Chapter 199

Chapter 199. A Day on the Battlefield (3)

“If I equate mana to money, it feels more realistic.”

Every time I captured a monster, it was like earning a few thousand, tens of thousands, or at most, hundreds of thousands of won.

With this basic premise, how many people could manage to secure a fund of 10 billion?

As long as spending through the shop existed, there wouldn’t be many players who could accumulate 10 billion mana in this game.

“Most regular players halt their growth at the Gold Rank.”

With a completed Gold Rank body, they upgrade the software like mana and magic little by little.

“That’s the limit most people will face, I guess.”

But I had no intention of stopping here.

“From now on, I need to rival those above, like Horfe, Rashar, and Gretman, who are in a completely different realm.”

Only then could I hunt the monsters they were in charge of, like counts or corps commanders.

I gritted my teeth, scraping together mana to become a Platinum Rank or find another way.

My keen eyes swept across the battlefield filled with carcasses of the Evolved Species.

But it lasted only a moment.

I took a deep breath, my eyes closing.

“I can’t rush it, either.”

Slowly, but surely.

“Kaaooo!”

As soon as I steadied my mind, a sudden sound reached my ears.

It was a monster’s cry, tinged with grief and frustration.

Turning to the direction of the sound, I saw a general-rank monster crying out, trapped in the magic I had cast.

“It’s been so loud since earlier; it’s driving me nuts.”

Seeing the general-rank, Ahel, who was squatting next to it with his hands propping his chin, suddenly spoke up.

Beside him lay the carcasses of several Evolved Species, which seemed to be the work of Berta, who was shaking blackened hands free of black blood.

As I approached them, Berta, delighted, clambered up onto my shoulder.

While I materialized water mana to wash off Berta’s hands, Ahel gestured toward the general-rank.

“Right?”

“… Seems so.”

Giving a plain response, I noticed Yang Taeho and Kim Yul also gathering in the same place.

“Are you going to capture it directly?”

Kim Yul asked while wiping off the black blood smeared on the relic dagger I gave him.

I shook my head and met the glaring eyes of the general-rank head-on.

All it could do was stare at me with fiery red eyes.

The general-rank was currently trapped inside my “Lightning Prison”.

A 5th-ranked magic that I succeeded in adding to my status window two days ago.

I inspected the Lightning Prison that had contained the general-rank for over four hours.

‘The power’s weakened.’

Initially, even approaching the lightning burned its scales to black.

Now, it merely left a bit of scorch. It seemed the duration was reaching its end…

‘Should I infuse more mana into maintaining the form?’

As I adjusted the mana array with my eyes and senses, the Lightning Prison emitted heat once more.

For prolonged use, mana levels had to be adjusted right from the initial materialization phase.

As I examined the mana array of the Lightning Prison, Kim Yul approached unnoticed, speaking.

“This is that magic stored in my dagger, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you just do? The sparks have intensified again.”

“Mana replenishment.”

“A charging concept?”

“You could see it that way.”

“Different from sword dance…”

“That focuses on one-time consumption.”

For area-effect magics like the sword dance or the flame storm, the mana turnover rate is incredibly high.

It consumes fuel as fast as it’s injected.

Putting in a lot at once amplifies the range and power of the magic.

On the other hand, the Lightning Prison stores the initially injected mana, releasing it steadily and at a constant rate.

You can adjust the quantity and speed of mana consumption by expanding or contracting the scale of the magic.

However, increasing mana input does not inherently increase its power.

“Hmph… Is this the structure maintaining its form? Or not? It’s ambiguous without knowing the whole structure…”

Until now, he had been preoccupied with materializing mana, but it seemed the structure was starting to catch his eye.

I explained to Kim Yul what I had learned from Ahel.

Upon hearing the mana consumption of the Lightning Prison during that explanation, Kim Yul asked stiffly.

“Wait, how much does it take to initially materialize?”

“About 42,000… no, 43,000.”

“Whoa.”

He gasped, tongue-tied.

“I thought the sword dance was wild, but this eats more? As expected, 5th grade…”

Higher-grade magic generally demands greater quantities of mana.

There’s a hundred units required to materialize a 1st-grade Mana Detection and a thousand units for a 2nd-grade Barrier.

As you ascend to 3rd or 4th grade, the mana requirement skyrockets into the thousands, and the 5th-grade magic, firestorm, demands a staggering 100,000 mana.

The Lightning Prison, constantly sparking amidst blue light, was no exception.

“These greedy mana hogs…”

Even for me, who exceeded 50,000 attribute mana after sweeping up attribute stones in past auctions, it was a burdensome number.

Though, there were no complaints.

“The power is undeniable.”

There was no doubt about the efficacy of the firestorm or the newly acquired Lightning Prison.

The review after properly using the Lightning Prison was satisfactory.

‘Couldn’t test it accurately due to burning all the ordinary Evolved Species.’

Thanks to the appearance of the general-rank, I could verify the magic’s effect more precisely.

‘Not bad.’

With this, it seemed the magic could be used defensively when confronting strong ones.

It was as if a substitute for the Barrier had emerged when facing general-rank opponents.

‘Though the naming is poor, it’s a magic that can restrain and protect.’

In addition, unlike typical Barrier magic, it had the ability to disrupt any mana movement within the prison.

No matter how much the trapped opponent rampages with mana, breaking free with magnetic force would be nearly impossible.

Though the mana requirement for its execution was slightly burdensome,

I intended to keep increasing attribute mana, so it wouldn’t remain a problem for long.

As I summarized the power of the Lightning Prison, Yang Taeho and Kim Yul were engrossed in observing the general-rank.

“This one must’ve consumed water mana or something, right? I wonder what kind of magic it possesses. Could it be the one that made the swamp over there?”

“Most likely. Every time I face general-ranks, it’s so stressful. Unlike in regular games, their patterns aren’t fixed… No matter the age of individuality, do we really have to respect even the individuality of monsters?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing the two squatting in front of the Lightning Prison like Ahel.

Back when I was at Silver Rank, merely encountering a general-rank put my life at risk.

Now, I was chatting and observing a trapped general-rank monster in this display.

“It feels a bit like watching a caged beast in a zoo.”

How many people would even believe me if I explained this scenario?

It was such an unrealistic sight that such thoughts came naturally.

Of course, I didn’t dwell on such trivial thoughts for long.

After all, Kim Yul had thrown another question my way.

“You said general ranks bring Evolved Species from corrupted areas to form special units?”

I nodded at Kim Yul’s question.

General ranks, whose egos rapidly develop, form their own squads or special units with Evolved Species tailored to their preferences.

“The one with spatial mana gathered only five-star Evolved Species.”

This one seemed to broadly gather diverse Evolved Species capable of underwater warfare without regard for advancement stages.

This resulted in monsters susceptible to three or four-star area-effect magics.

“Then they do closely resemble their superiors.”

“Indeed.”

“Not being able to foresee the general-rank’s card is annoying, but if more general-rank entities appear on the battlefield, we’ll have headaches in many ways.”

I understood Yang Taeho’s worries, but

being bogged down in that thought didn’t mean we’d do nothing.

“Before that, we must become more adept. In many ways.”

After briefly wrapping up the conversation, I gestured to the two squatting in front of the Lightning Prison.

“It’s time to wrap up here.”

Having checked the Lightning Prison’s power, it was time to move on to the next step.

“Are you taking it down alone? Should we step back?”

That would be troublesome.

“It’s not often we get the chance to gain combat experience against an 8-Star general rank.”

Shouldn’t I at least have the skills to face three or four general ranks alone?

‘Even knowing Kerak’s dangers.’

That wasn’t a reason to exclude party members from combat.

Members should be on the battlefield with me, not hiding in my protection.

“We can pull back the moment it uses Kerak.”

Unless an 8-Star general-rank used Kerak, I had no intent to remove them from combat for safety.

“Exclude offensive magic and instead rely on physical combat. Utilize body techniques and weapon skills, using magic sparingly as support.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

With general-ranks, lower-ranked magics simply didn’t work.

Thus, we must continually gain experience in physical combat for when magic fails us.

“The disturbance within the Lightning Prison likely drained some of its mana, too.”

This presented a perfect opportunity to gain combat experience without reliance on magic.

I signaled to Yang Taeho.

Taking his step forward, Kim Yul utilized his wind step to position himself behind the general-rank.

Finally, I readjusted my spear as I dismantled the Lightning Prison array.

“Kaaargh!”

The Lightning Prison vanished, and the towering 2-meter-tall 8-Star general-rank let out a savage roar.

Yet it didn’t immediately charge us. Instead, it rolled its blood-red eyes around us cautiously.

In particular, it appeared wary of Kim Yul, who had secured its rear while ceaselessly waving its tail.

Splashes echoed as its tail moved, causing water to ripple in nearby puddles.

Perhaps it was all the more cautious due to its decimated followers, but,

I had no intention of prolonging this standoff.

“Hyung.”

The basic intangible magic attract for tanks was activated immediately.

The general rank’s attention promptly fixed onto Yang Taeho.

I closely observed that scene.

“Attract is only a 1st-tier magic, yet it always seems effective.”

It’s not just Attract. Mana Detection is also a 1st-tier magic, yet it reliably reveals monster positions.

Perhaps it’s because they lack any physical impact?

Could the fact that 1st-tier magics are classified as skills in the status window play a role?

“Magic studies are filled with contradictions upon closer inspection.”

Before pondering deeper into these contradictions, Yang Taeho taunted the general rank with his hammer striking his shield.

“Do I look delectable? Quickly, come here.”

To the general rank’s eyes, Yang Taeho likely appeared like a delicious meal.

Thanks to an increase in Yang Taeho’s magic proficiency, it found the attract so irresistible it likely couldn’t resist responding.

“Kaaooo! I’ll devour you!”

Despite hesitating in place several times, it ultimately roared and charged forward.

The softened ground, saturated with water, caved under its rushing pressure.

Boom.

Within an eye-blink, closing the slight distance between them, the general-rank collided with Yang Taeho’s mana-fortified shield.

Both beings’ feet got deeply implanted into the ground.

The general-rank seized the shield with both hands, using its long tail to strike at Yang Taeho beyond.

Yet Yang Taeho exerted pressure on the evolving species instead of engaging in a brute force contest, slightly lowering his torso.

Consequently, the balance of power between Yang Taeho and the general rank shifted, the shield angling steeper.

The tail initially descending toward Yang Taeho’s head slipped futilely along the inclined shield surface.

“Indeed, his shield techniques are flawless.”

I capitalized on the opportunity Yang Taeho created without delay.

Piercing the flank of the general rank with my spear.

As it released the shield to block my spear, striking out horizontally,

Kim Yul, who had been waiting for the moment, launched a sudden attack.

The general-rank swiftly whipped its tail behind itself after bouncing off the shield.

“Kyaaah! I’m gonna kill it!”

A grating noise echoed as though two metal-like masses collided.

A signal that Kim Yul’s dagger couldn’t penetrate the general rank’s scales and deflected away.

With my spear gripped in both hands, I thrust it forward.

Luckily, unlike Kim Yul, my spear managed to pierce through the general rank’s scales.

But the penetration was shallower than expected. Just a slight dip.

“I intended to gouge it out altogether.”

The general rank I faced now seemed to have slightly tougher skin than those encountered before.

I withdrew the spear embedded in the general rank, pulling the shaft sideways.

Then, with such speed, it was barely visible to the naked eye, I swung it sideways with force.

“If it cannot be cut, it can be broken.”

Damned System