The Mist Vol 2 Chapter 14

Vol 2 Chapter 14

For a moment, Kapros felt his mind clearing a bit. He might have been thinking in the wrong direction, but he decided to try it out first.

'To grasp the image of Dispel while moving my hands together...'

As Kapros suddenly stood up after falling silent mid-sentence, Kran looked puzzled.

"K-Kap?"

"Thanks."

"Huh?"

When Kapros grinned and spoke, Kran looked at him as if he had eaten something wrong, but Kapros was already in a state of renewed determination for a new challenge.

"Kran, is there a dungeon near this city where monsters use magic?"

When Kapros asked this to the still bewildered Kran, he thought for a moment and then nodded.

"There is. I heard that monsters from a small forest called the Will-o'-the-Wisp Forest use fire magic."

"Then let's go there."

As Kapros walked out without hesitation, Kran's eyes widened.

"Now?"

"Right now."

Kapros had decided to finish this magic through actual combat, not practice. Seeing Kapros's determined expression, Kran soon scratched his head and gripped the scabbard at his left side.

"Even if I tell you that the monsters there are a bit too strong for the two of us to handle, you're going anyway, right?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so."

They headed to the Will-o'-the-Wisp Forest together. As dungeons usually are, it had an extremely dark and damp atmosphere. Judging by the scarcity of both users and monsters, it seemed that while the monsters here were strong, their numbers were few.

But in this gloomy place, only Kran seemed to be in a good mood, which Kapros found puzzling. Then Kran turned back and grinned.

"Did you know this is the first time we've come out just the two of us without the Black Swordsman?"

So that was the reason. Kapros hesitated on how to respond, but fortunately or unfortunately, before he could open his mouth, a monster appeared not far away.

At first glance, it looked like a living blue flame. However, as the flame swayed in the air, the glossy white eyes visible inside gave a somewhat creepy feeling. Kapros and Kran stepped back and faced off against the fireball. But the moment they blinked, the flame suddenly disappeared, and they couldn't tell where it had gone.

"Huh?"

"It's a monster capable of stealth. Be careful, we don't know where it'll reappear."

Just as Kran tensely drew his sword, the monster reappeared above and to the left as if it had been waiting, spewing white flames. Fortunately, they both dodged in different directions and weren't hit by the attack, but the flame that hit the ground exploded with a louder noise than expected. Despite its seemingly insignificant appearance, it had power similar to Kapros's Screw Fireball.

"It's quite strong."

As Kapros muttered softly, Kran nodded and looked at the fireball. Despite his earlier aggressive stance, his eyes now looked a bit troubled.

"What's wrong?"

"...I was going to be the target first to help you, but I'm not sure how to hit it... Haha."

Ah... I see.

Kran, with his sword, had no way to catch a monster floating in the air like that.

Kapros unhesitatingly drew a palm-sized circle in the air and pushed his hand into it. The formula world unfolded instantly. Watching the blue magic circle rising from beneath his feet, he called out the name of a familiar spell.

"Lightning Bolt!"

Crackle! Boom boom boom!

There was no need to draw a circle, but he did so to revive the sensation. However, the fireball smoothly avoided the Lightning Bolt. It was good at dodging. Kapros narrowed his eyes and once again accurately gauged its position.

"Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For a moment, the entire forest lit up blue from the discharge, and a tingling sensation ran across his skin. The fireball, hit by lightning, staggered and shot a large flame towards Kapros. It was the same as before.

'This is what I've been waiting for!'

Smiling, Kapros quickly drew a circle and pushed both arms in, spreading his palms wide. Magical power began to swirl.

"Lower being."

As he opened his mouth, he stared directly at the incoming fire. Soon, with a feeling of his body boiling, strength began to drain like water. It felt insanely real. But he couldn't lose here. If he canceled this time, he would die! Kapros widened his eyes with the determination to completely annihilate the incoming spell in one go.

If he didn't destroy it, he would be hit!

"You shall not approach!"

Boom boom boom boom!

An invisible, formless energy swirled in his palms. In his mind, Kapros imagined the image of grabbing a candle flame with his palm and snuffing it out.

"Dispel!"

Towards the fire that had come right up to his face, he clenched his fist as if extinguishing a candle flame, having spread his hands.

Whoosh!

Magical power flew from his fingertips, fiercely confronting the oncoming fireball as if to swallow it whole. A groan involuntarily escaped from the pressure, but Kapros desperately continued to add more power.

After enduring a few seconds that felt like an eternity, finally his magical power expanded abruptly and swallowed the fireball with terrifying force. In that momentum, tree branches broke, and even the monster that had attacked him was torn apart and blown away, the scene unfolding in slow motion. What remained was an orderly silence.

"..."

As Kapros slowly lowered his hands and looked around, he saw the surroundings that looked as if a whirlwind had swept through, and Kran standing with his mouth agape. Seeing Kran's sword-holding hand awkwardly frozen in mid-air, Kapros felt like laughing, but just as he was about to, he felt dizzy from the extreme consumption of magical power. He barely managed to stand upright with support from Kran, who had rushed over in surprise.

"Amazing."

Kran said with a flushed face.

"That's amazing, Kap! You did it in one shot! What an incredible spell that was!"

Instead of answering, Kapros smiled and looked at the 5th circle magic book he had brought this far. As the book burst into flames and disappeared, Kapros felt new magical power filling his body.

Ding!

- You have become a 5th Circle Master.

- By becoming a 5th Circle Master, you have obtained the qualification of Tower Master.

'Finally...!'

Kapros turned to Kran with a bright smile.

"Let's go back!"

"Huh? After catching just one?"

Kran tilted his head in confusion, but Kapros had already achieved his goal and had no more business here.

"Yeah. I've finished all my preparations now."