Descent of the Legendary Archmage

"So you're telling me that your alteration magic can not only interfere with your own, but with other people's magic?"

"That's right."

"Holy moly..."

Soonchan was truly astonished.

“And you also have magical eyes that can see your opponent’s magic formula?”

"Yeah. Though there is a condition where I have to check it up close several times. But if all the conditions are met, I can read the magic formula perfectly.”

“Wow, shit.”

Soonchan chuckled in disbelief.

"You can't believe it?"

"Nope. I'll believe you. Of course, I'll believe you. You even showed me you using the moonlight bullet, so obviously I have to. But this is really wow... This magic efficiency is absurd.”

Soonchan lost his words again and exclaimed, 'Wow, shit.'

“Even if I think about it again, it doesn't make sense. How can such magic exist?"

“Well, apparently it does.”

It's only natural for Soonchan to be surprised.

My magic is that overpowered.

"...I'm genuinely speechless."

Soonchan clicked his tongue.

Adella, who had been quietly lost in thought, opened her mouth.

“So the way you pierced the emerald turtle's shell was..."

"I lowered the strength of the barrier surrounding its shell by interfering with it. I don't need to explain how I changed the trajectory of your moonlight bullet, do I?"

"...Yes, you don't."

Her entire face, including her cheeks, were redder than usual.

It was the expression that said she was seized with interest in my magic.

"Is the condition for using your interference magic perhaps understanding 100% of your opponent's magic formula?"

"That's right."

“...So that's why you didn't use interference magic from the beginning. Only now the mystery is solved.”

"Yeah. At that time, I hadn't fully understood the magic formula of the moonlight bullet.”

“So attacking you only with my moonlight bullet actually turned out to be the cause of my downfall.”

"Yeah. If you had put pressure on me by using other magic as well, it'd probably have been a lot tougher.”

Adella put her index finger and thumb on her chin and nodded.

She must be replaying the previous battle in her head.

“Does it have any other weaknesses?”

"Well, the calculations are tricky, so I can only interfere with magic that's come up to my palm? And in practice, I don't have enough time to calculate everything, so I can only change a spell's trajectory.”

If like with the emerald turtle, I had more time to work with, I could cast my interference with more depth.

But at my current level, I'm only able to change the trajectory.

"What about changing the trajectory of the magic 180 degrees and sending it back at the opponent?"

“No can do. As I said, I don't have enough calculation time.”

There's a huge difference between changing the trajectory of a magic spell by 12 degrees and by 180.

"It'll need at least 1.5 seconds to do that."

"I see. That's a bit unfortunate. If you were able to reflect their magic, it's versatility would be indescribable... Though of course, even as it is now, it's more than overpowered.”

Adella's eyes are getting brighter.

Her expression said that she was enjoying herself.

“Then we should only use interference magic as a trump card in the tiebreakers and..."

"In siege warfare."

''Yes. In those two matches, I'm sure It will show a cheat level of efficiency."

Adella said this with an excited expression on her face.

"Are we the only ones who know that you can use the vision magic of an opponent that you've observed?"

"Yeah. This is the first time I've said anything about it.”

“Then we can use that as a trump card as well. Do you have any other hidden cards on top of that?"

"I do."

It was at that moment when Adella and I were excitedly talking about the Olympiad.

"Excuse me? You two?"

Soonchan, with a puzzled expression on his face, cut our conversation by putting his hand between me and Adella.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your fun conversation. But can you explain it in a way that I can understand?"

His face seemed so confused, that it wouldn't be out of place for 10 question marks to be floating above his head.

"You're right. I only talked about the magic and didn't go into much detail about the situation."

I was so preoccupied with strategizing with Adella that I forgot.

“Firstly, Soonchan, we talked the other day, so you know what I’m aiming for, don’t you?”

"Yeah. I know. You said your goal is to win a gold medal at the Olympiad.”

“I'm sure you know that in order to win at the Olympiad, all the competitors have to combine their strengths, not just me.”

"Right? Since it's a competition with academies from each country participating.”

The Olympiad is a team competition. There's a limit to what I can do alone.

"That's why I told you two about my magic. I have to figure out my team in advance so that I can prepare for the Olympiad.”

My alteration magic has already been revealed.

And though people are still uncertain about my interference magic, once I use it at the Olympiad, it'll be revealed for certain.

Also, the fact that I can analyze other people's vision magic and use it as well.

These are magic spells that'll be revealed anyways once I use them at the Olympiad.

All I did was let these two know of the magic that was going to be revealed in the future anyways.

“No, I get that. I'm not that much of an airhead. That's not what I'm wondering about.”

Soonchan continued speaking with an ashamed expression.

“Why are you telling this to someone who won't even participate in the Olympiad? That's what I'm wondering.”

"Huh? You weren't going to participate?"

Adella tilted her head.

“How could I participate? I don't have the grades for it.”

There are seven 3rd years and three 2nd years participating in the Olympiad.

In other words, only the top 3 second year students can participate.

However, Soonchan is not in 3rd place.

That's why he's saying this.

"...Is that true? Aren't your grades good enough?"

''Are you really asking me that?"

"Yes. Aren't they?"

Adella looks at me to get me to agree.

''They're good enough."

"To be within the top 3? When I'm in the top 10 at best?"

Soonchan tilted his head with an expression that said he genuinely couldn't understand it.

"Usually, you're right. But, things in this world are never set in stone are they?”

"...What do you mean?"

I smiled broadly.

“I’m going to use the power of my clan to appoint you to participate in the Olympiad.”

Soonchan was stunned.

“You want me to be a parachute*?” *(T/n: Korean idiom for getting in through contacts.)

“You won't be a parachute. Your skills are good enough to compete. And you'll have the most synergy with me.”

''Yes. Your grades in the first year were good. Nobody will say anything about it. The most they'll say is that you're a general admission student.”

"...Still. I don't think this is the play."

Soonchan looks at me with a serious expression.

“The person who was supposed to be competing did nothing wrong. I can't do something like that.”

"..."

Adella's eyes widened slightly, as if surprised by Soonchan's words.

"...You're a really nice person.''

Adella's smile was softer than usual.

"I told you he's a good kid. It's just a bit suffocating."

I laughed.

“I know it's stupid to turn down an offer like this. But I..."

"Oi."

I lightly punched Soonchan's chest.

"When did I say I would do anything illegal?"

“Didn't you say that you would use your clan's power to slot me in the Olympiad?”

He looks at me with an expression that says, 'Isn't that illegal?'

"You're making me out to be a bad person. Oi. Look Carefully."

I took out my phone and opened the current second year report card.

“This is the latest report card that I received in advance. Do you want to compare your results with the person that's in 5th place?"

"Huh? What's this? There's only a 3 point difference?"

The range in score from 5th place till 14th place isn't that large.

“And here. 3rd and 4th place aren't eligible for the Olympiad. You know why right?"

“Since they're both international students.”

The Olympiad is a fair competition between academies as well as competition between countries.

International students cannot participate in the Olympiad.

“Then how do you think the remaining place will be picked? Will 5th place compete?”

“Probably?”

"Nope. When the scores are this close, this will be settled with an internal examination.”

“So there's a high chance that a student with a powerful family will participate.”

A student with a powerful family will participate.

“All I meant was that I was going to support you in this competition. I'm not saying that I'll commit some atrocious, illegal act to get you in.”

Since in the end, if a person with an influential family will be picked, I might as well even out the playing field.

"What? That's what you meant?"

“Yeah you dumbass.”

I quickly grabbed Soonchan's head and put him in a headlock.

''Hey, it hurts! It hurts! Mr Hayul? Teacher? I'm dying! Dying!"

“Did you really think I would have given you a proposal like that even though I know your personality?”

“I'm dying! Dying!"

Soonchan urgently hit my forearm.

Ah, I must've used too much strength.

I immediately released the headlock.

“What kind of mage has this much strength..."

Soonchan pressed down on both sides of his head, and glared at me with a look of resentment.

“Anyway, you get it now right?”

"...Yeah. My bad. I misunderstood.''

Soonchan smiled sheepishly.

“Then we can go back to what we were talking about, yeah?”

"...Yeah. Sorry. Carry on.”

Soonchan fell back and resumed his seat.

I turned to Adella again.

"Where did we get to?"

“We stopped when I asked if we had any other hidden cards. And you said we did.”

“Oh, we got that far, huh.”

I regained my memory.

"That's right. I have more cards that I've got hidden.”

“What are they?”

Adella's eyes twinkled.

They twinkled in a radiant light full of both anticipation and excitement.

"4th circle magic."

"...Sorry?"

Adella's eyes, which were still wider than usual, grew even wider.

"I can only use it for 3 minutes, but in those 3 minutes I can use 4th circle magic as much as I want."

Resonance.

My true lethal move, that I was unable to use in my fight with Adella yesterday as there were too many eyes watching.

“And by the time the Olympiad comes around, I'll probably be able to somewhat use 5th circle magic.

"5-5 circles...?"

I could see Soonchan and Adella's startled rabbit-like expressions.

"Yeah."

In one and a half months, with the rate I'm going at right now, I genuinely believe I'll be able to weave my fourth circle.

* * *

After finishing the feedback on the battle survival test and talking about our plans for the future, I went back to my room.

Though we still have a lot to talk about, everyone else seemed really tired, so we decided to get some rest and finish at a later date.

They're probably sleeping like logs on their beds right now.

Though of course, I have my master's robe.

“Mimir. I'm back."

As soon as I returned to my room, I put on my master's robe again and headed straight to Mímisbrunnr.

"You're back?"

Mimir, who was lying on the sofa, yawned as she got up.

''You're later than expected. Did anything happen?"

She got from her seat and approached me with a disheveled face.

"Did you by any chance not get first place?"

Mimir, who was standing right in front of me, looked at me with eyes of suspicion.

'You didn't lose by any chance did you? The successor to the Bytenor style didn't show such shameful conduct did he?'

That's what she seemed to be saying.

“Of course I was in first place.”

“So you won? That’s fine then."

Mimir smiled contentedly.

“Then why are you so late?”

"Nothing much happened. I was talking with two of my friends."

''What did you talk about?"

"What we talked about last time. That we have to win the gold medal. That's what we talked about.”

“Ah~ that thing you told me you had to talk to Adella and Ji Soonchan about?”

"Yup. That."

“Ah ha.”

Mimir nodded with an expression that said 'I see'.

"But didn't you say that you wouldn't tell them about it till you mastered interference? Did you decide to let them know early?"

"No?"

I took out the books I had been reading before the test and opened them again.

"You didn't?"

"Yeah. I told them at the time I had planned to.”

"...?"

Mimir tilted her head.

It's an expression that says she couldn't understand what I was saying.

"...Huh?"

Then, soon, as if she had realized something.

She exclaimed.

“Well, I had thought that might have been the case. But successor, have you by any chance mastered interference?"

"That's right."

I closed the book I was reading and put it back in its original place.

I'll read this later.

That's not important right now.

"...No way!"

Then I approached Mimir, who had a completely shocked expression on her face and said this:

“Mimir. Could you get me some books on destruction?”

"...For real?"

"For real."

Destruction.

It was time to take a step forward to achieving that and becoming a 3rd circle master.