Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

EP.10 First Battle

“Dark spear, form by my will. Dark Spear.”

While the old man chanted, Leon didn’t stay idle.

“Aqua Sentinel! …Mana, flow and dance, make my body light. Swift!”

Leon used the memorized Arpina magic and followed it with a basic speed spell. The speed spell was so insignificant that he could complete it around the same time the old man finished his incantation. Casting two spells in succession rapidly consumed mana, but Leon managed it with the increased mana capacity from the elixirs.

“Dark magic?”

“Arpina magic?”

Both were surprised as they observed each other. Leon was astonished that the old man used dark magic. Although the dark attribute constitution was rare, dark magic users were not uncommon. The risks of using attribute magic without talent were borne by the user. They couldn’t learn unique or advanced magic, but dark magic was attractive to talentless mages because it allowed them to use relatively powerful spells even at lower stages.

However, dark magic was generally taboo, leading to a secretive and closed-off nature among its practitioners. Those with a dark attribute were often revered by dark mages, almost treated as saints.

“Black spear, pierce the enemy and take their life!”

A hint of tension finally appeared on the old man’s face. Arpina’s magic was indeed high-level. With heightened vigilance, the old man launched the first attack. The black spear floating in the old man’s hand surged towards Leon.

With the slime resembling a water droplet by his side, Leon uttered the activation word. Since it was a linked spell using the slime as a medium, the time required for intent manifestation and incantation was reduced.

“Blast!”

Water gathered in front of the slime’s mouth, quickly condensing into a droplet. A powerful jet of water shot out, colliding with the black spear.

Boom—

Leon didn’t expect to block a 3rd rank spell, so he swiftly dodged to the side. The spear pierced the spot where Leon had just been standing.

“Quick as a rat. Do you think that will change anything?”

Without responding, Leon pulled a magic scroll from his subspace pouch. As he infused it with a bit of mana, the scroll glowed. He threw it directly at the old man. Three white missiles shot towards the old man.

“Infusion!”

Bang—

The old man didn’t dodge. Instead, he chanted the activation word of a memorized spell and took the hit head-on. Despite the direct impact, the old man remained unscathed.

“Heh, I knew it from the moment you used that speed spell.”

A faint blue aura enveloped his body.

“I’m curious how someone who doesn’t even know common magic awakened mana.”

With those words, the old man charged at Leon, moving at a speed incomparable to before. Leon didn’t have time to ponder what common magic was; he quickly pulled out another magic missile scroll and threw it, hoping to delay the old man’s approach.

“Dark Chain!”

Chains materialized around the old man, effortlessly blocking the magic missiles. Leon immediately threw three more scrolls.

“What kind of scrolls…”

The sheer volume of attacks momentarily halted the old man’s advance. Taking advantage of the pause, Leon retreated and calmly assessed the situation. The old man had used incantation-less activation words twice. As a 3rd rank mage, he still had one more memorized spell left. Leon decided to draw out this spell first and then make his move.

With this plan in mind, Leon threw all four remaining magic missile scrolls while chanting a spell.

“Water Wave!”

Twelve missiles followed by a wave of water surged towards the old man. The old man scowled and shouted.

“Web Dominion!”

As he spoke the activation word, the chains around him spread out like a web, encasing him. Leon’s spells were all blocked by the black chains and lost their power.

“Pierce!”

With the old man’s command, the chains surrounding him shot towards Leon.

“Let’s see if you can block this!”

At that moment, Leon reached into his subspace pouch and grabbed the orb. In a flash, his body vanished from the spot. The old man’s expression turned to one of utter disbelief as his attack missed its mark.

Inside the orb, Leon quickly assumed a meditative posture.

“Huff… Huff…”

Time in the orb flowed at 1/60th the speed of reality. Leon spent 10 minutes in the middle of the forest replenishing his mana and cancelled the mana concealment spell that occupied his memorized spell slot. He quickly replaced it with another spell and exited the orb.

In reality, only 10 seconds had passed.

Though only a brief moment had passed, the old man’s spell had already swept through the spot where Leon had been. Seeing Leon reappear in the same place, the old man’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-How…?”

Leon, following the simulation he had run inside the orb, immediately threw a magic scroll. It was an earth wall creation scroll. Walls of earth rose from the ground, blocking the old man on all sides.

“Where did you get all those scrolls?”

Ignoring the old man’s fury, Leon focused on chanting his spell.

“Zephyr’s Herald.”

As he spoke the activation word of the memorized spell, a small, translucent fairy with a mix of silver appeared beside him, similar to the water droplet slime. This was the wind familiar, a spell Leon could use after reaching 2-star in Arpina’s basic magic.

Leon extended both hands, ready to cast spells the moment the old man broke through the earth walls. Summoning two familiars consumed a lot of mana, but thanks to the replenishment inside the orb, he could endure it.

Soon, he heard the old man muttering inside the earth walls. It was the sound of spell incantation.

Boom—

“Pierce and bring destruction!”

Black chains, much larger than before, shot out in all directions, shattering the earth walls. The old man emerged, breathing heavily. It seemed even he had expended considerable effort casting such a powerful spell.

“I will capture you and make you spill everything!”

The old man’s face twisted into a malevolent grimace. Leon immediately cast the prepared spell.

“This ends now!”

Leon’s spell squeezed out every bit of his mana. A jet of water shot from the slime’s mouth, and blades of wind formed at the fairy’s fingertips, slicing through the air.

“Second Grade?”

Only then did the old man realize Leon’s rank, his face filled with astonishment. Just before Leon’s spells could hit, the old man hastily regained his composure. His twisted mouth still held a voice full of power.

“Defensio!”

In his hand was a tiny token, no larger than a fingernail. Light burst from the token, creating a powerful shield in all directions. Leon’s spells were completely blocked by the shield. Gasping for breath after using two consecutive spells, Leon could only watch.

“Out of scrolls, are you?”

The old man chuckled.

“Hahaha, did you think you were the only one with artifacts?”

Even though the shield generated by the token disappeared, the old man’s face remained calm. He couldn’t fathom how Leon had reached the second grade on his own at such a young age, but he knew that Leon had already reached the limit of a second-grade mage’s memorized spells. Seeing the exhausted Leon, the old man sneered.

“I’ll commend you for hiding your rank until the end.”

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, the old man was about to start chanting again when he suddenly stopped.

“Huh?”

A foolish sound escaped the old man’s lips. Leon’s expression was unnervingly calm, a stark contrast to the person who had been panting moments ago. Leon reached into his robe and pulled out another scroll, throwing it forward. The glowing scroll vanished, and in its place, three fireballs the size of a human head appeared.

It was the last remaining E- rank Triple Fireball Scroll.

“….”

The old man’s face twisted as he stared blankly at the fireballs with his mouth agape.

“You tricked me, you brat!”

Boom—

The fireballs exploded upon reaching the old man. Flames surged high, scattering embers in all directions.

Crackle— Crackle—

As the flames subsided, Leon’s vision cleared, revealing the old man’s charred and collapsed form. The mana that had enveloped the old man couldn’t withstand the direct hit from an E- rank spell.

“….”

The lifeless, empty eyes of the old man stared deeply into Leon.

‘I killed someone….’

Leon’s stomach churned. He stood there, dazed, for a moment. The pounding of his heart brought him back to reality. Leon took a deep breath to steady himself.

‘If I hadn’t killed him, I would have died.’

Leon calmly used water magic to extinguish the remaining flames. He looked at the old man’s body for a moment before placing it inside the orb and stepping back out. He then retrieved an artifact from his subspace pouch. A silver disc rested in his hand.

‘Mana Trace Eraser.’

As he infused mana into the disc, it vibrated and emitted mana waves that spread outwards. Soon, all traces of mana in the area vanished without a trace.

The only clues left at the scene were the scorched ground from the fireballs, the burnt leaves, and the marks left by the old man’s chain magic scraping the ground. Leon meticulously erased even these traces and picked up the token that had fallen to the ground. It was the shield artifact the old man had used. The surface had a slight crack.

‘It might be usable 2 or 3 more times.’

Leon took the token and headed back to the magic library. Without hesitation, he went straight to the area where the old man had stayed. It was a place the old man had always kept hidden, never showing it to anyone. Leon was certain there would be something there, given that a dark mage had concealed his identity and operated from that spot.

The room looked like an ordinary office. The walls were painted a light brown, and the floor was covered with a gray carpet. In the center was a large wooden desk, and one wall was lined with a wide bookshelf. Leon carefully examined the space, trying not to disturb anything.

“Was it just my imagination? …That can’t be.”

Reluctantly, Leon began to touch the items in the office. He shifted his perspective, thinking about where a secret place might be hidden from a modern person’s viewpoint in a novel.

Leon immediately turned his attention to the bookshelf. He touched each book, one by one. When he picked up a book located roughly in the middle of the second row,

Click—

A sharp, short sound echoed, like a small metal component clicking into place.

‘Bingo.’

Leon sighed in relief as he watched the bookshelf slowly split in half.