In Search of Skill Books

Seo Hwarang wandered around the area until he finally spotted a sign.

Oh! One look was enough to tell it was an organization made up of mages. A guild in the medieval sense was basically the equivalent of a modern-day association—people of a particular trade banding together to protect and advance their shared interests.

Shall we go in?

Creak!

He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome!"

A cute red-haired girl greeted him warmly. "What brings you in today?"

"Um..."

He wasn't sure if this was an appropriate question to ask here, but he just went for it. "I had something I wanted to ask."

"Of course, go right ahead."

"If I wanted to get something like a skill book, where would I need to go?"

"...A skill book? What's that?"

The redhead echoed his question with a baffled look on her face. Uh-oh. So this world didn't call them skill books?

"Could you maybe... have any books with magic theory in them? Or really, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any book at all."

"Ah, you're a mage!"

The girl, who had been hesitating in uncertainty, clapped her hands together with a snap! "Do you happen to have your badge with you?"

A badge? What badge now?

Seo Hwarang frowned. Did she mean some sort of credential proving membership in the guild as a mage?

"I... lost mine. Haha."

He lied instinctively. He couldn't quite explain why, but the girl in front of him struck him as remarkably pure-hearted—and that meant she'd be easy to take advantage of.

"Oh dear, is that so! You must have run into some vicious monster or fiend while adventuring! But I'm afraid our guild can't guide you toward anything without a certified badge. If you'd be willing to take a simple certification exam, we can reissue your badge—would that be alright?"

"Really?"

Seo Hwarang scratched his head. A certification exam? He hadn't even learned a single skill—how exactly was he supposed to prove he was a mage?

"Then please wait just a moment!"

There was a way, of course. After all, our resident Fire Magician was right here.

Bella was an employee of the Magic Guild. A native of Brakel Holt, born and raised, she had learned magic through a stroke of chance and joined the guild as a result. Her skill level was 1st Circle—but even that earned her a fair amount of respect in a village like this.

Magic is a matter of talent, after all.

No matter how hard someone without talent worked, they could never become a mage. It was a blessing granted only to the few—so few, in fact, that the word "talent" was attached to it. Which was precisely why, on the Etherion Continent, anyone who passed even a simple test was classified as a promising resource, and no amount of support was considered too generous.

"Miss! Come over here, quick!"

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

"They said they lost their badge."

"...Badge? What badge?"

Hmmmmm. Bella always wore a bright, beaming smile, but deep down she didn't trust these two. Working as a guild guide, you ran into characters like this more often than not.

And yet. The outfit of the pretty woman with the staff in front of her did look rather mage-like. Her clothes were stained with blood, and she bore a fair number of wounds.

Are they really adventurers who just came back from fighting monsters?

"The certification is simple."

"Yes."

"You just need to demonstrate a single spell for me. 1st Circle earns a Wood Badge, 2nd Circle a Bronze Badge, and 3rd Circle an Iron Badge."

Those three were the only badges a village-level guild could issue. Anything beyond that? You'd have to head to a major city. More precisely, to the Magic Tower within one. Silver and Gold badges carried too much value to keep at a local branch, and besides, any mage of the 4th Circle or above was treated as nobility wherever they went.

"Miss, show them one of your spells. The one you used back then."

"O-Okay."

She's got something! Sensing as much, Yoo Seon-ah immediately called fire to her hand.

1st Circle. Firebolt.

Whoosh!

Her class name was Fire Magician, and she had drilled exactly one spell—Firebolt—into the ground. As a result, her proficiency had climbed to nearly 70, and she could summon it with the lightest flick of her hand.

'Whoa!'

Bella's eyes went wide. A Firebolt... cast that effortlessly?

She was a 1st Circle mage herself, and she knew Firebolt. But even so? She couldn't summon it that casually. Casting a spell meant solving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a complex formula in your head while simultaneously materializing the mana anchored in your heart. To do it that breezily required an understanding of at least the 3rd Circle or beyond.

I should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠issue it right away.

Part of her wanted to ask for a demonstration of 3rd Circle magic too, but Bella didn't cross that line. There had to be a reason the mage before her was only showing off that one spell! Push her luck nosily, and she could end up dead. Not every mage was like that, of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course—but most of them were eccentric.

"Th-Third Circle! You're certified! Here, I'll issue you your Wood Badge! You really are a tremendous mage!"

"There's a stamp on the back of the badge."

"Right here! Just press your finger against it—the enchantment does the rest, and you'll be recognized as a mage anywhere on the continent."

This was only possible because the Etherion Empire had unified the continent. The only threats to the empire anymore were monsters and fiends.

"Ah, um... thank you. Then, by any chance—would the books my companion mentioned earlier, the ones about magic, be available here?"

"Of course!"

Bella flashed a friendly smile. "They're on the third floor of the guild annex. There is a small fee to use them, though."

"A fee?"

Seo Hwarang asked, "How much?"

"Two copers gets you a full day of access. Taking any books outside is absolutely forbidden."

"...Two copers."

Ha. Earth or here, it was all the same. It came down to money, money, money. Where was a penniless soul supposed to go in this world?

Naturally, since we had nothing to pay with, we stepped outside and asked for a moment to think things over.

So—copers. The word meant bronze coins. Most of the common folk here conducted their business with bronze coins or straightforward barter, and it seemed silver became the standard currency from city-level settlements on up. And then, finally, gold coins—the currency of highest value. Here, they were reserved for large-scale transactions or the exclusive plaything of the upper class.

The exchange rate was one gold to one hundred silver, and one silver to one hundred copers.

"Hmmm. So what do we do?"

"Good question. You think this place has a part-time job gig or something? Why is this dungeon so complicated?"

Miss. If you ask me, this is no ordinary dungeon.

Less a dungeon, more another world.

That was the only way to define it. Even with just a little digging, he could already feel it—how vast this continent was, and how staggering the variety of races and cultures it held.

"More than a part-time job..."

Seo Hwarang's gaze landed on Yoo Seon-ah's staff. "How much did you pay for that thing?"

"...This?"

She hid the staff behind her back, suspicion written all over her face. "Why? Don't tell me..."

"What if we sold it to raise some cash? We need to be able to eat before we get out of this godforsaken place, don't we?"

"Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how much this cost?"

"How much?"

"Three million won!"

"...Three million?"

Gasp. How was a wooden staff that expensive? That was nearly Seo Hwarang's entire monthly salary. But what choice did they have? He needed to find the skill books—only then could he pull his weight, and only then did they stand a chance of surviving this place.

"Ha."

Seo Hwarang squeezed his eyes shut. "If we get out of here, I'll pay you back the three million."

"...You? With what money?"

"Hey, watch it. What do you take me for? I've got steady savings, you know! Just cashing out my installment account alone would clear a grand—er, ten million, easily!"

"..."

"And anyway, first things first—let's see if that staff can even sell here."

"Hmm."

A craftsman with a long white beard peered at the staff through a magnifying glass for a long while. This was the Merchant Guild—specifically, the Artifact Appraisal Department.

"A rather shabby staff, isn't it? Low-grade engraving work, but I suppose... it would raise fire-attribute spell damage by a hair's breadth."

"..."

Seo Hwarang glanced sideways to find Yoo Seon-ah trembling with rage. What? Shabby? Do you have any idea how much that cost!

"Tsk tsk. And they used applewood for the base material, no less. Applewood is strongly associated with healing magic, so one would normally never set a fire-attribute engraving into it."

Grrrk!

Yoo Seon-ah ground her teeth. That part couldn't be helped, okay?! A fire-attribute mage who had also learned healing magic on the side—that was Yoo Seon-ah in a nutshell.

"In any case, an engraving is an engraving. I can't pay mere lumber price. Two copers for the wood, two for the engraving—four copers total. Not a copper more."

"...Four copers?"

Apparently, the average commoner here needed roughly one silver coin per person to get through a month. Which meant daily living expenses came out to about three or four copers.

Four. Copers.

"You skinflint! There are limits to how much blood you can squeeze from a flea!"

Whoosh!

Just as Yoo Seon-ah began to flare up—

"Miss! Miss!"

Seo Hwarang blocked her path and held her back. "Just take the four copers!"

"...You—!"

"I told you, I'll absolutely compensate you once we're out. Just sell it! You cast magic just fine without a staff anyway!"

"WAAAAAH! No! Do you know how attached I am to iiiit!"

Clatter-roll.

And so, at the cost of Yoo Seon-ah's beloved staff, they secured four copers.

Clink!

Seo Hwarang laid down the four copers.

"Oh my, you actually managed to gather it?"

Bella covered her mouth in surprise. "Yes—full day! The two of us would like to look through the books. That's fine, right?"

"Of course! Here are your entry passes!"

Bella accepted the copers and handed over two scraps of paper, which Seo Hwarang took with a flat expression.

Unbelievable. This was a three-million-won entry pass. If he got mauled to death in here?

Well, what could he do. Just die, that's what.

Once outside, Seo Hwarang and Yoo Seon-ah made their way to the third floor of the annex. A staff member stood guard there, and upon receiving their passes, unlocked the door for them.

"Enjoy your time. However, once you leave, re-entry will be difficult. Also, should any book sustain damage, the guild's customary law provides for a claim of compensation—so please take exceptional care."

"Understood."

The third floor was roughly a three-hundred-square-foot miniature library. Bookshelves the color of dark chocolate held a surprisingly diverse collection.

Wow.

Seo Hwarang's eyes began to sparkle. Books! Actual books! And not just any books—books filled with stories he could never have found on Earth!

For this one moment at least, both the desperation to survive and the fear of a new world melted away entirely. What were books to Seo Hwarang? Drugs.

"Sniff, sniff!"

Nostrils flaring at the intoxicating scent of old volumes, he plucked a book from the shelf. Swoosh. He opened it to find pages covered in unfamiliar runes.

Ah.

That was a shame. It seemed that while spoken language was translated, the written word was not. Now what? Would he have to learn the local script first?

The Skill Book Collect skill could read only skill books. Which meant this—was not a skill book.

Setting the book down, Seo Hwarang glanced around the room. And then—

Oh!

He could see them. Books glowing faintly translucent, unmistakably different from all the rest. He knew it instinctively.

Those are skill books!

There were about ten of them visible in here.

Jackpot! This is a jackpot!

Did that mean he could master ten skills just by reading?

He must have looked ridiculously giddy, because Yoo Seon-ah's brow furrowed.

"...Hey. You."

She felt uneasy. That little... don't tell me.

He hadn't sold off her staff just to read some books, had he?

If he did, just wait. Sister or not, friendship or not—he's dead. Absolutely dead.