Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“Haa…”
I let out a sigh after completely crushing the Lich’s remaining bones. My mana consumption was relatively low, but the mental strain was considerable.
It was an opponent I couldn't have defeated with a straightforward approach, and as someone who knew Oz’s capabilities in the game, I could only lament. Why did I have to go through such elaborate planning against a mere subordinate of the [Death King]?
Wasn’t this too much work? I also wanted to spam advanced-level magic like Oz in the game.
“Seriously…”
I had the knowledge, but advanced-level magic was still beyond my reach. If intermediate-level magic was like drawing, advanced-level magic was like sculpting, and the highest-level magic was like architecture. I, who struggled even with drawing the composite spell formulas for intermediate-level magic, couldn’t perform such three-dimensional feats.
“No, wait. Do I even need advanced-level magic?”
Come to think of it, there was a better way now. Hadn't my processing ability increased after the [Erosion Rate] broke through its limit?
“Let’s see…”
According to [Contemplation], the [Death King] wasn’t far. It seemed Eleanor and her party had already encountered him and were fighting. I was momentarily surprised not to sense Baekyang’s presence, but since there was no corpse, it seemed she had escaped using Tia's magic tool.
Seeing how quickly her cloak’s magic was being depleted, it would be best to join them quickly, but…
“They’re fighting better than I expected.”
Eleanor’s struggle was beyond imagination. I had thought she could hold her own against the [Death King], but she was performing even better than I anticipated. Moreover, although I had asked Lucia to do it, it seemed Eleanor was already able to use the power of the key to some extent.
The power of Eleanor’s key was special, even among keys. Her key could dye other powers with her own color. It could even absorb the defensive magic surrounding her opponent.
Like most games, the enemies’ defenses increased exponentially in the later stages.
So, what should I do?
The answer was armor penetration. It wasn’t just about the ratio of stats, but how much you could penetrate the opponent's defense. And the power of Eleanor’s key could be said to grant 100% armor penetration.
In that respect, the developers had made Eleanor the protagonist in the most perfect way.
“At this rate, I can watch a little longer.”
Since I had already depleted my [Mana Dominator] stacks, I needed to wait for Arietta to rejoin me. I had planned to help Eleanor buy time, but I changed my mind. Judging by her performance, Eleanor still had some leeway.
“Haa…”
Deep breaths. It was time to focus.
Standing where I could see the [Death King], I deployed magic. He didn't seem to notice me, or perhaps he was ignoring me, as he didn't look my way.
“You’ll regret that.”
[Contemplation- Activated]
I focused my mind, fully activating [Contemplation]. I could feel the mana flowing through my body and the mana permeating the surroundings.
The magic I was about to create was advanced-level magic, but not just advanced-level magic. I didn't have the ability to carve such complex, sculpted composite spell formulas yet.
So, what should I do? I had already obtained a hint to the answer.
“I should go say hello to Professor Aira.”
Hadn't I seen it just a while ago? The essence of magic she had poured her entire life into.
The magic spells that appeared in the exam questions lacked power and had many flaws, making them difficult to activate properly. They were merely problems designed to explain how spell formulas were woven together.
Basic Magic
[Mana Bullet]
But that was enough of a hint.
I drew a circle with magic power and added a few lines. The spell formula for [Mana Bullet] was complete, but I didn't fire it yet.
Basic-level Magic
[Little Bomb]
I drew another circle next to it and drew numerous lines inside. The Basic-level magic [Light Bomb], consisting of a circle and various lines, was complete. I didn't fire it either.
Intermediate Magic
[Wind Piercing]
And this time, I drew a circle and filled it with numerous straight and curved lines, creating a picture. The somewhat complex, almost artistic composite spell formula for the intermediate-level magic was complete.
Up to this point, it was basic to intermediate-level magic. The difficulty of the magic was relatively consistent. Although complex, it was at least two-dimensional.
Basic-level Magic
[Static Ball]
I drew the magic next to it. I stacked the magic spells like bricks, building them up. Yes, if I couldn’t create a complete product from scratch, I could just stack small bricks to deploy advanced-level magic.
Intermediate Magic
[Blaze Burst]
I added more circles. I added circles again and again, listing and connecting all the magic spells I knew. If it were any other mage, their head would have exploded from trying to deploy all these spells simultaneously, but I was the [Successor of the Mage King].
Such inefficient magic compared to advanced-level magic. I was a being befitting the arrogance of being able to use countless spells.
I held the completed composite spell formulas together in a single flow without releasing them.
“With this…”
Using that flow, I carved gears on the outer edges of the intricately intertwined magic spells, interlocking them.
Advanced Magic
[Mage’s Gearwheel]
“It’s complete.”
An excessively inefficient and mana-intensive advanced-level magic. But in terms of power and theory, it was incomparable to most other advanced-level magic.
Click!
The [Mana Bullet] gear, located at the innermost part, rotated once. Mana flowed out, and the magic was fired. The inside of the spell formula that made up [Mana Bullet] was erased, but it didn’t disappear completely because of the flow holding it together.
The [Mana Bullet], colliding with the [Death King]’s barrier, lost its power and disappeared like a deflated balloon.
“Of course, this level of power won’t be enough.”
It was only natural that it wouldn’t work. But this was just the beginning.
Click!
The [Mana Bullet] gear, which had lost its composite spell formula, continued to rotate and resonate along the flow. Every time the gear rotated, the erased spell formula was restored, and when it completed another rotation, the magic was fired again.
And the rotation speed increased.
This magic also disappeared before reaching the [Death King]. The [Death King] didn’t even glance my way.
Click!
The [Mana Bullet] gear rotated once more.
At the same time, the [Little Bomb] gear, slightly larger than the [Mana Bullet] gear, rotated, firing the magic. And as the gear rotated, the spell formula refilled.
The [Death King] still didn’t even look my way.
Click!
[Mana Bullet], [Little Bomb], [Static Ball], and [Light Impact] were deployed simultaneously, leaving traces in the air.
The [Death King] finally looked this way, seemingly annoyed.
『What…?!』
And he was shocked. It was only natural. He probably hadn’t seen anyone attack with magic in such a crude way before.
Countless magic composite spell formulas surrounded me. They were only basic to intermediate-level magic, but there were an enormous number of them. A truly ridiculous amount.
Normally, mages capable of this would just use advanced-level magic.
“But I like the crude method. I do enough thinking when I make plans.”
Click!
[Mana Bullet], [Little Bomb], [Static Ball], [Light Impact], [Wind Piercing], [Firewall], [Storm Blade], [Chain Lightning], [Waterfall], [Hail Strike]…
Crude, but effective.
The gears rotated faster and faster, and countless magic spells began to streak across the sky. The magic melted away, corroded by the [Death King]’s barrier. And new magic fell on top of it.
The speed gradually increased, and the number of magic spells being fired grew every second. Mana drained away like water. The mana consumption was even more intense than when using [Mana Dominator].
But it was fine.
Undine’s Droplet × 82
I had the ingredients for potions saved up just for this day.
While controlling the magic, I popped Undine’s Droplets into my mouth and crunched them like candy. With a refreshing coolness, the mana within them was absorbed into my body, restoring a small amount of mana.
And I repeated the process. The faster the magic was fired, the greater the mana consumption. I grabbed handfuls of Undine’s Droplets and shoved them into my mouth.
It would have been a rather unpleasant sight up close, but I was keeping a distance from Eleanor and her party, so it was fine. So, my image was still that of a noble and arrogant aristocrat.
『Ugh…』
Even the barrier flowing from the Underworld gate, protecting the [Death King]’s avatar, couldn’t keep up with the speed. The rain of magic was gradually hitting the [Death King].
Moreover, I wasn’t alone.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!”
Eleanor swung her greatsword, imbued with the power of the key, steadily accumulating damage on the [Death King].
Lucia also pulled the trigger relentlessly, disrupting the [Death King]’s movements.
『Move, daughter.』
“I…”
『Do you intend to abandon the meaning of your existence?』
“…I don’t want to attack Noah and my friends.”
『Is that so?』
Marie hadn't moved since earlier. Because she was hesitant to fight us, the [Death King] was stuck in place. If Marie had truly wanted to kill us, it would have been a problem, but she was still hesitating.
『Then what about your siblings, who will be used next?』
“Ugh…!”
The so-called father started threatening his own daughter with her family. But it was an effective method.
“The name [Death King] is nothing but a bluff. Using such a petty method!”
『You…』
I deliberately raised my voice, provoking the [Death King]. The content of the provocation wasn't much, but my arrogant demeanor was the result of my constant practice. I must have been quite annoying right now. Even from afar, the [Death King] could probably tell that I was looking down on him.
『I must kill that brat.』
Yes, a king would naturally get angry when provoked like this.
『Daughter, wouldn’t it be wise to remember that your siblings are still in the Underworld?』
And then he would compromise.
“…….”
Marie trembled, clutching her staff. She was agonizing over the decision. I was also her acquaintance, but our relationship wasn't that deep. Aside from our first meeting, we mostly just exchanged greetings when we saw each other.
Step.
Marie, who had been rooted to the spot, finally took a step forward. That alone revealed her intentions. She had accepted the [Death King]’s proposal.
It couldn’t be helped. She had been brainwashed to believe that she had to die if the [Death King] told her to, and she had probably never received a proposal like this before. From her perspective, this proposal must have seemed like something she had to accept.
Marie raised the staff she was holding.
“I’m sorry…”
“…….”
“After you die and fall into the Underworld, you can curse and torment me as much as you want…”
Crack!
The whites of Marie’s eyes turned black as barrier energy flowed into the staff she was holding. That staff was probably the lock connecting her to the Underworld.
My target was set.
“…Please die for now.”
Legs sprouted from the skeletal avatar of the [Death King], and Marie’s form disappeared, hidden between the ribs. It looked like nothing more than a slightly larger skeleton, but the barrier it possessed was absurd. Just its presence was killing the surrounding vegetation.
“Intimidating.”
The [Death King] started to charge towards me. The barrier he possessed grew denser, making it difficult to penetrate even with [Mage’s Gearwheel].
“But you see…”
The [Death King] was charging with terrifying momentum, but I didn't move. It was fine.
“You’re later than I thought. Hurry up, Alexios.”
Bang!
Explosions imbued with sun-like heat streaked past me, striking the [Underworld King]’s avatar. With a sound like thunder, the giant skull’s head snapped back, its movement momentarily halted.
“Ha! Do you have a problem with me being late?”
The SSR-rank character with whom I had a deep connection.
Alexios, the [Fist King], freed from his penalty, had stopped the [Death King]’s advance with his [Flame Cloud Thunder Fist].
“If that’s all the [Fist King] is capable of, I’m disappointed.”
“You little…?”
Ignoring Alexios, who was like a bonus item, I looked for Arietta, who had come with him. She was already healing Eleanor. The light in Eleanor’s eyes, even while being healed, hadn't faded yet. Like a true protagonist, she hadn't given up.
“Let’s see…”
The [Death King] didn't value his children. That was because, until now, there had been no one who could threaten him. The Underworld, like Spellerge, operated on the principle of power, but the tragedy stemmed from the fact that he, wielding the key, was simply too powerful.
Therefore, for him, who lived an immortal life, family was nothing more than disposable pawns.
However, Arietta's divine arts, as a Saintess, which were antithetical to barrier energy and demonic energy, could affect not only the [Death King]’s avatar but also his main body.
Yes, the point of this plan was to inflict a wound on Thanatos, the [Death King], that wouldn’t easily heal.
“I wonder if he'll still be able to talk about abandoning his family while being pressured by the other nobles of the Underworld.”
Though it would be a blessing if he wasn't stabbed by his own children first.