Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 128

Thwack!

Professor Ziren suddenly closed her book and said.

"From now on, I'll be serious."

Her gaze was focused solely on me.

Now that I saw it, it seemed it was a weapon that could be used in that way as well.

"You said you were serious earlier too......"

"Here I come."

Whooooom!

Before I could even get a proper answer, mana surged around Ziren.

They instantly formed magic circles, and Ziren's magic was activated right after.

Whirrrrr!

A huge fireball shot out through the magic circles.

It wasn't to the extent of a super-large casting magic, but it was a size that was hard to believe was conjured in such a short time.

'......Impressive.'

This must be Professor Ziren's true strength.

As expected, the professor's position at Asion Academy wasn't something anyone could take.

Chaak.

I reached out and drew out dark attribute mana.

This time again, I was thinking of responding with spatial magic like before.

Whoooom!@@novelbin@@

A pitch-black space large enough to swallow the fireball was created.

At the same time, the void space and the fireball began to collide.

Pajijijik!

One is trying to swallow the magic, and the other is trying to pierce through the magic.

And the result was.

Puhaaang!

It was an explosion.

Both the fireball and the void space disappeared without affecting each other at all.

Ziren's eyebrows twitched at that.

With a face that showed she was hurt in her pride, she immediately cast the next spell.

Hwaaaack!

Mana was emitted in all directions.

It covered the floor of the duel room and turned into flames.

[Blaze Field].

This, too, was the original form of the magic that Kayla had used.

Flames began to spring up from all directions.

They emitted scorching heat and constricted my breath.

'How should I respond to this?'

After thinking for a while, I came up with a pretty good idea.

'Wait, if I really reached the 7th Circle......'

Wouldn't I be able to cast a field magic similar to that as well?

An image vaguely formed in my mind.

I decided to try it right away.

First, mana emission.

"Huuph."

Swaaaaash!

My mana, which had become denser due to the improved mana circuits, covered the surroundings.

And then.

'Attribute application.'

I imbued the widely spread mana with my will and applied an attribute to it.

The attribute I applied was one.

Still my main attribute, 'Light'.

- Magic Learning Ability increases by 300%.

Recalling all the field magic I had seen so far, I moved the mana in a process as similar as possible.

Paaaat!

The result could be seen at a glance.

Above Professor Ziren's [Blaze Field], pure white lights were flashing.

It seemed that I had succeeded in casting my first field magic.

"......!!"

Perhaps she didn't expect me to counter field magic with field magic, Professor Ziren's eyes widened.

"......Field magic? Did you just cast field magic?"

"Well......? I just tried it. Did I succeed?"

"......Heh."

Ziren let out a hollow laugh as if she was taken aback by my reaction, which was asking her back.

"You can know better than anyone else whether your field magic succeeded or not. You'll feel something on the outside."

"Feel something, huh......"

At those words, I closed my eyes and focused on my senses.

Before and after casting the field magic.

If I had really succeeded, there would surely be some difference.

But.

"......I don't feel anything?"

I didn't feel anything in particular.

The only change was the light that was still flashing periodically around me.

"Don't you feel like the magic's power has increased, or your mana regeneration has improved, or... nothing at all?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Then it's a failure."

"......Is that so."

Professor Ziren directly told me that the field magic had failed.

I felt a bit disappointed.

I thought I would succeed since my circuits had returned to normal...

'And I didn't feel anything particularly off.'

Well, I guess I'll just have to practice a bit more.

"Then let's go again."

"Certainly."

I shook off my lingering feelings and focused on the duel again.

Now that things had turned out this way, I decided to make the most of even my half-baked field magic.

Thwack.

I naturally reached out to the light that was flashing around me.

The light was in a state where mana was circulating very normally.

'This could be useful?'

With that thought.

I grabbed the light and threw it at Ziren.

Paaaang!

The light clusters flew menacingly towards Ziren as I had intended.

Puhaang!

Although it was burst in the air by Ziren's fire magic, I was quite satisfied.

Because that last attack was launched without drawing up any mana.

Moreover.

'There's still a lot left.'

There were still more than a dozen light clusters remaining around me.

Also, they were in a very flashing state as if they were asking to be noticed.

Pat! Pat! Pat......!

As if embracing their wishes, I grabbed another light cluster.

This time, even shape transformation.

Whoooom!

At the same time as the light cluster transformed into a spear shape, I took a throwing stance and threw it.

Shaaaack!

- 300% proficiency boost for all bladed weapons.

As it was transformed into a spear shape, the light cluster was launched at an even more threatening speed than before.

"....Hmm?"

Puhaang!

Ziren, who had a strange look on her face, raised a pillar of fire and burst the spear of light.

However, the attack she had to block was not just one.

Because after launching the first spear of light, I was creating and throwing spears in succession.

Shaaaack!

Shaaaack!

One, two, three, four......

Light spears flew endlessly.

Ziren instinctively felt the danger and began to block them with all her might.

Puhaang! Puhaang! Puhaang!

However.

"....What is this!"

No matter how hard she tried to block them, the spear attacks didn't end.

Because I was moving with the intention of throwing all these light clusters away.

Moreover.

"Huuph!"

I also added variations from time to time so that it wouldn't be too obvious.

For example, by shooting beams instead of spears, or by using existing mana to deploy spatial magic.

Thanks to that, her breath was gradually running out.

"Hoo-uh...! Wa, wait... wait...!"

"There are ten more left."

Shaaaack!

Ignoring her request for a time out, I continued to throw the light clusters.

And the more I did that.

'This is pretty useful?'

I felt that the utility of this field magic was quite good, more than I had thought.

Although it doesn't have the effect of increasing magic power or directly raising the caster's stats like others, it allows for continuous attacks.

Shaaaack! Shaaaack!

How long had passed?

Just when I felt like my skin was burning in Professor Ziren's [Blaze Field].

Taaat.

I stopped throwing the light clusters and landed gently on the ground.

And.

Paaaat!

I immediately used the same method to cast the Light Attribute Field Magic once again.

Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!

Dozens of light clusters appeared around me once more.

It was at that moment that Ziren screamed as if in agony.

"Stop-p-p!"

Thwack.

At that cry, I stopped moving.

"I, I've lost. I've lost..."

Professor Ziren, with a drained voice, admitted her defeat.

For a moment, I was too bewildered.

'....I won?'

Although it was a duel.

It was the first time in my life that I had defeated a 7th Circle mage with my skills.

***

After the duel ended and Yuhan left the duel room.

Asion Gale and Ziren Renata stared at each other intently.

"......"

"......"

They clearly didn't exchange any words, but they could tell.

That they were feeling similar emotions right now.

"......Did you see it?"

"......Of course, I saw it. Right in front of me. With my own two eyes clearly."

"I was the one involved, though......"

"Hehehehe."

‘How on earth should I accept this situation?’

It was Ziren who spoke first.

"Just what happened to that student?"

She couldn't understand why Yuhan's skills had suddenly improved so much.

Fortunately, Asion Gale, who knew the cause, was able to explain the situation.

"Do you remember me saying that Yuhan's mana circuits were a mess before?"

"Of course. I remember. You were making such a fuss about recruiting that student because of that."

"Yuhan, today, in the Room of Time and Mind, he fixed those mana circuits."

"......Excuse me?"

Professor Ziren flinched.

'Fixed the mana circuits...?'

Fixing the circuits was by no means something anyone could do.

Even if they were slightly tangled, it would cause tremendous pain.

According to the dean, Yuhan's circuit condition was completely messed up.

As such, it was nearly impossible to unravel those circuits overnight.

Unless one had extraordinary concentration and perseverance.

Moreover.

'And that too, in the Room of Time and Mind...?'

The fact that the student had entered the Room of Time and Mind was even more surprising.

That place was a place that Dean Asion Gale had firmly guarded, a space that he hadn't opened even once until now, wasn't it?

Even to herself, who was a 7th Circle mage and a professor.

It was clearly because of the danger...

"Just why did you put that student in there...?"

Ziren, who had suddenly uttered the question she had, stopped talking.

Because she felt like she knew the answer herself.

"Could it be that you judged that he had that much value? In that student?"

"Indeed."

Asion Gale nodded proudly.

That much value?

She could definitely answer that question at least.

A student with potential that even she herself couldn't properly assess.

And from today onwards, Ziren would also agree.

After all, she had directly experienced it, hadn't she?

His unbelievable magical growth.

"Didn't it also seem that way to Professor Ziren?"

At Asion Gale's question, Ziren recalled.

The situation of the duel that had just happened.

The Light Magic he wore on his body, the spatial magic that swallowed everything, there was nothing that wasn't surprising.

No matter how much he unraveled the tangled mana circuits and his skills improved tremendously.

Moreover.

There was something even more surprising.

'....That field magic.'

The half-baked field magic that the student had just cast.

No, the field magic that she thought was half-baked.

'It was a magic with those kinds of effects.'

Having experienced it directly, that field magic was already complete.

It doesn't give special effects, but it's a field magic that allows you to focus solely on attack.

"He has... value."

Gulp.

Ziren swallowed her saliva.

Even though it was a duel, he was already a student who had surpassed her.

If that student grew even more from here, she couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of mage would be born.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]