Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: The Dimensional Magic Circle
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After Lucia pulled out the arrow, Kang Jin-hyuk was finally able to plant his feet on the ground.
The cram education that was no different from torture had nearly driven him insane.
But Kang Jin-hyuk held onto his sanity and checked the two new skills he had acquired.
[Understanding of Magic]
You have perfectly grasped the basic principles of magic.
Current Skill Level: C
[Skill Effect]
Even with an unknown magic circle, there is a 50% chance of successful activation.
With a magic circle whose principles you understand, there is a 99% chance of successful activation.
[Seeker of Knowledge]
A burning desire for knowledge grants enhanced learning ability.
Current Skill Level: D
[Skill Effect]
Knowledge you have memorized is never forgotten.
Interpretation of unfamiliar terms or languages is possible.
Checking the first skill, Kang Jin-hyuk let out a sigh of relief.
With this skill, the chance of failing to activate a magic circle was only 1%.
It was regrettable that it wasn't 100% success, but Kang Jin-hyuk wasn't a mage to begin with.
He had to be grateful for achieving this much.
"The second skill must be a bonus..."
Thanks to being force-taught while tied up, he no longer needed to study foreign languages.
In an era where more and more Hunters went on overseas assignments, the effect of this new skill couldn't be ignored.
"Are you going to sit there dawdling forever? Get up and read this already."
What Lucia handed to Kang Jin-hyuk was the incantations of the magic circles she had researched so far.
Complex languages and numbers were listed in rows, but Kang Jin-hyuk now had no trouble interpreting them.
"You've learned something, so you can understand this much, right?"
"I get it, but... isn't this way too complicated?"
"Well, it's related to dimensional magic, so it's bound to be complex."
"Aren't you giving something way too advanced to someone who just grasped the basics?"
"Should I start from the low-level spells and teach you step by step then?"
Seeing Lucia's smile, Kang Jin-hyuk desperately racked his brain.
"Damn it."
His brain, hardened from even giving up on college entrance exam prep, felt dizzy from suddenly trying to use it.
Kang Jin-hyuk inwardly cursed with every line he read.
'Why the hell am I doing this crap...'
If Lucia returned to her original world, Kang Jin-hyuk would suffer a loss instead of gain.
Objectively speaking, there was no reason to put in this much effort to help her.
That thought made him want to quit right then and there.
'No. Hold on, endure it.'
She had helped him before, so now it was his turn.
Kang Jin-hyuk steeled his resolve, barely suppressing the urge to tear the paper to shreds.
Skipping meals, after wrestling with the paper for 4 hours, Kang Jin-hyuk fully understood the principles of the magic circle.
[You have perfectly understood the principles of the Dimensional Magic Circle.]
A message appeared to confirm it, and Kang Jin-hyuk felt relieved.
'Finally done with this damn magic studying.'
With everything finished, he felt a slight sense of accomplishment.
Kang Jin-hyuk moved his stiff body and stood up from his seat.
"Alright, I understand it all now."
"Then read this too."
"...."
The moment he received another sheet from Lucia, Kang Jin-hyuk's patience nearly snapped.
With superhuman mental strength, he blocked the outburst and glared at Lucia, trembling.
"What the hell is this?"
"It's additional research I did while you were reading the first one."
"Don't tell me there's more besides this?"
"Hmm... about three more sheets left."
It felt like the ghost of someone who died failing exams in a past life had possessed him.
Faced with endless torment, Kang Jin-hyuk wanted to scream.
* * *
Seo Sang-ho was already feeling disillusioned just a week after joining Pantheon.
He had clearly handed over all responsibilities as guild master, but with Kang Jin-hyuk vanishing somewhere, all the work came back to him.
"Please review and approve this too."
Lee Hye-na innocently added another document to his desk.
Seo Sang-ho's already dissatisfied face turned utterly grim.
"Isn't this a breach of contract? Why do I have to do this crap?"
"Authority and duty to act as proxy in the guild master's absence. It's right here in black and white."
Lee Hye-na zoomed in on the contract screen on her tablet and showed it to him.
It was clearly written in bold font, leaving no room for doubt.
"Why the hell did you put a clause like that in my contract?"
"Someone who's done it before will do it better. That's probably what he thought."
"Do better my ass. I screwed up so bad I nearly got couped and killed."
Hurt by his own self-deprecating words, Seo Sang-ho made a depressed expression.
Seeing the documents piled up like a mountain only deepened his gloom.
"Where the hell did that bastard Kang Jin-hyuk go? No word at all."
"He said he's off on some training."
"What's left for him to get stronger there?"
Kang Jin-hyuk was someone who had leisurely won even against Won Jun-cheol and Kang Jun-tae simultaneously.
Rumor had it he even beat Cheon Sang-ho.
Unless he aimed to be the world's strongest man, there was no reason to push further.
Wouldn't it be more profitable to sweep up monsters for money or solidify the guild's position?
"Really, you never know with that guy."
With no choice, Seo Sang-ho picked up the documents and resumed his halted work.
He didn't know what Kang Jin-hyuk was thinking, but for now, he was the boss.
What could he do?
If told to sign, he signed.
* * *
Kang Jin-hyuk tore the paper he held left and right with hollow eyes.
It wasn't that he couldn't endure anymore and was throwing a tantrum.
Having overcome the mind-devouring pain, Kang Jin-hyuk had finally achieved human victory.
"It's done... Done! Fuck!"
Kang Jin-hyuk had succeeded in understanding all the principles needed to activate the dimensional magic circle.
He hadn't understood dimensional magic itself.
What Kang Jin-hyuk figured out was merely the bare basics for properly using the magic circle's function.
But that alone was an incredible achievement.
To grasp content that ordinary people take months to even begin understanding, in less than a week—it could only be called talent.
"I thought you'd collapse midway."
Lucia was impressed by Kang Jin-hyuk's mental fortitude.
She had planned to let him rest if he couldn't hold out, but even cutting sleep and meals, he didn't let go until the end.
"Now that it's done, rest a bit."
Lucia urged him to rest, knowing a disordered mind couldn't properly activate the magic circle.
"Rest? We need to finish this quick."
Kang Jin-hyuk shoved his bloodshot eyes close and prodded Lucia.
"Don't you know 'strike while the iron is hot'?"
"I know overconfidence won't help."
"It's not overconfidence, it's confidence. Confidence."
Having endured torture-like time, Kang Jin-hyuk's confidence pierced the heavens.
He felt like he could solve any problem now.
"What if I sleep here and mix up everything I just learned?"
He had a point.
After brief hesitation, Lucia decided to go along with Kang Jin-hyuk's opinion.
"Fine. I taught you myself, so you won't mess up now."
Lucia guided Kang Jin-hyuk to the center of the magic circle.
He placed the tip of the pre-charged MP baseball bat at the center.
The magic circle emitted bright light, proving it was functioning normally.
"Keep the gate to your dimension open for 10 seconds, right?"
"No, let's go with 3 seconds for the first try."
"Got it."
You couldn't bet everything on the first step.
First, they needed to check if there were any defects in the magic circle.
Kang Jin-hyuk slowly injected MP into the magic circle, following the incantation as taught.
Without missing a single step, meticulously proceeding, the magic circle shone brighter and brighter.
"Good. You're doing well."
He made no mistakes even past the halfway point.
It was incredible focus, even as his mind wavered from days without proper sleep.
Satisfied that no issues arose, Kang Jin-hyuk didn't loosen his tension.
With each further step, he concentrated even deeper.
"All the mana needed for activation has been injected..."
Now, all that remained was to send the signal to activate the magic circle.
One more step forward.
Just one simple process, and they would know if the magic circle left by the Dragon Temple worked properly.
Lucia, sensing the final stage, showed excited anticipation.
"Not much left! Focus!"
"I am focusing, no need to tell me!"
Kang Jin-hyuk steadied his mind and gripped the baseball bat handle with both hands.
The MP stored in the bat seeped into the ground to trigger the magic circle.
Watching the process, Lucia felt moved, like seeing a disciple's achievement.
"Really... thank goodness your bat can store mana."
While pouring the bat's MP, Kang Jin-hyuk heard her words and paled, lost in thought.
What he suddenly realized now was something he had treated lightly before, but it was fundamentally problematic.
'Is mana and MP the same thing?'
Kang Jin-hyuk had assumed they were just different names for the same thing.
But now, having studied the basics for magic circle activation, he doubted that.
No matter how he thought, MP and mana didn't seem like the same concept.
Even the color difference was obvious.
Normal mana should glow blue, but the MP he injected was a vivid golden light.
Realizing that far, Kang Jin-hyuk's face turned ashen.
Even if the cooking process is flawless, if the ingredients are wrong, the dish fails.
The same went for the magic circle, surely.
"Fuck...!"
By the time he realized it was ruined, it was too late.
The MP, disguised as mana, wreaked havoc inside the magic circle.
As a result, what appeared before them wasn't a dimensional gate, but an unidentified wave from the massive MP.
Boom!
Like a giant balloon bursting, a deafening roar swept through the dungeon with fierce impact.
"Urk!"
"Kyaa!"
Lucia, who hadn't anticipated this at all, screamed and fell on her butt.
Opening her eyes in shock, what she saw was a massive hole in the floor like a meteor crater, and the magic circle vanished without a trace.
"Ah..."
Even understanding the principles of the dimensional magic circle didn't mean she could recreate it.
Knowing how a clock works doesn't mean you can make one yourself.
Moreover, the dimensional magic circle was advanced magic even 9th-class mages couldn't fully comprehend.
For Lucia, who wasn't even a mage, perfectly recreating that difficult magic was impossible.
Realizing all that instantly, Lucia grabbed Kang Jin-hyuk by the collar.
"You fucking bastard!!"