A Sturdy, Complete Mana Rod

Crafting a sturdy, complete mana rod was no great difficulty for him. Even with only the scantest trickle of mana, time alone was enough to see the work done. Had he been making it without knowing how, that would have been another matter — but walking a path he had already traveled was not difficult at all.

Three hours passed. The mana rod was finished to a perfection that could not have been bettered.

In truth, he would not be lingering here long, and there was no need to lavish such care on the work — but if he was going to do it at all, was it not better to leave no part wanting? He might yet have cause to use New-Generation Magic, and a mana rod made halfheartedly would never do. Having designed and built it with his own hands, he even had the feeling that his magical skill had improved somehow... though it might simply have been his imagination.

What should I try?

He settled on a spell that cost little mana, yet demanded a high degree of magical understanding and was notoriously difficult to manifest. The skill called New-Generation Magic was not displayed on his status window, so he briefly wondered whether he ought to cast in the old way — but the knowledge already settled in his mind refused the very notion of casting.

I'll assume New-Generation Magic is there, and cast accordingly.

He had a well-honed mana rod. He had the knowledge. Add experience to that, and there was no reason it should fail.

True to a magic that imposed so tremendous a constraint — the complete cutting off of sight — it was exceedingly difficult to wield. Technique in handling magic mattered far more than the raw quantity of mana.

And last of all, to use this spell, he needed a target.

"Paranet."

"Yes, my lord!"

These days Paranet emerged before the magic circle was even fully drawn. Had the endless cycle of summoning and unsummoning shortened the time?

"Stand still. Can you see me right now?"

"Pardon? But of course."

Yujun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laid Blindness upon Paranet. The work demanded both precision and speed, for he had to lock both of the target's eyes as his mark — and should the target so much as blink, the spell might fail to take.

"And now?"

"I see perfectly well, I do."

"...Must not work on the undead."

Yujun unsummoned him. There were other test subjects.

He left the room, and as he went he discovered signs posted all along the corridors, each bearing the same notice.

I'll have to be careful.

He had walked past those signs without a thought before, but now that he had built a mana rod and his mind was full of casting, they seemed to leap straight into his eyes. Slipping a spell past the barrier laid over the whole of the magic academy building was not difficult. Whatever spell he used, it would simply cost a little more mana.

Yujun walked the corridors, looking for someone to cast on.

It'd be nice if those three idiots showed up.

Perhaps because it was late, almost no students were wandering the dormitory. He kept circling, patient.

Faster to just find the room those three idiots are staying in.

He was walking along with that thought when, right on cue, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠found the three idiots laughing and chattering in front of a room.

Oh, now this is a treat.

In truth, he had lacked a proper pretext for beating them senseless. Being an eyesore and blocking his path was not, by itself, reason enough to thrash them. But Blindness was perfect for giving them a hard time — and he could do it without being caught.

Above all, casting Blindness from a distance, into a blind spot where the eyes themselves could not be seen, was an absurdly difficult feat. If he pulled off something that hard, might he not gain some insight? In a sense, this event dungeon was a training ground for Yujun, which was why the time spent here felt not the least bit wasted. Even if he gained no insight, it hardly mattered. It would still be satisfying.

Of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three idiots, two had their backs turned, and the last stood at an angle where he might just catch sight of Yujun. Yujun targeted the one most likely to spot him first.

Two shapeless surges of force shot out in a flash and sank cleanly into the idiot's eyes.

"Guh—! What the—!"

The idiot clutched his eyes all at once and folded sharply at the waist. The other two started in surprise and hurried over to their blinded companion. Their eyes, however, remained out of his sight.

To blind those two now, he would have to reach the very realm of foreseeing the future. It was difficult beyond any comparison with the Blindness he had laid on the first.

He would take both at once.

Yujun activated Super Concentration.

This is exactly what Super Concentration is for.

Honestly, he didn't think he could manage it in his ordinary state of mind. Of course, even with Super Concentration, success was not guaranteed. The work was difficult to that degree.

Once the skill took hold, he had just enough mana left for two casts of Blindness. He set his aim true and released the spell.

The four clumps did not punch through the backs of the idiots' heads. Each one curved around and closed in toward an eye. This was why it was hard. He could not send them in a straight line; he had to alter the trajectory so they swung around once. Nor was it something he could steer in real time — the moment he released them, it was done. He had to predict their movements down to the smallest detail, which meant luck had to cooperate as well.

Even so, Super Concentration made it temporarily easier to read an opponent's actions. Easier than before, that was all. It was not easy.

"I can't see!"

"Y-you too?"

"What's going on?"

"Who did this to us? This is insane. How are all three of us..."

That was when it happened.

KRA-KRA-KRA-KOOM—!

A tremendous explosion slammed into their bodies. Yujun fared no better. An impact like a cannon shell struck him square in the back, and he was flung hard into a wall.

"Kh—!"

Explosions erupted all at once, all throughout the building.

"Attack! We're under attack!"

Whether the barrier had activated or not, a clamorous alarm blared in his ears. A sharp, tingling pain ran through his whole body. Yujun knit his brow and pushed himself up.

Don't tell me this is because I used Blindness?

He was certain he had cast it so as not to trip the barrier.

All this, over a single spell?

For better or worse, the explosions did not seem to have been caused by his magic.

"Kill them all!"

"Slaughter these pathetic mage bastards!"

"Wipe them out! Kyahahaha!"

Imps smashed through the doors, stormed the rooms, and killed the students inside. Nor were they alone.

"Let us teach these so-called mages the true might of the Demon King's Army!"

"You vermin!"

There were dark elves as well, and races he had never seen before. Most of them did not look particularly virtuous, so telling friend from foe seemed unlikely to be difficult.

"...The Demon King's Army? Why is this event dungeon's difficulty like this?"

Yujun muttered, unaware that his own intrusion had sharply raised the event dungeon's clear difficulty and spawned an unforeseen variable.

Little time had passed, and yet the academy was in utter chaos. The Demon King's Army had not struck the men's dormitory alone. They had assaulted the entire magic academy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠building at once, refusing to hit a single point first — precisely so the mages would have no chance to prepare.

If there was anything to wonder at, it was how they had invaded this academy, so proud of its ironclad defenses, without the slightest sign. Honestly, Yujun himself had not sensed their approach at all. Something that ought to have been impossible — short of a warp gate suddenly appearing out of the Demon Realm — had happened all the same.

"Filthy mages!"

"How long did you think you could keep us sealed away?! Kuhahaha!"

Three imps charged the Yujun who stood there blankly. Having spent every last drop of his mana, he drew his sword — and with a ripping flash, the bodies of all three imps were torn to shreds. He had grown weaker upon becoming a barbarian, but this was still a body that had felled even an earth dragon in a single strike. There was no world in which the likes of imps would trouble him.

Nor, among the Demon King's Army beyond the imps, was there a single one who could withstand even one stroke of Yujun's sword. He cut down nearly twenty in a flash, then broke into a run toward the women's dormitory.

Manuela and Yenil were in danger. The assault had come without warning, and with no abilities save magic, they could die for nothing.

"Paranet!"

"Yes!"

"Cover me. Anything that comes at us, kill it."

"As you command!"

Even if Paranet landed the kills, the experience flowed to Yujun unchanged, so there was nothing to lose. Paranet swept aside the Demon King's Army blocking their path with body slams. He really was like a bulldozer, and all the more convenient for it. His physical stats were incomparably higher than Yujun's at present; even without fighting, merely keeping up with him at a run was more than Yujun could manage.

Perhaps because Paranet stood out too much, the number of Demon King's Army troops converging on them began to grow.

"The undead! Take the undead first!"

"Where did that thing come from? Why is a Death Knight attacking us?"

"Just kill it!"

The Demon King's Army was no match for Paranet. He was stronger than your average Demon King, and these were not even the Demon King's direct subordinates — how could mere underlings hope to face him? In this place, Paranet was pure overbalance.

Arriving with Paranet before the main gate of the women's dormitory, Yujun closed his eyes and focused on his senses. But perhaps because his stats were no longer what they had been, the reach of those senses was not particularly wide.

"Paranet, find Manuela and Yenil for me."

"Understood. Only entrust it to me!"

Back when he had been among the barbarians, he had thought he didn't particularly need Paranet's help. Faced with an emergency like this, though, the fellow was reassuring beyond belief.

"I have found them! Pray follow me!"

"Yeah."

"My lady! I shall have you free in a moment! Only hold on a little longer!"

"Is it dangerous?"

"Yes. They are beset on all sides by demonkin."

"Demonkin? What are demonkin doing here?"

"It would seem my lady and Yenil are unusually strong, and so the foe has converged upon them."

Yujun climbed a staircase littered with corpses, his face twisting hard. Chunks of flesh in which no limb or feature could be told apart — a grotesque sight. Worse than the carnage itself was the restless anxiety clawing at him over his two companions.

"Paranet, can't you run any faster? Go on ahead and help them."

"There is no need. For we have arrived."

KWA-BOOM!

The blast rang out the very moment Paranet finished speaking. Fortunately, it was an explosion aimed at the demonkin.

"Manuela!"

At Yujun's shout, Manuela's face lit up, even as sweat poured off her from casting spell after spell.

"You got here fast! These ones are strong, so be careful!"

Yujun did not answer. He cut the throats of the demonkin blocking his way, pierced their hearts, and severed weapon-arms clean off. There was not the slightest unnaturalness in his movements, so that the scene played out as if the demonkin were deliberately offering him their vitals in order to die.

"..."

The demonkin, flushed with the thrill of plunder, witnessed it and found themselves with nothing to say. But their stunned stupor lasted only a moment. Recognizing how grave the situation had become, the elite troops that had been pressing Manuela and Yenil rushed Yujun all at once.

With no suitable skill to call on, Yujun had to cut them down one by one with the sword. And so, if they came at him from every side, he might well take a serious wound from at least one direction.

KWAANG—!

In that moment Paranet appeared and body-slammed the demonkin, sending every last one of them flying.

"How dare you seek to lay a hand upon my master!"

"Thanks. Your timing's come a long way."

"A trifle of this order is nothing at all."

It had been a long time since he had received praise. Paranet scratched at his head and broke into a wide, beaming grin.

"Master, tell me plainly."

"What?"

"I am better than Harp, am I not?"

"No. That's a bit..."

"..."

Setting everything else aside, he was simply no match in cuteness, nor in lovability.