Chapter 7 – Job Quest (１)
Chapter 7 – Job Quest (１)
For Gijun, this was a bold move.
And it came from sheer confidence.
“I don’t want to be locked into a contract right now. I think freelancing might suit me better.”
‘…This offer really is a good one. Favorable treatment far beyond what a mere 1st-Circle mage deserves.’
In fact, at his previous guild, Gijun’s annual salary had been 30 million won.
Less than half of what was being offered now.
Working half a year here would earn him more than a full year at his old place.
And the workload? Incomparable.
A golden opportunity—less work for more than double the pay.
‘Yeah. It’s good, but.’
That was only Gijun right now.
Soon, he would grow strong fast.
Six months…
No—he was certain that even one month from now, his market value would be higher.
Market value, huh.
By then, he’d have grown enough to be in a position where he could choose his guild. Gijun steeled his resolve.
So now was the time to bet big.
“Do you have a guild in mind?” Park Yunseok asked.
Yunseok’s voice cut through the quiet.
“Not yet.”
Gijun answered honestly.
He had no intention of padding his value with lies.
Why artificially inflate a price that would rise on its own?
“Hmm…”
Yunseok nodded slowly, then spoke.
But if anything, his suspicion grew stronger.
That suspicion: that Gijun might have overcome his affliction.
Seeing that confidence, wasn’t it entirely possible?
‘Then there’s no reason not to meet these terms.’
Baek Gijun.
If this man had truly overcome Mana-Circle Formation Disorder and awakened his talent…
He knew full well that even demands beyond this would need to be met, by any means necessary.
“I look forward to us having a good relationship going forward.”
The words carried an unmistakable weight.
And that was exactly the answer Gijun had wanted.
‘…Good. It’s really working.’
Gijun was certain.
From now on, Park Yunseok would keep a close eye on his value.
No, was that all?
Above that. Even higher.
He would become a mage that would astonish the entire world.
‘By then, will I still be at Hwarang? Or will I move to another guild?’
Maybe it was an arrogant thought.
But perhaps not an empty one.
*
Gijun’s character stood in the same mountain where he’d last hunted.
His second login.
The feeling this time was a world apart.
Hadn’t he felt it himself?
That growth in this world meant growth in reality.
So how could the feeling be the same as the first time?
It was a thrill and joy on an entirely different dimension.
‘Let’s go.’
Gijun’s fists were clenched tight, his heart pounding like a drum.
A confidence swelled within him, as if he could break through any obstacle in a single breath.
And so Gijun began his descent down the mountain.
He’d already scouted the area—there was a suitable village nearby.
His destination: a city called Brium.
[Brium]
The city of Brium.
A town for low-level Users.
Right now, Gijun stood in a city perfectly suited for hunting.
Of course, the road leading down to Brium was hardly a walk in the park.
Not long after he started descending, a monster appeared.
A Red Bear.
A monster nearing level 10.
Far more formidable than a Blue Wolf.
But it didn’t frighten him in the slightest.
Gijun had already reached level 5 and was equipped with a decent weapon.
Through various rewards during the Tutorial, his Stats were also considerably higher than others at the same level.
And that wasn’t all.
Gijun was never an ordinary Player to begin with.
In reality, an inexplicable handicap had kept him from unleashing his true potential.
But here, in this world without that handicap, Gijun was a genius—more gifted than anyone.
GROOOAR!
The Red Bear charged at him with ferocious speed.
Gijun took a slow, steady breath.
He didn’t panic, even with a powerful foe bearing down.
Instead, he recalled memories from his academy days and fixed his gaze on the beast.
And the moment it entered his range—
Gijun cast Fireball and hurled it forward.
The Fireball landed exactly in front of the Red Bear.
GROOOAR!
In the same instant, the bear’s foot caught in the crater the Fireball had carved, and it tumbled forward.
That massive body lost its balance in a heartbeat and slammed into the ground.
A perfect strike—one Fireball to break the creature’s footing while its explosive force dealt Damage all at once.
That’s it.
Everything he’d only known in his head now burst forth from his hands without hesitation.
The Red Bear thrashed on the ground, disoriented.
Gijun hurled another Fireball at it.
WHOOOOM!
The second explosion sent the creature reeling even more.
The fight was so one-sided it barely qualified as a battle anymore.
It was all but foreordained that the Red Bear would draw its last breath before long.
Let’s keep this up.
Gijun was flooded with elation.
A monster more than five levels above him—and it couldn’t even put up a fight.
And so Gijun continued his descent through the mountain, facing monster after monster.
None of them could stand against him either.
If anything, the more he adapted to the game, the faster his hunting grew.
As he pressed on with the hunt…
[Fireball’s Proficiency has increased!]
A welcome message appeared.
The notice of Fireball’s Proficiency rise.
Which meant—Gijun had grown stronger.
Not just in the game, but in reality as well.
He knew that truth for certain now.
Gijun’s fist clenched with strength.
But then, another message flashed up, one that made him freeze.
[A new option has been added to Fireball.]
The moment he read it, Gijun’s eyes flew wide.
He already knew this Fireball was no ordinary spell.
A Legendary-grade Fireball, no less.
Its Proficiency increasing meant the Fireball had only grown more powerful.
‘I’m curious.’
Just how had the Fireball changed with its increased Proficiency?
How much stronger would it make him?
Heart thrumming with anticipation, Gijun called up the Fireball’s updated details.
The moment he laid eyes on them, he couldn’t help grinning like a kid.
[Fireball]
>Grade : Legendary
>Proficiency : E
>Power Increase +10
The Fireball had climbed a single tier, from F to E.
But there was another change tucked in there.
An option that hadn’t existed before had been added.
Power Increase.
Another tooltip materialized before him.
[Power Increase]
-Each point of Power Increase raises magic attack by 1%, reduces Mana cost by 1%, and decreases casting time by 1%.
That was why Gijun had smiled.
Paired with Mana Handling, this was a phenomenal synergy — a truly devastating combination.
‘So… that means each of those stats just got a 10% boost.’
It was exactly what it sounded like.
A 10% increase in magic attack, a 10% reduction in Mana cost, and a 10% faster casting speed.
For such an absurdly overpowered option to be tacked on…
‘I have no idea how strong this could get.’
At this rate, he might one day be treated like a high-Circle mage using nothing but a single Fireball.
No — he definitely would.
It was inevitable.
He was already starting to wonder if he should be worrying about what excuse he’d come up with when that day arrived.
But just then—
“Hey there.”
Someone was addressing Gijun.
‘Huh?’
He spotted a ‘!’ floating above the head of one of the village NPCs.
Another string of text hovered beside it.
[Class Quest]
‘A Class Quest… hell yeah!’
Class Quests could only be undertaken by members of that specific class.
Even among players of the same class, it was said that once one person completed it, the quest vanished forever — a truly exclusive encounter.
The odds of stumbling into one were astronomically low.
Not for Gijun, though.
He was the only user playing as a Flame Seeker.
For him, this Class Quest wasn’t a fluke — it was inevitability.
Every Class Quest in the entire world tied to the Flame Seeker was his and his alone.
Class Quests almost always offered rewards that dramatically boosted a class’s skills or stats.
That’s why people called them the lottery.
Even two players of the exact same class could end up worlds apart in performance depending on whether they’d completed their Class Quest.
The NPC looked shabby.
He wore a tattered cloak, his beard long and unkempt.
To any other user who couldn’t see the exclamation mark, he was just another NPC with no reason to approach.
The NPC’s name was Ruf.
The moment Ruf’s eyes met Gijun’s, a grin spread across his face as he stepped closer.
“You. You’re Master Myeongjun’s disciple, aren’t you? That fire magic of yours—clearly you walk the same path I do.”
Myeongjun.
Gijun knew that name well.
It belonged to the old NPC from the Tutorial stage.
“That’s right. And you… are you also—?”
“Yes. I am.”
The words Myeongjun had spoken when Gijun left him surfaced in his mind.
That there were many disciples of his scattered across the world.
And that if he ever met one, he should listen carefully to what they had to say.
“Meeting here like this—the path must have led us. If you don’t mind, may I take a look at your staff?”
“Ah, of course.”
Gijun held out his staff.
The one he’d earned as a reward from the Tutorial.
Seeing it, Ruf smiled.
“This staff… it was something our Master treasured deeply. For him to give this to you means you made quite an impression.”
Then he continued, “Would you show me your Fireball as well?”
He continued, “Could you show me your Fireball, right here in front of me?”
At that question, Gijun thought: He’s testing me.
That’s what this was.
Well then, no half measures.
“Of course.”
With that reply, Gijun focused entirely and cast Fireball.
After a swift and earnest incantation, a massive orb of flame flickered to life above his hand.
A soft whoosh.
Ruf’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of that Fireball.
He looked startled.
“This… it’s beyond what I imagined…”
Ruf let out a laugh.
“Our Master must have given you his highest praise. Then you must have met Tarakan too, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
Ruf nodded as if he’d expected that.
“How quickly did you take the bastard down? Two hundred days? Three? No, I’m getting ahead of myself. At least half a year, right? Even I took a full seven months to beat him. Nasty piece of work he was.”
After a moment’s thought, Gijun answered.
“About a minute.”
“…Huh?”
Ruf’s eyes went wide at Gijun’s answer.
“You, what kind of lie—No. No, that’s not the look of someone lying… Ha!”
He muttered to himself, then stared at Gijun with dazed, disbelieving eyes for a long while.
He clearly couldn’t believe it.
There was even a hint of hollow despair in his gaze.
As if to say, ‘Then what was my seven months for?’ — a look of self-reproach.
Seeing that, Gijun felt a quiet swell of pride.
Who wouldn’t feel good having their talent acknowledged?
“Ahem. Look at me, losing my composure. I apologize. I was just so taken aback.”
After standing there for a good long while, Ruf cleared his throat a few times and continued, “Ahem. Look at me. I’m sorry. I was just so utterly stunned.”
“In any case, it means your talent is already that outstanding… I’d like to help you.”
Finally, it seemed the real talk was about to begin.
Gijun waited, tense, for what would come next.
“I will elevate you to an even stronger state. If you retrieve the item I’m asking for… I promise. You’ll truly advance to a new realm. Not just an ordinary Flame Seeker—you’ll face a whole new world!”
“…!”
‘A new realm, he says?’
Gijun was a little taken aback.
To blather on with such confidence about a new realm, a new world?
‘There’s got to be something huge hiding behind this.’
Just how incredible a reward was he offering to talk like that?
Gijun could barely contain his trembling anticipation.
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A few spots where a line is repeated, is this intended?: After a moment’s thought, Gijun answered, “About a minute.”
“About a minute.”