Chapter 816: Competition
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 816: Competition
They say mages are cold, calculating designers by nature. They fight with their minds, cornering their opponents through precise calculations. To a mage, excitement is a distant concept, while composure is always close at hand.
The man in the black hat was a mage—one whose appearance had not aged a day since Esther had first known him. He was, without a doubt, a man who had lived for a very long time.
Blue veins bulged on the mage's face, likely because his blood was pumping with sudden excitement. Conversely, Encrid merely rested the tip of his sky-blue sword, Dawn, against the ground and stared at his opponent with indifferent eyes.
Their contrasting gazes locked.
The man in the black hat was gripped by anger, but he did not lose his self-control. It was an anger wrapped in reason. Now was not the time to act on a whim. Even so, was it right to let them off without a single word?
'Ignorance is a sin.'
It was a common maxim among those who wielded mana. Their world operated on a completely different plane from the thoughts of ordinary people.
'If you do not know, you will suffer for your ignorance.'
Since they were ignorant, they were sinners. Surely, he could offer a sharp word along with a light slap on the wrist?
* * *
Encrid watched his opponent with indifferent eyes, his mind elsewhere.
‘Rem's reaction speed has gotten faster.’
The sparring match from moments ago was still vivid in his mind. The explosive physical strength generated from the pivoting foot, the Heart of Monstrous Strength, Giant Cleaving—the manifestation of various shamanic arts.
‘And the axe that swung out in the process...’
It was faster than in the past, when it had been called a flash. Because it was faster than the sound of tearing air, it was a bolt of lightning that fell, leaving only a blurry afterimage. To an outsider or someone of lesser skill, it would have seemed the same as before; they lacked the eyes to perceive the difference.
But at Encrid's or Rem's level, it was different.
‘A slight difference.’
That gap, which one might call slight, decided victory and defeat, life and death. How could he have been any faster?
‘Optimization of movement.’
He kept the trajectory of every movement extremely short, then unleashed explosive power the moment he swung the axe.
‘Condensation and explosion.’
In the end, he was utilizing Will. While controlling one's body through instinct and intuition alone was impressive, once someone reached the level of a knight, they could replicate this just by watching. Even Encrid, who had been constantly ridiculed for his lack of talent, could now copy it in a day or two.
This was thanks to the physical strength, agility, and athletic ability he had gained upon becoming a knight, which set him on a completely different level from ordinary people. Of course, he would have to dedicate the entire day to training, but that was no difficult task for Encrid.
In any case, the key point to focus on here was the utilization of Will.
‘It's Indules.’
In an instant, a change in the properties of the Will circulating through Rem's body must have occurred. To be precise, Rem claimed to use sorcery power rather than Will, but hadn't Esther said their source was the same?
‘Like lightning falling from the sky.’
Whether called Will or sorcery power, Rem had drawn upon and wielded the power of lightning. How did he do it? He must have used his specialty, spirit possession. He had summoned one of the eight gods guarding the West. It wasn't something achieved through training, but rather borrowing their experience through sorcery.
"When my life is on the line, I'm the best," Rem often said. Even if the source was the same, the outcome differed depending on how that power was utilized.
Suppose there is a stick. Someone might tie a fishing line to it to catch fish, while another might use the exact same stick to commit robbery.
‘And someone else might attach a gem to it and declare themselves king.’
There was no end to the imagination. Even though Encrid realized his thoughts were wandering, he let them flow. Imagination that escapes control sometimes breaks through unconsciously drawn boundaries, expanding one's capacity. It broadens concepts and allows one to see things from a new perspective.
The weather was incredibly clear. The sunlight was beyond warm—it was hot—and the parched dirt of the training ground radiated heat. A few clumps of clouds drifted by, and the sky was a brilliant blue.
The sunlight split the space between Encrid and the man in the black hat. One side basked in the bright sunshine, while the other looked as if dark clouds hung overhead. Nothing had actually happened yet, but the atmosphere was suffocating.
"The weather's nice, tsk," Rem muttered. He was just as keyed up as Encrid.
This was right after they had arrived at Border Guard and dedicated themselves entirely to recovery.
Thud.
Encrid lifted Dawn, which had been planted in the ground, and pointed it forward like he was drawing a line.
"Stop."
Then, the gray-haired barbarian spoke. "Hey, don't do that."
And the golden-eyed beastman spoke as well. "Smells bad."
The man in the black hat had not said anything yet. He had only been about to move his mana to give them a light warning. In other words, the intent had formed, and he was just about to channel his mana, when all three of them spoke up. It was as if they had predicted his spell before he even cast it.
‘Their instincts are that sharp?’
Sometimes there were guys like that—mere swordsmen who were strangely sensitive. And there were three of them here?
Esther looked at the opponent and said, "Wouldn't it be better to say what you came to say first?"
Her words sounded almost as if she would bury them all right here, regardless of their purpose, if things went south.
‘How dare they.’
How many people in the world could treat him like this? Could these worthless husks of the continent, not even from the Demonic Path, possibly do so?
"If I put my mind to it, I could kill half of you with a single wave of my hand," the man said.
In response, the man wielding the greatsword entered a combat stance, tensing every muscle in his body. Tension often served as a good weapon; he knew that. Although the momentum of the two humans and one beastman standing before him did not change, they would fight if things went wrong.
This was what his instinct told him. Above all, it was a warning from the other self residing in his heart, radiating heat.
The man from the Rengadis Merchant Guild had no idea what was going on. He merely watched the atmosphere and slowly slunk backward. He shouldn't have come with them in the first place. All he had to do was engage in peaceful dialogue and make a proposal.
The man in the black hat lifted the brim that had been casting a shadow over his eyes. His eyes had already turned pitch-black, without a trace of white.
"I will take just one eye. A one-eyed man's wish fulfilled," he said.
Esther was slightly impressed, though not in a good way. ‘No progress at all.’
He was an old acquaintance of hers. The pattern and flow of his mana, the process of casting the spell, and even the incantation were exactly the same as before. Esther was a genius; she never forgot a mana pattern she had experienced once.
The opponent cast a curse—one of the Forbidden Word Spells—that caused bugs to burst from the eyeballs.
"Deny."
Esther moved her mana to dismantle the curse. She wasn't the only one who reacted.
"Begone, evil. You bastard," Rem said, raising his axe vertically. The formless mass of the curse was crushed to pieces and scattered before him.
Dunbakel recoiled from the terrible stench, stepping right behind Rem.
"Who told you to hide behind me? Where did you learn such bad habits? I'll have to beat that Eastern laziness out of you later."
"Hey, since you were blocking it anyway, you could've blocked it for me too. Always nagging."
"A beastman talking back?"
The two bickered, completely ignoring the opponent in front of them. The mouth of the mage in the black hat fell half-open.
‘What on earth is this?’
Dismantling the curse? And so easily?
Furthermore, Encrid hadn't even made a move to resist. He now had ample experience dealing with various spells. He had trained relentlessly with Esther to counter magic. In the process, he had realized that most curses wouldn't work on him anyway. He didn't even need to rely on instinct to block them.
Esther hadn't brought them along for no reason. It was because they posed no threat. Though dealing with those two alone would have been a bit troublesome.
‘If it were Enki...’
He would have dealt with them alone without any issue. Moreover, they were troublesome people who might cause trouble inside the city if left to their own devices. If that happened, people might get hurt or die.
Reaching this point in her thoughts, Esther felt an unfamiliar emotion.
‘Am I worrying about people?’
Or perhaps, caring for them?
Before she knew it, this city, Border Guard, and everyone in it had become a part of Esther's life. The child who once dreamed of the stars had known only magic and lived only to study spells, but now, she had learned the preciousness of people.
‘Guarding one's back.’
She now understood the meaning of those words so deeply that her heart ached. She hoped the soldier wouldn't die from pointless resistance. That soldier's name was Marco, the lover of a squad member under her command, and his dream was to become a squire of the Mad Knights.
‘Is all of this useless information?’
Yes. Her mind said so. To someone who explored and researched magic, it was of no importance at all.
No. Her heart said otherwise. Can someone who does not know how to live life pursue the truth?
‘They cannot.’
Out of nowhere, Esther sank deep into her own thoughts to organize them, and Encrid watched her. The guy whose eyes had turned pitch-black was a mage, and the woman he knew was also a spellcaster called a witch. Yet, her blue eyes were incomparably clearer than those of the man playing tricks in front of them. They were like a lake of pure innocence, untouched by the grime of the world.
"So, why did you come?" Encrid asked.
The man in the black hat was a minion, a messenger who had to deliver a message. He was in a position where he could not abandon that duty.
"Why else? He came because he wants to die."
"He smells too bad. Can't we just beat him up to get rid of the stench?"
The barbarian and the beastman chimed in from right beside him.
‘Should I really just leave them be?’
The mage had to regain his composure once more, nearly letting out a sigh. And would beating him really get rid of the smell? That beastman wasn't just crazy; she was clearly out of her mind.
"You killed the Balrog, didn't you?"
Encrid always answered honestly when asked, but he had never gone around spreading rumors. It wasn't a story a stranger should just show up and ask about. Encrid waited quietly, silently prompting him to continue.
"He was a very peculiar existence. Despite possessing the ability to easily establish his own territory in the Demonic Path, he wandered. Well, that is a separate matter. Thanks to that, my master has taken an interest in you."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the man from the Rengadis Merchant Guild wiped his sweat and chimed in. "My master's terms won't be bad either."
Before Encrid could even reply, the man wielding the greatsword spoke up as well. "My master's as well. But personally, I must verify if your skills are the real deal."
He didn't just speak. Along with his words, he swung his greatsword. The swing preceded his footsteps. Before anyone knew it, the blade was falling toward Encrid's head. Before any of these movements began, his knees had bent minutely, and with that slight motion alone, he had closed the distance.
The distance between Encrid and the man wielding the greatsword was close enough for voices to carry, but it should have required three more steps for a sword to reach. That distance vanished in an instant.
Encrid raised Dawn. Neither the man in the black hat nor the man from the Rengadis Merchant Guild could perceive what happened next. To be precise, they did not see the process, but they saw the result.
Boom—!
It sounded like a giant drum bursting, unable to withstand the pressure.
"Ugh."
The greatsword-wielding man's sword struck the ground. A heavy thud echoed as it hit the dirt. At the same time, his waist bent forward. Somehow, Encrid's fist had connected with his stomach and pulled back.
With that single blow, he collapsed. Dropping his sword, he placed both hands on the ground and violently retched, vomiting a pool of blood.
At that result alone, the eyes of the other two widened. The mage's pitch-black eyes had returned to normal before anyone noticed. And the merchant from Rengadis was the first to begin the bidding.
"Eternal life. We promise you eternal life."
The mage snorted. "As if eternal life matters."
Encrid did not understand the meaning of their words. Then, heat shimmered from the back of the man holding the greatsword, and something resembling a mouth formed over it, speaking.
"We will give you land."
Rem watched this, picked his ear, and said, "What the hell are these crazy bastards talking about?"