The first one to face the mana pressure was Shadow.
After all, he was the closest.
His eyes widened almost instantly.
The amount of mana was enormous, but that wasn't the only reason he was shocked.
The fact that Lioro had been able to hide his strength to such a degree... was astonishing.
'The rings? Artifacts?' Cid thought as he looked at the several rings Lioro was wearing.
Meanwhile, unlike Shadow, the other members of Shadow Garden weren't faring so well.
Alpha took several steps back while Beta and Nu were holding onto the wall for support.
As for Delta…
Thanks to a certain petty World Traveler, she—who faced the most pressure out of all of them—had her entire body pressed against the floor.
The wooden room started creaking, as if about to collapse under the sheer force.
Just then, Lioro calmly slipped the ring back onto his finger, and the pressure disappeared as if it had never existed.
"...So... strong..." Delta muttered weakly, giving Lioro one last look before falling unconscious.
Alpha exhaled heavily, then stared at Lioro with sharp, vigilant eyes.
It was the same.
He was on the same level as Shadow.
Incredibly powerful.
Alpha bit her lip, wanting to say something—but Cid spoke first.
"Hey, what's up with the ring? Are they artifacts?"
"Not artifacts, but Divine-level equipment. I made them myself. Pretty cool, right?"
"You made them yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm a blacksmith."
Alpha fell silent, watching the two of them chat so casually, as if neither had just nearly crushed everyone in the room.
After thinking for a moment, she motioned for Nu to take Delta away, then walked up to them.
"My name is Alpha," she said calmly, introducing herself.
"Hello, I'm Lioro." Lioro gave her a polite nod.
Alpha sat next to Cid on the bed, listening quietly to their conversation.
"I apologize for the sudden attack earlier," Lioro suddenly said, before taking out a 7th-tier magic scroll containing the ice-series AOE spell Eternal Winter Bloom.
"This…" Alpha looked at the sacred, glowing scroll in her hands with confusion.
"It contains one of my spells. To use it, just open the scroll and tear it apart. Oh—and it's an area-of-effect spell, so don't use it on single targets."
"Spell scroll…" Alpha muttered in an intrigued voice before carefully putting it away.
Lioro then took out another scroll—this one a 6th-tier spell, Permafrost Orchid—and handed it to Beta.
Since Un and Delta had already left, they wouldn't get any.
Meanwhile, Cid was staring intently at Lioro, his expression practically screaming, 'Hey, where's mine?'
Lioro rolled his eyes.
"What type do you want?"
"I can choose? How many types are there?" Cid asked curiously.
"Fire, Ice, Dark, Light, Resurrection—"
"Wait, you can resurrect people??"
Cid's eyes widened in disbelief. Even Alpha and Beta turned to Lioro in shock.
"Yes. As long as they haven't been dead for too long, I can resurrect them—though it comes at the cost of some of their strength," Lioro said plainly.
Not only resurrection—Lioro was planning to slowly explain the entire Yggdrasil power system to Shadow.
He had two reasons for this:
First, he believed that Shadow, as an inventor, might be able to create new spells using his as a foundation—spells that Lioro could then study and copy.
Second, to strengthen their cooperation when hunting the Dragon Lords.
"Hey, let me see the resurrection magic," Shadow asked, eyes gleaming.
Ever since his previous life, Shadow had always craved the mysteries of magic.
He loved it—the limitless potential of supernatural power with infinite applications.
That's why the idea of a new magical system, one that even included resurrection, completely captivated him.
It sounded so awesome.
"You want me to demonstrate? Go find a corpse, then. If it's too weak, the spell won't work."
Alpha suddenly stood up from the bed in a hurry.
"Please wait! I'll get one right away!"
And just like that, she vanished at incredible speed.
It didn't take long.
After about ten minutes, she returned carrying the corpse of a man riddled with wounds.
"He's a member of the Diabolos Cult we captured before. Unfortunately, he died before we could extract any valuable information," Alpha explained quickly, laying the body on the floor.
Lioro glanced at the corpse, then raised his hand toward it.
"7th-tier magic—Resurrection."
A complex, white-colored magic circle formed in front of his palm before shattering into countless glowing particles that rushed into the corpse.
And then—
Huuuuh!
The dead man suddenly gasped for air.
With a jolt, he half-raised his body, eyes fluttering open in confusion.
Before he could do anything, Alpha swiftly chopped his neck, knocking him out again.
She checked his pulse, heartbeat, and breathing—then whispered in disbelief,
"He's... alive."
Mana could be used for resurrection?
This wasn't the work of a man... but of a god.
While Alpha and Beta struggled to comprehend what they'd witnessed, Cid was silently trying to memorize the intricate symbols of the magic circle.
But the more he tried, the more he realized—it was impossibly complex.
He didn't even recognize the symbols or structures.
"How is it? Do you believe me now?" Lioro asked casually.
"Hey, what was that magic circle?" Cid asked curiously.
"Didn't I tell you about the Dragon Lord? This is magic from his world. It should give you an idea of how unpredictable he can be."
It was technically Yggdrasil's magic, but he said it to make it less complicated.
"Hmm… that world has a very interesting application of magic," Cid muttered, eyes glowing with excitement.
Thud.
Lioro turned toward Alpha and Beta—both were kneeling before him.
'Why do these guys like kneeling so much? Did they learn it from Shadow?'
"What is it?" Lioro asked.
"My lord, can you please teach us this resurrection magic?" Alpha asked with a solemn look.
This spell would be invaluable in their war against the Diabolos Cult. Even if they died, they could be brought back.
Lioro looked at Alpha and Beta, then smiled faintly.
"It's a give-and-take world. If you want something, you must offer something in return."
"This… what would you like in exchange for the spell?"
"I'll leave that to you. Go find something that interests me. In exchange, I'll teach you the spell."
Alpha furrowed her brows, then nodded.
"Understood."
With that, Alpha and Beta stood up and left swiftly, leaving Cid and Lioro alone once again.
"You wanna eat something?" Cid suddenly asked.
"Sure."
They went to the cafeteria together.
"So, there's a whole series of magic from Tier 1 to Tier 10?" Cid asked while munching on bread.
"Yes—and above that is Super-Tier magic," Lioro replied, sipping his soup.
"The Dragon Lords can use those, too?"
"Not exactly. Dragon Lords can't use the tiered magic system—they use something called soul power, and cast wild magic instead. It's usually as strong as tiered spells, sometimes even stronger."
Like Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's final attack, it far surpassed super-tier magic and reached the level of the most powerful attack-type World Item, Longinus.
"Dragon Lords… seems they're stronger than I thought," Cid murmured. "Hey, can you use wild magic too?"
"I can't. Tier magic and wild magic are inherently incompatible. Though… there's an exception—an undead Dragon Lord named Cure Elim something-something."
"Oh."
Cid nodded, continuing to eat.
Lioro also finished his meal.
Afterward, the two strolled around the academy, with Cid proudly introducing every building as if he owned the place.
Before long, the sun had set, and they returned to their rooms for the night.
The next morning.
"Hey, look at this."
Lioro took the letter from Cid and read it.
It said: [Come to the Holy Land of Lindwurm.]
"It's Alpha's handwriting. She left it on my desk this morning," Cid explained.
"I'll be going to Lindwurm. Want to come along?"
"Sure." Lioro handed the letter back.
"So, how are we getting there?"
"I was thinking of using my Super Dash!"
"So… you were going to run?"
"Yeah."
"Hm. I might have a better idea…"
Lioro took Cid to a deserted area, then pulled out a military Humvee from his inventory.
THUMP!
Cid's jaw dropped as the 2.5-ton monster appeared out of thin air.
Just as Lioro was about to get into the driver's seat, a hand gripped his shoulder.
He turned—Cid was staring at him with sparkling eyes.
"Let me drive."
----
Spreading a massive cloud of dust in its wake, the military vehicle barreled down the land—
THUMP!
—hitting every unfortunate creature in its path.
"Ahahahahah! Sayonara, suckers!!!" Cid screamed, voice completely unhinged as he floored the accelerator.
THUMP!
"Die! Die! Die!"
While Cid was having the time of his life playing real-world GTA, Lioro sat silently in the passenger seat—clearly not amused.
But looking at the madly grinning Cid, he sighed and decided to endure it.
Though deep down, he promised himself—
Never again will I let this bastard drive.
After a full day of inhuman driving, they finally arrived.
"Best friend! Best friend! Can I please keep it!?" Cid shouted, pointing at the Humvee.
"Even if you do, how will you handle the fuel issue?"
"Alpha said they've been researching petroleum—they might already have results!"
"Alright, keep it," Lioro said casually.
He didn't care—he had plenty more.
"Thanks!"
"Where are you going to store it, though?"
"I'll hide it underground and pick it up later."
"...Do as you wish."
Lioro watched silently as Cid dug a massive pit, tossed the Humvee inside, and covered it with dirt.
----
Holy Land of Lindwurm.
"Whoa, this place is full of energy," Cid commented, looking at the huge crowds.
"Probably because of the Sword Festival."
"Let's go look around."
"Alright."
They wandered through the busy streets, found an inn, and turned in for the night.
----
The next day, while exploring, they ran into an unexpected figure.
"Hey, why are the two of you together?" Princess Alexia asked while pointing at them.
"What? Do we need your permission—kuh!"
Before Cid could finish, Lioro elbowed him in the gut.
"Quiet, pooch."
While Cid was busy with his [Rolling on the floor like a mob] act, Lioro greeted the princess.
"What a coincidence, seeing you here, Princess."
"Indeed, I didn't expect to meet you here either. So how did you get to know pooch—I mean, Cid?"
"I met him right after you left. We hit it off and became friends."
"Friends?" Princess Alexia narrowed her eyes and looked down at Cid.
Cid immediately stopped rolling and said, "It's useless explaining to someone who doesn't have any friends—GUH!!"
"Are you here for the festival, Princess?"
"Yes. And I wanted to unwind at the hot springs."
"I see. Well then, we'll go our way—"
"Actually," Alexia interrupted, "since we've already met, how about we go together?"
"Can't you tell he's trying to get away from you—KUH!!"
"Silence, Pooch!"
----
See you all in December, As I have exam on 30th November.