Rise of the Strongest (1)"Sir Ian asked me to do him a favor by delaying the returning schedule of the emba.s.sy as soon as he disappears."
"Delay? Why?"
"He didn"t tell me the reason. I haven"t seen such illusion magic sir Ian had shown to us but I"m guessing it’s related to that. Even the Tower Lord was shocked for his new spell."
The main person who delayed the emba.s.sy"s returning plan, was the captain Oliver Raywood.
"There must be a serious reason that he had to use such high cla.s.s magic. I guess he needed some extra time to cover his problems."
The Crown Prince accepted Oliver"s suggestion. In the name of a successful council, he held many parties, and by using the soldiers" health issue as an excuse, he reduced the speed of the march. Furthermore, he took a rest whenever he had a chance.
"Hahaha! By my word, those Coldwood and Lo became silent! And consequently, I said to them "this magic is a unique magic of my country, so give us extra territory for distribution!" so then…."
Even though they were only about ten days away from the palace, he was delaying the march. At the relatively big village, he stopped the march and held a little party. Who? The Crown Prince, knights and soldiers.
"Hmmm…. I am repeating this too much, aren"t I?"
"Huh? N, not at all, your majesty. It doesn"t bother us at all. It is a true heroic story that pumps our heart in excitement. If you allow to, we want to hear it again and again."
The middle aged soldiers said so as representatives of the other soldiers. However they seriously enjoyed the Crown Prince"s success. If Ragnar had such a success, they wouldn"t be surprised as Ragnar used to be a man on a different level from the world, but it was totally different story for the Crown Prince.
"Is that so? Haha! Then I will keep talking. Where I had stopped? Ah! So I said to them that "this resource detecting magic is our very unique technology", so I asked them to "give us more territory!" the first time, they kept giving me excuses, so I…."
It was the kind of "vicarious satisfaction" to them. A few days ago, the Crown Prince was laughed at for his foolishness and uselessness. Although few felt he had changed, the majority underestimated him greatly. They thought he was just an untalented prince who was born in a good family luckily. However, such a man led the council and brought numerous advantages to their country. It was the Crown Prince Hayden, the idiot Crown Prince.
On the other hand, the 5th prince Ragnar, who watched such scenery from a distance, he left to a tent while grinding his teeth. It was the tent of the Tower Lord.
"Your highness."
The Tower Lord was reading some letter. As it was written in paper, it seemed that the letter was a secret report.
"Now what?"
Ragnar asked coldly. He knew this whole situation and council was originally planned by the Tower Lord. It was the plan for Ragnar, only. However, he couldn"t do anything. Only that idiot Crown Prince took advantage on this stage.
"And what I have told you before? Ian Page must be eradicated before he becomes more of a threat to us, didn"t I? And I have told this since years ago, am I wrong?"
"Indeed, you said that to me your highness."
"And what did you answer with whenever I told you about him? You gave me excuses that you will turn him into mine as a powerful weapon, so wait for a moment, didn"t you?"
"That is true, indeed."
"But, now what? Is Ian a useful weapon to me? He is a weapon that blocks our way and is destroying our plan."
Even at Ragnar"s sharp question, the Tower Lord kept his smile. While checking the report, he said gently.
"My apologies, this old man made the wrong decision. I should"ve dealt with him quickly, with haste. Who would expect him to create a magic that hadn"t existed before?"
According to the report, Ian"s illusion appeared at the Royal Palace as well. It meant that he made more than one of these superior illusions. Now he didn"t angry about him, rather respected him. Respect as a mage to another mage.
"Your highness, I won"t give you anymore excuses. I won"t guarantee anything this time. However, our waiting is over."
"Over?"
"I asked you to wait previously, and today is the last day for waiting. Everything is prepared now."
With the word, as the Tower Lord gestured, surprisingly, someone was revealed from the corner of the tent. Although the mysterious person"s whole face to body were covered by black robes and hoods, but the person had obvious a lady"s bodyline.
"Creating totally new spells, it is not only Ian Page that had such successes. Come on Helene. Greet our highness."
With his order, the lady with the black robe, the one who caused the entire maelstrom at the Eastern Great Gra.s.s Field by handing over the special illusion to the Shaman King, "Helene" revealed her face. Soon, she kneeled down and bowed to Ragnar.
"It…. honor….. greet ….. your….. highness…."
However, her voice was strange. It was slow and dull. Furthermore, her voice was very dark. Ragnar knew Helene very well. She used to be the arrogant one, didn"t she? Her current voice was totally out of her common character.
"Ah, I greet you. Hele…… What the….!"
Ragnar saw Helene"s eyes.
His heart was shocked.
He barely managed himself in not fainting.
Helene"s eyes weren"t human"s anymore.
"Y, your eye….?"
There were no white parts on her eyes.
Her eyes were full of black.
She looked like a devil from an old tale.
"Do not panic, my lord. She is still human, and my royal servant and now she is your royal servant."
As the Tower Lord gestured, she covered her face with the hood again. From her, no more arrogance nor any emotions were expressed.
"And that pesky pest mage friend will soon devote his life on you. So please forgive my previous mistakes generously."
During the previous 5 years, or maybe even more than that, the Tower Lord researched "Black Magic" secretly. The wild card of the Tower Lord, which he didn"t need in his former life, was about to revealed.
(ED Note: Guess Ian won"t have constant smooth sailings. Hopefully the TL will be exciting and won"t be just wrecked although he probably will just be steamrolled.)
About 7 days left until the emba.s.sy"s return, at the front of the Ivory Tower"s field, numerous mages, except the Tower Lord and Archmages who joined the emba.s.sy, had a.s.sembled at one place. Of course, Ian was there.
"This is the newest version of mana storage. In terms of the cla.s.s of a mage, this can store mana…… a lot. Around 6th cla.s.s I guess?"
"Vans", who used to be the novice engineer of the "Thram"s workshop" 5 years ago, was now an official engineer and regarded as the most talented young engineer in the workshop. He explained the new mana storage"s features.
"Honestly, since we don"t have any data higher than 5th cla.s.s, it is not guaranteed, but do you remember you asked for a test last time? At that time, this mana storage contained 90% of the Tower Lord"s mana very easily."
Vans" explanation was relayed to every mage who was gathered here. The giant device that was delivered to the front field of the Ivory Tower was a mana storage, the capacity was enhanced much more than the previous mana storage.
"B, but Sir Ian. Excuse my rudeness, as I know, I don"t know any hextech devices that requires this much mana storage. I wonder what is this for….. Y, you don"t need to tell me if it"s private!"
But still, Vans" face was full of curiosity. If he needed a huge amount of mana, than it is much cheaper, and compact to use multiple standard mana storages that were connected, rather than this needlessly giant storage.
"It"s been long time since I renewed my cla.s.s registration, and I will do it today."
"Cla.s.s registration?"
Cla.s.s registration.
Whenever an official mage of the Ivory Tower overcame his or her cla.s.s level, they registered their new current level. And Ian hadn"t done it with his full power. Hence, in record, Ian was officially known as only a 4th cla.s.s mage.
"Thanks to that, many rumors were circulating."
Some said he was hiding his full potential, and some said he just met his limitation. Many rumors were created, and most people agreed with second rumor. So, most of mages knew Ian Page as a 4th cla.s.s master, but no more than that. Still, he was the second strongest mage, so what he had achieved on the record was already great enough.
"Don"t other Archmages usually do cla.s.s registration by using multiple connected mana storage? As I know, the Tower Lord does it the same way…."
"I think I will need more than that."
"What?"
Ian didn"t reply to Vans anymore. Instead, he brought the giant mana storage at the middle of the field with his magic. Everyone"s eyes became round.
"I, is that even possible….?"
"I don"t think so."
The gathered mages started to make some noise. There was only one reason that they had gathered here. Ian suddenly claimed to do a cla.s.s registration. Although 5 years had pa.s.sed, Ian was still the "youngest" Archmage, the second of the Ivory Tower, and the idol of young mages.
*Smash!*
The giant storage could be seen by everyone now.
Ian put his hand on the storage.
"I am sure you guys already know why I am here. During the Archmage induction, I awakened the next level of magic. Now, I want to show my new achievement for my colleagues, firstly."
Ian had a short and powerful speech.
What kind of enlightenment gave a new level of magic to the mighty 4th cla.s.s mage? Precisely, how strong is he now? The mages" eyes were full of curiosity.
"Originally, it is manners to show this registration after the Tower Lord returns from the mission, but I can"t stop this excitement anymore. Hence, although I know this is rude, but I want to show my new achievement as soon as possible."
By Ian"s word, many mages nodded. They were mages. Mages were born with an inborn sense of curiosity and investment. All of them knew the excitement of stepping into a new level.
"So I hope you guys can understand my excitement, happiness, and acknowledge what I have experienced. Actually, I am sure you all will understand."
Ian was sure they would understand. It was the only sincere part of Ian"s speech. Before the Tower Lord came back, Ian would register his new level straight away.
"From now on, I am the strongest."