Kim Songcheol settled down in the room.

He had gathered enough Mana.

It was time to create the 3rd Circle.

The effect of the new Training method was tremendous.

The speed at which Mana accumulated was unbelievably fast.

He had filled the second Circle, which was only half full, in just one week.

It was truly an astonishing speed.

Kim Songcheol closed his eyes and concentrated on the Circle.

The two Circles expanded, revealing a brilliant sight.

The diameter was over 15 meters.

Each was 1 meter thick.

It was truly a massive Circle.

Faint Mana particles were flowing from the second Circle, which rotated majestically.

The Circle was overflowing with Mana, completely filled.

Kim Songcheol added new Mana to the overflowing Mana to create a small dot.

Outside the orbit where the two Circles rotated.

A dot appeared at a certain point.

And that dot began to run along the third orbit.

As the dot moved, a shimmering line followed.

The dot moved slowly, but continuously.

It moved steadily, albeit a little slowly, along the large orbit.

And the shimmering line indicated the dot’s path.

The dot and the line were forming a perfect circle.

180 degrees.

270 degrees.

Finally, 360 degrees.

The dot returned to where it had started.

The beginning and end met, and the line became a circle.

The third Circle had been created.

Hum…

The Circle trembled once. Then it slowly began to rotate.

Compared to the other Circles, it was thin like a thread, but it had a clear presence.

Even if it was weak now, it would soon grow thicker like the other Circles, no, even thicker than the other Circles.

“Whew…”

With this, Kim Songcheol officially became a 3rd Circle Mage.

The three Circles proved it.

Kim Songcheol absorbed the Circles into his body and opened his eyes.

He felt a fuller energy around his heart than usual.

‘How good is it to create a Circle at leisure?’

He remembered creating the 2nd Circle inside a Dungeon.

The feeling of the Circle vibrating, having been forcibly put together in an urgent situation, was still vivid.

It was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.

After creating the Circle, Kim Songcheol immediately got up and prepared to go out.

He didn’t have many classes, and he wasn’t going into a Dungeon.

He had a lot of time.

Kim Songcheol took the transportation provided by the Training Institute and headed to the Center.

The West Wing of the Center, which began with ‘Scan & Translate Thread,’ had become the Magic Research Institute.

Visiting this Research Institute did not require an outing pass.

This was because it wouldn’t have existed if Kim Songcheol hadn’t been there in the first place.

The car carrying Kim Songcheol entered the Center and stopped in front of the West Wing.

“Thank you.”

Kim Songcheol bowed his head and got out of the car.

He immediately entered the West Wing and stood in front of Research Room 203.

The door was half-open, so the inside was clearly visible.

Inside the research room, a middle-aged researcher was frantically scribbling something, with several magic books spread open.

Knock, knock.

Kim Songcheol knocked, his face peeking through the door crack.

The Researcher finally looked up.

“Oh, you’re here?”

He didn’t hide his delight. Kim Songcheol’s visits were always an illusion.

“Sorry to bother you while you’re busy. I’m just here to pick up the spellbook I requested last time. Has it been reviewed yet?”

“Ah, yes. Of course. For whom else would I do it, haha.”

This was another benefit provided to Kim Songcheol: access to spellbooks.

Not a single spellbook here had been distributed yet.

Even though the translation was done by AI, the review wasn’t finished.

Of course, they would soon be distributed to Hunters, but the Training Institute would take much longer.

This was because the educational curriculum also needed to be discussed.

Kim Myeongju estimated this would take at least three to six months.

“Here you go.”

The Researcher took a bound book from the drawer and handed it to Kim Songcheol.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Since you’re here, why don’t you stay for a meal? It’s almost lunchtime.”

“Yes. I’ll be nearby. Please call me.”

“Alright, alright.”

Kim Songcheol smiled, gave a silent bow, and left the Research Institute.

If he stayed inside the Research Institute, he’d have to greet people and they’d keep talking to him, making it impossible to read the spellbook.

Instead, he went and sat on a bench in a corner of the Center.

‘This is ‘Heal,’ right?’

The magic Kim Songcheol had received was ‘Heal.’

It was a 3rd Circle magic, and also the reason Kim Songcheol came here as soon as he became a 3rd Circle mage.

The Thread Heal magic was slightly less useful than a chicken rib.

The points to acquire the magic were expensive, and its healing power wasn’t enough to resolve critical situations.

If it can’t resolve critical situations, is there really a need to invest points?

Especially for a magic that’s even more difficult than other 3rd Circle magic?

The Republic of Korea judged it unnecessary.

But conversely, in non-critical situations.

Like scraped knees, or getting scratched.

Or sprained ankles, muscle aches, and even headaches or menstrual cramps.

‘Heal,’ which enhances human healing power to promote recovery, was like a household first-aid kit applicable to all situations.

Kim Songcheol quickly began reading the Heal spellbook.

‘Oh, wow.’

It was full of interesting content from the beginning.

Magic with completely new mechanisms, like ‘Heal,’ was the kind that greatly stimulated Kim Songcheol’s intellectual curiosity.

***

Kim Songcheol spent his time outside of the Dungeon completely immersed in magic.

He researched 3rd Circle Magic, with the exception of a couple of spells he had specifically acquired from the Research Institute.

Still, existing magic took precedence over new magic.

The fact that he had spent points to acquire them meant they were effective.

From 3rd Circle Magic onwards, wide-range attack magic begins to appear.

The most commonly used is Fireball.

Unlike the 2nd Circle Flame Ball, which simply scatters flames around, Fireball has explosive power.

The flames that burst out with explosive force could be called the pinnacle of 3rd Circle Magic.

However, Kim Songcheol preferred ‘Thunder Strike,’ which drops electric shocks from the sky, over Fireball.

The main reason was its attack power.

Thunder Strike, which could almost be called a one-on-one magic, had higher attack power than the wide-range Fireball.

Most mages prefer Fireball.

This is because Thunder Strike is difficult to master.

It was difficult to accurately drop a single bolt of electric shock at the desired location.

Of course, this didn’t apply to Kim Songcheol.

He also mastered various other spells, such as Mana Blade, which creates and wields a large sword; Ice Fog, which generates a low-temperature mist; and Air Hammer, which narrows the range of the 2nd Circle Air Blast to increase its power.

His time was almost entirely filled with magic, excluding eating and sleeping.

He wasn’t forcing himself to train.

If someone had ordered him to, he wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Kim Songcheol was enjoying his magic training.

He liked that it immediately manifested into reality.

Normal academic studies often end as just academic studies.

One has mastered a subject simply by gaining knowledge in their mind.

But magic is different.

It allows one to shoot fire, raise winds, heal wounds, and transmit thoughts in reality.

Could there be a more practical field of study than this?

He could have spent his entire life studying only magic, but…

The world did not permit it.

[A team has been assigned.]

Kim Songcheol’s turn had come.

It had been three weeks since Team 25A’s Farewell Party ended.

[Let’s start with introductions, haha.]

Kim Songcheol hung up Kim Myeongju’s call, feeling a strange sense of regret.

He closed the magic book he was reading, quickly gathered his things, and headed to the gymnasium.

When he entered the empty gymnasium, three trainees were already there.

He knew all their faces and names.

This was because they had taken the close-quarters combat class together.

“Brother! You’re here!”

Kang Hye-seong bowed sharply, bending at the waist.

The others followed suit with the greeting.

“You’re here!”

The voices of the shadowy figures echoed loudly in the Gymnasium.

‘Where did things go wrong?’

Kim Songcheol received their greetings, subtly hiding his complex feelings.

“Oh, yes. I’m here.”

“Welcome!”

“With you, Elder Brother, we are invincible!”

“Invincible! Invincible!”

Was the problem the Magic Thread power that allowed him to defeat all the Swordsmen at only a 2nd Circle level?

After Kim Songcheol achieved his victory, the Trainees in his class started calling him Elder Brother and using the ‘danakka’ speech style.

It was Kang Hyecaste who started it, but before he knew it, all the Trainees were doing the same.

The three who were here were no exception.

If there had been even one female Staff Member Trainee, it might have been different, but all three were male Staff Members, so they got along extremely well and were very mischievous.

Kim Songcheol couldn’t understand it, but he decided to put it down to a generation gap for now.

“I heard it was the 24C Team.”

When Kim Songcheol spoke, the others nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The 24C Team was the middle team among the ‘24s.’

The reason for placing him in the middle team implied that there would be no team changes until Kim Songcheol graduated.

Kim Songcheol would graduate soon anyway.

It wasn’t good for the team to change multiple times in the interim.

“Who was the Leader?”

“Who it was isn’t important.”

“That’s right. From now on, our Leader is you, Elder Brother.”

“No, you can’t decide the Leader in such a joking manner.”

“It’s not a joke?”

Swordsman Lee Yong-chan said with a serious expression.

Then, Swordsman Park Ha-su nodded.

“Don’t you remember all of us being defeated by you, Elder Brother?”

“The strongest one naturally becomes the Leader. That’s how wolves are.”

Kang Hyecaste said.

“We’re human, Hyecaste.”

“Then I’ll be human.”

“…”

Kim Songcheol shook his head, watching Kang Hyecaste bow his head respectfully.

But there was some truth to their words.

Kim Songcheol was the strongest, and Kim Songcheol was also the oldest.

If someone else were to be the Leader, it would be as if Kim Songcheol was shirking his responsibility.

“Is there anyone who wants to be the Leader?”

When Kim Songcheol asked, the other team members shook their heads as if on cue.

“No, sir!”

“…Then I guess I have to do it.”

“That’s an excellent choice, big brother.”

“You don’t need to answer every single word.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

“…I’m the first Mage. Hye Castle is the second Mage. Was Yong-chan the first?”

“Yes, I’m the first, big brother.”

“I’m the second, big brother.”

“Then let’s try a formation. Perimeter Formation A.”

“Perimeter A!”

“Perimeter A!”

No sooner had Kim Songcheol finished speaking than Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su repeated the command and moved smoothly.

Quite fast movements.

As expected, the movements of a higher rank were different.

Mage Kang Hye Castle positioned herself in front of Kim Songcheol a step later, completing the perfect perimeter formation.

Even with the same formation, the interval and speed varied among teams, so it was necessary to check it once beforehand.

Since he was taking on the role of Leader, he needed to know how his team members would move when he gave commands.

“Strike C.”

Again, Kim Songcheol’s command fell.

“Strike C!”

“Strike C!”

The Swordsmen quickly changed positions and even pretended to cut down a non-existent monster.

‘…They’re pretty quick.’

After observing their movements a few times, he could roughly predict how the Swordsmen would fight.

They had also fought several times in Interpersonal Combat Training.

Surprisingly, Lee Yong-chan was a detailed Swordsman. It wasn’t for nothing that he was assigned as the first Swordsman for perimeter and reconnaissance.

Park Ha-su didn’t have the same power as Seo Gangjin, but his balance was good.

Kang Hye Castle goes without saying.

She was a good one.

Now that the team’s strength had been upgraded, they would encounter dungeons of higher difficulty, even if they were still E-rank dungeons.

To be precise, it could be seen as moving from E-rank minus difficulty to E-rank plus difficulty.

Now Kim Songcheol would enter that Dungeon with these playful guys.

“Good, everyone’s doing well. I look forward to working with you all.”

“We look forward to working with you, big brother!”

Kim Songcheol chuckled and lightly patted Kang Hye Castle, who was closest to him, on the shoulder.