◈ Chapter 76. It’s Just a Fluke (3)
Illusion magic.
A magic with plenty of potential, but with all too obvious limitations.
“To compensate for the extreme drain on my mana, I have tried various variations on the interference process, and have achieved some results of significance.”
So much for his own examination.
The apprentice was right.
A distinct limitation of illusion magic.
It lay in its extreme drain on mana.
“But it can’t be helped.”
Yes, all magic had its limitations.
But even with insurmountable limitations.
The value and potential of illusion magic is greater than any other.
Nasrow thought sincerely.
‘That is why I, Nasrow, have chosen it.’
It was not strange.
What is the position of Senior Mage?
The highest authority in their school of magic.
It was only natural that they would consider their magic the best.
Or if they didn’t think it was the best, if they doubted it.
They wouldn’t have been able to rise to the position of Senior Wizard.
So.
It was no wonder Nasrow was furious.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Recognizing your limits. I asked if that was really best.”
“And by limits, you mean extreme mana drain……?”
Until then, Nasrow had scoffed.
“Bringing up limits.”
He snorted.
That was an obvious mistake, not an intellectual one.
As I said, there were limits to all magic, regardless of discipline.
‘You have a self-replenishing water source.’
But then came the next paving stone.
At that, Nasrow’s expression began to twist.
This wasn’t a throwing stone.
“How dare you……!
It was a dare.
“You need to think differently. Do you really believe that illusionary magic is the art of creating something out of nothing? If so, you’ve failed your quest.”
Why was Nasrow fascinated by illusionary magic?
Simple.
It was a magic that could create something out of nothing.
Unlike other magic, there was no object to search for.
As such, it was extremely draining.
“And you’re talking about nothing?”
If I did, would I fail?
It was a denial of illusion magic itself!
Nasrow’s anger was short-lived, however.
Ho Yeol continued.
“As long as magic exists, there is no such thing as nothingness in magic.”
The paving stones continue.
Even Nasrow could not argue with that.
“…… correct.”
Technically, he wasn’t wrong.
The object of illusory magic’s search was power itself.
Hence the limitations of magic efficiency.
“We must abandon the idea that only pure magic can be the object of illusory magic. Overcoming the limitations of illusionary magic begins with correcting the error of that search.”
Treating it as an error.
Isn’t that a rejection of illusionary magic at its core?
Nasrow persevered.
“That word will require responsibility.”
It was an accusation that denied the nature of illusionary magic.
He would have to provide evidence for it.
If he couldn’t, it was nothing more than rhetoric.
Nasrow listened to the next words.
“It could be light, or it could be the air in the atmosphere. Choosing the right target based on your surroundings is an essential skill for overcoming the limitations of illusionary magic.”
……Light and air as search targets?
Nasrow was dumbfounded by that.
Likewise.
Understanding the implications, the adept mage spoke up.
“Heh, heh. Does that mean……?”
“That’s right. It means you’ll need to have excellent searching talent.”
“That, that!”
Nasrow was silent.
“Makes sense.
Yes, Ho-Yeol was right.
If you don’t stick to magic as a search target.
If we choose our targets based on our surroundings.
We might be able to overcome the limitations of illusion magic.
Any search target would be more efficient than pure magic power.
But it would not be easy.
It meant there would be more than one target to get used to.
But then Ho-Yeol continued.
“This is the illusion magic you’ve chosen, so get used to its weight.”
Nasrow felt like he’d been slapped in the back of the head.
“……!”
Yes, the reason he chose to use illusion magic.
Because he was convinced that illusion magic was superior to other magic.
It was because he believed that illusion magic reigned above all other magic……!
To get used to the weight of such illusionary magic.
To be able to handle the weight of such illusionary magic.
Naturally, that included what Ho Yeol had mentioned earlier.
‘I suppose that includes a good searching talent.’
Nasrow looked at Ho-Yeol.
“…… How?
I don’t care how much magical knowledge you have.
This was not a plan that could be put forward without thought.
Which meant.
Ho-Yeol had given serious thought to illusion magic.
Nasrow thought.
“So, he’s a mage?”
He could tell because he was one.
Mages were the most selfish of beings.
But Ho-Yeol was different.
Nasrow pondered, then muttered to himself.
“I have unintentionally incurred a debt.”
The regular meetings had only just begun.
And he wasn’t even a Adept yet.
It was a favoritism that put even a senior mage in debt.
* https://pindangscans.com
“……What does that mean?”
“‘Search’? ‘Interference’? ‘Manifestation’? Seriously!”
“Oh, and what’s with the translation feature, it doesn’t translate that stuff!”
You see what you know.
I won’t doze off this time.
Despite my resolve.
The players sighed in frustration.
“Hey, Nam Tae-min. What do you know, do you think your brother Chulmin can understand?”
A player from the Gaon Guild, Mage class.
She asked into her earpiece.
A booming voice assaulted her eardrums.
-How should I know? By the way, Mr. Ho Yeol, he’s really serious.
-Yes. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sensing an expert force.
-That’s probably why he’s treated as a senior in the tower.
-Isn’t that why the mages in the tower can’t talk back?
-Yikes. I really should have been worried. Who’s Ho-yeol?
……Yes, I shouldn’t have asked the Barbarian.
Like I said, this place.
The players gathered in the Crystal Hall had a lot riding on this regular meeting.
What if, by some chance, they get the quest, complete the quest, and enter the Magic Tower like Ho Yeol?
That would be an incredible quest reward.
That was a huge quest reward.
It was no wonder that guilds were clinging to it.
“Everyone, say something. Don’t you think you’ve heard it all?”
There were more than a few players whispering into their earphones.
But it was unlikely they’d hear back.
Even if the Guild’s analysts were hanging around.
I couldn’t understand it.
-Searching, interfering, tongue-in-cheek? What the hell is this? You just shout the name of the skill and you’re out. Magic!
“Magic and skills are completely different.”
It took Ho Yeol days to realize that.
There’s no way any of the players would recognize it if they put their heads together.
Except for one.
Jesse Heinness was the exception.
Number one in the guild rankings.
Because he had the full backing of the Shining?
No. In fact, Jesse didn’t even have his earphones on.
She didn’t.
All she had was her teacher, a man named Old Hat.
And because she’d had a meeting with Ho Yeol.
“Wow.”
Even so.
Even Jesse didn’t realize much.
After all that crack exploring, monster hunting, and everything else.
After a full day of reading magic books.
Searching, interfering, manifesting.
Only now did she begin to understand the structure of magic.
But it was enough.
“Great!”
It took me a while to recognize Ho Yeol’s extraordinary ability.
The old man lamented.
-It’s no use teaching you every day.
Just one day.
Just a few hours.
I feel like I’ve lost a pupil to a short question-and-answer session with Ho-yeol.
But apart from that.
Old Hat had to admit.
-That’s not the realm of talent.
Just evaluating and giving suggestions for improvement.
There’s a world of difference between the two.
Talent is a must, and it takes time and thought.
My tin foil hat twitched.
-Surely, a man who has piqued my interest.
A man who piques the interest of an archmage.
He wanted to let us know how much he was appreciated.
I wish I could tell them in person.
It’s just a shame you can’t.
Still, it wasn’t all bad.
-For once, it felt like a conference.
A quest to push the envelope, not be satisfied with the status.
It was a sight to behold, even for the Archmage.
I want to let you know how great this is, too.
The impatient tin foil hat whispered to his apprentice.
-Don’t you want to put me on that man’s head one day, apprentice? I know he’s not going to let you do that, he’s a bit of a prick, but why, I’m sure you can come up with an excuse. Yes, let’s make up an excuse, just like in that magic school movie! I can talk like that hat, so it’s not a lie…….
But the tin foil hat soon muddied the waters.
The next announcement.
Ho-Yeol, who had been silent, spoke up again.
“I have my doubts.”
“……!”
“There are countless medicinal herbs that look similar, but have completely different effects and mechanisms. For example, ragweed leaves and cannilia petals.”
A perfectly upright posture, not even cross-legged.
And not the slightest twist in his voice.
More upright than posture.
“The two medicinal herbs are identical in appearance and even in their habitat, but their effects are obviously different. Do you believe that your proposed nurturing method can provide a common nurturing effect for all medicinal herbs, including these two?”
The question stunned Old Hat.
-……And a knowledge of medicinal herbs?
As I said, it wasn’t just talent.
It takes time and serious thought.
The possibility of doing it was a long shot.
-I mean, you can’t just read every study presented at a conference on ……!
I can’t even begin to look at them.
and even suggest improvements.
You mean you’ve been thinking about it?
Yeah, you’re only as good as your knowledge.
It wasn’t just the tin foil hat that was freaking me out.
“!”
Starting with Nasrow.
Bellier Yusia, the senior mage of the Healing School.
Curtain, Maia, and Garfield.
“!!!”
The announcements continued.
The more Ho-Yeol spoke.
The more they opened their mouths.
The emotions from the pre-qualification?
The unkind glances he had given Ho-yeol?
Those feelings were long gone.
In fact, it made some of the senior mages reflect.
‘This is an idea that even I, a senior, would never have thought of……!
‘You mean to tell me he’s put more thought into this than I have?
“Shame on me, I don’t even deserve seniority!
But.
He didn’t seem to care.
Ho-yeol’s complexion didn’t change in the slightest.
He simply announced the next speaker.
“Next. Senior Mage, Vanguard Tom.”
* https://pindangscans.com
Fish meets water.
I’m sure that’s what they say about situations like this.
Not just an observer.
A regular meeting as the chief guest and organizer.
You have to feel the weight of it.
‘If you just open your mouth and say…….’
I was talking like fish out of water!
I was tackling every single study.
As a presenter.
Oh, how I must have come across.
I thought, “Let’s switch positions.”
I realized that I had done something even worse.
I’ve had professors and bosses criticize me for everything, and this?
And if that’s not bad enough, what is? That’s the best you can do?
“If it was the best, you would have presented it at a conference!”
I’m a fish out of water, especially a mudfish.
Why, a mudfish muddies the waters.
My presence at the conference was more than a mudfish.
But I thought shamelessly.
“If they don’t like it, don’t ask them to do it next time.”
Yeah, it’s better to be crazy than mediocre.
Let’s finish the conference with a bang, as I had decided.
The good news is.
At least I wasn’t full of shit.
“It was worth it.
All those books, all those books.
When I didn’t know anything about magic.
Like, for example, the last regular meeting.
Back then, I’d have had to rely on Grandfell’s talent to get me through.
But now I had an idea in my head.
‘Of course, I studied for a living, but…….’
Nothing.
That’s right, the knowledge I’d accumulated for my own use was useful.
Of course, the problem was that it helped me get ahead.
Weight of the Chief (repeat)
Perform the verification at Topaz Hall. (Success)
Successfully organize a regular conference. (in progress)…….
Well, that’s the end of both the meeting and the quest.
I called for the last speaker.
“Next. Senior Mage, Vanguard Tom.”
Vanguard Tom, Senior Wizard of Pure Magic.
He was the only senior wizard presenting research at this regular meeting.
The school of pure magic continues to struggle.
I hear he’s prepared a presentation to revitalize it.
It wasn’t vetted before a senior mage.
I didn’t get to see his face.
I can imagine how he feels.
Uncle Tom.
I remembered him as a bribe.
-“This is Vanguard Tom, Senior Mage of Pure Magic. I’m here to offer my congratulations and a small gesture of goodwill. Do you mind if I come in for a moment?”
The moment I was recognized by all the senior wizards.
Because it was Uncle Tom who knocked on my lab door.
“Such a precarious position to be in.”
……I have a feeling this isn’t going to be pretty.
And in a way, I was right.
As it turns out, I didn’t open my mouth.
Static.
Vanguard did not appear in the Crystal Hall at my call. For some time now, there had been no sign of Vanguard Tom in the Crystal Hall.
The senior mages chattered.
“Where did he go?”
“He must have been at the far end…….”
“What, did he have an emergency?”
“What could be more urgent than a conference!”
The chatter grew louder.
The wait continued.
But Vanguard showed no sign of showing up.
I stood up from my seat.
Vanguard Tom.
What had happened to him.
I couldn’t possibly know.
But one thing is certain.
This is my regular conference.
And I have a quest goal to complete it successfully,
a quest objective to successfully complete.
My pride does not allow for such variables.
With all eyes on me.
I opened my mouth.
“According to the procedure…….”