Chapter 39

It has been a week since Yuris visited our base in Loblion.

The island of Ars has been developing smoothly.

The once eerie and abandoned island is no longer there. It has become a bustling town with many ratmen and slimes busily crossing the well-maintained streets.

What they are transporting is mainly seafood caught by the golems.

The destination is the freezer set up in the town hall. A magic device made of mithril that emits cold air through ice magic has been installed.

I used quite a bit of mithril for that, so I haven't been able to make any more magic devices for teleportation yet.

But waiting for mithril to accumulate would be a waste of time. Besides, I was too worried about Yuris to just sit around.

So, I decided to train in dark magic.

Now that I have free time and the vast sky and sea, I can use dark magic to my heart's content.

I was already floating a huge black mist sphere in the sky on the southern beach of Ars. It's fun to use dark magic without worrying about being seen. In the capital or Loblion, I couldn't have launched such a thing into the sky.

Selen looked up at it and said,

"How ominous..."

Elysia also muttered,

"It's so dark that you might get sucked in if you're not careful."

I replied,

"I find it calming to look at... Anyway, I want to try various things with this black mist right away. First, Selen, can you cast a weaker fire magic, other than *Inferno*, into that black mist?"

"Leave it to me – I will cut through that black mist with my *Flame Blade*!"

Selen drew her sword, enveloped the blade in flames, and swung it down.

"Ha! – Burn, *Flame Blade*!! Tear through, *Flame Blade*!!"

With a loud cry, a massive blade of fire was released from the sword and flew into the black mist with a roaring sound.

Elysia muttered at Selen's cry,

"Too hot... Oh!"

The black mist seemed to be torn apart.

The flame blade penetrated the black mist and did not come out.

"What... My *Flame Blade*..."

"Dark magic is superior to all other types of magic except holy magic. If the magic power is the same, darkness will win. I used that to trap the *Flame Blade* inside the black mist."

"Hmm. So, the flame is still inside?"

"Yes... Look."

I opened a part of the black mist and made flames spout out.

"Wow, impressive! It seems we can use the enemy's magic to our advantage."

I nodded at Selen's words.

"Right. It's an extension of *Pandora's Box*. Let's call it *Dark Cage*. But it can't absorb everything... Elysia, can you try *Holy Light* on that black mist?"

"Understood."

Unlike Selen, Elysia calmly aimed her hand at the black mist and released a light sphere.

The light sphere collided with the black mist, opened a hole, and penetrated it. The black mist dissipated instantly.

Selen said, looking impressed,

"I see. In front of holy magic, it's that easy..."

"Yes. It's said that to counter dark magic with holy magic, you only need half the magic power... But from the feel of it, even less than half might be enough."

"But monsters rarely use holy magic. In practice, Lord Alex has no enemies... Oh, no, that's not what I meant."

I slowly nodded at Selen.

"The Holy Order might send someone to kill me. They are users of holy magic, so they could easily defeat me."

Elysia immediately replied with a serious expression,

"I won't let that happen."

"Me too! It's unthinkable to harm such a... no, such a kind Lord Alex! I will turn such scoundrels to ashes!"

Selen also said with a fierce tone,

"Thank you. But the Holy Order has many powerful users of holy magic. I want to be able to defend myself as much as possible... So, next..."

I floated another black mist in the sky.

But this time, I compressed it tightly into a flat shape.

"That's a wall of dark magic... *Dark Wall*. It's similar to *Fire Wall*. Elysia, can you try to hit it?"

"Yes!"

Elysia immediately released a light sphere at the *Dark Wall* I created.

This time, the light sphere did not penetrate the *Dark Wall* but exploded on the spot.

"Wow, it defended it this time."

"By concentrating a large amount of magic power, it can block holy magic. It will probably break after a few hits, though. Elysia, can you keep hitting it?"

At my words, Elysia immediately started firing *Holy Light* in rapid succession.

In the end, the *Dark Wall* broke after about three hits.

"It doesn't last that long... Let's try other holy magic. Next, I'll make a larger wall."

Saying that, I raised both hands high and tried to deploy a *Dark Wall* by pouring in as much magic power as possible.

"*Dark Wall* – huh?"

I couldn't believe my eyes.

The sky had suddenly turned completely dark.

Selen and Elysia were also surprised by the sudden change.

"What!? The sky suddenly!"

The darkness that covered the entire island made anxious voices echo from everywhere.

"Bad..."

I immediately dispersed the black mist.

Seeing the sky turn blue again, Selen's mouth dropped open.

"What was that just now..."

"Without a doubt, it was Lord Alex's magic... Lord Alex, your dark magic has improved even more than before."

Elysia said with a smile, but "improved" was an understatement.

"Probably because my familiars have increased... Anyway, I need to be more careful."

It was good that the sky was wide. If it had been on the ground, it might have harmed everyone.

"I need to get better at controlling my magic power..."

Until now, I had only thought about using all my magic power. Otherwise, I couldn't use effective magic.

But now I have plenty of magic power. I need to be able to control it freely.

"Alright... Let's train more in dark magic. Elysia and Selen, will you help me? I'll also call Yuris later."

"For Lord Alex, I'll stay up all night!"

"Lord Alex, let's do our best!!"

Elysia and Selen answered like that. They were like mothers watching over their children.

After that, we spent our days training in dark magic.

...However, the ones who saw the sky turn black were not just us.

There were also observers from the north.