Mightiest Melee Magician

“Punch? Kick?”

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To a magician like me, this was an absurd mission.

“What’s the point of all this?”

However, now was not the time to have doubts.

I had to do anything and everything.

I aimed at nothing and released my fist.

Then,

Punch: 1/100

 

The number in the quest window started to increase.

 

‘Ok.
For now, let’s bury my doubts and just do it.’

I started breathing in a rhythm, took a proper stance, and started punching.

Shoot- Shoot-

The sound of cutting wind and heavy breathing soon filled the recovery room.

 

Punch: 67/100

 

100 times.

Due to the frequent dizzy spells from my disorder, despite me maintaining my body, beads of sweat flowed from my forehead, and my strength soon left my body.

This was because if my form was only a little bit off, the number refused to increase.

While I was focused on completing the quest, I didn’t notice Helen approaching me.

“Oh ho.
Look at you bouncing around.”

“Ack… When did you come in?”

“Hm.
Let’s see.
I think I counted about just over 10 punches?”

“I apologize.
I didn’t know you were here.”

“I told you to rest.
What are you suddenly doing instead of laying down?”

“That is… I had an itch.”

Even I knew that it was a weird excuse.

But Helen just shrugged her shoulders and believed me.

“Your diagnosis came in.
Completely healthy.
You can go back to your dorm.”

“Really?”

“Yea.
I also don’t know if it’s right, but looking at you just now, you’ll be fine.”

“Haha…”

Completely healthy…

I couldn’t believe it myself.

I scratched my head and bowed goodbye to Helen.

“Thank you.”

“If you have any problems, you’re welcome here anytime, ok?”

“Yes.
I’ll do that.”

I left the recovery room and went towards my dorm.

However, I remembered my incomplete quest.

 

Punch: 81/100

 

‘Should I finish this before going?’

There were two people assigned to every dorm room.

Obviously, there wasn’t enough space to fully commit to my Quest.

‘Let’s go to the outdoor training area.’

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As I looked at the already setting sun, I walked outside the academy.

 

The smell of spring was strong in the warm 4th month of the year.

Perfect for exercise.

Well, if you ignored the few weird glances I got.

“The hell? Ruin, is it ok for you to be walking around like this?”

“That─that’s right.
Just a bit ago…”

My 6th-year classmates looked at me as if I were a strange creature.

That’s understandable.

It was only this morning that some retard cast Lightning Bolt at me and I collapsed to the ground.

Some would think I had died and came back to life.

It was only natural that they were surprised since I was stretching and walking around leisurely with a lazy grin on my face.

“I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t concerned with the shower of attention and walked up to the middle of the training ground where the combat dummy scarecrows were.

I then gave a short shout to help me focus before I started punching the air once more.

 

 

 

 

Soon, I completed one of the quests and I moved on to kicking.

Punch.

Kick.

Spin Kick.

Since I had never learnt martial arts before, I didn’t know what stance or form was correct and moved a bit clumsily.

Was it because of that?

The uncertain movements didn’t increase the numbers, and only those kicks that I fully concentrated on increased my progress.

 

“Look at him.”

“Hm? Isn’t that Ruin? What is he doing right now?”

“Who knows… Is he trying to pick up martial arts after abandoning magic?”

“Nah, there’s no way.
Ignoring that, how is he fine? It’s instant death after getting hit by Lightning Bolt…”

“You know I can hear you?”

“S-sorry…”

I didn’t know why. 

Was it because I was exercising like there’s nothing wrong after getting hit by Lightning Bolt?

Or did a new image of me form that said I’d bite if messed with?

The weird atmosphere caused my classmates’ attitudes towards me to shift.

“Yo, let’s just go.”

“Yea.”

Even those that were fascinated by what I was doing only stood far away and didn’t try to aggravate me.

In fact, it looked like they were slowly avoiding me.

Of course, this treatment was easier for me.

 

Kick: 100/100 (Complete)

 

“Hoo… Hoo…”

At some point, I had finished the 100 kicks.

Certainly, compared to the punches, the kicks required better posture, so I ended up expending more strength than needed.

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I nearly choked on my heavy breathing, but I still had 100 spin kicks to do.

‘This is harder than I thought.’

However, I was determined to finish it today.

To figure out what this strange new power that would be granted to me was.

I needed to know without fail.

“Again.”

I clenched my body and aimed at an imaginary opponent.

Then, I kicked.

 

* * *

 

Professor Hydel.

No last name.

Meaning, he was born a ‘commoner’.

This young professor who had only just turned 40 this year had accomplished everything with his own power.

Hunger for food was something he was born with and therefore could endure, but hunger for knowledge was something he couldn’t contain.

Helping with fieldwork by day and learning letters by night by sacrificing sleep.

He went around to the local alchemists and assistant magicians and learnt from overhearing what they were saying.

The territory lord’s son who had recognised Hydel’s efforts wrote a letter of recommendation to his father for Hydel to be admitted into the Ignit Magic Academy.

Through this, even though he was a bit older, he could be admitted into the academy.

Of course, the path he walked was not a flower road, but rather a path of thorns.

Even though commoners could be accepted into the academy, they didn’t help you to survive.

However, he persevered and survived nonetheless.

Graduating with quite an impressive grade, he was also invited to the Magic Tower and called the pride of magicians.

However, Hydel couldn’t endure being in the tower for long.

‘A common birth.’

This tag had followed him for his entire life.

The tower wasn’t exempt from political conflicts and fights of authority, and a commoner like him had no place in either.

Hydel eventually left the tower as if he had run away.

And the place he reached was here.

The Academy.

He became a Professor here and started teaching the future generations.

But he couldn’t grow attached to this place either.

Because he knew that in the end, magicians were nothing but tools to be used by nobles to ensure their power and authority.

Students from noble houses that seriously loved and explored magic itself were practically non-existent.

Most nobles that Hydel met were like this.

They’d try for a bit, and if it didn’t work out, they’d give up instantly.

They always started it for fun, but soon quit after getting bored.

They always looked down on him who was of common birth.

It made him grow a deep prejudice against the nobles.

But one day, he met a student.

‘Ruin Ardell.’

He learnt and understood mana by himself and could even cast a first-class spell.

A magic genius.

A young boy who was the talk of the kingdom, even before he had entered the academy.

Some said he would become an archmage in the future, while others were making a fuss, saying that he would become the master of the magic tower. 

From Hydel’s perspective, Ruin was a boy who had everything.

Enough to envy him.

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Opposite to him, who was a commoner and climbed his way to his position with effort alone, Ruin was of noble birth and had a frightening talent for magic.

A dragon born with an arcane diamond spoon in its mouth.

But after finding out the dragon’s true nature, he realised it was only a fancy covering.

 

‘Mana Evocation Disorder’

A death sentence for any magician.

After finding out about this, Hydel suspected that Ruin would soon give up on magic.

The ‘nobles’ Hydel knew were like this.

A group of people who couldn’t remain steadfast till the end and easily abandon something after getting fed up with it.

However.

‘Hmm?’

Ruin was different.

Anyone would fall into despair and give up if they suddenly went from a ‘Magic Genius’ to a ‘Magic Cripple’. 

But he survived, like how a weed clings on in even the harshest of environments.

Even though Ruin did all this, there was still no hope for him.

As an educator, Hydel knew that Ruin’s life as a magician was over before it could even start.

The more you expect and hope for, the harsher the despair and disappointment.

But still, Ruin never gave up.

‘Why?’

Born a noble but unlike one.

Hydel thought Ruin was just living off of his natural talent, but he was instead someone who put in extreme effort.

Like Hydel himself.

The attitude that he saw in Ruin, it was enough to challenge his disappointment and prejudice against the nobles.

 

And then, 6 years passed.

Hydel secretly observed the process of Ruin’s growth from just a step away.

Sometimes like a father, sometimes as just an onlooker.

Observing Ruin’s academy life for free was one of Hydel’s simple pleasures in life.

But today,

 

“Look at him.”

“Hm? Isn’t that Ruin? What is he doing right now?”

“Who knows…? Is he trying to pick up martial arts after abandoning magic?”

“……”

He coincidentally saw Ruin’s training.

He punched like a madman and kicked without rest.

Mechanically and repeatedly.

This was different from normal muscle exercises.

It was like he was molding his form to find the perfect sequence of actions.

While intently observing Ruin, Hydel narrowed his eyes.

As someone who had been watching Ruin for a long time, he could instinctively tell that…

‘Ruin has changed.’

Somewhere, somehow, he changed.

Hydel abruptly turned back and went away.

‘I should tell him.’

It was time to write a letter to an old friend.

 

* * *

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Spin Kick: 100/100 (Complete)

 

As soon as I saw that 100 kicks had been completed, I collapsed and sat down.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

Spin kicking was particularly hard.

‘To try and spin kick when I have never even thought about kicking before.’

When kicking, my left leg, as the axis of rotation, needed to stay steady while the right leg maintained a favorable speed and power.

Only when I kicked properly like this did the number go up.

Relying only on this feeling to perfectly kick 100 times took me a couple of hours.

Because of that, the time was already way past midnight, and all the dorm lights were off.

The cold breeze of midnight was blowing, but my clothes were still drenched in sweat.

Despite that, I couldn’t contain my growing smile.

“I’ve finished.”

The origin of limitless strength, Quests.

The first mission had been completed.

 

 

Repeatable Quest

Since you have become a Player connected to Draka, Destroyer of Worlds, you need to train your body in preparation for your increase in strength.

Punch: 100/100 (Complete)

Kick: 100/100 (Complete)

Spin Kick: 100/100 (Complete)

Quest has been completed.

Rewards will be given.

Strength has increased by 10.

’Skill’ has been unlocked.

 

 

The rewards were an increase in strength and ‘Skill’.

“Wait- What’s this?”

New questions as well.

“Huh?”

I could feel some formless and tiny objects entering my bloodstream.

It was very similar to the mana that flowed around my mana circle.

But this was more primal.

It was strength.

‘I really did get stronger.’

I couldn’t accurately tell how much of a difference was, but I did know that my body felt lighter, and that I had more vitality.

I stood up and tried the punching and kicking from before, finding I could do them more easily and accurately.

‘The strength going in is different.’

Speed, air resistance, destructive power.

All these factors felt different than from before.

That’s it.

My primal strength really had increased.

If this was , then what’s ‘Skill’?

I gulped a little and said in a quiet voice,

“Skill.”