Vol 4 Chapter 3

Kapros tried to clear his mind as much as possible while thinking of one thing towards the red group that was now visible rushing towards him through his own eyes. Staring straight ahead, making sure his eyes didn't waver, he focused solely on that.

'Attack!'

'...'

But Inferno just stayed still, not moving. Suppressing his impatience, Kapros tried once again to clear his mind of distracting thoughts and thought.

'Attack the Chilaka!'

'...'

However, Inferno remained stubbornly silent. As Kapros became flustered, he heard Kran and Un-o's shouts from behind and above.

"Kap! They're coming!"

"They're here!"

"Grrrr, woof!"

"Woof! Woof!"

Kapros knew. How could he not when the Aerial Servant's view was closely following the lead Chilaka of the pack rushing towards them, less than 100 meters away?

'...Is this not it? What am I doing wrong?'

While preparing to tear apart the Chilaka using Aerial Servant if necessary, frustration was building in his mind. Perhaps seeing Kapros as if he were letting his guard down, something shot down like a beam of light from above, piercing through the head of the Chilaka running at the front.

Swoosh! Thud!

"Yelp! Gurk!"

With a strange sound, the Chilaka, pierced by the arrow, tumbled to the ground, bouncing a few times as it died. This was vividly perceived through two views, from the front and back. That Chilaka was soon mercilessly trampled by the other Chilaka running behind it, and Kapros was able to retreat in the meantime.

"Blink!"

As he stepped back with a pop, he dodged the Chilaka that were rushing in, gnashing their teeth more angrily, using Blink a few more times. He desperately glared at Inferno, intending to try the magic again, but it was useless. Inferno didn't even move, staying still as if nailed in place.

'Damn it!'

Why on earth won't it move?

"Blink!"

What's wrong with my thinking!

"Roar!"

"Burn, I said burn them!"

Just as he used Blink, Kapros shouted with anger towards the red-maned monster group that had rushed to a precarious position. At that moment, as if by magic, Inferno began to swell and rise violently, as if exploding.

Whoosh!

"Arf?!"

And Inferno, which had risen greatly like a red curtain to more than 5 meters high, paused for a moment like a ball thrown upwards just before falling, then began to pour down like a massive waterfall towards the surprised and flustered Chilaka.

Whoosh!

With a terrible sound that made it hard to believe that flames were pouring down, soon the Chilaka, drenched in a rain of fire all over their bodies, began to scream and roll on the ground.

"Grrrr!"

"Aroooo!"

However, strangely, the sparks clinging to the Chilaka's bodies wouldn't extinguish no matter how much they rolled. Rather, they spread more and more, burning the monsters like demons. Too faithful to what Kapros had wished for, it was literally 'burning' them. The sight of the flames, which looked even redder than ordinary fire-type magic like Fireball, shattering onto the monsters and burning them with an increasingly tenacious vitality was truly hellfire itself.

Watching the Chilaka gradually become one large ball of fire, burning up and disappearing, Kapros recalled the single line of description about Inferno written in Superior's spellbook.

[ Inferno: Hellfire. ]

'...So that's why it was 'hellfire'?'

It was exactly as described, nothing more, nothing less.

"6th circle... it's really incredibly powerful."

As Kran spoke with a slightly flushed face, Un-o also nodded.

"I've never seen such destructive power before."

"Anyway, my Holy Transfer skill didn't get to show its effect in the end. What a waste, such a waste..."

At those words, Kapros recalled the golden magic Kran had cast on him earlier and asked.

"What was that, by the way?"

"Hehehe. That... It's something that shows its true value only when you're in danger! Isn't it awesome? Isn't it great? Isn't it cool?"

"..."

Sorry, but it doesn't seem very necessary. Although Kapros felt a bit of fatigue from using two 6th circle spells in succession, he continued to think about Inferno, which he had properly grasped for the first time.

His initial guess that Superior's magic would respond to 'pure wishes' seemed correct, but reflecting on his recent experience, it seemed that something stronger was needed for the magic to manifest. It felt more like something that was learned through direct use rather than something that could be explained in words.

'The more I use it... is that it? Then...'

"Kran, Un-o."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

Clearly, their next destination was supposed to be the northernmost part of the continent for his next quest. Until now, even when they had opportunities to pass through villages and cities along the way, they had mostly taken detours, or avoided monsters when they swarmed...

"From now on, let's pass through every dungeon we come across, and deal with the monsters as we go."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean all of a sudden?"

Despite Kran's voice, sounding like he was about to fall over in surprise, and Un-o's voice, subtly frowning his nose bridge, Kapros cheerfully went ahead and answered.

"Because I think we need to."

"What?"

Both Kran, who was chasing after him with his face full of question marks, and Un-o, who seemed to have understood in his own way, didn't say it was impossible or too much. In any case, neither of them thought it was such an impossible task.

There would probably be a dungeon near the next village they'd pass through. Since there were many suitable dungeons for users near villages and cities, he planned to start there first.

***

"Phew. It even completely burned the ground. Incredible, truly incredible."

The man known as Nam Mugeon in reality and as Master GM Mugeon, an administrator in the game, stood on the blackened, scorched earth wearing white administrator-exclusive clothes. Usually, an administrator's job was to observe users while working in the administrator-only room or in an invisible state, but Nam Mugeon was currently engaged in a slightly different task.