Descent of the Legendary Archmage

Since that day, my life's been flipped around 180 degrees.

High-risk high return.

I put my very life on the line and in return, I was able to taste the sweetness of the heavens itself.

[Mana has a will.]

[When mana permeates the brain, it causes it to want to do too many conflicting things at once, which results in an overload of information and eventually leads to a rupture in the brain.]

[This is why mana acts as a toxin to the brain.]

Ray Vell Bytenor.

The book, which was left by the great hero who overcame time and took me on as a disciple, was filled with dormant knowledge.

[However, our brains have the property of blocking the will of mana from the source. This allows us to use magic directly in the sensitive organ known as the brain.]

I thoroughly looked over the sentences recorded in the book one by one and committed them to memory.

The sense of accomplishment at being able to explore the forgotten knowledge all to myself.

Even sleeping felt like a waste of time.

[The general purpose magic consists of eight stages: collection-heating-conversion-cohesion-transmission-expansion-amplification-manifestation.]

[However, just as this name suggests, this is just 'general-purpose' magic. It's a low-rank magic system that, I the King, made for my vassals, who were unable to transmit mana to their brain.]

[It's a type of magic that's got nothing to do with us. Forget all of it.]

[I'll start by letting you know the correct channel to circulate your mana that suits us.]

I enjoyed every single day.

I don't know how long it's been since I felt like this.

Learning the new magic system was really difficult, but it was definitely worth it.

[Once you have mastered circulating the mana around your whole body to the point where it's as natural as breathing, you may move on to the next stage.]

[Always remember that impatience is poison in the study of magic.]

The circulation of mana through the brain is taboo in the modern study of magic.

I trained all day in order to make circulating my mana through that channel as natural as breathing.

Spending just 4 hours a day sleeping and dedicating the rest of the day to mastering my mana circulation.

"There are six things that are valued in the modern study of magic. Student Shin Hayul. Do you know what they are? "

"Student Shin Hayul?"

"...Ye-yes?"

"You're so lucky aren't you? I can't believe you can afford to not concentrate in class."

"Sorry. I'll stay focused from now on."

Sometimes I was criticized by my teachers in class, but I don't regret it.

It's all knowledge I already know, and these theories are all irrelevant to me now anyways.

[It won't be easy. Changing the method of circulating your mana is like changing the way you breathe.]

[It's the same as telling a person who breathes with their mouth that they've actually got gills and that they must breathe with them instead.]

[Let your body learn it in a relaxed manner for about a month or so.]

Life continued like this for more than 10 days.

Before I even realized it, today was already the evening of the 11th day.

"I feel like I'm starting to get to grips with it."

I don't know if my food’s going into my mouth or into my nose.

I completely committed my focus to circulating my mana.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Soonchan sat next to me.

His food tray was empty.

It seems that he had already eaten all his food and was going to leave, but had spotted me and decided to approach me.

"Just you know. Giving the new theory I learned some thought."

"Does something not make sense? You've been in a daze lately."

It felt as if the words “I'm worried about you” were written on Soonchan's face.

"It's a pretty interesting theory, it's just that there's a lot to think about. It's not like anything doesn't make sense."

"Really? Well, I'm glad to hear that... But you haven't been in the training room in over 10 days. There's really nothing going on right?"

"No, really. Nothings going on."

I do understand why Soonchan's having these worries.

At this school, I'm known as the crazy training addict as well as being incompatible with A.I.

I have never missed a single day of going to the training room, even on weekends.

So since I haven't been to the training room in over 10 days, it's natural to wonder if something's up with me.

"Look at me. Does this look like the face of someone who's going through something?"

I enjoy every single one of my days so much. What worries could I possibly have?

"To be fair, It seems like your complexion got better."

"Right?"

I laughed and quickly shoved all the food I had left on my tray into my mouth.

I wanted to eat quickly and go back to my room to focus on my training.

In an instant, all the food had disappeared into my mouth.

I got up from my seat.

"Alright, I'll get going first! See you tomorrow!"

"Hm? Uh yeah. See you tomorrow."

After leaving Soonchan who was waving blankly at me, I ran to the dormitory like a thunderbolt.

Ah. I wish I had 48 hours in a day.

The smile on my face refused to leave.

The next day.

The first lesson was a subject called the 'Theory of Magic and its Application'.

It's the class that most students look forward to, and is one of the five main exam subjects with the highest distribution of marks.

Personally, this is the class I hate the most.

"About 99% of a mage's worth is determined from their bloodline."

Or to be exact, this is the class with the instructor I hate the most.

“When a mana-bearer marries another mana-bearer, there is a 99% chance that the child will also be a mana-bearer. It's fair to say that at this point, it's not an exaggeration to say that the importance of the bloodline has already been proven. "

Instructor Len Smith.

A 43-year-old French wizard, and the second son of a very distinguished French family.

"In addition, the nobler the bloodline, the higher the growth ceiling is raised, and so more mana circles can be created. This has been statistically proven."

A highly notorious instructor.

A firm believer in the doctrine of elitism, and was infamous for judging students based on their families.

"In the contemporary study of magic, where intermediate processes are all done by artificial intelligence, it’s one's innate gift that matters."

I think I’ve heard somewhere that one can tell a lot about a person just from their appearance. A stupid-ass beard and a weasel-like face. He's an instructor that completely suits his appearance.

"In the end, even those who are born with mana cannot overcome the hurdle of the sixth circle. This is also a statistically proven established theory."

The traitorous weasel said this while obviously staring at Soonchan sitting behind me.

Anyone could tell it was an action filled with malice.

Some students burst out laughing.

"Keke. What kind of mage can a merchant be? A mage my ass."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

The laughter came from the few idiots who agreed with the elitism of that weasel bastard.

They sure are spouting a lot of bullshit.

"Of course, not everything is determined at birth. There is no such thing as 100% in the world. There is always an error of 1%. That's why I said 99%. "

Oh, boy.

This time, he glares at me.

"Especially since despite being born from the most prestigious family in the world, there are instances of useless, defective products existing."

That's right.

I was wondering why you weren't picking on me.

"Ah, Student Shin Hayul. Don't get me wrong. I didn't really just look at you."

"...Okay."

How could I like this instructor's class?

"As expected, Instructor Len Smith is different. He's very knowledgeable."

"He's like the model mage."

"For God's sake. That weasel. You really are a jerk."

"I want to rip that stupid-looking beard off your face."

Students either loved Instructor Len Smith or hated him.

Most special admission students were liked by him, whilst the general admission students were disliked.

"Hm. I hope I haven't offended Student Shin Hayul. Otherwise, I would feel bad."

Anyone could tell that this bastard was insulting me, yet he was pretending not to nonetheless.

The way he acts is really disgusting.

"Okay then. I'll give you a piece of advice."

The weasel bastard laughed wickedly. Just looking at him I could tell it wasn't going to be good news.

"You should know by now that in 15 days, on the 30th of April, there will be an aptitude assessment for the second years."

"Yes."

This will be a mid-term evaluation for all second years.

The purpose of the evaluation is to see how much our skills have improved over the course of the year.

It's an important test, but why did he mention it?

"The test has a new set of rules."

"New rules?"

I felt anxious.

"Indeed."

My impression of that weasel bastard was becoming worse and worse.

My anxiety increased.

"Students who fail to receive a passing mark will be expelled starting from the beginning of next year. Immediately."

"Expulsion?"

"Holy shit. Awesome."

The whispering around me grew louder.

"I heard it was a new rule introduced by Shin Inhyuk of the Magic Shin Clan. He asked if it was necessary to keep the students without any talent."

At that moment, not a single sound broke the silence.

"...Woah, that's really awesome."

"Isn't that just targeting Shin Hayul?"

"Did Shin Hayul get abandoned by his father?"

I thought my father was being unusually quiet recently, but he had prepared something like this for me.

I can sense his strong desire to expel me by any means.

It tastes bitter.

"Well, you don't have to worry too much. It's quite hard to get below the passing mark. Unless there's a problem somewhere in the body, everyone will be able to get through. "

The weasel bastard looks at me with a filthy, snake-like glare.

As if he was saying I would never pass.

"Oh, I still haven't told you the advice. Student Shin Hayul. In preparation for this comprehensive evaluation, you should at least do what you can to speed up your magic casting. That is all."

“...”

I've listened very closely to your great advice, and I would really appreciate it if you could go die.

I cursed inwardly while laughing outwardly.

"Yes, thank you for your advice."

"Hm?"

The weasel bastard frowned.

He must have thought that it was odd since I replied in such a calm manner.

I think he said that to try and break my will.

It may have worked on me ten days ago, but it won't work on me now.

'15 days is enough.'

I was incredibly motivated by the feeling of my mana circulating all around my body, starting from my brain, to my fingertips to my toes.

Even in such a crappy situation, my mana kept circulating through a constant route.

I was not far off absolute mastery

'I'm looking forward to it.'

I'm looking forward to seeing instructor Len Smith's pleased expression become contorted.

'And...’

Even my father's embarrassed expression

* * *

“...I've done it. "

The 14th night.

I finally achieved my goal.

The new mana circulation method that used the brain was completely natural for my body now.

It's now possible for me to maintain constant circulation even while sleeping.

I'd accomplished this on day 12, but I postponed doing anything else for 2 more days just in case something unexpected happened.

As my master said, impatience is a fatal poison in the study of magic.

Anyway, it's time now to move on.

[If you are able to circulate mana through your whole body as naturally as breathing, then it's time to make a mana circle next.]

The first step in the modern study of magic; a mage's introduction if you will.

The creation of a mana circle.

It was the time to do that.

Of course, it doesn't mean making ordinary mana circles.

[I'm warning you in advance, but you must completely forget the method you used to create mana circles previously.]

[What you're going to create is not the general-purpose heart circulation mana circle that I made for my retainers, but a whole-body circulation mana circle.]

My master's mana circle is different from the modern mana circle which is engraved on the heart.

[While thinking of your body itself as a mana circle, create one using your whole body.]

[If you can circulate the mana as naturally as you breathe as I instructed previously, the mana rings will interweave naturally.]

Nothing was written after this. Completely blank.

Perhaps new sentences are revealed as I progress through the stages.

Since last time, after I destroyed my mana circle and circulated mana around my brain, new letters appeared.

There's probably no need to worry about it.

With that thought in mind, I sat down as I was.

I'm not in the lotus position.

The modern study of magic recommends the lotus position as the ideal position for creating mana circles in the heart, however, I'm not creating mana circles in my heart.

I had no reason to adopt the lotus position, which disrupted the circulation around the legs.

“Whew...”

I sat down in the position that I felt was the most comfortable.

Even now, I'm increasing my concentration on the mana that was naturally circulating around my whole body.

It feels as refreshing as floating in the middle of a forest.

A mysterious sensation where my body doesn't feel like my body.

Is it because my senses have been freed from their shell?

I can feel mana more vividly.

'Hehehe.'

'I'm happy.'

'It hurts.'

'It's fun.'

As if the mana was proving that it was a sentient being, I could hear its voices.

My consciousness plunged deeper and deeper into the water.

I forgot to breathe.

And I forgot to think.

And I even forgot that I was concentrating on something.

I fell into a trance.

My whole being was focused only on the movement of mana.

Passing from my right leg to my left arm, reaching my head and then passing by my left leg to my right arm.

And then back to my head again.

Mana continued to revolve around me.

Like the symbol of infinity, it revolved around as it made the shape of a Möbius strip (∞).

Continuously.

Never stopping.

It revolved at a fixed speed.

As if this symbolized infinity as well.

I revolved continuously without stopping.

The foundation of the Bytenor style of magic.

The Möbius strip symbolizing infinity.

The 'Infinity Circle' began to appear on my body.