High-Digit Mage (2)
The blazing masses of fire meteor stones crashing down left not a single spot on the ground unscathed. Massive craters gouged out by the impacts in some places, while others had turned into lava zones where the earth had melted from extreme heat.
With just one spell, she had forged a hellish inferno rivaling a vast volcanic wasteland. The spectacle felt like a true demon had descended upon the earth, turning the whole world into a sea of flames.
“Insane…”
Inside Illyana’s protective barrier, Erin stared blankly at the sight, her mind filled with nothing but pure awe. The sheer fact that a single person could unleash such devastation—the legendary power of a continental hero she’d only heard about in tales—left her speechless, right there witnessing it unfold.
Alex harbored much the same thoughts, no need to say it twice.
“Insane? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means awesome!”
Her eyes snapping wide as he asked, Erin’s sparkled as she shot back instantly.
“Hmph. Gotta keep up with you kids’ lingo these days.”
Grumbling softly, Illyana fixed a bored expression on the demon at the epicenter of the meteor barrage.
“She’s still kicking.”
“Damn… damn, damn, damn, damn!”
The succubus—skin charred black, burn scars visible—grimaced and spat curses. Her wounds slowly knit back to normal, but she glared daggers at Illyana, who’d inflicted such excruciating agony, the demon muttering through gritted teeth in a haze of rage.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll definitely kill you. I’ll make sure to kill you.”
“That shadow-manipulating black magic of yours. Pretty damn impressive.”
Utterly unfazed by the venomous stare, Illyana admired the shadow that had weathered the meteors’ physical onslaught. Noting the demon’s recovery speed—clearly sluggish now compared to before—Illyana sized up her state.
About time.
“Well, I could end you myself, but that ain’t my job.”
“Huh?”
“Kiddo.”
“Y-yes? M-me…?”
Addressing Erin in her awakened gumiho form, Illyana eyed her steadily, assessing. She recalled Eunhyeon’s words—preparing for this inevitable awakening by handing over her magic training, since the girl had inherited a fragment of the divine beast’s power.
—You’re the magic specialist. Least you can do is lay the groundwork, right?
She hadn’t imagined it’d happen now.
She’d gotten the rough rundown from Eunhyeon back in that prison cell. The divine beast dwelling in her body. Its abilities.
A brand-new power Illyana had never witnessed before sparked her keen curiosity, but she knew this wasn’t the moment to geek out.
“Yeah, I see why Hyun had you handle that thing.”
“Huh?”
“You take care of it, kiddo.”
“W-what!?”
Illyana’s abrupt order drew shrill outbursts laced with bafflement from friend and foe alike, no distinction.
“Wh-what do you mean! Lady Illyana, you should…!”
“I’ve burned through her mana reserves. No more shadow defense spells for her. It’s straight-up physical brawl time now.”
To put it simply, Lira’s MP was tapped out.
Lira could revert any damage to her pre-injury state using her mana and dream-world abilities, no matter the scale.
It resembled Eunhyeon’s apostle power, Time Rewind, but with a key difference: she didn’t just snap back to “original”—she could deliberately tune herself to an optimal state of her choosing.
Inside Dream Forest—a realm crafted solely for succubi, divorced from reality—her ability could even edge out Eunhyeon’s in certain ways.
Illyana knew this full well. She’d held back from killing, cornering Lira near death and forcing mana expenditure on recovery to induce this depletion. All to set the stage for Erin to claim the kill herself.
“B-but I’m still not…!”
Caught off-guard and clueless to the setup, Erin floundered in panic.
“Hyun gave it to you, not me.”
“True, but…”
“That bitch is as good as the one who wrecked your bro like that. Right?”
“…Yeah.”
“You handing her off to someone else? You cool with that? Sleep easy after?”
“No.”
“Then you do it.”
“Yes.”
“Kill her, eat her, whatever—just throw down. Hyun wouldn’t saddle you with the impossible. Not unless it’s a bitch to handle.”
“That’s… fair.”
Erin gave a wry smile.
“What about me, then?”
“You? Hell if I know. This is the kid’s growth arc. Wanna spectate?”
Illyana cocked her head; Alex looked crestfallen. Son of a duke—one of the kingdom’s elite—and Cracir Royal Guard member, honor incarnate just for enlisting. Yet here, he was wallpaper. Bitter pill.
Still, he wanted to witness how far this girl—scarred by his half-brother’s bullshit—could climb. Alex nodded meekly, stepping beside Illyana.
Her glance toward Lira sealed it; Erin nodded firmly and advanced.
“Ha… you’re seriously taking me solo?”
Lira took it as outright scorn, pride lacerated, face twisting.
“Mana drained or not, you think I can’t crush one of you?!”
Human contempt gouged deep into her ego.
“How the hell did I make it this far! And you humans dare get in my way?!”
Years of pilfered mana from energy drains on humans—gone in a flash to Illyana’s assault.
Gathering was a grind; spending, instant.
Infiltrating society, nipping at civilians undetected, blending in for intel, manipulating marks for bulk mana harvest—her grand scheme, smashed.
With her stockpile vaporized, hate-blazing eyes locked on Erin as prime outlet.
Bulging-eyed glare; sword drawn, aimed. Crimson-black mana roiled around Lira, aura dire. Meeting it head-on, Erin shivered faintly, rapier clenched, leveled.
Gooseflesh prickling every inch, tension maxed—a woman’s voice rang in her skull.
[Four-Digit General Magic]
[Telepathy]
[Don’t chicken out. Activate your internal mana, reinforce your body.]
‘Y-yes!’
[She can’t sustain that shadow magic anymore. Pure physical scrap from here. Mana in your body and blade matches her leftovers now. Stall, and you pull ahead bit by bit.]
[I suck at fights, but mana handling? I got the basics down.]
Illyana’s voice booming in her head startled Erin briefly, but she snapped to, firing up mana circulation to buff her physique.
Backed by the ultimate coach, fresh gumiho Erin clashed blades with Dream Forest’s succubus queen Lira—their duel ignited.
“Does the witch lady know swordplay too?”
“Nope.”
“Then how’s she advising via telepathy…?”
“No rule says a mage can’t coach a straight-up swordfight.”
Like non-mage Eunhyeon schooling mage Illyana.
Her telepathic tips to Erin? Pure mana management.
For mages, warriors, adventurers, knights—mana flow was life-or-death essential in combat.
Erin had drilled basics under Illyana: building core reserves, flow fundamentals.
This? Live-fire advanced: applying it amid the frenzy.
[Circulation’s lagging. Faster.]
‘Ngh… got it!’
Distracted parrying Lira’s strikes, her inner mana flow stuttering—witch’s ghost whisper nailed it. Teeth gritted, Erin revved circulation anew.
Cycling mana to amp the body: fencer’s bedrock.
Like the heart pumping blood full circuit.
Artificially looping mana amplified physical limits.
Different from full-body mana veils for defense—this honed raw human strength, agility.
One-time veil deployment vs. nonstop flow? Night-and-day focus drain.
Fighting mid-cycle? Tougher than patting head, rubbing tummy—separate hands.
Erin, versed via Eunhyeon and Illyana, honed knack to habit, habit to instinct amid this deathmatch.
Clang!
Lira reeled from Erin’s first vicious riposte, body shoved back by impact.
Early dominance flipped; Lira inwardly panicked.
What the…? She’s getting stronger the longer this drags? How?!
Clumsy defense at first, barely blocking Lira’s onslaught—now parrying and countering.
Erin’s mana cycling stabilizing, fight familiarity blooming.
Even as Illyana and Alex chatted, gumiho-succubus traded furious blows.
Erin’s explosive growth? Not just Illyana’s tips—another ally at play.
[Fox Clan Immortal Art]
[Hundred Ghosts Night Parade]
Blue flames rippled over Erin’s form.
Awakening fragment of the divine beast within: gumiho trait unlocked.
Miho, the spirit inside, greenlit one ability—unconscious ghost summon.
Freshly awakened, Erin lacked control to shape it.
Miho ditched the body, soul-possessing instead.
A Three Swordsmanship ghost—kin to Erin’s rapier—settled in.
[Pleased to meet you, my new master.]
‘Wha…? Who…?’
Not Illyana—a mature woman’s voice. Erin panicked.
[Gallerhead’s my name. Summoned by your original master to aid you.]
One of the Hundred Ghosts: a three-swords ghost soul, battle-hardened against Eunhyeon’s multi-foe frenzy—now lodged in Erin’s mind.
‘S-suddenly what…?’
[Too much to explain—focus on the fight.]
‘Y-yes!’
[Follow my lead. Move as I say.]
Miho’s pick: perfect rapier tutor. Forced symbiosis.