43 Magic Absorption

'Well, I can't say I didn't expect something like this. Starting from when I was first pulled into the Guardian Program, to when I first met that magical Lesser Dragon, I understood that I had bad luck. Horrible luck, even. But, did I consider myself a hopeless man with no chance of surviving the Program?'

'...Well, only a few times, but that's besides the point.'

Just like all the other candidates within the Guardian Program, Fen followed the trail of energy that guided his path after inserting his Mark into the interface. After spending the past few days running a few Scenarios and gaining more combat experience, he was confident that he wouldn't lose against another Opfer with his collection of skills and abilities.

The Death Mark proved to be an invaluable resource of knowledge; during the Scenarios he met not one, not two, not three, but four magically enabled monsters. Among them was a Golden wolf, a strange monkey-like monster called a Hiyape, a giant monster bat thing, and a killer bunny, a monster bunny with long and sharp fangs with a very revolting appearance.

Although the pain that constantly pounded at his head reduced the amount of combat power he could show, the pain acted as a sort of training, helping to establish a hyper-sense of focus during a fight so the sluggishness created by the Death Mark wouldn't hinder him too much. Well, although it still sometimes affected him, if before he was struggling to perform at 50%, now he could show a reasonable 90% to 95%. It wasn't peak, but it would have to do for the Task.

With the pain of the Death Mark almost dealt with, Fen was free so explore the memories of the three magical monsters, gaining four more magical spellworks for his efforts. And, because he already experienced the pseudo-deaths from the Lesser Dragon's memories going through it a subsequent time was much easier. It wasn't like he could get a second Death Mark... He could only hope that he didn't jinx himself.

It seemed his guess was correct; the Scenario was more like a custom generated space rather than an already existing one, as all of the memories he experienced where of when he was there.

Unless he was just extremely luck to only get memories of when the monster used magic, then his reasoning had to be correct. Especially after recalling all the misfortune that had befallen him since the start of the Program.

Among the four spellworks he learned, there was Lightning's Call, which was supposed to throw electricity. A certain branch of the Mages could control electricity using their magical energy and didn't have to use spellworks to summon lightning, but seeing that Fen didn't have to spend his valuable points on a Lesson to learn how to do that and instead simply learned a spellwork directly, he saw it as a win.

Another spellwork had an official name within the Foundation interface, named Vanguard. The monster that used this magic was a real pain in the ass for Fen to deal with; the spellwork could essentially 'predict' the future. At least, that was how he thought the spellwork worked, but after putting it into practice Fen learned that the magic worked by sending multiple versions of himself into the future, that brought back information about the future, hence the name Vanguard. The future sight sort of worked like sonar, in this case sending future versions of himself instead of sound waves, that went back whenever those versions were hit by something and so giving him information about the future.

It was a much simpler method of future sight that didn't involve actual travel-through time, lessening the strain on the caster's mind. He was sure there were more profound laws and formula's involved than simply projecting himself into the future, but that was how it felt to him. The Mana expenditure of using the spellwork was ridiculously high however, so the spellwork was reserved for emergencies.

The third spellwork he gained was actually a strange version of a 'debuff'. The Death Mark worked by making the worst-case possible scenario come true by manipulating reality, so Fen suspected that this spellwork was meant to destroy the advantage he had with his powerful body. He couldn't find a name in the Foundation's interface for this spellwork, so he simply named it 'Death's Influence' because of the role the Death Mark had in sending the monster with it. The spellwork was fairly straightforward, and created a glossy looking needle of magical energy that, if it hit the target, would target the nervous system, making their reflexes slow and their movements sluggish. Fen learned the hard way that the magic even worked on him, despite his Vitul nature.

After testing it on himself, he learned the magic lasted for a good couple hours. If it worked for hours on him, than the spellwork would be devastating on someone who didn't possess regeneration.

Thankfully, the monster bat that used this magic construct wasn't very physically powerful otherwise he really would've been in danger.

The last of the spellworks wasn't really a spellwork, but more of a technique to apply his Mana offensively. Fen called it Mana Compression, and using it compressed his magical energy into a usable weapon that he could throw or wield. Right now it wasn't that useful because his magical energy wasn't as strong as, say, a Mage, but it was still a good tool.

There were many other applications for the technique too, although for now Fen could only imagine them as he didn't have the time to actually experiment.

With the new skills and items, Fen was finally ready for the Task. Er, rather, he ran out of time to prepare more... Still, even though he didn't have as much time as he would have liked, he was confident. Not arrogant, but he was assured that his own skill would be able to help him survive.

Fen was so confident in his own skills that he forgot to think how the Death Mark would interfere with his plans. So far the only thing the Mark had done was make him encounter several magical monsters, which wasn't even that much of a problem; even without the Death Mark, Fen had already met a magically enabled Lesser Dragon.

Now that he thought about it, maybe it was the very second when he was confident of killing another Opfer than he jinxed himself.

He got a very cruel reminder about the Death Mark's ability when he walked into the Task room, only to see a handsome youth wearing a white and gold embroidered uniform.

'The worst possible outcome, every single time...' Wasn't this too far though?! A fucking Chosen for an opponent?!

A stream of emotions coursed through his heart, but only one showed on Fen's face: Irritation.

The room was just like any other in the facility, dark walls made of the strange stone, with veins of energy pumping inside them. In the center of the room stood a female Foundation member carrying a mobile interface in her arms. For a brief moment, Fen could've sworn that he saw fear on her face before he entered, as if she was afraid of the Chosen standing next to her.

'But that would mean... that this Chosen is much more powerful than I took them for.' The ominous thought echoed inside his mind. Fen had experienced firsthand how powerful a Foundation member was; it was a wall that Fen still couldn't break through yet. But this Chosen... It seemed that he had already broken through.

But would he give up? No! How could he let all his efforts go to waste? Did his work, his diligence, his pain, did they all mean nothing! Of course not!

It wasn't that Fen didn't expect a Chosen for an opponent, it was just that he really, REALLY hoped that he wouldn't have to fight one.

Archon Ellora had already explained what might happen if you fought a Chosen. If Fen couldn't win with his own power, then he'd resort to tricks and his own cunning, assuming that he managed to survive that long, of course.

Raisen said that anybody who faced a Chosen in the first Task would simply be sacrificed for no decent reason, but Fen wasn't just anybody. He was a damned Vitul, who worked his ass off every single day in the Program. If his efforts meant nothing to the Program, then he'd tear it apart. There was always an alternative, a separate path.

"...step forward to the interface. Raise your hands forward, and you'll soon be connected to a Scenario space." When he refocused he could hear the Foundation member's voice, apparently she had started speaking sometime before.

So, a Scenario space. Interesting. Raising his eyes to look at his opponent, Fen analyzed everything he could.

The youth stood at roughly the same height as him, if a little shorter. The uniform was designed in the same pattern as his own, with the colors being the only difference between the two. Where Fen's was a solid black with silver lines embroidered onto different parts, his was a pure white, with gold where Fen had silver.

His grey eyes were extremely calm. No, it'd be more accurate to say he was relaxed, as if he was sitting on a couch at home instead of a battle where only one of them could return.

Fen also noticed that the Chosen wasn't carrying any equipment like him. The only thing he had on him was his white uniform, no weapon or tool in sight. Fen had all his items in a pack on his back, with the Theoredian armor strapped onto his chest underneath the uniform's jacket. As per the protection of all his other body parts, Fen trusted his body's natural toughness.

That, and he didn't want to bring his shirt in the case it got destroyed. Only Heaven knew how many shirts he went through...

But, it was very obvious that he was carrying something, but the Chosen had nothing. Did he have some sort of ability that didn't need an item, or even a weapon?

Or, and this was the most likely and the worst possible scenario, he had already mastered spatial magic, and was able to store his items in a special space that he could draw from at any time.

'There's no way right? The Death Mark can't be that cruel...' Fen shivered just thinking about the possibilities if he already mastered spatial magic. Like all other types of magic, there were multiple different applications of manipulating space with magical energy, both offensive and defensive. For example, imagine never missing an attack, or never having to avoid an attack because you could manipulate space. It was a difficult field to master, but only another Mage who knew spatial magic would be able to fight against you.

All that analysis took place in just a few seconds of observation. After taking note of that, Fen raised his hand and allowed the golden particles of the interface to form a connection with his hand, with his opponent doing the same.

Just before they were taken to the Scenario space though, the Chosen opened his mouth to speak.

"I hope you can entertain me for a while, Altairus." The same relaxed look was in his eyes, with a faint sneer on his lips.

Fen hardened his resolve.

"Same to you, Chosen."

A flash of golden light, and they were gone from the room.

****

The Scenario generated a ruins for the Task, which destroyed buildings spattered across a flat land. As to what destroyed them, nobody knew. Whatever happened did many years ago, as the plant life had already taken over the architecture.

When Fen came to, he found himself inside a two-story building overlooking an overgrown-garden. The rules of the Task meant there were no animals or monsters to interfere in their fight. It also meant that there was very little sound except for the wind, so any loud noise he created would immediately echo across the ruins, revealing his position.

After looking around to make sure his Chosen opponent was nowhere nearby, Fen took off his pack and rummage through the items inside before taking out an opaque flat board of ice.

The ice was actually a type of glass that transformed from being exposed to magical energy, hardening it. A magical engineer had process the material to create a face-mask that covered his eyes, nose, and mouth. With it on, his vital parts like his eyes and nose would be protected while still allowing him to see through some mechanical parts.

Putting it on, a faceless youth remained where Fen was, with a black uniform and a greyish-white mask. During the process of calibrating the item he kept the highest level of alertness, ready to react to any odd noises around him; before the item started working, using his magical energy as fuel passively, he wouldn't be able to see.

Thankfully, nothing happened.

Picking up his pack, Fen stepped onto the window ,careful not to fall onto the road, and lifted himself up to the roof of the building. It was flat, with no terrace or roof tiles, perfect for using as a post of observation. It was here that Fen observed the area around him, marking any unusual or interesting locations that could be utilized in the fight.

A Chosen opponent meant that Fen could not dare start a fight without some semblance of a plan. He didn't know what type of power this guy had, or even what he specialized in inside the Program. Was he a Mage? A warrior? A Knight? Or was he of some other archetype that Fen hadn't heard of?

Unfortunately, there was no convenient pool of lava or acid that Fen could try to throw the Chosen into anywhere nearby. He guessed that was too much to ask for.

Everywhere he looked was urbanized, with some buildings taller than others, but there were no skyscrapers, or even any buildings that had more than five stories. There was no modern architecture either, most of the buildings were made from stone or stone bricks.

After looking all around him, Fen was sure that the Chosen was nowhere nearby. From his position on top of the building, he had a view of all the streets that came close to his house. Unless the Chosen flew or travelled underground, he'd see him.

"What're you waiting up here for? I thought we were supposed to fight?" said a masculine voice coming from behind him.

Fen spun around and threw a Flaming Spear that he constructed on the fly, leaping away from the building before the magic could hit the target.

'How'd he get behind me? Instantaneous movement, teleportation? No, that's impossible, if he's capable of that then why wait so long, letting me set up my base of-' Fen's thoughts were interrupted when a dark blurry object came hurtling straight towards him. He couldn't dodge, he was already in the air. Cursing inside his mind, Fen formulated another Flaming Spear and threw it towards the dark object.

The sight of the spear's flame being extinguished almost made Fen stop in shock.

His magic wasn't stopped, or blocked. It was absorbed. The fucking thing absorbed his spellwork.

The object quickly came to a stop, revealing that it was actually the Chosen with a barrier made from some unknown type of magic. The two Flaming Spears that Fen had thrown at him didn't appear to even trouble him; he assumed that his first one was absorbed, just like the last one.

The Chosen watched as Fen landed on the ground. He let Fen lower himself into a defensive stance, the youth remaining unmoving while he floated in the air. Meanwhile, Fen's mind was going into overdrive trying to explain what he saw.

'Magic absorption? Is that even a fucking thing? How does that work? Does his body work like my Mark, absorbing magical energy from his surroundings? Fuck, how do I fight that?!' His mind was screaming even as his face remained cold and calculating, as if he had everything under his control, which he absolutely did not.