From then on, Adam attempted to defeat Typhon a total of twenty times. Unfortunately, he never prevailed.
("...How?!") [Adam]
Chewing on a piece of bread, he sat deep in thought.
("It's like nothing I do can beat him! Everytime… Everytime…! He just… kills me so effortlessly!") [Adam]
He chewed angrily, causing Arthur to show concern.
"...Are you alright, Adam?" [Arthur]
"NO!" [Adam]
He snapped at Arthur from frustration.
"O-okay…" [Arthur]
Arthur then fell silent after witnessing Adam's sudden outburst.
("Let's review. The longest one I've survived was my… seventeenth death? I managed to dodge the first stab, but he can move so fast the second one gets me.") [Adam]
It was at this time where Adam really wished Krino was with him.
("If only I had a reliable weapon…") [Adam]
That was also when he remembered Arthur summoning a magic arrow mid-fight.
"Arthur!" [Adam]
"Hm?! Yeah?!" [Arthur]
Arthur jolted. He wasn't too sure if Adam was still angry at whatever it was he was mad at.
"Can you teach me magic?" [Adam]
"…I don't think now is the best time to learn magic. We're quite literally in the middle of a prison break." [Arthur]
Though he believed it was urgent to escape, Arthur's will faltered when looking at the determination in Adam's eyes.
"...What do you want to learn?" [Arthur]
"Is there a spell that can help me summon a weapon?" [Adam]
Arthur gave him a conflicted look.
"There is, but… it would be very taxing on the body." [Arthur]
"...Elaborate." [Adam]
Raising a hand, Arthur summoned a magic circle.
"First of all, you need the knowledge to formulate a magic circle." [Arthur]
Staring at the circle, Adam somehow felt like he could read it.
"Like this?" [Adam]
Raising a hand, an exact replica of the circle appeared within his palm.
"Huh?! How?!" [Arthur]
Completely astonished by what he had just witnessed, Arthur's jaw dropped.
"What's the next step?" [Adam]
"I-Uh…" [Arthur]
Having a bit of trouble recollecting himself, Arthur took a few breaths while murmuring to himself.
"Three years… It took me three years to draw even a single one…!" [Arthur]
"...Arthur?" [Adam]
"Huh? Oh, ahem!" [Arthur]
Clearing his throat, he tried to hide his jealousy.
"Next you insert mana into it. Since humans don't have a mana core like monsters, we use circles to absorb mana in the atmosphere to activate it. It may be hard to control, but-" [Arthur]
"Done." [Adam]
"Eh?!" [Arthur]
Eyes wide open, he stared at a fully glowing magic circle. Within moments, a transparent blue longsword emerged from the circle.
"...You're lying. You've learned this before." [Arthur]
Adam gave him a blank look.
("...Why does my gut kind of hurt?") [Adam]
Feeling a slight pulsing pain in his lower abdomen, Adam ignored it.
"Can this sword handle an ethereal blade's attack?" [Adam]
"...If you put enough mana into it." [Arthur]
Heeding his advice, Adam forced more mana into the blade. The blade's form began to solidify, so much so that it was no longer transparent.
"Did I do it right?" [Adam]
"...I hate you." [Arthur]
Judging from Arthur's reaction, Adam assumed he succeeded.
"Hey, Arthur?" [Adam]
"What?" [Arthur]
He spoke in an unhappy tone.
"What is the name of this spell?" [Adam]
"It's called Mana Conjuring. It's basically giving mana form." [Arthur]
"I see… Mind testing it for me?" [Adam]
Arthur opened his mouth to ask how, but then realized.
"Sure." [Arthur]
Gripping his sword, Arthur aimed it at Adam.
"Be careful, I might miss since I'm missing an arm." [Arthur]