Chapter 120: 120
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I did not listen to the voice in my head anymore. Instead, I grit my teeth and endure the pain.
'Sh*t this pain, endure and deal with it!'
I stood up slowly despite the pain stinging every inch of my body. It was purely my willpower that allowed me to stand up. But even though I managed to stand up, it's not a good thing. I am enduring the pain in my feet. Running is now something hard to do and I have to deal with it in the meantime. Catmod face me again as he started walking towards my direction.
"Let's do it again..." I mumbled as I activated my flames once more.
"Oh? Good job managing to stand up despite the injury, I commend you on that," Catmod said as he claps his hands.
I just frowned before I throw a flame to Catmod's direction. Still, with some injuries in my arms, aiming the enemy is just not working well right now.
Indeed Catmod is strong but not all strong people are strong forever, they also take damage and hit their limits. Although I also have limits, my mana is limitless and my ability in terms of flames is a bit more amped version of normal flames. What is more, if I use flame magic, I would never fear of draining my mana due to the help of the Necklace of Flame. All flame related magic won't be draining any kind of mana which would really help me against the battle of Catmod. Still, I don't know what strategy I would use to bring him down.
During this battle, I found out what are the lacking things I needed right now; physical fitness and recovery magic. Due to my frail body, enduring injuries are just hard to deal with and without recovery magic, recovering from my wounds would at least take quite forever. Because I don't have a magic mastery limit, I can say I can be a jack of all trades if I also managed to learn a recovery skill. But with only Torrent Bullet, Flame attacks, Forestry Control, Telekinesis, Earthshaker and Pillars of Doom, defeating him needs to have a careful and well-played plan. I don't have a choice right now and I have to deal with it.
I noticed that Catmod is once again assuming the stance of a crouching cat form. I don't like where this is going but I will try to predict the next course of action that Catmod will be using. This would be risky because one more hit from the attack that Catmod gave to me earlier is hard to block with and one more hit from that attack would surely incapacitate me already.
Most people in a fight would assume that an attack that is already used would get repetitive once used again and if you used it for tactics, that is just not good enough to assume the attack is the same. For cunning fighters, repeating the movement, only to use it for bait on the unsuspecting victims is the usual thing. Which means, Catmod has a very high possibility of modifying his attack by attacking in range or in another direction instead, which means that there are lots of ways to deal and finish me off.
I want to predict Catmod's movements but I doubt I can even do that since he is missing in action. I can't properly land a blow on an invisible target that is also constantly moving. That is just rather hard for me to deal with. I keep my eyes darting from left to right to make sure that everything would be okay rather than it will cause trouble to me because I am only 10% sure of getting the location of Catmod right. My body tensed, I don't think I can even block Catmod's devastating attacks. Those close attacks of his are not filled with magic which means it was just pure power without the magic's help.
My wounds are still fresh and with these bruises accompanied by bleeding scrapes, it was noteworthy to say that dodging is almost close to impossible with this state. I can barely stand which is very embarrassing already. What I am wary of is Catmod's speed. It was beyond what my eye can see which is going to deal with me a very hard blow to my defenses.
"Kid, use your mana scan. If you can't find him in naked eyes, find him via aura. That is my advice," Lil' Blue said in my consciousness.
Find him using aura? Of course! Since Mana Scan can sense mana in the surroundings, only those things that have mana would emit a faint blue light on them. Of course, since some humans have mana in their bodies, Mana Scan can detect almost anything without escaping on its range. Why did I forget about that? Maybe due to the tense battle, I had a hard time thinking for a solution I don't have in grasp.
Activating the Mana Scan, the whole surrounding became quiet. I made sure to stay focused on the mana scan. I just found this method not too long ago and I find it good and trustworthy in looking hidden enemies that are lurking in the shadows. I am not so proficient in it and I have to rely on intense focus to properly use the effects of the skill.
'Focus Kazuma, you will find Catmod if you focus hard.'
I closed my eyes as I mumbled those words. As soon as I mumbled that, I fell into the focused state where everything disappeared and only me and the surrounding mana revolving around is what left. I was surprised at this one when I managed to activate this state when I was still practicing it but after several practices, I managed to do it without too much difficulty to me.
At first, the whole surroundings were just slow and still. I can't feel a single movement to my enemy. I waited patiently and it didn't take too long for me to notice a ripple on the left side. As per my experience, once there is a ripple, that means that there is something or someone with mana in that location. And since we are in the arena, there is only one reason for the ripple.
Waiting is not an option for me. Before the ripple can get near or far from me, I opened my eyes and hurl the hottest form of my fireball straight to the ripple.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
When I did that, the nothingness disappeared and returned to normal. Also, I squarely hit Catmod straight on his body as he was unable to block all of the fireballs I have thrown to him. He stepped back and flick his paws to get rid of some ashes left on his paws used for blocking some of the attacks.
"Impressive but not enough damage. You can deal stronger one at that!"
Of course, he won't be defeated by a measly fireball that can only burn a few things. With all the wounds I have, my attack power in my magic skills is all degraded for quite a bit which is quite bad in my opinion but I have to deal with it.
Catmod stomps his two feet alternately into the ground, causing a big white magic circle revolving beneath his feet. The audience riled seeing this. I also think I have seen this kind of spell before from Catmod but I am not sure if it was the same magic he used against the chief. But from what I know from Moonlight, magic circles that are bigger than normal like Catmod's magic circle right now is subject to casting time, which means, to activate the magic fully, he needs to channel and hold it first before unleashing it. This only means that Catmod is quite vulnerable right now.
I didn't dare to waste my time. I also unleashed my trump card. During my free time in this place, I have nothing else better to do since I left my phone back home and with only a few people who are also busy practicing their magic, it became my daily habit to practice my skills especially in fire magic. Due to my daily practice, I found out that if you keep on practicing the magic, you will get to the point that you can experiment with the outcome of your magic.
Because I have read and played many games, I am so familiar with different kinds of style in magic. I tried experimenting on the flames and I was surprised to know that I can get a lot of power from just modifying the power and style of the flames. At first, I thought that the only form the Fire magic can do is the fireball and fire on fists. But I was quite wrong when I managed to create different variants of flame attacks. Since I am still weak and currently in Rank 1, I can only modify the power of the fire and get 10 forms in the meantime. I made sure that no one finds out the forms and now, I am going to use them in the battle.
To make Catmod halt his casting, interrupting his chant would do the trick. I need to stop Catmod but I have to do it indirectly. I can't afford that Catmod attacks me in my situation where I can't run at all. I have to make sure all parts of my plan are properly implemented and victory is within my grasp.
Since running is not currently good for me, I have to do it while staying here standing in my position. This would be a difficult task but not impossible. While Catmod is casting his spell, I clap my hands and a fireball appeared on my hands. Like a volleyball, I hurled the ball-shaped fireball and hit it in a spike but in a form that I was not jumping, just staying on standing position.
Bang!
The fireball exploded as it landed into the ground, barely missing Catmod. Catmod smirked as he saw the flames not so far from where he was standing. However, Catmod's face changed and his whiskers twitched as the fireball that just struck the ground slithered around Catmod's feet, surrounding him in a cage-like ring of fire. The flames did not die out but grew stronger than before. It was a very rare sight to see Catmod panic. The flames keep on rising high and the temperature is also getting very hot too.
Catmod hesitated a bit before he abandoned his casting time and quickly activated the barrier out to shield himself from the heat and damage. I grinned as soon as he activated that skill. It goes well with my plan. When I saw that the barrier materializes from his body, I quickly slam my palms to the ground and two green magic circles appeared beneath them.
When those green magic circle appeared, the flames in the ring of fire quickly died out. Before Catmod can release his barrier, vines appeared on the ground inside the barrier. Thick, thorny vines destroyed the barrier and coiled quickly on Catmod's body, preventing him from using his techniques. I also made sure that the vines is not easily destroyed by Catmod.
Due to the vines with thorns, Catmod winced in pain as the vines tightened and the thorns slowly wound his body.
"Gah!" Catmod screamed in pain. He tried to squirm away from the vines. Since he did not anticipate the appearance of the plants, he was more alert from the ring of fire. Of course, this is still not counted as my win because Catmod did not yet admit his defeat yet or he is still far from incapacitation. It's our new established rule now ever since the old rule where I will win from bringing him down only.
Still caught in the vine, Catmod tried to squirm out but every time he squirms the thorns would quickly prick him, causing pain in his body. I made sure that the vines' thorns is something that can't be easily cut by Catmod's skills. I personally tested those vines out from wind blades of Moonlight's magic which is for the sake of the battle today. Since Catmod can't move, I clapped my hands again and a blue magic circle appeared on my hands. I aimed the magic circle to Catmod who still struggled to get away from the vines.
"Torrent Bullet!"
Although it's hard to control the power of the Torrent Bullet, I find it a bit easier to when I practiced and tried it once. It has a similar structure to fire magic but a bit complicated which made me a bit more having a hard time dealing with the magic. Due to this problem, I had to focus first on the mana cost and the power of the magic. This magic is not yet perfect but it can cause quite a destruction to enemies if they take the Torrent Bullet lightly.
The Torrent Bullet launched a strong wave of water blast, straight to Catmod. However, Catmod refused to go down. Catmod blows a huge amount of air, forming a small twister that also shot out to me. The Torrent Bullet and the twister hit each other causing a huge shockwave into the arena. The two forces were so strong that instead of destroying each other, it caused a severe reaction and exploded into the battlefield.
The two forces that clashed due to the intensity is strong enough that I was once again sent flying. I landed into the ground many times, with my consciousness slowly being taken over by the darkness...
...
I opened my eyes and realized that I was sent into the Consciousness of mine. However, unlike the usual seed and the mana tree that I was expecting, there was nothingness in the surroundings. I found it strange because I am used to having the seed and the mana tree with me to show up whenever I was about to enter the consciousness of mine. Now is a bit different, Not a single soul except me is left here, it was like I was forced to deal with this.
"Lil' Blue? Lil' Blue are you in there?" I shouted in the area.
However, there is no answer which means they are not here. Still, I found it a bit strange and creepy. I already shouted so bad into the shadows but a single echo? Not present at all. The place is hollow but the echo is not reverberating in the door. It was like shouting in person without anyone answering or just I am paranoid? I hope it's not. The surroundings get creepier as time goes by so I have no choice but to go and look around. I tried to activate my magic skills like fireball to at least make a light in my surroundings. Only to realize that magic no longer works.
'What? How did the magic no longer works here?!'
Whatever I do, the fireballs failed to even appear. It was a very strange sight because I managed to use magic not too long ago when I practiced near the Mana Tree. Also, I think I don't see myself walking with any sort of progress. All the trial and error of casting my magic in this particular space were all ended in vain.
"That was weird, I should be able to use magic here in my consciousness because I managed to practice when I collapsed last time. How come I can't use any of them all of a sudden? And where is the mana tree and Lil' Blue anyway?!"
Then, a voice that has a deep sound echoed in the surroundings as it answered my questions. "Because this is not the usual consciousness you always visit. You are in your repressed memories space."
"Repressed Memories?"
"Indeed. All of the memories that are all sealed since you were young were all stored in here. If you managed to open a few of your restraints, you would be able to learn more of your origin. All of the memories stored in here are all forgotten and sealed, all because of you," the voice answered.
"Me? Wait, I don't even know what you are talking about and besides, who are you? Are you the brother of Lil' Blue or something? Judging from your deep voice, it is impossible to be Lil' Blue."
"Hah! Comparing me to that dumb seed that mostly relies on the power of the mana tree? Oh please, don't compare me with that trash. I am a far more superior being than that old husk of seed. You see, I know you and you also know me, you just forgot about me."
I quickly realized that the voice that the one speaking to me right now is the voice that tempted me to accept my rage and take over to deal with Catmod in which, I managed to stop.
"You are the voice that tempted me earlier!"
"Tempted? Oh, come on, I am not a merchant that deals shady tradings with luck as the main source of power. I don't use luck, I use sheer pressure. I just offered you a good method to get stronger in a very fast way. You don't even remember that this power is once the power you used to dominate and rise up to the top!"
"Cut the bullsh*t, get me out of here! I don't plan to keep on staying here without doing too much. I still have a little power left in me and I still needed to defeat Catmod."
"Aahh~ What a shame, an old acquaintance, denying my very existence is a very massive blow on me. Oh well, looks like I am not convincing enough. Unfortunately, I still don't have a good reason to keep you here. My power is still lacking so I guess I have to lie low at first. Okay, Kazuma, if you ever need to go in rage in exchange of a few items, I might be able to make you a strong person to deal with any enemies, such a shame, oh well, I had to go back, nice chatting again with ya' Kazuma. I hope we will see again."
Our conversation is short but it made me a bit confused a lot more. Who is this voice speaking to me? How come he seemed so familiar and yet he seems to be a complete stranger to me? It was total chaos in my mind right now and I don't even know what to do. Just as I was about to contemplate a bit, I suddenly felt my consciousness returning to reality.
...
I opened my eyes and realized where I was. That's right, I was in my room in Catmod's manor. I stood up and saw that my body is full of bandages. Although I looked like a mummified human, I am still alive and also found out that my body is no longer tired from the battle. I have not known whoever won that battle because I collapsed after the experience.
As I was about to go out of the bed and check out what happened, I saw Moonlight entered my room carrying a tray of food. When she saw me up and about, she leaps towards me with a very worried face.
"Kazuma! Oh, thank God, you are now awake! Why you made a very serious attack on Catmod that will cause you to sleep for almost half a month? Are you seeking death with your actions? That was something you shouldn't be doing!"
Wait, what? Half a month? Isn't it just a few minutes after the battle before I collapsed? How come the timelapse is so severe? I don't think it was that long anyway, I only thought that it was a bit hours only, not a few days that would total almost half a month. That long already?
"Well, Nekoyama-sama said that your case is much worse than what we anticipated. It was quite severe that you might end up injured forever. Luckily you didn't made it too much trouble. You just have a slight injury that would heal over time. I did not expect that you would be in a coma for that long!"
"How is Nekoyama-sama anyway? From what I remembered, we are blasted away from that last attack we made."
"Nekoyama-sama is only knocked out for three days. He wakes up after that which means that he is not that injured in the first place. What is more worrisome is your injury. I think you need to rest for a bit more because you have the most troublesome injury from the two of you. You suffered a lot."
"Don't worry, I am fine and I don't think I need any more rest. Staying in bed for half a month is just too much already. I want to get my bones and muscles stretch for a bit, I am feeling quite good so I will be moving about for now."
"I see. I will tell the others right now. Your familiar Itazura and Hikari are both worried about you, you know? You should find them, you will be surprised by the progress the two of them make when you were not awake."
"Oh? I can't wait to see their progress of whatever it was," I said as I scratch my head.
"And, last thing. Go to Nekoyama-sama because he has something to announce to you. I heard he has something to give you for being able to do something for him," Moonlight reminded.
"Thanks for reminding me."
"Here is your breakfast, Kazuma. Be sure to eat a lot because your body did not eat anything these past few months, be sure to make your appetite back to normal."
Moonlight left me in my room and I sighed in return. That small interaction with the voice I had in my repressed memories space already cost a lot of time in the real world. I did not expect that to happen to me. I clutch my head in confusion. Just who was that guy? And what sort of things is going on that caused me to have these many repressed memories? I am not quite sure I follow but I am not good enough with these mysteries, it was just boggling my mind enough.
After taking a bath and eating my breakfast, I have already refreshed my whole body. I stretched my body out and tried activating my flame ability.
FWOOOO~
Somehow, the flames were easily summoned which is quite good. That means that I can use magic again unlike the time I was in my consciousness. Just what is that place anyway? How come magic did not even get to appear at all?
I shook my head and sighed. There is no point thinking about it right now. It was not something I can easily explain so I just have to deal with it, I guess. It's time to ask Catmod whatever he wanted to say now.
...
The sun is up in the sky already and I never expected that it was already that high up. Is it morning or is it noon? Just how long did I ever sleep anyway? I shrugged my shoulders and walked around the manor. I occasionally asked a few of the Catgirls working for the location of Catmod. All of them said that he is in the archery room teaching Miya the efficient ways of using Bows and Arrows. While on the way, I saw Maple and Leto drinking tea in the kitchen talking with each other since you can pass by the kitchen when you go to the archery room.
"Kazuma! You are awake!" Leto smiled and sighed a relief.
"Seriously kid, we have been worried about you. You really gave it all against Nekoyama-sama that you end up fainting, ain't that going to backfire to your body if you pushed your limits?"
"Ahahahaah~ I am sorry, Maple-san."
"Indeed you are. If you keep on doing that fighting style, you will end up dead in the future. It was a pretty reckless move on you."
"Now, now, Maple, he is just trying his best to surpass his limits and look at him now, he already did surpass his limit, he is almost there and ready to break through to Rank 3!" Leto said as she commended me.
I just indeed noticed that I was about to break into the Rank 3. I did not expect it at all. Did the battle with Catmod made me able to pass my limits?
"Alright, I won't hold you any longer. You should meet Nekoyama-sama already. He is waiting," Maple said as she pat my back hard that made me cough out.
"Sorry, I slap it hard," as she repeatedly slaps my back in the process.
...
After coughing for quite a while, I arrived at the archery room. I saw Miya aiming on a 50-meter target while Catmod is watching carefully. Catmod's ear twitched and I know he already noticed my presence but he didn't say anything because it might interrupt Miya's precision. As Miya nock and released the arrow, the arrow was suddenly coated in violet color and as soon as it hit the target in the bullseye, the arrow all of a sudden gave out an electric shock.
When Miya turned around, she saw me clapping alongside with Catmod.
"Kazuma!" she throws me a surprised and happy look.
"That was a splendid arrow aiming, 50-meter target is something I cannot hit in my life while using the bow," I commented.
"Haha, just practice and you will get proficient enough," Miya said.
Catmod bowed his head a bit to Miya and the latter did as well.
"I shall leave you two alone first."
After Miya left, Catmod stood still, watching the horizon as he adjusted his monocle. He is not speaking but I know that Catmod is about to say something.
"You know Kazuma, it's been a long time since I suffered a humiliating defeat. The last time was during my battle against Zacharias. Now that you have knocked me out for three days, that was already quite an achievement, I am impressed!"
"Thank you very much for guiding me."
Kazuma held out his paw to me. "Give me back the necklace that I gave you last time when you started training. I was surprised at first before because you used our current situation to your advantage to train your body. I am already in awe at how you are doing it. That is why I formally end your training after you defeated me."
"I defeated you? But I doubt it, I almost died and I did not even manage you to surrender."
"What are you saying? You knocked me out that time, you did not remember?"
Ah...now that he mentions it, I managed to knock him down for three days.
"Since the method to win is to cause me to collapse or to surrender, you are indeed entitled as a new person that Magicians will admire. Because I was much more careless, you managed to defeat the lord of the ruins which is me. I don't think you remember too many of them but I guess that all of the battles you participated in are either going to be more interesting watch on. However, we should cut to the chase. I hereby announced that you are going to be a warrior that only a master magician can recognize. A magician that helped to the battle to prevent the world from destroying itself due to the darkness. You, Kazuma is no longer in need of my powers. I am no longer the mentor you are seeking. But don't worry, the real world is just in the corner. I guess you will return to the humans."
"Indeed."
"I had a lot of fun Kazuma. And if you are in need of my help, I won't hesitate to help."
--End of ARC 2
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I did not listen to the voice in my head anymore. Instead, I grit my teeth and endure the pain.
'Sh*t this pain, endure and deal with it!'
I stood up slowly despite the pain stinging every inch of my body. It was purely my willpower that allowed me to stand up. But even though I managed to stand up, it's not a good thing. I am enduring the pain in my feet. Running is now something hard to do and I have to deal with it in the meantime. Catmod face me again as he started walking towards my direction.
"Let's do it again..." I mumbled as I activated my flames once more.
"Oh? Good job managing to stand up despite the injury, I commend you on that," Catmod said as he claps his hands.
I just frowned before I throw a flame to Catmod's direction. Still, with some injuries in my arms, aiming the enemy is just not working well right now.
Indeed Catmod is strong but not all strong people are strong forever, they also take damage and hit their limits. Although I also have limits, my mana is limitless and my ability in terms of flames is a bit more amped version of normal flames. What is more, if I use flame magic, I would never fear of draining my mana due to the help of the Necklace of Flame. All flame related magic won't be draining any kind of mana which would really help me against the battle of Catmod. Still, I don't know what strategy I would use to bring him down.
During this battle, I found out what are the lacking things I needed right now; physical fitness and recovery magic. Due to my frail body, enduring injuries are just hard to deal with and without recovery magic, recovering from my wounds would at least take quite forever. Because I don't have a magic mastery limit, I can say I can be a jack of all trades if I also managed to learn a recovery skill. But with only Torrent Bullet, Flame attacks, Forestry Control, Telekinesis, Earthshaker and Pillars of Doom, defeating him needs to have a careful and well-played plan. I don't have a choice right now and I have to deal with it.
I noticed that Catmod is once again assuming the stance of a crouching cat form. I don't like where this is going but I will try to predict the next course of action that Catmod will be using. This would be risky because one more hit from the attack that Catmod gave to me earlier is hard to block with and one more hit from that attack would surely incapacitate me already.
Most people in a fight would assume that an attack that is already used would get repetitive once used again and if you used it for tactics, that is just not good enough to assume the attack is the same. For cunning fighters, repeating the movement, only to use it for bait on the unsuspecting victims is the usual thing. Which means, Catmod has a very high possibility of modifying his attack by attacking in range or in another direction instead, which means that there are lots of ways to deal and finish me off.
I want to predict Catmod's movements but I doubt I can even do that since he is missing in action. I can't properly land a blow on an invisible target that is also constantly moving. That is just rather hard for me to deal with. I keep my eyes darting from left to right to make sure that everything would be okay rather than it will cause trouble to me because I am only 10% sure of getting the location of Catmod right. My body tensed, I don't think I can even block Catmod's devastating attacks. Those close attacks of his are not filled with magic which means it was just pure power without the magic's help.
My wounds are still fresh and with these bruises accompanied by bleeding scrapes, it was noteworthy to say that dodging is almost close to impossible with this state. I can barely stand which is very embarrassing already. What I am wary of is Catmod's speed. It was beyond what my eye can see which is going to deal with me a very hard blow to my defenses.
"Kid, use your mana scan. If you can't find him in naked eyes, find him via aura. That is my advice," Lil' Blue said in my consciousness.
Find him using aura? Of course! Since Mana Scan can sense mana in the surroundings, only those things that have mana would emit a faint blue light on them. Of course, since some humans have mana in their bodies, Mana Scan can detect almost anything without escaping on its range. Why did I forget about that? Maybe due to the tense battle, I had a hard time thinking for a solution I don't have in grasp.
Activating the Mana Scan, the whole surrounding became quiet. I made sure to stay focused on the mana scan. I just found this method not too long ago and I find it good and trustworthy in looking hidden enemies that are lurking in the shadows. I am not so proficient in it and I have to rely on intense focus to properly use the effects of the skill.
'Focus Kazuma, you will find Catmod if you focus hard.'
I closed my eyes as I mumbled those words. As soon as I mumbled that, I fell into the focused state where everything disappeared and only me and the surrounding mana revolving around is what left. I was surprised at this one when I managed to activate this state when I was still practicing it but after several practices, I managed to do it without too much difficulty to me.
At first, the whole surroundings were just slow and still. I can't feel a single movement to my enemy. I waited patiently and it didn't take too long for me to notice a ripple on the left side. As per my experience, once there is a ripple, that means that there is something or someone with mana in that location. And since we are in the arena, there is only one reason for the ripple.
Waiting is not an option for me. Before the ripple can get near or far from me, I opened my eyes and hurl the hottest form of my fireball straight to the ripple.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
When I did that, the nothingness disappeared and returned to normal. Also, I squarely hit Catmod straight on his body as he was unable to block all of the fireballs I have thrown to him. He stepped back and flick his paws to get rid of some ashes left on his paws used for blocking some of the attacks.
"Impressive but not enough damage. You can deal stronger one at that!"
Of course, he won't be defeated by a measly fireball that can only burn a few things. With all the wounds I have, my attack power in my magic skills is all degraded for quite a bit which is quite bad in my opinion but I have to deal with it.
Catmod stomps his two feet alternately into the ground, causing a big white magic circle revolving beneath his feet. The audience riled seeing this. I also think I have seen this kind of spell before from Catmod but I am not sure if it was the same magic he used against the chief. But from what I know from Moonlight, magic circles that are bigger than normal like Catmod's magic circle right now is subject to casting time, which means, to activate the magic fully, he needs to channel and hold it first before unleashing it. This only means that Catmod is quite vulnerable right now.
I didn't dare to waste my time. I also unleashed my trump card. During my free time in this place, I have nothing else better to do since I left my phone back home and with only a few people who are also busy practicing their magic, it became my daily habit to practice my skills especially in fire magic. Due to my daily practice, I found out that if you keep on practicing the magic, you will get to the point that you can experiment with the outcome of your magic.
Because I have read and played many games, I am so familiar with different kinds of style in magic. I tried experimenting on the flames and I was surprised to know that I can get a lot of power from just modifying the power and style of the flames. At first, I thought that the only form the Fire magic can do is the fireball and fire on fists. But I was quite wrong when I managed to create different variants of flame attacks. Since I am still weak and currently in Rank 1, I can only modify the power of the fire and get 10 forms in the meantime. I made sure that no one finds out the forms and now, I am going to use them in the battle.
To make Catmod halt his casting, interrupting his chant would do the trick. I need to stop Catmod but I have to do it indirectly. I can't afford that Catmod attacks me in my situation where I can't run at all. I have to make sure all parts of my plan are properly implemented and victory is within my grasp.
Since running is not currently good for me, I have to do it while staying here standing in my position. This would be a difficult task but not impossible. While Catmod is casting his spell, I clap my hands and a fireball appeared on my hands. Like a volleyball, I hurled the ball-shaped fireball and hit it in a spike but in a form that I was not jumping, just staying on standing position.
Bang!
The fireball exploded as it landed into the ground, barely missing Catmod. Catmod smirked as he saw the flames not so far from where he was standing. However, Catmod's face changed and his whiskers twitched as the fireball that just struck the ground slithered around Catmod's feet, surrounding him in a cage-like ring of fire. The flames did not die out but grew stronger than before. It was a very rare sight to see Catmod panic. The flames keep on rising high and the temperature is also getting very hot too.
Catmod hesitated a bit before he abandoned his casting time and quickly activated the barrier out to shield himself from the heat and damage. I grinned as soon as he activated that skill. It goes well with my plan. When I saw that the barrier materializes from his body, I quickly slam my palms to the ground and two green magic circles appeared beneath them.
When those green magic circle appeared, the flames in the ring of fire quickly died out. Before Catmod can release his barrier, vines appeared on the ground inside the barrier. Thick, thorny vines destroyed the barrier and coiled quickly on Catmod's body, preventing him from using his techniques. I also made sure that the vines is not easily destroyed by Catmod.
Due to the vines with thorns, Catmod winced in pain as the vines tightened and the thorns slowly wound his body.
"Gah!" Catmod screamed in pain. He tried to squirm away from the vines. Since he did not anticipate the appearance of the plants, he was more alert from the ring of fire. Of course, this is still not counted as my win because Catmod did not yet admit his defeat yet or he is still far from incapacitation. It's our new established rule now ever since the old rule where I will win from bringing him down only.
Still caught in the vine, Catmod tried to squirm out but every time he squirms the thorns would quickly prick him, causing pain in his body. I made sure that the vines' thorns is something that can't be easily cut by Catmod's skills. I personally tested those vines out from wind blades of Moonlight's magic which is for the sake of the battle today. Since Catmod can't move, I clapped my hands again and a blue magic circle appeared on my hands. I aimed the magic circle to Catmod who still struggled to get away from the vines.
"Torrent Bullet!"
Although it's hard to control the power of the Torrent Bullet, I find it a bit easier to when I practiced and tried it once. It has a similar structure to fire magic but a bit complicated which made me a bit more having a hard time dealing with the magic. Due to this problem, I had to focus first on the mana cost and the power of the magic. This magic is not yet perfect but it can cause quite a destruction to enemies if they take the Torrent Bullet lightly.
The Torrent Bullet launched a strong wave of water blast, straight to Catmod. However, Catmod refused to go down. Catmod blows a huge amount of air, forming a small twister that also shot out to me. The Torrent Bullet and the twister hit each other causing a huge shockwave into the arena. The two forces were so strong that instead of destroying each other, it caused a severe reaction and exploded into the battlefield.
The two forces that clashed due to the intensity is strong enough that I was once again sent flying. I landed into the ground many times, with my consciousness slowly being taken over by the darkness...
...
I opened my eyes and realized that I was sent into the Consciousness of mine. However, unlike the usual seed and the mana tree that I was expecting, there was nothingness in the surroundings. I found it strange because I am used to having the seed and the mana tree with me to show up whenever I was about to enter the consciousness of mine. Now is a bit different, Not a single soul except me is left here, it was like I was forced to deal with this.
"Lil' Blue? Lil' Blue are you in there?" I shouted in the area.
However, there is no answer which means they are not here. Still, I found it a bit strange and creepy. I already shouted so bad into the shadows but a single echo? Not present at all. The place is hollow but the echo is not reverberating in the door. It was like shouting in person without anyone answering or just I am paranoid? I hope it's not. The surroundings get creepier as time goes by so I have no choice but to go and look around. I tried to activate my magic skills like fireball to at least make a light in my surroundings. Only to realize that magic no longer works.
'What? How did the magic no longer works here?!'
Whatever I do, the fireballs failed to even appear. It was a very strange sight because I managed to use magic not too long ago when I practiced near the Mana Tree. Also, I think I don't see myself walking with any sort of progress. All the trial and error of casting my magic in this particular space were all ended in vain.
"That was weird, I should be able to use magic here in my consciousness because I managed to practice when I collapsed last time. How come I can't use any of them all of a sudden? And where is the mana tree and Lil' Blue anyway?!"
Then, a voice that has a deep sound echoed in the surroundings as it answered my questions. "Because this is not the usual consciousness you always visit. You are in your repressed memories space."
"Repressed Memories?"
"Indeed. All of the memories that are all sealed since you were young were all stored in here. If you managed to open a few of your restraints, you would be able to learn more of your origin. All of the memories stored in here are all forgotten and sealed, all because of you," the voice answered.
"Me? Wait, I don't even know what you are talking about and besides, who are you? Are you the brother of Lil' Blue or something? Judging from your deep voice, it is impossible to be Lil' Blue."
"Hah! Comparing me to that dumb seed that mostly relies on the power of the mana tree? Oh please, don't compare me with that trash. I am a far more superior being than that old husk of seed. You see, I know you and you also know me, you just forgot about me."
I quickly realized that the voice that the one speaking to me right now is the voice that tempted me to accept my rage and take over to deal with Catmod in which, I managed to stop.
"You are the voice that tempted me earlier!"
"Tempted? Oh, come on, I am not a merchant that deals shady tradings with luck as the main source of power. I don't use luck, I use sheer pressure. I just offered you a good method to get stronger in a very fast way. You don't even remember that this power is once the power you used to dominate and rise up to the top!"
"Cut the bullsh*t, get me out of here! I don't plan to keep on staying here without doing too much. I still have a little power left in me and I still needed to defeat Catmod."
"Aahh~ What a shame, an old acquaintance, denying my very existence is a very massive blow on me. Oh well, looks like I am not convincing enough. Unfortunately, I still don't have a good reason to keep you here. My power is still lacking so I guess I have to lie low at first. Okay, Kazuma, if you ever need to go in rage in exchange of a few items, I might be able to make you a strong person to deal with any enemies, such a shame, oh well, I had to go back, nice chatting again with ya' Kazuma. I hope we will see again."
Our conversation is short but it made me a bit confused a lot more. Who is this voice speaking to me? How come he seemed so familiar and yet he seems to be a complete stranger to me? It was total chaos in my mind right now and I don't even know what to do. Just as I was about to contemplate a bit, I suddenly felt my consciousness returning to reality.
...
I opened my eyes and realized where I was. That's right, I was in my room in Catmod's manor. I stood up and saw that my body is full of bandages. Although I looked like a mummified human, I am still alive and also found out that my body is no longer tired from the battle. I have not known whoever won that battle because I collapsed after the experience.
As I was about to go out of the bed and check out what happened, I saw Moonlight entered my room carrying a tray of food. When she saw me up and about, she leaps towards me with a very worried face.
"Kazuma! Oh, thank God, you are now awake! Why you made a very serious attack on Catmod that will cause you to sleep for almost half a month? Are you seeking death with your actions? That was something you shouldn't be doing!"
Wait, what? Half a month? Isn't it just a few minutes after the battle before I collapsed? How come the timelapse is so severe? I don't think it was that long anyway, I only thought that it was a bit hours only, not a few days that would total almost half a month. That long already?
"Well, Nekoyama-sama said that your case is much worse than what we anticipated. It was quite severe that you might end up injured forever. Luckily you didn't made it too much trouble. You just have a slight injury that would heal over time. I did not expect that you would be in a coma for that long!"
"How is Nekoyama-sama anyway? From what I remembered, we are blasted away from that last attack we made."
"Nekoyama-sama is only knocked out for three days. He wakes up after that which means that he is not that injured in the first place. What is more worrisome is your injury. I think you need to rest for a bit more because you have the most troublesome injury from the two of you. You suffered a lot."
"Don't worry, I am fine and I don't think I need any more rest. Staying in bed for half a month is just too much already. I want to get my bones and muscles stretch for a bit, I am feeling quite good so I will be moving about for now."
"I see. I will tell the others right now. Your familiar Itazura and Hikari are both worried about you, you know? You should find them, you will be surprised by the progress the two of them make when you were not awake."
"Oh? I can't wait to see their progress of whatever it was," I said as I scratch my head.
"And, last thing. Go to Nekoyama-sama because he has something to announce to you. I heard he has something to give you for being able to do something for him," Moonlight reminded.
"Thanks for reminding me."
"Here is your breakfast, Kazuma. Be sure to eat a lot because your body did not eat anything these past few months, be sure to make your appetite back to normal."
Moonlight left me in my room and I sighed in return. That small interaction with the voice I had in my repressed memories space already cost a lot of time in the real world. I did not expect that to happen to me. I clutch my head in confusion. Just who was that guy? And what sort of things is going on that caused me to have these many repressed memories? I am not quite sure I follow but I am not good enough with these mysteries, it was just boggling my mind enough.
After taking a bath and eating my breakfast, I have already refreshed my whole body. I stretched my body out and tried activating my flame ability.
FWOOOO~
Somehow, the flames were easily summoned which is quite good. That means that I can use magic again unlike the time I was in my consciousness. Just what is that place anyway? How come magic did not even get to appear at all?
I shook my head and sighed. There is no point thinking about it right now. It was not something I can easily explain so I just have to deal with it, I guess. It's time to ask Catmod whatever he wanted to say now.
...
The sun is up in the sky already and I never expected that it was already that high up. Is it morning or is it noon? Just how long did I ever sleep anyway? I shrugged my shoulders and walked around the manor. I occasionally asked a few of the Catgirls working for the location of Catmod. All of them said that he is in the archery room teaching Miya the efficient ways of using Bows and Arrows. While on the way, I saw Maple and Leto drinking tea in the kitchen talking with each other since you can pass by the kitchen when you go to the archery room.
"Kazuma! You are awake!" Leto smiled and sighed a relief.
"Seriously kid, we have been worried about you. You really gave it all against Nekoyama-sama that you end up fainting, ain't that going to backfire to your body if you pushed your limits?"
"Ahahahaah~ I am sorry, Maple-san."
"Indeed you are. If you keep on doing that fighting style, you will end up dead in the future. It was a pretty reckless move on you."
"Now, now, Maple, he is just trying his best to surpass his limits and look at him now, he already did surpass his limit, he is almost there and ready to break through to Rank 3!" Leto said as she commended me.
I just indeed noticed that I was about to break into the Rank 3. I did not expect it at all. Did the battle with Catmod made me able to pass my limits?
"Alright, I won't hold you any longer. You should meet Nekoyama-sama already. He is waiting," Maple said as she pat my back hard that made me cough out.
"Sorry, I slap it hard," as she repeatedly slaps my back in the process.
...
After coughing for quite a while, I arrived at the archery room. I saw Miya aiming on a 50-meter target while Catmod is watching carefully. Catmod's ear twitched and I know he already noticed my presence but he didn't say anything because it might interrupt Miya's precision. As Miya nock and released the arrow, the arrow was suddenly coated in violet color and as soon as it hit the target in the bullseye, the arrow all of a sudden gave out an electric shock.
When Miya turned around, she saw me clapping alongside with Catmod.
"Kazuma!" she throws me a surprised and happy look.
"That was a splendid arrow aiming, 50-meter target is something I cannot hit in my life while using the bow," I commented.
"Haha, just practice and you will get proficient enough," Miya said.
Catmod bowed his head a bit to Miya and the latter did as well.
"I shall leave you two alone first."
After Miya left, Catmod stood still, watching the horizon as he adjusted his monocle. He is not speaking but I know that Catmod is about to say something.
"You know Kazuma, it's been a long time since I suffered a humiliating defeat. The last time was during my battle against Zacharias. Now that you have knocked me out for three days, that was already quite an achievement, I am impressed!"
"Thank you very much for guiding me."
Kazuma held out his paw to me. "Give me back the necklace that I gave you last time when you started training. I was surprised at first before because you used our current situation to your advantage to train your body. I am already in awe at how you are doing it. That is why I formally end your training after you defeated me."
"I defeated you? But I doubt it, I almost died and I did not even manage you to surrender."
"What are you saying? You knocked me out that time, you did not remember?"
Ah...now that he mentions it, I managed to knock him down for three days.
"Since the method to win is to cause me to collapse or to surrender, you are indeed entitled as a new person that Magicians will admire. Because I was much more careless, you managed to defeat the lord of the ruins which is me. I don't think you remember too many of them but I guess that all of the battles you participated in are either going to be more interesting watch on. However, we should cut to the chase. I hereby announced that you are going to be a warrior that only a master magician can recognize. A magician that helped to the battle to prevent the world from destroying itself due to the darkness. You, Kazuma is no longer in need of my powers. I am no longer the mentor you are seeking. But don't worry, the real world is just in the corner. I guess you will return to the humans."
"Indeed."
"I had a lot of fun Kazuma. And if you are in need of my help, I won't hesitate to help."
--End of ARC 2
I did not listen to the voice in my head anymore. Instead, I grit my teeth and endure the pain.'Sh*t this pain, endure and deal with it!'I stood up slowly despite the pain stinging every inch of my body. It was purely my willpower that allowed me to stand up. But even though I managed to stand up, it's not a good thing. I am enduring the pain in my feet. Running is now something hard to do and I have to deal with it in the meantime. Catmod face me again as he started walking towards my direction."Let's do it again..." I mumbled as I activated my flames once more."Oh? Good job managing to stand up despite the injury, I commend you on that," Catmod said as he claps his hands.I just frowned before I throw a flame to Catmod's direction. Still, with some injuries in my arms, aiming the enemy is just not working well right now.Indeed Catmod is strong but not all strong people are strong forever, they also take damage and hit their limits. Although I also have limits, my mana is limitless and my ability in terms of flames is a bit more amped version of normal flames. What is more, if I use flame magic, I would never fear of draining my mana due to the help of the Necklace of Flame. All flame related magic won't be draining any kind of mana which would really help me against the battle of Catmod. Still, I don't know what strategy I would use to bring him down.During this battle, I found out what are the lacking things I needed right now; physical fitness and recovery magic. Due to my frail body, enduring injuries are just hard to deal with and without recovery magic, recovering from my wounds would at least take quite forever. Because I don't have a magic mastery limit, I can say I can be a jack of all trades if I also managed to learn a recovery skill. But with only Torrent Bullet, Flame attacks, Forestry Control, Telekinesis, Earthshaker and Pillars of Doom, defeating him needs to have a careful and well-played plan. I don't have a choice right now and I have to deal with it.I noticed that Catmod is once again assuming the stance of a crouching cat form. I don't like where this is going but I will try to predict the next course of action that Catmod will be using. This would be risky because one more hit from the attack that Catmod gave to me earlier is hard to block with and one more hit from that attack would surely incapacitate me already.Most people in a fight would assume that an attack that is already used would get repetitive once used again and if you used it for tactics, that is just not good enough to assume the attack is the same. For cunning fighters, repeating the movement, only to use it for bait on the unsuspecting victims is the usual thing. Which means, Catmod has a very high possibility of modifying his attack by attacking in range or in another direction instead, which means that there are lots of ways to deal and finish me off.I want to predict Catmod's movements but I doubt I can even do that since he is missing in action. I can't properly land a blow on an invisible target that is also constantly moving. That is just rather hard for me to deal with. I keep my eyes darting from left to right to make sure that everything would be okay rather than it will cause trouble to me because I am only 10% sure of getting the location of Catmod right. My body tensed, I don't think I can even block Catmod's devastating attacks. Those close attacks of his are not filled with magic which means it was just pure power without the magic's help.My wounds are still fresh and with these bruises accompanied by bleeding scrapes, it was noteworthy to say that dodging is almost close to impossible with this state. I can barely stand which is very embarrassing already. What I am wary of is Catmod's speed. It was beyond what my eye can see which is going to deal with me a very hard blow to my defenses."Kid, use your mana scan. If you can't find him in naked eyes, find him via aura. That is my advice," Lil' Blue said in my consciousness.Find him using aura? Of course! Since Mana Scan can sense mana in the surroundings, only those things that have mana would emit a faint blue light on them. Of course, since some humans have mana in their bodies, Mana Scan can detect almost anything without escaping on its range. Why did I forget about that? Maybe due to the tense battle, I had a hard time thinking for a solution I don't have in grasp.Activating the Mana Scan, the whole surrounding became quiet. I made sure to stay focused on the mana scan. I just found this method not too long ago and I find it good and trustworthy in looking hidden enemies that are lurking in the shadows. I am not so proficient in it and I have to rely on intense focus to properly use the effects of the skill.'Focus Kazuma, you will find Catmod if you focus hard.'I closed my eyes as I mumbled those words. As soon as I mumbled that, I fell into the focused state where everything disappeared and only me and the surrounding mana revolving around is what left. I was surprised at this one when I managed to activate this state when I was still practicing it but after several practices, I managed to do it without too much difficulty to me.At first, the whole surroundings were just slow and still. I can't feel a single movement to my enemy. I waited patiently and it didn't take too long for me to notice a ripple on the left side. As per my experience, once there is a ripple, that means that there is something or someone with mana in that location. And since we are in the arena, there is only one reason for the ripple.Waiting is not an option for me. Before the ripple can get near or far from me, I opened my eyes and hurl the hottest form of my fireball straight to the ripple.BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!When I did that, the nothingness disappeared and returned to normal. Also, I squarely hit Catmod straight on his body as he was unable to block all of the fireballs I have thrown to him. He stepped back and flick his paws to get rid of some ashes left on his paws used for blocking some of the attacks."Impressive but not enough damage. You can deal stronger one at that!"Of course, he won't be defeated by a measly fireball that can only burn a few things. With all the wounds I have, my attack power in my magic skills is all degraded for quite a bit which is quite bad in my opinion but I have to deal with it.Catmod stomps his two feet alternately into the ground, causing a big white magic circle revolving beneath his feet. The audience riled seeing this. I also think I have seen this kind of spell before from Catmod but I am not sure if it was the same magic he used against the chief. But from what I know from Moonlight, magic circles that are bigger than normal like Catmod's magic circle right now is subject to casting time, which means, to activate the magic fully, he needs to channel and hold it first before unleashing it. This only means that Catmod is quite vulnerable right now.I didn't dare to waste my time. I also unleashed my trump card. During my free time in this place, I have nothing else better to do since I left my phone back home and with only a few people who are also busy practicing their magic, it became my daily habit to practice my skills especially in fire magic. Due to my daily practice, I found out that if you keep on practicing the magic, you will get to the point that you can experiment with the outcome of your magic.Because I have read and played many games, I am so familiar with different kinds of style in magic. I tried experimenting on the flames and I was surprised to know that I can get a lot of power from just modifying the power and style of the flames. At first, I thought that the only form the Fire magic can do is the fireball and fire on fists. But I was quite wrong when I managed to create different variants of flame attacks. Since I am still weak and currently in Rank 1, I can only modify the power of the fire and get 10 forms in the meantime. I made sure that no one finds out the forms and now, I am going to use them in the battle.To make Catmod halt his casting, interrupting his chant would do the trick. I need to stop Catmod but I have to do it indirectly. I can't afford that Catmod attacks me in my situation where I can't run at all. I have to make sure all parts of my plan are properly implemented and victory is within my grasp.Since running is not currently good for me, I have to do it while staying here standing in my position. This would be a difficult task but not impossible. While Catmod is casting his spell, I clap my hands and a fireball appeared on my hands. Like a volleyball, I hurled the ball-shaped fireball and hit it in a spike but in a form that I was not jumping, just staying on standing position.Bang!The fireball exploded as it landed into the ground, barely missing Catmod. Catmod smirked as he saw the flames not so far from where he was standing. However, Catmod's face changed and his whiskers twitched as the fireball that just struck the ground slithered around Catmod's feet, surrounding him in a cage-like ring of fire. The flames did not die out but grew stronger than before. It was a very rare sight to see Catmod panic. The flames keep on rising high and the temperature is also getting very hot too.Catmod hesitated a bit before he abandoned his casting time and quickly activated the barrier out to shield himself from the heat and damage. I grinned as soon as he activated that skill. It goes well with my plan. When I saw that the barrier materializes from his body, I quickly slam my palms to the ground and two green magic circles appeared beneath them.When those green magic circle appeared, the flames in the ring of fire quickly died out. Before Catmod can release his barrier, vines appeared on the ground inside the barrier. Thick, thorny vines destroyed the barrier and coiled quickly on Catmod's body, preventing him from using his techniques. I also made sure that the vines is not easily destroyed by Catmod.Due to the vines with thorns, Catmod winced in pain as the vines tightened and the thorns slowly wound his body."Gah!" Catmod screamed in pain. He tried to squirm away from the vines. Since he did not anticipate the appearance of the plants, he was more alert from the ring of fire. Of course, this is still not counted as my win because Catmod did not yet admit his defeat yet or he is still far from incapacitation. It's our new established rule now ever since the old rule where I will win from bringing him down only.Still caught in the vine, Catmod tried to squirm out but every time he squirms the thorns would quickly prick him, causing pain in his body. I made sure that the vines' thorns is something that can't be easily cut by Catmod's skills. I personally tested those vines out from wind blades of Moonlight's magic which is for the sake of the battle today. Since Catmod can't move, I clapped my hands again and a blue magic circle appeared on my hands. I aimed the magic circle to Catmod who still struggled to get away from the vines."Torrent Bullet!"Although it's hard to control the power of the Torrent Bullet, I find it a bit easier to when I practiced and tried it once. It has a similar structure to fire magic but a bit complicated which made me a bit more having a hard time dealing with the magic. Due to this problem, I had to focus first on the mana cost and the power of the magic. This magic is not yet perfect but it can cause quite a destruction to enemies if they take the Torrent Bullet lightly.The Torrent Bullet launched a strong wave of water blast, straight to Catmod. However, Catmod refused to go down. Catmod blows a huge amount of air, forming a small twister that also shot out to me. The Torrent Bullet and the twister hit each other causing a huge shockwave into the arena. The two forces were so strong that instead of destroying each other, it caused a severe reaction and exploded into the battlefield.The two forces that clashed due to the intensity is strong enough that I was once again sent flying. I landed into the ground many times, with my consciousness slowly being taken over by the darkness......I opened my eyes and realized that I was sent into the Consciousness of mine. However, unlike the usual seed and the mana tree that I was expecting, there was nothingness in the surroundings. I found it strange because I am used to having the seed and the mana tree with me to show up whenever I was about to enter the consciousness of mine. Now is a bit different, Not a single soul except me is left here, it was like I was forced to deal with this."Lil' Blue? Lil' Blue are you in there?" I shouted in the area.However, there is no answer which means they are not here. Still, I found it a bit strange and creepy. I already shouted so bad into the shadows but a single echo? Not present at all. The place is hollow but the echo is not reverberating in the door. It was like shouting in person without anyone answering or just I am paranoid? I hope it's not. The surroundings get creepier as time goes by so I have no choice but to go and look around. I tried to activate my magic skills like fireball to at least make a light in my surroundings. Only to realize that magic no longer works.'What? How did the magic no longer works here?!'Whatever I do, the fireballs failed to even appear. It was a very strange sight because I managed to use magic not too long ago when I practiced near the Mana Tree. Also, I think I don't see myself walking with any sort of progress. All the trial and error of casting my magic in this particular space were all ended in vain."That was weird, I should be able to use magic here in my consciousness because I managed to practice when I collapsed last time. How come I can't use any of them all of a sudden? And where is the mana tree and Lil' Blue anyway?!"Then, a voice that has a deep sound echoed in the surroundings as it answered my questions. "Because this is not the usual consciousness you always visit. You are in your repressed memories space.""Repressed Memories?""Indeed. All of the memories that are all sealed since you were young were all stored in here. If you managed to open a few of your restraints, you would be able to learn more of your origin. All of the memories stored in here are all forgotten and sealed, all because of you," the voice answered."Me? Wait, I don't even know what you are talking about and besides, who are you? Are you the brother of Lil' Blue or something? Judging from your deep voice, it is impossible to be Lil' Blue.""Hah! Comparing me to that dumb seed that mostly relies on the power of the mana tree? Oh please, don't compare me with that trash. I am a far more superior being than that old husk of seed. You see, I know you and you also know me, you just forgot about me."I quickly realized that the voice that the one speaking to me right now is the voice that tempted me to accept my rage and take over to deal with Catmod in which, I managed to stop."You are the voice that tempted me earlier!""Tempted? Oh, come on, I am not a merchant that deals shady tradings with luck as the main source of power. I don't use luck, I use sheer pressure. I just offered you a good method to get stronger in a very fast way. You don't even remember that this power is once the power you used to dominate and rise up to the top!""Cut the bullsh*t, get me out of here! I don't plan to keep on staying here without doing too much. I still have a little power left in me and I still needed to defeat Catmod.""Aahh~ What a shame, an old acquaintance, denying my very existence is a very massive blow on me. Oh well, looks like I am not convincing enough. Unfortunately, I still don't have a good reason to keep you here. My power is still lacking so I guess I have to lie low at first. Okay, Kazuma, if you ever need to go in rage in exchange of a few items, I might be able to make you a strong person to deal with any enemies, such a shame, oh well, I had to go back, nice chatting again with ya' Kazuma. I hope we will see again."Our conversation is short but it made me a bit confused a lot more. Who is this voice speaking to me? How come he seemed so familiar and yet he seems to be a complete stranger to me? It was total chaos in my mind right now and I don't even know what to do. Just as I was about to contemplate a bit, I suddenly felt my consciousness returning to reality....I opened my eyes and realized where I was. That's right, I was in my room in Catmod's manor. I stood up and saw that my body is full of bandages. Although I looked like a mummified human, I am still alive and also found out that my body is no longer tired from the battle. I have not known whoever won that battle because I collapsed after the experience.As I was about to go out of the bed and check out what happened, I saw Moonlight entered my room carrying a tray of food. When she saw me up and about, she leaps towards me with a very worried face."Kazuma! Oh, thank God, you are now awake! Why you made a very serious attack on Catmod that will cause you to sleep for almost half a month? Are you seeking death with your actions? That was something you shouldn't be doing!"Wait, what? Half a month? Isn't it just a few minutes after the battle before I collapsed? How come the timelapse is so severe? I don't think it was that long anyway, I only thought that it was a bit hours only, not a few days that would total almost half a month. That long already?"Well, Nekoyama-sama said that your case is much worse than what we anticipated. It was quite severe that you might end up injured forever. Luckily you didn't made it too much trouble. You just have a slight injury that would heal over time. I did not expect that you would be in a coma for that long!""How is Nekoyama-sama anyway? From what I remembered, we are blasted away from that last attack we made.""Nekoyama-sama is only knocked out for three days. He wakes up after that which means that he is not that injured in the first place. What is more worrisome is your injury. I think you need to rest for a bit more because you have the most troublesome injury from the two of you. You suffered a lot.""Don't worry, I am fine and I don't think I need any more rest. Staying in bed for half a month is just too much already. I want to get my bones and muscles stretch for a bit, I am feeling quite good so I will be moving about for now.""I see. I will tell the others right now. Your familiar Itazura and Hikari are both worried about you, you know? You should find them, you will be surprised by the progress the two of them make when you were not awake.""Oh? I can't wait to see their progress of whatever it was," I said as I scratch my head."And, last thing. Go to Nekoyama-sama because he has something to announce to you. I heard he has something to give you for being able to do something for him," Moonlight reminded."Thanks for reminding me.""Here is your breakfast, Kazuma. Be sure to eat a lot because your body did not eat anything these past few months, be sure to make your appetite back to normal."Moonlight left me in my room and I sighed in return. That small interaction with the voice I had in my repressed memories space already cost a lot of time in the real world. I did not expect that to happen to me. I clutch my head in confusion. Just who was that guy? And what sort of things is going on that caused me to have these many repressed memories? I am not quite sure I follow but I am not good enough with these mysteries, it was just boggling my mind enough.After taking a bath and eating my breakfast, I have already refreshed my whole body. I stretched my body out and tried activating my flame ability.FWOOOO~Somehow, the flames were easily summoned which is quite good. That means that I can use magic again unlike the time I was in my consciousness. Just what is that place anyway? How come magic did not even get to appear at all?I shook my head and sighed. There is no point thinking about it right now. It was not something I can easily explain so I just have to deal with it, I guess. It's time to ask Catmod whatever he wanted to say now....The sun is up in the sky already and I never expected that it was already that high up. Is it morning or is it noon? Just how long did I ever sleep anyway? I shrugged my shoulders and walked around the manor. I occasionally asked a few of the Catgirls working for the location of Catmod. All of them said that he is in the archery room teaching Miya the efficient ways of using Bows and Arrows. While on the way, I saw Maple and Leto drinking tea in the kitchen talking with each other since you can pass by the kitchen when you go to the archery room."Kazuma! You are awake!" Leto smiled and sighed a relief."Seriously kid, we have been worried about you. You really gave it all against Nekoyama-sama that you end up fainting, ain't that going to backfire to your body if you pushed your limits?""Ahahahaah~ I am sorry, Maple-san.""Indeed you are. If you keep on doing that fighting style, you will end up dead in the future. It was a pretty reckless move on you.""Now, now, Maple, he is just trying his best to surpass his limits and look at him now, he already did surpass his limit, he is almost there and ready to break through to Rank 3!" Leto said as she commended me.I just indeed noticed that I was about to break into the Rank 3. I did not expect it at all. Did the battle with Catmod made me able to pass my limits?"Alright, I won't hold you any longer. You should meet Nekoyama-sama already. He is waiting," Maple said as she pat my back hard that made me cough out."Sorry, I slap it hard," as she repeatedly slaps my back in the process....After coughing for quite a while, I arrived at the archery room. I saw Miya aiming on a 50-meter target while Catmod is watching carefully. Catmod's ear twitched and I know he already noticed my presence but he didn't say anything because it might interrupt Miya's precision. As Miya nock and released the arrow, the arrow was suddenly coated in violet color and as soon as it hit the target in the bullseye, the arrow all of a sudden gave out an electric shock.When Miya turned around, she saw me clapping alongside with Catmod."Kazuma!" she throws me a surprised and happy look."That was a splendid arrow aiming, 50-meter target is something I cannot hit in my life while using the bow," I commented."Haha, just practice and you will get proficient enough," Miya said.Catmod bowed his head a bit to Miya and the latter did as well."I shall leave you two alone first."After Miya left, Catmod stood still, watching the horizon as he adjusted his monocle. He is not speaking but I know that Catmod is about to say something."You know Kazuma, it's been a long time since I suffered a humiliating defeat. The last time was during my battle against Zacharias. Now that you have knocked me out for three days, that was already quite an achievement, I am impressed!""Thank you very much for guiding me."Kazuma held out his paw to me. "Give me back the necklace that I gave you last time when you started training. I was surprised at first before because you used our current situation to your advantage to train your body. I am already in awe at how you are doing it. That is why I formally end your training after you defeated me.""I defeated you? But I doubt it, I almost died and I did not even manage you to surrender.""What are you saying? You knocked me out that time, you did not remember?"Ah...now that he mentions it, I managed to knock him down for three days."Since the method to win is to cause me to collapse or to surrender, you are indeed entitled as a new person that Magicians will admire. Because I was much more careless, you managed to defeat the lord of the ruins which is me. I don't think you remember too many of them but I guess that all of the battles you participated in are either going to be more interesting watch on. However, we should cut to the chase. I hereby announced that you are going to be a warrior that only a master magician can recognize. A magician that helped to the battle to prevent the world from destroying itself due to the darkness. You, Kazuma is no longer in need of my powers. I am no longer the mentor you are seeking. But don't worry, the real world is just in the corner. I guess you will return to the humans.""Indeed.""I had a lot of fun Kazuma. And if you are in need of my help, I won't hesitate to help."--End of ARC 2
