Chapter 78
There was a volcano to the west of the Principality of Thran's border that was famous for its majestic appearance. The people of the Igrant continent would always be left with a sense of awe whenever they heard about this volcano.
The volcano was too hot for regular people to approach since it was an active volcano that constantly spewed lava from the fissures on its surface.
It was actually one of the hottest spots on the continent.
The volcano was named Wolfs by the locals. An enormous pyro-liquid vortex constantly swirled on the volcano’s crater, and it always looked like the volcano would spew reddish magma at any time.
A man was slowly walking around the crater of the volcano. Eventually, he walked into the pool of lava, which boasted a temperature of around a thousand degrees celsius.
The bottom of Wolfs' crater could easily scorch a person to death, but only a few drops of sweat dripped from the man’s body.
As such, it could be deduced that the man was a mana-wielding knight or a mage. He was also definitely a proficient mana user since he could protect his entire body with mana.
The man walking in a pool of lava unscathed was Ulabis.
He was also known as Thran's blade, and was almost at the Master level.
"There’s no time..." Ulabis muttered with a tense look.
When Prince Anthony died, there were only a few confidants next to him. However, it was only a matter of time before the world learned of Prince Anthony’s passing.
The cunning nobles of the Swallow Empire would definitely notice Prince Anthony’s disappearance, even if Prince Anthony’s deteriorating health were used as a pretext.
“With the disappearance of the principality’s pillar, Thran has become a candle in the middle of a storm.”
Some people claimed they were the pillar of Thran, and some even claimed that Ulabis was the Principality of Thran’s pillar. However, they couldn’t be even more incorrect.
The late Anthony de Val Agretta III was the true pillar of Thran.
If it weren’t for Prince Anthony, the Swallow Empire would have absorbed the principality long ago, and the so-called Thran would have long vanished from the map.
"Your Highness…" Ulabis dejectedly muttered. However, he soon looked straight ahead with a determined look.
There was a cave inside the crater, and Ulabis’ goal was what lay at the end of it. He had been here before for training, and he found something amazing. He discovered a treasure in this fiery mountain.
‘There are people who purposely go deep into the ocean to withstand the pressure of the depths in an effort to improve their physical strength. The same effect can be achieved in a volcano since it’s an environment where even breathing is difficult to do. Unfortunately, I can’t come here whenever the volcano is too active…’
It was a brutal training regimen that required one to stake their life for results. Ulabis had to become even stronger as soon as possible, considering the mounting pressure on the principality.
As such, he decided to go here and stake his life.
‘Swallow has five Masters, similar to Avalon. However, if we include the hidden Masters…’
Ulabis momentarily turned grim. The world knew that the Swallow Empire had five Masters, but Ulabis was well aware that those Masters weren’t the extent of the Swallow Empire’s power.
'There should at least be seven. In addition, Swallow's Knights are stronger than any nation’s Knights. After all, they’re renowned as North's Barbarians.'
Ulabis suddenly came to a halt.
A dark tunnel appeared within the cave. The tunnel resembled the jaws of a dark beast.
However, a bright red glow could be seen amidst the darkness of the tunnel.
Ulabis, who had learned about that bright red glow from ancient texts, knew exactly where the light was coming from.
"Primordial Stone Magma."
Ulabis slowly inched closer to the entrance of the tunnel as though he was possessed.
When he finally arrived, he cautiously approached the Primordial Stone. However, the blazing crimson flames imbued in Ulabis’ mana approached the Primordial Stone, eliciting a response in the form of brilliant red flames that surged in all directions and vanquished the darkness.
***
There should have been no one here.
'Who is he?'
Joshua’s muscles contracted when he saw the man in a blue robe in front of him. Joshua assumed some sort of battle stance, which would allow him to react the quickest.
The fact that the man knew him didn’t really matter. However, the fact that the man was more powerful than him made Joshua feel nervous, and it was the only thought running through his mind.
At Joshua’s reaction, the man in the blue robe revealed a lovely smile beneath the hood. "Ah, you have a pair of astute eyes. As expected, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me."
"Who are you?"
"Hah! My apologies for the late introduction."
The man removed the hood covering his head, revealing a middle-aged man with vivid blue hair and eyes. In addition, there was a lightning bolt mark under his eye.
"Is that the Steropes pattern?" Joshua muttered in a daze.
"Oh,?you know this mark? You definitely deserve to receive a reward!"
The man clapped his hands in approval.
"Seven Mages of the Magic Tower. Everyone knows the Steropes pattern of every generation’s Thunder."
"That’s great…" The middle-aged man gracefully bowed and said, "My apologies for the late introduction, but let me introduce myself—My name is Jack Steropes, one of the Seven Mages. And the holder of the Thunder seat."
Joshua couldn't believe that his hunch was right all along, and his face stiffened in anticipation.
“I don’t really care about people like you, and I know the Magic Tower has only survived so far thanks to the income of cunning mages like you.”
"In that case, how disappointing." Jack shrugged and coldly looked at Joshua. "You understand why I came to you, don't you?"
"..."
Jack's changed once again as Joshua remained silent.
Jack’s cold voice reverberated once more. "Can you tell me where Bronto is?"
“...”
"I will not harm you as long as you tell me where Bronto is…"
"..."
"That thing will rip you to shreds, so a kid like you shouldn’t play with it.” Jack had no idea that Joshua had already absorbed Bronto as he asked once more, "I’ll say it again: do you know anything about Bronto’s whereabouts?"
Joshua’s eyes brightened as if he had finally made a decision, and he said, "I don’t believe that this is the appropriate place for us to talk about this."
"Uh?" Jack stared at Joshua for a moment.
"Please, let’s move somewhere," said Joshua.
Jack grinned upon noticing that Joshua had become even more polite to him.
As such, he stood up without hesitation. "Good. I'm just getting this out of the way, but if you tell me even a smidgeon of nonsense, my magic will reduce you to ashes."
It seemed Jack was confident in his own ability.
However, Joshua was also confident in his own ability to react to whatever Jack would do to him.
'I’m glad I’m still a child.'
Joshua briefly revealed a cunning smile as he gestured to the door.
"Let us move this way..."
At that, the two walked out and traveled for a while.
***
It had been quite a while since they left the eastern gate of Arcadia, and they had been walking since exiting the gate. However, arriving at a sparsely populated forest should only take a few dozen minutes at most.
As he surveyed a clearing surrounded by beautiful vegetation, Jack couldn’t help but ask, "Where do you want to go? Shouldn’t this place be enough? It’s quiet, and there’s no one else but us."
Seemingly startled, Joshua stopped walking and said, "I think this place is good enough."
"For what?" asked Jack with a puzzled look.
"We won’t have to worry about anyone else getting hurt in a remote place like this."
"Wait…" Jack held his face with one hand and muttered, "Kid… you lured me away to fight?"
“I’m pretty confident that I won’t lose to a mage in a one-on-one match.”
Jack’s pride in his swordsmanship twitched in response to Joshua’s words.
‘It seems that people can really become arrogant if they were ever acclaimed to be an unprecedented genius. Unfortunately, he’s a mere frog in the well…’
Considering Joshua’s age, he was just a kid. As such, the relaxed and confident Jack burst into laughter at Joshua’s words.
“You’re saying that a mere mage like me isn’t worth much to a great knight of the Avalon Empire? Is that what you’re saying?”
"Yes."
"But how are you going to defeat me with no weapons?"
"These are enough."
Jack laughed once more when he saw Joshua raising his beautiful fists.
"You’re insane..."
"Are you doubting me?" asked Joshua.
Jack sighed. "No, it’s not like that."
With a grin, Jack cracked his fingers and said, "Come. I'm going to show you just how insignificant a knight is in front of a mage."
At that, Joshua kicked off the ground and rushed at him.
Jack's eyes widened, and he thought to himself, 'He’s fast...'
Jack grabbed Joshua’s fist with his hand, but Joshua’s other hand was already aiming for his abdomen. However, Jack managed to stop both of Joshua’s attacks.
"...!" Joshua’s eyes widened.
Jack revealed a sleazy smile. "Are you surprised that a mere mage can react like this?"
He tightened his grip on Joshua’s hand, eliciting a scowl from the latter.
"..."
"My movement isn’t as good as a physical battle mage, but I have faith in my own field. Haste and Strength should be enough for the likes of you."
Haste and Strength were two spells that low-class mages favored, but they were powerful beyond comprehension in the hands of a high-class mage.
“Since it looks like you’re not going to tell me anything right now, should I start making you talk by beating you half to death? How about we start with these fists of yours since you have so much confidence in them?” Jack concluded with a deep smile.
Jack stared at Joshua, who was seemingly paralyzed from disbelief.
All of a sudden, Joshua yanked his hand as hard as he could away from Jack and inwardly exclaimed.
'Now!'
Joshua raised his head with bright eyes.
At the same time, a gloomy subspace appeared behind Jack.
Something emerged from the subspace, and it was radiating an aura similar to a predator hunting its prey.
“Lugia!”
Jack was startled when he turned his head.
The sound of glass being shattered reverberated afterward.
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