The Mage Will Master Magic Efficiently In His Second Life

「Claude.」

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「Y-Yes…?」

 

As I called out her name, Claude looked at me. 　

Her teeth were clacking due to the fear and tension.  I slipped my tongue between her lips.

 

「………?!!」

 

Claude widened her eyes with surprise and tried to get away, but I held her head with both arms and didn’t let her. 　

I slid my tongue between Claude’s teeth in order to stop their rampage, however her teeth didn’t stop even then and danced around my tongue, damaging it. 　

Claude noticed the taste of blood spreading inside her mouth, so she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back.

 

「Puha!! Zeph… Please… let go…」

「… No can do.」

「….U…r…」

 

And then once more. 　

After hugging her for a while, Claude, who initially resisted, gradually calmed down, closed her eyes and let me do as I pleased. 　

After a while Claude finally stopped trembling.

 

「Puha….」

 

As I released Claude, a vermilion thread could be seen stretching from where our lips had touched. 　

Claude’s breathing was rough, and she still looked like she had her head in the clouds, however it was clearly better than before.

 

「Are you okay now Claude?」 　

「Y-Yes…」

 

Even after I let go of her body Claude’s face still remained red. 　

My arms that had been wrapped around her back conveyed her heightened pulse to me. 　

I had managed to stop her from trembling, but I probably overdid it. 　

After all, even I got embarrassed by my actions just now.

 

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「T-Thank you… Zeph-kun…」

「Don’t mind it, also I’m sorry.」

「D-Don’t be… It made me happy…」 said Claude as she held onto my hand.
He trembled then completely disappeared. 　

 

She still looks a little nervous, but I guess it won’t affect her fighting.

 

「Are you fine now?」

「…Yes.」

 

I stroked Claude’s head as she responded with a small yet strong tone.
Afterwards we once again headed to where Kane was. 　

As we walked Ain that was still in her sword form spoke casually.

 

「You sure are quite the passionate type, aren’t you Gramps?」

「… I’ll fold you in two.」

「A-Ain-chan please don’t tease us… It’s too embarrassing…」 said Claude as she lowered her head shyly, however thanks to Ain the tension was lifted a bit. 　

 

The movements of Claude, as she followed behind me, were no different from her usual ones.

 

《It’s right ahead of us.
Ready yourself Claude.》

《Understood!!》

 

As I strained my eyes in order to look towards the darkness in the back, I saw two men sitting on top of a rock protruding from the ground. 　

They were Kane… and Grain.

 

「Grain…!」

 

The Dispatch Magician Grain.
He was the devilish person that set us up to fight against a monster in the Eastern Continent. 　

We later managed to defeat him in battle, and he was captured by the Dispatch Magician Azalea. 　

Afterwards, the Magician Association should have implanted a magic bug that would eat the magic lines inside his body, ending his life as a mage. 　

However, Grain was currently standing before us wearing a bloodied Dispatch Magician alongside Kane.

 

《It seems like they still haven’t noticed us, let’s take care of them before they do…!》

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《Okay Zeph-kun!》

Seeing Claude nod I began gathering my magic power. 　

There was no need for me to hold back.
I would go all out from the start. 　

Screen Point ate magic, reducing a spell’s effect significantly, but that didn’t mean that it nullified it completely. 　

Even if its power is reduced, the fivefold synthesised spell Platinum Slash should still do the trick. Azalea told me not to use it, but it’s better than stupidly prolonging the battle and putting Claude in danger. Still, Kane’s current Screen Point is quite powerful. 　

I tried checking Kane’s stats with Scout Scope, however it turned out that I couldn’t even check the stats of Grain that was standing next to him.  　

There’s a possibility that they’ll survive even after getting hit by Platinum Slash… Maybe I should try that.

 

《Claude, come to think of it, you can use Red Crash right?》

《Hm? That’s right… I can but…》

《Can you shoot it at Ain, I’ll leave the timing up to you.》

《U-Understood.》

 

I thrust Divine Sword Ainbelle to the ground and held Claude’s hand as I tried to read the movement of her magic power. 　

Thanks to strengthening her magic lines, I could easily feel the magic moving throughout her body, so I knew that I would be able to grasp the timing of when Claude would unleash the spell.

 

《I’m firing!!》

 

Just as Claude faced Divine Sword Ainbelle and was about to fire Red Crash I cast Time Square. 　

While time was stopped I cast Black Crash and Green Crash. 　

They both combined with Claude’s Red Crash, forming a red, muddy mass which was sucked in by Ain.

Triple Fusion: Volcano Crash.

 

《AH?!!》

 

As the spell landed on her, Ain raised her voice in agony, and the blade began to shine in red and black. 　

Perhaps this was Ain’s limit, as Divine Sword Ainbelle was quivering, seeming like it was about to burst at any moment.

 

《Ain-chan, are you okay?》 　

《S-Somehow… B-But… I can’t hold it in much longer… Gramps… Hurry…》

《I know.》

 

I raised Divine Sword Ainbelle and just as I swung it I cast Time Square. 　

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While time was stopped I cast Blue Crash and White Crash. 　

As time began to move again, a platinum light exploded out with the sound of cracking ice. 　

My field of vision was dyed white, and immediately after that a blast and a roaring storm broke out.

 

「Kyaaaaaaa?!!」

 

Claude was even blown off by the impact, and a large amount of dirt flew up. 　

The platinum light flew farther and farther until… it eventually disappeared. 　

From the gaps in the smoke screen, I could see traces of tremendous destruction. 　

The rock walls that were blocking our view until now were nowhere to be seen. 　

In front of me there were only the remains of a rocky mountain that had been scooped out in a circle. 　

On the other side of the now open rocky mountain, I could see the sea and clouds that had been split in half by the impact.
… Incidentally, from the gaps between the rocks I could also see that the Hunting Beetle, which was the middle boss of this dungeon, had also been split in half.

I guess it must have also been swept away… 　

The Hunting Beetle then proceeded to disappear.
Along with that I could feel my level raising. 　

Claude, who had been blown off by the impact, slowly stood up and made her way next to me.

 

「That sure packed a punch…」

「You’re right…」

 

Even I was a little bit surprised. 　

I was several times stronger than Platinum Slash.
I was expecting it to some degree considering I used the Intermediate Spell Crash, rather than the Primary Ball spell, however I never expected it to be this strong.

 

「I guess I’ll call it Platinum Break.」

「You sure are carefree even in this situation, aren’t ya Gramps…」

「That aside, what about those two…」

 

As I turned to look for signs the dust curtain slowly began to lift up. 　

When the smoke cleared up completely, Grain and Kane were standing there unscathed. 　

Wh-… You mean to tell me that they took that and weren’t hurt at all… It seems like Kane’s Screen Point was even more powerful than I thought.

While brushing off the smoke with his hand, Grain spoke.

 

「Hey, that sure was one strange greeting, don’t you think so Zeph?」 　

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「… You sure look like you’re doing good Grain…」

「I guess I must be thanking you for that, don’t you think? Kukuku.」 said Grain laughing.

 

It also looked like he was missing a single eye.

Besides his eye he also had some other visible wounds here and there. 　

It seemed like the magic bug, whose purpose was to eat through the magic lines and cause damage to the body when the owner used magic, had been embedded successfully. 　

And yet despite that…

 

「Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be restrained by the Magician Association?」

「Hmph… I escaped.」 saying that Grain signalled Kane with his eye, forcing him to take a step forward.

 

Judging by the way he followed his instructions their relationship seems to be that of a master and his servant.

 

「I met with Grain-dono on an unnamed prison-like island where criminals are sent.」

 

Criminals huh… I can understand Grain being there, but what kind of crime did Kane commit? Well, he’s the type to boast about his authority as a knight, and steal money from his sister in order to enjoy himself. Probably after his source of income, Claude, got cut off, he ended up squandering money and found himself in a lot of debt.

 

「On Prison Island we had to cut trees and stones from morning till evening and then load them up on a ship.
When that was over we would return to our sheds and sleep like logs until morning came, and we had to do it all over again.
Every single goddamn day.
Those days felt like hell.」

 

The island under the Magician Association’s supervision, or otherwise known as Prison Island, was a place that forced one to do heavy labor without killing him, and even if one got wounded, he would be treated with recovery magic and forced to work again.  　

The daily, monotonous, long hours of hard labor ate at one’s mind, depriving him of any willpower to escape. 　

Within the people there, there were those that also willingly took their own lives. 　

Hearing Kane explain his struggles, Claude looked down as if she felt sorry for him. 　

I told her not to worry about it as I placed my hand on her shoulder and glared at Kane.

 

「It was then that I met Grain-dono.
This person, being a former Dispatch Magician, led the people who were trapped on the island and forced to work like slaves, and with their help hijacked the ship, escaping from Prison Island.
… Unfortunately, along the way our friends were killed by pursuers and only me and Grain-dono survived.」

「You reap what you sow.」

「Ha.
If only you hadn’t existed, we wouldn’t have to go through that!  Zeph, we escaped just so that we could take our revenge on you… Kuku, better prepare yourself…」 said Grain as he reached out for the sword resting at his waist.

They sure bear a huge hatred against me. Well, it’s not like it matters…

 

「I guess there’s no need for words.」

「Correct… There’s no point in talking with someone who’s about to die!!」