The Strongest Villain Sets Out: Reincarnated into a Merit-Based Clan, I Become the World's Strongest Swordsman - Chapter 39: Original Magic

Tiberios-nii-san was strong.

At least, in a pure aura competition, I would be at a disadvantage. Nii-san had an aptitude only for aura.

That meant that unlike me, he could continue training aura alone. In terms of initial speed, no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t beat nii-san. There was also the age difference. The difference in time spent. Years of experience.

I would probably be inferior to Tiberios-nii-san in everything. I honestly acknowledged that. However, when it came to magic, the story changed.

Tiberios-nii-san didn’t know. That I could even use magic. Strictly speaking, he should know that I had magical aptitude. That much information had circulated.

However, Nii-san still didn’t know. That the magic I handled was different from ordinary magic. Looking at the fire-attribute magic I had manifested in my palm, Tiberios-nii-san raised the corner of his mouth and laughed.

“Ha! What’s that little flame? Do you think you can break through my aura with such a small fire?”

“Of course not. I’m not looking down on you that much, Tiberios-nii-san.”

“Then what are you planning to use it for! Even if you try to play tricks, they won’t work on me!”

Tiberios-nii-san kicked off the ground.

He had kindly jumped toward me.

Welcome, Nii-san.

I read nii-san’s movements and stepped backward. I bought time and strengthened my magic during that interval. Magic wrapped in aura received the aura’s properties and the magic power itself was strengthened.

This was about the quality of magic power. The magic itself wasn’t strengthened. It was easy to mistake, but though similar, they were fundamentally different.

So what happened when magic power was strengthened? That explanation was necessary.

The answer was simple.

The magic wasn’t strengthened, only the quality of magic power increased. Naturally, the magic’s effect improved, but there was no change to the magic’s size. In other words, it was like gaining a + enhancement in games.

What was good about this was that opponents couldn’t distinguish between enhanced magic and normal magic.

It was perfect for surprise attacks, and magic power consumption was minimal.

No compression techniques were needed, and if you compressed it, you could store even more firepower—it was beneficial technology in every way.

Ah… this was the first time I was hitting a person with it without any reservations.

With Cornelia and Sheila, I inevitably had to conserve power to avoid killing them.

In that regard, there would be no problem if Tiberios-nii-san died. To begin with, he probably wouldn’t die because of his strong aura protection.

Almost simultaneously with the enhanced magic’s preparation being complete, Tiberios-nii-san charged at me again. He really didn’t seem afraid of my magic.

What a fool. No matter what enemy or attack, battle was about predicting the opponent’s aim. Even though I had clearly guided him to be cautious, he was still the same straightforward man.

Straight, honest, killing enemies without looking back. That was the man called Tiberios Salvatore.

Truly—easy to control. That was the only thing I liked about you, nii-san.

Grinning inwardly, I released enhanced magic at nii-san, who was raising his sword.

A volleyball-sized flame hit and—exploded.

“Guaaaaaaah?!”

Thunderous sound and heat wave. Nii-san’s screams and dust clouds filled my sight and hearing.

The sound stopped immediately, but visibility was terrible due to the fire-attribute magic that had exploded spectacularly.

However, I understood.

Tiberios-nii-san had taken a direct hit from my enhanced magic. That pathetic scream was proof above all else.

When I immediately used wind-attribute magic to blow away the surrounding smoke, I could see Tiberios-nii-san’s figure rolling about twenty meters away.

Nii-san stood up while suffering. I couldn’t help but applaud at that sight.

“Amazing, nii-san. To be unharmed after taking that attack head-on.”

From what I could see, not only was he completely intact, but there wasn’t even a sign that he’d suffered serious injuries.

Well, I had held back somewhat. I suppose this was about right against an aura user.

“L-Luka! What exactly did you do?! I’ve never seen magic like that!”

Unusually, Tiberios-nii-san groaned with a demonic expression. Despite his low voice that resembled a curse, I calmly lied.

“What do you mean… it was just a little flame. You said so yourself, nii-san.”

“Don’t lie! There’s no way magic of that size could contain such power!”

“Well, I am a genius. It can’t be helped if you don’t know, nii-san.”

I implied, “It’s the difference in talent between you and me, isn’t it?”

Understanding the meaning, Tiberios-nii-san continued his angry expression—then immediately returned to a smile. It was a disturbingly unnatural change.

“I-I see. As expected of you, Luka. Yeah. Luka is amazing. For Luka’s sake too, I need to work even harder.”

Saying that, Tiberios-nii-san raised his total aura amount even further. Had he still not reached his limit? I could genuinely respect that.

“Come on, let’s do more, Luka! I can still fight!”

“As for me, I’d like to call it a draw about now.”

“What is a member of the Salvatore ducal family saying! Even if it’s a mock battle, swing your sword with the intent to kill your opponent. That’s our way of fighting, isn’t it?!”

Tiberios-nii-san kicked off the ground while maintaining his plastered-on smile.

He apparently no longer intended to lie about wanting to kill me.

Personally, I’d been able to conduct various experiments, and I’d managed to analyze practitioners of Tiberios-nii-san’s class to some extent. I didn’t have much reason to continue fighting, but I couldn’t retreat either. It couldn’t be helped. I would conduct more magical experiments.

I mixed multiple attributes at once and sublimated them into a single magic. I called this ‘composite magic.’ It was my original technique.

Tiberios-nii-san was clearly astonished by this technology I hadn’t taught anyone else yet.

“Wh-what is that?!”

While swinging his sword, he frantically tried to kill me. Hey now, you’re losing your composure, nii-san.

“I wonder what it is. I don’t really understand it myself.”

While casually telling an obvious lie, I incorporated aura into the completed two-colored magic. With this magic, you’d normally think you could just shoot two spells simultaneously, right?

Aura consumption would increase, but the pure number of attacks would increase. From an efficiency standpoint, parallel activation that was easier to hit would be more convenient.

However, by deliberately combining them, I could further boost the power. Most importantly, this magic’s greatest advantage was—being able to hit with multiple attributes at once.

Elemental compatibility like in games didn’t exist, but for example, fire and wind. Combining these would further increase fire’s power.

What about water and wind? It would change into ice, which was unusable in games.

In other words, this composite magic had various possibilities.

Wonderful!

At first I thought it was magic usable against monsters, but the more I used it, the more interesting it became.

This was truly the first time using it against a human, but I was glad my opponent was Nii-san. Even if I messed up the control and caused an explosion, Nii-san would accept it, right?

What, it was love from a younger brother.

And… if we were going to fight, you said to come with the intent to kill, right?

“L-Luka… you…!”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. The corners of my mouth rose, and I smiled as I said:

“Here I go, Tiberios!”

Entrusting everything to my rising emotions, I released the completed magic. The magic unleashed forward beautifully froze the ground, space, and Tiberios-nii-san included.