Chapter 35: Don’t regret it, it’s your own doing

The competition rate for the Magic Tower is publicly reported every year.

As soon as the competition rate for the Magic Tower was released, chaos erupted among the people, and numerous articles began to pour in.

• Lowest number of applicants for the Magic Tower this year.
• Only 7 applicants. How did the Magic Tower end up like this?
• With the number of applicants falling short, is it possible for all of them to pass?

I smiled contentedly while reading those articles.

‘Why are you acting tough with me, Shin Yura? I’ll make sure to take all your pie from now on.’

I happily rewatched the video I had posted earlier.

• Title: Breaking Through a Mage’s Limits
• Did you know that it’s possible to break through a mage’s limits? Many people believe that a mage’s realm only exists in grades from F to S.
• However, the truth is that a mage can draw out even higher power through something called [Circle]. So, how do you grow your Circle? It’s simple.
• The growth method for a Circle is similar to that of muscle growth. You tear it, then recover, and it becomes increasingly larger.
• So, how do you tear a Circle? That’s simple too. Among my magic, there exists a spell called [Circle Breaking].

This forcibly tears the Circle within a mage. By the way, this requires precise control.

If Circle Breaking is used incorrectly, one could end up unable to use magic for the rest of their life.

Does it sound unbelievable that this method allows for growth? Do I seem like a fraud?

If there are those who think that way, I regret to inform you. Haven’t you seen me using external mana directly?

Even when I introduced the concept of external mana, I was treated as a fraud. But what about now?

Haven’t you seen me absorb vast amounts of mana and remain perfectly fine through the broadcasts?

Do you really think this is possible with ordinary methods?

No. It was all possible because I continuously grew my mana circle through Circle Breaking.

This is why I was able to solo conquer A-grade dungeons, despite being a mage.

I utilized external mana well, and my Circle had grown sufficiently.

“That’s enough explanation. I’ll now talk about the most important part. I’ll be uploading a post soon to inform the community about the recruitment period for disciples and important points to note.

However, I do not want to accept anyone who is already affiliated with another organization as a disciple. So, if you plan to apply as a disciple, you must have no affiliation, whether temporary or otherwise.

Lastly, after this disciple recruitment, I don’t know when I will recruit again. It could be a few months later or, at worst, it might not happen for ten years or more. The decision is yours.”

• Tick

I turned off the video.

‘The growth of the Circle. This is one of the really important theories that I’ve been enjoying all by myself. The method and effects are exactly as I mentioned above. This theory has helped my growth just as much as external mana.’

As I looked through the comments, it was no surprise that people were in an uproar, and some even claimed they would try tearing their own Circles.

• Wow, tearing the Circle makes it recover and grow larger? I’m going right now.
• Didn’t you watch the video properly? If an ordinary person tries it, they could become a cripple.
• This idiot has lost his mind. Just apply to be a disciple if you’re so stupid.

‘Thank goodness there are many comments stopping those crazy people from trying to tear their Circles themselves.’

In the first place, Circle Breaking is a high-level magic, and the usage conditions are incredibly strict.

It is nearly impossible to use it in practice, and even when aiming at a stationary target, delicate control is required.

To handle Circle Breaking delicately, one needs both skill and immense mana.

I can confidently say that I am the only one in the country who meets these two conditions.

‘If I released this much information, it’s only natural that only 7 people applied to the Magic Tower.’

A mage’s growth occurs by facing critical situations in dungeons or by endlessly repeating spells to increase their proficiency.

Other methods exist, but the issue is that they require a staggering amount of time and money. Additionally, the effects are not that significant.

But what if there’s another way to drastically enhance one’s abilities, aside from the existing growth methods? Those mages who are desperate for growth wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it.

Just as I was smiling contentedly, I received a message from Seol Eun-a.

• Joo Won, I’ve compiled the statistics of all the applicants. 37,521 people. That’s over five times the number of applicants for the Magic Tower last year!
• Thank you. You always work hard because of me.
• It’s something I want to do. If you’re grateful, buy me a meal later!
• Of course, and I’ll give you a good artifact later too.
• Then I’m grateful. By the way, how will you conduct the tests for the disciples?
• I plan to skip useless interviews and tedious processes and focus on practical skills for the selection.
• Practical skills? What method do you plan to use…?
• I’ll show you in detail on the day of the test.

After a short conversation with Seol Eun-a, I prepared for the test.

On the day of the test, over 30,000 people rushed to the place I announced.

This place was a vast wasteland with immense space.

I cast a sound amplification spell and shouted to them.

“Thank you for coming. I am the substitute instructor. Honestly, I didn’t expect you all to show such interest. If it were up to me, I would want to accept all of you as my disciples, but of course, that is impossible. Therefore, I plan to select only some of you who have applied through the selection process to become my disciples.”

A few people murmured among themselves. However, with this many people, I thought some murmuring was natural, so I continued my speech.

“The method of the test is simple.”

• KWA-BOOM-!
• KWA-BOOM-!
• BANG!

In an instant, hundreds of enormous rocks fell haphazardly into the empty space before me. I summoned them with magic.

“Those who can make scratches on these rocks will pass. Those who cannot will be disqualified.”

“You have one chance. It doesn’t matter what kind of magic you use.”

“The moment you use magic, the results will be displayed on the rocks. If you pass, step to the side, and if you fail, you may go home.”

As soon as I finished my instructions, various mages, full of energy, began casting their spells in turn.

“Ha, we don’t have to break the rock, just scratch it? Ridiculous.”

“They’re underestimating us too much. What if all 30,000 pass?”

A few wizards shouted sarcastically.

I thought to myself, Those guys are definitely going to fail.

• KWA-AAAAANG!
• “Not qualified.”

“What… this can’t be… what kind of rock has this kind of durability?!”

As expected.

Sure enough, the ones who had been mocking started receiving disqualification messages one after another.

• “Qualified.”

A few among them jumped for joy upon receiving their acceptance messages.

“Success! We did it!”

With hundreds of stones summoned, the test progressed quickly.

After a few hours, many people had left, leaving about a hundred behind.

More stayed than I expected.

I wanted to quickly nurture students with sufficient abilities. This rock would serve as a filter to weed out those who met the minimum conditions.

I expected around 30 to 50, but this is surprising.

Just then, one person who hadn’t taken the test yet shot off several spells.

• KWA-ANG!
• KWA-ANG!
• KWA-ANG!

“F*ck! Why isn’t there even a scratch?!”

He was furious, blasting the rock with magic.

• Thud, thud.

I stepped in front of him and said, “I clearly stated you only have one chance at the test.”

He glared at me and shouted, “F*ck! Does it even make sense to have a test like this? Why can’t I, an A-rank wizard, even scratch it?! Why did all those morons succeed?!”

“Sigh…”

There are always a few idiots like this everywhere. They don’t know their place, stubbornly refuse to accept results, and think they’re better than everyone else. He reminded me of Baek Joo-seok.

“What’s your name?”

When I asked, he proudly responded, “Chang Seok-hyun. I have a brother who runs a large guild of knights.”

“I only asked your name. Why are you bragging about your connections? Do you think that makes you seem valuable? Pathetic.”

• Crack!

Chang Seok-hyun glared at me and shouted, “You arrogant brat! Everything you showed on the stream was a scam! In reality, you look like a noob with a messed-up mana flow. You must have hidden other wizards to pull off your tricks!”

Does this guy have a brain?

The fact that I had just summoned hundreds of stones, while numerous wizards couldn’t even scratch them, should give him a clue about my level. Yet, he was screaming at me as if he had erased that from his memory.

“Sigh… Where should I even begin? Just go; I’ll let you off this time.”

“F*ck you! How dare you ignore me?”

• Whew!

He cast a Blizzard spell. I coldly replied, “Cancel it, or you’ll die.”

“Bullsh*t. I won’t believe it until I see it myself.”

“Then don’t regret it. You brought this on yourself. You attacked first.”

[Hellfire]

I raised my hand and cast the spell toward him.