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Chapter 78: The Green Whirlwind, Phibian (2)
Chapter 78: The Green Whirlwind, Phibian (2)
Chapter 78: The Green Whirlwind, Phibian (2)
“What was that movement just now!?”
“Wasn’t it magic???”
“It looked more like magic than actual magic…”
“I wonder if Magnus could have dealt with that kind of move?”
“It seems unlikely, right?”
The magic division camp was abuzz, discussing Ceylon’s recent movements.
“Wow, damn. I saw that guy taking hits myself?”
“Seriously. After seeing him not get hit even once by Agion, I thought for a second he was actually a ghost.”
“Did you guys catch Ceylon’s movements?”
“Kind of. It seemed somewhat visible from the side.”
“Does it look different from the front?”
“I was right behind when Ceylon faced off with Agion – man, couldn’t see a thing!”
“If even Agion couldn’t catch him, that says it all.”
“But she managed to catch him, that woman?”
“More like it just activated on its own, that wind barrier thing.”
“Wow, it reacts automatically? Then how do you even break through it?”
“Is that from the Leolalian lineage…?”
And the swordsmanship division camp was also buzzing about Phibian’s recent magic.
Feints imbued with assassination craft.
Arcane magic from a grand lineage, flourishing through extremely delicate and refined mana manipulation.
Each displayed a level of skill that surpassed any freshman’s.
For a brief moment, the freshmen were in pure awe of their techniques, forgetting the hostility and competitive spirit they held for each other.
“Phew…!”
Phibian was no exception.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
She felt her heart beating wildly.
How surprised she had been when that man suddenly appeared before her.
‘What kind of movement is that…’
Speed.
One of the strengths of wind magicians.
In terms of speed alone, Phibian was confident she could match anyone.
That’s why she was confident she could respond impeccably to any movements from the swordsmanship division freshmen.
However, that annoying man’s recent move couldn’t be explained by speed alone.
It was as if the movement itself was designed to toy with the opponent’s senses.
If it weren’t for the Green Counterwind—
If she had been a commoner like that man—
If she had not learned the Green Counterwind—
‘No.’
Phibian forcibly stopped her train of thought.
She did not want to acknowledge that annoying man.
Acknowledgement for that man…
It should come after she had thoroughly crushed him without mercy. Only then, to graciously cast some acknowledgement his way would be fitting.
-Whoooosh!
Wind circulated around Phibian.
“Not impressive at all!”
Phibian, hair and skirt fluttering, stood imposingly and yelled at Ceylon.
“Oww, oww…”
Ceylon rose from the ground, supporting himself on his knees.
He gave Phibian a dazed smile in response.
“Surprisingly, you have a very strong hand?”
“Hmph.”
Phibian smiled with easy confidence, repeatedly mimicking flicking motions in the air.
“Now you might think you should stop messing around?”
To which Ceylon, after a moment of deep contemplation, remarked.
“On the contrary, what if I thought it’s time to mess around even more—how would that sound to Miss Whirling Wind?”
Phibian’s face soured.
-Whoooosh
The comforting sound of the wind she had just been hearing suddenly turned annoying thanks to that man.
“How would it sound? Obviously, it would be idiotic.”
-Whoooosh!
“Argh!”
Phibian’s gust struck Ceylon.
He crossed his arms to shield his face.
“Can you break through this with your power!?”
Phibian’s raised voice pierced through the wind to reach Ceylon.
“Let’s find out, shall we? By being thoroughly frivolous!”
Ceylon too raised his voice to cut through the sound of the wind.
“Ha! Then go on, show me how much you can mess around to your heart’s content!”
The wind ceased.
As Ceylon, puzzled, lowered his crossed arms—
In his sight, Phibian was loading up for another flick.
“Oh, this…”
-Pop!
Once again, Ceylon’s body was sent flying backward.
***
[Title: Hey f*ck, how do you even beat a wind magician?]
[Content: It’s just impossible, right? No matter how I set up for speed and evasion, there’s no way to dodge.]
[What the hell is a non-wind magician?]
[Like a non-homosexual person?]
[Dude’s like so unconventional;; the way he speaks and thinks]
[LOL seriously, haven’t you thought about going defensive rather than just speed and evasion?]
[What the f*ck is up with this defense bullshit, you against hetero or something?]
[LOL]
[True LOL, defense does seem a tad gay ??]
[What are you talking about, you morons? Defense is manly, and gay is about speed and evasion.]
[Ah, screw this, I’m a speed evasion swordsman so that’s my setup to beat wind magicians.]
[So just give me some f*cking tips already.]
[Whoa;;]
[Turned out to be a standard female huh]
[But really, is there any strategy for close combat against a wind magician?]
[For real, if a close combat fighter is at a lower level than a wind magician, they’re basically doomed, but if their level is higher, they’re pushovers.]
[When is a higher level not a pushover?]
[Right? Are you some kind of anti-wizard?]
[And yeah, what the f*ck, my level is like 5 higher than his, you know?]
[But how’d you lose, you dumbass LOL]
[Looks like your physical form got utterly wrecked;;;]
[With that physique, why the hell are you a speed evasion swordsman? Just pump up defense and strength and carry a shield.]
[Hey f*cking morons]
[What’s wrong with my physique]
[Don’t even care about the comments on looks]
[You sound like you’d actually be good at the game, yeah.]
[But how could a good player like you get thrashed by a wind magician 5 levels higher?]
[Wait, is Leolalian attached to that wind magician’s name?]
[Yeah, Leolalian]
[LOL]
[No wonder you got thrashed LOL]
[What’s the matter?;]
[Leolalian guys are basically close-range elites, yeah.]
[Leolalian guys have this arcane magic called Green Counterwind, and it’s just ridiculously overpowered against close-range fighters.]
[For ranged folks, it just reduces damage, but close-range fighters get hit with a slow, so yeah.]
[So close-range fighters trying to take on Leolalian, either need to spam sword energy or dominate with a higher level.]
[Or plaster magic resistance gear on themselves.]
[Or learn Dispel, yeah.]
[Oh, Dispel, how do you learn that?]
[Enroll in the Magic Academy, asshole.]
[What the f*ck]
***
The very moment combat with Phibian began.
I was deep in thought.
How could I possibly buy time until Kasha arrived?
As naturally as possible.
No clear method came to mind—
Fortunately, it turned out to be an unnecessary worry.
In the moment I was sent flying by Phibian’s wind flick, an appraisal was made.
Phibian’s combat abilities were heavily focused on defense.
Low attack power and high defense.
With that, it was possible to pretend to pierce Phibian’s defense while naturally dragging out time.
But then, a problem arose.
Repeatedly sent flying by her Green Counterwind, each time struck by the wind flick.
Suddenly, I found myself thinking.
‘Can I actually break through this?’
A method to counter the Green Counterwind.
If I were to brainstorm instantly, there was nothing I couldn’t come up with.
However, the problem was that all of those methods fell into the categories of assassination arts and black magic.
Using assassination and dark magic right here on the academy grounds, with many academy officials watching?
‘That would be a direct route to a bad ending.’
I wasn’t looking for a bad ending right now.
Therefore, I had to find a way to counteract the Green Counterwind with my swordsmanship, the only technique I could proudly use.
Eventually.
Since some point, I wasn’t simply dragging out time; I was actively engaging in battle with Phibian with all my might.
I was earnestly searching for a way to counteract her Green Counterwind.
‘A frontal breakthrough is impossible.’
It was impossible to breach Phibian’s Green Counterwind head-on with my current mana.
Therefore, I decided to dodge the Green Counterwind.
Once I attacked her from a blind spot, completely escaping her field of vision.
-Thwack
“Ah!”
Another time, I counterattacked Phibian the moment she attacked me.
-Thwack
“Argh!”
The conclusion that emerged.
‘Dammit, isn’t this too overpowered?’
There seemed to be no solution.
The activation condition of the Green Counterwind was independent of Phibian’s cognition or will.
I could deceive Phibian, but not the Green Counterwind.
‘Is this the arcane magic passed down only to the scions of the great mage families…?’
I experienced the reputation of wind mages, especially those from the Leolalian family, firsthand.
‘Is this… ‘the tank’ of close combat?’
After pretending to be hit by Phibian’s wind flicks and feigning pain about seven times.
In the end, I had no choice but to recognize.
It was impossible to penetrate the Green Counterwind with my current level of swordsmanship.
So, what should be done?
There was too much at stake to simply give up and sigh ‘Too bad~’.
Losing in this battle meant not only losing the trust and reputation I assumed as the top newcomer of the swordsmanship division but also—
[Main Quest: The Hero’s Bud]
-Achieve the three-star rank within a week.
>Swordsmanship Division: Reach Swordsmanship Level 20
>Magic Division: Reach Magic Level 20
Even the hint to complete that quest would fly away.
I needed Phibian’s complete cooperation to complete that quest.
When considering the nature of that help, the only way to seek her full cooperation was to demand it as a right given to the winner of the battle.
“Really, isn’t this just too miserably scrappy? How about giving up and admitting it? By this point, you must fully realize, right? The gap between you and me.”
By now, Phibian was entirely confident in her victory.
Her chin arrogantly tilted, she looked down at me with a contemptuous expression and prepared to flick again.
‘Ugh…!’
Such an appearance of Phibian only made me more desperate.
‘I want to tease her…!’
I wanted to turn that haughty expression into a foolish one!
I longed to see that absolute confidence shaken, to witness her flustered and confused!
‘Wait a second.’
A word halted my rapid train of thought.
‘Denied?’
Denial.
That keyword awakened fragmentary memories for me.
[Or learn Dispel, yeah.]
Dispel.
A magic that interferes with another magic, either weakening its efficacy or outright nullifying it—essentially, denial.
[So how do you learn Dispel?]
[Enroll in the Magic Academy, asshole.]
Yes.
Magic.
Dispel was the sole purview of magicians.
Certainly, if I used Dispel, I might manage to counter Phibian’s Green Counterwind.
But as someone completely clueless about magic, that was irrelevant to me.
Then why had I suddenly remembered that damned Dispel?
‘That ice spike…’
It was because of another memory that surged along with the thought of Dispel.
In a previous battle when I went to have a necklace appraised with Rize, Dalleye’s troubleshooter.
In that fight.
I used the assassination techniques to deny the mana contained within a magical spike aimed at the vitals of Adryn and Mizu, saving them.
That was a reflexive move, without any rational thoughts.
If it was possible to deny a human’s mana.
Couldn’t I also deny the mana within the magic?
That leap of logic had borne the outcome.
The result was a success.
When I negated the mana within the spike using assassination techniques, the mana spike was truly destroyed.
At the time, I merely thought ‘tick-tock-wow, the properties are killer,’ and didn’t dwell on it.
However, now, thinking of it in the context of Dispel—
‘Wasn’t that Dispel after all…?’
Dispel was exclusively for magicians.
Assassins could deny human mana, but they weren’t able to deny the mana within magic.
They were alike yet different.
Yet, also different but similar.
I was on the cusp of understanding that difference.
A feeling tough to describe in words had somehow taken hold inside of me.
“Hm…?”
That feeling propelled my body into motion.
Once again, I initiated a feint as I approached Phibian.
-Whooooosh!!!
Sure enough, the Green Counterwind activated, repelling my move.
“Ha! Do you lack the capacity to learn!? Fine, you fool! Let me take this opportunity to properly educate you on manners and learning capacity!”
At that very moment when Phibian was arrogantly mocking me, ready to flick me again.
-Whoosh!
The Green Counterwind that had bound me dispersed in all directions.
“Aah!”
Surprised by her own wind assaulting her, Phibian fell backward in shock.
“…?”
Blinking.
Blinking again.
She remained sitting askance for a while, then looked up at me and asked.
“What…what did you just do…?”
After a moment of contemplation, I extended my right hand with the index finger raised in front of my face.
Then, with the most significant smile I could muster, I said.
[Skill: Negator’s Dispel Lv.1 (Mythical)](New)
“It’s a secret.”