Chapter 250
“Hah, not bad!”
“Same goes for you, Mr. Archer!!”
My unexpected opponent made me chuckle as I jumped back with my arms stacked in front while Dykebell also distanced himself.
As he turned around, he shot a series of Water Bullets by alternately swinging his arms that were imbued with Water Magic.
“What a skillful guy!”
I caught the approaching Water Bullets thanks to my excellent kobold kinetic vision and stepped forward to repel the first bullet with my left fist, immediately turning around to crush the other bullet with my right.
Using the momentum, I closed the distance by advancing in a fluid motion, but he also stepped forward and countered with a right palm strike infused with cold air to my side.
“Shih!”
“Not bad!!”
As I avoided the blow by a paper-thin margin, I heard cracking sounds as my leather armor froze. I used Wind Magic to blow away the frost that was creeping up my feet and made a sharp counterattack with a body blow to the right.
However, Dykebell predicted the move and countered my Whirlwind Fist with a strong knee strike, so I fired off a swift left uppercut to the chin after he lowered his leg.
“Sei!!”
“Guuuh!?”
Although I tried to avoid the incoming magic-infused punch from my blindspot with a somersault, my reaction time was a little off and the skin on the spot where I was hit froze and caused a stabbing pain and a metallic taste of blood to spread on the inside of my mouth.
Still, the kick I launched as I avoided his attack also managed to connect with his chin. Since both of our attacks connected, the quasi-magician which I couldn’t really call strong fell backward.
“U, uwah…”
Dykebell managed to stick out his right arm and fire off one last Water Bullet at the roof landing as he fell with a grunt.
“Guuh…”
I failed to avoid the highly compressed water mass and it hit my left thigh, causing a dull pain which momentarily impeded my movement. But at that point, my opponent had already lost consciousness as he landed on one of the roofs below.
“He sure has a lot of guts… Isn’t he more suited to be a vanguard than a mage?”
His nimble steps and forestalling maneuvers reminded me of Blazer and brought me back to the time when I was severely caught off-guard and beaten in one of our training sessions after he pretended to faint.
“…Pierce, Triple Wind Bullet!”
I randomly shot him with several weak Wind Bullets to make sure that he was truly incapacitated.
“Uugh, guh…augh…bube…”
Well, no problems there, but… I scratched my head as I felt a twinge of guilt at beating an unconscious guy.
As someone who’s exchanged blows with him, it felt awkward to just leave the guy there so I carried the groaning Dykebell heir on my shoulders and used the updrafts of my wind magic to adjust my falling speed and make a soft landing at the alley where his guards were waiting for him.
“You bastard, how dare you do this to Lord Azurite!!”
“Stop right there. If I beat you up too, nobody will look after your master…”
Determined to carry out my task, I held out a hand to stop the last guard who was preparing to draw his weapon while I placed their lord down and let him lean against the wall.
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
I said as I proceeded to wrap my legs in whirlwinds and propelled myself back onto the roof by alternately kicking the walls that enclosed the alley on two sides. But just as I reached the top, a black shadow rushed at me!
“Kuon waua~n♪” (Found you, Brother~♪)
“Uwaah!?”
I was slightly thrown off-balance by the jumping force of my sister as I caught her, but… I forcefully kicked at the second floor wall and managed to land on the rooftop of the adjacent building which was a tavern.
“Guoaruu kuau, kuuao!” (Don’t do that so suddenly, it’s dangerous!)
“N, waon” (N, got it), Dagger responded leisurely.
After waiting for my sister to climb onto my shoulder, I leaped over the roofs until we reached the Lesser Buncle whose icy bindings had begun to thaw.
“Fuuuh, kuuuaaaah!!”
“Now, now, sorry for keeping you waiting.”
I reached into the leather pouch hanging from my belt and replaced my gloves with the special leather gloves for capturing magical beasts that I borrowed from Muriel and channeled some magic into it.
The mithril fibers produced from magic alchemy immediately glowed, giving the glove extra strength while retaining its flexibility, making it impervious from the fangs and claws of wild beasts.
“Such a waste of an excellent article… I guess that’s Ernesta for you.”
The combat gloves were sent to Muriel by her close friend who was worried that she might get poisoned or sick from handling wild animals after she was bitten by a wild weasel she was trying to catch.
While said friend is a rare magic prodigy beloved by Setio, the goddess of storms, her skill in magic alchemy might be better than most magic tool craftsmen if I were to judge it based on the mithril mask that I frequently wear when I am in my original humanoid canine form.
(…I guess it won’t hurt to get along with her.)
After having such calculating thoughts, I took the rolled up hemp sack hanging from my waist and opened the bag, intending to put the Lesser Buncle whose fur was standing on end and was making threatening sounds as I picked it up by the scruff of its neck, but…
Its four legs were still frozen stiff on the ground so I couldn’t lift it up.
“Kuuanoan, guaou” (Dagger, a Fox Fire, if you may)
“Guruu!” (Leave it to me!)
The little fox slid from my shoulders and sat on its bottom, holding out her tiny white-tipped paws as she produced a small crimson flame.
“Kuruaa, kurua~u” (Burn, burn~)
“Kuuu!? Kuaaaah”
The floating Fox Fire slowly circled the small magic beast and melted the small lumps of ice while slightly burning the tips of its fur.
“Alright, capture complete.”
After freeing its legs, I tossed my struggling prey into the hemp bag and descended into a deserted back alley before blending into the bustling noon crowd.
Character Introduction:
Name: Azurite Dykebell (♂)
Race: Human
Rank: Quasi-Mage
Skill: Intermediate Magic (Water, Earth), Close-combat Techniques, Ice Craft, Freeze Break (opens a path by freezing)
Title: Ice Mage
Weapon: First-class cold-resistant gloves, Arctic Boots
Armament: Condensed Water Mana Stone, Herculean Crushing (copy)
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