Chapter 9. The Magi Project (Part 1)

Editor: Cherish

— Identity card has been restored.

Before going to the Players Support Center, Kang Yu headed to the county administration to get an ID. He looked at the employee with a tired look.

'I hope I won't have to fill out the missing person's form.'

He was wondering if he could explain where he went missing for five years. As he thought about such fabrications, he received his ID, which the employee was holding out.

Strangely enough, although he went missing for 5 years from Earth, he was not listed as missing.

Did nobody notice my disappearance?' Or maybe nobody even knew he existed.

With a slightly sad face, he looked at his new ID.

How lonely he'd been, how dreary he'd been.

'I'm going to change now.' He didn't even think about going back to his old way of life after living like a dog for ten thousand years.

Kang Yu went outside with his new identity card and headed to the place where he and Han Sol had agreed to meet.

— Oh, Kang Yu, you came.

— Thanks for waiting.

— Well, let's go!

Han Sol started walking ahead, while Kang Yu trailed behind.

***

[The next station is Seoul, Seoul Station]

— Kang Yu, we're here.

He didn't have the strength to answer Han Sol.

— Ohh! — Kang Yu made a delighted exclamation. He was gawking at the huge masses of people moving around the station.

'This is a city.' The place where Han Sol lived could hardly be called a city, but this place was very different.

Kang Yu stepped out after Han Sol and looked around again.

The smell of smoke. The smell of smoke. The mist.

The skyscrapers rising up into the sky and the unchangeable asphalt road.

People hurrying around to attend whatever business they had.

— I'm back.

When he saw the familiar sight of busy city life, he came to realize that he really came back to Earth.

— That's the support center over there, Kang Yu.

— Oh, I see. — Kang Yu looked in the direction Han Sol pointed at.

Kang Yu grinned when he looked at the place called the Players' Support Center.

'Incheon Airport*?'

(*P.P.: The largest airport in the country)

The building was so large that it could only be compared to the airport.

It's unbelievable that they built a building this size in the heart of the city. It's scary to even imagine how much money must have been invested in it.

'Did Players become this important to society?'

Well, it's possible if they're considered lifesavers.

— Well, I'm going to take a basic level class. The lectures will probably start today, so I might finish late.

— Yeah, I'll see you at home.

— Yeah. — She waved, and went off to her class.

After splitting up with Han Sol, Kang Yu headed for the registration department.

The search didn't take long.

An employee who glanced at the ID card several times said automatically:

— Go to the test room.

— Yes, thank you.

Kang Yu took the coupon that he had been given and went back in the right direction.

There were some very excited guys sitting in front of the test room.

— Hello? Mom? I'm in front of the test room right now. Yeah, I'll get confirmation and go to class. You just wait – your son will succeed and get offers from the best guilds.

— Excuse me, is there anybody here with special powers of rank one?

— I have level D.

— Wow, that's not bad. You didn't happen to come here to get level B rank 2, did you?

— Ha, but I'm not worth anything compared to players like Baek Kang Hyun and Chae Young-ju.

— Hey, they say they were at level S when they got rank 1. You can't compare them to us, of course.

— What about… Nam Gi Tae? Have you heard of him?

— With rank 5, he got S-level power and was immediately scouted by the guilds.

— Yes, I envy him. I can't even dream about rank 1 or 2. But if I get…

— Life will play with new colors.

Kang Yu was in the waiting room listening to their conversation.

'So it's very important to have a special skill level.'

In fact, the Player class was determined by the level of special skill.

The skill level plays a particularly important role at a low level.

Because it was difficult for players with a low level of special skill to raise their level, they no longer felt like it was a special skill.

The higher the level, the more likely it was to obtain a high-level specialty, but the low-level players do not have this chance.

— Hmm… — Kang Yu opened his status window to check the special skill.

[Special skill ???? rank]

He couldn't determine the level of his Devourer Power.

'Maybe it's out of their league.' That would make sense.

A feature of level S. Above the SS level, how strong the SSS level is, Kang Yu couldn't even imagine, but nothing could compare to the Devourer's Power.

'That would be cheating.' A powerful force that develops itself.

Kang Yu had used it for a long time, and by absorbing demons, it reached a high level.

'But not now.'

Kang Yu wasn't really worried.

Even if the Devourer's Power was sealed, he could still use Magi, which only needed to be replenished.

If he replenished the Magi, it wouldn't be a problem to bring back the old powers.

'What if I start using the Players' powers?' Kang Yu was thinking about using more than just his powers from the past.

— Kang Yu.

— Yes.

Kang Yu followed the voice that called him to the test room.

Inside, a snow-white crystal sat there. The players each put their hands on it, appearing very worried.

A woman with round glasses came up to Kang Yu.

— You should put your hands here. When it grasps your strength, the stone will be colored in the color of your special skill.

— And how will it change?

— Just like the Gate. The higher the level, the darker the color.

Kang Yu nodded lightly.

'I wonder what shade it will become.' His level was beyond what it could measure. He didn't know what to expect.

'Well, whatever it is will be whatever it is.' He wasn't the kind of guy to hide his power just to avoid attracting attention.

On the contrary, it's better to know your level as it is.

He didn't hesitate putting his hands on a rock.

— You have a special strength of level F, — said the woman in an ordinary voice, looking at the stone which barely changed in color, and wrote something down on a piece of paper that she was holding in her hands.

Kang Yu shook his head in disbelief as the result was very different from what he expected.

'Because the power is sealed?' That's something he wouldn't know.

It's also possible that his Power was just too great and the stone couldn't measure it.

'Well, there's nothing you can do about it.' He couldn't change the results.

If they brought in monsters for Players to defeat, he could've easily shown his real level.

— First, you get the player's level E certificate. You are free to go to the level E Gate and below. To visit a higher level gate, you must write an application to accept liability.

— What can I do to increase the level?

— If you complete the basic training, you will receive level D. Then, you'll get the Mana stone.

— I see.

— Come to the counter, we'll prepare your ID. At the same time, you can apply for the basic level education if you're going to study.

— No, thank you. — He didn't even think about getting basic knowledge.

Even now, he could lay down an army of monsters with just a tiny amount of Magi.

'It's a waste of time.' Learning basic combat behaviour was pointless.

He'd studied it for ten thousand years, so going to school would be a waste of time and money.

Kang Yu turned around and left the test room.

The woman wearing round glasses looked at the passing guy and sighed.

'Another guy with no special skills.' Strange as it may seem, F-rank 1 players were hardly found.

Usually, it was level E, and rarely, with any luck, level D.

'And he doesn't want to be trained either.'

It was clear that he was disappointed with the level, but if he was not trained, the result would be obvious.

'He's dead as soon as he enters the gate.'

Players of level F aren't taken into any of the guilds.

Therefore, they go to the Gate alone to raise their rank faster, but in the end, they simply die.

— Eh… — she sighs again.

It's better not to become a Player if you get an F level.

It's better to live like a normal person by going to work and getting paid every month. Even if it's low pay, it's better than dying a dog's death.

— Huh? — Her gaze fell on the crystal that Kang Yu just walked away from. — What is that?

His stone suddenly started to turn dark. From snow-white to grey, from grey to dark grey.

And then.

It became almost black.

— Did it break down or something? — It's the first time a crystal stone changed color without anyone touching it.

She didn't know what was going on, she just watched.

It changed to totally black, and then the stone cracked.

The stone that Kang Yu had touched before was shattered into tiny pieces.

— It's definitely broken…— A woman just looked at the shards in despair.

He couldn't have such a black special ability.

Even the last time when Baek Kang Hyun got an S level, all he had been was dark gray.

This was not dark gray, but really black.

That had never happened.

— Next test subject, please wait!

She took the broken stone and left the office.

***