The Archmage’s Swordsmanship Is Too Strong - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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13
Episode 13. Raid Leader
***
“That thing is a Mirror.”
My voice cut through the forest air.
The hunters of Group C, who had been backing away in terror, turned to stare at me in unison.
Their eyes held a mixture of confusion, bewilderment, and a desperate hope—as though I might be the straw they could cling to.
“A Mirror… did you say?”
“Are you certain?”
“I arrived first and watched the previous group’s battle unfold.”
By all accounts, it wasn’t a lie.
I had genuinely watched from the trees.
I tilted my chin toward the Mirror Golem.
“That thing doesn’t reflect magic—it absorbs it. Then it amplifies and hurls it back. You saw the scorching on the ground? It ate a fire spell and spat it out.”
“Absorb? Then we can’t use magic at all?”
The hunter with the Staff asked, his face twisting.
For a mage, a ban on magic was as good as a death sentence.
“No. Just don’t fire blindly. If you don’t understand the pattern, you’ll destroy yourselves.”
The murmuring swelled.
Everyone grasped the situation, but without a solution, they floundered in panic.
Physical attacks bounced off; magic was absorbed. For novices, it was a wall of despair.
I turned my gaze to Lee Sung-chan.
He was quietly cinching the straps of his shield.
He showed no signs of fleeing—but his eyes betrayed a man calculating his next move without finding one.
He had leadership, but lacked experience and information.
‘All I need to do is take the wheel.’
I steadied my breath and spoke with quiet clarity.
“May I take command of the raid?”
Silence hung for a moment, but there was no resistance.
“Please do, Do Jin,” Lee Sung-chan replied.
He bowed first.
The other hunters fell in line quickly after.
Command had shifted to me.
“Understood. Let me form the raid party.”
A familiar sensation stirred awake.
The memory of commanding hundreds of raids as vice-captain of the Blade Guild before the return.
A tactical map took shape in my mind at once.
***
“The core principle is simple: divide its aggro.”
I sketched a rough formation diagram on the ground with a branch.
“It’s strong, but slow. Once it locks onto a target, it pursues obsessively. We exploit that.”
I pulled out my Smartphone.
I opened the Hunter Messenger app and created a group chat.
Five survivors from Group C were added instantly.
[Shattered Glass]
Tanker: Holy Knight (Primary Aggro)
Striker: Warrior A, B (Physical Impact / Balance Disruption)
Ranger: Archer C (Line of Sight Block / Joint Strike)
Supporter: Mage D (Trigger Bait)
“I’ve sent it by text. Check it.”
They all stared at their phones as if mesmerized.
Concrete, systematic role distribution.
Second-by-second action orders embedded within.
“The golem’s surface is like reinforced glass. Without a single scratch, it’s nearly immune to physical damage. But once a crack starts, it crumbles.”
I pointed to the exact center of the golem’s chest.
“The weak point is the Core inside the chest. Normally it’s sealed by armor plates, but the moment it absorbs magic, those plates open for heat dissipation.”
Lee Sung-chan let out an exclamation.
“Ah—so we provoke it into absorbing magic on purpose, make the armor open, then strike the Core… is that it?”
“Precisely. But the magic must be minimum output. If it gorges, it’ll breathe flames—but if you just nibble at its appetite, it’ll open the armor and stop.”
He grasped things quickly.
That’s because the explanation is straightforward.
The eyes of the hunters around us shifted.
It must have felt like a door opening in a wall that had seemed impassable.
The moment fear transforms into certainty, a ragtag mob becomes a team.
“From now on, you move only on my signal. Any independent action means total annihilation. Do you understand?”
Everyone nodded in unison.
“We begin in five minutes. Check your gear.”
The hunters prepared for the raid, each one inspecting their weapons.
Soon after, Lee Sung-chan approached me.
“Do Jin, I have to say… I’m quite impressed.”
“About what?”
“The strategy briefing. It was the kind of briefing a veteran professional hunter would give. Could it be…?”
He narrowed his eyes and stared at me intently.
“You’re not a beginner, are you? Where did you get your hunting experience?”
“I’ve just read a lot of strategy posts on community boards.”
“Come on, you’re lying. You’re telling me a raid like this comes from community posts? I’m a third-timer myself and my legs are shaking.”
He laughed with an easy confidence.
But beneath that laughter lay a genuine respect.
“I rarely praise people, but with you, Do Jin, I can feel it.”
“Feel what?”
“The qualities of an S-Rank hunter.”
“That’s not true at all.”
“Yes, it is! You’re being far too modest.”
An S-Rank hunter.
It’s not a title given simply for high combat prowess.
The eye to read the battlefield, the command to lead comrades not as pawns but as fellow soldiers, and the courage not to break even before crisis.
All of these combined are what it takes to reach that level.
Lee Sung-chan understood this instinctively.
Because he possessed those qualities himself.
‘Why can’t I remember this person.’
Before the Regression, his was a name I’d never heard or seen, but perhaps then he’d died in an accident or been buried before ever seeing the light.
But this life might be different.
“You’re too kind. Let’s just focus on preparation.”
“Yes, sir! Leave it to me. I’ll show you tanking that’s absolutely flawless.”
Lee Sung-chan tapped his shield with solid confidence and returned to his position.
I stepped back and quietly called out to Airi.
“Airi. Limit my skill output to two percent.”
[Confirmed. Setting Limit.]
If I went all-out, there would be no point to the strategy.
These hunters had to grow.
If they couldn’t overcome this much, then it would end here.
***
“We’re moving in.”
On my signal, Lee Sung-chan stepped forward.
He took a deep breath, gripping his shield with force.
“Grant me the strength to protect my allies! Aegis’s Blessing!”
Whoooosh—!
White particles of light condensed above the Wooden Shield.
It was far more than a simple aura.
‘Sacred power mixed into his unique aura.’
The light spread outward, forming a translucent dome-shaped energy field.
An advanced skill that granted not just defense, but also the elasticity to cushion and deflect physical impact.
‘The fundamentals are solid.’
That skill is the blessing of a born Tanker.
But refining talent requires effort.
Getting through the trap zone was no mere luck.
“Look here, you hunk of metal!”
Lee Sung-chan roared and hurled his shield.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he shot the energy field forward.
Boom—
A disc of white light spun through the air.
The sound of it cleaving the air was sharp.
A trajectory that evoked the shield throw of a superhero film’s protagonist.
Bang!
It struck the Mirror Golem’s face dead-on.
A heavy, solid thud.
The giant, who had been holding his head low, reacted.
Grraaaagh—!
A burst of sound like twisting metal.
It lifted its head.
Fine scratches now marred the once-smooth surface of its face.
The damage was minimal, but the Aggro had been firmly secured.
Thud! Thud!
The Golem turned its body toward Lee Sung-chan.
The ground itself trembled.
Its right arm curved like a whip before slamming down toward Lee Sung-chan.
“Standing firm.”
My final order reached him like a radio transmission.
Lee Sung-chan raised his Secondary Shield.
Aegis’s Blessing stacked upon itself.
Crash!
A shockwave erupted outward.
Lee Sung-chan’s feet burrowed into the earth.
But he did not fall back.
Two legs clenched in stubborn defiance.
Arm muscles bulging with veins about to burst.
“Ahhhhh! It hurts like hell! But I can hold—!”
Lee Sung-chan screamed.
Excellent.
When the Tanker holds, the strikers dance.
“Move in, Strikers.”
At my signal, two Warriors who had been hiding sprang forth.
The blind spots—left and right.
One wielded a War Hammer, the other a Mace.
I’d had them swap from cutting weapons to crushing ones.
You don’t cut through a Mirror—you break it.
Thwack! Crack!
Dull, heavy blows erupted in succession.
They smashed the Golem’s knee joints and ankles.
The sound of shattering glass rang out.
Hairline cracks spiderwebbed across its once-pristine white exterior.
“Gheeee—”
The Golem staggered.
Caught off guard, it descended into confusion.
Its movements halted as it calculated: strike the Tanker before it, or crush the vermin attacking its legs?
“Gheeeeee—!”
The enraged Golem thrust both arms high above its head.
The pattern I had anticipated. Phase 2.
Preparing the wide-area tremor that would scorch everything around it—Earth Quake.
If the Strikers took this head-on, their bones would shatter.
But I measured the timing with composure.
“Window’s opening. Begin now.”
The moment the command fell, an explosion erupted from the rear.
Whoosh—
The Ranger released the arrow she had already nocked.
Her target: the Golem’s face.
The Mana Pouch hanging from the arrowhead struck its brow dead-center.
Boom—
Fog Shot.
A thick white mist engulfed the Golem’s head.
The blinded golem showed no confusion and brought its fist down as planned.
Crash!
The earth flipped as if an earthquake had struck.
The shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
The force was tremendous, but the impact point was entirely wrong.
The creature had pounded empty air—bare ground where no one stood.
Lee Sung-chan and the Strikers had already hurled themselves to safety before the tremors even began.
Watching the giant flounder in the fog, the corner of my mouth lifted.
‘All alive. No injuries.’
Perfect.
Lee Sung-chan’s tanking, the Strikers’ strikes, the Ranger’s support.
Our timing was synchronized from dozens of runs together.
Now only the finish remained.
“Mage, prepare yourself.”
“Y-yes!”
The female mage beside me raised her staff.
Her fingertips were trembling.
A pale blue chill gathered slowly at the staff’s tip.
The problem was her breathing.
It was short and ragged.
The fluctuation of mana wavered unsettlingly in response.
If she cast like this, she’d miss.
Worse, she might provoke the golem needlessly.
“Ease your tension.”
I moved quietly toward her.
Then I placed my hand lightly on her shoulder.
“You need to release the force.”
“B-but!”
She flinched and looked up at me.
Her eyes were wavering.
I lowered my voice further.
“Don’t push your mana out forcefully.”
……
“Exhale it as gently as possible. Light as breath itself.”
I continued, my gaze fixed on the staff’s tip.
“A 1-Circle Ice Bolt will suffice.”
Before the Regression, I’d seen cases like this countless times.
When teaching novice mages at the guild.
People whose breath failed before their mana did.
You mustn’t rush such people.
They only grow more anxious.
They grip harder.
And ultimately, they overload their mana.
“Now.”
I spoke without lifting my hand from her shoulder.
“Exhale first.”
“Huuu… huuuh…”
“Good.”
Gradually, the trembling lessened.
“And the hand holding the staff.”
I gestured briefly toward her wrist.
“Don’t grip it tight. Hold it gently.”
Through my hand, I helped her sense the subtle flow of mana.
Her trembling subsided.
As her breathing steadied, the mana gathered at the staff’s tip became clear and luminous.
“There.”
Whoosh.
A pathetically small ice arrow streaked away.
Its speed was sluggish.
But the golem’s sheer bulk made it impossible to miss.
Tap.
A shard of ice struck the Golem’s chest.
Damage: zero.
But the creature’s Mirror attribute reacted instantly.
It detected the magical attack and activated its absorption mechanism to reflect it.
Shimmer.
The Golem’s surface rippled.
Its gray body transformed in an instant to a cold, piercing blue.
Then the chest plating began to creak and swing open for the discharge.
Screech—
The thick armor panels split wide to both sides.
Within, a Core blazed with crimson light, laid bare.
Its heart.
“Yes, it’s open!”
Everyone cheered.
Lee Sung-chan adjusted his shield and readied himself for the charge.
“What?”
The Ranger’s voice came confused.
“It’s… shielding the Core, sir!”
“What did you say?”
“Damn it!”
The Golem moved strangely.
The armor had begun to open, but it raised its left arm and covered its chest.
As if protecting the Core.
Learned behavior? Or evolution?
It was a pattern unseen in ordinary Mirror Golems.
‘Is it a Named Entity?’
No.
For something released into a testing ground, its intelligence was far too high.
This was clearly a custom-summoned creature with modifications.
Whoever its master was, they had to be a twisted soul.
If the Core was shielded by an arm, no amount of strikes would break through—only the arm itself would shatter while the Core remained intact.
There was no opening for a finishing blow.
The Hunters froze in confusion.
The Golem seized the moment and amplified its Mana.
Discharge imminent.
With the Core still guarded, it was funneling power through the discharge ports on its back.
When that erupted, a shockwave would ripple in all directions.
Lee Sung-chan and the Warriors at close range would be swept away.
“What—what do we do!!”
The faces of the nearby Hunters began to pale.
There was no time to escape.
‘Now look at that.’
An unexpected variable.
If anything, it was growing more interesting.
But this was what a true test should demand.
It was my turn.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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