Chapter 15
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 015
Chapter Title: Art
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The requested scroll has been created.
Some time earlier.
To Kang Eun-ho, who lay sprawled out like a starfish from repeated spellcasting, Park Ha-jun said,
"...So mages tend to look down on magic scroll makers."
"Yes. There's a strong perception that scrolls steal away the mage's privileges."
"Do you share their view, Eun-ho?"
Kang Eun-ho pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"I awakened fairly recently, so I don't really have strong feelings on it. I haven't even enjoyed those privileges yet."
"I see..."
As Park Ha-jun started to nod,
"And lately, this totally insane maker named asd123 showed up. I actually kinda like the guy's moves—they're entertaining."
Park Ha-jun's shoulders twitched.
"...I've heard about that maker in the news too. But what moves? I thought he just sells scrolls on the Auction House."
Kang Eun-ho propped himself up and replied,
"Oh, you know him! That guy's shrouded in mystery, but this player called 50 Billion Farmer spilled some story on the community boards."
He called him a total old-timer and said the guy enslaved someone with a single scroll—it's hilarious how it shows in the community slang...
"?"
At the absurd remark, Park Ha-jun wanted to ask what that meant but kept his expression neutral and said,
"...Well, if you're rested enough, shall we wrap up our chat?"
"Ah, sure!"
Through Park Ha-jun's guidance, Kang Eun-ho's understanding of attribute spell formulas reached an expert level.
He even cast Purification quite stably in practice.
However, watching it up close, Park Ha-jun harbored one question.
It was exactly the same doubt he'd felt last night while drawing the circuit.
"The Purification you cast seems to involve the four elements each playing their roles, leading to purification."
"That's right. Though... it does feel a bit detached from the spell's name, honestly."
At Kang Eun-ho's words, which hinted at some deeper knowledge, Park Ha-jun rested his chin on his hand.
'So it wasn't just my nagging suspicion.'
Since last night, Park Ha-jun's intuition had been buzzing. Purification wasn't merely the elements' effects.
The numbers on the circuit he'd drawn yesterday had come out lower than expected, too.
The commission deadline was today.
If he was on the wrong track, he might not complete a perfect Purification scroll by the end of the day.
That's why.
To resolve this nagging feeling, Park Ha-jun had sought out Kang Eun-ho and spent hours rambling about attribute shapes.
And finally, after building up to it, Park Ha-jun cautiously asked,
"...What do you think, Eun-ho? Do you still believe Purification is just the simple action of elements?"
Kang Eun-ho looked at him with slightly widened eyes. As expected of Professor Park Ha-jun.
"...What I'm feeling now is a bit different. The core of the Purification spell formula isn't 'elemental action'—it's the 'balance of elements.'"
Park Ha-jun nodded at the intriguing statement.
Kang Eun-ho continued,
"Actually, the Association President once said something like that in an interview long ago. 'When elements harmonize, true purification will reveal itself.' I didn't get it then, but now I think I do."
"...!"
"What the caster needs to focus on isn't the elements themselves, but their arrangement."
Harmony. The word struck his mind like lightning.
Like solving a stuck math problem, his vision blurred and a smile crept onto his face.
Kang Eun-ho, seeing this, panicked for a moment.
"Professor...?"
"Eun-ho, this conversation has been a huge help to my research too. Thanks—I've enjoyed our talk."
Park Ha-jun hurriedly packed his bag.
"A-already leaving?"
Regret dripped from his voice.
"I only pointed the way—the rest is up to you."
He glanced at the training ground full of signs of hard effort and added,
"...You can do it, Eun-ho."
He'd momentarily forgotten amid Park Ha-jun's masterful lecturing. No matter how great the teaching, it meant nothing without internalization.
'Right—from now on, it's my turn. No need for regrets.'
Finishing his thoughts, Kang Eun-ho still couldn't hide his disappointment and said,
"Yeah... Thank you so much for today."
Park Ha-jun smiled brightly and left decisively.
Left alone, Kang Eun-ho felt emptier than ever, but he quickly pulled himself together.
'No time for this. I need to internalize this insight before it fades.'
He stood in the center of the training ground.
But he couldn't focus. Park Ha-jun's words echoed in his head.
- What do you think, Eun-ho? Do you still believe Purification is just the simple action of elements?
Wasn't it strange?
Park Ha-jun had clearly asked with intent. But how?
Why the intent? Harmony of elements.
This was something even he, with A-rank intuition, had only realized now—how did non-Awakener Professor Park Ha-jun know?
At the time, he'd been too overwhelmed by the professor's presence to think much of it.
'Weird... no, this is beyond weird...'
A chill ran down his spine, cold sweat trickling.
Every conversation so far. The reason he'd insisted on seeing his magic, the endless explanation of attribute shapes, leading to Purification.
Suddenly, it all felt like a brilliantly crafted chess game.
Every piece meticulously moved for one goal: that final question.
Absurd as it was, if the entire conversation had been buildup for that one line...
How many moves ahead was he planning?
"...Crazy."
They said only madmen went into mathematics—and it was true. The way he orchestrated the board was on another level.
'...So damn cool. Should I transfer departments?'
A strange impulse welled up in Kang Eun-ho.
Returning home, Park Ha-jun headed straight to his workshop. Mumbling "harmony," he unrolled a mid-grade parchment.
The Purification circuit featured simplified knots of the four attributes.
Park Ha-jun wondered why they were simplified.
Like with attribute magic bullets, could he just draw more complex knots to achieve [Purification Degree: 1]?
'Complexity in shapes doesn't guarantee beauty or perfection...'
To unravel that doubt, he'd met Kang Eun-ho—and the results were splendid.
'The reason for simplified knots in the Purification circuit was simple.
Water, fire, wind, earth.
The four elements must balance.
Park Ha-jun might invoke topological invariants or whatever, but in magic terms, no element could dominate for balance.
Excitedly stroking his chin, Park Ha-jun began moving the quill. He entered a trance.
A 3D space filled the mid-grade parchment, packed with space-filling curves.
Finally, the four attribute knots were drawn in orderly east-west-south-north positions.
With order imposed, the [Purification] circuit could surely purify evil energy—chaos.
......
"...Beautiful."
To express the knot arrangement this way. Scroll circuits always brought new thrills.
Closing his eyes to savor the excitement, Park Ha-jun soon sent the email.
The requested scroll has been created. Circuit completion is 5-circle.
As the headquarters meeting was wrapping up, an email arrived for Kim Ji-seok.
With a stern expression, he nodded at Lee Dong-gyu.
"...A scroll with 5-circle completion for sure?"
"That's what he said. Unpredictable, but not the type to lie."
"Got it. Team Leader Ji-seok, send the purchase confirmation email. Everyone else, join the buying effort now."
Lee Dong-gyu and the other headquarters staff waited to buy asd123's scroll.
They were guarding against spies. If the Corrupted Awakeners were investing heavily in this gate, snatching the scroll wasn't impossible.
'...Pathetic. Once this is over, we need to secure a trade route with asd123 somehow.'
Not knowing who or where asd123 was, Korea's top Awakeners were just hammering the Auction House refresh button.
"He says he'll list the scroll for 10 million gold soon."
Kim Ji-seok's words echoed through the room, and everyone moved their fingers without blinking.
Endless refreshing. What a sight for the Association.
But what could they do?
Even a 4-circle master like Councilor Jeong had failed at Purification, and the gate's mana density was thickening.
As everyone tensed and refreshed,
A familiar message appeared in Kim Ji-seok's system.
A favorited seller has listed an item!
Clicking [Go Now], he shouted,
"It's up!"
But the moment Kim Ji-seok entered the Auction House, the scroll was sold.
A chill shot down his spine. He quickly scanned the room. It had to be someone here—the buyer of asd123's scroll...
"Don't worry. I got it."
Fortunately, Lee Dong-gyu had snagged it. Sighs of relief echoed around.
Everyone shared Kim Ji-seok's feelings.
"Let us see it. Give us a look."
A mage among the staff asked with thick curiosity, and Kim Ji-seok unrolled the scroll.
Kim Ji-seok jolted in surprise.
"H-hey, don't unroll it just in case."
Leaking mana by accident would be disastrous. Lee Dong-gyu rolled it back up and showed it again.
"Whoa."
Exclamations burst out here and there. Even those unaware of the stats assumed it matched the Association President's level and marveled.
Lee Dong-gyu felt chills too.
'asd123... crafting such a perfect scroll in that short time.'
He was curious about the person. As an item analyst, he yearned to connect.
Anyway, a flawless circuit scroll. No hitches in the plan. To the gathered staff, Lee Dong-gyu said,
"Then, let's commence the operation."
That ambitious evening, the Association buzzed with activity.
A surprising number of people gathered in a remote mountain valley.
Subjugation team Hunters at peak A-rank, headquarters staff, major guild masters... elites who could slay a Corrupted Awakened Kim Ji-seok.
Plus healing powerhouse Kim Chae-won, special A-rank barrier mage...
Lee Dong-gyu watched Kim Ji-seok, equipped with A-to-S-rank support items.
The element golem's core. Above it, the gate pulsed ominously.
Kim Ji-seok stood before it, scroll in hand.
Unlike Councilor Jeong's 1% failure, asd123's scroll might trigger a more dangerous reaction.
That's why they'd assembled these heavyweights.
'...I might even turn Corrupted myself.'
Swallowing hard, Kim Ji-seok addressed the surroundings.
"We'll start in 3 minutes. Get ready, everyone."
These Awakeners represented Korea's finest.
Respecting Kim Ji-seok's choice, they waited in a relaxed tension.
Is that the scroll?
Situation's kinda ridiculous. So many 4-circle mages here, yet the key spell's on a scroll.
Watch your words. It's just an attempt. You think a scroll succeeds where even Councilor Jeong failed? Foolish...
So you're hoping it fails?
...Ahem. More importantly, how did Corrupted pack that much malice into a B-rank gate? Ominous as hell.
We need to redefine Corrupted. They might be gearing up for full activity.
Amid the brief exchanges, Kim Ji-seok's voice rang out.
"We're starting now. As discussed, please stick to your roles."
They were national representatives in their fields.
Controlling them was essential to the plan, so he bowed his head in request.
Raising his head, Kim Ji-seok unrolled the scroll.
Under everyone's gaze, he poured mana into the parchment.
The man called Sword Saint placed a hand on his sword.
The barrier master cast multiple barriers.
Mages memorized high-level spells—each began their preparations.
At some point, blue mana swirled around the circuit.
The 3D grid lines forming the background glowed blue. Corresponding vector fields activated.
Suddenly, arrows shot from the scroll. They read the mana flows.
The arrows pointed to the element golem's core.
Fwaaah—
Reaching the core, the arrows enveloped it densely.
A watching 4-circle mage muttered,
- What is this...? Different from the Purification I know.
Another said,
- Beautiful sight.
Arrows kept generating, wrapping the core relentlessly.
Soon, centered on the blue mana fully covering the core,
Water, wind, fire, and earth elements rose in balance at east, west, south, and north. They resembled knots with spatial depth.
- ...That's Purification?
The elite Hunters forgot their roles, staring entranced.
Fwaaah.
Blue mana at center, elements harmonizing in their directions, all glowed.
The light was gentle yet intense, never faint.
As the lights blended in harmony, evil energy from the core took form and surged.
Kuuung.
It clashed with the blue mana. The area trembled slightly.
But the evil energy couldn't pierce the blue mana.
It wandered, clashed again,
...Bang—
Unable to withstand, it shattered like glass and vanished.
The [Purification] light then scattered softly.
In the dim evening mountain valley, colorful mana particles drifted like powder.
Everyone was speechless. Like children seeing first snow after a long summer, they just gazed blankly at the sky.
Silence. And more silence.
Kim Ji-seok, most bewildered, spoke first.
"It's... over?"
He was utterly flustered. Just minutes ago, he'd staked his life.
Yet his mental strength, malice resistance—nothing was depleted.
His grim resolve felt foolish. Honestly... embarrassing.
'The black energy couldn't break through the mana perfectly, so nothing happened?'
As he assessed, a chilling sound pierced his ears.
Shring.
Sword Saint sheathed his slightly drawn blade.
"False alarm."
But his expression wasn't displeased. He even cupped his hands to catch the colorful mana dust.
"Not a waste of time, though. I'd regret missing this."
Everyone agreed. The mesmerizing scene was worth it.
Especially for open-minded mages—it granted profound insights.
A storm would hit Hunter circles.
But the incident wasn't over.
"...We can enter the gate now. What say you?"
At Lee Dong-gyu's words, they began snapping out of it one by one.
Lying contentedly on his bed, Park Ha-jun saw a system message.
Sponsor: Urgent Item Buyer
Amount: 10,000,000G