The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 138

The Great Mage of the Hero Party Reincarnated – Episode 138

Episode 138

“That guy, just now…….”

“What did he say……?”

The Imperial soldiers and adventurers stared in stunned silence. A confused murmur rippled through the ranks.

“He said he’s going to test it, the Magic Citadel……!”

If an ordinary boy had said that, everyone would have laughed. But this was different.

*Let’s not use Bell Sidereus or Bell Querious unless it’s a really dangerous situation. The Mind Barrier and Chains of Respect are the same.*

*I’ll compete with the skills and experience I built up as Rin. I’ll only use as much mana as Rin had.*

“Does this impudent fool even realize how outrageous he’s being to such a great person?”

Willis Keppel, the captain of the Imperial Special Magic Unit, glared and started to step forward, but Seigan raised a hand to stop him.

“He certainly has a lot of nerve.”

Seigan Wolf Blado narrowed his eyes, as if the boy’s challenge was laughable.

*I don’t know what type of mage he is… Is there a school that uses magic to forge weapons with flames?*

*If he’s good at close combat, I just need to probe his abilities one by one without getting close. Isn’t the life of an adventurer a fight against the unknown in the first place?*

“He’s chosen the wrong opponent to show off his nerve to.”

A suffocating silence fell. Aki reached out to Rain, her eyes filled with tears.

“───!”

Tails of light began to weave, tangle, and dance on Seigan’s palm.

*Huh?*

Rain raised an eyebrow.

*The magic circle’s form is three layers of octagons with On (蘊; accumulating), Ro (擄; capturing), and Jeon (轉; rotating)… Is this magic the Iron Wheel Formation?*

A brutal technique that surrounds the opponent with countless lumps of iron as if to capture them, then tears their flesh apart with fiercely rotating blades in the gaps.

“If the start is something like the Iron Wheel Formation, I’m a little disappointed…….”

The thought barely registered before a chill crept into his skull.

*What is this……?*

*It’s different, something is different.*

The Iron Wheel Formation I know doesn’t have the blades flying out first like this. And the lumps of iron don’t rise from the direction the target dodges.

“Did I misread the runes?!”

The blades, tearing through skin and fur clothes in sharp trajectories, were already connected to the lumps of iron surrounding him.

“Did you think it was a normal Iron Wheel Formation?”

As the steel wall with the blades spinning madly closed in from all sides, I briefly activated Bell Sidereus to quickly examine the magic’s structure, and a hollow laugh escaped.

*– What does this mean? Depending on which formula you use to solve it, the magic can have a subtle yet significant difference in its visual outcome.*

The memory of the chief decision match during the final exam came back to me vividly. Depending on how you solve the mathematical formula, the visual result changes.

*That’s not all, you can even change the order of the magic’s activation?*

Originally, the formula for calculating the final coordinates of the Iron Wheel Formation is ‘the complement of a permutation,’ but he seemed to have deliberately twisted one solution method into three sequences by using ‘lexicographical enumeration.’

“The Iron Wheel Formation, a historically significant battle magic of the North. It’s a magic that everyone knows how to deal with, but if you modify it to suit the situation, it’s not a problem.”

Even the reincarnation of the Great Mage Rin couldn’t help but admire Seigan’s explanation.

*He’s explaining it so casually, but it’s impossible without the absolute skill to perfectly modify and control all magic.*

“But, hmm──?!”

The moment the four iron walls with spinning blades overlapped, that guy’s flesh should have been torn apart and crushed…….

For a moment, a flash of light with a deadly temperature seemed to flow out from the gaps in the steel, and then a crimson flame burst out with a roar.

The steel constructed with 3-star magic all melted into yellowish-green molten metal, and a fierce heat wave swept through, completely drying up the moisture in the atmosphere.

“So, what’s next? This isn’t all, is it?”

As everyone blinked in astonishment, the corners of Seigan’s mouth twitched.

*He blocked my magic?*

Was it just a fluke?

No, has there been anyone recently who could block my magic, even by using luck? At that moment, streaks of light began to weave on the boy’s palm.

*Is he going to have a pride contest?* The magic circle and the runes that the boy constructed were all the same Iron Wheel Formation that Seigan used.

But… it was different.

The form and activation principle were the same as a normal Iron Wheel Formation, but something crucial was different. The attribute of the magic was fire, not steel.

“What… a fire-attribute Iron Wheel Formation?!”

“Seigan-nim!”

The wall of flames that rose up to surround Seigan in an instant, the countless fire blades rotating in the gaps, would have burned his entire body to cinders.

If it hadn’t been for the 3.5-star ice wall that appeared in an instant and surged up to surround Seigan.

Rain could only let out a naive, hollow laugh.

*He changed the way the magic was activated again.*

Originally, it’s just a magic that creates an ice wall, but he’s changing the surrounding objects into an ice wall… Thanks to that, the activation speed is several times faster.

Pshhhhh… Seigan walked out from the midst of the dense extinguishing steam that was swirling around so chaotically.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly, so subtly that others couldn’t see it.

*The form of the magic circle was definitely an octagon, that is, steel, but he changed the attribute in the middle? Interesting, how did he do it?*

*I can slowly figure it out from now on.*

*If I pour out all the magic that I’ve researched and prepared for my entire life, that guy will give me the answer.*

*With magic, of course.*

“……Isn’t that the way we mages communicate?”

The smiles that were invisible to each other and invisible to others crossed in the air, and then in an instant.

“……!”

“……!”

When the melody of light seemed to weave gracefully from both sides’ palms, the miracles that changed the providence burned the sky and carved the earth.

“The magic circle being constructed is two layers of circles and one triangle, and the runes being inscribed are Jo (助; assist), Rong (瀧; torrential), and On (榲; quince).”

When the magic circle shattered on the boy’s palm, fire rained down from the sky like a shower.

“The magic circle being constructed is one layer of octagons and two layers of pentagons, and the runes being inscribed are Yu (蹂; trample), Jung (蚛; insect), and Seong (晟; bright).”

When the magic circle shattered on the heroine’s palm, steel, poison, ice, and electricity danced a dance of slaughter.

The infighting melee of Yoerhen-type mages, which only those who have reached the pinnacle among the best can show.

The godly spectacle was so thrilling that even famous magic festivals couldn’t dare to offer it, leaving the audience with no room to breathe.

“What is it? Why does it look like those two fighting to the death are enjoying themselves?”

In the explosion of magical clashes, Prince Lyder Aizen muttered, bewildered, and Palace Mage Leoren replied.

“It is said that masters who have reached the pinnacle of Ilseongchilgeom [a legendary swordsmanship] can communicate with swords.”

“Communicate with swords?”

“Everything is communicated with only one sword. What does this mean? Just by looking at the swordsmanship that the other person shows, you can know what years they have accumulated for it, how they have trained, and what enthusiasm they have researched with.”

“It’s not just wordplay… How is that possible?”

“The two people are seeing that kind of image from each other right now. Your Highness will also understand when you become an expert in some field.”

In reality, the two were seeing illusions that did not exist and could not be established.

An illusion of sitting face to face at a desk, showing each other the magic circles they had researched and explored, explaining their strengths and weaknesses, and giving feedback.

The reason why Rain lamented that his juniors had a lot to say after entering was here. Mages have their own way of communicating.

“He’s only using fire-attribute magic to a surprising degree. No, it’s like he’s just using all magic as fire-attribute?”

Captain Willis Keppel of the Special Magic Unit narrowed his eyes and replied to Vice-Captain Issac’s words.

“The strength of fire-attribute magic is commonly known as ‘splendor,’ but to be precise, it can be said to be ‘power.'”

“Yes. It’s so powerful that it looks splendid; in short, ‘simple strength’ is the greatest characteristic of fire magic.”

However, the disadvantage also existed for sure, as if it were the price of power; the amount of mana consumed was more enormous than any other attribute.

“So fire-attribute mages are also called ‘early extinguishers’ [a crude term for someone who burns out quickly] in vulgar terms because of that disadvantage.”

“That’s right. Because if you make even a small mistake in mana distribution, you’ll quickly run out of mana.”

“But what the hell is it? That guy has already used 3rd and 4th star magic more than fifteen times; how is he still so energetic?”

*I’m curious too. Unless he has infinite mana, how the hell…?*

He’s already choosing to use only powerful magic, and since it’s being activated as fire-attribute, it’s truly a terrible opponent from the perspective of the one facing him.

*If I were standing there instead of Seigan-nim right now, this match would already be….*

*A mage who uses all magic as fire-attribute.*

Seigan also naturally had that question, but it was a pleasant question rather than a disconcerting one.

How long has it been since a battlefield where he could pour out all his magic and the other person would counter as if it were natural?

*You block this too? Then what about this? How about this again? And this?*

Seigan’s eyes shone as he fired countless blue-shining ice cones under the sunlight.

Feeling the sensation that he had forgotten a long time ago… and had been searching for for a long time, wriggling in his heart.

The thrill of a magic battle that he could never feel after becoming the Magic Citadel.

Did he want a life where he was unconditionally worshiped by someone? Did he want a life where someone knelt down without even trying to fight sincerely?

*No, I’ve never wanted that kind of life even once.*

I wanted this kind of life. I only became the pinnacle to fight against the pinnacles; the pinnacle was never the goal.

The pleasure of the research that has carved his life and the research that has melted the lives of others colliding, the synergy when the cutting edge of that knowledge collides.

Because new perceptions are opened in such battles, and the horizon of magic is also newly opened.

“Hmm, monsters beget monsters… Scalzi, that monster old man, has unleashed an even greater monster into the world than himself.”

Palace Mage Leoren smiled as he watched the battle of the pinnacles.

*I think I’m probably the only one who recognized his identity… Of course, I also knew it thanks to Serwebon to some extent.*

But it’s strange. I clearly heard that he died during the Black Spot Incident, so how?

*Should I stop them? But if I stop the battle now and tell them that, will anyone even listen?*

Even His Highness Prince Lyder can’t take his eyes off it right now.

In that tightrope walk battle where only those who have reached the pinnacle can show, where everything ends if you take even one wrong step.

“Ah, ah-bah, augh, ah-baaht!”

“Ah-bah, ah-bah, ah-bah, ah-bah.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, uh-huh, it’s okay.”

Even Kasena, who was coaxing and comforting the crying Aki, couldn’t take her eyes off the spectacle.

*That’s the limit of magic….*

I’m so close, and wide-area magic that could kill dozens of people is rampant, but I’m not suffering any damage.

That is proof of the two people’s formidable magic control ability.

And above all, Rain was making an expression that Kasena didn’t know. That expression that seemed so happy that he didn’t know what to do….

*He usually just had a bored expression at school.*

Of course, that must have been the case. All the other mages of his age were several levels below him.

But the mage in front of me right now is… the strongest battle mage of the current generation.

She bit her lip with a slightly resentful heart. If your magic skills are outstanding, you can make Rain make that kind of face….

*The 300-year history of magic development since I died is all embodied in this Magic Citadel’s magic.*

The boy admired. Ideas, the use of mathematical formulas, the combination of runes… that Rin’s era couldn’t even imagine.

“Amazing, really wonderful.”

That’s why the boy smiled.

If Shar’kass was simply the type to overwhelm with overwhelming power… the Magic Citadel is a technical school that perfectly integrates and harmoniously utilizes the essence of modern magic.

At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before he reaches the ranks of Aquizad (5 stars)?

*Well, the only magic attribute I can use here is fire….*

I can’t use the eccentricity that comes from harmoniously combining various attributes of magic, but I have an absolute advantage in power struggles.

*I can’t say there’s no risk, but I’ll completely dominate it. All of this fire. Like Alakish used to.*

In the midst of that fierce battle, as the adventurers and soldiers murmured in disbelief.

“He’s on par with the Magic Citadel?”

“What the hell is that guy?”

“Isn’t the Magic Citadel just humoring him?”

Leoren’s eyes narrowed as he watched the fight with equal interest.

*Certainly, general battle magic seems to be on par.*

Seigan hasn’t drawn out his true power yet. That power that made him reign over the heads of all battle mages.

*The Blado family’s bloodline limit.*

At that moment, the instant Rain caught sight of a blade suddenly popping out of Seigan’s ring and digging deep into his palm, a chilling thrill ran through his mind.

“It’s been 9 years. It’s been 9 years since I used the bloodline limit against a mage.”