Chapter 27

As expected, application is difficult.

Using magic for purposes other than its original intent or combining different attributes of magic was a method of application that was only possible because he was a tank character.

In fact, if he weren't a tank, there would be no need to study it.

To survive until the end, he needed to keep researching and trying.

Especially when it was okay to fail.

When a single mistake could cost him his life, there wouldn't even be a chance to practice.

In that sense, this failure wasn't very dangerous.

"Ah, you little sneak...! There was more than one artifact! To lull me into a false sense of security!"

The black mage, having regained his composure, howled.

He apparently hadn't even considered the possibility of different attributes of magic.

Ian shrugged.

"You caught me."

Just as the black mage's gaze was about to shift to the mace, Ian launched himself again.

The wind pushed him forcefully.

"Rat-like... move, indeed!"

The black mage raised his remaining arm.

He had managed to keep hold of his magic staff.

Squeal!

A much larger wraith barrier unfolded, scattering eerie cries.

This time, it covered the entire surrounding area.

Indeed, it wouldn't work twice.

Ian, tasting the bitterness, gathered his mana.

Even he couldn't avoid a flawless barrier.

Squeal!

The barrier pierced through Ian, scattering curses.

The hatred made his vision blur.

Though it couldn't corrupt his mind, it was enough to stop his charge.

As Ian plummeted.

Roar!

Violet mana surged through the black mage's body as he raised his magic staff.

The mana waves spread again from behind the altar.

The spell circuits around them flickered, and the undead that had been looking up at Ian trembled as if electrocuted.

Ian, who had landed safely, curled the corners of his mouth.

'Right to phase 2? Good, it's fast.'

Squish!

The bones disintegrated and were sucked into the black mage.

Squish! Bone fragments endlessly adhered to the black mage's body.

A massive lich form, made of countless bones, was being created.

It was the moment when one of his weaknesses, physical defense, disappeared.

Of course, it wasn't just about increasing defense.

"Your struggles end here, red vermin... This is the power I obtained from the depths of the void."

The voice resonated through the chamber.

The lich, with countless skulls adorning his head like a crown, raised his enlarged arm.

"...A typical brat, indeed."

Ian smirked as he watched the clump of necromantic energy forming in the lich's hand.

Red mana surged in his eyes.

"I will bestow upon you the enlightenment that death is a blessing."

The lich's hand moved faster than Ian could complete his spell.

Squeal!

The condensed necromantic energy shot out like a beam.

Ian dashed to the side.

Boom! Squeal!

The beam followed him, scattering necromantic remnants in all directions.

Ian clenched his teeth and circled around the black mage.

This strategy of gradually closing the distance while circling was from the game.

If he charged straight, he couldn't avoid the beam, and if he hid behind a pillar, he lost the chance to counterattack.

And this method was still effective in reality.

Squeal!

The beam that had been following him for a while finally subsided.

Necromantic remnants bounced off the ceiling and walls, and the black mage immediately prepared his next attack.

'I won't fall for it twice.'

Red mana surged in Ian's eyes again.

He didn't bother to avoid the incoming necromantic remnants.

He could easily withstand this much.

Whoosh!

Thanks to this, his spell was completed faster this time.

Dozens of flames burst forth, stretching toward the lich.

Boom!

The fireballs exploded wildly against the lich's massive head, shoulders, and chest.

Flashes and thick smoke enveloped the lich.

"Pathetic... spell."

A mocking voice accompanied the necromantic hand that cut through the smoke.

Squeal!

Necromantic beam.

But Ian was already gone.

His goal from the start was to block the lich's vision, so he charged straight after casting the spell.

Crack! The depleted essence split and fell from his hand.

Damn, what a waste.

Ian clicked his tongue and pulled out a new essence from the subspace.

"Rat-like tricks, indeed!"

The lich finally realized Ian's position.

The beam that had been pouring into empty space quickly followed.

Ian slipped between the lich's legs.

"......?!"

The lich's eyes wavered.

His deformed arm was too large to aim between his legs, and he could only turn his body while casting.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

This gave Ian enough time to complete his high-level spell.

A blue light flashed around him.

Lightning bolts sprang from between his fingers.

Crackle!

The lightning spread rapidly, forming a web-like pattern.

Just as the necromantic beam subsided.

The lich took a clumsy step back and looked down at Ian.

Though a skull can't show expression,

The emotion clearly etched on his face was shock.

"Gray...?! It wasn't an artifact...?"

Ian looked up at him.

"Is that important now?"

"......?!"

The lich's eyes wavered, but

Ian, without hesitation, extended his lightning-charged hands toward the lich's groin.

A piercing blue light burst from the essence between his palms.

Crack!

A thick bolt of lightning pierced the lich.

Crackle!

A blinding light followed.

The mid-level gray spell, Chain Lightning, which was rarely used due to its casting time and mana consumption,

But it had high attack power and an additional effect that ignored physical defense.

With the amplification from the essence, it was enough to fry a black mage encased in a bone shell.

Crackle!

The lightning that had enveloped the lich's body for a while finally dissipated.

The lich, who had been trembling, stiffened.

Smoke rose from between his large eye sockets and open jaw for a moment.

Crack!

His entire body began to crumble into powder.

"......!"

Ian hastily retreated.

But he couldn't avoid the bone powder that rained down like a waterfall.

Ian, who had emerged from the pile of powder, frowned.

So disgusting, really.

He roughly wiped his face and moved forward.

It wasn't over yet.

Returning the essence and mace to the subspace, he stopped and drew his sword.

In the middle of the pile of bone powder.

The black mage lay sprawled out.

His already mummy-like limbs were charred and stuck together, and his eyes were white and lifeless.

His ears hadn't been burned, and he trembled.

"How... how did you use... different colored magic...?"

A smoky voice escaped from between his lips.

A sneer appeared on Ian's lips.

"You're about to die, and you're still curious about that?"

"......"

The black mage's mouth twitched.

For the first time, fear spread across his emaciated face.

"If I had a little more time... I could have become a true immortal... The primordial truth... The power of the void was mine... Damn it..."

While Ian listened to the black mage's rambling, which sounded like a plea or a last will, he shook off the bone powder and placed one foot on the black mage's back.

"For what it's worth."

He raised his arm.

"You wouldn't have become an immortal or understood that so-called truth even with more time, Conraud."

"How... how could you... know my name...?"

Crack!

Ian's sword struck Conraud's neck.

His head, severed like a dry branch, rolled away.

As Ian bent down to pick up the magic staff the black mage had used, a dark purple smoke rose from Conraud's head.

It was the twisted and bloated wraith of the black mage, spreading from every orifice.

"......?"

This shouldn't happen.

As Ian furrowed his brow, another change occurred.

A crack appeared in the air, and a hole formed, splitting the space.

Beyond it, a purple glow flickered.

Crack! Aaaaah!

Conraud's soul began to be pulled in.

A scream of pain.

The hole, which had sucked in Conraud's soul like a vacuum cleaner, disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"...What the hell was that?"

Ian blinked.

A hole that tears through space and swallows souls.

"Is it... the void?"

The void, the primordial chaos, the abyss, were terms used by the fallen.

Ian shrugged and put the magic staff into the subspace as he descended into the pile of bones.

Conraud's head.

Even though his soul had been sucked out, the remnants of corrupted mana were clearly felt.

"Enough to use as evidence, I guess..."

Ian, who had placed the head in a prepared cloth bag, finally staggered and sat down.

The aftereffects of massive mana consumption hit him late.

His stomach churned, and his head throbbed.

If he had used a few more spells with the essence, he would have fallen into mana exhaustion.

"Still... "

Rubbing his temples, Ian looked up at the ceiling.

'Why won't this turn off?'

Because the spell circuits were still active.

It meant that the undead in the tomb were still moving.

In the game, when the black mage was killed, the circuits stopped, and the undead all fell.

"Maybe... "

Ian's gaze shifted to the altar.

He recalled the mana waves that spread each time Conraud cast a high-level spell.

Is this another unnecessary realism?

'Magic itself is already absurd...'

Ian clicked his tongue and stood up.

Circling the altar, he eventually stopped in the center of its back.

The spell circuits etched along the side of the altar formed a circular empty space.

Large enough for a hand to fit.

Ian, gathering his mana, placed his hand on it.

Rumble!

The wall with the engraved pattern sank, revealing a staircase leading down from the altar.

Ian stepped onto the staircase.

It wasn't dark thanks to the spell circuits etched on the walls and ceiling.

After a short while, a small space between the stairs appeared.

A small bookshelf and a desk with papers and books stacked on it stood there.

'These mages...'

Ian casually scanned the desk.

Mages were a race that endlessly pursued their own research and exploration.

Ian had read the research logs of other mages a few times.

Most of them felt like the diaries of schizophrenic patients.

'But, there were still some useful pieces of information mixed in.'

Ian's gaze eventually stopped on a thick book bound in leather.

A research log.

Ian, picking up the log, turned around without hesitation.

As the light from the spell circuits grew brighter, a small, one-square-meter chamber was revealed.

The spell circuits converged on a pillar in the center of the chamber.

A pillar about a meter high.

On top of it, a purple sphere the size of a soccer ball floated.

'Is this the essence...?'

The first time he had seen such a large size.

Ian tilted his head as he approached the pillar.

The sensation it gave was far from corrupted mana.

It felt more like pure mana, and even seemed to have a holy quality.

'Anyway, this must be the power source.'

Ian, stopping in front of the pillar, scratched his cheek for a moment.

'...It's a bit of a waste to destroy it.'

Ian decided to trust his own resistance.

The sensation it gave was far from corruption, which also influenced his decision.

Ian, gathering mana in his hand, reached out to the sphere.

A minimal safety mechanism. As his fingertips touched it, concentric circles spread on the surface of the sphere.

The next moment, Ian's hand was sucked into the sphere.

"Wh...?"

Ian, eyes wide, tried to pull his hand out.

Splat!

The sphere exploded like a paint can, covering him.

The world flipped upside down.

And then, darkness.