NOVEL NEXT chapter 6
6 – 2. Tyrant (3)
1.
The white-haired old man looked down at Evan.
His face was filled with vivid wrinkles, as if bearing witness to a long life lived.
But he was very healthy.
With his slender legs and unbent waist, one could tell that the old man was healthy.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a crazy guy who uses explosive magic at close range.”
The old man chuckled.
“Such a beastly fellow.”
Truly, such an ignorant mage was a first.
The basic role of mages was to provide support and attack from behind.
There were no mages who would rush directly to the front lines of enemies.
It was because casting magic required time and they were fundamentally weak in physical strength.
But this young man was different.
Although he seemed feeble, as if he’d fall with a single touch, the casting speed of his magic was unbelievably fast. Explosion magic was a high-tier level 7 magic. Yet, he used it almost instantaneously.
The old man stared at Evan with a seemingly intrigued expression.
“…Leave me alone.”
Evan waved his hand at the old man, as if telling him to shoo away.
“You rude brat!”
The old man smacked Evan’s forehead with his staff.
“Ouch…!”
Evan reflexively raised his hand to his head.
“Ugh…!”
As soon as he lifted his arm, he felt an immense pain in his chest.
He had forgotten about his broken ribs. He barely managed some emergency treatment after drinking a recovery potion.
“Where are your other party members?”
The old man tapped Evan with his staff.
“Ugh……”
Annoyingly, he stimulated the pain perfectly.
Evan looked at the old man fiercely, biting his lower lip.
“Don’t tell me you’re alone?”
The old man laughed again.
What a ridiculous fellow.
A mage who took on monster hunting alone.
“It’s not impossible, but generally, people form parties to tackle a subjugation. Someone needs to buy time for a mage to use magic.”
“Do I really need it if I’m skilled enough?”
Evan insisted on being a solo adventurer.
He knew full well how dangerous and disadvantageous it was to travel alone. If he had a party this time, he could’ve defeated the beast without being injured.
It’s partly because of his terrible personality that he can’t gather party members, but he also declines all the offers to join a party.
The reason is simple.
He just likes being alone.
He’s tired of being with others.
“……”
Evan glared at the old man muttering to himself.
What the hell is this old man?
Holding a staff and wearing a robe, he looked like a mage.
There was a sense of composure around the old man.
Where does that composure come from?
Evan thought it must’ve come from the long years of experience.
He didn’t feel the strength of Mana, but he felt the dignity of a strong person.
“What a mess you are, both physically and mentally. You’re like someone who can’t die and just keeps living.”
At that moment.
“Kieeek!”
A giant beast sprang out from deep within the forest.
It looked like the lizard beast he had just fought, but it was even larger and had four heads. Its skin gleamed like it was wearing armor.
“……!”
Evan’s eyes widened.
It was the one the Adventurer’s Guild had mentioned.
He had thought that he had defeated it easily compared to the central army’s pursuit of it…!
The one Evan had defeated was a baby of that beast.
“Ugh…!”
Evan tried to get up, leaning on the ground.
He couldn’t get up.
All he could do was lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
Even if I stand up, will I be able to fight?
I’ve used almost all of my mana with the explosion magic. The only magic I can use now is probably low-tier spells from lower rankings.
“Stay down.”
The old man stepped forward.
Mana surged violently.
The ground trembled, and the air shook.
A pressure that Evan had never felt before bore down on him.
The old man raised his staff.
Distortion
Two points in space twisted, and the monster’s arms charging at high speed were twisted in opposite directions.
The monster was bound as if tied with a steel chain.
It struggled to break free.
However, the more it fought, the more its arms twisted and slowly tore.
Implosion
The monster’s body flattened as if trampled on by a foot.
Its bones shattered like powder, and its eyeballs burst like water balloons. The black blood inside its body spewed in all directions. But instead of dirtying the forest, it was sucked into the distorted space and clumped together like a ball.
Evan doubted his own eyes.
What is this old man?
He casually uses spatial manipulation magic that I’ve only seen in books.
The casting time didn’t even take 5 seconds.
““Kieeek!!””
With the death of their mother, the other scattered offspring started to gather, screeching.
“Watch closely.”
The old man grinned and raised his staff once more.
“Magic is not to be used recklessly.”
Explosion
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
Magic circles appeared above the heads of the monsters rushing at the old man, and each blew their heads off. More than ten monsters faced death in an instant.
“It should be used accurately and precisely.”
It was clearly the same tier of magic. However, it felt completely different.
“When you distribute mana, you can use a one-time magic multiple times. Of course, the power will decrease, but explosive magic is inherently powerful, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
The old man tapped Evan’s head with the end of his staff.
“Understood?”
2.
Evan returned to the village with the help of the old man.
“……”
Lying in the church’s infirmary for treatment, Evan blankly stared at the ceiling.
The sight from the forest was still vivid in his mind.
He had witnessed the transcendent realm of magic.
Overwhelming power.
A mage worthy of the name, the strong.
“Space magic was definitely a 10th tier magic, right……?”
He thought it only existed in theory in books.
It’s not that it can’t be used.
There is only one mage known who can use it.
The wise man, Arahant.
A hundred years ago, he was the mage of the hero’s party who sealed the Demon King, and was recognized and became the Tower Master. In his old age, he entered the Tower of the Wise Men as a great mage.
He’s known to be convalescing due to an illness, right?
He read about it in a newspaper long ago.
It was an article about the wise man, who had contracted an incurable disease and entered convalescence.
People began to think his time was coming.
Because of his age.
No matter how great a hero, one cannot ignore the time laws set by the gods. In the end, everyone must return to the void.
He had never seen the wise man himself, so he couldn’t conclude that this old man was the wise man.
However, there was no doubt that the magic he showed was astonishing. No, he didn’t even think of daring to doubt it.
– Knock knock.
A knock on the door interrupted his daydreaming.
He ignored it.
As he always did.
He was not in the mood to socialize with someone.
He reviews and reviews the magic he had seen, countless times.
The order in which the magic circle is drawn.
The flow of mana.
He tries to draw a magic circle in his mind, recalling these things.
However, against Evan’s wishes, the door to the sickroom was opened.
“You beastly thing, answer if you’re in there.”
It was the old man he had met in the forest who opened the door and entered.
Evan thought someone from the Adventurer’s Alliance would come. But an entirely unexpected person has come.
Surprised, Evan got up from his bed and sat up straight. No matter who he was, he was not a magician who could be treated casually.
“That’s enough. Don’t put on such a disgusting display of manners.”
Evan hesitated a moment, then lay back down on the bed.
“You really don’t have any manners after being told not to, huh?”
“Ahh…”
Evan lifted his body again.
He didn’t know whether he was told to maintain his manners or not.
His body was not completely healed yet, so simply moving a little seemed to make him want to scream.
“Taking a joke so seriously…”
The old man laughed heartily.
“Fine then. Just be comfortable.”
Evan sat down with his back against the wall.
“You seem to be in good shape.”
The old man sat down in a chair beside the bed.
“…”
“Why are you on edge? Do you think I’ll eat you or something?”
The old man sighed.
“Ah, geez. Such a boring fellow. Try to be more interesting in your reactions.”
“…”
“I told you; a truly boring guy.”
The old man waved his hand.
“…What is the matter?”
“Oh, so you do know how to say something other than ‘get lost’?”
“…I apologize for that.”
“Apology accepted. I didn’t come here to receive an apology from you. Rather, it was quite refreshing after a long time. I wonder how long it’s been since someone swore at me like that. Over 90 years?”
Though he didn’t say it, Evan was almost certain that this old man was a sage.
90 years.
It was surprising that he had not been ignored during that long time, and even more so considering that he must be close to or over 100 years old.
If he really was a sage, then perhaps he was around 120 years old?
He didn’t look that old, though.
“I’ve heard you’re quite famous around here?”
There’s no one in Capra Village who doesn’t know Evan.
Though it’s a small village where people recognize each other after just a short time, Evan’s notoriety is well-known.
“People call you a tyrant, don’t they? Drinking and beating people, or just drinking. What’s the point of living like that, wasting your talents?”
Evan’s anger flared up.
The old man had struck a nerve.
Who would want to live like this?
Without alcohol, he would fall into a deep depression. He could hardly shake off the nightmares in his head without something as stimulating as violence.
Alcohol and violence were the only cures for the terrible curse that tormented Evan.
“Don’t meddle in my…!”
“Do you want to learn magic from me?”
Evan’s angry retort was cut off.
“Do you want to waste your life? Then, do it under me instead. What do you say?”