Chapter 169

Chapter 169
Chapter 169
## Chapter 169: The Old Hero (4)

“Father. It has been quite some time. We really have many matters to discuss.”

Observing Sirine gently hold the edges of her dress to perform a bow, Melberot suddenly began to sweat, displaying an unease uncharacteristic of him. It had not been long since he remembered her covered in blood; the image of the fierce Sirine from those days was difficult to erase from his mind. Even the service staff seemed plunged into deep tension.

However, the young woman they had before them, dressed with such neatness, was the spitting image of a high-society lady. Barely a year had passed since she joined the Ravenclaw Barony.

“I am aware of her talent, but what kind of sorcery is she employing?”

Melberot stroked his chin with a gesture of discomfort. Seeing such a reaction from the cold nobleman of the north was truly exceptional.

*

The mastery of the arcane constituted the pillar of nobility, an emblem of status. Because of this, no aristocrat would neglect the magic practice areas of their home. For the employees, preserving these facilities was always a task of maximum importance.

This rule was applied with rigor at the Rocheste mansion, erected amidst the northern snowy steppes. Although the premises had multiple protections against the hostile weather, the training ground was maintained with the same magnificence and care as the main lobby.

In the middle of that vast terrain, an individual of slender build leaned heavily on a sturdy oak staff. Her fragility was such that she seemed capable of melting into the snow at any instant. Even with that delicate appearance, Derek put on his gloves with a precision charged with nervousness.

“I regret presenting myself in this unattractive manner. However, the work is not yet finished. It must be carried out.”

The sorceress’s appearance matched point for point with her legendary portraits. She possessed brown hair, dull and unkempt, streaked with gray strands. Her eyes barely managed to peek out from between drooping eyelids, with pupils that projected an almost extinguished vitality. No matter how much one tried to assimilate it, seeing such a disheveled figure provoked inevitable doubts. Could this really be the legendary mage who once dominated the world? It seemed as if her body would break at the slightest movement. Would she have the strength to withstand Derek’s power?

However, Kalimford spoke:

“My physical state has declined and I cannot manifest my magic energy in its entirety. The aftermath of necromancy still haunts me, and I perceive my vision… clouded…”

Her words carried a deep melancholy, but what happened next was radically different.

“Continue approaching with that bloodthirst.”

“…”

“You worry too much for no reason. How do you intend to contain a spirit that has already crossed the threshold once?”

Often, a person’s presence differs from their physique. Despite her apparent weakness, her gaze exerted an overwhelming pressure. Her assertions turned out to be truthful. No one was capable of withstanding the offensive of a 6-star sorcerer. To prove it, she remained waiting without moving, leaning on a rod as tall as herself to receive Derek’s onslaught.

“… First, I wished to measure my own potential.”

Derek inhaled deeply, focusing his attention. Immediately, a torrent of energy emerged around him, condensing into a powerful current that flowed towards his fingers. A dozen fire projectiles materialized in the air before shooting off towards Kalimford.

“Swish!”

However, Kalimford did not attempt to protect herself or dodge. The fire arrows stopped dead beside her before vanishing and falling to the ground without force. It gave the impression that the magic itself was being devoured. Faced with such a scene, most mages would lose their will to fight upon understanding that their spells would never reach the adversary.

“Bang!”

Despite this, Derek’s eyes shone with firmness as he shortened the distance, determined to attack.

“Could she be using those barriers to verify if physical attacks are also repelled by her magical domain?”

After noticing that even the projectiles failed, he changed his strategy to hand-to-hand combat as a final resource. He made the decision in barely a few seconds; an amazing capacity for response for someone dealing with Kalimford for the first time. If the spell doesn’t work, one looks for another path. He possesses high-ranking arcane knowledge, but is not limited exclusively to them.

A 4-star mage of his age who does not let himself be blinded by mysticism is someone difficult to evaluate, no matter how much one observes him.

“Swish!”

However, Kalimford counted on a vast history in battle. Without flinching, she performed a wide movement with her rod and her slender silhouette vanished from the spot. In its place, only a dense magical mist remained. A confusion spell!

With a furrowed expression, Derek interrupted his offensive to analyze the surroundings. At the same time, he activated a detection spell to track the area. A well-executed search technique can nullify the effects of confusion. However, Kalimford’s location remained an enigma, which demonstrated that her distraction magic was, at a minimum, 4-star level. Despite her fame as a combat mage, her skills in other areas were exceptional.

“Boom! Crash!”

Four rock colossi sprouted from the ground. Their hands, about to close, remained motionless due to a frost spell. Derek finally managed to establish contact. Derek’s rapid freezing magic included his own version of the Siren style; his speed could disconcert even the most experienced sorcerers.

“Crack! Break!”

The 3-star level enchantment covering the battlefield had a dual objective: to stop the giants and find Kalimford’s hiding place. The only point where the fog had not frozen revealed her position.

“Pain!”
“Swish!”

Derek’s fastest attack, a sphere of fire, impacted precisely in that place. It was so sudden that the projectile seemed to explode the very instant it was launched.

“Missed!”

But as the mist dissipated, there was no trace of anyone. Kalimford had established a fictitious defense to divert his attention.

“Bang! Bang!”

The deception sought to take advantage of any gap in the enemy’s strategy. While Derek went on guard, a volley of fire arrows stalked him from all flanks. It was too late to escape. Derek threw himself forward, protecting one of his arms with energy while rolling on the ground.

“Boom! Crash!”

Although the sleeves of his wool garment ended up scorched, his physical integrity remained safe. His magic remained active, although the tips of his fingers presented light burns.

“Bang! Bang!”

While Derek tried to recover, Kalimford emerged from the smoke in front of him. Her walk was calm; the staff moved as if she were taking a simple walk.

“That fire shot was the first I have performed in my entire existence.”

Her initial execution had a delayed response. Veteran sorcerers usually repel the rival’s magic, but such a paused reaction lacked precedents.

A glint of curiosity and excitement ignited in Derek’s eyes as he moved his hand.

“Kalimford.”

The great archmage who once had the continent under her command.

“She masters confusion and invocation at least at a 4-star level. Her tracking and alteration capacity grazes 5 stars. And she employs these spells fluidly during the exchange of blows. She does it with such celerity that it seems to require no effort at all.”

“And her combat magic remains at 6 stars.”

In her specialty, she has no competition. Even after her golden age, she remains unreachable. Running into such a being should provoke dread or reverence, not a desire to compete. But Derek was not a common individual.

A surge of adrenaline ran down his spine. As the thin sorcerer advanced dragging her staff, a colossal presence seemed to rise behind her. Her sharp gaze did not turn away from Derek.

“Your ability to adapt to unknown spells far exceeds that of any soldier of fortune.”

“Fate has granted this young man something more than understanding and speed of learning.”

Kalimford was also internally raising her opinion of Derek. The rest of the world only saw his gift for the arcane, but his true merit resided elsewhere. Mercenaries were masters in improvisation and reacting to ambushes; she knew it well, it even felt tedious to her. However, Derek stood out even in that group. No one had countered her spells with such expertise in a first duel. Even Melberot fell into her traps once, although he did not repeat the error.

“…”

“Shake, shake.”

Kalimford had foreseen that Derek would stop after the rain of fire arrows. During that pause, she thought to teach him advanced methods of energy control. Learning Kalimford’s system demands breaking with all traditional paradigms. However, the plans were altered. Derek limited himself to shaking his arms and resuming his combat position.

“Did you manage to reflect my magic? Did you perhaps consume the arcane trail?”

“To be exact, I try to recover the remains of the dispersed magic to integrate it again. It brings to mind the vibration I perceive in my staff, the ‘Traces’.”

Derek had already deciphered the basis of Kalimford’s magic control. In their first encounter.

“It is the first occasion I see such a feat without employing tools. Sorcery applied even against the author themselves.”

“It is preferable to master the technique than to depend on equipment. Without restrictions and increasing the rival’s bewilderment.”

The capacity to reconstruct previous spells creates an unpredictable variant that forces the opponent to watch every spell used previously. In a direct confrontation, this breaks any common tactic.

“Understanding this instantly guarantees swift advancement. Very well. My time is scarce.”

“Eh?”

Before Derek could finish his response, he was already suspended in the air.

“Swish!”

Managing to raise his hands to cover himself was already an exceptional act, but the surprise in Derek’s eyes increased.

“Clash! Shattered!”
“Crack! Break!”

Despite impacting against the wall of the arena, Derek used energy to cushion the blow.

“To instruct Sirine and deal with Phee… 4 stars will not be enough. Whether you want to or not, you must increase your power.”

“Crack! Boom!”

The pressure that Kalimford exercised was overwhelming. With just closing her fist, the force of the impact was devastating.

“Whoosh! Crack!”

Derek’s arms trembled while he accumulated energy to resist. His eyes emitted an intense gleam.

“Her absolute energy reserve is scarce, but how is it that she has boosted it in this way?”

“If I manage to decipher the system, perhaps I can face her.”

Even under enemy fire, his mind worked at full speed. However, the basic laws of Kalimford’s magic remained an enigma.

“I will reveal to you the true nature of combat magic. Something that goes beyond any experience you have had.”

Approaching, the thin archmage’s staff scratched the ground. Although her body was no longer that of yesteryear, her mastery remained incomparable, exceeding human standards. That penetrating gaze shone with a renewed intensity.