The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 114

Inside the limousine, heading towards the stadium, Kim Seokhyun explained what had happened the previous night while driving.

“Around 10:20 PM yesterday, I received a message from the young master,” Kim Seokhyun said, manipulating his phone with one hand to show Adela the text message Shin Hayul had sent.

[Sender: Shin Hayul]

[Within the next 20 minutes, Adela will break through the wall of enlightenment. Therefore, even if mana shows strange movements, please do not enter the room rashly.]

Adela’s eyes widened slightly as she read the message. Breaking through the wall of enlightenment was a concept she was familiar with, but the fact that it was predicted was surprising.

“Shortly after receiving this message, mana actually swirled like a storm around the young master’s room,” Kim Seokhyun continued. There was no time to wonder about the absurd message. A fierce mana tremor and storm had indeed occurred, shaking the entire hotel grounds centered around Shin Hayul’s room.

“So, as the young master instructed, I stood guard to prevent anyone from entering that room. I don’t know if Miss Adela really broke through the wall of enlightenment, but if it’s true, no one should be allowed in.”

It was a cardinal rule among mages not to disturb someone breaking through the wall of enlightenment. Even approaching was forbidden. If someone got too close, the ambient mana could shift and negatively affect the caster. This was an unwritten law among mages.

“I also sent back the team members who came to pick up Miss Adela for the match preparation,” Kim Seokhyun added. Losing the individual match was acceptable. Even if they lost, Korea’s overall victory wouldn’t be affected. However, missing the opportunity to break through the wall of enlightenment was a much bigger loss. It was obvious which was more important.

“The other team members understood this as well. They were actually happy, saying that the match didn’t matter.” Even though they were about to forfeit a major match like the individual competition, no one was disappointed. They could have been jealous of Adela reaching a new level, but no one harbored any negative feelings. Everyone seemed genuinely happy for Adela’s achievement, smiling sincerely.

“They’re a much better team than I thought,” Kim Seokhyun said, a hint of admiration in his voice.

“…Yes,” Adela replied with a faint smile. She knew better than anyone that this Olympiad team was exceptional. They were all proud team members.

“Congratulations. To break through another wall of enlightenment at your age,” Kim Seokhyun said, his voice a mix of surprise and excitement. “If it’s not too much to ask, may I inquire what wall of enlightenment you broke through? Considering you maintained mana circulation for a full 15 hours, it doesn’t seem like a minor enlightenment, perhaps…” He didn’t voice the question directly, but he was clearly wondering if she had succeeded in linking the 5th circle [a major milestone in a mage’s progression].

“Unfortunately, I didn’t link the fifth ring,” Adela replied. Currently, only four rings were rotating around her heart. The fifth ring was nowhere to be found.

“It’s not the 5th circle, I see. That’s a shame,” Kim Seokhyun said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. However, Adela herself didn’t seem disappointed at all.

“But even though it’s not the 5th circle, I think I had an enlightenment comparable to it,” she said.

“An enlightenment comparable to a circle up… you mean?” Mages gained enlightenment many times, but the most significant was undoubtedly the circle up. There was no such thing as an enlightenment comparable to a circle up. But she claimed to have gained one?

“What is it?” Kim Seokhyun asked, intrigued.

“Hmm. It’s hard to explain in words. The efficiency of the circle, the rotation speed, the time it takes for mana to spread to my fingertips… It feels like all my stats have evolved by one level,” Adela explained. Even with a brief observation, she could tell that her body had changed. If mages had stats, it felt like those stats had increased by one level each. It was almost like she had a different body, even though she still had four circles.

“It feels like it’s not my body,” she added.

“…Hmm,” Kim Seokhyun frowned, unable to fully grasp what Adela was saying. He could understand the words, but he couldn’t accept the concept. He had never experienced such a change, nor had he heard of it.

“Whatever it is, it seems you’ve gained a great enlightenment,” he said, trying to make sense of it.

“Yes,” Adela replied, smiling again as she felt her circles and mana vessels. It was indeed a remarkable change, even after checking again.

“Then that’s good. Congratulations again,” Kim Seokhyun said.

“Thank you,” Adela replied with a refreshing smile. She couldn’t stop smiling at her mana circles, which seemed to have evolved further.

‘I’m in debt again,’ she thought. She didn’t know what kind of elixir she had taken the previous night, but considering the great evolution she had achieved, it was definitely an extraordinary one. How should she repay this favor? Adela was lost in happy thoughts.

“Ah,” she suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it?” Kim Seokhyun asked.

“What about Hayul? How is he doing?” The image of Shin Hayul continuing his mana circulation until she left the room came to mind. What on earth was that about?

“I don’t know about that either,” Kim Seokhyun admitted. He didn’t know why Shin Hayul was in that state. When he entered the room that morning after hearing Adela’s voice, he was surprised to see Shin Hayul still circulating mana. He had wanted to ask why, but hadn’t had the chance.

“I thought Miss Adela would know why the young master was circulating mana, but it seems you don’t know either,” he said.

“…Yes. When I opened my eyes, he was circulating mana,” Adela confirmed.

“Hmm. I see,” Kim Seokhyun’s eyes flashed with a strange light. “No, before asking that, I should ask this first. What happened last night?” That was the question he had been wondering about. Why did Adela end up breaking through the wall of enlightenment in Shin Hayul’s room? And how did Shin Hayul know in advance that Adela would break through the wall of enlightenment? That was the question that kept nagging at him.

“…I took an elixir,” Adela replied.

“An elixir?” Kim Seokhyun asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. The elixir Hayul gave me,” she said.

“May I ask what kind of elixir it was?” Kim Seokhyun inquired.

“I don’t know,” Adela replied.

“…Pardon?” Kim Seokhyun’s eyes widened. How could the person who took the elixir not know what kind of elixir it was? Could that even be possible?

“They said they couldn’t tell me what kind of elixir it was… I just closed my eyes and opened my mouth,” Adela explained.

“What kind of bizarre…” Kim Seokhyun was speechless. “You managed to take something like that,” he said, shaking his head. To just accept and eat something without knowing what it was took incredible courage.

“It was scary, but it was Hayul. I trusted him,” Adela said, her gaze filled with trust. Kim Seokhyun’s lips curled up slightly as he met that gaze through the rearview mirror. From that look, he could see how excellent Shin Hayul’s usual behavior was. He was indeed amazing.

“Anyway, you took a mysterious elixir given by the young master and broke through the wall of enlightenment. Is that how I should understand it?” Kim Seokhyun asked.

“Yes,” Adela confirmed.

“You said you closed your eyes when you took it, right? What was the taste or texture like?” Kim Seokhyun asked, curious.

“Texture…” Adela recalled what happened the previous night. “The first feeling when it entered my mouth was like a stone. A cold and hard stone,” she said.

“A stone, huh,” Kim Seokhyun muttered. Information about a stone-like elixir flashed through his mind like a panorama.

“Then, after a while, it turned into a liquid,” Adela continued.

“Did it melt?” Kim Seokhyun asked.

“No. Rather than melting, it’s more accurate to say it just turned into a liquid. It turned into a liquid really quickly and was absorbed into my body,” she explained.

“An elixir that turns into a liquid in an instant…” Kim Seokhyun’s eyes slowly widened. Something had come to mind.

“Taste. What did it taste like?” he asked.

“It didn’t taste like anything,” Adela replied.

“…” Kim Seokhyun was speechless. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was half open, and his pupils were trembling slightly. It was a face that clearly showed his bewilderment.

“Haha,” he let out a hollow laugh with that expression. “Indeed, it’s something that they wouldn’t show.”

“Do you know what kind of elixir it is?” Adela asked.

“Yes,” Kim Seokhyun composed himself and let out another hollow laugh. “Do you know about ‘Tears of the Earth’?”

“Tears of the Earth?” Adela replied with a look that said she had never heard of it before.

“You probably don’t know. It’s an elixir that has only been released once on the market,” Kim Seokhyun explained.

“What kind of elixir is it?” Adela asked.

“Hmm. To put it simply, it’s an elixir so expensive that you could never get it even if you emptied all of Shinbi Group’s assets,” Kim Seokhyun said.

“…Pardon?” Adela’s eyes widened like saucers.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the view of my room, which had become a ruin. “…I feel sorry for the person who has to clean this up,” I muttered. I should give them something good for their health later. I made that resolution and got up from my seat. Then, I headed straight for the window. The sun was half-hidden, and the sunset was casting its glow. Judging by the view, it seemed to be past 6 o’clock.

“How many hours have I been doing this?” I looked for something that looked like a clock in the ruined room. It was completely broken and looked terrible, but fortunately, the second hand was still moving normally. ‘6:47.’ As expected, it was past 6 o’clock. ‘I’ve been circulating mana for a long time.’ Last night, Adela started circulating mana in a trance around 10:37 PM. And right after that, I also started circulating mana. So, assuming I started around 10:40 PM, and it’s 6:47 PM now. ’20 hours?’ That means I’ve been circulating mana for over 20 hours.

“20 hours…” Considering that an ordinary mage would fall into exhaustion after about 30 minutes of mana circulation, it was truly an absurd amount of time. But well, I already knew that the Vaitern method [a specific mana circulation technique] was extraordinary. It’s not something to be surprised about now. ‘More importantly, I wonder how Adela’s match went.’ Adela’s match was at 4:10 PM. The match would have ended a long time ago. Did Adela win safely? No, before that, did she even arrive at the stadium before 4 o’clock? I think it probably went well, but you never know. I should call and ask. Thinking that, I put my hand in my pocket. “Ah.” But unfortunately, my phone wasn’t in my pocket. I remembered that I had thrown it on the bed after contacting Adela yesterday. That means. ‘I have to find it in this mess?’ My smartphone is buried somewhere in this ruin. If I want to call someone, I have to find it. ‘I should have put it in the magic vault beforehand.’ I had put other valuables in the magic vault beforehand, but I didn’t think about my smartphone. It was my mistake. ‘In this case, it would be better to go to the lobby and borrow a phone.’ Finding my phone in this mess is not an easy task. I have to find the phone anyway, and I can find it later, but that can be done later. First, I should go to the lobby, borrow a phone, and get an update on the current situation before finding my phone. Thinking that, I moved towards the door. I carefully avoided the debris of broken tables, chairs, and picture frames and opened the door. And as soon as I stepped into the hallway, I was surprised. “…Father?” My father was sitting in front of my room, reading a book. Alone in the empty hallway. As if he was guarding my room.

“Why is Father here…?” My father, who was engrossed in reading a book without paying attention to my call, closed the book and turned his gaze towards me at my question. “Seokhyun is away. So, I’m taking his place,” he said.

“That means…” In other words, my father was standing guard for me instead of Seokhyun because Seokhyun was away.

“Why? Are you so surprised that I’m standing guard for you?” Perhaps he found my expression quite amusing. My father laughed with a look of great amusement. “What. It’s a promise to protect you until the end of the Olympiad. I’m just doing this to keep that promise,” he said. My father got up from his seat and approached me. Then, with a look of great amusement, he scanned my body from head to toe. “So, did you completely shatter the wall of enlightenment?” Eyes full of anticipation. Eyes that clearly knew what had happened to me, what had happened to my body. I stared straight into my father’s eyes and replied. “Yes.” I smiled confidently, feeling the fifth ring, the ‘Ring of Truth,’ rotating around my body. “I completely shattered it.”