Chapter 171 : Chapter 171

Chapter 171 - Source (1)

To be honest, the Master of the Magic Tower still looked like he couldn't understand why he was being called out here.

Even as he was being summoned to the center of the Arena, he kept looking back at me with a dissatisfied expression.

But that was that.

What I had put on the line as a stake against that guy was none other than ‘myself’.

If Lee Si-yeong beat that guy, I could command him as I wished. Conversely, if he won, I would be at his beck and call.

A fair trade.

“...Still, it’s not every day that the great Master of the Magic Tower gets roped into a bet of this magnitude. You should be proud.”

Ah, that surprised me.

I sighed and looked at Cornelius, who had popped out from the side.

“...Why are you approaching me so stealthily? Are you trying to kill me or something?”

“If that were my intention, I would have already done it.”

I just shrugged at Cornelius, who replied with a smirk, but I felt like he was scanning me from top to bottom with his sharp eyes.

“...It seems it would be a bit difficult for me even if I came at you with all I have right now.”

“Pardon?”

“You, have you undergone some great change recently?”

Well.

If you’re talking about a change...

Ah, there was one.

[Cheonryongpo / Rank: Legendary (Set 5/5)]

[An armor crafted with a harmonious blend of various rare metals and other materials. It is specialized in channeling an energy entirely different from ordinary mana, and features a design specialized for the user's light movements and ultra-close-quarters combat. The entire armor set is complete, granting a special effect.]

[Enhancement effect applied via Spirit Spell!]

[Demon Warding +2000]

[Stat correction when engaging in combat against Demons.]

[Right to access the ‘Source’: 1 use remaining.]

Right.

I could overlook all the other stats.

The three short sentences written at the end were the core of it all.

The Demon Warding stat, which becomes more and more essential the later the game gets, was one thing, and the stat correction that makes you stronger against demons was another.

But accessing the ‘Source’ was a truly outrageous thing.

This function had the same name as Ms. Meirin’s skill.

It meant that the item, which had been Unique, hadn't just been upgraded to Legendary for no reason.

“...”

And the one who was about to prove it was the pink-haired mage now entering the Arena.

That girl, the seal embedded in her shoulder would probably allow her to do something similar to the function on my equipment.

As she looked at the Master of the Magic Tower on the other side of the Arena with a tense expression, she glanced over at me.

I could see her mouthing words from here.

“...I’m so not letting you off the hook after this is over.”

I smirked at her and replied, also by mouthing my words.

“I’ll give you a reward if you do well.”

“...Die. Please. Just go die.”

With a sigh, Lee Si-yeong finally trudged up onto the Arena.

In her hand was the staff she had been carrying around for a while, but its entire body was covered in engravings that looked as if they had been carved by spirits.

“...By the way, that young lady is brave as well. To face her opponent so confidently, given who she is up against.”

Cornelius muttered beside me in a serious voice, but I answered with a smirk.

“She’s probably not in a state where she’s feeling that brave.”

“...What did you say? Her opponent is considered the strongest mage in history. He’s not someone to be taken lightly.”

“Yes. So for the time being, she’ll be scared stiff and get beaten to a pulp.”

“...”

It wasn’t like she had a particularly strong mentality.

There was a very high possibility that she would be pushed into a defensive position as soon as the duel began.

But.

“Use this opportunity to find out properly.”

Just how broken the power I gave you is.

***

The Master of the Magic Tower was in a state of considerable headache.

There were many reasons for it, but the biggest one was probably...

“...”

It stemmed from the pink-haired mage standing as his opponent.

That thing was a ‘seed’.

A spirit in human form that randomly crosses over from the Spirit Realm from time to time.

Among them, judging by its purity and everything else, it was a seed that could undoubtedly be called royalty.

He had discovered and raised her himself since she was a child. He made his employees act as her ‘parents’ and delicately instilled a personality in her.

As the final stage of the war against demons, she was the ultimate weapon he had personally cultivated to counter the King of Flies.

Recently, she had been sticking with that man, and her skills had been improving by leaps and bounds, so he had been thinking of testing her abilities soon, but he never expected to face her in something like a duel so suddenly.

‘...Well, I’ll just test her lightly.’

He was planning to officially summon her from the Magic Tower soon anyway to check how much she had grown.

Although that man was an irregular who committed various acts that went far beyond the Master of the Magic Tower’s calculations, he believed that only he, who stood at the pinnacle of magic, could awaken the ‘seed's’ potential.

In that sense, the first magic he would send would be only the simplest of attacks.

Of course, even if it was a ‘simple’ attack, a 20-bundle spell formation consisting of 16 chains was nothing short of a disaster for an ordinary mage.

Being able to pull something like this off as if breathing was a feat possible only for him, who was considered one of the strongest in a simple magic battle among all the past Masters of the Magic Tower.

“...Th-this bastard! Right from the start, really...!”

And watching Lee Si-yeong hastily conjure a defensive spell formation to match it, it was clear that such a reputation was by no means in vain.

A rain of mana bullets poured down, covering the area near the Arena.

But, even amidst such a relentless attack.

Though she was breaking out in a cold sweat and looked flustered.

Lee Si-yeong was alive. Unharmed, without a single scratch.

“She blocked... it...”

Just this much would have left most run-of-the-mill mages without even a piece of their corpse remaining.

As expected of Kim Gyu-sik. To raise a mage who would at best be treated as 2nd-grade to this level in such a short period.

Then all that was left was to scrape the bottom of her potential in this duel!

‘To be honest, I feel like I've been looked down on a bit too much.’

Increasing the quality and quantity of the spell formations he was pouring out, the Master of the Magic Tower smiled inwardly.

Kim Gyu-sik's attitude when he first proposed this duel was the epitome of self-confidence.

It was the very picture of perfect conviction, without even considering the possibility that he might lose the bet.

Watching Lee Si-yeong on the other side, countering his spell formations, he felt he could guess the basis of that confidence.

‘In the first place, isn’t that far from enough?’

‘Master of the Magic Tower’ was a title that meant the highest level of mage.

And as the current Master of the Magic Tower, he would declare it himself.

The reason he was called the Master of the Magic Tower was that it was the only official title available to refer to the world's strongest mage.

Perhaps if he were in a position to be called by a freer name, he might have been called something a bit more embarrassing.

Something like ‘Moving Disaster’ or ‘World-Ending Grand Mage’.

-!

-!!

-!!!

Just looking at the spell formations raging across the entire Arena, it was a feast of storm-like spells that seemed to leave no room for doubt in having such thoughts.

Even if she was a mage Kim Gyu-sik had diligently raised, this was about the point where she would start getting hit without being able to defend.

So, at what point should he stop?

Perhaps after the freezing storm that would pour down next? Or after the flame-mixed explosion that followed?

He had to at least let her keep her life, didn't he?

As such thoughts continued.

He continued to observe the situation before him.

“...?”

In the Master of the Magic Tower’s mind, another thought was also gradually growing in size.

A feeling that something was strange.

***

Lee Si-yeong had a very strong feeling that she was seriously screwed.

In fact, she had been feeling screwed for a while now, but what she was feeling now was a bit different from that kind of being screwed.

Unlike the sense of alarm she felt when her life was on the line as she squeezed out her mana to withstand the Master of the Magic Tower's storm of spell formations.

“...Why am I so strong?”

Now, it felt as if her body was overflowing with an incomprehensible amount of energy.

The feeling primarily originated from the seal glowing on her shoulder, and though she didn't quite understand it, it felt like the ‘something’ emanating from it was giving her immense power.

No, of course, the others who had other seals engraved in the Spirit Realm also left with quite impressive buffs, but her feeling right now was as if...

“It’s like you have infinite mana, right?”

At Kim Gyu-sik’s voice suddenly coming from beside her, a violent, dry cough erupted from Lee Si-yeong’s throat.

The fact that all the spell formations she had just woven were shattered because she couldn't maintain her concentration was a bonus.

‘Dangerous...!’

At this rate, she would be hit by the incoming attack spells and die.

So she squeezed her eyes shut, but.

Nothing happened.

“...Huh?”

“Well, I stopped time for a bit to have a little chat.”

“...”

She felt like she had just heard something insane spoken so casually.

The voice and the feeling it gave were exactly like Kim Gyu-sik’s.

But Lee Si-yeong narrowed her eyes and turned to where the voice came from.

“What are you?”

At the very least, Kim Gyu-sik wouldn't be floating in the air, flashing with a pure white light.

She didn't know what this thing was, but it was incredibly suspicious.

“I am a gatekeeper that those who have reached the Source meet once. You can call me the ‘System’.”

“...Source? System? What are you talking about? And why do you have his voice?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask yourself that? The System imitates the ‘target of highest intimacy’ as perceived by the contactee to receive less hostility.”

“...What?”

“The voice you’re hearing now has a high probability of being someone you’re head over heels for...”

The being that had identified itself as the System immediately shut its mouth.

It wasn't because of some interruption, but because the sight of Lee Si-yeong, her face completely red, flailing on the spot was quite pitiful.

“...Right. I’ve decided not to mention that part anymore.”

“Yes! Please! I don’t care about any of that! Why did you suddenly pop out! What is this situation! Explain! Quickly!”

“You've hit the jackpot. Only a very small number of the spirit race can access the Source.”

Having said that, the System floated gracefully behind her.

Then, as if to embrace her, it stuck close to her back.

With a strange gasp of heek, a blush crept up to Lee Si-yeong's ears.

No, what is this!

Why is it doing this with that guy’s voice and face of all things!

But before she could even struggle and resist, the System’s voice continued in her ear.

“So, just very simply...”

It was a light voice.

“Shall I show you the ‘authority’ of the Source?”

The scene that followed, however, was not like that at all.

The moment the System waved its hand.

[

-

]

The heavens and the earth were rent asunder.

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