Return of the Legendary Runesmith

"If my mana continues to grow, how come I am still sane and not just erupting with magical powers like Elana or Annabelle?" Adrian remembered asking the system that question a few days back.

He had long stopped checking his stats. He was acutely aware of his growing physical might, and when it came to magic, he simply knew the number would be too absurd to even look at anymore.

Still, the growing magic concerned him sometimes. His body was mortal. He was no apostle, capable of storing an insane amount of magic in his flesh like Valor.

[Host, learning runesmithing for so many hours has affected you more than you realize. You have learned to use your magic efficiently, without damaging your core. You know how to direct your magic to form a spell in the most effective manner. You have the experience to control your emotions despite having an enormous amount of energy at your disposal.]

Adrian’s brows lifted. Right. All those hours he’d spent learning had given him the experience he needed, not to be swept away by power, but to wield it efficiently out of sheer habit.

And that was why, facing a man who had lived far more years than he had, Adrian didn’t feel even the slightest intimidation.

Even though he has possibly used magic usually possessed by a hundred men in these twenty four or so hours, he was still sane.

"This shouldn’t be all you’re capable of," Adrian muttered, sending another wave of water dragons to strike the old man.

THUNK. THUNK.

With every blow, the dragons shattered against the forcefield the man had raised around himself.

His battle dragons weren’t that weak. It was his mana being absorbed by that barrier, Adrian realized.

"Why are you feeding him so much magic? He’s clearly gathering power for an attack, using your own energy against you." Nytharos frowned, unsettled that Adrian kept pressing the same tactic even after recognizing the trap.

However, Adrian only grinned. "I wish to see what a Sage is actually capable of. Let him create whatever attack he’s planning."

Nytharos was about to say something, but then the air shifted, and all at once the water serpents erupted into nothingness.

Adrian’s brows lifted as he looked ahead and found an amusing sight waiting for him.

The man who had looked like he had one foot already in the grave now stood tall, young and strong. Silvery grey hair framed a muscular face, broad shoulders and burning sinew replacing what had once seemed frail. Yet the staff in his hand, and the presence radiating off him, told Adrian this was still the same man.

"You have forced me to use a technique I believed would never be needed again, not for what humanity has been reduced to." he spoke, his voice majestic, his eyes filled with disdain.

Adrian hummed. "Nice spell. I can see mana surging into your body faster than blood, enhancing every bit of you." He narrowed his eyes. "But I don’t think you can keep this going forever, can you? Your body is taking constant damage under the effect. Magic can repair it, sure, but there’s a limit to how much abuse a body can endure before it breaks."

The Sage suddenly lunged forward and roared, "I will be done with you before my spell runs me dry!" He came crashing down, intending to end the battle once and for all. But—

THUNK

The place where he landed was empty, the impact carving a massive crater into the ground.

The man looked around and found his target standing atop a rock jutting from the sea. "Then to defeat you," Adrian said, "I just need to vanish from here and wait a bit, eh?"

The Sage narrowed his eyes. "Is this the cowardly way you intend to fight?" He snickered. "Fine. Go ahead and vanish, then. I promise, before my death, I’ll make someone close to you bleed for it. They will tremble and beg just because you chose to run away."

Nytharos flinched at those words.

He glanced at Adrian, and the smile had already vanished from his face. Whatever amusement the battle had stirred in him for the better part of a day was gone now, snuffed out in an instant.

The fallen deity retreated tactically, putting a few miles between himself and the fight.

The Sage smirked. "What ha—aah!" He roared as something struck his shoulder without warning, driving his feet deep into the ground.

He looked up and found Adrian hovering above him, heel grinding into his shoulder.

The Sage growled and lunged to grab him, only for Adrian to vanish again.

"You can’t hide from me!" The Sage roared and slammed his hands together, and the sea split down the middle as if some invisible hand had torn it apart. Out of the divide, Adrian came rushing toward him, feet barely touching the ground.

The Sage smirked and hurled his staff at him.

Adrian tilted his head, letting the weapon sail past, and met the Sage’s incoming fist with a barrier of his own.

THUNK. SHATTER.

The Sage grinned when the barrier gave way, but Adrian had never intended to tank that blow.

DHAK.

Adrian’s fist, laced with mana, struck the old man square in the chest. The Sage staggered back, and in the same motion, snapped his hand back to recall his staff.

Adrian ducked at the last second as it flew past his head, close enough to graze his hair.

Before he could rise, the Sage slammed the staff into the ground, and a geyser tore upward, catching Adrian in the stomach. But before the water could carry him higher, he vanished, reappearing right beside the Sage.

"Got you!" The old man raised his staff, and black chains coiled out to surround Adrian on all sides.

Adrian growled and vanished again, reappearing farther away, only for the chains to materialize around him at the exact same instant.

Adrian realized teleportation wouldn’t save him anymore, so he lowered his stance and let every sense sharpen, weaving through the chains as they came.

His body moved like fluid, slipping through the tightening net with practiced efficiency, tracking the magical presence of each chain to stay one step ahead of the next.

Above his head, past his left thigh, brushing his wrist, the chains lashed at him from every direction, and somehow Adrian dodged them all, until—

"Tch."

—one of them latched onto his ankle.

And...his magic died.