Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Clue (2)
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Linmel Marquis was impressed.
All flows of mana converged on the boy whose emerald hair fluttered in the wind.
He knew what it was.
He had seen Count Welton use it before.
It was called "Hundred Seas." True to its name, it felt as if a hundred oceans were unfolding right before his eyes.
Jamie's version was utterly shabby compared to the Count's. The gap in their realms naturally led to a difference in scale.
Even so, it was astonishing. Hundred Seas was an exquisite footwork technique mastered by the knights of the Welton family. While it fell far short of the Count's prowess, Jamie was in no way inferior to a freshly knighted warrior.
And he was only eight years old.
'Born with sword talent as well. As expected from Welton blood.'
Those dazzling emerald locks were proof of his strong inheritance.
Generation after generation, the Welton family had produced Sword Masters. They had always been renowned for their swordsmanship, their fame resounding across the world.
Jamie, the next head of the family, would surely follow suit.
How could one not marvel at a child beloved by both sword and magic—two powers notoriously difficult to combine?
"But it's still not enough."
Linmel's lips curved upward.
Jamie had grown incomparably since their first meeting.
It had been about a year now.
In that time, he had reached the cusp of becoming a Grand Mage.
In other words, he wasn't one yet.
And Linmel was an 8th-class Grand Mage, lingering just below the supreme realm.
"Shall I put on a little show for you after so long?"
Linmel stepped backward.
Jamie kicked off the ground, accelerating.
The mana in this place existed solely for him. Lightning began to flicker at the tip of Scud's blade.
His body accelerated.
Scud was drawn back taut.
The moment the tip moved, the dormant lightning erupted in a deafening roar, like thousands of birds crying out.
Jamie brought his front foot down right in front of Linmel.
As the acceleration halted, the blade snapped forward, aiming for Linmel's throat.
Kigigigigik—
Sparks flew.
Jamie felt the transparent barrier and withdrew his sword.
Then he thrust out his prepared left hand.
The secret spell that had nearly shattered Count Welton's wooden sword when permission for the blade was granted.
Linmel's eyes widened slightly.
Black light roared forth, gnawing at the circular shield with ferocious intensity.
Cracks spiderwebbed across it.
Linmel was genuinely surprised. The magic Jamie had just used was Bunker Breaker. He had closed in, certain that a shield would be deployed.
'He predicted my move...'
Linmel shot upward.
The lightning gathered at the sword tip leaped skyward, only to be flicked away with a wave of his hand.
"Not bad at all, Jamie."
"I'm still a long way off."
He knew this much wouldn't satisfy Linmel.
Jamie lowered his stance, mana surging through his entire body.
'Black.'
Kick!
In the mental world, Black assisted with the magic.
It was a shame he couldn't use black magic outright, but this would suffice.
He scraped the sword along the floor. A grating metallic screech.
Jamie had never properly combined sword and magic before. This would be his first true attempt.
Ting—
The sword hummed as it bounced from the groove in the floor.
Jamie's form vanished.
Linmel's eyes widened as he redeployed his shield. Kwagagagak! A rough scraping impact battered the rear barrier.
It wasn't just from behind.
Jamie had appeared directly in front, thrusting his lowered sword in a straight line.
He rapidly repaired the cracking barrier.
Kwak— A sword pierced through the right side into the shield's interior. Kwakduk! Now the left.
Linmel swallowed a hollow chuckle amid the cacophony from all directions.
Jamie had him surrounded.
All the Jamies began chanting.
The four spells originated from the swords.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
An enormous explosion engulfed Linmel.
Jamie watched the scene from the ground.
A close-range interception spell utilizing clones and teleportation.
"Moment Effect."
Mana consumption increased with each clone created, but it was a technique nearly impossible to block.
With Explosion—a Bunker Breaker-type spell deployed on top—even Linmel wouldn't block it easily.
"Come on out."
As the smoke cleared somewhat, Jamie spoke, and Linmel appeared looking utterly pristine, as if nothing had happened.
It appeared he had blocked the attack completely at a glance, but Jamie couldn't help but smile.
"You couldn't regenerate the back."
"Ah! Damn it, I was trying to play it off like nothing happened."
Linmel startled and checked the back of his robe, where faint scorch marks lingered.
He had probably intended to perfectly regenerate the burned fabric to demonstrate that the attack hadn't landed at all.
"You should've hidden it perfectly. I might've felt pretty dejected then."
"I rushed it and slipped up. Tsk."
Linmel clicked his tongue and descended.
For all his words, aside from his clothes, he bore no injuries whatsoever.
'Not even a scratch from Moment Effect. Nothing I can do at my current level?'
The fact was regrettable, but it no longer sparked frustration.
Because he had closed the distance to a height he would soon overtake.
Overtake was the wrong word. He was simply returning to his original place.
"You're not thinking of ending the spar here, are you?"
Mana began to churn around Linmel.
"You've had me taking it too easy, and it's bruised my pride a bit."
He wanted to show the vast gap that still remained.
To temper that budding arrogance just a touch. But his robe had burned spectacularly. And even his attempt to erase the scorch marks had failed, exposing him.
He was in quite an embarrassing state now.
Not quite venting frustration, but...
"Jamie. Now you try blocking this."
The mana flows dominated by Hundred Seas detached from their positions.
Greater power could crush lesser power.
That was the law of the jungle.
Linmel was undoubtedly the superior force here, so he could dispel Hundred Seas' mana control at any time.
He simply hadn't because he wanted Jamie to experience his power firsthand.
Jamie sheathed his sword. Swordsmanship alone wouldn't cut it from here on.
Instead, he positioned 'Beyond Avalon' in front of him.
He had drawn it out but never used it even once.
"Finally feeling like using it, eh?"
"Seems like I have to."
"What an entertaining fellow."
Beyond Avalon.
He had confirmed its power long ago.
"If you're using that, then I'll hold nothing back."
What was Linmel's magic subjectivity?
Jamie was curious, but he wouldn't reveal it in this spar.
Then he would just have to force it out.
Linmel flicked his lightly extended right hand.
Kwagagagak—!
The floor, infused with powerful magic resistance, crumbled like a mound of sand.
Jamie didn't evade.
A horrific gale devoured him, tearing at him as if to shred him apart. It was a spell laden with mana that even a 6th-class mage would struggle to endure.
He might have died.
Yet Linmel's expression held no hint of unease.
Instead, he smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
"How's the ideal paradise?"
"Warm, with a pleasantly cool breeze. Perfect."
The ground ravaged by the gale was a chaotic mess, but Jamie's body bore not a single scratch.
He advanced, leading his now semi-transparent body.
Beyond Avalon. The staff, whose name meant "beyond the ideal world," possessed the ability to make its owner exist in reality while not truly existing within it.
In other words, Jamie existed in reality, but his body resided in a parallel dimension.
His semi-transparent form returned to normal.
"Can't maintain it for long, huh."
"I'll master it soon enough."
"That confidence of yours is truly a sight to behold."
Linmel spoke with a hint of sarcasm as he thrust his arm outward.
The floor lifted outright, sending Jamie's small frame soaring upward.
"This one's going to hurt."
"We'll see."
The sword grazed his left earlobe.
Linmel watched Scud narrowly miss his face.
Jamie was still suspended in midair, yet the attack came from behind.
It was that spell from earlier.
"You really want to see my magic subjectivity, don't you?"
"I'd be grateful if you showed it."
Swords burst forth from all directions.
It had worked once, so he was hooked.
Linmel glared, dispelling all the clones in an instant.
He placed a hand on the ground, forming a magic circle.
A cubic space crumbled inward.
Jamie watched as vast mana scattered everywhere converged on Linmel.
"If my junior desires it so, there's no reason a senior can't oblige."
Linmel raised both hands skyward.
"The enlightenment I attained is not some natural disaster of whirling flames, lightning raining from all sides, and endless hail."
A twinge of tension gripped him, and Jamie's lips curved upward unwittingly.
Something big was coming.
"Still, prepare yourself—a massive shock awaits."
Clap!
The palms collided with a resounding crack.
"......"
Yet nothing changed.
The moment Jamie raised one eyebrow...
'What?'
A subtle sense of incongruity washed over him.
It didn't take long to pinpoint its source.
'The world.'
Jamie let out a soft gasp of admiration at the world's transformation, imperceptible to his five senses.
This was Linmel's magic subjectivity.
His skin burned hot.
Jamie turned his head, and a massive glacier chunk came hurtling toward him.
He had naturally assumed it was fire-elemental.
Jamie swung his staff, summoning flames.
Crack, crack. The glacier split, only for thunder to boom and erupt forth.
"Kuh!"
He crossed sword and staff to form a barrier.
As the lightning struck the shield, flames surged upward. Then a bone-chilling cold pressed in.
Only then did he realize Linmel's prior words had been a hint.
'Definitely not a natural disaster.'
Glacier chunks hotter than hail, savage lightning bursting from within, flames as cold as ice.
They appeared as bizarre natural calamities, but this was a mental magic that invaded the brain.
One crafted so meticulously that even realizing you'd been hit was impossible.
Unless you were an expert in mental magic, you wouldn't even know what struck you—you'd just flail desperately amid the disasters to survive.
'The problem is, even knowing doesn't stop the flailing!'
Kwaaaang!!
Explosions rocked from all sides, thick rain accompanied by hail and lightning poured from the sky. The ground split open, lava gushing from the fissures.
Jamie tried to wrest free of the mental shackles by manipulating his own mind, but this was a perfected mental spell born of magic subjectivity.
With his skills not yet at Grand Mage level, dispelling it was impossible.
'In that case...'
Jamie exhaled a pale mist from his entire body, dense enough that no one could peer within.
Yet the myriad bizarre calamities pierced the mist and invaded.
Perfect.
If he couldn't dispel it, he would devour it whole.
'Black. Control the black mana.'
Unleashing full black magic would raise suspicions.
So he excluded the black mana, manifesting Leviathan in the form of white magic. The devouring power would be diminished, but it would be enough.
As the mist cleared, the myriad disasters—from above his head to beneath his feet—swallowed Jamie whole.
There, Jamie performed a sword dance.
Welton Style, 1st Form through 10th Form.
Under Hundred Seas, freer than anyone else.
'It devours mana.'
The disasters were mere hallucinations projected by a distorted mind.
He would reverse-devour the mana at their source: Linmel.
With that single thought, he began absorbing the mana enveloping him.
It was then that a faint light began to flow along Scud's blade.