Chapter 125 – The Problem (１)

Before he knew it, Gijun’s level had hit 290.

Now only ten levels remained until 300.

Just ten more levels, and he could undergo his second class advancement.

Next came the Achievement reward.

[All Stats increased by 20!]

[Magic Attack increased by 500!]

[Additional Damage vs. Boss Monsters +2000 option added!]

The Achievement reward was impressive.

But something even more important still waited.

Finally.

The last reward appeared.

As he already knew, the chance to claim one of White Wood’s spells now lay open before him.

…Ha.

Before Gijun now, the full catalog of White Wood’s magic unfolded before his eyes.

The number of spells was truly beyond counting.

As he’d already seen, White Wood’s primary attribute was lightning.

From the 1st Circle to the 9th Circle, lightning-attribute Skills stretched in an endless line.

But these were spells Gijun couldn’t even use in the first place.

The attributes Gijun wielded were fire and wind magic.

No, setting that aside, he had no intention of coveting offensive magic anyway.

Of course, he knew firsthand how devastating 8th and 9th Circle spells were — but that wasn’t something for Gijun to get greedy over.

Even if by some chance Gijun learned White Wood’s magic, actually using it would be impossible, and even if he could, it would only make things more troublesome.

But that was fine.

Even removing every offensive spell the man possessed, there was something that seized Gijun’s attention at a single glance.

This is it.

One of the magics White Wood held.

No — to be precise, one of his talents.

That was it.

One of the spells White Wood wielded—or more accurately, one of the talents that made him the Archmage the whole world praised.

[Mana Booster]

Its name: Mana Booster.

[Mana Booster]

-Magic Explosion Power +500

-Projectile Speed +150%

-Raises Magic Circle Tier by 1

‘This is it.’

Mana Booster.

A unique constitution born into only one person in the world: White Wood.

Its effects were honestly jaw-dropping.

Even just the boosts to explosion power and projectile speed were excellent options on their own.

‘But… what’s this?’

More important than all that, though, was the last line.

‘Raises Magic Circle Tier?’

The moment Gijun read that phrase, his lips parted slightly.

In simple terms, it meant his magic would output the force of one Circle higher than his actual rank.

A single Circle would unleash the power of two; three Circles would hit with the force of four.

‘I don’t recall this effect being real.’

He knew White Wood had a unique constitution.

He also knew it was called Mana Booster.

But he’d never heard that White Wood’s magic matched a mage one full Circle above his own.

It was clear he was far stronger than other mages of the same Circle, but that was all he’d known.

‘…Anyway, this is really…’

His mouth wouldn’t close easily.

Even now, with just a single Circle, Gijun was already putting out absurd performances.

If his Fireball’s power was now enhanced to the level of one extra Circle, that was no different from saying his firepower would skyrocket.

The gap between 1st and 2nd Circle was roughly fourfold.

Of course, the difference varied by the user’s ability, but conventionally, a 2nd Circle spell was said to have four times the power of a 1st Circle one.

That meant each of Gijun’s Fireballs was about to get four times stronger.

‘But its value can’t be measured in simple numbers.’

Just because the power quadrupled didn’t mean his combat strength increased fourfold.

As he’d said, depending on how he used it, the gap could widen astronomically.

‘Fighting tooth and nail was worth it.’

The reward for never giving up and burning with determination was beyond satisfying.

He never imagined he’d receive something like this.

Still, too bad Libre’s voice had faded by now—he couldn’t even thank her.

Then a message appeared.

[Would you like to learn the skill ‘Mana Booster’?]

Gijun answered inwardly.

‘Yes.’

In that instant, another message surfaced.

[You have learned the skill ‘Mana Booster’.]

‘Got it.’

Gijun clenched his fist.

As he basked in the joy of victory, Ha Taehyeong spoke.

“Everyone, please gather here for a moment.”

The Superhumans, who had been catching their breath and sharing the thrill of victory, gathered beside Ha Taehyeong.

“We need to decide now.”

Ha Taehyeong’s voice was grave.

“Victory tastes sweet, but let’s be clear-eyed about it: we’ve only just cleared the second gate. The problem is, everyone’s running on fumes.”

He wasn’t wrong.

He’d taken down the second Boss monster, crossed another mountain.

But we had no idea where this Dungeon ended or how much stronger the remaining Monsters were.

Meanwhile, the Superhumans were drained.

very step forward had demanded razor-sharp focus.

And the Magi’s concentration kept thickening, pressing down on our bodies until even these Superhumans could barely endure it.

Even so, it stung to leave.

Once we walked out of this Dungeon, there was no telling when we’d get back in.

Level-9 Dungeon wasn’t ordinary.

Too many interests were tangled up in it.

Analyzing and studying everything we found inside would take ages.

Maybe the wait would stretch on indefinitely.

here was no guarantee everyone here would get another shot at this Dungeon.

Other Rankers and giant guilds would naturally want to challenge a Level-9 Dungeon too.

I feel the same way.’

Gijun did too.

Maybe he wanted it more than anyone else here.

I haven’t even seen that red light yet.’

The light detected in this Dungeon.

He’d come in, killed the Boss monster, and still hadn’t faced that crimson glow — let alone uncovered its identity.

I want to push further.’

So Gijun wasn’t ready to go back out.

Just like the others couldn’t count on their next Raid being confirmed, there was no guarantee Gijun would get to join the next one either.

Get’s be honest — out of everyone here, he probably had the lowest odds.

When Ha Taehyeong’s eyes met Gijun’s.

“….”

In that instant, Taehyeong read the desperate longing in Gijun’s gaze.

Sensing Taehyeong’s focus, the other Superhumans turned to look at Gijun too.

They let out wry smiles.

“With a look that desperate, you’re making it impossible for us to turn back even if we wanted to.”

White Wood spoke up.

“Ah….”

short sound of dismay slipped from Gijun’s lips, and the Superhumans burst into laughter.

“Truth is, aren’t we all thinking the same thing?”

“Seems like it.”

“Of course. Turning back now would be ridiculous.”

“We’ve come this far — we might as well fight until we’re on the brink of death, right?”

White Wood nodded as well.

“I agree.”

Maybe just as much as Gijun, White Wood wanted to keep the Raid going.

He wanted to feel that shock again — the one he’d experienced moments ago.

He wanted to stand beside Gijun, who had opened up a new world he never knew, and push deeper into this Dungeon together.

I never imagined I’d meet a friend who would make my heart race like this.’

I’ve lost count of how many times now.

Watching Gijun from beside him made him feel like a child again.

It was as if he’d rediscovered that flutter of childhood excitement—waiting for a parent’s gift.

‘Sorry to Emily, though.’

If Emily ever heard about this, she might sulk up a storm.

But right now, standing next to Gijun and watching him in action, White Wood found nothing in the world more exhilarating.

“Looks like we’ve reached a consensus.”

Ha Taehyeong spoke up then.

A smile lingered at the corner of his lips too.

“Then we’ll spend a day here, and enter the next gate in twenty-four hours.”

“Sounds good.”

“Phew—finally, a chance to catch our breath.”

A day’s rest.

It might not seem like much time, but to them, it felt like a gift of vacation.

They’d been pushing forward nonstop, barely catching any sleep.

The Superhumans collapsed onto the ground right there.

There wasn’t even a proper blanket, yet they felt the comfort of lying in a cozy bed.

*

“…We did it!”

“Unbelievable. They actually pulled it off!”

While the Superhumans inside the dungeon savored their long-awaited break, cheers erupted from outside.

“Incredible speed. They broke through the second gate way faster than we predicted.”

Confirming that the clear time for the second gate—estimated based on the first gate’s pace—had been slashed by a whopping seventy percent, the guild masters and researchers couldn’t help but breathe sighs of relief.

“This change has to be because of that kid, right?”

Brad tossed out a pointed remark too.

Woo Jimin said nothing, but her clenched fist trembled faintly.

“Encouraging. We’ll need to analyze the data more, but it’s nearly certain that the mage named Baek Gijun turned the tide.”

The head researcher of Hwarang, checking the data relayed from inside the dungeon, spoke with an admiring tone.

“…I agree. Given the data not observed in the first gate, it’s clear that the Superhuman Baek Gijun’s influence drastically cut the second gate’s clear time.”

The head researcher of The Genesis echoed the same reaction.

“This is… really. He’s going to shake things up again.”

These guild leaders were already well aware of the public opinion surrounding Gijun’s participation in the raid.

But they were confident that Gijun would silence those doubts.

“I just didn’t expect it to be this intense.”

“…Neither did I.”

True to her words, no one doubted that Gijun would prove his skills.

But that he’d prove them so quickly, so spectacularly—even they hadn’t foreseen it.

That was when it happened.

“…Hm?”

The researcher’s eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?”

At Woo Jimin’s question, the researcher furrowed his brow again.

“Right now… the detector scanning around the dungeon is picking up something odd.”

“Something odd?”

“…This is….”

That was when The Genesis’ lab director, his expression equally grim, double-checked the data.

“What is it?”

Brad stepped closer at the directors’ reactions.

“That.”

“That…?”

“…No way.”

“Yes. That red light emitted from the last dungeon — it’s being detected again right now.”

“…!”

Woo Jimin and Brad locked eyes.

Then Brad turned back to the lab director.

“Can you identify what that light is?”

“I can’t be certain yet… but I’ll analyze and cross-reference the data we’ve received from inside the dungeon so far, and find out as much as I can.”

“I’m counting on you.”

With that, the lab director hurried off somewhere.