Elf's Defense Magic

"I see."

Rhode didn't feel much regret; he was just asking casually, after all, blacksmithing wasn't his goal.

"But maybe I could create a spell with a similar effect, like temporarily enchanting a weapon or something."

Rhode's muttering was only heard by Serie, who couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth slightly. She was looking forward to seeing what kind of magic this man would create.

For now, though, it was time to defeat this dwarf who didn't know his place.

On an open patch of ground not far from the village, Rhode raised an Illumination Technique in his hand, flooding the area with bright light. He had also used a Detection Spell to confirm there were no monsters nearby, so there was no need to worry about the light attracting any.

Amuro stared at the orb of light in Rhode's hand. It was far more convenient than lighting a campfire, and it made him itch to try it himself. But unfortunately, dwarves couldn't learn magic, no matter how much they wanted to.

Not far away, Serie stood casually, looking defenseless, but that only made Som, the dwarf facing her, too cautious to let his guard down.

He took a deep breath, adjusting his grip on his axe. The silver-white battle-axe glinted faintly under the light of the Illumination Technique.

"Ready?"

Just as Som was about to answer, Serie struck without warning, raising her hand and unleashing a wide volley of Light Arrows.

"Watch it!" Rhode shouted in alarm.

If she accidentally killed the guy, things would get out of hand.

Serie didn't reply. In truth, she had already held back; these arrows were much weaker, at most they'd put him in bed for a week or two.

Besides, if he wanted to brave the dangers of the Mythical era, he'd better be able to dodge a surprise attack like this. Otherwise, he'd be better off staying in the village.

Caught off guard by Serie's sudden assault, Som's instincts kicked in, and he scrambled to dodge.

But no sooner had he evaded one wave than the next came crashing down.

Unable to dodge in time, Som swung his axe, knocking the Light Arrows aside, but the impact still sent him stumbling backward.

"Let's see how long you can hold out," Serie said with a mocking smile.

Som took a deep breath. He couldn't last long on defense alone; he had to go on the offensive to carve out a chance.

He knew the elf before him was a powerful mage—he'd already witnessed the strength of her magic during the day's battle.

But he wasn't about to give up so easily.

He had to go on an adventure; it was the only way to earn the recognition of the villagers.

He lunged forward with a sudden step, his axe tracing a silver arc.

"Too slow."

Serie didn't even move her feet; she simply raised a hand.

A semi-transparent Magic Barrier materialized out of thin air. The axe struck it with a loud clang, and the recoil numbed Som's hands.

Too cheap, this elf's Defense Magic.

Som grumbled inwardly.

"If this is all you've got, I'd advise you to give up!" Serie said, raising an eyebrow.

Not enough strength, mediocre agility, but decent physical fitness.

His combat technique was rough, yet it carried an unexpected hint of seasoned skill—likely learned from Amuro, bearing his style.

But in the end, he was still too green. His experience probably only extended to fighting monsters that attacked the village.

At Serie's taunt, Som gritted his teeth and suddenly changed his approach.

He stepped back, hurling his axe in a spinning arc, then quickly circled around, pulling out two small hand axes from behind and throwing them.

Quite a few weapons, and clever, too.

Rhode, watching from the sidelines, nodded to himself.

Serie's Magic Barrier only covered the area directly in front of her, so attacking from two directions at once forced her to be unable to block everything.

"Oh?" A flicker of surprise crossed Serie's eyes. A magic circle flashed in her hand, and another wide volley of Light Arrows erupted.

The Magic Barrier stopped the spinning axe, while the axes thrown from the other direction were knocked down by the arrow volley. Some of the arrows also landed on the ground in front of Som, forcing him to skid to a halt.

"Good reflexes," Serie commented. "But too many openings."

She hadn't moved an inch the entire time, a clear testament to her overwhelming strength.

Som raised his hand, recalling the fallen axe to his grip. The familiar scene made Rhode think of someone who wielded a hammer.

"Is that from an Enchantment?" he asked Amuro, who was watching beside him.

"Yes, and there's another effect."

"What effect?"

"Explosion!"

Before Rhode could ask for details, Som charged again with the same attack pattern, which was once again blocked by Serie's Magic Barrier.

But this time, things were different.

Som grinned, and the runes on his axe flared with a blinding red light. Then came a deafening BOOM.

The blast wave tore up the surrounding turf, and if not for Amuro's prior instructions, the dwarves in the village would likely be rushing over by now.

Amid the smoke and dust, Miss Serie's golden hair fluttered slightly, the Magic Barrier before her having vanished.

"That was way too reckless!"

Seeing that Miss Serie was unharmed, Rhode finally let out the breath he'd been holding, looking at Amuro with some displeasure.

Amuro scratched his head, rather embarrassed. "Cough, cough. I didn't expect that brat to actually dare do that. Thankfully, Miss Serie is fine."

Som, who had launched the attack, was blasted back by the explosion's shockwave and lay unconscious on the ground. Aside from some scorch marks on his armor, he seemed largely unharmed.

"Are you alright?"

Rhode quickly stepped forward, looking at Miss Serie with concern.

"It's nothing. I just didn't expect him to be able to break through my Magic Barrier."

She didn't dislike this kind of suicidal fighting style from Som. Besides, ever since she had carelessly fallen to Rhode's Light Arrow before, she had made it a habit to layer two Defense Magic spells on herself.

Thus, Miss Serie was completely unharmed, having only lost a bit of mana.

"Still, he must have poured all his power into destroying the barrier. Otherwise, there's no way he could have broken an Elf magic barrier."

Elf magic barriers were arguably the strongest Defense Magic in this world. That Som could shatter one through sheer brute force earned him a measure of newfound respect from Miss Serie.

"Teach me that sometime." Rhode eyed Miss Serie's Magic Barrier with some envy.

"Alright."

Amuro stepped forward as well. "My apologies, Miss Serie."

"He has great talent. Given time, he's sure to become a powerful warrior."

Being able to forcibly break through an Elf's Defense Magic with raw strength—even if he had borrowed other power—was something Miss Serie had never encountered before.

Her tone was calm, but it already filled Amuro with pleasant surprise. If the other party weren't a mage, he would have wanted his son to apprentice under her on the spot.

Little did he know, Som, lying off to the side, twitched his ear slightly.