Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Fatigue (4)
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Oliver looked at the three men.
Three men wearing white robes.
Blond, redhead, and bald.
They seemed to be Martel employees, but judging by the mana flowing through their bodies, they weren't ordinary staff.
Well, anyone could tell that much just from how they'd properly blocked Oliver's attack.
"What's a barbarian?"
"A savage who can't use magic."
"In other words, an inferior species."
The red-haired mage created ice at Oliver's feet, just like Bind Shadow, trapping his legs.
It was incredibly fast. The ice was infused with mana, draining the victim's life force beyond mere cold.
Ice Bind
Drains life force continuously
While Oliver's feet were bound, the bald man transformed both arms into steel, pressed his hands against the steel wall to absorb the metal—increasing the weight of his arms—and swung at Oliver.
Clang———————!!!!!
Struck by the steel arm, Oliver flew down the corridor and crashed into the wall.
The impact was tremendous.
Seeing this, the red-haired mage scolded the bald one.
"Hey, you brute. What if you hit him that hard...? Even if it's just an experimental rat, healthy is best."
"No... he didn't pass out."
The bald man seemed to notice something and slammed his hand into the steel floor.
Fused not by physical force but by magic, he infused it with mana to control it. The solid steel floor rippled like dough and rose like a pillar.
Thud thud thud thud thud!!
Rustle rustle rustle——!
A massive steel wall surged up, blocking the shadow Oliver was stealthily using to approach.
It was quite surprising. He'd never been blocked like this before.
The red-haired mage panicked and retreated.
"You bastard—! That's cheating."
"Sorry. You all seem so strong... I'm just in a hurry."
Thud thud thud thud thud—!
Oliver closed the distance in an instant and swung his quarterstaff as he spoke.
The red-haired mage quickly armored himself in ice, but it was fine.
Though it was powerful magic, Oliver was stronger if he concentrated his firepower.
Whoosh———clang!!
Something shot rapidly between Oliver and the red-haired mage.
It was the blond mage. His legs had transformed into those of a beast, and each arm held a mana-forged blade.
"Oh, thanks."
"You owe me one."
While the redhead and blond exchanged words, Oliver quickly scanned the surroundings.
The red-haired mage regrouping, the bald mage preparing an attack, the blond mage emanating high-output mana and unnaturally vigorous life force.
He didn't know much about magic, but something was off about all of them. And they were dangerous.
Pop—!
Oliver retreated. He boosted the leg output of his Black Suit to accelerate as fast as possible.
But what was this?
The blond mage, with his beast legs, kept up, transforming his blade into a spear and thrusting at Oliver.
Screech——!!
The mana spear clashed with the quarterstaff coated in Black Suit, producing a deafening roar.
"Oho—! Not bad for street trash!"
"You're no slouch either, mage. I heard lab-bound mages are all frail."
"We're a bit special!"
With those words, the blond mage raised one hand and gathered mana there.
The buildup looked ominous, but it was fine. Oliver was faster.
The little minion emerging from Oliver's pocket fired its Hate Bullet, striking the mana the mage was gathering.
Sploooosh—————!!!
Sky-blue mana exploded like a bomb. Naturally, the hand gathering it wasn't unscathed.
"Guh—!"
The blond mage froze in pain for a moment.
Oliver seized the timing and swung his quarterstaff rapidly.
Crack! Split—! Crunch—!!
Three impact sounds echoed.
Leg, shoulder, and side—all broken. But that wasn't the point.
The feel was off, just like before. The density of muscle and bone was inhuman.
Crack crack crack crack.
As he went to finish it, ice crept along the floor toward him.
Ice infused with the same mana as before.
Oliver pulled back. But that was a mistake.
Icicle
Piercing ice with ongoing drain
A sharp icicle flew at tremendous speed, stabbing into Oliver.
Thanks to the Black Suit, he avoided direct damage, but the life force composing the Black Suit was massively shaved away.
Its instantaneous power was less than lightning, but it inflicted ongoing damage like poison.
Woooong——thud!!
Moreover, a steel pillar suddenly burst from the wall, striking Oliver from the side.
Not only that—it pinned him down like a bug, immobilizing him.
Crack!
He felt cracks forming in the Black Suit.
It was suffocating enough, but the enemies weren't satisfied.
The bald mage was charging with an even larger steel arm to smash Oliver.
"Forget capturing him intact. We can heal him anyway."
As the blond and redhead agreed, the bald mage concentrated mana into his steel arm and prepared to swing with full force.
In that brief moment, Oliver rapidly calculated his response.
The steel pillar crushing him. The incoming steel arm. Limited Black Suit.
"Hm..."
"Don't die."
The bald man said as he thrust his steel fist at Oliver.
Oliver predicted the impact point, creating five layers of Black Shield and concentrating the Black Suit there.
And one more thing.
Using a wrist snap, he maneuvered the quarterstaff against the bald mage's chest.
Clang—————!!!!!
Boom——!!
The clash of steel was followed by a massive explosion.
Oliver flew backward, and the bald mage's chest caved in like scooped ice cream.
"Gack..."
The bald mage spat blood and dropped to his knees. It looked painful. Of course, Oliver hurt too.
Having concentrated the Black Suit on the impact site, the rest of his body was defenseless, leaving him bruised all over from the backward flight.
At this point, he felt the need to seriously train not just black magic, but physical conditioning.
To at least withstand ordinary injuries.
'Hm, ask Jo? Or that gym instructor? What was his name again? Ah, I'm tired.'
Maybe from lack of sleep, Oliver felt a throbbing headache.
His head hurt so much his body felt heavier, and he staggered to his feet.
Bang!!!
The blond mage, seeing the fallen bald man, burned with rage and charged rapidly, mana output maxed.
"How dare a fake like you...!"
The blond mage shoved the bald one aside and rushed straight at Oliver.
His mana was so abundant it leaked from his body.
He swung the mana spear, bisecting the steel pillar, then hurled it at Oliver.
Whoosh———a heavy whoosh cutting the air.
Oliver armored himself in Black Suit again.
This time, sparing no expense—he consumed a lot of emotion to layer it fivefold.
His entire body turned pitch black, black smoke billowing intermittently.
In that state, Oliver swung his quarterstaff, batting the incoming steel pillar back at the enemy.
A massive roar accompanied the pillar's return flight.
Ping—!
The blond mage bisected it again and closed in on Oliver.
"Now!!"
With the blond mage's shout, Oliver spotted mana stealthily enveloping the area.
Infused with special magic, it delayed Oliver's mana detection for a moment.
And that wasn't all.
Crack crack crack crack——!
As the mana ritual activated, it sucked moisture from the air, freezing everything around.
Floor, ceiling, walls—and Oliver.
Not completely, but ice shards clung to his body, continuously draining the Black Suit's life force.
Not lethal, but annoying.
It steadily sapped stamina, chilled the body with cold to restrict movement.
And there were other enemies too.
Swoosh——!
The blond mage closed in instantly and swung his spear.
Oliver aborted shaking off the ice to dodge the spear.
In that interval, the ice shards on his body grew into chunks.
Looking closely, it wasn't just draining life force—it was absorbing some with mana to grow the ice further.
'This method feels similar to black magic?'
"Where are you spacing out!"
The blond mage shouted, sweeping his spear widely from left to right.
Condensed with mana, it tore the Black Suit, leaving a horizontal gash across Oliver's chest.
Swoosh—!
Burning pain. Red blood dripping to the floor drop by drop.
The blond mage spun, kicking Oliver's chest with his beast leg.
A massive impact echoed as Oliver flew into the wall again.
Today was a day of constant crashes into walls, and his head throbbed worse because of it.
Throb. Throb. Throb.
"Haa..."
As he sighed in exhaustion, the frost crystals everywhere began enveloping his body like mold.
The chill spread through him, piercing skin, seeping into flesh, reaching bone.
"Finally reacting, huh."
———Thud!
The blond mage changed his mana spear into twin swords, stabbing one into Oliver's thigh.
"Okay, penetrated. Mobility neutralized. Capture complete... How's Mark's condition?"
"Uh... fine. We can heal him right away."
The red-haired mage replied, and the blond let out a sigh of relief.
No pretense—genuine care for each other.
After checking, the blond glared at Oliver with irritation, anger, and anticipation of revenge.
"Ha, shit... You're a fun one, huh?"
"Do you know me?"
"Kukuku... Do we look like idiots? Think a leather mask fools us?"
Oliver fell silent, wondering if he'd been too complacent. Meanwhile, the frost on the wall began covering his body.
The Black Suit thinned gradually.
The blond mage laughed.
"Kuku. They said you were a loose screw, and damn if they weren't right. Your face is still calm in this mess... Fun. This is gonna be fun."
"I can't change my expressions well. Practice doesn't help."
"Yeah?"
"Yes... And first, let me apologize. If we've caused you displeasure with the commotion."
The blond's expression soured more.
He'd hoped Oliver would fear or rage, but he didn't—and that pissed him off.
He bared malice.
"Commotion? Don't worry. I'm thrilled, actually. Know how worried I was you might not show? I'm delighted you came. Buying that rat kid from the old sow wasn't a waste after all."
Throb. Throb... Kant's words flashed through Oliver's mind.
That they might have taken Rossbern to lure him.
Looks like it was true. Ahhh... Sleepy. Headache worsening from exhaustion.
"Hey, knock him out already. We need to treat Mark first."
"Wait. This bastard's annoying poker face is cracking a bit... Why? Guilty that your rat got kidnapped because of you? For a black mage?"
"No... Just uneasy about breaking a promise."
"Promise? The cold messing with your head? Hey, ease up. He'll freeze to death."
"Knock him out first. He's a rare case—mess up and he'll drain your mana."
"What are you worried about? Covered in your ice, he can't even twitch a finger."
"By the way, what happened to Rossbern?"
Oliver asked softly, like someone freezing to death.
The blond mage scoffed at him, chuckled lightly, and answered.
"Don't worry. He's still fine for now... Here's a deal. After we thoroughly experiment on you, we'll extract your trait factors and implant them in the kid. You won't be lonely, right? Though it'll be filthy painful."
Meant as mockery, but Oliver latched onto something else.
"Still fine for now... for now... Thank you."
"What?"
Oliver didn't answer the blond's question. Instead, he uttered different words.
With those words, the faintly remaining Black Suit on Oliver's body made a final struggle, shattering the ice and engulfing the blond mage ahead.
Like a lump of mud.
Not much quantity, but the sudden emotion clump startled the blond mage, who thrust the mana blade in Oliver's thigh deeper.
Intense pain surging up his thigh.
Oliver endured, freeing his upper body from the ice restraints to pull out a test tube.
The second Imprison, fueled by ample emotion, fully swallowed the blond mage.
Not only that—it pushed with mass, forcing him to release the blade in Oliver's thigh.
"Kuh—! You...!"
Oliver grabbed the mana blade in his thigh, sensing its composing ritual. Then roughly reversed it, seizing ownership.
"Wh-what?"
The red-haired mage, supporting the bald one, jumped up in shock.
Oliver infused the newly controlled mana into the ice everywhere.
With those words, partial control of the ice transferred to Oliver, and the frost everywhere engulfed its original owner and the bald comrade.
"Grrrrgh..."
Oliver hastily bound his wounded leg with a handkerchief.
Even if he took them down in this state, retrieving Rossbern wouldn't be easy.
His head throbbed again. Body cold. Stomach empty too.
Come to think of it, over a full day since his last meal.
'...Or half a day?'
Suddenly, the bookstore old man's words came to mind.
Lack of sleep impairs cognition and memory.
Sleepy. Why did he even come here...
Anyway, he needed stamina replenishment.
"Stamina boost..."
At that moment, Oliver looked at the blond mage struggling with Imprison.
At his overflowing mana and life force.
Books said it was impossible, but with his mind sluggish, Oliver tried anyway without thinking.
"...Huuuup."
Oliver took a deep breath.
With that breath, the blond mage's life force flowed into Oliver's mouth.
Bleeding stopped, wounds healed, and body temperature, lowered by ice, began recovering.
"Ah, that's better."