Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 132 - Archmage (3)

Henry landed in a small cave not far from Khan, the capital of Shahatra. Henry had set this place as the temporary coordinates of the White Gate.

He went straight to Khan's palace. The guards recognized Henry and saluted him.

He would have preferred just flying in, but he still wanted to respect this place of royalty, even if it was a vassal country. Also, basic courtesy was very important when it came to close relationships like the one between Henry and Herarion.

“Where is His Majesty?” asked Henry.

“His Majesty is at the training hall right now, please follow me.”

The palace guards weren’t hostile even though Henry was an imperial citizen because they had been thoroughly trained by Herarion, who had strengthened his royal authority.

Henry arrived at the royal family’s training hall.

The guard tried to inform someone of Henry’s arrival, but Henry immediately stopped the guard after assessing the situation in the hall.

“It’s okay. I’ll greet His Majesty personally, so please don’t interfere with his training.”

“Alright.”

The guard saluted and returned to his position.

Henry continued to look at the training hall.

Clank! Clank!

The sharp sounds of metal clashing with metal echoed from the hall as if two swords were colliding with each other. However, there was only one person wielding a sword in the training hall–or to be more precise, there was only one human.

‘A sparrow?’

Herarion was the only person with a sword in the hall, and he was sparring with a small sparrow.

Henry watched the match and immediately figured out that the sparrow was Hector, who had transformed into a sparrow.

‘Ha, what a mischievous guy.’

A deep blue Aura surrounded the sparrow. Hector was the only one who could have a sparrow’s body and cover himself in Aura.

“Chirp chirp!”

Whoosh!

The sparrow flew with the grace of a hawk and the agility of a bee. Herarion swung his sword in response, his sweat pouring like rain.

Clank clank clank!

It seemed as if the bird’s beak were colliding with the blade. At a closer look, however, it became clear that the blade was actually hitting the sparrow, but the sparrow’s body was as tough as steel.

When the sparrow flew high into the air, Henry made eye contact with him.

‘He’s smiling?’

The sparrow was clearly having lots of fun, and Henry realized for the first time in his life that sparrows could smile.

Swoosh!

From high up in the air, the sparrow flew straight down.

Herarion quickly raised his sword and tried to stop the sparrow, but there was no way a sword without Aura could stop a sparrow covered in Aura.

Ching!

His blade broke.

The sparrow did not stop after breaking the blade; he opened his wings just before crashing into Herarion’s head.

Chirp!

Thud!

The sparrow’s Aura decreased for a moment; otherwise, he would have passed right through Herarion’s head.

Herarion fell to the ground.

It was the sparrow’s victory for sure.

Clap clap clap!

Immediately after the match, Henry clapped and came further inside the arena.

As Herarion saw Henry, he blushed and said, “... Don’t tell me you’ve been watching all this time?”

“I was going to greet you, but I waited because you were in the middle of a serious match.”

“I see…”

It was quite embarrassing that someone had witnessed his loss to a sparrow, especially since he was a member of the royal family.

The sparrow flew high into the air.

“Chirp chirp!”

Huge pieces of black armor started to gather around him from all directions.

Clank clank!

The black armor pieced itself together, and red eyes started glowing in the empty slit of the black helmet.

Thud!

Hector landed on the hall floor heavily.

“How was it?” asked Hector.

“How was what?”

“My overwhelming power. It doesn’t change even if my body does. As my first disciple, don't you feel some kind of respect for your master?”

“Respect, my ass. How come you put the armor on? You can’t talk when you’re a sparrow?”

“A sparrow’s vocal cords can’t produce the sounds of a human language, so even if it’s uncomfortable, I have to use the armor or the Korun’s body when speaking.”

“How strange. You can speak when wearing the armor but not when you’re a sparrow? How does that make any logical sense?”

“The armor is nothing more than a piece of metal, so I can use it freely, but a living body like a sparrow is a bit different because when I borrow that body, I have no choice but to follow the characteristics of that creature.”

“I see.”

They hadn’t seen each other in ten days.

Herarion sighed, stood, and asked, “Anyway, what are you doing here, Lord Henry? Can it be that you’ve already finished it?”

“That’s right. I have perfected the prototype. Why don’t we go inside and talk about it in detail?”

“That’s good. We also just finished the new cigarettes yesterday, so if you give me the goods, I will have someone mix the two right away.”

“Ah, if this is about work, I’ll take my leave, I’m starting to get hungry. You two have fun.”

Hector waved and left casually. Hector didn’t play much of a role when they talked about business anyway, so the two didn’t bother holding him back .

The two soon moved to a new area and had a subordinate bring the new cigarettes containing Pink Swamp and place them on a round table.

Henry picked up a cigarette, lit it with magic, and took a hit.

“Haa…”

Pink smoke came out of his mouth. It was a beautiful color.

Henry’s mind felt clear and calm. He took another hit of his cigarette and blew out the smoke.

“As expected of Shahatra’s cigarettes. It tastes so good that it can’t be compared to the cigarette I made as a test,” said Henry.

“Compared to the previous batches, the taste is a bit off, but the decrease in quality is compensated by the increase in production speed.”

“I think this quality is good enough. Besides, the fact that my mouth is already dry makes me want to drink alcohol. This is a normal side effect.”

“Is it a side effect of the Pink Swamp to make you crave alcohol?”

“Yes. You have to drink strong alcohol to break the addiction of the Pink Swamp, but that doesn’t completely stop the addiction. It also relieves headaches, but in the long term, it makes your nerves more sensitive.”

“And you have to smoke more cigarettes to calm your nerves?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, a vicious cycle of alcohol and cigarettes… This is the worst drug.”

“Which is why I named it the Pink Swamp.You’ll need a fly trap to catch flies.”

Henry didn’t get addicted because he was protected by the Venom’s Heart.

Henry handed over all the Pink Swamp he had put in the Subspace and said, “This amount should be more than enough and you’ll have some left over. Even if you make a lot of cigarettes, I will only be releasing them in small batches.”

“I already have high hopes for this.”

“Then let’s stop talking about cigarettes now… So, did you find any talented people to train as wizards?”

“I’ve gathered people who fit your criteria, but I ran into a little problem.”

“A problem?”

“Everyone is very talented, but they haven’t accepted doing this with their hearts yet. For example, they all came because of my summons, but they are reluctant to learn the power of a foreign nation.”

“I understand. They were all born and raised in Shahatra, so their values have been formed accordingly.”

Despite the king’s sudden insistence on change, the people had become accustomed to their way of life; this was why the king had a duty to guide the people in the right direction from the beginning.

“In particular, the young man with the highest-class talent is strongly rejecting it.”

“A highest-class talent? There’s such a person among the people you’ve gathered?”

“That’s right. He is by far the best among them.”

Henry had given Herarion a small crystal ball to use as a tool to assess the candidates’ potential to become fine wizards. If one put their hand on the crystal ball and succeeded in producing light, they had talent. Otherwise, the ball wouldn’t react at all. As for those who had high-class talent, the ball would glow with a specific color.

“The crystal ball was glowing purple.”

‘Purple!’

The purple light meant that the person had enough talent to work as an assistant of a first-class wizard right off the bat without going to the Magic Academy.

‘I heard there are talented people all over the continent, so I guess it’s true.’

Henry wanted that talented child because the probability of finding even one person who could draw out the purple light from the crystal ball was extremely low even among the students who entered the Magic Academy every year.

“Did you not tell them the conditions? If they choose to become a wizard, I promise them wealth and riches, far surpassing what they could have even if they saved up a lifetime.

“Of course I did, but unfortunately, that kid didn’t seem very interested in being rich.”

“By any chance, can I meet him right now?”

“Of course. I made him wait in the palace.”

Since they were talented people that Henry was looking for, Herarion kept them in the palace.

They were waiting for Khan’s order in a luxurious villa on one side of the palace, and when Herarion entered, everyone prostrated themselves with their forehead on the floor.

“Howl, raise your head.”

A young man that seemed to be around his twenties raised his head.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Howl was skinny, with tan skin and white hair, which was rare among the Shahatra people.

As Howl knelt, Herarion said, “This is him.”

Henry stared at Howl. A moment later, he couldn’t help but smile widely.

‘You really are a gem!’

Even to the naked eye, his talent appeared remarkable.

However, he was going to be extremely stubborn; Henry could tell from his face that he had a rebellious streak. Henry asked the young man to come forward and stand in front of him.

Howl didn’t openly show hostility because Herarion was there, but his eyes were very unfriendly when he looked at Henry.

Henry smirked once again.

‘You sure are spirited. It’s good though, it’ll be more fun teaching a guy like him.’

Rewarding someone before punishing them was the training method that Henry believed in.

“Your name is Howl, right? How old are you this year?” asked Henry.

“I’m 19 years old.”

“Soon you’ll be an adult. I heard that you have excellent talent, but you don’t want to become a wizard. May I ask why?”

“My dream is to become a great illusionist like High Priest Viram.”

“Why an illusionist? If you become a wizard, I promise you and your family a lifetime of riches.”

“I don’t need riches. My father is a hardworking shoemaker and my mother is an accomplished baker. My family can make a living even if I don’t learn the magic of the empire.”

“I see. You don’t have any desire for wealth. Then, I want to know why you’re interested in being an illusionist.”

Henry was curious and his pride was a little hurt because although Henry believed that while illusion was an excellent power, it was still inferior to magic.

“Have you ever heard of snow?” asked Howl.

“Snow?”

“That’s right. I read about it in a book and heard that it’s a cold white flower that falls from the sky.”

“...And?”

“I have never been outside of Shahatra since I was born, and this goes the same for my father and grandfather. That’s why I also have no intention of leaving Shahatra, but I still want to see snow.”

“So?”

“The priests told me that if you master illusion, you can see and feel everything in the world without having to leave Shahatra. So, I want to become a great illusionist and accomplish my dream of seeing snow.”

“I see.”

Howl’s answer was clear.

The young man’s reason for not wanting to become a wizard was simple, so Henry’s answer also had to be clear.

“Your Majesty,” asked Henry.

“Yes?”

“Have you ever seen snow before?”

“I’ve only read about it in books as well.”

“I see.”

Even the king of Shahatra had never seen snow.

This was a good opportunity.

Henry stomped twice.

Thud thud.

Flash!

With a flash of light, everyone in the room disappeared without a trace.