The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 140

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-141

After that, Mimir’s story continued for about an hour.

“Hoo.”

After hearing all of Mimir’s story, I left her study to organize my thoughts.

Lying alone on the bed, I blankly recalled what Mimir had said, trying to sort out my thoughts.

‘Veil Stoll…….’

Veil Stoll, the destroyer of the path.

When I heard that name from Mimir before, I thought it was just a story from the distant past.

I was only curious about the relationship between Veil Stoll and my master.

I never imagined, not even a little, that Veil Stoll would actually be resurrected in this era.

It was natural.

Because he was already dead.

It’s normal for someone not to be reborn.

‘It makes sense that Mimir reacted so sensitively to the story about the Black Magic Tower.’

It goes without saying, but the black mages are followers of Veil Stoll.

And I am a disciple of Ray Bell Byteiner.

In other words, I and the Black Magic Tower are destined to be enemies.

It was inevitable that we would become hostile, regardless of Shin Ji-han.

“Hoo.”

My head throbbed.

A sensation as if something huge was pressing down on my chest.

What should I call this feeling?

Burden, fear, trembling.

There were many emotions that came to mind, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what emotion it was.

Perhaps all those emotions are mixed together to create an indescribable feeling.

‘Veil Stoll. The origin of black magic that even my master couldn’t defeat…….’

I have to defeat such a great being.

I couldn’t help but have many thoughts.

‘The only thing that can be considered fortunate is that Veil Stoll isn’t resurrecting right away.’

Among the magic my master placed on the Book of Idred, there is also magic that reacts to Veil Stoll’s energy.

The fact that there is no reaction to that magic means that Veil Stoll will not be resurrected for at least 5 years, she added.

In short, there is at least 5 years of leeway.

‘5 years…….’

And this also meant that I had to become as strong as Veil Stoll within 5 years.

‘Is it possible?’

Honestly, I’m not confident.

5 years.

It seems like a long time at first glance, but it’s a very short time for a mage.

Moreover, I am currently 18 years old.

Even after 5 years, I will only be 23 years old.

To become a mage comparable to my master at that age.

It was logically impossible.

‘But Mimir said that this impossible thing is possible for me.’

Mimir said that I could reach my master’s level within 5 years.

She asserted that it would be impossible alone, but if I grew through the arrangements my master left behind, I could reach my master’s level within 5 years.

It wasn’t an incomprehensible statement.

Magic is a study of time.

The speed at which a person following behind walks is much faster than the person going ahead.

Moreover, the person who went ahead is even leading the way.

My achievements will be incomparably faster than my master’s.

This is something that can be seen just by looking at my current rate of achievement.

‘5th circle in 4 months.’

It’s an amazing speed.

Considering this speed, reaching the 9th circle within 5 years might not be entirely impossible.

‘……No. Even so, isn’t the 9th circle impossible?’

Like other studies, the rate of growth in magic slows down exponentially as achievements increase.

No matter what, reaching the 9th circle within 5 years seemed impossible.

‘If you think about it logically…….’

Just as such weak thoughts were about to consume my mind, I shook my head vigorously.

‘No. Let’s not conclude that it’s impossible from the start.’

I desperately shook off the negative thoughts by shaking my head.

‘If you think it’s impossible, nothing will work. Let’s think it’s possible.’

The higher the goal, the better.

9th circle within 5 years. It’s a perfect goal.

‘Let’s try it first. If it doesn’t work, I can think about it again then.’

Whether I aim for the 8th circle or the 9th circle.

What I have to do doesn’t change.

‘Just like always, I just need to do my best every day.’

Just like before, I just need to do my best to learn magic.

What I have to do doesn’t change.

‘And, the minimum is 5 years, right?’

10 years, 15 years.

There is a high possibility that there will be more time than that.

‘It’s not something to be trembling about right now.’

Preparing for the future is different from worrying about the future.

It’s foolish for someone to be constantly agonizing with vague anxiety about something that hasn’t happened yet.

‘Let’s calm down and do what I can do now.’

While preparing for the future, without being impatient with anxiety, let’s move forward slowly but surely, one step at a time.

‘Going slowly is the fastest way to go.’

Repeating those words, I slowly got out of bed.

And I walked over to the desk and opened the Book of Idred.

And the very first page.

I spread out the page right after the cover, where ‘Author’s Note’ would normally be written, and took out a pen.

‘Let’s write my current goal in a book that I will never lose.’

And on that empty page, I wrote my ambition in ancient runes.

[The goal is to reach the 9th circle within 5 years.]

[And while we’re at it, let’s clean up the Black Magic Tower before Veil Stoll is resurrected.]

I forged that resolution into a sentence and engraved it in my heart.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up after a long time.

Even though I was wearing my master’s robe, I slept very deeply.

‘Is it because of the elixir?’

I don’t know how the elixir restores a person’s body, but with this level of wound recovery speed, it must have definitely used a cell division acceleration effect.

And accelerating cell division inevitably puts a burden on the body.

My body might as well have been knocked out, regardless of my master’s robe.

‘The effect is no joke. Normally, after taking a high-grade potion, you would experience lethargy or poor condition for a few days. But there’s none of that.’

It sounds nice to say cell division acceleration, but simply put, it’s like drawing on future power.

So usually, you would suffer from aftereffects for a week at the shortest, and a month at the longest, but I don’t have any aftereffects at all.

Even though it was a major injury that wouldn’t be strange to suffer from aftereffects for half a year, I don’t feel any aftereffects at all.

My mind, spirit, and body are all perfectly clear.

It’s as refreshing as if there were no wounds from the beginning.

It was indeed a great effect worthy of the elixir, which is called the panacea [a remedy for all diseases] in myths.

‘……I wonder if I can learn how to make this.’

I wonder if Aslan would tell me if I asked him.

I don’t think he would tell me, given his personality.

‘Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask.’

I thought that as I got out of bed.

The current time is 7:10 AM.

It’s time to gather in the lobby in 20 minutes. I need to quickly finish getting ready and go out.

I headed to the washroom and took off my master’s robe.

‘Ah.’

Seeing my master’s robe like that, it suddenly occurred to me.

‘……I forgot to ask about the real use of this robe.’

Ray Bell Byteiner’s robe.

A robe that I’ve only used for condition management so far.

I forgot to ask about the true power of this robe.

‘……Not only the robe, but I also couldn’t ask about [Real Magic].’

The magic that I couldn’t even say the real name of because of the ban.

The [Real Magic] that Mimir named, which could be used from the 5th circle master.

I had completely forgotten to ask about that magic too.

I must have been really out of it yesterday. How could I forget something like this?

‘I should ask after the open raid is all over today.’

I want to resolve this question right now, but unfortunately, I don’t have time right now.

I forcibly suppressed my rising curiosity, took off my robe, and headed to the washroom.

And immediately splashed cold water on my face.

‘Let’s erase everything else from my mind for now. Let’s focus only on the last match.’

The tenth match of the Olympiad, the grand finale. Let’s just think about winning the open raid.

I calmed myself down like that.

* * *

9:40 AM.

40 minutes have passed since the start of the last match of the Olympiad, the grand finale.

―Okay, Korea! They’re already taking the lead! They’ve split into three teams and are targeting three monsters at the same time! Are they saying they don’t care about the other countries’ checks? It remains to be seen what results this dispersal strategy will bring. The outcome is drawing attention!

On TV, the commentator was shouting at the top of his lungs, burning the last of his passion.

It wasn’t forced tension.

The commentator was also enjoying this match as an audience member of the Olympiad.

―What we need to pay attention to is this. It’s player Shin Ha-yul, right? He’s moving alone!

―He’s heading to the upper boss zone alone. The other countries haven’t noticed yet!

―Could it be that he intends to take down the last boss alone?

―No. Even so, that wouldn’t be the case. The last boss of the open raid, the Tricolor Tiger, is designed on the premise that all teams will attack together. It’s not a monster that can be defeated alone. He probably has another plan.

The commentator and caster were spitting out their words.

It was as if they were having a lot of fun guessing what kind of extraordinary strategy Shin Ha-yul would show again.

―Waaaaaaaah!

The atmosphere was just as heated in the audience seats.

Originally, enthusiasm is contagious.

The enthusiasm of the commentators and casters was enough to further heat up the atmosphere of the stadium.

―At the moment we’re speaking, the four members of the Korean team have encountered other countries! Since it’s the lower boss zone, there will be a lot of checks on each other!

And the heat of the audience seats once again became the power of the commentators.

In the stadium, this virtuous cycle of cheers and enthusiasm was being repeated.

“It’s an important match that will determine whether my son can break the record or not. Is it okay for me to be here?”

The Red Magic Tower Lord, sitting in the back seat of a luxury limousine, turned his gaze to the man sitting next to him, watching the match video through a smartphone hologram broadcast mode.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Shin In-hyuk, the head of the Mado Shin family and the father of Shin Ha-yul, who the world is currently paying attention to, was looking out the car window with his arms crossed, as if he had no interest in the match.

“The result is already decided anyway. There’s no reason to watch.”

Shin Ha-yul’s victory was already as good as decided.

Shin In-hyuk was not so free that he would pay attention to a match where the outcome was already decided.

“You’re practically dripping honey from your eyes. And not just ordinary honey, but royal jelly is dripping down.”

The woman sitting across from him, Min Ga-yeon, the Green Magic Tower Lord, scoffed.

“Since when did the ghost of the Mado Shin family become such a son-loving fool?”

“Hmph. Nonsense.”

Shin In-hyuk responded to Min Ga-yeon’s sarcastic remark with a scoff.

“I am only confident in Ha-yul’s victory based on an extremely objective judgment. There are no personal feelings involved in that judgment.”

There is no one among the promising young talents under the age of 20 who can stop the current Shin Ha-yul.

To stop the current Shin Ha-yul, they would have to bring in national representatives under the age of 23.

That’s how amazing the performance Shin Ha-yul is currently showing.

‘It’s the magic of Ray Bell Byteiner, no less. There’s no way mages of the same age can stop him.’

Moreover, Shin In-hyuk is currently aware of the source of Shin Ha-yul’s power.

It would be stranger to think that Shin Ha-yul would lose.

“Tsk. It’s annoying, but I have no rebuttal.”

The Red Magic Tower Lord clicked his tongue with a very unpleasant expression.

Min Ga-yeon’s expression was not much different.

An expression that there was no room to refute the statement that it was natural for Shin Ha-yul to win.

“Oh my. Why did the heavens send down Kyle and Shin Ha-yul…… I’m so frustrated.”

“It’s rare that we agree.”

The Magic Tower Lord is a position that only those who have reached the pinnacle of magic can reach.

There was no way that those two would misjudge the current Shin Ha-yul’s skills.

The Korean team’s victory is 99.9%. No, it’s 100%.

Not only Shin Ha-yul, but with the addition of Adela Stewart’s growth, the Korean team has become an untouchable existence.

No matter how much you love your own child, you have to admit it when the difference is this big.

Shin Ha-yul is much better than Dahlia or Kyle.

I really don’t want to admit it, though.

“Eh. I should stop watching.”

The Red Magic Tower Lord clicked his tongue and turned off the TV.

It’s clear that watching more will only make me feel worse.

It’s better not to watch it.

“Hoo. Then let’s go out.”

And in the first place, there is no time to watch TV anymore.

The Red Magic Tower Lord opened the door first and got out of the car.

After that, the Green Magic Tower Lord and Shin In-hyuk also got out of the car.

“By the way, it’s funny that the three of us are doing this to protect one criminal bastard. Isn’t it?”

The Green Magic Tower Lord stretched her body here and there, and then equipped a sword on her waist.

“Don’t think strange things, and focus. They’re coming out soon.”

Shin In-hyuk gathered his mana and said something.

“What strange things? What am I not going to protect?”

Min Ga-yeon’s mana also began to rotate rapidly, as if synchronized with his.

“They’re coming out.”

At the same time as flames began to flicker around the Red Magic Tower Lord, a voice was heard from the walkie-talkies that the three of them were carrying.

―This is the escort team for the escort vehicle.

The security of the state-of-the-art prison began to be quickly released.

It was like a robot transforming in a movie.

―From now on, we will begin the transport of The Fist.

Beyond the prison where all security had been released, a transport vehicle carrying the criminal appeared.

―Each team, move to your designated locations and focus on your escort duties.

Looking at that car, James muttered quietly.

“Well, I wonder if they noticed this operation.”

The transfer ceremony of The Fist began 3 days earlier than scheduled.