Demon Race (4)

What Reed aimed for was not the man’s body, but the ground.

He read the trajectory, but the man didn’t move any further.

He didn’t know the principle, but he was cautious because he knew the card would explode.

Flick!

The card stuck in the ground.

He watched it closely, but the card didn’t explode.

‘It doesn’t explode. Does that mean he can control the explosion?’

If it’s not just touching and exploding, but he can control the explosion itself, there are more variables.

Having many variables in battle was a difficult situation for the man.

No matter how weak he was among the tower masters, he was still a tower master.

‘I need to retreat.’

Feeling ominous about the unknown tools used in the attack, the man tried to strategically retreat.

However, he soon had to give up on that thought as well.

In the direction he was heading, there was a thin blue barrier.

‘A trap?’

At some point, a thin barrier was placed around where he was standing.

It was a circular dome-shaped trap that confined them.

“You won’t be able to escape. While the elf was holding on, I prepared the trap.”

“…Cold-blooded.”

Reed smiled with a grin.

“Since you say that, it seems the elves have come up with a proper strategy.”

If he tried to break it, he could.

However, if he did that, he would have to be prepared to die at Reed’s hands.

“Still, it worked out well.”

The demon man grinned maliciously.

“Since you can’t escape, you’re the same as me.”

It was a spacious but limited space.

In that case, close range is overwhelmingly advantageous.

Once again, he pulled the mana into his entire body and emanated an imposing aura.

His body disappeared.

The ground shattered.

When he appeared again, his sword aimed at Reed’s neck.

A streak passed by.

Only a bloodstained card was left in its place.

It exploded.

Boom!

Black smoke billowed.

Tearing through it, a man jumped out again.

‘As expected, it’s still not good in actual combat.’

The card itself was virtually impossible to inflict damage.

If it weren’t for the runes’ explosive power, Reed’s choice of cards would undoubtedly have been the worst choice.

Of course, it had no damage on its own, but its accuracy in aiming at the target was quite good.

‘The opponent won’t stand still like a wooden target.’

He wasn’t skilled enough to hit a moving target.

He couldn’t recklessly throw the cards as they weren’t infinite.

There were a total of 30 explosive rune cards in the gauntlet.

He had used 3, leaving 27 left.

‘The opponent is a Battle Mage.’

A Battle Mage is a profession closer to a fighter than a magician.

Unlike shooting from a distance, a Battle Mage approaches close-range and strikes.

They wrap elemental magic around their fists, dealing both direct physical damage and magical damage simultaneously, making them a balanced damage-dealing character.

At first glance, it seems like a great character, and if mastered, it becomes an all-rounder.

Of course, this is only in theory.

In reality, it was both a difficult and ambiguous character.

‘But becoming a demon has eliminated that ambiguity.’

The 「Demon Blood」 trait supplemented all the shortcomings he had thought were ambiguous.

His defense, attack power, and magic power all rose to levels he couldn’t have reached with effort alone.

‘Pursuing power.’

He would do anything to become stronger without regard for means.

This man must have received a direct blood transfusion from a demon for that purpose.

‘Foolish guy.’

Irritation surged.

Seeking strength by any means necessary was like watching Reed using Rosaria before possession.

He moved quickly with the haste rune, while attacking with explosive runes.

With just that, Reed had the advantage in terms of compatibility.

He raised his arms, which seemed to be wearing heavy and threatening gauntlets, and charged at Reed.

Swift movements.

The high-ranking magician’s “Haste” was activated again, and the distance between him and the man increased.

“You little rat!”

The battle mage thought that Reed was annoyingly evasive.

He used “Haste” immediately without a moment of concentration, and used it again when the time ran out.

With no concentration time at all, it was impossible to aim for a single hit.

‘But not all abilities are at the tower master level.’

His magic and trained body gave him one step of advantage.

However, closing the distance wasn’t everything.

When he thought he was within the attack range, cards flew from Reed’s gauntlet-covered hand, one by one, obstructing his path.

Boom!

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The card exploded as soon as it touched the ground.

The distance widened once again.

The black smoke that rose after the explosion blocked the view.

A slight gap.

It was enough time for Reed to cast a spell.

“”Fire Shot”.”

The mana condensed in Reed’s hand turned into a fireball and flew.

The fireball, piercing through the black smoke, headed towards the demon man.

It was too late for him to escape, so he raised his arms to block the fireball.

Boom!

The explosion occurred, but the damage was weaker compared to the Explosion spell.

However, the important thing wasn’t the damage.

‘Does he see where I am?’

Seeing the accurately thrown fireball towards him even when they couldn’t see each other within the wide range, he couldn’t dare to ignore it.

‘I finally understand his battle style.’

Everyone has their own style, but Reed’s method was completely different from a magician.

If anything, it was a hunter’s strategy.

He would attack from a position advantageous only to himself.

He constantly moved, blocking the opponent’s movement with his tools, and set traps.

It didn’t feel like a magician.

It was like a game between a hunter and its prey.

‘Am I… the prey?’

The demon man began to feel irritated.

‘I have the advantage!’

Reading the attack pattern, the demon man rushed towards Reed aggressively.

He chased Reed without giving him any gaps.

‘Now he won’t be able to attack.’

Even the brief gap that had existed was now gone.

Knowing that closing the distance would mean his defeat, Reed could no longer exploit the gap.

‘But it means he’s getting excited.’

It meant that it was time to move on to the next stage.

Reed picked up three cards instead of just one he had been holding.

Now there were only two cards left.

The strategy was the same as before, to block his movement.

He threw the card in his left hand at the demon man.

Boom!

Again, he threw another card at the spot where black smoke was rising.

Boom!

Finally, he threw the last remaining card.

Boom!

No matter how determined he was to charge through the damage, he couldn’t help but calm down in the face of three consecutive explosions.

He felt the demon man hesitating.

Reed quickly concentrated.

Matching his heartbeat, he pulled mana throughout his entire body.

The crystal on the back of his hand emitted light.

It took only 1 second for all the calculations to be completed.

A magic circle appeared in front of his palm and stretched towards the sky.

“”Flame Bombing”!”

Whoosh!

Dozens of fireballs flew into the sky like anti-air missiles.

Like a volcano, the scattered fireballs were pulled down by gravity and began to fall.

A medium-scale area attack of fire element magic.

Being caught in it would immobilize the target, making it more destructive than the Explosion spell.

However, the demon man didn’t try to widen the distance when he saw the attack.

Instead, he raised both fists and seized the opportunity to charge in.

‘Foolish guy!’