Chapter 105: 18th Floor. Magic World (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 105: 18th Floor. Magic World (6)
Wihanian, the disciple of the Magic Tower Master. A genius the likes of which appeared only once in a century.
He was one of the Losers who had once stood against the Victors. The Master of All Weapons spoke in a playful tone.
[He looks quite a bit like you, doesn't he? Wouldn't you agree, Eldiria?]
[…He is nothing like me. He is merely a supporting character making a brief appearance. He hasn't suffered the direct insults I have. He isn't even worth the comparison.]
"Stop bickering over such ridiculous things."
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. Across from him, Alfrain—possessing a strikingly handsome face—offered a refreshing smile.
"I’ve heard much about you from my master. He said you’re a promising newcomer. I’ve been looking forward to this. Let’s have a good match."
"Likewise."
"Begin!"
Wihanian, acting as the referee, dropped his hand.
The moment the duel commenced, Kang Jun-hyeok immediately hurled a ruby.
Traditional magic required casting to activate. In stark contrast, Arcana Gem Magic was triggered the moment a gemstone was thrown, requiring no preparation whatsoever. Until now, no mage had been able to react to such violent activation speed.
But this time was different. Alfrain completed his casting with a swift, fluid wave of his hand.
"Block. Barrier."
A veil of mana manifested instantly, shielding him from the explosion of the flying ruby. Without missing a beat, Alfrain extended his hand.
"Gallop. Thunder."
Rumble!
Lightning lunged toward Kang Jun-hyeok like a predatory beast. Jun-hyeok pulled out a sapphire and tossed it into the air. With a sharp crackle, ice froze the empty space, intercepting the lightning.
His casting is fast.
Alfrain was activating magic in direct response to the flying gems. His speed made other mages look like slugs.
Jun-hyeok’s mind raced. The magic Alfrain used belonged to the Eternal School. Judging by the manifestation, it was a style that breathed power into language. It allowed for near-instantaneous responses, but it was a type of magic that made delicate manipulation difficult.
In that case...
Jun-hyeok pulled a diamond from his breast pocket.
There were dozens of types of gemstones in this world, and the Arcana Gem School imbued each with specific effects.
The ruby’s effect was a fire explosion.
The sapphire was the manifestation of frost.
And the diamond provided physical force and homing properties.
Crunch.
He crushed the diamond in his palm and threw the dozens of resulting fragments forward.
Swish!
The fragments scattered through the air, zeroing in on Alfrain’s body like a shotgun blast. Alfrain let out a small exclamation of genuine admiration.
"You've already identified the weakness of my magic. My master was right to have high expectations."
Alfrain lightly flicked his fingers.
"Scatter in disorder. Mana Shards."
Dozens of mana shards rose and trembled in the air. They collided with the diamond fragments, intercepting them with surgical precision.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He neutralized every single fragment without missing one. Alfrain gave a thin, confident smile.
"But unfortunately, that won't work on me."
"Tsk."
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. It was near-perfect control.
I suppose he really is a genius that appears once in a century.
Even across the vastness of the universe, a magical prodigy like him appeared only once every hundred years. That was Alfrain. Although he had died during the Great War for ownership of the universe, Jun-hyeok had heard he played a significant role before his end.
Even with his abilities as a Player, this was no easy opponent. He had to face such a man using nothing but magic and physical prowess.
Jun-hyeok's own natural talent for magic was mediocre at best. If he hadn't relied on the sheer abnormality of the Arcana Gem School, he wouldn't have been able to learn magic at all. In terms of raw talent, the gap between them was like comparing a slug to an elephant.
Furthermore, there was the disparity in their training. He had been practicing magic for a month at most, while his opponent had trained for five years. Countless Players with magical talent had challenged Alfrain, only to be utterly defeated. Unless one possessed a talent that appeared once in ten thousand years, victory was considered impossible.
In a contest of pure magic, Jun-hyeok didn't have a shred of a chance.
But it didn't matter.
The magic of the Arcana Gem School possessed enough abnormality to bridge that gap. After catching his breath for a heartbeat, he pulled out more gems.
He decided on a standard tactic for dealing with mages: close the distance.
Flick!
Two ruby crystals and one sapphire crystal flew toward Alfrain. Alfrain finished his casting in a blur.
"Surge. Lightning."
Crackle!
The lightning coiled and struck down the three flying gems. Taking advantage of that opening, Kang Jun-hyeok closed the gap and threw more gems.
Two ruby crystals. Two sapphire crystals.
Alfrain cast again at the gems flying toward him like bullets.
"Burst. Air."
Boom!
The air exploded outward, knocking away the incoming crystals. At that moment, Jun-hyeok pulled out three more ruby crystals.
"Surge. Lightning."
Zap!
Once again, lightning surged. And once again, Kang Jun-hyeok threw more rubies.
Alfrain’s casting was incredibly fast—a speed that made other mages look like snails. But even so, casting was still casting. The distance from which the gems were being thrown was gradually shrinking.
"…!"
Only then did Alfrain’s expression stiffen.
"Widen the distance. Space."
He pushed himself away, expanding the space between them to escape. This time, Alfrain chose evasion over a direct confrontation.
Grab.
Kang Jun-hyeok ran forward nimbly, caught the gems he had just thrown mid-air, and flicked them toward Alfrain again. Alfrain’s face hardened as he chanted.
"Burst. Explosion."
K-boom!
An explosion erupted. Judging that simply intercepting the gems was no longer enough, he gathered power to attack both the gems and Kang Jun-hyeok simultaneously.
It was a rational decision, but unfortunately, it was the wrong answer.
Kang Jun-hyeok threw an Amber Crystal from his pocket.
Whoosh!
Alfrain’s magic was instantly swallowed by the Amber Crystal.
The effect of the Amber Crystal: Mana Absorption.
The erupting explosion was sucked into the amber. To use such a powerful spell, the casting had been longer than usual. Jun-hyeok seized that opening to close the distance completely.
Swish.
Two ruby crystals flew right before Alfrain’s eyes. Alfrain shouted in a panic.
"Block. Barrier!"
Kaboom!
The explosion went off, and the barrier shook violently. Alfrain cast rapidly, desperate to reset the fight.
"Push away. Space!"
Vroom!
The moment the space around Alfrain began to expand, Kang Jun-hyeok threw another Amber Crystal. It absorbed the mana of the expanding space before it could take effect.
Dash.
Kang Jun-hyeok arrived right in front of Alfrain’s nose. He tossed a sapphire into the air.
Crack!
"Ugh!"
Alfrain hurriedly covered his face and retreated. He barely managed to defend himself, but he couldn't negate the damage entirely.
I can't go on like this.
He needed time to prepare a high-tier spell. Making a split-second judgment, Alfrain activated his magic.
"Pursue. Lightning Swarm!"
Bzzzzzt!
Dozens of lightning spheres began to pursue Kang Jun-hyeok. Ultimately, magic required casting time, and if one was constantly interrupted, it was difficult to manifest a spell. In that sense, Alfrain’s tactic was extremely effective.
However, it didn't work against the Arcana Gem School.
Kang Jun-hyeok nimbly threw his body to evade the lightning spheres while continuously tossing gems.
Clang! Bang! Boom!
"Gah!"
Arcana Gem Magic used gemstones as catalysts. It required no casting. It didn't even require magical talent, and the mana consumption was negligible.
The only reason it was rejected and looked down upon despite these advantages was simple: it consumed gemstones.
In this world, the value of gemstones was a hundred times higher than on Earth. No matter how great a tool was, if it consumed more resources than anyone could afford, it was useless.
But that was only the case on this planet.
Looking at the universe as a whole, gemstones weren't actually that precious. Kang Jun-hyeok himself had obtained over a hundred high-purity gems in just a few months with a bit of support. Furthermore, Players had the currency known as Gold. Obtaining gems was trivial for them.
In other words, Arcana Gem Magic was a style perfectly optimized for Players.
Only after breaking free from the constraints of a single planet did the true value of this magic become known to the universe. For any Player with even a modicum of resources, learning Arcana Gem Magic became a basic requirement.
How to handle this magic. How to use it to its absolute potential.
Jun-hyeok knew that better than anyone else.
Crack!
The genius who appeared once in a century was being systematically dismantled by Kang Jun-hyeok—a man with no natural talent for magic.
"…This is…"
Wihanian let out a low groan.
Wihanian had also thought highly of Arcana Gem Magic's potential. But he believed it had a low ceiling because it required physical resources.
However, the reality was the opposite. Because it only required gemstones, it bypassed the need for talent, casting, and mana. It was closer to having no limits at all compared to traditional schools.
It wasn't just Wihanian. Astonishment was etched onto the faces of the mages who had come to watch the finals. Even Tia stood with her mouth agape, clearly not expecting the match to go this far.
"Khhh!"
Small wounds began to litter Alfrain’s body. As his concentration wavered, his mana reserves dwindled. He gritted his teeth.
I can't win like this.
He needed a massive spell to end the fight. But that required casting, and he wasn't being given a single opening. He had to gamble.
Alfrain’s eyes grew cold. He spread his hands wide.
"Rise. Exclusion!"
Whirrr!
Space was violently pushed back. Kang Jun-hyeok quickly threw an amber to swallow the mana and followed up with a diamond.
Alfrain didn't defend with magic this time. He roughly flared his robe.
Rumble!
"Wait!"
"It's dangerous!"
He was exposing his bare body to powerful magic. The watching mages were horrified and tried to intervene, but they gasped at the sight that followed.
Alfrain’s robe was tattered, but his body was largely unharmed. He had used his robe to divert the flow of magic with near-perfect efficiency. Having bought himself a precious few seconds, Alfrain finished his casting.
"Sprint and shatter! Storm!"
Rumble!
A massive storm erupted, swallowing the entire dueling arena. It was grand magic that manifested the fury of nature itself. Its power was incomparable to the minor gems Jun-hyeok had been using.
Kang Jun-hyeok let out a breath of admiration.
This is what it means to be a genius.
To analyze the swirling magic, use it to buy time, and complete a perfect cast—this was a level of talent he couldn't even imagine.
But it didn't matter.
Clatter.
Gems poured from his hand. These weren't mere crystals, but whole, high-purity gemstones.
Two rubies. Three sapphires. And one amethyst for amplification.
Flash! Flash! Boom!
The power contained within the gems exploded. Those forces were woven together by the amethyst, becoming denser and more volatile. Finally, merging into a single, unstoppable force, they crashed into the storm.
Screech!
The storm Alfrain had unleashed was cracked, scattered, and then utterly shattered. He let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh.
"Such nonsensical magic exists…?"
Thud!
His body was slammed into the wall. After twitching for a moment, he went limp.
[Proficiency in Arcana Gem Magic has increased significantly.]
Kang Jun-hyeok looked at the system window with satisfaction. Amidst the stunned silence, he spoke.
"It's over."
"…Tournament concluded. The winner is Kang Jun-hyeok of the Arcana Gem School!"
A silence filled with shock lingered over the arena.