The Book Eating Magician - Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Chapter 197 – Mercurius (4)

While the party was engaged with Lloyd, a strong wind was blowing outside the ruins .  The wind was coming from the oversized Mercurius . Due to the high density of mercury, Mercurius’ weight shook the area, and the aftermath produced a vortex in the air .

It was literally heaven-and-earth shaking! The clouds in the sky had long since been torn apart by the vortex produced by Mercurius, and every time it took a step, the land would change .  Was the desert god angry? Austen might call the sandstorm covering the sky a god and fear it, but Mercurius was more than that .

“Kuk, what is this sandy wind…?”

These were strong winds moving at more than 100km/hr . It was inevitable for it to carve off people’s flesh and bones .  Theodore threw off his torn robe and focused on maintaining his shield magic .

‘Damn, mercury is mixed in with the sandstorm . If I let go of the shield, I will be poisoned by it!’

The giant Mercurius was indeed a tricky opponent . The combination of its destructive power, its immortality, the ray of light from a distance, and the sandstorm was deadly .  Without Theodore’s senses and Veronica’s mobility, Theodore wouldn’t have lasted for a minute .

Chill .

Theodore felt a chill and immediately yelled to Veronica, “Tower Master, go up!”

“Up!” Veronica quickly embraced him, and wings of flames emerged from her back .

This was Wing Blaze, flying magic which could only be used by Veronica, who harmonized her dragon’s bloodline and magic .

Huuk!

At an unsurpassed speed, the two people flew from the storm and up toward the blue sky . As they exhaled, dozens of rays brushed underneath their feet .

In the beginning, Mercurius shot the rays of light at the same time . However, as the battle continued, the shooting pattern was becoming more sophisticated . As such, they had to move in different directions to evade the dozens of rays .

In addition to that, the error range shrank, and the rays kept getting closer to them .

“Isn’t this pretty dangerous?” Veronica, who was pushed to the edge, started sweating anxiously for the first time .   The next strike might actually hit them somehow .  How long had it been since she’d fought something stronger than her? Her spine tingled with the sense of crisis that she had forgotten .

However, Theodore didn’t shrink back as he muttered, “…2 minutes and 12 seconds . The error range is a minimum of 2 seconds to a maximum of 5 seconds . ”

“Huh? What?”

“The interval between the rays of light . I don’t think it can shoot an unlimited amount of 9th Circle magic . ”

According to this calculation, they were safe for 1 minute and 58 seconds, but there was no time to spare . It would be a checkmate if they couldn’t come up with a countermeasure before the next cycle .

‘Checkmate . ’ Theodore thought of this word and reflexively looked down at the dagger in his hand . ‘I have to use the Azoth Sword . ’

He’d learned how to use the sword from Paragranum . Theodore just needed to attach the Philosopher’s Stone to it and touch the target .  In a sense, it was like the ray which changed anything it touched to mercury . However, compared to Mercurius, the possibilities of the Azoth Sword were endless .

The true power of the Azoth Sword was substance substitution .  The sword had the ability to convert the object which the blade touched into any substance desired by the user . This was a truly divine ability that Paracelsus had .

It was even possible to change worthless mud or bad iron to mithril, orichalcum or gold . Additionally, it was said that Paracelsus had used the Azoth Sword to supply the materials needed for his experiments .

However, there were limits to the power .

Theodore shared this knowledge with Gluttony, who calmly advised him, –Every substance has a corresponding ‘value . ’ Even though they might have the same mass, the value of Substance A is different from that of Substance B .  Changing a high-value substance to a low-value substance won’t be a big problem, But in the opposite case, it can throw causality off .  He made the Azoth Sword and Philosopher’s Stone in order to resolve this reaction .

‘What exactly is a ‘value?’’

–An ancient civilization explained it as the concept of entropy .  Just know that it is something like that .

Gluttony spoke to the master magician like he was a primitive person, but Theodore had to accept it .  Theodore didn’t know alchemy, but he could tell that it was deep and complicated . It was a knowledge beyond the extremes of each field .

Therefore, Theodore brought it back to the usage of the Azoth Sword . ‘Then can you compare that value? Tell me if it is high or low, based on mercury . ’

–Hrmm, okay .  I was getting bored .

‘Okay . ’

As he flew without Veronica’s arms, Theodore looked at Mercurius below him .

What substance should he change that monster into so that it would be less threatening? The Azoth Sword could only change it into a substance he knew . Theodore thought of a few candidates .

‘How about gold?’

–…User, did you become an idiot when I wasn’t watching? The density of gold is even higher than mercury .  Do you want to increase its weight?

‘Ah, I see . A substance that can defeat it…’

Of course, it didn’t mean that gold was more threatening than mercury . It was solid at room temperature, and the gold giant could be easily melted . It would buy them some time to escape from this one-sided situation .

However, it wasn’t a fundamental solution . The ray of matter conversion was threatening regardless of whether it was gold or mercury, and they needed to enter the ruins as soon as possible .  He needed a substance which could neutralize Mercurius and wasn’t burdensome .

Theodore worried about it before seeking an answer from Veronica .

“Tower Master, can you still shoot a breath?”

“I can do it twice more, why?”

“Please be prepared . I will make an opportunity for you . ”

Veronica made a strange expression at his words, but she had no time to question him . It had already been 1 minute and 30 seconds since the last ray had been fired .  There were 40 seconds left until checkmate, so she was forced to believe in him .

Veronica nodded at his earnest eyes . “Okay! I won’t ask anything and just follow your lead . ”

“Thank you!”

“What do I need to do?”

He described it briefly . Her eyes shone yellow, and the wings of fire fluttered as she smiled excitedly .  Then the arms which embraced Theodore, they let go-

Huuuuuuong!

Down he went . At a height several kilometers above sea level, a magician started to fall .

It was at a rate of dozens of meters per second . Thanks to the instant acceleration, Theodore realized that Mercurius’ body was getting closer . At almost the same time, Mercurius’ hundreds of eyes noticed his approach .

The moment that the gazes of the two beings met,

Huuung!

A pillar of mercury soared . Not one, but both arms aimed at the falling Theodore .  The falling Theodore rapidly approached the fists .  Against an attack which would turn him into a bloodstain, Theodore calculated the timing with wide eyes . He couldn’t fail this reckless challenge simply due to an error of a few seconds .

Exactly two seconds later, a green light flashed on Theodore’s right arm .  It was Dimensional Leave .  His body took one step away from this material world and pushed through the mercury punch . Not even divine power would have an effect against him in this state .

Theodore’s gamble was completely effective . As a result of extending both arms, Mercurius was wide open and defenseless .

Kwaduduk!

Theodore stabbed the Azoth Sword into Mercurius .

“Ars Magna!”

This was the activation chant of the Azoth Sword . It was a term which referred to the feat wherein alchemists changed lead to gold . Paracelsus had arrogantly borrowed that term as the trigger word for this tool .

If someone could change worthless lead into noble gold, he would be able to change all the laws of the world at will .

“Become water, you sacred creature, Mercurius!”

At Theodore’s order, the Philosopher’s Stone attached to the hilt shone gold .  Simultaneously, Mercurius melted . No, the statement of melting wasn’t appropriate . Mercury was a liquid in the first place, so it was appropriate to say that it flowed down .

The 50-meter-long mass of mercury collapsed as water .

…And Veronica didn’t miss this chance .  The sky was red . It was fire magic which surpassed even 8th Circle magic, the red clan’s favorite Fire Breath .

Until now, she hadn’t been able to use it because of mercury vapor . However, that mercury was currently water . As if to express such feelings, the breath burned up the wet sand with a fearsome momentum .

Roaaaaar-!

The fight against Mercurius came to an end with the scattered flames .

It was a battle ending which wouldn’t have been possible without the Azoth Sword . The fight which deviated from common sense finally ended with the victory of the two magicians .

*     *     *

After the fight against Mercurius ended, the Theodore and Veronica barely managed to return to the ground . It was a battle which had lasted less than 30 minutes, but they felt a sense of stability from the ground .

It was thanks to the sand hardening from Veronica’s breath .

“By the way . ”

“Yes?”

Veronica, who was walking ahead, suddenly spoke to him, “Where did you get that sword from before? It has a completely ridiculous ability . Is it a mysterious national treasure that you received from His Majesty?”

“Ah, this is something that the Yellow Tower Master let me borrow . ”

“What? Yellow Tower Master?”

Theodore changed it to being borrowed, but Veronica was more focused on the Yellow Tower Master than the Azoth Sword . It seemed like their relationship wasn’t that good .  As she tidied up her disheveled hair, she grunted in a mocking voice, “I don’t know what that raccoon is thinking…”

The goal was to create a human being with alchemy! However, Theodore didn’t answer her and just followed behind her carefully .

Moving past the Andras Shadows who had been turned into blood, Theodore and Veronica were able to enter the tunnel without any resistance . Then after taking a few steps, he sensed something . There were two people breathing calmly and one breathing roughly .

‘Three? Why only three?’

Mujak and the Quattro members should make four people . Before the two puzzled magicians could speculate on the reason, the party who had entered the ruins first welcomed them . Theodore didn’t know if the threat of Lloyd had disappeared, so he was still on guard .

“Theo! You’re safe!”

“Oh, as expected of Tower Master! Did you kill that monster?”

“Kuoong… I am showing you an unsightly appearance . ”

Sylvia and William were delighted, while Mujak smiled wryly .   As Theodore grasped that a person wasn’t there, so did Veronica, who questioned, “But where is that kid called Para? I don’t see her . ”

The expressions of the three people changed subtly . It was because Para had disappeared . They had been concentrating on Mujak’s injuries and didn’t know where she had gone .  The two people, who arrived late to this indescribable atmosphere, looked around at the group, but there was no answer .

Then at that moment…

「Identification code PRGRN3681214, checked the sub-master’s login . Five non-enemies have been approved for access . They will go straight to the waiting room in area B-13 . 」

The unknown language echoed in their minds . There was no chance to respond . Theodore and Veronica couldn’t understand the situation, then the five people disappeared .  It was a forced space transfer which didn’t require the other person’s consent . Silence filled the space as the people disappeared from the tunnel .

Huuk…

The warm floor was the only evidence that people had been present here just a moment ago . Then as the dust rose up again, there was no longer anyone around .