104 — Only You Can Set Your Limits

1

Floor 77 of the Tower.

The party that had surged forward without stopping had finally reached the place guarded by the Patroller.

Although the Tower usually regenerated in a day, the Patroller was a unique creature that did not.

Ahead of them, they sensed a strong mana reaction.

In other words, Kael and the others had not yet reached this point.

Floor 77.

The boss was Arcanum’s Lover, number three.

A creature known for its fixed rewards.

“I’ll explain the pattern.”

“-Yes.”

“Its weakness is fire. But it has resistance to all magic. You’ll need to give it everything you’ve got.”

Anais swallowed hard and nodded.

She caught a glimpse of the demon, which looked like a giant serpent.

The creature had tough scales and a thick tail that could turn someone into minced meat with a single strike.

“It mostly attacks using its tail. I’ll handle most of the attacks, but you’ll have to deal with the debris yourself.”

“Whew… Can I do it?”

“You’ll have to. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

Anais swallowed hard again.

Manus was entrusting his life to her.

It would be overwhelming.

She might not want to do it.

However, she wouldn’t give up.

If she truly thought of Manus, Aden, and Albion as her comrades, she wouldn’t give up.

Whether that sense of responsibility would break through her limits or not would be determined today.

Despite the concerns, Anais’s resolve was stronger than ever.

She didn’t care whether Manus would actually die or not.

What mattered was that he trusted her enough to make such a statement.

Her task was to live up to that trust.

“I’ll definitely do it. I’ll prove the power of my magic.”

“-Good.”

[Initiating strong interference.]

Manus smiled.

It seemed like she had regained some of her confidence, which was reassuring.

Truth be told, Anais’s talent would have flourished without such extreme measures.

But what if she took the wrong direction?

If her blossoming talent turned into a carnivorous plant that devoured everything around it, what good would that be?

Manus hoped her talent wouldn’t become a Rafflesia bloomed on the foundation of her inferiority complex.

To ensure that, she needed a guide who could set her on the right path.

“Let’s go.”

Crack-

Manus cloaked his entire body in mana and activated his buff spells.

Albion, the white dragon who had been following closely behind, lit up its eyes.

[Erigo]

A spell that reinforced the body—.

[Consolidatio]

A buff spell for a powerful strike.

[Breath of the Divine Beast]

A skill exclusively for familiars, it enveloped both Anais and Manus.

‘Breath of the Divine Beast.’

It provided an attack boost when exploiting an enemy’s weakness.

For Anais, who primarily used fire magic, it was a highly compatible skill.

Energy surged through her.

Her body felt light, and her muscles were limber from the previous battles.

Manus recalled Jennifer’s words.

‘Research the form you’ll use for defense.’

He already had something in mind.

He had learned that creating something from nothing was a feat only gods could accomplish.

Humans could only create things through learning, experience, and the transformation of what already existed.

A movie scene came to his mind.

‘Simple enough.’

He had decided to learn one of Guillermo’s techniques someday.

From ancient times to the modern day.

Why have shields always been a staple in combat?

The answer was simple.

Because they were overwhelmingly effective.

[Hisss-!]

The serpent’s eyes locked onto the three of them.

The suffocating pressure made it hard to breathe.

A single direct hit from its massive tail looked capable of severing a person in half.

Anais steadied her breath and drew forth her mana.

The mana that surged through her now was far greater than ever before, following her will with ease.

She recalled everything she had studied and focused her eyes on the enemy.

The Patroller.

Memories of her past, when she had been helplessly overpowered, flashed through her mind.

‘What I need is…’

She needed something that could pierce through the enemy’s defense.

A spell that could penetrate even the strongest magic resistance and strike the heart.

Whoosh-!

Responding to her will, flames erupted.

Vivid red flames blazed fiercely, ready to burn the enemy’s flesh at any moment.

The battle began in an instant as the serpent’s tail whipped through the air, cutting it apart with a deafening noise.

“Hngh!”

Manus drew upon his mana and raised his left arm.

Planting his feet firmly, he anchored himself to the ground with mana.

Mana expanded into a shield, becoming broader and tougher.

It wouldn’t be as efficient as reinforcing a real shield with mana.

But Manus had enough mana to swallow inefficiency.

If a car had terrible fuel economy but a much larger tank than other supercars?

Boom!

“Ugh-!”

A suppressed groan escaped Manus’s lips.

As expected of a Patroller.

Its physical power and the mana contained within were formidable, even for Manus.

Although he was pushed back slightly, it was a relief that no severe damage had been done.

His mana was being ground down in chunks, but he could hold out.

The foundation he had been steadily building for times like this was now proving its worth.

Various skills meshed together to produce optimal synergy, allowing him to endure the Patroller’s blow.

[Ignio]

[Altus]

Anais decided to throw everything she had into the fight.

Boom!

The flames she conjured pierced the serpent’s head like an arrow.

[Hisss—!]

The creature was in pain, but its movements didn’t change.

If anything, it became even more enraged, thrashing about wildly.

Red light surged from behind the mask on the serpent’s face.

“Close your eyes!”

Buzzing—

It was one of the patterns he had explained: a skill that caused confusion and charm in those who met its gaze.

In the game, this pattern targeted the last enemy it had attacked.

Anais quickly shut her eyes.

She felt the red beam of light brush past her closed eyelids.

Manus had prepared [Flamma] just in case, but Anais opened her eyes and stared at the Patroller with a clear gaze.

The tail-whipping pattern was next.

To solidify its focus on him, Manus intentionally used a buff spell.

Every player knew that using a buff, drinking a potion, or casting a healing spell attracted aggro.

[Hisss—!]

The Patroller reacted to Manus’s mana and turned towards him, initiating a new pattern.

A headbutt move that guaranteed a knockdown and stun if it connected.

That terrifying mass rushed straight at Manus.

Thud!

It moved around the room, making it difficult to predict its direction.

While it was only a display on a monitor in the game, seeing it in reality gave a sense of overwhelming pressure.

One wrong move, and his body would be crushed.

‘I must not dodge.’

Caesar’s sharp judgment told him that much.

This wasn’t a game.

He visualized a large, sturdy shield that could be planted firmly into the ground.

A tower shield.

A massive shield used in sieges immediately came to mind, and his mana responded.

An immaterial force solidified and blocked the way ahead.

It was a tough challenge for a test run, but after all, real combat situations where one came close to dying were the foundation for improvement.

Boom!

The loud noise filled the space.

“Gah-!”

“Senior! Are you okay?”

Instead of responding, Manus turned to look at Anais.

His blue eyes gleamed fiercely.

Anais unconsciously took a step back, swallowing hard.

Fear that suddenly gripped her heart.

The pressure that weighed down on her shoulders.

These things formed a vast curtain, preventing her from moving forward.

It was as if she was being threatened to hurry up and defeat the enemy before she was killed.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

‘If I fail… my friends will get hurt or die.’

She never wanted to see her friends, her senior, Pearson, or anyone else die, splattering blood.

To protect others, she had to destroy everything blocking her path.

To protect those with desperate eyes, she needed a powerful flame that could burn down obstacles.

[Ignio]

A 3rd-class spell.

Casting a 4th-class spell would be too much of a burden.

So Anais decided to use what she was good at to increase her firepower.

[Altus]

First, she increased the size of the flames—.

[Altus]

Then, she raised the temperature of the flames—.

[Altus]

Finally, she changed the color of the flames.

She didn’t need them to blaze as brightly as the sun.

She didn’t need to sweep away enemies on a wide scale.

What she wanted was the intense heat that could burn through tough defenses.

A persistent, tenacious flame that would burn away only what stood in her way.

Boom!

Her obsessive thoughts and desire opened up a new path.

“…Black flames?”

Aden murmured in awe.

Albion flapped its wings energetically, casting a buff on her.

A more advanced healing spell reached both Manus and Anais, pushing Anais to operate at over 120% of her usual capacity.

[Anais Exclusive Skill: Dissolute]

The black flames emitted no bright light.

They were neither flashy nor loud.

The dull, black flames clung like a giant serpent, burning stubbornly.

[Hisss! Hisss—!]

The Patroller writhed in pain.

Boom!

A fist honed through Matu training slammed into the serpent’s cheek.

Turning around, Manus spoke.

“Finish it off.”

“Yes!”

Anais watched.

The Patroller’s entire body was contorted as it slowly died.

An obstacle writhing helplessly in agony, melting away.

A thrilling sense of pleasure coursed through her entire body.

This is the path I should take.

This is the real magic I need to master.

A surge of overwhelming emotion rose within Anais’s chest.

Whoooosh!

Intense mana surged around her.

Kael had experienced this phenomenon before.

She was a bit late, but Anais would surely catch up.

“I can do this!”

The confidence she gained made her mana tremble.

Manus instinctively felt it.

She had finally broken through the shell of her inferiority and stepped out into the world.

Crash!

The wall she shattered led her to a place of great heights.

The sun.

She might not yet possess its searing heat or overwhelming firepower, but at least to the Patroller, she felt like the sun.

“Go!”

Her clear shout echoed through the chamber.

The magic she had only practiced theoretically until now.

The level Kael had reached first.

Anais had climbed to that same height and earned the right to walk alongside her.

A vortex of flames enveloped the Patroller’s body.

It wasn’t her unique skill, just pure class magic.

The most brilliantly blazing and definitively destructive fire-based 4th-class spell.

[Ignis]

[Hissssss!]

The serpent’s massive form thrashed in pain.

Anais’s exclusive skill was a damage-over-time type of magic that gradually burned the enemy.

It also had the effect of reducing the target’s resistance to fire.

It was like pouring oil over dry wood and igniting it.

As its life quickly faded, the Patroller made a desperate final attempt.

Kyaaaah!

Opening its huge mouth, it lunged at Manus, still engulfed in flames.

“Senior!”

It happened in an instant.

Boom!

Anais saw it.

The sight of her revered senior being swallowed whole by the giant maw.

–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading

Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt