I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 7

"......Equal."

The orc, Rex, covered in exhaustion, thought as he watched the standoff between the Great Lord and the boy.

Just by descending onto the battlefield, the Great Lord, an overwhelming monster that would make your legs tense and cold sweat bead on your spine, was facing off against the boy with white hair, who was maintaining a tense standoff in this situation.

"You are at least a 7th-circle mage. Considering that you reached the 7th circle at such a young age, you'll probably reach the 9th circle soon."

"Well, since you seem to know everything, there’s no need to hide it."

Rex wasn't listening to everything they said as he focused on the battle. But even from the fragmented sentences, he could easily guess the situation.

'The boy is at most sixteen or seventeen years old. But to be at the 7th circle...'

Born as a warrior, Rex, who had lived his life wielding an axe, could maintain his rationality and keep thinking even in a situation where adrenaline was surging through him.

The boy he had unwittingly placed in the carriage to the capital was the greatest talent in the continent's magic.

And the Great Lord, a genius mage who reached the 7th circle at the youngest age in history, had appeared here, risking all the dangers, to deal with this white-haired boy.

Once these two facts were sorted in his mind, Rex naturally knew what command would follow for the troops.

"...All units! Change the battle's objective from 'survival' to 'protecting the boy'! This boy is an invaluable asset who must not die here! We must escort him back to the capital at all costs!"

The life of the boy was more precious than his own or any of his subordinates. It didn’t take long for Rex to come to this conclusion.

On the battlefield, there's no such thing as equality in life. Rex, who had lived his life as a warrior, knew well that one spell from a 7th-circle mage could burn away countless mutated creatures and save hundreds of lives.

On the battlefield, the value of life is not equal. Rex knew that very well.

If someone had to die here, it was not the boy—it would be them.

"Damn, we’re barely keeping ourselves safe...! Where’s the mage?"

"Protect the mage! All units, form up in a triangle around the mage!"

"Arrows incoming from the right! Raise your shields! If they even graze you, consider it death!"

At that moment, the flames from the arrows flying out of the forest set the feathers and branches ablaze, causing their paths to twist uncontrollably.

Creeeek!

The volley of magic-infused arrows hit the huge shields of the infantry, but the flames burning at their feathers caused the arrows to veer off course, losing their intended power.

"Hmm..."

The Great Lord, still locked in a standoff with the boy mage, looked at the approaching soldiers, irritated by their presence.

'I don’t know what level they are, or what magic they use, these unknown mages...'

The Great Lord didn’t move directly.

He didn’t want to show any openings while facing the 7th-circle mage, or ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) perhaps someone stronger, the boy in front of him.

He simply glanced at the soldiers rushing toward him.

Boom!

As soon as his gaze shifted, huge trees, set ablaze, began falling in all directions.

At the same time, the ground started shaking violently, and leaves soaked in flames rained down like a storm on the street.

"According to orders."

A mutated beast, made from a 6-meter giant orc barbarian, appeared, enveloped in flames, holding a massive axe.

The mutated beast stomped its giant feet down, swinging the oversized axe at the soldiers.

Clang!

Hero Orc Rex’s axe met the beast's with a loud clash, sending up huge sparks. Despite the massive size difference, thanks to his constant training, Rex somehow managed to block the enormous axe.

"Go! Protect the mage!"

The soldiers, momentarily stunned by the appearance of the monstrous beast, quickly resumed their advance.

"Tch."

The Great Lord, showing annoyance, raised a finger and pointed at the soldiers rushing toward the boy.

Dark magic gathered at his fingertip, trembling violently as if ready to explode at any moment.

The boy's blue eyes.

He didn’t miss the moment when the Great Lord’s attention shifted toward the soldiers.

A huge current of electricity poured from the boy's arms and legs. His white hair spread wildly, and an eerie energy surrounded him as if a thunderstrike were imminent.

'...Is he trying to attack while I’m distracted?'

The boy’s sudden movement didn’t go unnoticed by the Great Lord, who scoffed internally.

'Caught in my trap.'

Demons are naturally cunning and love to deceive their enemies.

The Great Lord, Maltiel, could have easily wiped out the soldiers rushing to protect the mage with a mere glance and gesture. But instead, he gave them a small signal with his gaze and fingers, trying to convey that now was the perfect moment to strike.

'As soon as you attack, your neck will fly off.'

Maltiel always employed such tactics—acting as though he was vulnerable, pretending to be weak, or cornered, so that his enemies would throw everything they had at him, only to be struck back with a lethal counter.

He loved desperate attacks, as they were the perfect setup for his counters.

'Come...!'

A massive flash of light erupted from the boy’s fingertips, energy crackling and surging in the air, the sheer force of the magical storm sending chills down the spine.

"Transformation."

The Great Lord’s red eyes and black hands turned toward the boy, just as Maltiel, who had been preparing for this moment, released his gathered magic at the boy's heart.

The black line, cutting through the air, sliced through trees, rocks, and the mutated beasts' bodies, stretching endlessly as it carved a path of destruction.

"It’s over."

Despair filled the eyes of the soldiers charging toward the boy. The only one who could restrain the Great Lord in this battle was that boy.

If they lost him, everyone would die.

As the heaviness of loss began to settle over the soldiers...

"Damn, that was close. Almost died for real."

A cold, detached curse rang out above them.

"......Ha!"

The boy hadn't died. Upon realizing that, the Great Lord couldn’t help but let out a stunned exclamation.

The boy had never intended to attack.

Somehow, he had known from the beginning that the opening the Great Lord had shown was a trap.

Rex, who had been thrown into the air by the recoil from the immense electrical charge the boy released beneath his feet, watched the boy with a terrifying smile on his face.

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'He figured me out! That I intentionally showed him an opening! And that I pretended to use an attack spell and fled into the sky.'

The frustration of being caught in his own scheme, combined with admiration for the boy’s cold judgment, overwhelmed Maltiel.

The boy seemed to know exactly what he was going to do, as though he had studied him beforehand.

'He’s playing me for a fool. He just needs to buy time until ‘he’ arrives!'

The Great Lord, now convinced, launched himself directly at the boy, his wings wide open.

'This isn’t just a monster’s seed. He must die here!'

Until now, Maltiel had fought with his own survival as his top priority, knowing that if he died, his demonic forces would collapse and the demon army would lose its strength.

But seeing the boy’s judgment and composure had shifted his perspective.

Now, he believed that killing the boy here, right now, would be more beneficial for the demon army in the long run.

With 2000 demons under his command and the 300,000 mutated beasts they controlled, Maltiel had judged that this boy’s life was worth far more than them.

"Ogiar de Astella!"

The Great Lord’s ear caught the booming voice of the orc as the huge axe, swung by a 5-meter giant orc, hurtled toward him.

"Protect him!"

Orc Hero Rex, with one arm lost and a gaping wound on his abdomen, shouted as he watched the Great Lord and the boy soaring through the air.

At Rex’s feet lay the dismembered corpse of a mutated 5-meter orc.

His command prompted the soldiers to scramble and hurl whatever weapons they could find toward the Great Lord’s flight path.

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"Tch."

Most of them didn’t penetrate the Great Lord’s skin, bouncing off harmlessly.

However, the massive axe Rex threw forced the Great Lord to twist his body in mid-air to avoid it, creating a momentary opening.

In that instant, the boy’s blue eyes flashed as he gathered immense magical power into his hands once again.

'...That monster!'

The opening.

When facing the Great Lord, one had to be cautious of every opening, as any vulnerability shown was likely a trick to lure you into attacking.

But this time, the gap was genuine.

The Great Lord had become too focused on the boy’s death, narrowing his vision.

The boy had so many possibilities, and that excitement clouded his judgment.

The tension of battle had narrowed Maltiel’s focus, and he hadn’t seen Rex throwing the giant axe at him.

He barely reacted in time, his balance thrown off and no defensive magic prepared.

"Counter, you like this?"

The boy’s arrogant voice echoed across the cloudless sky.

"......Impressive!"

The Great Lord, driven by both a sense of duty to kill the boy and excitement over the rare equal battle, rushed forward with everything he had.

'He must die.'

'This strike will end it.'

'There isn’t much time left until ‘he’ arrives.'

The thoughts that pushed him forward.

Despite not shouting a battle cry, the urgency of Maltiel’s strike carried the same desperation as the humans he had killed before.

And desperate attacks, when countered, always carried devastating consequences.

"Release."

The massive electric sphere in the boy’s hands compressed into a tiny point.

The energy ball, filled with millions of volts, shook wildly as if it were about to explode at any moment. The boy sent it flying toward the demon’s heart, the last of his strength behind it.

For an instant, the sky lit up with thunder.

The world below was engulfed in flames, the sky flashing between darkness and light.

"Shit, I should’ve leveled agility by 10 more..."

The boy lost consciousness after muttering those words.

The Great Lord stretched out his remaining left arm and grabbed the boy’s neck.

It was thin and fragile, like a freshly grown tree branch.

There was no time to waste.

Although the boy appeared to have lost consciousness due to the backlash from releasing immense magic, no one knew when this monster might wake up and target his life.

Just as the Great Lord tightened his grip to snap the boy’s neck...

"That’s far enough."

The long-awaited voice rang out quietly across the battlefield.