Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 22
[The zone will shrink in 5 minutes.]
Seo-jin's team, using the data recorded in Jamal's notebook, moved while avoiding the magnetic field.
The shrinking zone perfectly matched Jamal's prediction, and thanks to that, Seo-jin's team was able to secure a good position faster than anyone else.
"Ho, your notebook was real after all?"
When Paulo the old man opened his mouth wide, Jamal adjusted his glasses with a smile.
"Hoot, it's the result of big data analysis. By adding statistical analysis to the terrain and structure locations of the test site, we can predict the magnetic field's location with high probability. By the way, the location information you provided was extremely accurate. Have you been to this place before?"
Jamal asked Seo-jin about the source of his information.
The magnetic field was set to avoid rugged terrain that people couldn't easily traverse, such as large rivers or towering peaks.
Because of this, the terrain information of the Black Forest that Seo-jin provided was greatly helpful in reading the magnetic field.
"What's the point of talking about it. I could walk around here with my eyes closed."
At that answer, Jamal smiled awkwardly and asked again.
"Haha... But rather than hiding around, you want to attack enemies first. Are you really confident?"
Originally, Jamal's plan was to secure good locations while avoiding enemies.
However, due to Seo-jin's insistence, they changed their approach to moving while dealing with other teams.
To calm the worries of his anxious teammates, Seo-jin spoke confidently.
"Don't worry. I'll take all the responsibility. If by any chance we get eliminated, I'll even cover the retesting fees later."
With the mindset of hiding around like a coward, one could neither pass the test nor set new records.
If they had secured a good location, it was common sense to strike first at approaching enemies.
Just in time, it seemed enemies were nearby, so let's use this opportunity to show them an example.
SNIFF-.
Seo-jin confirmed that Baduki's nose, hidden under his robe, was twitching and stopped in place.
"There are enemies nearby. Prepare for battle."
"Enemies? It seems Evan's spirit on patrol didn't react."
Despite Jamal's words, soon Evan received contact from his spirit.
"...Ah, they say there are enemies nearby. Northeast direction."
It seemed Baduki's nose was more sensitive than the spirit.
Seo-jin chuckled and pointed in one direction.
"Colin, Gwangsi (Light Arrow)."
Colin nodded and immediately shot an arrow in the direction Seo-jin pointed.
SWOOSH-.
The arrow flew like a ray of light with the sound of tearing through the air.
THUD-.
Although the arrow couldn't fly very far due to the densely grown trees.
FLASH-.
Soon it emitted a bright flash, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
"UWAK!"
At the same time, the enemies passing near Seo-jin's team were momentarily blinded.
When the enemy's position was confirmed, Seo-jin said to Jamal.
"Good, next, hyung, try shooting some magic over there."
"Wa, wait a moment. The distance, no, their movement is too fast."
Jamal, unprepared for battle, hurriedly put away his notebook and prepared magic.
"Distance, 120 meters, wind direction, south-southwest... wind speed is."
Jamal kept muttering something while moving his hand extended toward the enemy this way and that.
It seemed he was calculating one by one the influences of magic projection position and speed, mana concentration and gravity, wind direction and distance.
Seeing this, Seo-jin frowned.
'As expected.'
A theorist far from actual combat.
When he saw the notebook, he had roughly expected this, but like this, he would fail as a combat mage.
Seo-jin watched that sight for a moment, then grabbed Jamal's wrist.
"Don't calculate. Then you'll be late."
"What do you know to say-"
Just as Jamal was about to argue back.
CRACK-.
"I know a lot."
Lightning shot out from Seo-jin's fingertips.
BOOM-!
Mud piles scattering and massive trees exploding from Seo-jin's lightning strike.
"UWAT?"
The three enemies directly caught in the explosion instantly lost their terminal's protective barrier and were eliminated.
While Jamal watched that scene blankly, Paulo the old man put on his armor and charged at the remaining two enemies.
"Haha. Die!"
Paulo engaged the enemies while swinging his massive axe.
WHOOSH WHOOSH.
It couldn't be said he fought well even as lip service, but it was an effective surprise attack against enemies whose minds were confused from Seo-jin's magic.
Colin supported Paulo from behind by shooting arrows, and soon hit one enemy, eliminating them.
Thus, the last remaining enemy.
"Damn, what is this!"
One giant who seemed to be a quite skilled warrior.
He fought well, avoiding Paulo's and Colin's attacks, but.
"Undine, bubbles!"
GURGLE-.
He was trapped in water droplets created by Evan's spirit, struggled helplessly, lost consciousness, and was eliminated.
A victory successfully seized in the first engagement.
Exhausted Paulo lay down on the ground still wearing his armor.
He was breathing heavily, but his face wore a quite satisfied smile.
"Whew, whew. Now I feel somewhat alive."
Paulo the old man savoured being alive.
The young siblings also embraced each other, relieved that no accident had occurred.
However, only Jamal seemed unable to accept the result and grabbed Seo-jin's shoulder, shaking it.
"Wha, what level are you exactly? Considering the casting speed and destructive power of your magic, you're at least level 70 or above..."
Jamal estimated Seo-jin's level based on the speed and power of the lightning Seo-jin had cast earlier.
However, Seo-jin shook his head.
"Level isn't particularly important. What's important is enlightenment and embodiment."
"What? Enlightenment and embodiment, isn't that only applicable to professions that use the body like warriors?"
"Mages are no different. What do you think a Mana Circuit is?"
"A Mana Circuit is just a pathway for mana to flow, isn't it?"
"I thought you were smart, but apparently not."
After sighing once, Seo-jin decided to give Jamal some valuable advice as a senior mage.
"A Mana Circuit is a mage's unique fingerprint and trace of life, and a totality of a kind of patterned system. Do you understand what I mean?"
A Mana Circuit is another term for the vital energy flowing through a person's body, but there are also points that differentiate it from vital energy.
'Additionally, one can carve in Mana Circuits to optimize magic usage.'
"...Patterned system."
"Right, simply memorizing magic in the Mana Heart isn't all the preparation a mage should do. A proper mage should be able to carve in advance and control through Mana Circuits in what environment, at what speed, in what direction, and with what power to cast magic. That precision and speed, versatility is the true capability of a combat mage."
No matter how genius one might be, it's impossible to optimize and calculate all magic projection direction, speed, power, and precision in combat situations.
To that extent, calculation work responding to various variables must be left to the mechanical processing of pre-carved Mana Circuits, and through constant effort and actual combat, one must embody the proper way to handle that process.
It's easy to say but by no means an easy task. However, it's worth that much effort.
Seo-jin showed the Mana Circuit on his arm and looked at Jamal's limping leg.
"Once you get used to it, you'll be able to fix your leg too. Mana Circuits can be carved into legs as well. Like this."
CRACK-.
When Seo-jin placed his hand on Jamal's leg, starting from the contact point, blue Mana Circuits spread out and wrapped around his entire right leg.
The moment the Mana Circuit temporarily exerted its power.
THUD-.
His stumbling leg planted firmly on the ground and stood strong.
"Th, this is!"
Jamal's eyes widened as he looked at Seo-jin.
A miraculous phenomenon of a lame person being able to walk.
However, this was temporary.
FADE-.
When Seo-jin withdrew his hand, the Mana Circuit carved into his leg became mana particles and disappeared, and the leg also drooped powerlessly again.
"Ahh..."
Jamal sighed with a regretful expression, and seeing this, Seo-jin narrowed his eyes.
'Mana is like a kind of organ, so if it's not one's own, it causes rejection and soon disappears.'
This ultimately wasn't something others could do for him.
If he truly wanted to walk, he had no choice but to carve the Mana Circuit into his own leg himself.
Seo-jin said to Jamal, who was blankly caressing his leg.
"Carving a new Mana Circuit won't be easy, but try applying it well. This is advice you can hardly hear anywhere else."
***
After the first battle, zone reduction and battles repeated several times.
Though clumsy, as battles continued, the teamwork among team members improved, and Seo-jin's need to intervene greatly decreased.
Time passed like this, and it was the 12th hour since the test began.
[Currently 42 people remain. Zone reduction will cease until sunrise.]
At midnight, the magnetic field stopped.
"Let's rest for a bit."
The group that secured a safe zone sat down with their bottoms on tree stumps.
Seo-jin instructed Baduki to patrol the surroundings and lit a campfire.
CRACKLE CRACKLE-.
A cozy campfire burning in the jungle night.
Looking up between the densely grown trees, stars were visible.
Since hearing Seo-jin's advice, Jamal had been lost in thought without saying anything.
Since enlightenment time was more important than anything, he had instructed everyone not to talk to him.
Paulo the old man, who had taken a seat, threw his backpack on the ground and groaned.
"Ow, so heavy."
Seo-jin casually said a word to him.
"Old man, why don't you buy a better inventory."
"Do you think a good inventory costs just a penny or two? I worked my bones off to buy even this one."
'True.'
Seo-jin's S-grade inventory could put anything in it without space-time constraints, but general inventories like Paulo's backpack had great weight and space limitations.
Paulo, who had been groaning for a while, soon took out canned tuna and biscuits from his backpack and distributed them to the group.
"You must be hungry, fill your stomachs a bit."
While Seo-jin was eating the salty canned tuna and quietly staring at the campfire.
Evan, who had quickly devoured the food befitting his growing age, asked with sparkling eyes.
"Hyung, how are you so strong? What level are you?"
Seo-jin put down the can he was eating and answered while throwing twigs into the campfire.
POKE POKE.
"I wasn't strong from the beginning either. Only enlightenment and repetition are the answer."
"Enlightenment, repetition..."
Seo-jin added advice to Evan, who was quietly repeating the two words.
"But not everyone can become as strong as me. Everyone has limits. Recognizing those limits yourself is also an essential element for survival."
When Evan was disappointed by Seo-jin's bleak answer, Paulo the old man nearby added a word.
"Tsk, what kind of talk is that? If you can't say good things to a kid."
"It's better than getting ahead of yourself with excessive enthusiasm and dying. The Tower isn't an easy place."
Looking at how he freely controlled Undine at such a young age, he seemed to have talent, but his innate disposition was too gentle.
Such people don't survive long.
'Those who always die first aren't the selfish and evil ones, but the kind and tender people.'
Seo-jin, letting Paulo's words go in one ear and out the other, advised Evan.
"Don't try too hard to climb the Tower. You can make enough to live on even in the lower floors, right?"
At Seo-jin's realistic advice, Evan fidgeted with the can in his hand.
"That's true, but..."
After swallowing his words once, Evan spoke with a trembling voice.
"That's not enough. I want to eliminate war from this world."
"War?"
Evan looked at Seo-jin with determined eyes.
"Yes, I hope no more people like us will be created. I want to create a world where people don't have to lose their families and homes, and don't have to worry about starving."
"..."
Seo-jin silently looked at Evan and Colin sitting next to him.
'These siblings were war orphans from Eastern Europe.'
Young siblings who lost their parents to war, became refugees and wandered, then came to the Tower seeking a new place to live.
Perhaps for Evan, the wish to eliminate war might be natural.
Evan clenched his fist and continued speaking.
"With humanity's current power, we can't eliminate war, but somewhere in the Tower, there might be a special power unknown to humanity. If we use that... won't war eventually disappear?"
Evan with hopeful but childish dreams befitting a young child.
However, that dream would not come true.
'As long as humanity remains, conflict and war will never cease.'
This is a fact proven by humanity's long history.
Evan's dream of eliminating war from this land is noble, but unfortunately, it's illusory.
However, Seo-jin didn't deny Evan's dream.
"Yes, such a method might exist."
Because those who don't settle for reality and climb the Tower themselves each have their own dreams.
Also because even Seo-jin himself hadn't reached the end of the Tower.
Perhaps at the end of this Tower, as Evan said, some special power to resolve all conflicts might be prepared.
Seo-jin finished his thoughts and smiled at Evan.
"But to reach the end of the Tower, you'll need to contract with at least a Spirit King, right?"
"I'm working on it."
Seo-jin nodded and turned his gaze to Colin sitting next to Evan.
"What about noona?"
As the older sister, Colin was pretending to be composed since she had to take care of Evan.
But she was still a young child who should be receiving protection.
Every single day would be a daunting challenge with an uncertain future.
'However.'
The situation was better than Se-yeon, who was as precarious as a flame about to be extinguished at any moment.
Colin, who clearly had family to protect, seemed stronger at first glance.
"I'm the same as Evan. I want to climb higher up the Tower."
Colin stretched her hand upward and muttered blankly.
"Someday I'll be able to reach it too, right? The end of this Tower..."
Colin's eyes sparkled as she looked at the stars twinkling at her fingertips.
From her, rather than Evan's clear dream, he felt a vague yearning to go higher.
Both siblings wanted to climb the Tower, but their goals were different.
Seo-jin watched that scene and soon closed his eyes.
"It'll be possible."
Sometimes these kinds of people reach higher floors faster.
Those with realistic goals and burning passion easily fail to recover when blocked by huge walls, but.
'Those who run chasing such vague dreams and yearnings never stop no matter what obstacles there are.'
It could be seen as the difference between those who view climbing the Tower as a process leading to a goal and those who enjoy it in itself.
These siblings would be able to complement each other's weaknesses and head to higher places.
The deepening forest night.
When the team members gathered around the campfire were chatting peacefully.
SNIFF-.
Baduki, with only his nose protruding into the air, approached Seo-jin and informed him that something was wrong.
Seo-jin stroked the bridge of Baduki's nose and nodded.
"Yes, I know."
Although he didn't say it, Seo-jin was feeling it too.
'The smell of blood.'
Seo-jin didn't have the ability to read spatial mana. However, he could detect ominousness faster than anyone.
His intuition, honed through long periods of surviving battlefields, was telling him.
There was a smell of blood.
A very thick and ominous one at that.