A-Rank Guild

“Don’t even dream of leaving alive!”

When the distance narrowed to about 100 meters, Pernok’s mana permeated his entire body.

Bang!

The ground he lightly kicked caved in.

Though speed sharp enough to pierce air, unlike enemies faced until now, Jake accurately grasped Pernok’s movement line.

Matching Pernok’s steps, Jake wiggled his index and middle fingers upward.

Before he could capture the mana flow, the ground tore in two.

In the blink of an eye, stones erected like walls pressed down on Pernok from both sides.

When he swung both arms loaded with mana forcefully, stones shattered and scattered as powder.

Instantly, the powder was dyed black and imprisoned Pernok as if possessing self-awareness.

The powder began spinning violently like a storm.

Just when it seemed he’d be ground down, a fist punching through the storm struck Jake’s chest.

Wham!

Jake forcibly dropped to regain his stance, and Pernok who tore through the storm slowly landed.

The two glared at each other.

‘Definitely handles doppelgangers, but physical types are also his specialty. The report wasn’t wrong?’

‘I thought it was gravity-controlling magic, but something’s subtly different.’

Jake saw Pernok’s appearance no different from reports.

Pernok recognized Jake’s magic grasped through the doppelganger.

In situations different from what they thought they’d grasped, neither moved rashly.

‘He uses doppelgangers and physical enhancement simultaneously!’

‘Whatever he handles, he absolutely won’t yield distance.’

No time to even deeply ponder exploration.

The two moved based on minimal information.

‘In the end, this bastard specializes in close combat!’

‘Jake’s magic can catch himself in it too.’

The answer dropped, and they moved simultaneously.

Bang bang bang!

Beneath Jake’s feet split and countless fragments rose.

Pernok rushed through the middle being refined like an awl.

“Brace for impact…!”

The moment Sallio raised a barrier with Enri to protect crowds.

Pernok unleashed a second Over Impact.

Meant to probe Jake by overlaying only mana with a strike accumulating little.

And amidst stone lumps scattering as powder, he clearly grasped the heterogeneous form of pitch-black dots gathering to Jake and proliferating again like Pestilence.

“…Was it a Double!”

Jake judged Pernok as an equal rank mage possessing multiple magic.

He revealed his magic unhesitatingly.

‘Jake’s magic controls everything touched by the color completely. Can even forcibly manipulate mana.’

Even if it was mana, like a disease it takes as its own food to greatly expand.

This unique-type magic can simultaneously implement contraction and expansion.

The moment a single dot marks you after looking away even slightly, you receive Jake’s mana control.

It would feel closer to erosion than domination.

“Guild leader!”

When Flang’s executives began arriving, Pernok’s vision slightly blurred.

A faster response than expected, and Jake’s magic was more heterogeneous than thought, so he overexerted somewhat.

If given time to settle level 6 mana, it would be good, but with Sallio and Enri’s control already entered, escape was impossible.

He had to face Jake and the guild without breathing room.

But Jake’s situation wasn’t good either.

“Concentrate magic!”

He too was tired from forcibly coming here.

If the most core person feels fatigue and shifts stance focused on commanding affiliated guild members, it could rather become an opportunity for Pernok.

Because Pernok can absorb mana and spiritual power during combat.

Thud!

“Aaaagh!”

As lead guards were crushed, magic flew.

Pernok boldly charged relying on his body’s magic resistance.

Magic that grazed caused chain explosions.

Perhaps aftermath of fighting Jake, even though low-grade magic, his insides churned slightly.

At the crisis feeling after a long time, his body increasingly heated up and senses expanded.

Synchronization Rate – 19.2%

Combat awakens Pernok.

Relishing enemies’ fear, the heating feeling of being soaked in blood.

Hot and sharp.

“Guards fall back! Mages who finished casting immediately press in!”

Jake completed Flang executives’ deployment with affiliated guild members’ sacrifice.

And as if flaunting being a level 6 mage, he too boasted fast mana recovery speed and immediately entered combat.

Conversely, Pernok was in a state where fatigue filled to his head while handling even affiliated guilds.

But his overheated body began another molt before rushing mana.

‘It was possible to overlay mana and spiritual power on Over Impact. Then how about mixing part of my spiritual power with mana as base.’

A situation cornered to the limit requiring squeezing out everything.

Pernok thought of an idea never attempted before.

The moment spiritual power permeated expanded mana.

Bang!

“…!”

Jake lost Pernok’s movement for an instant.

Pure white flashes flickered everywhere, and no one including guild members reacted to that speed.

“You damn bastard!”

Jake’s black dots gathered in one place.

The result abandoning even blind spot defense was a pitch-black sphere.

“Space expansion?”

“You’ll kill even us, you crazy bastard!”

Sallio and Enri had experienced that ominous sphere once.

A product of destruction where even the expression dangerous is insufficient.

“Stop, bastard!”

Ignoring the sound Enri let out like a scream, Jake floated the fist-sized sphere before his chest.

The moment even surrounding mana sucked into the sphere, Jake’s soul scatters brighter light.

‘Is this your maximum?’

Massive light shown by a soul resolved for death.

Toward perfectly ripened prey, Pernok rushed.

Though only faint spiritual power mixed, mana amplified several times to gift Pernok explosive acceleration.

He ran through time where even magic pouring like rain from Flang executives appeared slow.

And.

“Disappear!”

Darkness swallowed time.

The expanded sphere devoured people and barriers with darkness thicker than night.

“Smash it!”

“Damn it!”

The moment Sallio and Enri who declared they wouldn’t intervene frantically converted mana toward the center.

Pernok’s fist and Flang executives’ mana poured and tangled in one place.

And everyone’s mana mixed and exploded.

BOOM!

Darkness cracked like a shell breaking.

Pernok was pushed back with a streak of blood flowing from his lips.

Sallio and Enri gasped with faces turned deathly pale.

Flang’s executives caught Jake who was flung away with difficulty.

“Huff, huff, huff. Move!”

When Jake struggled violently, executives vomited blood while restraining him.

“This bastard, trying to kill even observers?”

“You’re breaking the rules now, Jake!”

When Enri and Sallio raged, their guild members burst out.

“Moooove!”

But Jake no longer cared about surrounding circumstances.

Flang’s executives realized the situation was racing toward extremes beyond worst.

It was a situation where Pernok and Flang’s war could spread to conflict among A-rank guilds.

Pernok hadn’t intended this far either.

‘The variable called observers is working strangely.’

His body screams at the first-attempted combination of mana and spiritual power.

The massive collision just now wasn’t the nature Mana Reinforcement could fully absorb.

But just once. Capacity to strike Jake’s neck remains.

‘It’s definitely a situation good for me to exploit. However…’

After killing Jake, if those guild members rage and concentrate all bombardment, Pernok has no capacity to block.

Other A-rank guilds also won’t tolerate Pernok worsening the situation.

‘A method to kill even Jake while facing all these bastards.’

When Pernok was calculating the only breakthrough, a group of warhorses rushed in.

“Stop!”

The lead man in heavy armor shouted from his horse.

The emblem symbolizing the castle’s knight order was stamped on the armor.

Even Jake who’d been writhing in anger seemed to somewhat regain reason after seeing the emblem.

“Sir Beden!”

“Terrible murder occurred in this night!”

“That bastard! Pernok! That bastard is massacring innocent mercenaries! I will judge him! Please watch!”

“I’m taking that man to the castle.”

Then Sallio stepped forward.

“Excuse me Sir Beden, we’ll control this place.”

Beden’s brow twitched.

“Guild leader Sallio, people are dying now and you’re telling us to just watch?”

“Everything is the result achieved under both sides’ agreement.”

“The castle just now received reports of this commotion!”

“Sorry for not informing in advance. But this is mercenaries’ custom. All damage will be responsibly finished by the parties who started this work.”

Beden frowned.

“Don’t want to hear it! The lord personally ordered to bind and bring the party, so finish your work after all investigations end!”

At words that even the lord stepped forward, Sallio and Enri tilted their heads.

Jake too.

Because this castle’s lord had very close relations with Flang.

In a situation where they should join forces to kill Pernok, at saying he’d escort separately, his expression was extremely confused.

“What are you doing! Not binding the suspect immediately!”

“Crunch!”

Jake glared at Pernok with bloodshot eyes.

His eyes seemed to say let’s continue fighting.

Then Beden’s adjutant who approached Pernok whispered.

“Your retainer is waiting at the castle.”

“Retainer?”

Pernok suddenly recalled Rio.

“No matter how I look, if you kill Jake you’ll die too, will you just advance emotions like this?”

Flang’s elite executives and remaining affiliated guilds gathered faster than Pernok expected.

The situation delayed because Sallio and Enri intervened in combat.

Further commotion would benefit Pernok nothing.

“Come out! Pernok!”

Regrettable but today ends here.

‘Since I grasped Jake’s magic and skill, I can kill him anytime later.’

A life barely surviving.

Can’t risk danger to hastily kill prey that can be devoured anytime.

Pernok who finished calculating calmly settled his emotions.

“Let’s settle this, Pernok!”

Pernok smirked.

“Can you do it alone?”

Veins surged on Jake’s forehead.

“Beeeeast!”

Leaving the screaming bastard behind, Pernok extended both hands to the adjutant.

When shackles were fastened, his body staggered.

As if not wanting to show Jake his tired appearance, the adjutant guarded Pernok’s back.

“Please speak well to the lord.”

Even laughing.

Just what method did Rio use to attach these knights to me like escorts.

“Escorting the criminal!”

Pernok headed to the castle following the knight order.

Only blank stares after the storm disappeared chased behind.

* * *

Upon arriving at the castle, the adjutant immediately released Pernok’s shackles.

And receiving guidance, he entered the lord’s office, where Rio sat facing a middle-aged man in formal wear.

When Pernok stood blankly at the strange combination, the middle-aged man first stood and approached.

“I’m Borden who received appointment as the new lord.”

“Isn’t this place’s lord Count Bark?”

“That criminal is in prison now. Since he embezzled much, he’ll be escorted to the kingdom tomorrow morning. And the fact I newly took office will be announced to the people. Before that, I wanted to meet you. That con artist fellow introduced you to me as a goose laying golden eggs.”

Pernok turned his gaze to Rio.

Rio said calmly while drinking tea.

“The last element to supplement your plan, Lord Pernok. I judged we must replace the existing castle’s personnel.”

Rio’s independently moved and devised plan drew Pernok’s admiration.

“This place’s forces are castle, guilds, association. These three places maintain tense balance. On the surface.”

Rio collected information from the first day arriving here.

And grasped several funds were intimately connected with the castle.

“Flang was offering continuous tribute to Count Bark. Essentially he preempted an advantageous position receiving even the castle’s cooperation while increasing affiliated guilds.”

“So you chose the castle as a complementary point to my plan?”

“Yes. Receiving and securing Flang’s existing business rights from the association, and if we turn the castle’s connections this way, we’ll secure the base you desire. So I recruited the best partner, Count Borden.”

“How did you know a noble?”

“Someone I met while messing with nobles before. If interests align well, trust forms more thickly than anyone.”

“You had ability to plant a noble in this golden land?”

“I uncovered corruption. Released one bait, and Count Borden tenaciously dug in to disgrace Count Bark. His ability is tremendous. Isn’t he sufficient to be with us?”

“Ahem, you make me too much like an opportunist before the person.”

Borden smiled awkwardly but didn’t look down on Pernok.

From the moment entering here, he considered Pernok a business partner to be with.

“Count Borden watched very impressively as you pushed against Flang. Branch leader Baltus was persuaded too. Tonight’s commotion will rebirth you with heroic aspects, so all situations smile toward us.”

“You drew castle and association cooperation quite naturally.”

“All thanks to you showing action power exceeding imagination.”

“That you jumped into my plan this far—can I think your answer is already decided?”

Rio knelt on one knee before Pernok.

“I too will help you achieve great dreams, Lord Pernok.”