SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar

Tense silence filled the vacuum of space as both parties stared at each other.

On one end was the man with the long cloak, with his hood already taken off. He had a determined smile on his face, though glimmers of amusement still rang deep within his eyes.

Opposite him was Stefan, now enlightened on how to improve—resolved to win this very brief exchange.

'Everything! I must take account of everything!'

With that in mind, Stefan decided to properly implement everything he had been taught, but also add a few tweaks of his own.

'It's going to take a while, so if I stall for—!'

~WHOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!~

In a flash, the hooded man rushed towards Stefan, imitating the same speed he had used before.

"Tch!"

Stefan swiftly reacted, using a surging burst of Nether to push him away.

'He can control Aether, so it's best I use Nether in this battle. At least until I've properly integrated the two in a more complex fashion so he can't separate and control the Aether aspect of it.'

This vile pulse of negative energy radiated from Stefan like a wolf storm, and it should have pushed the man far away.

However…

~VWUUUUUMMMM!!!~

… He managed to break through.

"Wondering how I did that?" The man smiled as he closed the distance he had between him and the dazed Stefan.

He was now right in front of him, his fist clenched as his hand was raised for a blow.

The brilliant glimmer in his eyes made all of this feel like an exciting game.

It upset Stefan, but it also caused his heart to race.

"How did you do tha—?"

~WHOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!~

Before Stefan could conclude his words, the man sent his blow flying towards him at breakneck speed.

So much Aether was seeping through him, all in bountiful proportions.

The anomaly around Stefan was instantly disturbed by the man's Spellcraft, causing a gap to appear in his absolute defense.

As a result…

~BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!~

"Gurk!" Stefan groaned as his body was sent flying further into the depths of space.

His cheek had been punctured deep by the powerful hit he was dealt, and just as droplets of blood leaked out, a few teeth followed.

"I used Spellcraft to create my own personal anomaly by mixing it in with the Nether pulse you made. It allowed space around me to bend, or even become nonexistent, so damage could not travel to me." The hooded man smiled, raising his bloodied fist with a wide grin.

"That's how I got through your pulse."

Stefan grunted as he swiftly recoiled from the first actual damage he had taken in so long.

"I… I see."

He held his face for a few seconds, rubbing his cheek especially.

Pain. He had forgotten how they felt, and yet a single hit from an absolute stranger now reminded him.

The sensation didn't last too long, though. In no time, Stefan's healed itself, completely absolving him of the adverse feeling.

"Healing, huh? I haven't used that Magic yet, but it should work for me too… in principle."

Comments like these made Stefan further confused about the identity of the man before him, but the current situation didn't afford him the time and opportunity to indulge in those.

He still had his mission to fulfill, and if he wanted to beat this person, distractions were unnecessary.

"Original Magic: Dance Of The Celestial Lights]."

Right now, his Primeval Magic was in an incomplete—or rather, an unsatisfactory—state, so Stefan realized he had to compensate for it.

'Pending the time I bring it up to speed…'

Several balls of light began to appear around Stefan, all warbling with a dangerous glow.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet.

All seven of these balls of light began to circle around Stefan as planets would revolve around their star.

'It'll take a lot to work on my Primeval Magic while also fighting him. But, if I use these, then it should work.'

Primeval Magic was known to exist beyond the comprehension or abilities of mere mortals and mages, so Original Magic was the known pinnacle.

As a result, Stefan found his current option to still be a good card to play—at least when it came to offense.

'Let's begin round two!'

"Red."

The crimson orb that coiled around him suddenly exploded like fireworks, dividing itself into multiple pieces.

Each of those pieces began to expand very rapidly. Soon, each sphere was as large as a human head, but the moment they reached this mass, they went through division once more.

Each fragment, now seemingly innumerable as a whole, was as big as a firefly.

'Perfect.' Stefan raised his hand and pointed it towards the hooded man.

His fingers formed a shooting sign, and Stefan's grin widened instantly.

"Bang."

~WHOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!~

The several, uncountable beams of red light instantly flew in his direction.

'Red' in his arsenal stood for destruction. Having so many balls of the same property, disguised as bullets, was to ensure they covered as much ground as possible.

As Stefan had learned, the mass and coverage of a Spell wouldn't do him much good.

This time, he was focusing on speed and versatility.n..)-/()--(-.1-/n

As expected, the man developed a shield to protect himself from the "Red" energy bullets that approached him at the speed of light.

'But that won't work, you know?!'

The energy bullets instantly ate through the barrier and riddled the old man with holes.

His entire body, and also his head, were greeted with multiple holes that ate through energy and cells, breaking everything down in a searing bath of destruction.

"Explode."

~BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~

The eruption bathed everything around it in red light, and even Stefan had shades of the color radiating on his body despite the distance.

"It's very unlikely that he would have perished with that, but—"

"Please. You give me too much credit." A voice suddenly echoed in his ears, almost as if the one who spoke was right behind him.

'H-huh…?'

Stefan's gaze shifted in response to what he heard, and much to his shock… he found the very person he had just eviscerated.

The man was standing so casually behind him, as if nothing was wrong at all."

"Don't look so surprised, young man." His smile unnerved Stefan to the core.

"We're just getting started."

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Thanks for reading, everyone!