Chapter 19 - The Last Mana

Battles between those who wield swords are intuitive and fair.

That was why the profession of gladiator could still exist in Serdes.

Because they were intuitive, they were simple, and because they were simple, they were visible.

That was why watching the mind games within those situations was so entertaining.

But the world of mages was the complete opposite of swords.

It was an abstract world, one where clear gaps existed.

The problem was that the difference between Circles stood out far too sharply.

If one climbed just one Circle higher, the odds of victory tilted by more than 95%; that was the absurdly honest world of mages.

However, the remaining 5% of irregulars were bound to exist as well.

Overwhelming talent that could deny ten years of accumulated effort in a single day.

The Ferda Valdrova whom Burnel Marquis was watching now was exactly that kind of person.

'Magic Intercept?'

A technique that took magic the opponent had manifested, or magic they had fired, under one's own will and returned it back at them.

It was the most difficult thing, something rarely seen in battles between mages.

'Isn't that a technique performed by mages who have reached at least the 5th Circle...?'

It was something only mages skilled in understanding magic and handling mana, only 5th Circle master Mages, had ever used.

But Ferda was a 2nd Circle mage, someone even Burnel himself could disregard.

'No, I have heard that theoretically, even a 2nd Circle mage can do it.'

2nd Circle, Spell Blower.

It was a name given because one began using spells in earnest, a stage where one could weave magic through threads called mana.

However, that magic was crude, weak in power, and lacking in precision, so the stage was disparaged as merely blowing spells.

'So theory is only theory.'

There were countless things in the magic world that existed only in theory.

'But he is using Magic Intercept? Truly?'

It was possible.

But it was something no one had ever accomplished.

If that was Magic Intercept, then Burnel was now witnessing a new chapter in the history of mages.

* * *

After returning to the past and attempting Magic Intercept for the first time today, Ferda's assessment was this.

'As expected, it is as simple as I thought.'

If a Mana Walker mastered points, a Spell Blower dealt in lines.

It was the stage where one could create planes through those lines, or in other words, weave magic.

'All I can use is Magic Shot.'

The magic used at the 2nd Circle had been forgotten once he became a Great Mage, and even now, he had not particularly learned it again.

'But that is everything.'

It was simple, but in this situation, it was the magic he needed most.

There was no need to transform mana into an element; pure mana alone was already enough.

At least, against monsters.

'I have captured monsters alive more times than I can count.'

Back when he had worked with Thessalos, the Demon Follower, what Thessalos demanded was the live capture of monsters.

Killing them was simple, but capturing them alive was difficult.

While sharing knowledge with Thessalos, Ferda had also shared the characteristics of monsters with him.

'And that was how we finally found out.'

It was the simplest conclusion.

If a human was continuously exposed to corrupted mana, that human would break down or die.

Conversely, for cancer-like monsters that swallowed corrupted mana, pure mana was actually poison.

Ferda was injecting that poison into the heart.

The mana they emitted vanished, and as they were poisoned, the super regeneration and overwhelming strength monsters possessed stopped for a moment.

To put it simply, it was like wedging a piece of wood between constantly turning gears.

'It will break someday, but it can stop them for a while.'

Ferda threw the first sphere toward the bear monster's face.

He fired it in an arc so it could not tell which direction it had come from, dropping it precisely onto the crown of its head.

BOOM!

If it had been an ordinary person, their head would have been smashed into mush by now.

ROOOOAR!

However, the bear monster let out a roar and raised its head.

The creature's durability had grown even harder from magic power poisoning.

Its head was dented, but it was not meaningful damage.

Ferda instructed Burnel.

"Prepare one large one."

"Yes, sir!"

While Burnel shaped a large sphere, Ferda immediately prepared the second sphere he would fire.

This time, too, it was an arc.

Rather than falling from above, it curved widely from the side.

BOOM!

The bear monster's head lurched hard.

ROOOOAR!

The properly enraged bear monster burst out with a roar.

It lifted its forepaws, trying to search for the enemy.

Ferda did not miss that moment.

Four spheres formed over Ferda's fingers.

"Now."

Burnel threw it into Ferda's line of fire, and Ferda snatched up that sphere.

Together with the four spheres floating over his fingers, he sent them flying in a straight line toward the bear monster's chest.

BOOM!

One Mana Shot exploded in midair.

As the repelling force added on, the four spheres moved even faster.

The three small spheres Ferda had created spun in a spiral and struck the chest first.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Three explosions erupted.

The consecutive explosions tore open the hide of its chest and exposed the flesh beneath.

Then the large sphere Burnel had made touched the raw flesh.

'Deep.'

The accelerated force and rotational power dug into the inside of the flesh.

'Deeper.'

And at last, it exploded.

KABOOM!

A massive explosion swallowed the bear monster's entire body.

"Gah!"

Burnel was startled and let out an unsightly sound.

'Did my mana sphere have this much explosive power?'

He knew that what had exploded was the sphere he had thrown.

It was explosive power Burnel could never have produced even once if he had fired it himself.

Ferda, a 2nd Circle mage, was handling it as easily as if it were his own.

Ferda's eyes stared beyond the cloud of dust.

'Show yourself.'

His field of vision opened, and the target revealed itself again.

As expected, the bear monster's body was not intact.

Its black hide had been stripped away, and its dark purple flesh had been ravaged.

The organs and bones inside were plainly exposed.

Ferda's eyes spotted the heart.

'It is still beating.'

The source of all life force was that heart.

The heart was pumping vigorously.

Each time it throbbed heavily, the bear monster's flesh was gradually restored as well.

'It even has full super regeneration.'

It was not simply durable; its recovery also surpassed that of other monsters.

'This needs to be settled quickly.'

The creature was defenseless, unable to lift a finger.

If it became able to move again, that would lead to Ferda's defeat.

'I will have to be rough.'

Having made his judgment, Ferda created spheres over his fingers and shouted to Burnel.

"Burnel! Throw them as soon as you make them!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ferda poured a fierce assault toward the heart.

GHHK. GHHK.

The bear's body, struck directly in the heart, twitched as it forced out breaths.

Ferda's spheres repeatedly struck the heart and forcibly tore open the closing flesh.

Would Ferda's mana run out first, or would the bear's regenerative power stop first?

It was a situation like both sides pulling a rope over a single hole.

'Because of its large mass, it really is not working properly.'

Victory could not be guaranteed.

If he had been a 5th Circle mage, he could have dealt with it easily, but with the mana quantity of a 2nd Circle and a 3rd Circle mage, he could not get a feel for it.

Ferda was in a difficult situation.

* * *

'I feel sick.'

Burnel felt like he was going to vomit.

His mind was growing hazy, as if he had been continuously smelling a thick oil stench.

The sensation of mana draining away was clouding his mind and destroying his concentration.

'Since becoming a scholar, have I ever used this much mana?'

He had not.

A scholar needed the power to focus only on what was necessary, and he needed to concentrate wholly on that power.

That was why Burnel always maintained more than half the mana in his body.

Ferda poured out his fierce assault, and in time with that tempo, Burnel was rapidly drawing out his mana.

He now had about 20% of his mana left.

If he shaped about three more spheres, he would be exhausted.

That question also turned toward Ferda.

'The Regent must have used a lot of mana too, so how is he still using magic?'

Even at a glance, Ferda had thrown more spheres than Burnel himself.

Burnel raised his head and looked at Ferda.

His eyes went wide.

'B-Blood from his nose!'

The meaning of a mage bleeding from the nose while using magic was simple.

'Overload!'

An abnormal phenomenon that occurred when one poured the mind into a single point.

It appeared when one used more power than one's own abilities allowed.

'If he keeps that up, mana burnout will come...!'

In the worst case, it was the most dangerous situation, one that could turn someone into a ruined husk unable to perform magical calculations for the rest of their life.

'He came without even a single staff, and of course this happens...'

A mage's staff served to assist in shaping mana.

Ferda was currently calculating everything purely with his mind, without any such support.

Overload was only the natural course of events.

If he was bleeding from the nose, he had to be stopped at once.

"Burnel."

Ferda called his name in a calm voice.

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"Focus."

Burnel's confusion disappeared because of that voice.

'Yes, calm down. What is someone with a Blue Circle supposed to do if he cannot stay calm?'

It was truly a ridiculous sight.

Ferda, who had a Red Circle, was calm, while Burnel, who had a Blue Circle, was panicking.

'I truly... had no resolve at all.'

Burnel thought.

Had he been prepared to lay down his life, as much as he had been unable to let go of his project?

'No. I had not.'

He had simply thought that all he needed to do was research.

That he would research monsters someone else saved for him and bring about peace.

Ferda was risking his life for Burnel's research.

Even braving burnout, something that would end a mage's life.

'I have to risk mine too...!'

Burnel faced the sight of himself crouching in fear.

And he used that sight as a foothold to leap high.

"Ghhhhk!"

Burnel squeezed out his mana.

He was converting his own life force into mana.

"Regeeeeent!"

He let out a brave roar that made it impossible to think he was the same Burnel who had lacked all confidence.

"Please take my last manaaaa!!"

A large sphere came flying toward Ferda.

"Thank you."

Ferda made that mana sphere his own as well and threw it at the bear monster.

KABOOM!

An explosive roar erupted from inside the bear monster.

The monster's movement and regenerative power completely came to a halt.

'The heart?'

If the heart burst, it would all be for nothing.

Ferda concentrated and observed the chest.

'It is beating.'

The creature had been reduced to a state where it was barely clinging to life.

Its super regeneration ability had been brought to a stop.

"Now! Cut its tendons and bind it!"

Arwen and his men charged in and attacked the bear monster.

It was as easy as taking a seat at a table already laid out for them.

And so, without sacrificing a single person, they captured the monster alive.

In the meantime, Ferda checked Burnel's condition.

"Are you all right?"

Ferda asked.

Burnel was bleeding profusely from the nose and convulsing.

Mana burnout had come over him.

Even though it must have been the pain of his organs tearing apart, he was smiling.

"Haha... H-How was it, my... my sincerity?"

Ferda answered coldly.

"You did something foolish. Risking your life like that."

"I-If you are doing it, Regent, how could I..."

Not do it?

Unable to say even those words, he fainted right there.

Ferda carefully laid him down.

"Are you all right, Regent?"

"What about binding the monster?"

"Yes. The monster's condition is... stable. We will transport it to the castle as it is."

"Thank you. Before that, let us handle something urgent. Is there a mage in the territory?"

"Yes. There is."

Ferda pointed to the young man at his feet and said,

"Please take this foolish fellow and give him an infusion of magic power. Our castle is far away, so I will entrust him to you."

Arwen placed a hand on his chest and nodded.

"Understood. But do you not need emergency treatment, Regent?"

"For what?"

Arwen pointed to his own nose and said,

"You are bleeding from the nose."

"My nose?"

Ferda wiped his nose.

Blood, now cooled cold, smeared onto his hand.

"So I am."

Even Ferda, who had been concentrating, had not known.

Arwen took a handkerchief from his breast and handed it over.

"I have heard that if one overuses magic, one bleeds from the nose. If you feel dizzy or unwell, should you not be treated first?"

"Ah, I am fine."

Ferda wiped his nose with the handkerchief.

After he patted it a few times, the nosebleed soon stopped.

"I may be reckless, but I am not someone who stupidly ruins his body while fighting."

He would take risks when he needed to, but he would never stake his own life.

In fact, he still had enough leeway to create about three more mana spheres.

"It is just that when the mana exploded, a pebble flew into my face, and it seems to have struck my nose."

And so Ferda merely found Burnel, who had thrown himself away by going as far as overloading, pathetic.