Chapter 50: Serie's Suspicion
Serie had initially wanted Kurtz to create various types of magic and then teach them to her, allowing her to learn the magic of all races in this world, perhaps even magic that did not yet exist.
However, she quickly dismissed this ambitious idea.
By the time Kurtz could skillfully use ice magic and teach it back to her, she had only gained a basic understanding of that magic, and half a year had already passed.
The seasons had shifted around them, marking time's relentless passage.
Time moved too quickly. Her first meeting with Kurtz felt like yesterday, that moment when everything had changed.
Serie understood a fundamental truth: she couldn't learn all the magic in the world from Kurtz, because his lifespan couldn't support such a long task.
For the first time in her long existence, she felt helplessness regarding mortal lives. The weight of that realization settled in her chest like a cold stone.
Looking at Kurtz, who sparred with Eric not far away, Serie's expression grew complex. Her centuries of detachment warred with something newer, more fragile.
The two combatants, naturally, didn't notice any of this.
"Hahaha! Kurtz, take this!"
Eric had steadily improved on his magical path and could now skillfully use Light Arrow magic. Combined with his naturally agile movements, he'd become a genuinely challenging opponent.
Kurtz could no longer defeat him immediately.
Eric released his magic with a grin, and three Light Arrows attacked Kurtz in a precise triangular formation.
Unlike Kurtz and Serie, who preferred combat styles that relied on overwhelming quantity, Eric seemed drawn to a philosophy focused on raw, concentrated power.
The destructive force in these three Light Arrows was several times that of ordinary projectiles.
In response, Kurtz calmly established two layers of magic barriers. The Light Arrows exploded into brilliant cascades of light upon impact, and the first barrier cracked and shattered almost immediately.
This actually surprised Kurtz.
'Just how much magic power had Eric poured into those arrows?'
'Did the kid not worry about exhausting himself completely?'
Fortunately, the second barrier held.
Seeing that his attack failed, Eric laughed and leaped high into the air, condensing a gleaming Light Spear in his grip.
"Try this then!"
"Holy shit, when did you learn that?!" Kurtz's eyes widened in genuine shock.
This kid had been holding out on him!
The Light Spear cut through the air with deadly precision, thrusting straight forward like a lance of pure energy.
Kurtz no longer hesitated. He threw out a similar Light Spear with a fluid backhand motion.
The two weapons collided mid-air, and adhering to the ancient principle that the left side loses in any beam struggle, Eric's spear dispersed into sparkling fragments.
Kurtz's Light Spear, however, continued its relentless rush toward the younger man.
"Serie, remove his magic barrier!" Kurtz called out, genuine annoyance coloring his voice.
Now Eric's hidden ace had irritated him. If he had been careless, he really might have suffered an embarrassing defeat. Of course, 'defeat' here meant losing the sparring match, but still.
Both fighters wore protective barriers that Serie had cast on them, which was the main reason Eric dared to attack so recklessly in the first place.
Serie nodded after hearing the request and casually dispelled Eric's magical protection.
"Hey, hey, hey! Someone's gonna die here!"
Eric quickly protested, hastily throwing up his own barrier to deflect Kurtz's incoming spear.
"This is what you get for hiding tricks from me, kid! Now you'd better dodge well, and don't you dare die on me."
Kurtz raised his hand with deliberate menace, and dense clusters of Light Arrows materialized out of thin air above them.
If he didn't teach this overconfident young man a proper lesson, Eric would never learn his place.
Eric's face instantly drained of color as he stared up at the sky full of glowing projectiles. The sight was genuinely terrifying.
The next second, all the Light Arrows rushed toward him like a luminous avalanche.
He rolled desperately to dodge, but the arrows poured down like deadly rain, exploding into a series of smoking craters all around him. The ground trembled with each impact.
"Kurtz! You're actually serious!" Eric struggled to his feet, noting that the power behind each arrow hadn't diminished in the slightest. Panic crept into his voice.
"Why didn't you hold back just now, kid?!"
To break through his barrier so easily, Eric must have fought at full power, holding absolutely nothing in reserve.
"Cough, cough... I just thought that with your strength, Kurtz, I wouldn't stand a chance without using everything I had,"
Eric explained with an awkward, sheepish grin.
"Too late for explanations! Talk to my Light Arrows!"
Kurtz's voice carried no mercy, and another barrage poured down from above.
Eric immediately erected another barrier and, after barely weathering this wave of attacks, tried to scramble to his feet, only to discover that his clothes were somehow pinned to the ground.
A single Light Arrow had accurately penetrated his magical defenses, fixing him in place and causing him to slump back down helplessly.
"This is called tactics," Kurtz approached slowly, his footsteps deliberate.
"In a real battle, you need to pay attention to every single attack from your enemy. Even the slightest oversight can determine victory or defeat."
The magic circle in Kurtz's hand showed no signs of dissipating, clearly preparing for another assault.
Eric swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. "Wait! I surren—"
Before he could finish, he noticed frost spreading up his pant leg like creeping death.
Intense cold washed over him, as if his entire body had been plunged into an ice cave.
"There's more?!" Eric looked up in shock, meeting Kurtz's distinctly cunning gaze.
"Double kill!"
Kurtz snapped his fingers with satisfaction, and the frost instantly melted away.
He'd kept the temperature fairly controlled—it would be counterproductive if he accidentally gave Eric frostbite over a sparring match.
Serie quietly observed this entire exchange from her position nearby. What caught her attention wasn't the dramatic finish, but rather Kurtz's fluid movements when employing composite magic, the seamless transition between two completely different elemental types.
"Skillful switching between two elemental magics in just half a year?" she murmured, her voice barely audible. Her expression grew increasingly complex.
A troubling thought occurred to her.
'If this pace of improvement continued, was it possible that she might eventually be unable to defeat Kurtz?'
But that shouldn't be possible.
She was an elf with centuries of accumulated power, while Kurtz was merely human, destined for a lifespan of less than a century.
She would continue growing stronger with time's passage, while he would not.
So why, then, did the thought make her feel so inexplicably sad?
Serie didn't understand what was happening to her. Perhaps she was coming down with something.
At that moment, Kurtz's actions interrupted her brooding thoughts.
She detected a subtle fluctuation in his magical energy, the telltale sign of spell activation, but for some reason, she couldn't identify what type of magic he had just used.
Was it her imagination?
Kurtz extended his hand toward Eric, who remained seated on the ground.
"Come on, get up!"
Eric didn't think anything of the gesture.
As he grasped Kurtz's offered hand and started to rise, something strange occurred. At the moment their palms made contact, a sudden wave of weakness washed over him.
It forced him to sink back down onto the ground, legs suddenly unsteady.
"That's weird... why do I suddenly feel like all my strength just got drained away?"
Kurtz's smile became noticeably strained, and a flicker of barely concealed panic flashed through his eyes.
"Probably just because you burned through too much magic power during the fight. You'll be fine after some rest."
Eric found this explanation reasonable enough, so he dismissed his concerns. After a moment, he managed to stand and strode toward Norn, who was busy preparing their evening meal.
"Yo! Norn, what are we eating tonight?"
Only after Eric had moved out of earshot did Kurtz allow his forced smile to fade completely. But as he turned his head, he found Serie watching him with an unreadable expression.
"What's wrong?" Kurtz managed another smile, though this one felt even more artificial.
"Nothing."
Although suspicion gnawed at her thoughts, Serie kept her concerns to herself for now.
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