The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 138: Chapter 86: "A Casual Punch

Zajik never imagined that after he’d spent half a month painstakingly studying math, Sean’s Magic would turn into philosophy.

What was this about how a person can’t learn what they already know, nor can they learn what they don’t know...

’Then what the hell are you supposed to learn?’

Zajik didn’t understand.

He recognized every letter and word in the problem, but when they were strung together, he read it three times and still couldn’t understand it!

He wanted to read it a fourth time, but there was no opportunity.

In a fight, every second counts—especially when you’re trying to escape.

In the brief moment Zajik was delayed, Sean appeared before him.

"How are you finding it, Mr. Zajik?"

"I hear you’ve been studying diligently. This problem shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?"

Sean’s two sentences left Zajik speechless, his face flushing crimson.

For an ambitious student, there is nothing more humiliating or frustrating than studying your heart out, only to still fail the exam.

Though Zajik was long past his student years, his mindset at this moment was much the same. In a way, it was another chance to taste the bitterness of youth.

And what he wanted to say was—

To hell with youth!

To hell with studying!

He had it far worse than any student!

The questions on a student’s exam rarely go beyond the textbook. Even when they do, at least the subject stays the same! Physics is physics, math is math. Who the hell puts a philosophy question on a math test?!

Zajik stared at Sean, his face a mask of indignation. After a long moment, he managed to force out a sentence:

"Damn you, Sean! You don’t fight fair!"

"Wrong," Sean corrected. "You just haven’t studied hard enough."

He wasn’t creating problems for an "exam"; he was creating them to trap his enemy.

This was a genuine life-or-death battle. Knowing his enemy had been cramming math, why would he use a math-based Truth Technique?

"At the end of the day, you just haven’t studied enough," Sean remarked, sounding like a homeroom teacher. "You should read more philosophy when you have the chance. It’ll be good for your life in general, not just for fighting me."

’By the time Zajik actually starts studying philosophy, my Truth Techniques will have moved on to geometry.’

There is a Technique that requires Grand Mage-level Magic Power to cast.

It is called the "Mobius Ring."

It uses immense Energy to pry open a Dimension Gate and merges with the Law of Truth, forming a completely closed, dimensionally overlapping spatial loop. Once trapped inside, escape is nearly impossible.

That was a true killing blow.

It was a pity Zajik would never live to see that day.

Of course, Zajik could tell Sean was deliberately mocking him. An old man like him, being lectured by a young man who looked to be in his early twenties... He felt a measure of humiliation equal to the glee Sean was clearly feeling.

Normally, with his Tier, he could have just used brute force to shatter the restraints, even if he couldn’t solve the problem.

After all, no matter how strange, Magic was still Magic, and all Magic had to obey the fundamental rules of Mysticism.

It was like a boy who could carry a hundred pounds trying to carry a two-hundred-pound woman; the Magic Power of a Tier Two Mage could never truly bind a Tier Five. At most, it could slow them down for a moment—like kicking away a stone you find in your path before continuing on, with the overall situation completely unaffected.

But when he actually tried to brute-force his way through Sean’s philosophical problem, he discovered that the Magic Power in the Truth Shackles far exceeded that of Tier Two!

Back at the hospital, Sean had used Forbidden Meditation to obtain over 70 Lak of Magic Power. Now, transformed by a Magic Potion, the "quality" of every cell in his body was three times what it was before. This meant that a Truth Technique cast by Sean at full strength could wield over 210 Lak of Magic Power!

A Tier Four’s Magic Power ranged from 51 to 100 Lak.

So, Sean wasn’t a Tier Two.

He was a Tier Five.

And a "veteran" Tier Five at that.

He was almost halfway to Tier Six.

Feeling the unshakable Power radiating from the shackles, Zajik’s face went pale. A tidal wave of shock crashed through him as he choked out, "You’re a Tier Five?!"

Zajik hadn’t been this stunned even when he first saw the Maze of Truth in the hospital.

A strange piece of Magic and immense Magic Power were two completely different concepts.

There were many paths in Mysticism. In theory, every Wizard could create their own unique path. This was why Magic often manifested in bizarre ways with all sorts of effects. So, integrating mathematics into Magic was, to some extent, "understandable."

But Magic Power was different.

The amount you had was the amount you had; it depended entirely on the depth of a Wizard’s Meditation.

Improving one’s Magic Power conversion rate was difficult enough, to say nothing of the nearly 100 Lak gap between Tier Two and Tier Five. How could Sean possibly have broken through from Tier Two to Tier Five in just one month?

This was completely illogical!

Even Carl Black would say it was illogical!

He was more inclined to believe Quill’s intel was wrong. Sean had to be deliberately pretending to be a rookie Wizard who’d just acquired Magic Power to deceive them. In reality, he must have broken through to Tier Five long ago and was playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing this whole time!

That cunning bastard!

Sean nodded with a grave expression. "That’s right. I’ve actually been a Tier Five all along."

"My codename is ’Pure Eighteen-Year-Old College Boy.’ You’ve probably heard of me."

Zajik: "???"

’Heard of you my ass!’

The codename of a Tier Five was supposed to be sacred and serious—a mark of honor. His own title, for example, was "the Puppet-Father."

What kind of "Pure Eighteen-Year-Old College Boy"? That sounded more like an internet username!