Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 126

"Haa... Haa..."

Unbearable pain tightened around my breath.

It had been so long that I had forgotten how much time had passed.

Now, time and everything else was irrelevant; I was simply concentrating on not losing consciousness every moment and doing my best.

How long had it been?

Amidst the agony of my whole body being torn apart, I felt a tingling sense of joy.

"Fi...nally."

The blocked parts of the circuits were all opened.

"Aah..."

The remaining mana in my body flowed through the circuits without any blockage.

Head, shoulders, fingertips, toes... Mana was clearly felt in every part of my body.

I didn't know what kind of influence this would have on my magic, but it certainly felt different from before.

I hoped that the hard work would yield satisfactory results.

Of course, there was a more important issue left than that now.

'How much time...?'

No matter how much I retraced my memory, I couldn't even make a guess.

'...Has it been 10 hours?'

It felt like it had been more than twenty hours.

If that wasn't just a feeling, but reality...

If I had really failed...

Would I have to be trapped here forever?

'...I don't know.'

I couldn't know anything.

No, it was hard to even think.

Because I had already reached my limit both physically and mentally.

I let go of the consciousness that I was desperately holding on to.

Hoping that when I opened my eyes again, I would be in a different place than this room.

***

"Haa!"

I gasped and jerked my upper body up.

Reflexively, I looked around, and... fortunately, it wasn't the place I was in right before I fainted.

In other words, it wasn't the Room of Time and Mind.

"You're awake?"

Only then did I realize that someone was standing next to me.

It was Asion Gale, the dean of the Academy.

"Where is this...?"

"It's the recovery room of the Academy. You've made a complete mess of your body."

I couldn't hear the dean's follow-up words.

Only the word "recovery room of the Academy" lingered in my mind.

Recovery room, recovery room...

"...Does that mean?"

"Yes, you succeeded, Yuhan."

"Aa."

With that one word, all the tension remaining in my body was released.

My rough breathing calmed down, and my rapidly beating heart returned to normal.

My spine also felt cold.@@novelbin@@

It was only then that I realized how dangerous a situation I had been in.

"...I really thought I was going to die. This time."

"Was it that difficult?"

"Yes, untangling the twisted circuits was no easy task."

"Puhuhu."

Asion Gale let out a nonsensical laugh at my lament.

He couldn't have looked more annoying.

It's not his business, is it?

"Don't look at me like that, you rascal. How dare you look at the dean like that!"

Thwack!

Asion Gale flicked my forehead as if I was being impudent.

It hurt like hell.

It wasn't for nothing that he was the creator of the Body Transformation Magic that turns one into a white lion.

I rubbed my throbbing forehead and glared at Asion Gale.

"...Is this how you treat a patient?"

"Patient? Are you a patient right now?"

"Then if I'm not a patient, what am I..."

I was about to say what else I could be if I wasn't a patient, when...

"Huh?"

I suddenly realized that my body condition was strange.

It wasn't strange in a bad way, but rather the opposite, which made it strange.

'Why am I so fine?'

I had definitely felt pain that made me think I had gone through a life-or-death situation, but for some reason, my body was perfectly fine.

As if nothing had happened.

Asion Gale, who seemed to have noticed my confusion, said,

"When the circuits are running normally, the body's recovery ability also increases. This is because mana flows more properly than before. That's why your body is fine."

"What's the connection between the two?"

"Don't think too hard. Mana can be considered another blood that only mages have. Since that blood has started to flow properly, it affects the body as well."

Another blood.

I could understand that much.

But what was surprising was...

"...Like this?"

The effect was greater than I had expected.

To the point that it felt abnormal to me.

However, Asion Gale shook his head as if there was nothing strange about it.

"As I said earlier, your mana circuits were several times more serious than others. It's only natural that your body's recovery rate would increase significantly. Hhucha."

"Whoa."

Asion Gale suddenly turned my body towards him.

He grabbed my shoulders tightly, stared me straight in the eye, and said,

"And that's not all. Now you've become a completely reborn mage."

"...Really?"

"It's better to experience it once than to talk about it a hundred times. Would you like to feel it for yourself?"

Asion Gale's eyes were full of anticipation.

I silently nodded at his gaze.

***

Clump, clump, clump.

Dean and I left the Academy building and entered a single-story building that stood alone.

This is the place where Thompson and Kayla had their duel to enter the Academy.

Of course, there weren't any spectators like back then.

Currently, it's just me and Asion Gale here.

To be honest, I felt a bit awkward.

"...Dean, are you serious?"

"Is there any problem with that?"

"No, it's just, how can I possibly duel with you? I haven't even reached 6th Circle yet."

"Don't worry. I'll only perform at the level of dealing with a crawling earthworm."

"...."

Um, he meant to go easy on me, but it didn't sound quite right the way he put it.

"Although, whether you're an earthworm or a baby viper is something I'll have to find out myself."

"Excuse me?"

"If you're ready, let's begin."

"....Yes."

As I nodded, Asion Gale began to gather his mana first.

Whoo-o-o-m!

Along with that, a golden aura enveloped him, and soon after...

Gra-a-a-wl!

A huge white lion appeared before me.

He had used his Body Transformation Magic.

'...Damn big.'

I had seen it a few times during the war, but the pressure then and now was on a completely different level.

It really felt like I was facing a wild beast.

No, it was probably more than that, not less.

'If I make a mistake, I'll die.'

As such, I was also very tense as I gathered my mana.

Then.

Whoo-o-o-sh!

Contrary to what I expected, mana circulated through my body at an incredible speed.

I couldn't feel it well in the Room of Time and Mind, but it was a truly tremendous change.

To the point that I momentarily lost control of my mana.

Crackle!

Mana that had escaped control caused a tingling spark.

But that was only for a moment.

- Magic Learning Ability increases by 300%.

- Mana Sensitivity increases by 300%.

- Magic Calculation Ability is maximized.

I quickly adapted and brought my mana back under control.

It wasn't that I had any particular know-how, it was control that I seized solely by instinct.

[Do you have a feel for how to handle it?]

I nodded at Asion Gale's words.

"Yes, a little..."

At that moment.

[Then that's enough.]

Taaa-a-at!

Asion Gale suddenly kicked off the ground and rushed at me.

His two thighs generated explosive speed, and as I stared at it head-on, I felt a chill.

It felt exactly like a herbivore being hunted by a lion.

It was obvious at first glance.

'He was talking about earthworms and whatnot...'

This man has no intention of going easy on me at all.

"Then I'll be serious too."

After delivering a light warning, I cast a spell.

The first spell I cast was, of course, a Light Magic.

No, to be precise, it was a Light Attribute Transformation Magic.

'I can do it now.'

That conviction kept growing within me.

And as I thought.

Whoosh!

A pure white aura covered my body, and I felt as if gravity had disappeared, my body becoming lighter.

And the moment I took a step.

Kwaaa-a-a-ng!

I shot out too quickly, and my body slammed into the wall.

It was a much faster speed than when I had tried it once before.

'What is this...!'

Naturally, I was taken aback.

[...What in the world are you doing?]

Asion Gale was no different.

"No, this speed is..."

[...So, you weren't an earthworm, but a baby viper after all.]

Asion Gale had no intention of listening to my excuses.

Taaa-a-at!

The white lion, Asion Gale, immediately lunged at me again.

Because of that, I didn't even have time to calm myself down and took a stance again.

My mind was filled with only one thought.

'Slowly... Slowly...'

Let's generate only as much speed as I can control.

However.

This time again, my body was launched at an incredibly explosive speed.

I was just fortunate that I didn't crash into the wall thanks to already being tense.

No, rather, I turned it into an attack.

Bbaa-a-a-ck!

"...Are you alright?"

Gra-a-a-wl!

A series of punches followed in an instant.

Asion Gale, who was hit by it, bared his pure white teeth as if he felt unpleasant.

He looked ready to bite me at any moment.

And that wasn't just my imagination.

Swaaa-a-a-sh!

Suddenly, a vast amount of mana spread out from his body.

Snap, snap! Snap snap snap snap!

A semi-transparent barrier was erected, circling around me and Asion Gale.

[Asion Field].

It was the dean's will not to end this duel until one of us fell.

"No, there's no need to go this far..."

Gra-a-a-wl!

Asion Gale ignored my words again and lunged at me.

It was the same charge, but the movement was on a different level than before.

His two front paws, no, the sharp claws on those front paws.

They glared at me fiercely.

'I have to dodge.'

Sensing the danger instinctively, I immediately moved my feet.

Thump!

I restrained my launched body as much as possible and moved away from where I was standing.

However, Asion Gale, as if he had expected it, immediately changed his trajectory and launched an attack.

The view in front of me was filled with huge, pure white teeth.

It was at that moment that I extended my finger.

"....Void."

A chant I was uttering for the first time.

Swaaa-a-a!

Dozens of magic circles rose behind my back, and at the same time, a pitch-black space opened up right in front of me.

It was so large that it could swallow even Asion Gale's huge body.

At the same time, it wasn't just big; it began to powerfully suck in its surroundings, as if proving it.

Whoo-o-o-sh! Clunk, clunk! Whee-e-e!

The chairs, desks, various sundries, etc. that were there.

It sucked everything in without exception.

Even Asion Gale.

[......!!]

His large pupils visibly dilated.

It was at that moment that a vast amount of mana was imbued in Asion Gale's claws.

Chee-e-e-eng!

Shaa-a-a-ck!

He, who was floating in the air, strongly swung his front paw.

Jee-e-e-ek!

He tore apart the space of void I had created with his claws.

To be honest, I was a little worried.

As expected, he was the dean.

The power to tear space apart?

'Being a high-ranking mage isn't something anyone can do.'

But why is it?

The voice of Asion Gale that followed.

[Just now... you... what in the... ]

Sounded more surprised than me.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]