The collapsed Titan's Heavy Armor let out a deafening roar, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Yuuki was the first to emerge from the debris.
His once-black robe was now tattered and torn. His exposed body was covered in wounds, blood flowing freely.
He looked pitiful.
But at this moment, Yuuki no longer cared about his injuries.
"Hiss… that was close." Yuuki steadied himself, panting heavily, glancing at his shoulder.
A dagger-sized ore scimitar was embedded there.
He gripped it tightly and yanked it free with a powerful tug. Blood poured out as he pulled it from his flesh, then casually tossed it to the ground.
"Looks like… I won."
He lifted his gaze to the dust-filled battlefield. One hand still clutched the Thorn Whip, pulling with force.
A figure was dragged out from the debris—Mars, unconscious.
Yuuki let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"I actually defeated Mars."
A wave of pain, previously unnoticed, now surged like a tide through Yuuki's body, forcing him to grit his teeth.
Mars had truly been strong! Without his mastery of multiple magic types and ever-changing combat style, defeating him would have been nearly impossible.
Yuuki sank to the ground, tending to his wounds while restoring his mana.
Since his power had increased, it was the first time he felt the vulnerability of insufficient mana again.
Though the battle had been intense and brutal, Yuuki now had a clearer understanding of his own combat style and abilities.
After a brief rest, Yuuki rose to his feet again, the pain from his wounds making him flinch. He looked down at the unconscious Mars.
"It's time to reap the fruits of victory."
A smile appeared on his face.
Mars was the first truly powerful opponent Yuuki had defeated with his own strength.
Stepping forward, Yuuki picked up the mage's grimoire Mars had dropped. It was a strange red-and-silver book.
At the junction of the red and silver sections, there were stitch-like markings, as if the grimoire had been crudely patched together.
Yuuki knew this was a Diamond Kingdom-exclusive technique.
It allowed mages to acquire a second type of magic, though the success rate was terrifyingly low. So far, only Mars and another revived Fana had achieved it.
Even then, the users could not fully harness the second magic's potential—an inherent flaw in the technique.
"Full replication!"
Yuuki placed the red-and-silver grimoire atop his silver one, concentrating his thoughts.
Whoosh!
Silver mana rapidly enveloped the red-and-silver book, absorbing it entirely.
In the next moment, Yuuki's body trembled. An overwhelming surge of mana erupted from within him.
The sheer force shattered his tattered black robe into fragments.
This was the most powerful flow of mana Yuuki had experienced since devouring grimoires.
He could feel his magic capacity rising at an astonishingly clear rate.
The ambient natural mana became distinctly perceptible. His senses expanded, giving him an unprecedented clarity of awareness.
Within mere breaths, his mana limit, previously at the Fourth Domain, surged up to Third Domain level, and the boiling power gradually stabilized.
After a moment, Yuuki opened his eyes, feeling his replenished mana. He took a deep breath.
"So Mars's mana was Third Domain level… That's why my power leapt to Third Domain instantly."
He murmured to himself.
As Yuuki had suspected, the limit increase depended on the mana of the grimoire's original user. If Mars had First Domain mana, Yuuki's would rise to that level.
Of course, cumulative breakthroughs were possible, though slower.
Rustle—
A grimoire page flipped to the last.
"Reverse Replication."
Yuuki tore off a page, consumed a mana source, and restored the book to Mars's original grimoire form.
The reconstructed red-and-silver grimoire was identical to the original, and Yuuki placed it before the unconscious Mars.
He checked his own silver grimoire for updates:
Magic:
Fire Magic (Scorching Flame)Water Magic (Flowing Body, Narrow River Current)Ice Magic (Skystrike Ice Fang, Crystal Spike, Crystalline Ice Shield)Fog Magic (Phantom Mist Whirlpool, Lost Realm)Plant Magic (Mandala Cradle, Thorn Whip)Ore Magic (Victory Sword, Talos Puppets, Nemea's Might, Titan's Heavy Armor, Scimitar)Tracking Magic (Observation)Hunting Magic (Encirclement)Wind Magic (Tower of Storms)Spatial Magic (Spatial Transfer)Spatial Magic (Otherworld)Chain Magic (Iron Binding Array)Flame Recovery Magic (Phoenix Feathered Garment)[Blank]
Yuuki glanced at his pages. He had gained ore magic, and by using another mana source, had essentially added no extra pages.
Mars had possessed dual magic, but only a single mana source. He could use fire magic thanks to the crystal embedded in his forehead.
Yuuki regretted that he couldn't obtain Mars's fire magic source—but it didn't matter. With Skill Replication, he had successfully replicated the powerful recovery magic Phoenix Feathered Garment.
"I'll need to prepare more grimoire pages… Giving magic to others leaves none spare."
"Even simple magic techniques need to be organized, or they waste a page."
Yuuki mused to himself, then focused his mind:
"Flame Recovery Magic—Phoenix Feathered Garment!"
Whoosh!
A crimson flame engulfed Yuuki's entire body. It looked as though he had been set ablaze, yet he felt no burning pain—only a comforting warmth.
His bleeding wounds rapidly healed.
"Such a powerful recovery magic."
Yuuki watched the wounds close, amazed.
At the same time, he continued to heal himself while glancing at the unconscious Mars.
(End of Chapter)
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