Chapter 350
‘This is?’
Chris almost instinctively unleashed his demonic energy.
It was a sense of crisis so intense that he had moved his demonic energy without even realizing it.
He heard the sound of something tearing through the air.
‘White magic.’
It was a familiar magic.
A 5-Star white magic, the Spear of Lightning.
It was a spell favored by countless white mages, and Chris, too, had witnessed it numerous times.
But could the spell flying at him now truly be called the same kind as the ones he had known until now?
The force of the lightning was not particularly intense.
Instead, it was at an ordinary level.
But despite that, it was as if it would tear the sky apart.
It was because of the meaning imbued within it.
A meaning that ordinary white mages could not even imagine was exploding within the spell.
‘I can't evade it. Blocking is the best I can do.’
It seemed that if he deployed a shield, he might be able to block it somehow.
After all, Chris’s state was no longer ordinary.
But he soon shook his head.
‘Then it wouldn't be fun.’
Fun.
It was no time to be talking about such leisurely things, but Chris felt a sense of interest in this situation.
To be precise, he wanted to show the ‘opponent’ who had thrown this spell.
His own greatness.
‘You're trying to test me, right? Then I'll show you properly.’
Chris stretched out his hand.
An identical Spear of Lightning was formed.
Although it was a far more intense form compared to those deployed by other ordinary white mages, it was nothing but shabby compared to the lightning that was currently cutting through the air.
It would be neutralized in an instant.
[What are you doing? Deploy your shield at once.]
Just then, he heard an unfamiliar voice.
It seemed to be the opponent who had thrown the spell.
As expected, it didn't seem like they had truly intended to harm Chris. Despite having launched a surprise attack, the voice sounded as if it were worried for him.
[My spell is not something that can be handled by a white magic of your level. Protect your body with all your strength at once!]
But Chris just let out a smirk.
‘Of course, my proficiency in white magic is lacking.’
As he had said before, white magic was his weakest field.
And from what he could guess, the opponent was not someone he could face with his level of white magic.
And yet.
‘Watch.’
Paaaat!
Chris’s Spear of Lightning flew straight toward the spear of lightning the opponent had thrown.
The opponent’s lightning split Chris’s lightning in two in an instant, but after that, an unexpected event occurred.
Chris’s lightning did not scatter; instead, it wrapped around the opponent’s lightning. Like a net.
[!!]
He could feel the opponent’s surprise.
It was no simple net.
Like a net with densely packed serrated teeth, it dug into the opponent’s lightning and continuously ground it away.
The opponent’s lightning gradually lost its power, and finally, it was extinguished and disappeared before it could reach Chris.
[…What?]
The opponent’s bewilderment was transmitted to him.
The Spear of Lightning was a magic solely for the purpose of piercing the opponent. But to transform it in such a way and grant it a completely different meaning was no different from creating a completely new magic.
A feat only possible for Chris.
“Are you going to be surprised by something of this level?”
[!!]
“This can't be all you've got, can it? I would be disappointed if it were.”
After a moment of silence, a low, sunken voice returned.
[Fine. I will properly confirm for myself just how great you are.]
A tingling energy began to surge.
The opponent, too, was intending to use their power in earnest.
Fwoooosh.
A large curtain of fire rose up in the air.
Inferno March.
It was a 7-Star white magic where the karmic flames that burn all things march like an army.
It was imbued with multiple miracle techniques, so it ignored the opponent’s defenses, and at the same time, it could not be nullified by other magic.
The only way was to get out of the way before the flames truly descended.
‘Of course, if I use my Dark Demonic Energy, I could block it without much difficulty.’
But now, he had to use the power of Stellar Radiance, or to be precise, only white magic. Only then could he crush the opponent’s pride.
[If you lack confidence, flee, even now!]
The opponent’s warning came.
The voice sounded as if it were genuinely worried for his safety, and Chris let out a laugh.
“You’re quite the talker. You can spare your useless worries.”
Chris twisted the corner of his mouth.
“The person who will be in trouble will be you, not me.”
[!!]
The opponent’s unpleasant feelings were transmitted.
[Fine, do not regret it! I will fix that arrogance of yours!]
Rumble.
With a great roar, as if an army were beginning its march, the flames began to descend.
At the majestic sight, the others in the training center cried out in shock.
“Th-that magic? Don’t tell me, is it his?”
“He has to evade! There’s no way even the Hero can withstand that magic!”
But Chris still did not back down.
Paaaat.
A spear of ice floated up.
Against a fire-type magic, a water-type magic.
It was a standard response, but the problem was the level of the magic Chris had manifested.
Ice Lance.
It was just a 3-Star general magic.
A shabby magic that could not even be compared to that giant karmic flame, but Chris stretched his hand forward.
Paaaat!
The Ice Lance flew toward the inferno.
The result was as everyone had expected.
It simply melted away without dealing any damage.
[Foolish. It is not too late! Give up, even now!]
However.
“I don’t think you’re in a situation to be so relaxed, either.”
[!!]
Chris waved his hand in a large motion.
Then, an Ice Lance once again floated up in the air.
This time, it wasn't just one.
Two, three, four… five… ten…. In an instant, the air was completely filled with Ice Lances.
The white mages who were watching the duel cried out in shock.
“N-no way? Even if it’s a general magic, to think such a brutish simultaneous manifestation is possible?”
To simultaneously manifest a simple spell was a skill that any white mage of a certain level could perform.
But there was a limit.
At a glance, there were clearly over 100.
He had performed a feat equivalent to splitting his mind into 100 parts to perform the calculations.
That wasn't all.
“That’s no ordinary Ice Lance!”
A white mage cried out in shock.
“Each and every one of those Ice Lances is imbued with will!!”
That was right.
Chris had bestowed the will ‘to subdue’ upon every Ice Lance.
Of course, it was an insignificant will compared to the ‘Immortal Flame’ miracle imbued in the Inferno March.
‘Still, let’s give it a try. Let’s see who wins.’
The moment Chris twisted the corner of his mouth, the Ice Lances rained down and flew into the Inferno March.
As expected, the spears of ice melted away in vain the moment they touched the flame, but Chris and his opponent felt it.
That Chris’s will was shaking the miracle imbued in the opponent’s spell.
‘I can pour out as many of these 3-Star spells as I want.’
As soon as an Ice Lance disappeared, a new Ice Lance was created again and flew in endlessly.
Furthermore, Chris’s Ice Lances struck the core of the Inferno March with precision, without any waste. A feat only possible because he had accurately seen through the structure of the opponent’s spell.
Finally, a part of the Inferno March collapsed.
[!!]
The spell had not been completely broken.
The ‘Immortal Flame’ miracle imbued in the spell quickly began to fill the gap.
But Chris did not miss the faintly revealed opening.
Paaaaaaah!
A magic circle floated up around Chris.
Unlike before, a powerful energy surged.
It was the 6-Star will-magic, ‘Raging Wave’.
As its name suggested, it was a water-type magic where a powerful wave furiously churned and swept through the surroundings.
It was still at a lower level compared to the Inferno March, but depending on how it was used, magic could produce vastly different effects.
Paaaat!
The wave Chris had created descended upon the Inferno March.
Most of it was pushed back by the heat of the karmic flame and evaporated, but a part of it did not disappear and dug inside.
It was because the core of the Inferno March had been damaged by Chris’s earlier trick.
‘It’s over.’
He moved the wave that had dug inside and swept through the interior of the karmic flame.
The miracle imbued in the karmic flame, the Immortal Flame, came crumbling down, and finally.
Rumble.
With the sound of something collapsing, the flame began to scatter.
[!!]
The opponent’s shock was transmitted.
“This time, it’s my turn. Don’t be a coward and dodge; take this head-on as well.”
Chris stretched his hand toward his opponent.
Fwoooosh.
A wind mixed with flames began to surge.
It was Fire Wind, a 4-Star white magic that combined the fire and wind elements.
It was a simple magic that was not very powerful, but Chris had just told him to take it head-on.
In other words, he was proposing they use the same spell to compete and see whose magical skill was superior.
Considering the opponent’s identity, he would never be able to refuse.
[…Ha. How dare you, to me.]
As expected, the opponent let out a hollow laugh and deployed Fire Wind as well.
An attitude that showed he didn't think he would be pushed back in the slightest.
Just as his confidence suggested, it was a Fire Wind so exquisite and perfect that it was incomparable to Chris’s.
But there was something the opponent had overlooked.
That for Fire Wind, a combination of fire and wind, the skill with which one handles the spell was more important than anything else.
Of course, the opponent’s skill in handling spells was also second to none. He would be counted among the best on the entire continent.
The problem was Chris.
Skill and sense.
Even if it were a Demon King or a Sacred One, there was no being who could surpass Chris in these aspects.
Paaaaaaah!!
The fire and wind that had clashed in mid-air danced.
They struggled violently, as if they were beasts trying to tear each other apart, and a result no one could have believed occurred.
Chris’s fire-wind neutralized his opponent’s and then enveloped him as it was.
[W-wait!!]
The opponent, who had been hidden in the air, was engulfed in flames.
He could be seen hastily deploying a shield, but it was too late.
‘Poof.’
As Chris whispered with his lips, the fire exploded right before his opponent’s face, and after the flames cleared, the opponent’s form was finally revealed.
A stern impression.
A monocle.
A well-dressed suit.
He looked more like a stylish, middle-aged noble from the city than a reclusive mage, but there was a problem.
His beard, which had clearly been stylishly and painstakingly groomed, had been scorched black by the magic Chris had just unleashed.
A face flushed red, whether from shame or something else. It was a familiar face.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
He grinned, then said his opponent’s name.
“Duke Duma.”
It was the name of the Head of the magic noble house.
It was his first meeting with Grand Magus Duma, the second-in-command of the Alliance’s white magic world.
* * *
They moved to a professor’s office.
“Isn’t this too much? I was just trying to see your skills a little, and you burn my beard! Do you know how much trouble I went through to grow this beard? The noble ladies who gaze upon me will be greatly disappointed. You have committed a grave crime against all the noble ladies of the world.”
As Duma grumbled annoyingly, Chris shook his head back and forth.
‘He’s the same as in my past life.’
Unlike his respectable nickname of Grand Magus, Duma was the playboy of the Alliance’s high society.
Despite being the head of a prestigious house, he had declared he would not marry and would pass on the succession to his brother’s bloodline, and was enjoying a life of only free love.