Chapter 130: The Lightning Flame (3)
Chapter 130: The Lightning Flame (3)
The spirit’s lightning didn't intimidate Melkith, but it was an indication of an impending burst. Still, Melkith didn’t scream despite the fact that she got entangled in the explosion.
However, she was shocked. She knew how this explosion had occurred. The World Tree’s spirits, who were wandering about, had entered through the barrier’s cracks and turned into lightning. Due to the sudden increase in energy, the lightning flame had burst, unable to withstand the power.
‘…Is this even possible?’ Melkith wondered.
Recovering her posture ruined by the explosion, Melkith brushed the electricity off of her as if she was brushing off dust.
[It’s impossible.]
It wasn’t Levin who answered. It was Yhanos, the silent Earth Spirit King. It was really rare for him to speak, but he answered Melkith this time.
[Spirits can’t change their nature.]
Primal spirits existed in the wind, fire, earth, and so on. They didn’t have an ego; they were just another form of mana. However, primal spirits couldn’t really be used as mana. Primal spirits of earth were, in the end just earth spirits.
Melkith was also well aware of it. The basics of spirit summoning magic was to understand the nature of spirits. Even though they couldn’t be seen by ordinary people, they surely existed. A wind spirit could never become an earth spirit. An earth spirit could never become a flame spirit. A flame spirit could never become a water spirit…
“…The World Tree’s spirits,” Melkith muttered.
She turned back with a stiff expression. The young World Trees didn’t have a single scratch, despite the sudden explosion. She could sense the World Tree’s spirits dancing around the branches.
Trees also held spirits. However, spirit summoners didn’t really like them, because tree spirits had too many restrictions compared to other spirits. If the summoner called upon them in a forest, tree spirits were undeniably strong, but when they weren’t in a place with trees, they weren’t all that useful.
Even the World Tree was nothing else but a giant tree in the end. However…those spirits were quite different from tree spirits.
Melkith dryly laughed and looked forward.
Eugene was sitting still, just like before, but the lightning flame was no longer visible in his hand. Instead, the lightning had blended into the flames of the White Flame Formula that Eugene was circulating. It wasn’t ordinary lightning. It was spirit lightning… No, the World Tree’s spirit turned into lightning. There was no dissension between the lighting and the mana flame — it harmonized with the mana as if it had been a part of it in the first place.
The scattering embers conducted lightning.
[…It’s not a lightning spirit.]
Levin began to speak with difficulty.
[I don’t know what that lightning is. Even I can’t interfere with it.]
‘Then what in the world is that?’
[It’s hard to believe, but that boy…created a new spirit with his own power.]
Eugene was also surprised. The explosion had surprised him, and the fact that the lightning flame had disappeared also surprised him. He was again surprised to find that the World Tree’s spirits had turned into lightning.
[Unbelievable!]
Eugene was already shocked; as for Tempest, he couldn’t even stop yelling.
[Hamel! I never thought that this would be possible! You created a miracle that no spirit summoner or Spirit King ever could produce!]
Eugene didn’t bother to answer Tempest. Instead he was analyzing the change inside himself.
‘…It didn’t really disappear.’
He looked down at his empty hands.
‘The lightning flame is completely blended into my mana.’
[The thing you were squishing around was simply a lump of primal spirit…! However, the World Tree’s spirits answered your call and became new spirits!]
‘I know, so be quiet.’
Taking a deep breath, Eugene manipulated his mana.
Pzzz!
The more violent the flame became, the stronger the lightning became.
‘Was the lightning flame that much of a special material?’
No, that wasn't it. The change had started after the World Tree’s spirits had joined the equation.
He stood up from the ground. Then, he tried to sense the mana around him and the World Tree’s spirits, but the wandering spirits didn’t turn into lightning anymore.
‘Or else, was it because I’m special?’
The fact he had reincarnated was enough to make him feel special. As far as Eugene knew, no one else in this world had succeeded in reincarnating, other than himself.
‘Maybe they are keeping their mouths shut after they reincarnated.’
He wasn’t just special because he had reincarnated, he had also been special in his past life. Although he had been together with talented companions at the time, Eugene was nonetheless the Stupid Hamel who had killed three demon kings.
‘Mana mastery, the lightning flame, and the World Tree’s spirits.’
No, that wasn’t enough.
‘The Eternal Hole.’
It was the power that had made the lightning flame surrender.
‘The Red Flame Formula.’
Tempest babbled on and on, saying that this was a miracle. However, this was an inevitable result, not a miracle. All these factors had interlinked to create this result.
After reaching a conclusion, Eugene turned to Melkith and asked, “Lady Melkith, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Uh…uhhh. What?”
“Create another lightning flame for me.”
Melkith knew why he was asking for another. He wanted to test his hypothesis one more time.
“…I can do that but…” Melkith mumbled, but Eugene didn’t hear the end of her sentence.
He flew up and reached the tree branches that spread out energetically. Interestingly, he could now see which branches could be cut with no damage to the trees.
‘…I can see now.’
He couldn’t see them before, but the World Tree’s spirits were visible to his eyes now—they looked like an opaque haze. There were some branches that the spirits didn’t hover around. In other words, it was okay to cut those branches. Eugene cut one thick branch and came down. Watching him, Melkith unconsciously swallowed hard.
Although Tower Masters had high authority, even a normal fairy tree branch was very hard to get. Moreover, that branch was not just from an ordinary fairy tree, it was the World Tree’s branch! This material was as valuable as a dragon’s heart!
“In return, I will give you this.” Eugene spoke as if he was doing her a big favor.
Regardless, Melkith reached out her hands and received the World Tree’s branch.
“He…hehe…hehehe….hehehehe!”
Unable to hold in her excitement, Melkith laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. She was already using a fairy tree branch staff, but it was a refurbished one, while this piece was big enough to make a new one perfect for her.
“I will make you one. Yes, of course. I will make you one! I will return to Aroth tomorrow first thing…” Melkith excitedly spoke.
“Right now.”
“…Lady Ancilla told me she was going to prepare a party…”
“Give it back to me if you don’t want to.”
“Wh— when did I say no?! I actually don’t like parties. Parties…there aren’t many wizards who like parties. Yes, I am also a wizard. I like researching alone in a quiet place, rather than going to noisy parties.” Her voice was bright, but her face was crumpled.
She was lying through her teeth. Melkith was crazy about parties, but she didn’t want to give up on the World Tree branch in her hand right now.
In the end, Melkith returned to the Lionheart family’s warp gate, holding the World Tree’s branch in her arms as if it were her precious baby.
She only returned to the Lionheart house ten days later.
From the start, lighting ore was a rare material, and she had used up all the ore the White Tower had while making the first lightning flame. Therefore, Melkith had even searched the Bolero Street’s black market and emptied her personal wallet, not the White Tower’s, to buy a massive amount of lightning ore. Then, she had begged and given gifts to her subordinate alchemists, who had already pulled all-nighters to make the first lightning flame, to convince them to remake the flame.
“It’s bigger than the last one,” Melkith said.
She was telling the truth. The new lightning flame looked indeed bigger than the one before.
Eugene and Melkith walked through the same course — the main house, the forest, the elven village, and the three World Trees. Just like he had done ten days ago, Eugene sat before the box and grabbed the lightning with his hands.
The conditions were also the same — Melkith cast a barrier and Eugene controlled the lightning flame using the White Flame Formula.
“…Hmm.”
Some time passed as Eugene moved the lighting flame around.
“It’s not working.”
“…It seems like it,” Eugene said, putting down the lightning flame without any lingering feelings.
There had been reactions while he was interacting with the lightning flame. His flame-like mana had condensed the lightning flame, then made it expand. However, unlike before, Eugene’s mana hadn’t merged with the lightning flame, and no World Tree’s spirits had been attracted by it either.
“Why don’t you look disappointed?”
“I kind of saw it coming.”
Smacking his lips, Eugene touched the lightning flame with his finger.
“The change only happened once. That was how the lightning flame became my power. That’s all,” Eugene nonchalantly spoke.
“This change that happened to you… I, the grand spirit summoner Melkith El-Hayah, and the two Spirit Kings I have contracts with, can guarantee that there is no precedent in the history of spirit summoning.”
“Tempest told me the same thing too.”
Flick. As Eugene flicked his finger, the lightning flame got pushed away. When it did, the lightning flame shuddered and went back into the box where it originally was.
“I did a lot of tests these past ten days.” Eugene stood up from his seat and dusted off his pants. “A new kind of spirit was created inside me, and its attribute is lightning. However, it’s not a lightning spirit.”
They walked through the woods.
“Will the spirits get bigger little by little? Or will more World Tree spirits turn into these new spirits? I was curious. Therefore, I lived in this forest for ten days and sensed the spirits nonstop, but… The World Tree’s spirits didn’t turn into new spirits anymore.”
Squinting his eyes, Eugene looked at the trees in the forest. The World Tree’s spirits were flying between the trees as if they were teasing Eugene.
“I feel like they want to annoy me.”
“…Annoy you? The spirits?” Melkith dumbfoundedly asked.
“Yes, they are gesturing for me to come, but they don’t come to me when I get close. But, they don't really run away either. They are definitely close by, but I can’t touch them.”
“…The spirits don’t really have physical bodies, you know?”
“In any case, those damn bastards don’t answer any of my requests.”
Chuckling, Eugene raised his finger.
Pzz.
Lightning shot forth from the tip of his finger. Melkith dropped her jaw and turned to the direction in which Eugene had shot the lightning. The electricity was still flowing in the scorched land.
“…Unbelievable,” Melkith murmured, calming down her shock. “The lightning spirit — no, your mana itself is holding the lightning. Do you know what that means?”
“It means it’s entirely different from spirit-summoning magic or normal magic.”
“It’s also different from martial arts! Mana is just mana. In order to transform it into anything, it first needs to be changed into magic using a spell or martial technique.”
The primal spirits didn’t have egos. This also applied to the World Tree’s spirits — they were primal spirits that happened to live in the World Tree, that was all.
“Primal spirits are the essence of all spirits and another form of mana. They exist everywhere as long as spirits exist, but it doesn’t lose itself even in front of the higher-class spirits.”
Melkith swallowed hard.
The reason why she had made the lightning flame was to help Eugene make a contract with the lightning spirit himself. He had failed to sign a contract, but he didn’t need to anymore. The lightning was flowing in his body now. There wasn’t really any need to contact the spirits anymore.
"...Although the lightning is mixed with your mana, its attribute didn't change. Shall I be honest? I want to pin you down and dissect you right this second. I'm certain that any spirit summoner would want to do the same. No, every single wizard in this world would think the same.”
“Please leave it to your imagination. Don't try it.”
“I'm curious.” Feeling a thrill traveling down her spine, Melkith’s eyes sparkled. “What can you do with that unique power of yours?”
“I have been conducting some experiments…”
These ten days, Eugene had tried many things. No new World Tree spirits were attracted by the lightning in his body. This hadn’t changed after he used the second lightning flame.
This lightning was now completely blended with his mana. It wasn't depletable anymore. Just as mana recharged after a while, the lightning also recharged. Every time Eugene made progress in the White Flame Formula, his lightning would also get stronger.
In other words, his mana and his lightning were one and the same, in a sense. Whether his mana was imbued with the spirits of lightning or otherwise, it didn't make much of a difference to Eugene — in any case, his mana was now buzzing and gave him a tingling feeling. Just as he could 'shoot out' mana, he was now able to shoot out lightning. He could even imbue his blazing sword force with the lightning attribute.
The lightning amplified his power, and this also applied to the White Flame Formula itself.
His White Flame Formula was grafted onto the Eternal Hole. He spun his Cores in a Circle, blasted them apart, remade the pieces into countless smaller Cores, and made those tiny Cores spin and explode once more. Now, lighting was added to the explosion, making it stronger and the mana flow more violent. It taxed Eugene's body, just like when he used Ignition, but his Cores didn't overload.
“I'm not really used to it yet.” Eugene inhaled and exhaled deeply. He continued to breathe like that for a while.
Melkith was filled with excitement as she watched Eugene. Soon, she realized that Eugene's face stiffened as he breathed. It wasn't just his face; his whole body was tense. Melkith had never properly learned martial arts, but she knew what this meant.
‘…Is he nervous?’ Melkith thought. It was strange. She had witnessed the battle between Eugene and the Green Tower Master, and she had been with Eugene before the fight had taken place. As they were riding to the Green Tower plaza, Melkith and Mer had been worried about Eugene, thinking of the upcoming battle.
However, there hadn’t been the slightest hint of nervousness on Eugene's face. Even in the carriage, he had been relaxed. He hadn’t been scared in the slightest at the perspective of fighting against an Archwizard at the Eighth Circle.
He had been the same when he had left the carriage, and indeed when the battle started as well. He had just moved naturally and won the fight.
“Hey… You are not mistaking something, are you?” Melkith cautiously asked. “I did ask what you can do with that power, but that doesn’t mean that I want to fight you, you know?”
Melkith thought, 'Is that kid going to pounce at me? Did he misunderstand me? He's young, that is possible.'
However, Eugene didn't answer Melkith's question. He just glared forward as he frowned. The reason for his nervousness was simple.
‘I don't want to embarrass myself…’ Eugene thought.
Of course, he had no intention to fight Melkith. This nervousness was solely due to himself, due to psychological reasons. After taking several deep breaths, Eugene operated the White Flame Formula. When he put one foot forward, electricity sparked.
Boom!
Seeing what just happened before her eyes, Melkith’s jaw dropped. Like lightning… Yes, the thing just now was like lightning.
No, not like. Eugene really had become lightning just now. That was the only possible description given how he was fast and explosively powerful. The problem was that even Eugene couldn't perfectly control the ridiculous velocity.
“…Are you okay?” Melkith stutteringly asked as she approached Eugene.
He had sprung forth, becoming a bolt of lightning and came to a halt after he crashed into some trees. The way he had stopped wasn't really neat. The furrows behind his dragging feet were clearly visible. His posture was also unstable.
“…Hmm.” Eugene cleared his throat.
That was why he had been nervous. As a person who had all the memories from his past life, Eugene was unbearably embarrassed with himself for failing to control his power and getting dragged away by his power.
“Ah… This is… Huh… Woah…”
“Can you hear me? Are you alright?”
“Of course, of course. I’m alright. It doesn't even hurt, you know? You have seen it too, White Tower Master,” Eugene spoke at a fast pace.
“…Yes, I have seen. You were really fast. You were like a lightningman.”
He wasn’t injured. Well, of course he wasn’t; he had sprung forth with an aura shield all over his body. It was just that his feelings were hurt.
‘My speed is slower than when I use Ignition.’
Ignition not only overloaded the Core, but it also overloaded the body. That was why he could properly control its power.
However, this ‘lightning’ only caused mana to explode faster. Eugene’s mana control was nothing short of spectacular, but it was still hard to put the brakes on himself. It was easy to amplify the power of an attack by mixing some lightning into it. On the other hand, it wasn’t easy to move around as he circulated this fierce mana through his entire body.
“…Hmm.” Stroking her chin, Melkith was buried in thoughts. “Since it’s not ordinary mana… Why don’t you just use it for magic and stop mixing it in when you use martial arts?”
“That would feel like I’m wasting it.”
Magic was charming. The more he studied, the more things he could achieve that were impossible if he just used martial arts.
However, that didn’t mean Eugene was going to give up on martial arts.
“Besides, it’s not that easy to use it for magic,” Eugene tousled his hair.
“The nature of mana changed so… This is unprecedented, so I can’t give you any advice.”
“Well, then I have no choice. I have to get used to Lightning Flash…”
“Lightning Flash?”
Eugene just blurted it out, but Melkith didn’t miss it and asked, “Did you name it?”
“….”
“So, what you have just used was the Lightning Flash of the White Flame Formula… Is it something along this line?”
Eugene didn’t answer.
“Or is it the Lightning Flash Formula? The Lightning Flash White Flame Formula? The Lightning Flash Flame Formula? The White Flame Lightning Flash Formula?” Melkith kept teasing Eugene.
“Be quiet.”
“Isn’t your face a bit red? Are you embarrassed about naming your skills? Hey, there’s nothing to worry about, you know? It’s a person’s right to name the skill they made,” Melkith proudly said. “Every wizard has such dilemmas… They created this really cool magic, but they have a hard time coming up with a cool name for the magic. And the name is a tricky thing. The name might look cool to the person who named it, but it might sound embarrassing and lousy to everyone else, right?”
The corners of Melkith’s lips perked up.
Eugene remained silent.
“But it feels like the creator is belittling his own skill to use an ordinary name… If the name is too fancy, then it’s embarrassing to tell it to another… Umm, I know it very well. Didn’t I tell you? Every wizard has those dilemmas, okay?”
“Okay, so…”
“I think the name Lightning Flash is fine. No, it’s actually a bit too normal. How about Fire Thunder? Or Thunder Fire. Do they sound tacky? Firebolt… Thunderflame…”
“Magic!” Eugene shouted.
Melkith snickered as she turned to Eugene. “What magic?”
“I will show you magic,” Eugene answered.
He frowned as he lifted his cloak to take out Akasha. However, it wasn’t just Akasha that came out from the cloak.
“…”
Eugene stared at Mer, who was hugging Akasha while desperately holding in her laughter. Looking at the sniggering child, he felt as if Sienna was smirking at him. He rapped Mer’s head without realizing it.
“Why are you hitting me?!” Mer bristled up.
“Your smile was annoying.”
“I think the name Lightning Flash is really cool. When I heard that simple and intuitive name, I can feel that your naming skill has really improved,” Mer soon spoke with a sly smile on her face.
“Naming skill?” Melkith repeated Mer’s words.
With vengeful wrath, Mer continued, “Isn’t it a much better name compared to names like Asura Rampage, Poltergeist Aegis, Dead End, Thousand Thunderclaps, and Lightning Counter?
“What kind of idiot comes up with such embarrassing names? Well, at least Thousand Thunderclaps and Lightning Counter sound pretty okay. They sound like lightning.” Melkith chimed in to tease Eugene.
“Shut up, please.” Eugene clenched his teeth.
Calming his irritation, he held Akasha up while shoving Mer, who was still hanging onto Akasha, back into the cloak.
“Go inside!”
“Sir Eugene, how about Lightning Asura?” Mer mockingly asked.
“Shut up!”
Eugene no longer wanted to have a conversation regarding this topic. After freeing himself from all ideas and thoughts, he settled down to concentrate and recall a formula. The formula was then converted into a spell.
The crackling lightning flame twirled around Eugene’s body, descending upon the ground. At the same time, Eugene’s body floated up into the sky. Lighting covered the ground below him, merrily dancing around.
“…You…” Melkith stammered. She had lost count of the number of times she got surprised today. As her face turned pale, she shook her head. “Monster…!”
It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was enough for Melkith to recognize what Eugene was doing. She knew what spell Eugene was casting. This particular piece of magic had been created by the Green Tower Master Jeneric Osman while he was trying to create a signature spell for himself.
The Divine Tree.
‘Did he copy it by just looking at it?’
It was not remotely on the same level as copying the magic patterns engraved on a cake. Since Eugene had never seen the Divine Tree formula, it was impossible for him to randomly mimic it.
“Well, he’s scratching the surface…”
Divine Tree was technically a Sixth Circle spell, but the level of difficulty was actually too high for Sixth Circle wizards to try it. The only reason why he could cast it was that he understood the magic through Akasha and was assisted by Mer.
“…That magic… You better not use that,” Melkith murmured, shaking her head. “If the Green Tower Master finds out you learned the Divine Tree without his permission, he will kill you no matter what, reputation and dignity be damned.”
“Of course, he would try.” Scattering the formula away, Eugene snorted. “I just used it once for you to see, anyway. I’m not planning on using this kind of crappy magic. ”
Thanks to the Divine Tree, Eugene could shut Melkith up.
“Crappy magic…”
Melkith dryly laughed and shook her head again.
The spirit’s lightning didn't intimidate Melkith, but it was an indication of an impending burst. Still, Melkith didn’t scream despite the fact that she got entangled in the explosion.
However, she was shocked. She knew how this explosion had occurred. The World Tree’s spirits, who were wandering about, had entered through the barrier’s cracks and turned into lightning. Due to the sudden increase in energy, the lightning flame had burst, unable to withstand the power.
‘…Is this even possible?’ Melkith wondered.
Recovering her posture ruined by the explosion, Melkith brushed the electricity off of her as if she was brushing off dust.
[It’s impossible.]
It wasn’t Levin who answered. It was Yhanos, the silent Earth Spirit King. It was really rare for him to speak, but he answered Melkith this time.
[Spirits can’t change their nature.]
Primal spirits existed in the wind, fire, earth, and so on. They didn’t have an ego; they were just another form of mana. However, primal spirits couldn’t really be used as mana. Primal spirits of earth were, in the end just earth spirits.
Melkith was also well aware of it. The basics of spirit summoning magic was to understand the nature of spirits. Even though they couldn’t be seen by ordinary people, they surely existed. A wind spirit could never become an earth spirit. An earth spirit could never become a flame spirit. A flame spirit could never become a water spirit…
“…The World Tree’s spirits,” Melkith muttered.
She turned back with a stiff expression. The young World Trees didn’t have a single scratch, despite the sudden explosion. She could sense the World Tree’s spirits dancing around the branches.
Trees also held spirits. However, spirit summoners didn’t really like them, because tree spirits had too many restrictions compared to other spirits. If the summoner called upon them in a forest, tree spirits were undeniably strong, but when they weren’t in a place with trees, they weren’t all that useful.
Even the World Tree was nothing else but a giant tree in the end. However…those spirits were quite different from tree spirits.
Melkith dryly laughed and looked forward.
Eugene was sitting still, just like before, but the lightning flame was no longer visible in his hand. Instead, the lightning had blended into the flames of the White Flame Formula that Eugene was circulating. It wasn’t ordinary lightning. It was spirit lightning… No, the World Tree’s spirit turned into lightning. There was no dissension between the lighting and the mana flame — it harmonized with the mana as if it had been a part of it in the first place.
The scattering embers conducted lightning.
[…It’s not a lightning spirit.]
Levin began to speak with difficulty.
[I don’t know what that lightning is. Even I can’t interfere with it.]
‘Then what in the world is that?’
[It’s hard to believe, but that boy…created a new spirit with his own power.]
Eugene was also surprised. The explosion had surprised him, and the fact that the lightning flame had disappeared also surprised him. He was again surprised to find that the World Tree’s spirits had turned into lightning.
[Unbelievable!]
Eugene was already shocked; as for Tempest, he couldn’t even stop yelling.
[Hamel! I never thought that this would be possible! You created a miracle that no spirit summoner or Spirit King ever could produce!]
Eugene didn’t bother to answer Tempest. Instead he was analyzing the change inside himself.
‘…It didn’t really disappear.’
He looked down at his empty hands.
‘The lightning flame is completely blended into my mana.’
[The thing you were squishing around was simply a lump of primal spirit…! However, the World Tree’s spirits answered your call and became new spirits!]
‘I know, so be quiet.’
Taking a deep breath, Eugene manipulated his mana.
Pzzz!
The more violent the flame became, the stronger the lightning became.
‘Was the lightning flame that much of a special material?’
No, that wasn't it. The change had started after the World Tree’s spirits had joined the equation.
He stood up from the ground. Then, he tried to sense the mana around him and the World Tree’s spirits, but the wandering spirits didn’t turn into lightning anymore.
‘Or else, was it because I’m special?’
The fact he had reincarnated was enough to make him feel special. As far as Eugene knew, no one else in this world had succeeded in reincarnating, other than himself.
‘Maybe they are keeping their mouths shut after they reincarnated.’
He wasn’t just special because he had reincarnated, he had also been special in his past life. Although he had been together with talented companions at the time, Eugene was nonetheless the Stupid Hamel who had killed three demon kings.
‘Mana mastery, the lightning flame, and the World Tree’s spirits.’
No, that wasn’t enough.
‘The Eternal Hole.’
It was the power that had made the lightning flame surrender.
‘The Red Flame Formula.’
Tempest babbled on and on, saying that this was a miracle. However, this was an inevitable result, not a miracle. All these factors had interlinked to create this result.
After reaching a conclusion, Eugene turned to Melkith and asked, “Lady Melkith, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Uh…uhhh. What?”
“Create another lightning flame for me.”
Melkith knew why he was asking for another. He wanted to test his hypothesis one more time.
“…I can do that but…” Melkith mumbled, but Eugene didn’t hear the end of her sentence.
He flew up and reached the tree branches that spread out energetically. Interestingly, he could now see which branches could be cut with no damage to the trees.
‘…I can see now.’
He couldn’t see them before, but the World Tree’s spirits were visible to his eyes now—they looked like an opaque haze. There were some branches that the spirits didn’t hover around. In other words, it was okay to cut those branches. Eugene cut one thick branch and came down. Watching him, Melkith unconsciously swallowed hard.
Although Tower Masters had high authority, even a normal fairy tree branch was very hard to get. Moreover, that branch was not just from an ordinary fairy tree, it was the World Tree’s branch! This material was as valuable as a dragon’s heart!
“In return, I will give you this.” Eugene spoke as if he was doing her a big favor.
Regardless, Melkith reached out her hands and received the World Tree’s branch.
“He…hehe…hehehe….hehehehe!”
Unable to hold in her excitement, Melkith laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. She was already using a fairy tree branch staff, but it was a refurbished one, while this piece was big enough to make a new one perfect for her.
“I will make you one. Yes, of course. I will make you one! I will return to Aroth tomorrow first thing…” Melkith excitedly spoke.
“Right now.”
“…Lady Ancilla told me she was going to prepare a party…”
“Give it back to me if you don’t want to.”
“Wh— when did I say no?! I actually don’t like parties. Parties…there aren’t many wizards who like parties. Yes, I am also a wizard. I like researching alone in a quiet place, rather than going to noisy parties.” Her voice was bright, but her face was crumpled.
She was lying through her teeth. Melkith was crazy about parties, but she didn’t want to give up on the World Tree branch in her hand right now.
In the end, Melkith returned to the Lionheart family’s warp gate, holding the World Tree’s branch in her arms as if it were her precious baby.
She only returned to the Lionheart house ten days later.
From the start, lighting ore was a rare material, and she had used up all the ore the White Tower had while making the first lightning flame. Therefore, Melkith had even searched the Bolero Street’s black market and emptied her personal wallet, not the White Tower’s, to buy a massive amount of lightning ore. Then, she had begged and given gifts to her subordinate alchemists, who had already pulled all-nighters to make the first lightning flame, to convince them to remake the flame.
“It’s bigger than the last one,” Melkith said.
She was telling the truth. The new lightning flame looked indeed bigger than the one before.
Eugene and Melkith walked through the same course — the main house, the forest, the elven village, and the three World Trees. Just like he had done ten days ago, Eugene sat before the box and grabbed the lightning with his hands.
The conditions were also the same — Melkith cast a barrier and Eugene controlled the lightning flame using the White Flame Formula.
“…Hmm.”
Some time passed as Eugene moved the lighting flame around.
“It’s not working.”
“…It seems like it,” Eugene said, putting down the lightning flame without any lingering feelings.
There had been reactions while he was interacting with the lightning flame. His flame-like mana had condensed the lightning flame, then made it expand. However, unlike before, Eugene’s mana hadn’t merged with the lightning flame, and no World Tree’s spirits had been attracted by it either.
“Why don’t you look disappointed?”
“I kind of saw it coming.”
Smacking his lips, Eugene touched the lightning flame with his finger.
“The change only happened once. That was how the lightning flame became my power. That’s all,” Eugene nonchalantly spoke.
“This change that happened to you… I, the grand spirit summoner Melkith El-Hayah, and the two Spirit Kings I have contracts with, can guarantee that there is no precedent in the history of spirit summoning.”
“Tempest told me the same thing too.”
Flick. As Eugene flicked his finger, the lightning flame got pushed away. When it did, the lightning flame shuddered and went back into the box where it originally was.
“I did a lot of tests these past ten days.” Eugene stood up from his seat and dusted off his pants. “A new kind of spirit was created inside me, and its attribute is lightning. However, it’s not a lightning spirit.”
They walked through the woods.
“Will the spirits get bigger little by little? Or will more World Tree spirits turn into these new spirits? I was curious. Therefore, I lived in this forest for ten days and sensed the spirits nonstop, but… The World Tree’s spirits didn’t turn into new spirits anymore.”
Squinting his eyes, Eugene looked at the trees in the forest. The World Tree’s spirits were flying between the trees as if they were teasing Eugene.
“I feel like they want to annoy me.”
“…Annoy you? The spirits?” Melkith dumbfoundedly asked.
“Yes, they are gesturing for me to come, but they don’t come to me when I get close. But, they don't really run away either. They are definitely close by, but I can’t touch them.”
“…The spirits don’t really have physical bodies, you know?”
“In any case, those damn bastards don’t answer any of my requests.”
Chuckling, Eugene raised his finger.
Pzz.
Lightning shot forth from the tip of his finger. Melkith dropped her jaw and turned to the direction in which Eugene had shot the lightning. The electricity was still flowing in the scorched land.
“…Unbelievable,” Melkith murmured, calming down her shock. “The lightning spirit — no, your mana itself is holding the lightning. Do you know what that means?”
“It means it’s entirely different from spirit-summoning magic or normal magic.”
“It’s also different from martial arts! Mana is just mana. In order to transform it into anything, it first needs to be changed into magic using a spell or martial technique.”
The primal spirits didn’t have egos. This also applied to the World Tree’s spirits — they were primal spirits that happened to live in the World Tree, that was all.
“Primal spirits are the essence of all spirits and another form of mana. They exist everywhere as long as spirits exist, but it doesn’t lose itself even in front of the higher-class spirits.”
Melkith swallowed hard.
The reason why she had made the lightning flame was to help Eugene make a contract with the lightning spirit himself. He had failed to sign a contract, but he didn’t need to anymore. The lightning was flowing in his body now. There wasn’t really any need to contact the spirits anymore.
"...Although the lightning is mixed with your mana, its attribute didn't change. Shall I be honest? I want to pin you down and dissect you right this second. I'm certain that any spirit summoner would want to do the same. No, every single wizard in this world would think the same.”
“Please leave it to your imagination. Don't try it.”
“I'm curious.” Feeling a thrill traveling down her spine, Melkith’s eyes sparkled. “What can you do with that unique power of yours?”
“I have been conducting some experiments…”
These ten days, Eugene had tried many things. No new World Tree spirits were attracted by the lightning in his body. This hadn’t changed after he used the second lightning flame.
This lightning was now completely blended with his mana. It wasn't depletable anymore. Just as mana recharged after a while, the lightning also recharged. Every time Eugene made progress in the White Flame Formula, his lightning would also get stronger.
In other words, his mana and his lightning were one and the same, in a sense. Whether his mana was imbued with the spirits of lightning or otherwise, it didn't make much of a difference to Eugene — in any case, his mana was now buzzing and gave him a tingling feeling. Just as he could 'shoot out' mana, he was now able to shoot out lightning. He could even imbue his blazing sword force with the lightning attribute.
The lightning amplified his power, and this also applied to the White Flame Formula itself.
His White Flame Formula was grafted onto the Eternal Hole. He spun his Cores in a Circle, blasted them apart, remade the pieces into countless smaller Cores, and made those tiny Cores spin and explode once more. Now, lighting was added to the explosion, making it stronger and the mana flow more violent. It taxed Eugene's body, just like when he used Ignition, but his Cores didn't overload.
“I'm not really used to it yet.” Eugene inhaled and exhaled deeply. He continued to breathe like that for a while.
Melkith was filled with excitement as she watched Eugene. Soon, she realized that Eugene's face stiffened as he breathed. It wasn't just his face; his whole body was tense. Melkith had never properly learned martial arts, but she knew what this meant.
‘…Is he nervous?’ Melkith thought. It was strange. She had witnessed the battle between Eugene and the Green Tower Master, and she had been with Eugene before the fight had taken place. As they were riding to the Green Tower plaza, Melkith and Mer had been worried about Eugene, thinking of the upcoming battle.
However, there hadn’t been the slightest hint of nervousness on Eugene's face. Even in the carriage, he had been relaxed. He hadn’t been scared in the slightest at the perspective of fighting against an Archwizard at the Eighth Circle.
He had been the same when he had left the carriage, and indeed when the battle started as well. He had just moved naturally and won the fight.
“Hey… You are not mistaking something, are you?” Melkith cautiously asked. “I did ask what you can do with that power, but that doesn’t mean that I want to fight you, you know?”
Melkith thought, 'Is that kid going to pounce at me? Did he misunderstand me? He's young, that is possible.'
However, Eugene didn't answer Melkith's question. He just glared forward as he frowned. The reason for his nervousness was simple.
‘I don't want to embarrass myself…’ Eugene thought.
Of course, he had no intention to fight Melkith. This nervousness was solely due to himself, due to psychological reasons. After taking several deep breaths, Eugene operated the White Flame Formula. When he put one foot forward, electricity sparked.
Boom!
Seeing what just happened before her eyes, Melkith’s jaw dropped. Like lightning… Yes, the thing just now was like lightning.
No, not like. Eugene really had become lightning just now. That was the only possible description given how he was fast and explosively powerful. The problem was that even Eugene couldn't perfectly control the ridiculous velocity.
“…Are you okay?” Melkith stutteringly asked as she approached Eugene.
He had sprung forth, becoming a bolt of lightning and came to a halt after he crashed into some trees. The way he had stopped wasn't really neat. The furrows behind his dragging feet were clearly visible. His posture was also unstable.
“…Hmm.” Eugene cleared his throat.
That was why he had been nervous. As a person who had all the memories from his past life, Eugene was unbearably embarrassed with himself for failing to control his power and getting dragged away by his power.
“Ah… This is… Huh… Woah…”
“Can you hear me? Are you alright?”
“Of course, of course. I’m alright. It doesn't even hurt, you know? You have seen it too, White Tower Master,” Eugene spoke at a fast pace.
“…Yes, I have seen. You were really fast. You were like a lightningman.”
He wasn’t injured. Well, of course he wasn’t; he had sprung forth with an aura shield all over his body. It was just that his feelings were hurt.
‘My speed is slower than when I use Ignition.’
Ignition not only overloaded the Core, but it also overloaded the body. That was why he could properly control its power.
However, this ‘lightning’ only caused mana to explode faster. Eugene’s mana control was nothing short of spectacular, but it was still hard to put the brakes on himself. It was easy to amplify the power of an attack by mixing some lightning into it. On the other hand, it wasn’t easy to move around as he circulated this fierce mana through his entire body.
“…Hmm.” Stroking her chin, Melkith was buried in thoughts. “Since it’s not ordinary mana… Why don’t you just use it for magic and stop mixing it in when you use martial arts?”
“That would feel like I’m wasting it.”
Magic was charming. The more he studied, the more things he could achieve that were impossible if he just used martial arts.
However, that didn’t mean Eugene was going to give up on martial arts.
“Besides, it’s not that easy to use it for magic,” Eugene tousled his hair.
“The nature of mana changed so… This is unprecedented, so I can’t give you any advice.”
“Well, then I have no choice. I have to get used to Lightning Flash…”
“Lightning Flash?”
Eugene just blurted it out, but Melkith didn’t miss it and asked, “Did you name it?”
“….”
“So, what you have just used was the Lightning Flash of the White Flame Formula… Is it something along this line?”
Eugene didn’t answer.
“Or is it the Lightning Flash Formula? The Lightning Flash White Flame Formula? The Lightning Flash Flame Formula? The White Flame Lightning Flash Formula?” Melkith kept teasing Eugene.
“Be quiet.”
“Isn’t your face a bit red? Are you embarrassed about naming your skills? Hey, there’s nothing to worry about, you know? It’s a person’s right to name the skill they made,” Melkith proudly said. “Every wizard has such dilemmas… They created this really cool magic, but they have a hard time coming up with a cool name for the magic. And the name is a tricky thing. The name might look cool to the person who named it, but it might sound embarrassing and lousy to everyone else, right?”
The corners of Melkith’s lips perked up.
Eugene remained silent.
“But it feels like the creator is belittling his own skill to use an ordinary name… If the name is too fancy, then it’s embarrassing to tell it to another… Umm, I know it very well. Didn’t I tell you? Every wizard has those dilemmas, okay?”
“Okay, so…”
“I think the name Lightning Flash is fine. No, it’s actually a bit too normal. How about Fire Thunder? Or Thunder Fire. Do they sound tacky? Firebolt… Thunderflame…”
“Magic!” Eugene shouted.
Melkith snickered as she turned to Eugene. “What magic?”
“I will show you magic,” Eugene answered.
He frowned as he lifted his cloak to take out Akasha. However, it wasn’t just Akasha that came out from the cloak.
“…”
Eugene stared at Mer, who was hugging Akasha while desperately holding in her laughter. Looking at the sniggering child, he felt as if Sienna was smirking at him. He rapped Mer’s head without realizing it.
“Why are you hitting me?!” Mer bristled up.
“Your smile was annoying.”
“I think the name Lightning Flash is really cool. When I heard that simple and intuitive name, I can feel that your naming skill has really improved,” Mer soon spoke with a sly smile on her face.
“Naming skill?” Melkith repeated Mer’s words.
With vengeful wrath, Mer continued, “Isn’t it a much better name compared to names like Asura Rampage, Poltergeist Aegis, Dead End, Thousand Thunderclaps, and Lightning Counter?
“What kind of idiot comes up with such embarrassing names? Well, at least Thousand Thunderclaps and Lightning Counter sound pretty okay. They sound like lightning.” Melkith chimed in to tease Eugene.
“Shut up, please.” Eugene clenched his teeth.
Calming his irritation, he held Akasha up while shoving Mer, who was still hanging onto Akasha, back into the cloak.
“Go inside!”
“Sir Eugene, how about Lightning Asura?” Mer mockingly asked.
“Shut up!”
Eugene no longer wanted to have a conversation regarding this topic. After freeing himself from all ideas and thoughts, he settled down to concentrate and recall a formula. The formula was then converted into a spell.
The crackling lightning flame twirled around Eugene’s body, descending upon the ground. At the same time, Eugene’s body floated up into the sky. Lighting covered the ground below him, merrily dancing around.
“…You…” Melkith stammered. She had lost count of the number of times she got surprised today. As her face turned pale, she shook her head. “Monster…!”
It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was enough for Melkith to recognize what Eugene was doing. She knew what spell Eugene was casting. This particular piece of magic had been created by the Green Tower Master Jeneric Osman while he was trying to create a signature spell for himself.
The Divine Tree.
‘Did he copy it by just looking at it?’
It was not remotely on the same level as copying the magic patterns engraved on a cake. Since Eugene had never seen the Divine Tree formula, it was impossible for him to randomly mimic it.
“Well, he’s scratching the surface…”
Divine Tree was technically a Sixth Circle spell, but the level of difficulty was actually too high for Sixth Circle wizards to try it. The only reason why he could cast it was that he understood the magic through Akasha and was assisted by Mer.
“…That magic… You better not use that,” Melkith murmured, shaking her head. “If the Green Tower Master finds out you learned the Divine Tree without his permission, he will kill you no matter what, reputation and dignity be damned.”
“Of course, he would try.” Scattering the formula away, Eugene snorted. “I just used it once for you to see, anyway. I’m not planning on using this kind of crappy magic. ”
Thanks to the Divine Tree, Eugene could shut Melkith up.
“Crappy magic…”
Melkith dryly laughed and shook her head again.
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