“Wow…”

Only then did the Trainees let out gasps of admiration. The Circle activation process demanded immense concentration.

They had covered their mouths, thinking that if they made a sound, Kim Songcheol might fail.

“I’ve never seen such a big Circle before.”

“Uncle, that’s insane…”

Seo Yi-tae spoke, looking at Kim Songcheol.

“You can feel the Circle, can’t you?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Congratulations. You’re a First Circle Mage now.”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to your excellent guidance.”

“No, I didn’t really do anything, did I?”

“You helped me a lot, didn’t you?”

“No.”

Seo Yi-tae shook his head. No matter how he thought about it, he hadn’t done much. Any instructor would have seen Kim Songcheol grow on his own.

It was so clear that he couldn’t bring himself to nod.

“This is just the beginning. There’s still a lot of magic to learn. There are 15 types of First Circle Magic alone, you know.”

From Fireball, to Magic Arrow, Wind Cutter, Dig, Magic Shield, Mist, Light, Clean, Magic Message, and so on, there was a lot to learn even for the First Circle.

Of course, there were only a few offensive spells, but there were many useful auxiliary spells for actual combat, so they had to be mastered.

Moreover, First Circle Mages are deployed in actual combat.

They are thrown into F-rank Dungeons.

As the lowest-tier Dungeon, the difficulty was low, but danger still existed.

Nevertheless, they are deployed.

This was a global trend, not just in Korea.

Actual combat rapidly develops Hunters. They had to be deployed starting from F-rank to accelerate their growth and cultivate them into Hunters who could quickly acquire points.

It was a situation where if they relaxed their guard for a moment, another gate would appear.

This was not the time to be picky.

“Then, shall we start with the Fireball spell?”

Kim Songcheol turned on his pad and displayed the Fireball spell formula.

Fireball is the simplest spell among First Circle Magic.

It only uses one spell formula, and it’s a simple elemental transformation, so it wasn’t complicated.

The explanation for the spell formula was about one page long.

“Spell formulas manifest as magic circles. You could say it’s similar to coding. After calculating the spell formula, you input commands to activate it.”

Seo Yi-tae explained the basic concepts of magic step by step.

Kim Songcheol listened attentively, even though he already knew this from his self-study.

“Then let’s practice once. Don’t try to do everything at once; divide it into three parts. First, the manifestation of the magic circle, the basic circle.”

The basic circle refers to the outline of the magic circle. All magic circles begin by drawing the outline.

It’s the most basic of basics, but it shouldn’t be neglected.

Drawing Mana from the Circle was a challenge for novice Mages.

“Is this how it’s done?”

Of course, this wasn’t relevant to Kim Songcheol.

He naturally drew Mana from the Circle and drew a perfect circle.

This meant not only good Mana control but also a very clear image in his mind.

“…That’s right. Then shall we try to fill in the spell formula?”

Seo Yi-tae said with a gentle smile. It wasn’t originally the stage to fill in the spell formula.

At least three steps remained, such as calculating the spell formula and practicing magic circle manifestation, but he skipped them.

For some reason, he felt that Kim Songcheol could do it.

‘It feels like he’s holding something back. He might be able to do it.’

When Seo Yi-tae told him to fill in the magic circle, the watching Trainees’ eyes sparkled.

They also knew that it wasn’t yet the stage to fill in the spell formula.

Could Kim Songcheol really do it?

“Fill it in?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Songcheol stroked his chin with his left hand, then extended his right hand, placing it behind the magic circle and wiggling his fingers.

Then, lines began to form within the newly created circle.

The lines, drawing geometric shapes, quickly filled the inside of the magic circle.

“Fireball.”

With a small incantation, Kim Songcheol lightly touched the magic circle with his index finger.

Then, a fist-sized flame generated at the tip of his index finger, and the magic circle slowly disappeared.

He had succeeded in casting the spell.

Kim Songcheol, even after doing it himself, moved his fingers around with a curious expression.

The flame moved with his finger, flickering in the air.

“He did that all at once…”

“Look how stable it is. The magic doesn’t break even like that.”

At that sight, the Trainees’ mouths dropped open.

***

“No, you can’t just shove the spell formula in like that.”

Inside Kim Songcheol’s home on the 16th floor of the Dormitory.

The place, usually filled with silence, became noisy. Three Trainees who were taking the same lecture had come to visit.

It had been three weeks since Kim Songcheol reached the First Circle.

Now, Kim Songcheol was acting as an assistant instructor for the Trainees.

This was because his progress was exceptionally fast.

“Like this?”

Kim Minjeong twisted her hand while floating a magic circle in the air. Two magic circles overlapped, filling each other’s empty spaces.

However, the magic did not activate. The geometric lines became disorganized the moment they merged, and then instantly evaporated.

“No, this time the spell formula is wrong. The air compression calculation is incorrect. Try making it again.”

“Ugh… Here.”

Kim Minjeong recreated the two magic circles. They were the same magic circles as before.

“This part. This part. And this part.”

Kim Songcheol’s fingers moved without hesitation. Every time his fingers touched the magic circle, Kim Minjeong’s face grew longer.

“Ugh, magic is so hard! I got so many things wrong.”

“It’s always hard. But what can you do? You have to do it. When calculating compressed magic formulas…”

Kim Songcheol kindly added an explanation of the magic formula. Only then did she look like she understood a little.

From the beginning, Kim Minjeong lacked a bit of talent for magic.

The standard way to draw a magic circle is to draw it all at once after finishing the magic formula calculation.

The reason for operating it by drawing and combining separately was due to her inexperience.

“Keep practicing. You have to master 1st Circle within this year.”

After encouraging Kim Minjeong, Kim Songcheol turned to face the back.

There, Suji was wrestling with a magic circle.

“How about you? Are you having any trouble?”

Suji had more talent than Kim Minjeong. Unlike Kim Minjeong, who was stuck at Wind Cutter, Suji had at least moved on to Magic Message.

“Magic Message… I don’t think I can do this even if I die and come back to life…”

Magic Message is a spell that transmits thoughts over short distances.

This magic is a mental magic, so it tends to rely more on感覚 than on magic formulas. It was a difficult spell if you couldn’t get the hang of it.

“Try it.”

At Kim Songcheol’s request, Suji first conjured a large magic circle.

“The magic formula itself is fine, but…”

Kim Songcheol immediately finished the magic formula analysis and motioned with his eyes. It meant to activate the magic.

(Sam… chureoyaganak… an… garak… how…)

A voice echoed in Kim Songcheol’s head.

Unintelligible syllables were arranged, perfect for getting goosebumps if heard in the middle of the night.

“…You’ll have to practice a lot, huh? I thought it was a ghost.”

“I’m going crazy! How do I do this?”

“The instructor told you. To visualize the sound. Clearly.”

“That’s why it’s not working.”

“You have to practice. Practice.”

“That’s unfair. You got everything right away, Uncle, didn’t you?”

“Not really. I did mess up Mist Magic once, but…”

“That’s the same thing.”

“…Tsk.”

Kim Songcheol was speechless.

It had been three weeks since he reached 1st Circle.

He had already mastered all 1st Circle magic.

To describe the process in one word, he could say that there were no particular difficulties.

He learned the magic formula and activated the magic, and it just worked.

It only took him two weeks to learn all the magic.

It only took an additional week to master it.

“Some people spend a whole week on just one magic. Others just click, and magic comes out effortlessly.”

“I worked hard too. I didn’t learn it by clicking with my toes.”

“Huh? So were we just playing, Uncle? We’re all studying too.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Kim Songcheol shook his head at the complaints of the two female staff members.

To be honest, he had nothing to say.

It was a fact that his talent was outstanding, and it was also a fact that Suji and Minjeong had worked hard on their magic training.

Kim Songcheol chose to retreat for now. He quietly backed away and approached Mincheol.

“Is anything difficult?”

“For me… it’s Clean.”

Mincheol, who had been contemplating, finally uttered a word.

If Mincheol said it was difficult, there was a good chance he had really hit a wall.

Clean magic is surprisingly the most difficult among 1st Circle spells.

This is because it uses four magic formulas, and combining and operating them is quite tricky.

“Ah, Clean. Shall I try it?”

As difficult as Clean was, it was an essential magic. It wasn’t just used for cleaning.

It could also be used as first aid when covered in poison, and to partially purify contaminated water.

It was almost a subordinate spell of purification magic.

“First…”

Mincheol created a magic circle. Geometric patterns filled the face-sized magic circle.

Compared to other 1st Circle magic, it was a quite complex magic circle.

“The magic formula itself isn’t a problem, is it?”

“It doesn’t activate well.”

“Try it once.”

Kim Songcheol subtly poured coffee on the floor. The coffee spread across the floor.

“Clean.”

As Mincheol chanted the activation word, a faint light spread from the magic circle and settled on the coffee.

But that was all.

There was no visible area where Clean magic had been applied.

“The problem here is controlling the activation mana. Don’t supply a consistent amount; gradually increase it, then push it strongly, and then reduce it again.”

Kim Songcheol pinpointed the problem right away.

“Ah.”

Mincheol nodded and activated Clean magic again.

This time, it worked properly.

The coffee spilled on the floor was cleanly washed away.

Ding-dong.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.”

Suji stood up as if she had been waiting.

She opened the door and went out, then came back in carrying two chickens.

It was a late-night snack they had ordered separately.

“Shall we eat first?”

“Yes, when it’s time to eat, you should eat.”

This was one of the advantages of the training institute.

Whenever you placed an order for anything, it was delivered quickly. And for free.

Minjeong set up the table, and Mincheol brought cups and plates.

Suji disposing of the chicken broth completed the setup.

“Let’s eat.”

Chicken was always the right choice for a late-night snack.

When about half of the two chickens were gone.

“Today is the last day at the 16th Floor Magic Academy.”

Suji said.

Kim Songcheol was no longer in the same class. He had moved up to a higher class after mastering 1st Circle.

It was like an advancement.

There was nothing he could do as his skill level had widened compared to the other trainees.

“I’ll check on you sometimes. Come up.”

“Won’t you be busy having to go into dungeons now, and learning 2nd Circle magic?”

Minjeong said cautiously.

Having mastered 1st Circle, Kim Songcheol now had to enter dungeons.

Even though it was an F-rank dungeon, for a trainee who had never entered a dungeon before, anxiety outweighed confidence.

“Well… will I really be that busy?”

Kim Songcheol, however, remained unfazed.