Chapter 254 : Chapter 254
Side Story 13. Sylvia (3)
Sylvia.
There was something she had always believed.
An Archmage’s understanding of magic was by no means inferior even when compared to that of a Dragon.
Of course, she acknowledged that the difference in their mana capacity was devastatingly vast.
Humans did not possess Dragon Hearts, after all.
But what if the Dragon in question was an immature Hatchling?
‘I can definitely take one on!’
In fact, Sylvia had entertained that thought for a very long time.
It had been nothing more than an amusing hypothetical, something she had gauged through theory and calculation alone.
Naturally, she had never been able to prove it in practice.
Dragons were not creatures one could simply meet whenever one wished.
And now, the perfect opportunity had presented itself.
For reasons she did not know, a Hatchling had come directly to her Magic Tower.
Although it was currently wearing the bizarre appearance of a filthy little puppy, the power Sylvia sensed from it unquestionably belonged to a Hatchling.
It had not yet fully matured, but even a Hatchling possessed the overwhelming presence that belonged solely to the progenitors of magic.
Sylvia’s competitive spirit surged.
If she fought it here, she might die.
The being before her stood on a fundamentally higher level than any mage she had ever faced.
Even so, it did not take her long to make her decision.
‘I will never get another opportunity like this.’
She felt that even if she died in such a duel, she would have no regrets.
Sylvia grinned.
Then she immediately unleashed the lightning magic that was her specialty.
It was an attack without warning, but she felt no guilt about striking first.
‘My opponent is a Dragon.’
CRACKLE!
An enormous current of electricity shot toward the filthy puppy.
The Hatchling had easily blocked her magic a moment ago, but this attack was on an entirely different level of destructive power.
Sylvia had even decided that if the surprise attack somehow killed the Hatchling, so be it.
Though she doubted that would happen so easily.
“WOOF!”
The counterattack began immediately.
Along with the Hatchling’s furious roar came an immense wave of heat.
An aura like a raging furnace, seemingly capable of melting everything around it, bore down upon the laboratory.
The lightning Sylvia had fired vanished without leaving so much as a trace, and she was immediately forced onto the defensive.
Of course, Sylvia was not someone who would simply endure the attack.
She summoned an enormous wave of cold, enough to extinguish all the heat filling the Magic Tower in an instant.
CRACK!
CRACKLE!
Even the force of fire seemed to freeze beneath Sylvia’s instantaneous response.
The Hatchling Leviar’s eyes widened.
“What kind of human are you?!”
She was neither an Elf nor some nonhuman race, but a pure-blooded human.
Leviar had not yet lived even a thousand years, making his life as a Dragon relatively short, but even so, this was the first time he had encountered something so absurd.
He had heard endlessly about the limits of humanity.
No matter how extraordinary a human’s talent might be, their understanding of magic could never exceed half that of a Hatchling, and their magical attainment could never surpass the 8th Circle.
Yet the human before him was casually shattering that established knowledge.
BOOM!
BOOOOM!
The two forces collided once again.
Neither side was being rapidly overwhelmed.
Nor were they holding back while probing the other’s strength.
Both concentrated to their absolute limits, continuing their exchange without the slightest lapse.
Their battle went on for quite some time.
The overall pattern did not change greatly.
The Hatchling pressured Sylvia with destructive fire-based magic.
Sylvia responded to each attack with an endlessly varied array of spells.
As though they had silently agreed upon it, both gradually increased the amount of mana they were using.
That was only natural.
In a contest of mana balanced this evenly, reducing one’s strength alone was no different from exposing an opening to the opponent.
Naturally, the danger continued rising with it.
At this point, allowing even a single attack through could prove fatal.
BOOM!
And yet the balance remained unbroken.
Their precarious contest continued as though they were walking along a razor-thin rope.
“Hoo.”
Sylvia released a short breath.
She was not already exhausted.
She had simply realized one fact quite some time ago.
Though her opponent was only a young Hatchling, it possessed greater reserves than she did and could sustain a battle of mana for longer.
That meant Sylvia was the one who needed to make a decisive move before that point arrived.
The problem was that the longer she delayed, the more impatient she would inevitably become.
There was no possibility that the Hatchling had failed to realize this as well.
That meant Sylvia needed to make her move one step earlier than it expected.
“Hoo.”
Sylvia took another steadying breath and drew up her mana.
Not to be outdone, Leviar unleashed another fierce roar.
“WOOF!”
Once again, their powers were about to collide in midair.
The tension had risen another level.
Both understood that anything could happen in this next exchange.
Then, at that very moment, something unexpected occurred.
WHIRL—
A sword flew down from above.
What was astonishing was the almost impossibly precise point toward which its tip was aimed.
The exact point where the mana unleashed by Leviar and Sylvia was about to collide.
SWISH!
The blade pierced straight through the point of equilibrium between the two opposing forces.
“Gasp!”
“WOOF!”
Both combatants cried out at the same time.
The taut tension shattered instantly, and both withdrew their power at once.
“How about the two of you stop there?”
Naturally, Seo Ji-han was the one who had thrown the sword.
***
“Young master! What was that supposed to be?!”
Leviar demanded resentfully.
“What was what?”
“That! I was just about to win if you had given me a little more—”
But Leviar never finished his sentence.
THWACK!
Seo Ji-han rapped him on the forehead.
“Ow!”
“Win? You were practically panting for breath.”
“You saw it wrong! Your eyesight must already be failing despite your young age!”
At that moment, Seo Ji-han raised his fist again.
“I take it back! I withdraw what I just said!”
Leviar immediately rubbed his front paws together in supplication.
Sylvia stared at the two of them with her mouth hanging open.
‘A Tamer?’
No matter how young it was, the creature was still a Dragon, yet it was completely helpless before this man.
Sylvia could hardly arrive at any other conclusion.
‘But Dragons can be tamed?’
According to the records, creatures from Wyverns upward were considered impossible to tame.
Unlike ordinary monsters, their sense of self and their mana were simply too powerful.
Even a mere Wyvern was beyond taming.
Yet someone had tamed a Dragon?
As her common sense crumbled, Sylvia’s thoughts became tangled.
Whatever the truth might be, the man before her was clearly a Tamer who defied all conventional standards.
“Leviar, if I had not stopped you, one of the two of you would have been in danger.”
“I will say it again. The one in danger would have been that woman.”
This time, Sylvia refused to remain silent.
“Do not make me laugh, you filthy mutt. If we had continued, you would have ended up roasted alive.”
“Filthy mutt?! A mere human dares insult a Dragon again? You want another round? Do you?”
But Seo Ji-han immediately stopped Leviar.
THWACK!
“I told you to stop. Remember that next time, it will not end with a rap on the forehead.”
“Why are you only treating me like this?!”
“Who else is there besides you?”
“Over there.”
Leviar pointed a front paw at Sylvia.
Seo Ji-han’s eyes met hers.
Seeing his old friend again nearly caused a smile to form naturally on his lips, and he had to consciously suppress it.
‘She has improved beyond recognition.’
He had already realized it while passing through the Passage of Illusions, but Sylvia’s current level was nothing like the one Seo Ji-han remembered from the past.
Above all, she had faced a Hatchling without being pushed back even an inch.
‘Even Dejan Berger would probably struggle against her.’
It would not be an easy feat even if Sylvia’s longtime rival were placed in the same situation.
Seo Ji-han found himself wondering whether Sylvia might now be the greatest mage in Kalia.
“But who are you?”
Sylvia’s interest had already shifted from the Hatchling to Seo Ji-han.
She had never heard of a Tamer of this caliber existing anywhere in Kalia.
For a mage, such curiosity was only natural.
But the answer that came from Seo Ji-han’s mouth was completely unexpected.
“The disciple of an old friend of yours.”
“What?”
“Johan Raven. He is my master.”
Sylvia’s expression rippled with shock.
“...You are really that bastard’s disciple?”
Seo Ji-han nodded.
“And not a Tamer?”
Heh.
Seo Ji-han smiled faintly at the absurd misunderstanding.
Of course, he knew she would not believe him immediately.
Soon, the same familiar pattern repeated itself, and Sylvia gradually began to accept his explanation.
“But why are you speaking to me so casually? You said you are that bastard’s disciple.”
“So?”
“I am that bastard’s friend. Obviously, that means you should show me the proper respect.”
She was not wrong, but Seo Ji-han simply could not bring himself to speak formally to Sylvia.
“I do not speak formally to anyone except my master.”
“What?”
“That was also my master’s wish.”
“Wow! That bastard is still irritating even after disappearing! What kind of disciple did he raise like this?!”
After venting her irritation, Sylvia’s expression darkened.
She had been told that Johan Raven would never appear in the world again.
She was also furious when told that she must not ask why and that he was somewhere no one could ever find him.
“So you came all the way here just to deliver that load of nonsense?”
“Regrettably, yes.”
“Then you will have to take one hit in that bastard’s place.”
“Why?”
“He disappeared from the world seven years ago without saying a single word! I have been waiting all this time to beat him senseless the next time I saw him. If that bastard cannot appear, then his disciple will have to take the beating for him. Do you not agree?”
Normally, Seo Ji-han would not even have bothered responding to something like that.
This time, however, he nodded.
He could feel the sincerity behind his old friend’s words.
“But you cannot simply stand there and take it. That bastard would definitely defend himself with that smug look on his face.”
“You want me to behave the way my master would?”
“At least you understand quickly. You really are that bastard’s disciple.”
Seo Ji-han had actually considered simply allowing her to hit him, but now he had no reason to refuse.
And he decided to go one step further and make another proposal.
“But I will not stop after blocking your opening attack.”
“What?”
“If it were my master, he would immediately turn it into a duel.”
There was something Seo Ji-han needed to confirm.
He had received two quests during this visit to Kalia.
One was to defeat Kalia’s greatest swordsman.
The other was to defeat Kalia’s greatest mage.
‘According to Cheonra’s information....’
The greatest mage in Kalia was believed to be Dejan Berger, not Sylvia.
Seo Ji-han himself had vaguely assumed the same.
But after seeing Sylvia in person today, his opinion had changed.
The sight of her fighting evenly against a Hatchling without yielding in the slightest demonstrated an astonishing degree of advancement compared to the past.
“You realize that challenging me would tarnish that bastard’s honor—your master’s honor, do you not?”
Sylvia clearly believed there was no possibility whatsoever that she would lose.
“Then I will take that as your acceptance. You may have the first move.”
Seo Ji-han grinned and raised the Holy Sword.