Chapter 100 – Again (２)

Ice Golem.

The spell Emily cast was Ice Golem.

But not the same Ice Golem as before.

Krrr!

Krrrrrr!

Small Ice Golems.

Roughly Goblin-sized.

But there were so many.

Ten Ice Golems at once.

Ice Golem was an existing spell.

But none like this had ever existed.

That meant Emily had invented it herself.

Something only century-defining geniuses could do.

Gijun’s eyes shot open.

He was stunned.

Seeing that look on his face, Emily couldn’t help but feel proud.

…Not that I did it entirely alone.

Of course, it wasn’t her solo work.

She’d certainly made it with White Wood’s help.

And strictly speaking, it wasn’t a wholly new spell.

She’d just tweaked the Mana array of an existing Ice Golem.

But even that was undeniable impressive.

Still, this should be enough… to handle him.

ICE Golems optimized to counter Gijun’s quick movements.

It was far from all.

Alongside the Ice Golem, Emily cast another spell.

Ice Field.

A freezing-type spell that encased the entire floor in ice.

This spell was meant to cancel out Gijun’s mobility.

Crackle!

The ground froze in an instant.

On this slick sheet of ice, the darting pace that had thrown Emily off last time would be nullified.

Once Gijun slipped and lost his footing—

The Ice Golems and Emily’s spells would crash down on him in that gap.

Perfect.

Emily sensed her victory.

She sent the Ice Golems forward.

Go!

Gijun had to be struggling to move on the Ice Field.

She couldn’t waste this opening.

The Ice Golems, wholly unbothered by the slick surface, surged toward Gijun.

Krrrrrrr!

But then—

Huh…?

Emily’s eyes went wide.

“Wha—what’s this?!”

It was because a shocking scene, completely different from her scenario, unfolded before her eyes.

*

A low hum filled the air as the battle began.

The moment combat started, Gijun summoned his Avatar.

Right after that, he cast Fireball.

Ten Fireballs materialized at startling speed.

And their appearance was, of course, markedly different from before.

Golden orbs, each wreathed in roaring flames.

The moment that alien shape—unlike any ordinary Fireball—revealed itself.

Krrrrrk!

The Ice Golems surged toward Gijun.

Their movements were undeniably tricky.

Not linear, nor consistent.

They struck from every angle, targeting Gijun’s blind spots, stabbing in from all sides.

But that wasn’t a problem.

“I can feel it all.”

Right now, Gijun’s body wasn’t an ordinary one.

With it, his senses had been amplified to the extreme.

It felt like the sensation he got when his mind was linked with Libre’s.

He could clearly sense the Mana of the Ice Golem charging from behind him.

The instant he grasped their positions, movement directions, and speeds at lightning speed.

Gijun moved the Fireballs.

Woooom!

The Fireballs streaked across the air.

They weren’t moving all that fast.

Gliding slowly, as if drifting through a weightless void, the Fireballs crossed the open space.

And a moment later.

Boom! CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE-BOOM!

The ten Fireballs, perfectly paired off, each took on an Ice Golem and blew them all to pieces.

Even after that, the Fireballs didn’t vanish—they remained, hovering in place.

It meant that a mere 6th-Circle spell split ten ways was no match for this Fireball.

“…Not bad?”

Gijun allowed himself a faint smile.

Because now it was certain—the Fireball’s power was extraordinary.

But that wasn’t the only reason he was surprised.

“My control over the Fireball is far more flexible now.”

The Fireball’s movement itself had changed from before.

Of course, even before this, Gijun’s Fireball control had been excellent.

He could freely launch Fireballs not just in straight lines but along curved paths.

And his accuracy had been outstanding.

But this current Fireball was on an entirely different level.

He could adjust its speed, and even change its direction mid-flight with total freedom.

“Even vertical movement is possible.”

That meant he could make it turn at right angles and move in any direction.

“Unbelievable.”

It felt like controlling it with a mouse drag—precision so fine it seemed absurd.

“Broken as hell.”

Now, with power that was ridiculously amplified and control that was ridiculously precise.

“…How are you going to handle this?”

Gijun looked at Emily and smiled.

And Emily….

“Th—that’s cheating! What is that, Gijun!”

She shouted at him, as if she couldn’t believe it at all.

“If you won’t come to me, I’ll go to you.”

He had no intention of entertaining that kind of conversation.

Swoosh!

Gijun’s Fireball shot toward Emily in an instant.

The Fireball now wasn’t fundamentally different from its usual form.

Spinning fiercely, and at the same time, straight ahead.

It stretched toward Emily in a blink.

“E-e-eek!”

Emily’s face flushed red.

And then her Magic Power surged outward, riding her heartbeat.

Crackle-zap!

Ice wings wrapped around Emily’s entire body before he could blink.

BOOM!

Gijun’s Fireball erupted in a massive explosion.

A moment later, Emily’s form came into view.

‘…Impressive.’

In that split second, she’d cast a spell and blocked Gijun’s Fireball.

But that wasn’t all.

Clink-clink-clink-clank!

Countless ice feathers materialized in the air.

So many that counting them in one go would be impossible.

‘Good. That’s the level I needed.’

Of course, his shock was fleeting.

If anything, Gijun was starting to enjoy himself.

The thought that sparring with Emily had been a good call brushed past his mind.

*

Emily was undeniably strong.

She didn’t go down as easily as last time.

It seemed she’d done quite a bit of analysis on Gijun.

Swoosh-BAM-BAM-BAM-BOOM!

She blocked Gijun’s attack and immediately followed up with a counter.

The spell Emily mainly used now was Ice Angel, a 6th-Circle freezing-type magic.

A tricky spell that defended her whole body with angel wings made of ice while firing ice feathers in retaliation.

Of course, Emily’s magic couldn’t harm Gijun.

Whiz-whiz-whiz-whoosh!

It was because of Strong Wind, now incomparably more powerful than before.

The ice feathers Emily fired shattered in midair under Strong Wind without ever reaching Gijun.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

Emily was frustrated to the point of madness.

She was handling things more skillfully than last time, but she couldn’t find a single opening in Gijun.

‘Just how fast does he get stronger?’

On top of that, Gijun’s magic had grown incomparably more powerful than before.

Not only did a few Fireballs pierce through a 6th-Circle defensive spell, but now Emily’s best option was just dodging and blocking his attacks.

‘I can’t even use 7th-Circle magic.’

Because of Gijun’s proactive, fast-paced fighting style, she wasn’t even given the time to cast a 7th-Circle spell.

Soon, Gijun thought as well.

‘Time to wrap this up.’

Continuing the fight was pointless.

‘In a spar against a mage, even a 7th-Circle one can’t beat me.’

That fact had become certain.

No, perhaps even an 8th-Circle mage would struggle against Gijun.

It wasn’t simply a difference in magical power.

It was a difference in combat style.

Gijun’s fighting style was something no mage should have been able to handle.

‘Maybe if I had a Party it’d be different.’

Gijun realized that one-on-one sparring against a mage was now pointless.

Whoosh!

Gijun cast ten Fireballs again.

And merged them together.

Fwoooosh!

The ten Fireballs coalesced into one, flooding the entire training ground with light.

“…Huh?”

Emily’s eyes went wide at the sight.

“Wh-what the hell…”

A display he’d never once shown her before.

Literally—throughout all their spars, Gijun hadn’t even brought out his full arsenal.

So now, seeing this brand-new Fireball take shape, Emily couldn’t help but feel a crushing sense of defeat.

‘I have to block it.’

Emily hurriedly cast a spell.

Just as she had every time before, the spell she cast was Ice Angel.

But it was futile.

Crackle—

“…!”

The closer Gijun’s massive Fireball came, the more the Ice Angel started to melt away.

And the moment it finally touched her Ice Angel…

Flash!

A blinding burst of light exploded, sharp enough to sting her eyes.

Her Ice Angel shattered into a thousand pieces.

Crash!

“No way…”

A 6th-Circle spell like Ice Angel couldn’t even properly defend against that magic.

Finally, Emily spoke.

“…I lost.”

She had no choice but to admit defeat.

Her Stamina gauge wasn’t even empty yet.

But she understood.

No matter what she did, there was no path to victory against Gijun.

By the time she looked up, Gijun was already walking over to her.

“Good effort.”

“…Effort? I didn’t do anything.”

Gijun looked at the deflated Emily and said,

“It’s just a bad matchup. Things might’ve turned out differently under other circumstances.”

“….”

He meant it sincerely.

Emily hadn’t even managed to cast a 7th-Circle spell.

If she’d had a Tanker and a Healer backing her up, free to cast a 7th-Circle spell at full strength, Gijun would have been in trouble for sure.

The power of a 7th-Circle spell was formidable.

Even Gijun wouldn’t have an easy time countering that.

“Phew…, seriously.”

Looking at Gijun, Emily shook her head as if she’d had enough.

“Honestly, I got cocky. I thought since I’d already reached 7th Circle, I was growing way faster than you. But… I guess not.”

Still, Emily didn’t let despair sink in.

“But hey, like you said, I’ve got my own way of fighting, right?”

Instead, she accepted reality quickly and smiled brightly.

“Actually, my teacher said the same thing. That even if I became an 8th-Circle mage, I’d have a hard time winning against you in a fight. It’s frustrating… but what can I do? Even my teacher said so.”

White Wood had likely sensed the very same thing Gijun had been thinking.

Even after hearing that, the fact that Emily had challenged Gijun to another spar made him inwardly impressed.

To have such a solid mentality at such a young age, still not even an adult.

He had seen plenty of talented prodigies break under the weight of their own gifts at this age.

The ones who refused to work hard, or the brilliant geniuses who crumbled at the first setback.

Compared to that, Emily seemed to have every condition needed to grow into a truly outstanding Superhuman.

“Looking forward to working with you, Gijun….”

Just as Emily was about to say those words to Gijun again….

CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!

“…?!”

“!!”

A thunderous roar erupted from somewhere.

“W-What was that?”

“I… don’t know.”

Emily and Gijun scrambled out of the training ground.

They sprinted down the hallway, heading for the windows.

That was when another blast echoed from far away.

CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Both of their eyes went wide.

“A D-Dungeon… a Dungeon Break!”

Right now, in the middle of Gangnam, a Dungeon Break had occurred.

This was dangerous.

The top-tier Superhumans of Hwarang and Ure were currently away in Siberia.

A Dungeon Break of this magnitude, right when the current Superhuman combat strength had a massive gap.

“Run!”

“Y-Yes!”

Gijun shouted at Emily and started running.