Ji-Han extended his hand, and barriers spread outward. Each wrapped around his teammates. A faint starlight shimmered over them.
"…you can move now," Ji-Han said
Tae-min blinked.
"…the pressure… it's lighter…"
Sung-kyu tightened his shield.
"…you blocked that?"
Even Se-ah glanced at him briefly.
"…you've changed."
Valtherion's gaze shifted to them and watched, and he noticed they withstood his pressure effect.
"…hmm… interesting," he smirked.
The air trembled.
"…you withstand my presence?"
His gaze deepened.
"…then struggle."
Tae-min moved first.
A flash—
His spear shot forward.
CLANG—
It stopped.
Mid-air.
Valtherion hadn't moved.
"…slow."
A single flick—
BOOM.
Tae-min was sent flying.
"TAE-MIN!" Hae-in screamed.
Se-ah vanished.
Shadows surged—
Striking from all angles.
Nothing.
Valtherion stood still, untouched.
"…invisible insects."
Ji-Han stepped forward.
"Stellar Aegis!"
He reinforced the barrier—
Charged—
"IMPACT STRIKE!"
His fist landed
For a moment
Contact.
Then—
CRACK.
The barrier shattered.
Ji-Han's body froze mid-motion.
"…too weak."
A wave of force exploded outward.
BOOM!!
All of them were thrown back.
Sung-kyu's shield broke.
Hae-in collapsed.
Tae-min couldn't stand.
Even Se-ah—
Slid across the ground.
Ji-Han struggled to rise.
"…get up…"
But his body—
Wouldn't listen.
Valtherion stepped forward slowly.
Each step—
Heavy.
Absolute.
"…you resist…"
"…yet you break all the same."
He raised his hand.
The air twisted, pressure multiplied.
Screams filled the chamber.
Bones creaked.
Barriers cracked.
Ji-Han's vision blurred.
"…not again…"
His team, falling, one by one, powerless.
"…I can't protect them…"
Despair.
Real.
Crushing.
Valtherion's voice echoed.
"…this is your limit."
Ji-Han's eyes trembled.
"…no…"
"…n..no" he screamed in his heart silently
And his eyes faded.
CELESTIAL CORE RESONANCE
Suddenly—
DING.
Everything stopped, and there were Silence.
Time froze.
Ji-Han's body locked in place.
The world turned black, endless.
Stars flickered into existence.
The same space—
He had seen it before.
The Celestial Core.
Now awake
[EMERGENCY CONDITION MET]
[HOST TERMINATION IMMINENT]
Ji-Han's voice trembled.
"…what… is this?" he said unconsciously.
[FORCED SYNCHRONIZATION]
[25% → 30% → 35%]
The stars pulsed violently.
[CELESTIAL CORE RESPONSE: TEMPORAL INTERVENTION]
Ji-Han's eyes widened as he heard a voice.
"…time…? Who are you?" he said without knowing what was going on.
[YOU ARE NOT READY]
Light consumed everything.
[RESET]
DING.
"…next."
Ji-Han blinked.
Breathing sharply.
"…huh…?"
He felt a sharp pain when he tried to remember what happened in the time he was in a dark space after he thought he had died. but couldn't remember.
He looked around.
The evaluation hall.
The same platform.
The same voices.
"…Yoon Ji-Han."
His body froze.
"…this… place…"
He looked at his hand.
No injuries.
No battle.
No Demon King.
The screen appeared.
[STATUS WINDOW]
[NAME: YOON JI-HAN]
[LEVEL: 20]
[CLASS: BARRIER (ASTRON)]
[STATUS: INCOMPLETE VESSEL]
[STRENGTH: 35]
[AGILITY: 31]
[ENDURANCE: 42]
[INTELLIGENCE: 33]
[LUCK: 7]
[MANA: 30]
[SYNCHRONIZATION: 35%]
His eyes widened.
"…I went back…?"
"And the sync increased?"
The memory was still there, and everything was still clear.
Valtherion.
The battle.
The deaths.
Ji-Han clenched his fist.
"…a second chance…"
His eyes slowly hardened.
This time—
No fear.
Only resolve.
"…I'll change it."
"…everything."
But Ji-Han took at his stat again after understanding what went on. He noticed not only did his sync increased but his level and skills remained, and nothing was lost. And he has returned stronger.
The examiner looked at him.
"Are you listening?"
Ji-Han slowly turned away and focused on the examiner.
"Yes," He smiled while rapping his hand on his head.
But his voice was different, calm and steady. Not the same broken person from before.
His eyes darkened slightly.
"…this time, I won't be weak."
So the examiner explained everything to him, and he went in to be evaluated.
The machine was activated, and light surged.
This time, he didn't release everything, but controlled it.
After being assessed, he came out as a C-rank, and he wasn't looked down on. As he was going, a guild approached him.
"Yoon Ji-Han"
He stopped and looked at who called him.
It was a man well-dressed with sharp eyes. And behind him, a small team stood, a guild.
The man smiled slightly.
"I'm called Lee Dong-min. I represent the Silver Fang Guild."
Murmurs spread nearby.
"Silver Fang?"
"They're mid-high tier…"
The man extended his hand.
"I watched your evaluation."
"…your control is impressive."
Ji-Han looked at him quietly.
"…what do you want?"
"Join us." He said with a faint smile.
"No long process and no delay. And we will provide resources and field access." He continued
"You have potential."
Ji-Han's eyes narrowed slightly
"…potential…"
If it had been before, he would have considered, but now, there was no playing time for him. He has to grow stronger. Because he knows what is ahead of him.
"I am sorry, I would have to reject the offer. I have no interest in joining any guild." He said.
The teams behind Lee Dong-min burst into laughter.
"Who is he, because he awakened with a C-rank, he thinks he is a big shot?" they jest
Lee Dong-min, with a fierce look, spoke to him.
"Mr. Han, this opportunity won't come by. Just join us, and you will receive privileges."
Ji Han bowed and repeated the same word he told them and left. Lee Dong-min was upset.
"Did he think he's a top ranker now? Who does he think he is to reject our offer?"
Ji-Han heard them, but he couldn't let it bother him and went out of the hall.
Ji-Han, moving along the roadside, going home, suddenly remembered the incident that had happened then.
In his past life, according to the investigation, the D-rank dungeon was not cleared, but was forgotten because it was in a secluded area. So he knew the location and quickly went there because in the next two hours, there would be a dungeon break.
He arrived at the location of the dungeon and went in. Within the range of two hours. He cleared it within an hour and thirty minutes. Both his level and skills increased, and his senses sharpened. Many mana gems dropped, so many, and items that he didn't need except for one (Subspace ring).
DING.
[ACTIVATE SKILL; ENERGY ABSORB]
[YES/NO]
[Description: takes the mana of the living and is refined]
[Effect: it increases mana output, HP of the user, and its intelligence]
Ji-Han's eyes opened widely, and he was taken aback while he was sitting on the boss after killing it.
"…what a surprise. It wants me to grow stronger." He chuckled
"And I will." He clenched his fist
He pressed yes. And the mana from all the monsters surged into him and was refined into pure mana, removing corrupt mana.
And he grew stronger, he felt it.
DING
[You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up][You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up][You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You have leveled up] X10
[Skill Upgraded] [Skill evolved]
[STATUS WINDOW]
[NAME: YOON JI-HAN]
[LEVEL: 45]
[CLASS: BARRIER (ASTRON)]
[STATUS: INCOMPLETE VESSEL]
[STRENGTH: 72]
[AGILITY: 66]
[ENDURANCE: 68]
[INTELLIGENCE: 62]
[LUCK: 25]
[MANA: 250]
[COMBAT ABILITY: 20000]
[SYNCHRONIZATION: 50%]
[SKILLS]
STELLAR AEGIS (LV6 → EVOLVED) – Adaptive, layered barrier. Converts absorbed damage into reinforcement and can partially redirect energy offensively.
• STELLAR BARRIER (LV12 → EVOLVED) – Now radiates faint starlight, absorbs and redistributes extreme impact. Can reinforce allies in close proximity.
• BARRIER REINFORCEMENT (LV10) – Passive skill now adds additional durability to all active barriers, and faster regeneration.
• GUARD SHIFT (LV10) – Can instantaneously shift defensive positions while maintaining barrier integrity.
• IMPACT STRIKE (LV12 → EVOLVED) – Delivers concentrated strikes that break through reinforced defenses, now partially stores kinetic energy for follow-up attacks.
• OBSERVATION (LV6) – Can detect enemy movements, weak points, and energy fluctuations.
• INTERMEDIATE SWORD TECHNIQUE (LV8 – D-RANK) – Swordsmanship significantly improved; usable for efficient defensive and counter maneuvers.
• INTERMEDIATE STEALTH (LV5 – D-RANK) – Improved concealment and silent movement; better synergy with defensive skills.
• INTERMEDIATE ENERGY CONTROL (LV5 – D-RANK) – Ability to absorb, release, or redirect energy in small bursts.
• CELESTIAL BARRIER (LV5 → EVOLVED) – Scales with cosmic alignment; can now extend range and partially reinforce allies' defenses within area.
DING!!!
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED]
[CELESTIAL SYNTHESIS (LV1)]
[DESCRIPTION: Combines multiple barrier energies into a single, adaptive force. Can absorb incoming attacks and redistribute energy either defensively or offensively.]
[SPECIAL EFFECT: Passive synergy with Stellar Aegis and Stellar Barrier; temporarily boosts allies' defenses within a radius when activated.]
DING
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED]
CELESTIAL ARCANE (LV1) – Temporary use of a Celestial Being skill; one active skill unlocked; enhances barriers and grants a celestial attack once per encounter.ANGELIC WINGS (LOCKED) – Flight & aerial defense; unlocks at 100% sync.CELESTIAL FLARE (LOCKED) – High-tier area attack; unlocks at 100% sync.
Ji-Han's eyes opened so widely.
"Wha…what is this?"
"I leveled up by 15?"
"And I unlocked a new skill!" His eyes were brimming with excitement
"At last, I have grown."
And then, he began assessing the skills one after the other, until he came out of the dungeon and went straight home to rest after a long day. While resting, he planned his movement for the next day to sell the mana stones and the items.