Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mana Clarity Breakthrough
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Of course, even creating a spell with perfect clarity is a tough feat for the pinnacle S-Rank wizards. But how much effort you put into sharpening that clarity—that's what truly matters.
Whoooong!
My mana responded to my imagination, beginning to swirl.
As the mana converged in one spot, the sphere's glow intensified.
I took a deep breath. It had been ages since I'd paid this much attention to the details of manifestation—back to when I first learned magic.
Maybe that's why everything felt so awkward.
Whoooong!
Was imagination always this taxing? A brief headache throbbed in my skull. I gritted my teeth and refocused on the manifestation.
A perfectly glowing spherical spell.
I stared at it blankly.
"...It's done."
[You've achieved the 'Magical Enlightenment' accomplishment.]
[You've earned 3,000 points as a reward.]
[The proficiency of Mana Control (B) has increased by 20%.]
A message window popped up before my eyes.
A profound sense of accomplishment filled me.
I smiled in satisfaction, then started over from the beginning.
Next up: manifesting high-clarity spells and compression manifestation.
Swooooosh!
Thanks to the previous practice, the high-clarity mana sphere formed quickly.
Now for mana compression. A massive surge of mana began condensing into the clear sphere simultaneously.
Compression time: about five seconds.
That should do it. I extended my hand and unleashed the spell toward the target.
Baaang—!
A thunderous boom erupted as the mana sphere shot from my palm. Powerful mana waves rippled out, shaking the training hall.
The spell rocketed toward the target.
KABOOOM—!
An enormous explosion obliterated it completely.
I stared blankly at the shattered remnants.
Even without compressing for ages, the destructive power had skyrocketed.
The compression time stayed the same, but the enhanced clarity of the mana sphere had massively boosted its potency.
After finishing my solo training, I headed back to the dorm.
I showered clean and flopped onto the sofa.
"...Heh heh."
A laugh escaped me. It was the joy of growth I hadn't felt in so long.
Having hit a major milestone, I'd probably plateau for a while. Still, consistent training should eventually bump up my spell rank too.
"Wonder when I'll hit A-Rank."
My Mana Control was currently B-Grade.
Yesterday and today's events had given it a solid proficiency boost. Nothing ramps up proficiency like a true breakthrough.
[Mana Control (B)] [Proficiency: 63%]
"63%..."
I'd finally crossed the halfway mark.
At this rate, reaching A-Rank in a year or two wasn't a pipe dream.
No clue if I'd get another breakthrough like this, but I sure hoped so.
"Hoo."
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and chugged it in one go.
A wave of pure bliss washed over me.
The happiness of growth layered with the buzz of booze—paradise.
"Need to work on Light attribute proficiency too."
Man, my to-do list was a mountain.
Current routine: stamina training, spell practice, mana meditation, attribute drills...
And on top of that, keeping tabs on upcoming events and the villains—total nightmare.
"Sigh."
I took a swig of beer and flicked on the TV with the remote.
"Recent demon attacks are surging again. This month alone, 16 blood-drain incidents have been reported in the Seoul area. The Wizard Association announced heightened surveillance, but demon-related casualties continue to rise."
Problems everywhere.
I was zoning out on the news when an alarm blared from my smart student planner.
[Junior Sunwoo, you doing okay?]
What the?
Jang Ye. Why's she messaging me out of the blue?
It's been a while since we last talked.
[Yes, doing well. How about you, senior?]
I fired off a polite reply to gauge her intentions.
[Just curious how you've been... heh heh]
"What kinda lame lie is that?"
Another message pinged in right away.
[You're close with Junior Seojun, right?]
[Eh, getting by.]
[Really? You two are always together whenever I see you, so I got curious. Hohoho]
The pointless chit-chat dragged on. She clearly had an agenda with me but kept dancing around it—either being cautious or scared stiff.
About ten minutes of back-and-forth later.
[So, remember how crazy midterms were? Right when I was taking my third-year exam, some weird barrier popped up in the testing hall.]
Jang Ye's out-of-left-field midterm message landed.
"...So that's her real aim."
From overhearing Sungjin and Lee Seojun's chat, I already knew the demons mistook whoever disabled the exam hall's barrier for a Child of Exorcism.
The demons were probably tearing the city apart looking for that 18-year-old student trapped inside.
[But get this: I heard Junior Seojun was inside that barrier too. Giggle giggle, total coincidence, right? Totally wild!]
[Giggle giggle, yeah, wild.]
Wild my ass.
I shot back a curt reply, and she messaged instantly.
[By the way, know anyone else who was in that barrier?]
There it was—the real question.
I typed back without hesitation.
[Dunno. No idea.]
Somewhere in Gyeonggi Province, four people gathered in Jawun's temporary hideout. They were Jawun's core members—the ones too lazy to bother with vacation.
The rest of Jawun had vanished without a word to enjoy their break, leaving one guy tailing Lee Seojun from afar.
"Whoa, for real? All the vacationers turned off their phones?"
"Tch. No sense of responsibility. Fine, enjoy your break, but keep your damn phone on."
Natasha grumbled from the sofa, then turned to Jin across from her.
"So, all the goods got stolen?"
"Yeah."
"Even with the barrier still up?"
"That's what I'm saying. I kept investigating 'cause it was so absurd, but what other traces could there be?"
Jin grumbled, still baffled even thinking back.
"Who hit our home base? The Association? Or Blade of Dawn?"
"Gotta be one of 'em. No way it was internal."
"Not impossible. Hey, Jin. You didn't pocket it yourself and play dumb, did you?"
"You wanna die?"
Jin got serious.
The door swung open then, and Berth walked in. Exhaustion was written all over her face.
"Ugh, seriously, no clue."
"No leads from investigating?"
"Nope. No idea why the demons went after Lee Seojun."
Muttering to herself, Berth eyed Jin.
"You tailed him for two months straight—how'd you miss the demon ambush?"
"How the hell should I know? I didn't infiltrate the school myself."
"Tch... Slacking off, huh? While we were globe-trotting on missions, you were living it up?"
"For real. Why you picking a fight?"
Pissed, Jin shot to his feet. Berth looked up at him with narrowed eyes, then smirked.
"Kidding. Chill out."
"Watch your mouth."
"Got it, got it."
Berth leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.
"Anyway, shit's getting weirder by the day. The treasure heist, demon attacks, and..."
She recalled the Gangwon hideout incident.
"That mystery spell that blew half an S-Rank demon's body away."
Whose spell was that?
As far as she remembered, no one outside Blade of Dawn could cast something like that.
The spell's power was at least A-Rank—no, closer to S-Rank judging by raw destruction.
Weirder still: zero mana signature detected.
...
But the caster wasn't Blade of Dawn, demons, or Jawun.
Which meant some third force she didn't know was watching over Lee Seojun.
"...Who the hell could it be?"
Time flew, and it was Hollow Sunday.
Lee Seojun and I met in Gangwon Province for our Monster Biology project. We'd made good progress last week, so today was just filming and weakness research.
"Still get lost here every time."
Gangwon's monster fields were brutal terrain. Mostly mountains, sure, but it differed from the real Gangwon I'd known in my past life.
After thirty minutes of climbing peaks, leaping logs and boulders, we reached a cliff.
"There it is."
Lee Seojun pointed at our subject: the Giant Black Stone Lizard.
This lizard, with its golem-like rocky body, was a rare breed even in Gangwon, the flower of monster fields.
The prof promised big points based on rarity, so we'd picked a tough one.
"But seriously, how'd you know there was a Black Stone Lizard here? Wild."
Lee Seojun eyed me curiously.
Knowing exact habitats for rare monsters was suspicious, sure. But I'd hunted here pre-regression.
"Saw it by chance once."
"Once?"
He gave me a skeptical look.
"Yeah, something like that."
My firm answer got a nod.
"We researched its ecology and habits last time, right?"
"Yeah. Just need footage and weakness notes now."
"Quick work."
"Let's film."
"Yeah, careful not to draw attention."
I activated the video on my smart planner. Kept our distance to avoid aggro, filming safely.
The lizard moved sluggishly, its boulder body solid.
Giant Black Stone Lizard: A-Rank monster.
Even teaming up, Seojun and I couldn't take it easy—getting spotted would suck.
That's when it happened, casually filming away.
Rocks crumbled under my feet.
"Huh? Whoa?"
Crackle.
Thud!
The lizard's gaze snapped to me.
Ah. Screwed.
Looked solid enough...
What rotten luck...
Sure enough, it locked eyes, eyes rolling back halfway. Its 'human hatred' trait triggered.
"Shit."
Boom boom boom!
Before I finished, it charged, shaking the ground.
"Watch out!"
Seojun dashed over from afar.
"Tch."
It closed fast. I infused mana into my shoes, activating Air Walk. My body lifted, dodging with fluid motion.
Admiring whistles from Seojun afar.
"Don't gawk—help!"
"Right, hold on!"
He drew his sword from his waist. Sword aura laced with potent mana flared.
He blurred toward it at eye-defying speed, slashing down.
Clang!
But it was an A-Rank monster.
Rock-bodied, famed for ironclad defense.
As expected, Seojun's blade barely scratched it.
"Careful!"
Seojun fell back on my warning. I hastily manifested a spell overhead—my newly powered-up mana sphere.
"Hoo..."
Still not enough. To pierce that hide, I needed more oomph. Mana Elixir would've been perfect, but training drained it all.
Only one card left: Heart of Great Nature.
Thump!
It activated, mana surging wildly. The sphere above my hand powered up too.
Vwoooom—
I aimed at the lizard. Outsider's Benefit kicked in, highlighting its weakness.
The spot linking torso and tail.
I gathered mana and fired.
Baaang!
The spell streaked white afterimages straight to the mark. It hit dead-on with a massive boom.
!!
A huge hole tore through where tail met back.
Spot-on weakness—it writhed in agony.
But the tough bastard just suffered, didn't drop.
Seojun leaped then. He stabbed the exposed flesh and slashed deep.
!!
Five seconds flat.
Tough hide or not, it couldn't withstand our combo and collapsed.
"Photo this spot. Weak point."
Battle over.
Seojun and I were dissecting the lizard corpse.
Sucks we couldn't get long footage, but bagging and gutting an A-Rank? Huge score boost.