The Book Eating Magician

The speed of a sword master might be faster in comparison, but the effect of the terrain meant flying magic was more efficient when it came to traveling long distances. A wide line of sight was also something they naturally obtained at high altitudes.

The three people flew like arrows and could soon see the city in the distance.

It was the northwest frontier city in the Soldun Kingdom which was ruled by Earl Albert. In the last civil war, he had been someone on Elsid’s side and Theodore had met him once. The shadows of the three people moved above the Albert estate before Theodore remembered his face. The Albert estate was precisely in the middle of the city, so they could look over the entire territory.

Theodore took a quick look through Albert City.

“It is a mess.”

There were flames, smoke, and people running away in every direction.

“The direction of the attack is from the north. The situation is too strange for it to be Lairon invading. The walls haven’t collapsed yet, so why are there disturbances inside the city-”

“...Theo,” Veronica spoke in a growl-like voice, “Move your gaze higher and look again. It seems like we’ve stepped on the tail of that bastard.”

“What?” Theodore followed Veronica’s advice. He triggered Hawkeye, and the shapes of those who seemed smaller than ants were immediately clear.

On the street stained with blood, a man was chasing after someone and roughly biting him in the neck. The person had his artery torn, and he fell to the ground, taking his last breath. It was a disastrous death, but that wasn’t the end. As blood poured from the torn neck, the victim became the offender. He had become a zombie, the most common and terrible representation of the undead.

“Undead! Are they the infectious type?” Theodore’s eyes widened as he saw the situation.

The familiars of the warlocks, the undead could be divided into two major types—manufactured and infectious.

The manufactured type of undead were made directly by the warlock’s magic power, while the undead made indirectly were classified as infectious type. They were killed by other undead or under the influence of special black infectious magic.

‘Of course, the manufactured type are dominant. However, the danger of the infectious type isn’t in the strength of an individual.’

One zombie would kill one citizen. Then two zombies would kill two citizens. The four zombies would then attack four citizens... In less than half a day, more than a thousand undead would turn this territory into a cemetery. This was the terrible part of the infectious undead and what caused a necromancer to be called the worst warlock.

However, Theodore remained calm as he looked at the ground. The infection was obviously a threat, but each individual undead wasn’t strong. It was possible for an army with a proper defensive line to take care of them. In fact, the soldiers of Albert City were blocking the undead from outside the walls.

The damage inside the city wasn’t small, but there was a defensive line, as well as guards leading out the survivors. It might be impossible to win, but they could hold on for a few hours.

‘...Nevertheless, this situation is weird.’ Theodore felt a sense of discomfort again. ‘There are a few high-level undead that appear to be giving commands, but it isn’t very organized. No matter how hurt he is, a 9th circle warlock wouldn’t be so disorderly.’

Was this a pandemic to increase his power? No, if he wanted that, Jerem would’ve moved faster and more secretly. It was a mistake to draw attention with the low-level undead and attract variables such as Theodore. Did he want to tie up Theodore?

“Theo, what do you want to do?”

They couldn’t just continue watching from above. Theodore was troubled for a moment, but there was no choice. If he passed by Albert City, they wouldn’t see tomorrow’s sun. Theodore couldn’t sacrifice those lives for his own convenience. If Theodore were such a person, god-king Nuada wouldn’t have responded to his summoning in the first place.

“Randolph, go to the eastern section of the city and help the guards evacuate the survivors.”

“I understand. What about you?”

Theodore smiled at the question and looked playfully at Veronica. “What is the red tower’s 8th commandment?”

“Huh? A good warlock is a dead warlock?”

“Then the 10th one?”

“Aha, whether it is one hundred or one thousand people, wipe them all out!”

It was a reckless strategy, but it was different when it involved two 8th circle magicians. Each of them was a one-man army. For the strong who suppressed the battlefield, a group of undead was just like scarecrows to them.

“I understand. Please don’t get carried away,” Randolph said half-heartedly and fell to the ground without hesitation. Blindly fired magic was, after all, more terrifying than thousands of undead.

The height of the fall was quite high, but a sword master didn’t have to worry. Randolph stably landed on a building, while the two magicians split their roles.

“Veronica, I will take care of the city.”

“Okay, then I’m outside? I was a bit worried, but now I can let it all out!”

It was as she said. Veronica’s magic, which specialized in large-scale destruction, was difficult to demonstrate inside a city. If the attack magic hit the wrong place once, a disaster worse than zombies would occur. Even magicians who reached the 8th circle had some parts they were inexperienced with.

“Theo! Let’s bet on who will finish first!” Veronica created flaming wings behind her and headed towards her destination.

She exceeded the speed of sound. There was a sonic boom, and a few clouds were torn apart. Veronica was always like a storm. Theodore gazed at Veronica’s back before looking down. ‘...The west part of the city is already doomed. The center and south parts still have many survivors. I will focus on them.’

The survivors who were being surrounded by the undead took precedence. The eight circles inside Theodore’s body started rotating.

Huuuuuuong! His circles roared.

In retrospect, this was the first time he had used all eight circles. Theodore had a lot more magic power reserves than any other magician. As his circles increased in capacity, Theodore’s magic power became strong enough to be compared to when Veronica awakened her dragon heart. Then what magic was he going to use with this magic power?

“Lucete!” Theodore cried out with a loud voice.

Memorize.

All Slots Open.

Octuple Casting.

He had never tried this before! An enormous power soared, and the space around Theodore was greatly distorted. From that distortion, a light was born.

‘Success!’

Based on the name, they were concentrated arrows of light! These were from the debris of divinity that Nuada left behind back when he was summoned not long ago. A simple flame couldn’t completely stop the undead’s regenerative abilities. It needed the power of a god, who was the enemy of all undead and black magic.

Wuuong- Wuuong- Wuuong- Wuuong-

Every time the golden arrows appeared, darkness retreated from the night sky. Just like the sun rising again, this light spread all over the sky.

10, 20, 100, 200...

At first, Theodore intended to shoot moderately. However, he was soon forced to change his mind. He had made close to 1,000 arrows, but he still had room for more.

“Won’t I clean all of this up at once?” With bemused eyes, Theodore watched the resplendent scene he had created.

Kieeeek? Kieeek?

Kieeeeeeek!

Grrrrr...! Grr...kuk...

Every time the divine light swept through, the undead melted like candles. The zombies couldn’t endure it for even a moment and were burned. There weren’t many senior undead, but they also stopped moving, unable to ignore the effects of the light.

Theodore didn’t know that this magic, which mimicked Nuada’s true light wave, would exert this much power.

‘It might be the aftermath of Mitra turning into a goddess for a moment. Won’t this be enough to be effective against Jerem...?’

Theodore pondered it while Albert city was filled with silence. Standing in the middle of the golden sky, Theodore’s figure looked holy. Some people fell to their knees, while others stared blankly at the sky. Theodore slowly raised his left hand and cried out, “Go.”

There was a shower of golden arrows toward the city. It was divine punishment. Later, people would recall the scene. Someone had appeared in the sky surrounded by holy light, and they had poured out a brilliant shower of light to destroy the blasphemous existences.

More than 1,000 arrows pierced the undead. This was sufficient. It might be different for a death knight or lich, but these undead couldn’t resist the brilliant light. They were like ice melting in the scorching summer sun. Only the undead were annihilated, with no harm being done to the living.

After the golden shower, there wasn’t one undead left inside Albert city.

“...It looks like I won the bet.” Theodore shrugged as he thought about how he’d made Randolph run around for nothing.

Theodore had reached the 8th circle through many twists and turns. He had only just progressed, but he realized that his magic had become several times more powerful. ‘Theodore Miller’ was the name of a great magician who could now be counted in the top three of the entire continent.

“Hmm?” At that moment, one undead caught his attention.