I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 37

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 37: 037

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I aimed my staff at the Orcs charging at me.

Air Bullet.

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Holes burst through the foreheads of the Orcs running toward me.

Thump. Splat. Crash.

The green monsters collapsed limply like puppets with their strings cut.

I gave Hyeji an order.

“Lady Hyeji. Gather the spoils now.”

“Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.”

“Our porter seems particularly sigh-prone today.”

Rustle.

Na Hyeji quickly gathered the Orcs’ loot.

Maybe she did not want to get dragged into my act. With her lips tightly sealed, she silently placed axes and armor into her Spatial Bag.

Then we continued onward.

Thudthudthudthudthud!

Every Orc we met got a hole through its forehead.

“Lady Hyeji, how is the work of a porter? Since I am using only Air Bullet instead of usual, collecting loot should be easier. What do you say? Are you grateful for my consideration?”

“...”

“You do not seem very grateful. Then instead of Air Bullet, I shall deal with the Orcs using Fireball-”

“Wow! Thank you so much! Please keep fighting with Air Bullet! Not Fireball!”

“Hahaha! There is no need to be so grateful.”

Hyeji collected the loot.

I slaughtered Orcs as we advanced.

After walking for quite some time, we finally saw it.

‘The altar.’

A basin deep within the mountain range.

At its very center stood a strange stone structure.

The altar.

A small group of Orcs stood around it.

Ten Orc Warriors were positioned at regular intervals, surrounding the altar.

Inside their formation stood the Orc Shaman, raising its staff atop the altar and muttering something.

My eyes lit up.

‘That’s the Orc Shaman? It’s a shaman, but it looks ridiculously muscular for an Orc.’

It wore a long leather robe.

Even the robe could not hide its bulging muscles.

It held a staff made of animal bones in its right hand, and wore several crude copper rings on its left.

Its fierce face was full of malice.

It was nothing like Master or Senior Uncle, who always wore kind smiles.

It had surely mastered martial arts of a ruthless, domineering nature.

Hyeji might be in danger if she came any closer.

“Lady Hyeji, follow slowly. I will go ahead and deal with them first.”

“Will you stop calling me Lady-”

“I shall go first!”

Leaving Hyeji grumbling behind me, I kicked off the ground.

Whoosh!

I began running forward.

A wizard was not supposed to run around without dignity...

But I was not a wizard right now.

I was a martial artist.

A martial artist who had reached the pinnacle realm, at that!

And martial artists used lightness skills.

-Pabababak!

Using my lightness skill, I sped forward.

In other words, I ran really fast.

Still, there was something strange about my speed.

‘...What is this? It feels like I’m running way faster than a car.’

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp winds battered my ears, and the scenery rushed backward.

My running speed was unreal.

‘Isn’t this actually lightness-skill-level speed?’

My body must have become incredibly strong.

I was not even sprinting at full speed, just running at a reasonable pace, yet I was this fast.

As expected of the body of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.

I crossed several hundred meters in only a few seconds.

Tap!

I arrived near the altar and came to a light stop.

-Wark?!

-Grrr?!

The Orcs looked at me in shock.

An uninvited guest had run up at unbelievable speed and arrived in the blink of an eye. Of course they were surprised.

I clasped my hands in a martial salute and spoke to them.

“I am Baek Jiho of the Goblin Sect! I bear the epithet Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter! I request a life-or-death duel with your sect leader, the Orc Shaman!”

-Woooooooo! (Attack!)

At my declaration, all ten Orc Warriors charged at once.

I aimed my staff at them and said,

“I am a master at the pinnacle realm! Third-rate martial artists and common weaklings like you are not worth a single move! Yet you dare charge me...! Do you not value your lives?”

-Woooooo!

“You will not retreat? It cannot be helped. Then blood must be spilled...!”

I unleashed sword aura (Water Jet) and sliced them apart in one stroke.

-Slash!

A clear cutting sound rang out.

Blue sword aura (water) tore through the air.

The charging Orc Warriors fell, divided cleanly in half.

Splat. Thump. Flop.

Split apart, spilling their guts and blood, the Orc Warriors crawled across the ground.

Their bodies trembled for a moment before their heads fell against the earth.

The guards had all died in a single exchange.

I clicked my tongue.

“I wished to avoid needless killing if possible... but it cannot be helped. If you insist on blocking my path to the end, I will remove you even if it means bloodshed.”

Click.

I brought my staff to my waist as if sheathing a sword.

Scenes like this looked cooler if you said something while sheathing your weapon.

Anyway.

There were no more enemies left to interfere with me.

I raised my gaze toward the Orc Shaman atop the altar.

-...!

The Orc Shaman glared at me with a horrified expression.

I shouted at it.

“Orc Sect Leader! The subordinates protecting you are all dead! Accept my life-or-death duel with dignity!”

Hand over that lightning magic!

At my shout...

-Uwooooooo...!

The Orc Shaman raised its staff high.

It began preparing magic.

-Uwo! Wo! Grrr...!

Hummmmmm...!

As it muttered something, the blue motes in the air began to stir.

They soon gathered at the tip of its staff and formed a strange pattern.

I closely observed the array hovering above its staff.

As expected, it was simple.

‘Inside a large circle, diamonds are densely layered from largest to smallest.’

The array was so simple that memorizing it was easy.

And once I remembered it, I could reproduce it.

I drew out the Blue Motes within my body and copied the Orc Shaman’s magic.

Naturally, I did not forget to modify and improve it.

‘If I make the spacing between particles uniform and refine the overall shape...’

I corrected the sloppy array in real time.

As I poked the Blue Motes into place like I was drawing dotted shapes...

-Crack! Crack! Crackle!

A sphere of flashing electricity formed above my staff.

It was fascinating.

A sphere of lightning...

If I fired this, I could electrocute someone like a million-volt rat.

I turned my gaze toward the Orc Shaman.

-Grrk...?!

The Orc Shaman stared at me in shock.

It seemed to realize that I had stolen its magic.

I glanced at the lightning sphere over its staff.

-Crack... crack...

Its lightning sphere was only the size of a fist.

The lightning sphere I held, on the other hand...

-Crackle! Crack! Crackle!

Was about the size of a person’s head.

The magic I had cast was far more powerful.

We had used similar amounts of Blue Motes, yet the difference was this great.

I spoke quietly.

“...How disappointing, Orc Sect Leader. You possess such excellent martial arts, yet lack the talent to wield them properly. What a waste of a fine technique.”

It was a difference in completion.

Its proficiency was so pitiful that it could not draw out the full power of its martial arts.

I slowly aimed my staff.

“Farewell, Orc Sect Leader. I will put your martial arts to good use.”

-Uwooooo!

Was it making one last desperate attempt?

It pointed its staff at me.

Realizing its death was near, it tried to fire the magic it had prepared.

Right then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘But I think I can counter that.’

Before, on Floor 10.

I had countered Master’s magic.

Back then, I had simply swung my staff to disrupt the array of Blue Motes, which had broken the spell.

This time, we were some distance apart.

It was too far for my staff to reach.

Breaking the spell physically was impossible.

Yet why was it?

The Blue Motes gathered over its staff.

I felt as though I could take them away with my spiritual senses.

Whenever I got a feeling like this, it always worked out.

So I gave it a try.

-Hummmmmm...!

I focused my spiritual senses on the Orc Shaman’s staff.

Then...

‘...Oh?’

I felt the Blue Motes gathered over the Orc Shaman’s staff surrendering to my will.

They became as easy to control as the Blue Motes I drew from within my own body.

This time, it really seemed possible.

‘Dispel!’

What I wanted was to break the spell.

In other words, to dismantle its array.

I interfered with the Orc Shaman’s magic using my spiritual senses.

Then, immediately after...

-Crumble...

The array of Blue Motes gathered atop the Orc Shaman’s staff crumbled apart.

I collected them as they were and stored them in my heart.

-...Wark?!

The Orc Shaman cried out in shock.

Its prepared magic had suddenly vanished, which must have startled it.

But I was surprised too.

“Wow. That actually worked?”

I had countered the Orc Shaman’s magic.

Not only that, I had stolen its Blue Motes too.

I had taken both its magic and its mana!

It was just like the Great Absorption Technique!

-Uh? Wo! Waaark!

The flustered Orc Shaman began pounding the ground with its staff.

The Blue Mote NTR must have been pretty shocking.

It was fun.

“Orc Sect Leader! Do that again! That! I need to practice Dispel!”

-Waaaaa!

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The Orc Shaman prepared magic again.

Had it been shocked by the size of the Lightning Orb I made?

It poured in even more Blue Motes than before, creating a larger sphere of lightning.

Of course...

-Crumble...

I countered it instantly with Dispel.

I was satisfied.

‘I’ve awakened the feel for Dispel.’

I had learned how to disrupt and steal the arrangement of an opponent’s Blue Motes.

From now on, anyone using magic would struggle to cast spells in front of me.

The unexpected gain put me in a good mood.

As I stood there with a pleased smile...

-Uwooooooo!

The Orc Shaman must have been furious.

It let out a rough roar, leaped down from the altar, and charged at me.

Realizing magic was useless, it had decided to fight hand-to-hand.

It raised its staff and swung it at me.

I aimed my staff at it.

“Orc Sect Leader. You are a true martial artist.”

Even though it knew it could not defeat me, it had not fled or given up.

It charged at me until the very end.

Its magical ability might have been inferior to mine...

But that fighting spirit was worth learning from.

“Now rest in peace.”

I activated my magic.

-Rumble...!

Blue lightning shot out.

The azure bolt ripped through the air and struck the charging Orc Shaman head-on.

-Crackle!

The Orc Shaman was electrocuted and burned black-red.

It collapsed with the momentum of its charge still carrying it forward.

Crash!

The Orc Shaman’s corpse fell limply at my feet.

A faint, acrid smoke rose from it.

As I turned away, I murmured quietly,

“Orc Sect Leader... you were a formidable enemy. But I defeated you.”

It had been a formidable enemy.

Powerful martial arts that wielded lightning.

On top of that, powerful physical abilities!

Of all the masters I had encountered, it possessed the greatest skill.

Thus, we had fought a fierce battle.

After copying its magic, countering its attacks several times, and barely stopping even its final charge, I had finally seized victory!

It had been such a tense battle that cold sweat almost ran down my back.

Still, I had gained just as much from it.

First, I stole its martial arts and learned a new magic.

On top of that, I learned Dispel.

It had been a life-or-death duel full of gains in every way.

I looked up at the sky and pictured my masters.

“Masters in heaven! I, Baek Jiho, have defeated the Orc Sect Leader after a fierce battle! I will take responsibility for the sect’s future!”

Beyond the clouds, I could see the kindly faces of Master and Senior Uncle.

And the Orc Shaman too.

Why was that guy up there?

Anyway.

I had acquired new magic and killed the Orc Sect Leader.

“Jiho!”

“Hyeji, you’re here.”

Hyeji, who had been following behind, arrived just then.

She looked at the collapsed altar and shouted.

“You killed the Orc Shaman, right? Ah, the Escape Portal opened over there. Let’s go back quickly!”

After the Orc Shaman died, the altar collapsed and revealed an Escape Portal.

If we wanted, we could take the Escape Portal and clear Floor 15.

But...

“There’s no need to leave right away, right?”

“What?”

“I learned a new magic. I’m going to hunt a little more so I can get used to it.”

-Crack! Crack!

I raised a Lightning Orb above my staff.

The blue lightning flashing from it looked truly cool.

“Hyeji, follow behind me. I’ll hunt the Orcs outside the basin as magic practice, so collect the loot as you follow me.”

“Ah...”

Hyeji’s face darkened.

She had been thrilled at the thought of leaving through the Escape Portal, but she seemed disappointed that we were going to hunt more Orcs instead of leaving right away.

Still, it could not be helped.

I had gotten a new magic. How was I supposed to resist using it?

That was how I began practicing magic.

-Rumble!

-Rrrrrumble!

-Rumble!

Blue lightning flashed.

Every Orc I encountered became crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

But a crispy-outside, moist-inside Orc? That was totally Garrosh...

Anyway.

I threw lightning around until I was sick of it.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 15)]