I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 39

“……”

Randel peeked out from among the ruins.

Ahead, the golem was still standing firm.

“Persistent.”

He had come to check on it occasionally while practicing magic, but it was always in that position.

Blocking the entrance of the building, it stared straight ahead with its red eyes without moving an inch.

If he hadn’t found a way, it would have been really troublesome.

Wouldn’t he have died of old age trying to raise his circle here somehow?

“Would have starved to death before that though…”

“No. There’s food.”

“What? You should have said so earlier.”

“Near the reservoir. Lots of bugs. Full of nutrients.”

“…Ah, bugs. Good thing I didn’t mention it.”

Randel shook his head and stood up.

Then he confidently walked towards the golem.

Zing.

As he approached within 150 meters, the golem recognized Randel and moved its body.

But it was still okay. The detection range was 150 meters, but it would react more actively at a closer distance.

Step by step… As Randel approached within 100 meters, he gauged the distance.

“If I go any further, it will react, right?”

“Yes. One meter to the limit.”

“Then… let’s start. Assist me well.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t use strange words.”

Talking with the manager about trivial matters made me feel a bit more relaxed.

Eventually, Randel took a deep breath.

With his exhale, a blue light flashed in his eyes.

“…Here I go.”

Clunk.

With Randel’s declaration, a dull sound echoed throughout the vast ancient city.

The source of the sound was the bell tower.

The light from the bell tower, which had been softly illuminating the city, gradually dimmed, and naturally, the surroundings began to darken.

But where there is deepening darkness,

There is also brightening light.

That was Randel.

Wooong—

An aura of light spread around Randel.

The darker the city became, the larger the light grew.

It was as if Randel was absorbing the last life force of this ancient city that had continued for thousands of years.

And finally,

When the city was completely engulfed in darkness,

Randel, shining alone in the ancient city, murmured.

“Fireball.”

One second later, a fireball the size of a human head appeared above Randel’s hand.

Whoosh.

Its appearance was similar to fire, but inside, it exuded a much more ferocious energy.

Dense heat and mana were condensed, ready to explode at any moment.

‘Interference with mana…’

The manager had clearly said.

He could interfere with mana.

Then what about the fireball?

The essence of the fireball is simple.

‘Launch the fire, make it explode.’

As such, there were two essential formulas that had to be included when casting.

[Where it will fly]

[When it will explode]

“Fireball.”

Whoosh.

So, what is a formula?

A formula is a blueprint. It can also be called a rough map that determines where the mana will flow.

Therefore, when the formula is completed and mana is infused, the mana flows according to the formula and forms a perfect shape.

That is the completion of magic.

“Fireball.”

Whoosh.

Here, Randel recalled an interesting fact.

So, what would happen if you interfered with only a part of the mana supplied while leaving the formula intact?

Not much.

Just two parts of the formula.

‘When it will explode, where it will fly.’

If you slightly freeze a part of the mana that makes up the formulas, preventing them from activating before the magic is completed?

‘If that happens…….’

The mana has already left Randel’s body and has been completed as magic according to the correct formula.

It just doesn’t move.

[Where it will fly]

[When it will explode]

Because the mana on the blueprint that decides these two parts is slightly frozen.

The result is simple.

One.

‘The fireball I cast is suspended in midair until the frozen mana is thawed again.’

Two.

‘The existing magic is already cast. Therefore, I can use the next magic immediately.’

And the result is.

“`

“…Fireball.”

Whoosh.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The blazing spheres of flame around Randel continue to increase.

One, two, three… six, seven… ten, eleven.

Enhancing the power of magic involves too many formulas, so it can’t be used often.

But mana freezing is different.

It’s not about freezing the whole thing, but just one strand among dozens, and even then, only one point.

Thanks to this, it doesn’t take much power to interfere with mana.

‘There is no second chance. Let’s put everything into this attempt.’

As Randel gritted his teeth and pushed the casting further, the light surrounding him grew dimmer.

The light that illuminated the city was the totality of the administrator’s power.

All of it has now been inherited by Randel.

That power, without leaving a single ray to shine on the weeds, is entirely converted into the power of mana interference and disappears.

But it was not meaningless.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The place where the bright and gentle light receded was filled with red and hot heat.

Randel’s body, surrounded by numerous flames, appears hazy in the heat waves.

Rumble.

Eventually, the area around Randel, the city, begins to faintly vibrate.

It was as if the city, which had been engulfed by a tidal wave of lava thousands of years ago, was recalling its nightmare.

But regardless, Randel did not stop chanting the fireball spell.

As a result.

“…40 shots. It’s done.”

He squeezed out the remaining mana and launched the last fireball he had planned.

Randel, standing as if upheld in the center of dozens of fireballs.

It was already a sun.

“…Ha.”

Having completed all the casting, Randel looked around and shivered.

Even though it was a scene he created, he was thrilled.

“`

Randel, who had witnessed numerous battles through his mercenary life and the kingdom’s civil war.

In such battlefields, what particularly caught Randel’s attention was, of course, the mages.

From 2nd circle support mages to 7th circle archmages.

Among them, the archmages were truly remarkable.

Even in front of tens of thousands of troops, they proudly held their staffs.

Yet, no one could oppose them.

But no one.

Even if they were archmages.

Was there anyone who had shown such a miracle as Randel himself was now displaying?

Randel could not recall.

‘Let’s end this now.’

He shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts and sharpened his focus once more.

It was time to return.

To his family.

Step.

Whoosh!

As soon as Randel took a step forward, the golem’s head eerily turned.

Then, using the detect magic embedded within it, it scanned the surroundings.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Confirming that there was no one else but Randel, it started to charge madly.

“……”

Dust stormed behind the golem’s sprint.

The city, already devoid of light, grew even darker under the veil of dust.

Yet, amidst all this, the golem’s rapidly approaching red eyes were distinct.

A sight that would make anyone’s knees buckle and collapse.

However, Randel was not at all flustered.

He simply raised one finger.

“Fireball, 40 rounds―Unfreeze.”

He spoke with a calm face, without any rise or fall in his tone.

Zing zing zing zing―

But the result was not as expected.

At the same time, 40 fireballs, which had been thawed, began to shoot out simultaneously with a high-frequency resonance sound.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

An indiscriminate attack.

No, it was a bombardment.

No matter how red the golem’s fierce eyes were, they couldn’t be redder than the exploding flames.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

The golem, which was slowly approaching despite the extreme anti-magic power of dozens of fireballs,

Sizzle.

Soon, it half-melted and lay down in the city.

* * *

“Oh, I’m dying.”

Randell groaned and sat down on the floor.

Using up every last drop of mana literally to the bottom was killing him.

But the manager, who would usually say something by now, was strangely quiet.

Wondering what was going on, he looked and saw the manager staring at the building the golem had been blocking.

“What’s so serious? It’s not like something else is going to pop out besides the golem, right?”

“No. The golem, all of them.”

“Then wait a bit. I used up all my mana, so I’m half-exhausted. Let me recover a bit.”

“How long?”

“About 10 minutes.”

“Slow.”

“But there’s no choice. If I mess up, the mana might backflow again.”

Randell took out a mana stone from his subspace.

―Was it you?

The manager looked at him with a disdainful gaze.

If only he hadn’t taken the mana stone from the rune’s seal…

‘But how can a wizard pass by a mana stone?’

It’s not just monsters that go crazy over mana-related things. Wizards are the same.

Who would have imagined that the golem would be sealed with that mana stone?

Wooong.

Randel immediately entered the mental world.

Then the mana stone in his hand faintly vibrated and soon lost its light.

It was all absorbed by Randel.

“Phew, it’s done. Let’s go now.”

Randel threw the mana stone away and stood up.

The administrator silently followed him without a word.

“Light.”

With the light in front, they passed the golem’s remains and entered the building.

He was cautious, wondering if there might be something else, but as the administrator said, nothing else appeared.

“…There’s nothing?”

Not only that, but the building itself was completely empty without a single piece of furniture.

Seeing this, Randel realized that this place was not made for human habitation.

“This way.”

Chabak. Chabak.

The administrator passed by Randel, who was looking around, and headed to the next room.

The rooms, divided into several sections, were blocked by stone doors that Randel had seen when he entered the city.

Kurrurur.

Fortunately, there was no need to open them separately.

The stone doors obediently moved with a vibrating sound as the administrator stood in front of them and raised his hand.

How many stone doors did they pass?

Finally, Randel arrived at a large room that looked like a conference room and raised the light high.

“This is……”

The large room was filled with strange items.

In the center stood a long stone pillar about one meter high, with black lines surrounding it.

Dozens of black lines starting from the walls were connected to the pillar from all directions.

And on the stone.

There was a clear, glowing orb placed on it.

“…The God’s Box?”

Randell muttered as soon as he saw the orb.

A square box and a round sphere.

They looked completely different, but they had one thing in common.

Unlike the clear inside, countless thin lines wrapped around the outer surface.

However, unlike the sharp, right-angled lines of the divine box, the lines on the orb were curved.

Just as Randell was about to approach out of curiosity.

The administrator’s voice was heard.

“That. My main body.”

“Oh, really? So what do we do now?”

“Wait a moment. Don’t be surprised.”

The administrator placed his hand on the orb, leaving Randell behind.

Then his figure became blurry and was instantly sucked into the orb.

“……!”

Randell was startled, but he remembered what the administrator had just said and waited quietly.

―Can you hear me?

“Yeah, I can hear you. You really were a spirit?”

―Idiot.

“No… I just thought maybe.”

―Sigh.

As Randell kept his mouth shut, the orb flickered for a moment.

Then the light flowed along one of the dozens of lines connected to the stone pillar and disappeared beyond the wall.

Rumble.

Randell asked at the sound coming from afar.

“What did you just do?”

―The entrance. I opened it.

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Randell sighed in relief.

The administrator had said that he could open the entrance if he entered his main body, but there were always variables.

Wasn’t he a being created thousands of years ago, spirit or not?

It wouldn’t have been strange if the function to open and close the entrance had broken down over that long period.

“I’m really glad we found the main body. Anyway, congratulations.”

―Thanks. It’s all thanks to you.

“I didn’t think I could do it either.”

―I admit. I’ll tell you now.

“What will you tell me?”

―The Mithril Mine. The reason you don’t have to worry.

“Oh! That. You said the mine had no more yield after all the mithril ingots were extracted, right? I was worried they might covet the mine without knowing that.”

―Yes.

“And you said you had a way to prevent that, what is it?”

Randell asked, but strangely there was no answer.

Just as he was about to ask again, thinking it might not have been heard.

―Disappear.

The manager’s answer dropped abruptly.

“Disappear? What? Oh, the mine will disappear now?”

―Yes. Along with this city.

“…What are you suddenly talking about?”

―Randell. You, underground, buried.

“Me? This city?”

Randell was dumbfounded.