"That's not for you to decide," Lucille retorted.
Their spells clashed once more in the middle, producing a blinding spark—the only spell Sean had seen with a visible trajectory since the fight began.
"Hmph! You're quite skilled. It's rare to encounter a witch like you in such a remote place. You must have your own secrets too."
Bachler kept trying to bait Lucille into talking, but she ignored him entirely.
If Sean hadn't spotted the 【Fatigued!】 status appearing above the man's head, he might never have guessed the inner turmoil beneath that composed exterior.
So a mere thousand-point advantage in magic power could temporarily stalemate the archaeological team. Sean realized he needed to reassess the power scaling in this world... or perhaps Lucille wasn't showing her true strength yet.
"Lord Vygil!"
Kree, standing ahead, hurriedly motioned for Sean to step back as he approached.
"Lord Vygil, please move to a safe spot. We'll handle this one."
Sweat still dripping from his face, Kree was itching for a solo challenge against this wizard.
"Vygil..."
Before he could finish, Sean cut him off.
"I want to talk to this guy." Slowly walking up to Kree, Lucille quietly moved closer as well. The five of them once again formed a standoff with Bachler.
Both sides had taken some damage. Though Bachler hadn't lost any health yet, his magic power was nearly halved. For a wizard, running out of mana meant being as good as an ordinary person—maybe not even able to withstand a single sword strike from Kree or the others.
That's why the man had chosen to pause the fight while speaking. By now, everyone was showing signs of exhaustion.
"Baron Vygil, I'm genuinely surprised you spotted me. You're truly exceptional... How about this? I'll compensate you in the name of the Wizards' Guild. I'm sure your town could use it."
Bachler was seeking another way to survive.
"Is that so?" Sean stared coldly at him.
The man had outright invoked his status as a Wizards' Guild member, clearly trying to negotiate from that position.
"Of course. The Wizards' Guild never breaks its word. I'll prepare a generous gift and apologize to you in person... I estimate your town's annual tax revenue doesn't exceed twenty thousand gold coins. I can offer fifty thousand. That should be enough, don't you think? What do you say, Baron Vygil?"
The archaeological team all looked to Sean...
He was the only one who could decide if they were enemies. If he agreed to a truce, they wouldn't have to keep fighting for their lives.
"Would you really do that?"
"Absolutely. I swear it on the Wizards' Guild!"
"I mean, would you really do that... When your home is wrecked, everything you've cherished for years is destroyed, and the culprit tells you they'll buy you new ones—would you accept? Especially when people have died, and their families are left in lifelong grief?"
The man had overestimated Sean's town. Taylemian's net tax revenue wasn't even ten thousand, let alone twenty. Fifty thousand could indeed ensure three years of good income for the whole town, but that wasn't how the math worked.
"So there's no room for negotiation?"
"There isn't..." Before Sean could finish.
He saw a casting bar appear above the man's head.
Sean immediately threw himself to the side... His reaction speed caught even the archaeological team and Bachler off guard.
But the spell was already in motion!
*Boom!*
Another loud explosion rang out where Sean had just been standing.
His ears rang again, and he heard Lucille and Kree launching their attacks.
They were about to negotiate, but the moment talks broke down, the man attacked outright! If Sean hadn't seen the casting bar, he wouldn't have dodged in time.
The spell released in less than a second. Sean had bolted the instant he saw the bar, yet he still couldn't escape the blast radius...
"Lord Vygil!"
Just like before, Gwen, who hadn't been fighting, rushed to his side.
"I'm fine. Much better this time. Hey, Gwen... didn't you say earlier he was using wind element?"
"Yes." Gwen didn't understand why he was asking.
"Forget that for now, Lord Vygil. Let me get you to safety."
Sean tried to stand...
He saw the other four had shifted positions in their battle.
"No. There's no such thing as wind element in this world."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Lord Vygil?" Gwen was baffled by the lord's strange words and why he'd stepped forward earlier.
Watching Bachler's magic power drain, Sean figured the man still had a trick up his sleeve.
Lucille probably did too... But the man's ace might be aimed directly at Sean, since he'd already cast a spell at him.
The archaeological team wasn't his people. Killing Sean might eliminate future trouble.
But Sean had stepped forward precisely to read the casting bar text from the man's spell... Now he was even more certain.
There was no wind element.
His thinking had been locked into the novels he'd read. In this world, wind wasn't a chemical element. The man was using a gas.
A flammable gas... one Sean had overlooked, but that made perfect sense in hindsight.
That's why the explosions didn't produce flames but released massive heat.
Maybe that's also how he triggered the avalanche.
Thinking back, someone using wind element could indeed blow snow off a mountain with a gale, but that would require immense power. With only 5,000 magic points, he probably couldn't shake the whole mountain.
But using explosions to chip away at support points could cause a massive snow collapse.
So everything the man had said earlier was a lie.
What "snow giants being unruly," what "teaching them a lesson."
It was all premeditated. His nervousness when making up excuses on the spot had fooled Sean.
But in that instant, Sean saw clearly...
It was hydrogen.
The occasional 【Release Hydrogen Bomb】 spell appeared above the man's head.
Sean pulled out the magic wand Lucille had given him from his pouch. Gwen's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
"Ilya, Kree! Drive him off!" Sean shouted at them.
They didn't understand why, but just then, Manus and Kree's pincer attack forced Bachler to flee as a black wind.
No...
Black was probably just the color of his clothes.
That color had deceived Sean, but the surrounding gas was still primarily hydrogen.
"Let me finish what I was saying... There's no negotiation. And... don't you dare run wild on my land."
Ignite!
【Magic Proficiency: 4】
*Boom!*
It exploded like fireworks overhead.
Then came a scream.