Book 3 Chapter 24
Episode 73
“Is it okay to just clash like this? Won't you get hurt?”
To Casena Paige's tense question, Madelia lightly nodded her head.
“You won’t get hurt. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
There’s no need to control one’s strength in a duel test.
This is thanks to the barrier deployed by Marhena, who specializes in illusion magic; the students think they are ‘actually using magic,’ but in reality, they are only exchanging harmless blows within an illusion.
‘But the pain is applied as is. Many students are hit by painful magic and yell for surrender.’
The opponent there is a late-stage disciple of the Meleb school, which focuses on lethal combat (對人殺生). Although I told Casena not to worry, I’m a little concerned.
“Alright, here I go★”
Nora unfurled the grimoire hanging from her waist. A bluish light permeated the magic circle drawn on the middle page, and an extraordinary ability manifested.
The form of the magic circle was a double-layered array of circles.
The engraved runes were Lu (漏) and Sun (循).
To elaborate, it grants the traits of Lu (漏; permeating\/seeping) and Sun (循; following) to 2-star water-attribute magic.
“As expected, it came out right away, Water of Death (殺水).”
Gertrude Fenton, leaning her arms on the spectator railing, whistled.
The Meleb school is one that primarily uses water-attribute magic among the four great elements. Just like the Fenton family.
‘But their usage is too different.’
The Fenton family integrated the flow of water with martial arts.
They developed it to allow for diverse magical operations in close-to-mid-range combat, such as switching between offense and defense, by utilizing the ‘flowing’ nature of water-attribute magic.
However, the key is never to forget the essence of water-attribute magic.
‘But Meleb…’
The dazzlingly unfolded magic circle shattered with a clear resonance, then split into countless jets of water that rushed towards Rein.
“Dodge, Rein! Even one hit will be critical!”
Just as Christa urgently cried out, Meleb completely twisted the essence of water-attribute magic and used it.
Hence the nickname, Water of Death (殺水).
Seeing the arena stirring with such voices, Seri, feeling puzzled, looked at Elin and asked for an explanation.
“If it’s one-sided water-attribute magic, such magic can only be used for deterrence, like pushing or blowing things away.”
“……?”
“If you hit it directly and embed it in a wall, you could inflict quite a bit of double damage. But that’s the limit.”
“Exactly! Water attribute isn’t primarily combat magic to begin with.”
“But those Meleb guys are different.”
Lu (漏; permeating) is one of the representative esoteric runes of the philosophical jurisprudence that Meleb boasts of.
“It makes the magic’s power act as an internal force rather than an external one, and once it reaches a certain level, it destroys the body’s muscle and blood vessels without a trace.”
In other words, the moment one is damaged by that water-attribute magic, the water permeates deep into the point of impact, inflicting fatal wounds within the body.
‘Oh, brother…’
As Seri swallowed nervously in distress, threads of light were rising and weaving together on Rein’s palm.
“Jorhen type?!”
“High-speed computation of 2-star magic?”
“Huh, he’s really an incredible fellow.”
The voices of admiration pouring from the stands were buried by the sound of the earth rising like a mountain due to Rein’s magic, and the neatly laid marble flagstones collapsing with a rumble.
“It’s no use♪”
The clash of water and earth; at that moment, the spectators’ eyes widened. Unlike what they expected, a huge spray of water erupting and scattering.
“The, the water…!”
“It’s permeating…?!”
“Into the dirt wall…!”
Exactly.
Because a dozen strands of water penetrated straight into the earthen barrier, rapidly piercing the ‘holes’ (穴) of the dirt wall, and rushed towards the enemy on the other side.
Towards Rein Ludwig, who had no way of knowing what was happening on the other side.
“Nora Ledon, that fellow seems to have accumulated a considerable understanding of Lu (漏).”
Chief Professor Marhena mumbled as if genuinely impressed. Associate Professor Kyle nodded.
“Surely, based on that understanding, he must have added new mathematical formulas to reinforce that magic circle. A new idea, piercing through walls…”
It’s not ending like this, is it?
Just a moment later…
Elin Ludwig let out a short laugh, as if teasing the murmuring crowd.
“You remember who Nora is, but it seems you’ve forgotten who we are.”
Blocked by a wall, so we can’t see?
Not at all.
We are Ludwigs. A family of mages known as ‘thieving mages.’ Our eyes see through all extraordinary abilities. And my nephew, a genius among geniuses, already possesses those eyes at that age.
“Bell Sidious.”
Rein’s two eyes burned crimson, and the pupils in their center bloomed into silver-white death stars. Within this red-tinged vision, all phenomena (萬象) are interpreted as numbers and directly transmitted to the brain.
“Th-those eyes…?!”
“It’s the bloodline limit of the Ludwig family…!”
“No way, he’s only sixteen, isn’t he…?!”
Skalg Ludwig, a mage representing the old generation alongside Marhena, opened his Bell Sidious eyes at seventeen.
His son, Kayvan, was eighteen, and his daughter, Elin, was twenty-one.
Among them, Elin might seem to have lagged, but she too was among those who awakened their bloodline limit remarkably quickly in the family’s history.
The successive display of prodigious talent by the family had turned the magic world upside down and elevated the Ludwig family’s status to its extreme, hadn’t it?
‘As expected, he was up to something.’
Rein withdrew the magical power that sustained the magic. The next moment, the colossal earthen wall that had surged up collapsed along with the water channels that had penetrated its interior.
And he just ran.
Through the thick dust cloud that billowed up in response to the settling earth, at full speed… Meanwhile, a sneer hung on Nora Ledon’s lips.
‘Hehe, I knew you’d try to close the distance.’
It’s a mistake to think that you nullified my attack by breaking my masterpiece wall. I’m the one who lured you out from behind that wall.
“The form of the magic circle is a double-layered array of circles, the engraved runes are Lu (漏) and San (散)♬”
Thousands of water droplets unfolded, surrounding Nora. Logan, watching the match, licked his upper lip.
“Th-that kind of dirty trick…!”
It is said that in duels, criticism towards an opponent is the highest praise.
It wasn’t wrong.
As a late-stage disciple of Chihak, who makes close combat their profession, he saw through how precise and perfect Nora’s current move was, which is why such high praise came out.
“Those aren’t just scattered water droplets.”
“Exactly, it’s no different from scattering caltrops!”
“Caltrops can only be scattered on the ground, but those… they block the entire air!”
Nora Ledon, her future is terrifying. When that guy’s skill reaches its peak, will there be any mage who dares to face him?
“So what is Sir Ludwig doing now?!”
Everyone’s attention focused on Rein Ludwig, who had disappeared into the dust cloud. And… the next moment, the protagonist burst out.
“Just a mindless charge?”
“Does he not know that?”
“No, can he not see with Bell Sidious?”
But such puzzled murmurs were immediately drowned out. By gasps born of bewilderment that made them doubt their own eyes.
“W-what is that…?!”
“Could that be…!”
“Osarius-style staff art…?!”
At first glance, it seemed like a headlong charge. But a closer look revealed otherwise.
Because water droplets were being shattered by the staff, which coiled and swayed like a snake in Rein’s grasp.
Only the necessary ones.
Only the water droplets on the shortest path, necessary to reach Nora Ledon. With a staff whose growth rings glowed blue with magic.
“Huh, a frontal breakthrough…!”
The Vice Dean of Chihak’s eyes gleamed. If this happened, Nora Ledon’s actions would become a self-defeating move.
The widely scattered water droplets could certainly block a large area. But it is nature’s law that when something spreads wide, it becomes thin.
They thought Nora Ledon had countered Ludwig’s move, but had Rein Ludwig instead completely suppressed Nora’s move?!
“M-Master, that’s…!”
A girl watching the match from the stands, wearing the characteristic conical hat of her school, pulled her stone staff close to her chest and looked up at the middle-aged man next to her.
“Yes, it seems correct. Hard to believe, but…”
They were the Osarius school, representing the North.
They were the so-called descendants of Lin, who had left outstanding achievements in the magic world even after being promoted to a grand school through the great mage Lin’s feats.
The conical hats and stone staves they wore were a sign of respect for Lin. Therefore.
“But it’s different somehow. Master told us not to be so aggressive, didn’t you?!”
That’s right. The original disciples of Osarius could not act so absurdly aggressively. Because.
“If you try to induce close combat for no reason, you’re easily counterattacked by an opponent who reads your thoughts. Just like the move Nora Ledon just made, which can only be called perfect.”
In a battlefield where time to think is momentary and vision is extremely narrow, trying to recklessly break through there would lead straight to the underworld.
Therefore, the staff art of the Osarius school has always been regarded as a passive defensive measure. Not an active offensive one like that.
‘But that guy is different.’
Only that guy is different.
He possesses our staff art, and on top of that, he has the ‘strongest eyes’ to complement it.
With that, flaws cease to exist.
‘That’s why it’s even harder to believe…’
One can tell from just this one moment. There is no superfluity whatsoever in Rein Ludwig’s staff art. That is proof that he has reached an extreme level.
‘Where, from whom, and how did he learn Master Lin’s staff art to reach that level?’
The Osarius school isn’t one that takes in many students and teaches magic, like the other eight grand schools.
‘Our school has a one-on-one master-disciple system, like witches, where one master takes in and teaches only one disciple?’
While the Osarius student harbored such doubts, the match in the arena was reaching its climax.
The moment Rein Ludwig, having pierced straight through the wall of water droplets and narrowed the ‘killing’ distance, kicked off the ground with force.
This was the crossroads of the match; the moment Nora Ledon calmly opened her grimoire to the last page and injected magical power into it.
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
Thus, the final match of those aiming for the pinnacle of <Delheiten> began in an instant and ended in an instant.
The scene people thought they saw was this:
The magic Nora deployed at the end was 3-star water-attribute magic. A water barrier enveloped Nora, blocking all approaching enemy attacks, and simultaneously destroying all muscle fascia within.
It appeared as if Rein’s body was caught in the barrier and defeated before the staff he thrust reached Nora’s windpipe.
But it wasn’t.
Because the moment they thought that, the wall of water sweeping Rein’s body shattered into countless particles of light and vanished without a trace.
“What was that?”
“Oh?”
“What happened?”
Elin Ludwig, one of the few people in the arena who knew the answer, nodded to Brim with a satisfied smile.
“Did you see what he used, sister?”
Brim Ludwig, nodding back, clapped towards her son’s back. Seri, not understanding, bounced around excitedly.
“What is it, Auntie? What happened?”
“Ugh, you pathetic nephew! Rein just completely crushed those Meleb guys’ pride with our bloodline limit! With Bell Curio!”
“With Bell Curio?!”
Elin proudly shrugged her shoulders.
Truly amazing.
I heard from my father that just using the eyes isn’t enough; you have to be able to instantly reverse-calculate and correct the opponent’s magic to make it disappear.
‘As a result of watching with Bell Sidious just now, that Meleb guy’s magic vanished the moment it was cast.’
A smile born of pride formed on Elin’s face.
Oh, really.
He’s just such a pathetic nephew, so much so.
‘That’s why I can’t take my eyes off him.’
When everything was over, Rein’s staff was stopped right in front of Nora’s eyes. Associate Professor Kyle, who oversaw the match progression and judging, raised his hand.
[Match 1, End of Bout! Winner, Rein Ludwig!]
A momentary silence flowed through the spectators who were blinking blankly, followed by an explosive cheer and applause.
“Whoaahhh!”
“Crazy, what was that just now?”
“This is a match between sixteen-year-olds?”
Logan also clenched his fists with both hands and sprang up, but.
“Young Master, that was nice!!!”
Feeling the astonished gazes of his friend Illyn and other senior\/junior disciples, he cleared his throat and sat back down.
“Th-this is just following the Arch-Disciple’s orders! I have to act like this so that the Genius (Heavenly Calamity) Young Master doesn’t suspect me!”
Then the students of Chihak stared blankly at Logan, then soon wiped away tears of emotion and patted his back.
“K-heh, I believed in you!”
“Yes, as expected, our late-stage disciples are different!”
“Indeed, not only his muscles, but his acting is also so exquisite!”
Meanwhile, Chihak’s Vice Dean turned to Professor Owen and nodded. It meant he understood the letter Owen had sent to the school about Rein.
“It’s no wonder Logan lost. But I have a question. What on earth did he use to break Nora’s barrier?”
Nora, who knew the answer, felt her legs give out and slumped to the ground.
The oppressive feeling she felt when facing those eyes, the silver-white seven-pointed stars rotating within them… that sensation of inexplicable insight piercing through her mind…
Of course, she didn’t actually slump down. Rein had reached out and supported her.
“Truly promising, aren’t you? Certainly enough to boast about.”
“……?”
“However, you had a bad opponent. The second magic you used, next time try scattering it only in a 180-degree frontal arc instead of 360. It will be more threatening.”
For some reason, Rein’s words felt less like the typical taunt of a victor and more like advice from a venerable senior.
‘Why on earth…?’
She was taught never to lose. Especially in magical combat. That it was their reason for existence, that the Meleb school could not exist if they lost.
But she lost.
If it were before, she would have crumbled in body and spirit in despair the moment she lost, but why… why here, now…?
“……”
Meanwhile, complex depths of thought flickered in the eyes of Balenxidis, who had leaned against the south gate passage and watched this match from beginning to end.
‘Bell Curio at sixteen. He’s certainly a dangerous individual whose potential has no end.’
Since he is highly likely to be an obstacle to Tureyna’s plan, should I let Ribadin handle him, or if not…