2000 Years Of Magic History In My Head

Episode 89: The Way Two Civilizations Fight (3)

In the face of oncoming warriors, a wizard is paralyzed, At least, that much was true in the fortified civilization…their hands twist uselessly, and casting fails due to nerves. That was just the way it was, and the more physically adept fighters unerringly defeated wizards.

Chris Kyle was different.

As Kang Min-hyuk left the thick mist of the lightning cannon, glittering with confidence, Chris Kyle did not tremble – instead, he calmly transformed mana into magic.

“Lightning Ball.”

Crackle.

Dozens of electric spheres were generated; they struck Kang Min-hyuk. No matter the circle’s correlation, second circle magic could be used without casting, but it was a wonderful scene in which dozens of bunches were formed at once. Chris Kyle created a dense electrical network. If Kang Min-hyuk chose to tackle him and accidentally hit the lightning ball, the game would proceed as Chris Kyle intended.

The damage of electric magic was piled up. Due to the paralyzing effect, physical movement became uncomfortable, and the remaining electricity amplified subsequent magic damage. Also, the range of damage caused by electric magic was widened. Because the electric shock that spreads around it comes up with the remaining electricity, a Lightning Ball could suddenly drive a person to the cliff’s edge.

It was a trap – a very deadly trap.

Kang Min-hyuk avoided all the lightning balls as if he had foreseen Chris Kyle’s intentions.

“Wow!”

“To avoid all that!”

Admiration exploded from the stands. Kang Min-hyuk moved swift and low like a prowling beast, and the lightning ball burst out: a near-miss.

Kang Min-hyuk always seemed to be one step ahead of the game, but Chris Kyle never stopped moving and never stopped casting. While widening his distance from Kang Min-hyuk, he constantly used magic to hinder his approach.

“Aqua Ball.”

Pop!

Water magic was the bait – it burst mid-fire, and droplets scattered in all directions.

“Lightning bolt!”

Crackle!

Electrical power passed through the water droplets in the same play as Jeong-seok. Chris Kyle – known as the perfectionist – was perfecting his textbook method of attacking melee monsters. Usually, his opponent would fall into a trap then and there, but Klinssman was unbelievably fast.

Nicknamed as a perfectionist, Chris Kyle was still practicing monster-melee he found in a textbook. Usually, at this point, his opponent would fall into a trap, but Kang Min-hyuk’s reaction speed was unbelievably fast.

He wasn’t just focused on evading the attack, either…as Chris Kyle began casting again, Kang Min-hyuk raised an aura.

“The aura wave transformation.”

Pababak!

Mana fragments were fired.

Aura Wave was effective against multiple enemies. Although it was not powerful, it was used as memorization to cut mana’s flow accurately.

“Wow.”

Chris Kyle’s expression was distorted. He was forced into a momentary break – with his cast canceled, the spell that prevented Min-hyuk’s movement ceased, and he entered the sphere of Chris Kyle.

If Chris had no trump, Kang Min-hyuk was confident that he could end the game right there. In Kang Min-hyuk’s world, warriors are the magician’s natural enemies. Fast movement avoids all magic, and mana-clad skin does not receive much damage even if it is hit by magic. They had even concocted techniques that interfered with the flow of magic. Generally, wizards were limited by the time required to manifest their power. Kang Min-hyuk was a specially fortified warrior among them.

As a result, Kang Min-hyuk eventually came within touching distance of Chris Kyle.

“Finished?”

It was not a bad game. The wizarding potential was clear, but in the end, magic had a limit. Chris Kyle laughed hazily – the moment Kang Min-hyuk raised his sword to strike his opponent, Chris disappeared before his eyes.

* * *

“Trap activation!”

Hwaak!

Papapapapak!

There was no time to react. The blue light rising from the floor had control as it suppressed Kang Min-hyuk’s body.

“What the hell?!”

It was a trap that Kang Min-hyuk hadn’t observed the installation of. First of all, Chris Kyle was constantly moving, so the trap’s position would have been fixed. A magic trap bound Min-hyuk. Dozens of threads twined themselves about Min-hyuk’s limbs and Chris, about ten steps away, said with a smile:

“Did you think you could end this by getting close? A-ha! I’ve already told you…you won’t even trim the tip of my hair.”

Hwaak-!

Mana rose. It was another engraving magic. Light emanated from the back of Chris’s other hand, and the magic emerged.

“Thunder Cannon.”

Pop!

Crackle!

This time it could not be avoided or withstood. The power would be comparable to circle six, and he was in a well-woven web. Chris Kyle had gained time using short spells, and amid the battle, had constructed the end-game. As his thunder cannon exploded, Chris Kyle convinced the entire room of his victory. No human could endure circle five magic with their bare body.

“We need a medic! Quickly, the boy needs treatment!”

Foos Ss Ss Sss.

There was smoke.

Out of it, a figure emerged…Kang Min-hyuk, who everybody thought would have collapsed, stepped safely out, an intangible membrane protecting him from harm.

“Huh?! How…?”

Chris Kyle’s pupils expanded as he tried to figure it out. Could it be a shield? No…a first-circle wizard wouldn’t have access to that. Even if he did use it, it wouldn’t have the defense to endure fifth circle magic thunder canon…so what was it? What protected Klinssman? His unscathed face laughed, fiercely, as he looked at Chris Kyle.

The technique that Min-hyuk had used came from his sword. He had spread the aura it emanated thinly over his entire body, covering his skin in a protective layer. Without it, he would have been badly injured, regardless of his mana-applied skin.

“Amazing…”

Kang Min-hyuk was impressed by the wizard’s ability to sustain in battle – he didn’t fall short of expectation and continued the fight to the bitter end. Kang Min-hyuk wanted to push Chris Kyle to his limit.

* * *

Fifth circle Magic Blink was a very special spell that could only be used by wizards with excellent spatial awareness. Both Blink and engraving magic required five or more circles to be used; therefore, it was seen as the gateway into real sorcery.

Pabat.

Again, Chris Kyle disappeared, reappearing far away from Min-hyuk. Blue mana rose from him, and dozens of lightning balls hit Kang Min-hyuk. He used up the number of spells he’d already prepared. But for Chris Kyle, as long as there was still mana left, the match wasn’t over.

“Let’s see how long you can last!”

A bundle of electricity arose. Taking control of it, Chris Kyle narrowed his space to prevent Kang Min-hyuk from running away; Kang Min-hyuk’s counterattack did not work. Chris Kyle was certainly a magical genius. There weren’t many wizards that could use Blink so often – usually, a fifth circle wizard was limited to two or three uses in a row, but Chris Kyle had already used it more than five times.

Disgusting energy filled him, but he repressed it, and Chris Kyle did not give up the game until the end. Besides, his opponent couldn’t attack him; there was no reason to surrender.

The moment Kang Min-hyuk entered the trap of electricity, Chris Kyle convinced himself that he could defeat him. Kang Min-hyuk admired Chris Kyle’s tenacity and talent. His space magic was exceptional – he dominated the physical plan and could manipulate it at will. Kang Min-hyuk doubted that any Suhomun disciples could defeat Chris. Klinssman’s body combined with Kang Min-hyuk’s experience, though, was a deadly cocktail. As Min-hyuk focused his mind, his senses came to life. He tapped into his super sense – the secret of the guardian gate. It helped him to locate the flow of mana used by the opponent. When using the lightning ball, mana rose strong, and for Blink, the flow of mana followed his movement.

Pabat.

When Chris Kyle disappeared…

Crack.

Before Kang Min-hyuk had confirmed his location, he was slammed to the ground.

When Chris Kyle reappeared, Kang Min-hyuk began to attack him.

Chris Kyle was stunned by the turn of events. He fled to Blink in a hurry, but Kang Min-hyuk followed with an increasingly rapid reaction rate. His head turned tight. Blink was not a magic that could be used endlessly because it consumed great mana and mental power. The bottom of mana was becoming exposed, and the reaction rate of the magic slowed down. Still, Chris Kyle wouldn’t give up until the end. Kang Min-hyuk’s ability to catch up with his alterations of space was something he’d never come across in a textbook…

Pabat.

“Wow.”

As soon as he moved through space, Chris Kyle collapsed on the floor. In the end, Blink put a strain on his body. He struggled to get himself up, but the game was already decided.

“Aren’t you going to give up?”

As Chris Kyle raised his head, he saw Kang Min-hyuk looking down at him, holding a blade to his throat. It was the moment the game was finally over.

* * *

The stadium fell into silence. Nobody could believe their eyes.

“Chris Kyle was defeated?”

He was one of the favorites to win, second only to Elisha. No swordsman had been known to defeat a wizard before…it was unlikely any had even gotten a hit in. People were confused and enchanted by the result.

“What the hell just happened?”

“To drive a wizard down like that with a single sword…whoah.”

Kang Min-hyuk used various techniques with his sword, like spreading fragments of an aura to interfere with mana’s flow, and he even blocked the Thunder Cannon by forming an aura-membrane.

When the hush began to turn to conversation, the MC’s voice was raised, “How the hell has this happened!? Klinssman has defeated Chris Kyle! I can’t believe it. Who could have predicted this outcome? When he was trapped in a magic trap and hit by a Thunder Cannon, we all thought Klinssman’s life was in danger, and he eventually won! I never expected to be saying this, but Klinssman will advance to the semi-finals!”

It was an abnormal outcome. Chris Kyle, the genius, the perfectionist, fell into despair at his unbelievable defeat.