Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Eve of the Storm
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But the one who got wrecked was me.
Three days in that freezing cold would kill anyone.
It took a full week just to fly from Uren's sanctuary to the Lunenbreth estate. See, this is why you shouldn't overestimate your own abilities.
"Urgh... Well then, if you'll excuse me!"
The girl with brown hair and brown eyes raised both arms straight up like she was at attention. At that, Tolari, who had been standing in the corner of the training grounds, cupped her hands like a megaphone and shouted.
"Don't be nervous, Rune! You can do it!"
"Yes!"
Immediately, a massive chunk of ice materialized above her head, then came plummeting down at high speed.
Ice Meteor.
The exact same spell the earthworm queen had used on Bopdal before.
But the execution was a bit sloppy. I created a massive air cushion with wind magic and lightly caught the falling ice mass.
Fwoosh!
Then I tilted the cushion just a bit, gently dropping the ice right next to where I stood.
KABOOM!
Hmm, not so gently, huh?
"Ugh..."
Rune staggered for a moment before collapsing onto the ground.
"Rune!"
In a flash, Tolari zipped over at the speed of light and supported Rune's body.
"You okay? Head spinning? Here, sugar bar."
"Th-thank you, Tolari sis..."
Rune nodded with half-lidded eyes. Looks like these two have gotten a lot closer while I was away.
"The finish was a little off."
I landed in front of them using flight magic and gave my feedback.
"With Ice Meteor, you have to keep your focus all the way to the end. If your opponent is skilled in wind magic, it can end up useless like just now."
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll keep that in mind."
Rune, now looking a bit pale, nodded seriously. Tolari pouted and shot me a glare.
"Don't listen to him, Rune. You did nothing wrong. This prince is just a monster."
"Huh? What?"
"No normal mage would even think to counter that. Even if they did, they couldn't pull it off. This prince is just on another level. No need to worry about it, got it?"
Well, she's not wrong, but still.
"Even so... You're her teacher. Is that any way to talk?"
"It's the truth. Your Highness, have you been gathering mages in droves and running them through endless practical combat drills? How are your reactions so instant and precise?"
That's because I've been through tons of real battles where hesitation means death.
"If I hadn't reacted, I'd be crushed under that ice right now."
"Our cute little Rune finally pulls off a tough spell, and instead of barely blocking it with something like a wall spell, you do that? And now you're bragging about yourself?"
"What are you talking about? You could handle this easily too."
"I'm a wind mage. But Your Highness handles every attribute."
"P-please don't fight because of me..."
Rune fidgeted anxiously and spoke up. I shooed Tolari away and knelt down in front of Rune.
"We're not fighting. Anyway, that was impressive. I had no idea you could cast Ice Meteor. It's just one rank below Tempest."
"Thank you. But after firing it once, I end up like this. Urgh... uuurgh..."
Rune was still dizzy, groaning as she turned her head. I swapped her half-eaten sugar bar for a fresh one and stood up.
Alright, disciple test over. Time for a teacher conference.
"What kind of sorcery is this?"
I dragged Tolari back a few steps and asked.
"How can Rune cast Ice Meteor? You know it's been less than a few months since her mana awakening ritual, right?"
"Why the fuss? Your Highness said she had Arch Wizard talent too."
"Even so, it's too fast."
"It is fast. But she was already pretty advanced before I even started teaching her."
Tolari explained by touching her fingertips together one by one.
"When she awakened her magic during the ritual and froze everything around her? That's when the seed sprouted."
"Seed?"
"The seed of magical output. Of course, fine control is still basic level. But if you boost output, she can pull off Ice Meteor like that."
"Even so, isn't the gap too big?"
"I agree. But control doesn't come quick. Better to focus on output to cover for now. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Ah, so that's why she told Rune not to listen earlier.
So, she's decided to go with brute force output over control for Rune's magic style. It has its merits, sure...
"But then she can never use Tempest, right? You can't even dream of Tempest without control."
"True. But..."
"But?"
"Tempest is something no one dreams of anyway."
Tolari narrowed her eyes as she explained.
"Your Highness's standards are too high. Tempest? Even if I stuck by her side for 5 years—no, 10—I couldn't guarantee it."
Fair point. In all timelines, Rune never reached Arch Wizard level even once.
"Rune's talented. But not on your or my level. And time's short, right?"
"Time?"
"One year left. We have to tailor it to that."
"...You're right."
She hasn't said a single wrong thing.
But thinking about that day still twists my gut. In the past, Rune got thrown into the war around 23. Now, at about 14, she'll have to jump into battle against the otherworld.
Should I just exclude her from the forces?
But this war... it's all or nothing. Lose, and we lose everything.
Plus, by age, Didi's just as young, and Linen, who hurls Holy Lances, is barely 16. Though he looks like a mature 30-something.
"Anyway, that's my take. Control for 10 years out, output for 1 year. Your thoughts, Your Highness?"
"I'll leave it to you. Completely."
"Excellent choice."
Tolari grinned and nodded.
"Also, about the elf boy."
"Ranir? Where is he now?"
"Over there."
Tolari pointed to the knight order headquarters in the distance.
"Davi and I split him between us. That's how we've been teaching him for the five days before you got back."
"How's he doing? From an Arch Wizard's eyes?"
"You're an Arch Wizard too."
"Mine's power from some stroke of fortune. You're a natural magic genius."
"Saying that makes me shy."
She says it's shy, but her face is beaming. Tolari glanced at Rune, who was just getting up and brushing off her butt.
"Talent? Potential? Way below Rune's."
"That much?"
"If we're talking mana, it doesn't seem like it'll grow at all."
"No mana growth? You can tell that?"
"I've seen enough mages since guild days. Elves grow slow, right? Seems their mana growth is slow too. I poked around, and there's zero change."
"I was worried about that too. Guess elves can't be helped?"
"But control looks promising."
"Control?"
"Brain structure? Thought patterns? Different from humans. Stable computational power. I can build control if we adjust output."
"So completely opposite of Rune?"
"Yeah. Perfect opposites. Amazingly so."
Tolari shrugged. Then she suddenly clapped and stepped back.
"Right! Think I can use Pure Magic now?"
"Already? Don't you need to take more?"
"I get the Brain Acceleration Elixir."
Tolari shook her head confidently. She gets it? What does "understand the elixir" even mean?
"Looked possible a few days ago, but I waited. Until you came back. To show you right in front of your eyes."
She glared at the massive ice chunk Rune had made. I hurriedly stepped back and asked.
"You're using it right now?"
"Yeah. Already took the elixir."
She pre-took the Brain Acceleration Elixir? She planned this from the start.
"And it means something if you watch."
"Why me?"
"Because only you get how amazing this is..."
At that moment, a transparent flow of wind gathered in Tolari's right hand.
Wind of Tempest.
At the same time, her left hand formed a Tempest too—but this one incomplete, loosely compressed.
"Urgh..."
A groan escaped her lips, sweat beading on her forehead.
Her cheekbones twitched faintly, the spasms alternating between left and right, out of sync.
Yet Tolari slowly overlapped her hands as if cupping them, masterfully wrapping the incomplete around the complete.
"Whoa..."
I couldn't help but gasp.
Beautiful.
Only I know what's happening in those slender fingers right now.
Magic's final stage: ultimate delicacy fused with extreme compression.
Screeeeech...
The over-compressed inner Tempest let out a bizarre noise from the strain.
The originally transparent Tempest transcended transparency, becoming a semi-translucent orb that forgot its element.
Hummm!
Suddenly, the outer incomplete Tempest vanished.
This is Pure Magic.
A spell breaker that dismantles all magic it touches.
Tolari released it straight ahead the instant it formed.
Ziiiiing!
A hole pierced the house-sized ice chunk right through the center.
Clean as if lasered, flawless.
Then, centering on the hole, the ice crumpled inward and vanished in a blink.
"...Whoa!"
Rune broke the silence.
"The ice! The ice is gone! That huge thing, just like that!"
"Haaah..."
Tolari slumped to the ground, swaying. Overload?
"Tolari!"
I rushed over and held out a pre-opened sugar bar. She chomped it down, sucking like she'd devour my hand too. Phew, conscious, so no overload.
"...So sweet. Yeah, brainwork makes you crave sugar."
"You nailed it. Congrats."
"Thanks, Your Highness. All thanks to you."
Tolari smiled and nodded. She stood gracefully, then hugged the worried Rune beside her.
"Rune. I did Pure Magic."
"I saw. Congrats, sis."
"I did it. I did it... WAAAAAH!"
Then she screamed in joy, bouncing around while hugging Rune.
"I did it! Success! Pure Magic! Pure Magic! I knew it! I knew I could! This glory..."
She suddenly released Rune, spun around, and bowed to me.
"I'll credit it all to Your Highness! All thanks to you! Loyalty! Loyalty! Your loyal servant Tolari pledges eternal loyalty!"
"Such a fuss. Get up already."
I forcibly pulled Tolari up and dusted off her clothes.
"I'm so happy. I'm totally blissed out. Your Highness dusting my clothes himself."
"It's just clothes. You made history; least I can do."
"History?"
Tolari's eyes widened.
"What history? You used Pure Magic first."
"That was a cheat with holy magic mixed in. You did it pure elemental magic. So yes, history."
"Well... Yeah. Hehe. Hihi. Hehehe."
Whoa, a 25-year-old grinning like an idiot. Pure in the best way—or dumb in the worst.
"Now that you've used it once, you know, right? Gotta chug more Brain Acceleration Elixir to use it again?"
"Hehe... hohoho... Nah? Not anymore."
Tolari, grinning vacantly, suddenly sobered and shook her head.
"Now I get the feel. Just one bottle before casting, and I can do it again."
"...For real?"
"For real. I don't joke. Especially not in front of Your Highness."
Normally, you'd need months of steady doses to adapt your brain.
"But no chance we'll need it, right? Doesn't work on monsters, and no mage fights coming."
"...No."
"No? Why?"
"Might need it someday."
I explained the other missing Arch Wizard, Zect. Tolari frowned and nodded.
Even without Zect, we can't drop our guard on the patrons, the root of all evil. They were magic incarnate.
Sure, one got hooked at the eclipse gate using his life as bait.
But who says there's only one patron-type in the otherworld?
This invasion might include one with their army.
Then Pure Magic could shine.
That's why I devised ways to activate Pure Magic faster too. For urgent combat.