Chapter 294 - Hatching (8)

Henry’s scream was unending—a high-pitched scream, filled with desperation.

But there was no way around it. No matter how much Elagon and the Saint were healing him, and no matter how many school heads were channeling their mana to ease his pain...

The price for jumping from the 7th-Circle to the 8th-Circle was bound to be great.

Henry’s scream filled the entire spire. Although he was at the top floor of the spire, his scream was echoing throughout the entire building, making it feel like his scream was coming from everywhere.

The wizards prayed in unison.

Although they were lower-level wizards, they still didn’t believe in any gods because they were wizards at the end of the day. However, they believed in Henry, who was trying to ascend and become a greater being, so they prayed to him as if he were their god.

Finally, when Henry’s scream reached its peak...

Crack!

Something shattered.

It was the pearl in Henry’s pocket. After it shattered, a grayish gas came from it, but none of the wizards, including Henry, noticed it.

Only the Saint picked up on it.

‘What is this energy?’

On the top floor of the Snow Spire, where the entire room should’ve been filled only with mana and her own divine power, Irenae sensed an additional divine power, which felt unfamiliar to her.

However, that divine power only manifested for a split second, and when Irenae tried to determine its nature, it was already long gone.

But just then...

“Ghhaaa!”

Flash!

As Henry’s scream continued, an emerald light flashed throughout the entire spire.

Pngggg-!

The light was so bright that everyone inside the spire was forced to close their eyes, and their ears were ringing as well.

By the time the blinding light went away, the seven wizards, the Saint, and Elagon could see a man with his head held high in the center of the magic circle.

It was Henry.

“A-Archmage...?”

After a moment of silence, it was Lore who mustered up the courage to speak first. He also spoke up first because he technically represented the rest of the wizards.

At that moment, Henry’s hair started to grow longer, and eventually grew all the way to the floor. The ink-black hair then changed to various colors and soon returned to its original length and hue.

Henry slowly lowered his head. His eyes had been closed this whole time, and when he opened them, the others could see his emerald-colored energy flowing in the depth of his pupils.

“Ha...” Henry let out a deep sigh of relief, one he had been anticipating through all that agonizing pain.

As he exhaled, the corners of his mouth rose at the unfamiliar refreshing sensation that coursed through him.

“Hehe.”

He was so pleased that he couldn’t help chuckling. From his fingertips to his toes, and from his head to his tailbone, there wasn’t an inch of his body that didn't feel refreshed.

The reason for this blissful sensation was his mana. He had felt this kind of mana from Nature scattered in the air before. However, now that he had once again become the only 8th-Circle Archmage on the continent, his mana wasn’t just ordinary mana, but the most valuable energy of the earth.

Thud-!

As Henry laughed, the seven school heads dropped to one knee and bowed. Lore spoke on their behalf.

“We are honored to meet the great Archmage, Henry Morris!”

“We are honored!”

The rest of the wizards followed suit.

The school heads had reached the 7th-Circle, something that they had long dreamed of. However, Henry had reached the 8th-Circle, which may also have been someone else’s dream.

They couldn’t help but worship him.

Like a comet, Henry had suddenly appeared one day as the sole disciple of the late Archmage, someone they didn’t even know existed, and had recreated Henry Morris’ miracle they so greatly admired.

“Everyone, get up.”

At Henry’s command, the wizards stood up in unison like soldiers. Their eyes had a hint of firm determination.

Seeing the determination within them, Henry rolled his shoulders back and said, “It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I think it’s better that I show you instead of explaining. Yes... Let me show you the power of Master’s 8th-Circle.”

“Ooh...!”

Demonstrating the power of the 8th-Circle was very meaningful. When he reached the 8th-Circle in his previous life, Henry had shown his students at the Magical Spire the power of his 8th-Circle only once.

The reason for that was simple—not only were there very few 8th-Circle spells to be found, but each of those spells were so powerful that they had to be used sparingly.

Therefore, Henry had demonstrated 8th-Circle magic only once as proof of his ascension, that too by summoning only the most powerful men in the empire.

‘Maybe that demonstration acted as the trigger.’

Great power came at a great cost, which was why Henry didn’t reveal the power of the 8th-Circle to everyone back then.

Of course, since the continent had already been unified as one empire, there was no need for such great power, but Henry swore that if the day came when that power was needed, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

Back when his comrades were dying and he himself was poisoned, he hadn’t used the magic of the 8th-Circle. At the time, Henry felt that using the incredible power of the 8th-Circle merely for a political fight was too self-centered.

‘I was stupid.’

Henry reflected on his past countless times, and every time he realized how soft, naive, and stupid he had been.

After finishing his thoughts, Henry lifted his hand above his head.

Znggg!

As he reached upward, the dome-shaped ceiling of his office started to split open from one side to another.

“Woahhh...!”

Henry hadn’t built the roof of the Snow Spire so that it could be opened, but he nonetheless opened it with ease.

Actually, the roof wasn’t opening, but slowly vanished to the side, as if it was being erased with an eraser.

Whoosh!

The top floor of the Snow Spire was the highest point in Salgaera, its roof higher than the snowy mountains. But now that the roof was gone, the biting winds of Salgaera swept in, brushing against everyone’s skin and hair.

However, everyone kept focusing on Henry, not paying attention to the wind.

Henry stared at the unwelcoming sky that was sending harsh winds.

“Good.”

From the beginning of time, Salgaera had always been the only place where harsh, unforgiving winter winds blew every day. That was why Salgaera was abandoned, serving only as a destination for exiles.

However, Henry had used this forsaken land as a springboard for his comeback. He had never resented these harsh winds. On the contrary, he had used them to his advantage.

But now, it seemed like Salgaera had finally served its purpose. This area had helped Henry enough to make his return, and now he no longer had any reason to hide here.

At last, it was Henry’s turn to repay the favor to the forsaken land of Salgaera.

He closed his eyes and raised his hands.

As if hugging a tree, Henry extended his hands and clasped them together, making a circle through which a faint green energy passed through.

Henry didn’t chant nor cast a spell. Instead, he sketched the magic in his head, using the same principles to start any other spells he had created in the past, and used his mana to manifest it into reality.

When all the conditions were met, his eyes widened and he raised his hands high above his head.

‘Weather Control.’

Boom!

The moment he chanted in his head the words to activate the spell, a beam of emerald-colored light shot into the sky from him.

The light didn’t disperse outward; instead, it shot up directly into the sky. The beam of light lasted for about five seconds, after which it slowly faded away.

Henry lowered his hands and clapped, the emerald-colored energy still flowing through his body.

Clap!

Then...

Whoosh—!

“...!”

“...!”

As soon as Henry clapped, the winds that had been fiercely blowing moments ago abruptly died down, just like a baby suddenly stopped crying.

The Salgaera skies had always been filled with dark, ominous clouds. All four seasons in this land were characterized by the bitter cold winds amplifying the heavy snowfall.

Thus, a clear sky was extremely rare in Salgaera. However, the dark clouds, the snowfall, and the vehement winds had disappeared, silence descending upon Salgaera.

“T-this spell is...!”

“I never thought I’d see this spell again in my lifetime...!”

Henry had just performed the same spell he had shown in his previous life after he had awakened the 8th-Circle—Weather Control.

As the name suggested, this spell allowed its caster to freely manipulate the weather.

Henry clasped his hands behind his back and turned around to see the seven wizards staring at him in awe. With a smile, he said, “Now that everything’s more or less ready, we’re going to have a meeting and devise a plan to take down Arthus.”

As Henry nonchalantly announced the next step in his plan, a rare ray of sunshine shone on him.

In response, the seven wizards once again got down on one knee, bowed, and said in unison, “Your wish is our command!”

***

There was only one day left in Arthus’ one-month period.

As promised, everyone showed up at Monsieur’s meeting hall one by one. This hall had been created after Monsieur had declared independence, ceasing to be just a free city, and it was also where the best craftsmen of every field, including Monsieur’s leader, Vulcanus, met and held their meetings.

Some people had arrived ahead of everyone else and were waiting, among them Von, McDowell, and Valhald.

“Hey, Ronan. I heard you’ve been locked up in a room training for a month, right?” asked McDowell.

“That’s right.”

“Then is it alright if I have high expectations for you?”

“Of course,” Ronan replied confidently with a smile.

Kington didn’t join.

He had been acknowledged as Ronan’s lieutenant, but he didn’t have enough recognition to attend such important meetings.

McDowell turned his attention to Faesiling’s trio, Allen, Walker, and Masila.

“How are you guys doing? Especially you, Allen. Your sword was completely wrecked, wasn’t it?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. My Vasilipo has become much stronger now,” Allen replied with fervor, pounding his chest on everyone’s behalf, showing off great confidence

“Is that so?”

Allen seemed genuinely confident.

As time went by, more major figures appeared one by one, among them Hector, Balak, Herarion, and Viram.

The atmosphere was cheerful, but it was also obvious that everyone had pushed themselves to the limit, training to grow significantly stronger in this past month.

When Saint Irenae, along with the representatives of the Holy City, and Vulcanus finally arrived, McDowell shrugged and said, “I think most of us are here... Except for the most important person.”

“I’m here,” responded Henry no sooner than McDowell had mentioned him.

Along with his reply, Henry appeared out of thin air as if he were casually walking through the front door. His appearance was subtle and quiet, unlike his usual way of teleporting with a sudden burst of bright light.

Henry appeared in the center of the meeting hall, where a lectern was located.

“It’s been a while, everyone. Let’s get right down to business, shall we?” said Henry enthusiastically.

Henry smiled in a carefree manner.

Seeing his expression, everyone in the hall could tell that he was no longer the same Henry of the past. They could tell he had ascended to a level that no one else would dare pursue.