Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 291: Episode

Rumble!

Ominous dark clouds completely blanketed Seoul. Through the Deva’s Eye, I could read the magic circle faintly unfurling beyond the storm.

It was the fifth-circle lightning spell, Thunderstorm.

Na Daeyong was aiming this devastating great magic, capable of burning everything within a radius of hundreds of yards to a crisp, directly at his former comrades.

"Disappear."

Na Daeyong swept his arm down. The world flashed blindingly white as hundreds of lightning bolts rained upon the earth.

Everyone flinched, ducking low to the ground.

Of course.

Hm?

No one was struck. Before anyone realized it, a broad, transparent mana barrier had unfurled above our heads.

<Ancient Barrier>

It was a seventh-order magic that temporarily created a shield-type artifact.

Everyone opened their eyes, looking up at the sky in wonder. Na Daeyong’s face twisted in clear dismay.

"Th-this can’t be! Master’s magical power should definitely...!"

Smiling, I pointed a thumb over my shoulder. Cha Doyeon was panting, her hand resting heavily against my back.

Her Unique Ability, Mana Link, allowed her to share her mana with others like a storage vault. By borrowing her reserves, I had been able to cast the seventh-order magic.

"Not yet!" Na Daeyong stepped forward. "It’s not over yet!"

Once again, the fifth-circle Thunderstorm prepared to fire.

Just as electrical currents gathered in the dark clouds, two missiles shot up into the sky. They detonated in the troposphere, cleanly dispersing the storm clouds with the resulting shockwaves. The clear night sky revealed itself once more.

"We won’t fall for that twice." Eunsol flashed a triumphant smile from inside her iron golem. "Did you think we wouldn’t have countermeasures prepared for you?"

Na Daeyong fell silent.

"Please give up now, Daeyong." Jeong Seojin approached. "Having unleashed a fifth-circle magic that consumed a massive amount of mana, you have no chance of winning."

"Hahaha!" Na Daeyong burst into maniacal laughter. "Is that so?"

Jeong Seojin’s approaching footsteps came to an abrupt halt. An unfathomable amount of magical power overflowed from Na Daeyong’s body.

Crack!

A streak of lightning lashed out, blasting Jeong Seojin into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Cha Doyeon shrieked in horror. "Daeyong! Stop this! If you use that technique, you too will...!"

I finally realized what Na Daeyong had done. A volume of electrical current that even he couldn’t handle was surging through his body.

<Overload – 100%>

"None of it matters anymore." Na Daeyong walked forward, his gaze locked straight on me. "Master. Your unworthy disciple has come to greet you."

Gleaming eyes and upturned corners of his mouth.

He was the very embodiment of a demonkin consumed by madness.

"Stop that bastard!"

Eunsol lunged forward in her iron golem. But before she could even swing the sword device extending from its arm, she was knocked away by the sheer force of the lightning pouring out of Na Daeyong. She was forcefully ejected from the golem, tumbling violently across the ground.

"Sol!"

"This guy really...!"

This time, Kim Sarang blocked Na Daeyong’s path.

<Oceanus>

Whoosh!

As fourth-circle water giants rushed Na Daeyong from all sides, he absentmindedly swiped his arm like he was shooing away a fly. An electromagnetic pulse rippled out in a circular wave, instantly destroying the giants and blasting Kim Sarang away as well.

"...Stop it, Daeyong." Jo Yonghee rushed in right behind her, slamming his hands onto the ground.

This time, surging waves of pure poison crashed forward.

<Overload – 140%>

<Gaia>

The ground Na Daeyong stood on surged upward, morphing into the shape of an ark that effortlessly rode the pouring waves of poison to advance.

Jo Yonghee’s mouth gaped open. "Dual attributes...!"

Lightning and earth.

In the modern magical world, wielding dual attributes was notoriously inefficient. However, to become stronger, Na Daeyong had made an entirely new attribute his own.

Mastering a sixth-order or sixth-circle magic required an immense amount of time and enlightenment. Even I hadn’t learned it on my own; I had received it directly from the previous Masters of the Magic Tower during the sixth-floor trial. Unable to receive any such transmission or teachings, Na Daeyong had failed to reach the sixth circle during those five years.

Instead, he had succeeded in elevating a sub-attribute to the exact same level as his lightning magic.

He truly was an incredibly hard worker.

Vwoooom!

Just as the ark forged ahead relentlessly, the Gold Dragon Seo Shimhee took to the sky and unleashed her breath. The golden flames blasted the ark to pieces, but Na Daeyong swiftly leaped off it, swinging his arm downward.

<Jupiter>

Crack!

Kaboom!

Once more, fourth-circle lightning spells rained down from the sky in rapid succession. Seo Shimhee, whose stamina had been completely drained by the prolonged battle, couldn’t withstand the damage, and her dragon form forcibly dispersed.

Landing on the ground, Na Daeyong let out an agonizing roar as he kept running.

His body was far from fine. The recoil of Overload had begun; sparks flew wildly off his body, and his skin was turning pitch-black like ash.

Yet, he didn’t stop.

"Stand down, hunter Na Daeyong."

Samia walked over with her hands behind her back, planting herself firmly in front of me.

Na Daeyong screamed with venomous spite. "Fuck you! You piece of shit!"

Smack!

Na Daeyong staggered, dropping to one knee. A metal rod had been teleported straight into his right thigh.

"Next is your heart."

"Samiaaaaaaaaaa!"

<Overload – 160%>

Without even extending an arm, clusters of lightning shot out from Na Daeyong’s entire body in droves. Samia opened a warp in front of herself to let the lightning pass through.

Crack!

This time, a bolt of lightning struck down from above. Samia opened another warp right over her head to block it, but before she knew it, countless magic circles were floating in the sky.

<Jupiter> ×10

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Abandoning her defense, Samia cast Teleport in rapid succession to escape, but she ultimately failed to outrun the speed of the lightning and was shot down.

"Huff! Puff!"

Blood dripped continuously from Na Daeyong’s mouth. Samia hadn’t gone down without a fight—a long metal rod was now embedded in his shoulder.

Na Daeyong placed his hand on the rod stuck in his body. A metal-attribute spell activated, snapping it cleanly in half and letting it drop to the dirt.

"...Hehe! Muahaha! I’m coming! Master!"

Even while bleeding profusely, Na Daeyong radiated a bloodthirsty madness.

"Yusin, dodge!"

"Block him!"

A high-voltage electrical net forged from pure mana unfurled over Na Daeyong’s advancing body. Magic from the administrators poured down on him, but his electrical currents reacted to and destroyed every single attack. The potions Jin Bora threw exploded mid-air, and Kim Sarang’s water cannon was entirely neutralized.

Whoosh!

Then, the only person capable of piercing this barrier, Jeong Seojin, physically broke through and threw a brutal punch. Not backing down, Na Daeyong threw a punch of his own.

The two men’s fists collided, and a sickening crunch echoed from Na Daeyong’s arm. The bones from his fist all the way up to his shoulder shattered, and his muscles ruptured. Engaging in close-quarters combat against an Iron Man was sheer lunacy.

"...Heh!"

Right then, iron sand rose from the ground and began to coat Na Daeyong’s fist and arm.

"This is why I am the strongest mage of the modern era."

Na Daeyong uncurled his fist and grabbed Jeong Seojin’s hand. Jeong Seojin’s arm trembled violently as he began to be pushed back.

"Do you still not understand?!"

Wham!

Covered in iron sand as well, Na Daeyong mercilessly headbutted Jeong Seojin. Lightning poured onto the incapacitated man as he dropped to his knees, blasting his body hundreds of yards away until he was no longer visible.

Na Daeyong approached, shedding copious amounts of blood. A completely fractured right arm, piercing wounds in his shoulder and thigh, countless other injuries, and the violent backlash of Overload.

I couldn’t comprehend why he was going this far.

"No one can stop me now, Tower Master."

<Overload – 200%>

Violent sparks erupted from Na Daeyong’s body, which had long surpassed its limits.

He hovered into the sky. As he extended his right arm, the electrical currents flowing inside his body and the lightning pouring from the sky converged into a single point.

<Na Daeyong Original – Mjolnir>

A cluster of pure lightning, larger than Na Daeyong himself, manifested from his hand.

I let out a small sigh and turned to look at Cha Doyeon. "That’s enough. You can step back, Doyeon."

"Ah, yes!"

Cha Doyeon retreated, and I unfurled the magic I had prepared.

<Devastar – Chain Hole>

A black sphere born from the magic circle in the air dropped to the ground.

"Ahahahaha! To face me with Chain Hole itself! I’m honored!"

With a monstrous screech, Na Daeyong launched Mjolnir. I kicked the Chain Hole up into the air and spun my body around. Infusing Devastar into my right foot, I twisted my waist and brutally kicked the Chain Hole forward.

Shooting forward like an arrow as Devastar activated, the Chain Hole collided in mid-air with the descending Mjolnir.

Booooom!

The collision of the two massive great spells kicked up a violent shockwave. Everyone screamed as they scrambled away from the blast zone.

What? Why isn’t it absorbing?

-Excessive magical energy reaction! The internal capacity of the Chain Hole is insufficient!

Black and yellow light sprayed their power against each other until the black side gradually began to fade. Before long, the Chain Hole shattered, and the deluge of lightning hurtled toward the ground.

"Hahahahahaha!" Na Daeyong let out a maniacal laugh. "I won!"

"...Have you already forgotten everything I taught you?" I said with a smile. "Deceive your opponent until the very last moment."

Faster than Na Daeyong’s expression could harden, I appeared from the sky, trailing black smoke, and thrust my leg out.

<Devastar>

Crash!

Na Daeyong’s body folded as he plummeted straight into the very lightning he had unleashed. Down below, the image of me standing on the ground turned into water and vanished.

A roaring boom and a massive explosion followed.

Lightning shredded the surrounding forest, arcing wildly in all directions. I descended to the ground, protecting my body with magical power to avoid electrocution. Sparks of electricity crackled across the earth, and a massive crater had formed right where Mjolnir had struck.

In the dead center of that crater lay Na Daeyong.

"Urgh...! Cough! Cough!"

Wiping his mouth, Na Daeyong pushed himself up. "Hehehe! I’m still a lightning mage, you know. Lightning damage is negated..."

He dropped to one knee again. Lightning damage wasn’t the issue here. The price for using a 200% Overload was beginning to exact its toll on his entire body.

"Daeyong," I said, slowly walking up to him. "Stop exaggerating and get up. Isn’t it about time you transformed?"

Inwardly, I prayed desperately.

I wished that he were actually a demonkin. I wished that he would transform into a monster.

However, his eyes started to lose their focus. His will to fight was broken. There was no trace of the madness from earlier.

I felt a surge of anxiety.

What are you doing? If you’re a demonkin, now is the time to transform. We have to move to round two so you can properly fight me. So please.

"I said get up!"

Approaching him, I grabbed him by the collar and shook him. Na Daeyong smiled weakly and reached out a trembling arm.

"Why are you..."

A cracked voice leaked out from his mouth, his entire body reduced to ash.

"I just... worked so hard... that’s all..."

The strength faded from his arm, and his body went entirely limp.

In the end, Na Daeyong never transformed into a monster.