Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Thunderstrike Spear
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"By any chance, like you did with Mr. Vincent, is it possible to use magic together with me too?"
"With you?"
Lelia showed a somewhat ambiguous reaction to Jeon's question.
"That magic from earlier... I don't think I can help with that one."
And rightly so. Lelia had already roughly grasped the nature of the ashen magic Jeon had displayed moments ago.
A magic that erased other mana, its principles incomprehensible.
And magic of that nature was impossible for Lelia to assist with.
'If it were some other powerful spell, maybe... but expecting more than that seems unrealistic.'
Jeon's circle was 3rd Circle.
The ashen magic he'd already shown was far beyond what she'd expected from him—leagues ahead, in fact.
She hadn't even imagined he could wield anything greater.
That ashen magic alone was an unbelievable feat for 3rd Circle.
"I can do other magics besides that one."
"Other magics...?"
But defying Lelia's assumptions, Jeon was already preparing a different spell.
Silver flames layered into a spherical form in Jeon's hand.
Lelia's eyes gleamed as she beheld it.
"Jeon, you... what in the world...?"
The magic he kept layering was undoubtedly 3rd Circle.
But forcibly merging those 3rd Circle spells into one was an entirely different matter.
"I'll explain later! You can help, right?"
"...Yeah!"
She was dying to ask questions, but Lelia knew there was no time.
Balak, who had been momentarily pushed back, was already charging again, clashing with Vincent.
So she decided to lend her power to Jeon's completed spell.
Whoosh!
Lelia's silver flames overlaid the densely compressed magic of Jeon.
'...This firepower is no joke.'
She hadn't even cast a spell herself—just lent her strength within the mana field.
Yet the aura of the overlaid silver flames was extraordinarily ominous.
It elevated the spell's power to an entirely higher level—a cheat-like buff if there ever was one.
'Well, that's why Vincent can hold his own right now.'
Vincent, borrowing Lelia's power in the same way, was exchanging a few blows with the resurgent Balak.
Of course, even with Lelia's aid, he was clearly being overpowered.
But the fact that exchanges were possible at all—where they'd been impossible before—showed just how potent Lelia's mana field buff truly was.
'Now!'
The moment the two separated after their clash, Jeon hurled the silver flame sphere in his hand with all his might.
"Hm?"
Balak, preparing his next attack after colliding with Vincent, caught sight of the incoming silver sphere.
"Hmph!"
The timed attack left no room for preparation, but Balak scoffed instead.
He spread his pitch-black aura-infused stone fist wide toward the flying sphere.
Thud!
He seized the incoming orb outright.
Rumble—BOOOOM!
But the silver sphere, even trapped in Balak's stone fist, unleashed its full power in a massive explosion right within his grasp.
As a result, Balak's stone fist faltered for the briefest instant.
"I've got you here too!"
Vincent seized the opening, slashing with a blade of gray wind wreathed in silver flames.
"Where?!"
Rumble rumble boom! But Balak, as if anticipating it, rolled his foot against the ground.
The earth crust infused with black aura flipped up and shot forth, nullifying Vincent's attack.
It was power befitting the title of apostle—utterly unashamed.
Hummm.
"...Not bad!"
But he hadn't foreseen Lelia's magic casting overhead.
BOOOOM!
A ferocious silver flame storm struck down like lightning, engulfing the area.
The rocky mountain held nothing flammable, yet the silver flames scorched even the stone, boasting their might.
"Now it's getting fun!"
Whoosh!
But a wave of black aura swept in next, blowing away the blazing silver flames.
Balak emerged from within, his entire body wrapped in a layer of aura-clad rocks.
"Vincent and I will handle the direct confrontations. Jeon, you prepare your magic and strike any openings."
"Got it!"
In essence, while Vincent and Lelia engaged, Jeon was assigned the joker role—preparing from the rear and creating variables.
His relatively slow casting speed made frontline duty impractical.
"You two, help out up at the canyon top! I'm counting on you!"
Lelia issued orders to the other two squad members after Jeon, then dashed forward to join Vincent.
Thus, the fierce battle between Lelia, Vincent, and Balak truly unfolded.
"...Incredible."
An 8th Circle warrior clashing life-or-death with 7th and 6th Circle mages, all giving their all.
It felt no different from facing a natural disaster head-on.
The earth crust swallowed everything, rocks flew like cannonballs, gray storms raged, and silver flames surged to incinerate all.
Judging by the scene alone, one could believe the apocalypse had arrived—an unbelievable scale of combat.
'Still beyond my reach.'
But he wasn't intimidated.
He couldn't join those monsters directly, but he had the power to influence their fight.
In fact, Lelia sending the other two to the canyon top wasn't just because the situation there was urgent—it was because they couldn't create meaningful variables here.
Crackle—crackle crackle!
As these thoughts raced through his mind, a white lightning spear had formed in Jeon's hand.
No Lunareik, but using the Rune of Will and goblin magic, he'd shaped white thunder into a spear form.
And atop it...
Roar!
Lelia's silver flames dwelled within.
The fusion of white thunder and silver flames scattered iridescent light in all directions, mesmerizing to behold.
'Timing is key.'
Jeon gripped the silver-infused white thunder spear tightly, refusing to release it yet.
Interrupting recklessly would only hinder; he waited for the perfect moment.
Thud! BOOM! BANG! Meanwhile, the battle ahead intensified.
The monsters' rampage shook the entire rocky mountain; the surrounding terrain could no longer withstand the shockwaves.
'This... won't be easy to slip into.'
Up until proper clashes, there had been gaps for Jeon to exploit.
Now, none were visible—at least not at his current level.
But Jeon didn't give up, focusing harder on the fight to find his opening.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, a certain path appeared in Jeon's vision.
It flickered into view briefly, vanished, reappeared, and vanished again—but undeniably, his sight had changed.
'Come to think of it...'
Was it from intense focus on the battle?
Jeon began sensing a strange feeling: his senses extending beyond his body, perceiving the boundary's exterior.
Sensations once confined to his flesh now spread into space, letting him clearly sense it as his own.
'Is Lelia... helping?'
The expansion clearly involved Lelia's mana mingled with his magic.
Her mana, fused with his spells, made perceiving her mana field far easier, aiding his spatial awareness.
He wondered if she'd gone out of her way for him, but no—Lelia had no spare moment for such consideration.
Besides, if helping, this path should've been visible from the start.
'Still, she inadvertently opened the floodgates.'
Lelia had unintentionally provided some aid, allowing Jeon to step into this realm far sooner.
The odd sensation of his senses expanding, permeating part of the space.
His spread mana became an extension of his senses, grasping space; vague concepts of mana and space solidified in his mind.
"Ah."
Jeon felt a shell confining him shatter.
What he'd known only intellectually clicked perfectly; he realized he'd stepped into a new realm.
His cognitive scope widened, vision expanded.
Unseen worlds appeared; unfelt sensations emerged.
With it, previously imperceptible mana domains sharpened, explosively increasing his controllable mana.
Suddenly, he could layer far more, stronger lightning magic onto the already max-compressed white thunder.
A 4th Circle spell he'd only known by formula manifested naturally.
It overlaid the existing white thunder spear multiple times.
Its once simple pointed length sharpened into a blade honed by a master artisan.
And with Lelia's silver flames encasing it...
Roar—rumble!
The empowered white thunder spear roared like living lightning, fiercer than before.
The silver-and-white spear in Jeon's hand appeared refined, yet brimmed with savage power ready to pierce all.
'Thunderstrike Spear's advantage is its blinding speed.'
One of the magic tomes Jeon took from the expedition detailed common lightning magic.
This spell boasted the fastest speed and sharpest power among them.
Perfect for capturing the paths flickering in and out of visibility before him.
"Now!"
The next path appeared.
Jeon launched the roaring silver-wreathed white thunder spear.
Flash!
Transformed into a streak of light, the spear streaked across the battlefield like a heavenly calamity straight for Balak.
"Hahaha! You're making this more enjoyable than I thought—hm!?"
Balak, laughing madly amid Lelia and Vincent's joint assault, sensed the incoming mana and hardened his expression.
But even for Balak, perfectly reacting to an attack exploiting the post-clash opening was impossible.
All he could do was concentrate his aura maximally on his side, where the strike aimed.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The white-and-silver flash struck Balak's side dead-on.
But the thick black aura-shrouded stone protected it; Jeon's spear couldn't easily penetrate.
Of course, Jeon had no intention of stopping there.
'Morph the form.'
Goblin magic's freeform shaping.
His newfound realm amplified mana control, reshaping the launched spell.
From a single-pointed spear form...
It splintered into branching arrows of white thunder, targeting the weakened defenses.
Balak hadn't anticipated that; the thunder pierced the thinned aura and finally touched his body.
Crackle crackle crackle!
"Grrgh!?"
For the first time today, a pained groan escaped Balak's lips.