I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 32

‘What is this?’

Shotel, who had lightly cut through the incoming lightning, frowned.

The thought of ‘no way, no way’ wouldn’t leave his mind.

With his extensive combat experience, Shotel knew very well what a mage was.

A mage’s strengths, limitations, and even their training process.

It was only natural.

The more you know about your opponent, the easier it is to kill them.

But the wizard in front of him was easily destroying all the magical common sense that Shotel had known until now.

‘No way… Is it not an artifact?’

At first, he thought it was an artifact.

All the magic from the 1st to the 3rd circle was activated without casting, so he had no choice but to think so.

Of course, there was a memorize spell among the 7th circle spells that activated magic instantly.

But at that age, 7th circle?

It was, of course, out of the question.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

‘Do people usually carry around a bunch of artifacts with the same magic imbued in them?’

It didn’t make sense.

The price was one thing, but it was too inefficient.

And most decisively.

‘…I can feel the resonance of mana.’

Artifacts are activated by the mana of the magic stone.

But ordinary magic is different.

Since it uses some of the surrounding mana along with one’s own mana, the flow is inevitably felt.

But from a while ago, every time he used lightning, the flow of mana was being transmitted.

He didn’t notice it when using 1st and 2nd circle magic because it was weak, but now he could definitely feel it.

‘Then it means it’s his own skill…’

Does that make sense?

It’s surprising enough that he’s at the 3rd circle at that age, but can he also fire magic without casting?

Suddenly.

Shotel, who had stopped in his tracks, sheathed his sword.

“…I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?”

“I’ll take you alive.”

As if to say he would beat him properly.

* * *

‘As expected, it was too much.’

Randell muttered bitterly to himself.

After continuously facing him, he was sure of it.

The opponent was not just an intermediate knight.

He was a talent, one of the best in the North, who would rise to the top level as soon as he gained enlightenment.

No matter how fast Randell could cast in the 3rd circle, he was not someone he could defeat.

‘There’s no choice. I have to try.’

Randell decided to execute the method he had been contemplating for a while.

The reason he couldn’t do it earlier was that if he made a mistake, he could lose his life.

But if things continued like this, he would die anyway.

In that case, it was better to at least try.

‘Let’s go!’

Randell gritted his teeth and immediately started casting.

“Lightning! Lightning! Lightning!”

Crackle.

Lightning bolts poured out from Randell’s hands in succession.

Normally, Shotel would have cut them all down with his sword.

But ever since he suddenly said he would take him alive, he had been focusing on evasion.

It seemed he planned to exhaust all his mana and then capture him.

Indeed, this time too, he only retreated nimbly.

And the moment Shotel dodged the third lightning and leaped far back.

‘Now!’

Randell’s eyes gleamed as he turned around.

Tap tap tap!

He started running away.

“What the! Are you really running away?”

Shotel, who had been watching in disbelief, shouted in astonishment.

At first, he thought there was some kind of trick.

Of course, he did.

A weakling wizard who had spent his whole life studying at a desk was running away?

In front of the knight? And on flat ground?

“Have you lost your mind because you think you can’t do it!”

Shotel shouted mockingly and stomped on the ground.

Thanks to Randel’s hard escape, the distance between them had already exceeded 50 meters.

But this distance was nothing if an intermediate knight decided to run seriously.

Tatadak.

He would catch up soon.

Tatadadak.

Soon…

But something was strange.

No matter how much he ran, the distance didn’t decrease as he thought.

The reason was simple.

“What, why is he so fast?”

Shotel muttered incredulously as he ran.

The escape of the wizard, whom he had dismissed as a desk-bound weakling, was surprisingly fast.

It was natural.

Randel was not running with his bare body now.

He had strengthened his body to the limit with mana.

Although he was not a knight, he had immense mana and exceptional mana affinity.

Thanks to that, he could run at a level comparable to a lower knight for a few minutes.

“How annoying.”

Nevertheless, Shotel was completely at ease.

Although he had been demoted, he was still a knight, and a veteran who had experienced several battles.

What was the first thing to do when dispatched to a new post or before starting a battle?

It was to investigate and record the surroundings.

Thanks to that, Shotel was well aware of the local geography.

‘Even the place where that guy is heading now.’

How much time had passed?

Indeed, Randel, who had been running like crazy, stopped.

It wasn’t because he had run out of mana.

No matter how much mana he had, an insurmountable obstacle was blocking his path.

“Is that the best place you could escape to?”

From a distance, Shotel, who had also stopped, mocked Randel.

It was as if he was looking at a mouse trapped in a jar.

In fact, it was an apt description.

Behind Randel was a cliff.

And not just any cliff, but the deepest part of the canyon, the very center of all the canyons.

“……”

Without answering, Randel glanced down.

The dizzying ground was clearly visible.

There was no need to wonder what would happen if he fell.

He would be 100% dead meat.

“How do you feel now? It seems even the gods have abandoned you.”

Shotel began to approach slowly, with a triumphant smile.

Randel retreated as Shotel advanced.

One step forward, one step back. Two steps forward, two steps back…

Randel’s face was a picture of despair.

His magic was completely ineffective in a fight, and he couldn’t escape because of the cliff behind him.

Randel’s face, drenched in cold sweat, was as pale as a sheet.

Finally.

“Cough.”

Randel let out a rough cough.

But the cough was not ordinary.

Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.

Yet Randel continued to retreat, undeterred.

And with each step back, the amount of blood flowing from his mouth increased.

Seeing this, Shotel spoke as if he had expected it.

“Your casting speed is truly astonishing. Even now, I can’t believe it.”

“……”

“But no matter how fast you cast, using magic continuously like that takes a toll on your mental world. Just like now. Isn’t that right?”

“`

“……”

Randell just stared at Shotel without saying a word.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve decided to take you to the lord in one piece.”

“……”

“The soldiers the lord assigned to me all became useless, you know? But if I capture you, I’ll have something to say too.”

“……”

“Well, the lord won’t kill you either. He’ll just work you to death with a mana restraint. Throwing away 20 pieces of trash to get a wizard like you, isn’t that a great achievement?”

Shotel kept mumbling, but Randell didn’t answer a single word.

He just trembled, unable to breathe, as if desperately holding something back.

The blood flowing from his mouth increased.

At first, it was just a bit of blood, but now it was pouring out.

“This is dangerous. Let’s end this. When you wake up after a brief faint, everything will be over. Don’t worry about dying. I have a potion, so I’ll give it to you.”

Saying so, Shotel approached Randell with quick steps, as if he was bored.

A few steps and he was right in front of Randell.

Swish.

Shotel raised the scabbard high in front of Randell.

He intended to knock him out by hitting the back of his neck.

Randell didn’t resist even after seeing that.

He just reached out his hand and spoke with difficulty.

“For the past month… I’ve been practicing…”

“……?”

“I’ve reduced it… to three minutes…”

“What are you talking about?”

Shotel asked curiously as the usually silent guy suddenly opened his mouth.

Randell closed his eyes instead of answering.

Gulp.

Then he spat out a thick clot of blood for the last time.

As if he had never been dying, he opened his eyes wide and shouted.

“The casting time for Shock Wave, you b*stard! Shock Wave!”

Randell roared with blood-stained gums.

“`

Shotel was startled by the force, but his training-honed reflexes kicked in instinctively.

Tap.

He quickly raised his shield towards Randel.

The Shock Wave that Shotel knew was a magic that emitted wave-like vibrations, shaking the opponent’s insides.

If hit directly, it could penetrate armor and cause direct damage to the internal organs.

The countermeasure was simple.

Block it with a shield like this.

If the vibrations were initially deflected by the shield, they would mostly dissipate and not reach the arm.

The knight stood firm, holding the shield in front.

“……?”

But something was strange.

No matter how long he waited, no impact was transmitted to the shield.

“You damn heretic…!”

Just as Shotel shouted in anger, realizing he had been deceived.

Several sounds were heard.

Pang—

Thud.

Crash.

The first was the sound of the wave bursting out.

The second was the sound of the cliff’s edge breaking off.

The third was the sound of the cliff collapsing entirely.

To be precise, the ground beneath them.

The Shock Wave had been activated not on the knight, but on the weak edge of the cliff.

“Damn it! Are you planning to die together!?”

Shotel shouted in astonishment.

He was even more surprised because he had never imagined it.

Mages were usually rational beings.

So, unlike knights who never surrendered even if they were about to die, mages often surrendered if they thought they would lose.

Therefore, there were almost no insane mages who would come out with a plan to die together like this.

But unfortunately, right in front of him… there was that insane guy.

“You crazy b*stard! If you want to die, do it alone!”

A whole chunk of the cliff edge fell off, but the physical condition of a mid-level knight was extraordinary.

At this height, a single jump could still get him back up to the intact part of the cliff.

“Where do you think you’re going? Chris!”

If only there were no interruptions.

Just as Chotel was about to leap, putting strength into his thighs.

The friction coefficient of the ground drastically decreased, hindering Chotel’s jump.

When Chotel looked back, Randel was reaching out, blood dripping from his mouth.

“You annoying b*stard!”

But knights were those who trained their physical abilities to the limit.

Among them, only a select few could reach the level of mid-level.

Such individuals had a sense of balance that transcended human limits.

Tap.

Chotel immediately placed his hand on the collapsing edge of the cliff to regain his posture.

And then.

“Hup!”

Chotel jumped again, this time managing to grab onto a protruding part in the middle of the cliff.

“I’m alive…!”

“Dig!”

If only Randel hadn’t shouted from behind.

Before Chotel could even sigh in relief, the activation word echoed.

At the same time, the part of the cliff Chotel had just grabbed crumbled as if it had been dug out.

Chotel’s hand grasped at nothing…

“Where do you think you’re going alone?”

“You damn brat!”

Just like when he first met Randel.

Chotel let out a long scream of anger as he helplessly fell.

Together with Randel, to the bottom of the cliff.