Chapter 57 – White Wood (２)

It was him—White Wood.

The moment Gijun saw White Wood, his eyes went wide and his body froze.

White Wood smiled gently and approached the two with an easy gait.

He was a dashing middle-aged man.

His trademark white hair and white beard lent him an air of mystery.

“I apologize for the sudden visit. And for you to so freely open your training ground to us… I hope I’m not being too presumptuous.”

“Not at all. We’re honored to have you here.”

The two exchanged greetings.

Then White Wood’s gaze turned to Gijun.

His heart raced.

It felt like meeting a celebrity.

“I’ve heard about you, Baek Gijun.”

“Ah, ah… It’s an honor!”

Gijun and White Wood clasped hands.

‘God, I’m losing my mind.’

He didn’t know what to do with himself.

Not only was the object of his dreams standing right in front of him, but he even knew Gijun’s name.

And he’d come all this way just to meet him.

“And this is my cherished disciple, Emily.”

After the introductions, White Wood presented the Superhuman he’d brought along.

She was a mage named Emily.

“A prodigy among prodigies, already at the 6th Circle at the age of eighteen.”

“…!!”

At that, Gijun and Woo Jimin’s eyes went wide.

The 6th Circle before even turning twenty.

“At this rate, I expect she’ll reach the 8th Circle by thirty. A remarkable young woman.”

“Whoa…”

The 8th Circle by thirty.

A truly absurd achievement.

If such a thing were truly possible, the world might turn upside-down once again.

“Still, reaching the 9th Circle… that would require Heaven’s blessing to some degree.”

That too was the truth.

Crossing from the 8th Circle to the 9th was a realm where mere effort or talent fell short.

There was even a saying that no matter how swiftly one ascended to the 8th Circle, without Heaven’s choosing, setting foot on the 9th Circle’s ground was impossible.

“Greet them, Emily.”

At White Wood’s words, Emily stepped forward and offered her greetings to the two.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Emily.”

She was a blonde girl, about Woo Jimin’s height.

At a glance, she seemed like nothing more than a pretty-faced girl.

“I’m Woo Jimin. Guild Master of the Hwarang Guild.”

“Baek Gijun. A Superhuman affiliated with Hwarang.”

After the brief introductions, White Wood asked for their understanding.

“Emily is still growing, so she needs consistent daily training.”

“You’re right. Feel free to train as much as you’d like. All data on every Monster and terrain that’s appeared on Earth is entered here.”

“Impressive indeed. However,”

Suddenly, White Wood turned to Gijun and spoke.

“Would you be interested in a spar with Emily?”

White Wood proposed a spar.

A spar between Emily and Gijun.

“To be honest… I’d planned to just exchange a few words and focus on Emily’s training, but meeting you, Baek Gijun—I can’t contain my excitement.”

White Wood’s words weren’t flattery.

The moment he faced Gijun, he genuinely grew intensely curious about the man named Baek Gijun.

“I’d like that too!”

Just then, Emily rushed over and shouted.

“I want to spar with the Triple Caster, too!”

Woo Jimin looked at Gijun.

Her eyes were gleaming as well.

With a face that said she was genuinely curious.

Of course….

“Alright.”

Gijun had no desire to refuse, either.

How could he pass up an opportunity like this?

A spar with White Wood’s Disciple.

And all of it happening right now, with White Wood watching from right there.

‘Besides, I’ve changed a lot too.’

Now, Gijun could wield no fewer than five Fireballs.

On top of that, he could even manipulate their shape.

Putting all that aside, his Stats themselves had grown to a level incomparable to the last Raid….

‘Let’s blow his mind.’

Gijun resolved to shock White Wood so hard he’d fall over backward.

“Great!”

Woo Jimin then excitedly ran off somewhere.

After she touched a button on the desk, the training ground’s structure began to shift.

In an instant, the shooting range transformed into the form of a sparring arena.

“So exciting!”

Emily, brimming with thrill, ran to the opposite side.

It really drove home that she was still a child, after all.

There was a ten-year age gap between her and Gijun.

But the reality was a 6th-Circle mage.

Even mages praised for their talent often stalled at the 6th Circle for life.

And since White Wood himself had introduced her as his prized disciple, her combat instincts were nothing to scoff at either.

“Fighting, Mr. Gijun.”

Woo Jimin stepped close to Gijun and said it.

“You’re winning. Got it?”

“Of course.”

Losing wasn’t even on Gijun’s radar.

No matter who White Wood’s disciple was.

“Haha. It won’t be easy.”

White Wood’s voice came from behind.

“That girl is a true genius. Talented enough that she might one day surpass even me.”

“….”

Nervous.

But excited, too.

Gijun pulled on the training combat suit.

Only with this suit could they fight in the virtual space.

A marvel of modern tech that reproduced every ounce of his ability.

In a flash, the skintight suit wrapped his whole body.

On the opposite side, Emily had finished putting on her suit and shouted.

A mana barrier bloomed across the training ground where the two of them stood.

“Starting in 5 seconds!”

Woo Jimin’s voice rang out, followed by a mechanical countdown.

[5]

[4]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Begin combat.]

[00:29:59]

The count finished, the announcement echoed, and a timer appeared in the air.

Time limit: 30 minutes.

Gijun and Emily snapped into combat stance.

Neither struck first.

They were sizing each other up.

‘Her whole vibe shifted.’

Gijun watched Emily, a little surprised.

From the moment the fight started, her expression, her movements—

Everything changed.

Like he was looking at a different person.

‘White Wood didn’t say that for nothing.’

Emily moved with a skill that rivaled any veteran Superhuman.

She hadn’t made a full move yet.

But each small step, each lift of a hand—it all bled the poise of a seasoned fighter.

Whatever direction Gijun moved, Emily tracked him and shifted in sync.

Ready to counter an attack from any angle.

‘Impressive….’

You’d have to be this good to earn White Wood’s recognition.

But Gijun was no slouch either.

Emily’s talent was remarkable, but Gijun’s talent was nothing to sneeze at.

And his real-combat instincts were at an all-time peak.

Day after day, without rest, he’d been fighting monsters—one-on-one, one-against-many.

The kind of thing training could never replicate.

A sense honed by endless live combat.

Even if it was a game, that was an undeniable fact.

A game as real as life.

That was Real Spirit’s motto, and no one in the world could argue it.

‘When it comes to real-combat instincts, not many can keep up with me.’

Not every Superhuman trained through Real Spirit—but the ones who did weren’t unheard of.

Gijun was the only one who could train with his real-world techniques inside the game, identical in every way.

Even reality rarely offered training environments that matched true combat.

After all, diving into Dungeons every day or marching to a battlefield wasn’t exactly feasible.

‘Then there’s no reason I’d lose.’

Not in talent, and not in real-combat instinct.

Emily lacked nothing.

So Gijun never even entertained the thought of his own defeat.

And then—

‘Here it comes.’

Emily moved first.

The moment Mana rippled around her body, ice crystals materialized in the air around her.

‘Freezing attribute, huh.’

Emily’s primary element seemed to be frost.

What took shape around her were arrows made of ice.

Ice Bolt—a freezing-aligned spell.

Fweeeesh!

Emily’s Ice Spear shot toward Gijun.

He responded by casting Strong Wind straight at the projectile.

Shwaaak!

Gijun’s Strong Wind shattered the Ice Bolt midair, grinding it into nothing.

“…!”

Emily’s brow furrowed.

But no further agitation showed.

To her, this spell was only a distraction, after all.

She began casting again.

Crackle-crunch!

Ice crystals gathered around her, coalescing into a single Golem forged entirely of frost.

‘Ice Golem…!’

That spell was Ice Golem—a 5th-Circle freezing-attribute magic.

One of the hardest 5th-Circle spells to master.

So demanding that even some 6th-Circle mages couldn’t cast it.

Yet Emily brought it to life without breaking a sweat.

Her casting speed was blisteringly fast.

And she didn’t stop at mere summoning.

The Ice Golem’s hand held a massive Shield.

‘Truly impressive.’

An Ice Golem of that caliber…

It would more than compensate for a mage’s weaknesses—poor mobility and long casting times.

Then Emily began another incantation.

Whoooosh!

A fierce surge of Mana swirled around her.

‘She’s going all out.’

Her intent was clear: she was diving straight into full-force mode.

‘Then I can’t just stand by.’

Gijun began casting as well.

Fireball.

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

One by one, Fireballs began to appear around him.

*

“An Ice Golem…”

Woo Jimin’s eyes went wide as she watched Emily casting Ice Golem.

It had been a long time since she’d actually seen one.

An ice-element Golem with top-tier defensive stats.

And if it had even completed a Shield, then for Gijun, this would be no easy fight.

“I’ve heard the stories. That Baek Gijun is both a Triple-Caster and a Battle Mage.”

But White Wood’s lips were curled in a smile.

The confidence that, no matter what, Emily would still come out on top.

“An undoubtedly prodigious talent, but his matchup against Emily isn’t favorable.”

That was White Wood’s confidence.

No matter how fast he moved, breaking through the Ice Golem’s ironclad defense wouldn’t be easy.

Even if he managed to crack it, by then Emily’s casting would already be complete.

“If not for that Ice Golem, Emily would never have been able to beat Baek Gijun.”

An arrogance bordering on hubris.

But even Woo Jimin found it hard to argue.

With Gijun’s current firepower, breaking through that Ice Golem will be tough.

Triple-Caster.

The mage who’d made a monumental contribution to taking down a low-ranking Magin.

But it was still a hard sell.

That was the reality of it.

That didn’t mean the Ice Golem was indestructible.

He could destroy it, probably.

But then what?

By the time Gijun poured everything into shattering the Ice Golem, Emily’s casting would have long since finished and come crashing down on him.

From that point on, he’d be completely swept up in Emily’s rhythm.

And right then, Emily’s new spell began its incantation.

Now it was Gijun’s turn to make a choice.

Destroy the Ice Golem?

Or fall back, dodge or block Emily’s magic, and wait for his own opening?

Soon, Gijun’s decision became clear.

Whoosh!

He was casting Fireball.

Yeah. That’s what Gijun would do.