Chapter 21

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Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 021

Chapter Title: □□□ and Order

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The mountain valley where the core of the Elemental Golem was located.

Lee Dong-gyu fell deep into thought over the sentence that had appeared in his status window.

'...What could this possibly mean for the Association President to tell me to grasp its true meaning?'

The sentence itself was no different from a prayer chant from some shabby cult.

Somewhat symbolic in nature, he had no choice but to ponder what the "nine snakes" referred to or who exactly "He" was.

Then, amid his musings.

"...Don't push yourself too hard. You'll come to understand it naturally with time."

The Association President approached from behind.

Lee Dong-gyu hurriedly stood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and bowed his head in greeting.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lee Dong-gyu turned his gaze back to the golem's core and the gate humming above it.

A sudden curiosity bubbled up. It was the same question he'd harbored during the executive meeting earlier.

"...Association President, I have a question."

"Speak."

"About the barrier we're commissioning from asd123. Is the demand for 'harmony' truly essential?"

"... ."

In truth, Lee Dong-gyu had a pretty good idea of what the Association President meant by "harmony."

asd123's ecstatic [Purification] scroll.

The sight of those five colors blending in radiant harmony was indeed worthy of the name.

Still, he couldn't fathom why it had to be infused into a barrier specifically.

If a barrier was needed, wouldn't prioritizing sturdier durability and longer duration make more sense?

Why did it have to be "harmony" of all things?

At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.

According to the first exploration team's report, the monster inside the gate was just a massive snake, right?

In that case, assembling a team of powerful combat hunters should handle the subjugation easily...

So why insist on a mage at the peak of 4th-circle mastery—or, failing that, commission asd123 for the barrier?

Yet the Association President remained lost in thought.

More precisely, he was recalling past iterations.

These were the words spoken by the staff members—his colleagues—who had entered that damned gate alongside him.

With eyes squeezed shut, the Association President spoke in a rare, bitter tone.

"...It's necessary. What the exploration team saw was merely the shed husk of a colossal entity."

The creature wasn't simply a giant snake.

Kill it, and the true form emerges from the husk.

A monster whose mere breath corrupts an entire region with demonic energy, transforming even hunters with solid resistance into Corrupted Awakeners.

Worse, those hunters become "seeds," spreading the corruption like a plague until all of humanity turns into Corrupted.

And yet, only he—with his overwhelming demonic energy resistance—remains human, forced to witness the horror in utter despair.

So, even if tinged with rivalry, this much was undeniable fact.

"...Absolutely essential."

Because a plain barrier couldn't block the "nine snakes'" venom.

Only "harmony" could.

But his own version of "harmony" fell short of perfection.

The [Purification] that had cured Jeong Hyun-seok as he turned into a Corrupted... that held promise...

"The monster we have to fight doesn't end with what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the exploration team saw."

Its name was...

"A mythical being known as □□□."

Even if asd123's efforts limited it to a mere fraction of its manifestation.

But in that instant, the air grew frigid.

"Ah, Association President, when did you get here?"

Lee Dong-gyu spoke as if noticing him for the first time.

'...No dice, huh. Worth a shot thanks to the asd123 variable.'

As the Association President swallowed a sigh, Lee Dong-gyu gazed at the gate and spoke up.

"...Association President, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I have a question."

As if the prior exchange had been wiped from reality.

"......Speak."

What a godforsaken world.

"About the barrier from asd123. The 'harmony'..."

"Kekeke... Necessary? You bet."

The Association President could only brush it off like that.

But inwardly, he mused.

'asd123... Can you weave harmony into a barrier? That overwhelming [Purification] that saved Jeong Hyun-seok...'

Can it truly be done?

Can you pull me from this hell?

The Association President clung to that faint, improbable hope.

"Take it slow with the commission to asd123. No rush, right?"

Hoping he'd grow further through mingling with other creators under the forged awakening certificate.

Hoping to avoid killing the staff who'd lent their aid with his own hands—hoping asd123 could craft a more harmonious [Barrier].

Kang Eun-ho's private training room.

Park Ha-jun, who had entered first with permission, was sorting through his [Mail] and [Sponsorships].

'S-sang,' persistently sending mails in a chummy tone.

'Famous Scroll,' unexpectedly persistent and unrelenting.

Beyond that, fellow creators showered him with reverent awe to the point of burden, or simple words of thanks and encouragement.

Thanks to the boost in overall scroll sales, they all seemed genuinely fond of Park Ha-jun—or rather, asd123.

Thus, Park Ha-jun harbored no particular aversion toward them. Quite the opposite.

'I do want to meet the other creators.'

What support skills did they possess? How did they draw their circuits?

And could they accept the concepts rooted in his [Geometric Interpretation]?

He was keen to meet them in person to satisfy such curiosities.

Of course, using his forged identity—not as asd123.

He wasn't ready to reveal himself yet, and honestly, facing that level of awe in person felt a tad...

Anyway, after tidying up the noteworthy mails and sponsorships, he browsed Kang Eun-ho's scribbled notes.

"Professor...!"

Kang Eun-ho burst in, panting for breath.

"I should've texted later."

"No way! Even if you sent it mid-class, I'd have sprinted here!"

"Haha..."

As Park Ha-jun chuckled awkwardly, Kang Eun-ho—visibly thrilled to show something—rapidly tapped the central control panel.

Soon, the steel dummy from before materialized.

How badly did he want to show this off to get so hyped?

Park Ha-jun couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Haha... No rush. Truth be told, I can already gauge your progress from the records on this board."

"Gasp! You can predict it?! Still, seeing it live is different..."

"Of course. Not saying I won't watch. I'm looking forward to it."

Kang Eun-ho let out a sigh of relief and steeled himself.

Five lumps of stone—Earth Magic Bullets—formed in midair with a crunch.

Clang-! Clang-!! Clang-!!!

They hammered the steel dummy. As if he'd perfectly grasped the essence of the elemental incantation structure. The power ramped up at near-regular intervals.

The Earth Magic Bullet trajectories were stable too.

Likely achievable in such short order because he'd memorized Park Ha-jun's teachings wholesale.

"Excellent."

Park Ha-jun gave a small clap of praise.

"Haha... All thanks to you, Professor. Never dreamed I'd break through this..."

After a brief sentimental pause, Kang Eun-ho refocused.

"Anyway, thank you so much! Call on me anytime for your research!"

Only right, after all.

Hadn't he pulled him from that pitch-black abyss?

"Then, mind if we chat a bit now?"

"R-Right now? Chat...?"

Kang Eun-ho jumped in surprise.

He'd assumed it was just a quick progress check before lunch.

"Ah, you just finished class—no lunch yet. Better after eating."

"No!!! No time for that. I'll fast till dinner. Please, go as long as possible—start now...!"

Kang Eun-ho scrambled for his notebook and pens.

Park Ha-jun always downplayed it as mere "chat," but nothing from his mouth ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stayed at that level.

This time would be no different.

"Haha... I've got a ton of questions today myself, but seeing your enthusiasm, I can't just field them and bail. Alright."

Park Ha-jun began lightly, then wiped the smile away, gripping the board marker with grave focus.

That alone set Kang Eun-ho's heart racing. What gems would drop today...

"First off, a question. What conditions must a mage meet to advance to the next circle?"

Kang Eun-ho was a high-potential mage drawing love calls from major guilds.

Yet he'd lingered at 1st-circle for nearly two years?

If gold alone unlocked it, he wouldn't have stalled there.

"...Mages must comprehend their current-circle spells to a requisite level before gold unlocks the next."

"Requisite level."

"Yes. Varies by potential."

Potential typically meant awakening rank. As the school's sole A-rank mage, Kang Eun-ho's bar sat higher.

But that solid foundation meant steeper exponential power spikes in later circles.

"It's also why mages shun scroll makers. They're racking their brains stuck at 1st-circle, while gold buys 2nd- or 3rd-circle unlocks. Low-rent scrolls cheapen magic's prestige... Or so it was back in the early days."

Made a certain sense.

The other creators' scrolls popping up in the Auction House? Their stats were often dismal, frankly.

"Fascinating... But couldn't you unlock 2nd-circle now, Eun-ho?"

Simple reason for asking.

He wanted to clarify his curiosities about 2nd-circle Barrier.

Park Ha-jun planned to use [Barrier] himself, so he wanted to witness those stats' real-world performance firsthand.

Sure, one might ask why not test his own scrolls... but.

Barriers fetched premium prices.

Better to leverage Kang Eun-ho's quick learning and instant skill execution.

But.

"...I've got a handle on attribute magic bullets, but my Purification comprehension lags. Gold button's still grayed out."

Grayed-out pay button. Meaning not yet unlocked.

Of course, Kang Eun-ho had realized [Purification]'s essence lay in "elemental arrangement."

But grasping the direction toward truth didn't mean he could incant it.

To activate the 2nd-circle gold button, he'd need to implement even a sliver of that truth—or, like Councilor Jeong Hyun-seok, master "pure elemental action" to its extreme, even if not the full truth.

No quick fix, surely.

Yet Park Ha-jun stroked his chin thoughtfully, then.

"...Then we'll start from there."

As if he'd prepared in advance, he launched into a fluid explanation.

"When facing a tough problem, there are a few tried-and-true approaches."

Standard math problem-solving tactics.

First: Strip away fluff, isolate the conditions.

"Your shortfall is harmonious arrangement in the elemental incantation. We'll isolate just that."

With that, he sketched four knots on one corner of the board—circuit renderings of attribute incantations, arcane to Kang Eun-ho.

"But let's simplify further..."

Each unraveled into individual water-, fire-, wind-, and earth-knots.

Streamlined knots.

Kang Eun-ho at least fully grasped their structures—meaning he'd nailed the individual conditions.

Next: Apply those conditions to simpler scenarios to grok their interplay.

Shift backdrop from 3D-space [Purification] to 2D-space [Attribute Magic Bullet].

"Copy those directly into attribute magic bullet incantations and implement?"

Kang Eun-ho, mesmerized till then, shook his head.

'...What? Did the professor anticipate my issue and prep ahead?'

Nothing else explained it.

Last time was sharing his own research woes on attribute incantations.

He'd chalked it up to "mathematicians' bizarre phenomena" being linkable somehow.

But this? Transcended incantation or circuit knowledge—pure divine pedagogy incarnate.

Not mere idea transfer: pinpoint the student's flaw, deliver a tailor-made solution.

Clear path laid out so even the learner senses resolution ahead.

'And this wasn't scripted?'

Hadn't the professor seemed clueless on circle unlocks?

Just a chin-stroke and brief ponder—an impromptu lesson.

Were all math professors like this?

If a low-tier Seoul uni math prof wielded this lecturing prowess...

'How monstrous is a Seoul National University pure math prof...?'

A chill ran down his spine.

"Eun-ho?"

"...Ah, yes!"

Kang Eun-ho snapped to.

Whoosh, crunch, whirl, splash—

He unleashed each attribute's magic bullet.

But simplified knots meant pitiful elemental output.

Info density tied directly to power, after all.

Fire flickered on the verge of snuffing; earth cracked raggedly; wind barely rippled; water dripped shapeless.

Proof positive: viewing knots in isolation, he'd accurately comprehended and rendered [Purification]'s knot.

Now just harmonize their arrangement. No easy feat, but.

"Try sketching the incantation..."

Knots were 3D shapes, yet 2D cross-sections sometimes aided intuition.

"Simplified further, like so..."

Park Ha-jun projected Kang Eun-ho's knot onto [Attribute Magic Bullet] as example.

He'd worried about straying from circuit norms, but [Geometric Intuition] guided him aptly.

The result.

"Whoa... Wait, Professor, what is this?"

Kang Eun-ho dropped his pen, jaw agape. How'd you conceive this? Never seen a mage explain like that...

Park Ha-jun remained nonchalant.

"Glad it helped."

With a gentle smile, he allotted time for notes.

Then reviewed for errors or gaps in the lesson flow.

In that process, Park Ha-jun gleaned a hazy insight himself.

'...Right, the knot's shape doesn't matter. Control the knot invariant, and...'

Perhaps transplant [Purification]'s four knots to offensive spells...

Not limited to water/fire/wind/earth attributes—impart others.

Even bestow the attribute of "order"...

That sort of epiphany.

Indeed, teaching's thrill lay here.

Pondering clearer conveyance spurred one's own growth.

Meanwhile, Kim Ah-hyun—the A-rank once hailed as the goddess of scroll crafting—stared sullenly at her [Mail].

No reply to the mail she'd sent as 'S-sang.'

Beyond the blue inbox frame hung a single scroll on the wall.

Staring at it, she slammed her head on the desk and sighed.

"...How the hell did they make this."

Dozens of crumpled parchments littered the floor.

Hollow-eyed, she eyed the mid-grade parchment on her workbench.

The gulf in "caliber" with the wall-hung circuit gaped wide.

'...Am I talentless?'

Weird. Wasn't it just yesterday they called her a genius...?

Truth be told, when asd123 first emerged, Kim Ah-hyun rejoiced more than anyone.

A rival at last.

Healthy competition to elevate the crafting scene...

But from the moment that [Base Destructive Power: 1] scroll hit the Auction House, her views shifted.

Surely some nefarious cheat. She denied it bitterly, seething with envy.

Day by day, tales of asd123's feats piled up until she conceded.

That creator outshone her.

Afterward, other creators' attention evaporated.

She'd thought herself above such concerns, yet days grew bleak and agonizing.

And now...

'Isn't there some way... to learn from them...'

She yearned to apprentice under asd123, secrets be damned.

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