Chapter 3: Memory Transference and the First Test

It was past midnight.

Se-hui, who had to go to the Academy early in the morning, had fallen asleep long ago.

Se-hyeon prepared to finally imprint Magic Combat through Memory Transference.

“Whew, shall I get started?”

Se-hyeon sat on the edge of the bed and quietly closed his eyes.

Then, he immediately cast Memory Transference.

‘Memory Transference.’

As soon as he activated the skill.

Woooooooong!

A faint pattern formed on Se-hyeon’s forehead.

At the same time, the memories of Zephyrus began to flood into Se-hyeon’s mind.

Strictly speaking, they were memories edited to fit his current stage.

“Kh!”

A slight headache washed over him as the memories rushed in all at once, but it wasn’t unbearable.

After about ten minutes had passed.

Woong! Woooooong!

Faint patterns appeared not only on his forehead but all over his body before vanishing as if they were being absorbed.

Shhhhhhh.

A moment later, Se-hyeon slowly opened his closed eyes.

“Whew, so this is how it works? Anyway, the core of Magic Combat was Boots of Wind.”

It was true.

Magic Combat was a fighting style built upon the foundation of Boots of Wind, utilizing a zero-friction coefficient to enable swift and agile movement.

The important part was that even within such high-speed movement, sudden braking, sharp turns, and rapid reversals could be performed freely and instantly.

Furthermore, movements that were impossible while treading on the ground were fully achievable in the levitation state granted by Boots of Wind.

This allowed him to gain the upper hand with maneuvers that surpassed an opponent’s predictions.

He didn’t know what kind of movements would be possible once his stage increased and new spells were added, but the current combat method using Boots of Wind and Shadow Orb alone could produce significant power.

Shortly after the Memory Transference was completed.

[Memory Transference is complete. As a reward for Stage 1 Memory Transference, +100 Base Magic has been granted.]

The title had mentioned rewards for each stage of Memory Transference, and it seemed the Stage 1 reward was an increase in base magic power.

“Ho, +100 Base Magic. That means my base magic alone is 180. Even if I register as an Awakened right now, I’d get a D-rank.”

His previous stats were 80 Base Magic plus 1,000 additional magic through his title.

But with the addition of 100 Base Magic, his base stat alone had reached 180.

If a primary stat was over 100, one could receive a D-rank in the Awakening Test regardless of other stat values.

Considering the majority of people don’t even surpass 50, let alone 100, during their first awakening, this was far from an ordinary start.

“It’ll be hard to test anything out right here, so I should visit a simulation center tomorrow.”

The room was currently too cramped to test out Magic Combat.

Therefore, he decided to just sleep for now and head to a simulation center to properly test things out once his sister left for school in the morning.

Early morning.

Once Se-hui left for school, Se-hyeon also got ready and headed outside.

His first destination was the convenience store.

Ding-aling!

“Boss.”

The owner looked puzzled when Se-hyeon walked into the store in the early morning, as he usually didn’t start his shift until evening.

“Oh? Se-hyeon! What brings you here so early? Ah! Come to think of it, I heard you collapsed yesterday. How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Se-hyeon gave a sheepish smile at the owner’s worried question.

“Haha, yes. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“I was so shocked when I heard from that foreman that you had collapsed. So you’ve been working at the construction site from morning until afternoon and then coming straight here to work? Until the next morning? No, I mean, when exactly do you sleep?”

No matter how the owner calculated it, there wasn’t enough time for sleep.

Though there was a gap of one or two hours in between, how could a person live on only one or two hours of sleep a day?

“I managed to nap here and there. That aside, I actually came by because I have something to apologize for.”

When the word “apologize” came out of Se-hyeon’s mouth, the owner nodded as if he had expected it.

“I had a feeling. If your health got so bad that you collapsed, you should stop working and rest immediately. Do you want a vacation? Or are you planning to quit altogether?”

It seemed the owner had guessed this situation might arise the moment he heard about the collapse.

Se-hyeon smirked at the owner’s reaction.

“I am quitting, but it’s not because of my health. Actually, I awakened after I collapsed yesterday.”

What kind of sudden news was this?

“What? Awakened?”

“Yes, I awakened as a Mage-type.”

The owner’s expression instantly turned to one of bewilderment.

“Huh! Really? You really awakened? You’re still in your early twenties, so the possibility was there, but… didn’t you say you were judged as incapable of awakening during the potential test?”

Usually, in an awakening potential test, one receives at least an F-rank.

Of course, a potential rank of F meant you were no different from an ordinary person, but it still meant there was at least a minimum chance of awakening.

However, being judged as “incapable” meant that regardless of rank, awakening itself was impossible from the start.

And Se-hyeon was exactly the person who had received that “incapable” judgment.

Because of that, people who knew the siblings often said that all the talent had been poured into Se-hui.

One was incapable of awakening, and the other had S-rank potential.

They were total opposites.

“I know. I received that judgment a long time ago and never even dreamed of awakening, but it suddenly happened like this. I suspect there was either a problem with the potential test or perhaps the equipment malfunctioned.”

The owner nodded with a serious expression at Se-hyeon’s words.

“Well, it was strange that the brother was incapable of awakening while the sister had S-rank potential. I think you’re right. The equipment must have malfunctioned or there was some other issue. Anyway, congratulations! Haha. Is a flower path finally opening up for Jang Se-hyeon’s life?”

“A flower path? Anyway, I’m truly grateful to you, Boss. Even though I was just a part-timer, you always took care of me and looked out for me.”

In this day and age, there weren’t many convenience store owners who cared for their part-timers to that extent.

No, he went beyond just caring; he was always considerate and tried to give him more. If Se-hyeon hadn’t awakened, he would have tried his best to stay at this job.

That was how much he appreciated the man.

“I didn’t do much. Anyway, now that you’ve become an Awakened, I shouldn’t treat you carelessly.”

“Oh, come on, don’t say that. Regardless, I’m really sorry for quitting so suddenly. I’ll visit often, and once I’m doing well, I’ll treat you to a huge meal.”

After chatting and sharing stories with the owner for a while longer, Se-hyeon slowly left the store as the rush hour for customers approached.

After stopping by the convenience store to give his notice, Se-hyeon headed straight to a simulation center.

A simulation center near Sinchon Station.

As Se-hyeon entered, the person working at the counter quickly stood up.

“Welcome.”

Se-hyeon handed over his check card and spoke.

“I’d like one large room, please.”

“Do you happen to have an Awakened registration card? You can get a 10% discount if you have one.”

Although the simulation center was a place that virtually recreated dungeon situations, it wasn’t used only by Awakened people.

The reality was that many ordinary people who wanted to experience a dungeon indirectly also frequented the place.

“Ah! It hasn’t been long since I awakened, so I haven’t registered yet.”

“I see. Then I will process the payment as a non-Awakened. A large room is 150,000 won per hour.”

“Please charge it.”

Simulation rooms were divided into small, medium, and large rooms. Usually, those who came alone used a small or medium room.

Large rooms were often used by parties, but in Se-hyeon’s case, he needed to test his movements using Boots of Wind, so he deliberately asked for a large room despite being alone.

“The payment is complete. You may use Room 3 inside. Detailed instructions are in the booklet provided, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, please call us.”

“Okay.”

After getting his card back, Se-hyeon headed straight to Room 3.

As he entered the room, he found a space that served as both a lobby and a preparation area.

Click!

Closing the door, Se-hyeon headed to the tablet installed on the wall.

“First, I’ll set it to a wide-open space that won’t hinder my movement, and for the monsters, Kobolds should do.”

Kobolds, along with Slimes, were the lowest-ranking entities in a dungeon.

For testing the power of Shadow Orb, Goblins or Orcs might have been better than Kobolds, but the main purpose of this test was the movements of Magic Combat using Boots of Wind.

Therefore, he planned to set it to a wide space with the weakest entities first, and then increase the monster rank once he got a bit used to the movements.

As he finished various settings including the dungeon type and the monsters to appear, a mechanical voice immediately rang out.

[Settings are complete. Implementing the dungeon in the selected format. Have a pleasant hunt.]

After finishing the setup, he pressed the button next to a very sturdy-looking door.

Click!

Ziiiiiiiiing!

The special alloy door slid open to the left and right, revealing the dungeon he had configured.

As Se-hyeon stepped inside, the door closed behind him.

Ziiiiiing! Click!

[Summoning monster [Kobold]. There is one for Stage 1, and one additional monster will be added for each stage increase. Opening the dungeon.]

The moment the mechanical voice ended, a single Kobold was summoned within the vast cave.

Woooooooong!

-Grrrrrrr.

The virtually implemented Kobold began to growl as soon as it saw Se-hyeon, and it immediately rushed toward him at high speed.

-Bark!

At the same time, Se-hyeon also began to move in earnest, casting his magic.

‘Boots of Wind.’

Swooooooosh!

When he cast Boots of Wind, the power of wind formed around both his feet, and Se-hyeon’s body slowly began to float.

Once he had risen about 10cm from the ground, he immediately put strength into his feet and moved.

Swaaaaaek!

Perhaps because the friction coefficient was zero, he moved with incredible speed and as smoothly as if he were sliding, even with just light movements.

‘Ho! This is amazing.’

Above all, even though it was his first time casting it, he was moving as naturally as if he had been using it for a long time.

Spat! Swaaaaaek! Swaaaaang!

Sudden braking and sharp turns, and even a rapid reversal from full speed without any preparatory motion.

As the imprint took place throughout his body along with the Memory Transference, he moved instantly and naturally as if the skills had been ingrained in his body for years.

‘It’s not as perfect as what Zephyrus showed yet, but I’ll reach that level soon once I adapt a bit more. I think I’ve tested the movement enough, so shall I move on to testing the Shadow Orb?’

Compared to the movements of Zephyrus he saw in the Memory Transference, he was still lacking, but that was strictly a matter of adaptation.

He felt he could overcome it quickly once he went through an adaptation phase in real combat.

Having finished his movement test, Se-hyeon came to a stop and cast Shadow Orb.

‘Shadow Orb.’

Of course, the core of Magic Combat was using magic while moving constantly, but since he intended to focus on testing pure power for now, he stopped moving and concentrated on the Shadow Orb.

Wooooong!

As he cast Shadow Orb, a palm-sized sphere filled with dark energy was rapidly created.

“Let’s see…”

Se-hyeon began to control the created Shadow Orb.

Swaaaaang! Swaaang!

The Shadow Orb began to fly around here and there according to Se-hyeon’s control.

“Ho! The speed is quite fast. I might hit the wrong place if I fail to control it. On the other hand, it’ll be incredibly efficient once I get used to it.”

The speed of the Shadow Orb was faster than expected, and he felt he might hit the walls or the ground if he lost control. However, he believed it would boast incredible efficiency once he mastered the speed and control.

-Kwarwaang!

While he was focused on controlling the Shadow Orb, the summoned Kobold lunged at him.

“Is it time for the power test now?”

Se-hyeon, who had been standing still while floating and controlling the Shadow Orb, sent the sphere flying straight at the Kobold.

Boom!

The Shadow Orb exploded the moment it struck the Kobold.

It took only one shot.

One Shadow Orb for one Kobold.

And since it was an explosive type that dealt splash damage, it seemed the effect would be even greater if monsters were crowded together.

[All summoned Kobolds have been eliminated. Stage 2 begins.]

Along with the mechanical voice, two Kobolds were summoned.

“I should first test how many Shadow Orbs I can control at once.”

Watching the summoned Kobolds, Se-hyeon cast Shadow Orb once again.