Infinite Mage

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

Chapter 149: Forced Breakthrough (3)

Just as they were about to commence the operation, Tess, who had been deep in thought for a while, suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a moment. Before we start, there's something I need to confirm."

"What is it you need to confirm?"

"If this operation succeeds, there's a high chance we'll end up in direct combat with the enemies. That's why I have something I want to ask Rian."

"What is it? Do you see a problem with me?"

Rian looked puzzled, prompting Tess to look at him with an unusually serious gaze and ask,

"Rian, have you ever killed someone?"

Silence enveloped the group. Rian blinked, his hand resting on his sword.

Truthfully, he had never really thought about it. Or rather, was it something that needed to be thought about?

Every knight, at some point, tacitly resolves themselves to the nature of their weapon. A sword is meant to cut people. With a lifetime commitment to wielding such a tool, Rian believed that other considerations were secondary.

"No, I haven't. What about you?"

"A few times. When I went with my father to subdue bandits."

"Really? But why is that an issue?"

"Rian, being prepared to die and prepared to kill are entirely different things. It's the same for mages, but especially for us, we have to take lives with these very hands."

The foes Shirone's group was contending with were not mere local thugs but the Parrot Mercenaries, renowned across foreign lands. All of them were seasoned professionals who had experienced countless battles.

"Of course, I trust your courage. It's unthinkable for a swordsman to go through life without ever staining their sword with blood. But if today is your first time, you might waver during the battle."

Rian exhaled thoughtfully, considering this.

Wavering during battle... Naturally, taking a life wasn't particularly pleasant. But, on the other hand, he felt it didn't really matter.

"Tess, murder is a complex and dangerous issue. I understand why you're concerned, but I will never waver."

“Idiot, that's exactly what I'm saying— it's not that simple. Killing someone..."

"I have always killed."

Tess's gaze wavered. Rian looked at his reflection in the blade of his straight sword and continued,

"And... I have died countless times."

In that moment, Rian's intense gaze met Tess's.

"Even when they said I had no talent, when they told me to give up the sword, even when I really wanted to give up, I kept swinging my sword. In the process, I killed countless foes and was killed by countless foes."

Rian pointed his straight sword northward. If Rian were a statue, he might have fallen forward under the weight of his sword, but he stood firm, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

"Tess, do you understand? Throughout my life, I have never wielded my sword with a half-hearted resolve. Whether or not there was an enemy before me, I always swung my sword with all my might."

Everyone could sense the determination in Rian's words. As if nothing had happened, Rian smiled and sheathed his straight sword behind him.

"I will not falter. I am Shirone's sword. I exist solely to cut down whatever Shirone desires. So, there's no need to worry."

This was why Tess chose Rian over countless others with sword talent.

Rian was blunt. That's why he hadn't been able to open his Schema, but the weight of human resolve, derived from the essence of life itself, couldn't be produced by talent or skill alone.

After watching Rian for a moment, Tess smiled contentedly and looked around at everyone.

"Alright! My worries have been alleviated. Let's get started."

Encouraged by Tess's words, Shirone and Amy were also fired up. Rian's speech had ignited their fighting spirit.

"Then Amy, let's go first."

Shirone grabbed Rian and cast Photonization. A flash of light enveloped the two, who then disappeared into the forest, followed closely by Amy and Tess.

The sight of two streaks of light traversing the dense forest was the epitome of dazzling. Reflecting off each other like in a mirror, they moved erratically, zigzagging through the woods.

Though the location of the magic circle was unknown, they could roughly estimate the distance based on the enemy's movements.

After about 10 minutes of searching the forest, they located the first magic circle.

Being a magical entity, the magic circle became clearly perceivable within the range of their Spirit Zone.

Stealth magic, if applied, would significantly increase the difficulty of detection. However, even for a wealthy mercenary group, maintaining such a setup was impractical.

The cost of hiring stealth magicians for all the mages involved in a mid-level magic circle wouldn't even amount to one-tenth, making it an unviable investment.

Rian cleared a path through the dense brush with his straight sword, revealing a magic circle on a grassy clearing.

Shirone, seeing a magic circle for the first time, was surprised by its scale, much larger than he had imagined.

Amy surveyed the surroundings and nodded.

"Indeed, it's a mid-level magic circle. They must have gone through a lot of trouble to create it."

The circle, over 5 meters in radius, emitted a crimson light in response to their Spirit Zone. Inside, the complex and beautiful designs etched within the concentric circles could have been mistaken for works of art.

"Wait, let me take a closer look."

Amy, with some knowledge from her advanced class, examined the magic circle closely.

Magic circles could be assessed based on three criteria.

First was the color representing the strength of the magic. Second was the density of the functions, and third was the interconnectedness of the magic circles drawn within.

To Amy, this magic circle seemed slightly lacking in color and density but excelled in interconnectedness. This likely meant it was produced by a formal entity.

"Trouble's brewing. It seems like it was inscribed by a formally registered magic company. I thought they might have hired shady magicians with their illicit earnings."

"Is that a significant issue?"

"The hallmark of a formal company is standard design, which means good interconnectedness. Simply put, the magic circle is durable. Can we really destroy it in 10 minutes?"

"We should at least try. I'm not entirely sure we can succeed."

"What? You're saying that now? We launched this operation because you said you had an idea."

"Sorry. But I'm somewhat confident. And if we do succeed..."

"If we do?"

Shirone looked up, pondering for a moment before sharing his estimate.

"Perhaps we could destroy it in under a minute."

"A minute?"

Amy's eyes widened in disbelief. They were dealing with a mid-level magic circle, which professional demolition teams would struggle to neutralize in a minute.

A magic circle inscribed by a formal company is known for its durability. Even if they employed powerful physical magic to pulverize the ground to gravel size, the concept might not disappear.

Amy knew that the ground had to be ground down to the size of a bean for the concept to vanish, but she was unaware of any magic in Shirone's repertoire capable of such power.

"How do you plan to do it? Are you sure? Half-heartedly breaking it might not be effective. In fact, it could complicate things if the magic circle disintegrates further."

"Let's see. I'll give it a try."

Amy's anxiety grew as she listened. It was clear Shirone hadn't thought it through completely.

Could he really do it? Failure here would mean a waste of precious time.

Shirone positioned himself at the center of the magic circle. Expecting an aerial attack from above, Amy was surprised by his different approach.

"What are you planning to do from there? Can you create an impact from your position?"

"Yes, but this is my first attempt, so it might be dangerous. Stay back."

Following Shirone's instruction, the three retreated further.

Although they were anxious, their anticipation was just as strong. Success could instantly turn the tide in their unfavorable situation.

As the magic circle was destroyed, the enemies' range of movement would gradually decrease.

With two mages on their side, they would have a significant advantage in firepower, allowing for a swift end to the battle.

Shirone closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Spreading his legs and slowly bending at the waist, he aimed a fist at the ground.

No immediate change was evident. The atmosphere was so serene, one might wonder if such tranquility was appropriate on a fierce battlefield.

But Amy's reaction was different.

Initially skeptical of Shirone's actions, her eyes soon widened in shock, and her shoulders trembled.

"Shirone, you..."

Tess, puzzled by Amy's reaction, looked at her. Although he saw nothing, Amy's face was as pale as if she had seen a monster.

"Amy, what's wrong? What's Shirone doing?"

"Using that... I hadn't considered it, but now that I think about it, it makes sense."

"What exactly? Explain it to me."

"We should probably move further away. This could be really dangerous."

As Amy stepped back, Rian and Tess followed, moving to a new location.

Even as they did so, the swordsmen felt a sense of perplexity. The distance Amy had retreated was more than twice what they had initially moved away.

"Now tell me. What exactly are you sensing?"

"It's not about seeing; it's about feeling. I'm sensing the changes happening in Shirone."

"Feeling? What exactly do you feel?"

"His Spirit Zone. Shirone's Spirit Zone is moving at an incredible pace right now."

Amy was incredulous even as she spoke. How immense must one's mental fortitude be to allow the Spirit Zone to expand and contract so rapidly?

'It must be the mental heartbeat. But it's too fast. At this rate, he's on par with Teacher Ethella.'

Shirone's current mental heartbeat exceeded 10 beats per second.

But for Shirone, that wasn't enough.

In the mental heartbeat test of Class Five, he scored 410, achieving 13.6 beats per second over 30 seconds.

He figured he needed to double that given the different circumstances. The previous test had a maximum expansion radius of 20 meters, but now, 5 meters, the diameter of the magic circle, should suffice. The shorter round-trip distance meant the heartbeat should be faster.

The question was whether his mental strength could withstand it.

'I have no choice. I need to control it more precisely.'

As Shirone slightly furrowed his brow, Amy immediately noticed the change and said with a shaky voice,

"My goodness. It's getting faster."

As the radius narrowed, the mental heartbeat began to exceed 15 beats per second.

Counting from 1 to 15 in one second was unimaginable, giving a sense of the speed.

A typical mage's mind would have collapsed long before reaching this point.

However, Shirone's resilience, bolstered by the Vajra Body, was unparalleled at the moment.

Finally, the maximum expansion radius of the Spirit Zone matched the edge of the magic circle. What remained was to maintain the current rhythm while casting the spell.

Concentrating intensely, Shirone clenched his teeth and attempted the decisive spell he had only conceptualized in his mind.

'Explode!'

Filling the pulsating Spirit Zone with mass-laden photons caused an astonishing phenomenon.

As the Spirit Zone took on the hues of light, even Rian and Tess could see Shirone's mind in action.

The light sphere expanded and contracted, creating fissures in the ground. Eventually, a massive rock split with a crack and shattered into thousands of pieces.

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