“I will log in tomorrow and look into it,” Tae-Sung said.

He simply had no energy to go into the game right now. He was utterly exhausted and needed rest, so the fatigue would make it impossible to play properly even if he logged in.

Thus, Tae-Sung stayed until the dinner ended, went home, and slept.

About six hours later.

“Ugh... I’m still so sleepy,” Tae-Sung fought the drowsiness and lay down in the capsule.

He had not slept enough and felt drained, but there was no other choice. The crisis in the game world would not wait for his personal schedule, so he gritted his teeth and logged in.

“Kyuuu! You’re back, owner punk! We have a big problem! Another pillar of light appeared! There are two of them this time!” Hamchi greeted him

“I know. Let’s go and listen to the report,” Siegfried said, immediately moving to see Michele.

“Welcome, Your Imperial Majesty,” Michele greeted.

“How are things?” Siegfried asked.

Michele pointed to the far western sky and reported, “Two more pillars of light have risen during Your Imperial Majesty’s absence.”

“I heard so.”

“Now that there are four pillars of light, we managed to predict where the remaining two would appear. I have promptly organized an exploration team led by Sir Michael and Dame Oscar to investigate.

“Got it. Tell the entire army to prepare for combat at all times, and start recruiting Adventurers as a precaution. We don’t know what will happen, so we have to be as ready as we can,” Siegfried said. Then, he added, “The Creator’s descent will be the most dangerous thing this world has ever faced.”

“The Creator’s descent...”

“If that happens, the world will truly be erased. It will be returned to complete nothingness.”

“My lord is the only one who can save the world now.”

“Hey! Can I please get a break from saving the world just for five minutes?!”

“Sire...”

“Do you know how exhausted I am? I’m really exhausted!”

Siegfried was truly worn out.

“Something happens every single damn day! Another disaster or someone trying to destroy the world! At this point, I don’t even know if I’m just an unpaid laborer or what!”

“Still, you are the only one who can stop this crisis.”

“I know that already. And that’s what makes me more upset. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were one or two more like me? We could share the lord that way.”

“...”

“Ah, never mind. You know what? To hell with this world! Just let it burn down.”

Though he said that, Siegfried was already moving toward the warp gate.

***

Siegfried headed first to the area where Oscar was tasked to investigate. He trusted that Michael was more than capable enough to hold his own, so he decided to assist Oscar first.

The area where the pillar of light was expected to appear was the northern territory of the former Marchioni Empire. It was a vast mountain range blanketed by endless stretches of forests.

This place known as the Torio Mountain Ranges was once said to be the communal nesting ground for dragons. The mountain ranges were so grand that countless dragons had made it their lair in the past.

Of course, what remained now were only empty lairs or hollow caverns; the dragons were now extinct, after all.

“But how are we supposed to find Oscar and the others?” Siegfried grumbled as he glanced down at the minimap.

The Toria Mountains were too vast and thick with an overgrown forest canopy that made it nearly impossible to locate his allies.

“I guess I’ll have no choice but to use it this time,” Siegfried muttered as he activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

[Alert: You cannot use Inzagh’s Clairvoyance in this area!]

Unfortunately, the item’s ability refused to activate at all inside the Torio Mountain Ranges.

Apparently, some sort of barrier or perhaps interference from another force was blocking it from activating.

‘Damn it... It even worked in warped places...’ Siegfried thought, recalling the time he had used the same ability to meet Deus in the past. Then, he concluded, ‘Ah... It must be the Creator’s influence.’

Whatever the reason, Siegfried had no choice but to trace them down the mountain trail manually.

“Stay sharp, everyone. We have no idea what’s waiting for us.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“Okay, oppa.”

“No need to worry about me.”

“Understood.”

Siegfried’s comrades nodded at his request.

“I’ll scout from above, so just slowly match my pace,” Siegfried said.

“Kyuuu! Stay safe, everyone!” Hamchi replied.

Right before spreading his wings and taking to the skies, he summoned his Night Stalkers and ordered them to patrol the area around his comrades.

“Do you think there are Illuminati ruins here, too?” he asked.

“Kyuuu! It’s possible!” Hamchi shrieked in response.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. In a forest this deep? An ancient ruin could easily be hiding here.”

Given that the Toria Mountains were as vast as an entire nation, the existence of an old Illuminati side here would hardly be surprising.

“I just hope Oscar’s group is safe until—”

“GRRRAAAH!”

A thunder roar ripped through the air, one powerful enough to tear eardrums apart.

“What the hell was that?!”

“K-Kyuuu!”

Siegfried and Hamchi instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.

“Kyuuu?!”

“Damn it! You’ve got to be kidding me!”

The reason they were shocked was simple.

“Those who defy the will of the Creator shall not be forgiven.”

It was a dragon. A full-grown dragon, one over two hundred meters long, was flying toward them at a terrifying speed.

The Dragon Slayers had wiped out the dragons, so there was not a single one remaining. The creature attacking Siegfried and Hamchi was actually an undead dragon, as evidenced by the hide stretched over the exposed bones.

A Bone Dragon was a dragon resurrected as an undead, and they were considered to be the most powerful of all undead monsters.

Yes, that Bone Dragon was coming for them. Apparently, one of the dragons who had perished in these mountains had been reanimated for some reason. Following the Creator’s will, it decided to attack Siegfried.

The Bone Dragon opened its jaws wide.

“..!”

Siegfried instantly understood what that meant and ran for his life.

Krwaaaaaaah!

From the dragon’s maw, a torrent of icy-blue fire burst forth, fanning out in a massive cone that engulfed Siegfried’s path.

A Breath Attack.

The ultimate weapon of the dragons was just unleashed.

***

Siegfried had never fought a real dragon in a fair fight. Back in his early days, he had once hunted a dragon, but it was barely more than a baby green dragon.

The Chromatic Dragon had been taken care of by Deus, and the First Black Dragon, Inkarthus, was slain using the Scourge of God, the unique ability of the Rod of God.

In other words, Siegfried had never once faced a fully grown dragon in a head-on fair battle.

Now that he was facing one, he finally understood why the dragons were feared to be the absolute rulers of this world.

“Kyuuu! Fly faster, owner punk! We’re gonna get burned alive!”

“I-I know!”

Siegfried had to cast teleport multiple times in a row just to dodge the breath attack, but even that was not enough.

The Bone Dragon’s flight speed matched his own, and the dragon was also capable of using Teleport.

While most would find this strange, it was actually not that strange at all. Magic itself was a divine authority granted to the dragons by the Creator, which meant they were the very source of magic itself.

So, a Bone Dragon chaining Teleport was not that strange at all.

‘Damn it! There’s no opening!’

Siegfried had no choice but to keep dodging, again and again, waiting for that endless stream of dragon’s breath to stop.

He couldn’t counterattack until the Breath was over, yet the attack just showed no signs of ending.

“Those who defy the Creator’s will shall die!”

“Do not attempt to resist your destiny.”

Two new voices echoed from a distance, causing Siegfried’s eyes to widen in shock.

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Two more bone dragons, both fully grown, burst out of the clouds and dove straight toward Siegfried.

‘How the hell are there three of them?!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly.

A chill traveled down his spine the moment he realized there were three dragons.

The dragons were known to be the most destructive creatures in the world, but an undead dragon?

It was even worse. Now, there were three of them.

‘One wrong move and I’m dead.’

He gnashed his teeth and avoided the relentless stream of breath attacks by teleporting through the air. Of course, he also looked for an opening to attack.

‘Now!’

Shwiiiik!

The Annihilation’s Grasp shot forward at lightning speed, aimed straight at one of the Bone Dragons.

Whiiiing!

The weapon spun like a drill and tore straight into the dragon’s left wing.

Chwaaak!

The entire left wing was shredded into pieces by the Universal-rated weapon.

“Aaaaaghhh!”

Losing one wing made the Blue Bone Dragon let out a shriek, and it began falling, as even an undead dragon couldn’t maintain high-speed flight with only one wing.

‘I have to end it fast.’

Siegfried cast the Wave of Oppression, interrupting the dragon’s attempt to teleport away.

Pop!

He vanished and reappeared on the creature's chest midfall.

‘Time to finish this!’

He thrust the Annihilation’s Grasp downward, stabbing it into the dragon’s neck.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puuuk!

Five rapid strikes and the Five Steps to Invincibility made short work of the dragon.

“Krwaaagh!”

The dragon screamed once and then crashed into the earth, triggering an earthquake.

Even though it was an undead version of a fully grown, mature dragon, it was still affected by the instant-death effect of Five Steps to Invincibility.

A few seconds later...

[Alert: You have reached a new level!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 639!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 640!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 641!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 642!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 643!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 644!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have reached Level 649!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 650!]

Siegfried had gained twelve levels in one go and jumped from Level 638 to Level 650.

“W-Whoa...”

He couldn’t help but be impressed. Something that had fallen so quickly actually gave such immense rewards. With that, he hit the third wall. After reaching Level 650, he stopped gaining experience points altogether, and the only way to continue growing was to break through the wall.

‘Ooooh?! Jackpot!’

Siegfried smiled in disbelief, but he composed himself and immediately invested his skill points into Five Steps to Invincibility.

[Alert: Five Steps to Invincibility has leveled up!]

[Alert: Skill has been renamed to Four Steps to Invincibility!]

[Alert: The skill level increase has reset the skill's cooldown!]

‘Oh? I can use it again already? Perfect!’

Siegfried fixed his gaze on the next target, a massive undead Black Bone Dragon whose body oozed with radioactive material.

‘I choose you as my next victim,’ he thought and shot forward at the speed of light.

“Kyaaaah!”

The Black Bone Dragon roared and unleashed a powerful Breath, spewing out a cloud of toxic gas laced with dense radioactive energy.

‘I can pierce through it!’

Siegfried did not dodge and jumped straight into the Breath. He had activated his defensive skill, Shield of Malice, and transformed the Annihilation’s Grasp into a shield.

The combination of these two defensive measures protected him from the Breath, allowing him to plunge head-on through the deadly cloud of toxic gas and head straight for the Black Bone Dragon.