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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: First Light
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After finishing his morning farm work and grabbing lunch,
Jeon left the fields and headed home.
But he didn't stay long.
"No time to rest."
His outfit when he emerged from the house was starkly different from when he'd entered.
He'd gone in wearing casual clothes for fieldwork, but now he was fully geared up in leather armor and weapons, just like when he'd first arrived in the village.
'These feel pretty familiar now.'
At first, they'd been so awkward that even putting them on and taking them off had been a chore, but after repeating the process for the past few days, it had become second nature.
"Alright, let's head out."
After giving his attire and small separate bag a final check, he stepped outside.
Jeon's recent routine was straightforward.
In the mornings, he'd lend a hand with whatever tasks the village needed.
Then, after working until late lunch, he'd gear up like this and patrol the outskirts of Brea village.
'Didn't want to at first.'
Truth be told, without Rune Magic, Jeon couldn't hunt so much as a single wild beast, let alone an orc, so he'd been reluctant to take on the duty at the start.
It was only the village chief's near-insistent urging that had saddled him with it.
'Hoping I'd bring back some profitable monster carcass or game.'
The chief's motives weren't hard to guess.
Jeon could sense the man's eager hopes that he might haul in something valuable.
'Now I actually look forward to it.'
What had started as an unwelcome chore had become Jeon's favorite part of the day.
As he strolled along the forest edge on the village outskirts, he spotted a suitable clearing and came to a halt.
It wasn't deep in the woods, so not overly dangerous, but still not a place where people would casually wander.
It was the perfect spot—the one he'd discovered a few days earlier and had been using ever since.
"Here we go."
Jeon arrived at the clearing and casually leaned back against a tree on one side.
Anyone who saw him might complain that he wasn't patrolling, but the truth was, it wasn't entirely by his own choice.
'This is my patrol zone starting from the outskirts, so I hope they stay out of it.'
The hunter in charge of the actual outskirts, Jefferson, had been openly hostile ever since Jeon started handling the afternoon patrols—not to mention slipping in veiled warnings multiple times.
Because of that repeated behavior, Jeon had simply accepted it and stopped patrolling.
'Suits me fine.'
Of course, as time passed, the village chief's subtle hints were growing a bit sharper, but it was still manageable for now.
For those reasons, Jeon settled comfortably into the clearing, rummaged through the bag on his back, and pulled out a book.
It was a magic tome.
This afternoon patrol time was precious to him precisely because it let him study this magic tome without interruption.
One might wonder where he'd gotten it, but the source was simple.
The ruins.
While gathering survival supplies there, Jeon hadn't forgotten to grab useful magic tomes as well.
He'd scavenged five from the expedition team's belongings.
The one he held now was the most basic among them.
"I've gone through this one plenty already."
Rustle.
The pages he flipped through were filled with all sorts of letters and diagrams.
A dizzying array of complexity that would bewilder any outsider.
And in truth, the script and shapes in the book formed the greatest barriers to entering the world of magic.
First off, the language used in magic was called Magic Language, entirely distinct from everyday tongues, so aspiring mages had to learn this specialized language from scratch before anything else.
To draw a comparison, the tome in Jeon's hands was like a thesis written in a foreign language to the average person.
'At least memorizing the diagrams is doable.'
The diagrams weren't as intricate as Magic Language.
However, casting magic required sensing mana, manipulating it, and shaping it into the proper diagram forms.
In other words, the ability to detect and control mana was crucial.
No matter how intelligent you were, without feeling and wielding mana, you couldn't become a mage.
'No Magic Language? Close the book and go study letters. No mana sense? Close it and go train mana.'
The basic tome Jeon was reading emphasized this point repeatedly.
If even an introductory text hammered it home like that, it showed just how vital those two hurdles were—and how insurmountable they felt for beginners.
Overcoming both wasn't easy.
"Hoo."
But for Jeon, neither felt like a true barrier.
Thanks to the Korean Patch, he understood Magic Language completely, and he could feel mana wriggling in his palms even now.
'Next step: fully control this mana with my will.'
That was why Jeon had breezed past those obstacles and spent the past few days pouring all his effort into moving and shaping the mana in his arms as he desired.
'Rune Magic makes it effortless, but trying to handle it manually is tricky.'
Still, his steady efforts had yielded decent progress over those days.
Today's goal went beyond mere movement: to manifest an actual spell with it.
'Focus. Concentrate.'
The spell he aimed to cast today was one of the most basic: Light.
As the name implied, it created a floating orb of light—the ideal spell for beginners to attempt.
Jeon double-checked the details on Light magic in the book, carefully stowed it back in his bag, then closed his eyes and focused his mind right there.
He recalled the Magic Language needed for Light magic, infused mana with its meaning, and arranged it into the diagram required for the spell.
This entire process was called casting, and all modern magic manifested through it.
'The shape needed is a triangle, encircled by a ring.'
As a basic spell, the casting diagram was simple, but processing mana and aligning it precisely was no easy task.
Thus, Jeon sat with eyes shut, sweating profusely as he struggled to array the mana.
After a long stretch of intense focus, Jeon's eyes snapped open.
✨ LIGHT ACTIVATED ✨
A softly glowing orb floated gently before Jeon's eyes.
"Whoa..."
Jeon stared at the floating orb before him with eyes full of wonder.
But if other people—especially mages—had witnessed the scene, their expressions wouldn't have held mere fascination; they would have been filled with shock.
This was the moment Light magic, which typically took at least a full year of study to master even in the best cases, succeeded in the hands of Jeon, who'd been self-teaching for less than a week.
Yet Jeon's own reaction to the feat was a bit different.
'Feels different from Rune Magic. More like... actual wizard magic.'
To Jeon, the sensation of Rune Magic versus standard spells like this Light differed greatly.
If this spell evoked the classic fantasy magic wielded by true wizards, Rune Magic felt closer to some kind of superpower.
That didn't mean Rune Magic was inferior or simpler, though.
'Now I get it. Rune Magic is on a whole other level—far superior.'
Modern magic, as described in the tomes, required the full casting process to manifest.
Rune Magic skipped that entirely, as the runes themselves served as both language and diagram.
'From casting speed to applications and versatility—Rune Magic dominates every aspect.'
It almost felt wrong to lump Rune Magic in with modern spells under the same term.
The gap was so vast that it explained why the rune era was hailed as magic's golden age.
"I'm using something truly incredible."
Jeon muttered to himself as he canceled the floating Light spell.
He'd thought it amazing when he first used Rune Magic, but now, with some knowledge of modern magic, he appreciated its greatness even more.
"...Wonder if I can find more."
Still, whether he'd encounter more runes was anyone's guess.
They weren't common to begin with, and unless they were blatantly sealed like last time, he might not even recognize them.
"Nah, whatever."
Jeon shook his head, pushing thoughts of runes aside.
Better to focus on current achievements than hypotheticals.
'Finally succeeded in casting a spell.'
Jeon had poured tremendous effort into learning magic lately.
For one simple reason.
'Can't live like this forever.'
He'd started as a slave in this medieval life but had barely clawed his way to villager status in a small hamlet.
He had no intention of settling there.
To live as satisfyingly and securely as in his previous life—well-fed and comfortable—he needed to rise in the world.
'It's fun, too.'
That was why he'd chosen magic as the foundation for his prosperity.
Of course, he'd also found small thrills and enjoyment in the process lately.
'Faster than I expected.'
His first milestone had been to succeed by the scheduled arrival of the traveling merchant.
He planned to sell off the expedition loot to the periodic visitor and use the chance to leave this village for somewhere bigger.
Yet he'd hit the goal far ahead of schedule.
"Next up, then..."
Recalling his second goal, Jeon glanced down at his arm.
Mana still faintly swirled around it.
This, alongside the Korean Patch, had greatly aided his magic studies—but it was also a source of worry.
'Why does it keep filling with mana?'
His mana-sensitive arms slowly absorbed and stored ambient mana even at rest.
The rate wasn't high, but the fact that it happened automatically without conscious effort was fascinating.
'Any way to speed it up?'
Yet he wasn't fully satisfied, mainly because the accumulation was painfully slow.
'Maybe if I learn a mana cultivation method?'
Most mages, upon sensing mana, received cultivation techniques from their mentors or schools.
These allowed them to accumulate mana in their bodies and imbue it with desired properties.
The problem? None of Jeon's books covered mana cultivation.
'The expedition's tomes didn't have any either.'
Even this theory book noted that such methods were closely guarded secrets of schools and mages, rarely leaked.
Thus, not a single one among the expedition's many tomes.
"Sigh, what's the point of brooding over it here."
He grumbled inwardly with regret, but mana cultivation wasn't something solvable in Brea village anyway.
"Might as well practice more before heading back."
With that settled, Jeon ran through Light and Rune Magic a few more times right there, only rising as the sun began to set.
Time well spent—he could head home now.
"Hm?"
Rustle.
A noise from nearby halted Jeon's steps.
"..."
Rustle rustle.
The sound came from not far off.
Jeon hesitated briefly.
'Should I check it out?'
Ignoring it might be fine.
But as someone technically on patrol, ignoring the obvious noise pricked his conscience.
'...Just a quick peek.'
He decided to investigate.
'I can run if it's dangerous.'
It wouldn't be easy, but he'd taken down an orc before.
The odds of something more threatening appearing near this tiny village were minuscule.
With that in mind, Jeon cautiously moved toward the noise.
'What's that...?'
At the source stood a deer.
Not large, apparently female with no antlers, head buried in the ground as if oblivious to Jeon's approach.
'Not dangerous.'
First beast he'd spotted while passing through here lately, but deer weren't threats.
As he turned to leave, Jeon realized the deer's behavior was off.
'Do deer...normally dig like that? So frantically?'
Thud thud thud!
The deer was digging into the earth with frenzied vigor, as if possessed.
Peering closer to see why, Jeon noticed a stone half-buried in the dirt.
"...Magic Language?"
And incredibly, its surface bore the Magic Language characters he'd only seen in books.