Chapter 49: Sincerity, Kim Song-cheol (3)

A ball of light moved rapidly over the swarming monsters, illuminating the surroundings.

100 meters, 200 meters.

The sphere of light pushed back the heavy darkness with vigor.

Then, at 300 meters.

A single monster stood there.

It was a truly gargantuan monster.

Even though it was 300 meters away, its sheer size made one feel a sense of pressure.

“W-what is that…?”

The teammates were agitated.

It looked to be at least 9 meters tall.

Standing on two thick legs, it simply stared at the hunters with its five eyes.

This was absolutely not a monster one would find in an E-rank dungeon.

“Focus! Stay steady!”

Kim Jong-chol shouted.

The wave wasn’t over yet.

A moment of distraction could lead to irreversible consequences.

Kim Song-cheol’s heart didn’t remain unshaken either.

However, in that intense crisis, his intuition flashed.

‘This isn’t a defensive dungeon. It was a breakthrough dungeon!’

That monster had probably been standing there the whole time.

It must have been waiting for the hunters to discover it and come charging.

If so, they had to go.

They had to go toward that monster.

That was Kim Song-cheol’s judgment.

After the eleventh wave ended, Kim Song-cheol spoke to Park Ha-su, who was gasping for breath.

“Is your stamina okay? Can you run with me on your back?”

It was a bright voice and tone, one that didn’t quite fit the situation.

“…Pardon?”

As expected, Park Ha-su asked back with a confused expression.

“From what I can see, I think a portal will be created as soon as we take down that monster.”

“…?”

“So, I thought you might need to carry me and run immediately after I defeat it.”

There were approximately 10 minutes provided between waves.

To take down that Gate Keeper, it had to be done within those 10 minutes.

Taking on the wave and the Gate Keeper simultaneously was out of the question.

“I can run while carrying you, but…”

Park Ha-su’s answer was hesitant.

The problem right now wasn’t running with him on his back; defeating that monster was more urgent.

“Alright. Gather around.”

Kim Song-cheol gathered the teammates.

Team 24C stood on the uphill slope, huddled together.

“I don’t think this will end if we just keep holding out.”

Kim Song-cheol first explained the basis for his judgment—the fact that the number of monsters hadn’t increased and the possibility that it might be an infinite wave.

If that were the case, there was a high probability it was a breakthrough dungeon.

“I’ll take down that monster,” Kim Song-cheol stated his resolution.

“By… yourself, sir?”

“No, together. I can’t do it alone. I’ll take it down, so you guys take care of me and get out. I plan to use my power until I pass out.”

The teammates were silent for a moment.

They wondered if there was another way, but they couldn’t think of any way to defeat that massive monster.

There was no way to win by fighting normally.

Not only would they be unable to kill it within 10 minutes, but they didn’t even know if it could be killed at all.

Besides, even if they did fight, the finishing blow would have to be delivered by Kim Song-cheol anyway.

After all, Kim Song-cheol had the strongest firepower in the team.

‘This plan… there’s no turning back…’

Kang Hye-seong bit his lip.

If Kim Song-cheol failed, it was game over.

As the secondary Mage, he wanted to offer an alternative, but honestly, no good strategy came to mind.

Unless they defeated that monster, all that remained was an infinite wave.

The ending was practically already decided.

Kim Song-cheol must have known that fact as well.

His declaration to defeat it himself was an unavoidable last resort.

“It’s 9 minutes remaining. Then… should we start now?”

Lee Yong-chan asked, glancing at his wristwatch.

He had set a timer as soon as the wave ended.

“If you all agree,” Kim Song-cheol said, looking around at his teammates.

“…I agree.”

Kang Hye-seong hesitated for a moment but was the first to state his intention.

“If you tell us to do it, we do it, Big Brother.”

“That’s right, Big Brother,” Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su said with difficult smiles.

Thus, everyone agreed.

Now was the time to execute.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The uphill slope the monsters had been climbing was a downhill slope for Team 24C.

They walked down at a fast pace, stepping on pebbles that glowed red in the moonlight.

‘It’s not trying to kill us,’ Kim Song-cheol thought.

Even that massive monster, the likes of which he had never seen before, would be manageable.

Because that, too, would be a warning.

When moving from F-rank to E-rank, it had warned them by sending a large number of monsters.

Because it was F-rank.

In E-rank, it would be sending a more “serious warning.”

There was a reason for that judgment.

E-rank and F-rank were, so to speak, for training.

The letters were merely classification symbols assigned by humans on Earth for convenience.

In reality, what appeared when setting the difficulty on the Portal Tablet were just mysterious symbols.

The real challenge begins from D-rank.

That was the exact reason why graduation from the Training Academy was set at the 4th Circle.

“If so, why was this dungeon urging Kim Song-cheol to ascend quickly? “

Even though he had adjusted his magic training out of concern that something like this might happen.

‘Is it because of the 2nd-Tier Circle Theory…?’

Kim Song-cheol had only read Volume One out of the five books.

The 2nd-Tier Circle Theory was still just simple knowledge.

Kim Song-cheol hadn’t done anything yet, however, he couldn’t think of any other reason.

The warning in the form of that massive monster had already appeared before his eyes.

“Did it mean Kim Song-cheol could utilize that knowledge?”

‘There’s no choice. I only have one chance anyway.’

He had to deliver his best attack.

Just as Kang Hye-seong thought, it was a plan with no turning back.

In that case, his only choice was to use the 2nd-Tier Circle Theory.

“Ki-ing!”

Kim Song-cheol’s circle expanded with a high-pitched sound.

“Back off.”

The circles that had emerged from his body swelled in size in an instant.

The swordsmen nearby were startled and retreated.

The circles grew to 20 meters in diameter, devouring the space where the swordsmen had been standing moments ago.

Under the red night sky, three brilliantly shining rings boasted their lofty appearance.

Lee Yong-chan reached toward the circle as if possessed but withdrew his hand after feeling the pressure of the Mana.

Since it was pure Mana, nothing terrible would happen, but the rotational force was uncanny.

“Ki-iiiiing!”

The circles increased their rotation speed even further.

Their light grew stronger, and the area around Kim Song-cheol was filled with blue light.

It was to the point where the blue light flickered on Kang Hye-seong’s face beside him.

‘Volume One is…’

Kim Song-cheol recalled the contents he had read in Volume One.

To summarize that beautiful, complex, and strange content into a single word, it would be “Starting.”

It was the first step toward the Il-won.

Kim Song-cheol intended to “start” to create an Il-won, even for a moment, and then split that fraction of a second to launch a spell implemented based on that Il-won.

That was Kim Song-cheol’s current full power.

If asked if it was possible, the only answer was that it had to be done.

“Ki-iiiiing!”

“Throw some light for me,” Kim Song-cheol said.

Kang Hye-seong fired a Light spell, illuminating the monster’s surroundings.

The massive body standing tall in the distance was clearly visible.

Kim Song-cheol stopped at a certain point.

The distance from the monster was approximately 150 meters.

“Ki-iiiiing!”

The circles spun madly, making a roaring sound.

As the RPM increased, blue particles splashed in all directions, and the circles gradually approached pure white.

Kim Song-cheol then slowly closed his eyes and brought both hands together in front of him.

The three circles that had turned pure white began to move.

They moved backward—slowly, but surely.

‘What is he doing…?’

Kang Hye-seong couldn’t say a word at the unprecedented sight. Unlike the swordsmen, he knew magic theory.

It was impossible for the concentric center of the circles to exist anywhere other than the heart.

But that impossible thing was happening before his eyes.

The circles stopped with the center being approximately 1 meter behind Kim Song-cheol’s heart.

That wasn’t the end.

The circles that had been rotating parallel to the ground gradually tilted until they were vertical to the ground.

Three large circles of light were positioned behind Kim Song-cheol like a halo.

“Starting.”

When Kim Song-cheol snapped his eyes open, the three circles suddenly expanded.

They looked to be almost 50 meters in diameter.

Then, they shrank rapidly as if someone were pulling them in.

In that split-second process, the three circles merged into one, and their size reduced to just an armful.

The color also changed, casting a brilliant golden light instead of white.

It was the Il-won.

“Ah.”

Kim Song-cheol tasted the Il-won.

It was a radiant taste.

But now was not the time to be intoxicated by that taste.

“Thump, thump, thump!”

The massive monster was charging.

It had sensed that something was wrong.

Kim Song-cheol recalled the 3rd Circle Thunder Strike.

It was different from usual.

He could feel every single magic formula.

He could also see the gaps in the formulas that had been tightly packed.

Normally, he wouldn’t have even known those gaps existed, but now they were clearly visible.

And Kim Song-cheol possessed the material to fill those gaps.

It was his own “will.”

The closely woven formulas spread out wide like a constellation in the night sky.

A meteor shower called “will” embroidered the night sky and connected the constellation.

Kim Song-cheol didn’t feel it because he was concentrating, but his will, which had become even more powerful than usual under the influence of the Il-won, was intervening in the magic.

The transformation of Thunder Strike into a completely different spell happened in an instant.

It was a magic that didn’t exist in the world.

If he had to give it a name…

“Heavenly Thunder.”

“Beeee!”

The moment a high-frequency sound, barely audible, pressed down on the surroundings, a divine punishment fell from the sky.

Just as a cluster of light seemed to form high up in the pitch-black sky, a pillar of light struck down onto the monster’s head.

The surroundings were momentarily engulfed in light before turning dark again.

It was a spell accompanied by light that intense.

A yellow beam of light pierced through the monster’s crown, through its neck, descended to its chest to burn its heart, and then burrowed into the ground below.

It was the result of suppressing the lightning attribute and investing all remaining output into high heat and penetration power.

Looking at it with the naked eye, it was impossible to tell whether it was of the light attribute or the lightning attribute.

“Thoom…!!”

The monster that had been charging with such momentum collapsed forward.

Its brain and all other major organs had been pierced.

It was not a wound that could be survived.

And at the same time, Kim Song-cheol’s body also crumbled.

The Il-won that had been shining behind him also vanished as if it were being extinguished.

“Big Brother!”

Lee Yong-chan ran over and caught Kim Song-cheol’s body.

Kim Song-cheol had completely lost consciousness.

Even when he had reinforced his magic normally, he had been on the verge of fainting.

Now, he had used his power beyond his limits.

There was no telling what the state of his body would be.

“Big Brother! Big Brother!”

It was while Lee Yong-chan was carefully tapping Kim Song-cheol’s cheek that Kang Hye-seong shouted, pointing forward.

“What are you doing? Just shoulder him and run! That was the plan!”

A bright blue light was shining in the darkness.

It was the light of the Portal.

They had to escape before the next wave began.

“Damn it!”

Lee Yong-chan hoisted Kim Song-cheol onto his back and began to sprint toward the Portal.