5. Determination (1)
Keuggeugeuk!
As the magic circle was completed, powerful electricity gushed out.
The form and power were perfect, just like when casting magic normally.
If the Red Scalpel taught him about incomplete techniques, now it made the incomplete techniques complete.
There wasn’t a big difference for lower-level magic, but what if he used higher-level magic?
The difference in casting speed would be like heaven and earth. Because he could skip the minor technique calculations and only do the major ones. Furthermore, he might be able to manifest magic that was impossible with human calculations.
‘This is an ability…’
A realm that couldn’t be calculated by anything.
What unfolded before his eyes was denying all the laws of reality. He could eliminate indestructible artifacts and absorb their power to use it.
It was now his complete power, not needing to be called an ability anymore. Perhaps the word ‘authority’ would be more fitting?
This was a tremendously big gain.
Of course, the best thing was that Aina was safe.
It wasn’t something originally in his plans, and he didn’t do it for these gains either.
Jin-woo smiled.
He felt as if one of the nightmares that had always tormented him had disappeared. It felt like the trauma that had always suppressed him had vanished.
His heart felt much lighter.
‘Yes, I can change things one by one like this.’
One by one.
In the right and good direction.
If he could do that, perhaps he could prevent the destruction that was as difficult to unravel as a tangled thread and as unstoppable as a huge tidal wave.
“It’s here.”
A message came from Harmu.
It was a message saying she had moved into the house Jin-woo prepared for her.
The villa she used to live in was full of traces of the tragedy.
Traces of the burnt walls, traces of where the corpses lay, and the windows were completely shattered. The house was already small, and with such a tragedy, it was hard to live there.
And to treat Aina, it was better to be close by.
Jin-woo left the mansion and headed to the house where Harmu was. It was a 10-minute walk. Since it was an area with high-end mansions, the house Harmu was in was quite nice too.
Entering the passcode at the front door and going inside, he saw Harmu organizing the moving boxes.
“You’re here?”
“Hmm, there’s less luggage than I thought.”
“The clothes all got burnt as the walls caught fire.”
“That’s good. They were a bit old-fashioned.”
Normally, it would have been something to be comforted about, but Harmu didn’t mind at all. She was smiling. It was the brightest expression he had ever seen on her.
However, she looked tired as if she hadn’t slept much.
Her hands were full of ink stains.
It was the ink used when researching magic circles.
If she drew the magic circles one by one, she could suffer severe aftereffects from mana exhaustion. That’s why they used mana-conducting ink to study magic circles.
They could find out whether the magic circle was established or not.
Of course, they had to experiment directly to see if it was successful.
“Any progress?”
Harmu quickly got up and brought various papers.
They were full of calculation formulas and magic techniques she had researched. Jin-woo looked at the papers one by one and nodded.
“Not bad.”
“But… there are too many things to consider. At this rate, I don’t know how many years it will take.”
“You’re not asking.”
“Pardon?”
Jin-woo looked at Harmu.
“Unified medicine.”
“…You mean the magic you used, Young Master.”
There was a brief silence.
“Multicasting, your movements, and your magic seem to be two or three generations ahead of the current magic. Your combat experience is also extensive. As if you’ve rolled on the battlefield for decades…”
Harmu said that while looking at Jin-woo.
“I’ve never even heard of healing magic. Magic where you can see wounds healing… doctors would be shocked if they knew.”
“Hmm…”
“You are a genius, Young Master. A genius unprecedented in human history.”
A gentle smile hung on Harmu’s lips.
“That’s enough. The genius Young Master saved Aina, and now you’re going to treat Aina together with me. What more do I have to ask?”
Jin-woo nodded.
The surprisingly scary and cruel Harmu who used magic was now gone. However, her magical talent that made him even think of death was still there.
The beginning of combat magic techniques was to counter Harmu.
Healing magic suited Harmu better than cruel attack magic.
“Alright, then let’s start with the basics.”
“Pardon?”
“Your basics are lacking.”
Jin-woo discarded everything Harmu had made and started over from the beginning. Although it was clearly very difficult, Harmu kept challenging herself.
A real mage.
Jin-woo would make her a real mage who would be viable even in the world where destruction was approaching.
Aina, who was in the room, pushed the wheels of her wheelchair and came out.
“Jin-woo, hello.”
“You cut your hair? It suits you well.”
“…Yeah, thank you.”
The cut bangs suited her very well.
Aina was a beauty among elves. She still had more of a cute feeling because she was young.
“Thank you for letting me stay here.”
“This much is natural…”
“Can I hold your hand for a moment?”
When Jin-woo reached out his hand, Aina slowly stretched out both hands and grasped Jin-woo’s hand tightly.
“Thank you so much.”
She said that and smiled brightly.
Jin-woo’s eyes widened slightly. The last scene of Aina, which was deeply etched in his mind, gradually diluted and turned to dust, disappearing.
Now Jin-woo could properly look at Aina.
Without complicated feelings, guilt, or regret.
He could face her as a friend, not with regret.
“It’s too early to thank me. Let’s go out this month.”
“Huh?”
“We promised, remember? It will probably be very fun.”
“Yeah, I… even if it’s not fun, I’ll make it fun for you.”
Hearing Jin-woo’s slightly excited voice, Aina said that and made a deep determination.
It would probably be very fun.
Even if it wasn’t fun, it would be fun.
Because it would be full of ‘firsts’.
A few days passed.
Harmu barely reached the values Jin-woo aimed for.
It was still at a basic level, but that was enough. Harmu took a deep breath and approached Aina. Aina had a puzzled expression.
She seemed a bit flustered that Jin-woo came together like this.
“Aina, lie down on the bed for a moment.”
Harmu laid Aina on the bed.
Aina looked a bit anxious, but Harmu stroked her cheek and calmed her down.
Harmu’s hands were trembling, probably from being very nervous.
Jin-woo looked at it and opened his mouth.
“It’s a simple task. There’s no possibility of failure.”
“…Yes. I know. You are an archmage, Young Master. Soon… soon.”
“You know it well. Good attitude. Then what are you?”
“I’ll be the archmage’s assistant.”
“I’ll judge that based on what you do today.”
Jin-woo reached out his hand and put Aina to sleep for a moment.
Although the pain wouldn’t be severe, he put her to sleep because she might show a psychological rejection reaction.
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes.”
“Follow along well.”
“No problem.”
Jin-woo floated a magic circle above Aina’s body.
Harmu overlapped her magic circle on top of it.
Aina’s illness occurred when strong mana met the narrow blood vessels of a half-elf. Then, they just needed to create a new mana core and activate the blood vessels.
If the blocked blood vessels opened up, the blood vessels would naturally widen.
It was a matter of making it like a mage’s mana pathways.
Harmu emitted mana, and Jin-woo made that mana in its purest state. And he made it permeate Aina’s body. The mana that permeated her heart spread throughout her body along with the heartbeat.
Harmu concentrated while sweating coldly.
Her task was to maintain the mana output at a constant level until Jin-woo opened up the blood vessels. And she had to assist Jin-woo’s calculations.
Harmu had to refine the mana sharply like an awl and draw it out long.
For that, she had been making techniques without even a wink of sleep until now.
Jin-woo carefully created a mana core and anchored it to the heart. He transformed the mana to match Aina’s mana wavelength and started opening up the blood vessels with the awl-like mana extending out.
It was a task that only Jin-woo could do, across the past, present, and future.
‘I mainly used it to kill enemies…’
The act of blowing up blood vessels.
A method to crush mana pathways.
It was something he did when dealing with enemies. But now, that method was being used to treat Aina.
Thoroughly examining and studying the bodies of enemies was a great help. In this world, there was probably no one who had seen more corpses than Jin-woo.
He quickly opened up the blood vessels and reached Aina’s eyes.
After opening up the narrowed parts and recirculating the mana, the mana core gradually started spinning.
Thump! Thump!
The sound of the mana core spinning overlapped with the heartbeat.
The mana accumulated in Aina’s eyes scattered and was absorbed into her body.
‘Done.’
As Jin-woo lowered his hand, Harmu plopped down on the floor. The moment the magic circle disappeared, Aina let out a small moan.
She had regained consciousness thanks to the mana core’s circulation.
Aina was embarrassed that she had fallen asleep on the bed. Although she didn’t know why her sister made her lie down, her face turned red when she remembered sleeping in front of Jin-woo.
Aina’s eyelids fluttered and opened.
“Huh…?”
She thought it would be dark as usual.
But it was so radiant.
The light she had seen in her faint memories when she was very young approached her eyes. Aina stared blankly at the ceiling and then turned her head to look to the side.
Harmu looked at her with the same expression as Aina.
“Sis?”
“Aina, can you see?”
Aina slowly nodded.
What kind of situation was this?
Was she dreaming?
She had never even dared to imagine such a beautiful dream.
Her blurry vision focused and became clear. Her function hadn’t completely recovered yet, but it would recover quickly.
Fast recovery was the biggest advantage of elves.
“Ah…!”
Tears flowed from Aina’s eyes.
The moment Harmu’s eyes met Aina’s, she wailed on the spot.
“Sis…”
“Aina… I…”
“Sis, you’re prettier than in my dreams.”
Jin-woo quietly left the room and closed the door.
His clothes were drenched in sweat, but he felt refreshed.
Jin-woo looked at his own hands.
When he saw his white and soft palms, he clenched his fists.
Jin-woo walked across the living room towards the front door.
The sisters would have a lot to say to each other.
He didn’t want to disturb the sisters who were shedding tears of joy.
‘Dr. Kim Jin-han’s achievement…’
It was true that he saved many people, but at the same time, he brought a lot of despair. However, he himself could do much better. With his own strength, not an unfriendly ability.
He believed that without a doubt.
That was the reason he was here in this place, breaking through the slim probability and regressing.
‘I can do better. I can…’
There was always a burden.
However, he wasn’t crushed by it.
Because he was an archmage.
Bam!
The door flung open.
When Jin-woo turned around, Aina staggered and walked, gradually approaching him.
In the end, she ran into Jin-woo’s arms.
“…Jin-woo, Jin-woo. I, I…”
Jin-woo was awkwardly holding out his arms at the sudden situation and then hugged her.
Thump thump thump!
Harmu also ran over and hugged Jin-woo and Aina at the same time.
“Young Master… sob, sob, waah…”
Jin-woo was stuck between the two, unable to move an inch.
It had been a very long time since he had fully felt the warmth of people so directly. He vividly felt their scent, their sobbing breaths, and even their heartbeats.
‘I’m here too.’
All his senses felt vivid.
Only now did it sink in that he had regressed and was alive again in this world.
They stayed like that for a long time.
“…I want to go home now…”
“Jin-woo, stay the night.”
“Young Master, please stay the night.”
Jin-woo tried to shake his head to refuse, but Harmu pressed him with her body, so he couldn’t shake it.
He was suffocating from being stuck in the middle.
“Harmu, a mage should always have composure and a sharp mind…”
“I won’t be a mage today.”
Squish!
His whole body was squeezed even more!
Not only Harmu but Aina’s strength was surprisingly strong.
To the point where it was hard to believe she had been sitting in a wheelchair all this time.
They stayed hugging like that for a long time.
Jin-woo eventually gave up.