Squeee! Squeeeeeeak!

Lee Taebaek unleashed a barrage of ice arrows conjured from behind him. He hadn’t bothered naming the technique, nor did he have the time.

Pababababababa-!

Cold ice crystals shattered. White dust settled like fresh snow. The rye grains, which had only held the moonlight until now, began to glisten with frost.

The golden waves blending with the white flurries created a mesmerizing spectacle unlike anything seen elsewhere.

“Hahaha! Impressive.”

Suddenly, the Illusion Master’s laughter erupted, turning into wind that flattened the rye stalks in the opposite direction.

The grains were sharp as blades. A mere graze would slice skin and reveal pink flesh beneath.

No way this is an ordinary rye field.

Lee Taebaek cast his Ice Magic while simultaneously forming ice platforms. He leaped across them like stepping stones, slicing through the moonlit night.

The platforms crumbled into powder like sugar cookies the instant he stepped on them. His mana was just barely enough, so he couldn’t make them sturdy. Instead, he opted for the strategy of making many thin ones.

As he demonstrated the art called air-treading, the Left Luminary’s smile deepened, as if delighted. He looked ready to applaud.

“I knew you shaped them into low-mana arrows to compensate for your lacking mana. But the precision is truly astounding.”

“Talk is cheap. Why not step up and fight fair and square, Illusion Master?”

“You may not know this, but my martial arts are lacking. I have no desire for a head-on clash with you.”

No impact from the jab.

“A man bragging about his lack of combat prowess isn’t exactly impressive.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to abandoning martial arts, I get to watch you perform for my amusement. You’re experiencing it firsthand.”

The smug bastard spread his arms wide.

“By forsaking martial arts, my world draws ever closer to perfection.”

He then threw his head back dramatically, mimicking a dictator or orator basking in the crowd’s cheers. It hurt just to watch.

“At first, many looked down on me pitifully. But they all died by my hand right here.”

The Illusion Master’s eyes slowly descended.

Flames poured—no, overflowed—from his eye sockets.

This ecstasy is the Left Luminary’s Unique Barrier.

The background and terrain would shift according to his will. But arbitrary changes wouldn’t be possible.

Even for his own Unique Barrier, exerting 100% influence would drastically reduce its effectiveness.

The essence of magic lies in “restrictions.”

Like how a narrow gun barrel makes a water gun shoot farther.

The more his will shaped it, the less versatile the barrier became as a tradeoff.

Thus, rather than going all-out from the start, the Left Luminary was playing defense to gauge Lee Taebaek’s full power.

Damn it.

At Ten Wings level, a bit of complacency was fair game.

It would’ve been better if he’d spouted typical villain lines and charged in with a roar.

But the Illusion Master, Left Luminary, wasn’t that type.

No. None of the Ten Wings were.

Squeeeeeeak!

A cluster of a dozen rye grains shot up abruptly, lunging at his nape. Lee Taebaek dodged with fluid motion. He felt the sharpness in his bones.

Fuck. Why design the Ten Wings like this.

He hadn’t wanted brainless villains.

They were the ones who ruled Lake City through raw power, after all.

So he’d given them all the ‘cautious’ trait.

And now Lee Taebaek was paying the karma.

Whirrrk-

He dodged again.

Ka-ang!

This time, he blocked with his umbrella.

Fwoooong!

He was pushed back, stance unbroken.

Lee Taebaek stacked ice sheets behind him to cushion the impact. Then he kicked off a platform and returned to the front lines.

Watching this, the Illusion Master let out an odd exclamation.

“Hoo.”

Since Lee Taebaek was blocking and dodging so well, the offense heated up. Attack and defense seamlessly alternated.

Lee Taebaek was the one pouring it on, but the one actually landing hits was the Left Luminary. He’d finished assessing his power.

The onslaught bordered on a supernatural phenomenon. It felt utterly different from any fight so far.

No clashing blades or fisticuffs. This was mage-to-mage combat.

Divorced from primitive brawls.

Yet excluding modern tools like cybernetic prosthetics.

A contest of layered theories. It was his first time.

And this experience would form the foundation to propel him to the next realm. Invaluable, in a word.

Ha.

He knew he was deranged, but it seemed worse than thought.

In a life-or-death pinch.

Against a Ten Wings opponent, grinning like an idiot.

But he’d faced the Saber Master without flinching. That’s why he could stand against the Illusion Master.

His history of reckless gambles with life on the line shone now.

Thwack, thwack!

Lee Taebaek desperately squeezed mana to bombard the rye stalk barrier. But as the proverb goes, the firm yields to the soft.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

The ice arrows sank harmlessly into the sheaves like ghosts. They didn’t penetrate to reach the Illusion Master.

Wasn’t expecting much, but…

Complaining wouldn’t change it.

Srrrring.

A blade of light emerged from Lee Taebaek’s fingertips. The Para Blade.

Ice curved beneath his feet, extending toward the barrier like a path.

Makeshift ski slope. Ice slide. Whatever. Purpose: close in on the Illusion Master.

He crouched low.

He shot forward like an arrow. Faster than folding space. He’d buffed ‘Agility’ and activated [Bullet Time].

Through gaps in the rye, the Illusion Master’s face remained composed.

A Ten Wings powerhouse; such feats weren’t new. But that reaction was exactly what Lee Taebaek wanted. Sliding, he thought.

His greatest weapon isn’t this Unique Barrier.

Not letting his guard down.

As a pillar of Kergel Magic Tower, his prudent nature that never underestimated Lee Taebaek was the true threat.

But now.

For the first time, a hint of complacency showed. Even if not full guard-down, the expression shifted clearly.

Time to strike.

He snapped his fingers.

Pabababababap!

Ice arrows fired again. Shallow holes pocked the barrier.

Instantly, rye grains wriggled like living things to fill the gaps. Judging it as erosion from outside, the barrier thinned its core and densified its edges.

That’s it.

In this ecstasy, the Illusion Master’s magic was pure ‘manipulation’.

It looked like creation, but that was just the vast field making it seem so.

Likely a restriction: no adding terrain upon barrier deployment. Hence infusing lethality into the rye.

This world was well-crafted.

To gain one, you must forfeit another.

By me.

Lee Taebaek had designed it so.

Fwook.

Closing in. Golden spikes protruded like skewers from the wall.

Lee Taebaek defended the front with his umbrella. Just in case, he buffed the Para Blade’s hardness.

Golden thorns snapped like bamboo.

Squeeeeeeak!

They struck from behind.

He didn’t block. His turn to advance.

He thrust the Para Blade through a gap.

“Predictable.”

From beyond, the Left Luminary pulled his shoulders back two inches, letting the blade slide past, shaking his head.

Proud of his own dodge. Makes sense; lifelong martial arts inferiority complex, yet evading a blade.

In the eyes of the Ten Wings, even a novice like Lee Taebaek’s strike held weight. He licked his lips.

He loved these moments. Flattening the arrogant nose.

Time barely passed amid distractions. Lee Taebaek grinned wide.

“Is it because your personal power falls short? Grinning like that over dodging one swing.”

“…”

Cracks in the Illusion Master’s pupils. Lower lip twitched in rage.

Lee Taebaek tilted his head aside. The one remaining ice arrow hovered where his head should be. Arrowhead gleamed in the full moon.

He fired.

It grazed his earlobe. No flesh-ripping sound followed.

Sensing it, the Illusion Master clamped the gap shut, halting the arrow.

Perrier-

The lodged arrow quivered pitifully.

“For a mage.”

The Left Luminary sneered. As if saving it for now, he beamed.

“Number games are mere refinement.”

“Is that so.”

Lee Taebaek grinned back.

“Too bad. For a gamer, number games aren’t refinement—they’re basics. You can’t beat me there.”

“…What.”

Lee Taebaek touched the arrow tail.

The ice arrow expanded. It swelled massively. The shallow gap widened steadily.

The Illusion Master’s face, until now only a voice, gradually emerged.

“…!!”

Clearly unanticipated; bewilderment flickered.

Stopping here would be unsatisfying. Lee Taebaek chanted.

The arrow transformed into an iceberg.

Silver-white spears tore the golden wall asunder. The Illusion Master’s pupils widened in shock.

“Too early to be surprised.”

He chanted once more.

The iceberg vanished in an instant, like a lie.

Leaving only pinholes, it evaporated into nothing.

Finally, an opening. The carotid gleamed invitingly. He thrust the blade in.

“Kyaaak!”

The sharp scream was music.

The Illusion Master clutched his nape, trying to retreat hastily. Warm liquid seeped between fingers.

No matter his caution, he was Ten Wings. Unquestionably stronger than Lee Taebaek.

Deep down, he’d underestimated him. Surface consciousness merely covered it like a blanket.

As said, a mage’s virtue is profound mental fortitude.

In other words.

Mages are fragile creatures when cracks form in that sturdy mind.

The Illusion Master pressed his thumb and index finger together. His fingers whitened from the grip strength. He was attempting to reshape the barrier.

Lee Taebaek bellowed at full volume.

“Now-!!”

In that instant, Jasbi’s eyes snapped open as if waiting. A dry mechanical voice leaked from her teeth.

“W-what is that?!”

The Illusion Master cried out from his dantian. Ignoring him, streams of 0s and 1s flooded Jasbi’s retinas before abruptly halting.

The next moment, a flash assaulted the eyes. Needless to say, Lee Taebaek, and even the Illusion Master, reflexively shut his eyes.

They opened simultaneously. Greeting them was no golden plain, but a familiar ceiling.

The Illusion Master scanned the room, muttering.

“Th-this can’t—”

Then a whoosh utterly unlike the ice arrow cut him off.

Lee Taebaek had already scooped up the fallen Jasbi and bolted.

Clueless, the Illusion Master traced the sound. He jerked his head toward the vibrating ceiling lights.

Kwaaaaaang!

An explosion rocked the lower district.

The conical roof collapsed.

An ear-splitting thunderclap accompanied the arrow plunging toward the Illusion Master. The Bow Master’s technique.