Chapter 236: I Am Going to Kill You (3)

Keter, the guest of honor, Krona, the Lord of the West, and Princess Iris stood at the center of the party, surrounded by a packed crowd. However, not everyone had crowded in; a number of nobles held their ground. Most were elderly nobles, but among them, one young noble stood out in particular.

“

Tsk,

how dare they treat me with such disrespect?”

This man, who looked like someone important, was Schumar El Oaxford. In the Lilian Kingdom, he was famous for being the youngest person to reach the six-circle realm, and he was the rising mage that the Four Mage Towers were desperate to recruit.

“They don’t even give someone like me a second glance?!”

He ground his teeth.

“I even came wearing the empire’s latest mage fashion...!”

Normally, a mage wore a wide-brimmed pointed hat, a robe, and a staff set with a mana stone. But the current trend replaced the hat with a circlet made of mana stones, gloves woven from mana silk, and garments of amantir thread.

It was a new fashion trend that cast off the stuffy old mage image while keeping practicality, and it was exactly the outfit Schumar wore today. He hadn’t come to the party to get close to Keter; he had come to draw more attention to himself.

My father told me to see if Sefira had a library of magic books since I’m here, but that was unnecessary.

Sefira had nothing to do with magic. Keter’s magic-like archery was his alone; observation made that clear.

“You say I must drink this wine if I want to speak? How utterly childish.”

Schumar stared at the glass in his hand. It contained the Fist Emperor’s liquor that Keter had dispensed with telekinesis.

“Getting drunk from drinking is something only fools do.”

Gulp!

It didn’t smell strong at all, so Schumar tipped it back and swallowed it all.

Hm? The aroma and flavor are on a whole different level from any liquor I’ve had before.

A lemon scent brushed his nose, and the sweet-bitter taste of orange clung to his tongue.

What a pity. It was a drink worth savoring. Well, I can always ask for more. I can drink as much as I like.

As a mage, Schumar could neutralize drunkenness with mana. He always did so at drinking gatherings and had never once gotten drunk. He now prepared to do the same: dispel the intoxication with mana.

Ugh? Why is the drunkenness coming on so fast, so strong? I need to get rid of it quickly.

He was a six-circle mage and was concentrating his power to dispel the buzz. In such a case, no matter how potent the liquor, it should be powerless before mana, yet...

“I-it won’t neutralize? Ugh, my head!”

The Fist Emperor’s liquor could not be neutralized. This phenomenon struck not only Schumar using magic but also knights using aura.

“Ugh!”

The nobles gasping and clutching their chests had tried to detoxify the Fist Emperor’s liquor and been hit by a backlash. Meanwhile, those who simply drank it were indeed drunk, but pleasantly so and unaware of what had happened.

“My goodness, I’ve never had such delicious liquor.”

“

Hiccup!

Lord Keter! One more cup!”

Boom-boom!

Ding! Ding! De ding!

With the brisk upbeat music and the liquor’s influence combined, the tension melted away. Seeing Keter himself was out there spraying drinks around while ignoring Krona and Iris, everyone was able to relax and enjoy the party.

“Hahaha! There’s plenty of drink!”

Wine poured from the barrel and filled empty cups on its own. This was also Keter’s telekinesis doing the work. The drunken nobles cheered, but Schumar viewed Keter differently.

“Wha... what is...You can still use mana after drinking this? And telekinetically manipulate liquids? Not to one person, but to dozens at once!”

Keter filled dozens of cups precisely without spilling a drop. Others didn’t seem to realize how difficult and complex that was.

“What barbarians! What Keter is doing now is something even a grand mage couldn’t do!”

But Schumar’s outcry was drowned out by the music and the crowd’s cheers.

“Guh, this is absurd. There’s no way he can do what I cannot!”

Drunk for the first time, Schumar’s reason was numbed by the intoxication. In place of reason, only the desire to be noticed remained.

He downed a second cup in one go, staggered, and collided with a passing waiter.

Clatter! Thud!

The tray of cheese toppled onto Schumar.

“M-My lord! Are you all right? I’ll wipe you off!”

The waiter hurriedly offered a handkerchief, but Schumar roughly brushed the hand away and walked on. He shuffled like a zombie until he reached the spot where Keter stood.

* * *

“Keter! Do you remember me? We fought at the Sword of the South Tournament, during the battle royale!”

“I don’t remember anyone who went down in one hit!”

“That’s cruel!”

“Lord Keter! I am the heir of the Eiwen family. I’ve come to atone for the sins our former patriarch committed against Sefira!”

“You are forgiven!”

“Ahh, what a noble and magnanimous man you are! I am deeply grateful!”

“I am Roan of the Dallington family, the raging bull of the western plains! Lord Keter, I challenge you to a manly bare-fisted duel!”

Thud!

“Next!”

Keter was responding to each person who crowded around him, one by one. He was handling one person every five seconds, but it seemed endless. That was when...

“Everyone, get lost!”

The nobles waiting their turn turned toward the loud shout. The voice sounded young and drunk; they were ready to scold him, figuring it came from someone of lower rank or influence.

“Sch–Schumar?”

“The second son of Oaxford.”

“But... he looks kind of out of it, doesn’t he?”

Though young, Schumar was a six-circle mage, on the brink of becoming a grand mage. As the heir of the kingdom’s most prestigious mage family, there were few who dared stand in his way.

Parting the crowd, Schumar strode straight up to Keter, who met his gaze.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“You think you’re so great?”

“I am.”

“You’re just an archer! I’m way better at magic than you! I challenge you to a telekinesis duel!”

Not satisfied with bragging about the obvious, Schumar even went so far as to challenge Keter to a telekinesis duel, which was exclusive to mages. There was absolutely no reason for Keter, an archer, to accept a telekinesis duel meant for mages, but...

“Sure! But how do you do that?”

Keter never backed down from a challenge, even if it wasn’t his specialty.

“Ha! You don’t even know? Figures—you’re an archer! A telekinesis duel is, uh... a contest to see who can do the most amazing thing with telekinesis!”

“Sounds simple. You go first.”

“Fine! Just don’t faint from amazement! Huuup!”

With a sharp yell, Schumar’s cloak flared dramatically. Even the drunk nobles stepped back at the surge of magic. When he was only halfway drunk, Schumar couldn’t control his mana at all, but once he was completely intoxicated, it was different—he could handle his mana with even finer precision than when he was sober.

“I’ll show you the secret spell of Oaxford: Telekinetic Chanting!”

Eight hands of pure mana materialized around Schumar and began forming hand seals.

“Four skills at once?!”

“As expected of Schumar, the prodigy of magic!”

The nobles gasped in awe as Schumar simultaneously invoked four spells at once.

He grinned smugly.

Heh, how about that, Keter? Impressed yet?

Schumar stared at Keter, expecting him to be stunned at his power. However...

“Oh, that’s it?”

“W-what?!”

“Four skills at once isn’t that rare. Even a stray dog could do that.”

“Grrgh!”

Of course, using four skills at once was extremely rare, but not enough for Keter to be amazed. Seeing true boredom on Keter’s face, Schumar felt the last threads of his sanity snap.

“Fine! Watch closely! I, Schumar, will become the greatest mage in this kingdom! Uoooooh!”

He began forming seals with his own hands too, now casting five spells simultaneously. This was so risky that even Schumar had to stake his life to use it. Its success rate was extremely low, yet he attempted it under the influence of alcohol just to win a mere duel.

“This is my ultimate quintuple fusion spell: Phoenix Blade!!”

Kwaaahh!!!

A massive magic circle appeared above him. A scorching fire so hot that it could smelt engulfed the hall. If Krona, who was observing with interest, hadn’t raised a protective barrier, ninety percent of the guests would have died on the spot.

“Woooahhh!!”

Completely unaware he’d nearly caused a massacre, Schumar hurled Phoenix Blade into the sky. The fiery sword that could burn and cut through anything split the night sky. For a brief moment, the world turned bright as day.

The Phoenix Blade was a seven-circle fusion spell, yet Schumar, a six-circle mage, had just cast it flawlessly.

Whoosh!

Phoenix Blade vanished into the night sky, then rained down in a shower of embers that glittered like starlight. The nobles were speechless at the breathtaking sight.

“Oh! So this is the might of Oaxford!”

“It was as amazing as an eight-circle spell!”

Clap, clap, clap!

The nobles applauded in delight, completely ignorant to the fact that they had almost been roasted alive.

Schumar panted after draining all of his mana and stamina, but he still smiled, knowing that he had outshone Keter at this instant.

“How about that, Keter? What can you do with telekinesis? If you’re scared, just give up now, haha!”

Having seen Schumar’s quintuple fusion magic spell that used Telekenesis Chanting, Keter finally nodded slightly.

“Not bad.”

“Not bad? That’s all? Let’s see what you can do!”

Without a word, Keter extended his clenched fists. When he slowly opened them..

Clink! Clatter!

A rain of jewelry fell from his hands, including brooches, earrings, and necklaces.

“...?”

The nobles blinked, confused. It was cool to see jewelry falling from empty hands, but so what? It didn’t mean anything.

“Wait.. That brooch looks familiar...?”

One noble picked it up, and his eyes went wide.

“W-what?! That’s my brooch! It was pinned to my chest! When did he?!”

He fumbled at his chest in panic, and the others quickly followed.

“That’s my earring!”

“My ring too?!”

Everyone scrambled to retrieve their stolen accessories. Keter smiled faintly and turned to Schumar.

“You should grab yours too, Schumar. This one’s yours, right?” Keter said.

He bent down to pick up a circlet and held it up for Schumar.

“...”

With his eyes half-closed, Schumar glanced at the circlet Keter was golding, then patted his head. His circlet was indeed gone.

“You... took that with telekinesis? When?!”

“When you didn’t expect it, duh.”

This was telekinetic pickpocketing.

“R-remarkable, Lord Keter! I didn’t notice a thing!”

“Had he not told us, we wouldn’t have realized until the party was over!”

While most nobles praised Keter in amazement, some nobles trembled in fear.

He stole my necklace without me feeling a thing. If he had been an assassin, I’d be dead without realizing anything.

To snatch dozens of items at once... Chilling!

It wasn’t as flashy as Schumar’s spell, but it was the precision of Keter’s telekinesis that impressed the nobles.

Then Keter grinned again.

“I’m not done yet.”

He spread his arms wide, and then the nobles around him began falling to their knees.

“Ah! Ooh!”

“O-oh! That’s... a sensitive spot!”

“S... So refreshing!”

Men and women alike were deep in pleasure, eyes half-closed.

“A telekinetic massage,” Keter said with a smile.

Shumar trembled as he felt Keter’s telekinesis massaging his scalp. It was so blissfully relieving that his whole body shook, enough that, to onlookers, he looked downright furious. Either way, Keter’s telekinetic display wasn’t over yet.

“Telekinetic sculpting!”

The fruit decorations around the hall were instantly carved into perfect statues.

“Telekinetic knights!”

Dozens of suits of armor assembled themselves and lined up in formation.

Keter dusted off his hands.

“Eh, that’s about it.”

The nobles erupted in cheers of admiration, but when it came to declaring a winner, most favored Schumar.

“Lord Keter’s telekinesis was incredible, but Schumar’s magic was more dazzling.”

“I’ve never seen a quintuple fusion spell before! He’s not even a grand mage yet!”

“I’m sorry to say, but I think Schumar wins this one.”

The overwhelming flash of the Phoenix Blade had swayed them all.

Thud!

“Shut up, all of you!”

Schumar slammed the table with his fist, his head lowered. The nobles froze; his voice was trembling, as if he was about to start a fight.

Keter waited with his hand resting at his hip, as if he was waiting for Schumar to attack him. And before long, Schumar stood before him.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

Bowing so low his forehead touched the floor, Schumar shouted, “Lord Keter! Please take me as your student!”

* * *

In the garden by the pond far from the party hall, Anis let out a faint chuckle as he watched the Phoenix Blade soar into the sky.

“Good thing I slipped out early.”

The moment Keter brought out the Fist Emperor’s Liquor, Anis had quickly left the hall. He could already see what was bound to happen next.

“If Keter’s the one offering the drink, it won’t be anything ordinary. Tonight’s not a night I want to get drunk.”

Sipping the wine Keter had dismissed as plain water, Anis looked up at the night sky. In his eyes flickered both relief and a trace of bitterness.

Just then, he sensed someone’s presence and turned his head.

“Oh my, what a coincidence, Lord Anis. I’m Aru of the Lazuli family of the north.”

As he saw the young lady bow gracefully, lifting the ends of her dress, Anis sighed inwardly.

The party had drawn many young noblewomen of marriageable age. They were sent by families eager to form ties with Sefira. These women had all been extremely forward in their courtship.

Their real target must have been Keter, of course.

But with Krona and Iris seated on either side of him, no one would dare approach Keter directly.

So they’ve turned to me instead, seeing me as the easy one. Are women’s hearts truly so fickle?

Though he was unamused, Anis hid any hint of that on his face.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Aru of Lazuli.”

“Oh, there’s no need to be so formal. It’s just the two of us here, isn’t it? I heard the Lillian Kingdom is known as the most liberal kingdom on the continent, after all.”

“What do you mean by that, my lady?”

“Hehe, pretending not to know. How adorable.”

Aru gave him a teasing, seductive smile and stepped closer. And then...

Tap!

“Ahh!!”

With a startled cry, Aru stumbled forward, as if she had tripped on a stone, and fell toward Anis. She looked frightened, but hidden in her palm was a sharp, concealed dagger.