I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 12

“Ugh…”

Randell, who was lying in the clearing, struggled to get up.

His whole body ached as if he had been beaten, and he couldn’t help but groan.

It was the price of absorbing magic stones all night.

“Ptui.”

When he spat, red blood mixed with his saliva.

It was because he had chewed poisonous herbs to replenish the insufficient mana after absorbing all the magic stones.

He tried moving his limbs, but fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

‘My body feels like it could collapse at any moment…’

Randell placed his hand near his heart.

He could feel something heavy rotating inside.

Even with his poor physical condition, thinking about this made everything else insignificant.

He had reached the 2nd Circle.

And that too…

‘Did it take exactly a week?’

In just 7 days.

No matter how many magic stones he had, it was an unbelievable speed.

Usually, it took a wizard at least 1 to 2 years to gather the mana needed to reach the 2nd Circle.

He had gathered it in just a few days.

If other wizards heard about it, they wouldn’t have believed it. They would have said it was crazy to even talk to him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

At that moment, a clear sound reached Randel’s ears.

And new letters appeared before his eyes.

But it wasn’t just one or two.

∥2 circles confirmed

∥New mission presented

[Fire Arrow 50/0]

∥Fire Arrow casting –10%

[Healing 50/0]

∥Healing casting –10%

.

.

.

“Phew… It’s appearing again this time.”

Randel sighed in relief.

It was because the part he was most worried about was resolved.

As he approached the 2nd circle, Randel was anxious.

What if the mission that reduces casting time only appeared during the 1st circle?

Then he would become a half-wit who only spams 1st circle magic.

He had heard the term “half-wit” so many times in his previous life that he wanted to avoid such a situation.

But seeing that the 2nd circle also appeared as if it had been waiting, it seemed he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.

However, it wasn’t without problems.

‘Now, it’s time to start training again.’

Randel’s original casting time for the 1st circle was 30 seconds.

And the 2nd circle magic took about 3 minutes, so even if he used it a lot, he could only use it about 20 times in an hour.

Moreover, the 2nd circle consumed much more mana.

Naturally, the number of consecutive uses had to decrease.

It would get faster over time, but it was inevitable that it would take a long time.

‘No, it’s all just wishful thinking.’

Even just reducing the casting time was something.

And he didn’t have to do anything difficult. He just had to keep using magic.

There is nothing easier than this.

“Get a grip, you idiot.”

Randell cursed at himself for losing focus and then examined the string of characters.

But there was one particularly long one.

∥2 Circles Confirmed

∥Reward: Specific Magic Casting –99%

“…Huh?”

* * *

“Ha, well. Look at this.”

Randell stroked his chin as he looked at the window in front of him.

Touching his chin was a habit that came out whenever things didn’t go as expected.

In his previous life, he did it when things got so tangled up that it gave him a headache.

It had been a long time since something unexpectedly pleasant happened, making him touch his chin.

The message from the window was simple.

It meant reducing the casting time of a specific magic by 99%.

“If casting usually takes about 3 minutes… 99% reduction means it would take about 2 seconds?”

In terms of time, it was something that would take months of practice.

Just thinking about it made the corners of his mouth lift.

“Let’s see…”

If the artifact gave him an opportunity, it was time to decide which magic to choose.

Randell recalled the list of 2-circle spells.

If 1-circle spells were dots, 2-circle spells were lines.

So, when using 1-circle spells like Fire, Water, and Light, they all appear as dots in space.

Magic Arrow was the only exception.

“From 2-circle spells onwards, 1-circle spells can be considered as projectiles.”

It wasn’t difficult.

If 1-circle Fire ignited a flame in the air, 2-circle would be the spell to shoot it, namely Fire Arrow.

“Useful 2-circle spells are…”

The representative 2-circle spells are [Fire Arrow], [Water Arrow], [Sleep], [Healing], and [Shield].

Among them, the best one is undoubtedly Fire Arrow.

When it hit, it not only delivered the impact of the magic arrow but also inflicted burns on the target.

‘Healing is not bad either.’

It’s not a magic that heals wounds instantly, but it greatly enhances natural healing power.

It might not seem like much, but it was very useful in emergencies.

At least it was better than a quack doctor in this remote village.

If the family members got sick, this healing magic would be a great help.

‘Sleep is also quite useful.’

Sleep is a magic that puts the opponent to sleep.

Its effectiveness varies depending on the mental strength of the target, but it was no problem for small animals.

‘To put a person to sleep instantly, it would need to be at least 4th circle magic.’

After thinking for a while, Randell decided on the magic he would learn.

And at the moment he was about to choose.

Ding― Ding― Ding―

The sound of a bell came from afar.

Listening closely, it was a sound coming from the village.

‘Is something happening?’

There was a fairly large bell in Randell’s village, and it was only rung on special occasions.

The interval of the bell sound indicated what was happening.

If it was rung frantically, it was a signal that monsters were attacking, but judging by the interval of the sound now, it didn’t seem like a big deal.

‘This means… they are going to hold a village meeting.’

It was a hundred times better than a monster attack, but it still wasn’t a very good thing.

A village meeting was held to decide the direction the village should take.

In other words, it meant that they didn’t gather for just any reason.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

Randell quickly tidied up and headed to the village.

* * *

“Phew, I’m back.”

It was late, even after dinner.

Randell’s younger brother, a member of the vigilante corps, opened the door and came in.

His face, exhausted with fatigue, showed that today had not been an easy day.

“You’ve worked hard. Have some water.”

“Yes.”

The younger brother gulped down the water given by their mother.

The family watched him.

The reason everyone stayed up waiting for him was simple.

After the village meeting, the vigilantes would go around each house to relay the meeting’s content and results.

Since Randel’s house had the younger brother, they were the last to receive the news.

“What happened that they had to call a village meeting?”

As soon as the younger brother finished drinking, the older brother asked.

The younger brother took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“First of all, it’s not serious. They said goblins have been appearing more frequently around the village.”

“Goblins… I’ve seen them too.”

“You have?”

“Yes, I encountered them a few times while hunting. I saw them from a distance and backed off.”

“Where?”

“About three days’ journey from the village. Down the mountain range. It was far enough that I didn’t think much of it…”

“When was that?”

“About three months ago.”

The younger brother nodded.

“Now they’ve been spotted within two days’ journey from the village. At first, we thought they were stragglers, but after investigating, we found out that’s not the case.”

“So… have they settled near the village as a tribe?”

“Yes, there seem to be about fifty of them.”

The family members had mixed expressions at that.

Fifty was a lot, but not overly threatening.

The village vigilantes and able-bodied men could don leather armor and fight them off.

Of course, it would be dangerous if they attacked someone gathering herbs in the forest.

“The number is ambiguous.”

“It’s not a big deal. The problem is… there might be a Blood Goblin.”

“A Blood Goblin!?”

A Blood Goblin was a type of mutant. It looked similar to a regular goblin but had skin as red as blood.

Each individual is born with special abilities, such as casting curses or using telekinesis.

Because of this, they are difficult opponents for ordinary people to fight.

The biggest problem is the intelligence of the Blood Goblins.

They lead their groups with considerable intelligence, and while normally goblins would gather in groups of up to 100, their numbers can swell to thousands.

Therefore, Blood Goblins must be avoided or eliminated as soon as they are discovered.

‘If left alone and their numbers increase… a village like this could be overrun in an instant.’

While Randel muttered to himself, his younger brother reassured the family.

“It’s not certain yet. There are some ambiguous traces… As soon as it’s confirmed, we’ll inform the lord’s castle, so don’t worry too much.”

“Still, we should be careful for the time being. We should keep the children out of the forest.”

“That’s why we had the meeting.”

“Blood Goblins… I hope they don’t exist.”

His older brother muttered in a somber voice.

The family looked worried, but there was also a hint of ‘Could it really be?’ on their faces.

Blood Goblins were as rare as they were strong. Maybe one in 100,000.

They hadn’t seen one directly, only found traces, so it was reasonable to think it was a mistake.

But one person was different.

There was someone who was convinced of the Blood Goblins’ appearance.

‘It was from this point.’

After listening to his younger brother, Randel tapped the table with his fingers, deep in thought.

Randel remembered that the goblins that attacked the village before numbered about 400.

There were still three years left, so in that time, the goblins’ numbers could increase more than eightfold.

The goblins’ reproductive power was that terrifying.

Or perhaps other goblins from the mountains joined them to reach such numbers.

‘They said that back then, they didn’t even know the goblins were nearby and were suddenly attacked and wiped out.’

In his previous life, there had been no such meeting in the village.

So why was it different this time?

The only reason for the change was Randel himself.

‘So that’s what it was. It was because of my magic training.’

Randel remembered his younger brother telling him not to go near the clearing in the forest.

He had warned him to be careful because there seemed to be a strange magician around.

It seemed that the vigilantes had discovered goblins while investigating traces of the wizard around the village.

‘I need to move a bit faster.’

If goblins were seen two days away from the village, it meant that the goblins also knew of the village’s existence.

And they would be increasing their numbers with the intention of attacking.

That would be three years later.

But unlike in his previous life, the villagers had discovered the goblins first.

What if the goblins found out about this?

‘They might hasten their attack. It might not be three years later, but one year later.’

The original plan was to drastically reduce the casting of 2-circle spells and move.

But if he did that, it might be too late.

‘Then I need to move quickly.’

As soon as he made up his mind, all sorts of plans came to mind.

Randel had caught goblins enough to be sick of them in his previous life, even if he didn’t know about other monsters.

The number of goblins cut down by Randel’s hand was roughly in the thousands.

Close combat, magic, poison, traps… He used every method a half-wit 1-circle wizard could use in the process.

And that experience was still vividly etched in Randel’s memory.

Shiver.

Randel suddenly felt his body tremble lightly.

No matter how many other goblins he caught, they were not the ones who killed Randel’s family.

They were just the kin of his enemy.

But this time was different.

The goblin tribe near the village.

The opportunity to unleash this maddening rage that still gnawed at Randel’s soul had come to the perpetrators.

Even though it was now a thing of the past… it didn’t matter.

Because he knew.

‘I will annihilate them all.’

Randel quietly closed his eyes.

To hide the flames of resentment seeping from his eyes from his family.