In RPG games, it’s quite common to engage in preparations before a boss fight.

Buffs and “doping” are essential examples; they are vital for overcoming challenging boss monsters.

In some games, a single player heading into a solo raid might have dozens of others casting buffs and preparing top-grade food and potions. Fortunately, *Aether World Online* required far less preparation.

In *Aether World Online*, doping consisted of merely drinking a simple potion and perhaps eating a meal to boost one's condition—a straightforward system compared to other RPGs.

Once in battle, mages only needed to cast their spells; preparation was minimal, allowing them to focus purely on magic.

For "character Baek Yuseol," it was no different. He’d never bothered with pre-battle prep while playing.

“Ugh…”

But now, Baek Yuseol found himself needing pre-battle preparation.

Though he’d once faced dragons and top-tier mages with nothing but his sword and courage, now he couldn’t fight without meditating first.

He began with **Taryeong Divine Art**.

This technique, which involved amplifying his **Mana Flow Delay** to boost his mana circulation, could drastically increase his attack power, but it required at least ten seconds of meditation. And on top of that, achieving **Full Focus** demanded a full minute of meditation.

Thanks to intense training upon his return to Stella, he’d managed to reduce the time considerably—initially, it had taken nearly ten minutes to activate the skill.

It was a curious phenomenon.

When he faced Cheoriban, **Taryeong Divine Art** and **Full Focus** had activated simultaneously without preparation. But no matter how much he tried to replicate the conditions now, he couldn’t pull it off. Perhaps it was the difference between actual combat and practice.

Or perhaps the issue was the person sitting nearby, watching him intently—the one with the short hair.

That seemed more likely.

Flame was the culprit.

There was no other explanation for why he struggled to focus so much.

She was seated about thirty steps away, kneeling politely and staring at him without moving or breaking eye contact, which made it difficult for even someone as indifferent to others' gazes as Baek Yuseol.

“…Hey.”

Finally, unable to concentrate, Baek Yuseol called out to her. Flame’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, um? Am I in the way?”

Baek Yuseol was about to say “yes,” but the guilty look on her face gave him pause.

“No, it’s not that…”

“Should I sit farther away?”

“…Sure.”

She immediately scooted twenty more steps away and knelt again.

The situation repeated.

Her stare was still unsettling, making it hard for him to enter Full Focus.

“Hey… can I talk to you?”

“…You already started. What is it?”

“I was wondering if you should take a break.”

“We’ve hardly started.”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“…What?”

After waking up in the infirmary, he’d come straight to the training grounds, practiced Full Focus, reported back to Lee Hanwol, then returned to the dorm to sleep.

The next morning, he’d come back to the training grounds at dawn and continued practicing Full Focus for hours.

“Is it lunchtime already?”

“No. You need to head back to the dorm.”

“…What? Why?”

“If you’re not back by ten, the dorm manager will lose it.”

“…It’s already that late?”

Flame pointed to a clock in the corner of the training room.

9:48 p.m.

He had twelve minutes before curfew.

“What…?”

How was this possible?

It felt like he’d only just started Full Focus, but time had flown by.

“You haven’t even eaten. What if you collapse?”

“Wait… has that much time really passed?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Not at all.”

Looking at the clock in disbelief, Baek Yuseol turned to Flame.

Apparently, she’d been there from the beginning. He had forgotten her existence every time he entered Full Focus, only to sense her presence again as he broke out of his meditation.

“So, you’ve been there the whole time?”

“Oh, right! About that thing… League of Spirits, remember?”

“Right…”

“…You could have waited until tomorrow. Did you really need to spend an entire day on this during your precious weekend?”

Baek Yuseol, genuinely baffled, asked, to which Flame answered with the same nonchalant expression.

“Well, it wasn’t a waste of time.”

“…Was it?”

“Yeah. Who knows how much longer I’ll get to see you like this? You’ve been taking some serious risks lately.”

“I haven’t…”

“Aah, but it really is time for me to go. I’m not planning on getting yelled at by the dorm manager just to stay here.”

With that, Flame stood, stretched, and left the training grounds. Baek Yuseol watched her leave, then sighed heavily.

“League of Spirits…”

He’d recently heard about it.

Apparently, after being forcibly entered by Prince Skalben, Flame had been recruiting members to alter her team lineup.

With Angel and Mayuseong already persuaded, they had three members. Adding Baek Yuseol would make four.

The minimum team size for the League of Spirits was five. It was clear why Flame had spent all of Sunday in this rather boring place, trying to recruit just one more person.

“I guess I can’t avoid it.”

Baek Yuseol had intended to avoid involvement in the League of Spirits as much as possible.

There were several reasons he disliked the League of Spirits.

First, as one famous manga character put it, “In any group of five, at least one is a jerk.”

Team games weren’t his thing; he preferred one-on-one duels, where he could rely on himself.

Second, he was often that “jerk.”

As a solo player, Baek Yuseol excelled in one-on-one matches, consistently ranking as a top-tier player.

In team games, though, it was a different story.

Poor communication with teammates and a tendency to go solo often led him to act alone, resulting in either carrying the team or trolling more often than not.

Team games, therefore, were poison for someone like Baek Yuseol, who was more accustomed to working alone.

But maybe this time would be different.

Though he still lacked confidence in cooperative play… his teammates were Flame, Angel, and Mayuseong. It wasn’t that he trusted himself to work with them.

Rather, those three were so exceptional that they didn’t even need cooperation.

While other teams might be disadvantaged without cooperation, Flame’s team could compensate with sheer individual prowess.

*Well, I can probably just ride along without doing much.*

Given how hard Flame had worked to recruit him, it felt wrong to turn her down.

Plus, she was the only friend with whom he shared a homeland.

“Guess that worked out well.”

He needed a chance to test Full Focus in real combat, and the League of Spirits would make an ideal training ground.

---

**Morfran Forest**

The territory surrounding the Adol Levitt Red Tower.

The tall, austere tower, established solely to oversee Morfran Forest, stood prominently. Red lips curved into a faint smile as Hong Biyeon surveyed the scene.

*This is my first time seeing it in person.*

The tower was the last remnant of House Morfran, an estate annihilated ten years ago, and was now heavily tainted with dark mana. As a result, the Adol Levitt royal family had to regularly purify the area.

*It doesn’t feel right.*

Surprisingly, it wasn’t because of dark mana.

Oddly enough, there was barely any dark mana at all.

A gentle mountain breeze blew, filling the air with freshness, and birds chirped from the treetops.

She made eye contact with a squirrel hiding an acorn, but it quickly scampered up a tree.

For a place requiring annual purification due to dark mana…

It was remarkably peaceful.

“Welcome, Princess Hong Biyeon. I am Kaizen, purification ritualist from the Holy Federation. I’m at your service.”

Usually, purification was handled by the first princess, Hong Si-hwa. That Hong Biyeon was here instead had stirred public interest.

It didn’t show on her face, but she could tell by the way they looked at her.

*They’re wary of me.*

Hong Biyeon’s lips curled.

It had been a long time since she was treated this way. Since her rise in influence after meeting Baek Yuseol, few dared look down on her.

*Seems I have no allies here…*

The Morfran purification was conducted secretly under the command of House Orkan, so the gathered nobles and mages were all aligned with Hong Si-hwa’s faction.

Upon entering the Red Tower, Hong Biyeon felt an unexpected wave of nostalgia.

It reminded her of her childhood in the palace.

That cold, sharp atmosphere.

When she reached the top, an open rooftop surrounded by windows greeted her.

The walls were lined with windows inscribed with crimson magic circles, though the spells were oddly unsettling for something related to fire magic.

Standing with his back to the windows was an old man.

Wearing a pointed red hat, he looked at Hong Biyeon with narrow eyes.

“…Mage Terivon.”

“Welcome, Princess. It’s been quite a while.”

“Yes… it has been a long time.”

“It seems like just yesterday you were a young princess lighting flames at your fingertips, yet here you are, grown into such a beautiful woman.”

That wasn’t a compliment.

Mage Terivon.

Once the chief mage of the Adol Levitt royal family, he had taught flame magic to the princesses. While he was gentle and kind to the other two

 princesses, he’d been nothing but harsh to Hong Biyeon.

He constantly belittled her, saying she relied too much on her talent, that she might lose control someday. His harsh words had left her feeling wounded and despised as a child.

Terivon chuckled as he approached Hong Biyeon slowly.

Instinctively, she took half a step back, biting her lip as a cold sweat broke out.

“My, Princess, that reaction is quite hurtful.”

“…You’ve changed a lot, Terivon. Are you trying to play the kindly grandfather now?”

“Nothing in the world stays the same, Princess. I too am but a creature following the laws of nature.”

“Human nature doesn’t change, Terivon. I’m tired of this revolting act. Why don’t you drop it?”

“Ho-ho, I understand. I was too harsh on you in your youth. But please, know it was for your sake.”

“…Disgusting.”

She dismissed him and turned to the purification mages waiting nearby.

“Enough of the formalities. Let’s begin the purification. Are we ready?”

“Yes, Your Highness. However, may I remind you… you’ll need to activate the **Fire Spirit Formation** with the royal emblem…”

He trailed off.

The reason was obvious.

Hong Si-hwa, who usually activated the Fire Spirit Formation, was a seventh-class mage.

In comparison, Hong Biyeon was merely a fourth-class mage.

Though achieving that level at seventeen was remarkable, it was insufficient to wield her family’s magic alone.

“I can handle it.”

“Really, Your Highness?”

The nobles eyed her with doubt.

“Well… it’s not as if failure would be catastrophic. We could always call Princess Hong Si-hwa… let’s give it a try.”

Their tone said it all.

They had no faith in Hong Biyeon. They hadn’t even fully prepared the ritual, certain she’d fail.

“Very well, then.”

Hong Biyeon responded nonchalantly to their condescension.

She was done reacting with anger and irritation.

*Simple. All I need to do is show them.*

Show them who Hong Biyeon truly was.

Hong Biyeon, the mage.

Hong Biyeon, the princess.

All she had to do was reveal herself to them exactly as she was.

*It’s easy for me now.*