“This… it seems to be broken?”

Kim Songcheol looked flustered. The cube had opened the moment he touched it to understand the magic formula on it.

The cube lay spread out on the book stand as if it were a net.

The employee closed the door and then turned around. She glanced at the net and then spoke.

“You’ve just been enrolled as a 9th-grade mage of the Magic Alliance. Would you like to challenge for 7th Grade?”

“What? Enrolled? I didn’t do anything?”

“You opened it.”

“No, it just opened…?”

“The trial contents cannot be disclosed according to the Alliance regulations.”

In the past, the Magic Alliance enrollment trial was standardized. It was a written exam format on paper, and although the trial changed several times, there was a tendency, so past questions would circulate.

But at some point, the trial content changed like this.

This Trial doesn’t have a specific type of Castle.

The ‘Mysterious Polyhedrons’ present different problems to all Trial participants.

Some open it by calculating a Magic Formula, while others open it by concentrating Mana.

The numbers are too small to calculate a passing rate, and it’s normal for about 100 people to be selected each year, with all 100 receiving different problems.

Because of this, there’s a rumor that it’s not the opening method that’s important, but rather that the hexahedron itself detects something about the subject, but that’s just speculation.

Only a very small number within the Magic Alliance know the true nature of the ‘Mysterious Hexahedron’, so the secret would be kept as long as they didn’t speak.

“Would you like to attempt the 7th Grade?”

The Employee asked again. It was a businesslike tone. It was the first time it had opened so quickly, but not knowing the details, he merely adhered to the process of ‘if it opens, you pass’.

“But what about 8th Grade?”

“There is no 8th Grade Trial. You become 8th Grade by gaining experience from 9th Grade.”

“Is it better to become 7th Grade?”

“Hmm… it’s better, right? While a 9th Grader can also become 7th Grade by gaining experience, starting as a 7th Grader is different.”

Seeing him end the conversation quickly, it seemed he had no intention of explaining at length.

Somehow, Kim Songcheol felt awkward asking more questions and wondered if there would be any harm in trying, so he decided to give it a shot.

“…I will attempt the 7th Grade.”

“Just a moment.”

The Employee folded the net back into a hexahedron, put it in a drawer, and took out a Dodecahedron from another drawer, placing it on the desk.

“If this also opens, you pass. I’ll give you one hour.”

The Employee said that and sat on the chair placed in front of the door. This was because the Trial had to be conducted under supervision.

‘Will it open?’

The Employee set the stopwatch timer to 1 hour.

Only one or two people a year pass the 9th Grade and then immediately the 7th Grade.

It was a very rare case, and they could receive elite treatment within the Magic Alliance.

They would even have a star specially engraved on their Alliance member identification badge.

Since joining the Alliance itself was only possible for Magic elites, it was truly an elite among elites.

‘Hmm…’

Kim Songcheol, with the Dodecahedron before him, simply stared at it with both hands on the desk.

He felt the rupture of Mana, which he was experiencing for the first time, and the Magic Formulas organically intertwining and turning.

Before, it opened as soon as I touched it, so I couldn’t even grasp what the problem was.

This time, I wanted to identify the problem.

‘Hmm…’

Kim Songcheol strained his eyes, trying to see the magic formula.

Just looking at it with his eyes, the focus didn’t seem quite right.

When expressing a magic formula as a magic array, it’s common to use one’s hands as hawk entities, so he felt like holding the dodecahedron and manipulating the magic formula directly with his hands.

However, Kim Songcheol suppressed his instincts and strained his eyes further.

‘There seems to be something more…’

The magic formulas displayed on the surface were captivating. It seemed like they could be solved quickly by applying second-tier magic theory, and new magic formulas that stimulated curiosity were also visible.

But Kim Songcheol tried to look deeper than that. Deep inside, not in the concept of depth, but something was felt deep beneath the fluttering magic formulas. Kim Songcheol concentrated his mind towards that place.

Kim Songcheol’s gaze broke through between the magic formulas that were wagging their tails.

A brief gap.

The moment he witnessed that needle-thin gap, a feeling of being sucked in, and a single eyeball filled Kim Songcheol’s vision.

“Ah! Startled…”

As Kim Songcheol flinched and lifted his head,

Click!

This time, the dodecahedron opened without him even touching it.

About a minute had passed since the trial began.

Beep.

The employee stopped the timer and stood up from her seat.

“You’ve been promoted to a Magic Alliance 7th Grade Mage. Would you like to challenge for Grade 5?”

It was the same question as before, but the tone was slightly different. Before, her soul’s energy content was less than 10%, but now it had increased to about 30%.

“How many grades are there?”

“Here, Grade 5 is the highest. The Grade 5 trial is presided over by the branch manager, and since he’s here, you can challenge it right away. Even if you fail, you can try again next time, so give it a shot.”

The employee unusually encouraged him to challenge. She was also curious if Kim Songcheol could pass Grade 5 in one go.

As far as she knew, only three people had passed up to Grade 5 in one go.

Although it was an unofficial title and she didn’t know why they were called that, they were referred to as ‘four nothingness officials.’

The most recent one was 83 years ago, so she had never seen a four nothingness official, and it was even uncertain if she would see one before she died.

If Kim Songcheol became a four nothingness official, it would be a small boost to her boring office life.

“I’ll do it.”

Kim Songcheol nodded. Only then did the employee show a small smile and open the closed door.

“Follow me.”

Kim Songcheol followed the employee into the corridor. As they turned the corner, they saw a mage just entering the building.

Wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a robe.

He was a mage who had come to take the 9th Grade Mage Trial.

He glanced at Kim Songcheol, then followed another employee into a room.

From another room, a scream of ‘Ugh, it won’t solve!’ could be heard.

Kim Songcheol left the fierce scene of the 9th grade Trial behind and went up to the third floor via the stairs.

The third floor also looked ordinary. A long corridor stretched out, with doors sparsely placed on the left and right.

And at the end of the corridor, there was a door that anyone could tell belonged to the Branch Manager.

This was because a placard was hung above the door, reading, ‘Congratulations on the inauguration of Branch Manager Shirai Haruka.’

The employee went into a room, took out a chair, and placed it next to Kim Songcheol.

“Please sit and wait for a moment. The Branch Manager is currently working.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kim Songcheol sat on the chair, and the employee just stood with their hands clasped.

In the silent office, Kim Songcheol attempted to break the ice.

“It seems the Branch Manager hasn’t been inaugurated long, has she?”

“Ah, yes. It’s been a little over a month. Since the term is six months, changing the placard is a chore.”

“It changes frequently?”

“Yes. If they stay too long, they often just move up to a higher Dungeon. Six months is considered holding out.”

“Can they just go up?”

“It seems that’s allowed if you’re a Branch Manager.”

The employee spoke as if it were someone else’s business. If the Branch Manager changed every six months, there would be no need to worry about what the boss thought.

“It’s much more relaxed than I heard.”

“That’s the advantage of the Magic Alliance. The salary is good too.”

“Ah, but if you join the Alliance, you can also receive Magic sharing, right? I vaguely heard something about that…”

At that question, the employee raised an eyebrow slightly.

“It seems you came without knowing anything. Hmm, well… At first, they increased the number of Magic they possessed by sharing with each other. Now, you can assume that most Magic that can be bought with Points are available. So, they don’t just share it; instead, they give Magic as a reward when a request is completed.”

Although Kim Songcheol didn’t know it, the Magic Alliance had now shifted its direction towards mediating requests.

As the employee explained, since they possessed most of the Magic, they began to earn Points to maintain the Alliance.

Currently, the Magic Alliance operates by receiving requests, distributing them to Alliance members, and giving Magic as a reward upon completion of the request.

The Alliance takes the request fee, but it’s not a loss for Alliance members because they can receive much more valuable Magic than the request fee.

Of course, that sharing method is ‘Imprint,’ which cannot be transferred to others. Still, it wasn’t a loss.

While the Alliance gradually changed in this way, there were also unchanging principles.

They were: a select few, freedom, and preferential treatment for those from Magic-barren lands.

This was to maintain their identity as ‘a Magic-sharing organization created by naturally gifted Mages from Magic-barren lands.’

“So, do the requests and the Magic you can receive vary depending on your grade?”

“Yes. The difference is quite significant.”

“What about 2nd-tier Magic?”

“2nd-tier starts from Grade 5. This is a bit unfair, but even for the same request, a Grade 5 can receive 2nd-tier Magic, but a Grade 6 cannot. Because of this, everyone desperately tries to raise their grade.”

“Ah…”

Kim Songcheol, who had been planning to challenge Grade 5 without much thought, changed his mind.

After all, what he needed was 2nd-tier Magic. If he couldn’t become Grade 5, there was no point in joining the Magic Alliance.

At that moment, the employee turned their head towards the Branch Manager. Mana moved, drawing a small Magic circle. It was a Magic Message.

“She says to come in.”

“Yes.”

Kim Songcheol followed the Employee into the Branch Manager’s office.

The Branch Manager was an East Asian lady with short white hair.

Her white hair was a bit unusual, but otherwise, she was ordinary.

She was dressed simply in a sweater and cotton pants.

However, Kim Songcheol was surprised when he saw her.

This was because he couldn’t feel any trace of her having learned Magic.

There was no Mana Flow, which was commonly felt, nor any equivalent clue.

If he had encountered the Branch Manager on Earth, he would have passed her by without knowing she was a Mage.

The fact that a Magic Alliance Branch Manager looked like an ordinary person suggested only one thing.

‘She’s quite strong…’

That she was a Mage of a considerably high level.

She was probably barely at the limit of a C-rank Dungeon.

If all Branch Managers were at this level, it made sense that they would be promoted before serving a long period.

“Hello? I am Branch Manager Shirai Haruka.”

She bowed her head and greeted him.

“Yes, I’m Kim Songcheol.”

Kim Songcheol also bowed back, and in the meantime, the Employee went out and closed the door.

“Shall we sit down first?”

The Branch Manager pointed to an ordinary sofa. As Kim Songcheol sat down, the Branch Manager picked up something from the desk and sat in front of it.

She immediately placed what she held in her hand on the table.

It was a gold Medal with two stars on it.

“This is a Medal proving you are a Grade 5 Mage of the Magic Alliance. I recommend you always carry it with you.”

Kim Songcheol looked down at the Medal for a moment, then raised his head.

“Did I pass? Whatever it was.”

“Yes, you passed, whatever it was. I also just received word from above to pass you… This is a question you don’t have to answer, but what happened during the Trial process?”

“Ah… I did see a strange Illusion. A disgusting eyeball suddenly appeared.”

…

The Branch Manager nodded silently.

“In my opinion… I must tell you beforehand that I don’t know about the mysterious Polyhedron either. However, I do know that it is made of 1st-tier Magic. The person who created it ‘recognized’ you, Mr. Kim Songcheol, and contacted me immediately. Perhaps they grasped something in you equivalent to a Grade 5 Trial.”

“Ah… so that was 1st-tier Magic.”

1st-tier Magic was an unknown realm for Kim Songcheol, of which he couldn’t even grasp the outline.

If that eyeball was a fragment of 1st-tier Magic, he was satisfied just by seeing it.

Moreover, he passed the Grade 5 Trial without even taking it, so there was nothing more he could ask for.

“And that person left a message…”

The Branch Manager prepared herself for a moment before speaking.

“It was, ‘Pain is looking for you. Watch your step, rookie.'”

“Ah…”

It wasn’t surprising news.

This was something Kim Songcheol had expected. Failing to capture Bluebell was a humiliation, so it seemed they would move to avenge themselves.

“Is it a misconception if I feel affection, even though it’s a bit rough?”

“I felt the same way. If you wish, I can place a request to gather information about Pain. For about 150,000 Points, you can find out the movement path and level of the strike force discovered in Pain.”

“Oh, really? That’s incredibly cheap?”

There was one discount for being a Grade 5 Mage, another for rising to Grade 5 all at once, and an additional discount for being from the barren lands. It couldn’t help but be cheap.

“Yes, with several discounts applied, it’s bound to be that way.”

“What if I request an annihilation mission?”

“That’s much more expensive. It would depend on the strike force’s level, but since it includes reconnaissance costs, it would probably cost around 1,000,000 Points.”

“That’s definitely expensive.”

“Yes, there’s quite a gap between reconnaissance and annihilation, after all.”

After finishing his words, the Branch Manager stood up and brought a pad. It was similar to the pads used at the Training Institute.

She displayed a table on the pad and presented it to Kim Songcheol.

“And I believe you also have many questions regarding requests and Magic sharing positions. Please take a look.”

Kim Songcheol took the pad and examined the list of requests.

These were requests that each had one 2nd-tier Magic attached as a reward.

Of course, they were the cheapest Magic in each Magic family of 2nd-tier, but even those were 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 Points.

‘Hmm?’

Kim Songcheol tilted his head as he looked at the request list.

This was because the difficulty was quite low for a request that rewarded 2nd-tier Magic.

“This is Grade 5 level, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh ho…”

The Magic Alliance.

It was a better place than he had imagined.

Kim Songcheol, who was looking at the pad, checked one request and handed it over.

“I’ll take this.”