The Eccentric Mage and the Hidden Well

She stared in disbelief at the sight before her.

“Are you alright? I saw you collapsed, so I came over. Do you need any help?”

Jeong Eunseo…

The moment Lee Hyunseung saw her face, he knew her name. After all, she was one of the heroines from Broad Academy Online.

Jeong Eunseo. A woman of exceptional skill, but with an equally eccentric, almost otherworldly personality. She seemed warm yet somehow detached. At this point in time, she was exploring the Labyrinth in search of her lost grandfather’s legacy.

Since enrolling at Broad Academy, she had never once attended class, so she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had probably been demoted to F-class by now. But her original class was A-rank. If she hadn’t been wandering the Labyrinth, she likely would have been in the same classes as him.

But why is Jeong Eunseo on the first floor?

From what he remembered, the legacy her grandfather left behind was located on the second underground floor of the Labyrinth. Yet here he was, collapsed on the first underground floor—in a remote, forgotten corner of it, no less.

He had come all this way to reach the hidden location known as the Well of the Goddess. He couldn’t understand why she was here too.

Still flustered, he answered her.

“I don’t need any help.”

“I see. Understood.”

After confirming he was fine, Jeong Eunseo replied in a stiff tone and stepped back.

Step. Step.

He had briefly considered striking up a conversation with her, but decided against it. He had far too many things to do right now.

First, let’s check the classes I gained from the well again.

Jackpot. The Gunner class was a bit of a trash-tier job, but since it was Legendary, it should still be usable. On the other hand, the Blacksmith class was undeniably top-tier. It had the downside of weak personal combat ability, but since he now possessed both classes, that didn’t matter.

Even with the same base job, the difference in power could be like night and day depending on the class grade. For example, a Normal-grade Swordsman and a Legendary-grade Swordsman were on completely different levels. That was why, even though the Gunner class was generally treated like garbage compared to other jobs, he wasn’t too disappointed. The Legendary title made all the difference.

I thought the Gunner class only went up to Epic rank… How did this happen?

Gunner was a job for complete beginners—or one that most people avoided if possible. The reasons were simple: its grade capped at Epic, it was weak, and it was expensive to maintain. Guns and bullets in this world were obscenely costly. And even if you bought them at those ridiculous prices, Swordsmen and Mages could deflect or stop bullets with absurd ease. That was why Gunners were one of the most persecuted classes.

A weak, terrible cost-performance job. But when paired with the Blacksmith class, the story changes completely.

As a Blacksmith’s level rose, they could craft higher and higher grade weapons. And thanks to his game knowledge, Hyunseung had every single material and recipe memorized. He wouldn’t even need to buy weapons or ingredients. The cost efficiency would be incredible. If he could craft guns and bullets at Epic grade or higher and reinforce them, he would easily reach a level where he could stand against Swordsmen and Mages.

Above all, as a Legendary Gunner, he might be able to display far greater power with firearms than people expected.

Yeah, getting greedy now would be insane… Honestly, this is more than enough for the first underground floor.

Two Legendary classes obtained in exchange for the agony of severing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all his limbs at the Well of the Goddess. It was an excessive reward, but the Well was a hidden piece that vanished forever once the discoverer used it. That was why it gave a more generous reward than other hidden pieces.

Besides, most people don’t even know that you can recover after leaving the area around the Well.

The Well of the Goddess hidden piece gave no instructions or explanations. Even if someone luckily found it, they would probably just think, Oh, a pretty well, and leave—only to lose everything permanently. Even if they realized they had to offer a sacrifice, they would never guess it had to be part of their own body. And even if they did, they would never imagine they could recover afterward. No one would be crazy enough to cut off their own arms and legs.

In other words, only someone like him—a ten-year veteran of Broad Academy Online—could have made full use of it. Getting this kind of reward on the first underground floor was truly an absurd stroke of luck.

The pain was immense, but the reward is solid. I’m satisfied. The classes are enough for now. Time to check my stats.

Thanks to entering the Labyrinth in an unawakened state, I earned hidden achievement stat points. I need to distribute them properly.

From now on, he couldn’t waste a single point. Stats were incredibly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficult to raise, and there were hidden pieces that granted additional effects once certain stats passed specific thresholds.

Haa…

After thinking for a long time, he allocated all his points into Dexterity.

Raising Dexterity was the obvious choice. Both weapon crafting and firearms relied on the hands. The higher his Dexterity, the more efficiently and skillfully he could use them.

Still… the Mana stat is still inactive, as expected.

The Mana stat was normally gained by most classes upon awakening. However, the Gunner class did not receive it even after awakening. Since Mana was used for everything from skills to body reinforcement, the lack of a Mana stat was one of the Gunner class’s greatest weaknesses. It was also a major reason why Gunners were persecuted.

That was why Gunners usually relied on weapons that had Mana stats attached. But guns with Mana stats were horrifically expensive—far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Still, with the Legendary Blacksmith class, I should be able to craft a gun with a Mana stat.

As long as he had the materials, he could make as many as he wanted. It was only a matter of time. He could simply create weapons that granted him the missing stat. There was no problem.

Oh, right.

There was one thing he had to do after a class awakening.

He pictured the shape of a firearm in his mind.

One of the bonuses granted upon class awakening. The method to obtain a starter weapon was simple: after awakening, simply visualize a weapon that matched the class. Of course, what he received was literally just a starter weapon. It had no growth potential or special traits. It was merely a self-defense tool to be used in case of emergencies.

You never knew when you might run into monsters in the dungeon, after all.

Good… I’ve taken out the starter weapon, and I’ve obtained a growth-type hidden class. From now on, I just need to focus on growing stronger.

With that thought, he continued walking.

But then he kept hearing strange sounds from behind.

Clack. Clack.

What is that?

When he suddenly turned around, he saw Jeong Eunseo—the same girl who had woken him up earlier.

Swish.

The moment he looked back, she quickly pretended to be interested in her surroundings, gazing around the Labyrinth as if nothing was wrong.

He turned forward again and kept walking.

Step. Clack. Step. Clack.

Once again, she matched her pace to his.

Why is she doing this?

A question rose in his mind, and then one fact came to him.

Ah… Jeong Eunseo is a notorious directionally challenged person.

That explained why she was on the first floor instead of the second. She must have gotten lost. It was entirely possible. The Labyrinth was enormous. It was easy to lose your way if you weren’t careful.

That was why most people used artifacts similar to compasses to navigate.

She must have lost her artifact. There’s no way she wouldn’t have brought one.

Jeong Eunseo had probably lost her compass, but Hyunseung had no need for such things. Having played the game for over ten years, he had memorized the layout of every floor of the Labyrinth. It wasn’t just in his head—his body remembered. He could walk through a place like this with his eyes closed.

Swish.

When he carefully looked back again, Jeong Eunseo flinched and once more pretended to be looking at something else.

He spoke to her directly.

He already knew the answer, but asked out of courtesy.

“What’s going on? Why do you keep following me?”

“F-following you? That’s a misunderstanding. I’m simply… looking around the Labyrinth.”

She stuttered—very unlike her usual self—and tried to maintain a calm expression.

For a moment, he felt annoyed and considered snapping at her to make her leave. But then something else occurred to him.

Jeong Eunseo… she’s rich, isn’t she?

She was the daughter of a high-ranking guild leader. Her family had plenty of money.

I’m going to need a lot of funds to craft weapons and do other things. Even if I can make them myself, I’ll still need materials… If I build a good relationship with her now, there will be plenty of ways to make use of her.

Having made his decision, he spoke to her in a gentle tone.

“Did you lose your way? If so, I can help you.”

Surprised by his sudden change in attitude, Jeong Eunseo answered with clear suspicion.

“I-I told you I didn’t lose my way! If you keep cornering me like this…”

She muttered something under her breath, then suddenly shouted at him with a startled expression.

“Behind you! Watch out behind you!”

At that moment, a monster charged toward him at terrifying speed. It was one of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the higher-ranking monsters that inhabited the first floor of the Labyrinth.

Cruel Wolf.

A wolf-type monster that inflicted a painful status ailment upon biting.

He simply watched calmly as it rushed toward him.

From farther away, Jeong Eunseo ran toward him desperately and shouted.

“I told you to be careful! A Cruel Wolf is not something a Gunner can handle! Run toward me!”

Mana was rapidly gathering in her hands. She was clearly preparing to cast a spell on the wolf.

Swish.

He drew the starter pistol with one hand and aimed it at the Cruel Wolf.

“Are you crazy?! You can’t take on a Cruel Wolf with a pistol…!”

The wolf’s jaws were now right in front of his eyes.

“KRRRRAAAAAAGH—!”

The instant it opened its mouth to swallow him whole—

Now.

He pulled the trigger.

BANG—!