Late at night.
I headed toward the monster field in Ganghwa in the form of Kim Jinwoo.
I wanted to test the new skill I had acquired as soon as possible.
As I arrived at the entrance to the monster field, I saw the usual long stretch of campgrounds.
There, numerous mages were busily moving their equipment.
It seemed that with the onset of the heatwave, the monsters had gone into hiding, so they were preparing for a nighttime hunt when the temperature was cooler.
However, for some reason, there appeared to be more people than usual today. Was it just my imagination?
“Hey, are you a mage too?”
As I was observing the scene in front of me, someone spoke to me.
It was a rough-looking man, appearing to be in his fifties. Judging by the massive spear on his back, he was a reinforcement-type mage.
“Yes, I am.”
“Really? I didn’t recognize your face, so I thought I’d ask. Then, are you here to hunt ‘that’ as well?”
“‘That’?”
“Oh, you don’t know?”
The man looked at me curiously.
That? What was he talking about?
“The field boss that’s appearing in Ganghwa Field today.”
…A field boss?
A field boss referred to a special monster that appeared in specific regions.
Just as dungeons could randomly manifest, new monsters could naturally emerge in this world.
Of course, monsters classified as field bosses were incomparably stronger than regular monsters.
That was why it was common for multiple people to form a party to take them down.
‘So that’s why so many people have gathered today.’
I subtly glanced around and noticed a familiar emblem on a flag.
A sword crossing over a massive shield.
It was the symbol of the Battle King Guild, one of the top ten guilds in the world.
It seemed that even a major guild had joined the hunt for today’s field boss.
“You really didn’t know about this?”
“No, I had no idea.”
“The news has been going crazy for the past three days about detecting a powerful life force in this area.”
Three days ago? That was when I was on the Fog Island. No wonder I didn’t know.
“I was busy three days ago, so I missed it.”
“Hmm, that makes sense. Oh, by the way, are you alone?”
“Ah, yes. I’m alone.”
“Alone?”
The man gave me a suspicious look.
“You seem like a young fellow, but night hunting can be pretty dangerous.”
“I know. I plan to be careful.”
The man nodded before giving me a scrutinizing glance.
“What’s your mage rank?”
“Me? I’m a B-rank.”
“…B? Whoa, that’s higher than I expected.”
The man looked surprised.
“Are you affiliated with any guild?”
The man I had just spoken to was an executive of the Battle King Guild.
His name was Jeon Chanwon.
I thought he looked familiar, and it turned out he was quite a well-known figure.
Jeon Chanwon had invited me to join the field boss raid and take a guild entry test. However, I had no desire to be affiliated with any organization, so I ultimately refused.
Most of all, I didn’t like how he casually used informal speech with me upon first meeting.
If he were someone exceptional in his field, like Kim Jin-cheol or Jung Yoon-seul, that would be different.
Now, I was walking alone through the monster field.
I encountered a few monsters along the way but took them down easily.
“Whew.”
When would the field boss appear?
Originally, I had planned to test my new skill on any monster, but I had changed my mind.
A powerful opponent was about to appear—there was no reason to waste my test on anything else.
As I crouched down, waiting for the field boss to show itself, I suddenly sensed a surge of intense magical energy.
The ground trembled.
I quickly turned in the direction where the energy was emanating from.
Rumble…
About 150 meters away, a massive figure was taking shape as an enormous amount of magical energy concentrated in one spot.
I could hear the startled voices of the people around me.
“It’s here!”
“Get ready!”
“What the hell, why is it so huge?”
―Uwoooohhh!
As the field boss appeared, people instinctively took a step back.
The pressure it exuded was overwhelming.
When the field boss let out a deafening roar, everyone covered their ears. I was no exception. The massive sound felt as if it would tear through my eardrums.
“Ugh!”
From a distance, the field boss resembled a gorilla.
However, unlike a normal gorilla, this one stood at an immense height of around four meters.
“First formation, initiate magic casting!”
Brilliantly coloured magic spells lit up the sky.
The field boss shielded its eyes with the back of its hand as if the light was too bright.
“Attack!”
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out, sending shockwaves of mana throughout the monster field.
“Second formation, attack as well!”
Boom!
―Grrraaaahh!
The field boss crouched down, trying to endure the onslaught of spells.
Then, as if it had lost its patience, it swung its massive arm toward the mages.
“Argh!”
Five mages were caught in the impact and went flying.
I had been standing idly, observing the battle, when I realized that this wasn’t the time to just watch.
Quickly, I activated my skill, Rune’s Bind.
Whoooosh…
A blue glow of mana shimmered atop my hand.
At the same time, I felt all the magic in my body rapidly draining away.
“Ugh?”
A sudden dizziness swept over me, throwing off my balance.
I nearly collapsed to the ground but quickly refocused my mind.
The mana consumption of Rune’s Bind was far greater than I had expected.
I had never experienced such a rapid depletion of all the mana in my body before.
In the end, I hastily activated the Heart of Nature.
Thump!
As soon as the Heart of Nature was activated, the mana that was about to be completely drained began to replenish.
Even so, an immense amount of mana continued to pour out of me. The consumption was absurd.
“Hrrgh!”
Gritting my teeth, I fixed my gaze on the field boss.
I aimed the light of the intricate symbol gathered in my hand at the beast.
Vwoooom…
Then, something astonishing happened.
Ten streams of blue light emerged from the ground beneath the field boss, climbing up its body and beginning to bind its arms and legs.
—Kraaargh?!
The field boss thrashed in surprise at the unexpected situation.
However, the more it resisted, the tighter the bands of light constricted around its body.
“…What is that?”
“What kind of magic is that?”
“It looks like a support-type spell?”
“Since when did support magic include something like that?”
The mages engaged in battle were startled by the sudden assistance.
Snapping out of their astonishment, they resumed casting their spells.
The field boss continued to struggle, trying to break free from the shackles.
That was when it happened.
“Urgh…?”
Even with the Heart of Nature active, my mana ran dry, and Rune’s Bind unraveled.
At the same time, the field boss was released and staggered forward.
“Now! Attack!”
The mages swiftly launched another round of attacks.
Countless spells, hovering in the sky, rained down on the beast.
Kwaaaang—!
A deafening explosion erupted, followed by a blinding flash of light.
A message appeared before my eyes.
[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Field Boss Defeated.’]
[Reward: 3,000 Points Earned.]
[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Skill Usage.’]
[Reward: 3,000 Points Earned.]
“Huuh…”
I slumped to the ground.
My mana was completely drained.
Even though the shackles had only lasted about three seconds, the mana consumption was beyond excessive.
The fact that even the Heart of Nature couldn’t keep up was staggering.
“…Still, not bad.”
Rune’s Bind.
The mana it devoured was absurd, but its effectiveness was undeniable.
It was once a famous support spell, yet now nearly lost to the world—an esoteric magic of the Rune Clan.
Its performance was leagues apart from conventional binding spells.
Of course, the extreme mana consumption meant it would be nearly impossible to use in regular combat.
But that was fine.
If I could hold someone down for just three seconds, in the right situation, it could turn the tide of battle.
Especially in the Night of Pioneers, where elite S-rank mages gathered.
The day after the field boss was slain, a small rumor spread through the mage community.
During the Battle King Guild’s field boss raid, an unknown support spell had played a crucial role.
Like a ghost story, the news spread rapidly.
- Mage’s Forest Anonymous Forum +
[No, I saw it with my own eyes, lol]
[That kind of magic doesn’t exist. Stop hallucinating.]
[You guys don’t get how massive a field boss is. What kind of binding spell can hold something that big for several seconds, lol]
[I’m a B-rank support mage, and it’s not impossible. Just requires an insane amount of mana. Someone like Jung Yoon-seul could pull it off.]
[So, you’re saying it was Jung Yoon-seul? LOL]
[Could be an hidden spell from a rare clan.]
Opinions varied, but most people found it hard to believe.
I didn’t particularly care.
Of course, revealing my identity would draw massive attention and earn me more points, but it wasn’t the right time yet.
And so, I returned to my usual routine.
Hunting hidden villains, accumulating points, and stacking up various stat boosts from victory effects.
By the end of the break, my causality score had gone up 0.8.
Meanwhile, the documentary had finally wrapped up.
Originally planned as a five-part series, its success led to two additional episodes, ending with a total of seven.
The producer asked if I’d be interested in another project once the new semester started, but since that was still in the future, I only said I’d consider it.
For now, there would be no more media appearances as ‘Kim Sunwoo.’
Gaining points through public attention was nice, but appearing in the media too frequently could make me too familiar to the audience, leading to a loss of interest.
And with ‘Kim Jinwoo’ gaining recognition, if ‘Kim Sunwoo’ also became widely known, people might start questioning the connection between them.
Above all else, the fact that Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo were the same person had to remain a secret.
‘Kim Jinwoo’ was an identity created to allow the real ‘Kim Sunwoo’ to operate freely without scrutiny.
For me, this was the best option.
“One person in the spotlight is enough.”
It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t double my point earnings, but as long as Kim Jinwoo made a big enough name for himself, it would all work out.
That was the role Kim Jinwoo played for me.
A hidden persona, allowing me to act as I pleased without worrying about the public’s gaze.
“But still… something’s off.”
Over the past few weeks, Kim Jinwoo had solved numerous crimes and frequently appeared in the media.
By now, he should have gained a dedicated fanbase.
Yet, public reaction remained lukewarm—just a ‘likable mage’ at best.
In terms of sheer popularity, it felt like Kim Sunwoo had performed better.
From a point-gathering perspective, this was frustrating.
“Hmm.”
The reason Kim Jinwoo wasn’t gaining traction was likely his lack of star quality.
He didn’t use flashy, unique spells, nor did he have any particularly striking external traits.
Perhaps this was inevitable.
“Star quality, huh…?”
I pondered what exactly made a mage truly captivating.
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