The Power of Reflect

Reflect.

Paat.

A dazzling golden light dazzled Kim Jehyun's eyes. As the golden glow pouring from Ellen's treasure chest faded, Kim Jehyun could finally check the magic artifact he had obtained from it.

"This is……."

Kim Jehyun looked down at the leather undergarment in his hand. He didn't know what material it was made from, but it was so light that it had no weight at all. The texture was unbelievably soft.

—Not bad, what you've got there.

"Yeah?"

At Alkasha's words, Kim Jehyun immediately pulled out an appraisal scroll from his subspace and examined the leather undergarment in his hand.

"Unique grade!"

Kim Jehyun was startled by the unexpected grade. Unique grade was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just one step below legendary grade. It was a magic artifact of a grade that was equally hard to obtain.

"Hmm. But the options seem a bit sparse?"

The unique-grade magic artifacts he had seen in the Golden Goblin's shop had even more abundant options than this. But this leather tunic only had the Reflect option and high defense—nothing else. At a glance, it was hard to see why this leather tunic warranted a unique grade.

—The true value of a magic artifact lies in its options.

At those words, Kim Jehyun reread the option.

Reflect.

It reflected all types of damage.

—Reflect is an advanced spell that can only be used at the 8th circle. A magic that returns the opponent's power in full. This leather tunic has Reflect enchanted on it permanently. Though limited to three uses per day, being able to use Reflect at all is incredible. On top of that, it boasts defense that's unbelievable for a leather tunic.

It was a defensive magic artifact perfectly suited for Kim Jehyun, whose body was still immature(?).

"Ah, I see."

Now that he thought about it, its utility seemed higher than expected.

—Once you acquire some of the dragon's legacies, you'll get Dragon Scale as well. By then, you'll have incomparable defense, but until that point, this will be useful.

"Yeah. Seems pretty good."

Kim Jehyun equipped it right away. It felt like he wasn't wearing anything at all.

"Whoa, am I really wearing this?"

He couldn't help blurting it out. It even had excellent breathability and automatic temperature regulation. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.

—You still have time left. Why not run some dungeons to test your new magic artifact's performance and level up while you're at it?

"Sounds good."

Kim Jehyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nodded positively at Alkasha's suggestion. Having filled the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠required score for the Ascension Tower exam, he had successfully registered for it. The exam was in a week. With time to spare, it wouldn't hurt to level up now that he could solo dungeons.

Kim Jehyun began busily moving to level up during the remaining period.

* * *

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Kim Hyeongjin let the visitor into his room.

"Uh…… you called for me?"

"Yeah."

Jinhojang, who had rushed over at Kim Hyeongjin's summons, glanced nervously at him. With his guilty conscience, he couldn't help but be on edge around Kim Hyeongjin these days.

'Damn that bastard. Look at the mess I'm in because of him.'

Every time he ended up in this situation, Jinhojang got angry at Kim Jehyun. He wanted to rush over and get revenge right now. But—

Zing.

Thinking of Kim Jehyun made the bridge of his nose tingle. Unlike his thoughts, his body was honest. The spot where Kim Jehyun had hit him throbbed.

"Why the long face?"

"N-no, it's nothing."

"……Hmph."

Kim Hyeongjin shook his head, looking at Jinhojang's sullen expression. Once out of favor, everything about him seemed pathetic and dim-witted.

'This is the last time.'

The reason Kim Hyeongjin had called Jinhojang here today was to deal with both Jinhojang and Kim Jehyun at once.

"You asked for one more chance last time, right?"

"Y-yeah, that's right. I've really got my act together now. Give me one more shot to make it up. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just once."

Jinhojang failed to read Kim Hyeongjin's eyes. When Kim Hyeongjin spoke as if he might give him another chance, Jinhojang fixated only on those words.

"Fine. I'll give you one last chance."

"Ugh…… thanks. Hyeongjin—no, really, just tell me what to do. I won't let you down."

"……Didn't I tell you not to call me by name when I summon you?"

Kim Hyeongjin furrowed his brow when Jinhojang used his name. He had clearly warned him before, yet he slipped up again. Indeed, it was time to get rid of Jinhojang too.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry. I forgot. I'll be careful. Chairman."

Jinhojang gave an awkward laugh. Infinitely servile. A complete contrast to how he had bullied Kim Jehyun.

"……Fine. Your job is to take care of Kim Jehyun. Can you do it?"

"T-take…… care of him? How?"

Jinhojang flinched at Kim Jehyun's name. The memory of getting beaten by him was still vivid. He shrank back involuntarily. And he'd heard rumors lately that Kim Jehyun had taken down a mutant alone. Kim Jehyun was no longer the pushover he used to know. Truth be told, he found Kim Jehyun intimidating now, but he couldn't admit that in front of Kim Hyeongjin.

"What? Can't do it?"

"N-no, no way. I'm 2nd Circle—there's no way I'd lose to a 1st Circler. I was just careless last time, okay? Just say the word, and I'll break that bastard's arms and legs."

Jinhojang exaggerated to hide his unease, blustering to Kim Hyeongjin.

"Tch. Whatever. Take this."

Kim Hyeongjin handed Jinhojang a pitch-black dagger and an appraisal scroll. When Jinhojang saw the dagger's info on the scroll, his eyes widened.

"Th-this…… how did you get this, Chairman?"

"……You don't need to know the details. Use that magic artifact to handle it."

Jinhojang couldn't answer readily. He was filled with confusion after seeing the dagger's information.

"Nanik's Fang……."

It was a famous magic artifact. Any being with mana would suffer disrupted mana operation if cut or stabbed by this dagger. It was a nightmare weapon for mana users. Fortunately, it only worked on 3rd Circle or below, or D-rank superhumans and lower. Otherwise, it would have caused massive chaos in the superhuman world.

The problem was something else.

'This is banned.'

Nanik's Fang was a weapon prohibited by world law. How had Kim Hyeongjin obtained a villain's tool like this? He looked at Kim Hyeongjin with eyes full of questions, but his mouth wouldn't open. It felt like something he shouldn't ask.

"Use Mana Crush to destroy his circles."

Kim Hyeongjin gave Jinhojang his final order. The Mana Crush option, usable only three times. Anyone 3rd Circle or D-rank or lower could lose their abilities entirely to this special power.

"What, can't do it?"

"Ha, haha. No way. You said just tell me what to do. Perfect. I hate seeing that bastard strut around anyway."

The answer was decided. Jinhojang couldn't defy Kim Hyeongjin. If he disobeyed again here, Kim Hyeongjin would abandon him completely.

"Alright, then your job is……."

Kim Hyeongjin explained how to use Mana Crush and how to deal with Kim Jehyun. After hearing it all, Jinhojang left Kim Hyeongjin's room with a "just trust me."

* * *

"Kirruk! Kiruk!"

A green-skinned monster the size of a child. The identity of this small, ugly creature was a goblin.

Goblins were F-rank monsters, but they were classified as upper-tier among F-ranks. Not because their physical specs were superior. It was because of their paralyzing needles. The paralyzing needles they shot through blowpipes were quite annoying.

Shiiik.

Kim Jehyun calmly watched the few poison needles flying toward him. In that state, he activated the Reflect option on his new leather tunic top.

'Reflect.'

With Kim Jehyun's will, the leather tunic top absorbed his mana.

A thin mana barrier enveloped Kim Jehyun's body. The manifestation of Reflect.

When the paralyzing needles touched the mana barrier—

Zeeng.

The needles that touched the mana barrier were reflected back.

"Kiruruk."

The goblins panicked as their own paralyzing needles returned, and they all ended up getting hit by them. Dealing with the paralyzed goblins afterward was a piece of cake.

"So that's how it works. Pretty good."

—See? Told you it'd be useful.

"Yeah. Aside from how much mana it guzzles, it's solid."

Of course, there was no such thing as using advanced magic like Reflect for free. It consumed a third of his mana per use. It was the first time since reaching Mana Core Stage 1 that so much mana had been depleted at once. Kim Jehyun clicked his tongue at the sheer amount.

—Compared to the mana required to cast Reflect at 8th circle, that's nothing. But keep this in mind: The attacks you can reflect with it will be proportional to your mana capacity. The goblin needles were easy, but with your current mana, anything D-rank or above will be tough to reflect.

Even accounting for that, its utility in battle seemed high.

"It'll shine more as my Mana Core advances."

Kim Jehyun called up his status window.

He had reached level 4 after defeating the mutants. His mana had now reached two digits, including bonus stats. His mana recovery speed seemed slightly faster too. The mana depleted from Reflect earlier was recovering at a rapid pace.

—At level 10, you can advance your Mana Core to stage 2. That's why you set out to level up with your spare time—on my advice.

Reaching level 10 would allow him to advance to the next Mana Core stage. Levels rose faster with a mix of personal training and real combat experience rather than repetition alone. Kim Jehyun's goal was to gain at least one level, preferably two or more, before the Ascension Tower exam.

"Alright, let's grind fast."

Thanks to his Magic Tower affiliation, he easily got assigned a solo dungeon. This was why solid backing mattered. After defeating even the boss, King Goblin, Kim Jehyun exited the dungeon. No level up yet, but his instincts told him a few more runs would do it.

'Compared to the past, I've gotten so much stronger.'

In the past, he couldn't even dream of soloing dungeons. Even when he first entered 2nd Circle, F-rank dungeons were tough alone. Now it was this easy. He truly felt his growth. A surge of elation that he could grow even stronger welled up.

As Kim Jehyun happily stepped toward the next dungeon—

A familiar face entered his view.

"Kim Jehyun."

A dried-squid-looking bastard. It was Jinhojang.

Kim Jehyun smirked at the sight of him. In the past, he would have trembled in fear, but not now. If anything, he was glad. He had been planning to seek him out soon to settle the score from last time, but here he was, coming to him.

Kim Jehyun replied with a bright smile.

"What brings you here? Oh! Was the massage last time not enough? Want more?"

At those words, Jinhojang's face twisted viciously.

"You fucking bastard!"

Jinhojang, enveloping his body in body reinforcement magic, drew a dagger from his pocket and charged. The Nanik's Fang in Jinhojang's hand scattered an eerie glow.