Chapter 428 – Recounting
The next day Damion was feeling fully recovered and he reactivated his various passive spells. With True Sight he could now see a person’s actual magic power, so seeing the advancement Elicia had made, or the level Mage Teft had actually reached was now as easy as focusing on them. Finding out that Elicia had achieved not only C Rank but had nearly reached the midpoint of C Rank was a surprise, but he knew she was determined not to be left behind, so she was pushing herself to catch up.
Mage Teft, however, greatly exceeded his expectations. The Wind mage had advanced to S Rank while he was attending Silver Spire Magic Academy, only a few years ago, but she had managed to raise her magic power to an impressive 1,754,903. A frightful number compared to Damon’s current level, but still a far cry from Mage Thresbane’s SS Rank which was over 5,000,000 magic power.
Despite his mother’s objections, Damion left their home and headed to the Atlantis council chambers. He had made a promise to Visneer and Visault to return, but before that could happen preparations had to be made, and he needed to work out the best way to actually help. Just going back as he was now would be no different than suicide. What the Iblis needed in their war with the Alfar was an advantage. The auto-mappers had given that to them, but there was still something that the artifact could not do, and that was actually fight. More than artifacts, the Iblis needed a manpower boost.
With the availability of S Rank Realm Breaches near Ardnet, Damion could not help but wonder why the Iblis did not simply train up S Rank mages. However, after fully considering that option he realized they probably were trying, but not every person had the talent or will to reach that height. To some extent reaching S Rank required an S Rank environment to train in, to be able to gather the required mana, but that was not all it took.
Too high of mana density was harmful to a person. If a D Rank with a body barely able to contain D Rank level mana wandered into a B Rank dungeon, or even a C Rank dungeon if they were truly weak, would result in them feeling like they were drowning. The mana density pressing down on them could cause permanent damage. Damion had the advantage of always having a body stronger than his Rank. This allowed him to enter Realm Breaches of higher Ranks without worry and be able to make use of the mana there, not every mage was so lucky, and the Iblis were no exception to this rule.
If the Iblis wanted to train an army, they had to do it step by step, just like everyone else. This meant that many of their trainees, in the process of rising in Rank, were often pulled from training to fill gaps in the lines created by casualties. Damion’s auto-mapper would make it easier for Visneer to accurately allocate his forces to counter the Alfar, but they still needed soldiers and even if they cut down losses in combat, they would still happen.
Damion’s solution to giving the Iblis an advantage was simple, go back to the Mother World with reinforcements.
Even a single S Rank would tip the balance of power in favor of the Iblis, but if Damion could bring more, then the Iblis would certainly be able to win the war sooner. However, he had to convince them to go and not just the S Ranks that had allied with Atlantis.
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There was also another difficulty he was trying to sort out. How was he to get everyone to the Mother World? Exile could of course bring them there, but sending a group of S Rank mages to a volatile area was foolish. The S Ranks of the Mother World avoided crossing the ruins of the human territory in fear of unleashing the hidden horde, dumping a group of S Ranks there would be disastrous.
As a Spatial mage, he could open a Portal back but given his struggle to open a Portal just for him, he was doubtful he was strong enough to Portal a group of high Rankers. Which left just one option, completing labyrinth. Now he just had to figure out how to convince the council it was possible.
“We are all happy and amazed by your safe return,” Mage Julia Levine, S Rank Lightning mage said, after Damion finished recounting his story for them, of course he made a few alterations since they were not aware of his multiple affinities. “When news spreads that Exile sends people to another world, the world of our ancestors no less, there will be disbelief, but most importantly, there will be attempts to replicate your feat. I think I speak for everyone on the council in accepting your account as fact, but no doubt many will doubt it, and this could potentially cause issues for the Mother World.”
Mage Levine’s comments received nods of agreement from other members of the council. There was no telling how the Mage Association would approach the situation, but it was certain that at some point they would attempt to prove Damion’s claims either true or false. That was not even mentioning what other knights and mages may do on their own. They hoped people would not be foolish enough to go to a place they had little hope of returning from, but they also knew people did not always make the most logical choices.
“Indeed,” Mage Fletcher, Nerotath’s only S Rank Spatial mage, said. The Spatial mage was eyeing Damion closely. There was one element to his story that did not entirely make sense, his Portal home. If the Iblis had never been to his house, which seemed quite likely, how did a Portal to there get opened? “I would like to ask, Mage Wells, did you open the Portal back to Nerotath or did the Iblis?”
“I opened the Portal, but without the extra mana supplied by Visneer, I likely would have failed.”
“Your skill with Portal has reached a high enough level to be able to open a gateway between worlds..." Mage Fletcher was a bit shocked. Even if Damion had received the assistance of the Iblis to make up for being short on mana, actually opening the Portal was still dependent on him.
“I was able to strengthen my Spatial affinity. The first time I tried to open a Portal was a dismal failure, but once I increased my affinity, I knew I would be able to open it. The only thing I was not sure of was if I would have enough mana.”
“That is truly impressive. Are you able to assist others in increasing their affinities?” Mage Strand asked.
The ability to increase another mage’s affinity would be the single greatest feat any mage could perform. The entire council was wondering just how Damion had done it and more importantly, if he could replicate it.
“I don’t think I would be able to do that. I used a Heavenly Spatial Enhancing Fruit while training. I think I was able to get more out of it than most people, but I don’t think I could replicate the process.”
“You told us before, about being Mage Picard and having multiple affinities,” Mage Chaparro said. “However, we never really discussed exactly what you are capable of. I think now is as good a time as any, for us to fully understand how talented you are.”
Damion swallowed hard. He knew this day would come eventually, the council wanting to know exactly how strong he was. Most had ignored or forgotten what had happened with the attempt to unleash a Demonic Beast wave inside Atlantis after the massive beast wave that hit the White Zones and Damion’s disappearance, but now, it seemed, answers were due and if he wanted to convince the S Rankers to head to the Mother World, it was best he gave them some.