[Magic power increased by 666%.]
[Mana sensitivity increased by 666%.]
[Magic casting speed increased by 666%.]
[Mana recovery rate increased by 666%.]
[Temporary talent 'Magic (Prodigy)' applied.]
[Temporarily immune to all mental magic.]
[Entered a transcendent state of profound apathy.]
[Lasts for 66 seconds.]
As soon as I used the technique, numerous message windows appeared, accompanied by a sense of emptiness I had never experienced before.
Is this how the emotions of a transcendent being feel, rather than the emotions of this world?
"Even thinking is too much of a bother."
Moving is too bothersome. Opening my eyes is too bothersome. Breathing is too bothersome. Even my heartbeat is bothersome.
Everything is bothersome.
Let's just die.
With that thought, my breath stopped, my heart stopped beating, and it all started to come to a halt.
["Why are you trying to die on your own?"]
["The Pure Original Sin is engulfing the host."]
"Guh."
My heart, which had stopped, started beating again, and my breath returned.
The hastily drawn-in oxygen shook my head.
My entire body trembled as if it were in a feverish state.
And naturally, I used magic towards Payat, who was in front of me.
"Earth Shield."
An Earth Shield, different from before, rose from the ground like a thin sheet of paper, compressed and possessing the strength of a diamond.
In an instant, the thin Earth Shield that had risen from below severed Payat's left arm, the arm that held Vivian.
"Huh?"
Payat looked at his severed arm and casually applied pressure to stop the bleeding.
"What kind of magic is this?"
I didn't answer his casual question.
I, who had barely gotten up, created hundreds, thousands of Rock Spheres.
The created Rock Spheres were compressed to the maximum, just like the Earth Shield that had cut off Payat's arm earlier, boasting incredible strength.
"Ohoho. What's going on? What exactly is happening? Huh?"
The ground trembled.
I infused mana into the ground and shook the entire hideout.
Using excessive magical power made my heart ache.
Although my nose bled due to the shock, I paid no mind to it.
Neither the pain I felt, nor my body falling apart, nor the opponent calmly looking at me.
"Everything is bothersome."
Let's kill him quickly.
I drew mana from the surroundings, even the mana in the air, into my heart.
Although I had learned it from Salem, I couldn't understand how to shoot the Rock Spheres that had been compressed to the size of a fingertip using the mana shockwave. The stone projectiles flew like cannonballs hitting a barrel, and the explosion occurred as they hit. Payat tried to swing his sword, but couldn't block the barrage of stone bullets that flew faster than bullets due to the shaking ground. Pervuburberbuk! "Hohoho. Who are you, really?" Although the opponent blocked by Aura was wearing Aura, the stone bullets propelled by the applied mana shockwave were strong enough to pierce him. Thanks to that, Payat laughed as blood flowed from his entire body. "It's bothersome, just die already." In an instant, I stopped Payat's movements using the Rock Sphere embedded in his body. The tremendous mana sensitivity allowed me to control the Rock Sphere embedded in the opponent. Payat's sword, stopped right in front of me, created a scratch on my forehead, making blood flow, but that was it.
"Just die already."
Payat's muscles pushed my Rock Spheres away.
But his body, which floated in the air thanks to the Rock Spheres, posed no threat to me.
As I thought I had gained the upper hand, just as the thought passed by.
[Duration of special skill 'Indolence' has ended.]
[Recoil is coming.]
Indolence has ended.
With it, blood started flowing from my eyes, mouth, and ears.
"Oh, shit..."
The recoil hit hard once again.
Although my emotions had returned, my body reached its limit regardless.
Thanks to that, Payat, who had been floating in the air, fell to the ground.
While the Rock Spheres had wreaked havoc on his body, leaving him in a less than favorable condition, he was still a formidable opponent who had approached the level of Aura Master.
At this point, it was clearly my defeat.
"I've completely used up my mana. It's the first time I've used it to the point of being completely drained."
If I had just enough mana to summon Nickel, he would have been the one to die.
Pooof!
Before my thoughts could even finish, a sword protruded from Payat's chest as he staggered to his feet.
The sword that had protruded returned, severing Payat's supply.
Serk.
As the towering Payat fell, Vivian appeared behind him, blood streaming down her forehead.
"Adrias!"
She approached me, limping, and embraced me while I lay there collapsed.
In her embrace, I searched the depths with trembling hands.
"It's broken."
The potion I had prepared for emergencies had been shattered by the impact.
My body felt sluggish.
"Am I going to die like this?"
I realized the fact that death was imminent.
It's not even funny. To think I would die from the recoil of a special skill.
"It couldn't be helped. It would have been impossible with just Nickel and Tumer."
If Nickel and Tumer underwent a few more evolutions, there was a possibility of surpassing their previous abilities, but at this moment, they couldn't become a match for Aura Master.
So, it was a special skill that I had to use anyway.
Of course, I never dreamed there would be such a recoil.
Still, the thought that sacrificing my own body was worth it to save Vivian vaguely crossed my mind.
"Adrias, snap out of it. I will definitely save you."
Even though she was in a dazed state herself, she lifted me on her back and began to escape the hideout.
As she stumbled, she appeared to overlap with the young Vivian I saw in the realm of indolence.
"I'm sorry, Vivian."
"I won't let you die! Don't say such things!"
I'm sorry.
My eyes closed, and there was nothing more...
-Ding!
[Conditions have been met.]
[A potential for evolution has been detected in Adrias Cromwell.]
What is this? Is it a gift from the afterlife?
[Evolution potential of Adrias Cromwell: 33%.]
[If evolved, there will be one branching path.]
[Do you wish to evolve?]
This can't be a joke.
Unintentionally, I checked the message with a smile and closed my eyes.
Upon hearing the story, Bahat, along with the heads of each department, became enraged and released their magic in anger.
Observing his fury, Verial Castero, the Head of Magical Studies, shrugged and spoke.
"So, it was true. By the way, we're all the dead here students?"
Upon his question, Surahan, the Head of Knightly Studies, who had come along with him, furrowed his brow.
"At least these three were Knightly Department students."
"Oh, this one is from the Magical Department. Oh, I see. How did he manage to hide so well?"
Verial's nonchalant remark agitated Bahat, who was already feeling uncomfortable.
"Verial, is that all you have to say?"
"Well? Um, well... I don't really have anything else to say. I'll make sure to be more careful in the future."
With a smile, Verial, who spoke, surrounded himself with mana, blocking Bahat's outburst of magical power.
Unfortunately, despite his outstanding talent as the youngest Warlock, Verial was a psychopath who lacked empathy for the surrounding circumstances.
"If these bombs had exploded, hundreds of people in the arena would have died. And do you think the enemies would have just stopped at the explosion? They probably would have continued the slaughter afterward."
Surahan's words made Verial nod and let out a sigh of admiration.
"Indeed. It would have been like that. Everyone would have died, right?"
"Verial, security, and defense were clearly your responsibility. How could you be so careless?"
"Yes, but nothing happened, did it? I blocked it, didn't I?"
As Verial spoke, Surahan shook his head, and Bahat's face turned as red as a ripe date.
Unable to contain his anger, Bahat exploded in rage.
"You're saying that now? Because of you, two students have been through hell. And that's nothing?"
"Well, it is my responsibility, but I don't understand why you're so worked up, Lord Bahat."
With that remark, Verial added with a subtle smile.
"Could it be that you're worried something happened to Lord Adrias and Lady Vivian? I heard that both of them were at the arena today..."
"Verial, it seems like your time has come."
"Hahaha! You're right? Well, well. I didn't expect Lord Bahat to get so emotional."
Bahat, who was glaring at Verial as he provocatively taunted him, took a deep breath and controlled his emotions.
Verial had made such provocations more than once.
As someone who aimed not only for the position of Head of the Roldren Academy but also for the Top Warlock, he was always ready to fight Bahat.
Bahat, who knew this fact well, didn't want to give unnecessary leverage.
"An inexperienced fool. I should rearrange the ranks someday."
Although he was not lacking in confidence in combat, impromptu battles that were not formal duels were politically disadvantageous to him.
In the end, Bahat maintained a cold rationality and ignored Verial.
"Ah, how boring."
Verial noticed Bahat's attitude and deflated like a deflated balloon.
Surahan, who had been observing the power struggle between the two, raised his head and noticed a lifeless body in a corner.
The headless corpse was truly a body for battle, boasting strong and grotesque muscles, to the point where it could be called the epitome of a combatant. Surahan's eyes brightened as he examined the nearby supply.
"Payat Coborn."
Surahan's words drew the attention of Bahat and Verial, who had been in a standoff.
"Payat? The owner of Muriel's Pleasure House?"
"Yes. I remember meeting him once. He was a formidable opponent that I will never forget."
Payat's body was in a mangled state, and Bahat and Verial could immediately tell that his injuries were caused by magic.
"Interesting."
Verial's eyes gleamed as he manipulated Payat's wounds and produced small stone fragments.
The compressed stone fragments were opaque and formed in a way that minimized resistance when they flew through the air.
"It's amazing. This mana arrangement is a highly compressed stone fragment of extreme strength. And the shape, too."
Bahat also approached and examined Payat's body.
Then he used Mana Detect, scanning the surroundings. As a result, he detected scattered pieces of stone in all directions.
"At least thousands of stone fragments..."
Moreover, this mana arrangement was something that the culprit couldn't have done.
"It's ridiculous that a dull-witted person like Adrias Cromwell could pull off something like this."
Soon, the concept of the Original Sin crossed Bahat's mind.
"Could it be...?"
Did Adrias possess the Original Sin?
However, the effects of The Original Sin weren't particularly impressive.
Furthermore, how could Adrias, who was in the form of a tree, hide the Original Sin?
But...
"It seems there is something worth suspecting."
Contrary to Bahat's thoughts, Verial was purely in awe.
"Well, well. This definitely doesn't seem like the skill of a student. Could there have been a third collaborator?"
"Most likely. It's unbelievable that just two students could defeat Payat."
Bahat and Surahan didn't bother to refute Verial and Surahan's conjecture.
As they both considered the possibility highly likely.
"Both of them are unconscious now, so we can't ask them."
"That's true. Still, it's fortunate that we found this place and intervened. Since the bombs were set to explode automatically, if it weren't for that student..."
Having said that, Verial gave Bahat a sinister smile.
"Perhaps everyone at the arena has already died. Haha."
"Hmph. You're not getting away with this, you damn bastard."
Bahat glared at Verial once more and muttered to himself.
"I don't want to admit it, but I owe you."
Adrias Cromwell.
How long are you going to burden me with guilt?