On the Stone Slab of the Guardian Hall.

With an intense light, the Hunters returned.

It was Team 25A.

“Ugh.”

Oh Songhui made a strange sound as soon as they arrived and took off her Helmet.

The Helmet was drenched in sweat.

Still, the Swordsmen were in better condition.

Kim Songcheol was also relatively fine with the help of items.

But Moon Gijeong was almost on the verge of collapsing.

“I’m just… going to lie down.”

Moon Gijeong couldn’t even take off his Helmet and just lay down on the Stone Slab.

He just breathed heavily with his eyes closed.

His rising and falling chest was barely proof that he was alive.

The time taken to clear the Dungeon was 42 hours.

It was the longest Dungeon they had entered so far, and they faced the most Monsters.

Minions kept appearing, so they couldn’t even sleep properly.

“Oh dear, you should at least go home to sleep.”

Oh Songhui sat beside Moon Gijeong as if she were his mother, propped up his head, and took off his Helmet.

Moon Gijeong surrendered his body to her touch without resistance.

He peeled off his armor like a shell, untied his shoelaces, and took off his boots. The smell of his feet wafted up.

But no one cared, as they had already seen each other at their worst.

Oh Songhui left Moon Gijeong’s combat uniform and neatly placed all the other equipment on the book stand.

“Uncle, how much magic training have you done?”

Oh Songhui asked as she belatedly took off her own armor.

Kim Songcheol had already taken off all his equipment and was sitting in the corner.

Seo Gangjin was lying next to him.

“I haven’t done anything too intense.”

“What about your Circle? You still have some left, right?”

“I’m almost at the 3rd Circle. Just a few days left.”

“Crazy. It hasn’t been long since you reached 2nd Circle.”

Kim Songcheol’s influence was significant in the increased difficulty of the dungeon.

The dungeon that Team 25A entered was E-rank.

E-rank is considered graduation once a hunter reaches 4th Circle.

Until then, the dungeon’s difficulty was adjusted to the hunters’ strength, but as Kim Songcheol began new mana training, the difficulty rapidly increased.

This was something no one had anticipated.

It was unprecedented for the difficulty to rise so sharply just because there was a 2nd Circle master mage.

“So, is this our last time too?”

Seo Gangjin muttered with his eyes closed.

“Probably. This… is dangerously difficult.”

Kim Songcheol said.

Kim Songcheol had to form a new team.

The strange increase in difficulty was the dungeon’s message for him to join a team that matched his level.

He could almost feel the malice, as if it would kill someone if they didn’t listen.

“Tsk, I guess I can’t keep up after all. I thought I could at least last until graduation.”

Oh Songhui muttered regretfully.

He suddenly appeared, joined the team, and then flew up alone.

From Oh Songhui’s perspective, he was leaving just as they were getting attached.

“Then you’ll keep changing teams, Uncle?”

“Is that so?”

Kim Songcheol tilted his head. It was a topic he had never really thought about.

But thinking about it now, it seemed quite possible.

Teams needed to be evenly matched.

If someone grew exceptionally fast like Kim Songcheol, their team would inevitably keep changing.

“Anyway, we should have a farewell party. Today won’t work. How about Saturday in two days?”

When Oh Songhui spoke, Kim Songcheol shrugged his shoulders as if he had no objections.

“We should.”

Seo Gangjin jumped up from his seat, his eyes sparkling.

Swoosh.

Moon Gijeong weakly gave a thumbs up, but then dropped it as if even that was too much effort.

***

Sunday morning.

Snore!

Kim Songcheol opened his eyes with a start at a loud noise.

He quickly sat up and saw a familiar sight.

It was the dormitory master bedroom.

Then he saw himself sitting on the bed without a blanket.

Only then did he remember what happened yesterday.

They had a farewell party.

Kim Songcheol drank five bottles of soju, declared defeat, and lay down on the bed.

That was the end of his memory.

Snore!

‘My head…’

Kim Songcheol felt a headache and went out into the living room.

The traces of last night remained in the living room.

It was truly a mess.

Snore!

The remnants of the food Seo Gangjin and Oh Songhui had devoured were scattered everywhere, and there were dozens of empty soju bottles.

And Seo Gangjin was lying on the sofa, snoring with all his might.

Just by listening, it sounded more like he was shouting than snoring.

Kim Songcheol watched Seo Gangjin for a long time, like someone who had discovered something incredibly strange.

What kind of mechanism could possibly produce such a sound?

Could there be a physical organ capable of making a sound of that magnitude, other than a fortress?

Indeed, a swordsman should not be judged by the standards of a mage.

Look at these liquor bottles.

That was the amount two people drank.

‘One, two, three…’

Kim Songcheol counted ten empty soju bottles and then gave up.

“What terrible enemies…”

He should have expected it yesterday when Seo Gangjin carried three boxes of soju on one shoulder.

Kim Songcheol’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t weak either.

Originally two bottles, and after training mana, it increased by one more to three bottles.

That was decent for an ordinary person.

But compared to Seo Gangjin and Oh Songhui, it was a drop in the ocean.

They truly drank alcohol like water, and Kim Songcheol couldn’t last even two hours.

Then what happened to Moon Gijeong?

The clever Moon Gijeong didn’t drink any alcohol yesterday.

His motto, learned through experience, ‘Don’t drink with non-humans,’ was as good as gold.

Kim Songcheol carefully walked through the living room, which was like a minefield.

He was likely to step on stew broth or chicken sauce if he wasn’t careful.

He went to the small room and peeked inside, finding Oh Songhui lying on a stone slab, fast asleep like a statue.

He had moved the stone slab into the small room, and she must have thought it was a bed while drunk.

Kim Songcheol rolled up his sleeves and began to clean up the mess.

Although a cleaning service would come, leaving this mess as it was felt like a burden on his conscience.

Moreover, splatters of soup on the TV or sofa were simply unacceptable from a character perspective.

He started by removing the soup stains with Clean Magic.

His pocket vibrated.

He pulled out his mobile phone.

‘Did I sleep with my mobile phone in my pocket…?’

The caller was Kim Myeongju.

He had already sent a message to Kim Myeongju about the team issue and had just received the reply, ‘Let’s talk later.’

“Hello?”

Kim Songcheol answered the phone.

[I apologize for calling on the weekend, but do you happen to have some time? I don’t think you’ll have time if it’s not the weekend.]

“Suddenly?”

He thought the call was about the team issue, but it seemed not.

[Yes, there are people who want to see Mr. Kim Songcheol.]

“Who… are they?”

[They are researchers.]

“Ah.”

He heard that the researchers were very happy thanks to him bringing back the magic book.

It seemed they had requested a visit.

“Then, perhaps meeting them…”

[I’ll pick you up first. Get ready, haha.]

Kim Songcheol hung up the phone and looked around the room.

He hadn’t even cleared 10 percent of the mess.

‘I guess it can’t be helped…’

Kim Songcheol quickly washed up and got ready, then left a note and exited the Dormitory.

The note said he was going out for something important, and that he would clean up when he returned, so they didn’t have to.

Kim Songcheol walked across the Training Institute to the Main Gate.

Kim Myeongju’s car was already waiting there.

“Hello.”

Kim Songcheol greeted her as he got into the back seat.

Kim Myeongju, who was already in the car, smiled and welcomed Kim Songcheol.

Kim Myeongju, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, looked a little tired, but her expression was bright.

“Oh, about the team issue I mentioned last time. I don’t think I can enter Dungeons with Team 25A anymore.”

“Ah.”

But the moment Kim Songcheol brought up the team issue, Kim Myeongju’s bright face instantly clouded over.

Changing teams would be another headache.

She had put it off for a while to help the research team’s work, but now she couldn’t postpone it any longer.

“And this time, I’m against the team being disbanded or changed because of me. This time, I want to join an existing spot.”

Kim Songcheol spoke strongly.

At first, he didn’t know anything and just did as he was told, but now he understood how the system worked.

He could gauge how much he could voice his opinion.

“That would be simpler. And Normals clear Dungeons with their original team members until a spot opens up. But Kim Songcheol can’t enter Dungeons right now, so a void is created. That’s what’s bothering me a bit.”

“Can’t I just rest for a bit? I think I can just train my Magic.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Myeongju pondered for a moment.

Wouldn’t exempting someone like Kim Songcheol be a national loss?

However, Kim Songcheol’s argument also made sense.

Team changes ‘for Kim Songcheol’ would inevitably cause resentment.

Now, there was no need to expose Kim Songcheol to such a situation.

“Then I’ll consider that direction for now.”

“Yes, please do. But where are we going now?”

“Ah, the workshop. You could say it’s a place full of dreams and hope.”

“The workshop?”

“Yes, the digitalization workshop. Established thanks to you, Kim Songcheol.”

Kim Myeongju grinned and squeezed Kim Songcheol’s shoulder.

Although no words were exchanged, the gratitude was palpable in his touch.

The car, driving on the road, entered the Center.

Kim Songcheol recognized this place as the Center.

Because when this university site was first designated as a Center, the media covered it quite extensively.

The car stopped in front of the rightmost of the three buildings in the Center.

“Let’s go.”

Kim Myeongju got out of the car and guided him into the building.

Kim Songcheol followed him inside.

It was an old building, so there was no elevator.

As they went up the stairs to the second floor, they finally heard signs of activity from inside.

Kim Myeongju walked down the Corridor and pushed open the door at the very end.

Then, the scene of the ‘workshop’ unfolded inside.

First, it was wider than he expected.

It seemed to be almost 40 pyeong (approximately 132 square meters).

There were quite a few computers, and each computer was connected to a monitor and a scanning device.

A large bookcase stood against one wall, filled with the Magic books Kim Songcheol had acquired.

Researchers in white coats and gloves were holding the Magic books one by one and scanning them.

Carefully opening a book, scanning it, turning a page, and scanning it.

It was a repetitive process.

If there were more Researchers, it would be faster, but the number of people working was less than 10.

“Are you digitizing all the Magic books?”

“Yes. Because of the translation issue.”

“How are you translating them…?”

“We trained an AI with the Arcadian language. Language skill books are cheap in Points. We bought several and trained it, and it’s faster than a human, haha.”

“Ah.”

Kim Songcheol finally nodded.

He even felt proud to use scientific technology, which couldn’t be used in Dungeons, in this way.

“Alright.”

At that moment, Kim Myeongju raised his voice and clapped once.

Only then did the Researchers, who had been bowing their heads and only scanning, look around.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is Kim Songcheol.”

As Kim Myeongju pointed to Kim Songcheol with both hands.

“Ohh! Is that him!”

“Welcome!”

The Researchers began to approach like zombies targeting their prey.

“Thank you so much. There’s no other place on Earth with such a collection of Magic books, and there won’t be in the future.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Kim Songcheol. I’m almost starting to wonder if I should believe in the Great Sage, haha.”

The Researchers showered Kim Songcheol with praise, spitting as they spoke right in front of him.

“No, no. Not at all.”

Of course, Kim Songcheol took a step back and waved his hands in denial.

But a Researcher had already approached from behind, blocking his escape route.

He was instantly surrounded by Earthling followers.

“You’ve done a truly great thing. How can we ever thank you…?”

“I’ve decided to believe in the Great Sage, no matter what.”

“I was born into my faith, but I’ve converted…”

They began to shower Kim Songcheol with thanks, placing him in the center.

Kim Songcheol looked at them and vowed once again.

That he would never go to Arcadia.