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110
“Let’s go up.”
Hanbit moved upstairs with the two of them.
A spiral staircase without a speck of dust.
Reaching the second floor, a bookshelf that wrapped broadly around the entire level came into view.
“Are you the guest?”
A man with glasses standing at the center.
The metal chain hanging to one side and the neatly swept-back hair suited his cold impression rather well.
“I am the adventurer Black Dragon.”
“I am the institute director, Levius. What brings you to see me?”
The stiff expression and manner of speaking made him appear somewhat authoritative.
But Levius, lifting his eyes from his book, was studying Hanbit with quiet gravity.
“I’ve come to learn fire attribute magic.”
“Hmm. Do you have a background in magic?”
“I had a good teacher. Received quite strict instruction.”
“I see.”
Thud—
Levius closed his book and turned away.
After briefly glancing at Hanbit’s wrist, he took a step toward the staircase leading upward.
“Come to the rooftop.”
“Director?”
Nia was flustered at the sudden development.
Looking back and forth between Levius and Hanbit, she smiled with an uncomfortable expression.
“Um… shall we head up for now?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Hanbit went up the stairs with everyone.
The tower was quite tall, but reaching the rooftop took no time at all.
Thanks to a magical device Levius had installed on the staircase.
“Ah, could the two of you share some mana potions if you have them?”
“Mana potions?”
“I’ll provide them. They’re intermediate grade, but I have quite a few.”
Avantgarde took out one hundred mana potions from his inventory.
Enough for immediate use.
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to return them.”
“Return them, you say. I could give you a thousand. But what do you need mana potions for?”
“I need them right now.”
“Right now?”
While that exchange was going on, Hanbit arrived at the rooftop.
Levius, who had gone ahead, was standing before a low stone pillar in the center.
Near its middle was a diamond-shaped blue crystal.
A magic stone used to store and hold mana.
“I’ll conduct one test. If you pass, I’ll teach you the magic.”
“Very well.”
-A test?
-Did Levius ever do anything like this?
-No, nothing about it anywhere in the community.
-People just did rank 1 stuff and didn’t know.
The progression an ordinary player would have experienced was simple.
Complete a commission Levius presented, and then learn the technique.
There was only one case where he demanded a test first.
When his curiosity had been piqued.
Like, for example, when an adventurer with a gold bracelet came to learn magic.
“The test is simple. Your magic — demonstrate it to the best of your ability. This place has a defensive barrier installed, so you may manifest freely.”
“Understood.”
Ding—
[Quest]
Pass Levius’s test.
Reward: 100,000 gold, Levius’s Fire Lance Spellbook (Rank 3 — Heroic), 3 stat points, 40,000 experience points
A quest finally appearing.
The chat was still full of question marks, but the content was concise.
Hanbit raised his right hand and called the incantation toward the air.
“Fire Burst!”
Boom—!
The fireball blazing red collided with the invisible wall and exploded.
“Wow!”
Nia, watching from a few steps away, widened her eyes.
It was so vastly different from the ‘Fire Burst’ she knew.
“What was that just now? The incantation was just Fire Burst!”
The excited girl’s voice did not stop.
But Levius, arms folded, murmured quietly.
“Again.”
“Understood. Fire Burst!”
Boom—!
“Again.”
Boom—!
“Again.”
Boom—!
The repeated demands and demonstrations of magic went on for quite some time.
Gulp—
Gulp—
The mana potions received from Avantgarde were consumed at a rapid pace.
And when just three remained, Levius’s voice rang out.
“That will do.”
Raising a hand lightly, his expression had not changed much.
Only the glasses he had been wearing had gone into his pocket.
-He could take off his glasses?
-Off with the glasses.
-So handsome;
-Alpha male energy.
The chat grew noisy at the first glimpse of his face unobscured.
Only Hanbit knew that this was an extreme form of emotional expression for him.
“Did I pass the test?”
“Not a single thing to fault. It was beautiful — as though a spirit’s blessing accompanied it. I shall absolutely use this as a reference in my fundamental magic research.”
Levius delivered his words with genuine feeling.
This man was someone who was dead serious about magic research.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it nearly fanatic.
“Then as promised, I’ll give you the spellbook.”
Shhk—
Levius drew a book with a red cover from inside his coat.
The moment it was received, a notification appeared at once.
Ding—
[The quest has been completed.]
[In accordance with Levius’s evaluation, the reward has been upgraded.]
[You have received 200,000 gold.]
[You have received Levius’s Fire Lance Spellbook (Rank 3 — Unique).]
[6 stat points are awarded.]
[Your experience points have increased by 80,000.]
[Your level has risen by 1.]
[1 stat point is awarded.]
-Unique again. Lol.
-The gap starting from rank 3 is genuinely something else;
-Why is he so strict with me?
Hanbit immediately turned the cover of the book.
[Will you use it? (Yes / No)]
A hologram that felt somehow long overdue.
Touching ‘Yes,’ the book vanished in a puff of smoke.
‘Fire Lance’ was now registered in the skill list.
“Thank you. I’ll work on mastering it.”
“Hmm.”
At the parting words, Levius stroked his chin and studied Hanbit.
Then he suddenly brought up something unexpected.
“A thought has just come to me. That someone like you might grasp a new magic in no time.”
“…Pardon?”
Hanbit’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
It was not that Levius had never said something like this.
But at the very least, this particular moment had never played out differently before.
While Hanbit was busily analyzing the situation, Levius put his glasses back on.
Then, as though offering a light suggestion, he continued:
“The magic you just obtained. Care to try using it?”
Ding—
A new alert following along with that question.
Turning his eyes, Hanbit could not help but doubt what he was seeing.
[Hidden Quest]
Use the new magic ‘Fire Lance’ to satisfy Levius’s curiosity.
Only one chance.
If successful, it seems he will teach a completely new magic.
Reward: Levius’s Research Spellbook, 200,000 experience points, 15 stat points
-?
-Another one, for real?
-What the. Lol.
-Is it actually a hidden skill?
-Looking at the spellbook it seems like it.
-Don’t do this to me.
-Why do I have none of these;
A quest window with a vivid gold border.
Another appearing hidden content sent the viewers into shock.
“There was more hidden skill content in Ifrit?”
“You were hiding such a significant event!”
Kim Jaeha and Avantgarde adding their voices with wide eyes.
But Hanbit was no less surprised himself.
‘What is this?’
His eyes fixed on the message, he read the contents over and over.
Satisfying Levius’s curiosity.
Only one chance.
No matter how deep he searched his past memories, there was no overlap.
‘What even is a completely new magic?’
The magic learned from Levius had always been fixed as one — ‘Fire Lance.’
It was because he had devoted his entire life to fundamental magic research.
Having been moved upon accidentally witnessing the power of a spirit, they said.
“What is it? Don’t mind those around you — feel free to do as you like. I’ll ensure your safety.”
“…Understood.”
Levius, who could not know that inner monologue, added his words.
His expressionless face now full of interest — Hanbit could see it.
‘This one I’m genuinely curious about.’
Levius’s magic that even Hanbit didn’t know.
Whatever the unexpected circumstance, interest in that spellbook had grown.
In that case, this hidden quest in front of him had to be properly accomplished.
‘Satisfying his curiosity…….’
The quest content itself was far too simple.
Touching Levius’s curiosity.
The key was the condition of using the newly learned magic ‘Fire Lance.’
“What are you planning to do? With a magic you just learned, it seems like a really difficult condition.”
“Indeed. It won’t be simple.”
“Even you saying that, Black Dragon-nim. Hidden skills truly are the domain of the unknown.”
Avantgarde asked quietly in a small voice.
Unlike the worried content, his expression was full of anticipation to see it quickly.
He was probably not thinking about the possibility of failure even for a moment.
‘An ordinary approach won’t work.’
Even as a first attempt, perfectly executing ‘Fire Lance’ was possible.
But that alone would be insufficient to stir curiosity.
If there were any clues to look for, it would be past conversations with Levius.
Most had been about magic and research, but he strained to trace his memories as best he could.
‘…Honestly no idea.’
Methods worth trying were not entirely absent.
Applying magic was something he could manifest up to a certain extent.
The problem was the quest condition of only one chance.
Thinking about that, even if the probability was ninety-nine percent, attempting it was not something he could bring himself to do lightly.
Maybe it would be better to strike up a conversation now and draw out some information——
Thud—!
Just then, the sound of something colliding came from ahead.
Turning his gaze, Nia was frantically clutching the central stone pillar.
“I’m sorry! I touched it by accident!”
She raised her voice, checking the barrier magic stone inside.
Levius, only slightly shifting his gaze, spoke in a calm voice.
“I replaced it with a new barrier of my own making. No matter the situation, there will be no problem.”
“What? When?”
“The night before last.”
“But you should have told me about something that important!”
Nia’s expression turned aggrieved at his matter-of-fact words.
Even with Ifrit being as safe as it was, the barrier of the tower was significant.
It had the effect of blocking both external attacks and internal accidents.
And yet the fact that it had been replaced was something only he had known.
“Did I not give notice of the barrier replacement five years ago?”
“Five years ago I was this small!”
Nia pressed her hands to her waist and raised her voice in disbelief.
“That was recent.”
“No it wasn’t!”
“Is that so.”
As the exchange between teacher and student like a comedy routine continued, Hanbit’s gaze moved.
‘Could it be…….’
The stone pillar and the diamond-shaped blue crystal — the only objects in existence on the sparse tower rooftop.
That was Levius’s work.
A barrier made by none other than him, possessing both skill and pride in equal measure.
‘If this works…….’
A plan filling Hanbit’s mind in an instant.
Looking up at the sky again, a transparent membrane shimmered ever so faintly.
A dome-shaped barrier enclosing this space.
Hanbit looked at Levius and asked:
“This barrier — would it be alright if I broke it?”
