Descent of the Legendary Archmage

You won't be able to go back to the dormitory with that wound. You can leave the aftermath to Seokhyun, so for now return to the house. I've sent a limousine.

"Thank you. I'll see you after I return."

With that, the call ended.

''Young master.''

As soon as the phone call ended, someone appeared from behind me.

He was as silent as a ghost or a shadow.

Despite being right behind me, I couldn't sense him.

‘‘Seokhyun Ahjussi.”

“Long time no see.”

Kim Seokhyun.

He bowed his head towards me.

''That wound is quite serious. Before your wound starts flaring up, I'll give it some light treatment.”

“I'll be in your care."

He placed a hand on my burn and moved his mana. White like a warm ray of sun. The healing magic, which has a light type attribute, healed my burns.

“For first-aid treatment, this much should be enough. The rest will be handled by the family's specialists.”

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Then if you could follow me, the car's arrived."

"Sure."

I followed Seokhyun ahjussi to the limousine that was parked nearby. After I got into the limousine, I decided to say a few words to him before we departed.

“Then, I'll leave the aftermath in your hands.”

"Yes. The squad's already on the move, so don't worry. News of what happened here will not spread to the outside."

"Yes. I'll be trusting you."

"Then take care.”

With those words, Seokhyun ahjussi vanished again.

Starting from now till dawn, he'll be taking action to remove all traces of the fight between me and Baek Sahyuk.

“The car will start moving.”

''I'll be in your care.”

And like so, the limousine departed. As I looked at the nightscape of Seoul, only then was I able to let out a breath of relief.

* * *

At Shin Jihan's mansion. Shin Jihan was having a conversation with an unknown person.

“Woah, I didn't think that the Blue Magic Tower would intervene there. Our luck is so unbelievably bad.”

A man of moderate size, who wore a black hood all the way down to his nose, made idle chatter.

“To think he would be arrested even before he began the mission. This is my first time experiencing this, I don't know what to say!"

The man laughed and spoke in a cheerful tone.

"...Is this something to be laughed at?"

As if Shin Jihan were getting increasingly annoyed with the man's tone, he spoke while grinding his teeth.

"He promised that there was no way that he would fail... So how do you expect to compensate me?"

"Haha. I'm deeply ashamed of myself.”

The man smiled slyly.

“Since the mission has failed, I'll return the commission fee as promised. And of course, I'll nicely tidy up the mess we've caused as well.”

The man grinned.

“As our VVIP customer, your information will never be leaked, so rest assured.”

Even though only his mouth was uncovered by his hood, his cruelty could be felt nonetheless. Shin Jihan's spine shuddered.

"Len Smith will die before dawn today."

The dead do not speak. To remove all traces of evidence, Len Smith will die.

"Len Smith. The idiot planted an IL chip in Baek Sahyuk and gave the brat some Berserker. What do you plan to do about that, and the fact that Hayul still has the IL chip?"

“For starters, there's no need to worry about Baek Sahyuk. Since due to him being under mind control magic, all his memories will be wiped out.”

"You seem to be taking me as a fool. Mind control magic isn't something that's almighty."

If Baek Sahyuk were to be released from the mind control magic, then the information could leak. Regardless of the fact that Baek Sahyuk doesn't possess any information that's important, any leak at all should be prevented. There should be not a single thread connecting Shin Jihan to Len Smith.

"There's no need to worry about that either. I don't know if this is something that's lucky or unfortunate but..."

The man shrugged his shoulders.

“Baek Sahyuk is already brain dead.”

"Brain dead?"

"Yes. As soon as he heard the news of Len Smith's arrest, it seems that he attacked Shin Hayul on his own. He is now in a completely vegetative state due to the side effects.”

"He attacked on his own? What happened to Hayul?"

''Mm. Well, I was told that he received a wound that wasn't all that light, but it's not that severe either.”

"...What?"

Shin Jihan's eyes widened.

"Are you saying that... Hayul beat Baek Sahyuk? Even though Baek Sahyuk was on berserker and had the IL chip?"

If this was the case, then it meant that Shin Hayul had the ability of a 4th circle mage. In other words, Shin Hayul had been keeping his accomplishments hidden.

“Oh, no that's not true.”

The man's words snapped Shin Jihan out of his thoughts.

“When Baek Sahyuk attacked him, Shin Hayul was under the protection of Kim Seokhyun. It is more than likely it was he who defeated Baek Sahyuk."

"Kim Seokhyun?"

''Yes. I couldn't look around the battle scene because of his watching gaze, but I'm sure of it."

Shin Jihan's eyes narrowed.

“Do you know when Kim Seokhyun started to trail Hayul?”

"I'm not too sure. I last saw Kim Seokhyun when Shin Hayul said goodbye to you. I don't know if he was trailing from before though."

"...Alright."

Shin Jihan's expression became serious.

'So that means my father put Kim Seokhyun on Shin Hayul. Not just anyone, by Kim Seokhyun...'

Kim Seokhyun. The leader of the 'Shadows', a unit under Shin Inhyuk's immediate control. A specialist mage specializing in investigating as well as infiltrating. And out of all the mages specializing in escorting, the person that Shin Inhyuk cherishes the most.

'I should take caution before messing with Hayul for at least the next 2 months.'

As long as it was he who was watching over Shin Hayul, trying to meddle anymore could cause him backlash. It'll be best to restrain myself for a while.

“In any case, to think that Baek Sahuyk's brain-dead. It's a relief."

"Yes."

“Then all that’s left is to retrieve the IL chip that Hayul's carrying around.”

Shin Jihan's expression shone sharply again.

“How do you plan to do that? It'll be difficult to approach Hayul as long as Kim Seokhyun's keeping watch over him.”

“There's no need to worry about that. There's a separate self-destruct code engraved on the IL chip given to Shin Hayul. The IL chip has already been completely destroyed and is probably floating around in space as we speak."

“...You're quite thorough with this.”

Shin Jihan looked a little surprised.

''What did I say? Our Black Magic Tower prioritizes keeping the customers' information safe. These kinds of preparations are to be expected.”

The man grinned again.

"You don't have anything else concerning you, right?"

"...That's right."

"Then, in that case, I'll be taking my leave now. I have to deal with Len Smith before it gets any later.”

"I'll leave that in your hands.”

“Yes. Of course."

The man's body began to slowly disappear. Like how fog disappears when the sun's bright, his body gradually disappears.

“We'll be eagerly waiting for your next commission.”

And just like that, the man disappeared as if he were a mirage.

"...Tsk."

Shin Jihan, who was left alone, clicked his tongue as if the world was an unpleasant place. The Black Magic Tower's executives' joyful attitude was annoying, but Shin Hayul caused him the most frustration.

"You lucky bastard."

He frowned, as he recalled Shin Hayul, who had luckily avoided misfortune.

* * *

Friday.

There had been a riot in Korea since the morning.

[Newsflash! Len Smith's death!]

[This time they couldn't be prevented! The Black Magic Tower's perfect destruction of evidence!]

[Just how did the Black Magic Tower bypass the strict security and eliminate Len Smith?]

Len Smith's heart was said to be suddenly crushed without any warning whilst he was being transferred. Although the mages in charge of security were watching, no one knew how Len Smith died. It was an assassination that secretive.

''I was expecting this to happen, but I expected it to be executed with no one being able to do anything."

The Black Magic Tower are people who detest having their information leaked. People who can leak their information are swiftly dealt with.

In the past, every villain belonging to the Black Magic Tower, who had been arrested, had died in the interrogation room. So it was obvious to expect that Len Smith was to soon die.

'Just how was only the heart crushed so neatly?'

Especially since it was obviously the result of black magic. Judging from how no one else other than those of the Black Magic Tower has died in such a sudden fashion, it's safe to assume that there's some sort of prerequisite before it can be used.

For example, putting some sort of explosion magic on the heart in advance that detonates when a certain signal is sent.

'It'll also be good for purging traitors.'

Considering the things that transgress all codes of morality and ethics that the Black Magic Tower have done, it's plausible that they could plant a bomb on each of their member's hearts.

'And as expected... There's not even a single line to do with Baek Sahyuk.'

The incident of Baek Sahyuk's attack, which under normal circumstances would be put on the headlines next to Len Smith's article, was not recorded anywhere on the portal.

'It seems that the talks with the Baek family went well.'

I'll bury the story about Baek Sahyuk's attack, so give me something worth that in return. My father must have proposed something like this. And the head of the Baek family, Baek Manshik would have had no choice but to approve. That's why the news on Baek Sahyuk launching an attack on me was not reported.

Vrrr!

Just in time, I got a text message from my father.

[Negotiations with the Baek family have come to an end.]

[It's been decided that we'll be taking over 43% of the mana stone mining rights stake in return for burying this incident.]

"Wow."

The Baek family's main source of funds comes from the mana stone mines.Taking over 43% of the mining rights, is in truth, like taking about 50% of the Baek family's source of funds.

“I'd thought that it would be 30% at most.”

As expected, my father is my father. To think that he would take 43%.

[Well done. Thanks to you, it seems that there won't be any shortage of funds to progress my business overseas.]

[I'll reward you for this immediately on my arrival.]

[Think about what you want.]

My father uncharacteristically sent me three texts in a row. It means that he was feeling that happy.

[Yes. I'll think about it]

I replied with that message.

'Everything went well.'

Everything really worked out.

I escaped from the trickery of the Black Magic Tower. And from doing so, the Blue Magic Tower now owes me a debt. In addition, my Elemental Mana Light is now going to be crafted into an artifact free of charge. Furthermore, from what had happened with Baek Sahyuk's case, I've even reached the stage of resonance.

‘The benefits I've gained from this are indescribable.'

And because of this incident, Jihan will not be able to touch me for the next two months.'

This is the biggest benefit.

To act again after having failed would be uncomfortable for him. And thanks to what happened with Baek Sahyuk, he's even found out that Seokhyun ahjussi has been attached to me by my father, so he wouldn't mess with me for no reason anymore.

Shin Jihan is not stupid enough to risk meddling in a situation like this.

He'll be lying low trying to avoid any unwanted attention.

In other words, there's no one left to disturb me until the Academy Olympiad. I have no reason to be disturbed. This too is a huge benefit.

'Now all that's left is to raise my skills as much as possible for the Olympiad and win the gold medal.'

The gold medal is proof that you're the most outstanding out of all of the academy students in the world.

The gold medal that Kim Kangin couldn't win.

If I can win it, my position within the family will rise dramatically. And when that happens, those that support me will gradually emerge. Starting from then, I can make my real debut in the competition to become the next clan head.

'Perfect.'

And at that moment when I was praising myself.

Vrr,vrr,vrr!

Just in time, my mana trembled around my body.

“The timing’s great.”

My circle had begun to move again after the 12-hour penalty from the resonance. I immediately got out of my seat and left my room.

'My wounds have all healed overnight. And since my circle has been restored...'

I have to hurry up and go back to the dormitory. I had to go back and activate the magic circle on page 210 of Eadred's grimoire, the page of the second test.

'3rd Circle!'

My 3rd circle is just a hair's breadth away.