Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Heading to Nepal
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Bang!
A flash burst in front of my eyes, and a beam of light infused with mana surged toward me.
I focused my mind and raised my hand.
And at the exact moment the beam was about to reach my hand, I executed the Return Strike.
Wooong!
At the same time, a small blue magic circle rose above my palm.
And then.
The instant the beam met the magic circle, its trajectory bent sharply to the left, slamming into the wall with tremendous force.
Kwaaaang!
[You have achieved the 'Mana Redirection' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 2,000 points as a reward.]
“……It worked!”
Seoul's private magic training ground.
After twelve attempts, I had finally succeeded with the Return Strike.
I looked down at my palm, which was glowing red.
It still throbbed with pain.
That was because, while practicing the timing for the Return Strike, I had taken eleven direct hits to my bare hand with magic.
If I hadn't significantly lowered the intensity of the training magic launcher, my palm would probably be gushing blood right now.
“It's harder than I thought.”
Theoretically, it seemed easy to time it within 0.5 seconds, but in practice, it wasn't.
Precisely controlling the manifestation and activation time of the magic circle was trickier than expected.
With continued practice, the success rate should improve, but it didn't seem ready for real combat just yet.
“I can take it slow and practice.”
I stretched widely and activated the External Benefactor perk to check today's training results.
［Electric Attribute Control Technique］［Rank: 0 (92%)］
Today, aside from the Return Strike timing drills, I had also trained my Electric Attribute proficiency.
The gain wasn't huge, but thanks to consistent training, only about 8% remained until full mastery.
It was time to start considering the next attribute.
“……What should I go with?”
In my opinion, the safest choice was the Ice attribute.
Flame held no merit for me right now, and Ice's utility made it versatile across various fields.
I could also consider learning a non-mainstream attribute outside the five major ones.
For example, 'Wind' or 'Earth'.
Wind lacked the 'explosive power' of typical magic but could manifest the 'sharpness' and 'keenness' that was hard to achieve with spells.
Its cutting power gave it an edge in close-range combat over other magics.
Earth was characterized by its solidity. It shone especially in defensive spells like 'walls'.
The Water attribute had some utility, but it was useless in combat.
“Still, Ice is probably the best.”
Fire, Ice, Light, Electric, Void.
There were reasons they were called the five major attributes.
They had clear strengths over other attributes and were easily accessible.
Above all, Ice's ability to solidify mana offset most of its weaknesses.
Well, with 8% left until full mastery of Electric, I had time to deliberate.
It was also time to think about attribute 'synergies'. For instance, combining Fire and Earth to create lava.
Ding!
Just then, an alarm rang from the smart student notebook in my pocket. I instinctively knew what the message was.
［Nepal Immigration Gate: Today at 1 PM］
“Time to go.”
I grabbed the bags I had prepared in the corner of the training ground.
Finally, the main episode of winter break was beginning.
12:40 PM.
I packed all my necessities and headed to Incheon's immigration center.
Looking around, I saw people brimming with excitement for overseas travel.
I wanted to feel that thrill too, but with no idea what dangers lay ahead, all I felt was dread.
Moving to the meeting spot, I spotted a familiar face.
A man in a thick parka leaning against a building pillar, looking down at his smart student notebook.
“Lee Seojun!”
When I called out loudly from afar, Lee Seojun looked up. The gazes of those around turned toward me too.
Probably because they heard the familiar name 'Lee Seojun'.
Some who recognized his face looked shocked, as if they'd spotted a celebrity.
“……Kim Sunwoo. You're five minutes late.”
As I approached, Lee Seojun narrowed his eyes and said.
He wasn't usually strict about time, but the cold weather seemed to have gotten to him.
I gave an awkward smile.
“What were you looking at?”
I went up to him and glanced at the screen of the smart student notebook in his hand.
It displayed an article related to Nepal.
“The situation in Nepal seems way worse than I thought.”
“The fact that the Nepal government is asking for help from a student like me says it all. They're short on manpower. Wizards are avoiding deployment because of the disease.”
Lee Seojun seemed lost in thought for a moment at my words, then shook his head.
“It's true that wizards are shying away from this incident. But more than that, your magic is perfect for turning the tide. They say there are thousands of magical beasts.”
The magical beast attack in Nepal was drawing global attention.
It felt similar to the 'African Monster Locust Swarm' incident a few months ago, but the danger level was vastly different.
First, the unidentified 'disease and contamination' was hard for wizards to handle. And the beasts causing this weren't low-intelligence like locusts.
They were intelligent lifeforms—dragons.
“Still, thanks to you, we don't have to bother hunting down ruins. The Nepal embassy promised a 'mystery' if we help with the beast incident, right?”
“Yeah.”
Three days ago, I received a sudden call from the Nepal embassy.
The request was to use the Mana Downpour from the finals to take out the beasts. And as a student, they promised maximum safety, so not to worry.
I didn't hesitate much.
Following the original story's flow, I'd end up involved in this incident while active in Nepal with Lee Seojun anyway.
Since it was happening, I demanded a 'mystery' of value similar to France's 'Magic Stone Dreamcatcher' as compensation, just in case. I also mentioned traveling with Lee Seojun.
Honestly, I didn't think Nepal would accept my conditions.
But contrary to my expectations, the Nepal government agreed.
The situation there must be even graver than the news reports.
Well, in the original story, plenty of horrific events unfolded, so I could understand to some extent.
At least I wouldn't have to wander around looking for Nepal's hidden ruins like in the original.
It was a win for me.
As I was lost in thought, Lee Seojun huddled up and said to me.
“Ugh, it's cold. Let's not stand around here—let's head through first.”
Meanwhile, Jaun's party was walking across some vast plain in Nepal.
“What's the plan first? You're not going straight to Tevela, right?”
“We need to find a way to avoid the beasts' disease first.”
Bert answered Baek Eun-seong's question.
It was already well-known that contact with the 'black beasts' afflicted by the disease caused an unknown illness.
The disease blackened human skin, brought on all sorts of ailments, and ultimately led to death.
They had to solve this before they could act freely.
“I already know the recipe for the medicine. Let's gather the materials first.”
Walking across the wide plain, they arrived at a jungle thick with vines and trees.
As they entered, they felt the natural mana permeating the air.
Wizards had a trait where being enveloped in natural mana lifted their spirits.
They walked through the jungle in high spirits, savoring the natural mana.
That was when.
From afar, unidentified people approached Jaun's party.
There were seven in total, and their face coverings suggested they weren't civilians.
“Who are those guys?”
The hooded figures walked toward Jaun's party.
Soon, they manifested magic spears above their hands and shouted at the group.
“If you don't want to die, put everything you have in front of me!”
The man at the front bellowed in English.
Jaun's party froze in stunned silence for a moment.
It was the cutest threat they'd ever heard.
We passed through the immigration gate and arrived in Nepal.
The weather was mild, like a subtropical region. Not hot, but cool.
From my prior research, this was considered winter in Nepal.
After a simple entry check, Lee Seojun and I stepped outside.
As I pondered what to do next, a man who looked Nepalese spotted us from afar and came running.
“Hello! You're Kim Sunwoo and Lee Seojun students, right?”
His Korean was fluent.
I instantly realized he was sent by the Nepal government.
“Nice to meet you. I'm Shakya from the Nepal Disaster Response Department.”
Shakya bowed politely to us.
Lee Seojun and I bowed back.
“Kim Sunwoo.”
“Lee Seojun.”
“We don't have much time, so let's get going. Normally, we'd escort VIPs like you through the gate to a hotel, but Tevela—the incident site—is a small civilian village with no nearby gates or hotels. Please understand.”
Shakya led us to a car as he spoke.
Lee Seojun and I sat in the back seat. Shakya got in the driver's seat and started driving.
Lee Seojun looked out the window and asked Shakya.
“How's the situation?”
“Worse than expected. Word that contact with the beasts can cause an unknown disease has cut off almost all wizard support.”
“What about the Wizard Association? They must have sent aid.”
“The Association has sent some, but it's far from enough. They prioritize investigating the disease's cause.”
“Hmm. The disease, huh.”
Lee Seojun nodded gravely.
The car pressed on along the road.
At some point, it reached a flat plain. It was called a plain, but it felt like a barren desert.
No life force could be felt in this land because the monsters had ravaged it.
Nepal, being near the Himalayas, was prone to frequent monster attacks by nature.
The car soon stopped in front of a massive jungle.
“We can't drive from here, so we walk.”
At Shakya's words, Lee Seojun and I got out.
“Whoa. Feel that natural mana?”
Lee Seojun murmured, staring at the jungle in awe.
The natural mana in the jungle was incomparably denser than in Gangwon-do's mountains.
“It'd be nice if Korea had places like this.”
Lee Seojun took a deep breath and whispered.
“Korea has plenty of cutting-edge artificial facilities that give a similar vibe.”
“True, but natural beats artificial any day.”
With nothing much to say, I just nodded.
“Please follow carefully behind me.”
We followed Shakya into the jungle.
It was quiet inside, but mysterious voices—likely monster cries—echoed occasionally.
“Monsters appear frequently here, so stay alert. But you won't encounter anything B-Grade or higher, so no major worries.”
“Got it.”
We walked through the jungle for about twenty minutes.
Just as the silence was getting stifling, human voices began to echo from somewhere.
Three blood-soaked figures blocked our path.
Their eyes were hollow, trembling in fear—they'd clearly been through something awful.
“……What the. Blood?”
Lee Seojun squinted.
Shakya halted with a tense expression and eyed them.
“I should've mentioned—chaos from the beast incident has wrecked public order. Looks like those folks got hit by bandits. Usually, they don't let survivors go, though…”
“Bandits, huh. Tsk…”
Lee Seojun looked at them with pity.
Then the three spotted us and charged over, seemingly begging for help.
With shaking hands, they manifested small magic orbs and yelled.
“G-g-give us everything you have!”