The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 168

“Then, I’ll be going.”

Charl yawned softly and waved her hand.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Of course. I have to go. There’s no need to stay longer since my business is done.”

Charl turned her body halfway, only her head facing me, her eyes fixed on mine. She had a sly expression.

“Or what, would you like to offer me some tea?”

“Yes, I was planning to. You helped me this time. I also wanted to thank you.”

Charl played a big role in capturing the Tk’ish this time.

Since she helped without asking for anything in return, I should show her the appropriate courtesy.

“It’s fine. I don’t really like tea. Buy me a drink later.”

“Unfortunately, I’m a minor. Alcohol is a bit difficult.”

“Excuses. You were drinking just fine at the celebration party last time.”

“That was… well…”

I was momentarily speechless.

Everyone was caught up in the afterglow of victory, and we all had a little bit of the alcohol that the engineers and instructors offered.

But that was originally against the law.

“A guy who wouldn’t even flinch with a knife to his throat. Yet, you’re so openly flustered by something so trivial. That’s kind of funny.”

Charl laughed as if she found it amusing.

“Anyway, buy me a drink later. If being a minor is a problem, buy it for me when you become an adult.”

“Yes. If it’s that, then it’s no problem at all.”

Charl, the leader of the Hounds, is a powerful force that those in the know are aware of.

Continuing to interact with such a person is definitely not a loss.

“But you know, right? Since it’s a year and a half away, make it a big one?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Charl laughed heartily and turned her body completely.

“Then, see you again. Check that out carefully. Oh, and if there’s any problem, contact me. My phone number is on the business card in that box.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then, bye.”

Charl waved her hand casually, her back to me.

And then, she kicked off the ground and disappeared into the distance.

“Is your conversation over?”

Mr. Seokhyun approached me, who was left alone.

“Yes, it’s over.”

“That box…”

Mr. Seokhyun asked, looking at the box in my arms.

“Hmm. She said it was a gift.”

“Should I inspect it beforehand?”

“It’s okay.”

There’s no chance that there’s anything strange inside.

“…You seem to trust Commander Charl quite a bit.”

“Yes. I think she’s a trustworthy person. Of course, not as much as Mr. Seokhyun.”

“…I see.”

Mr. Seokhyun replied with a subtle look.

He looked suspicious.

‘I wonder if there was a reason for me to become close with Charl, or if there was something that would build this level of trust. That’s what he must be thinking.’

The relationship between Charl, Sophia, and me is only known to the three of us and Mimir.

It was natural for Mr. Seokhyun to be suspicious.

He would be especially puzzled by the fact that I asked Charl for help with the Shin Ji-han incident.

“Then, I’ll go back to my room.”

“Yes. I’ll contact you again if there’s anything else to report.”

I turned away, leaving Mr. Seokhyun, who was deep in thought, behind.

* * *

Back in my room, I immediately opened the box that Charl had given me.

It was an old wooden box about the size of a ring case, so there was no problem opening it.

Click-

I put my fingernail into the carved groove and opened it.

‘A USB and a business card?’

Inside the box, there was an old USB and Charl’s business card with her phone number, as she had mentioned earlier.

I checked Charl’s business card first.

There was nothing like a title or modifier, just her name and phone number on a black background.

It was a business card that was the epitome of simplicity.

‘03047-7752-7586-113.’

I memorized Charl’s phone number and then burned it with magic.

I didn’t even register the number on my phone.

Important phone numbers like this shouldn’t be stored on a phone.

Especially not between us, who have a secret relationship.

Whoosh!

Charl’s business card was completely reduced to ashes and disappeared.

After blowing away even the ashes with wind magic, I grabbed the USB.

‘Luckily, there’s a port.’

Maybe because it’s the laptop I’ve been using for three years, there was a separate port for the old USB.

‘Internet blocked. Run in secret mode…’

I ran secret mode, which cuts off all external connections, in preparation for possible hacking.

Then, I plugged in the USB.

‘Mana analysis file?’

There was one file on the USB.

A file that meticulously analyzed and recorded the mana of a specific target.

Whose mana was analyzed?

‘Is it Sophia’s mana analysis file?’

Looking at the amount and density of mana, it was highly likely to be the result of analyzing Sophia’s own mana.

‘It is.’

As I expected, it was indeed Sophia’s mana analysis result chart.

‘Why did she give me this?’

What was puzzling was why she suddenly gave me her mana analysis chart.

Is there a reason to give this to me?

I can’t think of any, no matter how much I think about it.

I thought that as I flipped through the file.

“…Wow.”

And the moment I saw the 10th page, I couldn’t help but exclaim.

‘This is Sophia Anachepri’s prime…’

The analysis chart on page 10 was an analysis of Sophia’s mana from 27 years ago.

It was indeed incomparably greater than it is now.

Even just comparing the simple numerical values, it was 1.5 times greater than now.

Even with the current values, she’s 2-3 times better than most 8-circle mages.

How strong was Sophia in her prime?

I can’t even imagine.

‘Then how strong is the Black Magic King?’

As my awe for Sophia grew, so did my fear of the Black Magic King.

‘He’s stronger than Sophia in her prime…’

Sophia said.

The Black Magic King broke the wall of a mage and reached the 10th circle.

That means that the current Black Magic King is an incomparably stronger being than Sophia in her prime.

‘I have to face such a guy…’

Ha.

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

‘Ah, it seems like the information about the Black Magic King starts here. This information must be the main point.’

The rest was filled with information about the Black Magic King.

There was also a detailed record of the analysis of the great incident where Sophia and the Black Magic King clashed directly, and both were left in a near-death state, the Atlantic wormhole incident.

‘It was no joke even back then.’

Page 30.

Page 40.

I had already read 60 pages.

If I were to summarize 60 pages in one sentence, it would be, ‘The Black Magic King’s power is incomparably powerful.’

It explained in detail over several pages why the Black Magic King was so strong.

‘Did she want to show the Black Magic King’s strength intuitively through numerical values?’

That seems highly likely.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to send this kind of data.

I turned the page like that.

“…Huh?”

And the moment I saw page 61, I realized that my prediction was wrong.

‘This is the real deal.’

The Black Magic King’s mana analysis result was also just a side note.

From page 61 onwards was the core of this mana analysis data.

[The Beast Transfer Incident]

An analysis sheet analyzing the incident that occurred just ten days ago.

Pages 61 to 93 were filled with information about the incident.

‘The Black Magic King’s mana structure has changed. Is it because he reached the 10th circle?’

The Black Magic King’s mana had changed as if he had become a different person.

It had become much more solid, vast, and terrifying.

[The Black Magic King’s mana was considerably rougher compared to 10 years ago.]

[It is presumed that the Black Magic King’s mana is in a considerably unstable state.]

But as much as it had become solid, vast, and terrifying, it had also become unstable.

[The evidence is the monster rampage in the United States.]

[At the time, the Black Magic King claimed that his mere presence caused all the surrounding monsters to go berserk, but the analysis of mana shows otherwise.]

[The Black Magic King simply failed to control his mana 100%.]

[The uncontrolled mana was automatically emitted, affecting the surrounding monsters.]

The moment I saw that sentence, my eyes widened.

‘Right. That’s what it was.’

The question that I found most puzzling in the Beast Transfer Incident was solved.

‘If just emitting mana naturally causes the surrounding monsters to go berserk, the Black Magic King could conquer the world alone.’

The Black Magic King’s power was literally a strategic weapon itself.

Why was such a being still cowering? I kept thinking about that as a question. Finally, that question was solved.

The monster rampage was just a remnant of the Black Magic King’s lack of mana control.

[It seems that the Black Magic King is unable to fully control his strengthened power.]

[It was confirmed that the Black Magic King’s mana became increasingly rough and violent as the battle progressed.]

[It can also be seen that the density of mana has noticeably decreased.]

“Circle-up dilemma.”

When a 7-circle mage reaches the 8th circle, a phenomenon occurs where they temporarily regress due to not being able to adapt to the output of the mana circle that has become too strong.

This is the circle-up dilemma.

Perhaps what the Black Magic King is experiencing is also a kind of ‘circle-up dilemma.’

‘Since it’s a realm with tremendous power that can stop aging, it will take quite a long time to adapt.’

[Even for me, when I first reached the 9th circle, I needed an adaptation period of about 6 months.]

[The period of experiencing the circle-up dilemma varies, but considering the Black Magic King’s mana instability, it is unlikely that he will be able to complete all adaptations in a short period of time.]

The content of the analysis data was gradually reaching its climax.

I read the analysis charts, numerical values, and sentences that seemed to be written by Sophia as if I were possessed.

[Therefore, it is highly likely that the Black Magic King is currently in a resting period to stabilize his power.]

[Therefore, it is very unlikely that the Black Magic King will move directly in the Tk’ish capture this time.]

And the last page.

[P.S. It is highly unlikely that the Black Magic King will directly intervene, so you can relax.]

[I’ll be waiting for good news.]

Sophia’s message was written there.

With this, the reason why she gave me this data became clear.

‘…She remembered me asking what would happen if the Black Magic King intervened again.’

I clearly understood why Sophia had gone to the trouble of preparing this analysis data and sending it to me.

Don’t worry about external interference, and focus on finding a way to neutralize the Tk’ish.

This was an analysis data with that meaning.

‘It’s a bit of a burden.’

It seems that Sophia has quite high expectations for me.

* * *

The next day at lunch.

The mana core was finally completed.

“Move your mana.”

Aslan said, placing his hand on my back. He must be planning to directly observe my mana moving in that state.

“Yes.”

I immediately moved my mana.

The five Infinity Circles and the completed mana core were organically connected and resonated.

I was just moving my mana with the same feeling as before, but the difference in speed and processing efficiency was enormous.

“The processing efficiency has increased by about 20%.”

“Yes. I’ll have to calculate the details, but on average, it seems to be about that much.”

“The mental energy consumption rate… has decreased by 34%.”

Everything was satisfactory, but if I had to pick the most satisfying thing, it would be the reduction in mental energy consumption.

It seems that I won’t have to worry about messing things up due to a lack of mental energy in the future.

“It’s a bit disappointing that the output increase was only around 5%.”

“5% is high enough. Originally, the mana core doesn’t have a big impact on the output of magic.”

Aslan took his hand off my back.

“Not bad.”

Aslan crossed his arms and smiled slightly.

“Is it just ‘not bad’?”

“…It’s quite good.”

“You’re actually giving me high praise for once.”

Aslan’s words need a filter.

‘Not bad’ translates to ‘excellent.’

‘Quite good’ means ‘unparalleled excellence.’

“Tsk. Mimir-nim told me unnecessary things…”

Mimir told me that this was the Aslan translation method.

Aslan is a tsundere [a person who is initially cold but later shows warmth], so he never praises directly, so she told me to filter it out like this.

“Then, from now on, we’ll move on to training for utilizing the mana core… or so I’d like to say.”

Aslan crossed his arms and turned his gaze.

“There’s no need to do that.”

He was looking at the small fox walking with a seductive posture from behind. He was looking at the Gumiho [a nine-tailed fox from Korean folklore].

“If you say there’s no need to do that…?”

The Gumiho jumped up and landed on my shoulder, settling in as if it were wrapping around my neck.

The nine swaying tails brushed against my ears and cheeks.

It felt good, but also strangely ticklish.

“Your mana core is already complete. No matter what I teach you here, it won’t change much.”

Aslan sighed as if he was very disappointed.

He looked disappointed that he couldn’t keep pushing me, even though he wanted to.

“It’s a shame. If the Gumiho hadn’t shown you so much affection, I could have forced you to train for another day, whether it was in name only or not.”

I glanced at the Gumiho on my shoulder.

It was looking straight into my eyes with its bright eyes.

Then, it smiled cutely and rubbed its face against my cheek.

I gently stroked the Gumiho’s head.

“Is it really okay not to train any more?”

“Yes. As I said, your mana core is complete. There’s no need to do anything more. The Gumiho, who’s being affectionate on your shoulder, is proof of that.”

I looked at the Gumiho again.

The divine beast that was said to be the master’s partner.

The fact that the Gumiho was showing affection meant that mana of the same nature as the master was emanating from me.

It meant that the mana core and the Infinity Circle had become completely one.

In other words, the fact that the Gumiho was showing affection to me was a kind of signal to end the training.

“Then, are we moving straight to the test now?”

“Yes.”

Aslan’s eyes turned sharp.

“You need to be mentally prepared.”

“…”

That momentum and gaze.

And even those words.

It was a sight that showed how extreme the difficulty of the test was.

“Then, I’ll start.”

Whoooom-!

Suddenly, the air trembled.

No, the entire labyrinth trembled.

“The test passing condition itself is very simple.”

The Gumiho, who was on my shoulder, jumped down to the floor.

Then, it walked to an open space and turned its gaze towards me.

“Fight and defeat the divine beast in front of you. The Gumiho.”

“…Excuse me?”

And at that moment.

Whoooom!

The Gumiho’s body glowed.

And soon, it transformed into the giant Gumiho that I had seen before on the path of fire.

‘…You want me to fight and win against that?’

The owner of combat power that overwhelms Horus and Darkness.

The divine beast Gumiho.

It was staring only at me with its nine tails spread out wide.