Chapter 196

The five-colored flower blooming above Park Chan-woo’s head signified the ‘Five Elements.’

The five energies that classified all things in the universe.

Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

The Five Elements meant balance.

It meant his soul and body had achieved perfect balance.

‘How could someone who has just stepped onto the Path of Mana…’

Realizing what was happening, Lil stared at Park Chan-woo in astonishment.

No matter how sublime his talent was, achieving ‘balance’ belonged to a completely different world.

In the first place, it hadn’t been long since he had grasped the 2nd stage, ‘Flow,’ and reached the 3rd stage, ‘Cohesion.’

And yet, he was advancing without the slightest hitch.

As if he were someone who had already experienced it once before.

‘Incomprehensible.’

He was a human who could not be fathomed even from a Transcender’s perspective.

It was clearly his first time experiencing this, yet he charged forward as if he had already been prepared.

If such a thing were possible…

‘…Just how much effort has he put in?’

It could only be described as the result of sheer effort.

It meant he had handled magic with an obsession that transcended imagination.

No one could pass through the three basic stages as naturally as flowing water unless they had built their fundamentals, and built them again, until they opened a new horizon.

In a word, Park Chan-woo…

‘Possessed perfect fundamentals.’

When it came to the basics of magic, no one could dare challenge him.

He had built up an astonishing foundation—enough to be acknowledged by the Transcender, Lil.

Just how intense was his thirst for learning, that he absorbed everything the moment he learned it?

No one had taught him.

The path of a mage. The stages of mana.

And yet, that was what made it stranger.

With this much talent, every mage would have coveted him.

It would have been normal for them to rush to take him as their disciple.

…A contradictory existence where nothing added up.

Lil had never seen anyone like this.

Moreover—

—…He is reconstructing.

Park Chan-woo was reconstructing his own body.

Waste products began to seep out from every part of him.

The enlightenment of the Five Elements was expelling all impurities.

Bones realigned, muscles reconnected, and the Path of Mana grew stronger.

He was being reborn as a vessel that could contain more power and mana.

It resembled the Rebirth martial artists often spoke of, but it was slightly different.

He wasn’t merely reconstructing his body—his mana and soul were being perfected as well.

It was truly a stage where the realms of consciousness and unconsciousness crumbled, allowing one to observe everything.

…Wasn’t it astonishing?

This, too, no one would have taught him.

Park Chan-woo had accomplished all of it instinctively.

In a manner of speaking…

‘He is creating his own path.’

He was creating a path of his own.

Lil couldn’t take her eyes off him.

…It felt as though she had returned to the time when she had first learned magic.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she had felt this way.

A distant past—now no longer even a memory—when everything had been new and wondrous.

But Lil had walked a predetermined path.

She had never thought of creating her own.

Even if she went back to the past, it would likely be the same.

That was how difficult it was to create and walk one’s own path.

Finally—

“…”

Park Chan-woo opened his eyes.

A profound light filled them.

His body, mana, and soul had found their perfect center.

T-ring!

[Resonance of mana will begin.]

[Reconstruction of the body is complete.]

[The status abnormality ‘Frail’ has been erased.]

[From now on, you will not easily be afflicted by diseases and curses.]

[All resistances increase by 5%.]

[Residual mana concentration in the body has reached 250%.]

[Having gained enlightenment of ‘Mana,’ you can now directly control the mana concentration used for magic.]

[All magic becomes ‘Grand Magic.’]

[The rank of all magic of ‘Legendary’ or lower increases by one stage.]

[Attack power efficiency based on physical stats increases by 10%.]

Countless messages appeared.

Every single one described a devastating change.

This was what happened after he went beyond Cohesion and even completed the 4th stage, ‘Resonance.’

‘The 5th stage seems to be too much for now.’

But even this was more than enough.

He had erased the status abnormality ‘Frail.’

Even so, the most shocking part was that all magic would become ‘Grand Magic.’

‘Grand Magic… The limits on every spell I learn will disappear.’

Every spell was bound to have a certain limit.

For example, a basic spell could never reach a rank of ‘Legendary’ or higher.

Occasionally, there existed magic without that limit—magic that could reach any rank—and that was called ‘Grand Magic.’

Among the spells Park Chan-woo had learned so far, ‘Super Regeneration’ was the only Grand Magic.

The ultimate magic that could be upgraded even to Zero Rank.

But if the limits on all his magic were disappearing, then whatever he learned, he could reach the ultimate level.

…As if that weren’t enough, the rank of all magic of Legendary or lower would also be raised by one stage.

He had gained the unique option of the World Tree Staff through mere enlightenment.

—It seems all preparations are complete.

Lil, who had been watching quietly, spoke.

Park Chan-woo turned his gaze.

The stench of the waste products that had come out of his body stung his nose, but Lil seemed completely unbothered.

“May I wash up before we proceed?”

Even if the other party didn’t mind, he couldn’t stand it himself.

It was sticky, clammy, and utterly unpleasant.

Of course, in the past, he would have continued learning without a care.

But it was different now.

Unlike before his enlightenment, he now had an incomparable amount of ‘leeway’ compared to before he received her teachings.

—I shall wash you.

“…?”

A question mark briefly rose at her strange words.

But he soon realized his misunderstanding.

—Spirits of water, wash this child.

At Lil’s call, water spirits appeared in the empty air with the splashing sound of droplets.

They were spirits born from mana.

However, Lil was not a spirit user.

Summoning and freely controlling spirits was far beyond ordinary magic, yet she did it as naturally as breathing.

Once the water spirits had washed away all the waste products, Lil spoke again.

—Are you surprised that I can handle spirits?

“Aren’t mages unable to contract with spirits?”

It was common knowledge.

A mage’s mana and a spirit user’s mana were completely different in nature.

The mana wielded by mages was commonly destructive.

Because it even damaged the mana of nature, spirits were bound to be hostile to mages.

He had never even heard of a mage contracting with a spirit.

—You can handle spirits as well. It is possible for all those who have befriended mana in the stage of ‘Cohesion.’

“A Spirit Contract, you mean?”

—Ah. You, too, possess the qualifications to contract with a spirit.

For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

He had never even imagined a Spirit Contract.

—To properly learn my magic, a Spirit Contract is essential. From now on, I will help you with your Spirit Contract.

…A Spirit Contract assisted by a Transcender.

He had no idea what kind of spirit he would contract with, but one thing was clear: everything had changed since meeting Transcender Lil.

To be honest, Lil herself was also extremely curious about the Spirit Contract.

‘Now that he has awakened to the Five Elements, I don’t know what kind of spirit will come for him.’

The first contract was extremely important.

Moreover, he was a friend of mana who had awakened to the Five Elements.

It was possible that all spirits would covet him and rush in.

Conversely, it was also possible that no spirit would respond.

‘This is the last help I can give.’

But she had to help with this.

To perfectly inherit Transcender Lil’s magic, it was impossible without a spirit.

…And there wasn’t much time left.

Her presence was already weakening as the seal continued to loosen.

Having passed on her mana, her remaining time had been drastically reduced.

At most, she could remain for a day.

Within that time, she had to complete the Spirit Contract and pass on her magic.

—Take my hand.

Following her words, Park Chan-woo reached out and clasped her hand.

Simultaneously—

Swoosh.

Swoooosh!

Swooooooosh!

Countless ‘Rune Words’ began to float around her.

An incredible number of magical formulas intertwined and merged into one, eventually forming a ‘gate.’

—‘Approval’ has been granted from the Spirit Realm. Now, you only need to greet the spirits that open the gate and appear. The spirits who take a liking to you will reveal themselves.

It was simpler than he expected.

It was clearly different from the method used by spirit users.

They would draw a magic circle to summon a spirit, offer a sacrifice the spirit would like, and then form a contract.

The problem was that this classic method only summoned low-quality spirits.

In the first place, a spirit summoned by force was unlikely to be high-ranked.

But Lil had summoned a gate to the Spirit Realm itself.

She had made it so that spirits could come and go as they pleased.

It wasn’t forced summoning, but a method where the spirit itself would contract with the contractor if it took a liking to them.

“…It seems there are no spirits who like me.”

—…Strange. Since ‘approval’ was granted, every spirit in the Spirit Realm should have confirmed your existence.

But no matter how much time passed, no spirit opened the gate and appeared.

At this, Lil tilted her head inwardly as well.

He was a friend of mana who had awakened to the Five Elements.

It was normal for any spirit to covet him.

The fact that approval from the Spirit Realm was granted meant he had met all the basic conditions.

Of course, Lil’s influence as a Transcender likely wasn’t entirely absent from that process, but…

For not a single one among countless spirits to respond—

—Wait.

It was then.

Lil’s brow furrowed slightly.

She had realized it why no spirit had responded.

It wasn’t that they didn’t respond.

They couldn’t.

Because something was blocking the gate.

To be more precise—

—…Something strange is coming.