Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 185

Episode 185 Cooperation (1)

Guardian-class elf.

The carrier referred to the blonde elf as such.

Verden did not have deep knowledge of other races, including elves.

Not only was I not interested in it in the first place, but I also didn't have the time to study and research magic on my own at the Magic Tower.

At best, I had read a few popular books. Naturally, I had no idea what the hierarchy was among the elves or what powers they were dealing with.

'Still, it's clear that the blonde elf is different from other elves.'

Verden observed the direction of movement of the carriers and took out an intermediate magic stone from his space bag. It was for the groundwork that needed to be done before starting work.

Four pillars supporting the ceiling at the edges.

After that, I created an identical magic circle centered around each magic stone. It wasn't a particularly hands-on technique, so it didn't take long.

'This completes it.'

I finished it off and let the magic power at the tip of my index finger settle down.

There are no mistakes in the magic circle.

Verden, confident in his own abilities, immediately moved in the direction where the blonde elf was carried.

Soon after, a space appeared, bathed in the soft light of a stone lantern.

The surgical instruments were neatly arranged, and at the center of them all stood Dreyfus, dressed very neatly.

He cheered as he looked at the blonde elf with a bright face.

“Ohhhhhh! It’s really alive! I’m really touched. I never thought I’d see a living, Guardian-class elf in my lifetime……! Can I touch it right now?”

“As of this time, ownership of the elf has been transferred to Lord Dreyfus.”

“You don’t need to ask permission.”

Dreyfus smiled and pushed aside the two carriers to immediately caress the elf.

He pressed the arms, shoulders, legs, chest, and abdomen. Finally, he expressed his admiration as he pressed the head.

“It’s alive despite its insides being such a mess… It’s definitely a different body from the elf corpses I’ve seen so far. Ha, just looking at it makes me want to research. It’s giving me ideas for all sorts of experiments. Oh, if you’re done, you can go now. I’m going to be dissecting this elf here and there today, so don’t bother me.”

“Yes, but there is one thing to be careful of.”

“……?”

“This elf has a history of waking up during an experiment and killing six wizards. Of course, even if he regains consciousness in his current state, he won’t be able to move a finger… but unlike before, he is not a cold corpse, but a living being. Please keep this in mind.”

“Mind? To me?”

Dreyfus burst into laughter at the carrier's advice. He patted the blond elf's head with his white-gloved hand.

“Even if he were alive and well, he wouldn’t be able to come to me and would just freeze to death. Why should I be careful with a dying test subject? I’ll take care of it, so just leave me alone and go.”

“Okay, I hope you get the results you want.”

The carriers bowed their heads and left their seats.

After a faint vibration from afar, the sound completely disappeared.

Did you go outside the lab?

Verden turned his gaze to Dreyfus.

Dreyfus was completely unaware that there was a strange wizard in his laboratory, and was focused solely on the blond elf.

“Oh, where should we start? It’s too risky to directly touch the heart or brain… I think the hands or feet would be better. Or should we start by examining the insides, which are still intact? To do that, we need to minimize bleeding as much as possible….”

Dreyfus muttered to himself and narrowed his eyes.

Then, he nodded with a satisfied expression, as if he had decided on a direction. After searching through the surgical tools and not finding anything, he took off his gloves and hurriedly left the place.

A laboratory where silence has descended.

Verden, who had been hiding in the shadows, revealed himself.

* * *

“…….”

Thud, thud.

Verden walked out and took Dreyfus' place without a care.

An unconscious blonde elf.

He pressed down on the elf's body as Dreyfus had done. It was strangely soft, as if some of the tissue forming the body had been destroyed.

The outside looks fine, but the inside is a mess.

'Some powerful force has torn through the inside.'

And not just for a moment, but for a long time.

If you are a wizard, it is similar to a case where the magical circuit is continuously overloaded and eventually destroyed, leading to necrosis.

'There is only one case where such an accident occurs.'

It's about deliberately creating overload.

Of course, that is why it is a very difficult phenomenon to find.

Destroying one's own magical circuits was like cutting off one's fingers one by one and leading to death.

It meant that it was so painful that it made my hair turn white.

What kind of experiment was done to cause this?

Whatever it was, it must have been horrific pain beyond torture.

Verden's eyes twitched.

Human experiments that I could hate because I had experienced them. Even though they were elves and not humans, the feeling of disgust did not subside.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming from behind stopped.

Verden turned around.

Drebus stood there, holding some unidentified drugs in his hands.

“Huh? Who are you? I clearly told you not to bother me…….”

“Do I look like I’m going to be transporting test subjects or something?”

At those words, Dreyfus looked at Verden.

Gray armor with strange patterns and green robes. Ash-colored hair and blue eyes. He wiped his chin with his empty hand, his appearance so unique that he could count it on one hand.

“Hmm, that’s definitely a face I’ve never seen before. I haven’t heard anything from Your Majesty, so you’re not from the royal family, and judging by your pointed ears, you’re not an elf either. What brings you here? How did you even get in here?”

“It’s not you who is asking the question.”

Hwaaaaah!

In an instant, Verden's magical power swept through the laboratory.

'This is… … magic detection?'

Dreyfus frowned.

Among the first-tier basic magic, it is not magic explosion or magic pressure, but magic detection.

I understood that the intruder before my eyes had crept into the laboratory with impure intentions. However, I had no idea why he was using his magical powers in that way.

Meanwhile, Verden's number had already begun.

The magic circle that had been delayed due to the magic stone reacted to Verden's magic.

The Obstruction.

Four magic circles activated simultaneously and resonated with each other. Magic circles with enhanced power than the original. A translucent, thin magic film spread out in an instant, permeating the entire laboratory.

The ceiling, the walls, even the floor where the two people are standing.

Drevus saw through the magic circle's true identity.

He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head forward.

In the brief moment when their eyes were not meeting, Verden was holding a staff in his right hand. Dreyfus glared into his blue eyes and asked softly.

“What on earth are you trying to do?”

“I have a lot to ask you.”

Verden, who had revealed his purpose, spoke calmly.

“So please cooperate.”

* * *

"what……."

Dreyfus couldn't hide his embarrassment and made a dumbfounded expression.

Not only did he sneak into my lab out of nowhere, he blocked the outside and inside with a magic circle and then suddenly asked me to cooperate.

Whether it was the way he was holding the staff or his attitude, it was just plain intimidation.

This is a reality I am experiencing for the first time in my life.

Soon, Dreyfuss twisted his mouth. He was angry, but the situation itself was so absurd that he couldn't help but laugh.

“Hahahahahahahaha! Cooperation? Cooperation? Who would have thought that I would be threatened by robbers in a laboratory? And in the castle of His Highness the First Prince! Isn’t this too refreshing?”

Swish.

Dreyfuss wiped away the tears from his eyes and groaned.

“By the way, are you a wizard? A wizard robber… I don’t know what kind of confidence you have, or how you managed to sneak in here like a rat. To dare come to a place guarded by me, ‘Drevis Feonterod’, a member of the Royal Court Wizards of the Estyrian Royal Family. How unlucky, how damned unlucky.”

Because I belong to the court magic group.

'You belong to a higher organization than I thought.'

So, of course, you must know a lot.

You must be familiar with some important information. In many ways, you could say that it was a great success.

Of course, it will be that strong.

If we roughly estimate the level, it would be in the lower 5th tier.

'Well, it doesn't matter if you're a wizard.'

I never had any intention of losing in a magic battle.

All I had to do was protect the blond elf, preserve the lab, and figure out how to subdue Dreyfus alive.

Dreyfus, who had a good laugh, activated the magic circuit.

The potions he was holding floated up to his mind and settled on a nearby desk. He took out a crafted staff from his bosom and aimed it at Verden.

“Well, I guess it’s not bad to do a quick warm-up before starting the experiment. If anything, it feels even better because it builds anticipation. You… I don’t know your name, but I’ll kill you in the blink of an eye, so just hold on a little longer. Oh, and of course, you have to clean up before that.”

Dreyfus waved his cane lightly.

The desk behind Verden, which contained all sorts of experimental equipment, and the cart carrying the elf flew away and landed on the wall.

Telekinesis.

The ability to manipulate magical power is top-notch.

'I guess you don't have to worry about the elves.'

It seems that Dreyfus cares more about the blond elf than Verden. He's not a rookie wizard, so there's no way his blind magic would hit an elf.

The magic circuit was activated more strongly.

Verden and Dreyfus.

The two aimed their weapons and magic power at each other.

“Oh, you’re quite calm for a rat wizard.”

Dreyfus's eyes drew a line.

I wondered how that elf-like face would distort in the future.

'Hmm, now that I look at it, the equipment seems quite expensive.'

After freezing them to death, they are taken from them and the rest are used as test subjects. If they are left alive, various information can be extracted, but for Dreyfus, it is easier to kill them and erase all traces.

If I do something wrong, I won't be able to do the experiment and will be called around here and there by the First Prince.

If your ankle is caught properly, you will end up proving your incompetence before you can do anything.

'So, whether we kill or live, we have to end it quickly.'

Dreyfus, having made the decision, struck first.

<Multiple Freezing Arrows>

Magic for illusion.

Five ice arrows flew in a straight line, but Verden did not respond. As the arrows hit him directly, a curtain of magical power protected him from all sides.

Even though I didn't manipulate any magic power.

'Is it an automatic magic barrier? It seems to be a built-in function of armor or robes… … You're good at using inefficient and rare things.'

But even if you are always protected by a magic item, there are countless ways to break through it, especially if you are a magician who handles water and ice.

<Rapid Current>

Magic power is converted into attributes.

The rough waves surged up and down, approaching Berden.

The basic strategy of a water attribute wizard is linkage.

The main strategy is to steal the opponent's space and slowly drown them, or if you have the ice attribute, trap them in water and freeze them, which can determine victory or defeat in an instant.

Dreyfus is a 4th-tier high-ranking magician who clearly belongs to the latter.

Choaaaah.

The crashing waves split to either side.

The magic that was divided like that did not immediately fall on Verden, but split again and soared up to the ceiling.

Waves crashing down from all sides, breaking apart into pieces.

Then, Dreyfus, who had been squeezing out his magical power, cast a spell.

<Ice Zone>

The frost that spread from Dreyfus reached the torrent.

The cold air that spread out in an instant froze some of the crashing waves. The ice fragments mixed with the cold waves rained down on Verden all at once.

There is no room to escape.

You could melt it with fire or smash it head-on, but there wouldn't be enough time to dispel an ice tsunami of that size.

“It’s nothing.”

Dreyfus was confident of an overwhelming victory.

But that was the case for Verden too.

<Cryo>

The cold reinforcement of the Ring of Cold (replica) and the range reinforcement of Mabel's earrings. The realm of ice magic that Verden originally possessed.

The cold air spreading from the Oculus engulfed Dreyfus's linked magic without fail.

Fire burns fire, and ice freezes ice.

A hierarchical relationship that occurs when there is a large gap between wizards of the same lineage.

Dreyfus stared blankly at the sight of the magic he had confidently created turning into a mere piece of ice.

“What is this…….”

That's when I heard a voice.

“One hand.”

One hand?

What does that mean?

Just as I was starting to understand, I felt something behind me.

Magical power that arose from nothing.

Before he could even react, a piece of stone protruded from the square and crushed the back of Dreyfus' hand.

'