The most amount of magical power.
Yet, paradoxically, the seal of the choker could not be released.
This mental barrier itself was made from Sergey’s magical power.
Thanks to the top-grade magic stone, there’s no issue with the magical power supply, but…
He couldn’t pour as much magical power into a single spell like he could when he unlocked the seal.
To end this in one blow…
He would have to overcome it through elemental advantage.
He began with water.
In the fire-filled space, a droplet of water appeared.
It looked as though it might evaporate into a wisp of steam at any moment, but the droplet steadily grew after feeding off Jun’s magical power.
[Aqua Ball]
A simple second-circle spell. It shot out in a small glob of water that was barely powerful enough to injure a goblin.
[Transformation: Rotation]
[Transformation: Compression]
He increased the spell’s destructive power by adding rotation and compression.
This alone won’t be nearly enough.
Naturally, Jun had no intention of stopping there.
At this stage, he needed to add one more transformation.
Fortunately, Jun had a way.
After reaching the fourth circle, the fusion of [Mana Body] and [Intermediate Magic Talent] had produced a unique result.
[Iron Fist]
Soft earth compacted tightly, just shy of achieving a metallic sheen.
[Enchantment: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Water]
He enchanted it with the water attribute.
The fist absorbed [Aqua Ball] as it was.
[Transformation: Water Fist]
And what intention lay within that blow?
The fist of a martial artist who has poured all his strength into training most of his life.
A fist of water, compressed to its limits, sliced through the scorching air and shot toward the chimera.
[Mooogmaaaaaa…?!]
Crash!
[Water Fist] slammed into the body of the creature which was as hard as limestone.
Ssssssssssssssss――!!!
[Gyaaaaaaaaah!]
An immense cloud of steam burst forth at the moment of impact. This was a result of the compressed [Water Fist] meeting the creature’s flesh.
The creature who had been searching for water so much let out a terrible scream as soon as it touched water.
A dense, white fog formed in an instant.
The view was obscured, and only the sound of its screams could be heard.
[It buuuuuuuuurns――!!]
Yet there was strength in its cries.
As expected.
A burst of crimson light flared through the steam, evaporating what little vapor remained.
“Damn it.”
Lava flowed over the creature’s entire body.
The creature’s back, which Jun had been aiming for, was badly damaged, but it hadn’t been completely pierced through.
Likewise, its core was still intact.
[Huhuhuhuugh――!! Hot, so hottt!! Waterrrrrr!!!]
The creature plunged into the lava without paying any attention to Jun, who had just fired a spell.
[Haaaaaaah…….]
Then, as if soothing its pain, it wore an expression of relief and gulped down the lava as if it were drinking water.
“Incredible regeneration power….”
Even in the game, the creature’s most troublesome trait was its ability to devour anything with fire attributes and use it to heal its body.
Even now, its body which had been destroyed by [Water Fist] was quickly regenerating.
[Ughhh……! You’re a bad guy……! A really bad guy……!]
Finally, with all its pain wiped away, the creature glared at Jun and spoke with a voice filled with resentment.
Its body, which had seemed sluggish moments ago, suddenly leaped into the air.
Jun tried to move to a new position, but the surroundings held him back.
“Haaah……!”
He was already exhausted from the journey to this place.
He had been holding out as best he could, but with the very air burning hot, moving too quickly would almost certainly cause his skin to melt.
Perhaps because of this, he was a step too late in reacting to the creature’s attack.
[Fooosh――!!]
The creature’s huge body slammed into the spot where Jun had just been standing, and at the same time, it spewed a liquid from its mouth.
It was lava.
[Shield]
He hurriedly deployed a protective shield to block the creature’s attack, but the entire area was already drenched in lava.
[I’ll get you…! I’ll make you pay!!]
Even though the spewed lava was blocked, the creature didn’t hesitate to move forward.
Despite its huge size, its speed was considerable.
In an instant, it charged forward, shattered Jun’s shield with a single blow, and continued its attack straight at him.
At this rate, there was no way to evade it.
This was the classic death scenario for a mage without any front-line protection.
No matter how much Jun had strengthened his magic circle, creating enough distance from the creature in this cramped space was next to impossible.
“Guess all the hard work paid off after all.”
If this had been the Jun from a few months ago, he would have died right here, crushed under that fiery fist.
But now he had a countermeasure.
[Summon]
The [Tear of Teiya] hanging from Jun’s ear swallowed an entire top-grade magic stone and infused physical power into the spell.
In an instant, a bipedal golem materialized.
Wuuuuuung――!
It stood about three meters tall. And its thick black arms and sturdy short legs were planted firmly on the ground.
Maybe even the top-grade magic stone hadn’t been enough.
It seemed that the golem had even absorbed Sergey’s magical power because its body took on the appearance of solid basalt as it moved to stand in front of Jun.
[Waaaaaagh――!!!]
The chimera and the golem collided.
The golem was pushed back considerably, but it didn’t completely give way.
In fact, it was impressive that it managed to block the charge of that huge beast.
Bang!
The golem, having stopped the chimera’s charging assault, raised one arm and pressed its elbow into the creature’s shoulder.
[Aaaaaargh!!]
The chimera also screamed and pushed the golem away.
[Haaagh! It huuuurts, it huuuurts so much!!]
For something screaming in pain, it seemed oddly fine.
Since this creature had been prone to exaggeration even in the game, Jun stayed on guard and immediately began preparing a spell.
[Rapid Casting]
[Multicasting]
[Water Fist]
Five magic stones melted away in an instant.
While the golem kept the creature busy, Jun’s goal was to accumulate damage and deny it any chance to recover.
Hissssss――!!
[Gyaaaahhh!!!]
From within the newly formed cloud of steam, the creature’s scream echoed out.
Wuuuuung――!
The golem that was blocking it burst out a magical light and stopped the golem from struggling.
[It hurts! I told you it hurts!!]
Its muscles suddenly bulged explosively and then it flung the golem away in an instant.
[Moooore! Mooore!!!]
Once again, it charged toward the lava. But Jun had no intention of just standing by this time either.
He hastily created a [Water Fist].
Though he couldn’t fully infuse it with proper intent, the elemental difference successfully slowed the creature’s steps.
[It hurts, I said it hurts!!]
Crash!
As it slammed its huge foot into the ground, a fountain of lava shot upward.
A wall of lava formed in an instant.
With that single stomp, [Water Fist] lost its power and vanished.
[Hahahaah!]
Just as it reached the very edge of the lava lake—
“…It’s ready.”
Jun’s eyes flashed with determination.
***
Water-attribute magic in a space filled with fire-attribute magical power was no easy feat.
Then, what about ice?
Naturally, the difficulty doubled.
But against that chimera, nothing was as effective as ice-attribute magic.
Because of this, Jun needed several things in place to face it.
The first was time, and the second was the environment.
I never thought [Water Fist] alone would be enough to stop it.
He had hoped to accumulate some damage, but he wasn’t going to rely on that one spell alone.
The time gained with the golem. That was why he had to set up the final missing piece: the environment.
An environment where he could cast ice-attribute magic.
Sizzle―!
The change began from the ground.
A rapid, crumbling sound echoed out.
Then, in the space that had been filled solely with searing heat, a bluish chill began to settle.
The source of the sound was the ground which had started to freeze at a rapid pace.
Brrrr――
The heat-radiating earth cooled and hardened.
Various other attributes spread in a place that once contained only fire energy.
Jun’s magical power had seeped into the space once filled with Sergey’s magical power.
Only then could he cast a spell of this scale.
[Ice Break]
Countless ice flowers bloomed on the fire-scorched ground. And it felt as if they had just stepped into a field of pure white roses.
Yet the thorny vines of these roses were not to be underestimated.
[Hah, haa…!]
The chimera stared fearfully at the ice that had locked its feet in place.
[So, so hot, it’s burning…!]
Its muscular body writhed in pain.
Despite its cries of how hot it was, its entire body shivered like a trembling aspen.
The strength it exerted seemed almost powerful enough to shatter the ice binding its lower body at any moment, yet—
[Ice Spear]
Jun had no intention of waiting that long.
The spell had grown more durable than [Water Fist] which was made purely of water attribute.
Moreover, the environment created by [Water Fist] during that time amplified the attribute’s connection and protected the magic pattern with reinforced intent against the heat.
[Aaaargh!!]
Just then, the chimera noticed this, struggled violently, and raised both arms.
But even that effort came to nothing.
Wuuuuung――!
The golem that was following Jun’s command struck the creature’s guard with a heavy blow.
[…Gah!]
Its guard was broken.
The crimson gem embedded in its chest was fully exposed.
The ice spear aimed right at that vulnerable spot.
Crack―!
In that instant, the spear of solid ice met the gem.
Fwooooosh――!!
The gem pierced through the creature’s chest muscles and lodged deep inside.
“……”
[…….]
Silence settled over them.
The only sounds were the occasional bursts of lava and the steady hum of magical light radiating from the golem.
But soon, something strange began to happen.
The first to sense it was Jun.
“Damn it.”
He instinctively realized it hadn’t died.
[Aaaaahhhh――!!!]
The chimera started to scream, and its cry sounded strangely like the pure wailing of a child.
It was a scream filled with fear.
“Its durability is beyond expectations… Is it because we’re inside this mental barrier, unlike the game?”
It was the difference between the game and reality.
An ominous current began to swirl around the gemstone in its body. It was distorting the landscape.
The energy forming this space was being absorbed into that crimson gem.
“It’s absorbing the mental barrier itself.”
The landscape continued to warp.
For a brief moment, the outside world was visible through the distortion, but a new space soon replaced it.
The barrier was shrinking.
Instead, the gemstone within the creature that had absorbed it emitted an even greater light.
The magical power radiating from it felt anything but ordinary. Sensing this, Jun closed his eyes.
“Hoo….”
He examined the current situation from a mage’s perspective.
The creature was absorbing the magical power sustaining the [Mental Barrier]. What would be the outcome of that?
There was no need for him to search his memories as Lee Jeong-Jun.
His knowledge as a mage was already providing the answer.
[――――!!!]
The chimera let out a soundless scream as its body began to change.
The mass of muscular flesh broke apart. It was replaced by a dull gray skin that was densely packed with fine muscles.
Its face, which was half-melted and slumped as if collapsing inwards, twisted and retreated further.
First, the nose caved in, followed by the lips, eyes, and jaw. They all folded inward.
What remained was a face that was nothing but a pitch-black void.
Jun, who had been watching up to that point, closed his eyes.
He prepared himself for the approaching threat.
From the moment he had first confronted the Fire Eater, he had prepared himself for this.
“I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this….”
But in life, things rarely go as one hopes.
For Jun, this was all too familiar.
The Fire Eater.
In the game, it was a mid-boss monster that appeared before Sergey, the Tower Master of the Volkatronic Magic Tower.
Among veteran players, the strategy to kill it was deceptively simple and brutal.
Take it down in a single blow with overwhelming damage.
The reason was simple.
If it wasn’t killed in a single hit, a troublesome enemy would appear in Phase 2.
The true boss monster summoned when the gemstone wasn’t destroyed.
The seventh-circle mage, Sergey.
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