Chapter 32

Episode 32: The Genius of the Fallen High Family (4)

Kang Min-hyuk and Jeong Sang-hoon moved.

It was prohibited to use the magic battlefield outside of class hours, but nothing was impossible for Kang Min-hyuk. Choi Byung-ho favored him, and with a single phone call, the door to the battlefield, which had been tightly closed, opened.

The two stood face to face.

“Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know why I challenged you?”

“Not really.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Replied Kang Min-hyuk nonchalantly.

“Will you fight me without knowing why?”

“It doesn’t matter what your thoughts are. You’re the best wizard in your class, and that’s why I won’t miss this chance to go head-to-head with you. We each have our reasons. The battle has a meaning of its own.”

Jeong Sang-hoon wasn’t feeling very good. His opponent spoke as an equal, and his confidence was unnerving.

“Yeah…let’s see how great you really are.”

Beeeep.

The system was activated. The countdown levitated above as the two wizards watched each other closely and began to raise their mana.

Beeeeep!

The second tone announced the beginning of the match. Kang Min-hyuk and Sang-hoon began their casting simultaneously.

Swoosh!

Mana scattered into the air. Sang-hoon immediately began double-casting. His technique was impressive, natural, and refined. Double casting had long been popularized, and a genius of Sang-hoon’s distinction would have completed the acquisition of this knowledge some time before. Sang-hoon’s casting was known to be the quickest in the department.

Suddenly, Kang Min-hyuk’s voice traveled across the battlefield. He saw that his opponent was confident that he could end the magic first.

“Dig!”

“Wha..?!”

Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

At that moment, the ground collapsed beneath Sang-hoon’s feet…it was an embarrassing moment for him. How did Min-hyuk finish casting at such a rapid pace? The dig caused no damage, but Sang-hoon’s casting was interrupted due to the shifting center of gravity.

“Deal with the wizard as a child.”

Min-hyuk spoke calmly. He’d learned about his opponent. The simplest way to overpower a wizard was not through strength versus strength but strategy. Double casting is an amazingly effective skill. However, two spells must be formed in unison; it takes time. Therefore, the caster doesn’t handle the entire process – he relies on a mana memory method.

Kang Min-hyuk found that spot, the weakness in the power, and he attacked it.

He chose one of the two spells being formed – it didn’t matter which – and used it to interfere with Sung-hoon’s casting. The spell wasn’t designed to attack but to prevent an attack.

Through that simple act, Kang Min-hyuk attained the upper hand.

“Lightning Bolt.”

Zzap, crackle, ttssss.

First circle electric magic. A strong spark flashed towards Sang-hoon.

It may only have been the first circle, but there was a reason Kang Min-hyuk used the Lightning Bolt.

Casting is the act of manifesting magic through the body. The paralysis caused by the simple attack would prevent Sang-hoon from developing a counter-attack. It would be a short fight if the bolt struck true.

Min-hyuk used second-circle magic to defeat Jin-young, but it didn’t have to be that way. If first circle magic is used strategically, it can easily be used to overpower an opponent.

“Rock!”

Clunk.

A rock was summoned into the air. It sat exactly in the path of the lightning bolt, obstructing it from achieving its purpose.

“I’m having fun.”

Sang-hoon muttered, his face hardening.

As soon as his spell had been interrupted by the sinking ground, he canceled the cast swiftly. He worked with his intuition, trying to figure out Min-hyuk’s intention…it prompted him to use basic, elemental, creation magic and summoned the rocks in sync with the lightning bolt attack. Rock is magic with no destructive power. However, the moment it was summoned to the path of magic through co-ordinate calculation, the shield’s impact showed no effect on the rock.

It was an excellent use of magic.

Sang-hoon left the safe-zone of the shield and spat a word to his opponent.

“For a minute there, I forgot that you’re the son of an assassin. From now on, I’ll treat you my way.”

He took a risk.

In a fixed position, both wizards are granted the shield’s protection; on the other hand, the fixed co-ordinates are exposed to the enemy, meaning that their attacks can be accurately targeted. Sang-hoon abandoned the safety net and cast two spells in quick calculation.

“Fire, Aqua.”

Pow!

Sssshhhhh!

Water vapor sprung up through a combination of both elements, obscuring the view; Sang-hoon disappeared into the mist.

From that point on, the competition really began.

* * *

Jeong Sang-hoon was a genius.

It wasn’t enough to have developed lower-ranking magic; he knew exactly how a wizard should fight. His tactics had endangered him, but it made it much more difficult for Kang Min-hyuk to attack.

From the mist, he continued,

“Fireball!”

Swooosh!

Bbbbrrrrrrrrrr

Sang-hoon’s bombing began. He believed he was aware of Min-hyuk’s precise location, so he felt sure that he couldn’t miss. Whether he remained in the safe-zone or not, the range damage of a Fireball would somehow damage Kang Min-hyuk…he hadn’t expected Kang Min-hyuk to have left the safety net, also.

“That’s pretty good,”

Min-hyuk muttered. The momentary use of magic was admired. The way Jeong Sung-hoon had responded to his pictorials was very efficient.

“But the confrontation of the senses is in my favor.”

His vision was obstructed, but sight is only one sense. At this point, Kang Min-hyuk placed his faith in his hearing.

“Stone Ball.”

Thump PAH!

This was different from an ordinary stone ball. Not only did it produce rocks the size of human heads, but small stoned scattered in all directions. While this was happening, Kang Min-hyuk concentrated mana in his ears to capture the stones’ sound with a keen sense.

Tak!

The sound of physical contact…Kang Min-hyuk’s eyes flashed; it was what he’d been listening for.

“Fire Bolt!”

Swoosh! Boom…

As the mist was cleared by blazing flame, Jeong Sang-hoon’s face, stained with shame, could be seen. In obscuring his presence behind water vapor, he thought he would be undiscoverable. He never expected that Kang Min-hyuk would use his hearing to locate him. It was just beyond the parameters of common sense. Kang Min-hyuk didn’t fight like a wizard. He fought like a warrior. He blurred the line between mage and swordsman.

“Damn…”

Sang-hoon’s teeth were clenched. Fire Bolts were a problem. He canceled his counter-attack and flew back to the circle without hesitation. Jeong Sang-hoon’s circle pulsed mana out powerfully: his mind had opened, and he cast magic at an incredibly swift pace. He gave up on double magic – at vital moments like this, you have to focus and finish one thing quickly, rather than waste time on complex techniques.

“Wind Fist!”

Whooosh!

The last of the mist was lifted, and a huge hand of wind swept through the air. His speed was great. Although he didn’t use top-notch magic like Kang Min-hyuk, he used the second circle with the ease most wizards would work with the first. He was a top talent; that much was unmistakable.

If Kang Min-hyuk were an ordinary wizard, he would have been hit by the counter-attack. Kang Min-hyuk, however, was not an ordinary wizard, so he pressed on with a finale of force.

Jeong Sang-hoon’s response was fast, but Kang Min-hyuk could go beyond that.

“Fire Lance!”

Boom!

A window of flame engulfed the fist of wind and blasted into a place far away from Sang-hoon, whose expression hardened further. He, who had just been in fevered battle, had no choice but to submit and accept reality.

“You…”

As the pinnacle of Fire Ball, Fire Lance registered in the current spell is of the third circle.

“You’re a third circle wizard?”

Logic had disintegrated once again, and Jeong Sang-hoon had no choice but to give in.

* * *

The match was over.

Jeong Sang-hoon, who was confident he’d be victorious, sat down on the floor with a vacant expression.

‘I lost.’

He was overwhelmed by complex emotions. It wasn’t just a loss…in the pure form of the battle, he was totally defeated by Kang Min-hyuk. Min-hyuk’s ability, his speed, his strategy…all exceeded his own.

“You’re the third circle…the fact that you formed the second was shocking enough, but this? How did you do it?”

The moment of revelation in which Kang Min-hyuk expressed his third circle capacity meant that Jeong Sang-hoon had no choice but to accept Min-hyuk as his superior.

Kang Min-hyuk’s intentions worked. He earned enough time during the battle to deliberately use his higher class of magic. He had previously stopped by the spell-book archive to compare the magic of Klinssman’s world with his own, and within them, he found the Fire Lance. Due to its higher grade, the cast couldn’t be completed quickly, but the casting speed was faster than what was found in this world.

Kang Min-hyuk planned to subdue Jeong Sang-hoon, and as intended, Sang-hoon lifted the white flag.

“Tell me the truth. When did you form the third circle?”

His voice was weak.

The fact that Min-hyuk had risen to a level that he could not achieve was deeply unsettling for him.

In academia, he could confess that he had been bested. However, the fact that his opponent was superior in battle was the worst possible outcome.

“A few days ago…there was an achievement.”

” As far as I know, I heard that you learned magic after entering the magic department. Is that true?”

“It’s true.”

“You’re driving me crazy. I’m still in the second circle! I’ve devoted my whole life to magic, and you’re in the third circle after a few months.”

Sang-hoon felt his mind become distant. Kang Min-hyuk’s ability was great to perceive, but his potential was limitless – vast as the ocean’s unknown depths; no end could be seen.

Jeong Sang-hoon’s talent, though, should not be ignored. He was born with a natural flair for magic and used it with great expertise. His flexible thinking, too, was impressive – after experiencing his skills as a war-mage, Min-hyuk knew that his talents exceeded anything he’d previously imagined. If Min-hyuk hadn’t benefited from Klinssman’s knowledge, he wouldn’t have won the showdown. As the Jeong family’s descendant, all Sang-hoon wants is personal success and a revival of his family’s reputation. His desires were clear, so Min-hyuk told him,

“Sang-hoon…the reason I’ve been able to form the third circle so soon is that I have my own distinct way…there is a method; it can be applied to you, too. Alongside that, I have a lot of knowledge that’s yet to be released into the world. So I’ll give you an offer…no..more like a deal.”

“Deal?”

Sang-hoon grew puzzled, but temptation filled his eyes. The prospect of magical growth was a bait that a wizard couldn’t help but to bite. Min-hyuk gently waved the bait in front of Sang-hoon’s greedy eyes and uttered what he required from their deal.

“Yes, deal. I’ll teach you, but you have to do something for me…I need you to generate a relationship between the priest and me.”

They would work together for one year. During that time, Min-hyuk would build the skeleton for his tower, step-by-step. Later, the tower would be built using that foundation. The promise would also bind Jeong Sang-hoon to him, and there were many benefits to having a genius as a disciple…honor, as well as real gains.

“That’s crazy.”

Jeong Sang-hoon’s expression was colored with surprise. Kang Min-hyuk always had bent expectations, but this time he had exceeded that level. No matter how much he surrendered to Kang Min-hyuk’s ability, Jeong Sang-hoon, who had a great deal of pride, could not accept Kang Min-hyuk’s deal, so he refused.

A few days later, however, after much contemplation, Sang-hoon approached Min-hyuk with a slight bow. Between the initial offer, he thought a lot about Kang Min-hyuk, and temptation swelled within him. To be taught by a great being would improve his skills immensely – the only thing holding Min-hyuk back from absolute greatness was his age.

“I will. To succeed as a sorcerer, I will even dedicate my soul to you.”

Now, alongside Lee Hak-beom, Kang Min-hyuk had another member of Matap; and so, time passed, until…

“Is today the day?!”

It was the day he had promised to meet Klinssman. This time, though, things moved a little differently than before.