Magic (4)

[Inferno]

It is one of the Fire Magic skills that one can learn upon reaching a certain mastery in the element of fire.

The higher your mastery in the fire element, the more you'll be able to unlock and utilize the main skills associated with fire.

[Mastery of Fire]

- [Level 1: Ignite]

- [Level 5: Inferno]

- [Level 10: Heat Manipulation]

- [Level 20: Flame Armour]

- [Level 30: Abyssal Fire]

- [Level 40: Full Abyss]

- [Level 50: Kiss of Flame: Amaterasu]

While there are other fire skills available, individuals have the autonomy to explore and learn additional skills based on their preferences. The skills mentioned above are significant abilities attained upon reaching specific milestones in mastering the fire element.

Upon achieving the maximum level of mastery, Level 50, individuals automatically unlock a skill named after a god. In the case of fire mastery, this god is Amaterasu, the Fire Goddess.

Amaterasu is renowned for the fire skill [Kiss of Flame: Amaterasu], an ability capable of burning individuals through their souls. This skill bypasses any fire-resistant armor or artifacts, leading to instantaneous death upon being targeted.

It's worth noting that, to date, the only person who has attained this level of mastery is the Fire Goddess Amaterasu herself.

After the invisible slashes did their disappearing act, I let out a theatrical sigh and dropped my sword like I was the star of a dramatic play. "I guess that's that... It's my win," I declared, turning around with a flourish.

Dust settled around me, and from the midst of the particles, Otuko's voice emerged, sounding like a mix between a cough and a defeated acceptance. "Cough! Cough...! I guess you win this time."

I chuckled, but then a realization hit me like a ton of sparkly bricks.

"Wait, why is your voice different?"

...He wasn't covering his mouth earlier... But why does it sound more feminine?

As the dust cleared, the scene revealed itself, and my jaw dropped—not because of the battle aftermath, but because of Otuko's fashion crisis.

"You really did a number on my clothes... Ugh, how am I going to fix this?" Otuko patted the dust around him and turned to me.

Pointing my finger at him, I couldn't hold back the exclamation. "Wait, you're a girl?!!"

"Hmm....?" Otuko looked at his fallen mask, seemingly unperturbed.

Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. "Oh... Am I a girl?"

His reaction practically screamed, "I'm messing with you again."

Remembering our previous confusing conversation about gender, where Otuko claimed to be both, I was starting to feel like I needed a gender decoder ring.

Otuko sauntered over, pulled me closer, and lifted a bit of his coat to reveal... well, nothing. No clothes.

Wait, does that mean he's a she? No, wait, I'm getting more confused!?

"Are you a boy or a girl?" I asked, my eyes doing somersaults in their sockets.

"Mmm... I often get asked that question," he said, grinning mischievously as he pushed me away. "Do you really wanna know?"

"Actually, that depends on what gender I want to be since I can practically change whenever. It's given because of... Who knows~!"

"...Just tell me what it is?" I massaged my temples, closing my eyes to prevent my brain from short-circuiting.

"....That's a woman secret~"

"Aren't you technically both...?"

He approached me once again, pointing at my chest. "True. In other words, I can be on top or bottom, the one getting backshots or the one giving backshots. You can pick..."

My attention wasn't directly on her, but on the two perfectly sized melons visible due to her tattered clothes.

"Hey! You should look at girls in the eyes when they're talking." She covered her chest with her other arm while pointing at her eyes.

"Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes."

...Something is rising, but it's not the sh**ld hero.

Now that I thought of it, I guess this is why I felt something soft when I hit her chest with magic earlier... But my master's is much softer.

"Why do I have the feeling that you're now comparing me to someone?"

"That's because I am."

"...Aren't you being too honest?"

After a playful exchange and some teasing, she finally decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"But, hey! You've managed to figure out how to control your mana properly. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have survived the attacks I did to you earlier."

The reason for our friendly brawl was for me to learn how to concentrate my mana in one place, enhancing my body in the process.

While I could practice this without engaging in combat, the decision to spar was twofold—accelerating my adaptation and gaining valuable experience against a magic user who could also hold her own in hand-to-hand combat.

Typically, people gather mana in a central location, their core, and release it externally for magic. My approach, however, focused on the opposite.

I wasn't training to cast spells but to internally control my mana, augmenting my physical abilities more efficiently. Although I understood the process, refining it to gather mana in a specific spot, like my hand, within five seconds was my current challenge.

...About that attack earlier... Just how did she pull it off? I wondered, glancing at my slightly battered right hand. If I hadn't fortified my body, those assaults could have been seriously problematic.

While contemplating deeply, a sudden realization struck me.

"Hey! Why does your magic feel different...? No, wait, how are you able to manipulate your mana like that?"

All those invisible attacks from earlier weren't typical magic but pure mana in action.

"What do you mean different? This is just a basic mastery of using mana."

She opened her palm, revealing a ball of pure mana, prompting my eyes to widen.

"There are various ways to wield mana. This is just the fundamental knowledge from my academy. We can do more; for instance, turning mana into threads for practical use."

She raised her right hand and clenched her fingers slightly.

*Fuush-!*

In an instant, the crystal behind me was neatly sliced in half.

...Wait! If she can do this much, she could have ended me much faster earlier!

As if picking up on my thoughts, she stuck out her tongue and said, "If I did that, you wouldn't have lasted a second."

With that statement, I felt a sharp string winding around my neck. She wasn't bluffing. It was clear she had held back significantly during our bout.

Then again, I suppose my decision not to choose [Web Manipulation] was the right one.

What did I choose back then?

[Vibrational Sensing].

The primary reason for this selection was apparent.

[...This power grants the ability to sense approaching threats, detect hidden dangers, and perceive subtle changes in the surroundings.]

Thanks to this ability, I managed to predict her attack patterns earlier and devise a counterstrategy.

Without it, I would have likely faced decapitation from her invisible assaults multiple times.

Unnoticed, Otuko retrieved the mask from the ground and covered her face with it.

"Now that I've answered your question, it's my turn..."

His smile vanished the moment the mask touched her face.

"How can you perform multi-elemental magic?"

His cold voice resonated through the area.

Wait, why did her demeanor change? Was it because of the mask... Odd.

Blinking in confusion, I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"When you blasted me earlier while I held your neck, you combined fire, ice, and wind... I can still feel the sensation in my chest..."

Touching her chest, Otuko continued, "Honestly, the fact that you managed to scratch me surprised me a lot, considering I've augmented my body with mana... It was weaker than [Inferno], but slightly better, if not for the fact that you're running low on mana."

What she said was accurate. If I had more mana then, I could have done much more.... However, let's leave it at that.

"Ah, you mean that...?" I placed my fingers under my chin, saying, "I simply changed the property of fire, turning it into ice flame. Then, I used wind magic to increase the oxygen, making the ice flame stronger, considering it still has the properties of a normal fire..." I explained briefly.

Her lips twitched as she sighed. "Wait... Are you saying you can tamper... No! Alter their properties? You did mentioned you originally came from another world; are you a scientist or something?"

"Hmm..." I nodded weakly.

"...."

She fell silent for a moment. After recovering, Otuko approached me again.

"In my world, no one was able to tamper with an element's properties... It was proven to be simply impossible. However, maybe this world works differently." She stopped, and now we stood face-to-face.

"Or maybe, it's not my world and this one that's odd..."

She gently poked her index finger to my chest.

"What are you?"