Whoosh!
Yuuki's feet shifted, and he vanished from where he stood, reappearing ten meters away in an instant. He raised both fists and began punching rapidly at the air ahead of him, twisting his body as he executed a series of complex movements at top speed.
He was testing the subtle changes that came with using Mana Skin.
"This is completely different from simple mana reinforcement. To maintain Mana Skin, you have to devote part of your focus to controlling it."
After stretching his limbs, Yuuki muttered to himself.
Especially in this violently turbulent natural mana environment, keeping Mana Skin stable became even more difficult.
Thinking of how Mereoleona could not only maintain Mana Skin in such harsh conditions, but do so effortlessly even in the midst of battle, Yuuki gained a deeper appreciation of just how terrifyingly strong she was.
One had to know—
The flame-like mana constantly burning around Mereoleona in her normal state was Mana Skin.
Ordinary mages could only form a thin layer of it, yet Mereoleona's Mana Skin had expanded to the point where it resembled roaring flames. No wonder she was capable of developing Mana Zone.
Yuuki shook his arms once and began walking step by step into the Strong Magic Region.
Earlier, he had been lingering at its edge, where the danger was relatively low.
Now—
As Yuuki advanced, the thunder constantly detonating in the sky seemed to find its target. In the blink of an eye, three bolts of lightning crashed down toward him.
In an environment saturated with electric currents, Yuuki himself was like a lightning rod.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
He didn't dodge. Standing still, he allowed all three bolts to strike him simultaneously.
Boom.
The Mana Skin he had just formed was almost useless—like thin paper, it was instantly shredded apart by the lightning.
Yuuki was scorched black in an instant. Numbing pain mixed with searing heat surged through his entire body, making him bare his teeth.
"Phoenix Feather Robe!"
Spitting out a mouthful of black smoke, Yuuki forced himself to endure the burning pain and activated his magic.
Crimson flames rose up, wrapping around his entire body as his injuries rapidly healed.
During this process, Yuuki continued to condense Mana Skin once more, still standing in place without moving, allowing bolt after bolt of lightning to strike him from above.
His current position was still on the outer perimeterimetry of the Strong Magic Region. The lightning wasn't overly dense, and with recovery magic to support him, it was perfect for training.
To elevate Mana Skin to a higher level, overwhelming mana was only one prerequisite. Time and refinement were equally necessary—and time was precisely what Yuuki lacked.
So he borrowed external force to train.
By using the high-explosive damage produced at the instant lightning struck to repeatedly shatter his Mana Skin, then immediately reform it, Yuuki accelerated his mastery over Mana Skin at an abnormal pace.
This method was something no ordinary mage could endure.
Even Mereoleona herself wouldn't be able to.
Without extremely powerful recovery magic, a single mistake could be fatal—and even treating the injuries afterward would waste enormous amounts of time.
Over the next three days—
Yuuki tended the tavern during the day, and at night he returned to the Strong Magic Region to continue his Mana Skin training.
The tavern opened at noon and in the evening. Mornings were usually when Rebecca prepared supplies, with Yuuki watching over the place, which gave him time to rest before noon.
During those three days, under the relentless bombardment of lightning, Yuuki reached the point where activating Mana Skin no longer required deliberate control. With a single thought, it could envelop his entire body.
Not only that—the strength of his Mana Skin had increased dramatically.
Yuuki also discovered that as his Mana Skin improved, the overall boost to his physical abilities rose in tandem.
At the same time, he experimented with compound magic, particularly combining Food Magic and Ash Curse Magic, both of which possessed mana-devouring properties.
To his surprise, he actually succeeded.
Under such high-intensity training, in just three days, Yuuki could clearly feel that his strength had risen by a significant margin.
Unfortunately, this period of calm cultivation didn't last long.
Members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun resumed their covert activities around the royal capital, leading Yuuki to suspect that Licht's injuries had already healed.
Licht's early appearance during the capital invasion would inevitably accelerate the Eye of the Midnight Sun's collection of Magic Stones.
At present, most of the Magic Stones had already surfaced and were largely in the Eye of the Midnight Sun's possession. Only two stones remained with unknown exact locations.
One was in the Seabed Temple, and the other lay within the Witches' Forest.
Neither of those stones would be easy to obtain.
The one in the Seabed Temple was tied to whether Vanessa could awaken Fate Magic, while the stone in the Witches' Forest was directly in the Witch Queen's hands.
Therefore—
Even though Yuuki knew where those two Magic Stones were, he had no intention of making a move in advance. They were useless to him and nothing but hot potatoes, tied to the Word Soul Devil lurking behind the scenes.
They would also draw the attention of both the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the Magic Knights.
Inside Yuuki's room above the tavern—
Click.
The door was pushed open.
Yuuki looked up. Seeing Mariella, who had clearly been waiting for him, didn't surprise him in the least.
He had already sensed her mana the moment she appeared.
"How did the investigation go?" Yuuki casually pulled a chair from the side of the room and sat down, looking at Mariella with curiosity.
Some time ago, he had asked her to investigate the mysterious mage Mereoleona mentioned—someone who possessed magic similar to his own. Now that Mariella had come, there must have been some results.
"My lord," Mariella reported respectfully, "I was unable to find anyone among the royals or nobility who can use multiple types of magic."
"The only one who somewhat fits is Rill, captain of the Azure Deer, whose Painting Magic can reproduce effects resembling different magic attributes."
As she spoke, a hint of guilt crept into her tone.
That captain, Rill, was clearly not the person Lord Yuuki was looking for. Otherwise, there would have been no need for her investigation in the first place.
No one…?
Yuuki frowned slightly.
Could Mereoleona have lied to him?
Impossible.
With Mereoleona's personality, she had neither the motive nor the inclination to deceive him—especially given that eager, itching-for-a-fight expression she had worn at the time. Logically speaking, such a person should exist.
Unless that person was hiding extremely deeply.
But was there really a need to hide like that?
After a brief hesitation, Mariella spoke again in a low voice.
"Lord Yuuki… there may be one more. However, that person is already dead."
"Hmm? Who?" Yuuki looked up at her.
"The twenty-seventh Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom—Conrad Leto."
Mariella bowed as she answered.
The former Wizard King?
Yuuki froze, genuine surprise flashing across his face. He hadn't expected the investigation to lead all the way back to a previous Wizard King.
Thinking it over carefully, Yuuki realized that his knowledge of the past Wizard Kings of the Clover Kingdom was extremely limited.
In fact, aside from the First Wizard King and the current one, very few people in the kingdom ever spoke of the others.
It was as if the royals and nobles were deliberately diminishing the influence of past Wizard Kings.
(End of Chapter)
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