The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 113

After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided to give the Pinnacle Shard to Adela.

Mimir had strongly recommended it, and I thought it would be better in many ways.

[Adela, if you’re awake, could you come to my room? I have something to give you.]

I figured I should strike while the iron was hot, so I immediately sent a text to Adela.

Fortunately, it was 10:22 PM. Adela’s average bedtime was 11 PM, so she was probably awake.

Woong-!

[Sender: Adela]

[You have something to give me?]

As expected, Adela was awake.

[Yeah. I’ll tell you the details when you get here.]

The reply came immediately.

[(Confused bear doll emoticon)]

[Okay. I understand for now.]

About two minutes passed after that reply.

Knock knock-

There was a knock on the door.

I didn’t need to check who it was.

I opened the door right away.

Adela was standing there in her pajamas when I opened the door.

“Come in for now.”

“Yes.”

Adela came straight into the room. Then, after looking around the room, she sat down on the sofa.

“You don’t need tea, right?”

“No.”

Adela doesn’t like to put anything in her mouth before going to bed.

“Were you sleeping?”

Hair tied up to one side.

Comfortable pajamas.

Her face looked a little tired, and there was even a slight mark from her pillow on her cheek.

It seemed like she was getting ready for bed before coming here.

“I was just lying down. More importantly, what’s going on?”

Adela’s expression was very serious.

Considering that I had called her, who was about to compete, at this hour, she must have expected that what I had to say was unusual.

“It’s not serious, so you can relax your expression. I just called you because I have something I want to give you.”

Adela tilted her head.

What on earth was I planning to give her that I called her at this hour?

That was the expression she was clearly making.

“What is it?”

“Well, I’m sorry, but it’s a little difficult to show you.”

“…You can’t show me?”

Adela tilted her head even more.

“There’s a reason why I can’t show you.”

Adela obviously knew what the Pinnacle Shard looked like.

That’s why I couldn’t take out the Pinnacle Shard right now.

If she asked why I already had the MVP reward, I wouldn’t have an answer.

Unless I could tell her about my relationship with Sophia-nim, it was better not to talk about the Pinnacle Shard.

“Then how are you going to give it to me?”

“Close your eyes.”

“…?”

Adela tilted her head the other way, with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What’s going on now?’

Then she narrowed her eyes.

“…You’re not trying to play a prank, are you?”

“Hey. Would I call a player who has to compete tomorrow at this hour to play a prank?”

“…I guess not.”

Adela quickly let her guard down.

“Then why close my eyes?”

“I’ll explain later. Just close them for now.”

“…”

“Hurry.”

“…Okay.”

Adela closed her eyes with a somewhat uneasy expression.

“Can you open your mouth just a little?”

“…Even my mouth? Is what you’re giving me something to eat?”

Adela was surprised and opened her eyes again.

“Yeah.”

“That… eating something I don’t know is a bit…”

Adela expressed her reluctance with a slightly disapproving look.

“Trust me just once. Just once is enough. You’ll never regret it.”

“…Okay.”

After a moment of contemplation, Adela closed her eyes again with a still uneasy expression and slowly opened her mouth.

“Ugh…”

A small groan as if she was uneasy.

It was impossible for her not to be scared of putting something she didn’t know in her mouth.

Regardless of her trust in me, she would be uneasy.

Adela closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth to a suitable size.

“Thank you.”

I thanked Adela for trusting me and listening to my request.

And then I took out the Pinnacle Shard and put it directly into Adela’s mouth.

“…!

Adela’s eyes widened as if surprised by the sensation of something cold entering her mouth.

“Get ready.”

I abruptly told Adela, who looked like she wanted to ask what she had just eaten, to get ready.

“Get ready for what… Ugh!”

Adela suddenly grabbed her chest and lowered her head.

The sound of Adela’s heart pounding was loud.

“What you just ate is an elixir. The best elixir in the world that can elevate your achievements by one level.”

“An… elixir…”

Adela looked at me with a painful expression.

I moved behind Adela and placed my hand on her back, the place closest to her heart.

“From now on, start mana circulation as I guide you.”

I guided Adela’s mana, recalling the Grace of God absorption method I had heard from Mimir in advance.

“Ugh… Ugh!”

Perhaps because of the pain, she was a little clumsy in following my guidance.

“Concentrate. The efficiency of the elixir you just ate depends on how well you circulate your mana now.”

But that was only for a moment.

Adela began to follow my mana guidance 100%.

“Good. You seem to have gotten used to it already. Then I’ll speed it up a bit.”

I immediately increased the speed of mana guidance.

Perhaps because it was a path she had already followed once, this time she followed the guidance without hesitation.

And after dozens of circulations.

“Just like that. Just keep doing that.”

I slowly removed my hand from Adela’s back.

Even without my guidance, Adela perfectly moved her mana according to the route I had instructed.

“Suddenly… what…”

She seemed to have gotten used to it quickly, and now she was even talking.

“Shhh. Don’t open your mouth. Concentrate during the time you would open your mouth. The elixir will start to take full effect within the next minute. If you don’t want to lose consciousness then, you need to prepare yourself mentally now.”

“…”

At my words, Adela was about to say something but immediately closed her mouth.

She seemed to have sensed that the situation was unusual through my warning tone.

Thump!

“Ugh!”

And at that moment, Adela’s heart beat loudly again.

Thump, thump, thump!

This time, three times.

Then five times.

It was the sound of the Grace of God absorbed into Adela’s body gathering in her heart.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

The sound echoed continuously like a motorcycle engine.

And the next moment.

Whoosh-!

Adela’s body shone brightly.

The light of mana.

At the same time, Adela’s body floated into the air.

Whirr! Whirr!

Mana swirled around Adela, who was floating in the air.

Translucent white mana, the proof of pure mana.

It accelerated rapidly and stirred up the room.

The force was so strong that all the structures in the room were scattered.

It was as if a typhoon had hit the room.

Clang-!

I blocked the structures flying towards me with a barrier.

About three minutes passed like that.

Whoooosh….

Suddenly, the mana storm subsided, and the structures in the room fell to the floor.

The mana storm that had been scattering the structures began to be absorbed into Adela’s body.

“…It’s done.”

I watched the scene and slowly released the barrier.

The Grace of God absorption had entered a stable phase.

Now Adela would fall into a state of trance.

In that state, she would continue to circulate mana until she had fully digested all the mana contained in the Grace of God by tomorrow morning.

‘She’ll wake up just before noon.’

According to Mimir, it would take about 8 to 12 hours for complete absorption.

The more talented a person is, the longer the absorption time would be.

I wonder how long Adela will absorb for.

I’m a little excited.

‘She won’t go over 12 hours, will she?’

Adela’s match in the individual competition tomorrow is scheduled for 4 PM.

If she doesn’t finish the circulation by then, she’ll forfeit.

Well, there are still 16 hours left, so she won’t have to forfeit.

‘Then shall I start too?’

I positioned myself directly below Adela, who was still floating in the air and emitting the light of mana.

‘…The amount of mana is beyond imagination?’

Is this really the mana of 300 to 400 years? The amount of mana is enormous.

‘If I can absorb all of this residual mana…’

I immediately started mana circulation.

Since I had already gone through several trials and errors, I knew the structure of the Ring of Truth and how it circulated inside and out.

In the first place, the Ring of Truth was not as complex as the previous three small infinity circles.

Just like when weaving the Ring of Expansion, the problem was more about the amount of mana than the structure.

The Ring of Truth was not difficult to weave because of its complex structure, but because of the lack of mana.

If there was enough mana, it could be woven easily.

“Hoo…”

I took a long breath and observed the surrounding mana.

‘Come here.’

I gathered all the mana that was trying to leak out of the room to me.

That level of control was not difficult for me now.

‘Gather to me. Gather and create a new ring within me.’

Mana flowed from Adela’s body to the outside, and from the outside into my body.

Soon, it began to create a new path within my body.

I focused all my attention on the sensation of mana running through my body.

Keep going, keep going.

Forgetting other sensations, even the concept of time and space.

I just felt the mana.

‘It’s fun!’

‘You’re having fun too? Me too!’

Listening to the cheers of the mana, my consciousness gradually sank deeper.

When I open my eyes next time, I will probably be a 5-circle mage.

With that conviction, I plunged deep into the sea of consciousness.

* * *

The next day, at lunch.

It was only after 2 PM that Adela opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the messy state of the room.

“…A typhoon?”

Was it possible that a small typhoon had hit the room? The table, chairs, sofa, everything was a mess.

It was a scene that could be understood even if a real typhoon had swept through this room.

“Why is it like this…”

Adela, who was dumbfounded by the incomprehensible situation, looked around the room again.

At that moment, the sunlight shining through the window caught her eye.

“…Daytime?”

Adela’s eyes widened.

She clearly remembered that the last time she checked the time, it was 10:22 PM.

Why was it suddenly daytime?

‘I don’t remember.’

Adela grabbed her head with one hand and frowned.

Her memory was hazy after 10:22 PM yesterday.

‘I clearly received a message from Hayul asking me to come to his room…’

She remembered coming to this room after that.

But she didn’t remember anything after that.

It was as if her head was covered in fog.

“Ugh…”

Adela groaned with a frustrated face. She had never drunk alcohol, so she didn’t know what to say, but was this how it felt to have a blackout?

It was very frustrating.

As Adela was groaning, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Ah! The match!”

Memories or whatever, that wasn’t important now.

The current time was 2 PM.

Adela’s match was at 4:10 PM.

If she didn’t move quickly, she would be forfeited.

Adela quickly got up from her seat and took a step.

No, she was about to take a step.

“…Huh?”

Adela would have taken a step if she hadn’t noticed Shin Hayul sitting on the floor behind the sofa, concentrating.

“…Mana circulation?”

Shin Hayul was wearing an old robe and was performing mana circulation.

It was a perfect and beautiful mana circulation that could be seen without using the Mind’s Eye [a technique to perceive mana flow].

“Why is he doing mana circulation in this ruin…”

Just as Adela was frowning with a question, it happened.

“Ah!”

It came back to her!

Adela’s expression brightened instantly.

“The elixir!”

The hazy memories returned.

She remembered after seeing Shin Hayul’s mana circulation.

“That’s right. I definitely took an elixir and…”

Adela’s eyes slowly widened.

‘I’ve been circulating mana for 16 hours?’

She came to this room around 10:30 PM yesterday. The current time was 2 PM.

This meant that she had been circulating mana for 15 hours and 30 minutes.

“No way…”

She had never heard of anyone circulating mana for more than 15 hours.

What on earth had happened to her?

Adela looked at her body with a dazed expression.

Bang-!

At that moment, the door burst open.

“I thought I heard a noise, and I was right, you’re awake.”

“…Kim Seokhyun-nim?”

Kim Seokhyun appeared from beyond the door.

“With this, you can avoid forfeiting. That’s a relief.”

Kim Seokhyun grabbed Adela’s hand and pulled her.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the stadium.”

“Yes, yes?”

“I’ll tell you the details on the way. So come on.”

Adela was dragged away by Kim Seokhyun with an expression that said, ‘What on earth is going on?’, and left the ruined room.

Woong, woong, woong!

In the center of the room where everyone had disappeared.

The sound of Shin Hayul moving mana filled the room.