I Am The Anti-Mage

Chapter 69: Basic of Mages

Dong-hyun gulped and listened intently. Ji-woo’s show of power was enough to remind him how terrifying Ji-woo was. Despite the fact, it was only the tip of the iceberg of Ji-woo’s real strength.

Basically, Ji-woo was like a natural enemy to the hunters with his Nullifier.

The hunters were the ones who had the blessing of God to handle the power of Nature through Mana. The stronger they were, the more they depended on Mana. And when Mana was useless, it would devastate them. Like people in complete darkness, still able to laugh and smile because of the fire. However, when the fire dissipated, there was nothing left for them. There was only a sense of loss and despair waiting for them as darkness devoured their souls.

Of course, there would always be exceptions. Everything would always have balance to maintain the order of the world.

People who had a great understanding of magic would be able to contest Ji-woo in a battle. In simple words, a powerful Mage or they got usually referred to as a Sage.

It was because magic wasn’t just about borrowing power from Nature. It was also a form of wisdom and knowledge. There was no limitation to it when it came to evolution.

“Alright. Now, I will teach and explain at the same time.”

Ji-woo explained about Mana Presence. It was a poor technique used by low-rank hunters, even though it was nice to increase the overall strength more than what Mana had enhanced. To be more precise, a hunter with low Mana capacity. Not only did it drain Mana continuously to kept the explosive power intact, but it was physically taxing too.

It was not great for the users. It would slow down their development as they only knew to expend Mana without learning to control it.

Mana should flow like water in a calm and tranquil manner, not violent and chaotic. It is wasteful and inefficient.

Ji-woo told Dong-hyun to learn about the short burst ability. It was the same concept as an ordinary person with a momentary explosive power to propel the car alone at a critical moment.

Dong-hyun should treat his own Mana moderately since he was pretty good at controlling his Mana now. He had to use Mana as needed and only for a short period of time.

Ji-woo then demonstrated how the intermittently released power works. He was standing in front of a tree. He clenched one hand and leaned it against the tree.

Bang!

Dong-hyun was startled by the sound. But, he was more surprised to see that the tree was okay and still standing afterward.

Ji-woo shook his head. “Look at the other side of this tree.”

“Hah!?” Dong-hyun was confused. However, he still walked away to see the other side of the tree. When he saw it, he was astonished by the result. The opposite side of the tree that Ji-woo punched was absolutely a mess. It was broken and damaged. There was a crack split from top to bottom. If it weren’t for the roots that were firmly on the ground, the tree would have fallen like a human who had lost his ability to stand.

Dong-hyun refused to believe it and accused Ji-woo of tricking him.

“Hyung! Your strength is already extraordinary. What does that have to do with the technique!? It is absurd!

“Ouch!”

Ji-woo hit Dong-hyun on the head as usual. “Try it first and complain later. Don’t act like a kid.”

Dong-hyun nodded his head repeatedly. He stood up and walked toward another tree. But, he got stopped by Ji-woo.

“Do that to the ground and use your Mana Presence for comparison.”

Dong-hyun let out his Mana Presence and punched the field as hard as he could.

Bang!

The ground shook and cracked.

Dong-hyun was amazed at the result of his punch. He never expected to grow strong a little bit in the span of three days through Mana Presence training.

“Now, stop that and start feeling the Mana in your body. If necessary, close your eyes. Focus on one output, your hand. Release it as soon as you deliver the punch.”

Dong-hyun closed his eyes and controlled his Mana efficiently. There was no change with his Mana flow. But then, the moment his punching motion became a reality. His Mana flow rapidly changed.

Haa!

Boom!

It was different from before, where Dong-hyun was trying to hit hard. A bit of cloud of dust covered his arm. The field was not damaged and cracked like previously. However, it created a hole with the size of a fist and a depth of 30 cm.

The result caused Dong-hyun to disbelieve he was the one that did it. The difference was clear with Ji-woo’s teachings.

The other one seemed dangerous on the surface, while the other one was deep and deadly.

However, it was different from Dong-hyun’s reaction. Ji-woo was not happy with the result. It was far from what he expected. It could be due to the rush, or Dong-hyun’s control was still not perfect.

“I really am a genius! It is so easy! Hyung, you should teach me more!”

Ji-woo’s mouth twitched. ‘Hah, brat! Let me show you what desperation is.’

“In that case, try it again.” Ji-woo incited Dong-hyun to do it again like earlier.

Dong-hyun giggled. He was eager to show off in front of Ji-woo. He closed his eyes and controlled his Mana again. Suddenly, he heard Ji-woo’s voice, which broke his concentration.

“Geez, what idiot would let his opponent have his own time to bring out his power?”

Ji-woo jumped up and landed a light punch on Dong-hyun’s chest. Not enough, he also sent out another kick and punch before Dong-hyun finally fell to the ground.

Dong-hyun coughed and stared at Ji-woo. He couldn’t believe Ji-woo did such a dirty thing to him.

“Hyung, you can’t do that!!”

“Stop whining. Didn’t you find it easy back then?

“Also, those creatures from the Portal Gate won’t let you take a breath when the battle begins. You must keep moving and maintain your concentration.

“Do it again. I’ll only use my legs from here on.”

Dong-hyun wanted to refuse and asked for a break. But, Ji-woo immediately kicked him in the stomach.

“Ough!”

Dong-hyun held his stomach in pain as he raised his hand to beg for mercy.

“Keep. Moving. Kiddo.”

Ji-woo gave Dong-hyun instant rejection. He subsequently began his lovely teaching…, or beating.

Each time Dong-hyun had enough time to concentrate. Kicks would always land on every part of his body to distract him, leaving him in a battered and miserable state.

Hosh, Hosh–

Dong-hyun lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Ji-woo stopped in his tracks after determining that Dong-hyun couldn’t continue the training anymore. He walked away and got closer to his duffel bag. He took out a Magic Stone from it.

Dong-hyun noticed the action. So, he sat down and asked Ji-woo.

“Hyung, what are you going to do with that Magic Stone? Where did you get it from?”

“Let me show you some magic.”

Dong-hyun chuckled at Ji-woo’s words. To begin with, he was someone with Mana, and magic was not something new for him. However, that belief instantly got shattered when he saw what Ji-woo did to the Magic Stone.

Ji-woo tapped the Magic Stone three times to his left wrist weight.

Zzing–

Dong-hyun dropped his jaw when he saw the Magic Stone seemingly disappear and got absorbed into the wrist weight. At this moment, the questions of why and how filled his brain. He had never seen this occurrence before.

“W-What happened!? Where did it disappear? Hyung, what are you doing?”

Ji-woo didn’t answer the question and instead swung his hand slightly to assess the weight on his left wrist.

“It weighs about 12 kg.”

Ji-woo still ignored Dong-hyun. And he continued to do the same as before on the remaining 3 Magic Stones. Each ankle and wrist weight got filled with one Magic Stone separately. Now, he had a total weight of around 48 kg on his body.

Dong-hyun, who didn’t get the answer, became curious and drew closer to Ji-woo.

“Hyung, what is it? Did the Magic Stone get absorbed into the weight?”

Ji-woo, again, doesn’t answer Dong-hyun’s inquiry. But, this time, he took off one of his wrist weights and threw it at Dong-hyun.

Dong-hyun was confused by what Ji-woo was doing.

Ji-woo also didn’t say a word after throwing the weights. Next, he took out a Magic Crystal since all the Magic Stones already got used. He used the Magic Crystal precisely as he did to the Magic Stone. After a while, he then threw 4 Magic Crystals at Dong-hyun.

Dong-hyun doesn’t try to ask any more questions. He only does similar things as Ji-woo did. After that, he discovered the strangeness of having the Magic Crystal sucked into the weight in his hand. He immediately felt an increase in heaviness after the Magic Crystal disappeared. He then did the same for the remaining 3 Magic Crystals.

“Wow!”

“It weighs roughly 20 kg now!” Dong-hyun exclaimed when Ji-woo already finished with the rest of his weights.

Dong-hyun never knew Magic Crystals or Magic Stones could get used for items. In addition to its use as a refill and increase the hunter’s Mana.