Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 168: 168-What A Way To End The Duel

Read chapter 168 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Merlin didn’t hate the spell in the traditional sense. It was out of reverence for it. A spell such as that was a great toolset for any Mage. It was a simple spell that disoriented a Mage preparing to cast a spell, and also certified the dominance of Gravity magic. And the fact that it was in the hands of a S-Class Mage only made its value skyrocket more. Which brought Merlin to a rather specific bother. How was he to deconstruct the spell if he had no control over his balance? It was not like it was something he could just toggle on and off. He was human, despite how weird that term had come to be in the last decade or so. Gravity was what kept him to the ground all his life. He had lived no other way. So suddenly adapting to a change in the norm wasn’t something he should be able to do on the spot. Even trained astronauts took about six months to adapt to the change in gravity in outer space. But that was not an excuse. No matter the magic, he had to be able to give it a run for its money. Merlin staggered slightly as he stood up, but managed to keep himself standing. His eyes were still dizzy, and his brain was pounding, a mild headache disturbing his concentration. He rubbed his temple and looked up at Jaehyun who now seemed slightly worried. “I think you should rest,” the boy said from above. “It’s my first time using that spell on someone. Perhaps I did too much. Let’s not push if that’s the case.” Merlin raised a hand to shush him. “I’m fine,” he said. “Let’s keep going.” Jaehyun was still skeptical, but when Merlin resumed attacking, the boy immediately sprung into action. Merlin’s attacks were a lot more sluggish now. He occasionally lost control of his [Mana Spider] skill, the strands of his mana reaching for Jaehyun faltering just when they were nearing him. With the way things were going, he was unsure if he would be able to enter cognitive state, his partial state of falling into a trance, and be able to use Reader Mage at the same time as his other skills. So he decided to take it one step at a time. Why rush it all when he could get used to the hang of disorientation? Once he had adapted to that, then he would be able to use cognitive state despite the effects of gravity acting on him. “Don’t hold back on my account, Jaehyun,” Merlin said, trading his [Mana Spider] for [Mana Spring] as he shot up to the sky, bringing himself closer to his opponent in this duel. Jaehyun shrank back in the air. But then a smile spread across his face. “As you wish.” Merlin channeled mana to his hand, curled his fist, and aimed for Jaehyun’s stomach. Despite telling Jaehyun not to hold back, Merlin had gone against that. His mana was less denser than it should have been, and so was the effect of his attack. It struck as intended, but Jaehyun was only pushed a few inches back in the air. Immediately after that, Merlin began to head back down to the ground, courtesy of the lack of footholds in the air. He replayed his fight with the ice wyverns in his mind, reshaped his mana into something of a cushion around his body, and rolled on the mat as he landed. His restraint came back to haunt him at that point. An intense pressure suddenly fell upon Merlin before he could even rise to one knee. It slammed him into the mat, pressing him down and pinning him there. Every part of his body became multiple times heavier, like he was being crushed underneath a heavy vehicle. Trying to move only worsened the pain. His heat worked exponentially harder to keep blood flowing to his brain, and his spine felt like it was being compressed. Merlin had severe backache, and his mind went into a turmoil. He remembered this spell from Jaehyun’s fight with Kim Yiseo. And he recalled how she had managed to get rid of it. Lines of force. What he had to do was redirect the line of force from acting directly on him. Kim Yiseo had done that by wrapping herself in a cocoon. And that was the problem. He had no spells that could actively turn the spell away from him