Frost Wind
Park Ha-jun's special lecture had delivered a tremendous shock to the magical community.
But his reaction seemed a bit too nonchalant for that, didn't it?
This was partly because of the looming threat of the monster wave, but the real reason was that the shock hadn't yet rippled out into society at large.
A single day was far too short for that massive impact to spread...
Right after the lecture ended.
The third-floor hall of the Mages' Association fell into utter silence. No applause, no gasps of awe.
They just exchanged awkward glances in the quiet.
Then, one by one, they hurriedly stood and filed out of the hall.
Their destination: the training rooms.
The idea of approaching elemental attributes from the perspective of shapes and space—treating the purification attribute as "placement of shapes."
They needed to organize that fresh shock before it faded away.
But there was a problem.
Not all the mages who attended the special lecture had paid full attention from start to finish.
Some had unconsciously dismissed Park Ha-jun, or never intended to learn anything from him in the first place...
Mages were a bunch who carried around useless pride, after all.
But one mage had shed that pointless pride long ago.
Shin Ye-ji, who had once despaired over asd123's scrolls but eventually acknowledged them, unleashing a mad growth spurt.
She rushed straight back to her private training room and spent the next two hours replaying the lecture from the beginning, transcribing it onto the magical blackboard.
No separate organization was needed. Suhak Sarang's lecture was neat and tidy, flowing organically from start to finish.
She just had to copy it down.
Once she'd transcribed the content in a trance-like state, Shin Ye-ji finally exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
"...Hoo. I didn't miss anything, right?"
Just copying it down had her soaring with euphoria. The lecture's flow itself led straight to real enlightenment.
Pushing aside her satisfaction, Shin Ye-ji followed the flow written on the blackboard.
'The content itself is impressive, but...'
She thought the professor who had imposed a clear structure on such vast, complex material and delivered it so effectively was the real marvel.
As a 3rd Circle mage who had given her own academic presentation, Shin Ye-ji knew how hard that was.
'Professors really are on another level...'
He seemed worlds apart from those math department professors who had awakened luckily and just occupied seats with their abilities.
There were rumors that the paper in question stemmed from disassembling and analyzing asd123's scrolls.
Was it the analytical power of a mathematician at work?
As she swallowed her minor doubts and followed the flow on the blackboard—
A change appeared in Shin Ye-ji's status window. The [Unlock] button for the 4th Circle, once grayed out, had turned blue.
Though she hadn't checked her status window yet, so she didn't know...
......
While Shin Ye-ji, with her mind wide open, was making rapid strides—
Hwang In-su, who had also headed to a training room, was tearing his hair out.
'Damn... what was it he said? These two knots are the same because of... something about the topology of the meridian?'
Hwang In-su, who had misheard "homeomorphism" as something about topology.
While Shin Ye-ji followed the lecture's flow, Hwang In-su obsessed over every sentence and word, wrestling to spot errors.
The result?
'With all that math mixed in... I don't get a single thing outside the paper.'
Kang Eun-ho, that greenhorn, had mimicked asd123's harmony, so it couldn't be trivial.
Biting his lip, Hwang In-su left the training room to seek help from a fellow mage.
But of all people, he ran into Kim Ji-seok, who was on the phone with someone.
"...Yeah, Ye-ji, go ahead."
Shin Ye-ji. Just a few weeks ago, she was barely at the entry of 3rd Circle.
He hated to say it as a fellow mage, but compared to him, she was a total novice.
Even with her recent growth spurt, B-rank mages topped out at 3rd Circle.
Hwang In-su had entered 3rd Circle mastery long before her, so as a senior in the field, he'd enjoy better treatment for life, growth spurt or not.
No need to keep tabs on a harmless newbie.
But then—
Kim Ji-seok looked at Hwang In-su with a strange smile.
"...What? You unlocked 4th Circle?"
Spouting utter nonsense, wasn't he?
She'd just reached mastery the other day—how could she unlock 4th Circle?
Besides, a B-rank mage hitting 4th Circle?
Hwang In-su snorted and brushed past Kim Ji-seok.
"That lecture helped you that much? Good for you..."
A voice he couldn't ignore drifted over...
The summary notes of Suhak Sarang's lecture.
He had to get them.
But at the time, Hwang In-su didn't know. Most other mages were in the same boat as him.
With the magical community scrambling for Suhak Sarang's lecture summary—
It would take quite some time for the special lecture's aftermath to truly spread through society...
Kang Mu-jin of Tae-san Guild learned that Hwayeong and Onhwa had sealed deals with asd123.
He felt no jealousy or impatience.
Kang Mu-jin believed in honing one's own power above all.
Relying on scrolls would stall growth. Skills would atrophy...
But.
'A flying monster wave...'
The conclusion was that it posed a danger equal to or greater than the Basqui incident—Tae-san might be powerless.
Kang Mu-jin, the pinnacle of A-rank melee fighters, had ranged attack options.
But many guild members didn't.
This was a fatal flaw.
The guild members' morale plummeted at the prospect of a futile battle.
But a major guild couldn't back out without losing face—image was everything.
'I need countermeasures...'
The Association was planning to ground the monsters, but...
He couldn't afford to be complacent.
Then he ran into Kim Chae-won.
- Hmm... If the Association's intel is right, we need to prepare somehow. No time to worry about rivals...
She pondered with a reluctant expression for a while.
- Simple... Just tell asd123 the situation and ask for scrolls that can help.
He'd craft scrolls to solve the problem.
"..."
It just didn't sit right.
Commissioning asd123 would betray his own convictions.
But.
"Master, statements refusing participation in this wave crisis are flooding in."
Melee hunters in the guild were refusing to fight. Some were even ghosting.
"...So many cowards."
Caught between guild image and internal morale.
But commissioning asd123 would resolve both.
The refusals stemmed from the "futile battle."
If there was a surefire way to counter flying monsters, his sturdy guild members would charge into battle gladly.
So, Kang Mu-jin reluctantly instructed his secretary.
"Find a gate with flying monsters that we can clear within three days. Commission asd123 the moment you do..."
They'd film a melee-only strike team taking down flying monsters.
Sharing that success with the guild would solve everything.
Provided asd123 delivered timely scrolls.
An hour later, in the math department lab.
Park Ha-jun sat in his workshop chair, reading the email from Tae-san.
Tae-san's request aligned perfectly with Park Ha-jun's own concerns.
They had commissioned him to prepare for the monster wave, after all.
The content was simple.
A melee hunter strike team would take down flying monsters—while filming.
They requested scrolls suited for success.
A bit vague.
But that's why he liked it. It allowed for diverse solutions, like a math problem with multiple approaches.
Plus, it was perfect practice for the flying monster wave.
Quietly satisfied, Park Ha-jun pondered briefly before calling Kim Ah-hyun aside.
He outclassed her in raw power or mentally constructing circuits.
But for practical circuit design, her eight years of experience were unmatched.
He needed her take on how she'd craft it.
But first, something to clear the air.
"...Ah-hyun, is there anything you're curious about regarding me?"
She'd never shown signs of suspecting his identity.
But the Association had announced Park Ha-jun as Suhak Sarang. For trust's sake, they should talk.
Kim Ah-hyun fidgeted, then shook her head.
"Uh, ah, no... Not at all! Not even a speck of dust worth of curiosity!"
Too vehement a denial. She cleared her throat and added calmly.
"Professor is just... Professor Park Ha-jun. That's more than enough for me."
She apparently didn't think he was Suhak Sarang.
Just avoiding awkward questions to keep learning from him—her consideration was touching.
Park Ha-jun chuckled softly.
"Thank you. But today, I'm asking for help not as a math professor, but as a magic scroll maker."
Kim Ah-hyun, who had been glancing away, now looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"What is it?!"
Park Ha-jun explained: Scrolls to help melee hunters easily take down flying monsters...
After deep thought, Kim Ah-hyun replied.
"Hmm... Limiting to my unlocked 4th Circle spells, there are two options."
1. Floating scrolls granting levitation. But adapting for combat would take major work.
2. Like the Association's plan: Knock flying monsters to the ground. Usually done with powerful wind magic to disrupt balance.
Park Ha-jun mulled it over.
'...Floating scrolls aren't the answer.'
Too many limitations. Melee hunters lacked adaptation time.
Floating wasn't group-targeted. Encoding "free flight" into circuits would take ages.
Impossible to supply to all those melee hunters.
"...For A-rank monsters, you'd need very strong wind magic, right?"
Kim Ah-hyun nodded.
"Yes... But it doesn't have to be pure wind. With high fusion magic understanding, 3rd Circle Frost Wind is top-tier for that."
A wind-water fusion spell.
Decent damage and a speed-slowing debuff.
Flying monsters' wings could get wet or frozen.
If implemented right, no better spell for it...
'Fusion magic...'
This tied into his recent insight on attributes as knots.
'From a knot perspective, just connect two knots while preserving essence.'
He'd been concretizing it lately. Could whip it up soon.
Of course, tweaks needed: Distinguishing foe from ally, etc.
'...Tae-san mentioned filming the subjugation.'
First, observe how Frost Wind affects flying monsters this time.
To tweak for ally/foe distinction, he needed to understand the phenomenon.
Thanks to Kim Ah-hyun, he had direction.
"Thank you, Ah-hyun. I'll think it over. Let's discuss specifics soon."
He'd prototype the circuit, then share.
No need to be the exploitative professor stealing ideas.
He'd share his Frost Wind insights with her.
"I'll be looking forward to it...!"
And so Park Ha-jun began seriously analyzing Frost Wind.