoriban.

But perhaps fortune was on his side.

With Cheoriban’s defenses entirely down, if Baek Yuseol’s timing was perfect, he could strike.

‘Instead of slashing…’

Rather than swinging, he would pierce.

‘I’ll charge straight at him, using blink’s momentum.’

It was a simple approach that almost seemed foolish in its straightforwardness. But it wasn’t as if Baek Yuseol hadn’t thought of this before.

He had tried a blink-based thrust once, during the early semester’s necromancer attack.

At that time, he had been on the verge of death, barely managing a final blow to the nearly defeated necromancer with a headlong charge, only to almost suffer a fatal counterattack.

Why?

The enemy could easily anticipate and respond to a head-on charge with a sharp counter.

He had been forced to aim for his enemy’s flanks to avoid unnecessary risk. His near-zero defensive power had demanded this convoluted strategy.

‘Focus. I have to be sharp.’

His mental world became more vivid, entering a concentration beyond human limits.

**[Hyperfocus, derived from the Blessing of Spring]**

Thus, 0.5 seconds passed.

**[Blink]**

*Slice!*

“…Hmm!”

With eyes closed and head tilted to the sky, Cheoriban swung his whip at Baek Yuseol.

But he vanished instantly, leaving Cheoriban frowning.

“A troublesome little creature, aren’t you? Is running all you know?”

Turning his gaze, he saw Baek Yuseol ten meters away, watching him.

'What is this?'

But something had changed.

The aura surrounding Baek Yuseol was different, as if he were now fully absorbing every breath of the wind around him.

Cheoriban sensed it instinctively.

‘I’m not sure what, but he’s reclaiming his strength.’

He couldn’t let that happen.

With a deep breath, Cheoriban spread his arms wide, and his whip extended outward like a massive, crimson-black hand.

Even after battling two 9th-class mages and the half-witch, half-black-mage Soya, he had pushed himself to the brink.

He had tried to conserve his mana, but with Baek Yuseol fighting in earnest, he would have to respond with equal force.

Even if he spent all his strength and died here, as long as he fought with his all, he would have no regrets.

That had always been his belief.

‘My body is at its limit now.’

This would be his final, last-ditch attack.

Blood trickled down Cheoriban’s mouth as he forced his mana out from deep within, twisting his insides painfully. The agony was beyond what any normal person could fathom, but Cheoriban felt no concern.

All his focus was on a single opponent.

The insolent boy facing him, his sword poised to strike.

*Rustle…*

A breeze drifted by, gently rustling a leaf that fluttered to the ground.

As if nothing had happened, the gentle autumn breeze brushed past both men’s cheeks.

“…Gugh!”

Cheoriban coughed up blood, his head dropping as he stared at the silver mana blade that had pierced his chest.

‘I… let my guard down…’

His dulled senses betrayed him. He had grown weak and tired. After centuries of letting the earth shield him, his once sharp instincts had dulled.

Yet, some habits never die.

“Damn…”

Baek Yuseol, having dropped his sword, staggered back, slumping against a tree.

‘I should have been more focused…’

He thought he had tracked every one of Cheoriban’s strikes.

But Cheoriban had, as expected, adjusted his attack to exploit the tiniest openings in Baek Yuseol’s defenses.

‘This… I might actually die…’

The black mana blade that had pierced his waist was a fatal blow.

He might not last much longer.

And what of his own strike?

*Clatter!*

With Baek Yuseol’s mana withdrawn, the Terriphon sword clattered to the ground, sliding from Cheoriban’s chest.

Though blood dripped from his wound, it wasn’t a fatal hit.

The moment Baek Yuseol aimed for his heart, Cheoriban had deflected the blade with a last-minute burst of mana, veering it off course.

A ridiculous reaction time and combat instinct.

But admiring him wasn’t possible. Cheoriban was an enemy Baek Yuseol had to face with everything he had.

“...Unfortunate.”

Cheoriban drew on all his remaining dark mana to close the wound. It would have healed instantly if he were in better condition, but even stopping the bleeding was challenging now.

“Consider yourself honored. You're the first since ‘that man’ to wound my chest.”

Although Cheoriban was weakened, any mage would take pride in having come close to fatally wounding someone with the title of Absolute Invincibility.

But as a swordsman, Baek Yuseol felt no pride.

Instead…

‘I should have stabbed faster.’

If only he’d used blink a bit quicker, been more focused.

If he’d had a little more experience… he could have avoided that seemingly ridiculous attack.

‘I guess I’ll have to finish him off.’

Cheoriban staggered toward Baek Yuseol, who clutched his abdomen, eyes shut, completely defenseless. But then a chilling sensation stopped him.

Turning, he saw a figure with violet wings descending from above—a woman.

‘The Elf King… she recovered quickly.’

Perhaps witnessing everything, Kkot Seorin was rushing at him with incredible speed.

Though he wanted to finish off Baek Yuseol, if he delayed, he would be too late.

‘It’s time to leave.’

Not to prolong his life.

Cheoriban lifted Soya, who had collapsed, covered in tears and snot, and was unconscious.

If he died now, he wouldn’t be able to properly deal with her.

With Soya slung over his shoulder, Cheoriban took one last look at Baek Yuseol.

Though clutching his stomach with his eyes shut, completely defenseless, something about him deterred Cheoriban from delivering the final blow.

There wasn’t even a hint of malice in the boy’s gaze.

Using Soya to wreak havoc upon the World Tree seemed oddly out of character for someone so pure and noble.

‘Leaving him alive for now should be fine.’

And with that, Cheoriban merged with the earth and vanished from sight.