The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

[You have cleared Stage 4.]

“Mm…”

Lee Jong-hak slowly rolled his shoulders, which were gradually becoming tense.

The two-headed monsters that he’d just fought had been quite strong.

Their skin was quite tough, and their physical strength had reached a level that even he had to admire. When three of these monsters appeared, it hadn’t been easy to deal with them, even for Lee Jong-hak.

“That was stage 4…”

Power flowed through the hand which was holding his sword.

At first, he’d been relaxed because this was only the tutorial, but now, he felt like he should pay a bit more attention.

* * *

[You have cleared Stage 9.]

She was bored. So bored that she felt like dying.

While this thought floated in her mind, Sedi calmly shook the blood off of her hand. She didn’t like the feeling of these low-level beings’ blood covering her body. This was why her scythe was so useful. Whenever she took an enemy’s life with her scythe, she never had to worry about being splashed with their blood.

When the qualifiers truly began, she would have to do her best to find a weapon.

“How much longer do I have to do this for?”

When she grumbled these words in an annoyed voice, she received an unexpected answer.

[The tutorial consists of ten stages, and for Participant, the next stage will be your last.]

“Ah. Right.”

So there was only one left. That was good to hear.

A bright smile spread across Sedi’s face as she waited for the final stage to begin.

* * *

[You have cleared Stage 10.]

[Congratulations, Participant, for clearing all of the prepared stages.]

[Based on the information gathered from the tutorial, we are now able to objectify the participant’s body information.]

[Please wait for a moment.]

[…]

[…]

Lukas’ hand shook slightly as he looked at the monster corpse in front of him.

It belonged to a gigantic monster that was shaped like a wolf and was quite strong.

‘None of them would have been able to clear Stage 10 except Sedi.’

Lukas had a good grasp of the different strengths of the people who entered the qualifiers with him.

Lee Jong-hak’s limit should be the eighth stage, while Min Ha-rin and Leo should have stopped around the fourth or fifth stage.

As for Arid… he wasn’t too sure. The power of his Brilliance was certainly great, but he had little to no combat experience.

With his strength, he could pass the tenth stage, but it was also possible for him to lose even the first stage.

Arid might benefit from this experience even more than Min Ha-rin or Leo.

[The objectification process has been completed.]

[To view it, say ‘Status Window’.]

“…?”

Lukas tilted his head to the side before muttering.

“Status Window.”

* * *

“What… is this?”

Min Ha-rin, who had cleared the fifth stage, stared at the translucent screen that had appeared in front of her.

[Min Ha-rin]

[Level: 27]

[Title: Snow Flower, Great Mage’s Disciple]

[Occupation: Magic Swordsman]

[Race: Human]

[Skills: Magic(Lv.5), Swordsmanship(Lv.6), Magical Swordsmanship(Lv.1)

“…the Great Game.”

It really was like a real ‘game’.

Then she heard the voice again.

[The tutorial has ended.]

[Proceeding to the ‘Great World’.]

Flash!

A bright flash of light enveloped Min Ha-rin. Then, she felt a sense of weightlessness similar to when they’d first entered this space.

Her surroundings, which were gradually revealed, were filled with a variety of vibrant colors, completely different from the colorless world she’d just stayed in.

“Ah…”

But when she saw her surroundings clearly for the first time, Min Ha-rin’s mouth fell open, and for a moment, she forgot how to speak.

* * *

Lukas looked around.

He found himself standing alone in a dark cave.

He could hardly feel any movements around him. Cold wind whistled continuously through the cave, creating a deep, ominous sound.

‘I’m alone.’

Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if he was the only one separated from the group.

Or was it that everyone had been separated randomly?

He hoped it was the former, but it was more than likely the latter.

He didn’t like it, but he wasn’t worried.

Even if there was a gap in strength, all five of the people who had joined him this time were equally resolved. All of them were willing to risk their lives to accomplish their task.

Nevertheless, they would survive, he knew it.

‘And…’

Lukas currently wasn’t so relaxed as to worry about others.

His gaze was drawn to the end of the cave. There, he saw a faint light coming in. That was probably the exit. Just as he was about to slowly move towards it…

[Welcome to the ‘Great World’.]

He heard the mechanical voice again.

[The condition to win this challenge is to acquire all four of the ‘most special statues’.]

[Numerous quests exist in this world. All of which provide clues, large and small, to help the participants find the statues.]

Lukas didn’t stop walking as he analysed the information he’d just received from the voice.

The four most special statues.

Quest.

The information given by the voice left much to be desired, but he couldn’t really complain in his current situation.

Perhaps, the information given at the beginning was the same for all of the participants.

[The Participant’s current level is well above the average in the ‘Great World’.]

[Your level and skills will be greatly restricted.]

[These restrictions can be lifted using special items obtained in the ‘Great World’.]

[In addition, there are many special items in the ‘Great World’ that might be of use to the participant.]

[These items will not disappear even after the participant returns to the original world.]

The restrictions on his power were expected.

At first glance, it might seem like he was at a disadvantage, but that was not the case.

‘The other Absolutes here too.’

Nodiesop, Letip, Kasajin.

Their powers would also be heavily restricted. After all, the Rulers were the ones who created this Great Game. No matter how powerful they were when compared to other Absolutes, they could do nothing in the face of the Rulers’ power.

In the original world, Lukas was the only one whose power was restricted, so a situation where everyone else was also restricted was not bad at all.

‘I should carefully decide the order.’

The special statues, or the items that would help him break free from his restrictions.

He needed to decide which of the two he would go after first.

Even if he managed to grab the statues, he might not be able to keep them if he didn’t have the strength to do so.

And there was the last message as well.

The items they collected would not disappear even when they returned to the original world.

Perhaps this was why they called it the qualifiers.

The numerous items that existed in this world were likely to have a huge impact after the Great Game truly began in earnest.

Of course, Lukas was in a position to stop a full-fledged game from starting.

[Participant is currently in a field that belongs to the ‘Heavenly Realm’.]

[We wish the Participant the best of luck.]

…

After saying those words, the voice was not heard anymore.

It was just in time, as Lukas felt a light breeze softly tickle his hair. It was coming from outside the cave.

Nevertheless, Lukas’ gaze was locked onto a single location. It was a nearby cliff.

It seemed a bit precarious, but if he stood there, he would be able to see all of the surrounding areas in one glance.

Without any further delay, Lukas headed over to the cliff.

“…”

And he instantly became speechless.

It was refreshing.

Clean and fresh air created by a land without the slightest bit of pollution blew strongly against his face.

Most of the land on ‘Earth’ had been deeply impacted by the corrosive demonic energy, and the air there was nothing when compared to this. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the reason why Lukas was so speechless.

It was because beneath the cliff lay a huge ocean. However, that didn’t mean he was standing on an island or even near a beach.

He was at least a few kilometers away from the ocean. The clouds beneath him were the best proof of this.

In other words, the ground upon which he was standing, rested high above the sky.

‘The Heavenly Realm.’

As he recalled the name the voice had announced to him, Lukas had a vague idea of where he was at that moment.

This place was literally floating in the sky, a Floating Island.

(TL: So… a system world now? This wasn’t something I expected to see in this novel, to be honest, but I suppose it does fit the setting. What do you guys think?)