Chapter 7
Three opponents.
One of them was a fully grown adult.
The situation wasn't ideal, but if he could create a one-on-one scenario with it, he stood a good chance.
Kain focused his mind.
"Fire Ball. Fire Needle."
Double casting.
A technique to simultaneously manifest and control different spells.
Even though they were basic spells, it was a technique that a mage who had just reached the 2nd Circle couldn't even dream of.
No, even as one's circle increased, properly executing double casting and multi-casting was still rare.
This was because one had to focus all their mind just to use a single spell suited to their skill at its full power.
Therefore, it was generally known that multi-casting could only be properly controlled when casting spells one or two circles lower than one's current circle.
Whoosh!
However, that didn't apply to Kain Siers.
With the mental fortitude and experience of an Archmage who had reached the 9th Circle, handling multiple spells below the 2nd Circle was a simple matter.
'Even higher-circle magic can be calculated as much as I want, but...'
Magic was the result of calculating a formula and then manifesting it into a real phenomenon through a conversion device called a circle inside the heart.
In other words, no matter how accurate the calculation, if the performance of the conversion device couldn't keep up, the desired result couldn't be produced.
To use 3rd Circle magic, at least three mana rings had to exist inside the heart.
That was why the magic one could use was determined by their level of mastery.
In his previous life, Kain had rapidly built up his circles to use higher-level magic, and this had ultimately held him back in the end.
'I can't repeat the same mistake.'
What Kain had to do now was to use the magic he could currently use with more density and more accuracy.
Whoosh!
Three fireballs the size of human heads were created and flew towards the three snow leopards respectively.
At first glance, they were ordinary fireballs, but behind them, a dozen Fire Needles trailed like the tail of a meteor, flying together as if overlapping.
"Kyaoooo!"
"Krrr!"
Having seen their companion burn to death, the two smaller snow leopards running ahead seemed to become a bit wary and tried to evade the fireballs to the side instead of facing them head-on.
However.
'Coordinate change.'
As Kain tilted his index and thumb, the fireballs that had been flying straight curved as if ignoring inertia, heading for the snow leopard’s heads.
It was an impossible feat unless one was perfectly holding onto the magic they had already cast with their mental power.
"Krrk?!"
The snow leopards that had tried to evade had no choice but to raise their sharp front paws and strike down at the fireballs.
The larger one, seemingly having no intention of evading from the start, immediately swung its front paw at the fireball.
Thwack!
Almost simultaneously, the three snow leopards struck the fireballs with their claws.
If they had been ordinary animals, it would have been like dipping their hands into burning flames, but since they were monsters with mana flowing through their bodies, the fireballs shattered in mid-air upon being struck by their claws.
And then.
Dozens of Fire Needles that had been following right behind the fireballs rained down on the snow leopards.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
"Fire."
Whoosh!
This time, since the distance was too far to directly inject mana, he used the Fire Needles that hadn't penetrated deep into their hides as instant fuel, injecting them into the snow leopard’s insides to ignite flames.
In a single chain of attacks, two of the three snow leopards that had been charging fiercely met the same fate as the one lying fallen at Kain's feet.
"Kaoooo!"
The large snow leopard, too, screamed as if a dog had poked a hornet's nest out of curiosity, with Fire Needles instantly embedded all over its body.
However, what burned from Kain's "Fire" incantation was only one eye and a portion of the outer layer of its thick hide.
'...As expected.'
It was too much to expect a single Fire Needle to pierce through the hide of a fully grown adult at once.
"Fire Needle."
While controlling the existing magic, Kain steadily summoned and fired a dozen more Fire Needles with the newly gathered mana.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
However, half of them fell uselessly to the snow leopard's claws, and the Fire Needles that did pierce its hide still failed to penetrate all the way through.
The snow leopard, having closed the distance, glared at Kain with its remaining eye and charged.
'Is this it? What I can do from a distance.'
Kain kicked off the ground towards the side.
Whoosh!
"Krrk?"
As its swung front paw missed, the snow leopard paused as if bewildered.
Kain had already moved about six or seven steps away.
It was an unbelievable distance for a small fifteen-year-old boy to leap in such a short time.
Of course, it wasn't because Kain's physical abilities were outstanding.
Kain took a deep breath.
With a flash like lightning, the mana that had flowed into his legs fulfilled its role and slowly subsided.
'It's been a really long time since I've used that.'
The mana he had just used wasn't the refined fire-attribute mana stored through the circles.
It was the natural, unprocessed mana gathered in his dantian to be supplied to the circles and draw out attribute mana whenever needed.
This method of strengthening the body using the inherent power of mana without separately extracting attributes was the way of the warrior, people like knights, mercenaries, and martial artists.
In his previous life, Kain had researched anything related to mana in order to find the answer to the 10th Circle, and he had even learned their way of using mana.
"Fire Needle."
"Kaoooo!"
Kain, having created distance, unleashed Fire Needles again, but the beast broke through them and charged at Kain even faster.
Thwack!
"Fire Ball."
Kain sent mana flowing into his legs as he had just done to evade the snow leopard's claws, and at the same time, he shoved a high-density Fire Ball into the beast's wide-open maw at point-blank range.
It was a single Fire Ball, but it contained more compressed mana than the three he had shot earlier.
Thump!
However, the snow leopard snapped its jaws shut and caught the Fire Ball before it could penetrate its throat, clamping down hard.
The Fire Ball, which had held out like a tough rubber balloon, eventually burst and scattered.
The snow leopard, having dispersed even Kain's desperate close-range attack, charged even more ferociously.
Whoosh!
He managed to barely evade again by strengthening his body and leaping, but unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side.
"......!"
On the snowy mountains, where snow and ice were mixed, he happened to step on a slippery patch of ice and lost his balance.
Kain slid across the icy surface against his will, and the snow leopard didn't miss the opportunity.
Digging its sharp claws into the ice, the snow leopard approached in an instant and raised its front paw.
No matter how agilely he strengthened his body, it would be impossible to change direction while sliding.
However, Kain calmly chanted.
"Ice."
It was the first time he had uttered an ice magic spell.
It was just the most basic magic to summon ice, but it was enough for now.
Thunk!
The ice Kain had summoned caught under his sliding feet, and Kain kicked off the solid ice with all his might.
Shhhwaaa!
He burrowed under the charging snow leopard, passing right through it.
At the same time, he flipped his body over, his back against the icy ground, and reached out his hand towards the snow leopard as he slid.
"Kyarrrr...!"
The startled snow leopard quickly turned around, but the Fire Ball shot from Kain's hand was already right in front of it.
A look of relief flashed across the snow leopard's eyes for a moment.
It was an unexpected surprise attack, but it seemed to have judged that it could easily scatter a Fire Ball like the ones from before.
The moment the snow leopard tried to clamp its jaws shut.
"Keeng...!"
Thwack thwack!
As if tearing off pieces of the Fire Ball, Fire Needles separated from it and instantly embedded themselves in the snow leopard's upper and lower jaws, briefly fixing its mouth open.
And at the same time, the remaining volume of the Fire Ball compressed and shrunk, transforming into a sharp arrow.
The last thing the snow leopard heard was Kain's utterly dry incantation.
"Fire Arrow."
Kain's magic pierced the snow leopard's throat.
***
Kain used his dagger to cut off the large snow leopard's head and put it in the empty sack he had brought.
It wasn't easy to cut through raw, so he had burned the area around its neck with magic before finishing the cut, and a slight smell of burning lingered in the sack.
At first, he had thought about just taking one of the smaller one’s heads, but he decided against it.
He thought the result of this test would help solidify his position in the future.
'Anyway, I plan to go to the Lord's residence separately and report the results quietly.'
He wouldn't have to worry about things becoming troublesome by attracting the attention of others.
Wasn't that why he had only quietly told Alice and hadn't left the estate?
'By the way, fire magic definitely works well against those creatures.'
Kain, who had defeated three snow leopards with 2nd Circle ice magic in his previous life, wouldn't have been able to guarantee victory if a fully grown adult like this had been among them back then.
'Of course, I could have finished the fight using only ice magic now, but...'
The current Kain could manipulate the trajectory of Ice Needles with a finesse incomparable to when he used fire magic, allowing him to pierce their eyeballs and nostrils from the start.
If he started by blocking their sight and sense of smell, he could easily buy enough time to pierce through them with ice magic.
He had only used ice magic minimally in this battle to see how much he could utilize fire magic in a real fight.
He was also curious to see how effective fire magic would be against the snow leopard.
'With this level of elemental advantage, even a typical 2nd Circle fire mage could easily take down a small snow leopard.'
Indeed, he could now understand why Blake Siers had given him a month's grace period.
It was impossible for someone with average talent to reach the 3rd Circle in just a month.
If Blake Siers had initially anticipated a maximum of the 2nd Circle when granting the grace period, then things roughly fell into place.
'With such a significant difference in elemental advantage, the imperial clan in my previous life still assigned the ice-element Siers clan to the snowy mountains. It's absurd.'
It probably wasn't much different now, but back then, he knew it was an unreasonable measure but couldn't object due to his lack of power.
In a world that operated on the logic of power and skill, having no power was practically a sin.
'Therefore, I must gain power.'
Kain, and the disciples currently in the Siers clan.
'...I should probably head back now.'
Kain, about to move with the sack slung over his shoulder, felt his legs tremble slightly.
It was due to the accumulated strain from repeatedly strengthening and using his body with mana.
'To think I'm wobbling this much from just that. When I get back, I'll have to make sure to not neglect physical training.'
Kain decided to rest for a little longer before returning.
***
"What!"
Blake Siers, having heard the news of Kain's disappearance, shot up from his seat.
Alice had already searched every nook and cranny of the clan estate but couldn't find Kain, so she had finally reported it to the family head.
The clan was immediately thrown into an uproar.
Even though the scheduled expulsion date wasn't far off, he was a direct descendant of the clan head.
If he were a mage with even one circle, he would at least have some resistance to the cold, but if an ordinary person without a circle went out alone without preparing for the severe cold, they wouldn't last half a day.
The servant who was in charge of monitoring the barrier artifact couldn't help but receive a severe scolding.
"You're telling me you don't even know when he left the estate?!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"If you don't find Kain, you will face severe punishment!"
Thinking there was still a possibility he was still within the estate, servants and disciples alike searched for Kain.
However, despite almost half the people in the clan being mobilized to search, Kain was nowhere to be seen.
As time passed and everyone except Alice and Nefty had half given up on finding Kain, the servant monitoring the barrier artifact shouted.
"Someone has entered the northwest barrier!"
At those words, everyone rushed out towards the northwest.
Soon, they found Kain walking towards them with a sack slung over his shoulder.
"...Oh dear."
Kain, having glanced around at everyone from the clan head to Alice with teary eyes, and the disciples and servants, placed the sack down with a look of dismay.
"Kain...! Where on earth have you been?"
At Blake Sier's words, Kain had no choice but to take out what was inside the sack in front of everyone.
