Chapter 26

Uung…!!!

Тhе suddеn mаgic spаrring bеtwееn Кhan and Bist.

Аs sоon as thе spar bеgаn, bоth оf thеm drеw out their mаna without hеsitаtion.

“Оh, sо thаt’s mаnа…! But… it’s lеss visible thаn I thought.”

“Thеу sау only thоse with еxceрtiоnal Mana Sеnsitivitу can see it. I cаn оnly see a verу fаint blue glow.”

“Still, this is thе first time I’vе асtuаlly seen manа like this. It’s truly аmаzing…!”

Sinсe most оf thе nоbles gathеred in the Вanquet Hall wеrе Barоns, thеre wеre manу among them fоr whom this wаs thе first time seeing mana right bеforе thеir еyеs like this.

“As ехрectеd of Visсоunt Вuttnеr’s еscоrt mаgе. Thаt рerson’s body is glowing much more brightly blue.”

“Indeed… Seeing it from this distance, the difference is clear.”

“So, does that mean that Khan fellow is really someone impersonating a mage?”

“We’ll have to see after this spar ends.”

The nobles were conversing loudly without being discreet, so others could hear their conversation as well.

“Sir Khan…!”

Byutek, who held absolute faith in Khan, also made a slightly worried expression.

‘No matter how great Sir Khan is, this is too dangerous…!’

Byutek had seen some mages when he was in Kilpheon.

Since Kilpheon was such a large city, the level of the mages there was incredibly high.

‘To be honest… there were many mages of a much higher level than Sir Khan. But… I can feel the same kind of power flowing from that guy as I felt from the mages in Kilpheon.’

From that mage named Bist, he got the same feeling as from the mages he had seen in Kilpheon.

Of course, that didn’t mean Bist was on the same level as a Kilpheon mage, but it was clear he was a fairly high-level mage.

‘Sir Khan, please don’t get hurt. And please win…!’

Byutek recalled when he first met Khan.

When he first met him, Khan seemed weaker than anyone.

He was a man with a gaunt body and a more frail build than anyone.

Moreover, since Byutek’s Mana Sensitivity was far superior to others, he had noticed that Khan had almost no mana.

‘Compared to when I first saw him, Sir Khan’s mana has increased a lot… but it’s still far insufficient compared to that Bist guy.’

So, even though Byutek tried to believe in Khan, worry kept taking precedence.

Uung…!!!

And as if to prove that, the difference began to show.

Clearly, both had drawn out their mana simultaneously, but at some point, mana was no longer rising from Khan.

In contrast, Bist was emitting an even greater amount of mana.

“Ooh, amazing!”

“As expected of Viscount Buttner’s escort mage!”

For ordinary people, since they have almost no Mana Sensitivity, they cannot see mana with their eyes.

However, when mana becomes dense beyond a certain amount, even ordinary people’s eyes can see it.

So, the people in the Banquet Hall buzzed with excitement upon seeing Bist’s blue mana.

Uung…!!!

Bist, clad in mana all over his body, looked at Khan with a sinister smile.

“As I thought, you’re not a mage but just a bug pretending to be one. A real mage with only that much mana? Kkuk…! I’ll make you pay dearly for impersonating a mage!”

“…….”

Bist had thought something was a bit off about Khan from the moment he first saw him.

In his eyes, Khan was a mage of a level worse than trash.

The mana he possessed was pitiful, and his physique was frail to boot.

‘I’ll kill him!’

Even if you accidentally kill your opponent in a Magic Sparring, you receive no punishment.

Bist decided to use this to kill Khan.

Click.

Bist extended the staff he was holding in his hand towards Khan.

Uung…!!!

Simultaneously, Bist used his specialty, mental-type magic.

[Used the magic ‘Mental Destruction’.]

Bist had a Talent for mental-type magic, so he was more suited to dealing with people than Monsters.

That was why Viscount Buttner, the lord of Eldrida city and the most influential noble in this vicinity, had hired him.

There was no mage better than Bist for dealing with assassins and bandits targeting Eldrida’s resources.

Uuuuung…!!!

“Haha, writhe in agony!”

Blue mana shot out from the staff Bist extended forward, heading towards Khan.

Meanwhile, Khan was watching Bist intently, gauging his level.

‘A simple mana attack?’

Khan had already sparred with Bist several times.

This was their first actual face-to-face encounter, but in the game, the Magic Sparring with Bist was an essential Quest.

‘It’s a bit different from the game. The first attack was definitely a fire-type attack.’

And in the game, upon being hit by the fire attack, the Character would immediately collapse and lose the spar.

‘It seems I’ll be able to defeat this guy for the first time.’

Khan was calmer than anyone, even as mana was flying towards him.

It was likely due to his Rank 10 Skill, ‘Sage’s Heart’.

Khan extended his hand forward and immediately used a Skill.

[Used the Skill ‘Barrier’.]

Uung…!!!

Whoosh…

Upon using the Barrier, an invisible, transparent screen was created where Khan extended his hand.

However.

Whoosh!!!

The Barrier Khan created failed to block Bist’s mana.

To be precise, the mana Bist launched passed through Khan’s Barrier and flew straight at Khan.

Sluurp.

Bist’s mana was absorbed directly into Khan’s head.

Seeing this, Bist began to laugh loudly.

“Hahahaha!! You fool. Did you think you could block mental-type magic with a mere Barrier Skill?!”

“…….”

Bist was convinced of his victory the moment his magic hit Khan.

When hit by the Mental Destruction magic, severe headaches would strike, rendering one unable to do anything.

But something was a bit off.

“You, why… aren’t you collapsing? At the very least, you should be screaming…”

“…….”

Khan still said nothing, merely looking at the message that appeared before him.

[Due to ‘Sage’s Heart’, you are unaffected by the ‘Mental Destruction’ magic.]

Thanks to the Rank 10 Hidden Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’, which granted absolute immunity to mental-type attacks, Khan suffered no damage whatsoever.

Upon confirming that message, Khan let out an involuntary chuckle.

“…You’re laughing? What’s going on!”

“He’s less impressive than I thought.”

“You arrogant bastard!!”

Khan had inadvertently spoken aloud what he was thinking internally.

Hearing that, Bist roared in anger and immediately used his next magic.

Whoosh!!!

A sphere of fire about 50 centimeters in diameter formed above Bist’s head.

The nobles watching the spectacle gasped in surprise.

The most agitated person was Brente, who was acting as the referee for this Magic Sparring between the two.

‘To block Bist’s mental-type magic so effortlessly. He’s a formidable expert.’

Brente was Eldrida’s Guardian Knight, so skilled that he had no rivals in this vicinity.

Thus, Brente could also tell how much mana Khan possessed, and in his eyes too, Khan fell far short.

‘His mana is so low you’d believe he’s not a mage but an ordinary person. I don’t know how he used magic of that level.’

As the referee, Brente could watch the spar from the closest distance.

Therefore, he clearly saw the Barrier magic Khan had just used as well.

In Brente’s view, it was quite substantial, something Khan absolutely shouldn’t be able to wield with his basic mana level.

‘It seems there’s something else we, Bist and I, don’t know about. He’s a tremendous expert…!’

Brente had traveled to many cities and seen countless mages so far.

Even to the experienced Brente, Khan gave the intuition of being a fairly high-level mage.

‘Moreover, that Knight accompanying him is also quite skilled. No, to be precise, I should say he hasn’t yet awakened his Talent.’

He briefly shifted his gaze to stare at Byutek.

It didn’t seem like a lie that he was a Knight from Kilpheon.

After all, if you were caught impersonating a Knight, it was a capital offense, so you wouldn’t fake your identity unless you were incredibly reckless.

‘After the spar ends, I should have a conversation with that fellow as well.’

Brente focused his attention back on the Magic Sparring between Khan and Bist.

Uung…!!

Whoosh!!!

The Fireball Bist created burned fiercely, hot enough to seem like it would incinerate everything around it.

“Let’s see you block this too!”

Click.

Whoosh!!!

Whoosh!!!

Bist launched the Fireball straight at Khan while simultaneously using another magic.

Uung…!!!

[Used the magic ‘Endless Whisper’.]

The magic Bist used was a mental-type magic called ‘Endless Whisper’.

If hit by this magic, one’s mind would become strangely altered.

You would become what’s called a lunatic, turning completely foolish.

‘It should be impossible to block the Fireball and the mental-type magic at the same time.’

Bist predicted his victory while looking at Khan.

Crack…!

Kwaaaaang!!!

The Barrier Khan created couldn’t withstand Bist’s Fireball and shattered.

“Sir Khan!!!”

“Kyaaaaak!!”

“It’s dangerous…!!!”

Byutek, Deilis, and Sharin screamed as they watched Khan, who was about to be hit by the Fireball.

However.

[Used the Skill ‘Barrier’.]

Uung…!!

Khan immediately used Barrier again.

The Fireball, which had already struck a Barrier once, had its power weakened, and

Kwaaaaang!!!

Sluurp.

The Fireball Bist launched vanished completely.

“Hahaha, that’s not the end!”

“…….”

This time, Bist was confident that his mental-type magic had worked on Khan.

“I didn’t think you’d actually block the Fireball. Kkuk… Seems you’re a half-baked mage after all! But now it’s over…!”

Bist was now convinced that Khan would soon become a drooling lunatic.

Every single person who had been hit by his magic ‘Endless Whisper’ had been like that so far.

But Khan, looking more peaceful than ever, opened his mouth impassively.

“Let’s stop the games here.”

Uung…! Uung…! Uung…!

Simultaneously, numerous Magic Arrows began to appear around Khan.

Having reached Level 7, the number of Mana Arrows he could create at once was a whopping 30.

“Ooh…!”

At that overwhelming sight, the watching nobles all gasped in unison.