Chapter 17: Public Sniping

• Bang
• Kwang-kwang-kwang-kwang

With an enormous sound, the rocks floating in the sky began to fall towards the Death Knight all at once.

In that moment, the people filming nearby and the waiting knights and mages started to move frantically.

One of them shouted, “Knights, go forward and minimize the flying debris! Mages, deploy all defense magic!”

• Swoosh
• Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting…

The knights swiftly cleared the larger fragments, while the mages conjured defensive magic to protect themselves from any remaining debris that might fly towards the filming crew or the weaker-statted mages.

Everyone worked together to handle the situation.

The magic used by the Masked Instructor was powerful enough to create deep craters in the ground, so it was only natural for it to have some area effect.

Fortunately, the spot where the Death Knight stood and the area where others were filming and watching were quite distant, so no one sustained serious injuries.

“Meteor?…”

As Jang Hye-na murmured, viewers watching the live broadcast began to panic.

• Is that really a meteor?
• Isn’t a meteor SS-class magic? This doesn’t make sense.
• Take another look; it’s somewhat different from a meteor.
• Huh? The rocks are definitely smaller for a meteor.
• Original meteors are huge!
• So what the hell is that crazy magic?
• It looks like a stone spell with fire attribute magic added.
• Damn… Seriously, don’t make absurd claims.

I also thought it didn’t make sense, but I should check the replay later.

Those who knew a bit about magic understood how the Masked Instructor’s spell was developing, but they couldn’t believe their eyes.

In fact, Jang Hye-na, being a magician who could handle magic to some extent, realized that the fiery rocks raining down from the sky were definitely not meteors.

But at the same time, she couldn’t believe that what was falling from the sky was an application of the C-class spell “Stone.”

Flinch.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, Jang Hye-na thought, ‘Ah… what’s wrong with me today? I need to focus and broadcast properly.

This is a chance to let millions of people know about me. Get a grip, Jang Hye-na.’

Even though she had 5 million subscribers, most of them were like ghost subscribers.

Therefore, she felt she had to continuously appeal to the live viewers to attract them as her subscribers.

Taking a deep breath, she shouted, “Everyone! Look over there! The magic that looks like a meteor seems to be a mix of C-class Stone magic, attribute-adding magic, and some other lower-tier spells! Isn’t it amazing? That Death Knight! He’s collapsing without being able to do anything! Even against a mage, not a knight!”

• Woooooosh

She moved closer to get better footage of the Masked Instructor.

‘I need to show something more thrilling.’

She knew it was dangerous, yet she continued to approach the scene where the fiery rocks were falling.

[Ugh…]

• Swoosh
• Clang

The crazy falling fiery rocks kept the Death Knight occupied, leaving him no opportunity to do anything else.

[This damned…]

He had to defend against not only the fiery rocks falling towards him but also the fragments that scattered nearby.

• Ting
• Ting
• Ting

The fragments that he couldn’t block continued to stack damage on the Death Knight’s body.

• Swoosh

[This could go on forever.]

Giving up on blocking all the attacks and accepting some damage from the fragments, the Death Knight began to draw up his magic.

• Wooooosh
• Kwang!

[Ugh…]

Even in that brief moment of gathering magic, the rocks flying from the air struck the Death Knight forcefully.

Throughout his time as a dungeon boss, he had encountered countless mages, regenerating dozens or even thousands of times.

Therefore, he couldn’t help but feel bewildered. He wanted to deny the fact that he was taking so much damage from mere rocks that were a mere amalgamation of low-level magic.

[Ugh…]

But the more rocks he took on with his body, the more he felt the blood in his throat rising, and he had no choice but to accept it.

[This magic… it’s not typical magic…]

I smiled and said to the flustered Death Knight, “So you do realize? With so many different elements mixed together, it must feel like being crushed all over by a giant hammer made of steel with every hit.”

The Death Knight’s durability stats were quite high. However, the sheer number of rocks falling from above was overwhelming.

No matter how small the impact, repeated hits would injure the body. The rocks were also accelerating explosively due to the enormous gravity acting on them.

Even if he managed to block them, the recoil would occur, and if he cut them, fragments would splatter onto his body, igniting flames and tormenting him. It was undoubtedly painful.

I observed the increasingly sluggish movements of the Death Knight and thought, ‘It’s about time to finish this.’

I had showcased more than enough performance.

• Bang

[W-What are you doing?!]

I threw myself into the battlefield filled with fiery rocks.

The magic I was currently executing seemed to randomly drop rocks, but I was manipulating every angle and trajectory one by one. So even as I entered the battlefield, there was no collision between the rocks and me.

I heard Jang Hye-na’s voice beside me.

“R-Right now! The Masked Instructor has jumped into the inferno! The caster is in a position where he could be swept away by his own magic! Is he okay?!”

• Whooooosh

In response to her words, I dashed quickly toward the Death Knight.

And in an instant, I deactivated the magic. Instantly, the sky filled with rocks vanished.

• Swoosh

As expected of the seasoned knight, the Death Knight swiftly swung his sword toward me as soon as the magic disappeared. But that strike only grazed my clothes, failing to deal any effective damage.

• Thud

I climbed onto his massive sword and released external mana to gain propulsion.

• Bang

In an instant, I charged toward its face.

• Thud

The Death Knight, already exhausted from being battered by hundreds of rocks falling with tremendous acceleration, only managed to respond to the first strike. After that, he failed to make any meaningful counter, leaving himself open to attack.

“Absorb.”

• Wooooosh

I placed my hand on the Death Knight’s torso and instantly absorbed his magic. I used Recovery for healing, synchronized my rotation, and finally released my attack—all within less than a second.

• Kwang!

The released magic struck the Death Knight directly in the face.

• Thud

Finally, the resilient Death Knight fell to his knees.

• Thud
• Thud

I walked slowly toward him.

[Cough… Ugh…]

In pain and crawling on the ground, the Death Knight had lost the fearsome presence he once had.

“How about it? Do you feel the difference now?”

[…]

Even as I stood right in front of him, the Death Knight, trembling all over, forced himself to speak while kneeling on one knee.

[I acknowledge my defeat… You are indeed someone sent by the seer… From now on, I will regard you as my lord.]

• Ding
• The condition for [Hidden Quest: Perfect Submission of the Death Knight] has been fulfilled. The Death Knight acknowledges you as his king.

As the notification sounded, the Death Knight handed me a sphere and said,

[My lord, my body is already bound by dark magic, so I cannot wield a sword by your side. I am merely a specter trapped in this dungeon. Although my body cannot escape this place, my will shall always regard you as my lord and be with you. Everything of mine is contained within this thought sphere. Please accept it.]

When I took the sphere, information popped up.

[Thought Sphere of the Death Knight]

▶ A thought sphere radiating a sinister energy. When used, you can gradually acquire the swordsmanship that the Death Knight possessed in life.

‘This is insane. This is incredible!’

After possessing this body, I hadn’t even considered using swordsmanship.

I had no skills related to it at all. But using this thought sphere would change that.

The Death Knight was known as a sword master in life, so I would surely be able to acquire skills related to swordsmanship.

‘Now I can use both magic and swordsmanship.’

As I smiled happily beneath the mask, the Death Knight spoke to me.

[My lord, I’m glad to see you pleased. I have exhausted all my magic and will return to the void. I hope to meet you again…]

• Whoosh

The Death Knight vanished into the air like ash.

The surrounding area was eerily quiet; even Jang Hye-na, who had been noisy just moments ago, was speechless and focused solely on me.

They were likely more shocked by the sight before them than by the fact that I had completed a hidden quest and received its reward.

The perfect submission of the Death Knight.

I had finally proven that a wizard could solo clear an A-rank dungeon.

Leaving behind the stunned onlookers, I turned to the camera Jang Hye-na was holding and spoke.

“I have successfully solo cleared an A-rank dungeon as a wizard. Thank you, President Baek Joo-seok.”

In an instant, the previously silent crowd erupted in cheers.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“It’s the first time! A wizard has solo cleared an A-rank dungeon for the first time!”

Viewers watching the broadcast went wild.

• Wow… Can a wizard really solo an A-rank dungeon?
• Isn’t that hard even for a knight?
• Except for the Baal Guild Leader, no knight has solo cleared an A-rank dungeon!
• This is insane! I can’t wait for the replay! That last meteor? I want to see it again!

Completing an A-rank dungeon solo, without the buffs of a support-type wizard or the overwhelming physical prowess of a knight, was enough to shock countless people.

Seizing the momentum, I spoke to the camera.

“Everyone, the only high-level magic I used to conquer the dungeon was one A-rank spell. So, I can say that all of this is thanks to my use of external mana. The fact that a wizard, often considered inferior to a knight, was able to break through this dungeon is because of how I utilized that external mana!”

What I was saying was about half a lie.

No matter how much one trains with external mana, very few can use it like I can—perhaps no one at all.

It’s a simple principle: just because you tell everyone the tools, ingredients, and recipes used by the world’s greatest chef doesn’t mean anyone can create a dish with divine flavor. Similarly, learning about external mana doesn’t mean everyone can pull off such insane feats. But that aside, it would have undoubtedly motivated many people.

“Anyone can become like me if they put in the effort. You don’t even need S-rank magic. It’s possible even without being a natural genius. Of course, that’s assuming you use external mana.”

This was the message I had been trying to convey throughout my dungeon exploration.

“Now, I’ve set the stage, so it’s time for a massive provocation.”

I had sufficiently demonstrated my abilities. And this moment was being watched live by millions of people. In fact, they were still watching. So, I looked into the camera and spoke.

“President Baek Joo-seok. Who’s the amateur now?”

“I’ll forgive you for toying with me. After all, one sees only as much as they know.”

“However, you will have to pay the price for portraying me as an amateur, even a fraudulent instructor. When you publicly targeted me, I’m sure you anticipated the backlash, right?”

I deliberately paused for a moment, looking at the reporters. Everyone held their breath, afraid that my voice might be captured by microphones or recording tools.

I turned to the camera and addressed President Baek Joo-seok publicly.

“I challenge you to prove yourself to the instructor who called you a fraud and an amateur.”

“I formally request a public magic duel with you, President Baek Joo-seok.”

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Read it here: Another Story of a Falsely Accused Protagonist