Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 125

"That space..."

"The Room of Time and Mind."

The Room of Time and Mind.

Yes, I had definitely heard about it from Asion Gale.

A space created by someone a hundred years ago, where time flows ten times slower than in reality.

Of course, I also clearly remembered the risk that came with that room.

'He said you could be trapped forever.'

Being trapped inside forever was the risk of that room.

And the fact that Asion Gale mentioned such a dangerous place now meant that...

"You're saying that my twisted mana circuit needs to be fixed."

"That's right."

It meant that I could no longer neglect my twisted mana circuit.

Even if I had to take that risk.

As if wanting me to fully understand, he added an explanation.

"As I said before, dark attribute mana has the property of consuming the caster. There's only one way to solve that. The caster must have strong control."

"...Strong control."

"And to have strong control, you naturally need to be able to freely manipulate mana."

Woong!

A complexly tangled form appeared above Asion Gale's staff.

A form so tangled that I wouldn't even know where to begin unraveling it.

I didn't need to ask to know what it was.

'That's mine.'

It must be my mana circuit, which Asion Gale had called a complete mess.

Reading my expression, Asion Gale continued,

"You can't have strong control with such a terrible circuit. No, I'm surprised you can even use magic! You're probably the only one in the world who can use magic with something like this."

Asion Gale spoke with somewhat exaggerated gestures.

"...Is it that bad?"

"If I were to elaborate on how terrible it is, I'd be confident enough to stay up all night talking about it."

"..."

I was speechless.

It felt like I had become a sinner for no reason.

However, Asion Gale didn't seem to care about that and continued to drive the point home.

"What's more serious is that you have to fix this somehow. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before you're consumed by darkness."

Unlike earlier when he had a playful tone, he now had a serious expression.

His reaction made me fully realize the gravity of the situation.

"Are you feeling overwhelmed?"

"...Honestly, a little. Is it even possible to fix this?"

"That depends on your ability. I can't guarantee anything."

"Is that so."

Just as I was feeling anxious about his uncertain answer,

"But there's no need to be too discouraged."

Shhh!

Suddenly, the tangled mana circuit began to unravel slowly.

Judging from the situation, it seemed that Asion Gale was directly manipulating the circuit model.

"Now I'll tell you the good news."

Swoosh, swoosh!

The tangled circuit gradually regained its original form.

Before long, all the tangles were unraveled, and the appearance of the circuit was...

"...Beautiful."

It was incredibly beautiful.

Incomparable to its previous unsightly state.

"It's not just the appearance that has changed. The circuit you have is three to four times larger than others."

Snap!

As Asion Gale snapped his fingers, the still circuit began to wriggle.

As if it were a living mana circuit.

What was even more surprising was that the circuit was absorbing all the mana that Asion Gale was channeling into it.

Only then did I realize what he was trying to say.

"...No way?"

"Yes, you're right. In a way, this can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage of your circuit."

"...Huh."

I was dumbfounded by his unexpected words.

It wasn't difficult to describe this situation.

All or nothing.

A jackpot if successful.

'And a complete loss if I fail.'

The Room of Time and Mind.

This could be the biggest gamble of my life.

***

Creak!@@novelbin@@

The floor opened, revealing a hidden basement space in the Dean's office.

As I descended the stone steps, I finally saw it with my own eyes, something I had only seen as a model before.

'The Room of Time and Mind.'

A massive door stood in front of me, covered in numerous chains.

If I had come here without any prior explanation, I would have mistaken it for a place where something was sealed.

I stared blankly at the eerie door and spoke,

"...Dean, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Those who entered the Room of Time and Mind couldn't leave until they achieved their goal.

In other words, it was a dangerous place where one could be imprisoned forever.

But it also had the attractive effect of slowing down time by tenfold, so there must have been many people who sought out this room.

So,

"How many people have entered this room and returned alive?"

How many people had actually achieved their goals and returned alive?

I was curious about that.

But then,

"..."

"...Dean?"

For some reason, Asion Gale didn't answer and kept his mouth shut.

"Hmm."

It was a long time before he spoke.

"No one."

"Excuse me? No one? What do you..."

"Don't be too surprised. No one has entered this room yet."

"It was... No, my father used to say this when he was alive. That although it's tightly locked now, there will come a time when this room must be used. That when a talented individual with both a good heart and outstanding skills appears, I should personally guide them to this room."

Creak!

Asion Gale, who was muttering as he unlocked the latch, suddenly turned his head.

His eyes, staring intently at me, clearly reflected my image.

"That is the reason why I run the academy, and the reason why I recommend this room to you, Yuhan."

"..."

Honestly, I was a bit surprised.

At first, he brought it up so casually that I thought it was no big deal.

But now, it seemed he had quite high expectations of me.

If that was the case,

"Can you do it?"

"Of course."

I also intended to do my best to meet his expectations.

***

Thud, thud... thud.

Finally entering the Room of Time and Mind, I took a deep breath.

"Phew."

Although I had prepared myself, I couldn't help but feel nervous.

I tried to suppress the tension and looked around.

'It's not much, considering.'

Unlike its grand name, the interior of the Room of Time and Mind was rather ordinary.

Just a small, empty room of about 165 square feet.

The way down to the basement seemed more eerie.

'Well, the reality is completely different.'

If I were to achieve my desired goal in this place...

In other words, if I couldn't untangle the twisted mana circuit, I would be trapped here forever.

It meant that I shouldn't let my guard down, even though it seemed ordinary on the surface.

Moreover, the situation wasn't exactly relaxed.

'The time limit is 10 hours.'

According to Asion Gale, I had to escape this place within 10 hours to succeed.

I had to succeed as quickly as possible.

With that judgment,

Swoosh!

I sat cross-legged and slowly channeled my mana.

'This is different from when I use magic.'

When using magic, all I had to do was channel mana and add various attributes and formulas to it.

But this time, the goal was to improve the twisted circuit.

So, I focused all my attention on mana alone, more than anything else.

Specifically, on the flow and path of mana, the passage through which mana traveled.

Naturally, I couldn't feel anything at first.

Even when I used magic, I wasn't really aware of the problem with my mana circuit.

But after about an hour, I, who had been sensing the flow of mana as if meditating, finally realized that something was hindering it.

It felt like something indescribable was blocking the way, hindering the movement of mana.

This was probably the twisted part of my circuit.

'That was faster than I thought?'

According to Asion Gale, all senses become more than three times sharper in this Room of Time and Mind.

He said that a special magic was cast on this room or something...

Anyway, this was the reason why we used the Room of Time and Mind instead of fixing the circuit outside.

With heightened senses, it was easier to identify problems in the circuit.

If I had proceeded with this process without this help, I might never have discovered the problem.

Well, anyway.

'This is where it really begins.'

Having achieved one goal, I focused even more and circulated the mana within my body.

Soon, I encountered another blocked part, and the method I chose was simple.

Swoosh!

I started pouring a vast amount of mana into that part.

Then,

"Ugh!"

As an excessive amount of mana rushed into the blocked circuit, I felt a piercing pain throughout my body.

A new kind of pain I had never felt before.

My whole body trembled, and cold sweat poured out like crazy.

How much time had passed like that?

Kwaaaaaaaaaah!

Suddenly, with a feeling of relief, the mana broke through that section.

At the same time, the circuit seemed to stabilize, and mana began to flow normally again.

"...Finally."

I had passed the first hurdle.

Of course, I wasn't completely happy.

Because I knew how many more hurdles I had to overcome.

Just from what I could vaguely sense,

'There are more than thirty sections.'

There were more than thirty parts that needed to be cleared.

It meant that I had to feel similar pain more than thirty times.

Of course, there was no need to despair.

Because I would somehow succeed in this seemingly impossible task.

As I always had.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]