I am the Archmage

Chapter 5 Fire Phoenix

The fight between the two Grand Mages finally came to an end. With black eyes and faces swollen like pig heads, they walked over together.

Eulis said, “Kid, we’ve made a decision. We’ll both take you as our student and teach you magic. Consider yourself lucky—now hurry up and pay your respects to your teachers.”

I glanced at Livia and, pretending to play hard to get, said, “I have no problem being Teacher Linka’s student, but as for being your student, Eulis… only if you let Livia teach me beginner magic first.”

Heh, I was sure Eulis wouldn’t give up on having a prodigy like me as his student. He’d definitely give in.

Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, Eulis reluctantly said, “Fine, I agree.”

Just as I was feeling smug, a chilling wave of killing intent came from behind me, followed by Livia’s icy voice: “You shameless rogue, go to hell!”

I turned around just in time to see an enormous pink fist coming straight at my head.

And so, for the fourth time since arriving in the Holy Magic Continent, I passed out.

Under pressure from her father, Livia started teaching me magic. She was a Magic Swordsman with exceptional talent, already at the level of an intermediate mage. However, with my seemingly infinite magical reserves backing me, learning magic was like a martial artist with profound inner strength—it made even the most complex spells seem like child’s play.

Before long, Livia had nothing left to teach me. Eulis and Linka then took over my training, and I couldn’t help but curse my own overwhelming magic power for advancing too quickly.

Elemental magic involves using one’s internal magic power to manipulate the five natural elements—earth, water, wind, fire, and lightning—and shape them into various forms. Summoning magic, on the other hand, establishes contracts with magical beasts, turning them into loyal subordinates.

One day, I was practicing the Levitation Spell, floating freely through the air. Below me, the wooden cabin had already shrunk to the size of a beetle (the one I’d burned down earlier had been rebuilt). Suddenly, I noticed a massive flame circling high above a mountain peak in the distance.

Curious, I decided to investigate. I transformed the Levitation Spell into Flight Spell (I don’t need incantations to cast magic—just a thought will do), and flew toward it at high speed.

Unintentionally, I passed through the barrier Eulis had set up. (Due to my excessive magic power, any barrier was meaningless to me, and I could pass through them at will.) The moment I exited the barrier, my flying speed increased tenfold. The sudden burst of speed caught me off guard, and I nearly crashed into the mountainside. I silently cursed the damned barrier for causing this mess.

I quickly adapted to the conditions outside the barrier and sped toward the fiery figure in the distance.

It wasn’t a mere flame but a magnificent, fiery red bird, its body engulfed in blazing flames.

“A Fire Phoenix,” I immediately recognized it as the most powerful fire elemental magical beast that Linka had mentioned. My heart filled with joy and excitement.

Although I had already mastered advanced summoning magic, I still didn’t have a single summoned beast. Watching Linka command his summoned creatures to do this and that (even if they were disgusting things like spiders and frogs) always left me envious. Now, seeing the legendary Fire Phoenix, I knew I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

To turn a magical beast into a summoned beast, the first step is to defeat it. Then, you must draw a contract symbol on its body using your own blood to complete the summoning.

Staring at the breathtakingly beautiful Fire Phoenix flying in the sky, I began to concentrate my magic, ready to strike first.

However, my plan didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. My magic aura was evidently too strong, and the Fire Phoenix sensed my presence. Letting out a piercing cry, it surged toward me with roaring flames trailing behind.

Having been through several battles before, I quickly calmed myself and focused. With a thought, I waved my hand, sending a Fireball straight at it.

Without the barrier to suppress my magic, this Fireball was massive—its diameter stretched over ten meters, and its destructive power was overwhelming. It shot directly toward the Fire Phoenix, hitting it with precision.

Just as I began to celebrate, I watched in shock as the Fire Phoenix emerged from the flames completely unharmed, its body blazing even more intensely than before.

I instantly cursed myself for my stupidity. The Fire Phoenix was a fire elemental beast; using fire magic against it would only make it stronger.

In fairness, I couldn’t entirely blame myself. With magic reserves as powerful as mine, my two childish instructors had been so eager to teach me the most advanced spells that they completely skipped teaching me the basic principles of magic.

The little bit of common sense I had about magic was all thanks to Livia.

Seeing the Fire Phoenix charging at me, it was too late to dodge. An idea suddenly flashed in my mind, and I chanted softly: “Frozen Prison of Ice and Snow.”

Instantly, my body was encased in thick blocks of ice. Moments later, the Fire Phoenix reached me, and its blazing flames engulfed the icy barrier.

The “Frozen Prison of Ice and Snow” was originally a water-based spell meant to freeze opponents, but I cleverly used it on myself, forming a thick layer of ice armor to shield my body against the Fire Phoenix’s fiery attack.

Haha, I’m a genius!

The ice armor gradually melted under the Phoenix’s intense flames. The moment it completely dissolved, I activated an advanced wind spell, “Instant Teleportation.” With a flash of light, I appeared a hundred meters away, leaving the flames to surround empty space.

Although I wasn’t injured, being encased in a giant block of ice wasn’t exactly pleasant. I was still shivering uncontrollably, though it was my own fault.

I roared angrily, “You stupid bird! How dare you treat me like this? Prepare to die!”

With a wave of my hand, I summoned dozens of “Ice Arrows” and sent them raining down on the Fire Phoenix like a storm.

The Phoenix flapped its wings, generating a surge of intense flames that clashed with the Ice Arrows.

While the bird was occupied dealing with the arrows, I formed hand seals, concentrated my magic, and shouted: “Extreme Zero Frost Wave!”

This was an advanced water spell—the most powerful one Eulis had taught me so far. Its downside was the ridiculously long incantation required for casting (the more powerful the spell, the longer the chant). Thankfully, I didn’t need to recite it; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the time to use it.

My body became surrounded by a pale blue glow, which grew brighter and larger with each passing second.

Sensing the danger, the Fire Phoenix instinctively tried to escape, but it was already too late.

A massive, pristine ice river, dozens of meters wide, erupted from me and surged forward, engulfing the Fire Phoenix in an instant. The surrounding area, spanning over a mile, was transformed into a frozen wasteland of snow and ice.