Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

“I’ll go in first!”

“Sure.”

Aden, full of excitement, moved forward.

However, her nose only hit the gate.

“Ow!”

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, what’s this body gag?

Aden massaged her nose.

“What, what’s happening? Why…”

Beep!

[The level of the Awakener is too high.]

[Dungeon Level: F-]

[Only up to E+ level Awakener can enter.]

“Huh? No way!”

Aden’s shoulders slumped.

“Cheer up, will you?”

“I need to see your magic, Master! I need to see you doing the ‘Perfect Clear!’ Ahh!”

Kang hyun stroked his chin.

“Hmm.”

Wait a second.

Could it be?

Kang hyun suddenly snatched a rat from the grass.

“Inventory.”

“Huh?”

Swish!

The rat disappeared.

When he pulled it out again.

Squeak!

It smoothly crawled out of his palm.

“Got the gist of it.”

Kang hyun, the peak of spellcraft, observed the inventory, an example of spatial magic, in a brief moment.

“Hey, go in the inventory for a bit.”

“Yes?”

Without a chance to answer.

Swish!

He sent Aden into the inventory.

Then, the gate entrance.

[You have entered the F- rank dungeon .]

[Eliminate the World Tree branches to clear the dungeon.]

“Inventory.”

He took Aden out.

“Huh?”

“You didn’t feel any time passing inside, right?”

“I’m not sure, but it was very brief.”

“How many seconds passed?”

“How many was it? Hmm?”

Aden seemed confused.

“I just know it was very brief.”

Aden hadn’t noticed the passage of time.

As expected.

‘The time inside must have been stopped to preserve the items.’

A principle Kang hyun was familiar with.

It aligned perfectly with the command 【Stop】.

‘This is easy.’

Space magic was an unknown field.

Even though it was an unfamiliar phenomenon, Kang hyun easily analyzed it.

‘If I study this more, I might get closer to mastering spatial spells.’

He made a mental note of it.

For now, the dungeon.

There were dragonfly monsters flying around, almost like pigeons.

“Haeng!”

“Alright, give it a try.”

“Huh? Weren’t you the one who was going to clear it, Master?”

“I need to watch you to teach you properly. Let’s see you first.”

Aden’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

‘I was looking forward to seeing Master’s magic…’

But soon, she regained her focus.

‘…Well, I’ll see it soon enough.’

Besides, it was her first time casting magic.

Her heart raced.

The magic she had longed for!

‘Finally!’

Kang hyun had some expectations for his disciple.

The media hyped up A-rank Awakener quite a lot.

‘The key member of the national core forces?’

A-rank Awakener.

The highest echelon of society.

The strongest.

S-rank was on a whole different level, so it was an exception.

‘Let’s see.’

Had she learned well so far?

Aden closed her eyes and brought her hands together.

‘It’s my first time, but I know the theory inside out.’

Aden had studied hard under Kang hyun.

After making calculations in her head,

‘Let me start with my most confident fire spell.’

She cast a light 5-class spell.

“Ignis Vorax!”

A dazzling magic circle appeared, and Aden’s chest surged with energy.

The mana density around her increased, giving her buoyancy.

Fwoooosh-!

A huge flame engulfed her body.

The dragonflies flying nearby were easily burned to death.

Haaaang!

The fire spread like an octopus extending its limbs,

Catching fire to more dragonflies, causing a chain reaction.

Aden shouted in excitement.

“Wow, whoa!”

Her voice trembled with emotion.

‘I did it! I cast magic! This big fire! I’m a mage too!’

Just like the mage Kyle!

Was it due to her excitement?

Her eyes glowed blue with mana energy.

The flames continuously absorbed A-rank mana.

It grew enormous.

About the size of a house.

“…Huh?”

Why is it still growing?

‘What’s going on?’

The dragonflies were long gone.

At this rate, she was about to burn everything down, even herself and her Master.

“Ah, ah! Master! Run away!”

No! It won’t stop!

Please, stop!

“Aaahh!”

“Ugh.”

Was fire always this loud and threatening?

It was terrifying.

Flames roared!

Aden, sensing death, dropped to the ground.

But shortly after.

“【Stop】”

The fierce wind from the fire.

The grass swaying from it.

And the giant fireball wriggling around.

Everything stopped.

“Tsk.”

“Ugh…”

Aden remained curled up.

What a mess.

“Get up.”

“Ahh! Don’t come near! Run, Master, even if it’s just you!”

“Aiyo.”

Kang hyun smacked the back of Aden’s head.

“Ow! Why are you hitting me!”

“You’ve got a long way to go. Why did you choose fire of all things? It’s a volatile element, hard to control without experience.”

“Huh? Really?”

It’s a common trait of beginners.

They’re always enchanted by fire and lightning.

“Remember the feeling from just now. That’s the ‘spreading nature’ of fire. I taught you that in class, remember?”

“Ah, no wonder. With so much mana, the fire felt uncontrollable… huh? Fire!”

Aden panicked too late, but when she looked at the sky, she froze.

“Ah…”

It was beautiful.

The frozen world.

The scene of defying the laws of nature.

It felt mystifying due to the inherent sense of estrangement.

‘It’s like a movie…’

She always loved the “Stop” scenes when watching Kyle’s movies…

“Huh?”

Did it stop?

‘How?’

She suddenly remembered.

When she had given up and dropped to the ground, she heard her Master’s voice softly.

Stop.

“Ah, ah…”

With her mouth agape,

She barely turned her stiff neck to look at her Master.

“See? Even the fire stopped when I told it to. It doesn’t make sense to stop that with my tiny amount of mana. It should have been blocked by now.”

Although Kang hyun had used all his mana in one go.

“Uh…”

“You lost complete control over your mana, so the fire essentially became a natural phenomenon. When you lose control, you would have burned to death if I hadn’t stopped it.”

“Ah, no…”

Every word was like gold, but

Aden didn’t hear it with her dazed mind.

The recent news flashed through her head.

The frozen Hero Plaza.

The mysterious S-rank spellcaster.

“…Master?”

“Huh? Are you listening? Try interpreting what I just said again.”

“Ah, no. Master, could it be…?”

Kanghyun realized Aden’s state.

“Ah.”

She didn’t know he was a spellcaster.

He had been too focused on teaching.

“Master, could you be… the S-rank spellcaster?”

“I told you, it’s me. But no, I’m not S-rank.”

“Eh!? No…”

He had mentioned it before.

‘That’s me.’

‘Huh? What are you talking about?’

‘The mysterious S-rank on the news.’

‘Haha, I see.’

“No…”

Who would believe that?

“Even the academy was originally called [Kanghyun’s Spellcaster Academy], you know?”

Now it’s [Kanghyun’s Magic Academy], though.

“Huh? Come to think of it…”

Aden remembered.

That’s why everyone called him a fraud.

‘It wasn’t fraud?’

He really was a spellcaster?

Like Kyle’s?

“So, does that mean you inherited Kyle’s legacy?”

“No? I just can use it.”

“Huh?”

“Just think hard. That’s how it works. Spells aren’t that special.”

Actually, that’s true.

It was the story of the hero Kyle.

He had simply unlocked the principles of spells by himself.

“I know you’re surprised, but it’s not that big of a deal.”

“What do you mean! If spells aren’t a big deal, then what in the world is!”

Aden, a huge fan of Kyle, was in disbelief.

She jumped up in excitement.

“I’m weak. I don’t have enough mana to use spells.”

“How weak are you to say that? Hmm, if we fought, would I win? I have A-rank mana, after all.”

“Are you kidding me?”

That was crossing the line.

“Who do you think I am, a weakling only using spells?”

“That’s harassment!”

“What?”

Harassment?

“Never mind.”

“Don’t go telling people I’m a spellcaster. I’m weak, okay?”

“Ah…”

The same conclusion.

Aden was disappointed.

“Our Master is such an amazing person!”

“He is amazing.”

“The S-rank spellcaster from the news is our Master!”

“I told you, I’m not S-rank.”

“Who does the ‘Perfect Clear!’ too!”

“Ah, the Perfect Clear!”

It was Aden who had sneaked her way in.

How will the judgment go?

###

The dragonflies were already burned to ash.

She found the World Tree’s branches and chopped them down.

Swish-

Ding!

[Perfect Clear!(Solo)]

[An incredible achievement! You’ve perfectly stopped the World Tree’s invasion!]

[Due to your achievement, ‘Blessing’ will be granted to the surrounding area! Everyone will praise your achievement!]

Fortunately, the dungeon wasn’t too cruel.

“Can you see it too?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t see it? It’s recognized as a solo achievement.”

The message also shows ‘Solo’.

“Does that mean I get the reward solo?”

“Ah, that’s a bit unfortunate.”

Looks like he found the reward duplication bug.

Soon cracks appeared in the air.

The world shattered with a loud crash, and the dungeon was cleared.

Ding!

[A hero has cleared the F-rank dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’ and perfectly stopped the World Tree’s invasion!]

[In honor of his achievement, a ‘Blessing’ is granted to the area. Please congratulate him!]

Again, the system spreads rumors everywhere.

‘What about the reward?’

Ding!

[By clearing the dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’, you are granted a special reward.]

[You’ve received a ‘Random Box’.]

‘Is this different from last time?’

It’s the same random box that gave me an inventory before.

That seemed suspicious from the start.

This one looks a bit more ordinary.

[Would you like to open the ‘Random Box’?]

“Yes.”

After all, the previous one gave me an inventory.

What could it be?

I’m really excited.

[Opening the ‘Random Box’.]

With a flashy sound effect, the box opened.

Whoosh-

Ding!

[You have received ‘Dried Shincheonsu Elixir’.]

“Oh! Dried Shincheonsu Elixir?”

I know that item.

A small elixir appeared on my palm.

Aden immediately recognized it.

“Ah, that one!”

Aden, who had studied a lot, immediately knew it.

“It’s an elixir that increases your mana by one if your mana is below F+!”

Kang hyun nodded in satisfaction.

The mana stat appeared right away.

[Awakener Profile]

Name: Kang hyun

Rank: F-

Traits:

Skills: –

Stats:

Strength: F-

Agility: F-

Endurance: F-

Health: F-

Mana: F-

“Wow… look at these miserable stats.”

Whether it’s spell casting or combat prowess, none of that is reflected.

The system evaluates based solely on stats.

Because of that, Kang hyun’s rank was.

Just like most newcomers, straight-up F- rank.

Now, he’ll have to gradually level up.

Aden’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow, ‘Perfect Clear!’ To think such a rare elixir would be the reward for an F- rank dungeon… Aah! Stop!”

Kang hyun immediately popped it into his mouth.

Chew, chew.

“What are you doing?! Spit it out! It’s dangerous to eat it raw!”

“Nom nom.”

“If you don’t process it properly, it will seriously damage your blood circulation!”

“What are you talking about?”

It just tasted good.

‘Ah, it tastes healthy.’

My tongue was bitter from the taste.

‘How many elixirs did I consume in my previous life?’

How could I not know the basics?

Already absorbing the mana, Kang hyun was an expert at elixirs.

“Ptoo! Spit it out! Spit it out!”

“Ptoo.”

He absorbed all the mana and spat out just the shell.

“…Huh? Doesn’t it hurt?”

“If your master is acting weird, just accept it. If you keep being surprised, you won’t live long.”

Ding!

[Your mana has increased. (F- → F)]

“Ahh, much better. My disciple, fetch me some water.”

“Yes, yes!”

Aden, still dazed, handed him water.

“My goodness, there are actually people who chew elixirs raw…”

“Don’t copy me.”

You’ll get hurt.

“But wouldn’t it be more efficient to save it until you reach F+?”

“Who has time to wait?”

What’s urgent is the mana.

Efficiency isn’t the priority right now, I need the minimum amount of mana to start.

To use Kyle’s meditation method.

I need at least some mana for that.

‘If F is this low… then D- would be enough.’

Until then, I’ll just eat them as I get them.

I rinsed my mouth with water.

“Let’s head to the next dungeon.”

“Huh? Are we going again?”

“I’ve already filled up my mana.”

Now, I’m heading for a higher-level dungeon.

“Now that my max mana has increased, let’s go for an F-rank dungeon.”

So, they headed into another dungeon.

[A hero has cleared the F-rank dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’…]

And the blessing spread throughout Seoul.

[By clearing the dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’, you’ve earned a special reward.]

[You’ve received ‘Random Box (+1)’.]

“The box looks fancier?”

“Does this mean a better reward?”

Opening the box.

Whoosh-

[You’ve obtained ‘Dried Shincheonsu Elixir’.]

“Yay!”

“Oh! Another elixir?”

Though it’s the same item, an elixir is still a good find.

[Your mana has increased. (F → F+)]

“My mana is full! Let’s go again!”

“Yes, Master!”

Now that his mana is F+, they headed to the next dungeon.

And once again, they cleared it.

[A hero has cleared the F+ dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’…]

[Having cleared the dungeon ‘Perfect Clear!(Solo)’, you’ve earned a special reward.]

[You’ve received ‘Random Box (+2)’.]

This was the third blessing of the day.

The third reward.

“Okay!”

“Let’s keep going for A-rank!”

“Let’s get that mana elixir!”

Both were excited from the momentum.

[Opening ‘Random Box’.]

The box exploded with light and sound.

Whoosh-

[You’ve obtained ‘Complete Moisture Mask (Black)’.]

“Ugh, whoa!”

“This is it!”

“I knew it!”

“…What?”