Solar Eclipse
Dozens of meters away, a dazzling flash erupted.
An intense light so blinding it was hard to keep my eyes open. It lasted maybe half a second. The light that left afterimages burned into my retinas vanished, and in its place a darkness like a sealed room descended.
At the same time—
KWA-AAAAANG!
The explosion slammed into my eardrums.
The thick darkness cleared, and the slimes that had been surging like waves vanished along with it.
“What was that just now…?”
【Yes. It is a power permitted to the Witch of the Solar Eclipse.】
A skill name identical to her title. Solar Eclipse.
Ingrid had deployed Solar Eclipse first. The magic itself had no effect. Only when multiple elemental spells were loaded into it did the true value of Solar Eclipse shine.
【I only have two spells I can use, after all.】
“Right.”
【So I simply went for pure volume.】
She had exhausted every last drop of her mana, binding dozens of Ice Bolt and Flame Bit into the spell, then detonated the whole thing—boom—right in the direction the slimes were charging from.
“Haha…”
The destructive power was beyond my understanding. For a mage hunter to produce that kind of force, they’d need to be at least a seasoned C-class.
【I’m sorry. I fought far too recklessly, didn’t I?】
“No, it’s not that. I’m just shocked.”
【There are more refined applications as well, but this method was the best option for the moment.】
She was missing the point entirely, this one.
Clatter—
Finished with her explanation, Ingrid sank to the ground.
Ah. I’d been so stunned I’d forgotten to check on my subordinate’s condition. I hurriedly sat down and supported her.
“You okay?”
【Oh my. I’m touched.】
“Looking after your retainers is only natural.”
Skip the “touched” talk and just tell me where it hurts.
【Don’t worry. It’s simple mana exhaustion.】
Skeletons were beings that defied death. Maintaining their bodies required mana. She’d simply pushed a little too hard trying to wipe out the slime wave in a single blow.
“Ugh. You didn’t need to force it like that.”
【I had to show them who’s superior, didn’t I?】
The words were directed at the undead currently residing in the death space—who wasn’t even present here.
【KRAAAAAH!!!】
I had to give credit where it was due. In terms of raw power in a single strike, Ingrid had the edge.
【Krah! Uuuuugh!!】
Huh? Why was she only groaning instead of speaking?
【Seems she’s given up on being human.】
Sir Isra was a dead woman, not a living human, but I didn’t bother correcting her.
After storing Ingrid back into the death space, I headed toward the area the explosion had swept through. At least several dozen slimes had died to that last attack. How many magic stones would have dropped?
“Nothing.”
It was clean. No sticky slime residue. No slime cores. Not even the magic stones that were my main source of income. Absolutely nothing remained.
【With that much power, the magic stones probably exploded along with them.】
“Ingrid.”
【Yes, Master.】
“Solar Eclipse is banned except in emergencies.”
Blowing up the magic stones too? That left me completely broke.
【You mage. I find your loyalty rather suspect.】
Sir Isra burst into loud laughter. Hahahaha!
Tsk. Yeah, better not say anything.
The HR director of Chilseong Guild let out a long, heavy sigh.
Knock knock—
“Come in.”
The door opened carefully. Even the way he stepped inside showed how much he was watching his every move.
“Did you find him?”
“Yes, Director.”
A conversation packed with meaning. Even so, there was no difficulty understanding it.
“Director Jeong Seungil took him to the gopchang place, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“That man always goes there.”
“Is there a VIP room or something?”
“No. It’s just incredibly delicious.”
“Excuse me?”
The unexpected answer made the HR director ask again. He inwardly winced, but Director Baek Seonghyeon didn’t seem to mind at all.
“That gopchang place is a local gem only those in the know visit.”
Was he serious? The expression was far too earnest for a joke.
“People who know, know. Whenever Director Jeong Seungil has something serious to discuss, he goes there.”
“Ahhh, I see.”
“I was so curious once that I went myself. It really was delicious.”
The reason they had been able to predict Director Jeong Seungil’s movements was that very habit. High-level information almost no one else possessed. In truth, it might simply have been that he didn’t want to share a good restaurant with others. Too many customers would make it hard to go and eat there himself.
“We couldn’t confirm the contents of the conversation.”
“He’s Korea’s strongest hunter. If anyone approached, he would have noticed immediately.”
Once a hunter surpassed a certain level, they could sense approaching people through mana waves. A clumsy approach would only have put Director Jeong Seungil on guard. Confirming the appearance of the person accompanying him had been enough.
Chilseong Guild’s intelligence network was such that even a single tiny scrap of information made it possible to identify who the S-rank promotee was.
“Awakened five years ago. Currently lives in Amsa-dong. Class is Necrosmith.”
“He was E-class for five years?”
“Yes. He was something of a celebrity in the hunter industry.”
“Necrosmith. A class that crafts undead, then.”
A brief summary of Minho’s activities over the past five years. Director Baek Seonghyeon’s eyes moved rapidly across the documents.
“Fascinating.”
“Why do you think he never ranked up for five years?”
“It’s not that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.”
Something had been lacking for promotion. Some “incident” had resolved it, and that potential had only recently begun to explode. That was the reasonable conclusion.
“You said he was famous, so why wasn’t he identified right away?”
“We never imagined that the hunter who kept failing promotion exams and the S-rank promotee would be the same person.”
“At least we’ve confirmed it now. That’s fortunate.”
At the pointed remark, the HR director bowed his head deeply.
“What conditions can we offer?”
“Signing bonus of three billion won. A dedicated support team of ten. Annual salary of one billion won.”
“Raise it to ten billion.”
“Budget approval will be difficult.”
“Use my name.”
“Understood.”
What Director Jeong Seungil would say was obvious. He would appeal to a sense of duty and patriotism. How strong a package could a government agency really put forward? They had to make the strongest possible bid before other guilds made contact, if they wanted to secure him for certain.
“If we approach him, the other guilds will move as well.”
“Yes.”
This was a hunter who had been carefully building his value until now. Director Baek Seonghyeon was certain.
“He’ll want to hear offers from all five major guilds.”
Being first wasn’t everything. They had to leave a strong impression somehow and play their best card from the very first meeting if they wanted to bring an S-rank promotee into the guild.
“Have you confirmed Hunter Park Minho’s schedule?”
“Yesterday he rented a vacant unit that can also serve as a warehouse.”
“Necrosmith, so he intends to use it as a workshop.”
“He also purchased a simple forge, so that seems certain.”
“Have one person on standby at all times. The moment Hunter Park Minho shows up for work, call me immediately.”
“You’ll go in person, Director?”
“Of course. Is this an ordinary matter?”
This was something that could change the landscape of the domestic hunter industry. Even if he was an S-rank promotee, he had only just reached D-class. Wasn’t that overthinking it?
No.
“If he’s S-rank, his growth ceiling should be extremely high, shouldn’t it?”
“The probability is high.”
Growth ceiling. The first gate that determined the presence or absence of so-called “talent.” Most hunters, as long as they didn’t give up and kept entering gates, could reach C-class. But B-class was different. Promotion conditions included “enlightenment.” It wasn’t enough to merely sense mana; one had to wield it like one’s own limbs, strengthening the body at will or casting multiple magics simultaneously. That was the requirement.
Hunters made up one percent of the global population. There were non-combat classes like blacksmiths as well, but even excluding them, the number of people who had awakened by sensing mana was considerable. Among them, those of B-class and above didn’t even reach one percent. A-class likewise required enlightenment, and rising to S-class or higher was said to be as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
“Hunter Park Minho is talent who will reach at least A-class.”
“He received an S-rank evaluation in the promotion exam, after all.”
“It’s only a matter of time.”
Overinvestment? In a few years it would return as far greater value. That much was certain. If there was a blue-chip stock guaranteed to soar, you picked it up immediately. Who would just stand around watching?
“I’ll have the staff take shifts on standby.”
“Tell whoever works the night shift to rest the next day.”
“Understood.”
A fierce sales war. Chilseong Guild had been the first to catch the scent. Even so, Director Baek Seonghyeon did not relax. The Rift Bureau had already made the first move. Director Jeong Seungil appealing to patriotism or a sense of duty was nothing new. Yet this meeting felt a little different.
I have to move fast. And hard.
An S-rank promotee who had been hidden behind a veil. Sensing that the time to face Minho face-to-face was not far off, Baek Seonghyeon endlessly image-trained the coming encounter in his mind.
After the chaos in the slime forest had settled—
“I’ve thought about it, and learning it would be better.”
I pulled the Fireball skill book out of the subspace carrier. An ability added when I took Ingrid as a subordinate. I wanted to make use of Origin of Magic somehow as well. Heavenly Martial Body was incredible, wasn’t it? A skill of the same grade with similar effects.
【Just follow my guidance and it will be fine.】
Just as with Sir Isra, there was the Witch of the Solar Eclipse who had once stood at the pinnacle of the magical field. With Origin of Magic and an outstanding teacher, it should work out somehow.
【Would it not be better for the mage to learn that spell instead?】
“No. Skill books are for hunters only.”
The reason Ingrid’s spell repertoire was narrow was because the body her soul inhabited was a Skeleton Mage. Additional formulas, materials, and items would be needed to broaden her spells.
【The knowledge itself remains, you know.】
【Truly a regrettable matter.】
Skill acquired: Fireball
The Fireball skill book has been destroyed.
Psshhh.
The book that had turned to powder scattered on the wind. Sir Isra made no effort to hide her displeasure.
【In the end you have gone and learned magic.】
Wouldn’t it be nice to just hang back in the rear and casually toss magic around? No need to swing a sword, so it wouldn’t be dangerous.
【Participating in battle is the same either way!】
“Being in the back is still better than the tanking line, isn’t it?”
【Ahem.】
Look at that. Nothing left to say, so she’s just clearing her throat.
After learning Fireball, I headed to a nearby hunter training center.
“I’d like to use a magic training room.”
“Five hundred thousand won per hour.”
More expensive than the rental workshop, and the usage time was shorter.
【Could they be trying to deceive you, Sir?】
“Magic training is expensive by nature.”
Because the power of each shot surpassed that of warrior-type hunters of the same rank, the dummy dolls cost far more.
When I entered the training room, a single wooden doll stood alone.
【What a crude doll.】
It was a good thing the owner couldn’t hear that. As far as I knew, this was a new model of training dummy. Ingrid’s standards were just ridiculously high.
“So, what should I do?”
【Try firing a Fireball once.】
I rearranged my mana as instructed. The mana structure for Fireball had been etched into my mind from the moment I used the skill book. Theory and practice were different, so drawing out the knowledge that had entered my head wasn’t easy.
Whoosh!
Somehow I managed to form a crimson sphere that floated gently above my palm. Projecting the will to hit the training dummy, the sphere that had lingered in my hand shot forward in a straight line.
KWAANG!
Acrid smoke billowed up, and the searing heat made the fine hairs on my skin stand on end. The first magic I had ever used. It felt similar to the emotion I’d felt when my hands and feet finally moved as I willed them.
【Excellent, Master!】
“I just used it according to the skill book knowledge.”
【Even though it was your first time, the mana rearrangement was incredibly smooth.】
Really? Since I was a complete novice when it came to magic, I happily accepted Ingrid’s praise.
【But you still have a long way to go.】
Ugh. Changing her tune less than ten seconds after praising me.
【Then let’s begin.】
Ingrid’s magic lecture. I wondered how different it would be from learning the sword from Sir Isra. I found myself looking forward to it.