By the way, I wonder how many of those crystals they have? They can’t possibly have thousands of them, can they?
I don’t know what they’re trying to do here, but if their purpose isn’t limited to one area, I started to question whether my interference really mattered.
‘Still, it’s better than doing nothing. The fact that they rearranged those after taking a hit from me means there’s a significant reason for them to succeed.’
And I’ve got a good sense of your abilities now. Come back here, you brat. It feels like this…
I couldn’t know their thoughts entirely, but I wasn’t reckless enough to indulge in their provocations. Honestly, even when I locked eyes with that girl earlier, I was quite startled.
The ones who had crystals embedded in their bodies positioned the crystals in the center and sat down on the underground floor, closing their eyes.
‘…? What are they trying to do…?’
Whuuuuum—
Then an immense magical power began to swirl around their bodies.
After a few minutes of the magic swirling around them…
The crystals embedded in their bodies manifested a reddish-black portal, from which something slowly emerged.
“Kreeeek—!”
It was surprisingly… ‘teeth.’
‘Wow… no way. That can happen? Seriously, give me a break.’
I couldn’t close my gaping mouth. Yeon-hee, curious about what was happening, kept shaking my arm, and when I touched her ear for a moment, she finally stopped.
‘That guy, the red-haired one, did something similar last time.’
After all, in my previous life, those guys were part of an organization that summoned orc legions all over the world, turning it into a mess.
Thinking about it, it made sense that they had means to exert such abilities.
However, understanding it intellectually and witnessing a monster coming through a gate made my spine chill.
For example, if they were to activate that ability on a subway during rush hour…
‘Phew… That would be disastrous.’
Of course, if they’re an organization with a purpose, they wouldn’t do something so reckless…
But judging by the level of provocation they directed at me, I had a feeling the one leading this was not very rational.
‘Indeed, they’re dangerous guys.’
The ones who added five crystals and those ‘teeth’ monsters dispersed again, leaving only three of them near the entrance out of thirty.
Well, they are high-priced hunters; there’s no reason for them to just sit around. It’s astounding that thirty of them showed up in the first place.
The three remaining at the entrance were all high-ranked B class strongs. In other words, there are eight stronger than me currently in that building.
‘No, this won’t do. Let’s go.’
Hence, I turned my body toward home without reluctance. However, I could feel the heat boiling inside me. Damn…
‘Those cheeky bastards… How come the ones who do bad things are so brazen?’
I despise humans who injure others for no reason. Yet these guys are taking it a step further, mocking us who stand against them. Sigh…
I took a moment to breathe and looked toward the entrance.
‘… Three people… One of them is definitely a sorcerer. Probably a detection type.’
The distance to them was the closest my instincts and experience allowed, so getting any closer would be risky. But changing direction would make it a different story.
‘It’s hard to deal a meaningful blow… If I drop bombs in bulk, it’ll pinpoint me. A fireball should work, though.’
I soared to the opposite side of the building and circled back toward the entrance.
“… You don’t mean…?”
Yeon-hee, nestled in my arms, seemed to realize what I was about to do. What must she be thinking as she sees me fidgeting uselessly?
“… I can’t help, remember? Tch…”
Instead, Yeon-hee seemed frustrated at not being able to join in. She probably wanted to punish those guys too.
Whoooooosh—
We positioned ourselves above the heads of the three conversing hunters.
No matter how good a detection specialist or magician they were, it was hard to pay attention to the sky above them.
That’s why my ability to sense from all directions is so unfair.
‘Phew… It’s been a while since I focused on a fireball like this.’
It felt like the first time since I lost control back then. Moreover, this time, my focus was more on destruction rather than control.
I planned to pour all my mana, except the mana I needed for a few high-speed flights. To do that, I had to succeed in something I’d only tried a few times in the Dark Space.
I distanced my arm from Yeon-hee as much as possible and reached out toward them.
Whoosh—
A fireball the size of a soccer ball quickly materialized, declaring, ‘I have arrived!’
With just this fireball, I figured they’d be taken out before I could even approach. They might just notice the fireball but wouldn’t think to dodge or explode it.
‘Let’s give it a shot.’
For an average person, amplifying the power of a fireball with mana is impossible. If they managed to rapidly shoot them off, yeah, but artificially doing so could result in it exploding or drastically reducing accuracy.
However…
‘Concentrate… concentrate… wrap it with senses and then condense…!’
Wrapping one fireball with a fusion of senses and mana, I conjured another fireball over it and repeated the process.
I initially thought this was just about locating something hidden, but I’ve recently realized that the ability to sense is a broader concept.
The ability to perceive the hidden world and freely tune the identified tangible and intangible powers within my abilities, and the range of that perception keeps expanding. Even I don’t know where it ends.
Fwiih—!
After a few cycles of this, the fireball grew larger, reaching a size comparable to an ordinary tire.
“I, Il-wol… Is this alright?”
Yeon-hee’s worry was not unfounded. This was a highly delicate task where I could easily make a mistake.
But with [Calm] keeping my composure steady, and being with Yeon-hee now, such accidents shouldn’t occur.
My concentration, heightened more than ever, felt akin to entering a state of nothingness.
Mana: 30/161
The fireball, filled with 80% of my total mana, had grown nearly as large as two orcs combined.
Thanks to the perks of the advanced mana circuit, my mana was restored to maximum, but it was impossible to invest more. The fireball was already showing signs of about to explode, twisting and emitting a fearsome noise.
“……”
Yeon-hee no longer spoke, seemingly captivated by what kind of outcome this formidable fireball would produce.
And I was rather surprised myself.
‘… Isn’t this getting too big…?’
No matter how much mana I poured in, this was multiples of the efficiency I’d invested. Maybe this was due to that Iris person? Whatever it was, it was good.
With my eyes gently closed and all my senses directed towards them as if completing a solemn ritual, I declared:
“Disappear.”
Kwaaaaaash— whooooooosh—!
Simultaneously, the fireball rapidly descended toward the ground.
The concealed fireball, wrapped in concentrated senses, began to reveal its hidden brilliance.
Shining bright enough to be likened to a small sun, it accelerated even further.
– Huh? What’s with this sudden light…?
– Hmm?!
– … Fire?! Run away!!
‘Too late.’
By the time they noticed the fireball, it was already opening its mouth to engulf them.
─── Kwaaaaarrrrggg ──
Boom—! Kaboom—!
What began as simple fireball magic somehow kept exploding successively, escalating its destructive power.
Engulfing the monsters and crashing into the building’s outer wall, the fireball detonated, flaring up and finally calming down, leaving behind a dark haze.
“Wow…”
“Ugh…”
Even though Yeon-hee and I should have bolted, we couldn’t help but watch the spectacle. It was that shocking.
– Huuhh…! What the hell is this?!
– Ugh…! Who did this?!
– Cough… cough cough!
Yet, for all its unimaginable destructive power, they weren’t seriously harmed.
Only they seemed shockingly tense, on guard for any follow-up attacks.
‘Indeed, high-ranked hunters. They managed to defend themselves remarkably well in that brief moment. Looks like this is all they can do at this point…’
The magician used a magic shield, while the other two merely wrapped themselves in mana to minimize the fireball’s damage.
Having caught a decent sense of the situation, I nodded satisfactorily while activating [High-speed Flight] to escape.
“Is it… over?”
Yeon-hee whispered, tightening her grip around my neck, and I nodded.
“Incredible… What was that back there? Did you… stack the fireballs?”
“Yep.”
“Is that even possible…?”
“Yep. I can do it.”
“Wow, look at you acting all smug without batting an eye!”
“Ouch.”
Whooooosh—
After gliding a bit further away with my cloak, Yeon-hee finally let out a sigh of relief and started to share the stories she’d held back.
Naturally, most of her questions revolved around my magic, to which I replied with a simple ‘It just works!’ and she puffed out her cheeks while glaring at me.
But I found her chatter about me rather dull, so I slyly steered the topic toward her.
“So, how about Yeon-i?”
“Huh? Oh…”
Expressing her surprise with wide eyes at my improved pronunciation, she began detailing the battle that had occurred underground.
Most of it revolved around her so-called contributions. Seemingly feeling the need to appeal now that I was stealing the spotlight.
“I want to hit a monster harder with my bow, but I feel limited with [Danti’s Blessing]. Since it consumes just 1 mana, its power feels a bit…”
‘So greedy. Just managing the summoned creatures is impressive enough.’
Of course, she might be disappointed that she barely shined outside of summoning. But anyone who has fought alongside her would praise her ability, so there’s no need to worry about her reputation as an archer.
Though that’s just my opinion.
“I have a quest too now!”
The most interesting part was that she received a quest similar to mine.
“I’m on a quest to defeat five hundred monsters with my bow!”
Compared to my thirty thousand monster slaying quest, it felt utterly trivial, but for her, this was no simple task.
After all, for her to raise the count, she needed to deliver the final blow, and her bow’s power and accuracy were average at best.
While she did have the characteristic ‘Danti’s Blessing’ she gained when she first awakened, that alone wouldn’t win her any accolades.
Looking back, I realize she hadn’t finished off many monsters with her arrows. It felt like she hadn’t even done that a hundred times over a month and a half.
That said, I didn’t have the time to help her with her quest.
‘Honestly, I’m in more of a rush. I can’t ascend without completing mine.’
Certainly, I didn’t believe the system would give me impossible quests. But still, thirty thousand seemed excessive.
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