The wind blew. The quiet night breeze swept past Chi-Woo and Eshnunna. The hem of Eshnunna’s skirt flapped before falling still. Chi-Woo stared at her with wide eyes. She had talked in a roundabout way, but he wasn’t stupid enough to not catch the meaning behind her words. He had thought she was working hard for her younger brother, but she said that hadn’t been the case.

‘It was for me…?’ Chi-Woo was slightly flustered because he hadn’t expected her to mention him. He was thankful, of course, and he thought her hard work was praiseworthy and admirable. On the other hand, this wasn’t just an ordinary event, but a matter related to using his Power to Rule the World. Rather than emotion, he knew he had to use his rationality. However, Chi-Woo was not Chi-Hyun, and he did not judge people solely by their user information and statistics based on efficiency. After listening to Eshnunna’s thoughts, he couldn’t help but feel moved.

1. Name & Rank: Salem Eshnunna (☆)

2. Sex & Age: Female & 20

3. Height & Weight: 170.2 & 54.6kg

4. Class: -

5. Heavenly Title: -

6. Disposition: Lawful Neutral

Strength E

Durability E

Agility E

Stamina E

Mental Fortitude C

Exorcism E

1. Woman of Mana E – Ability to listen to a particular type of mana. This is an ability that only the bloodline of a witch can possess. Although the user is from a lineage of a very powerful witch, the bloodline has been very diluted over time, leaving only 1

/1,024 of its original concentration. Although the number of mana’s voices one hears depends on personal talent, specializing in one type of mana can allow the user to exhibit greater power.

Chi-Woo first saw her user information.

Salem Eshnunna-Page(1

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1. ‘7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent’: Reach at least 60% trust (Complete)

2. Become acknowledged by ‘Onorables Evelyn’, the White Horse General’s Saintess, and become her disciple (Complete)

3. Awaken ‘Woman of Mana’ to at least F rank or higher (Complete)

4. Use at least 2 and at most 4 points of ‘Blessed Luck’ (Incomplete)

These were the conditions to use the Power to Rule the World. Chi-Woo fell into thought after reading these two pieces of information. Besides Philip’s assessment, Evelyn’s assessment of Eshnunna was also excellent. Evelyn said Eshnunna could get better with more time, but it was a little disappointing because if her bloodline was a little thicker, she could have been much stronger. Chi-Woo called forth his user information. He still had 73 points left for his innate ability, ‘Blessed Luck’. It could be considered a lot, but it certainly wasn’t finite… Chi-Woo soon organized his thoughts. When he reached a conclusion, he saw Eshnunna anxiously waiting for an answer.

“Ms. Eshnunna,” Chi-Woo said quietly. “Could you close your eyes for a moment?”

“What? Suddenly?”

“Quickly. Before I change my mind.”

Eshnunna closed her eyes in bewilderment, and her eyelids trembled. Her expression looked very confused and complicated as she thought, ‘Why?’, ‘Really?’, ‘No way?’ Chi-Woo lifted the chain in his hand, and as he reached out towards Eshnunna, he thought, ‘I offer 4 points of my blessed luck to Salem Eshnunna.’

Then the chain moved as if it was alive. Eshnunna, whose eyes were closed, also clearly felt something flow down her neck and wrap around the rest of her body. She flinched from time to time as it felt like it was trying to tie her down, but Eshnunna couldn’t resist—no, she didn’t resist because the gentle stimulation felt incredibly soft and warm. It was to the point that she wanted to succumb to the warmth and let herself be confined.

At that moment, a notification rang in Chi-Woo’s ears.

The Power to Rule the World has been used.

Innate ability Blessed Luck consumed (73->69).

Chi-Woo’s Adam's apple moved up and down. Although he could have offered two or three points of blessed luck, he decided to offer the maximum of 4 points. With the World’s Milestone, a four would give him a 100% success outcome. He wondered what the result would be. Then the next moment, the softly glowing chain suddenly let out a strong light as it wrapped around Eshnunna’s body. Then the message that Chi-Woo had been waiting for popped up.

The Power to Rule the World has ‘strengthened’ Salem Eshnunna’s innate ability, ‘Woman of Mana’.

The Power to Rule the World strengthened Eshnunna’s ability. The message was a single line, but the outcome was far from simple.

1. Woman of Mana A – Ability to listen to a particular type of mana. This is an ability that only the bloodline of a witch can possess. The user is from the bloodline of Matryoshka, who was renowned as the Glacier Empress. Although the bloodline concentration has become very diluted after a long time, for some reason, the concentration has succeeded in thickening to 1

/16. Although the number of mana’s voices one hears depends on personal talent, specializing in one type of mana can allow users to exhibit a more powerful force.

Thanks to Chi-Woo’s power, Eshnunna’s ability and potential were substantially strengthened. Chi-Woo’s eyes almost popped out when he read her user information. Oh my gosh. Rank A? No matter how many times he read it, her user information still said that her ability had ranked up from E to A in an instant. Moreover, that wasn’t the only change.

1. Name & Rank: Salem Eshnunna (☆☆☆)

Eshnunna’s potential has also risen. It was originally 1 star, but had now jumped to 3 stars. Even considering the Celestial Lights, it was very rare to have such high potential. Then the chain was released and flowed down like water.

Chi-Woo breathed heavily and said, “You can…open your eyes now…”

“?” A figurative question mark appeared on top of Eshnunna’s head. She had been thinking that their relationship was kind of progressing(?) fast, but now, he was telling her to open her eyes all of the sudden? Eshnunna slowly opened her eyes, and when she faced the world, her eyes became big as saucers.

Chi-Woo still couldn’t forget the feeling he got when he first achieved unity. It was indescribable, and the amount of information that he recognized and felt was at a completely different level than before. It almost felt as if the life that he had lived for more than 20 years had been a hoax; this was how different the world felt to him.

Eshnunna was going through the same experience Chi-Woo had had at that time. Her mouth opened wide, and she stopped breathing. Looking around in a daze, Eshnunna instinctively realized what was happening. Her master had told her to pull in the mana. However, Evelyn hadn’t been instructing her to call the mana to her, and in a way, telling the mana to come to her was the same as ordering and controlling the mana. Now, there was no need to even do that when there was so much mana everywhere around her; when so much could be grasped if she just reached out, and when so much of it was already clinging to her. Although it felt strange, Eshnunna didn’t feel confused or bewildered. Instead, the mana felt familiar and friendly. Eshnunnna opened her hand wide, and ice formed on her palm and blossomed into a beautiful flower.

“Ah…” Why had she struggled so much to do such an easy task? She felt stupid all of the sudden. “Ah…ah…!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the ice flower. The new world that she tasted for the first time in her life filled her with indescribable emotions. After a while, she couldn’t overcome her passion and reached out her hand. She turned around as if she was dancing and spread her arms wide.

Crack! Cracccck! Whenever Eshnunna reached out, crystals formed and quickly turned into solid ice. Icicles emerged in a parabola in the air, the ground turned into solid ice sheets, and even an entire structure froze completely. Soon after, Chi-Woo’s yard and house turned into an ice palace. Considering that she had just awakened her power, it was an astounding feat. Eshnunna, who had been running around like this, stopped walking at some point. She looked up at her creation with her whole body soaked in sweat. Then she collapsed as if she was falling apart. This was the result of wildly unleashing an A-rank ability with a mana rank of E.

Chi-Woo ran up to her in a hurry and carefully lifted Eshnunna, who had fainted with a smile on her lips. Perhaps due to the influence of her innate ability, her appearance had also changed considerably. Her hair, which used to be coal black, gained a hint of blue, and her obsidian eyes became the color of pale sky as if she had ice for eyes. And the subtle bluish glow to her skin and the cold air radiating from her body completed the picture; she perfectly exemplified an ice witch.

“That’s amazing.” While Chi-Woo was left speechless, a voice interrupted his thoughts. “I came out running in shock, but hadn’t expected her to awaken her power.” Evelyn walked out and stood on the verandah. “But…” She looked around and laughed dryly.

It seemed that Evelyn had roughly guessed what had happened with her experience and knowledge. Chi-Woo didn’t know what to do and hesitated, wondering if he should reveal his ability. Evelyn noticed his reaction and smiled.

“It’s really amazing.” She already had great faith in him. Without asking further, she cautiously stepped onto the ice and changed the subject, “It’s been in the back of my mind, but I can’t believe she’s really the descendant of Matryoshka…”

“Matryoshka?

“Yeah. Salem Yvonne. She was a queen so powerful that she was called the Glacier Empress.” Evelyn approached him as if she was ice skating and carefully swept Eshnunna’s icy-colored hair back. “Who would have known?” She continued in a sing-song voice, “That the Queen Salem Yvonne, who was so powerful that she was given the title Empress, was actually a witch, and her real name was Matryoshka.”

Chi-Woo lowered his head. He didn’t know too much about this, but after listening to her, he thought he had made the right decision. “I don’t know much, but she must have been an amazing person.”

“She was amazing. As a witch, she was superior to me.”

Chi-Woo couldn’t believe that. “No way. No matter how powerful…” Chi-Woo had seen firsthand how powerful Evelyn had been when she was the moon witch.

“It’s not that surprising. I’m a special case because I became a witch after being corrupted, but she’s a pure blood witch. If I’m the apostle of apostles, you can think of her as the royal of the royals.” Come to think of it, a vampire who turned a human into a vampire was stronger than their progeny.

If what Evelyn said was true, Chi-Woo hadn’t just made the right decision. He had basically won the lottery.

“By the way…” Evelyn shrugged and took Eshnunna from Chi-Woo. She scanned their now frozen surroundings and smiled. “The person who's responsible for causing the mess should also clean it up, right?”

“What? Ah, yes.” Chi-Woo finally grasped the situation and nodded. Then he lifted his leg and stepped hard on the ground once.

Thud! Chi-Woo’s yard shook. At the same time, the ice encasing everything shattered and crumbled into pieces. Evelyn looked dazed as she saw the glittering powder falling like sleet.

“…Yeah. There was a reason I wasn’t as surprised as I thought.” She shook her head and turned around with a shrug. “There’s someone of an even more ridiculous bloodline right next to me, so this bloodline is child’s play in comparison.”

* * *

A few days passed since then.

“What happened?”

“I just went boo, and bam, it worked.”

“Don’t lie!”

Things went on as usual, except Eshnunna made a fuss and wanted to know what Chi-Woo had done. On the other hand, a lot probably changed for Eshnunna. From what he roughly heard, she went back to the god who rejected her once and succeeded in making a contract. Unlike before, the god welcomed her with open arms, and as a result, Eshnunna was now on par with the Celestial Lights. Her power was greatly amplified, and now that she could utilize the growth system, nothing could stop her exponential growth.

“It’s really no joke,” Evelyn said the same during mealtime. “It feels like I’m pouring water into the sand in the desert when the sun is scorching every time I teach. You really can’t ignore bloodline, especially for a witch.” Evelyn looked delighted and said it was enjoyable to teach Eshnunna, who quickly absorbed every lesson she taught.

However, there were problems as well. “What? You don’t like sunlight? Because you’re ice. Haha. Yeah, I also like winter more than summer.” Eshnunna constantly talked while eating—alone, while looking at the air.

Ru Hiana became scared of her, and Hawa looked surprised and twirled her index finger at her temple, indicating that Eshnunna had gone crazy.

Evelyn chuckled and waved her hand. “This is an important time for her, so just leave her alone. After all, dating is the most exciting and heart-thumping in the beginning.”

Although her metaphor was strange, Chi-Woo just glossed over it since Evelyn said Eshnunna was having fun.

—Thank you. I’m really grateful.

Philp was extremely grateful for Chi-Woo’s decision. It seemed that he hadn’t really expected Chi-Woo to follow his suggestion even after making a request.

“No, I should be grateful instead,” Chi-Woo answered humbly, but he really meant it. Besides anticipating Eshnunna’s future, he learned something from this event. He learned that not everything was what he saw. His assistant had told him before to take potential into consideration, but not to focus on it blindly. He now knew what she meant. Although he still wasn’t sure whether he should make Eshnunna one of his stars, what was clear was that he took part in making a comrade who would later on become a strong ally. Of course, he had to use his precious blessed luck, but considering the results, it was completely worth it.

His perspective also changed. His brother and Philip had been right. He shouldn’t waste precious resources, but when it was time to use his power, he needed to use it. And the one who decided when to use it was no other than himself. Furthermore, one more thing he learned was that he shouldn’t just consider the Celestial Light’s heroes as potential stars. The old dingo had also told him to look more broadly. Of course, he needed to consider the heroes, but looking at Eshnunna and Hawa alone told him there were more than a couple natives with considerable potential. The same went for the Cassiubia League members. The fenrir cub was a great example.

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1. ‘7 Ways to Become a Great and Respected Parent’: Reach at least 90% trust. (Incomplete)

2. Eat the flesh and drink the blood of a great demon at single-digit rank (Incomplete)

3. Awaken ‘Raw Divinity’ (Incomplete)

4. Manifest ‘Mad Moon Fangs’ (Incomplete)

5. Use at least 5 and at most 7 points of ‘Blessed Luck’ (Incomplete)

Chi-Woo saw the astounding possibility of his power with Eshnunna and thought about using his power on the fenrir cub, who he decided to take care of, but was shocked by the conditions. The very first condition was incomplete, and even if he somehow managed to complete it, the other conditions seemed incredibly difficult from a glance.

‘Come to think of it, how do I increase my trust level with this guy…’ The fenrir cub had been laying low after entering the holy city, Shalyh. Judging by how the cub didn’t let anyone near them and went around alone, they seemed to be adjusting to their new environment. The only time this arrogant guy reacted was when Chi-Woo called them Ruffruff. Since the cub rushed towards him with extreme bloodthirst every time he did so, Chi-Woo had been careful these days.

‘I need to name him already…’ He wondered what name would please the cub. While he was contemplating, the cub, who had been lying leisurely, twitched their ears. They quickly raised their head and stared at one place before shooting to their feet. Then they raised their tail and bared their teeth. Chi-Woo was puzzled by the cub’s sudden reaction. “What. What is it?”

The fenrir cub growled instead of replying; it was definitely not a normal reaction. Chi-Woo stared at the entrance where the cub was looking. Soon after, creak… The door carefully opened. It was a girl with white bobbed hair. Chi-Woo frowned before his jaw dropped. “Uh? You’re…?” It was Kabal’s twin goddess, Balal. She was an existence who had been too unstable to become a god.

Balal flinched after seeing the fenrir cub and smiled brightly at Chi-Woo.

A quick look at tinyurl.com

/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

“What happened—” Before Chi-Woo could even finish, Balal’s whole body suddenly melted like water. The liquid wriggled and turned into a single lump.

“Pyu!” Then the round, glowing lump jumped up and quickly hugged Chi-Woo.