Chapter 2634 – 2634. Dark Moon

The fact that I could leisurely contemplate magic was thanks to the undead left behind by Kukuru. Half of them had died in the Thunder Break, but the remaining half were holding off the enemies’ attacks.

Meat shields. They were only buying time, but they weren’t letting them get close to me. As a front line, they were reasonably useful.

“Damn it! They keep moving even when their heads are blown off?!”

“These aren’t naturally occurring undead! As long as the magic remains, they’ll keep moving! Since we don’t have a holy magic user… the best we can do is crush their limbs to stop them from moving!”

“Shassssuuuuuu!! How dare you turn my brethren into undeaddddddd!!”

Unlike the mercenaries who maintained their composure even in this situation, the enraged lizardmen broke through the undead in front of them and rushed up the stairs. Seeing them, I decided on a spell.

[Blizzard]

A level 7 ice-type area-of-effect spell unfolded. Unlike the lightning-type Thunder Break, this was a spell I couldn’t use until I reached level 7.

Dark, gloomy clouds appeared in the sky, pouring snow and cold air onto the ground.

The lizardmen, who had superior physical abilities compared to humans, were noticeably stiffened by the cold, as they were particularly vulnerable to it.

“Shassssuuuuu! What is this!! It hurts!”

“Shasss…!! Move! Don’t stop…!!”

The lizardmen moved, fueled by their rage. Watching them, I prepared a new spell.

“Are you cold? I’ll give you fire.”

[Hellfire]

A blue fireball appeared and fell towards the lizardmen.

Boom!

The blue fireball exploded, scattering blue flames in all directions. Hellfire. A blue flame that wouldn’t go out even without oxygen, even when doused with water, even if it was underwater, until the spell was complete, burned the lizardmen.

The lizardmen couldn’t withstand the flames of over 1400 degrees Celsius. They didn’t last long and scattered into ashes.

The only lizardman who survived was the shaman. He was at the very back, so the Hellfire didn’t reach him.

“You bastard! You bastard! You bastard!!! Even if I die, I’ll take you with me! The enemy of our race!!”

The lizardman shaman shed tears of blood as he used a spell. A terrible curse spell that used his own life as a price. Judging by the ominous nature of the spell, if I were hit by that, I would be in considerable trouble. Even if I didn’t die immediately, my body would weaken from the curse, and I would eventually die.

“Kuaaaaaaack!”

The shaman screamed in agony and died. Finally, the curse was completed and flew towards me.

‘That’s not a physical attack, so I wouldn’t be able to block it even with a barrier.’

But it’s okay. There’s a much better way than blocking it.

Reflex Mirror.

I used the ability of the artifact in the form of a hand mirror. The final curse that the shaman used, even sacrificing his own life, was reflected as easily as if it were nothing. However, since the target to be reflected was already dead, the curse flew to a nearby mercenary.

“Kuaaaaaaaack! Kuaaaaaaaack!”

The mercenary who was hit by the curse rolled on the floor with a terrible scream. Soon, his body melted away and disappeared.

A mercenary of at least level 5 had died without resisting the curse at all.

‘A curse, huh. Even though it’s not magic but a spell, the essence is the same. There are curses used with magic too. If I delve deeper, it could be quite useful.’

That was enough of my musings. I looked at the remaining mercenaries.

The level 7 attack spells I could use right now were Thunder Break, Blizzard, and Hellfire. Those were all three.

‘It’s hard to find spells above level 7. Still, if I throw money at the Magic Association, I could learn a few more.’

Creating spells myself was also an option. It would take a long time, though.

“……”

The mercenaries were silent.

Their murderous intent and fighting spirit towards me had completely faded. They silently dealt with the undead while watching my every move. Now, their goal was not me, but survival.

I used magic to take down the mercenaries one by one.

[Explosion]

I detonated a mercenary’s body with explosion magic.

[Telekinesis]

An invisible force twisted a mercenary’s neck.

[Torrent]

Blades of water that surged from below sliced a mercenary’s body to pieces.

‘When I was level 6, if I spammed magic this much, the burden on my mana road would have been overwhelming… Now, I only feel slightly tired.’

Perhaps they couldn’t withstand the situation where one mercenary died with each spell. One mercenary raised both hands and shouted.

“Surrender! We surrender! We’ll compensate for this later! Please, just let us live!”

I responded with magic.

[Lightning Spear]

A spear of lightning pierced the body of the mercenary who had surrendered. The mercenary burned to death.

“If you were going to surrender now, you shouldn’t have started in the first place.”

“…If your cruel actions become known to the world, it will tarnish your reputation!”

“You’re all going to die here. There’s no chance it will become known to the world, so don’t worry and die. Now, what kind of magic should I use to kill you next? Do you have any requests?”

“You crazy mage…!”

A mercenary with a red sword dyed his whole body red and charged at me. I didn’t know if it was an ability or a drug, but he had momentarily enhanced his body.

However, he was not very threatening to me, who had reached level 7. The moment I focused my mind a little, my perception accelerated, and his movements appeared slow.

[Spike]

Spikes that rose from the ground pierced the charging mercenary’s body. The mercenary writhed like a bug and died.

And then, a dagger stabbed in from behind. I used telekinesis to grab the dagger. The old butler, who had been trying to ambush me, groaned.

“Did you know?”

“I’ve been watching you all along. The power you exude is still not much.”

“…I’m not that strong. It’s also true that I’m not a specialist in combat. But killing people isn’t always about combat. …It seems my skills are not enough to assassinate a level 7.”

“An assassin who failed an assassination must die.”

I reached out my hand towards him. Wind gathered and rotated in my palm.

“Your cooking was quite to my liking. I’ll grant you a special last wish.”

“…Life is uncertain. I’ve already delivered my will to my lawyer.”

“Thorough. Now, die.”

[Air Strike]

A powerful gust of wind shattered the old butler’s body. The remains fell down below the altar.

I mechanically killed the remaining mercenaries.

Smelling the vibrating stench of blood, I looked up. Unlike before, the dungeon had regained its stability.

“How long are you going to just watch?”

The thing that had been looking down at the ground from the sky emitted a purple light and fell to the ground.

A bronze-colored body, a wooden mask on its face. It was Kukuru.

“Amazing. Among all the mages I’ve seen so far, your talent is overwhelming.”

“I know. It’s a talent that’s unprecedented in this world. So, what happened to Kukuru?”

“You recognized right away that I’m not Kukuru?”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. The fact that Kukuru’s body was reconstructed was absurd, but what was more certain was the arcane flowing from his body. Kukuru, who wasn’t good at handling arcane, suddenly appeared and was handling arcane? It was impossible.

“Hide the arcane flowing from your body first, then speak.”

“You can even sense the arcane? Truly a coveted talent. My mouth keeps watering…”

“Answer the question. What happened to Kukuru?”

“That arrogant necromancer? Of course, I devoured him. My condition wasn’t good, so it was a bit dangerous… but thanks to that, I was able to regain my senses and appear before you like this. In a way, it was a great help to me. I got the chance to swallow you.”

“That’s good.”

“Hmm?”

“The mercenaries were boring… but it seems a suitable opponent has appeared to test my unique skill.”

“Ha. A newborn who has just begun to walk the path of transcendence sees me as a test subject?”

“Transcendent. I know your condition isn’t normal. Just a living corpse that’s barely breathing. That’s enough for me to try.”

“You’re like a puppy who doesn’t know fear… Have you forgotten that this place where you are is my stomach? Arcane Devour.”

The moment the transcendent chanted, the world turned purple. It was arcane everywhere. Also, the control of mana weakened, and the mana around me scattered. At this rate, it would take more time and effort than usual to construct a spell.

‘It’s like the whole world has turned against me.’

“This is my stomach. Everything here except you is mine. Mana, arcane… even fate itself, I can manipulate. Now, the talent you possess will also become mine. Be digested quietly. I’ll make good use of your talent.”

“If this is the best you can do right now… then I’ve won.”

Unique Skill (固有技) Absolute Star (絕對星).

Everything that tried to interfere with me disappeared.

The scattered mana was drawn to me and gathered. As the concentration increased, the mana naturally shone like blue starlight. The starlight circled around me.

The transcendent’s eyes behind the wooden mask widened. He waved his hand as if he was flustered. The arcane moved. He was doing something to me, but I was fine.

“That’s… your unique skill? A unique skill that doesn’t even allow the interference of fate…! No, even the fate I’ve seized is moving around you…! Are you saying you’re the protagonist of this world!”

“The protagonist has to be special. In that sense… I guess I’m the protagonist.”

I imbued my will into the starlight that revolved around me. The starlight immediately manifested as magic.

[Thunder Break]

A huge pillar of blue lightning fell on him. The one who was hit directly by the Thunder Break staggered but didn’t fall.

As expected of a transcendent.

Even if he wasn’t in a normal state, he wouldn’t die from just one Thunder Break.

“But the outcome has been decided.”

He lost his concentration. The arcane he had seized was released. And naturally, it gathered around me and spun. The blue starlight of mana and the purple starlight of arcane shone dazzlingly.

“The arcane is overflowing. If it’s now… it’s possible.”

[Thunder Break]

Not just one Thunder Break. I used arcane and mana simultaneously to create dozens, hundreds of Thunder Breaks. An impossible feat made possible because it was manifested directly by will, not by the mana road.

Blue lightning and purple lightning began to tear this world apart, bathing it in a blinding light.

A scene that looked like the end of the world unfolded.

-Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

The transcendent’s scream echoed through the world.

Even so, there was no chance of killing the transcendent. Even if he was a living corpse, a transcendent was a transcendent. He was not an opponent that I could kill in my current state.

-You…! I’ll remember this!!

The transcendent’s intense will swept through the surroundings.

I was forcibly expelled and appeared in reality.

The mercenaries who had been stationed at the dungeon entrance aimed their guns at me and pulled the triggers. However, I was still using my unique skill.

[Telekinesis]

I used telekinesis to grab the bullets that were pouring down and fix them in the air.

“First, die.”

[Chain Lightning]

It took only three seconds for five lightning bolts that started from my fingertips to take the lives of 30 mercenaries.