Episode 285. The Path as a Mage (2)

Rebecca, a survivor of the Rune clan.

Isaac, the Guild Master of the Iris Guild.

When I met those two, likely among the strongest in the world, my impression was that they were on a different level than me.

‘If I’m a local hill, they’re Mount Baekdu.’ That kind of feeling.

Perhaps the difference is actually that significant.

But it’s not the strong who win, it’s the survivors who become strong.

Because our pursuits of strength differ from theirs, I figured I could twist my body somehow and create an opening, just once.

Whether that attack would land is another matter, but I could create an opening.

Professor Im Sol was different.

My [Mana Sensitivity].

Besides, being a fellow mage, I could gauge the opponent’s level much better.

If my mana was a lake, the Professor was the ocean. Her mana was endless.

And coincidentally, our pursuits of strength were the same. Ultimately, a mage’s battle comes down to mana speed, power, and numbers.

But I was lacking in all three against Im Sol.

That’s why creating an opening was so difficult.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

KWAANG-!

“Just how much do you expect from me…!”

I complained while dodging the incoming mana.

Thump- Thump-

Quite some time had passed since the sparring match began.

Her words about not holding back were apparently sincere, as Im Sol had gone all out from the start.

To face such a Professor, I had no choice but to employ every means at my disposal.

My [Combat Sense] was already making my body move to its limits, and by using [Awakening] and [Blood Beat] together, I was putting immense strain on my body.

I didn’t know why the incoming magic was so fast, and with [Acceleration] being used intermittently, my head was spinning.

It wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed soon. I was barely holding on with willpower and combat sense.

I glared at Im Sol, who was firing off magic with gusto.

I couldn’t understand why she was attacking with such a joyful smile.

If she’s happy to meet a mage with similar talent, she could at least throw a party…!

Swoosh-

Fortunately, Professor Im Sol seemed not to forget her duty as a professor, guiding me even while going all out.

She didn’t reuse any magic she had cast once.

She was sparring with me under a self-imposed penalty.

Of course, with an endless stream of magic I didn’t know appearing, I wondered what the point was…

She must be trying to give me experience in various fights after hearing me say I wanted to get stronger.

“Professor, I really feel like I’m going to die?!”

A mysterious black hole opened up in the ground I had just been standing on.

Startled, I created a mana platform and jumped out of the hole.

If I had fallen in, would I have just plummeted into space?

“It’s fine. I’ll stop you right before you die.”

Thump-

Im Sol said it nonchalantly, but I could feel the strain on my heart starting.

Mana depletion.

I hadn’t experienced this since my combat power reached a certain level, but it was properly disciplining my body after a long time.

‘Just hold on a little longer.’

I still needed time to use my intended strategy.

The next spell Im Sol conjured was, again, a new one.

A mental magic that prevents one from coming to their senses by showing them nightmares.

Nightmare.

‘Here it comes…!’

Finally, the spell I was aiming for appeared.

Mind-manipulation magic.

Thanks to the [Clear Mind] trait, I was completely immune to magic that manipulates the mind.

But most people don’t know that. At best, they’d just think, ‘They have strong willpower.’

Im Sol thought the same, which is why she gave me an opening.

She probably thought her mana could easily break through my mental strength.

Gritting my teeth, I charged straight towards Im Sol. Judging by my remaining mana, this was my last chance.

‘Bind.’

As I brushed past Nightmare, I shot mana from my hand like a thread.

It was ‘Bind,’ a basic spell to restrain the opponent’s body.

“…What?”

Im Sol seemed momentarily flustered seeing me slip past the magic, but she calmly nullified Nightmare and put up a shield around herself.

I smirked, watching Im Sol activate her shield.

I figured the Professor I knew wouldn’t dodge.

I hadn’t gone all out with my magic until now precisely for this.

Eventually, my Bind, upon reaching Im Sol’s shield, was trivially blocked, but I instantly reconstructed my mana.

It was my unique specialty: reconstructing an already completed spell into a different one.

“W-What is this?”

My mana began to stick to and integrate with the shield.

I was convinced that Bind had succeeded in neutralizing the shield.

Therefore, I simultaneously cast the next spell.

‘Reverse Ground.’

Grrrroooaaan-

Dodging Im Sol’s magic here and there, the magic circle I had prepared beneath the ground.

As Im Sol’s eyes widened, I moved my mana.

My mana, which had taken control of the entire space, commanded an immense amount of earth.

That massive mass instantly gathered around Im Sol, raising clouds of dust.

‘Compression.’

The final spell I had double-cast.

Grind- Grrrind-

With an unpleasant sound, the sphere of earth began to compress.

Smaller. Even smaller.

Staring at the perfect sphere, formed with no visible gaps, I swallowed hard.

That last spell was one where I poured every last bit of my remaining mana.

Starting from the magic circle I’d secretly prepared, I lifted and compressed this enormous amount of earth.

Filled with anticipation, I glanced up at the sky, but the sparring arena’s stamina points still showed… 100 to 45.

Naturally, I was the 45.

I had poured all my effort into the magic, and it had failed.

“No way, how can this be… Kkuhp?!”

TANG-

Lost in the emptiness filling my chest, I muttered to myself without realizing it, and at the same moment, something flew and embedded itself in my chest.

It was a mana bullet moving at a speed I hadn’t even perceived.

With the sound of the thin mana barrier surrounding my entire body shattering, I collapsed pitifully onto the floor.

“…This sucks.”

My only final act of defiance was spitting out curses while looking at the sky.

Even knowing the blue sky filling my vision was artificially made, I felt sad.

Crackle-

Hearing a strange noise, I looked up at the sky to see the sphere of earth I had created splitting in half from the top.

‘How much mana did I even put into that…’

As if mocking my efforts, it was torn apart so effortlessly.

“That last move surprised me. If it were real combat… even an Academy Professor-level opponent might have fallen for it. A truly excellent attempt.”

Thump-thump-

Behind Im Sol, who emerged from within, a massive magic circle had appeared.

A halo shone from the magic circle, as if congratulating the victor.

“The problem is, your opponent was me.”

“…You said you were being serious.”

Of course, Im Sol’s spells were serious, but she wasn’t trying to kill me.

She didn’t reuse the same spell, nor did she use double casting.

She had literally overwhelmed me with tremendous disadvantages.

And yet, showing her true seriousness at the end kind of hurts my pride.

“This is a bit much even for me. What I showed you earlier was my true seriousness.”

“I almost felt disappointed.”

I chuckled at Im Sol’s words.

Still, if I managed to draw out seriousness from one of the world’s strongest, I could be satisfied with that.

Of course, it was an incredibly advantageous fight… but I’ll grow more.

Im Sol approached me with a refreshed expression.

As a fellow mage, I know that feeling.

But whether it’s the right thing for a professor to make their student like this and wear that expression requires some thought.

“Get up. Stop exaggerating.”

Im Sol grinned and patted my waist.

It was a smile like a little devil’s.

“No, I really can’t move. I used up all my doping skills and everything…”

Inspired by Alice’s mana massage, ‘Blood Beat’.

Although the sparring time wasn’t long, I pushed my body so hard and efficiently that it overloaded.

Even if it’s not as bad as when I fought Shin Dongmin, I need a rest.

“Really?”

Vwoom-

My body floated up into the air.

Im Sol had lifted me with her mana.

“Let’s head to the lab first. How long do you think you’ll be unable to move?”

“Uh… well. 2-3 hours?”

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to move for half a day at this level, but with my regeneration increased, I figured that should be enough.

“2-3 hours… that’s plenty.”

“What?”

“Sugar boost.”

The mere mention of ‘sugar boost’ sent shivers down my arm.

“…Professor. Couldn’t you at least wait until I can move my body?”

There’s nothing more difficult than being fucked while unable to move.

No, difficulty isn’t the issue; it’s practically torture.

Because I’d have to forcibly suppress a man’s instinct to move his hips.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. You said you almost felt disappointed, right? I’ll take care of all that.”

“…Well, that part is nice, but…”

Right.

What does disappointment matter? It doesn’t help with anything in life.

Floating helplessly in the air, I was dragged to Professor Im Sol’s laboratory.

---

“Good?”

“…Yes.”

Receiving Im Sol’s head job, I circulated mana through my body.

Please get better soon, body.

I can’t move my hips even though I want to, and the frustration is immense.

Perhaps considering that, Im Sol kept her lips closed and moved her head faster.

Sloppy saliva enveloped my glans and shaft.

The sticky, hot inside of her mouth and her coiling tongue were simply the best.

Maybe because my body was already heated from the battle, it felt even better.

No. Strangely, today’s head job felt like it contained different emotions.

For instance, love.

“Professor… faster, please.”

“Slurp… Faster than this?”

“Yes, yes. Please.”

Without a moment’s hesitation at my words, Im Sol grabbed my thighs with both hands. Then, burying her head in my crotch, she began thrusting.

Her lips moved rapidly, enveloping my cock to a degree that was satisfying even without me being able to move my hips at all.

I preferred the pleasure felt from the slippery saliva over the sensation of skin rubbing.

“C-Cum, ah… Professor. I’m gonna cum…!”

Unable to hold back the climax, I ejaculated my semen right into Im Sol.

Schluuup- Slurp-

Im Sol, as usual, sucked my semen down to the last drop.

Licking my glans as I came, helping me climax, makes it impossible to think of anything but the orgasm.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Im Sol, with a lewd expression, brought the semen smeared beside her face to her mouth.

“…Yeah.”

I sprawled out on the sofa.

No strength, no mana, no semen.

Everything inside my body had been squeezed out by the Professor.

Im Sol, without pulling up her pants, licked my prone cock back and forth with her tongue.

‘But she’s really going at it today.’

She always did well, calling it sweet, but today was even better.

The receiver could feel it.

“Professor. Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s tiring, but it’s delicious, so it’s fine.”

“Mm, yeah.”

But I don’t know how to put it into words.

Should I try saying, ‘Today’s head job was even better’?

But that sounds so pathetic.

“You know I like it, right?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“…I just like it.”

I said it mustering some courage.

Besides, we kissed, Professor.

Im Sol pulled her mouth away from my cock and met my eyes.

“Why, should I give you a kiss or something?”

“Please.”

Please.

I asked sincerely, but Im Sol shook her head.

“No.”

“…Why?”

“You didn’t meet the standard. Honestly, I expected more, so I’m disappointed.”

“…?”

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Im Sol]

• [ Affection: 92 ]

• [ Lust: 55 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 70 ]

Current Status: Still, you were stronger than I thought, right? Besides, the mana manipulation you showed at the end needs further study….

‘Stronger than expected… the standard….’

With clues like these, I can start figuring things out.

Finally, a hypothesis formed in my mind.

“Professor, that standard of yours… it’s not something like ‘I can’t date a man weaker than me,’ is it?”

At my cautiously spoken words, Im Sol’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands.

“As expected, my disciple is clever.”

And she patted my head as if in praise.

It’s naturally nice when a pretty woman pats your head….

“It’s set so high that it’s actually demotivating.”

This is bad.

How many years would it take to defeat Im Sol?

No matter how I think about it, it seems impossible.

Receiving such a high goal makes me feel like my motivation is dropping.

It’s naturally harder to go from 95 to 100 than from 0 to 50, but Professor Im Sol is like a 105.

I need to get a perfect score and then impress the grader enough to earn bonus points.

“Really?”

“Yes. We need some kind of compromise… Mmph?!”

Smack-

My mouth, which had been seriously proposing a different approach, was sealed by something soft.

I slowly blinked.

Im Sol’s face was right in front of me.

This wasn’t a short peck like last time.

Her soft, moist lips moved as if trying to devour me, and her arms wrapped around my head.

Despite her aggressive exterior, Im Sol’s tongue, which shyly knocked on the inside of my mouth, was like a virgin pretending to be strong while feeling embarrassed.

I was completely toyed with by Im Sol’s tongue inside my mouth.

We exchanged saliva, listening to our short breaths, having a silent conversation.

When our lips, locked together for a long time, finally parted, the warm, soft sensation that had enveloped me disappeared.

“Ah….”

I let out a sigh without realizing it.

It was regrettable. That this kiss was ending.

Im Sol stroked my cheek and licked her lips.

“If the goal is high, increase your effort accordingly. You can do it, right?”

The Professor’s smiling face was damnably beautiful.

An allure I didn’t want to refuse, no, couldn’t refuse.

Perhaps this too is one of the Professor’s spells.

Feeling my cheeks grow slightly warm, I nodded, my head feeling a little better.

“…Yes.”

Starting today, magic training was added to my daily schedule.