Those with Complaints, Step Forward
"…It’s huge. And quite grand, too."
Jane looked up at the massive dragon that had burst through the ceiling. At the same time, she clicked her tongue.
"Still, isn’t it just something you smash? It’s only gotten bigger, that’s all."
"You think so? Give it a try."
"You think I can’t?"
Jane moved her hand again. For some reason, the moisture lingering in the air no longer responded to her control. Left with no choice, she drew out part of the liquid composing her body and shaped it into a colossal spear, hurling it at the dragon.
The spear that flew forth shattered the moment it touched the dragon’s body—absurdly, effortlessly.
—Crack!
—Ssshhh…
"…Absorption?"
"I’ve already finished preparing countermeasures."
Enoch looked up at End, leaving the flustered Jane behind. The reason her magic no longer worked was simple. Just moments ago, during the fusion, Jane’s magic—which had permeated the materials through Chain Harmony—had been incorporated as well.
Golden Fusion does not distinguish between friend and foe. Using my items as the medium, I added Jane’s magic to it. In essence, it grants water-attribute resistance.
The mechanical dragon now manifested carried Jane’s magic within it. A being infused with the mid-to-low tier water attribute of a Boundary-level mage. Considering that, its full name would be something like End Dragon Cluster.
—Zzzzzzt!!!
—Boom!
In that instant, End began its counterattack. Enormous energy gathered in its maw. Blue lightning erupted from the three heads and struck Jane simultaneously.
—KABOOM!!!
—Ssshhh…
"…Tsk."
Jane’s body collapsed in an instant. However, moments later, it restored itself to its original state. There was no particular damage, not even to her clothes. Boundary-level mages were already closer to magic itself than to human existence. Physical shocks could not harm them.
That was how it should have been.
"…You, what kind of magic are you using?"
"…"
"You just absorbed the liquid that makes up my body. What kind of thieving magic is that?"
Jane frowned in disbelief. In the brief moment she had collapsed and revived, the liquid composing her body had noticeably decreased.
"Can’t be helped. I couldn’t just leave that obvious regeneration alone."
Enoch answered as if it were only natural. The moment Jane’s body collapsed, he had used Chain Harmony to seize partial control over the liquid. That was why her regeneration had slowed. Of course, it was only a temporary measure. He could not match the Tower Lords when it came to manipulating their respective elements. Except for the already-fused End, the rest would return to normal in no time.
‘But they don’t know that.’
And Enoch had no intention of telling them. He hoped they would imagine and interpret things on their own. Thinking so, he held his tongue and instead said something else.
"Will you continue like this?"
"You little bastard…!"
"I don’t particularly mind."
Enoch shrugged. Jane gritted her teeth. As if to declare that the games were over, she raised her mana throughout her entire body. Seeing this, the Tower Lords collectively frowned. Surely she wasn’t about to create a tsunami and sweep across the entire continent in one go—
"That’s enough. Stop right there, Jane."
The one who hurriedly intervened was Vergo, the Lightning Tower Lord. He transformed into lightning and instantly positioned himself between Enoch and Jane.
"What? Move aside."
"You stop too. Any further and this stops being a joke."
"That bastard keeps pissing me off!!"
"Your ignition point is just too low to begin with— …No, never mind. Anyway, that’s enough."
Vergo let out a weary sigh. Then he spoke to Enoch.
"You too, please stop here. What good would come from provoking a Tower Lord? To face her full power, you’d have to contend with the entire sea of this world. Could you manage that?"
Vergo’s words carried a warning. A subtle caution that nothing good would come from going any further. Enoch thought his words were not wrong. However, that did not make them the complete truth. Because Enoch could, in fact, contend with the entire sea.
"I appreciate the advice. However, I cannot fully agree."
"…What do you mean? You’re saying you can handle Jane?"
Did his magic also affect the entire continent? Surely not. Vergo glanced up at the mechanical dragon.
"It’s an entity, not a phenomenon. It doesn’t seem capable of that."
Enoch’s magic summoned entities. The mechanical dragon before them was quite strong, but it did not seem capable of plunging the entire continent into crisis. That was the meaning behind Vergo’s words.
Enoch listened and immediately opened his mouth.
"Tower Lord. It seems you are under a few misconceptions."
"Misconceptions?"
"Would you look at the rain of treasures falling right now?"
At the suggestion, Vergo raised his head. The rain of objects that had been falling since earlier. Come to think of it, just how long was this going to continue?
"…Using space as a warehouse? You certainly have a lot of things. So, what about it?"
"Tower Lord. I can open this anywhere on the continent, as many times as I wish. And I have never once said that I can only control a single entity."
"!"
Vergo’s eyes widened slightly, a moment too late. The objects scattered around had already formed a small hill. At a glance, there were tens of thousands. And Enoch’s magic transformed those objects into the shapes of monsters.
‘If he truly can open space across the entire continent…’
How would that be any different from a monster threatening the continent?
"If a wave comes, I will respond in kind. A wave not of water, but of mass."
"…"
"I am curious to see what will happen. Regardless of the outcome, the Empire will fall."
Enoch spoke flatly, driving the point home like a wedge. You are not the only ones with such power. I too can sweep across the continent. A blatant threat carrying that meaning. It was meaningless to say that the other Tower Lords would not stand by and watch. A conflict among them would itself be a crisis for the entire Empire.
"Good grief… You were quiet for a few years, and now this."
In the end, Vergo raised the white flag. He let out a deep sigh of disbelief.
"Monsters invade, and eccentrics appear alongside them. Is this the power of the era that the Time Mage spoke of? So this is what it feels like when the later wave pushes away the earlier one."
"It’s a bit funny that the wave is made of monsters."
"Raselin, be quiet."
Vergo jabbed a finger at the interrupting Raselin. Then he looked at the guild master.
"Rozita. What do we do now? The meeting seems to have lost its meaning."
"…"
Rozita did not answer immediately. First, he checked on the two who had been engaged in their ‘minor’ skirmish.
"…"
"…"
Neither Enoch nor Jane made any further moves. They seemed to have implicitly realized that anything more would lead to actual war.
‘I want to resign.’
Rozita felt a sudden pang in his stomach. Just what kind of wealth and glory was he enjoying by sitting in this position? Rubbing his aching chest, he glanced at Nordila beside him. The Ice Tower Lord was, for some reason, bowing his head and chuckling.
‘A threat. How unlike him.’
Nordila knew a little of Enoch’s true intentions. He knew that Enoch wanted to enroll his adorable disciple in the Academy. Would someone like that dare to gamble with the Empire at stake? Absolutely not. The laughter was that of an observer who alone knew the truth.
Yet ironically, his actions gave Guild Master Rozita a certain conviction.
‘Nordila has some connection with this man called Enoch. If he were truly dangerous, Nordila would have stepped in to stop him first. Or at least given a warning.’
But Nordila had done neither. That meant Enoch was not that kind of person to begin with. Rozita made up his mind at that point. In the first place, the moment Enoch matched a Boundary-level mage like Jane, his treatment had already been decided.
"Attention."
—…?
"I will now announce the results of the meeting."
Rozita rose from his seat and cleared his throat. All eyes—Enoch’s, Jane’s, the Tower Lords’, and everyone else’s—turned to him.
"From this moment, I grant the mage named Enoch a license. Rank: Boundary-level. I will accept no objections."
—……
"However, he cannot receive the standard Boundary-level treatment like the other Tower Lords. He is neither the master of a tower nor an imperial official appointed to a position. Yet we cannot simply leave a mage of his caliber unattended. In that sense, using the authority of the guild master granted by His Imperial Majesty, I hereby create a new rank."
A new rank. At those words, the mages’ eyes widened greatly.
"The name of the new rank is Extra. I believe it is the most fitting name for those who do not belong to the society of mages."
Rozita looked at Enoch belatedly. Then his gaze swept across the entire surroundings.
"Enoch, wait for the guild’s messenger who will come to you soon. All other mages, show him the respect due to an Extra-rank mage."
—Bang bang
Rozita struck the gavel three times.
"This concludes the Pancratos. If any insolent bastard has complaints, step forward now. I will personally confront you."
A menacing threat echoed through the hall. No one stepped forward.