Chapter 169

“Is, is it аn еаrthquаke?”

“We’rе dеер undеrground, what eаrthquаke arе you tаlking аbоut, mаn.”

“Тhеn could it bе…? Is it coming frоm оver thеrе?”

Тhе bluе Mаna sрreading оut аrоund Shаrin.

The аmount wаs so immense thаt it sеemed impossiblе tо control all of it.

Вluе Mana floatеd bеtween thе spесtаtоr seats like dust.

Due tо Sharin drawing оut аll hеr Manа, еvеn the ground оf the Arеna was craсking.

Аdding insult to injury, thе Тhunderbоlts from the Lightning Оverload Мagiс thаt Silvia had used continuеd to fаll.

Nоrmаlly, blоcking Lightning Ovеrlоаd with an Ovеr Bаrriеr wоuld bе imрossiblе, but bу рouring in а mаssive amount of Mana like Sharin was doing, it became possible to block even stronger Magic.

“Die!! Just die!!”

Silvia screamed and continued to use Lightning Overload.

Soon after, she had to pay the price for using Magic beyond her level.

Trickle, a bright red line of blood flowed from Silvia’s nose.

“Huh? What’s… why is this happening, this…!”

Blood trickled from her nose, and then blood gushed from her mouth.

Using Magic beyond her level had caused an Overload on her body.

Of course, the biggest reason was the lack of Mana.

If she had as much Mana as Sharin, her body wouldn’t have suffered such an Overload.

The dark clouds in the Arena’s sky gradually cleared.

The blue Mana that had gathered at the Arena’s ceiling also disappeared.

“No!! Not yet, not yet!!”

Silvia screamed and shouted, but her Mana had already reached its limit.

The Mana remaining in her body wasn’t even a handful.

Sharin sent a simple Magic spell towards Silvia.

“Energy Bolt!”

Sharin said, pointing her Wand at Silvia.

“Unni, it’s still a Match, so we have to be decisive! You can block this without dying, right?”

“Do you think I can’t block a mere spell like this? Don’t talk nonsense!! Don’t talk nonsense!!!”

Silvia tried to forcibly draw out Mana, but the more she did, the more she just bled.

Meanwhile, the blue Mana Energy Bolt Sharin had launched flew towards Silvia at high speed.

Energy Bolt was the most basic of basics among Rank 1 Magic spells.

Therefore, most Mages could easily block an Energy Bolt, but the current Silvia couldn’t even block such a low-level spell.

“Kyaaaaaah!! Ah, it hurts! It hurts!!”

Silvia, hit directly by the Energy Bolt, trembled all over and screamed in painful agony.

“T-this can’t be!”

“Wait! My money!!”

“No, Silvia lost? Does that make sense?”

“Two matches in a row with an upset? Isn’t this really rigged?!”

“See, what did I tell you! I had a feeling Sharin would win, didn’t I?! Hahahahaha!!”

The person who had just been cursing about losing money now shouted with a happier expression than anyone, laughing, while those who had been worried about Sharin were swearing.

From their perspective, it didn’t really matter what happened to the contestants.

The most important thing was that the person they bet on won.

Silvia trembled, closed her eyes, and collapsed right where she stood.

It seemed her body had been strained from taking a Magic spell head-on while having exhausted too much Mana.

“Byutek Oppa, did you see? My skills. I told you, you’re still no match for me.”

“Sh, Sharin… I’m glad you’re safe!”

“Of course! And that wasn’t even my full power.”

Sharin, standing in the Arena, shouted to Byutek, who was watching her from the participants’ Waiting Area.

She then turned to Khan with a bright smile and spoke.

“Hehe, Master! How was I? I’ve grown a lot, right?”

“Yes, well done.”

Khan spoke sincerely.

If it were up to his heart, he would have liked to heap praise upon praise, but since becoming a Mage, he hadn’t developed a personality for that.

‘Incredible. Who would have thought she’d block Lightning Overload in such a brute-force way…. That’s something no one but Sharin could do.’

For Khan, this Match was another moment to reflect on just how much of a genius Sharin was.

‘Sharin is strong to a degree incomparable to me. In a way, that child’s Talent might be beyond my Level 10 Skill.’

Sharin’s Talent continued to shine even now.

The Level floating above her head had also risen quite a bit due to this battle.

[LV.152 Genius Mage Sharin]

For a moment, her Level had been surpassed by Byutek, but now she had once again overtaken Byutek’s Level.

‘And to say that wasn’t even her full power… It’s truly unbelievable.’

Khan fell into deep thought about what to do if he happened to meet Sharin in the quarterfinals or semifinals.

“The third Match of the Round of 16 is a victory for contestant Sharin!!!”

With Rodion’s shout, the Match was completely over.

From among the spectators watching the Match, cheers of joy from those who won money and curses mixed with the despair of those who lost money could be heard.

And Binsen, who had boldly declared that Silvia would definitely win in the match between the two, was staring blankly at the Arena with a more shocked expression than anyone else.

“……”

He wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind.

He had boasted to his Hubae about showing off and teaching Magic theory, but it seemed he himself was the one who needed to learn Magic theory.

‘Who would have thought she’d block it like that, what kind of monster is this….’

When he glanced at Bellua beside him with an awkward expression, she smiled brightly and shouted.

“I’ll go to the Arena first to heal the injured person and come back!”

“…Alright, go ahead.”

“Ah, and as I thought, my feeling was right. You probably don’t need to teach me Magic theory, Sir Binsen!”

“Right….”

She instantly moved to the Arena and used Recovery Magic on the fallen Silvia.

The green Mana swirling around Bellua’s hands was absorbed into Silvia’s body, healing her wounds.

Bellua felt she had realized a lot while watching Sharin’s Match.

‘That child, she had an incredible amount of Mana. And to use Mana in that way…. She’s going to become tremendously powerful in the future.’

In fact, purely in terms of Mana, Sharin had far more Mana than even Bellua.

She too was quite talented in Mana, but Sharin’s Mana seemed to be at least twice as much.

‘Now I finally understand a little what other kids meant when they said they envied me.’

Since childhood, she had heard people call her a genius every single day without fail.

So she naturally thought she was a genius, and until just a moment ago, she thought she was a genius.

She had never once envied others.

‘I’m envious. Having such monstrous Mana.’

Bellua was also quite young, in her early to mid-twenties, but Sharin looked like she wasn’t even an adult yet.

She seemed to be at most around 18 years old, so Bellua could see how lacking she herself had been.

‘I need to train harder in Magic when I return to the Magic Tower.’

Thinking that, Bellua completely healed Silvia and then instantly disappeared from the Arena.

When she returned to her seat, Binsen, who had been sitting with an awkward expression, opened his mouth.

“Have a seat, Bellua….”

“Ah, yes.”

“Right….”

“Let’s just quietly watch the Matches from now on, Sir Binsen.”

“…Right, let’s do that.”

After Bellua said that, Binsen didn’t open his mouth to say another word.

* * *

“Now, everyone! Finally, the last Match of the Round of 16 has ended! From the quarterfinals onward, we plan to randomize the Tournament Bracket, so we ask the spectators and participants to please take a short break of about 20 minutes!”

All Round of 16 Matches were over.

From the quarterfinals onward, they said the Tournament Bracket would be shuffled randomly once, unlike the original bracket.

‘That’s a relief. If it continued like this, I would have faced Byutek.’

Originally, Khan was scheduled to face Byutek in the quarterfinals, but fortunately, he could avoid it now.

Byutek’s Level was too high, and he was naturally gifted in Bone and Muscle, so it was questionable whether Khan’s Magic would work properly on him.

“Wow, by the way, that Match just now… was really amazing. Didn’t you say that person is Byutek Oppa’s Master? In every Match, something happens that you can’t even follow. There’s just a ‘whoosh’ sound, and when you look again, the opponent is already down.”

“Hahahaha!! Sharin, that’s exactly my Master! Of course, he’s a bit behind Hyungnim, but he’s still an incredible person!”

“Byutek Oppa, you don’t even know much, why are you acting like you do? You said you’ve only been training as his Disciple for a few days. You don’t know anything besides his name.”

“W-well, but the person who taught me is my Master, right?! Huh?! How dare you contradict your Oppa!”

“Really, what Oppa? You’re weaker than me.”

“Hey, you little.”

Byutek lightly tried to give Sharin a playful knuckle tap on the head.

But when Sharin drew out a bit of Mana, Byutek’s body froze on the spot.

“Hehe, I’m stronger, you know?”

“Grrk….”

Byutek seemed to deliberately not exert more force there and let Sharin win.

‘Their relationship is quite good. By the way, I’m really worried. If things continue like this, I’ll definitely lose to Dramos.’

Khan still couldn’t think of any way to defeat Dramos.

No, in fact, with this much Level difference, no matter what he did, winning would be impossible.

‘If only my Level would rise, even a sliver of possibility might appear…. This is driving me crazy.’

Just in case, he checked the Quest again.

• [Win in the quarterfinals of the Underground Arena Tournament.]

• Reward: A certain amount of Experience Points, progression to the next Quest

Checking the Quest, sure enough, the reward was ‘a certain amount of Experience Points.’

With that, raising his Level would be absolutely impossible.

While Khan was thinking that, Rodion appeared.

“Now! Everyone! Thank you for waiting! I will now reveal the quarterfinal Tournament Bracket!”

Then, a large screen appeared in mid-air, showing the quarterfinal Tournament Bracket.

Khan, Byutek, and Sharin, all three of them, couldn’t hide their surprised expressions upon checking the bracket.