Ancient Magic of Mass and Speed
Ancient Magic of Mass and Speed
The speed was so overwhelming I never even saw whether I'd struck true.
Only the electric jolt that shot up my fingertips told me my staff had connected with Gallod.
After swinging the staff, I went hurtling far past Gallod's rear.
Ancient Magic was like that — immense destructive power, but zero finesse.
THUD! I only came to a stop after slamming hard into the ice wall encircling the villa.
"Ghhk!"
Agony tore through my back where I'd crashed into the ice.
My whole body was a wreck from the fight with Gallod.
But I had no time to soothe the pain — I forced myself upright immediately.
I had to confirm what had become of Gallod.
Had I finished him? I refused to voice any such ominous thought aloud.
I lifted my blood-streaked head and scanned the villa grounds. The shark monster sat frozen solid.
Gallod wasn't merely coated in ice — he was imprisoned inside a pillar of transparent ice.
Using the blizzard as propulsion to amplify its force, Rapid Freeze had delivered outright overkill.
"Hoo..."
I let out a sigh of relief and approached Gallod.
Trapped in ice, death was a certainty — but you never knew for sure.
If he'd flash-frozen too quickly, he might thaw and revive like something out of cryogenic sleep.
I had to finish this properly with my staff.
"Hold still."
CRASH!
I poured my rage into smashing the frozen Gallod to pieces.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Head and chest, arms and legs. From his toes to the fingers that nearly turned me into a pincushion — I shattered every frozen part of him. The shark-like head in particular I pulverized beyond recognition, grinding it into ice dust.
This was vengeance for the monster who had threatened my lovers and Lady Bella.
The battle ended once I'd finished confirming the kill.
After making sure no more enemies lurked nearby, I went straight to Rebecca first.
Rebecca, lying side by side with the injured Hannah, was still receiving treatment.
I asked Kate, who was maintaining the healing spell.
"Is the treatment going well?"
"Just leave it to me! I can heal everything without leaving a single scratch. But Rebecca unni has a fractured right arm, so that'll take more time. I'll need to tend to her for about a week."
"A fracture? Isn't that serious? That means the bone is broken."
That shark bastard did this!
I ground my teeth and looked back. Even though Gallod's corpse was already thoroughly smashed, I felt like grinding every last piece of him into ice dust still wouldn't satisfy my fury.
An arm was everything to a martial artist like Rebecca.
'Surely my girlfriend isn't going to live the rest of her life one-armed.'
I shuddered, imagining that horrible future. Part of the trembling came from the chill, but imagining Rebecca's grief sent fresh rage at the fishmen boiling up inside me.
She'd trained in swordsmanship her whole life, and now she'd never hold a blade again.
The loss would surely break her spirit. Even after we married, her injury might breed discord between us.
I threw my arms around Rebecca where she lay quietly on the ground and shouted.
FWUMP!
"Rebecca! Even if you're one-armed, don't be sad! I'll feed you for the rest of your life! I'll make sure you never lift a finger! Missing an arm means nothing — I love you!"
"Ghk! Khhak!"
But I must've squeezed too hard — Rebecca made a choking noise. When I loosened my grip around her waist, she stared up at me, utterly dumbfounded.
"Hff... Hey! Who are you turning into a cripple?! It's not broken, it's just cracked!"
"Oh."
It wasn't broken?
Ah, right.
The concept of a fracture included cracking, too.
My negative mindset, always leaping straight to the worst conclusions, had misled me again.
Fuck.
Still, she was hurt. That much was true.
"Mongma-nim. You're interfering with treatment, so step aside. Healing spells lose effectiveness if the subject moves."
"Is Rebecca okay? She's got a bone crack. Should I go find some milk somewhere? We need calcium right now!"
"Please snap out of it! Mongma-nim, you're in a panic. Fixing a broken bone needs surgery, but a crack can be healed with a healing spell. If I care for her for one week, there won't even be any aftereffects."
No aftereffects, she said.
Nuns' heals really were something else. I mentally repented for calling nuns heal-sluts back in the day.
Maybe I could upgrade the terminology a little and call them heal-sprayers instead.
"Okay. That's a relief."
I was about to release Rebecca from my embrace and get up. But I couldn't rise. Because Rebecca's soft hand had slipped over and gently caught my sleeve.
"D-don't go..."
Rebecca's cheeks flushed red. She wouldn't let me go.
Her fingers fidgeted shyly around the sleeve she held.
"But you need treatment."
"You can just stay still beside me, you stupid horn-head! You're hurt too, so lie down here!"
FWIP!
Rebecca put her strength into it and yanked me down. For a martial artist, she was stupidly strong — I got dragged straight down and ended up on the floor. Lying beside Rebecca, I bathed in the healing spell's light alongside her and let my body recover.
"Luke. You can't get up until your body's healed. You have to stay stuck to my side. If you leave me alone, I'll tease you for a whole month — calling you stupid, horn-head, pervert. I'll ruin the mood when we do mana charging, too."
"Really? You'll curse at me during mana charging? By incubus standards, that's a reward, you know?"
"Fine! I'll give you a reward, so stay beside me."
Tears had welled up in Rebecca's eyes as she clutched my sleeve. Even as I answered with a smirk, I understood exactly how she felt.
She'd finally reunited with her one and only lover after a whole fortnight.
'Rebecca's the type who gets lonely more easily than she lets on.'
During the fortnight I'd spent far away enduring my trial, she must have thought of me and missed me constantly. Even back at the inn, she'd sometimes come knocking on my room with all sorts of excuses, asking to sleep together.
She just wanted to be beside her boyfriend but couldn't say it honestly — and that part of her was adorable.
"I said I'll give you a reward! I'll curse at you so hard it'll make your lower half stand at attention!"
"Sure, sure."
Pretending I couldn't resist, I wrapped my arms lightly around Rebecca.
We lay on the villa floor receiving impromptu treatment, which took roughly twenty minutes. The torn gashes across my back healed cleanly.
During that time, I told Rebecca about everything that had happened at the temple over the past fortnight. I wanted to talk with Kate, too, but she was too absorbed in concentrating on her healing spell.
"I cleared the Quarterstaff's Trial in just fourteen days. Among all Rune Mages born human, I set the shortest record. Impressive, right?"
"Ahh, so that's why you arrived now? Your timing really is unbelievable. If it hadn't been for you, that shark would've eaten all of us."
"Aren't I reliable now? I've awakened as a Rune Mage who wields Ancient Magic. Whack anything with my staff and it's done in one hit."
"Pfft! Are you showing off to me right now?"
"Praise me, praise me, Rebecca."
When I tickled her side, Rebecca giggled and gave me an unexpected answer.
"Praise — !!"
Was that praise? How in the world did saying the word "praise" constitute the act of praising?
I was dumbfounded, but I realized Rebecca was genuinely happy about my growth. A sincere, joyful smile lingered on her lips.
'My heart is going to explode.'
A warmth spread through my chest.
In this world, there were so few people who purely rejoiced at my growth. How a person could smile so innocently was truly a mystery. It made all my efforts to grow stronger feel worthwhile.
"Mongma-nim, treatment's done! And Miss Hannah, your treatment is also finished, so please get up. Whew, treating three people at once is a first for me — it's pretty exhausting."
Kate's treatment soon concluded, and I stood up together with Hannah. The reason we'd done impromptu treatment right there on the damp, moisture-soaked floor was because of the fishmen currently rampaging through the city.
'There are fishmen outside the villa right now. They might discover this place and attack.'
The villa was currently cut off from the outside by the ice wall. We had no way of knowing what was happening out there — whether the rioting fishmen had all been suppressed yet.
We needed to heal our bodies during this peaceful window to prepare for any unforeseen situations.
I asked Bella, who had been watching over us, about the plan going forward.
"Lady Bella. What should we do now? Should we escort you and escape the city?"
"That was the original plan. I was supposed to reunite with Luke, return to the Temple of Nain Gard, and stay there. But thinking it over again, escaping the city seems like it might be even more dangerous."
Bella spoke while staring vacantly at the shattered remains of Gallod's corpse.
"The one commanding the fishmen — the Great Chief. He's trying to kill me. He even sent his own bodyguard to assassinate me."
"The Great Chief is trying to kill you, Lady Bella?"
This was the first I'd heard of it.
I hadn't realized the fishmen were directly targeting Bella's life. No wonder a uniquely powerful specimen had appeared at the villa where she was staying.
"Yes. I don't know the exact reason they're trying to assassinate me. But since I've been marked as a target, trying to leave the port city might actually draw a pursuit squad. The moment we leave the city, we could be surrounded by fishmen outside."
I agreed with Bella's assessment that escaping the city was more dangerous. Besides, there was no guarantee that the shark-headed heavy-hitter was the only one of its kind. Someone ranked as a Great Chief would have multiple bodyguards at his disposal.
Just imagining having to fight those things again was horrifying.
"Everyone."
Clap! Bella clapped her hands to reset the atmosphere, then spoke.
"Let's simply remain here at the villa and hide until the riot ends. If you think about it, this is the safest spot in the entire city. A sturdy ice wall is protecting us."
Bella gestured at the frozen whirlpool that encircled the villa.
Besides the hole I'd smashed open with my staff, there wasn't a single breach. The ice created by Rapid Freeze was strangely slow to melt — it would retain its shape for at least a day or two.
"So you're saying we'll hold out here at the villa."
"Luke. How durable is that ice wall? Can it be shattered easily if someone puts force into it?"
"Right now, force could break it. But I can reinforce its thickness with my magic staff. Just give the word, and I can turn this place into a fortress."
An ice fortress.
If I used Rapid Freeze further, I could keep increasing the ice wall's thickness. I could seal the breached hole and fortify the entire villa.
And conveniently, Hannah — a sustained-type mage specialized in defense — was with us.
She could set up magic traps, too.
"Would it also be possible to leave again after building this ice fortress?"
"I can thaw the ice with Ancient Magic as well. I can create an entrance for you anytime."
"Then that works out nicely. Rebecca is injured, so let's rest here at the villa for one night. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll go outside and check whether the riot has been suppressed."
Our employer, Bella, had made her decision.
We would fortify the villa and withstand the fishmen's riot.
"Understood, my lady."
"First, let's move Rebecca unni inside the villa. It's better to let her receive treatment on a bed. Hey, Miss Secretary, don't just look after your own boss — help us out a little, too."
At the request, Hannah helped the injured Rebecca up and guided her inside the villa. Kate followed behind in quick little steps, maintaining the healing spell. Of course, I couldn't follow them just yet.
I had to reinforce the ice wall with Rapid Freeze here.
"Hagalaz. Freeze."
I pressed my staff against the ice wall and activated the spell. The freezing spell wasn't the only one I used, of course.
"Liquid."
I absorbed the moisture inside and outside the villa and used it to reinforce the ice wall. The villa building and its surroundings had been thoroughly soaked with water during the battle with Gallod. Removing the unpleasant dampness was better for the people who'd be staying here.
"You're a human dehumidifier, Luke."
Bella marveled, watching me visibly suck up moisture in all directions.
I shrugged at her and said,
"Call me a water-sucking hippo."
"Water-sucking hippo...? Why a hippo, Luke?"
"It's the name of a famous dehumidifier from my homeland."
I was, in fact, a walking dehumidifier.
Bella chuckled at my joke, then spoke.
"You really can do anything with magic. Absorbing moisture, building a fortress out of ice. I'm starting to think the safest place to be is right beside you."
"Lady Bella, I appreciate the praise, but please go inside and rest. You must be exhausted from being chased by the fishmen."
"No. I'll stay here."
Bella remained at my side until the ice wall reinforcement work was completely finished.
'Well, it's nice having someone to talk to when I'm bored.'
I thought that much was fine.
But even after the work ended and we went inside the villa, Bella refused to separate from me.
"Lady Bella? Why do you keep following me?"
"I-I'm sorry. When I can't see you, Luke, I get anxious. My heart pounds so hard I feel like I'm going to lose it. Please let me stay beside you. I'll pay you any amount of money, just don't go."
Huh?
Then how am I supposed to do mana charging?