Boom!
A thunderous impact echoed through the room as Sakeer's attack struck the Archangel Flame's chest armor.
The angel staggered backward uncontrollably, retreating nearly three meters before forcefully flaring its wings to stabilize itself midair.
Sakeer's gaze remained fixed on its chest.
Aside from a slight dent in the armor, the Archangel Flame appeared completely unscathed.
"Impressive. When it comes to durability, its defensive capabilities really stand out."
A small smirk played on his lips.
Among angels, demons, and undead, these three summon types held distinct advantages over regular summoned creatures of the same level.
Angels excelled in physical resistance.Demons were more resilient against magic attacks.Undead? Their strength lay in sheer numbers.
And as their levels increased, these summons gained even more unique abilities.
Sakeer shifted his grip on the iron sword, its cold steel reflecting a glint of light.
"Alright then, let's see what's inside that armor."
With a swift movement—
Sakeer lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant.
Sou!
Sensing the attack, the Archangel Flame reacted.
It swiftly raised its flaming sword, slashing downward in an arc of scorching light—
But Sakeer was faster.
"Quick Slash!"
A cold silver gleam flashed through the air.
A split second later—
A sharp, grating sound rang out as Sakeer's blade scraped across the Archangel Flame's chestplate.
Sparks erupted upon impact, crackling like embers in the dim room.
Then—
Click!
A jagged gash tore through the once-sturdy armor, forcing the Archangel Flame downward in a crashing descent.
Sakeer reacted instantly.
Before the angel could slam into the ground, he reached out—
Grabbing its wings, he yanked upward with force!
With one sharp motion, he stopped the Archangel Flame's fall, pulling it back into the air.
"Silence doesn't erase impact—only sound."
If the angel had actually crashed, the force alone might've left a hole in the floor.
A soft exhale left Sakeer's lips.
"That was close. Almost got noticed."
Then, his gaze drifted toward the chest wound he had inflicted.
Inside, where one would expect organs or mechanisms—
There was nothing.
Only an empty void filled with a soft, pale-white glow.
Bang!
The Archangel Flame trembled, its entire body suddenly shattering into light particles—dissipating into thin air.
Sakeer let out a thoughtful hum.
"Not bad."
But then he glanced at the experience bar on his status panel—and sighed.
"So, summoned creatures don't grant experience points, huh?"
A slight pity lingered in his tone.
Still, he analyzed what he had learned.
"Compared to a warrior of the same level, the Archangel Flame's attack methods are relatively simple."
"Its speed isn't anything remarkable either."
But—
Its exceptional physical resistance and flight capabilities made it an effective opponent in prolonged battles.
And if he could summon them in large numbers…
Sakeer's gaze drifted toward the blank parchment on the table.
A knowing smile formed on his face.
"Even a high-ranking warrior wouldn't last against sheer numbers. They'd be dragged to death."
Sakeer's mind flickered to a certain scene from an anime—
The Slane Theocracy's Six Scriptures had once sent Sunlight Scripture, one of its elite squads, to assassinate the warrior captain, Gazef Stronoff.
If not for the unexpected intervention of Ainz Ooal Gown, Gazef Stronoff would have fallen.
And the Sunlight Scripture's greatest asset?
Not their leader, Negan.
But rather, the Archangel Flames they had summoned—creatures that required only a modest amount of magic to maintain.
"What if I could create a similar force?"
Sakeer turned back toward the wooden table, picking up a blank parchment sheet.
He had forgotten to ask a crucial question earlier—
"Does crafting a Second Order Magic Scroll absolutely require parchment? Or could regular paper work just as well?"
There was only one way to find out.
"Let's try it."
Sakeer placed his hands over the paper, focusing his intent.
"Scroll Crafting!"
Whoosh—
A sudden, invisible force swept through the table.
Without wind, the sheets of paper rustled and lifted—
One after another, dozens of pages gathered toward the center, merging together seamlessly.
Then—
In mere seconds—
A pristine, white magic scroll materialized in Sakeer's palm.
Sakeer blinked, momentarily stunned.
"Huh? It actually worked?"
For a brief moment, he felt an odd sense of disbelief.
After all, whether it was alchemy potions or healing elixirs, every past attempt at crafting had come with its fair share of challenges—
Minor failures, miscalculations, adjustments.
But this?
It had worked far too smoothly.
Sakeer stared at the scroll in his hands, his mind processing the sudden success.
"That was… almost too easy."
For the first time in a while—
He felt a little uneasy about how well things were going.
The magic scroll in Sakeer's hand was pure white, a stark contrast to the ones crafted by the Magician's Guild, which were mixed with sheepskin.
Holding the pristine scroll in one hand, he glanced at the remaining second-tier paper on the table.
"Wait…the quantity doesn't add up."
Originally, there had been 1,400 sheets. Now, only 1,380 remain.
In other words—
It had taken 20 sheets of second-tier paper to craft a single magic scroll.
Sakeer furrowed his brow, recalling the Magician's Guild's method. Their scrolls were made using one piece of parchment and ten sheets of second-tier paper.
"So that's why they mix in sheepskin…"
The revelation dawned on him.
The guild wasn't just using parchment to maintain mana stability—
It was also a cost-saving measure to reduce the consumption of expensive magic paper.
Sakeer raised an eyebrow.
"Makes sense. Sheepskin is way cheaper than magical paper."
"Alright, time to infuse the magic."
His expression turned serious.
Unfurling the white scroll, he placed a finger at its center, preparing to inject mana.
Following the techniques of Master Belori, he knew that this step required precise control over magic flow.
Of course—
A deep understanding of the spell itself was equally crucial.
In this world, spellcasters mastered magic through study, research, and personal insight.
But Sakeer?
He simply spent skill points and gained the knowledge.
An easy shortcut—
But it came at the cost of lacking a deep understanding of the magic he wielded.
He was well aware of this weakness.
However—
As he observed Belori's magic infusion technique, he noticed something familiar.
It was strikingly similar to his own class's passive ability—
"Mana Infusion", a trait of the [Magic Swordsman] class.
Sakeer had unknowingly used this ability when refining alchemical potions back in the Tobu Forest—
And now, it might just work for scroll crafting too.
"Guess I'll find out."
Pressing his fingers firmly against the scroll, he activated the skill—
"Mana Infusion!"
Swiish!
The white scroll trembled violently, its surface suddenly radiating a brilliant blue glow.
An invisible force stirred, pulling in mana like a vortex.
Sakeer's breath hitched.
The sudden reaction startled him.
The memory of witnessing a magic scroll explode inside the Magician's Guild flashed in his mind.
But—
After a brief moment of tension, the vibration calmed, and there were no signs of an imminent explosion.
He let out a small sigh of relief.
"Alright. So far, so good."
Suppressing his distractions, he began injecting the second-tier spell—"Angel Summoning"— into the scroll.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
…
Ten seconds.
When Master Belori crafted magic scrolls, his movements had been fluid and refined, an effortless flow of mana.
Sakeer, on the other hand—
His method felt rough and forceful, as if forcing the magic into place rather than guiding it.
Whoosh!
The scroll trembled again.
The blue glow pulsed before suddenly shrinking inward.
Then—
Without warning, the entire magic scroll automatically rolled up and settled onto the table.
Sakeer blinked.
"…Did it just finish itself?"
Without hesitation, he cast "Item Identification" to confirm the result.
[Item]: Magic Scroll
[Category]: Magic Item, Craft
[Level]: Second Tier
[Description]: Contains the spell "Angel Summoning."
"It worked!"
A genuine look of astonishment crossed his face.
Sakeer let out a chuckle, instinctively reaching over to ruffle the head of the little Barghest sitting beside him.
But his thoughts didn't stop there.
His gaze flickered with something deeper—
A plan taking shape.
"I thought my chances were slim… but with this, I might actually have a shot."
Others may not have known—
But Sakeer did.
There was a legendary magic item hidden in E-Rantel.
An item so powerful it had reached [Superior: Level 40], nearly bordering on the highest tier of magical artifacts.
This was the strongest magic item he could obtain in the early game.
Originally, he had planned to acquire the "Cursed Knight" class and, after returning from the Baharuth Empire, search for a way to claim the artifact.
But now—
With scroll crafting mastered, his chances of success had drastically increased.
That didn't mean it would be easy.
The risk remained dangerously high.
But for the first time—
Victory felt within reach!
(End of Chapter)