Mana Circulation
“I-I have to fight that thing...?”
Juwan could barely stand under the crushing pressure radiating from it.
[Hey, rookie. Surround yourself with a shield right now. The waves from that ancient god disrupt mana. One slip and your guts could twist inside out.]
At Kalderet's warning, Juwan hurriedly cast his spell. A pale milky barrier formed around him, rippling faintly like waves on water.
“Hoo... hoo...”
He gasped for breath. The golem's intimidation was bad enough, but the tension of the battle bore down on him even harder. Juwan, the Ivory Tower genius who had dominated countless battlefields, was still just a fresh academy graduate at heart.
“The golem's outer shell is inscribed with anti-magic runes. Just focus on protecting yourself.”
“Got it.”
[That thing's not just resistant to mana—its soulstone core gives it top-tier divine power defense too. How're you gonna take it down?]
“How? A hunter hunts the same way every time.”
Adel nodded calmly at Kalderet's words.
“Find a way to kill it.”
Vmmm...
As he drew back the string of the Galrae Bow, a gray aura shimmered at the arrow tip— the mark of mid-tier aura condensing.
[So you're going with aura, eh.]
Crackle... crzzzzt!
The condensed aura flickered, red sparks erupting between the strands.
[Already stepping into high-tier territory?]
“Not perfect yet. It turns fully red once all the gray fades—that's true high-tier aura.”
[Still impressive as hell. You could count the number of high-tier aura users in the Eight Armies on one hand.]
“There's a level beyond that.”
[You mean the Heavenly Apex stage? Pfft, that's just human greed spinning fairy tales. No one's ever reached it.]
“That's why I've gotta be the one.”
Shwaaaa—!!!!
Adel loosed the arrow from the Galrae Bow. The aura-charged shaft rocketed toward the golem with a deafening roar.
Thud—!! Crunch...!!!!
The arrow buried into the golem's shoulder. The fletching quivered violently. Even with mid-to-high aura packed into it, the shot hadn't pierced clean through.
[Grrrrr...]
The golem let out a low rumble, like growling at Adel.
Snap—!!
It pressed its palm against the embedded arrow and snapped the shaft.
The moment it turned its head toward Adel, the spot where he'd stood was empty.
Quuuoom...!!!
Adel exploded off the ground in a sprint, leaping high into the air. Mid-spin, he flung his Hovering Cloak into the void like a stepping stone, using it as a platform to vault even higher.
Grrrind...!!
The next arrow slammed precisely into the golem's already-cracked shoulder.
Crack...!!
Aura surged into the fractured stone, widening the split with a sharp grinding sound.
Thud—!!
Adel landed on the golem's back and drew his sword. Fierce winds whipped around the blade—the wind spirits dwelling within the Kyeong-a Sword.
[Right, there's that too besides aura.]
Kalderet nodded at the swirling spirit winds.
Adel drove the sword with all his might into the widening crack in the shoulder.
Shwaaak...!!
The North Sea blizzard was drawn into the sword's gale, flash-freezing the golem's shoulder joint.
Crackle-crackle-crunch...!!
The icy blade pried at the fissure until—boom!!—one of the golem's arms tore free.
“It—it worked!!”
Juwan shouted without thinking as he watched.
[Don't let your guard down. The core's intact. It'll regenerate endlessly with the divine power stored inside.]
But the joy was short-lived. The severed arm's stone chunks began floating lazily into the air.
Whoosh—!!
The golem swung its remaining arm, sending the hovering fragments hurtling toward Adel like a barrage.
“Tch?!”
Adel whipped open his Dragon's Gluttony robe to shield his face and leaped skyward. The rocks smashed into the golem instead, shattering spectacularly.
Thud! Boom! Crash! Thud!!
The golem's body reeled from the impacts.
[Groooar...!!]
Ignoring its own damage, it swung its good fist at Adel.
Quaboom!!!
The punch cratered the ground, sending tremors rippling outward. Snow and ice from the surrounding cliffs avalanched down in response.
A massive plume of white powder erupted.
“Pha...!!”
Adel burst through the blizzard choking him, finally exhaling.
Pong! Pong! Poom—!!
As the snow settled, the golem's shattered pieces began fusing back together. Even the damage from the flung rocks had already regenerated.
“Damn it.”
Adel ground his teeth, glaring at the golem as it thrust its glowing core forward.
'Just blast it with divine power?'
[That'd just recharge the soulstone. Wasted effort.]
'Even rare magestones have capacity limits. Overload it and it might shatter.'
[Not this one. The ore tempered by an ancient god can hold way more divine power than you right now. You'd collapse before it blows.]
[If only Garuda were...]
[Shut it, Garon.]
[Tch.]
Garon spat flames irritably. The blizzard swirling around Adel vanished instantly.
[There, cleared the stage. Quit yapping and fight like a maniac.]
Adel cracked a wry smile at Garon's sulky tone.
'To stop the golem, smash the core. But divine power bounces off. Aura and spirits aren't enough...'
Adel's eyes flicked to Juwan. The Ivory Tower genius. Despite his youth, his mana control rivaled an archmage at six-class level.
“Juwan. Can you do mana circulation?”
“Yes.”
“How many cycles?”
“I've circulated pureblood mana three times.”
“Three... Think you could hit five?”
Juwan hesitated, then nodded with a trembling expression.
“If I draw out all my mana... Never tried, but I think so.”
He seemed to grasp Adel's plan.
“You're gonna shatter the core with mana, right? Hoo... I'll do it. Just worried if my pureblood can take it.”
He began condensing his mana slowly. But Adel shook his head.
“Not your mana. Circulate mine.”
“...Pardon?”
“You can circulate someone else's mana too, right?”
“...?!”
Juwan froze in shock.
“Mana circulation rotates pureblood mana through the veins to amplify its power.”
And it wasn't something every mage could do. It required such advanced skill that only a handful in the Ivory Tower could manage it.
“You need precise control of mana flow! And not even in your own body, but someone else's...?”
“Your mana alone can't crack that core. But in sheer quantity? I've got more than you.”
Adel explained to the stunned Juwan.
“Like you said, I ate a dragon heart. But I haven't learned proper spellcasting. So you guide the flow.”
“I-I can't! One mistake and your pureblood could shatter!”
“You can. I know you can.”
“B-but...”
Juwan was speechless at Adel's unshakable calm amid the uncertainty.
“Normal circulation tops out at five cycles. But you said you could do it.”
“Th-that's...”
“Your new theory. You built it yourself, right?”
Juwan licked his dry lips nervously.
Quaboom—!!!!!
The golem's fist hurtled toward Adel. It grazed past, slamming between them.
“It's just theory!! All in my head!”
Juwan cried out in a pale voice.
“Exactly. Time to test it for real. More mana means faster, surer cycles. Right?”
Adel murmured low from beyond the golem's arm.
“Why'd a guy like you build that theory and keep it to yourself? 'Cause the current one's from Julian Pader. Yeah?”
Juwan's eyes trembled.
“Respecting your master matters, but as a mage, advancing the art one step further? That's what counts.”
Thump-thump—
Juwan's heart raced despite himself. Called a genius and praised by mages, but most of his ideas had been shelved.
'My theories contradict the established ones.'
He fully agreed with Adel's words: mages must endlessly pursue magic.
And he'd done endless research for it. Ironically, his ideas upended everything built so far.
That would've undermined the prestige of past Ivory Tower mages. They wouldn't take it lying down.
'That's why I left the tower—to find a king I could trust and follow...'
In that sense, even Julian had written him a letter of recommendation.
“I believe in everything you do. No preconceptions.”
“...You believe everything I do?”
“Of course. You're the Ivory Tower's genius—what's not to trust?”
Gulp—
Juwan swallowed dryly without realizing.
“Researching magic in the desert wouldn't be bad, if you're game.”
“Why...?”
“Desert folk have zero grasp of magic from the start. Haha, they won't understand a word anyway, and couldn't care less.”
Juwan couldn't hide his surprise. Not at the joke amid the towering golem, but because this was the first person to unconditionally trust his research.
“We might die...”
“We won't.”
Adel's ironclad certainty made Juwan extend his trembling hand.
Grip—!!
Adel yanked his wrist like a striking hawk.
[Grrrrroooar...!!]
The golem roared.
Clink...
Chains of dark soul linked Juwan's wrist to Adel's arm.
“It'll work.”
Adel's draconic mana surged through Juwan's hand, pulsing wildly.