NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
Chapter 34. Catch Techniques
“Am I really paying for this?”
“I know.”
“Hey, don’t stick your hands in your pockets.”
The day after Min Yu-ri received an invitation to join the guild.
Yoo Ji-han visited the shared Training Center with Kim Si-hu.
Kim Si-hu was keeping a watchful eye on Yoo Ji-han’s pockets, worried he might try to pay for the training fee.
The Guild Master was stubborn in peculiar ways.
Yoo Ji-han, as if to reassure him, opened his palm and said,
“Now that we have the guild card, I won’t spend my money.”
“You got that right.”
Kim Si-hu pulled out a card from his wallet.
It was a dark blue card embossed with the word ‘GUILD’ in stylish font on the front.
Ordinary companies have what is called a corporate card issued to them, also known as a corporate spending card; similarly, there’s a guild card in guilds.
“Is the limit unlimited?”
“Exactly.”
Due to the guild’s nature, which often incurs high costs for equipment and other miscellaneous items, there was no spending cap on any guild card when paying at the Workshop.
Even a newly established guild could solve financial issues worth 100 million or 1 billion with a single card.
“The card company sends gifts to the company.”
Kim Si-hu mentioned that in addition to basic card benefits, they received news of gifts from the card company.
Guilds that frequently made high payments were exceptional customers for card companies.
“What do they send?”
“Toilet paper.”
“Toilet paper? That’s a bit stingy for a guild card issuance.”
“Still, if you pay at the Open Market with it, you’ll get a 0.7% discount on the amount.”
It seemed surprising to send just toilet paper when they might spend hundreds of millions in the guild.
Yoo Ji-han grumbled a bit as he moved toward the entrance of the shared Training Center.
The employee he had encountered last time was waiting for him there.
“Sweet Fun Guild. Two party members.”
“Oh, the ones who requested repairs back then?”
“Uh, you still remember?”
“Your names are quite unique. I also heard you’ve moved up to Rank 4.”
The employee remembered the two from their previous visits to the Training Center, particularly because of the unusual guild name and their initial request for machine repairs.
‘Sweet Fun. Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good name.’
Yoo Ji-han felt a secret satisfaction in the guild’s name as they entered the Training Center.
This time, they headed to the reserved Personal Training Room.
Today was the day Kim Si-hu would teach Yoo Ji-han magic.
Ding!
Yoo Ji-han summoned a Sylph into the air.
Now completely accustomed to summoning spirits, he reached a point where the Sylph appeared as soon as he thought of it.
Kim Si-hu looked between the Sylph and Yoo Ji-han and said,
“Please use Haste just once.”
[Haste]
As per the request, Yoo Ji-han cast the spell, and the Sylph glowed gently.
A gentle breeze enveloped his body.
His bangs were slightly ruffled by the wind, but it didn’t mess up his hairstyle too much.
The wind, which had been rather rough, transformed into a lighter strength.
Kim Si-hu walked around him, nodding his head several times with a satisfied expression.
‘Excellent.’
Just a short time ago, his flow of mana had seemed rather clumsy.
But now, signs of beginner mistakes were nearly nonexistent.
Yoo Ji-han had successfully made Haste his own spell.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. It feels great. You used it well in the MA too.”
“Back then, I was just following my instincts.”
In urgent moments, Yoo Ji-han would unhesitatingly use Haste.
A prime example was when he jumped out of a window in the apartment’s staircase hallway.
‘Definitely feeling an improvement.’
With every use of magic, he felt he was getting better than before.
However, unlike Kim Si-hu, Yoo Ji-han didn’t pay meticulous attention to mana control or consciously think about it.
As he had from his time at Hero Academy when he couldn’t use magic at all, that was beyond his ability.
‘It must be the effect of the Magic Crystal.’
Yoo Ji-han’s method of handling mana significantly changed after his contract with the spirit.
After summoning the Sylph, his mana intertwined with the Sylph’s mana.
The major change that had recently occurred in this process was undoubtedly the power of the Sylph’s mana.
“Since your mana is now somewhat stable, it’s time to learn some other spells.”
Having the main dealer, Yoo Ji-han, learn a new spell would lead to a significant power increase.
Kim Si-hu, who had been observing him closely, thought it was time to start teaching something new.
While considering the average Spirit Master, this seemed a bit early for learning.
Typically, right after a contract, one would focus solely on increasing intimacy with the spirit for at least four months, without even thinking of learning new spells.
However, Kim Si-hu kept feeling hope as he watched Yoo Ji-han’s progress.
“Is there any spell you’ve been wanting to learn?”
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“Moonlight Explosion.”
“……”
Kim Si-hu had a baffled expression.
It was a mysterious spell so difficult that only a select few among the world’s Rank 1 Mages could use it.
To bring up the enormous explosion with a color reminiscent of moonlight that also required great caution for the user!
“I saw the Guild Master of Red Hole use it in a video, and it was impressive.”
“But that’s basically a unique spell.”
“Right?”
“If you look at the magic he revealed, it’s completely perverse. When you find out what he did just to add a moonlight color to basic explosion magic…”
Kim Si-hu shuddered.
The well-known representative guild of Korea, Red Hole, was led by Baek Kang-cheon, a Mage.
Regardless of the party’s level, Mages often create their own spell skills in addition to commonly known public spells, which are referred to as unique spells.
And Baek Kang-cheon uniquely reveals some of his own magic to the world, a rare thing to do.
‘I understand, but… I can’t use it.’
However, even if disclosed, most Mages couldn’t use it.
The magic was far too complex and difficult.
While Kim Si-hu had ‘understood’ the dozens of pages of magic explanations released by Baek Kang-cheon, he was unable to use them.
For someone like Yoo Ji-han, who was inexperienced in magic, even understanding such a spell was challenging.
“Not that kind, but an actually usable spell.”
“How about the Wind Bomb you were using?”
“Wind Bomb?”
The spell Yoo Ji-han requested was Wind Bomb.
It was an attacking spell that Kim Si-hu often used to break the enemy’s formation or create strong winds.
It had also been a significant help when he jumped out of the window.
After considering for a moment, Kim Si-hu said,
“I can teach you that spell. I have confidence in teaching it since it’s a spell I often use. But as a party Mage, I hope you think it through again.”
Kim Si-hu could teach Yoo Ji-han how to use Wind Bomb better than anyone.
However, whether that spell suited him remained in question.
‘If it’s Wind Bomb, I can use it, so there’s no need for him to learn it…’
When mastering magic skills, choosing and focusing are vital.
This had been something Kim Si-hu had emphasized from the beginning.
Moreover, with Yoo Ji-han needing to consider spirit exhaustion, the learning conditions became much stricter.
He had to be more cautious in his choices.
“I’ve thought about it and made a decision.”
“What kind of thought?”
“I’m going to use it as movement magic. I’ll explode the Wind Bomb close by to move to the other side. It’ll be sort of like a catch technique.”
Yoo Ji-han planned to use the Wind Bomb to instantly move a short distance.
If he could create erratic movement with a powerful wind, it would be a significant aid.
“But that’s an attack spell.”
Kim Si-hu grew worried.
Regardless of intent, it was a direct use of what was categorized as an attack spell right next to his body.
“I’ll at least give it a try. If it seems dangerous, I’ll just give up.”
In the end, Kim Si-hu nodded.
As he said, he’d let him try, and if it looked dangerous, he’d try to stop him.
“Look here.”
“Oh, that’s what I saw back then.”
“Yes.”
Kim Si-hu concentrated mana at the tip of his staff.
Much like when he taught Haste before, a sphere of mana hung at the end.
Kim Si-hu told Yoo Ji-han that this was called the learning sphere.
It created a small space to visualize mana and show it to others.
“Wind Bomb is simpler than you think. First, create a small space that can hold other mana with your own mana, then generate several smaller mana particles inside that area and make them spin in one direction.”
“Particles?”
“Think of them as small spheres. I’m deliberately showing them larger now, but it’s better if they’re smaller.”
Kim Si-hu generated several round mana particles inside the learning sphere.
All those particles were spinning rapidly in one direction.
“Think of these particles as the gunpowder for the bomb. The more particles there are, and the faster they spin, the greater the power, so watch out. Usually, the speed of rotation is calculated in RPM (Revolutions per minute)… but you don’t need to know too much about the theoretical parts.”
“That sounds really difficult.”
“Just do as I tell you. Now, let’s wrap it up.”
Kim Si-hu created a mana trigger inside the sphere as the finale.
Once the Mage casting Wind Bomb triggers it with their mana, the area surrounding the particles would break, and they would explode, resulting in a strong wind.
“I’ll watch from the side, so give it a try.”
Yoo Ji-han recalled his teachings and used Wind Bomb.
And moments later.
[Wind Bomb]
Whooo—
A Wind Bomb was generated right before his eyes.
There were mistakes, like particles rotating in the opposite direction inside the bomb, but it was undeniable that the magic was complete.
‘I expected it, but that’s amazing.’
Kim Si-hu thought that he’d take at least 2 or 3 tries to use Wind Bomb.
He had only succeeded in one try when teaching Haste last time.
But seeing it happen firsthand naturally led to admiration.
As he thought last time, it felt peculiar that he had never been able to use magic before.
“Let’s try.”
Yoo Ji-han placed the completed Wind Bomb behind him.
This was to gain propulsion for moving a short distance, as initially intended.
“Hyung? Wait a moment…”
Kim Si-hu rushed to stop Yoo Ji-han.
To use it as he wished required meticulous adjustments, and with such a clumsy structure, it was unlikely to function as intended.
But he had already touched the trigger for the Wind Bomb.
Whoooo—!
Boom!
Yoo Ji-han, pushed by the wind, flew forward and crashed into the wall of the Personal Training Room.
Kim Si-hu covered his eyes with his palm, as if he had witnessed something he shouldn’t.
‘… Should I be happy about that?’
He had learned the desired magic very quickly, so it made sense to feel joy.
*
A lazy afternoon.
Before heading to the MA, Min Yu-ri was looking down at her mobile phone placed on the desk.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She tapped the desk with her index finger.
On the screen of the phone that lit up was the number for the Hero Department.
With just a press of the call button, the phone would connect immediately.
“Hm…”
Should she call or not?
She chewed her lip while continuing to tap the desk.
Then she made up her mind and pressed the call button, bringing the mobile phone’s speaker to her ear.
—Yes. This is the Hero Department.
“This is Min Yu-ri from the Snowflake Guild.”
—Ah, yes! Hello!
“I have a quick question.”
—What is it?
“I didn’t attend the Rank 4 Exchange Meeting I was invited to a long time ago… Is it still possible to attend now?”
—Uh, just a moment.
The male voice who answered the phone typed on the keyboard to verify her statement.
Then he said in a light tone,
—You can still attend.
“Really?”
—Yes. It doesn’t seem difficult at all. If you want, I’ll add you to the invite list right away.
“Before that, I have one more question.”
—Go ahead.
“Are there any heroes invited to this Exchange Meeting that belong to the Sweet Fun Guild?”
Min Yu-ri said this and then waited quietly for an answer.
If Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu were not attending the meeting, she had no reason to participate.