Chapter 105
"Wow..."
I quietly watched the blue-skinned giant advancing slowly.
They say size is power, don't they?
Thud!
Every time the humanoid monster, as large as a massive mountain, moved, the earth trembled beneath its footsteps. It was truly a spectacular sight.
"Hmm."
Concentrating mana in my eyes, I tried to gauge the power of the advancing giant.
It was a monster that constantly cloaked its body in enough mana to distort the atmosphere simply by existing.
Moreover, whether it could be called a racial trait or not, the giant's very power lay in the snowstorm covering its entire body like armor.
Thud!
And so, I reached a conclusion.
"Just looking at mana, it's far above me, huh?"
It was probably the difference between our races.
After all, the difference in size between humans and giants alone was several hundredfold.
I calmly compared the giant's full strength with my own—in other words, my strength when using all of [Constraint].
Since I still didn't know the giant's full power, if I assumed it was as strong as possible...
"Even if I went all out, it'd be a little close?"
Would it?
I couldn't make a clear judgment.
In the first place, fights weren't decided by the total amount of power alone, so I couldn't help feeling uncertain.
Furthermore, because of the law of [Constraint], the giant had to recognize me and become hostile toward me for [Constraint] to take effect. Given the enormous difference in size, I wondered whether that was even possible.
"Lord Abel."
Just as I was wondering how much of the giant's full power I should assume, I heard a voice.
I lowered my head and looked toward the source of the voice. Mist was quietly gazing up at me.
"What do you think? How much power does that monster have?"
"Hmm... Hard to say."
Thud!
With the giant's footsteps in the distance serving as background noise, I exhaled deeply.
Answering Mist's question, I manipulated the breath produced by the northern cold into a staircase reaching the spot where Mist stood, then slowly descended from the observation platform.
"That giant... You said its name was [Trim], right?"
"Yes."
"Anyway, [Trim] is only moving, isn't it?"
It was doing nothing but moving its enormous body, without showing any attacks or mana-based techniques.
"That's why it's hard to say."
You had to know the enemy's techniques and what kind of power it specialized in to even roughly gauge its capabilities. The only thing I knew right now was that the total amount of mana the giant possessed far surpassed mine.
Hearing my words, Mist answered in a slightly subdued voice.
"I see..."
"Besides, that thing is just a monster moving straight ahead right now, isn't it?"
I wasn't even sure whether it possessed reason.
What creature would walk at an extremely consistent pace for nearly three days without resting?
"I wonder if the conditions will be met..."
The giant needed to possess reason to hear the information I gave it and even think about it. If it had no reason, activating [Constraint] would obviously be impossible.
Even if it did possess reason, making that enormous giant recognize my existence and become hostile toward me was another matter entirely.
It was a slightly tangled situation.
'Well, it's not like I have no solution at all...'
Mist and I.
A contract forged between us by the God of Contracts existed.
If there truly were no other answer, it seemed possible to use an order to make it hostile toward me for a moment and activate [Constraint]...
After continuing to think quietly, I stopped and shook my head slightly.
"Well, never mind. What about the preparations?"
In the first place, everything I was thinking about now was based on the assumption that I would have to resolve this situation alone.
My mission was to stop the giant's advance for a while.
"The examination preparations are complete."
"Really?"
Thud!
At Mist's words, I left the giant's footsteps behind and moved to the temporary barracks where the military unit dispatched to monitor the giant's movements was stationed.
"Greetings, Lord Abel de Nebla. Once again, thank you for helping with this situation."
And so, I arrived at the military camp.
There, a man gave me a slight bow.
Under normal circumstances, he would have introduced himself with a brief greeting, but this was an emergency.
Since every second was precious, the man immediately stated his business.
"This way. The examination tent is that one over there."
"Hmm."
Step. Step.
Guided by the man, I quickly moved into the tent he had indicated, where someone who appeared to be a researcher greeted me.
"This is..."
"There's no time. Act quickly."
"Ah, yes! I'm sorry, General Hadrian!"
...He was a general?
I looked at the man who had guided me, rather surprised, but the general called Hadrian avoided my gaze.
Well... yes, this was an emergency, and the situation was urgent, so I decided to let it go.
Besides, the location we were in would be directly in the center of the giant's path in a few hours, so moving quickly was the right thing to do.
As I was thinking this, the researcher approached me and spoke.
"Greetings. My name is Kram, and I'm a member of the Stellaraim Magical Research Unit."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
"Since Lord Abel was informed in advance as well, we'll begin the examination immediately after a brief procedure. Have you been told about [Mana Link]?"
[Mana Link]
Simply put, it is a technique that connects a circuit to a single target and concentrates the power of multiple people into one person.
The technique of connecting the circuit was extremely difficult, and converting another person's mana into neutral mana capable of being accepted was a secret among secrets.
In terms of magic, it was classified as high-level magic, and because of its difficulty and usefulness, it was one of the spells never made available to the public.
"Yes, I heard the basics."
"Ah, that's a relief. It'll save us time explaining it."
Kram nodded as though relieved by my answer, then immediately held out the documents in his hands.
"As you know, Lord Abel, injecting another person's mana is extremely dangerous. If the person injecting it harbors malicious intent during the process, it can lead to immediate death."
That's why they were putting it in writing like this.
[Compensation Plan for losses and damages caused by Mana Link.]
That was what the document said.
I could swear in the name of the God of Contracts that no harm would befall me during [Mana Link], but given my position, it seemed this document still had to be prepared.
"Ah, and please take this as well."
[Proposed handling of the results from this examination.]
"We'll be examining the total amount of mana Lord Abel possesses, as well as your mana vessel, and finally, the purity of your mana."
Ah, of course.
"The reason only the general and I are in this tent is that, after hearing the examination results, you'll undergo a memory-erasure procedure, so there should be no concern about information leaking."
Thorough.
Rustle.
That was my calm impression after receiving the two documents.
While checking the documents, I subtly shifted my eyes and looked at Mist, who had been silently following behind me while suppressing her presence the entire time.
'Well... I suppose I'm in no position to talk?'
I had already explained the situation to Mist and the members of [Dark Shadow] secretly guarding me, and ordered them to monitor the place where mana that could endanger me would be injected.
I had even told them that if anyone injected strange mana with malicious intent, they could kill that person on the spot.
What's more, I had already ordered them to monitor anyone who saw my information.
"Here."
After quietly admiring the thorough preparations of House Stellaraim, I signed the documents and handed them to the researcher.
"Yes. I've confirmed it. I'll copy it right away and give you a copy."
If any harm resulted from this, House Stellaraim would surely provide unconditional compensation.
'Well...'
They were thorough enough that such a possibility was unlikely, though.
A little later.
To examine all my information, I lay inside a huge cylindrical examination chamber with my shirt removed, looking at the patches attached all over my body.
"Do we have to do this?"
"Yes... I'm sorry. We need to collect the mana emanating from your bare skin so we can observe your mana in its normal state."
No, I don't mind, but...
Stare.
The moment I removed my shirt for the examination, I felt Mist's gaze fixed on my body, which was a little awkward.
'...'
Come to think of it, that general and the researcher weren't paying Mist any particular attention either.
Could she be using her ability to control her presence?
Otherwise, it was strange that they hadn't looked at Mist even once despite her openly staring at me.
'Good grief...'
Well, whatever. It was nice to see her being so honest about her desires.
Stare.
I left Mist's gaze behind and watched the researcher and general moving busily around me.
"Good. We've confirmed your mana in its normal state, so next we'll check the data from when you move and utilize your mana. Please understand that the examination will take some time."
And so, a somewhat lengthy examination began.
***
'This is...'
After Abel entered the examination chamber, researcher Kram, who was recording the countless streams of information, could not hide the trembling in his eyes as he stared at the examination sheet.
Every figure.
The total amount of mana, the swiftness with which it moved, mana control, the rate of loss to the outside, and countless other categories.
Nearly every one of those categories existed far above the standards already considered to be at the upper level.
'Is this possible?'
Of course, there were a few categories in which he fell slightly short.
There were even categories that remained around the upper end of the middle tier, though they did not fall as low as the lower tier.
But even taking that into account, Abel's power revealed by this examination was so absurd that it could be called a realm beyond the heavens.
'Could it be?'
For a moment, Kram wondered whether Abel had lied about his age, but that wasn't the case either.
Then this meant it was real.
Gulp.
'Then these figures are real.'
He immediately understood why the duke had looked at the heir of another ducal house and considered him the person most important to stopping that giant, the central threat in this situation.
"Ahem! I've confirmed everything. Thank you once again for quietly undergoing the examination for so long. Finally, we'll test how much mana you can accommodate."
This was probably the most important part.
If the previous examinations had been conducted primarily for safety, this examination was to determine how well Abel could endure [Mana Link], the tactical magic used by the military.
'Please...'
Please let this category turn out well too.
Thinking that, Kram began operating the examination apparatus.
Zzt.
"Hahaha..."
The results were enough to elicit a hollow laugh from Kram.
***
About two days after I underwent the examination.
Thud!
News arrived from the Duke of Stellaraim that preparations for [War Magic] had been completed.
Thud!
Now all I had to do was connect [Mana Link], temporarily accept other people's mana, and hold that giant back for a while.
Thud!
Whumm.
Slowly, mana that had been filtered once and made acceptable began to flow into me.
A strange feeling. How should I describe it?
Ah, yes, that was exactly the feeling.
It felt like having countless IV fluids injected, except the amount being injected was absurdly large.
My insides churned and I felt nauseous. Perhaps because so much mana was being injected at once, I even felt a strange sense of exhilaration.
"Ugh..."
It was lucky that I was accustomed to the total amount of my power increasing through [Constraint]. I was so certain that, if this much mana had been injected into me, I would have been too busy vomiting it back up to use it that I would have bet my Arutus cigar on it—no, another expensive cigar.
"Please endure it, Lord Abel. We're only halfway through."
What annoyed me even more was that there was still a great deal of this injection left.
"I know..."
At Mist's words, which reminded me of that fact once again, I unconsciously groaned the words out.
What was it again?
What the researcher had said excitedly.
[How fascinating. It's rare for someone to have an accommodation capacity this broad.]
[Since your accommodation capacity is far greater than expected, we'll prepare the maximum amount of mana we can.]
That's what he had said.
I figured that this accommodation capacity had been forcibly expanded by the temporary strengthening caused by [Constraint].
Looking only at the principles involved, the strengthening from [Mana Link] and [Constraint] had some similarities, after all.
Of course, I couldn't deny that it was a higher-order power than [Mana Link], which merely increased the total amount of mana.
"Ugh!"
While I was letting my thoughts wander, a massive amount of mana suddenly poured in, and I couldn't help but frown.
After about thirty minutes.
[Phew...]
Having accepted the mana of countless mana awakeners through [Mana Link], I stood up.
When I stood, I heard the voices of researchers around me.
They had sworn to undergo memory erasure and entered to check my condition.
"Good heavens... He really took all of that in?"
"What is that mana? You're saying space is distorted simply by its existence?"
"Just how vast is his accommodation capacity...?"
Thud!
The giant's footsteps sounded in the distance.
[Everyone, move aside.]
Perhaps because I had accepted an absurd amount of mana, the overflowing mana distorted my voice automatically, even without conscious effort.
It was a voice one level lower than normal, as though it were echoing from deep inside a cave.
"Understood. I wish you good fortune..."
The personnel stationed nearby in case of an emergency quickly began leaving the area after hearing my voice.
[Mist, you too.]
I said the same to Mist, who continued to quietly gaze at me as she watched those people leave.
"Yes... I wish you good fortune."
Mist quietly watched me, then grasped both sides of her skirt, bowed elegantly, and left the area.
Thud!
The distance between the giant and me had grown so short that I could now feel even the vibrations.
"...."
I slowly began inhaling until my lungs were full.
Eventually.
[Fwooooooosh.]
When I exhaled the air filling my lungs, an enormous cloud of breath burst forth, large enough to cover my body because of the northern cold.
I began manipulating the breath I had exhaled.
Its form resembled that of the giant.
A smoke giant formed by pouring all my vast mana and smoke into it.
Thud!
I created a smoke giant so enormous that it would not lose in a contest of size with [Trim], who was advancing straight toward us in the distance, and immediately made it move.
['As expected.']
Perhaps because of its size, even the smallest movement consumed an enormous amount of mana.
I wouldn't have been able to use it without the mana of countless people flowing into me right now.
[Should I simply call it a Smoking Giant?]
It was truly a technique with abysmal efficiency.
It wouldn't matter in my current state, with more than enough mana overflowing from me.
Its size was already equal to the giant's.
Thud!
So shouldn't I at least greet that giant?
Rumble.
Since it was a smoke giant, this should be possible.
[White Blow.]
Kwoooooom!!!
No sooner had I finished speaking than one of the smoke giant's arms began extending, striking the body of the giant [Trim] advancing toward us in the distance.
Rumble!
It was a historic moment: the giant that had advanced silently toward us despite every obstacle was slammed into the ground by a single punch.