Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Mana Rain
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A massive sphere of flame rose into the night sky, slamming into the ground and exploding. The shockwave swept up countless students, sending them crashing down.
Every time Yoo Ah-ra swung her hand, the students of Team B fell helplessly, reduced to dust.
"Crazy. How the hell are we supposed to block this?"
"Shouldn't we just abandon the base?"
Though Team B had seized the base and started off advantageously, the overwhelming difference in power and the barrage of wide-area spells raining from above sapped their will to fight.
At this rate, they'd get hit from both sides by the two teams and wiped out in an instant.
That was when a sharp whoosh cut through the air as Jang Soo-yeon charged forward from among the Team B students.
Jang Soo-yeon plunged straight into the heart of the AC alliance team in an instant. She swung her sword in flashy arcs, slicing through the enemies before her.
"Stop Jang Soo-yeon first!"
Teams A and C hurriedly moved to block her.
But Jang Soo-yeon was too swift to track with the eye, and neither Team A nor C had enough close-combat specialists to respond easily.
That was when the reinforcement-type wizard Shin Young-jun and Jeon Min-gi stepped up.
Gripping their respective weapons, the two swung at Jang Soo-yeon.
She spun her body, narrowly dodging their attacks.
"...What a pain."
Even for Jang Soo-yeon, her opponents were top-tier students from the 1st and 2nd years.
Handling both alone was a tall order. Yet her momentum didn't falter.
She charged forward again, swinging her weapon to engage them simultaneously.
"Leave Jang Soo-yeon to those two and charge the assault team forward!"
Yoo Ah-ra calmly directed the alliance team.
At her command, about 100 assault members rushed toward the base, while the rest supported those advancing.
Unsure of the enemy's response, she intended to split her forces and observe the situation.
In response, Team B's members stepped up to block the incoming assault.
As if waiting for that moment, spells erupted from behind the alliance team.
Countless spells rose into the sky above, then fired down at Team B all at once.
KABOOM!
"Argh!"
A barrage of spells engulfed Team B.
The lack of wide-area magic and the two-to-one numerical disadvantage couldn't be overcome by courage alone.
Yoo Ah-ra watched the battle's flow from the rear.
The tide clearly favored the alliance team, yet she felt unease and doubt.
She had assumed Team B had some special strategy, but nothing out of the ordinary had appeared so far.
"...There's no way they'd go down this easily."
She glanced at Kim Sun-woo, who stood at a distance observing the fight.
Kim Sun-woo stood motionless, watching the battle.
His expression soured, clearly displeased with the situation.
Beside him, the team leader Lee Seo-jun wore the same look.
The two conversed with grave faces.
Seeing this, Yoo Ah-ra felt a twinge of curiosity.
She had thought Kim Sun-woo surely had some hidden strategy...
"...Did he not have any strategy at all?"
Maybe.
Having only seen Kim Sun-woo's brilliance, she had assumed he'd always have an ace up his sleeve, no matter the odds.
But on second thought, he was just a teenager like her.
No matter how brilliant his mind or skills, overcoming double the numbers and the absence of wide-area magic was impossible.
"...Kim Sun-woo isn't a god."
Yoo Ah-ra forced her lips into a smile.
After being outmaneuvered by him so many times, she'd unwittingly developed fear and admiration that made her see him as divine.
...But he wasn't.
Just an exceptionally talented classmate.
That was when it happened.
Lee Seo-jun, who had been quietly watching, suddenly charged forward.
All eyes turned to him instantly.
Lee Seo-jun was Team B's leader.
If he fell, Team B was done—a natural reaction.
"Kill Lee Seo-jun first!"
Lee Seo-jun swiftly cleaved through the foes before him with blades of light.
He burrowed into the enemy center, slashing wildly as he raced toward the support and defense teams.
It was a reckless charge, hard to believe it came from someone whose life—and his team's—hung in the balance, but the enemy thought taking him out solved everything.
Before long, the scattered members of Teams A and C converged on Lee Seo-jun.
Faced alone against both teams' forces, Lee Seo-jun seemed to draw their attention deliberately, plunging deeper into their ranks and feinting a retreat.
"Attack!"
That was when it happened.
Wooooong!
A massive surge of mana echoed from the sky.
Even the students fixated on Lee Seo-jun looked up at the night sky in shock.
"...What was that just now?"
"Felt like mana resonating."
And then.
A massive blue magic circle began manifesting in the sky above them.
"...Huh?"
FWOOSH!
A brilliant blue flash pierced the darkness.
Blue beams connected the sky's magic circle to the ground, crashing down.
KABOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed.
The ground exploded, and someone scattered into dust without even a scream.
A nearby student stared at the crater in stunned horror.
"...Huh? Wh-what?"
Before he could question it, another blue beam slammed down from the sky with a thud.
Then again. And again.
The beams started falling one by one, then accelerated, pouring down like a torrent.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"What the hell is this?!"
Mana rained down from all directions.
The countless beams illuminating the dark each pulsed with immense power.
"Argh!"
"Run!"
The students belatedly tried to evade the downpour.
But the dense, endless barrage was impossible to dodge at their level.
KABOOM! KABOOOM!
Teams A and C began dropping rapidly under the mana deluge.
Some opted to erect magic barriers instead of dodging.
But barriers consumed vast mana.
They could only prolong the inevitable.
Yoo Ah-ra maintained her barrier as she swiftly escaped the rain's range.
She stared blankly at the dozens of rippling magic circles in the night sky and the scores of beams cascading from them.
Was this what they meant by tragedy up close, comedy from afar?
Up close, it was pure terror like a natural disaster; from a distance, a dazzling spectacle.
"What... is this..."
She had never seen magic like this in her life.
Manifesting wide-area dispersed spells wasn't just "high-difficulty" magic.
Who could wield something like this?
No, was this really magic a teenager could handle?
As doubts swirled, she spotted Kim Sun-woo standing alone beneath the base.
Her eyes widened, goosebumps rising.
Before his outstretched palms floated magic circles identical to those in the sky.
Meaning this unidentified downpour was Kim Sun-woo's doing.
To think Kim Sun-woo could wield such magic.
It shattered the prejudice that he specialized only in 1v1s.
Even as an enemy, Yoo Ah-ra shuddered at the sight of him.
She instantly understood why Lee Seo-jun had said Kim Sun-woo went easy on him in the previous leader battle.
And as time passed.
The students gradually realized the source of this mysterious rain.
"Kim Sun-woo?"
"I-It’s Kim Sun-woo! This magic... it’s him!"
['Battlefield Dominator' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 5,000 points acquired.]
[182 downed with a single spell.]
[Great insight gained!]
['Mana Control Technique (B)' and 'Mana Rain (S)' proficiency greatly increased!]
['Mana Control Technique' rank risen to A!]
[You can now manifest more precise and powerful magic!]
[182 kills.]
[18,200 individual points acquired.]
"Hoo..."
I leaned against the base, slumping down and exhaling.
Mana exhaustion left my body limp; I couldn't move.
"Man, that nearly killed me."
Unlike the locust swarm last time, using it against people had pushed me to overdraw my mana.
Even with Heart of Nature and Battle Lust active, exhaustion hit.
"...Still, it worked out."
I had panicked initially when the enemy split their forces for the assault.
Mana Rain could only be used once; for max efficiency, they needed to clump together.
Whoever ordered it, the enemy attacked dispersed despite their superiority, staying cautious.
In the end, to draw their eyes, I had no choice but to use our leader, Lee Seo-jun.
I instructed him.
Draw their attention to clump them as much as possible.
He might have questioned the sudden order, but Lee Seo-jun followed silently.
The result was perfect—only possible because he was the leader.
Leaning against the base, I watched Team B's members battling the enemy leaders in the distance.
The two-day leader war was nearing its end.
With Mana Rain decimating their numbers, only the leaders and top fighters remained.
The rest was up to the team. I wasn't worried.
Lee Seo-jun was leading them, after all.
He'd handle it.
That was when it happened.
[16,000 people are awestruck by you.]
[Reward: 8,000 points acquired.]
[Numerous unseen characters feel deep admiration for you.]
[Reward: 5,000 points acquired.]
[2,300 people are ecstatic about you.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
New messages appeared.
My performance must have wowed the external observers.
Mass points were always welcome.
The long-awaited Korea Magic Academy final exam, 'All-Year Joint Leader War,' concluded.
Defying all expectations, it ended in Team B's overwhelming victory.
They dominated nearly every event, amassed crushing team points, and ended it early by taking out all enemy leaders without dragging it out.
What a twist.
[Team B wins!]
The voice announced Team B's victory in the 'Large-Scale Virtual Training Center' stands.
The audience sat stunned, replaying the battle in their minds, thrilled.
"Kim Sun-woo... he's insane. He's really 18? Not faking his age?"
"Whoa. Never seen magic like that. Spells pouring like rain."
"Second years really are the golden generation. After Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra, now this guy."
People shared their takes on the fight.
Expressions varied, but the core was the same.
What the hell was Kim Sun-woo?
[Individual rankings announced.]
+MVP+
[Team B, 2nd Year: Kim Sun-woo]
[Kills: 183]
[Individual Points: 21,100]
"Whoa!"
"But 183 kills? Wasn't it 182?"
"He got Park In-hwan on day one too."
"Oh right, forgot. Dude's a monster. Where'd he come from?"
Stunned murmurs filled the stands as they eyed the scoreboard.
"Kim Sun-woo's locked in 5th in the Seongmuje rankings."
"Next spring's gonna be wild. Wonder which guild he'll join after graduation."
As impressions lingered.
Flash!
A portal box in the center stands lit up.
Signaling the leader war's end and students' return to reality.
Ten seconds later, the victors—Team B—emerged slowly.
A massive cheer rocked the stands.