A blue line sprouted from the man’s collarbone, long and straight like an electronic circuit, but bent and divided periodically, almost resembling branches.
The superhuman circuit showed differences in quantity and quality depending on the individual, generally positioned similarly to blood vessels and nerves.
From this perspective, it’s not surprising that it felt like blood vessels and nerves were protruding from his body.
Unique magic.
A stage where magic, which began with imitation, progresses to uniqueness. The standard point that grants the title of mage.
– Snap!
The external circuit stretching out like branches creaked. A circuit that flashed once created an intangible sense of pressure.
Waves rippled in the air. The waves created by the circuit engulfed the surrounding space.
Engulf and dominate. The magical power, under this dominance, began to come under his control. Like leaves falling back onto the branches, the magic was drawn into the circuit.
And absorbed. The magical power transmitted backward along the circuit began to boil within the man’s body.
‘It’s been a while… or maybe not.’
The man stared at his hand with a peculiar expression. The circuit’s cross-section on his skin was so numerous that his flesh color was hardly visible.
Magic consumes a lot of magical power. The reason why an extraordinary talent for magic is needed is that without it, one can’t even attempt it.
The basic function of the man’s unique magic is to overcome this drawback.
Absorbing the surrounding magical power through the external circuit. Also, mobile attack and defense through the engulfing of space.
The space affected by the circuit becomes the man’s territory, continuously receiving supply from external magical power.
As long as the environment is supportive, the man is essentially in his territory no matter where he is, ensuring that his magical power hardly dips into nothingness.
“Haah…”
The magical power coming through the external circuit filled his whole body. With a deep sigh from the strange alien sensation enveloping him, he lifted his head.
In the distance were four people. The three women stood armed, horrified and wary of the circuit spreading behind the man.
Lee Ha-yul was intensely focused, observing every movement of the man with meticulous detail.
‘He’s doing well.’
The man nodded to himself and stretched out his hand. A black hole opened up as it split apart in all directions. He stuck his hand into the inventory that the higher-ups begrudgingly gave him—
—Craack!
“Omg, what the f—!”
He jerked his hand back in surprise, a chilling sensation brushing his fingertips. The collapsed spatial vacuum began to writhe, with its entrance even melting into the air.
“…”
The man blinked blankly. Lee Ha-yul flinched, startled, at the sudden attention directed his way, having unconsciously interfered with space.
He closed it reflexively due to the fight with the second round. After all, there was no reason to let the enemy open a space…
“…You, that… No, right, that makes sense. Hmm…”
The man, stumbling over his words, eventually mumbled his way to a finish. Stopping the enemy from pulling something out isn’t a mistake. In fact, it’s a wise choice.
“Still, um… no matter what, you were trying to teach me something… I get the swearing but…”
[…Sorry, I acted reflexively…]
“No, I wasn’t really looking for an apology…”
Lee Ha-yul tightened his grip on the purification device and shrank his shoulders. Although he wore a helmet, the man’s incredulous face was clearly visible.
He was still troubled by his earlier actions. Despite the fact that he swore at Ariel, which he still wasn’t too fond of, he understood it considering the man’s situation.
But now that he thought about it, it seemed a bit excessive to just hurl slurs and attack someone like that…
“Uh… no, let’s talk about it later.”
The man shook his head and nodded.
Creeeek! The circuit blooming behind him folded roughly. Some parts of the shaped circuit connected in a circular fashion like gears.
Magical power flowed through the gears. Round one, round two, round three… As the circular motion continued, the incantations forming from the gears emerged.
The number of spells had increased several-fold compared to before, decorating the sky. These spells gradually poured indiscriminately towards the cadets gathered here.
“As you know, this schedule is an event, so it’s not like we met alone, and we don’t really have time.”
The wheels of magic creaked harshly. The operation of the exceedingly crude and violent circuit drastically lowered its lifespan, and potential destruction loomed, but the man didn’t care.
After all, if the external circuit breaks, he can just discard it. This allows him to handle circuits much more efficiently and violently.
“So hurry and get in here.”
The man gestured. He looked at Lee Ha-yul, raising his magical power.
“I’ll teach you quickly about elemental properties. You said you have the ability of observation and knowledge, right? Just record it for now and learn it at your own pace later.”
Having finished that, the man readied himself. Lee Ha-yul nodded, grabbing the purification device tightly.
A brief standoff. Reading the distance, Lee Ha-yul stomped the ground. The man gestured again.
Behind him, a new wheel was formed. Two in total. One poured magic onto the surrounding cadets as a form of suppression, while the newly formed one aimed at Lee Ha-yul.
‘Manifest.’
A white circuit emerged on the surface of Lee Ha-yul’s right arm. The internally twisted circuit became active. Flap! As he shook his hand, sparks flew, and strikes followed in quick succession.
The wheel spun. Hundreds of spells poured out at once. The spells collided in the middle, slicing through and pushing each other away.
The result was a cancellation.
But the wheel had already spun a couple more times. The numbers were heavily in their favor.
Lee Ha-yul acted based on the information he observed. He avoided what he could and didn’t respond to, while intercepting what must be blocked, creating a path towards the man.
Crackle! Lightning crackled around his three pairs of wings. Lee Ha-yul accelerated, leaving a trail of lightning behind him.
He weaved through the multitude of spells, using purification and magic to intercept, and swiftly approached the man.
As the distance closed in, the man’s eyes remained calm, contrary to what a typical mage would feel.
He was not a conventional magician.
Magical power whirled violently around his pulled-back arm. Boom! The reversed magical power surged violently and sprayed in one direction. The palm propelled forward, pushing through the air.
Magical power poured into the man’s strike. Instead of magic, it was a pure release of magical energy. Boom! The magical power engulfed the air. The ground that got caught up was instantly crushed.
The attack didn’t end there. A significant portion of the circuits extending throughout his body shifted to ‘reversal.’ The sections that should have unleashed magic ‘normally’ were all handed off to the external circuit.
“Huuh…!”
The man’s limbs shifted. Lee Ha-yul responded with the purification device, swinging it in line with the trajectory he envisioned.
The man’s method of attack was unlike anything he had experienced before.
The limbs, accelerated and propelled freely by magical power, moved outside normal patterns.
A still arm suddenly accelerated, aimed for his chin, and a clearly coming down arm disregarded inertia, rushing to slice his throat.
‘The circuits, the magical power leads the body?’
The released and guiding magical power. It wasn’t just the acceleration from the physical ability but a freely changing trajectory and speed based on the magical release.
– Boom!
The power of a single attack was ferocious.
The trajectory of the swung arm was engulfed by magical power, utterly obliterating everything in its path. Even getting touched by it would be dangerous. Taking a direct hit would cause severe damage.
But it didn’t stop there. Lee Ha-yul quickly turned his head in response to the reaction that arose from his observations.
Zing! A red line pierced the position where his eye was moments ago. The part that remained ‘normally’ unleashed magic without ‘reversal.’
‘Magic intertwining with movements.’
There was no incantation or process involved. In fact, it wasn’t even a silent spell. The man had not manipulated magical power. The spells just manifested as magic flowed through the circuit.
‘This is tricky.’
From all around, he had to deal with spells unleashed by the wheel.
In front of him, the man, who could knock down typical warriors in a few moves, actively wielded his limbs, and magic poured down among his moves.
Moreover, the area affected by the man’s circuits stood as his territory, and the bonuses and magic from that territory also came flying in.
‘I can respond.’
He wouldn’t be easily defeated. Lee Ha-yul fervently analyzed the information. He moved his body and magical power.
Like a cloak, the broad wings of the sky spread out behind him.
He swung the white spearhead of purification. Crack! Circuits revealed on his right arm.
Shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, fingers.
The circuits turned into incantations. As magical power flowed, he unleashed a dozen spells with his movements.
A dramatic growth compared to days before, when each spell would tear apart and ruin his own arms.
The blessings of growth retained at the tower. Considering the fact that his body was still the same as the man’s, the man’s movements became Lee Ha-yul’s top teaching material and answer sheet.
In every moment, his movements improved. The crafted circuits became more precise, and the spells poured out multiplied, increasing in output.
‘Damn, he’s seriously taking everything from me.’
The man across from him sensed it with increased intensity. The gap diminishing in real-time. No matter how much he protested, the pressure was gradually rising.
It was truly ridiculous. The blessings of growth, the realm accumulated by the same individual. Even considering this, the speed of growth was too unnatural.
– Crack!
The external circuit creaked. The circuits extended like branches intertwined with magical power and charged.
The amount was less than before. Moreover, the adjustments applied to the man decreased. The man furrowed his brow as he scanned the surroundings.
The once flourishing external circuits began to curl. The dominant influence around him was weakening, filled by another influential force.
‘Tsk.’
The owner of the dominant force was none other than Lee Ha-yul. The space the man had dominated was slowly being gnawed at.
He was trying to manipulate his magical power to the maximum extent to prevent it, but it wasn’t easy.
High-level magical manipulation and magical affinity.
Just as Lee Ha-yul thought, in terms of pure control at the moment, the man held the advantage.
…But it wouldn’t hold true for long. The one growing steadily would soon surpass the man in magical manipulation abilities.
As for everything else? In every aspect, magical affinity is an overwhelming superior version of high-level magical manipulation.
One could even tell just by looking at how his unique magic was colliding.
‘……’
A storm of emotions swirled in the man’s eyes. Mixed and chaotic but remarkably similar to what he felt during the second round in the past.
A hope for victory thought impossible. An inferiority complex towards reality. A sense of helplessness, believing he could not achieve it.
‘Damn it.’
The man frowned. Having aged, and already dead, it was truly absurd how many thoughts crossed his mind.
Then it happened. On the surface of Lee Ha-yul’s right arm where purification was held, a circuit flickered to life. Crack! Sparks of magical energy flew between them.
In the context of their confrontation, it wasn’t anything special.
However, the very next moment, the man’s eyes widened in realization.
‘Reversal.’
Crackle! The spark ignited into flames. The reversed magical power struck the wall, surging wildly.
Flames erupted! Bright and vivid flames engulfed his right arm.
In that instant, the man lost hold of Lee Ha-yul’s arm.
– Boom!
“Cough!”
His head spun violently. A ringing in his ear echoed, and the sensation in his jaw faded to numbness.
Fragments of the wall created automatically to reflect the impact fluttered in the air. Though his head didn’t explode, flashes of light sprayed, pushing him back.
When he hastily turned his head back, Lee Ha-yul was reaching forward with his right arm encased in flames.
The flames were rising fiercely. Anticipating the impending danger, the man grimaced.
‘I hate this fire sh*t…’
Though Gop-hwa can burn almost anything, it also burns spells. If the magic he painstakingly unleashed got drenched in Gop-hwa, it would be incinerated in an instant.
Even the carefully constructed territory could easily burn to ashes with a single instance of Gop-hwa.
The man, although better off than other mages, couldn’t deny his distaste for Gop-hwa.
– Woosh!
‘Huh?’
The flames that erupted split into dozens of shards. Dozens of blades made of fire sprang out from Lee Ha-yul’s body.
Not the mere shaping of Gop-hwa but the manifestation of magic itself. The man’s eyes widened in pure astonishment at the sight.
With Gop-hwa, using magic becomes impossible. Gop-hwa incinerates spells that attempt to shape the elements.
To manifest magic using an elemental’s fire instead of Gop-hwa itself is no simple feat.
Lee Ha-yul’s gentle Gop-hwa had been reproduced as magic.
‘Fire Extreme Dance.’
A mid-level fire elemental magic.
Flames swirled! Dozens of blades surged towards the man. The man couldn’t help but express pure admiration at the spectacle.
‘Whoa, in my lifetime… I’m witnessing magic being cast through the flames of Gop-hwa.’
The man, while amazed, still felt panicked by the intense flames and raised his hands, glancing at the time. Then, he deliberately blocked the magic that was about to unfold.
Dozens of blades hacked away at a single point. Bang! The glowing red blades ignited an explosive blast.
The night sky instantly turned crimson.
The spell unleashed through Gop-hwa far surpassed the original in destructiveness, outmatching it by tens of times.
[Huh?]
Lee Ha-yul gaped. He witnessed the man’s last action. He’d assumed he would have been stopped, naturally.
But the man hadn’t bothered to block it intentionally.
‘Why?’
[Event entity subjugation complete]
[Everyone, thank you for your hard work until the end]
[Cadets, please remain in your spots for a moment]
A voice rang out from the sky, hammering in the finality. While Lee Ha-yul stood there in confusion, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been retreating, approached softly.
“Why? You just finished subjugating it, right?”
Initially, Hong Yeon-hwa had actively engaged in the fight with the man.
However, seeing Lee Ha-yul’s unusual battle and growth, she had stepped back with the others.
[…Yes, that’s right.]
“Was there a problem?”
[Uh… no, not at all…]
“Then why does your face look like that?”
Hong Yeon-hwa rubbed Lee Ha-yul’s cheek with a worried expression. As he subtly checked his own face, it reflected a truly complicated expression.
“Did your depression flare up again?”
“Senior, it’s over now. Just go rest well.”
Baek Ahrin and Choi Ji-yeon quickly approached, expressing their concern. Lee Ha-yul shook his head, signaling not to worry, while cautiously surveying the crater created by Fire Extreme Dance.
‘I wanted to apologize…’
Even though his insults towards Lady Ariel still left him feeling uneasy, once the retribution was dealt, he wanted to express a bit of apology afterward.
He had assumed that there would be time to have a proper conversation at the end, but he never expected the man to simply finish it all so abruptly.
With a glum expression, Lee Ha-yul fiddled with the purification device.
.
.
.
After waiting a moment, the cadets in view began to vanish quickly.
From afar, they disappeared like bursts of light. Eventually, those waiting beside him similarly disappeared.
Whether intentional or coincidental, he was the last one left.
Lee Ha-yul heaved a deep sigh. He gazed into the crater one last time, filled with a hint of regret, but nothing changed.
Ultimately, Lee Ha-yul awaited the spatial disturbance that would soon consume him.
[?]
Instead of Lee Ha-yul being recalled, something else popped into existence.
Caught by the sensation within his observation, Lee Ha-yul blinked his invisible eyes.
“Why? You said we’d talk later.”
Seated at the center of the massive crater created by Fire Extreme Dance, the man shrugged at Lee Ha-yul’s expression.
– Uh… no, let’s talk about it later.
[Ah.]
In the midst of battle, he had neglected trivial matters.
“There’s no urgent need right now, right? Give me some time.”
The man caressed his chin, where Lee Ha-yul had struck him.
“Let’s have a chat with that jerk.”
“……”
Lee Ha-yul, sweating profusely, descended into the crater and sat quietly before the man.
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