Chapter – 19
I met the black arrow flying at me with my drawn sword at the last possible moment.
The force it carried was by no means light.
I had thought that since it was cast so quickly, it wouldn’t be that powerful—but that was a bit naive.
I blocked three of them, but the last one lightly grazed my shoulder.
The skin tore, and a bit of blood splattered.
From the opposite side, I heard a sharp, sinister laugh.
This time, several thinner arrows rained down from the sky.
I blocked three out of five, leaving two.
One must be buying time with fast casting, and the other preparing a major spell.
Not bad.
Had I tried to handle all five at once, I surely would have ended up skewered on arrows.
I parried the descending magical arrows as best as I could.
Their power wasn’t as strong as before, but the sheer number was overwhelming.
Focusing only on avoiding fatal hits, I blocked and deflected the arrows, which left red streaks on the ground as they disappeared.
Luckily, none pierced through.
A few more thick arrows followed.
Delaying wasn’t in my favor.
With all this commotion, others would soon notice, complicating matters further.
I stomped the ground.
My target was, as always, the closer one.
I blocked an arrow aimed at my heart.
I ignored one coming for my thigh. Fortunately, it only grazed some flesh, without hitting properly.
An arrow aimed at my face I dodged with a tilt of my head.
Blood tinted one corner of my vision as an arrow scraped over my cheek, then it returned to normal.
In battles against mages, speed is literally life or death.
With a sword, I’m limited by range. All the more reason to act fast.
The crux of combat lies in how quickly one can cast effective spells, and on my side, how to minimize damage while closing the distance to strike a lethal blow.
Fortunately, I’m quick on my feet.
At least faster than the spellcaster right in front of me.
I pulled my sword hand back and threw a punch to the solar plexus.
Crack— the sound of ribs breaking rang satisfyingly in my ears.
The mage staggered back a few steps, coughing up blood, and collapsed.
Killing them outright would’ve been troublesome.
Instead, I reached out with my blade, cutting the top of the staff, and turned my attention to the last mage.
They were, unsurprisingly, chanting a spell.
Once again, arrows rained down from the sky.
Annoying.
But perhaps due to hurried casting, the power was weaker than before.
With my peripheral vision, I had confidence.
Since this was the last one, I could focus fully without distraction.
The magical arrows were fast and precise, but no match for the skillful swordplay they had playfully tried before.
Tttttttt—metallic clashes rang out as arrows and sword collided chaotically.
After blocking roughly fifty, the barrage finally ceased.
Without hesitation, I charged forward.
The mage calmly tried to maintain distance, but my speed was too much to resist.
Even at sword range, I didn’t slow down, lowering my stance slightly and leading with my left shoulder to strike.
The mage, hit by my shoulder, was lifted off the ground and rolled several times.
It wasn’t just a push; it was a massive force.
There had been five mages.
I could safely say they were all handled.
A message of “combat concluded” came to mind.
As expected, it was full of praise.
Checking my body, aside from the scratches from arrows leaving a stinging pain, I was unharmed.
Though brief, my body felt exhausted.
Perhaps because of that slight relaxation, I didn’t notice a magical sphere approaching.
Bang— an explosion blinded me, and when I regained awareness, I was sprawled on the ground.
Before I could even straighten up, another explosion hit.
My body flew meters into the air and crashed back down.
I could barely process what was happening.
Landing, I rolled sideways to avoid another black orb landing where I had been.
It exploded again.
I felt a hot liquid trickle down near my temple.
I wanted to believe it was sweat, but when I wiped it, my hand came away red—clearly, my head had been hit.
There was no further attack.
The dust cloud raised by the explosions settled, and I could finally see my opponent.
It was a single person.
And a woman.
She was smiling.
I stiffened.
My luck was unbelievably bad.
Her appearance was incongruous with the scene.
Her dark blue dress dragged on the ground.
Her outfit, mostly black, lacked decoration but didn’t seem suitable for combat.
She had no weapons at all.
Unlike most mages who wielded staffs, she seemed more like a refined young lady from a noble family.
Pale skin, bright red lips, purple fruit-shaped earrings.
My instincts screamed alarm.
Reason itself warned me of her extreme danger.
A vivid red warning appeared in my mind:
『Load.
Danger signal.
Your body has instinctively sensed death upon facing the woman before you.
You are not foolish enough to be deceived by her fragile appearance.
Though you have not yet felt mana nor fully understood its use, you are not so naive as to ignore the surrounding air being disturbed by unknown forces.
The stench beyond the Black Gate assaults your nose,
visions of death approach you in an instant,
and foul tastes linger on your tongue.
Ghosts beckon to where she resides,
and every cell of your body shudders at the preordained fate of death.
Fortunately, this has not yet manifested in reality.
Stop immediately and find a way to avoid the death your body perceives.』
The woman clearly intended hostility.
For the first time, I broke out in cold sweat.
Without a word, she fired another black orb.
It was fast and large.
I could perhaps block it, but taking it directly was suicide—so I had no choice but to roll on the floor.
She seemed to anticipate this; explosions erupted around the place I had dodged.
The consecutive blasts left my ears ringing.
She chanted too quickly for me to react.
Even dodging only worked so much; the continuous destruction tore flesh and strained muscles.
The more despairing fact: she was holding back.
Or rather, she was toying with me.
With her power, she could end me easily.
A few large magical spheres, and I wouldn’t even move before dying.
As the assault neared its end and I was on the brink of death, a voice echoed from the warehouse:
“Analysis complete! This is a spatial teleportation magic circle!”
“Activate it now!”
“What?! We don’t even know where it leads?!”
“No time to explain! Go!”
Without looking back, I leapt forward.
Near explosions made me lose balance, but I gritted my teeth and pushed with my legs, managing to escape.
The warehouse was close.
The woman sighed and floated a massive black orb into the sky.
Darkness fell; the orb blocked the sunlight.
She intended to obliterate the entire warehouse.
Ku gu gu gu— the sound of the air being crushed by magical force pierced my ears.
The colossal orb approached, like a meteor hurtling down.
The wind generated by its approach tore the surroundings apart.
The air below stilled briefly, then everything scattered like frightened prey.
I froze at the unnatural spectacle.
Inside the warehouse, a Phoenix Division woman struggled with a magic circle, trapped.
Activation would take time.
And the meteor-sized orb had no intention to wait.
I felt instinctively:
If the spatial teleportation triggers now, we will be reduced to ashes.
I locked eyes with the dark blue-dressed woman.
This time, she wasn’t smiling.
Her pale face was expressionless.
I understood why.
Her personality was clear.
Because I stopped struggling.
That is how she interpreted it.
Broken toys do not amuse her.
Dust off her dress, bored, and she turned away.
The meteor fell above me.
Ceilings and pillars of the warehouse shattered.
The materials disappeared without trace.
I clenched my sword.
In a brief instant, I shifted my grip.
Spread my knees, lowered my stance.
Left foot forward, sword in my right hand, held with both hands.
Every nerve at its limit.
Every sense sharpened.
I could feel the presence of the air itself.
I could measure the mass of the sun with my senses, or so it felt.
Screee— the sword, radiating a strange light, slashed upward.
——————
——
——
The sword that cleaves stars split the meteor.
The dank, humid smell of the underground pricked my skin.
I wanted to look around, but fatigue and exhaustion held me back.
My legs gave way, and I collapsed.
By cutting the meteor, the spatial teleportation was triggered, saving my life.
I couldn’t say it was completely safe here, but it was better than facing that woman.
『Load.
Spell Destruction 波碎.
You successfully nullified the spell <Supreme Magic Missile> with a single sword!
Impossible.
The spell comprised six complex rings, incomprehensible to your shallow magical knowledge.
Its power could easily destroy hundreds of people or several city blocks.
The spell would have taken your life if left unchecked.
And yet, you countered it with only a sword.
Foolish, reckless, impossible.
No swordman could replicate your move.
The spell, <Supreme Magic Missile>, was completely understood and nullified in a single strike.
Could this be talent?
A human with no prior connection to magic perceives and counters six rings of a spell on the first encounter.
Amazing. Unbelievable. Staggering.
The system even suggests you consider a path in magic.』
『Load.
First ability, third arm, sixth sense.
You feel a strange, unsettling energy.
Though invisible, you perceive it.
Guessing it’s like sensing air currents.
You realize it hasn’t appeared suddenly.
It’s always been everywhere.
Always with you, unnoticed.
The force that keeps children running endlessly, preserves youth, heals wounds.
Within your body flows it as well.
It is life force.
That is mana.
The trigger was facing the six-ring spell.
Though the spell was canceled, the tidal wave of magical energy hit you.
You have perceived mana!
You can now utilize the mana within your body for various feats.
You can enhance your strength beyond normal limits, focus it into a blade to cut even non-material things.
Train your sixth sense to manipulate mana!
Boundless potential awaits….
