A young woman wearing elegant armor appeared from behind. For someone like me to be unable to sense her presence, just who in the world was she?

Activating my [All Seeing Eyes], it revealed nothing. Just like the young man, hers was of an immeasurable amount of power, but I wasn’t able to see anything more.

Perhaps I was going senile. Maybe it was time I passed on my will to another person. Someone young, and of course it had to be someone who could surpass my achievements.

“Allow me to cut open a path for you”

With a slight smile on her beautiful face, she immediately dashed forward. Tens of monsters were demolished each time she swung her elegant sword. In an instant, she cleared out everything in front of us.

However, just like the monsters she destroyed, she too disappeared into the passing wind. All that was left from that single fleeting moment were particles of blue light that had trailed behind her.

The intense aura she emitted gave me goosebumps. Beautiful yet fierce, powerful yet graceful. Surely she was someone who led the forefront of battle!

While watching her, I realized I was making a delightful expression. It had been many many years since I’ve found joy in anything at all! And yet… here I was, expressing myself time and time again.

I had been given the nickname of ‘Emotionless Sage’, ‘Heartless’ and was even deemed to be a ‘grumpy old man’. What would my fellow colleagues in the Magicians Society think if they saw my face now? Surely they wouldn’t believe that such a person like me would ever smile for something as insignificant as gawking at another person’s strength!

Perhaps I really was going senile. However, there were no longer any doubts in my mind. Truly, a new age of heroes has begun! If I were younger, I wouldn’t mind traveling around with the young man before me. With my age, I am merely a shadow of the past. My duty is merely that of a spectator. I will witness the coming battles, and document them with my own eyes.

To that extent, I will have this young man show me what he is capable of.

“Let us go, before they respawn”

My words were brief, but the 2 before me nodded in unison.

As we continued forward, we were met with more monsters. However, in the background, we weren’t without other adventurers.

Dozens of magicians, and warriors were scattered about, staving off high level monsters.

Was this what Cray meant when he said he had finished his ‘preparations’?

Although there were many adventurers, it seemed casualties were still piling up. Adventurers and City folk alike were littered on the ground here and there. Some weren’t moving, and others were bandaging themselves or the others around them. The priest order probably had their hands full at the moment as well. The number of people that would be wounded from this kind of catastrophe wouldn’t be a small number.

After thinking about it, I sent my regards to the Cardinal. Being a priest wasn’t an easy job in these kinds of circumstances.

[Fire Bolt!]

A ball of fire wrapped in an electrical discharge blew apart an orc.

This young girl before me wasn’t ordinary either. She possessed an innate talent for magic! Her sense of magic was extraordinarily high! Magic Fusion was could only be done by magicians who understood to a degree, the two different elements that were combined, and to be able to grasp it at such a young age, she must definitely be a prodigy.

However, my eyes have revealed to me a person filled with grief and sorrow. Those feelings that grasped her heart, if they were to melt away, then perhaps she would become a pillar of support for the future of this world.

[Chain Lighting!]

On the tip of my staff, an orb of lightning gathered and condensed. Utilizing my adept control over magic, I shot out a streak of lightning that vaporized many monsters in both the sky and on land, as it traveled from one monster to another in a zigzag pattern.

At this moment in time, there is not a person in this world that is capable of besting me in magic! Clearing out these savage monsters for someone like me comes as easy as simply waving my staff! It isn’t an exaggeration to say that I have reached the very pinnacle of fire, water and lightning magic. After all, there is no one else with the title of [Trinity]. However, there is no meaning in me doing all the work. Therefore I shall act as a guide to those of the younger generation. My golden age has long since passed. This era belongs not to me, but rather to those of this current generation. I will be sure to observe them, as they inherit our wills.

As we traveled closer to the pillar of light, in the distance, 2 other pillars of light had faded out and vanished. I sensed the Magic Circle above us weaken considerably. One of the lights that went out was probably done by Reinsfield, but who had taken out the second one? Perhaps it was a special unit Cray had deployed.

Right as the second one completely vanished, a third pillar quickly went out. Perhaps that was Cray’s doing. It was in the direction that Cray ran off in. With those 3 gone, the magic circle above us had lost a large portion of its power.

As the third pillar dispersed into particles of light, I felt the power of the surrounding monsters drop a few levels.

Perhaps the strength of monsters it summoned had strength corresponding to the amount of energy it produced.

“[Heavy Blow]!”

With his fist, Tetsu smashed apart the troll’s wooden club, and then delivered a cut along the tendons of its leg as it stumbled backwards, immobilizing it.

“Incinerate all that lies before me! [Flame Blast]!”

Without a second of hesitation, Misha finished casting her spell and unleashed it on the monster just as soon as Tetsu moved out of range.

“GROOROAAHH”

The troll roared out in rage as its eyes turned red. It was a sign that they were going berserk.

Unfortunately Misha’s [Flame Blast] wasn’t strong enough to kill it.

The troll wasn’t a weak monster by no means, rather it was a high level one. It had high resistance to magic and physical attacks. That wasn’t all, it had high vitality and recovered wounds quickly.

With that being said, Tetsu’s dagger was easily cutting through its hardened skin. What kind of weapon was it?

Although they struggled against it, their teamwork was astounding. The two in front of me displayed a high level of trust and combat potential. Where Tetsu lacked in power, Misha made up for it with powerful high tier magic. A team well suited to each other. However they still have much room to grow. Their potential seemed unlimited.

“Burn, [Magma Burst]!”

Fire as hot as burning lava erupted from underneath the monster, turning it into a pile of ash.

“Let us continue onwards”

But, no matter how much they fought against a monster of that level, they would not be able to beat it. They would likely be torn apart if I had left it to go berserk.

Monsters were getting tougher the closer we approached the pillar of light. As long as it is something within their ability to handle, I won’t intervene.

“[Fireball]!”

On the two Skeleton Knights that had appeared, Misha casted her basic fire spell, [Fireball]. The ball of fire converged and exploded on impact, destroying the left Skeleton Knight’s right arm which held its shield.

“haa… haa… Please… hold them off for a moment!”

Misha was sweating profusely as she tiredly called out to Tetsu who was engaged in the fight with the two Skeleton Knights.

“Misha, drink this and rest for now”

Handing her a magic potion that would restore her depleted mana, I told her to rest. Even if she drinks it, she would still wind up passed out at the rate she consumed her mana, casting spells erratically.

“Y-yes..”

Such an obedient girl. It would be nice if I had a disciple like her.

“Turn to ashes, [Flare Burst]”

Just as the damaged Skeleton Knight that was without an arm jumped back, ready to lunge forward with sword thrust, I made use of my shortened chant and gave the struggling Tetsu a hand.

Instantly, the Skeleton was devoured by my exploding blue flames.

“Damn, this thing is tough!”

Tetsu cursed under his breath as he continued his struggle with the last remaining Skeleton Knight.

Slash!

They exchanged blows as they clashed again and again with one another, but it was clear that Tetsu would run out of stamina before defeating it.

Misha stood in place, watching intently as Tetsu nimbly dodged the Skeleton Knights precise attacks.

He has good fighting sense. Skeleton Knights were brittle, but wore armor to overcome that weakness. Unless Tetsu had another weapon he wouldn’t be able to overcome the toughness of that magic steel armor. Perhaps if he knew how to cast magic, he would have the edge over that Knight.

“Tetsu, would you like to learn how to use magic?”

Clink!

I threw out my question just as Tetsu’s dagger interlocked with the Skeleton Knight’s sword.

Carefully looking at his dagger with my [All Seeing Eyes], it revealed to me its slight green hue under its silver luster. Mithril. A weapon forged with magic by the elves. Wonderful. It was a weapon that easily allowed one to inject their magic power directly into the blade.

Since he was already familiar with using [Magic Edge], then using magic wasn’t too far off.

“Dammit! ... Could… could you possibly teach me at a better time…?”

Tetsu was quickly overpowered and thrown back by the Skeleton Knights strength.

“There is no better time than now, lest you prefer to be sliced into pieces by that Skeleton Knight!”

With a smile on my face, I exclaimed loudly, brightly expressing myself.

“huff… then… haa… tell me”

Taking deep breaths, Tetsu got up and confronted the Knight once more.

True enough, it normally took one a long time to learn magic.

“Vividly imagine it! The magic you want to use, and let it naturally take shape inside your mind. You must take hold of the elements that surround you, as you materialize it!”

Magic, if the imagination was powerful enough, learning magic came simply. There were three processes to casting magic. The first was to imagine the spell. The imagined magic would have to be concise. The next process was to gather the elements, and materialize it with your own power. In the final process, the elements would guide and stabilize your imagined spell.

Chanting itself was merely something that had been developed to aid with the imagination. There existed many forms of it. The normal chanting, and of course the quick chanting I had done. Instantaneous chanting used only word to help form the magic structure, and then there was the coveted no chanting method.

A person’s proficiency in magic determined their speed of formulating spells. However, it also came at a cost. A higher level of concentration was needed, which would require one to expend more of their magical energy.

Clink!

I could feel it. A subtle power gathering in Tetsu’s left hand as he continued to deflect blow after blow with the Mithril dagger held in his right. Sparks erupted from the two weapons that heavily collided against each other.

Clang!

Clank!

The Skeleton Knight pushed forward and raised its sword overhead. Just as it swung down, Tetsu had predicted the swords angle and side stepped around behind it. Lifting his left hand, a light but exuding pressure was emitted.

“You damn monster, eat this! [Javelins of Light]!”

Two magic circles I had never before seen had appeared right above the knight in mid-air. From those two circles, two beams of light manifested and struck the Skeleton, impaling its body. As the two intense rays of light dimmed out, the shape of two spears could be made out.

Gagagagaga!

The Skeleton Knight’s mouth began to chatter, as if it were trying to talk.

Schlik!

Before I could fathom what kind of magic he had used, a horizontal sword arc was drawn in the air. Not a moment after, the Skeleton Knight’s armor shattered to pieces as it fell down, completely split in half horizontally from the waist down.

What Tetsu held in both hands was a large great sword letting off white magic particles. Did he simultaneously cast [Enchant Holy] as well? The first Skeleton Knight had dropped its sword previously before I reduced it to ashes.

The ability to plan and think ahead in while in a heated fight was Marvelous, truly marvelous! Indeed, he has a lot of potential. He far exceeded my expectation. I hadn’t thought to see not only an original magic, but to also quickly grasp the way to enchanting weapons with elements.

“Good work, just a little further and we’ll have arrived at our destination”

Tetsu, who had been breathing heavily until now, quickly stored the great sword he picked up, but also the standard knight sword the second Skeleton knight dropped, as well as an arm guard and gauntlets after silently nodding to me.

Misha who had watched Tetsu struggle had her eyes open wide. Perhaps she was surprised at how fast he was able to utilize magic after being given merely a few words of advice.

Reusing an enemy’s weapon was an old tactic I had seen many times on the battlefield. His battle sense and sense of values are both good.

Just as Tetsu finished up equipping his new arm guard and gauntlets, I sensed an enormous amount of magical energy far off towards a different pillar of light.

Bang!

A loud explosion erupted, most likely resounding around the entire capital.

In the next moment, the sky was dyed deep blue as a vortex of energy swirled around. I could sense divine magic being used.

After a few seconds had passed, particles of divine energy could be seen scattering in all directions. Could that have been the young woman from earlier?

We continued forward for a while longer, and at last we forced our way through to the pillar of light that seemed to be the power source of that damned magic formation in the sky. If not for the many adventurers deployed here, it would have taken much longer.

Tetsu and Misha seemed slightly exhausted. They are still weak, so I suppose it cannot be helped to be out of breath, just as we arrive at our destination. It would seem that this pillar would be the last one. The dimly lit magic formation in the sky had all but vanished. The other seven pillars had dispersed into magic particles.

From the center of the pillar of light, emerged a single demon. Perhaps it was stronger before the other pillars of light were taken care of? I did not sense, nor see anything significant about this particular demon. However, I’m allowed to justify that much only because I have the power to do so.

Although I can only see it as weak, it’s not quite a low ranked demon, but nor is it ranked very high.

I wish to see more of Tetsu’s strength. This monster, compared to these two however was much more powerful than what they’ve fought thus far. It will serve as a proper test of strength for him.

“Tetsu, Misha, I will not assist you in this battle. Show me your capabilities by defeating this demon!”

Though I say as much, if it gets dangerous I'll step in.

“I’ll do my best!”

“Yes!”

The two of them quickly put up a stance as they replied.

There is no such thing as having an easy life. There will be hardships throughout your path. This is merely the first step. Overcome this demon, and show me your light of hope in this era riddled with darkness!