Infinite Mage

Chapter 86: Battle of Wits (1)

"It doesn't seem like that, does it? What is this magic? It's not like the teacher at all. We'll all freeze to death if this continues."

Nade was equally puzzled. Hundreds of students were currently at this location. The thought of them enduring minus 20 degrees Celsius for long seemed unlikely. However, this blizzard effectively pressured Lucas, as the mitochondrial build's effectiveness decreases with cooling of the body cells.

"Damn it! This is maddening!"

Especially around Lucas, where the wind was blowing fiercely, the chilled wind made it feel even colder. Peripheral neuropathy was already setting in.

This was why expert ice mages typically start battles with a Blizzard. Although not highly lethal, this wide-range spell inflicts fixed damage from cooling, making it essential against swordsmen.

"Anyway, mages are annoying."

Lucas was exasperated by mages who tormented swordsmen with all sorts of strange magic. But it wasn't time to give up yet. More importantly, her condition was far from normal.

As sharp spears of ice pierced through the blizzard towards him, Lucas hastily moved. However, due to the weakened mitochondrial build, he couldn't fully evade and got grazed on the side.

"Damn it!"

Most living creatures have reduced activity in cold temperatures. Moreover, swinging a sword in such cold was causing frostbite symptoms on his fingertips.

'It seems colder. Is she really trying to kill us all?'

If a Schema user like Lucas is suffering from frostbite, the students should have been frozen dead by now. But, in reality, only Lucas was trapped in the blizzard. The snowstorm, which had narrowed its radius, was targeting him specifically.

Unaware of this, Lucas confronted Siena, who had emerged from the blizzard, with a snarl.

"Are you crazy? How long will this damn blizzard last...?"

Lucas stopped mid-sentence. Siena's eyes still held nothing - no emotions, thoughts, or even self.

"Could it be...?"

Lucas shivered. It was as if her body remembered the magic, not her mind.

Literally, a 'meat brain'.

Just as swordsmen master techniques through endless repetitive training, Siena had reached a state where she could implement specific brainwave patterns even with lost memory.

Repetition, again and again. She must have relentlessly pushed her mind to the brink of death since birth.

'How much has she trained?'

His hair stood on end. Beyond her skills, the path of suffering she walked was vivid in his mind.

'Damn! This isn't just stepping in crap, this is a disaster.'

It was time to escape. No amount of gold was worth more than life. Lucas summoned all his remaining strength and fled. Once out of the blizzard, he thought he wouldn't be pursued. But it was mere wishful thinking, and he paid dearly for turning his back on a Grade 6 Mage.

When Siena pointed her finger at Lucas, he soon screamed and was buried in the snow.

"Aaaaah!"

There was no pain. But, according to the Schema's understanding of the human body, his legs were gone, as if cut by scissors. Lucas twisted his waist to check his legs. They were frozen solid, completely numb.

'This can't be real.'

He was facing Absolute Zero, the pinnacle of ice magic.

This magic, Preservation Condensation, at the zenith of ice magic, restricts particle activity to an extreme degree.

Siena had reached the level of Absolute Zero, ascending to a Grade 6 Mage at only 20. 

However, even she could only produce localized effects due to the immense mental power required.

"Damn it! I thought this was just some crappy school... The students and teachers are all monsters!"

Siena impassively began casting her next spell, Glacier Bombing, a high-level magic derived from Preservation Condensation. As huge blocks of ice formed in the sky, Lucas's face turned pale. With his legs frozen, he had no way to escape. All he could do was leave his fate to the heavens.

Nade and Yiruki rushed to the students. Although not a wide-area spell, the icebergs' massive size still posed a danger. As several ice chunks split and collided, one almond-shaped iceberg began to fall towards the students.

Nade, rushing to Arin, grabbed her shoulder and knocked her to the ground.

"Kyaa! What are you doing?"

"Evacuate the students! Otherwise, we'll all die!"

"It's too late! We don't have time!"

Yiruki blocked the two, shouting urgently.

"I'll do it!"

"How?"

Yiruki, without a moment to spare, clenched his teeth. Could he really manage it? The iceberg weighed tens of tons. Even if he detonated it with Atomic Bomb, the splinters from dozens of fragments were a concern. Assuming the size of the iceberg, at least a thousand pieces were needed to avoid fatal injuries.

'I have no choice but to try...'

Momentum could be predicted mathematically. If he calculated the physical quantities of splitting and re-splitting the iceberg, he could detonate it before it fell.

"Here I gooo!"

He dove into the center of the iceberg with a Deviate Form Spirit Zone. After initiating a series of Atomic Bombs, the iceberg shook and split into seven pieces.

Yiruki activated his Double Spirit Zone and frantically fired Atomic Bombs, shattering the iceberg.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, boom!

The ice bloomed like flowers. The iceberg burst into fragments, scattering like sparks.

Nade and Arin watched the chain explosions in the sky, stunned. Then, realizing the falling ice grains, they turned to the students. The small ice fragments rained down like hail, but no one was hurt.

Shock trembled in Arin's eyes. Arcane always belittled the students of the Magic Academy. Students without a spirit of challenge or combat will, just passively accepting whatever is given, weak and feeble. But the level of the Magic Academy students she witnessed far exceeded her expectations.

'So this is the Magic Academy. Huh?'

Arin turned her head, realizing she was in the arms of a strange man. She impulsively pushed Nade away, shouting.

"Get off! What are you doing?"

Nade, landing on his backside, blushed.

"What! I just helped you, and this is the thanks I get!"

"Why are you helping me? We're enemies!"

"Who says? Hurry up and lift your mind control! Are you really going to kill all these people? Are you in your right mind?"

Arin bit her lip. She was ready to become the protagonist of a historical massacre, but she wasn't afraid. If she hadn't met Canis in Radum, her fate would have been far worse.

"It doesn't matter. For Canis, I don't care if the whole world dies."

Nade saw the despair and cynicism in Arin's eyes. What kind of life had she led to have such a gaze?

"Alright."

Yiruki, seeing Siena collapsed in the snow, carried her on his back and then turned to Lucas. Does a sinner too have a god? Lucas, barely managing to stay a few meters away from the glaciers, was trapped. His jaw was dislocated, and his eyes showed only the whites, having lost both legs and unable to steal again. Just seven days after his escape, he was destined to return to the gloomy prison of Inferno.

Boom!

A loud explosion from the forest made Nade and Yiruki turn their heads. A thick beam of light was piercing the sky.

"Wow. What's that big thing?"

"It's a Photon Cannon. Did he have an epiphany?"

As the forest shook, Shirone burst out, looking as if he had just escaped a quagmire. Arin's face brightened, indicating Canis had the upper hand.

However, her assumption quickly crumbled.

Harvest emerged, toppling trees with his long arms, and Canis limped out. His condition was no better than Shirone's, if not worse.

Yiruki, in disbelief, said, "An even match...?"

"No way. Shirone's Photon Cannon evolved during the battle. And yet he couldnt win?"

Shirone, supporting himself off the ground, said, "I cant win."

His friends doubted their ears. Was this the first time they had heard such words from Shirone?

"What, man? Dont talk weak."

"It's not about being weak. That guy... he's really strong."

Shirone admitted it honestly. Knowing that Canis was the disciple of an Archmage would have been more convincing, but even without that knowledge, he could feel Canis's will in each of his spells.

The will to not lose. The will to destroy humanity. The will to prove that he was the best.

Even with Photon Cannon's maximized power, Harvest, borrowing Canis's mental strength, absorbed it.

What followed was a melee. A war of attrition, exchanging Might of Darkness and Photon Cannon, cutting each other down.

Ultimately, Canis successfully countered, pushing Shirone out of the forest.

'Why would someone so strong... want to harm others?'

Whatever the reason for choosing evil, it could be understandable. After all, everyone makes mistakes.

But he couldn't accept that evil was strong. Strength is the result of effort, not mistakes.

"Why are you doing this? What have these students done to you?"

"Are you just blabbering because you're losing? That's typical of weak nobles."

Shirone wasn't ruffled because it wasn't true.

"Answer me. What you're doing now will be recorded in history as a terrible act. I at least need to know why."

"History? Who cares about that? The abandoned just struggle to survive each day. If I dont kill, I'll be killed."

"Dont try to justify it with sophistry. No matter what life youve lived, everyone has their own unbearable pain."

"Have you ever eaten fallen excrement off the ground?"

Shirone was silent. A cold wind blew.

'Canis...'

Sadness filled Arin's eyes. Those who haven't lived in Radum can never understand what it's like.

Radum was another world, isolated from society.

Canis and Arin were abandoned there. Its unclear how long they had been together or why it was just the two of them.

But they had been there as long as they could remember, surviving while others died or were sold.

Canis was clever from a young age. Though weak as a child, he showed how strong a person can become when talent meets venom.

In Radum, swarming with villains, Canis had only one desire.

To protect Arin for the day.

There were no women in Radum. Precisely, no females past infancy.

In a place where food was scarce, powerless girls were consumed upon birth.

But Arin survived in Radum until she was ten.

The only woman in Radum.

Canis was the one who preserved that eerie symbol.

He was always like a mad dog. He would rush to death whenever enemies targeted Arin.

Being with Arin meant they couldn't join any organization. So they scrounged through trash bins to survive.

The funny thing in Radum is even garbage has owners. They fought, not minding torn flesh, just to obtain leftovers others discarded.

After fierce battles, Canis managed to secure half a piece of moldy bread.

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