Chapter 377: I Hate Fire (4)

The fire magic refinement lesson in the volcanic cave continued a little longer after that.

“…Is it okay if I make it like this?”

“Make it wrap around the entire fist a bit more. We don’t want you getting hurt by making it halfway. For reference, the way to increase the compression strength of cold magic is….”

Thanks to Cha Yuri teaching it wholeheartedly, even though it wasn’t her specialty, the refinement process for the Explosive Fist continued quite smoothly after that.

Thus, the new magic, which granted the Explosive Fist onto the ice gauntlet, immediately went into a practical test.

-KWA-A-ANG!

‘Geu-woo-woo…!’

As soon as the Explosive Fist, refined once more after listening to Cha Yuri’s advice, was used, the Obsidian Golem showed a clearly different reaction than before.

Perhaps thanks to abandoning stability and boldly focusing on firepower, it was showing a completely different power than the Explosive Fist from just moments ago.

In its own way, it looked like a success in raising the magic’s power while maintaining its existing form, but…

‘Geu-woo-woo…!’

Even so, it still hadn’t surpassed the level of 3rd Circle magic, so the power itself didn’t seem that strong.

It might have been sufficiently powerful against C-rank fire monsters depending on the situation, but against B-rank monsters, that firepower was inevitably a bit weak.

Of course, even setting that aside, magic at this level was already incomparably excellent compared to the beginning.

…Actually, technically speaking, it was like pouring the same amount of force used to throw a fireball far onto the fist, so the power itself was bound to increase.

Of course, even if the power itself was forcibly increased like that, its utility couldn’t ultimately escape the level of a mere fire fist.

Moreover, if looking only at the efficiency itself as a 3rd Circle magic, it was still a bit lacking.

-Pa-seuk!

“Keu-euk!”

Fragments of the ice gauntlet shattered weakly along with the explosion and fell to the floor.

As expected of temporary armor, it certainly seemed insufficient to fully perform its function of protecting the hand.

Moreover, due to the aftermath of the sudden shattering, it couldn’t fully protect against the shock of the Explosive Fist, so my right hand had to endure stinging pain every time.

I had been repeating a cycle of using three spells: the ice gauntlet, the Explosive Fist, and recovery.

“…It would be better to stop using the Explosive Fist. Otherwise, you’ll just get more hurt.”

“Honestly, I’ve been feeling that way myself since a little while ago.”

Although it was successful in raising the power to a level that could face monsters, this magic was still not good because the user’s danger simultaneously increased every time the power was raised.

Besides, the fact that an additional spell had to be used on the ice gauntlet each time was also a problem.

As a means for quickly responding to monsters that got close, it was magic that required too many preparations in various ways, so it seemed appropriate to gradually let go of the Explosive Fist around this point.

“Sorry, Sungchul.”

“Yes…?”

“I thought I could somehow use it if I protected your fist with your cold magic, but the result wasn’t very good.”

“What does Cha Yuri-ssi have to be sorry about? Rather, I’m just sorry that you had to pay attention to such a trivial magic. Since it was poorly designed magic from the start, you don’t need to mind it.”

“……”

Where Cha Yuri, who had been chattering away diligently like a fish that met water until just a moment ago, had gone, she now looked gloomy again.

It seemed she probably felt bad because she thought she couldn’t be helpful to me.

Of course, I already felt enough gratitude in the sense that she informed me of the Explosive Fist’s fundamental problem and helped make it somewhat more like actual magic, but…

In the first place, the very idea of applying magic onto the fist to use it was a stupid action.

I had tried applying magic to weapons and my fist with a similar concept as when I used an ice spear, which imbues a tree branch with cold magic. As expected, enchanting the human body with magic couldn’t possibly not be dangerous.

Perhaps if it were a method of enchanting a strong weapon capable of withstanding flame…

“……Huh?”

“…What are you doing?”

“Just a moment, there’s something I want to test.”

Suddenly, a new idea came to mind, and I immediately took out the Mithril Greatsword from my subspace pocket.

I tried enchanting the weapon with the refined Explosive Fist, using the method Cha Yuri taught me earlier exactly as it was.

First, I coated the parts like the handle, excluding the blade, with cold magic so they wouldn’t be damaged.

…and then enchanted the Mithril Greatsword with fire magic in the same way it was used for the Explosive Fist.

-Hwa-reu-reuk!

As a result, the blade of the greatsword held in my hand began to burn with red flames.

It was burning beautifully, enough to recognize at a glance that it was a weapon imbued with elemental magic.

“…It actually works.”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure until I tried it out to see if it would really work or not, but…

As I mentioned before, the reason the method of enchanting weapons with magic hadn’t been researched until now was largely due to safety concerns.

Fundamentally, hunters who used weapons and hunters who used magic were clearly separated in their roles, so enchanting a weapon at the timing each desired was a considerably tricky task.

Even if one somehow managed to successfully enchant it at the right timing, the difficulty of limiting its range was the second problem.

Even with this greatsword I’m holding right now, normally it wouldn’t be strange if the flames of fire magic spread even up to the handle.

If it weren’t for Cha Yuri’s idea of the ice gauntlet, it would have been difficult to come up with the concept of protecting the handle with another magic.

If other hunters were to use it in actual combat, it would undoubtedly be a magic with many difficulties.

Even if one mage could use both fire and cold magic, it would eventually require the synergy of at least two hunters to align perfectly.

Moreover, utilizing it would likely only be possible about once around the start of combat, and during the midst of ongoing fighting, let alone enchanting weapons, they would be busy just concentrating on their respective fights.

However, for me, who can use both swordsmanship and magic, and especially who can use both fire and cold magic, it was sufficiently possible.

In addition to that, I was also using the Mithril Greatsword, which doesn’t get damaged by considerable heat.

It means I’ve become able to use an enchantment magic that adds only the elemental attack of fire magic, while maintaining the original hardness and sharpness.

And that too was a method that could be enchanted and used anytime I wanted, whether at the start or middle of combat.

It was the moment when the Explosive Fist, trash magic for which there wasn’t even a visible means to use, was reborn as a flame sword.

“Look at this, Cha Yuri-ssi! It’s a flame sword, a flame sword!”

“……”

Cha Yuri stared at the Mithril Greatsword burning in my hand with a dazed expression.

She probably couldn’t have thought of even this kind of usage method.

Although Cha Yuri is an excellent mage, her knowledge was, regardless, focused on knowledge about magic.

She probably couldn’t have even attempted research regarding enchanting melee weapons like swords.

In other words, it was a result that only I, who use both swords and magic completely, could attempt.

“…It is quite something.”

“Right?!”

“Still, rather than making a fuss first, why don’t you try testing it? You never know if it’s a usage method that can truly amplify the greatsword’s power, or just a cool-looking sword.”

“…That makes sense too.”

It might seem tactless, like I was needlessly pouring cold water, but as Cha Yuri said, it was a bit hasty to be happy already.

Because whether this was a truly practical flame sword or just a Mithril Greatsword that looked decent only in appearance was something I could only know after using it directly.

With the thought of properly checking the power of this sword first, I rushed towards the nearest monster, holding the burning greatsword.

After swinging it around to my heart’s content for about 30 minutes, I could immediately draw a conclusion about this flame sword.

…That this magic was quite useful.

Of course, it was still an item of a level that was a bit lacking to call it proper magic.

For example, the fire magic attached to the Mithril Greatsword dissipating and its power weakening every time the sword was swung, or the fact that the flame’s role was merely supplementary and ultimately the Mithril Greatsword itself accounted for most of the power.

It felt a bit hasty to mention the combat effectiveness of this flame sword right now, so that was a part that would need to be supplemented little by little in the future.

…Still, if it’s this much, it’s undoubtedly a much more useful and refined form compared to the original Explosive Fist.

Although the remaining elements from the original magic were only the ‘fire attribute’ and ‘close-range attack’, it was originally magic where those two were everything.

If I could just supplement the drawbacks a little more, like practicing enchanting right before slashing so the flame’s power wouldn’t weaken, it wouldn’t be embarrassing at all to show it to Hwayoung Sunbae.

I immediately expressed my gratitude to Cha Yuri, who made it possible for me to think up to this point.

“Thank you, Cha Yuri-ssi. Thanks to you, I was able to think of how to refine the Explosive Fist.”

“…All I did was tell you to wrap cold magic around your fist, nothing more.”

“But thanks to that advice, I could also think of how to enchant the greatsword with fire magic, and above all, I could apply the idea of extracting only the most important concepts to create new magic, thanks to you, Cha Yuri-ssi.”

“…Well, if you want to think that way, then think that way.”

She answered nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal, but her voice had a subtly happy tone flowing from it.

At that voice, which seemed like her emotions had softened before I knew it, I also involuntarily smiled.

…But I still don’t know what she was really sulking about.