Chapter 499: Rematch

A piece of paper flew towards Oliver. He tried to block it with his Emotion Robe, but quickly realized it was a mistake.

Thud…

A much heavier impact sounded compared to before, sending Oliver flying backward.

The paper wasn’t meant to cut but to push. Oliver, who was prepared to counter a slicing attack, ended up getting easily knocked back with terrible pain surging from his right arm.

“Rule two of fighting: Your opponent isn’t a wooden block. They won’t always react the same way.”

It was an obvious fact, yet one easily forgotten.

Because Oliver himself did not react the same way every time.

“Minions, swarm and attack.”

As he flew backward, Oliver released 30 Minions he’d hidden under his cloak.

These Minions were the first creatures Oliver ever made.

They were initially designed to deliver unexpected strikes to an off-guard opponent or launch a surprise attack on approaching enemies, but now their usage had slightly changed.

Inspired by the small Golems used by Claude, Puppet’s disciple, whom Oliver met on the New Continent, Oliver decided to use the Minions to form a squad and attack Merlin.

He didn’t expect them to cause fatal damage, but at least they could draw Merlin’s attention. However, that hope was quickly shattered when Merlin waved his hand.

Whoosh…

The Mana in Merlin’s palm responded to the Mana in the air under his control, forming a powerful gust of wind that effortlessly pushed back the approaching Minions.

And that was just the beginning.

Thick snowflakes riding on the intense wind stuck to the Minions and spread over them like mold, completely covering them.

Thump. Thud…

The Minions fell helplessly to the ground. Oliver, seeing this, wasn’t sure how to react. He had hoped they’d at least create an opening, but they were too easily defeated.

“When you let your opponent take control of the battlefield, problems like this arise. Everything becomes an enemy, a weapon.”

“I see.”

Oliver replied as he focused the stored Mana within his body into his feet, spreading it across the ground.

He planned to use the environment, as Merlin advised. However, the icy ground remained silent. This was because Merlin had also imbued it with his Mana, exerting control.

Rumble…

The two sets of Mana clashed, trying to seize control, causing cracks to appear in the icy ground.

Hundreds of Mana strands ferociously battled, eventually tipping the scales in one direction.

“I’m quite skilled in control battles too.”

To prove his point, Merlin immediately suppressed Oliver’s Mana, reclaiming control of the ground, and made multiple oval-shaped icebergs erupt around Oliver.

Crash! Boom!

The oval icebergs, ranging from 3 to 5 meters tall, shot up like blind bullets one after another, recklessly hammering and threatening Oliver.

These random assaults were even more dangerous to Oliver, who relied on reading the flow of Mana and emotions to predict attack locations.

Oliver tried to avoid the attacks by wrapping himself in the Black Suit and utilizing his enhanced physical abilities.

With the reflexes and physical strength gained from consuming the Flesh Cook’s hand flesh, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Twinge!

But it wasn’t that simple. Every time he tried to move too vigorously, the excruciating pain from his burned right arm flared up.

Because of this, Oliver had to change his evasion strategy, focusing on reading the flow of Mana to dodge the icebergs with minimal movement.

Taking control of the area would have been the easiest and most effective, but that wasn’t possible, leaving him with no other choice.

“Rule three of fighting: Things don’t usually go the way you want.”

“Thank you for the lesson.”

As Oliver etched Merlin’s teachings into his bones along with burning pain, he twisted his body each time the Mana under the ground exploded, continuing to evade the icebergs.

To be honest, it wasn’t easy. The icebergs, harder than steel, were intimidating, and with each eruption, the space for evasion decreased.

Nevertheless, Oliver dodged all the icebergs.

Thunk!!

Suddenly, a spike shot out from one of the rising icebergs, piercing Oliver’s back.

He turned around to see a delicate spell quietly nestled within the wide-area spell chaos.

To put it in simple terms, it was like a sniper hiding among artillery troops.

Merlin had hidden a precise targeting spell within the broad spell, activating it at the perfect moment.

Fortunately, Oliver had also prepared a counter.

Crackling!

The moment Oliver summoned the Emotion Robe and Black Suit over his body, he unraveled like a spool of thread, transforming into hundreds of fine tendrils.

The tendrils spread out, grabbed hold of the icebergs Merlin had created, and yanked them from the ground, hurling them towards Merlin.

Dozens of ice chunks arced through the sky, blotting out the sun.

Merlin admired the feat yet didn’t panic, gathering Mana in his left hand—an amount unimaginable for an average sorcerer.

As Mana gathered, blue sparks crackled in his hand. He then reached out, launching lightning at the incoming ice.

[Chain Lightning]

With the chant, dozens of lightning bolts shot out through Merlin’s fingertips.

The bolts struck the ice chunks with precision, reacting to the ice on impact, exploding with a light display like fireworks, shattering with dull yet sharp sounds of rock and glass.

Shards of ice, like powdered glass, scattered in the air, creating a beautiful sight.

“What was that dark magic technique just now?”

“Angler’s Bait. A technique I learned on the New Continent. A dark magic spell that becomes stronger when you deceive your opponent.”

Oliver suddenly emerged from the shadow that had approached close to Merlin.

The moment he left the shadow, Oliver merged Ptah’s Assistant and the Emotion Robe into a massive black hand, stretching it towards Merlin.

His plan was to grab and Extract, thinking it would give him an advantage.

However, Merlin quickly responded by summoning an ice wall to block the enormous black hand.

A massive ice wall erupted from the ground with a force that shook the earth. Given the amount of Mana contained within, it was likely as strong as an iceberg, yet Oliver’s black hand had previously subdued an Ogre over 5 meters tall in one fell swoop.

Oliver didn’t hesitate and continued to extend the black hand, smashing the ice wall head-on.

“Such strength.”

As soon as the ice wall shattered, sending icy dust into the air, Merlin tore apart Oliver’s black hand by throwing multiple pieces of paper at it.

The black hand was powerful but was inevitably cut by the paper, which concentrated Mana on a single line to elevate its sharpness to the extreme. Still, Oliver wasn’t bothered.

Even after being shredded into tatters, the black hand could be reassembled into multiple hands, like the heads of a Hydra.

Oliver controlled the emotions and Mana, projecting the image in his mind.

The tattered black hand then split into over a dozen hands, large and small. Some worked on Extracting Merlin’s Mana and life force, while others reached out to physically grab him.

“Cough!”

Just as Oliver was about to seize Merlin, he coughed. His respiratory system felt an uncomfortable mix of cold and heat.

At first, he wasn’t sure what it was, but a quick look around revealed the cause.

Some of the shattered pieces of the previous icebergs had entered Oliver’s respiratory system, causing internal damage.

A panicked Oliver covered his mouth, causing him to momentarily halt.

Merlin didn’t miss that opportunity. He folded space and instantly moved backward, increasing the distance between them, causing massive icebergs to shoot up from all sides, both surrounding and physically separating him from Oliver.

It was quite frustrating. Not just because he was being pushed back, but because this wasn’t even a fight to win in the first place. He had never expected to lose the initiative to this extent.

Oliver had believed that by landing a high-powered spell in a critical moment, he could somehow regain control and create a better flow of battle. But incredibly, Merlin hadn’t allowed even a single opening.

Merlin was using solid magic basics to thoroughly drive Oliver into a corner, gaining an advantage by utilizing the environment and chaining techniques. His skill was nothing short of impressive—from the magic itself to the responsive techniques and reflexes in combat.

‘Yet it’s not a total loss,’

Oliver thought as he clutched the small amount of Merlin’s Mana and life force he’d managed to gather. It wasn’t much, and emotions couldn’t be extracted at all since they were blocked by a wall of Mana, but it was still satisfying.

Clap, clap, clap.

[Impressive.]

Merlin’s voice echoed like the cold between the ice walls surrounding them.

[I never thought you’d be able to steal both Mana and life force.]

“Thank you for the compliment. Honestly, I wanted to extract the emotions as well, but that proved to be impossible.”

[Don’t go trying to steal an old man’s innermost feelings. That’s embarrassing, isn’t it?]

Merlin joked.

[Still, it’s remarkable. Extracting during combat is no easy feat. A single slip-up could cost you your life.]

“Cough… You know, you’re absolutely right.”

[I am from the Archive, after all.]

Merlin said it like an unbeatable trump card. It wasn’t an unreasonable claim.

[That being said, shall we continue?]

“Yes?”

[I thought the outcome was already clear. If I just drag this out, I win.]

Oliver quickly understood what Merlin meant.

The ice particles that had entered his respiratory system were steadily dealing continuous damage. It wasn’t immediately fatal, but as time went on, the situation would change.

And that wasn’t all. The environment under Merlin’s control was also working against Oliver.

The continuous snowfall not only obstructed Oliver’s vision but clung to his body, adding weight like lead. The increasingly colder temperature also gradually froze both his Black Suit and the Emotion Robe.

This was something only possible due to the combination of cold and Mana.

Moreover, the icebergs towering over even the surrounding buildings had isolated and trapped Oliver like a rat in a cage.

Just like Merlin said, staying put would mean certain defeat for Oliver.

Snow fell from the sky.

Cold that could freeze even emotions.

Earth from which Oliver had lost control.

Everything around him was designed to restrain and threaten him.

“I’m sorry, elder… Could we continue a bit longer?”

“Of course, why not? I’m not the one getting hurt, after all.”

Oliver almost repeated, “Yes?” but Merlin acted before he could.

The ice walls, which had been erected in all directions, tightened around him like a living creature, pressing down on Oliver.

As the ice walls constricted, the cold around him intensified to the point where his fingers could barely move.

Fortunately, Oliver’s body, strengthened by the Flesh Cook’s flesh, resisted the cold enough to allow him to move. Oliver struck his Quarterstaff into the ground and pulled out a branch and a vial infused with natural power from his chest.

Crash!

The icebergs, which had silently closed in on him, raised clouds of ice powder.

But Oliver remained calm, Extracting natural energy with one hand while blending in the life force and Mana he’d taken from Merlin. He also mixed in the emotions pulled from the Emotion Robe.

‘Too bad it’s not the crimson branch. It won’t be as effective as I had hoped.’

Oliver mentally noted that he’d have to retrieve the crimson branch after this was over and then buried the amalgamated materials into the ice-covered ground.

[Dark Magic – Creation Series: Cold Wood]

[Dark Magic: Parasite]

[Druid’s Sorcery: Rapid Growth]

—

Oliver unleashed a similar yet slightly evolved spell technique previously used in his fight against Fen.

It was a combination of artificial soul and natural energy rather than emotions and natural power. He had two main reasons for employing such a technique.

The first was that he wanted to advance the technique used against Fen rather than relying on the exact same move.

The second was his desire to not just force together the incompatible elements of wood and cold but to create a synergy out of them.

So he activated a creation-based dark magic spell using artificial souls as a medium.

When it comes to impossible combinations, the creation series was thought to be the best adhesive, and Oliver’s expectations were met.

Wood and cold. Two elements that could not coexist were bound together by the name of the creation series, creating a paradoxical life-form.

A cold tree that swiftly grew by consuming the cold and the cold Mana within.

Whoosh!!

The gray branches, now imbued with life, took root in the icy ground, expanding their domain.

The roots were tough enough to survive in the hard and cold ice.

The robust roots squeezed between chunks of ice, feeding on the cold Mana within to grow even larger, eventually halting the advance of the icebergs.

But that wasn’t all. The creature that had consumed Merlin’s vast Mana grew trees sporadically around Oliver following his will.

Cold, dead, yet living trees, speckled in white and gray.

These cold trees sprouted eyes instead of green leaves, indicating to Oliver where Merlin was.

“There you are.”

After pinpointing Merlin’s location, Oliver attached a paper imbued with portal magic onto his Quarterstaff and hurled it into the sky.

[Black Javelin]

The Quarterstaff, partially coated with the Emotion Robe, soared high into the air, and once it reached its maximum height, Oliver chanted additional spells.

[Targeting]

[Strengthen]

[Heavily]

[Acceleration]

Once the spells were cast, the Quarterstaff in the sky locked onto its target, its head tilted downward, and its weight and strength increased. It then shot downwards, a streak of destruction aimed at Merlin beyond the ice walls.

Through the cold trees, Oliver was able to indirectly see it all.

Merlin tried to erect an ice wall to block the Quarterstaff, but for the first time today, the earth didn’t move as Merlin intended.

Even though Merlin controlled the land, the cold trees rooted in it physically hindered him.

Meanwhile, the Quarterstaff hurtled towards Merlin at a speed incomprehensible to the human eye, and in a flash, it reached the tip of Merlin’s nose.

Boom!!!

A colossal shockwave ripped through the air, blurring the atmosphere.

Merlin had swung a book to strike Oliver’s Quarterstaff. Remarkably, the Quarterstaff, imbued with the Black Javelin, Targeting, Strengthen, Heavily, and Acceleration spells, shattered upon contact with the book, spinning into the air before embedding itself in the ground.

What kind of book could be that sturdy? It was something worth questioning.

‘Can’t ask right now, though.’

Oliver set aside his curiosity for the moment and made a request of the cold trees.

The trees tore and disrupted the ground, sprawling messily in all directions, and Oliver took out the paper infused with portal magic from his chest. This was the counterpart to the one he’d attached to the Quarterstaff.

As he threw the paper, a violet portal appeared in the air, and Oliver plunged into it without hesitation, closing the distance between him and Merlin beyond the ice walls.

“You’ve surprised me twice today.”

“Thank you. But there might be a third time.”

Oliver spoke while looking around at the gray trees surrounding both him and Merlin.

As requested, the cold trees had turned their surroundings into a massive gray forest.

With the kindling ready, Oliver gathered all the remaining Mana and emotion in his body, creating Devouring Fire, before shouting.

[Cold Forest Feeder Fire]

With the chant, black flames devoured the cold trees, creating a massive blaze that could be seen beyond the horizon, engulfing the frozen ground beneath both Oliver and Merlin.