NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Spirit Magic
The next day, Yoo Ji-han visited the Training Center with Kim Si-hu once again.
“Hello! You’re from the Sweet Fun Guild, right?”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work today as well.”
“The broken target in the magic training area you mentioned yesterday has been repaired.”
“Oh really? That’s a relief.”
“If there are any more issues, please let me know right away.”
The staff at the entrance recognized them this time and greeted them warmly.
Unlike yesterday, there was no need for them to verify their identities.
Out of the tens of millions of people in Korea, fewer than five recognized them, including those from the Hero Department.
That was the current status of Sweet Fun.
‘The Rank 1 Hero I saw last time had people following him around on the street.’
Heroes from popular parties often appear on TV or engage in activities like celebrities.
This was particularly true for the previous party’s leader, Kim Hyun-tae.
He enjoyed the attention and often dressed in expensive designer clothes whenever we bumped into him outside.
As the party’s name became known and made headlines, more and more people began recognizing him.
Moreover, other party members like Hwang Joon-ho and Lim Si-yeon gradually gained some attention too.
However, Yoo Ji-han, being an unofficial party member, was excluded from that spotlight.
‘…That suddenly brings back memories.’
As Yoo Ji-han recalled his past, he slightly frowned.
It was during a time when he was fighting in a Rank 3 Monster Area.
Unexpectedly, a vampire of another race had appeared, causing quite the stir while he was dealing with a monster.
That day, after somehow finishing the battle and heading toward the exit with his party members, he was confronted by an official from Keroes.
——There are a lot of reporters waiting outside today. Ji-han, please stay inside a little longer before coming out.
While Kim Hyun-tae’s party received cheers and took photos amidst camera flashes, he was quietly hiding behind a partially collapsed building during the fight.
Yoo Ji-han couldn’t exit the MA with other party members because his presence as a hero shouldn’t be exposed to the media too often.
He ended up waiting for a good 30 minutes due to the prolonged interview, which had attracted a crowd of reporters.
That time spent alone with the corpses of the monsters in an empty place was as unpleasant as it got, no matter how positively he tried to think about it.
“Sigh…”
Sweet Fun had been established for less than a year.
Its name would gradually become known, though.
It was only a matter of time before a party boasting a good hero and remarkable performances was recognized by the world.
As the party gained fame, the guild’s name would spread far and wide.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
Seeing Yoo Ji-han’s expression, Kim Si-hu tilted his head in confusion.
“It’s nothing.”
“Is it because I paid for the training center today?”
“That has nothing to do with it.”
Kim Si-hu had covered the cost of the training center today.
Despite Yoo Ji-han stubbornly insisting as a guild master that he would pay, he had no choice but to relent when Kim Si-hu confidently pulled out the card.
“I’ll cover everything moving forward! Just remember that.”
“Okay, okay. Do as you please.”
The two entered the inner area of the Training Center.
Today, aside from the fee paid for the public training center, they had a reserved space.
[Personal Training Room]
They arrived in front of the personal training room.
In a training center packed with people, it was a place where they could train without being disturbed by others.
As they entered through the door marked with Sweet Fun’s name, they found a small gym-like space enclosed with special materials.
“This was the last room available, right?”
“Yes! It’s been so popular that I almost couldn’t book it.”
Kim Si-hu, having locked the training room door, took off his beanie.
Yoo Ji-han scanned the surroundings and set his bag in a corner.
Here, he could summon his spirit without any issues.
“Sylph.”
Pyo-rong!
The Sylph responded to his call and appeared.
Seeing that, Kim Si-hu said, “It seems like your summoning has gotten faster.”
“I’ve been practicing at home consistently.”
“Practicing?”
“Summoning practice.”
Thanks to the endless cycle of summoning and unsummoning, it now took Yoo Ji-han less than three seconds to summon his spirit.
While other spirit masters often struggled with their spirits not obeying them, Yoo Ji-han was practicing to shorten his summoning time like an expert.
It was an incredibly rapid growth.
“How many times have you summoned Sylph?”
“Yesterday alone, I must have summoned and unsummoned it over a hundred times at home.”
“Whoa! Over a hundred times?! Did Sylph refuse?”
“It started trembling when I got past sixty times. Still, it didn’t refuse.”
“Phew…”
Most dogs, regardless of their energy levels or affection, wouldn’t willingly go through the same rigorous training a hundred times without a break.
And yet, Sylph, a spirit that showed 100% loyalty to its contractor, was a dream for many spirit masters.
“It’s great that it obeys well, but don’t treat your spirit too harshly. If it were another type of spirit, building a good relationship would have taken much more effort.”
“I got it. So… today, you’ll teach me spirit magic.”
“Of course! I’ve memorized all the magic my mother used.”
Kim Si-hu lightly bent his index finger and tapped it against his temple.
Given his tendency to cling to and absorb knowledge related to magic, he even remembered the spells his mother couldn’t use because she didn’t have a spirit.
Moreover, recently he had not only been memorizing but also analyzing and reinventing existing spells.
Graduating at the top of the Hero Academy was not just due to high written scores.
“But I lacked talent in magic skills since I was at the Hero Academy.”
In contrast, Yoo Ji-han had no magic spells he could use even as a student.
Despite having mana within him, he failed even to perform the most basic spells.
A typical example of someone unsuitable for magic.
In such cases, it’s common for them to become a tanker or warrior-type hero excelling in physical abilities and fighting head-on.
They represented the most prevalent type of hero among the ranks.
“I’ve researched many cases from abroad, and there are examples of ordinary spirit masters who had no mana at all managing to use magic after forming contracts with spirits.”
“I’ve heard of that….”
Kim Si-hu was confident that Yoo Ji-han would be able to learn magic.
If ordinary people could use magic after forming contracts with spirits, someone like Yoo Ji-han, who had handled mana for years in the field, certainly wouldn’t find it impossible.
“Is there such a thing as spirit magic?”
“Research about spirits and their powers is still ongoing, so there isn’t a precise definition of what ‘spirit magic’ is.”
The main components that make up the human body include water, protein, and fat.
In contrast, spirits are known to be composed of over 98% pure mana.
How can a mere mass of mana exist as a living being? This question has remained a mystery since spirits were first discovered.
However, what’s certain is that contractors can use the powers of those spirits.
“When a spirit master utilizes the help of a spirit to cast magic, even if it’s a magic spell identical to an existing one, it’s referred to as spirit magic. The way the magic is structured is different, so even similar spells can have slightly varying effects.”
“I see.”
“Today, I’ll teach you the spirit magic used by my mother, Erna Hass.”
An elf woman who crossed from another world to Earth.
And according to her son Kim Si-hu, she was an outstanding spirit master comparable to a Rank 2 hero.
Erna Hass.
“I won’t tell you everything I remember today. I don’t doubt your abilities, but just like food, if you try to rush it, you might end up with a stomachache. Magic also needs time to digest slowly, especially since you weren’t a hero using magic before.”
“Okay. I don’t know much about magic, so you take care of it.”
“Sure.”
Before imparting knowledge, Kim Si-hu took out his staff after finishing the basic explanation.
“I think we’ll be entering the MA in a few days, so today I’ll teach you some practical magic, which is also considered basic magic.”
“What kind of magic?”
“The Haste spell which lightly speeds up the caster’s body.”
[Haste]
As Kim Si-hu cast the spell, even though the space was enclosed, a wind seemed to blow, slightly tousling his bangs.
An invisible flow of wind surrounded his body.
“The fact that you handle a sword means you’ll find this magic incredibly useful as a melee hero. It’s also referred to as body enhancement magic or buffs.”
“I’ve seen a buff like that before; the previous party’s mage used something similar on Kim Hyun-tae and Hwang Joon-ho.”
In Keroes, the mage Lim Si-yeon would cast buffs that slightly enhanced the physical capabilities of only Kim Hyun-tae and Hwang Joon-ho.
As a fellow party member, Yoo Ji-han rarely received such buffs unless it was absolutely necessary.
“If you use it on someone else, the effectiveness is halved, which is why I don’t prefer it that much… but it’s indeed useful for supporting your party members.”
“What should I do?”
“Look carefully at the tip of this staff.”
After releasing the Haste spell, Kim Si-hu concentrated mana at the end of his staff.
Soon, a sphere of mana, the size of a fist, began to float at the tip.
Originally, it wouldn’t be easily visible, but he had made adjustments so that a beginner like Yoo Ji-han could see it easily.
Kim Si-hu had skills to pull off such a feat.
“Remember the flow of mana within this sphere. You can think of Haste as enlarging that flow and wrapping it around your entire body.”
Yoo Ji-han looked into the transparent mana sphere.
Whooo—
The mana was undulating like tiny waves.
At a glance, it seemed chaotic.
But upon closer inspection, he could see it moved with a particular pattern.
“Most of the existing buffs wrap a consistent pattern of mana around the body like this.”
“I never knew that. It’s not written like that in magic textbooks.”
“…!”
When Yoo Ji-han mentioned magic textbooks, Kim Si-hu furrowed his brow.
“Magic textbooks… I’ve bought and checked over ten magic textbooks myself in the past, and they’re all obsolete.”
“Obsolete?”
“The companies that publish these textbooks write lengthy, theoretical stuff instead of actual magical usage, just to sell them as expensively as they can to the Hero Academy. Seriously, everyone’s gone mad for money…!”
Kim Si-hu was rarely this angry when discussing magic-related topics.
‘Up, down, up, up, down…’
Yoo Ji-han focused on the flow of mana inside the sphere while keeping Sylph perched on his head.
To be honest, he didn’t feel confident about being able to use magic right away.
He had given up on the magic class back at the Hero Academy, after all.
Still, he hoped that with Sylph’s help, it might be achievable.
“Sylph. Come down.”
To attempt to cast magic, Yoo Ji-han called Sylph down from his head.
Sylph floated down before his face.
“Don’t be too disheartened if it doesn’t work out today. Everyone struggles at first.”
This was Yoo Ji-han’s first attempt at using a magic skill.
No one could be satisfied on their first try.
Failure was a predicted outcome; he would just have to keep trying without succumbing to it.
“My guess is that if you put in about a week’s effort, you’ll be able to use it…”
[Haste]
Whooooosh—!
A gust of wind blew fiercely, shaking Yoo Ji-han’s entire body.
It was a bit lacking for an attack spell and somewhat wild for a buff, but undeniably, the form displayed was indeed the Haste magic.
“…Oh my goodness?”
With his eyes wide open, Kim Si-hu looked at Yoo Ji-han, who had succeeded in casting magic flawlessly on his first try.
Could this person really have been using magic for the first time?