Chapter 228

Chapter 228. Tangled and Twisted Fates (5)

In the brief moment that Walter rolled forward, he leapt towards me.

While he was rising to his feet, I aimed Kerak’s spear at the pursuer.

The man with red hair, clearly visible even in the darkness, twisted his shoulder to avoid the spear blade.

Not only that, he swiftly dodged to the inside along the spear shaft.

It was a quick response.

‘Definitely can’t be compared to the players,’ I thought to myself.

Without panicking, I created a pit at his feet with earth magic.

Squeal.

The pursuer, frowning, hurriedly took a half step forward.

Meanwhile, I swatted his shoulder with the spear shaft.

Unfortunately, he twisted his upper body just as I swung my arm, barely avoiding a successful hit.

I countered by delivering a knee kick to the opponent who was twirling like a snake around the spear shaft to close in.

A sword cloaked in dark blue mana swooped down to sever my leg.

Fwoosh-!

“Ugh!”

The flames wrapped around my leg thwarted his attack, pushing him back.

Seizing the moment of his retreat, I unleashed a rarely-used flame-type magic.

‘Fire Pillar.’

When hunting in a corrupted area, I typically used flame storms or hellfire.

‘This magic targets too small an area, though.’

Fire Pillar is a magic that focuses damage on a small area, making it inefficient for sweeping away creatures with low resistance.

‘But it does have its advantages.’

Unlike wide-area magics, which require at least two seconds, it can be cast in an instant.

The execution speed is almost parallel to materializing mana; a complete magic can be launched in the blink of an eye.

Naturally, a fully cast magic is more potent than mere mana.

Before the redhead had the chance to evade after sensing the mana.

A pillar of fire erupted in the exact spot where he stood.

The stench of burning flesh mixed with the smell of burning fabric.

He tried to shield himself with mana, but…

The redhead’s leg suffered severe burns, his skin melted away immensely.

‘Not at the dominance level, I guess.’

This confirmed for me that he possessed a mana control stage similar to mine.

The injured redhead retreated rather than advancing for another strike.

“You dodged my sword and used magic as well?”

He muttered in a calm voice, scanning me from head to toe.

Immediately, the corners of his mouth stretched wide, reaching his cheekbones, as they twisted upwards.

“This isn’t fair at all.”

A sticky, murderous aura scraped across my skin.

Gulp.

Somehow, I could hear Walter swallowing behind me, standing with his sword at the ready, prepared to thrust.

I glanced at Walter, then refocused on the redhead.

His mouth seemed as though it was forcibly torn.

The edges extended to the cheekbones, leading me to question whether the guy was really human.

I then looked at his sword.

‘Dark blue…’

Originally, the mana of Biharin was a clear and transparent blue.

While that of players was red.

However, once chaos levels exceed 50%, it gradually darkens.

Approaching a black hue.

Like the dark blue mana he wielded.

The implications of the current situation were clear.

‘Is he dabbling in black magic?’

Typically, those who crave greater power, or those unable to attune to attribute mana, are the ones who engage with black magic.

There are various reasons, but they share a common thread.

‘Inferiority complex.’

Using mana as a benchmark, dividing people is more intense among the Biharins than among players.

‘It’s not for nothing that knights are disregarded by the mages.’

The belief that mages are noble while knights, unable to become mages, are failures was prevalent enough.

A world where a 2nd-grade attribute mage could slaughter dozens of knights.

‘There are exceptions like Gretman, but…’

It’s a realm permitted only for a few strong individuals.

Such a backdrop led to the development of black magic, which steals others’ mana, constantly persecuted by the Order.

Those dabbling in black magic often aligned with the enemy, becoming part of the defectors.

‘While relations with mages from the Magic Tower aren’t good…’

What had transpired once they crossed enemy lines, who knew?

‘The Order and the Magic Tower, it’s making me sick, honestly.’

Observing the history of Bihar made them seem like they were doing their utmost to ruin things.

Even now, the corruption and discrimination persist, and those left in Bihar are cluelessly leading these trends.

‘If the ones left in Bihar were all like that, it wouldn’t have been this overwhelming.’

Almost immediately as I swallowed a habitual sigh, the redhead kicked off the ground.

Yet just before he moved, the flame storm I cast swept through.

The fire encompassing the area was perfect for incinerating non-attributed knights.

“Do you think I’ll fall for such petty magic?”

However, a slightly different result emerged.

The redhead emitted black wisps from his body, cutting through the flame storm.

Had I been a regular mage, switching to close combat would have left me defenseless.

Moving one’s body was thought of as lowly among mages.

‘But being an outsider, I can…’

I could boldly do what traditional mages would never.

Crackle-!

I countered with a spear enveloped in attribute mana.

The moment the lightning-clad spear collided with a sword enshrouded in dark blue mana, the air trembled.

Boom.

The forest resonated with the impact, scattering leaves violently.

Birds resting somewhere, panicked, fled into the sky.

The ground cracked; trees touched by flames illuminated the surroundings.

Yet, no additional impact was felt on the redhead.

The reason was clear.

‘The firepower is halved upon touching that dark blue mana.’

Though the principles eluded me, the pure force of attribute mana was subdued before the dark mana.

It felt like the mana was being devoured.

Considering that black magic is based on absorb, it wasn’t unusual.

‘In that case…’

Dragging it out might not be favorable to me.

Perhaps I should strike, avoiding the dark wisps.

‘He’s also cloaking his body with it.’

The redhead was continuously releasing the dark wisps from his body.

While seeking an effective strike method, the clash between us continued unabated.

Despite staying firm, the redhead loaded more dark force into his sword.

His gaze, fixed on me, grew more menacing.

“Do you think your power will last forever?!”

What he uttered was akin to bitterness veiled with hatred.

At his retort, I grimaced and used acceleration.

An attack delivered with that brief lead time amidst our clash.

It often hit the opponent’s weak spot, landing a decisive blow.

This time, too, it worked.

With acceleration, I successfully smacked the redhead with the spear shaft.

Snap.

Though he defended with the sword, the strength disparity flung him backward.

In the brief interval that opened up, I drove the spear into the ground and released attribute mana outward.

Right at the moment when the airborne redhead landed with a thud.

「Mana Manipulation is attempting to evolve into Mana Domination!」

Without delay, the ground shattered into countless rifts, from which blisteringly hot lightning sprang.

“Aagh!”

Whether fortunate or unfortunate.

‘The dark wisps don’t seem to emanate from near his feet.’

A habitual lapse or a mistake, whatever it was, did not matter.

The lightning erupting from every patch of ground he stood on hit home.

Moving like serpents, the bolts quickly incinerated the man.

‘Is mana unaffected when not contacting the wisps?’

Watching someone burn to death was far from beautiful.

After a short while, I glanced down at the charred remains of the redhead enveloped in ash.

A message indicating mana had been absorbed appeared.

To ensure it was over, I decapitated the redhead’s corpse.

‘Not a bad effect.’

What I just used was a lightning-infused version of hellfire’s mana array.

‘Not a formal magic.’

The shift in attribute type caused instability in the mana array.

Hence, it wasn’t recognized as an official magic in-game.

Simply embedding lightning attributes into hellfire’s array wouldn’t even allow execution.

But in the mana domination phase, where mana responds entirely to one’s will.

Imitating a similar form to hellfire is achievable.

‘Studying and dismantling mana arrays continues to pay off.’

Finishing off with a coup de grâce, I turned away from the redhead’s body.

I briefly addressed Walter, who stood rigidly to the side.

“The pass.”

“Oh, uh, yes!”

Perhaps overwhelmed by the sudden encounter?

Walter clumsily handed over the pass from his garment.

With it in hand, I turned to ask, “Follow me.”

That fellow was discovered sooner than expected, quickening the urgency.

It was time to hurry.

The moment I finished speaking, I darted forward, followed shortly by Walter trailing behind.

Upon arriving near the barrier, Kim Yul and Yang Taeho emerged from the shadows.

“Might as well have just announced our presence, that flame was so conspicuously bright.”

Kim Yul began grumbling, displaying evident dissatisfaction.

From the moment Walter was spotted, the opposition was likely already aware of the assault.

Deeming it better to end things swiftly rather than dilly-dally.

‘My spear technique wavered a bit without magic.’

Thus, I invoked magic without reservations.

Kim Yul seemed dissatisfied with that.

However, it wasn’t the time to comfort him.

We had to act before whoever inside claimed the divinity and fled.

Handing a pass to Yang Taeho, I pointed at Walter.

“Hyung, take him with you. Head straight to where the sacrifices are. Considering the numbers, make full use of the carriages.”

“Rest assured.”

I wasn’t quite certain about what they were gathering people as sacrifices for.

‘Given they referred to them as sacrifices, disrupting their plan if they were removed seems likely.’

In which case, spiriting them away serves my benefit. That’s all there is to it.

Yang Taeho specialized in mana for protection and defense.

Among us three, he was best suited for this task.

“Huh, so, um… K, what exactly is this all…?”

Instead of answering Walter, who asked from behind, I tugged the grumbling Kim Yul.

“You too, stop grumbling and come here.”

We then made our way into the barrier.

Explaining everything to Walter was Yang Taeho’s responsibility.

While those two were busy extracting sacrifices, we’d distract.

‘To prevent any mishap, eliminate the mage first.’

Against the Biharin, mages were the most troublesome adversaries.

Unlike monsters, whose magic is generally predictable and limited, trained mages can do anything.

It was uncertain how many mana tools they possessed.

A mage encountered for the first time was truly an enigmatic foe, with unknown cards to play.

I dashed straight towards the pit where Rice Cake, the supposed protector, was.

Inside the barrier, mountain creatures roamed occasionally, so interest in the dusty Rice Cake was sparse.

‘They must have thought it was a common creature.’

A stroke of a good fortune.

At the same time, Rice Cake reconnected the visual feed, showing the emerging monsters from the pit.

‘Black magic reaching this point… and monsters too…’

Temoria’s barrier not only prevents the creation of a messeo but also bars monsters from entering.

Yet, there a monster was, inside this barrier.

This situation meant two possibilities.

A mole in Temoria was allowing the defectors through, or…

‘The monsters breached the barrier on their own.’

I leaned towards the latter, recalling a conversation for good reason.

“A sacrificial offering to break the Wall of Patience.”

The talk about the fairy race capable of breaking the wall circled my thoughts.

‘This is insane.’

I had already reported black magic to the Order’s website.

Forces were surely being mobilized in haste.

‘They’ll see this disaster unfold.’

Before I could quell the mounting frustration, bestial roars reverberated from the front.

Thump, thump-thump, animalistic signals indicated the monsters were on the move.

A message popped.

Damned System