Chapter 11 – This Is １st Circle? (２)

It was faster than any Fireball casting they had ever seen.

And massive to boot.

‘Is this right?’

‘Something’s different about it, isn’t it?’

In that moment, a scene unfolded that defied their common sense.

Then Gijun hurled the Fireball without hesitation, straight into the middle of the monsters.

Kwaaang!

The Fireball landed dead center among the clustered Red Goblins.

But it wasn’t over.

There was still work left to do, wasn’t there?

‘Strong Wind.’

Not the Blow that Gijun possessed, but a full-fledged 1st-Circle wind-element magic.

This was the first time he was using it in reality.

The Mana erupting from Gijun’s hand combined with the wind Element of the surrounding air.

To be precise, Strong Wind and Blow.

The arrangement of Mana and Element combination for the two spells wasn’t all that different.

No—it was almost identical, you could say.

The difference came down to one thing.

How much more Element could bind to the same density of Mana.

Naturally, Strong Wind bound far more Element to the same Mana.

That was what made the wind’s force so much stronger.

Whoooosh!

Far more than Blow.

A wind so violently powerful it couldn’t even be compared roared to life.

“Uh…?”

“What the—?”

Powerful enough to make even the Superhumans flinch.

Then the wind moved fast, sweeping the Fireball’s flames along with it in a raging vortex.

Crack! Craaaack!

“!!”

“W-What…”

In the end, the Hwarang Superhumans cried out in shock.

Because no matter how they looked at it, this couldn’t be the power of a 1st-Circle spell.

Leaving their astonishment behind, the combined force of Strong Wind and Fireball began burning the Red Goblins exactly as they stood.

Kiiieeeek!

Kaaaarrrk!

Hearing the Red Goblins’ screams pierce the air in that instant, Gijun shouted inside his head.

It works.

Exactly as I thought.

In that moment, Gijun etched his name into the minds of everyone present.

*

Ha Seol, the Tanker, flinched.

Strong.

In that instant, the flames roaring to life before her eyes were more powerful than anything she’d imagined.

How is this… a 1st-Circle spell?

There was no way she didn’t know the power of a 1st-Circle spell.

Back in her academy days, she’d even done joint Raid exercises with mages from the Magic Academy.

No matter how she thought about it, the spell unfolding before her eyes now was far beyond the level of a mere 1st Circle.

Kiiieeeek!

Just look at the Red Goblins writhing in agony, screeching their terrible cries.

Landing a blow like this on roughly ten Red Goblins in a single shot with a 1st-Circle spell—that was clearly outside common sense.

She probably wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

“Is that really 1st Circle?”

“It’s not just the power—he’s actually wielding two elements…”

“Whoa, no way. I’ve never seen that before!”

Two elements.

A talent spoken of only in rumors.

One of the rarest talents in the entire Republic of Korea.

And on top of that, his skill in handling magic was nothing short of exceptional.

That was even more astonishing.

After all, when you wielded two elements, fine control usually suffered.

But Gijun showed none of that weakness.

He handled magic as if it were an extension of his own limbs—perfectly.

Ssshhh—craaack!

Weaving between the Superhumans, the wind-element spell Gijun cast dragged the flames along, burning the Goblins.

“Whoa…”

“It doesn’t harm us at all.”

“No joke, huh?”

“Seriously… so the rumors weren’t just talk?”

They said Gijun’s fundamentals were legendary even back at the Magic Academy.

They’d heard it so many times their ears were practically calloused—about how his magic-wielding skill rivaled even most professors.

“He’s definitely at least 2nd Circle, right?”

“Right. With two attributes combined, that’s easily stronger than a 2nd-Circle mage. Done right, it could even reach 3rd-Circle…”

He was asking if it was possible to produce 3rd-Circle firepower with a 1st-Circle spell.

Absurd.

The truth? Gijun’s magic hadn’t actually mustered 3rd-Circle-level force.

Though, if you looked at sheer versatility, he might as well have surpassed a 3rd-Circle mage.

Even if raw power fell far short.

The harmony between Fire and Wind was nothing short of breathtaking.

And the way he wielded those two attributes—it was flawless, like no other mage could ever replicate.

“If it weren’t for that damn bottle of his…”

“He’d be topping our nation’s charts by now.”

“Nation? He’d have gone global already, wouldn’t he?”

“Maybe…?”

Producing this much firepower from a single Mana Circle—no mage on earth could pull that off.

All they could do was gape in awe.

And so, with Gijun’s performance, the monsters evaporated in an instant.

Literally evaporated.

Once every monster was gone, Ha Seol hoisted her shield again.

She shouted once more.

“Can you keep going?”

Gijun smiled gently and nodded.

“No problem.”

“Good!”

With that, Ha Seol raised her shield high and pressed forward.

*

‘Skills aside, it looks like the Stat boosts apply to me in reality, too.’

That was what he’d realized, hunting not in a game, but for real.

No one knew Gijun’s old body better than Gijun himself.

‘My mana itself has definitely increased.’

His Circle was still just one—that was clear.

But he could feel his Magic Power had grown.

It must be like MP increasing in-game as a stat rose.

‘It almost feels unfair.’

A phenomenon that defied all real-world logic.

Yet, that was exactly what was happening to Gijun now.

Anyway, thanks to Ha Seol, Gijun could comfortably sweep through Red Goblins without a break.

Whoosh!

Just as another wave of Red Goblins poured out, he incinerated them all.

At that very moment.

Crackle—

The last Red Goblin, writhing in pain inside the flames, finally stopped breathing.

But then, suddenly—

[Proficiency in Skill ‘Mana Handling’ has increased.]

‘Huh…?’

A strange message flashed before Gijun’s eyes.

‘Why a message…?’

Reality wasn’t a game.

In the real world, there were no status windows or messages like in a game.

So why in the world was this text floating in front of him?

‘…What the hell?’

Gijun rubbed his eyes.

‘Am I seeing things?’

Maybe he’d pushed himself too hard in the dungeon and was hallucinating.

But—

‘It’s real…?’

It was real.

That absurd message—saying his Proficiency had increased—was literally floating before his eyes.

‘Uh…’

Then another message appeared.

[Mana Handling]

>Grade : Legendary

>Proficiency : D

>Magic Attack+40%

>Casting Speed+40%

>MP Consumption 25% Reduced

‘What the hell?’

It was real.

A skill’s Proficiency was increasing in reality—not just in a game.

Mana Handling, which had been Grade E, was now Grade D.

The options had changed drastically too.

Magic Attack and Casting Speed had each increased by 10%.

And on top of that, a ridiculous 25% reduction in MP consumption had been tacked on.

It was so absurd a curse slipped out before he could stop it.

One shock after another.

Just being able to use game abilities in the real world was staggering enough.

But combat in reality also affecting in-game Proficiency?

‘If this is how it works…’

Still, one thing became crystal clear in that moment.

‘The game and my reality are truly one and the same—and I can get stronger faster than anyone else.’

In other words, the efficiency was different.

You couldn’t run Dungeon Raids indefinitely.

Because of that, most Superhumans spent their time in training rooms to grow.

No matter how well-equipped a training room was, it couldn’t beat actual hunting for speed.

‘If I can’t go to a Dungeon, I’ll just play the game.’

Even if Dungeon Raids kept him from playing, it no longer mattered.

He’d realized that hunting in a Dungeon also linked to the game’s Experience, or Proficiency… .

‘This is insane.’

Gijun understood it all over again.

The absurd ability that had come to him now far exceeded anything his imagination could have conjured.

‘Then…’

From here, it was a fresh start.

He could already unleash magic with greater power, so… .

“Let’s take a short break—”

The moment Ha Seol was about to call for rest.

“Can’t we just keep going?”

Gijun spoke.

“Huh? I, well, your Magic Power seems… .”

“I’m fine. Let’s continue.”

“Ah, understood!”

Ha Seol adjusted her shield again, a bewildered look on her face.

He didn’t want to rest.

He wanted to experience the power of D-grade Mana Handling firsthand, right now.

They moved forward, more alert than before.

The monsters about to appear would start getting stronger.

The same kinds of monsters, but at higher levels, and they’d spawn in greater numbers.

Before, they’d at most come in groups of five—but from now on, more than ten would pour out at once.

Not only that—they’d started using coordinated tactics.

But…

Kwaaaah!

“What the hell… .”

“What is that? He seems even stronger, doesn’t he?”

“What kind of person is he?”

Gijun’s magic rendered even the goblins’ organized movements completely useless.

Faster casting.

Stronger magic attack power.

With the reduced MP cost piled on top, Gijun’s Fireball and Strong Wind bombarded the goblins without pause—an unrelenting storm.

‘No way. Is this real?’

The same thought echoed through every mind in the party.

They hadn’t expected this—hadn’t even dared to hope.

They’d written him off as just another mediocre Superhuman who’d parachuted in through connections.

All they’d wanted was for him to stay out of their way… and yet.

‘Absolutely not. How the hell is this a parachute gig?’

He possessed skill that outshone every single one of them.

To say nothing of his innate talent.

How the hell did someone burdened with Mana Circle Formation Disorder reach a level like this through sheer effort?

Just watching him filled them with awe.

*

“Hooah! I need a short break!”

Finally, Ha Seol shouted.

Thanks to Gijun’s suggestion, they’d pushed through more than double their original plan.

Gijun had certainly pulled his weight.

No—he’d done far more than that.

Seeing them all gasping for breath with utterly exhausted faces, Gijun knew he couldn’t force the hunt any further.

At her words, the Superhumans began to sit down one by one.

“Ah, my legs are killing me!”

“Ugh, I’m so tired…”

They all slumped to the ground with groans, complaining.

“hyung¹… the pace is too fast.”

“He’s right, please let us rest a bit!”

The Superhumans sent not-quite-complaints toward Gijun.

Watching them, Gijun smiled.

To think he would ever hear words like that.

Not from just any Superhumans, but from the Hwarang’s Superhumans no less!

But Gijun was still at ease.

Even while handling all the damage output alone, he still had Magic Power left.

It was a change hard to believe even to himself.

Then, Gijun carefully opened his mouth.

“Excuse me…”

Gijun spoke cautiously.

“Shouldn’t we go scout?”

It was a fair point.

Dungeons were dangerous because they held countless variables.

Even a low-Level Dungeon shouldn’t be underestimated.

Taking turns to watch the surroundings during a break was basic common sense.

“hyung… just five minutes…”

“H-hueueung…”

At that single sound, tears seemed to well in the Superhumans’ eyes.

That was when it happened.

“I’ll go with you.”

Ha Seol.

She spoke.

“Let me and Master Gijun just take a quick look around this area, and we’ll be back.”

Ha Seol said, looking at Gijun.

“By all means.”

And so Gijun and Ha Seol set off to scout.

The remaining Superhumans clicked their tongues in disbelief.

“Guess that’s the model student for you.”

“That hyung too… sure is fired up.”

“Ah, forget it. Let’s just rest.”

1. Hyung — a term a younger man uses for an older man or brother; literally “older brother.”