The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 35

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-36

About 12 hours had passed since the start of the survival test.

The current time was 11 PM.

The sun had long since disappeared, and only a half-moon remained, faintly illuminating the pitch-black forest.

May in the mountains was quite chilly.

It was the kind of weather where your mouth could easily twist if you didn’t circulate mana.

Crack- crack-

The sound of burning firewood was pleasantly audible.

The sound of the emerald turtle skewers cooking over the fire was beautiful.

I used that sound as ASMR, closing my eyes and focusing my mind.

I was already wearing my teacher’s robe.

Since there were many eyes watching, I was wearing it with a suitable cloth covering it to hide it.

Whirr, whirr, whirr.

The inside of the robe was instantly filled with high-density mana.

I felt the mana reaching saturation throughout my body, relieving the fatigue that had accumulated over 12 hours.

‘Two hours is plenty of time.’

For the record, it’s not like I’m stupidly circulating mana so defenselessly.

I’m not an idiot, so there’s no way I’d use magic while wearing my teacher’s robe, which amplifies external attacks by two times, without any countermeasures.

‘Having two hours of maintenance time definitely makes the test a lot easier.’

From 11 PM to 1 AM on the first day, combat was prohibited for maintenance time.

Of course, this rule doesn’t exist in international standard survival competitions or the Olympiad’s survival events.

This was just a special rule customized for students.

‘As expected, Korea is conservative when it comes to safety.’

If it were a test to prepare for international competitions or the Olympiad’s survival events, they should apply the same rules.

Half the time. Friendly rules.

That’s why Korea doesn’t produce any past Olympiad gold medalists.

Overseas, they’re tailoring their curriculum for the Olympiad and all sorts of international competitions from the age of 17, so there’s no way we can compete.

‘If we want to go global, the Obelisk Academy needs to change too.’

What’s the point of Obelisk Academy being a prestigious school that’s somewhat famous in the world?

Compared to real prestigious schools like Harvard’s affiliated academy, it’s nothing.

‘Everyone isn’t even dreaming of becoming the best…’

It’s truly a shame.

They have two 8th circle mages and a magic tower.

If they put their minds to it, they could take another leap forward.

‘If I win a gold medal at the Olympiad, will perceptions change a bit?’

I hope so.

If Korea’s influence grows, the influence of the Mado family, Korea’s top family, will also grow.

‘Should I aim for other competitions besides the Olympiad?’

The Oxford Academic Conference would be good too.

Mages like that kind of symbolism. If I get it, it’ll help me when I make my leap into the world later.

It’s best to get everything I can while I’m enrolled in the academy.

‘How many competitions can I enter this year?’

As I was lost in thought, the meat was cooked.

The emerald turtle meat on the skewers was glistening yellow.

The fat was fully rendered, making it look very delicious.

“That looks amazing.”

The meat of monsters that contain mana is mostly delicious.

Among them, emerald turtle meat is famous for being delicious.

I continued to maintain my mana circulation, which I could now do as easily as breathing, and took a big bite of the emerald turtle skewer.

“Oh…”

Perhaps because mana was constantly circulating within its shell, the texture was very tender.

It was definitely delicious.

‘It feels like I’m camping alone.’

There were no worries about attacks.

If I had a tent, it would be perfect for camping.

As I continued to eat the emerald turtle skewers.

Rustle-

‘A rustling sound?’

I heard the sound of someone approaching through the bushes.

I silently turned my head towards the bushes.

I didn’t bother to be on guard.

There was no chance of a fight since it was the maintenance time.

‘It’s probably a student who was drawn by the smell of the emerald turtle meat cooking.’

Probably a student who was resting nearby couldn’t resist their hunger and approached.

What appeared from the bushes was a completely unexpected combination.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“…Hello?”

Soonchan and Adela.

It was strange to see two people who had no connection other than being related to me together.

“Why are you two together?”

“Huh? Oh. We were fighting until right before the maintenance time.”

“Ah, I see.”

They were in the middle of a fight when the maintenance time started, forcing a truce.

That’s why they were together.

“I thought you were cooperating or something.”

“Are you crazy? Cooperate?”

Soonchan scoffed, telling me not to say such ridiculous things.

“If we get caught, we’ll be disciplined immediately, no one would be crazy enough to do that…”

Cooperation between competitors is prohibited in the battle survival test.

Of course, this is a downgraded rule for the academy that doesn’t apply in international competitions.

“Yeah, I guess Adela wouldn’t do anything that crazy. Maybe you would.”

“Hey, even I wouldn’t do anything that crazy.”

For the record, exchanging information during maintenance time isn’t a rule violation.

“Ugh. I’m tired.”

Soonchan plopped down next to me, acting all nonchalant.

Then, he grabbed an emerald turtle skewer that was cooking over the fire.

“Hey, you’re joining us so naturally? Anyone would think you left some meat with me.”

“Come on. Between us, what’s yours is mine!”

For the record, sharing food is not a problem.

It’s not like there’s a shortage of food in the test, so they’re somewhat lenient in that regard. They even distribute rations at the start.

‘……Thinking about it, the rules have been really toned down.’

Having plenty of food during maintenance time, which is the essence of survival.

“Then, I’ll eat well!”

Soonchan laughed heartily and went to bite into the meat.

No. He was about to bite into it.

“Freeze.”

If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have taken a big bite of the meat.

“Do I look like a pushover to you?”

Trying to eat my food without permission.

“Tsk.”

Soonchan clicked his tongue.

He had a look that said, ‘I got caught.’

“Hehe. Oh, brother. Why are you being like this?”

That expression soon changed into a sly one.

“Since when did you become so stingy with even a piece of meat?”

He rubbed his hands together with a carefree expression.

“Hey, you need to speak properly.”

It’s not that I’m stingy with the meat.

There’s plenty of emerald turtle meat left. There’s enough for three people, let alone just me.

It’s not like I’m stingy about sharing meat that I’m going to throw away anyway.

“It’s just that I don’t want you to eat the meat I cooked with all my heart without permission.”

I’m just stingy about the meat that I cooked with all my effort to the perfect level of doneness.

“So, how about you put down that skewer and cook your own? Or eat the rations.”

I smiled faintly.

Judging by the slight trembling in Soonchan’s eyes, it must have been a very scary smile.

“…Tch. You’re so petty.”

Soonchan pouted, giving up on stealing my meat.

“Anyway, it’s okay to eat this, right?”

Then, as if blinded by the radiant appearance of the meat next to him, his eyes lit up.

“Yeah. That’s fine.”

Like I said, there’s plenty of meat.

If I’m going to throw it away anyway, it’s better to just share it.

“Okay. That’s good enough. This emergency ration is nutritious but tasteless.”

Soonchan casually tossed aside the emergency ration he received and picked up a nearby twig.

He used wind magic to carve the twig, made a new skewer, and stuck it into the fire.

“Adela. You sit down too.”

I said to Adela, who was standing blankly next to me.

“Yes? Yes…”

Was she amazed by my conversation with Soonchan? She seemed a bit dazed.

“Sit down and eat. There’s plenty, and we’ll have to throw it away if it’s left over.”

“Hey! You told me to cook my own!”

Soonchan protested.

“Are you and Adela the same?”

I scoffed and handed a skewer to Adela.

“Wow, okay. It’s girls before friends, huh? Fine! Fine!”

Soonchan genuinely showed that he was upset. At the same time, his stomach rumbled. He seemed genuinely hungry.

I chuckled.

“Hey, why are you getting upset over a light joke?”

It’s just that he joined us so naturally, like a snake slithering over a fence, that I was just being playful.

Would I really be stingy about sharing meat?

“You can eat too. But you’ll be in charge of cooking the rest. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Soonchan smiled brightly and took the skewer.

Then, he immediately took a bite.

“Is it good?”

“…What is this? Why is it so delicious?”

At the same time, his eyes widened.

He had an expression that said it was much more delicious than he had expected.

“Adela, eat before it gets cold.”

“Ah, yes.”

Adela, who was still dazed, took a bite of the skewer she received.

She covered her mouth with one hand and chewed, looking like a rabbit.

‘It must be delicious.’

The speed of her moving jaw was unusual.

Only after completely swallowing the meat in her mouth did Adela open her mouth.

“…It’s not honey bear meat, is it?”

Among the monsters in this test site, the only edible monster besides the emerald turtle is the honey bear.

That’s probably why she thought that.

“Huh? It’s not? I thought it was honey bear meat.”

Soonchan didn’t seem to have ever eaten honey bear meat.

“Would honey bear meat be that delicious?”

“Then what kind of meat is this?”

“What do you think it is?”

I gave a playful smile and looked at Soonchan and Adela once each.

“…Could it be an emerald turtle?”

Adela had probably eaten this kind of monster meat often since she was young, so she would have immediately recognized what grade of meat it was.

And she would have judged that the only monster of that grade in this test site was the emerald turtle.

“No way, how could it be an emerald turtle…”

“That’s right. It’s an emerald turtle.”

Soonchan stopped talking for a moment.

Then, he turned his head with a creak and looked at me.

“You’re saying it’s right?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes were as big as a rabbit’s, and his mouth was hanging open, making him look quite ugly.

“So, you’re saying that the teacher defeated an emerald turtle?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit…”

He expressed his genuine surprise, saying ‘Jesus Christ!’

He’s never even been abroad, but his foreign reaction was strangely quite good.

“How…”

Adela still had a shocked expression.

“How did you defeat an emerald turtle? I’ve never heard of a mage below the 5th circle defeating an emerald turtle…”

“The compatibility was pretty good.”

This was the truth.

If it had been another C-rank monster, it would have been difficult.

If it hadn’t been the emerald turtle, which had a six-second crouch, giving me enough time to observe the magic formula and mana, I wouldn’t have even thought about attacking it in the first place.

“There’s no way the compatibility would be good…”

Adela trailed off, looking like she couldn’t believe it.

“You can’t even pierce its head with 2nd circle magic. There’s no way it would be compatible with you, whose strength is control. How did you do it…”

Come to think of it, today was the first time I used 3rd circle magic in an official setting.

Then it’s understandable that they’re so surprised.

“Well. It’s not like I can only use 2nd circle magic.”

I lightly moved my mana.

The mana instantly turned into flames.

And soared into the air.

‘3rd circle magic, Burning Impact.’

It was a close-range 3rd circle magic that Baek Sahyuk had used on me in the past.

“I can use 3rd circle magic now.”

“…”

“…”

The two of them were completely dumbfounded.

They had expressions that said, ‘What did we just see?’

“…You didn’t really take some weird drug, did you?”

Soonchan looked at my face from side to side.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Not an illegal AI either?”

This time, he looked behind my neck.

“I told you, no. We checked last time.”

He’s doing it again.

“…That’s right. Hmm.”

Then, he laughed blankly again with a dazed expression.

“Then what is it? Did you somehow do a secondary modification of memorization with that modification magic or whatever?”

“That’s right.”

“…That’s cheating.”

Soonchan’s mutter was filled with sincerity.

“Then, did you defeat it by aiming for the head of the charging emerald turtle with 3rd circle magic?”

“No. I just pierced it from above the shell.”

“…Huh?”

“What?”

The two of them were shocked again.

“Um. Did I hear wrong?”

Soonchan rubbed his ear.

He had an expression that said he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“You heard right, I think?”

“No way. You must have heard wrong. So, can you tell me again? What did you do?”

“I pierced the emerald turtle through its shell and destroyed its heart.”

I took a bite of the cooked meat.

“…”

“…”

The two of them looked at me with expressions that said they couldn’t believe it.

They had expressions that said, ‘Is that even possible?’

“If you don’t believe me, watch the video after the test. There must have been at least four drones filming me, so you can see it from various angles.”

I took another bite of the meat. Mmm. Delicious.

“Ah, you’ll see it in person before that.”

I wiped the grease from my mouth and smiled.

“Because we’ll be fighting tomorrow anyway.”

Tomorrow.

When the training ground’s range shrinks to within a 1km radius, we’ll definitely end up fighting.

“I’ll show you then.”

How broken interference magic is.

A moment of silence passed, and Adela smiled softly and said.

“…That’s amazing.”

“What is?”

“No. It’s just that you said exactly what I wanted to say.”

“What you wanted to say?”

“Yes.”

Adela said with a slightly flushed expression.

“I also had something to show you.”