Chapter 19
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
Battles between those who wield swords are intuitive and fair.
That was why the profession of gladiator could still exist in Cerdess to this day.
Because it is intuitive, it is simple, and because it is simple, it can be seen.
That is why watching the contestants engage in a battle of wits within the situation is so entertaining.
But the world of mages was the exact opposite of the world of swords.
It was an abstract world with clear disparities.
The problem was the glaring difference between Circles.
In the absurdly honest world of mages, raising one's Circle by even one level tilted the odds of victory to over 95 percent.
Yet there were bound to be irregulars who made up the remaining five percent.
Overwhelming talent capable of denying ten years of effort in a single day.
The Ferda Valdrowa whom Marquis Vernel was watching now was precisely such a person.
‘Magic Intercept?’
A technique for taking control of magic manifested or launched by one's opponent through one's own will, then sending it back.
It was the most difficult technique, one rarely seen in battles between mages.
‘Isn’t that a technique used by mages who have reached at least the fifth Circle……?’
Only fifth-Circle master mages, who possessed a deep understanding of magic and had mastered the handling of mana, had been able to use it.
Yet Ferda was only a second-Circle mage, a level even he himself could dismiss.
‘No, I’ve heard that even a second-Circle mage can theoretically do it.’
Second Circle, Spell Blower.
It was a name given because they could cast spells in earnest, weaving magic through a thread called mana.
However, the magic at this stage was crude, weak, and imprecise—so derided that it was said to merely blow spells rather than cast them.
‘So theory is only theory.’
The magical world was full of things that existed only in theory.
‘But he’s performing Magic Intercept? Really?’
It was possible.
But it was something no one had ever managed to accomplish.
If that was truly Magic Intercept, then Vernel was witnessing the birth of a new chapter in the history of magic.
* * *
Returning to the present, this was Ferda’s assessment after attempting Magic Intercept for the first time today.
‘It really is as simple as I thought.’
If a Mana Walker had mastered points, then a Spell Blower had mastered lines.
It was the stage at which one could create a surface through those lines—in other words, weave magic.
‘The only thing I know how to use is Magic Shot.’
He had forgotten the magic used in the second Circle after becoming an archmage, and had not bothered to learn it again even now.
‘But that is enough.’
It was simple, but it was the magic most needed in this situation.
Even pure mana alone, without transforming it into an element, was sufficient.
At least against monsters.
‘I’ve captured monsters more times than I can count.’
When he had worked with the demon follower Thessalos in the past, what Thessalos had asked of him was to capture monsters.
Killing them was simple, but capturing them was difficult.
While sharing knowledge with Thessalos, he had also exchanged information about the characteristics of monsters.
‘That was how I eventually figured it out.’
The simplest conclusion was this.
If a human was continuously exposed to corrupted mana, they would be ruined or die.
Conversely, to monsters resembling tumors that consumed corrupted mana, pure mana was actually poison.
Ferda was going to inject that poison into its heart.
Its mana emission would cease, and as the monster became poisoned, its super-regeneration and overwhelming strength would temporarily stop.
Put simply, it was like wedging a piece of wood between constantly turning gears.
‘It will break eventually, but I can put the brakes on it for a while.’
Ferda threw the first sphere toward the bear monster’s face.
He fired it in an arc so that its direction of approach could not be discerned, making it land precisely on the crown of its head.
Bang!
If it had been an ordinary person, their head would have been reduced to a pulp by now.
-Graaah!
But the bear monster raised its head with a roar.
Its durability had become even tougher due to mana poisoning.
Although its head had been dented, it was not meaningful damage.
Ferda gave Vernel an order.
“Prepare a large one.”
“Yes, sir!”
While Vernel molded a large sphere, Ferda immediately prepared the second sphere to launch.
Once again, he fired it in an arc.
This time, it did not fall from above but curved widely from the side.
Bang!
The bear monster’s head rocked violently.
-Graaah!
The bear, properly enraged, let out a furious roar.
It lifted its forelegs, searching for its enemy.
Ferda did not miss that moment.
Four spheres had formed around Ferda’s fingers.
“Now.”
Vernel threw it along Ferda’s firing path, and Ferda snatched the sphere out of the air.
Along with the four spheres floating around his fingers, he launched it in a straight line at the bear monster’s chest.
Bang!
One Mana Shot exploded in midair.
The force pushing it forward compounded, causing the four spheres to move even faster.
The three small spheres Ferda had created spun in a spiral and struck the chest first.
Kwagwang!
Three explosions erupted.
The successive blasts tore through the hide on its chest, exposing the flesh beneath.
Then the large sphere Vernel had created touched the flesh beneath.
‘Deeper.’
The force and rotational momentum it had gained bored into the flesh.
‘Deeper still.’
And at last, it exploded.
Kwang!!
A massive explosion swallowed the bear monster’s entire body.
“Hrk!”
Vernel let out an unsightly cry and flinched in shock.
‘Did my mana sphere have this much explosive power?’
He knew that the thing that had exploded was the sphere he had thrown.
It was an explosive force he could never have produced if he had launched it himself.
Ferda, a second-Circle mage, was handling it as effortlessly as though it were his own.
Ferda’s eyes stared through the cloud of dust.
‘Show yourself.’
The view cleared, and the target appeared again.
As expected, the bear monster’s body was in terrible shape.
Its black hide had been peeled away, and its dark-purple flesh had been ravaged.
Its organs and bones were exposed to view.
Ferda’s eyes caught sight of its heart.
‘It’s still beating.’
That heart was the source of all its vitality.
The heart was pumping vigorously.
With every powerful throb, the bear monster’s flesh was gradually repairing itself.
‘It even has proper super-regeneration.’
It was not merely more durable; its recovery was also superior to that of other monsters.
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
The monster was defenseless, unable to twitch even a finger.
If it regained the ability to move, it would mean Ferda’s defeat.
‘I’ll have to be rough.’
Having made his decision, Ferda created spheres on his fingers and shouted to Vernel.
“Vernel! Throw them as soon as you make them!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ferda unleashed a fierce assault on the heart.
-Guhk. Guhk.
The bear’s body shuddered as it took a direct hit to the heart and breathed out.
Ferda’s spheres struck the heart, repeatedly forcing apart the flesh as it tried to close over the wounds.
Would Ferda’s mana run out first, or would the bear’s regenerative power stop first?
It was like the two of them were engaged in a tug-of-war over a single hole.
‘Its size is making this much harder than it should be.’
Victory could not be assured.
If he had been a fifth-Circle mage, he could have dealt with it with ease, but he could not get a feel for what he could accomplish with the mana of a second- and third-Circle mage.
Ferda was in a difficult situation.
* * *
‘This feels awful.’
Vernel felt as though he were about to vomit.
His mind was growing hazy, as though he had been breathing in the strong smell of oil continuously.
The sensation of mana draining away was clouding his mind, destroying his concentration.
‘Have I ever used this much mana since becoming a scholar?’
No.
A scholar needed the strength to focus solely on what was necessary, and needed to concentrate that strength completely.
That was why Vernel always kept more than half his mana in reserve.
Ferda was unleashing a barrage, and Vernel was drawing out his mana as fast as he could to match the pace.
Only about 20 percent of his mana remained.
He would be depleted after molding about three more spheres.
The same question occurred to Ferda as well.
‘The Regent must have used a great deal of mana, too. How is he still able to use magic?’
Even at a glance, he had thrown more spheres than Vernel himself.
Vernel raised his head and looked at Ferda.
His eyes widened.
‘B-Blood! He’s bleeding from the nose!’
The meaning of a mage bleeding from the nose while using magic was simple.
‘Overload!’
It was an abnormal phenomenon caused by pouring one’s mind into a single point.
It appeared when one used more power than one’s abilities could handle.
‘At this rate, he’ll suffer Mana Burnout……!’
In the worst case, it was the most dangerous situation imaginable, one that could leave him crippled and unable to perform magical calculations for the rest of his life.
‘He came without even a staff, just as I thought…….’
A mage’s staff served to assist in the formation of mana.
Ferda was calculating everything purely with his mind, without any such assistance.
It was only natural that he would suffer an overload.
If he was bleeding from the nose, Vernel had to stop him immediately.
“Vernel.”
Ferda called his name in a calm voice.
“Y-Yes?”
“Concentrate.”
Vernel’s confusion vanished at the sound of that voice.
‘Right, stay calm. What kind of Blue Circle mage panics instead of staying calm?’
It was a truly ridiculous sight.
Ferda, with a Red Circle, was calm, while Vernel, with a Blue Circle, was panicking.
‘I really…… wasn’t prepared for this at all.’
Vernel thought.
He had been unable to let go of his project, but had he truly been prepared to stake his life on it?
‘No. I wasn’t.’
He had simply thought that he needed only to conduct his research.
He had thought he could study a monster someone else captured and bring peace to the world.
Ferda was risking his life for Vernel’s research.
He was even willing to risk Mana Burnout, the affliction said to mark the end of a mage’s life.
‘I have to stake mine, too……!’
Vernel faced the sight of himself crouching down in fear.
Then he used that sight as a foothold and made a great leap forward.
“Grrrrk!”
Vernel squeezed out his mana.
He was converting his own life force into mana.
“Regeeent!”
He let out a courageous roar utterly unlike the timid Vernel.
“Please accept my final mana!!”
A large sphere flew toward Ferda.
“Thank you.”
Ferda made that mana sphere his own as well, then threw it at the bear monster.
Kwaaang!
A thunderous explosion erupted from inside the bear monster.
The monster’s movements and regenerative power came to a complete stop.
‘The heart?’
If its heart had burst, all of this would have been for nothing.
Ferda focused and observed its chest.
‘It’s beating.’
The monster was barely clinging to life.
Its super-regeneration had been brought to a halt.
“Now! Cut its tendons and bind it!”
Arwen and his subordinates charged forward and attacked the bear monster.
It was as easy as placing a spoon on a fully prepared table.
And so, they captured the monster without sacrificing a single person.
In the meantime, Ferda checked Vernel’s condition.
“Are you all right?”
Ferda asked.
Vernel was convulsing as blood streamed from his nose.
He had suffered Mana Burnout.
Even though he must have been in agony, as if his organs were being torn apart, he was smiling.
“Haha…… H-How was it, my, my sincerity?”
Ferda answered coldly.
“That was foolish. You risked your life for this.”
“S-Since you, Regent, were doing it, how could I……”
How could I not?
He could not finish the sentence before passing out.
Ferda carefully laid him down.
“Are you all right, Regent?”
“What about the monster’s restraints?”
“Yes. The monster’s condition is…… good. We’ll transport it to the castle just as it is.”
“Good. Before that, let’s handle the urgent matter first. Is there a mage in the territory?”
“Yes, there is.”
Ferda pointed to the young man at his feet and spoke.
“Take this idiot with you and arrange for him to receive a mana infusion. Our castle is a long way from here, so I’ll leave him in your hands.”
Arwen placed a hand over his chest and nodded.
“Understood. But don’t you require emergency treatment, Regent?”
“What do you mean?”
Arwen pointed to his own nose and said,
“You’re bleeding from the nose.”
“A nosebleed?”
Ferda wiped his own nose.
The blood that came away had already grown cold.
“I see.”
Even Ferda, who had been concentrating, had not noticed.
Arwen handed him a handkerchief from inside his coat.
“I’ve heard that overusing magic causes nosebleeds. If you’re dizzy, shouldn’t you receive treatment as a matter of priority?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
Ferda wiped his nose with the handkerchief.
After dabbing it a few times, the bleeding soon stopped.
“I may be reckless, but I’m not the sort of person who throws his life away fighting foolishly.”
He would risk danger when necessary, but he would never stake his own life.
In fact, he still had enough leeway to create about three more mana spheres.
“My mana simply exploded, and a pebble flew into my face and struck my nose.”
So Ferda could only find Vernel pathetic for throwing his life away and overloading himself like that.