Joint Extermination Operation (2)
I was startled too, but there was no time to be surprised.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
More and more Shadow Wolves kept pouring out of the forest.
The number of red eyes in the darkness grew and grew.
“Don’t let your guard down! We’re not even halfway through yet!”
Mell’s voice cut across the battlefield.
The imperial soldiers raised their shields once more, and the mages each prepared their own spells.
I still had enough mana left for a shot or two of Explosive Flame Vortex.
Then it happened.
“Five on the left!”
Someone shouted.
At the far left end of the defensive line, where the soldiers were thinnest on the ground, five Shadow Wolves charged at once.
“Damn it!”
Two nearby mages hurriedly chanted.
“Fireball!”
“Ice Spear!”
A mass of flame and a spear of ice shot out.
The leader and two of the wolves behind it were struck down, but the remaining three never slowed.
“No, we can’t stop them—!”
The mages tried to prepare their next spells, but the Shadow Wolves were faster.
Kiieeek—!
The three of them tore through the soldiers’ line almost at once and lunged toward the mages.
At this rate…!
I reflexively pointed my wand that way.
“Explosive Flame Vortex!”
Kwaaah—!
The red vortex formed once more. This time, it was a little larger.
Had my control over mana improved just slightly from the first time?
The vortex shot toward the three Shadow Wolves.
Puh-puh-puh-puh—!
In an instant, all three were swallowed by the blaze.
The black fur burned away, spreading a nauseating stench through the air.
Kieeek! Kiik!
With shrill cries, all three collapsed to the ground.
“……”
“I-is that really a 2nd Circle spell?”
The mages around me looked at me again.
This time, their stares held not just shock, but wariness as well.
“Which magic tower are you from, exactly?”
“Did he say the Fusion Magic Tower? I’ve never even heard of that name…”
The mages began whispering among themselves.
“That power is… not normal.”
One mage pointed out sharply.
“Indeed… how much power does that thing even have?”
“A 2nd Circle fusion spell like Explosive Flame Vortex usually has a power rating around 20. Even a good one only reaches 22 or 23 at most. But that one…”
He gestured toward the Shadow Wolves collapsed on the ground.
“It completely blasted them apart. Their insides are scorched. To do that much damage, it would need at least a power rating of 28…”
“28? Then…”
“That’s not the Explosive Flame Vortex we know. That’s practically a 3rd Circle spell.”
The other mages’ eyes widened only then as realization hit them.
“Killing three Shadow Wolves at once with a 2nd Circle spell? That’s impossible…”
“I heard even Roimdel, the chief of the Vilheim Magic Tower, can only reach a power rating of 23 at best. That was far beyond that…”
Confused looks poured in my direction.
I was shocked too.
So this is what power 30 feels like.
On the game screen, it had only been a number, but in reality it created an overwhelming gap like this.
Then, at that moment—
Uuuuuuu—!
From deep within the forest came a howl unlike any so far, lower and far heavier.
The air seemed to sink under its weight.
“...The leader.”
Mell’s voice dropped with tension.
“Everyone, fall back! The leader-class is mine—!”
Before he could even finish—
Kwa-jik—!
With the sound of a massive tree snapping, something emerged from the darkness.
Twice the size of an ordinary Shadow Wolf.
No, almost three times as large.
Black fur covered its whole body, and red patterns had been etched across it.
Red light like the fires of hell blazed from its eyes.
A leader-class Shadow Wolf.
“……”
“……”
The mages and soldiers alike were struck speechless at the sight of it rising out of the dark.
“That’s strange. That’s the leader-class Shadow Wolf?”
One mage spoke in a trembling voice.
“What’s strange about it?”
His companion asked.
“Its size… and those red patterns. It’s not a normal leader-class wolf.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know. The ordinary leader-class Shadow Wolves I know aren’t that big. And those red markings too…”
“Markings?”
“Traces of mana. They only appear on beings that have accumulated mana over a long period of time. But Shadow Wolves have short lifespans, so they can’t build up mana like that.”
“Then what in the world is that thing?”
“...I don’t know. But one thing’s certain. It’s dangerous.”
“……”
“……”
At that moment, the leader-class Shadow Wolf moved.
Kwa-jik—!
The speed with which it kicked off the ground and charged was on an entirely different level from the ordinary wolves.
It was on the imperial soldiers’ defensive line in an instant.
“Raise your shields!”
The soldiers frantically braced them, but—
Bang—!
With a single attack from the leader-class wolf, the wooden shields shattered to splinters and two soldiers were sent flying.
“Damn it!”
Mell stepped forward, raising his wand.
“Lightning Strike!”
A thick bolt of lightning slammed down from the sky and smashed into the leader-class Shadow Wolf.
Kwagagagwang—!
A flash of light flooded the battlefield.
But when the brilliance faded, the leader was still standing.
“Growl—”
Smoke rose from its blackened fur, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.
“It took a 4th Circle spell and still—!”
Mell’s face stiffened.
Kiieeek—!
The leader-class Shadow Wolf charged again.
This time, it aimed directly for Mell.
“Earth Wall!”
Mell urgently cast a defensive spell.
A stone wall rose from the ground to block the leader’s path, but—
Bang—!
The stone wall crumbled with a single swipe of the leader’s claws.
“Don’t stand in one place! Split up and attack!”
At Mell’s command, three nearby 3rd Circle mages cast their spells at once.
“Fireball!”
“Ice Spear!”
“Blade of Wind!”
The three spells flew toward the leader.
Puck! Clang! Fwoosh!
But with astonishing agility, the leader dodged two of them and took the third directly to the body.
The ice spear lodged in its flank, but it failed to pierce deeply.
“It’s wrapping itself in a mana barrier!”
One mage shouted.
“2nd and 3rd Circle spells won’t do any damage!”
Kiieeek—!
The leader roared and called the surrounding ordinary Shadow Wolves to it.
More than ten wolves gathered around it.
“This is…”
Mell’s expression darkened.
“The leader is commanding the pack. At this rate…”
Before he could finish, the pack of Shadow Wolves charged in unison on the leader’s command.
“Hold them back!”
The soldiers raised their shields again, but the numerical disadvantage was obvious.
Bang! Bang! Kwa-jik!
The defensive line began to collapse in several places.
A dark shadow spread over the battlefield.
At this rate, we’ll be annihilated...
I looked down at the bead inside my wand.
Explosive Flame Vortex.
It had killed up to three ordinary Shadow Wolves at once.
But that leader-class was different.
Even Mell’s lightning magic as a 4th Circle mage hadn’t worked properly.
How was I supposed to deal with a monster like that using my 2nd Circle fusion spell?
And yet—
Still…
My palms were slick with sweat.
If things continued like this, our extermination force would really be wiped out.
And that would mean… death.
Power 30. One and a half times a normal 2nd Circle spell…
It still might not be enough. No, it would probably be too weak.
...Should I cast it?
I hesitated. The power was clearly lacking.
But it was still better than doing nothing.
Was there really no other way?
While I was thinking, the situation on the battlefield worsened rapidly.
“Guhk!”
A scream burst from the left.
One imperial soldier collapsed, his chest ripped open by a Shadow Wolf’s claw.
“Medic! Where’s the medic!”
Someone shouted in desperation, but the medics were already overwhelmed with the wounded.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The leader-class Shadow Wolf kept pressing Mell harder and harder.
Mell was barely holding out by casting defensive spells one after another, but it was obvious that his mana was being drained rapidly.
“Damn it… mana…”
Sweat ran down Mell’s forehead.
“Fall back! Retreat for now!”
One mage shouted. But retreat was impossible with the wolves surrounding them.
Kieeek! Kiik!
The ordinary Shadow Wolves lunged in from every direction. One mage couldn’t dodge and was struck.
“Aaaagh!”
His robe tore open and bright red blood splattered.
If I wait any longer…
I gritted my teeth.
Clutching my wand, I focused my mana.
The moment I was about to ready Explosive Flame Vortex again—
Wait… is there no stronger fusion spell? Or at least some special spell that could turn this around?
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I vaguely remembered something I had once seen on a game community forum.
Fusion magic was said to be limitless. Thousands, even tens of thousands of combinations were possible.
Then isn’t there a fusion spell that could reverse this situation?
At that very moment, a blue window in front of me began to flicker.
Condition met: Fusion magic used more than three times in actual combat
Fusion spell list?
2nd Circle 1/335
3rd Circle 0/4,823
4th Circle 0/31,247
5th Circle 0/128,956
6th Circle 0/447,301
7th Circle 0/636,629
I widened my eyes.
1,249,291 fusion spell lists?
One point two million...?
The number was so huge I couldn’t even feel it properly.
Even when the game community said there were thousands of fusion spells, I had been stunned—but in reality there were well over a million.
Kiieeek—!
The leader-class Shadow Wolf’s howl snapped me back to my senses.
This isn’t the time for this!
But in that instant, one thought flashed through my mind.
If there are a million of them… isn’t there one spell that can bring that leader down?
I hurriedly began scanning the list.
The most I can currently make is a two-system spell...
I started looking for a way out of this situation among the 335 2nd Circle fusion spells.
What spell could kill that thing? What’s the strongest one?
While searching for the strongest spell, I realized in an instant that brute force wouldn’t work at 2nd Circle and began looking for something more specialized.
Power won’t do it. Even Mell’s 4th Circle spell didn’t work properly...
Then what?
There has to be a weakness. To keep a body that size going, it must be consuming an enormous amount of mana...
At that moment, one entry caught my eye.
Fusion SpellMist of Mana Erosion
System: Darkness + Wind
Grade: 2
Power: 5
Effect: Slowly corrodes the target’s mana barrier. Duration: 30 seconds
The power was only 5.
But one effect stood out: corroding mana barriers.
If I can strip that thing’s barrier away...!
Then the other mages’ attacks would start to matter.
The problem was the materials.
Required materials: Shadow Powder, Wind Spirit Feather
I had one Wind Spirit Feather, because Lia had packed one for me before we left. But...
Shadow Powder? I didn’t have anything like that.
But then—
Wait... what if I use the ashes from burned Shadow Wolf fur?
Beside me, I could see the ashes left from the fur of a downed Shadow Wolf that had been burned away.
It’s not Shadow Powder, but...
Ashes from a beast that lived in the darkness. They would surely be steeped in dark attribute mana.
Could this substitute work?
I wasn’t sure. But right now, I had no choice but to try.
I took both materials in hand and quickly recalled the fusion formula I had memorized in the basement.
Match the mana flow, set the fusion point, and...
Bang—!
Then an explosion rang out beside me.
Mell had fired lightning magic once more, but the leader-class still refused to stop.
“Ugh... my mana is running dry...”
Desperation seeped into Mell’s voice.
I have to hurry!
I clenched the two materials in my hands and began gathering my mana.