Chapter 47 – Amalta (２)

Before Gijun knew it, they had reached him and stopped in their tracks.

The man at the front dismounted from his Beluca and walked up to Gijun.

Then he knelt.

“I pay my respects to the Flame Monarch.”

It was the same as when he’d met the Seeker in the Rotom Commercial District.

He too had immediately recognized Libre and offered her a greeting full of reverence.

Then he lifted his head and looked at Gijun.

‘What the hell, why is he…?’

The moment their eyes met, Gijun flinched and his body trembled.

Unlike when he’d greeted Libre, the man’s eyes now burned with a fighting spirit as they fixed on Gijun.

Soon, he rose to his feet and spoke.

“I’m Amalta.”

A blunt voice, as expected.

A completely different attitude from the Seeker he’d met before.

“…Hmph. So this frail little thing is the Seeker who serves the Flame Monarch, Lady Libre.”

He seemed disappointed by Gijun’s build.

At that, Gijun bristled a little.

“Size isn’t everything.”

“…What did you say?”

Of course, at Gijun’s words, a vein bulged on Amalta’s forehead as well.

Libre watched the scene with what seemed like amusement.

“Isn’t that right? I unlocked Libre’s seal and was chosen as her master.”

“Wh-what….”

At the words ‘Libre’s master,’ Amalta’s face flushed a deeper red.

But Gijun just shrugged, unbothered.

By then, Libre had already perched on Gijun’s shoulder, crossed her legs, and was laughing softly, “Heh-heh.”

“You little brat!”

Amalta pulled out a large spear strapped to his back.

And he roared.

“Come on! I’ll prove my strength right here and show that I am the Flame Monarch’s most loyal servant!”

Along with his shout, a message appeared.

[Completed Quest: Entrance to Tartaros – 2!]

[New Quest Activated!]

[Subdue Amalta!]

-Grade: Class

-Subdue Amalta.

-Reward: Quest / Experience / Skill

The moment the new quest appeared.

And he felt it instinctively.

The reward for this quest would be a hint about the entrance to Tartaros.

Vwoom! Boom!

Amalta.

His spear was massive, and every time he swung it, flames erupted from the weapon.

So not every Seeker is a mage after all, it seems.

Amalta’s appearance caught even Gijun by surprise.

Every Seeker he’d encountered so far had been a mage — but Amalta looked anything but magical.

No, that’s not right.

The thought struck him.

I’m already different from ordinary mages myself.

That reasoning seemed sound enough.

First, I need to size him up.

Gijun decided to create some distance.

He wanted to get a read on Amalta first.

Thud!

Gijun stamped his foot and pushed backward, widening the gap.

In an instant, he and Amalta were far apart.

Using the space he’d carved out, Gijun launched a Fireball at Amalta.

The fireball streaked through the air, arcing toward its target.

And in that moment—

Whoosh!

Flames roared up along the length of Amalta’s spear.

He swept the weapon forward in a wide arc.

Crackling roar!

The fire blasted from the spear, meeting the Fireball midair and detonating it.

Then, in a flash, Amalta leaped toward Gijun.

The movement was devastatingly fast.

Even as he landed, he thrust his spear straight at Gijun.

The blazing weapon, still wreathed in flame, was a terrifying sight.

But—

Shing!

Gijun dodged the attack with practiced ease.

And without breaking rhythm, he pressed his assault.

You dare attack this body with fire?

Amalta’s lips twisted into a sneer.

Flames like these? I could swallow them whole.

A pillar of fire erupted from his body, canceling out the explosion.

Boom-boom-crash!

The Fireball slammed home against Amalta’s body.

“Khkk…?!”

In that instant, Amalta’s smug expression warped.

A grunt tore from his throat as he grimaced, his face contorting.

Amalta was visibly shaken.

Not bad.

He’d thought he could just shrug it off.

He was wrong.

That Fireball was far stronger than he’d expected.

It felt like being pounded all over by a giant club.

I can’t let him land another hit.

But Amalta’s momentum didn’t falter.

If anything, he threw himself at Gijun with even greater ferocity.

The moment he closed the distance, his spear flashed.

Crash!

As the spear struck the ground, the earth split beneath it.

Then—

Rumble-boom-crack!

Vicious spouts of flame burst up from below the ground.

They branched out in dozens of streams, painting a scene that truly evoked the image of hell.

Hah.

Gijun let out a dry laugh.

All this from a single spear strike?

It was absurd even as he watched it with his own eyes.

I barely dodged it, too.

A moment later and I’d have been swallowed by that flame.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘…But.’

Gijun narrowed his eyes.

‘Can I really not attack from a distance?’

The moment the thought struck him, the corner of Gijun’s mouth curled up.

‘Then I’ll play to my strengths first.’

Gijun widened the distance again, casting Fireball at the same time.

Boom! Boom! Bang!

Amalta tried to close the gap while knocking the Fireballs away with his spear.

“Do you think it’ll go your way?”

But it was useless.

Gijun’s movement speed was unbelievably fast.

In an instant, he had put distance between himself and Amalta, unleashing a barrage of Fireballs.

‘I’ll make sure it goes my way.’

He had no intention of giving ground easily.

Until he had a full grasp of Amalta, Gijun planned to keep harassing him.

Amalta gritted his teeth, knocking every Fireball out of the air with his spear.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

His muscles screamed, and his body grew hotter under the brutal heat of the Fireballs.

Sweat streamed down his forehead, and his entire body began to flush red.

‘He’s no pushover.’

Amalta furrowed his brow.

‘The bastard’s more skilled in combat than I thought.’

Judging by his appearance, he’d looked like nothing but a greenhorn — but that wasn’t the case.

He was perfectly controlling the distance, toying with him.

‘Damn it, this is infuriating.’

Amalta was a man proud of his physique.

With that, plus his magical talent, he had led his tribe and stood tall as a champion of the plains.

But now, in front of this Seeker named Jun, he looked no better than a cat chasing a mouse.

‘A runt barely worth a handful….’

He acknowledged the kid’s skill.

But was that all?

If he could just land one punch on that scrawny little bastard, this fight would end in his victory in an instant!

Of course, that was easier said than done.

He had completely lost his rhythm.

His body grew heavier, his pace slowing down.

At this rate, Amalta’s own defeat might become a certainty.

‘And in front of the Flame Monarch, no less… what a disgrace.’

His heart grew more urgent by the second.

‘No choice.’

So he decided to end this fight quickly.

‘I’ll strike you down and soak in the Monarch’s favor with my whole body.’

With that, he set down his spear.

Thump!

Then he pounded his chest three times, hard.

In response, flames erupted violently along his entire body.

Whoosh!

‘I really didn’t want to use this unless I had to.’

This power was, put simply, Amalta’s ultimate technique.

By stimulating his own heart, he forced Mana to surge through his entire body, expanding his flame power to its extreme.

In an instant, not only his physical abilities skyrocketed, but every part of his body became a weapon.

Not just that.

His endurance also increased massively.

Fireball’s power was formidable—but this body could endure even that assault.

There was a catch, though.

Dragging his physique to its absolute limit put an enormous strain on his body.

That was why he rarely used it.

Even in the fight against the tribe, he only activated it when absolutely necessary.

But now was that moment.

The moment when he had to bring down the enemy with every ounce of strength he possessed.

‘Bet everything on this.’

Amalta had decided to stake it all on this turn.

‘Everything I am, for the Flame Monarch.’

Because Libre was watching.

Because he couldn’t stand by and let some unheard-of nobody monopolize all of Libre’s affection.

Boom!

His entire body blazing red, wreathed in flames, Amalta stomped his foot.

Crack!

The ground split apart—sand and stone fragments spraying into the air as he launched himself upward.

Whoooosh!

Amalta’s body vaulted dozens of meters in a single second closing the distance between him and Gijun.

His fist was already hovering right in front of Gijun’s nose.

‘It’s over.’

Amalta declared to himself that this fight was about to end.

But it wasn’t.

Fwoosh!

Gijun evaded the attack.

He knew.

Another Fireball would be coming now.

That was fine.

His resistance to flame was boosted to the extreme.

But then—

‘Huh…?’

Amalta’s eyes narrowed.

“Huh?”

Along with a fierce gale blowing in from somewhere—

Sssshhhrrrrkkk!

It pierced through the flames enveloping Amalta’s entire body, carving gashes across him like sword cuts.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Blood spraying from every wound, Amalta let out a scream of agony.

‘W-What the hell is this!’

*

‘Nice.’

Gijun smiled.

‘You thought I’d leave an opening, didn’t you.’

Throughout the ranged fight, he’d never once attacked through Strong Wind.

Nor had he used Orca’s Footsteps.

He’d only ever used those wind-type skills as mobility tools—to dodge attacks and create distance.

He’d kept one card completely hidden.

‘And as it happens, my Strong Wind Proficiency went up too.’

The extra option unlocked when it rose to C-Grade: Wind Blade.

Its effect was perfect.

It tore apart Amalta’s flame-wreathed body, shredding it to pieces.

That extreme flame resistance meant nothing anymore.

‘Besides—it’s not like I can’t fight close-quarters either.’

And that was true.

Even if his speed and destructive power couldn’t match Amalta’s, Gijun had grown confident enough in melee combat.

Amalta, trembling from the pain, still charged at Gijun again.

He swung his fist toward Gijun once more.

‘Not a chance.’

This time, instead of dodging, Gijun dove straight into Amalta’s embrace.

Amalta was now covered in blood all over.

Looking at him, Gijun began casting Fireball again.

Grrrroooom!

The Fireball that had reappeared began to revolve around Gijun’s body.

The rapidly orbiting Fireball slammed straight into Amalta’s body.

But that wasn’t all.

As the first blast punched through his guard, another Fireball rushed in to exploit the opening.

Kwaaang!

And behind it, yet another Fireball struck Amalta again…

Kwaaang!

It hit him again.

Kwaaaaang!

Even with bolstered fire resistance, he wasn’t invincible.

Under the relentless barrage of impacts, Amalta’s consciousness began to blur.

Was that the end of it?

No.

Chwaaak!

The blade-like cutting effect of Strong Wind followed right after.

With that, Amalta’s wounds split wider and wider.

His whole body was drenched in blood.

Then came another surge of Fireballs.

“This is insane…”

Amalta’s mind grew hazy under the endless, hellish chain of attacks.

He couldn’t find a single opening.

His body wouldn’t move anymore.

Thud!

At last, the strength drained from Amalta’s entire body, and he dropped to his knees.

“D-damn it…”

It was infuriating, but he had no choice but to admit it.

“…He’s a monster.”

With those words, Amalta’s body crumpled to the ground.

“The, the chief…”

“My God…”

The warriors of the plain stared blankly at Gijun and Amalta, mouths agape.

None of them could have imagined Amalta being so helplessly defeated.

And now, Gijun clenched his fist.

“I won.”

He had triumphed in the fight against Amalta.

What’s more, he hadn’t been overwhelmed even in close quarters.

I can do it.

His Battle Mage combat style was steadily coming together.

Compared to when he was a low-grade Magin, Gijun himself could feel a newfound stability—a greater threat in his every move.

Before I head to the battlefield… I need to get as strong as possible.

His emotions surged as confidence kept building within him.

At that moment, a welcome message appeared.

[Quest Complete!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Skill Acquired: ‘Flame Unity’!]

Just as the quest reward promised.

He had gained a new skill.

A skill called Flame Unity.

Then another message followed.

[Quest Activated.]

[Corrupted Land]

-Grade: Class

-Defeat the Host of Evil in the Corrupted Land (0/1)

-Reward: Tartaros Entrance Unlocked / Experience

That reward was the unlocking of Tartaros’s entrance.

This was the moment he finally arrived at the very gate leading to Tartaros.