Chapter 14 – This Is １st Circle? (５)

‘!!!’

Gijun nearly screamed out loud.

He was that shocked.

Ha Seol showed no reaction, so it was clear this change was his alone.

‘This is insane.’

He could grow stronger in the game and in reality—simultaneously.

As said, there are no status windows or skills in the real world.

The only way to develop ability is to train and hone inborn talent.

But if this kept up, it meant Gijun could get stronger faster than anyone.

‘Why is this happening to me?’

He had no idea what caused this change in him.

But so what?

If he could get stronger, that was enough.

He had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.

Suddenly, Gijun’s body swayed.

A wave of dizziness hit him out of nowhere.

Ha Seol gasped in alarm.

“A-are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Just out of Magic Power. No problem.”

“Good. I’m sorry. As a Tanker, my damage was way too low.”

That was true.

Gijun had accounted for over ninety percent of the damage needed to take down the Boss Monster.

But at the same time, none of that would have been possible without Ha Seol.

“It was because Miss Ha Seol held the line so solidly that I could use my magic freely.”

At Gijun’s words, Ha Seol’s face lit up.

“Hehe…”

Then, from the other direction, came the sound of Superhumans’ footsteps.

Ha Seol and Gijun turned their heads toward the sound simultaneously.

For an instant, Gijun’s eyes went wide.

‘Huh?’

Because there, in that direction, he saw Jiyun.

Of course, she was just as stunned.

Before she could even show any joy at meeting Gijun, she stared back and forth between him and the fallen Boss Monster, her expression one of pure shock.

Her mouth hung open, gaping wordlessly, as if she couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before her eyes.

*

A moment earlier.

The Superhumans in the Red Goblin Dungeon had flinched in surprise.

“K-Kim Jiyun… Senior Kim Jiyun!”

“Whoa!”

“I-I’m a fan!”

Kim Jiyun.

Because she had suddenly appeared in the Red Goblin Dungeon.

By her mid-twenties, Kim Jiyun had already grown into one of the core talents of the Hwarang Guild.

The main dealer of the Seoul Southern Branch.

The Seoul Southern Branch was one of the Hwarang Guild’s most pivotal branches.

Holding the main dealer position there was practically the same as having ascended to stardom.

As such, to those who had just joined Hwarang as rookie Superhumans, Jiyun was quite literally a star in the sky.

“Huff… huff…”

Catching her breath, Jiyun surveyed the Superhumans.

“I heard a Dungeon Break had occurred and mobilized.”

“Yes. We just received word a little while ago, too.”

Instead of seeking them out in person, Ha Seol had contacted them via message.

And they, too, had been waiting for Jiyun to arrive.

“Good. Let’s move quickly.”

“Yes!”

With that, Jiyun began to run.

The Superhumans quickened their pace to follow behind her.

She increased her speed, moving toward where the Magi felt thickest.

But now.

‘Huh…?’

Something was a little strange.

It was quiet.

If they were fighting, there should have been a ruckus loud enough to hear.

It was far too quiet.

Just as a nameless unease brushed past her.

But she shook her head.

There was no way a major accident had happened.

If it were truly a dangerous situation, there should have at least been an urgent message waiting.

There was none.

And so, she sped up a little more, arriving in an instant at the spot where the Boss must have emerged.

But…

‘What is this?’

Instead, Gijun was standing there perfectly fine.

Ahead of him, a massive monster lay dying, slumped on the ground.

If that was the case…

‘No way…?’

Did that mean Gijun and those two Tankers had taken down that Blood-Red Goblin?

Jiyun surveyed the situation once more.

It was clear.

The Boss was fallen, and Gijun and the Superhuman who looked like a Tanker stood there without a scratch.

‘For real?’

What stunned Jiyun even more was something else.

‘Doesn’t that mean Oppa¹ Gijun did practically all the dealing?’

That was it, exactly.

Wasn’t that the only way to explain this situation?

Ha Seol might be a promising tanker, but her offensive power still has a long way to go.

Even without that, anyone could plainly see who was responsible, just from the Bloody Goblin’s melted skin and its entire body blackened.

‘My God…’

Was this even possible?

A 1st Circle mage defeated a 2nd-level dungeon’s boss monster?

‘Then…’

Jiyun was certain.

Something had changed in Gijun.

She didn’t know what kind of change or how he’d made it happen, but that much was clear.

‘He really overcame it.’

Mana Circle Formation Disorder.

Didn’t that mean he’d conquered that disease of unknown origin?

It meant Gijun’s absurd talent could finally bloom!

‘It’s done. It’s finally done.’

That man she’d once looked up to—

—this was the moment he finished preparing to leap again.

‘Good for you, Oppa.’

She didn’t speak the words aloud, but Jiyun’s tightly clenched fist trembled faintly.

Then she pulled her emotions back in check.

She was standing here not as Gijun’s younger acquaintance, but as a Hwarang Superhuman.

She couldn’t let personal feelings show.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Jiyun nodded and tapped her smartwatch.

“Superhuman Baek Gijun and Superhuman Ha Seol have neutralized the boss monster that emerged from a Dungeon Break. I’ll report the details after we exit the dungeon. Over.”

Jiyun looked at Gijun and said,

“Oppa. Contact me when this is over.”

“Got it.”

“There’s a lot I want to talk about.”

The two exchanged a glance and smiled briefly.

Jiyun turned around.

Right now, she felt as happy as if it were her own achievement.

Watching their exchange, the other Superhumans on the scene looked stunned.

They must have never imagined she was that close with him.

Their eyes were full of envy.

*

The raid ended quickly.

“Great work out there.”

Ha Seol approached Gijun as soon as the raid was over to greet him.

“Thanks to you, we even got the boss monster today.”

“Come on, it wasn’t because of me. But, uh… how exactly do you know Senior Jiyun?”

“Ah. She was my junior at the academy.”

“Oh, oh… right, of course!”

At that moment, Gijun’s phone rang.

[Kim Jiyun]

A call from Jiyun.

“Yeah.”

[Oppa. I’m at a café nearby. I’m waiting, so come quick.]

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

Gijun exchanged brief goodbyes with the Superhumans and turned around.

Watching his retreating back, the Superhumans murmured,

envy written all over their faces.

“When will we ever get close to a Superhuman like Senior Jiyun?”

“Yeah, seriously…”

Of course, it wasn’t just his closeness to Jiyun that made them envious of Gijun.

Their awe for him was mixed in there too.

She hadn’t seen it herself, but that moment—when Gijun’s magic had brought down the Boss Monster—was now a certainty.

So how could anyone doubt his skill after that?

Especially since Ha Seol hadn’t stopped chattering about Gijun’s exploits the entire way here.

The questioning looks that had first greeted Gijun had long since vanished.

“It was no joke. Really. I’m telling you, it was insane.”

Ha Seol spoke.

Of all of them, she was the most excited.

Hadn’t she seen it with her own eyes?

That image of Gijun’s magic bombarding the Boss Monster.

“You guys should’ve seen it. That was no 1st-Circle mage. Mark my words—soon, he could become a core Superhuman of our guild!”

Ha Seol carried on, giddy as if it were her own achievement.

One might think she was making a fuss, but no one scolded her for it.

Instead, they chimed in themselves.

“And he overcame Mana Circle Formation Disorder, right?”

“That’s right.”

“No way.”

“How did he overcome it?”

“Who knows? There’s no research on it yet.”

“Wow, seriously… That’s incredible.”

That was the reason.

The sheer astonishment of him overcoming that impossible illness.

They’d heard the legends of Gijun passed down as war stories at the Academy.

And now was the moment they’d witnessed his transformed self with their own eyes.

“Ugh, look, I’m getting chills.”

“Me too…”

“Still, once he climbs high, he’ll look out for us, right?”

“I didn’t mess up anything, did I?”

“Ah, quit overdoing it, you guys!”

*

While heading out to meet Jiyun.

Ding!

A text arrived on Gijun’s smartphone.

The message was from the Hwarang Guild.

[Please confirm your settlement amount.]

Settlement.

Gijun’s eyes widened at the word.

[34,304,300]

“Holy shit.”

The moment Gijun saw that number, a curse slipped out before he could stop it.

34 million won.

And this was from just a single raid?

As mentioned, Gijun’s annual salary had been 30 million before.

Yet he’d earned that money in a single day.

Even considering he’d hunted a Boss Monster, it was an amount beyond imagination.

It felt like every concept of money and value he’d known was shattering all at once.

Gijun stood there, mouth agape.

‘Right. I knew it.’

The life of a skilled Superhuman.

Especially one strong enough to hunt Boss Monsters…

It was truly a life on another dimension.

And this was just the payout from a measly Level-2 Dungeon.

A Level-2 Dungeon was, as its treatment in Hwarang showed, little more than a training ground for ‘apprentice’ Superhumans.

For a proper raid—a Level-5 or higher Dungeon…

Gulp.

Just imagining it was enough to get his blood pumping.

Then another message arrived.

And that one made Gijun several times happier than the 34 million won ever could.

“Ms. Jiyun filled me in on the details. I look forward to seeing what you’ll do. —Team Leader Park Yunseok”

That single line from Team Leader Park Yunseok.

“Looking forward to it.”

Wasn’t that an acknowledgment of Gijun’s skill?

From no less than a team leader at Hwarang—a giant of a guild.

Ha!

The moment he read that message, Gijun’s hands clenched into fists.

He vowed, again and again, that he would make far more people remember his name from now on.

Nor did he forget his gratitude toward Jiyun.

Jiyun… thanks.

At the same time, the past flickered through his mind.

It felt strange—almost unjust—that a year’s worth of his own raids was now worth the same as a single Boss raid.

But the strongest feeling, above all else, was…

Thrilling.

Pure exhilaration.

Because this was no longer just someone else’s story.

It could finally be his own.

Gijun quickened his pace.

That day, the two of them talked for hours.

It became one of the happiest moments in Gijun’s life.

*

“If that’s the case… I suppose I have no choice but to believe it.”

Cha Miyeong.

She had just received the report that Gijun’s first raid was over.

Spread out before her was a document packed with detailed statistical data on the raid.

A Dungeon Break in a Level-2 Dungeon.

And yet, they had cleared it perfectly, without a single injury.

What’s more, Gijun had accounted for over half of the raid’s total damage output.

This was undeniably staggering data.

At the same time, one thing became certain.

A change had come over Gijun.

She didn’t know what kind of change it was, but it was clearly monumental.

A strong premonition flashed through her mind: if this change could persist, the world itself might well be turned upside down.

“As expected, Team Leader Park Yunseok’s eye never misses.”

Park Yunseok, too, had a broad smile on his face.

Not only had his own conviction been vindicated, but the fact that a talent who could be a huge asset to Hwarang had emerged filled him with joy.

“This is definitely exceeding expectations. Really, it is.”

Of course, Cha Miyeong felt the same way.

Her eyes, fixed on the dungeon raid data, were brimming with astonishment, and a subtle smile played at the corners of her mouth.

1. Oppa — an affectionate term a younger woman uses for an older man she is close to; literally “older brother.”