24 Chapter 23 ~Shadow Magic~






Chimeras are really nasty.
Even if it's one on one, I feel like you could say it's two on one because the snake in the tail will poison you with unreadable movements.


...... tch.


When I jumped backwards following my sense of danger, the place I was in dissolved by the poison.
I also ducked the claws of the main body that followed with a back step.


...... Roughly two or three meters.


You eyeball the distance the venom flies and get a distance from the chimera.
As I watch the chimera, it lunges at me as if its break is over.
I held up my "Night Sword God" and stepped forward instead of back.


"Gruaaaah!

...... and not this one either?


As they passed each other, the "Night Sword God" caught him by the neck and was easily shot.
I was going to cut off its tail before that, but it also played off.
The Minotaur's skin is called the Minotaur's skin, and it is hard despite its fuzzy fur.
It defies the laws of nature in many ways.

With that momentum, we faced each other about five meters away.

We held each other's bodies low and collided ...... fiercely.
The assassin, who is unrivaled in agility, and the chimera, who has superior leg strength, would not be able to get even five meters away from each other.


''Guh!''


But when it comes to arm strength, I'm the one who's outnumbered.

Assassins are not head-to-head combatants by nature.
They sneakily cut their targets' heads off from behind.
It doesn't take much arm strength to cut through it.

A chimera appears at the landing spot where he was sent flying off and chases after him.
I twisted my body to dodge it and plunged straight into the ground.
It rolls around and tries to keep its distance, but before it can get up, it gets hit in the abdomen.
He was launched and crashed into the wall, and his eyes went blank in front of him.


There's too much of a difference in power.
Once I was caught, the rest was tossed around like playing with a baby.
It seems that on purpose, or maybe thanks to luck, his claws were not out, and he wasn't cut.
However, there were definitely a few broken ribs, one of which was probably stuck in his gut.

Blood was pouring out of his mouth, and he might be in danger if he didn't get medical attention soon.


Looking at my injuries objectively, I realized now that this might not be the time to be concerned about a head-on battle.
In the first place, the bosses aren't weak enough to fight with their magic and skills sealed off.


''Sorry about that ....... I'll be fighting you properly and seriously from here on out.


I say this to Chimera, who watches me stand up at a distance, as if waiting for something, and I hold out my hand to her.
The chimera gingerly composes itself.


'...... 'Shadow Magic' activated.'


A shadow blows up in the dimly lit boss room.
He was happy to be out for the first time in a long time.
A thin but strong shadow wrapped around the chimera's leg.
That wasn't what I had instructed him to do.


''After all, it seems your magic has an ego.''


Commander Saran's voice echoed in my head.
Was that the evening of the day that almost made the forest disappear?





────


'Ego? By magic?

Yes. To begin with, there's no such thing as shadow magic in this world.


I opened my mouth in response to the problematic remarks that were made in the office of Commander Saran.


''What? No, my status actually shows shadow magic properly on my status.

'Yes, I don't doubt its existence. I've seen its power with my own eyes today.


The Commander seemed to be having a lot of fun as he leaned his elbows on the desk and grinned at me.
Of course, it wasn't funny to me.


''The magic in this world seems to be divided into many things, but it's really divided into a certain lineage.


I pulled out the back of a piece of paper I didn't need and wrote down a diagram in a smooth manner.


The first one is the mainstream fire, water, earth and wind. This is a normal skill that can be acquired relatively easily, although there is some talent involved.


I wrote four circles and put the four letters I said were in them.
Then I stretched out a line on each circle and wrote some circles.
I looked at it upside down and muttered my thoughts in my mind that it looked like a diagram of an ecosystem, which was kind of off the mark.


'First, my light magic, which is derived from water across one. Now, what goes between the water and the light?

...... isn't that a cure?

Yes, you are correct. You're as smart as ever, and you're a pleasure to teach.


Commander Saran smiled and wrote the word healing between water and light.


'From healing magic, other magic such as undoing magic can be derived, but originally it was water magic. Other dark magic comes from earth magic, lightning magic comes from light magic, and so on.


Commander Saran wrote more and more magic that even I knew about.
There was no shadow magic among them.


'Don't you derive it from dark magic?

'That's a good question. But as you, the user, are well aware that shadow magic is a physical attack and dark magic is a mental attack. That being said, it's strange to derive dark magic from earth magic, but that's just the way it is.

'The point is, that's pretty rough around the edges, isn't it? All right.

Even though I've been alive for a long time, there's still a lot I don't know.


Commander Saran says and writes Shadow Magic a little further away.


''I think that's where your shadow magic is classified as extra skill. ...... And I've never seen anything called shadow magic before today.


The glittering eyes are turned on me.
It's just like a scientist with a new discovery turning to a guinea pig for experimentation.


"A skill like that, combined with Commander Saran's light magic to annihilate the forest, that's pretty dangerous.

Well, well, I guess on one hand I don't want them to use it, and on the other hand I want them to use it more and more.

Oh, yeah. So, what do you mean, magic has a mind of its own?


I turn away from his gaze and urge him to get to the point.
Commander Saran claps his hands together and puts down his pen.


'Today, when you almost made the forest disappear, from the side, it would have looked like magic was running amok.

In fact, it was out of control.

Well, yes, but all runaway magic is runaway to the person who initiated it.


When you give me the conventional wisdom of this world, I can't argue with it.
The reason is simple: I don't know.
It's very humiliating, though.


'By the way, your magic today seemed to be heading into the forest of its own accord, rather than harming you. I agree with you on this, Jiel.

...... If Deputy Commander Giel said that, maybe so.

'Oh! You just got a scratch in my glass heart!

Glass? Oh, the tempered glass.

The Keokagurus? Hey, let me hear it next time!


There's nothing creepier than someone with a thirst for knowledge.
I pushed back Commander Saran, who was getting closer to my face.


'So? What if my magic has an ego?

''Yes, if there are people around when it goes out of control again, you might get caught up in it. And while shadow magic is a very powerful magic in itself, it has a fatal problem in terms of fuel efficiency and control.


Then he pulled back his funny face and created a serious face.
I admire the speed of this person's switch every time.


''Akira-kun, you must use this magic only when I give you permission or when you make sure there are no people around. Don't let your guard down, even if you have it completely under control. ...... okay?

I... Okay.




────


"Right-o, left-o, up-o, down-o. ...... Target confirmed.


The shadows are waiting for my command to come quickly and quickly.
I can see the chimera struggling to get away from the shadow, but it can't escape its own shadow.


'Okay, good. "Devour it."


The shadow let out an inaudible cry of delight.
The shadow gradually invaded the chimera's body.
The chimera screamed in fear for the first time.

But the shadow never stopped.
It was as if it was a bloodthirsty demon, devouring the chimera as I instructed it to.
The shadow cut into the skin that hadn't been damaged so much, and the chimera's body was being broken apart.

The smell of blood fills the boss's room.
It was a nauseating smell, but strangely enough, he didn't hate it.
Rather, it felt as if he had always smelled it since he was little.

Had the pain finally driven him crazy, even his five senses?


A satisfied shadow returns to my feet from the source of the chimera, which has been dismembered to the point where I can't recognize its original shape.


'Good job. Thanks.


As I called out to him, the shadow slid up to my leg like a cat and disappeared.


'I knew we'd only do shadow magic and no skills between tiers. ...... boss is tight, I guess.


With my back against the wall, I lost consciousness.
It seems that the pain was beyond the limit of quicksilver.



''Master's damage has exceeded the allowable value. Forcefully activating "Shadow Magic". Mode, "Healing". Confirmed that the master's magic power is insufficient. I will extract the required amount from the magic stored in shadow magic. ...... healing complete. Shadow Magic, deactivate.


A mechanical voice was coming out of my mouth in a room with no one to hear it, but no one knew it.