CHAPTER 66………………………………..
. Magic Lecture
“Who… are you?”
“Esric Spelder.”
Valhar, who had asked the question in a heavily guarded tone, frowned deeply.
“…Never heard that name before. What do you want?”
“Revenge.”
“You risk your life over something so petty? Whose revenge…?”
“The dragon’s.”
I cut off his words.
“…What?”
“The Calamity of the Snow Mountains — the dragon Vivriont.”
I pointed a finger at his chest.
“The original owner of the heart embedded in your body.”
“How could you possibly—?!”
“I heard it from Siruella.”
“…?!”
At the sound of that name, Valhar’s expression twisted violently.
“You came from Ice Rock?”
“That’s right.”
“So that half-blood fairy finally died, huh…”
“Because of who, do you think?”
I quietly opened my Book of Magic.
『 The Contractor casts magic. 』
“You knew, didn’t you? That the Snow Worm was being created because of the Dragon Heart? That Siruella couldn’t leave the mountains because she bore the Dragon’s Mark? You knew everything.”
“What does it matter?”
“It matters because… I came to avenge her — and everyone else.”
Wuuung… I accelerated the flow of mana circulating through my body.
“Foolish.”
A blinding white aura began to radiate from Valhar’s body.
The sheer pressure of his vast mana crushed everything around us.
“Only those with power can claim revenge.”
“That’s why I’m here,” I said, “because I am.”
Fwoosh!
I skipped the chant.
I skipped the activation words.
A fully silent-cast spell — — took form.
BOOM!
The blazing orb flew and struck Valhar square in the chest.
But only smoke rose from the impact.
“With just that…?”
Valhar stood unharmed.
“And you dare speak of revenge?”
Just the sound of his voice — harsh and sharp —
Wuuuung!
The pressure of his mana intensified again.
“!”
He shouted the activation words, and in an instant, spears of ice materialized in midair.
Crack!
They weren’t just chunks of ice — they were true spears, crafted exactly as imagined in his mind.
Such precision was only possible because of his overwhelming mana.
“<Holy ice, form a perfect sphere to shield me — cover and protect.>”
Before the spears were even fired, I quickly chanted my spell.
“.”
Swish—!
The ice spears shot through the air toward me.
But just before they pierced my head—
CRACK! — they deflected off a perfectly round, translucent shield of ice.
Clang!
The icy barrier shattered into shards.
“!”
Crack-crack!
Again, ice spears materialized in the air — not just one this time.
Crack!
Dozens of them.
“With that pitiful mana, let’s see how long you can hold out, hm?”
Valhar looked down at me arrogantly and flicked his finger.
The next moment, dozens of came rushing toward me.
But—
CRACK! CLANG!
The still-active absorbed the impact.
A complete spherical barrier doesn’t vanish from partial destruction.
Unless you destroy every surface with enough power, it remains intact.
The spears broke, and ice shards scattered.
“Heh.”
Valhar let out a small breath of admiration.
“You have some tricks, at least.”
“You’ll see soon whether it’s just a trick.”
“There’s nothing left to see.”
Valhar stretched out his hand.
“With that meager mana…”
Wuuung! The Dragon Heart embedded in his chest pulsed with a blinding glow.
“You’re no match for me.”
* * *
It had been needless worry.
Watching Esric’s magic, Valhar became certain.
Even though the Dragon Heart still pulsed ominously within him—
He was nothing special.
Valhar trusted his own eyes more than anything.
At best, the man could use two types of elemental magic — fire for attack, ice for defense.
A dual engraving?
To use two different types of magic, one had to engrave a second magic circle somewhere else in the body, aside from the heart.
That allowed multiple attributes but drastically reduced total mana.
A necessary compromise to prevent the body from collapsing.
So Valhar concluded Esric simply didn’t have much mana.
“Freeze where you stand.”
With this much power, even his words could become spells.
“!”
The very air around Esric froze solid.
When Valhar clenched his fist, CRACK — the ground and air where Esric stood froze over completely.
He was trapped in ice—
“Ice magic is too slow.”
“…?!”
A voice came from behind him.
When—?!
“If you cast enhancement magic on yourself, the activation delay drops to near zero.”
“Enhancement?! Just how many traits do you have—?!”
Fire and ice were attributes.
Attack and defense were types.
Once a trait was engraved, no other could be added.
Even dual engraving was unstable, forcing reduced mana.
But now— enhancement magic, a third type?!
Triple engraving was unheard of.
“<O steadfast earth, shatter along your ancient fault lines.>”
And he wasn’t done.
“!”
“…?!”
The ground exploded.
The stone staircase to the underground chamber twisted and collapsed like dominos—
Starting from where the unconscious Sulli lay below.
“Kh…!”
As he fell into the collapsing pit, Valhar gritted his teeth and released mana.
BOOM! Mana burst from the Dragon Heart, lifting him midair.
, the self-levitation spell.
He descended slowly amid the falling debris.
Where is he…?
Valhar frantically searched the rubble for Esric.
Where the hell—?!
“Looking for me?”
He turned — Esric was behind him.
Before Valhar could react, Esric grabbed his ankle.
ZZZZT!
A jolt of electricity ran through Valhar’s body.
“Ghkkk—?!”
Mana burst from him uncontrollably — was dispelled.
He plummeted and crashed to the ground.
“Ugh…!”
His massive mana still protected his body, but the numbing shock left him trembling.
“ paralyzes whatever it touches,” Esric said calmly, landing lightly nearby.
“Electricity…? How many traits have you— you lunatic!”
“You’ve got it wrong,” Esric said coldly. “I didn’t engrave any traits.”
“…What?”
No engravings?
And yet he could use such magic?
“And every spell I’ve used so far is just second-circle level — double-chain at best.”
“…!”
He was right — none of the spells had been particularly high-grade.
Even the ice shield that blocked was unfamiliar, but—
“Lies! Lies!” Valhar shouted.
“With such weak magic, you claim you defeated me — me, with a Dragon Heart?!”
“Drawing stripes on a pumpkin,” Esric sneered.
“Or putting a pearl necklace on a pig.”
“What nonsense—?”
“Know what those sayings have in common?”
“…?”
“They don’t change the nature of what they describe.”
Esric pointed a finger at him.
“You’re still a pumpkin. Still a pig.”
His cold, blue eyes pierced Valhar like a blade.
“Did you think grafting a Dragon Heart makes you a dragon?”
“Shut up…!”
Grrrkk! Valhar clenched his teeth.
The Dragon Heart resonated with his rage.
Mana exploded outward again, pressing down on everything.
“You got lucky a few times and now you’re arrogant!”
“If you still think it’s luck,” Esric said, pulling out a book from nowhere—
“then I’ll show you what true magic looks like.”
* * *
It had been a long time since I’d had a true magic duel.
A real contest of spell against spell.
Since coming to this world, this was the first proper one.
And I couldn’t deny — I was excited.
“How dare you—!”
Valhar roared, and sharp icicles erupted from beneath his feet.
It wasn’t even a spell — just raw mana release.
No structure, no formula, no order — just brute force given form.
Magic is order imposed upon mana.
That was merely a tantrum.
So of course, it burned through mana at a reckless rate.
And without order, the result was weak despite its flashiness.
That was Valhar’s first flaw.
“<Rising flame, wall of fire, surge upward and stand!>”
If he were a dragon, it would have been a breath attack.
But Valhar was still human.
“!”
That alone was enough to block the crude spikes of ice.
Fwoooosh!
Fire met ice, and a cloud of steam filled the chamber.
“You’re not done yet, you arrogant wretch!”
Crack-crack! — Through the mist, I saw the outline of more ice spears forming.
Even more than before.
“Die!”
Whoosh—! Dozens of ice spears flew toward me.
“<Holy ice, perfect sphere of shelter, arise and protect me.>”
It was no different from before.
“!”
Crash! Clang!
Spears shattered against the wall of ice, scattering glittering fragments.
Valhar’s second flaw — a narrow imagination.
Because he believed a single trait must be engraved, he was bound by that belief, relying solely on ice magic.
was also ice-based, so it activated slowly.
If he’d used lightning magic instead, he could have overwhelmed me.
But he didn’t know that.
“Still! I’m not done yet!”
He kept casting the same type of spell — again and again — flooding the space with ice.
The sheer quantity finally cracked , but not once did he touch me.
And then came his third flaw.
“How long do you think you can keep blocking?!”
Valhar clutched his shoulder, bending over in pain.
From where the Dragon Heart fragment had been implanted, crimson blood began to flow.
“W-What is this?!”
“Overload.”
“…What?”
“You went to great lengths to graft something that wasn’t yours, didn’t you? Used potions or purification magic to suppress rejection, maybe. But since it’s only attached, not integrated, overusing mana tears it apart.”
“…!”
A dragon’s heart circulates mana through every vein, forming a complete circle throughout its body.
But you— you just jammed a fragment in your chest. There’s no true circulation.
And now that you’ve recklessly overused it, your body’s hit its limit.
“This… this is nothing! I’ll just purify it again!”
Valhar gripped his shoulder and began casting purification magic.
Just as I expected.
“Fool.”
A magic duel is a battle of efficiency.
Who uses mana more rationally — whose law is more complete.
A brute who merely throws mana around… was never my equal.
And above all—
“Did you really think I’d just stand here and wait?”
I smiled faintly.
“Because I have a sure-win spell.”
