Chapter 35

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 35

Chapter Title: Don't Regret It. It's What You Brought Upon Yourself

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The Magic Tower's application ratio was publicly announced every year.

As soon as it was released, chaos erupted among the people, and articles began flooding in.

I smiled contentedly as I read those articles.

'Why'd you mess with me, Shin Yura? From now on, I'll take every last piece of your pie.'

In high spirits, I rewatched the video I'd uploaded before.

Did you know it's possible to break the limits of a mage? Most people probably think mage ranks only go from F to S. But in reality, mages can draw out power far beyond their own rank using something called circles. So how do you grow a circle? Simple. It's like building muscle—you tear it and let it recover, and it gets bigger over time.

How do you tear a circle? Also simple. I have a spell called [Circle Breaking] that forcibly rips the circles inside a mage. Note that this requires incredibly precise control. Botch it, and you could end up a cripple who can't cast magic ever again. Sounds too good to be true? Do I look like a scammer to you?

If you think so, that's unfortunate. Didn't you see me using external mana with your own eyes? When I first introduced the concept of external mana, I was called a fraud too. But now? You've watched on stream as I absorbed massive amounts of mana and came out fine. You think that's possible with normal methods? No way. It's all because I've steadily grown my mana circles with Circle Breaking. That's why an mage like me could solo an A-rank dungeon—mastery of external mana and fully developed circles.

That's the explanation. Now for the most important part. I'll soon post on the community about the disciple application period and key details. But I don't want anyone already affiliated with a group or guild. If you're applying, you need to be unaffiliated, whether freelance or provisional. Finally, after this recruitment, I don't know when the next one will be. Could be a few months, or maybe ten years or more. The choice is yours.

Click.

I turned off the video.

'Circle growth—one of the truly vital theories I've been hogging for myself. Exactly as described: method and effects. It helped my growth just as much as external mana.'

'Good thing there are plenty of comments warning off the lunatics trying to tear their own circles.'

Circle Breaking was an advanced spell with incredibly strict activation conditions. It was nearly impossible in real combat, and even against a stationary target, it demanded precise control. Mastering it required not just skill but vast mana reserves. In the country, I was the only one who met both criteria.

'No wonder only seven applied to the Magic Tower after I leaked info like this.'

Mage growth typically involved pushing limits in dungeons or endlessly repeating spells to build proficiency. There were other methods, but they all demanded insane time and money with middling results.

But what if there was a radically better way to boost your stats? Mages obsessed with growth wouldn't have been able to resist.

As I smiled to myself, a message came from Seol Euna.

After that brief chat with Seol Euna, I prepared for the test.

Test day. Over 30,000 people rushed to the location I'd announced.

This was a vast wasteland.

I cast an amplification spell and shouted to them.

"Thank you all for coming. This is the Masked Instructor. Honestly, I didn't expect this much interest. I'd love to take you all as disciples, but that's impossible. So I'll select some of you through a process."

A few murmurs rippled through the crowd. With numbers like this, some noise was expected, so I continued.

"The test is simple."

-Kwaaaaang!-

-Kwaaaaang!-

-Kwa-gwang!-

-Boom!

Suddenly, hundreds of enormous boulders crashed down into the empty space before me. I'd summoned them with magic.

"Anyone who scratches one of these passes. Fail, and you're out."

"One chance. Use any spell you want."

"I've rigged them so pass/fail shows on the rock the moment you cast. Passes, step aside. Fails, go home."

The moment I finished, eager mages began casting one after another.

"Hah, not even breaking them—just a scratch? This is ridiculous."

"Way too cocky. What if all 30,000 pass?"

Some mages jeered loudly.

I thought to myself,

'Those guys are failing for sure.'

-Kwaaaaang!-

"N... No way... What kind of durability is this rock?..."

'As expected.'

Sure enough, the jeerers started getting fail messages one by one.

A tiny fraction got passes and jumped for joy.

"I did it! Success!!"

With hundreds of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rocks, the test progressed quickly.

After a few hours, most had left, leaving about a hundred.

'More than I thought.'

I wanted disciples with real talent whom I could raise fast. These rocks filtered for the bare minimum.

'I figured 30 to 50, but this is surprising.'

As I watched curiously, one guy who hadn't tested yet kept blasting a rock repeatedly.

-Boom!-

-Boom!-

-Boom!-

"Fuck! Why won't it scratch?!"

-Boom!-

He vented his rage, hammering the rock wildly.

Step, step.

I walked up to him.

"I clearly said one chance per person."

He glared and yelled.

"Fuck that! This test format is bullshit! Why can't an A-rank mage like me scratch it? Why'd those idiots pass?!"

"Hoo..."

Everywhere you go, there's one of these types. Arrogant fools who don't know their place, sore losers who can't accept results. Delusional idiots who think they're the best. Same breed as Baek Juseok.

"What's your name?"

He declared proudly.

"Chang Seok-hyun. I've got a big-shot relative running a major guild full of swordsmen."

"I only asked your name. Why brag about irrelevant connections? Think it makes you look better? Pathetic."

Grind.

Chang Seok-hyun glared furiously.

"You arrogant prick! Everything you showed on stream was a scam, right? Up close, your mana flow looks like total garbage. Bet you hid other mages and faked it!"

'Does this guy have a brain?'

I'd just conjured hundreds of boulders, and countless mages couldn't even scratch them—that alone hinted at my level. Yet here he was, screaming at me like he'd forgotten it all. Unbelievable.

"Hoo... No clue where to start. Just go. I'll let it slide this once."

"Fuck off! You dare ignore me?"

-Whiiiiiir!

He cast Blizzard. I said coldly,

"Cancel it. Or you die."

"Bullshit. Scared? I don't believe it till I see it."

"Fine. Don't regret it. You started this."

I raised my hand and cast at him.