405 Chapter 405: Absolute Zero (1/2)
The Frenzor Assassin evidently didn't appreciate the joke. He continued to charge forward with a terrifying bellow. Even though hundreds of mana bolts and laser fire struck him, he kept on going, an unstoppable juggernaut of ferocity.
In the face of such a horrifying foe, I calmly stepped forward. Partially to shield my comrades from the berserker's charge, and partially to execute my technique. Turning Hei Yue so that the tip of its black blade faced the ground, I plunged it into the concrete and whispered a single incantation.
\”Absolute Zero.\”
Atop my shoulder, my chibi Black Tortoise stiffened and then he allowed dozens of azure strands of mana to flow out of him and into my sword.
Then the whole place froze in an instant. The corridor turned into a tundra, and the Frenzor Assassin was encased entirely in an icy tomb, suspended in mid-charge.
\”…eh?\”
Jamie and the mercenaries could hardly believe what they had just seen. I turned away from the frozen Assassin, retrieving Hei Yue and then sheathing it along with Bai Ri.
\”He won't be getting out of that for a while,\” I informed the stunned Jamie. For some reason I felt really exhausted. Absolute Zero wasn't a spell I could use lightly. It wasn't an ordinary ice spell – the Frenzor Assassin would easily break out of any normal ice spells without breaking a sweat. To immobilize him adequately, I had to use an extremely advanced ice spell.
Absolute Zero.
Even though I called it an ice spell, Absolute Zero was far beyond any ice technique. It was quite literally the process of bringing the temperature of my immediate vicinity down to zero Kelvin…or -273 degrees Celsius, where all atomic movement stopped completely. Heat was measured by the amount of movement of atoms and molecules, and no matter how cold there would usually be some miniscule activity in the particles that made up the building blocks of all matter. Only in the void where there were scarce amount of atoms would there be an absence of molecular movement, but even so outer space was still filled with plenty of stray hydrogen or even helium atoms – and these atoms were never completely at zero Kelvin (they wouldn't be drifting freely in the void otherwise).
Thus, rather than a proper ice spell, Absolute Zero was a much more advanced spell that dealt more on the atomic level than merely freeze stuff. Even so, the ice was formed precisely because of the complete lack of heat (in the form of molecular movement), so that was why so much ice was present. At such extreme temperatures, even metal became brittle, and the Frenzor Assassin's body was breaking apart not just biologically but also at the molecular level. It was a miracle that he was still in one piece, but I suspected his body wouldn't remain intact for long.
\”You might want to finish him off while he's still trapped in there. I doubt he'll be able to break free, but best to be safe.\”
\”Right.\” Jamie nodded in agreement, glancing warily at the frozen Frenzor Assassin. The guy was a ticking biological bomb. As long as he was around, he remained dangerous…even in death. The best way was to completely destroy him to the point where there wouldn't be a trace of his weaponized body left. The mercenary captain hefted up his enormous cannon and began casting one of his most powerful spells. With the Frenzor Assassin frozen solid, he had all the time in the world to complete the casting of such a strong spell.
I decided to stick around and watch as he obliterated the Frenzor Assassin, atomizing the poor guy and leaving not a single trace of the hulking killer. He ended up wrecking the corridor and erasing the piping and everything else, but that was a small price to pay for safety.
\”Great job, Senior Richard!\”
Harvey had elected to remain and watch, instead of fleeing for safety. His confidence and belief in me was so massive that he really thought he would be in no danger as long as it was me who was facing the enemy. The possibility that I might lose had never even crossed his mind.
Bloody hell, the kid was going to get himself killed one day.
\”Dude,\” I said disapprovingly, but Harvey cut me off before I could say another word. He was gushing so excitedly.
\”That was so awesome! To think you've expanded your repertoire of magic! Now you're able to cast such advanced ice spells! What are you going to learn next? Fire magic?\”
\”No, no. Ice and wood are the extent I can get to.\”
I almost exhausted myself to death just from casting Absolute Zero. There was no way I could learn other advanced elemental spells. Wood magic was all right because there was a technique that I could use to replenish my mana, and quite frankly wood magic wasn't as draining or complex as the other elements. Like I said, wood magic was more of an all-rounder. Versatile, jack of all trades, master of none. There probably wasn't any wood spell that was as powerful as Absolute Zero, for example.
In contrast, the other elements would have their own ultimate spells that were just as mana-consuming and powerful as Absolute Zero. Furthermore, the only reason why I managed to reach that far with ice magic was because of the Thousand year old ice essence I found in the Den of Dragons, which deepened my comprehension of ice magic. Without another coincidental miracle of that level, I wouldn't be able to master the advanced spells of any element so quickly.
Furthermore, with the insane mana consumption of advanced spells or ultimate elemental techniques, it wasn't practical to learn so many of them. I could only use one at a time – for example, if I used Absolute Zero, I would have no mana left to use any of the other elemental ultimate techniques. I could use Hunded-Colored Flowers, but quite frankly I wouldn't be able to absorb nearly enough mana to use another Absolute Zero or other elemental spells, not unless my opponent was weak enough to let me drain that amount of mana. And if he was, then it most probably meant he didn't have enough mana left to break out of Hundred-Colored Flowers, which in turn meant I wouldn't be able to absorb enough mana from him to cast an ultimate spell.
So no abusing or exploiting the system to spam ultimate elemental techniques or come up with busted combos. Reality was never that convenient. I had to mention that because I just knew a few readers would jump into the comments complaining about how I was stupid for not thinking of broken combos with my current spells, or how I should go and master every element in existence, as if it was so easy. Hell, no. Even though I \”mastered\” advanced wood magic, if I were to go toe-to-toe against a dedicated wood mage such as Cecilia Stuart or her father, I would get completely crushed. No contest. I would have no choice but to use my summoning magic to fight on par with Cecilia, and I doubted I could win against Lionel Stuart.
Dabbling in an element here and there did not automatically turned me into a master capable of rivaling those mages who had dedicated years of their lives to mastering just that one element. There was no way around it. In return for being flexible, I was just not as strong or skillful as masters who had chosen to practice that sole element.