46. Flames in the Forest
The forest near the cave.
Zien and Isabel shared their information.
What surprised Zien the most was Isabel's trait and her maximum MP.
MP at 9600. And Star Child, no less.
The gate had verified Isabel's mana potential at three times Zien's.
Of course, mana didn't always equate to combat prowess, but Isabel's talent was on another level entirely—even compared to what Zien had seen in his past life.
"Your MP is fully topped off now, right?"
"Yeah. My trait aside, all I got was Mana Link."
Isabel's expression hardened as memories of her starvation ordeal surfaced.
Her father was the lord of the Mage Tower, and as a noble-born, Isabel had always been far removed from hardship.
"Pocket."
Mid-sentence, Isabel swiped at the air, trying to store some chocolate. She'd planned to stockpile it for emergencies.
Unlike Zien, who no longer worried about hunger thanks to his
Magic Tool
, every bit of food was precious to her.
"Ugh, why won't it go in?"
"You can't store leftovers that've been partially eaten."
"Oh, got it. Too bad."
"Don't worry. I've got plenty of food."
Zien pulled out some biscuits and snacks from his pocket and offered them.
"R-really? It's okay?"
Isabel cradled the food in her palms like it was gold.
"Whoa..."
No—to her right now, food was worth more than gold.
"Heh heh, how many is that?"
Isabel's eyes sparkled as she organized the snacks into her pocket.
Zien glanced at Isabel with a pitying look in response to Amy's message.
What kind of 'character' is that...?
Rustle.
A faint sound came from the bushes.
The barest hint of a presence. Zien didn't miss it.
"Isabel, behind you!"
Isabel, distracted while sorting her pocket, couldn't react in time.
Whoosh!
Zien eyed the harpoon flying at them.
An ambush, huh.
As the harpoon launched, Zien activated Sensory Maximization. His forcibly heightened senses and accelerated thoughts made the harpoon's trajectory seem sluggish.
Witch's Moon Fragment... To think I didn't sense an enemy this close.
He'd overlooked the S-rank artifact's effect. Under the red moonlight, even Zien's keen senses were rendered useless.
This was the true danger of the "false daylight" Lucia had created.
No choice.
The harpoon was too close to dodge. In the end, Zien used mana to grab Isabel by the collar and yank her back.
"Hyah!!"
Letting out an odd kiai, Isabel tumbled over the bushes. The harpoon grazed past her head.
Thud!
The harpoon embedded in a tree before dissolving into mana particles—an unmistakable sign it was a magic tool.
It was one trial after another.
Covered in dirt and leaves, Isabel spoke in a calm voice.
"Airdrop in... five minutes?"
Isabel summoned her magic tool, Blaze. It took the form of ordinary leather gloves, but the power within rivaled any weapon.
"Time to earn my keep. Watch closely."
Isabel thrust her palm forward to the right.
Boom boom boom!
A chain of spaced explosions reduced everything within five meters to rubble.
"Gah! What the—!"
The ambusher screamed as they fled, one arm caught in the blast's edge.
But they didn't give up.
Gripping another harpoon with their remaining arm, they targeted Isabel.
Crackle!
The harpoon sparked and grew larger—more like a utility pole than a spear. Ignoring its mass, the enemy hurled it effortlessly.
"Die!"
A devastating combo of the S-rank magic art [Spear of Pursuit] and the [Blast Mage] trait.
Swoosh! Zzzzap!
But the spear warped the air with a screech before halting right in front of Isabel's nose. Mana clashed, sparking wildly. Isabel had deployed her mana as a barrier.
"Magic arts without a magic tool..."
Isabel's mana was a savage talent that instilled despair in her foes.
She sneered at the enemy's dumbfounded face.
"You're the one getting eliminated."
Flaming spears filled the sky.
As Isabel's index finger pointed at the foe...
The spears rained down.
Boom boom!
A gale swept through, fluttering Zien's black uniform and Isabel's red robe.
"Sneak attacks, huh."
Isabel didn't care if her position was exposed. She crushed with overwhelming force rather than evasion—that was her style. Reckless, perhaps, but she had the power to back it up.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Plana party waited in a forest a short distance from Zien. While monitoring the situation and awaiting the airdrop, they unwittingly witnessed Isabel's rampage.
"Ah, it's the Arcana party..."
The blazing forest.
Two Arcana members silhouetted against the inferno. Lena lost all will to fight.
It's them for sure! Zien Russell and Isabel Blitz! What do we do? Can we even take them? Should we just run?
Arcana and Celia were top contenders from the start. Lena knew their faces—and their skills—well.
I'd love to run, but...
Lena subtly glanced at her teammates. Ribenton covered his mouth in dainty surprise, while Kepan stoically watched Arcana.
As party leader, suggesting we flee would look bad...
To gauge their agreement, Lena cautiously broached the topic.
"Th-that's way too strong, isn't it?"
"Hmm, Arcana went for the cave too? I figured they'd hit the urban area. Quite the surprise."
Ribenton responded with a serious face.
With things going her way, Lena pressed further.
"Then how about we retreat—er, fall back? Live to fight another day?"
Kepan shook his head.
"Nah."
He stared straight at Lena.
His sharp, veiled features made her gulp nervously.
"Oh... really?"
"Where'd that earlier spirit go, party leader? Think about it. If Arcana—who's already strong—hogs all the supplies too, what happens?"
Convinced by Kepan's words, Lena nodded.
"It'd be impossible to stop them."
"Yeah. Forget stopping—we'd just get steamrolled."
Lena couldn't help but chuckle at Kepan's deadpan pun.
"That one was actually funny."
"I'm always funny."
"Alright! Then we fight—even if we can't win, let's snag those supplies!"
Lena brimmed with resolve once more.
The warm atmosphere prompted Ribenton to smile.
"I'll provide cover with my magic art, then!"
Ribenton thumped his chest, holding a bow adorably small for his build. Kepan pulled out his brush—a magic art tool—and drew on some paper.
"Here, party leader return talisman. Come back in one piece!"
"K-Kepan..."
Touched, Lena wiped her eyes. Just then, preparations at Plana Academy finished, and a hologram appeared for all participants.
Airdrops supplied to a total of 4 locations.
Golden boxes containing supplies can be stored in pockets and opened after 10 minutes.
Golden boxes unopened by their owner will drop unconditionally if the owner is eliminated.
The declaration of war.
A golden box with a parachute drifted slowly toward the cave from the sky.
"Here we go!"
Lena drew her spear—her magic tool—and charged at the box. Or tried to.
"Eek!!"
She let out a shrill scream.
Something had snagged her leg.
Thud!
Unable to halt her momentum, Lena tumbled. The culprit was a thin vine, nearly invisible—but infused with mana, tougher than wire.
"L-Lea?"
As disoriented Lena looked up, powder rained down from above.
"P-Pfft! Ack!!"
She flailed her hands frantically, but it was too late.
Paralysis powder? Nah, doesn't feel like it? Ugh, right from the start! Just run!
What Lena had stepped on was Zien's trap. The powder coating her was glowworm dust.
In her urgency, she hadn't noticed yet—but right now, Lena shone brighter than anyone.
Thud!
The golden box landed on a rock in front of the cave. Zien, Lea, and the masked man—three participants—raced for it.
Grab!
"Mine!!"
The masked man snatched it first. His shoes were a magic tool, paired with the speed trait [Gale Step]. He swiftly pocketed the box and tried to flee.
But—
Boom!!
He exploded.
Isabel's fireball had hit dead-on.
Now it was just Lea and Zien.
Lea targeted Zien instead of the box, thrusting her spear.
Clang!
Zien parried with his sword.
Lea tore a talisman and shouted.
"Trait Grant: Swiftness!"
The
Magic Art
made her spearwork incomparably faster.
Clang!
Lea was covered in buffs from Kepan's talismans.
One-on-one, but it felt like two-on-one. Her spear pressed Zien ferociously, belying her personality.
Clang! Clang clang!
Yet Zien held his own.
Lea pulled back and tore another talisman in desperation.
"Trait Grant: Might!"
But Zien stayed defensive.
As the fight dragged on, impatience showed on Lea's face.
The buffs' time limit was rearing its head. Seizing the advantage, Zien eyed her.
"About to end?"
A relaxed smile that said he knew everything.
As Zien predicted, the talisman buffs lasted only a few minutes.
"We've got plenty left!"
Bluffing, Lea glanced at the golden box nearby.
Grab that and run.
She judged a head-on win impossible. She'd known Zien was strong, but facing him made it feel hopeless. Still, she wasn't alone.
"Ribenton, now!"
At Lea's signal, an arrow rose into the sky. One on launch, it multiplied into hundreds on descent.
Swoosh!!
A downpour of arrows.
Fewer per arrow meant less lethality, but dodging them all seemed impossible.
"Arcana really is strong."
Exhausted but relieved, Lea sighed.
"But you can't dodge this, right?"
Zien looked up.
The sky was thick with arrows, blotting out the red moon.
"You'll get caught in it too."
At Zien's words, Lea activated her [Barrier Talisman]. It created a ward to block external attacks briefly.
"I've got cover."
Victory assured, Lea's lips curled.
He's Arcana's leader! Eliminate him, and...
Arcana would be out.
Plus, the main cam was focused on them. Knocking out Zien would make Plana stars overnight.
But a nagging doubt lingered. Zien looked too relaxed.
"Yeah?"
Zien had a D-rank artifact:
D-rank Artifact
. D-rank meant limited effect, and Plea's arrows weren't destructive like her [Path of Fire].
Been a while since I used this.
Equipment artifacts like the cloak often drew power from mana. If D-rank mana was 1, S-rank was about 10.
Infusing the user's mana could elevate a D-rank to S-rank.
Not easy, and it destroyed the artifact with poor efficiency.
In this artifact-scarce era, most Sabers didn't even know it existed.
Now.
Zien forcibly injected mana matching the artifact's wavelength.
Pop pop pop!
The arrows veered away, embedding in the ground around Zien.
He'd pushed the [Arrow-Deflecting Cloak] to S-rank forcibly.
[Arrow-Deflecting Cloak] has been destroyed due to overuse.
The hologram flashed as the cloak dissolved into particles.
Lea's [Barrier Talisman] expired at the same moment.
"Wh-what was that?!"
Lea stammered in shock.
"An artifact."
"That's cheating! Blocking a three-person ultimate move like that!"
Furious but trying to negotiate, Lea pleaded.
"How about we split it half-half? You pick first. Or 7-3? We take 3..."
Zien stepped forward.
Lea stepped back.
"N-no, stay back!"
Startled, she glanced between the box and Zien, face crumpling.
"Ugh, why Arcana of all people!!"
Grudging acceptance.
Lea tore the [Return Talisman] Kepan had given her.
Poof!
Smoke billowed as Lea vanished. Zien pocketed the golden box.
You have acquired Golden Box #3.
Time until opening: 3 minutes 22 seconds.
No threats remained for Zien. He'd boldly claimed one of the four boxes. Great news for Amy too.
As Amy's message noted, everyone who'd faced Zien was eliminated. If Lea returned like this, it'd be a modest but decent showing. But Zien offered no such mercy.
Amy's shock was obvious—the glaring light.
The light was Lea, who'd triggered the trap. Covered in glowworm dust, she shone vividly even from afar.
"Can you hit her?"
Zien asked with a smirk.
Instead of answering, Isabel raised her right arm. Flames erupted from her gloves, enveloping it.
Boom!
Mana surged skyward.
Isabel's mana still roared with ferocious momentum, like an endless ocean. Her target: the ever-glowing Lea. Aiming complete, Isabel spoke.
"Obviously."
Squeeze!
Finishing her cast, Isabel clenched her fist mid-air. A massive fireball plummeted from the sky, devastating the area. The shockwave upheaved the ground and whipped up gusts.
Overwhelming destructive power beyond any other magic art. Satisfied, Isabel dusted her hands.
"Earned my keep?"
My Previous Life was the Strongest Sword God