Junhyuk went to see Eunseo to tell her about the poring incident, and she went to destroy all materials related to the poring research in an official capacity. After that, Junhyuk went to his training facility.

He had already told Jeffrey and Ling Ling that he would be training alone for a while. He wanted to train by himself because of Eltor.

Eltor had appeared normally, but when Eltor took the infected people through the dimensional tear, that tear was different. Eltor had snapped his fingers and created that tear all by himself.

Junhyuk didn’t like the manager, but Eltor was the type of person Junhyuk aspired to be. On top of that, he wasn’t responsible for any strength-related things. He worked in the Monster Administration Department, so for Junhyuk, it was shocking that Eltor was that powerful.

Junhyuk readied himself, pulling out the core. It was said that the core could make things difficult for energy eaters. There were a lot of different energies within it.

On top of that, it generated that energy on its own. Junhyuk held the core in his hands and focused. The key to his development was inside it. He focused on it and thought about the tear Eltor had made.

Eltor had taken the humans to his dimension, and after pondering that, Junhyuk contacted Artlan. Only he could give Junhyuk the answers he was looking for.

It had been a while since they had talked. Junhyuk stared at Artlan, who was holding a bottle of liquor.

“If you called you must have something to say.”

“What is this?”

“This? I asked Vera to do it. I could see your face, but you couldn’t see mine. Now, you can.”

Junhyuk let out a bitter chuckle. He was sorry that he hadn’t contacted Artlan sooner.

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“I haven’t kept in touch.”

Artlan laughed heartily and raised his bottle. He drank from it and said, “Do you have an agenda? You only call when you have a problem.”

Feeling awkward, Junhyuk scratched his cheek.

“I’m at the end of the rope.”

“End of the rope?”

Junhyuk nodded heavily and explained, “I want to turn my Spatial Slash into a Dimensional Slash, but I can’t.”

“A Dimensional Slash?!” Artlan wiped the alcohol from his chin and said, “The Dimensional Slash is extremely rare. Tell me more about your Spatial Slash.”

“The Spatial Slash let’s my blade slash wherever I want.”

“You are able to upgrade your powers, but you don’t seem to understand the theory behind them.”

Junhyuk understood what Artlan was saying. Every time he had wanted something terribly, a power had activated. However, he didn’t know the specifics of how they worked. He didn’t understand the theory behind them.

Artlan said, “Think of it in sequence.”

Junhyuk listened carefully, and Artlan put his bottle down and stared at him, adding, “You need to comprehend the theory behind the Spatial Slash. To turn the Spatial Slash into a Dimensional Slash, you have to first understand the Spatial Slash.”

Junhyuk nodded, and Artlan continued, “It seems like you are looking for an attack that will cross dimensions with the Dimensional Slash. To gain that, you have to do one thing first.”

Artlan scratched his cheek and said, “You must perceive your opponents true form being projected through dimensions. Ask Vera about whether that’s possible. If you can perceive your opponent’s essence, you can take the next step.”

Artlan crossed his arms and concluded, “Finally, you’ll be able to slash through dimensions to attack your enemy.”

It wasn’t easy at all, but Junhyuk was gathering clues now. He wanted to give Artlan a core so that they would be able to study it together.

The core’s energy enticed Junhyuk, and it would do the same to Artlan.

So far, he had only taken from Artlan, so he wanted to give his mentor something. He did not bring it up, however. He needed to refurbish the core before giving it to Artlan.

“Thank you.”

“If there’s a chance, we should spend a night drinking.”

Junhyuk thought about the training grounds Bebe had told him about. It would be possible to drink with Artlan there.

“I’ll make it happen.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I also want to see that Dimensional Slash of yours when it’s ready.”

Artlan took another drink from the bottle, and Junhyuk cut the connection, closing his eyes. He had always prioritized his swordsmanship. For that reason, he hadn’t paid any attention to his Spatial Slash.

Junhyuk used his Spatial Slash. The blade flashed through the empty s.p.a.ce. It appeared elsewhere, but the slash was still connected to his sword.

He had gotten a clue. Junhyuk wanted to use his Spatial Slash again, but he had to wait for its cooldown.

Junhyuk a.n.a.lyzed it. He didn’t eat or sleep, thinking only about his Spatial Slash.

—

The Spatial Slash: an attack brought forth by his desire to cross through s.p.a.ce to strike his opponent, a sword attack.

While thinking about the Spatial Slash, Junhyuk learned more about all of his powers, developing quickly and in a short period.

The Spatial Slash had had the same range on Earth as in the Dimensional Battlefield, but Junhyuk increased the range on Earth. He could now slash through a hundred meters. He had doubled the distance. On top of that, his teleportation’s distance had also doubled. He could now cover six hundred meters with it, a clear evolution.

The number of teleportations had not increased, but the distance had.

He was happy to have increased the range of his Spatial Slash. As he learned more about it, he learned about other things as well.

Junhyuk didn’t practice, but he understood more about Aksha’s and Dentra’s swordsmanships. A light bulb had gone off in his head, and Junhyuk realized that he had been training the wrong way. He had to look within himself before he could grow.

So, he did. And he learned. And he grew.

Junhyuk wanted to learn more about the theory behind the Spatial Slash. He still had a couple of steps to take. First, he wanted to perceive someone’s essence through dimensions, so he contacted Gongon.

The hatchling took off his goggles. The goggles were mechanical, and Junhyuk had never seen anything like them.

“What’s with those goggles?”

“I created them. They have a few purposes. I built them by combining magic with engineering. A true masterpiece.”

Junhyuk smiled.

“I have a question.”

“About what?”

He was always able to feed Gongon’s curiosity. Now that the hatchling was curious, Junhyuk continued, “I want to perceive someone’s essence through dimensions. Is that possible?”

“Ha-ha-ha!” After laughing loudly, Gongon looked at him seriously and asked, “Hey! Do you really think that’s possible?”

“If dimensional movement is possible, wouldn’t it be?”

Gongon folded his tiny arms and said, “As far as I know, what you are saying is not possible. I can ask my Lord, but the answer will be the same.”

Junhyuk scratched his cheek and replied, “But, I really need to do it.”

“Hm… I want to help, but I’m telling you: it’s not possible.”

“I have a favor to ask you.”

“If I can do it.”

Junhyuk stared at Gongon and said, “We can communicate through dimensions. I can see your face, so I want to see your essence.”

Gongon’s eyes widened, and he shouted, “Pervert!”

Junhyuk was dumbstruck.

“Dragon, are you eating s.h.i.t?”

“Do you wanna die?! We only eat mana. We don’t s.h.i.t!”

Gongon was angry, but Junhyuk smiled.

“Do it for me.”

Gongon took some time thinking and said, “Is that fine? I don’t really mind.”

“Please.”

“You are experimenting with something that doesn’t make any sense. It might not even have an answer.”

“I need the Dimensional Slash.”

Gongon put his goggles back on and said, “I’m going back to work. Just watch me and do as you like.”

“Thanks!”

Gongon waved his short claw at him and turned to focus on something.

Junhyuk watched the dragon carefully. Gongon did not care about him, entirely focused on whatever he was building.

Junhyuk stared at him like he was going to drill a hole in the dragon. How could he feel Gongon’s essence?

He had never met Gongon outside of the Dimensional Battlefield. They had only met as souls. At that moment, he realized that he had to meet Gongon in person to learn more about his essence.

Junhyuk said, “Gon!”

“I thought you were only going to watch.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I want to meet you in person.”

Gongon refocused on the conversation and asked, “You want me to cross over?”

Junhyuk said matter-of-factly, “I can buy a training facility and have people over. It’s similar to but different from a Spatial Bag, but I can invite people to it.”

“So, you want to see me?”

“Correct.”

Gongon tapped his chin with one of his fingers and said, “That’s not a bad idea. I’m curious as well.”

“Thanks.”

Gongon suddenly covered himself with his short claws and said, “Don’t try anything funny. I hate perverts.”

“Do you have a death wish?!”

Junhyuk stared at Gongon coldly, but the hatchling simply went back to work. Gongon waved his claw at him and said, “Just keep watching me if you want.”

Junhyuk stared at the hatchling and said, “Leave the communication going.”

“Sure.”

Junhyuk teleported out and went to find Sarang. He wanted to tell her about his progress. Sarang was learning spells constantly, but was she understanding them? Junhyuk wanted to talk to her about it.