Episode 119
Episode 119
"Spring forth."
As the incantation repeated over and over, masses of water took shape and manifested.
The <Spatial Perception> spell didn't merely end at allowing the mage to accurately comprehend their surroundings.
It provided additional effects even during long-range attacks like this.
Originally, controlling each individual Water Orb would have made it difficult to manipulate more than a certain number, but now that limit was dramatically increased.
This kind of magic combination and chaining was also part of a mage's abilities...
"......"
"......"
...but even this was only possible with sufficient mana.
Durgyu and Giselle forgot about attacking Bikelintz entirely, staring at the Water Orbs with expressions of utter disbelief and astonishment.
No matter how you looked at it, there were simply too many.
'Incredible!'
Bikelintz stood motionless, forgetting even to counterattack.
Normally, giving a powerful mage time to cast was the gravest of taboos. A single brief incantation could overturn the entire battlefield.
Yet Bikelintz chose to observe rather than retaliate.
The sight was simply too astonishing to interrupt with an attack.
Even for an Einrogard student, was this level of magic really possible for a first-year?
"Professor Ingoldel. Can all first-years at the Magic School wield magic of this caliber?"
Bikelintz asked this question.
If true, he fully intended to reprimand the mages affiliated with the White Poplar Knights.
If a first-year who'd just begun learning magic could do this, then what exactly were the White Poplar Knights' mages doing?
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"Not a chance."
Not only Professor Ingoldel, but Durgyu and Giselle also answered with grave expressions.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Lee Han's assault resumed.
The Water Orbs floating in the air began flying along different trajectories at varying speeds.
Though Lee Han himself refused to admit it, the sight resembled Professor Voladi's demonstration of Magic Arrow control.
When launching multiple projectiles aggressively, it was inevitable that his technique would mirror the textbook example shown by Professor Voladi.
'I should have a word with Professor Voladi.'
Professor Ingoldel, watching this, frowned with concern.
He'd heard from several professors that Lee Han was learning magical combat under Professor Voladi.
-Understand this, Ingoldel? Compared to Professor Bagrak, I'm nothing. So don't go spreading tales about me, especially not to His Majesty the Emperor.
-Sigh... Why... Of all people for young Lee Han to learn from... Who knew talent could be a curse... Ah, my apologies. This isn't the kind of complaint I should be making to you, Professor Ingoldel...
The magic professors at this school, being mages themselves, couldn't help but have their share of extreme tendencies.
Now, Lee Han was gradually adopting those very tendencies under their tutelage.
A freshman had suspended far too many Water Orbs in the air.
No matter how abundant his mana, the mental strain required to control each one individually must be considerable.
Professor Ingoldel seriously considered paying Professor Voladi a visit to make a request.
Wasn't it dangerous to have him manipulating so many Water Orbs already at this stage?
'I'll have to phrase it carefully.'
In this Magic School, Professor Ingoldel was the only one who could protect the students from the professors themselves.
A shiver ran down Lee Han's spine.
'He's strong!'
Was this the kind of fear that a knight who'd reached mastery could instill in others?
Of course, there was another reason for Lee Han's unease, though he remained unaware of it.
Had he known, he would've rushed to Professor Ingoldel and pleaded, 'Please don't say anything strange to Professor Voladi!'...
But right now, Lee Han was too preoccupied with facing Bikelintz.
Even as Durgyu and Giselle took turns attacking from both sides and Water Orbs rained down from above, Bikelintz remained unshaken.
Bikelintz cleaved through every oncoming Water Orb and parried the two swordsmen's assaults.
'This... Not even <Lesser Perkuntra's Lightning> would work here.'
The only reason the three students were holding their ground was because Bikelintz wasn't actively pressing the attack.
If Bikelintz were to take the offensive, their combined assault would crumble in an instant.
They needed to somehow deal damage while their opponent was still holding back, but that was easier said than done.
Lee Han had never intended to settle things with just Water Orbs in the first place. The Water Orbs were merely a ploy to create openings by disorienting his opponent.
His plan was to exploit those openings with proper attacks like <Lesser Perkuntra's Lightning>, but...
No openings were appearing at all.
'Just why did Professor Ingoldel bring a knight like that here...'
Despite his grumbling, his body moved.
Toward the best possible option available now.
"I hide in the night."
Lee Han muttered the incantation softly. As he withdrew behind the illusion and chanted, his body turned invisible.
Given the considerable distance and the multiple illusions from <Pahait's Lesser Illusion> creating decoys of himself, Bikelintz failed to notice.
'This is as far as I can go.'
Even after successfully casting the invisibility spell, Lee Han couldn't get too close.
He was wary of his opponent's senses.
He had learned this firsthand in Professor Voladi's lectures.
A skilled mage could detect their surroundings through mana alone, even with their eyes covered.
A skilled knight would be no different.
The moment he stepped within a certain range, he would be detected—invisibility or not.
Frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.
Lee Han took a deep breath and steeled himself.
From now on, it was a battle against time.
'I believe in you, Perkuntra!'
"Strike forth, lightning of Perkuntra!"
Mana erupted from Lee Han's core, transforming into lightning-attribute energy.
Unlike the instantaneous discharge of the 1st Circle spell <Lightning Creation>, this was an accumulation of lightning-attribute mana.
A sphere of crackling, violent lightning rapidly formed and shot forward.
Bikelintz was more shocked than he had been all day.
The boy from the Wardanaz family had somehow concealed himself, closed the distance, and unleashed a lightning spell from behind.
And it was easily on par with a 4th Circle spell!
The fact that a freshman could cast a 4th Circle spell was astonishing, but what truly stunned him was the speed.
Casting magic in the calm of a workshop and casting it in the heat of battle were entirely different.
The former allowed for slow, repeated attempts without pressure, while the latter required overcoming tension and pressure to cast swiftly and decisively in a single attempt.
For a freshman to break through such adverse conditions this quickly?
He seemed even more adept than the mages of the White Poplar Knights.
'The Wardanaz family... I'd only heard rumors, but it seems even those were underestimations!'
Crack—!!!
A violet light flashed from Bikelintz's sword as he cleaved straight through the oncoming lightning.
With an ear-splitting roar, the lightning split apart, scattering to either side before striking the ground and vanishing.
The sight of the scorched earth where the lightning struck was proof enough of its destructive power.
But it meant nothing to Lee Han.
'...Perkuntra. I'll never trust you again!'
What good was "at least the power was decent" when even the spell he'd relied on had been blocked?
Lee Han cursed Perkuntra.
Worse still, Bikelintz had changed his stance after this ambush.
"...I am genuinely impressed."
Bikelintz raised his sword. The blade still bore traces of the lightning strike.
He no longer intended to stand idle. No matter how young a freshman might be, remaining passive against an opponent who had demonstrated such skill was both insulting and discourteous.
Sincerity deserved sincerity in return.
"......"
A chill ran down Lee Han's spine.
He didn't need words—his countless past experiences told him exactly what was coming.
"Sir Knight, I think there's been a misunderst—"
Boom!
Before he could finish, Bikelintz stomped the ground and lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.
Lee Han instinctively recited the incantation.
"Gather, compress, and explode!"
One of the most common misconceptions among non-mages was, 'Even without learning from a master, wouldn't it be possible to read a magic tome and practice to cast spells?'
Of course, that was nearly impossible.
Magic tomes used by mages were fundamentally closer to personal self-satisfaction than being designed for knowledge transfer.
There wasn't the slightest consideration for making the content understandable to readers!
A magic tome was precisely that—a book crammed with all sorts of ciphers, abstract metaphors, illegible handwriting, abbreviations only the author could decipher, and obscure references.
That was why it wasn't strange at all that Lee Han kept hitting a wall on the first chapter despite repeatedly reading <On Basic Blood Magic and Its Applications>.
Even though this was one of the most detailed and meticulously written books among those Lee Han had read, it was still the case.
After spending a long time wrestling with the book, Lee Han had barely managed to grasp one spell.
<On Basic Blood Magic and Its Applications>
I believe no blood mage would be unaware of Piblicus' Great and Tremendous Magic Missile. The outstanding blood magic master Piblicus created this spell for future generations of blood mages, and the method is as follows...
<Piblicus' Great and Tremendous Magic Missile>.
The name was quite ironic and grandiose.
Magic Missile was an easy and simple 1st Circle Magic.
So much so that there were even mercenaries who learned only Magic Missile and called themselves mages.
However, <Piblicus' Great and Tremendous Magic Missile> was indeed different from the conventional Magic Missile.
It instantaneously drew out and compressed an immense amount of mana, on a completely different scale from the standard Magic Missile.
Though the principle was simple, no more complex mechanism was needed for a mage who amplified their mana through blood magic.
The same went for someone like Lee Han, whose overflowing mana was his strength.
Lee Han had studied this spell diligently, thinking it would be useful.
Of course, he hadn't anticipated using it in an actual combat situation without a single practice session...
Squeeek.
A strange sound emerged as the mana compressed, clashed, and became unstable.
Lee Han was bewildered.
'What's this?'
At first, he thought the spell had failed. But it hadn't.
The compressed mana continued to move according to Lee Han's will.
As if it were about to explode at any moment!
'...!'
Only then did Lee Han realize.
The incantation had included the word "explode."
A normal Magic Missile should have had commands like "shoot forth" or "be launched."
But "explode"?
That meant...
'This was never meant to be a projectile-type Magic Missile from the start!'
It was a spell that deliberately compressed vast amounts of mana to make it unstable, then detonated it at close range!
There was no way such an unstable Magic Missile could maintain form and fly.
This spell had outright abandoned the concept of being launched in the first place.
Cursing blood mages under his breath, Lee Han focused his mind.
Abandoning a spell at this stage would be suicidal.
Now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to control the explosion!
'Control it.'
Bikelintz, who had been charging forward, paled in shock as he witnessed the explosive surge of mana flashing before him.
To cast another spell like this in such a short time?
"Guh—!"
Bikelintz circulated mana through all his muscles, reinforcing them to withstand the impact.
The destructive power was unbelievable for something cast in such a brief moment.
While silently acknowledging respect for his young opponent, Bikelintz simultaneously knocked the staff out of Lee Han's hand.
Confirming the fight was over, Bikelintz sheathed his sword and approached Lee Han.
"By any chance, are you from the White Poplar Knigh—"
Whoosh!
Lee Han drew his wooden sword and thrust.
The wooden sword stopped just short of Bikelintz's chest.
Bikelintz stared at Lee Han in surprise before giving a bitter smile.
"Still too green. To make such a mistake..."
Distracted by the magic, he had assumed the fight ended when the staff was knocked away.
Bikelintz conceded gracefully.
"I lost."
Considering what this young freshman had shown, he deserved the victory.