Chapter 139 – Black Market Eleventh Shopping (6)

Sungjin waved his hands about in the air as he tried his best to explain.

“When I noticed time slowing down... for a brief moment, it seemed to come to a stop before it began to flow backwards. It was as if...”

‘A tape had been played in reverse.’

Sungjin wanted to say this, but he stopped himself before he could since it was unlikely that Soldamyr knew what a tape was.

“It was as if a play was being acted out in reverse. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. And then?”

Soldamyr urged Sungjin on like a child at the amusement park. The genie had been saying that being able to use the Time Reversal magic was his lifelong aspiration, and it appeared to be true.

“Destroyed illusions reappeared, and the injury I sustained then vanished.”

Soldamyr kept on asking various things to satisfy his curiosity.

“How many seconds did you go back after using the spell?”

Sungjin racked his memory.

“Hrm...”

He had used the spell immediately after his hand was cut by the fourth illusion. Before this, he had said to Franz,

‘Aah, I’ll keep it. That is if you can remember.’

And then activated the items.

‘Empower Magic, Mana Flow’

After which, he used the spell

‘Decisions that are never wrong, Regrets that never come to pass. Time Reversal.’

The point that he returned to was right after Franz had used the spell Illusion and charged at him as four.

‘Hwah!’

If he were to roughly estimate the time,

“Roughly about 10 seconds?”

“About 10 seconds... I see. 10 seconds at this amount of Magic Power...”

Soldamyr nodded his head. Sungjin said to Soldamyr,

“The effect was rather impressive. To reverse 10 seconds. To sum it up, it becomes possible to perfectly control everything that has happened. Did you see when I was able to immediately find the real one among the four illusions?”

“Yes.”

“When I did that, it ... felt like I had become God.”

Yes. After using the spell, everyone else except for him was stuck in the past. Sungjin could distinguish between Franz’s illusions without having to take a proper look at them.

‘The answer is Number 4’

Because he had already lived through the next 10 seconds of the future, he was able to pull off an otherwise impossible feat thanks to his knowledge.

If he were to utilize the Time Reversal spell with his swordsmanship, he would be able to give even Ariane a hard time. Sungjin imagined what it would be like to fight Ariane after using Time Reversal.

‘Going back 10 seconds in time after reading her attack pattern.... Ah... wait, if I act differently... Then she would definitely react accordingly as well.’

Sungjin asked Soldamyr when an idea suddenly came to mind.

“By the way, there’s something I wanted to ask. If I use this spell, then do I have to go back all 10 seconds? If my Magic Power increases, for example, by twice then do I have to go back all 20 seconds?”

“That shouldn’t be the case. According to the legends... It is said that the ‘Great Sage’ from the ‘Ring of the Great Sage’ that you wear, Anatol of the Blue Sky, could control how far back in time he went.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If one reads his biography, such scenes appear several times. Returning to a crucial moment in time and using an appropriate magic. It is said that it was thanks to Time Reversal that high ranking magicians, demons, and dragons did not stand a chance against him.”

“H’oh...”

“If you stop the spell while it’s in operation, then you should be able to make time flow normally again at that moment. When Master was using the spell... When the play was going backwards, did you not think of making time flow forwards again?”

Sungjin thought back on that moment. At that time, the reversing time had been so interesting that the idea of actively doing something never occurred to him. All he did was observe.

“Yeah. Since it was also my first time using it...”

“It is likely that when your Magic Power increases, you can reverse time for even longer periods. It would be a good idea to figure out how to stop the reversal until then.”

“Mm. The cooldown for Amplify Magic refreshes when the raid ends. So I should use it during the raid, after the raid ends, and during the morning of the next day as well. If I practice it every time I get a chance, I’ll get more and more used to it. You should be my sparring partner. Today when I activated it while battling Franz... I felt a bit sorry since it felt like I was playing around with him. Wouldn’t it be helpful to your research if the sparring partner was you instead?

“It would be an honor, Master.”

Sungjin looked down towards the ‘Ring of the Great Sage’ that was on his finger and said,

“By the way, since the spell was used after multiplying my magic power by five, if I were to activate it without a boost, would it last about 2 seconds?”

“It could also be less than 2 seconds since the efficacy of Magic Power is still a profound mystery.”

“Hrm... Since it takes about 1 second just to chant the spell. To use it like that would be just a waste of mana.”

“Most likely.”

Right now, it seemed like he could only use the spell once a day while relying on the Ring of the Great Sage.

“I’ll have to use it extremely carefully. And if possible... It’s better to not use it. Even for me, there’s always that chance of finding myself in a pinch.”

Soldamyr grinned as he asked,

“Given Master’s ability, would there actually be such a situation?”

“Well... That’s true but...”

Sungjin recalled the past.

‘Something that I regret...’

Now that he thought about it, there was one thing he did regret greatly.

‘I am boobs.’

Sungjin grasped his forehead with his hand. If he had access to Time Reversal back then, he would have used it immediately without hesitation. Time Reversal would also be helpful in situations other than combat. When hunting trolls, or when helping other hunters, and so on.

“For now I won’t use Time Reversal and leave it as a last resort. Since there could be many situations to use it other than in combat.”

“As Master wishes.”

While Sungjin and Soldamyr were discussing Time Reversal, the Operator’s alarm rang.

[It is 8:59]

It was time for the morning briefing.

“Ah... Operator, Staff of the Warlord.”

Sungjin removed the Staff of the Warlord from the cube. He drew a circle in the air with it and said,

“Draft.”

Soon, the faces of four peoples appeared. The chosen hunters.

“Please come. Let’s eat breakfast, have a briefing, and then begin the raid.”

Having gotten used to the draft, the figures of the hunters soon appeared.

“Did you sleep well yesterday, Oppa?” asked Serin who appeared first.

Sungjin nodded his head as he replied,

“Yeah. You?”

“I also slept well.”

Nada appeared next.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Sungjin raised his hand and returned her greeting.

“Good morning.”

Franz appeared third and greeted the two beautiful ladies.

“Good morning. Let’s do well today as well, everyone!”

Baltren was the last to appear.

“A pleasure. To have the time to be able to discuss together like this before the raid is quite nice.”

“Please order first.”

They each ordered a simple breakfast. After finishing the meal, they began the briefing while having desserts and beverages like coffee and ice cream. Sungjin held up his Information Sheet. At the top of the Information Sheet was written ‘Information concerning Greenskin Fortress.’ Sungjin said to the hunters,

“This raid takes place in Green Skin Fortress. Some of you might have probably guessed from the name, but... Do you remember Chapter 1? The Greenskin Wildlands that had goblins, orcs, and trolls.”

“Yes.”

This is the upgraded version of that. The boss is the King of Orcs, Grankel. And the hidden boss...”

Sungjin told them all the information that he knew. Points to be careful about in the raid, strategies for dealing with the boss, the location of the hidden boss, and so on.

“I don’t know where the hidden piece is yet, but... I should be able to find it in about 20 to 30 minutes after the raid begins. If you have difficulty finding it, call and ask me, since I can tell you about it even if I don’t transfer over.”

The hunters replied together as if they were elementary school students.

“Yes~”

“...Well, this raid shouldn’t be that difficult since you’re all skilled. Like I said before, there shouldn’t be anything particularly difficult in Chapter 12 and 13. It’s the 10 man raid, Chapter 14, that’s dangerous. Until then, think of these two chapters as stepping stones for development and focus on your growth.

“Understood.”

“Then that will be all for today’s briefing.”

After the briefing was over, the hunters returned one by one to their dimension.

“Stay safe everyone.”

“I hope everyone’s luck with their teams is good.”

“Let’s meet again at dinner.”

But Franz stayed behind.

“Uh... Mister Kei.”

Sungjin raised an eyebrow as he asked,

“Hrm? Is there something you want to say?”

“Today... I’ve thought about it carefully after our spar, but I still can’t figure it out.”

“What?”

“How you were able to distinguish the real one?”

‘Ah... He’s talking about that.’

Sungjin made a half-hearted excuse.

“Ah... That... I guessed. Normally people who use Illusion for the first time tend to hide the real card at the very end.”

“Ah... I see... Still, that was incredibly bold. Whatever the reason, but to be able to attack the real me so calmly...”

“You’ve never actually used the spell in a real fight, right?”

“Yes, not yet. Since all I did was buy some spells last night and memorize them.”

“Yeah. Well... It’s because you were purely a swordsman. As you keep using spells, you’ll become more proficient at utilizing them. You’ll become a more versatile swordsman.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Sungjin thought of the past suddenly as he conversed with Franz. He had also once heard something similar. Before his regression.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

After Franz left, Sungjin resumed reliving his memory.

‘Sungjin you’re a great swordsman, but if you can use magic, then you’ll become even stronger.’

Now that he thought about it, the one who had said that was ‘Spell Master’ Edward.

‘Spells? When am I supposed to learn those? I don’t have enough as it is for Strength, Dexterity and Endurance. How will I get points to spend in Magic Power or Mind Power? Isn’t it fine with just you using magic?’

‘But if you at least learn them now, then... It will help in coping with unexpected situations.’

‘Mm... I suppose that’s true.’

‘Right?’

Sungjin creased his forehead. Recalling Edward’s friendly demeanor only dampened his mood even further.

‘In front of everyone he was like that, but behind he did such things... That guy... Really.’

At that time, the Operator notified him of the remaining time.

[30 minutes until the Raid begins.]

Sungjin quickly glanced at it.

‘Ah... Then I should use this.’

He removed ‘Lathion – Star of Solitude’ from the cube and said,

“Solitary Training”

Like a bulb being switched on, the white star gave off a faint glow. Soon the Operator’s voice could be heard.

[You will proceed alone for the next raid. Difficulty will not be adjusted.]

Even if he had to proceed alone, a 5 man raid could no longer give him any sense of anxiety. Especially after he had overcome the hidden boss Ariane from the 10 man raid (though he didn’t win).

Now he even gained the chance to use Time Reversal and fix ‘mistakes’. For various reasons, he felt as if he had become nearly invincible.

‘Until Chapter 14... Well... There shouldn’t be any problems.’

Sungjin drank the iced americano he had ordered earlier and leisurely sat back in his chair.

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