Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Eccentric Mage (2)
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Soon, the true master of the deep forest began to reveal herself.
A cascade of long greenish-gold hair flowed down to her feet, catching the eye first.
Trailing behind it was a revealing dress woven from leaves, vines, and tree fruits.
Her slightly drooping eyes seemed languid yet alluring.
"I didn't think you'd actually accept the invitation. Nice to meet you anyway."
Her voice carried a strange charm.
The hostess of the nightmare-devouring disaster, a wandering eccentric who had even rejected affiliation with the Magic Tower.
The mage who had invited Federback was smiling brightly.
However, unlike her softly curved lips, her eyes weren't smiling at all.
An ominous aura lingered around her smile.
Federback immediately drew his sword.
"I doubt words will get me fed."
"Oh? That's exactly what I wanted to say."
With words proving useless, only a clash of strength remained.
Soon, the battle began.
The mage swiftly formed hand seals.
Vines and roots of grotesque shapes began filling the area dozens of meters around her.
As the mage's eyes gleamed, the surrounding air shifted as well.
"Challenging me in my forest... Are you bold or just stupid...?"
Confidence overflowed in the mage's voice and demeanor.
The plants writhing like living creatures were the source of that confidence.
But.
'She's not going all out.'
Federback had already seen through the fact that the mage's true power was focused elsewhere, not here.
Most of the earth and plants she commanded were blocking the ominous flames on the forest's outskirts.
She was neglecting her guard against the Federback before her to prevent the fire from consuming the entire forest.
'No eyes watching.'
As Federback assessed.
If he were in the mage's position, he'd ignore the flames ravaging the forest entirely.
The enemy right in front of him was far more dangerous than the blaze outside.
Yet the mage, seemingly oblivious, continued prioritizing the outer flames.
'Suits me fine.'
Federback stepped forward.
Shwaaaaa―
Thorny vines and rotten roots lunged toward his feet.
But Federback paid them no mind.
Attacks without the mage's will behind them were meaningless anyway.
Federback calmly swung his sword, slicing through the charging plant stems.
The blade cut the air with a sharp whistle.
Rotten roots were severed, kicking up clouds of dirt.
Federback pressed forward steadily through it all.
Crack! Crack!
Long, thick plants were chopped apart in succession.
At that moment, Federback and the mage's gazes met in midair.
The mage's pale green eyes, visible through her robe, wavered for an instant.
Federback seized the opening and launched his assault.
Channeling all his mana into the sword, a chill blue aura flowed along the blade.
Federback thrust straight at the mage.
Kwah―jeek!
But the attack was futilely blocked.
An earthen wall had erupted in an instant to halt his thrust.
"Tch."
The mage clicked her tongue lightly.
She had taken a loss in that exchange.
But.
Kwah―bang!
The moment Federback shattered the earthen wall before him, the mage realized the damage wasn't minor.
Splaaat!
Bursting through the frozen wall, Federback's blade sliced the hem of the mage's robe.
It had nearly drawn blood, not just cost her a loss.
The mage, who had almost suffered a fatal wound, retreated hastily.
Pssht―
She touched the grass with her hand, and the short blades twisted into nooses.
Federback's advance slowed slightly.
With grass tightening like lassos around his feet each step, it was unavoidable.
Federback plunged his sword into the ground, and frost radiated from it, freezing everything.
Kwa-chang!
Frozen grass shattered with resounding cracks underfoot.
"......"
The mage hurriedly prepared her spell.
But powerful magic required deep concentration in turn.
With Federback flinging icicles by swinging his sword, casting high-level magic was impossible.
Pfufufufu-pfuk!
She dodged the slash, but the barrage of ice shards that followed was hard to evade.
The mage cried out in dismay.
"Wait a second!"
"A second's enough to sever your head."
Federback showed no mercy.
As the relentless blade pressed in, the mage shouted repeatedly.
"I-I didn't want to kill you! I just wanted to talk...!"
Federback didn't even reply, swinging his sword.
Pfufufufu-pfufufu-pfuk!
Mud and root walls froze, shattered, and splintered.
Federback pursued the frantically retreating mage.
'Lacking real combat experience.'
A seasoned mage would have prespawned minions to buy time while preparing her ultimate spell.
But she had either underestimated Federback or was too worried about the trees outside, showing inexperience in various ways.
'Her raw power isn't bad, though.'
Federback nodded at the rapidly growing vines.
Jee―eok!
A massive thorny vine was severed, revealing the enraged mage's face beyond.
"You came here needing magic power too, didn't you!? And you act like this!?"
"Where'd that invitation spirit go?"
"Shut up! You'll regret this for real!"
The furious mage began pouring out green mana.
Geometric ripples etched themselves across the grass in tens, hundreds, thousands of layers.
Soon, nearby mud gathered in one spot, morphing into a gigantic hand.
Ku―guuguuguugu!
Tree roots formed the frame, mud clung like muscle—it resembled a giant buried underground thrusting only its arm upward.
"This is the end now! No more talk! You brought this on yourse—!"
But the mage's tirade cut short.
Federback's sword gleamed white, then traced complex trajectories.
Federback's first strike drained all moisture from the damp earthen fist.
Jeejeok― Jeejeojeok― Jeejeojeok―
The second peeled away the muddy skin entirely.
Pfufufufu-pfuk!
Now only hideous root bones remained in the fist shape.
The third swing targeted it.
Deeng― Deeng― Deeng―
Fingers crumbled into fragments.
Federback effortlessly dismantled the massive earthen hand that must have weighed hundreds of tons.
"Got anything else?"
"......"
The mage bit her lip at Federback's words.
Then.
Mumble mumble mumble...
The mage began drawing her mana to its limits.
Federback sensed the forest air had changed.
It seemed she was finally launching a serious offensive.
Tsutsutsutsutsu...
Magic circles floating everywhere emitted a blinding emerald glow.
Federback's eyes finally sharpened.
"Impressive. Now you're giving off a dangerous vibe."
Mages were threatening by their very existence.
They commanded mana and unraveled the world's mysteries.
Defiers of heaven, twisting causality to alter fate's outcomes.
Thus, they were powerful—and somewhere twisted.
Drawing meteors from the sky, corrupting a saint's decades of discipline with a flick of the tongue, killing the living and reviving the dead.
Mages were exceedingly dangerous precisely because they could manifest such anomalies into reality, regardless of raw combat power.
Soon, the mage spoke.
"Surrender now, young Meursault. I'll spare your life."
Her low, leisurely tone suggested certainty of victory.
Then, tree-root monsters emerged from beneath the ground.
[O―ooooooo!]
Orcs, goblins, trolls, even ogres.
The demonic beasts once dwelling in this forest rose as skeletons.
Buried in soil for ages, their bodies were filled not with muscle and organs, but damp tree roots.
'Necromancy?'
Federback closely examined the undead's gazes.
But their eyes held only damp moisture and black death—no crimson aura of defying heaven.
They weren't true undead like those in the Meursault Secret Vault.
'Just animating corpses.'
That was fine.
Federback said,
"I'll throw your words right back at you."
"?"
The mage twitched an eyebrow.
Federback said,
"Surrender now."
"Hohoho— You refused to talk earlier, and now?"
"If you don't."
Federback continued toward the sneering mage.
"I'll have your head off in seven steps."
"Try it, you arrogant brat!"
The mage flicked her hand, and root-and-skull soldiers surged forward.
Right then, Federback took his first step.
One step...... Raising mana through his entire body.
Two steps...... Extending it to the sword tip, stretching it as long as possible.
Three steps...... Twisting muscles to their limit, then releasing in a horizontal slash.
Four steps...... Severing the undeads' upper and lower bodies.
Five steps...... Loading all power into his back foot to propel forward.
Six steps...... The mage's face loomed close, her expression hardening.
Seven steps...... Not even needed.
At halfway through the sixth, Federback's hand gripped the mage's throat.
"Khek!?"
The mage's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Her foe, dozens of meters away moments ago, had closed in during a single blink.
But.
"Told you. Within seven steps."
Federback's swing held no mercy.
Swaaaaak―
The blade dropped like a beam of light toward her neck.
"Kyaaaaak! I'm sorry!"
The mage screamed at the blade hurtling to her face.
Then.
Sag―
Her body slumped downward.
At that instant.
...Drip!
Federback's sword halted just before her neck.
'As expected.'
Federback lifted the mage by her collar.
Her loose robe slipped off, fully exposing her face and upper body.
'......Just as I thought.'
Federback nodded.
Her true identity was exactly as he had guessed.