Ch.359354 – National Defense Formation

“NoName wants to create a clan? Why didn’t you stop her right away! Don’t tell me it’s because of some ridiculous reason like not wanting your daughter to hate you?”

“Then why didn’t you refuse?”

“Well… ahem. Hmm…”

Professor Cheon and Principal Gu fell into serious contemplation.

[Here’s my Innate Magic Registration Certificate from the Japan Magic Copyright Association and this year’s Mana Tax payment certificate. Could you write me a recommendation letter for the 2052 High Mage Qualification Assessment Committee?]

South Korea has 50,000 magic profession practitioners.

There are about 1,500 High Mages, but counting only those actively working, there aren’t even a thousand.

Among them, about 200 hold the title of “Military Service,” meaning they can be immediately deployed in wartime, and they control the appointment and regulation of all High Mages in South Korea.

That’s why becoming a High Mage carries enormous significance.

It’s essentially a declaration of completely shedding one’s civilian status.

Their very existence is assigned market value, making them constant subjects of public evaluation, and perhaps even more susceptible to criticism than celebrities.

To make matters worse, if she creates a clan, the Academy can no longer protect NoName.

“Right now, clans can’t recruit NoName because the Academy is blocking them. Does NoName know that?”

“She knows.”

“Of course she would.”

Creating a clan is an expression of intent to reject the foundation’s priority recruitment offer and break away from youth protection regulations.

“It’s too soon for NoName to handle this. Running a business and running a clan are completely different, and even Bio-Akashic at least has a separate CEO.”

Principal Gu let out a deep sigh.

He knew she was a child with many ambitions.

But the problem was that she was excessively hasty about everything.

It’s probably too late to stop her once she’s made up her mind.

“NoName is also a very proud child… hmm?”

“What?”

“I was thinking if we put proud people together, it might cause some delay, at least time-wise.”

“What do you mean?”

“NoName would want to get our recommendation letter, right?”

“Of course she would.”

“Then let’s tell her we won’t write one unless she gets one from the people we specify first.”

A recommendation is like providing a guarantee.

If one doesn’t approve of those providing joint guarantees, it’s clearly grounds for refusal.

Professor Cheon narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Who?”

“Kim Woong, Park Tae-seok. Let’s include at least these two.”

* * *

“I thought it was too easy when they gave permission.”

I gazed at the scenery outside while on the train heading to Gangwon Province.

Since ancient times, renowned magicians have been, without exception, terminal patients of paranoia.

That’s why they either give bizarre tests when taking on disciples, or after accepting disciples, they plaster them with all sorts of black magic oaths fearing they might sell information.

I’m talking about Magic Towers.

‘I understand the position of those providing guarantees, though.’

I accepted Professor Cheon and Principal Gu’s proposal to get recommendation letters from Mages Kim Woong and Park Tae-seok.

They seem to have been active Military Service Mages during the same era.

Kim Woong is the person who donated 15 billion won to Korea University to build the Kim Woong Advanced Sports Center.

Just looking at this, one might think he’s an admirable educator, but one shouldn’t underestimate the character of mages.

Especially this person, who has spent a considerable amount of time as a theoretical magic scholar after the war ended.

Those who pursue truth tend to be twisted in some way, with very high probability.

But they’re also the type who would die in a flash if something meets their own standards.

Keeping this in mind, I knocked on the door of a secluded villa in Gangwon Province.

“Hello! Anyone home?”

I called out loudly.

Since he’s said to be over 60, his hearing might be deteriorating.

Meanwhile, I crouched in a shaded area, enjoying the sound of the cool valley water.

As I was fanning my face with a straw hat, an elderly man walked out, leaning on a cane.

“So you’re the child who was coming. Is it very hot outside?”

“Ah, yes, hello. I’m No Na-me.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you from everywhere, haha. Coming all the way here alone—your father is such an ill-mannered fellow! I’ve got the air conditioning on in the villa, so let’s go in.”

It seems his strategy is to provoke me by insulting Professor Cheon right from the start.

I quietly followed him without getting entangled in this.

The man was rather short.

He seemed to have decided to live like a natural person, with bushy beard and no hair dye, so half his hair was covered in white.

‘His balance is perfect. Surprisingly, is he an aura reinforcement user?’

Instead, his bare thighs and calves visible below his shorts were considerably thicker than an average person’s.

“Is school life manageable?”

“Yes. I’m adapting well to the Academy.”

“The kids don’t bully you?”

“They’re all good children.”

When he opened the villa door, an artificially cool breeze blew in.

He sat at a low table and handed me peach iced tea with ice.

I sat across from him and accepted the drink.

“Nice to meet you, kiddo. I’m Kim Woong. I’m old enough to be your grandfather, but I hear Byeongho calls me dad?”

“Well, yes…”

“Hahaha! He has such a cute daughter! I’m just dying of envy!”

Kim Woong coughed a couple of times with phlegm, then straightened the glasses on the table.

“Name and age.”

“No Na-me, 9 years old.”

“And you’re asking me to write a High Mage recommendation letter?”

“Yes.”

“Ha! Hahahahaha! You’re more bold than you look! Alright, alright, I’ll write it, of course I will.”

“What?”

“I must have my reasons for wanting to become one, right? You’ve already created an A-rank spell, what other qualifications do you need?”

“…”

“Now, what should I write? Ah, this will do.”

He scribbled with a brush on an A4 paper, writing four Chinese characters.

[國士無雙]

“Do you know about mahjong?”

“Not really.”

“It means a peerless talent in the nation. In mahjong, there’s a hand called ‘kokushi musou.’ Its occurrence rate is 0.043%, so you need to be at least within this percentile to be called a genius. Here, take it.”

He thrust the paper in front of me.

Kim Woong smiled, but his smile seemed hollow and empty.

“How can I receive this recommendation letter?”

“What are you talking about? I said take it already! My arm’s going to fall off.”

“You don’t really want to give it to me. Not now.”

[Cast: Barrier Visualization]

I cast a simple magic circle dispelling formula.

This revealed a spherical barrier rotating around the recommendation letter.

“Carboxymethylcellulose sodium formulation. This recommendation letter will disappear as soon as it touches my hand.”

The wrinkles around his eyes that had formed a smile straightened, and his expression became serious again.

“Did your father tell you in advance?”

“Of course not.”

“It wouldn’t matter if he did. I just want NoName to enjoy this forest and valley. Not walk this thorny path.”

“Why?”

“It’s my choice, kiddo! Why are you interrogating an adult?”

“Then at least tell me how to remove this barrier. Is it so crude that I could remove it immediately if I knew the method?”

“Well… since you’ll be annoying if I don’t tell you, I’ll make a special exception. It’s a kind of puzzle.”

“Puzzle?”

“Yes. A puzzle with 50 2-circle magic formations arranged in overlapping dimensions. If you solve them all, you can get the recommendation letter.”

“What if I can’t do it?”

“What’s so difficult about a 2-circle puzzle?”

“It’s not difficult. But there are so many.”

2 to the power of 50 is 1,126 trillion.

Even solving one per second would take 35.7 million years.

Is he trying to mess with me?

“Or killing the caster could also be a solution.”

At his sarcastic remark, I glared at him with a sharp gaze.

‘Aura Heart capacity is about 7 times mine, output is 1.8 times, external manifestation is obviously possible, available circles are 6 to 7…’

Kim Woong then stood up, lightly patted my head as he passed by.

“What’s with the killing intent from such a young kid? Just give up early and enjoy your summer vacation. There’s an arcade machine on the second floor that you can use freely. Though I wonder if kids these days who only play with capsules would be interested?”

I snorted at his relaxed attitude.

“I think I can crack it in a day.”

“Oh really? Well, give it your best shot. For your reference, even Ham Cho-rong couldn’t crack this in her lifetime.”

“You keep mentioning Ham Cho-rong…”

I picked up the entire barrier surrounding the recommendation letter with external manifestation and left the villa.

“Don’t dare compare me to such an incompetent human. I’m starting to get angry now.”

“What’s with this kid…!”

I slammed the villa door shut and left.

Frogs in a well think the sky they see is the entire world.

Humans aren’t much different.

South Korea was trapped within the boundaries created by Ham Cho-rong, unable to escape.

How long do I have to live being compared to her?

I’m getting tired of hearing it constantly.

I climbed a nearby hill, searching for a suitable clearing.

A spot surrounded by trees, invisible from the outside, was perfect.

I carefully placed the barrier I had brought with external manifestation on the ground.

A barrier is a kind of knot.

So should I untie the knot?

Alexander the Great decided the match by cutting the knot with a single stroke.

However, with barriers, you need to do the opposite.

You overlay a larger barrier on top to disrupt the formula structure of the inner barrier.

[Cast: Les Kaizen Familia]

The 88 national land magic formations that protected the Kaizen Empire are summoned.

These are the achievements and masterpieces of human civilization that mercilessly burned and killed wyverns falling from the sky and death worms that collapsed buildings.

Various animals from the sky opened their jaws vertically and collided with the barrier.

First wolves, then lions, sharks, leopards, and even crocodiles.

The 88 divine beasts tightly constricted the barrier, increasing the density of the circuit formula.

The barrier, compressed beyond the critical point, began to emit light.

It’s the process of the mana particle structure breaking down and converting to energy.

Crack-!

As soon as a gap appeared, the mana beasts quickly sank their fangs into that part.

Eventually, the barrier, having lost its original structure, became deformable.

It’s surprising that it didn’t break.

In that state, I surrounded my hands with aura and pulled the barrier wide.

It still has elasticity.

“Hngh!”

Applying more force, it still stretches.

I put my tongue through the hole and used my mouth to grab the rolled-up recommendation letter.

“Whew. Got it.”

If he was going to give it anyway, he could have just given it normally.

Anyway, I can’t understand the twisted thinking of these mages.

I immediately bought a train ticket for my next destination.

Next is meeting Park Tae-seok, the principal of Aspen Academy High School in Busan.

* * *

“The kid’s got quite a temper.”

After NoName left, Kim Woong enjoyed a cup of tea peacefully.

“Anyway, the thinking of geniuses is hard to understand. I don’t even know why she got angry.”

The barrier Kim Woong presented was beyond difficult—it was nearly impossible.

This is because it’s a model of South Korea’s 50-level national defense formation, reduced according to the principle of dimensional homogeneity.

As long as the national defense formation exists, conventional missiles or tank shells can never violate territorial waters.

These national defense formations, introduced to advanced countries in the mid-20th century, marked the end of wars of attrition and material warfare.

If someone provides an idea to break through the model, that alone would be a great contribution to South Korea.

“There’s no reason not to recognize such a person as a High Mage. *slurp*”

That’s when it happened.

Weeeeee-!

A red warning sound rang throughout the villa.

“Pffft! What the hell!”

Spilling tea on his knee wasn’t the problem.

This was a warning that South Korea’s national defense formation had been breached.

Kim Woong rushed to the basement and connected to the Ministry of Defense hotline.

[What? What are you talking about? There’s no anomaly, General.]

“What?”

He checked his phone in disbelief.

The breached barrier wasn’t South Korea’s national defense formation.

[1NDC-4 is out of order]

[1NDC-38 is out of order]

[1NDC-24 is out of order]

…

[1NDC-50 is out of order]

[Model001: Completely destroyed]

This happened just three hours after NoName left the villa.