The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)
chapter-411

The Great Mage Returns after 40002Years (Season 2) – Chapter 411

Hundreds of metres away from the crater the black lightning had created when it struck.

Sama Ryeong and Daihad looked down at the forest. Immediately after the lightning had struck, they decided to move to this place to get a better grasp of the situation.

Thanks to that, they were able to see everything that ensued from the beginning.

Mantis who had appeared first, and Jacob who appeared after. It seemed like they exchanged a few words before Jacob attacked first, but Mantis was able to avoid his attack and go into the pit at the same time.

Then.

“Mantis is dead.”

Daihad spoke in a calm voice.

“It ended in one blow.”

“…”

Sama Ryeong’s deep gaze shook slightly. Her gaze was locked onto the crater that had been created by the black lightning, and the Black Knight that had come out of it.

A terrifying amount of death energy flowed out of the Knight’s entire body.

“So this is the ‘next stage’ that you were talking about. It certainly looks hard to take down.”

“…what?”

Daihad turned to her with an absurd expression.

“Hard to take down? It’s not just at that level. Don’t tell me you don’t know what that Black Knight is?”

“Do you know?”

“…huh.”

Daihad made a sound of frustration as he shook his head.

“You must be much younger than I thought. That, or you have a very bad relationship with Flower Mountain’s Sect Leader.”

Sama Ryeong’s expression became cold. She didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but Daihad had just touched her bottom line.

“Why are you talking about that man here?”

Even though there was no way he didn’t notice the killing intent mixed in her voice, Daihad responded in a flat tone.

“Because that Knight is something that all Twelve Void Lords are aware of.”

“…”

“Do you know about the King’s Knights?”

Sama Ryeong nodded. They were the judges who defended the King and his castle. She’d never seen them before, but she’d heard of them. In fact, it was knowledge that any intelligent being in this place should know.

To never get involved with the King’s Knights. If you somehow got involved, get out of their way and run.

However…

“I’ve never heard of a Black Knight.”

The White Knight, Red Knight, and Blue Knight.

Those were the members of the King’s Knights that Sama Ryeong knew of.

She’d never heard of a Black Knight before.

“The King’s Knights didn’t exist from the beginning. Every time they appeared, there was a huge change in the world. Of course, it is still unknown whether they appear around the time of the change, or if it’s their appearance that causes the change.”

“Change…”

“You must be aware of the unusual phenomenon that recently occurred in this world.”

Of course, she knew.

An unauthorised person had appeared in this world where only the forgotten or abandoned could come.

It was a being so great that even the residents of this world had heard its name before.

A Ruler, the Seven Fanged Dragon God.

“According to our calculations, an invasion from the outside will eventually occur through ‘some point’. The boundary between this place and the outside world. It’s also possible that in the not so distant future, the boundary will become so murky that even we will be able to come and go.”

“That’s impossible.”

Sama Ryeong denied it.

This was because she knew just how absurd Daihad’s words were. Of course, it would be interesting if such a reality did come to pass in this world, but the World of Void was not a place for living beings from the outside.

Even if outsiders had a hard time understanding it, it had its own laws and structure.

And the words Daihad had just spoken were a direct denial of the essential providence of the World of Void.

The world of the abandoned, the forgotten. A place that was nothing more than a dumpster for those beings to come.

And once they were thrown away, garbage could not go back outside. This was decided when this world was born. And it was clear that this rule had been absolutely maintained over billions and trillions of years.

So if what Daihad was saying was the truth, it would be a big surprise.

Would the purpose of the World of Void, or its innate role, be blurred? If so then what? What would happen to the world that had lost its original role?

Could they continue calling it the World of Void?

“I heard that the central point of Flower Mountain was weak, but it seems to be true. I can’t believe you don’t even know this information. Or is it that you’re simply not on good terms with the man who just became one of the Twelve Void Lords?”

“…”

“Was it Yang In-hyun? The Everlasting Plum Sword’s real name. That man really doesn’t know where he’s going. He didn’t even attend the meeting held now so long ago. Plus-”

“Let’s assume your words are right.”

Sama Ryeong didn’t want to talk about Yang In-hyun so she interrupted him.

“Why would such a great Knight appear in a test like this?”

“If there is one question that I cannot answer at this point, it would be that.”

That meant that he didn’t know either

He always pretended to know everything, but in the end, he didn’t know the key thing. Naturally, this caused Sama Ryeong’s eyes to narrow slightly in amusement.

“Jacob is probably dead.”

She’d seen the Black Knight bury his fist in his stomach. Even the trained eyes of Sama Ryeong had missed his instantaneous movement. The Wizard Jacob wouldn’t have had time to respond.

His body had shot through the forest like a cannonball. He’d flown for maybe a few hundred metres. By the time he landed, his body might not have even been distinguishable.

“Then that means there are three or four test participants remaining.”

The two of them there, Haspin, and finally, Lukas.

Where were the other two? There was no way they hadn’t noticed this commotion.

“Now, then, what will we do from now on? Or choices-”

[There are two options.]

“…!”

They turned around.

The Black Knight was standing there.

‘This crazy…’

Daihad swallowed his curse.

There were no signs. His 17 precision detection devices could catch the yawn of an ant hundreds of kilometres away if he wanted to. And yet, as if all his detectors had stopped working simultaneously, he didn’t receive any kind of warning.

That wasn’t all.

Despite the fact that they were now standing face to face, he still could not detect any biological signature. It was almost like…

“I see.”

A smile appeared on Daihad’s cold sweat drenched face.

“So the Black Knight of Death. Is an Undead?”

[That doesn’t matter. Rather, I’d like to explain two options to you.]

The Black Knight spoke in a blunt tone.

It was strange.

His voice didn’t feel emotionless. Instead it seemed to carry a sense of nobility and intimidation as if they were spoken by a formal Knight.

“Two options?”

Sama Ryeong asked again.

Her sword was already slightly drawn. Daihad had completely missed the arrival of the Black Knight, but Sama Ryeong had been able to feel something strange for a moment.

Of course, if the opponent’s purpose had been battle instead of conversation, and he’d arrived while swinging his sword at the same time, she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to block his attack.

“The important thing.”

Wasn’t that.

Sama Ryeong looked at the Black Knight with a piercing gaze.

…If they were to get into a fight, how would she fight?

She could not see any openings. No matter how she attacked, it would be easily blocked, and then her body would be pierced a moment later. That was the only conclusion she could envision.

This was the second time she’d felt such a feeling of helplessness from a Swordsman.

“I guess you’re thinking of making an offer to us.”

Although he didn’t show it on his face, Daihad inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had already completed his calculations. Their odds of winning against this monster were less than 0.01 percent. That was also the percentage that would only appear if there were a few lucky coincidences.

A battle with such odds was not a fight, it was suicide. And Daihad had no intention of just throwing his life away like that.

[The first is to fight and die.]

“…kuku. I suppose that is a joke to loosen our shoulders a bit. Then what’s the other option?”

The Black Knight continued in the same tone without any traces of humor.

[To die obediently.]

“What?”

[Because I don’t want to waste time. I believe those options are the best for both parties.]

“You’ve gone too far. Your joke isn’t funny anymore.”

[…]

The Black Knight didn’t respond. He just looked at them with an ominous gaze.

Daihad’s expression hardened at that. Because he realised.

He was speaking the truth.

“…you’ve got to be kidding me.”

His expression flashed with unusual anger.

“Neither of those choices have merit for us. You should study proposals and negotiations more.”

[They have enough merit. If you choose the latter, you can die comfortably.]

“Do you think we’re afraid of pain or something like that?”

[I do not know that. However, there is something that every living being fears.]

“What’s that?”

[An unacceptable death.]

That one phrase seemed to press down heavily on the surroundings.

[Unfortunately, it seems you didn’t accept my offer. In that case, I’ll assume you chose option one.]

The Black Knight slowly drew his sword.

Daihad looked down at his body. A very thin line was engraved on the surface of his extremely durable power suit.

“I couldn’t… even… observe…”

Squelch, starting from the thin line, Daihad’s body split into two halves. Sama Ryeong, who’d been dazedly staring at the sight, immediately came to her senses and lowered her head hurriedly.

She could feel the blade silently pass over her head. The fact that she was able to avoid the attack was purely because of her combat experience and the fact that her main weapon was a sword.

When the line was left on Daihad’s power suit, Sama Ryeong had thought that the best time to attack would have been when the Black Knight was drawing his sword to make the horizontal slash.

But she hadn’t dared to move.

Terror, fear and hesitation. At that moment, any excuse would be the answer.

Sama Ryeong didn’t want to be the first to make a move against this monster.

But the Black Knight’s figure had suddenly disappeared afterward.

“Kuk.”

And she heard Daihad’s voice which seemed to be mixed with water. She could guess how bitter his wide eyes were. Although she couldn’t accurately predict the scene, she could still guess the first few moments.

Then, considering the difference in physique between Daihad and herself, and the distance, she wondered what her next attack would be if she were the Black Knight. These thoughts came naturally without any conscious act on her part.

Then she reached a conclusion.

The part the Black Knight would aim for was her face.

And the attack method would be a stab.

It was a simple guess on her part, but the Black Knight moved as she’d expected, allowing Sama Ryeong to successfully evade his attack.

In summary, Sama Ryeong had won the first encounter of her battle with the Black Knight.

Surely he would…

“…!”

It felt like electricity had flowed through the hair that had been brushed. The terror made her limbs heavy.

It was strange. Sama Ryeong thought she had good control of her fear, but now she was having trouble suppressing it.

“Kuk…!”

Biting her lip as if the pain would suppress her fear, she used the fastest technique of the Plum Blossom Style that she could unfold at this time.

In an instant, the light flashed on her blade as it rushed towards the Black Knight’s chest.

Clang!

It hit.

Not his sword, she directly hit his armour.

But she was unable to penetrate it, to be precise, there wasn’t even a scratch on the black armour. Instead, it was the wrist of Sama Ryeong, who had attacked, that throbbed.

“What is this-”

Monster.

She wasn’t able to finish her words.

Because the Black Knight began his offensive once again.

* * *

“The ignorant call anything they can’t understand ‘magic’.”

One of the Twelve Void Lords, The Wizard of Genesis, the Staff of Beginning.

But he was most well known by the nickname Beginning Wizard.

The Lord of the Magic Planet had always told the Wizards this.

“It’s ironic that the thoughtless remarks of these people are infinitely close to the true essence of magic. Because magic in its truest sense is something that cannot be understood by anyone.”

His old voice resounded.

“Magic is not a field of study. Or rather, it shouldn’t be a field of study. If there are hundreds of Wizards, then there should be hundreds of different kinds of magic.”

A wrinkled face turned to Jacob.

“The nature and interaction of mana? Structured teaching and discipline? That is all false. It’s the same for the word magicology. In fact, that word in itself is a contradiction.”

“Create your own world in your head. Do not be understood by anyone, and do not share with anyone. You have to be outrageously self righteous. Remember. The moment your world is understood by someone else, your identity as a Wizard fades.”

“To become a true Wizard, a Truth Seeker…”

That was a statement that penetrated Jacob’s life.

He’d become a Truth Seeker because he could not forget that voice or those teachings. It was also because of them that he was able to become one of the greatest Wizards in Magic Planet.

The title Truth Seeker of Magic Planet was only given to the Magic Planet’s greatest Wizards.

That was why Jacob could be arrogant. He could not let go of his pride because he had always been better than others. He showed a similar attitude even to his comrades who were not Truth Seekers.

‘The knowledge of a Wizard is self righteous.’

That was a lesson Jacob would never forget

* * *

Jacob opened his eyes.

“Cough.”

He coughed up a mouthful of thick blood. He had been bleeding internally.

‘Did I lose consciousness?’

For how long?

He looked around with slightly blurred vision. Shattered wood fragments, deep grooves and dirt that seemed to have been unsettled recently met his gaze. It was none other than the scar that had been created by his own flying body.

In other words, it had only been a few seconds since he’d shot through the forest like a cannonball.

It could be called a short time, but when considering the monster who’d made him that way in the first place, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to have died dozens of times in that period.

‘That guy is a monster.’

He hadn’t been able to see him move until his fist was buried in his stomach, or perhaps even after that. This proved just how great the difference in level was.

“Intere-, sting.”

Jacob grinned. Blood dripped from his mouth, staining his teeth red, but he didn’t care.

He got to his feet. His legs were shaking, but he’d managed to stay on his feet. This meant that he didn’t have any broken bones.

That was enough for now.

He glared at the Knight through the dust. He didn’t see anyone.

How far had he flown? No. Was he still there in the first place?

‘It’s like this after one blow…’

At best, his chances of winning were 1 percent. In truth, just thinking about it made his legs tremble. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. Even if he managed to deceive his head, he couldn’t deceive his body.

The Black Knight that scattered death.

If what Jacob heard was true, he was a monster that he couldn’t deal with.

Then would he run away?

‘No.’

That wasn’t an option.

He had no choice but to fight.

Jacob’s smile widened.

No one would understand how he could smile in this situation, but that thought just made him smile more.

In order to not be understood.

In order to be seen as incomprehensible.