Chapter 508: Excessive Equipment

Magic, which is now divided into numerous branches, including space, life, World Tree, pure magic power, magitech, and alchemy.

Among them, the oldest and still most influential is none other than elemental magic.

Elemental magic is based on the elements that make up nature.

Generally, it’s categorized into the Agni Faction of fire, Gaia Faction of earth, Enlil Faction of air, Skadi Faction of ice, and Mjolnir Faction of thunder. Each faction has distinct characteristics.

The Gaia Faction and Enlil Faction have high physical strength and geographic abilities to draw upon the power of nature anywhere.

The Skadi Faction excels in using ice that can physically manifest the caster’s will and frigid cold energy to freeze like poison.

The Mjolnir Faction, as expected, has lightning-fast speed and destructive power.

Of course, the Agni Faction has its own unique traits.

Intense and sustained firepower, body enhancement through heat energy, and above all, the high heat generated from flames with unimaginable attack range.

“But, what are you? What the hell are you, monster!!”

Hogg, surrounded by flames, roared at Oliver.

He converted the flames around his body into heat energy, enhancing his physical abilities to the extreme, and launched into a frenzied assault.

It was hard to keep up with, even with normal eyes.

With each blink, his attacks shifted from knife stabs to punches, punches to kicks, relentlessly pinning his opponent down. The angles of his attacks constantly changed, leaving no openings.

Each strike was a deadly blow, capable of taking a life.

It became clear why Hogg had taken such a suspicious request, rejecting Dave’s offer, despite Dave’s rising influence in Randa.

His strength wearing the Armor of Inphy was like combining the power of many magicians and skilled magic users into one, pushed to the extreme.

Not only could he reclaim lost territory, but he could even expand it.

Yet, all his attacks were being blocked now.

By Oliver, who was skinny and couldn’t even use one hand properly.

“Urgh…!”

Hogg threw continuous attacks without a break—knife thrusts, low kicks, elbow strikes, wild slashes—

But Oliver deflected the knife with a magic shield, stepped back to dodge the kick, blocked the elbow with the shield again, and calmly evaded every blade with the minimal movement.

As mentioned before, it was a speed impossible to follow with ordinary eyesight. However, his excellent Warlock’s Eye and enhanced kinetic vision, thanks to consuming Flesh Cook’s flesh, made it possible.

Thus, despite launching an onslaught, Hogg began to grow increasingly anxious.

But that alone wasn’t the problem.

Even if it’s strange for a magician or warlock to have such close-combat skills, it isn’t impossible. Depending on talent and effort, it’s a level one could reach, although inefficient.

The real oddity was this.

[Flame Spurt]

Hogg channeled his spell through the Armor of Inphy, releasing the flames stored within it all at once.

The flames were so dense it felt like water, pouring down around like a flood, but Oliver deployed a triangle-shaped shield, infused with the nature of flame magic, to divert the torrent.

The best way to block flame magic is indeed flame magic.

As he blocked the attack using minimal magic power, Hogg, clad in Armor of Inphy, rushed forward and began hammering Oliver’s shield with a fist reinforced by pure magic like a sledgehammer.

Boom! Boom!! Boom! Boom!! Boom!!

Amid the dense flames, Hogg kept his form straight and swung with precision, his fist smashing into the shield.

When the shield began reaching its limit, Hogg drew back his fist, absorbing the flames and air around him to concentrate energy into one arm.

Ssssssss!!

The Armor of Inphy on Hogg’s fist turned bright red, absorbing nearby flames and air into a vortex.

Seeing this, Oliver infused his Quarterstaff with magic power, grabbed it with his left hand, and swung it upwards from below.

Boom━━!!

As Hogg swung his fist, a massive explosion warped the surrounding air.

The explosion shattered the already cracked shield, enveloping Oliver, but the overwhelming blast split before Oliver’s upward swing of his Quarterstaff, parting like a sea.

“Aaaarrgh… No way!”

Hogg screamed in shock, his attack countered and one of his arms broken. After all, Hogg had the advantage in sheer energy.

The reason his attack had split so easily was simple. Oliver’s magic embedded in the Quarterstaff was far more delicate and dense.

It was like mimicking Merlin’s Paper and books, akin to a rock-sized egg colliding with a fist-sized lump of metal.

“Urrrgh…!”

Despite the pain of his broken arm, Hogg swiftly regained focus, drawing a knife from his side and delivering a surprise thrust at Oliver. It was a move filled with the fierce determination of a berserker.

Bang━━!!

But even his determination was crushed by Oliver slamming down his raised Quarterstaff.

Both of Hogg’s arms were broken and torn apart by the Quarterstaff, leaving him critically injured and unable to continue fighting. At that moment, the Armor of Inphy began to reattach his broken arms back together.

However, it was at the cost of invading the user’s body, consuming their life force, and causing them significant harm.

‘As expected,’

Oliver thought as he comprehended the danger of the Armor of Inphy.

Of course, it was normal. The more powerful a Black Magic item is, the higher the danger.

If what you have is a Black Magic item that enhances combat power by combining the abilities of many magicians and magic users, then there’s naturally a corresponding risk.

The problem is that the risk affects the user’s emotions and directly harms the physical body.

The mixed, mangled appearance of his broken arms intertwined with the Armor of Inphy is evidence of that.

Oliver was about to explain the danger to Hogg, someone somewhat similar to Duncan from the Tower of Magic.

“Hogg, that Armor of Inphy you’re wearing is dangerous-”

[-Overheat]

Hogg chanted while restoring his arms. Immediately, the Armor of Inphy erupted with a wave of scorching heat, distorting the air and engulfing Oliver.

Taking this moment, Hogg swiftly readjusted his stance and rushed back at Oliver with another punch.

His realignment and attack speed were nearly simultaneous. However, Oliver found an opening in that tiny window of time and fired a magic shock at Hogg’s chest, caving it in.

Snap!!

Hogg felt his ribs breaking as he flew far away into the flames.

The impact shattered his ribs and crushed his internal organs.

He should have passed out immediately, but Hogg quickly recovered himself by consuming more life force, picked up a hammer from the ground, and charged once more.

“Did you think I didn’t know about the dangers of this armor? There’s a limit to how much you can underestimate me!!”

Hogg yelled as he jumped high, brutally forcing his direction mid-air and increasing his speed with magic.

Oliver watched as Hogg charged down from the air and threw his Quarterstaff, which had been intensely compressed with magic, to intercept the airborne Hogg.

If he swung it directly, his right arm would still hurt.

━━━!

The hammer swung by Hogg and the Quarterstaff thrown by Oliver collided in mid-air.

The indescribable noise spread with shockwaves, overturning the ground and extinguishing even the force of the flames.

As a result of the impact, the Quarterstaff spun high into the sky, and the mechanical hammer appeared to overload and cease functioning.

Panicked, Hogg tossed the now useless hammer at Oliver and launched into another fierce onslaught, but Oliver dodged the hammer and blocked all of Hogg’s attacks with magic shields.

He generated the shields instantly in sync with Hogg’s attacks.

“So, the rumors were true?! The rumor that you’re one of the Tower of Magic’s experiments!!”

Hogg shouted, breaking several shields, sounding genuinely curious rather than trying to distract Oliver.

Oliver neither confirmed nor denied, continuing to block and evade with his shields and asked back.

“What are you talking about?”

“How can someone so skinny move like that? Or more so, how are you surviving this heat and fire?!!”

Hogg was both confused and genuinely curious. Throughout the fight, merely breathing in that heat should have scorched his lungs.

It showed an understanding of the nature of flame magic.

Flame magic wasn’t just about overwhelming with fire; it could distract with its flashy flames or suffocate with invisible heat.

Oliver answered.

“Well… I met someone much hotter not too long ago, so that might be it.”

Oliver thought of The Burned One, someone who could set people ablaze just by breathing on them.

He couldn’t explain how or why, but after their encounter, Oliver seemed to have developed a slight resistance to heat and flames.

He couldn’t tell how strong it was, but at least for now, the heat Hogg was emitting didn’t bother him.

Frankly, it was something nearly impossible to understand and went against reason, but Hogg had no choice but to accept it, given what he was seeing.

“So, you’re not using black magic and only relying on your mediocre spells because you look down on me?”

“No, these aren’t mediocre spells. They’re basic ones. And I don’t look down on you, Hogg. I’m just using this as a training exercise.”

As Oliver spoke, he deployed a magic shield, blocking Hogg’s incoming punch while changing his spell, transforming the shield into chains to bind Hogg’s arms.

Just as Merlin once advised him.

After their spar, Merlin advised Oliver to not mix his magic, emotions, and the forces of nature together but to focus on using only one power whenever possible.

While combining multiple forces was outstanding, one could easily lose grasp of the essence.

It was a valid point. Whenever things became tough, Oliver instinctively mixed several forces to overcome, but as a result, his depth wasn’t quite at Merlin’s level.

So, Oliver decided to use just one force from now on whenever the situation allowed.

Oliver manipulated the surface of the shield, disrupting Hogg’s stance, and swiftly jabbed a needle into his neck.

Thump!!

Unlike a blade, it delivered a prickling, ominous sensation.

Oliver skillfully drew blood from Hogg with the syringe, then withdrew it quickly.

A moment too late, Hogg shattered the magic chains and counter-attacked, but Oliver had already moved away.

“What did you do?!”

“Just some insurance.”

Oliver replied as he placed the syringe filled with Hogg’s blood inside his coat.

“Besides, your condition keeps deteriorating. Why not stop here?”

Oliver suggested, observing Hogg’s labored breathing.

But Hogg just snorted.

“Hmph! …You’re going easy on me, huh? Is this the confidence of the strong?”

“No, I’m not going all out because fighting you isn’t an official request or my goal. We’re just trying to find out who’s giving you this equipment and backing your gang for these attacks.”

Indeed, that was why Oliver had been holding back.

To uncover who was backing the Big Wheel gang with magitech weapons and gear like the Armor of Inphy after they were driven out.

It was too much just for payment for a simple job. It felt like there was a hidden agenda.

“And the second reason is that you were once a member of the Tower of Magic.”

Hogg flinched.

“…How did you know?”

“Despite pretending to be a magic user, your magic still carries a trace of the Pure Magic Faction’s aura.”

“No way… I erased all that.”

“Not completely. Also, your understanding of the Armor of Inphy’s use is quite high. Even with such equipment, usage depends on the user’s abilities—like their understanding of magic.”

Oliver subtly acknowledged Hogg’s skill. Indeed, the way Hogg handled the Armor of Inphy showed just how hard he had worked.

Hogg had built up vast theoretical knowledge, unable to rely purely on raw talent.

Although his aging body and battle-focused style had weakened him, the traces of his past efforts hadn’t disappeared.

This caused a change in Hogg’s emotions.

Despite feeling like he hadn’t lived half a life, he felt a genuine sense of pride at a young man’s praise.

It reminded him of the time he was recognized for his talent as a child and taken in by the Tower of Magic… Until he hit the wall of talent and was cast out onto the streets.

It was both a happy and bitter memory.

“…Don’t talk like you understand. Someone with talent would never know this shitty feeling.”

“I understand.”

Oliver replied simply. He knew exactly how it feels to be tormented and cast out due to lack of talent.

It was an infuriating statement. Yet, Oliver was sincere, to the point it was almost engraved in his bones.

Because he had experienced Duncan’s life indirectly by smoking his beautiful Filgarett-laced light.

Maybe that’s why he was holding back against Hogg, because Hogg reminded him of Duncan… Despite being tormented by the wall of talent, he kept on pushing forward toward a new goal. That was truly admirable.

Enough to feel a sense of respect.

“So, please, cooperate with me. And if you help me, I’ll help you too… Would you like to study magic again?”

Oliver made the offer based on what he had experienced when he smoked Duncan’s Filgarett. Former Tower of Magic members often both hated and missed the tower and magic.

A contradictory yet very real emotion.

As proof, Hogg’s heart, once shattered at the Tower and worn down by reality, stirred at Oliver’s proposal.

It was absurd, but that made it even more unsettling for Hogg, like the touch of an angel or the whisper of a demon.

“…An interesting offer.”

“Isn’t it?”

“But that kind of offer should be made after you’ve defeated me!”

“Understood.”

Oliver responded instantly, casting his magic.

[Aim Correct]

[Strengthen]

[Heavily]

[Acceleration]

The Quarterstaff, which had been flung high into the air after colliding with the mechanical hammer, now plummeted towards Hogg’s head, loaded with multiple spells.

Its force could rip through the air and tear human flesh as it descended.

Seeing this, Hogg pulled out a magic item shaped like a pocket watch from his coat and activated it.

In a flash of light, Hogg’s figure vanished, only to reappear beside Oliver as if his previous position had disappeared like a light being turned off.

It was a high-functioning space magic item that could transport the user to a preset location.

Borrowing the item’s power, Hogg both avoided the attack and got to Oliver’s side.

He then cast magic that he had honed at the Tower of Magic, coating the knife in his hand with power, making it spin like a chainsaw to amplify its lethality.

It might seem modest compared to the Tower’s wizards, but it was still a deadly strike.

Yet, with incredible kinetic vision and reflexes, Oliver deployed a magic shield on the side to block it.

“It’s useless!”

Hogg shouted pridefully. As he said, the magic shield shattered under Hogg’s spinning blade.

The force of the rotating blade tore through the magic shield.

As Hogg’s fiercely spinning power flew down towards Oliver, it suddenly stopped just in front of him.

The shattered magic shield had reformed in that state, grabbing onto Hogg’s arm.

Hogg’s eyes shook as he realized what had happened after spending his last chance using the space magic item. Oliver looked at him and spoke.

“I’ve got you.”