I Am A Wizard Who Can Travel Between Earth And The Other World

"It could be an artifact," Ruben answered cautiously, "but I believe it's more likely they have a skilled mage."

Ruben's expression hardened.

"If it is a mage, this battle will become significantly more dangerous for us. Whoever twisted my fireball like that isn't ordinary."

The fireball had been one of Ruben's most powerful spells, accelerated and guided through a carefully crafted mana rail. That someone had managed to turn it back on him was both terrifying and incomprehensible.

The commander turned his eyes toward a man seated some distance away from the group—a man who had remained eerily calm throughout the entire ordeal.

It was time for Alaric to step forward.

Alaric stood up, brushing off his worn, sky-blue tracksuit.

He looked more like a drifter on a casual stroll than a warrior preparing for battle. Yet, his presence was impossible to ignore.

When the commander's gaze met his, Alaric spoke with calm finality.

"I can't promise victory," he said, his voice steady but grave.

The words sent a wave of shock through those gathered, especially the commander. Alaric was known as an indomitable force—a man whose defenses were said to be impenetrable. To hear such doubt from him was unsettling.

"If we want even a slim chance of success," Alaric continued, "you'll all need to give it everything.

Attack from different angles, and for gods' sake, spread out. If you bunch up, you'll be wiped out by a single spell."

The tension among the group thickened. Their mouths went dry as Alaric 's words sank in.

"Also," he added, "I sensed a very unpleasant wave of magic sweeping over us earlier. Likely a detection spell. They know our full strength now."

Despite this, Alaric was certain he had evaded the spell's gaze. He had hidden his mana signature from the beginning—a unique ability he possessed.

"I'll focus on taking down their mage. The rest of you handle the others. And remember: stay spread out."

Without waiting for a response, Alaric leapt forward, a blur of motion.

CRACK-KA-BOOM!

A wave of lightning surged across the battlefield. Some ability users gritted their teeth and endured the shock, while others dove out of the way. Many were not fast enough. Screams echoed as bodies collapsed, unconscious or worse.

It was a devastating strike. Those who survived had never experienced lightning of such raw intensity.

Alaric , however, charged through the storm as if it were nothing. The bolts danced harmlessly around him, unable to slow his advance.

The second wave of lightning came. This time, it spread across an even broader area, crackling with terrifying energy.

BOOOOOM!

Though its power was slightly diminished by the spread, it was enough to incapacitate many who had barely survived the first assault. Those who had evaded earlier were now caught in the electrified maelstrom. Yet Alaric remained unaffected, his gaze locked on a singular point—the roof of the rearmost van.

The air around that spot shimmered unnaturally, distorting like a heatwave. Alaric 's instincts told him that was where the enemy mage was hiding.

Gin observed Alaric 's approach with a rare flash of surprise.

He hadn't detected Alaric at all—not even through his expansive information field. The realization dawned on him.

'He's blocking the flow of information,' Gin thought, astonished. This was the first opponent capable of fully countering his sensory magic.

Alaric was also unaffected by Gin's lightning attacks, shrugging off two full waves without breaking stride. Still, the assaults hadn't been entirely wasted. Gin had gleaned crucial information.

'He's using enhanced durability magic,' Gin noted, his mind racing. The mana within Alaric 's body acted like a conduit, dispersing external shocks.

Even the information-blocking ability relied on a similar mechanism—redirecting mana patterns rather than absorbing them.

'Looks like I'll need to make some adjustments,' Tae-soo mused. His current spells, still in the refinement stage, offered room for improvement.

Yet there was no denying it—this was a dangerous foe. A relentless force immune to conventional magic now closed the distance, his power like an unstoppable avalanche.

The battle was far from over.

Ban Tae-soo knew he couldn't focus solely on Alaric . The enemy still had a mage—Rigen—who remained very much alive and unscathed. A few ability users lingered on the battlefield, but they would be handled by the Fishmongers Guild. Gin's previous waves of lightning had already decimated most of the enemy forces.

If the guild couldn't finish the job now, they had no business being part of a battle like this.

Releasing the distortion field around him, Gin adjusted his strategy. His mind, already tasked with maintaining mana flow through his body, couldn't handle the dual threats of Alaric and Ruben without additional focus. Activating the second and third portions of his mental faculties, he began a multi-threaded approach.

First, he projected a mana field and layered it with physical force and rebound energy. Then, a long, reinforced thread of mana extended from his core, snaking toward Ruben. Gin had thoroughly analyzed Asen's capabilities. Even now, information from his pre-set data field streamed in, providing real-time updates. There was no need to dedicate further attention to the mage just yet.

As Tae-soo executed his plan, Alaric charged at his shield with overwhelming force.

BOOM!

Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier, but the rebound effect activated, aiming to throw Alaric back.

However, to Gin's surprise, Alaric dispersed the counterforce entirely, his body unaffected by the energy meant to repel him.

'Remarkable,' Gin thought. Few mages or ability users could withstand this kind of defensive magic. Alaric 's mana worked in ways that defied normal conventions—it neither absorbed nor neutralized incoming force but redirected it entirely, like a seamless current.

Alaric pressed forward, his mana slowly pushing through the shield.

The defensive field resisted, but the relentless flow of his power threatened to breach it entirely.

Gin, however, remained calm. He reinforced the shield, enhancing its physical density and mana flow.

The fortified barrier shimmered and hardened, halting Alaric's advance.

It was time for the next phase.

Gin sketched eleven interconnected spell circles in rapid succession, completing them in moments.

He then crafted a final circle imbued with amplification properties, designed to magnify the impact of his next attack.

Mana surged from the amplification circle, flooding the interconnected array.

KA-BOOM!

A colossal shockwave erupted, slamming into Alaric . Yet, the unyielding warrior stood firm. His mana redirected the full brunt of the impact, sending the shock harmlessly behind him.

But Gin wasn't done. The second shockwave struck before the first had fully dissipated. Then came the third, followed closely by the fourth, each amplified to an even greater intensity.

At first, Alaric remained unfazed. His body continued to channel the massive force outward. However, as the attacks overlapped in rapid succession, his defenses began to falter.

The combined force of the continuous blasts strained the limits of his mana capacity.

A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Alaric 's mouth.

When the fifth shockwave detonated, Alaric 's advance ceased. He staggered, his feet sliding backward.

The sixth and seventh shockwaves hit simultaneously, driving him further back. The eighth shockwave followed immediately, its sheer force finally hurling Alaric into the air.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The remaining shockwaves bombarded his airborne body. He crashed violently to the ground, his form battered and broken.

Gin wasted no time. He conjured mana spikes and drove them deep into Alaric's body, anchoring him in place. Alaric 's mana flow was too dangerous to leave unchecked.

The spikes pierced key nodes along his internal mana network, disrupting the flow and preventing further resistance.

When Alaric lay unconscious and unmoving, the remaining Merentil forces stared in shock and horror at Gin.

His figure shimmered as the distortion field enveloped him once more.

The battle with Alaric was over, but Gin's task was not. Rudel Asen, the enemy mage, still remained.

From his position, Ruben had witnessed everything. His mind raced as he processed the events unfolding before him.

The firepower unleashed by this mysterious figure was beyond anything he had anticipated. Alaric —one of their strongest assets—had been overpowered in a series of calculated, overwhelming strikes.

Ruben's hands trembled for a moment before he steadied himself. He knew he had to act swiftly. His opponent was dangerous, but so was he. The battle wasn't over yet.

With a deep breath, Ruben began weaving his next spell, mana threads flowing from his core in intricate patterns.

This time, he would not make the same mistake.

The true clash of magic was about to begin.