The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 385

It had been a week since they entered the Halamanium site.

“That’s enough. Today’s training ends here.”

“Both of you. You’ve worked hard.”

With Aslan and Elena’s declaration that training was over, Ji Sun-chan and Adela collapsed onto the ground.

Sweat poured from their entire bodies like rain.

They were so exhausted that it wouldn’t have been surprising if they had lost consciousness.

“Don’t just lie there because you’re tired, replenish your fluids first,” Elena said, looking at the two of them.

“Yeees……”

“Neees……”

The two slowly raised their upper bodies, looking like dying zombies.

Adela, who seemed to have a little more strength left, got up first and brought two bottles of water, handing one to Ji Sun-chan.

“Here you go.”

Ji Sun-chan slightly raised his hand to express his thanks.

Ji Sun-chan didn’t even have the strength to say thank you right now.

‘If only I had a body…’ [referring to his previous life where he was much stronger]

Elena’s face was tinged with bitterness as she looked at the two of them.

As a teacher, not being able to hand a glass of water to her students who had finished their training with all their might was disheartening.

“A great improvement.”

Unlike Elena, Aslan had a very calm expression.

He didn’t seem to have any concerns about not being able to take care of his students as a teacher. He had a faint smile on his face.

“I really didn’t think you’d succeed within a week.”

He tried not to show it on his face, but his eyes were full of pride.

“I commend you. You have successfully overcome the trial of the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave.”

At Aslan’s words, the two’s eyes widened.

“…Passed…?” Ji Sun-chan asked, breathing heavily.

“Yes. You have perfectly passed the first test.”

“Why…?” Ji Sun-chan asked back in a weak voice.

His expression showed that he had no idea how they had passed.

‘We’ve only just achieved the first goal…’

A week ago.

To pass the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave, Aslan and Elena devised a 10-stage training plan.

The training they had just finished was the first stage of the 10-stage training: enduring for 5 minutes inside the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave.

They had just finished the first stage of training, but they had passed the trial of the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave, so they couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“……”

Adela also looked at Aslan with an expression of disbelief.

She had no idea why they had passed the trial.

“The training must have been tough. Not only Ji Sun-chan, but Adela Steart, you didn’t notice either,” Aslan said with a smirk.

As Elena put it, it was Aslan’s trademark ‘annoying smile’.

“Let me correct one misunderstanding you have.”

Aslan’s smile deepened.

“You seem to think you’ve only just succeeded in enduring for 5 minutes. You’re mistaken.”

“…Yes?”

“…?”

Ji Sun-chan and Adela’s expressions went blank at the same time.

The more dazed their expressions became, the more Aslan’s smile grew lively.

“Enduring for 5 minutes? You already surpassed that a long time ago, on the second day.”

The two’s eyes widened like rabbits.

“You surpassed 10 minutes on the third day. You surpassed 15 minutes on the fifth day. And today. You surpassed 20 minutes, which was our final goal.”

Aslan clapped his hands with his signature unpleasant smile.

“Congratulations. You have successfully overcome the trial of the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave.”

“……”

“……”

Inside the quiet cave.

Only the sound of Aslan’s clapping echoed loudly.

“…Heh.”

Ji Sun-chan let out a hollow laugh.

His expression showed that he had never expected this.

‘I’ve been properly tricked…’

His expression showed that he didn’t know whether to be happy or angry.

No, he didn’t even know how to react.

“I, I’m sorry. I was against it at first…” Elena said with a look of deep apology.

“The progress was too fast… This was the only way to keep your motivation at its peak.”

The growth rate of these two was excessively fast.

Out of the 10 stages of training, they had already cleared 7 stages by the second day.

At this rate, all the training would be over by the third day. And from the fourth day of training, their motivation would noticeably drop.

That’s why Elena and Aslan lied to them.

No matter how many minutes they endured, they lied and said it had only been 5 minutes.

“To be precise, Ji Sun-chan. This training was set up because we were worried about your motivation being broken. Knowing your personality. If you knew you had achieved your goal, you would 100% become lax.”

“……”

Ji Sun-chan chuckled.

He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even retort.

“No, whether I’ve achieved the goal or not. Would I not give it my all?”

That dazed expression was only temporary.

Ji Sun-chan argued with a face full of injustice.

“You would give it your all. But that’s it. You wouldn’t have been able to focus on the training 100% or more.”

“That’s…”

Ji Sun-chan couldn’t refute it.

‘Certainly… The fact that there was no progress for a week did make me desperate…’

It was true that Aslan and Elena’s lie had drawn out Ji Sun-chan’s desperate will.

If it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have achieved the same results.

“Adela Steart. It’s the same for you. You might not have been as much as Ji Sun-chan, but whatever the case, you wouldn’t have achieved the same results.”

“……”

Adela nodded.

She was angry that she had been tricked. But what he said was true.

The fact that she hadn’t even passed the first stage for a week became the driving force that pushed Adela beyond her limits.

‘…In the first place, it was my fault for not noticing.’

Confusing 5 minutes with 20 minutes.

She was so pathetic that she didn’t even think about arguing.

“Whatever the case, can we say that we’ve learned everything we can learn from the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave?” Instead of arguing, Adela asked a question to grasp the final situation.

“Yes. You have completely overcome the trial of the Luminescent Mana Stone Cave,” Elena smiled brightly.

“Maybe… Mimir and Ha-yul will be surprised when they see it. They’ll probably widen their eyes and ask what happened in a week.”

Elena smiled faintly, looking pleased just thinking about it.

“I’m looking forward to it. Aren’t you, Aslan?” Elena called out to Aslan with a full smile on her face.

“You’re looking forward to everything. Shin Ha-yul. I don’t think that guy would be surprised by just this…” Aslan said.

“Aslan?” Elena’s smile darkened.

As Mimir said, it was Elena’s signature very, very scary smile.

“A promise. You shouldn’t forget it.”

“……” Aslan’s expression soured.

His expression showed that he was very, very displeased with the current situation.

Aslan gritted his teeth and replied, “…Yes. I’m looking forward to it too.”

“Right?”

Aslan and Elena had made a bet on Ji Sun-chan’s achievement.

The bet was whether Ji Sun-chan could pass the trial within a week or not.

Ji Sun-chan passed the trial within a week, making Elena the winner.

“…Okay.”

As a result, Aslan could not object to Elena’s words until he left the Halamanium site.

Now, Aslan had to unconditionally nod to Elena’s words.

“Ah. It’s a really good day. Both of your achievements are great. And my century-old indigestion has been completely relieved,” Elena smiled brightly, looking as happy as she could be.

“Now, it would be perfect if Ha-yul and Mimir came back with good news.”

Shin Ha-yul and Mimir were still stuck at the edge of the Luminescent Cave, working hard to re-engineer the Mythical Magic.

If the two successfully finished the re-engineering and returned, there would be no more perfect day than this.

Elena looked at the passage with expectant eyes.

“…Good news or whatever. It’s going to be a problem if they don’t produce results soon,” Aslan narrowed his eyes and muttered.

Having invested a week, they had to produce results that were worth it.

‘…And if they don’t produce results, we can’t move on to the next stage either.’

Not only Shin Ha-yul, but this side was also in trouble in many ways.

If Shin Ha-yul didn’t produce results, they couldn’t pass the test.

If they didn’t pass the test, the door to the next stage, ‘Green Star,’ wouldn’t open.

In other words, Adela and Ji Sun-chan also couldn’t undergo the next training.

‘We’ve made so much progress so far. I don’t want this flow to be cut off here.’

Everything in the world has a flow.

The training of Adela and Ji Sun-chan was currently on an exceptionally good flow.

They wanted to continue this flow as much as possible.

“Don’t be too impatient. Because it’s them. They must have made some progress. They’ll be back with good results soon,” Elena’s eyes sparkled.

She believed in Mimir and Shin Ha-yul.

Her eyes were full of trust in the two of them.

“We’ll do our training as we can for now…” Just as Elena was about to talk about the next training.

Kugugugugung-!

The cave suddenly shook.

A tremor caused by mana.

The mana wave traveled through the Luminescent Mana Stone, shaking the heavens and the earth.

It was a familiar mana wave.

“…Is it another dragon?” This mana wave was caused by the outpouring of a dragon’s mana.

It had been happening since a week ago, and this was the fifth time today, so there was no mistaking it.

“This intensity. It seems to be at least 50% of the mana charge.”

“…The frequency of occurrences is increasing. Veil Stole. He seems to be quite impatient.”

Elena and Aslan exchanged their opinions.

“That’s right. The current power of Sein Vinosh is easily overwhelming our prime. He has every reason to be impatient.”

It was then.

Kugugugugung-!

Before the first tremor could subside, a new tremor struck the cave.

A mana wave of similar scale to the one that had just occurred.

It felt similar. This time, it also seemed to be a mana wave caused by the appearance of a dragon.

“Two at the same time? Veil Stole. It seems he’s made up his mind.”

“This mana density. It seems to be at least 60% charged.”

“50% and 60%… It could be dangerous.”

The two’s expressions hardened.

Even if it was Sein Vinosh, it wouldn’t be easy to face two S-rank individuals. [S-rank refers to a high power level]

If Veil Stole joined in, there was a chance that an unforeseen situation could occur.

“…We should tell Ha-yul and consider support.”

“I agree. Right now…” Just as the two decided to contact Shin Ha-yul.

“No,” Adela said with wide eyes.

“The first mana is indeed a dragon’s mana… But the second mana is not a dragon’s mana.”

“…Not a dragon’s mana?” Aslan looked at Adela with an expression that said, ‘What are you talking about?’

“The second mana… Certainly, its nature is very similar to a dragon’s mana, and its unique density is also very similar to a dragon’s, but the quality of the mana contained within is completely different.”

“…Quality?”

“Yes. The quality of mana. Or, should I say, the will of mana.”

Only two people in this world.

The unique difference in mana that only Shin Ha-yul and Adela could feel.

The will of mana.

The words of mana.

“The second mana that poured out… It’s not a dragon’s mana, but…”

Mana was speaking.

‘Our king has returned!’

‘Friend of mana!’

‘Let’s have a festival!’

This mana was not from a dragon or anything like that.

It was shouting not to compare it to such things.

“It’s Ha-yul’s mana,” Adela’s eyes shone with a brilliant light.

“It seems he’s completed it.”

Shin Ha-yul had achieved his goal and started to move.