C149
Just as they were about to officially start the operation, Tess, who had been lost in thought for a moment, suddenly spoke.
"Wait for a sec. There is one thing to check before we set off."
"Huh? Check what?"
"If this operation succeeds, the likelihood of a head-on battle with the enemies will increase. So, there's something I want to check with Rian."
"What? Is there something wrong with me?”
Rian made a puzzled expression. Then Tess asked, looking back at him with a serious look like never before.
“Rian, have you ever killed a person?”
The atmosphere became as still as a dead mouse. Rian just blinked, sword at his side.
Honestly, he had never really thought about it. Or rather, was it something that needed to be considered?
Every knight vaguely commits to the idea. A sword is a tool for cutting people. They thought that if they were prepared to wield such a tool for the rest of their life, there was no need to worry about other secondary problems.
"No, I haven't. What about you?"
"A few times. When I went with my father to suppress bandits."
"Really? But what's the problem with that?"
“Rian, the determination to die and the determination to kill are completely different. The same goes for mage, but especially we have to cut people with our own hands.”
The enemies that Shirone and the group faced were not neighborhood thugs. Parrot Mercenary Band made a name for itself in other countries. All of them were professionals who had experienced countless battles.
"Of course, I trust your courage. It's nonsense to think that a swordsman goes through life without getting blood on his sword. But if it's your first time, you might waver during the battle."
Rian sighed and thought.
Wavering during the battle. Of course, cutting people wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to do. But on the other hand, he felt it didn't matter at all.
"Tess, murder is a dangerous and complicated issue. So I understand why you're worried. But I will never waver."
"You fool, I'm saying it's not that easy. Killing someone...!"
“I’ve always been killing.”
Tess' eyes twinkled. Rian looked at his reflection in the straight blade and continued.
"And... I've died countless times as well."
At that moment, Rian looked back at Tess with fierce eyes.
“Even when they told me to give up the sword because I had no talent, even when I really wanted to give up, I swung my sword. In the process, I killed countless enemies and was killed by countless enemies.”
Rian's straight sword extended toward the north. If Rian were a statue, he would have fallen forward under the weight of his sword, but he did not budge as if his legs were rooted in place.
“Tess, okay? I've never held a sword with clumsy determination in my entire life. Regardless of whether there was an enemy in front of me or not, I always swung my sword desperately.”
Everyone could read the determination in Rian's words. Rian sheathed his straight sword with a smile as if nothing had happened.
"I will never waver. I am Shirone's sword. I just cut down on whatever Shirone wants. So, don't worry."
That was the reason why Tess chose Rian over many other talented swordsmen.
Rian was insensitive. That's why he can't even open Schema. However, the human determination that comes from the weight of life itself was not something that could be achieved with talent or skill.
Tess, who had been looking at Rian for a while, t, smiled contentedly and looked at everyone.
"Great! Now I have no worries. Let's get started."
Tess' words set Shirone and Amy on fire as well. Rian's words had stirred their fighting spirit.
"Then, Amy, we'll go first."
Shirone grabbed Rian and cast Photon Magic. A flash of light flickered, and the two vanished into the forest, followed immediately by Amy and Tess.
The sight of two flashes passing through the dense forest was a dazzling sight. Like reflections in a mirror, they zigzagged through the forest with acute and obtuse angles, with erratic movements, sweeping through the woods.
The location of the magical circle was unknown, but by calculating the enemies' movements, they got an approximate distance.
After wandering around the forest for about 10 minutes, they found the location of the first magic circle.
The magic circle is also a magical body, so if it comes within the radius of the Spirit Zone, they can clearly feel its presence.
Of course, if Stealth Magic is applied, the difficulty of detection peaks. However, no matter how much money the mercenaries had, going that far was an impossible task.
Even if all the mage mobilized for the intermediate magic circle were combined, it was less than 1/10 of the cost of hiring a mage for stealth magic, so in the end, it wasn't feasible to conduct such a big operation.
As Rian cut a path straight through the dense bushes, he saw a magic circle drawn on the grassy clearing.
Seeing the magic circle for the first time in real life, Shirone was surprised at how much bigger it was than he had imagined.
Amy looked around and nodded.
“As expected, it is an intermediate-level magic circle. It must have been really hard to create."
A magic circle with a radius of more than 5 meters was emitting red light as if reacting to the Spirit Zone.
Inside, various-sized circles were engraved with beautiful schematics that could be considered works of art.
"Wait, let me take a look."
Having gained some knowledge in her senior year, Amy carefully examined the Magic Circle.
The evaluation criteria for the Magic Circle could be divided into three major parts.
The first is the color that represents the strength of mana. The second was the density of functions, and the third was the connectivity of the magical circles drawn inside.
From Amy's point of view, the color and density of the magic circles here are a bit low, but the connectivity itself is excellent. This meant that it was highly likely created with the help of an official organization.
"Phew, this is giving me a headache. It looks like it was engraved by an officially registered magic company. Since it was illegally earned money, I thought he must have recruited a mage from the shadows.”
“Is that an important issue?”
"The characteristic of an official company is that it's designed according to the standards, so the connectivity is good. In other words, the durability of the magical circle is high. Can you really do it in 10 minutes?"
“I guess I should at least try. The truth is, I'm not sure if I can succeed."
"What? How can you say that now? It was your idea."
"I'm sorry. But I have some confidence. And if we succeed then....."
"If you succeed?"
Shirone raised his head for a moment and calculated in his head before revealing a rough figure.
“Maybe we can destroy it in one minute instead of ten.”
"What? 1 minute?"
Amy's eyes widened. This was none other than an intermediate-level magic circle. It was next to impossible for them to neutralize this Magic Circle in one minute unless they had a professional dismantling team.
The strength of the magic circle that is mobilized and engraved by an official company is durability. Therefore, there was a possibility that the concept would not disappear even if the ground was pulverized by casting powerful physical magic.
Amy thought that at least the ground would have to be ground down to the size of a bean, and she knew that Shirone didn't have magic capable of such power.
“What are you planning to do? You sure? Breaking it in moderation won't work. No, if that happens, the magic circle will disintegrate, and it could be even more difficult.”
"I see. I'll give it a try."
Amy became increasingly anxious. When she heard the answer, it was clear that he hadn't even thought of it that far.
Can he really do it? If they failed here, they would have wasted time unnecessarily.
Shirone took place in the center of the magic circle. Amy, who had expected a vertical attack from the sky considering the power, tilted her head at the unexpected sight.
"What are you going to do from there? Can you create an impact from that spot?"
"Yes. However, it can be dangerous because it is the first time. Stay out of the radius.”
Following Shirone's words, the three stepped back.
Although they were anxious, their expectations were equally high. If successful, they could turn the tide of their unfavorable situation in an instant.
As the Magic Circles were destroyed, the enemies' activity range would gradually narrow.
In that case, it was possible to end the battle quickly because their side with two mages was far ahead in terms of firepower.
Shirone closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With his legs apart, he slowly bent his back and pressed his fist into the ground.
There were no immediately noticeable changes. It was so peaceful that one might wonder if such leisure was allowed on a fierce battlefield.
But Amy was different.
At first, she watched Shirone with skepticism, but her eyes were filled with shock and her shoulders trembled before she knew it.
“Shirone, you…”
Tess looked back at Amy as if something was strange. Though Tess's eyes saw nothing, Amy's face had gone pale as if she had seen a monster.
“Amy, what's wrong? What's Shirone doing right now?”
"I didn't expect to use that...... No, come to think of it, it was possible.”
“What exactly is it? Explain, I'm curious.”
“We better move away first. That could be really dangerous.”
As Amy stepped back, Rian and Tess followed her to a new location.
Even in the midst of that, the warriors felt puzzled. It was because Amy's retreat distance had exceeded twice the distance from where she had previously moved back.
“Explain now. What do you see exactly?”
“It's not what I see, but what I feel. It's the change happening to Shirone.”
“You feel it? What do you feel?”
“Spirit Zone. Right now, Shirone's Spirit Zone is moving at breakneck speed.”
Amy couldn't believe what she was saying. How strong is the durability required for the Spirit Zone to repeat expansion and contraction so quickly?
‘It must be Mental Pulse. But it's too fast. At this level, he's at the level of Miss Ethella.'
Mental Pulse that Amy was currently sensing from Shirone was exceeding 10 times per second.
But Shirone couldn't be satisfied with even this.
In the Class Five Mental Pulse test, he scored 410 points, pulsing 13.6 times per second for 30 seconds.
Then he figured it should be at least twice as fast. Because the radius is different.
At that time, if the maximum expansion radius was 20 meters in diameter, now the diameter of the Magic Circle was 5 meters. As the round-trip distance shortened, the pulsation speed had to increase.
The question was whether his mental strength could handle it.
'I have no choice but to do it. Let's make more precise adjustments.'
As Shirone frowned slightly between his brows, Amy, who immediately sensed the change, spoke in a trembling voice.
“My goodness. It's getting faster.”
As the radius narrowed, the mental pulsation began to exceed 15 times per second.
If you realize that counting from 1 to 15 in one second is impossible, you can guess how fast this is.
If it was a normal mage, his mind would collapse before they even came this far.
However, Shirone's durability using Indestructible Diamond was currently unmatched.
Finally, the maximum expansion radius of the Spirit Zone matched the boundary of the Magic Circle. The remaining process was to maintain the current rhythm while casting the magic.
To withstand the dual burden of Mental Pulse and magic casting, intense concentration was required. Shirone gritted his teeth and attempted the decisive magic he had only conceived in his mind.
‘Explosion!’ (광폭)
When the pulsating Spirit Zone was filled with mass-bearing photons, an astonishing phenomenon occurred.
As the color of the light was applied to the Spirit Zone, Rian and Tess could finally see with their own eyes how Shirone's Spirit Zone was moving.
Kwa, kwa, kwa, kwa, kwa, kwa!
As the sphere of light expanded and contracted, cracks gradually appeared on the ground. Eventually, it splintered into a huge boulder and then shattered into thousands of chunks again.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
