Chapter 34. 3rd Circle Mage Kim Song-cheol (3)

“Ugh.”

As soon as she arrived, Oh Song-hui let out a strange groan and pulled off her helmet.

The inside of the helmet was drenched in sweat.

The Swordsman were in slightly better shape.

Kim Song-cheol was also relatively fine, thanks to the help of his items.

However, Mun Gi-jeong was on the verge of collapsing.

“I’m just… going to lie down for a second.”

Mun Gi-jeong couldn’t even manage to take off his helmet before he sprawled out on the Portal Tablet.

He lay there with his eyes closed, gasping for breath.

The frantic rising and falling of his chest was the only proof that he was still alive.

The time taken to clear the Dungeon was 42 hours.

It was the longest stay of any Dungeon they had entered so far, and they had faced the greatest number of Monsters.

Low-level mobs kept appearing relentlessly, preventing them from even getting proper sleep.

“Oh dear, you should at least sleep at home.”

+ Interest

Oh Song-hui sat beside him like she was Mun Gi-jeong’s mother, supporting his head as she removed his helmet.

Mun Gi-jeong offered no resistance, leaving his body to her touch.

As she peeled off his armor like a shell and unlaced his boots to pull off his walkers, the smell of feet began to waft up.

However, they had already seen each other at their worst, so no one paid it any mind.

Oh Song-hui stripped off all his gear, leaving him in only his Combat Uniform, and neatly placed the equipment on the desk.

“Uncle, how much Mana Training have you been doing?”

Oh Song-hui asked as she belatedly removed her own armor.

Kim Song-cheol had already taken off his gear and was sitting in the corner.

Next to him, Ser Gang-jin was lying down.

“I didn’t do it that intensely.”

“What about your Circle? You have some left, right?”

“I’ll be at the 3rd Circle soon. Only a few days left.”

“That’s insane. It hasn’t been that long since you reached the 2nd Circle.”

The reason the Dungeon difficulty had increased so much was largely due to Kim Song-cheol’s influence.

The Dungeons Team 25A entered were E-rank.

One graduates from E-rank upon reaching the 4th Circle.

Until then, the Dungeon difficulty is adjusted according to the Hunters’ skills, but the difficulty had spiked sharply since Kim Song-cheol began his new Mana Training.

This was something no one had expected.

It was unprecedented for the difficulty to rise this much just because there was a 2nd Circle master Mage.

“Then is this the end for us too?”

Ser Gang-jin muttered with his eyes closed.

“Probably. This… is getting dangerous.”

Kim Song-cheol said.

Kim Song-cheol needed to form a new team.

This bizarre increase in difficulty was the Dungeon’s message to join a team suited to his level.

It felt like a malicious warning that someone would die if they didn’t listen.

“Tsk, I guess I can’t keep up after all. I thought maybe I could hold out until graduation.”

Oh Song-hui muttered regretfully.

He had suddenly appeared and joined the team, and now he was flying off to the top on his own.

From Oh Song-hui’s perspective, it felt like he was leaving just as they were getting attached.

“Does this mean you’ll keep switching teams, Uncle?”

“I wonder?”

Kim Song-cheol tilted his head. It was a subject he hadn’t really thought about.

But thinking about it now, it seemed likely.

A team must be matched in skill.

If someone grew exceptionally fast like Kim Song-cheol, the team would inevitably keep changing.

“Anyway, we should have a farewell party. Probably not today. How about this Saturday, two days from now?”

When Oh Song-hui spoke, Kim Song-cheol shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“We should.”

Ser Gang-jin jumped up, his eyes gleaming.

Ssh.

Mun Gi-jeong weakly raised a thumb, but even that seemed too exhausting, and it soon flopped back down.

***

Sunday morning.

Snore!

Kim Song-cheol woke up startled by a thunderous sound.

He sat up to see a familiar sight.

It was the main room of the dormitory.

Then he saw himself sitting on the bed without even having covered himself with a blanket.

Only then did he remember what happened yesterday.

They had a farewell party.

Kim Song-cheol had declared defeat after drinking five bottles of soju and lay down on the bed.

That was where his memory ended.

Snore!

‘My head…’

Feeling a headache, Kim Song-cheol walked out to the living room.

Traces of last night remained in the living room.

It was a complete mess.

Snore!

Remnants of the food Ser Gang-jin and Oh Song-hui had devoured were scattered everywhere, and there were dozens of empty soju bottles.

And Ser Gang-jin was lying on the sofa, snoring with all his might.

Based on the sound alone, ‘screaming’ was a more fitting description than ‘snoring.’

Kim Song-cheol watched Ser Gang-jin for a long time, like someone who had discovered something incredibly fascinating.

Just what kind of mechanism produced such a sound?

Could a physical organ other than the vocal cords exist that could produce a sound of that magnitude?

Well, a Swordsman was not something that should be measured by a Mage’s standards.

Look at these alcohol bottles.

This was the amount consumed by only two people.

‘One, two, three…’

Kim Song-cheol gave up after counting ten empty soju bottles.

“Those ruthless bastards…”

He should have expected this when Ser Gang-jin arrived yesterday with three boxes of soju slung over one shoulder.

Kim Song-cheol’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t exactly weak.

Originally, it was about two bottles, and after Mana Training, it increased by one to three bottles.

That was decent for an average person.

But compared to Ser Gang-jin and Oh Song-hui, it was a drop in the bucket.

They drank alcohol like it was water, and Kim Song-cheol hadn’t lasted even two hours.

Then what happened to Mun Gi-jeong?

The clever Mun Gi-jeong hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol yesterday.

His motto, ‘Never drink with things that aren’t human,’ which he had learned through experience, was as precious as a golden rule.

Kim Song-cheol walked carefully through the living room, which was like a minefield.

If he wasn’t careful, he’d step in stew broth or chicken sauce.

He went to the small room and peeked inside to find Oh Song-hui sleeping on the Portal Tablet like a pharaoh.

It seemed she had mistaken the Portal Tablet for a bed in her drunken state after it had been moved to the small room.

Kim Song-cheol rolled up his sleeves and began to clean up the mess.

Although people from a cleaning company would come, his conscience felt guilty leaving this absolute disaster as it was.

Furthermore, his personality wouldn’t allow him to just look at broth splashed on the TV or sofa.

He started by using Clean Magic to erase the broth stains.

A vibration buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out to find his cell phone.

‘Did I sleep with my phone in my pocket…’

The caller was Kim Myung-joo.

In fact, he had sent a message to Kim Myung-joo regarding the team issue, and he had just received an answer saying, ‘Let’s talk about it later.’

“Hello?”

Kim Song-cheol answered the phone.

[I’m sorry for calling on the weekend, but do you happen to have some time? I figured you wouldn’t have time unless it was the weekend.]

“So suddenly?”

He thought the call was about the team issue, but it seemed otherwise.

[Yes, there are people who want to see you, Kim Song-cheol.]

“And who… are they?”

[The researchers.]

“Ah.”

He heard that the researchers were very happy thanks to the Magic Books he had brought.

It seemed they had requested a visit.

“Then, I suppose I could see them…”

[I’ll come to pick you up. Please be ready, haha.]

Kim Song-cheol hung up the phone and looked around the living room.

He hadn’t even finished ten percent of the cleanup.

‘It can’t be helped…’

Kim Song-cheol quickly washed up and got ready, then left a note and exited the dormitory.

The note said he was heading out for business and that they didn’t need to clean up because he would do it when he got back.

Kim Song-cheol walked across the Training Academy toward the main gate.

Kim Myung-joo’s car was already waiting there.

“Hello.”

Kim Song-cheol greeted him as he climbed into the backseat.

Kim Myung-joo, who was already inside, welcomed Kim Song-cheol with a smile.

Meeting him for the first time in a while, Kim Myung-joo looked a bit tired, but his expression was bright.

“About the team issue I mentioned last time. I don’t think I can enter Dungeons with Team 25A anymore.”

“Ah.”

However, the moment Kim Song-cheol brought up the team issue, Kim Myung-joo’s bright face instantly clouded over.

Changing teams would be another headache.

He had put it off for a while to help with the research team’s work, but he couldn’t delay it any longer.

“And this time, I’m against the team being disbanded or changed because of me. I want to fill an existing vacancy this time.”

Kim Song-cheol spoke firmly.

At first, he had just done as he was told because he didn’t know anything, but now he understood how the system worked.

He had a sense of how much he could voice his opinions.

“That would be more convenient. And usually, hunters clear Dungeons with their original teammates until a spot opens up. But in your case, Kim Song-cheol, you can’t enter the Dungeon, which creates a gap. That’s what’s bothering me.”

“Can’t I just take a break? I think I can just focus on Magic training.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Myung-joo pondered for a moment.

Wouldn’t it be a national loss to exclude someone like Kim Song-cheol?

However, Kim Song-cheol’s argument also made sense.

A team change ‘for Kim Song-cheol’ would inevitably cause resentment.

There was no longer a need to expose Kim Song-cheol to such situations.

“Then I’ll consider that direction for now.”

“Yes, please. But where are we going right now?”

“Ah, to the workshop. Shall we call it a place full of dreams and hope?”

“A workshop?”

“Yes, the Digitalization Workshop. It was established thanks to you, Kim Song-cheol.”

Kim Myung-joo grinned and squeezed Kim Song-cheol’s shoulder.

Though he didn’t say it, gratitude was clearly conveyed through that touch.

The car traveling down the road entered The Center.

Kim Song-cheol also recognized this place as The Center.

When this university site was first designated as The Center, the media had covered it quite extensively.

The car stopped in front of the building on the right among the three buildings of The Center.

“Let’s go.”

Kim Myung-joo got out of the car and guided him into the building.

Kim Song-cheol followed him inside.

Since it was an old building, there was no elevator.

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, they finally heard signs of people inside.

Kim Myung-joo walked down the hallway and threw open the door at the very end.

Then, the sight of a ‘workshop’ unfolded before them.

First of all, it was wider than expected.

It looked to be nearly 1,400 square feet.

There were quite a few computers, and each computer was connected to a monitor and a scanning device.

A large bookshelf stood against one wall, filled with the Magic Books Kim Song-cheol had brought.

Researchers wearing white gowns and gloves were scanning the Magic Books one by one.

Carefully opening the book, scanning it, turning a page, and scanning again.

It was a repetition of that process.

It would be faster if there were more researchers, but the number of people working was less than ten.

“Are you digitalizing all the Magic Books?”

“Yes. It’s because of the translation issue.”

“How are you doing the translation…?”

“We trained an AI. Language-related books are cheap in terms of Points. We bought several and had it learn the Arcadian Language, and it’s better than a human, haha.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Kim Song-cheol nod.

He felt a sense of pride that scientific technology, which couldn’t even be used in a Dungeon, was being used like this.

“Everyone.”

At that moment, Kim Myung-joo raised his voice and clapped his hands once.

Only then did the researchers, who had been focused only on scanning with their heads down, look around.

“Let me introduce you. This is Kim Song-cheol.”

As Kim Myung-joo pointed to Kim Song-cheol with both hands.

“Ooh! That’s him!”

“Welcome!”

The researchers began to approach like zombies stalking prey.

“Thank you. A place equipped with this many Magic Books could not and will not ever exist on Earth again.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Kim Song-cheol. It makes me wonder if I should start believing in the Great Sage too, haha.”

The researchers showered him with praise, spitting as they spoke right in front of Kim Song-cheol’s face.

“No, no. It’s nothing.”

Kim Song-cheol waved his hands and took a step back.

But before he knew it, a researcher had approached from behind, blocking his retreat.

In an instant, he was surrounded by Earthling followers.

“You’ve truly done something great. I don’t know how to thank you…”

“I’ve decided to just believe in the Great Sage.”

“I was a cradle believer, but I’ve converted…”

With Kim Song-cheol in the center, they began to pour out a barrage of gratitude.

Watching them, Kim Song-cheol made a vow once again.

That he would never, ever go to Arcadia.

*