Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Magic Genius with Korean Patch
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After the meeting in Alexar Silvermont's office.
A few days later, the expedition set out immediately to assault the ruins.
'Feels kinda new.'
This was the second ruins raid in Jeon's life.
The first time, he'd been a slave used as a meat shield.
This time, he was a full-fledged member of the expedition, holding his own place.
It hadn't even been a year since he'd entered this world.
Yet he'd risen this far in status.
'...I really worked hard. Yeah, I did.'
He felt proud of himself anew for how diligently he'd lived.
In any case.
Perhaps because the ruins were within Silvermont territory.
The expedition arrived at the site in just two days after departure.
"...It's surprisingly close."
Compared to walking barefoot over mountain paths for over a month to reach the first ruins site, this felt almost anticlimactic—close and convenient.
"Even so, I hear it was discovered quite a while ago. From the outside, it just looks like a modest hill in the neighborhood."
As Kundal said.
The ruins appeared from outside exactly like a fairly large hill.
"It's amazing it was found at all."
"I heard some villagers stumbled upon it by chance, so it was quite the hot topic in Silvermont at the time."
"Was it long ago?"
"It was discovered during the previous family head's time, and they even attempted a raid. Since Alexar is still in his infancy back then, it's been quite a while."
About 30 to 40 years, from the sound of it.
And true to that.
The area had been off-limits to people ever since, so now the surroundings were overgrown with thick grass.
"Then, before entry, we'll have a final briefing on precautions and the assault strategy."
Right before entering the ruins.
Expedition leader Kundal stepped forward.
They'd heard and memorized these precautions and strategies ad nauseam on the way here.
But this was one last review just before going in.
"As I mentioned beforehand, this ruins is structured like a maze, and zombies—living corpses—spawn from the surroundings as soon as you enter the maze."
These were clearly Foxkin ruins.
Yet zombies came out of them.
'Is it not just Foxkin ruins, but something else mixed in?'
He'd know for sure once inside.
But he could guess why they hadn't pushed the assault further aggressively, and why they'd sealed off the area.
With zombies swarming the place, sealing it made sense if full conquest was impossible.
"The most important thing in the assault is speed. The goal is to rush in as fast as possible before the zombies surround us and reach the door where the previous expedition got stuck. Fortunately, we have the map left by the last team, so finding the way won't be hard."
Quick and decisive.
There was nothing worth picking up in that section anyway, so it was the most efficient method.
And once they reached the door...
"The rest is up to you, Jeon."
"Yes."
From then on, it would be Jeon's time to shine.
'If they trust me this much, I have to smash that door open if need be.'
In truth, they didn't know Jeon could use Rune Magic.
They just thought he'd met a Foxkin mage outside and learned secret magic from them.
And that this might be the key to opening the door at the end of these ruins, which was why they were attempting this assault.
Even emphasizing speed in the conquest was aimed at conserving stamina as much as possible to buy time for Jeon to open the door.
From Jeon's perspective, he'd asked for this as his gift, and won it through a bet.
Still, he felt grateful and responsible toward them.
So he vowed inwardly once more to succeed in the conquest.
"Alright, we're entering!"
With that, the expedition finished the final briefing and entered the ruins.
The interior of the ruins they entered resembled the first one Jeon had seen, yet differed in key ways.
First, the differences.
It felt like a long, wide corridor with no particular patterns inside, and the walls were all silvery.
The similarities: the interior was impeccably clean.
No dust had accumulated even after 30 to 40 years since the last assault.
"Moving out!"
But Jeon had no time to fully take in such impressions.
The expedition pressed forward at a brisk pace right after entering.
As they passed the long silver corridor and entered the first turn.
Two paths branched out, and at the same moment...
"Kee-eek!"
Zombies lunged from front, back, and both sides without restraint.
'Fast!'
The zombies Jeon had seen in media from his past life.
They had tenacious vitality but mostly sluggish movements.
These ruins zombies were remarkably agile.
"Do not get bitten under any circumstances! Mages, stay back—do not advance!"
The fully armored knights stepped up first to engage the zombies.
Swords brimming with aura slashed through zombie bodies.
-Kyaooo!
Behind them, Gilrad unleashed 5th Circle fire magic.
A house-sized fox with three heads charged at the zombies sliced by swords.
Massive explosion!
They slashed with aura, incinerated with 5th Circle magic.
This should reduce most zombies to cripples, then fully burn them away.
But not these zombies.
"We need to push through fast! They'll recover soon!"
Even aura struggled to fully sever limbs—their toughness was immense.
And 5th Circle flames couldn't completely incinerate their flesh.
Even slashed and burned.
As long as the zombies' bodies didn't fully disintegrate, they regenerated wounds and stood again.
"I heard about it, but seeing it is ridiculous."
Jeon had heard zombies resisted aura and magic, regenerating bodies.
Even so, Gilrad had tried 5th Circle magic just in case.
But they actually recovered and rose.
'Regeneration.'
Yet Jeon's gaze at them was unusual.
The look of 'This might work.'
"Jeon, by any chance... do you have a good idea?"
Having spent the last two months with him, Gilrad knew that whenever Jeon had that look, something amazing happened.
Spotting it, he immediately asked.
"Not certain, but I might be able to stop their regeneration."
"Really?"
The reason assaults hadn't reached the end.
The unopenable door was one issue.
But endless zombie waves were another big problem.
A way to block their regeneration?
"If more zombies come next time, could you do just one more like before?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. Understood."
At Jeon's request, Gilrad, Kundal, and the expedition nodded.
Even without his request, neutralizing zombies temporarily to advance was the plan.
And when another dozen zombies charged from all sides again.
"Here they come!"
Knights' aura and mages' spells—including Gilrad's—swept the zombies once more.
Zombie flesh tore to rags under the onslaught.
Yet they didn't fully fall.
This damage would regenerate soon.
But in that moment.
Toward the ragged zombies, Jeon used Compression.
Their resistance weakened by prior attacks.
Zombie bodies couldn't withstand it.
Crunch!
Soon, their heads compressed to a tenth size, rolling on the floor.
'...Finally, I can mimic even a tiny bit of what I did back then.'
When Jeon first used Compression.
Affecting the entire cavern, compressing dozens of massive statues to dust.
Not comparable in scale, but.
He'd succeeded in recreating a similar scene, even slightly.
As Jeon felt quietly proud of his progress.
"...Huh."
The expedition members who saw it let out disbelieving laughs.
Not just damaged— their size itself reduced absolutely.
Zombies with compressed, severed heads couldn't regenerate or rise.
"I-Is this secret magic too?"
"Uh... yeah?"
Secret magic.
It felt like an invincible catch-all phrase for whatever happened now.
'Can I keep using it as an excuse forever?'
Someone might call him out eventually—what would he say?
Such worries briefly crossed Jeon's mind.
But those around him weren't just accepting it as secret magic.
'A genius after all...!'
'Rumors of extraordinary talent—indeed.'
'Incredible. Magic can do that?'
They knew Jeon's talents and achievements.
A teen blocking Master-level Alexar Silvermont's sword.
Creating a new mana cultivation method, reaching 2nd Circle in two months of magic training.
Everyone knew this.
So it wasn't the 'secret magic' that amazed them.
It was Jeon's talent transforming ordinary secret magic into insane performance.
"Jeon, can you keep using that spell? To conquer to the end, won't you run out of mana?"
Then Kundal asked cautiously, worried.
Using it on a dozen zombies at once.
The result was extraordinary.
Would Jeon's mana hold?
"Well, honestly, I'm tapped out now."
True to Kundal's worry, compressing a dozen zombie heads had depleted nearly all his mana.
Even after reaching 2nd Circle, vastly increasing his total mana.
This one use drained it all.
Multiple targets, plus their high mana resistance despite being ragged from aura and spells.
Inevitable.
Normally, a spell not for spamming.
"But it'll recover in about 30 seconds."
That was the past.
Finishing his words, he channeled mana through his arms via the mana cultivation method.
No longer a big issue.
Especially not alone—with sturdy expedition members beside him.
"...Then we'll trust you, Jeon."
At Jeon's confident reply, Kundal nodded and focused on advancing.
Now that zombies could be fully neutralized.
No worry of rear attacks from passed areas.
They accelerated forward.
Thanks to the heightened speed.
The expedition reached the maze's end far quicker than expected.
At the end appeared a vast cavern.
On one cavern wall stood a massive silver iron door.
'Guardian rune.'
Engraved dead center on that huge door: the Guardian rune Jeon knew well.
Seeing it, Jeon felt a strange certainty he could open it.
"Hmm... things might get tough from here."
But there was a problem.
The cavern swarmed with countless zombies.
Including ones resembling the previous expedition—those who'd come to assault, fallen to zombies, and turned.
Vrrr!
They retained some pre-death prowess.
Infusing rusted weapons with aura, they exuded eerie energy toward the expedition.
"Taking them all down is impossible."
Not just their numbers.
The ex-expedition zombies overwhelmingly outclassed normal ones.
No guarantee of defeating them all.
"So, focus on clearing a path."
The expedition's goal: open that door.
Whatever lay beyond unknown, but conquering what the last team couldn't was the point.
"Charge!"
Kundal and the knights gripped swords tight and leaped forward.
While they dueled aura-wielding zombies.
Mages poured spells on normal zombies.
Crunch! Jeon's Compression steadily neutralized normal zombies atop that.
With knights holding and normal zombie numbers thinning, a path opened slightly.
Now, just repeat.
Kaboom! Crunch! Kaboom! Crunch!
Explosions filling the cavern and crushing sounds repeated.
Auras clashing added noise.
No other sounds.
Expedition members didn't converse.
Relying on practiced teamwork, they poured everything into carving the path ahead.
"Compression, Compression, Compression."
Jeon too just crushed zombie heads with Compression, refilled mana via cultivation, then crushed more—repeating.
He lost track of repetitions, distance covered.
Just repeating the process, over and over.
And after how long?
Zombie flesh—scattered by blasts, slashes, crushes—coating his body.
"Jeon, the door's in sight!"
The silver door entered the expedition's view.
Seeing the goal clearly.
Vitality returned to the slightly fatigued team.
Rallying once more, they broke the zombie assault and reached the door.
"Finally... we made it...?"
As Jeon, thinking they'd arrived, lightly touched the door.
Flash!
Light burst from the door, blinding his vision white.