My sword ignited into purple flames, and I swung it directly at the tree with full force. At this point, I was frustrated and annoyed beyond words. I had just wasted so many points to get here, faced a life-threatening mana beast, and now, upon reaching my objective, I realized it wasn't even going to work out in the first place.
Swhoook!
The sword sliced through the air, but the moment it came into contact with the wood, some sort of mana-coated barrier enveloped the tree. My sword cracked instead.
Wait.
What?
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue in irritation.
It seems that fairy bitch heard me. Is she trying to make a statement or something? Does she think I can't cut this thing down?
Now angrier than before, I stepped back a few paces and stretched my hand forward. I didn't want to resort to this because, for one, my mana pool was pathetically small. In other words, my capacity was so low there were only a limited number of things I could do before running out. That was part of the reason I hadn't tried shooting fireballs directly at the Crenox earlier.
What if it dodged the attack? That would mean wasting a huge chunk of my already laughable mana reserves. If that happened a couple more times, I'd be completely out of mana. Facing a beast like that in such a state? That would spell certain death.
But this tree wasn't going anywhere, so at least I wasn't wasting mana trying to attack it.
"Elemental magic," I muttered, feeling that familiar stir within me.
"Flames of Ephynia," I chanted, pouring as much mana as I could muster into the attack.
As expected, the result was the same as back in class—a flame no bigger than a clenched fist.
Tsk.
This is really annoying.
Puuuuuuuum!
The flame shot forward, striking the tree at point-blank range.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Whoa. That's… some firepower.
I couldn't help but admit it as I stumbled back, pushed by the force of the explosion.
Alright, let's see what happened.
As the smoke cleared, my eyes narrowed in disbelief and annoyance.
"Not a scratch," I muttered.
The trees beside it? Snapped clean in two from the sheer force of the blast. Yet the one that had taken the brunt of the attack remained completely unscathed.
This only confirmed my suspicions. The fairy must be desperately protecting the tree. But let's see how much longer she can keep this up. According to the novel, just maintaining this illusion drained her mana significantly. She constantly had to supply more mana to keep it going.
So, who's going to run out of mana first? Me… or her?
Raising my hand again, I decided to test a theory. This time, I didn't chant the spell aloud. Instead, I said it internally. To my shock, a fireball actually manifested above my outstretched palm.
I smiled.
Then I fired it forward.
As soon as the first one launched, I created another, and then another, firing them in rapid succession.
I didn't wait for the smoke to clear this time. I couldn't afford to.
This tree has to fall. Even if that's the only thing I achieve today. Not only will I bring it down, but I'll burn it to ashes.
With Lucas's unbelievable luck, there's no telling what might happen if he passes by here tomorrow. There's always the chance the fairy could still emerge from the split tree and gift it to him just before dying.
Nah. I already have my plate full with the enemies I've amassed.
Given my status as a villain, it's only a matter of time before I clash with Lucas. And considering how much weaker I am compared to the novel's version of me—where Lorelle had actually merged with the blessing—I might not survive such a fight.
So, as much as I can, I need to weaken him.
I'll stop him from getting any relics that could make the overpowered idiot even more overpowered—at least until the semester ends. I'm not some foolish villain who'll sit around and play nice with him, hoping to avoid my fate. No. Not even if fate itself got down on its knees and begged me.
And if fate decides to mess with me by not letting me steal the relics, then I'll burn them all. Just like I'm going to burn this tree.
If I can't have it, no one will. Especially not my enemy.
"WAIT! Please!"
I froze mid-attack, several fireballs hovering in the air around me, ready to launch.
Jackpot.