Chapter 140: The Essential Artifact for the Main DPS

Although Dragon claimed she didn't care how that fatso died, upon returning she still gently nudged Alicia awake from her bed to tell her that she had run into an old companion. Alongside her surprise, Alicia felt a deep sympathy for Gluttony's current plight; compared to Dragon, her relationship with Gluttony was slightly better.

"Oh, is that so? I'm going back to sleep."

Amidst the conversation, Mayona had been accidentally woken up. Ruby briefly explained the current situation to her—how an unsolved, multi-century-old mystery of the Rhine Academy of Magic had finally been resolved by sheer coincidence. The sleepy-eyed Mage God merely nodded and went back to bed. For someone at maximum level, getting two or three times the usual experience points was negligible, let alone a few hundredfold.

"I heard this entire region was formed hundreds of years ago. Does Gluttony really possess that much magic power?" Ruby asked curiously.

Such a vast area as the Rhine Academy of Magic was entirely covered by magic power. If replaced by a magic array, the daily cost would be astronomical. Moreover, Gluttony had been imprisoned there long before the academy even came into existence. His magic power was being drained as if it were completely free, yet he didn't seem to suffer any adverse effects.

"You are grossly underestimating him. Satan created him specifically to supply magic power to the entire Demon Realm. Anything he consumes can be converted into magic power. As long as there is something edible, his internal magic power is virtually limitless. Even though he hasn't received any replenishment lately, keeping this up for another few centuries is an absolute breeze for him."

"So Gluttony's trait is supplying magic power, Dragon's is adapting to various combat situations, and what about Alicia's?"

Ruby suddenly found himself interested in the characteristics of the various Deadly Sins. Come to think of it, having known Alicia for so long, other than her penchant for giving him a hard time, he had yet to discover anything particularly special about her.

"Her? She's just a siege gun."

"What do you mean by that! I am extremely useful, way more useful than you!"

Although Alicia didn't quite understand what a "siege gun" meant, she could sense something deeply offensive in Dragon's tone, as if she were some mindless, spiritless brute whose only purpose was to blast things apart.

"Oh? If that's really the case, why didn't that white-haired spellcaster use you when she cast her spells?"

Dragon and Alicia immediately resumed their daily routine of bickering, relentlessly poking at each other's sore spots.

"Me? That's because I'm simply too powerful!"

Alicia offered a retort, but no matter how one looked at it, she resembled a useless creature struggling in vain. After teasing her for a moment, Dragon stopped pressing the issue.

"Amplification. Alicia's function is to boost spell damage, increasing a mage's magical potency by roughly sixty-four percent."

"That's impressive, but why such a weirdly specific number?"

Alicia's hidden attribute left Ruby marveling. This could arguably be considered the ultimate piece of equipment for the Mage God. If Mayona were to wield Alicia while casting forbidden spells, shattering the heavens and destroying the earth would no longer be a mere pipe dream. Yet the exact percentage felt almost arbitrarily made up.

"Hmph, obviously! Even if you try to flatter me, I won't be happy."

Alicia happily swung her body back and forth in mid-air, thinking to herself that she must make Mayona use her more often in the future so she wouldn't look like a mere decorative vase. However, the reasons Mayona refrained from using her for casting spells were twofold: first, the magic amplification was so overwhelmingly powerful that a single careless slip could heavily damage the otherworldly realm of Earth-kun; and second, as the Mage God herself had once stated, "Alicia is wonderful at everything, except for being far too talkative."

"She also has a combination attack with Gluttony. Together, they are known as Infinite Firepower. Back in the day, they made those winged freaks cry for their mothers."

"A combination?"

Looking at Alicia's slightly bizarre shape, Ruby couldn't help but vividly imagine a female Demon King holding Alicia and jamming her straight into the top of Gluttony's head—which resembled a massive ceiling beam—then hoisting Gluttony up and roaring, "Taste my magic cannon!" The mental image was simply too breathtaking for him to behold.

"Hey! You must be thinking of something deeply disrespectful!"

Alicia sharply perceived Ruby's thoughts and rammed him with her iron-hard head, complaining bitterly.

"It's not that simple kind of combination you're imagining. Even though we were both created by Satan, our individual magic powers are completely different, and blindly mixing them together would pose a huge hazard. That's where the great Lady Dragon comes in—I act as the connector, linking them together and synchronizing their magic powers into the exact same attribute before firing them off."

"So you're just an adapter cable?"

---

Half a month later, the beast tide was practically guaranteed to arrive. This time, its target was none other than the Holy Empire. This information had been provided by Tinasha, though she hadn't come in person, sending a letter instead. In the missive, His Majesty the Emperor personally requested Mayona to step in and resolve the crisis, just as she had done a few years prior.

On the outskirts of the Forest of Magical Beasts, an area that should have been bustling with adventurers from the Mages' Guild hunting beasts for bounties was now entirely deserted. Not a single person dared to set foot inside. Packs of magical beasts crouched in groups of two or three on the ground, waiting for more companions to arrive and form an army, poised and ready for battle.

Inside the headmaster's office, Headmaster Harvey and Vice Headmaster Schudor were discussing the upcoming beast tide. Both concurred that with Mayona around, this incident likely wouldn't cause much of a stir and would merely be recorded as an uneventful footnote in history.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Just as their conversation was flowing smoothly, an abrupt knock interrupted them. The headmaster signaled Schudor to pause and called out toward the door, "Come in."

"Headmaster, I have a proposal."

It was Suward who stepped through the door. He first bowed respectfully to the headmaster before speaking.

"Go ahead."

"The beast tide is confirmed to be coming. Could our Rhine Academy of Magic take advantage of this event to bring the students along so they can observe it up close?"

"Whatever gave you such an idea?"

Headmaster Harvey frowned slightly. He didn't immediately dismiss Suward's whimsical notion, wishing instead to hear out his reasoning.

"Observing firsthand how to defend against a beast tide is something you can never learn from textbooks. Although our students have participated in extracurricular internships, real combat is far more complicated than that. Just the sheer momentum of an army of thousands is enough to turn an ordinary person's legs to jelly. Seeing it in advance will give them some psychological preparation."

"Furthermore, this particular beast tide is classified as the smallest-scale minor beast tide. That anonymous Mage God will likely intervene anyway. Worst case scenario, even if the beasts manage to breach the frontline defense base of Hetumare, we can always evacuate via the teleportation array. I believe our students will be completely safe."

Suward had long since prepared his arguments. Since ancient times, beast tides had been categorized into three tiers: minor tides, composed of ten thousand to fifty thousand beasts, which posed the lowest threat; medium tides, consisting of fifty thousand to one hundred thousand beasts; and major tides, involving over a hundred thousand beasts—an event that had only occurred once in history, striking the Blackstone Empire. Had the battle mages not retained enough magic power to take on ten opponents at once, that empire would have been doomed, yet the beasts had remained dormant for decades following that catastrophe.

"What you say makes a certain amount of sense. Very well—twenty students. You and the other teachers can deliberate on the selection. Keep it quiet, and bring along the students who possess courage, strategy, and talent. Of course, they must agree to it voluntarily."

Harvey stroked his chin in thought for a few minutes. He felt that although Suward's suggestion was unconventional, it was worth a try. As Suward had pointed out, he had witnessed Mayona's formidable strength firsthand. With so many layers of safety measures in place, danger was virtually impossible.

"Understood!"

Suward was overjoyed to see his suggestion approved. His plan wasn't entirely altruistic; a significant part of it was driven by the desire to show off in front of his crush and prove himself superior to Ruby. Once this endeavor succeeded, it would go down in the history books. Perhaps from then on, the Rhine Academy of Magic would make this an annual activity during every beast tide, and he would be the one who pioneered it. In any case, it made him infinitely more competent than that good-for-nothing without any magic power.

"Oh, and count my personal disciple as one of them."

Before Suward could take his leave, Harvey's voice rang out once more, providing a natural pretext for Mayona to join the excursion.

---

[Author's Postscript]

Dragon: Today we are talking about staves. During the era of the divine wars, what was the most famous staff in the Demon Realm?

Ruby: Reporting! It is Pride!

Dragon: Take a seat. Pride—one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Alicia. After amplification, her damage reaches eighty-nines in a split second. Slaying gods and destroying worlds accomplished in an instant. Truly a hero among staves. *(Pats shoulder)*

Alicia: That's not me, I didn't do it! *(Trembling)*