Jun never had a good history with fire.
Back when he was “Lee Jeong-jun” and even during his time living as Jun, it had always been difficult to get along with fire.
I knew something felt off with my condition today.
Jun had failed to notice Adrian casting [Fire Strike] and [Volcanic Tornado].
This showed just how skilled Adrian was at hiding his magic patterns, but for Jun who possessed the [Mana Body], a power that allowed him to control nearly all forms of magic, missing such a move meant there was a significant difference in skill between them.
Fortunately, Jun had [Steadfast Will] and [Unwavering Heart].
These two skills, which reinforced his mental strength, strongly suppressed the trauma that had resurfaced.
Get it together.
He blocked the incoming fireball with [Shield].
While he avoided a direct hit, the lingering heat combined with the [Volcanic Tornado]. This made it feel as though his entire body was being cooked.
The intense heat quickly invaded his body.
If he let his guard down even a little, he would be roasted alive.
Despite the excruciating pain, Jun calmly activated his magic. He trusted in his two mental defense skills.
[Enchantment: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Fire]
Just as he had done for Aiden in the past, Jun transformed his body to take on the fire attribute.
It was a temporary solution, but it granted him a certain level of resistance.
Thanks to that, breathing became a little easier for him.
Still, I can’t hold out for long. I have to destroy this damn space.
The most effective way to extinguish a flame was to eliminate its ignition source.
So where would the ignition source of magic be?
It was right in the magic pattern.
The magic pattern of fire-attribute magic itself served as fuel. It was burning by using the caster’s magical power.
And with Jun’s [Mana Body], he was reading the countless magic patterns surrounding him in real time.
Every single one of those magic patterns was a target that needed to be destroyed.
Water-attribute magic won’t work.
In this space already dominated by fire, it would take too long to invoke water magic.
So he found a substitute attribute.
Earth. Aside from the sea, it was one of the most common and easily accessible attributes anywhere.
The image he conjured in his mind was a mine.
A weapon humanity had used in countless wars on Earth.
[Earth Burst]
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The ground exploded.
The entire burning building was blown away.
Fragments of the shattered building, and even more dirt and rubble, tore through the [Volcanic Tornado].
Brrr-brrr-brrr-brrr-brrrr――!!
If a high-level mage had witnessed this scene, they would have felt as if they were looking at a masterpiece by a great artist.
A towering wall. A sacred, insurmountable wall of talent that would have made anyone feel unworthy of even lifting their head.
Jun’s [Earth Burst] had not simply pierced through the [Volcanic Tornado].
Every fragment of the exploding earth carried purpose and moved in a predetermined direction.
They followed the constantly shifting magic patterns within the [Volcanic Tornado].
It was as if a meticulously calculated equation had taken shape into something beautiful.
***
Adrian was bewildered as he looked at the whirlwind of flames get torn apart by the fragments of the exploding earth.
And then he was startled once again. By the fact that he was confused at all.
A little over ten years had passed.
He had survived countless battlefields and endured for ten years in Blackout, where anything could happen at any moment.
Yet even with all his experience, he had never imagined he would witness such beautiful magic in real combat.
Something he had thought possible only in theory had unfolded before him in reality.
And more astonishing was the fact that this level of magic had been unleashed by a young brat who was barely at the beginning of the fourth-circle.
“How…?”
But what shocked him the most was that this young brat seemed to possess some degree of freedom from the incantation of Tower Master Damian.
Did he escape the incantation?
And yet, this guy was only at the beginning of the fourth-circle.
From what Adrian had heard, he hadn’t even been in Blackout for a few months.
That guy had the magical ability to penetrate and completely destroy his magic patterns?
He had never heard of or seen anything like it!
Adrian gritted his teeth.
“I don’t know what kind of monstrous talent he has, but it makes me want him even more!”
As his thoughts shifted, the unpleasant feeling from earlier quickly faded away.
His master had only asked him to investigate this mage named Jun, but Adrian was now certain.
He was convinced that the legendary constitution, the [Mana Body], was dormant within that boy.
Until now, it had been mere speculation, but now he was sure.
At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to a time when he still had a child.
It was like imagining how much fun he could have with a toy he hadn’t even gotten his hands on yet.
– What would happen if I took his heart?
– Could I shatter the wall of the sixth-circle that has blocked me for six years?
– Or perhaps, would I ascend to the seventh-circle and even surpass my master?
No, it wouldn’t end there.
If he could obtain that constitution, there was no way it would stop at a mere seventh-circle.
He would create a legend, a myth, with his own hands.
Couldn’t he reach the realm of the ninth-circle, a level no one in history had ever achieved?
Just imagining it made his heart pound wildly.
Riding that surge of excitement, he began to chant a spell.
He focused his mind. Even the distant sun that was so far out of reach seemed like something he could grasp if he possessed that talent.
His magic manifested faster than ever before.
But he wasn’t satisfied.
“It’s not enough, it’s not enough! It’s not enoughhhh!!”
Magic that had never bothered him before now appeared unstable.
It was like the feelings of a novice artist standing before a masterpiece too beautiful to replicate.
All he felt was an insatiable thirst for more in the results he produced.
However, he had spent 10 years on the battlefield and nearly 30 years as a mage.
Mages, by nature, never know satisfaction.
They always seek something new.
They gain insight.
And then they find the answer.
“Aha, ahahahaha!”
He couldn’t surpass the beauty of the magic that Jun had unleashed. That was a realm Adrian couldn’t hope to reach right now.
But he was used to it.
It wasn’t as if he had only ever faced the weak.
On the battlefield, he had encountered plenty of mages stronger than himself.
Yet.
“It’s slow! It’s unbearably slow! A slug could yawn and pass me by!!”
Even the rapid-fire [Fireball], which he had always been proud of, now felt sluggish.
Stronger, faster!
In order to grasp that talent, which touched the realm of legends, he had to surpass his limits.
And he thought he could easily master the way to do it.
Click―
A small, palm-sized case emerged from his pocket.
He grabbed the pill inside and swallowed it in one gulp.
No, it wasn’t enough.
One more. Two more.
The researchers at the Mage Tower had warned him about the dosage, but what did they know? Those desk-bound scholars could never have felt even a tenth of the emotions he was experiencing now.
Gulp!
He swallowed three pills at once.
The effects came almost instantly.
“Kkhihihihik!!”
His heart began to beat faster than ever before.
Thump-thump-thump!
His ears rang, and his vision blurred.
Yet, his mind was sharper than it had ever been.
Magical power surged within him.
No, it felt like it was surging. More precisely, the speed at which his magical power circulated through his circles had increased.
His mind raced, far beyond its usual pace.
“Hahaha!! If I had your heart, I wouldn’t need these worthless pills!”
He chanted a spell.
[Fireball]
With a snap of his fingers, five fireballs materialized instantly and shot toward Jun.
Even as they flew, more fireballs summoned from his other hand chased after them.
The speed had increased compared to before, but the magical power within the spell pattern gained rotational force, enhancing its power even further.
That idiot, who hadn’t even fully developed yet, wasn’t qualified to block this magic.
Adrian was certain of that.
***
A relentless barrage of [Fireballs] flew at him, leaving no room to breathe.
It happened during the brief moment when he couldn’t keep the enemy in check as he shook off the aftermath of escaping from the [Volcanic Tornado].
This is just like…
It was reminiscent of the casting speed of that mage player from the past, during the days when he was “Lee Jeong-jun”, the one who had driven countless mage users to despair.
But unlike in the game, there weren’t any high-level spells mixed in.
There was only [Fireball], nothing else.
Yet, with such rapid fire, it held an advantage even stronger than a fifth-circle spell.
That was the fact that there was no long delay, which was something every mage had to deal with.
Blocking it would be suicide.
If he tried to rely on something like [Shield] to block it, he’d be erased without a trace in an instant.
He had to dodge right away. Against that kind of bombardment, he needed to hunker down immediately.
But.
Strangely, his body wouldn’t move.
All he felt was.
– Why should I bother dodging a spell like that?
Such an utterly arrogant thought crossed his mind.
It was strange.
His opponent was clearly a powerful enemy.
No matter how much the [Mana Body] helped, most of that power was sealed away by the [Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim], and above all, Jun had never fought directly against a mage of this caliber before.
Then why?
Why did that magic seem so pathetic?
Even in this life-threatening crisis, it felt that way.
In fact, [Fire Strike] or [Volcanic Tornado] felt far more threatening.
Why was that?
Jun, from a purely mage-like perspective, came to a realization.
And then he understood.
“Ah.”
That wasn’t real magic.
To be more precise,
It’s a byproduct, forcibly squeezed out by a machine that’s not even accurate.
It looked as if it could break with the slightest shock.
The reason he felt this way was simple.
“A mage at the level of a fifth(circle…”
Hadn’t infused his magic with any intent.
On the surface, it appeared capable of burning anything to ashes, but its structure was utterly crude.
[Deciphering the spell…]
[Deciphering complete.]
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 10 percent.]
Magical power surged around him like a storm.
He expanded the area, but he didn’t chant any spells.
There was no way anyone would believe that crude magic had been cast by a fifth-circle mage.
It was something so shabby; it didn’t feel threatening in the slightest.
His will moved.
It was a sensation he had only experienced twice before.
The first was when he had defeated the Goblin Lord.
The second was when he had used the curse trap in the Witch’s Forest.
That familiar feeling was now more refined and it moved through his fingertips.
Ownerless magical power carried his will.
At that moment, the magic found its master and immediately responded.
The target was the cluster of fire-attributed magic.
Even though the fire magic was faintly under control, the moment it came into contact with his power that was infused with strong intent—
Ssshh—
It extinguished in an instant, like a candle blown out by the wind.
“What…?”
Adrian blinked his eyes in disbelief. He couldn’t grasp what had just happened before his eyes.
No, he understood the process and the result, but he couldn’t comprehend why it had been possible.
“Uh, ah…!”
The confusion he had felt moments ago surged again.
Was it the recoil from what had happened, or the outcome right in front of him?
Either way, that confusion quickly swelled, transforming into a monster named fear.
“What… What are you? How did you do that just now?!”
The connection between the caster and the magic had been severed.
Magic cancel.
But normally, that was something only the caster could decide, not something another person could do.
A mage’s magical power is channeled through the heart and released outward. This meant the bond between the magic and its caster was incredibly strong.
But someone else cutting that bond at will?
He had never heard of such a thing in his life.
“Then… Dispel?!”
But he didn’t have time to dwell on it.
The backlash hit.
The magical power that had gathered according to his will lost its direction.
And magical power that loses its way has a tendency to return to the last place it resided.
Without any control, indiscriminately.
That place was none other than Adrian’s heart.
“Ugh…!”
His heart began to race.
An overwhelming rush of blood surged madly through his body.
Normally, he could easily withstand this kind of backlash.
It was only a third-circle spell after all, and [Fireball] was something he cast as naturally as breathing.
But now, it was impossible.
Due to the pills he had taken, his heart had begun to run wild, recklessly absorbing the magical power that was pouring into him.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart was malfunctioning. Blood was flowing into places it shouldn’t, and entering places it wasn’t supposed to.
Adrian instinctively sensed something was terribly wrong and wanted to scream but he couldn’t.
“Gahhh!!!”
The moment he realized something was off, blood poured out from all seven orifices.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
The magical power ran amok.
The power of the [Fireball] he had unleashed without a second thought slipped out of his heart’s control and rampaged through his body.
“Ughhh!”
The sun drifted farther away.
The sun that had seemed so close, as if he could grab it, faded into the distance.
No, he couldn’t even see the sun. Everything was blocked by the red haze of blood, which made it impossible to see an inch in front of him.
All that was left was the primal urge to survive, stimulating his brain, but even that quickly faltered as his mind seemed to break down…
***
“……”
Thud—
Adrian collapsed with blood pouring from every hole in his body.
Jun reflected on the phenomenon he had just caused.
Typically, magic contains the caster’s imagination.
This is meant to increase the efficiency of the spell and reinforce the durability of its magic patterns, but more importantly, it helps release external magical power more easily in the brief moment of casting.
Of course, a skilled mage could cast spells without embedding any imagination if they were powerful enough.
Though the efficiency of the magic would drop significantly…
Adrian, who had collapsed before him, had faintly infused each of his spells with imagination.
Just from that, it was clear what kind of life he had lived practicing magic and how strong of a mage he was.
Jun had forcibly canceled the magic of such a mage.
Was it possible because his opponent’s imagination was weak?
That probably played a part…
But that wasn’t the only reason.
Jun recalled the sense of omnipotence he had felt the moment he canceled the magic.
For a brief instant, it had felt as if all the magical power in the world was within his grasp.
This was the third time.
And yet, this time, it had been even more intense, and also…
“There was no backlash.”
His mind was clear. His magic circuits were intact.
Looking back on everything he had experienced so far, Jun realized there should have been some side effects, yet he felt none at all.
For a moment, his own power felt strange to him. And yet, it also felt familiar.
The Mana Body.
In the game, it had been nothing more than a skill, but now it seemed like he had begun to understand that power, just a little, a very small amount.
“It’s an unexpected gain.”
The enemy he had intended to subdue had completely broken down.
Could it be that he was dead?
Given that there wasn’t even the slightest movement, it seemed possible he had stopped breathing.
“Well… trying to subdue someone from a higher circle in the first place might have been too ambitious.”
The only bit of luck was that the corpse had remained intact—
“…….!”
Fwoosh—!!
Before Jun could react, flames erupted from Adrian’s body.
He tried to extinguish the fire immediately, but the flames burned with such intense heat that they turned Adrian’s entire body into blackened charcoal.
“…….”
The backlash of magic cancel.
The magical power that had manifested through magic must have returned to his heart, and as its master died, it reverted to the final attribute he had wielded.
And so the magic that he had wielded transformed into fire, and it erupted from his body, burning even his corpse beyond recognition.
It was the fate of one who had failed to control the rampaging magic.
“Dammit… I didn’t think of that.”
What was he supposed to tell Chloe?
As soon as he had completely drawn his last breath, the shroud of mist that had cloaked the surroundings vanished.
Immediately after—
Kaboooom――!!!
An explosion rang out from the heart of the Black Forest Fortress.
The blast was so loud that it could be clearly heard even from this far out.
“Huh?”
That direction was where Chloe’s merchant guild was located.
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