CHAPTER 67: UNPLEASANT MEETING

The godspawn flew away, smashing against the debris of the pyramid from which it emerged.

Meanwhile, the disk-shaped aircraft carrying the mages landed on the ground next to Zephyr. From it emerged a dozen mages, all wearing fancy robes that were a thousand times better than the grey robe Zephyr wore.

Looking at the golden and silver embroidery and runic symbols on their clothes, Zephyr shook his head. The difference between them was obvious.

All of them were also wearing badges honoring their status as intermediate mages. On it, there also existed star symbols showing their actual combat rating.

’A bunch of intermediate mages from the storm tower and royal academy, I presume.’ Zephyr thought.

The navy blue robes were a faction color of the Storm Tower. The royal mages, on the other hand, had no faction color, but the luxurious fabric used and runic symbols on their clothes helped Zephyr identify them. Moreover, no other mage faction in the Azure Kingdom would dare stand on equal grounds with the Storm Tower mages.

While glancing over to their side, Zephyr also noticed a familiar figure among the mages.

It was an old man with a white beard. He was carrying a large staff as tall as a person with a bulbous head.

While looking at him, Zephyr accidentally looked him in the eyes.

The old man stared back.

Dismissing the strange look he received, Zephyr rolled his eyes.

The old man was taken aback.

Usually, Zephyr would have trembled like a leaf in a storm in front of him. However, this time he was showing...a rebellious side.

Zolt tightened his grip on the staff. A flicker of mana flowed into the crystal attached to the bulbous head of the staff, releasing electric sparks inside.

’Zolt of Storm Tower is also here. Wasn’t he one of the people who decided to send the original Zephyr to the outskirts of the kingdom?’ Zephyr asked himself.

And the answer flowed into his mind, as flashes of memories. These memories, as usual, were fragmented and difficult to understand. But from what he could see, he knew he was right.

’When they realised I was talentless, they discarded me. Well, they can’t be blamed for that. The world of magic was like that. Without talent and strength, you would become nothing but cannon fodder.’

The current Zephyr didn’t hate them for the choice they made.

’...but, they could have been kind to the young man. Zephyr never asked for them to brag about his talent. It was their choice from the very beginning. The embarrassment they suffered was the result of their own doing.’

’So, they could have acted a little more kindly. If so, Zephyr wouldn’t have been bullied by the people who were once jealous of his talent, nor would he have ended up in this situation.’

’He would have never become a chimera monster.’

’The original world would have been a lot better if they had shown him a tiny bit of kindness.’

’Uh...it is interesting to see how a single change in the past results in a totally different future.’

’This time, my soul entered Zephyr’s body and is about to send the world in another direction. I hope the result will be satisfactory.’

With Corvinus and Zolt here, Zephyr knew he would survive. Thus, his thoughts of the future resumed.

Meanwhile, the Immortal Jelly that slammed against the stone debris of the pyramid rose into the sky again. The entire body of the creature was made of soft tissue.

After Corvinus’ attack, many of its tentacles were ripped away—the gash on its chest spewing colorless liquid.

At a glance, it looked severely injured.

Zephyr saw it rising to the sky gloomily.

The injuries were nothing for the immortal jelly. His eyes abandoned the original body and scanned the surroundings to see what had happened to the tentacles missing from the original’s body.

Fortunately, he didn’t see or sense any mana anomaly.

’It doesn’t seem to have split.’

He murmured under his breath.

Meanwhile, Corvinus shook his staff and looked at Zephyr.

"Are you the defective one the Storm Tower banished?" He asked.

Corvinus was wearing an amused expression. Zephyr could see a slight upward curve in his lips.

’Is he smiling?’

Corvinus was an NPC in the game world who was said to have died before the game began. However, the player could interact with his spirit by going into the Royal Academy when completing a quest. Therefore, Zephyr had seen him before.

However, he really didn’t have much information to go on. After all, their interaction was brief.

"Yes..." He answered evenly.

The smile playing on Corvinus’ lips widened.

"What happened here?" He asked.

’Why is he smiling?’ Zephyr thought while trying to come up with a summary of the incident leading up to the current situation.

’Hm...how should I go about it?’

He paused for a second before answering,

"A necromancer wanted to sacrifice the nearby village to awaken the godspawn you see over there." Zephyr pointed at the flying Immortal Jelly.

"But I saved the villagers, and he still somehow awakened the godspawn." He added.

"You saved them!" Corvinus raised an eyebrow.

The notoriety of the defective mage of Storm Tower was an open secret.

Could a person like Zephyr, who can barely use magic, do that?

Zephyr shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"It was a close shave." He answered.

At that time, Corvinus noticed the missing forearm.

"You did well. Let me handle the rest." The old man caressed his beard and turned around.

Meanwhile, Zolt stepped forward reluctantly and stood next to Corvinus.

Ignoring Zephyr, he asked.

"Did you see any godspawn like that before?"

Corvinus shook his head.

"Never."

"Any guesses as to what might be its abilities?"

"I can sense water and dark attributes. So, it must be something related. And you? What do you think?"

"Same. So, let me handle it." Zolt said, tapping the floor with his large staff.

"Just because you have lightning element affinity doesn’t mean you can beat it. I will take care of it on my own."

"Your fire and wind element spells won’t work against a water element creature." Zolt shook his head. "So, let me do it." He added and was about to raise his hand to cast a spell.

Zephyr’s eyebrows twitched as he watched them strategize. In his opinion, they weren’t good enough.

Zolt had the elemental superiority over the Immortal Jelly, but he was not really suited to contain and kill it.

The Immortal Jelly had superior magic defence. Normal magic attacks won’t even faze it. And high-grade lightning spells would most likely be diverted by its water spells to the ground.

On the other hand, Corvinus, with his fire and wind element spells, could lock it in place and incinerate it into oblivion.

Water magic could stop the flame temporarily like lightning, but when it’s heated enough, it would be like boiling a frog.

But before doing that, they should pull it away from the ocean. Only by doing that could they win.

’Let’s give a helping hand.’ Zephyr thought and stepped forward.

"That’s an Immortal Jelly; it can heal all physical injuries in a matter of seconds. It can also regrow from living parts of its flesh. And most importantly, it can split itself into many weaker forms." Zephyr spoke up, capturing their attention.

"The necromancer was planning to control and split it into thousands of weaker forms before sending it to the kingdom to kill and grow." He added.

This time, the duo stared at Zephyr seriously.

"You have to bring it away from the water, and incinerate every last bit of its flesh. I believe Sir Corvinus would be better suited for that."

The last few words made Zolt frown in displeasure.

Corvinus, on the other hand, laughed.

"See, even the kid knows I am better." He said while turning around and flying up.

’Uh! That’s not what I said.’ Zephyr thought while receiving an unpleasant look from all the mages of the storm tower, Zolt included.