Infinite Mana (11)
The maximum value of 100 on the mana meter was calibrated based on the Alliance Leader Nar'el's own mana capacity. Of course, it had been adjusted to 100 for readability. It didn't mean that a Rank 5 mage with only one point of mana actually possessed even one percent of Nar'el's power. Like levels in a game, the higher you climbed, the harder it became to climb further. In any case, the 'maximum' had been set according to Nar'el. No one disputed that Nar'el was the strongest mage. This was true not only in terms of raw mana but also in technical skill.
She had known that fact well enough. But seeing the Alliance Leader's abilities in person made her doubt her own eyes. The magical prowess to deflect attacks head-on even when several Rank 1 mages were assaulting her at once. On top of that, her staff-wielding combat skills were exceptional.
“Grrrrr!”
Three massive wolfmen, each over two meters tall, charged at Nar'el. They were aiming for the opening right after she had cast a spell while fighting other mages. Each one was skilled enough to shatter defensive magic through brute force and tear their opponent apart. Yet Nar'el's response surpassed imagination.
She tilted her body to dodge, simultaneously hooking the staff around a leg to throw off their balance, then spun the staff half a turn and smashed it into a jaw. No matter how sturdy the body or how strong the bones, a rattled brain left no room for resistance. In an instant, one wolfman went down.
“Alliance Leader. Are you really human?”
The wolfman leader who had been watching the scene spoke in bewilderment. The fallen wolfman was no ordinary grunt. He was an elite soldier from Wolf Fang, one of the most prominent guilds among countless others. To knock out a veteran with superior physical ability, abundant techniques, and rich real-combat experience in a single blow… And yet she continued seamlessly responding to the barrage of incoming spells with her own magic.
Her close-quarters combat surpassed even veteran wolfmen, while her magical combat allowed her to face dozens of mages at once. It was a sight that defied belief.
However… despite all that, the situation still favored the Liberation faction.
The moment Nar'el tried to drive her staff through the fallen wolfman’s throat, another wolfman swung his claws. She had no choice but to pull back, and in that gap, yet another wolfman dragged the downed comrade to safety. Within a few minutes at most, the wolfman who had only been knocked unconscious would recover and rejoin the front line. In the end, Nar'el gained nothing.
The magical battle followed a similar pattern. Though she was facing dozens of mages simultaneously, she had no breathing room to launch her own attacks. Unable to fell her opponents, Nar'el was slowly marching toward defeat.
“Grr. What a shame. I wanted to face you properly when the situation was better.”
“Cut the nonsense, Kurta. If the leader of Wolf Fang falls now, morale will plummet. You haven’t forgotten how important this operation is, have you?”
“That’s exactly why I’m staying put. Grrrr…”
Kurta, the guild master of Wolf Fang who had been grumbling, suddenly lifted his head and sniffed the air. His face brightened.
“This smell!”
The next instant, Kurta spun around and threw a punch.
BOOM!
His fist collided with the surprise attacker’s fist, producing a heavy thud.
“Still got that dog nose, I see!”
“Grrrr! It’s a wolf nose, you old fart! Call it a wolf nose!”
The one who had ambushed Kurta was Lee Hogwang, who had just arrived. Both men claimed to be the strongest in fistfights, and their long rivalry stretched back for ages.
“Why is Wolf Fang targeting the Alliance Leader… Ah, what’s the point of asking that now. I’ll ask just one thing.”
Lee Hogwang said with a belligerent curl of his lips.
“Can I beat you to death today?”
“Grrrr… No! The one getting beaten to death today is you, old man!”
As if even exchanging words was a waste of time, the two immediately began throwing punches and claws at each other.
The man who had been talking with Kurta tried to support him, but before he could, he sensed rapidly approaching magic and cast a defensive spell. The incoming magic slammed into his barrier right after.
“Too bad. Would’ve been easier if that had finished it.”
It was Negin’s rotation magic.
“The Witch of Rotation… Tsk. So reinforcements have already arrived.”
Lee Hogwang’s appearance had been somewhat expected. He had originally been scheduled to board the Alliance Leader’s plane with her, and he was the type who loved wandering around. But Negin was different. The fact that Negin, who preferred holing up in her room over traveling, was here meant that reinforcements from Shinsi had already arrived.
Negin frowned and said,
“Can you stop calling me the Witch of Rotation? I don’t do that anymore. It’s childish these days.”
“In my time, earning an epithet based on your signature magic was considered an honor.”
“That’s exactly why I said ‘in my time’—that was ages ago!”
Negin snapped and fired off another spell. At the same time, the mages she had brought with her began their assault.
…….
The arrival of reinforcements. But the tide did not turn so easily.
Compared to the opposition that had prepared for a long time, the reinforcements hastily gathered in broad daylight had their limits. Negin herself possessed considerable skill in magic, but the enemy side had three branch manager-level combatants. Since they had attempted to assassinate the Alliance Leader, it wouldn’t be strange if one of them was actually a branch manager from somewhere. Negin didn’t know every branch manager in the world, so she couldn’t identify them by face.
Lee Hogwang’s situation wasn’t great either. He currently held the upper hand and was pressing the attack, but the overall picture wasn’t favorable. Normally, his win rate against Kurta was around 6:4 in his favor. But after expending mana all the way here, Lee Hogwang didn’t have much left. Kurta, aware of this, was deliberately playing defensively. Despite his aggressive tone, his combat style was cool-headed and experienced. At best, it was an even match right now. And even that would tilt against him as time passed.
Nar'el decided she needed one big strike.
“Just a moment, please!”
Nar'el called out to the reinforcement mages, then thud, slammed her staff into the ground. Less than ten percent of her mana remained. The all-night pursuit battle had drained both her mental strength and stamina. It was practically the worst possible condition.
Still, there were times when you had to do what you had to do.
Nar'el scraped together every last drop of mana she had left. Roots burst forth from the staff she had driven into the earth, spreading alongside her power. The entire area the roots passed through became her domain.
…And then nature began to move.
“W-what the hell is this?!”
“Get away from the trees! The trees are attacking!”
“Trees? Just burn them—ugh, hack! I can’t… breathe…!”
The earth grabbed at their legs, soft blades of grass sliced into flesh, tree branches whipped like lashes, and the air grew thick with poison. Yet none of it affected Nar'el or her reinforcements. It was Nar'el’s signature magic as a high elf—‘Nature.’ Nature itself had turned hostile toward her enemies.
It was a powerful spell, but one she didn’t like using. As an elf, she felt reluctant to treat nature—practically family—like a mere tool. More than that, Nar'el didn’t want to reveal her race on this Earth. With a bitter taste in her mouth, she drove back the Liberation faction.
Then a woman emerged from the Liberation side.
“I will handle the Alliance Leader’s magic, so do not retreat.”
As she chanted her spell, the rampaging forces of nature gradually subsided. The ground only clung lightly to their shoes, the grass merely stung, and the branches swayed gently like they were moved by the wind.
“No… you… that’s…”
Nar'el stared at her in shock.
“Th-that’s impossible…”
It wasn’t because her magic had been forcibly suppressed. Her mana was below ten percent and her condition was at its worst. Even her signature magic could be neutralized depending on the opponent. What shocked Nar'el wasn’t that the magic had been crushed by force, but that it had been gently offset, as if canceled out.
The only thing that could neutralize an elf’s nature magic was another elf’s nature magic. In other words, the woman who had appeared from the Liberation faction was an elf. It was clear from both the spell and her long ears.
Nar'el was a high elf. Born as the superior race and natural leaders of all elves. The fact that an elf would disobey her words, join the Liberation faction, and even treat her as an enemy… was something Nar'el could never have imagined.
It felt as if the very identity of the high elf race had been denied. The shock shook Nar'el’s exhausted mind to its core.
“W-why…? Elves. We elves know, don’t we? What kind of things we’ve been through. Why those things happened. Why we have to hide our magic…”
Nar'el spoke in a trembling voice. It was hard to believe this frail tone belonged to the same woman who had stood firm even as she was being pushed to the edge of a cliff.
In response to her question, the elf woman shook her head and answered calmly.
“I know. But so what? What does that old story have to do with us? Why should we have to live hiding in the shadows just because of something that happened in the past?”
The elf woman’s words were detached, as if she were talking about someone else entirely. At that moment, Nar'el realized it really was someone else’s story to her. She had simply memorized a few lines from a history book by rote.
Nearly a thousand years had passed since those horrific events. As a high elf who had lived through it herself, Nar'el still remembered everything vividly. But for ordinary elves, generations had already come and gone. Even the Elder Council no longer had anyone from that era.
It was Nar'el’s mistake. While insisting that the reason for hiding magic must be kept secret, she had treated her own people, the elves, with relative leniency. In the past, that had been fine. No elf would have dared to ignore or disobey the words of a high elf.
But as generations passed… as bloodlines mixed… the elves’ blood grew thinner, and the high elves’ dominance weakened. And that had led to this outcome.
“Alliance Leader! Snap out of it! We’re still in the middle of a fight!”
Negin shouted, shaking Nar'el by the shoulders. Nar'el tried to gather her mana once more, but it was nearly depleted, and her mind refused to steady itself.
“Agh, damn it!”
Negin spat out a curse and gripped her staff tighter. At this rate, winning through combat was impossible. They had to run. But was that even possible? The enemy numbers had decreased, but they were still overwhelmingly outnumbered. On the other hand, the Liberation faction was brimming with confidence. And with good reason—the difference in forces was that vast.
The leader of the Liberation faction raised his staff, preparing to give the order to attack.
But at that very moment—
“Whoa. It really is Nar'el? Long time no see. How’ve you been?”
A dragon suddenly appeared.