Dragon-Devouring Mage - Chapter 8

Episode 8

EPISODE.04

Anger!

You can feel the energy spreading through your body. Could it be because the size of the magic stone was bigger?

He could feel a much larger amount of mana swirling through every nook and cranny of his body than the first one he ate.

‘now!’

Russell put a few more magic stones into his mouth without stopping.

At the same time, a courtesy green window floated in front of my eyes.

[Mission]

Achieve the 2nd circle.

Complete the 2nd circle using the large amount of manastones you have acquired.

[Reward]

Increased understanding of the attributes currently possessed.

Normally, I would have read the contents and rewards of the mission carefully.

However, Russell, who had just ingested a large amount of magic stones, did not have the time to do so.

Mana spreading throughout the body Now was the time to control this mana and turn it into a circle.

‘Slowly, like putting a rein on a rampaging horse.’

It was a car that consumed more than ten magic stones at once.

If it had been in the past, the mana rod might not have been able to withstand this much mana and would have exploded.

But now it was different.

‘Because I trained the Mana Rod with the Overlord for the past time.’

In addition, the muscles created through the Wizard Body even reduced the burden on the mana load.

“Whoa-.”

with a long sigh.

Russell sat down on the spot.

After taking a comfortable posture, I started the circle work.

It drives the mana from the whole body to the heart, then rotates the mana in the heart.

Then, a clear circle of Circle 1 appeared.

‘Don’t make up your mind impatiently, take it slow-.’

On top of that, Russell added his newly acquired mana.

Russell rotated them, feeling the new magic slowly begin to cling to the top of the first circle.

The magical power inside a circle and the magical power rotating outside slowly begin to resonate.

Following the trajectory of the rotation, another circle began to emerge anew.

Just a faint line.

But it was only like that in the beginning.

As the external mana landed stably on the first circle and the speed of rotation gradually increased, the traces of the circle also became more and more distinct.

second circle.

‘I’ve already done it once. That’s why I saved the memory of that time-.’

more stable as possible.

What Russell felt while creating another circle like that was that the mana he received through the magic stone was far more pure than he expected.

‘It feels like mana in its natural state that has not been processed at all…’

He had never put such pure mana into his body as he does now.

That’s why I was more curious about the effect of creating a circle with such pure mana.

A few hours to close your eyes and continue the circle work.

“Sup. after. Sup. after.”

With breathing gradually stabilizing, the mana flowing over Russell’s body began to subside little by little.

As the 2nd circle was gradually completed, the mana that had not been captured gradually stabilized.

And finally.

“Whoa.”

Russell let out a long breath.

In his room, where the traces of magical power had completely disappeared, he opened his eyes in a flash.

That moment.

A sharp light flashes along Russell’s eyes.

An amber eye light spilled out, revealing a vertically slit pupil.

It was the same eye that made Coma tremble just by looking at it the day before.

[You have completed the mission. Compensation will be given.]

[Understanding of the fire attribute…]

[Water attribute…]

.

Then a green window popped up and an alarm sounded in succession.

‘How much time has passed?’

Judging from the sky outside the window, it seemed to be completely dark.

Russell stood up and checked his sweaty clothes.

And approached the window.

clap.

I opened the window to ventilate the room and let in a cool breeze.

Anger-.

A wind full of the smell of the night blows in an instant.

Russell’s eyes, which had been emitting amber eyes, suddenly returned to their original state.

“hmm.”

The wind was slightly warmer than before, and it seemed that the start of the new semester was definitely approaching.

‘Given the position of the moon, it must have been about three hours?’

2nd circle around the winter break before going up to 4th grade.

‘It’s several years faster than my previous life.’

In his previous life, he repeatedly repeated grades and couldn’t achieve the 2nd circle until he was expelled.

‘Where should I try it?’

Since I had just completed the 2nd circle, I wanted to try the magic of that circle.

‘For now, Fire Arrow.’

Unlike Fire, which simply creates and throws fist-sized fireballs, it was magic that created clearly shaped arrows of flame.

As the circle increased, not only the form of magic but also many things changed.

‘Both bullet speed, power and penetration are incomparable to fire.’

As such, Arrow-type magic was not so easy even within the 2nd Circle.

A magic that would take several minutes to create if you had just completed the 2nd circle.

But roar!

As frightening as it is to recall formulas and chanting, magical powers quiver and arrows of flame appear.

“her-!”

Even Russell, who demonstrated the magic, was surprised at how fast it was.

In addition, the amount of magical power required to materialize Fire Arrow was far less than he had imagined.

‘If it’s this much…’

If you try a little more, you can use it enough in real life.

It’s probably because of

his much purer magic than in his previous life… and his understanding of ‘intermediate fire properties’.

It’s a review, but is it because I’ve been constantly reading magic books in the student library?

Over the past twenty days, Russell’s level of understanding of magic by attribute has increased considerably.

Among them, the highest degree of understanding of fire attribute magic was already over 13%.

‘Let’s try other magic.’

Russell quickly tried out other elemental-based spells as well.

Finally, the deadline Hubert had said had all passed, and the scheduled exam day came.

* * *

“The method will be that I ask and you answer.”

I thought it was just a normal way to solve problems. I can’t believe it was a question-and-answer method.

It was a little unexpected, but there was no need to panic.

‘Nothing will change anyway.’

It’s just that the paper has changed to the form of words.

The fact that Hubert came up with a problem and he solved it remained unchanged.

“I will begin when I am ready.”

“yes. You can start.”

“Then, the first question is…”

The first question was a complex understanding of the subjects taught at the academy.

The question of whether it is possible to reach a higher theory by tying together the subjects that are divided one by one.

“That part…”

The answer came out without the slightest hesitation.

“Then the second one is next.”

Since the first question was easily answered, the second question can be raised a bit more difficult.

“Third….”

The difficulty of the question that started like that starts to rise like a steep slope according to Russell’s unstoppable answer.

And when I finally spit out the last question.

“Which of the four structures that embody magic is the most important?”

Hubert realized his mistake.

‘I made a mistake.’

To ask a student what he realized only after he had grown old.

I was a little surprised and excited, but no matter how much I think about it, it’s an excessive question.

However, Russell’s answer was already started.

‘A method of generating phenomena in the world using mana magic.’

Wizards often divide this process of development into four stages.

Understanding (理解) Visualization (心象) Construction (構築) Manifestation (顯現).

‘It’s a way to understand a phenomenon, draw an image, build a formula, and manifest it in the world.’

To name the most important of them.

“-I think it might be an image.”

The answer mixed with hesitation, as if he was a little unsure. Even so, since he had answered, Hubert was curious about the reason.

“Why do you think so?”

“Understanding of phenomena and construction of formulas can be fully mastered through effort and learning. But building an image is impossible without free thinking.”

“Give me an example.”

“Arrow and bolt-type magic are basically made by mimicking arrows.”

That is why the shape of the arrow is reminiscent of the intuitiveness of the name alone.

Association here was the very concept of mental image.

“Then, on the other hand, if you unfold this image in a way other than an arrow, it will be possible to develop magic in a form other than an arrow.”

It is a differentiation of magic that derives a completely different type of magic from one magic formula.

“And if you don’t put limits on this image. Wouldn’t it be possible to recreate phenomena that do not exist in the world with magic?”

sunny shade.

Hot, burning ice and the like are just such things.

The power that started to understand the world, but twists the laws of the world.

That is the essence of magic.

In that sense, Russell’s answer was closer to the essence of magic than anyone could have imagined.

Because he realized that fact, he was able to rise to the level of a 5th circle mage.

However, a young man who is not yet 20 years old understands the importance of imagery, even if it is a fragment.

“….”

After a long silence in response to the speechless reply.

“…Amazing.”

Hubert was finally able to be honest about his feelings.

“At your level, it really shouldn’t be easy to find books to read in the student library. I admit what you said. Russell.”

“then…?”

Hubert opened his drawer as Russell looked at him expectantly.

A piece of paper that seemed to have been prepared in advance was held out in front of him.

“I prepared it just in case, but I never thought I would actually hand it over. It was completely unexpected.”

As soon as the pass was handed over, an alarm sounded and a green window popped up.

[The mission has been completed. Compensation will be given.]

The presence of two new magic stones is felt from the inside of the opposing hand that was handed the pass.

How effective would the low-grade magic stones be compared to the lowest-grade ones?

I wanted to try an experiment right away.

It was then.

A pity passed over Professor Hubert’s eyes as he handed over the pass.

‘To think that such a gifted child could not live a proper life as a wizard because of Mana Road’s problems.’

A small question mark popped up in his eyes while he was stroking Russell’s entire body for a moment.

‘hmm?’

Somehow, it felt as if Russell’s mana had increased a little.

Obviously, it wasn’t that different when we met in the supplementary class 15 days ago, but did something happen during that 15 days?

‘No. Did I feel wrong?’

It was only for a moment that I felt that way.

Professor Hubert did not feel wrong.

In fact, it was also true that Russell achieved the 2nd circle.

Nevertheless, there are two reasons why Professor Hubert did not notice the change.

The first is that Russell is not rotating two circles right now, and the second is because of the differentiation of the circle that Russell created.

Of course, how exactly this distinction came about and what kind of differentiation it had was something that even Russell himself was completely unaware of.

“More than that…”

Professor Hubert, who had been sweeping Russell’s entire body once more, asked, staring lightly at his shoulders and legs.

“Are you doing any exercise? My body seems to have changed a little.”

“ah. You noticed.”

At his words, Russell spoke with skillful acting.

“I had seen the saying that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body, so I took the time to start exercising. After really sweating, I felt like I was able to concentrate better.”

“Hoo.”

Professor Hubert carefully stroked his chin.

Come to think of it, isn’t it only the body that has changed?

‘Looks like the gun is starting to dwell in your eyes too.’

Is it because your stamina has increased?

“I’m sure you’ve heard of that. It was mainly what the knights said, but… I’m at an age where I need to take care of my health, so I don’t think it’s bad for me to exercise.”

“Professor, you’re still correcting it, but I think it’s a good enough idea to try exercising.”

“Thank you for saying that. I wonder if I’ve been holding on to the busy man for too long. You may go now.”

Professor Hubert added.

“I understand the desire to go to the first floor bookshelf right away, but I recommend not going today.”

“yes?”

Russell asked before leaving.

“I heard that today is the day the bookshelves are organized. If you go, you won’t be able to get in.”

It was the day before the start of the new semester.

* * *

There is nothing special about the first day of school.

No, rather, it was more spacious than when this semester started.

Besides the opening ceremony, there were no special events to mention.

Maybe.

‘It must be to ease the travel addiction of students returning from afar.’

Some returned to the academy a few days before the semester started, while others did not.

Thanks to that, I was able to go to the professor’s library despite the relatively early hour.

Kki-Ik-.

As I opened the large door and entered, the distinctive smell of old books piled up in layers hit me.

‘It’s awesome!’

At the same time, countless books came into view.

‘This is only the first floor.’

How many more books are there on the second and third floors?

“Hmm?”

At that time, the librarian who was managing the library reacted.

He was buried in a book, looked up, and met eyes with Russell, who was standing in the doorway.

“Looks like you are still a student. I understand your love for books, but students don’t deserve to come in here yet…”

Russell handed over the pass he had received from Professor Hubert.

After checking Professor Hubert’s seal on the pass, he looked at Russell with a little surprise and said,

“Huh. A wonderful guy logo. It means that I passed the test of that strict Professor Hubert…”

Professor Hubert was quite a famous person even within the academy.

His amazing ability to reach the 5th circle at the age of his late 30’s and the evaluation that he might reach the 6th circle before he reaches his 50’s.

A mage (a word meaning a mage of 5th circle or higher) who has quite a bit of talent.

It is not unreasonable for the librarian to look at Russell with admiration.

“May I go in now?”

“Of course it is. It should only be on the 1st floor. I’d like to give permission, but unfortunately you don’t have the right to enter the library on the second floor.”

“yes.”

After bowing politely, Russell headed for the bookshelf.

Although there are books in the library for teaching, not all of them are valuable.

Among them, only the difficulty of the theory was high, but there were quite a few things that could be obtained in the general market.

‘Except, if possible, the things I read in my previous life…’

Two books were thus selected.

One of them will be read here today, and the other will be checked out to read in class tomorrow.

After finishing the classification of the book, the mission rises in front of Russell’s eyes again.

[Mission]

I didn’t even have to check what kind of mission it was.

‘It must be the mission that increases the speed and accuracy of speed reading.’

Shall we start then?

Russell, who rolled up his sleeves and started reading, quickly fell into the contents of the book.

Although he had clear goals of reviving his family and avenging his father, Russell himself did not hate magic.

Could it be because

The expectation of living a much better life as a wizard made the act of accumulating new knowledge a pleasure.

‘They all become my manure.’

Manure to live a life as a wizard.

How long have you been focusing on books?

“Yes?”

From a little distance away, someone’s distinctive voice was heard.

Nevertheless, Russell, who was concentrating on the book, did not hear the sound, and the owner of the voice smiled.

He approached Russell with a curious gaze and opened his mouth as if to listen.

“Even though it’s on the first floor, there are students in the professor’s library. This is a very strange thing.”

“ah-.”

Distracted by the sound, Russell turned his head away.

“uh?”

but what

No one was standing where the voice came from.

Instead, from Russell’s back.

I heard that voice earlier.

“This is it, child.”

“omg-!”

Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Russell forgot that it was a library and let out a scream as he dropped the book in his hand.

A middle-aged lady with white hair neatly braided back was looking at Russell with a pleased gaze.

dragon-swallowed wizard