Chapter 9 – Job Quest (３)

The Fireball had scorched the beast, and it was suffering.

But one attack wasn’t enough.

Still, that was fine.

If one shot wouldn’t do it, he’d hit it twice, three times, ten times.

Gijun began casting another Fireball.

In an instant, a blazing sphere roared to life above his palm.

This was the result of Fireball’s promotion to E-Grade—a leap in casting speed.

Its size, too, was far more colossal.

He hurled the completed Fireball at the Sabertooth once more.

The flames still clinging to its body hadn’t even died out yet.

But another massive fireball came crashing down on top of them.

Crack!

The fireball, blazing with maddened fury, devoured everything the Sabertooth was, swelling as it spread.

Even in that state, the beast tried to move toward Gijun.

As if it meant to make him pay for the pain.

But it was useless.

Watching it struggle, Gijun could only laugh.

Another Fireball was already complete.

He threw it without hesitation, then another, then another.

Boom! Crack! Ba-crack!

A sheer barrage of violent Fireballs.

With the endless chain of explosions, the Sabertooth Tiger could do nothing at all.

Seeing that, Gijun clenched his fist.

‘So it actually works.’

Even as he performed it himself, he could barely believe it.

Something he couldn’t have dreamed of in reality.

If he’d been able to do this back then, he never would’ve been bounced from one small-time guild to another, always getting fired.

No — even now, this firepower alone would get him headhunted by at least a mid-tier guild, easy.

A moment later, the roaring flames faded completely.

Inside them, nothing remained but a single sabertooth tiger — its body charred black, riddled with wounds, gasping ragged breaths.

‘I can hunt.’

This was the moment he proved he could hunt a Sabertooth Tiger alone.

But that didn’t mean there weren’t problems.

MP was running low.

‘The real issue is that items with MP recovery options cost a fortune.’

No matter the class, MP is a crucial stat — and items with MP recovery options always spike sky-high in price.

So for now, his best bet was to hope for a lucky drop. But that’s just down to luck, isn’t it?

No helping it.

He couldn’t rely on luck. All he could do was give his absolute best — right here, right now.

‘Then…’

He decided to change his hunting method.

‘I’ll hunt multiple targets at once.’

Even if he consumed the same amount of MP, boosting efficiency was the better call right now.

Of course, it was a reckless challenge.

He might just waste even more MP and end up dead.

But he was confident.

In the abilities he had now — and in his own talent.

Combine all that with the education and training he’d gone through at the Academy, and it was a challenge worth taking.

‘The Academy taught this thoroughly.’

In any dungeon, a mage could get left alone at any moment.

So they trained him for that too — how to fight multiple monsters at once.

And naturally, Gijun had always aced those drills.

Just then —

‘Good.’

After confirming his MP was full, Gijun rose to his feet.

A moment later, he came face-to-face with Sabertooth Tigers.

Two of them, right on cue.

Gijun cast Fireball and hurled it.

KWAANG!

*

[You have acquired a Sabertooth Tiger’s Fang!]

[Quest objective complete!]

‘Got it!’

Gijun had finally done it.

Hunting two, then three at a time — he’d fulfilled the quest conditions.

In the process, his level had shot up by five.

That put him at Level 10.

[Name: Jun]

[Class: Flame Seeker]

[Level: 10]

[Strength: 1+6]

[Agility: 1+6]

[Stamina: 1+6]

[Magic Power: 14+16]

‘Now that’s a good look.’

The stat screen, so vastly different from when he’d started, felt deeply welcome.

‘And I’m not even behind on time.’

It had taken him less than three hours to gather thirty fangs.

That was an incredible speed.

Now it was time to head back to Ruf.

‘Let’s go straight there.’

He didn’t want to stop.

He wanted to keep feeling this —

This overwhelming thrill, like his heart was about to burst.

*

“Hah… impressive.”

When Gijun returned to Ruf, the old man greeted him with a look of genuine surprise.

“To think you’d be back this quickly. Truly remarkable skill.”

Ruf reached into his coat and produced something, holding it out to Gijun.

It was a pendant.

“Take it. I can’t let you carry out such an extraordinary commission without proper reward.”

Gijun accepted the pendant.

His eyes went wide.

[Pendant of Recovery]

– Grade: Unique

– Mana Recovery: 11%

– MP Recovery Speed +10%

‘Whoa…?!’

The Pendant of Recovery.

Its key stat was none other than Mana Recovery!

‘This is seriously good, isn’t it?’

Gijun already knew all about Mana Recovery.

After all, the stat existed in reality, too.

True to its name, it returned a portion of the Mana you’d spent.

And the grade was a staggering Unique.

‘Eleven percent…’

That was an enormous figure.

On top of that, it even came with an MP recovery speed bonus.

If an item like this showed up in reality, it’d trade hands for at least tens of billions of won.

But what stunned him even more was the timing.

He’d just been feeling the pinch of low MP, and then this reward dropped right into his lap!

That was when Ruf spoke.

“Don’t be so surprised. I wouldn’t be foolish enough to saddle you with a task that demanding without considering you’d run short on MP.”

“Ah…”

Those words meant this reward had likely been planned all along.

Either way, Gijun was certain of one thing: he was thrilled with it.

‘This is insane. Really.’

To get an item this incredible from hunting nothing more than a Saber-Toothed Tiger…

There was a reason people called class quests the lottery.

“Now then, one final step remains. Saber-Toothed Tigers are creatures born of the wind’s essence. To twist the power of fate within a Flame Seeker, you’ll need a gale far stronger than the power you now hold.”

With that, Ruf swept his hand through the air.

In an instant, Gijun and Ruf stood in an unfamiliar place.

“Huh…?”

Ruf smiled at Gijun, who tilted his head in confusion.

“A pocket dimension I created. Here, you will imbue your very heart with the wind’s essence.”

So saying, Ruf scattered the Saber-Toothed Tiger claws Gijun had collected into the air.

“!!”

A stunning sight unfolded.

The Saber-Toothed Tiger claws swirled around Gijun’s body.

Then they began to spin, faster and faster.

But that wasn’t all.

Whoosh! Whoosh! WHOOSH!

A violent gale slammed into Gijun.

The wind was so fierce he could barely stand.

“That wind is the Saber-Toothed Tiger’s raw natural power!”

Ruf shouted, watching him.

“Now, make it your own!”

He said it with a meaningful smile.

‘Now, let’s see…’

He’d wanted to witness this with his own eyes.

He had already checked several times, but he wanted to confirm it once more.

‘The end of that talent…!’

*

Gijun understood immediately.

What he had to do now.

This explosive power was, literally, the power of nature.

But it was also the power he would eventually have to devour.

Yet, in his current state, it wasn’t possible.

That thing was trying to devour him instead.

‘Then…’

There was only one answer.

He had to fight and win.

‘This is supposed to be a game?’

It was absurd.

How could anyone even create a game like this?

But that only made him more excited.

The fact that such impossible things were possible in this game thrilled Gijun.

Kwaaaaaah!

He watched closely as the wind surged toward him.

The corners of Gijun’s mouth curled upward.

‘As I thought—this isn’t just ordinary wind.’

This wind was Mana itself.

‘Then…’

He closed his eyes.

And he felt.

The direction in which the Mana within the wind moved.

In an instant, Gijun precisely pierced through that movement.

‘Now…’

He released his own Mana.

In the same direction.

Only, slightly faster.

Not too fast, and not too slow.

He just had to teach this wind.

Who was the boss.

In simple terms, a contest of hierarchy.

Making his Mana believe it was leading the Mana within the wind.

But he couldn’t get too far ahead.

He had to show he was in complete control.

Kwaaaaaah!

The Mana Gijun released moved.

In exactly the same direction.

But just a little faster.

And with that, the wind surged violently.

It was resisting.

Slowing down, speeding up.

But Gijun didn’t back down.

He read its movement perfectly, staying one step ahead with his own Mana.

Then, a message floated up.

[The energy of wind begins to settle into your heart!]

In an instant, the wind changed direction.

This time, a fierce gale stormed toward Gijun.

*

‘Incredible!’

Ruf genuinely admired him.

‘Truly the best.’

He was a mage with a talent far exceeding any he had ever seen.

‘He controlled it in an instant.’

An amazing skill.

He had instantly brought that stubborn natural force under control.

But that wasn’t the end.

Now, the truly important process remained.

The moment that would determine true magical talent—not mere combat sense.

Ruf shouted at the same moment.

“Now, take that energy in! Let it fill your heart with the wind!”

He meant that the power had to be absorbed through the whole body and guided into the heart.

But Jun knew what this was.

It was familiar.

Something he’d done hundreds, thousands of times before to form a Mana Circle.

Kwaaaah—!

The wind surged in a torrent.

Jun drew it in deep, taking the gale into himself.

The fierce power of the wind flowed through every part of his body.

He pulled the energy in through his nose, enfolding it with his entire form.

The wind’s force racing through his body soon crashed toward his heart.

Jun didn’t miss a beat — he gathered the power and held it fast.

Slowly, he guided the condensed wind energy toward his heart, carefully and deliberately fusing it into the blazing core of fire within.

A violent whirlwind spiraled around Jun’s body.

As if it could blast everything away.

Yet Jun’s face remained calm.

A force already subdued — this was no obstacle to him.

He simply focused.

To devour the thing he’d already mastered!

Kwaa! Kwakwakwakwa!

Ruf narrowed his eyes.

It was astonishing. Breathtaking.

To be able to gather the wind’s power with such composure.

Was this not a talent too incredible to believe, even when witnessed?

Shiver after shiver of awe, Ruf watched the scene unfold.

That went on for about ten minutes.

In the end, Jun managed to fully gather the wind energy the Sword-Toothed Tiger had released and hold it within his heart.

The wind died down, and inside Jun’s body, a new force began to stir.

“Unbelievable. Truly… you are a mage of the highest caliber.”

Jun opened his eyes.

A deep smile hung at the corner of his lips.

Then, a flood of messages poured in.

Before Jun could even savor the joy of victory, his eyes went wide.

[You have absorbed all wind energy!]

[Level increased!]

[Level increased!]

[Level increased!]

[Additional completion condition acquired!]

[Reward adjusted to the highest grade!]

[You have learned a new Skill.]

[You have learned the Skill ‘Strong Wind’!]

‘…Huh?’

Because it wasn’t ‘Blow’ but the word ‘Strong Wind’ that appeared.