To guarantee a flawless kill on Seiichi, Kanzaki Rei had already exhausted all of his previews for the day.
However, after killing Seiichi…
He conducted multiple additional previews for the different situations that might arise afterward.
"Pure White Withering Tree"
"My wish… is to leave this dungeon of endless forest alive."
Rei made his wish.
Whoosh!
At the very instant Rei arrived, centered on the towering white tree, a wave of pure white energy erupted outward!
This tree was a destruction-specialized monster. Any direct contact would cause the body to collapse outright.
Its very existence carried a suppressive, annihilating property that hindered regeneration.
…
Facing the expanding wave rushing toward him, Rei's body instantly phased into void state!
By the time he reappeared, he had already crossed far beyond the expanding blast radius.
This monster… prolonged combat would be meaningless.
If he struck it with the Void Spirit Ring-Star Spear, the weapon itself would begin to suffer damage. This heirloom weapon of Loren—at this level of combat—was already starting to feel restrictive.
After all, its primary materials were only Tier 6 continental-class monsters, supplemented with near–Tier 7 Void Starwood.
That had been enough before.
But in Tier 7 battles… its durability was no longer sufficient.
He needed stronger materials.
Much stronger.
Rei did not use his spear.
In his previews, he had fought this tree twice. The first was a probing battle—too long, too costly. He lost a large amount of equipment.
In the second preview, he chose the fastest possible method.
A one-shot kill.
Rei crossed the energy wave!
At this moment, the entire tree had formed a pristine white domain—within it, everything decayed!
Rei's skin began to rot, and the robes on his body disintegrated into ash.
Fortunately, what he wore now were cheap mage robes—worth only ten to twenty thousand gold. Not worth regretting.
At the same time—
Rei had already reached the trunk.
The instant he emerged from the void—
Countless white wooden spikes erupted from the trunk, thrusting toward him!
"Come!"
Rei extended his right hand—
A magic spear formed, forged from ice and light!
Boom!
The icy thrust collided with the wooden spikes—shattering instantly!
But within that collision—
A single Seed ("Origin") slipped through, piercing directly into the tree's core!
The Origin flowed inward.
Rei observed the tree's time of death—
2 months.
Most of these monsters had roughly the same remaining lifespan.
If the Church of Reincarnation failed to deal with them, the major churches would likely intervene.
Though Tier 7 monsters were powerful, they were not invincible.
Rei specialized in many combat methods.
But the one he excelled at most—
Was driving his attacks directly inside the enemy's body…
And detonating them from within.
The greater the damage—
The more lifespan it erased.
The Origin flowed like water, penetrating layer after layer of wood, reaching the deepest core…
Trees absorbed water.
And by turning Origin into a fluid stream, he could move freely inside its body—bypassing its defenses entirely.
「Absolute Purge (Tier 5) (LV: 401) — Sacrifice 10,000,000 Souls」
Bzzzz—
The entire white tree swelled violently!
BOOM!
In the next instant—
The trunk exploded into fragments!
Its time of death—
Reduced to zero in that single strike.
For other Tier 7 trees, there had been no need to manipulate lifespan.
But this one required it.
Behind Rei, a massive, pure white towering tree manifested.
「Pure White Withering Tree」
Innate Talent — Withering Domain of Destruction:Creates a domain with a radius equal to its height. All life within is drained of vitality and converted into nourishment.
Innate Talent — Destructive Decay:Anything that touches this tree suffers devastating damage and becomes extremely fragile.
This tree was far larger than the others.
Once summoned, it reached approximately 12,000 kilometers in height.
If placed on Earth, it would span nearly the planet's diameter.
…
Simply deploying the Withering Domain of Destruction would likely annihilate all of Atlan City.
A few additional attacks—
And wiping out the entire Mishiru Continent would not be difficult.
In this world…
Powers capable of destroying entire continents—
Were disturbingly common.
And yet, its inhabitants still managed to live peaceful lives.
…
This was likely the dungeon's guardian.
Perhaps under normal circumstances, the battle would have been far more difficult.
But because its death was imminent—
Killing it had not been too hard.
Seiichi's remaining lifespan, on the other hand…
Had been thousands of years.
He might have surpassed Tier 8.
Might even have ascended to godhood.
Or achieved some transcendent state, as he himself had envisioned.
Over the past few days, Rei had been shaving down Seiichi's lifespan bit by bit.
The effect of "Fated Death Conclusion" required direct eye contact.
With the level gap between Rei's Death Priest class and Seiichi's three Level 6 classes—
Rei reduced approximately 2 days of lifespan per second of eye contact.
Over several days…
He had only shaved off a few hundred years.
At the same time, he laid out plans.
Ensuring Seiichi's death would come sooner.
Here, Rei deployed the Erupting Black Ant Mountain.
With Tier 7 monster corpses everywhere—
It was time to evolve it into a Tier 6 monster.
A massive ritual circle formed across the ground.
Rei began the evolution.
…
Atlan City
He had killed Seiichi at dawn.
By the time Rei returned—
It was already morning.
Whoosh—
Rei appeared once more on the streets of Atlan City.
His gaze drifted toward the Church of Reincarnation in the distance.
Should he take control of it?
Even Rei wasn't certain.
Today's previews had all been spent on today's events.
A single day's observation wasn't enough to determine whether the church could be useful.
Recently, all his efforts had been focused on killing Seiichi as soon as possible.
It had been a while since he last simulated the distant future.
Now that the greatest threat was gone—
Rei finally relaxed.
After clearing the Tier 7 dungeon, he returned to his residence.
Three days passed.
Rumors began to spread—
That Seiichi had entered the Tier 7 dungeon alone…
And had never come out.
Perhaps he had fallen within it.
Perhaps he had become food for monsters.
The mighty leader of the Reincarnation Church…
Might already be living another life.
Meanwhile, more and more intelligence surfaced about Loren.
The newly appeared continent had drawn attention.
After all—
Mishiru had no shortage of Tier 7 class holders.
Loren was simply too close.
Two days was enough to reach it.
Five or six days sufficed for reconnaissance.
What decision would Mishiru make?
War, perhaps.
Seize Loren.
Install a new regime.
If the strength gap was large enough—
Civilian casualties might remain minimal.
Loren's rule was likely nearing its end.
Rei felt indifferent about Loren's fate.
In a world governed by strength—
Such outcomes were inevitable.
Even if he helped Loren once—
It would still face invasion again and again if it remained weak.
As for Aizen and the others—
A warning would suffice.
They could flee.
Aizen, as a Level 6 enchanter, would be valuable anywhere.
As long as he didn't stubbornly resist—
No one would kill him.
And given his personality…
Loyalty wasn't exactly his defining trait.
Offer him a few Tier 7 materials—
He'd probably switch sides immediately.
March 31
The final day of the Month of Knowledge.
So much had happened.
Becoming a Seer.
An Zheng's sacrifice.
The apocalypse.
The Moon Sea.
Killing Seiichi.
It felt like living three months in one.
At last—
The final day arrived.
As the day waned, the influence of the Moon Phase of Knowledge surged once more.
Countless insights gathered in Rei's mind.
Forming new strands of understanding.
"Change… is not only transformation of form…"
"But also transformation of nature…"
"Even changes in fate… are part of change."
"This month, I've experienced countless shifts in fate."
"Altered countless destinies."
"Fate and matter are intertwined."
"If the world were empty… its fate would never change."
Rei felt clarity bloom within him.
His understanding of fate—
Began transforming into understanding of magic.
Insights brought back from future timelines deepened his grasp of his own Origin.
The future influenced the present.
And the present reshaped the future.
His Tier 4 Origin Magic—
Should interpret transformation from the perspective of fate.
He understood much now—
And yet…
Something was still missing.
…
Late Night — March 31
Rei left his residence.
Whoosh—
Minutes later—
He arrived at a desolate field.
Three others were already there.
The inheritor of the Church of Light — YuriaThe inheritor of the Church of Luck — RheinAnd a boy with a God-tier talent—
Rei had investigated him over the past few days.
A puppet master.
His talent:
「God-Tier — All Things Are Me」
His name—
Light.
The figure present was not his true body—
But a puppet.
Thus, he had no visible time of death.
Yuria: ~100 years remainingRhein: ~300 years remaining
Rei descended calmly from midair.
None of them seemed particularly surprised.
He had already introduced himself two days prior—
As a Level 5 Decipherer Scholar, wielder of:
「God-Tier — Perception of Hidden Truths」
He requested to join the exploration.
And to establish ties with the Church of Luck.
A decipherer was invaluable for ruins.
A God-tier talent holder—
Even more so.
Thus, through Rhein's arrangements—
Rei joined the team smoothly.
Though the others were somewhat dissatisfied—
They accepted him.
"Yo~ little brother Rei."
Rhein slung an arm over his shoulder.
"This exploration—our Church of Luck has your back."
"Then I'll be in your care, Brother Rhein."
Rhein glanced at the others.
"Like we agreed—Rei isn't suited for combat."
"We handle fighting. He handles deciphering."
Yuria crossed her arms, turning her head slightly.
"I have no objections."
The boy with the feathered hat shrugged.
"We originally wanted Seiichi to handle the puzzles anyway."
"With him gone, a decipherer works."
"Though… lacking combat ability is a shame."
Seiichi had strength.
And not a small amount.
Replacing him with a Level 5 scholar and Level 4 mage—
Was clearly a downgrade.
Rhein shrugged.
"Hey, better than nothing."
"Otherwise we'd just stand there staring at puzzles like idiots."
Yuria snorted.
"Speak for yourself."
Rei stood quietly to the side, smiling faintly.
It had been a long time since he explored ruins with others.
This ruin…
Had an unusually long exploration cycle.
One day of preview wasn't enough.
Splitting previews into segments led to divergent outcomes.
He couldn't see the whole picture from a single fragment of fate.
So—
He memorized every possibility.
Since leaving Rayne Town—
The only group exploration he'd done was with Akagi and the others.
And that had been more like veterans carrying a novice.
The final seconds of March 31 passed.
The sky twisted—
Like paint being stirred into chaos.
April — Month of Chaos and Madness
Moon Phase: AegmisaCelestial Sign: ChaosLeap Blessing: Corruption of Disorder
With April's arrival—
A violent storm swept across the wasteland.
And before them—
A distorted, chaotic spatial gate slowly opened.
...
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