episode_0127

Episode 127, Decisive Battle (6)

Mana spreads. Surging and expanding its range, it absorbs the mana of nature and seizes the space.

Information from the space, expanding its domain between my senses, flows in, and a slight sense of omnipotence envelops my whole body.

-Krrreng….

Then, the drake lets out a threatening cry. It seemed that my mana, filling the sky, the earth, and every gap, was displeasing to it.

The creature violently spewed out mana, trying to destroy the deployed magic. But it was useless.

“It doesn’t work that way.”

Unique Magic.

A term referring to original magic developed by mages of the 7th Circle or higher.

In some worlds, it’s called a domain or signature, or, like me, unique magic. This is not just any ordinary magic.

Experience, enlightenment, mental image, wishes, and more. It is a magic that weaves together and melts down everything obtained while learning and mastering magic.

Simply put, it is the culmination of a mage’s life. Unique magic is like that.

Therefore, the magical system contained within it is distinctly different from ordinary magic. Because it contains everything about the mage. Depending on the mage’s skill and mastery, it can exert power akin to divine authority.

Even though my physical level is low, my unique magic was not at a level that could easily disappear.

-…….

After that, the creature didn’t charge. It watched me, wary of the magic I had unleashed.

The drake is a subspecies of dragon. It is more intelligent than humans. It quickly realized that I was not a weak human to be ignored.

Whoosh!

I was the one who moved first. I kicked off the ground and lunged into its embrace. The highly cautious drake put up its tough scales as a defense.

I infused sword energy and swung my arm greatly.

Clang!!

Scales and sword collided. Sparks flew in all directions. Even though I swung Karsa, which can cut through a Sword Master’s Sword Force, with considerable force, it only left scratches.

‘As expected of a subspecies, it’s tough.’

I expected it. Because I’ve hunted countless dragons and their subspecies. Creatures that inherited even a portion of the dragon’s blood were different from the base.

I was bounced back by the reaction force. A few steps away. Immediately, I kicked off the ground and narrowed the distance.

The gap narrowed. I once again wrapped Karsa in sword energy. This time, I transformed it to be as solid as a blunt weapon.

Clang!

A sound like metal colliding spread. The sharp sound was so painful it felt like my ears would burst.

But I didn’t stop and kept hitting the scales. Information such as the strength of the scales and the quality of the flesh was transmitted through the vibrations.

I obtained all the information I needed. At that moment, I changed my stance and adjusted my mana.

Tap!

Then, I climbed up its foreleg. As I got closer, the drake changed its fighting stance. The creature twisted its body violently, rotating half a turn.

“Seriously, you’re just like a lizard…!”

The nasty temper is the same!

It’s not difficult to stay attached like this. I can just use mana to adhere. But that wasn’t why I stuck to it. I released mana from under my feet and leaped high.

I reached a position higher than the drake. Something was caught behind me. It was the drake’s tail. The tail, breaking the sound barrier, was about to strike me head-on.

My judgment was quick. As soon as I realized it, I loaded my sword and body with a thousand pounds of weight. The rapidly increased weight pulled me to the ground.

Nevertheless, the tail’s speed was faster, and it approached my back in the blink of an eye.

The moment the tail hit me. I deployed a shield on my back. On top of that, I covered it with the mysteries of indestructible Vajra, and laid shock absorption and conversion magic behind it.

Wham!!

Immediately after, a tremendous roar was heard, as if a huge object had collided. Thanks to the prior preparation, the pain wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Just a slight stiffness in my back.

My body falling downwards. The drake’s body was visible in front of me. Its huge body couldn’t be hidden.

I positioned myself with the blade pointing downwards. At the same time, I converted the absorbed shock into mana and formed a Sword Force with it.

The sword, enveloped in Sword Force, swelled greatly. The drake’s eyes changed at the sight of the brightly shining sword form. It knew the danger of this.

Moreover, there was enough time for the attack to arrive before it could evade. Sensing that, the drake reinforced the area to be attacked. The red scales turned black.

At the same time, the drake opened its mouth. Mana concentrating between its jaws. A trait exclusive to dragons and their subspecies, Dragon Breath.

Immediately after, a huge stream of mana was fired at me. Immense heat reached me in an instant.

‘Good timing.’

I smiled as I looked at the breath.

There are still battles to come afterward anyway. I had to conserve my strength in preparation for that. But it’s doing me a favor by saving me the trouble, so thank you very much.

I drew out some power from my soul. The ring reacted to the movement of my soul.

[The power of the Dragon Slayer dwells within you]

Dragon Slayer.

My power and achievement, gained from killing over ten thousand dragons.

The sword and my entire body were dyed with the energy of dragon slaying. Relishing the power I wielded after a long time, I sent my gaze forward.

In the meantime, the breath came right in front of me. I lightly swung my sword.

Kwa-ga-ga-gak!!!

A beam of light split in half with a roar. The dragon-slaying energy, which exerts absolute power against dragons, easily cleaved the breath.

But it didn’t end there. I spread the dragon-slaying energy widely. The energy scattered in all directions absorbed the drake’s mana and returned to me.

Something I couldn’t do at first. But after killing 1,000 dragons, I was able to make the mana of dragons that had escaped dominion my own.

The depleted mana in my dantian. I couldn’t absorb all of the creature’s enormous mana, and it surged around me.

The drake’s face turned dark. The expression that changed after the breath disappeared was quite a sight to see.

Now all that’s left is to pierce those scales. I withdrew the dragon-slaying energy and took my stance again.

My body heading downwards due to gravity. The creature struggled to avoid the tip of the sword. I deployed my Unique Magic to the fullest.

[Unique Magic: Domain Declaration] is not an attack magic. It’s not a buff magic that enhances the body either.

It is an auxiliary magic created for longer, more efficient battles. All of my Unique Magic, including this, is like that.

[Point Regression], which returns the body to a certain point in time, and other Unique Magics were all developed with a focus on combat.

The distance gradually closing. It was a distance that was just barely out of reach. But I ignored it and pushed the sword in with all my might.

At that moment, the sword disappeared as I infused my will. Karsa, enveloped in Sword Force, split into six and revealed itself from below the drake.

The creature’s eyes were filled with panic, not knowing that the swords would appear there. It belatedly tried to move mana to block it, but it was too late.

Thwack!

The six Sword Forces pierced the creature. Since I had already grasped the strength of the scales and flesh, I perfectly pierced the vitals without much difficulty.

Koo-oong, immediately after, the drake fell to the ground. The creature didn’t move. It was killed instantly.

Watching the blood flowing from a total of 12 holes, I recovered my power. Karsa returned to its original form, and the remaining mana was absorbed into me.

[Domain Declaration] is a Unique Magic that allows you to freely move power within the constructed domain. If my mana is contained within it, anything within the domain can be moved to any desired location at any time.

That’s what I used just now. With a little more application, it is also possible to mix martial arts while magic is being cast. The opposite is also true.

‘Well, I’m still barely able to use it.’

Because my level is low, I cast it with the help of the ring’s power. If my physical level gets higher, it will improve in terms of usage and application.

I surveyed the battlefield.

A somewhat chaotic atmosphere. Some of the higher-ranking species were milling around, not knowing what to do.

“I guess the death of the leader is a big deal.”

This creature under me must have been the king of one area, at least for now.

The battlefield gradually being cleared up. Then Elena came running. Her face and armor were covered in blood, probably because she had been running around hunting hard.

“You’re not hurt…”

“Why? Would you like it if I was?”

“…That’s not what I meant. Anyway, I’m glad it ended without any mishaps.”

I tapped the creature under my feet and asked.

“How was the situation while I was fighting?”

“It was very smooth. Probably because of the monsters you hunted.”

“I guess so.”

The presence of a leader or commander on the battlefield was really important. That was the same for monsters. No, maybe it’s even more significant than humans.

Anyway, that’s not what I’m curious about.

“More importantly, how is Evan doing?”

“Just a moment…”

Elena put her hand to her ear and asked about the situation over there. And her expression gradually brightened at the news she heard.

“Evan, Evan…!”

Forgetting that she was in the middle of a war, she shouted loudly. I quickly covered my ears and said.

“I get it, so calm down.”

“Ah… ahem.”

She cleared her throat once and turned her face away. But she couldn’t hide the blush on her face from embarrassment.

Anyway, since Evan finished his work, there was only one order I had to give.

“Elena. Retreat. Go back and prepare to defend.”

“Understood.”

She briefly bowed her head and gathered those who had come out for the expedition. The appearance of those gathered was not very good.

The elves, not to mention the beastmen who are fighters, all had tired faces. I shouted at them.

“We’re going back.”

That’s how we returned to the wall.

***

When we arrived at the wall, the battlefield where we had been fighting until just now was already a mess.

That was to be expected, as hundreds of species of monsters were gathered in one place. In the first place, monsters hardly ever leave their respective areas. Because it is their livelihood.

But now, due to the boss of the monster season, they have left their territories, and races that can be considered enemies have even banded together, so it was natural for fights to break out.

The monster season is ultimately nothing without a leader.

“It looks like it’s slowly coming to an end…”

Elena muttered, looking at the scene beyond the wall. She had a lingering? No, a relieved expression.

The others on the wall were the same as her. Watching the monsters fighting among themselves, someone collapsed with a thud. They seemed to be out of energy.

It’s understandable, since they’ve been on edge for the past week. Maintaining something far from everyday life is usually not an easy task.

“Yeah, it’s almost over.”

There was still some cleaning up to do, but to others, the monster season was already as good as over.

Probably in a few hours, the troops that had gone out on the expedition would return, and they would spend time sorting out the events of the past few days.

But unfortunately, I wasn’t in a situation where I could rest right away like them.

‘Still, it’s okay to just blank out for a moment, right?’

The end of [Main Episode: Monster Season]. So this much deviation should be okay.

“But… what are you going to do now?”

“About what?”

I looked at Elena at her incomprehensible question.

“There’s no need to stay here any longer. You’re still a reserve, but you’ve become like a saint because of this. Wouldn’t it be better to transfer to the Academy of Yustia?”

Did the World Tree tell you to do this? She’s talking about things I’m not interested in.

“I’ll take care of my own future, so mind your own business. And a saint? What saint? No matter what anyone says, I’m still a reserve.”

I just borrowed the word saint this time because I had no choice. I have no intention of ever getting rid of the reserve label. I’ll refuse even if those damn gods force it on me.

“Still…”

“What more do you want to say?”

I was a little annoyed, but I kept listening, thinking about the effort she had put in.

“I’m thinking about Saint Estella…”

That’s when it happened.

“Ah! Senior, are you done?”

Chloe’s voice came from behind. She was already next to me.

“I think you’re in the middle of an important conversation, but this is more important. I’ll borrow Senior for a bit~.”

“Oh, that’s…”

As always, the my-pace Chloe didn’t listen to what others had to say. Before Elena could finish her sentence, she put her arm around mine and said.

“Senior~ Let’s work hard together!”

Immediately after, Chloe used teleportation. My vision flickered.