I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 6 : Sorting Out the Ranks

In the heated atmosphere, I silently passed by them.

“Are you mute?”

Then, one of the sneering onlookers. I don’t remember seeing him anywhere, so he must be one of the common extras.

I suppressed the rising [Anger Management Issues]. Perhaps because it had been triggered frequently in the near future, I was slowly getting it under control. This was all thanks to [Transcendent Growth].

But I couldn’t just let it go either. Because the trait of [Arrogant Young Master], also known as the chuunibyou debuff, would not forgive it.

“You can’t even identify your opponent. As expected of a small fry.”

“What?”

Seeing the guy flinch for a moment, I openly showed my displeasure.

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have dared to insult a blood relative of the Zhuge family. Or should I take this as a challenge to the Zhuge family?”

“What? Blood relative? Then you’re that…”

The man took a step back, intimidated by my background. The other onlookers also swallowed dryly after finally noticing the Zhuge family crest embroidered on one side of my clothes.

‘First, I’ve seized the initiative.’

Having taken the center of the onlookers, I watched the fight unfold. A fierce battle was still going on there.

“His forms are just flashy.”

As the bald man rushed in and thrust his palm, a vein popped on the forehead of the bob-cut guy who was sent flying.

“This bastard!”

The two guys then started bickering and fighting. In an era where martial arts were revered, putting a bunch of hot-blooded students together was bound to lead to fights like this.

Watching their battle, I tried to deduce their origins.

The bald man seemed to be from the Shaolin Temple, judging by his palm techniques, and while the bob-cut guy’s thrusts with the side of his hand were quick, no particular sect came to mind.

‘Shaolin is sturdy, but bob-cut is nimble.’

Perhaps thanks to [Limitless Martial Body], I could grasp their movements to some extent despite my poor eyesight.

That level was slightly below or similar to my escort.

‘So they’re between second-rate and first-rate. This is no joke.’

Considering their age, it was a considerable achievement. Moreover, neither of them had shown their sect’s secret techniques yet, so they could be even stronger in reality.

After sparring for a long time, the two finally clashed with the side of their hands and palms in mid-air.

Bang!

Due to the repulsive force imbued with internal energy, they were thrown in opposite directions.

“Heok!”

“Hoo.”

The bob-cut guy was clearly exhausted. The bald man was also panting heavily, but he looked relatively stable.

Sensing this, the bob-cut guy changed his stance with a serious expression.

He spread his legs, slightly bent his waist, and brought the side of his hand to his waist.

‘Ah!’

At that sight, I immediately recognized his martial art.

That stance, like a crouching beast about to pounce, was the drawing sword technique. It was one of the martial arts of the Diancang Sect.

The trademark of the Diancang Sect, which lived and died by its intensity in the game.

Abandoning mobility and taking a stance meant he was preparing a final blow.

‘This will decide the match.’

Everyone in this place sensed it.

The bald man also changed his stance as if he had steeled his resolve. He probably intended to break through even knowing it was a trap.

The bob-cut guy taking that stance was both a provocation to come at him directly and an action with the ulterior motive of buying time to recover his stamina if necessary.

As the tense standoff continued, the moment the bald man’s figure shot forward, the bob-cut guy’s figure also disappeared.

Soon, with a silence, the two stopped in a crossed stance.

“You’re sturdy.”

At the bob-cut guy’s murmur, the bald man gave a faint smile.

“You were faster.”

At the same time, the bald man collapsed as if tilting. The winner was the bob-cut guy.

Hiding his exhaustion, the bob-cut guy raised his head and declared in a loud voice.

“From today, the head of this room is me, Lee Huimun…!”

But the guy who was about to shout suddenly stopped his gaze on me.

“What are you? Those clothes, are you the third son of the Zhuge family who caused trouble this time?”

Lee Huimun took a step towards me as if he didn’t like it.

But it was the people around who reacted to his words.

“So he really is the third son of the Zhuge family…”

“Isn’t he the applicant who received a blow from an instructor?”

“I heard he brought something called a platinum plaque for the first time in 10 years?”

The murmuring spreads.

The rumors really traveled fast. How on earth did they hear about the platinum plaque? Well, among the applicants, there must be some who are connected to the instructors or professors through personal connections.

Lee Huimun also seemed to have heard the rumor, as he was slightly frowning while looking this way. But he didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.

He approached me and scattered his presence in all directions as he declared.

“From today, I am the head of this room. Don’t go around acting up just because you trust your family.”

Lee Huimun pointed at himself and sneered.

It was a provocation no different from saying ‘let’s fight if you have a problem’.

On the other hand, I had a frail-looking appearance and a body that seemed to have not learned a single martial art. He probably thought the rumors were exaggerated, or that I had passed because of my family’s prestige.

‘Certainly, in my current state, I can’t win.’

I looked at Lee Huimun with a cold gaze.

Even though he was clearly exhausted, I could feel the pressure unique to a strong person.

In fact, there was no opponent here that I could guarantee victory against right now. It had only been a day since I created the first circle.

‘But if I just leave him alone, he might become a nuisance.’

The martial world is a world where the strong prey on the weak.

The strong are treated well, and the weak are despised. This was the same even at the bottom.

Instead of answering, I raised the side of my hand just as he had. Then, a clear blue light flickered at my fingertips. In an instant, a commotion arose around me.

“Heok!”

“Sword qi?”

No. I just thinly wrapped a first-circle light magic around it. But to the lower-level people, it would look different.

In reality, it was a basic magic that used the luminescent phenomenon that occurs when you just clump mana together.

A trick that couldn’t even be compared to sword qi, which maximized cutting power.

However, there was no one among those gathered here who could see through it.

“I don’t know who is pointing fingers at whom. Lee Huimun of the Diancang Sect.”

At my words, the guy made an even more surprised expression. I just threw it in to look cool, but it seems to have worked well.

“…To think there would be a master of the peak level here.”

Lee Huimun swallowed dryly and lowered his presence. I was inwardly relieved at that and ended the conversation.

“I don’t need a room head. Do as you please.”

And then I turned my back as if I wasn’t interested.

As I approached, the onlookers flinched and moved out of the way. Only then could I look back at my still glowing hand.

‘Ah, I haven’t turned off the light magic yet.’

I couldn’t even swing it properly, but they were moving away on their own.

‘Good for me.’

If they got scared and stayed away on their own, it was convenient for me.

Soon, I took the innermost seat and sat cross-legged. I ignored the murmuring around me.

‘First, I’ll increase the total amount of the circle.’

The amount of mana in the newly created circle was pitifully small. If it weren’t for the talent of [Absolute Magic], even forming the circle would have been impossible.

In fact, it was safe to say that it was still an unstable first circle.

‘Moreover, [Mana Severance] isn’t completely healed either.’

I had barely resolved the symptoms of [Mana Severance] with an elixir, but it was still not enough. I needed more mana to expand and strengthen the mana circuit.

And so, I began to meditate and accumulate mana within the circle.

* * *

“Wake up!”

As morning came, a booming voice echoed through the student building.

“Damn it.”

I got up, spitting out a curse. I had sensed the fate that was right in front of me.

Soon, the door burst open and the instructor’s voice was heard.

“It’s time for the morning run!”

It was a terrible declaration. Since the process of selecting applicants remained, the final exam was in 5 days. Until then, I had to do this damn joint training every morning.

‘I have to get out of it.’

Right now, I couldn’t even run properly. When the instructor asked for those who wanted to be excused, I immediately raised my hand.

“What is it?”

“I want to be excused. I have an injury.”

“If you’re going to pull out because you’re sick, why did you come here! You can’t get stronger with that kind of mentality!”

‘Then why did you ask?’

I grumbled inwardly and headed to my seat. It seemed I couldn’t avoid the training.

‘Damn it, I can’t be called a fraud on the first day.’

Of course, it wasn’t like I didn’t have a plan for this situation. It’s just that I had to take a bit of a gamble.

“The goal is the back mountain of the student building, reach the summit there and come back here! The order of breakfast and attitude points will be determined by the order of return!”

The instructor said, pointing to one of the back mountains. The final exam was still left, but since I was in the student building, I couldn’t skip the training.

“What if we don’t know the way?”

Gu Dong, the bald man from Shaolin Temple who had sparred yesterday, asked.

“Follow the prospective students who came in on the first day. Once you enter the back mountain path, you will also know where the summit is.”

As he said, on one side of the spacious training ground, I could see the students from other rooms who had come in on the first day. The instructor, who had finished his explanation, raised his arm and then quickly lowered it.

“Now, the morning run begins!”

At the same time, the prospective students started running towards the back mountain. I was left behind alone, following them at a fast pace.

“What are you doing?! Why aren’t you running!”

A roar came from behind, but I didn’t care. To be precise, I couldn’t comply with that demand.

Because this was my maximum speed right now.

I could feel some students from up ahead glancing this way and whispering.

“Didn’t he use sword qi? But he has no stamina like that?”

“It might be a deception. I heard that the third son of the Zhuge family is such a scoundrel.”

“Is he saying he can overtake us anytime? Damn it!”

The rumors spread on their own. But I didn’t answer them.

No, I couldn’t. My stamina was so close to the worst that I couldn’t even care about such things.

“Damn it.”

I panted heavily, looking at the group that had already gotten far away. The worst outcome in this situation is to come in last.

But if I come in too late, I’ll have to skip breakfast. For this frail body, that is also fatal.

‘I have to increase my speed somehow.’

I moved forward, trying my best to recall the map of the student building I had seen in the game.

The instructor who had been cursing at me from behind was now silent, as if he had given up.

‘Is this already a crisis?’

After walking for a long time, what I reached was the entrance of the back mountain. It was a course with a not-so-steep slope, but for me right now, it was more daunting than any rough terrain.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I hadn’t been just playing around for the past few days. While increasing my mana, I had also been building up my physical abilities as if doing rehabilitation training.

As proof of that, wasn’t I, who had struggled with a light outing on the first day, able to reach the back mountain at such a fast pace?

A severely ill patient had become a mildly ill patient. Others would laugh, but for me, it was a meaningful growth. It was probably thanks to the synergy of [Limitless Martial Body] and [Transcendent Growth].

The problem is that this level is ridiculously insufficient to break through the current situation.

‘Do I have to gamble in the end?’

I climbed the mountain path, panting for breath.

Stone steps that had been appropriately stacked so that one could climb with various strides, as if for training. As I walked between them and explored the surroundings, I suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.

‘Something is hidden.’

I instinctively entered the bushes. And after wandering for a while, I finally found what I was looking for.

“Here it is.”

As I stretched my palm towards the empty air, the space shimmered as if a transparent wall had been hit. It was a formation.

Confirming this, a smile naturally appeared on my face.

‘As expected.’

I had felt it when I first sensed the mana in the elixir and created the first circle, but this world also had magical phenomena.

A prime example of that was the formation spread out before my eyes right now.

‘To think that magic was a concept compatible with formations.’

The formation resembled illusion magic. As soon as I stepped inside, my vision changed in an instant, and another path appeared.

Unlike the training path, it was a kind of shortcut that the instructors used or that existed to move troops in case of an emergency.

‘With this, I can cut straight to the vicinity of the summit.’

I was at my physical limit, but I gritted my teeth and walked on. My lungs felt like they were not just dry, but on fire, and my whole body trembled.

But even so, I believed in the talent of [Limitless Martial Body]. I was confident that I could adapt faster than anyone else when it came to using my body.

As I was walking at a fast pace for a long time, I felt a presence from the training path that could be seen far below.

Looking down, I could see the lower-ranking students running along the winding training path below. The thought that I would have been struggling even further behind them if I hadn’t used this shortcut made my body tremble.

Judging by their running speed, the top-ranking students must have already passed this place. Still, I had gotten quite a bit ahead.

There was still quite a way to the summit.

As I was about to let out a slightly calmed breath and move forward, I felt a strange presence again.

‘I can’t see properly.’

It seemed like there was a commotion, but I couldn’t hear well because of [Dulled Senses].

“Tsk.”

I had no choice but to use a certain amount of mana to assist my vision.

I adjusted the curvature of the lens with mana and strengthened the muscles around my eyes to focus.

Then, my vision became much clearer, as if I were wearing glasses.

“This works.”

Originally, it required delicate control, so operating mana in this way was only possible after the third circle, but the talent of [Absolute Magic] made all this possible.

Feeling the cheat-like nature of the mythic-grade talent once again, I looked at the point where the two presences were entangled.

Three guys were confronting each other there. It was a situation where two were blocking one.

‘Huh?’

But one of the men who was at a disadvantage looked familiar. It was the bob-cut man, Lee Huimun.

I immediately focused my mana on my ears and raised my hearing as if using a hearing aid.

“To do something like this, do you want to be disqualified as a student?”

It was Lee Huimun’s words.

“Well. I don’t know what we did to deserve this.”

“Just leave it and go. That thing.”

The two men, holding tree branches, pointed at the bamboo plaque that Lee Huimun was holding.

It was also a token that the instructor gave out only one per person as proof that they had turned at the halfway point.

‘There are always hyena-like guys wherever you go.’

People who forget about training and just try to snatch other people’s things with tricks.

The so-called bamboo plaque scramble. It was an event that often appeared in the very early stages of the game.

‘It looks quite dangerous if it goes on like this.’

No matter how strong Lee Huimun was, between second-rate and first-rate, it was difficult for him to subdue two prospective students holding thick tree branches with his bare hands in his exhausted state.

‘Should I help him?’

If I did, my arrival would be much later. As I was inwardly conflicted, I heard Lee Huimun’s question.

“Even if you take mine, you’ll still be one short, won’t you?”

“Don’t worry. Because you’re the last one.”

One of the two men said, shaking a bamboo plaque.

At that sight, my gaze calmly settled.

When I looked up, I could still see the distant summit.

Do I really have to go all the way there?

‘I’m lucky.’

The reason to hesitate disappeared. I lowered my stance and quietly approached the scene of the confrontation.

(End of Chapter)