Book 14 Chapter 8

Platinum Mercenary Corps,

In the northern part of the Empire (1)

This is Serene Forest.

A forest that spans the central and southern parts of the north, and once you exit this forest, you will enter the Eleonor Great River Basin, the gateway to the north.

"Who could this beautiful warrior be, crossing the forest with a fragrance sweeter than the forest itself? Yes~ it's me, Lystra."

That day's routine was no different from any other. I was reading 『Osarius Bibon』 and sacrificing my body to endure the warrior's madness.

"Ma'am, did you perhaps eat the [King's Flesh] because you were hungry?"

"Kyu?"

"Now that you mention it, I am hungry."

"You just ate a while ago."

"Lynn, you need to be more delicate when dealing with women! Warriors have metabolisms dozens of times faster than ordinary people because of body modification."

"The strongest mage is one who pursues true gender equality. I treat men and women equally."

Yes, it was then, when I was dealing with Lystra, who had lost her grip on reality due to hunger, as usual.

*Thwack*…

Suddenly, there was a crisp ping sound that echoed through the forest.

Even faster than that, Lystra blocked me with god-like speed and lightly swung her hand.

Then, something bounced off her gauntlet, didn't it? It was a strangely small arrow. Could anyone even shoot something like this?

"It's a baby arrow. An arrow shot through a bamboo *tong-a*, which is called a *pyeonjeon*."

When Lystra suddenly pulled me into the bushes with serious eyes, I couldn't suppress the excitement that made my fingers tremble.

"The eastern people of the Empire, where bamboo forests are lush, have a monopoly on this, and the [Zigzag Bow School] is famous."

Now…!

Finally…!

"The arrow velocity is several times faster, and it's hard to pinpoint its location, but its drawback is that only highly skilled individuals can handle it."

Has a [Flesh Possessor] arrived, suitable to be my magic sandbag! Damn it, I knew it!

"I thought the real deal was about to appear, and it really came."

I dream of being the strongest mage.

The strongest mage must be [the strongest] in any situation. That's why I've prepared specialized magic for all types of enemies.

It seems it's time to check off one item on the strongest mage's bucket list: [Duel with an Archer].

*Thwack*…!

Again, the sound cut through the forest.

An arrow, which grazed past my eyes concealed in the bushes, was lodged in a nearby tree trunk.

Then, the contact surface began to decay and melt with a putrid stench. Seeing that, a cold sweat instinctively soaked my back.

"Abyss…!"

Ah, I see. Does the [King's Flesh] transform magic itself into the Abyss?

This could be quite dangerous.

If a potent poison only affects the body, the Abyss is said to affect the soul as well. Damage from the Abyss can only be healed by dragons, priests, and witches, and even they cannot heal fatal injuries.

"I don't want to use this power in a place like this, but…"

Lystra placed her hand on the hilt of her holy sword.

"To find the enemy, I'll have to cut down all the trees in this forest."

Why doesn't she want to use it?

I'll ask the reason later.

If she doesn't want to use it, then she doesn't have to.

"So, I just need to find them?"

"But the archers' specialty is stealth and enemy detection. This entire forest is their stage. It's hard to find them."

"Magic circle construction, 4th star."

"Lynn, no! Your location will be pinpointed immediately because of your magic power."

"Hybrid magic of water and wind attributes, cross ratio 2:2. Rune enchantment: Jin (振; vibrating), Dong (動; moving), Pa (波; wave), Chu (追; chasing)."

This magic traces the opponent's location through vibrations inevitably caused by magic power in mediums like air and water, in other words, sound waves.

"Calculation complete, find them."

*Ding*… A translucent circular formation spread widely throughout the forest, centered on me.

The feelers of these sound waves only detect living creatures with magic power; they don't misidentify insects or beasts.

The principle of the mathematical formula is easily formed by a formula I made very simply.

`aｘ²+bx+c=0 (a≠0)`.

When you can't find the roots of an equation by factorization because you don't know the opponent's location, using this is very convenient.

"Found them. Two people. One is coming this way."

As my location was pinpointed by the light of my magic power, the sound of a bowstring snapping was heard again, and suddenly a baby arrow appeared from behind me.

Aha, this is how it works…

Using the power of the Abyss through the [King's Flesh] means using spatial manipulation of the Abyss too. Arrows keep appearing from strange directions.

But no problem.

I have plenty of magic prepared for situations like this.

"Trapezoidal magic circle, imbue with the quality of repulsion (斥)."

The light of magic, shimmering with lines of light above my palm and soaring up, formed an invisible barrier behind me.

The trapezoid is a magic circle for telekinesis.

The rune of repulsion (斥) imbues it with the quality of pushing away approaching objects.

*Pooomph*!

The baby arrow aiming for my spinal cord was caught by that telekinetic barrier. It seemed to try to pierce through but was eventually pushed back and fell into the snow.

"That's cool, isn't it?"

Lystra said that.

"Then I'll handle the one approaching, you take care of the archer, Lynn."

* * *

"A mage and a swordsman. But the swordsman's skill is considerable. He just deflected my baby arrow with one hand."

The archer said, newly fitting a baby arrow, barely a span long, into the *tong-a*.

"The mage is young."

The archer's eyes glowed blue.

"I wondered if it was a 1-star magic cast through mental calculation, but seeing that she was protected, she doesn't seem that strong."

Concentrating the magic power enhanced by the [King's Flesh] on his sight, now that his vision was as clear as an eagle's, he could observe his opponents even through the gaps in the leaves.

"Hmph, it was good to test the waters first, just in case."

Next to him, a woman, tapping her shoulder with a club heavily studded with iron spikes, said,

"Such a combination quickly crumbles if you neutralize the mage first. I'll take down the swordsman. Finish off the mage in the meantime."

"Don't speak in a commanding tone. You're a mercenary ranked lower than me."

"Hmph, even so, you're just a bowman who can't do anything without a vanguard like me."

The woman laughed insolently and leaped a great distance with a single jump.

Footwork is the foundation of magic power usage.

Therefore, one can measure a target's strength just by their footwork, and seeing this, it's clear her level is considerable.

"Someday, I'll definitely lodge a *pyeonjeon* into the back of your head."

The moment the swordsman reacted to the woman's killing intent and rushed out, a wave of magic power… eerily swept through the archer's body.

"This is… detection magic?"

The archer was flustered.

Could she use detection magic?

He heard that the difficulty of using it was insane, so the number of practitioners was unbelievably small, and at that age?

'If she's a detection expert, then she probably isn't a combat expert.'

Having received detection information, the swordsman rushed forward, leaving the mage alone.

'Then the story is simple.'

The archer calmed his bewilderment and released the bowstring.

*Thwack*…

The strength of the *pyeonjeon* comes from sound disruption. The sound of the bowstring snapping and the *pyeonjeon* resonating don't coincide with the sound of the arrow flying.

'Masters rely heavily on hearing as well as sight.'

Therefore, hundreds of monsters died from a pierced heart or neck trying to react only to the sound. If this is true for monsters with six senses, let alone humans.

'More than anything…'

He loads magic power into the arrow.

The secret technique of the [Zigzag Bow School] allows the arrow to twist and bend into various trajectories, as if alive, flying towards the target.

'Got her.'

The moment he thought that, that is, the moment he saw the baby arrow reach the mage's vital point, the archer's eyebrow twitched.

'What?'

The arrow stopped.

As if stuck in an invisible wall, the arrow, which had been fluttering its fletching, soon sagged in mid-air.

'This is, the same thing he deployed on the day I received the flesh…?'

The archer shook his head to dispel that uneasy delusion.

'No, there can't be two such monsters. And above all, the principle seems a little different.'

Mental calculation mage.

I admit it. The speed of barrier magic deployment is considerable.

'Then, I just need to decide the match with an invisible strike.'

The archer thought so and tried to fit the next baby arrow into the *pyeonjeon*, but his hand trembled wildly.

Am I trembling?

Because of a fear whose origin I don't even know myself?

'Don't be ridiculous. I'm a top-tier gold-ranked mercenary who rolled in the Abyss, Trident Point!'

Actually, that wasn't true.

It wasn't him trembling, but the world.

▶ ▶ ▶

Lynn's Discriminant:

`f(x)=ax²+bx+c(a≠0)`.

`D=b²-4ac`

When D>0, the roots of the equation are two real roots.

When D=0, the root of the equation is a multiple root.

When D<0, the roots of the equation are two imaginary roots.

"The discriminant discussed in middle school mathematics today was established in the 12th century by the Archmage Lynn. This formula provided an incredibly simple solution for using search magic."

At that time, obtaining all the coordinates where magic had an influence when using search magic was truly murderous.

Until then, various shortcuts existed, but search magic was known as the domain of true geniuses.

However, after this discriminant, which could easily determine whether roots were real or imaginary with a simple formula, became widespread, the landscape of search magic changed. Entire schools of thought emerged.

"All the 'basic mathematics' that we now consider obvious and simple were originally the exclusive domain of geniuses."

This formula is spring.

It is called the spring of search magic.

True to the name Lynn, it brought a new spring breeze into the world of mathematics.

"Because geniuses among geniuses like Lynn easily interpreted those formulas and shared them without cost, you are able to learn this advanced process under the name of 'basic'."

Originally, most mage families and schools concealed such insights under the name of secret magic, but Lynn and the head of the Osarius School did not.

"So, always be grateful. To Archmage Lynn, who made the lineage of mathematics easier and passed it down to us latecomers."