Frost’s campaign to destroy Kim Yusin had begun.

[Alchemia Implicated in Bribery Scandal with Former President Hong Yul. Source: “Admitted to Association Research Foundation Without Proper Vetting.”]

[Alchemia CEO Kim Yusin Under Investigation, Barred from Leaving the Country.]

[Archmage Kim Yusin Illegally Flees at Night, Defying Travel Ban.]

[Kim Yusin, Discovered in Russia, Refuses Enforcement Bureau Summons and Launches Preemptive Attack; Four Injured.]

[The Fall of the Archmage: From National Hero to Traitor.]

Frost leaked the stories, and reporters unleashed a flood of articles targeting Yusin. Jeong Seojin and Alchemia issued a rebuttal, meticulously refuting each point, but their statement was buried, never even appearing on the major news portals.

—What else is new? A non-combatant bum’s nature never changes lol.

—He was the hunter I was cheering for most after the Labyrinth Dungeon. So disappointing.

—Why attack the innocent Enforcement Bureau members? Does being a rank-3 hunter mean you can do anything?

—Stay strong, Enforcement Bureau! I support Frost!

—Isn’t it creepy? He pretended to be a saint, saying he was releasing magic for the public and liberating Africa, but this is who he really is…

—Didn’t I say he was trash? Where are all the fanboys who defended him?

—He’s only the hero of ‘those people’. What are the non-combatant kids gonna do now?

Factless articles. Illogical slander. For Frost, who owned one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, manipulating public opinion was child’s play.

Now, the prosecution itself had launched an official investigation. A few media outlets published articles arguing that the baseless criticism had gone too far, but people only intensified their attacks: ‘How much did Kim Yusin pay you?’, ‘Here go the trash reporters again.’, etc.

Meanwhile, Jeong Seojin, acting as Yusin’s proxy, was living in a frenzy. A press conference yesterday, another today. He stood before the reporters, his face gaunt as camera flashes strobed incessantly.

“Just one word, please!”

“Is it true that Kim Yusin bribed the former Association President?”

“Who exactly is this potion specialist?”

“Is it true that Kim Yusin kidnapped and is exploiting the potion specialist?”

“What about the allegations that Kim Yusin assaulted a junior hunter…?”

They were garbage questions not even worth answering. No matter how hoarse his voice became refuting the controversies, not a single word of his explanation made it into the articles. Reporters twisted his words, added their own spin, and fabricated quotes under provocative headlines. The media seemed determined to make Kim Yusin a national traitor.

The moment he realized that, the futility of it all washed over him. Jeong Seojin decided to end the conference.

“That’s all for today.”

“Wait! Just a moment!” Reporters pushed forward, shoving microphones in his face.

“What do you think about the allegation that Alchemia is a front for the demonkin and is planning to distribute their ‘monsterification potion’ to the world?!”

Hearing that, Jeong Seojin, already stressed beyond his limit, finally snapped. He swatted a camera away and lunged toward the reporter.

‘Who the hell are you? Who do you people think you are? His effort, his struggle—how dare you, who know nothing, belittle him like this?’

“C-calm down!”

“You’re too agitated!”

Bodyguards tried to hold him back, but with his superhuman strength, Jeong Seojin dragged several of them with him as he advanced. The terrified reporter stumbled backward before turning and fleeing for his life.

“This guy’s a lost cause!”

“He tried to assault a reporter!”

“A guilty guy if I’ve ever seen one!”

Once again, camera flashes erupted like a feeding frenzy.

* * *

“Haaaah…”

Inside the car, Jeong Seojin clutched his forehead. He had practiced suppressing his emotions for so long, but the moment he heard them link Yusin to the demonkin, the blood had rushed to his head. He regretted it instantly, but it was too late. He pulled out his phone and checked the news.

[Alchemia Vice President Jeong Seojin Assaults Reporter]

[Unable to Deny Demonkin Connection, Resorts to Violence]

Assault? He had only hit a camera, but the article made it sound as if the reporter had been beaten half to death. That reporter, who hadn’t suffered a scratch, was currently hospitalized. A selfie of him in a hospital gown, his face plastered with bandages, was circulating on social media.

The reporter captioned it with: I’m okay! Thank you all for the messages of support and concern. My will won’t be broken by something like this! I will continue to bring you the truth!

—The Archmage attacked the Enforcement Bureau without warning, and his subordinate did the same.

—Like master, like subordinate.

—Stay strong, reporter-nim!

—So true, journalists still exist. There’s hope for this country yet.

—Mr. Reporter, please expose all the corruption in South Korea! We respect your dedication.

—Alchemia is trying to feed people monster potions, and what is the government doing? Are they on the take?

Jeong Seojin let out a deep sigh. A man like Yusin, who had saved countless lives, was being branded a traitor, while a scumbag reporter was being hailed as a hero. He was suddenly sick of this entire society.

“Vice President, we’ve arrived at Alchemia.”

‘Get a grip.’

Jeong Seojin got out of the car and walked toward the Alchemia headquarters.

“Ah.”

He stopped dead. All the Alchemia employees were standing outside. The building was cordoned off with police tape, and men in caps were carrying boxes of office materials out.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

When Jeong Seojin tried to enter, guards blocked his way.

“An order has been issued for a search and seizure related to the Alchemia allegations.”

Jeong Seojin ground his teeth. As if on cue, Frost was putting his plan into motion. Everything was proceeding according to a well-written script. The fact that he was powerless to stop it was infuriating.

Just then, Frost’s voice echoed in his memory.

‘Putting your stupidity aside, do you realize your very existence is a liability to Kim Yusin? By taking you in, he makes the Unix Group his greatest enemy. What sin did he commit to deserve that? Is it the sin of befriending the wrong person?’

“V-Vice President!” a nearby employee screamed. “Y-you’re bleeding!”

“Get him something to wipe it!”

Jeong Seojin was biting his lip, so hard that blood was pouring down his chin, staining his white shirt crimson.

* * *

Looking down at the endlessly swarming monsters, I organized my thoughts.

‘Destroy the three mountains.’

A half-hearted AoE spell would only chip away at the top. I needed one overwhelming blow to annihilate the entire mountain with a single, deafening bang.

My most powerful spell was the fifth-order Volcano Ground. It could easily sink a small island, but its range was lacking. It could certainly destroy one mountain, but I had no answer for the other two. And could I really cast a spell that made me pass out three times in a row? Absolutely not.

‘This is a dilemma.’

While I contemplated, the mountains of monsters grew ever higher, threatening to spill over the wall at any moment.

“If even a single monster reaches the top of the wall, you fail.”

‘You didn’t say that at the beginning!’

After a few more minutes of deliberation, I made my decision and stepped forward.

“Have you decided which magic to use?” Roist asked.

“Yes.”

It was a spell I had never used before, but I had no other choice.

‘Krieee!’

First, I had to stop them from climbing. I spread my arms.

Two golem balls shot from each sleeve, flying toward the monster mountains on my left and right. They soared through the air and attached themselves precisely to the top of the wall where the monsters were about to crest.

‘Activate.’

The wall distorted around the golem balls. Arms shot out, heads rose up, and two massive golems took shape, their lower bodies fused to the wall while their upper bodies stood tall and imposing.

-Castle golem online. Commencing control.

Ea personally controlled the golems, their massive arms swatting away and crushing the approaching monsters. That would buy me some time.

“Interesting!” Roist remarked. “Is golem magic condensed inside those small spheres?”

“Yes! They’re called golem balls.”

“Fascinating technologies have emerged over the generations.”

Apparently, golem balls hadn’t existed in Roist’s time. Moreover, having them assemble automatically upon impact was a technique only I could manage, thanks to Eunsol.

‘Now, it’s my turn.’

I closed my eyes and raised my arms. I laid the main magic circle beneath the monster mountains and four sub-magic circles around myself. On those, I layered another four auxiliary circles to distribute the risk.

Roist watched, a hint of surprise in his voice. “You are but a fifth-order mage. Do you intend to recklessly cast such a spell?”

“Yes.”

I was confident I could do it. After making thorough preparations, I pushed the main magic circle into its rampage stage. The world began to shake violently, spinning before my eyes.

‘I’ll endure it even if it kills me.’

I hadn’t been idle. I had raised my Rampage Resistance to level four and significantly improved the formulas of my fifth-order spells. I could withstand it now.

This would be my first attempt at a fifth-order earth-type magic.

<Crevasse>

A colossal tremor shook the world. The vibration rose from the very foundations of the earth, traveling up the wall, through my legs, and into my brain.

The monsters piled like mountains couldn’t withstand the vibration and came tumbling down like a landslide of sand.

But that wasn’t all. The mountains, which had been crumbling, suddenly sank. No, they didn’t just sink—they plunged straight down into the earth.

The monsters’ screams echoed and faded into the distance. The impossibly high mountains of bodies didn’t just shrink; they vanished completely from sight.

“Hahahaha!” Roist laughed out loud. “Is recklessness a virtue for the mages of the new generation?!”

Crevasse, a fifth-order earth spell, was a grand magic that caused a forced tectonic shift. It had ripped open a chasm in front of the wall, swallowing the monsters whole. In time, the rift would close, crushing everything trapped within.

The range of Crevasse was the most extensive of any fifth-order spell. It had not only collapsed the mountain before me but also the other two on my left and right simultaneously.

“Haaah…”

I released the spell. My mind was hazy, and sweat poured from my body. But still…

‘I’m conscious. I’m still conscious, right?’

A grin spread across my face. Success. I had finally endured it without passing out. I had completely conquered the heinous fifth-order magic that was said to be impossible to use.

“How was that?” I asked.

Roist, who had been looking down at the base of the wall, nodded. “Excellent. You pass.”

[Rampage Resistance has reached Lv. 5.]

[Magic Power has increased by 10.]

[Focus has increased by 5.]

[Endurance has increased by 5.]

Only then did I collapse to my knees and pull out a Blue Elixir, guzzling it down.

“In my time, there were hardly any mages left who used fifth-order elemental magic,” Roist said. “But it seems your era is different.”

“It’s the same for us,” I replied between gulps. “With so many new spells to replace them, they’re all but abandoned. Still, sometimes it’s good to go with something brutally classic, don’t you think?”

“I agree.”

I drained a third bottle. I had succeeded in not passing out, but I was completely drained. I didn’t want to lift a single finger; it felt like I’d throw up if I tried to fire even one Mana Arrow.

-Tower Master.

‘What is it, Ea?’

-At this point, is this really any different from passing out?

‘Ahem.’

Sometimes, she really knew how to hit the nail on the head.

“A promise is a promise,” Roist said, looking at me. “I will personally teach you a sixth-order magic.”

Finally. Time to level up.

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep