“I’ll go in first!”
“Go ahead.”
Aden rushed forward, full of excitement.
But she only ended up bumping her nose against the Gate.
“Ouch!”
“What are you doing?”
Suddenly, a slapstick moment.
Aden rubbed her nose.
“Wh-what? Why….”
Beep!
[Your Awakening Rank is too high.]
[Dungeon Rank: F-]
[Only up to E+ rank Awakened can enter.]
“Huh? No way!”
Aden’s shoulders drooped.
“Cheer up, kid.”
“But I wanted to see Master’s magic, the Perfect Clear! Waaah!”
Kang Hyun stroked his chin.
“Hmm.”
Wait a second.
Could it be done?
He suddenly snatched a field mouse from the grass.
“Inventory.”
“Huh?”
Whoosh!
The mouse vanished.
When he took it back out…
Squeak Squeak!
It scurried off his palm unharmed.
“Got it.”
Kang Hyun, the pinnacle of Word Magic, quickly analyzed the spatial magic of the inventory in mere moments.
“Hey, try getting inside the subspace for a moment.”
“What?”
Before Aden could even respond—
Whoosh!
He shoved her into the inventory.
Then, entered the Gate.
[You have entered the F-Rank dungeon <Dragonfly Plains>.]
[Clear the dungeon by removing the branches of the World Tree.]
“Inventory.”
He retrieved Aden.
“Huh?”
“Time didn’t pass in there, right?”
“I’m not sure, but it felt like only a moment.”
“It was a few seconds.”
“Was it? Hmm?”
Aden looked confused.
“I only know it felt brief.”
Aden had no sense of time passing.
As expected.
‘Time inside must be frozen for preservation.’
A familiar principle.
It resonated with the Word of Power 【Stop】.
‘Simple enough.’
Spatial magic is an unknown realm.
Even though it was a phenomenon he knew nothing about, Kang Hyun analyzed it with ease.
‘If I study this closely, I might make progress toward spatial Words of Power.’
He made a mental note.
But first, the dungeon.
Dragonfly monsters fluttered in the air ahead.
They were almost as big as pigeons.
Buzz—
“Alright, give it a try.”
“Excuse me? Isn’t Master going to clear it?”
“I need to see how you do to guide you. Let’s start with you.”
Aden’s shoulders slumped with disappointment.
‘I was looking forward to Master’s magic…’
But she quickly snapped out of it.
‘…Well, I’ll see it soon enough anyway.’
Besides, this was her first chance to use magic herself.
Her heart pounded.
The magic she’d longed for!
‘Finally!’
Kang Hyun also held expectations for his student.
The media hyped up A-Ranks so much.
‘Wasn’t it something about being a cornerstone of national power?’
A-Rank Awakened.
The pinnacle of society.
The strongest force.
Though S-Ranks were on another level entirely.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Had she learned well?
Aden closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
‘It’s my first time, but I’ve mastered the theory.’
She had worked hard under her Master’s guidance.
After completing her calculations internally—
‘I’ll start with a fire spell I’m confident in.’
She decided to cast a simple Class 5 spell.
“Ignis Vorax!”
A dazzling magic circle appeared.
Aden’s body floated slightly.
The density of mana around her had increased, giving her buoyancy.
Fwoosh—!
A massive flame roared to life.
Dragonflies brushed by the fire were incinerated.
The dragonflies burned to ashes without much resistance.
Bzzz…
The flames spread like an octopus stretching out its legs, igniting more dragonflies in a chain reaction.
Aden shouted in awe.
“Woah, woaaaah!”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
‘I did it! I cast magic! This huge fire! I’m a mage too!’
A mage like Master Kyle!
Was it the excitement?
Aden’s eyes glowed faintly blue, lit by mana.
The flames consumed A-rank mana without stopping, growing ever larger.
They were almost the size of a house.
“…Huh?”
Why are they still growing?
‘What’s going on here?’
The dragonflies had been exterminated long ago.
At this rate, everything would burn—Aden, her Master, the whole area.
“Uh, Master! Run away!”
She couldn’t stop it.
She begged the flames to cease, but they didn’t listen.
“Kyahhh!”
“Hah.”
Were flames always this loud and threatening?
It was terrifying.
Aden, sensing her doom, collapsed flat on the ground.
But a moment later—
“【Stop】.”
Zzzzt—
The roaring wind generated by the flames.
The grass swaying in the breeze.
And the enormous, writhing fireball.
Everything froze.
“Tsk.”
“Ugh…”
Aden was still curled up, trembling.
What a mess.
“Get up, kid.”
“Nooo! Don’t come near me! Run away, Master! At least save yourself—”
“Hey.”
Kang Hyun smacked the back of Aden’s head.
“Ouch! Why’d you hit me?”
“You’re a long way off, kid. Why’d you use fire, of all things? It’s one of the hardest elements to control without experience.”
“Huh? Is it?”
Typical beginners—always fascinated by fire and lightning.
“Remember the feeling you just had. That’s fire’s ‘spreading nature.’ We covered this in class, didn’t we?”
“Oh, that makes sense. It felt like the fire grew uncontrollably because there was too much mana. Wait—fire!”
Realizing belatedly, Aden panicked, but when she looked up at the sky, she froze.
“Ah…!”
It’s beautiful.
The frozen world.
Nature defied.
There was a mystical quality to the scene, an uncanny beauty.
‘It feels like a movie…’
Just like when watching Master Kyle’s films.
She’d always loved the scenes where everything stopped with 【Stop】.
“Wait.”
Stopped?
‘How?’
The realization hit her like a lightning bolt.
At the moment she had given up and collapsed, she had heard her Master’s calm voice.
Stop.
“Uh… Uh…”
Her mouth hung open as she struggled to turn her stiff neck.
Finally, she managed to look at her Master.
“You’ve got to be kidding me… That actually stopped just because you said so? How can that massive flame stop with such a tiny amount of mana? That’s impossible!”
He’d used up all his mana in one shot, but still—
“Uh…”
“When you completely lost control of your mana, the fire essentially became a natural phenomenon. Losing control means you’d have burned to death if left alone.”
“I, no…”
Each word from her Master was like pure gold, but none of it registered.
Her mind was blank.
Fragments of a recent news broadcast flashed through her head.
The Hero’s Plaza, frozen in time.
A mysterious S-rank Word Mage.
“…Master?”
“What? Are you even listening? Try analyzing what I just explained.”
“Master, are you… Are you the S-rank Word Mage they talked about?”
Kang Hyun finally noticed Aden’s state.
“Ah.”
Right, she doesn’t know I’m a Word Mage.
I’ve been too focused on teaching.
“Master, are you really… the S-rank Word Mage!? Was it Master?!”
“I told you, that’s me. Ah, but I’m not S-rank.”
“What!? No way!”
He had mentioned it before.
‘That’s me.’
‘Huh? What is?’
‘The mysterious S-rank from the broadcast.’
‘Haha. Sure you are.’
“No way…!”
Who would believe that?
“The academy was even originally called [Kang Hyun’s Word Magic Academy], kid.”
Though now it’s called [Kang Hyun’s Magic Academy].
“Oh? Come to think of it.”
Aden remembered.
That’s why everyone called him a fraud back then.
‘So that wasn’t a scam?’
He really… was a Word Mage?
Kyle’s legacy?
“Then! Did you actually inherit Lord Kyle’s power?!”
“No? It just works when I use it.”
“What?”
“Use your brain. That’s all it takes. Word Magic isn’t anything special.”
And it really wasn’t—at least according to him.
Even the legendary Kyle had figured out the principles of Word Magic all on his own.
“Look, I get you’re surprised, but it’s not that big a deal.”
“What do you mean it’s not a big deal? If Word Magic isn’t special, then what in the world is?”
Aden, a die-hard Kyle fan and lifelong admirer of Word Magic, couldn’t contain her excitement.
“I’m not strong. I don’t have the mana to use Word Magic properly.”
“How weak could you possibly be? Wait, if we fought, could I win? I mean, with my A-rank mana—”
“Are you kidding me?”
Now she was crossing a line.
Who did she think she was talking to?
“All you’ve got is big mana reserves and nothing else.”
“Th-that’s s*xual harassment!”
“What are you talking about?”
Why s*xual harassment?
“N-never mind! Don’t get mad….”
“Anyway, the point is, don’t go blabbing to anyone that I use Word Magic. Got it? I’m weak, remember.”
“Oh…”
The same conclusion again.
Aden looked disappointed.
“My Master is so amazing, though!”
“I am pretty amazing.”
“And the S-rank Word Mage everyone’s looking for is you!”
“I’m not S-rank.”
“And you even Perfect Clear-ed the dungeon!”
“Oh, the Perfect Clear!”
Technically, Aden had done most of the work after sneaking in.
How would the system judge this?
###
The dragonflies had all been incinerated, and Kang Hyun sliced through the branch of the World Tree.
Shhhk—
Ding!
[Perfect Clear! (Solo)]
[A tremendous achievement! You have completely thwarted the invasion of the World Tree!]
[Due to your achievement, a ‘Blessing’ will be bestowed upon the surrounding area! Everyone will praise your achievement!]
Thankfully, the dungeon wasn’t stingy.
“Can you see this message too?”
“See what?”
“Guess not. It recognizes this as a solo clear.”
The system even flagged it as ‘Solo’.
“So I get all the rewards myself?”
“Aw, that’s kind of a letdown.”
For a moment, Kang Hyun thought he had discovered a reward duplication glitch.
Then, the air cracked.
The dungeon shattered with a loud clang, marking its completion.
Ding!
[An Awakened has achieved a ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’ of an F-rank dungeon, completely halting the World Tree’s invasion!]
[To honor their achievement, a ‘Blessing’ descends upon the surrounding area. Everyone, please celebrate!]
Once again, the system loudly announced the accomplishment to the world.
‘What’s the reward?’
Ding!
[As a reward for perfectly clearing the dungeon (Solo), you are granted a special item.]
[You receive a ‘Random Box.’]
‘Is this different from last time?’
The last Random Box had given him an inventory—a game-changer.
This one seemed more ordinary, but still worth a look.
[Would you like to open the ‘Random Box’?]
“Yes.”
Given the inventory precedent, what might this one hold?
The anticipation was high.
[Opening ‘Random Box.’]
With a dazzling display, the box opened.
Fwoosh!
Ding!
[You receive a ‘Dried Sacred Water Elixir.’]
“Oh! A Dried Sacred Water Elixir?”
It was a familiar item.
A small elixir appeared on his palm.
Aden immediately recognized it.
“That’s…!”
Thanks to her studies, she knew exactly what it was.
She’d always wanted to be useful to her Master.
“If your mana is F+ or lower, this elixir raises your mana by one level!”
Kang Hyun nodded in satisfaction.
Finally, something that boosted his stats.
‘Status Window.’
[Awakened Profile]
Name: Kang Hyun
Rank: F-
Traits:
<Reincarnator>
Skills: –
Stats:
Strength: F-
Agility: F-
Endurance: F-
Stamina: F-
Mana: F-
“Wow… Look at these pitiful stats.”
Whether he could use Words of Power or was a battle expert, none of that mattered here.
The system’s evaluation of rank was based purely on stats.
And so, Kang Hyun’s rank, like most rookies, was solidly F-.
But now, it was time to climb.
Aden’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
“Wow, as expected of a Perfect Clear! Even in a mere F- dungeon, you got such a precious elixir as a reward—Ahhh! Stop!”
Kang Hyun immediately popped the elixir into his mouth.
Chew, chew.
“What are you doing!? Spit it out! If you eat it raw, it’s dangerous!”
“Munch.”
“If you don’t process it properly, your blood vessels will suffer severe damage!”
“What nonsense.”
It tasted fine.
‘Ah, healthy flavors.’
His tongue rebelled against the bitterness.
‘I’ve had countless elixirs in my past life.’
How could he not know the basics?
Kang Hyun had already started absorbing the elixir’s mana with expert precision.
There was no greater elixir connoisseur in the world.
“Spit it out! Hurry and spit it out!”
“Ptoo.”
He spat out the remnants after fully absorbing the mana.
“…Huh? You’re not in pain?”
“Whenever your Master does something strange, just go with it. If you keep overreacting, you’ll shorten your lifespan.”
Ding!
[‘Mana’ has increased. (F- → F)]
“Ugh, so bitter. Student, bring me some water.”
“Yes, Master!”
Aden, still stunned, handed him water.
“I can’t believe someone actually eats an elixir raw….”
“Don’t imitate me.”
You’ll get hurt. Seriously.
“Still, wouldn’t it have been more efficient to save it for when you reached F+?”
“Who has the time?”
Mana was his immediate priority.
Efficiency was secondary; he needed a bare minimum of mana right now.
Kyle’s training methods required at least a basic mana reserve to use.
‘If this is F, then D- should suffice.’
Until then, he’d consume every elixir he got.
He rinsed his mouth with water.
“Let’s head to the next dungeon.”
“What? Already?”
“I’ve recovered my mana.”
This time, he aimed for a higher-ranked dungeon.
“With my increased mana, let’s try an F-rank dungeon.”
And so, another dungeon was conquered.
[An Awakened has achieved a ‘Perfect…]
He spread blessings on Seoul.
[As a reward for perfectly clearing the dungeon (Solo), you are granted a special item.]
[You receive a ‘Random Box (+1)’.]
“The box looks fancier this time.”
“Maybe it has better rewards?”
They opened the box.
Fwoosh!
[You receive a ‘Dried Sacred Water Elixir.’]
“Yes!”
“Another elixir?”
Even though it was the same item, an elixir was always welcome.
[‘Mana’ has increased. (F → F+)]
“My mana’s maxed out! Let’s go again!”
“Yes, Master!”
This time, they tackled an F+ dungeon.
With his mana now at F+, Kang Hyun was ready for the challenge.
Another clear.
[An Awakened has achieved a ‘Perfect…]
[As a reward for perfectly clearing the dungeon (Solo), you are granted a special item.]
[You receive a ‘Random Box (+2)’.]
It was the third Blessing and reward of the day.
“Alright!”
“Let’s ride this momentum all the way to A-rank!”
“Let’s see what we got!”
“Another mana elixir, here we go!”
The duo, energized by their rhythm, eagerly opened the box.
[‘Random Box’ is opened.]
Drumroll…
The box burst with light and sound.
Fwoosh!
[You receive a ‘Perfect Hydrating Mask (Black).’]
“Uh… Wha?”
This was…
“I’ve hit the jackpot!”
“…Huh?”
