The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 309

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-310

Four days ago, I barely managed to weave the seventh Infinity Circle.

The Neutral Ring.

I still haven’t fully understood this ring.

The Neutral Ring is unique in everything from its structure to its properties and form.

No, it’s beyond unique; it’s at a level that should be called deformed.

It was impossible to understand 100% with only two weeks of study.

I’ve only understood about 20%.

No, considering there’s still a master level above this, maybe it’s closer to 10%.

Looking back now, I wonder how I even wove the Neutral Ring.

To succeed in weaving the ring with only about 10% understanding.

How did I really do it?

Even considering that the Neutral Ring, unlike previous rings, is a ‘growth-type ring’ that slowly grows after being woven somehow.

To succeed in just ten days.

Thinking about it again, it feels like a miracle.

Uwoooooooo-!

Miho howled loudly.

Whirr, whirrrrr!

At the same time, semi-transparent flames floated around.

They instantly burned the monsters that filled the surroundings.

It was an overwhelming power that made me marvel.

‘This is the power of a divine beast that has begun to grow in earnest…’

Until now, Miho was far from being a combatant.

She was second to none in exploration and support, but her combat power was almost non-existent.

It was natural.

Until now, Miho was like an infant in human terms.

Her body hadn’t fully grown, so there was no way she could fight.

But not anymore.

Having released her seventh tail, Miho has now grown beyond infancy to adolescence or adulthood.

Miho is strong now.

Those mediocre monsters can’t defeat Miho now, even if hundreds or thousands attack at once.

‘And there are still two more stages above this…?’

How strong will Miho be when all nine tails are unlocked?

It’s hard to imagine.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

What will Miho look like after completing all her growth?

Just imagining it makes my heart race.

Kieeeeeeeek!

Then, a huge deep-sea fish jumped out from behind me.

A grotesque appearance as bizarre as its looks.

A monster so ugly that it made anyone’s eyes squint.

It opened its maw and flew towards me.

Sharp teeth were visible inside its gaping mouth.

‘A deep-sea fish + piranha?’

If I were bitten by those teeth, I’d be minced meat.

Of course, that won’t happen.

I reached out my right hand towards the deep-sea fish.

Thump, thump!

The Neutral Ring pulsed like a heart.

As if in sync with the Neutral Ring’s throbbing, the other rings also began to pulsate.

‘Neutral Ring.’

At that moment.

All the Infinity Circles stopped moving.

The ‘Mobius pattern’ [a symbol of infinity] embedded in my body and Miho’s body also froze momentarily.

As if time had stopped.

As if my body had stopped functioning.

Everything in my body completely stopped.

And the next moment.

Weeeeeeeeee-!

All the Infinity Circles began to rotate in reverse.

‘Reverse Heaven.’

As if defying the laws of nature.

As if rejecting the will of the heavens.

All the structures in my body reversed and began to circulate in reverse.

‘Turn.’

In sync with the reverse circulation, the Mobius pattern in my body rotated 180 degrees.

Ching-!

I heard a sound of something turning inside my body.

A sound as if the last gear had meshed, and all the gears had begun to turn normally.

As the Mobius pattern rotated in reverse, all structures began to take on a perfect reverse circulation structure.

My body entered a perfect ‘Reverse Heaven’ state.

‘Maintain this state and release mana.’

I maintained the Reverse Heaven state and channeled mana towards the approaching deep-sea fish.

Ordinary mana.

Other than having flowed in reverse through my body, it was just simple mana, not refined by magic.

It penetrated deep into the deep-sea fish’s body, following its maw.

At that moment.

Thud!

I heard a loud throbbing sound from deep within the deep-sea fish’s body.

A pulsating sound coming from the mana core, which all monsters have in common.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The sound grew faster and faster.

And.

Thudthudthudthudthudthud!

As the pulsating sound exceeded 10 times per second,

Fwoooooooosh-!

The deep-sea fish’s entire body was crushed, and a fountain of blue blood began to pour out from all over its body.

Instant death.

The deep-sea fish, which had instantly stopped breathing, lost its strength and fell into the sea.

Splash-!

The deep-sea fish’s massive body fell into the sea, causing a violent splash.

Blue blood poured out from the deep-sea fish’s corpse floating on the surface of the water.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s a cheat.’

The surroundings were full of such corpses.

All of them were corpses of monsters that had been destroyed from the inside out by my ‘Reverse Heaven’.

‘I wonder if it would work on people, not just monsters.’

The deep-sea fish just died because its internal mana was reversed by my ‘reverse-flowing mana’.

What if this forced reversal works on black mages too?

This would become my trump card.

…But.

‘…It probably won’t work, right?’

It probably won’t work.

Considering the principle of how a monster’s mana is reversed, it’s impossible.

‘It only works on monsters, it can’t work on people.’

Monsters don’t really have a will.

Because they have no will, they don’t affect the surrounding mana.

They simply accept the surrounding mana as it is.

They have no choice but to accept the ‘nature of my reverse-flowing mana’.

That’s why they absorb my mana and simultaneously cause a mana reversal, leading to their death.

This is why I can kill monsters by forcing them into a mana reversal state through Reverse Heaven.

But people are different.

Unlike monsters, people have a firm will.

Because they have a will, they affect external mana.

The ‘mana with the nature of Reverse Heaven’ that emanates from my body will be influenced by the will of others and quickly return to its original nature.

Then, a mana reversal can’t happen.

This is a technique that can only be used on ‘monsters’.

‘Well, it’s enough that it works on monsters.’

It’s a bit disappointing that it can’t be used on black mages.

But just having a power that is almost invincible against monsters makes ‘Reverse Heaven’ invaluable.

It’s greedy to want more than this.

‘This is enough.’

I once again shot Reverse Heaven mana at the monster rushing towards me.

Kieeeeeek!

The monster, like the deep-sea fish from before, spurted blood from its entire body and fell into the sea.

‘And there’s almost no mental strain.’

Since it’s just scattering mana as it is, there’s almost no mental strain.

Frankly, with this level of consumption, I could use it all day.

If I get a little more skilled, the recovery rate might even exceed the consumption rate.

The cost-effectiveness of Reverse Heaven is that great.

‘Honestly, I don’t think I’d lose even against 100,000 monsters.’

If the consumption is this low, defeating 100,000 monsters is no big deal.

‘Not to mention the monsters of the Abyssal Sea.’

Since the monsters of the Abyssal Sea were born and raised in an incomplete mana spot created by the mana disaster called the Abyssal Sea, their internal mana structure is more unstable than that of ordinary monsters.

Because they are unstable, they are more greatly affected by my ‘Reverse Heaven’.

Thanks to that, the already low mental strain has decreased even further.

‘With Miho’s support, it’s really not a dream to take down all 100,000 monsters.’

If I have enough time and conditions, I can defeat 100,000 or even 1,000,000.

‘Of course, that’s if all 100,000 monsters were targeting me and rushing at me…’

But right now, neither time nor conditions are sufficient.

The 100,000 monsters are slowly moving south.

Before I can defeat the 100,000 monsters, Jeju Island will be occupied first.

To prevent the destruction of Jeju Island, the first priority is to stop these monsters from ‘moving south’.

‘This should be enough, right?’

The frequency of monster attacks has decreased to an incomparable degree compared to the beginning.

They are all scared of me and Miho, and are being cautious in many ways.

This is enough.

‘I can start now.’

The time has come.

It’s time to execute the plan.

* * *

Jeju Island coastline.

Terun Sitrea was staring blankly at Shin Hayul, her mouth half-open.

‘To take down that many monsters of that scale so quickly…’

Monsters, including sea dragons, that looked like they were at least S-rank, were falling with fountains of blood at Shin Hayul’s single gesture.

‘What kind of magic is he using?’

He’s not using any grand magic.

He’s just reaching out his hand towards the monsters that are rushing at him.

With that simple action, the monsters are instantly dying, spurting blood from their entire bodies.

‘I can’t even feel the mana properly…’

Although she hasn’t trained as a mage, Terun also has talent as a mage.

Like Teimoney, she can feel mana to some extent.

Although she can’t sense it in detail, if it’s magic that can kill a monster of that level in one blow, the flow of mana should be felt.

But currently, there is no flow of mana felt from Shin Hayul’s gestures.

‘Does that mean you don’t need high-circle magic to deal with those monsters?’

There’s only one reason why the flow of mana isn’t felt.

Shin Hayul is only using magic with such low output that the flow of mana doesn’t reach this far.

Considering the distance, if no flow of mana is felt here, he must be using magic of about the 4th circle.

‘To kill those monsters in one blow with about 4th circle output…?’

Terun’s pupils trembled even more.

How could he have such a skill with such mana control that defies common sense?

‘To achieve that level of magic efficiency with about 4th circle output, what level of magic conductivity and processing rate would be needed?’

The calculation was quick.

‘16.4 times the mana conductivity and 21.7 times the mana processing rate of an average mage…?’

Terun’s mouth completely dropped open.

To have a magic processing rate and conductivity that is about 20 times better than an average mage.

‘Is that… possible?’

It was an unbelievable figure.

Is that a figure that can exist in common sense?

Even people who are called true geniuses only reach 2 or 2.5 times.

20 times…

‘Is he the reincarnation of the first archmage or something?’

It’s so absurd that she can’t even laugh anymore.

The combat power of the nine-tailed fox fighting alongside Shin Hayul is also surprising enough.

But Shin Hayul is so overwhelmingly amazing that it doesn’t even register.

‘There was a reason he was so confident.’

She worried for nothing.

To think he was hiding such skills.

It’s no wonder he confidently said he would handle it alone.

‘But…’

Terun’s expression became serious.

‘Even with that, it’s impossible to stop that overwhelming number of monsters.’

She understands that Shin Hayul is amazing.

She also understands that the monsters of the Abyssal Sea can’t harm Shin Hayul.

But that’s it.

The possibility of danger to Shin Hayul has disappeared.

But the situation in Jeju Island hasn’t changed.

‘Thanks to Shin Hayul, the southward movement has been delayed a bit, but that’s it. At this rate, the monsters will reach land within 10 minutes.’

It’s like trying to stop a flowing river with your hands.

Even if you don’t get hurt by trying to stop a flowing river, it’s impossible to stop the flow of the river.

‘At this rate…’

Jeju Island will eventually collapse.

‘Shin Hayul, what are you planning to do?’

Terun’s expression became even more serious.

She was staring intently at Shin Hayul’s back with such a serious expression when suddenly.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Shin Hayul descended onto the surface of the water.

He stepped onto the sea, then knelt down on one knee, placed his palm on the surface of the water, and his eyes lit up.

“Mana…”

And the next moment.

“Did it… stop?”

The mana that had been filling the sea off the coast of Jeju Island all stopped at once.