I Never Said It Was Impossible
Water Tower Lord Jane was in a foul mood. Nothing had gone right all day. It had started with Guildmaster Rosita Mantera.
"A mage named Enoch is coming today. An unlicensed illegal mage. We're going to open a Pankratos on him."
"Pankratos? So you plan to recruit him?"
"Exactly. The Ice Tower Lord gave him a strong recommendation. According to him, this Enoch fellow might actually be a Boundary-level mage like us."
"You're insane… There's no way Lord Nordila would spout nonsense. If it's true, he hid that kind of power remarkably well."
Rosita had come to Jane and told her about the mage named Enoch. Jane found the story intriguing. A mage on their level would have made for pleasant conversation at the very least. But that was not what followed.
"Jane, in that sense, I have a favor to ask."
"A favor? What is it?"
"I'm sorry, but once Pankratos begins, could you test him?"
"Test him? Me?"
Rosita asked Jane to probe Enoch. From the circumstances, Enoch was suspected to be a legacy mage. There was even information that he had clashed with imperial separatists. In other words, the man was powerful and had stayed hidden for a long time. Whether Nordila's words were true or not, someone with that level of caution would never be swayed by mere conversation. So someone had to step up and take the lead, after which the others could clean up the mess. Misunderstandings could be sorted out later. That was Guildmaster Rosita's philosophy. Jane did not bother to refute it. It was a classic case of carrot and stick. The problem was that Jane herself was the stick.
"Are you out of your mind? You want me to harass some junior who just showed up? You've been guildmaster too long—your brain's gone completely even."
"We have no choice. None of us has a more vicious impression than you."
"You really want to die, don't you…"
Jane threatened Rosita and caused a scene, but unfortunately nothing changed. After thinking it over, even Jane had to admit Rosita's reasoning made sense.
"Nordila is already acquainted with him, so that's impossible. Raselin's expression is too meek, and Vergo's usual attitude would create too much dissonance. As for that Sebek bastard… we'd be lucky if he didn't crawl on the floor."
"Then what about you?"
"I'm the guildmaster. I have to at least pretend to stay neutral."
"You piece of…"
Jane chewed her lip and puffed furiously on her water pipe. What irritated her most was that there really was no suitable person for the job. No matter how long she thought about it, the conclusion remained the same. Jane reluctantly accepted Rosita's request.
"Thank you. I'll be counting on you."
"Shut up. I'll only say exactly what's been decided, so keep that in mind."
Fortunately, the task itself was not complicated. All she had to do was step forward as the representative once Pankratos began, pressure Enoch, and steer the atmosphere toward criticizing him. That was all. Jane thought it would not be difficult. However, reality turned out quite different from her expectations.
The moment the meeting began, the mage named Enoch suddenly started acting like a complete fool.
"You brainless idiots."
"???"
"Drop those looks like you're staring at a criminal right now. Before I personally come over and rip them out myself."
Outrageous remarks in the middle of Pankratos. That alone was shocking enough. Yet Enoch even provoked Jane directly. He kept cutting her off and giving her arrogant advice, all while clearly understanding exactly what was happening.
'Arrogant little rookie. He really thinks we're beneath him?'
Jane's patience snapped. Ignoring the others trying to stop her, she approached Enoch. Since she had done what Guildmaster Rosita asked, it was now her turn to collect the price. Meeting be damned. Jane intended to teach this insolent junior a proper lesson.
@
Enoch met Jane's glare with a calm gaze. She had already closed the distance until she stood right in front of him. One more step and their faces would touch. With only a small space between them, Enoch spoke first.
"Tower Lord. Please calm yourself. Getting involved with someone as nameless as me will only harm you."
"Thanks for the concern. But I'm fine. I'm not the type to care about such things."
Jane said this while twirling her finger.
"More importantly, I'm curious. Lord Nordila seemed to think you were a Boundary-level mage like us. Is that true?"
Boundary-level mage. At the word that left the woman's lips, the mages in the background began murmuring among themselves.
"Boundary-level…? Him?"
"…So that's why the Tower Lords attended Pankratos."
The effect of the Water Tower Lord's statement was immense. The atmosphere shifted instantly. The mages no longer regarded Enoch lightly. Not that it mattered. Jane simply continued with what she had to say.
"Well? Tell me honestly. Are you really Boundary-level?"
"Does answering that question have any meaning?"
"Are you mocking me again? Of course it does. If you're not Boundary-level, things are about to get very bad for you."
At that moment, streams of water erupted from the air. The liquid scattered like a net.
—Fwoosh!
The liquid surrounded the man and shot toward him like bullets. There were roughly thirty of them, each powerful enough to knock out even a Domination-level mage in one hit. Yet Enoch showed no panic. His monocle already held Chain Harmony. He had noticed this level of attack the moment Jane twirled her finger. If you knew it was coming, dealing with it was simple. With a calm expression, Enoch lightly adjusted the coat he was wearing.
'Golden Fusion.'
—Clang!
The water streams bounced away all at once. What had defended against the attack was the black coat the man wore.
"Huh, what is that?"
"A machine? No, is it magitech?"
The mages murmured again. The hem of the man's coat had transformed into something resembling a mechanical serpent's tail. In an instant, the coat had changed form and struck down the incoming water streams.
"That's quite an interesting spell."
"Not as interesting as the Water Tower Lord's moisture manipulation."
"Thanks for the compliment. So is that coat a summon or a medium?"
"Closer to the latter, I suppose."
"I thought so. There was still moisture left inside it."
Jane gestured. The water moved.
—Crunch!
The protruding tail was instantly destroyed. The cause was moisture. The remaining dampness inside the coat had completely shattered the mechanical serpent from within.
—Crunch! Crunch!
"Looks like your toy is gone. Got any more?"
"Of course I do."
Enoch removed the watch from his wrist.
—Crunch!
The watch was immediately destroyed.
"Nothing left now?"
Jane smiled with amusement. It was the smile of someone who would not even give him the chance to pull out anything else. Even so, Enoch remained composed. He looked at the smiling Jane for a moment, then sighed and spoke.
"You really are different, Tower Lord. Since everything I bring out gets broken, there's a limit to how much I can keep pulling things out by hand."
"Are you trying to stall by admitting defeat?"
"Not at all. I am a man, after all. I still have some pride left."
"What do you mean?"
Jane tilted her head. Enoch placed a finger on his own chest.
"Let's play properly."
—Twirl
Enoch's finger moved near his chest. Jane watched the gesture with a puzzled expression. On the other hand, Nordila, who had been observing the situation, unconsciously widened his eyes and focused his senses.
'That motion… it's like unlocking a lock. My senses are warning me that it's dangerous.'
High-ranking mages possessed intuition that surpassed their five senses. Their magic required exceptional sensory perception just as much as talent and technique. And Nordila's sixth sense was telling him that the man named Enoch carried a dangerous possibility. During their brief meeting at the Ice Tower branch in Magnusra, when the man had made that strange hand gesture, Nordila had felt a small glimpse of the unknown power Enoch possessed.
'Even I couldn't interpret that magic. I wonder what effect it has.'
Nordila watched the situation with interest. The other Tower Lords, the guildmaster, and the mages present felt the same. Curiosity about magic filled every gaze. However, there was one amusing thing: if Enoch had heard all their thoughts, he would have scoffed.
'They're overthinking it. This isn't magic at all.'
As he had said repeatedly, Enoch used skills, not magic. And among his skills, not a single one required this kind of action as a condition. So what was the gesture he had just made? It was a routine. A personal pattern Enoch had established to manipulate something that was neither a skill nor reality. And the target of that manipulation was none other than his inventory.
—Whoosh…
—Clatter, clatter, clatter…
At that moment, objects poured down from the ceiling. Each one was something that had been stored in Enoch's inventory. Their values ranged from a minimum of 100,000 krones to a maximum of 40 million krones. Countless items of varying worth rained down as if a hole had opened in the ceiling.
"…Spatial magic? So you were a legacy mage of space?"
"Think whatever you like."
Enoch answered vaguely. Jane shook her head in disbelief.
"…Anyway, I'm disappointed. I waited all this time wondering what you'd do, and all you do is pull out stuff? Is that the only trick you have?"
Amid the falling rain of treasures, Jane turned her hand. It seemed she intended to overwhelm him with sheer quantity. In that case, she only needed to destroy everything at once, no matter how many items poured out.
"…Hm?"
But then something strange happened. The moisture that had been moving freely just moments ago suddenly stopped.
"…What? What did you do?"
There was only one culprit. Jane immediately asked. Instead of answering, Enoch lightly tapped his foot.
—Thud
An invisible energy spread out from beneath Enoch's feet. Chain Harmony. Blue lightning seeped into everything within the space. The items Enoch possessed. The falling treasures. Even the moisture infused with Jane's mana. Not a single thing was missed as the energy deeply permeated them all.
'Chain Harmony, and Golden Fusion. I've never once thought I could only use these on my own belongings.'
Enoch's answer to the earlier question was simple. Forced fusion. From the moment the items began raining down, Enoch had activated both Chain Harmony and Golden Fusion. The targets of harmony were everything around them. The targets of fusion were also everything around them. In other words, the mana and moisture Jane had been freely controlling had already become Enoch's, as he now dominated the entire space.
"Tower Lord. You shouldn't have given me time if you wanted to face me."
Enoch spoke and activated his skill once more. Then, the countless items scattered on the floor began to writhe all at once.
'Even broken and shattered things still have value.'
Golden Fusion. Some of the scattered items merged together and transformed into three massive mechanical serpents. The broken pieces clung to the serpents' bodies like armor. 'Chain Harmony is still active. And so is the moisture.' Blue lightning rose in the eyes of the three superior mechanical serpents. Golden Fusion once more. The mechanical serpents connected by lightning merged into one within a golden radiance. What appeared was a steel dragon with three heads. Enoch called it Codename End. The cost had probably been around 700 million krones. As if to prove its worth, the three-headed mechanical dragon spread its enormous wings and let out a roar that shook the very ground.
—KUUOOOOOO!!!