Chapter 405
Wirad realized it. This time, Taesan was fighting with the goal of victory.
“Then let’s begin.”
By the rules of the God of Magic, nearly all powers except magic were sealed. Wirad’s staff moved. Black dots appeared in midair, soon forming lines that rained down toward Taesan.
A perfect domination of space with no room to dodge.
Taesan responded with magic.
[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]
[You have activated Magic Focus.]
Starlight Arrow was compressed and fired at the black lines. It couldn’t withstand them and was crushed, but by twisting the trajectory, Taesan created space to evade.
Rumble!
Taesan dodged Wirad’s attack, breaking through with magic alone.
Wirad was not flustered. Instead, he laughed cheerfully as he waved his staff.
Whirrr!
Dozens of black dots were drawn in the air.
Like divine punishment, hundreds of lines stabbed down to the ground. Taesan moved his body.
Rumble!
He wielded magic. He twisted space to create openings, used Random Blink to widen the distance, and immediately stacked and detonated spells to block the downpour of black lines.
Wirad created a black dot at the tip of his staff and swept a wide arc.
“Go.”
Rumble!
A fan-shaped plane erupted from the arc, wildly consuming space.
Taesan raised his hand.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
[You have activated Distortion.]
Stacked Distortion was activated. The moment the fan-shaped plane touched the twisted space, the plane began to warp.
Taesan didn’t miss that moment.
[You have activated Forced Exclusion.]
[You have activated Magic Focus.]
[You have activated Magic Acceleration.]
Boom!
The power of exclusion focused on the twisted space. The plane squealed as it came to a stop.
[You have activated Distortion.]
[You have activated Magic Explosion.]
Taesan activated Distortion again and exploded the space. The charging plane shattered, creating an opening to dodge. Taesan easily moved his body and avoided the attack.
Wirad bared his teeth and swung his staff.
Black lines filled the space, but they could not reach Taesan.
Fire and ice swept the world. Flawless magic resisted Wirad’s power.
[Magic proficiency has increased by 1%.]
[You have acquired [Magic Circle].]
[You have acquired [Magic Interference].]
[You have acquired [Memorize].]
The battle with Wirad was conducted solely with magic.
As his magic proficiency continued to rise, it finally reached 80%.
[You have activated Frozen World.]
Crack!
Frozen World was activated. The power it contained was on a completely different level than before. Freezing everything in its path, it rushed through space.
Wirad raised his staff. Countless black lines shattered Frozen World.
“Impressive.”
Wirad offered pure admiration.
Taesan had perfectly grasped Wirad’s patterns and strategies.
As a result, even after a long battle, he had not suffered a single scratch.
Of course, Wirad was an immortal who had lived as a magician for an extremely long time. There were still many patterns he hadn’t revealed.
But every pattern and action had a fundamental principle at its core. Taesan had now grasped that principle. No matter how much Wirad pressed him, he would not fall easily.
“But that’s all.”
He would not fall easily.
But that was his limit.
Wirad moved his staff, sending a deluge of black lines at once.
Taesan countered with magic.
The power of magic at 80% proficiency was undeniably strong. The other magicians watching wondered if it was really the same magic they had learned.
Rumble!
But he still couldn’t break through the black lines.
They weren’t neutralized as easily as before, and their power was stronger, but he still couldn’t pierce through.
“I reached the realm of immortality with nothing but this magic.”
Wirad murmured.
“If you used your true power, perhaps you could, but with magic alone, you cannot reach me.”
Rumble…
Black lines crowded around Taesan. If Wirad wanted, he could separate the lines and pierce Taesan’s entire body.
“So, what will you do now?”
There was no chance of victory.
And Taesan knew it too.
“I never thought I could win in the first place.”
Everything he’d done until now was to lay the groundwork for victory.
Taesan looked at Wirad through the black lines.
“Your authority. Dimensional Definition. Magic that manipulates dot, line, and plane. I was curious how you wielded it, but it’s simpler than I expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“The balance of forces created by opposition between outside and inside.”
Wirad grinned.
“That’s correct.”
The fundamental unit of Wirad’s magic was a small dot.
It was a magic that compressed immense power without releasing any ripple—a very complex spell.
The method for creating it was simple.
‘Extreme compression of mana.’
Compress mana again and again until it forms a small dot.
By itself, it amounted to nothing. The compressed power was uncontrollable and would explode right away. After several experiments, Taesan realized this.
So he surrounded it with mana from outside.
He compressed another amount of mana equal to the compressed mana and wrapped the compressed mana with it.
“But I couldn’t figure out how it’s done.”
Even after understanding the theory, Taesan failed every attempt. No matter how many times he tried to surround compressed mana with more compressed mana, the balance achieved through opposition like Wirad’s never formed. The doubly compressed mana just exploded.
Perhaps only Wirad’s unique way of using mana made it possible.
“So what will you do? Do you plan to experiment here for a hundred years trying to steal my magic? I won’t stop you. After that long, you might find the slightest possibility.”
“No.”
Taesan shook his head.
“I can’t do something like that.”
Wirad was a genius.
When it came to magic alone, his talent could not even be compared to Taesan’s.
What Wirad achieved was a realm reached only after decades, maybe centuries, of relentless dedication.
“I’m not a magician to begin with. I don’t plan to devote that much time to a single kind of magic, nor do I have the talent. And honestly, it’s too much trouble.”
He was an adventurer.
A person who obtained every possible power and used it in his own way.
“So I’ll just take the parts that benefit me.”
The principle behind Wirad’s magic was a balance between the inner and the outer through opposition.
It didn’t have to be done with mana alone.
Black power flowed from Taesan’s hand. Just as Wirad was about to attack, he paused his staff.
“…That’s…”
Wirad was an immortal.
He possessed the strength worthy of it and had been blessed by the God of Magic. He had even defended worlds being destroyed by the Old gods, following Zervand’s orders.
Wirad had defeated monsters and saved countless worlds.
That’s why he knew exactly what kind of power Taesan was now using.
“The power of the Old gods?”
Taesan was wielding the power of the Old gods, something no being of this world was permitted to use.
“Most skills other than magic are sealed, but this one wasn’t.”
The reason was simple enough to guess. The power of the Old gods was a force beyond laws. Zervand’s rules couldn’t suppress it.
Now that Taesan had reached immortality, he could control the black power to some extent.
But using it alongside magic required a level of control far beyond what Taesan could manage. It was impossible in his current state.
So he needed an extra step.
Taesan took out materials and put them into his wristguard.
This was the magic tower where countless alchemical ingredients were available.
[You have activated Partial World Alteration.]
It wasn’t the space under Zervand’s law that was being altered.
It was Taesan himself.
The power of mana within him was amplified, and he obtained perfect control over it.
Taesan gathered mana and the black power.
Could he combine the black power with something other than divinity?
No being in this world could manipulate the black power. Only Taesan could do it.
Black power and divinity naturally repelled each other. The two forces rampaged and clashed, and Taesan forcibly suppressed them through sheer strength.
But with black power and magic, magic simply couldn’t withstand the black power. In every case, the magic was devoured and erased by it.
He’d been troubled by this, but Wirad showed him the way.
Condensed mana began to manifest Frozen World. Taesan then surrounded it with the black power.
What was needed was balance through opposition.
The black power raged. As if refusing to obey, as if it wanted to consume everything in the world, it went wild.
‘Shut up.’
Taesan forcefully exerted his will.
He crushed the black power, which resisted as if it had a will of its own.
Whether it was the power of the Old gods or a force beyond laws didn’t matter. It was his power.
That meant it had to obey his will.
With strong resolve, Taesan trampled the black power. His rank itself crushed it.
The black power trembled, then settled down.
The inner mana and the outer black power began to balance each other through opposition.
Taesan released the power as is.
[You have activated Frozen World.]
Crack-crack-crack!
A surge of cold swept the world. But this time, it wasn’t white.
It was pitch black.
Wirad hurriedly swung his staff. The lines that dominated Taesan’s surroundings split apart, thousands of lines trying to pierce him.
But as they met the black cold—
Crack-crack-crack!
The lines shattered and scattered in all directions.
For the first time, Wirad’s magic was broken.
“That’s it.”
Taesan clenched his fist. At the same time, a system window appeared.
[You have acquired Magic of Negation.]
“.Ha. Haha! Hahahahaha!”
Staring blankly at Taesan, Wirad burst into mad laughter. His long beard shook as he gazed at Taesan with wild eyes.
“How can you wield the power of the Old gods as your own? I can’t understand it!”
He slammed his staff down. A powerful wave spread along the floor.
“Good! Very good! This place is perfect for accumulating magical knowledge, but it’s full of weaklings! To reach a higher dimension, that’s not enough! One must fight strong opponents with full force!”
Wirad pointed his staff at Taesan.
“Come! Immortal of a different kind! Raise me to a higher level!”
His staff swung wildly.
[Wirad’s authority manifests. Dimensional Shedding is activated.]
At the tip of the staff, a dot formed.
Unlike before, its color was white, not black.
There was still no sense of power, but Taesan instinctively understood. That white dot was something close to a law of the world, not just a force.
Taesan gathered mana and black power. He had acquired the skill, and he knew exactly how to use it.
Black magic manifested in the world.
[You have activated Frozen World [Negation].]
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(T/N: i apologize for the super delayed chapters, baby time was so rough. baby is currently on a sleep regression phase. good news though, i should be back to our regular release rate (or even faster) by the end of this month. we’ve got everything arranged, so we’re all set. )
