Flutter.
The pages of the Wind Archive turned rapidly.
One page, then another.
The characters carved onto the paper shone as if they were flashing.
"Hmm. Is it a grimoire?"
The Hound asked with wary eyes.
Unless it was an artifact like a grimoire, there was no reason to pull out a book during combat.
"The Wind Archive. I have heard of it."
The Alchemist followed up with the answer to that question.
He stared at the book with a look of intrigue.
"...Just a book like that?"
"According to various records, he has never lost a battle in which he opened that book."
"You know your stuff."
Oscar did not deny those words.
The Wind Archive.
Because, no matter what anyone said, this book was the magic that had firmly solidified his position.
Fundamentally created by analyzing the Dragon Language, this magic compressed chants—consisting of dozens of sentences and formulas—into a single 'word' and manifested its meaning into reality.
'In other words, it means I can cast all the magic I understand without a chant.'
Furthermore, there was no limit to the attributes of the magic that could be activated.
As long as one fully understood the formula's structure and recorded it in the Wind Archive, it could be manifested.
However, being able to use it and drawing out its proper performance were two completely different stories.
As was the case for most mages, Oscar's mana circuit was also specialized for the wind attribute.
High-ranking magic of other attributes inevitably yielded dismal performance compared to the mana consumed.
'At best, I'd occasionally consider employing them just to catch the opponent off guard.'
Still, because the performance of the magic itself was so outstanding, naturally, a corresponding price also existed.
First of all, as much as the magical chanting was omitted, the mana consumption multiplied several times over.
Simply keeping the book open drained a massive amount of mana, and the more magic he invoked simultaneously, the more that consumption rate rose exponentially.
This was the reason Oscar rarely opened the book, despite having fought countless battles thus far.
'Because just handling the consumption of spatial magic was overwhelming enough.'
Moreover, until now, he had frequently fought against those stronger than himself.
As the weaker party, one had to prioritize mana management above all else.
Because of that, in most situations, he couldn't use this magic even if he wanted to.
Because a mage who had run out of mana was even more helpless than a knight disarmed of his sword.
Of course, the existence of such a weakness was only a story of the past until recently.
Vwooom!
The mana circuit of Oscar, who had opened the Wind Archive, heated up intensely.
Normally, every single second wasted like this would have felt like a pity.
'The Dragon Heart definitely is nice.'
But now, things were different.
It absorbed and replenished more mana from the outside than the Wind Archive ravenously devoured.
Liberated from the depletion of mana, the only thing he had to worry about now was how much output his physical body could withstand.
Of course, even that wasn't a huge problem.
Because it was time for the relentless training he had endured without rest for over a year to finally shine.
"Barrier."
Flutter!
A page turned, and an invisible air current enveloped Oscar in multiple layers.
It was not simply a wind that blocked attacks.
Layer upon layer, it was a barrier that twisted the trajectory of any incoming attack upon contact, exactly like Oscar's signature 『Wind Shield』.
Gulp, the Hound swallowed hard without realizing it.
He hadn't exactly been attacked, nor was bloodlust pouring out.
And yet, damp sweat seeped from his palms.
'There are no openings.'
From the frail mage standing still, not even an opening the size of a millet seed could be seen.
Rather, due to the pressure pouring out from the opponent, it felt burdensome to even take the first step.
'This... is the same Level 7?'
He had encountered and fought numerous strong individuals thus far, and in the end, he had ultimately won.
Among them, mages had been particularly easy pickings.
Because a mage was someone he could kill as long as he closed the distance through the shadows.
But the mage right before his eyes now was different.
Countless plans sprang to mind, only to be repeatedly discarded.
Because he couldn't picture a scenario where he would win in any possible outcome.
Even if he closed the distance and launched a surprise attack, the only image that came to mind was the sight of his own head exploding and his limbs being severed.
'It's as if...'
It felt like looking at the Master of the Red Tower, whom he had coincidentally run into in the West a long time ago.
That colossal pressure that made him dare not move his body just by being in the same space.
An intimidation comparable to that could be felt from the mage before his eyes.
"Snap out of it."
At that moment, the Alchemist beside him spoke in a flat tone.
"I didn't let you live just to watch you stupidly sweat bullets."
"Such arrogant words..."
But he was right.
Thanks to that, the tension eased up a bit.
The Hound twirled the dagger in his grip, shaking off the dripping sweat.
"Hoo, make the first move. Then I will follow."
"That's not a difficult task."
In any case, he too had no intention of telling the Hound to go in first.
Because entering second was a far more potent ability.
"Here I go."
Crack, creak!
The Alchemist's left arm, covered in tree bark, stretched out like highly elastic rubber.
Rushing straight toward Oscar, the grasping hand went Bang!
It was helplessly deflected by the rotating Wind Shield and soared upward.
"Rain of Thorns."
Sharp thorns erected from his arm and fell toward Oscar.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
A barrage of uncountably numerous thorns.
It was a spectacle that looked as if rain was pouring indoors.
Up until that very moment, Oscar had been staring fixedly at the Alchemist.
The terrifyingly pouring thorns?
He didn't even spare them a glance.
Thwack, thwack!
Because he had the absolute certainty that the rotating Wind Shield would deflect them on its own anyway.
Just then, a black blade shot out from the shadow cast by the Alchemist's elongated arm.
Once again, the barrier twisted the blade's trajectory.
Screeeeech!
Without even grazing his collar, the blade carved a long gouge into the floor.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Realizing that Oscar wasn't even giving him a glance, the Hound immediately leapt out of the shadow.
'No matter how much you wrap yourself in a defensive shield.'
There was no way it could block a Level 7 assassin swinging with full force.
'Having blind faith in your shield is your fatal mistake.'
Crunch!
The dagger he ruthlessly slammed down scraped against the defensive shield.
The fierce air current tried to twist the dagger's trajectory, but the Hound's biceps bulged, and the barrier tore wide open just like that.
"Well done."
At that moment, a pair of wings burst forth, splitting the Alchemist's back.
Swoooosh!
Flying through the air, his legs morphed into sharp beaks and aimed straight for Oscar's head.
Front and back, a combo attack from the two that forcibly created an opening that hadn't previously existed.
Standing at the center of it, Oscar finally opened his mouth.
"Distortion."
Fl-fl-flutter!
Three pages of the Wind Archive glowed simultaneously.
Immediately after, the air surrounding Oscar twisted.
Crack!
"Keuk!"
The Hound's arm joints wrenched into a direction they were never meant to bend.
The same went for the Alchemist's legs, which had transformed into beaks.
The moment the two of them grimaced and tried to retreat.
"Bullet."
Crackle! Crack!
The surrounding air contorted as it was, generating hundreds of Wind Bullets.
"Pierce."
Bang! Ba-bang!
The forcefully discharged bullets cleaved through space and pierced both of their entire bodies.
"Kugh!"
Turned into a honeycomb in an instant, the Hound staggered.
He narrowly avoided instant death by reinforcing his outer skin with mana, but his whole body throbbed in pain.
With damage like this, his physical speed had surely dropped as well.
'Damn it, this is not good. What about the Alchemist?'
In his case, it was even worse.
Because he hadn't been able to react, his entire body was riddled with wind-holes.
However, through his distinct regenerative power, the holes were rapidly filling up.
'Idiot! Could he really be the kind of guy who can't even dodge an attack of this level?'
Is it okay to keep trusting him like this?
It was a moment where he internally crunched the numbers, wondering if he had joined hands for nothing and whether he should run away even now.
"Hoo."
Exhaling a puff of white breath from his mouth, the Alchemist nodded.
"So this is the sensation... I think I roughly get it."
Having finished completely regenerating, the guy glanced at the Hound.
"Don't rack your brain. I got hit on purpose."
"...On purpose?"
"Yes. My body adapts to an attack once it has experienced it, and evolves accordingly."
As if proving those words, a slime-like substance oozed from the Alchemist's entire body.
The structure beneath his skin rapidly reorganized as well, and a flexible carapace sprouted over his densely intertwined muscles.
A physical body perfectly transformed to resist Oscar's Wind Bullets.
"If I take every attack and evolve to match them, eventually, the moment will surely come when the opponent cannot harm me."
It was an incredibly ignorant statement, but because the subject was the Alchemist, it was strangely convincing.
Because he was a lunatic who made even his World Liberation about mutating his body into flora and fauna.
"That's an interesting concept."
Oscar nodded, looking intrigued.
"Then, let's see how far you can keep up."
Flutter!
The pages of the Wind Archive began to turn frantically.
"Winter Wind."
Whooooosh!
A bitterly cold wind, like a sheet of ice, surged from beneath the Alchemist's feet.
Cra-crack!
It was not simply at the level of his skin freezing.
The chill that dug in instantly penetrated his blood vessels, freezing even his bodily fluids.
'This is... high-ranking magic of at least Level 7 or higher.'
He's casting that without any preparation?
The moment alarm bells rang in his head, and the Alchemist hastily mutated his body.
"Crush."
Thuuud!
The massive pressure of the wind crushed down on the entire laboratory.
A scale of this magnitude was also high-ranking magic.
'He's spamming high-ranking magic without any restrictions?'
At the same time, the bodies of the Alchemist and the Hound were smashed into the floor.
Shatter!
The Alchemist's lower half broke apart like an ice sculpture.
"Kuuugh!"
Because his cells were frozen, even the speed of his body's regeneration was sluggish.
Step, step.
As Oscar slowly walked over, the Alchemist's wings moved sluggishly.
It was in order to escape from that spot.
"Tear."
The book reacted to that dry, emotionless voice.
A pair of hands made of wind ruthlessly tore the wings from the Alchemist's back.
"Kuaaaagh!"
The Alchemist screamed, desperately crawling across the floor with both arms to escape.
However, a fierce wind sucked him backward.
Delivered right in front of Oscar's nose in an instant, he looked up with fearful eyes.
Press.
Pressing his foot firmly down on the Alchemist's head, Oscar asked.
"Do you have anything else to show me with that toy-like body?"
The act of combat itself was not being established.
Sensing the abyssal gap through just a few exchanges, the Alchemist kept his mouth firmly shut.
'If the First Finger were to join us even now...'
No, it was to the point where he doubted if they could win even if all the remaining Fingers gathered together.
Furthermore, the mana signatures of the guys who should have joined them a long time ago couldn't even be felt right now.
'Is this as far as it goes?'
Closing both his eyes, the Alchemist quietly opened his mouth.
"I surrender."
Having clamped mana-sealing handcuffs onto the guy's wrists, Oscar looked back.
There, the Hound was standing without a word, holding out both of his wrists.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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