The Legendary Programming Mage

Grrr!

Steel clashed against steel as a certain gray-scaled monster deflected my chains one after the other.

Goblin Chieftain — skill, commanding aura.

I don't know how long it's been since I entered the VR.

Okay, maybe I did know, but I still wasn't sure.

However, Sylvia and I had managed to make our way to the D segment of the cave, and it was hell.

I had never actually fought a creature with that much of a power gap between us, so I never quite got why ranks existed, at least for beings that weren't Beatrice.

However now?

Yeah, I knew damn well why they existed.

『 User has activated Tier 8 Spell: Disruption 』

My mana vanished for an instant, the air turning cold.

The ground beneath my feet cracked faintly before the energy surged out again.

It might have taken me some time, but I had gotten the hang of Disruption.

The gray-skinned goblin that was almost three times my size was pushed back by the force of my mana.

"Leave it to me."

Sylvia dashed past me, then came to a halt.

She let her mana flow through her body and into her staff.

Icy and black mana exuded from the tip of the staff, and the goblin raised its bat to use its skill only for it to be canceled out.

Disruption was a spell that allowed the user to stop a spell with a specific mana frequency from activating.

It was a spell that no one except me could use since only I could read magic, and that made it more dangerous.

A card no one could read was more dangerous than anything.

However, the main reason we had been fighting the monster for so long was because of Sylvia.

We were both born with omnipotency since we were talented, and throughout our journey we had gained a grasp of omniscience.

But she hadn't yet mastered omnipresence.

Mainly because of what she was trying to do.

Spark.

The icy and black mana collided before the energy exploded, a gust of wind blowing around.

Another failure.

Sylvia's expression didn't change. "Allen, please buy me some more time."

I dashed forward, activating Flashstep together with Distortion and appearing behind the monster.

Even with Distortion, my chains alone couldn't touch him since they were slow.

"If that's the case."

I summoned only two portals, wrapped the chains around my hand, then lunged forward.

The red lightning around the chains merged with the aura around my body.

Debris fell from the cave's ceiling as my body became fully coated with crackling electricity.

The chieftain, regaining his strength, twisted his arm and sent his bat forward.

I twisted my body and barely dodged the first strike.

Blink.

I flickered in front of him; my fist connected with his face as ripples travelled through it.

I plunged down again.

Without turning away from the mana beast, I used Flashstep to land on the ground.

After a few stumbles and rolls I found a stable footing.

'Damn, it hurts.'

The chieftain wiped blood from his lips; his face disfigured, then he let out a loud growl.

The cave shook slightly, and with a step he lunged toward me, each of his footfalls thudding.

"It's over, fucker."

Behind the monster, Sylvia stood, her staff raised.

She stared at me, who was standing in front of the monster without moving.

Her eyes shut briefly before she opened them with renewed conviction.

The icy mana merged with the black mana into one jagged black shard with ice around its edges.

If this were a cultivation series they could have said something like a shard filled with pure yin energy.

Sylvia let out a cheeky smirk before sending the shard toward the monster.

The chieftain immediately sensed the mana and nearly turned, his bat ready to strike anything.

I stood to my feet, plunging my leg into the ground and sending my chains to tie around his hand.

He turned to me with burning fury.

Grrrrrrrr!

It shook and stuttered trying to throw me off, but I held firm.

The spell moved with practiced ease and fluidity, shooting through the monster's head.

The creature's movement stopped for a moment before it collapsed to the ground.

Boom!

Dust flew everywhere as I also fell onto my butt.

"Doing the job of a knight and mage is so stressful."

Sylvia immediately rushed forward. "Allen, are you alright?"

I nodded, taking several breaths. "Hey, you did it."

Her face brightened as she smiled widely. "Yeah, I did it."

She pointed her staff forward. "It went like whoosh and bam—crazy, right?"

I sighed softly.

Considering she knew nothing about mana before her transmigration, this was certainly crazy.

Besides, combining two elements wasn't easy.

Sylvia suddenly snapped, then sat next to me, leaning on my arm.

I glanced at her; even without looking I could feel her trembling. "What are you doing?"

She looked up at me. "Tempting you to confess."

I pushed her head up so she could sit straight, then stood. "I think we have spent too much time in here."

I was already feeling sticky.

Turning back to Sylvia I saw her gaze fixed on me.

"What?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just that—you don't look like a girl anymore."

I slicked my hair back as if feeling the texture would tell me anything. "Is that so?"

She bit her lower lip and looked away. "Now you're just hot, which is much more tempting for girls."

Cute.

What?

No, no.

I turned away from her. "Let's start heading back."

Sylvia didn't answer for a few seconds, then her cheeky voice came out. "Okay, Al~"

'Damn that system.'

Having a system that reads people's affection was one thing, but having one for you was another.

'Should I just tell her to stop checking how much I like her?'

No no.

'That means give her hints that I am Allen.'

Unlike her I couldn't be so careless with my identity.

That was unless she had a mind-reading ability.

'Come to think of it, I need that.'

The artifact that can stop even the greatest mind readers from reading your mind.

Sylvia rose from the floor and approached me. "So when are we finishing the dungeon?"

I placed a hand on my neck. "Maybe next week."

She exhaled. "I can't wait."

Turning to me she grinned. "I like our alone time more than anything."

"Well, I don't hate it either."

She giggled softly. "Just don't go losing yourself the next time we come here. Well, considering we will be dating by then, it won't be so bad."

I placed my hand on her head. "What are you talking about? This is a VR."

She blinked, then smirked. "So that's what you have to say—nothing about us dating or losing yourself."

I shrugged. "Anything can happen, I guess. You might beg me to date you, and I might do it. Who knows."

She scoffed. "Maybe I might just do that."

Ding!

『 Do you wish to leave the VR pod? 』

I turned to her once more. "See you outside?"

She nodded. "And you treat me to ice cream, okay?"

I didn't answer and tapped on yes. "Bye bye."

"Hey you—"

She didn't finish. "Okay bye, you jerk."

『 Exiting Pod... 』

『 Location and Checkpoint saved... 』

『 Calculating points... 』

The screen in front of me suddenly exploded with golden light.

『 Congratulations you have... 』