The opening ceremony venue was quite impressive.

National flags fluttered, and a well-decorated stage had a podium set up.

Just looking at the podium, it seemed like even a president might appear.

Behind the podium, a phrase emphasizing harmony and peace was written in a dynamic font.

It was quite a despicable sight.

Many people had already gathered in front of the stage.

Perhaps seeking a free atmosphere, no chairs were prepared.

At the very front, like a rock festival, there were Hunters in swimsuits holding drinks, and behind them, a slightly drab group stood awkwardly.

Kim Songcheol and the other two went and stood in a suitable position.

Kim Songcheol took off his flip-flops and held them in his hand.

It was better to take them off on the sandy beach. The sand kept getting under his feet, making a crunching sound, which was uncomfortable.

“It seems almost everyone is here.”

Kim Myeongju said, looking around.

The exact number of participants was 153.

There were approximately that many people.

“Ladies and gentlemen…”

A loud voice flowed from somewhere. From the way it vibrated, it was clearly magic that amplified the voice, not sound coming from a speaker.

It was sound equipment fitting for a Magic Forum.

After the host’s brief announcement and the declaration of the opening ceremony’s start, fireworks shot up from all directions accompanied by exciting music.

Bang, bang!

Cha Sehyeon looked up at the sky with a bewildered expression.

“These crazy bastards are really getting into the mood.”

She lowered her head again. She saw Kim Songcheol holding a cocktail.

“Where did you get that?”

“Someone gave it to me as I passed by? They said it was free.”

“Really?”

Kim Songcheol and Cha Sehyeon stood side by side, sipping their cocktails and looking at the stage.

Soon, James Whitmore, the director of the United States Federal Government Hunter Bureau, who could be considered the organizer of this forum, ascended the stage.

James, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, held a wooden stick instead of a microphone and began to speak.

“I sincerely welcome all you mages gathered here. Magic, this mysterious discipline, is a blessing bestowed upon humanity and…”

James delivered his speech informally.

‘…What is he saying?’

Of course, Cha Sehyeon, who wasn’t proficient in English, couldn’t understand.

Sometimes, when he cracked a joke and those around her laughed, she couldn’t laugh, leading to an awkward situation.

“What did he say?”

Eventually, Cha Sehyeon asked Kim Songcheol, as he seemed to understand.

“He’s welcoming everyone, saying magic is great, and asking us to protect Earth together in the future. There’s no core to his story. He hasn’t mentioned what they’ll do at the forum either. He just told us to enjoy ourselves. Enjoy what, though…?”

It was then.

“Please look this way.”

As James pointed to the right, the space suddenly began to shimmer.

It was an intricate illusion magic indistinguishable from reality.

Soon, the space opened horizontally, revealing a large theme park.

Behind the extravagant entrance, various booths were visible.

In front of them, employees dressed in matching outfits smiled charmingly and waved their hands.

I wasn’t sure what kind of place it was, but its outward appearance alone made me think it would be exciting.

“Enjoy!”

With James’s shout, the opening ceremony concluded.

The attendees immediately flocked to the Theme Park.

“Shall we take a look around?”

Led by Kim Songcheol, the three members of the Korea team also entered the Theme Park.

After passing the entrance, the first thing that appeared was a photo zone.

There were several life-sized cutouts there, featuring the world’s most famous Hunters smiling charmingly.

Of course, there were no Hunters who didn’t participate in public activities like Cha Sehyeon; most were Hunters who frequently appeared in the media.

“Hurry and take the picture.”

“Taking it, one, two…”

A couple stood next to Colt Vanguard’s life-sized cutout, making V-signs with their fingers.

“That obnoxious bastard, look at him grinning.”

As soon as Cha Sehyeon saw Colt Vanguard’s charming smile, he turned his head away.

It seemed their relationship wasn’t very good.

“Oh? Cha Sehyeon? Is that right?”

At that moment, a white male staff member approached Cha Sehyeon.

He was wearing a swimsuit, and for a Mage, his body was quite firm.

“I’m a fan! Could I get a picture…”

“Get lost.”

Suddenly, a stone wall rose from the ground, separating the male staff member and Cha Sehyeon.

However, the male staff member was undeterred and poked his head out over the stone wall.

“Could you please take a picture with me? Because of the non-disclosure agreement… Oh, or an autograph!”

“I said, get lost.”

This time, magic chains sprang up and tightly bound the male staff member’s body.

The male staff member fell to the ground and thrashed about like a fresh fish.

“Wow! Cha Sehyeon used binding magic on me! What an honor!”

As he shouted, Hunters who heard him began to gather around Cha Sehyeon.

“What? Cha Sehyeon?”

“Where, where!?”

The Hunters, who had been content with mere cutouts, approached like a horde of zombies upon discovering the real Cha Sehyeon.

“Crazy.”

Then, Cha Sehyeon’s body suddenly vanished, disappearing somewhere.

It was Blink, the fastest evasive magic.

He didn’t know where he went, but he was probably nearby.

Because Blink’s travel distance isn’t far.

“Where did he go?”

Find him!

As Cha Sehyeon disappeared, the Hunters who had gathered also dispersed.

…Let’s go somewhere more private.

Shall we?

Kim Myeongju and Kim Songcheol went further inside.

There were various booths, especially many hands-on experience booths.

The places where people gathered were also the hands-on experience booths.

For example, booths like shooting games.

It was a game where you scored points by quickly and accurately hitting randomly appearing targets.

Naturally, the gun was a Mage, and the bullets were Magic.

It’s crowded here.

Would you like to try it?

Kim Myeongju asked subtly.

Kim Songcheol is practically the face of Korea.

The more noticeable the signboard, the more it helps with ‘business’.

Hmm.

Many people were already queuing.

Game times varied greatly.

This is because it ends if you miss the target or can’t keep up with the speed at which targets appear.

Most used Magic Missile. It was the simplest and fastest, perfectly suited for the task.

Instead of queuing, Kim Songcheol watched the game from behind.

The distance was about 15 meters.

Targets appeared on a white wall, initially large and slow. But as time went on, they became smaller and faster.

Kim Songcheol subtly looked at the score ranking.

Even the first place was only about 2000 points.

The first place score was far too low.

And the game was far too easy.

I’ll pass.

Kim Songcheol continued walking.

There were more hands-on experience booths inside. Almost one after another.

There were booths for measuring the temperature of Flame Magic, or the current of Electric Shock Magic.

Isn’t this a bit too obvious?

Kim Songcheol chuckled and said.

It felt like a punch machine at an amusement park, but it clearly intended to gauge a Mage’s level.

I can understand games and such, but why measure the temperature of Flame Magic…

Oh, this! It’s a machine that was going to be introduced to the Training Institute but was scrapped. I can’t believe I’m seeing it here. One of these costs over 100 million won.

This? Isn’t it just a thermometer?

This measures temperature in 3D. It can measure temperature three-dimensionally, which is perfect for measuring the temperature of something like a Fireball.

Really…?

There was all sorts of stuff.

Further inside, there was a game-type booth that caught Kim Songcheol’s eye.

It seemed fun to others too, as there were many more people in line than at the Magic Missile booth.

This booth was a game-type booth where one could use a wider variety of Magic.

Monsters appeared sporadically in a rectangular arena. Depending on the type of monster, one had to use Magic of a certain power or higher to defeat them, and defeating them accumulated points.

Kim Songcheol also checked the score ranking.

First place was around 100,000 points.

After a quick calculation, it was still not a very high score.

“I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Kim Songcheol shrugged and moved on.

The next day.

After finishing a snorkeling schedule that didn’t quite fit with the Magic Forum, Kim Songcheol visited the Theme Park again.

Kim Myeongju was still in a suit, and Cha Sehyeon had even followed along using Invisibility Magic.

Only a beer bottle floating in the air indicated Cha Sehyeon’s location.

“Oh.”

Kim Songcheol stopped in front of the shooting game.

The first-place score was 112,000 points.

That was a 56-fold increase compared to yesterday.

The ranking board also showed names and nationalities, and these were the records of a Hunter named Grace from America.

“This looks doable, doesn’t it?”

Kim Songcheol went and stood at the back of the long line. The line for the game-type booth was longer than yesterday. Since scores were displayed immediately, it stimulated people’s competitive spirit.

After waiting for a long time in the hot weather, it was finally Kim Songcheol’s turn.

There were still over 20 people waiting, and many more watching from behind.

Kim Songcheol first placed his bracelet on the sensor.

Then, his name and nationality appeared on the electronic display board.

“Korea? Isn’t that Cha Sehyeon’s country?”

“Someone said they saw Cha Sehyeon yesterday?”

“What? Why didn’t I see her?”

As soon as they saw ‘KOREA,’ people started talking about Cha Sehyeon. The real Cha Sehyeon, meanwhile, snickered at them from behind and gulped down her beer.

“Ready.”

A mechanical voice was heard.

Kim Songcheol wiped his nose once and prepared to use Magic.

“Start.”

With the signal, a target appeared.

A small Magic circle formed in front of Kim Songcheol.

From its center, a new sphere was quickly shot out.

Bang!

It was a direct hit, as expected.

The newly formed sphere struck the center of the large target.

“Huh? Is that the Magic of Nothingness?”

“Did you just see that?”

People murmured.

Until now, all participants had used Magic Missile.

It was natural.

Because it was the fastest and simplest magic among the ‘magic they possessed’.

The magic Kim Songcheol just used was Energy Bolt.

It was a lower-tier magic than Magic Missile, and since its magic formula wasn’t significantly different, it was also a magic he learned as soon as he read the magic book.

Energy Bolt has the same mechanism of imparting mass to mana and firing it, but its power is slightly lower and its casting is a little simpler.

It was a magic perfectly suited for this kind of game.

And the appearance of this new magic was enough to concentrate the participants’ attention.

Bang! Bang!

Kim Songcheol continued to hit the targets, feeling people’s gazes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At first, targets with a diameter of almost 50cm appeared, and there was a 5-second interval.

But as time went on, the targets got smaller, and the intervals gradually decreased.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

Energy Bolts increasingly tore through the air at a faster speed.

They never missed.

Accordingly, the points rapidly increased.

Smaller targets give more points, and as the intervals decrease, more and more targets appear.

It was a structure where points increased exponentially the longer one endured.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

After enduring for about 2 minutes, an Energy Bolt was fired almost once every second.

The score was about 70,000 points.

After enduring for another minute, the score exceeded 100,000 points.

Kim Songcheol was still relaxed.

There was no sign of urgency.

But contrary to his calm appearance, the Energy Bolts were being fired rapidly.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

Before the afterimage of the previously appeared magic circle disappeared, a new magic circle appeared.

It was quite fast casting.

By then, the score had already exceeded 100,000 points.

“Isn’t he going to get first place?”

“That’s impossible. How did he get over 100,000 points? I only have 30,000!”

“But did he buy that in Korea? It’s not a magic that would be bought…?”

The people filling the back began to murmur.

“He passed it!”

“It’s already 120,000 points!”

The score, which was 100,000 points, instantly increased by 20,000 points.

Since the targets appeared and disappeared so quickly, the score also went up fast.

Kim Songcheol endured for another minute there.

Burst! Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Energy bolts shot out like crazy.

It was almost like firing a rifle on full auto.

Even the targets became as small as bottle caps.

They were barely visible from a distance now.

When the situation reached that point, the chattering people also fell silent.

They just watched Kim Songcheol’s power display with their mouths agape.

The score surpassed 200,000 and reached 300,000 in the blink of an eye.

And as I speak, it rapidly climbed to 400,000.

Kim Songcheol’s magic stopped when he reached 580,000 points.

“Oh, my eyeballs are going to pop out.”

His casting speed kept up, but the targets became so small that he had vision issues.

Kim Songcheol rubbed around his eyes and turned around.

And then he belatedly realized that everyone was quietly watching him.

From the middle, he was in a state of full concentration and had no time to be aware of his surroundings.

“…”

“…”

A brief standoff.

Phee-eek!

Someone whistled with their finger, and at the same time, cheers and applause erupted.

Kim Songcheol, who was bewildered, soon grasped the situation, gave a slight nod towards the people, and began to walk somewhere.

Of course, he meant for them to follow.

At first, people were puzzled, but one by one, they began to follow Kim Songcheol.

Kim Songcheol led the people like the Pied Piper into another game booth.

This time, it was a game booth where you hunted monsters.

The target game and the monster hunting game had completely different mechanisms.

The target game was more about skillfully using simple magic, but the monster hunting game required real magical power.

Currently, the first place was, as expected, Grace from America.

Her score was 1,400,000 points.

As Kim Songcheol entered the booth, people watched his back with shining eyes.

They were more excited about what kind of performance he would show than whether he would take first place.

Because they thought he would naturally take first place.

The monster hunting game also had a similar mechanism.

More and more powerful monsters appear.

Kim Songcheol brought his bracelet to the sensor and then took his stance.

He stood straight, with his right hand slightly extended forward.

Before long, monsters started appearing.

Kim Songcheol’s magic was fired at the monsters.

At first, it was a Magic Missile, then as the difficulty increased, a Lightning Spear, and with another increase in difficulty, a Stone Missile flew out.

The score rapidly increased.

Before he knew it, he had surpassed one million points.

And the speed at which monsters appeared also significantly increased.

If they piled up, it would be game over.

Normally, by now, half the monsters should have accumulated, but that wasn’t the case.

Kim Songcheol was fending off all the monsters.

He was confident in his casting speed from the start.

Rupture! Bang, bang, bang!

All 3rd Circle Magic surged towards the monsters.

A shocking casting speed.

Some people shook their heads in disbelief.

It was when the score reached 1.5 million points.

Beep!

A signal rang, and the number 4 appeared on the electronic display board.

This meant that monsters that could only be killed with 4th Circle Magic would appear.

A large insect-type monster appeared at a glance.

Kim Songcheol just struck it with a 3rd Circle Thunder Strike.

Boom!

To everyone’s surprise, the insect-type monster disappeared, and his score increased.

“What was that again?”

“That doesn’t make sense…?”

It meant that he produced the power of 4th Circle Magic with 3rd Circle Magic.

Furthermore, not specifically using 4th Circle Magic also meant that Kim Songcheol was a 3rd Circle Mage.

That’s where the cognitive dissonance came from.

Because everyone had thought of Kim Songcheol as a high-ranking Mage.

The score rose rapidly.

It surpassed 1.7 million points.

He was unrivaled in clearing the minions from the start.

In a short while, the score reached 2 million points.

Beep!

The signal rang again, and the number changed to 5.

This meant that 5th Circle Magic had to be used.

Then Kim Songcheol simply lowered his hand.

Due to the structural limitations of 3rd Circle Magic, it was impossible to produce the power of 5th Circle.

Perhaps it might be possible if he used the ‘power that would half-thread his life’ but he couldn’t use that here.

As Kim Songcheol scratched his cheek and stepped out of the booth.

“Wait. How in the world…!?

“Just how many Circles is that?

People flocked around.

Everyone here was a Mage, so of course, they could feel it.

The fact that Kim Songcheol was a completely ‘different’ Mage.

Just then, Kim Myeongju, who had been observing until now, stepped forward.

“Let’s discuss the details. Nice to meet you, I’m Kim Myeongju from Korea.”

The signboard had drawn in customers, so it was time for the Chef to cook.

As Kim Songcheol subtly stepped back behind Kim Myeongju.

“Brother, was it that much?”

Cha Sehyeon’s voice was faintly heard right beside him.

“How much is ‘that much’?”

“Damn, do you calculate Magic Formulas with a chip in your brain? Even I can’t do that much.”

“Magic Formula calculation?”

“Yeah, how do you do all of that?”

“All? I don’t do all of it?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I only do the necessary parts and fill in the rest by intuition?”

“Fuck, where’s the part where you fill in Magic Formula calculations by intuition? This is crazy.

Cha Sehyeon’s invisible magic flickered, appearing and disappearing for a moment.

That’s how absurd it was.