First Real Combat (1)
Eron swallowed hard.
I can't even see the bottom.
Eron had never suffered from a fear of heights. If anything, he rather enjoyed high places. Yet standing before this particular precipice, anyone would have felt the exact same chill. A bottomless chasm gouged into the earth, roughly fifty meters across, it seemed to pull at anyone who looked into it like an inescapable black hole.
My knees are shaking.
This was the Ten-Thousand-Year Cliff, a colossal trench reputedly hewn ten millennia ago when hundreds of mages banded together. Thanks to its sheer existence, invasions from northern demons and monsters had been kept to an absolute minimum.
"Feels different seeing it in person, doesn't it?" Merna asked.
"Yes..."
He had read about it in books and thought he might like to visit someday, but witnessing it with his own eyes felt more like standing at the threshold of hell.
"Staring at it will only sour your mood. Let's get started right away."
"Yes, please."
"The rest of you, fall back," Merna commanded.
At her words, Felix and the attending soldiers cautiously retreated far behind Eron.
"Now then, shall we call one out? Ready yourself as well."
"Yes, Master."
Merna drew her staff and struck the ground firmly, sending a low tremor rippling through the surrounding earth.
"Kyaaaagh! What is that?! What's that noise?!"
"Huh? What's wrong with you?"
Ifrit, who usually refused to budge no matter how hard he shook her, shot awake with a piercing shriek.
"Master? What kind of sound is that?"
"I'm emitting a frequency only dragons can hear. Can you hear it too?"
"No, not me. Ifrit can."
"Oho~ So it affects spirits as well? Since both are incarnations of nature, I suppose they share certain traits."
I really don't think this is the time for leisurely academic observations, Master...
Ifrit fluttered into the air, trying desperately to flee from the source of the noise, but she didn't get far before tumbling back down onto Eron's palm.
"Turn it off! Please, turn it oooff!"
"Master, I think she really wants you to stop," Eron said.
"Not yet. It takes at least ten minutes to verify whether any dragons are around."
"Noooo! Make it stooop!"
Devastated by the news, Ifrit writhed pathetically on his palm.
"Just endure it and ready your magic," Eron urged her.
"Ready magic in this state?! Are you out of your—kyaaaagh!"
GRRRROOOOOAAAR—!
As Ifrit's wails dragged on for several agonizing minutes, an ear-splitting screech tore through the heavens.
"Ah, there it is," Merna murmured.
She gazed calmly up at the cloud-choked sky.
"Is it really a dragon?!"
"A dragon...!"
"L-Lord Administrator! We must order an evacuation at once!"
Ignoring the frantic commotion behind them, Merna assessed the approaching silhouette.
"Quiet down and keep your heads!" Felix barked, his voice sharp enough to steady his panicked soldiers.
"Hmm. That's no true dragon," Merna observed, her tone tinged with unmistakable disappointment.
"Something that massive isn't a dragon?"
"It's precisely because it's that bloated that it isn't one. Most likely a crossbreed of a wyvern and a frost dragon. A Grand Chimera Dragon, if we're being precise."
The colossal beast fully breached the heavy cloud cover. As it loomed overhead, a swirling vortex of frost began gathering inside its gaping maw.
KRRRRAAAAGH—!
"A breath attack. Brace yourself, Eron!"
"Yes, Master!"
As part of his practical combat training, Merna had assigned Eron the sole duty of intercepting every assault.
"Hey, Ifrit! You good now? Here we go!"
"Aargh, seriously! Today is the absolute worst! Fine, let's do this!"
At their shared command, a towering wall of fire erupted, rising up to meet the incoming frost breath.
K-Boom!
The freezing torrent slammed headlong into the barrier of roaring flame, grinding to a complete halt. Seeing its breath snuffed out so effortlessly, the Grand Chimera Dragon hovered, glaring down at Eron and Merna as if studying them.
"Eep! Look at that insolent lizard, staring down at us! You're just a brainless overgrown lizard!" Ifrit sputtered, deeply offended by its condescending gaze.
"Eron? The next one is coming from your left."
"Left? Understood!"
Wait, it's right in front of us... But Master must be right.
Though uncertainty gnawed at him, Eron prepared his spell precisely as instructed.
"Ifrit, stop whining! Ready?"
"Can't we just attack?! I want to smack it right in the snout!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Here it comes!"
Just as Eron cast the spell toward his left flank, the monster—despite its massive bulk—flashed sideways with astonishing speed and spewed another blast of frigid breath. The fiery barrier flared up in the nick of time, deflecting the blast by a hair's breadth.
If I had hesitated for even a couple of seconds...
In that instant, the terrifying pressure and raw adrenaline of actual combat slammed into him like a physical blow.
"Next is the front."
"Yes!"
Focus. I have to weave the mana with absolute precision.
After circling overhead and measuring its prey, the Grand Chimera Dragon accelerated sharply, unleashing a breath attack directly head-on.
Boom!
I managed to stop it, but... how on earth does Master know where it's going to strike before it even moves?
Standing a mere five paces behind Eron, Merna had been watching the beast, flawlessly reading its trajectory and predicting its angles of attack down to the exact second.
"Next is behind you."
"Huff... Understood!"
Following Merna's orders, Eron invoked his magic for the fourth time.
Only four spells... and I'm already exhausted!
Why was his stamina draining so fast? He hadn't cast anywhere near enough spells to warrant this level of fatigue. Compared to the grueling training sessions he had endured under Merna, this should have been trivial. While Spirit Magic did not deplete the caster's personal mana pool, it drew upon physical stamina instead. Repeated usage naturally caused fatigue, but he had never felt worn down so quickly.
Is this what a life-or-death battle feels like?
The sheer mental strain combined with the physical toll weighed heavily on him, forcing him to understand the true weight of real combat.
KRRRRROOOOOAAAR—!
Furious that its breath had been repelled four times in succession, the Grand Chimera Dragon let out an earth-shaking roar. It swung around to hover directly in front of Eron, glaring at him with seething hatred.
"This one will be straight ahead."
"...Yes."
Unlike before, the frost condensed in the dragon's jaws far longer, coalescing into a sphere of crackling blue brilliance.
This one is going to be leagues stronger than the last.
"Ifrit."
"I know! We're putting everything into this one!"
Gathering every shred of concentration, Eron fine-tuned the flow of mana with painstaking precision and unleashed the spell.
"Oho~ Now that is beyond my expectations," Merna murmured.
A wall of roaring crimson flame erupted before them, by far the largest barrier Eron had ever manifested.
KABOOOOM!
The wall of flame and the icy breath collided with cataclysmic force. Vast billows of scalding steam hissed outward, swallowing the battlefield in a thick, blinding fog.
SKRRREEECH—!
Though the white haze obscured their vision, the beast's agonized screech told the full story.
We blocked it. Completely.
Eron couldn't decipher the chimera dragon's language, but the boundless frustration in its cry was unmistakable.
"Haha! Serves you right! That's what you get for looking down on us!" Ifrit cackled, gloating proudly. Her triumphant reaction made the outcome even clearer.
"Hey! Now let's pay it back in spades! This time, we attac—huh? Eron?!"
"Sorry... just a second..."
Thud!
As though every drop of strength had been drained from his body in an instant, Eron collapsed to his knees and pitched forward onto the ground.
My strength... it's just gone...
"Hey! What's wrong with you?! Hey, human woman! Look at him!"
She can't hear you, Ifrit... Eron wanted to say, but he lacked even the breath to form the words.
"Next will be—hm? Perhaps that was asking too much," Merna mused, noticing him on the ground. She strode over immediately.
"You did well. Rest now."
"Master..."
Catching the lingering regret in his voice, Merna gave a warm smile.
"You did more than enough. In fact, you far exceeded my expectations. Even if it isn't a true dragon, you repelled a Grand Chimera Dragon's breath five consecutive times. The last one was indisputably its full might. That is a remarkable achievement. So rest."
The moment she finished speaking, Merna deployed Space Magic, teleporting herself and Eron back to where Felix waited.
"He is merely exhausted. He will recover shortly."
Leaving Eron in Felix's care, Merna turned back toward the Grand Chimera Dragon.
"Now that the training is over, shall we wrap this up quickly?"
With those parting words, she blinked back to the front line.
It did not take long for the Grand Chimera Dragon to meet its end.
"Incredible..."
Felix could hardly believe what had just unfolded before his eyes.
The boy whom Merna Wintreia, Archmage of the 2nd Seat, had personally taken as her sole disciple—Felix had assumed Eron possessed some hidden talent he couldn't perceive.
Never did I imagine it would be to this extent.
By all accounts, it had not been long since Eron became Merna's apprentice. Furthermore, this was said to be his very first time learning magic. Yet Eron's spells had repeatedly held off the breath of that monstrous, dragon-like beast. Not just once, but multiple times.
Compared to someone like Merna, Felix might be nothing more than an ordinary spellcaster, but he was still a recognized Class 1 mage—firmly among the continent's upper echelon. In his position, he had encountered countless mages over the years. Even before meeting Merna, he had met other Archmages and witnessed their magic firsthand. That was precisely why the magic Eron displayed struck Felix as so bizarre and astonishing.
Even as Merna overwhelmed and slaughtered the Grand Chimera Dragon in a one-sided hunt, Felix couldn't even bring himself to watch her. The shock of what Eron had accomplished completely dominated his mind.
Strictly speaking, the spell Eron had cast was merely a foundational fire spell. Mastering it in such a brief span was certainly proof of exceptional talent, but that was a caliber of talent most Class 1 mages possessed. It was not unheard of.
What truly terrified him was the spell's sheer destructive output.
The power unleashed just now could never, under any circumstances, belong to a basic fire spell. Aside from sharing the superficial shape of a wall of fire, it was an entirely different beast altogether.
Is such a thing even possible?
Foundational magic possessed an inherent ceiling, whether cast by an Archmage, a Class 1 mage, or a Class 2 mage. Yet Eron's magic had shattered that boundary entirely. He had elevated a basic form into a spell of an entirely different dimension.
And he had cast it repeatedly.
Could anyone else at that age cast magic of that magnitude multiple times in succession? If this was what he could accomplish with a basic spell, what would happen once he wielded higher-tier arcana?
The thought sent goosebumps racing across Felix's skin.
Even as he regretted only allowing Eron to stay at his castle for a single month, Felix had a profound premonition: securing Eron's presence, even for that brief month, would prove to be the single greatest decision he had ever made in his entire life.