Being able to cast one-star spells without side effects was the defining trait of an Elementary Mage, just as Mage Apprentices could cast half-star spells without side effects.
But that alone was far from enough to earn the qualifications of an Elementary Mage.
Don't forget, combat was merely a secondary means for mages.
Being able to cast more destructive spells or possessing an absurd amount of Mental Power meant nothing. Alchemical bombs could easily achieve destruction mages could not, but were they mages?
What truly mattered in evaluating a mage was their understanding, familiarity, and innovation in magic.
The threshold between Spell Apprentice and Elementary Mage belonged to the basic stages of "recognition," "learning," and "mastery."
It was like an outstanding student who could solve Olympiad problems but could not necessarily become a teacher.
Therefore, the standards distinguishing a "Mage Apprentice" from an "Elementary Mage," aside from Mental Power and knowledge, also included "application"!
That was Combination Magic.
It involved reweaving and rearranging two or more spells with similar traits, complementary properties, or opposing effects to create semi-innovative magic of one's own design.
Flexibly "applying" the spell knowledge one had "mastered"—only then could one be considered a mage, rank: Elementary.
A mage's mystery and greatness were complete because of this.
No one knew what brilliance the same spell would display in different hands.
"Blood Plague Raven" was Combination Magic, derived from "Soul Magic: Soul Devourer Bug," "Curse Magic: Soul Stealing Black Crow," and Lowett's familiar self-created "Flesh Magic: Crimson Fury."
The Soul Devourer Bugs lodged the life force shattered by Crimson Fury within the target's body, then formed bird eggs through the spell circuit of the Soul Stealing Black Crow, using that life force as nourishment to hatch rapidly.
The three were blended together, avoiding each other's flaws.
Turning flesh into a flock of ravens that filled the sky!
These ravens truly existed. They were creatures the Marine soldiers had exchanged their own flesh for through "Equivalent Exchange."
Even their texture after roasting was no different from ordinary ravens...
Watching the flock slowly circle in the sky, Kuroobi swallowed behind a reef jutting out of the sea beyond the bay.
What terrifying power was this?!
Unshakable horror filled his eyes.
Even though he was confident he could slaughter all these Marines as well, he could never do so with such effortless ease.
He could not even understand what Lowett had done. The Marines' chests simply exploded, and black ravens burst out one after another.
Black symbolized misfortune and death, yet the sight of ravens erupting bloodily from living people's chests beneath the setting sun carried a certain sacred, tragic beauty.
"Unfathomable!"
Kuroobi could not help touching his chest. The skin scraped by the reef gave off a faint sting. It should have been insignificant, yet now it made his heart race as he feared a flock of ravens might burst from his own belly.
"K-Kuroobi..."
A fish-man underling poked half his head out of the water and called out while trembling.
"Shh, quiet! We're heading back now. We have to tell Boss Dragon about this."
"No, I mean... he's looking at us."
Hiss...!!
Kuroobi's scalp went numb instantly. He turned his head and found a masked face, its features hidden, right before him.
"What speed!"
His pupils contracted. This place was at least a hundred meters from the beach, wasn't it?
Yet only a few seconds had passed since he lowered his head and raised it again?
Had there even been three seconds?
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a clear trail of ripples spreading across the sea.
This was the ocean. There was nowhere to push off from, yet the other party had sprinted over the water through repeated, incredibly fast steps.
It was not only Lowett. Even the bodyguard beside him was no simple opponent!
"Prepare for battle!"
Under that icy gaze, Kuroobi felt a chill run down his spine and shouted.
But in the next moment, Lowett's voice rang out.
"Relax. I'm not here to kill you."
"Hm?"
Kuroobi looked down and could not help sucking in a cold breath.
On the masked man's chest, a human face stretched the skin taut. Though it had not completely pushed through the layer of flesh, he still recognized it. That face belonged to Lowett!
What bizarre ability!
Under the horrified gazes of the fish-men, the blurry face slowly spoke.
"Go back and tell Dragon that I'll pay him a visit tomorrow. Tell him to prepare more traps to entertain me..."
"Of course!"
Before they could grow angry, Lowett continued, "Branch 16's forces were wiped out here. Momonga will definitely send people to investigate. If he gets scared and runs away, remember that whenever you meet me in the future, you must make way for me. Understand?"
If Dragon ran away, he would have to make way for him in the future?
As fish-men, they had to make way for a human at sea?
Kuroobi sucked in a cold breath.
There was no need to think about it. Even if Momonga were standing right before him, Dragon would never back down!
This was not a provocation. It was a wager placed on Dragon's pride in his fish-man race. Given Dragon's contempt for humans, he would absolutely never tolerate it.
"What a vicious bastard!"
Kuroobi gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
In the Black Knight's hand, an orange-shelled Den Den Mushi with black stripes stared wide-eyed at him.
Stare----
"Heh heh, don't say that. Can't you see I'm not afraid at all?"
The face slowly sank back down as Lowett said, "Now, you may leave."
Kuroobi glanced at his companions. Beyond anger, there was also a trace of relief and liberation in their eyes.
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Not having to face someone as dangerous as Lowett clearly outweighed their hatred over their fallen comrades.
Damn it!
Gritting his teeth inwardly, he swung around and plunged into the seawater.
"Let's go back!"
Tap, tap, tap!
Amid the sound of footsteps, the Black Knight returned to Lowett's side.
The Den Den Mushi was picked up and fed a vegetable leaf.
"In the end, my confidence is different now."
Looking in the direction the fish-men had departed, Lowett's eyes were calm.
If he had still been at the apprentice level, he definitely would not have spared them. Forget allowing them to leave—even for delivering a message, one would have been enough.
But there was no need to go through such trouble now.
Dragon would not run away anyway, so all he had to do was eliminate his opponent.
Sooner or later, it made no difference.
The qualitative gulf between one-star and half-star spells far exceeded ordinary imagination, even without Combination Magic to strengthen their application.
If Dragon could turn the tables with these few fish-man underlings, Lowett would actually be looking forward to it.
There was no life-or-death grudge between him and Dragon. This was merely a Necromancer's routine process of gathering materials. If he failed, it would prove he still had shortcomings. To a mage, that was more precious than any material.
Of course, if a mage relied on their proficiency and deeper development of a spell to forcibly increase Mental Power consumption and enhance its magical strength, that was another matter altogether.
If they changed the nature of the original spell—such as its spell circuit, casting priority, combination arrangement, and so on—then even the slightest alteration counted as innovation built upon the original foundation and granted them exclusive naming rights.
If they could not change it and merely made the same effect occur repeatedly...
It was collectively known as: force, big, brick, and fly!
It could not change the spell's star rating.
This situation was common. "Skeleton Revival" was a typical example of brute force. It had been forced upward for tens of thousands of years and had never come back down.
The more basic a spell was, the more likely it was to be subjected to brute force.
"Meh, rather than thinking so much, I should do something useful."
He tucked the fed and sleeping Den Den Mushi into his pocket, then raised his left hand. A stream of black smoke spread outward.
Rustle...
The black glove marked with thorn patterns reached down with the support of black sand, rolled up Rat's corpse, and then Withered Black Sand swiftly retracted, flinging the corpse onto the beach before returning to the stump of Lowett's left arm.
"Let me see what you've been hiding."
Wisps of white light drifted from Rat's seven orifices. Under the spell's effect, they slowly contracted and gathered together, forming a sphere that emitted a hazy glow.
Then...
Bang!!
The cane mercilessly struck it, shattering the Soul Light Orb into fragments.
Soul Magic: Soul Search!
Soul Search—searching meant looting. If he did not shatter the soul, what if the good stuff had been hidden away?
Controlling the powdered fragments floating before him, Lowett examined them one by one.
"Tsk tsk, just as expected. What a rotten bastard."
The soul recorded Rat's entire life in detail. His various petty crimes were nothing surprising. Even though many things had already been forgotten within the soul, leaving behind only vague images, what remained was still shocking enough.
Without carefully examining everything, Lowett searched only for the most recent scenes.
From Marine Headquarters issuing orders to arrest him, to Rat betraying Jody and accepting benefits from Monka, followed by Momonga's arrival.
"This is...!"
Suddenly, Lowett's gaze stopped, his pupils tightening.
It was a conversation from several hours ago.
"Rat, I received a report that traces of pirate activity were discovered in Klar Village. You're nearby right now, aren't you? Don't rush back. Make a detour and check it out."
Klar Village? Damn, could Dragon have been discovered?!
"I-I understand. Please rest assured, Vice Admiral!"
Lowett violently scattered the soul fragments with a wave of his hand, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"That idiot!"
Too naive!
He had recuperated here without alerting anyone. Even the residents of Klar Village did not know.
Then why had Momonga specifically named Klar Village?
The only ones who could have exposed this location were the four fish-men who had died here yesterday!
Clearly, before Colonel Rat even knew it, Momonga had already dispatched people to these waters for a secret investigation!
They had even traced where the four missing fish-men had last gone.
"What a Momonga! As expected of a renowned veteran from Marine Headquarters!"
Respect filled Lowett's eyes.
He had used the world's understanding of Dragon to make Lowett believe Rat had appeared because Dragon had bought him off for revenge, preventing him from connecting it to Momonga.
But in reality, Momonga already knew everything that had happened here and was sitting back to watch the tiger and wolf fight.
He had long since laid a net across the heavens and earth in secret, waiting for the snipe and clam to fight.
If Lowett had not been abnormal and possessed Soul Search, he probably would not have understood what had gone wrong even when he was arrested.
Thanks to reader ~Fire Blue Flame~ for the 500 reward. Thank you for the support!
I spent more than two hours patching up these two chapters and still wasn't satisfied. This is the best state I could manage. Big Tree was coughing up blood from exhaustion!
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