Chapter 151

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 151: Overwhelming Power Gap

The three heads diligently chanted spells. Black mana bloomed above her hands. As befitting the Raven School, which observes omens of misfortune, her magic was related to fate. To be precise, it was related to twisting fate in an unfavorable way.

[Leluya uses Omen Explosion (SS)!]

[Leluya uses Raven’s Nightmare (SS)…]

If hit?

It would twist fate and bring about misfortune.

The twisted fates would overlap.

No matter how high the magical caliber of that banshee, this unique magic couldn’t be easily neutralized even with talent.

Iris also knew its danger. If she were hit by such magic?

Suddenly, terrible malignant tumors might sprout all over her body.

An unavoidable lightning bolt might strike from the sky.

She might even be transformed into a lowly beast. That’s what twisting fate meant. It was magic where neither the caster nor the target knew the outcome.

That’s why it was even more terrifying.

Not knowing meant not being able to predict how great the impact would be.

That’s why the Raven School was feared.

But…

—Still the same?

As if she knew the countermeasures, the banshee deflected the magic as if it were nothing.

Leluya frowned.

Even another Grand Witch, if encountering the Raven School’s magic for the first time, would need some time, even a brief moment, to analyze and dismantle it.

But this banshee had none of that.

‘She knows?’

‘Our Raven magic?’

‘How?’

Had she seen it somewhere?

Otherwise, it was impossible.

She tried a few more spells as a test, but the result was the same.

—What? Nothing’s changed at all.

“Where did you.”

“How did you.”

“Learn our magic?”

—I’m Merhen.

“…?”

The three heads tilted in confusion at the unexpected statement. Iris also frowned.

She asked how she knew, and the banshee responded with her name out of the blue.

It was a 4th dimensional answer that transcended the 3rd dimension.

—Huh? You don’t know me? I thought you would.

“Is she sick?”

“Attention seeker?”

“Delusions of grandeur?”

The three heads answered busily.

They cast general magic instead.

The Raven School’s magic didn’t work at all. So, they had no choice but to try throwing all sorts of general magic at her.

However, there was a problem.

If they cast ten spells, five of them were interrupted in the middle.

‘This is ridiculous.’

‘Even after taking the elixir, this is the level of difference.’

‘Just how big is the gap between us?’

Canceling magic was several times more difficult than casting it.

Moreover, Leluya’s casting speed was several times faster after taking the elixir.

But even then, half of them were interrupted.

It meant that without the elixir, she wouldn’t have been able to compete at all.

It was an absurd situation where her magic was being canceled even after her power had been amplified more than fivefold.

Still, the fact that she managed to cast half of them proved that she was indeed a talented witch.

—Wow, what a fascinating elixir, isn’t it?

Merhen also seemed to be enjoying herself, casting magic and deflecting Leluya’s spells.

Little by little,

Leluya was pushed back.

—It’s fun playing like this with each other. It’s like a puzzle game, isn’t it?

The apprentice witch, Iris, wasn’t just standing still either.

She cast her own magic, summoned familiars to attack, and even swung her whip. She was doing her best.

Despite these distractions, the banshee dodged and weaved, dealing with the full-fledged witch.

Although Iris was an apprentice, she was still a witch.

Born with a talent for magic,

She felt firsthand how absurd the scene unfolding before her eyes was.

Then,

—Huh?

The banshee tilted her head.

She then snapped her fingers.

At that moment,

Leluya and Iris’s bodies froze.

Basic actions like breathing in and out,

They couldn’t do anything else, as if they had become vegetables.

“Whaaat…”

“How…”

“This kind of…”

The effects of the drug that accelerated their bodies and brains also stopped working.

No, their minds were gradually turning blank.

The three heads barely managed to utter a sentence. Iris, whose level was much lower, could only roll her eyes.

It felt like every single cell in their bodies was out of control.

Merhen, who had landed on the ground, jumped up and down like an excited child.

—Amazing!

“What did you do…”

“Mana…”

“My control…”

—My power has returned! A little bit, but still! Isn’t it amazing?

“Pow…er…”

“You say…”

“…?”

—Yeah. It’s annoying to deal with each one individually. So, I made this. It automatically takes care of idiots who rely on magic.

“Wh…”

“At…”

“…?”

—Why don’t you know? I’ve caught so many witches with this.

Caught witches?

Leluya rolled her eyes.

She had never heard of such a thing. If witches had been wiped out by such a bizarre undead, there was no way she wouldn’t know.

—What was the name of the Grand Witch who survived back then… Ananke? She used magic like you, didn’t she?

“Grand… Witch…”

“Her name…”

“Why do you…”

—Because I met her. Didn’t that gloomy idiot tell you about me?

Suddenly, a thought crossed Leluya’s mind. The story of the Upheaval, where witches were killed by an undead.

A story she had dismissed as one of the hundreds of baseless rumors circulating among witches and erased from her memory.

‘No way.’

‘Could it be…’

‘That it was all true?’

Then, Merhen asked with a pouty face.

—Then you don’t know the Death Lord either?

Unfortunately, Leluya couldn’t answer anymore.

No, she couldn’t answer.

Because her tongue had hardened like a stone. Because her breath was caught in her throat.

Leluya’s brain, deprived of oxygen, gradually shrank.

The Raven’s omen was not wrong.

This was truly a disaster.

Death was approaching.

‘Like this…’

‘I can’t die…’

‘I have to do something…’

In her final moments,

Thump!

Her last will, mixed with desperation, exploded.

That earnestness pushed her magical aptitude one step further.

Enough to cast an ancient spell she had learned at the school long ago.

[Equivalent Exchange (SSS) is cast!]

Bang!

Leluya’s heart burst into pieces.

[Your heart is placed on the right scale!]

[Think of the price you want.]

—What an interesting magic? I’ve never seen this before.

Merhen looked at Leluya with interest.

Even she had never seen this magic before.

But her heightened senses were analyzing the magic in detail.

A magic that attempted to exchange something unknown for a weight on the scale.

‘I can’t stop the exchange.’

Maybe if her full power had returned,

But with only a portion of it back, it was impossible.

Instead, she could easily manipulate the equivalent weight.

She ‘manipulated’ the intangible price to rise on the opposite side of the scale where the heart was placed.

Leluya was terrified when she saw it.

To think she could intervene in an ancient spell.

She hurriedly made her first wish.

She wished for the death of the banshee’s master as the price.

[The scale is not balanced!]

Leluya despaired.

The scale was disrupted by the intangible price placed on the other side.

Moreover, the intangible price was growing larger and larger.

Larger than the side where her heart was placed.

The opposite side was getting heavier and heavier. A terrible fear consumed her mind. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

This time, her body, except for her head, exploded, leaving not a single piece of flesh behind.

[The scale is not balanced…]

If even this wasn’t enough,

Leluya, with only her head remaining, made her last wish.

The lightest wish she could think of.

So that something would remain despite the banshee’s manipulation.

[The scale is balanced!]

[A memory is etched somewhere in the dimension!]

May this despair and fear of this moment,

Be etched deep within the dimension. So that when other witches come someday, they can find it. Hidden so carefully that even that dreadful banshee can’t find it.

[Equivalent exchange complete!]

Leluya disappeared, leaving nothing behind, not even her head.

The end of the full-fledged witch was terribly pathetic.

Soon, Merhen and Iris’s eyes met.

* * *

The ancient dragon and the Ice Dragon.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Against the two dragons, Cedric was truly hard carrying.

His spear skills, transcending space, were truly a work of art.

Seeing it, he wondered why he didn’t use it during the first trial.

‘I think I understand.’

It seemed to be a skill that consumed a lot of mana. During the arrangement, there were too many enemies, and with Mutakta there as well, he must have been conserving his strength.

But now?

The young dragons were practically no match for him, and the only ones he needed to be wary of were the ancient dragon and the Ice Dragon.

Moreover, Cedric’s power didn’t end there.

He was a dragon knight, after all.

A class that could only unleash its full power when riding a dragon.

The young dragon was revived as an undead?

Well, it was still a dragon.

He was flying around on one of them, stabbing the bodies of the two dragons.

And Cedric had allies helping him. From all sides, Dullahans riding undead dragons stabbed with their swords.

Mages with dragonblood tools cast spells, causing a nuisance.

The icing on the cake was Dolswe.

Two undead young dragons grabbed Dolswe’s arms with their feet and soared into the sky. Dolswe’s massive body fell like a missile dropped from a bomber.

[Dolswe uses Provoke (A) on Kamar…]

[Ice Dragon ‘Kamar’ is provoked…]

Dolswe’s body glowed red, targeting the Ice Dragon, who was more likely to be provoked than the ancient dragon.

[Using Blood Explosion!]

Boom!

The self-destruct skill detonated.

No matter how tough the dragon’s hide was, it couldn’t withstand three times the golem’s maximum HP without damage. The Ice Dragon, already weakened by the curse and Cedric’s relentless attacks, couldn’t hold on any longer.

The Ice Dragon plummeted powerlessly.

Like ants swarming to candy, the undead on the ground rushed towards the Ice Dragon as if they had been waiting.

The weakened dragon couldn’t withstand the attacks.

[Ice Dragon ‘Kamar’ has entered eternal rest…]

[Part of the gate clear conditions have been achieved! (1/4)]

[‘Witch Iris’, ‘Witch Leluya’, ‘Ancient Dragon Ivelion’ remain…]

[Level up…]

A pleasant level-up message appeared.

The gate clear conditions were revealed as a bonus.

In addition to catching the original witch and the Ice Dragon,

‘I have to catch the ones who came later too.’

Ancient Dragon Ivelion.

The only remaining dragon was resisting fiercely.

Tough hide befitting an ancient dragon. Dozens of powerful magic spells. Breath attacks and monstrous physical stats.

The undead dragon crashed under the dragon’s breath, and the Dullahan riding it melted. Every time the sharp dragon claws grazed him, even Dolswe was shattered in an instant before he could self-destruct.

Ivelion’s tail narrowly missed the young dragon Cedric was riding.

Cedric performed acrobatic maneuvers as if they were one.

The pouring magic shattered every time the spear swung.

Bang!

With a sound that ripped through the air, another hole was pierced in Ivelion’s body.

Ivelion screamed.

Breath attacks, magic,

Tough hide,

Powerful strength,

None of it meant anything to that tiny skeleton.

He couldn’t understand how this was possible.

It was pure skill.

And overwhelming technique.

—This can’t be… This can’t be happening!

With holes all over his body,

Ivelion, sensing defeat, spoke in a trembling voice.

Regardless,

Kim Minwoo watched the scene leisurely.

‘It must be because they’re natural enemies.’

Merhen devoured mages.

It wasn’t just a matter of levels.

No matter the difference, she thrived against her natural enemies. This was evident from the previous preliminaries.

The intermediate boss, the dark mage Mortan.

He charged in, only to have his magic canceled and be sent to the afterlife with a single sword strike. But his score was similar to that of the Vampire Duke. This meant he was a being close to level 1,000.

The witch?

Around level 1,500.

In reality, they were two peas in a pod.

That’s why Merhen could handle the two witches alone.

The same principle applied to Cedric.

His title alone was enough to intimidate dragons.

It meant he was the natural enemy of dragons.

‘Of course, it would have been difficult if Unwavering Will hadn’t activated.’

Legion Commander Enhancement.

The core skills that formed the foundation jumped from SS to SSS. The difference couldn’t be measured by a single letter S.

‘Even within the same grade, the levels are all different.’

Were all S-rank Awakeners the same level?

No.

Even among S-rank Awakeners, some could defeat ten of their peers. That was the difference in talent and skill.

The same was true for Merhen and Cedric. Although Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo were also SSS-rank, the two Legion Commanders and the guild members had lived completely different lives.

Experience, veteran status, talent.

The top tier among SSS-ranks.

The two Legion Commanders were at least at that level. That’s why a single summoned creature could tear apart a high-level monster described as a calamity.

[‘Witch Leluya’ has entered eternal rest…]

[Part of the gate clear conditions…]

Just like now.

Then,

Merhen approached.

With a companion in tow.

—Minwoo, I’m here. But what’s Cedric doing? Why hasn’t he finished?

“He’ll finish soon. But who’s this?”

“I brought her because I was curious about the Witches’ Coven. I originally wanted to bring the three-headed one, but she used magic and died on her own. Sorry.

“It’s better this way. Good job.”

He patted Merhen’s head.

Keeping the boss alive was never part of the plan anyway.

Even with Unwavering Will activated, he thought they would struggle to defeat the bosses, but he never imagined they would hunt them down this easily.

He was dumbfounded by the overwhelming ease of the situation.

If he had known it would be this easy, he would have ordered them to keep one boss alive.

‘Otherwise, the gate won’t be cleared.’

Most gates were structured so that after defeating the boss and clearing the gate, players would be immediately expelled, or forcibly expelled after a certain amount of time.

And if they were expelled like that?

Since this was a hidden gate, re-entry would become impossible.

‘That would be a shame.’

There was still a lot to gain here.

Five fortresses in total, including east, west, south, north, and center.

They had destroyed the north, leaving four fortresses. He needed to feed Hayang the Winter Fragment there.

And that wasn’t all.

‘All the monsters here are free experience points…’

Elven alchemy.

Dwarven crafting techniques.

He had them trained in everything here.

Were there any other skills?

What he needed was time to explore this place.

He looked at the witch, Iris.

The terror etched in her eyes, as she meekly followed Merhen, was like a brand.

She didn’t seem like she would cause any trouble.

‘I need to keep her alive for now.’

If he was going to keep someone alive, it was best to keep a boss like her.

An ancient dragon or a full-fledged witch would have some tricks up their sleeves.

Keeping them alive could create variables.

In that sense, Merhen had brought back the perfect one.

[Ancient Dragon ‘Ivelion’ has entered eternal rest…]

A message popped up.

‘My level is rising a lot.’

It was 293 before.

After hunting them all, his level jumped to 330.

Considering that it hadn’t even been a week since he entered the gate, it was an absurd speed.

Moreover,

‘I haven’t even taken the items yet.’

The full-fledged witch and the ancient dragon.

And the Ice Dragon as well.

There was still loot to be obtained from the bosses.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]