Chapter 44: Storm

Magic is a discipline of enlightenment.

Just because you study for a long time doesn’t mean anyone can reach the higher ranks, and those lacking talent might never break through the Mage’s wall, even if they study their whole lives.

And my Master, who, like me, was born with memories of a past life, became the founder of a new school in this world and combined martial arts with magic.

Literally, martial arts and academics combined, giving birth to a new martial art.

Unlike those pseudo-schools that just write vague nonsense in their grimoires, preach the importance of mental discipline to their disciples, and only extort money, my Master’s teachings were etched deeply into my very being.

No, I really can’t forget them because I learned them while getting beaten.

If I couldn’t follow the techniques exactly as my Master taught, I’d get beaten all over my body with the feather fan he always carried.

Perhaps the reason I could become a master in one field at such a young age was all thanks to my Master’s harsh training?

Looking back, it’s all memories now, but even at my current age, the memories from back then were so terrible they sometimes appear as nightmares.

If you asked me to do it again now, I’d probably choose death.

…But why am I suddenly reminiscing about the past?

They say people see a montage of their lives when they’re about to die, right?

That’s exactly how I feel right now.

Should I say it feels like tightrope walking on thin ice, where one wrong step means death?

That’s what it meant for a Mage to fight against 100 Sword Experts in close combat.

Kwaduduk!

The fight began the moment I broke Felmond’s sword.

“Die!”

One of the soldiers surrounding me swung his longsword, aiming for my neck.

I easily dodged it by tilting my head slightly, then planted one hand on the ground and delivered a somersault kick to the flustered Felmond, whose sword had just broken.

“Kkuh!”

However, Felmond, having narrowly dodged the attack, tried to grab my leg, so I wrapped wind around my limbs.

Kwaaaaaaah!

Spinning Wind Bone is literally a magic that turns the entire body into blades.

The blue whirlwind, which is both offense and defense, crushes everything it touches, so anyone who isn’t a Mana user would inevitably suffer severe injuries just from a slight graze by the vortex.

Naturally, Felmond recoiled in shock and pulled his hand back. In the meantime, I regained my composure and beckoned provocatively to the surrounding soldiers with my palm.

Then, gritting his teeth and tossing the broken sword onto the ground, Felmond drew a new sword from his waist and shouted.

“Don’t give him time to use magic!”

“”Yes!””

Soon, the soldiers obeying his command charged at me all at once.

I clashed my two wind-wreathed fists together, then landed a straight punch to the head of the soldier charging at the very front.

Deudeudeudeuk!

Skin tearing away with an unpleasant sound like a drilling bit.

Immediately after, I accurately struck the throat of another soldier attempting a surprise attack from behind with a backspin elbow, then generated wind pressure from my toes and leaped up.

Archers in the rear ranks fired arrows to hit me suspended in mid-air, but unfortunately, I can move freely even in the sky.

Twisting my body several times in the air, I stomped my heel down onto the head of the soldier directly below.

“Keuhk!”

The soldier, whose skull caved in, died instantly. The moment I landed, I spread both my hands sideways.

Wind Finger Bullets

The bullets of wind fired from my ten fingers mercilessly pierced the bodies of the soldiers charging at me.

Since I didn’t aim precisely, most soldiers only ended up with holes in their armor, but those unlucky enough for the bullets to hit vital spots died without exception.

I blocked the spears swung from both sides by trapping them in my sides, then broke them with force.

Harmonious Wind Warm Sun

Immediately after, wrapping my fists in wind, I unleashed wind pressure attacks in all directions at blinding speed.

As a result, the soldiers in the front ranks retreated, and the shield-bearers behind them stepped forward.

It seemed they calculated that shields imbued with Mana couldn’t be easily pierced even by my magic.

But that was a grave miscalculation.

Stepping on the shield in front of me to break out of the encirclement, I lunged forward with both hands.

One Gust of Fierce Wind

A giant blade of wind cut across the snowfield.

Although its range and power were quite meager for a 5th-tier magic, its cutting power alone was unmatched.

Unluckily, a soldier caught within the range of One Gust of Fierce Wind had his upper and lower body cleanly separated, along with his shield, spilling red entrails onto the snowfield.

Hooook- Hooook- Hooook- Hooook-

I felt my body rapidly tiring with every spell I cast.

No matter how correctly I breathed, stamina has its limits.

My lungs craved oxygen, and my leg muscles ached as if they would burst.

But I couldn’t stop here, so I estimated the number of soldiers still remaining.

60? 70?

Considering they were all Mana users, with Sword Experts mixed in occasionally, I had killed quite a few in a short amount of time.

“He’s getting tired! Push him harder!”

As my momentum, which had been rampaging like a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep, began to wane slightly, Felmond, who had retreated to the rear, shouted confidently.

Indeed, my stamina doesn’t hold up like it used to.

Unlike casting magic while standing still, fighting by moving my arms and legs consumes an extreme amount of stamina.

If my Master saw me acting like this, he’d furiously scold me, calling me a weakling disciple who got weaker while he wasn’t looking, but there was nothing I could do about it.

That’s because the last time I trained my stamina was about three years ago.

I took a breath, then suddenly stomped my foot.

White snowballs erupted from all directions, momentarily blinding all the soldiers.

I didn’t miss that brief moment.

The Penta Spell of Wind-

“Wind Flying Hail Scattering!”

Kwa-ang!!

The moment I slammed my fist, clutching a whirlwind, into the ground, the resulting snowstorm engulfed the area.

With their vision momentarily obscured by the sudden diamond dust, the Margrave and his elite soldiers were frantically searching for me, looking greatly bewildered.

Taking advantage of the opening to make an emergency ascent into the sky, I calculated my remaining Mana.

I had used Quadra Spells three times and Penta Spells twice, so I had enough Mana left for two Hexa Spells.

I casually lifted my head.

The clear sky, blessed with rare good weather, perfectly showcased the magnificent view of the Vulcan Mountains.

‘Should I try it?’

The success rate is about 70%.

If I fail, there’s no turning back, but if I succeed, I could instantly turn this unfavorable situation around.

It was literally a gamble, a throw of the dice.

My deliberation wasn’t long.

I began constructing the incantation before the Margrave’s soldiers on the ground noticed my presence floating in the sky.

It’s not easy for a mere human to manipulate nature.

But I knew how to achieve it artificially.

In short, it’s about creating an environment where large amounts of rain clouds and thunderclouds can be formed using elemental magic.

Highly developed magic is indistinguishable from science, after all.

About three minutes passed after I started pouring all my remaining Mana into it.

The soldiers on the ground were searching for me amidst the slowly clearing vision, but they seemed to have never dreamed I’d be standing in the sky.

Soon, dark clouds began to gather in the sky.

No matter how unpredictable the weather in the Vulcan Mountains is, such a rapid change is rare.

Perhaps sensing something was amiss, one of the soldiers on the ground looked up at the sky and spotted me.

As he pointed at me with a startled expression, the Margrave and the soldiers, who had just noticed me, looked up.

“But it’s already too late.”

I confirmed that everything was ready and took out the Mana Stone I carried like a portable charger.

Kwajik!

The transparent Mana Stone instantly lost its light.

I trembled, feeling the exhilaration of Mana filling my body, and spread my hands.

“Howl, Gale.”

The imaginary Mana core within my body began to spin furiously, overheating, as a fierce wind started to surge across the snowfield.

“Resound, Lightning.”

The thunderclouds formed along with the rain clouds howled like beasts.

Like predators searching for prey, lightning with a distinct presence began to strike down towards the ground.

Ku-reung! Ku-reureureureung!

The two Hexa Spells merged into one.

In an instant, the clear sky was covered in dark clouds and wind and rain.

I looked down at the ground from a bird’s-eye view and muttered.

The combined magic of Hexa Spell Majestic and Imposing and Hexa Spell Sky-Splitting Thunder.

Ultimate Secret Art-

“Style-Infused Storm”

At that very moment, a storm as stylish as its name suggested engulfed the humans on the ground.