Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: In the Name of Glory (15)
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***
I told them to take it easy, but that didn't mean I planned to just sit back and watch.
`Getting cocky during a skill test and ending up seriously hurt would be idiotic.`
Zombies and ghouls carried their own corpse poison—even a slight scratch would fester easily and trigger disease.
"Take it easy? You really mean just let them all through?"
"Um... Borkah, you've fought as a mercenary or in the arenas before, right?"
Borkah shot me a look like *how did you know?* His movements screamed arena vet. I'd hit up the arenas plenty myself when playing warrior characters and running low on cash.
Anyway, if he'd been in that scene, it'd be easy to explain.
"Our side holds the shield, mages lay the net!"
"....You've fought in the arenas?"
"In my past life!"
Borkah looked even more baffled at my words from Professor, but he seemed to get the gist. Shield and net. Common tactic in the arenas for small teams facing hordes of monsters like goblins or trolls: the frontliners with short swords and shields focus on batting away charges, while the rearguard with long spears and nets finish off the disrupted foes.
`We'll have to deal with bigger groups the deeper we go anyway, so this'll be good practice for fights ahead.`
*Caaack!*
The first to charge was a ghoul, one of those monsters that popped up frequently from corpse pits. Stronger and nimbler than your average zombie of the same undead breed, with razor claws dripping thick poison—a beast too much for any lone soldier.
*Crack!*
Professor lightly snatched the charging ghoul's arm, then chucked it right into the thick of the undead.
*Thwump!*
"Krraaack!"
"Guhh-eek!"
"Gaaaaah!"
The ravenous undead charging in got smashed like bowling pins by the incoming ghoul projectile.
"See? Just break their formation like that and let the mages clean up."
"Hrm, I get the idea, but...."
Professor's throw had been too strong—ghoul arm still dangling from his hand. To Borkah's eyes, this guy casually waving it around while explaining didn't look all that different from the undead charging up front.
*Shooo-*
Just then, the mages finished chanting; ambient mana started churning.
Led by two Rank 3 mages, a linked spell unfolding around the mudras they'd formed.
"""Let it flow before them."""
"[Dorman Baldanis's, Calling Water Fall]"
"[Reverse]"
The five mages' mana converged, building into an imagined form via the mudra framework and expanding outward. First mudra: shape of a waterfall cascading from the sky. Second: inversion.
*Plop!*
It kicked off with a tiny jet of water bursting from the ground at Professor's feet.
*Plop! Plop! Plop!*
That single stream multiplied into a straight line of jets in an instant,
*Groooan, kwooooosh!!!*
The earth split open in a flash, an enormous volume of water surging up between the cracks to form a wall of liquid.
`Twisting a Waterfall spell that expands gathered water with mana into an upward surge from the ground. Water Wall's Rank 3, so they structured it to let Rank 2s join in. Casting that way taps groundwater, speeding up invocation too.`
While Professor inwardly beamed at the mages' quicker-than-expected response, Otman stepped forward after tying off more mudras. Circulating mana from the prior spell into the next. The Rank 5 mage's vast power was materializing, whipping up wind.
*Click.*
Index finger for command and designation. One word for direction.
*Snap.*
Middle, ring, and pinky folded for authority, pact, submission, reverence.
*Crack-*
Upright thumbs for rigid ego, palms together for circulation.
The massive influx of mana took form in Otman's hands, converting to a gigantic spell array.
"Uzer sees mountains as light soil, stars as faint rays, skies as a single breeze. Reverence that vast power."
[Otman Bodleir's, Wave]
The inverted waterfall blocking the undead's path roiled, shooting skyward endlessly; the colossal cascade born in this streamless forest began to tilt.
*Groooowl-*
*Kwooooosh!!*
The furious waves crashing through the woods swept the undead away without resistance.
*Kwooooosh!*
The moment every charging undead was swept adrift by the waves,
"""Hydro Sphere"""
*Crunch!*
The two standby Rank 3 mages compressed the waves into massive pressurized orbs to finish. Not as potent as Isaac's version—didn't crush everything to pinpoints—but the undead balled up like cannonballs with limbs snapped didn't need further attention.
- Jokasss : Damn....
- Speed Wagon : Water spells leave heavy residual mana in the medium used. With water around, you can recycle it to chain casts like that.
- Highway Nacho Man : Fuck, how could you not get hyped on magic drugs watching this.
- Soy Sauce Gaybar : Look at Professor. Lasers shooting from his eyes.
"Heeeh...."
Professor had long since stopped thinking, entranced by the majestic sight. He was only Rank 1, but a water mage. He could appreciate the linked spell's precision and beauty far beyond what others saw—and he was hooked.
"Huuuuh. So, not bad for us, eh?"
Otman approached Professor, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"You've been eyeing us plenty. Got us a carriage, detoured near the river on purpose, treated us right even with just dried fish. Guess they wanted to show off properly this time, pushing like that. Pass, right?"
"Ten points.....ten points...."
Professor nodded frantically in reply. A spell cast without water or prep, in a dry spot, pulling that off. What if he tossed these guys by a lake with a few days' prep?
`Was half-joking, but city-busting bombardment-tier magic seems possible.`
Test results: Extremely promising.
"Kiiiack! Caaack!"
The undead horde cleared in one go; a lone banshee barely escaped the magical tsunami's range, shrieking over the palisade.
"Oops. Should've paid more attention."
"No need. Banshees barely register physical effects anyway, so even swept up it wouldn't—"
"Forgot? I grasp 'Purification.' Not holy power, but it'd have worked fine."
"Oh...."
Come to think of it, the balled-up undead had stopped twitching ages ago. This old timer was legit.
As Professor gazed warmly at the mages, his eyes landed on the black mage standing back, hands clasped behind him, staring blankly.
"Aldrich. Got nothing to show?"
"Why bother? Those blue-water fetishists up front handled it clean."
Aldrich scratched his head, gathering a bit of darkness atop his palm.
"Among soul mages, pure black magic specialists like me don't pull power well in daylight anyway."
"Daylight weakness? What, you a vampire?"
"Less that... more a mood thing? Ghosts by broad daylight feel off, right."
"Ah."
Absurd reason, but it clicked instantly. A mage calling a mood "weird" meant no imagery formed for it.
"So I can't help much, but.... yeah. This much is doable."
Aldrich raised his shadow-gathered hand; a pale haze sucked from the motionless undead corpses into his palm.
"Recovered the souls used in necromancy. With a black mage entrenched, they'd corrupt the whole area. In places like this, without holy ascension or recovery, corpses reanimate soon after soaking up ground mana."
With that, Aldrich released the shadows in his hand; the souls within flew toward the jar hanging at Professor's neck.
"Ugh, feels gross."
"Bias. Black magic's no evil trickery—started as ancient burial rites. Seeing souls off on long journeys, soothing earthly-bound spirits. That's its origin. Soul mages contract sturdy spirits among them, granting release for their power. Not all black mages are wicked!"
"Why tell me that?"
"Well....."
*Groooan-*
As Aldrich went to continue, the palisade gate ahead swung open.
"Talk later. Looks like the homeowner's inviting us in."
"Mmm."
The revealed village interior screamed classic black mage lair. Bloodstains everywhere, deliberately scattered mangled corpses crawling with finger-sized maggots, spewing horrific stench.
"Aldrich. On a black mage scale, what's this domain rate?"
"3 points. Looks like personal taste, not scholarly setup. Pure decoration. No rituals via corpses, and shredded like that, can't even use as undead. Best perk: a bit of intruder fear harvest."
Professor and Aldrich chatted like it was nothing. Professor had seen worse outside; Aldrich, as a soul mage, focused inward over outward gore.
Borkah and Notum looked queasy. Notum especially wore a face like she'd been doused in garbage....
"Uweeeck!"
The mages, flushed from their magic show, puked at the gruesome scene.
Professor watched them heave even after emptying stomachs, then turned to Notum.
"Notum, can you watch these guys?"
"Groar. I said it. Weak, soon-dead humans. Now sick. Die."
"Nah, they won't die. Just clear approaching corpses here. Be right back."
"Groar. Take long? Human dies, I dig hole, bury. Notum good at digging."
"They won't die."
"Groar."
"Otman, you can come, right?"
"Mmm. Sure."
Professor left the four mages and Notum behind, leading the rest into the village. Finding the black mage wouldn't be hard. Far off, smack in what looked like the village center, loomed a massive tower scattering black ash-like flakes. With every step closer, sticky malice clung to skin like screams.
"Hmm.... bumping to 6 points. Nice setup in his own pad."
"Aldrich, what's that tower's black mage rank?"
"No clue. Necromancy and soul arts share a name but split hard. Roughly Rank 4, I'd guess. Scenery says he ground the whole village pop into this domain."
"Whole village?"
"Yeah. That tower. Corpse miasma thick even from afar—poured bodies in without mercy."
`...Something's off.`
Black mages using corpses? Normal. But this waste? No point. Mutts were resource-starved right now. Use just enough, hand extras to Mutts—way more efficient.
`And Rank 4's high-tier, frontline-ready necromancer. Even more potent there. But instead of west front where Mutt main force clashes Lordric head-on, he's solo-guarding this quiet east pass?`
Black mages dreamed of big battlefields. Rare high knights galore, hundreds of vengeful spirits per blink. Prime power-farming spot. They'd rush there uncalled—yet here he was, sidelined?
"Deep in thought?"
"Eh.... Got a lot to ask this black mage."
Professor rolled his shoulders, eyeing the distant black tower.
"Grab him first, figure it out after. Doesn't look like an easy mark."
***
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