Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Lena's Beautiful Magic
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***
In truth, the reason they had come all the way from the White Magic Tower was because of Mirna's invitation.
And the original purpose of that invitation had been to show Jeon the ruins deep in the village.
But now, the reason had changed a bit.
'Who would've thought she'd take Lena as her disciple.'
While Jeon was sorting through his thoughts after returning from the ruins and pondering what the Dragon Heart might be...
Mirna had suddenly declared that she would personally teach Lena magic.
A grand 7th Circle archmage offering to be her master was an immense blessing for Lena, and she had joyfully become Mirna's disciple.
'The problem is that because of it, we can't leave the village.'
The rest of the group, including Jeon, didn't exactly have nothing to do in the village.
Even Tasha had a rare chance to exchange ideas with the Silvermont mages, wandering around chatting and occasionally helping with village tasks.
Risar, too, would spar with the battle mages whenever he got bored, and he was thoroughly satisfied, saying it was a rare experience training with such high-level battle mages.
But for them, it was all just 'nice to have'—not something they had to stick around for.
Lena's case was different. She had to stay here to receive Mirna's teachings.
'And the bigger problem is... Mirna's the one who's even more serious about it.'
If it were just Lena's issue, he could've dragged her along, consequences be damned.
But between master and disciple, Mirna was the one who was truly earnest.
'...There's something there, isn't there.'
Come to think of it, from the very first day, the way Mirna looked at Lena had been unusual.
He'd only caught glimpses, but her gaze held a distant, pitying air.
"Jeon! Focus, focus!"
Jeon, lost in deep thought about Mirna and Lena's relationship with his arms crossed, snapped out of it thanks to Lena jumping up and down in front of him, shouting.
"...Right. So, what did you learn today?"
Jeon asked with a slightly tired expression, looking at the excitedly beaming Lena.
Ever since she'd started learning from Mirna, Lena had been buzzing with energy like this every day.
She'd said it felt like discovering new magic and a whole new world each day.
'Mirna seems just as thrilled, though.'
Taking a disciple isn't all joy.
If they can't grasp explanations no matter how clear, lack effort, or simply aren't talented enough, the master ends up stressed too.
But with Lena, there were no such worries.
At her young age, she'd already reached the 4th Circle—a genius mage who understood instantly and absorbed everything taught.
"What I learned today is insane! It's an incredibly beautiful magic."
"Beautiful, huh?"
"Yeah!"
"Sigh, alright. Let me see it, then."
Jeon took position in the center of the yard in front of the house, watching the hyped-up Lena.
Lena, in turn, drew up her mana with full force.
This was the start of their routine spar—the simple duel where she'd show off her new magic every time she learned one over the past few days.
"Here I go!"
Vmmm!
With her starting call, Lena immediately began casting.
She cupped her hands, forming a circle of mana inside, where four shapes overlapped in precise formation.
'Pretty intricate magic.'
Even among spells of the same circle, power and difficulty vary wildly based on the geometric composition and placement.
This one seemed highly advanced, given the casting time.
And perhaps because of that...
Jeon's eyes gleamed briefly at the sight of such a well-crafted spell—a flash of gold in his gaze, unmistakable though fleeting.
Whoosh!
Once the shapes settled perfectly in the circle, a silver flame bud bloomed from within.
"Oh."
Sa-la-rak.
The bud slowly unfurled, revealing a fully bloomed flower.
As Lena had said, it was breathtakingly beautiful, but the magic didn't end there.
Drip.
One petal detached from the fully open flower.
It fluttered lazily for a moment, then shot toward Jeon like an arrow.
Slow and wavy like windblown silk at first, it accelerated fiercely as it homed in.
"Silver."
-Kyaaang!
Silver leaped from Jeon's arms toward the incoming petal.
Fwaaah!
The petal scattered on impact with Silver, failing to show its full power.
"Not done yet!"
Drip, drip.
Petals rained down from the flower in succession.
Yet new ones sprouted to replace those that fell.
'Oh... the completion is top-notch.'
Impressive enough to launch multiple attacks from one spell, but sustaining attacks as long as the magic held? A huge advantage.
Hard to believe it was merely 4th Circle.
'Since I don't recognize it... maybe Mirna created it herself.'
Jeon had inherited the Silvermont will, mastering most of their secret spells.
If even he didn't know it, it could be one of Mirna's personal masterpieces.
"Alright, let's test its power."
Blocking was easy with Silver alone.
But that wouldn't make it a proper spar.
Jeon recalled Silver and gripped Lunareik, preparing his magic.
Crackle! Zap!
Lightning formed at Lunareik's tip.
Shaping it along his mana flow, Jeon fired his sharpened version of Chain Lightning from the Luna Staff.
Boom! Boom!
The pointed bolts exploded against the incoming petals.
But it fizzled out after the second.
'Not bad at all.'
Chain Lightning was 3rd Circle, but molding it with mana flow boosted its power.
For it to stop at two petals? Impressive output for a sustained 4th Circle spell.
Drip, drip, drip-drip.
Pleased by Jeon's high praise, Lena focused harder, increasing the number and speed of falling petals.
Now five or six shot at him at once.
Jeon infused Lunareik with dense mana, generating a distortion field.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The petals exploded futilely against it.
Frustrated, Lena gritted her teeth mid-cast.
All remaining petals detached at once, swarming Jeon from every direction.
'Can dump them all at once too... though it ends the sustain.'
Over twenty petals rained down as the bud collapsed, unable to produce more.
But the burst potential was a clear strength.
'Silver or distortion field could handle it easy, but...'
For an average 4th Circle mage, it'd be a nightmare.
Jeon wasn't average.
"Enhancement. Haste."
Boosted by two rune magics, Jeon swapped Lunareik for the Dragon Heart and charged into the petal storm.
His speed outpaced even veteran knights.
He thrust the Dragon Heart at the first petals he met.
And then...
Fwaaah!
The petals were sucked into the heart like dust into a vacuum.
The rest followed suit.
All the swarming petals inevitably met the heart and vanished inside.
The anticlimactic display left Lena pouting; she didn't even prep another spell, just complained.
"Ugh... That's cheating!"
"Cheating? I gave it my all."
It might look infuriating from her side, but Jeon had taken it seriously.
Minimal effort could've ended it with Silver or distortion in a snap.
Instead, he'd dodged and weaved personally.
'This way, I get some practice too.'
He'd upped physical training since acquiring Enhancement and Haste runes.
And he was steadily incorporating physical prowess into real combat.
'Plus, I charged some mana into the Dragon Heart. Two birds, one stone.'
The thing absorbed immeasurable mana, so Lena's spell barely registered, but better than nothing.
It doubled as testing the heart as a defensive artifact.
'If only I could turn it into a proper artifact.'
Tough prospect, but he'd research it properly at the tower.
"Anyway, good spell."
"Tch! I'll come back with something stronger next time!"
"Hm... Not sure if there'll be a next time, but I'll look forward to it."
Jeon tossed a provoking reply at the fired-up Lena.
'She's gotten plenty of praise already.'
Teasing her was fun, sure.
But it wasn't just for laughs.
Growing up hearing "genius" nonstop, she needed someone to stoke her competitive fire.
Of course, the fun factor was huge too.
"Just you wait!"
Lena stormed off, fully baited.
Mirna, watching her disciple, paused to follow and turned to Jeon.
"You'll... be leaving soon?"
Jeon had been thinking it was time to talk with her anyway.
He hadn't expected her to bring it up first, so he nodded after a brief fluster.
"Yes. We have to. It's been over a week already."
"I see. Already that long."
Though invited by Mirna...
Officially, they were a White Magic Tower dispatch on mission.
They couldn't linger indefinitely.
Mirna knew that well, so she simply nodded without protest.
"Then, could we talk tonight?"
"Sure. Sounds good."
Her reluctance to part with Lena dripped from the invitation.
But leaving was inevitable, so Jeon ignored the wistfulness and nodded.
With that, Mirna followed Lena's path.
Alone again, Jeon stood in the clearing, fiddling with his hands instead of heading inside.
"Hm."
The night's talk was already outlined; no big worry there.
What occupied him now was Lena's spell.
"Like... this?"
Recalling her casting from composition to execution, Jeon gathered mana in his palm.
Four shapes formed identically in the circle, just like hers.
Whoosh!
A silver flame bud bloomed in his hand.
"...Pretty."
Jeon murmured softly, gazing at the beautiful silver flame flower.
And in his eyes, a brilliant golden light shimmered.