Chapter 8

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player Chapter 8

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BabelNet. The news that began on the massive community used by Awakened spread across the world in an instant.

─Why the Awakened who updated the ranking this time has to be Korean.

The Devourer disappeared from the Korean tutorial. What proof could be clearer than this?

└For real. Its defense was so high that nobody could kill it, so if it disappeared, the new private first place is probably Korean.

└I don’t know who you are, but I was too scared to do the tutorial because of the Devourer. Thank you so much!

└So damn good. Korea is finally free from Devourer hell.

└We’ll have less to worry about with the Mana Core quota too.

└And a future ranker has even appeared. Time to go all in on patriotism stocks.

The Koreans were in a festive mood.

Not only had the Devourer, which had been a longstanding headache, disappeared, but someone with the potential to eventually become a ‘ranker’ had appeared, so it was only natural.

However, this was still nothing more than ‘speculation.’

─Look at the Koreans making such a fuss.

└There hasn’t been a single official announcement yet, and they’re already going crazy among themselves assuming it’s a Korean.

└Probably because they don’t have any proper rankers like Japan or China.

└Even if they really are Korean, it doesn’t matter. They’ll naturalize in another country anyway.

└If they’re first in the tutorial, maybe we should bring them to China and raise them properly?

└Why bother? First place in the tutorial sounds impressive, but by the standards of current rankers, it’s not that amazing.

└Exactly. It’s basically just taking first place in an empty field.

Responses of denial and envy poured out from China and Japan.

Naturally, the Koreans fought back, and the community descended into complete chaos.

Since it had become such a hot topic, Kim Dohyun naturally came across the news as well.

Of course, he did not pay much attention to it.

More precisely, he did not care at all.

‘They can think whatever they want.’

There was no reason to argue over reactions like that.

All he needed to think about now was moving forward.

‘Now that there’s nothing holding me back.’

Last night, during dinner with his family, he had received his parents’ permission.

Of course, that did not mean they were free of worry.

No matter how much of a Returnee he was, to parents, their child would always look like a child.

That was why they repeatedly warned him not to overdo it, and since that was only natural, Kim Dohyun readily promised them.

“Should I start preparing for the real clear?”

Two days remained until he could reenter.

August 7th, 6:00 a.m. He intended to enter the moment the cooldown reset, so he had to finish his preparations quickly.

‘They said the real clearing begins from the 1st Floor.’

Unlike the tutorial, his life was not guaranteed.

It was a world where a momentary mistake could lead to death.

And he was even aiming for the fastest clear time.

‘Quickly. But safely and surely.’

It was a difficult demand in realistic terms, but he was someone who had once been praised as an Archmage.

Over fifty years of battlefields, he had designed and carried out countless strategies.

If it was a floor that had already been cleared and whose information was publicly available, seeing through its key points was not difficult.

‘The 1st Floor proceeds with traps obstructing progress and slowing you down. The final objective is to kill the monster in the last room.’

The placement and types of traps changed every time one entered, but the design principles remained the same.

Since it was still a low floor, the difficulty was not very high either.

There were plenty of safe zones between the traps, and the structure merely forced challengers to retreat into those safe zones, delaying the clear time.

The monster appearing at the end was also only rank F+. Not very high.

In other words.

If he could neutralize all the traps at once, he could rush through the floor in an instant.

‘The important point for me is speed.’

In truth, advancing through active traps was quite burdensome.

Because his physical abilities were not exceptional, he could be exposed to physical danger.

But if it was an Archmage. Especially one given plenty of time to prepare.

The story changed.

‘I’ll clear it perfectly once again.’

Kim Dohyun’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the items laid out on the table.

A decorative necklace, bracelet, and ring he had bought while shopping yesterday.

They were all merely cheap accessories easily obtainable at a supermarket.

But if Kim Dohyun touched them, things changed.

‘Enchant.’

The magic circle drawn on the table beforehand began to glow.

Whiiiing-!

Magical power bloomed from Kim Dohyun’s fingertips and flowed toward the necklace.

The mana inside his body rapidly drained away.

Saying that he was pouring it in would be more accurate.

The moment the magical power flowing along the patterns of the magic circle touched the metal surface of the necklace, fine lines began to be engraved into it.

Invisible magical circuits dug into various parts of the accessory, altering its structure.

‘Good thing I reached the 2nd Circle.’

If he had still been at the 1st Circle, he would have been nowhere near having enough mana.

It was only barely possible because he had the mana capacity of the 2nd Circle.

Indeed, even the final strand of magical power was seeping into the necklace.

At that moment.

Flash-!

Light burst out once, and a faint glow enveloped the entire necklace.

At the same time, exhaustion washed over him.

It was because the mana inside his body had nearly been depleted.

But the result was undeniable.

Ding-!!

-E+ rank skill ‘Lower Enchant’ has been registered in the Skill Window.

-Upon acquiring ‘Lower Enchant,’ a new stat, ‘Dexterity,’ has been unlocked.

-Excellent crafting skill!

-You have acquired the title ‘Engraver.’

[Engraver]

Grade: Rare

Effect: Dexterity +0.5. The quality of items created using ‘Enchant’ increases by 0.5 times.

‘Oh?’

Kim Dohyun’s eyes widened at the unexpected additional benefit.

‘Titles can be equipped simultaneously, right?’

It meant he could retain the effect of Pioneer while adding Engraver on top of it.

And the title was not the only thing he had gained.

Merely by using Enchant, a new stat called ‘Dexterity’ had been unlocked.

Perhaps using other types of magic might also unlock new stats.

But he had no intention of checking every single one.

They were only secondary benefits anyway.

There was no need to become needlessly greedy.

No, in the first place, raising stats had not been the purpose of using this spell.

Kim Dohyun shifted his gaze and picked up the necklace lying on the table.

“Excellent.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Kim Dohyun’s lips.

The title effect seemed to be quite good.

Its quality was far better than he had expected.

If he could make a magic item with this level of performance.

“I should be able to clear the 1st Floor with ease.”

A confident smile spread across Kim Dohyun’s face.

____________

Even after that, Kim Dohyun continued enchanting whenever his mana recovered.

The bracelet. And then the ring.

He repeatedly depleted all of his mana, recovered it, and depleted it again.

It was exhausting work, but wearing all three magic items, Kim Dohyun let out a deep breath and nodded.

“Fortunately, I’m not too late.”

Since a single enchantment consumed all of his mana, it took roughly twelve hours to recover.

He needed to have his mana fully restored before entering Babel, so the timing could have been tight, but fortunately, the schedule matched perfectly.

And.

August 7th. 6:00 a.m.

Ding-!!

-The Babel reentry cooldown has been reset.

-You may now enter Babel.

It had already been three days since he returned from the tutorial.

After checking the message, Kim Dohyun immediately spoke.

“Enter Babel.”

-User ‘Kim Dohyun’ is entering Babel’s 1st Floor.

Pure white light filled his vision before fading away.

When he opened his eyes, what stretched before him was a long stone corridor running in a straight line.

In the darkness without a single torch, the end of the corridor could not be seen.

-Babel 1st Floor.

-Neutralize the installed traps and defeat the monster in the final area.

-Begins in 1 minute.

-Prepare yourself.

-59.

After checking the timer floating in the air, Kim Dohyun inspected the magic items he had prepared.

[Necklace of Charge]

Grade: Rare+ / Usage Restriction: Mana 4 or higher.

Grants an electrical charge and creates an ionized path.

Due to the effect of the title ‘Engraver,’ the creation range of the ionized path has increased by 0.5 times.

[Bracelet of Extend]

Grade: Rare+ / Usage Restriction: Mana 4 or higher.

Extends the range of magic.

Due to the effect of the title ‘Engraver,’ the range has increased by 0.5 times.

[Ring of Search]

Grade: Rare+ / Usage Restriction: Mana 4 or higher.

Searches for the location of enemies.

Due to the effect of the title ‘Engraver,’ the search range has increased by 0.5 times.

His preparations were perfect.

“Phew...”

Kim Dohyun exhaled deeply as magical power bloomed from his fingertips.

Crackle-

A faint electrical current sparked in the air.

It was only a small discharge, but the density of mana contained within it far exceeded the level of ordinary 2nd Circle magic.

Even if he fired it as it was, it would already have sufficient power.

But an Archmage did not stop there.

Using the experience and knowledge accumulated over fifty years, he redesigned the structure of the spell.

He optimized the flow of mana, compressed the output path, and pushed efficiency to its absolute limit.

Then he poured all the mana he possessed into it.

Crackle, crackle-!

The current blooming from his fingertips surged unstably.

The ring shone.

The Search spell pierced through the darkness beyond the corridor.

Invisible detection waves traveled along the stone walls all the way to the end of the passage.

And found it.

The final area of the corridor. A single life response crouched deep within the darkness.

Target location. Confirmed.

Next, the necklace responded.

Hissss-

The Charge spell activated.

Magical power emitted from the necklace seeped into the atmosphere, ionizing the air along a straight path from Kim Dohyun’s fingertips to the monster.

As thin as a single strand of thread, nearly invisible.

A perfect path for lightning was carved through the darkness.

Lastly, the bracelet resonated.

The Extend spell stretched the range of the lightning beyond its limits.

And so.

Four spells were woven into one.

Crackle, crackle-!!

The lightning condensed in Kim Dohyun’s right hand roared loudly as it pushed back the darkness.

The path was open. The target was located. The range was secured.

All that remained.

-3.

-2.

-1.

Was for the timer to end.

-Start.

-Good luck.

Finally.

Hearing the System message echo beside his ears, Kim Dohyun quietly murmured.

“Lightning Bolt.”

KABOOOOM-!!

A single bolt of lightning tore through the darkness and shot all the way to the end of the corridor.