Chapter 63 – Human? (9)
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 63 – Human? (9)
Ketal definitely looked moved.
He was undoubtedly touched by the fact that the opponent, despite being killed, resurrected, which was clearly an extraordinary trait.
He had no idea that Ketal was impressed by the magic itself.
Although mages were certainly rare, they were nothing compared to someone who resurrected after death.
The idea that someone as powerful as Ketal would be impressed by mere magic seemed absurd.
‘He might look a bit different, but a barbarian is still a barbarian.’
Boom!
The battle continued.
Adamanth spat out a curse.
‘What a monster!’
That barbarian wasn’t using any mystical powers.
He was simply dismantling Adamanth’s magic with pure physical strength.
‘I thought catching aura with one’s teeth was just a stupid knight’s myth!’
It wasn’t a myth.
That barbarian’s body withstood the mystic forces.
Crack!
‘What kind of axe is that hard?’
It remained unscathed despite clashing with all sorts of magic.
Adamanth couldn’t help but be astonished, and Ketal was also taken aback.
“He’s stronger than a Swordmaster.”
Adamanth considered himself at the lower end of the superhuman spectrum, implying he wasn’t very strong.
But by Ketal’s standards, a mage was far superior to a Swordmaster.
Swordmaster Cain couldn’t properly counter his attacks.
But Adamanth could not only respond to his attacks but also activate magic in retaliation.
This meant that even in terms of pure reaction speed, a mage surpassed a Swordmaster.
And then.
Boom!
The ground exploded.
Earth and debris scattered everywhere, creating a small crater in the forest.
Such a powerful attack would obliterate an ordinary person without a trace.
Adamanth was casting such devastating magic continuously.
Being able to unleash such power repeatedly was undoubtedly a huge advantage.
A mage is stronger than a swordsman.
And clearly so.
‘Indeed.’
In a game, there would be a need to balance between sword and magic, but this was reality.
There was no necessity for balance between the two here.
“Mages are versatile.”
In reaction speed and destructive range, mages held the upper hand.
‘So this is what real fantasy is like.’
This was the balance of fantasy.
Ketal stored that information in his mind.
The Tower Master, who overheard his muttering, chuckled.
‘That’s not entirely true.’
Mages were indeed powerful.
But that power was contingent on having enough mana to support it.
Adamanth belonged to the multi-colored jewels school.
This school manipulated the surrounding nature, which didn’t consume much mana. However, even with such a school, casting spells so frequently should have exhausted his
mana long ago.
Reactive magic was also the same.
The more complex the setup, the greater the mana consumption.
For someone at a superhuman level, once or twice was the norm.
Knights and mages were considered to be on similar levels; it was a matter of strategy, not that one was definitively superior.
Adamanth was just an exception compared to typical mages.
‘What kind of anomalies can do such things?’
It wasn’t that there was no mana consumption; rather, the expended mana seemed to replenish itself.
He could continue the magical barrage indefinitely.
Considering most mages struggled with mana depletion, it was a remarkable ability.
But that was the limit.
Only the mana depletion had disappeared.
There were no other differences.
‘This level of magic won’t be enough.’
Boom!
Ice shards scattered, the fragments fiercely battering Ketal’s entire body.
Ketal laughed.
“Impressive!”
‘Don’t make me laugh!’
Adamanth suppressed the urge to shout.
No matter how much he cast spells and inflicted hits, the barbarian’s body didn’t bear a single scratch.
He was purely withstanding the magic with his physical body alone.
If it weren’t for the ability he gained as an anomaly, he would have been defeated long ago.
‘What kind of monstrous barbarian is this!’
This level of magic wouldn’t suffice.
The spells he was casting were mere implementation magic.
While their power was decent, they weren’t enough to harm the barbarian.
He needed a higher-level spell that required an incantation.
But he didn’t have the leisure to perform an incantation.
Amidst the barrage of magic, Ketal was gradually getting accustomed to it.
He needed to buy time.
But how?
What could he do to buy time against a monster unaffected by magic?
His body hesitated due to his conflicted thoughts.
The frequency of the magic barrage decreased slightly.
“Is it reaching its limit?”
Ketal murmured, raising his axe.
Adamanth hastily gathered mana.
Teleport? No.
It was meaningless to evade since he would just return upon death.
His chaotic mind activated a spell.
Whiiing!
The spell was cast, and Ketal, about to swing his axe, paused.
“What?”
Seven Adamanths appeared in the forest.
“…What is this?”
Ketal expanded his senses and could tell immediately.
All seven of them were real.
There was not a single discrepancy in their presence or physical weight.
‘Is this also the power of an anomaly?’
Ketal stopped moving, and Adamanth became even more bewildered.
‘What… what is this?’
The spell he had cast was Mirror Image.
It gathered mana and nature to create clones identical to the original.
However, the clones did not possess mystical powers.
With the use of mystical abilities, one could easily distinguish the original from the clones.
‘…Wait.’
Thinking this far, Adamanth suddenly realized something.
This barbarian couldn’t use mystical powers.
Despite being monstrously strong, his strength was purely physical.
If that’s the case…
Adamanth created more clones.
As one Adamanth became two, soon there were fifty Adamanths.
The number of clones could be increased as long as there was enough mana.
“Oh?”
Ketal’s eyes glinted with interest.
The clones simultaneously raised their hands, preparing to attack.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Ketal leapt forward.
Three of the clones’ heads flew off simultaneously.
But they reappeared again.
Over fifty, then sixty, seventy Adamanths stared at Ketal.
Ketal muttered to himself.
“This is like a horror movie.”
Seeing this, Adamanth became convinced.
This barbarian couldn’t distinguish the original from the clones using mystical powers.
‘If that’s the case!’
Magic activated.
Ice spears shot out.
The ground turned into a swamp, trapping Ketal’s feet.
Adamanth quickly began chanting.
[Look. Wind that trembles without a will. Listen. Foolish water that cannot move on its own. Fire that cannot be born by its own power.]
“Hmph.”
Ketal kicked his feet.
Mud splattered, covering the Adamanths.
He grabbed his axe and charged.
Five of the clones’ heads flew off.
But just as many clones were created again.
The chant continued uninterrupted.
All the clones repeated the same words.
[Foolish and dull, you are called nature.]
Mana concentrated.
The world began to tremble.
Even Ketal, who couldn’t perceive the mystical, could feel the powerful concentration of energy.
Mystical energy itself was being dominated by Adamanth.
At some point, Ketal stopped dealing with the clones.
He quietly watched the unfolding magic.
[I become your master and wield that power.]
The chant finally ended. Adamanth swung his staff.
[Limited Nature Dominion.]
Magic activated.
* * *
At first, nothing happened.
For a moment, it seemed as though the magic had failed.
But that moment was brief.
The world began to change.
The gently swaying breeze gathered in one place.
The gathered breeze rotated and accelerated.
The breeze turned into a small storm.
The slight tremor of the ground caused a ripple.
The ripple amplified itself, creating a massive impact.
The tremor turned into an earthquake.
Dew gathered at the tip of a leaf turned into a giant tidal wave.
A storm, an earthquake, and a tidal wave simultaneously swept through the small forest. Trees shattered, the ground broke apart.
The fierce wind made it difficult to see as the tidal wave blurred the view.
Small forces existing everywhere combined with mystical power, transforming into a single phenomenon.
A force that could only be wielded by a mage who had reached the superhuman level and could dominate mystical energy.
The dominion magic of the multi-colored orb school.
Limited Nature Dominion.
“Ha, hahahahaha!”
Adamanth burst into maniacal laughter.
Nature itself was in his grasp.
The sense of euphoria and omnipotence overwhelmed his entire being.
“I acknowledge it! Barbarian! You were strong! But in the end, you are merely an ignorant being who cannot comprehend the mystical!”
One who cannot comprehend the mystical cannot defeat one who can.
This was a fundamental truth.
Adamanth twisted his mouth into a sneer.
“Fall and perish before this great power!”
Ketal did not respond.
He just stared, entranced, at the phenomena unfolding before him.
Natural disasters.
These were forces beyond human control.
They couldn’t be stopped, controlled, or created.
The term “act of God” exists for a reason.
Even in modern times, we can only predict and prepare for such events, not act beyond that.
These natural disasters were now artificially created and targeting him.
A force that usually occurred and disappeared by itself was now moving according to an individual’s will.
‘This is magic.’
He had seen a fair share of mystical phenomena since coming to this world, but none had struck his heart as profoundly as this moment.
He felt as if he could cry from the overwhelming emotion.
“Amazing.”
Adamanth had demonstrated truly magnificent magic.
So much so that Ketal, without realizing it, tensed his muscles a bit more.
Ketal gathered his strength.
Slowly, he lifted one foot.
“…Hmm?”
The Tower Master’s expression changed.
The rising foot.
There was no perceivable force behind it.
Compared to the magic before him, it was an infinitely humble and insignificant action that even a three-year-old child could do.
But it was dangerous.
The Tower Master’s instincts warned him.
He reflexively erected a magical barrier.
Ketal brought down his raised foot.
True Step.
His foot touched the trembling earth.
In that instant, the ground shattered.
The earth split in half around Ketal.
Just as a gentle ripple on a lake is swallowed by a larger wave, the tremor was swallowed and obliterated by an immense force.
The earthquake was crushed by a single step from a human.
Ketal put even more strength into his foot and surged forward.
Charge.
The small, fierce storm collided with his body and exploded.
The force of the wind dispersed in all directions.
The leaves of the forest burst and scattered.
He clenched his fist and put strength into it.
Fist Strike.
The rising tidal wave collided with his fist and shattered.
The massive concentration of water, capable of sweeping the land and engulfing everything, scattered into droplets.
“…Ah?”
Adamanth’s eyes widened.
The grand phenomenon he had created was completely destroyed by the movements of one human.
What was this?
Adamanth tried to comprehend the situation, but there was no time.
Ketal repositioned himself and charged again.
Ketal’s shoulder collided with Adamanth’s body.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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