Episode 90: The Way Two Civilizations Fight (4)
The sound of cheering overwhelmed the passionate voice of the MC. As Chris Kyle descended to the stadium, the tunnel he passed through muffled the sounds into a low, abstract roar.
“I lost,” he muttered to himself. Slow, melancholy steps carried him through the long passage. Nothing could have prepared him for the turn of events that had just occurred. He’d heard about
Klinssman’s prowess in the Green Dragon situation, but he never believed that his victory was anything but assured. It was a natural assumption…he was an exceptional fifth circle wizard who had followed an elite course. Still, he was defeated…
Flashbacks of the duel drifted into his mind; there were many aspects he couldn’t grasp. Klinssman was a mystery. He hadn’t worn a Golem suit, and yet his physical abilities transcended human limitations. His use of mana was also mind-boggling. When Klinssman figured out his Blink pattern, Chris Kyle experienced a sensation of hopelessness he’d never known before.
As he tried to wrap his head around his shame and confusion, a figure stepped in his path, “Would you like to talk?”
“You…”
Klinssman stood before him. An expression of enmity flickered across Chris Kyle’s face. Why would Klinssman come to find him? Chris Kyle had been so full of bravado in the pre-duel interview, surely the only reason Klinssman was there was to rub it in.
“Mock me to your heart’s content; I couldn’t live up to my expectations. Your ridicule can’t affect me any more than your victory already has.”
“That’s not my intention.”
“Then why are you here?”
Chris Kyle’s eyes were downcast; it seemed as though he was ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“I think that you’re a brilliant wizard. If I’d have made a single mistake, you would have won the duel.”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“No…I was seriously impressed by your talent. I wanted to talk to you. I don’t know much about magic, as you know. I want to know your techniques – if you want me to share mine in return, I’m willing to tell you.”
Kang Min-hyuk abandoned his resentment for Chris Kyle as soon as the duel was over. Instead of clinging to the past feelings, Kang Min-hyuk approached Chris Kyle with ideas for the future.
Kang Min-hyuk wished to use the competition to nourish his development, so he wanted Chris Kyle to explain the magic he had used: how he had installed magic traps? He knew that the knowledge would feed his abilities upon his return home. Kang Min-hyuk felt fairly confident that Chris Kyle would share his strategy with him…after all, the battle was over, and he would want to restore his honor. Besides, he would surely want to know how Klinssman had managed to evade his well-targeted attacks. An adept warrior was an alien concept to magical civilization. Would he accept defeat and move forward? Or deny it, and turn away from reality?
The reason that Chris Kyle had grown faster than most of his peers was down to his ability to change his perspective and accept the most recent version of reality.
“Damn…”
The bitterness of defeat left a bad taste in his mouth, but it was time to improve, not regress.
“I’ll accept your offer.”
* * *
Chris Kyle began, “The way to correct the coordinates is simple. After the magic is revealed, the link remains in-tact, but a new left value is inputted. Additional mana is consumed, but even if the magic misses, you can follow the opponent’s movement to the end.”
It was an advanced theory, which contained some very useful information.
“I constructed the magic trap through ‘auto casting.’ A magic trap is a type of Magic circle. If you continuously use mana according to the Magic circle’s shape, it will remember the trap’s shape. I formed a magic trap by auto casting throughout the fight, and as soon as you approached me, I released it to the floor to unleash the trap. As for Blink…I was sure that was my ticket to victory. The connection between the hold trap and the Thunder Cannon is impossible to withstand even for an A-class monster.”
There was a lot of new information to assimilate. The magic trap was fascinating as one could use mana’s memory in various ways within the broad category of magic.
Chris Kyle’s explanation continued. To begin with, Chris Kyle, who held up his prejudice, began to respect Klinssman’s attitude as he listened carefully. At first, he doubted his intentions; perhaps he was trying to make fun of him? It soon became apparent, though, that Klinssman was honest. Chris Kyle was willing to accept the new dynamic to improve himself. He saw Klinssman’s goodness, and the idea of mutual benefit appealed to him. Taunting an opponent before a match was almost a part of the ritual. The important thing was the attitude once the game was over.
Post-match humility was something that Kang Min-hyuk didn’t even have to think about. To develop as a successor, you couldn’t exclude people just because you didn’t like them. In the same way that he healed Jeong Pan-soo, Kang Min-hyuk knew there were times where he could cast animosity aside for the sake of the greater good.
As Chris Kyle’s explanation concluded, Kang Min-hyuk began his, “What you’re most curious about is how I caught up with Blink, right? My method was unusual. When biological mana is sent to each nerve to sensitize the senses, a ‘super-sensory level’ is entered. At this time, it can be said that I have transcended human limits. Your senses develop to the point that you can hear the blood flowing through your veins. Thanks to that, I could see the flow of mana. Immediately after I used Blink, the path of mana that followed was sure to be where you would arrive. Thanks to that, I was able to catch up.”
The explanation presented a series of surprises. Kang Min-hyuk hid nothing – he discussed the super-sense, swordsmanship, and aura-wave. It wasn’t as though Chris could use the technology anyway…without the power of Danjeon and the intricate system of each technique, the information alone was precisely that: information.
The basis of the conversation incurred no loss for either of them. It was a transaction of knowledge, and each gained something new that would help their development.
“Amazing…”
Chris’s eyes expanded in light of Kang Min-hyuk’s explanation. It had a lot of structure; it was more than a technique – like magic, it comprised a system formed over many years. Goosebumps flashed over Chris’s entire body as he considered the notion that Klinssman had created the techniques himself. That guy was a real monster.
In a world where magic was deemed the only power, Klinssman was paving a new path to a new world. Chris Kyle recalled a warning he had received from Elisha: she had warned him to be careful of Klinssman.
Elisha was the greatest talent in the Royal Academy – Chris had never been able to catch up with her, no matter how hard he tried. Now, he could see why she respected his strength.
The conversation closed, then. It was brief but informative, and both parties came out better equipped than they were previously.
* * *
Up until a few months ago, Kang Min-hyuk was guilty of disregarding magic. He abandoned the hunter’s path and took the less-favored route of a wizard boxed in by seemingly unbreakable limitations. Now, though, his mind had changed massively. The change was reaffirmed by Chris Kyle, who wasn’t even the best in the academy. Now, he wasn’t even in the running to win the tournament. But his fight showed him that wizards could be strong.
Kang Min-hyuk proceeded to shut himself in his dorm. The duel period went on for a while, and he wanted to make the most of it. He analyzed Chris Kyle’s techniques and kept them in mind for when he returned to his body. As a reinforced warrior, he found a way to optimize those skills as a form of attack. He had experienced many things at the guardian gate – he made mistakes and tasted failure. However, he rose above his failures and learned that each mistake was an opportunity to learn. The road to victory was speckled with failures.
* * *
The duel competition proceeded quickly. Those observing the tournament raged against Klinssman, who defeated his next opponent, also.
“What?! It’s baffling! How can a warrior beat a wizard?!”
“I’ve never seen such a sight in my life. He blocked the magic by creating a strange second skin…it’s unheard of. And what about Blink? Ah, this guy! Klinssman catches up like a ghost with a dog’s nose! The wizard can’t hide from Klinssman.”
Rumors swelled and spread; Kang Min-hyuk’s performance was shocking. His next opponent wasn’t as challenging as Chris Kyle. He was a fifth circle wizard, but somehow inferior, and Kang Min-hyuk beat him without difficulty. Instead of fighting to the end, he admitted surrender, which gave Min-hyuk no option for growth.
Still, he had created a winning streak. Finally, they reached the quarter-finals. The opponent was another fifth-circle wizard, who was known to be quite capable, but the result was the same.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Aura fragment exploded in the mana’s flow, disrupting the opponent’s use of Blink. Kang Min-hyuk rushed toward him. Engraved Magic was revealed, but its tone was dark.
Avid watched from the center of the audience. The professor sitting next to him was astonished as he said,
“What do you think of Klinssman? The guy’s a monster; I can’t make sense of him. His mana comes not from circles but from Danjeon, and the way he uses it is very different to anything I’ve ever seen.”
Avid watched calmly. He also didn’t understand, though he’d approved his participation, he never expected such success.
“Who are you, Klinssman?”
He had challenged the Tower of Trials…what did he find there? Why do you choose the sword over magic? The information didn’t fit together.
“Magic is the only way to defeat monsters, so our civilization has been formed with magic at its heart. What if Klinssman wins the duel? Priorities will collapse. People will no longer see magic as the only truth, and there will be those who choose an alternative. Perhaps magic isn’t the only solution, after all?”
That would be a negative outcome for the Head of the Royal Academy of Magic. He wished for the status quo to be maintained – it served him well. However, he wasn’t concerned.
Klinssman’s streak would be stopped soon – there was no way he was going to win the duel.
Elisha’s advancement to the finals was definite. Kang Min-hyuk’s fourth opponent was a graduate of the academy who had gained fame as a war mage. He also happened to be a sixth circle wizard. It was said that from circle five onwards, each level opened up a new world of ability. It was astounding that Klinssman had advanced to the semifinals, but his elimination was confirmed against the war mage.
The war mage was seasoned in battle, unlike Chris Kyle, who was a flower in a greenhouse. He was a strong candidate and was recognized as a main player in magical civilization as a whole.
Comments