Chapter 5

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player Chapter 5

-Welcome, new user ‘Kim Dohyun.’

-As this is your first entry, you will enter the Tutorial Zone.

-In accordance with Tutorial Zone regulations, all possessions except the clothing currently being worn will be removed and temporarily stored.

The moment the brief messages appeared, he felt his body float upward.

At the same time, pure white light filled his vision.

‘Spatial movement...?’

It felt familiar, yet somehow different.

It was a different kind of power from the teleportation magic he had experienced on the Rodinia Continent.

If he had to describe it, it felt as though he were being drawn along by some unknown, transcendent-dimensional force.

If he still possessed his original strength, he might have been able to analyze the principle behind it, but with his current abilities, that was impossible.

But the method of transportation was not what mattered in the first place.

‘Clear the tutorial. And grow stronger.’

It was the moment Kim Dohyun reaffirmed his objective.

Sssss-

His senses slowly returned, as though he were rising to the surface of water.

As the light faded, an enormous cavern was revealed.

Torches embedded in the walls at regular intervals barely pushed back the darkness, while the floor consisted of roughly hewn bedrock, creating a bleak atmosphere.

At the center of that cavern.

There stood a stone structure resembling an altar.

As Kim Dohyun surveyed the situation, a new message appeared before his eyes.

-Welcome to the tutorial.

-This tutorial is a process intended to help Awakened adapt.

-Even if you fail to clear it, you will not die, so please rest assured.

Wooooong-!

A red light bloomed over the altar at the center of the cavern.

-A monster will appear from the summoning circle on the altar. Please exercise caution.

-Objective: Survive for 10 minutes.

-Additional points may be acquired depending on your method of survival, so active participation is recommended.

-When you are ready, please say ‘Start.’

-Good luck.

Kim Dohyun, who had been looking around cautiously, smiled.

“It’s exactly as I read.”

It matched perfectly with the research he had done while hospitalized.

And because of that.

He immediately understood just how cruel this tutorial was.

‘You simply don’t die.’

The sensations were transmitted exactly as they were.

Killing intent. Pain. Fear.

It meant being exposed to all of them without any mitigation.

Even if someone had suddenly Awakened, it was far too harsh an environment for ordinary people who had lived normal lives to endure.

In fact, quite a few people became discouraged during the tutorial and never entered Babel again.

In Korea in particular, roughly 40 percent of Awakened gave up activity after the tutorial.

The reason was simple.

‘The tutorial monster’s difficulty is extremely high.’

In Korea, hunting it was known to be practically impossible.

There had been cases of it being hunted in other countries, but because of the characteristics of the tutorial and the monster itself, analysts generally concluded that it would not be easy in Korea.

At best, people could only run away.

The objective itself was ‘survival,’ not hunting.

Of course, if the only problem were fear of death, the dropout rate would not have been this high.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

The Korean tutorial monster. Commonly called the ‘Devourer.’

The Devourer did not kill its prey instantly.

It ate them alive.

Slowly. Little by little.

It would bite off a mouthful of flesh, swallow it without even chewing, then take another bite. And another.

That process repeated until its prey stopped moving.

The fact that death was impossible in the tutorial made it all the more horrifying.

You would experience the pain of your flesh being torn away while remaining fully conscious, and yet still go through the sensation of dying.

It could not help but become a tremendous trauma.

‘It’s probably some kind of warning and a filtering mechanism.’

Perhaps it was meant to weed out the weak and leave only the strong.

Or perhaps it was intended to teach them the weight of the life they would have to endure as Awakened from then on.

Either way, it did not matter.

Kim Dohyun had no intention of playing along with whatever Babel intended.

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

He even had unlimited preparation time.

The timer would not begin until he said ‘Start.’

That meant even his current greatest weakness, his limited amount of mana, was not a major problem.

Kim Dohyun’s smile deepened.

“These are perfect conditions.”

Magic had something called synergy.

Even 1st Circle magic could produce power beyond the limits of its Circle if several spells were combined with sufficient precision.

Of course, the conditions were demanding.

The power had to be amplified through magic circles rather than simple casting, and the casting itself took a considerable amount of time.

That was why using multiple combined spells in actual combat was practically impossible, since an enemy would interfere.

But this place was different.

Time was unlimited. The enemy’s location of appearance was fixed on top of the altar.

It was the perfect environment for using combination magic.

“I’ll end this in one go. Cleanly.”

Kim Dohyun’s expression hardened as he knelt near the altar and placed a hand on the ground.

Magical power bloomed from his fingertips.

Whiiiing-

Fine lines began to be engraved into the rough bedrock.

One magic circle was completed, then another overlapped it.

The layers of magic circles began interlocking with one another, gradually forming a complex pattern.

________________

The Korea Awakened Association.

The grand conference room in the association headquarters located in the heart of Yeouido.

Every major executive of the association was seated around the long oval table there.

Association President Han Seungjae, Vice President Oh Jaeyoon, Strategic Analysis Director Choi Doyoung, and Operations Support Bureau Director Lee Jaeyoon.

The expressions of those who could be called the key figures of the Awakened Association were all equally grim.

The reason was simple.

“Our stockpile of mana cores has fallen by 27 percent compared to last year.”

Strategic Analysis Director Choi Doyoung calmly continued his report while turning over the documents.

“At this rate, it will become difficult to meet the quota by the year after next.”

The quota.

It was a kind of tax Babel demanded from each nation.

It had to be paid in mana cores, and if the required amount was not met within the deadline, Gates would randomly appear within that nation’s territory.

The monsters pouring out from beyond the Gates would penetrate even civilian residential areas and cause massive damage.

In terms of national security, securing mana cores was a matter of life and death.

However.

South Korea had a major problem.

“It must be... because the tutorial dropout rate is so high, right?”

At Han Seungjae’s question, Choi Doyoung nodded.

“That is correct. Fundamentally, the conversion rate of new Awakened into active personnel is markedly lower than in other countries.”

“It’s because that damned Devourer is so vicious.”

Lee Jaeyoon spoke bitterly.

“If someone would just kill that bastard, it would be replaced by another monster.”

When a tutorial monster is defeated, it is replaced by a new individual of a similar rank.

Since the replacement monster is assigned randomly from among monsters of a similar grade, there was at least a chance things would improve compared to now.

The problem was that realistically, defeating the Devourer was impossible.

The Awakened Association had assessed the Devourer as rank E+.

At first glance, that might not seem particularly impressive, but for newly Awakened individuals who had only just entered the tutorial, it was an insurmountable wall.

The Devourer’s traits made the situation even worse.

Compared to monsters of a similar rank, the Devourer was quite slow.

In exchange, its defenses, particularly its hide, were incredibly tough and durable.

It meant attacks at the level of newly Awakened people could not even leave a single wound.

In fact, the Awakened Association had repeatedly selected promising individuals, trained them in advance, and attempted to eliminate it.

Every attempt failed.

Because no possessions could be brought into the tutorial, they had no choice but to face it with their bare bodies, and no amount of training meant anything against the Devourer’s exceptional defense.

In the end, there was no solution for the time being.

“...Is there no chance that some Awakened might appear like a comet and kill that thing?”

At Han Seungjae’s question, Choi Doyoung answered firmly.

“It approaches zero percent.”

“There is still such a thing as ‘what if,’ isn’t there? The possibility itself.”

“If we are discussing possibility...”

Choi Doyoung furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before slowly speaking.

“If a currently active ranker-level individual returned to the past while retaining their present knowledge and reentered the tutorial, then perhaps it might be possible.”

“So you’re saying it’s impossible.”

“A miracle. If one occurred, then it would be possible.”

At Choi Doyoung’s cold analysis, Lee Jaeyoon cut in.

“So basically, it’s realistically impossible.”

“No. As long as it is not zero, there is a possibility.”

“The world doesn’t run on mathematical calculations alone.”

“I merely stated the possibility and answered that it is not impossible.”

“Bullshit. You’re saying there’s a possibility just because it isn’t exactly zero percent? Say something that makes sense. If some guy actually breaks through that possibility you’re talking about and takes down the Devourer.”

Lee Jaeyoon slapped his chest and declared.

“I’ll wear a full-body skintight suit and run ten laps around Yeouido. While shouting, ‘Brother Choi Doyoung, I’ll never act up again,’ all day long.”

“You had better keep that promise.”

“It’s never going to happen, so wake up from that dream.”

The cold and calculating Choi Doyoung and the emotionally driven Lee Jaeyoon frequently argued even under normal circumstances.

Since it was a familiar sight, Han Seungjae skillfully stepped in.

“That’s enough. I was the one who asked the absurd question, and the Strategic Analysis Director merely analyzed it accordingly.”

The question itself had been ridiculous from the start.

Even after selecting talented individuals and providing them with full support, they had been unable to clear it.

There was no way some random person who suddenly appeared would solve it.

Still, he had asked because they were that desperate.

“Why did something like that have to be assigned to Korea...”

Irritation surged all the way to the top of his head, but this was no time to complain about their lot.

Han Seungjae adjusted his posture and spoke.

“For now, as our second-best option, we’ll ask the guilds to increase their mana core supply.”

“We will also continue selecting personnel and attempting elimination after prior training.”

It was the same method they had always used.

There was nothing new about it, but for now, it was the best they could do.

Han Seungjae nodded heavily.

“Let’s proceed that way for now and conclude today’s meeting.”

At Han Seungjae’s declaration, the major figures of the Awakened Association left the grand conference room one by one with gloomy expressions.

_____________

“Phew...”

Kim Dohyun exhaled deeply, raised his upper body, and looked around the altar.

The magic circles engraved into the rough bedrock interlocked in sequence, surrounding the altar.

The preparations were complete.

“Start.”

-The tutorial will now begin.

-Survive for 10 minutes.

At the same time.

Wooooong-!!

The red summoning circle on the altar erupted with fierce light as an enormous shadow rose from it.

The Devourer.

Blunt limbs and a disproportionately swollen torso. Rows of densely packed teeth were exposed between its unusually broad jawbones.

Its slow but heavy footsteps shook the bedrock, spreading dull vibrations throughout the cavern.

At that moment.

As though he had been waiting for this exact moment, Kim Dohyun lightly snapped his fingers.

Snap-

“Activate.”

And then-

At the Archmage’s trigger, the magic circles beneath his feet all burst into light at once.

First. Grease.

Magical power spread along the magic circle and heavily saturated the air around the altar, while an invisible film of oil enveloped the Devourer.

Second. Ignite.

A tiny spark bloomed. The instant it touched the oily film, flames spread explosively.

Third. Boost.

The power of the flames was raised another level as the entire magic circle resonated.

They were all 1st Circle spells.

But when three spells were precisely combined through magic circles, they could unleash power surpassing the 2nd Circle.

And if the caster who designed that combination was someone known as an Archmage.

The power would exceed imagination.