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[Translator - Prøks]
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Chapter 123: 5-Circle Incantation
Elder Parin didn't show a hint of agitation.
His long white hair tied back and his neat blue robe brought to mind an elegant crane.
"To think something like this would happen."
Elder Parin spoke as if reminiscing.
"If word spreads that I laid a hand on a junior, regardless of the reason, there will be those who point fingers at me, but it can't be helped."
Elder Parin pointed at me.
"It's just as well. I was curious about your magic."
"Truly a scholar-like mage."
"This way, I can confirm it more accurately."
Parin's tone sounded somewhat cruel.
"Do you know why my title is Blue Flame?"
"My title is Crazy Mage."
"...."
Parin's robe fluttered wildly in the cold wind.
I pointed at Parin and asked,
"Aren't you cold?"
"It is chilly."
For the first time, I received an answer.
I had asked three people, but only one answered.
This also meant that Parin was at ease.
"The weather is getting colder."
The sun had disappeared, though it wasn't sunset yet.
Only ash-gray clouds filled the sky. The waves of the lake continued to surge in the cold wind.
Standing like this felt like being on a raft tossed about on the sea.
"Ugh, I feel seasick."
Parin pointed at me and said,
"I'll yield the first move."
I looked at Parin's stance and nodded.
He stood languidly, but his posture was not one of carelessness.
His senses were sharply focused on me.
With a Wheeing— sound, I opened four circles and immediately chanted a short incantation, extending my finger.
'Penetrate, Piercing Wind.'
As soon as the wind blade shot out from my fingertip, I chanted the full incantation.
"Wind that pierces a single point, Piercing Wind."
Against an opponent like Parin, there was no need for probing attacks.
The wind blade, conjured with a short incantation, shot straight towards Parin's forehead, its speed instantly doubling due to the immense wind pressure following it.
Fwoosh—
The wind pressure seemed to tear through the air.
But Parin's eyes remained unwavering.
He stared intently at my posture, energy flow, incantation, and the path of mana, and only at the last moment did he draw his magic.
It was a short moment, less than 0.5 seconds.
But remarkably composed.
"Frost Barrier."
A 4-star magic, Frost Barrier.
A water-attribute, freezing barrier materialized solidly in front of Parin's chest, predicting the path of my attack.
When the wind blade collided with the barrier...
KwaKwaKang—! With a shattering sound, the barrier broke, scattering ice fragments across the arena.
The wind blade, having pierced through the barrier, grazed the spot where Parin had been standing.
But Parin had already leaped into the air.
"Quite unique."
Parin's eyes, from mid-air, gleamed with interest.
"Powerful and flexible. I wonder what it's weakness could be."
As Parin drew magic with both hands, the ice fragments that had scattered outside the arena gathered back into the air.
The ice fragments, concentrated in front of Parin's forehead, formed a massive icicle.
I recognized this magic.
5-star magic, Icicle.
An icicle almost twice the size of a person flew towards me.
I couldn't help but exclaim,
"Wow. An icicle in this freezing weather? That's too much."
With an Wind Barrier deployed in front of me, I chanted,
"Hand of purifying melt, Fire Hand."
A 4-circle fire attribute incantation,
The magic containing the most intense heat gathered in my right hand.
The house-sized icicle tore through the Wind Barrier, shattering the air barrier.
Tsssss—
The audience covered their ears at the intense explosive sound and pressure created by the impact.
I extended my right hand, engulfed in flames, and brought it behind me.
Crimson flames, like molten lava, erupted from my fingertips.
Crackle—
The front of the icicle, where it touched my flaming hand, melted away, followed by the entire rear section.
While I was inwardly pleased by the spectacular sight...
Something shot towards me at incredible speed.
'Wind Armor.'
I felt a slight impact as I instantly accelerated and leaped back.
It wasn't enough to pierce the Wind Armor, so I endured it and swung my Red Dagger with my left hand.
Clang—
The small, cold hidden weapon flew backward.
Parin, catching the weapon in mid-air, had an even more intrigued look on his face.
"You can improvise? While chanting?"
Before he could finish speaking, Parin launched himself.
Not one to stay idle, I flew towards him as well.
We clashed several times in the air in an instant.
Close combat.
Elder Parin lowered his stance and threw an ice-covered fist at me.
I countered with a flame-covered fist of my own.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Our palms collided, and the shockwave rippled out, creating a massive wave in the lake.
The overflowing water surged into the arena.
Parin's blue robe billowed.
Even as we exchanged blows, we kept a close eye on each other.
My gaze was fixed on Parin's left hand, and Parin was also watching my right hand.
The moment Parin swung his left hand...
I swung my right foot like lightning, aiming to strike his left hand.
At that moment, Parin swiftly withdrew his left hand, deflecting my attack, and then drew another magic.
The first one was a feint, a deceptive move.
Fwaaaang—!
A powerful roar echoed through the air.
We landed back on the arena, facing each other.
Parin's eyes had become even more intrigued, like a predator locking onto its prey.
"It's not demonic magic, but it's strange."
Of course, seeing through feints was one of my specialties.
I had neutralized Parin's attack by shooting my Red Dagger with my remaining right hand.
There was a brief lull.
Parin was swaying like a squid. I laughed at how pathetic he looked, but then I realized I was also swaying like a squid.
The waves were too strong.
The arena we were standing on was being tossed by the waves.
"What the hell is with this splash..."
Suddenly, noticing that the splashing showed no signs of stopping, I looked up at the sky to see that it was raining.
"No wonder the weather was so damn crazy."
Shwaaaaa—
I looked at Parin again, the rain soaking me.
My face was wet.
Parin was still looking at me with those intrigued eyes.
It was absurd. What kind of ridiculous behavior was this?
He wasn't grasping the situation he was in at all.
"Elder Parin."
Parin replied playfully,
"Speak."
"You're too confident."
"What do you mean by that?"
I mouthed the words,
'Demonic Bloom.'
When Parin, unable to understand, tilted his head, I said it again, with more force.
"Demonic Bloom. It was you, wasn't it?"
Parin's expression hardened instantly, and he glanced around.
The audience was far away, and with the wind and rain raging, they couldn't hear what we were talking about.
"Where are you looking, Parin!"
I looked at Parin's expression and laughed.
"Yes, that's the expression. It was you. The culprit always reveals himself."
"Demonic Bloom? Where did you hear that word?"
"It seems like you didn't just use Demonic Bloom."
"...What?"
It's hard to maintain composure when your confidence is shattered.
Parin was no exception.
A burning killing intent poured out from behind his monocle, directed at me.
"...."
There were no more words required.
But I could feel what Parin was thinking just from his eyes.
Creak—.
The moment Parin moved his right heel...
An overwhelming pressure, incomparable to anything I had felt before, surged towards me.
Fwaaaaang—!
There was no visible drawing of magic. Or rather, it seemed like there wasn't.
As soon as he stamped his foot, a chilling coldness rushed in from close range.
I accelerated with Haste, leaping backward while chanting,
"Splitting the earth..."
The coldness closed in faster.
"...Spear, Dividing."
Just before impact, I thrust my hand into the ground like a spear, using the rebound to launch myself into the air.
4-circle earth attribute, Dividing.
Kwaaaaaang—!
A shockwave erupted from where I had stepped, shattering the circular arena.
Looking down from the rainy sky...
It looked like fragmented rafts were floating on surging waves.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since I had seen the sea.
'Who was it again?'
One of my subordinates said it before he died.
That he wanted to see the sea.
It's been so long now that I can't remember who it was.
He was a stubborn bastard, that's for sure.
Anyway, Parin was nowhere to be seen. But I could tell what he was up to.
Faaaaaa—
Bubbles rose and boiled on the surface of the lake, then erupted like a water spout.
Certainly, in this kind of weather, water attribute magic had an advantage.
I also opened my circles again and chanted,
"Raging ice barrier, Frost Barrier."
4-circle water attribute, Frost Barrier.
It was the same magic Parin had just used, but mine was on a higher level.
The ice barrier that spread out from my hand in a semi-circular shape collided with the water spout.
With a Fwaaaaa— sound, the ice barrier instantly froze the water spout solid.
From below, Parin looked up at me with a slightly bewildered expression.
I added,
"Your magic is awesome."
Parin's bewildered eyes turned to shock in an instant.
Wind blades shot out, slicing the ice pillar in two.
This was a move Parin hadn't anticipated.
Parin quickly leaped away, but the hem of his blue robe was partially torn.
"...!"
We landed again on the debris floating on the lake and looked at each other.
Parin pointed at me and asked,
"...I can't believe it. Memorize? At your age? ...No."
Parin muttered to himself, lost in thought.
His neatly tied white hair was now disheveled.
"No. That can't be. If that were the case, I wouldn't have missed it."
Parin, after pondering, glared at me.
"Don't tell me, you cast magic simultaneously? Is that even possible? Answer me."
Of course, I didn't answer.
Parin, however, seemed convinced.
"I need to confirm it myself. Child, come with me."
"Your tone has changed, Parin. I've heard that tone somewhere before. It sounds like you're saying you'll make me your slave."
"...."
"Do you raise slaves, Elder Parin?"
Parin stared at me for a moment, then turned his head to look at the high-ranking seats.
Shwaaaa—
The rain was pouring heavily.
The raindrops splashing on the lake created a curtain of water spray.
When Parin looked back at me...
The rain was now so heavy that I could barely see his expression.
Parin's voice reached me through the downpour.
"Child, are you doing this because you trust Ardehain?"
I scoffed and replied,
"No way. I trust myself."
The rain was so heavy that I could barely see in front of me.
Only Parin's voice pierced through the downpour.
"Do you know why I'm called Blue Flame?"
"From the beginning..."
"...."
"It's quite an arrogant title. Blue Flame."
For a moment, there was no sound.
No movement.
Only the pouring rain could be heard.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
My heart pounded.
This was the Crazy Mage's instinct and intuition.
This atmosphere. This feeling.
Parin was about to do something.
Saaaaaaaa—
Oppressive pressure closed in from all directions.
It was a mana fluctuation I had felt once before in this life.
6-star mana fluctuation.
The fluctuation I first felt from Hector, the one that nearly shattered my skull.
"Haa..."
My breath quickened.
This wasn't a natural phenomenon.
A single raindrop that fell on my palm felt particularly cold.
The raindrops falling in front of me stretched out—elongated.
The rain fell slowly.
The atmosphere was freezing.
The breath of death slowly closed in from all directions.
"Death of Ice."
6-star magic, Death of Ice.
I knew this magic.
Among water attribute, freezing magic, it was the most despicable.
This was the moment Parin's true nature was revealed.
Magic that freezes all the air around a single target, leaving them neither dead nor alive.
I laughed.
6-star magic, huh?
I couldn't block it back then, but now it's different.
Wheeing—
I opened all the circles in my heart.
Five rings, rotating as if burning, resonated with mana, melting the surrounding atmosphere.
5-circle incantation.
What made it different from lower-circle incantations was...
"Embracing the spark that ignites aspiration..."
It couldn't be properly contained with a simple noun-form incantation.
It embodied the powerful will that emerged in my mind.
Whoosh—
The spark that bloomed from my fingertips became aspiration and moved forward.
The small spark touched the frozen air.
I watched the small spark burning through the frozen air, and at the last moment, I chanted once more,
"...An exploding flame at its end."
Thus, the incantation was finally complete.
5-circle fire attribute, Fire Explosion.
Flames flashed throughout the frozen space.
Thud— Thud—
Raindrops began to fall one by one, and time, which had seemed to stop, resumed its flow.
Thud— Thud-thud-thud—!
The delayed explosion tore through the air, erupting in all directions.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang—!
The flames spread towards the audience, momentarily making the space between Parin and me clear and bright.
The exploding flames illuminated us both like the sun.
"It's warm now."
Now I could clearly see Parin's expression.
Beyond his broken monocle, his eyes spoke of shock.
"Blue Flame is too arrogant."
The flames exploded, engulfing Elder Parin.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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