Weapon seller in the world of magic

He exhaled heavily, steam leaving his lips. ”This one even has the power to freeze. I can’t overpower it with these useless skills I stored. After all, those were necessary to survive and later escape the prison, not prepared for this battle. Maybe…”

He paused, narrowing his eyes as an idea popped into his head. ”Maybe hypnosis will work. But it only activates through direct eye contact.”

He flexed his fingers, feeling the mana pulse through his veins again as his mana has been refreshed back to full.

”I didn’t have much choice. If this doesn’t work, I can only try to fight it by attacking with ranged attacks.” He crouched slightly, channeling mana into his legs as the timer was reducing to zero.

Zmmm

Sungjun shot forward like a bullet, the snow beneath him exploding outward. He dashed through the storm with his eyes locked on the Ice Knight’s towering form.

By the time he reached it, the countdown reached zero, and the Ice Knight reacted, lifting its axe once more.

Sungjun this time didn’t attack its knees. Instead, he leaped, landing on its knee joint with a heavy thud, then used it as a stepping stone, propelling himself upward again. The wind whipped past him as he soared, and his next step landed on the giant’s metallic hand that was reaching out to grab him.

He used that as leverage, going for one more jump.

As a result, for a split second, Sungjun was airborne, face-to-face with the Ice Knight’s massive helm. Through the slits of the helmet, two glacial blue eyes stared back at him.

That was all he needed.

”Activate—Hypnosis.”

A faint shimmer flickered between their gazes. The Ice Knight’s glowing eyes pulsed once—then went dim while it froze mid-motion, its axe hanging in the air.

Sungjun landed gracefully on the snow and straightened, a smirk tugging at his lips.

”It worked…”

A cold notification rang in his head.

[Hypnosis Successful. Target Frozen.]

[Duration: 60 seconds.]

He grinned, a spark of satisfaction flashing across his face. ”Perfect. Now—drop the weapon.”

The Ice Knight’s fingers loosened mechanically. The massive axe fell from its grasp, crashing into the ice with a loud thud and sending tremors through the ground. Sungjun almost lost his balance due to the tremor for a second.

Balancing his feet, he approached the weapon cautiously. It was enormous, even bigger than the Ice Giant, and radiated frigid energy that made his breath frost even faster.

”If I can use this…”

As a thought formed in his head, he wrapped his hands around the weapon’s handle and channeled mana to reinforce his grip. But before he could even lift it, a system message flickered.

[System Alert: Unable to equip—Trial Guardian Weapon detected.]

[Permission Denied.]

His face fell. He couldn’t help but click his tongue. ”Tch… Figures. Of course it’s locked.”

He sighed, glancing back at the frozen Ice Knight that stood motionless like a statue of death. ”Alright, then. Guess I’ll have to use everything to kill it.”

The ice beneath his boots cracked faintly as he tightened his stance again. Meanwhile, the countdown timer in his head ticked down from 60… 59… 58…

He took a step back, closing his eyes, letting the mana circulate faster through his veins. His core pulsed—once, twice—then flared. Blue sparks began forming between his hands as he condensed his mana into a dense sphere once again. Steam began to rise from the snow as if the mana was melting the snow around, just like how he used to burn the books to create the Smoke Alert, and he used it to escape during his first escape to level-7.

[Mana Output: 63% >> 77% >> 96%]

”Compression complete…”

He thrust both hands forward, blasting the mana sphere onto the Ice Giant, aiming at its neck, which is exposed to attack without protection from its armor

The mana sphere detonated upon contact and caused a loud and blinding explosion, vaporizing snow and tearing through the frozen wasteland. As the dust settled, its neck was almost destroyed, with just a tiny portion still attached to its head.

Despite a huge hole in its neck, the Ice Knight is not dead yet. Adding on top of that, the system’s chime rang in his head with a new notification on the holographic screen.

Ding!

[Warning: Hypnosis skill is affected by a near-death attack.]

[Target Regaining Control.]

”No, you don’t,” Sungjun growled. He pushed harder, channeling the last remaining four percent of his mana into his hand, creating a disc made of condensed mana. As the Ice Knight stirred awake, Sungjun threw the disc, which cut through the air and severed its head completely.

Its head fell to the ground with a loud thud and rolled a bit. And a heartbeat later, the Ice Knight shattered.

The silence returned to the Icy wastelands.

Ding!

[Trial Guardian Defeated.]

[System Punishment Trial Cleared.]

[+1 Skill Point is added as a reward.]

[Returning to the Material world in 10 seconds.]

Sungjun dropped to one knee, panting heavily due to exhaustion of mana. ”Man, that was close. I thought I would have to try again.”

The frozen wasteland began to flicker then. The storm faded.

A blinding flash engulfed his vision.

When Sungjun’s eyes fluttered open, he realized he was lying on a stretcher, being carried by two gliding robots.

He immediately sat up, causing the robots to halt. One of them spoke in its cold, mechanical tone:

”Inmate 73812’s consciousness has returned.”

Sungjun raised an eyebrow, his gaze scanning the sterile corridor. Another robot turned to him, voice firm but even, ”Inmate 73812, you are being taken to the medical facility for mandatory health checks. Please cooperate.”

Sungjun didn’t respond. Instead, he leaned back against the stretcher, letting the robots continue their smooth, gliding path down the hall.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the medical ward. The room was minimalistic—one bed at the center, surrounded by advanced medical equipment humming softly.

Sungjun stepped in and sat on the bed as instructed, observing everything with a careful eye. The room was quiet, almost eerily so.

Soon, a gynoid in a white doctor’s coat entered. She carried herself with a professional elegance, though her movements were just slightly mechanical.

”Welcome to the medical ward, Mr. Han. I am Nova, Chief Examiner.”

Sungjun’s eyes narrowed, recognizing her. ”Eh? Captain Nova?”

The gynoid doctor tilted her head slightly, almost as if amused. ”No. That’s my sibling, Model 12. I am Model 5.”

Sungjun blinked in surprise again, but a moment later, he let out a smirk, leaning back on the bed. ”Wow, I really wonder who created all of you.”

Nova’s lips curved in a faint smile, her glowing eyes blinking once. ”That is not confidential information. Our creator was Dr. Mac.”

Sungjun chuckled softly. ”It wasn’t a question, Doctor. Just a comment disguised as one. Consider it a compliment.”

Nova blinked again, processing his tone. ”Oh, I see. Noted. And I thank you on behalf of our creator.”

Sungjun’s smirk widened just slightly, but he didn’t say anything. He just felt like it would be nice to have such an android army serving him, too. Dr. Mac, the name was noted in his head.

During the next hour, Sungjun underwent various medical tests. His body was scanned, vitals checked, and a dozen sensors ran through their routines. He remained calm, observing quietly, though his senses were on high alert so that he might be prepared for any surprise test they were going to conduct.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected had happened. After the tests were completed, he followed the instructions and returned to the ward.

However, as he sat on the bed waiting, he wondered whether there were other patients around and tried to scan the place, activating his senses to detect any life auras. And a faint energy signature caught his attention. His brow furrowed as he felt it was familiar—maybe too familiar—yet he couldn’t immediately place it.

Sungjun rose silently, moving toward the source, careful not to draw attention. He peered through the small gap in the ward’s curtains—and suddenly, a figure lunged at him.

Sungjun’s body reacted automatically out of reflex, flipping backward in a smooth somersault to evade the attack. His feet landed lightly on the ground as he steadied himself.

The intruder landed on all fours. Sungjun spotted that it was a woman, pale-skinned, her short hair sticking slightly from the movement. Her body was so thin that her bones seemed almost visible, yet her eyes burned with bloodlust.

Sungjun’s eyes widened in shock, his heart skipping a beat as he recognized the individual despite the fact that nearly two decades had passed and she had aged a lot. ”Xing Lin? How?”

The woman growled low in her throat, her movements predatory, like a wolf ready to strike. She sprang forward again, with whatever strength her frail body could muster, and she aimed her claws at him.

Reacting with precision, Sungjun slid backward, avoiding her attack effortlessly. At the same moment, two medical robots appeared in the ward, gliding swiftly to intercept.