———


    Chapter 45


    Yeo Min-ji returned to the guild two hourster.


    Park In-tae, who was working, smiled bitterly at her early return.


    ‘It seems like you failed.’


    The beginner martial artist who defeated the instructor in the video on World Com.


    And the beginner martial artist who proudly won first ce in the capsule event that followed.


    He was convinced that the martial artist was the same person.


    They had tried to approach him using the ss quest event, but they ended up missing him right in front of their eyes.


    Park In-tae realized that the chances of finding that martial artist there were slim.


    So, to be honest, he didn’t have much expectation when she left.


    “I met him.”


    However, Yeo Min-ji’s answer was different from his expectations.


    “You met him?”


    Park In-tae asked again with wide eyes.


    “Yes. But I could only add him as a friend.”


    “Add as a friend? Could you tell me more about it?”


    Park In-tae stopped working and sat next to Yeo Min-ji.


    He then heard the story of her encounter with the martial artist.


    His nickname was Hoon.


    He was a low-level martial artist who had reached level 51.


    ‘A low-level martial artist? You found the right person, miss.’


    A user with extraordinary potential, who won against an instructor and took first ce in the capsule event, a low-level martial artist?


    A dog passing by wouldugh.


    He must have hidden his information.


    After all, as soon as hepleted his ss advancement, a notice appeared on the board that a hidden ss for the martial artist job had appeared in New World.


    “As expected, you think it’s certain too, right, team leader?”


    “Yes. He’s probably the martial artist who advanced to the hidden ss.”


    Park In-tae was 100% sure.


    Considering that he appeared anonymously in the spar with the instructor and the capsule event, he must have disguised himself as a low-level martial artist.


    “As expected.”


    The corners of Yeo Min-ji’s mouth lifted into a wide smile.


    “But asking him to take you as a disciple was a bit too much.”


    She didn’t even offer him a scout from Ho-Yeong, but asked a martial artist who was only level 51 to take her as a disciple.


    It waspletely unbing of her, the top martial artist in Korea.


    Seeing Park In-tae’s hardened expression, Yeo Min-ji smiled awkwardly.


    “I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t just offer him a scout.”


    “Hmm, then should we try to scout him from Ho-Yeong?”


    “It’s okay. All I want is that martial art.”


    Despite being an executive of Ho-Yeong, she had no interest in scouting.


    Her only interest was in the martial art.


    And she didn’t want to use her power to force a user into the guild, ignoring those with discerning eyes.


    “Then what are you nning to do?”


    “I’m thinking of getting close to him for now.”


    The martial artist’s first impression was better than she expected.


    “…Wouldn’t that be a bit difficult?”


    “Why?”


    “Your first impression wasn’t very good…”


    From what he had heard, suddenly showing up and throwing punches would definitely ruin a first impression.


    “Hehe, it’s okay. He epted my friend request, so I can change it gradually.”


    She was confident in changing her impression.


    Honestly, it was embarrassing to say it herself, but she was quite confident in her appearance.


    Unlike others, she barely touched the customization options, so her in-game appearance was nearly 95% synchronized with her real-life appearance.


    If she kept bumping into him like this, an opportunity would surelye.


    “Good luck…”


    * * *


    The magic tower wasyered with invisible magical barriers.


    It was a protective barrier that blocked intrusions from outsiders.


    Of course, it didn’t apply to Jeong-Hoon, who had the mark.


    As he entered the magic tower, the ck diamond engraved on the back of his hand glowed blue.


    Perhaps because it was a magic tower where mages gathered, there were NPCs and users walking around inside.


    “Sigh… second ss advancement is so difficult.”


    “I told you to go for a normal ss advancement. Why are you aiming for a rare ss?”


    And the magic tower was a holy ground for second ss advancements.


    If the first ss advancement was achieved in the starting vige, the second ss advancement took ce here in the magic tower.


    Of course, to achieve the second ss advancement, one had to reach level 80, so the mages here were all over level 80.


    Unlike the first ss, the second ss allowed aiming for higher grades, so most users spent a lot of time trying toplete quests.


    That was because the mage’s ss advancement was greatly influenced by the grade as they progressed.


    However, it wasn’t easy to advance to a rare ss, and as a result, many users gave up and moved on to a normal grade second ss advancement to move on to the next vige.


    More than 70% of them would give up and choose a normal grade advancement.


    It was obvious just by looking at them.


    ‘A hidden opportunity in a magic tower where so many userse and go.’


    As always, New World had prepared a small event for the users, and only a very small number of users could solve theplex problem and receive the benefits.


    And so far, no one has solved that problem in this Idenharc Magic Tower.


    ‘Not anymore.’


    Jeong-Hoon headed to the library located on the 9th floor of the magic tower.


    The library, filled with countless beginner magic books, was very quiet.


    ‘I also found a hidden opportunity in the Idenharc Magic Tower.’


    In his previous life, hisrade, Lewis Verdant, had started talking while staring at the crackling campfire.


    Jeong-Hoon naturally listened to his words.


    He wouldn’t have dreamed that it would change the future.


    At this time, Lewis Verdant hadn’t even started New World yet.


    Jeong-Hoon headed to the most secluded corner of the library.


    It was a space filled with old books covered in dust that no one had looked at.


    The magic developed in ancient times had very long forms and was not very efficient.


    Modern magic has been developed over thousands of years through the hands of countless mages.


    “That’s probably why users didn’t bother looking at ancient books.”


    The mages who visited the magic tower were all preupied with ss advancement quests.


    Jeong-Hoon took out a book from the corner.


    It was a very thick book, with over 2,000 pages at first nce.


    [Reflections on Growth]


    [Author – Richel]


    For reference, this book does not contain knowledge rted to magic.


    ‘Back then, I was thirsty for growth. I started muchter than others.’


    Lewis Verdant was a verypetitive guy.


    Of course, there were times when thatpetitiveness worked in strange ways.


    But thanks to that, he found hidden opportunities six times.


    Choosing Idenharc, which others avoided, seemed like a foolish choice, but he eventually found a hidden opportunity and began to thrive.


    “Can I borrow this?”


    Jeong-Hoon took the book and went to find the librarian.


    The librarian, who was sitting at the desk, adjusted his crooked sses and shook his head.


    “I’m sorry, but we don’t lend books to non-mages.”


    “Even with this mark?”


    Even after showing the diamond mark on the back of his hand, the librarian’s attitude remained unchanged.


    “Yes. That mark is only for entering and exiting the magic tower.”


    “Is that so?”


    “Yes. If you want to read it, please sit over there.”


    It seemed like borrowing it would be a bit difficult.


    He wanted to proceed in a ce where there were no people, but it couldn’t be helped.


    “Alright.”


    Jeong-Hoon returned to the ce where the ancient books were ced and opened the book.


    Although it was a ce where most people didn’t look, he had to finish it as quickly as possible just in case.


    [I confess. The title of the book and the long-winded nonsense before it were all tricks.]


    The sentence was written on the second line of page 280.


    Just as Lewis Verdant had said.


    ‘To hide a hidden opportunity, he filled 280 pages with stories about growth. He really is a crazy guy.’


    The owner of the book was Richel, a mage who was active 600 years ago.


    He was ostracized as a heretic among mages throughout his life and is known to have lived in seclusion.


    The reason was that he could handle both mana and divine power.


    At that time, those who handled mana usually walked the path of a mage, and those who handled divine power walked the path of a priest, but Richel, who was born with both, could not belong anywhere.


    ‘It was probably due to jealousy.’


    It wasn’t just that he could handle both mana and divine power simultaneously, but he was also called a genius of his time.


    Jeong-Hoon turned the pages again and stopped at page 521.


    [What should I do if there is something that elerates growth? Should I take it by force? If so, I will tell you the secret. Hmm, but growth. It is truly a mysterious thing.]


    He found the next sentence after skipping from page 280 to page 521.


    Of course, it was followed by nonsense to make it difficult to solve easily.


    This time, he turned to page 991.


    [I wish someone who could use both mana and divine power would appear.]


    And page 997.


    [Wouldn’t the secret be revealed if I infused the book with those two properties?]


    Next, page 1522.


    [Those who desire growth. Take the mysterious potion I have made throughout my life.]


    Finally, page 1794.


    [Take it and beat up those mage bastards and priest brats.]


    Richel’s anger seemed to be fully contained in thest sentence.


    But it also felt a bit humorous.


    Jeong-Hoon chuckled.


    Although he couldn’t beat up mages and priests as the sentence suggested.


    “I will put it to good use.”


    With the intention of using his power for good, he activated both mana and divine power simultaneously.


    The sentences in the book began to glow, and a small magic circle appeared.


    ‘Do I put my hand in here?’


    As Jeong-Hoon put his hand into the magic circle, a message appeared above it.


    [Would you like to retrieve all items?]


    This magic circle was a storage device created by Richel.


    ‘Retrieve.’


    As he expressed his intention to retrieve, new potion bottles quickly filled his inventory.


    [Advanced Experience Potion x29]


    [Advanced Mana Potion x35]


    [Advanced Divine Power Potion x35]


    [Richel’s Research Journal]


    They were potions that increased experience, mana, and divine power.


    ‘Done.’


    With this, he could grow even faster.


    * * *


    Earth Korea Management Team.


    As always, silence descended upon the management team’s office.


    It wasn’t this quiet until exactly 30 minutes ago, but when one employee activated the real-time monitoring, the employees’ eyes turned to the monitor.


    And they could see it.


    A user entered the magic tower library, took out a book, and as he read it, a reaction appeared.


    “…Is this even possible?”


    A magic circle appeared on the book, and the user put his hand into it.


    Soon after, the magic circle disappeared, and the ancient book returned to its original form.


    “But how did he solve it?”


    “I don’t know…”


    “If we knew, we wouldn’t be staring nkly like this…”


    The employees were speechless.


    He naturally entered the library, went to the ancient book section, and specifically took out a thick book with over 2,000 pages.


    Then, he did something they didn’t understand, but the book reacted, and he retrieved the hidden opportunity.


    “It’s scary now.”


    Team leader Oh Jin-soo got goosebumps several times while watching his y just now.


    “Team leader, is it okay to just watch this?”


    One employee approached Oh Jin-soo and whispered.


    “What do you mean?”


    “Isn’t that user’s y too abnormal? Shouldn’t we report it to Earth headquarters…?”


    The management team’s task was to monitor users in real-time and detect abnormal y.


    The program itself was strictly controlled by Earth headquarters, but since humans were intelligent beings, there was also a need for supervisors who could directly monitor them.


    In fact, with Earth headquarters’ capabilities, supervisors wouldn’t be necessary, but they still established a management team and assigned them the role of observing users.


    “Do you think that the user is ying abnormally?”


    “That’s not it.”


    The user was continuously ying in an unconventional way, but he wasn’t doing anything illegal.


    He was simply captivating the management team with his normal y.


    “Then remain neutral no matter what. Whatever it is, it’s all his ability.”


    If things continued like this, the fastest-ranking yer would surely be born.


    Oh Jin-soo was convinced of that.


    ———