abcnovels
Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Chapter 94
‘Magic...’
Hearing the constellations’ advice got Choi Yeonseung lost in thought. He had tried to learn magic in the past. He was still an F-grade hunter then! At the time, it seemed like he would be able to rise to D or C-grade if he learned just one magic spell.
However, the price of the items that taught magic was beyond imagination. Choi Yeonseung simply couldn’t afford them. In the end, he got the Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts. Of course, he didn’t have much dissatisfaction with it. Witnessing his martial arts get stronger every time he swung his fist was fun.
Even while others were saying, ‘Oh, that’s such a trash martial art,’ Choi Yeonseung thought, ‘Wow, this martial art is the best. I should do a thousand more punches.’ However, now that he had heard the constellations’ opinions, learning magic didn’t seem too bad.
‘There is certainly no harm in being able to do it.’
“Wait. Choi Yeonseung, I heard you’re quite close to Dragon Hwang. You’ve been friends with him for 30 years,” Antony spoke as if he just remembered.
“A-Are you close to Dragon Hwang?”
Hwang Gyeongryong was an S-grade hunter that every hunter in the Icarus clan should know. He was like a legend of a bygone era.
“Couldn’t he teach you better skills than Gutierrez?”
“This jerk...”
Antony’s words made Elisabeth angry, but she had to admit it. There was just too huge of a level difference between her and Hwang Gyeongryong.
“No. Dragon Hwang can’t do it.”
“Ah. Is he too busy?”
“He’s too much of a big shot to take on a teaching role.”
The two people were convinced. Of course, that wasn’t the real reason...
‘Gyeongryong hyung is really bad at teaching.’
Hwang Gyeongryong was the epitome of relying on one’s senses.
-Magic power goes swoosh! Afterward, you’ll catch that passing feeling and hook! From there, turn it. Do you understand how this skill feels now?
-......
-......
-I don’t...
Their previous clan’s vice leader, Lee Changsik, was great at teaching since he was good at theory. However, Lee Changsik was currently a coach in South Korea. Choi Yeonseung couldn’t ask him for help...
“I can just learn from Gutierrez. A B-grade hunter should be good enough.”
“Right?!”
Choi Yeonseung’s praise delighted Elisabeth.
However, Antony interjected. “I’m much better than Gutierrez. Gutierrez is a tank, while I’m an all-rounder, Choi Yeonseung.”
“... Do you think this bastard would be able to teach you properly, Choi Yeonseung?”
Both were correct! Elisabeth learned tank-oriented magic while Antony...
‘Does he even have the ability to teach?’
“Shouldn’t you hear what I want to learn first?”
Choi Yeonseung’s reply rendered the two speechless. He was right!
“What do you want to learn? It’s magic for tankers, isn’t it?”
“No. He’s a martial artist, so he lacks ranged attacks. It has to be long-distance magic.”
“What I want to learn is healing magic.”
“......”
“......”
Choi Yeonseung had all the skills for offense, defense, and evasion. If he had to learn magic, then it had to be healing magic! Recovery or buff magic had always been useful. There was just one problem. Healing skills were difficult to master. There was a reason why healers received got special treatment and were few in number. Few magic books related to healing could be found in dungeons, and they were difficult to learn as well.
Elisabeth didn’t have any healing skills. Antony only had the 1st-circle magic ‘Low-grade Wound Healing.’
“You don’t have any?”
“......”
“Why would you have to learn that? Leave healing skills to a healer. As a damage dealer, you should focus on dealing damage!”
Seemingly quite indignant, Antony started to argue.
***
“Everyone’s here,” Ernest said while looking at the Icarus hunters. It was currently time for regular training. The Icarus clan wasn’t stupid. There was a reason it paid so much money to support the hunters.
“What would the training be today?”
“I hope it isn’t just teamwork like last time. It’s annoying.”
“I got VIP seats for the ‘Paleno Eights’ clan’s match. Would you like to come with me?”
“What? You got something that precious? Of course!”
Despite the noisy hunters, Ernest didn’t say much.
“Activate it.”
“Got it.”
In the middle of the practice field, a giant ‘Otherworld’ the size of several football stadiums was activated. The constellation Choi Yeonseung was able to read the message window of the Otherworld.
[The ‘Otherworld’ will create the ‘Endless Tower Dungeon.’]
‘Endless Tower Dungeon? I’ve never heard of it before.’
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. Meanwhile, the other hunters reacted differently. The powerful magic power they felt from the Otherworld shocked them. They approached to check it, then despaired.
“The Endless Tower Dungeon?!”
“This is insane!”
The Endless Tower Dungeon was an evil dungeon that came out ten years ago. It consumed countless hunters until it eventually exploded without anyone being able to clear it! Considering its difficulty level, that was only understandable.
First of all, its rating on the surface was F-grade since, when hunters entered, they’d start from the first floor of the tower, which was filled with weak F-grade monsters. After clearing it, the second floor would appear, and they’d have to ascend to it.
Stronger monsters were waiting on that floor, and there were even stronger creatures on the third floor. As they ascended the floors, they eventually stumbled upon A-grade monsters. Since then, the dungeon’s been judged as an A+ grade. It was such a famous dungeon that everyone knew about it. Now, it had reappeared before them.
“This training will last for a while. You have to clear this tower,” Ernest said.
“......”
“......”
The hunters started whispering to each other. They’d be raiding a virtual version of it in the Otherworld, but could they really clear this? Ernest smiled almost as if he felt their worry.
“You don’t have to worry too much, hunters. It naturally isn’t the same as it used to be.”
“Ah...”
“Haha! I believed in you, Ernest!”
The hunters laughed. They almost misunderstood! There was no way it could be an exact replica of the real deal.
‘Was it nerfed?’
‘I guess he made it easier and reduced the number of floors?’
“I made it a bit harder.”
“......”
“......”
The hunters looked grim. The Otherworld was a virtual training ground, but the pain and shock they felt in it were real. Quite a few hunters had been ruined by training incorrectly in it. Hence, they had to ensure they’d match the difficulty level of the Otherworld properly.
“Ernest, the Endless Tower Dungeon is already an A-grade dungeon, but you made it even more difficult. Is it possible to clear it?”
“This isn’t about getting a perfect clearance.”
Ernest answered while nodding.
“I’ll give you a month. In the meantime, I’ll record the highest floor each of you has cleared.”
“......!”
The hunters finally understood Ernest’s intention.
A competition! All the hunters gathered here were either aces in the clan or geniuses with outstanding talents. Such hunters inevitably competed with each other.
‘The highest floor, huh...’
‘Which floor should I go to? The 10th?’
‘Its difficulty has been increased, so I should probably stick to floors below the 10th floor...’
“I’ve given you all the explanation you’ll need. Be sure to work hard this month.”
As usual, Ernest said what he had to say, then nonchalantly walked away. The hunters tried to curse at him but stopped.
“How can we clear this?”
“Don’t we have to form teams first?”
“A team? Stop spouting nonsense. This is a competition that judges us individually.”
“Hey! I’m a healer! I’m at a disadvantage here!”
“Healers get special treatment anyway. Don’t whine about getting a bad record!”
The hunters whispered and chattered.
Both Elisabeth and Antony’s expressions were quite serious. As hunters, they started to think about how to attack the dungeon.
***
While everyone was thinking about the tower, Choi Yeonseung was thinking about magic.
-Even if I get help from other hunters, I think it’s better for me to start from the basics to some extent. Can any of the constellations help me?
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ shows disapproval. It says it doesn’t even know what the first letter of Heal is.]
The Cat of Lava and Magma was the master of blacksmithing. Healing was of little use to it.
[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ is also troubled. She says she mainly uses magic to charm enemies or disrupt their minds.]
“......”
What a bunch of useless constellations! Choi Yeonseung contacted the goddess just in case.
-Do you have time?
It was very arrogant and cocky to speak directly to a constellation like this, even for favored household members. Usually, when talking to a constellation, people were normally polite, did what a constellation would like, bowed very respectfully, and prayed...
Yet even though he wasn’t a household member or her minion, Choi Yeonseung casually spoke to the goddess. If the goddess’ angels had seen this, they would’ve angrily said, ‘That arrogant human bastard!!’
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ urgently replies that she does!]
… However, the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead was a bit different from ordinary constellations.
-I want to learn healing magic, but there aren’t good teachers around me. I was wondering if you could help.
-I see... As expected, the Undefeated Incarnation of Training can’t help you in that area, can he?
The goddess secretly insulted the Undefeated Incarnation of Training. Wouldn’t it be better to follow the constellation with the great power to look into the future than the constellation that couldn’t even teach magic?
… Of course, it didn’t mean anything to Choi Yeonseung.
-The incarnation mainly deals in martial arts, so it can’t be helped.
-... I see...
-Can you help me?
-Of course.
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ is giving you the 5th-circle magic ‘Goddess’ Medical Treatment’.]
[Goddess’ Medical Treatment]
[Rank: A-
Named after the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead. It creates a healing aura.]
A 5th-circle spell ranked A-. It was the goddess’ power, after all.
[The ‘Goddess’ Medical Treatment’ is currently unavailable. It has failed.]
[The ‘Goddess’ Medical Treatment’ is currently unavailable. It has failed.]
‘It isn’t working.’
That result was obvious, considering such a difficult skill was given to someone who had never used magic before. Embarrassed, the goddess couldn’t speak.
-Huh? Why can’t you use it? It’s a simple skill…
‘Isn’t it only natural that I can’t use it?’
Choi Yeonseung suddenly realized that the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead didn’t know much about training. That was how she came up with the idea of picking up a mortal and throwing him into a tower in the first place! However, Choi Yeonseung was a constellation.
He had fought against magic for over 10,000 years and had understood enough of its principles and logic. His body remembered even if he didn’t think about it.
‘Magic is ultimately executed by binding external magic power to my will.’
Internal energy and magic power were the same. Choi Yeonseung took out internal energy from his dantian and cast Goddess’ Medical Treatment. He failed a few times, but he slowly got the hang of it.
[’Goddess’ Medical Treatment’ is used.]
[Using your own internal energy has amplified the power of ‘Goddess’ Medical Treatment.’]
[You’ve made a mistake while using magic. You have taken damage from the recoil.]
‘Kuek.’
Choi Yeonseung groaned due to the shock. Being able to use magic was great and all, but what was the point of it if he’d take damage every time he did?