Chapter 174: For the Stories We Don't Yet Know (5)
Chapter 174: For the Stories We Don't Yet Know (5)
“Kwa furaha!”
“Mkamate!”
“Acha nikuguse kifua chako!”
The bizarre shrieks of the Fishermen echoed from all directions.
Of all the places to land, I had fallen right past their perimeter, leaving me far too close to them. They were within arm's reach. For now, I was holding them off with the shield from my magical tool, but even that wouldn't last much longer.
Crr-ack.
Seeing the cracks already spiderwebbing across the barrier, I knew I wouldn't have enough time to prepare a proper spell. There was only one thing to do.
“Haaap!”
I gathered the mana surging from my heart and, without any refinement, released it all at once.
Boom!
A Mana Explosion.
A massive wave of mana, powerful enough to exert physical force, lashed out at my surroundings, creating a blue storm centered on me. The Fishermen caught in the blast stumbled and fell backward.
Since it wasn't a proper spell, my body took some of the recoil, but thanks to the continuous recovery potion still in effect, I felt myself recovering quickly.
Now was my chance.
Forcing my numb limbs to move, I aimed my staff toward the thinnest part of the encirclement.
“Burn. Fireball!”
A short chant, but its power was nothing to scoff at.
A fireball the size of a human head slammed into a Fisherman’s chest and exploded.
K-boom!
Only one took a direct hit, but the aftershock sent five or six others nearby stumbling to the ground. Some of them even lost limbs in the blast.
I lunged toward the opening. My priority was escaping this encirclement.
However, it seemed someone wasn't content to just let me go.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Melonia, hovering in the air, pointed a finger at me. A pink ray of light shot from her fingertip.
It was a beautiful color, strangely captivating to the eye, but I couldn't afford to daze out. That was a type of Mana Cannon—the primary skill used by succubi, who lacked direct combat power, by mixing the Authority of the Evil God with gathered Vitality.
It was a reckless attack that could hardly be called magic, but it was fast and, perhaps because of the Vitality mixed in, incredibly powerful.
I twisted my body instantly, as if I were about to roll sideways.
Shueee—!
The ray slammed into the spot where I had been standing a split second ago. There was no loud explosion, but seeing the deep gouge in the ground sent a chill down my spine. If I had taken that head-on, I would have lost an arm. Or, considering my shield magical tool, maybe it would have just been snapped backward.
Either way, a direct hit meant one of my arms would be neutralized.
I ramped up my vigilance and started running again... but the gap had already been filled. These Fishermen in heat were more agile than I had imagined.
Keeping an eye on Melonia’s attacks from above, I prepared another spell.
“Bloom, O frozen flower. Ice Flower!”
A bluish flower made of ice bloomed in the air ahead of me. It had no direct offensive power, but it emitted a powerful chill into the surrounding area.
For the Fishermen, who were always damp and slick with moisture, it was a particularly troublesome spell. Indeed, some of them were already slowing down as frost began to form on their bodies.
Since it was a persistent spell that lasted for a while once cast, I could keep the Fishermen at bay by layering a few more Ice Flowers. It was a tactic I often used against aquatic monsters in H&A when I needed to buy time in a pinch...
“Hah!”
Shuuuuu— crunch.
Melonia’s Mana Cannon fired from the air, shattering the ice flower into pieces.
She chose to attack the Ice Flower even though she could have aimed directly at me?
“Haah...”
I glanced up to see Melonia playfully wagging her finger. However, I could feel her eyes tracking my every move with intense focus.
I see how it is. She’s going to keep throwing mobs at me and only intervene to knock me back down whenever I try to escape. She wants to hunt me safely once I’m exhausted.
It was a tactic typically used by commander-type enemies... but Melonia was using it? Was she doing this because I was resisting all her charms?
“Tsk.”
I couldn't let her keep the initiative. If I kept fighting like this, I’d end up collapsing from exhaustion just as she intended, only to be captured alive. The thought of being impaled by tentacles made my skin crawl.
...I needed a big move.
While I was revising my plan internally, a rejuvenated Fisherman lunged at me with a trident.
Clang!
Before he could fully thrust, I struck the side of the weapon with my dagger. The trajectory was thrown wildly off, and the force naturally pulled his arms upward.
Normally, I would have followed up with a simple spell to his exposed torso. But this time, I tripped him to break his balance, then charged forward, using him as a human shield.
“Acha hii!”
The creature shouted something and slammed the shaft of his spear against my back, but I ignored it. It was a strike delivered with only wrist strength. I didn't even need to trigger my shield; the impact absorption of my robe would handle it all.
I used him to break through the line, all while continuously chanting under my breath.
“O raging storm, sing of your wrath.”
Wrrr—
Green and red magic circles began to form slowly at the tip of my staff. It was the familiar precursor to Tempest Burn.
Sensing that something ominous was coming, the Fishermen lunged at me even more ferociously. They threw themselves at me recklessly, leading with their weapons or huddling together in a mass to crush me under their weight.
But even without magic, I could handle them for a short while. I let the shield and the robe take the hits I could afford to take, and used my dagger to parry incoming spears and tangle them together. I twisted my body violently to avoid attacks coming from difficult angles.
Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible to complete a delicate spell while running around like a madman... but I had System Correction. As long as I didn't interrupt the chant, I could cast magic from any posture.
At this point, Melonia, who had been watching, couldn't stay idle any longer and began to rain down various spells and Authorities from a distance.
“It’s troublesome when you keep resisting like this...”
Mana Cannons fired at moments when I couldn't easily dodge, a scent so sweet it made my nose tingle, pink mist that obscured my vision, and hallucinations and auditory illusions echoing from nowhere.
No matter how much the System Correction allowed me to move exactly as I thought without mistakes, there were still physical limits.
“Urgh...!”
I twisted and turned through the horde of monsters as if dancing, but eventually, Melonia’s Mana Cannon grazed my shoulder. Blood trickled down. I felt the strength drain from my left arm, which held the dagger.
I could still grip and swing it, but moving it as nimbly as before was out of the question.
But it didn't matter. The spell was complete.
I took in the surrounding swarm of Fishermen and Melonia, who was scowling in the distance. With all of them in my sights, I thrust my staff high into the air.
“Tempest Burn!”
The activation word left my lips clearly. In response, the mana vibrated violently, unleashing its majesty upon the surroundings.
Whoosh!
A massive fireball manifested above my head. The moment the monsters' eyes fixed on the sphere of flame—so hot it made even my skin sting—the fireball unleashed its heat in every direction.
ROAAAAAR—!!
It looked as if a flaming tornado was erupting with me at its center. The Fishermen who tried to endure it, trusting in their tough scales, were all turned to ash. Those who realized too late and tried to flee were caught in the powerful updraft and incinerated in mid-air.
Not only had I chanted the spell perfectly, but I had also packed the magic circle with Pseudo-resonance and Mana Overcharge. The power of this Tempest Burn was closer to intermediate magic than low-grade.
This would surely reach Melonia.
Yes—if it hit her, that is.
Just before the rising flames could reach her, Melonia flapped her wings and flew far upward, narrowly avoiding the Tempest Burn.
“Wow... are you really just a student? Setting aside the fact that our plans were wrecked one by one, I couldn't understand how that annoying Edmerec died... but now I see. You’re actually pretty strong, aren't you?”
“Who knows? I might be weaker than I look. You won't know for sure until you take a hit.”
“Oh, please. Judging by the heat coming from down there, it would have hurt quite a bit if it hit me. I guess geniuses really do exist. Did you know? The Vitality of a talented person is especially delicious. I wonder what yours feels like. I think you’ve struggled enough; why don't you just let me catch you now?”
“Fuck off.”
“Whose should I peel first? You know I have one too, right?”
“......”
Looking at Melonia’s smirking face made my blood boil, and I fired off a spell before I could stop myself.
“Thunder Bolt!”
Zap!
A bolt of lightning streaked toward her, striking Melonia’s shield. Naturally, it was blocked completely. Behind the smooth, crackless shield, Melonia frowned in annoyance.
“Hmm... I guess you’ve still got some fight in you. Let’s talk again once you’ve lost a bit more energy.”
With a casual wave of her hand, the Fishermen—who had been recoiling in fear from the full-power Tempest Burn—began to charge like madmen once again. The sight of them, every single one with a bulging crotch, was absolutely disgusting.
I gritted my teeth, fending off the swarming Fishermen and the occasional attacks from Melonia while I racked my brain.
Tempest Burn was the most powerful spell in my arsenal... but it wouldn't work on Melonia. Its power was great, but it was too slow. It couldn't keep up with her aerial mobility. At this rate, I would eventually collapse from exhaustion just as she planned.
What should I do?
Which of my spells could actually shoot Melonia down?
First, anything with a mediocre projectile speed was out. With that premise, the only elements left were Lightning and Wind.
But while Wind had a wide area and was fast, it was a relatively weak attribute. Even if it hit Melonia, it wouldn't be able to break that shield, so it was out of the question.
In the end, only Lightning remained.
It was an element I wasn't very familiar with, but if I could just create a small opening, it would be enough. As long as I could shove my dagger through a broken shield, I could make something happen.