Chapter 6

As the closing time of the library approached, only a few people, including Renok, remained.

He gazed out the window at the setting sun and fell into deep thought.

How long had it been since he had such a moment of solitude?

Compared to the days when he had been subjected to labor until the brink of death at the factory, this was a world apart, yet Renok's expression remained unchanged, as if it had been permanently etched.

'This is different from what I expected.'

After spending the entire day buried in the library, reading books on magic, he had come to one conclusion.

Surprisingly, apart from the basic concepts of magic patterns learned from introductory texts, there was almost no knowledge that could help Renok.

'The concept of common magic has completely disappeared.'

The classification of magic was limited to the unique magic systems, 'Sinister,' which each mage could learn only one of.

There was no mention of the common magic system 'Dexter,' which all mages used collectively.

Had common magic been deleted when the world transitioned to 3.0?

However, it was hard to accept that all the common magic he had used until now was not properly explained.

No matter how talented Renok was, it was impossible for him to use concepts that did not exist.

'Considering the convenience of common magic, it's logically impossible for it to be forgotten or phased out.'

Compared to unique magic, common magic lacked depth and power, but its strength lay in its versatility, applicable to any attribute or target.

A mage who mastered a unique lightning magic could summon a storm of lightning thousands of times stronger than a bolt, but they could not create a cool breeze between their fingers.

Common magic served as a lubricant, preventing the over-specialization of magic and smoothing out the gaps between different types of magic.

At least, that was the case up until WORLD 2.0.

'There must be a reason why it's not even mentioned... I'll have to look into it later.'

Renok flipped through the scattered books on the table, lost in thought.

The books that classified unique magic systems contained various information, from different attribute-based unique magics to dark magic, necromancy, shamanism, and barrier magic, but Renok no longer looked at them.

To learn a specific unique magic system, one needed to find a real 'grimoire' or a master to pass down the Sinister, not just a catalog in the library.

To Renok, who had no connections, this information was meaningless.

Finally giving up, Renok began to tidy up the books and stand up when someone suddenly spoke to him from behind.

"If you want to become a mage, it's better to give up."

"......?"

At the clear yet cold voice, Renok turned his head involuntarily.

A woman in a white blouse and blue skirt was organizing books left by others.

She had a refined appearance with her abundant blonde hair swept to one side. Her elegant features were well-suited to her cold expression and sharp eyes.

Without properly facing Renok, she continued speaking.

"You've been sitting here all day reading books, but that won't make you a mage. At your age, it's already too late. You'd be better off studying theoretical magic engineering."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to see you clinging to false hope."

Thud.

Only then did she put down the book she was holding and look at Renok.

Her eyes, as blue as the sea, gazed at him calmly.

"If you can't join a school or find a master, your only option is to learn magic at a university. But without a solid foundation, you can't even get into a university, and even if you do, you won't gain anything from the lectures."

"......"

"You can't do anything on your own. Magic is a field where talent and luck determine a lot. Curiosity, passion, and the desire to explore are secondary issues."

Renok did not respond, only staring at her face.

In the shadow cast by the sunset, the woman's face was quite beautiful, even to Renok.

She seemed to regret her words under his gaze.

"Ha... I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying to a stranger."

She brushed her fallen blonde hair aside and gestured.

"It's past closing time. I need to tidy up the books, so please leave."

Just as she was about to turn away, Renok finally spoke.

"Is that from personal experience?"

"......"

"Isn't it too early for a student to give up? Instead of pushing yourself, why don't you start with what you can do?"

"Ha..."

She looked bewildered, clearly not expecting to receive advice from Renok.

But that was all Renok could say to her.

He had no lack of talent in magic, so it was more likely that she needed to put in the effort.

Whether she was projecting her own situation or not, the target was completely wrong.

Whatever disillusionment she had felt at the university, Renok hoped her future would be bright as he started to walk down the stairs.

But she called out to him.

"Hey!"

When Renok turned around, she took something from her blouse and threw it to him.

It was a high-quality business card with a name written in gold.

She stared at Renok in amazement for a moment, then sighed deeply.

"You must have mistaken me for a student, but you're completely wrong."

"......What?"

"You're really an absurd person, from your actions to your words. I didn't expect you to take my advice like that...."

She rubbed her head as if it ached but eventually shook her head.

"Never mind. If you come later, I'll take a look at your magic. Do as you please. You can go now."

"......"

'Is she crazy?'

Renok watched the blonde beauty, who was talking to herself, with a strange look, then finally left the library and took out the business card, realizing its meaning.

At the bottom of the card, her title was clearly engraved.

[Lavaton University. Professor of Elemental Magic.]

[Aris Richelien.]

"......A professor?"

From her demeanor and words, she seemed like a university freshman, but she was a professor.

Why would such a person be organizing books in the library?

Renok was momentarily confused but quickly regained his composure and continued walking.

According to his plan, he wouldn't need to meet her again.

There was no need to keep worrying about someone he had met by chance.

As he approached the street where his hotel was located, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Excuse me, sir."

A young man in a police uniform had stopped him.

He smiled kindly and showed Renok a device in his hand.

"Could you please cooperate with a routine check?"

"......A routine check?"

The moment he heard the police, Renok's mind started racing.

Could they have realized he was just a factory worker with no identity? He thought he hadn't shown any signs, but they had already caught on.

No, that was unlikely. If they knew about his lack of identity, they wouldn't have approached him alone.

The police officer, holding the device in one hand, seemed completely unguarded as he approached.

In that instant, Renok intensely deliberated but ultimately turned to face the police officer.

'Running away here would only raise suspicion.'

"What kind of check is this?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious... There was a reported robbery nearby."

He smiled faintly.

"We are investigating mages based on the magic patterns left at the crime scene."

"......I see."

Renok realized the case the police were investigating had nothing to do with him but maintained a neutral expression.

This was a clear difference from his time on Earth.

No matter what he thought, his expression rarely changed.

He calmly extended his hand toward the device and slowly channeled his magic into the bottom of the device the police officer held.

In the process, he subtly altered the pattern of the magic he was channeling.

Tear-shaped patterns scattered and were sucked into the device, appearing on the display.

The police officer compared the magic pattern on the display with a photo in his pocket and nodded with a smile.

"The patterns are clearly different. Thank you for your cooperation."

Since he couldn't see the movement of magic with his eyes, he must have relied on this device.

Renok pointed to the device and asked.

"Does this device also detect the presence of magic?"

Although the amount of magic he possessed wasn't much, all the magic in his body was perfectly controlled by his overwhelming talent.

There shouldn't have been any magic leaking out, but if the police had detected it, it was likely due to the device.

The police officer nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, yes. It uses materials sensitive to magic, but I suppose mages would know better than me."

"In fact, I've only been in this city for a short time. So, this is how crime investigations are conducted these days."

"It's been a long time since investigations preferred evidence that wasn't magically protected. You seem to be quite old."

With the widespread use of magic to conceal identities and escape, traditional methods like CCTV, surveillance cameras, and witness testimonies had long been abandoned in serious crime investigations.

Thanks to Renok's cooperative attitude, the police officer opened up and explained.

Shamans and necromancers summon the souls of victims, blood mages track bloodstains, and druids search for faint traces in the streets.

While it's possible to incorporate magical countermeasures into surveillance equipment, the high cost means that only core facilities in the city have such protection. For other areas, investigators must rely on portable devices and footwork.

Renok nodded continuously as he listened to the police officer's complaints. The officer eventually left after hearing a call on his radio.

Renok sighed in relief as he watched the officer walk away.

'They weren't looking for me.'

Perhaps his efforts to avoid being tracked had paid off. He expected them to make a show of searching, but so far, there were no signs of pursuit.

From their perspective, Renok was just a dying factory worker, so it wasn't surprising that there was no pursuit.

He had stolen a supervisor's car, but the supervisor had already crossed the Jordan River with a bullet in him, so no one was likely to care.

While it was too early to relax, there was no need to be overly cautious.

Renok thought that the Balkan police's reliance on magic and rituals for investigations was actually a good thing.

Powerful mages have a certain resistance to target designation magic.

Even if someone tried to track a mage using a scent-tracking spell, the mage's resistance to target designation would make it ineffective.

When creating his character, Renok had maxed out even the minor abilities, ensuring that his body had absolute resistance to any tracking or curse magic.

'While I might struggle against a much higher-level mage's target designation, it will be a great help in hiding my identity and escaping.'

Renok checked out of his hotel and moved to another one far from the area.

'There's no need to leave a trail.'

While he didn't need to worry too much about being tracked from the factory, it was better to be cautious.

'The accommodation was too expensive anyway.'

Renok quickly assessed the cost of living in Balkan.

The hotel he had stayed at was far from satisfactory, considering the 100,000 cel per night.

The new hotel he moved to had a smaller room and a smaller bathroom, but the cost was almost half.

This way, he could avoid spending all his savings on a week's accommodation.

After moving his few belongings, Renok picked up a notepad and pen from beside the bed and started writing.

He was organizing what he needed to do and what he could do in this place.

'The top priority is to survive.'

It had been almost a week since he opened his eyes in this unknown world.

He needed to survive and secure time and resources to plan his next move. Contemplating why he was here would come later.

To do that, he first needed to restore his weak body. With his current condition, he didn't have much time left.

'To restore my body, I need... time-related unique magic, or potent elixirs or treasures.'

In the library, he had thought of time-related unique magic, but it seemed more feasible to find elixirs or treasures.

Unique magic is the most precious and secret treasure of mages, and it's difficult to even get a glimpse of it outside of a master-disciple relationship.

'But elixirs or health-restoring medicines are different. Depending on their effects, they shouldn't be hard to find.'

While elixirs like the Elixir of Life, known as a cure-all, would be nearly impossible to obtain even for a fortune, there were other elixirs with lesser effects.

As long as they could reduce the penalties of his weak body and extend his time, they would be sufficient. Of course, such elixirs would need to exist in this world, as they did in the game.

The conclusion was clear.

"I need to find a way to make money."

Money was necessary, and a lot of it.

"......"

Feeling a headache coming on, Renok finally couldn't resist and put a cigarette in his mouth.

As he inhaled the smoke, the fatigue dissipated, and energy flowed through his body.

"Hmm...."

Exhaling the smoke, Renok sighed deeply.

He realized that to make money, he would have to rely on such things in the long term.

He needed to earn money to heal his body, but to earn money, he would have to continue wearing it down.

It was an unavoidable contradiction, but for Renok, who had nothing, it was a natural part of life. He had to break through this constraint to create opportunities.

Fortunately, Renok had a very special talent that others did not.

It wasn't surprising. From the beginning, he had only trusted that.

Renok spent a long time thinking and worrying about his future.

While he had set his long-term goal, the process to achieve it was entirely up to him.

His determination to make money was just the beginning; he needed to carefully plan and prepare for it.

To do that, researching magic and various means was not a choice but a necessity.

The lights in the room went out long after the cigarette smoke had dissipated.

Bounty Hunting

Even if the existence of common magic had been forgotten in this world, the magic he had used had not disappeared.

Having a weapon that others didn't know about was a privilege.

Realizing this, Renok devoted all his time, except for meals and extending his room reservation, to studying magic.

The three spells he had used in the factory—Light, Bolt, and Silence—were just a fraction of the common magic available.

Most common magic existed for the user's convenience, lacking in power and depth, but their versatility across attributes and categories was a significant advantage.

Thus, he began to systematically list all the common magic he could remember and test each one.

Rip!

Nodding as he watched the paper towel cut with a chilling sound, Renok said,

"The cutting spell works. Let's see...."

He wrote the name of the new spell in the corner of a densely inked notepad. Several similar notepapers were scattered on the bed.

Through his efforts, Renok had a clear sense of the magic he could use and its limits.

At least when using common magic, Renok didn't need to worry about magic circles, seals, or incantations.

By merely visualizing, his magic power would form the necessary shape, and by focusing his will, it would manifest in reality with the consumption of magic power.

Of course, there were spells he couldn't use due to his current magic power or spells too powerful to cast in a hotel room, but Renok was acutely aware of the absurd level of his talent.

When he played as a Mage Gunner, he had to complete seals and incantations for each common magic spell, regardless of its tier.

Even then, the game's convenience allowed him to skip drawing magic circles, which would have taken minutes to cast otherwise.

Moreover, as he continued practicing, his magic power steadily increased, nearly tripling since his initial awakening.

The fact that his magic power increased just by using magic was a first for Renok, who had played WORLD for a long time.

Thanks to this, he could cast nearly ten spells in a day, and his research speed improved day by day.

He spent the entire day casting spells in his room, collapsing in exhaustion when his magic power ran out.

After a week of intense focus on magic, Renok had successfully raised his magic skills to a level where he could confidently call himself a mage.

Today was the last day he had decided to devote to magic research.

He had reached his limit in terms of what he could do. It was time to go out and find a proper source of income and stabilize his life.

"This is the best I can do."

While he had played as a Mage Gunner, Renok didn't remember all the common magic.

He had entered this world to experience being a mage, not because he had deeply played as one.

Thus, the common magic he knew was mostly the popular ones among players.

Despite this gap in game knowledge, Renok wasn't worried.

The number of common magic spells he had confirmed as usable filled more than three pages of notepaper.

He was confident that he wouldn't lack in coping ability, even if his magic power was limited.

"It's time to go out."

Opening the window, the cold morning air filled the room.

Inhaling the chilly breeze, Renok shredded the notepapers with his magic notes and flushed them down the toilet.

All the information he had gathered over the week was washed away, but Renok calmly packed his belongings and stood up.

His talent was specialized in learning and handling magic. The numerous spells he had organized were perfectly stored in his mind.

All the preparations he could make were complete.

The funds and cigarettes he had stolen from thugs were running low.

Without a steady income, maintaining his current lifestyle would be difficult.

It was time to move.

Without hesitation, Renok left the room.