The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 38

“So, your alteration magic can interfere not only with your own magic formulas but also with those of your opponents?”

“That’s right.”

“Holy moly……”

Soon-chan was genuinely astonished.

“And you also possess a magic eye that can see the opponent’s magic formulas?”

“Yeah. There’s a condition that I need to check multiple times up close. But if all the conditions are met, I can read the magic formulas perfectly, 100%.”

“Wow, seriously.”

Soon-chan chuckled, looking utterly incredulous.

“You don’t believe me?”

“No. I believe you. Of course, I believe you. You even showed me the Moonlight Bullet. I have to believe you. But this is just… wow. The magic’s performance is just too absurd.”

Soon-chan was speechless again, exclaiming, ‘Wow, seriously.’

“Even thinking about it again, it’s ridiculous. How can such magic even exist?”

“Well, it does exist.”

It’s natural for Soon-chan to be surprised.

My magic is that broken.

“……I’m just speechless.”

Soon-chan shook his head again.

Adela, who had been quietly lost in thought, spoke up.

“Then, piercing the Emerald Turtle’s shell was……”

“I interfered with the barrier surrounding its shell, lowering its strength. No need to explain how I deflected your Moonlight Bullet, right?”

“……Yes.”

Her entire face, including her cheeks, was redder than usual.

She looked like she couldn’t contain her excitement about my magic.

“Then, is the condition for using interference magic to understand the opponent’s magic formula 100%?”

“That’s right.”

“……So, that’s why you didn’t use interference magic at the beginning. Now my question is answered.”

“Yeah. Back then, I hadn’t fully grasped the magic formula of the Moonlight Bullet.”

“Then, me going into battle with just the Moonlight Bullet was actually a disadvantage.”

“Yeah. If you had kept mixing in other magic and pressuring me, it would have been more difficult.”

Adela tapped her chin with her index finger and thumb, nodding.

She was probably reviewing the previous battle.

“What are the other drawbacks?”

“It’s difficult to calculate, so I can only interfere with magic that’s close to my palm. And in actual combat, there’s not enough time to calculate, so I can only change its trajectory.”

Like with the Emerald Turtle, if there was enough time, much more advanced interference would be possible.

But at my current level, I can only deflect the opponent’s magic in actual combat.

“What about deflecting the trajectory by 180 degrees and returning the magic to the opponent?”

“Can’t do it. There’s not enough time to calculate either.”

Deflecting magic by 12 degrees and 180 degrees is a world of difference.

“To deflect the direction that much, I need at least 1.5 seconds.”

“I see. That’s a bit of a shame. If reflection were possible, its effectiveness would be immeasurable… Of course, even now, it’s still a sufficiently broken magic.”

Adela’s eyes were getting brighter. She looked like she was thoroughly enjoying this situation.

“Then, the matches where interference magic would be useful as a trump card are the tiebreaker and……”

“The siege battle.”

“Yes. In those two matches, it would show cheat-like efficiency.”

Adela said with an even more excited expression.

“The fact that you can use the opponent’s secret magic after observing it is something only we know, right?”

“Yeah. I’m telling you for the first time.”

“Then that can also be used as a trump card. What other hidden cards do you have?”

“I have some.”

Just as Adela and I were excitedly talking about the Olympiad.

“Excuse me, you two?”

Soon-chan, with a dumbfounded expression, interrupted our conversation by placing his hand between Adela and me.

“Sorry to interrupt your fun conversation, but could you explain it to me so I can understand too?”

He looked like he had about ten question marks floating above his head.

“That’s right. I was so focused on the magic talk that I didn’t explain the details.”

I was so caught up in strategizing with Adela that I had forgotten.

“First of all, Soon-chan, you know what I’m aiming for since we talked about it before, right?”

“Yeah. I know. Your goal is to win the gold medal at the Olympiad.”

“You also know that to win the Olympiad, not just me, but all the participants need to work together, right?”

“Yeah, right? It’s an inter-academy competition between countries, after all.”

The Olympiad is a team event.

There’s a limit to what I can do alone, no matter how well I perform.

“That’s why I’m telling you two about my magic. We need to coordinate in advance to prepare for the Olympiad.”

The alteration magic is already public.

The interference magic might not be known yet, but it will definitely become known if I use it in the Olympiad.

The same goes for the fact that I can analyze and use other people’s secret magic.

These are magic that will be revealed anyway if I use them in the Olympiad.

I’m just sharing the magic that will be revealed with the two of them in advance.

“No, I get that. I’m not that dense. That’s not what I’m wondering about.”

Soon-chan continued, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Why are you telling me, who isn’t even participating in the Olympiad? That’s what I’m wondering.”

“Huh? Weren’t you participating?”

Adela tilted her head.

“How can I participate? My grades aren’t good enough.”

The Olympiad team consists of 7 third-year students and 3 second-year students.

In other words, only the top 3 second-year students can participate.

But Soon-chan is not in the top 3.

That’s why he’s saying that.

“……Is that so? Aren’t your grades good enough?”

“Good enough?”

“Yes. Aren’t they?”

Adela looked at me, seeking agreement.

“They’re good enough.”

“Only the top 3 can participate, right? I’m only around 10th place at best?”

Soon-chan tilted his head, looking genuinely confused.

“That’s usually the case. But, things in the world don’t always go according to the rules, do they?”

“……What do you mean?”

I smiled brightly.

“I’m going to use my family’s influence to get you selected for the Olympiad team.”

Soon-chan was dumbfounded.

“You want me to be a parachute hire?”

“Why go as far as a parachute hire? You’re skilled enough to participate. You’re also the most compatible with me.”

“Yes. You also have your first-year grades. It’s not like there’s any room for complaints. At most, people might say you’re a general admission entrant.”

“……Even so. I don’t think that’s right.”

Soon-chan looked at me with a serious expression.

“Then what about the person who was supposed to participate instead of me? I can’t do that.”

“……”

Adela’s eyes widened slightly, as if surprised by Soon-chan’s words.

“……You’re a really good person.”

Adela’s smile was softer than usual.

“He’s a good kid. Just a bit frustrating sometimes.”

I chuckled.

“I know it’s stupid to refuse this offer. But still, I……”

“Hey.”

I lightly punched Soon-chan’s chest with my fist.

“Did I say I was going to do something illegal?”

“You said you were going to use your family’s influence to put me on the Olympiad team, right?”

He looked at me as if to say, ‘Isn’t that illegal?’

“This guy is making me look like a bad person. Hey. Look closely.”

I took out my phone and opened the latest second-year grade report.

“This is the latest grade report I received in advance. Do you want to compare your grades with the 5th place?”

“Huh? What? There’s only a 3-point difference?”

The score gap from 5th to 14th place isn’t that big.

“And here. The 3rd and 4th place students aren’t eligible to participate in the Olympiad. You know why, right?”

“Because they’re international students.”

The Olympiad is a fair competition between academies and also a competition between countries.

International students cannot participate in the Olympiad.

“Then how do you think the remaining spot will be selected? Will the 5th place participate?”

“Wouldn’t they?”

“No. With this small of a score difference, the selection will be decided through internal review. There’s a high probability that a student with strong family influence will advance to the Olympiad.”

A person with strong family influence will participate.

“I meant that I would support you in this internal competition. Not that I would put you in by committing some huge illegal act.”

Since someone with strong family influence will go anyway, I’m just going to use my influence a bit too.

“What? That’s what it was?”

“Yeah, you dummy.”

I grabbed Soon-chan’s head and put him in a headlock.

“Hey, it hurts! It hurts! Ha-yul sir? Teacher? I’m going to die! I’m dying!”

“I know your personality, do you think I would have made this offer without knowing that?”

“I’m dying! I’m dying!”

Soon-chan frantically hit my arm.

Ah, I think I used too much force.

I immediately released the headlock.

“A mage with such strength…”

Soon-chan pressed his temples, glaring at me with resentful eyes.

“Anyway, the misunderstanding is cleared up now, right?”

“……Yeah. Sorry. I misunderstood.”

Soon-chan smiled sheepishly.

“Then can we go back to what we were talking about?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Continue what you were saying.”

Soon-chan slipped back and returned to his original seat.

I turned my gaze back to Adela.

“Where were we?”

“You stopped at the question of whether you had any other hidden cards. And you said you did.”

“Ah, we got to that point.”

I remembered.

“That’s right. I have more hidden cards.”

“What are they?”

Adela’s eyes sparkled.

They were filled with anticipation and excitement.

“4th Circle magic.”

“……Pardon?”

Adela’s eyes, which were already wider than usual, widened a bit more.

“There’s a 3-minute time limit, but during that time, I can use 4th Circle magic to my heart’s content.”

Resonance.

My true ultimate move that I couldn’t use when I fought Adela yesterday because there were too many eyes watching.

“And, probably by the time the Olympiad is held, I’ll be able to use 5th Circle magic, albeit in a limited way.”

“5, 5th Circle……?”

Soon-chan and Adela’s surprised, rabbit-like eyes were clearly imprinted on my retina.

“Yeah.”

In a month and a half.

At this rate, I think I’ll be able to create the fourth ring by then.

* * *

After that.

I finished the feedback on the battle survival test and the discussion about future plans, and returned to my room.

The discussion wasn’t completely over, but everyone looked really tired, so we decided to rest first and talk again later.

They’re probably both passed out on their beds by now.

Of course, that’s not my problem.

I have the Master’s robe.

“Mimir. I’m back.”

As soon as I returned to my room, I put on the Master’s robe again and immediately headed to Mimir’s Well.

“You’re back?”

Mimir, who was sprawled on the sofa, yawned and got up.

“You’re later than expected? What happened?”

She stretched, her face still puffy, and approached me.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t get first place?”

Mimir stood directly in front of me, looking up with a meaningful gaze.

‘You didn’t lose, did you? The successor of the Bytenner style didn’t show a disgraceful performance, did he?’

“Of course, I got first place.”

“You won? I knew it.”

Mimir smiled, looking satisfied.

“Then why are you so late?”

“Nothing happened. I was just talking with the others.”

“What about?”

“You know, what I said before. That I need to win the gold medal at the Olympiad. I was talking about that.”

“Ah~ That thing you said about needing to talk with Adela and Ji Soon-chan?”

“Yeah. That.”

“Ah, I see.”

Mimir nodded, looking like she understood.

“But didn’t you say you wouldn’t talk about it until you mastered interference? You told them pretty quickly?”

“I didn’t tell them quickly?”

I took out the books I had been reading before the test and opened them again.

“You didn’t tell them quickly?”

“Yeah. I told them as planned.”

“……?”

Mimir tilted her head.

She looked like she didn’t understand what I was saying.

“……Huh?”

Then, as if she had realized something.

She exclaimed.

“Th, it can’t be. Successor. Did you perhaps master interference?”

“That’s right.”

I put down the book I was reading and placed it back in its original spot.

I’ll read this later.

This isn’t important right now.

“……No way.”

Then, I approached Mimir, who had a shocked expression, and said this.

“Mimir. Could you find me some books on the realm of destruction?”

“……Really?”

“Really.”

3rd Circle Master, Destruction.

The time has come to step into that realm.