I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 28

EP.28 Mage Slayer (1)

Afternoon.

An arena reminiscent of a coliseum.

The first practical training of the Academy, the interpersonal combat exercise, had begun.

Students from Class A, each wielding their weapons, gathered in front of Kim Ju-hee in rows.

“Before we begin, let me explain the rules of the combat.”

The rules were simple.

The combat consisted of 5 minutes per set, and at the discretion of the instructor, the combat time could be extended.

After 5 minutes, scores were assigned by the judgment of assistant instructors.

However, if the opponent shouted surrender or fainted during the combat, additional points were awarded to the victorious student.

“Now, let’s start the drawing.”

The matching method was also straightforward.

Drawing lots randomly matched opponents.

However, to ensure fair evaluation if their abilities when the power gap was overwhelming, students were divided into three groups, high, medium, and low.

“Now, the first combat!”

Kim Ju-hee drew two numbers from the lottery box.

“Kang Seo-jun! Cha Hyun-ho!”

The first match happened to be a showdown between Kang Seo-jun and Cha Hyun-ho, a mage with C+ grade magic.

Cha Hyun-ho stood up from his seat and nonchalantly cracked his neck.

“I’m sending this punk home, packing his bags today.”

Upon hearing this, the surrounding onlookers eagerly threw in words of anticipation.

“Sure. Show him what a wall is.”

“That troll guy. Kick him out.”

“Class purification. Undead extermination. Cheering for you.”

[The Constellation, 《Compassionate Hermit》 sponsors dimensional currency as a gesture of comfort.]

Jin Se-rin glared at them with a disapproving expression.

On the other hand, Kang Seo-jun’s expression was remarkably calm.

‘Lucky me.’

The truth was, with Kang Seo-jun’s current specs, facing a mage was the most favorable matchup.

When matched against fighters or tanks, the response was unclear unless he used his counter time, and even if he did, he had to bear the risk of exposing the weakness that ‘there is no means of attack other than counter attack.’

Dealing with long-range physical attacks, like those of an archer, was equally challenging.

Archers are long-range, so there’s no time for a counter attack, but their physical specs are much superior to mages.

However, if a mage with C+ level mana like Cha Hyun-ho, then even with Kang Seo-jun’s current specs, it was sufficient to handle the situation.

In preparation for long-range encounters, thorough preparations had been made, and some secret weapons had been prepared in advance.

As Kang Seo-jun rose, tapping the ground with his staff, Jin Se-rin whispered as if murmuring.

“Will you win?”

Kang Seo-jun nodded slightly, and Jin Se-rin’s expression relaxed.

– Chirp! Chirp! –

As Kang Seo-jun descended from the spectator seats, Lim Chae-Won approached Jin Se-rin unexpectedly.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Uh, what?”

“Those two.”

It was a question assumed that Kang Seo-jun would win, of course.

However, Lim Chae-Won was curious about how Jin Se-rin would react to such a question.

If Jin Se-rin confidently asserted Kang Seo-jun’s victory, the idea that Kang Seo-jun wanted to hide his strength would be a misconception, and if she hesitated or evaded the question, it meant he was sharing some secret with Jin Se-rin.

Lim Chae-Won observed Jin Se-rin with a studying gaze, trying to read her reaction.

“Well, um~ I think we’ll only know the result when it happens, right? Hmhm!”

It seemed to be the latter answer.

“Hmm~ Usually, one would think Cha Hyun-ho has a good chance of winning. It’s interesting.”

Jin Se-rin quickly replied, seemingly making an excuse.

“Well, I, uh, believe in the principle of trying everything to know. It’s a cautionary note…!”

It was a lie.

She was unexpectedly decisive in making judgments.

In reality, deep down, she was 100% convinced that Kang Seo-jun would win.

“I see. But you two seemed quite friendly. What is your relationship?”

“Huh? We’re obviously friends…”

Jin Se-rin tried to assert they were friends but blurred the end of her sentence, then quickly corrected herself.

“No. Rather, we are a bit closer than friends…”

“Closer than friends…?”

“Taking care of each other….”

One word popped into Lim Chae-Won’s mind, and she was shocked.

“Are you two dating!?”

“Oh, no!”

Jin Se-rin hurriedly waved her hands.

Her face was flushed red.

“Just, just! Best friends!”

“Uh, uh!”

Just friends, and then there’s this warm best friend. What does that mean?

The subtle difference made Lim Chae-Won’s head momentarily complicated.

– Thud, thud! –

– Step, step.

–

Soon, the students ascended onto the stage of the arena, facing each other in their respective positions.

“I’ll show you what talent is, something you can’t catch up with even if you work your whole life.”

Cha Hyun-ho, confident in his victory, casually loosened up his body.

Kang Seo-jun simply waited for the combat to begin in silence.

“Now, get ready.”

– Beep! –

Kim Ju-hee’s powerful whistle marked the start of the combat.

“I’ll finish this in 3 seconds!”

Cha Hyun-ho concentrated mana at the tip of his staff, confident of his victory.

Simultaneously, Kang Seo-jun’s eyes widened.

[The Eye of Providence interpret the opponent’s spellcasting.]

Numerous magical formulas and rune symbols converged around the magic staff.

The flow of Cha Hyun-ho’s mana became clear in Kang Seo-jun’s eyes.

Kang Seo-jun extended his staff forward and whispered quietly.

“Dispel.”

– Phaang! –

“Ugh!”

Then, mana scattered, causing an explosion.

While not a violent explosion, it was enough to tightly shut Cha Hyun-ho’s eyes.

“Ugh…!”

Struggling to open his warm eyelids, as he tried to understand the situation.

– Thud, thud, thud, thud! –

Kang Seo-jun was closing the distance with movements that seemed as if he had sped up twice as much.

“Uh, gulp…!”

The reddening mass glowed like hot metal, approaching closer and filling the field of vision, a truly terrifying sight.

“W-What, what is that movement!”

“Ch-Chills…!”

It was enough to shock not only Cha Hyun-ho but also the students watching from the stands.

– Whoosh! –

Kang Seo-jun, utilizing the momentum from his run, swung his magic staff widely.

“Ugh…!”

Cha Hyun-ho turned his body to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and quickly stepped back to create distance.

“Ah, darn it…!”

– Thunk! –

Unable to stop the momentum, Kang Seo-jun swung and missed, falling to the ground.

Taking advantage of the moment, cha Hyun-ho quickly began casting again.

“A trick…!”

Mana began to gather once again at the tip of his magic staff.

However,

[The Eye of Providence interpret the opponent’s spellcasting.]

“Dispel.”

– Phaang! –

Before the magic could take shape, it was once again destroyed.

A shocking turn of events occurred in less than 10 seconds.

Students watching were astonished at the unexpected flow.

“Why can’t Cha Hyun-ho do anything?”

“Is that a resistance property…?”

“No, there was mana interference…!”

“Then Dispel…? Is that it?”

“Didn’t they say his mana is grade F?”

“And what was that speed just now…!”

They began expressing their thoughts on the background of the performance Kang Seo-jun had just demonstrated.

“It’s too fast for Dispel…!”

“Intelligence grade F… No, E, didn’t they say…?”

“Yeah. That’s a mana nullification property. The calculation speed at grade E doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s impossible for Intelligence grade E.”

One student raised a fist in disagreement with such opinions and shook his head.

“No.”

Then, looking at Kang Seo-jun with admiring eyes, he spoke.

“It might be the result of tremendous effort.”

“What?”

“What?”

The attention of those around focused on the student mentioning effort.

“His willpower is grade A+. Besides, during the morning class, the professor highly acknowledged him for understanding mana density formulas.”

“Could it be!?”

“He might have memorized all the patterns of magic through tremendous effort…!”

“That’s it!”

“How much effort does it take!?”

“I can’t even imagine…!”

One student still wearing a perplexed expression spoke.

“Then what about mana…? Dispel should at least require mana!”

“To understands and disrupts magical formulas, doesn’t necessarily need a significant amount of mana to dispel. To paint a beautiful picture, you need many colors, but to ruin that picture, a single stroke is enough.”

“The crucial point is the speed of calculating the opponent’s magical formulas. The faster the speed, the easier it is to disrupt a magician’s magic with minimal mana.”

“Heu, heuk!”

“Th-then really!?”

“Ah, no! Then what about that fast movement!? That’s definitely lightweight magic!”

“I don’t know either!”

“In any case, it’s impressive!”

– Cough! Cough! –

Park Shin-hoo glared at Kang Seo-jun beyond the commotion of students, sharpening his gaze.

‘Were you hiding such skills…!’

Moreover,

‘He’s even acting like he might die….’

Even using only half of the physical abilities he had shown before, he could probably capture a magician of that level barehanded.

However, what was the meaning of the seemingly casual movements he just displayed?

‘Haste.’

The movement shown while quickly closing the distance with Cha Hyun-ho.

It was undoubtedly Haste.

Applying lightweight magic to his body to accelerate movement.

‘Always an arrogant guy hiding his own strength…! Someday, I’ll expose everything you’re hiding…!’

Now, saying it out loud wouldn’t make anyone believe the facts he had just mentioned!

For that, he needed to put in more effort to obtain Elemental Sensitivity.

Spirit magic borrowed the power of elemental, and since it was a magic without magical formulas, Kang Seo-jun wouldn’t be able to nullify Elemental Sensitivity, even with his grade E intelligence.

Kang Seo-jun was going to obtain Elemental Sensitivity a bit faster.

– Whoo, whoo.

–

Kang Seo-jun struggled to rise, tapping the ground with his staff.

– Ssaek. Ssaek.

–

Due to the swollen throat, regulating his breath wasn’t easy.

‘I swung too hastily in the first move….’

The cards he had prepared to win the duel today were Dispel and Haste, as mentioned by the spectators.

Originally, Dispel was as challenging as receiving a math problem someone else had solved and continuing from there. However, for Kang Seo-jun with the Eye of Providence, such a cumbersome process was unnecessary. After the interpretation of magic formulas, he only needed to interfere with mana to distort the circuit.

It was as easy for Kang Seo-jun as kicking down a meticulously crafted sandcastle.

In other words, as long as Kang Seo-jun had the Eye of Providence, the opponent was effectively sealed when it came to magic.

However, interpreting spellcasting still consumed mana. So, for now, facing a C+ grade magician was the best choice.

Anyway, once the magician’s primary weapon, magic, was sealed, the rest was straightforward.

Most academy magicians possessed powerful one-shot techniques, but their other abilities were almost negligible.

Their physical and athletic abilities were likely no different from those of ordinary people.

On the other hand, thanks to Kang Seo-jun’s diligent efforts over the past two weeks:

《Status Window》

▶Name:

Kang Seo-jun

◆ Status:

[Strength: 3], [Agility: 4]

[Endurance: 3], [Resistance: 3]

[Health: 5], [Mana: 6]

[Sense: 3], [Intelligence: 9]

[Willpower: 30], [Luck: 50]

◆Traits:

[Eye of Providence Lv. Transcendent], [Dimensional Shop Lv. Transcendent], [Favored One Lv. Transcendent], [Mana Manipulation Lv. Rare], [Obesity Lv. Low], [Viral Dermatitis Lv. Low], [Allergic Dermatitis Lv. Low], [Mana Insensitivity Lv. Low], [Scoliosis Lv. Lowest], [Reverse Joints Lv. Lowest], [Twisted Arm Lv. Lowest], [Carnivorous Parasite Lv. Lowest], [Cancer Stage 3 Lv. Lowest], [Squint eyes Lv. Lowest], [Severe Tinnitus Lv. Lowest], [….]

◆ Skills:

[Counter Time Lv. Epic], [Parasitic Growth Lv. Epic], [Basic Mana Manipulation Lv. Low], [Dispel Lv. Normal]

He gained slightly higher physical specs than an ordinary person. Of course, even this was not functioning properly due to debuff traits.

◆Stored Spells:

[Haste Lv. Normal]

Yesterday night, he purchased a Haste spellbook from the Dimensional Shop and memorized it onto his magic staff. With the assistance of this, he would finish the next move.

– Whoo, whoo.

–

‘With the next strike, it will end.’

Kang Seo-jun tightened his grip on the magic staff, glaring intently at his opponent.

“He…! Heek…!”

Tonight, cha Hyun-ho’s dream would undoubtedly be wild.