ALL NOVEL chapter 36
36
“Why are so many people gathered here?”
In front of the Darkwood Forest, I muttered in confusion, looking at the crowded crowd.
Many students, including instructors, surrounded the field.
Everyone had gathered to witness the magical showdown between me and Elaine.
“It’s a match against the one who caught the 2nd place in the 2nd year, Yuscal Arcey. Of course, there’s a lot of interest.”
I chuckled at Amelia’s words.
“Wasn’t he in 3rd place? 1st place?”
“Both 1st and 2nd place are in the close combat specialty. Naturally, Yuscal senior is 1st in handling magic. Even if we include up to the 3rd year, Yuscal senior is in the top ranks, right?”
Ah, is that so?
Yuscal, you were truly remarkable······
Upon Amelia’s explanation, I, who had just realized Yuscal’s greatness(?), clicked my tongue.
Well, it was only natural that a character like Yuscal, who appeared in the original to fill Chen Woojin’s absence, had impressive specs.
I just quietly stood there, having won against such an extraordinary person.
Moreover, Elaine, whom I was facing, was born with the curse magic lineage, famous for Diaz.
【1st-year top student who defeated magical genius Yuscal VS student of the curse magic master Diaz!】
With such a setup, it’s no wonder people are flocking. I’m curious too, so I’m here to watch.
Amelia also had consumed 24 magic stones, so why am I the only one like this?
It’s because I’m unlucky and come from a non-influential family.
Eternity was a world of influential families, power, and fate.
Moreover, Romano, who was involved in the previous mine terror incident and was identified as a member of a family, was feeling quite uncomfortable.
Given the situation, it was somewhat expected that Kim Joo-hyuk, who was observant of everything, would eventually choose me for a one-on-one.
Anyway.
“Quite a crowd has gathered.”
From the 1st-year homeroom teacher, Jung Hae-jun, to the homeroom teacher, Ha Jin-woo, the PE instructor, Moon Ho-young, and other instructors. And also, 2nd-year rankers like Yuscal, Austin, and Eun So-baek.
It seemed like almost everyone had come to watch my match. Our classmates were no exception.
Chen Woojin, Han Se-yeon, Eun Ga-ye, Nikolai, Oh Jin-hyuk, Kim Ha-yoon, Lee Soon-cheol, and so on······
They all gathered. They’re all here.
Since I was waiting separately with the magic detection team, I couldn’t talk to them.
However, discussions were already lively around me on how I would break Elaine’s curse magic ritual.
─I’ll probably interfere in the ritual before the curse magic is activated and cancel it.
How?
─You’re not an instructor, how can you do that? It’s more realistic to reflect the curse.
But how do you do that?
Amelia shook her head, looking at the students discussing magic that was completely unrelated to me, with an incredulous expression.
“It’s ridiculous. Reflecting, canceling.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. They’re complicated and difficult methods.”
How come she’s making sense all of a sudden?
“If you just bind the magic so that the curse magic itself can’t be used from the start, wouldn’t that solve it? Right?”
······That’s unlikely.
Amelia was seeking my agreement, suggesting that we should take away Elaine’s control over magic.
Ignoring the suspicion that didn’t quite settle in his eyes, Kim Joo-hyuk quietly stepped towards the center of the field.
His bright expression seemed delighted that there was so much interest in the subject he was responsible for.
Could it be that person spreading rumors?
“Hmm, then before the magical stone detection competition, let me explain the rules.”
······Right.
“In the northern forest of Sangdo-dong, there are a total of 5 high-grade magical stones hidden.”
Having unexpectedly gained an opportunity for promoting the subject, Kim Joo-hyuk enthusiastically explained the rules.
“The side that submits 3 or more of these stones to me first will be the victor.”
And any interference that occurs during this process does not violate the rules.
The subject of Advanced Magical Detection aimed to enable students to detect magic even in crisis situations.
Of course, the concept of ‘fighting’ is not included in this interference. It would completely deviate from the subject itself.
One must continue to exhibit ‘actions’ in the pursuit of finding the magical stones.
“Both duelists, come forward.”
After finishing his explanation, Kim Joo-hyuk called me and Elaine.
“We’ll be rooting for you.”
Amelia cheered me on with sparkling eyes. I’m not sure what she’s expecting, though······
As we stepped forward, Kim Joo-hyuk handed me a brooch imbued with surveillance magic.
Since it was a duel taking place in the forest, it seemed like he intended to broadcast through the screen levitated by magic.
And so, with the brooch pinned, Elaine and I set foot into the northern forest of Sangdo-dong, where the magical stones were hidden.
***
To cut to the chase, finding the magical stones was easy.
The fact that the range where the magical stones were hidden was limited to the north of Sangdo-dong forest, and my sensitivity to the magic when using Gram’s resonance was comparable to only a ‘part’ of Gram’s level.
The reason it was just a part was that Gram’s abilities were only drawn out in proportion to my resonance rate.
Anyway, with just this partial sensitivity, my ability regarding magic far surpassed that of a first-year student.
Therefore, it took less than 10 minutes to find all the high-grade magical stones.
It took about 10 minutes to go around the northern forest.
However, the issue lay with Elaine’s ‘interference.’
It started the moment I retrieved the first magical stone. As I found the stone cleverly hidden in the crevice of a tree and turned my back.
“······!”
The forest erupted. Branches of trees whipped like lashes, roots of grass aimed at me. Fierce winds blew. Leaves sharp as blades.
All of this happened in just one moment. A situation that was impossible to avoid.
【Body Acceleration】
In an instant, the world slowed down.
The muffled sound of the wind, branches approaching slowly, grass, leaves, gravel, sunlight······
Everything that was about to rush at me slowed down as if submerged in water.
Escaping from the surroundings was not a daunting task for me.
As I escaped, the world frighteningly accelerated once more.
────────!
The forest rushed into the space I occupied. The scenery became distorted.
Branches and roots intertwined, gravel and leaves pierced through.
The space had turned into a chaotic mess. Yet, as I gazed upon it, I remained unscathed, just like before.
“···Oh, that startled me.”
After a brief mutter, I casually picked up the magic stone and left my spot.
Similar situations repeated consecutively thereafter. It wasn’t just here.
My body grew sluggish, hallucinations appeared, and even symptoms of poisoning without eating or drinking emerged.
It was Diazga’s curse magic.
Cheon Woo-jin would have dispelled the curse, and Amelia would have taken control of magic to prevent the curse altogether, but I couldn’t pull off such tricks. Undoing the curse at the level of a spell or reflecting it was even more out of reach.
However, I had no need for such elaborate actions.
Why?
＜High-level Immunity Seal＞Lv.3 ＜Low-level Curse Evasion＞Lv.3 ＜Intermediate Poison Immunity＞Lv.2
······Just endure it physically.
The thick mental barrier inscribed with ＜High-level Immunity Seal＞Lv.3, which deflects hallucinations and confuses the senses, was breached.
The symptoms of poisoning, like consuming poisonous mushrooms, vanished as if washed away by ＜Intermediate Poison Immunity＞Lv.2.
Even the minor curses couldn’t come near me with ＜Low-level Curse Evasion＞Lv.3.
Ironically, even the chilling curse that managed to break through only boosted my condition.
I was already heated up to the point of body acceleration.
***
“······No, this can’t be.”
Elaine, shocked, muttered blankly as she watched Ihae-sol effortlessly brush off the forest’s constraints and curse magic.
And no wonder, the curse she cast in the forest wasn’t just simple magic.
The curse of madness.
One of Diazga’s boasted 38 curse rituals.
Among those 38 curse rituals, 12 high-level curse rituals that could be considered as visions.
The curse of madness was an advanced magic belonging to those 12 high-level curse rituals, inducing ‘madness’ in living beings to make them attack others magically.
Of course, she adjusted the intensity to aim for ‘restraint’ rather than killing, but breaking free from that restraint was beyond her understanding.
The only way was to block, confront, and destroy.
Avoiding the sudden onslaught of ‘nature’ from all sides was like avoiding raindrops falling, meaning it was impossible.
Yet, Ihae-sol effortlessly achieved this impossible feat.
Not just once, but a staggering four times.
Moreover, even the 13 curse rituals she used failed to yield any significant effect.
Clearly, despite Elaine witnessing her getting cursed without any response, with her own eyes wide open.
‘Is this really possible?’
Though she knew it made no sense logically, seeing the exact opposite unfold before her eyes left Elaine speechless.
Thus, Elaine could do nothing but watch as Ihae-sol collected all the high-level magic stones and left the forest.
***
Elaine wasn’t the only one shocked by Ihae-sol’s appearance.
Outside the Sengdo Forest, numerous onlookers witnessed their duel in real-time.
“What happened? Did she stop the curse magic?”
“No. There was no sign of stopping it.”
“Then why are you unharmed?”
“······.”
Despite the exchanges among magic major students, no one could provide an answer as to why Yihaesol remained unharmed.
It was understandable because the mechanism behind the skill ‘Curse Evasion,’ unique to the Eternity Swordsmanship, felt different from how they knew to evade curses.
To evade curses, one needed to either cast a spell on themselves in advance to evade the curse or physically dodge the approaching curse magic. Yihaesol had not used either of these methods.
Receiving the curse without any defense and remaining unharmed left the students perplexed on how to accept it.
On the other hand, even the warrior major students were equally puzzled.
“···What kind of nonsensical movement is that?”
“Wow, slipping through those tiny gaps? Is he made of paper or what?”
Slipping through the rushing branches, leaves, gravel, and grass roots with an uncanny movement, Yihaesol’s escape left the students in awe.
“His movement itself looks pathetic, but when he dodges everything, it’s bewildering.”
“That’s just insanely fast.”
Amidst the bewildered reactions of both warrior and magic major students, the instructors also exchanged opinions.
Once again, it was the class advisor, Jeong Haejun, who came up with an answer.
“Constantly utilizing a barrier of magic power?”
“Hmm, if that’s the case, it certainly seems possible.”
In response to Jeong Haejun’s words, the homeroom teacher of Class 1, Ha Jinwoo, nodded.
Maintaining a barrier of magic power was one way to evade curses.
However, to sustain the magic barrier, considerable mental strength was required. Displaying intense movements while using it demanded tremendous focus.
“So, the movement to evade those attacks······”
“It must have been close to a state of trance.”
“Hmm.”
“Anyway, he never fails to surprise us.”
Watching Yihaesol return with the magic stones, Jeong Haejun clicked his tongue.
***
On the other hand, having defeated Kim Joo Hyuk by passing him the magic stones, I unexpectedly faced a new challenge.
“······So, you’re saying I should take classes with Cheon Woojin?”
I asked, looking at the blonde girl blocking my path, ‘Sword Witch’ Noah MacDowell.
“Yeah, this is not a proposal to be taken lightly by anyone.”
Noah’s words about it not being a proposal to be taken lightly were indeed true.
If one could receive her teachings, more than tens of thousands of people would quit their current jobs and run barefoot to learn from her right now.
The teachings of a world-class superhuman were just that valuable.
Moreover, Noah had maintained her position as a superhuman for over half a century.
Naturally, her teachings held significant meaning, both externally and internally.
Noah was now offering me such teachings.
Without a shred of doubt that I might decline, Noah’s expression showed no hint of wavering.
And I answered without a second thought.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”
Who in their right mind would buy a grindstone and call it a quest?