Better No Book Than Blind Faith in Books

"Fire-loving bastard, do you know what I thought every time you chased me around?"

"Oh, probably about beating the hell out of me?"

"Congratulations, you guessed wrong..."

Mana surged, instantly covering Gabriel's body. This was the technique known as Mana Skin:

"I was thinking about how to... kill you!"

Gabriel suddenly transformed from a standing figure into a blur rushing toward him, but Hank was not surprised. He merely flipped through his Grimoire:

"Modified Flame Magic: Azure Garment!"

Deep blue flames rose from his hands and wrapped around his entire body. Gabriel's attack abruptly veered away.

"Hahaha, Mana Skin? You really surprised me! I may not have learned that technique, but I have magic to deal with it. What will you do now?"

Hank's voice was loud and arrogant, making Gabriel frown.

Flames coiled around Hank's body. Forget Gabriel's fists—even the two little birds could not break through. Although the birds could hide in another dimension while traveling, they still had to appear in reality at the instant they attacked.

But...

Gabriel quickly reacted and smiled.

"A spell like that must consume a lot of mana to maintain, right?"

"That's none of your concern."

Hank withdrew the flames from most of his body. The remaining flames contracted into threads winding around him like glowing tattoos, with fiery strands no farther than two centimeters from every patch of skin.

This drastically reduced the spell's consumption compared to before, while still allowing every part of his body to be protected the instant he reacted.

Being able to do this showed that Hank's mana control had already become quite refined. If he practiced Mana Skin, it would not take him long to master it. He simply had no way to learn the technique.

As far as Hank was concerned, he did not need