Chapter 182

Sinсе thе hеart’s throbbing раin wаs ехcruciating, hе hаd somewhаt anticiраtеd thаt his Маna would hаve incrеаsed quitе а bit.

Вut sееing it direсtly likе this, it had incrеаsеd fаr more thаn he hаd expесted.

◈ LV.90

◈ Khan (Leе Нuseong)

◈ Mana: 37000/42000

◈ Таlent: Magic

◈ Eхрerienсe Роints: 1.2%

◈ Skills: (10★)Sаgе’s Heart, (8★)Growth Аccеlеrаtion, (1★)Arrоw, (1★)Ваrrier, (2★)Fire Вoom, (2★)Firеball, (2★)Mirror Defеnsе, (2★)Manа Еnhanсement, (1★)Wind Сutter, (3★)Dragon’s Вreаth, (4★)Мana Circulatiоn, (4★)Pоwеr Аmplifiсation, (4★)Sрасe-Timе Leар, (5★)Dаrk Flаmе, (1★)Wind Drill, (4★)Flamе Сurtаin, (5★)Absоlutе Sight, (5★)Chrono Reset

Khan checked his Mana once again.

‘From nineteen thousand to forty-two thousand… That’s more than double.’

With forty thousand Mana, it was actually to the point where even using skills without restraint would be hard to deplete it all.

Of course, if a battle dragged on, even this amount of Mana would feel insufficient, but for the current Khan, even this much was more than enough.

“Sharin, you’re awake!! Are you okay? Huh?!”

“Byutek oppa…? Master…?! Ah, I lost…. Phew…”

“You did lose, but you fought well! I really thought you were going to win, Sharin!”

“I thought I was going to win too, but I lost in the end…”

Khan realized anew that Sharin had quite a strong competitive spirit.

‘I didn’t know she’d be this disappointed.’

As he looked at Sharin, he tried his best to say something nice.

“Sharin, you did well. You really did great.”

He originally intended to say something a bit nicer, but nothing particular came to mind.

It was a very blunt and stiff tone, but it seemed sufficient to soothe Sharin’s feelings.

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

“Hehehe… As long as Master thinks I did well, that’s enough!”

“By the way, when on earth did you learn Dragon Meteor?”

“Ah, that? So that magic is called Dragon Meteor…. I didn’t learn it by reading a Magic Tome or anything. I just tried creating it myself?”

“……Well done. Keep striving forward.”

“Yes!”

Sharin said it as if it were nothing, but Khan was astonished once again.

‘Unbelievable. From now on, there will be nothing for me to teach Sharin.’

As Khan was having such thoughts, another message appeared before his eyes.

• [Win the Underground Arena Tournament.]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• If refused, future Quest progression will be impossible.

• Reward: Ancient Magic Book, an explosive amount of Experience Points

The message was none other than the Main Quest.

This would be the final Main Quest to be carried out in Erindel.

‘The Ancient Magic Book was originally something you would receive upon winning… but I never thought the final reward would be an explosive amount of Experience Points.’

An explosive amount of Experience Points likely meant rising at least five Levels, if not more.

Khan accepted the Main Quest without any hesitation.

[Main Quest accepted.]

As Khan accepted the Main Quest, he could hear Rodion shouting.

“The final match of the semifinals was an intense and astonishing match…! Ultimately, contestant Dramos has advanced to the finals! We plan to start the finals in thirty minutes, so I will return then!”

It seemed Rodion was also quite shocked after watching the match between Dramos and Sharin, as a tremor could still be felt in his voice.

‘Phew… I’ll be fighting that monster in thirty minutes.’

He was still worried whether he, at a mere Level 90, could defeat Dramos, who was over Level 300.

But whenever Khan had such thoughts, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’ has been activated.]

Thanks to the Sage’s Heart, which activated on its own whenever he had negative or ominous thoughts, Khan was forcibly able to maintain his composure.

He closed his eyes, meditated, and waited for the finals to begin quickly.

* * *

“Wrong again?”

Bellua, the safety manager of the Underground Arena Tournament.

She had just returned to her seat after going to the arena to treat the fallen Sharin.

Binsen, sitting next to her, opened his mouth carefully with an awkward expression.

“Ahem… But this time, she almost won. I’m human too, I can be wrong sometimes, Bellua!”

“No, Sir Binsen, it just seems you have no eye for these things. It seems you don’t know how to predict correctly?”

“Think whatever you want…”

Binsen had nothing particular to say in response to Bellua’s words, so he didn’t speak further.

“By the way, did you see it just now? That Khan person… After sending Mana to the exhausted Sharin, an incredible amount of Mana suddenly surged from his body.”

“Ah, I was watching that too, what on earth was that situation? I thought he was suddenly trying to attack you and was startled.”

“According to him, something about failing to control his power? Just how much Mana does one need to be able to draw up that much Mana just to send some to someone else?”

“Bellua, monstrous Mages like that are beings beyond what we can imagine and conceive. They are genius Mages several steps ahead of what we can imagine.”

“That’s obviously true…”

Bellua had always been called a genius within the Yellow Magic Tower, but after coming here and seeing the true geniuses Sharin and Khan, she was starting to think she wasn’t a genius.

‘I was a frog in a well…’

As Bellua’s expression suddenly darkened, Binsen shouted to change the mood.

“Well, whatever! Now only the finals remain, so let’s finish it quickly and head to Erindel! That Lexar guy, it turns out he might not be dead and could be hiding somewhere secretly.”

“If it’s that guy, he definitely could be capable of that. Once the tournament is over, let’s thoroughly search Erindel again.”

“Right.”

Originally, the two had come to Erindel to hunt down Lexar, who had fled the Yellow Magic Tower.

Although rumors said Lexar was dead, the two couldn’t believe it.

‘That monstrous person Lexar is dead? Impossible.’

Currently, they were temporarily acting as tournament safety managers at the Viscount’s request, but once the tournament ended, they planned to immediately start looking for Lexar.

* * *

After the final match of the semifinals ended, a thirty-minute break was given to the participants and spectators.

The thirty-minute break was also given to the tournament host, Rodion.

Entering the host’s waiting room, Rodion plopped down on a chair and replayed the battle between Sharin and Dramos in his mind.

Recalling that monstrous battle again made his legs go weak.

“It was a truly incredible match…. I should get some shut-eye for these thirty minutes.”

Meanwhile, Viscount Aldrik, who had been watching the match from the VIP seats, showed a similar reaction.

To be precise, for some reason, his expression looked darker than before.

‘I never imagined Dramos would be that strong…! To easily shatter even that magic Sharin, Khan’s Disciple, used…!! This is insane, really!!!’

If things continued like this and Dramos won the tournament, Aldrik could be dragged straight to the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace would start investigating the Underground Arena Tournament and would surely impose severe sanctions.

If they investigated Aldrik himself and Erindel, all the things Aldrik had done recently might be completely exposed.

‘The Royal Palace clearly still doesn’t know I’m waging a war. If my actions are revealed because of this incident, I’ll be dragged away just like that…!’

To prevent such a thing, the Royal Palace Guard Captain, Dramos, must not win.

“Phew, I’ve done all I can… I’ll have to leave the rest to Khan. I never thought I’d end up entrusting my fate to that guy.”

Originally, Aldrik had hoped Khan wouldn’t win, but after Dramos participated in the tournament, Khan absolutely had to win.

‘Khan should still be stronger than Sharin, so he should be able to defeat the monstrous Dramos.’

Even though he wasn’t the one fighting the match, Aldrik’s heart pounded needlessly.

It meant the winner of this tournament was that incredibly important to him.

During the thirty-minute break that felt like three days, he continuously cheered for Khan in his heart.

* * *

“Ladies and gentlemen! The finals of the Underground Arena Tournament are finally about to begin! Has everyone used the restroom?! The finals are expected to be an incredibly intense close battle, so please go beforehand! Now, let the Betting begin!!!”

As soon as the given thirty-minute break ended, Rodion appeared and proceeded with the tournament immediately.

Khan had also been closing his eyes during the wait, focusing as much as possible on Mana Recovery.

◈ LV.90

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 42000/42000

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Experience Points: 1.2%

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (8★)Growth Acceleration, (1★)Arrow, (1★)Barrier, (2★)Fire Boom, (2★)Fireball, (2★)Mirror Defense, (2★)Mana Enhancement, (1★)Wind Cutter, (3★)Dragon’s Breath, (4★)Mana Circulation, (4★)Power Amplification, (4★)Space-Time Leap, (5★)Dark Flame, (1★)Wind Drill, (4★)Flame Curtain, (5★)Absolute Sight, (5★)Chrono Reset

Opening his Status Window to check, his Mana was fully recovered.

‘All preparations are complete.’

As Khan closed his Status Window, Rodion coincidentally put the microphone to his mouth and shouted again.

“Alright! Then, contestants Khan and Dramos, the protagonists of the finals, please come up to the arena!”

Now, the final match of the Underground Arena Tournament was beginning.