The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 24

Gazing at the fireball closing in, I rotated my circle with all my might.

‘Resonance Ring, amplify!’

I amplified the magic’s power using the Resonance Ring. [A magical artifact that enhances spells].

Converting mana to the water attribute, I formed a Water Shield.

Pshhhhhh-!

The fireball and the water barrier collided immediately.

An enormous amount of steam erupted between them.

‘Its power is too strong!’

Even with the Resonance Ring’s amplification and my elemental advantage, the difference in power was still significant.

The one circle difference was more than enough to overcome the advantage. [Circles refer to levels of magical proficiency, with each higher circle representing greater power].

Normally, I should have been able to block it easily.

Pshhhhhhhh-!

Despite that, the 3rd Circle fire magic, ‘Flare Ball,’ was rapidly eating away at my ‘Water Shield.’

“Ugh!”

The intensely heated water and steam burned my skin.

At this rate, I’d turn to ashes along with the Water Shield.

‘Blocking it is impossible. I have to dodge.’

Having finished calculating, I immediately shifted my body’s center to the right.

‘Fix!’

At the same time, I poured all the remaining mana into the Water Shield.

I shaped it so that its form would remain even after leaving my hand.

Having completed that, I immediately pushed off from my spot.

Pshhhhhhhh-!

Although I succeeded in fixing it, the Water Shield, its power diminished by the distance from my body, was immediately devoured by the Flare Ball and vanished.

Kwaaaang-!

The Flare Ball, still with power remaining after swallowing the Water Shield, crashed into the spot where I had been standing.

It melted the asphalt like ice cream.

‘I guess I didn’t dodge it perfectly.’

Since I had forcibly switched to evasion in an incomplete posture and state, the evasion wasn’t perfect.

The Flare Ball burned a part of my left arm that hadn’t escaped the attack range.

Just by looking, it seemed to be a burn well over third-degree.

‘The good thing is that my left arm can still move.’

Just the fact that I wouldn’t have to fight the rest of the battle with one arm was a great relief.

“Heh, heh heh. Kkhahaha!!”

I heard laughter.

A twisted sneer.

A loud laugh gleaming with joy and elation.

“That’s right. This is the difference in skill between you and me! Kkhahaha!!”

“…Baek Sa-hyuk.”

Baek Sa-hyuk.

The eldest son of the Baek family, who had launched the Flare Ball at me, was glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

“You get what you deserve for being a defective piece of trash that keeps crawling up. You know that? Huh? Do you know?!”

It was clear that he wasn’t in a normal state.

His eyes, which I thought were just bloodshot, were actually filled with burst blood vessels when I looked closely.

There were also prominent traces of burst blood vessels all over his skin.

‘Traces of illegal drug doping.’

It was a typical side effect of drugs.

And not even ordinary drugs.

A Class 1 dangerous drug used on defeated soldiers in countries at war, disregarding their lives.

Berserker. [A drug that enhances physical and magical abilities at the cost of the user’s health].

“…Are you really crazy?”

The person who takes it can only fight until they die.

It was named so because the forced acceleration of the mana circle causes all the blood vessels in the body to burst, making the person look like a berserker.

Baek Sa-hyuk had taken that insane drug.

“Crazy? No. Not at all. I’m perfectly normal. Rather, you could say I’ve finally returned to normal!”

Baek Sa-hyuk pushed off the ground.

The mana and body enhanced by the Berserker effect granted Baek Sa-hyuk tremendous speed.

“… !”

Baek Sa-hyuk, who had instantly come right in front of me, reached out his hand.

“Because now I can kill you as I please! If this isn’t normal, what is! Euhahaha!!”

Mana concentrated in his palm.

‘Burning Impact!’

The 3rd Circle magic he had tried to use on me before.

It was about to activate right in front of my eyes.

“Kuh!”

I immediately struck Baek Sa-hyuk’s hand upwards.

I was planning to neutralize the magic just like before.

However.

“Too late, you moron!”

Baek Sa-hyuk was not the same Baek Sa-hyuk as before.

Before I could even strike Baek Sa-hyuk’s hand, his Burning Impact activated.

Peeing!

Heat concentrated at one point.

A tiny sun with tremendous mana that couldn’t be thought of as a 3rd Circle spell.

It was fired at my forehead.

Tzzzzzzzz-!

The sound of flesh burning was clearly audible.

My left cheek and ear seemed to be completely burned, and the severe pain dulled my thoughts.

“You blocked that?”

Baek Sa-hyuk frowned as if displeased.

‘…That was close.’

Fortunately, my hand struck Baek Sa-hyuk’s hand the moment the Burning Impact activated.

A very slightly twisted magic angle.

I used that angle to tilt my head to the side.

The Burning Impact only grazed my cheek.

“You blocked my magic…twice? You, a defective piece of trash? How dare you? How dare youuu!!?”

Baek Sa-hyuk roared like a beast.

“Hmm. Well, it could happen.”

Then, as if he had never been angry, he suddenly became calm.

He then changed to a smiling face and moved about 10 meters away from me.

‘…Even those emotional fluctuations. It’s certain. It’s Berserker.’

The more I looked, the more certain it became.

Baek Sa-hyuk had taken Berserker.

‘What’s strange is the magic power…’

Even if he had taken Berserker, the magic power wouldn’t have become this strong.

What on earth was that incomprehensible magic activation speed and power?

“What are you glaring at? You bastard.”

Baek Sa-hyuk, who had turned angry again, sneered and pointed his finger at me.

“Are you scared? Are you about to piss yourself? Are you thinking about kneeling right now?”

Mana was swirling around Baek Sa-hyuk. It was clear that the very rough mana was trembling even more violently, as if in agreement with Baek Sa-hyuk’s murderous intent.

‘Could it be that he didn’t just take Berserker?’

The tremendous mana activity that couldn’t be thought of as a 3rd Circle user.

‘Shall I check?’

I lowered my body slightly and then cast a spell.

‘Wind Spear.’

My signature magic, and a magic that was a trauma for Baek Sa-hyuk.

The wind spear flew towards Baek Sa-hyuk.

“This bastard…”

Was he recalling being toyed with by the Wind Spear?

Baek Sa-hyuk’s face became much more ferocious.

“With trash magic like that!”

He cast a fire magic with the intention of destroying the four incoming Wind Spears.

It was clearly an over-powered magic.

Using a 4th Circle level magic to destroy a 1st Circle magic.

“It’s good that you’re wary of the Wind Spear double firing.”

That was an overreaction.

“You shouldn’t just focus on the Wind Spear.”

“…You, you bastard!”

That’s why he’s getting a surprise attack from me.

If he had just dealt with it with a suitable magic, he wouldn’t have shown such a gap.

Taking advantage of Baek Sa-hyuk’s distraction, I approached him and immediately used magic.

A wind attribute magic, Aero Boom, exploded centered on Baek Sa-hyuk.

‘Did it hit?’

The Aero Boom accurately tore Baek Sa-hyuk’s body to shreds.

I thought he would dodge it, but he couldn’t dodge this?

Is it because his thoughts are dulled by the Berserker?

That’s what I was thinking when it happened.

“Kheehee! Die! Shin Hayul!”

Even after being hit by the Aero Boom, Baek Sa-hyuk shouted as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, mana surged.

‘Red!’

Red mana scattered widely above Baek Sa-hyuk’s head.

It must be Baek Sa-hyuk’s specialty, the fire attribute magic ‘Flame Shotgun.’

I immediately pushed off the ground and created distance.

‘The characteristic of Flame Shotgun is its short range.’

The effective range of Flame Shotgun is only 7.74 meters.

If I just get out of 8 meters, I won’t be hit by that magic.

Whirrrrr-!

When I was about 6 meters away.

Baek Sa-hyuk’s Flame Shotgun fully took shape and flew towards me.

‘At this speed, I can get out of range before it reaches me.’

That’s what I was sure of, and I was about to think about my next action when it happened.

‘That smile…’

For some reason, Baek Sa-hyuk’s smile caught my eye.

It wasn’t a smile caused by the emotional fluctuations of the Berserker, but a feeling that he was genuinely smiling.

‘…Could it be.’

And at that moment, a hypothesis flashed through my mind.

The magic activation speed and magic power that couldn’t be understood with just Berserker.

That smile as if he was sure of victory.

‘And even the timing of Baek Sa-hyuk’s attack.’

It’s certain.

‘Leng Smith. And the IL chip.’

The mastermind behind this is the Black Magic Tower. [A shadowy organization known for unethical magical practices].

‘If Baek Sa-hyuk has implanted the IL chip, then the range of the Flame Shotgun isn’t 8 meters!’

I immediately changed my evasion plan.

Even though I had exceeded the effective range of the Flame Shotgun, 8 meters, I kept running.

‘If my calculations are correct…’

The Flame Shotgun was getting closer and closer.

I circulated mana in my lower body to further strengthen my body.

And I succeeded in reaching my destination.

‘The range of this Flame Shotgun is 9.12 meters!’

Exactly 10 meters away from Baek Sa-hyuk.

I stood there and watched the approaching Flame Shotgun.

‘Bingo!’

Pshhhhhh-!

The Flame Shotgun, which had filled my vision, completely vanished 1 meter in front of where I was standing.

It had naturally dissipated without exceeding the effective range of the magic formula.

“You, how…”

Baek Sa-hyuk frowned.

He had a look that he didn’t understand the current situation.

I looked at Baek Sa-hyuk and gently touched the burns on my left arm and face.

‘Innovation Leveling Chip. Berserker. And Leng Smith.’

The mastermind behind this is Leng Smith.

‘Leng Smith had designated Baek Sa-hyuk as the person to attack me on Friday.’

He was planning to have Baek Sa-hyuk attack me tomorrow, and then intervene to mediate the fight, framing me as an illegal artificial intelligence user.

‘Since Leng Smith uses mind manipulation magic, it wouldn’t have been difficult to control Baek Sa-hyuk, who has murderous intent towards me.’

And if Baek Sa-hyuk happened to kill me, even better.

That’s what he must have thought.

‘…I didn’t expect this.’

It’s my mistake.

From the moment I learned that Leng Smith used mind manipulation magic, I should have assumed the intervention of a third party.

To be relieved just because I caught Leng Smith.

‘I need to reflect.’

My mouth felt bitter.

“Was I so hateful that you even used an IL chip?”

“IL chip? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Baek Sa-hyuk snorted.

He had a look that he couldn’t understand my words.

“Yeah. You don’t remember, after all.”

He didn’t remember that he had taken Berserker, that he had an IL chip implanted, or that Leng Smith had done it.

Baek Sa-hyuk had forgotten everything.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, go to hell and babble!”

Baek Sa-hyuk cast magic again.

Three Flare Balls flew towards me.

“The IL chip is an illegal modification artificial intelligence that enhances magic formulas by boosting the user’s body.”

I lightly lowered my body and placed my hand on the ground.

The Flare Balls passed over my head.

“Due to that effect, changes occur in the power and range of magic.”

The Flare Balls far exceeded their set range of 15 meters and exploded at 20 meters.

“But what changes are only the things that are set by numerical values. Characteristics such as not being able to change direction remain the same.”

I stood up, feeling the hot wind blowing from behind.

“The same goes for Berserker. It only increases the power of magic by forcibly accelerating the mana circle. It can’t change the characteristics of magic.”

“What are you babbling about! You bug bastard!!”

Baek Sa-hyuk shouted and cast magic again.

‘Green.’

The color of wind attribute magic.

Thinking that fire attribute magic wouldn’t work, he used wind attribute magic this time.

‘3rd Circle magic. Wind Knife.’

A blade of wind was created on Baek Sa-hyuk’s hand.

Before it could even be fired, I took a step back.

“And this is ironically, what I’m researching right now, the structural changes of the circle and the resulting values according to mana and magic formula transformations.”

19.77 meters.

I stood exactly at that position and watched the incoming wind blade.

Whoooosh-!

The wind blade, which had come right in front of my nose, completely lost its form and vanished 0.1cm away.

“Thanks to that, I’m very familiar with the changes in magic due to mana amplification and circle acceleration.”

With just the information on the IL chip’s mana modulation rate and the Berserker’s circle acceleration rate, this level of calculation can be easily derived.

“And whether this is lucky or unsettling.”

And ironically.

“I never thought I’d get a hint from illegal artificial intelligence and illegal doping.”

While observing Baek Sa-hyuk’s magic, I grasped the final clue to resonance.

“What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier!! You damn bastard!”

Baek Sa-hyuk roared and charged at me.

I looked at Baek Sa-hyuk and let out a small breath.

“I won’t thank you. It’s just the difference between completing it today at dawn or completing it now anyway.”

I heard something turning inside my body.

The clear sound of the Infinity Circle rotating. [A core concept in the magic system, representing the user’s magical potential].

The two circles that had been resonating with different sounds slowly became one.

And.

Became one big sound.

‘Resonance.’

The Circle of the Mind and the Resonance Ring began to rotate perfectly as one.