Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Power of the Earth (2)
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Galen didn't suddenly whip around with a shout of "Hyah! Die, earth fairy!" and unleash some finishing move.
Without the aid of Water Flow Manipulation, he was moving the spirit using only the mana from Spirit Creation, so its power was no different from that of an ordinary gold-rank mage.
No way would one gold-rank mage drop another gold-rank in a single blow.
It wasn't a surprise attack. She knew Galen was gold-rank, and she'd even boldly told him to take the first shot, which meant she was confident in her defenses.
But even assuming it wouldn't be dangerous...
He never imagined she'd skip defending altogether, make no attempt to dodge, and simply stand there taking the hit dead-on.
Even more astonishing was that after tanking that massive blow, Akanksha stood her ground unflinchingly.
"Huh...?"
Lilia's mouth fell slightly open. She'd been watching with growing concern ever since the water giant appeared.
Having seen Water Flow Manipulation more than anyone besides Galen himself, she knew its power well.
What made water magic terrifying wasn't anything fancy—it was sheer mass, pure and simple.
She could parry something small like a water bullet, but when water piled up and crashed down like a wave? No chance.
No matter how strong you were, without something to grab onto or your feet rooted into the ground, a wave would sweep you away. You might not get hurt if your body was tough enough, but you'd still go flying.
Lilia herself would have been washed away, let alone the much smaller Akanksha.
The water giant's fist alone was big enough to dunk a whole person in. Imagine how much water was packed into it.
Yet the earth fairy merely staggered a bit without even taking a single step back.
She quickly regained her balance through core strength alone and cracked her neck left and right.
"That hurt."
Akanksha grumbled.
"I figured a water mage in the middle of nowhere like this couldn't do much. But that was way more thrilling than I expected."
"..."
"Guess that stuff about water mages getting weak without nearby water is just nonsense humans made up? Or maybe exaggeration."
"...It's mostly true."
Galen replied, shaking his head slightly as he eyed her thoughtfully.
"It's just not always the case. Unlike fairies, human magic has massive individual variation. Even lumping it under 'water magic,' the subtypes differ wildly."
"You're not about to say it's because you're a genius again, are you?"
Galen just shrugged in response to her glare.
Akanksha wasn't Lilia. No need to volunteer that he knew multiple schools of magic.
"I'm more surprised by you, though."
"Huh?"
"It's weird no matter how you look at it."
What Galen pointed at was Akanksha's outward appearance—not her looks, but her state.
The giant's arm had shattered on impact from the full-force blow, flooding the entire area.
Yet not a single drop clung to Akanksha's clothes. Her shoe soles might have gotten a bit wet from the puddles, at most.
She'd been looking up at the giant, so she'd taken a full pillar of water to the face—and still, not a single strand of hair was damp.
"You said it hurt, so there was impact, but it's not like you're disintegrating the water itself. No waterproofing could keep you that dry, though... so a transparent barrier around your body fits better."
"Oh, pretty sharp."
Akanksha grinned.
"Close enough. This is the power of the earth. Its heavy, unyielding strength protects me—that's how I came out unscathed."
"I vaguely recall hearing it's called that because you draw some kind of power from the earth itself. Is that right?"
"...You sure ask casually."
"You explained 'power of the earth' pretty casually."
"That's no secret! It's stuff you'd figure out after sparring us once. If I asked you to teach me water magic, would you?"
"No."
"At least pretend to think about it! Anyway... this isn't the end, right?"
"Want to keep going?"
"You think you're gonna hit me a few times and call it quits? Have all the fun yourself? Huh?"
"I'm a fragile mage. One hit and I'm dead."
"Don't worry. I'll stop right before I connect. Let's see if you can force me back before I reach you. What, no confidence? Scared you can't even scratch my defense?"
"Heh."
Galen chuckled lowly at her taunt.
He was curious what she'd do against a real Water Flow Manipulation punch or a Fire Illusion Burst.
But if a fairy got carted off injured before things even got started, that'd be a problem. Better hold back.
He could guess why Akanksha was acting this way.
'No way she's just the type who only knows fighting.'
She might not grumble openly like Veron, but the earth fairies surely weren't thrilled with the church's mediation either.
She was probably probing the supervisor's tendencies and skills in case of an incident—like a clash with the church.
Mages had way more individual variation than warriors or priests, whose performances you could roughly gauge.
Knowing their school of magic ahead of time made countermeasures much easier.
Galen wasn't offended. Probing for info was natural.
He was doing the same to learn about earth fairy magic. Tit for tat.
'Get a good look at the spirits.'
All she'd learn was a fragment of his abilities.
Galen, meanwhile, could steal the magic used by all earth fairies.
Who benefited more was obvious.
"Then let's continue."
"Good, come at me!"
The water giant reformed its broken arm and swung its fist sideways this time.
But once again, Akanksha's body merely flinched without being pushed back an inch.
Grinning, she took a vigorous step forward.
That part was fine.
Squelch!
The ground, turned to mud by the sudden flood, grabbed at her shoe.
"Tch, seriously!"
Her arrogant expression lasted only a moment. Akanksha yanked her foot free from the deep mud with an irritated huff.
Galen chuckled and summoned the water giant once more.
The bigger the spirit grew, the more Spirit Creation mana it guzzled with every movement.
It might look like light sparring, but Galen wasn't controlling the water giant for fun.
Its power wasn't a joke either. Akanksha was just holding up because she was gold-rank too.
Still, progress wasn't shooting up.
'It was so slow against bronze it was practically impossible to steal, so I figured it'd climb fast against gold...'
Considering mana expenditure ratios, it even felt less efficient than against silvers like Redna or Kane.
Was it always like this, or because it was fairy magic instead of human? No clue.
'Whatever.'
The water giant swung its fist again, and this time Akanksha swung hers right back.
The moment those vastly mismatched fists collided, water exploded outward.
Progress was creeping up, slow but steady.
They had plenty of time.
*
Unfortunately for Lilia, while Akanksha treated her more warmly in daily interactions, she preferred sparring with Galen.
Priests were inherently inferior to warriors in honest, frontal clashes.
Infinite stamina from miracle of vitality, instant recovery from miracle of healing, ranged harassment from miracle of halo.
Such advantages rarely shone in standard spars.
With just miracle of fortification, their physical prowess fell short of peer warriors anyway.
From Lilia's perspective, experiencing the earth fairies' exotic techniques unlike anything human was great fun.
But to Akanksha, Lilia made for poor practice.
Human mages were rare encounters to begin with, water mages even more so—she had to prioritize probing Galen.
Even so, after ten rounds, things were starting to drag.
Galen stubbornly hammered away with mass via spirits alone, and Akanksha's style was equally straightforward: advance while tanking hits. No room for variety.
"Let's call the sparring here."
On the evening of the fifth day of travel.
After one round with Galen and one with Lilia, Akanksha declared.
"Took six days by carriage to Mezaiya. Same to Oklane, so we'll arrive in two days. Better rest up and stay in peak condition till then."
"You're right. Thanks for everything!"
"It was a good experience."
"I had fun too."
They exchanged warm farewells. Of course, they were still traveling together, so they simply agreed to meet the next morning.
Akanksha headed back to the inn to rest, while Galen and Lilia decided to take a short stroll through the village.
"Ugh, such a shame."
Lilia muttered, looking a bit down.
"It was right in the middle of that tingly feeling."
"Tingly feeling?"
"Can't put it into words... but I felt like I was on the verge of some realization."
"...A realization after a few spars? They weren't even that long each time."
"Sure, but she's a fairy, so the feel is totally different from humans... not quite a warrior, not a mage either, so..."
Realizations weren't meant to be put into words by nature. Galen stopped her struggling explanation with some comforting words.
"Plenty more chances ahead. Maybe another earth fairy will challenge you."
"Doubt I'd be as popular as you, Brother Galen."
"If a fairy wants you, I'll ask them to throw you in as a bonus."
Galen paused briefly, glanced around, and spoke softly.
"Worst case... I could recreate something similar for you later."
"...Ah?!"
It took Lilia a moment to parse his meaning, but when she did, her eyes went wide.
She didn't know about status windows, but she believed Galen was such an unprecedented genius that he could instantly grasp the principles of any magic he witnessed.
"Like with the Burtain family?"
"Yes."
Galen flashed a meaningful smile.
Slow as it was, the progress wasn't comparable to bronze-rank foes—it had finally hit 100% during that last spar.
Akanksha figured she'd gotten enough exposure to Galen's magic and called it quits, but actually, Galen was the one satisfied.
"No fair! How many times did you see it?"
"Way more than the Burtains, who I only saw twice. Relaxed spars too. And you're the same."
"Mine was 'almost'—yours actually happened! Huge difference!"
Lilia whined for a moment before snapping back to normal.
"But isn't that a racial trait of earth fairies? Can you even use it?"
"Unfortunately, not perfectly."
Galen smacked his lips.
As always, the moment he acquired the magic, insight flooded his mind naturally.
That's when he realized.
The magic itself was fine, but he couldn't receive its full effects.
"Earth fairies might look human, but they aren't. Their body structure just isn't compatible."
"Kinda disappointing. Wait, no—even that much is incredible, isn't it?"
"It really is. I'm plenty satisfied."
Galen rolled up his right sleeve and offered his arm.
"Wanna give it a light tap?"
Lilia tilted her head but grabbed his hand anyway. She extended just two fingers and poked his wrist.
Smack!
A crisp sound of flesh meeting flesh. It looked perfectly normal.
But Lilia's keenly enhanced senses picked up on the subtle anomaly.
"Something like... resistance?... Ah, no way?"
"Yep. Power of the earth. Still at the crawling stage, so not 'heavy and unyielding' yet..."
Galen grinned.
"Guess we don't have to worry about armor anymore."