Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Army Mage (3)
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Shuwaaaaaaaaah———!
Oliver extracted mana while still embedded in the stone pillar.
It was astonishingly pure mana, and what surprised him even more was the sheer volume of it.
Among all the mana Oliver had ever handled, this was top-tier in both quality and quantity.
Like a child playing with a new toy, Oliver freely used the extracted emotions to seize a portion of the flames that the army mage Kevin was controlling.
"...Is this how it works?"
The flames danced to the movement of Oliver's hand. Since it was the user's own mana, it was far easier to wrest control.
The amount was still insufficient—only about a tenth of the total—but even that had Kevin looking shocked.
"......!!"
Oliver didn't stop there. He extracted mana with one hand while manipulating the flames with the other.
At Oliver's will, a red wave rose to challenge Kevin's blazing tsunami.
Kuwaaaaaaaaah——!!
Fwooooooooong——!!
The two flames clashed, devouring each other in impossible contortions, rapidly igniting the mana and air around them.
He had learned one good thing.
Nothing countered flame magic quite like flame magic itself.
Oliver increased the extraction rate even further.
After all, it was Kevin's mana being depleted. If he dragged this into a war of attrition, he could wear the man down.
His goal wasn't to defeat him anyway—just grab him by the ankle and escape.
'Besides, Mr. Forrest told me to avoid fighting army mages if possible. It's not just about winning or losing; it could leave you exhausted.'
"Mm..."
With Oliver's low groan, he fed the extracted mana into the flames.
Fueled by the mana, the flames surged wildly and began to slowly erode the opponent's fire.
Slowly, but surely.
It seemed Oliver had a slight edge in mana manipulation over the army mage.
Or perhaps Kevin's stamina was waning from the constant extraction.
Still, something nagged at him despite the favorable situation.
Kevin wasn't showing much agitation, even as everything seemed to be tilting in Oliver's favor.
Right on cue, a voice echoed from the air.
A rectangular clump of mana hung in the void. It was the communication spell 'Speaker'.
Kevin was projecting his voice through magic.
"I'm sorry. Could I tell you next time we meet?"
".....???"
Oliver tilted his head at the cryptic question, but soon grasped its meaning.
The mana from the surrounding stone pillars amplified, surging toward him like a tidal wave.
Not only that, but the mana he had been extracting flowed back in greater quantities than before.
".....!!"
With that, even more mana forced its way into Oliver's body.
Not just through his hands, but his arms, legs, chest, back—every inch of him became a conduit for the relentless influx.
It was like inflating a balloon with air.
Kevin apparently planned to overload Oliver's body with mana and kill him that way.
Inefficient and crude, but all the more effective for it.
Half-restrained by the onslaught, Oliver had no choice but to gulp it down.
As if to demonstrate, Kevin ramped up the mana pouring into Oliver's body.
More.
More.
More.
More.
More.
More.
...Huh?
The stone pillars' mana visibly dwindled, yet Oliver's body remained fine—no discomfort at all.
Something was off, and Kevin noticed it too, trying to halt the flow.
But Oliver refused to let go.
Shuwaaaaaaaaah———!!!
Oliver shifted to extracting through his entire body instead of his hands.
Not just extracting, but storing it inside—yet contrary to Kevin's words, he felt nothing.
Despite the enormous quantity, there was no overload, no satisfaction.
He had no idea why. Something to research later.
But that was for another time.
Focusing on the moment, Oliver unleashed all the stored mana at once.
Kwa! Kwagwagwang—!!
Pumping it straight into the flames caused them to explode spectacularly.
He'd adapted a mana control technique from a magic tower student using explosion magic, mixed with flames—an impromptu method, but quite successful.
The blast was immense, shattering the encircling pillars and upheaving the terrain.
Flames spread widely like a burst water bucket, the ground cratered deeply, trees toppled roots and all, pillars reduced to rubble, fire spreading beyond...
Oliver staggered to his feet and scanned the emotions watching from afar.
Mostly kingdom soldiers, startled by the sudden explosion.
'Mr. Wiles and Mr. Arthur haven't been caught yet... So, what now? I've drawn attention. Time to escape?'
Honestly, he could flee now.
No flames holding him back like before, no pillars blocking space.
Perfect timing. But part of him wanted to keep fighting a bit longer.
Not because he enjoyed the fight.
He just wanted to learn more from the army mage before him.
Through combat or conversation. The man had much to teach.
Amid the swirling black-gray smoke and gusting winds, army mage Kevin emerged.
Despite heavy mana expenditure, he didn't resort to potions. Instead, he gathered mana, seized the surrounding flames, and began controlling them.
His will, mana, and some unknown power refined the flames anew, restoring their strength as they took the form of a massive serpent... no, a dragon.
"You... are you a Finger, by any chance?"
Finger.
A term for executives in the Black Hand, an organization of black mages.
Oliver shook his head.
"No, not that. I'm interested, but joining an organization doesn't appeal to me."
"Huh, unusual. Makes sense with that skill level... But it doesn't sound like a lie!"
With Kevin's shout, the dragon-shaped flames twisted and lunged at Oliver.
The sun-bright fire dragon reignited the ashen surroundings as it barreled toward him.
Flames radiated an alien life force, alive as any creature. Instinctively, Oliver knew this attack was on another level.
He hurriedly pulled his controlled flames to deflect it.
A massive wall of fire erupted upward. But what was this?
Kevin's fire dragon ignored the flow, devouring Oliver's flames whole.
It wasn't mere control seizure.
The fire dragon was literally consuming the flames.
"Salamander. One of the fire spirits. It devours flames for sustenance."
A spirit... Oliver filed away the new info.
Less than a minute since they met, yet endlessly fascinating.
That alien life force and presence came from this spirit.
His hunch hadn't been wrong. More knowledge gained.
"You weren't my intended target, but... try not to die this time."
Oliver withdrew his flames—which only empowered the dragon—and retreated, hastily preparing black magic.
More precisely, black magic layered onto regular magic.
He couldn't explain it precisely.
Inspired by Kevin's fire dragon, he was improvising a mimicry.
Oliver infused the remaining embers with mana to boost control, then dismantled his Black Suit, converting it to emotions.
A risky move, abandoning defense.
Driven by curiosity and experimentation, he blended emotions into the flames and activated the black magic.
Being impromptu, it wasn't as fast as hoped.
'Just a bit more... Ah.'
Staring into the fire dragon's maw right before him, Oliver realized.
His ambition had cost him half a beat.
On the verge of being chewed or burned alive, the dragon hesitated before him.
Exuding fear.
Krrrrrr...
Similar to the mine guard dogs and chimeras from before.
Not just Oliver was surprised—the sorcerer Kevin was too.
A chain of inexplicable events, but Oliver thanked his luck and completed the delayed black magic.
With the incantation, flames infused with deprivation and greed took definite shape.
A massive head with ragged, peeling flesh; ears torn to shreds; a neck long and thin as a twig; scrawny limbs contrasting a bulging belly.
The flames transformed into a grotesque, hideous man.
Possessing a will like the fire dragon, it lunged before Oliver could command, seizing it with bony arms and tearing into its head with jagged teeth.
"Kyakyakyakya! Hya hya hya hya——!!"
"Kki hihihihihi!"
The fire dragon thrashed in agony; Hunger desperately sated its famine.
Like beasts, they grappled in a grotesque brawl.
Upon closer look, Hunger wasn't consuming the flames—it was devouring the Salamander spirit within.
As if quenching an unquenchable thirst.
Curiosity piqued, Oliver wanted to watch longer, but realized it was truly time to flee.
Time had passed; dawn approached, and kingdom soldiers neared.
Kevin, though depleted, still had fight left.
Oliver was getting tired.
He pulled two sheets of paper from his pocket and hurled them at Kevin, who approached with a stone spear.
Aim not at him, but his path.
"This is...?"
Kevin's surprise at the papers.
Ignoring him, Oliver activated the magic circles on them with his stored mana.
Two purple portals bloomed from the sheets.
From one, three zombies burst forth.
"Kyahahaha!"
"Kat!!"
"Kya huhuhut!!"
Suicide Zombies 1, 2, and 3 charged the target as programmed, latching on madly.
Meanwhile, Oliver dashed to the second portal.
His emergency escape route.
Leaping in, he called out.
"It was a genuine pleasure meeting you. Hope we cross paths again."
As the portal swallowed him, he activated his black magic with a farewell.
At his will, the three corpses clinging to Kevin and the Hunger battling the fire dragon swelled grotesquely and detonated.
Oliver escaped completely via the portal.
Kwadangtang!
He rolled across the floor in his haste.
A familiar ceiling greeted him—the inn room where he was staying.
Bang! Bang!
Someone pounded urgently on the door.
"Sir? Is everything all right? We heard a loud noise."
Oliver gazed at the ceiling and replied.
"No... everything's fine. Sorry for the disturbance."