Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 61

The Wizard Daze

“Huff, huff! Huff!”

Galik felt his breath catching up to his throat, but he couldn’t afford to stop.

At this very moment, the brothers who trusted and followed him were likely dying.

“H-Hey! How much further?!”

When the breathless voice of Manfred, who had been chasing after him, shouted, Galik felt a surge of irritation. However, without that old man, they wouldn’t be able to complete the ritual properly, so he had to wait until then.

“We’re almost there!”

The small-framed boy wizard tucked under his arm wasn’t particularly heavy, yet Galik was already feeling the limits of his stamina—perhaps due to his lack of exercise.

“Phew…”

The place they arrived at was halfway up the inland mountains, far from the Harana Canal. Approaching a certain hidden space, obscured by grass and magic, he recited a spell. A stone gate appeared and then slid open to the side.

“Let’s go in!”

“Y-Yes!”

After confirming that Manfred had also entered, Galik closed the stone gate and sighed in relief. Although they had left too many traces while running here, no one would ever imagine that he had escaped through a secret passage.

Even if they somehow discovered this fact, it would take them a long time to chase all the way here and find the secret door.

“Now that we’ve come this far, they won’t be able to pursue us any longer.”

“A g-good idea. Let’s move quickly!”

Once they completed the ritual here, retrieved the Force Vessel, and returned to deal with the Holy Knights and erase all the evidence, a completely different life would begin.

Having made a contract with at least a high-level demon, he would obtain the great black magic book that all black magicians envied. With such powerful black magic as his source, he would no longer need to live under the watchful eyes of the nobles.

And that wasn’t all.

Archbishop Manfred had agreed to contract with one of the ‘Evil Guardians’ in exchange for the Bloodstone. If they combined their powers and built up their forces, even Kaladan wouldn’t be able to ignore their strength!

As they reached the deepest part of the passage, an altar with a red magic circle drawn on it came into view.

Galik hurriedly threw the boy wizard onto the altar and clasped his hands together to form the hand seals. However, the altar hadn’t been used for so long that the bloodstains had dried up, causing parts of the magic circle to be erased.

“Damn it, how annoying, right at the end!”

He hurried to restore the magic circle when—

“Need some help?”

“…!!”

The boy’s voice rang out from directly in front of him, and Galik’s instincts screamed danger.

Boom!!

“Ugh!”

Galik hurriedly created a red shield to block the incoming flames, his expression twisting in anger as he lifted his head.

“Who are you?!”

It was a foolish question.

After all, in this place, there was only one person besides Galik who could use magic.

“You… you’re…”

The young wizard who had been captured here from the beginning had remained silent without saying a word. Galik had assumed that the boy had lost his mind after experiencing so much or perhaps had developed a case of mutism. But now, suddenly, he had risen and cast magic?

“How… How did you undo your bindings?”

At that question, Harang let out a sigh. He had tried to resolve everything using only magic without relying on physical strength, but the rope had been so weak that he had accidentally torn it apart.

‘And… even though I launched a surprise attack, I barely managed to inflict any damage.’

Even though he had startled Galik and launched a sudden magical strike in the moment of distraction, it had been blocked.

‘It means my casting speed is far too slow to be effective against a 5-star wizard.’

Of course, thanks to the surprise attack, he had managed to deal some damage to Galik’s “Body Shield,” but that wasn’t the result Harang had hoped for.

‘I wanted him to be a little more startled, a little more distressed.’

Harang closed his eyes, loosened his tightly bound hair, and shook his head slightly. As his long hair fluttered, the mana in the air began to vibrate gradually.

“Ha… So, you were hiding your strength to free yourself from the restraints.”

“H-Hiiik?! I-I’ll stay out of this. Galik! You take care of… Ugh!”

As Bishop Manfred tried to sneak away into the corner, Harang flicked his finger, sending a rock flying into the man’s head, knocking him unconscious.

“You… How dare you act so arrogantly in front of me.”

“I find it troublesome when there’s someone getting in my way.”

With those words, Harang clasped his hands together, forming the shape of an inverted triangle.

His opponent was a 5-star dark wizard.

A foe he could never afford to underestimate.

From the start, he planned to go all out.

Fwoosh!!

“Oh…?”

In that brief moment, Galik’s eyes widened as he saw flames rising from Harang’s hands.

This was no ordinary talent.

Wasn’t this boy only about thirteen or fourteen years old?

Even if someone with excellent bloodlines from a renowned magical family received training from the most prestigious magic academy, Arniel, achieving this level of mastery at such a young age would not be easy.

“Impressive for your age, but it’s still just at the level of a 3-star. To be so arrogant with just that…”

Though he spoke with disdain, Galik was feeling elated.

If this boy not only had beauty but also a talent that shone like a star, his value as a sacrifice would only increase!

Beyond a high-level demon, perhaps even something greater might be drawn to the scent of this offering, driven by twisted desires. This thought excited him as he waved his staff.

“I don’t want to put a scar on that pretty face of yours, so it’d be best if you just went down quietly. You wouldn’t want to experience pain, would you?”

‘What a line, straight out of a third-rate villain’s playbook… Ah!’

Crackle!

Harang instinctively tilted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the bolt of lightning Galik had suddenly fired at him. It was such a simple movement, yet it had saved him, and Harang blinked in surprise.

‘Oops.’

“What… What is this?!”

Using physical abilities in a magical duel was grounds for disqualification. Though there was no one around to enforce this rule, Harang felt a twinge of unease at having used his reflexes and frowned slightly.

“You… You’re no ordinary opponent, are you?”

Galik wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss Harang’s recent action as mere coincidence.

Realizing the need for caution, Galik increased his focus and began casting a spell.

Unlike a knight’s duel, a wizard’s battle didn’t unfold in a chaotic flurry of movements.

Typically, each wizard would cast a spell, engage in a brief psychological battle, and then cast another spell to test each other’s skills.

Blight Blaze!

Flames surged forward, burning away all the moisture in the air as they advanced. In response, Harang quickly drew a gray magic circle.

[Touch of Wind]

The wall of wind blocked the flames from approaching any further, and Harang seized the moment to anticipate Galik’s next move, looking for an opening to counterattack.

Crackle! As sparks flickered in his left hand, Harang quickly assessed Galik’s actions. Even though his physical abilities were restricted, his reflexes were still something no wizard could match.

‘…What’s going on?’

Harang had expected Galik to rapidly fire off consecutive spells to exploit his vulnerabilities, but instead, Galik calmly began casting his next spell. Naturally, being a 5-star wizard, Galik’s casting speed was notably fast.

Call of the Storm!

A storm infused with a dark red aura raged forward, effortlessly shattering the wind barrier Harang had set up, sending a wave of flames rushing towards him once again. However, Harang remained unfazed by the oncoming flames and unleashed the lightning spell he had prepared in his left hand, directing it at Galik.

Wind was not suited to blocking lightning.

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Galik’s body instinctively responded to the magic, deploying a Body Shield to partially absorb the impact. But the shield had its limits—especially when it was activated reactively.

The Body Shield was the final line of defense, a protective layer on the skin that was as essential to a wizard’s life as breathing.

Replenishing a Body Shield in the midst of battle was nearly impossible.

As the shield’s durability diminished, it was as if Galik’s own life force was draining away.

‘Damn it… I didn’t let my guard down, yet his casting speed is faster than I expected.’

Galik wiped a slight sweat from his brow as he swung his staff aggressively. Magic circles materialized in the air one after another, and arrows of dark red mana shot out.

Using the wind he had previously summoned, Harang subtly altered the trajectory of the arrows, effortlessly deflecting them all, before snapping his fingers.

Boom!!

A pillar of fire erupted beneath Galik’s feet, but he had anticipated the move. He quickly cast a wall of earth to block the flames.

Or so Galik thought.

‘…What is this?!’

The wall of mud was slowly melting under Harang’s flames!

Galik quickly reacted by spraying icicles in all directions to make Harang falter, but he couldn’t believe that his defense had almost been pierced by a mere 3-star spell.

‘How…?’

Harang was only using 3-star level magic at best, yet its power was approaching that of a 4-star spell. Moreover, whenever it clashed with Galik’s magic, it seemed to find weaknesses and exploit them, disregarding any elemental advantages.

But that wasn’t all.

Whenever they exchanged magic of opposing elements, Galik’s spells were completely devoured by Harang’s!

‘Even I’m surprised.’

Harang was a bit astonished as well. He hadn’t expected his magic to be this effective against Galik.

As he pondered the reason, the answer quickly came to him.

‘So that’s it. My mana is imbued with divine power, giving me an elemental advantage against dark magic.’

However, given the significant difference in their skill levels, he couldn’t claim absolute superiority. Despite the fact that Harang’s magic was neutralizing Galik’s dark magic, Galik’s spells were still powerful enough to put significant pressure on him.

‘So, a 5-star wizard’s magic isn’t something to be taken lightly.’

Harang acknowledged Galik’s abilities to some extent.

With the considerable combat experience Galik had gained from his time as a back-alley thug, he was not an easy opponent.

‘…If I hadn’t already faced Master Natalen, I might have been at a disadvantage here.’

Despite Galik’s seasoned skill set, Harang had already endured the relentless, chaotic barrage of magic from Natalen.

Compared to Natalen’s overwhelming assault, Galik’s methodical, carefully cast spells seemed almost trivial.

“How… How is this possible?!”

Boom!!

When the Volcano Vortex spell Galik had just cast was effortlessly pierced by Harang’s Aqua Blaster, Galik staggered back, a look of disbelief on his face.

It was true that Harang had cast a spell with a perfect elemental advantage, but how could a 3-star spell completely shatter a 5-star spell?

‘This… this can’t be happening.’

Galik unleashed every spell at his disposal.

A tidal wave of fire surged towards Harang, only to be blocked by a wall of wind.

A shower of icicles rained down, turning the ground to rubble, but a sturdy earthen barrier rose above Harang, easily neutralizing the attack.

Galik then sent a whip of sand to tear through the underground cavern and obliterate Harang, but a curtain of water erupted from the ground, solidifying the sand and freezing it, halting its movement entirely.

“What the hell is going on…?!”

Galik clenched his teeth in frustration.

“Can you predict every spell I’m going to use?!”

Seeing Galik’s panicked expression, Harang felt a slight twinge of guilt.

‘It’s not like I’m trying to.’

He was merely pushing the reaction speed of a 4-star swordsman and the analytical abilities of the Eyes of Truth to their limits.

However, from Galik’s perspective, who had the reaction speed of an ordinary human, Harang could only appear as if he possessed some form of precognition.

“…I see now. Your talent is exceptional. I admit it. It’s harsh, but the world indeed has ‘geniuses’ like you.”

Stories of a 3-star mage miraculously defeating a 5-star mage on the battlefield were often heard.

Galik, who had always scoffed at those tales, knowing that such victories occurred with astronomically low probabilities, now felt like he finally understood why.

Although a 3-star mage was outmatched in every way compared to a 5-star mage in terms of the variety and power of their spells, if they could overwhelm their opponent with skill and psychological warfare… there was a faint chance of victory!

‘In that case, I will eliminate even that faint possibility!’

Fearing that the Judgement Seat might sense the energy and pursue him, he had tried to restrain himself as much as possible.

Whirr…! Whirr…!

The ominous red light from the altar flared up wildly, and a fierce storm of dark energy swirled violently around Galik.

Until now, he had only used conventional elemental magic through dark energy…

But after directly forming a contract with a low-level demon, he had also been granted a dark grimoire!

…Beast’s Claw!

“Urgh…!”

Suddenly, the air seemed to tear into three crimson streaks, shredding Harang’s robe and body shield.

The shield he hastily cast was shattered to pieces, and a thin line of blood oozed from Harang’s side.

“This is…”

Harang quickly pointed his finger at Galik.

Fwoosh! A bullet of wind sliced through the air, heading straight for Galik, but a small red magic circle appeared in midair, easily blocking it.

“Hah, so that’s how it was. I wondered how you were countering my magic… Turns out, you were seeing everything, weren’t you?”

“…!!”

A change occurred in Galik’s eyes.

The whites of his eyes began to turn completely red!

Indeed, dynamic vision wasn’t exclusive to martial artists. Mages, too, could focus mana into their eyes to enhance their dynamic vision and rapidly accelerate their thought processes.

Due to his rush to achieve 5-star status with dark energy, Galik hadn’t thought of this method until now…

“But now, it’s different!”

With the aid of dark energy, he began to display exceptional dynamic vision, making reaction speed no longer Harang’s exclusive advantage.

In other words, Galik, who had spent years surviving as a back-alley mage, had now reached a point where Harang could no longer hold any superiority over him!

Whenever Harang attempted to cast a spell, Galik would precisely counter it and devise the best strategy on the spot to pierce through his defenses.

‘Ugh, the power of his magic is one thing, but the mind games are entirely different from before!’

With the situation as it was, Harang had to come up with another strategy. Although the dark magic Galik was using was unfamiliar, the Eyes of Truth had excellently analyzed them all.

‘I have to make the most of the advantages of the Eyes of Truth. I have fully grasped my opponent’s magic, but…’

Harang’s silver eyes glinted sharply.

‘He hasn’t noticed my secret magic yet!’

One secret spell—Lauren Chaygan’s High-Speed Memorize.

Throughout the battle, Harang had been discreetly building up Memorizes as a safety net. He crossed his palms and directed them toward Galik.

“Hah, your magic is… huh?!”

Even with Galik’s experience, he could easily predict something like a Memorize. His reaction was swift and sharp as he detected Harang’s magic circle, analyzing it and preparing to counter it.

…But there was a second secret spell.

Descent of Myth!

[Executioner of Alehardin]

“W-What is this…!”

Faced with a barrage of completely unfamiliar magic, Galik’s eyes widened as he watched the guillotine descend from the sky.

‘A spell like this exists…!’

Thud!!