Chapter 4: The Advent of the Archmage

With the sound of the capsule activating, Edelin’s consciousness began to fade.

Just as she thought she was falling asleep.

Edelin’s mind arrived in a place she had never seen before.

“Is this really the inside of the capsule?”

She uttered sounds of admiration at the advancement that even her mana-infused eyes couldn’t fully comprehend.

In the pitch-black space where nothing was visible, Edelin moved her body around.

Although she felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

– Welcome to ARC, the virtual reality capsule for streamers.

After the artificial voice spoke, a translucent hologram appeared before her eyes.

“What is this?”

Feeling a novel sensation for the first time, she moved her hands here and there, manipulating the hologram.

The hologram’s content changed with each touch of her hand.

===========

[ All ]
[ User Apps ]
[ Social ]
[ Store ]

===========

“Aha.”

“I understand.”

Recognizing a menu structure similar to a smartphone, Edelin’s hands moved fluidly.

She launched the only installed game from the User Apps menu.

– Launching Kairos Continent.

Finally, the day her first step, destined to be recorded in the continent’s history, began.

Snowflakes danced above a vast mountain range blanketed in snow.

At the very center of the range, a Gothic-style fortress boasted its grandeur.

A red flag pierced into the roof swayed in the wind.

[ The war between humans and demons, passed down since the beginning of time ]

A sweet female voice, accompanied by background music, created the atmosphere.

[ Peace arrived thanks to the Hero and his companions ]

Part of the castle crumbled, and a knight clad in armor burst out.

[ But it was merely a fleeting peace ]

The massive knight, emitting a blue glow from its eyes, began slaughtering the people inside the castle.

The scene showing the castle’s interior instantly shifted elsewhere.

Below the camera showing a secluded village in the forest, countless monsters roared.

[ O ye who have grown accustomed to peace over a long period ]
[ Those who hid in the darkness ]
[ Have reappeared to swallow the continent once more ]

[ The power that saved the continent from the demon legion long ago ]
[ We need the fragments of the Hero that you possess ]
[ Would you please help us for the sake of the continent ]

[ Chronicles of the Kairos Continent ]

.
.
.

The stylish game title floated up, and below it, a new selection window appeared.

『Server Selection』
○ Korea Server (Available)
○ US Server (Available)
○ Japan Server (Available)
.
.

As expected of the world’s number one game, there were countless servers.

Edelin naturally chose her own country.

– Loading user data . . .
– No registered user found. Proceeding to character creation.

A large mirror appeared before Edelin’s eyes.

“Oho… How fascinating.”

Touching her reflection in the mirror allowed her to partially modify the touched area.

Edelin adjusted her height, shrinking and stretching it, changed her hair and clothes here and there, but quickly lost interest.

In common terms, she experienced severe burnout.

“I don’t want to touch anything else here.”

If this had been an online game enjoyed on a PC, she might have enlarged the chest to emphasize femininity.

But this was a virtual reality game striving for realism.

She didn’t want to carry unnecessary baggage.

Above all, she liked her current appearance the most.

“Next.”

『Mode Selection』

1. Normal Mode
   – In Normal Mode, everything including UI, health bars, etc., is supported.

2. Streamer Mode
   – Includes copyright and special features. This mode can be turned on/off in settings at any time.

3. Realism Mode
   – Start the game with minimal UI. This setting cannot be reverted.

If she were a regular player, she would have chosen option 1 without hesitation.

“Isn’t it obvious it should be number 3?”

However, Edelin’s thoughts were completely different.

Discarding realism in a virtual reality game that pursues realism?

For Edelin, this was an unacceptable, critical matter.

“It seems to interfere with immersion, so I should get rid of it.”

Edelin frowned looking at the UI that appeared before her eyes to confirm the setting values.

She soon erased even the few remaining UI elements completely.

“That’s better.”

Only a small gear icon remained at the edge of her vision.

“Next.”

『Race Selection』
– Each race starts with unique characteristics. Customization changes according to the chosen race.
– Story, along with all locations, adapt to the race…

Edelin chose Human without even looking.

“Why are there so many settings!”

Birthdays, constellations. As countless settings needed to be configured, Edelin got annoyed and rapidly pressed the next button.
– You have agreed to all terms.

– Loaded previously used settings.

– Streaming will automatically start each time the game begins.

Among the prompts skipped by rapidly pressing ‘Next’ out of annoyance, Yeeun’s streaming settings were also included.

– What’s this stream?

– What, is this a copycat?

There was a fact that neither Yeeun nor Edelin realized.

Loading the existing streaming settings meant.

Loading the data exactly as it was from the last broadcast.

As a result, the title of Edelin’s stream became:

New!【 Yeeun-nyang’s Magic Broadcast Who Will Someday Become an Archmage 】
[ Kairos Continent Play ]
[ Streaming – 00:00:02 ]
[ Streamer – Yeeun-nyang2 ]

Along with the title, even the streamer nickname automatically got a number added, turning her into a copycat.

Small-time streamers browsing broadcasts saw the title and streamer name and started entering out of curiosity.

Edelin, unaware of this fact.

Started the game.

[ May you leave your footprints on the Kairos Continent… ]

An artificial island floating in vast cosmic space.

Stars twinkled, illuminating the figure of a new savior.

An intensely radiating beam of light shone down on the center of the empty island.

“Where…?”

Edelin, who expected the continent from 100 years later to appear, was bewildered.

For her, who prided herself on having traversed every corner of the continent, this was a place she had never seen before.

As if possessed, she took steps towards the direction where the light emanated.

[ Welcome. Savior. ]

At the center of the light, a blonde woman in a white dress awaited Edelin.

The job assignment NPC responsible for guidance in the tutorial.

She spread her arms wide, emitting beams of light.

[ Please tell me the path you wish to take ]

Countless job names floated before Edelin’s eyes.

[ You can experience the path you wish to walk beforehand. Try various jobs….]

“Mage.”

There was no reason to change a path already decided.

Edelin chose Mage without hesitation.

[ Very well. Feel the power of the Mage you desire ]

Instantly, a massive storm of mana enveloped her entire body.

Intoxicated by the briefly returned power of mana, Edelin closed her eyes and circulated it.

“Hmm… An absurdly insufficient amount.”

It was a small amount of mana, incomparable to her Archmage days.

But the abundant mana, different from the suffocating reality, stimulated her memories.

[ Feel free to exert your power ]

A giant wolf appeared beside the woman.

It was merely a punching bag monster that appeared after job selection.

The specs of the monster placed there, meant for players to freely try out skills, were:

Faelan (Beastkin)
HP 100000000 / 100000000
(Immune to status effects)

However, due to the characteristics of Realism Mode, the monster’s information did not reach her.

『Combat Measurement』
– Combat measurement will begin in 30 seconds.

“So, I am to test my magic.”

Edelin, having grasped everything from the conversation with the woman and the situation, smiled as if amused.

It’s only right to accept a challenge offered.

Among the various hologram windows that appeared due to the tutorial, Edelin checked the list of magic she possessed.

“Fireball… Ice Sword… Fire Lance… Wind Breaker…”

The list of magic was limited to a maximum of 4th Circle.

“Strange… The amount of mana I possess is barely at the end of the 3rd Circle. Yet I can use magic up to the 4th Class.”

Partly due to system calibration.

She didn’t know the system mechanic where casting 4th Class magic with a shortened chant halved the required mana and power.

Therefore, she closed the skill quick slot window that had appeared.

“These things are merely cumbersome.”

『Combat Measurement』
– Combat measurement will begin in 10 seconds.

As the system message appeared, Edelin’s hands moved.

The cumbersome staff had long since rolled onto the floor.

Only her two hands became the medium for casting magic, weaving through the air.

[ Unknown magic path detected! ]
[ Warning. Massive mana consumption detected ]
[ Insufficient estimated mana. Consuming health ]

Messages popped up every time her hands moved to materialize magic.

Edelin’s concentration did not waver due to mere messages.

“I shall show you. The true power of a mage.”

The modern era, dulled by peace.

A total mana pool close to zero.

The past glory of traversing battlefields.

A chance to release the stress accumulated from her stifling daily life.

Edelin unleashed the limit she had been holding back.

‘This sensation of using magic!’

‘It truly has been a long time!’

Simply feeling the mana move felt good.

Simply constructing the formula for mana manifestation felt good.

Feeling the mana boil throughout her body, the incantation flowed from Edelin’s lips.

O Twilight Mana, starving and suffering.
Heed my call and lend thine ear.
With the power of the predator that devours all.
With the power of the destroyer that annihilates all.
Borrowing my name, Edelin Persephone.
I shall summon thee here.

『Black Magic · Break』

Her modified magic manifested from Edelin’s hand.

Around the thumb-sized black sphere, an ominous layer mixed with blue and purple light formed, screaming.

“Cough… To think I almost failed to manifest even the weakest magic.”

A large amount of black blood flowed from Edelin’s mouth.

But Edelin paid it no mind. Wasn’t this inside a game anyway?

She could unleash magic to her heart’s content.

『Combat Measurement』
– Combat measurement begins.

As soon as the counter for combat measurement ended, the giant wolf charged towards Edelin.

Edelin didn’t blink an eye even as the massive claws approached her face.

She merely stared straight ahead with a blank expression.

Sizzle! Thud!

The small sphere Edelin created made contact with the wolf’s body.

The wolf, Faelan, swung its claws, determined to tear apart the human along with the sphere.

However, what tore was not the sphere and the human, but the wolf’s paw.

– Awoooooooo

The wolf, screaming in pain, tried to retract its front paw, but.

For some reason, it was useless.

“Farewell.”

Simultaneously with her words, the sphere’s pulling force intensified.

The wolf struggled desperately, but before her unique magic, its strength was merely feeble.

In the face of overwhelming magic, the punching bag monster, which was practically invincible, vanished without a trace.

It took less than 10 seconds for the wolf to disappear.

『Combat Measurement End』
– DPS Measurement Impossible.

[ The woman marvels at your great ability ]

And there were those who witnessed this spectacle in real-time.