When Tenril was summoned, the surrounding temperature began to drop.

Sssssss.

The temperature inside the training room suddenly fell. Along with that, a massive wolf-shaped figure began to manifest in front of Sungshik.

'Ugh, the mana consumption is enormous.'

As Tenril was summoned and a vast amount of mana drained from Sungshik’s body, he furrowed his brow. He had somewhat expected it, but the actual mana consumption far exceeded his expectations.

Ever since he reached 7-star, he had rarely felt a lack of mana. But now, for the first time in a while, he felt the deficiency of mana once again.

'With this level of mana consumption… fighting alongside Tenril for an extended period would be difficult.'

If Tenril were fighting separately, it would be a different story. But fighting together with Tenril would quickly deplete his mana. Well, it was to be expected — ordinary mana wouldn’t be enough to fully handle the power of a 7-star+ being.

Still, it didn’t seem like there would be any problem for a short battle.

'If I don’t want to run out of mana even while summoning Tenril, I’ll have to reach 8-star.'

In truth, if he reached 8-star, where he could continuously draw on external energy, the mana issue would be resolved. If that time came, Sungshik’s combat ability would be on a completely different level from a typical 8-star. Even summoning just Tenril to fight alongside him meant there would be two beings with 8-star-level power.

Sungshik’s thoughts stopped as Tenril was fully summoned.

With dazzlingly white fur flowing and a noble presence revealed, Tenril was so magnificent that Sungshik couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Hello. We meet again, huh? I summoned you because I had something to ask.”

―Very well. We are now bonded souls. You may call upon me anytime.

“Hmm, then I’ll be straightforward. What’s your relationship with Fenrir?”

It was something he had been curious about ever since he first saw Tenril. Could a regular avatar form a contract with a Divine Beast and be spiritually connected? This question sparked Sungshik’s curiosity.

'A regular avatar — no, that's not it.'

After being spiritually connected with Tenril, Sungshik realized. In Tenril’s soul, there was a trace of ‘Divinity’.

―What you sensed is correct. As I became completely independent from Fenrir, I came to possess a small degree of divinity.

Indeed, as Tenril said, he was not a typical avatar of Fenrir, as Sungshik had suspected. The Divine Beast Fenrir, a being close to a god, had for some unknown reason been torn apart, and Tenril was one of the fragments of that origin.

“Then what happens? If you gather all the fragments of the origin, could you become Fenrir?”

―That I do not know. But one thing is certain — I will inevitably fight a holy war to reunite with the other fragments of the origin. And the final victor will raise the Holy Grail.

At the moment he heard Tenril’s words, Sungshik realized two things.

First, that Tenril’s existence might go beyond a Divine Beast and reach the level of a ‘god.’ Second, that he himself would become involved in that holy war. As Tenril’s master, it was a fate he could not avoid.

He hadn’t expected this situation, but the result wasn’t necessarily bad. If he were to raise the Holy Grail, he too would obtain the power of that divinity.

In that moment, a flash of intuition crossed Sungshik’s mind — that the process might provide a clue to approaching the 10-star realm he had glimpsed through ‘Future Insight.’

“Alright, Tenril. Let’s do well from now on.”

―I shall look forward to it as well.

It was the moment when the bond between Tenril and Sungshik grew even firmer.

Tenril returned to the inner dimensional space. Originally, before the contract, Tenril existed in the beast realm, but thanks to the contract with Sungshik, he had come to possess a dimension of his own.

―Originally, Divine Beasts that form contracts come to possess their own independent dimensions. As the Divine Beast’s power increases, that dimension also grows proportionally.

Thanks to Heaven-Splitter’s explanation, understanding the space where Tenril resided became significantly easier.

“By forming a contract with Tenril, my combat power has increased rapidly.”

Aside from the ability to summon Tenril, there were many other gains.

“Jack Frost.”

Whoooosh.

With Sungshik’s words, a small ice bird was summoned. The low-ranking ice spirit, Jack Frost. Through the contract with Tenril, Sungshik had become able to wield the power of the ice spirits.

'Even the power of the Ice Spirit King was passed on to Tenril.'

Indeed, Fenrir was the ‘Ice Spirit King’ who governed the ice spirits. That power had partially passed on to Tenril, and Sungshik had gained the ability to control it.

In fact, upon forming the contract with Tenril, he had gained a trait called [S Rank] Lord of Extreme Cold.

'[S Rank] Lord of Extreme Cold' was a growth-type trait that absorbed the '[A Rank] Frost Crystal' trait and newly manifested.

This trait contributed significantly to enhancing the versatility of the attribute power Sungshik could manifest.

―You’re turning into a monster more and more.

Seeing Sungshik’s growth, Heaven-Splitter thought he was drawing closer to the ‘Almighty.’ He even considered that if Sungshik were to gain divinity in the future, he might instantly acquire top-tier divine power.

“I’m still just a chaotic mix.”

Sungshik only gave a wry smile at Heaven-Splitter’s words.

It was still an incomplete power. For now, a singular, focused power might shine brighter than a diverse array like Sungshik’s.

But if he could organize all these powers and ascend to the stage of mastery, then perhaps he really could reach the Almighty, just as Heaven-Splitter had said.

With that thought, he took out an item.

[Legendary] Compass of Fate. It was an item he had obtained last time from the [Relic] Random Draw of Destiny. One of the reasons Sungshik accepted the gate conquest mission in Anchorage was this item.

'I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not…….'

When he was asked to help conquer the gate in Alaska, the needle of this compass was pointing north. That was part of the reason why he decided to head for Alaska.

If this compass had indicated that he could obtain the “[EX Rank] Master of the Divine Beast” here, then that would be truly astonishing.

'If that really was the case, then from now on, whenever the [Legendary] Compass of Fate activates, I’ll just follow where it points.'

Who knew if he might obtain another [EX Rank] trait like this again? Sungshik, thinking that he had struck a gold mine, once again used Insight on the ‘Compass of Fate.’

[Legendary] Compass of Fate
―A compass once possessed by ?.
―?
―?

'As expected, it's still unidentified.'

Even with appraisal items or Insight, it couldn’t be properly analyzed. In cases like this, it was always one of two things — either a worthless item or one with deep lore.

―This compass is no ordinary item. It’s imbued with a sacred aura.

But seeing how even Heaven-Splitter judged it as extraordinary, the weight leaned toward the latter. Even for someone who had lived through countless ages, it was the first time seeing such an item. If Heaven-Splitter said that, then it was definitely no ordinary object.

'Maybe when “Trait Predator” activated on Oscar back then, it was actually the power of this “Compass of Fate” at work...'

That thought suddenly occurred to him. Unlike when he first arrived in Anchorage and the compass needle was fixed northward, it was now slowly rotating. As if it had already fulfilled its initial purpose of pointing north.

Seeing that, he felt there really could be such a possibility.

'A [Legendary] tier item isn’t called legendary for nothing.'

One thing was clear — this was an item that could bring great fortune to Sungshik.

At this point, Sungshik was torn. Originally, he had planned to save up coins to buy a few high-level skills or specific items.

“Should I try pulling more relic draws instead?”

―Hmm, ordinarily I would’ve tried to stop you, but at this point, it’s like someone’s just showering you in luck... Do as you wish.

Even Heaven-Splitter, who usually hated leaving things up to chance, didn’t object anymore.

“Ah, this is a tough call.”

While Sungshik was wrestling with that dilemma — someone else was also lost in thought.

A room in Anchorage’s most luxurious hotel. A woman lay on the bed.

'Ah... What is this?'

Jenny was confused by her own emotions. Her heart kept racing, and she couldn’t stop thinking about one person’s face. It was the first time she’d felt anything like this.

'Heo Sungshik...'

Just thinking of him made her heart thump again. At first, she had only thought of him as a promising rookie from a small country in the East.

Handsome, with a bright future — a charming newcomer. That was all he was to her at the time.

Then, after a few conversations, she began to feel like they could become friends. As someone who had reached a similar level, she felt a strange sense of rivalry with Sungshik, along with a budding fondness.

“I really thought he was just a colleague.”

She muttered while fidgeting with her lips and let out a deep sigh. She had definitely believed Sungshik was just a fellow comrade, but after going through the recent events, she began to see him as a man.

'No, this can’t be.'

She shook her head, convincing herself it was just a temporary emotion born from being rescued in a moment of danger. But the more she denied it, the bigger the feeling grew.

“Maybe I should just stop by to see his face for a bit? No, it’s late now — I’ll see him tomorrow.”

Countless people had liked her before, but she had never once liked someone herself. Now she was completely at a loss in the face of this unfamiliar emotion.

“I should give him chocolate or something. Just because I’m thankful, that’s all.”

Yes, that’s right. It’s just a gift between friends, a token of gratitude... nothing more. Chocolate was simply a way to express her appreciation this time.

She nodded as if convincing herself of her own feelings. Then suddenly sat up in bed and stood in front of the mirror.

“Ugh, my skin’s gotten rough lately.”

Her reflection showed flawless porcelain skin, but something about it still didn’t satisfy her.

“Must be the cold weather here. I should go to a beauty salon or something.”

She applied a sleeping pack to her face and lay back down on the bed.

'Phew, the blanket’s so soft. And warm.'

As she enjoyed the soft touch of the silk bedding, her thoughts continued.

'It was so warm and soft when I was held in Sungshik’s arms back then too. If he were holding me like this right now...'

“Kyaa!”

Lost in her train of thought, she suddenly kicked the blanket with her foot.

“W-what am I even thinking?”

She began fanning her face, which had turned as red as a ripe persimmon. Anyone could see she was beginning to fall head over heels.

'Agh... well, I mean, anyone can imagine things, right? I was just imagining. That’s all.'

And so, the night in Anchorage passed quietly — along with the secret turmoil of one woman’s heart.