Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Mana Downpour
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🛒 Skill Shop 🛒
📋 Category: Skill
📖 Description: Pours down a rain of mana.
*Attributes, destructive power, and duration may vary depending on the user's mana ability.
💰 Price: 120,000
Mana Downpour
As the name suggests, it's an ability that pours magic widely from the sky like a downpour.
Rather than buying someone's unique ability, the concept was to use points to instantly master a "form" that's hard to learn.
To master a special form of magic like this "downpour," it would take at least over ten years no matter what.
But with points, you could skip those ten years of training.
And from my memory, there were no sorcerers using this downpour form of magic.
Ah, of course, if you dig through history books, there are records of sorcerers who used downpour-form magic.
The important thing is that there are none in the current era.
That's why this ability appeals to me even more.
Handling a form of magic no one else uses—it could become my signature.
"The problem is that I don't have enough points to buy it right now..."
Held Points: 101,200
Mana Downpour costs 120,000 points. I'm short about 19,000 points.
With less than two weeks until the finals, it's a pretty awkward situation.
"Hmm... How should I make up the remaining points..."
"Ngah."
As I sat on the sofa pondering ways to earn points, Gretel approached me from the fridge.
I smiled softly and picked up her little body, cradling her.
"Gretel. How can I earn points easily?"
Gretel tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
"Ngah?"
"It's nothing. Go eat those snacks I bought."
I set Gretel down and pointed to the box of sausages on the floor.
Gretel nodded and waddled to the box, pulling out a sausage and nibbling on it.
I watched her back with a warm smile.
Eat lots and grow big and strong, fruit... no, Gretel.
After sending Gretel off, I leaned back on the sofa and sank back into thought.
Ways to earn points.
"...In the end, to earn a lot of points in a short time, there's only one way, right?"
No matter how much I thought about it, that was it.
Drawing the attention of a huge number of people at once.
The Fame System was far superior to the Achievement System for short-term gains.
I opened my smart student notepad.
And selected the 'Message Box' in the bottom left.
Suddenly, a flood of unread messages popped up—ones I'd been too lazy to reply to.
From regular students to guilds and reporters, a real variety.
"Time to start replying."
For days like this, I'd separately categorized 'Interview Requests' and selected that.
Thursday.
After finishing lunch, Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah headed to a small coffee shop inside the Sorcerer Academy to chat.
"One small strawberry smoothie."
"I'll have an iced Americano."
After ordering, they sat at an empty table.
As Choi Seo-yoon—one of the academy's most popular students—appeared, male students glanced her way.
Some even approached her pretending to know her.
"Hey, Seo-yoon! I'm in C-Group, take good care of me! Haha!"
"Ah, sure..."
Choi Seo-yoon forced a smile and dealt with their attention.
If it were before, she'd have been friendlier, but lately, she didn't feel like it.
It was all because of one guy whose attention she craved.
About five minutes passed like that, and the attention around her finally died down.
Song Seung-ah took a sip of her coffee and spoke.
"Don't you get tired of putting up with them?"
"...Starting to."
"Sigh. You live such a tiring life."
As Song Seung-ah clicked her tongue, Choi Seo-yoon gave an awkward smile.
"Anyway, maybe because of the Captain's Battle, people are talking to me more today."
"You're C-Team's captain. Can't be helped."
Song Seung-ah nodded at Choi Seo-yoon's mutter.
"But are you confident about the Captain's Battle? Being captain is a huge responsibility."
At Song Seung-ah's question, Choi Seo-yoon lifted the corner of her mouth, exuding confidence.
"Of course I am. We're definitely taking first place."
"If you get first, what about Senior Kim Seon-woo?"
Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head at Song Seung-ah's words.
Senior Kim Seon-woo? Why bring him up out of nowhere?
"Why Senior Kim Seon-woo all of a sudden?"
"His qualification for the Seongmu Festival is riding on this exam's results."
She'd heard the rumors. It was already a hot topic in school.
Plus, there was even a poll about it in the Sorcerer's Forest.
About whether '2nd-year Kim Seon-woo,' climbing the ranks at an unbelievable speed, could snag overall 5th place in this exam.
Of course, most opinions were negative.
For Kim Seon-woo to enter the top 5 overall, his team would need 1st place, Park In-hwan would have to drop out early, and he'd have to take down nearly 60 students for individual points.
But Kim Seon-woo's fighting style was far from suited for multi-opponent battles.
That's why the prevailing opinion was that even someone as talented as Kim Seon-woo would struggle this time.
"If your team takes 1st, Senior Kim Seon-woo probably won't make the Seongmu Festival. Won't he end up resenting you for it?"
"...Nah, he wouldn't."
Choi Seo-yoon laughed it off like it was nothing.
But the thought that she might keep Kim Seon-woo out of the Seongmu Festival made her chest tighten uncomfortably.
'What a shame. I wanted to go to the Seongmu Festival with him...'
In Choi Seo-yoon's fantasies, C-Team—led with 1st-year-unworthy brilliance (though Yoo A-ra was the real powerhouse)—took 1st, while a dejected Kim Seon-woo watched.
Just imagining it hurt her heart.
She had no idea how to comfort him if he couldn't participate.
No, would me comforting him even help? What should I do then...?
As she spun her delusions alone,
a small commotion suddenly erupted outside the cafe.
"Why's it so noisy?"
At the sudden uproar, Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah turned toward the cafe entrance.
Outside, a group was trailing behind one man.
And the man's face looked very familiar.
"...Senior Kim Seon-woo?"
The man was Kim Seon-woo.
"...Aren't those reporters behind him?"
The group following Kim Seon-woo all held mics and cameras.
Thrusting mics at him and chattering—it was clearly reporters gathered for an interview.
"Is he doing interviews?"
Song Seung-ah muttered blankly.
"Looks like it."
At that moment, Kim Seon-woo raised both hands, stopping the reporters.
Like followers of a cult leader, they halted at his gesture.
Then Kim Seon-woo rattled off to them at length.
📰 Breaking News
[Sorcerer Academy 2nd-Year Kim Seon-woo Expresses Confidence in 1st Place]
📰 Breaking News
[Former Ally Yoo A-ra Now Foe, Former Enemy Lee Seo-jun Now Ally. Can Kim Seon-woo Become the Icon of Victory?]
📰 Breaking News
[Kim Seon-woo's Chances of Seongmu Festival Participation Realistically Very Low]
After school.
I lay comfortably on my bed, checking internet articles.
After interviewing dozens of reporters, the firepower was exactly as expected.
Any news site I clicked had 'Kim Seon-woo' at the top.
Truth be told, it wasn't just interest in me—the rivalry between Lee Seo-jun and Yoo A-ra played a huge part.
It was the classic setup from last year's freshmen, and my emergence had caused a massive upset with Yoo A-ra coming out on top.
I closed the articles and logged into the school community site.
🌲 Sorcerer's Forest Anonymous Board
— Anonymous
Do you think Kim Seon-woo can hit overall 5th? I have a feeling he'll pull it off lol
— Anonymous
Kim Seon-woo seems capable. I've been watching him lately, and I think he's Lee Seo-jun level for real.
— Anonymous
Lee Seo-jun level? Lol Kim Seon-woo cultists are multiplying. Is that your religion now?
— Anonymous
He won't hit 5th because Park In-hwan drops early. Agree. And without AOE magic, how do you get 60 kills? You'd need Yoo A-ra level AOE.
The school community was buzzing with talk about me.
Lots of negative comments, and plenty of praise that made my face heat up for no reason.
Eh, whatever. I'll just ignore it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
15,210 people hold strong expectations for you. You have acquired 20,000 points as a reward.
Thanks to that, I earned 20,000 points.
Now I've got all the points I need. Time to buy 'Mana Downpour.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have purchased 'Mana Downpour (S)'.
A brilliant light appeared before me and settled into my body.
Instinctively, I knew how to use the downpour form.
I smiled in satisfaction and turned back to the internet to check one article.
📰 Breaking News
[100 Million Monster Locust Swarm Attacks... East Africa Devastated]
Monster locust swarm attack.
Just like locust plagues in the original real world, this world suffers damage from locust swarms too.
Of course, these aren't ordinary locusts.
They're 'monster locusts.'
Five times larger, with sharp fangs that can devour humans.
Like 'field bosses,' they were disasters popping up worldwide.
"East Africa, huh..."
It's far from Korea—very far—but with portal gates, I could go and come back in a flash.
Plus, with their numbers, it was perfect for testing my new Mana Downpour.
"Maybe head there this weekend."
Testing this ability in Korea would be tricky. And with a massive locust swarm, I could properly gauge Mana Downpour's performance.
"Yeah, let's go."
I immediately booked a departure gate.
Time flew by to Sunday.
A flag bearing a sword pattern crossing a massive shield fluttered across the scorching desert.
The emblem on the flag belonged to the 'Fighting King' Guild, one of the world's top 10 guilds.
The Fighting King Guild had come here to handle the monster locust swarm plaguing East Africa.
"Ugh, Korea's freezing, but this place is brutal."
One guild member muttered, sweat pouring down.
At the guild member's grumble, executive Jeon Chan-won nodded.
"You there. You're an ice mage, right? It's dying hot—make some ice."
"Ah, yes."
At Jeon Chan-won's words, the guild member manifested ice.
He couldn't shape it perfectly in the sweltering heat, but the chill was spot on.
Jeon Chan-won took the ice and rubbed it inside his clothes against his skin.
"Ahh, cool."
Then a figure caught his eye in the distance.
Jeon Chan-won peered closely.
It was an East Asian face, rare in Africa.
Excited, as the distance closed, he greeted him.
"Hello! Korean, right?"
"...Ah, yes."
The man nodded.
Jeon Chan-won sized him up. A somewhat boyish face. And an odd mustache that didn't suit him. He felt a nagging sense of familiarity.
Then it hit him.
"Huh? The guy from that Ganghwa Island monster field! Kim Jin-woo, was it?"
At Jeon Chan-won's words, the man stared blankly at him, then glanced at the Fighting King flag. He nodded as if remembering.
"Ah, right. The guy who bantered casually with a stranger."
"Huh? What'd you just say?"
"Nothing."
"...Whatever. Anyway, what's brings you here?"
"Just personal business."
"I see?"
Curious about the details, but the man clearly wasn't up for chatting, so Jeon Chan-won nodded.
"You look busy, so I'll head out. We have work too."
"...See you."
With that, the man vanished somewhere.
"Who was that?"
A nearby guild member asked.
Jeon Chan-won gazed at the man's retreating figure and answered.
"Someone I met at the Ganghwa Island monster field."
"You mean when we took down the field boss?"
"Yeah. Remember those weird light beams that bound the field boss?"
"Oh yeah. It was so bizarre, I posted about it nonstop on the sorcerer forums, but no one believed me."
"Heh. Yeah, it'd be hard to believe."
Those light beams that restrained a colossal field monster.
Jeon Chan-won still couldn't forget that magic he'd witnessed.
In 30 years on the job, he'd never seen that type before.
Who the hell cast that spell?
Jeon Chan-won still wondered. If he could find out who, he'd recruit them to Fighting King Guild at any cost.
"Forget the past. Let's get to work."
"Yes!"
The Fighting King Guild marched toward their objective again.
About five minutes later.
"...They should be in sight by now."
"Whoa! Over there!"
One guild member pointed in shock. Jeon Chan-won followed his finger.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!"
At the end of the guild member's finger lay the corpses of tens of thousands of locusts.
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