Chapter 45 – Anomaly (７)

“…! “

Woo Jimin’s and Cha Jeongho’s eyes went wide.

The two of them rushed toward the dungeon gate.

It was true.

The gate’s color had already shifted to white.

Which meant the dungeon had truly been cleared.

“C-casualties…?”

Cha Jeongho and Woo Jimin frantically scanned the Superhumans for injuries.

There were none.

Not a single wounded person.

“A miracle!”

“No casualties?!”

“What the hell happened in there?! “

Questions poured from the reporters.

Casualties had been expected as a given — in the worst case, even deaths.

This had been a disaster on the scale of a natural catastrophe.

Yet not only had they taken down a lower-tier Magin and cleared the dungeon, there wasn’t even a single injury.

Wasn’t this the kind of shock that would rock the entire world?

“What happened?”

“Please, explain!”

“Even veteran Superhumans struggle against Magin more often than not!”

In truth, when you faced a Magin on the battlefield, even raid-hardened Superhumans often found themselves hard-pressed.

Because Magin varied wildly in both appearance and attack patterns.

But the reporters soon caught a glimpse of the reason.

Because all eyes turned to one man.

It’s because of Baek Gijun.

That guy is the key!

So… he hunted the Magin all by himself?

Baek Gijun.

The mage who had appeared not long ago and was shaking the world.

That man had to be the key holding everything about this raid together.

And now, the reporters swarmed.

Toward Gijun.

Because everyone sensed, in this moment, that he was the real protagonist.

Haah…

But their words didn’t reach Gijun’s ears.

It was the thrill of victory.

The sensation of that moment — overwhelming the Magin, not just clearing the dungeon — still seemed to writhe at his fingertips.

Adrenaline coiling through his entire body.

A catharsis that made his hair stand on end.

And…

[You have obtained the reward for the Emergency Quest!]

[You may select a Skill!]

[1. Auto Casting]

[2. Mana Drain]

[3. Mana Amplification]

Even the reward for the Emergency Quest.

Now, he had the right to choose one of three skills.

Auto Casting was, as the name implied, a skill that automatically cast spells.

Mana Drain was a skill that absorbed mana whenever you defeated an enemy.

And Mana Amplification was a skill that massively boosted your held mana pool.

No need to deliberate.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gijun selected one skill.

Auto Casting.

That was it: Auto Casting.

[You have acquired the Skill ‘Auto Casting’!]

But the rewards didn’t end there.

[You have achieved an Impossible Achievement!]

[All Stats have increased by 10!]

[Physical Attack Power permanently increases by 30%!]

[Magic Attack Power permanently increased by 30%!]

[Movement Speed permanently increased by 15%!]

He’d just pocketed a sweet Achievement reward on top of everything else.

‘Perfect.’

He clenched his fist.

But even as he did, Gijun’s mind was already racing.

‘I need to get to the battlefield.’

The craving swelled inside him, hotter by the second.

‘I want to know.’

The Magin. The ancient evil.

And deeper still—what the hell was happening to him.

Someone shouldered in between Gijun and the reporters.

“For the Superhuman’s protection, the interview will have to wait! Please understand!”

Woo Jimin.

*

[BAEK GIJUN! WHO IS HE?!]

[HWARANG’S LITTLE SPARK!]

[HWARANG! TAKING FLIGHT!]

Articles were flooding out by the dozens.

The media was in a frenzy.

All because of an interview that had just gone live.

Its subject: Park Gangseok, the Ure Superhuman.

Ure’s golden boy, expected to show the world what he was made of on his flashy debut stage.

But the moment he opened his mouth, everyone was stunned.

-I was arrogant. How dare I think I could face someone like him.

Park Gangseok hadn’t talked about himself at all.

The real star of his interview was Baek Gijun.

Who would’ve thought that from him—a man famous for his unshakable pride—would come words of self-abasement?

But what came next was even more shocking.

-Superhuman Baek Gijun is a perfect Mage. Not just any Mage—a Battle Mage. The kind so many have dreamed of, a truly near-perfect Battle Mage.

Battle Mage.

The ultimate, complete form of a Mage.

Overwhelming firepower paired with combat mobility—wasn’t that the ideal Mage, plain and simple?

-He’s full of shit

-No way this is real

-Even The Genesis gave up on that, and Hwarang pulled it off?

Of course, the reactions were skeptical.

Because it made no sense.

Literally—even The Genesis, home to White Wood who stands at the very peak of Mages, had abandoned the Battle Mage project.

That Hwarang—not even Ure—had raised one was almost impossible to believe.

But that doubt got swallowed up fast.

-Then why would Park Gangseok say that?

-Yeah, true. They’re not even in the same guild.

-Hwarang and Ure are rivals—no reason to lie and hype each other up.

Exactly.

There was no reason for it!

Why boost a rival guild?

A guild that was breathing down your neck, no less?

And if you watched Ure’s Guild Master, Cha Jeongho, standing beside Gangseok with that look on his face while he spoke, it was clear as day.

-That wasn’t in the script

-Look at Cha Jeongho’s face, he’s panicking

-One look at Jeongho’s expression and you can read his mind lol

-???: Gangseok, what the hell are you doing, you bastard.

-Park Gangseok looks totally spaced out

-He’s bewitched

-You mean he’s smitten

Park Gangseok’s face went utterly blank—the look of a man completely captivated by Baek Gijun.

But then came something even more staggering.

—Superhuman Baek Gijun has completed triple casting.

Triple casting.

The moment those words left the screen, the whole world flipped upside down.

Even Cha Jeongho couldn’t hide his expression anymore.

His widened eyes and dropped jaw broadcast across the globe through every feed.

—Fuck!

—Triple casting?

—A Battle Mage casting three spells at once?

One unbelievable statement after another.

Woo Jimin, watching the interview live, had her shoulders heaving like mountains.

“Nice, nice, nice!”

She clenched her fist, utterly ecstatic.

Then she turned her gaze.

Toward the man in front of her.

“You were amazing. Seriously, the best in the whole universe.”

“…”

In front of her sat Gijun.

His face was flushed.

And why wouldn’t it be?

His skill was stunning the entire world.

But that wasn’t all.

‘If they’re this blown away by triple casting, what will they do when they see what comes next.’

Literally.

[Auto Casting]

>Grade : Unique

>Proficiency : –

>Automatically casts an additional instance of one skill you’ve cast.

>Attack Power : 80% of the originally cast skill’s power

>MP Cost : 120% of the originally cast skill’s MP consumption

Exactly as written—a skill that auto-casts an extra instance of one cast spell.

Sure, its power was 80% of the original, and MP cost was higher.

Still, it was more than worth it.

Because this meant he could now go beyond triple casting—to quadruple casting.

Triple casting alone had already stunned the world.

And now he’d unlocked the ability to surpass it to quadruple casting.

Of course, handling four Fireballs at once wouldn’t be easy.

But he was confident he could overcome that.

After all, he’d just need to practice like he always had.

“Ah, even I’m getting chills.”

Woo Jimin spoke as she watched him.

Her voice was actually trembling.

As if this were her own achievement.

“Tell me whatever you want. Want a car? Or a house?”

The resolve to grant anything he said was thick in her tone.

“Even if it’s the only one of its kind in the world, I’ll get it for you. Just say the word.”

Gijun smiled and answered.

“I don’t need stuff like that.”

Was money the issue?

He’d never cared much about cars anyway.

Instead, he had only one interest.

Even at this moment, articles praising him were pouring out.

[A 1st-Circle Mage Who Hunted a Magin!]

[Let’s Learn About Low-Rank Magin!]

[Baek Gijun—What’s His Next Move?]

Word that he’d already hunted a Magin was spreading worldwide.

And countless people were eager to see him shine on the battlefield.

Gijun didn’t want to let those expectations down.

Not that he would go to the front just because someone expected it of him.

The battlefield was the stage every Superhuman dreamed of, wasn’t it?

And it wasn’t for that reason he wanted to go either.

Gijun had another goal.

He wanted to clash with a Magin himself.

And, through that, uncover the secret.

“I want to go to the front.”

“Ah.”

He didn’t think he’d uncover some secret right away.

But that didn’t mean he was willing to sit idle.

Woo Jimin nodded.

“I suppose so. You did face a Magin firsthand, after all.”

Her face seemed to say she found it perfectly understandable.

“But you know the front is a brutal place. Low-rank Magin are so common you trip over them. Even one mid-rank is stronger than dozens or hundreds of low-rank ones swarming you.”

“Of course.”

“Alright. We’ll be sending a contingent of Superhumans to the front. I’ll contact you once a schedule is set.”

“Thank you.”

Then—

“Huh…?”

Woo Jimin’s eyes went wide.

It was because of the breaking news flooding in.

[The Genesis Raid Team Arrives in the United States!]

The news was that The Genesis raid team had entered the Republic of Korea.

At the front of the group stood their Guild Master, Brad.

And beside him, his right hand, White Wood.

“They’re finally here.”

Woo Jimin’s face was tense.

Korea was undeniably a Superpower.

Among them, Hwarang was a mega-guild vying for the top spot.

But it couldn’t even come close to matching The Genesis’s stature.

And the two pillars of that Genesis were Brad and White Wood.

“Is it because of the Level 9 Dungeon?”

“Yes. They’re stopping over in our country on their way to the dungeon in Siberia.”

As you know, the current front line in East Asia is essentially the Korean Peninsula.

More specifically, the Republic of Korea.

So, en route to Siberia, The Genesis’s elite raid team decided to stay in Korea for a while.

“Shall we take a look?”

Woo Jimin turned on the news.

The two of them were shown, just passing through immigration.

Soon, the camera caught White Wood standing on a podium.

‘White Wood…’

Gijun watched him, his own face tense.

The greatest mage who had commanded the world’s respect even before Gijun became a Superhuman.

That admiration still held a place in Gijun’s heart.

A barrage of questions was raining down, but he observed a moment of silence.

Then, he opened his mouth.

[I heard an interesting story on the way here.]

An interesting story?

Everyone fell silent at those words.

Their faces eager to hear what White Wood would say.

[I heard there’s a mage in this country who has completed a Triple Cast.]

“…!”

An immense flash of camera light erupted with his words.

Reporters unleashed a frenzy of questions.

Gijun, too, felt a dizzying jolt of electricity surge through his entire body.

“Ha, looks like our man Gijun is moving up in the world.”