The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 166

“You’re here.”

“Welcome back.”

Adela and Soonchan greeted me as I returned to the hotel.

They were both dressed neatly in their uniforms, complete with epaulets and all sorts of decorations. Their makeup was also perfect, full makeup.

“Soonchan, what’s with the makeup? You look like a different person.”

Today was the day of the World Academy Olympiad awards ceremony. It was an important event, so dressing up was a given.

“Hehe. Isn’t this K-beauty?” [Korean beauty trends]

Soonchan brought his face close to mine and held his phone up. Then, he took a picture.

“Kuh. This is it. This is the difference between wearing makeup and not~ I’m telling you.”

Soonchan looked at the picture and smiled with satisfaction.

“Look. Your face is gloomy. My face is bright.”

Soonchan showed me the picture he had just taken. The difference in makeup was indeed significant; Soonchan’s skin tone was much brighter than mine.

“Okay. I’ll save this as ‘Hayul’s Humiliation Photo’.”

Soonchan smiled wickedly and changed the name of the photo.

“Humiliation photo…?”

Adela, who had glanced at the photo, tilted her head in confusion.

“The humiliating one is rather…”

Adela glanced at Soonchan and said.

“Shhh.”

“Mmph.”

I put my index finger to Adela’s lips to silence her. Then, I whispered in her ear.

“He likes it, just let him be.”

“But even with full makeup, he’s still getting overshadowed…”

It was true that Soonchan’s face looked much better with full makeup. His skin tone was brighter, his eyes looked a bit bigger, his eyebrows were well-groomed, and his lips had a healthy color. If you asked passersby what they thought of Soonchan’s face now, 8 out of 10 would say he was handsome. But that was it.

Just because you draw lines on a pumpkin doesn’t make it a watermelon. No matter how much Soonchan dressed up, he couldn’t compare to me.

“Okay. I’ll upload it to the group chat and show off.”

Soonchan uploaded the photo he had just taken with me to the group chat. He looked like he was expecting a reaction.

I also picked up my phone and opened the chat.

[Jin Hee-yoon: What’s this? Is Leader Shin back? More importantly, Soonchan, why haven’t you taken off your makeup yet?]

The reaction came immediately.

[Ji Soonchan: I didn’t take it off because it’s too good, haha. How is it? Doesn’t it make Hayul look inferior to me?]

Soonchan sent a message, grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to be expecting praise from Senior Hee-yoon, his mouth wide open.

[Jin Hee-yoon: Soonchan, get a grip.]

But what a pity. Senior Hee-yoon’s style was straightforward. She was the type who could never say empty words.

[Jin Hee-yoon: No matter how hard a regular person tries with makeup… how can they compare to Seo Kang-joon?]

Soonchan’s expression hardened.

[Jin Hee-yoon: Rather, the fact that you put so much effort into it just makes you look pathetic, you know.]

[Jin Hee-yoon: Hahahaha, looking at it again, it’s even more so. Full makeup is losing to a natural face, lol]

[Ma Jin-seok: Oh. What’s this? Hayul looks good in that modern suit.]

[Ma Jin-seok: Soonchan, did you just do a face-reveal for Hayul? What an innovative method? A reverse makeup face-reveal technique.]

Soonchan looked like he was about to cry. I thought I heard a ‘crack’ sound. Not actually, but a feeling of a heart breaking.

I moved next to Soonchan and patted him on the back.

“It’s okay. Senior Hee-yoon doesn’t care much about looks.”

“…Ah. I want to kill her.”

My expression must have been quite annoying, as Soonchan said those words sincerely.

“Sigh.”

But that was only for a moment. Soon, with a ‘that’s it’ expression, he sighed softly and sent another message.

[Ji Soonchan: Everyone, just you wait. I’ll get my revenge next time.]

[(An emoji of a mouse with shining eyes, looking for an opportunity)]

After sending that message, he put his phone in his pocket. Then, with a ‘tch’ expression, he sat roughly on the chair and crossed his legs.

“So, you haven’t taken off your uniform or makeup yet just to take that one picture?”

I sat next to Soonchan.

“Yeah. Man. I tried to win with my face even just once. You got a problem with that?”

Soonchan was serious. It seemed like a joke, but it was also strangely serious. He was half-serious.

“Sorry, my friend. It’s because I’m too handsome.”

“…Damn, I should have recorded that last line.”

He muttered that it would have been a legendary rising star’s self-praise.mp4 moment.

“Sigh.”

Soonchan sighed again and got up from his seat.

“Get up, you.”

“Why?”

“Just get up. Mr. Seo Kang-joon of the Obelisk Academy. Okay?”

Soonchan grabbed my arm with a very annoyed expression and pulled me up.

“Okay. Stand here in front.”

“…What is it?”

Then, he made me stand in front of Adela.

“Okay, stand at attention. Focus.”

Soonchan cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice.

“Now, for the final MVP award.”

“…”

My eyes widened.

“World Academy Olympiad MVP. The leader who won a total of 6 championships and led Korea to victory, the main force behind the victory. Shin Hayul! Let’s welcome him with a big round of applause!”

Soonchan and Adela clapped. Soonchan’s loud clapping and Adela’s moderate clapping echoed.

“…”

I stood there blankly, listening to the sound.

“Hey. What are you doing? You have to answer.”

Soonchan poked my side with his elbow.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ha. You’re so clueless. Aren’t we holding a separate MVP award ceremony just for you?”

I couldn’t attend the Olympiad awards ceremony today. The reason was, of course, because of my sister Se-ah’s funeral. I couldn’t attend a celebratory event like the Olympiad awards ceremony when my family member had died.

“Okay. Again. Standby. Go! MVP! Shin Hayul!”

Soonchan and Adela clapped again.

I looked at them and smiled faintly. Somehow, a smile came naturally.

‘….Really.’

I didn’t know how to describe this feeling. It felt good, but also a bit awkward…

“Shin Hayul!”

“Yes, yes.”

What was certain was that it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

“Answer only once!”

“Yeees~”

“Don’t drag out your words! Who drags out their words at a sacred award ceremony?”

Soonchan said with a solemn expression. However, his mouth was wide open in a smile.

“Now, we will present the MVP with a prize.”

Adela took out a small box she had been holding and handed it to me.

“This is the Crest of the Summit. I hope you use it well.”

“…Why did the lines suddenly become so cheap?”

“I forgot the lines.”

Soonchan stuck his tongue out slightly and acted cute.

“Tsk. Put that tongue back in before I cut it off?”

“Yes, sir.”

Soonchan put his tongue back in his mouth. Looking at Soonchan, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“You didn’t change your clothes or take off your makeup for 5 hours just to do this?”

“Why? Is it a bit cringey?”

“Not a bit, but a lot?”

“Hehe. Then I succeeded. My real goal was to make you cringe.”

Soonchan laughed loudly. But that was only for a moment; Soonchan’s expression soon became serious.

“Honestly. Given the situation… I don’t know if it’s right for us to be congratulating you like this.”

I had lost two family members. Soonchan knew that well.

“I think you might feel bad about it.”

What kind of celebration is this when a family member has died? It wouldn’t be strange to think that way right now.

“But I really wanted to congratulate you. I had to tell the main force behind this Olympiad victory that I sincerely congratulate you.”

Soonchan bumped his fist against my chest.

“Congratulations on being MVP, my friend.”

“Congratulations.”

Soonchan and Adela smiled brightly.

I made eye contact with them one by one and chuckled.

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Somehow, my heart felt ticklish.

“Thanks to you, it feels like it’s really over.”

The long Olympiad had come to an end. That’s how it felt.

* * *

After that, I had a lighthearted get-together with Adela and Soonchan before heading to Mimir’s study.

“I’m here.”

“Welcome.”

Mimir greeted me with a sullen expression.

“You’re late, as expected.”

It must be because of Aslan, who was sitting next to her reading a book.

“Did things get resolved well?”

“I don’t know if I should call it resolved well…”

“Why? Did something go wrong? Did you miss Shin Ji-han?”

“No, it’s not that…”

I slowly told them about what had happened this time. From my sister Se-ah’s death to Shin Ji-han’s brain death, and even about capturing Tkish in permafrost. I explained everything without missing a single word.

“So, the successor’s sister…”

Mimir smiled bitterly. She understood why I had such a strange reaction.

“She wasn’t a good sister, but… it’s still bitter.”

“Because she’s family. It’s natural.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Perhaps it was because I had visited her in the hospital at the end and had some sincere conversations. My heart ached strangely.

“It’s unfortunate about your sister, but capturing the executive is a great achievement.”

Aslan narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“Moreover, a spirit mage who deals with souls… capturing that troublesome bug at this time is an immeasurable achievement.”

“So you know about the true nature of Tkish’s resurrection magic.”

A spirit mage who deals with souls. That was something that could only be said if one knew the true nature of Tkish’s resurrection magic.

“Of course.”

Aslan’s eyes became even sharper.

“A magic that fixes the body by attributing it to the soul, returning it to its original form. A sacrifice.”

Fixing the body by attributing it to the soul. There were several possible interpretations. Roughly three interpretations were possible. Which one was it?

“No matter how much you destroy the body, it’s meaningless. To kill them, you have to directly damage their spirit.”

It was the third one.

“That’s cheating.”

“It is cheating. You have no idea how much of a headache those bugs gave me…”

Aslan gritted his teeth with a fierce expression, as if recalling the wars of the past.

“Is there no cost?”

“Of course, there is.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a power without a cost.

“To regenerate the body once, you have to sacrifice the lives of ten people.”

“…That’s a disgusting cost.”

Human sacrifice. My brow furrowed at those words.

“How are the sacrifices made?”

“Spirit mages create a ‘sanctuary’ somewhere in advance. The sacrifices are usually prepared there.”

“So, as long as there are sacrifices left in the sanctuary, they will never die. Is that what you’re saying?”

“It’s not absolute. If you directly damage their soul, it’s over.”

Aslan crossed his arms and chuckled.

“Directly damaging the soul… does such magic exist?”

“It exists. However, it’s not a magic that the current successor can use.”

“…I see.”

Then, it was impossible to directly attack the soul and destroy Tkish.

“It was a very good move to bind him with permafrost. Spirit mages are black mages who deal with souls. Therefore, if they want to, they can abandon their current body and escape with only their soul. The existence of the ‘sanctuary’ makes that possible.”

Aslan crossed his arms and chuckled.

“The original permafrost, a mythical magic, is ‘ice that freezes even the soul’. Only the permafrost that has inherited that tradition can bind a spirit mage.”

“Ice that freezes even the soul…”

Permafrost had such power. I had just used permafrost because it was the most powerful ice magic. I was lucky.

“…You said you couldn’t explain it. You’re doing a great job.”

Mimir, who had been listening quietly, glared at Aslan with a cold look.

“I don’t know why someone who explains so well always passes the explanation to others?”

Aslan silently avoided Mimir’s gaze. From their reactions, I could roughly guess what was going on.

‘It was strange that a brainiac like Aslan couldn’t explain things well. He was just too lazy to explain.’

In short, he was pretending not to be able to explain. If I thought about it, his explanation of the mana core was also very perfect. I hardly felt like he couldn’t explain things.

“Hmm. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…Tsk. Fine. It’s just a waste of my breath to talk.”

Mimir shook her head.

“Just continue with your explanation.”

“I’ll leave the rest to Mimir.”

“You’re really…”

Mimir glared at Aslan. Aslan smiled as if he found Mimir’s gaze cute.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. Sigh.”

Mimir sighed deeply and turned her gaze to me.

“To conclude, the successor is currently looking for a way to neutralize that executive, Tkish, right?”

“That’s right.”

Before the permafrost is released, I have to find a way somehow. The best thing would be to completely restrain him and extract information, but if that’s impossible, I have to find a way to kill him somehow. I can’t let him escape with his soul like this.

“Then there are two ways. One is, as Aslan mentioned earlier, to destroy the soul.”

“You said that’s impossible for me right now.”

“Yeah. Not only for the current successor, but probably for any mage.”

Mimir paused for a moment.

“Therefore, the only way is to sever the connection between his soul and the ‘sanctuary’.”

“Sever the connection with the sanctuary…”

If I could sever that, I could nullify Tkish’s magic.

“But that seems as difficult as directly damaging the soul. Is it possible for me right now?”

“It’s possible.”

Mimir glanced at Aslan. Aslan was smiling with his arms crossed. That expression created a strange sense of unease.

“The successor just needs to get Aslan’s approval within 3 days.”

“Approval…”

Get Aslan’s approval. In other words, completely clear the fifth trial page.

And what I can get by clearing the fifth trial page is…

“The mythical magic that I can get by clearing the fifth trial page. You’re saying the answer is there?”

“That’s right.”

Mimir nodded with a serious expression.

“If you use that, you can definitely sever the connection between Tkish and the sanctuary.”