[The Trial Begins.]
I remained vigilant, not letting my guard down.
“…….”
For now, everything was still, but I knew this silence was just the calm before the storm. I kept scanning my surroundings, staying tense.
Vwoom.
A sound echoed.
Quickly turning around, I noticed a green light flicker once on a tile several hundred meters away.
Then, from that tile, a glowing blue arrow was fired with a thunk!
‘That’s a Mana Arrow!’
I hurriedly conjured a shield in front of me.
Thud!
The Mana Arrow struck my shield and scattered into the air. My shield also dissipated after absorbing the impact.
Vwoom. Vwoom.
This time, the sound came from both the front and the back.
‘Aha, I see what kind of trial this is.’
I raised a shield in front of me to block one attack and dodged the other by bending backward.
The Mana Arrow narrowly grazed past my collar, sending a cold sweat down my back.
This is… thrilling.
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom.
Three Mana Arrows now.
The difficulty just skyrocketed.
I only had one shield—how was I supposed to block all of them?
Instead of trying, I rolled to the side, dodging them outright.
Mana Arrows embedded themselves into the floor. But evasion alone wasn’t the solution.
The hasty roll left a sharp pain in my shoulder.
And before I could even get up—
Vwoom. Vwoom.
Mana Arrows flew toward me from the front and back while I was still off-balance.
‘Yeah, relying on large evasive movements has its limits.’
This cubic space was too confined—if I rolled toward a corner, I’d get trapped.
That would make blocking the next attack much harder.
‘Focus. Stay focused.’
I widened my eyes and spread my arms.
I didn’t know if this would work, but I had no time to hesitate.
I had to cast two spells at once.
I recalled the magic circle’s structure, which I had memorized in three stages.
First, the field.
Second, the rune.
Third, the formula.
I then spread my palms and calmly began drawing the magic circles.
No need to overthink it.
Like holding a pen in each hand and sketching simultaneously.
Fortunately, my training paid off.
As soon as I began tracing the runes, my mana flowed naturally, accelerating the completion.
I didn’t resist—I let myself be carried by the current.
The key wasn’t that I was drawing the magic circle.
It was guiding the mana to complete it for me.
Swish. Swish.
The magic circles were completed. Just before the arrows pierced me, I activated the magic in both hands.
‘Shield!’
Thud! Thud!
When I opened my eyes, I saw the Mana Arrows bouncing off my shields.
‘Success!’
[You have acquired the Multi-Casting trait.]
“……!”
My jaw dropped.
For two years, I had struggled to obtain just one trait.
Yet, a single moment of realization had unlocked this one.
I barely had time to celebrate before green lights flickered from three different directions.
I checked their positions and cast shield magic circles with both arms.
Two attacks blocked by shields. The third, aimed at my head, I dodged by tilting my head back.
After surviving that wave, I quickly dashed away from the cube’s edges toward the open center. Staying near the corners was too dangerous.
‘Alright, let’s see who wins.’
I was fired up now.
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom.
This time, the sounds came in sequence.
Not simultaneous, but a staggered attack from all directions was just as threatening.
After roughly identifying the angles, I cast two shields in the front and back using multi-casting, then immediately prepared the next spell.
This time, not a shield.
A gauntlet.
By the time the gauntlet magic circle reached 70% completion, the Mana Arrows arrived.
Thud! Thud!
The two shields I had cast absorbed two shots, and I lifted my leg to dodge the third.
As soon as I successfully evaded, I slipped my hand into the newly completed gauntlet magic circle.
Swish.
The magic circle transformed into a glove of energy, enveloping my right hand.
At that moment, two arrows came at me from both sides, aiming for my chest and head.
I sprinted to the right, swinging my gauntlet-clad hand to deflect one arrow.
“Kh…!”
Then, spinning on my heel, I extended my arm toward the last incoming shot.
Recently, I had discovered a new trick with the gauntlet.
‘Activate!’
Boom!
The mana condensed in my gauntlet erupted, creating a shockwave that deflected the arrow.
[Your proficiency in Gauntlet Magic Circle has reached 80%.]
[Your Mana has increased by 1.]
[Your Agility has increased by 1.]
“Ooh…”
A shiver ran down my spine.
I wasn’t fighting a monster, yet the thrill of controlling the battlefield to my advantage was exhilarating.
Adrenaline surged wildly, and every cell in my body sang with life.
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom.
My eyes moved frantically, fully immersed.
‘Two from the left and right. Two from the front and back. Then back to the sides.’
A mix of simultaneous and staggered attacks.
The difficulty was reaching insane levels, but it didn’t matter.
Bring it on.
I spread my arms and conjured shields.
Thud! Thud!
As the arrows struck the barriers, I threw myself to the side.
I thought I had dodged perfectly, but while I avoided one, another struck my shoulder.
“……Kgh!”
My first hit.
And the pain was very real.
For a moment, my vision flashed white from the sheer agony, but I forced myself to focus.
Without even looking at the incoming arrows, I thrust my arm forward.
‘Shield!’
A vivid image of the shield forming in an instant flashed through my mind.
And then—
Thud! Thud!
The shield manifested just as the arrows struck.
[You have acquired the Quick-Casting trait.]
[Special Attribute – Willpower has been unlocked.]
[Your Willpower has increased by 1.]
[Your Mana has increased by 1.]
“Heh… Ha… Hahaha!”
My body ached from rolling on the ground.
Blood poured from the wound where the arrow had hit.
But for some reason, I couldn’t stop laughing.
I was ecstatic.
It felt insanely good.
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoom.
Green lights flashed in rapid succession from all sides.
Of course, I had no intention of backing down.
As I extended my arms, my shields formed even faster than before.
[Shield Magic Circle proficiency has reached 100%.]
‘The Sage’s Eye‘ perfectly calculated the trajectories of the incoming magic projectiles.
I tilted my head, twisted my limbs unnaturally, dodging like a master acrobat.
[Your Agility has increased by 1.]
Despite my efforts, one arrow still lodged itself into my back.
Clenching my teeth, I conjured two gauntlets and thrust my hands into them.
[Gauntlet Magic Circle proficiency has reached 90%.]
I deflected an arrow with my left gauntlet and blocked another with my right arm.
Rolling backward, I activated my left gauntlet mid-motion, detonating an arrow with a blast of force.
Then, as I stood, I simultaneously cast shields to my left and right, blocking the next attack.
“One last shot, front and back!”
It was too late to put up a shield.
Instinctively, I leaped upward, thrusting out my right hand, which bore the final gauntlet, without any precise aim.
“Activate!”
Boom!
The gauntlet’s blast propelled me like a booster, and by a hair’s breadth, the arrows grazed past my body.
My reckless evasion led me to crash into the blue barrier, but the pain from the impact was nothing compared to what could have happened.
Springing back to my feet, I felt a surge of exhilaration course through my entire body, and I let out a roar.
[Your mastery of mana has ascended to a new level.]
[The trait Child of Mana has reached LV2.]
[The trait Multi-Casting has reached LV2.]
[The trait Accelerated Casting has reached LV2.]
[Magic Power +5]
[Concentration +1]
[Willpower +1]
Wow!
I felt completely refreshed.
All my past struggles flashed through my mind for a moment. I had spent months undergoing player-exclusive training just to increase my strength stat, yet it barely rose by a single point.
I had tried archery to boost Agility.
I had memorized arcane languages to improve Concentration.
There was nothing I hadn’t attempted.
But the efficiency was very poor.
Earth’s training methods had clear limitations. Meanwhile, my combat-specialized peers were leveling up rapidly by clearing dungeons and slaying monsters.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t envious.
I had hit a wall. I had been stuck in place.
But now—
I was the one growing faster than anyone else.
Vrrrm—
“…!”
The sound suddenly changed.
When I turned my head, I saw an unfamiliar red light flickering across the tiles to the side.
‘Red? What does that mean?’
This was different from the usual patterns.
Feeling uneasy, I preemptively put up a shield.
The red light took longer to charge than the green one.
While four mana arrows had already been fired, the red light continued to flicker without launching anything yet.
‘What the hell is this?’
As my attention momentarily shifted to the mana arrows flying toward me from behind—
Boom!
A crimson bolt of lightning erupted from the wall.
It pierced straight through my preemptively raised shield and struck me directly.
“Urgh!”
I collapsed on the spot, my knees giving way.
The pain was excruciating, but worse, my body was paralyzed and refused to move.
And the mana arrows weren’t about to wait for me to recover.
Thud!
An arrow embedded itself into my left shoulder.
Thunk! Thwack!
Another pierced my thigh, then my waist.
“Grgh…!”
It hurt.
It hurt like hell!
Blood streamed freely from my wounds, and my vision blurred.
For the first time, fear crept in.
Trial or not, I might actually die here.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood and forced strength into my limbs.
Finally, I managed to move my right arm—
Only for another arrow to pierce straight through my shoulder.
The pain sapped my strength instantly, leaving my arm dangling uselessly.
“Damn it!”
My eyes darted toward the exit magic circle.
With every ounce of willpower left, I began to crawl.
Mana arrows continued to lodge into my limp left leg.
Using my right leg and injured shoulder, I dragged myself forward like an insect.
“…Huff! Huff!”
At some point, the pain had dulled.
My vision was fading, the world turning into a hazy black-and-white blur.
I can’t die.
I refuse to die like this.
Mustering every last shred of my consciousness, I kept crawling.
Arrows kept sinking into my back.
If someone were watching from above, I must have looked like a grotesque pin cushion.
“Argh…!”
With my trembling left arm, I reached for the exit magic circle.
Crunch!
A mana arrow tore through my elbow, but in that final moment—
My fingertips barely brushed against the magic circle’s edge.
[You have abandoned the trial. Transferring you outside.]
With that message, my consciousness was severed.
“…Huff!”
I jolted awake, gasping for air.
I was lying in front of the second-floor portal.
Am I… still alive?
Frantically, I checked my body.
All the arrow wounds had completely healed.
For a second, I wondered if it had all been an illusion.
But my shirt and pants were drenched in blood, riddled with holes.
More than anything, I could feel it—
The sheer, overwhelming mana flowing through me, stronger than ever before.
“…Shield.”
I activated the spell.
Effortlessly, without even needing to think, my mind calculated the formulas and runes to form the shield.
It was the effect of having 100% mastery over the Shield Magic Circle.
Overcome with excitement, I quickly opened my status window.
Name: Kim Yushin
Innate Ability: Sage’s Eye
Personal Traits:
[Child of Mana LV2]
[Master of the Mage Tower LV10]
[Magical Engineering LV10]
[Spell Lord LV10]
[Obsessive Focus LV6]
[Potion Crafting LV5]
[Analysis LV1]
Base Stats:
[Magic Power: 67]
[Agility: 9]
[Strength: 6]
[Stamina: 5]
Special Stats:
[Concentration: 5]
[Intelligence: 3]
[Endurance: 2]
New! [Willpower: 2]
Total Stats: [99]
New Traits Acquired!
[Multi-Casting LV2]
[Accelerated Casting LV2]
“…Ha, haha! This is insane!”
The growth I achieved in the trial had stuck.
In that short span of time, my stats had skyrocketed, and I had gained two brand-new traits.
Most hunters only had three or four personal traits on average—
This was beyond ridiculous.
I burst into laughter like a madman before collapsing onto the stairs, drained.
“Hahhh…”
So many thoughts flooded my mind.
It was said that overcoming the trials placed by the previous generation was a tradition for the Tower’s master.
The pain had been unbearable, but it wasn’t designed to kill me outright.
At the very least, the trial ensured growth.
Perhaps some kind of amplification magic had been placed over the entire ordeal.
I wanted to challenge it again immediately.
But my body was utterly exhausted, and I needed time to analyze that strange red lightning.
For now, I would rest.
Tomorrow, I would unlock the second floor.
With that decision made, I sprawled onto the ground.
‘Let’s see who wins this.’
The thrill of growth had overshadowed the fear of death.
I was truly enjoying this trial.
