Chapter 2: Mage (2)
Jin-woo unfastened the buttons on his wrists and rolled up his sleeves.
“Not yet, though.”
The beautiful magic circle patterns drawn on his arms were revealed.
The 7th-style Combat Magic Technique.
It was a blood magic that allowed for a cruel struggle even with little mana, created and refined by him, an Archmage, to cover the weak combat abilities of mages and solely for effective slaughter.
‘Not bad.’
It was so compatible with the Magic Body Engraving that it showed a stronger power than expected.
Surviving as the last person in the destroyed world was never luck. Those experiences and techniques remained unforgotten, etched into his soul.
There was no reason to struggle against orcs who relied only on their physique without learning combat techniques.
If martial arts were added to this?
Its destructive power was not easily imaginable by anyone.
“W-we are the Bl-Black Skull Brigade of A-Area! Y-you must have h-heard the name G-Gentak, right? He was r-recently on NSC News.”
Garek stammered as he spoke.
Jin-woo looked at Garek.
Garek’s eyes were trembling incessantly. It was like looking at shallow water with no depth.
“Weak. A gang? Mafia?”
He was not as brave, tenacious, or indomitable as the orcs he had seen.
He was just a savage beast with a large build.
“You’re just punks.”
Jin-woo took a step forward.
At that moment, a round and intricate magic circle was drawn on the ground through his legs.
If the first of the 7th-style Combat Magic Techniques was instantaneous strength enhancement…
Crack! Boom!
The second was speed increase.
The synergy of tripled strength and doubled speed was a value that ordinary people struggled to estimate.
Jin-woo’s figure momentarily disappeared.
When he arrived in front of Garek, the floor where Jin-woo originally stood caved in, and cracks spread in all directions.
It was the moment Garek’s eyes widened. Jin-woo’s hand brushed past Garek’s arm.
Snap!
Garek’s arm twisted in a bizarre direction. Havoc, who was being held, fell to the floor. Garek was not even given time to scream.
Bam!
As Jin-woo kicked Garek’s abdomen with force, he flew back like a bullet, piercing through the wall and disappearing. He rolled on the ground for a while, only stopping after crashing into the building on the opposite side.
Silence.
Silence descended.
They could only stare at Jin-woo, who stood still, tilting his head and cracking his neck.
‘Can I only use the first and second techniques simultaneously?’
That was the case for now.
But it was very encouraging. Even during his time as an Archmage, simultaneously casting four combat magic techniques was the limit.
However, it would not be so in the future.
The body that had begun to change with the Magic Body Engraving and the influence of the Authority of Time revealed that possibility.
A mage, but one who possessed martial arts and the body of an iron man.
That was who he was now.
A smile slowly formed on Jin-woo’s lips.
Crackle!
Blue sparks flickered around Jin-woo. It was a phenomenon caused by the collision of two combat magic techniques.
“Sh-shit!”
“Aaargh!”
The orcs tried to run away.
Jin-woo grabbed the back of an orc’s head.
Bam!
He slammed it into the ground. It got buried as the floor caved in. Jin-woo grabbed the neck, pulled out the orc, and threw it outside.
Jin-woo’s figure appeared in front of another orc, leaving an afterimage. As he twisted his waist and kicked the orc’s back with his foot, its waist bent like a bow and flew away.
Snap!
Whenever Jin-woo’s fist made contact, the orcs’ bones shattered. He threw all the orcs who had fallen to the floor out of the restaurant.
Boom!
The wall collapsed, and the roof caved in.
Gebock, Havoc, and the orcs who were customers looked at the scene with dazed expressions.
Jin-woo brushed off the dust that had settled on his clothes.
“Mr. Gebock.”
“…Why, why are you doing this?”
“Pay with that card. I don’t need a receipt.”
This is how you flex!
Jin-woo went outside and looked down at the orcs lying on the ground. Their bones were broken, and they were writhing. In the past, he would have smashed their heads or broken their necks, but he didn’t do that.
Orcs had strong regenerative powers, so they would recover in about a year of treatment. Although they wouldn’t be able to move like before.
Grab!
Jin-woo grabbed Garek’s head. As his fingers dug into Garek’s skull and gripped tightly, Garek screamed.
“Aaaargh!”
Drag!
Jin-woo dragged Garek’s body as he walked forward.
“Gentak of the Black Skull? Gentak… Hmm…”
“Argh! Aaaargh! Th-this, please… Aargh!”
“Never heard of him. Well, I’ll see for myself.”
Blood rushed.
As mana began to circulate, his body felt hot.
The sky was blue, the wind was refreshing, so it was a perfect day to use magic.
The special residential area was divided into five districts. Each had its own name, but from the outside, they were easily distinguished by alphabets. From the outside, they thought it was a place to be completely wiped out anyway, so names were meaningless.
To be precise, the special residential area was the property of the Magic Association. It had been owned for over 70 years, and although the upper echelons had decided to demolish it, various problems arose after the orcs remained and occupied it.
Currently, a bidding for the land was scheduled, centered around large corporations associated with the Magic Association.
‘Always struggling with a lack of funds…’
Although they earned money through support from the Korean government and various other means, the Magic Association was poor. Because as much as they earned, they spent due to various incidents.
During his time as a civil servant, he had lost a handful of hair because of this place. It was because not only orcs but also the mafia got involved, creating a mess.
In the special residential area, five factions existed, checking each other and striving to unite.
A-Area, located at the very entrance, was the smallest site, but it was still a special residential area. Jin-woo had never heard the name Gentak before.
‘I’ll find out when I go there directly.’
He recalled the days when he had to bow to these damn punks. Back then, he faithfully followed the code of conduct and laws of the Magic Association.
Because he believed a better world would be created.
A better world, my ass. Everything burned down.
“Damn it.”
It wasn’t just once or twice that these punks had gotten on his nerves while evading the law.
Now he was no longer part of the Magic Association.
There was no need to be bound by anything. What was the point of it all when he had already seen the end of the world?
Small nails gathered and brought down the world. Removing the nails in advance was also a very good method.
“Ugh, ugh! Aargh!”
“Is this the right way?”
“Y-yes, it is… Ugh!”
Drag!
Dragging Garek, he arrived in front of a building. It was a two-story building located at the end of A-Area. Unusually large orcs were guarding the door, acting arrogantly.
They were wearing hoods and had their upper bodies exposed, with their heads held high. Their entire bodies were covered in tattoos, which looked threatening, but to Jin-woo, they just looked cute.
As Jin-woo approached, dragging Garek on the ground, they were startled and hesitated.
It was a very bizarre scene.
A human boy was dragging Garek, known for his large size even among orcs, with one hand. Garek groaned in pain but couldn’t even think of resisting.
“Wh-what the…”
“G-Garek hyung?”
Garek seemed to have a high position among those punks. When Jin-woo lowered his head to look at Garek, their eyes met, and Garek quickly shook his head, trying to erase the pain-distorted expression on his face.
He seemed to have anticipated what Jin-woo would do.
Mana spread throughout his body, following the mana channels from the mana core.
Martial artists called the mana channels “meridians.” Apart from the difference in terminology and usage, there was no other difference.
Crackle!
Blue sparks flickered.
The activation of the Magic Body Engraving made his blood boil.
The cold mana cooled his heated head.
The evaporation of blood and mana felt from his body created a certain smell. A bloody yet refreshing smell. It was the scent of the battlefield that couldn’t be separated from him.
He had lived more than half his life on the battlefield. It was ridiculous that it now felt like a memory.
“Ugh, ugh!”
He threw Garek straight at the building. He crashed through the door along with the large orcs standing in front of it.
Jin-woo entered the building through the rising dust. Loud music was playing inside. It sounded like club music, but judging from the low voice of an orc, it seemed to be a remix of orc hip-hop.
The music taste wasn’t bad.
Orcs were sitting in the dark interior. They were sitting or lying on sofas placed haphazardly, with something like potions in front of them.
Purple smoke was emanating from the potions.
They were enjoying the music while inhaling it, but they were frozen in place, unable to comprehend the suddenly unfolding scene.
“What, that kid…”
Bam!
Jin-woo kicked the loudly blaring speaker and slammed it into the body of an orc who was about to shout something. Along with the speaker, it was pushed back and crashed into the wall.
“K-kill him!”
“How dare a human kid come here!”
Even in this situation, Jin-woo’s appearance only looked like a weak human boy to them.
The orcs got up and rushed at him.
Their movements were different from the ones who had attacked the restaurant. Although clumsy, it seemed like they had learned some martial arts.
Orcs possessed tremendous strength. When they mastered techniques, they exhibited unimaginable power. Their slowness to learn and inability to delve deep were their weaknesses, but they were nearly invincible against ordinary people or fighters who couldn’t use mana.
Swish!
Jin-woo dodged an orc’s punch to the side. He avoided the incoming arms and ducked under a flying kick from behind.
As Jin-woo only dodged, the orcs became furious, and large veins appeared on their faces.
“You little…”
“Catch him!”
“Tear him apart!”
Heavy fists brushed past Jin-woo’s surroundings.
Jin-woo’s clothes were torn. It looked precarious, but Jin-woo’s expression remained unchanged.
Swish! Grab!
An orc’s large hand grabbed Jin-woo’s shoulder.
“Got him!”
The orc shouted and grinned. His bulging arm muscles were enough to tear apart a human body. The other orcs also smiled savagely, ready to witness the impending gruesome scene.
The orc looked at Jin-woo’s face. He thought he would see an expression filled with fear and despair.
Chuckle!
But Jin-woo only smiled slightly.
Mages always prioritized efficiency. Being able to defeat a stronger opponent or multiple opponents was something only mages could do.
Calculating everything and deriving the optimal result.
Through actions.
Jin-woo was an Archmage.
It was never with just one combat magic technique that he had achieved such feats. It was no exaggeration to say that he had created the general fighting style of mages.
“What…”
The orc who had grabbed Jin-woo’s shoulder made a dumbfounded expression.
It wasn’t that the orc had caught Jin-woo. It was no different from him catching the orc.
Swish!
Along with the sudden silence, an ominous sound was heard. Blue light particles rose from the floor, shimmering and dancing. The flickering light particles were sufficiently beautiful, as if dancing.
The orcs’ gazes naturally lowered to the ground.
Under the orcs’ feet, a huge circle was drawn.
Inside the circle, characters and formulas representing magical information were scribbled. Jin-woo hadn’t just been dodging aimlessly.
He had drawn the magic circle like solving a puzzle while dodging.
The mana manifested from the evasive movements contained the magical information and drew mana on the floor.
