The Sage's Robe (3)

Fwhararararak!!

Emerald flames writhed and churned in the darkness.

"How dare you—"

A deep, resonant voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rolled out from within the fire, and two ashen eyes flashed like knives through the blaze.

Shwaaaaaaaaak—!!

A razor-sharp projectile tore through the flames with a shriek of splitting air. Before I could even react, the bracelet on my wrist flared green.

KWAAAAANG! Crrrshshshshk—!

The instant Forest's Protection manifested, it shattered. Splinters of green shield scattered through the air like glittering glass.

And what had destroyed it was none other than a swarm of leaves, each one saturated with mana.

Fast.

A violent alarm bell rang through my skull. I'd suspected from the start that this thing wouldn't be easy, but its attacks exceeded even my expectations in both speed and destructive force.

Shadow Bolt!

Forest's Protection had bought me an opening, and I had no intention of wasting it. Shadow Bolt was a skill focused less on raw damage than on status effects. FWOOMP! The bolt burst apart, and black fog swallowed the creature whole.

Got him.

I silently rejoiced at the successful infliction of Confusion — but the creature did not simply stand still, even while gripped by it.

KWAAAAAAAAAH!!

The moment it spread both arms wide, mana-laden leaves cascaded outward in a deadly fan. Had I been within range, I would have been swallowed whole — but thanks to the Confusion, its attack lashed out in a completely wrong direction.

KWAKAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!

Phew. The pressure of the shockwave washing over me from the side turned every pore on my body numb. The destructive force this thing commanded was more terrifying than anything I had ever faced.

- Now!

I was already moving before Ellaon finished shouting. A massive attack always leaves an opening in its wake — how could I possibly let one like this slip by?

Sage's Sight.

Ziiiing! Red points of light flared to life across the creature's body, scattered in uneven clusters. Sage's Aura. Saahhh! A golden aura rippled over me in response.

"Fireball."

An amplified, Mythic-grade Fireball followed — and KWAAAAAAAAANG!! Another violent shockwave swept through the chamber.

"You wretch!!"

The creature bellowed with pure fury as it burst back through the flames, its body scorched and crumbling in patches.

It worked—

- The very instant I thought that —

CJEEEONG!!

Malevolent mana poured out of the ashen jewel set in the creature's forehead, and within that mana I caught the faint, sweet fragrance of a spirit. PAAAAHAT! Grey radiance rippled across its body, and the wounds that had ravaged it simply… reversed.

…What.

My jaw went slack. Monstrous destructive power wasn't enough — it had regeneration like this on top of it?

This thing is insane. I ground my teeth.

- You must destroy the spirit stone.

At Ellaon's words, my eyes locked onto the grey jewel embedded in the creature's forehead. Under Sage's Sight, it burned as the single densest point of red on its entire body. That was its weak point — there could be no doubt.

The question is how to actually break it.

During the lull while the creature channeled its recovery, I downed a mana potion and racked my brain for a way to reach that spirit stone.

- The best way would be to cast Mana Drain directly on the stone itself.

Aleon's counsel sounded like the most certain truth. The only problem was closing the distance — and that was exactly what I was smiling about. I glanced at the dark crimson ring on my finger and smirked.

Then we use bait.

I thrust out my hand and shouted at once.

"Summon Snikle!"

PAAAAHAT! Black mana swirled together, tracing out a familiar silhouette.

"Keheheh! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Snikle, scion of the great Archdemon, answers thy summons. What wouldst thou have me do, Master?"

Perfect. Enter: the bait. I let out a small laugh in Snikle's direction.

A little earlier — before Hajun's battle with Dryas, the Fallen King of the Forest had begun, the broadcast Live on the Scene had already brought the creature up.

"Did you say… a spirit?"

"Yes. The records describe it as a supreme-tier great spirit — one said to have once dared to covet the throne of a king."

"Wha — the throne of a king? Don't tell me… a Spirit King?"

"That's correct."

"Good heavens! You're telling us to face something like that?"

Committee member Lee Soon-jae's words sent a shockwave through every Ascender watching the broadcast.

The reaction from the Ascenders was heavy. Once it came out that the Fallen King of the Forest was a spirit, the dominant opinion was that hunting it would be outright impossible. That was how far the word "spirit" implied top-tier combat power even against opponents of the same level.

The overall consensus was that if the Fallen King of the Forest truly was a spirit, then conquering it would be beyond reach. And while the debate raged back and forth, the battle between Hajun and Dryas was racing toward its peak.

"So you stoop to keeping company with filth."

Dryas snarled the moment he laid eyes on Snikle — and then, "Rise, my legion."

KWADUDUDUDUK!!!

Monsters by the dozens hauled themselves up out of the ground.

Trevias — dozens upon dozens of them. Their numbers, packed wall to wall, filled the entire cavern. I nearly let my tongue loll out.

"Snikle! Draw their eyes up front!"

"M-me?"

"That's right. Right now!"

I flung the hesitating Snikle bodily into the middle of the Trevias horde.

"Uwaaaaaagh!"

Snikle shrieked in panic as vines and roots shot toward the airborne imp.

Shwaaaaaak! "Urk!"

But Snikle was fast — fast enough to slip past the whips by a hair's breadth. "Kuheuk." His acrobatics continued from there.

"UWAAAAAAH!"

He streaked through the Trevias at blistering speed, drawing their aggro perfectly. Not bad at all, actually. The strategy hinged on the fact that Snikle didn't suffer true death even if he fell while summoned — and he was moving better than I'd hoped.

"Fireball."

I couldn't let the opening Snikle had bought me go to waste, so I immediately fired the Sage's Aura + Fireball combo into the thickest cluster of Trevias.

KWAAAAAAAAAAANG!

"Grooooooar!" "Grrrrgh!" "Groooh!"

The Mythic-grade Fireball's signature effect — Flame Storm — erupted, and every Trevias within a twenty-meter radius went up in flames at once.

"Uhyahaha! Nice one, Master!"

The sight must have been satisfying, because Snikle burst out laughing. The corners of my own mouth lifted too as I readied the next Fireball to sweep up the stragglers —

"Breath of Life."

PAAAAAAH!!

At Dryas's words, a grey pulse rolled out and blanketed the burning Trevias.

"Grooooooh!" "Gaaaaah!" "Graaaaah!"

The dying Trevias regenerated their vitality and rose back to their feet. That grey pulse had been a mass-area healing spell.

You've got to be kidding me. This was going too far. Reviving dozens of dying monsters in a single cast — how was that fair?

- Such is the nature of spirits. They are beings who dwell in the realm of the absurd. But do not despair. From Dryas's perspective, your power — which so nearly swept his legion away at a stroke — must have seemed every bit as absurd.

Put myself in his shoes, and that tracked. The power that had wiped out half his horde in one blow was already far beyond the bounds of the ordinary.

Fine then. Long and short, let's just see. Summoning the same spirit, I flung another freshly manifested Fireball at the horde — but the instant before it landed —

"Nature's Guard."

Grey barriers bloomed into existence around the Trevias' bodies.

KWAAAAAAAAAAANG!!

My Fireball succeeded in shattering the barriers — and nothing more. The Trevias behind them took hardly any damage at all.

This is BULLSHIT!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

My face twisted. What kind of difficulty was this? It was the moment I understood, skin-deep and anew, why spirits were spoken of with such awe.

But the surprises weren't over.

"Wrath of the Forest."

At those words, the entire region flipped upside down. KWADUDUDUDUK! KWAAAAAAAH!

The tree roots and vines that carpeted the floor and walls came alive, writhing like serpents.

"U-uwaaaah! M-Master!"

Snikle's desperate cry reached me. The poor imp, helpless against attacks flying in from every direction, was being driven into a corner. It was nothing short of a dire emergency!

"Fireball!!"

KWAAAAAAAAANG!! The Fireball I hurled again burned away the Trevias chasing the imp along with a stretch of the ground's tendrils.

"Huuugh — wh-why, in the name of all that is unholy, are we even fighting this insane spirit?"

Snikle, who had scurried back to my side at some point, babbled with lips gone pale.

"Perfect timing."

Instead of answering, I seized Snikle by the torso.

"……?"

He looked back at me with bewildered eyes, and I curled my lips into a grin.

"Just going to borrow some mana for a moment."

"Wha—"

My mana was draining to the bottom as it was — an unavoidable emergency. The moment I held him and activated Mana Drain, KWAAAAH! — black mana particles began streaming out of Snikle's body and into me.

"Kuuuuuuuuh!"

Snikle let out a bizarre wail and went rigid on the spot — struck by Mana Drain's stun effect.

"Your service shall not be forgotten."

Paying tribute to his sacrifice, I let my eyes gleam at how much faster the mana was filling me than I'd expected.

- It seems talent for mana alone comes naturally to that one. Even black mana, which drains at reduced efficiency through Mana Drain, and he yields this much.

Oh? Is that so? I decided that once this battle was over, I'd be taking some time to learn more about Snikle in depth.

"Snikle, sorry about this. Again."

At my words, Snikle looked at me with trembling eyes. He can't mean— his expression said.

Sorry. But that can't mean is exactly what I mean.

"Just one more time!"

I hurled him straight at the advancing Trevias.

"U-uwaaaaah!"

Snikle's scream tore out mid-flight as the stun wore off — and at the same moment, my eyes went to Dryas. The creature, too, was catching its breath, worn down by the rapid-fire chain of skills. I knew instinctively: this was the last chance I would be given.

Stealth.

Once I confirmed the Trevias' aggro had locked onto Snikle, I cast Stealth and broke into a dead sprint toward Dryas at full power.

TADADADADADAT!

At this rate, I'd reach him unimpeded within moments — or so I thought.

"Breath of the Forest."

The creature murmured the words, and grey energy rippled outward from its body in every direction. KWAAAAH!

Ugh. Caught in the grey wind, my balance lurched violently.

Damn it!

The skill he'd just used was one capable of neutralizing stealth outright — and it was immediately followed by another.

"Bond of the Forest."

The roots and branches around him stretched toward Dryas, feeding him their grey energy. KWAGAGAGAGA!! A monstrous aura surged from his body. I didn't know what it was, but it was clearly a skill that massively amplified his combat power.

- Hasten thyself!

I kicked off the ground again at Ellaon's cry.

Shwaaaaaak!

Roots and branches came lashing at me from all sides. If I stopped here to block or dodge even one of them, I would never touch him. Which was exactly why I pulled out the card I'd been saving.

Dispel!

FLASH! Violet energy burst from the Dispel Ring and swept away the vines and roots streaking toward me — and THUNK! They froze mid-air as if time itself had stopped around them. Their movement was his skill, just as I'd predicted.

"……!"

The creature's brow twitched. It hadn't anticipated this.

"A meaningless struggle."

Dryas raised a hand with a hollow declaration — and tree trunks erupted from the ground at my feet, reaching to seize me. Dispel! The second activation neutralized his offensive once more.

But blocking his attacks didn't mean the situation was good. The Dispel Ring could be used only twice a day — and I had just spent them both. There would be no third.

Which was why I drew the final card I had deliberately held back until the very end.

"Shadow Binding!!"

SHWAAAAAAA!!

Shadow hands erupted from beneath Dryas's feet and clamped down over his entire body.

"Pathetic trick—"

The shadows couldn't hold him for long. FWOOM! The moment he raised his strength, the shadow hands gripping him burst apart.

"Your desperate struggles end ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her—"

The creature turned toward me to finish the sentence — and froze mid-word. It had no choice. In that interval, I had cast Stealth yet again.

But I knew this, too, would not last long.

"Breath of the Forest."

His voice was more strained than before — KWAAAAH! — and my figure was stripped bare once more.

"A persistent nuisance."

As he reached his hand toward me — mere steps away now — branches burst from his palm and coiled around my body.

Crack — CRSHSHSHSHK!

Forest's Protection activated, only to shatter — but it bought me a single instant. And for what I needed, a single instant was plenty.

Tap.

My right hand had already found the spirit stone set in the creature's forehead.

"Checkmate, you cursed spirit."

And with those words, the dagger in my hand leveled at his one true weak point.

"Mana Drain."

Activate — at the will of my intent, KWAAAAAAAAH—!! An ocean of titanic mana began pouring from the spirit stone into me.

"Th-this is impossible—!"

With that single, strangled cry — crack, crrrrshshshk. CLANG!! The spirit stone embedded in the creature's forehead finally shattered.

Thud.

Dryas collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut — and system messages cascaded up before my eyes.