The knowledge that came with awakening his [Intermediate Magic Talent] made the knowledge Jun already had appear from a new perspective.
So it wasn’t that he had acquired new knowledge, only that his point of view had changed.
However, the memories now being forcibly implanted into his mind didn’t belong to Jun, nor did they belong to “Lee Jeong-jun”.
They were deeply unpleasant, unfamiliar, and brought with them a momentary sense of fear.
And within those memories.
[Ah, no. This can’t be, it can’t!]
[There must be a way. I must find it.]
[Ha, this cursed world! This cursed fate!]
[Am I truly unable to grasp that power? Is this my fate?]
[I reject it. I will find a way, no matter what, even if it’s a path the world itself forbids!]
[I’ve found it…! I’ve found it! Ooooh!]
[But this damned fate still won’t let me escape. Yet, let the world know.]
[I am a mage. I will explore the truth of this world and twist it to manifest in reality.]
[Though I may not escape, let my successors break free!]
A ragged old mage was screaming as if in agony.
The rags he was wearing looked far too familiar to Jun’s eyes.
“My… past life…?”
***
Reincarnation.
Right before “Lee Jeong-jun” entered the world of <Blackout>, it had been one of the rewards promised by the game company’s crowdfunding.
Because of this, Jun had only seen it as part of the game’s system; he never took the idea of “reincarnation” seriously.
However, this world was not something that could be explained by a few game pixels; it was a world where everyone lived and breathed and Jun became a resident of that world.
Therefore.
Reincarnation was not just a system created by a simple program, but something that had a certain inevitability.
[Though I may not escape, let my successors break free!]
The cry of a mage whose determination burned brightly.
Despite his old age and the fact that he wore nothing but ragged clothes,
Jun instinctively recognized him.
That was the mage character he had created in his past life as “Lee Jeong-jun”.
How is that even possible?
But that only made things more confusing.
Because it didn’t make any sense.
The timing doesn’t add up.
The moment in which Jun currently existed was years before the character creation period of the game <Blackout>.
For the character he created to exist, it would have to be far in the future.
Given the age of the character in his memory, at least several decades would have had to pass.
What the hell is going on?
He couldn’t figure out how this was possible.
But there was one thing he was sure of.
The mage he had created was alive somewhere in this world.
And he had lost his magic at the same time he gained [Mana Body].
Because he didn’t have the [Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim].
Because he lacked the power to diminish his talents, he fully accepted the [Mana Body].
But it was a poisoned chalice.
Even now, Jun experienced recoil in his body when he unsealed just 10 percent of the [Mana Body].
If he activated it at 100 percent, his entire magic circuit would burn, and he would surely face death.
That’s why I couldn’t use magic.
During his time as “Lee Jeong-jun”, he had thought it was just a bug or that his character was under some kind of curse.
After all, even when he reported it to the game company, their response had always been, “This issue is not caused by a bug.”
So, the character who had received the greatest blessing as a mage had, ironically, lost the ability to use magic.
Because there was no way to manage the overwhelming amount of mana he possessed.
I gave up on my character, but…
Somewhere out there, his character had not given up on itself.
And that was only natural.
It was his life, after all.
For an incredibly long time, that character had worked alone to solve the problem he had been given.
In the end, he never found a solution.
But through the process, Jun managed to gain a small reward.
You could say it was fate. To have gained the cheat-like skill [Mana Body], and to have lost the blessing of magic at the same time.
Fate.
An unavoidable and predetermined path for all humans.
The old mage believed in that.
And so, he devised a way for his reincarnated self to escape such a fate.
The result was the body that now held “Lee Jeong-jun”.
The spell of his dead master, [Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim], was blocking the [Mana Body] in its place.
While he was still somewhat affected by the [Mana Body], it was no longer at a life-threatening level.
It’s a bit complicated, but for now… sorting through my memories is the top priority.
Feeling his vision blur from the intense headache, Jun slowly stood up.
He wanted nothing more than to lie down immediately, but he feared he’d lose his sense of balance if he did.
Jun moved like someone who was drunk. He wandered around the room, trying not to be overwhelmed by the flood of memories.
“Ugh… okay, let’s start with a simple recap.”
At the same moment he grasped [Intermediate Magic Talent], memories of his past life came flooding back.
It probably wasn’t his actual past life, but still.
For convenience’s sake, his past self had failed to solve the problem, but in the process, he gained an immense amount of knowledge.
And now, Jun began recalling the pieces of that knowledge granted to him.
The reason I know the ancient language, or how I could decipher the spells when facing the Goblin Lord. Was it all because of this?
At last, the lingering doubts that had been bothering him all this time began to make sense.
“The real problem now is how to use all this knowledge.”
Knowledge.
It might seem trivial to some, but for a mage, knowledge could sometimes be a treasure greater than any skill book.
Like now.
“How many of these do I even have?”
The knowledge of magic that the reincarnated character possessed had taken root in one corner of his mind.
It was the fourth-circle magic he had longed for so desperately.
These were the spells that “Lee Jeong-jun” who had once been obsessed with power had learned as a mage character.
Naturally, since he had been fixated on power alone, the spells were unmatched in terms of destructive force.
I used to think I was foolish back then, but now it’s coming back to me like this.
Being able to use fourth-circle spells, each worth hundreds or even thousands of gold, without spending a single coin!
However, not everything worked out so smoothly.
Is it thanks to [Intermediate Magic Talent]? The memories of magic come back to me clearly, at least up to my current level. But beyond that, the memories are hazy.
Jun had learned magic up to the fifth circle with his mage character.
But only the fourth-circle spells surfaced in his mind.
Though the knowledge clearly existed in his mind, it was strangely vague.
As for the rest, there was nothing to say.
Most of the reincarnated character’s memories were blurry.
The only thing that remained somewhat intact was the ancient language.
As for the rest—things like shamanism or the vast array of knowledge the reincarnated character had acquired for his reincarnation—those were all faint as well.
Perhaps he would need to learn related knowledge or grow stronger than he was now.
The hazy memories are scattered everywhere.
The headache he had been feeling must have stemmed from that.
The one relief was that Jun had already experienced something like this before.
It had been the same when he first entered this body.
I guess I’ll need to sort out these memories first.
From what he could use immediately to what he couldn’t yet, Jun sat down at his desk with an old notebook in hand.
He began categorizing and writing down the knowledge that surfaced in his mind. He sorted through the clear memories and the hazy ones.
Not bad.
The headache was still there, but Jun smiled with satisfaction.
Growing pains always brought a sense of anticipation.
***
“Not bad, my ass.”
Two days had passed since he had awakened his memories of reincarnation.
Papers scribbled with messy Korean were scattered everywhere, and the hand holding his pencil trembled.
“Senior?!”
Aiden, who had met him for a meal, was worried enough to ask what was wrong when he saw how exhausted Jun looked.
“I’ve more or less organized the knowledge about magic, but…”
There hadn’t been that many spells the mage character had learned to begin with so that part of the organization ended quickly.
The problem was with the hazy memories.
Despite being hazy, those memories asserted themselves with overwhelming intensity.
They would surface in his mind at random, only to disappear like smoke, and it was driving Jun increasingly mad.
If there’s any relief, it’s that these memories seem to be fading bit by bit.
Once a memory had made its presence known, it seemed to sink back quietly, as if it was satisfied with just that.
In the end, it meant that time would heal.
“Still, I can’t just stay cooped up in this room forever…”
Today, Jun planned to handle a few tasks.
“First, I need to get my hands on a potion recipe.”
Fortunately, he had gathered quite a bit of information on that front.
Previously, after the remake funding for <Blackout> ended, ‘”Lee Jeong-jun” had become excited and drawn up several growth plots.
One of them was the use of the [Potion Making] skill.
At first, it was just about saving some money on potions early in the game.
But after acquiring various pieces of information related to the skill, “Lee Jeong-jun” realized that it wasn’t just about saving on potion costs.
In the future, the [Potion Making] skill could also flourish as a business content.
Thanks to this, the information he had gathered at the time remained vividly in Jun’s memory.
I can clearly see which dungeons I need to conquer.
Jun explained the upcoming schedule to Aiden regarding this.
“As I mentioned before, we’re going to be training for a while. Our destination will be several level 1 dungeons.”
“Dungeons!”
Aiden, who had been staying inside the fortress for the past few days, stretched his stiff body and welcomed the idea.
“There are several goals in our upcoming schedule.”
“Aside from training?”
“That’s part of it, and some of it is included in the training.”
“What’s the part outside of training?”
“I’m getting ready to start a business.”
“A business… you mean?”
“Yeah.”
Aiden was already aware of the conversation Jun had with Chloe a few days ago.
But how did that relate to a business?
“For now, we’re just putting the potion recipe up for auction, but through that process, Chloe will connect with various talented individuals.”
Through those connections, Jun planned to launch his potion business in the future.
“So I need to make sure my name sticks in their minds.”
“Hmm, I think I understand what you’re saying.”
Although Aiden responded that way, it seemed like he didn’t fully grasp what Jun was getting at.
Of course, there was no need for Aiden to know more than that.
“Well, it’s not something you need to worry about. I’m just explaining that, as the leader of the mercenary group, I have this kind of vision.”
“Understood!”
“As for the training, there are two purposes.”
“One is refining our combat skills, as you mentioned before. What’s the other?”
“Adaptation training.”
“Adaptation training…? What are we adapting to?”
“The environment itself. It’s about time we start preparing for level 2.”
“Level… level 2, you say?”
At that, Aiden’s previously indifferent expression lit up.
“Yes. Objectively speaking, our skills are more than enough for level 3. But that doesn’t mean we can head straight to level 3 just yet.”
“Ah… so that’s why it’s adaptation training?”
“That’s right. It’s time to leave the Black Forest, where we’ve operated until now, and move on to a new terrain.”
“It really feels like an adventure!”
Jun gave a brief chuckle at Aiden’s already excited appearance.
And then, he thought of another plan he hadn’t told Aiden about.
And soon… it’ll be time to recruit new comrades.
Kill the pheasant and eat its eggs. Then use the nest to fuel the fire.
It was an ambitious plan.
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