Boom! Boom! Boom!
Elric shot his ‘Ice Rain’ spell towards the mountain.
It was a spell usually classified under the 3rd circle.
Its shape, size, and power. Everything was identical to the original.
However, if there were a slight difference, it would be more appropriate to describe it as an ‘Ice Shower’.
This was because dozens of ice arrows were filling the sky.
And as they fell, they were continuously replenished.
Someone who had just reached the 3rd circle would be amazed at such skill.
However, the person most surprised was Elric himself.
“Wow! Even if I only understood it a bit, how could it change like this?”
Elric lightly whistled.
It had been five days since he read the basic theories Mephisto had written down.
In that time, Elric managed to fully understand and grasp the concepts that he had only vaguely guessed or not understood at all before, allowing him to overcome the initial ‘barrier’.
It was a situation that any magician would desire.
The feeling was truly overwhelming.
‘It’s because Mephisto’s theories are easy to understand… No, maybe it’s because Mephisto’s standards are just too high?’
Elric sneaked a peek towards where Mephisto was.
Today, as well, Mephisto seemed deep in despair, having supposedly succumbed to human fear(?).
But recently, Elric had been re-evaluating Mephisto.
He knew Mephisto was the strongest Demon King, but seeing his capabilities firsthand was truly astonishing.
Such knowledge could only be conveyed when you were at the very pinnacle, looking down on everything below.
If acquiring the Mana Stone was the first twist of fate that changed his life, then meeting Mephisto was the second twist that allowed him to carve a new path in his destiny.
“Mephisto.”
『Me-Mephisto?』
Mephisto looked surprised, but Elric didn’t seem to care.
“When will the next part be available?”
『Ahhh…!』
It was as if he were asking for an item he had pawned.
Mephisto was grinding his teeth, but he didn’t dare utter a curse.
Seeing that his provocation didn’t work, Elric clicked his tongue in disappointment.
‘You damn brat, let’s see how long you can stay so carefree!’
Mephisto’s eyes blazed with fire.
‘Once your soul is fully bound to the curse mark, I’ll make you pay back this humiliation multiple times over!’
However, a few days later, Mephisto had to realize that this was an absurd expectation.
‘Why…? Why is there no reaction? Shouldn’t there be some sign?’
Whoooosh!
Watching Elric unfold the 4th circle ‘Wind of Severe Cold’ spell, Mephisto anxiously bit his nails.
The ‘Curse Seal’ he had hidden throughout the basics he had taught him wasn’t activating at all.
By now, even a simple sign should have manifested…?
“You look as if you expect some change in me, but there’s none. Isn’t that strange?”
At that moment, Elric suddenly glanced at him and smirked sarcastically.
And Mephisto felt like he had been hit hard in the back of his head.
‘Has this guy been possessed by some ghost?’
『What are you talking about? I have no idea!』
Mephisto tried to feign indifference, but Elric did not miss the slight tremble in his voice.
“Don’t worry about it. It won’t work anyway.”
『What?!』
“You think I’m stupid enough to just accept and absorb everything Mephi gives without checking?”
『…!』
“It took me quite a while to find it since you hid it so cleverly, but well, I consumed it gratefully.”
『…』
‘Damn it, damn it, daaamn it!’
Mephisto wanted to punch that smug expression on Elric’s face.
“But what’s next? This ‘vessel’ is too much of a gourmet spot for you to just give up.”
In the end, Mephisto exploded.
『Damn it! Are you really human?!』
“Thank you for the compliment. Are you done speaking for today? Return to your silent state.”
『Ugh, ugh!』
Mephisto grabbed the back of his neck in exasperation.
“Me, I’ve fully assimilated what you just taught. Anything else?”
…Now it’s not ‘Mephi’ or ‘Mephis’, but just ‘Me’?
Mephisto glared at Elric with that kind of expression.
“It’s better than ‘Hobo’, right?”
Yet again, Elric seemed to read Mephisto’s mind and spew some nonsensical words. He had grown so used to that shameless face, or perhaps he was just tired of it, that he couldn’t even muster the energy to shout.
Finally, Mephisto sighed deeply.
『…No.』
“If you’re going to spout nonsense, you’ll undertake another 3 days of a silent state.”
『It’s not that. There’s really nothing left to teach about Spirit Magic!』
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Elric’s eyes shone strangely.
“Explain in detail.”
『As I said, I have nothing left to teach you. Or, to be precise, nothing left about spirits.』
“Why?”
『Because the spirits I know are of the ‘True Words’.』
“…!”
True Words.
Of the five grades of spirits, it was at the very top.
Of course, there was a ‘Voice of God’ above that, known as Divine Words, but that only applied to transcendents with divinity, so it was excluded.
Hearing that he knew the highest grade of spirits, Elric felt the vast difference between him and Mephisto.
『In fact, what I’ve taught you so far is just the basic foundation of the True Words from my perspective. You just absorbed it like a sponge.』
“…”
『Explaining further with your current level might not only be incomprehensible but might also hinder your progress in the future.』
Mephisto drew a clear line.
Elric realized that he wasn’t lying.
After being together for almost a month, it was impossible not to understand him.
‘Perhaps this was to be expected.’
From Elric’s viewpoint, Mephisto’s perspective was as distant as the stars.
Reaching out forcibly for a star usually ends in a fall.
“What if I’ll still ask you to teach me?”
『Hmm, you’d probably just go mad.』
“…!”
『Well, from my point of view, it might be better if you just went mad… But given your current state, I don’t think you’d go mad in a pretty way.』
Mephisto shrugged.
If the Mana Stone became too active and fell into shock, it would only become harder to manage later on.
Mephisto didn’t particularly want to risk that.
‘What should I do now?’
Elric was briefly lost in thought.
In reality, there were many types of magic, and there were just as many things he could learn from Mephisto besides Spirit Magic.
‘I could even learn black magic, though I’d rather not.’
Though he was learning magic from Mephisto, Elric didn’t want to go against the will of his family of waging war with demons.
And the wolf tattoo imprinted on the back of his right hand after absorbing Mephisto was no different.
‘But randomly learning other magics seems like a waste of time, too.’
He would need to reinterpret them through spirits anyway. It wouldn’t immediately boost his abilities.
‘Then there’s only one thing left.’
Elric’s eyes sparkled.
‘Real battle.’
It was time to try the last option he had considered.
No matter how much he researched and trained in magic, without real experience, he’d only have theoretical knowledge.
‘Magic truly matures only on the battlefield. It’s our family’s saying.’
As a lineage that fought demons through generations, no other family had such passionate beliefs and principles.
‘I thought I wouldn’t be coming here until Professor Brook’s investigation was completely over… But perhaps the timing is right?’
Now that it had come to this, Elric was bursting with the desire to dive into battle immediately.
He wanted to see for himself how strong he had become.
So where should he go now?
‘The closest place from the Yellow Road is… the Red Soul Forest? No, it’s too rough for a test. Then, the Blue Secret Cave? There are too many people there. Should I go farther?’
Elric reviewed potential monster-infested areas, and he was careful not to be overly ambitious.
He was still a novice. He had to increase the difficulty gradually and not jump into something way too challenging.
Moreover, he had to keep his identity hidden, so he couldn’t go to places that were too famous or crowded.
Then, Elric thought of the perfect place.
‘Plateau of the Snowman!’
A cryptid called Snowman appeared there, and the ground was covered with perennial snow, making it hazardous, and, as a result, it was hardly visited by anyone.
More importantly,
‘…If I remember correctly, wasn’t there a sanctuary for our family nearby? I couldn’t access it before due to my lack of power, but now I might be able to. Perhaps I could also find some clues about the necklace there.’
Elric lightly touched the magical instrument hanging around his neck.
『…You seem to have come up with something interesting.』
Mephisto always noticed that strange things happened whenever Elric had that look. The demon appeared slightly uneasy.
“M.”
『…Now, you’re even shortening my name to just the first letter? Alright! Why?』
“You’re invisible to others, right?”
『What…?!』
For a moment, Elric smirked.
『Damn it! DAMN IT! Why! Why does the mighty Demon King of Sin have to resort to thievery?』
“Hey! It’s not thievery. We paid sufficiently, didn’t we?”
『You simply threw it under the clothes drying rack and left!』
Because Elric had been focused on training for a month, he hadn’t properly bathed.
The clothes he wore were worn out and dirtied, making him look like a beggar.
If he went down the mountain like this, he’d attract a lot of attention.
‘Even if I’ve fallen from grace, I’m still a Duke of the Empire. I can’t go around looking like a tramp, can I?’
However, even if he was a Duke of the Empire, he somehow felt guilty about directly committing theft.
So, he gave the task to Mephisto. And perhaps because Mephisto had no physical form, he was able to do a good job
And now all Mephisto could do was pound his chest and explode in anger.
Anyway, Elric soaked himself in the flowing stream, skillfully using magic to scrub off the grime that had built up over time.
And using heat magic, he dried his body and wore the clothes he “borrowed” from a nameless villager.
‘My hair has grown quite long.’
Elric smiled peculiarly as he looked at his hair that went past his shoulders.
“【Cut】“
A sharp gust of wind rose, and a chunk of his hair was cut off.
Elric let it flow on the stream of water, and he activated his magic once more.
“【Transform】“
Thud, thud.
Then, sounds of slight alterations in his facial structure could be heard, with his cheekbones protruding slightly, his skin darkening, and his eyes becoming slanted.
Certainly, just a moment ago, he had a mischievous look, but now he appeared sharper overall.
Even though the change wasn’t significant, he transformed so distinctively that he looked like a completely different person.
Unless it was someone he was close with, like Sean, no one would ever think that he was Elric.
“So, shall we go down now?”
Humming a tune, Elric began descending the mountain slope that had been his base for the past month.
“Ah, by the way, M. That M isn’t the M I know, right? He kind of looks like a pervert?”
『Ughhh! How did I get involved with such a crazy guy…?!』
All that resonated was Mephisto’s lament, echoing pitifully.
