Chapter 31. Leveling Up Kim Song-cheol (4)

Kim Song-cheol finished his magic training and headed toward the gym.

Today was the day for interpersonal combat training.

It was his second class, but his group had changed.

He was now training with higher-level trainees.

Some of them wouldn’t be out of place even if they were recruited as Hunters right now.

Compared to them, Kim Song-cheol was only on his 100th day.

‘I’m actually a bit nervous.’

Kim Song-cheol paused for a moment in front of the gym, scratched his cheek, and then stepped inside.

There were already many trainees in the gym.

The trainees here had finished their regular lessons long ago and only attended sessions like interpersonal combat training.

They had arrived early to chat or spar with each other in swordsmanship.

‘…That swordsmanship is brutal.’

Even though they were just lightly sparring, their momentum was considerable.

The sound of clashing blades was sharp enough to make his ears ring.

They were incomparable to the swordsmen in the lower classes.

“Oh? What brings you here?”

A trainee approached him from behind.

Kim Song-cheol recognized his face.

It was the trainee who had spoken to him first during the very first physical training session.

Was his name Kang Hye-seong?

It seemed so.

He hadn’t seen him for a few days, and it appeared he had moved up to the senior class.

Kim Song-cheol looked at him and spoke.

“Ah, I moved up a class. They told me to come up.”

“Really?”

Kang Hye-seong’s eyes widened.

He remembered Kim Song-cheol’s first physical training session.

He didn’t know the exact date, but he was certain it was only a few months ago.

“You were at that level…? I heard you were good, but…”

“For now, it was the Instructor’s order… I’m not sure myself. I might end up going back down.”

“The Instructor wouldn’t have sent you up for no reason, haha.”

While he was talking to Kang Hye-seong, the noise in the gym suddenly cut off.

The Instructor had appeared.

The trainees scattered around the room naturally gathered in front of the Instructor.

Kim Song-cheol followed the flow and stood roughly in the middle.

The Instructor glanced over the chart he brought and looked up.

“Trainee Kim Song-cheol, Trainee Lee Hui-su.”

The Instructor called out the names without any preamble.

Since everyone was used to the class, not much explanation was needed.

‘I’m first today.’

Kim Song-cheol stepped forward, feeling the eyes of all the trainees on him.

Since there was a fixed number of people, it was natural for their attention to focus on a sudden new face.

Kim Song-cheol observed his opponent while putting on his protective gear. His opponent was a female trainee.

Of course, there was no need to take it easy just because she was a woman.

She was an Aura user regardless.

Strength came from Aura, not from muscle and bone.

“Be prepared for your initiation.”

Lee Hui-su gave a bright smile and put on her helmet.

The sword she held was not a reinforced plastic sword, but a steel one.

The edges weren’t sharpened, but it was definitely made of metal.

‘If I get hit by that, it’ll be a serious injury…?’

As Kim Song-cheol clicked his tongue, some trainees shouted playfully.

“Let’s give the newbie an education!”

Kim Song-cheol found the atmosphere pleasant as he pulled on his heavy helmet.

Lee Hui-su and Kim Song-cheol each took their positions.

Although the distance looked far, he knew well that for a swordsman, that gap could be closed in an instant once they started running.

Lee Hui-su pointed her sword forward and lowered her stance.

It was both a preview and a warning that she would charge with everything she had.

“Hmph.”

Kim Song-cheol let out a chuckle as if her cheeky appearance was cute, and lightly raised his right hand.

It was a Mage’s ready stance.

“Start!”

At the Instructor’s thunderous shout, Lee Hui-su kicked off the ground at the same moment a Magic Circle rose in front of Kim Song-cheol.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The Magic Circle flickered rapidly in front of Kim Song-cheol’s hand.

Every time it blinked, a Magic Missile was fired.

The Magic Missiles shot out one after another, flying toward Lee Hui-su.

How would Lee Hui-su handle it? She slowed down slightly and began to swing her sword wildly.

Clang! Clang! Cling!

The sword moved through the air as if it were alive, striking down every single Magic Missile.

To be honest, Kim Song-cheol could barely follow the movements with his eyes.

Despite the barrage, Lee Hui-su was gradually getting closer.

It was as if there was a defensive shield in front of her.

‘Oho.’

Kim Song-cheol added a variation, mixing Lightning Spear among the Magic Missiles.

Lee Hui-su clearly saw it, but she didn’t dodge. And that was a small mistake.

Clang!

Lee Hui-su’s hand was knocked back as she tried to deflect the Lightning Spear as usual, leaving her front wide open.

This was because the Lightning Spear was much heavier than expected.

‘It’s this heavy…?’

Lee Hui-su gulped. All the Mages here were at the 3rd Circle.

She had underestimated Kim Song-cheol because he was at the 2nd Circle and ended up taking a hit.

Kim Song-cheol did not miss that opening. Lightning Spears flew in rapid succession.

Cling! Clang!

Lee Hui-su could no longer move forward and was busy fending off the magic.

A smile played on Kim Song-cheol’s lips.

It wasn’t because he had pinned Lee Hui-su down.

He was casting Lightning Spear at almost full power, yet Lee Hui-su was deflecting all of them.

If they were in the lower class, the match would have been decided already.

That was why the current situation was so fun.

It felt like he had finally met an opponent who matched his level.

Now he understood why the Instructor had said ‘it would be interesting.’

It was then. Suddenly, Lee Hui-su ducked low and slid across the floor to approach.

It was a bizarre movement, and he wasn’t sure how she did it.

‘What’s this?’

Kim Song-cheol quickly used Icicle to block Lee Hui-su’s path.

Ice spikes rose from the ground, reaching out as if to pierce her at any moment.

However, Lee Hui-su gracefully twisted her body, placed her hand on a rising ice spike, and launched herself into the air.

At that moment, Kim Song-cheol thought it was over.

Once in the air, swordsmen had nothing to rely on except gravity.

Kim Song-cheol’s Magic Circle glowed.

The Air Blast that had sent Ryu Ji-kwang flying boasted intense wind pressure as it engulfed Lee Hui-su.

However, Lee Hui-su’s eyes sparkled instead.

“Hah!”

A bright yellow Aura flowed out of her sword.

As she rotated her body in mid-air and swung her sword in a wide arc, the wind was surprisingly ‘cut.’

The Air Blast, split into two, couldn’t affect her at all.

‘What the…’

Kim Song-cheol was startled, but his body was already casting magic.

Before Lee Hui-su could land on the ground, two Lightning Spears pierced the air.

It was a casting done with all of Kim Song-cheol’s strength.

The Lightning Spears flew half a beat faster than she expected.

Clang! Clang!

Even so, Lee Hui-su forced her body to twist in mid-air and deflected both Lightning Spears, but her center of gravity was already ruined.

Eventually, she was hit by the third Lightning Spear and sent flying backward.

Kim Song-cheol did not miss the gap. Various spells swarmed her, and Lee Hui-su was hit helplessly by several more spells before she even touched the ground.

As a result, she was pushed back to her original starting position.

“Stop.”

At the same time, the time limit expired.

It was a victory of casting speed, magic accuracy, and thorough fundamentals.

And the moment Kim Song-cheol’s victory was decided…

“I’ll go next!”

“Me after that!”

Requests for sparring poured in.

The Instructor smiled and glanced at Kim Song-cheol.

He was asking if he could go again.

Kim Song-cheol nodded.

There was no reason he couldn’t.

***

Monster corpses were strewn across the vast wilderness.

There were bodies torn into pieces, bodies burnt black, and bodies frozen white and shattered.

It was truly a scene of a Sea of Blood and Mountain of Corpses.

Black and blue blood flowed along the furrows of the earth, and in one place, there was a hill made of monster corpses.

And on top of that gruesome hill sat a woman.

She was crouched there carelessly.

Her faded pink hair and hollow eyes created a strange ensemble.

On the other hand, her loose pants and trendy sweatshirt did not match the horrific scene of the Dungeon.

“Phew…”

She took the cigarette from her mouth and blew out a thick cloud of smoke.

When she picked up the black beanie she had set aside, bright yellow monster blood trickled down.

She had taken it off because it was hot, and it had soaked up quite a bit of blood.

“Tsk. It was a limited edition.”

She clicked her tongue softly and tossed the beanie down.

The heavy, blood-soaked beanie landed right on a monster’s face.

Cha Se-hyeon, the culprit behind this Sea of Blood and Mountain of Corpses, crushed her finished cigarette into a monster’s eyeball and stood up.

She had filled her quota for this week as well.

In fact, this Dungeon was easy.

It’s harder to face strong monsters than it is to face many monsters.

This was relatively mild. Cha Se-hyeon jumped down from the hill of monsters.

Her body, which was accelerating due to gravity, surprisingly slowed down at some point and landed lightly on the ground.

“Should I have some chicken feet and soju…”

As Cha Se-hyeon muttered to herself while walking over the muddy ground, a light flashed in the distance, and a hooded figure appeared in front of her.

“Do you want to die? Or should I just let you go?”

Cha Se-hyeon didn’t even look surprised as she brushed back her hair.

She looked entirely annoyed.

“I have not come to discuss life and death.”

A gravelly, elderly voice drifted out.

As he removed his hood with wrinkled hands, half-white hair was revealed.

He was at an age where ‘middle-aged old man’ would be a fitting description in Cha Se-hyeon’s terms.

“Then you wouldn’t have any business with me.”

“I am on my way after hearing that a human from Earth is here. However…”

His gaze swept over Cha Se-hyeon’s entire body.

Then, he spotted a badge on her sleeve.

That badge was similar to a Hunter’s dog tag.

The Taegeukgi was drawn on it, and the Hunter’s affiliation and name were written on the back.

It was worn in case body repatriation was possible if they died in a Dungeon.

“You found it much faster than expected.”

He smiled warmly upon seeing the Korean flag.

“Don’t just stand there laughing like a creep and state your purpose.”

Of course, what came back was a blunt remark.

“My Sanggis is vibrating. To have such powerful magic skills at such a young age.”

“What do you know?”

Mana began to vibrate around Cha Se-hyeon.

It was clear hostility. He immediately raised his hands.

“Oops, you’re a hasty young lady. I will quickly state my purpose. I am a Mage from Arcadia, specifically from the Kingdom of Karsata. In fact, many people are looking for Earthlings…”

He quickly continued his words as he saw Cha Se-hyeon’s momentum becoming rougher.

“To put it more briefly, I will give you a Magic Book.”

“What?”

“Right now, I have all the Magic Books for 6th Circle Magic and below. I will give them all to you.”

“What…?”

Even Cha Se-hyeon was surprised by those words.

She could predict more accurately than anyone what kind of events the entirety of 6th Circle Magic and below Magic Books would bring about.

Her rough momentum vanished as if it had been washed away.

Cha Se-hyeon finally regained her composure and spoke.

“…Why on earth? There’s no reason to give them.”

“Would it be okay if I explained in a bit more detail?”

He checked Cha Se-hyeon’s reaction.

“Go ahead.”

Once permission was granted, he immediately began his explanation.

About how they discovered the Descendant of the Great Sage.

That the person was in the country where she lived.

What the Descendant of the Great Sage meant to the Three Nations, including Karsata.

Why he had no choice but to give the Magic Books.

Also, why he could only bring up to the 6th Circle Magic books.

He explained everything calmly.

“…So I wish to give them to you. Also, if I may ask a favor…”

He took out a Magic Book from his waist.

He said all the other Magic Books were in a sub-space.

The Magic Book he carried separately was bound to be something special.

“It is a method for Circle growth. If it is the Descendant of the Great Sage, there is a high probability that the Circle growth will not keep up with the acquisition of magic theory, so I prepared this. As you will see if you read it, it is a method that must never be attempted by anyone other than the Descendant of the Great Sage. Please be careful of that point.”

Cha Se-hyeon looked at the Magic Book for a moment, then glared at him before snatching it away.

‘Circle creation can’t keep up with magic theory acquisition?’

One person came to mind.

There was a conversation she had with Kim Myung-joo over the phone before.

It was certain that the protagonist of that story was him.

“So he’s at that level, huh?”

Cha Se-hyeon laughed.

It had been a long time.

Perhaps this was more welcome news than the Magic Books.

“First of all…”

As Cha Se-hyeon waved her hand in the air, a Magic Circle was generated beneath her feet.

She had already noted the location of the Portal on her way here.

Teleportation was no problem.

“Get on, old man. I don’t fully trust you, so don’t think about pulling any tricks.”

“Of course.”

He quickly stepped onto the Magic Circle.

Soon, light flickered throughout their vision.

When their sight returned, a deep blue Portal was visible in front of them.

Cha Se-hyeon strode forward and stuck only her arm into the Portal.

With this, Earth and the Dungeon were connected.

“Put them in.”

“I shall.”

He stood in front of the Portal, touched his hands together, then made a triangular shape and moved them left and right.

Then, space opened between his hands, and Magic Books began to fly out from within and pour into the Portal.

From the 1st Circle to the 6th Circle.

All the Magic Books corresponding to those levels began to fly through the Portal to Earth, specifically to the Republic of Korea.

Possessing all of those Magic Books… other countries couldn’t even dream of it.

From now on, a great change would occur in the Republic of Korea.

The knowledge of Magic, which had existed in fragments, would be organically connected through all these Magic Books and established as a single system. Furthermore, as the variety increased, it would be possible to ‘choose’ which magic to learn for each Circle.

They would be able to respond to the Dungeons more organically.

Not only that, they might even be able to develop magic directly through research.

If one had to name it, it was a Magic Reform.

It was the first great revolution that the existence named Kim Song-cheol had brought to the Republic of Korea.