Chapter 8: 1st Circle Mage Kim Song-cheol (2)

“Wow…”

+ Interest

Only then did the Trainees let out gasps of admiration.

The process of Circle Activation requires immense concentration.

Fearing that Kim Song-cheol might make a mistake if they made a sound, they had been holding their breath with their mouths covered.

“I’ve never seen such a large Circle before.”

“Uncle, that was insane…”

Seo I-tae looked at Kim Song-cheol and spoke.

“You can feel the Circle, can’t you?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Congratulations. You are now a 1st Circle Mage.”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to your excellent guidance.”

“No, I didn’t really do anything, did I?”

“You helped me a lot, didn’t you?”

“No.”

Seo I-tae shook her head.

No matter how much she thought about it, she hadn’t really done much.

No matter which Instructor had been placed here, Kim Song-cheol would have grown on his own.

Because that was so clearly evident, she couldn’t bring herself to nod.

“This is only the beginning. There is still much Magic to learn in the future. There are as many as 15 types of 1st Circle Magic alone.”

Fire, Magic Arrow, Wind Cutter, Dig, Magic Shield, Mist, Light, Clean, Magic Message, and so on—there was a lot to learn in the 1st Circle alone.

Of course, there were only a few proper offensive spells, but since there were many useful auxiliary spells for actual combat, they had to be mastered.

Furthermore, from the rank of 1st Circle Mage, one is deployed to the field.

They are thrown into an F-rank Dungeon.

As the lowest-tier Dungeons, the difficulty was low, but danger still existed.

Yet, they were deployed anyway.

This was the policy not just in the Republic of Korea, but worldwide.

Actual combat makes a Hunter grow quickly.

By deploying them starting from F-rank, their growth rate is increased to raise them into Hunters who can quickly collect Points.

In these times, another Gate would appear the moment one loosened the reins.

There was no time to be picky about this and that.

“Then, shall we start with the Fire Magic first?”

Kim Song-cheol turned on his pad and pulled up the Fire Magic Formula.

Fire Magic is the simplest among the 1st Circle Magic.

It uses only one Formula and is a simple elemental conversion, so it wasn’t complex.

The explanation for the Formula was about one page long.

“The Formula is implemented through a Magic Circle. You could say it’s similar to coding. After finishing the Formula calculations, you input the command and… activate.”

Seo I-tae explained the basic concepts of Magic step by step.

Although it was something he already knew from previewing the materials, Kim Song-cheol listened carefully.

“Then let’s try a practical exercise. Don’t try to do everything at once; let’s divide it into three parts. First, the implementation of the Magic Circle, the Basic Circle.”

The Basic Circle refers to the border of the Magic Circle.

Every Magic Circle begins with drawing the border.

It is the most basic of basics, but it should not be ignored.

Drawing Mana from the Circle was a hardship in itself for novice Mages.

“Do I do it like this?”

Of course, that story did not apply to Kim Song-cheol.

He naturally drew Mana from his Circle and then drew a perfect circle.

It meant that not only was his Mana control excellent, but the image in his mind was very clear.

“…That’s right. Then, shall we try filling in the Formula?”

Seo I-tae said with a gentle smile.

Normally, it wasn’t the stage to fill in the Formula yet.

There were at least three steps left, including Formula calculation and Magic Circle implementation practice, but she skipped them.

It was because she felt like Kim Song-cheol could do it.

‘It feels like he’s holding back. He might actually be able to do it.’

When Seo I-tae told him to fill the Magic Circle, the watching Trainees’ eyes sparkled.

They also knew it wasn’t the stage to be filling in Formulas yet.

Could Kim Song-cheol really do it?

“Fill it in?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Song-cheol stroked his chin with his left hand, then extended his right hand behind the Magic Circle and flicked his fingers.

Then, lines began to appear inside the deep blue circle.

The lines, stretching out and drawing geometric shapes, quickly filled the inside of the Magic Circle.

“Fire.”

With a short trigger word, Kim Song-cheol lightly tapped the Magic Circle with his index finger.

A flame the size of a fist was generated at the tip of his finger, and the Magic Circle faded away.

He had succeeded in triggering the Magic.

Kim Song-cheol moved his fingers here and there with a look of wonder at his own achievement.

The flame moved along with his finger, flickering in the air.

“He did that in one go…”

“Look how stable it is. Even like that, the Magic doesn’t break.”

The Trainees stood with their mouths agape at the sight.

***

“No, you can’t just shove the Formula in like that.”

Inside Kim Song-cheol’s home on the 16th Floor of the dormitory.

The place that was usually filled with silence had become boisterous.

This was because three Trainees who took classes with him had come to visit.

It had been three weeks since Kim Song-cheol rose to the 1st Circle.

Now, Kim Song-cheol was acting as an assistant instructor for the Trainees.

It was because his progress was so fast.

“Like this?”

Kim Min-jeong twisted her hand while floating a Magic Circle in the air.

The two Magic Circles overlapped, filling each other’s empty spaces.

However, the Magic did not activate.

The moment they merged, the geometric lines became distorted and then evaporated in an instant.

“No, the Formula was wrong this time. The air compression calculation was off. Try making it again.”

“Uuugh… here.”

Kim Min-jeong created two Magic Circles again.

They were the same Magic Circles as before.

“This part. This part. And this part.”

Kim Song-cheol’s fingers moved without hesitation.

Every time his finger touched a Magic Circle, Kim Min-jeong’s expression became more distressed.

“Ack, Magic is too hard! I got so many things wrong.”

“It’s naturally hard. But what can you do? You have to do it. When calculating the compression Formula…”

Kim Song-cheol even added a kind explanation of the Formula.

Only then did she look like she understood a little.

To begin with, Kim Min-jeong lacked talent for Magic.

The standard way was to finish the Formula calculation and then draw the Magic Circle all at once.

The reason she used the method of drawing them separately and then merging them was that she was unskilled.

“Keep practicing. You have to master the 1st Circle within this year.”

After encouraging Kim Min-jeong, Kim Song-cheol turned around toward the back.

Over there, Su-ji was struggling with a Magic Circle.

“How about you? Any problems?”

Su-ji had more talent than Kim Min-jeong.

Unlike Kim Min-jeong, who was stuck on Wind Cutter, she had at least moved on to Magic Message.

“Magic Message… I don’t think I can do this even if I died and came back to life…”

Magic Message is a spell that transmits thoughts over a short distance.

Since this spell is a mental-type Magic, it tends to rely more on intuition than on the Formula.

It was a difficult spell if one couldn’t get the hang of it.

“Give it a try.”

At Kim Song-cheol’s request, Su-ji first floated one large Magic Circle.

“The Formula is fine…”

Kim Song-cheol finished analyzing the Formula at once and then gestured with his eyes.

It was a signal to activate the spell.

(Un… cle-rry-ga-na-nak… no… finger… how…)

A voice echoed in Kim Song-cheol’s head.

It was a sequence of completely unrecognizable syllables, the kind that would give someone goosebumps if heard in the middle of the night.

“….You’re going to need a lot of practice. I thought you were a ghost.”

“It’s driving me crazy! How am I supposed to do this?”

“The Instructor told you. Imagine the sound. Clearly.”

“That’s exactly what I can’t do.”

“You have to practice. Practice.”

“It’s unfair. Uncle, you succeeded with everything in one go, didn’t you?”

“That’s not exactly true. I did mess up the Mist spell once…”

“It’s basically the same thing.”

“”

Kim Song-cheol was at a loss for words.

It had been three weeks since he rose to the 1st Circle.

He had already mastered all the 1st Circle Magic.

To explain that process in one sentence, he could say there were no particular sticking points.

Once he learned the Formula and activated the spell, it just worked.

It had only taken him two weeks to learn all the spells.

It just took one more week to master them.

“Some people spend a whole week stuck on one spell. While someone else just clicks and Magic comes flying out.”

“I worked hard too. It’s not like I learned it while clicking with my toes.”

“Eh? Then were we just playing around, Uncle? We’re all studying hard too.”

“Right, right.”

Kim Song-cheol shook his head at the two women’s grumbling.

Honestly, there wasn’t much he could say.

It was a fact that his talent was outstanding, and it was also a fact that Su-ji and Min-jeong practiced their Magic diligently.

Kim Song-cheol chose to retreat for now.

He quietly backed away and approached Min-cheol.

“Is there anything difficult for you?”

“For me… it’s Clean.”

Min-cheol, who had been agonizing, managed to squeeze out a word.

If Min-cheol said it was difficult, there was a high possibility he was truly blocked by a wall.

Surprisingly, the Clean spell is the most difficult among the 1st Circle.

It uses four Formulas, and combining them to run the spell is quite tricky.

“Ah, Clean. Shall we try it?”

As difficult as it was, Clean was an essential spell.

It wasn’t just a spell used for cleaning.

It could be used as first aid when covered in poison, and it could also be used to partially purify contaminated water.

It was close to a lower-tier version of purification Magic.

“First…”

Min-cheol produced a Magic Circle.

Geometric patterns filled the face-sized Magic Circle.

It was quite a complex Magic Circle compared to other 1st Circle spells.

“There’s no problem with the Formula itself, right?”

“It doesn’t activate well.”

“Try using it.”

Kim Song-cheol lightly poured some coffee on the floor.

The coffee spread across the floor.

“Clean.”

As Min-cheol recited the trigger word, a faint light spread from the Magic Circle and landed on the coffee.

But that was all.

No part of the floor appeared to have been affected by the Clean spell.

“The problem is the Mana control for activation. Don’t supply a constant amount; you have to gradually increase it, push it hard, and then decrease it again.”

Kim Song-cheol pointed out the problem immediately.

“Ah.”

Min-cheol nodded and activated the Clean Magic again.

This time, it worked properly.

The coffee that had been spilled on the floor was washed away cleanly.

Ding-dong.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.”

Su-ji stood up as if she had been waiting.

She went out to the front door and soon returned holding two boxes of chicken.

It was a late-night snack they had ordered separately.

“Shall we eat before we continue?”

“Sure, you have to eat when it’s time to eat.”

This was one of the advantages of the Training Academy.

They would bring you anything you ordered right away.

And for free, too. Min-jeong set the table, and Min-cheol brought over cups and plates.

Once Su-ji returned from draining the juice from the pickled radishes, the setup was complete.

“Let’s eat.”

Chicken was always the right choice for a late-night snack.

When about half of the two chickens had disappeared.

“Today is the last day for the 16th Floor Magic Academy.”

Su-ji said.

Kim Song-cheol was no longer in the same class.

Since he had mastered the 1st Circle, he had moved to a class one level higher.

So to speak, he had skipped a grade.

It was unavoidable because the level gap between him and the other Trainees had widened.

“I’ll help you guys out occasionally. Come up anytime.”

“Don’t you have to go into Dungeons now? Wouldn’t you be busy? You have to learn 2nd Circle Magic too.”

Min-jeong said cautiously.

Since he had mastered the 1st Circle, Kim Song-cheol now had to enter Dungeons.

Although it was an F-rank Dungeon, from the perspective of Trainees who had never entered a Dungeon before, anxiety outweighed confidence.

“Well… will I really be that busy?”

Kim Song-cheol himself, however, remained indifferent.