The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 119

“Oh my! Our Jisu! Come here! Your sister will give you a kiss!” After finishing the match and returning to the waiting room, Senior Jin Heeyoon greeted Adela enthusiastically. Hugging Adela, she puckered her lips like an octopus and brought her face close to Adela’s. “S-Senior! I mean, that kind of thing is… !” Adela protested, horrified. Jin Heeyoon, finding Adela cute, continued to cling to her. Normally, Adela would have forcefully pushed her away, but now, Adela had exhausted most of her strength during the match. It was impossible to physically remove Jin Heeyoon. “Senior… !” Adela covered Jin Heeyoon’s lips with her hand and shouted. It felt like it had been a long time since I heard Adela’s voice that loud. Was it that bad? It was just a kiss on the cheek. “Hehehe. If you leave everything to your sister…” Jin Heeyoon, even more excited by the vehement reaction, grinned mischievously and moved her protruding lips. “Stop it, you crazy woman.” It was Senior Ma Jinseok who intervened between the two. He forcibly pulled Jin Heeyoon away and smacked her on the head. “Ouch! Why did you hit me!” “I hit you because you deserved it. She’s already tired after finishing the match. What are you doing making it harder for her?” Adela, freed from Jin Heeyoon’s embrace, let out a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t trying to make it hard for her! I was just trying to express my emotion and love through action!” “That’s what makes it hard, you idiot.” “What? Idiot? Are you done talking?” “No? I haven’t finished yet?” Then, as usual, the two started arguing. Just a moment ago, the atmosphere was celebrating Adela’s victory, but it instantly turned into a fighting arena. “How can they be so consistent?” “Ugh. They’re embarrassing the third-years.” Other seniors shook their heads, watching the two of them. Some even covered their faces with their hands. They seemed genuinely embarrassed by the two, their cheeks flushed. But that was only for a moment. Soon, as if they had decided to treat both Jin Heeyoon and Ma Jinseok as if they didn’t exist, they approached Adela with clear expressions. “You worked hard.” “You were really cool.” “Wow. To beat Kyle Bentia of all people. You should give me an autograph in advance. It feels like it’ll be worth a premium later.” The seniors sincerely congratulated Adela. “Thank you.” Adela bowed her head. Adela also seemed intoxicated by the fact that she had won, her expression vivid. She looked like she was genuinely happy. “And, as I said, about the autograph…” “Waaah~ Just do it. How hard is it to sign?” Adela turned her gaze away, looking troubled by the senior’s whining. “I don’t have an autograph in the first place.” “It’s okay. Just write your name on a piece of paper. If possible, write both your French and Korean names.” “Ah, if you’re going to write one, me too. So I can brag about it at home.” “Me too, me too! If you do it, I’ll make it a family heirloom!” “S-Seniors. I mean…” Adela was surrounded by the seniors, looking flustered. She didn’t know what to do in this situation. Adela turned her gaze to me through the gaps between the seniors. ‘Help me.’ Her eyes seemed to say that. It was fun to watch Adela panic, but well, it would be better to rescue her soon. She needed to rest to prepare for the semi-finals. I was about to approach Adela when it happened. “Alright, alright, seniors. Calm down for now.” Soochan moved faster than me. “Here. I’ll give you my autograph instead. Be satisfied with this for now, and let’s send Adela to rest!” Soochan scribbled his name on a notebook he was holding and handed it to the seniors. “…Why are you giving us trash?” “Ah. Does this mean I should copy your handwriting and impersonate you?” “Wow. Your handwriting is really terrible.” Soochan looked shocked at the seniors’ blunt words. “Wow. That’s too harsh.” Of course, he wasn’t genuinely shocked. The seniors and Soochan were all just joking around. “Hehe. Well, I’ll take it for now.” “I’ll keep it for exactly five years, and if it doesn’t look like it’ll be worth a premium, I’ll just burn it.” “Five years is nothing. Just watch. That paper will be worth a fortune.” Soochan laughed loudly and winked at Adela. Adela, freed from the seniors’ gaze, let out a sigh of relief and slightly bowed her head to Soochan. It was a reaction to thank him for helping her. “Then, Adela, let’s go to the lounge before it gets too late. The condition managers and engineers are all waiting there.” I called out to Adela. “Ah, yes.” Adela replied briefly and approached me. “Before that, I need to check your body. Is there anything uncomfortable? I saw you get grazed by Gentle Breeze a little while ago.” Adela hadn’t completely dodged Kyle’s Gentle Breeze. From what I saw, her neck skin was cut by about 0.1cm. “Yes. I’m fine. If there hadn’t been a safety setting, it might have been a bit… Aaaah! It hurts! Don’t press it!” When I pressed Adela’s neck, she screamed in horror. Her voice was so loud that even Ma Jinseok and Jin Heeyoon, who were arguing, were startled and turned to look at us. “You look far from fine.” “…” Gentle Breeze was such a powerful attack that I barely managed to block it with all my strength. There was no way she would be fine after being grazed by such an attack. “What? Jisu, are you hurt somewhere? Is it serious?” Senior Jin Heeyoon approached us with a serious expression. “No. It’s not serious. Unless there hadn’t been a safety setting. It’ll be completely healed in about an hour.” “I see. That’s a relief.” The seniors, led by Jin Heeyoon, simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. “Still, we should stop by the infirmary before going to the lounge. Soochan, please contact the infirmary.” “Okay.” Soochan quickly took out his phone and made a call. “Then we’ll go quickly. Soochan, contact us if there’s any problem.” Soochan made a circle with his thumb and index finger, giving an OK sign. “See you later.” “Rest well~ Sorry for making a fuss!” Adela and I left the waiting room, waving goodbye to the seniors. Leaving the waiting room, as we walked down the hallway, I casually asked Adela, who was walking beside me. “Are you okay besides your neck?” “Yes. I’m fine.” “Even if it’s a small discomfort, tell me right away if you feel anything strange. Don’t stay quiet thinking it’ll get better on its own.” The wound on Adela’s neck was a wound that would naturally heal before the semi-finals even if we didn’t treat it at the infirmary. That’s why Adela had hidden the fact that she was hurt. She didn’t want to worry us unnecessarily. Adela lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers. “Then, um… it’s really minor, but…” Adela cautiously began to speak. “What is it?” “I feel a bit mushy around my chest. It feels like my circle [mana circle] is strangely uncomfortable.” “…Are you saying you feel discomfort in handling your mana circle?” “Yes. It might sound like an excuse, but that’s why I couldn’t completely dodge the last Gentle Breeze.” “If you feel a sense of incongruity in your mana circle, that’s not minor at all.” I observed Adela’s body with a serious expression. I activated my Shinan [a technique to sense mana] and examined the mana flowing on Adela’s skin surface. ‘There are no external abnormalities for now.’ If there was a problem with the mana circle, there should be a problem with the mana being emitted, but there were no such symptoms at all. Other than the mana wound on her neck, everything was fine. “Adela, I’m sorry, but can I put my hand on your back for a moment?” To observe in more detail, I had no choice but to touch Adela’s body and infuse my mana into her body to directly observe the internal mana. “Huh? Yes.” “Okay. Then turn your back to me for a moment.” “Yes.” Adela turned her back to me. I placed my hand on Adela’s back and infused my mana. My mana quickly began to permeate Adela’s body. There was no particular resistance. I already knew 100% of Adela’s unique mana properties. If I infused my mana according to those properties, there could be no side effects. My mana quickly circulated through Adela’s mana vessels. I repeated the process a total of 10 times, looking for any incongruity that Adela might feel. ‘…From the mana circle to the internal circuits, everything is normal.’ But I couldn’t find anything wrong. Adela’s body was as normal as it could be. It was in such a good condition that it wouldn’t be strange to call it the best condition. “Is it not because you haven’t adapted to your changed body yet?” Could it be that Adela hadn’t adapted to her changed body after consuming the Grace of God? “…It doesn’t feel like that. My mana definitely moves according to my will. There’s no discomfort or incongruity in that action at all.” “…Is that so?” If Adela was so sure, it wasn’t an adaptation problem. ‘Then what is it?’ I infused mana again and observed Adela’s mana vessels and the internal mana structure of her body. Even though I observed in more detail this time, I couldn’t find any abnormalities. “You said the discomfort is felt near your heart?” “Yes. It’s like a mushy feeling, or a ticklish feeling. Or maybe a strangely empty feeling. It’s hard to put it into words, but it’s that kind of feeling.” “Ticklish and empty…” Then let’s focus on sensing the mana circle around her heart. I thought so and concentrated all my mana around Adela’s heart. ‘Four rings circulating with unparalleled efficiency. All normal…’ Then, I noticed something strange. ‘Wait a minute…’ A very small space that seemed to be floating strangely was detected next to the four rings. A gap located in the space parallel to the four rings. ‘Could this be…’ My pupils widened in bewilderment. “Adela, after taking the elixir, have you ever tried to weave a fifth ring?” “No. I haven’t tried it even before taking the elixir, let alone after. It’s not the stage for that yet.” “Right. Then it’s natural that you don’t know.” I took my hand off Adela’s back. Adela turned her body back to face me. “To put it bluntly, Adela, your body has finished all the preparations to weave the fifth ring.” “…Huh?” Adela was momentarily speechless. “C-Could you say that again?” “You. If you weave the ring now, you can immediately become a 5-circle user.” Adela’s eyes widened. “That, that can’t be… It’s only been two months since I wove the fourth circle…” “It’s true. The reason you feel discomfort around your heart is because there’s a circle that should be there but isn’t. That’s why you feel empty.” A frame that should be running with five engines only has four engines plugged in. That was exactly Adela’s current state. It would work even without it, but since there was an empty space, it was inevitable to feel incongruity and emptiness. “Now that I hear the explanation, it does feel like that…” Adela looked at her body, unable to believe it. I chuckled, looking at Adela. ‘Grace of God, the supreme elixir that grants the talent to become the greatest mage of that era…’ Circle up immediately upon consumption. It was indeed a devilish effect worthy of being called the supreme elixir.