Chapter 135

Fighting in water was certainly challenging; the water resistance and lack of proper footing made it impossible to use my full force.

However, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Eventually, we figured out how to fight properly in the water.

Splash!

Hmm, the lack of footing wasn’t an issue. We just needed to fight by standing on the lakebed.

Splaaash, splash!

Familiarizing myself with the lake’s depth in various areas while removing all that grass at the bottom really was a godsend.

I found a relatively shallow spot where I could exchange blows with Bers. By channeling Arcane Power into our attacks, we could also reduce water resistance to almost zero.

Thanks to that, our punches met each other’s guards at nearly the same speed we had on land.

Each collision seemed to produce a burst of bubbles and slight gaps within the water as it got pushed away. It wasn’t just my imagination, right?

Splaaash!

Bers grabbed my arm and threw me backward. Despite the lessened resistance during our attacks, I couldn’t roll around like I could on land, so I didn’t go far.

Of course, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Because I wasn’t pushed back that much, the time it took Bers to approach me again was pretty short.

I avoided the somewhat sluggish punch that came my way and placed my foot against her solar plexus, pushing her away.

With a thud, Bers was knocked backward, and the recoil also forced me back a bit.

Now was my chance.

I exhaled my last breath and headed upward. I could handle this damn underwater stage, but the problem was getting enough air.

Had I known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have returned that underwater breathing device! With that brief regret shooting through my head, my body soared to the surface.

Grab!

But Bers didn’t let me go so easily. Grabbing my ankle, she pulled me down.

Her face, vaguely visible to me, showed no intention of returning to the surface. She was confident that she had a better lung capacity than me.

Thunk!

A dull sound echoed as my leg collided with the sandy bottom. Sand spread all around us like a dust cloud.

Smack!

With her cheeks puffed out with air, Bers threw a punch. My hastily raised forearms barely managed to block it, but my body was pushed back two and a half steps.

Slight pain tingled through my forearms. From experience, I knew this degree of pain signified that it would leave a bruise.

Bubble!

Bers, having landed a solid hit, smiled and pushed off the ground. She seemed to be running out of breath, as well.

However, my character would never just take this lying down.

I grabbed her ankle and slammed her into the ground, just as she had done to me before, I was truly at my limit and needed air now.

What now?

If I couldn’t hold my breath long enough to reach the surface, I could simply clear away the water holding me back.

I gathered a massive amount of Arcane Power into my hands and shot it upward.

Boom!

A black pillar surged straight up, pushing away all the water. The force was so immense that the volume of displaced water far exceeded the black pillar’s size, creating a dry zone around me and the surrounding ground.

Pushed back by the force of the water, Bers looked stunned.

Let’s see how well she could swim out of there on her own.

As I pushed off the ground, I squinted slightly as sunlight suddenly entered my vision.

Just as the displaced water was about to rush back into its place, my body, enveloped by Arcane Power, shot upward.

Phew. Air filled my lungs just as my body, gasping for air, broke through the water’s surface.

“...!?”

And as I began to fall back into the water, a dark shadow rose rapidly toward me.

“Khak!”

Splash!

The surface of the water was pierced through as Bers burst out. She was holding a halberd.

Weren’t we going to fight with just our fists?! Although we’d agreed on using our weapons earlier, I’d assumed we would stick to hand-to-hand combat since she had been only attacking me with her fists until now!

I frowned, frustrated. However, that didn’t mean I was unprepared.

My hand firmly gripped my Zweihänder.

Clang!

The two weapons, infused with Arcane Power, collided, sending shockwaves in different directions. The water rippled as we were propelled backward.

Splaaash!

The force of impact was so great that rather than sinking into the water, we skimmed on top of it. That meant the force pushing us back was greater than the pull of gravity.

Thud!

Eventually, my back hit something. With a quick glance behind me, I saw it was the bridge leading to the Magic Tower.

Perhaps the Arcane Power enveloping my body had dampened the impact. While I didn't feel any pain... the heavily dented railing left me with a slight pang of guilt.

I also wondered how much repairing them would cost.

“D-Damn it.”

But would worrying change anything? Instead of worrying about the repair bills, I decided to focus on retracing my path.

Judging by the marks left behind, we had been fighting over there.

Had we pushed each other back that far with just a single collision of our weapons? Impressive.

I glanced at the foamy, swirling remnants of our fight as I gripped the bridge.

My eyes eventually focused on the direction Bers had been flung.

Considering the Demon Knight’s temper, though, that wasn’t entirely surprising.

The Hero also wasn’t exactly cut out to lead. Honestly, she’d experienced far too little of this world even to hold her ground.

“So, what’s the reason for your visit?”

White Wind clicked his tongue, pitying the Archmage.

At this age, he should be leading a guild or running a research lab instead of suffering these hardships. However, considering what happened back then, running a lab wouldn’t be an option for him.

The situation was the way it was, so whatever.

Deciding he should fully wake himself up, White Wind turned on the lights and started boiling water. Tea leaves with awakening properties floated through the air, following his hand gestures.

“I just came here to ask you for a small favor. It’s nothing serious or time-consuming, so you don’t need to brew any tea.”

“Oh, really?”

Without hesitation, White Wind set aside the tea leaves and brought out some honey before replacing the boiling water with milk. Nothing put someone to sleep like honey milk.

“If I knew you were sleeping, I would have come later.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m awake now. Besides, it’s just a small favor you want to ask.”

White Wind brushed through his messy hair and pounded on the table with his other hand.

“And it might be related to something I wanted to ask, you know?

“...You want to ask me something? You?”

“Yeah.”

The milk had warmed up. White Wind then scooped a generous amount of honey into it and let it dissolve into the beverage. The golden liquid fully sank into the white.

“It’s nothing major. I gave the Demon Knight a certain item, right? It’s a bit dangerous, though, so to avoid harming ordinary people, I inscribed a spell on it so only Arcane Power users could touch it, you know?”

“...So?”

“But surprise! While he was down with an injury, it disappeared without a trace. Curious, isn’t it?”

“...”

The honey had completely dissolved. White Wind fished out the spoon, producing a bright clink as it tapped the edge of the cup.

“It was you, wasn't it? You took it, right?”

In response, the Archmage also let some honey drip into his milk. The liquid rippled.

“Why are you asking if you already know?”

“Ahahaha!”

The moment he heard the answer, White Wind burst into laughter.

Of course. A warrior wouldn’t see its true value, and a wizard wouldn’t need something like a bomb, so he’d suspected something like this, but who would’ve thought it was actually true?

Especially since he’d been rather harsh to the Demon Knight until recently.

“I thought you might have softened up a bit in the Great Forest, but this truly is something else. My words must have really gotten to you, huh?”

“Of course. How could they not?”

“Haha. So, the favor you were going to ask of me was related to that?”

“If the Demon Knight requested a new chest plate, then yes, it’s regarding that. I’m here to request that you remove the explosive spell from it.”

“Ahaha!”

White Wind let out some hearty laughter again. Truly, sometimes the Archmage was unpredictable, and other times, entirely foreseeable.

“But what should I do? This time, it’s not a gift but compensation for a contract, so I can’t just remove it arbitrarily.”

“Is that so? Then subcontract it to me.”

“That would make the Magic Tower seem like a place that doesn’t properly check its products. We live on our reputation, so that would be difficult, don’t you think?”

However, it was good that he was like that. The Magic Tower, known as the pinnacle of intellect, desperately needed someone with empathy and benevolence.

“Principles beget trust. It’s certainly important. But are they really above a person’s life?”

Knowledge was a blade without eyes, a force without ego, after all.

“What if he goes on a rampage?”

“He won’t. I’m certain after this incident. Here’s what I believe. It’s trust between people that I hold above principles.”

If someone like the Archmage, who held compassion within himself, let go of the blade of knowledge, where would that blade be directed?

“You’re asking me to sacrifice my reputation for your trust? That’s a bit too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“But... not bad. While I’ve decided not to trust your judgment regarding people, I’ll give you one more shot.”

Besides, nothing was written in the contract regarding the chest plate. Even if the Demon Knight complained, there wouldn’t be any evidence. Accepting this request wouldn’t bring him any harm. With such purely pragmatic thoughts, White Wind agreed to his friend’s request.

“In return, give me back what you took. I’ll disassemble it and reuse the materials.”

“As you wish.”

Moreover, he would save on the material costs as well. It was the perfect deal.

Bang, bang, bang!

“...?”

However, it seemed karma truly existed in this world.

“Where did you learn to knock on someone’s door like that?”

“My apologies, Great Sage. It’s an urgent matter...”

“If it’s not as urgent as you make it out to be, I’ll cut your department’s research budget. Speak.”

“Well, erm... The Demon Knight and his companion, they...”

“They?”

“They’ve shattered the bridge connecting the Magic Tower to the town.”

Upon hearing this disastrous news, White Wind, who’d been planning to scam his way through this deal, couldn’t help but spit out the milk he’d been sipping.