The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 10

The current time is 6:47 PM.

The scheduled matches for April 30th concluded just now, with the last match finishing at 6:30 PM.

“Three wins out of three.”

Today, I had a total of three matches, and I won all three.

It was a straightforward victory.

I even beat Baek Sa-hyuk, a 3rd circle mage, so there was no way I would lose against a 2nd circle mage.

“Ha-yul!”

Suddenly, Soon-chan rushed into my room, looking frantic.

His clothes were a mess, as if he had just come from a battle.

“Did you win?”

In fact, Soon-chan had just finished his last match.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I won.”

I casually handed Soon-chan a sports drink.

“Ah, thanks.”

Soon-chan chugged the drink and exclaimed, “Phew!” with a satisfied sound.

“Looks like you had a hard time.”

“Yeah. My last opponent was also a 3rd circle user, but more importantly!”

Soon-chan grabbed my shoulders, his eyes shining as he asked,

“What was that magic you used?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. What were those spells you used today?”

He shook my shoulders, looking like he was dying of curiosity.

“How can a Wind Spear fire twice like a Reverse Cutter?”

For reference, Reverse Cutter is a 3rd circle wind attribute spell.

Its characteristic is, as the name suggests, reverse.

It has the ability to change direction and fire again after being launched.

“The trajectory is also under your control, and the spells even combine. What is it?”

“I wonder. What could it be?”

“Ugh, come on!”

Soon-chan stomped his feet like a puppy needing to pee.

“Hehe.”

It’s natural for Soon-chan to react like this.

My magic completely defies the common sense of modern magic.

A Wind Cutter that shouldn’t bend, bends.

A Fireball flies further than it should.

And Water, once created, moves freely like my own limbs.

In the standards of modern magic, which uses standardized magic from artificial intelligence, what I did should not be possible, and it is something that should not exist.

“No, in the first place, what’s with that spell activation speed?”

“This?”

I casually conjured a water droplet on my hand.

Of course, the casting time was 0 seconds.

There was no time lag at all.

“Yeah! That! It takes me 0.5 seconds to create Water. How can your magic be so fast?”

“I guess so.”

I casually canceled the Water spell.

“Hey. You didn’t buy some illegal modified AI, did you? Let me see.”

Soon-chan checked my neck.

Specifically, he was checking the barcode with the AI number on my neck.

“…It’s not there?”

“What are you talking about, you idiot?”

Of course, there’s no AI number on my neck.

How can there be an AI code when I don’t have an AI?

“…Then, you really used that magic without an AI?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re saying you used magic purely with your own power? You didn’t do any illegal doping or anything?”

“What illegal doping?”

“Really?”

“Oh, come on. Has this guy been living a life of being deceived?”

He doesn’t believe what I say.

“I told you before. I had a small realization.”

“Ah, the old book you got?”

“Yeah. That one. I had a small achievement through it. This magic is thanks to that achievement.”

“What’s that achievement?”

“Curious?”

“Yeah. Like crazy.”

“Then, lean your ear.”

I gestured to Soon-chan’s ear with a serious expression.

Soon-chan, who also became serious, brought his ear closer to me.

“It’s…”

Soon-chan swallowed hard.

He seemed to be very expectant.

I paused briefly and said in a heavy voice.

“It’s a secret.”

“Hey! You!”

Soon-chan shouted with an expression and tone that suddenly became irritated.

“Hehehe.”

I looked at Soon-chan and laughed heartily.

“Just kidding. I’ll tell you.”

I sat down casually, crossing my legs, and answered casually.

“It’s not a big deal anyway.”

Of course, I had no intention of talking about the Vaitener-style magic.

I’m not stupid enough to reveal secret magic so casually.

The time to reveal it may come, but at least now is not the time.

Therefore, I said as planned.

“I’ve reached the fourth circle.”

“…What?”

Soon-chan rubbed his ear, looking like he had misheard something.

“Can you say that again? What did you say?”

“I said I’m 4th circle.”

“…Really?”

“You know, today you keep saying ‘really?’ ‘really?’ all the time?”

Are you really a bot?

“No, hey. How can I not say that?”

Soon-chan, who was out of his mind, repeated strange words with a blank expression.

“Being 4th circle at this time is a record that rivals the past Tower Masters.”

“So I’ve heard?”

“So you’ve heard? Do you know how amazing that is…? Wow, seriously. I’m speechless.”

Soon-chan let out a series of hollow laughs.

“No, but what does that 4th circle have to do with the magic you used? Just because you became 4th circle doesn’t mean your magic gets faster.”

“It does get faster.”

“…It gets faster?”

“Yeah.”

I answered casually.

“It’s a magic that has been forgotten because of AI magic, but there’s a support magic called ‘Memorize’ in 4th circle magic.”

I said everything according to the scenario I had planned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time, the instructors were gathered in the faculty room, evaluating the duels that had taken place today.

“The magic that Shin Ha-yul used is a support magic called Memorize.”

The Blue Magic Tower Master, who was somehow among the instructors, said something strange.

“Memorize?”

“Is there such a magic?”

The Blue Magic Tower Master, who had anticipated that evaluating Shin Ha-yul would be difficult, had come to this place, meddling as was his nature.

“Yes. You could call it a memory magic. It’s a magic that allows you to pre-cast and store spells.”

“I’ve heard of it. It was definitely a major magic until 100 years ago, but it’s now a lost magic…”

Shin Ha-yul’s homeroom teacher, Instructor Go Chang-soo, seemed to have recalled information about Memorize from somewhere in his mind.

“That’s right. In the modern era of using artificial intelligence, it has become a magic that no one uses.”

It’s natural that people wouldn’t know about it unless they were interested in old books like Go Chang-soo or Kim Kang-in.

“Using this magic, it’s possible to cast spells instantly. It’s even faster than activating magic through AI. You could say it’s almost instant casting.”

“Such a magic…”

“Then, isn’t it a magic that we must learn?”

The instructors buzzed.

“No. Memorize has too many clear limitations.”

“What do you mean by limitations?”

“You can only memorize spells that are 3 circles lower than your own level.”

“Ah, such a disadvantage…”

Even if a 7th circle mage uses Memorize, they can only use 4th circle magic.

This is a very fatal flaw.

“If such a condition is attached, it’s natural that it would be obsolete.”

“Even if I can instantly cast a 2nd circle spell now, it’s meaningless.”

Memorize is nothing more than a lower-level version of modern magic that uses AI.

This is why Memorize became obsolete.

“Wait a minute.”

Instructor Go Chang-soo raised his hand with a flustered expression.

“You said that you can only memorize spells that are 3 circles lower than your own level, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“And you said that Shin Ha-yul used Memorize.”

“Yes.”

Shin Ha-yul only used 1st circle magic during the three matches today.

“Does that mean that Shin Ha-yul is… a 4th circle user?”

“Gasp!”

“Hoo…!”

Exclamations burst from the mouths of the surrounding instructors.

Kim Kang-in smiled and replied.

“Yes. It seems that Shin Ha-yul has succeeded in reaching the 4th circle.”

“My goodness…”

“That can’t be.”

Words of disbelief were occasionally heard among the instructors.

“In the first place, Memorize is also a 4th circle magic…”

Kim Kang-in laughed as if he found it interesting.

“During Shin Ha-yul’s battle, I confirmed a 4th circle level of circle vibration.”

“Hoo…”

“If the Blue Magic Tower Master confirmed it, then it must be certain.”

The Blue Magic Tower Master is famous for many reasons.

The most famous of them is his ‘secret magic,’ the ‘Ruby Eye.’

It is said that his eyes can see through the essence of mana.

“…Amazing. 4th circle at 18 years old.”

“I know, right.”

The instructors clicked their tongues repeatedly.

“I understand the thing about the speed of magic activation. But, what about those bizarre spells?”

What exactly is the identity of those bizarre spells that break the common sense of modern magic?

“It’s simple. He modified the magic formula.”

Kim Kang-in spoke with a sharp look for the first time.

“Mo, modified?”

“Yes. Don’t AI magic scholars sometimes improve the algorithms of magic and present them?”

“Yes.”

They modify the AI’s algorithm to make magic go further or to make magic bend mid-flight.

“It’s the same as that. Shin Ha-yul modified the magic formula to his liking.”

“Is that, is that even possible?”

“Of course, it’s an absurd act.”

What Shin Ha-yul did was like adding a flight function to a car because he wanted it to fly in the sky.

“He actually showed that he could do that impossible thing, so I’m also dumbfounded.”

Kim Kang-in let out a small hollow laugh. He knew about Shin Ha-yul’s brilliant mind, but he never thought it would be to this extent.

“If my friend, who is currently majoring in AI magic, hears this news, he might invade Korea right away.”

“If it’s Kim Kang-in’s friend…”

“James Filler.”

“The, the Red Magic Tower Master…”

The instructors gasped.

“Moreover, his combat sense is also outstanding. Did you see how he blocked the Explosion with Water right before it activated? Shin Ha-yul is indeed a genius.”

Kim Kang-in’s eyes shone with an impressed expression.

“He’s really tempting. If it weren’t for the shackles of being affiliated with Mado, I would want to take him as my disciple right away.”

“…I, is that so?”

“Yes. It is.”

The Blue Magic Tower Master asserted.

“That’s why it’s even more regrettable.”

“Regrettable?”

The Blue Magic Tower Master smiled bitterly.

“If Shin Ha-yul wasn’t an unsuitable person, how much further could he have gone…”

At those words, goosebumps rose on the instructors’ arms.

For a moment, they imagined Shin Ha-yul, who was not an unsuitable person, and they were chilled to the bone.

“…Korea’s status would have changed.”

Kim Kang-in, who knew the importance of a superstar better than anyone else, was very saddened by Shin Ha-yul’s weakness.

“Well, anyway, that’s my opinion.”

Kim Kang-in returned to his smiling face again.

“Shin Ha-yul’s magic is not the result of using illegal AI or illegal doping drugs. It’s the product of pure effort.”

Kim Kang-in looked at the surrounding instructors with strong eyes, befitting his name.

“I, the Blue Magic Tower Master, Kim Kang-in, guarantee it.”

* * *

That night.

Another article broke out.

This time, it wasn’t an article intentionally spread by someone, but articles that spread purely on their own.

[The Rebirth of a Genius Has Become a Reality!]

[Blue Magic Tower Master Certifies Shin Ha-yul as a 4th Circle Mage.]

[What is Memorize, the Magic Used by Shin Ha-yul?]

[I Will Win Using Only 1st Circle Magic! The Truth Behind That Declaration! Memorize Magic!]

[New Principles Contained in the Wind Spear.]

[Shin Ha-yul vs. Baek Sa-hyuk. Watch the Highlights Again.]

It was a very satisfactory article.

“As expected.”

I know a certain amount about the Blue Magic Tower Master.

I knew about his Ruby Eye, his meddling nature, and that his interest in me was still there.

That’s why I used Baek Sa-hyuk to control the media and increase the attention on me.

I thought the Blue Magic Tower Master would come if I did that.

‘If he didn’t come, I would have had to use a more troublesome method.’

Fortunately, there was no need to worry about that.

Thanks to the Blue Magic Tower Master, I stood in the position of a 4th circle mage without any suspicion.

This made it easier to use Vaitener-style magic in the future.

‘If there was a problem with my magic, I would have to undergo a detailed examination, and then the Infinity Circle might have been discovered.’

But now there’s no need to worry about that.

No one will even suspect my magic.

The Blue Magic Tower Master’s certification is like that.

I stretched with a lighter heart.

‘Then, now all that’s left is to be within the top 10 in this exam.’

If I win just one more match tomorrow, I will be able to participate in the main tournament the day after tomorrow.

The main tournament starts from the round of 16.

If I get into the top 8, my goal of being in the top 10 is confirmed.

In other words.

“Two wins.”

It means that there are two more wins left until I regain everything I had lost.