Should he consider it fortunate, or was Aiden also just within the bounds of being human?
He hadn’t mastered [Charge] right away.
I never imagined he would learn the [Bash] skill, though!
Usually, the way to acquire a new skill was through a [Skill Book], but sometimes you could create your own technique.
Of course, that didn’t mean it would appear out of nowhere.
In order for a character to acquire a skill on their own, a basic skill was required.
Just like Aiden’s [Bash] was inspired by [Charge].
It was typically only possible when proficiency was at least 90 percent, right?
Jun recalled the average data from the game.
Did that mean Aiden’s [Charge] proficiency had reached 90 percent?
That’s not it.
After that, Aiden’s use of [Charge] showed almost no improvement in terms of proficiency.
He had just managed to avoid crashing into the rock and falling into a [Groggy] state because he couldn’t control his speed.
His accuracy itself was still poor.
However, each time he used it, his form became more refined and smoother, enough for Jun to recognize.
However, not all of this was thanks to Aiden’s talent.
[Beast Body] does have the effect of dramatically boosting the proficiency of active skills. That’s why it was the most beloved skill among warrior players. But still…
Reality wasn’t a game.
No matter how much synergy he received from skills, the results Aiden showed were on an unbelievable level.
Is that what talent looks like…?
Jun recalled the world’s inherent unfairness with a bitter smile.
It had taken him months to get used to this body.
A stretch of grueling days he preferred not to remember.
But Aiden was different.
With just a single flash of brilliance, he had achieved this much growth.
Jun didn’t intend to belittle someone’s efforts by blaming it on talent.
It was just how reality worked.
This is pretty disgraceful as a leader.
A future he had never considered flashed before him.
Someday, Aiden would climb much faster and higher than him.
Have I been too complacent?
Jun had faith in the information he held from his days as Lee Jeong-jun.
But that was just information, nothing more.
Absorbing it was an entirely different matter.
The same went for skills. Without [Basic Magic Talent], he wouldn’t have even attempted studying magic.
Perhaps he wasn’t the right fit for Aiden.
Or maybe Aiden himself would become an excellent leader.
Just like he had in the game.
“…Haah. What am I even thinking?”
He let out a bitter laugh.
Since when had he become so reliant on someone else?
Jun looked inward.
He was conflicted.
It was only normal.
Even though he tried to maintain the rationality of a cold-hearted mage, he hadn’t originally been a mage.
He had been forced into it.
So he had to force himself to adopt a mage’s mindset.
Because that was the only way to survive.
A year later, he had grown accustomed to it, but deep inside, remnants of his confusion lingered like the ashes of a dying fire.
But those feelings were fleeting.
Before long, [Steadfast Will] forced Jun’s emotions back below the surface.
Even if I’m overpowered by that guy’s strength.
A leader isn’t someone who excels at everything.
Of course, there were people like that, but did doing well always mean it was the end?
Jun looked at himself objectively.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit.
The information I have, and the drive pushing me toward that place… those are things Aiden doesn’t have.
Jun trusted the knowledge he had.
He had also determined the direction of his growth through that knowledge.
He didn’t want to break this trust due to impatience brought on by external pressure.
If he did, it felt like his very foundation would crumble.
So far, he was right.
Yes, he had to trust in these thoughts.
So he believed.
He would keep believing.
From now on and always.
But the last remaining perspective of the mage spoke coldly.
Skills aren’t omnipotent’
That whisper soon sank beneath the forced belief he had created.
***
Jun had briefly felt jealous of Aiden’s talent, but if Aiden had heard Jun’s concerns, he would have instead worn a baffled expression on his face.
And it was no wonder.
Boooom――!!
A bolt of lightning struck.
Among the many disasters humans envisioned, there was the natural phenomenon that embodied the image of “divine punishment”.
But the wrath of Heaven struck the earth even though the sky was clear without a single cloud.
And the target of that wrath was—
Crackle, sizzle—
A cockatrice that was burning black and disintegrating into particles as it vanished.
“My God…”
The heavens were enraged.
Aiden perceived the scene before him no differently than any ordinary person would.
Such was the sheer destructive force that had struck the ground.
But that phenomenon wasn’t some kind of divine wrath; it was the work of a single person.
The person Aiden deeply respected—Jun.
“You’re… really amazing, senior…”
“Haha, thank you.”
Aiden’s admiration stirred a strange feeling within Jun.
So Jun smiled without holding back.
That was wrong.
The magic he had just unleashed was [Lightning Call], which was the most powerful attack spell of fourth-circle magic.
As its name implied, it was a spell that summoned lightning.
Its power was indeed so swift and formidable that the Cockatrice couldn’t even react and died instantly.
Jun had no objections regarding that part.
The image wasn’t perfectly contained.
Moreover, the accuracy was significantly off.
The center of the manifested magic was quite some distance from the target.
It’s definitely different from third-circle magic.’
There were many differences between third-circle and fourth-circle magic.
First of all, third-circle magic released the magical power contained within the circle located in the mage’s heart.
This triggered a phenomenon, which was then called magic.
However, starting from fourth-circle magic, it went a step further than merely causing a phenomenon; it moved toward guiding it.
Like [Lightning Call], which forcibly created lightning by distorting nature in the atmosphere with the magical power within the circle.
Fourth-circle magic used not only the mage’s own magical power but also the magical power of nature.
Then why was magic performed in such an abnormal way?
The answer lay in a structural problem.
It’s because of the mage’s limitations. In exchange for accumulating magical power in the heart, which is most smoothly connected to the outside world, the amount of magical power that can be released at once is limited.
Since magical power was stored in the heart, which was one of the most sensitive organs, there was a risk that if he pushed his magical power beyond its limits, his heart could simply stop.
Or the magical circuits could enter an overheated state.
Therefore, the essence of intermediate magic was not to use one’s own magical power but to draw that strength from the outside.
I understand the method itself. But still….
However, using this method meant that unlike before, Jun’s imagination wasn’t properly infused into the magic.
And attempting a lightning-type spell, which is difficult to control, didn’t help either.
But.
Despite that, Jun smiled faintly.
Magic is the best.
Its destructive power was undeniably perfect.
“Looks like I won’t be getting any sleep tonight either.”
However, refining this would likely take quite a long time.
And so a month quickly passed by.
***
“Hoo.”
When he was on Earth, he recalled that the record-breaking size of a snake that made the news was about 8 meters long.
Compared to the creature in front of him, that one seemed almost cute.
This thing was truly a monster that could swallow a person whole in one gulp.
And that monster now lay dead with its head half severed and tongue hanging out.
“Good job, Aiden.”
“N-No. This was also a form of training.”
The dungeon they had just cleared was called the “Birthplace of the Poisonous Snake”.
A den of snakes, in other words.
Surprisingly, Aiden was afraid of snakes.
“Haha, sorry for showing such a pathetic side of myself.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
Gamers who knew the story well might have known.
But Jun, who had always skipped through everything, had no way of knowing.
That’s why when Aiden showed weaknesses so often in this dungeon, Jun had to help him out several times.
“Well, I don’t have many fond memories with snakes…”
“The only people who have good memories with snakes are those who keep them as pets. Anyway, you did well. That’s the end of the training.”
“Ah!”
At Jun’s words, Aiden’s face lit up with renewed energy.
The past month.
Jun and Aiden had cleared various dungeons under the guise of training.
The reason was to gain combat experience in a variety of environments.
And over the course of that month, Aiden had indeed experienced all sorts of conditions.
Some dungeons were damp caves filled with stench; others were so narrow it was hard to even swing a sword properly; and there were also dungeons like this one where monsters poured out in droves.
“Thanks to that, our teamwork has improved a lot, not to mention our skill proficiency.”
“Yes, that’s really true…”
As a result, Aiden had not only mastered [Charge] but also greatly refined the derived skill of [Bash].
Meanwhile, Jun had successfully overcome the aftereffects of his “reincarnation” and even managed to fine-tune various fourth-circle spells.
And that wasn’t all.
Although it was just extra income, we also completed a lot of requests.’
Since they called themselves a mercenary group, they didn’t enter dungeons for free like adventurers.
They completed all the requests they took on before setting out. This brought in a considerable amount of money.
With this, they were fully prepared to head toward the level 2 area.
And lastly…
Jun picked up the loot left behind by the dead snake he had defeated.
With this, I can complete Chloe’s request as well.
A potion recipe.
And beyond that, he was ready to start a business.
***
Whether they were mercenaries, adventurers, or part of some other third-party group,
Everyone who came to Blackout shared the same ambition to reach the upper levels.
Mercenaries sought them for better skills, while adventurers sought them for fame or the thrill of exploration.
Jun belonged to the former category, while Aiden was likely the latter.
“W-Wow…!”
A cave in a valley located in the barren rock zone.
They stepped inside and saw dark, floating stairs and a door suspended in midair.
The darkness seemed to absorb all surrounding light and instilled a peculiar sense of dread in those who looked at it, yet it also sparked a curiosity about what lay beyond the black door.
“Is this the next level passage?”
The stairs and door leading to the next level.
Aiden couldn’t help but be moved when he saw the stairs he had only seen in books.
In contrast, Jun who had seen it countless times in the game felt little excitement.
The only thing that stirred within him was a mage’s sense of curiosity.
“How on earth does this even work?”
For a while, he stared at the dark floating stairs but couldn’t grasp anything about them.
There’s not even a trace of magic in this; how strange.
It felt like trying to observe cells with the naked eye, without a microscope.
“Are you done looking around?”
“Yes! I’m eager to go up!”
“Alright, then let’s go.”
The moment they stepped onto the floating stairs—
“Oh…”
They felt something.
If put into words, it was a sensation of the space itself pulling at both body and soul.
Jun recalled hearing that it was a procedure for transferring to another space inside Blackout.
I get why now.
As Jun had these thoughts, Aiden also reacted with excitement.
His face was full of fear and joy from the new experience.
Jun then stepped beyond the black door.
If this were a game—
[You have entered the second level, ‘Ashen Wasteland’.]
—such a notification would have appeared.
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