Chapter 156 – Dealing With Magicians (4)

Three months ago, Roman had set his goal to analyze magic. From then on, he began to collect all sorts of books on magic and spent time analyzing everything when he had the chance.

Understand magic from the most basic theory. He did, however, read them before proceeding to review the contents.

[Magic starts from resonating the mana from the circle with the mana in nature. Since it is impossible to express magic with mana in the body alone perfectly, the characteristics of mana according to each individual’s inclination is a very important factor. If the mana held in the body is familiar with the fire attribute, then they can draw the power of fire from nature, and it is possible to create synergy when using flame magic.]

Resonating with nature was the root of all magic.

Ordinary magicians studied [Understanding Magic] and tried to find things in mana that suited them.

Fire is fire, water is water, and wind is wind. As stated in the book Understanding of Magic, rather than the opposite attributes, find the right one to learn magic.

When Roman first read the book, he focused on understanding the content. And now, after dealing with Edwin Hector, Roman began to interpret things in a different light.

‘Resonance of nature means that some kind of signal appears in the way magic is used. People often describe magic as some miracle of God creating something from nothing, but as the book Understanding of Magic explains, magic is not a power that appears without conditions. If only I could read that flow, wouldn’t it be possible to figure out the existence of magic in advance and escape from it a step faster?’

It wasn’t just a simple feeling or reaction to mana. It was a pattern, and he wanted to get to the essence of it. Even though it was a basic theory, Roman continued to question it.

‘Magic is a form of well-organized science. Everyone can use the same magic if they can understand it, so magicians established a system of passing down knowledge from generation to generation. In other words, it means that it is possible to use this system. When a magician casts magic, the moment the mana that occurs in circles is connected to the mana of nature, you can predict what kind of magic the opponent will use depending on the form, amount of mana, and attributes of the mana. For example, if it is a display of fire, then it has to be a fireball. If one can figure it out in advance, it’s not difficult to react to it later. A fireball has the power to explode in a straight line. Just moving left or right can help one avoid it.’

He was lost in thought. He imagined he was dodging a fireball.

‘It is difficult to grasp the resonance of mana. So, in order to use this theory, I must consider it to be real and thoroughly understand the magician’s magic as well as the system.’

When he understands his opponent better, he will achieve a perfect victory. So he purchased all of the expensive magic books, as well as bookshelves to store them on, and crammed the vast knowledge into his mind.

Actually, he even checked to see if he had any chance of becoming a magician, but he discovered that the mana circle and dantian could not exist in the same body at the same time. Even if he worked hard, he would not be able to use magic.

With the determination to analyze magic, Roman spent a lot of time studying magicians. In the first month, the analysis was slow. Since the foundation hadn’t been established yet, he was engrossed in understanding magic.

And then, time went on, and he slowly picked up the pace. As the books continued to fill the shelves, Roman began to understand magic little by little. When three months had passed, Roman Dmitry realized that he needed to apply what he had learned in real combat.

Roman said,

“The reason I was able to react quickly to Mr. Felix’s magic is that I managed to read a pattern. I figured out in advance what kind of magic you would use according to the amount, form, and attribute of mana and chose to respond according to it. Whether you would use flames, waves, runes, or anything else. When a magician decides to use a specific magic, it isn’t difficult to predict its purpose based on what kind of magic it is.”

Roman’s first words frightened Felix. Roman said it was nothing special, but putting the theory into practice was much tougher than he thought.

Firstly,

The sense of reading the resonance of mana.

The knowledge of knowing the type of magic just by looking at the resonance form.

Quick judgment based on the information.

These were the three conditions needed.

Felix was shocked, but Roman continued.

“The destruction type magic such as Hold is a kind of offset. As far as anyone in the Magic World knows, curse-like spells can be lifted when the mana seeps into the body. However, this method is time-consuming. On the battlefield, where every second counts, that wouldn’t be a good solution. That is why I chose to use the mana inside my body to create an external mana and explosion. So it exploded in my body. Even the slightest mistake or range and strength of the blast will take a toll on the body, but if properly used, it can neutralize the magic.”

This also made no sense.

Felix asked him three questions: How could Roman react a step faster? Why didn’t the curse magic work? What was the shield that blocked the magic?

And Roman gave him a clear answer.

However, while Felix was listening intently, he knew that not everyone could actually do this.

“And the third is the shield that blocks magic. It is formed like a shield by displaying the aura outside. I refer to this as a Sword Shield. It is a way to block the opponent’s attack by using the powerful force of aura as a defense.”

Sword Shield. It was a Murim method. Unlike how this world uses aura as an explosive force, the Sword Shield needed meticulous control to use the aura outside the body. If a normal swordsman tried to attack Roman, the unstable aura would blow up instead of taking the shock.

Roman brought up the basic concept of magic, and Felix expressed his doubts about Roman’s magic theory. However, after hearing his detailed explanation, Felix realized why he had lost.

Tak.

Roman closed the book, and…..

“My explanation ends here. Is there anything else you want to know?”

He asked.

In order to supplement his own knowledge, he didn’t hesitate to impart it to others.

This was confidence.

And looking up at Roman, he said,

“No.”

Felix couldn’t think of anything more to say.

The discussion ended, and Felix returned to where he was staying. It was just a short time, but the conversation with Roman made him feel bad.

“What did I just hear?”

People called Felix a genius. Until now, he had thought of himself as gifted, but Roman Dmitry felt like a completely different being.

Monster. He couldn’t express it in words. Roman explained how he dealt with the magicians one by one, but it seemed like the world of common sense was collapsing.

‘Roman Dmitry. He isn’t someone who simply follows his instincts. He thoroughly analyzed the opponent and won dozens of victories against me using perfect calculations. It must have been the same thing with the 10,000 gold reward. Roman Dmitry was confident enough to win that he deliberately drove himself into a corner.’

This wasn’t a general judgment. No matter how confident he was, in the face of a reward, he asked Roman Dmitry to help clear out the doubt about what Roman wanted to do and the knowledge he had. To prove it, they had gone against each other. And he was bold enough not to hide this method since no one else could use it.

‘Can I do that?’

No. He could never do that. Even if he couldn’t use the knowledge with his own strength, it was clear that he would have thought about the benefits he would have from keeping such knowledge to himself.

It wasn’t that he was ashamed of everything that happened. Knowing that most people would make the same choice as him for the reward made Roman seem more unusual.

Suddenly, he remembered one conversation with Roman.

“Felix, it doesn’t matter if I win over you. I have something to gain from fighting you, so a one-sided fight like yesterday and today is not what I want. So don’t do anything like that and try to bring me down. As long as it is magic, feel free to use any method.”

Those were Roman’s words. He was consistent from start to finish. He didn’t care at all about showing his true self, power, or knowledge, and he hoped to gain something from fighting with him.

In the process, he was even willing to spend money and give up his knowledge. As long as he could take a step forward, he did not care about who was following him.

It was amazing because it was something Felix could never do. And for the first time in his life, Felix felt that his existence was insignificant.

‘Even a strong man like Roman Dmitry works hard to improve his strength, and what am I doing? Since Teacher vanished, I have constantly avoided the reality ahead of me, saying I couldn’t help it. The same went when it came to choosing Dmitry. If I really had the will to do something, I would have tried to improve myself instead of coming here to make money.’

Consequently, he met Roman and gained enlightenment. However, if he had made the right decision, he wouldn’t have chosen Dmitry, who offered him a certain amount.

At this moment, Felix forgot about the deal. Aside from the huge reward, he hoped to accomplish something like Roman.

‘For the rest of my time here, I will do my best against Roman Dmitry. I hope that Roman Dmitry will gain something from this, and I hope to gain something as well. I will spend time developing myself and not just devote myself to the money.’

There are many types of human beings in the world. Some people despair when they hit a wall, but some use it to develop themselves, and Felix belongs to the latter.

And from then on, win or lose, Felix began to immerse himself in the new reality.

Time passed. Even though he had a different mindset than before, Felix fought dozens of times but never won.

A one-sided defeat. Felix always tried to defeat Roman, but Roman could predict his moves, so he won every time. But all those fights weren’t meaningless because Felix was a good test subject. And Roman’s response time had increased as a result of this accumulated experience.

Soon, two months had gone by since he got there, and Felix, who was away from Frank, realized how strange Dmitry was.

‘Dmitry is a Baron family on the outskirts, but the military power it holds is greater than others.’

The guards at the gates. He thought they were well-trained at first, but when he saw Roman’s men, he completely changed his opinion.

There were hundreds of them. Even ordinary soldiers showed such extreme power that they could be called knights.

Moreover, their blind loyalty. Occasionally, he had some chances to watch them train, and their aspirations felt so strong. It was no different with Dmitry’s men.

The people would split to the sides to bow to Roman whenever they noticed him. Even though Roman was obviously not the Lord of Dmitry yet, he held such an overwhelming position.

It was certain. He was a ruler. Roman Dmitry was already accustomed to ruling over others. Roman’s attitude of not looking back and accepting people’s loyalty aroused a strange feeling inside Felix.

Felix’s teacher. In his absence, the Magic Tower began to shake. If Phoenix had someone like Roman as the leader, it might have been better.

And one day, Felix heard shocking words from the Master Blacksmith’s craftsman.

“…..Young Master Roman visits the smithy often? Even though he occasionally shows his face to the people around here, I heard that he uses the private forge to make his own swords. Actually, that is what I heard from the Master Blacksmith. People say that Young Master Roman is like a Fire God because when he works there, the flames in the furnace wrap around his body.”

It was just a casual conversation. But hearing that the flames would engulf his body while working, Felix couldn’t simply ignore it.

‘No.’

His heart raced. The ability to handle fire. If those words were true and not an exaggeration, then this was the answer Felix was seeking.

The secret of Phoenix—in order to perfectly cast Burning, the ability to accept fire was required.