'The momentum is good! I'm going all the way to the Boss Zone like this.'

-Tower Master! The path ahead is blocked!

The same black door I had seen at the beginning now stood before me, guarded by a gatekeeper. Unlike the other golems, its entire body was pitch black, just like the door.

'No time. I'll ignore it and break through.'

I ran across the shields and placed my hand on the black door. But no matter how many times I knocked, it remained unresponsive, unlike when I first entered. Just then, the black golem spotted me and reached out.

"Tsk!"

I activated Leap Boots to drop to the floor. Looking back, I saw the golem wave slowly approaching. It would be a nightmare if those lesser golems joined the fight.

-Tower Master. I am detecting the same magical signature from that black golem as from the door. A magic circle that seals the door is inscribed on its body.

"Right. So I have to defeat the gatekeeper to get through."

'Rumble!'

The black golem twisted its shoulder and threw a swift punch.

'CRACK!'

The ground split open, sending fragments flying in all directions.

'Just as I thought—it's stronger than a normal golem!'

It was a close call, but I managed to dodge. By now, I was experienced at dealing with these monsters.

<Fire Cannon>

I slammed two Fire Cannons into each other to create a smokescreen. The golem wouldn't be able to see me, but with the Sage's Eye, I could track its movements clearly.

<Leap Boots>

Next, I created a Leap Boots circle under my feet and charged, heading straight for the golem's head through the smoke.

"Die!"

Ea and I were one. At the exact same instant I threw my fist, she deployed a Gauntlet magic circle in front of it. My fist passed through the circle and slammed directly into the black golem's head.

'KRAAACK!'

Blue sparks flew as the black golem's head snapped back.

'A direct hit!'

It was tougher than a normal golem, but a few more hits and…!

-Tower Master! To your left!

'What?'

The moment I turned my head, I saw the golem's other fist approaching. It had thrown a punch even as it was being knocked back by the Gauntlet. Ea desperately deployed shield after shield in front of me. And then—

'CRACK!'

The golem's fist shattered the shields and struck me. The impact ripped through my entire body, sending me flying back as I tumbled across the floor.

[Stamina has increased by 3.]

'Ow! It hurts! It really, really hurts! Gaining stamina like this doesn't make me happy at all!'

-Tower Master! Are you alright?

"…Y-yeah. Thanks for the shields, Ea."

The black golem that had thrown the punch was only now collapsing. Fortunately, since it had thrown the punch while falling backward, it hadn't carried its full power. As I staggered to my feet, golem arms and heads began to emerge from the surrounding ground. Dammit, the wave had caught up.

'Ea. How many more Gauntlet hits will it take to bring down that black golem?'

-Damage calculation complete. It is estimated that at least five more strikes to the same area are required to defeat it.

'What? It's that tough?'

This was the worst, most absurd crisis I had ever faced. Five hits? I'd be out of time after one or two.

"Haaaah."

I closed my eyes. Then again, when had it ever been easy? As always, the trial was demanding that I evolve. My current methods weren't enough. I needed a physical magic spell more powerful than the Gauntlet, something that could take down the black golem in a single blow.

No matter how much I thought, my resources were limited. The best physical-type ingredients I could combine were the Gauntlet and Leap Boots.

My mind made up, I began at once. I floated both magic circles in the air and, without hesitation, overlapped them.

The Rune of Impact was the core of the first-order Gauntlet, while the Runes of Impact and Leaping formed the core of the second-order Leap Boots. I started by erasing the overlapping formulas; since both were based on the Rune of Impact, there was a lot of redundancy.

'Huh? It's working better than I thought.'

The main reason I had repeatedly failed at third-order magic was that when trying to create a single circle with three runes, two of them would almost always conflict. Forcing a spell in that state would only cause the magic circle to shatter. But adding a second-order system to a first-order base made things much easier. The solution wasn't 1+1+1, but 1+2. Even using the same three runes, managing two distinct symbols greatly reduced the difficulty.

-Tower Master! An attack is coming!

Ea, who had been holding out as long as possible so as not to disturb my concentration, finally shouted. The fists of the fully emerged golems were now raining down.

I wasn't finished. I needed more time. It was do or die. I decided to trust my instincts.

I used the formula from <Sticking Gauntlet>, which should produce a similar adhesive effect. I slapped the half-complete magic circle onto the palm of my hand and threw myself into the fray.

'CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!'

'RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!'

The golems' arms intertwined, savaging the ground mercilessly. One mistake and I was dead.

I shot to my feet and looked at the half-finished magic circle on my right hand. Fortunately, it had attached properly, and the formula wasn't damaged.

I looked back. The red barrier was now dangerously close. Judging by its speed, I had two or three minutes, tops. That was just enough time to dodge the golems, approach the black one, and land a single hit.

'Ea. I'm focusing on the magic circle. Handle the external situation. Create the circles I need, and guide me to the black golem.'

-That's absurd!

'There's no other way.'

I could feel her worry, but she knew it too. There really was no other way.

-I will follow the Tower Master's command.

I took a deep breath and lifted my head. This was going to be difficult. I had to perfectly dodge every attack from the lesser golems, close the distance to the black golem, complete a brand-new third-order magic circle while on the move, and use it to take the target down in a single, precise hit. It sounded impossible even to me. But I had to do it.

I tensed my legs and ran. Just as the golems' arms descended, a Leap Boots circle created by Ea appeared before me. 'She wants me to go up.' Without hesitation, I stepped on it.

'Whoosh!'

Once airborne, I saw shield magic circles floating like stepping stones. I ran in a trance, leaping from one platform to the next, focusing solely on completing the magic circle. I combined the formulas of the two constructs and simplified them. It was a completely different realm of magic, like laying out two texts—one in mathematics and one in classical Chinese—and finding the commonalities to streamline them. I was relentless. I simplified, and simplified, and simplified again.

-Tower Master! I have prepared a Leap Boots circle five meters above!

'Okay.'

I stepped on the circle drawn in mid-air, and my body soared again. Her voice, relaying the situation, was trembling. She was now single-handedly doing the work we had been doing together moments ago. She must have been reaching her limit, just like me. But there was no other choice. I had to trust her and keep going.

As I got closer, the black golem spotted me and swung its fist. I leaped off a shield Ea had created at an angle. The golem's fist smashed into the empty ground, and following Ea's guidance, I landed smoothly on its arm and ran up it.

Ea was doing her part, guiding me perfectly to the black golem's head. But I was still stuck. I didn't know how many times I'd revised the formula. Should I just complete it as is and fire? No, it would surely break before it even activated.

'What am I missing? What is the problem?'

I had no idea. This was simply a lack of skill. How foolish. Why did I think just immersing myself without a plan would solve everything? I was desperate. Desperate enough to sell my soul to a demon. I needed an answer. Anything.

I was drawing a blank.

At that moment, what broke through my frantic thoughts was not a flash of insight. It was the large magic circle drawn on the golem's body. My eyes widened. Ea had said it was a sealing circle.

'Whatever it is, I'll take it.'

Hitting a wall, I did the only thing I could: I improvised. Using the Sage's Eye, I copied the formula from the golem and pasted it into my own. I didn't even know what I was thinking, adding unstable formulas I didn't fully understand to my magic circle. They were peculiar, unlike anything I had ever seen, even in the fundamentals of magic. As mana flowed into the formula, an oily black smoke began to billow out.

-Tower Master!

Ea, who had been frantically guiding me, finally noticed my magic circle.

-That's too dangerous! It's too early for you to use dark magic!

'Dark magic? What's that? And what does 'too early' even mean in this situation?'

It was too late to turn back now anyway. My formula and the black formula merged, and the entire magic circle turned a deep, menacing black.

Panting, I kept running, leaping from the golem's arm onto shields in the air. I didn't even know how I got here. The distance to the golem was closing fast, and my magic circle grew darker and darker. Like a crazed artist mesmerized by a painting, I frantically scrawled formulas, completing the circle.

I lifted my head. I could see the final shield and Leap Boots circle Ea had set up. 'She wants me to charge from here.'

'Alright, here I go.'

My body shot out like a rocket. There was no turning back. I gritted my teeth and channeled mana into the magic circle to activate it.

'Wooooooooooosh!'

The circle spewed out jet-black smoke. In my state of extreme immersion, everything seemed to move in slow motion, yet this black smoke seemed to exist on a different timeline, fluctuating rapidly.

'Stay calm.'

I slowly bent my legs and brought the magic circle on my palm to the sole of my shoe. With a click, it stuck fast. Looking at it now, the circle had a bizarre, abstract shape. It had gaping holes like eye sockets and a wide-open mouth, hauntingly reminiscent of a skull. It wasn't intentional, but this form was the spell's most perfect construct.

With a grunt, I took a deep breath and twisted my waist. I must not have launched properly, because my body was flying not toward the golem's head, but its torso. To make matters worse, the black golem's fist was closing in on me mid-air.

'Damn it all. It's hopeless to the very end.'

With a desperate prayer, I extended my leg. My foot moved forward in what could barely be called a kick. And just barely…

The sole of my shoe touched the golem's body. 'Tap.'

And that was it. The magic circle never activated. My body, having lightly tapped the golem, was about to be pulled down by gravity.

'Is this the end?'

Alright, this was enough. I did my best. As time slowed to an infinite crawl, I was half-resigned. Then I felt something squirming, gathering at my feet. Converging at the point of impact was pure black mana.

"…Huh?"

'BOOOOM!'

A black wave erupted from under my foot, swirling like a torrent. The recoil sent my leg flying back as I witnessed the magnificent power stretching out before me—a pitch-black unlike anything in nature. Its overwhelming output lifted the house-sized golem into the air and sent it reeling.

'What the...?!'

The pillar of darkness erupting from my foot dragged the golem dozens of meters, slamming it into the far wall with a cataclysmic explosion. The skull shape of the magic circle spread out from the point of impact like a brand, and the golem's body collapsed like a landslide. The tremendous collision shook the entire temple as if it would collapse at any moment. As I fell to the floor, I could only stare up in a daze.

'…No, this is crazy. What the hell did I just create?'

[Devastar <Kim Yusin Original>]

Magic Circle Rank: XI

Order: third-order

Classification: Output Type

Granted Functions:

-Light of Ruin

-Over-Output

-Output Control

-Gravity Control

Understanding: 11

Endurance: 42

Application: 360

Output: 1,974

As soon as the black golem was defeated, the surrounding normal golems began to crumble, as did the black wall in front of me. As the area grew quiet, I slowly checked the player messages.

[You have created your own original magic circle.]

[You have learned about Dark Magic.]

[Special Stat - 'Darkness' has been unlocked.]

[Analysis has reached Lv.3.]

[Magic Power has increased by 15.]

[Agility has increased by 7.]

[Endurance has increased by 5.]

[You have perfectly understood the designer's intent.]

[You have cleared the Golem Temple.]

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