I turned my gaze.

At that moment, my reflection appeared on the drawn blade of Bifrost.

The first thing I noticed was the vertical, slit-shaped black pupils in my eyes.

[‘Han (★★★★★)’ has entered a state of Demonization!]

Sssshhh.

Tearing through my pale skin, pitch-black scales began to emerge.

Crackle! Crackle!

Crimson lightning arced from the scales.

‘This… isn’t human.’

Scales covered my entire body, and my red eyes gleamed eerily.

The image of myself reflected in the blade looked like a monster.

I sheathed Bifrost.

[‘Han (★★★★★)’ has exited the Demonization state.]

In an instant, I was back to my human form.

Goo Goo Con approached me.

“A little.”

“The gap is that large?”

I sighed.

“I’m not too fond of getting stronger alone. Team play is more efficient.”

That’s what I knew to be true.

I’d been raising Niflheimr’s 1st party evenly for that reason.

“…”

Goo Goo Con circled around me as he spoke.

“A complete being…”

I crossed my arms.

I could guess what he meant.

‘A hero capable of executing missions solo.’

Reconnaissance and analysis, combat, assassination, offense, defense… close-quarters and long-range, small and large-scale battles—being capable of all of it alone.

‘… A one-man army.’

In my knowledge, there were only two heroes capable of that.

First, El Cid, the number one ranked hero.

And second, Niflheimr’s sub-master, Seris.

Other members of the 1st party had their own vulnerabilities in one or two areas.

Take Ridigion for example—he was nearly invincible in duels but lacked efficiency in large-scale battles. Nihaku was the opposite. Yurnet and Myuden had their own exploitable points as well.

‘Seris has none of those weaknesses.’

She was nearly perfect in every aspect.

Because I had designed her that way.

She could perform at her best in any environment.

‘So, I’m supposed to become like that?’

That Seris turned out the way she did was almost a stroke of luck, even for me.

I wasn’t sure I could pull it off again, even if I tried a hundred times.

“I was just lost in thought.”

I smirked.

If Halkion’s words were true, a gap was now opening between me and the rest of the 1st party, one they might never bridge. Of course, they could eventually catch up if they had enough time, but I didn’t have that luxury.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

All I needed was to climb to the 100th floor.

Then, I’d finally part ways with this wretched place.

Halkion scoffed, staring at me.

The pigeon’s brown eyes narrowed, and suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over me.

It was a strange but familiar feeling.

I opened my eyes.

The barren wasteland I had seen earlier stretched out before me again.

Halkion’s spear was aimed at me.

According to him, this place was a shared mental space, born from the melding of my mind with Halkion’s.

Therefore, it wasn’t bound by the laws of physics.

‘He said I’d better get used to coming here.’

I planted both feet firmly on the ground.

Halkion smiled lightly, still pointing the spear at me.

“…”

There was no need to beat around the bush.

I immediately drew my sword from its sheath.

“I don’t really…”

“I don’t want to rely on that power too much.”

I smiled, twirling my sword.

“I’ve seen plenty of people fall apart relying only on their imprints.”

While the power of this imprint was incredible, I couldn’t depend on it alone.

Its purpose was to aid my sword in cutting my enemy’s throat more efficiently.

It should never become the master.

‘Advanced Swordsmanship is within reach.’

I was only one step away from reaching the level of a master.

“I’m not rejecting it. I’ll use it when I need it, as a useful tool.”

Crack!

An immense pressure descended on me, causing me to stagger.

It felt like a massive steel beam was pressing down on my head.

My feet sank deep into the ground.

“Do as you like.”

This much wasn’t too hard.

I was used to training with dozens of kilograms of sandbags strapped to me.

‘How many times will we fight?’

A hundred? A thousand?

Maybe even more.

I’d probably start to understand a bit of what Aaron felt like.

‘What’s important is…’

Becoming the master of this power, not its slave.

How I use this strength is up to me.

No matter how powerful the skills and imprints may be, in the end, it was always the hero wielding them.

I had seen countless heroes crumble because they were intoxicated by their abilities.

‘An invincible power, huh.’

There’s no such thing.

I stood ready, prepared to swing my sword at the Halkion before me.