NOVPUBOriginally, Ludger had no intention of using poisonous herbs.
The pills he usually took already exceeded the standard strength of normal pharmaceuticals, and they were enough on their own.
But after entering Seorn, that idea changed.
Situations arose one after another that his usual medication couldn't handle.
He frequently experienced mana depletion.
Ludger thought to himself:
He needed something better. Something stronger.
He should prepare a trump card just in case.
Ludger immediately spoke with Bellaruna Petanada.
He said he wanted to create a drug far stronger than what he usually took.
So he asked for her help.
The elf reacted with visible shock upon hearing his request, but perhaps intrigued, she didn’t refuse.
The two of them put their heads together and combined their strengths to produce a single potion.
—Hiiieek. T-This is kind of dangerous.
Even Bellaruna, who could handle most toxins with a smile, reacted with horror.
But Ludger thought it couldn’t have turned out better.
—W-We’ll dispose of this batch for now. Since it’s the first prototype, it’s got too many unstable components. B-But I did make the formula, so I’ll be able to make a proper one next time.
—Thanks. It's all thanks to you.
—S-Still, it’s dangerous. Boss, you're planning to use the toxic byproduct from mana grass, right?
—Yes.
—The poison itself is hazardous, but t-the amount of mana contained in it is even more so. Honestly, the original pill we made looks like scraps compared to this.
It’s dangerous.
Bellaruna warned him seriously.
—How do you use it?
—T-That...
The method of using the byproduct was simple.
Cut up the paper saturated with the toxin and burn it, inhaling the smoke.
But the moment it’s inhaled, any ordinary mage would be unable to contain the mana and their body would burst.
Even if their body remained intact, they'd undoubtedly suffer necrosis from the poisoning.
—If you can’t release the surging mana immediately, your body will break down. Y-You have to release more mana than you absorb.
However, Bellaruna eventually seemed to realize something and nodded.
—S-Still, for you, Boss, it probably won’t matter.
That’s right.
For other mages, this would be an incomparably dangerous substance.
But for Ludger, none of that applied.
—T-That’s because your mana release rate is 100%, Boss.
* * *
“Sss.”
He inhaled the smoke and circulated it through his body.
It looked for all the world like someone smoking a pipe, but inside Ludger’s body, a storm of mana was raging.
“Hoo.”
Then he exhaled.
Thick white smoke spread, only to be consumed by the heat and vanish.
The mana contained within the poison had all been absorbed into his body, and only the toxic gas was expelled—disappearing into Quasimodo’s flames.
Even so, the poison was so strong that a pungent stench remained in the air.
“Poison, huh.”
Ludger, pipe in mouth, felt the poison try to invade his body—and recalled old memories.
“I was exposed to so much of it as a child that it doesn’t faze me anymore.”
Not by his own will, but because of others.
His body had developed a strong resistance to most poisons.
That’s why even the dangerous toxicity of mana grass, which Bellaruna had feared, did not harm Ludger’s body in the slightest.
Fwoooosh.
What spilled from Ludger wasn’t just white smoke.
Mana overflowed from his whole body like a blue mist, swirling around him.
Mana release.
He expelled the endlessly rising mana outward, only for more to surge in again—then expelled it once more.
Once, twice, three times.
As he repeated this process over ten times, blue light began to linger and hang in the air around him.
Quasimodo sensed something strange.
Normally, mana dissipates the moment it’s released, melting into the air.
Because the mage loses control over it.
But the mana Ludger released didn’t vanish—it remained suspended in midair.
Rather, it floated around him, as if protecting him.
A world burning red, yet cloaked in a veil of blue mist.
Ludger may not have had a large mana reserve—barely enough to cast 4th-circle spells.
But his mana control and release rate were absurdly high.
Whoooosh...
The mana suspended in the air began to move according to Ludger’s will.
After 23 consecutive mana releases, the blue mist now thickened and condensed.
Eventually, it coalesced into a spell formation.
“Do you enjoy contests of strength?”
With that declaration, the spell unfolded.
5th-circle water-element spell: [Wrath of the Sea]
A massive jet of water shot toward Quasimodo.
It moved at such an unimaginable speed that Quasimodo couldn’t even react.
BOOM!
Quasimodo’s right arm was blasted off in an instant.
He looked down at his missing arm, then twisted his face in fury.
[Imp...res...sive!]
FWOOOSH!
Flames burst from the severed limb, and a new arm regrew in an instant.
Clenching and unclenching his fist, Quasimodo charged straight at Ludger like a mad beast. 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“Your body regenerates instantly, even when destroyed?”
Even though it was a water-type spell—a poor elemental match—it didn’t deal fatal damage.
If anything, it only made the creature more furious.
‘It may be a mere wraith, but its power rivals that of a top-class fire spirit.’
That meant 5th-circle magic might not be enough.
A high-class spirit’s strength was on par with a 6th-circle mage.
‘The seal that suppresses the power of the gods is still intact. Since I’m overflowing with mana for once, I may as well go all out.’
There were spells Ludger had long known but had never been able to cast due to a lack of mana.
He intended to unleash them all now.
“Go. DT-3000.”
Ludger placed his palm on the golem’s back and gave the command.
At the same time, he activated [Form Transformation] to enhance the golem’s arms.
The backs of the golem’s hands—designed for destruction—rose into sharp blades.
PSSSH!
Steam hissed from both shoulders as the golem charged at Quasimodo.
Despite being nearly 4 meters tall, the golem looked like a child standing before an adult when facing Quasimodo.
Naturally, it would be at a disadvantage in a head-on fight.
But the golem, fearless, swung its newly formed Wrist Blades, slashing at Quasimodo and inflicting wounds.
[KRAAAAH!]
Each time the blades sliced through his body, Quasimodo screamed.
It was because of the cold emanating from the blades.
4th-circle frost enchantment: [Icicle Fang]
A cold attribute spell Ludger had pre-applied.
[HUMAN!!!]
Quasimodo roared in rage.
Then he released an intense wave of heat, setting the surroundings ablaze.
SSSSSH!
The golem raised its arms to block the heat.
Cold and heat collided, producing bursts of white steam.
Quasimodo blasted out even more heat.
The wounds on his body not only regenerated in an instant—the flames now burned over him like a raging forest fire.
The frost magic inscribed on the golem’s arms began to fade.
“Just a bit longer.”
Ludger focused his mind, preparing an even stronger spell.
The golem—DT-3000—tried to obey its command faithfully, but reality wouldn’t allow it.
As the heat grew more intense, the enchantment spells vanished, and even the enhancement magic began to fade.
The golem itself wasn’t collapsing.
The problem was the core energy source powering its output.
Ludger noticed it ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) immediately.
‘The magic stone’s power is depleted.’
The blue glow radiating from the golem flickered as if it might extinguish at any moment.
There was no problem with the golem itself—but the excessive output had nearly drained the mana stone.
‘I don’t have any spare mana stones.’
If the golem were to stop functioning here, the fight would become much more difficult.
After all, the golem’s role in shielding him from Quasimodo was critical.
That was precisely why he’d brought Professor Brino’s golem.
‘I really didn’t want to use this...’
Ludger frowned and reached into the inner pocket of his coat.
What he pulled out was a test tube filled with bright red liquid.
The moment he opened the cap, the smell of blood wafted out.
It wasn’t a liquid that merely resembled blood—it was real blood.
‘I’m sorry... Master.’
He hadn’t expected to use it in a place like this, so he silently offered an apology.
Normally, when a mana stone’s energy is depleted, it becomes nothing more than a useless rock.
But a mana stone is a solidified form of magic essence.
Even if it's lost its use as a power source, it can still function as a vessel to hold mana.
In emergencies like this, you could infuse the vessel with mana using a reagent.
And the blood of a high-ranking mage made for an exceptional reagent.
There was nothing better for jumpstarting the output of a failing mana stone.
Ludger immediately poured the blood over the golem’s mana stone.
Zzzzzing.
The stone began to absorb the blood, glowing with a foreboding light.
The mana circuits flowing across the golem’s brass exterior turned red—almost to the point of going berserk.
Clank. Click.
The golem’s eyes glowed red.
It had entered an Overclock state, and crimson mana surged violently around its frame.
A crack formed on the surface of the finely cut mana stone.
The vessel couldn’t handle the volume of mana contained in the blood.
But—
“At least the output is guaranteed for now.”
THUD!
The golem surged forward with a leap.
Its movements were on a whole other level compared to its previously heavy, sluggish gait.
Quasimodo thrust both arms forward, attempting to shove the golem back by force.
Its eyes had simply turned red—besides, the cold attribute it feared had vanished, hadn't it?
But to his surprise, the golem wasn’t pushed back.
Rather, Quasimodo was the one being overpowered.
DT-3000 locked hands with the fire giant and drove him backward.
[KUAAARGH!]
Unable to believe what was happening, Quasimodo opened his mouth wide and spewed flames.
Lava-like fire rained down on DT-3000’s head as the two clashed in a test of strength.
And yet, astonishingly, DT-3000 withstood the blaze.
Instead, the swirling red mana climbed up its arms like tendrils and began to invade Quasimodo.
[Scrap metal... you wretch!]
Enraged, Quasimodo increased the intensity of the flames.
He didn’t know what this red energy was—but it instinctively filled him, a wraith, with dread and disgust.
He flung his head backward—then drove it forward into a vicious headbutt, aiming straight at the golem’s energy source: the red-hot mana stone.
CRACK!
Already fractured, the mana stone couldn’t endure Quasimodo’s blow and shattered completely.
The golem’s glowing red eyes instantly dimmed and went dark.
The spell broke.
DT-3000, its energy spent, collapsed with a heavy crash.
[HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!]
Quasimodo stomped down on the fallen golem over and over with his massive legs.
That was his fatal mistake.
Because by fixating on the golem, he gave Ludger the time he needed.
Fwooooooosh!
The temperature inside the flaming warehouse plummeted.
Driven by the frigid wind, Quasimodo turned toward the source of the cold.
There stood the man.
His black coat billowing, eyes locked onto his target—Ludger Cherish.
[Human...!]
All the mana mist that had filled the space was now being consumed into a single spell.
The volume of mana was incomparable even to the 5th-circle magic he had fired earlier.
It was a Grand Spell—a spell too vast for source-code circuits to contain, requiring manual construction, line by line.
“It’s over.”
With those words, the condensed mana exploded into a massive formation.
Countless lines of magic etched through the air.
Not dozens—nearly a hundred lines were drawn, forming a three-dimensional shape in the void.
And at last, it gave birth to a spell.
It was a spell born from the past—honoring the first ship to reach the far northern frozen continent and disappear into history.
Created by Lexuror, the first adventurer-mage to achieve 6th-circle magic, as a tribute to their greatness and to never forget them.
A sea in the sky.
A ship eternally sailing toward the distant, frozen land.
6th-circle Ice Magic
[Heaven-Sea Icebreaker]
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM──!!!
A tremendous foghorn sounded as a massive ship of ice charged toward Quasimodo.
Even the 10-meter-tall Quasimodo had to look up to behold its scale.
[KUAARGHHHH!!]
He let out a scream that sounded more like a shriek of terror than a roar.
Standing on the bow of the icebreaker, Ludger exhaled a long stream of smoke from his pipe.
“Let’s see if you can stop this one.”
The ship of ice collided with the giant of fire.
