"Imitation Magic: Stone Spear Forest!"
Laiah had deliberately obscured Charles's vision just to activate this magic.
Indeed, within Yultim Volcano, the most concentrated element was fire mana. Attributes that opposed it—like water—were so rare as to be nearly undetectable.
But there were still other types of mana present, and earth-type mana—representing rock and stone—wasn't nearly as suppressed.
So, unable to use fire magic effectively here, Laiah turned to earth magic to subdue Charles.
Charles leapt back, dodging the rocky spears erupting from beneath his feet.
Laiah must've used an enormous amount of mana to cast this—those spears were blisteringly fast.
Interlaced stone spears crisscrossed the battlefield, surrounding Charles and locking him in a cage of jagged rock.
Charles struggled slightly, but the stone spears didn't budge. It was as if they weren't made of stone at all, but of forged steel.
Laiah stood up and wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow. "Now, hand over the magic stone and tell me everything you know."
Charles, oddly enough, didn't look concerned. Instead, he smiled. "Looks like you've cooled off. Your rage is spent, and now you're thinking clearly."
"But this isn't the time to talk from a position of equality—so I'll have to ask you to bear with me a bit longer."
Laiah tensed. He'd heard from Patry about Charles's "Dragon Blood Mode"—a power-up that let him fight on par with a Magic Knight Captain.
So he was on high alert, ready to respond to any signs of that explosive surge in magic power.
But what surprised him was the exact opposite. There was no wild torrent of mana coming from Charles. Instead, it was calm—eerily calm.
Laiah didn't believe for a second that Charles had given up. He was sure something was about to happen.
"If you'd come a day earlier," Charles said, "you wouldn't have gotten to see this—something I just learned. Since you're here, how about giving me your professional opinion on my new ability?"
His grimoire lit up in front of him and began to flip pages, stopping on the newest one.
A deep, primal roar seemed to echo from the page, and Laiah felt something pass through his body—though nothing appeared to change.
"I don't get it," Laiah muttered. "What did you just do?"
Charles met his eyes and said casually, "This is my Mana Zone. Or rather, it might be more accurate to call it something new—something born from everything I've fused together."
"What you just felt… that was likely a side effect of the spell—an ability I call Dragon's Intimidation."
"As the name suggests, within my mana zone, anyone who fights me must endure the fear of gazing into a dragon's eyes."
Charles didn't know why his mana zone manifested like this—but it was certainly a good thing.
Even just the additional mental pressure was worth celebrating. After all, this was a spiritual attack, and not everyone could resist fear.
That's also why Charles was willing to explain it. Even if you told someone a beast might devour them, it didn't make them less afraid—it made the fear more real.
In this space, most enemies would be crushed by pressure the moment the fight began. And that wasn't even the only effect.
Crack. Crack.
The stone spears that had held Charles fast suddenly splintered, webbing with fractures. As Charles moved his arm, they shattered into rubble.
The spears had seemed like steel because Laiah had imbued them with powerful earth mana. But without earth mana to sustain them—they were just brittle rocks.
Looking at Laiah, Charles explained, "Don't get it yet? This entire space is now a dragon's lair—and every particle of mana is the dragon's hoard."
"And who would dare steal from a dragon? This is what I call the Dragon's Greed: total control over all mana within my domain."
"…That's insane," Laiah muttered, and he wasn't joking. He was genuinely astonished.
It was hard to believe a human could wield such a spell. If elves were beloved by mana… then in this domain, Charles was mana's king.
Charles smiled and said, "Hard to believe from just words? Then let me show you."
His speed surged. Even without activating Dragon Blood Mode, he moved faster than Laiah could react.
Laiah realized that the mana around them was physically pushing Charles forward—his talk of control wasn't a bluff.
Desperate, Laiah transformed into a beam of light and tried to flee.
But Charles wasn't any slower than light. He caught up.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Though transformed, his mana zone retained its basic enhancements. This punch drew upon the surrounding mana, surpassing even Charles's normal output.
Laiah had no time to swap to a defensive spell. The punch landed cleanly.
He went flying, crashing hard into the rocky wall. Blood sprayed from his mouth. He quickly cast healing magic on himself.
But even that wasn't working properly. His wounds were closing at a crawl. The healing spell was weaker inside this zone.
Fortunately, Charles didn't follow up. Laiah managed to get back on his feet.
"Man, you're seriously dangerous," he said, reverting to his usual laid-back tone. "Okay, fine—I give up. Since you wanted to talk, let's talk."
The suffocating pressure disappeared. Laiah knew Charles had dismissed the terrifying spell.
Charles, too, let out a breath of relief. He might have looked calm, but he wasn't. If Laiah had kept fighting, it was anyone's guess who would've collapsed first.
This was a spell Charles had learned only yesterday. He hadn't yet mastered it—and it came with a steep cost.
If Dragon Blood Mode required immense physical strength and dragon energy, then Dragon's Lair was mentally taxing.
Controlling every bit of mana in a space while intimidating all intruders required a tremendous amount of focus and willpower.
Frankly, even in the short time he'd maintained it, Charles felt like his brain had been boiling.
He sighed inwardly. Mana Zones were supposed to let mages restore their mana through nature, giving them greater endurance.
That had been the whole point of training here—to boost his full-power duration.
But instead… he'd gained yet another time-limited burst ability.
When am I ever going to last longer?!
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