She was clearly sensing the Haetae Team hidden in the rocky mountain and walking towards them.

Her pace wasn’t fast. But if asked if they could escape, the answer was ‘no’.

Because they had already clearly witnessed her speed with their own eyes.

“Just a moment.”

Kim Songcheol gently pushed Kim Jongwon, who was at a loss, and stepped forward.

He appeared on top of the rocky mountain.

Ahead, there was a steep descent of about 15 meters.

She saw Kim Songcheol appear and stopped in her tracks.

The distance between the two was about 50 meters.

Due to the difference in height, Kim Songcheol was looking down at her.

“Is there something you need?”

Kim Songcheol asked.

It was clear they had been discovered. It was better to talk than to pretend otherwise.

She looked at Kim Songcheol.

Soon, her red lips opened.

“I felt a pure energy and thought you were a Martial Artist, but you’re a Sorcerer? There’s no sense of training in your movements at all.”

She examined Kim Songcheol as if intrigued.

“More precisely, I’m a Mage.”

At Kim Songcheol’s reply, she smiled and briefly looked down at her feet.

She seemed to be scuffing her foot on the ground, as if preparing to jump at any moment.

She raised her head again and smiled at Kim Songcheol.

“My neck hurts.”

The moment she bent her knees.

Rupture!

A translucent, hemispherical Shield appeared in front of her, blocking her path.

“Speak from there. If you come up, I will consider it an attack.”

Kim Songcheol said firmly.

“Oh ho.”

She seemed to barely hear Kim Songcheol’s words, taking a step towards the shield blocking her path.

It was a hemispherical shield, about two meters in diameter.

Her face was full of interest.

She took her hand out of her pocket and even tapped the shield once.

Clang-!

A clear resonance spread in all directions.

“The distribution of energy is even, and the structure is consistent. Not only is this method of transforming the shape new to me, but its activation is also incredibly swift… it’s the best I’ve seen, Sorcerer.”

Her smile deepened.

“It’s worth competing.”

She looked up at Kim Songcheol again and spoke. Her voice was full of competitive spirit.

Compete.

It was a gentler expression than threatening words like ‘get out of the way’ or ‘I will attack.’

However, Kim Songcheol had no reason to compete with her.

What could he gain by competing now?

Avoiding it is the best strategy.

Kim Songcheol looked down at her. A strangely clear light emanated from her eyes.

‘Is she a Martial Artist?’

In countless worlds, there are countless kinds of people.

Among them, Martial Artists are only occasionally encountered.

They were neither common nor too rare.

Kim Songcheol had learned a little about them in class.

Martial Artists attach great importance to ‘their own way’ compared to others.

They were the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for that way, and to deal with them, one had to understand that way.

“Compete? That’s a bit difficult.”

Kim Songcheol thus started the conversation.

Naturally, her expression hardened instantly.

“Sorcerers are generally weak and cunning, rarely stepping forward, so I had high hopes when you showed yourself…”

This is for your own good.

For my good? You? Me?

This is my first time in this D-rank Dungeon. I’m a complete rookie, in other words. What would be the point of defeating someone like me?

Kim Songcheol devised a plan to take advantage of the Martial Artists’ nature.

Especially Martial Artists with a strong competitive spirit, like that Female Staff Member, find their driving force in defeating powerful opponents.

More importantly, it’s not about ‘winning’ but about the ‘powerful opponent’.

The opponent had to be someone who could provide sufficient satisfaction when defeated.

Today’s your first day?

She scrutinized Kim Songcheol with a suspicious gaze.

To be precise, it’s my second day. Plus, I still have many Magic spells to learn. Once I master them, I think it’ll be a good match… What do you say?

Kim Songcheol couldn’t precisely define her Thread power. He didn’t know if he could win right now.

However, if he achieved Oneness and prepared by learning other Magic spells, it would be well worth the effort.

At Kim Songcheol’s suggestion, she narrowed her eyes and smiled. The emotion in her smile was hard to discern.

Since your reason is valid, I shall humor you.

She accepted the proposal.

Kim Songcheol’s method had worked.

I’ll give you time. How much do you need?

About a month?

A month…?

She seemed surprised by the 30-day period.

Should I have asked for a little more?

Kim Songcheol regretted it slightly, but there was no need to ask for more time.

30 days.

It was a short time, but also a long time for Kim Songcheol.

30 days was more than enough time to achieve Oneness.

She soon regained her composure and spoke.

Hmph, I trust you won’t go back on your word.

At that moment, a small, subtle aura flowed from her hand, which was in her pocket.

The aura swiftly extended towards Kim Songcheol and was absorbed into his wrist.

What is it? A marking?

It was a very faint sensation, but Kim Songcheol noticed it. The fact that something had touched his wrist.

When he concentrated his mind, he could clearly feel the foreign substance.

It feels like an awareness-blocking Magic Formula. It’s incredibly difficult to detect.

Kim Songcheol manipulated his Mana to immediately push the foreign substance out of his body.

This process occurred while the two of them were facing each other.

She tilted her head.

Again, an aura flew. Kim Songcheol pushed the foreign substance out once more.

Even a Hidden Scent Mark…?

This time, her expression turned serious.

The Hidden Scent Mark is a way to leave a mark without the opponent noticing.

Leaving a mark made it possible to find the target from afar.

It was such a secret method that even she found it difficult to detect a Hidden Scent Mark.

However, not only did he rupture the Hidden Scent Mark in an instant, but he also erased it as if it were nothing.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s no use trying again and again.”

Kim Songcheol said.

“…”

There was no reply.

“…I am the Celestial Spirit Maiden.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden suddenly revealed her name.

The two men standing behind her exchanged glances.

This was because it was the first time the Celestial Spirit Maiden had revealed her name.

“I am Kim Songcheol.”

“Don’t think today is the last. There is a ‘reason’ why I must compete with you… I will find you.”

The Celestial Spirit Maiden turned her body. Her long hair swayed with her movements.

She, with the two Martial Artists trailing behind her, disappeared over another rocky mountain.

‘I have a feeling she’ll really come looking for me…’

Kim Songcheol thought that if he could just get through this moment, he might not have to meet her again.

This is because the Dungeon is vast, and the Hunters are constantly moving.

However, judging by her simply turning back, it seemed she had a reliable means of searching.

“Tsk.”

Kim Songcheol smacked his lips and turned around. Behind him, the Haetae Team members were holding their breath.

“She’s gone.”

Kim Songcheol said.

“She’s gone?”

Park Juhyeon crawled up the slope and looked down.

As expected, the Celestial Spirit Maiden was nowhere to be seen.

“She really left.”

The rest of the team members also looked down at the rocky mountain and breathed a sigh of relief.

“You just… sent her away with words.”

Park Juhyeon said, looking back at Kim Songcheol.

“Ah, I didn’t know what would happen if we fought.”

“Still, it wouldn’t have been easy to respond calmly…”

She clearly remembered the moment Kim Songcheol stepped forward.

Even when Leader Kim Jongwon couldn’t decide what to do, Kim Songcheol fearlessly stepped to the forefront.

The sense of security she felt then was indescribable.

“By the way, do you often see Hunters of that caliber?”

Kim Songcheol asked.

“I’ve seen three so far. One was a Male Staff Member. It wasn’t magic, but he used some strange ability and was incredibly strong. Another was that Female Staff Member from earlier. And the last was Kim Songcheol. So, three people.”

“Oh… including me?”

Kim Songcheol scratched his cheek, embarrassed. He felt it was ridiculous to put himself on the same level as the Celestial Spirit Maiden.

“Yes.”

But Park Juhyeon nodded, full of conviction.

“No, that Male Staff Member wasn’t on Kim Songcheol’s level. I don’t know about that Female Staff Member, though.”

Song Yeongjin interjected.

“I think so too.”

Kim Sujin also added.

“Hmm, then it’s two people.”

Park Juhyeon shrugged and smiled.

“But do you really think that Female Staff Member will come looking for us? It’s usually hard to find someone in a dungeon…”

Kim Jongwon asked.

But Kim Songcheol didn’t have an answer to that either.

Because Kim Songcheol didn’t know everything about dungeons or other worlds.

“Hmm… let’s just wait and see. Still, she seemed like someone you could reason with.”

Kim Songcheol replied.

***

The Haetae team successfully escaped the dungeon.

The total time taken was 52 hours.

It was relatively easy.

They didn’t enter the dungeon within a dungeon again, nor did they encounter any more Hunters like the Celestial Spirit Maiden, so nothing held them back.

After a day of rest, Kim Songcheol visited the Center’s Research Institute.

It was where the Magic books were kept.

“Oh, hello.”

“The descendant of the Great Sage has arrived, haha.”

As Kim Songcheol entered the archives, the Researchers greeted him with smiles.

Kim Songcheol was always a Illusion.

After all, if it weren’t for him, this Research Institute wouldn’t even exist.

Kim Songcheol walked to the bookshelf where the 4th Circle Magic books were kept.

There were many magic spells he needed to acquire.

If he only had to deal with monsters, he could have just focused on Oneness, but after meeting the Celestial Spirit Maiden, his thoughts changed.

‘She’s too fast, unbelievably fast. If a person moves that quickly, would they get hungry faster…’

He had never thought his dynamic vision was insufficient when dealing with swordsmen until now.

They all moved within his field of vision.

Their movements were within the realm of common sense.

But the Celestial Spirit Maiden exceeded Kim Songcheol’s expectations.

If he allowed even a little distance, he felt he would just stare blankly at his life flashing before his eyes without even knowing how he was defeated.

It felt like his eyes couldn’t keep up with her.

‘But the senior mages aren’t fools, so they’ve already made all the preparations.’

Kim Songcheol pulled out a magic book from the archive.

The magic’s name was ‘Over Brain’.

It’s a magic that temporarily increases thought speed, giving the feeling that time is flowing slowly.

It’s like overloading the brain, so it can’t be used continuously.

It usually only lasts about 2 or 3 seconds.

But even that much was enough.

Because Kim Songcheol could split that time into tiny fragments and pour out magic.

Since his thought speed increased, his magic casting time would also become much faster.

‘Next…’

Kim Songcheol picked up one more magic book.

It was ‘Haste’.

Haste was a magic he had also acquired in Korea, but he brought it to learn by comparing the two.

Normal mages don’t cast Haste on themselves.

Swordsmen adapt well to increased speed because their muscles and nervous system are strengthened together through aura. However, mages can’t control their bodies well if they use Haste.

But what if it’s with Over Brain?

Mind and body would speed up together, creating a good synergy.

In addition, Kim Songcheol also brought indirect attack magic like Hypnosis, which hypnotizes, and Blind, which deprives sight, as well as various offensive magic that could be used in different situations.

Kim Songcheol placed a dozen magic books on the book stand.

Other mages could only borrow one at a time, but Kim Songcheol had no official position restrictions.

That was also one of Kim Songcheol’s privileges.

“Um, I’ll borrow these.”

“Just fill out the loan ledger, haha.”

“Yes, of course.”

Kim Songcheol wrote down the names of the magic books in the Exclusive Loan Ledger.

The feeling of writing on paper with a ballpoint pen was quite nice. It was an analog style that you don’t see much these days.

Kim Songcheol filled his bag with magic books and left the research institute.

As he walked towards the waiting car, his mobile phone rang.

“Hello?”

[Ah, do you have some time? If you do, let’s go look at a house.]

The caller was not an aggressive real estate agent, but Kim Myeongju.

He had asked her to find a house because he didn’t have time to look himself.

It was a call to decide after seeing the confirmed candidates.

Of course, the house price was covered by the country.

It was provided separately from his annual salary.