Chapter 122: The Burden Of The Mana Road
At Iriels words, the Lord of the Gehel Healers shook his head slightly.
No, I was just astonished by your incredible divine power, Saintess. Please forgive my rudeness.
Enough of that. Deploy troops in the academy area and send relief supplies. I have ordered the refugees to be split between Gehel and Silien for evacuation. The rest is up to you, Lord of the Healers.
With those words, she entered the fortress, seemingly reluctant to elaborate further.
The Lord of the Healers bowed deeply.
Yet his expression had not changed since the beginning.
He watched Iriels retreating figure with a stern face.
Having almost triggered a collapse with an earthquake in one area, Ray finally noticed the existence of a magic circle.
Could it be that buildings have been used to draw the magic circle?
Even Ray, who was seldom surprised, couldnt help but be astounded.
The radius of the downtown area, the structure, height, and shape of the buildings, all incorporated the runes of a magic circle.
Was it possible to design and construct every building in an area to form a magic circle?
Furthermore, this was being confirmed as more buildings were destroyed.
As the earthquake caused buildings to crumble, Ray sensed the magic circle becoming slightly distorted.
He began to view the entire downtown as a singular magic circle.
He examined the shapes and locations of the buildings, forming hypotheses about their roles within the magic circle.
If he was mistaken, he would consider other buildings and compare their orientations to the positions of the runes in the magic circle.
Through this process, he would be able to discern the type of magic circle.
If he managed to fully decipher it, he might even be able to nullify it.
Thus, he calculated with remarkable speed.
It was Ray, after all, who prided himself on using his intellect.
Formulas for the magic circles operation and the locations of the runes were quickly being reordered in Rays mind.
He transformed the buildings into a blueprint of a magic circle in his mind, comparing them to the runes.
Other magicians would have been shocked had they known what he was doing.
What Ray was doing was tantamount to deconstructing and reinterpreting each rune of an unknown magic circle.
It was impossible to know what magic the entire circle would perform, but by breaking down the runes and assembling them like a puzzle, one might discern the intended magic.
It was akin to giving primitives the blueprint of a state-of-the-art building and asking them to construct it.
Even for a brain as brilliant as a demons, the task demanded immense mental strength.
He began to feel a burning sensation in his head.
No, not this. If its just to destroy, theres no need to make it this big.
Several hypotheses quickly narrowed down the possibilities of the magic circles.
But there was nothing he could be sure of.
That was why his thoughts continued to flow incessantly.
The destruction of the buildings was temporarily halted.
If they were all demolished before he completed his interpretation, it would be impossible to discover the purpose of the magic circle.
Ray, who had been deciphering the magic circle, suddenly spat out blood.
Cough!
Red blood splattered from his mouth.
Sensing something was wrong, Ray began to check his own physical condition.
Its not dead blood, but fresh blood thats gushing out.
Black blood being spat out meant that the body was producing antibodies and fighting back.
But fresh blood pouring out?
That indicated a serious issue.
Ray, just to be cautious, gathered mana around himself.
He then cast a healing spell on himself.
Heal.
Whooosh
Blue mana seeped into his body, glowing brightly.
Ray, feeling faint from the sudden blood loss, pressed his forehead and shook his head.
The sudden onset of physical abnormalities had taken him aback.
But after casting Heal on himself, he started to feel slightly better.
What on earth is happening
Despite casting a healing spell, his ears began to ring slightly, and his eyes felt dry.
Yet, he couldnt afford to stop interpreting the magic circle.
Although there werent many people left in the academy area, the issue concerned an entire region.
Ray continued to decipher the arrangement of runes and buildings.
Even knowing his body was in an unusual state, he couldnt stop.
Had it been almost an hour? Little by little, Ray began to unravel the magic circle.
Interpreting the runes of such a massive magic circle based on just one piece was nearly impossible.
Yet, he managed to do the impossible.
At that moment, he felt the magic circle activate.
Kwoooah!
A sound like a waterfall crashing down echoed as a massive amount of mana concentrated in the magic circle began to move.
But the flow of mana was peculiar.
Instead of converging in one place, it started to disperse like fog.
The mana began to bind Ray.
It was no longer the atmospheres mana he could manipulate.
Rather, it had become uncontrollable, being manipulated by the magic circle.
Ray started to push the oppressing mana outward.
The movement was familiar yet strangely discomforting.
Was it monotonous yet natural, with an underlying sense of unease?
His spine chilled.
Could it be
This magic circle wasnt designed to destroy the region, nor to annihilate all life.
It was a magic circle intended to bind a single individual.
Whoever the target might be, it seemed like a contingency plan set for the future.
A magic circle to lure and seal the target.
Yes, like the curse that had put Aira to sleep for twenty years.
Aira had once said, Its more like a curse than a disease.
Was this what she meant?
Now that the magic circle had activated, there was no escape.
The only option was to resist here and now.
Ray gathered as much mana as he could from the surroundings and pushed against the overwhelming mana pouring from the magic circle.
For Ray, who could tap into the nearby mana, such an amount was sufficient to mount a defense.
However, the real problem was elsewhere.
Argh!
He coughed up more red blood.
Utilizing the atmospheric mana was taxing his internal mana pathways.
Under normal circumstances, he could easily manage this quantity of mana.
But he had just razed numerous buildings with the artificially induced earthquake.
The amount of mana he expended was monumental.
Yet for Ray, mana limitations were not a concern; they did not apply to him.
The issue pertained to the mana pathways he employed to harness that power.
Despite Rays access to an infinite mana supply, his mana pathways could not sustain such boundless energy indefinitely.
Even though Ray had mana pathways more robust and expansive than those of other magicians, they were still not designed to handle an infinite influx of mana.
Naturally, drawing in such copious amounts of mana would overtax them.
For any single magician to continuously trigger earthquakes of that scale, it would be unrealistic to expect no repercussions unless one possessed divine capabilities.
Even sorcerers of the highest circles endangered their mana pathways when casting spells.
For Ray, this danger presented itself as hemoptysis, compelling him to expel fresh blood.
Feeling a hint of dizziness, Ray shook his head, trying to regain his composure.
Now was not the time to be concerned about his bleeding.
Should he halt the flow of mana for even a moment, the magic circles energy would consume him.
Had he anticipated this outcome, he would have avoided the area affected by the magic circle.
I was too overconfident!
His belief in his own strength had convinced him that he could safeguard his life, even against something as formidable as a magic circle.
His confidence was not unfounded, given his history of prevailing in battles, even against dragons.
His first priority was to escape.
Only by leaving the affected area could he consider alternative solutions.
Just as Ray prepared to make his move, a noise caught his attention.
Krrrrrr
Khaaaak!
Several monsters began to emerge around him, as though the timing had been orchestrated.
These monsters
Ignoring Ray, the monsters began moving in their own directionsnorth and south, toward Silien and Gehel.
Were they targeting the refugees?
Grinding his teeth, Ray conjured a sword in his hand.
Woong-woong-
Even creating that single sword caused a slight strain.
This was probably due to the burden on the mana road and the activation elements of the magic circle.
Forget everything else now. Kill the monsters and expel the mana from the magic circle.
It might seem absurd, but it was the only solution.
Failure would mean being overrun by the magic circle.
Moreover, he couldnt even fathom what would happen if the mana overwhelmed him.
While it might not cost him his life, he wouldnt escape unharmed either.
Ray plunged into the monsters, deftly severing their vital arteries.
Swoosh-
Khaaaak!
Kyaaaak!
With a single strike, dozens of monsters bled out and collapsed to the ground.
But their numbers were far greater.
The pressure mounted on Ray as he watched them.
This is madness.
The monsters advancing toward Silien were not to be taken lightly.
Of course, he could kill them all if he resolved to do so, but that would jeopardize his own safety.
Suddenly, Mass image flashed before his eyes.
The sight of her cradling her deceased brother, Chris, weeping inconsolably, passed through his mind.
If he failed to halt their advance here, he might witness such a scene once more.
Ray exhaled deeply.
Whew this is really maddening.
Despite his words, his grip on the sword strengthened with resolve.
The swords path elegantly arced, claiming the lives of the monsters.
Swoosh- Stab-
Stabs and slashes flowed seamlessly like water, toppling the front line of monsters.
With each blow, Ray felt a pulsing in his mana road.
Although he had expended a significant amount of mana, it was unusual for the mana road to ache so suddenly and sharply.
The strain on the mana road was likely a consequence of the magic circle.
With such an immense amount of mana forcefully oppressing him, he had to push back with at least an equivalent amount.
Maintaining his aura while resisting the magic circle and battling monsters inevitably taxed him.
Moreover, the mana used for the Earthquake to demolish the buildings far surpassed that used for casting a fake Meteor.
Such extensive use of the mana road could naturally lead to this outcome, although he hadnt realized it because he had never used so much mana before.
Wiping the blood from his lips, Ray, looking quite pale, charged again toward the monsters.
Had he ever been in such a bad state since arriving in this other world?
Definitely not.
The current situation was extremely dire.
A brief rest might have helped, but the magic circle and the monsters gave him no respite.
Ray, having cut through the lead monster, was momentarily slow in responding to the mana.
In that brief lapse, mana from the magic circle began to infiltrate him.
He instantly felt his body become heavy and a drowsiness envelop him.
Yes, now he recognized it.
This familiar flow and scent of mana.
The sweet, fruit-like aroma reminded him of the incident in the elf village.
Though he didnt know the exact nature of the magic, it was identical to the one cast on Aira.
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