Sealed Dungeon — Imperial Zenith School

Nearly a dozen Imperial Court Mages stood stationed around the sealed dungeon while the Emperor’s personal convoy remained hidden within the surrounding shadows, concealed so perfectly that even veterans would fail to notice their presence.

The atmosphere around the dungeon had become extremely tense ever since the Outer God incident, and countless layers of magic formations were already operating continuously to prevent even the slightest corruption from leaking outward.

A man with a lean build and an ordinary-looking aura slowly approached the sealed location, and only after his arrival did the Court Mages finally begin activating the final sequence of the sealing process.

One after another, enormous magical formations spread through the surroundings.

Spatial Isolation.

Causality Disturbance.

Law Stabilization.

Spatial Reinforcement.

The entire area became cut off from the outside world.

Only after confirming personally that the seal had become completely stable did the man finally move.

A mirror suddenly appeared within his hand.

The moment mana flowed into it, the surface of the mirror rippled violently before scenes from the recent past began replaying one after another.

The attack upon the dungeon.

The undead invasion.

And finally, the descent of the Outer God itself.

Everything unfolded clearly within the mirror like a replay of history.

However, despite observing carefully, the man failed to find any trace whatsoever of Old Ben.

Instead, the scenes strangely made it appear as though the Outer God had been fighting against some invisible existence hidden from even the mirror’s observation.

Then suddenly – CRACK.

A deep fracture spread across the mirror.

"A lesser being dares spy upon me?!"

The furious voice of the Greater Void echoed directly from the broken mirror as terrifying pressure burst outward.

At the same time, the surrounding space near the white-haired man began collapsing violently under the influence of the Outer God’s rage.

Several Court Mages immediately turned pale.

Yet the white-haired man himself remained completely calm.

"First, you appear near the heart of my Empire, and then you dare ask me such a question?" he said indifferently while looking at the fractured remains of the mirror

His piercing white eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wasn’t your kind exiled long ago? Or are all of you now trying to return?"

The Greater Void remained silent.

Instead of replying, it directly launched an attack through Causality itself.

After all, from the perspective of an Outer God, there was no need to converse with imperfect lower beings.

The shattered mirror exploded completely as horrifying energy poured outward, twisting the laws of the world while directly attacking the white-haired man.

However, the man merely waved his hand casually.

The terrifying energy vanished instantly into nothingness as though it had never existed.

The Greater Void paused.

For the first time, genuine confusion appeared within its thoughts.

"What...?"

Earlier, it had already lost a fragment of itself while attempting to steal something connected to an [Original], only for that fragment to be erased by a mysterious existence it could not even perceive properly.

And now, another abnormal existence had appeared upon the Earthly Plane.

’Did the isolation somehow strengthen the Earthly Plane?’ the Greater Void wondered.

Time flowed differently after the great separation between realms.

It no longer knew how many years had truly passed within the worlds, but somehow the Earthly Plane had become far stronger than it remembered.

"I suppose it has now become my responsibility to exterminate pests like you," the white-haired man stated calmly.

Then he crushed the mirror completely.

The connection to the Greater Void vanished instantly.

A moment later, another elderly figure appeared nearby.

It was Stephen, the Head of the Imperial Court Mages.

"Stephen, issue summons to every noble lord within the Empire." the man spoke calmly, though his tone carried unquestionable authority.

"Inform them that I will personally hold a meeting within the Supreme Imperial Court tonight."

His expression remained calm, yet the pressure radiating from him caused the surroundings to feel heavy.

"It should currently be spring, correct? Then I trust none of them will insult me by using excuses such as poor health, bad moods, or old injuries."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Stephen replied immediately before disappearing without hesitation.

The white-haired man then shifted his attention toward the summoning grounds within the school.

Through countless barriers and layers of distance, he immediately noticed a dragon staring directly back toward him.

"The old man owes me many explanations..." he muttered quietly.

His gaze then moved toward his daughter first before observing the children surrounding her.

However, a moment later, his expression changed slightly.

"Where is the boy named Caelum?" he muttered in confusion.

Because no matter how carefully he searched.

He could no longer detect Caelum’s presence anywhere within the academy grounds.

***

THUD! THUD!

Bonjour and Caelum fell from a considerable height before crashing directly into a vast snowy plain.

Snow scattered everywhere upon impact.

"What the hell just happened?" Caelum muttered while brushing snow off his clothes and cape.

Bonjour, meanwhile, immediately stood up before tearing off his school shirt entirely, as though trying to feel the surroundings more clearly.

Then suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Hahaha! We are near home!" he declared loudly while laughing in excitement.

"I can feel it!"

However, only moments later, his expression abruptly changed.

"That technique... I was reverse summoned," he muttered seriously.

A dangerous realization struck him instantly.

"That means Big Ice is in danger!"

He immediately looked around the snowy plains with sharp eyes, but aside from endless snowfields and distant mountain ranges, there was nothing visible nearby.

"We need to head toward the mountains, Caelum," Bonjour said seriously.

"Alright," Caelum replied while looking around.

"But where exactly are we?"

"How would I know?" Bonjour answered honestly.

"All I know is that we are somewhere near my homeland, it’s not like I know every single corner of the Kalar Mountain Ranges."

Then, after glancing at Caelum again, Bonjour frowned slightly.

"But don’t humans usually feel cold in places like this?" he asked.

"Cold?" Caelum repeated before slightly flexing his aura proudly.

"Cold is for the weak, I was literally born with Aura."

With his upgraded [Aura Body], the freezing atmosphere barely affected him at all.

Then, realizing something his eyes suddenly widened dramatically.

"This is it!" he shouted.

Bonjour was startled by the intensity of his shout.

"What happened now?!"

"This exact setting! This is exactly like an episode from a book I once read back at home," Caelum exclaimed excitedly.

Bonjour looked confused.

"The book is called [Running Wild With Big Bear!] which is supposedly based on real adventures!" Caelum continued.

"Are you serious?" Bonjour asked with visible doubt.

"Of course I’m serious!" Caelum replied immediately.

"That Bear has official citizenship in five different countries and is considered one of the most famous adventurers in the world! He documented all his bizarre survival experiences in that book, and many people even call him the greatest survival expert alive!"

Caelum’s excitement only increased as he spoke.

"You don’t understand!" he continued passionately.

"This is literally peak testosterone! Suddenly finding yourself stranded snowy mountain ranges and starting a legendary survival adventure, who wouldn’t dream about something like this?!"

Bonjour stared at him silently.

"...A test of what?" he asked slowly then he shook his head.

"No, stop distracting me, we first need to find Big Ice!"

His expression turned serious once more.

"I’m terrible with directions, so my original plan was simply to follow the will of the mountains..." he muttered before glaring slightly at Caelum.

"But now you completely ruined my concentration."

"Alright, alright," Caelum replied while raising both hands slightly.

"But who exactly is Big Ice?"