In Erendel, was the fate of mages who failed the aptitude ritual sealed then and there? No, I didn't think so. They were just special cases. There must be something I was missing about Seo Shimhee. Some other way…

-Tower Master.

'Yes?'

Ea spoke to me in my mind.

-Why not try to find a solution through her Unique Ability?

'Oh, that's a good idea.'

There was no need to insist only on magic. I looked at Seo Shimhee and spoke.

"Shimhee, your Unique Ability. Could we see it here?"

"…H-Here?"

Metamorphosis. An ability where a human becomes a monster and gains their power. In a way, it's similar to becoming a demonkin, yet it's a blessing that allows one to wield a monster's power without any major handicaps. I had even fought a third-year student at the academy who could turn into a salamander. What was strange, however, was that despite possessing the Metamorphosis ability, Seo Shimhee was classified as non-combat. She herself had admitted during her interview that it was an 'ability that's as good as useless.'

"R-Right here?" Her expression was one of someone who never imagined she would be asked such a thing.

"Would that be a problem?"

"It's not that it's a problem, but… I only transform into a really pathetic monster…"

"Please."

After hesitating, Seo Shimhee finally made up her mind and nodded.

"I haven't used it in a long time, so I don't know if it will work… but I-I'll do my best."

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. The other members, seeing her ability for the first time, watched with wide eyes. 'Crunch!'

Her Metamorphosis was unusual from the start. Instead of her body swelling or her limbs mutating, a mass of raw muscle began to grow over her, using her own skeleton as a frame. 'Snap! Crack!'

Soon, her body was completely buried in the monster's flesh and became invisible. The transformation continued. Her head changed to resemble a canine beast, skin formed over the muscle, and fur covered it. 'Crrrack!'

Sharp fangs grew long from her mouth. Her massive, brawny upper body was an intimidating sight.

"Grrrrrrr!"

It was a canine monster over three meters tall, a 180-degree turn from Seo Shimhee's original frail body. However.

'Her… her lower body…'

In stark contrast to her massive upper body, her form tapered sharply from the waist down, ending in a lower body so small and pathetic it dragged uselessly on the floor. There was no way she could walk properly like this. 'Crrraaaack!' She must have relaxed, as her transformation was released. The mass of flesh disappeared in an instant, and Seo Shimhee, who was inside, fell to her knees on the floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I wasn't sure who she was apologizing to, but she kept repeating the words, her voice choked with shame. I calmed her down and heard the whole story. At first, Seo Shimhee had been a recognized talent for her Unique Ability, Metamorphosis, and had even been scouted by guilds. Even though she turned into a monster that couldn't walk, they judged that if she could be made to walk through proper training and correction, her potential would be limitless. She went through a total of three guilds. All three were confident when they recruited her, but in the end, they all gave up in exasperation. 'This isn't a problem that can be fixed with training,' they'd say. Who would want a Metamorphosis user who takes a long time to transform and can't even walk properly when she does?

The guilds, which had only lost their contract deposits, formally protested to the Association, which ultimately classified her as a non-combat type. That was why Seo Shimhee had come to view her ability as useless, continuing her hunting activities as a non-combatant. It also explained why she was so skilled at mana control. She must have put in a tremendous, painful effort trying to find some way to utilize Andras's body.

"Shimhee."

"...Yes, Mr. Kim."

"Trust me and try using your ability just one more time. It'll be different this time."

Still, seeing her ability firsthand gave me a hint. She wiped away her tears and nodded. Then, she slowly rose to her feet and entered her Metamorphosis state. Once again, Andras appeared, boasting its unbalanced frame, and I used magic.

<Giant Growth>

<Strength>

I overlaid the magic circles onto her legs. It was a spell used by physical-type mages to enlarge specific body parts; as I cast that along with a strength enhancement spell, her legs began to swell until they touched the floor.

<Cellular Reinforcement>

<Solidify>

Perhaps because it was a monster's body, the flesh reacted sensitively to the magic. The stubby appendages grew larger and larger until they formed a pair of powerful, well-proportioned legs.

"Shimhee! Are your legs okay?"

Having become Andras, she looked down at her new legs in wonder before nodding. I cast all sorts of physical enhancement magic on her body. Andras's form flashed all over as the enhancement effects took hold.

In Erendel, tales of battle mages—martial units who fought by greatly enhancing their physical abilities with magic—were legendary. With Seo Shimhee's talent, she was more than capable of mastering these spells.

"Alright, come at me!" I layered a cascade of shimmering shields between us. "Unleash all that pent-up frustration! Run at me and give it everything you've got!"

'Grrrrrrrrowl!'

At my shout, Andras took a step forward. She was walking properly now—no, she was 'running'. Kicking off the floor, she sprinted forward and slammed a massive fist into my shields.

'BOOM!'

A fierce shockwave ripped through the room. The members of the Fourth Floor Team braced themselves, flinching against the blast. As fragments of the shields scattered like glass, I grinned and stepped back.

Her strength spent, Seo Shimhee reverted to her human form and collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat and panting for breath.

"See?" I said with a smile. "I told you that you could do it."

There was always a way, if you were willing to look for it. Using a Unique Ability and magic simultaneously wouldn't be easy, of course. She would have to work twice as hard as anyone else. But with control nearly twice as refined as most, I was certain she could pull it off.

"Congratulations," I said, offering her the same acknowledgment I had given the others. "To the world's first transformation mage, Shimhee."

She buried her face in the floor and let out a sob that sounded like a wail.

* * *

After the aptitude assessments were complete, the Fourth Floor Team returned to the fourth floor to resume their work on field magic. Jeong Seojin was away on a business trip, Jin Bora was brewing potions, and Eunsol had gone to the Hunter Training Center.

I went up to the ninth floor and began scribbling the team's positions in a notebook.

Tanker: Seo Shimhee (Andras Transformation)

Main DPS: Na Daeyong (Lightning Magic)

Sub-DPS: Kim Sarang (Water Magic)

Buffer: Cha Doyeon (Light Magic)

Debuffer: Jo Yonghee (Poison Magic)

'Heh, this feels like I'm building my dream team.'

With this, their roles were more or less set. For now, I had only taught each of them a single second-order spell that matched their aptitude. Once they grew accustomed to their specialized magic, we would move on to practicing their roles in a dungeon. When this five-person mage party became fully operational, it would be a formidable addition to the Magic Tower's forces.

Just think how useful they would have been on the Tanzanian front. Simply using the warp gate to deploy them for hit-and-run operations on key points like the plants would have vastly expanded our tactical options. If I could manage five or six such parties, the Magic Tower could seize the initiative and dominate any Disaster, on any front.

When I eventually created a mage guild, the Fourth Floor Team would be its absolute core, serving as the guild's star party. I had to develop them into the most successful mage party in the world.

'Alright, that's enough investing in the future for now. Next up is…'

A message notification chimed. It was Hong Yeon.

—Yeon: Yusin. Aren't you in your room? You need to come to the regular meeting.

They were already looking for me.

"Ea, if anyone asks, tell them I've returned to Tanzania."

"Affirmative, Tower Master."

I immediately took the fifth-floor portal back to Tanzania and sent Hong Yeon a message.

—Yusin: On my way. How much time do we have?

—Yeon: If you come straight to the conference room, you'll have plenty of time.

I arrived just in time. When I entered the conference room, a group of now-familiar hunters greeted me. There was the one-eyed Scorpion, Marta with the snake coiled around her neck, Wayne nervously spinning his prosthetic hand as always, Charlie with his grotesque facial piercings, and even Zhang Wei and Karim.

"Welcome, Rank-3 Hunter Kim Yusin," the red-haired commander finally said with a benevolent smile.

"Now then, let's begin the command staff meeting. Ah, but before we start…" She gestured with her chin, and four people stood up. I didn't recognize them. "These are rank-4 Daniel, rank-5 Smith, rank-5 Margaret, and rank-5 Mary, who have volunteered for the Tanzania dispatch."

A round of applause erupted to welcome the newcomers. Hong Yeon and I clapped along. 'Wow, we have juniors now.' For four people to volunteer for this dispatch… it seemed the perception of the Tanzanian front really had changed.

"Alright, let's begin the meeting."

Thanks to our string of victories, there were quite a few positive developments to report. First, by exceeding the objectives set by the Alliance, the scope of their support had increased significantly.

(Colonel Frederick had video-called us, his face beaming with joy.) Material support also continued to flow in from Europe, Asia, and occasionally the Americas, and the number of volunteer hunters had grown.

Most importantly, with our reinforced troops, we now had the leeway to station garrisons at key liberated points in the south, such as Mtwara, Kisowa, and Dar es Salaam. We were also continuously hunting the remnants of the taves and eliminating living fields.

The Tanzanian front was becoming much more stable. In fact, the scale of the entire operation had changed. Thanks to a few crucial moves, the snowball was rolling downhill, fast.

"The next directive has come down from the Global Hunter Alliance," Hong Yeon announced.

Everyone in the room tensed.

"The Alliance's next directive is the elimination of Tanzania's Legion Commander, Selegma."

The moment she finished speaking, the room erupted with harsh, indignant complaints.

"Are you kidding me? They want us to take down the legion commander right after this?"

"How many steps are they trying to skip?!"

"What do those bastards sitting in their safe offices know about the front lines!"

Hong Yeon quieted the room before continuing. "It's not as preposterous as it sounds. The Alliance has promised unprecedented support if we accept this mission."

At her gesture, aides began distributing printed documents to all the hunters. Zhang Wei grumbled as he snatched one. "Hmph, figures. They call it 'unprecedented support,' but it's probably just for show… huh?"

"My God…!"

Every hunter who received the document stared, their mouths agape.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.