↳ Anon (432F): A radius of twenty kilometers is like, what, almost 400 million pyeong lmaooooo
↳ Anon (312F): The fact that it even has an end is insane…
↳ Anon (643F): Since it's not the Black Sea, you can actually figure stuff like that out huh…
Amid the chaos of reactions, Seol Ha-rin asked a question.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: The circle sizes… what exactly are they?
Sizes, huh.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): The 1st circle was about 1 meter in diameter, the 2nd was 70 centimeters. And the 3rd circle I just got was around 1.5 meters.
↳ Anon (461F): What..
↳ Anon (312F): Holy shit that's massive
↳ Anon (643F): 1.5M… fits inside your dantian?
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): It shrinks once it goes in. But you can still feel the size.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Wow… that's insane.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Your smallest one is the same size as my biggest circle…
'Good thing I went through all of them.'
Satisfying, all over again.
Because the 3rd circle I'd obtained this time was, quite literally, the largest one there was.
↳ Anon (324F): The mana output and absorption must be absolutely insane…
↳ Anon (643F): Being able to see and pick your circle is genuinely broken.
↳ Anon (433F): And on top of that she went through every single one to find the biggest lmaooo
↳ Anon (324F): People who go to the Black Sea can't even dream of this ;;
↳ Anon (643F): We just have to take whatever the waves give us…
↳ Anon (249F): No but seriously why is it only newbies who go somewhere different? Sensei please explain.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: I'm not a Black Magic user so I wouldn't know…
Just then, someone threw a question my way.
Anon (249F): So when you go for the next circle, can't you just go back and grab another big one you already scoped out? That's free real estate.
It wasn't like I hadn't thought about that.
But.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): I don't think that'll work. The place I went for the 1st and 2nd circles, and the Parched Wasteland I went to for the 3rd circle—they seemed like different places.
↳ Anon (249F): Why?
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): The circles were way more spread out and sparse compared to when I went for the 2nd circle.
The moment I posted that comment, Seol Ha-rin fired off a flurry of text, clearly excited.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Oh… really?! Seo-yun! You just proved something incredible!
↳ Anon (249F): ?
↳ Seol Ha-rin: My hypothesis was that circles of each rank exist in separate orbitals!
↳ Anon (643F): The hell does that even mean…
↳ Anon (324F): Huh?
↳ Seol Ha-rin: You Black Magic users should've caught on sooner! That 'Black Sea' you all go to—it's also a separate dimensional space for each circle rank. And Seo-yun just proved it!
She was pouring out her own personal magic theory.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Thank you, you just confirmed one of my long-running research hypotheses!
She was effusively grateful, but the Gallery's reaction was lukewarm at best. I was just as puzzled.
After that, Seol Ha-rin spoke again.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Alright, now that you have the 3rd circle, let me teach you Mental Fork!
'Finally.'
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Mental Fork is a technique that splits the flow of consciousness into two streams.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Once you learn this, you'll be able to dual-equip artifacts like you wanted, and you'll be able to use double casting too!
She then began explaining the specifics.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: In terms of our human cognitive framework, you practice separating the active domains of the left and right brain.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Draw a magic circle while simultaneously chanting the incantation for the same spell. Then alternate and shift your focus between the circle and the chant. That's the training method.
She added the key point.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: The important thing here is that the spell has to fail to activate.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): Fail? Oh… I see.
Thinking about it for a moment, I understood what she meant.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): Because if it succeeds, that means the two streams weren't actually separated?
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Yep. Exactly—smart as always hehe. In other words, with this training, failure is success!
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Which means you'll need to use a spell that, at your current level, only barely activates when you perform both the chant and the magic circle simultaneously, right?
With that explanation, Seol Ha-rin left one final comment of encouragement.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Give it a shot, good luck!
"Huh?"
I was confused.
"Right now?"
I wasn't ready yet.
Because.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): I have a question…
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Sure! First question!
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): How do you do an incantation? Do you just say the spell's name? And how do you draw a magic circle?
Magic circles and incantations. Both were concepts I was encountering for the first time.
"……"
↳ Seol Ha-rin: …Huh?
↳ Seol Ha-rin: What do you mean?
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Saying the spell's name is the final activation word...
She was visibly flustered.
It seemed she'd assumed I already knew both of those things.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): I've never done an incantation or drawn a magic circle. I didn't even know magic needed those things.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: What?
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): The only Black Magic I've learned is Death Mark and necromancy… and neither of those ever needed any of that.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: …
She seemed to have been struck speechless.
That's when the anons stepped in to explain.
↳ Anon (702F): Well, Spirit Blood Tea Rite is top-tier necromancy so it's incantation-free… and it doesn't use a magic circle either since the concept is using the corpse itself as the circle.
↳ Anon (710F): Death Mark's stroke is the magic circle.
Hearing that explanation, Seol Ha-rin burst out in disbelief.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: She really hasn't learned anything, has she…!
↳ Anon (234F): lmaooooooooooo
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Wait, you guys… you seriously taught a newbie nothing but high-level spells without covering the basics?!
When Seol Ha-rin pressed them on it, the anons responded indignantly.
↳ Anon (702F): Bro what were we supposed to do, the newbie skipped straight to advanced content lmaooooo
↳ Anon (710F): Honestly I thought the newbie wouldn't be able to learn Death Mark at first so I had a whole standard Black Magic curriculum ready…
↳ Anon (643F): Too talented to build a foundation lmaooooooo
↳ Seol Ha-rin: …I'll apologize on their behalf, Seo-yun. In that case, I'll teach you a spell suitable for Mental Fork training.
It seemed I had to build the sandbag before I could practice punching.
[Title: Here's the basics of 1st-circle Dark Magic Missile.]
A new post from Seol Ha-rin went up immediately.
Inside the post was a complex pattern and a series of phonetic Korean syllables.
Apparently the magic circle and the incantation words, respectively.
Seol Ha-rin added in the comments:
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): This might actually work out better. If you can train with a 1st-circle spell, the mana cost will be low.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Since it's your first time learning a spell, you'll need both the incantation and the magic circle done perfectly for it to barely activate. First, get a feel for what a successful activation feels like!
↳ Anon (249F): But wait, you said you don't use Black Magic—how do you know Dark Missile?
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Dragon magic covers all the elemental basics, including darkness attribute.
"Incantation and magic circle, huh…"
I got up and readjusted my grip on the scythe.
Normally, the method for drawing a magic circle in actual combat was to channel mana through your fingertips and trace it in the air—but since this was my first time, she recommended drawing it on the floor for stability.
I pressed the tip of my scythe to the floor and began tracing the pattern Seol Ha-rin had posted.
'Is this how it's done.'
I then channeled mana into the magic circle(?) and was just about to memorize the written pronunciation—
Fwoooosh—!
"Huh?"
I hadn't even pronounced the first syllable of the incantation.
Mana crackled along the lines drawn on the floor, and—
BOOM—!!
A black orb shot out from the air in front of me.
It slammed into the shared ceiling of floor 100 with a bang.
"……"
I stared blankly, looking back and forth between the ceiling and the tip of my scythe.
'She said that since it's a spell I'm learning for the first time, the magic circle alone wouldn't be enough to activate it and I'd need the incantation too?'
But it had activated the moment I drew the magic circle.
I immediately filed a report.
Anon (100F): I just drew the magic circle with my scythe without doing the incantation and it fired on its own.
↳ Anon (554F): Huh.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Oh… I had a feeling that might happen! Talent shows, as expected! Seo-yun, for 1st-circle spells, even ones you're learning for the first time, the magic circle alone is enough to activate them for you!
This meant I'd need to learn a different spell.
Since I needed a spell that required both the magic circle and the incantation to activate.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Then 1st-circle spells won't work for training. I'll teach you something harder. Let's jump straight to 2nd-circle!
Seol Ha-rin excitedly posted an explanation for what she said was a 2nd-circle spell.
[Title: 2nd-circle spell—Shadow Sphere!]
Just like before, it had a diagram of the magic circle and the incantation words.
Anon (100F): I'll try it right away!
This time, to make it harder, I set my scythe down.
I was worried I'd succeed immediately again.
I gathered mana at my fingertips and drew the magic circle in the air.
Swish, swish.
A pattern of violet lines took shape.
I drew in a breath, about to speak the incantation—
SHWOOOOSH—!! CRASH—!!
A shadow spear shot out from the magic circle hanging in the air and buried itself in the already-scorched wall.
"……"
Again, it had activated the instant I finished drawing the magic circle.
I posted my report with a hollow feeling.
Anon (100F): Shadow Sphere just fired on its own too…?
↳ Anon (543F): ;;;;;
↳ Anon (439F): no way
↳ Anon (312F): lmaooooooooo
↳ Anon (377F): The sandbag keeps exploding lmao
↳ Anon (643F): Is it because of the circle size or what…?
Seol Ha-rin posted a comment shortly after.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Wow… that's genuinely incredible. How are you activating a spell you just saw for the first time with just the magic circle?
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Then this time, can you try drawing the magic circle in the air?
↳ Anon (100F): I already did that…
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): What…?
↳ Anon (543F): lmaooooooo
↳ Anon (463F): She was already raising the difficulty on her own lmao
↳ Anon (246F): That's supposed to be hard even for beginners ;;
Seol Ha-rin spoke as if presenting a last resort.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): …Then I'll try teaching you a 3rd-circle spell…
↳ Anon (643F): Huh? lmao
↳ Anon (249F): Wait, didn't she just settle the 3rd circle like five minutes ago? lmaooooooo Is it even stabilized yet?
↳ Anon (461F): This makes no sense.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): Seo-yun said it's stabilized so…
And Seol Ha-rin was trying to raise the difficulty one more notch.
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): And this time, let's go with a completely different attribute instead of darkness.
↳ Anon (702F): ?
↳ Anon (543F): That probably won't work?
↳ Anon (710F): Casting a different attribute spell with a Black Magic circle would be rough.
↳ Anon (643F): She literally just got the 3rd circle, how is she supposed to cast a spell with it right away.
Different attribute + a spell at the rank of a circle she'd just obtained.
To find a suitable training spell, we'd stack those handicaps together.
[Title: Here's Wind Blade, a 3rd-circle wind attribute spell.]
↳ Seol Ha-rin (OP): You're a Death God, so it's not a counter-attribute, but you'll have zero elemental affinity for it—so this one will genuinely need both the magic circle and the incantation to activate! This should finally make training possible!
↳ Anon (351F): I feel like it just won't activate at all, actually…
"This one does feel different."
The magic circle Seol Ha-rin had posted had different lines and arrangements from the previous ones.
It looked more complex.
↳ Anon (100F): I'll try it!
I raised my finger again. This time it was a different attribute with no affinity—surely there'd be some difficulty.
I traced the lines in the air.
Hummm—! FWOOOOSH—!!!
"Oh."
KABOOOOM—!!!!
A razor wind was condensing inside the magic circle.
Again.
The moment I finished drawing the magic circle, it succeeded.
I scratched my head and typed into the Gallery.
Anon (100F): … This one just fired too.
The moment the report went up, the Gallery erupted.
↳ Anon (312F): wtf
↳ Anon (248F): A spell she just got the circle for? lmao
↳ Anon (710F): One-try clear, is this real?
↳ Anon (431F): No seriously what is happening?
↳ Anon (710F): A Death God casting a wind attribute spell with just a magic circle?
An awkward situation for me too.
Since the spell kept activating from the magic circle alone, I couldn't satisfy the conditions needed for Mental Fork training.
↳ Seol Ha-rin: Seo-yun… you're… this is… impossible… how are you doing all of this…
↳ Anon (643F): If she can activate it with just the incantation, can't she use it in actual combat right now? lmaooooo
Seol Ha-rin offered one more way to raise the difficulty.
She said to try the incantation first instead of the magic circle.
↳ Anon (100F): Got it, I'll try that.
↳ Anon (731F): She probably won't even get a 2nd-circle spell out with just the incantation?
A moment later.
Whoooosh—!
I succeeded in casting the spell I'd just seen using only the incantation.
I reported it, and everyone was shocked all over again.
But even at this point.
No one could have imagined what would happen over the next two hours.
*
Two hours later.
"Phew…"
I slumped down and stared at the thoroughly wrecked wall.
"What the…"
To put it plainly: at this point, Mental Fork training was impossible for me.
Every spell across my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd circles.
Every basic spell of every attribute that Seol Ha-rin threw at me—I blasted them all the moment I read the text, using nothing but the incantation.
Even the spells considered the most complex within the 3rd circle.
At some point, Seol Ha-rin had gone quiet, posting almost nothing as if none of it was a big deal—
And then when I posted my final success:
↳ Seol Ha-rin: You… this… what… how is this even possible… how did you do all of this…
She finally lost her mind entirely.
↳ Anon (312F): Legendary moment unfolding.
↳ Anon (435F): Magic is too easy so she can't even train lmaooooooooooooooo
↳ Anon (354F): She learned everything in two hours, is this real…?
↳ Anon (710F): I knew it'd come to this ever since she one-tried Death Mark;
I immediately proposed the next solution.
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): Hmm… since I can't fail and training is impossible like this, I'll just go get the 4th circle.
And added:
↳ Anon (100F) (OP): There are some harder spells in 4th-circle magic, right?
↳ Anon (710F): Ma'am.
↳ Anon (643F): "Some harder ones" she says lmaooooooo
↳ Anon (249F): This is genuinely making me dizzy.
↳ Anon (312F): She's asking for a sturdier sandbag lmao