Second Life Ranker

“Somewhat.” The skills that Nemesis had possessed in his previous life as Mirne could be separated into Empty Dream and Dragon’s Pillar. Like Legendary Beasts, he could resist magic attacks by lessening the magic power of a specific area through Empty Dream and then raising a storm to blow away everything in its path through Dragon’s Pillar.

Because of these abilities, people used to say that it was impossible to attack Heaven Wing with magic. He even had the title “Magic Exterminator”. Nemesis seemed quite proud of his past.

『 My skills now aren’t too different. The only difference is…actually, it’ll be easier if you see it yourself.』 Nemesis suddenly closed his eyes. 『Dream…fades away.』 As soon as he said the phrase to activate the skill, black spots appeared all over Nemesis, as though he were covered in soot. Then, he began to fade away, and darkness spread around him.

Everything disappeared as though their senses were being blocked, just like on the twentieth floor. There was only emptiness, emanated by an entity who had wandered for a long time in nothingness. Anyone caught up in this would be confused.

Yeon-woo thought he could sense how pleased with himself Nemesis was. He shook his head and said, “It’s all good, but why are you using a phrase that sounds like something made up by a middle schooler?” He could tell why the dragon liked the name Nemesis.

『A middle schooler? What are you talking about! Did you see the skill? It needs a phrase that describes it well, and…』 Nemesis shouted in agitation and began a long explanation.

‘Does he also have the habit of explaining everything step by step?’ Yeon-woo ignored Nemesis and confirmed the skill information.

[Dreaming Illusion][Rank: AA+][Proficiency: 0.0%][Description: Dreams create a world of reality and illusion to trap opponents. They will roam around not knowing whether or not they’re in a dream.][*Bewitching FantasyOpponents will be trapped in an area of nothingness. Once they feel an excess of confusion and fear, they will be afflicted with the status ‘Panic’ and will no longer be able to comprehend where they are. On the other hand, allies will be buffed.][*Fearsome NightmareMagic type skills will be restricted with a 20% probability. Penalties will be incurred when opponents use them. However, this does not apply to the power level.][**A great amount of magic power is required to create a world of nothingness. Success depends on skill proficiency.**Whenever Nemesis uses the skill, he will be defenseless. If his body is attacked, the skill will be canceled.]

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. Empty Dream had been a headache for countless magicians, but it seemed like this was a much better skill. Like Empty Dream, Dreaming Illusion affected magic type skills, but Bewitching Fantasy was a huge bonus. ‘It will go well with the territory settings.’

If Yeon-woo used it with the Dragon’s Power, anyone trapped in it wouldn’t be able to budge at all. Yeon-woo had been given a huge boost. ‘And it said that it creates a world of reality and illusions. Does that mean I can make illusions if I get a more superior skill than this?’

Yeon-woo thought he might be able to use dreams in the near future. If he reached the sixth step of the eight authorities, he’d be able to do a lot already, and this would give him an even bigger boost. He stroked his chin. Although it was something that wouldn’t happen just yet, he had to plan for it now.

Yeon-woo checked the next skill.

[Violent Whirlwind][Rank: A][Proficiency: 0.0%][Description: Winds will create storm effects that decrease the enemy’s mobility by 10% while increasing the user’s own speed. Each time skill proficiency increases by 5%, the number of whirlwinds increase up to a maximum of 15 at one time.]

Yeon-woo was glad to see this skill. ‘With this, I’ll be able to focus on leading Boo and the undead army.’ Yeon-woo still fought with his enemies when he spread his territory, leaving Boo to lead the army. That meant Boo had to summon spirits, use Fog of Blood, and lead everyone in battle. It was too tiring and inefficient. However, since Nemesis could now deal with his territory, Boo could focus on the undead army.

Nemesis suddenly appeared in the darkness, his chest thrust out. 『Do you see my power now, Master?』

“Yeah. I see why you need to use the vocabulary of a middle schooler.”

『How many times do I have to say…?!』

Yeon-woo ignored Nemesis again and looked at Nike. “Nike, can you show me yours, too?”

『Yeah! You’ll be totally surprised when you see it!』 Nike spread his wings open and shouted confidently. He had five skills that Yeon-woo could check, and two stood out in particular. The first was Holy Fire, which was similar to what Yeon-woo had gotten from the Phoenix. However, it had additional effects: Fire Hail and Sea of Fire.

They worked just as their names implied. Fire Hail caused flaming hail to hurtle from the sky, and Sea of Fire caused a fire to rise on the ground to burn everything into a crisp. However, this ate up as much magic power as Violent Whirlwind, so Yeon-woo had to be careful using it. He also didn’t want to burn his allies accidentally. He inspected the other skill that stood out to him.

[Fire Spirit][Rank: D~S+][Proficiency: 0.0%][Description: A phoenix is born and dies in fire. All types of fire are the territory of the phoenix, which means that the user can reincarnate and resurrect in fire.][*Resurrection of FireWhen HP drops below 20%, one can use fire to heal oneself once a day. Other skill effects are paused when resurrecting.][*Reincarnation of FireYou can melt into fire and control it however you desire. Control increases in proportion to the strength of the fire and the size of the area. However, fire created by enemies with the intent to attack cannot be completely controlled. Instead, you can only decrease its strength or change its direction.]

Although it seemed like Holy Fire on the surface, it was different in an important way that was tailor-made for Yeon-woo. He could melt into fire as he wished and control it--if so, what would happen if Nike used this feature to melt into Yeon-woo’s Holy Fire, as well?

‘My fire power will increase by a lot.’ Yeon-woo was as comfortable using fire as he was using his limbs. His Fire Wings appeared whenever Heaven Wing Mana Control was activated, and Holy Fire wrapped around his blade when he used Aura. With Nike’s power added to this, Yeon-woo would surpass his limits and they would all become more powerful. 

He had no concerns about working with Nike—they could read each other’s minds just by looking into each other’s eyes. “Nike.”

『Yeah!』 Nike understood what Yeon-woo wanted and nodded, flying up. Thousands of tongues of flames headed towards Yeon-woo, who spun his Magic Circuit. He was usually impervious to heat, and the heat he could feel now surprised him. It spread throughout his body and the red flames turned blue, then yellow.

It burned everything around it and broke it apart. Even the moisture in the air dried up, and the atmosphere seemed to be burning. The expanding air pushed against the barrier and shook it as though it could make it collapse at any second.

Yeon-woo had just barely released his power, and it was already incredible. His three pairs of Fire Wings turned into four pairs. He wondered if it was a bit too much, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He lowered his fire power so that wouldn’t get in the way and soared high into the sky, spreading his Fire Wings wide. Whenever he’d used them before, he always bumped into speed limitations and difficulty with turning, but all of those problems were now gone.

He moved with the flow of the air, and when he had grown somewhat used to it, he added more speed, and he could practically feel the sound barrier breaking in his ears. ‘If I added Shunpo, Haste, and Blink…!’ Yeon-woo activated all his skills at the same time as a target appeared before him.

With just a slight shake of his dagger, he created a large explosion that blew away nearly an entire forest.

***

‘Now I understand why its rank looked like that.’ Yeon-woo quickly left after seeing the destruction. Areas of the forest were still exploding as sparks spread. The forest was devastated and the smell of burning rose everywhere.

Yeon-woo had been planning on retrieving the fire before it caused more damage, but he couldn’t do anything about what had already happened. People would be gathering soon to investigate what had happened.

Yeon-woo realized why Fire Spirit wasn’t fixed to just one rank--it could handle all kinds of attacks. If Yeon-woo encountered any problems, this was the greatest power that he could count on. And what if he added Aura or Fire Rain? Or if he awakened his Dragon’s Body?

「If that was awakened as well? What do you think? It would be crazy.」

「If I encountered that during my life, I would have been in danger.」

Shanon and Hanryeong both looked satisfied. Yeon-woo asked Hanryeong, “What if we had met when you were at your strongest?”

「I still would have considered you a huge threat. If Aura, Nike, and even Fire Rain were combined together, I would have lost a limb, at the very least.」

Since this power was something even the Saber God would acknowledge, Yeon-woo felt satisfied.  

「But I wouldn’t have been intimidated.」

“How come?”

「All I would have to do is not get swept up by the storm. Or else, I’d just attack before you had a chance to use it against me.」

“Of course.” Yeon-woo nodded thoughtfully. Hanryeong wasn’t the kind of person who let his opponents get the advantage.  

「It’s dangerous because it doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe. It’s not worth having it if it can’t be controlled.」

Yeon-woo nodded again. Hanryeong was right to point out the danger not just to him but to everyone else, as well. If the undead army were destroyed, Yeon-woo would be hurting himself. ‘What if I focus on converging it instead of letting it explode?’ If he condensed the fire on his Aura and his blade, he would be an even bigger threat. How many people would be able to handle the combination of all those things? Of course, he needed weapons that could bear so much power, but he thought Vigrid would be able to do it. ‘There’s still a lot I want to practice.’

He was planning on placing this skill in reserve until he could control it perfectly.  ‘Is Blue Spirit the only thing left to check now?’ Yeon-woo had never forgotten the message he’d received after clearing the Abyss Turtle’s quest saying that he could learn spirit magic. He checked the skill that had lost its temporary designation.

[Blessing of the Blue Spirit]