FLASHBACK
After spending the entire week studying Phalanx, he finally finished the grimoire and could move on to the next spell.
"I'm going to read this first."
The spell was called Jilwer.
The first thing he noticed was that the grimoire was thinner than the one for Phalanx.
Ken had already completed the hardest spell he received from the pull, so it did not take him long to finish this grimoire and gain a rough understanding of Jilwer.
In theory, the activation sequence was Movement, Acceleration, and Stop. These three steps were the main pieces needed to form the magic circle.
He had to calculate several variables first. How long was the distance? What kind of terrain was there? Were there obstacles he needed to avoid? Where was the destination?
To answer those questions, the first step, Movement, was used to set the path. It did not always move in a straight line. In real situations, movements varied a lot. Sometimes moving straight from point A to point B was best, but obstacles might force him to aim for point C instead.
"This will drain a lot of mental strength. I need to create some kind of pattern. Moving three meters in one jump isn't always the answer. I could jump two or three times in a row, or even follow a more complex route."
Next came Acceleration, which adjusted the speed. This was the tricky part, because he had to make sure he calculated his route correctly before increasing his speed.
The final step was Stop, which literally halted the launch once he reached the destination.
The grimoire also gave a bit of extra detail and recommended the best variable inputs.
Since it was meant for close combat, someone could easily mistake it for a short-distance teleportation spell. It explained that the caster needed to be physically fit and train like a warrior.
Even so, it was still a difficult spell.
Ken hummed to himself as he read the warnings and other notes about the spell.
"I think I get the idea. Now I need to let my body feel it. I'll set the speed at the maximum level the book recommends."
Ken stood up and cast Jilwer for the first time.
After calculating all the variables, such as speed and coordinates, his vision blurred. When it cleared, he found himself two meters away from where he started.
He dropped to his knees. Everything looked doubled and unsteady.
[Ding!]
You have mastered
[Jilwer]
Type: Movement
Tier: R
Mana Cost: 20 (1 mana per minute after the first)
[You have leveled up!]
"What the fuck? How did I master the spell just like that?" he said between heavy breaths.
His torn muscles and cracked ribs were already healed. After casting Heal to ease the headache, he tried to understand what happened.
"Hah. Mother. Fuck. It felt like being a passenger in a car smashing into a wall. When I stopped, all the g-force hit me at once."
He had gone from zero to inhuman speed that the naked eye would never catch. Then, the moment he reached the location he set, he went straight back to zero.
"I need to raise my physical stats before I train with this spell again. That g force was no joke."
If he had been an ordinary human, he would have died on the spot.
He remember, in Frieren, even Laufen could only use this spell a few times.
He returned to the study room. Grimoires and notes were stacked on his table and pinned to the wall. He placed the grimoire down. Next to Jilwer was Phalanx. He hummed to himself, seeing how their thickness could not even be compared.
"I see now."
Ken finally understood. The reason studying Phalanx had been smooth as butter was because everything he needed was already written in the textbook. He could learn it like a user manual, perfected by the people from the world it came from.
Compared to Jilwer, which came from folk magic, Phalanx must have been created by an advanced magic society.
"It has potential to be improved."
Unlike Phalanx, Jilwer had a lot of room for development. Still, he respected the people who risked their lives to create both spells. Each spell represented years of collective effort, shaped and refined again and again over a long period.
He smiled at the thought. Being a mage was more fun than he expected. After that, he went back to test the spell again.
"Is it recording?"
He looked at Clark, who was holding his phone, and Clark thumbs up for him to continue.
"Alright, this is the first attempt to use Jilwer on an egg by moving it two meters to the X mark as the reference target. The goal is to move the egg without breaking it."
[Jilwer]
He activated the spell.
The egg vanished from sight and reappeared a moment later.
CRUSH!
It shattered before it was even fully visible. Ken slapped his forehead, realizing too late that he might dirty the entire living room. Luckily, he had a spell to clean the mess.
---
PRESENT TIME
Hwang Dongsoo kept up the pressure and began to understand Ken's teleportation spell. He was adapting to the fight. However, Ken was adapting as well. He remembered his training and research for this critical moment.
Being a mage meant solving problems in your own way. If there was an issue with a spell, then the spell should be changed.
'Done.'
Blink!
Blink!
Blink!
"What the?!"
Hwang Dongsoo, who had just believed he could win this fight, suddenly saw Ken change his rhythm. Even worse, he could not predict the pattern at all.
Seeing Hwang Dongsoo hesitate, Ken noticed the opening.
[Adula's Moonblade]
Slash!
Blink!
Slash!
"GUAH!"
Hwang Dongsoo protected his head with his arms as the freezing mana blade attacked without pause. Whenever the sword came at him, Ken vanished and reappeared somewhere Hwang Dongsoo could not anticipate.
'He didn't just change his style, he got faster?'
He had no idea why this was happening. He was certain he had drained Ken's stamina. He was sure he had cornered him earlier, leaving Ken no option but to flee with that magic.
"AHHH!"
In a desperate attempt, Hwang Dongsoo clenched his fist and smashed the ground. The floor cracked beneath him, forming a wide hole.
Blink!
Ken teleported to a safe place and watched Hwang Dongsoo drop through the building.
'It's working.'
Ken had adjusted the spell so he could change positions freely without suffering from g-force backlash. To cancel the inertia, he simply erased his mass for a brief moment.
Movement. Acceleration. Stop.
These were the core parts of Jilwer. Ken had learned that he couldn't do anything while moving at high speed. So he asked himself, what if he erased his mass during acceleration?
Now he could finally counterattack Hwang Dongsoo. Since the spell had become easier to use, he was in better condition to cast other spells. Even so, the revised Jilwer was much more complicated, so it still had limits.
Boooom! Crack!
The concrete beneath Ken's feet broke apart. He felt a surge of mana rushing toward him.
Blink!
Ken vanished and appeared five meters from the hole. Yet Hwang Dongsoo closed the distance even faster. A mana-infused fist shot toward him. Ken saw the attack and blinked again, reappearing at Hwang Dongsoo's blind spot with Adula's Moonblade ready.
A long sword formed from spell and freezing ice.
A mage who relied on calculation faced a warrior who relied on physical power and instinct. Hwang Dongsoo, who had finally calmed his anger, fought better than before. He twisted his body to dodge the blade. As he spun, he launched a counter punch.
Ken had learned Hwang Dongsoo's fighting style, but this time he was caught off guard. A dagger suddenly materialized in Hwang Dongsoo's hand and slashed toward him.
"Die!"
The move was surprising, yet Ken still managed to blink away. Even so, the dagger delivered something.
Crack!
The slash meant for Ken's head shattered only his guardian mask. It broke in two and fell away, then revealing his real face.
"For real? I was fighting a brat this whole time?" Hwang Dongsoo's expression said everything.
The dagger and the spatial enchantment he had bought for three million dollars at a runestone auction were worth the price. Using a weapon was not his preferred style, but now he could do something his fists could not. Still, the fact that he had been fighting an adolescent boy the whole time left him speechless.
[Warning!]
[Fatigue: 94]
[Your fatigue has reached critical levels!]
His body had reached its limit. He might have been able to harm Hwang Dongsoo, but no matter what he tried, he could not cut into his muscles deeply. His swings were probably too weak to break through the skin of an S-rank warrior. Even the marks covering Hwang Dongsoo's body were only thanks to Adula's Moonblade.
'Should I run.....? No.'
His speed was only equal to Hwang Dongsoo's when using Jilwer. Even if he managed to create distance, his body would collapse and the system would show a You Died notification. He could try Zoltraak, yet Hwang Dongsoo might land a surprise attack. Zoltraak was not fast enough to hit someone who had spent this long learning how all his spells worked. He could try Phalanx, but he would probably die before he finished casting the shield. Healing was also impossible. Even if he could do it instantly, it would take at least two to three seconds and Hwang Dongsoo was faster than that.
He got an idea. It was reckless, but at this point he no longer cared. The risk was high, yet he had nothing to lose.
'I need to try this move.'
[Adula's Moonblade]
A long, icy sword formed from mana burst out of his wand.
[Acceleration]
FWOSHH!
"Ha! You're coming straight at me? Fine. Fine. As an adult, I'll teach you how to respect your senior!"
Mana exploded wildly from Hwang Dongsoo. His pride was torn even further after realizing he might really be fighting a high school boy. Both of them charged forward with the intent to kill.
'Where are you going this time?'
Above. Left. Right. Behind. Hwang Dongsoo had experienced all of Ken's previous patterns and was ready for them. A dagger was the perfect weapon for close combat, and he felt certain he could reach Ken quickly now.
They closed in on each other. In that moment, time felt slower. Hwang Dongsoo waited for Ken to teleport so he could counter. However…
STAB!
The tip of the icy blade pierced Hwang Dongsoo's stomach, then burst out his back, spraying blood that froze almost instantly.
Hwang Dongsoo's eyes widened. He could not believe it.
"Whaa… ugh! Cough!" Blood poured from his mouth. "You didn't... teleport?" He looked at Ken, who was struggling to breathe.
Ken didn't reply. Instead, he kicked Hwang Dongsoo away so he could pull out Adula's Moonblade.
For the first time, Hwang Dongsoo collapsed onto the ground.
Ken's plan was to make it look like he would jump with Jilwer, then strike with Adula's Moonblade.
That alone wasn't enough. He needed strength to pierce through his defenses, so he used Acceleration to create momentum. Combined with Moonblade, the strike finally broke through.
It was also a mind game. A mage couldn't take on a combat-type hunter head on. That was what Hwang Dongsoo had told him. Using that idea, Ken made him believe he would teleport. His use of Acceleration triggered Hwang Dongsoo's pride. To put it simply, Ken just rage bait him.
[Warning!]
[Fatigue: 102]
[Fatigue has exceeded the limit]
[Until fatigue drops below 100, your HP will decrease by 5 percent each minute.]
Ken just wanted to go home and sleep. What a long night. For the first time, he had tasted a real fight to the death.
"Oi."
A deep voice from behind sent a chill down his spine. When he turned around, it was already too late. Hwang Dongsoo punched him in the face. The blow launched him backward, yet Hwang Dongsoo caught him by the neck before he fell.
[Ding!]
[HP: 5981/8500]
"You bastard. I won't let you die that easily. Not until you feel the same humiliation I did."
"Cough… cough… keuk!"
Ken's eyes drifted downward. The wound he had given Hwang Dongsoo was covered in frost. The Moonblade's effect had slowed the bleeding, but he had aimed straight for the heart. So how?
"Whatever you did earlier, looks like you missed my vital point."
Still choking him, Hwang Dongsoo smirked.
"That was a good fight for a mage. Stand proud, kid. I won't forget it for the rest of my life."
He tightened his grip.
Ken only let out a weak laugh.
"Fuck. You."
He grabbed Hwang Dongsoo's forearm as green energy formed around his hand.
[Fel]
Hwang Dongsoo's eyes widened when his energy started being drained.
He released Ken's throat, but immediately followed up with a flurry of punches to Ken's stomach, each one brutal and fast. The blows kept Ken suspended in the air for a moment before Hwang Dongsoo twisted his body and finished with a roundhouse kick.
Ken was thrown back again. With that powerful strike, he broke through the edge of the roof and fell.
[Ding!]
[Warning!]
[HP: 1068/8500]
The building was around seven floors high. As he plummeted, wind blasted through his torn clothes and hair. He gritted his teeth, trying to think of a solution, but after everything he had endured, his body couldn't help him at all.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
"Shut up!"
From his far left, a dark red cloak flew toward him. Baek Yoonho and Woo Jin-chul sprinted forward with terrified expressions, watching him fall.
But Ken did not notice them. Instead, he widened his eyes. Above him, Hwang Dongsoo descended with a killing blow, his silhouette framed by the night sky. With this height combined with that strike, Ken would certainly die.
'Right. There's a way!'
He forced himself to forget the fear of death, recalling the calm he reached during his daily one-hour meditations.
He held his breath. His eyes glowed as he poured a massive surge of mana into his brain, more than he had ever used before.
[Ding!]
You have used:
[Elemental Sight]
Origin: Irregular at Magic High School
Type: Perception Ability
Tier: SSR
Mana Cost: 350 per second
Effect: 300 percent Sense, 300 percent Mind buffs
Description: The user can specify information about their surroundings individually regardless of distance or obstacles, in extreme detail. It allows precise long-distance targeting, analysis of enemy spells, and information breakdown to the subatomic level.
'What… is this? Did time just stop on me?'
He looked around. Clark was frozen in the air. Baek Yoonho and Woo Jin-chul were still in the distance both stopped. Above, Hwang Dongsoo remained locked in the middle of his killing strike. Everything had stopped.
'The spell stops time? No. This is…'
He could count every leaf on the tree he was about to crash into. He could see how many strands of hair he had. A group of bats flying away became clear like an open diagram. Their bone structures, their wing tension, even their high-pitched cries, which he could read as sound waves.
'Echolocation?'
Wherever he looked, massive streams of information flooded into his mind.
He shut his eyes to focus only on his own body, and they jolted open again when he felt every pain from every injury with overwhelming clarity. He looked up. The night sky grew sharper. He had never seen it so clear, especially not in Seoul.
Suddenly, the sky pulled him upward. He freaked out. He was scared as his awareness rushed through it at incredible speed. The stars streaked past like trails of light. He could do nothing except let his mind rise beyond its limits.
He saw everything.
---
Baek Yoonho and Woo Jin-chul watched as Hwang Dongsoo descended from the rooftop, his foot aimed straight at Ken.
"No!"
Boom.
The ground split apart, shaking from the impact. A burst of air pressure kicked up thick dust and debris.
'I knew it.' Baek Yoonho shielded his eyes. 'It was bound to happen. A mage can't defeat a combat-type hunter of the same rank.'
Woo Jin-chul clenched his jaw. 'He should have been able to heal himself. But there must be a limit.' Korea had just lost a precious hunter for nothing. 'Chairman Go will be furious if something happens to Guardian.'
Meanwhile, Hwang Dongsoo frowned.
"Something flew in and grabbed him before I could finish him. What was that?"
As the wind slowly pushed the dust aside, they realized no one was inside the crater except Hwang Dongsoo.
When the dust cleared further, a red cloak fluttered in the air.
What they saw next was far from normal.
Ken floated between the tall buildings.
His entire body looked strangely relaxed. His shoulders were loose, his arms hung at his sides, and his legs dangled as though gravity hardly touched him. He stared at the night sky with half-lidded eyes. His face softened, and a faint, almost blissful smile formed, making him look like he was in a trance.
Hwang Dongsoo, just like the other two, could not hide his confusion.
"This brat… he's high?"
He could feel it. Something was off about this kid. Real off.
---
-Author Note-
3000 words.
Quick question. How is the balance of the story so far? Does the power scale feel too strong on the MC's side etc? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this long chapter.