“Could I possibly meet your master?”

Kim Songcheol had come all this way to research that Magic.

He thought the effect of interfering with 2nd-tier Magic was quite threatening.

If 2nd-tier Magic is sealed, it’s no different from having one’s combat power cut by half or more.

If there had been even one more Mage of a similar level to Diclo, Kim Songcheol might have died.

It was definitely something that required a countermeasure. Being caught off guard once out of ignorance is understandable, but being caught again knowingly was unacceptable.

“My master? Hmm…”

The Female Staff Member scratched around her mouth with her finger, looking troubled.

“Is it not possible?”

“No! I’ll bring my master here!”

The Female Staff Member said, raising both her fists as if she had made a big decision. Her eyes sparkled, showing pure Will.

“If it’s troublesome…”

“No! Since you saved me, my master will definitely come too! Please wait a little!”

The Female Staff Member set up the fallen motorcycle, hopped on it, and sped towards a nearby Stone Slab.

Kim Songcheol didn’t even have time to stop her. She flew off with a ‘Vroom!’ and her speed was quite fast.

‘Was it an expensive motorcycle…?’

Kim Songcheol waited near the Stone Slab where the Female Staff Member had disappeared.

Since she said she was bringing her master, all he could do was wait.

If she succeeded, they would come together. If she failed, she would come alone.

About an hour and a half passed like that.

‘They’re a bit late.’

Kim Songcheol glanced at his watch.

A brilliant light flowed from the Stone Slab, and two people appeared.

One was the Female Staff Member, and the other was a rather stubborn-looking Old Man.

With a skinny build and wearing glasses.

He was also short, a full hand shorter than the disciple standing next to him.

The Old Man narrowed his eyes, scanned his surroundings, and then fixated his gaze on Kim Songcheol.

The hands clasped behind his back, which had been there since he appeared, remained unmoving, as if he were wearing handcuffs.

“Is it you? The one who desperately wanted to meet me?”

Kim Songcheol flinched at the sharp voice. It was because his strict professor from university days overlapped in his mind. The dizzying moment when he almost got dragged into graduate school automatically came to mind.

“Yes, I asked to meet you.”

Kim Songcheol replied politely for now. However, the words that followed from the Old Man’s mouth were unexpected.

“You said you always respected me?”

Kim Songcheol glanced at the female staff member standing behind him.

From the Old Man’s blind spot, she was desperately drawing a circle above her head.

It meant he should play along for now.

It seemed some lubrication was needed to bring his master.

“…Yes, although I only know one magic you developed, that alone was enough to earn my respect.”

Kim Songcheol only responded based on the thread of truth. That way, even if his disciple’s lie was exposed, he could avoid the wrath.

“And that was ‘Order Interdiction’?”

It was a magic name he had never heard before. He looked at the female staff member again, and this time, she was nodding her head frantically.

It meant yes.

“Yes, it was Order Interdiction.”

“Were you affected? Did you learn it?”

“I was affected.”

At that answer, the Old Man’s expression subtly changed.

He was curious.

About the impression of being affected by his magic.

“How was it?”

“Hmm… it felt like a very structural approach. The concept magic formula and the operating magic formula of second-tier magic were perfectly distinguished formulaically, and the interference came by targeting the operating magic formula used in third-tier magic.”

At Kim Songcheol’s answer, the Old Man’s expression changed once again. This time, it was in a quite positive direction.

Because he let out a snort of laughter.

“Hmph, you seem to have been affected many times, have you? Seeing as you ruptured it that far.”

“I was affected once.”

At that answer, the Old Man scrutinized Kim Songcheol with a rather displeased look.

“Affected once and ruptured it that far? Does that mean my magic is so sloppy?”

The Old Man’s feelings were not hurt by Kim Songcheol, but rather his pride was hurt by his magic being ruptured in one go.

And that was clearly reflected in his tone and expression.

“That’s not what I meant, but…”

“Then you’re boasting that you’re a mage with very sensitive senses. I’m someone who inherently can’t stand seeing someone boast in front of me. It makes me want to trial whether it’s truly something to boast about.”

The Old Man unclasped his hands from behind his back and waved them. Then, a magic circle formed in front of him, and twelve black spheres appeared.

“To recognize that all at once, you need to be able to distinguish the opponent’s magic formulas seeping into your magic formula with just your senses. Distinguishing magic formulas like that from a mass of mana surging all at once?”

As the Old Man spread his hand, the twelve black spheres flew towards Kim Songcheol and aligned themselves in groups of four.

“Pick out another one of the magic formulas in there. Then I’ll believe you.”

The Old Man said curtly, and the female staff member standing behind him had her hands clasped as if in prayer.

She seemed to be hoping he would get it right.

This box trial was a method the Old Man often used when teaching his apprentices.

This is because a keen sense of distinguishing magic formulas is important for developing magic.

However, this time the difficulty was higher than usual.

Having been affected by ‘Order Interdiction’ meant he was a second-tier mage, and the difficulty was adjusted accordingly. So much so that even a second-tier mage wouldn’t easily get it right.

‘Hmm.’

Kim Songcheol pondered.

Of course, the answer was already clear.

But he couldn’t easily decide whether it would be better to get it right immediately, or to show more signs of deliberation.

‘Still, getting it right quickly would be the Scythe, wouldn’t it?’

Kim Songcheol extended a finger and pointed to the sphere at the very bottom right.

At the same time, the Old Man’s eyes wavered.

“This is it.”

It was the correct answer.

There was no need to say anything.

Kim Songcheol’s magical abilities had already been fully proven during his time at the Training Institute.

“…Try it one more time.”

But the Old Man couldn’t easily believe it.

One out of twelve.

Even guessing, it’s an 8% chance. Low, but it couldn’t be dismissed as nothing.

The Old Man created black boxes again. This time there were 128 of them.

“Here, pick out the one magic formula that is different again.”

“…”

Kim Songcheol looked at the boxes for a moment, then raised his finger.

And he pointed to the sixth box in the second row and the second box in the eighth row, in order.

“You said one, but it seems there are two.”

As Kim Songcheol looked at him with a faint smile, the Old Man clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Tsk, that’s why born Foes are so unlucky.”

As he waved his hand, the black boxes scattered like mist blown away by the wind.

“…I’ve lost, indeed. What is your reason for wanting to meet me?”

The Old Man’s expression and tone had softened.

He was acknowledging what needed to be acknowledged.

As meticulous as he was, he seemed equally strict with himself.

“I want to learn that magic.”

“Why?”

“Because I think I need to know how to counter it.”

“You’re quite bold, talking about finding flaws when the creator of magic is right here.”

“Oh, that…”

“Isn’t ‘responding’ just finding flaws to ruin Rupture?”

Even as the Old Man said that, he waved his hand, summoning the Subspace. He plunged his hand into the Black Space that had opened in mid-air, and when his hand reappeared, it held a magic book.

“Let’s try doing what this King does.”

The Old Man said, shaking the magic book.

“Are you serious?”

“Anyway, if I hand it to you, you’ll just tear it apart as you please, won’t you? In that case, I’ll tear it apart with my own hands.”

He reverted to his stern expression and pulled out a table and chair from the Subspace.

“Sit.”

The fact that he went to such lengths meant that the Old Man greatly acknowledged Kim Songcheol.

Magic created by a magic developer is like their own child.

Tearing it apart right in front of him would have been impossible without truly acknowledging Kim Songcheol.

And so, the two of them debated magic for six hours. It was supposed to end there, but an idea thrown out by Kim Songcheol turned the debate into a meeting.

The meeting continued for three days.

And as a result, the perfect counter to Order Interdiction, ‘Order Liberation,’ was born.

Of course, the Old Man did all the creation, but the core idea was provided by Kim Songcheol. He pinpointed a small flaw in Order Interdiction, explained through a magic formula, and brought it to light.

At this point, the Old Man, the magic developer D-Nothingness, couldn’t help but say this:

“Do you have any interest in learning magic development? I think you could even develop second-tier magic. No, I’m sure you can.”

Magic development is a field where efficiency, creativity, and intuition are important. Kim Songcheol could be said to be the perfect talent for it.

“Haha, there’s plenty of magic to learn already…”

Kim Songcheol watched the magic development process right beside him.

This was not something to be easily meddled with. While he could learn it if he wanted to, there was no particular reason to.

As he said, he was already pressed for time just learning the magic that had already been created.

Kim Songcheol was quite satisfied with just obtaining Order Liberation.

Thanks to D-Nothingness’s help, he had gained not just a simple analysis, but a perfect countermeasure, which was a greater harvest than he had expected.

And it was even freshly made, brand new magic.

Only Kim Songcheol and D-Nothingness knew about this magic.

“Well, then, there’s nothing for it.”

D-Nothingness stood up from his seat with a regretful expression.

“Since you’re here, why don’t you take on a request?”

“A request?”

“That guy usually gets everything, but there are some places even he can’t go. Sometimes I put requests in with the Magic Alliance… but instead of giving it to a stranger, wouldn’t it be better to give it to someone I know?”

D-Nothingness’s request was to bring back the heart of a Lava Dragon.

It was a perfectly feasible request.

Kim Songcheol accepted the request, which had come by direct nomination, and moved to the Lava Zone, where the Lava Dragon lived.

Even flying in the sky, he could feel the heat and smell the sulfur.

Below, lava flowed like a river, and several monsters could be seen running across the scorched black land.

Kim Songcheol flew with Setsu to the center of the Lava Zone.

Soon, a giant Lava Lake appeared.

Given the terrain, no Hunters were visible. Unless they had a specific request, there was no need for them to come all the way here to hunt.

It was then that Kim Songcheol lowered his altitude towards the Lava Lake.

Shwaaak!

The lava erupted as if exploding, and a gigantic Monster emerged from it.

Its shimmering scales and head looked like a combination of a Snake and a dragon. However, it had no wings or legs and was sleek in appearance.

The lava flowing over the Lava Dragon’s red scales was clearly visible.

Kyahhh!

The Foe spotted Kim Songcheol, raised its scales, and let out a monstrous roar.

“Hmm.”

Kim Songcheol already held a 2nd-tier Magic formation in his hand.

Rupture, tssst!

The concentrated Electric Shock burst forth, severing the Lava Dragon’s neck.

Its body circumference was much smaller than that of a Sand Dragon, so it could be covered by slightly widening the range of Rupture.

Shwaaak!

At the same time, eight heads surged from the Lava Lake.

The severed head also regenerated, increasing the number of heads to nine.

The body with these nine heads remained submerged in the lava.

The quest could only be completed by extracting the heart from that body.