It's Unfair!

From then on, Adam attempted to defeat Typhon a total of twenty times. Unfortunately, he never prevailed.

("...How?!") [Adam]

Chewing on a piece of bread, he sat deep in thought.

("It's like nothing I do can beat him! Everytime… Everytime…! He just… kills me so effortlessly!") [Adam]

He chewed angrily, causing Arthur to show concern.

"...Are you alright, Adam?" [Arthur]

"NO!" [Adam]

He snapped at Arthur from frustration.

"O-okay…" [Arthur]

Arthur then fell silent after witnessing Adam's sudden outburst.

("Let's review. The longest one I've survived was my… seventeenth death? I managed to dodge the first stab, but he can move so fast the second one gets me.") [Adam]

It was at this time where Adam really wished Krino was with him.

("If only I had a reliable weapon…") [Adam]

That was also when he remembered Arthur summoning a magic arrow mid-fight.

"Arthur!" [Adam]

"Hm?! Yeah?!" [Arthur]

Arthur jolted. He wasn't too sure if Adam was still angry at whatever it was he was mad at.

"Can you teach me magic?" [Adam]

"…I don't think now is the best time to learn magic. We're quite literally in the middle of a prison break." [Arthur]

Though he believed it was urgent to escape, Arthur's will faltered when looking at the determination in Adam's eyes.

"...What do you want to learn?" [Arthur]

"Is there a spell that can help me summon a weapon?" [Adam]

Arthur gave him a conflicted look.

"There is, but… it would be very taxing on the body." [Arthur]

"...Elaborate." [Adam]

Raising a hand, Arthur summoned a magic circle.

"First of all, you need the knowledge to formulate a magic circle." [Arthur]

Staring at the circle, Adam somehow felt like he could read it.

"Like this?" [Adam]

Raising a hand, an exact replica of the circle appeared within his palm.

"Huh?! How?!" [Arthur]

Completely astonished by what he had just witnessed, Arthur's jaw dropped.

"What's the next step?" [Adam]

"I-Uh…" [Arthur]

Having a bit of trouble recollecting himself, Arthur took a few breaths while murmuring to himself.

"Three years… It took me three years to draw even a single one…!" [Arthur]

"...Arthur?" [Adam]

"Huh? Oh, ahem!" [Arthur]

Clearing his throat, he tried to hide his jealousy.

"Next you insert mana into it. Since humans don't have a mana core like monsters, we use circles to absorb mana in the atmosphere to activate it. It may be hard to control, but-" [Arthur]

"Done." [Adam]

"Eh?!" [Arthur]

Eyes wide open, he stared at a fully glowing magic circle. Within moments, a transparent blue longsword emerged from the circle.

"...You're lying. You've learned this before." [Arthur]

Adam gave him a blank look.

("...Why does my gut kind of hurt?") [Adam]

Feeling a slight pulsing pain in his lower abdomen, Adam ignored it.

"Can this sword handle an ethereal blade's attack?" [Adam]

"...If you put enough mana into it." [Arthur]

Heeding his advice, Adam forced more mana into the blade. The blade's form began to solidify, so much so that it was no longer transparent.

"Did I do it right?" [Adam]

"...I hate you." [Arthur]

Judging from Arthur's reaction, Adam assumed he succeeded.

"Hey, Arthur?" [Adam]

"What?" [Arthur]

He spoke in an unhappy tone.

"What is the name of this spell?" [Adam]

"It's called Mana Conjuring. It's basically giving mana form." [Arthur]

"I see… Mind testing it for me?" [Adam]

Arthur opened his mouth to ask how, but then realized.

"Sure." [Arthur]

Gripping his sword, Arthur aimed it at Adam.

"Be careful, I might miss since I'm missing an arm." [Arthur]