Hope
The Legendary Magic Quill had two abilities.
[Circuit Reinforcement][Ancient Grade Circuits]
Of those, hadn't he already grasped the principles and effects of Circuit Reinforcement?
It was the ability to readjust the 'baseline' of a circuit by tweaking its graph.
When he'd crafted an Explosion scroll with a baseline power of 6, those 100 billion gold had felt like money well spent...
But the reason he'd bought the Legendary Magic Quill wasn't just for that satisfaction.
...This alone won't neutralize the Mines.
Park Ha-jun didn't want any more interruptions.
The attention he'd painstakingly drawn from the magical academia through his papers on attribute themes and special lectures.
He planned to leverage that momentum to spotlight the necessity of mathematics once more.
To flood the field with so-called 'math newbies' and live the blissful life of a math professor...
But before he could push further, a global wave had erupted.
That explosive event was more than enough to divert the hard-won interest of the hunters.
[Special Attributes][Time][Space]
It was only natural that Park Ha-jun stared relentlessly at the Ancient Grade Circuits.
He intended to eliminate the Mines—the root threat—to prevent such incidents in the future.
However.
'The Association said they haven't caught the Mines because they couldn't find their base.'
It meant raw destructive power alone wouldn't solve it.
He had to locate their hideout.
Mines on the attack, hunters on the defense.
He needed to shatter that unfair dynamic.
'The Association President said detection alone wouldn't cut it.'
Of course, if it were Park Ha-jun's own detection method, that might change things.
[Special Attributes][Time][Space]
He judged that a more definitive answer might lie here.
But the [Time] and [Space] themes were grayed out.
'Each costs 30 billion gold...'
It wasn't an unbearable price.
He could ask the Association for the gold, or start by analyzing [Special Attributes] for now... As he pondered that, a commission came in from Seo Ji-ah.
Perfect timing.
Park Ha-jun requested details, and she replied within minutes.
Park Ha-jun nodded as he read it.
"This is pretty intriguing..."
Regardless of the circumstances, the commission itself was fascinating.
You know that feeling? The thrill a doctor gets from encountering a rare case.
For a topology professor who dealt with space, Seo Ji-ah's request was exactly that.
Her ability, Virtual Barrier, defined space itself.
And she encountered that virtual space in her dreams.
Seo Ji-ah said that every time she slept, she experienced bizarre events in one of the virtual barriers she'd created.
And since she remembered it all upon waking, the fatigue was immense...
So, Park Ha-jun pondered deeply.
...Could a space circuit solve this problem?
Was there a way to sever the link between the Virtual Barrier and her dreams...?
To answer that, he first needed to fully understand the [Ancient Grade Circuits]. Their format...
He couldn't unlock the [Space] theme right away.
So he dove into [Special Attributes] first.
There were no special circuits there.
Just the special attributes of [Light] and [Darkness]. But there was something intriguing.
'A perspective that views light and darkness as distinct attributes...'
Park Ha-jun nodded and checked [Darkness].
The system output an example of the [Darkness] attribute.
"...!"
Seeing it, Park Ha-jun couldn't help but shiver as a mathematician.
Even if it was a somewhat distorted example from the system...
He understood what it represented.
'To express darkness like this...'
According to Park Ha-jun, attributes were topological knots, right?
Then [Darkness] should be expressed as a knot too.
The system depicted [Darkness] as the 'complement' of a knot.
'The property of the outer space left when you carve out a knot-shaped region from 3D space...'
A concept no ordinary mage could grasp—Park Ha-jun shuddered.
To put it in simpler magical terms:
Darkness wasn't just the absence of light...
It was the erasure of space itself.
Not filling space with dark matter, but emptying the space altogether...
'So the specific knot's complement determines the nature of the darkness...'
A profoundly intriguing viewpoint.
With this perspective, he might even implement black hole-like magic in the future.
"Hmm..."
Park Ha-jun jotted notes in his math notebook, organizing knot complements.
Predicting outcomes for specific knot complements.
Satisfied with his analysis of [Darkness], he snapped back to reality—two hours had passed.
'I just meant to glance...'
Anyway, in those two hours, he'd realized a few things.
1. This analyzed darkness attribute could be applied to ordinary circuits. Like magic bullets or mana arrows.
2. And if darkness was defined this way...
'I might not need to go into space for this commission?'
Still just a possibility, but a solution had dawned on him.
It was a bit of a hack, but Park Ha-jun didn't believe only orthodox solutions were valid.
A promising method has been found. However, additional data is required...
He immediately emailed Seo Ji-ah.
The next day.
Arriving at the lab, Park Ha-jun emailed the Association.
Seo Ji-ah's email alone wasn't enough to finalize the scroll.
So he made a somewhat tough request of Lee Dong-gyu: help gather data.
Lee Dong-gyu entering the Virtual Barrier personally to use a [Darkness-attribute magic bullet].
He needed to know its effect on the barrier.
Ideally, Park Ha-jun would go himself.
He wanted to, deep down...
But he couldn't reveal himself as asd123 until the Mines were neutralized.
The Association endorsed that stance, so he asked for their help.
'The Association won't let a major guild master collapse without intervening.'
As he handled department work and awaited a reply, one came.
Lee Dong-gyu replied with thanks instead.
Seo Ji-ah's Virtual Barrier could bind even divine monsters.
Just as Park Ha-jun thought, they couldn't let her break down.
The Association was already reaching out overseas for help.
So if Park Ha-jun sent a scroll...
[...I'll test it in the Virtual Barrier myself! What an honor...]
He seemed genuinely thrilled.
A bit pervy, but that made him even more likable.
And at the email's end, unrelated to the request:
[...Creator, are you okay? Take a break... We've seen too many hunters burn out...]
A gentle nudge to rest, especially with the Association busy—perfect for gold exchange.
...I've definitely been pushing too hard lately.
No real reward for himself. Sure, spoiling the researchers and seeing them happy was nice...
But he'd neglected himself. At best, eating properly.
"..."
After a moment's thought, Park Ha-jun emailed back.
He still needed gold for [Time] and [Space] unlocks, and higher circles.
But 5 billion should be fine.
A crisp reply. Park Ha-jun processed the exchange.
Ten minutes later, a massive sum deposited.
Unlike gold, seeing such a huge amount in his bank felt different.
Surreal, almost.
He wasn't sure what to do with it yet.
But one thing was decided.
'Time to move Mom and Dad somewhere safer.'
To a hunter-dense area.
That apartment near the Association had zero damage during the Basqui incident and this wave.
Pricey, but that's why he wanted to do it.
...This much will ease my guilt a bit.
He'd felt too ashamed to even contact them boldly before.
Professor pay wasn't bad, but lab and department expenses ate it up—he could only send 400,000 won monthly.
After all they'd done for his grad school...
"Ahem."
Clearing his throat, he called his mom.
"Hey, Mom, you busy?"
- What's up? You calling at this hour?
"Nah, just... Got time for dinner later? Let's check out some real estate together."
- Real estate? Moving? You didn't get evicted, did you?
"...It's not that."
Looks like he'd have to show them tonight. How his wallet had changed...
That evening.
Hwaryeong Guild Master Seo Ji-ah slumped over her office desk.
Her haggard eyes fluttered shut, but she fought sleep.
Enduring like this was less exhausting than actually sleeping.
Severe insomnia—
The curse left by her awakening ability, [Virtual Barrier].
The moment she slept, she was hurled into one of the virtual barriers she'd created.
A prison woven from her memories, a hell where the monsters she'd trapped roamed.
The A-rank wyvern pack from her first use.
And recently, the divine monster Basqui from the sea of milk...
She faced them every sleep.
Of course, they weren't real. Just phantoms from her mind.
If she perceived them as 'masks,' they became mere masks.
But the instant she saw them as monsters, she had to fight.
...Even Basqui.
The beast that shattered normal barriers with a sneeze.
Using Virtual Barrier for 5 minutes raised the odds of meeting it next sleep—a dilemma.
"..."
No one could endure that alone.
Desperate, she'd commissioned asd123.
The enigmatic creator who fulfilled any request if detailed right.
Maybe he'd offer a glimmer of hope, unlike the headstrong fools who just shook their heads.
She'd sent the request.
asd123 had replied: he'd found a way.
And was sending someone...
...asd123 has assistants? And sharing with me?
Hallucinating from sleep deprivation?
Rubbing her eyes to check again.
"...I've been sent by asd123."
A voice echoed from thin air.