I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 28

‘Casting while moving….’

Randell stood in the backyard, thinking.

The backyard was surrounded by trees and walls, making it invisible from the outside and perfect for practice.

“Let’s start with Magic Arrow.”

Randell closed his eyes and began casting.

Just before the magic was completed, he moved his foot and recited the incantation.

“Magic Ar… um, it’s not working.”

He felt his concentration scatter, and the basic structure of the casting collapse.

Was it because the casting time was too short?

“Then this time, let’s try casting as slowly as possible.”

Randell deliberately extended the casting of Magic Arrow, taking a slow step.

Thud.

Immediately, he felt a wave of nausea.

But it was bearable.

Casting progress: 30%.

Thud.

He took another step.

This time, he felt a bit more queasy.

Now the casting was about 60% complete.

And the final step.

As Randell took the step, he completed the magic and uttered the incantation.

“Magic Arrow… ugh!”

Pew.

Randell collapsed to the ground, burying his head as he vomited.

After a while, he wiped away the tears that had come out and said,

“Ah, this isn’t going to work.”

Randell gave up cleanly.

He had certainly succeeded in casting Magic Arrow.

The power was no different from usual, and it flew accurately to the desired direction.

But could he use this in a real battle?

More than anything, he felt his mental world shake violently with every movement.

By now, a weak storm must be raging in Randell’s mental world.

“It seems like I could improve with practice… but wouldn’t it be better to just reduce the casting time of a 3rd circle spell?”

No matter how much he thought about it, it was wise.

Above all, he had to quickly master the 3rd circle to leave the territory.

The goal was a week later.

‘The ruins are waiting for me.’

In his previous life, he didn’t know why other territories had ganged up on this territory to monopolize some ruins.

But one thing was certain.

‘I’ll know once I consume it all.’

Randell smiled and cast the next spell.

* * *

Swoosh.

Randell was peacefully drinking tea in the reception room.

But the peace didn’t last long.

Bang!

The reception room door burst open as if it was going to break, and someone rushed in.

Randell put down his teacup and turned his gaze towards the door.

There stood the lord, panting as if he had run all the way from his office to here.

Behind him were his daughter Manwellin and the territory’s mage, Kapus.

All three had rushed over because of Randell’s bombshell statement.

“Have you arrived, my lord?”

Randell stood up and greeted them as if he knew nothing.

But the lord barely acknowledged the greeting and threw out an abrupt question.

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“That you have really reached the 2nd circle!”

“Of course. Why would I lie about something that would be found out so quickly?”

“In that case…”

“I’ll show you right away.”

Randell closed his eyes and began casting.

One minute passed, then two, three.

Finally, the spell was completed, and Randell spoke.

“Healing.”

Ssshhh.

At the same time, a blue curtain appeared in Randel’s hand.

Although it was bright daylight, the blue shimmering light seemed more vivid than anything else.

“Sir Kapus…?”

The lord, who turned to confirm, soon closed his mouth quietly.

Kapus looked as if he had aged ten years in that short moment.

There was no need to hear the answer.

What had just happened was clearly a 2-circle magic.

“Good grief.”

The lord sighed and sat down in the upper seat.

Then, wiping the sweat that had soaked his forehead with a handkerchief handed by an attendant, he said,

“I’ve always thought I wasn’t easily surprised… but you are certainly beyond the norm.”

“Thank you for the compliment, my lord.”

“At this level, you don’t need to go to the academy, do you?”

It was Manwellin, who was also stunned by Randel’s magic, who spoke.

He said it as a joke, but there was anxiety in his eyes.

Randel’s talent was so outstanding that he was worried he might just take the sponsorship and run away.

In fact, it was understandable.

To reach the 2nd circle through self-study, and that too shortly after reaching the 1st circle… it was unbelievable.

At this level, regardless of being a commoner, if he went to the wizard guild and just showed his magic, he would be immediately accepted.

Randel shook his head at Manwellin and said,

“That won’t do. There are two reasons why I must go.”

“What are they?”

“First, from the 2nd circle onwards, not only mana but also enlightenment is required. And to gain enlightenment, education related to magic is essential.”

“We have quite a few books related to magic in our territory, can’t you just read those?”

“That’s nonsense. If that were possible, why would the academy and the guild exist?”

“No, I think you could do it…”

“No, I can’t. And there’s a more important reason.”

“What is it?”

“High-circle magic.”

“Ah!”

“My great-grandfather’s magic book only contains up to 2-circle healing. Do you have any higher-level magic books in the territory?”

At those words, Manwellin shook his head.

Most noble families with a bit of history had up to 2-circle magic books.

This was because many magicians had passed through the territory, and magic itself was widely known.

But from the 3rd circle onwards, it was completely different. Higher-level magic was strictly controlled by the Magician’s Guild.

Only those who had achieved that circle within the guild had the right to view it.

The only exception was academy students.

“I guess I have to go. If I go to the academy, I can see magic that matches my circle…”

“That’s right.”

Randell nodded and continued.

“Oh, and I might be away from the territory for a while.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I want to travel before I enter the academy. I think this might be my last chance to rest in my life.”

“Ah…”

Manwellin trailed off, looking troubled.

How long had it been since he worried about Randell leaving, and now this?

As Manwellin hesitated to answer, someone else spoke up first.

“Manwellin, that’s enough.”

It was the lord.

“Father…”

“I’ve told you repeatedly. What does a noble need?”

“…Eyes.”

“That’s right. Eyes to see people. To discern whether someone is good or evil, an ally or an enemy. This is the beginning of the art of governance.”

“…”

“And the second?”

“Trust…”

“That’s right. If you’ve seen it, believe it. Trust the person, trust your own judgment. If it turns out to be the wrong choice? That’s your own lack of virtue, so there’s no need to go around telling others.”

“…I was foolish, Father.”

The lord, who patted his daughter’s shoulder, approached Randell.

Then he spoke calmly.

“You said your family would be a little late?”

“Yes. They have some things to settle in the hometown, so they plan to leave next spring.”

“I see. Randell, if you unilaterally break the sponsorship contract with me, I will use all defensive measures at my disposal. But that is based on the contract, and I will never resort to any despicable acts beyond that.”

“I understand well, my lord. That is why I came directly to you without going anywhere else.”

“Hmm.”

The lord nodded.

Randell also nodded in return.

The lord in his previous life was also such a person.

He did some cunning things to govern the territory, but he never crossed the line.

Moreover, once he trusted someone, he believed in them no matter what anyone said.

That is why the knights here had exceptionally high loyalty.

They all wandered with various stories and settled here, fascinated by the lord.

‘It was also the decisive reason I chose this place.’

But in the end, the lord was destroyed because of that trust, which was ironic.

One should not trust a black-haired beast recklessly.

The lord spoke in a half-joking voice.

“You chose me, not the other way around… It hurts my pride a bit. By the way, you said you were going on a trip?”

“Haha, yes. I plan to return before departing for the academy.”

“Every boy should travel at least once. I will make sure you have enough funds.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

Randell nodded at the trust the lord showed.

In the past, the lord was destroyed because of trust.

But isn’t it too sad to end like that?

So now.

It was time to live because of trust.

* * *

What is the profession that travels the most on the continent?

Randell thought of them as mercenaries.

Even if he didn’t want to, all the requests were like that.

Even if he wanted to exterminate the monsters, he had to walk for days to their habitats, and if he took on escort missions for the merchant guild, he would travel for dozens of days in a carriage.

Randell was no exception.

Unlike the mercenaries who set up a base and worked nearby, he wandered aimlessly across the continent.

Thus, he became a specialist in travel.

Seasonal clothing, preserved food, first aid, analysis of risk factors according to the surrounding terrain, choosing a place to camp for the night, etc.

He could tell what kind of place it was just by glancing around most places.

“Ugh, I think I made a mistake…”

But this was the first time he had been to a place like this.

Randell surveyed the place he had arrived at after a week of walking.

It was a wilderness without a single common shrub.

Whoosh―

Every time the wind blew, yellow ochre dust rose up and obscured his vision.

The wilderness was unusually flat.

There needed to be some elevation to avoid the wind and find a place to rest, but there was almost none.

‘Damn it… No wonder the ruins haven’t been discovered until now, being in a place like this.’

Randell knew only a few things about the ruins.

And those were just bits and pieces he had heard from the resentful Manwellin.

First of all, the ruins were said to be delicately situated at the borders of three territories.

Hence, the territorial war had broken out.

It was a place with a large canyon, and he had heard that the ruins were found at the bottom of that canyon.

‘It wasn’t hard to find because of the unique terrain.’

Finding it was simple.

He spread out the map he got from the butler and found the point where the three territories met.

Then, he gave money to the hunters in the territory and asked them, and the answer came out immediately.

There were four adjacent points in total, but the rest were all mountains, fields, and villages, and the only place with a canyon was here.

‘Tsk, so I thought it would be easy.’

He thought he would see the canyon as soon as he arrived, and then just go down and excavate the ruins.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Upon arrival, the canyon came into view.

But there was a bit of a problem.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Randel looked down at the bottom of the canyon he had discovered while wandering the wilderness.

The canyon itself wasn’t that deep.

Maybe about 300 meters.

It wasn’t that wide either, so if he decided to search thoroughly for 2 or 3 days, he thought he could comb through it completely.

But.

‘How many canyons are there here……?’

Countless small canyons stretched out around the largest canyon Randel was looking at.

It looked as if a giant lightning bolt had struck the earth and split it along its path.

The main lightning bolt was this large canyon, and the hundreds of strands of current were the small canyons.

In other words, there were hundreds of small canyons.

‘Do I have to search through all of these one by one?’

Hundreds of winding canyons?

Just thinking about it made him dizzy.

He couldn’t imagine how much time it would take to inspect all of this alone, without any help.

Rappelling down to the bottom of the canyon, checking one, moving to the next canyon, and searching thoroughly?

It would take at least a year.

“Ah, damn. Why did I choose Lightning?”

Randel muttered as he looked down at his hand, where a lightning bolt crackled.

At the time, he had praised himself for making the best choice, but now he realized it was a mistake.

A big one.

‘I should have chosen Detect…….’

Detect was a magic that detected the mana around him.

If he pushed the mana to its limit and prioritized range, he could sense about 50 meters in radius.

If it was a ruin, there would naturally be magically treated artifacts or magic circles inside.

Proceeding by detecting those would have made the exploration much easier.

But as mentioned earlier, he thought he could easily excavate the ruins.

Even if a situation arose where he needed to use Detect, he thought he could just use it a few times while walking around since the canyon was limited in size.

It’s not like using attack magic where your life is on the line, so what if it’s a bit slow?

‘But I didn’t expect there to be so many canyons!’

It’s meaningless to regret it now.

Randell calmly organized his thoughts.

‘How many minutes does it take me to cast a 3-circle spell?’

It took about 15 minutes to use it once.

Would it be faster to investigate 50 meters every 15 minutes, or just walk and observe?

‘Of course, walking is faster.’

The path of hardship seemed to be wide open.

There were two things that were fortunate.

One was that there was still plenty of time.

There were still about three months left, including travel time, until the academy entrance.

The other was the hint.

‘They said there was a specific pattern at the entrance, right?’

I heard the first discoverer was an adventurer.

The terrain around here was so peculiar that he went down to the canyon floor out of curiosity.

There, he found a strange pattern and, while looking around, found the entrance.

‘What’s the use of standing around? Let’s move.’

Randell stopped thinking and looked around.

After wandering around the wilderness for a while, he managed to find a place that was somewhat hollowed out by weathering.

There, Randell set up a tent and made a base camp.

The real hardship was about to begin.