Chapter 33 – In which blood will spill
To understand the next few seconds, one needs to understand two topics.
One. Rules of magic dueling.
The simplest and the best way for a mage to cancel someone else's spell is to cast the same or very similar spell.
It was a ‘Fight fire with fire’ rule.
Therefore, a combat mage must be quick to recognize what kind of spell their opponent is casting, and have a spell or a method to cast it quicker.
Then there are rules ‘Numbers always win’ and ‘Ambush always work’.
They both stemmed from limitations of magic arts.
First, most mages found one-hand casting an impossible feat. Unless you had some kind of special trait, you had to use two hands when casting.
That meant that one mage could cast only one spell at a time . So when one mage faced two magic art users, they would naturally be defeated.
Second, though certain spells could be casted beforehand, they drew on mana as long as they’re active. Unless you had an abyssal amount of mana, you wouldn’t be able to do that.
That’s why mages were so enamored with Vern’s ‘Isolated-system Self-fuel Void Fire’ which didn’t need mana to be sustained.
And why ambushes worked so well.
If you don’t have an idea that you’re about to get attacked, you won’t have a thought of defending.
It was a simple truth that worked for any kind of combat scenario.
Two. The Magic Exchange Hall’s security systems.
The feeling may be lost, because of how Vern seemed to simply stroll around it, but the Exchange Hall was actually a very secure place, which was hard to break into.
When Vern opted for coming in through the main gates and identity check during his first visit here, it was out of consideration for that exactly.
Because it was the simplest option.
At the time, from the manager, Scarlen’s perspective, letting a suspicious individual in was also considered the safest option.
Because once he was inside, if Vern dared to do anything dangerous, he would be easily stopped by the magic formations.
Different from holy formations that were used in Purplus, magic formation needed mana or other magic source to be maintained. They were also more troublesome to modify and usually remained in a passive mode, until the conditions were met.
In the Exchange Hall, if any threats were to be detected the corresponding mana sealing was automatically applied, rendering the assailant unable to perform any further actions.
The most capable mages may be able to delay that detection for a few seconds to complete their attack, but afterwards, they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
With this basic understanding, that’s what happened… or was happening simultaneously.
An elderly woman who just completed a deal with Vern, smiled brightly as she raised her hands and started to cast a spell.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
At the same time, two people stepped out of her shadow.
They have been maintaining a shadow spell all along after entering the hall.
Security systems didn’t treat it as a threat, and as they confirmed their identity when entering, they weren’t treated as intruders.
But according to the rules, only two bodyguards could stay in someone's shadow like that. But attackers thought that’s more than enough.
The two bodyguards also started to cast spells.
The fiery form of Crow responded to them with an equally cheerful smile.
In a private box, Crimo’s and Sangria’s communication stones activated and passed them two messages:
[26]
[141]
Without even giving the second glance to the image created by the spy spell, they started casting.
The two messages they just received from Vern were codenames of spells.
Because they could only send one word messages, they made a list of archetypical spells and set numerical codenames for them.
26 meant ‘Blazing maws’ spell.
141 meant ‘Ice spear, but with a light element added (probably to look cool)’.
Those two spells were about to be hurled at Vern’s Spiritual Messenger.
He might not be there physically, but as the spell name suggested, the messenger was spiritually connected to him.
If it was hit by the spells and destroyed, the backlash of it would carry to Vern and highly possibly kill him.
That would be what the three opponents were aiming for.
But…
At the screen, Spiritual Messenger moved its hands in fluid motion as it followed the motions of its main body.
In less than three seconds, Crow completed his casting.
Just at the same time as the elderly woman.
The two Wind Pythons clashed and canceled each other before they reached their target.
Still, she wasn’t disappointed as she already expected it.
Her two subordinates finished casting one second later.
Their spells flashed and…
Were canceled by the spells that suddenly popped out around the messenger’s body.
Crimo and Sangria also finished their casting.
The next second, the magic formations activated and three assailants felt their mana get sucked out and had a sensation of blood in their veins freezing.
It was a consequence of casting a combat spell on a threatening level.
They wouldn’t be able to use mana until they leave the Exchange Hall.
As for defenders, Crimo and Sangria used corresponding defense spells, so security systems didn’t activate against them.
And Vern… His messenger was completely unscathed. It seemed that he was still able to use mana.
He smiled under the mask as he addressed the woman:
“As I was saying. Thank you for the deal. You may want to use your connections and leave through the back door though. I do not recommend coming back there in your current state.”
His smile was anything, but kind, and his voice seemed to be filled with genuine concern.
The woman’s face turned pale when she realized what happened.
Without a word, she turned around and fled with her two subordinates, without care about her dignity.
The entire confrontation took five seconds.
In the private box, three people held their breaths, staring at the scene painted with mana.
Then, the communication stones of Crimo and Sangria activated again.
[100%]
It meant that Vern didn’t get hurt at all.
They sighed in relief.
Then Sangria glanced at Crimo and asked:
“What Yo… Sir used, wasn’t that a combat spell?”
Sangria didn’t voice the full question, but Crimo nodded as if he held similar concerns.
He picked up a communication stone and asked:
[Security?]
It meant to ask if Vern was really completely unaffected by the security systems?
At the screen, the man in a snake mask suddenly looked at them, as if he knew exactly where the spy circle was.
Then he held his hand. Above it, a small fireball formed.
It meant that he could still use mana just fine.
That… should not be considered normal, but both Crimo and Sangria just nodded:
“He is my younger brother.”
“He is doing that again.”
It seemed that in a week they spent with that healthy Vern their perception of what is normal got twisted.
At least when related to Vern.
Scarlen who observed it from the side, mumbled:
“... No, you guys. I need a better explanation, my security…”
But he didn’t continue as he received a very important report.
After confirming the details, he turned to Crimo:
“Grandmas… that woman abandoned her two subordinates. It seemed they fainted because of the effects of the mana seal. What do you want me to do with them?”
Crimo, who didn’t move his eyes away from the fiery silhouette who was inviting the next person to make a deal with, said with an icy tone:
“I remember you have a dungeon here, correct? Take them there and torture them under the pretext of getting information about the ‘Eternal Fire’. You only have to make sure they stay alive, nothing else.”
“Gladly.”
Scarlen put down a magic crystal which he was ready to break to put the entire Exchange Hall in ‘zero mana zone’, if it seemed that Vern would get hurt, and then started to pass down bloody orders.
On the other side, Vern continued to make deals with a smile.