So like... where did the whole idea of circle magicians come from? In Korean comics, I'm finding that magicians are commonly ranked in accordance with a power scale system called circles. It's mostly represented by the number of magic circles they have created within their magic source. But before reading A Returner's Magic should be Special, I've never heard about this before. Now it just keeps showing up with multiple 8-circle magicians and such. In Solo Bug Player and Solo Spell Caster, they also have a game system incorporated with it that works in tandem with the circle ranks most of the time. Are there actually games with this magic growth system? Anyway, my general thoughts on the circle magic system is that it's very... easily bypassed. It's because MC's always cheat the circle system in some way and are way stronger then they should be. Like in Sorcerer King, he uses external magic batteries and nuclear reactors to give him more mana or in 8-Circle magician return type books, they have the skill to surpass the ranking by several steps using one method or another. When they do that it really feels like an unnecessary world mechanic. What do you think about the Circle Magic System?
Gaming the system is common. Authors do this to make his already extra special mc more extra special. Some do it better than others, but yeah it's normal that through cheats or resources the protagonist gets a stronger foundation than their peers. As for circle magic itself I couldn't say. Not sure if it's of Korean origin, but I've seen it a few times.
From what I remember, it's due to the popularity of an older Korean novel Mukhyang which made the circle system mainstream. Totally untranslated though, here's a link for the hardcopy book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mukhyang-1...7:Jeon+Dongjo&s=books&sr=1-7&text=Jeon+Dongjo There are manhwas for it though. Not sure how good it is since I haven't read it.