The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 125

A moment of silence passed.

“…A grand coalition of over 30 teams?”

Soon-chan chuckled in disbelief.

“What makes you think that?”

“The combined magic used by the three teams earlier. That’s the basis of my hypothesis.”

I recalled the perfection of the magic that the nine of them had used together a moment ago.

“Combined magic…”

Senior Kang Shinwoo narrowed his eyes and fell silent, as if replaying the earlier attack in his mind.

“As Senior Shinwoo knows, combined magic is quite tricky.”

“Indeed. Getting the synchronization right is surprisingly difficult.”

“And yet, nine people who met for the first time today managed to pull it off with such perfect synchronization? That’s just not logical.”

Senior Kang Shinwoo’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“So, you’re saying the alliance wasn’t formed just today?”

“Yes. Considering the training time, it must have been at least the day before yesterday, or three days ago. I’d guess that’s when they formed the alliance.”

The magic from earlier was clearly at a level that required at least two or three days of practice.

“That’s a plausible hypothesis.”

If they had been preparing for three days, that level of perfection was certainly achievable.

“I get what you’re saying, but how does that lead to a grand coalition of about thirty teams? Isn’t it just that three teams have been working together for three days?”

“No. That can’t be it.”

It wasn’t me, but Senior Shinwoo who refuted Soon-chan’s opinion.

“There’s no way a country like Canada would have formed an alliance with other countries three days ago without making offers to other nations. If the alliance wasn’t formed today but three days ago, it’s not strange to assume that about thirty teams have allied themselves.”

“Yes. Other countries wouldn’t want to be the stepping stones for a new record either.”

For Korea to break the record would mean that they would look incompetent.

They would want to avoid that at all costs.

“…Isn’t it just jealousy, rather than pride or anything?”

“That’s probably part of it.”

Jealousy is a powerful motivator, so Korea’s success would have been the catalyst for other countries to unite.

“…Those damn bastards. They’re really going all out.”

Soon-chan spat on the ground.

He looked like he couldn’t contain his anger.

“But even if they’re bitter about our success and don’t want to be the stepping stones for a new record, is it really possible for nearly thirty teams to suddenly form an alliance?”

“That’s a good point. As you said, it’s impossible for them to naturally come together.”

This situation is definitely not natural.

“That sounds like you’re saying it’s possible unnaturally.”

“That’s right. That’s what I meant.”

Soon-chan seemed to sense something, narrowing his eyes.

“So, someone took the lead and brought the alliance together. Is that it?”

To create such a large coalition, a central figure is needed.

A powerful core that can unite nearly thirty countries.

A central axis with enough power to put the risks of a negative alliance aside.

“That’s right. It’s probably the United States.”

“…It’s the US, after all.”

The mastermind behind this is most likely the United States. If it wasn’t the US, the host country of the Olympics and the Olympic organizing body, such large-scale preliminary work would be impossible.

“But why is the US going this far? There must be a reason, right?”

“For 127 years, the United States has held the record for the highest score in the Olympics. Now that it’s in danger of being broken, they’re desperate.”

The United States is a country that values honor. There’s no way they’d let a record that has been maintained for 127 years be erased.

“…They’re being so petty.”

Soon-chan frowned.

“I thought it was just an amazing record that hadn’t been broken for 127 years. But now it suddenly feels like nothing. Does that mean they’ve been protecting the record like this all along?”

“It’s not recorded, but they’ve probably done this more than once.”

Judging by the speed at which the alliance was formed, they’re not new to this.

There must have been other countries in our position before.

“Then, reporting the suspicion of a negative alliance to the judges would be meaningless.”

“Yes. It wouldn’t have any significant meaning.”

The majority of the Olympic organizing body are wizards from the United States.

Even if we raise suspicions of a negative alliance, they’ll just dismiss it and say it didn’t happen.

“The current situation is also quite ambiguous.”

“Insufficient evidence, then.”

“Yes.”

The labyrinth exploration is a competition that aims to conquer the labyrinth.

As such, looting, cooperation, and betrayal are very free.

Even if we raise suspicions about the attack from earlier, they won’t even listen.

This level of attack isn’t a big deal.

“This has become quite troublesome.”

“Yes. It’s a bit of a nuisance.”

The labyrinth exploration is a competition where time is crucial, as there are many ways to earn points.

Being frequently attacked by other teams in such a competition is a huge penalty.

“It seems we need to revise our plan.”

At this rate, it’s going to be very difficult to earn points.

We need to change our strategy.

“Does changing the plan even matter? If they’re going to blatantly try to interfere with us like this, isn’t it pointless no matter what we do?”

“No. That’s not true. There are many eyes watching, so they can’t commit blatant fraud beyond what’s necessary.”

Senior Shinwoo interrupted Soon-chan.

“Just like before, they’ll probably just use the alliance to attack us.”

“Yes, that’s right. If they commit more blatant fraud than that, then Korea won’t stand still either.”

The important thing is that the fraud the US is currently committing is on an ‘ambiguous line’.

The moment they cross this line, the tables will turn, and Korea’s offensive will begin.

The US must be well aware of that.

Therefore, there’s little room for blatant fraud such as rule violations or external interference.

“In other words, we just need to avoid the alliance.”

“Avoid the alliance…”

“Oh? That means…”

Senior Shinwoo’s smile deepened, and Soon-chan’s pupils slowly widened.

“Yes.”

My smile also gradually deepened.

“The highest difficulty area with no people. We’re going straight to Zone 3.”

We’ll skip Zones 1 and 2 and go straight to Zone 3 to defeat the named monsters.

That’s the best option we can choose right now.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time, inside a limousine driving somewhere in the United States.

Shin Inhyuk was watching TV with an amused expression.

“Those Americans. They’re doing something quite interesting. They must be looking down on Korea quite a bit.”

His lips were slightly upturned, but inside, he was as furious as could be.

He was enraged at the US government for committing the fraud of forming an alliance to bring down Korea.

“Master, shall we prepare a letter of protest?”

A subordinate sitting next to Shin Inhyuk asked cautiously.

“No. Now is not the time.”

There’s not enough evidence to raise suspicions about the negative alliance yet.

Sending a letter of protest now would be meaningless.

It could even backfire as an overreaction.

“Then…”

“For now, we’ll just watch. As the competition progresses, more evidence will accumulate. It’s not too late to protest after that.”

The blade of the dagger in his hand was not yet fully sharpened.

Now is not the time.

He would crouch down a little more, gather a little more evidence, and then take the enemy’s head for sure.

“Understood. Then I will prepare to gather evidence.”

“Yes. Do that.”

The subordinate bowed his head slightly and quickly took out a tablet PC.

Then, he quickly began to work. He was indeed a reliable and quick worker, befitting a subordinate who was acting as Kim Seokhyun’s proxy.

Shin Inhyuk turned his gaze and looked at Shin Hayul’s face being broadcast on the holographic TV.

Shin Hayul was quickly passing through Zone 1 and Zone 2. Watching that, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘Hayul seems to understand the current situation well, too.’

The only reason Shin Hayul would choose to quickly enter Zone 3 is one.

Shin Hayul had accurately grasped how the current situation was unfolding through the engagement with the alliance.

Knowing that other teams would also interfere with Korea, he had chosen to quickly enter the sparsely populated Zone 3.

‘His ability to assess the situation is getting better and better.’

Shin Hayul objectively grasped his situation and made the best choice.

Shin Inhyuk was very pleased with Shin Hayul’s thoroughness and prudence.

‘And one more thing.’

That alone was enough to be satisfied, but Shin Hayul’s judgment had one more purpose.

‘If Korea enters Zone 3 so quickly, the other teams that need to interfere with the Korean team will inevitably have to enter Zone 3 quickly as well.’

The moment the alliance side learns that Korea has entered Zone 3, they will enter Zone 3.

Into Zone 3, which boasts extreme difficulty.

‘That will inevitably lead to a melee. And if a melee occurs, the probability of new evidence of a negative alliance emerging will increase.’

The more complex the situation, the higher the probability of evidence emerging.

The fact that the alliance side enters Zone 3 is itself evidence.

‘The alliance side may give up on entering Zone 3, but that’s also a benefit.’

Then, Korea will be able to monopolize Zone 3 alone without anyone’s interference.

‘No matter what happens, it benefits Korea.’

This operation is designed so that every situation is advantageous for Korea.

Of course, it could be a coincidence.

It could be that Shin Hayul coincidentally chose to go to Zone 3, and that the situation is coincidentally turning out to be advantageous for Shin Hayul.

But.

‘No. It can’t be a coincidence.’

This is definitely not a coincidence.

The path Shin Hayul has taken so far proves that this is not a coincidence.

‘From the beginning of the competition, Hayul was expecting this to happen.’

There is evidence that it is not a coincidence, evidence that Shin Hayul had planned all of this.

‘Ji Soon-chan.’

Shin Hayul’s best friend and one of only two defense-specialized wizards in the world, Ji Soon-chan.

Including him in the starting lineup is the evidence.

‘Hayul removed Ma Jinseok, who was originally in the starting lineup, and put in Ji Soon-chan.’

Looking at the overall stats, Ma Jinseok is the more suitable choice for labyrinth exploration.

Nevertheless, Shin Hayul made the incomprehensible choice to include Ji Soon-chan.

Why?

Did he want to give Ji Soon-chan a little more opportunity to participate?

Or was Ma Jinseok in poor condition?

No.

It’s not such a trivial reason.

‘Ji Soon-chan is more helpful in conquering Zone 3.’

That’s the only answer.

In other words, Shin Hayul had no intention of conquering Zones 1 and 2 from the beginning.

‘Hayul predicted that the situation would turn out like this, and selected Ji Soon-chan, who is more helpful in conquering the Zone 3 base camp, as a starting member.’

That’s the conclusion.

Shin Hayul predicted everything and finished all the preparations in advance.

“Heh heh.”

A small laugh escaped from Shin Inhyuk’s lips.

“Whose son is he? He’s so cunning.”

“Excuse me?”

The subordinate was surprised by Shin Inhyuk’s muttering and asked back.

“I’m talking about Hayul.”

“Ah. Yes. Young Master Hayul, yes… um…”

The subordinate seemed unable to think of what to say and broke out in a cold sweat.

He was thinking to himself, ‘Who is calling whom cunning?’ while desperately trying to smile to hide his true feelings.

—Ah! The Korean team! They’re entering Zone 3 just 7 hours after the start of the competition! They’re fast! So fast!

At that moment, the commentator’s excited voice echoed from the TV.

—Is this confidence? That they can conquer everything in Zone 3! Is that it? What kind of moves will the Korean team and Shin Hayul show in Zone 3? The outcome is highly anticipated!

Shin Inhyuk crossed his legs and focused his gaze on the TV.

Shin Hayul was giving instructions to Kang Shinwoo and Ji Soon-chan.

Just watching that made him smile for no reason.

‘I’ll show you magic that will surprise not only Ji-han hyung but also my father.’

Last night. He recalled the words Shin Hayul had said and his eyes lit up.

‘Now. What are you going to show me?’

Shin Inhyuk’s lips slowly curled upwards.