Chapter 41 : Millennium Height (15)

What is the fastest horse in the world?

The answer is a horse that runs while being infused with divine power.

Thanks to Leon’s help, I caught up with the First Prince and looked down at the battlefield from atop the wooden giant’s shoulder.

Snow was pouring down.

In that pure white world, I raised my hand.

In response, the wooden soldiers charged toward the enemy.

“Fire!”

At the command of the Second Prince, Isaac Eternor, the soldiers readied their arrows, and the mages prepared their spells.

Fireballs and arrows flew, and the wooden giant swept its hand across its front.

Arrows and fireballs embedded themselves into the giant’s hand.

Flames roared, and with its burning hand, the wooden giant slammed its massive fist into the ground.

Boom!

A massive shockwave rang out, and soldiers were thrown in every direction.

The giant’s hand shattered, having taken damage from the magic and arrows.

The unique magic <Growth> wasn’t invincible.

Of course it would take damage when attacked.

But there’s a reason why it’s classified as unique magic.

I channeled mana into the wooden giant’s hand.

Immediately, the damaged hand began to regenerate.

As long as mana allowed, it could recover endlessly.

That was one of the powers of <Growth>.

“Release.”

The knights from the southern region who followed Isaac manifested their ideal forms into reality.

Some summoned gauntlets, others helmets, cloaks, or armor—and their momentum exploded accordingly.

The knights who cut down the wooden soldiers swarmed onto the wooden giant.

A flaming sword cut into the giant’s leg.

I infused it with mana to heal.

A wind-imbued sword sliced the giant’s arm.

Again, I healed it with mana.

From that sequence, Isaac figured out the mechanism of my magic.

“He’s using mana to repair his summon! Push him until his mana runs dry!”

At his shout, the knights changed tactics—switching from overwhelming force to a slow and steady attrition.

“Graaagh!”

A knight was eventually flung by a kick from the wooden giant, but the enemies continued their assault, undeterred.

A knight who had mastered even the second stage of release wouldn’t die so easily from just a kick—they stayed focused on the task.

A knight hit by the giant’s punch flew through the air, while another sliced off its arm.

The giant’s foot stomped on a knight, but another cut off its leg.

And it regenerated.

Even if a hand was severed, or an arm, or a foot, or even its torso—it simply kept regenerating, as if nothing happened.

Then someone shouted loudly,

“Push harder! We’re almost there!”

As the number of injured knights increased due to the giant’s attacks, my mana, too, was being drained.

The knights, now familiar with battling the giant, simultaneously cut through both of its legs.

They grew back.

“Just a bit more!”

A knight dodged the giant’s punch and swung his sword.

The wind-element slash worsened an existing wound, and the giant’s arm fell off.

It grew back.

“Almost there!”

Flames fiercely pierced the giant’s back.

And then…

It grew back again.

The knights’ attacks stopped.

They looked up at the sky with stunned expressions.

The wooden giant still stood tall, both feet planted firmly on the ground, without the slightest tremble.

Someone muttered quietly,

“When is he ever going to run out of mana…?”

***

“Mana is innate. Everyone has a different limit, and it’s determined at birth.”

“So you’re telling me this damn magic is something you have to be born with from start to finish?”

At Kelton’s words, I crossed my arms.

This magic required a natural affinity for elements, an innate sense for leveling up, and even an inherently large mana pool.

In response to my grumbling, Kelton placed a pipe in his mouth and shook his head.

“There’s no field in this world where being born with talent doesn’t help.”

“So… was I born with a lot of mana? I must have been, right?”

I asked hopefully, since I had no special elemental affinity and lacked any extraordinary sense for understanding elements.

Maybe I was at least born with high mana?

But Kelton just chuckled and lit his pipe.

Fwoo.

After exhaling a long stream of smoke, he said,

“Not even close.”

“That’s depressing enough to make me cry.”

“If you were born with lots of mana, you’d already be overwhelmed by how much it grows uncontrollably.”

“Then… how much mana talent do I have?”

“Hmm. Probably average—or less than that.”

“So all of my magic talents are basically trash.”

Clicking my tongue in disappointment, I watched Kelton tap out the pipe and continue,

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no way forward.”

“I was counting on you to say that, Kelton.”

“Tell me—how do you think mana increases?”

“I guess… does it increase when your level goes up?”

“First off, let me tell you—mana and level (rank) have absolutely nothing to do with each other.”

Absolutely nothing?

Now that I thought about it, even after reaching Rank 1, my mana hadn’t changed at all.

I’d just assumed it was because I was still low-ranked, but apparently, rank and mana were never connected in the first place.

“But… don’t all archmages have a lot of mana?”

“That’s the most common misconception. It’s not that high ranks give them more mana—it’s that they have more mana because they’ve practiced for that long. Even if you suddenly became a Rank 5 mage, your mana would stay the same.”

“That’s… not exactly a conventional approach.”

“What’s conventional anyway? You talk like you’ve experienced a different world sometimes.”

“That’s because I’m actually a reincarnator.”

Kelton raised a finger and conjured a flame.

“There’s a simple way for a mage to increase their mana. Just keep using magic.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Over time, your mana will naturally expand within your limits. But—”

Hook.

Kelton, who extinguished the flame, calmed his eyes and moved his lips.

“Most magicians fail to see the limits of their magical power.”

“Does that include you, Kelton-nim?”

“I still don’t see it because my magical power is still increasing.”

That was surprising.

Even Kelton, who had been honing his magic for over 70 years, couldn’t see the limits of his magical power.

“Of course, when you first start learning magic, your magical power grows quickly, but over time, the growth rate slows down.”

“So later on, it doesn’t increase at all, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So, how can we strengthen the growth rate?”

“You catch on quickly, my disciple.”

Kelton activated magic again.

But this time, unlike before, a large fireball blazed.

“You push your magic to the limit. No, you push it beyond the limit. Then, your magical power grows rapidly.”

“Just hearing that sounds like it’s not a normal method.”

“You use magic beyond your limits. It might sound easy when you just hear about it, but there’s a reason why limits are set. Normally, unless you’re in an extreme situation, like a life-threatening crisis, you can’t surpass your limits.”

“Are you recommending such a method to your disciple?”

“Do you think I want to recommend it? But when you have a disciple later, you’ll be told to try it by your master.”

“Was it your master’s master who highly recommended this method?”

That was fresh.

I tapped my cheek.

“So, you’re saying it’s a method you haven’t tried, Kelton-nim?”

“I tried it, but it’s closer to a failed method.”

“Is it hard?”

“Very.”

“Hmm…”

To overcome the depletion of magical power and still activate magic…

“The key is willpower. If someone forcibly drains your magical power to empty, it’s meaningless. You must surpass your limits with your own power for your magical power to increase.”

“That’s disgustingly complicated. But I’ll try.”

“You probably won’t succeed. It’s that difficult—”

The next day, Kelton looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“What kind of magic do you even have?”

“All of them.”

“You surpass your limits just by thinking that you can use more magic without any life-threatening crisis. You’re not sane.”

“But I did it, right?”

I laughed weakly with my exhausted body.

I said, “If you surpass the limits of magic, wouldn’t it increase?”

“What are you trying to do?”

“No, I’m not trying to do anything. It’s just that my understanding of elements hasn’t improved recently.”

“You’re going to jump into a fire next.”

“But wouldn’t it be beneficial if my understanding of elements improves?”

Kelton sighed.

It was as if he had seen the future.

Kelton placed his hand on his forehead and spoke.

“You’ll die.”

“Just a little burn won’t kill me.”

“I sometimes doubt you’re a girl. Be careful.”

“Actually, I was a man in my past life.”

“Just focus on training your magic.”

So, I trained every day using the method Kelton taught me.

Whether it rained or snowed, I used magic on a lantern and when my magical power ran out, I surpassed my limits to use magic.

For seven years, every single day without fail.

The result was, as you can see, not bad at all.

“Why aren’t you falling down?”

While hearing someone’s scream behind me, I activated my magic.

Whoosh.

The fist of the wooden giant was enveloped in the flames of devouring.

The flames of devouring consume everything.

Rocks, animals, herbs, people, emotions, memories, trees—everything indiscriminately, violently.

Everything consumed becomes nourishment.

It becomes part of the body. It becomes mine.

That’s why it’s called ‘devouring.’

The flames of devouring continue to grow as long as there is prey.

The wooden giant keeps growing as long as I supply it with magic.

The two met.

The result was obvious.

The flame fist, now huge enough to burn the sky, filled the world, and disaster fell upon the knights who had their mouths agape above.

The seasons changed.

The field, once full of snow, reached mid-summer.

In the midst of all the destruction, I stood tall and spoke to Isaac, who had been shocked and had rolled on the ground four times.

“Isaac-nim, do you have magic too?”

“How dare you…”

Isaac glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

Isaac, the knight, must have magic related to enchantment.

However…

“Unfortunately, I already have enchantment magic. If I take another one, Cheongya will get upset. You don’t have other magic, right?”

Isaac stood up and ordered his knights.

“Kill that witch now!”

“The witch of revenge, Luina, who makes even crying children stop crying, appears.”

Once again, the flames of devouring cling to the giant’s hand.

Boom!

The fist that burned the world fell to the earth, and among the immobilized knights and soldiers, Isaac staggered.

“It’s a check.”

Isaac closed his mouth.

He had realized that the situation was unfavorable.

Isaac had spread his forces and set up a siege.

That meant his strength wasn’t focused.

Fighting the entire southern army would be difficult for anyone, but with this much force, it was definitely manageable.

Then, dust clouds appeared over the horizon.

Isaac’s face brightened.

It seemed like the southern army, which had scattered, was gathering again.

I couldn’t help it.

I reluctantly began to prepare my magic again.

Then I stopped.

Because the flag at the front of the army was a different color from the southern army I knew.

Isaac also stopped and muttered.

“Why, is the capital’s defense army here?”

Isaac’s expression showed despair.

The appearance of the capital defense army was unexpected.

At the front of the capital defense army, the commander of the capital defense spoke in a friendly voice.

“Second Prince, long time no see.”

“Why are you here now, could it be…”

“There was advice from His Majesty the Emperor. What a pity, Second Prince.”

The First Prince, Orfin Eterno, stepped forward.

Beside him was the commander of the capital defense army.

“Surrender, Isaac.”

Isaac dropped his shoulders.

He felt that everything was over.

Thus, the rebellion of the second prince came to an end.

[As I always say, a plan executed without preparation is more likely to fail.]

Immediately after, everyone looked up at a voice coming from thin air.

A mirage-like illusion appeared beside the Second Prince.

“Morpheus!”

The name of the 7th-ranked magician, famous for being the nightmare of the south, was called by the First Prince, and the Second Prince’s body was enveloped in a crack.

[It’s a big loss, but what can we do? We have to save our lives. See you next time, everyone.]

The commander of the capital defense army swung his sword hurriedly, but it was too late.

The Second Prince vanished faster than the sword.

Having witnessed Morpheus’s unique magic, the commander of the capital defense army clicked his tongue and ordered his subordinates.

“Was that even possible? It can’t be helped. Everyone, go! The rebel leader has escaped, but the rebels are still here. Capture them all.”

“Understood.”

The capital defense army scattered.

Watching that, I released the wooden giant and walked over to Heize, who was absentmindedly standing there, and reached out my hand.

“Give me the magic.”

“I will give it.”

Good.

That solves today’s problem!