The world of LOST had one fundamental rule when it came to Psychokinesis. Using it on anything with its own mana field, which meant it had natural magical resistance, was notoriously difficult. This applied to the caster as well. No one could freely manipulate their own mana field, so using Psychokinesis to enhance the body usually meant limiting it to the surface. Anything deeper was suicidal.

So when Do-Jin first saw the title Psychokinetic Artistry, he immediately pictured a thin layer of psychokinetic force wrapping around the body like armor. At the same time, he scoffed at how pretentious and stupid it sounded to title it “Unique Magic System.”

Is he talking about using Psychokinesis to directly reinforce the body? Do-Jin thought.

At first, he genuinely thought he was reading the ravings of a madman. Forcing psychokinetic energy strong enough to pierce one’s own magical resistance required an output that would burn through mana like wildfire. Worse, even a single miscalculation would twist limbs into spaghetti. But Silvermoon had written down the solution, every insane, genius bit of it.

When the target is oneself, it is possible to reinforce the body with moderate psychokinetic strength, as long as one’s own mana wavelength is properly aligned with the psychokinetic frequency and does not collide with the mana field.

Of course, tracking the constantly shifting mana wavelength in real time is practically impossible. Therefore, I transformed the entire process into a magic formula and inscribed it as a rune.

He’d turned an impossibly complex series of calculations into a functioning magic array, then refined it again through rune inscription. Do-Jin skimmed the diagrams and formulas, his brows rising as he realized what he was looking at.

He even boosted psychokinetic output and efficiency through the rune effect itself. That’s nuts.

It wasn’t just advanced research but mastery. This was the kind of result only an Archmage could achieve after years of obsessive refinement. Finally, Do-Jin glanced up at the masked man, only to see his chest visibly puffed up with pride.

“I knew you’d recognize it,” Silvermoon said, grinning smugly. “Anyone who couldn’t grasp how groundbreaking this is would never have made it this far.”

Do-Jin wanted to punch him right in his smug face, but no matter how annoyed he was, he couldn’t deny that the logic held up. It was essentially a high-tier version of Strength Enhancement or Haste, only without the usual side effects that wrecked the body afterward.

“If this really performs as described, it’ll be one hell of a spell. I’ll need to test its stability, though,” Do-Jin said calmly.

He wasn’t all that worried about the risk, either. Since it worked through engraved runes rather than directly tampering with his Magic Circuits, he could just strip the rune away if it went sideways.

After seeing Do-Jin store the book in his inventory, Silvermoon’s masked face softened into a look of deep satisfaction. “At last, my art will shine once more.”

He sounded genuinely moved, and the glint in his eyes had that kind of unhinged brilliance only true maniacs carried.

Do-Jin sighed inwardly. Are all mages insane? Every single one of them?

He made a quiet vow to himself to never turn into such a lunatic. “Alright, if you’re done with your spiel and there’s nothing else you’re handing over, I’d like to get the hell out of here.”

He flicked his fingers a few times, a wordless gesture that clearly meant, “Get me out of here and send me back to reality already.”

As the masked man burst out laughing, Do-Jin stared at him like he’d lost it.

“What the hell is so funny?”

Silvermoon laughed harder, clutching his stomach as the sound echoed across the space. Eventually, the laughter faded, and he looked up with a strangely calm smile.

“I suppose it’s fate,” he said softly. “That the one who reached me would turn out so much like myself.”

“What the fuck are you talking ab—”

Do-Jin never got to finish the sentence. The space around them began to crack apart, like glass shattering from invisible pressure.

The illusion began to collapse. Through the falling fragments of the world, Silvermoon’s expression had changed. He was no longer smirking, but smiling with a hint of wistfulness. His eyes glimmered with something that looked very much like peace.

***

When Do-Jin returned to the vault, something new had appeared. It was a glowing Magic Circle carved into the stone floor. In front of it, fine runic letters had been etched into the ground.

[The remainder of the promised payment shall be delivered through the safest shortcut.]

It’s a teleportation Magic Circle, Do-Jin thought immediately.

He recognized the pattern at a glance and wasted no time informing the Steelpeak Dwarves about it. After some testing, they discovered that the teleportation gate connected directly to the opposite side of the tunnel they’d lost centuries ago, which had once been their only passage to the outside world.

It turned out that Silvermoon’s “final payment,” promised 150 years ago, had just been delivered through space and time. The dwarves didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They shook their heads in disbelief, but joy still filled their voices.

Do-Jin was no different. As he stared at the glowing circle, his inner voice almost leaked. Thank fuck. I wasn’t looking forward to crawling back through those frozen mountains again.

He could finally leave without retracing that deathtrap of a route. That night, he went to find Maglo to say goodbye.

“What the hell, coming here at this hour?”

Maglo rubbed his bleary eyes, still half-asleep, but when he saw Do-Jin’s expression, his face immediately hardened.

“Wait. Don’t tell me... you’re leaving already?”

Do-Jin smiled faintly. “I’ve got a mountain of shit to take care of.”

“No way! You can’t just skip tomorrow’s feast! What kind of bastards would we look like if our own hero ran off before the celebration?”

“I’m not the party type,” he replied with a shrug.

“Still, dammit... who leaves this suddenly after all this?” Maglo grabbed Do-Jin’s arm with both hands. The grip was tight and firm enough that the emotion behind it came through without words.

His voice dropped, quieter now. “We’ve got a mountain of ingots piled up thanks to Rockel’s mess. With that lunatic Silvermoon clearing our trade issues, we can finally sell again. We’re rebuilding the whole damn village with that money.”

“That’s great news.”

“It’s all thanks to you, kid.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Do-Jin replied, smirking.

Maglo snorted and gave a weak laugh. Then his expression turned serious again. “The tribe decided I’ll handle the trade work, like deliveries, exports, all that. I guess living among humans for over a century paid off after all.”

It was an honor earned through both experience and heroism. Saving the village had sealed his place among the dwarves.

“I’ll still be running the forge, though. No matter how big the business gets, that’s my home. So come by anytime, you hear me? Whether you need materials, weapons, or help with anything at no charge. Ever. You got it?”

Do-Jin raised an eyebrow. “If you start handing out free favors like that, you’re gonna tank your business again, old man.”

Maglo scowled and smacked his arm. “You little shit, don’t ‘old man’ me. I told you, you’re my brother now.”

“I guess that makes you a really old brother,” Do-Jin said, chuckling. He extended his hand.

Maglo stared at it for a long moment, his thick fingers twitching before he finally reached out and clasped Do-Jin’s hand tightly.

“Take care of yourself, brother.”

“You too, old man.”

Their grips loosened, and Do-Jin turned away. The faint hum of the teleportation Magic Circle echoed somewhere deeper in the tunnels.

He didn’t look back as he walked toward whatever came next.

***

Once he got back, the first thing Do-Jin did was send Sisala a package containing the materials she’d need to make the new magic dye for rune inscription.

I need a dye for engraving new runes. I’ll come pick it up when it’s ready, so make sure you use the materials I sent.

— Do-Jin

He bought everything available in shops at the highest quality possible. However, the main ingredient, Blue Stargrass, was a rare herb that couldn’t be purchased no matter how much gold he had. Even just making the dye would be valuable practice for Sisala, letting her gain a ton of experience, and that meant faster growth for her as an NPC.

It was a certainly smart investment. The materials were useful now, and she’d only become more valuable later. Some poor mage at Elthomagia who dreamt of getting three hours of sleep a night would probably be crying her eyes out trying to fill this order, but that wasn’t Do-Jin’s problem.

After sending the package, he stretched and sighed. Alright, time to rest.

The last quest had been brutal from start to finish. He had logged out a few times here and there, but those breaks had been nothing more than brief moments to catch his breath.

“I seriously need a proper break after this...” The moment he sat up from the capsule, a wave of dizziness hit him.

The clock on the wall showed 11:52 p.m. Do-Jin walked into the living room without much thought, his body still heavy from exhaustion. That was when he realized something was off. There was someone inside the house.

The presence came from the room that Chun Ji-Hyun had claimed as her own under the title of “manager’s lounge.”

“Is that you, Do-Jin?” Right on cue, she poked her head out, grinning ear to ear. “You’re finally out again!”

It was long past her work hours. Maybe she had been too lazy to head home and decided to just crash here instead. Do-Jin was too tired to respond properly, so he just blinked at her.

“Wait right there.” She darted off in her pajamas, the patter of her feet echoing as she opened the fridge. A second later, she came back holding a cake box.

Do-Jin squinted at it. “Why the hell is there a cake?”

“What do you mean, why? It’s your birthday, you idiot! I figured maybe you’d log out today, so I stayed behind just in case. I planned to sleep here if you didn’t show.”

“Oh. Is it the seventh already?”

Do-Jin’s birthday was on January 7th. The year had already changed, and apparently he’d lost track of a whole week.

“You ignored Christmas because you were grinding quests again, so at least let me do this properly,” she said, unboxing the cake and sticking candles into it.

Do-Jin stared at her, a quiet thought crossing his mind. I guess somebody’s actually living a normal life.

Chun Ji-Hyun tapped the chair next to her. “Sit down already.”

Do-Jin walked over and sat down at the table. She lit the candles and started singing the birthday song. Having someone sing that song to him was excruciatingly awkward. It was the kind of moment that made him wish he could disappear.

When Chun Ji-Hyun finished, she clapped enthusiastically and gestured for him to blow out the candles. Do-Jin leaned forward and did as she asked, extinguishing the flames in one breath. It was the least he could do for someone who had waited until midnight to celebrate a birthday she wasn’t even sure he would show up for.

Once the candles were out, Chun Ji-Hyun began cutting the cake. Something immediately caught Do-Jin’s eye. The outside was coated in chocolate, but the inside was a bright shade of green.

“Hey, why’s it green?”

“It’s mint chocolate. You’d only eat one slice anyway, so I bought the flavor I like for the rest.”

She said it proudly, as if that were the most reasonable thing in the world. She placed a slice of cake in front of him, then pulled another from the fridge.

“This one’s yours.”

“I’m feeling kind of touched, but that feeling’s fading fast,” he said dryly.

Chun Ji-Hyun grinned and held out a small box. “Then let’s revive it. Here’s your present.”

“My present?”

Do-Jin hadn’t expected that. He wasn’t exactly lacking money, but the word gift still sparked a strange flicker of anticipation. He opened the box carefully, trying not to tear the wrapping. Inside was a smartphone.

“I had no idea what to get you,” she said, scratching her cheek, “but then I realized your phone is ancient. You’ve upgraded everything else like your PC, your capsule, even your damn apartment, but not that thing. You’re still using the cheap one from years ago.”

She was right. He’d just never bothered replacing it, and it had never really been an issue. But seeing how much thought she’d put into it, he felt a quiet sense of gratitude.

“Thanks,” he said softly.

“You’re welcome.” Chun Ji-Hyun smiled and took a bite of her mint chocolate cake, clearly pleased with herself.

Do-Jin took a small forkful of his own and asked casually, “So, anything happened while I was gone?”

“Not really,” she said between bites. “Well, unless you count the people bugging me about your mage guides.”

“My what?” 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“You remember? That one interview where you said you’d release tips for new mage players because they were all struggling after following your builds? People are still waiting for that, apparently.”

“That’s what they’re waiting for?” Do-Jin looked genuinely baffled.

Chun Ji-Hyun burst out laughing. “Yup. Some of them still believe you’ll actually post it.”

Do-Jin groaned and ran a hand down his face, too tired to argue. The sound of Chun Ji-Hyun’s laughter filled the quiet apartment, blending with the faint hum of the city outside. For once, the world wasn’t burning, and no one was dying. It was just Do-Jin, a shitty mint chocolate cake, and someone who had actually waited up to celebrate with him.