The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 78

The performance, the highlight of the Olympiad opening ceremony, was in full swing.

A succession of dazzling magical displays burst forth.

The audience cheered at the continuous spectacle, as if magic was being used to create art.

“That’s insane! Absolutely insane!”

The sight of magic of all attributes exploding one after another like fireworks was truly breathtaking.

“If 4th Circle magic is this impressive, how amazing must 5th and 6th Circle mages be?”

Some audience members voiced their genuine curiosity.

To be able to unleash such large-scale magic in succession with 4th Circle magic was simply astonishing.

“It’s because they’ve invested everything in the effects, excluding the power. Normally, 4th Circle mages can’t use such large-scale magic.”

The magic being displayed now was all show and no substance.

It was a magic formula modified to look spectacular for performance purposes only.

Because they had excluded the most important aspect of magic, its power, they were able to use magic of that scale.

“I believe the engineer from the Italian team was from the Venice Corporation. Their ability to manipulate magic formulas is considerable. I need to remember that.”

“Shall we schedule a meeting?”

“Let’s just coordinate for now.”

Amidst the admiring audience, industry insiders showed their cool-headed demeanor.

Rather than being impressed by the dazzling magic displayed by the representatives of each country, they were thinking about the engineers behind the scenes who had conceived such magic formulas, algorithmized them, and even completed their transfer to artificial intelligence.

“What about the mana levels?”

“They exceeded the 4th Circle. Their artifact creation ability also seems outstanding.”

With that level of technology, they could start a deal.

The engineer of that team is terrible.

With that thought, they were in the process of selecting potential partners for the future.

“It seems we can look forward to this year as well.”

“Yes.”

This was the very purpose of the Olympiad opening ceremony performance.

The audience was captivated and uplifted by the dazzling magic showcased by each country.

The engineering teams of each country could appeal their abilities to the officials of other countries.

And the officials of each country could select suitable partners.

It was a win-win-win situation.

No, considering the promotion of each country’s national prestige, it could be called a win-win-win-win situation.

“Oh. Next is the American team.”

After about ten teams had taken their turn, it was time for the American team to show their prepared performance.

The audience’s excitement grew even more, matching the anticipation for the American team.

“This should be worth watching.”

For this one time, the officials were just like the audience.

As if they had never evaluated other teams, they had the same look in their eyes as concertgoers.

“I wonder what the Red Magic Tower has prepared this year…”

It was only natural.

The engineer presenting the performance this time was none other than the Red Magic Tower.

It was not an organization that industry insiders could dare to evaluate.

All they were allowed to do was admire.

Whoosh-!

At that moment, flames erupted in the sky.

A blaze large enough to cover the entire ceiling of the massive stadium that could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people.

“Wowwwww!”

The audience’s cheers grew even louder at the sight of the flames, which were on a different scale than anything seen before.

Underneath the flames, Dahlia Salentia revealed herself.

With her long red hair flowing freely, she confidently walked to the center of the stadium.

And at that moment.

The flames surged.

The sky, having forgotten the color blue, changed its appearance as it surged, dyed redder than the sunset.

“…Roses?”

As if to bless this festival, the flames that had filled the sky transformed into hundreds of roses, filling the sky.

“Beautiful…”

“Wow.”

The audience’s mouths hung open at the beautiful sight.

At the center of that dreamlike scene.

Dahlia Salentia, who was smiling brightly and looking up at the sky, raised one hand high.

That was the beginning.

“This is insane! This is absolutely insane!”

“Oh my god!”

The flames moved as if dancing, guided by her hand.

A scene as if the entire stadium was playing in her palm.

Sometimes gracefully.

Sometimes splendidly.

Sometimes grandly.

The serenade of flames conducted by Dahlia Salentia lasted for a full five minutes.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Dahlia! Dahlia! Dahlia!”

“This is legendary, this is legendary!”

The performance she presented was evaluated as the best in the history of all 107 Olympiads.

And that evaluation was repeated 20 minutes later.

“Kyle! Kyle! Kyle!”

“Waaaaaaaaa!”

When Kyle Bentia, a representative from the British team, appeared.

“This year is truly insane!”

“Both the British and American teams are crazy! Crazy!”

Thus, the atmosphere of the opening ceremony surpassed its peak and began to exceed its limit.

* * *

“…Crazy.”

The atmosphere in the Korean team’s waiting room was the worst. It was almost as gloomy as if there had been a mass funeral.

Everyone was just letting out hollow laughs and exclamations of admiration.

“Following Dahlia, even Kyle…”

The reason for their reaction was simple.

The level of the performances currently being presented by each country was too high.

Especially the UK and the US.

The level of the two teams, each supported by the Green Magic Tower and the Red Magic Tower, respectively, had pierced not only the sky but also the atmosphere.

“How much effort did they put into the performance…”

They knew that the level of performance that a representative who was a 5th Circle mage could show would be different.

But this was not a matter of that difference.

It felt like a professional athlete had invaded a junior competition for those under 12 years old.

Kyle and Dahlia’s performances were on a completely different level.

“…The internet is already calling it legendary.”

Ji Soon-chan let out a hollow laugh as he checked the internet’s reaction.

Everyone was full of praise.

Even the archmages who were active on social media seemed to be going wild, spouting all sorts of compliments.

This showed how amazing the performances of the two teams were this time.

“…This is driving me crazy. Are we going to be okay?”

Of course, they weren’t this gloomy just because the US and the UK were receiving praise.

“No. I don’t think we’re okay. There’s already talk about the Korean team on the internet.”

The reason the Korean team was so gloomy was because the audience’s expectations had risen too high.

[If the British and American teams are this good, then the Korean team must be at least this good, right?]

[Of course. They have the youngest 5th Circle user in history, and the Blue Magic Tower is their engineer.]

[I think we can look forward to it.]

[I’ll hold my breath until then. Hup!]

The current situation of the Korean team was surprisingly similar to that of the American and British teams.

All three had a 5th Circle user as their representative and had a ‘color’ magic tower as their engineer.

In that situation, since the US and the UK had presented a stage that exceeded expectations, it was obvious that the expectations for the Korean team would skyrocket.

“…This is really driving me crazy. We didn’t even prepare a separate performance.”

“…Yeah.”

This situation alone was enough of a burden and enough of a problem.

The Korean team had never prepared for a performance.

That was the biggest problem.

“Did you guys hear anything separately from Leader Shin?”

Jin Hee-yoon asked, looking at Adela and Ji Soon-chan.

“No. Not really…”

“He just told me not to worry and leave it to him.”

“…Agh.”

Jin Hee-yoon scratched her head in frustration and impatience.

“I’m really going crazy. What the heck is he going to do with a piano?”

“I know, right? He just suddenly asked us to prepare a piano and then hung up…”

The fact that Shin Ha-yul had asked for a piano to be prepared only on the day of the event was also a major reason for their anxiety.

“Asking to prepare it suddenly on the day of the event means he’s just going to do something he came up with today, right?”

“…Logically speaking, yes.”

A sudden preparation meant improvisation. In other words, Shin Ha-yul’s performance was an improvisation.

“No, more than that, when is he even arriving? It’s our turn in 15 minutes.”

“I don’t know. He just told us to have the piano set up in the center of the stadium when it’s our turn.”

“…Ah, frustrating.”

Jin Hee-yoon pounded her chest in frustration.

“Don’t think too deeply about it. It’s not like we’ll lose the match if the performance fails.”

Ma Jin-seok calmed Jin Hee-yoon down.

“And well, our Leader Shin will do well enough. He always has.”

“Yeah. The leader who always did so well suddenly disappeared on the day of the event.”

“That’s… um.”

Ma Jin-seok scratched his cheek, as if he had nothing to say.

“Ugh. I don’t know. Let’s start moving to set up the piano.”

For these complex reasons, the atmosphere within the Korean team was very depressed.

* * *

Olympiad special VIP seating.

In the VVIP seating area, which was only accessible to officials, two men and women were engaged in a war of nerves.

“Not bad.”

One was James Pillar, the head of the Red Magic Tower.

“James. You’re not bad either.”

The other was Min Ga-yeon, the head of the Green Magic Tower.

“I was planning to crush your pride this time… It’s a shame.”

“That’s what I should be saying. I was planning to show you the difference in class this time. It’s a real shame.”

A woman with black hair and black eyes. She looked like a native Korean, but this woman’s nationality was strictly British.

“I don’t like it, but I guess we’ll have to call it a draw this time.”

“Yeah. It’s not my intention, but I have to admit it. It seems like we’re tied this time.”

It was obvious without saying, but these two did not get along.

They were like oil and water.

They would never mix without a proper neutralizer in between.

“Why isn’t Kang-in here yet?”

The neutralizer who could mediate between these two was Kim Kang-in.

Normally, Kim Kang-in would be in between them to mediate, but today, Kim Kang-in was absent.

“I heard there was a problem with the Korean representative, so he’s a bit late.”

“A problem?”

Min Ga-yeon tilted her head.

Was there a problem?

“I don’t know the details either.”

“Is that so?”

Min Ga-yeon turned her gaze back to the stadium.

The Brazilian team’s performance was about to end.

Then the only team left would be the Korean team.

“If he hasn’t come yet… isn’t he late?”

Just as Min Ga-yeon muttered that.

“Luckily, I’m not late. Haha.”

Kim Kang-in walked in from behind, smiling as usual.

“What is it? Why are you so late?”

“There was a bit of a situation. It’s been resolved safely now.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

Min Ga-yeon chuckled.

“It’s been a while.”

“It has been a while, Ga-yeon noona [older sister].”

As you can tell from the honorifics, the relationship between the head of the Green Magic Tower and the head of the Blue Magic Tower was very good.

The head of the Green Magic Tower was also the person who provided the most help in establishing the Blue Magic Tower.

“You’re finally here.”

“Yeah. I had about 2 minutes to spare. I came too early.”

Kim Kang-in quietly bumped fists with James, who had extended his fist.

It was a greeting between the two of them.

“Did you see the performances?”

“No. I didn’t. The situation wasn’t favorable.”

Kim Kang-in smiled bitterly.

“Is that so? You missed a good show.”

“You. You’ll regret not seeing it for the rest of your life.”

Min Ga-yeon and James smiled slyly at the same time.

With Kim Kang-in, the neutralizer, in between, the tense atmosphere that had been flowing between the two was somewhat alleviated.

“I heard the news. It was the best ever.”

“Yeah. Make sure to check it out later. You’ll be surprised too.”

“Yes. I will definitely check it out.”

At that moment, the Brazilian team’s performance ended.

Now, only the Korean team was left.

The eyes of the three focused on Ji Soon-chan, who was carrying a piano onto the stadium.

“A piano? What is he going to do with a piano?”

Min Ga-yeon asked casually.

“Hmm. I wonder.”

Kim Kang-in replied with an amused smile.

“What is it? You don’t want to tell me? How stingy.”

“No. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t answer. I don’t know either.”

“…You don’t know?”

“Yes.”

Shin Ha-yul appeared on the stadium. Shin Ha-yul, who was dressed smartly in a stylish suit. Ji Soon-chan passed by him, tapping him on the back.

It must have been a gesture of encouragement.

“Our Blue Magic Tower did not interfere at all with the performance that Ha-yul-gun [a respectful title] will present.”

“…Really?”

“Really?”

The two tower heads widened their eyes.

For an engineer not to be involved in a performance. It was something that was unimaginable with their common sense.

“Yes. In the first place, Ha-yul-gun is not a mage who uses artificial intelligence. There’s no point in us preparing.”

“Ah. That’s right.”

Now that they heard it, it was true.

The reason why the engineer’s influence on the performance was so great was because they could engrave magic formulas into artificial intelligence.

Shin Ha-yul, who could not use artificial intelligence, was an exception to this rule.

“Then, that’s the end.”

“Aww. That’s a letdown.”

The two tower heads immediately lost interest. They thought they would be able to see the technology of the Blue Magic Tower.

Since the Blue Magic Tower had not intervened, there was no need to watch it.

“I wonder.”

Kim Kang-in’s gaze, as he looked at Shin Ha-yul sitting in front of the piano, became even more intense.

“I don’t think it’s too early to say that yet.”

“What do you…”

Just as the two tower heads were about to ask what Kim Kang-in’s meaningful words meant.

Ding-!

The sound of a piano rang out.

A simple melody from a simple act of Shin Ha-yul pressing a single key.

“This is…”

A genuine thrill ran through them at that short melody, which should have been an insignificant sound.

“The sound is riding on mana…? He’s using mana?”

“What is this…”

The eyes of the two tower heads widened, and the corners of Kim Kang-in’s mouth rose even higher.

“Kang-in, this is…”

Just as the head of the Green Magic Tower was about to ask about this anomaly.

Shin Ha-yul’s performance began.

Vivaldi.

The Four Seasons.

At the same time as that song flowed from the piano.

“…Spring?”

Spring was in full bloom.