Chapter 29
The boy stood before marauders with red and black skin, focusing on the flow of mana surging within his body.
Thanks to his month-long study under the continent’s greatest Storm Mage, the boy could now feel the mysterious power coursing through him more vividly.
In his mind, the mana transformed into lightning, and the calculation that crystallized this lightning into the spell “Blossom” unfolded.
The mana in his body surged through his brainstem, transforming into electrifying bolts that erupted from every corner of his being.
Lamps shattered, spilling oil that illuminated the dark cavern with flames.
The exposed faces of the marauders, caught off-guard and dazed by the sudden attack, were now clearly visible.
Wearing a faint smile, the boy focused on the sequence of operations occurring in his mind.
Before receiving instruction from Alter, the boy had never experienced this sensation.
All he knew was shouting the word “Blossom” and unleashing massive amounts of lightning from his body, not understanding how it worked or how it transformed into the spell.
But now, things were very different. He could feel the entire process—how the mana turned into lightning, and how that lightning solidified into the spell “Blossom.”
Thanks to Alter’s teaching, the boy had come much closer to the heart of magical power.
Even though he had only learned the very basics, the efficacy and precision of his magic were incomparably greater than before.
An overwhelming sense of omnipotence filled his chest, a confidence that he could achieve anything.
“Blossom.”
As the name of the spell escaped his lips, everything around him was engulfed in a blinding white light.
A massive flash enveloped the area, followed shortly by the sound of the air being torn apart by the lightning.
The cave in front of the boy seemed to vanish, and the marauders inside, who had looked at him with vacant eyes, were instantly reduced to white ash by the overwhelming electricity.
“…Uh…”
The boy looked around at the thunder echoing around him.
What had once been a dark cave, walled on all sides, was now open sky, with clouds beginning to gather.
There was literally nothing left around him.
The sweat trickling down his cheek instantly vaporized in the electric currents surrounding him.
“Is it over?”
All the boy could see before him was a vast, white plain. Just moments before, the area had been an overgrown marsh dotted with fallen trees covered in mud, but it had all vanished in an instant.
“…Is anyone… still here? Really no one?”
Fearing that there might be marauders who survived the electric assault, the boy extended his fingers forward and sent out a light bolt.
Huge currents of electricity surged through the air, reducing the open field to nothing but powder once again.
The endless lightning continued to ionize the air, generating heat even in areas with nothing left to burn. The abrupt heat produced a massive storm on the horizon.
Above the sprawling plain, lightning danced chaotically as clouds clustered together, creating an electrified sky.
“…Uh…”
The boy’s strength was incomparably greater than before receiving Alter’s teachings.
Though he should have been ecstatic to witness his own growth firsthand, he didn’t seem overly pleased.
“If I’d known this was going to happen, I should’ve tried out the new spell I’ve been developing.”
Recalling Alter’s warning that mispronouncing spells could diminish their power, the boy had opted to keep it simple and only utter the name of the spell, fearing the consequences.
But at this level, even against ten regular marauders, he had no need to worry about whether the spell was effective or not.
‘I couldn’t have imagined something like this.’
Of course, it was to be expected—his rate of growth far surpassed that of ordinary mages.
Thanks to the previous owner of the famed Magic Tower moving in next door and daily instructing him, the boy had access to tutelage that could rival the best in the entire continent.
To put this in perspective, it was like the top tutor from a prestigious preparatory school moving in next door and coming into his room every day to help him prepare for the college entrance examination.
To top it off, the boy’s mana stat was a staggering 20, far surpassing the average of 13 for most mages on the continent.
He had sacrificed his stats for strength, endurance, agility, and luck to focus solely on mana.
Given these conditions, anything less than an incredible growth rate would have been surprising.
‘Still, even I didn’t expect to grow this fast.’
“Definitely over level 20, but I think I’m around mid-30s. Is that right?”
The boy could not yet accurately gauge his own level.
Imagine a punch machine that can only measure up to 999, with no way of knowing whether your score is 1000 or 10,000.
‘Treat it as level 30 for now. There’s nothing more dangerous than becoming overconfident and overstepping your boundaries.’
The boy slightly underestimated himself despite the fact that a mage capable of altering the weather with a single flick of his finger would hardly be at level 30.
That’s just how unconventional his character build was.
The lightning constantly bursting from his body had already brought thick storm clouds to what was once a clear sky.
“…Using seven days’ worth of mana at once is certainly impressive.”
It had been three weeks since the boy last used “Blossom.”
In theory, if you didn’t use magic for three weeks, you should have three weeks’ worth of mana stored in your body.
However, reality differed.
Even if you refrained from using magic for three weeks, a mage can only store about one week’s worth of mana in their body.
The reason is simple: no matter how talented a genius, a mage is still human.
Just as humans have limits—eating only so much food at once, or running only so far—the same applies to the amount of mana a mage can store.
Thus, the maximum amount of mana that a mage can store in their body is capped at one week.
Spending more time without using magic doesn’t increase storage any more than resting endlessly increases physical endurance.
“…It’s still not enough. Even this isn’t enough to survive against a Grand Marshal, let alone a high-ranking marauder.”
The boy tore his eyes away from the white lightning crackling at his fingertips and slowly walked toward where Lir and the support team were waiting.
If someone heard his thoughts, they might have said that a mage powerful enough to reshape the terrain with a flick of his finger should not think this way.
But considering the boy’s fatal flaws, it wasn’t an unreasonable thought.
He lacked agility, strength, and even had the worst luck.
He had the power to devastate for five minutes, but that was all he had to offer.
What would he do if a Grand Marshal like Maltiel pushed him to his limits, forcing him to use Blossom, and then ran away until the duration ended?
Or what would he do if he was attacked before he even had a chance to activate Blossom at speeds too fast for him to perceive?
Even while using Blossom, he would struggle to land a proper hit if his opponent relied solely on speed due to his lack of physical abilities.
Recalling the battle against the Grand Marshal Maltiel, despite having the perfect opportunity for a counterattack, the boy’s lack of agility prevented him from landing it.
So the boy couldn’t afford to be satisfied with his current level.
He was the hero expected to lock the Demon King and the devil back into hell and end this war once and for all.
And he had to rise to meet those expectations.
It wasn’t just about a sense of duty or guilt over deceiving people.
The boy remembered that this game had a “Bad Ending.”
If the protagonist failed to defeat the Demon King within the allotted time, the Sword Saint, under constant surveillance by the marauders, would eventually die. The marauders would launch a full-scale assault, bringing about the extinction of all life on earth—an ending without hope or dreams.
Though the time limit wasn’t particularly strict, the boy had no room for idle play.
He had to systematically improve his stats and become a true rival to the Sword Saint.
If not, not only would he perish, but every living being on the continent would be obliterated as well.
In such a scenario, there wouldn’t even be anyone left to carry his corpse to the graveyard.
No one would mourn or remember those who had perished.
“…Damn, this is ridiculous.”
An involuntary sigh escaped him under the unimaginable pressure.
The faces of the characters he had created in this game came to mind, making him wish he could meet them and apologize for creating such a crazy world and forcing them into such a half-crazed build.
“Sorry, Punch, Zombie, President…!”
“…”
With a deep breath, he began walking toward where the support team was waiting.
Each step he took was followed by plasma currents rippling through the surrounding air.
“Unbelievable power…”
Lir approached him from where the support team had been stationed several yards away, letting out an impressed sigh.
Where the cave had once stood, all the terrain—mossy trees, marshes, and various sizes of caves—was now reduced to white ash. All that remained in the area was a deep crater revealing the bedrock beneath it.
“Can you believe this guy just started learning magic a month ago?”
“Insane, if we had been any closer… There wouldn’t have been any bodies left!”
“That promising youth who’s supposed to rival the Sword Saint? The rumors weren’t exaggerated after all.”
Dozens of soldiers watching from several paces away couldn’t help but shower him with praise.
Hearing the soldiers’ admiration, Lir couldn’t help but smile.
She felt proud to be studying magic under the same master as such an incredible junior.
“Cut it out, you’re making our job boring!”
Lir’s tone was laced with laughter.
“It’s still not enough. If I had gathered three weeks’ worth of mana, I could’ve burned away even the bedrock. No, if I had tested an incantation…”
The boy chuckled awkwardly, lowering his unruly bangs as static electricity crackled around him.
“Three weeks’ worth? What do you mean by that?”
His senpai stared at him, puzzled by his incomprehensible words.
It was common knowledge that the maximum amount of mana a human can store is one week’s worth.
Of course, as a mage’s level grows, the amount of mana they can store increases.
Just like how athletes can run for longer distances or eat more through training.
However, as their mana storage increases, so does their mana regeneration rate.
Thus, the principle that “the maximum amount of mana a mage can store is one week’s worth” always holds true.
Yet he mentioned three weeks?
Lir initially thought that the boy hadn’t fully understood the teacher’s lessons.
“…There is.”
Until the boy responded with a meaningful smile.
“What do you…?”
Lir was about to ask if the boy knew something special when he suddenly collapsed, his consciousness fading as if his strings had been cut.
Lost in admiration for his incredible power and regret for not testing a spell, as well as the numerous tasks ahead, five minutes had already passed.
Reacting instinctively, Lir rushed forward and caught the falling boy in her arms.
Had he fallen onto the exposed bedrock, his fragile skin would surely have been scarred.
“…Wha, what?”
Lir, who had just caught the boy in her arms, blinked for a moment, then her long ears flushed red as she dropped her head.
Having spent her whole life studying in the Magic Tower, this was the first time she had ever hugged a boy her age.
…Except for the time she had rushed into his arms in a daze earlier.
“Eh, eek…!”
The lightweight and fragile body of the boy made her lose her words.
She felt strange.
Her head grew warm, and heat began spreading throughout her body. Her blood flowed rapidly as if it were racing through her veins, and she didn’t know how to describe this feeling.
She couldn’t place him down or hug him tighter, helplessly fumbling with his body. From a distance, the soldiers watching might have thought she had been struck by lightning.
