Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Revival Route
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I also visited the Magic Guild myself during my second loop and went through the entire process. At first, since I had no talent, I had to soak my hand in water for a full five months, suffering terribly.
“Um…… Your Highness?”
“Yeah?”
“But what’s ice?”
Huh? She doesn’t know what ice is?
“I’ve heard about it vaguely, but I’ve never actually seen it…….”
Rune trailed off and bowed her head deeply.
Hmm, look at that?
Just like now, I’ve trained Rune and turned her into a proper mage, fighting alongside her in the war against the otherworlders—this would be the third time already.
Yet, in all that time, this is the first time Rune has ever brought up that she “doesn’t know ice” herself.
Of course, not knowing what ice is isn’t particularly strange. The area around Emperlord never drops below freezing even in winter.
Anyway, new things happening are always welcome. There’s no better tonic for the mental health of someone who keeps regressing.
“Really? Then shall we experience it directly?”
I created a small piece of ice in my palm and thought.
No matter what I do, Rune will, on average, awaken to magic after about ten days of the water immersion ritual.
Of course, that’s still incredibly fast. Low-grade mages usually take around six months, mid-grade about three months, and a human with Arch Wizard talent awakens in about five days.
But the moment I lightly pressed the ice I made against Rune’s cheek.
“Eek!”
Startled, Rune shuddered and fell backward.
Crack!
At the same time, my arms locked onto something and caught her body as it tipped back.
“……Huh?”
Ice.
The water in the bucket where Rune had her hand immersed was completely frozen solid!
“Y-Your Highness! I can’t feel my hand!”
The stiffened Rune looked at me with a pitiful expression. I immediately summoned flames and began melting the ice.
“Stay still. I’ll melt it.”
Ugh, I need to melt this fast. She might get frostbite at this rate.
But if I crank up the heat recklessly, she could get burned. Of course, I could just heal it with recovery magic either way.
Yet the ice itself, not to mention the intense chill around it, was so extreme that a light flame wouldn’t melt it easily.
Good grief.
What is this chill?
Frostbite isn’t the issue here. If I’m not careful, her frozen hand could shatter from an external impact!
“Lania! Bring the Recovery Elixir right now! Something good for burns!”
I whipped my head toward the door and shouted, then immediately ramped up the heat to overpower the chill and the ice.
Psssh!
In an instant, steam erupted like an explosion, filling the room.
“Kyaa, kyaaak!”
“Sorry! Just hold on a bit!”
I pulled Rune’s reddened hand out of the bucket and immediately showered it with recovery and pain relief magic.
“Healing! Pain Killer!”
“Ugh…….”
Rune’s face, which had been tightly grimaced with eyes shut, finally relaxed a little.
Phew, that was close. I finally caught my breath.
“Ah, the pain…… the pain is gone. Thank you, Your Highness.”
Tears welled up in Rune’s eyes, but she forced a smile. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and shook my head.
“No. I should be the one thanking you.”
On the third day of the water immersion ritual, not only did she freeze the entire bucket solid, but she turned the area around it into a frozen wasteland in an instant!
What kind of talent is this? It’s never been this intense before.
Of course, in most cases, Rune grows into a powerful mage. But she’s never reached the level of an Arch Wizard who can wield Tempest with ease.
This time, though, she might break through that final limit. Who would’ve thought just touching ice to her cheek would cause such a change.
“Your Highness! What happened? What’s with all this steam?”
Lania burst through the door like a cannonball and entered the room. I let out a sigh and gave a brief explanation.
“Rune got a burn on her hand. I used recovery magic, but she needs additional treatment. She got frostbite and burns one after the other.”
“That’s serious. Miss Rune? Open your mouth. You need to drink this first.”
Lania directly poured the elixir into Rune’s mouth since she couldn’t use her hands. Then she opened another elixir vial tucked under her arms and poured it into the empty bucket.
“You need to soak your hands in the elixir for the next 30 minutes. Understood? Otherwise, you’ll have horrific scars on your entire hand for life.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
Rune immediately plunged her hands into the bucket and squeezed her eyes shut. I cast another pain relief spell on her and took a step back.
Who would’ve thought pressing ice to her cheek during the ritual would cause this reaction.
Wait a minute.
Could this awaken other aspiring mages too?
Shortening the water immersion period alone creates differences in a mage’s ultimate potential. Technically, the potential determines the immersion period……
Anyway, it’s worth a shot. If it works, in this tenth loop, I might see powerful mages raining down from the skies like a beautiful spectacle.
* * *
Unfortunately, no.
The very next day, I went straight to the Magic Guild in the heart of Emperlord and ran the test……
Phew.
Sadly, not a single aspiring mage showed the same dramatic change as Rune.
Boo hoo.
The anticipation was so high, the disappointment hits hard.
It means Rune alone is special. I thought I could deploy a mighty mage corps to block the otherworlder wave this time……
“Your Highness, I have something to tell you.”
I went to the training grounds to lift my spirits with some spectating, and Kyle came running up.
“Did you perhaps cause some kind of incident at the Magic Guild this morning?”
“Huh? Why?”
“I was in the shopping district until lunch, but suddenly rumors started spreading that Your Highness turned the Magic Guild upside down.”
“Already? It’s only been a few hours?”
“I don’t know the exact details of what happened, but word is spreading that you’ve stirred up something big again.”
“Big deal? I’ve been living so virtuously lately.”
“Whether it’s good or bad, a big deal is a big deal. Recall what you did recently in Verit.”
“I threw the lord into the underground prison and starved him for seven days.”
“Precisely nine days.”
“Seven or nine. Anyway, this time it’s nothing.”
“Really?”
His face is full of doubt. Well, every time I make a move, the whole empire flips upside down……
“It’s true. I even gave them helpful advice for the Magic Guild. It’s just a shame the results didn’t pan out. But I agreed to take in a few promising kids, so there won’t be any backlash.”
“The problem is the backlash has already started. But what do you mean by teaching promising children?”
“Like Rune, I’ll personally train a few. They’ll come to the mansion in about a month. Ah, you know who Rune is, right?”
“Of course. But magic…….”
Kyle pondered with a serious face before asking.
“Then, may I spread rumors that Your Highness isn’t harassing the Magic Guild but actually helping them?”
“Rumors? Using Gooseff Merchant Guild? It’d be great if you could, but is it necessary?”
“It’s best to steer public opinion positively. Of course, your reputation has improved thanks to the many achievements you’ve built, especially after treating His Majesty the Emperor and the Crown Prince recently, which has boosted your fame even more…….”
“Even more?”
“But some still hold grudges over your past actions or the way you turned Verit upside down and crushed Count Talisman mercilessly.”
“They’re mostly hereditary nobles anyway, right?”
“There are many in Emperlord who live off those hereditary nobles’ patronage. We shouldn’t give them any needless ammunition.”
He’s not wrong. I nodded without objection.
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you. By the way, does manipulating information—no, stirring public opinion—cost money? Want some budget?”
“No extra budget needed.”
Kyle gave a wry smile and shook his head.
“We can just quietly spread the word through merchants’ mouths. Of course, if something more serious happens, we’ll have to escalate the response.”
“Handle it well. Oh, and I have a separate request…….”
Just then, Davi raised his hand from afar in the training grounds and shouted.
“Your Highness! Perfect timing! Come over here!”
“Today’s my day off! No training!”
This guy, trying to slyly drag me in?
I planned to spend the whole day relaxing, planning the revival of the new territory, and casually watching the others train.
“It’s not training for you, Your Highness! Just a moment—help with a magic test!”
“Me? Why a test…… Huh? Magic?”
Magic? Now that piques my interest. But he might be tricking me into training this way.
“Today’s my day off from training. If it’s anything physical, absolutely not.”
As soon as I arrived at the training grounds, I issued the warning first. Davi nodded as if it were obvious.
“Of course. As I said, just assist with magic. Rinen!”
“Yes! Captain!”
A 15-year-old boy with a rugged look—goatee connecting to his sideburns—came running up, panting.
“You called, Captain? Ah, hello, Your Highness? Good afternoon!”
“Yeah, good afternoon. Training hard? Already wearing mid-grade magic armor?”
Rinen was already past low-grade and equipped with mid-grade magic armor. He grinned sheepishly and nodded.
“As the Captain said, I seem to have a knack for enduring heavy gear. I’ll train with all my might to be of help to Your Highness!”
“Good. Excellent.”
I smiled and turned to Davi. He nodded and patted Rinen’s shoulder.
“Right. Pause the magic armor adaptation training for now. Let’s do what I mentioned this morning.”
He handed Rinen a spear he’d been holding.
“What we’re doing now is a power test for Holy Lance.”
“Holy Lance? That exploding spear of light he uses…….”
“I’ve taken a few hits from it myself, but it feels closer to magic than a knight skill, so I thought we should test it that way too.”
Holy Lance, huh.
All I know is that Rinen used it to repel Count Talisman’s army that swarmed Verit Castle.
Come to think of it, I’ve only heard about it—I’ve never seen it in person.
“Sure, why not. You want me to block it with magic? Elemental magic? Or holy magic?”
“If possible, both, please.”
“Ah, wait! P-Please hold on a moment!”
Rinen suddenly jumped up and yelled.
“You don’t mean for me to throw a spear at His Highness right now, do you? How could I dare!”
“No, exactly that. But don’t just throw it—turn it into Holy Lance and throw it.”
“Eek!”
Rinen recoiled in horror. What’s with this reaction? It’s almost fun to tease him.
“Why so startled? Scared I can’t block it?”
“No, it’s not that…….”
“Or do you look down on me?”
“N-No way!”
“Then throw it without worry. Full power. Otherwise, you really are looking down on me.”
“Ugh…… Y-Yes! I’ll give it everything!”
The teary-faced Rinen turned and dashed to the center of the training grounds. I moved Kyle and Davi aside and prepared my magic.
First, a common mage wall spell.
Crack!
In an instant, an ice barrier rose in front of me.
A rectangular ice wall about 5 meters high, 4 meters wide, and two hand-spans thick in my estimation.
Known as ‘Ice Wall’.
Personally, I pursue mobile combat, so I rarely use defensive magic like this.
But most mages instantly deploy various wall spells to protect themselves. I glanced at Kyle, standing a bit away, and signaled.
“Kyle?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kyle then shouted toward Rinen in the distance.
“Rinen! Throw it!”
“U-Understood!”
About three seconds passed.
Kwach!
I heard the spear slamming into the wall from the other side.
At the same time, a flash burst beyond the ice wall, and shards of light pierced through, showering toward me.
Look at that?
The light passes through the wall?
Whumm!
But I already had Protection Magic up, so no issue. The light hitting my body fizzled out harmlessly.
“Youuuuur Highneeeeess! Are you alriiiiight?!”
Rinen’s wail echoed from afar. Kyle checked on me and cleared his throat lightly before replying for me.
“Don’t worry! His Highness is fine!”
“Oh! Thank goodness!”
“Stay put! The Captain’s checking!”
As Kyle said, Davi ran to the ice wall, inspected it, then poked his head toward me and asked.
“How was it? From the side, it looked like most of the light shards were blocked by the ice wall.”
“Some got through. With the protection spell, I couldn’t gauge the power well.”
“Hmm, I see. Clearly, its power is halved against magically created materials. It pierces through armor gaps, though.”
“You’ve taken it directly?”
“Not a direct hit. I deflected an incoming spear with my sword and caught the exploding light.”
“Impressions?”
“It’s no joke. Even with mid-grade magic armor, I felt intense pain and numbness.”
“Numbness? You, a knight master?”
“Not enough to immobilize me. But any average knight would be out of commission with one hit.”
“Fearsome. Though it seems weaker against magic…… Davi?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Get that kid a bunch of spears.”
“Got it.”
Davi grabbed a bundle of spears and ran to Rinen.
Meanwhile, I sidestepped the ice wall, switched attributes, activated a wind wall, and waved.
“Rinen! Throw again!”
“Ah…… Got it!”
Rinen received the new spear and once more formed Holy Lance, hurling it my way.
Swoosh!
This time, I could clearly see the incoming spear. It was a fully transparent wind wall, not opaque ice.
Crackle!
The moment the spear tip hit the wind wall, a dazzling flash scattered everywhere.
Sharp light shards like glass fragments.
One thing’s clear: far more shards pierced the wind wall toward me than with the ice wall.
Whoa, check this out?
They spread enough to cover not just me, but a pretty wide area.
Of course, the shards hitting my body fizzled out again. Not enough power to breach Protection Magic.
But seeing them scatter over 10 meters from my position……