Chapter 1356: 114. A True Mage

"Let us have a pure... battle between mages!"

His mage's robe snapped loudly in the wind, while the Enhancement School emblem radiated dazzling brilliance. Muen's imposing body trembled as the powerful aura of his magic was released without restraint. It was like another layer of heavy storm clouds pressing down from above, causing the light across the entire square to dim by several degrees once again.

At that instant, no one knew how many people were so shocked that their jaws practically fell off again.

No one could have imagined that an obscure master no one had ever heard of could suddenly erupt with an aura that was in no way inferior to that of the veteran Master Jerome!

Even a certain young girl standing behind Muen had, at some unknown point, slightly opened her little mouth wide enough that she could almost have swallowed a goose egg.

This guy was seriously...

So fucking shameless!

A battle between mages?

Were you even a mage in the first place, yet you dared talk about fairness and purity?

A magic idiot who only knew an illumination spell actually had the nerve to say something like that?

And if you played things this way, weren't you afraid that—

Huh?

Wait.

Ariel suddenly let out a surprised sound, because she abruptly realized that the aura Muen was releasing really was the purest magical power imaginable!

That magical presence was heavy and genuine. No matter how Ariel tried to probe it, she couldn't detect the slightest problem. It was as if the person standing before her...

Really and truly was a 24-karat pure-gold magic master!

Even after activating the Delusion-Breaking Eye, all she could see was a layer of hazy mist shrouding Muen's body. She still couldn't see through his current true "identity."

This had never happened before.

She clearly knew it was false, yet she couldn't see through it...

Don't tell me this guy really is a mage now!

Could it be that he was actually the one truly skilled at pretending to be weak while secretly being strong, and that everything about only knowing illumination magic before had just been an act?

"Teacher..."

"Stop looking. That's a modification on the level of rules. Right now, Muen Campbell is, in a certain sense, a genuine mage. No one can deny that reality."

"His mysterious teacher did this? They're that powerful?"

"Probably."

From inside the ring came a faint sigh that seemed both present and absent.

"If it's that person... accomplishing something like this wouldn't be particularly difficult."

"So that's how it is. This guy prepared for this a long time ago. And here I was worrying about him before..."

Ariel nodded, but then her little canine teeth began grinding together.

"But no matter what, this is still really shameless. Using this kind of method to bully some fragile little mage or whatever... that's way too baby!"

"You finally hate him?"

"Not at all~"

Ariel gave another soft snort.

Despicable was despicable...

But she liked him when he was bad too.

"..."

...

Ignoring the scorching gaze coming from behind him, Muen stood there with effortless elegance, as though he were beneath a spotlight.

With a grand wave of his hand, the mithril staff disappeared, replaced by a magnificent magic staff as tall as a person.

He had casually bought it on the way to this square.

As the City of Magic, Ishusta naturally could never be lacking in things like magic staffs. But even here, Muen had still selected this particular staff with extreme care, while also comprehensively taking into account the opinion of Ariel, his human treasure detector.

Of course, aside from that, most of the choice had come from Muen's own considerations.

For example, the body of this staff was made from an extremely rare ancient wood known as Cassis.

Cassis had been the name of a minor faith eradicated by the Church of Life two hundred years ago. The name referred to a Sun God, and this ancient wood had been given the same name because it possessed characteristics much like that Sun God—it would not wither beneath sunlight, could not be invaded by raging flames, and was virtually indestructible.

Though it was clearly a type of wood, it possessed toughness far surpassing refined steel. Especially when reinforced by magical power, it was said that it could even crush diamonds.

Because its ability to conduct magical power was relatively poor compared with ordinary magical materials, and because the wood itself was quite heavy, very few mages would choose Cassis wood as the primary material for a magic staff.

But as an outstanding mage, Muen did not care about such minor shortcomings.

After all, this was his first magic staff.

Durability was naturally his highest priority.

Aside from that, an enormous magic stone was also embedded at the top of the staff.

This magic stone was neither pure nor special. It was the sort of leftover scrap material that any mage who wasn't so poor that they had to eat black bread every meal would inevitably despise...

Yet Muen had still happily chosen it.

"What a marvelous feeling..."

As he stroked this staff he had painstakingly selected, one that would accompany him as he continually advanced along the path of a mage, Muen suddenly felt a powerful surge of emotion.

'As expected, do I still deeply love magic after all?'

Buzz!

As if responding to him, the moment he swung the staff, the sound of air being torn apart erupted, nearly piercing everyone's eardrums!

Without a doubt, this was...

A resonance with magic!

"Come, Sir Jerome. You have gone so long without giving me an answer. Could it be that you are... afraid?"

Muen raised his head. His graying hair and beard scattered wildly with his low roar, while the weathered, profound bearing that only a veteran magic master could possess caused the hearts of quite a few spectators who had originally still been frightened to suddenly begin beating faster.

He clearly wasn't particularly handsome at the moment, yet for some inexplicable reason, he gave off an extremely handsome feeling, one that spread outward like ripples.

Beneath the confidence magic had granted him, the masses...

Were falling for him.

"..."

Opposite him, Jerome's expression became solemn for the first time.

It wasn't because he had fallen behind in terms of looking impressive.

It was because the Muen standing before him at this moment truly made him feel a faint sense of threat.

Such dense and powerful magical energy...

Could this Enmu truly be an exceptionally powerful top-tier magic master?

No...

Impossible.

The Enhancement School's path had already been severed. How could it possibly produce a master-level figure now?

"You spoke of fairness and purity... Are you saying you intend to fight me using Enhancement Magic?"

"That's right. Enhancement Magic!"

Muen lightly gripped the staff in his hand and declared in a resonant voice:

"I am a single-minded man. In the name of the teacher I respect most, I swear that from this point onward, I will use only Enhancement Magic. As for any other kind of magic—even illumination magic—I will not use it."

"Arrogant!"

Jerome almost immediately felt as though he had been humiliated.

Setting aside whether Enhancement Magic even had a future, the fact that this kind of magic could only ever serve as support was practically common knowledge!

After all, enhancement was still enhancement.

There had to be something worth enhancing in the first place before it could become stronger.

Surely you couldn't truly enhance the frail body of a mage all the way to the level of a Crowned One!

"Looks like there's more than one madman in the Enhancement School. You're another one."

Jerome suddenly withdrew his smile and revealed a cold sneer.

That's right.

Since something like that was impossible, and this brat still dared to challenge him, then there could only be one explanation.

He was insane.

Besides...

Jerome's gaze swept over the magic staff in Muen's hand.

This sort of cheap, intimidating-looking magic staff that only an amateur would choose, one that in reality provided absolutely no benefit whatsoever to magic, only confirmed from another angle that the current Enhancement School was merely putting on a fierce appearance while being weak inside.

Most likely, even getting that girl to come here had required some kind of filthy method that couldn't be shown in public!

Thinking this, Jerome slowly let out a breath and shook his head, feeling that he had been far too cautious.

What was there even to say to some broke bastard...

Mage was the profession that required money more than almost any other.

A broke bastard could never become an outstanding mage, and a broke school could even less possibly cultivate an outstanding mage.

That was simply the truth!

"Since you're this poor, then prepare yourselves to become menial servants in my classroom!"

Jerome no longer hesitated.

If he were to shrink back now, after matters had already reached this point, then the reputation he had accumulated over so many years would probably be destroyed overnight.

Not to mention that, at this very moment, he unquestionably possessed an enormous advantage!

As one of the Elemental School's handful of top masters, he had been stuck at that threshold for several decades. The accumulation he possessed was far beyond anything an ordinary person at the same level could compare with.

Below the Truth Rank, below the Crowned Ones...

He was practically invincible!

He could not see even the slightest possibility that he might lose!