Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Value (3)
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A cloud slowly rotating around a single point.
Along with it, mana gathered, and soon a single bolt of lightning struck down.
The blue lightning flashed like a streak of light, leaving a massive scar on the ground.
White snow dust rose up, blurring the surroundings like fog, and the ice wall Oliver had created was obliterated without a trace.
All that remained was a scorched, cratered icy wasteland.
Merlin wondered if he'd gone a bit overboard, but he quickly dismissed the thought and approached the spot where the lightning had struck.
With a gesture, he summoned a gentle breeze to clear away the snow dust, revealing barren ground with nothing left.
"Did I overestimate him? No... even so, could he really vanish without a trace?"
It was then.
Something burst out from beneath the cratered ice.
With Hate Bullet, Merlin blocked the unexpected attack by stepping back and tearing a sheet of paper.
The power wasn't particularly threatening, but it was a surprise strike.
As he assessed the situation, something grabbed Merlin's ankle.
A hand covered in filthy ice and snow had shot out from underground and seized his ankle.
"Ho..."
With a short exclamation, the hand yanked Merlin downward.
Merlin offered no resistance and was dragged under the ice, looking just like an ant trapped in an antlion pit.
After a few seconds of silence, a massive boom! echoed as an iceberg erupted from the ground, spitting out two people.
It was Merlin and Oliver. Merlin stood proudly atop the iceberg, while Oliver tumbled across the ground like he'd been tossed aside.
Oliver's clothes were now in tatters, his body covered in light bruises and abrasions.
No, considering he was facing Merlin, this was probably fortunate.
In any case, Oliver struggled to his feet with desperate effort. He couldn't afford to lose his stance for even a moment against Merlin.
His stamina was already depleted, but he had no choice.
"Impressive."
As his breath reached his throat, Merlin mercifully spoke first.
Oliver caught his breath and replied.
"What do you mean?"
"When I was about to strike with lightning, you seized the opening to intervene in the ice magic, stole control, and pulled me underground, didn't you? ...Remarkable. Truly."
Having somewhat recovered his breath, Oliver answered. A chill was creeping over his body.
"Thank you for the praise. I just got lucky trying to survive..."
"Lucky. A phrase people use to belittle others. Luck doesn't just come easily. I genuinely think it's impressive. Normally, with this level of power gap, people despair and give up easily. I shouldn't say this as an old man, but today's youth lack grit."
"I'm just desperate because I don't want to die yet. There's so much I want to know."
"What is it you want to know so badly? What curiosity drives you to such lengths?"
Merlin pointed to the Targeting surrounding his body.
He'd installed it as discreetly as possible, yet this man was sharp.
Oliver extracted mana in one hand and emotions in the other, pressing them to the ground.
With magic, he pulled a house-sized block of ice from the earth, then coated it with Targeting using emotions.
He linked it to the Targeting stakes around Merlin and launched the massive ice chunk from four sides.
"Heh..."
Kwaaang———!!!!
Ice clashed and shattered like a collapsing mountain.
A massive shockwave erupted, blanketing Merlin's surroundings in white snow and ice shards.
By all common sense, it was an attack no one could survive, but the problem was that Merlin wasn't someone bound by common sense.
Oliver extracted emotions with both hands, infused them into shadows, spread them to encircle the area, then unleashed countless small, needle-like Shadow Spikes toward the center.
Pababababababababababababat——!!
With sharp sounds piercing the air, he attacked where Merlin might be.
But then.
No impact at all—suddenly, a purple magic portal appeared before Oliver, and the Shadow Spikes stabbed back at him.
"Kuh...!!"
Fortunately, since he'd focused on quantity over quality, only two or three of the dozens pierced his Black Suit.
As he caught his breath from the pain, a strong wind blew, clearing the snow dust from Merlin's position.
There stood Merlin, surrounded by purple portals like donuts.
Oliver had expected a mere defensive spell, but defense and counterattack simultaneously?
Merlin's experience far surpassed his own. Still, no despair.
"Minions."
The five minions planted underground earlier rose at his call, bombarding Merlin from above with Hate Bullets.
Merlin seemed to have anticipated this too, tearing five sheets of paper and tossing them.
The minions split in half as they sliced through the barrage of Hate Bullets.
All attacks ended futilely. But that was fine.
He'd known Merlin wouldn't be taken down so easily.
Oliver donned a Black Suit woven from emotions, life force, and mana, then layered it with numerous disease-based black magics.
Each disease black magic, which exponentially boosted physical abilities and attack power at the cost of life force, visibly burned away the Black Suit's life force, darkening its color and making its form more ferocious.
In that state, he charged. He couldn't drag this out.
Pabababababang——bang!!
His foot slammed the ground, shaking the earth as Oliver leaped. He poured his full body weight and power into a quarterstaff thrust at Merlin.
Despite the rapid approach, Merlin calmly adjusted his book and swung it to match the staff's trajectory.
Clang———————!!!!
The clash of two massive objects sent shockwaves outward, cracking the iceberg beneath Merlin.
"Heh heh...! Quite the—"
Oliver coated his quarterstaff with Black Javelin, amplifying the piercing power.
The thick book he'd been using as shield and hammer tore with a thud, and simultaneously, Merlin's chest was impaled by the quarterstaff.
Though it was merely an ice clone.
"Ah, as expected..."
As the ice clone shattered, the iceberg exploded, sending three sheets of paper flying at Oliver.
They struck his forearm, thigh, and side—not fatal, but solid hits.
The Black Suit tore lightly, and Oliver flew far back, crashing and rolling across the ground.
His entire body throbbed.
Haa. Haa. Oliver gasped, trying to stand.
But with his stamina truly bottomed out, kneeling and collapsing was his limit.
The iceberg split in two, and the real Merlin stepped out from within.
He showed no signs of fatigue.
"...By any chance, was that also an ice clone?"
"Who knows. That's for you to figure out, young friend. Wicked adults never reveal the truth. It's advantageous for them."
"Wicked adult?"
"People like me have no choice but to be wicked."
"You're kind... teaching me that."
"......"
"May a bookstore customer ask the owner a question?"
"...Go ahead."
"Something I'm suddenly curious about—why do you measure human value by strength?"
"A foolish question. Because strength is human value."
"I don't fully understand the reasoning—it's foolish. Could you explain more simply?"
Merlin looked at Oliver for a moment before speaking.
"......I don't know how to explain something so obvious. Mind if I use an example to make it clear?"
"Yes, that's fine."
"Then, take the child you saved as an example."
"Rossburn?"
"Yes. Why did you save that child?"
"Because he's remarkable. Brave, strong-willed, with beautiful emotions."
"I think so too. It was heartening to see him acting as the big brother among the other children, despite his own hardships... But objectively, he's just a powerless orphan. A dime a dozen. Nothing more, nothing less."
"......"
"And it's the same now. He miraculously survived, but that's a rare case. Proof: there are countless children like Rossburn, but most never escape their circumstances. That's their value. Because they lack strength. Uncomfortable, but that's the truth."
Oliver recalled Merlin's past words.
Most people find the truth uncomfortable.
"Does that make some sense, young friend?"
"...Half of it."
"Half?"
"Yes. Rationally, it seems correct. In the orphanage, the mines, and even after leaving into the world, most things were as you described. But I don't want to agree."
"Why not?"
"Because I've seen it. The frail, the defeated—yet beautiful and valuable."
Oliver thought of Marie, the lightning mage, Joseph, Kant, Murphy, Edith, Jane, Duncan, and others.
They were weak or defeated by him, but each had their own value and beauty.
"Above all, a world where only the strong have value... how to put it? It's a boring world, isn't it?"
Merlin silently gazed at Oliver, then clapped.
Clap—clap—clap—
The restrained applause refreshed the atmosphere.
"Well said. 'A boring world, isn't it?' Truly splendid. If I were a woman, I'd fall for you. I didn't expect a sane young man to say that in this day and age."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. To spout such fine words, you must prove your worth. Otherwise, you get cruel mockery. Loser's drivel. Ironic, isn't it? Idealism requires real power."
Ah... Oliver felt like he understood something.
To say certain things, you need power. Obvious, but it hit home now.
"I see..."
"Yes... In that sense, let me ask. Will you keep fighting me? We can stop here. I've seen all I need. Your persistent assaults are satisfying enough. Besides, young friend, you don't look so good."
Merlin scanned Oliver from head to toe.
Indeed, Oliver was in bad shape. His clothes were rags, his body caked in half-melted snow.
But Oliver couldn't nod easily. Despite exhaustion, Merlin's words nagged at him.
"...Were you satisfied? With fighting me?"
Merlin pondered, then pinched his thumb and index finger slightly.
"Just barely passing."
"Then, let's fight a bit more. To make your help worthwhile."
"Oh, I'd like that, but can you fight in that state?"
"Wait a moment?"
With that, Oliver rummaged through his pocket. The fight had turned it into a mess; he couldn't find it.
Just as he thought it lost, something touched his hand.
"That's..."
"A Filterette. Just one..."
Oliver painfully bit into the Filterette, extracted mana to create a small flame in his hand.
Then he inhaled deeply through his mouth.
Smoke flowed into his lungs.
The smoke was浓缩 of Duncan's life, death, and memories of life and emotions.
A faint ripple crossed Oliver's face.