-1671- [ Fantasy Acceleration ]

"Boom ————!"

With the violent storm sweeping through, the Guardian Knights standing at the gate were instantly blown away as if by a vortex, scattered entirely by the force.

Like mere trash, the Guardian Knights helplessly spun and tumbled through the storm, looking incredibly pathetic.

Meanwhile, Rozen continued his ascent. Even within the storm, he moved like a lone boat in a tsunami, perceiving every air current and wind direction clearly. Using these to his advantage, he maneuvered through the storm, advancing toward the door on the ceiling.

As for the Guardian Knights, Rozen ignored them entirely, showing not even a glance in their direction.

Rozen did not intend to fight the Guardian Knights.

After all, the sheer number of them was overwhelming. With his low proficiency in magical skills and lack of wide-range attack spells, wiping out thousands of Guardian Knights would be a monumental waste of time.

Besides, there was no guarantee that this legion of Guardian Knights was all there was.

Perhaps the Guardian Knights here were endless.

Perhaps, even if defeated, they would respawn after some time.

The evidence was clear as Rozen ascended; portals on the surrounding walls began to glow, and more Guardian Knights emerged, charging toward Rozen.

Rozen had reason to believe that unless he passed through this area, the Guardian Knights would never disappear. They would continue to appear endlessly, blocking the path of anyone trying to pass.

Individually, these Guardian Knights weren't particularly strong, and any average player could defeat them with ease.

But their numbers were practically infinite, only increasing without end.

"No wonder no one has ever been able to get through here."

With overwhelming numbers, they could practically block every possible path, leaving players feeling hopeless.

One by one, Guardian Knights continuously emerged from the surrounding portals, filling the entire space. The room became so densely packed with Guardian Knights that it resembled a locust-infested hive, impenetrable, and all full of Guardian Knights. Rozen couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's as if they're not even trying to let anyone pass."

This difficulty level was just too extreme.

The designer of this challenge clearly never intended for anyone to pass, a fact that Rozen had quickly noticed.

And what did that indicate?

"It means there must be a secret on top of the World Tree that's meant to be hidden from everyone."

Otherwise, the designer wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Unfortunately...

"You encountered me."

Overwhelming numbers?

Rozen had faced situations like this countless times in the previous world.

Compared to the seemingly endless waves of armored insects attacking in tens of thousands worldwide, this was a familiar scenario.

The sky warriors had always faced this overwhelming number advantage, relying on the most refined, simplest, and most efficient tactics to defeat enemies quickly — this was their only means of survival.

One could say that every sky warrior was a master of aerial combat and a specialist in outnumbered battles.

As the strongest among all sky warriors, Rozen's skills in this area were second to none.

If the designer had put a single powerful enemy here, Rozen might not have been able to make it through with his limited abilities in ALO.

But now...

"Nothing more than showing off."

With a sudden burst of speed, Rozen's wings folded into sharp angles, like a fighter jet, ascending swiftly amidst a sharp sound as he rocketed toward the door.

The Guardian Knights attempted to intercept him, but the storm kept them at bay, preventing them from getting close.

Only the Guardian Knights positioned farther away from the storm managed to lift their longbows, releasing arrow-like beams of light.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...!"

Beams of light arrows shot like rain from all directions, flooding toward Rozen in an unbreakable, thick curtain.

Yet, Rozen evaded them.

As the beams of light arrows approached from all sides, Rozen's figure seemed to split into countless afterimages, dancing through the air.

"Swish swish swish swish...!"

Countless light arrows passed through his afterimages without hitting him once.

Rozen appeared like a true fairy from myth, with wings shedding phosphorescent light, his form shifting into an illusion as he glided through the storm and the barrage of light arrows. He seemed like a mirage, without a solid form.

Of course, it was only an illusion.

Rozen still had a physical body and hadn't actually turned into a mirage.

The reason for the mirage effect was due to Rozen's incredible skill in maneuvering, changing his direction and even his speed unpredictably, sometimes decelerating, sometimes accelerating, making his movements completely erratic.

This was a highly advanced flight technique — "Fantasy Acceleration."

By performing explosive acceleration within inertial flight and switching speeds to alter his trajectory, Rozen could create phantom-like afterimages that disrupted his enemies' vision, making it nearly impossible for them to track him.

Now, Rozen used this skill, leveraging his wings to achieve variable-speed acceleration, realizing the flight abilities of a sky warrior even in this world.

As a result, the Guardian Knights lost track of their target, growing chaotic as they shifted aimlessly.

Even as more and more Guardian Knights appeared from all directions, encircling Rozen and attempting to trap him, they still only struck his afterimages, unable to land a single hit.

Rozen slipped past all the Guardian Knights, his form as elusive as a phantom or a breeze, skillfully using Fantasy Acceleration to pass through the storm, the rain of arrows, and the encirclement of all Guardian Knights, heading straight for the sky.

If someone else had been there to witness this, they would have been profoundly shocked, even captivated.

Because, perhaps, this was true fairy-like flight.

Thanks to this ability, Rozen turned the impossible into the possible, achieving the feat of single-handedly conquering the World Tree.

"Whoosh————!"

Rozen left all the Guardian Knights behind, soaring upward like a shooting star that no one could stop.

Finally, he arrived before the door.

"I win."

Rozen smirked as he looked at the door before him, then abruptly reached out to place his hand on it.

Everything fell silent.

Yet...

"Huh?"

Rozen froze.

Then, his expression turned grim.