A-Rank (2)

“Yes. Everything has been processed according to our guild’s recommended terms.”

“Thank you…”

“We’ll give you a document with all the relevant precautions, so please take it home and familiarize yourself with it. And once again, congratulations.”

“Okay.”

“Also, reflecting this change, your guild rank will be readjusted. Even if your guild rank remains A-rank, there’s a pretty big difference between a government-certified B-rank and an A-rank.”

“I understand. But is it possible it will just stay A-rank?”

“Well, the evaluation for A-rank and above gets much stricter. It’s outside the government-certified standards that provide a clear baseline, and ultimately, to evaluate an A-rank, the evaluator also has to be A-rank or higher.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

I was finally free from paperwork hell.

There was a reason people went on and on about major guilds.

Every last one of these detailed and meticulous benefits was what elevated the status of a major guild—

“Ah, and where are you currently living?”

“Me? Right now… in a studio apartment near my old university.”

“Near the university?”

“I dropped out, but I haven’t moved out of my room yet.”

“Have you not decided where to live? We also provide housing support.”

“Oh, housing support?”

Housing support.

I’d heard that most major guilds offered this. A guild like Elemental would probably provide a spacious, well-located place with all the best amenities.

The problem was, I was a bit busy. Very busy, actually.

And it wasn’t Lee Han-gyeol who was busy, but Seo A-gyeol.

I didn’t know the location or layout of the house the guild would provide, but it was highly likely that my transformations would be restricted there.

It wouldn’t do if I never came out of the house they gave me, while some unknown woman was the only one seen coming and going.

In the end, Lee Han-gyeol would be the one leaving the house, which meant I’d have to transform somewhere in between…

That was risky in its own right, and since I’d have to transform again to go back home, the risk was doubled.

“Yes. The housing we provide comes with various forms of support. If you’ll look at this pamphlet, this is the place we’d like to recommend for you, Han-gyeol-nim—”

The explanation continued.

But my eyes had already scanned the pamphlet once, and now, they were locked onto a single option.

“This one. Is this one available?”

*

And just like that, my housing was decided.

It wasn’t set in stone, but I had settled on that residence, and they said they would accommodate my needs as much as possible, so it was practically confirmed.

My reason for choosing it was, first of all—

“Han-gyeol, seriously, congratulations.”

“Ah, Han-yul. Thanks.”

“Wow, how did you become an A-rank…?”

“This is what you call a real rising star.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go on and take all the glory for yourself.”

We both chuckled for a moment.

“So, I hear you’re becoming a team leader.”

“Ah, yes. Since I’m a Spirit Summoner, they said being a team leader would be more advantageous…”

“A Spirit Summoner… Ah, how’s the Spirit World?”

“The Spirit World?”

“Yeah. I’m going into the Spirit World soon.”

“Really?”

“Well, they said I met the internal evaluation criteria… or something like that. But I heard that just because you go to the Spirit World, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a spirit, right?”

“Yes. For me—”

How was it for me again?

First, all the spirits except for fire and lightning ran away. The lightning one zapped me once before taking off, and the fire one…

Thinking back, it seemed like the other fire spirits had waited for my spirit and me to form a contract.

I wondered if they would have made a contract with me even if it hadn’t been that specific spirit—

“Han-gyeol?”

“Ah, yes. I think… I was just lucky, so I can’t give you a definite answer about the contract.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting a definite answer… How is it? The Spirit World.”

“In there? It’s desolate. There’s nothing there but the elements themselves. Anyway, seeing as you passed the internal criteria, the guild must have rated your chances pretty high.”

“You think so…?”

“But who are you going in with?”

“Me? I’m going in with someone who commands a water spirit. They said they’d introduce me to one.”

I had gone in with the Guild Master.

The Guild Master… I think she just summoned them all? Every single spirit. Of course, a few of them turned right back around the moment she left.

“Oh. Congratulations. Does that mean you’ll be a team leader too? If you become a Spirit Summoner.”

“Team leader? I don’t know… Honestly, watching our team leader, it looks like a real pain.”

“Come on, it’s still ‘Team Leader.’ You get to set your own schedule, right?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to see if I can even get a contract with a spirit first. Haah, do you think I can? Get a contract, I mean.”

“Don’t be too nervous. Even if you can’t make a contract right away, a spirit might leave a mark on you.”

“A mark?”

“Yeah. It’s like they’re saying, ‘You’re not ready yet, but I’ll judge you again when you come back next time.’”

“Really?”

“Yes. The first time I went, I made a contract with a fire spirit right away, and I received a mark from a lightning spirit. I haven’t been back to the Spirit World since, but they say it will feel my mark and come back to me when I return.”

“Wow, what a prodigy… You even got a mark?”

“Han-yul… Anyway, my point is, don’t be too nervous.”

“Right. So what are you doing at the guild today?”

“First, I had to take care of the paperwork for my rank-up, and, oh right. I’m here to train.”

“Train? You’re really working hard. Training even after hitting A-rank.”

“I already had it scheduled…”

“You know ‘cancellation’ is a thing, right? Anyway, you got anything on after training?”

“Nope.”

“Then I’ll buy you a drink when you’re done. Give me some tips about the spirits.”

“Tips? I don’t really have any.”

“Come on, just tell me what the Spirit World is like. If not, just think of it as me buying you a drink to celebrate your A-rank.”

“Should I?”

“But in return—”

“In return?”

“If I fail to get a contract later, you have to buy me a drink.”

“Deal.”

*

An alien sky, billowing flames.

“It’ll be hard to do it by tomorrow, right?”

‘Yeah! It’d be impossible for me to grow that much by tomorrow!’

After I pumped it full of Innate Vital Energy, the spirit had grown until it reached my chin.

[Innate Vital Energy: 1000+593/1000]

But there was still a lot left.

Why can’t you eat the Innate Vital Energy I brought for you?

‘Still, I’ll try to eat as much as I can today!’

Another 50 Innate Vital Energy was drained, and the spirit that absorbed it began to take shape again.

‘Mmm…’

My face—no, Seo A-gyeol’s face—materialized and held for a moment before reverting to the spirit’s original face.

For reference, the spirit’s original face was that of a featureless egg ghost, with no eyes, nose, or mouth. But with the characteristic flicker of a flame.

In truth, I hadn’t expected it to be ready by tomorrow anyway.

What was more important was—

[Call of the Elements: Activates only when ‘Demonic Horns’ are manifested. You can expend additional Mana to drastically enhance your control over the elements.]

The skill, ‘Call of the Elements’.

Like ‘Demonic Scream’, ‘Call of the Elements’ was a skill that could only be used when my horns were manifested. Of course, unlike ‘Demonic Scream’, it was a passive skill.

[Lee Han-gyeol

Trait: Elemental Mage
-Skill (P): Call of the Elements (Lv.1)

Sub-trait: Element – Flame
-Skill (A): Elemental Generation (Lv.9+10)
-Skill (A): Elemental Control (Lv.9+10)
-Skill (P): Flame Immunity (Lv.9+10)

Sub-trait: Element – Lightning
-Skill (A): Elemental Generation (Lv.6+10)
-Skill (A): Elemental Control (Lv.6+10)
-Skill (P): Lightning Immunity (Lv.6+10)

Trait: Transformation – Succubus
-Skill (A): Transformation (Lv.3+2)
-Skill (A): Essense Conversion (Lv.7+7)
-Skill (A): Innate Vital Energy Conversion (Lv.3+4)

Sub-trait: Demonic Horns
-Skill (P): Demonic Horns – Otherworldly Power (Lv.8+2)
-Skill (A): Demonic Horns – Manifestation (Lv.8+2)

Sub-trait: Demonic Wings
-Skill (A): Demonic Wings – Enhancement ▼
-Flight (Impossible) (Lv.4+5) (0/80000)
-Sensitivity (Lv.4+5) (0/80000)
-Magic Field (Lv.4+5) (0/80000)
-Skill (A): Demonic Wings – Deployment (Lv.1+2)

Trait: Spirit Summoner
-Skill (P): Spirit’s Blessing (Lv.1)
-Skill (A): Spiritmancy (Lv.1)

Strength: 91
Magic Power: 861+473
Mana: 7259/133455
Essense: 2000/133455
Innate Vital Energy: 1000+543/1000]

This was my current state after bringing out my horns and wings to test the limits of ‘Call of the Elements’.

My Essense alone had dropped by 3,600.

In terms of Mana, that meant I had used up 252,000.

‘Call of the Elements’ was a skill that didn’t just devour a crazy amount of Mana—it could devour a crazy amount of Mana.

First, when I applied ‘Call of the Elements’ to my flame magic, specifically a Flame Arrow, the arrow became so condensed that it gained a semi-physical property.

Originally, a Flame Arrow was just a mass of energy. Its arrow shape was merely to help it hit a target, with no real physical force.

But as I continuously pushed Mana into the arrow, I got a strange feeling and fired it at the ground. It gouged out the earth.

It didn’t exactly stick into the ground like a real arrow, but how condensed did it have to be to gain physical force?

On top of that, the sheer amount of Mana I poured into it made my control over it much stronger.

But the flame was one thing.

The real highlight was the ‘Lightning’.

When I used ‘Call of the Elements’ on my lightning and pushed a stream of Mana into it, the lightning shot out like a beam.

“Wh-what is this…”

Without any of the characteristic zig-zagging of lightning, it shot out like a laser. Shuk—

Whoa, a death beam.

Of course, if the distance grew and the packed-in Mana ran out mid-flight, it would start to zig-zag again, but I could solve that by pouring in more Mana.

After testing it, the Mana consumption seemed to be proportional to the square of the distance.

It took 1,000 Mana to go about 1 meter.

So, for 10 meters…

1000 x 10^2 = 100,000.

That’s right.

After firing one shot at 10 meters and another at 8 meters, a total of 164,000 Mana had vanished—100,000 plus 64,000.

In terms of Essense… that was about 2,300.

I had used up 2,300 Essense with just two shots.

But I just can’t resist a death beam.

When the Mana condensed at my fingertip with a low hum, and I released that vibration with a flick—

The bolt of lightning shooting in a straight line from my fingertip, striking the target at literally the speed of light.

Whoa. A death beam.

The cost-effectiveness seemed a bit low, but it was overflowing with style.

And so, the three skills under ‘Sub-trait: Element – Flame’ each went up by 2 levels, and the three skills under ‘Sub-trait: Element – Lightning’ each went up by—

Ting—

[‘Elemental Generation’ has leveled up: Lv.6 > Lv.7]
[‘Elemental Control’ has leveled up: Lv.6 > Lv.7]
[‘Lightning Immunity’ has leveled up: Lv.6 > Lv.7]

—4 levels.

Of course, it would be strange if they didn’t level up after I poured hundreds of thousands of Mana into them.

[Essense: 2000/133455]

But now I was really too low on Essense to fire any more death beams.

In that case, I really, really had no choice. I really didn’t want to do this, but…

It looks like I’ll have to knock Han-yul on his back tonight.