Chapter 2: Mage (3)
Ssss!
Gradually, the blue light spread and reached Jin-woo. Not only the orc holding Jin-woo but all the orcs inside the circle looked at him.
A slow smile formed on Jin-woo’s lips.
The orc’s eyes trembled violently.
Jin-woo’s gaze was indescribably cold. It felt as if blood was flowing from his eyes.
The orc’s entire body was drenched in sweat.
Evil? Cruelty? Fear?
It couldn’t be expressed with such words.
It was black. So deeply black.
There was an illusion as if only red eyes were visible on that blackness.
Jin-woo’s hand slowly rose.
With his mana, he could only cast 9th-grade magic. Even that was barely squeezed out. 9th-grade level wasn’t enough to neutralize the orcs in one shot.
However, he had anticipated all of that.
The moment he entered the room, everything was being calculated in his mind.
“M-magic…”
“Ugh!”
The orc belatedly grasped the situation and tried to run away, but it was already too late.
Snap!
As he flicked his fingers, lightning erupted from the magic circle.
It was a 9th-grade magic called Lightning Emission. The orc’s skin was scorched red, and its body stiffened, but it didn’t suffer a fatal injury.
Jin-woo took a big step back and lowered his body to the floor.
The moment the lightning rising from the floor touched the purple smoke filling the room,
Boom!
An explosion occurred along with a bright light.
Purple smoke.
It was a drug made by refining herbs infused with mana.
It was a serious drug that was highly addictive and penetrated the brain, causing changes in personality. When it comes into contact with fire, the smoke rises, and because the mana particles are unstable, when an electrical stimulation is applied like this, it explodes.
“Ugh!”
“Aaargh!”
The orcs collapsed with a thud. Smoke rose from their mouths. They suffered severe internal injuries because the mana particles in their lungs also reacted.
“Phew.”
Jin-woo got up.
This was the general fighting method of mages. The depleted mana quickly recovered. It was because the Magic Body Engraving was activated, and super recovery took effect.
‘Now I understand how martial artists could fight for a whole week.’
Jin-woo chuckled.
Complaining about the lack of mana was a specialty of mages. He was overjoyed to be able to compensate for that. His mind was filled with all sorts of martial arts books, so he would continue to evolve in the future.
He was excited by the possibility of further development beyond an Archmage.
Jin-woo stretched his stiff body and headed to the second floor. He had bruises on his shoulders and back from the impact, but they would soon heal.
Creak! Creak!
The wooden stairs creaked with each step.
Due to the impact of the explosion, the building itself was tilting slightly to the side. It seemed that the pillars supporting the building had collapsed.
There was only one room on the second floor.
A rather luxurious door was attached, which seemed to have been taken from somewhere. It was the kind of door you would see in a chairman’s office.
Bam!
When he kicked it, the door was ripped off and fell inside.
A giant orc staggered and looked at him.
He was wearing a neat, expensive suit, a purple shirt, and a scarf. The large gold necklace, rings, and the black skull pattern drawn on his face indicated that he was the boss of this place.
The orc, who had been in an awkward posture, straightened his body.
His height easily exceeded 2 meters, and his build was so huge that it seemed to combine three or four humans, enough to block the light coming through the large window.
Beastmen trembling in the corner could also be seen.
As if to show the bad relationship between orcs and beastmen, they were covered in bruises. Moreover, most of them were young.
“Are you Gentak?”
“That’s right.”
Gentak was wary of Jin-woo.
Looking next to the desk, he saw a CCTV monitor. It seemed he had directly witnessed the situation downstairs.
“Are you affiliated with the Magic Association? I’ve never heard of a young mage like you…”
Gentak tensed his body. As his muscles expanded, the buttons on his shirt were torn off. A red aura burst out from Gentak’s fists. Jin-woo tilted his head upon seeing that.
“Isn’t the Bloody Fist a technique of the beastmen? Specifically, the tiger tribe…”
That’s what Jin-woo knew.
The red fist that left wounds as if torn by claws. It was a martial art mainly practiced by the tiger tribe.
“I’ll tear you apart! Human scum!”
Gentak charged at Jin-woo, smashing the desk.
The fierce aura of a beast made even the surrounding mana particles sharp. The walls collapsed, and the windows shattered.
His appearance, like a tank, was befitting of being called the leader of this place.
It was understandable why ordinary orcs were intimidated.
An orc who had mastered martial arts.
If he were a criminal, he would have been wanted by the Magic Association.
‘Simple.’
However, it was simple.
That wasn’t martial arts.
It was just a shell borrowed from techniques. Jin-woo didn’t dodge and moved forward. It was the moment when the widely opened fists were about to reach him.
As he squeezed out all his mana, it felt as if time had slowed down for a moment.
The Authority of Time.
A very small fragment of it was awakened by his mana.
Gravity pressed down on Jin-woo and pulled him, as if it had tripled.
His thinking and calculation speed accelerated by 1.5 times.
Boom!
Mana vibrated intensely around him.
For a very brief moment, he overlapped reality and implemented parallel thinking. He derived a pre-established answer and overlapped it with reality.
Swish!
Lowering his posture, he reached out his hand.
As Jin-woo’s palm touched Gentak’s abdomen, magic circles were instantly drawn on his hand and Gentak’s abdomen.
The two magic circles drawn simultaneously were so beautiful.
When the magic circles emitting a blue light overlapped, they turned into a red light. It was much darker than the red aura bursting out from Gentak’s fists.
Multicasting.
It was a realm close to an ability for mages.
Because they had to simultaneously write down complex magic formulas, calculate, and find the answer.
A magical technique that existed only in theory, which even numerous geniuses with innate talent in magic couldn’t attempt, was manifested here.
The 9th-grade magic ‘Mana Compression’ and ‘Flame Ignition’ were activated simultaneously.
“Ugh, ugh… Aaaargh!”
Boom!
Flames began to erupt from Gentak’s body, and a pillar of fire soared with him at the center, as if a gas stove had been turned to the maximum.
The flames that pierced through the wooden ceiling and shot out disappeared the moment Gentak fell to his knees. The mana had run out.
“Grrr…”
Black smoke flowed from Gentak’s mouth and nose. The expensive suit he was wearing was completely burned, and his skin was also charred black. It was thanks to the strong vitality of orcs that he endured without fainting.
Jin-woo exhaled deeply.
His whole body felt heavy. The Authority of Time indeed put a great burden on the body. If he used it recklessly, there might be side effects. He couldn’t predict what kind of side effects they would be.
Jin-woo lowered his head for a moment and then got up.
Gentak looked at him with half-closed eyes.
“Why… Why did you… mess with us? Why…”
Gentak spoke with difficulty.
“You think… you can get away with… messing with orcs?”
“Well, I guess you have some backing?”
When Jin-woo chuckled, Gentak’s eyes trembled.
“I have that too. Shall we compare if your backing is stronger or if I am stronger?”
“Wh-what…”
Jin-woo took out a wallet from his pocket.
There was a high-quality business card in the wallet, which read ‘Ilshin Group Chairman Lee Un-seon’.
Jin-woo kindly brought the business card close to Gentak’s eyes.
How many people in Korea would have this business card?
Wherever you go, whatever position you’re in, if you show this, you could have a free pass.
The emblem certified by the Magic Association.
The clearly engraved corporate logo indicated that it was genuine, not fake.
Gentak wasn’t stupid enough to not recognize the real thing.
“Il… shin, Group…”
“Yeah, try saying that to my grandfather. Even though I constantly cause trouble, he’s still my blood relative, so wouldn’t he take care of the aftermath?”
Tremble tremble!
Gentak’s jaw trembled.
At best, a gang would be his backing. Judging from the fact that he, an orc, was using the techniques of beastmen, he might also be related to the Red Beast Mafia.
But that was it.
Who could dare to touch the blood relative of the Ilshin Group, which had close ties with the Magic Association?
“B-by the law… By the law… As the son of a corporation, you must obey the law…”
“The law…”
Jin-woo put the business card in his pocket and met Gentak’s eyes.
“Illegal building extension, illegal occupation, illegal drug administration using mana, child abduction… It’s under the jurisdiction of the Magic Association, so it should be interesting to see.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
If it was related to magic, it was under the jurisdiction of the Magic Association.
Jin-woo looked around the room. Two beastmen were holding each other, overcome with fear. When Jin-woo reached out and pressed their necks, they quietly fell asleep.
It was a skill he had learned on the job.
Rummaging through the drawers in the corner, he found several ledgers. Upon examination, they were all suspicious. There were signs of kidnapping and transportation.
“…”
Jin-woo’s eyes darkened.
It was because an incident that had been traumatic for a while came to mind. Jin-woo took out his smartphone and took pictures of the ledgers. Then he looked at Gentak.
Jin-woo grabbed Gentak’s face with his hand.
“Ugh, ugh, w-wait…”
Zap!
An electric current flowed through Gentak’s body, and he collapsed.
“Phew…”
Jin-woo, who let out a long sigh, found Gentak’s cell phone on the shattered desk. He unlocked it with Gentak’s fingerprint and sent a message somewhere.
Jin-woo carried the two beastmen and came outside.
He carefully laid them down outside the building.
Gebock and the orcs were gathered there.
They all had dazed expressions.
“I don’t know how you did it, but… those guys are persistent. Revenge… You’ll be threatened.”
“That’s how it should be.”
It had to be that way.
“Who on earth are you…”
“Mr. Gebock, are you planning to open a restaurant somewhere other than here?”
“What…”
“I’ll contact you. Keep the card. Ah! Since the refrigerator is broken, pay for all the remaining meat.”
Jin-woo chuckled and passed by him.
Arriving near the Magic Association Headquarters after leaving the special residential area, he saw Harmu waiting. Harmu tilted her head upon seeing Jin-woo’s torn clothes.
“…What were you doing?”
“I had some business for a moment. Hmm, shall we go shopping? Wanna come along? I’ll buy you some clothes too.”
“It’s alright. I…”
“You said you have a younger sister, right? Since we’re out, I’ll buy something for her too.”
“…Where shall I take you?”
He tried poking around, and it seemed to be the correct answer.
Harmu immediately got into the car. Her attitude softened a bit.
As Jin-woo got in, she started the engine right away.
“Hmm?”
Harmu looked at the vehicle leaving the headquarters and had a puzzled expression.
“Why?”
“It’s a vehicle of the Magic Enforcement Department of the headquarters. It seems to be a captain-level vehicle. Probably the captain of the 2nd Mobile Strike Team… It’s unexpected. He’s not the type to move like that.”
“I know, right?”
“Do you know him by any chance?”
“No, not now.”
Harmu shook her head.
She thought he was speaking strangely. They say geniuses have peculiar aspects, but the Lee Jin-woo she saw was definitely not an ordinary genius.
His personality was truly unpredictable and bizarre.
Jin-woo looked at the vehicle disappearing in the distance and turned his head.
“Alright, let’s go. Let’s sweep through a department store. No, shall we just buy it?”
“You’re… joking, right?”
“Well, who knows?”
It was something he wanted to try at least once.
It seemed not bad to do the things he couldn’t finish one by one.
There was still a long time left until the destruction.
