'A strange barrier. It's made of neither magic nor aura. And, according to my Energy Vision Sense, it doesn't even exist. Then, is it truly impossible to break through it?'

Izroth inwardly furrowed his brows as he placed his hand against the barrier.

The barrier itself was malleable and soft to the touch. However, when Izroth applied even the slightest bit of pressure, his hand would be knocked away like an object leaving a slingshot.

'Impossible...? No. If I can't bypass this barrier with my current means—I'll just have to make a means.'

Izroth returned his Sword of The Storm to its sheath and equipped the Scorched Inferno's Fang spear.

The special effect of the Scorched Inferno's Fang was virtually useless underwater; however, for what Izroth had in mind, the use of a spear was irreplaceable.

'How long has it been since I've witnessed your spear techniques?'

Izroth moved a couple of meters away from the barrier and held the spear in his hands with a loosened grip as he aimed the spearhead forward.

'The greatest spear wielder in the Seven Realms, the Harmonic Eclipsing Spear, Zakra. Even at the peak of my strength, in terms of pure spear technique, I was not your match. I wanted to see it one day—just how far you would go with only that spear of yours by your side. Truly, I... wanted to see that day...'

A hint of sadness flashed in Izroth's eyes; however, it was a fleeting moment... just a fleeting moment.

Izroth closed his eyes. Then, a few seconds later, he reopened them with a look of clarity and mind-clearing focus.

〈System Alert: The effect «Mind of Craft» has been activated. Your crafting speed and senses have been temporarily increased by 300%.〉

Swoosh!

Izroth brandished the spear in his hands and tightened his grip as he slightly shifted his position before thrusting the spear forward with all his might!

The spearhead sunk a few centimeters into the barrier and looked as if it would tear through at any second. However, without warning, the spear was knocked back with an overwhelming force.

The force was so strong; it caused the spear to shoot away from the barrier.

-1,214

Izroth's hands trembled from the backlash, but he did not let go of the spear and swiftly returned to his previous stance.

The barrier's rebound effects appeared to have risen severalfold when attacked by a weapon. It was to the point that the backlash alone shaved off nearly 5% of Izroth's HP!

Fortunately, Gram's Lasting Second Wind paired with Izroth's existing in-battle HP regeneration was able to cover a portion of the damage.

Nevertheless, despite the backlash, Izroth did not halt his assault as he quickly moved to carry out his second strike—ignoring the decrease to his HP as his level of concentration continually heightened.

With his second attack, just before the spear struck with the barrier, Izroth gathered a bit of his Essence at the point of contact.

BANG!

This time, however, instead of Izroth's spear sinking into the barrier, it vibrated violently as waves rippled throughout its surface.

But, in the end, it was still not enough as Izroth's spear was once again pushed back, and his HP decreased. Though, without pause, Izroth launched a third strike!

Izroth blocked out everything in his surroundings. In that moment of time, there was no barrier, no hydra, no crusade, no powerful currents—all that existed was a man and his spear.

10th strike...

After performing his tenth strike, Izroth finally got a grasp on the barrier's rebound effect, only experiencing its effects once every several strikes from that moment onward.

53rd strike...

Izroth fully grasped the barrier's rebound effect and no longer suffered damage from the intense backlash.

128th strike...

〈System Alert: You have gained the passive skill «Advanced Spear Mastery».〉

280th strike...

〈System Alert: You have gained the passive skill «Spear of Perseverance».〉

〈System Alert: You feel your movements with the spear become lighter with every swing.〉

562nd strike...

〈System Alert: The passive skill «Advanced Spear Mastery» has evolved to «Great Spear Mastery».〉

999th strike!

How long had it been? One minute? Ten minutes? An hour? To Izroth, the answer was not even a distant thought as he wielded the spear in his hands with a single purpose.

1,000th strike!

When Izroth launched his 1,000th attack on the barrier, he sensed a feeling of familiarity that he had not in his previous attacks. This feeling—he could not lose it. No matter what, he had to carve that feeling into himself and his spear!

〈System Alert: Critical situation detected!〉

〈System Alert: The effect «Ultimate Sensory» has been activated. Your sense of perception will be increased by 2,000% for the next 3 seconds.〉

Time seemed to slow down for Izroth as his sense of perception reached a state of extremity.

'This feeling... There's no mistaking it.'

Woosh!

Izroth's spear smoothly glided through the waters as he slashed in an upward arc.

Unlike his first attack, this strike contained a great deal of fluidity and refinement as it brushed effortlessly across the barrier.

It was in that instant with Izroth's 1,001st strike that something unusual occurred.

As the spear swept over the barrier, it appeared to be undamaged—similar to all the previous times.

But, then, out of nowhere, a small crack formed on the barrier's surface!

Soon enough, numerous cracks started to spread throughout the barrier's surface around the Hydra's main body. And, in less than a breath of time, the once seemingly impenetrable barrier shattered!

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have created a new skill. Please name the skill.〉

〈System Alert: The effects of «Ultimate Sensory» have ended.〉

〈System Alert: Your concentration has wavered. The effects of «Mind of Craft» have ended.〉

At last, Izroth had broken through the Hydra's barrier! And, as for the skill's name—he did not need any time to think about it.

〈System Alert: Generating skill... Complete!〉

'It may not be much. But, a small piece of you shall exist in this world.'

Skill Name: Zakra's Harmonic Spear of Causality

Skill Creator: Izroth

Skill Mastery: 0.00%

Skill Rank: Unique*

Requirements: ???(Hidden)

Active: This skill allows the user to exert brief control over the principle of «Causality». The effects and cooldown of this skill vary based on the user's mastery and control of the «Causality».

Cooldown: ???

Special Note: This skill's mastery cannot be increased with the use of skill points. Skill mastery can only be improved through repeated use of this skill.

The Harmonic Spear of Causality was a self-created technique that propelled Zakra to the pinnacle of the spear.

A spear that could determine the outcome of a battle with a single strike—this was the Harmonic Spear of Causality!

For every cause, there was an effect. And, the causality principle stated that the cause always precedes the effect.

In this case, with Izroth's last strike, the cause was that anything that obstructed the path of his spear would be destroyed, while the effect was the's barrier destruction.

And, given that the cause always precedes the effect, the barrier's destruction was inevitable!

〈System Alert: Error! You already have an existing «Law»!〉

〈System Alert: The effects of «Breaker of Limits» has activated!〉

〈System Alert: You have gained some insight into the «Law of Causality».〉

'Hm? This is... No, I can't waste any more time down here. I'll have to look over it in detail later.'

Izroth was curious about the system alerts he received at the end; however, he was out of range of the party's voice chat, and since their names were currently grayed out, he had no idea how they were holding up.

For all Izroth knew, he could be the last remaining survivor on the second stage!

However, Izroth did not believe that this was the case. After all, they were not the type of players to go down so easily!

For now, Izroth decided to trust Niflheim and the others as he focused on what was before him.

'Now... Let's see if your body can regenerate as well as your heads.'

Izroth returned the spear to his inventory and unsheathed his Sword of The Storm.

The next moment, an overbearing and penetrative aura encompassed his sword as Izroth positioned himself at the center of the Hydra's main body.

'First Baneful Sword: Destruction Point.'

Izroth's blade shot forward with incredible momentum as it slashed through the Hydra's main body, creating a long cut as blue liquid spewed out—it was the Hydra's blood!

With the barrier gone, nothing was left to stop Izroth from attacking the Hydra's main body!

But, more importantly, the Hydra's body did not regenerate like its heads as the wound remained open.

'Its body is needlessly big. Then, shall we try a different approach?'

Zeeeut!

Izroth's figure flickered as he charged towards the Hydra's open wound.

Phhhtk!

Izroth's body vanished as he dove right into the Hydra's body!

...

A few moments later, above the lake...

As Niflheim and the rest of the party fought against the Hydra, something bizarre transpired.

Not too long ago, the Hydra suddenly cried out in pain and was thrashing about uncontrollably. Its attention no longer seemed focused on them—as if something was eating away at it that they did not know about.

"Why did its behavior suddenly shift? Could it be his doing?" Niflheim internalized.