Gunmage-Chapter 302: Deepest impression

Looking at Mirelle’s eager face, Lugh’s expression shifted—and reality hit him hard. He turned his gaze away, sighing wistfully.

"I don’t know if what you just said can be achieved,"

He admitted, his voice quieter now,

"But... it’s not really the kind of thing you can just test."

The consequences of things going wrong were far greater than any potential gain. Lugh wasn’t willing to risk it.

Mirelle let out a long, disappointed sigh.

"Alright then."

She couldn’t help the feeling of letdown—the number of valuable uses she could imagine for such an ability couldn’t be counted on one hand.

Lugh spoke again, almost as if to shift the topic.

"What do I even need control over wind magic for?"

Sela answered easily, as though she’d been waiting for the question.

"Well, the bar is basically on the other side of this district. It’ll take a long time to get there on foot—but if we’re using the rooftops, we’ll be there in a few minutes."

Lugh gave a small nod.

"I see. So you guys use meticulous control over wind magic to supercharge your parkour."

She confirmed with a simple, freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"Yeah."

He responded without hesitation.

"Then you don’t need to worry. I’ll manage."

She eyed him curiously.

"What makes you so confident?"

He replied with a faint shrug.

"Well, you see... I might have ’borrowed’ some movement skills from an elf."

Sela nodded, accepting his words with a hint of amusement.

"Alright then."

A few minutes later...

Two shadowy figures landed simultaneously atop a rooftop, their movements making no sound at all.

Two seconds passed—and another figure landed with a dull thud, heavier but controlled.

By then, the first two were already back in motion, soaring through the air with effortless grace.

Their bodies weaved between buildings, cutting through the night with elegant speed. Lugh’s movements were practical—clean flips, springsteps, landings that conserved energy.

Mirelle and Sela, by contrast, employed flashier maneuvers. Showy in the sense that they weren’t necessary—but they did them anyway, simply because they looked cool.

With their wind magic allowing them to slow descent or propel themselves farther, the usual logic of momentum and impact didn’t apply.

Rolls that dispersed energy weren’t strictly needed anymore. But they were stylish. And that mattered, apparently.

After gaining significant distance, Mirelle and Sela paused atop a tall building, waiting for Lugh to catch up.

They didn’t have to wait long.

"Are you getting tired?"

"No,"

He answered simply.

"We can keep going."

"Alright then,"

They said, but without thinking, they subconsciously slowed their pace, allowing all three to travel in sync.

Speaking while moving at such speeds was normally difficult—breath control alone made it nearly impossible. But with the correct application of sound magic, conversation was feasible.

Sela spoke.

"I’ve been curious, Lugh."

"About what?"

He asked, ducking under a railing mid-leap.

"The elf you ’borrowed’ your skills from."

"Yeah?"

"Did you fight him?"

There was a brief pause as Lugh vaulted cleanly over a rooftop barrier.

"...What sort of question is that?"

"Oh, sorry—what I meant was, did you engage him in hand-to-hand combat?"

"Yeah."

Mirelle, who had just drifted gracefully through the air to join them, interjected.

"You fought an elf in close combat?"

"I didn’t last ten seconds. It wasn’t even close,"

Lugh clarified, his tone flat.

"Well, at least you’re alive,"

She replied with a shrug.

Lugh nodded as he leapt off a ledge. He muttered into the wind, confident they’d hear him.

"Who’d you ask, Sela?"

She responded shortly after

"Well, I was trying to think about the principles your magic works on... and what its limitations might be."

Lugh was momentarily speechless.

Why was she thinking about things he himself hadn’t concerned himself with? Was he being... negligent?

"...Yeah? And what did you figure out?"

Sela answered.

"Well, for one, I don’t think you inherit every single one of your victims’ memories."

Lugh was silent for a while. Then he spoke.

"What makes you think that?"

"It’s just a conjecture, but... if you really did, then you’d be a different person entirely."

Lugh responded, almost mechanically.

"I am a different person."

This time, it was her turn to go quiet.

After a while, she finally spoke again.

"Okay then. Let’s reconstruct the hypothesis."

Lugh blinked.

She continued, voice measured.

"What I think is that... maybe you do take all their experiences. But I think you mainly absorb what leaves the deepest impression on you about the person."

Lugh came to a full stop, forcing both girls to halt as well.

He turned and looked directly at her.

"Mind telling me more about this... hypothesis?"

She didn’t hesitate.

"Think about it. What about the elf left the deepest impression on you?"

Lugh thought for a moment. Their meeting had been short... but—

"A lot of things,"

He said quietly.

"Did he use his healing arts?"

She asked.

Lugh nodded.

"Yes. But he also used other magic."

She spread her hands slightly in resignation.

"Like I said—it’s just a theory. I’m not sure. But what made me think of it was how you got so many combat enhancements.

Considering you guys were apparently locked in battle with him, it makes sense that his combat abilities left the deepest impression on you."

Lugh processed her words.

"That... makes sense."

He paused, then added,

"Actually, it makes a lot of sense."

He remembered his first encounter with Emrys—back when he’d been using the vessel of the spy Riley Osneil. Emrys had appeared as if from nowhere. Vanished just as fast.

And Lugh had inherited his concealment techniques.

The consecutive magic circles Emrys could conjure—he now possessed those too.

And the terrifying martial skills that had nearly ended his life? That as well.

But nothing beyond that. No extra spells. No passive enchantments. No mastery over grand elemental magic. Did that mean the elf’s abilities ended there?

Surely not.

Lugh felt like he had just stumbled upon something huge.

A secret buried in plain sight.

Seriously analyzing the structure and extent of his ability had just jumped to the top of his priority list. And this conversation—this idea—was the first step.

He looked at the first daughter of the Von Heim main branch.

"Sela... you’re a genius."

She seemed startled, struggling to keep her expression composed.

Mirelle cut in before the moment could stretch.

"Don’t get a big head now. We’re almost at our destination."

Lugh turned to her.

"We are?"

She pointed her—

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺