Chapter 3: First Steps as a War Mage

“The Tower of Rubik?”

“Wha...”

I thought I misheard.

So I gripped the cube tighter and spun it again.

But.

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

Again.

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

And again.

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

No matter how many times I tried, the result was always the same.

The cube didn’t budge an inch, as if it had been a solid block from the start.

“What the hell is this?”

I was utterly baffled.

Who throws a cube they can’t even spin properly at you?

I glanced back and forth between the Skill Cube and the Sky Cube.

But the only response I got was silence.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Wait a minute. Could ‘strength insufficient’ actually mean ‘lack of physical strength’?”

This wasn’t my first time experiencing this.

Back when I was a dull warrior, there were items I couldn’t equip because my strength stat was too low.

Back then, the system had said I lacked strength as well.

“In the end, I was able to raise my strength stat through other items and equip them... But no way, it can’t be that, right?”

But it was too vivid an experience to deny.

I swallowed dryly and checked the 10 remaining stat points recorded in my status window.

The Warlord class gives all new players 10 bonus stat points to use as a foundation for character growth.

So I had immediately raised my strength to become a warrior.

Since I had no money or skills, the warrior was the optimal choice for a no-capital growth character.

Of course, even if not a warrior, many classes need to raise strength stats.

For example, archers need a minimum strength to pull their bows properly.

But a magic user needing strength?

I had never heard of such a development method.

* Well, I had heard rumors that some magic users raise their strength stat to compensate for their fragile bodies, but that was just an exception, a rare case.*

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

I scratched my head.

No matter how much I racked my brain, raising strength was the only viable solution.

“No matter what, magic users need to increase their intelligence to have a bigger mana pool and stronger magic damage...!”

I was agonizing.

Even though the Hidden Class War Mage supposedly required little mana, that was a special case.

Still, I had to raise my magic damage somehow.

“Ah… what should I do?”

For about ten minutes, I continued my one-man struggle, paying no mind to the people watching me with curious eyes.

Then, about ten minutes later, I finally made a decision.

“Alright, these bonus stat points are free anyway. If I fail, it won’t be a big loss. I’ll just treat it as an achievement challenge and give it a try.”

I steeled my resolve with various rationalizations.

Then I immediately opened my status window and distributed one bonus stat point into strength.

First, one point.

[Strength increased by 1.]

My strength stat rose by one.

The increase was so slight I wasn’t even sure I’d gotten stronger.

With my raised strength stat, I grabbed the cube again and spun it.

But.

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

Still not enough strength. Severely lacking.

I sighed and raised another point of strength.

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

The same result.

Frustrated, I added another strength stat.

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is severely insufficient.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is insufficient.]

That was when—

* Did the system message change?*

After raising five strength points, the system message finally changed.

This was definitely a major discovery.

I was as excited as Columbus discovering a new continent.

“I was right. So if I raise my strength stat just a little more...”

Now that I had proof, all that was left was to keep repeating the same action.

Fueled by hope, I started raising my strength stat again.

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is insufficient.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is insufficient.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is insufficient.]

[Strength increased by 1.]

[Your strength is insufficient.]

Eventually, only one bonus stat point remained.

Standing before the boss battle, I agonized like a novice gamer with a single coin left in an arcade.

“What if I fail this time with only one stat point left?”

But I had come too far to stop now.

My peripheral nerves were wringing my whole body, and I had no choice but to move forward like a broken eight-ton truck.

I invested the last remaining bonus stat point into strength.

[Strength increased by 1.]

My strength stat was now an impressive 11.

Having poured all my bonus stat points into strength, I gripped Rubik’s Skill Cube with a resolute gaze.

And spun.

Click!

The cube started moving.

~

“Nice.”

It wasn’t a hallucination.

The cube really moved.

And then came the first step.

The cube, spun for over seven years, began rotating smoothly.

Within seconds, it completed as if by habit and soon began to glow with a blue light.

[You have successfully solved Rubik’s Skill Cube.]

[You have acquired the skill: Hold.]

[You have obtained 1 piece of Rubik’s Skill Cube Fragment.]

System messages flashed before my eyes.

But I couldn’t be happy.

“Ah, seriously!”

A curse burst from my lips.

The skill I had acquired was none other than Hold.

Hold is a debuff skill that immobilizes a target for a certain period — specifically 5 seconds.

Without any offensive magic in my arsenal, holding an enemy in place was useless, I thought.

Ah, well. That figures. Such lousy luck.

I felt genuine irritation.

I thought things were finally going smoothly, only to get frozen like this.

But I couldn’t just be frustrated.

The cube’s result was decided, and I had to use Hold as my stepping stone.

I checked the details of the acquired Hold skill.

[Hold]

[Grade: Rare]

[Rank: 10]

[Effect: Can immobilize a target for 5 seconds.]

“Well, rare is rare.”

Indeed, a rare skill.

Despite the rank, being able to immobilize an opponent for a full 5 seconds was an incredible advantage.

In a duel, those few seconds could decide the victor.

So 5 seconds was actually a long time.

Rare was rare, indeed.

Then I checked the information on the cube fragment I had obtained.

[Rubik’s Skill Cube Fragment]

[Grade: Rare]

[Quantity: 1]

[Option: If you fill an empty cube frame with all matching fragments, you can obtain the complete cube.]

Unexpected.

In other words, if I collect all the leftover fragments, I could eventually assemble a complete cube.

“Like a coffee shop coupon. I’m pretty good at collecting these things.”

My mood lightened a little from this unexpected little bonus.

“Then all that’s left is the Growth Cube.”

Having been focused on the Skill Cube, I had neglected the Growth Cube.

That made sense — unlike the Skill Cube with its blue frame, the Growth Cube had no color or border.

I took the Growth Cube from my inventory and checked its details.

[Rubik’s Growth Cube]

[Grade: Quest, Unique, Bound]

[Option: Completing the cube triggers a quest.]

So that’s what growth means.

The Growth Cube was basically a quest cube by another name, straightforward and obvious.

“All right, it’s a quest. I’ll gladly complete it. Plus, it’s unique and bound. Let’s see what kind of job quest this is.”

After confirming the description, I eagerly began spinning the Growth Cube.

Click!

Fortunately, the Growth Cube didn’t require any additional strength.

I easily solved it, and once complete—

[You have successfully solved Rubik’s Growth Cube.]

[The deity you serve offers you a small trial for your growth. Do you accept?]

As expected, a quest popped up.

“Don’t mess with me. I’m really not going to let this go easily.”

[You have accepted the trial.]

[A quest has started.]

Pop!

Upon accepting the quest, the quest window appeared.

I squinted as I scrolled up and down through the details.

I froze.

“...Are you kidding me?”

~

[A quest has started.]

Pop!

[Utilize Hold]

[Grade: Special]

[Condition: Use the acquired skill Hold at least once on each monster to kill 100 monsters.]

[Reward: Rubik’s Growth Cube, Rubik’s Skill Cube Fragment, Empty Cube Frame.]

Reading the quest details, I was dumbfounded.

Out of all the magic spells, the one that came out was Hold — and I had to kill over 100 monsters using it?

“Wow, Rubik’s really has a twisted sense of humor, huh?”

This was clearly a divine prank.

There was no way such a quest would come out otherwise.

I rubbed the back of my head, thinking.

“Damn it. Even if the monsters in the starting village are just rabbits, at least I can kill them... but…”

The problem was Hold had zero killing power.

Meaning, I had to bind the rabbits with Hold, then physically hunt them down myself.

At the moment, there was no other way.

“Of course I can do it. I *can* do it, but... I’m a mage now, a Hidden Class no less...”

I felt oddly heavy and uneasy.

“Sigh.”

There was no alternative.

I steeled my heart and headed toward the village’s blacksmith.

Since I was a seasoned player, I had more money than other beginners and planned to buy a weapon for the time being.

It wasn’t difficult to find the village’s only blacksmith.

As soon as I stepped in, the heat hit me, accompanied by the sound of hammering.

The blacksmith, a burly man named Mo Hu, greeted me.

“Welcome. Looking for anything special?”

“Uh... something I’m looking for?”

“Oh, hold on. Don’t tell me. Even after decades as a blacksmith, I can tell just by looking at your hands what you need. Let me see… You seem to have more muscle than others. You must be from the warrior line!”

Mo Hu was friendly and assumed I was a warrior without me saying a word.

It was sad.

To clarify my identity, I said firmly:

“I’m actually a mage.”

“Oh, I thought so… So you’re a mage?”

“Yes. Then I’d like to buy that mace hanging on the wall.”

“A m-mace? That blunt weapon requires at least 10 strength to wield, and you’re a mage...”

“Please.”

War Mage Levan.

My strength stat was 11.

I was strong enough to wield the mace Mo Hu had forged.