Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 67
>Chapter Title: It Was Fun In Its Own Way
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Overclock.
I had no idea about its detailed mechanics.
—As I explained, it’s the ability to unlock latent potential… but truthfully, even I struggle to define it properly.
If the caster himself, Obern, couldn’t pin it down, how could I?
But the phenomenon itself was vividly clear in my body.
‘Really…’
Everything was sharp.
I slowly scanned my surroundings, swept up in the surging euphoria.
Blazing fierce flames all around, steam rising as the marsh’s moisture evaporated, and beyond it, the silhouette of the Swamp Ruler came into crystal focus.
‘At this level… it’s about half of what I had in my past life.’
This didn’t mean half the total power.
It meant half the autonomy in how I wielded it.
In the end, the maximum output stayed the same—but at first glance, that might sound pointless.
But it was far from pointless.
First off.
‘I’ve entered the Divine Flame stage.’
Solidifying imagery was something I’d never experienced in my past life. The Red Flame realm had always progressed sluggishly, inevitably.
But the moment Overclock flipped my view of the world, that realization hit.
And second.
This was the most important part…
Grrooo—
That’s when the Swamp Ruler’s low roar echoed.
Even with skin that could block ether, it had no way to fend off the Divine Flame’s scorching heat.
Mixed in with faint anger, its cry carried a pained groan.
But that wasn’t all.
Groooaaar—!
The Swamp Ruler stopped thrashing and curled its body.
Its roar grew deeper, resonating more intensely.
That’s when Reilly’s voice rang out from afar.
“B-Be careful! It’s the roar I warned you about!”
A roar, huh…
‘So this is it—the one that warps the natural state of mana.’
No magic was permitted within the roar’s range of influence.
Indeed—!
Graaaaaah…!
A different roar shook the ground, and the sheer energy made my shoulders instinctively shrink.
And that was just the start.
Fwoosh—!
The fierce flames vanished in an instant, as if sucked into a vacuum.
The steam scattered on the wind, and the Swamp Ruler revealed itself in the clear view.
Grrr—
A growl laced with fury.
Our eyes met then.
‘Three seconds, was it?’
Just three seconds, and the mana in your body freezes.
…That’s when I’d thought up to here—second one.
By the second, I was already slicing through the air.
No, “slicing” wasn’t the right word.
My body shot straight toward the Swamp Ruler like an arrow loosed from a bow.
But was its reflexes too slow to keep up with my body?
Its reaction lagged.
Gro—!
Its arm swung through the air late, or rather, it didn’t even connect.
It just took a stance, swinging its arm wide.
Shoulder pulled back, chest opened wide, then chest closing as the shoulder swung forward and the arm lashed out!
Hesitation.
Kraa?!
Its arm froze midair, as if snagged on an invisible line.
The rupture came right after.
Crack!
The squishy sensation in my grip.
I yanked out what I’d seized, flung it away, and reached out again.
Once more…
Crunch.
A chilling sound.
But this time, it didn’t end with a rupture.
Kreeeeaa—!
The Swamp Ruler screamed in agony.
That marked three seconds.
Or…
‘Did it take a bit longer?’
No clue.
Since my body’s mana didn’t freeze, it just meant it took less than three.
Splash.
Dodging the thrashing hand in pain, I leaped lightly and landed on the marsh.
I tossed the eye I’d gouged from its face carelessly into the swamp and stared at the creature clutching its own face, writhing.
“Yeah… this is it.”
The Swamp Ruler, bereft of its eyes. Its cries were heartbreakingly pathetic now.
But how to describe my feelings gazing at the scene?
Utter freedom.
Do what I want, and no one can force me otherwise.
Everything moved just as I thought!
“Stop crying, and let’s finish this?”
Overclock only lasted five minutes.
‘…It’s dangerous after five, right?’
A minute or so had already passed, so not much playtime left.
Plus, the roar blocked all magic.
I could still use blood magic.
But.
‘It’s been a while. Let’s go old-school.’
That was more than enough.
* * *
The battle raged on.
Reilly stared at the scene before him with wide, frantic eyes.
‘What the hell…’
A mage and a monster.
A single mage versus the Swamp Ruler, terror of the Hamern Great Forest for ages.
Human versus beast.
But.
Reilly couldn’t utter a word in the face of this utterly incomprehensible sight.
Was that really a human versus monster fight?
No way.
What human rips out both eyes of the Swamp Ruler with their bare hands?
And like that…
Crack. Boom!
Kreeeeaa—!
Fights a monster in hand-to-hand combat with nothing but their body!
No, a skilled mage might not call it mere fisticuffs.
The Swamp Ruler’s keen sense of smell pinpointed Aster’s position, swinging its massive bulk wildly, but Aster endured every blow with his body and traded punches.
It looked like brutish brawling at a glance.
But in truth, it wasn’t.
Thwack! Crackle!
The fists pounding the Swamp Ruler’s flesh shimmered with clear mana.
Clang—!
Whenever the Ruler’s massive hand neared his body, a translucent barrier appeared and vanished.
A symphony of Collision Formula and unyielding barriers.
But oblivious to that, Reilly could only gape in horror.
‘A monster… a monster.’
Once, near the core, he’d witnessed it.
Two ancient beasts that had slipped out of the core by chance. Their terrifying clash.
This was exactly how he’d felt then.
A battle between untouchable beings—like a scene from myth.
And that wasn’t all.
‘He’s… tearing it apart.’
Ripping its ether-proof hide with bare hands.
No, “tearing” wasn’t accurate.
Just peeling it off with brute force.
An unfathomable spectacle!
But Reilly wasn’t the only one stunned.
“…How.”
Obern’s eyes had opened at some point.
He stared blankly ahead.
“M-Mage? Is it okay to open your eyes?”
Reilly snapped to attention and asked.
As shocking as the fight was, survival trumped all.
If Obern lost focus, the battle would turn, and the enraged Swamp Ruler wouldn’t spare them.
Sensing the worry, perhaps.
Obern nodded softly.
“My focus is back on track… so it’s fine for now.”
“Ah, r-right.”
Back on track? Reilly had no idea what that meant, but if it was fine, that was enough.
“B-But… weren’t you a mage?”
Regaining some composure, Reilly eyed Obern.
The question was simple.
Traversing the Hamern Great Forest, the masked man had clearly been a mage.
Sprinkling mysterious Crimson Jade to dispatch monsters.
No one would mistake him for a knight.
But now?
The famed martial house, Doranpega.
Did their scions fight like this? No.
Reilly had glimpsed Doranpega knights from afar during his forest days.
None fought so savagely and raw.
Explosive clashes rang out.
Clang—!
Take a hit…
Thwack—!
And give one back.
Fwoom! Crunch, grrrr—!
Even flung away by a massive fist, that small frame slicing through marsh water.
Then, before you knew it…
Swoooosh!
Smack!
Returning faster than it flew, slamming a fist into the giant body.
Climbing atop it, yanking flesh out like weeds.
How could anyone call that a mage?
But.
“…Mage?”
Obern gave no answer.
And why would he? He was just as shocked as Reilly—if not more.
‘What… is this?’
Overclock.
A gift that amplified latent potential in an instant.
It came with one talent.
Insight Eye.
To amplify potential, you had to pierce and confront the target’s essence first—and through that Insight Eye, Aster was something incomprehensible.
That’s when Obern’s thoughts reached there.
“Somewhat…”
A languid voice drifted over.
“…fun.”
Aster’s voice, drenched in blood, somehow sounded refreshed.
Like a tyrant who’d rampaged to his heart’s content.
Obern clutched his shoulders without thinking at that bloodthirsty tone.
“Now, let’s end it. You made it fun, so I’ll show you something fun in return.”
What kind of mindset was that?
The blood-soaked Swamp Ruler, its body a mangled wreck, swelled enormously.
Even as its interlaced fists swung down at his head, he stood calmly!
“Huhk!”
Reilly gasped at the overwhelming sight.
“…!”
Obern was stunned for a different reason.
As the monstrous fist plummeted toward his skull.
Time seemed to slow around him alone—his hand gently opening. Vast mana surged centered on him.
No, was it vast?
Ambiguous.
Substantial, but not quite enough for a grand spell.
Yet.
‘Mana’s all warped from the roar—how?’
The doubt arose just then.
Craaaackle—!
A sound like compressing snow to its limit echoed.
At the same time, the mana orb shrank to invisibility!
‘…Compression?’
How many times had he compressed it?
But the change didn’t stop.
Grind—! Crackle, fizz—!
The flow of mana from that tiny orb.
Not one flow.
Dozens.
Dozens of vortices, each spinning in different directions and axes, layered over one another—
Fizzle…
Sparks erupted from his hand, forming a single plasma.
Swoooosh—!
Just before the colossal fist crushed his crown.
Flash.
There was light.
Just no sound.
Only…
Whiiiiiinnn—
Erasing all the world’s noise.