Chapter 4: Trainee Kim Song-cheol (1)

Kim Myung-joo settled the situation neatly and stood up from his seat.

“Shall we discuss this for a moment?”

At his suggestion, Seo I-tae and Go Jung-in followed him out with dazed expressions.

“Please rest. I’ll call someone to handle the repairs.”

“Wait, you want me to rest in this situation?”

Kim Song-cheol pointed his finger at the ceiling, but all he got back was a refreshing smile.

“Yes, haha.”

Kim Myung-joo closed the front door and headed for the elevator.

Once he pressed the elevator button, Seo I-tae finally spoke.

“Rather than a discussion… don’t you think an explanation is… needed?”

Seo I-tae was still stunned.

The rod currently stuck in Kim Song-cheol’s living room ceiling.

It wasn’t a rod made to be used like that.

It was only supposed to react to mana flow and provide a slight levitation force.

That rod was embedded in the ceiling.

Knowing the principle of the rod made it even more incomprehensible.

“The explanation isn’t long. His Mana Affinity came out as 100. It’s the highest value since we started measuring affinity.”

“100?” “100?”

Both of their eyes widened simultaneously.

It was a figure they had never heard before.

It made them wonder about his birth—to the point of questioning how a person could be born for it to come out as 100.

“Since Kim Song-cheol has already entered the Training Academy, there’s no need to worry much about security… but please keep it quiet for the time being.”

If the value of 100 became known, everyone would react just like these two.

Furthermore, because shocking news has a property of spreading quickly, after passing through a few people, it might soon decorate the headlines of newspaper articles.

Decorating the headlines itself didn’t matter much.

The problem was Kim Song-cheol’s mental state.

He had just entered the Training Academy and hadn’t even adapted yet; his focus shouldn’t be diverted by useless matters.

“Uh… would Swordsmanship be out of the question?”

Go Jung-in asked cautiously.

After hearing the number 100, he seemed to covet the man quite a bit.

“I’m confident I can raise him well.”

“Denied. Magic seems better. Don’t you agree, Instructor Seo I-tae?”

“This… it’s not just a matter of being ‘better.’ I don’t even know how to explain it. Even in ‘Arcadia,’ there probably isn’t a talent like that…”

Seo I-tae muttered in a trembling voice.

Kim Myung-joo gestured toward Go Jung-in.

*Look at this. Are you still going to try to take him for Swordsmanship?*

That was the meaning.

“Well…”

Go Jung-in licked his lips and crossed his arms.

In his mind, Swordsmanship was a stretch.

His talent for magic was at an unfathomable level.

“Instructor Seo I-tae.”

“Yes?”

“The decision is for magic, and now he needs to be taught… what is your opinion?”

Kim Myung-joo asked as he stepped into the elevator.

“Well…”

Seo I-tae gathered her thoughts for a moment.

She only spoke after the elevator doors closed.

“It would be great if Cha Se-hyeon could teach him, but…”

Cha Se-hyeon was the top Mage in the Republic of Korea.

However, there were a few reasons why she couldn’t teach Kim Song-cheol, the most representative being two: her personality and her time.

Her personality was bad, and she had no time.

“Alternatively, could we recruit another Hunter? If it’s Pyo Seong-gwang or Min Song-i…”

“Why would we entrust the education to an outside Hunter?”

Kim Myung-joo asked.

“That’s because I don’t have the skill to teach Kim Song-cheol.”

Seo I-tae was also a graduate of this Training Academy.

In terms of class year, she was quite a veteran.

It had been six years since she became a Mage.

However, she hadn’t even reached the 3rd Circle yet.

Her Mana Affinity was decent, but she lacked a bit in every other area.

“I asked for your opinion because it pertains to the teaching plan.”

Kim Myung-joo said in an admonishing tone.

In his eyes, Seo I-tae wasn’t just a low-performing student without skill.

Even if her magic skills were slightly lacking, she clearly had a talent for teaching.

“Try leading the instruction for the time being. You’ll do well.”

“Then… I’ll try to make it work somehow…”

“Oh, right. There’s a class that started Mana Sensing recently, isn’t there?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Can we put him in that class? What do you think?”

Trainees whose subjects are decided as magic start Mana Sensing first.

Starting from feeling mana to creating the 1st Circle was the first task as a Mage.

“Two people have already created their Circles, but I think Kim Song-cheol would be able to catch up sufficiently.”

“Then let’s start by putting him there. There’s a lot of theory to learn besides magic, so individual lessons wouldn’t work… shall we do that for now?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Just build a solid foundation. That will be enough.”

Kim Myung-joo smiled and encouraged her.

He didn’t expect much from Seo I-tae anyway.

He knew better than anyone that she wasn’t the vessel to hold someone like Kim Song-cheol.

***

Kim Song-cheol took his delivered breakfast and sat at the table.

He had just ordered a home-style meal, and a nine-dish spread arrived.

Thinking back to the past when he made do with cereal, it was quite a luxury.

“Let’s see…”

While eating, Kim Song-cheol rechecked the schedule he had received last night.

It was a schedule listing the classes he had to take at the Training Academy.

‘There are more subjects than I thought. I thought I would just learn magic.’

There were theoretical tactic courses, wilderness survival skills, monster analysis, and subjects regarding other dimensional civilizations.

Dungeons weren’t just places where people from Earth entered.

One could meet beings from other dimensions, so they had to be aware of their culture and political situations.

After finishing his meal, Kim Song-cheol grabbed his pad and headed to the designated lecture hall.

Walking a little way from the dormitory, he saw the training ground.

Although classes hadn’t even started yet, there were trainees swinging swords.

‘Wow, is that what they call Aura?’

Among several trainees, a red energy flickered on one person’s sword.

Seeing Aura in person was even more mysterious than he had thought.

It wasn’t just red light; it was constantly shimmering, asserting its presence.

‘Swordsmanship wouldn’t have been bad either.’

Feeling a slight regret for the path not taken, Kim Song-cheol soon quickened his pace.

The first class was Basic Magic.

The lecture hall was on the third floor of the Magic Training Hall.

“Isn’t he kind of handsome?”

“He is handsome.”

“Wait—” *Slide.*

As Kim Song-cheol entered the classroom, the chatter cut off abruptly.

The lecture hall was quite spacious. It looked to be about a hundred square yards, but only three trainees were sitting on the floor.

Two were women, and one was a man.

The man was lying down on a mat sleeping, while the two women were in the middle of talking.

They were all around twenty years old.

At a glance, they almost looked like high school students.

“Oh? Are you an instructor? This is Instructor Seo I-tae’s classroom.”

One of the women spoke to Kim Song-cheol.

“…I’m a trainee.”

Kim Song-cheol replied awkwardly.

At the mention of being a trainee, the lying man also opened one eye and scanned Kim Song-cheol.

He closed his eyes again without much of a reaction, though.

“…Eh?”

“Ah, it must be that. They raised the age range for the Mana Affinity test. Right?”

“Yes, I was dragged here because of that.”

Kim Song-cheol nodded and sat down.

It was an integrated chair he hadn’t sat in for a long time.

The reason the other trainees were just sitting on the floor seemed to be because these integrated chairs were uncomfortable.

“Then how old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

“Then you’re older than Instructor Seo I-tae. How interesting.”

He didn’t feel any malice, but at that pure wonder, Kim Song-cheol couldn’t help but swallow dryly.

At that moment, the door opened and Seo I-tae entered the classroom.

She was wearing a dress similar to yesterday’s.

“Hello.”

When Seo I-tae entered, the male trainee finally sat up.

But that was all.

No one sat in the integrated chairs.

They just greeted her while remaining on the floor.

“You’re already here.”

Seo I-tae gave a slightly awkward smile and acknowledged Kim Song-cheol.

“Yes, I didn’t want to be late…”

“Good. Shall we sit on the floor for now? Magic training is usually done while sitting on the floor.”

“Ah.”

Kim Song-cheol finally came down to the mat and sat.

Seo I-tae, holding her pad as expected, stood before the trainees.

“Did everyone do some individual training?”

The man and one of the female trainees nodded, but the other female trainee wore a woeful expression.

“I did the Breathing Method last night, but I’m not sure if enough mana gathered.”

“There’s no need to be too impatient. Going correctly is more important than going quickly, so it’s okay. Shall we check your progress for a moment before we begin?”

Seo I-tae first sat in front of a trainee and placed her hand near her chest.

“Starting with the Breathing Method. Inhale…”

Following Seo I-tae’s instructions, the trainee began to move mana.

Every time she inhaled, the surrounding mana was sucked into her body, and after some was absorbed, it was carried out by the exhale.

“There isn’t much mana yet. You’ll need to gather more.”

Seo I-tae checked each person’s progress one by one.

After kindly pointing out the deficiencies even for the trainees who had created Circles, it was Kim Song-cheol’s turn.

Sitting in front of Kim Song-cheol, Seo I-tae looked stiff for some reason.

She had been fine while talking to the other trainees, but now she gulped as if nervous.

“Um… did you read the materials I sent you?”

“If it’s the ones I received yesterday, yes. I read them all.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“There are over 200 pages… didn’t I leave a comment asking you to only read Chapter 1?”

“Yes, I saw that, but I had a lot of time left, so I just kept reading…”

Seo I-tae had only dealt with trainees who had just graduated high school.

Among them, many had no interest in studying.

Now that a trainee who used to be an Accountant had arrived, it felt rather awkward.

“Th-then, shall we try Mana Sensing first?”

“Actually, I did Mana Sensing yesterday. I tried it a bit on my own as described in Chapter 1, and that sensation I felt, was it mana?”

“Ah…”

Seo I-tae’s brain lagged for a moment.

Usually, it takes at least a week to sense mana.

To be generous, she thought it might take Kim Song-cheol about a day, but to think he had just read the theory and done it.

“Have you tried anything else? Like the Breathing Method…?”

“No, it said it’s dangerous to do it alone at first, so I didn’t do that.”

He was an excellent student.

To think he read the lecture materials so thoroughly.

“Then… well… let’s try the Breathing Method first. Close your eyes and place both hands on your knees.”

Seo I-tae lightly placed her fingertips on Kim Song-cheol’s chest.

“Through the Breathing Method, you accumulate mana in your heart and then create a Circle. So, as you know, it can be seen as the starting stage to activate the rotation of the Circle.”

“Yes.”

Kim Song-cheol nodded with his eyes closed.

Not only Seo I-tae but also the other trainees were watching him.

This was because their curiosity had been piqued from the moment he said he felt mana alone.

Seo I-tae continued the lesson, trying her best to ignore the gazes of the other trainees.

“Now we’re going to inhale. The image of inhaling the mana that exists in nature is important. After that, you send the mana that entered your lungs to your heart and hold it tight. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Kim Song-cheol nodded as well.

“Now, take a deep breath. To the point where your chest rises.”

*Inhale…*

The moment Kim Song-cheol drew breath through his nose, suddenly, the mana around him began to fluctuate.

It was to the point where mana swirled as it was sucked into Kim Song-cheol’s mouth and nose.

That intense mana reaction was so loud that anyone could feel it.

‘Wh-what is this…?!’

Seo I-tae was startled, but she hurriedly pulled up her mana to prepare for any possible emergency.

She also raised her hand to calm the flustered trainees.

This was a phenomenon she had never experienced.

If she wasn’t careful, it might deal a great blow to Kim Song-cheol.

However, as if laughing at Seo I-tae, the moment Kim Song-cheol began to exhale, the fluctuation of mana stopped and became as calm as a sea after a storm.

And when Kim Song-cheol inhaled again, the same phenomenon occurred.

A phenomenon that even Seo I-tae, who had taught many trainees, had never seen before.

She bit her lower lip and wore a tearful face.

‘I told you I’m not the right person to teach him, Director…!!’

***