A circle imbued with fire attribute spun with a hum.
It’s already hard enough to use anything other than fire attribute because of this damn circle.
Right now was a moment when a non-fire attribute was needed.
He whispered to the rampaging magical power.
If you want to run wild, do it according to my command.
That intent seeped in.
Then, the magical power calmed down a little, but it was like the paw of a lion concealing its claws.
At any moment, it could unsheathe those claws and tear through an opponent’s throat. Or even Jun’s own throat.
Whatever.
He envisioned an image.
What he envisioned was eternal snow, as solid as steel.
A land frozen in absolute zero for an immeasurable span of time beyond human comprehension.
The circle groaned in protest.
As if it was rejecting what he wanted.
So what.
He ignored it.
If other mages had seen this, they would have thought him suicidal.
Mages like Jun, who had ascended to a certain level, typically bound their primary circle to a single attribute.
It was the most efficient way.
You specialize in what you excel at and leave other areas of growth to others. That was how humanity had advanced, after all.
But Jun had rejected that approach.
His circle had been forcibly bound to the fire attribute.
Because of Sergey’s [Mental Barrier].
It was not the picture Jun had hoped for.
The magical power of nature could become anything.
A mage was one who governed that magical power.
Never bound to just one thing.
This was his conviction, as well as the determination possessed by the master of [Mana Body].
The [Mana Body] responded to Jun’s will. It rejoiced and unsheathed its claws.
The circle of fire gradually cooled. It bent to his will.
Its orange color, as if it was imbued with flame, remained unchanged.
But within, it seemed as though pure white snowflakes were gently falling.
A venture he had never once attempted before.
Yet he didn’t care.
There would be consequences, but the value of the opportunity far outweighed them.
Jun’s eyes gleamed.
[Deciphering the spell…]
[Deciphering complete.]
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 25 percent.]
***
The first to move was Maya.
Bern instinctively reacted to the killing intent exploding outward and gripped his battle hammer tightly.
His eyes twitched.
For the first time ever, he momentarily lost track of Maya’s movements, something he had never failed to follow before.
That’s why he raised his huge shield.
The plan was to shove forward with the shield the moment his opponent attacked.
But if Bern had retained any rationality, he wouldn’t have made such a choice.
Maya’s translucent movements showed no sign of fearing the shield.
Whoosh—
Maya’s now translucent body passed straight through Bern’s shield.
It was as if she had become a ghost. Her form slipped effortlessly through the shield.
Bern’s eyes widened in shock.
He was going to die.
That was the instinctive thought that struck him, and he immediately let go of the shield handle he had been pushing forward.
Just as he retrieved his fist to strike Maya, who had returned to her solid form—
Clang—!
A sound came from a direction it shouldn’t have.
Forgetting Maya, who was now right in front of him, Bern turned his gaze backward.
There, he saw the young man’s sword, wrapped in blood-red energy.
It traced a scarlet arc, like a crescent moon just before an eclipse.
The target was the area just beneath the head of the battle hammer.
Claang!
The enormous recoil forced Aiden to bend his knees as he absorbed the shock.
That entire sequence had been a setup to force Bern into a guard-crush state.
[Bash]
In an instant, Aiden’s figure blurred like a shadow.
Before Bern could react, Aiden had already closed the distance and swung his sword.
Bern, who was now desperate, tried to block the strike by abandoning his battle hammer.
Crack—!
But before that could happen, Maya used Bern’s arm as a foothold and spun her body to land a back kick right on his helmeted head.
The kick connected squarely with his helmeted skull.
The impact struck cleanly, throwing off his balance.
His chest was left exposed.
At that exact moment, Aiden’s sword flared with an immense surge of energy, which converged in an instant.
The resulting impact exploded against Bern’s armor with staggering force.
Guhh—?!
The shock traveled through the crushed armor, slamming into Bern’s chest.
He desperately tried to recover his stance, but his head was spinning uncontrollably.
Maya’s kick penetrated Bern’s helmet, delivering a shock that rattled his brain directly.
The heavy body of the Paladin collapsed.
[Ice Break]
As the Paladin crumpled, his entire body was encased in a bluish layer of ice.
“Hahhh…”
Jun exhaled frost-like, icy breath as he let out a belated sigh.
The moment Jun’s magic activated, both Aiden and Maya who distanced themselves dropped to their knees at the same time.
“It’s… done…”
“I-I’ve got no strength left…”
Even though they couldn’t use divine power, they had successfully subdued the Paladin, a Level 7 user.
Eleanor who watched this unfold muttered to herself,
“Wow, holy shit…”
She cursed under her breath and began to worry about how to treat Bern, who was trapped in the ice; his chest collapsed and his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
***
Two steps back to take one step forward.
That was the strategy Jun and his party chose.
While they had succeeded in neutralizing Bern, the aftermath cost them half a day.
Now, only one day remained.
If they failed to resolve the situation within that time, their efforts to save the clergy corrupted by the Holy Grail would be in vain.
This would mean the sealing on the five named beings would be completely broken.
And with that, the possibility of a level 8 monstrosity manifesting in the world would grow dangerously high.
“God, this is so damned exhausting…”
Jun was completely exhausted. He fell to the ground and stared at Bern, who still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Aiden and Maya were in a similar state.
Both had pushed themselves to their absolute limits in the fight against Bern, even going beyond those limits.
For a fleeting moment, Aiden had even imbued his sword with aura.
The fact that he had used aura at level 3 was nothing short of extraordinary.
He’s level 3, but with his skill alone, he could probably hold his own even in a level 4 field now.
Though it would be just the beginning, and he’d likely struggle at first. Aiden’s growth was undoubtedly something that benefited Jun as well.
It had only been a year since he had taken up a sword and entered real combat.
Yet in that short time, he had awakened his magical power and even used aura.
If other swordsmen saw this, they’d be so overwhelmed with jealousy they might exaggerate their grievances to the point of suicide, and no one could blame them.
What if that kid had properly picked up a sword when he was younger?
Talent like his wasn’t something even imperial family members easily possessed.
He would’ve surely faced relentless examination and interference from his other siblings.
In a way, it’s fortunate he only took up the sword now.
Jun then shifted his gaze to Maya.
She looked like someone whose soul had left her body. She was sprawled halfway on the ground and blankly staring into the air.
The fact that she used her ancestor’s power is a good sign.
Even in the game, her use of that power required a certain level of affinity to be built.
From now on, she needs to tame that power well. I’ll also need to guide her so she can communicate more effectively with her ancestors.
That ability which was passed down through the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe grew stronger and broader with use.
Of course, it also came with its own penalties.
But I can manage those penalties by staying by her side and keeping things under control.
Jun’s gaze finally shifted to Bern.
He had just finished using [Marionette Line] to purge the demonic energy that had taken root within Bern.
Unlike the crusaders he’d treated earlier, purifying Bern had taken him a full half-day.
It seemed that as a high-ranking paladin, the demonic energy embedded in Bern had been both exceptionally strong and persistent.
Even the Tears That Kill Death had been consumed four times in the process.
If Aiden and Maya hadn’t delivered a fatal blow to Bern, even this outcome would have been hard to guarantee.
“How’s the healing coming along, Eleanor?”
“Cause the problem, then fix it, huh?”
Eleanor muttered with feigned displeasure. Bern’s condition was still in shambles, after all.
“There was no other choice, considering who we were up against.”
“I know. I was just joking.”
She too understood how miraculous the feat Jun and the others had accomplished truly was.
“Thank you. For saving him. Anyway, the healing went well. I poured in all the divine power I had.”
Bern’s body. The body of a level 7 paladin was responding.
With the addition of an intermediate healing potion given to him by Jun, the deep dent in his chest returned to its normal shape in just half a day.
Even the head injury he had sustained from Maya’s kick had significantly improved by now.
“He should regain consciousness soon.”
Eleanor gently infused more divine power into Bern’s head as she spoke.
After a short while, Bern’s eyes slowly opened.
“Why do my chest and head feel so stiff?”
Those were the first words he murmured as soon as he regained consciousness.
***
Bern bowed deeply to Jun, Aiden, Maya, and Eleanor to express his gratitude.
“I owe you all. It wasn’t enough that you saved Eleanor. You saved me as well.”
A level 7 paladin.
Though his body hadn’t yet fully recovered, this massive figure of strength had now returned to the field.
But less than a day remained.
Bern turned to Jun without hesitation and asked,
“Mage. Do you have a plan?”
Despite Jun being several ranks below him, Bern sought his opinion.
With his level of skill, he could have easily tried to take command of the group, but he didn’t.
“We must reclaim the Holy Grail as quickly as possible. And we’ll need to rescue the bishop as well.”
The current state of chaos among the church’s forces was caused by the demonic energy emanating from the Holy Grail.
If they could rescue the bishop, who had fallen under its influence, and purify the Grail, the problem could be resolved.
However, unexpectedly, Bern shook his head.
“The bishop is behind this.”
It was a shocking revelation.
One of only five bishops in the church had committed apostasy?
Eleanor stared at Bern. Her disbelief was clear in her expression.
“What are you saying?”
The bishop Elias was someone Eleanor knew well.
He was about the same age as the current pope. And although he was an ambitious man, he served the Church faithfully for decades.
Why would such a man suddenly turn away from his faith now?
“Well. I don’t know much about that. However…”
Bern had witnessed it.
Around the time when the demonic energy began pouring out of the Holy Grail.
When the base camp had descended into utter chaos under its influence.
While trying to rescue Eleanor who was not in her right mind, Bern had entered the tent. He had also attempted to save the bishop, who had not yet lost consciousness.
But the bishop seemed to be no longer in control of himself and cried out to the air.
– This is not what I wanted! You promised to make me the pope!
It was as if he were shouting at someone unseen, someone not present in the tent.
At that moment, Bern realized the bishop was at the heart of this disaster.
“At the time, I wasn’t in my right mind either. All I could manage was getting Eleanor out.”
“A bishop… a bishop, you say…”
Jun frowned.
Now that I think about it.
Fragments of memories from when he was Lee Jeong-jun surfaced in his mind.
It was a period when he was swamped with work.
During that time, the game <Blackout> had announced its crowdfunding campaign, and he decided to pick up his abandoned mage character again.
Back then, Lee Jeong-jun had taken a keen interest in the level 1 staff Eleanor possessed [End of Sorrow].
The staff’s unique ability of “Transformation” could solve the mage’s biggest challenge of “lack of mana” and make it a game-changing weapon. If a few issues were addressed of course.
However, obtaining [End of Sorrow] required an incredibly complicated route.
It involved completing several side quests and a hidden quest.
During that process, the name of Bishop Elias had come up.
If I recall correctly, the quest details were…
It required defeating the boss monster of the world-scale raid called “Calamity of Sorrow”.
Jun’s gaze shifted to Eleanor.
That was because she was the “Calamity of Sorrow”.
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