Volume 4 Chapter 89 – Tess the Phoenix
If a magician was at least 6-star, then they could contract with a phoenix.
And of course, all magicians wanted to own a ‘special’ or ‘unique’ phoenix.
Something like Kelliark Zipfel’s ‘Beloit’ or the historical grand magician O’Hensirk’s ‘Maniere’.
They wanted to become an owner of a well-known phoenix.
However, magicians were never given the ability to choose.
After becoming a 6-star and opening the door to the Fire Dimension, no magician knew what kind of phoenix would approach them.
With sweat rolling down his face, Kashimir stared at Jin’s phoenix.
He felt the burning heat waves every time the mystical blue-flame phoenix flapped its wings.
In the Magicians’ Society, there were over ten thousand registered phoenixes, but there was only one that was characterized with ‘blue flames’.
“Tess…! What in the world, Young Master Jin?!”
Jin had summoned Tess, the beast deemed as ‘the most noble phoenix’.
And every magician who summoned it became that era’s strongest magician.
—Even in the far future. I wish you would remember me as a great sparring partner. Even the moment when you reach the top of the world.
As soon as Kashimir saw the phoenix, he knew why Alisa spoke such words.
She was no longer able to face Jin.
Shing!
Jin unsheathed Bradamante and spoke.
“Then, shall we start, Lady Alisa?”
Jin stood still, pointing his sword at Alisa. It was only a month ago when he was the challenger. Now, the tables had turned.
Today’s challenger was Alisa.
“Prepare yourself, Young Master Jin.”
A white aura surrounded her two fists, and she bolted forward like a bullet, instantly closing the gap.
In his current state, Jin couldn’t follow Alisa’s movements with his hand-eye coordination. Usually, he predicted her movements and counterattacked.
However, he didn’t need to do so today. Tess emitted deep-blue flames that licked its surroundings, preventing Alisa from approaching.
Fwoosh! Fwoooooosh~!
The smallest of the flames were at least 5-star level. Even for a 7-star knight with a trained body, without an aura shield, she would get a second-degree burn.
On top of that, Tess’s flames had a special ability called ‘Pressure’.
‘If that gets on her, then she’ll start to rapidly burn energy. She has to finish the battle quickly!’
As the name suggested, pressure pressed upon the opponent afflicted with the phoenix’s ability.
Tess’s flames had weight that defied all laws of nature. Therefore, the moment it landed upon an aura shield, she couldn’t ignore it because the flames didn’t extinguish easily compared to a normal fire.
Because the opponent’s body itself would feel as heavy as a rock in water.
Dodging the flames, Alisa weaved through each attack and put herself in a defensive stance. As such, Jin was easily given the upperhand.
‘I can only keep Tess here for about three minutes. Within that time, I must make a meaningful attack towards her, so I can end the battle swiftly afterwards.’
Although it was only a spar, in the past 109 times, Jin always felt the threat of death. Now, it was Jin’s turn to make Alisa feel the same.
Without skipping a single day for the past three months, Alisa trained Jin to help him get stronger, and he knew the best gift to give her.
Swoosh!
Alisa jumped into the air, dodging a flame, and Jin swung his sword towards her.
“Urgh!”
She quickly twisted her torso, and the blade barely scratched her back. A minor tear on her clothes, but enough to make her very tense.
Then, as soon as she landed and caught her balance, a sphere of mana formed in Jin’s left hand.
‘Wind Blade! Using this, I can force her to dodge once more.’
He threw Wind Blade towards her ankles, and as he expected, she leapt into the air again.
‘I’ll prevent her from regaining composure to pester her impatience… And then I’ll end it!’
After fighting Alisa 109 times, Jin realized that her patterns were diverse. As of the current moment, predicting her moves and reacting to them would be practically impossible.
However, among all of Alisa’s many patterns, there was a common ‘order’.
In any situation, she always tried to get the upper hand.
‘As I use more of my swordsmanship, magic, and spiritual energy, she will start to feel tired and will be more desperate to gain the upper hand. However, that will be the reason for her loss.’
Alisa moved to the left, dodging the Wind Blade. She fixed her eyes back to Jin as the spell flew past her.
With fire in its mouth, Tess was prepared to shoot its breath.
‘Phew. So you’re a magic swordsman, Young Master Jin!’
Alisa quickly turned her head.
From the sides, Jin swung his sword multiple times, creating multiple crescent slashes in the air. And with Tess shooting its breath at the same time, an attack from the front and sides approached her.
It wasn’t impossible to dodge both attacks, but doing so would enable Jin to have the offensive advantage once more.
‘Instead, I’ll block the breath with my aura shield and then parry Young Master Jin’s attacks!’
After giving Jin a nice slug in the stomach, she planned on waiting out the phoenix’s summon timer.
Even if she faced an injury, she decided that gaining the upper hand would be the most optimal choice. She would never win if she stayed cornered for the entire battle. She needed to interrupt the flow that Jin had set for the battle.
Fwoooosh!
Tess’s breath struck Alisa. The cone-shaped blue flames seemed to swallow her.
However, the flames couldn’t penetrate the aura shield that she created. Tess couldn’t unleash anything stronger because the strength of the phoenix depended on the summoner’s mana.
‘Gotcha!’
And just as she planned, Alisa caught Jin’s blade. Although she protected her hand with aura, blood splattered. However, it wasn’t enough to cut her fingers off.
Crunch!
In order to throw a punch, she planted her feet on the ground and pulled on the sword to drag Jin towards her.
“Hup!”
With an echoing shout, she threw her punch. She couldn’t give it her all due to the aura shield she raised, but it was still enough to make Jin recoil.
BAM!
A refreshing, clear sound of impact should’ve been made. But the lack thereof caused Alisa to flicker her eyes around.
‘He’s not here? I’m sure I pulled him in and hit him.’
Her fist had hit thin air.
Instinctively, she looked upon the sword she was holding. And at the end of the handle, where Jin should’ve been, was no one.
‘Then I must’ve felt and pulled the weight from Pressure…!’
A blue fire burned brightly at the other end of the sword.
After Alisa caught the blade, Jin had given up on his sword and repositioned himself. In lieu of him, he placed a heavy flame on the hilt of the sword, tricking his opponent.
Alisa was too busy dealing with Tess’s breath and failed to notice it.
She only noticed everything after it all happened.
As such, she was too late to react.
“Haha… I’ve lost, Young Master Jin. I’ve fought many foes, but I’ve never imagined them using a trick like this.”
The phoenix halted its breath.
Alisa’s aura shield dissipated, and Jin emerged behind her with a dagger.
“I pushed myself and made this shield strategy for the chance of victory, but it came back to bite me. My goodness, I can’t believe I’ve lost because I didn’t keep my rear in check. I’m a little shocked. Since when did you calculate all this?”
“If I say ‘since the first battle’, would I sound too arrogant?”
Alisa waved her hand in defeat.
“No, that sounds completely reasonable. A little surprising.”
“Thank you for all your time, Lady Alisa.”
“As for me, Young Master Jin. You would never know how proud I am of you.”
Alisa turned around, and Jin put away his dagger.
They looked at each other, then simultaneously extended their arms to shake hands.
“How does it feel to defeat a former Vermont Special Forces agent before hitting the age of 16?”
“Honestly, pretty good. Very good. In fact… I would like to fight you full force again next year.”
Alisa softly smiled at Jin’s response.
“I don’t gear up if I don’t have to kill my opponent. So, there won’t be a reason for you to fight me when I’m at my full potential.”
In the 110th battle, Alisa did not use a gauntlet or piece of armor. Not even once. A fully armored Alisa was an opponent that even Kashimir couldn’t face. It wouldn’t be suitable for Jin.
“Well… at this rate, you would surpass my full potential in no time. Anyways, congratulations, Young Master Jin. We should throw a party at dinner.”
Kashimir—who had watched the entire battle—looked soulless.
‘I honestly thought six months wouldn’t be enough. He’s crazy! Crazy! Lord Cyron, the next letter will be super special!’
In reality, Kashimir thought that Jin needed at least a year to defeat Alisa.
He couldn’t believe his eyes even after witnessing that it only took the young Runcandel 110 days.
“Why don’t you go get healed and prepare for the party?”
“Oh, uh-huh. Alright.”
* * *
* * *
The victory was celebrated with all of Jin’s companions in Tikan.
During the feast, everyone was told that he summoned Tess the Phoenix and defeated Alisa.
“By Tess do you mean, Tess the Blue-Flame Phoenix? Young Master, I have heard of it before. That it’s a very rare phoenix…”
“Miss Gilly! That’s not even the most crucial part about it. Magicians who are able to summon Tess are guaranteed to be the best magician in the era. Lord Jin! Please give me an autograph! Quick! Right here, on the back of my shirt!”
Enya scrambled towards Jin, eyes gleaming.
While more people were astonished by his feat, Murakan and Quikantel were at a loss for words.
Clang!
In fact, they both dropped their silverwares at the same time. They seemed to be in deep shock.
“Hey, kid… Did you just say… Tess?”
“Jin, did you really contract with the Majestic? I-In fact, you first met at the underground training area, and as soon as you summoned the Majestic, you made them fight?”
This time, Jin was confused.
Even the proud dragons were baffled, respectfully addressing the phoenix.
“Murakan, Miss Quikantel, is there a problem…?”
“Hey, anyways, try summoning them now!”
“Summoning uses too much mana, so it’s exhausting.”
Jin looked around him then summoned Tess.
“We are honored to meet the ruler of the Fire Dimension!”
Quikantel got on her knees and bowed, shouting her greetings.
“Hey, uh… ruler of the Fire Dimension… Long time no see… Uhh… What—why… I can talk to you like this. I can also—Yeah, my condolences. Understood. Oh, okay. I understand, so please stop cursing.”
Murakan looked as if he met an old teacher that he had a bad history with.
Everyone’s stomach flipped at the fantastical sight.
In the short time of Murakan and Tess’s conversation, no human could hear Tess’s voice.
“Hmm… Alright, alright. I understand. I will tell Jin. Aaaah, come on. The curses! This isn’t even the Fire Dimension. If you keep doing this, I’ll get mad!”
Peck-peck-peck-peck-peck!
Tess pecked on Murakan’s head at ridiculous speeds. Surprisingly, the black dragon didn’t fuss and just backed off.
The phoenix said something after punishing the dragon, and Murakan nodded.
“Whew… I understand, I’ll tell him that, so please calm down. Ha, you caused a fuss as soon as you came. Hey, hey! Tryna peck me again… So hot-headed. Whatever. Kid! Send this bird back to the Fire Dimension.”
Jin released his summoning spell. The bird thrashed and threw a tantrum as it was unwillingly sucked into a dimensional portal. Quikantel finally stood up and sighed.
“You and Miss Quikantel seem to have a complex relationship with Tess… It was pretty surprising. Anyways, what did you talk about?”
As soon as Jin asked, Murakan shuddered, as if there were an impending doom.
