Mana Link was a technique that allowed one mage to siphon mana from another. It required finesse, as going overboard and taking too much mana could end up damaging the receiver’s body.
Unable to give up on my dream of becoming a Magic Swordsman, I’d used Mana Link with many different mages, but to no avail. The effect of my white mana always overwrote theirs. However, the immense volume and power of an Ifrit’s red mana—not to mention its innate Enchant properties—might be the solution to my problem. The red glow that Sumire’s shield emitted had cemented my theory.
Sumire’s Ifrit mana slowly poured into me. My body temperature rose, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. It was a strange heat that even made my heart beat faster. I felt like the mana was boiling the blood flowing through my veins, and white steam rose from my skin. So this is the mana of an Ifrit...
“Sumire, how do you feel?” I asked.
“Um, it kind of tickles.”
“You’re not feeling sick or anything?”
“Nope! I’m fine.” She smiled at me.
All right, this should be enough. I released her hand.
“Excuse me, but what are you two doing?” the vice captain asked, looking at us in confusion.
“I’m going to challenge the Troll, the Boss of the 10th Level,” I said. “Can someone lend me their sword?”
“H-Here!” The vice captain handed me his sword.
I gave it a careful inspection. The sword was around the same length as my arm, and the blade was just slightly thinner than that of the standard sword used by the imperial army. If I was too rough with it, it would snap in half.
Barrier Magic: Enhancement. I used my Barrier Magic to strengthen the sword, but even like this, it couldn’t cut through anything. However, if I use an Ifrit’s mana... I poured the mana I’d received from Sumire into the vice captain’s sword to create the Magic Sword: Flameblade. Red light glowed from the blade, and a strange sizzling sound rose from the metal.
“Whoaaa!” The explorers from the Blue Sea Union raised their voices in a cheer.
I stared at the red glow. This wasn’t like any magical reaction I’d ever seen before. In the past, I’d tried using the normal Enchant spell dozens of times, but it had never gone well. No matter how hard I tried, my white mana would dispel others’ Enchantments as well as my own. As a result, I kept ending up with dull magic swords that couldn’t deal any damage. That was why I’d given up on my dream of becoming a Magic Swordsman.
Now, though, I was holding a sword full of fire magic thanks to the mana I’d received from an Ifrit. Carefully, I poured in my own mana. The red light didn’t waver. I tried tapping the blade, and the high-pitched sound of mana clashing against mana hit my ears. The surest proof that Sumire’s mana worked was that the magic sword hadn’t become soft. The Ifrit’s mana had overpowered my white mana.
With this magic sword, I can fight. I clenched the hilt tight.
Sumire tilted her head at me. “Eugene?”
“Thank you, Sumire,” I said, smiling at her. Then I looked over at the Tormore Kingdom explorers. “I will fight the Boss alone. I’ll give you all the spoils too. Just remember to leave enough for the assistance reward. And of course, you don’t have to pay if I don’t actually defeat the Troll.”
As expected, the explorers protested.
“You plan on fighting it alone?”
“That’s impossible!”
“We’ll fight with you!”
However, I couldn’t back down here. “My Healing and Barrier Magic don’t have a lot of range, so fighting as a group will put us at a disadvantage.”
After ruminating on my words, the vice captain nodded. “I understand. We’re counting on you, Eugene.”
“Thanks. I’ll be heading over now.”
“I’m cheering you on, Eugene!” Sumire clasped her hands before her chest as she saw me off.
“Be careful out there!” a Blue Sea Union explorer said.
“Don’t push yourself!” another cried.
I waved at them, then slowly entered the Boss’s territory. When was the last time I’d held a sword? The moment I remembered, a wry smile danced on my lips. Isn’t that obvious? It was the day Airi dumped me. Ever since that moment, I’d forsaken the way of the sword, despite all the time and effort I’d put into it. It had been, admittedly, a moment of weakness. But today, I once again had a sword in my hand.
I tightened my hold on the Blue Sea Union explorer’s sword, which was far lighter than the standard sword of the imperial army, then whispered to the explorer badge that designated my D rank, “Eugene Santafield will challenge the 10th Level Boss.”
The explorer badge was a magic item that bore a dungeon enchantment. I could use it to communicate with the supervisor of the dungeon.
“Explorer Eugene, your challenge has been processed. Good luck,” a mechanical voice rang out on the 10th Level. At the same moment, a glowing white line—the Challengers’ Border—appeared around me and the Troll.
That voice apparently belonged to the supervisor of Babel, the Last Dungeon and a creation of the gods. Some believed that, as an agent of the Holy God, the supervisor of Babel was an Angel. I’d never seen them with my own eyes before, so I couldn’t confirm the veracity of these rumors. Angel or not, the supervisor had now accepted me as a challenger.
It’s been over a year since I enrolled in Lykeion, and I’m finally standing in here as a Boss challenger, huh? The thought made me a little emotional.
“GRAAAHHHH!” the Troll roared upon seeing me enter its territory.
Thud... Thud... With every step the Troll took, the entire ground shook under its weight. There was still quite some distance between us, but I already needed to crane my head back to look up at it. It glared at me, each eyeball the size of a human head.
It’s huge. In the past, I’d fought against an Ogre, but that had been a training exercise at the military academy. Not only that, but I’d gotten to work with the other students, and the instructor had been standing nearby in case we needed help.
I had to take down this Troll alone. No one could bail me out of danger. Oddly, though, the thought didn’t fill me with fear. Instead, memories of my past swordsmanship training flowed through my mind. Now that I think about it, what did my old man say to me before? The words of my father, who had done double duty as my swordsmanship teacher, echoed in my brain.