Chapter 242: Training (2)

Through the duel with McQueen, Lennok realized that he had indeed manifested his Domain and reached the Archmage state, but he was well aware that there were still many shortcomings.

The biggest problem was that successfully engraving an image onto his Domain required an excessive amount of preparation.

In the battle with McQueen, Lennok had doped himself with drugs worth hundreds of millions, pushing his condition to the extreme.

He accepted the disadvantageous condition of the opponent activating their Domain first, and while verbally explaining his own Domain, he maximized his mana manipulation ability through a geas.

Even after pumping his abilities in every conceivable way, it felt as if he had exhausted all the power Lennok currently possessed, which speaks volumes about the immense scale of the image he chose.

In short, the problem arose because the capacity of the image he contained was simply too vast.

As he had brought forth an image that observes and manifests parallel worlds branching from countless junctures, he was prepared for the burden, but it still far exceeded Lennok’s expectations.

If its use was already difficult even in the relatively less urgent battle with McQueen, there was no guarantee he could effectively use his Domain in a truly high-stakes combat situation.

‘More importantly, it’s not a problem I can solve immediately.’

Image engraving was proof of reaching the Archmage state, but strictly speaking, it didn’t mean he could freely wield his Domain.

Even among Level 7 practitioners, there was a variation in Domain deployment and basic spell manifestation abilities, and Lennok had only just stepped into that realm.

Ultimately, it was clearly something he needed to overcome through time, effort, and research… but there must be some way.

Therefore, Lennok deliberately intended to refine his combat power through training battles with Evelyn and delve deeper into the combat capabilities of high-level superhumans.

Evelyn Marcia, in particular, was the foremost Agent, and among the city government’s ‘monsters,’ she was the most cooperative superhuman for Lennok.

Gaining a sense of how to fight against vanguards above Level 7 through sparring with her, a physical enhancer and excellent archer, was also what Lennok expected from this training.

Opportunities to receive direct feedback from a Level 7 or higher superhuman, especially one as active in the field as Evelyn Marcia, were rare.

Furthermore, training and sparring closely for several days like this would be impossible unless her schedule allowed it.

In a way, this was undoubtedly where Lennok could expect the greatest gains.

Evelyn stared intently at Lennok’s face, then opened her mouth.

“You look troubled. Shall I speak first?”

“…Do you have something to say?”

“I think I generally understand why you set these conditions.”

Evelyn came down from the rock and sat facing Lennok as she spoke.

“Let’s talk under the assumption that you became an Archmage the moment you killed the Cartel’s CEO.”

“…”

Should he consider her feigning ignorance, despite clearly knowing, as an act of consideration?

As Lennok let out a hollow laugh, Evelyn continued.

“Actually, it’s no different whether you’re a practitioner or not. Even after reaching a higher dimension, your innate combat prowess doesn’t significantly change. It’s definitely different from the Commander Wizard state, where combat ability dramatically increased by mastering mana property changes.”

As she spoke, she held up seven fingers towards Lennok.

“This is because, essentially, it defines the stages of Self-transformation that humans can reach as seven, concluding that all hierarchies are achieved the moment one completes their own image. The seventh stage being called Archmage is for that reason… but strictly speaking, it’s a very flawed classification method.”

“You mean the variation is too great.”

Evelyn pointed at Lennok with her index finger.

“Exactly. You’re quick to grasp things, probably because you’re a wizard?”

“…Go on.”

“Even if they reach the same Archmage state, the difference in skill among practitioners in that realm is immense. The proficiency of Domain deployment, whether the Domain’s abilities aid in combat, and the powers possessed will vary wildly depending on time, age, or physical condition.”

Evelyn said.

“That’s why Level 7 is the stage with the greatest skill variation among the seven hierarchies. It’s simply lumping all superhumans who have essentially completed their image into one category without further classification… well, that’s how it is anyway.”

Lennok recalled Parden McQueen upon hearing that.

He was an Archmage who had reached Level 7 decades ago and manifested his own image, but aside from being able to deploy his Domain, he possessed combat abilities similar to the blood wizard Avid Yonsen.

His body and mind, aged and complacent from a long life of comfort, had failed to recall the sharp instincts of the front lines.

If Lennok hadn’t deliberately cornered him and given him no time in the final moments, just to force out his Domain, he would have died before even deploying it.

“That’s quite a dangerous notion.”

Lennok said.

“In a way, it’s akin to saying that human effort and attainment hold little meaning.”

Evelyn replied with a faint smile.

“Do you think not?”

“…”

“Of course, cases like McQueen, who foolishly let decades pass and rusted away, aren’t common. But even superhumans who complete the hierarchies must eventually accept death. Otherwise, they ultimately have no choice but to abandon their humanity and move on to the next stage.”

As she spoke, Evelyn’s eyes slowly began to glow green.

“You probably feel it to some extent too. Standing on your own battlefield, constantly facing moments where life and death intersect… you realize it’s not that hard to abandon yourself.”

“Evelyn, you…”

“You’re just wandering because you’re afraid of leaving no meaning to the values you’ve cherished, but the answer might surprisingly be close. Or perhaps that itself is a wall I can never overcome.”

Lennok hesitated slightly, then spoke to her in a slow tone.

“You… how far have you come now?”

“…”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she merely sighed softly, then vigorously stood up.

“Well, anyway, it just means even someone as strong as me has a lot of worries. So, to get stronger, you’ll have to work even harder, right?”

The clouds parted, and the gentle moonlight emerged, bathing the prairie in its glow.

On her face, visible beneath her dark hair, was a somewhat bitter smile.

“In that sense, asking me for training was a pretty wise decision. You won’t accidentally die while testing your limits. Let’s really get to it starting tomorrow.”

Thus, while heading towards the volcanic region, Lennok and Evelyn set aside time each day to conduct mock training, clashing with all their available moves.

Initially, Lennok struggled with how much power to control, but once he realized Evelyn’s evasion and counter capabilities were on a different dimension, his hesitation rapidly vanished.

On the second day, Evelyn merely met his attacks, primarily evading Lennok’s assaults.

By the third day, she began to take out her own equipment and launched counterattacks.

“Your magic system is almost perfect.”

C-r-a-c-k-l-e!!

Evelyn said, lightly evading the wind blades rushing across the ground.

“I don’t know who you received such visions from, but the sheer variety of moves you possess and your ability to utilize them are almost flawless. Your strategy, which thoroughly aims for mid-range engagements yet seems to bait enemies into close combat if necessary, would conversely appear to other skilled practitioners as a signal to keep their distance.”

“…”

“Then you can comfortably cast high-power magic that requires time, and well… that’s how it goes. Honestly, there aren’t many fighters precise enough to force this level of three-way choice at every single moment.”

As Lennok didn’t respond, Evelyn continued to speak.

All the while, an arrow held in her left hand continuously cut through the air, artfully deflecting every move Lennok threw.

“Actually, this stems from your spellcasting speed being exceptionally fast, and your attacks being thrown randomly enough to be hard to predict… but facing it directly is truly insane… urgh!”

Flash-flash-flash-flash-flash!!

Evelyn, who had been speaking for a while, paused her breath for a moment and vigorously pulled up her mana.

At that instant, her form vanished like black smoke in the air, then flashed five times in an instant before appearing directly in front of Lennok.

Immediately after, ice crystals that had appeared in all the spaces where she had manifested exploded, instantly occupying the surroundings.

Seeing Evelyn settle down in front of him, Lennok grinned.

“Gotcha.”

[Construct Fire]

Fwoooosh!!

An extremely compressed flame gathered in Lennok’s palm, as if being crushed.

He swung his heat-infused hand directly at Evelyn.

With Lennok’s disjointed motor skills, it was impossible for him to even properly track Evelyn, let alone hit her bare-handed.

Evelyn’s motor skills and combat senses were flawless compared to any skilled individual he had faced.

What was most astonishing was the sheer agility he had felt on the first day of training.

The technique of freely changing direction, as if her body had no weight, even while under immense acceleration.

And the fact that she could do this in mid-air, without any footing, was simply absurd.

Even when he completely gave up on seeing with his eyes and relied solely on mana perception, he kept losing track of her, as if she were vanishing from her spot every moment.

The ability to change direction at will, whenever desired. Lennok knew very well how extraordinary and profound that technique was.

It wasn’t something that could be explained simply as a footwork or movement technique.

Her movements, as if inertia didn’t exist. He had felt this same uncanny sensation during his battle with Antares.

‘This must be the power of the Miniature Universe within Evelyn.’

It was only natural that Lennok was helplessly outmaneuvered in the combat training.

Evelyn Marcia was manifesting her Miniature Universe in close combat as naturally as breathing.

Considering her supremely profound archery alongside this, it wasn’t hard to estimate her abilities.

An ordinary wizard wouldn’t even be able to land a spell on her; they’d have their neck pierced before realizing how she moved.

But precisely because of this, Lennok had a rough idea of how to counter this type of opponent.

The method of occupying space by spraying firepower in all directions, which he had attempted on the first day, was not wrong.

The important thing was to induce a certain directionality in Evelyn Marcia’s evasive maneuvers, making her move in the way Lennok desired.

And by accepting his own disadvantage and opening a path for Evelyn to close the distance, he was confident she would inevitably rush in that direction.

Right to a point where even Lennok’s motor skills could catch her: point-blank range.

However, Lennok’s hand, holding compressed flames, did not touch Evelyn’s shoulder.

The moment Lennok swung his arm, a flash of light struck down right in front of Evelyn, landing directly between the two of them and creating a massive shockwave.

B-b-b-oom!!!

Lennok parried the flash of light that shot down from the distant sky, but he couldn’t prevent Evelyn from leaping back using the shockwave as a foothold.

Was it an attack from an outsider?

As Lennok thought that and lowered his gaze to the ground, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“…It’s unbelievable even after seeing it.”

What had landed at Lennok’s feet, leaving a trail of light, was the arrow Evelyn had just been holding.

Even as she evaded Lennok’s offensive and closed the distance towards him, she had taken the arrow in her hand, slipped it between her fingers, and thrown it upward.

And she did it directly between them, precisely calculating the point of impact and moment of descent to coincide with Lennok’s counterattack timing, neutralizing his move with the resulting shockwave.

The idea of bare-handedly shooting an arrow to precisely land it between them was astonishing enough, but how difficult it was to actually accomplish that without a bow.

It was impossible for someone with his body and motor skills to even fathom.

Lennok acutely realized in that one instance the level of archery achieved with just an arrow, without a bowstring.

“It’s not that difficult.”

Evelyn, who had finally brushed off her knees and stood up, said.

“I knew you actually wanted to close the distance, so I just played along with your aim while also setting up a contingency.”

“And if things didn’t go well, you’d retrieve the arrow from that spot and continue your attack?”

It wasn’t just about sending out a shockwave. Lennok knew.

If this were a real battle, and Evelyn truly intended to kill Lennok, she wouldn’t have retreated using the arrow’s shockwave.

Instead, she would have snatched the falling arrow out of the air and, in turn, aimed for Lennok’s heart.

Lennok knew very well from his past experiences that such an absurd technique was by no means impossible.

“Ultimately, that’s what’s important.”

Evelyn slowly walked up to Lennok and picked up the arrow.

She grinned, shaking the arrowhead in front of Lennok’s eyes.

Even after such an intense sparring session, only the faint scent of fresh grass emanated from her.

“Combat among superhumans who have reached a certain level or higher is essentially a battle with the unknown. It’s about probing to force out your opponent’s cards, a strategic game to exhaust their resources… and to know how far they’re hiding their trump cards, you must always reserve a handful of leeway even when fighting with all your might.”

“…”

“Well, I suppose as a wizard, you’re more thoroughly aware of these aspects than I am… but because of that, there’s something I can tell you.”

“What do you mean?”

Evelyn’s eyes calmly settled.

“You’re too perfect. To be precise, that’s the problem.”