Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 284: Episode

Hong Yeon’s wide eyes trembled in disbelief. It was him, unmistakably Kim Yusin.

"Sun... bae?"

Her voice cracked. Her body trembled uncontrollably. She resented the world. In her final moments, after giving up on everything and resolving to die, why show her this man’s face and make her linger? Was she not even allowed the authority to decide her own end?

"I’ve had a similar experience before, so let me tell you this in advance." Yusin knelt to meet her gaze and abruptly pulled her cheek. "I’m not a fake, you know?"

She was too stunned to speak.

The hunters who had rushed after her witnessed the scene and gasped in horror. Stifled screams erupted from all around.

’Has he lost his mind?’

’There are all sorts of ways to commit suicide, I guess.’

The only thought that came to mind was that he was asking for a death wish. But Yusin took it a step further. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

When Hong Yeon remained unresponsive, her face still blank, Yusin pressed both her cheeks, making her mouth pucker like a goldfish.

’This crazy bastard!’

Several silent screams erupted from behind him. Some even clasped their hands together, praying for his soul.

"...Really."

But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Hong Yeon’s trembling hands reached out and touched Yusin’s arm. "Is it really you, Sunbae?"

"Yeah."

She slowly crawled on her knees until she was in front of him. And then.

"!"

She kissed him.

Yusin froze on the spot. A single tear streamed down Hong Yeon’s cheek as she closed her eyes. Where their lips met, he could feel her emotions. She was yearning, crying out into a void.

Yusin responded. He cupped the back of her head, gently pulling her closer, and deepened the kiss. This time, it was Hong Yeon’s turn to be surprised, her eyelids fluttering. The onlookers were beyond shocked; they were utterly bewildered. This wasn’t some movie scene. Both of them were out of their minds.

"Uh, wait. Doesn’t that guy look like Kim Yusin?"

"You’re right."

"He doesn’t just look like him, he’s identical. Is that really him?"

"The guy died five years ago, what are you talking about?"

As opinions flew among the hunters, monsters burst from the sand. Everyone snapped back to a state of tension, tightening their grip on their weapons.

"Hah."

Sensing the monsters, she let out a deep sigh and gently pushed Yusin’s chest away.

"...Why?"

"Huh?"

Still on her knees, she swung her arm. Claws of energy left long trails in the air, tearing the monsters to shreds.

"Why?!"

Igniting her Red Light Energy, she summoned her fallen sword to her hand, rose to her feet, and swung it wide. The world split apart as monsters erupted like fountains of blood.

"Why are you doing this to me? Showing me this man... how am I supposed to live now?"

With each furious swing of her sword, the ground cracked and mountains crumbled. The surrounding hunters, and even Yusin, were dumbfounded.

’...She kisses me first, and she still thinks I’m a hallucination?’

Then again, considering Hong Yeon’s usually shy personality, landing a surprise kiss on someone was something she would never imagine doing. She must have thought it was a dream and just went for it.

"Haaaah." Panting, she lowered her arm. It was hard to look back. She was afraid that if she did, she would wake from the dream. A moment later, with a resolute expression, she spun around.

’...Ah.’

The image of Yusin, which she expected to have vanished like a bubble, was still there.

Yusin smirked. "You’re going to be kicking your blankets in embarrassment later, aren’t you?"

Her face flushed crimson.

"Association President! More monsters are coming!"

Truly, there was no end to them. Drawn by her immense mana, nearby monsters were flocking to their location instead of the exit.

"Everyone, fall back. I’ll..." Hong Yeon tried to get up, but her vision splintered into six, and her body lost its strength. She had long since passed her limit. Stabbing her sword into the ground, she knelt, gasping for breath.

"You rest." Yusin patted her shoulder and stood up. Hong Yeon watched his retreating back with eyes full of a thousand emotions.

’Alright, Ea. Time to show them what I can do.’

"-Yes, Tower Master!"

A blue haze flickered over Yusin’s right eye. He extended his arm. "Time to work, Cheir."

Mana gathered in the air, forming a circular metal plate. It spun with a soft clicking sound, looking like a door hanging in mid-air.

"What is that...?"

"Have you ever heard of seventh-order magic?" At Yusin’s question, Hong Yeon shook her head with a dazed expression.

"N-No."

"The essence of seventh-order magic is Creation." The surface of the metal magic circle bulged, and an object shot out into Yusin’s hand. It was a sleek, silver automatic pistol. "I can create anything based on the elements."

Yusin aimed the gun at an approaching monster and pulled the trigger. The hammer struck the firing pin, and the bullet shot out, embedding itself squarely in the monster’s forehead. An instant later, the bullet exploded, and the monster’s head burst.

"With the power of creation, I can pull out any object I want, and when I want, I can return it to its elemental form." The pistol in Yusin’s hand dissolved into a shimmering flame and vanished.

Hong Yeon’s eyes widened in amazement. It was creation in the literal sense. In theory, he could create permanent objects, but it would take four months just to make a single pencil. It was inefficient, which was why he didn’t do it, but there was no denying that it was a grand magic that rivaled the domain of the gods.

"-Tower Master. A rank-8 monster, a Sand Hydra, has appeared 400 meters ahead."

Just as she said, the sand erupted, and a nine-headed serpent monster revealed itself. The appearance of another rank-8 monster after the Overseer brought a shadow of despair to the hunters’ faces.

’I think I can copy that.’

The seventh-order was the power of creation, and its foundation was entirely mental—creativity, imagination, all centered on willpower. That was why the Magic Tower’s 7th floor trial involved entering one’s own consciousness.

Yusin moved the seventh-order magic circle and laid it beneath the ground. Then, he poured his mana into it and opened it.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

The magic circle expanded rapidly, and a hydra made of crimson lava burst forth. It had eighteen heads, exactly twice as many as its counterpart. The flaming hydra lunged, biting into the monster hydra’s necks. Each time its teeth sank into flesh, they transformed into flames that exploded from within the monster’s body. The monster shrieked and collapsed.

"Basically, this is what the seventh-order feels like."

"Ah..."

Hong Yeon and the other hunters stared, speechless, at the battle of the giant hydras. Just then, Ea’s voice echoed in Yusin’s ear.

"-Tower Master, the number of approaching monsters has exceeded thirty thousand."

Yusin nodded and looked down at his palm. "Anyway, it’s no fun to finally get my hands on the power of creation just to make knock-offs, right?"

"...What?"

Yusin summoned new magic circles. "Soma, Ops, Cardia."

They were creation magic circles for ice, wind, and earth, respectively. Soon, Cheir joined them, and Yusin stood with his back to the four seventh-order magic circles. Ready.

Yusin coated his finger in mana and began to draw a magic circle on his chest. The basic formula was similar to the Titan magic he had used against Albert five years ago, but this one was based on creation magic. In the end, he realized, if he hadn’t used Titan magic back then, he never would have developed this technique.

<Kim Yusin Original – Deformation Maester>

The seventh-order magic circles spinning in the air were sucked into the circle on Yusin’s chest. Instantly, mana wings over three meters long unfurled behind him, each one composed of dense, blue feathers.

"...Wings?"

Hong Yeon’s eyes widened.

"Image is the most important thing for the seventh-order," Yusin said with an awkward smile. "For better or worse, that man’s image seems to be stuck in my head."

The sight of beautiful, glowing feathers fluttering around him was truly a magical spectacle. The scattered feathers touched Yusin’s body and gently broke down into a fibrous form, covering him. Should it be called a transformation? From head to toe, Yusin was clad in a brilliant blue suit. This was the Maester’s basic form.

"While this magic is active, I can’t generate mana. Instead..." Yusin extended a finger. At the tip of his index finger, a blue feather was created, bypassing the magic circle deployment process. "I can generate feathers imbued with magical effects."

The Maester magic transformed Yusin into a sort of Source Mana type ability user. He could no longer directly cast spells with mana circles; he could only create feathers.

Yusin plucked a feather and flicked it with a snap of his wrist.

Leaving a pure blue trail, the feather shot forward, pierced through a monster in front, and continued on, skewering every monster in its straight path before finally embedding itself like a dart in the body of a large monster. It was an incredible display of physical force, but physical force alone couldn’t pierce a large monster.

"This feather contains two Prometheus spells."

The feather lodged in the monster’s body instantly transformed into twin flame giants, engulfing the monster and the smaller ones around it. Yusin plucked and threw another feather.

"This one contains a Supercell."

The next feather created a massive thunderstorm accompanied by lightning.

"And this one is Volcano Ground."

The feather after that pierced through the monsters, struck the ground, and triggered a volcanic eruption at the point of impact.

"W-What is this..."

The hunters’ eyes went wide. On one side, a massive tornado raged; on the other, the ground buckled and magma flowed. A fifth-order spell was so taxing it could cause the caster to lose consciousness, but Yusin, while maintaining his Maester state, was largely free from such restrictions.

The feathers were a type of magic circle with high physical power. Imbuing them with magic reduced mana consumption, casting time, and even calculation load. It was a high-efficiency, mass-barrage mode specialized for him.

"-Tower Master! The number of monsters has increased to one hundred thousand!"

’This is where it gets fun.’

Yusin began to draw out his power in earnest. The wings on his back dissolved into feathers and rose into the sky. The ascending feathers transformed into Amplification Circles and Acceleration Circles, stacking on top of each other like a tower. Soon, countless magic circles covered the sky above Yusin’s head. If he threw a simple stone through them now, it would fly out with the force of a tactical weapon.

"Battery complete. Next, ammunition."

Yusin spread his arms. Feathers grew from his body. Hundreds of them waited, their tips pointed toward the sky.

"-All monsters within a 300-kilometer radius have been detected."

Ea displayed a window in front of Yusin’s eyes, marking the monsters’ locations. Yusin directly embedded the drop coordinates into each feather.

"Go."

All the feathers shot up, passing through the magic circles. The thunderous roar that accompanied each feather’s passage made both hunters and monsters look up at the sky in alarm.

This was Yusin’s original seventh-order magic, usable only in his Maester state.

<Armageddon>

Countless red dots appeared in the dark night sky.

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