Infinite Mage

Canis, clearing his mind of distractions, glared at Shirone. His pretty face, looking like he never faced hardships, twisted Canis's gut.

‘Hmph. You think of me as a villain. But...’

From Canis’s shadow, Might of Darkness arose. Despite being diminished by the lighting magic, its regeneration rate was tremendous.

‘To me, you are the evil!’

As Might of Darkness surged, Shirone cleaned the ground with Photon Output. He then threw the Photon Cannon he had mounted on his right hand. Harvest intercepted it, absorbing the impact with his body. The Photon Cannon burrowed into Harvest's torso, pushing him back into the forest. But rather than being affected, Harvest provocatively wriggled its long fingers at Shirone.

“Kikikiki. Come on, come in.”

Though the forest was practically a home ground for a dark mage, Shirone rushed in without hesitation. He then launched dozens of photons from left to right, right to left, above his head.

Dudududududu! Dudududududu!

Over a hundred lighting rounds pierced the forest canopy, lighting up the sky like day. Nade and Yiruki looked at the bright sky in disbelief.

“That guy, he’s really set off.”

“He knows, right? If Shirone can’t stop him, we lose.”

Yiruki slowly shifted his gaze. Lucas was following Shirone into the forest. As he spotted a gray smoke rising ahead, he leaped quickly. An Atomic Bomb exploded with a bang, and Lucas, who had jumped back 10 meters, glared at Yiruki with menacing eyes.

“You…!”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary. We're already thinking what you’re thinking. Just stay put there.”

“That's ridiculous.”

Even if he was immature, a mere magic trainee facing off against a B-class fugitive was absurd. Lucas drew his twin swords, producing a swishing sound. His Spirit Zone, transmitted through Schema, flared like burning wood.

The human body, enhanced by Schema, has infinite potential, but unbalanced enhancement can lead to severe side effects. Most use verified builds.

A lopsided build destroys the body. For example, too much enhancement of the nervous system could lead to muscle ruptures as they fail to keep up with the nerves' speed.

Lucas’s current build, the Mitochondria Build, boosted the energy factories of cells, momentarily increasing energy efficiency.

Though it rapidly drains stamina, the overall enhancement of the body is appealing, making it a base build for most users.

‘It could be dangerous...’

Yiruki observed Nade's condition. Nade's cold eyes reminded Yiruki of the summer five years ago. On a day of heavy rain, the two had clashed. It was a miracle Nade could smile now. He would probably never show his old face again. He hated the face that resembled the person he loved the most in the world.

“Be careful, Nade. He’s a Schema user.”

“I know. Let’s increase our firepower and suppress him early.”

Lucas was incredulous. 'Be careful' is a phrase for avoiding puddles or crossing rickety bridges, not for situations where your neck might be sliced off by a sword.

“Ah, these kids nowadays…”

As Lucas scratched his head, his figure blurred. Simultaneously, a golden flash arose between Nade and Yiruki. Teleportation sparked, and they appeared 10 meters away from Lucas. Yiruki checked his chest. His clothes were sharply cut, and blood seeped from a line across his chest.

“You okay?”

“It's not fatal. But he’s really fast.”

Even if magic is transcendental, a mage’s body is human. Excluding magic effects, reacting and responding to a Schema swordsman’s movements is naturally challenging.

Conversely, the same applies to swordsmen. The force of magic cannot be endured by Schema. Even a student-level spell, if it hits, could be lethal.

Nade and Yiruki concentrated their firepower. A chain explosion of Atomic Bombs snaked through, and Nade calculated and launched predictive shots at Lucas. However, Lucas's movement, entirely different from the mechanical patterns trained at the school, was too elusive for direct hits.

‘Damn! Why am I outmatched by kids?’

Lucas was not in a comfortable situation either. Due to the Mitochondria Build, his stamina was dropping by the second. 

Boosting his energy metabolism, his speed increased significantly. Swiftly circumventing a wide radius, he leaped from Yiruki's side, swinging his twin swords. Nade extended his hands, and Electric Shock magic struck Lucas's abdomen, vibrating his body at a rate of 60 times per second.

“Yiruki, now!”

Yiruki was already prepared. As Lucas, stunned, had gray smoke rising from his face, he tried to move desperately. His muscles felt charred, unable to generate strength.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

Facing death against mere kids was unthinkable. No, was he really going to die? Facing an unexpected situation, he felt a loss of reality.

Yiruki was certain it was over. The detonation reaction confirmed it wasn’t a rash decision. But suddenly, the Spirit Zone vanished. Before he could figure out why, his legs started to go numb. Unbeknownst to him, someone else's shadow had connected to his feet. It was unmistakably Arin's handiwork.

‘Damn it!’

Lucas escaped the vibrating shock with all his might and charged at Nade, who had humiliated him. His anger, having reached the brink of death, was at its peak, and his charged swords gleamed menacingly.

“Nade, run!”

Nade, caught in the blades, still generated electricity in his hands. As Lucas swung his swords for a double attack, unexpectedly thick ice pillars erupted beside Nade.

Clang! The swords stuck in the ice. Lucas's eyes shook with shock. His swordsmanship could split rocks, but now he couldn’t cut through mere ice.

Slowly turning around, Lucas saw a familiar face. The female teacher he had thrown off the cliff earlier.

“Teacher Siena!”

Nade, visibly relieved, shouted. But Siena remained silent, her eyes emotionless, focused solely on Lucas.

“Haah. Haah.”

Ethella, leaning against a tree trunk, looked ready to collapse. She had been in a chase for 30 minutes, yet couldn’t completely shake off Arcane.

‘The poison is spreading. I can't delay treatment any longer.’

Sitting down, Ethella tore the waist of her nun's habit. Black blood flowed from a scar above her navel. It was a wound from Poison Cutter. She had been stalling the poison's spread with breathing techniques, but it was only a temporary solution. She needed to suck the poison out, but it was a difficult area to reach with her mouth.

Bending her back, Ethella stretched her hands behind and gripped the tree trunk, then curled her spine. Her hips rose off the ground, bending her waist dramatically. Twisting her body into a spiral, she finally reached her navel with her lips.

Ethella pushed all the toxins in her body towards the wound. Filling her lungs with air, she sucked on the wound. As the poison was drawn out, she experienced searing pain. Grimacing, she lifted her head and spat out the poison. The black blood fell on the grass, instantly drying it.

Ethella’s face regained some color. She threw off her askew glasses and wrapped her torn habit around her fist.

“Whew. Now I can live a bit longer.”

As her Spirit Zone stabilized, she felt the energies around her through synesthesia. Opening her eyes wide, she leaped up. Dozens of pitch-black hands emerged from the ground.

‘He's already this close...’

The fact that Arcane, an expert in tracking, could relentlessly pursue a Zoner like her proved how agile a dark archmage could become when merged with darkness.

“The poison’s gone, I see. The more I see, the more I like you.”

Arcane emerged from the darkness. But Ethella no longer needed to flee.

“From now on, it won’t be easy.”

“Ready to fight for real? Then I won't hold back and enjoy it.”

Ethella pushed strength into her fist, charging the Ethereal Resonance Fist. Arcane quickly noticed her change. She had completely abandoned her Spirit Zone.

A mage handles Spirit Zone, a swordsman Schema. But monks train both simultaneously. A monk's existence is not about reaching higher but embracing the world with the broadest heart.

Arcane disliked this. Had she focused on one field from the start, there would be no one on the continent who didn’t know her name.

‘Such a pity. Why choose asceticism with talent that could reach the summit? But I suppose it’s pointless to say this to someone who never intended to climb.’

Arcane extended his hand, chanting a spell. Against a Schema-using opponent, he had a specific countermeasure.

“Minions of Darkness.”

Countless spiders crawled out of the forest shadows. The sight of spiders as big as human heads swarming was spine-chilling.

Grrrrrrrrr!

The true value of Minions of Darkness was just beginning. A Dark Golem over three meters tall rose beside Arcane.

Its face was buried in its shoulders, and its body and limbs were swollen as if wrapped in yarn. Its arms were long, legs short.

Minions of Darkness was a spell that converted 100% mental power into physical force. Unlike Might of Darkness, which absorbs external energy, it wasn't immune to light but was incredibly powerful at night.

“Go, my minions.”

The Dark Spiders initiated the attack. As they clumped together, it was impossible to tell how many were moving.

Ethella jabbed and flicked the spiders in all directions. A straight punch into the cluster created an explosion, scattering the shadows.

Grrrrrrrr!

Dark Golem charged through the dispersing spiders. As Ethella leaped like a squirrel, the Golem’s thick forearm slammed into the ground.

Bang!

A shock surged through Arcane's mind as the equilibrium was disrupted.

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