Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 156 - New Power (4)

This was enough to get an idea of Klever’s strength.

Now that Klever needed time to recover, there was no reason to stay in the Snow Spire anymore.

Before leaving for Shahatra, Henry decided to stop by the mansion in Salgaera to check if the work he had left behind was going well.

“You’re here.”

Torian smiled and greeted Henry in a familiar manner since he was now used to him coming unannounced.

“What are the slaves up to?”

“Aside from their allocated time for sleeping, I’ve put them to work on the Black Tear.”

“Then let’s see how well they’re doing.”

Henry wasn’t worried because he knew that Torian would’ve diligently been on top of things. What Henry really wanted to see was those who tormented his comrades and abused their powers facing their own suffering.

“Um, but who’s the person behind you…?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about him. He’s just someone I manage.”

Hector almost lost his temper when Henry referred to him as someone he managed. However, he couldn’t express his anger because he was still sorry for accidentally killing the newly evolved Klever.

Hector merely nodded without saying anything.

“I see,” said Torian.

The three of them headed to the Black Tear workspace next to Henry’s lab, and as soon as they opened the door to the workspace…

- Kheee!

“Q-quickly, grab it!”

It was intense.

Aubert’s family were fighting with swords against the Cyclone Hydra that had been fixed to the wall.

It was a satisfying sight.

Henry had purposefully made one side of the workspace out of glass so that it would be easier to monitor what was happening on the inside. From the outside, it was possible to see inside, but of course, this didn’t work the other way around.

They were struggling badly.

Some of them were hit by the Cyclone Hydra’s tail and pushed back to one side of the room, and all of them had been injured, some worse than the others.

Thud!

The first to fall was Marquis Aubert’s fourth son, Lieber Crimson.

Seeing this, Henry asked Torian, “Aren’t there fewer people now?”

“Yes, it couldn’t be helped since we’re trying to stop the violent Hydra.”

“Where are the corpses?”

“I’m giving them to the Hydra’s as food.”

“That’s good.”

Obtaining the Palegon's tail had been simple for Henry due to his superior strength, but the situation with the Cyclone Hydra was different. The Hydra was very dangerous for the malnourished and consistently tortured slaves.

However, the slaves had no choice but to hold back their tears and obtain the tail of the Cyclone Hydra. They knew that if they couldn't collect the tail, they wouldn’t even receive the bare minimum food, clothing, and shelter they had been getting.

“How much Black Tear have they produced?”

“There were thirty-two batches when I counted yesterday.”

‘This process is slower than I expected.’

Even though there was a lot of manpower, they were all weak, so it couldn’t be helped.

After much thought, Henry told Torian, “This is taking too long, we’ll need to be more efficient. From now on, please supply more equipment that’s necessary in order to collect the tail, and also pay more attention to the slaves' injuries and meals.”

“Alright.”

Henry showed mercy to the slaves. It served them right to die a painful death, but Henry also knew that it was more valuable to keep them alive longer so they could help him.

Henry took out a batch of the Black Tear and summoned Elagon.

“Elagon, get ready.”

- Khu!

Elagon knew what Henry wanted even though he hadn’t even said an order.

Henry poured the first batch of the Black Tear into his mouth all at once.

“Urgh!”

He felt a sharp pain.

As soon as veins started bulging on his face, Elagon recognized that his nest was in pain and emitted a light to start healing.

“Ha…”

Thanks to the healing power, the pain quickly subsided.

It was an efficient intake.

Henry handed the empty bottle to Torian and teleported to the gate of Shahatra.

* * *

“Fireball!”

Whoosh!

Howl had successfully created the 2nd Circle flame magic, Fireball.

Today was the last day of boring theory classes and he had finished the formation of his 1st Circle. It was finally time for practicals.

Howl was the very first out of the fifty students to produce a perfect Fireball.

‘He’s incredibly talented.’

Kale was amazed by Howl’s Fireball.

Howl was nineteen years old, and far past the normal age to start learning magic, but he nevertheless evolved much faster than other young students.

“Not bad.”

Just then, a familiar but fearful presence emerged behind Howl.

It was Henry.

“Master!”

All the students turned to look at Henry, as they were surprised by his unannounced appearance.

Henry smiled insincerely to all the students and said, “Howl.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Is this the first Fireball you’ve ever made?”

“That’s right!”

“Really?”

His Fireball was exquisite, considering this was his first time, but it was far from enough to satisfy Henry.

‘Howl can only do this much?’

He showcased his talent by making the ball radiate a purple color, and yet someone with such skill could only make one Fireball? This was nonsense.

Henry went ahead and gave Howl some tips.

“Howl, make another Fireball.”

“Okay.”

Whoosh!

Only the first time was difficult, the second time was easy.

Howl skillfully created a Fireball once again.

“Explain to me what kind of energy you feel at your fingertips.”

“It feels like mana is steaming from my fingertips.”

“Really? Then this is time, imagine that you’re compressing that steam into a thin thread.”

“Hmm…”

“Lord Henry, this method is…”

“Shush!”

Kale attempted to interfere with Henry’s teachings because what he was teaching Howl was the basics of applied magic learned during the 3rd Circle period.

“Oh wow…!”

As the mana that released like steam was concentrated into the form of a thread, the Fireball started to become longer.

Soon, the Fireball turned into a Fire Arrow.

This was the flame magic of the 3rd Circle.

‘As expected!’

Howl was incredibly talented.

If one knew the basic techniques of magic, it wasn’t hard to overcome one or two Circles. Henry proved that right after he was reincarnated.

As the Fireball turned into a Fire Arrow, Howl’s jaw dropped as he was also surprised. However, Henry maintained a serious look and continued to advise Howl.

“Howl, focus! Now, imagine you're twisting that thread of mana to create a rope.”

“Rope… Alright!”

Howl was intrigued by Henry’s teachings.

At some point, everyone gathered around Howl to see what Henry was doing.

Howl maintained focus.

What Henry taught him this time was the intermediate level of applied magic, which was just a level above the basic applied magic.

“Agh!”

The intermediate level of applied magic proved to be quite stressful because it was his first time using magic, and on top of that, he had just reached the 2nd Circle.

Even so, some humans discovered their powers in unique circumstances. For example, they could unveil their powers when facing someone they admired or when others expected a display of strength from them.

Ping!

As soon as he imagined that he was twisting the thread into a rope, the Fire Arrow started to change.

Howl was sweating, but he ultimately managed to successfully transform the Fire Arrow into a Fire Spear.

“Woahhh!”

People were shocked.

This time, even Kale cheered, and the corners of Henry’s mouth also rose in satisfaction.

…Sizzle.

However, he didn’t have enough power to continue the magic for a long period of time because he had just performed two levels of applied magic.

He was still lacking mana, but this proved once again how talented Howl was, so it was enough progress for today.

Howl looked a little disappointed, but Henry put his hand on his shoulder and said, “You’ve done good today, so don’t be too disappointed.”

“Really, Master?”

“Yes, but don’t let it get to your head and take care of your peers because what matters is that everyone improves.”

In reality, having one well-taught disciple was much better than having ten mediocre wizards, but the war that Henry was planning for was a battle that needed many people, not just one.

Howl, being a fast learner, was great, but Henry wanted a strategic wizard artillery unit.

Henry gave a short lecture on magic and encouraged all the students before leaving the institution. Kale quickly got the students to do some studying by themselves and followed Henry.

“What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“Do I have to tell you when I’ll be coming?”

“N-no, you don’t, but… Anyway, did you hear the news? Queen Selene collapsed during the prayer ceremony.”

It was the first time Henry heard about this.

“...Explain it in detail.”

The news was simple: For the first time in the history of Shahatra, Khan had brought his queen inside Janus’ temple. While he was performing the prayer ceremony, the queen suddenly passed out and was still in a coma.

‘What the hell?’

It was strange that Khan had brought the queen inside Janus’ temple since it was forbidden for anyone other than Khan to enter. Of course, Henry was an exception.

‘Is it because of Janus?’

The queen had always been healthy, so she couldn't have just collapsed for no reason. This led Henry to believe that Janus was the only possible explanation for her fainting. After all, even he was terrified of Janus.

Above all, Henry was most concerned about Herarion’s mental state.

‘Herarion must be having a tough time right now.’

Henry had stopped by Shahatra for personal reasons and to restock on cigarettes. However, now that the most precious person to Herarion had collapsed, Henry was concerned about his mental state.

“Dang… This is going to interfere with his training for a while,” said Henry.

Hector also agreed with Henry because his duty was to train Herarion.

The atmosphere of the palace was somber due to Selene being in a coma. Henry was guided by the maids to the king’s bedchamber where Selene was asleep, and he proceeded to knock on the door.

“Your Majesty, it is I, Henry.”

“...Come in.”

The bedchamber was full of colorful decorations, but somehow it all looked gray in Henry’s eyes because of Herarion. He was very thin because he had not eaten properly for a while.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, this is so hard on me, Lord Henry…”

He was struggling just as much as when Benedict had held his queen and mother hostage, and he was forced to make a decision.

‘This is serious.’

Even at first glance, this looked bad.

“Are there no other symptoms other than the fact that Her Highness is in a coma?” asked Henry.

“That’s right…”

“Hmmm.”

She was simply in a coma.

Henry thought that this was some kind of illness she had.

“Elagon.”

- Khu?

Elagon revealed himself.

“Your Majesty, could I try and heal Her Highness?”

“...You will do that?”

“That’s right.”

Herarion didn’t have to think for long since this was Henry and not anyone else. Besides, it was better than doing nothing.

Herarion nodded and Henry ordered Elagon.

“I’ll leave it to you, Elagon.”

- Khu!

Elagon looked slightly bigger, perhaps because of the Black Tear he had absorbed not too long ago.

Elagon spread his wings and embraced the queen who was lying in bed, illuminating the bedchamber that seemed gray.

Flap!

After a while, the light faded and Elagon tucked his wings back.

“Mmm…”

“...!”

With a short groan, Selene regained consciousness, and seeing this, Henry smiled.