Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Auxiliary Magic
Lee Hye-na could not make sense of the situation at all.
She had been working as a scout for four years now.
Rather than combat ability, it was her eye for people that had allowed her to join a large corporation like Cheongryong.
Her performance? It was beyond excellent.
Even now, by her own choice she remained the head of HR Team 2, but originally she was Park Un-nyeom, a legend within Cheongryong.
Was she not someone whose judgment Lee Hye-na trusted, someone who had brought in capable hunters time and time again?
‘But that person is strange.’
Kim Do-yoon.
An F-rank hunter who had awakened just the other day.
Every time he raised his hand, goblins were sent flying into the air.
“Kiiaaaargh!”
“Graaah!”
At first, the roots only grazed past their hearts.
But now, they were piercing straight through the goblins’ hearts one after another.
Even that was beyond comprehension.
‘How is he accurately driving underground roots into the hearts of five running goblins?’
She even turned her head, wondering if he might be a villain.
But his expression was the same as before.
An unchanging pace.
Movements like a machine devoid of emotion.
“Uppercase T…”
She muttered softly and raised her sword.
Then she thrust her chipped iron blade into the neck of a goblin that had been striking Baek Un-seok’s shield.
Sshhk!
When she looked back, two other goblins had already had their heads severed from their bodies.
Kim Do-yoon was quietly observing the scene.
‘He doesn’t seem like a villain. Then is he really a gray mage?’
If he had only awakened yesterday, at best he should be around level 3.
Even considering that this was an F-rank Gate, the destructive power and versatility of his magic simply did not make sense.
He was a monster in the truest sense.
‘I should talk to Baek Un-seok later.’
Lee Hye-na thought that as she wiped the sweat flowing down her sleeve.
“.......”
And then she realized.
She wasn’t sweating at all.
She let out a small laugh.
So she was riding the bus again this time too.
After a long while of sweeping through the goblins,
a message finally appeared before my eyes.
[You have leveled up]
My third level up already.
I immediately checked my status window.
[Name : Kim Do-yoon]
[Level : 4]
[Stats]
Strength: 1
Stamina: 1
Agility: 1
Magic: 5
The mana displayed in my vision was quite different.
[Mana : 75]
With Magic at 5, the normal mana value should be 50.
But I had gained 20 from the mana ring obtained earlier, and another 5 from the fifteen mana stones.
‘A total of 75 mana… This might work.’
Once I reached that conclusion, I called Baek Un-seok and Lee Hye-na over.
“Could you come over here for a moment?”
The two of them quickly ran over.
It was fascinating.
They were completely different from the people I had met in the Haeseong Guild over the past six years.
Every single action of theirs carried a sense of consideration.
“I’ll cast a few simple auxiliary spells on you both.”
Auxiliary magic.
Unlike ordinary magic, it continuously consumes mana not only at the moment of casting but also while maintaining it.
At the moment, my mana pool and mana regeneration were still far from sufficient.
So large-scale auxiliary spells were impossible.
But something at this level was doable.
[Impact Veil]
In an instant, Baek Un-seok’s shield emitted a faint glow.
Baek Un-seok’s eyes widened as he spoke.
“It’s a damage absorption type?”
“Yes.”
I replied briefly and extended my hand toward Lee Hye-na’s sword.
[Blade Whisper]
A darkness that briefly swirled around the blade before vanishing.
Curiously, it no longer reflected sunlight.
Looking at her sword, Lee Hye-na’s eyes twitched slightly as she asked me.
“So… you can use auxiliary magic as well?”
“Seriously… his offensive magic is already monstrous, and this too…”
Both of them looked visibly flustered.
I understood.
I was just as confused while trying to figure out my own abilities.
In fact, I was still surprised in real time.
‘Why is my mana recovering so fast?’
After using the auxiliary spells, my mana had nearly been depleted.
Yet it was recovering at a fairly rapid rate.
Much faster than before.
‘It’s hard to explain just by increased Magic stat.’
Raising the Magic stat naturally increases mana regeneration.
But that alone didn’t seem to account for this level of speed.
Perhaps this too was a privilege of a 5th-tier mage.
“Let’s go.”
From my perspective, it was a very welcome development.
In emergencies, I would still need mana potions, but
I could save quite a bit on them.
“I… I really want you, Kim Do-yoon. At this rate, our HR Team Leader might end up coming personally and kneeling before you.”
“Hey! Taesan is full of meat shields who don’t even know the ‘m’ of magic. You should definitely come to our balanced Cheongryong instead.”
After a brief exchange of bickering,
Baek Un-seok once again moved forward with a tense expression.
The forest felt eerie.
It was unclear what might be hiding behind the massive tree trunks.
“Kiik, kik!”
“Kik!”
Suddenly, goblins’ cries echoed out.
Unlike before, when they had rushed from the front,
now about twenty goblins poured in from both sides.
But it wasn’t a problem.
I extended both hands to the sides and drew in mana.
[Root Quake]
Massive tree roots burst up from the ground.
Thud! Thud!!
The roots pierced the hearts of the goblins ahead, and at the same time blocked the paths of the remaining ones.
I drank a mana potion and continued casting.
[Wind Cutter]
Goblins’ heads flew into the air.
However, given their large numbers,
Baek Un-seok shouted.
“We’ll fall back and fight while moving!”
With the enemies split to both sides, drawing aggro became difficult.
As we retreated along the path we had come from, the goblins began to cluster into one direction.
In that moment, Baek Un-seok’s shield flashed brightly.
“Kiirik!”
The eyes of the remaining six goblins glowed red.
Then they collided.
Thud, thud, thud.
“......?”
“......?”
“......?”
A thud instead of a crash?
Baek Un-seok, Lee Hye-na, and I were all slightly taken aback.
But none of us lost focus.
Thud.
Because the impact was almost nonexistent, Baek Un-seok’s sword pierced not the goblin’s knee, but its neck.
My magic severed the necks of two goblins.
Sskrrk, sskrrk!
Lee Hye-na’s diagonal slash split two goblins’ bodies cleanly like tofu.
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
“......?”
Thud, thump.
The goblins, sliced diagonally like cut mackerel, fell lifelessly to the ground.
Thud!
Baek Un-seok, having finished off the last goblin by piercing its neck, turned to Lee Hye-na with a bewildered expression.
“W-what is this…?”
“How would I know?”
Lee Hye-na looked at me in shock.
I simply shrugged.
“…The effect is excellent.”
Not just good.
It seemed… extremely, extremely, extremely good.
Sssss…
The wind felt noticeably different from when we had first entered the conifer forest.
The boss was near.
We checked our status one last time as we spoke.
“Um… your abilities are truly amazing, Do-yoon.”
Lee Hye-na spoke.
Was it just my imagination that her face looked slightly stiff?
“But at the same time, they’re dangerous. I can’t go into detail due to guild policy, but… once you return, please look up ‘gray mage’ in the community.”
Gray mage.
A term I had seen in passing on the community yesterday.
Baek Un-seok tilted his head.
“Do you think Do-yoon is a gray mage?”
“Maybe.”
“Hm.”
Baek Un-seok didn’t seem to agree.
The two of them began talking lightly about it.
Listening in, I gulped down a mana potion.
My mana wasn’t completely empty, but
I intended to fully replenish it and use my maximum output again this time.
“Alright… let’s go.”
Soon after finishing their conversation, the two moved forward again.
As they walked, the forest gradually became brighter.
When I lifted my head,
I could see the dense canopy of conifers thinning out.
‘Hmm.’
I quickly reconsidered several spells in my mind.
Perhaps because I had been reviewing them whenever I had time,
spells suited to the changing environment came to mind almost automatically.
“There it is.”
At Baek Un-seok’s words, a message appeared.
[Boss, Grizz Goblin has appeared]
[Eliminate the Grizz Goblin]
Ahead lay a green field.
Where the towering conifer forest had disappeared, the boss stood.
Its entire body was covered in thick gray fur.
Eyes that gleamed a sharp yellow under the sunlight.
“Grrr…!!!”
What shimmered under the sunlight was
not a blade, but massive, sharp claws.
Thud!
In an instant, the Grizz Goblin noticed us and kicked off the ground.
The distance closed in an instant.
The strategy remained the same.
Magic, aggro, and finish.
“Please.”
Baek Un-seok murmured.
Hearing that, I raised my hand toward the sky.
Rumble…
Lightning flashed within the clouds.
I gathered mana and clenched my fist.
It felt as though the lightning hidden in the clouds was being grasped in my hand.
Thud, thud, thud!
The Grizz Goblin charged forward, stomping the ground heavily.
Even in that urgent moment, my mind remained remarkably calm.
“Do-yoon…?”
Lee Hye-na’s voice murmured beside me.
Baek Un-seok did not turn around.
Leaving all of that behind,
I drove down the lightning that had surpassed its critical point.
[Thunder Fall]
Crack!
It felt as though the sky itself had been split open.
A bolt of blue lightning suddenly struck down from the clear sky.
It pierced directly into the Grizz Goblin’s crown.
Rumble…
The charging monster collapsed at the same speed it had been moving.
Even after stopping, it trembled violently, foam spilling from its mouth.
Its pupils were unfocused.
Its body stiffened completely.
“Good heavens… is it dead…?”
As if answering Baek Un-seok’s words,
a message appeared.
[You have defeated the Grizz Goblin]
At the same time, something dropped from the air in front of the Grizz Goblin and landed on the grass.
Baek Un-seok picked it up and handed it to me.
“Please take a look.”
Items were now naturally being handed to me.
Lee Hye-na was the same.
Her eyes were filled not with dissatisfaction, but curiosity toward the item.
It was treatment I had never once received before.
Perhaps it was something others would consider normal.
But at least for me, who had been caught up in internal politics at the Haeseong Guild for the past six years, it was anything but normal.
“Thank you.”
I accepted the item and bowed slightly to Baek Un-seok and Lee Hye-na.
“I haven’t agreed yet, you know?”
Lee Hye-na said with a playful smile.
Even so, surprise still lingered on her face.
Baek Un-seok seemed just as shocked, examining the Grizz Goblin as it emitted white smoke.
‘Let’s see…’
I lowered my head and checked the item Baek Un-seok had given me.
A staff.
A gray gem glimmering at the tip of its silver body.
The same color as the Grizz Goblin.
[Grizz Wand (E)]
A roughly crafted small staff. Mana +50. Casting time reduction.
An E-rank small staff.
Perhaps because it was one rank higher, the effect was clearly superior.
The F-rank mana ring I had obtained before provided +20 mana,
so this was more than double that performance.
‘This will significantly expand the range of spells I can use.’
Even within the same 1st-tier magic, the variety is vast.
Some 1st-tier spells consume enormous amounts of mana.
Mana was truly the alpha and omega for me.
An invaluable tool.
‘And it even reduces casting time.’
Fast casting.
The life of a mage.
Given how powerful a mage’s spells are, longer casting times inevitably increase the chance of death exponentially.
The Thunder Fall I had just used was no exception.
‘Unlike Wind Cutter, which is almost instant, this required a noticeable charging time.’
This staff could help compensate for that.
As a result, this Gate run had been quite fruitful.
[Magic 5 → 7]
[Mana : 145]
I invested my level-up stat points into Magic.
With the staff included, my mana reached 145.
The day when I could use Mana Shield was not far off.
[Mana Shield]
Mana surrounding the body absorbs physical and mental damage in place of the user.
According to the community,
the minimum mana required for Mana Shield to function effectively was 300.
The pace was sufficient.
In just two days, I had already reached half of that.
“Once you’re done organizing, shall we head out?”
“Alright!”
After finishing the Grizz Goblin inspection, Baek Un-seok,
and after Lee Hye-na completed sorting the mana stones,
we exited the Gate.
My vision blurred for a moment upon leaving.
Blinking, I steadied my sight.
“Te… Team Leader?”
At that moment, Lee Hye-na’s voice rang out in clear surprise.
I lightly gripped my staff and looked forward.
“.......”
In my view stood a middle-aged woman with a composed impression.
She approached me and quietly bowed.
“I apologize for visiting so suddenly.”
Then she lifted her head and looked at me calmly before speaking.
“My name is Park Un-nyeom, and I am the head of HR Team 2 at the Cheongryong Guild.”