I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 27

∥Confirmation of 3 Circles

∥Reward: Specific Casting –99%

“Ha, no matter how many times I see it, it’s really crazy.”

Randel muttered in disbelief as he looked at the phrase in front of him.

Even though it was just one spell, reducing the casting time to the extreme, he couldn’t understand how this was possible.

‘Well, that’s why it’s called a divine artifact.’

One thing that bothers him is that the place where he is seeing this phrase is his own mental world.

The mental world is entirely a space unique to each wizard.

It was natural since it represented the wizard’s mind.

Therefore, if a wizard is mentally unstable, significant changes occur in the mental world as well.

Conversely, if the mental world is contaminated, the wizard goes mad.

In fact, there are often wizards who go crazy while researching the contaminated mana of monsters or the demonic energy of demons.

That’s how important the mental world is.

But here, the phrase of the artifact appears?

‘…It means that it has become one with me.’

Randell instinctively knew.

That now, he could no longer separate himself from the artifact, the divine box.

To reject or deny it would be the same as abandoning himself.

He had no choice but to carry it with him, whether he lived or died.

‘Indeed…….’

Randell gave a bitter smile.

He had been thinking lately.

Everything in the world comes with a price. Even if it seems like you’re getting something for free, you will have to pay for it later.

As they say, the most expensive thing in the world is free.

But this artifact, which has sent him back to the past and greatly enhanced his casting abilities… just how great a price will it demand?

‘Well, if I’ve received something, I should return it.’

Randell had no intention of taking everything from the artifact and then wiping his mouth clean.

He had lived his whole life that way.

He couldn’t repay all the favors, but he had at least returned as much as he received.

The biggest reason, in fact, was.

“Now you’re telling me to give up on you because I’m afraid of some unknown price?”

…….

“I can’t do that even if I die. So if you want something, just tell me anytime.”

Randell spoke aloud to the empty air and then began to walk silently.

To the bottom of the dark sea, where no one was.

* * *

1st Circle magic is a point.

Magic only activates in a small area.

2nd Circle magic is a line.

The magic that activated in a small area flies away.

So, what is 3rd Circle magic?

‘It’s an area.’

Simply put, 1st and 2nd Circle magic work over a wider range.

The most representative magic of the 3rd Circle is the famous Fireball.

When you cast a Fireball, a fist-sized fireball appears, and when the magician throws it, it explodes.

In other words, the 1st Circle Fire magic, which was a point, turned into a 2nd Circle Fire Arrow, and then into a 3rd Circle Fireball.

‘Of course, the power is vastly different.’

Fireball doesn’t just ignite; it burns the surrounding area where it hits.

Additionally, the effect of mana adds to its powerful explosive force.

The range is about 3 meters.

It seems small, but considering the fragments, it’s quite wide.

Moreover, Fireball is mainly used on the battlefield.

What if a dozen magicians cast Fireball simultaneously?

Watching dozens of fireballs fly and explode is a spectacular sight.

‘If only it weren’t on the battlefield.’

The representative magic of the 3rd Circle, Shock Wave, works on a similar principle.

It’s an advanced version of Wind magic, which gives a wide-ranging shock to the area it touches, causing destruction.

There are many other spells, but this is what Randel knew well.

∥Reward: Specific Casting –99%

And the choice Randel made after seeing the sentence in front of him was.

“Let’s go with Lightning.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a spear was summoned.

At the same time, the sentences in front of him turned to dust and were absorbed into the spear.

Randel shivered for a moment.

Unlike when he was in the 2nd Circle, he felt as if the gap in his mind was being filled with something.

* * *

‘Phew, is it done?’

Randell sighed and immediately began casting.

Even though it had been a long time since he last cast a spell, it flowed naturally as if he had practiced it hundreds or thousands of times.

And after a moment.

“…Lightning.”

Crackle.

With the incantation, a bright yellow lightning bolt appeared in Randell’s hand.

The lightning bolt moved frantically. It darted in straight lines and swirled as if trying to catch its own tail.

It looked as if he was holding a round ball made of lightning in his hand.

However, no matter what happened, it did not escape from Randell’s hand.

“Ha, it’s been a while.”

Randell muttered as he watched the lightning bolt.

Lightning.

Lightning is a spell that creates a bolt of lightning to strike the opponent.

It is faster and more spectacular than any other spell, but it has the disadvantage of being extremely difficult to control.

If done incorrectly, you could end up frying the back of your ally’s head during battle after finally completing the spell.

‘But for me, it doesn’t matter.’

Casting was the one thing Randell couldn’t do in his previous life.

In terms of mana accumulation, control, and affinity, he had top-tier talent across the continent.

Even in his previous life, he had perfectly controlled the lightning bolt during the first demonstration of Lightning.

Crackle.

Randell suppressed his desire to shoot and extinguished the lightning in his hand.

Then he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his palm.

Even though he had contained the lightning for just a brief moment, his hand tingled.

It was a testament to the power of Lightning.

But Randell smacked his lips and thought.

‘Tsk, it’s a shame about Fireball.’

As mentioned before, the highlight of 3rd circle magic is Fireball.

The reason a mage can shed the apprentice label from the 3rd circle is because of Fireball, so there’s no point in talking about it.

So Randell also wanted to choose Fireball if possible, but unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Because Randel and I were not compatible at the moment.

‘I usually fight alone.’

It was likely to continue that way in the future.

Since I was alone, there would be no one to block the enemy in front of me, which meant I had to fight head-on like now.

‘But Fireball is an explosive magic.’

If I cast it immediately when there was an enemy, I could end up roasting myself with my own magic.

That’s why I chose Lightning.

‘I should practice Fireball whenever I have time.’

Fortunately, choosing one magic didn’t mean the end.

Other magic spells could also reduce casting time through simple repeated use.

It just took an insanely long time.

‘Phew, I’m glad I reached the 3rd circle without any issues.’

Randel sighed, straightened his back, and stood up.

The place where Randel was staying now was a building that used to be a branch of the Mage Guild.

In fact, the safest place was the lord’s castle, but perhaps because of the childhood memories, it felt like magic training went better here.

‘I should start clearing this place out.’

If I kept staying here, the future might change from what Randel knew.

The Mage Guild might move their branch to a neighboring territory, saying there was no suitable place here.

Then it would be hard to see my master.

‘The possibility is slim, but…’

Randel organized his thoughts and looked around.

‘Let’s clean up a bit.’

The fairly large single-story house was a complete mess.

To train magic, all the furniture had been removed, so the living room was empty at first, but not anymore.

On one side, there were piles of mana-drained magic stones.

On another side, there were poisonous plants with clear bite marks.

And on the last side, there were dishes from the food Randel had eaten.

‘Well, I’ve been living like a recluse for almost a month…’

Thanks to that, I was able to reach the 3rd circle.

“Ah, I’m exhausted.”

Randell, having loosened up, began to clean.

For other things, he could just tell his personal attendant to clean up roughly.

Thanks to Randell being stuck there for a whole month, the attendant must have had a good rest, so this much should be done.

However, he couldn’t show the empty magic stones.

Randell brought a large sack and put them all in.

‘If by any chance a rumor spreads that I can absorb mana from magic stones…’

That alone would be fine.

But rumors tend to grow as they pass from person to person, and eventually, they usually get completely distorted.

―They say he absorbed the mana solidified inside the magic stone.

―Then can’t he absorb human mana too?

―What? Some crazy guy is going around absorbing other wizards’ circles?

…something like that.

If it comes to that and he is designated as a target for assassination by the Wizard Guild, it would be a real headache.

‘Actually, I don’t care if small fries come at me, but high-level wizards are a bit…’

A fight between wizards is usually a casting battle.

How quickly and accurately one can complete the casting to break through the guard and strike the opponent wizard.

In that sense, Randell could be seen as having an absolute advantage in wizard battles.

But that was only when the circles were somewhat similar.

Wizards of 5th circle or higher can use double casting, casting multiple spells simultaneously.

Not only that, but there is also the memorize magic, which allows spells to be completed in advance and stored in the circle.

Since the spell is already completed, the casting time is really short.

‘And the biggest problem is high-level knights.’

In Randell’s case, knights were scarier.

To a wizard, a knight was like a moving fortress.

With strong anti-magic power―mana field, and even deflecting spells infused with mana into their swords.

Their physical abilities are also excellent, so unless it’s a range spell, they just dodge it.

No matter how fast the casting is, if it doesn’t hit, it’s all in vain.

‘Hmm, I can also enhance my body with mana.’

If he put his mind to it, he could somehow move on par with a lower-level knight.

At that level, even if he fought a mid-level knight, he wouldn’t be able to catch up, but he could roughly dodge.

‘The problem is that you can’t use magic while moving. It would be great if you could cast spells while running away… huh?’

Randell suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

For spells that achieve a one-second casting time, most of the calculations are handled by the sphere.

He assists, but only about 10%.

‘Then maybe I don’t need to do anything?’

Instead, he would use mana to enhance his body and dodge the knights’ swords.

He had plenty of mana to spare.

At first, it seemed like nonsense.

But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed possible.

‘Should I… try it?’

Randell hesitated.

Moving while using magic was one of the taboos for wizards.

If concentration was broken and the spell was canceled, that would be fortunate. If unlucky, mana could backflow.

‘Yeah, with my mana affinity, even if mana backflows, it won’t be a big deal. It happened before, didn’t it?’

The thing wizards fear the most is mana backflow.

If the flowing mana backflows, it deals a fatal blow to the mental world.

Until the mental world fully recovers, mana doesn’t flow properly, and in the worst case, the circle breaks.

If that happens, you can never use magic again.

Randell had faced such crises a few times in the past.

While casting, arrows would fly or monsters would attack, causing him to move unintentionally.

Each time, mana backflowed, but Randell didn’t suffer much damage.

It just ended with a light fever.

As if mana didn’t want to leave Randell’s body.

‘Alright, let’s give it a try!’

Pop.

Randell threw down the broom he was cleaning with and ran out to the yard.