NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 18
“Whoa!!!”
“Wow, it’s huge. Quite the spectacle.”
Jane looked up at the massive dragon that had broken through the ceiling.
At the same time, she clicked her tongue.
“But, can’t we just smash it? It’s just a giant lizard after all.”
“Feeling confident, are we? Give it a try.”
“You think I can’t?”
Jane moved her hands again.
For some reason, the moisture lingering in the air was no longer under control.
Reluctantly, she pulled some liquid that made up her body and transformed it into a massive spear to hurl at the dragon.
The spear flew and shattered comically easily upon hitting the dragon’s body.
-Crack!
-Swoosh…
“…Absorbed?”
“I’ve already taken measures.”
Enoch looked up at the End, leaving a bewildered Jane behind.
Why Jane’s magic stopped working anymore was pretty simple. It was because her magic had merged with the chain harmony from the fusion component just moments ago.
‘Golden fusion doesn’t differentiate between beings. I used my items as vessels and added Jane’s magic to them. In a way, you could say it’s resistant to water attributes.’
The mechanical dragon that appeared was now in a state boosted by Jane’s magic.
An existence enhanced by a mid-low level water attribute of a boundary-level sorcerer.
Considering that, the full name of the mechanical dragon could be “End Dragon Cluster.”
-Crackle!!!
-Boom!
At that moment, End launched a counterattack.
A massive surge of energy gathered in its mouth.
Green lightning shot out from the mouths of its three heads, striking Jane all at once.
-Boom!!!
-Swoosh…
“…Tch.”
Jane’s body crumbled instantly.
However, moments later, she restored back to her original state.
No significant damage had occurred, including to her clothes.
After all, boundary-level sorcerers were closer to magic than humans.
Physical shocks wouldn’t harm them.
That was how it should be.
“…What kind of magic are you using?”
“…”
“You just absorbed the liquid that made up my body. What kind of thieving magic is that?”
Jane frowned as if she were incredulous.
In the brief moment it crumbled and revived, the liquid that constituted her body had noticeably diminished.
“What can you do? I can’t just let that obvious regeneration slide.”
Enoch replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He had seized part of the control over the liquid through chain harmony at the very moment Jane’s body fell apart.
That’s why Jane’s regeneration had been delayed.
Of course, that was just a temporary workaround.
You couldn’t compare to the element controllers who managed the respective academies.
Excluding the already fused End, the rest would quickly return to normal over time.
‘But they don’t know that.’
And Enoch had no intentions of telling them.
He hoped they would imagine and interpret things for themselves.
Feeling that way, Enoch chose to stay silent.
Instead, he brought up something else.
“Are you planning to keep this up?”
“You little punk…!”
“I don’t really care either way.”
Enoch shrugged.
Jane clenched her teeth.
As if saying, “This is where the fun ends,” she summoned magic energy from her entire body.
The sight made the other Academy leaders frown collectively.
What if she stirred up a tsunami and wiped out the entire central continent at once—
“Stop, that’s enough. Jane.”
Urgently stepping in was Vergo, the lightning academy’s leader.
He transformed into lightning and quickly stood between Enoch and Jane.
“What’s up? Can’t you see?”
“Just back off already. If this goes any further, it won’t be a joke anymore.”
“That punk keeps pushing my buttons!!”
“This is all because your breaking point is so low—…No, forget it. Just cut it out.”
Vergo sighed, sounding fatigued.
Then he turned to Enoch.
“Please, could you stop here? What good could come from provoking the Academy leader? To face her full power, you’d have to contend with the entire sea of this star. Can you handle that?”
Vergo’s words carried a warning.
There was little to gain from pushing this any further.
Enoch thought his words weren’t wrong.
However, that didn’t mean they were entirely correct either.
Because Enoch could totally handle the entirety of the sea.
“Thank you for the advice. However, I can’t completely agree with you.”
“…What do you mean? Are you saying you can handle Jane?”
Is he claiming his magic affects the entire continent?
No way that would be true.
Vergo glanced subtly at the mechanical dragon.
“Isn’t it just a phenomenon, not an entity? Doesn’t seem likely.”
Enoch’s magic was to summon entities.
The mechanical dragon in front of him certainly seemed strong, but didn’t look capable of jeopardizing the entire continent.
That was what Vergo implied.
After listening to the conversation, Enoch immediately spoke up.
“Master Academy leader, I think you may be misunderstanding a few things.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Could you please take a look at the rain of treasures currently falling?”
At the suggestion, Vergo lifted his gaze.
A deluge of objects had been pouring down since a little while ago.
Now that he thought about it, just how long was this going to keep happening?
“…Are you using space as storage? There’s quite a bit of stuff. But what’s the deal with this?”
“Academy leader, I can open this treasure anywhere, anytime on the continent. And I never said I could only control one.”
“!”
Vergo’s eyes widened slightly, realizing the truth late.
The items scattered around were already forming a small hill.
At first glance, it was well over a thousand, getting close to ten thousand items.
And Enoch’s magic was to turn these items into monstrous forms.
‘If he could truly open up space across the entire continent…’
How was that different from threatening the continent with a monster?
“If a wave were to come, I’ll simply respond in kind. Not with water, but with masses of solid.”
“…”
“Honestly curious about how this will all turn out. Regardless of the outcome, the empire is bound to meet its doom.”
Enoch spoke flatly, as if driving a nail home.
You’re not the only ones holding such power.
I can wipe out the continent too.
Such blatant threats lurked beneath his words.
It was futile to think the other Academy leaders would simply sit back and watch.
For any conflict among them would spell a crisis for the whole empire.
“Wow… It’s been quiet for a few years.”
Eventually, Vergo raised the white flag.
He let out a deep sigh, sounding incredulous.
“A monster invades and a genius pops up too. Is this what the sorcerer of time spoke of? The backwave pushing the front wave away feels like this.”
“A wave of monsters is a bit funny, I admit.”
“Raselin, shut it.”
Vergo shot a glare towards the interrupting Raselin.
Then, he turned his focus back to the guild leader.
“Rojita, what are we going to do now? This meeting seems meaningless.”
“…”
Rojita didn’t answer right away.
He first checked the two who were engaged in what could be called ‘minor’ skirmishes.
“…”
“…”
Neither Enoch nor Jane made any further moves.
It seemed they implicitly understood that if this went any further, it would really lead to war.
‘I want to withdraw.’
Rojita felt his disguise hurt for no reason.
What kind of glory did he think he would enjoy by sitting in a place like this?
He massaged his aching chest and looked at the nearby Nordila.
For some reason, the ice Academy leader was giggling with her head bowed.
‘Threatening, huh? Doesn’t suit you.’
Nordila had some inkling of Enoch’s true intentions.
He was well aware that Enoch intended to enroll his cute student in the academy.
Someone like that would never risk the empire in a dangerous gamble.
No way that would happen.
The laughter, however, was from being the sole observer of the truth.
But ironically, her behavior gave Rojita a certain confidence.
‘Nordila must have some connection with Enoch. If he were really dangerous, he would’ve stepped up to stop him. Or at least given a warning.’
But Nordila didn’t do that.
The fact that he didn’t meant that Enoch wasn’t the type to play around.
Rojita steeled his resolve at that point.
As soon as he matched up against a boundary-level sorcerer like Jane, his fate was sealed.
“Attention.”
-…?
“I shall now announce the outcome of the meeting.”
Rojita stood up and cleared his throat.
All eyes, including those of Enoch, Jane, and the Academy leaders, turned to him.
“From now on, I shall grant certification to the magician named Enoch. The rank is boundary level. I won’t hear any objections.”
-……
“However, he cannot receive the typical boundary level treatment granted to the other Academy leaders. He is neither the master of an academy nor a appointed official of the empire. But it’s impossible to leave someone like him unattended. In that sense, I will create a new rank with the authority I received from His Majesty the Emperor.”
A new rank.
That phrase sparked a reaction among the sorcerers.
“The new rank will be called ‘Extra.’ A fitting name for one who doesn’t belong to the society of sorcerers.”
Rojita glanced at Enoch late.
Then he scanned the entire vicinity with his eyes.
“Enoch, await the messenger from the guild. Other sorcerers, show him your respect as an Extra.”
-Bang, bang!
Rojita struck his hammer three times.
“That will conclude this Pankratous meeting. Anyone with an issue can come forward now. I’ll personally confront you.”
A fearsome threat cast over the assembly.
Not a single person dared to step forward.