Chapter 78
Protection of the spirits.
Whether it’s a textbook mage, a one-hit mage, or even an orc mage with stats concentrated entirely on strength and constitution, transforming into a melee tank, this top-tier cheat magic suits any build perfectly.
This magic, known as the ‘Protection of the Spirits,’ deploys a shield that absorbs all attacks for one second the instant a mage is attacked, offering performance far superior to other inferior shields like ‘Arcane Protection’ or ‘Mana Shield.’
The first and foremost advantage of this magic is that it consumes no additional mana for its use. As it is a magic concept where spirits protect the user by deploying the shield instead of the mage, this is quite naturally an understandable aspect.
Secondly, this magic is not an ‘active’ magic that requires precise timing to counter an attack. The magic automatically activates whenever the mage is attacked. For someone like me with agility that barely reaches one, leaving me with a painfully slow reaction speed, it’s hard to imagine a better magic.
That said, if one asks whether this magic is absolutely invincible and flawless… Well, it isn’t.
Soon after returning from the Achilipthus Forest, I conducted various experiments on the ‘Protection of the Spirits’ magic with Rex’s help.
Through these experiments, I discovered two significant drawbacks in this seemingly perfect defense magic.
Firstly, the ‘Protection of the Spirits’ has a short cooldown period of 15 seconds. Consequently, it’s not very efficient against enemies dealing continuous low-damage attacks, particularly against assassins wielding daggers, who could easily exploit the vulnerability this creates.
Secondly, the activation condition — ‘the moment the mage is attacked’ — has a remarkably low threshold. A pebble casually tossed in my direction can activate the barrier, and even the hand of an ally reaching out toward me can inadvertently trigger the magic if it surpasses a certain speed and force.
Although developers can certainly define and code such scenarios accurately in a game — “an attack towards the mage” — reality doesn’t have such coding applied.
…I haven’t experienced it yet, but if hail were to fall, I’m certain my body would be surrounded by a shield flashing on and off every 15 seconds, much like a disco ball.
Nonetheless, this magic remains appealing as a defense that automatically activates to nullify all attacks for one second. Yet, its limitations became apparent.
The ‘Protection of the Spirits’ felt like the embodiment of Daljin as a transcender. Strong, solid, and impressive, but still… a little off, as if something was wrong somewhere.
“From now on, please be careful. Of course, it’s better to avoid unnecessary activation of the shield.”
Naturally, the troops assigned to protect me, including Rex, were aware of this fact.
Therefore, Rex stayed alert, scanning the surroundings. Even seemingly harmless pebbles or chunks of flesh might roll around and accidentally activate the ‘Protection of the Spirits.’
In this level of battlefield, 15 seconds can completely reverse the situation.
“An enemy Grand Marshal approaching from the 12 o’clock position! It’s Raguel!”
The imposing wings of the marauder Raguel, with his pale white skin and massive horns, emerged from the clouds against the light of the sky. It seemed he had been hiding among the clouds, observing the battlefield.
“Let’s begin.”
The corpse-like, uneven white skin Raguel possessed moved, and he grabbed his own tail. The vertebrae connected to his tail were pulled out from his body. Raguel momentarily wriggled like a mollusk, and then the newly regenerated vertebrae rose with him.
Raguel coiled his extracted tail around his hand, holding the vertebral bones as if it were a blade.
If even slightly brushed by the sharp bone soaked in venom, it would mean certain death.
Seeing such a chilling weapon unlike anything until now, I took a deep breath.
Whoosh!
As the scene unfolded with me, Rex, and the elderly wizard watching Raguel intently, the sound of something tearing through the air reached us.
Quickly turning toward the sound, I saw an enormous arrowhead that I had never seen before. The arrow’s tip, right in front of me, was about to pierce through my eyes with incredible momentum.
Realizing the attack meant it was already too late to avoid it. The arrow had traveled several hundred meters and was only 2 meters away from piercing my neck.
The speed of the arrow traveling hundreds of meters in less than a second made escaping within a distance of 2 meters utterly impossible for me.
Psshhk!
As the arrow was only 1 meter away from piercing my neck, the ‘Protection of the Spirits’ activated once again.
The arrow, flying with terrifying force, vanished the instant it touched the barrier that deployed instantly, accompanied by a flash of lightning.
The compressed air in the arrow burst, lifting my bangs. Hot, unpleasant wind struck my face.
The supersonic arrow had created a sonic boom faster than the speed of sound. The battlefield, heavy with tension, witnessed the sudden detonation of sound, as the soldiers clenched their teeth and gripped their weapons tightly.
“Tch!”
Rex clicked his tongue at the arrow that had flown from somewhere and struck my shield, then apologized loudly.
“I’m sorry! I couldn’t react in time!”
“That’s fine; it’s all within the scope of expectations.”
Rex was assigned to guard me and, if necessary, even take arrows or magic for me, but I had no intention of scolding him for failing to stop the attack just now.
It was due to the extraordinary skill of that sniper.
“…Ariel has made an appearance too.”
There was no doubt the earlier sniper shot came from the Grand Marshal of the Marauder Army, Ariel. The cannonball-like massive arrowhead, the speed far exceeding the sound barrier, and the resulting large sonic boom—all of it fit perfectly her description.
“…The sniper’s direction was approximately 2 o’clock, but the exact position of the enemy cannot be pinpointed!”
An elf soldier watching the battlefield from a step away shouted loudly.
“Approximately?! Elf, aren’t you doing your job right? Who around here has better eyes than you and can’t spot a sniper? Give me an exact location, not an approximate direction!”
“…Shut up, I’m concentrating right now.”
The elf seemed irritated at himself for not being able to pinpoint the sniper’s location immediately.
It wasn’t surprising. With a careful and specialized sniper like Ariel, it was unlikely she’d perform her long-range attack from only a few hundred meters away. She would be situated kilometers away, and with the arrow already moving at an incredible speed, precisely tracing the trajectory would be far from easy.
Additionally, Ariel’s peculiar physical traits are a significant hindrance to determining her location.
Even standing in an open plain without any cover, she has an anomalous body structure completely shrouded in shadows.
To normal people, the exact outline of her shape would be impossible to judge with the naked eye, a very distinctive and advantageous appearance for a sniper.
‘Locating sniper points with the naked eye is practically impossible.’
“Are you ready, Lir?!”
“Got it! Two o’clock direction, right?”
An elite sniper whose position can’t be precisely located, one who shoots remarkably accurate arrows, and who fires with incredibly large arrows…
Upon realizing such an exceptional sniper lurking in the battlefield, most soldiers would panic, immediately diving into trenches or frantically looking for cover.
However, neither I nor my guard detachment moved from the no-man’s land we were occupying.
“Take cover! It must be Ariel if we’re facing a sniper of this caliber!”
“Damn it, General! With both Ariel and Raguel — two Grand Marshals! — you really should take a small step back…”
We knew Ariel would show up well in advance.
And we had already devised a plan for handling this insane sniper who shoots cannonball-like arrows faster than the speed of sound with 100% accuracy.
“Retreat?”
I turned back and spoke.
The eyes of the soldiers peering at me from the trenches were filled with anxiety. I made an effort to smile as casually as possible to calm them down.
I was just as burdened by the intense battlefield, where Grand Marshals kept popping up like regular minions, and just as afraid of death. However, if I, as a general, display fear or anxiety, the soldiers’ morale would surely drop.
If I show fear, they would be afraid. And if they’re afraid, they wouldn’t fight to protect me.
If they don’t fight to protect me, I can’t do anything. After all, a mage on the battlefield needs help from others.
“Such creatures aren’t even worth my intervention.”
For the sake of survival, I had to wear a mask of calmness and put on an unrealistic amount of swagger.
“…I should test if your head can stay attached while spouting nonsense like that!”
Among the Grand Marshals, Raguel, who boasts especially large wings, flared up, turning crimson while roaring loudly due to my provocation.
“…”
Raguel was the only Grand Marshal among the Marauders known for being emotional and impulsive, unlike their usually calm and rational race.
There wasn’t any great story behind why he had a different disposition from his kind.
It was all because of the Demon King’s light-hearted experimental spirit, ‘Won’t the organization run more efficiently if there’s at least one individual among the Grand Marshals swept away by “emotions” and “impulses”.’
As a result, Raguel managed only half the number of high-ranking overlords and Marauders compared to other Grand Marshals.
To the Demon King, Raguel was merely an experimental creation.
And Raguel himself is fully aware of this fact.
“Stop looking down on me, you defective reject.”
This is the most effective target for provocation.
I glared up at the flapping Raguel while furrowing my brows.
“…Defective.”
The provocation seemed to hit its mark. Veins bulged on his forehead, and green blood dripped from his tightly clenched fists.
“I’ll swap your intestines with a pig’s. I’ll rip your arms and legs and replace them with animals’, and make you feel the excruciating pain of being stabbed with a knife every moment.”
How foolish. If he had started attacking during his tirade of curses, things would’ve gotten a bit more complicated.
“The stars’ eyes, the bright clouds, the sea covered with scales, and the salt’s flower.”
Thanks to his dim-witted pride, Lir could recite her incantations without a hitch.
In the next moment, the dark clouds that had covered the sky began to stir violently. A bright light momentarily illuminated the sky, followed by the deafening sound of lightning tearing through the air.
“Lightning strike.”
Lifting her small staff towards the sky, Lir quietly uttered the words.
The dark clouds enveloping the sky are now ours.
