Chapter 76 – The Battlefield (３)

Then, within the circular Gate, a foreign landscape emerged, churning with swirling Mana.

…A real battlefield.

Jun swallowed hard.

The sight beyond the Gate—Battlefield KR-444—was nothing short of hell itself.

No trace of life. Black earth. Black sky.

And scattered across the ground, lumps of flesh he couldn’t identify.

“Let’s go.”

Ha Taehyeong moved first, striding toward the Gate.

One by one, the other Party Members followed, stepping into the portal’s threshold.

In the end, Gijun too set foot inside the Gate.

And then—

A hissing crackle of Mana sparked across Gijun’s body.

Sparks of the Gate’s mana leaped up over Gijun’s skin.

Gijun felt like he was being sucked into a vortex.

Sensing every part of himself being split apart at the atomic level, he surrendered his body to the pull.

Pop!

*

Around that time.

News of Gijun’s deployment to the battlefield naturally spread, and articles came pouring out.

[KR-444?]

[Isn’t that place notorious?]

[I heard there are tons of Magin there.]

KR-444.

It was one of those battlefields famous enough that everyone knew it.

[I heard intermediate-level Magin roam around in packs there.]

[And they say a weird phenomenon was recently discovered too.]

[Whoa, isn’t the difficulty insane?]

[A guy who went into a Level-4 Dungeon just a while ago….]

The prevailing opinion is that this dungeon is far too high a difficulty for Gijun in his current state.

And truth be told, that assessment might be entirely reasonable.

Yes, Gijun was growing fast, and he had taken down that lower-grade Magin that suddenly appeared in the last dungeon—that much was fact.

But the real battlefield is a completely different dimension.

Especially if we’re talking about KR-444.

[That’s exactly why they stuck Taehyeong with him.]

[Isn’t Baek Gijun just dead weight?]

[Taehyeong just came back from a Level-8 dungeon; he probably hasn’t even had a proper rest.]

[Hwarang is putting on a pathetic show to prop up Baek Gijun, tsk tsk tsk.]

Now the talk had even escalated to claims that Hwarang had forced Taehyeong into the raid just to boost Gijun’s image.

[Tsk tsk, you still don’t believe? Just watch. Baek Gijun is going to carry this.]

Of course, not everyone doubted him.

[Yeah. Did you guys miss the interview with those Ure guys last time? You didn’t see that Superhuman named Park Gangseok going on a complete starstruck rant?]

Those who’d become Gijun’s fans defended him fiercely.

Considering the feats he’d shown so far—

In their minds, he could absolutely rise to the occasion in this Dungeon too, no question.

“You think there and here are the same? That was a kiddie pool; this battlefield is the real deal. Jun.”

“Yeah, just watch. It’s obvious how this’ll go, lol.”

“Probably go in, kill a few Magin, and then blast it all over the place.”

But their efforts still weren’t enough to drown out the negative press entirely.

*

‘…So this is what it’s like.’

Gijun had just arrived at the KR-444 battlefield.

This was the first time he’d actually set foot on a battlefield himself.

Of course, he’d heard plenty of stories about them, and seen plenty of footage.

But the visceral reality of being here—feeling it firsthand—was a different Dimension from hearing or watching secondhand.

‘The Magi here is truly vile.’

The entire world was stained black, and with every breath, a cloying Magi coiled around his body like a second skin.

Even just standing on this ground felt like his life energy was being gnawed away, flake by flake.

So this is where I’m supposed to fight the Magin.

Now he understood why the battlefield was called the land of death.

The reason was starting to sink in, right here, right now.

This is nothing like the training ground.

Sure, he’d taken down intermediate Magin cleanly in training — but this?

What he felt now was the creeping doubt that maybe he’d been arrogant.

The battlefield was a world apart from the clean, controlled environment of the training grounds. A completely different dimension.

“Don’t tense up too much, sir. This place is like a swamp.”

Ha Taehyeong’s voice cut through the haze.

“The harder you push, the deeper you sink. People call it an addiction. You can get so consumed by this vicious Magi that you lose your damn mind.”

“….”

The words alone made his skin crawl.

“But just accept it. Don’t fight it… The important thing is to feel it as it is.”

There was authority in that advice, born of long experience.

Gijun followed the words, letting the tension drain from his body.

The stiffness in his shoulders and legs eased, and his breathing smoothed out.

“Good. That’s it.”

Ha Taehyeong clapped a hand on Gijun’s shoulder.

“Alright, if everyone’s ready, let’s move out.”

Ha Taehyeong stepped forward again.

His trademark massive Shield held out in front, leading the way.

“Oppa¹. Fighting.”

“Yeah. You too, Jiyun.”

Gijun and Jiyun traded encouragement and followed Ha Taehyeong into the gloom.

They had walked a little further when —

Krrrrrhhk—!

Kaaahhk—!

Ferocious cries echoed from up ahead.

Magins.

Low-rank Magins, to be exact.

There weren’t that many.

Roughly ten of them.

With their current strength, ten low-rank Magins weren’t a serious threat.

“Mr. Gijun? Care to give it a shot?”

Ha Taehyeong’s question came soon after.

Gijun nodded.

“Yes.”

Gijun stepped forward.

And gripped his wand.

Better to show them here.

Until now, he’d never summoned his Avatar in front of anyone.

There’d just never been a reason to.

But he couldn’t hide it forever.

Gijun decided this would be the first time he revealed his Avatar Summon to others.

“Alright, Mr. Gijun. Fighting.”

Ha Taehyeong gave his back a light pat with a huge hand.

Kyaaahhh!

In that instant, the low-rank Magins charged straight at Gijun.

Good.

Gijun steadied his breath, then closed his eyes for a moment.

Just like last time, as he sank into his inner self, he felt the touch of the Avatar’s hand.

And so he moved his Mana.

Above the wand in his hand, the dormant Mana swirled and gathered — fast.

Feeling the Mana surge in at incredible speed, Gijun willed the Avatar into reality.

In that moment…

Paaahht—!

A white Mana rose beside Gijun and began to take human form.

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

The party members narrowed their eyes and tilted their heads at the sight.

“What the hell is that…?”

A technique they had never once seen before.

What in the world was he about to do now?

Countless questions began to churn in their minds when—

Whoooosh!

A Fireball manifested above Gijun’s head.

But at that moment—

“Wh-what the hell….”

“This is….”

The people rooted there couldn’t even close their mouths, staring at Gijun as they poured out gasps thick with shock.

Roooar!

Because Gijun’s Fireballs had already multiplied to ten.

And on top of that, the Fireballs had changed shape.

No longer orbs—spears.

‘Hah.’

Ha Taehyeong let out a hollow laugh.

‘This guy… what the hell is he made of?’

The impact hit Ha Taehyeong hard.

‘Ten?’

It was beyond imagination.

When he first heard that Gijun could handle five Fireballs, he honestly hadn’t believed it.

He could still see Woo Jimin’s face, glowing with excitement as she’d ranted on about it.

-Mr. Taehyeong should have seen it for yourself! Mr. Gijun sparred with White Wood’s disciple, and I tell you….

The spar with White Wood’s prized disciple, Emily.

Even listening to Woo Jimin’s impassioned praise—like she was singing a hymn to Gijun pulling out five Fireballs in that match—he still hadn’t bought it.

‘But what the hell is this.’

Not five—ten.

‘And what’s that thing?’

A vague, hazy something revealed itself beside Gijun.

A mass of Mana with the same height and build as Gijun.

This unknown entity was casting the exact same spell, parallel to Gijun.

‘Is this even possible?’

He couldn’t make sense of it at all.

He’d met countless mages, exchanged knowledge with the world’s top-tier spellcasters.

But none of them had ever wielded a magic like this.

‘…Impressive.’

In that moment, the memory of the day he returned to Korea after finishing an 8th-level Dungeon Raid resurfaced.

Ha Taehyeong had met White Wood briefly that day.

He, too, had been a bit excited.

-There’s a remarkable mage in Korea. A mage named Baek Gijun.

-Remarkable indeed. He surprised me plenty.

Ha Taehyeong had answered that way.

But what came next was even more shocking.

-It won’t stop there. If you get the chance, I strongly recommend fighting alongside him once. Baek Gijun is a man who will always show you something beyond whatever you expect. I can’t even get a sense of how far he’ll climb. He might just become the world’s greatest mage before long.

‘…He was right.’

It was true.

Because right now, Gijun was demonstrating an achievement so absurd it surpassed anything Ha Taehyeong had anticipated.

And then—whatever that magic might be called, whether Fireball or not—it rained down toward the front.

Flash!

Tracing ten crimson lines, it shot toward the Magin charging in an instant…

Boom-boom-boom-boom-BLAM!

It pierced through the Magin’s bodies, triggering a brutal explosion.

Then, a fierce gale surged in its wake.

That wind, sweeping across the vast expanse, tore through the Magin’s entire forms while simultaneously amplifying the fire’s explosive force.

“…Hah.”

“Crazy…”

“No way.”

Everyone stood gaping, letting out only exclamations.

The surprise attack by the Magin had been completely cleaned up in less than thirty seconds.

“Hoho, well now…”

Watching Gijun return as if it were effortless, spinning around lightly, Ha Taehyeong could only let out a helpless laugh.

*

“It’s getting fiercer.”

They were pushing continuously toward the target point.

The Magin, which had appeared sporadically at first, now swarmed in packs.

And by a pack, he meant at least twenty Lower Magin per group.

The frequency was narrowing too.

Now, they had to sustain endless combat.

“No doubt about it—they’re stronger than before too.”

Ha Taehyeong said.

This was clearly another effect of the Level 9 Dungeon.

Not only was the Magi concentration denser, but the Magin’s combat power was also markedly different from what he knew.

Still…

Thanks to Gijun’s fierce performance, the number of Magin dwindled quickly.

On top of that, Jiyun’s magic made the fighting much easier.

Jiyun’s freezing magic, combined with Gijun’s wind magic, completely flash-froze the swarming Magin in an instant.

No question about it—they’re our aces.

Jiyun’s feats were already famous.

And with Gijun’s brutal growth added in, even the notorious battlefield seemed manageable for now.

But I can’t let my guard down.

Even then, Ha Taehyeong kept scanning his surroundings.

You never knew when or where which Magin would pop out.

That was just the nature of Magin.

Completely unpredictable.

It wouldn’t be strange if a pack of Mid-Grade Magin swarmed us right now.

That was the truth.

The battlefield was exactly the kind of place where ten Mid-Grade Magin could spill from the sky at any moment and it wouldn’t be unusual.

That was when it happened.

Rumble—

The ground began to vibrate faintly.

Damn.

Speak of the devil.

The earth shook, and an intense Magi began surging from the other direction.

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