I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

When I lifted my gaze, the surrounding scenery came to me differently.

To the point where I could even feel the energy in the air that brushed against my skin in detail.

‘The sensitivity of my mana has changed.’

The world surrounding me was new.

I had a hunch that I could implement things that I couldn’t before.

As I took a step forward, I created mana.

The two circles that were quietly vibrating in my body resonated with each other and amplified the mana.

“…What in the world is that martial art?”

Mo Yonghan raised his fist with a half-stiffened face.

“It’s difficult to just tell you.”

And then I lifted several talismans from my bosom.

The talismans that scattered into ashes in the magic flames.

Like before, it was just a show-off ignition, but the result was completely different.

Fwoosh!

The surroundings brightened.

A hot heat spread, and everyone’s attention was directed to one place.

“That’s…!”

“Heh, how mysterious.”

It was the flames that filled the space above my head. There were a whopping three fireballs, twice as large as before.

‘This is the maximum firepower I can produce right now.’

A flame magic created by gathering all the mana in my circle.

“If you can block this head-on and still be fine, I will tell you.”

A definitely stronger output than before. Mo Yonghan, who was stealthily watching the blazing fireballs, cracked his neck and accepted the proposal.

“How arrogant. I accept.”

I had succeeded in stimulating Mo Yonghan’s unique desire for a challenge, using the identity of the magic as a pretext. Of course, the opponent had not accepted it just out of bravado.

Because with the firepower I had shown now, it was far from enough to pierce through the protective qi of a peak-level master.

“I understand.”

Nevertheless, the reason I had made such a proposal was because I had a certain aim.

A certain conviction that came to me after achieving the second circle. Following this, I tried to change the flow of my mana.

What was strengthened by the improvement of the circle was not just the firepower.

A hot wind blew in the area.

The three fireballs rotated and swirled, and then they were sucked in and condensed on my fingertips.

On the sword seal formed by putting my index and middle fingers together, a flame the size of a head was being compressed like a small sun.

“Damn it, what in the world are you doing…”

Mo Yonghan, who saw this, spat out a curse. It was obviously unusual.

Whether that was the case or not, I focused all my attention on this magic, on which everything depended.

As a result of the two circles assisting and amplifying each other, I was able to give a proper form to the magic.

It was the result of increased control.

Based on this, I gathered the fireballs even more to one point.

It was an art that I wouldn’t even have dared to try at the second circle level. However, the talent of [Absolute Magic] had implemented this to the extreme.

Fwoooosh-!

A radiant flame ball that shone like the sun. I compressed the flame, which was the size of a head, to the size of a fist.

Woooong!

The burning momentum vibrated the area.

The flame converges even more. Condensation.

The radiant flame ball, the size of an eyeball, shines even more at one point.

And so, a single bullet was born.

I aimed the bullet at the opponent with my middle and index fingers put together.

At the end of it was Mo Yonghan, who was showing a pale complexion with his two hands crossed.

“…Crazy! This is invalid…”

His words could not continue any further.

A sinisterly raging wave of mana.

The air in the area exploded, and along with a huge recoil, the radiant flame ball was shot forward like a large-caliber rifle.

In an instant, the sound disappeared in the area, along with the flash of the rushing white-red flash.

Craaaaaack!

A shockwave that exploded along with a belatedly vibrating loud noise rushed in.

Scattering dust. A hot wind blew in all directions.

And so, in the silence that came, when everyone in the audience was swallowing dryly.

The vision cleared, and what was at the end was the figure of Mo Yonghan, standing with the sleeves of his two arms torn.

“I… have lost.”

Words that seeped out, pushing through his lips. For a moment, his protective qi had definitely been broken.

It was my victory.

“Woooooow!”

A cheer poured out from the audience.

An incredible reaction.

To think I had won with just a sorcery that he had never seen before, not the martial art of a prestigious sect.

And to an intermediate student representative at that.

In terms of splendor and power, it must have been an unbelievable shock at the student level.

The training ground was colored with astonishment.

An anomaly, something unbelievable had happened.

And I was standing in the center of it.

Although I was putting on an indifferent expression, an incredible sense of exhaustion rushed in. Nevertheless, I had to finish it. I squeezed out my remaining strength and cupped my fists.

And with that, as if I were tidying up my clothes. I subtly revealed the talisman in my bosom.

Then, the students who gasped.

“He still has that many talismans…!”

“With that amount, couldn’t Zhuge Cheonwu have won even if he had just fought normally?”

“Didn’t you see that it took a considerable amount of time for that fire art? At least five breaths, so if they had fought like in a real battle, it would have been over already.”

“Still, it was a considerable power. To the point of tearing Mo Yonghan’s protective qi. As expected of the top student entrant.”

Of course, it was for show.

The important thing was that I had shown the possibility. That alone was enough.

I had beaten an intermediate student representative in a bet before, and I had shown that I could break through a protective qi.

It was enough to change the surrounding gazes.

A change in perception that would be helpful for my future actions.

I bowed in respect to the place where Cheon Mujin was.

A problem child had caused an anomaly. In the midst of the hot enthusiasm, everyone’s applause poured out.

* * *

The next duel was between Baek Hasin and Yeo Jingon.

Overall, it was a battle between the graceful swift sword of the White Dragon Star Heaven Sword and the firm heavy sword unique to the Zhongnan Sect.

At the same time as the start, Baek Hasin took the first move with a fast draw.

An appearance where both his strength and speed had become stronger compared to when they had fought before. Once he had overcome a wall, there was no stopping him.

It was an unbelievable growth speed.

However, Yeo Jingon’s sword, which was facing this, was also solid.

The Thirty-Six Swordsmanship of the World. A sword that contained the ambition to pacify the world by dividing it into thirty-six directions, and had that much stability.

Although the subtlety of its implementation was different, if you just consider the detailed forms, it could be seen as an advanced version of the Six Harmonies Sword.

‘Baek Hasin is being pushed back.’

In the first place, there was a gap in their internal energy, and it was a loss to clash with the unique firmness of a heavy sword.

Yeo Jingon’s sword pressed Baek Hasin and accumulated shocks.

‘As expected, he’s not using the demonic arts, is he?’

I stared at his fight with a pale complexion.

I was barely following the flow by enhancing my eyesight with the very little mana I had left, but the more I watched, the more I felt a sense of regret.

Baek Hasin’s talent was not in such a soft sword.

If he had learned a martial art that suited his constitution, breaking away from his own limits, he could have become incomparably stronger.

Of course, that was on the premise that he would voluntarily learn the demonic arts.

‘Is there no other way?’

In the first place, since the demonic arts had many side effects and strange methods, it was inevitable that a prejudice would be formed.

And on top of that, since there was the matter of his mother, there must have been even more resistance to learning the martial arts of the Demonic Cult.

Of course, it wasn’t that there was no way at all.

If his growth is slow, I just have to roll Baek Hasin even more.

As I was contemplating Baek Hasin’s growth route by myself, the duel was heading towards its end.

Clang!

Baek Hasin’s sword that was sent flying up. He managed not to lose it, but his body side was opened by the aftermath of the sword strength.

The moment Yeo Jingon was about to bring down his heavy sword, taking advantage of the upward rebound.

A strange changed form came out of Baek Hasin.

His wrist bent at a strange angle, and he poured out a sword strike like a thunderbolt.

Clang!

A strong sword that sent Yeo Jingon’s sword flying in an instant.

A cry of admiration burst out from the surroundings at the strange single sword.

Others would think it was a life-saving ultimate technique performed in a hurry in a moment of crisis, but it looked different to my eyes.

‘Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship.’

It was the exact same sword strike I had seen from the original Baek Hasin.

‘So he had started learning it.’

It was just that he hadn’t used it because he wasn’t used to it.

It was certainly a hastily made attack, but it was different. Should I say he knew how to move instinctively? I could see a flash. The higher the martial prowess, the more the shining path that separates that one point was imbued in the blade.

‘The problem is…’

That’s all there is to it.

In the end, Baek Hasin, who had lost his sword to Yeo Jingon’s series of attacks, declared his surrender, and the duel came to an end.

‘Now I need to rest a bit.’

I withdrew the mana I had been concentrating on my eyes and closed them.

It was a satisfying day in many ways.

I had gained a lot from this friendly match.

I had reached the long-awaited second circle, and based on this, I had achieved the only victory against the intermediate student representative, Mo Yonghan.

Also, Baek Hasin had started learning the Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship, which suited his constitution, and had proven that he was getting stronger at a considerable speed.

As I was sitting there, exhausted, a sense of satisfaction and the release of tension came over me.

Soon, an irresistible drowsiness came.

“Huh?”

When I opened my eyes at the sudden commotion, the friendly match was already over.

When I lifted my head, everyone was looking at me, who had been sleeping.

Only then did I quickly grasp the situation.

The nine representative students who were gathered in a line in the training ground. And the one person who was not in the third spot from the end, in the center of the left wing.

That was me.

“……”

The last event was for all the representatives to come out and show their faces, but I had been sleeping.

‘This is bad.’

As I got up late and concentrated my mana on my ears, I could hear murmuring voices.

“To doze off in a place like this… as expected of a scoundrel.”

“It must have been that boring. Unlike the other students, he won, after all.”

“The rumor that he’s the biggest problem child this year was true. And in a stage where even the academy head is attending.”

I could feel the gazes that had been favorable to me sinking again.

‘Damn it.’

It couldn’t be helped.

I had pushed this damn weak body to its limit, and after achieving the second circle, I needed time to recover to adapt to it.

The fact that my steps as I walked to the stage were endlessly heavy was proof of that.

But my desperate situation and the reaction of those around were the complete opposite.

“To be so relaxed even in a situation like this?”

“If so many people were waiting, you’d be nervous. As expected, he’s no ordinary guy.”

“Arrogant and arrogant. Is that the composure of a strong person?”

‘This is so unfair.’

But in this situation, a protest was just a luxury.

I walked up to the duel stage as quickly as possible.

To a third party, it would have looked slow, but this was my best effort.

“…Then with this, we will conclude the friendly representative duel between the intermediate and junior students.”

A moderate response that was made in a disorganized atmosphere. I could clearly feel that it was a formal conclusion. When I lifted my head, Cheon Mujin and Mi Tae-eul had already left their seats.

Only Gu Jabeom remained, staring this way.

Eyes that could not feel any emotion. In the pupils whose depth could not be read, no emotion was imbued.

As if he had given up on seeing this side as a person.

Just as I was swallowing dryly.

- Cheonwu, let’s see each other later, shall we?

A gentle voice was stuck in my mind. At the somewhat chilling sensation, I slowly turned my head in the direction where the owner of the telepathic message was.

What was there was Wu Hwiryeong, who was the host.

Unlike Gu Jabeom, the sight of her with anger in her eyes and a smile on her lips was chilling.

‘What was the route to drop out again?’

Right now, dropping out didn’t seem so bad.

I gently closed my two eyes.

It was truly the worst ending.

(End of Chapter)