Chapter 259
Chapter 259
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: Gap (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Nonsense!"
The moment Oliver gave his answer, Derek shouted and lifted one leg, slamming it down onto the ground.
Boom! With a resounding crash, the mana gathered at his foot formed a spell circle, erupting into a massive blaze.
Shadow Spike
Shadow stakes silence the incoming flames.
Thud-whump—!!
Oliver conjured shadow stakes that rendered the ferocious flames charging toward him utterly colorless, neutralizing Derek's attack once more.
All without moving an inch from his original spot.
The crowd gasped in astonishment again, but Derek didn't falter. He immediately hurled a fireball to push Oliver back.
Oliver tried to silence it with shadow stakes again, but this time Derek moved first.
He manipulated his mana remotely, detonating the fireball in midair.
Pop-bang—!!!
The fireball burst spectacularly, spreading massive flames and heat. The resulting inferno and scorching waves hurtled toward Oliver over a wide area due to momentum.
It was brilliant.
Dominating the battlefield with such an area-of-effect attack was one of the true delights of fire magic.
He must have paid close attention in Kevin's classes—his technique had sharpened considerably.
To defend, Oliver extracted emotions and spread the particles like black mist, forming a barrier that deflected the oncoming flames and heat at an angle.
If the flames had been under direct mana control, it would have been tough to block like this. But since they weren't, the lack of focused power allowed him to manage somehow.
'If he'd controlled the flames with mana instead of just scattering embers, it would've been harder to block. A slight shame there... Huh?'
Oliver paused.
As if his thought had sparked it, just as the embers from the fireball's explosion were about to fade away pathetically, Derek infused them with mana, breathing new life into the flames and seizing control.
Impressive.
Fire magic's true essence lay in recycling even the smallest sparks without waste, but executing it was another matter entirely.
This showed just how much effort Derek had put in.
As proof, the flames that had nearly vanished in the air now snaked in a steady flow, surrounding and pressuring Oliver like serpents.
'Good, good. Excellent. You're planning to envelop and burn me alive.'
Oliver thought, eyeing the burning emotion particles.
Honestly, he wanted to resist in this state just to test it, but his emotions' quality and quantity fell short—it'd be impossible.
'The material gap is too wide; matching Marie's output is out of the question... Well, no matter. I've confirmed he can mimic it to this degree. Now, how to escape...'
Oliver pondered, staring at the flaming net closing in from all sides.
It wasn't impossible.
He could lash out with shadow tentacles to neutralize the flames directly or erode the current fire magic with his stored mana to steal control.
He wasn't underestimating Derek—this level of control was still easy to usurp.
'Compared to Professor Kevin or Lady Bathory, that is... Hmm, but I want to test something else. Chances to spar with a proper mage like this don't come often.'
With that thought, Oliver pulled a test tube from his pocket.
One filled with greed and hunger.
He uncapped it, extracting all the emotions inside while activating his black magic.
Voracity
Dozens of toothless mouths devour the flames.
The emotions swirling around Oliver's hand twisted into black smoke, mingling with the emotion particles blocking the flames from all sides until they took on a definite form.
Dozens of mouths without teeth.
Inspired by the flesh hammer's maw—not bad at all.
"......!!"
"Eek—!!"
"Ugh..."
The spectators clearly disagreed, many recoiling in disgust.
But regardless, the black magic's effect was undeniable.
Like hungry infants suckling, the mouths spread like a barrier slurped up the flames with wet chomps, visibly weakening their momentum compared to before.
A war of attrition would favor Oliver plainly.
Derek knew it too.
Kyaaaaaaaah—!!!
Sensing he couldn't win a straight magic duel, Derek swiftly changed tactics.
He drew a shrunken longsword from his pocket via reduction magic and slashed through Oliver's toothless mouths. As they shrieked and vanished, he swept up the unabsorbed flames, wrapping them around his blade.
It evoked Willes, but the power gap was stark.
Thus, Oliver remained rooted in place.
Not a single step moved.
Fueled by rage and indignation at the sight, Derek charged straight at Oliver.
"How long do you think you can keep up that smug—"
Ching-chang-jang—!!!
At two steps from Oliver, just as he swung his sword down, dozens of shadow stakes erupted like black lightning, targeting Derek's entire body.
Legs, stomach, chest, neck, face, arms, armpits—everywhere vulnerable.
Derek froze in primal terror for a split second, and Oliver simply watched from his spot.
His initial momentum had shattered completely.
This was the end. Normally, no one could fight on after that.
Oliver prepared to retract the stakes and conclude the match, but astonishingly, Derek rallied his broken spirit and attacked again.
He compressed the flames on his blade and cleaved through Oliver's shadow stakes.
Then charged anew.
Remarkable. Sincerely.
Regaining momentum after it broke wasn't easy by any means.
Oliver had never seen it done.
Impressed by Derek's will, Oliver used Thrust to blast him back with a shockwave, then widened the gap and assaulted with shadow tentacles as soon as he could.
Derek wasn't Willes-level, but his superb swordsmanship let him slice through every tentacle.
Slash-crack!!
Shwick—!!
Slash—!
Clang—!!
"......!"
Startled by the distinctly different sound, Derek glanced at his sword and the uncut shadow tentacle.
Oliver had concentrated emotions to boost its hardness.
With the reinforced tentacles encircling him, Derek instantly assessed the situation and maxed out his internal mana, summoning massive whirlwinds inside the arena.
But that wasn't all.
Blaze
Whirlwinds fuse with crimson flames, filling the arena.
Building on the flames coating his blade, Derek ignited another massive blaze and merged it with the whirlwinds.
Like his earlier air-density trick for an explosion.
The difference: instead of instant burst power, the fusion turned the flames blood-red, raging fiercer and engulfing the entire arena.
The suddenly amplified heat and flames posed a real threat, so before it hit critical, Oliver swung his quarterstaff, obliterating the inferno blanketing the field.
Shatter-ring!!
The flames tore apart amid the shockwave.
The dazed spectators exclaimed in awe.
They marveled at Derek's whirlwind-enhanced blaze, but Oliver nullifying it in one stroke was equally stunning.
But it wasn't over.
Undaunted even after his finisher failed, Derek swiftly gathered the scattered flames, cladding not just his blade but his entire body like armor, transforming into living fire.
An advanced elemental spell common to all types, requiring deep understanding and matching proficiency.
Kaboom!!!
Oliver countered by wrapping himself and his quarterstaff in Black Suit.
"I'll burn you to a crisp!!!"
Derek, clashing staff against sword, detonated the flames encasing his body as he roared.
He exuded murderous intent, becoming a living blaze to incinerate Oliver.
If Oliver had stood idle, perhaps.
Voracity (2)
Output far surpasses the first—flames devoured utterly.
Oliver infused emotions into the Black Suit on his quarterstaff, activating Voracity a second time.
The thin black film around the staff morphed into a swarm of dozens of toothless mouths, devouring the flames anew.
With output incomparable to the first.
Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
Derek's shout rang hollow as the flames lost their fury, plunging him into despair once more.
Like facing an insurmountable wall.
Yet his will was extraordinary; he refused to yield, retreating to regroup.
Oliver interfered, however.
"......Huh?!"
Derek cried out, staring at his immobile feet.
Oliver's shadow had tangled around his legs like weeds, holding firm.
He tried to shake it off in panic, but locked in clash with Oliver, he had no spare energy.
Meanwhile, the mouths chomped away Derek's flames until nothing remained.
Exposed and defenseless, Derek gritted his teeth and swung his longsword at Oliver, who blocked with his quarterstaff.
"Spit it out."
Spurt—!!
At Oliver's command, the mouths coating the staff regurgitated the devoured flames in an explosion.
Unable to withstand the blast, Derek dropped his sword. Weaponless now, he faced Oliver's quarterstaff thrust—not hard, just a solid tap.
Oliver chanted.
With Oliver's chant, the black magic at the quarterstaff's tip infiltrated Derek's body. Overwhelmed by despair, Derek fell into a deep slumber.
Oliver gently supported him and laid him on the ground.
Victory aside, Oliver was genuinely impressed with Derek. Truly remarkable.
He'd grown incomparably stronger than their first fight, and his resolve had toughened too.
As soon as the fight ended, Seamus boisterously announced the victor.
The mana barrier around the arena lifted, and Oliver exited the field.
The party guests applauded with delight and satisfaction, while the magic tower students rushed up to check on Derek.
"Good work out there."
Jane approached Oliver as he descended, speaking softly.
She'd kept his outer coat impeccably wrinkle-free and even draped it over him personally.
"Ah, thank you."
"Gratitude's always my part. That was an incredible fight. Truly."
"Right? Amazing!"
"Yeah! Totally. It makes perfect sense you're the Fighter Crew captain."
"Ah, thanks. But I—"
"—I don't say this lightly, but that was one hell of a match. Humiliating a magic tower student like that."
Seamus arrived with a crowd in tow.
His words were sincere, no flattery.
Though Oliver had plenty to retort, he prioritized his main concern.
"Humiliating?"
"Yeah, that Derek kid charged like he was about to cry, and you just stood there stock-still, indulging him? Without even properly counterattacking, like it was laughable."
The gathering crowd nodded in agreement.
"No, that's not what I meant. I didn't move because there was no need—I didn't see him as a joke. If anything—"
"—Hear that? 'No need to move'! 'Cause he's such a pathetic weakling!!"
Seamus burst out laughing, and the others chimed in.
They'd misinterpreted his deliberate test of Derek's growth as mockery.
This was utterly absurd.
Derek was plenty strong, and he'd improved... Above all, Oliver had no right to mock him.
Oliver tried to explain, but Seamus had already poisoned their ears. The magic tower students were gone anyway.
A headache throbbed. The party was fun, but he'd have to restrain himself next time.
Seamus slung an arm around Oliver's shoulder chummily.
"Haven't had such entertaining seats in ages. Totally satisfied. Let's head back up for a drink. Everyone's dying to chat with you."
Seamus grinned slyly, gesturing at the crowd.
As he said, they eyed Oliver with keen interest, each harboring their own motives and greed.
Oliver paused, recalling his original purpose, then subtly shrugged off Seamus's arm.
"Huh? What?"
"Sorry, but I have business to attend to."
Seamus's face soured at Oliver's reply.
Ignoring it, Oliver turned to Jane.
"Miss Jane. Mind if I borrow you for a moment?"
All eyes turned to her. Jane hesitated briefly but regained composure.
"......Yes."
With her answer, Oliver excused himself from her and the crowd, weaving through to the opposite side where Randa's high-society guests clustered.
Thanks to the recent fight, they parted like the sea for him.
Thus unhindered, he reached one person smoothly.
"Good day, Lady Edith. It's been a while. Might I have a word?"