Chapter 31 – Rotom Commercial District (３)

This is the advantage of the wind element.

Faster than any other element.

Hard to track with the eye, easy to miss — the enemy wouldn’t even see it coming.

That made it the perfect counter in this situation.

A flawless riposte, timed just when they thought they’d seized the upper hand.

But then a thought flickered through his mind.

How the hell was he going to explain this?

Who would believe that a 1st-Circle spell had gained Cutting Power?

The worry dissolved almost as quickly as it had come.

It’s not like there haven’t been cases like this before, right?

That was when a certain mage came to mind.

A mage named Jayden, originally from England.

He, too, had been born with a talent for the wind element.

He’d made his name by perfecting a spell called Wind Cutter — at just the 3rd Circle.

The standard Wind Cutter was a 4th-Circle spell.

Yet by simply creating a 3rd-Circle version, he’d shot to stardom.

It was a revolution.

Because he’d proven that streamlining and compressing Mana’s arrangement could lower the Circle requirement.

So, then, imparting Cutting Power to a 1st-Circle spell was theoretically possible.

In fact, research along those lines was still ongoing.

Of course, nothing concrete had come of it yet…

But if Gijun’s Strong Wind ever saw the light of day, it might spark another uproar.

Double casting… no, triple casting now, and Cutting Power on top of that.

Even he had to let out a dry laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.

*

Done.

Time passed, and he had collected all ten of Garuso’s hearts.

With Strong Wind’s Cutting Power, the hunt had sped up beyond reason.

Now, even when a whole pack of Horpa charged him at once, he could cut them down in an instant.

It took less than half the time I thought it would.

The Quest had been cleared in under half the time Gijun had originally estimated.

Libre helped, too.

Of course, that was also thanks to Libre pinpointing all of Garuso’s locations.

Anyway, time to head back.

As he started moving toward the Seeker’s lodge.

His heart was already pounding.

Even now, Gijun’s firepower was already monstrous.

But if he got his hands on Mana Condensation on top of all that?

“It’ll be perfect.”

If I could learn to handle Mana Condensation, I’d gain absolute control over the Ancient Heart’s Magic Power too.

That meant I could wield a Fireball incomparably more powerful than before—and control it completely.

“Let’s go.”

Gijun moved again.

*

“You’ve arrived.”

The Seeker spoke with obvious delight the moment Gijun stepped in.

“You truly brought back ten of them, so now all the materials are ready.”

With that, the Seeker pulled a jar from the corner of the hut.

He poured some unknown solution into it.

Then he began to heat it.

Once the strange blue liquid started boiling, he dropped all ten hearts into the mixture.

“Shit.”

Gijun recoiled in horror.

“I’m supposed to drink that?”

Goosebumps rose across his skin.

How the hell was anyone meant to swallow that?

[Eww…]

Even Libre shuddered.

About thirty minutes passed…

“It’s finished.”

The Seeker handed Gijun a small cup.

It held the blue solution he’d just brewed.

“When you drink that, a ‘Mana Membrane’ will form inside the Ancient Heart. That membrane calms the mana within the heart and strongly compresses it. As a result, the mana expelled from your body will also be densely condensed.”

“…”

Honestly, it was gibberish.

Nothing like that could possibly work in reality.

But so what?

These were the rules of the game.

“…”

Gijun took the cup with trembling hands and downed the solution in a single gulp.

“…!”

The moment that vile reek slid down his throat—

[You have acquired the Skill ‘Mana Condensation’!]

He’d finally obtained it.

The instant he saw that message, the terrible memory vanished without a trace.

[Mana Condensation]

-Grade: Legendary

-Magic Attack +30%

-Mana Explosion +50%

-MP Consumption +20%

Mana Explosion.

That was a stat Gijun already possessed.

[Mana Explosion]

-For every 1% increase in Mana Explosion, Magic Attack increases by 1% and Skill Range increases by 0.3%.

His original Mana Explosion was 30%.

Now an extra 50% was added.

“This is insane, seriously.”

Gijun had to ride a dizzying rush of exhilaration.

With this single skill, his Magic Attack had jumped by a total of 80%, and his Skill Range had increased by 15% as well.

Of course, there was a downside.

Mana consumption went up by 20%.

But that was hardly a real problem.

His existing options could easily offset that much.

[Go on, try using Fireball!]

Just then, Libre’s voice reached him.

“Alright.”

Following her lead, Gijun cast Fireball.

Woosh!

“!!”

The Fireball had already shrunk back to its original size.

Light.

With this Fireball, it felt as though he could command it with perfect freedom.

The problems caused by the Ancient Heart had been completely resolved, leaving only its advantages maximized.

All Gijun could do was shudder at the unbelievable change that had taken hold of him.

Then the man spoke.

“Excellent. Now, allow me to tell you about the second Fragment of the Ancient Heart.”

This was what Gijun had been waiting for.

“A Subjugation Team is currently being recruited in the Rotom Commercial District — due to a sudden Monster Wave. But… I suspect there’s a connection between the Monster Wave and the Ancient Heart.”

“I see.”

“Legend has it that the Ancient Heart was sealed atop the highest peak of the Rotom Mountains… but something has clearly happened there.”

Hoh…

At those words, both Gijun’s and Libre’s eyes gleamed.

*

[Level Up!]

Gijun had been leveling through hunting.

Before he knew it, he had reached Level 50.

Level 50 was the minimum requirement to apply for the Subjugation Team.

Incredibly fast.

The hunting ground was meant for levels far above his own, but for Gijun, it posed no problem.

In fact, it had become almost too easy.

With Mana Condensation and the Cutting Power of Strong Wind added to his arsenal, he felt a twinge of emptiness if he didn’t take down at least ten monsters in a single strike.

His Magic Power was exploding upward.

It had already soared past 100 and was racing toward 200.

His Fire Affinity was also increasing by an additional 1 point with every level-up.

So now, his Fire Affinity stood at a staggering 41.

[Fire Affinity]

-When Fire Affinity increases by 1, Fire-Type Attack Power increases by 1.5%, and Fire-Type Resistance increases by 1.5%.

With a Fire Affinity of 41, his Fire-Type Attack Power was boosted by roughly 60%, and his Fire-Type Resistance saw the same increase.

I feel like I’m gaining more and more momentum.

Ever since entering the main scenario in earnest, his growth rate had been nothing short of explosive.

Time to go.

Gijun took a step forward.

Heading toward the location where the Subjugation Team was being recruited.

*

Around that time, the Ure Guild was also buzzing.

The cause was an article being circulated by Hwarang.

It was about the mage who had recently surpassed Woo Jimin’s record — specifically, his magic.

[Participated in a Level 4 New Dungeon Raid — Promises to Show Well in the Match Against Ure]

[A Challenge to Ure After Breaking Woo Jimin’s Record: On Baek Gijun’s Unconventional Moves…]

[Does Baek Gijun Really Have the Potential to Put Hwarang at the Top?]

The article read like a direct challenge thrown at Ure.

And articles about Baek Gijun were flooding in.

“The whole world’s all about Baek Gijun these days.”

“…It’s only natural. He broke Woo Jimin’s record.”

The internet reaction was equally intense.

-Is this for real?

“Wait — was Woo Jimin’s record even breakable?”

“So this genius is about to go toe-to-toe with Ure?”

“No joke. Word is the mage who broke the record has Mana Circle Formation Disorder.”

“What’s that?”

“Means he can only cast 1st-Circle magic.”

“The hell? That’s a thing?”

“Hah. So he’s just a flash in the pan.”

“Flash in the pan? Watch and see. He’s going world-class.”

A storm of reactions churned and collided.

Voices of anticipation.

And others dismissing him as just another Superhuman who’d fade soon enough.

Yet one fact stood undeniable.

Baek Gijun was the Superhuman commanding the most attention in the Republic of Korea right now.

And that attention was fixed squarely on the upcoming Raid.

“Still, no way he pulls it off.”

From a Superhuman’s perspective, skepticism was the only logical stance.

“Breaking Woo Jimin’s record is one thing. Performing in a Level-4 Dungeon is another.”

“Exactly. Our Park Gyeongseok could clear that dungeon in two hours flat.”

“Obviously.”

They weren’t wrong.

A solo Level-2 Dungeon clear.

That was the proving ground for prospects.

For Superhumans already tackling high-level Dungeons in their guilds, it was barely a warm-up.

Park Gyeongseok, Ure’s man for this Raid, was skilled enough to clear a Level-2 Dungeon in two hours.

And now he was being matched against a promising but raw rookie?

From Ure’s perspective, the whole thing was absurd.

“Though I have been hearing some strange rumors lately.”

“Rumors?”

“Apparently Hwarang’s expecting something huge internally. They’re keeping it under wraps, but something’s brewing.”

“They seem awfully confident about this Raid, don’t they?”

But dismissing it as nonsense wasn’t so easy.

Surely Hwarang wouldn’t flaunt such confidence without grounds?

“Hmm… What is it? They’ve got something, don’t they? Double casting or something?”

“Ah, come on, that’s a bit…”

“Just thinking out loud.”

No one could predict or even imagine it yet.

The true source of Hwarang’s confidence remained a mystery.

*

The registration was straightforward.

He approached the NPC at the counter and held out his hand; the NPC scanned it.

“Your Level and Stats have been verified. Please fill this out.”

The NPC held something out to him.

It was an application form.

“Sure.”

Gijun took the form and walked over to a table.

First, he had to write his name.

He wrote his ID.

Jun.

Below that was his Class.

“Hmm.”

He hesitated for a moment.

Whether to write the class name as is: Flame Seeker.

But he decided against it.

It was far too distinctive — it would draw eyes.

Keeping a low profile is key.

After all, Gijun was a Superhuman.

Like any other Superhuman, Gijun knew the value of keeping a low profile.

You never knew when or how a confrontation might spark.

Not that he had any plans to cause trouble in-game, of course.

But the fact remained — he was smack in the middle of the main scenario now.

Which meant the odds of his existence being thrust into the spotlight were astronomically high.

Still, abandoning the main scenario? That didn’t make sense either.

This was the perfect opportunity for explosive growth, a golden chance he couldn’t pass up.

‘…I’ll deal with that when the time comes,’ he told himself.

Right.

That wasn’t something to worry about right now.

Decision made, Gijun filled in his Class.

[Mage]

A Mage.

It was a Class that existed in the actual game, too.

Unsurprisingly, it was also the most common one.

About seventy percent of the Mage Class were plain Mages.

Mages with special qualifiers had an absurdly low draw rate, after all.

“A Mage, is it? Then please head over there.”

The employee pointed to where a cluster of Users had gathered.

Even at a glance, you could tell they were Mages.

“We’ll be conducting a test shortly and assigning you to units based on your skill. For Mages, the test will be a shooting exercise. Since your Level and Stats have already been confirmed.”

“I see.”

Gijun nodded and moved toward the designated area.

‘Phew… I’m looking forward to this. A second heart, huh.’

The first heart had been incredible enough.

Just how much stronger could he get by obtaining a second one?