The Black Sorceress's Power...

Measuring the Black Sorceress's power was, for the moment, impossible. Her strength was formidable enough on its own, and he had no sense whatsoever of how an ancient sorceress might choose to fight. Still, knowing even a little about an enemy was better than knowing nothing at all — and that was why he had put Balrog to use.

He had worried whether a demon that proud would so much as listen to him. Scratch that pride the right way, though, and Balrog moved exactly as he wished.

If only the Black Sorceress were half as simple as that one...

The odds of that wish coming true were vanishingly small. The mere fact that she wielded high-difficulty Ancient Magic was proof enough that her intellect was exceptional.

Yujun folded his arms and watched.

Balrog struck first, a colossal fist driving forward, and the Black Sorceress answered by the book, raising a shield. Fist met barrier —

KWAANG—!

The roar swallowed the whole area. When his blow was stopped, Balrog let out a hollow laugh. She hadn't layered shield upon shield. A single barrier had caught his fist.

From then on he spent mana without restraint, hammering the shield as if he meant to pour out every last drop of the resentment he had bottled up inside the Absolute Sealing Orb.

You've had a rough time of it.

The very man who had sealed him there was thinking it.

The Black Sorceress, for her part, never lost her ease. Freshly summoned, she hardly seemed flustered at all. She drew Balrog in the way one might indulge a reckless child, answering him with nothing but simple spells.

Kwa-kwang! Kwaang! Kwang!

"Kehehe... it tickles!"

True to a magic resistance that bordered on the absurd, Balrog didn't so much as flinch when her spells struck his torso. The moment he realized her magic wasn't working on him, his confidence swelled. Simple, as expected.

She's toying with him.

Was it because she had only just been summoned, and her power hadn't fully settled yet? That didn't seem to be it. The mana rolling off the Black Sorceress was on par with Yujun's own — and that was only what she was letting show. She might well have been holding far more in reserve.

She must be carrying a considerable number of mana-related items.

Yujun hadn't poured many unallocated points into his Magic stat. Most of the growth had come along for the ride whenever all his stats rose together, though Golden Mammonism and a heap of consumables had to be counted in that surge as well.

The Black Sorceress was an ancient sorceress. According to Atradeon, she had been rather famous even among that company. A name that had already rung loud in her own age was bound to come with mana to match.

I'd like to see how she actually casts Ancient Magic, too.

For now she was still meeting Balrog with nothing but basic spells, and Yujun couldn't quite tell why. No matter how much time passed, Balrog couldn't so much as brush the hem of her robes. The instant he began to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grow used to a pattern, she raised the intensity — not merely the raw power, but the variety, shifting the rhythm of the spells themselves.

Kwakwakwang! Kwaang!

"Guhk!"

The unbroken chain of magic left Balrog reeling. Without that monstrous resistance he would have been subdued long ago, which was another way of saying he was still, for the moment, intact.

"Graaah! Stop irritating me and come at me properly!"

"Really?"

"Yes! You worm of a wretch!"

"All right."

Wooong. Woo-wooong—!

From that moment, the pressure pouring off the Black Sorceress changed. The air itself shuddered and grew hot.

A multi-attribute projectile shaped like a razor-edged arrow slammed into Balrog's body. It was fast, and it was large. Only then did his iron hide give way.

"Urk!"

This time the pain landed properly. Balrog clutched the wound — and it did not end there. The Black Sorceress's magical bombardment was only just beginning.

He moved with surprising agility and slipped a few of the spells, but that was all he managed. The rest struck home, and he thrashed in agony. Each spell looked as if she had tossed it off lightly, and yet every one of them carried tremendous force. In short order, he was overwhelmed.

Yujun himself had never seriously considered taking Balrog down with magic, and the Black Sorceress was doing it with ease. It seemed less a matter of raw spell power than of how that power was used.

There's a great deal to learn here. Varying the attributes really is the heart of it.

Especially against an enemy with high magic resistance. Weaving several elemental attributes together with non-attribute magic was simply more efficient — and she built her assault around lightning spells that dropped that resistance all at once.

This isn't even a contest...

Balrog unquestionably possessed tremendous power, but the Black Sorceress's command of magic was simply too refined. For all the advantage of his matchup, he was being driven to the brink of defeat.

Yujun set a hand on Paranet's shoulder.

"You go fight over there too."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beg your pardon? I, Master?"

"Who else? You're the only one standing here."

"Ah, but it would hardly be seemly for me to insert myself into the youngest's battle, would it not?"

"The youngest?"

"I speak of Balrog, Master."

"Since when is Balrog the youngest?"

"Were you not intending to take him as a summon?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then he is the youngest. He would be the last to join."

"That one's got a good chance of dying today."

"Is that so?"

"So help him. As the eldest brother."

"E-eldest brother...! As you command!"

Paranet nodded with a face full of grim resolve and kicked off the ground.

If only the Black Sorceress were half as simple as that one...

Finding himself thinking the exact same thing again, Yujun's eyes went wide.

Is this déjà vu?

Paranet joined the fight. He could hardly be called stronger than Balrog, but together the two of them might at least put the Black Sorceress in a difficult spot. Or so Yujun thought.

Astonishingly, the shield shattered. That was as far as it went. A sphere of flame launched from point-blank range sent Paranet hurtling away. The undead were especially weak to fire magic, and the Black Sorceress applied that elementary truth to the fight without a moment's hesitation.

Still, an opening had been made. Balrog seized the instant the shield broke and closed all the way to her. It was a chance that would not come twice, and he poured everything he had into his finishing move.

It was a style of combat possible only because of that sturdy frame and that towering resistance.

For the first time, the Black Sorceress's expression changed. Her eyes tightened, and she cast Blink in a hurry. Even she, who had seemed flawless, could not evade completely. She had withdrawn a beat too late, and flame born of the blast licked across her body.

She knew Healing as well, though. Before Balrog could close in again, she erased the burns in an instant — and a new shield rose in their place. Balrog stamped the ground in frustration.

"Aaaargh! Fight me fair and square, damn you!"

You're the one coasting on magic resistance. Not sure you get to say that.

He barely swallowed the words. Say them aloud, and Balrog would come charging at him on the spot.

"You're doing great, Balrog!"

So he said the opposite of what he was thinking.

"Khrngh..."

Balrog refused to give up and went back to pounding the shield. Paranet rejoined him. Between the two of them, their offensive power was considerable, and now the shield broke quickly enough. The problem was that, right around the moment it broke, the Black Sorceress simply took up position somewhere else — and the magical barrage followed without pause.

Paranet's endurance fell somewhat short of Balrog's, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he answered with the exceptional mobility that was his specialty. Even the nimblest Paranet, however, could not dodge everything.

"M-Master! I require assistance!"

"Quit the dramatics. You're still in one piece."

"Fire magic is truly, truly dangerous, Master!"

"Then dodge the fire. Anything else hits you and you'll regenerate in no time."

"...Everything she throws at me is fire magic."

"Is it? Oh. Here comes another."

"Eep!"

There was no time for the skeleton to stand around making small talk. Yujun watched with thorough detachment and analyzed the Black Sorceress's magic.

These are all spells I already know how to cast.

They were the sorts of magic one could unfold through the Ancient Magic skill, and nothing of truly high difficulty had appeared yet.

Isn't there anything else?

In truth, he wasn't especially interested in how she applied the relatively lower-grade spells. What he truly wanted to see were the magics that sat in the upper ranks of Ancient Magic — and to draw those out, he would have to drive the Black Sorceress further into a corner. She had taken a wound once, and still she overflowed with composure.

If I step in directly, I might have a harder time analyzing the magic properly...

He had a better idea. He would cast from range himself. Use the same Ancient Magic, and her competitive streak alone would force her to answer with something superior.

Yujun drew up his mana and cast multi-attribute magic.

"Hoh..."

The reaction from the Black Sorceress was immediate.

"Magic? Who are you?"

"You didn't look the least bit interested a moment ago."

"I have never seen one of your kind before. And yet you wield magic that is all but the exclusive property of my people. How curious."

"And what people would that be? You look human to me."

"Tesla."

"Teslada?"

"Tesla."

Had there ever been such a race? Yujun tilted his head, then nodded. They were a people who had wielded Ancient Magic in an age long past. It would hardly be strange if they had already gone extinct.

"You planning to keep looking the other way?"

At Yujun's words, the Black Sorceress hastily cast Blink. Balrog's enormous fist slammed into the space she had just vacated.

"Tsk. A pity. Human! She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dodged because you opened your mouth!"

Balrog's bellow chased the words.

"You think she couldn't read a lumbering windup like that? She knew exactly what you were doing and pretended she didn't."

"Lumbering? You dare say that of this body?"

Balrog had every right to be incredulous. The brute was not only strong — he was fast.

"Try moving a little quicker. At this rate, when exactly do you plan to catch her?"

"..."

One look at Balrog's face, flushing red and paling blue by turns, and Yujun decided not to provoke him any further.

He joined the fight in earnest, meaning to lend Balrog and Paranet his strength. All he did, in the end, was harass her with Ancient Magic — and even that seemed to weigh on the Black Sorceress. Her face twisted, just slightly.

Yujun deliberately copied every spell she cast. A thorough mirror match. With Paranet and Balrog interfering on top of that, she had no choice but to be thrown off.

"Try some other magic."

He said it even as he reproduced her spells to perfection, only half a beat behind. If anything, the power was greater — the influence of items, titles, skills, and traits, no doubt. His Ancient Magic had reached EX++ as well.

Grit.

The Black Sorceress clenched her teeth. She began to reveal her full strength.