Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: 2nd Layer
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Should I call it fortunate, or was it simply that Aiden still fell within the realm of humanity?
He hadn't mastered [Charge] right away.
'But who could've imagined he'd pick up the [Bash] skill on top of that!'
Normally, new skills were acquired through [Skill Books], but sometimes people even created their own unique techniques.
Of course, they didn't just pop up out of nowhere.
To develop a skill on one's own, there needed to be a foundational skill as a base.
Just like how Aiden's [Bash] had been influenced by [Charge].
'It usually only became possible once proficiency hit 90% or higher, right?'
Jun recalled the average data from the game.
Did that mean Aiden's [Charge] proficiency had reached 90%?
'Nah, no way.'
Afterward, the [Charge] skills Aiden used showed almost no improvement in proficiency terms.
He'd simply avoided crashing into rocks due to poor speed control and ending up in a [Groggy] state.
His accuracy was still abysmal.
But with every use, his form had grown noticeably more refined and fluid—even Jun could see it.
That said, it wasn't all thanks to Aiden's talent.
'[Beast Body] does have that effect of dramatically boosting active skill proficiencies. That's why warrior players loved it so much. But...'
Reality wasn't a game.
No matter the synergy from the skill, Aiden's results were on another level—utterly ridiculous.
'Is that what talent looks like...?'
Jun let out a wry smile as thoughts of the world's unfairness bubbled up anew.
It had taken Jun months to get accustomed to this body.
Brutal days he had no desire to remember.
But Aiden was different.
A single flash of insight. That's all it took for that kind of growth.
Jun had no intention of dismissing Aiden's efforts as mere "talent."
Reality was just reality.
'As a leader, this is pretty embarrassing.'
A future he'd never once considered flashed in his mind.
Someday, Aiden soaring far higher and faster than him.
'Have I been too complacent?'
Jun had faith in the knowledge he'd held from his "Lee Jung-jun" days.
But that was just information.
Internalizing it was another matter entirely.
Take skills, for example. Without [Basic Magic Talent], he wouldn't have even attempted magical research.
Maybe he wasn't the right fit for Aiden after all.
No—Aiden might become an excellent leader himself.
Just like he had in the game.
"...Hah. What am I even thinking."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Since when had he become so reliant on someone else?
Jun turned his gaze inward.
Confusion reigned.
It couldn't be helped.
No matter how much he clung to a mage's cool rationality, he hadn't been a true mage from the start.
He'd been forced into the role.
Thus, he'd been forced to adopt a mage's mindset.
To survive.
A year in, it had become familiar, but remnants of that inner turmoil lingered like embers in the ashes of burned wood.
But such emotions were fleeting.
Soon, [Unyielding Will] shoved them unceremoniously below the surface.
'Even if that guy surpasses me in raw power someday.'
Being a leader wasn't just about being the best at everything.
Sure, such people existed, but was mastery the end-all?
Jun appraised himself objectively.
Embarrassing as it was to admit.
'The knowledge I have—and the drive to pursue it—that's what Aiden lacks.'
Jun trusted in his own knowledge.
And the path to growth it outlined.
He wouldn't let external pressures shatter that faith out of impatience.
It would crumble his very foundation.
That much was certain.
Yes, he had to believe it.
So he did.
He would.
Always.
But the last vestige of his mage's perspective whispered coldly.
'Skills aren't everything.'
That murmur sank beneath the forcibly forged belief.
Jun had briefly envied Aiden's talent, but if Aiden had overheard those worries, he'd have looked utterly baffled in return.
And understandably so.
Kwaaaaaang――!!
A single bolt of lightning crashed down.
One of humanity's archetypal disasters—the image of "heaven's wrath."
Yet the sky was cloudless, and still, fury from above struck the earth.
And its target was...
Chijik, jijijik――
The cockatrice, charred black and disintegrating into particles.
"My god..."
The heavens themselves were angry.
Aiden accepted the spectacle like any ordinary person would.
The destructive power had been that horrifying.
But it wasn't divine wrath. It was the work of one person.
The man Aiden admired without reservation: Jun.
"Th-that was incredible, Senior..."
"Haha, thanks."
Aiden's awe stirred something odd in Jun.
So Jun smiled back without restraint.
'Totally off the mark, though.'
The spell he'd just cast was [Lightning Call], the most devastating firecracker among 4th-circle magic.
A spell that literally summoned lightning.
Its power was so swift and overwhelming that the cockatrice hadn't even had time to react before perishing.
Jun had no argument there.
'But the imagery didn't infuse perfectly.'
And the accuracy had veered off substantially.
The epicenter of the manifested spell had been quite a distance from the target.
'Definitely different from 3rd-circle.'
There were many differences between 3rd- and 4th-circle magic.
For one, up to 3rd-circle, a mage ejected mana from the circles in their heart.
The phenomenon manifested, and that was called magic.
But from 4th-circle onward, it shifted.
4th-circle spells didn't just manifest phenomena—they guided them.
Like [Lightning Call], which twisted the natural atmosphere using mana from the circle to forcibly summon lightning.
4th-circle magic harnessed not just the caster's mana, but the untamed mana of nature itself.
So why this convoluted method?
The answer lay in structural limitations.
'Mages' limits. Storing mana in the heart—the most sensitive organ—for seamless external connection caps how much can be expelled at once.'
Overexert that delicate heart beyond its limits, and it could simply stop.
Or the mana circuits could overheat.
Thus, mid-tier magic's core was borrowing external power instead of relying solely on one's own mana.
'I get the method. But...'
The downside? His personal imagery didn't embed properly into the spell, unlike before.
'And attempting a brain-attribute spell, which is notoriously hard to control.'
Even so.
Jun cracked a subtle smile.
'Magic's the best.'
The raw destructive power was undeniably perfect.
"No sleep for us tonight, either."
Refining it would take considerable time, though.
And so, a month flew by.
"Hoo."
Back on Earth, he'd heard on the news that a record-breaking python was about 8 meters long.
Compared to the beast before him, it was downright cute.
This monster could swallow a person whole in one gulp.
And such a monster lay dead, half its head severed, tongue lolling out.
"Good work, Aiden."
"Ah, no need. This was good training."
The dungeon they'd just cleared was called "Viper's Birthplace."
A veritable snake den.
Surprisingly, Aiden feared snakes.
"Haha, sorry for showing such a pathetic side."
"Not what I meant, and you know it."
A gamer familiar with the story might've known.
But Jun, who'd skipped through everything, had no clue.
Thus, Aiden's frequent slip-ups in this dungeon had forced Jun to bail him out repeatedly.
"It's just... I don't have good memories with snakes..."
"Probably only snake pet owners do. Anyway, you did great. Training's over now."
"Ah!"
Aiden's face lit up at Jun's words.
The past month.
Under the banner of training, Jun and Aiden had cleared all sorts of dungeons.
For the sake of experiencing combat in diverse environments.
And Aiden had truly faced every kind imaginable in that time.
Some were stench-filled, humid caves; others so narrow a sword swing was impossible; and some, like this, spewed monsters endlessly.
"Our teamwork's improved a ton, too. Skill proficiencies go without saying."
"Yes, really..."
As a result, Aiden's [Charge]—not to mention the derivative [Bash]—had reached advanced levels.
Meanwhile, Jun had fully overcome his reincarnation aftereffects and fine-tuned various 4th-circle spells.
And that wasn't all.
'Side gigs, but we knocked out a bunch of commissions, too.'
As self-proclaimed mercenaries, they hadn't dungeon-dove for free like adventurers.
They'd cleared pre-arranged commissions, pocketing a tidy sum.
Preparations for the 2nd Layer were now complete.
'And finally...'
Jun picked up the trophy from the fallen viper.
'This lets me fulfill Cloi's commission.'
Potion recipes.
And preparations for business were set.
Whether mercenary, adventurer, or from some third group.
All who entered Blackout shared one drive: ascending to higher layers.
Mercenaries for better spoils; adventurers for fame or exploration lust.
Jun fell into the former.
Aiden, surely the latter.
"W-wow...!"
A cave in a canyon amid barren rocky terrain.
Inside floated pitch-black stairs and a door, hovering in midair.
The darkness sucked in all light, evoking primal fear—yet it tantalized with curiosity about what lay beyond that black door.
"I-is this a layer gate?"
The stairs and door to the next layer.
Aiden, seeing one from books for the first time, was beside himself with awe.
Jun, having seen countless in the game, felt little.
At best, it piqued his mage's curiosity.
"What principle even makes this work?"
Staring at the floating black stairs yielded no insights.
'No mana signature at all. Frustrating.'
Like peering at cells with the naked eye, sans microscope.
"Done sightseeing?"
"Yes! Let's head up!"
"Alright, then. Let's go."
The moment he stepped onto the floating stairs.
"Oh..."
Something tugged.
A sensation of space itself pulling at body and soul.
Rumor had it this was the process for shifting to another space within Blackout.
'I get why now.'
As Jun sensed it, Aiden freaked out in thrilled trepidation and joy.
Soon, Jun crossed beyond the black door.
In a game, it would've prompted:
[Entered 2nd Layer 'Ashen Wasteland']