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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 116
The newly developed magic, named 'Swimming Light,' showed more effectiveness the more I used it.
Shhh- Shhh-
Crackle!
Kieeee—!
Just by sending out mana and clenching my fist, fifteen demons lost their lives in an instant.
The power was much stronger than before.
Moreover, it was developing at a terrifying speed, with improvements like reduced casting time and easier manipulation of mana during the coating process.
With this satisfying achievement, I wanted to increase the power of this magic beyond that of the light beam, but...
"...There's none left. Now."
Less than 30 minutes after I started practicing, I ran out of demons.
Now that it had come to this, I even felt regretful about the fifteen demons the elder had eliminated with his rain of light.
"Tsk, I'll have to do it at the next rift."
In the end, I decided to stop practicing for now and approached the elder.
He had been observing my magic from a distance.
If he wasn't spacing out, he must have felt something while watching my magic.
"Was it alright?"
"Huh? Uh... It's good?"
...Was this guy spacing out?
His reaction was underwhelming.
"...Well, could you at least tell me what's good about it? It would be even better if you could point out areas for improvement."
When I said that with a twitching eyebrow, the elder finally nodded as if he understood.
"From what I see... it seems like you just need to increase the number?"
"The number?"
"Yes, then you can catch more demons at once. Student, you can double cast, right?"
"Of course."
Not only double casting, but with a little more effort, I think I could even aim for triple casting.
Triple casting... Just imagining it made me excited.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my combat power would increase by 1.5 times.
Anyway.
"That certainly sounds like a good idea."
Contrary to his initially dubious reaction, the elder's advice was quite helpful.
Until just a moment ago, I was only thinking about increasing the power of this magic.
Instead of that, as the elder said, increasing the quantity to hit more targets seemed more useful.
"R-right...? Hahaha, well, try your best..."
By the way.
Why was this guy talking like that?
"Why do you sound so unsure?"
He looked like an old puppy scared of something.
I asked him why, but the elder just waved his hand, unwilling to tell me.
"Ah, it's nothing. I suddenly feel a bit sick. Oh, my stomach..."
A sudden stomach ache?
'Why does it look like he's putting on a show?'
I couldn't help but think that.
Anyway.
"Then go take a rest. I'll go to the next rift first."
Since he was someone who could take care of himself, I was about to turn around after saying that.
"That won't do!"
The elder, who had just complained of a stomach ache, immediately followed me.
For some reason, his eyes were filled with even more enthusiasm than before.
"...Well, suit yourself."
Just as I was about to step away, telling him to do as he pleased, a strange voice suddenly came from far behind.
"S-something terrible has happened!"
I turned my head to see a soldier from our side.
Judging from where he came from, he wasn't a soldier in charge of this rift...
The important thing was that the soldier's face was pale as a sheet.
When I asked him why,
"What's wrong?"
"T-the rift...! Huff! Huff!"
The soldier gasped for breath, unable to speak properly.
I gently patted his shoulder.
"Calm down and tell me what happened."
What could be so urgent?
"Huff...! Huff...!"
Swoosh.
The gasping soldier raised his head, and our eyes met.
His pupils were trembling with fear.
I had a bad feeling.
And as always, that feeling was right.
"The rift... the rift has turned red!"
"Excuse me?"
The rift turned red?
What kind of nonsense was that on the third day of the war?
Before I could dwell on that question, the soldier continued in an even more urgent voice.
"It's exactly as I said! All the remaining rifts are turning red...!"
"...!!"
And when the man's words were relayed twice, I could no longer maintain my composure.
It wasn't just me.
The remaining soldiers, the elders, me, and even the knights.
Everyone who heard and understood these words looked at the soldier, their faces hardening.
A red rift.
That was a change that only occurred when a Legion Commander appeared.
"...We need to gather."
It seemed like something big had happened.
***
Bang!
"What in the world is going on...!"
Asion Gale slammed his fist on the table with an enraged expression.
Unlike his usual self, the Headmaster's agitated emotions were clearly visible.
But no one could confront him about it.
No, they were rather agitated themselves.
"I don't know for sure... but this has never happened before!"
"Audit Chairman, have you ever seen such a case?"
"...This is also a first for me! I've experienced and heard of countless wars, but never has a rift turned red on the third day!"
Me, the elders, the commanders of each unit, the royal guards, and so on.
We were all currently gathered in front of the seventh rift.
We had gathered urgently for an emergency meeting.
Of course, it wasn't proceeding as smoothly as we had hoped.
"Huh, what in the world..."
"This is unbelievable... Unbelievable...!"
"This is absurd..."
The situation was only growing more chaotic.
Everyone was busy expressing their own emotions.
Well, it was understandable.
How many of them had actually faced a Legion Commander before?
"Hold on a moment."
Seeing that this wouldn't do, I stepped forward.
"Instead of panicking, we need to come up with a plan."
"Yuhan, do you have any good ideas?"
"If you have a plan that we can use in this situation, why don't you tell us?"
Gulp.
Everyone's attention was focused on me, and I couldn't help but swallow hard.
If I spouted nonsense in front of these already on-edge people, it would be a disaster.
But someone had to do it.
There was no need to be nervous.
All I had to do was speak what I knew.
Swoosh.
'...Barundel.'
Encouraged by Barundel's reassuring pat on my shoulder from behind, I managed to open my mouth.
'A plan, a plan...'
There was only one plan we could come up with right now.
"As you all know, a battle with the Legion Commanders is inevitable. There are seven rifts remaining."
When a rift turned red, the Legion Commanders' invasion would begin exactly 6 hours later.
Of course, we could close the rifts within that time, but there were seven rifts remaining.
The [Rift Closure Device] took 1 hour to activate per rift.
It would take a total of 7 hours, so closing all the rifts was impossible.
Then...
We had to somehow turn the situation in our favor.
"Considering the terrain, remaining troops, and everything else, where is the most suitable place to fight them?"
"Hmm, a suitable place..."
At my words, everyone seemed lost in thought, their eyes darting around.
Thanks to the large number of people gathered, the answer came surprisingly quickly.
"...The ninth rift. The barricades are already complete there, and there are many ridges where we can secure a high ground."
I turned to look at the speaker.
It was Elbert, with bandages wrapped around his abdomen.
It seemed that the injury he sustained from Dercion's clone had already healed to some extent.
"You mean it's a structure where we can surround the rift?"
At my question, Elbert nodded with a serious expression.
"Yes, if we want, we can prevent even a single small demon from escaping."
"That's settled then. All that's left is to concentrate our firepower."
"You mean..."
"Yes."
There was only one thing we had to do.
"Within the remaining time, let's close six rifts and leave only one open."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Some even started to take action immediately.
"Let's move quickly."
"Alright."
Tadat, Tadadat!
As I exited the tent, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I slowly raised my head.
The red moon hung in the sky, as if signaling the ongoing war, and for some reason…
It reminded me of him.
'Baal.'
He must be watching this situation as well.
From within the pitch-black Abyss of Darkness.
'What are you thinking, you bastard?'
The thought of him made anger boil up from deep inside me.
***
With the urgency of the situation, the operation proceeded swiftly.
"Rift closure complete!"
"Second rift closure complete-!"
"The tenth rift has also been closed!"
Reports of rift closures came from all over, every hour.
And Elbert and I were moving busily to prepare for any additional variables.
"Mage, should we install it here?"
"Yes, please be careful to block it off as tightly as possible."
"Yes, understood."
The first thing we were doing was reinforcing the barricade near the ninth rift.
Elbert said it was already complete, but it could be made even more secure by forcefully erecting a few more.
'If someone like Valefor comes out, this won't be enough.'
He was the one who destroyed the barricade in the 7th sector in one go.
Since we didn't know who would emerge, this was quite an important task.
And the second thing was...
Woong! Woong! Woong! Woong!
"Hey, Research Chairman. Put in more effort!"
"Huff...! Huff...!"
Gathering those who could use magic to create a barrier around the rift.
Simply put, we were creating an area that would benefit mages.
Creating a domain wasn't an easy task, but currently, most of the high-ranking mages above the 7th Circle were gathered here.
By putting them to work, even the impossible became possible.
Chiiiing.
We could see the domain gradually taking shape.
It was my first time receiving the power of a domain, so I was inwardly nervous.
'I didn't expect to encounter this so soon.'
The effect of a domain on a mage was simple.
Five effects that lasted semi-permanently for the duration of the domain.
- Magic casting speed increased by 30%.
- Mana regeneration increased by 100%.
- Maximum mana increased by 100%.
- Power of all attribute mana increased by 150%.
- Power of joint magic increased by 200%.
Each and every one of them was a ridiculously powerful effect.
Within this domain, mages became twice as threatening.
How many hours had passed?
Chiiiing!
The domain was complete, and an indescribable power surged forth.
I felt like I could do anything now.
"Phew."
Feeling that fullness, I looked at the rift.
"This is necessary for balance."
It had bothered me that only they were receiving the effects of the red moon.
Now, it felt like we were finally on a somewhat equal footing.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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