The words had barely left my mouth when—
The voice vanished.
Completely.
No explanation.
No response.
Nothing.
The red Tower interface remained suspended before me for a moment longer.
Then it disappeared.
I narrowed my eyes.
That voice…
Whoever had spoken through the Tower had been watching me.
But why?
And what did it mean by—
You've finally begun to awaken.
I had no answer.
For now, I pushed the thought aside.
Whatever the Tower was hiding—
I would find out eventually.
Then—
The air changed.
Subtly.
But unmistakably.
My instincts flared instantly.
Danger.
Real danger.
I turned toward the volcanic mountain.
A deep rumble shook the ground.
Low.
Heavy.
The magma rivers nearby began bubbling violently.
Heat spiked.
Sharply.
My eyes narrowed.
The volcanic mountain in the distance—
Cracked.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted from its peak.
Flames shot into the sky.
Ash spread through the air like a storm.
The ground trembled continuously.
The entire domain seemed to awaken.
And from within the eruption—
Something moved.
Something large.
Something alive.
A slow smile formed on my face.
"…So this is the second trial."
My stance shifted.
Lower.
Balanced.
Every muscle aligned.
Every sense sharpened.
Energy began flowing through my body.
Calm.
Precise.
Controlled.
Not wild.
Not unstable.
Exactly as I had been taught.
Control first.
Power second.
But deep inside—
Something stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.
I ignored it.
My eyes remained fixed on the volcano.
"…Let's see…"
My pupils glowed faintly blue.
"…what this Tower can do."
ROOOOOAR!!!
The heat spiked again.
I glanced down at myself.
I was still wearing only my shorts.
My skin was covered in a layer of dark impurities.
Residue expelled during the transformation of the Tiger God Physique.
I raised an eyebrow.
"So it purged everything unnecessary…"
I rubbed a small amount of the residue between my fingers.
It crumbled immediately.
"…Good."
The transformation hadn't merely increased my strength.
It had rebuilt my body.
Whatever had been unnecessary—
Had been removed.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
The volcano erupted violently.
Magma shot into the sky.
A massive wave of heat swept across the domain.
And from within the eruption—
A figure emerged.
Massive.
Dominant.
It stepped through the flames as though the magma itself obeyed it.
My eyes narrowed.
Its body looked like a living fortress.
Its skin was formed from molten red rock.
Glowing lines of magma ran through its body like veins.
They pulsed slowly.
Steam escaped from cracks across its enormous frame.
Its eyes—
Black.
With burning red pupils.
They locked onto me.
Silently.
Analyzing.
I didn't move.
Neither did it.
For several seconds, we stared at each other.
Then I spoke.
"…So you're the guardian."
It didn't answer.
Instead—
It moved.
Slowly.
It wasn't walking.
It was floating.
Every movement brought another wave of heat.
The ground beneath it melted slightly.
Even the volcanic stone couldn't withstand its presence.
When it reached a few meters above the ground—
It stopped.
Then dropped.
BOOM!!!
The ground shattered beneath its feet.
I remained still.
Behind it, the volcano continued erupting.
Endlessly.
A constant reminder of whose domain this was.
The creature stared at me.
I stared back.
Then—
My blue System appeared.
«[Info]
Name: Lithovar
Title: Volcanic Guardian
Threat Level: High
Affinity: Fire / Earth
Core: Internal»
My eyes moved across the information.
Lithovar.
Volcanic Guardian.
Fire and Earth affinity.
Internal core.
So destroying its outer body wouldn't be enough.
I memorized the information.
Lithovar suddenly raised one arm.
Its massive fist clenched.
BOOM!!!
The ground beneath me exploded.
I vanished.
SWISH!!!
A pillar of magma erupted from the place I had occupied.
I reappeared several meters away.
Before my feet even touched the ground—
Another pillar shot upward.
BOOM!!!
I twisted sideways.
It passed beneath me.
Another.
Then another.
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
Magma pillars erupted across the battlefield.
Fast.
Precise.
They weren't random.
My eyes sharpened.
It wasn't reacting to my movements.
It was predicting them.
Interesting.
I stopped moving randomly.
Instead, I deliberately shifted my position.
Left.
Right.
Forward.
Backward.
Testing its response.
Every time I changed direction—
The magma followed.
Closer.
Closer.
Then—
One pillar grazed my arm.
SSSSSS!!!
I landed.
A faint burn marked my skin.
I glanced at it.
"…Hot."
But that was all.
The pain was minor.
My new physique had absorbed most of the heat.
A faint smile appeared.
"Very good."
Lithovar moved.
This time—
Fast.
BOOM!!!
Its massive body disappeared from its position.
My instincts screamed.
I raised both arms.
BAM!!!
Its fist collided with my guard.
The impact was enormous.
The ground beneath my feet cracked.
A shockwave spread outward.
But—
I didn't move.
Not even an inch.
Lithovar's red pupils flickered.
Surprise.
I smiled.
"My turn."
I stepped forward.
BAM!!!
My fist slammed into its torso.
The impact echoed across the volcanic domain.
But—
Nothing.
Not even a crack.
I narrowed my eyes.
Dense.
Extremely dense.
The outer body wasn't simply hard.
It was reinforced by both Fire and Earth energy.
Lithovar countered immediately.
A low sweep came toward my legs.
I jumped.
Then—
BOOM!!!
Its other fist shot upward.
It caught me in midair.
The impact sent me flying backward.
I twisted my body.
Controlled the momentum.
Then landed on my feet.
I slid several meters before stopping.
I looked down.
No injury.
I looked back at Lithovar.
Strong.
Very strong.
But strength wasn't enough.
I exhaled.
My stance changed.
Lower.
Sharper.
More focused.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary energy.
Precision.
Lithovar charged.
BOOM!!!
The ground shattered behind it.
It came straight toward me.
I didn't move.
Not yet.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
At the last possible moment—
SWISH!!!
I disappeared.
Lithovar's fist passed through empty air.
I reappeared beside it.
BAM!!!
My fist struck its knee.
This time—
CRACK!!!
A small fracture appeared.
My eyes sharpened.
There.
A weakness.
Its joints were less durable than the main body.
I moved again.
BAM!!!
Elbow joint.
BAM!!!
Shoulder.
BAM!!!
Neck.
Each strike was precise.
Each one targeted a structural weakness.
Small fractures appeared across its body.
Lithovar roared.
ROOOOOAR!!!
The sound shook the domain.
Then—
Its body began glowing.
Brighter.
Brighter.
My instincts screamed.
Danger!
I retreated immediately.
SWISH!!!
Just in time.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
Lithovar's entire body erupted.
Magma and heat exploded outward.
The shockwave tore through the ground.
Volcanic stone was reduced to fragments.
I reappeared at a distance.
My breathing remained steady.
My eyes stayed locked on Lithovar.
"…So you can explode too."
The magma settled.
For a moment—
Nothing moved.
Then the molten fragments began pulling themselves together.
I narrowed my eyes.
The body reconstructed.
Cracks sealed.
The damaged joints regenerated.
Completely.
"…Regeneration."
Of course.
That made the fight more troublesome.
Damaging the body wouldn't be enough.
I needed the core.
But where was it?
I watched Lithovar carefully.
Its energy was circulating through its body.
Fire.
Earth.
Both flowed toward a central point—
Then spread outward again.
My eyes narrowed.
There.
The chest.
The energy concentration was slightly stronger there.
I had found it.
But before I could move—
A faint sound came from the Tower.
"…Break it."
My body paused.
The unknown voice.
Again.
It was brief.
Almost a whisper.
"…Break the core."
Then silence.
I stared toward the Tower interface.
Nothing.
No explanation.
No further message.
Just silence.
My eyes narrowed.
So it was still watching.
And now—
It had given me a hint.
I didn't know why.
I didn't know what it wanted.
But the information was useful.
I turned back toward Lithovar.
Core-based entity.
Everything led back to the core.
I exhaled slowly.
My thoughts became calm.
The battle was no longer about overpowering Lithovar.
It was about reaching the right point.
Energy gathered around my palm.
Not explosive.
Not wild.
Condensed.
Refined.
Focused.
Lithovar charged.
Faster than before.
Stronger than before.
Its entire body became a blur of molten rock.
This was its final assault.
Good.
I stepped forward.
Directly toward it.
No evasion.
No hesitation.
Lithovar's fist came toward my face.
At the final moment—
I shifted.
SWISH!!!
Its fist passed beside me.
I entered its guard.
My palm pressed directly against its chest.
Right where the energy converged.
Our eyes met.
For the first time—
I saw something resembling alarm in its gaze.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"…Found you."
Energy erupted from my palm.
But instead of expanding outward—
It moved inward.
Every particle compressed toward the same point.
The core.
"Collapse."
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
The energy detonated inside its body.
Not outward.
Inward.
Precise.
Focused.
Devastating.
The energy core shattered.
CRACK!!!
A fracture appeared across Lithovar's chest.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The cracks spread across its entire body.
Its massive frame froze.
The red light within its eyes flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Went out.
Silence.
Lithovar's body collapsed.
Molten rock shattered across the ground.
The fragments cooled rapidly.
Then faded into particles of energy.
Gone.
The volcanic domain fell silent.
Only the sound of flowing magma remained.
I stood in the middle of the battlefield.
Unmoving.
Calm.
Victorious.
Then—
DING.
The Tower interface appeared.
I glanced at it.
A faint smile formed.
"…Too easy."
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
Somewhere beyond my sight…
A quiet laugh echoed.
Not from Lithovar.
Not from the Tower's notification.
And not from my System.
I slowly raised my head.
My smile disappeared.
My eyes narrowed.
"…Again?"
Silence.
Nothing answered.
But somewhere within the Tower—
Something was still watching.