Descent of the Legendary Archmage

Time flew right by and the survival test is approaching its final stage.

[5 survivors remaining]

With 2 hours left, there are only 5 survivors remaining.

Only 1% of the 500 people survived.

'That's still a lot of people who've survived, considering how much the zone of the test has been reduced by.'

The range that continued to decrease over time has now been reduced to a radius of 1.5 km.

5 people in this confined space isn't a small number.

[4 survivors remaining]

Unsurprisingly, the number of survivors has decreased. And at that moment.

Phwooosh-!

There was a sound of wind.

A sharp wind imbued with mana.

A wind cutter flew at me.

I deftly dodged and fired a wind spear from where the wind cutter came from.

Twang-!

Beyond the bushes, I heard the wind spear being blocked by something and exploding.

It was probably blocked using Barrier.

"Show yourself."

"Tsk."

A man appeared from behind the bushes. It was a large man with dark circles around his eyes. And as if the fatigue had accumulated, both his eyes were red and bloodshot.

"Heup!"

Without even greeting me, the man hurled himself at me.

As I looked onwards at the shadow that was getting bigger, I recalled information about the attacker.

'Ji Sanuk. A 3rd circle user. A battle mage specialising in body strengthening magic.'

He's someone who ranks within the top 2 when it comes to martial arts.

'He's not someone I can practice my interference magic against.'

He's not an opponent I can underestimate. And in the first place, interference magic shouldn't be used against those who are physically strong.

'This guy wins by beating the crap out of the opponent as well.'

It's the perfect matchup for me who's trying to save energy for the final battle.

I looked at the fist that was approaching me straight on and evaded it by lowering my body.

Phwoosh-!

The wind whistled as his fists flew over my head.

'Knee.'

The mana, which was concentrated in his fists, moved to his knees. And he changed his center of gravity as well. It looks like he's trying to take advantage of my lowered posture by kneeing me.

'Barrier.'

I spread a barrier in front of Ji Sanuk's knee.

"...!"

Tak-

Before his knee could gain any momentum, it was blocked.

Ji Sanuk's attempt at a knee strike was unsuccessful.

'From here I'm going to move the barrier forward.'

The magic of freedom that the Bytenor style boasts.

Using that, the barrier flew forward, even though once cast it shouldn't be able to move.

"Ugh!”

As the barrier attached to Ji Sanuk's knee moved forward, it completely destroyed the balance of his lower body. With his leg awkwardly raised, he became a sitting duck.

I slammed my fist at his defenseless chin.

But my opponent was Ji Sanuk, a battle mage with considerable combat sense.

'You reacted to that?'

He instantly grasped the trajectory of my fist and raised his guard.

Bam!

My fists clashed with his guard, and a brutal impact rang out. Ji Sanuk's body spun around and flew backwards. And then landed perfectly on the ground. He absorbed the impact perfectly.

'He's better than I heard. To think that he managed to regain his balance in such an awkward position.'

He certainly seems to be the second best in the year when it comes to combat sense.

'But he's still a bit rough around the edges.'

By the way, the best in the year is me.

'He should've lowered his body and prepared to dodge as soon as he landed.'

Because he leaves most of the battle mainly to his combat sense, he has a few gaps.

You have to use your brain while fighting.

'I'll start by punching his head since his fingers are slightly more raised than usual.'

I sent a fist at Ji Sanuk, who had not gotten into a proper stance.

Sanuk dodged in surprise.

'If you avoid it like that, your ribs are going to be left wide open.'

I swung my other fist at his defenseless sides.

Crack!

“Ugh!"

The sound of breaking bones resounded terribly. A few of his ribs must have broken.

“This is nothing..."

I wonder if it was because as a fighter, he was used to pain.

Taking no notice of his broken ribs, he swung his foot out at me.

He must've thought that this was his chance to counterattack.

'It's a typical style that relies solely on his own talent.'

A style that makes no sense.

A chance to counterattack?

The moment you were hit with that critical strike, that chance was pretty much as good as gone.

‘If you kick out with one of your legs, then the other leg's going to be left wide open.'

I hooked my leg around him as he was. And very slightly tapped him. Just by doing that, his body soon began to fall.

Slam!

He got hit by my other fist and flew.

Ji Sanuk rolled over three times on the ground.

''Ugh, cough!"

I made proper contact with his jaw but he was still conscious.

He probably concentrated all his mana onto his jaw at the last moment.

His battle sense really is pretty good.

“If you get hit, focus only on your defense and dodging until you recover. If you go on a counterattack for no reason like that, it won't end with just a fatal blow—you'll lose your life.”

I looked down at Ji Sanuk, who had collapsed and was struggling to breathe, and gave him one last piece of advice.

[Kill Points + 10 Points]

As the kill points got updated, Ji Sanuk lost consciousness.

Ji Sanuk's body was carried by the wind and flew out of the test zone.

An instructor who was watching nearby must have carried him off using the wind.

[3 survivors remaining]

With this, only 3 people remain

[2 survivors remaining]

...No, now two.

"Hello."

It looks like she had just finished her battle as well.

"It's a splendid evening."

Adella Stuart.

Adella's blonde hair and black and white mana flew in harmony under the night sky.

* * *

At that time, elsewhere. Near Gangnam, on the top floor of the affiliated building, Shin Jihan had taken charge of.

“Oppa, Are you going to continue doing nothing even after looking at this?”

"..."

Shin Seha and Shin Jihan were looking at the screen with grave expressions.

''In what universe can you liken him to a basketball player without an arm?"

Shin Seha complained with a venomous expression.

She had trusted Shin Jihan's words and had felt relieved, but now she felt betrayed.

“He killed the emerald turtle on his own! An emerald turtle! And look at that! That battle!"

On the screen, the battle between Shin Hayul and Adella was truly deserving of admiration. It was hard to believe that this was a fight between 18-year-olds.

“Are you going to keep telling me not to worry after seeing this? They're talking about him not only on the internet but within the family..."

''Seha."

Shin Jihan, who had been quietly staring at the screen, softly called out to her.

“I have a favor. Can you please be quiet?"

"Is this a situation where I can be quiet...!"

“Seha."

Shin Jihan took his eyes off the screen and stared straight into Shin Seha's eyes.

“You know I don’t say things twice.”

"...!"

At that moment, Shin Seha's eyes trembled. As if an earthquake had occurred.

“S-sorry oppa. I'll be quiet.”

Shin Seha soon looked down and answered. She had only made eye contact, but had broken out in a cold sweat. Both her hands were trembling. Shin Seha was genuinely frightened of Shin Jihan.

“S-so anything but the punishment..."

Shin Jihan indifferently looked at Shin Seha, who was begging earnestly. His eyes were empty and indifferent as if he were looking at an insect crawling on the ground.

"What are you talking about? I'm counting you, so why would I punish you."

Shin Jihan reverted back to smiling as if he had never been angry. He patted Shin Seha on the shoulder and softly spoke.

“We're siblings.”

Shin Jihan took out a handkerchief, wiped the pool of sweat off Shin Seha's forehead and smiled again.

“Seha, as long as you listen to me, nothing will ever happen."

"...Ye-yes, I'll listen to you."

“Good. You'll be quiet for me right?”

Shin Seha kept her mouth shut. She won't open her mouth till Shin Jihan speaks to her. Her deep-rooted fear of Shin Jihan wouldn't allow her to.

"..."

The room became extremely quiet. Shin Jihan expressionlessly returned to looking at the screen.

'...Stop it, Hayul.'

Shin Jihan smiled as he watched Hayul shooting, avoiding, and blocking magic.

'I tried to keep you alive for the sake of the family.'

For the second time, Shin Jihan's eyes emitted emptiness.

'But if you keep at it, I'll have no choice but to kill you.'

His cruel eyes showed that he thought everything apart from himself as nothing more than an insect.

* * *

Moonlight poured down. The dark and light attribute vision magic that the Mystic Wi Clan boasts. A fusion of both light and dark properties. Moon-type magic filled every direction.

“This time I won't be careless.”

The natural moonlight which illuminates the dark night sky and the moonlight of mana which illuminates Adella's presence. The two moonlights blended together, creating a fantastical landscape.

“I have observed your battles hundreds of times just for this moment. I will not give you a chance to counterattack.”

I, who had lost my balance from taking a wrong stance, was met with a moonlight bullet. It cut through the darkness and swiftly flew.

'Can I dodge?'

An attack that perfectly targeted the gaps in my defense. I twisted my body to try and somehow avoid it.

“Heup!”

It was impossible to completely dodge in the position I was in. A moonlight bullet swept past my forearm, leaving a burn.

“As a technique-oriented mage who values magic control, you're susceptible to barrages of bullets. Especially barrages with high firepower.”

Just because I had dodged one didn't mean that it was over. Adella's moonlight bullets continued to fly towards me.

“That is your weakness.”

There's no end to this. If I dodge one, two more fly towards me and if I dodge two, four more are fired. If I could block it, I could reduce the distance between us and avoid it perfectly.

Unfortunately, Adella's current magic is not at a level where it can be blocked. That output has no rival.

"Weaknesses my ass! You're just abusing the fact that you've attained your 4th circle!"

“You too have the same four circles.”

“That differe... Ugh!" It's really surprising. Adella succeeded in weaving her 4th circle.

Currently, Adella is a 4th circle user.

'I had thought that this might be the case since she said that she had something she wanted to show me.'

But to think that it was true. Who would have known that she would have become a genuine 4th circle user?

"When did you get your 4th?"

Using the gap that had been created for an instant, I swerved the icicle lance out of Adella's field of vision. The Icicle lance flew perfectly, aiming for Adella's blind spot, her back.

"It's been about four days. And..."

Slam!

Adella blocked my attack without even moving her head an inch.

“I won't fall for such obvious ploys.”

"...Don't you think using your mind's eye is overkill"

"I'm not foolish enough to save my strength when it's you that's my opponent."

Mind's eye.

The vision magic of her mother's family, the prestigious Stuart clan.

It is a detection type magic that's similar to Kim Kangin's ruby eye.

It was magic that could only be used from the 4th circle, so it was magic that Adella could not use before.

Though of course, since she's reached 4 circles, there's no point in saying that.

“I know I'm not one to talk... But you fight so dirtily!"

"Didn't you say that being called dirty is the greatest compliment?"

"So you remember! I'm complimenting you!”

It's the first time I've ever encountered such a troublesome opponent.

'The power, range, and versatility of the Mystic Wi Clan combined with the detection magic of the Stuart family. It's more annoying than I imagined!'

There's probably no opponent tougher to deal with than Adella right now.

“When are you going to show off that great magic you used to defeat the emerald turtle?”

Adella continued to shoot moonlight bullets as she spoke.

“I was thinking of showing you anyway.”

Four moonlight bullets approached.

'Until now, they were impossible to block, so I had no choice but to avoid it, but... That's not the case anymore.'

27.74% dark attribute mana lined up 12 times with 71.33% of light attribute mana and 0.93% of water attribute mana according to Arakelov's theory. And a magic formula condensed into a form of a reverse double helix found in Fermat's conjecture.

I've seen the structure of the moonlight bullet so many times to the point that I've grown tired of it.

My magical analysis is perfect.

The flying moonlight bullets.

Among them, I reached out towards the first moonlight bullet. And the moment it reached within 30 cm of my palm.

'Interference.'

My mana shined exactly like Adella's mana: the color of moonlight.

'The moonlight's trajectory will be changed by 12 degrees.'

My interference magic permeated into the moonlight bullet in an instant. And the moonlight bullet's bullet's trajectory changed by exactly 12 degrees, causing it to miss my body.

Ping, ping, ping!

The three moonlight bullets that Adella had thrown with the assumption that I would dodge the first one flew right by me.

"There. I've shown it.”

“What... Did you just do?"

As I looked at Adella's eyes, which had widened like that of a surprised rabbit, it made me smile.

“What do you think you did?”