Genius Warlock

Oliver has been subjected to numerous unjust commands throughout his life, as he realized upon reflecting on the sudden command from the war wizard.

For instance, while residing in the orphanage, he was restricted to using the restroom at set times and required to maintain silence and endure beatings without a word of protest, whether from the director or his peers.

This pattern continued even after he began working in the mine, where he was compelled to subsist on meager rations, labor for twelve hours daily, and put in additional hours if he failed to reach his quota.

At the time, Oliver was unaware of the notion of unjust, lacking any frame of reference for what was considered fair.

But as he gained exposure to the world, he came to recognize that the demand made by the war wizard was indeed unjust.

Being instructed to "not go down easily" while under relentless attack by flames was a ludicrous demand, and one that should not have been made by someone who was attacking him.

As Oliver dodged the fiery blasts, he respectfully asked,

"Can we please halt the fighting?"

The war wizard, with red skin, retorted,

"Why? Are you going to apologize?"

With a subtle movement of his hands, the wizard harnessed the power of mana, manipulating the surrounding flames through his connection with a stone pillar.

Some of the fire shot upward, converging into the sky and descending like a merciless barrage.

While it may have appeared like a thunderbolt, it was actually more akin to a disaster rather than a natural occurrence like lightning.

FWOO FWOOO!

A tornado of red-hued flames engulfed the air, and Oliver scampered sideways to escape it.

Despite the scorching heat and lack of oxygen making it difficult to catch his breath, he persisted, firing off numerous black darts filled with [Las Bomb].

"Will you forgive me if I apologize?" Oliver asked.

"Well… I can't sense your sincerity," replied the war wizard.

The wizard used the surrounding flames as a barrier, deflecting or burning down all of Oliver's black darts.

Even when the [Las Bomb] inside the darts detonated, trying to neutralize the fire, the wizard manipulated the mana in the flames to enhance their strength.

With a flick of his finger, the war wizard reorganized the typhoon of flames on the ground, causing it to pursue Oliver like a fiery beast.

‘Um, there's no end to it….’

After tapping into the mana from the test tube, Oliver took control of a portion of the relatively weaker flames.

It was a challenging task due to the vast disparity in mana, but Oliver's superior control ability allowed him to seize a small amount of fire.

He condensed the flames, directing them upward as if to trigger an explosion.

To Oliver's surprise, the typhoon of flames responded, reaching toward the heat and explosion that he had initiated.

This seemed to be a viable strategy, but Oliver was not content with it.

He quickly wrapped himself in five layers of his black suit, which provided protection from the constant damage caused by the flames and heat.

‘Maybe with close combat… Uh?'

Oliver's mind came to a halt as he caught sight of the flaming stone javelin hurtling towards him.

The javelin, composed of fire, rock, soil, and mana, traveled like a cannonball, aimed directly at Oliver's face.

In an attempt to dodge it, Oliver quickly turned his head to the side, much like he had done before.

However, this time, instead of flying off and exploding, the javelin rebounded off the magic barrier created by the stone pillar and spun through the sky before coming back.

SWOOSH

"Your physical ability sets you apart from the clumsy Warlocks and Wizards. It's impressive."

The war wizard said as he approached in an instant and seized the javelin from the air, attacking Oliver.

He hurled the javelin with full force and Oliver, who had tried to dodge it, was hit by the explosion that contained flames.

Two layers of his five-layered black suit were stripped off.

The war wizard, who pursued Oliver who had fallen away, swung his stone javelin back and forth.

Oliver, who struggled to maneuver the black suit and avoid the blows, took a defensive stance once again.

His joints and muscles ached.

He realized now that he needed to exercise more.

"I'm truly sorry."

Oliver said, brandishing the quarterstaff in black suit.

The war wizard also responded and swung the stone- javelin.

"I can't feel your sincerity."

The weapons collided with a loud clang, causing a massive explosion.

Because of Oliver's Las Bomb, as well as the flame magic that stuck in the stone javelin, the power of the explosion seemed to have been amplified five times, not just twice.

Thanks to this, the fire that the war wizard wore around his body also flew clean.

He appeared taken aback by the result.

"You're so…"

"Minion."

At Oliver's call, a minion hiding in his clothes popped out and spat out a bullet of hatred at the wizard.

Dutt dututut tutut dutuututu!

However, despite the loss of his flame armor, the war wizard managed to dodge all the shots.

Oliver thought the timing was perfect since the war wizard’s defensive magic was gone, but it turned out to be unfortunate.

"Is there really no way to make up?”

"Not while you're attacking like this!" replied the war wizard, who had evaded the attack with a graceful move and now wielded flame in one hand.

Foo foow fooow foow!

A massive wave of flames, like a flamethrower, was unleashed toward Oliver, causing him to fly back.

Although the damage was minimal, it still took a toll on Oliver as the powerful mana-filled flames burned a layer of the black suit, while the heat drained his physical strength.

‘This is problematic. I need to conserve the mana in case I need to escape, and I'm close to running out of emotions.’

However, attempting to extract the mana or emotions from the wizard in front of him would be risky and leave him vulnerable.

He considered trying to capture the wizard with the [Imprison] spell, but the likelihood of success was low as the wizard's flame magic would consume it before he could be restrained.

Whoosh.

The war wizard lifted a finger and used magic to gather soil and stones from the ground, merging them with the surrounding flames to form several fireballs.

[Black Cube]

Oliver abandoned strengthening his defense and instead used six black shields to surround the war wizard.

As the war wizard was taken aback by the black magic he encountered, Oliver cast another spell.

[Las Bomb]

The bomb of rage exploded within the Black Cube.

The war wizard was slow to realize the situation, but Oliver was one step ahead and detonated the bomb.

BOOM

The fireball created by the war wizard and Oliver's bomb of rage resulted in a massive explosion, shattering the Black Cube.

Not only did the Black Cube break, but Oliver was also thrown back from the strong backlash.

Honestly, Oliver hoped that the war wizard would be killed by this attack.

It was an attempt made after struggling, and the emotions were slowly depleting.

He felt like using more of the emotions would drain it completely.

And using a Pilgaret seemed like a waste.

So he wanted the war wizard to die, if possible leaving the body intact.

Even if it was damaged, he thought he could fix it with another body and recycle it.

Unfortunately, Oliver's simple wish was not fulfilled.

It was evident from the fact that the stone pillars that distribute mana are still functioning without turning off.

Oliver took the remaining tiny bit of emotion with the idea of pushing the war wizard.

He mixed mana, emotions, and Life-force to create an artificial soul, and enveloped it in the black suit that wrapped around his body.

He then went further, taking inspiration from Joe's idea to round the end of his quarterstaff into a mace-like shape with Black Armor, and charged into the explosion smoke where the war wizard was located.

Upon striking the mana shield, the wizard was sent flying and slammed into a stone pillar.

BANG!

Despite being swept away by an explosion and hit by a powerful attack, the war wizard surprisingly looked unscathed.

The only change was that he was covered in dirt and soot.

This was a remarkable feat, especially since he remained clean even when surrounded by flames.

He descended to the ground leisurely, unaffected by the two major attacks.

He then spread his arms, drawing back the mana that had dispersed into the stone pillar, instantly recovering his physical strength and mana.

The sight was truly astonishing, but Oliver was shocked in a different sense: he couldn't believe that the stone pillar could be used in such a way.

The war wizard approached, dusting off his body, and asked Oliver calmly with a hint of admiration and compassion, but no trace of anger.

"….what's your name?"

"What?"

"What's your name? By the way, my name is Kevin Dunbara. I'm a member of the School of Element Magic at the Magic Tower.”

At the unexpected self-introduction, Oliver replied.

"Um, my name is…."

It got stuck in his throat while he was talking.

He remembered that he was on a secret mission from the city, and can’t reveal his name.

"…I'm so sorry, but can I tell you next time? I know it's not polite, but there's a reason."

Fortunately, the war wizard… No, Kevin Dunbara nodded as if he understood the meaning, instead of getting angry.

"I guess you're not part of the Kell Liberation Force. Well, if you're this good….. Oh, you belong to Landa?"

“……”

Oliver had heard that the wizards are smart, but didn't expect it to be this much.

"I don't mind. Everyone has their own reasons and especially if they're as skilled as you are."

He had seen through Oliver's black suit and seemed to be referring to the artificial soul overlaid on it.

"I acknowledge you, Anonymous Warlock. I won't hold back any longer."

Kevin declared, and soon the mana surged.

Oliver instinctively ran forward and tried to attack, but this time Oliver was half a step behind.

The fires around the war wizard could not control their strength from the pouring mana as if they had been splashed with oil, and they shook hugely as if they were about to explode and attacked Oliver from all sides.

Fwoo Fwoooo!!!!

This was not a level that could be avoided by looking at mana.

The flames, which exploded as if they were exploding using mana as a nutrient, swallowed the whole area surrounded by the stone pillars.

It covered the entire area, not with dots or lines of fire, literally a sea of fire

Kevin's mana was fueling the flames and causing them to swirl like a typhoon with artificial currents.

Despite the intense heat and pressure from the flames, Oliver pushed forward toward Kevin. He had no choice but to endure and approach.

Even if he wanted to fight back with a firearm black magic, everything would be burned in the fire.

"You didn't fall… That's impressive."

Kevin remarked, standing in the center of the red typhoon protected by mana.

He casually gestured and pulled stones and soil from the ground, mixing them with fire and compressing them into a meteorite bomb.

He then aimed it at Oliver.

The meteorite bomb rushed towards Oliver, who realized he couldn't dodge it.

The mana-infused flames restricted Oliver's movements like a strong current.

With no other options, Oliver had to make use of the situation.

He transformed the black armor around the quarterstaff into a Las Bomb and detonated the flying meteorite.

The explosion of black magic and magic caused a blast that was powerful enough to stop the typhoon of flames, which allowed Oliver to fly away and be stuck in a stone pillar on the other side.

And suddenly he felt a tremendous amount of mana.

"That…."

At a word from the war wizard mixed with anxiety, Oliver reached out to the stone pillar and extracted mana as he expected.

"Thanks for the Mana."

(To be Continued)

OR

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