Chapter 74 – The Battlefield (１)

[Tartaros Expedition Report]

Hera had summarized the events in Tartaros and posted them.

-Further details will be uploaded to the Saint guild’s ViewTube channel at a later date.

A text post couldn’t capture everything, but even that much was more than enough to get Players riled up.

The view count on Hera’s post had already blown past tens of millions.

And the star of the show was, of course, Gijun.

The mysterious mage who had changed Real Spirit’s history.

[Who the hell is that mage?]

[Why is that guy hogging all of Lady Hera’s attention?]

[Buying info on that bastard.]

Some were directing their jealousy at Gijun.

Of course, those opinions were a tiny minority.

[How dare you insult the pioneer?]

[If it weren’t for him, Lady Hera wouldn’t even have known about Tartaros.]

[From now on, any criticism of that mage is criticism of me.]

There were far more people cheering for Gijun than condemning him.

After all, wasn’t he the pioneer?

Of Tartaros.

And the pioneer blazing the main storyline of a game called Real Spirit!

[We’re rooting for you!]

[Don’t know who you are, but keep it up!]

[He’s the best!]

People who didn’t even know who Gijun was were sending their support his way.

A swell of pride filled his chest.

What made Gijun happier was that this kind of support wasn’t confined to the game.

[Baek Gijun’s heading to the front lines!]

[Just as expected — walking the path of a true hero!]

[Superhumans who go to the battlefield are real heroes, not those dungeon-bums!]

From the moment Gijun announced he was going to the front, his fanbase exploded.

And it made perfect sense.

Unlike dungeons, the front lines offered almost nothing in return.

A dungeon run netted you a mountain of cash every single time; the battlefield didn’t work that way.

What filled the front lines was almost exclusively Magin.

And killing Magin? Barely anything worth a dime.

These were people putting their lives on the line to fight for humanity’s safety — pure sacrifice.

‘Though, it’s not like I’ve got such a noble purpose…’

And that was the truth.

Honestly, Gijun wasn’t heading to the battlefield out of any lofty ideal like self-sacrifice for mankind.

It was curiosity.

What connection did this world have with the game?

A hint — that’s what he was after.

‘But still.’

Whatever his motive.

The outcome wouldn’t change.

‘At least I’ve cleared one major mountain.’

He’d completed the first mission Tartaros had thrown at him — perfectly.

Sure, the mountain called ‘Monarch’ still loomed ahead.

And for that, the tricky task of completing the Sain-Geom remained…

‘It’s fine.’

He could do it.

He’d made it this far — no reason the future would be different.

Right now, Gijun’s faith in himself brimmed full to the top.

“Oh, Mr. Gijun!”

“Mr. Gijun, you’re here? Long time no see!”

Gijun had just arrived at the Hwarang guild.

As usual, a group of guild members gathered, greeting him warmly the moment they spotted him.

He barely knew their faces, but by now, there wasn’t a single person in the guild who didn’t know his.

“Hello.”

Gijun greeted them back politely.

‘For now, I’d better focus on training here in reality, not in the game.’

With the level-8 dungeon raid finished, everyone was buzzing — already moving to take the next step.

Even amidst the rush of the guild members, Gijun found motivation.

Getting stronger through the game was good, but there was clearly something to gain from interacting with others, too.

‘And honestly, training in reality is way more efficient.’

He’d felt it before — skills sank into his body faster here than in the game.

Plus, he’d just acquired a new ability.

Avatar Summon.

‘Now I can handle ten Fireballs at once.’

Ten. That wasn’t just a number — it was a seismic shift.

Considering ordinary Superhumans couldn’t even juggle two spells at the same time.

Wielding ten Fireballs simultaneously was nothing short of a miracle.

‘This is going to take an agonizing amount of work.’

Even for Jun, managing ten Fireballs at once was the kind of thing no amount of ordinary effort could achieve.

So from this moment on, his plan was to push the Avatar Summon skill’s Proficiency as high as possible, as fast as possible.

Ding!

The elevator slid to a halt.

Jun stepped out onto the training floor.

“Good morning.”

The door had barely opened before a cheerful face behind the front desk greeted him.

“I’ll be taking the magic training room.”

“One’s free right now, actually.”

After a quick exchange, Jun walked into the empty magic training room.

Once inside, he pulled on the practice suit laid out for use.

Click.

Gear secured, Jun faced forward.

Let’s start with a single target.

He’d decided to begin by drilling the same target with ten Fireballs, all of them landing clean.

A target materialized.

Slowly, Jun closed his eyes.

And then — a strange sensation washed over him.

It wasn’t like the game, where a skill list floated in front of his vision.

But it was there — unmistakably there.

A new kind of energy.

This is it.

In that instant, Jun understood: this alien sensation was the presence of a new skill.

So then…

He shaped that sensation with his mind.

Into the form of a word: Avatar Summon.

And at that moment —

Fwoosh!

Something appeared beside him.

A transparent shape.

It matched Jun in height, matched him in build.

But it wasn’t human.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth — just a body of white Mana, a single living energy.

Jun slowly raised one hand.

The Avatar raised the same hand.

He stepped forward — the Avatar mirrored him, stepping with the same foot.

Amazing.

Like looking into a mirror.

Alright then…

Jun cast Fireball.

In that same breath, the Avatar cast Fireball — identical, simultaneous.

Huh.

A small sound of wonder escaped his lips.

If this is how it works, maybe I don’t need much practice after all.

The Avatar required no separate commands from Jun.

It simply followed — his movements, his rhythm, beat for beat.

This is insane.

In plain terms, he’d just gained the ability to control five more Fireballs without lifting a finger.

Frankly, this might actually be better.

If he’d had to manually command the Avatar in the middle of a chaotic fight, even Jun would’ve been in trouble.

Alright — on to the next step.

Now that he knew there was no need for extra drills,

Jun dismissed the target.

And decided to summon a real opponent.

…Let’s go with a Magin.

A Magin was his choice.

Since he’d be heading to a real battlefield soon, it made more sense to train against a Magin than a common Monster.

Low-grade Magins don’t mean anything anymore.

Compared to the first time he’d faced one, he was now overwhelmingly stronger.

So it was time to move past low-grade Magin and step up to the next tier.

Intermediate Magin.

The target Jun chose: an Intermediate Magin.

An Intermediate Magin was incomparably stronger than a low-grade one—no contest.

Estimates varied by individual, but the accepted figure was thirty times the strength of a low-grade Magin on average.

Occasionally, an outlier could push past fifty times that.

But such freakishly strong Intermediate Magin were vanishingly rare.

This one will do.

Jun decided to summon the most recently discovered specimen among the Intermediate Magin.

Its designation: [Delta-340].

A creature found on a Siberian battlefield roughly two months ago.

And one that, the moment it appeared, had butchered ten Superhumans in gruesome fashion.

Then Delta-340 materialized.

That presence is no joke.

Even its silhouette radiated menace.

Its massive frame and two fists, each the size of a full-grown man’s torso, looked especially threatening.

And it’s quick on its feet, too.

A close-combat, brawler-type Magin.

But reports noted that its speed and agility had let it slip past the front line to wipe out the ranged Superhumans in the rear first.

These are the kind I need to practice against.

Monster or Magin, it didn’t matter.

The trickiest opponents were always the ones that infiltrated and struck from behind.

Which was why survival skills were mandatory even for ranged dealers.

I’ve already got that down to some degree, but…

That was a skill you could never hone enough.

Especially with real combat in the real world on the horizon—its importance only climbed.

I can’t be the one who drags the party down.

Death in reality, not in a game.

Faced with that word, everyone had to stay humble.

Alright, let’s go.

Jun cast Fireball again.

At the same time, Delta-340 lunged its hulking body toward him.

Fast.

It really was fast.

Not quite on par with the Generals of the Underworld, but fast enough to be compared to them.

And the terrifying fists raining down on him were just as threatening.

But…

Jun wasn’t about to go down so easily now.

He immediately activated Orca’s Footsteps and Strong Wind, putting distance between them.

Simultaneously, he cast Fireball.

Fireballs materialized in the air.

Ten of them now.

At once, all ten Fireballs shifted their form.

A low, grinding roar filled the air.

The pressure was overwhelming.

Five of the transformed Fireballs spun furiously in place, waiting for their target to close in.

Now.

The moment the prey entered their range, they surged forward without a flicker of hesitation.

A flash—then a thunderous explosion.

*

…Done.

Jun finally brought Delta-340 down.

Took about two hours.

Delta-340 never landed a single hit. It took just over two hours to put it down.

At this rate, I can hold my own on the battlefield.

Low-grade Magin would be no match at all—obviously.

And now he could even overwhelm a mid-grade Magin, the most threatening type recently discovered.

That was the moment certainty swelled inside him: he was ready to pull his weight on the field.

Then it came.

A low buzz—

His smartphone rang.

A message had arrived.

This wasn’t a real-world messenger app.

It was the one linked to Real Spirit.

So…?

Right now, his friend list held only one name.

Hera.

[Hera: I’m having the guild look through potential leads one by one. Should have something to show soon.]

A message from Hera, just arrived.

She’s already moving.

In secret, Hera was using the guild’s most trusted and skilled players to comb through the entire continent.

Of course, she was searching for anything that could be a clue to completing the Sain-geom.

And when it came to clues—it had to be elemental affinity.

Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Wood.

The Sain-geom could awaken its power only when it housed those five energies.

If I’d been alone, I’d have been totally lost.

In that vast, sprawling world called Real Spirit.

If he’d had to solve this puzzle with just that hint, it might have taken years—a task nearly impossible.

But with Hera and Saint as his solid backup, Gijun could focus on his own work all the more.

[Yes. Please take care of it.]

Gijun sent the reply.

Then—

[Can I come in?]

A voice came from outside.

It was Woo Jimin.

“Ah, yes. It’s fine.”

At Gijun’s word, the training ground door slid open.