As Gin expanded his field further, he detected additional reinforcents—thirty ard n stationed about a hundred ters away, equipped with both firearms and magical tools.
'Things are about to get busy.'
With a steady breath, Gin activated a reinforced mana field. He enhanced it by embedding small elental cores within the structure—a thod adapted from his previous encounter with the Needle Giant.
These cores would absorb and neutralize incoming elental attacks.
His preparations complete, Gin began his counteroffensive. He pinpointed Aragay Jacet's exact location within the mana field and ntally calculated the coordinates for his spell.
KRA-KOOM!
A bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens, striking directly onto Jacet's head. The surge of electricity cascaded around him like a torrential downpour.
Jacet had anticipated the attack, deploying an electric-resistant shield in advance. However, Gin wasn't finished.
The next wave followed instantly—a rain of fire descended upon the sa spot. The searing flas overwheld Jacet's barrier, causing it to flicker and dissolve.
Yet Jacet remained standing, conjuring a powerful gust of wind that scattered the flas. The burning embers, carried by the wind, spiraled toward Gin.
'Ah, a relic…' Gin mused, recognizing the source of Jacet's defense.
The man wasn't just equipped with ordinary magical tools; he possessed relics—artifacts of imnse defensive power. Jacet had at least four relics and magical devices reinforcing his protection.
Gin shifted his focus. Jacet's two companions, Freddy and Richard, had stayed close behind him. Gin targeted them next.
KRA-KOOM! KRA-KOOM!
Twin bolts of lightning struck the two n, forcing them to endure the full force of the attack. They gritted their teeth, mana rapidly draining as they fought to maintain their defenses. Gin's eyes narrowed in recognition—their defensive chanisms were similar to that of the Needle Giant's armor.
He adjusted his magic, calculating the exact frequency and structure needed to bypass their shields. Another dual strike rained down, overwhelming their resistance.
The two collapsed to the ground, not dead but incapacitated.
Jacet, realizing the danger, charged toward Gin with alarming speed. At the sa ti, the thirty ard n began spreading out, encircling Gin with military precision. Snipers took up positions, aiming to pin him down.
Jacet activated another relic.
ZZZEEEENNN!
A brilliant beam of white energy shot toward Gin, its velocity too great for him to react.
But Gin had anticipated such an attack. The beam collided with his pre-established mana field and was instantly absorbed by one of the embedded cores.
The core swelled with energy before releasing it back, doubling the beam's intensity as it hurtled toward Jacet.
BOOM!
The impact sent Jacet flying backward, one of his relics visibly losing power. Gin wasted no ti, summoning multiple magical circles in the air. A central, larger circle materialized, gathering the ambient mana and light around it.
The circles pulsed with energy, converging into a monolithic beam of pure, concentrated light. It dwarfed Jacet's previous attack, drawing in and amplifying surrounding energy.
CRAAACK—BOOOOM!
The colossal beam struck Jacet, detonating with explosive force. When the smoke cleared, Jacet was nowhere to be seen. Gin glanced at the scorched remains on the ground—several relics lay charred but intact, while Jacet's lesser magical tools had been destroyed.
"Should I have captured him alive?" Gin muttered before shrugging. Freddy and Richard were still alive
Gin pocketed the relics and dialed Jay.
"It's done. Two survivors. Co pick them up."
As Gin ended the call, he shifted his attention to the remaining enemies.
He moved toward the contested area where the ability-user teams were struggling to hold their ground against the container trucks and enemy mages.
Thirty glowing magical circles ford around him, humming ominously before discharging their power.
KRAAA-KOOM!
Thirty lightning bolts crashed down in unison, striking each ard attacker across the battlefield. The air crackled with residual energy as the n collapsed one by one.
With calm, asured steps, Gin approached the center of the conflict. The container trucks continued pushing against the defensive line, while enemy mages and ability users searched for openings.
Without a word, Gin summoned another barrage of lightning. Thick, twisting arcs of energy coalesced into a massive storm that swept across the enemy ranks.
Chaos erupted.
The storm consud the battlefield, reducing the once-organized opposition to a disoriented, panicking mob.
Gin stood at the heart of the tempest, unyielding and resolute, as the tide of battle decisively turned in his favor.
Ban Tae-soo stood at a distance, watching the battle co to an inevitable conclusion. In truth, he had only cast two spells. The rest had been handled by the teams of ability users who, after recovering from their defensive stance, thodically subdued their opponents. His first strike had devastated over half of the enemy forces, while the second—an intricately crafted shockwave carried by the wind—had sent the advancing container trucks flying, leaving his allies untouched.
From that point onward, the battle had beco a one-sided cleanup. The ability users, now bolstered by both their shields and enhanced coordination, efficiently neutralized the remaining threats without haste or recklessness.
As Tae-soo observed from a safe distance, he scanned the teams for familiar faces. He wondered if Team Daeyoung was among the hired squads but soon realized that wasn't the case. However, another team from Earth caught his attention—a French group he had encountered during the battle at the Shedim's beast farm. Back then, they had been easily overpowered by one of the massive gorilla-like creatures. He had assud they'd suffered severe injuries, but their presence here suggested a full recovery.
'So Crakton has connections to France as well,' he thought. It wasn't far-fetched to imagine that this hidden world had gateways to various cities across Earth. He pondered whether the people of this hidden world were aware of Earth's existence at all.
The question gnawed at him. One oddity stood out in particular: language. Gin had a rare, almost instinctual talent for learning languages. It had taken him a relatively short period to beco fluent in the hidden world's tongue, but not everyone had such an ability. Yet, every Earth-based ability user he had encountered spoke the language of this world with remarkable fluency, including Team Young and now the French group.
'Could there be no visible distinction between Earthlings and hidden-world natives?'
He speculated on the nature of mana. Earth-based ability users, despite adapting to this world's magical energy, must still carry remnants of Earth's mana.
If he could develop a thod to detect that specific signature, it might beco possible to identify Earthlings among the hidden world's population. Gin resolved to test this hypothesis.
Expanding his mana field wasn't enough to analyze their energy signature fully. He needed a closer, more direct examination. He calmly approached the teams, who were busy sorting the battlefield—separating the dead from the unconscious and ensuring captured mages were restrained under constant watch.
Without specialized anti-magic devices, the only way to prevent spellcasting was to assign a mana-sensitive guard to monitor each mage.
As Gin drew nearer, three team leaders hurried over to greet him.
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