While Ray pushed his way through the final moments of the third trial inside the Tower of Transcendances, an entirely different storm was brewing far from him. New Italy’s top guilds were stirring, and the atmosphere around them was beginning to thicken with tension. Inside a grand meeting hall, large enough to host a political summit, a man with shoulder-length brown hair sat with a heavy and undeniable presence. His build was massive and muscular, and the rugged lines across his face made him look as if he had been carved from stone. This was Zephyr Lloyd, the guild master of the Dragon Guild, which held the rank of the second-strongest guild in New Italy. He was also known as the strongest Gifted currently recognized in the country. Zephyr sat at one of the many chairs surrounding an enormous round table. His eyes drifted toward the man occupying the main seat at the head of the table. That man was Hugo Santiago, chairman of the Italian Gifted Association, who carried the calm aut

Ray had finally figured out the trick to killing an elemental spirit. You either shattered the core that powered them or ripped it straight out of their body. There was no other reliable way. With that in mind, he lifted his hand toward the four remaining Earth Flame Spirits. Mana surged through his arm, hot and violent, and fire magic answered his call. Dozens of magic circles flared into existence above him, layered in the air like a stacked constellation of burning rings. From each circle, a fourteen-foot spear of fire formed and shot downward toward the spirits. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Each impact tore the ground apart. Heat blasted outward and the shockwaves triggered pockets of unstable material beneath the crust. That set off another massive chain of explosions that rolled outward like a growing storm. Even Ray had to shield his face as the ground erupted beneath his feet. He muttered, half annoyed and half exhausted, "Jesus Christ, this whole damn place is basically a m

Ray surveyed the aftermath of his Flame Tempest with a satisfied nod, as if the entire scene had unfolded exactly the way he had hoped. The cratered landscape, the melted stone, and the scorching air still trembling with lingering heat made it clear that the spell had lived up to its destructive promise. He had created it on little more than a passing impulse while fighting the level 105 Earth Fire Guardian Spirit, yet the result felt far from random. Physically, Ray possessed more than enough strength to take down the creature in hand-to-hand combat. That route would have given him almost nothing of value, though, and he had no intention of wasting an opponent like that. What he needed was growth in a different area. What he needed were spells that expanded his arsenal instead of repeating the same formula he relied on so often. If he were being honest, magic had never been something he considered deeply. His focus had mostly been on the Fire Element because it naturally aligned wit

"Do you know why I am sitting here alone and not with the others?" she asked, her voice low and heavy. "Because I would end up destroying someone who cannot handle my fury." Her words lingered in the air. A moment later, her suffocating aura slowly dissolved, and the ruined castle settled into a tense, fragile quiet. "But it is fine now. He is already growing stronger at a rate that should not be possible, even for one of us. It will not be long before he climbs back to what he used to be, so I am not as pissed as I was before. He can deal with them himself soon enough." She smiled lightly and rolled her shoulders as if her earlier outburst had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "It is fine?" The Administrator scanned the throne room with a blank expression. Collapsed walls, shattered statues, crushed pillars, the deep fractures ripping across the floor. Everything around them was the aftermath of the rage the woman had released only minutes earlier. The Administrator

[Name: Mutated Roots] [Level: 113] [Description: Once ordinary trees, these beings transformed into sentient creatures after absorbing vast amounts of wood essence. They are silent and non-territorial, choosing not to attack unless provoked or if their belongings are stolen.] --- Ray rested his hand on the creature that appeared to be nothing more than an enormous banyan tree. To the naked eye it looked completely natural, its thick roots spreading across the forest floor and its branches swaying lightly in the fog. But when Ray activated his [Eyes of Clarity], he could see the truth beneath the bark. A vibrant Verdant Green source core pulsed deep inside the monster’s body, radiating an immense amount of concentrated energy. The core shone like a gemstone hidden in the heart of the tree. On the surface, however, the creature gave no sign of life. Even when Ray touched the coarse wooden trunk, it remained still and unbothered, as if it could not sense him at all. “So they really