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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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It was very fortunate that I found Nias before she was devoured.
Thanks to preparing to cast an attack spell in advance, I could knock away Cluak’s huge body in one shot with good timing.
‘But after firing one shot, it takes quite some time.’
It was a siege magic that I had been practicing, just in case I needed it someday.
It was a spell with solid power and complex invocation, so once used, it took quite some time to prepare the spell again, which was a disadvantage.
“You’re that little brat!!!”
After rolling on the snowy field, Cluak straightened his body, creating a colossal snowstorm behind him like a tidal wave.
“I’m truly honored that you recognized me.”
I immediately deployed magic and fired spells at Cluak, who had not yet regained his stance.
The only spells I could cast were low-powered ones, but they had quite an impact when fired in a cluster. Clark leaped back once and distanced himself.
“From the looks of it, your body is still young, but your achievements are no less than a decent mage. You’re one of those hero candidates?”
“Actually, I’m the most likely one.”
“Hmph. How arrogant. But with that level of skill, I will certainly kill you.”
Clark suddenly disappeared as if he had assimilated with the background.
‘Natural assimilation. He’s probably trying to take advantage of an opening and launch a surprise attack.’
It didn’t seem like he was going to jump straight at me. Cluak was not the type to fight head-on. With his cunning nature, he would strike at a definitive moment.
That was why I had prepared a vital shot in advance earlier.
I wanted to let him know I could launch a powerful attack with sufficient power. That way, Cluak would also come at me seriously, and I could use this brief gap to my advantage.
I had bought some time for now, so I needed to descend to the ground for a bit.
Continuing to float in the air in this snowstorm was no different from a suicidal act. Especially for a sickly guy like me, my stamina was depleted in real time due to the cold wind.
*Ding!*
Even though I had cast a warming spell, it was now insufficient. If I didn’t get through this situation quickly, the problem would worsen.
‘I won’t die from pneumonia before the main story even starts, right?’
Sighing, I descended before Nias, breaking through the blizzard for now. As soon as Nias saw me, she awkwardly raised her upper body.
“Young Mas…Eek!”
I gave Nias a disciplinary forehead flick! Nias pressed her reddened forehead tightly with both hands and looked up at me with tearful eyes.
“Don’t forget what I said. After this is all over, you’re dead.”
Nias’ lips quivered.
“Young Master, I…”
I could guess what Nias wanted to say. It wouldn’t be an apology or saying she was sorry. Regardless, I didn’t want to hear it.
“Enough. There’s no time.”
This wasn’t the time for this. I needed to distance myself and move Nias to a safe place. I used magic to lighten Nias’ weight and immediately lifted her in a princess carry.
“Kyaah!”
“Stay still. From now on, if you get away from me, consider yourself dead.”
I cast a wind spell towards the ground. The moment the snow scattered upwards, hiding my and Nias’ figures, I started running towards the forest.
While accelerating my body with Haste and dashing through the forest, I could feel a considerable presence constantly following me. It was thanks to the tingling sensation from Danger Detection that was penetrating my body.
‘It’s really quiet like the snow, but the presence is definite.’
But I was confident that I would be able to distance myself to a certain extent. I stood before a tree with a hollowed trunk I had seen earlier and pushed Nias inside.
“Young Master…”
Nias raised her head and looked up at me. Seeing her obsidian-like black eyes shining with worry, I suddenly laughed at the moment when I might die.
“Hey. Do you think I’ll die?”
“…I- I don’t know.”
“I won’t die.”
I gently grabbed Nias’ shoulders.
“Because I’m going to torment you tomorrow too.”
“Th- that’s too much!”
I flicked Nias’ forehead once more and looked at the swirling snowstorm.
I couldn’t run away. The difference in speed and stamina was absolute. Obviously, I would be caught up before leaving the forest anyway. Therefore, right here, right now, I had to defeat Cluak.
Whoosh!
I flew a great distance in one breath and knocked down a tree with magic to let him know I was there.
And at that moment, I heard a tingling sensation and the sound of the wind being cut.
I reflexively leaped into the sky. Immediately after, a thick layer of snow flew upwards, and there was a mark clawed by an invisible giant beast.
“If I had been a bit late, I would have died.”
It sent chills down my spine. This had indeed become a matter of life and death.
‘What the hell am I doing from the age of 8?’
Gritting my teeth, I prepared to continuously cast spells.
It took a long time to prepare a siege spell because it required filling the imagery with that amount of mana.
For example, it could be said to be the time it took to pour water into a cup. The imagery was the cup, and the man was the water.
The spell would be cast in the form I wanted only when that glass was full of water. If it was a trivial spell, the size of the cup was small, but for a significant spell, the size of the cup increased.
And during that time, it was pretty challenging to use other proper spells. First, preparing one more cup of imagery was a problem, and it took time to pour the water from the kettle separately, didn’t it?
‘I’m preparing for it. I know how to destroy it. But the problem is enduring it!’
I focused on the sounds and sensations around me.
I couldn’t use that destruction method right now. Once I used that destruction method to dodge, the cunning Cluak would immediately notice.
The sound of the wind being cut was heard again. I, who had used wind magic to dodge my body, was grazed by the attack this time. At that moment, I was hit by the impact and rolled on the snow, crashing into the tree I had just broken.
“Ugh…”
My back was warm. Blood was slowly seeping out.
Cluak, who had briefly left claw marks on the snow, immediately hid his appearance. On the snow, Cluak was approaching me while magically erasing all sounds and footprints.
Just a little more…
I just needed to dodge one more shot. But how…
At that moment, I spotted a familiar object a short distance away.
‘That’s…!’
It was the rag I had given to Nias. Come to think of it, Nias wasn’t wearing it earlier! Anyway, that was my way out.
I threw my body towards that rag with all my might, and I infused magic into the rag.
When infusing magic into an intangible medium, preparing the cup was a problem from the start. However, when infusing magic into a tangible object, it was as if the cup was already prepared.
Since the imagery to be infused was also formed by mana, more potent magic could be used if there was a medium. When I infused protective magic into the rag and wrapped it around my body, a huge impact hit me again.
Bam!!!
What had been a simple blanket absorbed the momentary impact by becoming an extremely elastic material. I crashed straight into the ground along with the blanket.
“Ugh…!”
Although the blanket absorbed significant impact, it wasn’t perfect after all.
*Ding!*
I already know that there’s no need to tell me twice!
I immediately closed the system window and searched for the enemy while trying to ignore the pain throughout my body. The claws that had just sent me flying disappeared from where I had been.
And… fortunately, the magic was ready now. Now, I just needed to hit this one shot accurately.
“Store.”
I wanted to buy Resurrection just in case, but I was too short on plot points. Instead, I purchased Clairvoyance targeting Cluak. As soon as the glasses fell to the ground, I put them on.
Cluak was basically invisible. Since I couldn’t see him, it would be impossible to hit the magic accurately. However, with Clairvoyance, even the invisible would be precisely captured in my field of vision.
In fact, Cluak was approaching me. Although he was invisible, I could see his visuals through Clairvoyance moving gradually, getting closer to me.
I raised my hand. A single shot at close range.
Wrapping the rag tightly around my body, I waited for Cluak to pounce on me.
And the next moment, the visuals moved rapidly.
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