Chapter 22: President’s true Education (3)

As soon as I uttered the incantation, the meteor began to plummet rapidly. The people around me started to panic and flee.

“Are you crazy?! Both of you are insane! Using a meteor here means we’re all dead?!”

“Run! We’re all going to die!”

“Send a rescue request to the Magic Tower and the nearby guilds!”

“I’ve already sent it! Just hurry and get out of here before they arrive!”

The meteor was an SS-level skill, which meant its impact on the surroundings was enormous.

What if the meteors collided? Everyone in the area would be swept away by the debris. Of course, I knew this fact. Yet, the reason I took such a reckless action was that I had made preparations.

• “Instructor, I’ve prepared what you mentioned last time. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be ready to execute the plan immediately.”
• “Thank you. You brought enough people, right?”
• “I brought half of our guild members.”
• “Good. That should be enough.”

This was a conversation I had with Seol Eun-ah before the duel with President Baek Jooseok.

• “We need to prepare thoroughly since we don’t know what Baek Jooseok will do. Seol Eun-ah, can you bring as many guild members as you can, preferably mages?”
• “Of course, if it’s your request, I can make it happen. I’ll bring everyone who can clear their schedule. But why do you need so many people? Half of our guild’s mages are dozens of them… Is it really necessary to prepare this much?”
• “It doesn’t hurt to be thoroughly prepared. When you arrive at the duel arena, please gather everyone’s mana into the artifact I’m giving you.”

What I handed her was [S] Michael’s Tear.

[S] Michael’s Tear

▶ Type: Artifact

▶ Effect: When mana is infused, it is preserved without dispersing. However, if an immense amount of mana is stored and not used within 2 hours, the artifact may go berserk.

Although the effect is brief, the reason Michael’s Tear is classified as S-level is due to its incredible capacity to store mana. In simple terms, Michael’s Tear acts like a massive dam that collects the mana of dozens of mages. I can then ‘absorb’ it and use it.

• Kwang!

Baek Jooseok’s meteor collided with the one I launched.

• Peeeeeeng!

A bright light flickered, and just as the meteors were about to explode in all directions, I shouted.

“Seol Eun-ah! Hand me Michael’s Tear! And have the guild members cast defensive spells to mitigate the explosion damage!”

“Ah… Got it…!”

Quickly receiving Michael’s Tear, I placed my hand on it and murmured.

“Absorb.”

At that moment, the mana that dozens of high-level guild mages had gathered for over an hour began to be drawn into my body.

“Gaaah!”

The vast mana being sucked in from the outside caused a tingling pain throughout my body.

‘This should be enough.’

I cast a spell toward the falling meteors. The reason I needed such vast amounts of mana was all for this one magic.

[Reverse Gravity]

• [SSS] Reverse Gravity: Allows you to adjust gravity as desired within a specific range. The amount of mana consumed increases in proportion to the strength of the gravity used.
• Kuwaaaaang!

Despite a collision, the fragments of the meteor that had been falling at a mad pace began to rise into the air.

“Shit…”

If I wanted to lift the falling meteor into the air, I would have to counteract its weight, gravity, and acceleration, which would consume an insane amount of mana.

That’s why I used the meteor in the same way. I collided it with Baek Jooseok’s meteor to reduce the falling acceleration. Of course, I canceled my meteor as soon as it collided with Baek Jooseok’s magic.

After the collision, the shattered fragments of the meteor naturally lost a significant amount of speed. Even so, the mana consumption was immense.

“Huff… Absorb…”

• Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung.

As I replenished my mana with Michael’s Tear, I increased the intensity of Reverse Gravity even more.

“Gaaaah!”

All the fragments of the meteors began to rise into the air.

Of course, sending such massive chunks into space was impossible for me, no matter how skilled I was. For now, it was merely a process to prevent the meteors from hitting the ground.

I absorbed mana while casting a spell at the floating fragments of the meteor.

• [SS] Annihilation: Annihilates objects within a specific range. Cannot be used on living beings.
• Clang!

“Shit…”

Because I absorbed more mana than Michael’s Tear could contain, it shattered. However, fortunately, the spell was cast just in time.

• Whoooooooosh!

A black sphere spun rapidly, absorbing all the floating fragments of the meteor.

• Bang!

Before long, Baek Jooseok’s meteor was completely annihilated, leaving no debris behind. Those who had been fleeing in panic looked up at the sky in disbelief.

“The… the meteor has disappeared?…”

“We… we survived! We actually survived!”

“I thought we were really going to die…”

• Thud.

I suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

• You have temporarily used too much mana at once.
• Warning! Rest is required.

‘Shit, I know I need rest…’

But of course, this wasn’t the time to rest. Baek Jooseok was going berserk.

“Gah… Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Even as an A-rank top mage, Baek Jooseok had used the most burdensome SS-level spell, Meteor. There was no way his body could be fine.

His entire body began to writhe with mana.

‘This is bad. The corruption has begun.’

A person dominated by mana enters a [Berserk] state. In this state, they can cast powerful spells without specific incantations, using their life force instead of mana, greatly increasing their destructive power.

‘This is becoming a hassle.’

Baek Jooseok had likely been corrupted by the dark artifact he used.

‘It’s not called a forbidden artifact for nothing. It’s no surprise that he’d end up like this, especially using something beyond his capabilities.’

I cast a spell while lying on the ground. This was the perfect opportunity since Baek Jooseok was on the verge of entering a berserk state.

“Hellfire!”

• Insufficient mana.

‘Shit. This is bad.’

I quickly placed my hand on the ground and used the absorption spell. Then I recited the spell again.

“Hellfire!”

• Insufficient mana.

After several attempts, nearly all my internal mana was depleted. Having thrown around S-rank and SSS-rank spells, it was only natural that absorbing mana from the ground wouldn’t gather enough external mana to cast Hellfire.

‘That insane bastard Baek Jooseok…’

To be honest, I had thought he might do something reckless, but I never expected him to go this far.

Even using a dark artifact, I assumed he would keep it within reasonable limits.

I didn’t think he’d act so irrationally, draining his life force and casting Meteor on top of that.

‘That guy is truly risking his life. He’s not thinking about the consequences at all.’

If he keeps this up, no matter how many connections he has, he won’t be able to manage the fallout.

He was already trying to kill everyone with the meteor, and now he was recklessly using a forbidden dark artifact; he was bound to face a fitting punishment, if not the death penalty.

But this wasn’t the time to think about that.

• Whiiiiiing.

Baek Jooseok began to laugh coldly, scattering violet magic around him.

“Ah… I feel so powerful… It’s like I’ve become a sage…”

“I can see why the ancestors coveted dark artifacts so much.”

Then, Baek Jooseok looked at me and said with a smile, “From the looks of you, it seems you can’t use proper magic anymore.

Masked Instructor. The reason you will die is that you acted arrogantly without knowing your place.

Disgusting fool. Let me show you what happens when you ignore me.”

“Hellfire!”

As Baek Jooseok cast the spell, an immense fireball rushed toward me, entirely different from before.

“Magic Shield!”

In my current state, merely avoiding a direct hit would be a struggle.

I decided to pour all my remaining mana into the Magic Shield to withstand the attack, planning a counterattack afterward. But just then—

• Whoosh.

Seol Eun-a jumped in front of me.

I shouted at her, “What are you doing?! Get out of the way!”

But Seol Eun-a remained motionless, not budging from her spot.

I yelled again, “Get out of the way, damn it! You’ll die!”

However, Seol Eun-a smiled and replied, “I’m repaying the debt from when you saved me from the Black Gate.”

Baek Jooseok’s enhanced [S] Hellfire, fueled by his life force, was something even Seol Eun-a couldn’t fully block.

Knowing this, she created a magical barrier, but she simply closed her eyes, awaiting her fate.

• Crack.

‘This is a risk I really didn’t want to take.’

[Circle Release: Limit Break]

• The limit of the mana circle has been released.

In an instant, pure mana began to surge from my body.

“Baek Jooseok. You’re really screwed now, you bastard.”

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