Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 28

28. What Happened During the Test (3)

The children’s gazes snapped upwards in unison. Their mouths fell open as they looked at the sky, their faces illuminated by the eerie, shifting colors of the descending light.

‘This is insane…!’

It was a situation that couldn’t help but elicit curses. What was reflected in the children’s eyes was a veritable storm of spells pouring down from the heavens.

Fire, water, lightning.

Various elemental attacks were descending from above. It wasn’t a meteor shower; it was more like a magical bombardment, with over ten spells falling simultaneously. If meteors had a monstrous, combined form, this might be it.

‘A sudden attack…!’

Compared to the magic I faced when I was Adonis, this wasn’t as potent, but to us in our current state, it looked like a scene straight out of hell.

“Aaaagh!”

“Save me!”

“Professor!”

The outdoor training ground instantly devolved into chaos. Before the children could even recover the mana they had poured into the magic stones, panic had already set in.

“Everyone! Gather together in one place!”

“Don’t scatter!”

“Just stay within the training ground!”

Fortunately, the young professors were quickly regaining their composure. They must have been just as bewildered, but they were still skilled mages.

“Don’t worry too much! There’s a defensive magic circle here!”

Alroy hurriedly activated the magic circle on one side of the plaza.

Kugugugu!

The earth vibrated violently. A shimmering barrier spread outwards from the magic circle, enveloping the entire training ground.

‘Ah, there was a defensive barrier.’

That must have been why the professors were able to remain relatively calm. It was fortunate that they activated the defensive barrier so quickly.

Kugugung! Whirr!

A barrage of spells slammed into the barrier. Since it was a barrier directly installed by the Magic Tower, it wouldn’t be easily breached by ordinary magic.

‘Now, all we need to do is request support from the Magic Tower.’

As if reading my mind, Alroy calmly injected mana into the necklace he was wearing. It was an artifact that allowed him to make emergency contact with the Magic Tower.

‘He’s usually slick, but he’s sharp when it counts.’

If the high-ranking mages of the Magic Tower arrived, they could end the situation without any casualties. It was all thanks to Alroy’s quick thinking.

‘The Outer Circle, was it…?’

Only then did questions about the perpetrators of this terror flood in.

[You mean that terrorist group Andrei mentioned before?]

‘Yeah. They’re really fearless. To mess with the Magic Tower in Ias [the capital city and center of magical power]?’

The attackers still hadn’t retreated. As the dust and dirt created by the magic cleared, ten figures wearing masks appeared.

‘Black masks, huh….’
A black mask with a white circle in the center.

‘Is that their symbol?’

The children were still trembling at the sight, but my attention was focused on observing the masked figures.

‘…What’s that?’

There were two figures who immediately caught my eye: two figures wielding swords.

[Swordsmen.]

I could understand the presence of swordsmen. Just because dungeons had disappeared didn’t mean the role of a knight had vanished.

Private mercenary groups and knight orders belonging to noble families still maintained their existence.

Of course, they didn’t have the same status as before. They mostly handled tasks that required physical strength or chores that mages avoided.

However, I hadn’t seen them in Delemana, where I was born and raised, or in Ias, the holy land of mages.

‘But those guys don’t seem like they’re just handymen.’

The two swordsmen outside the barrier seemed quite skilled with their weapons.

[Those guys have been properly trained in swordsmanship.]

They couldn’t fool us. We could gauge their skill just by looking at how they held their swords.

‘There’s something strange about those guys.’

Just as I was falling into a strange sense of déjà vu, I heard a trembling voice next to me.

“I, Ian. Are you okay?”

It was Drew, who was lying flat on the ground.

“Yeah. Don’t worry too much. The professors have handled it well. Support will be coming from the Magic Tower soon, too.”

“If that barrier breaks, we’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

“I guess so.”

“Eek!”

“But the barrier won’t break.”

The basic principle of a surprise attack is to catch the opponent off guard and take them out in one blow. The strongest attack must be launched with the first strike.

But those guys hadn’t even managed to break through the barrier with their initial assault. Judging by the power of their magic, it was only around level 6.

“They’ll never be able to break through with their level of magic.”

It was a barrier that the Magic Tower’s high-ranking mages had directly installed. There was no way those far behind them in skill could break it.

“R, really? How are you so calm, Ian?”

Only then did Drew raise his head and look around.

“Well, I trust our professors.”

To be precise, I trusted the professors who had set up the barrier and the high-ranking mages who would soon come to support us, but there was no need to explain all that.

‘The young professors alone won’t be able to handle them.’

Eight mages at level 6 and two swordsmen whose capabilities were unknown. Five young professors were not enough to stop them.

As the situation stabilized to some extent, one of the young professors stepped forward boldly.

“Do you think you can attack us and get away with it? The Magic Tower will be sending support to catch you right now! It’s no use running away now!”

He approached the masked figures, trusting in the barrier.

‘There’s no need to provoke them.’

Then, one of the Outer Circle members stepped forward.

“Run? That’s a funny thing to say. We didn’t come here hoping to live. We have no fear, for the sake of a new future.”

A male voice leaked out from the gap in the black mask.

“…And when the barrier is lifted, I will personally cut off your breath, so don’t worry.”

The children were terrified once again by his gloomy voice. A voice full of venom was unfamiliar to the children who had grown up in sheltered environments.

‘What?’

The masked man’s words made my expression harden as well. But unlike the other children, I wasn’t intimidated by his aura.

‘Just now, that guy….’

I was on edge because of what the masked man had said.

‘Did he say the barrier would be lifted?’

Not that he would break the barrier, but that he would lift it. That made my spine tingle.

[Surely, he’s just saying that. It’s harder to lift a barrier than to break it.]

As Oberon said, to lift a barrier from the outside, one would need at least the magical achievement of the one who installed it.

‘I’m probably just overreacting….’

Because of the situation, I couldn’t help but be wary of everything.

But soon I would realize that my intuition hadn’t failed me.

‘What?’

Someone had climbed onto the defensive magic circle inside the barrier. It was the assistant professor Midran, who was in charge of the basic fire attribute magic class and had led us here.

“Magic Tower’s rats! I’ll wipe you out from the sprouts!”

His body began to swell as he shouted.

‘That crazy bastard!’

There was no way I couldn’t recognize it. It was a suicide magic that terrorists had often used a thousand years ago.

‘I have to stop him!’

The biggest disadvantage of magic using a magic circle is that the magic disappears when the magic circle disappears. If Midran blew himself up, the magic circle would obviously be affected.

“Midran! What are you doing!”

Another professor next to him hurriedly tried to cast a spell, but.

“For the one!”

Midran shouted and exploded.

Kugugugu…!

With a violent explosion, dirt and dust scattered. The scene behind it was truly devastating.

Whoo-oong!

The barrier began to dissipate rapidly, and beyond it, members of the Outer Circle were chanting spells.

‘Did he infiltrate from the beginning with this plan in mind!’

I could only conclude that Midran had hidden his affiliation with the Outer Circle and entered the Magic Tower as a mole.

“Kkeuaaaaak!”

At that moment, a desperate scream rang out. It was the young professor who had been provoking them near the barrier. Dozens of wounds marred his fallen body.

“I told you I would kill you with my own hands.”

As soon as the barrier disappeared, the man in the black mask had fired a wind-attribute spell.

‘Ha.’

Even I, who had experienced many dangerous situations, sighed.

‘Will the Magic Tower’s support arrive faster, or will everyone here die faster?’

[It’s probably the latter….]

I couldn’t think of a way to overcome this situation.

‘I can’t die here.’

Should I use the necklace Hol Delema gave me? Just as I was thinking that.

“Everyone, listen carefully.”

It was Alroy’s voice. His voice flowed through amplification magic.

“You mustn’t panic, especially at times like these. Observe how they move and how they use magic. That’s what you’re going to do this time.”

It was only natural that the children were not in their right minds at his seemingly absurd words.

All sorts of magical energies were already surging at the fingertips of the enemies. It was a level of fear that the Magic Tower’s freshmen couldn’t overcome.

“Don’t think about anything else. That’s all you have to do.”

Alroy continued, not taking his eyes off the terrorists.

“Protecting you safely. That’s our job.”

With his last words, Alroy rushed forward.

‘Why…!’

Alroy was only at level 5. There was no chance of winning if he fought them head-on like this.

It would be a much better decision to buy time with defensive magic and wait for support from the Magic Tower.

[Is that guy panicking too?]

But Alroy’s next words were still confident.

“The rest of the professors, please cast defensive magic on the children!”

“Assistant Professor Alroy! What are you going to do!”

Different spells were forming in each of his hands.

Fire attribute and earth attribute.

Alroy, who was simultaneously casting two attributes, reached out his hands forward.

“The Magic Tower’s trash talks too much!”

The enemies’ magic barrage was already rushing towards Alroy.

Whoosh!

Alroy’s flames flowed along the ground. A huge wave of fire advanced forward, as if the earth had become a sea of fire, engulfing the black-masked group.

‘Fire Earth…?’

I couldn’t help but be shocked by the magic Alroy had created. It was at least level 7 magic.

‘Alroy. He was hiding his strength.’

That wasn’t important now. Rather, I was incredibly grateful for that sight.

‘At this rate, it’s worth a try.’
A level 7 mage and the remaining professors. Now it was quite possible to deal with them.

“Professors! Cast defensive magic quickly!”

Alroy’s voice rang out urgently. Most of the magic cast by the Outer Circle had been swallowed by Fire Earth.

Pazzzik!

A lightning bolt fired from outside the range of Fire Earth was falling towards the children.

Only then did the remaining professors, who had been넋을 놓고 있던 [넋을 놓고 있던 is a Korean idiom that means to be stunned or넋을 놓고 있던], come to their senses.

Whoo-oong!

A shield was unfolded, stacked in two layers, to counter it.

“Yes! As Professor Alroy said, we will protect you!”

The professors, who had regained hope, worked together to unfold the shield.

Paah!

The lightning bolt roughly gnawed at the shield. But it couldn’t break through all two layers of the shield.

Alroy attacked. The remaining professors protected the children. The faculty was working well together.

“Wow, the professors are really cool!”

Hope finally flickered in the children’s eyes as well. The children who had been crying, the children who had been swept away by despair. Everyone was looking at the situation optimistically.

‘But where did those guys go?’

But another anxiety gripped me. The two swordsmen were nowhere to be seen.

“Kkyaaaaak!”

At that moment, a scream was heard from behind. It was the voices of other children.

“U, uh! Ian! Watch out behind you!”

And Drew was pointing behind me and shouting.

[Damn it…!]

I turned my head, and there, a silhouette moving quickly was visible.

Whoo-oong!

A knight wearing a black mask was wielding a long sword at me.