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Chapter : 13. Being a Mage is a Secret (3)
[You have consumed the magic-infused food Habet Honey (F).]
[Magic has increased by a trace amount.]
He ate an enormous amount of Habet flesh.
Leaving aside the sweetness, the sheer quantity made it feel like his stomach would burst, but he didn’t stop.
Part of him wanted to harvest the Habet meat and take it outside to eat slowly, but he didn’t have the proper equipment.
He had prepared a loot storage bag and sacks based on the average number of monsters in an F-grade dungeon—about 30 monsters—so there was nowhere to store all that Habet flesh.
Moreover, although he had hunted 200 Habet, the dungeon still wasn’t cleared.
Since he had no idea how many Habet still remained, he couldn’t use the loot bag for storage.
The only option was to consume everything, even if it took time.
And in the end, he succeeded.
After glancing once at his distended stomach, he started walking again.
Ting. Shuk. Tok.
Tiding. Shushuk. Tududuk.
“Phew.”
Another group of Habet was finished off.
On the ground, once again, 200 Habet corpses lay scattered.
‘This block-and-stab combat style is inefficient.’
It was a simple pattern—evading Habet attacks and rapidly activating <자월> to kill them—but when 200 of them rushed in at once, efficiency dropped sharply.
There were too many attacks to block and too many enemies to kill.
So far, he had hunted five waves of Habet swarms.
If each swarm was treated like a single monster in another dungeon, then this dungeon likely contained at least 30 swarms.
It was time to find a new hunting method that would increase speed and reduce stamina consumption.
‘Let’s think while eating.’
He finished collecting the Habet materials and prepared the Habet flesh into bite-sized pieces.
Now it was time for his stomach to do its job.
Gulp.
[You have consumed the magic-infused food Habet Honey (F).]
[Magic has increased by a trace amount.]
Night existed even in the dungeon.
When the time came, the sun would set and a crimson moon would rise.
Unlike Earth’s moon, it had an alien appearance.
It felt somewhat eerie, almost ominous, and every time he saw it, it gave him chills—but it also helped him measure time.
‘Even after seeing it three times, I still can’t get used to it.’
Three days had passed since he entered this place.
He had hunted five Habet swarms and consumed a massive amount of Habet Honey, but the dungeon was still not cleared.
‘So it really is 30 swarms to clear it?’
His assimilation rate had increased, and the additional magic from Habet Honey made it a literal “sweet” dungeon, but the continuous battles were still exhausting.
‘Good thing they’re weak to magic.’
The next day, the hunt continued.
He carefully approached a Habet swarm flying around near a Habet nest.
‘It’ll take time to chant and cast magic… this distance should be right.’
After measuring the distance, he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it toward the nest.
Whoosh. Tok.
The stone embedded itself into the Habet nest.
All the Habet simultaneously turned toward the direction the stone came from.
His eyes met those of 200 Habet.
Wiiing. Wiing. Wiiiing.
They all pulled their venom stingers from their rears and flew toward him.
“Come!”
He extended both hands forward and quickly chanted.
“Bright shining light. Power to stop my enemies. Heat to crush them. Reveal yourself before me. BULB!”
The magic circle rotating around his heart began spinning violently as the spell was spoken.
Magic stored in the circle gathered into his hands through rotational force, forming a yellow sphere.
As it grew to the size of a handball, he hurled it toward the Habet swarm.
“Fire!”
The yellow sphere shot forward and collided with a Habet in the center of the swarm.
Pajijik!
Electric shock erupted across a one-meter radius upon impact.
Thududududuk.
Dozens of Habet lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
“Good.”
Despite losing many of their kind, the swarm ignored the casualties and continued charging at him.
He chanted again.
“Bright shining light. Power to stop my enemies. Heat to crush them. Reveal yourself before me. BULB!”
The spinning circle once again supplied magic, forming another sphere.
“Fire!”
The second sphere exploded on impact.
Pajijik! Thududududuk.
Again, dozens more Habet collapsed.
Now, with the swarm closing in, he cast another spell.
“Power of lightning filling my hands, enter the enemy’s body and fulfill my will. Electrocution!”
Grabbing one Habet attempting to attack with its venom stinger, he activated the spell.
Pajijijik!
Electricity exploded from his hand, and within a 30 cm radius, nearby Habet collapsed as well.
He drew his jungle knife.
There was no more time to chant spells.
Of course, he could still endure attacks and cast magic, but loss of focus increased casting time and reduced efficiency.
Worst-case scenario, magic backlash could overload his heart.
Since the remaining Habet were few, finishing them with a knife was sufficient.
“Jaweol! Chamweol!”
Shouting sword techniques, he swung the jungle knife wildly. It was embarrassing if anyone saw it—but this was a dungeon.
He was the only raid member here, so there was no one to witness it.
“Final. Jaweol!”
Shuk. Puk. Tok.
The 200th Habet fell.
All airborne Habet had been eliminated, but the battle was not over.
The Habet stunned by BULB and Electrocution were only temporarily unconscious, so finishing blows were necessary.
He walked through the battlefield, decapitating and finishing them one by one with his jungle knife.
Puk. Puk. Puk. Puk.
“It’s finally over. Magic really is broken.”
If he had relied only on swords, deflecting attacks with <순월> and striking with <자월> and <참월>, he would still be fighting in midair.
But with three spells and a few sword strikes, he had annihilated 200 Habet.
It was a deeply satisfying battle.
Magic—this absurd power—enabled highly efficient combat, filling him with exhilaration.
“Now to collect and eat.”
He took out a extraction knife and began absorbing the Habet souls.
“Spirit Conversion.”
Ding.
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Habet (F).]
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Habet (F).]
……
…
[Magic has increased by a trace amount.]
[Assimilation rate has increased by a trace amount.]
[Current assimilation rate: 15.8%]
[Due to assimilation increase, physical abilities have slightly enhanced.]
He converted 200 Habet souls into magic and increased his synchronization with the magic sword.
As a result, his body became stronger.
He worked diligently as system messages continued endlessly.
Collecting wings and venom stingers felt like easy, repetitive labor.
After some time, he finished gathering all materials from the 200 Habet and sat in front of the nest.
Now it was time to increase his magic again.
He stuffed the prepared Habet flesh into his mouth.
The overwhelming sweetness snapped his senses awake, followed by a pleasant message.
[You have consumed magic-infused food Habet Honey (F).]
[Magic has increased by a trace amount.]
A week had passed since entering the dungeon.
Worry slowly crept in.
By now, the outside world must have become a battlefield.
A single F-grade hunter—no, a “helper”—entering an F-grade dungeon and not coming out for a week.
It was the perfect scenario for a break incident. The Capital Defense Forces and the Dungeon Management Agency’s response teams were likely already deployed.
“When I get out, I’ll probably be dragged back to the Dungeon Management Agency. Sigh.”
He wanted to live quietly, but things kept getting complicated.
He was slightly worried that this abnormal dungeon had once again drawn the agency’s attention, but right now, he had to focus on growth.
“Shall I eat again?”
Gulp.
Another week passed.
Using magic made hunting Habet feel effortless, like child’s play, but collecting materials and eating Habet Honey still took time.
“Power of lightning filling my hands, enter the enemy’s body and fulfill my will. Electrocution!”
Pajijik.
Thududududuk.
The 21st swarm collapsed.
He finished off the remaining Habet with his jungle knife, confirmed kills on the stunned ones, and took a short breath.
His current assimilation rate was 19.8%.
“If I absorb the souls of another 200 Habet this time, the next power will unlock, right?”
When he reached 10% assimilation, the sword ability <초감각> was unlocked.
After gaining the ability to sense what he could not hear, see, or feel before, combat efficiency had increased dramatically.
He didn’t know what would be unlocked next, but it was certain his combat power would rise significantly.
Another positive sign was that enough magic was accumulating to form a second magic circle.
With two weeks of Habet Honey effects stacking, along with magic from souls, it seemed he would soon form a second circle.
‘If I can use stronger magic than BULB and Electrocution, I might even challenge an E-grade dungeon.’
As an F-grade hunter, he normally couldn’t enter E-grade dungeons alone, and truthfully, he wasn’t confident in soloing an E-grade boss monster.
But the sword’s powers and the formation of a second circle were more than enough to restore his confidence.
“Alright. Let’s begin growth. Spirit Conversion.”
The souls of 200 Habet swirled around him.
A powerful suction force drew in the scattered souls, converting them into magic and storing them within the circle orbiting his heart.
Ding.
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Habet (F).]
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Habet (F).]
……
…
[Magic has increased by a trace amount.]
[Assimilation rate has increased by a trace amount.]
[Current assimilation rate: 20%]
[Upon reaching Stage 2 assimilation, physical abilities have greatly enhanced.]
[Upon reaching Stage 2 assimilation, sword power <결혼서약 (Contract of Soul Oath)> has been unlocked.]
[You may form contracts with powerful soul owners to claim their souls after death.]
[If contract conditions are fulfilled, the soul becomes permanently bound to you.]
He couldn’t immediately process the unexpected development.
“Contract of Soul Oath has been unlocked?”
It wasn’t about marriage between man and woman, of course.
Among the sword’s abilities, forming contracts with powerful souls was one of its core functions, but it had never granted such authority directly to the user before.
Normally, if contract conditions were met, the soul would belong to the sword, and if the user died, the soul would become fuel to increase the sword’s power.
It was part of the growth system called <Devil Maker>, designed to strengthen the contractor—but contract authority itself had never been given to the user.
“The contract is… why?”
He was confused, but after thinking about it, it made some sense.
“Assimilation rate! Right. I’m not the user—I’m the sword. As assimilation increases, I’m gradually becoming the sword itself while still being human.”
But another question arose.
“How is this even possible?”
In the end, he was left with the same unanswered question.
So he pushed the unsolvable thoughts aside and focused on the present.
‘Focus on what needs to be done right now.’
