Chapter 4

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player Chapter 4

“Yeah. I did.”

“...What!?”

Kim Haeun seemed briefly startled by Kim Dohyun’s calm answer, but soon nodded as if accepting it and muttered to herself.

“Right. So... that must be why you were able to get discharged so quickly.”

Kim Haeun nodded, shifted her gaze, and cautiously asked.

“You’re not planning to work as an Awakened, right?”

Worry was evident in Kim Haeun’s eyes.

The reason was easy enough to understand.

Basically, Awakened earned a great deal of money, but it was just as dangerous a profession. It was common for them to lose their lives to monsters, and hundreds of Awakened died or went missing every year.

If someone precious to him, a family member, were doing such dangerous work, Kim Dohyun would inevitably worry too.

But it was truly needless concern.

“You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m not planning to recklessly do anything dangerous.”

“So you are planning to work as an Awakened...?”

“There’s no reason not to.”

Kim Haeun repeatedly parted and closed her lips.

Of course, being an Awakened was one of the most coveted professions in modern society. Some even said it was no different from winning the lottery.

Unless they had some physical disability or unavoidable circumstances, almost no one Awakened and then did not even begin working.

There was no reason to oppose it outright.

She understood that in her head, but because he was family, her worry did not easily disappear.

After all, his strong curiosity and inquisitiveness had often led him into unexpected accidents.

Perhaps reading Kim Haeun’s thoughts, Kim Dohyun spoke gently.

“I’m not a little kid. You won’t have anything to worry about.”

“That’s a little hard to believe. Oppa, you caused way too many accidents.”

“...”

Like when he had spoken with his mother, dark memories from the past suddenly flashed through his mind, leaving him unable to refute her.

Still, there was no reason to shrink back.

He was clearly different from his past self.

‘A mage is someone who prepares and makes contingencies.’

He did not fight without a plan.

‘First, magic tools to protect my body and emergency scrolls. And then...’

There were quite a few other things he needed to prepare as well.

But there was something he had to check before any of that.

“How much debt does our family have?”

At the blunt question, Kim Haeun avoided his gaze and answered.

“I don’t know.”

“One hundred million won? One hundred fifty million?”

That was the amount he had roughly calculated from the fees he paid during the discharge process over three years.

But Kim Haeun’s reaction was unusual.

“I said I don’t know.”

“So it must be more.”

“I really don’t know either. I just know it’s a lot.”

“Really?”

“...”

“Hmm... Fine, I got it for now.”

She did not seem likely to answer him immediately, so there was no point in being needlessly stubborn.

Kim Dohyun nodded and continued walking while taking in the city scenery he had not seen in a long time.

And so.

They boarded a bus, rode it, got off, and continued walking until Kim Haeun, who had been moving busily, suddenly stopped.

“Is something wrong? Why did you stop?”

“Why else? We’re home.”

Kim Dohyun’s gaze followed Kim Haeun’s and fixed on a small villa.

Eunpyeong District. It was certainly near the neighborhood where they had lived, but their residence had changed drastically.

“You sold the house too?”

This was not the house they had been paying off in installments after winning a housing subscription.

“Just how much debt is there?”

Kim Dohyun finally could not hold back and asked, but Kim Haeun still did not answer.

She simply walked silently up to the third floor and opened the closed front door.

“This is it. Our home.”

Creak-

The old front door opened, revealing a narrow entryway.

A shoe cabinet packed tightly with four pairs of shoes. Kim Dohyun’s expression hardened as he looked beyond it into the connected space.

It was cramped.

Worse than it had looked from the outside.

The space seemed barely around thirty-three square meters. It was a difficult size for a family of four to live in.

Their circumstances had not been good, but they had not been this bad.

“...What exactly happened?”

Since his parents had both been working and had steady incomes, hospital bills alone should not have forced them to sell the house.

At his coldly asked question, Kim Haeun remained silent again.

Normally, he would not have wanted to pry unnecessarily, but the situation was too bad.

He could not simply bury it.

Kim Dohyun stared directly at Kim Haeun, catching the eyes she was trying so hard to avert.

“Kim Haeun.”

There was no playfulness in his voice when he called her name.

“Are you really not going to tell me?”

Kim Haeun let out a deep sigh.

“Haa... Actually.”

Kim Haeun began revealing the story she had been hiding.

Even after Kim Dohyun collapsed, Kim Haeun continued skating.

Originally, she would have been able to receive a scholarship for taking first place at the national competition, but two years ago, she lost first place in the finals, and the financial support was cut off.

Because of that, Kim Haeun had tried to quit speed skating at the time.

But with their parents’ personalities, there was no way they would ever watch their child give up something that made her happy because of the family’s financial situation.

They would have wanted to support her somehow, no matter what it took, and in the end, they even sold the house.

With Kim Dohyun’s hospital bills weighing on them as well, it had been an unavoidable choice.

‘...Looks like I’ll have to move faster than I thought.’

Through his life on the Rodinia Continent, Kim Dohyun had developed a sense of responsibility.

No, he had returned to Earth in the first place for a happy life with his family.

He had no intention of simply smiling like a fool while his family suffered.

He intended to create a life so happy that smiles would naturally burst out on their own.

‘For my whole family...’

And to enjoy such happiness in this society, one needed something called ‘money.’

Although money did not guarantee all happiness, it was certainly an essential element for it.

‘Fortunately, our family gets along well.’

If he could just solve the money problem, they would surely be able to live happily.

Fortunately, he had already thought of ways to make money while he was in the hospital.

‘Awakened.’

Currently, it was the most coveted profession on Earth and one that could bring in a huge income.

Moreover, Kim Dohyun possessed the knowledge and experience of an Archmage. It meant his starting point itself was different from that of ordinary Awakened.

Which meant.

For the current Kim Dohyun, being an Awakened was more attractive than any other profession.

‘More precisely, there’s basically no reason not to do it.’

Awakened. Kim Dohyun’s eyes gleamed as he set that as his goal.

___________

After the heavy conversation came to an end.

Kim Haeun explained the layout of the house and the purpose of each room, then took him outside and showed him the nearby convenience stores, supermarkets, bus stops, and other facilities one by one.

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

“Not really. You can go now.”

Like their parents, Kim Haeun also had her own schedule and training. She had accompanied him because he was being discharged, but she could not spare a long time.

Even so, she seemed reluctant to leave.

She was bothered by the thought of leaving her older brother alone after he had awakened from three years of unconsciousness.

“If anything happens...”

As though she had prepared them in advance, Kim Haeun took a smartphone and a card out of a drawer and handed them over.

“I saved all the family phone numbers, so call right away. And use the card if there’s something you want to eat. They said to buy whatever you need too.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s not like I did anything. Thank Dad and Mom.”

Kim Haeun crouched down in the entryway and put on her shoes.

The skate bag slung over her shoulder caught his eye.

It was worn out.

The fabric beside the zipper was frayed, and the shoulder strap was faded and barely holding together.

It likely was not just the bag.

There was a high chance the skate blades inside were in poor condition too.

She would have maintained them with great care, but various problems must have arisen.

Given Kim Haeun’s personality, there was no way she would have spoken about such worries aloud.

She must have swallowed them alone because she did not want to burden their parents.

‘...Just wait a little. I’ll make it so you can focus comfortably on training without worrying about money or equipment.’

As Kim Dohyun silently made that vow.

“I’m heading out.”

“Yeah. Be careful.”

It was an ordinary farewell, but Kim Haeun’s expression became strange.

“...Seriously. You really have changed.”

“What has?”

“If you don’t know, forget it.”

Kim Haeun muttered briefly, opened the front door, and left.

Kim Dohyun was left alone in the house.

There was no need to wonder what to do.

‘Status.’

Along with the thought, a green hologram appeared before his eyes.

[Status]

Name: Kim Dohyun.

Age: 28?*!&(System Error. Beginning stabilization process.)

Title: Pioneer.

Level: 1

Strength: 0.2 / Agility: 0.2 / Stamina: 0.2 / Mana: 2.1(+2.1)

While examining the Status Window, Kim Dohyun’s gaze stopped on the (+) displayed beside Mana.

‘No matter how many times I look at it, it’s fascinating.’

He had checked it several times during his week in the hospital, but it was still interesting.

He had not realized it when he had only encountered it as common knowledge, but after checking it directly, the System’s accuracy was quite high.

In fact, the mana he had personally accumulated through Arcanum Cosmos was separately displayed with a (+).

He had vaguely sensed it while examining his body, but it seemed the System itself was classifying it separately.

That did not mean they were completely independent.

When using magic, he could draw upon the combined mana from both sides.

In other words, his current total mana value was 4.2.

‘...Less than I expected.’

From what he had confirmed when the System granted him a Circle, 1 point in the Mana stat corresponded roughly to the amount of mana in a 1st Circle.

Of course, just because the number increased to 2 did not mean he could immediately create a 2nd Circle.

If one Circle could be added for every single point, anyone could easily raise their Circle level.

‘There’s already a huge difference in mana quantity between the 1st Circle and the 2nd Circle.’

If expressed numerically, he would likely need at least around 5 Mana to reach the 2nd Circle.

Ordinary mages took several months, or even years, just to accumulate that much mana.

‘...I don’t have the luxury of waiting that long.’

What Kim Haeun had told him earlier flashed through his mind.

They sold the house.

Her scholarship was cut off.

She did not even know how much debt they had.

Because of that, he had no choice but to think about it even more realistically.

The Circle created by the System, the base Mana displayed in the Status Window, had not risen at all over the past week.

By comparison, the mana accumulated by Arcanum Cosmos had increased by 0.1.

The difference was so large that they could not even be compared. Still, considering the efficiency of Arcanum Cosmos, which had completely transcended the concept of Circles, it could not be called an enormous increase.

‘It must be because the mana concentration in Earth’s atmosphere is too low.’

It was disappointing, but fortunately, there was a way to raise his mana quickly.

‘The System.’

Immediately after regaining consciousness. When he used Recover perfectly, the System had granted him the benefit of a 0.1 increase in Mana.

He wanted to take advantage of that benefit as quickly as possible.

He had wanted to use magic while hospitalized, but unfortunately, he had not had the leeway to use other spells during his stay.

Because in order to fully restore his body after lying in a hospital bed for so long, he had needed to pour mana into Recover whenever he had the chance.

But now it was different.

His body had already recovered, and he had room to use his mana elsewhere.

‘I need to grow quickly. And make money even one day sooner.’

Thinking about the weight of the three years his family had endured, he could not sit around leisurely.

“Should I start right away?”

Dozens of spells immediately came to mind, but he would begin with the most efficient ones.

‘Might.’

A faint light bloomed from his fingertips, and a subtle strength entered the muscles throughout his body.

Next.

‘Swift.’

Magical power rose from the tips of his feet and wrapped around his entire legs, making his body feel much lighter.

Lights bloomed one after another, and a message appeared.

Ding-!

-Perfect execution confirmed.

-Skills ‘Might’ and ‘Swift’ have risen to rank F+.

-Excellent mana control!

-As a special reward, the stat ‘Mana’ increases by 0.2.

“Nice. Very nice.”

Kim Dohyun continued with additional spells in satisfaction.

‘Sense.’

A detection spell unfolded, reading the flow of mana in the atmosphere.

‘Barrier.’

A defensive spell that thinly wrapped around the body’s surface covered his palm like a transparent membrane.

Ding-!

-Perfect execution confirmed.

-Skills ‘Sense’ and ‘Barrier’ have risen to rank F+.

-Excellent mana control!

-As a special reward, the stat ‘Mana’ increases by 0.2.

-You have reached the reward limit for perfect execution of F-rank skills (5 times).

-No further special rewards will be granted for using skills of the same grade.

“What? There was a limit?”

Disappointment washed over him.

Hundreds of spells alone came to mind, yet it ended after only five uses.

But there was no reason to be disappointed.

He had been getting rewards far too easily in the first place.

And it was limited specifically to 1st Circle, F-rank spells.

‘That means once I reach the 2nd Circle and use higher-grade magic, the restriction will be lifted.’

There was no need to dwell on it.

‘It means I can raise it whenever I want.’

The problem was how.

If he steadily accumulated mana in the orbit, he would eventually reach it.

But it would take too long.

He did not want to take his time.

No, he could not afford to.

He needed a way to rapidly increase his mana.

As he continued thinking, the information he had gathered here and there using the public PC in the hospital lobby during his week of hospitalization flashed through his mind.

‘Awakened can grow stronger by entering Babel.’

Babel.

A tower said to have appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean alongside the emergence of Awakened and monsters in the past.

It had never been clearly determined whether it was created by some unknown being or had arisen naturally.

Only one thing was certain.

The higher Awakened climbed through Babel’s floors, the stronger they became.

In fact, the majority of existing Awakened had grown through Babel.

‘As for the danger...’

There was no need to worry.

On the first entry, the tutorial guaranteed complete safety.

All the information he had gathered beforehand agreed on that point, and it had even been officially recognized by governments around the world, so there was little chance it was false.

Which meant.

‘There’s no danger, and the rewards are guaranteed.’

It was the best method for growing quickly.

Having made his decision, Kim Dohyun immediately spoke.

“Enter Babel.”