Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Counter Reflection
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Counter Reflection.
It was a spell created by Chairman Kim Jin-cheol, one of the magics that propelled him to the position of the world's greatest wizard.
Naturally, it wasn't a spell just anyone could learn.
It wasn't enough to simply handle the manifestation of magic well; one needed profound knowledge of mana comprehension, its properties, and the composition that forms magic circles.
For reference, Counter Reflection is rated SS-grade in the point shop.
It requires a whopping 600,000 points.
"First, to explain Counter Reflection, this spell is a type of defensive technique, but it's not about blocking. It's about deflecting magic."
Choi Il-hyeon extended his hand and drew up his magical power.
At the same time, a blue magic circle manifested in front of his palm.
Using magic circles was auxiliary magic, but 'manifesting a magic circle' was a type of manifestation magic.
"See? This is the basic framework of Counter Reflection. It's a spell that uses an auxiliary 'magic circle' as its base."
I didn't know if I could properly wield synergy yet, but after gaining the ability to use 'Mana Storm,' I had a rough sense of how to manifest that magic circle.
"Here's a question. Manifesting a magic circle is considered one of the highest-difficulty spells. Why is that?"
"Because you have to contain the 'information' in the magic circle without any errors, and even the slightest instability in form turns it into a completely different spell."
Choi Il-hyeon nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Right, exactly. That's why synergy using auxiliary magic is harder than synergy using enhancement magic."
Choi Il-hyeon dispelled the Counter Reflection magic circle and stepped back from me.
"Shoot some magic at me. You can go all out with killing intent. It doesn't matter. But if you do, you'll need to be prepared to die too. Heh heh."
I knew what he meant by "prepared to die," so I didn't feel offended.
If I really shot magic with killing intent, I could end up dead.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath and manifested a spell.
Wooong...
A sphere of pure white light floated above my hand.
I extended my hand, aiming the magic sphere at Choi Il-hyeon.
Pang!
The magic sphere shot rapidly toward Choi Il-hyeon. In response, he manifested 'Counter Reflection.'
The magic circle rose simultaneously in his palm.
And at that moment, the magic sphere I had shot touched the magic circle.
Wooong!
Then, something astonishing happened.
The magic sphere and magic circle trembled greatly, and the energy of the magic sphere was absorbed into the magic circle.
Soon after, the magic sphere I had manifested shot back toward me from the magic circle.
Pang!
I hurriedly twisted my upper body to the side. The magic sphere flew past the spot where I had just been standing, into the empty air behind.
Kwaaang!
A powerful explosion echoed from the wall.
Experiencing it firsthand was absurd.
The 'reflection' power of Counter Reflection.
So that's what it felt like.
Choi Il-hyeon crossed his arms, smiling as if he quite liked my reaction.
"You dodged it well without panicking."
I shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Anyway, you saw it? That's Counter Reflection. It doesn't block magic; it freely alters the direction of the mana contained in the spell to neutralize the attack."
"...Impressive."
Choi Il-hyeon nodded.
"It's an impressive and profound spell. You have to perfectly understand mana, and the incantations handling the 'information' in the magic circle must be perfectly comprehended too."
He wasn't exaggerating.
In the original story's depiction, Counter Reflection was considered one of the most esoteric spells.
"In fact, I can't properly use Counter Reflection in real combat either. If the form is even slightly off, there's a high chance I fail to deflect and lose an arm instead."
That's why only Chairman Kim Jin-cheol, who is called the master of the so-called 'Absolute Defense,' can wield Counter Reflection properly.
Simple talent and effort alone aren't enough to handle this spell.
"But you don't need to wield it as freely as the old man. If you can use it just once in a critical moment like me, it'll be an immense power."
Choi Il-hyeon manifested Counter Reflection on his hand again, then dispelled it and looked at me.
"The reason I'm teaching you a spell with such monstrous difficulty is because I see potential in you."
"Precise form manifestation, and at 18 years old, an unbelievable understanding of magic circles and synergy. Those are perfect conditions for learning Counter Reflection."
It seemed he was saying that after seeing Mana Storm and my theory class grades.
But those weren't from my talent or training achievements.
They were powers obtained through points.
Like Choi Il-hyeon said, I couldn't really claim to have the ideal conditions for learning 'Counter Reflection.'
"Then I'll teach you the most basic theory of Counter Reflection from the start."
Choi Il-hyeon approached me and manifested the Counter Reflection magic circle.
"First, you need to perfectly understand and analyze this magic circle. And to analyze it, 'deciphering' ability is fundamentally required."
I looked at the magic circle. Complex shapes and countless runes.
I could tell without even examining closely how much 'information' was contained within this magic circle.
"Then here's a question. What information is flowing through this magic circle right now?"
I stared at the magic circle. I read the subtle 'information' hidden within the complex magical incantations.
Choi Il-hyeon smirked slyly, probably thinking I couldn't answer easily.
But I had the benefit of the Outsider.
Even though the Outsider's Benefit only helps with deciphering, being able to decipher alone provides huge aid in analyzing magic circles.
There was no reason not to use it.
[Unique ability, 'Outsider's Benefit,' is activated.]
The Outsider's Benefit activated, and the vast magical information contained in the magic circle began to be read.
I read every piece of information in the magic circle without missing any.
And.
As I read the information, Choi Il-hyeon's expression gradually stiffened.
From that day on, I received a solid transmission of Counter Reflection's theory from Choi Il-hyeon.
It was so complex that I couldn't even manifest a similar form yet, but I planned to practice step by step over time.
Above all, at this stage, perfectly understanding the foundational magic circle was more important than manifestation.
And time flew by until the weekend, Saturday.
I climbed the mountain in Gangwon-do that I owned.
"Long time no see, huh?"
At my words, Gretel nodded happily. She looked excited for her first outing in ages.
I had originally planned to take Gretel out often, but with so much going on lately, I hadn't been able to.
Seeing her so happy made me feel unnecessarily guilty.
"Hoo."
I arrived at my destination and gazed at the massive cave before me.
The reason I came here today was to conquer the dungeon that had formed in this place.
My mana control had reached A-Rank, and Gretel had grown considerably through training.
Now, we should be able to conquer this dungeon sufficiently.
"Shall we go?"
"Ng-ae."
I entered the dungeon with Gretel.
As soon as we stepped inside, an eerie aura wrapped around my body.
I wondered if Gretel might be scared, but surprisingly, she seemed perfectly at ease.
"Gretel. You okay?"
Gretel nodded nonchalantly.
Well, her epithet is 'Immortal Hell Demon Tree.'
With a name like that, she shouldn't be scared by something this minor.
And so, Gretel and I walked through the dungeon for about 10 minutes.
Just as boredom set in wondering when monsters would appear, something wriggling in the distant darkness caught my eye.
I stopped for a moment and peered at the thing hidden in the shadows.
It was a monster in the form of a giant lizard.
From the aura it gave off, it seemed like a B-Grade monster.
B-Grade right from the start.
As expected, the dungeon's difficulty was considerable.
I manifested a sphere right away. At the same time, the darkness lit up, and the lizard turned toward me.
Upon seeing my magic, it sensed a threat to its life and moved to flee.
I hadn't expected a monster to run away, so slightly flustered, I released the spell.
Pang!
The sphere shot quickly toward it.
However, the lizard, which had already started moving to escape, dodged with speed matching the sphere.
That was when.
New magical power was felt.
At the same time, several vine tendrils summoned from the ground tightly grabbed all the lizard's legs.
Kwaaang!
—!!
A massive explosion followed.
Smoke rose from the blast's aftermath, and the defeated monster appeared before us.
"Oh..."
The identity of the vines was obvious without looking.
I smiled and looked at Gretel.
"Ng-ae."
Before, she would collapse exhausted after using vines just once, but now she looked full of energy.
"Good job, Gretel."
At my praise, Gretel beamed brightly.
...And so time passed.
Before we knew it, Gretel and I had reached the end of the dungeon.
This was the dungeon's basement level 4.
It had taken about 6 hours to get here.
According to my memory, a large deposit of natural magic stones was buried in the final room where the boss resided.
"After conquering this, I should install an elevator or something."
To turn this dungeon into a mine, I'd need to invest quite a bit of money.
I had plenty of spare cash.
I hadn't spent much since the second semester started, and by steadily investing in promising companies and guilds with high growth potential, I'd amassed a fortune.
"Gretel, want to rest a bit?"
"Ng-ae."
Gretel and I sat down on the floor.
We'd been pushing without breaks, so we needed to recover our depleted mana and stamina.
Still, with all sorts of recovery traits stacked on, a short rest would restore us quickly.
"Gretel, eat this."
I pulled four sausages from my subspace and handed them to Gretel.
Gretel happily bit into them.
I peeled one and ate it too.
Munch munch.
Honestly, it wasn't my taste, so I didn't eat them often, but sitting here munching wasn't bad.
In the remaining time, I used the Outsider's Benefit to browse the internet.
I checked reactions to Seongmuje and snooped on the SNS of other major characters.
[Lilly Rose(@Lilly_lJ]
[Photo]
[Fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji...]
First, Lilly Rose was on fire again today.
Actually, ever since the first semester finals, almost all her SNS posts were like this, but maybe because Seongmuje was approaching? Her symptoms had worsened lately.
I scrolled through her photo album and paused at one spot.
"No, this girl again..."
She'd posted my photo again.
She'd covered the face with fire emojis, but the outfit and build made it obvious who it was to anyone.
The comments knew it too, constantly mentioning 'Kim Sun-woo.'
"Sigh."
Actually, having a celebrity like Lilly Rose promote me wasn't bad.
If these piled up, they'd earn me even small points.
So, I'd forgive her with a generous heart.
Next, I checked the SNS of Korea Wizard High School students.
First, Yoo Ah-ra.
Yoo Ah-ra hardly used SNS at all. Just one uploaded photo.
Yet her follower count was enormous.
What's funnier was that she followed zero people, as if uninterested in anyone.
I tapped the single photo on her SNS.
In the picture, Yoo Ah-ra was in the training grounds, hair tied back tightly, unleashing magic.
It looked like Yoon Ha-young took it; the composition was incredibly cool.
"Wow, the comments are insane."
At school, many kids were scared of her due to her personality, but outside, her popularity was sky-high.
Not just her skills, but her stunning beauty that anyone would fall for, plus her unique mysterious aura, meant she had tons of fanatic fans.
"Should I make an SNS account too?"
My attention was rising lately, so maybe I needed to manage(?) it for points.
There must be points to gain from SNS activity.
"Gotta think about it."
"Ung-ae."
Then Gretel approached and tapped my leg.
"Already fully recovered?"
Gretel nodded.
"Oh..."
Her recovery was faster than expected. Maybe because she's a tree symbolizing life.
With Gretel recovered, I checked my own body.
My recovery speed was no slouch either. The mana used conquering the dungeon for 6 hours had already replenished.
I brushed off my butt and stood up.
"Gretel, ready?"
Gretel nodded. I smiled lightly and stretched.
"Hoo. Let's go."
I opened the door to the boss room.