Chapter 30: The Magic Now (2)

The Magic Now (2)

"Ugh..."

Yoo Ji-yeon shivered and let out a small moan.

I wanted to do so, too. The descent down the dungeon was very filthy.

The stairs were covered with unidentifiable waste, attracting flocks of maggots and flies.

Yoo Ji-yeon pinched her nose as we walked.

"How did you know there was a dungeon in this place?"

"By chance..."

I didn't have an excuse prepared, so I just blurted that out quickly.

Ji-yeon nodded, though, as if she was convinced.

Perhaps seeing a top hunter like Han Yeon-soo chase me made Ji-yeon respect me more.

[That's an obvious lie. How could she believe it just like that?]

The Traveler shook his head.

I can't help but smile as we continued walking down the stairs.

It seemed as if the descent was endless. We've walked quite a while.

Until...

Footsteps.

I quickly turned <Nightmare> into a bow.

['Cheonri Archery' is activated.]

The darkness that obscured my sight vanished. The stairs stretching farther down, the bugs crawling in every corner... even the dust particles floating in the air are clearly visible.

The figure of a monster running vigorously from below us caught my eye.

Pointed ears, raised canines, strong muscular body covered with green skin.

Orc.

I felt a slight vibration as the orc leaped, narrowing the distance between us.

I don't know if his eyes are adapted to the darkness, or if his natural abilities are excellent.

He knew exactly where we were standing.

I wish it was the former.

Orcs were one of those races whose power greatly varies.

Ordinary orcs are weak enough for a single hunter to catch.

However, when modifiers are added to their names, such as 'shaman' in the case of this dungeon, they are completely different beings.

It was as if a modifier 'hero' was attached.

A modifier added on to their names means that they are an evolved form.

[Name: Shaman Orc]

There was only one characteristic attached to him, and no other modifiers existed.

Thank God.

In the past, during the Monster Wave, I had seen orcs with 16 modifiers.

Shu-!

I quickly pulled the bow and shot an arrow from Nightmare.

The black beam flew quickly, straight towards the orc's head.

Teeing-!

"This..."

The arrow bounced off.

I increased my focus and saw that there is a light dancing around him.

Shield magic.

It works particularly well against long-range projectiles.

"Huh?" Yoo Ji-yeon looked confused. She's unaware of our situation because of the darkness.

"Why did you shoot your bow? Are there monsters around us?"

"Uh... There's one orc in front. He has a magic talent and has a projectile shield on his body. He could only use up to three magic spells simultaneously during combat."

"Okay... then, I should attack when he brings down the projectile shield? But I can't see his location. I'll need you to give me a location briefing."

Yoo Ji-yeon's expression changed immediately after I gave her the location.

She has definitely improved, not only with her power. It was a 360-degree turn from her first evaluation.

I stared at her. "Can you cast spells? Your magic is not coming out..."

"I'll do my best. We're inside a dungeon, and I need to help you with my attacks. Besides, I feel that mana concentration here is a lot higher than on the outside. With this... maybe I can help... even if the mana doesn't listen to me, I'll keep trying."

"Okay. Then, I trust you."

The bow in my hand transformed into a long sword.

At the same time, Cheonri Archery was deactivated, and my characteristics were replaced with those that come with swordsmanship.

[Arrogant fencing (E) is activated.]

A different sensation filled my body.

The darkness returned to my eyes, and the widened field of vision returned to normal.

However, senses other than vision began to awaken.

An orc that rises into the air.

The sound of his rough breath.

The vibrations on the ground.

The odor peculiar to the orcs.

I slowly step forward.

"Wow!"

At that moment, I heard the orc's cry. He was underneath the steps I am on.

['Excellent Insight' is activated.]

The orc is using two magic spells—a projectile shield, and a spell that boosts his physical ability.

He can only use one more spell.

An ordinary shaman or wizard can use a maximum of three spells simultaneously.

To use beyond three spells is a very high wall to breach.

Whoo-!

The ugly orc's grip is aiming at my neck. Blue light is shining from his hand.

It looks like attack-type magic.

His third.

I felt a weak wind approaching my cheeks and dodged in time to avoid the orc's swing.

There was a brief gap exposed as he missed me, and I wielded my sword without hesitation.

Tuk-!

The orc's head was chopped off with one swing.

Its huge body crashed on the ground and red blood poured out.

Yoo Ji-yeon stared at it.

"Uh... you killed it with one swing?"

[I still don't know how much you have grown...]

"You don't need my help at all! What were you..."

The voices of the Traveler and Yoo Ji-yeon rang at the same time.

* * *

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, a scene that suits the word 'orc village' unfolded.

Structures that could only be found in fantasies, hordes of orcs, and unrecognizable hieroglyphs on the wall...

[Are you sure you want to activate 'View Information?']

[There are many records of orc language in the Akashic Records.]

I kept an eye on Yoo Ji-yeon as she walked around, then muttered to myself.

"Activate."

With that, the information on the walls began to flow into my head.

[The magic of the orcs was not different from that of the humans. However, the method they use to develop it was different. Orcs were born in predator bodies and needed different types of magic techniques than human beings. They need a means to strengthen their bodies and make it easier to face other predators that are stronger than them...]

Information about the magic of the orc race, accumulated through countless years, flowed into my head. I am inexperienced in the field of magic, and this new information was interesting for me.

Based on the knowledge I learned from the walls, I awakened the mana flowing in my body.

My skills were nothing compared to Yoo Ji-yeon's, but with the details written on the walls, I could at least cast spells efficiently.

"Uh, Si-woo? Your body just glowed... it disappeared quickly."

"Huh? You must have been imagining it."

The Nightmare in the form of the sword returned to the back of my hand.

When using Arrogant Swordsmanship, these monsters would be simple practice dummies.

We have killed six orcs quickly as we descended the stairs.

But I'm not here for that.

I need to train with magic.

A status window appeared.

[For the first time, a human casts magic with orc techniques.]

[The new stimulus 'mana nerve' grows.]

[The total amount of mana increases.]

[Magic, 'Brave Will' wraps the whole body.]

[Total stats are temporarily elevated.]

[You can clearly recognize objects around you even in the dark.]

[Ignore all mental conditions that are lower than the user's level.]

My body was overflowing with energy.

"Yoo Ji-yeon."

"Huh?"

"From now on, we'd face more orcs. Not ones or twos like before, but five... maybe even tens."

"..."

"If I use my sword, it won't be dangerous for us. But I'm not here to slaughter them. We're here to train our magic."

"It's safer if we do that in the training ground... why do we have to place ourselves inside a dangerous dungeon?"

I stared at her. I should not intervene with her development. However, I can give a few simple tips to Yoo Ji-yeon, and let her realize her abilities on her own.

"Uh..."

"..."

"To become stronger faster, we must be accustomed to our traits and practice."

"..."

"The problem of not being able to use your magic will be resolved here. As you have felt, the mana concentration here is more than ten times than in the outside. In the face of danger, you will be forced to use it."

"I thought so..."

"But if you try to force it, it may not end well. I know what your problem is."

Yoo Ji-yeon's magic in the past, when she was a member of the Five Heroes, is not much different from what she's using now. Except for one crucial difference.

"When using magic, you should not borrow power from mana."

In the Magic Department, they were taught to borrow power from mana to cast spells.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Wizards can borrow power from mana and control it to achieve their desired phenomena.

However, Yoo Ji-yeon is different from all other wizards.

"Mana should move according to the situation, even if you don't command it," I told her.

"What? That's weird."

"Have I ever advised you wrong? Try it. Mana is not like your friend. Think of it more like a servant you can play with."

That's how she will be able to deal with mana that was close to infinity and use them with stormy flows. Her nickname suited her very well.

"... Okay."

Yoo Ji-yeon closed her eyes.

"Mana should listen to you. If you command, they will do their best to follow you. Rather than take away all your power, they would give you all their power."

With her eyes closed, her doubtful expression changed little by little.

"Well..."

Blue grains of light gathered around her body. But unlike before, Yoo Ji-yeon didn't put them together or try to gather them to cast a spell.

Like flying insects, mana grains hovered around Yoo Ji-Yeon for a long time.

Suddenly, her expression turned serious.

Her fingers began to twitch.

The blue particles that glistened around her turned purple, like her eyes.

Then, they began to spun around her slowly, like a carousel but gaining momentum as it goes, until it looked like she was covered in a purple storm of energy.

The hair on my forearms stood up.

The feeling of mana being sucked up around you wasn't pleasant.

It felt like all the forces of the world were gathering around her.

Then, Yoo Ji-yeon opened her eyes.

And...

"Wow wow wow!"

Five orcs appeared from nowhere and began to scream in our direction.

Three of them ran straight to us, while two of them stayed back and kept yelling.

I immediately took a battle stance as I watched the orcs narrowing their distance.

Yoo Ji-yeon's realization of her ability may be interrupted if she gets distracted by these monsters.

The two orcs behind are casting... is that a kind of movement disturbance spell?

Fortunately, I have Brave Will. Their spells will not have any effect against me.

I can take on the three easily with swordsmanship.

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, I heard Yoo Ji-yeon's cold voice behind me.

"Reverse."

At the same time, a strong wind blew.

The three orcs continued to rush in.

Tuduk, tuk-!

In the next moment, their heads rolled off the floor.

What?!

I did not see what happened.

With Excellent Insight, I was able to capture that the three orcs were running with wind blades at their hands. As they were running towards me, I was deciding whether to block their attack or dodge them entirely.

However, it seemed as if their heads had been cut off by their own magic.

The two remaining orcs were petrified as if they were caught by a movement-stopping skill.

"Okay. I should really follow everything that you say," Yoo Ji-yeon laughed.

Her light purple eyes glistened brighter than usual.

"Thank you, really," she smiled at me.

"You don't need to thank me. You're a genius."

Thank you for what. I just want to make sure that the person who will become my power later gets stronger.

She simply said 'Reverse' and the orcs were caught with their own spells.

There is a reason why Yoo JI-yeon is the greatest of all wizards in history.

She is the Master of Mana.

Her great trait that can handle any magic infinitely has awakened.

* * *

After finding her sense of magic, Yoo Ji-yeon began to play with orcs as if they were children.

It hasn't fully awakened yet, so it's still far from the power I know she would have, but it was still miles away from the magic skills that I have.

As I watched her smash the orcs steadily, almost effortlessly, I started to prepare.

[Mana Booster]

[Do not consume more than three bottles per day.]

[Drink half a bottle every six hours or more.]

A battle support potion prepared by Han Yeon-soo. I had great physical ability, but I need to drink this potion to overcome my mana shortcomings.

The lack of mana doesn't matter when using the sword, but in using magic, it's a big problem.

"Hoo..."

Its effects are only temporary, but in its duration, my total mana will increase.

Warmth began to fill my chest. I clenched my hands and stretched my neck.

Then.

Only

"Communication and Sharing."

[You used 'Communication and Sharing']

[It faces great stories that wander the dimension.]

.

.

.

[Now you can communicate with magical beings.]

[As the first reward, you succeeded in communicating with a magical being unconditionally.]