Chapter 1449 – 1449. Dark Moon
“Hold on! Just hold on! I’ll deal with this guy and come help you right away!”
Mons shouted.
I know what he means.
It’s because I’m a mage. In this world, according to common sense, mages are weak in small-scale battles. The place where a mage, that beautiful flower, can bloom fully is on the battlefield of a large-scale war.
‘That’s for typical mages.’
Mages are different. There are mages who prefer small-scale battles. That’s me.
Clang!
Kayson, the third son of the Jupiter brothers, pounded the barrier with his gauntlet-clad fist. A small explosion occurred with each punch. It wasn’t an explosion caused by gunpowder. One barrier broke easily, almost pathetically.
‘Is that magitech?’
Four barriers remain.
Bang! Clang!
One barrier was shattered with each punch. I figured out the secret of the gauntlet. It doesn’t just explode. It disrupts the arrangement of mana formulas by colliding with mana. It’s an act of infiltrating poison into the mana array, destroying it in an instant.
The sturdy barrier was shattered in an instant, so its efficiency is top-notch.
‘I see why they cheered for the mages. Mages are their prey.’
The reason why mages can still be somewhat active in small-scale battles is this barrier. To be able to easily smash that barrier? Ordinary mages would be shocked to the point of being dumbfounded. That gauntlet is practically a dispel.
‘It’ll have the same effect on other spells besides barriers.’
Then how should I fight him? The answer is simple. Use magic that doesn’t touch the gauntlet. While avoiding his movements, of course.
Fortunately, the barrier itself isn’t completely useless. It doesn’t ignore the barrier. At least it blocks his attacks.
Clang!
The last barrier broke.
Kayson, pulling back his right fist, grinned.
“Do you like crustaceans? I like lobsters the most. The taste of breaking the hard shell and chewing the tender flesh is a delicacy, pure and simple.”
Before he could swing his fist at me, I used the magic I had prepared. Did he really think I’d just stand there dumbly watching the barrier break?
[Air Boom]
An air explosion occurred right in front of him, sending him flying backward. If he were an ordinary person, his body would have exploded and disappeared, but he wasn’t ordinary. The durability of his body must have reached at least the level of a rock.
“You little punk!”
Kayson, who had been blown back, came running at me, thumping. His speed wasn’t fast by my standards. In a game, it would feel like his strength stat was the highest, and his agility was less than half of that.
[Microwave]
Kayson hesitated.
“Did you do something?”
Thump, thump, thump! He comes running again.
I smiled wryly. I expected it, but I didn’t think he wouldn’t even be slowed down.
‘Microwave is a failed spell. It’s more efficient to give up than to improve it again.’
Kayson is approaching. I stepped back, creating distance. He’s slow by my standards, but faster than me. I couldn’t keep playing tag like this.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Kayson laughed and increased his speed. He seemed to like this game of tag.
[Lightning Spear]
I launched three lightning spears. Using telekinesis, I changed the trajectory of the lightning spears, aiming at Kayson’s front, left, and right.
‘He has two gauntlets. Even if he deflects two lightning spears, what about the last one?’
Kayson punched the two lightning spears coming from the left and right. Small explosions occurred, and the lightning spears collapsed and disappeared. The lightning spears I improved cause an explosion upon impact, inflicting area damage with lightning around them. But the moment they hit that gauntlet, they disappeared without doing their job.
The remaining one lightning spear. Kayson didn’t do anything and charged straight ahead. He took the lightning spear with his body. The lightning spear exploded, and currents spread in all directions. Most of the current flowed into Kayson’s body.
“Krrrrrr…! This is electrifying?!”
“…You’re so reckless.”
“I hear that from my brothers every day. Judging by your movements, you don’t seem like an ordinary mage… I’ll kill you with all my power.”
Kayson pounded his chest with his gauntlet-clad hand.
Immediately after, mana surged from Kayson’s body.
‘Did he buff himself?’
It’s not magic. Like the gauntlet, it’s presumed to be magitech.
‘He pounded his chest. Is it a magitech heart?’
A while ago, Rose said something came to mind. If you have a lot of money in this city, you can become incredibly strong. Seeing Kayson, I’m more convinced that’s true.
Kayson kicked off the floor. He covered 10 meters in one second and appeared in front of me, swinging his fist.
Clang!
The barrier broke. His face twisted.
“What? When did you put up a barrier?”
“Maintaining a barrier is a mage’s basic skill.”
[Air Boom]
I sent Kayson, who had closed the distance, flying. Kayson shifted his center of gravity, changing the direction he was flying to upward. He stepped on the ceiling with both feet, bent his knees, and then sprang toward me.
[Using Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
In the slowed time, I clearly grasped the trajectory of Kayson’s fist and calculated the formula. After calculating the formula, I twisted my body and dodged Kayson’s fist. Clang! The fist hit the floor. The floor collapsed, revealing a dark underground space.
“You dodged that? What was that just now? How can a mage move like that….”
[Bind]
I bound Kayson’s body. It won’t last long. At most, about 5 seconds. But those 5 seconds are enough. I have Moment.
[Telekinesis]
I pulled a piece of stone in front of me.
[Using Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 5]
[Material Conversion]
Using alchemy, I temporarily turned the stone into metal.
[Using Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
The metal that becomes the bullet is small, and the distance is short, so the electromagnetic rail I can lay with magic is also short. It was an environment where the power of a railgun couldn’t be fully utilized. But that doesn’t mean its power was weak. It was powerful enough to penetrate Kayson’s body.
[Railgun]
The railgun advanced toward Kayson’s heart. The reason I didn’t aim for the head was because I rated Kayson highly. The head was more likely to be dodged by Kayson.
Just before the bullet reached his chest, Kayson forcibly twisted his waist. He didn’t completely dodge it. The railgun shattered his left shoulder. At the same time, he kicked my abdomen. I barely protected my abdomen with a small barrier… but it was hastily made, so it couldn’t completely block the impact. I was sent flying backward and collapsed on the floor.
“Cough!”
I coughed up blood from the kick. No matter how much of a mage I am, this difference in physical ability is too much. For reference, this kick wasn’t even a proper kick from Kayson.
‘…No wonder mages are considered weak in small-scale battles.’
A body that is ridiculously weak compared to a warrior’s body.
‘But in terms of power and versatility… mages are superior.’
Ignoring the pain in my abdomen, I got up.
“Aaaaaaaah! My arm…!!! Bro! That bastard got my arm!!!”
Kayson was writhing in pain, holding his left shoulder. Seeing that, I was reminded of the old days. When I was injected with mana essence, I felt immense pain. I really thought I was going crazy back then.
‘Thanks to that, I’ve become indifferent to most pain.’
Before Kayson could overcome the pain, I took out a metal bullet from my coat pocket.
Crackling.
A blue lightning bolt enveloped the bullet.
[Railgun]
The accelerated bullet flew in a straight line and pierced Kayson’s head. Of course, it didn’t stop there, but penetrated the wall and flew into the night sky.
I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked at another battle.
“Kayson! You damn bastard!!”
The second son, Vald Jupiterrain, shouted at me in anger. He turned his body and tried to rush at me, but Mons blocked his path.
“I’m disappointed. Don’t ignore me.”
I asked Mons.
“Do you need my help?”
“I’ve received enough help from you. I’ll take this guy down.”
Mons said confidently. It wasn’t a bluff. Vald had many minor injuries, while Mons was fine. It was clear to anyone that Mons had the upper hand in the battle.
“Mage. Go underground. Seeing Philip Jupiterrain hastily go down the secret passage… there’s something underground. Go help the ninja and deal with Philip.”
“Understood.”
I headed to the secret passage behind the table.
“Stop right there!!”
Vald shouted at me. Of course, I ignored him and entered the secret passage. I walked down the stairs, restoring my barrier.
Five barriers.
Stacking more than five barriers wasn’t efficient.
As I went down the secret passage, a corridor appeared.
‘This space isn’t in the blueprint I studied beforehand.’
That blueprint was the one from when the casino building was constructed. In other words, this space was secretly created after the casino building was completed. It smelled fishy.
I walked down the corridor. I saw the wreckage of broken machines. If you look closely, you can see that they were all wet.
‘Water.’
It was definitely the work of that woman, Invisible Blade.
‘How did that woman get into this space? Except for the secret passage, there’s no entrance in sight?’
I remembered that she was a ninja.
She must be called a ninja for infiltrating places like this.
Whirring.
I heard the sound of a machine turning from the wall. There might be another space inside the wall.
[Detection]
I spread mana formulas. The formulas were blocked by the wall and disappeared. I stopped walking and examined the wall closely.
‘They engraved part of a barrier formula to prevent detection.’
It was a method that required a lot of work and money.
“You crazy bitch! Don’t even think about dying peacefully…!!”
From ahead, a man’s voice filled with anger echoed through the corridor. I, who had been examining the wall, quickened my pace.
I pushed my leg through the half-destroyed iron door and entered.
A laboratory. No, a space closer to a mage’s laboratory, where two men and women were fighting.
A blonde man with a 5-to-5 hairstyle and a fox-masked female ninja wearing a tight-fitting cyber suit that revealed her voluptuous figure.
It was Philip Jupiterrain, the boss of the Jupiter Gang Alliance, and Invisible Blade.
Philip raised his hand and pointed at the female ninja. A huge lightning bolt poured out like an energy beam, chasing after the female ninja. The female ninja dodged the lightning with a series of flashy somersaults. Then, she laid her arm horizontally and swung it sharply.
Swish, swish, swish.
Water shurikens generated from her palm flew towards Philip.
