Manhwa, or Korean comics, have continuously risen in popularity in recent years. Similar to its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, fantasy is one of the industry's most popular genres. Naturally, a lot of thought went into the creation of these series, and the work clearly shows in the intricate and expansive lore many of them offer. One of the most important worldbuilding elements in traditional fantasy content is the magic system. Here are some great titles with extraordinary magic systems that are enthralling enough to excite even the most experienced fantasy fans.
Hardcore Leveling Warrior
Set in a virtual reality game called Lucid Adventure, which is played while sleeping, Hardcore Leveling Warrior features a vast number of unique magic abilities. There is close to unlimited kinds of characters, and each of them has their own distinct set of skills, characteristics and background story. Just like a typical game, the mechanics incorporate common magic like healing, teleportation and buffs. However, what truly exemplifies it from other series is its conceptual magic.
As the name suggests, conceptual magic manifests a character's concept as a skill. It can materialize weapons, objects, buffs, transformations and even scenarios related to said character. Ham, the No. 2 Ranker, has a personal attribute called Rules - Chess. Her attribute allows her to use a conceptual magic that binds her and her opponent to follow the rules of chess while in combat. Similarly, Sora's conceptual magic "Even Dogs Shouldn't Be Bothered When They're Eating" gives her temporary invulnerability as she eats, which coheres to her Taster personal attribute. Since every character in Lucid Adventure is unique, there are too many different conceptual magic abilities to count.
Hardcore Leveling Warrior is available on Webtoon.
A Returner's Magic Should Be Special
Desir Herrman is one of the last humans after the ten-year war in the Shadow Labyrinth. But as he and the last few powerful magicians are facing certain doom, he gets sent more than a decade back in time. It is now up to him to alter the whole world's fate with the knowledge he accrued in his previous life. He must not only surpass his previous self in terms of power, but also help his former allies get more powerful while expanding his forces by recruiting more magicians in this timeline.
A Returner's Magic Should Be Special has a very structured magic system. The magicians are categorized in Circle Tiers, with 1 being the weakest and 6 being the strongest. Elemental magic is the most common and widely-used type of magic, but there are also other types like spells based on space or physics. What's interesting about its system is that it is heavily based on both knowledge and skill, which is where Desir's strength lies. Desir's strongest ability, Analytical Magic, allows him to analyze and cancel even the most intricate of spells. He can analyze multiple spells within a few seconds, earning him the moniker Anti-mage.
A Returner's Magic Should Be Special is available on Tappytoon.
Omniscient Reader
Kim Dokja has been the sole follower of the web novel Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse for years. Its author sends him a weird message after publishing the final chapter. However, Dokja soon realizes that his entanglement with his favorite web novel is far from over. The world of Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse suddenly intertwines with his reality, and the subsequent events follow the exact scenarios in the novel. He must use his knowledge to survive this apocalyptic event.
The entire apocalypse is paid entertainment for higher beings. In order to have a fighting chance against diabolic monsters, Constellations can choose individuals who piqued their interest. These Constellations can invest in their chosen Incarnations by spending coins on them and giving them access to their abilities. The mightier the Constellation, the stronger the ability that is passed down. For example, Gong Pildu's sponsor, Defense Master, grants him the ability to summon artillery in his territory. There are also unique abilities like Yoo Joonghyuk's Regression and Dokja's Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. Other means of acquiring abilities are completing quests and obtaining certain items. All of these are presented in a mix of video streaming and video game format.
Omniscient Reader is available on Webtoon.
From sponsored to conceptual to analytical magic, the three aforementioned series provide a fresh approach to one of the most saturated genres in all of manhwa. They just skim the surface of a wider variety of content that's available on platforms such as Webtoon and Tappytoon. Whether fantasy fans are looking to rekindle their love of magic systems or simply searching for their next read, these series could be an excellent place to begin.