The Book Eating Magician Chapter 196:
Chapter 196 – Mercurius (3)
The reaction took place in a single moment . Against Mujak who had formed dozens of swords, Lloyd jumped forward without hesitation . The vivid turquoise blades shook like leaves in a sandstorm .
It was a phenomenon caused by being pushed by the great amount of aura released . Mujak’s Mirage was a decisive skill which could deal dozens of attacks at the same time .
Kiiing…
The blades released sharp screams as the two swordsmen crossed each other .
“Cough . ”
“Urgh . ”
They both groaned, but the depth of their groans was different . Mujak stared with disbelief at the sword piercing his abdomen . This was a technique which had never betrayed him until now . It was an ability that gave him a one-sided superiority, allowing him to corner his opponent .
The pained Mujak expressed his doubts, “…Ho-w?”
His questioning eyes swept over Lloyd’s body . There were a few wounds from ‘MIrage’ on Lloyd’s body, but none of them were serious . Lloyd was the one who benefited from the dozens of swords and managed to damage Mujak . Mujak couldn’t understand it .
Then Lloyd muttered, “An ability that makes swords real… it is a threat . If there were four or five more, I wouldn’t be able to avoid a mortal wound . ” Lloyd let out a ridiculing snort . “This is a bad technique to use against me . I don’t know if all the illusions can be materialized, but I have the ability to tell illusion from reality . ”
“Ugh…” Mujak groaned as pain shot up from his abdomen . How could he be defeated in this favorable situation? Blood emerged from between his lips .
However, unlike his mocking words, Lloyd recognized his opponent’s capabilities . As proof, his usual relaxed atmosphere had disappeared .
‘You aren’t easy, master of the Central continent . ’
It was too big a variable to overlook . Lloyd pulled out the sword that he had stabbed into Mujak . His aura flowed back to him . Then while his opponent was still recovering, he tried to kill Mujak . However, Lloyd couldn’t achieve his purpose .
Kwakwakwak!
Ice spears and wind blades poured toward the place where he had just been standing .
“…Ah, I forgot about you . ”
It was a mistake . Lloyd retreated a few steps with a bitter smile . Mujak coughed up blood after the sword was pulled out, but he wasn’t dead . Lloyd looked at the magicians lined up on either side of Mujak and retreated with a shrug . “I am at a disadvantage against four people . I will stand down first . ”
“What, wait…”
“I promise to meet you later . ”
William’s attempt at restraining Lloyd didn’t concern him as he disappeared around the corner . Despite the injuries he suffered, he was still a sword master . He had a strength which far exceeded the capacity of the human body .
“Damn, we have to chase him before he heals…!”
“No, chase him later . ”
“What?” William glanced at Sylvia after hearing her words .
“If we follow him without Mujak, the three of us will just be defeated . It is better to focus on healing Mujak here . We can just track him and attack him again . ”
“Uhh, your judgment is correct . You are also brilliant . ”
“Che . ”
His head might be too heated up right now, but William was also an outstanding figure . He understood right away that Sylvia’s words were right . So, before sitting down, he examined the passage a few times .
Then he used every detection magic that the White Tower had . “Hoo, it can’t be helped . Then the decision is easy . ”
Mujak’s wound was deep, but fortunately, it wasn’t life-threatening . The combination of healing potions and healing magic placed him in a stable state . If Lloyd’s plan had been to tie up the feet of his pursuers, it worked out perfectly .
Mujak, who had unknowingly become a burden to his party, apologized with a heavy sigh, “Hmm, this old man has become a burden . I’m sorry . ”
“No, you got injured . ”
“I would be happier if I had cut off one of his arms… This just makes me mad . ”
Mujak had pride in his own abilities, but the north had too many monsters . There was also Veronica, who could cut his head off as easily as peeling an apple . While Mujak was feeling ashamed, his eyes felt a strange sense of discomfort . He felt like a person had disappeared from among them .
“Um, I would like to say one thing if it isn’t impolite . ”
“What is it?”
“T-That person isn’t there . ”
The two of them didn’t see anyone when they followed Mujak’s finger . That’s right . The two of them couldn’t see anything .
“Where did the girl with yellow hair go?”
It was the sudden disappearance of the Yellow Tower candidate, Para .
* * *
Tak .
Lloyd moved quickly and slowed down as he noticed there was no one following him . He thought there would be at least one person, but no one had chased him . They were fairly good despite their young age, truly worthy of being called the elite forces of Meltor . If possible, he wanted to reduce the group by one person before he was hit again .
‘It was quite a dangerous situation,’ Lloyd thought as he poured potions onto his wounds .
The higher the density of aura, the slower the recovery of the wound . These cuts from a master would probably take a month to heal completely . Mujak’s stabbed stomach was more severe, but it wasn’t a comforting thought .
“I am the loser only because he lacks practical experience,” Lloyd muttered as he continued walking . “It would’ve been different if he had turned it into a fight of attrition . I would have had no way to escape . No, I won because I provoked him . ”
He analyzed the previous fight . This was Lloyd’s hobby and habit, and the basis for his tactics .
Lloyd’s win over Mujak was actually due to Mujak’s self-destruction . Instead of taking advantage of the favorable situation, he had blind faith in his Aura Ability . If Mujak had maintained the siege with the three magicians, it would have been Lloyd who was killed .
That’s why he had taunted Mujak until Mujak couldn’t endure it any longer . For the Janissaries, the Sultan was their idol, so insulting him would cause their minds to empty . The taunt had worked, creating a ‘chasm’ in Mujak’s perfect advantage .
This had been the winning factor . Lloyd was always faithful to his tactics, and the victory matched his abilities .
“…Hmm, the road still isn’t visible . Is there no way to break inside?”
He had been walking for several kilometers . No matter how large the ruin was, a doorway should’ve appeared by now . However, Lloyd couldn’t find anything . His Aura Ability was very useful, but he couldn’t see anything other than short-term results . It had told him how to enter the ruins, but he didn’t know how to break inside .
At that moment…
As if hearing Lloyd’s inner thoughts, a voice echoed inside the dark passage, “You are interesting . I never thought I would see a master with the ‘Pathfinder’ ability . ”
“…Who?” Lloyd couldn’t determine the location of the voice .
He hid his annoyed expression and looked around warily .
The voice seemed to be coming from the other side of the passage, giving an intimate feeling . “It allowed you to know how to wake up Mercurius, find the tunnel, and see the illusionary sword . If so, it isn’t hard to understand . Pathfinder, the power of guidance, is the ability to see the conditional future . ”
“…You, who are you?”
Unlike a magician, the essence of the Aura Ability was like another life . Some abilities were unavoidable, but there were those like Lloyd’s which were hard to determine . So far, he had used his ability to overcome dozens of adverse situations and reign victorious over strong enemies . It was literally his joker, his last trump card .
However, this voice knew his secret! Fear filled Lloyd’s eyes as he raised his sword . Reading someone’s mind and manipulating their behavior, this was the natural enemy of those with abilities such as his .
As Lloyd trembled with fear for the first time, a seemingly adorable girl appeared before him . She said, “Don’t be afraid, it has been a long time since I’ve had so much fun . ”
“You…!”
The girl was one of Meltor’s three magicians . Her presence was vividly clear now, unlike earlier when she had been hiding it . Lloyd raised his sword reflexively, but he was curious about the other person’s true identity .
“Didn’t you hear me ask who you were?”
“There is no reason to answer . You just have to listen to me talk . ”
It was absurd . Lloyd grew speechless at the reply . Meanwhile, Para opened her mouth again and said, “At first glance, Pathfinder looks like a universal power, but it has a fatal drawback . Previous users of the ability were ignorant of the weakness and died . ”
The ability to see the future was treated as a powerful ability in any age, and Lloyd’s Pathfinder was a type of ability which saw the future . It told him the way to accomplish his purpose in the form of a ‘road . ’
He could make the impossible possible, as well as succeed when the probability was low .
However, Paragranum ridiculed his ability, “You are too short-sighted . You rode the ladder up but didn’t realize that the end is a dead end . You crawled into this set of ruins without knowing anything . ”
“…Is that so?”
“Hoh?” Para was surprised by the reaction .
On the other hand, Lloyd held his sword with a cold and firm face . “Why are you saying such words when standing alone in front of me, Witch?”
“Witch… It has been a long time since I’ve heard that . ” While facing the sword master, the 24-year-old Para smiled brightly at his provocation . The girl’s face was beautiful, and the declaration which emerged from her pink lips didn’t match her outward appearance .
“Where is your confidence coming from, Mortal? How dare you place your dirty feet in my creator’s place? I won’t kill you . Instead, I’ll play around with you for 10,000 years . ”
Chill .
It was the first time Lloyd Pollan had felt this type of chill . This was an evil which was outside the standards of humans . The sincerity of the grimoire, Paragranum, caused the sword master to freeze . This was enough to wake up the survival instinct he thought he had forgotten .
“Kuoh, waaaaack!” Lloyd screamed with terror and attacked with his sword . Mortals usually chose one of three options when facing death . They would give up resisting or run away, or they would struggle meaninglessly, like Lloyd .
This response wasn’t worth a penny to Paragranum .
“In the end, you all have the same reaction . It isn’t interesting-” She yawned like a girl her age and ordered, “「Identification code PRGRN3681214, space freeze . 」”
The world stopped . As Lloyd took a step, the area 1 meter around him froze . This was 9th Circle space magic from the Age of Mythology . Lloyd’s eyes carried an expression of shock as he stopped moving .
Paragranum laughed at Lloyd’s ridiculous frozen expression . Then while enjoying the power of the laboratory, she spoke, “You are like a child compared to my master . ”
“…… . !”
“Don’t roll your eyes at me . 「Isolation . 」”
Lloyd’s fate was determined with those syllables . The frozen space containing Lloyd literally disappeared . He would now be stored in a corner of the lab’s warehouse which was only known to Paragranum .
A necromancer would turn him into a death knight, but he would be a perfect experiment in an alchemist’s hands . Maybe he would become a chimera or a homunculus . Para’s smile was that of an alchemist .
At that moment, the giggling Paragranum turned her head . It was due to the sudden stoppage of the vibrations caused by Mercurius . Since she still hadn’t taken full control of the lab, there could only be one cause .
“It is over . ”
It was only known to Paragranum, but the fight in Paracelsus’ laboratory was over .