Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage
Chapter 305: The Great Expedition (7)

‘Red light?’

Henry was surprised to see that the energy emanating from Dracan was red instead of the typical blue color of mana.

Seeing Henry’s surprised look, Dracan smiled and immediately clapped.

Clap!

As soon as he clapped, the air around him twisted into a vortex, and thorns that looked like spearheads shot out from it.

“Jealousy of Yagerlamp.”

Pshhh!

Dracan summoned sharp thorns that resembled the lances of cavalrymen, relentlessly firing them at Henry. It was as though an army of elite archers shot deadly arrows at him.

However, Henry didn’t move. Instead, he cast a Magic Shield to defend himself. As the thorns hit the shield, it sounded as if raindrops were hitting a window.

The light tapping sounds were evidence that the thorns had no chance of penetrating Henry’s Magic Shield.

‘It’s no use.’

Henry shook his head. He had been caught off guard for a moment, seeing someone with mana that wasn’t blue for the first time. However, that was it.

It didn’t seem like Dracan had trained in swordsmanship like he had. It also seemed that just the color of his mana was special, for its potency and power were inferior to Henry’s mana.

Henry felt disappointed in himself for having high expectations, even if it had been for just a moment.

In any case, he set his mind straight. Even when hunting rabbits, a bird of prey gave its all.

His opponent was a Circle below him, but even so, the 7th-Circle was nevertheless powerful, not something to be underestimated. Moreover, Dracan was a ruthless traitor that had chosen Arthus over the Magical Spire, so Henry had plenty of reasons to keep his guard up.

‘Reveal your intentions, Dracan!’

The thorns still slammed against the Magic Shield and dropped to the ground. Nonetheless, Henry didn’t let up one bit. Rather, he planned to kill Dracan as quickly as possible before he could do anything else.

Henry stretched his hands upward. Then, as if ripping off an invisible ceiling, he grabbed the air and yanked it down at Dracan.

A second later, lightning struck.

Ptzzz!

This was the same kind of lightning magic he had used on Arthus back in Monsieur.

Given that Henry’s mana was constantly in synergy with Nature and significantly more powerful and abundant than before, he could use this kind of lightning magic without chanting the spell out loud.

…Ptzzz!

The lightning lasted for about three seconds before it disappeared.

Henry gazed at where the lightning had struck. There was a small crater and a large, charred, coal-like silhouette.

It was Dracan, or at least that was what Henry thought.

‘Is he dead?’

The thorns that had been hitting his Magic Shield suddenly disappeared. This showed just how terrifying Henry’s lightning was.

Henry glanced at the current still flowing around the crater and then took a closer look at the charred silhouette.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Even the soil at the bottom of the crater was completely black. No living thing could have withstood that lightning bolt.

However, Henry wasn’t convinced he had won just yet. Instead, he waved his hand in the air once more and summoned a huge boulder, dropping it on the charred figure which he presumed to be Dracan.

Whoosh!

The boulder was meant to completely crush everything, and the sound it made as it was traveling through the air was terrifying.

It plummeted onto the charred silhouette, embedding itself in the crater, ashes and dust flying everywhere.

It had been a clean finish, but Henry still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off.

‘Did I overestimate him?’

For a man who had made it to the 7th-Circle on his own, Dracan’s combat skills had seemed subpar, which was why Henry thought he had severely overestimated him.

But just as his thoughts reached this point, a huge crack formed on the surface of the boulder he had just dropped, and eventually, the boulder split apart into two even pieces.

“...Of course.”

Indeed, it would’ve been far too easy.

Henry smirked at the sight of Dracan, whom he had assumed to have been charred to death, peeking through the split boulder, completely unscathed.

However, the scent of burnt flesh and death that Henry had smelled earlier had been real.

“How did you do that? You were clearly dead,” asked Henry.

Henry had taken many lives up to this point, and based on his experience, he was certain that the lightning had killed Dracan.

However, Dracan had miraculously come back to life, that too without a single surge of mana. That was what puzzled Henry.

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong,” Dracan answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I did in fact die, but I used a power I invented to come back to life.”

“A power that you invented? Not Arthus’ power?”

“That’s right! Ah, I suppose you were understandably mistaken because of the color of my mana, but rest assured this is my power, which I have created on my own.”

“I see.”

Wizards were often narcissistic, and this trait only intensified as they rose in ranks, especially if they made a great discovery. That was exactly how Dracan was acting. After all, he had reached the 7th-Circle on his own.

He was also an old narcissistic mage from the Magical Spire, which was why he kept a clear distinction between magic and other kinds of powers.

In addition, Dracan’s inferiority complex toward Henry was at its peak, so he naturally wanted to prove to him just how great he was.

“So, I hope you don’t misunderstand me, for I intend to defeat you not with the power bestowed upon me by Sir Arthus, but purely with the power I have acquired on my own,” continued Dracan.

Seeing that Dracan’s eyes were full of confidence, Henry smirked and said, “Let’s see if you can keep your word.”

In Henry’s eyes, Dracan’s actions only seemed like bravery verging on stupidity. But even so, this was the best thing he had heard so far. He would’ve been terribly disappointed if Dracan had humbly recognized his own limitations and his dependency on Arthus’ divine power.

Dracan’s desire to prove himself to Henry could very well be the final piece of the puzzle to complete Henry’s victory.

Henry raised one hand halfway up.

Oong!

The mere act of raising his hand and manifesting his will caused an intense wave of mana to surge around him. This proved once again how well Nature’s mana resonated with Henry.

“Then why don't you try and block this one too with that great power of yours?” said Henry.

Whoosh!

Following Henry's warning, a huge number of mana arrows, enough to cover the sky completely, appeared around Henry and Dracan.

Ptzzz...!

Whoosh!

Swoosh…!

These Magic Arrows all had different properties, and they were all producing different fierce sounds as though they were different kinds of raging beasts.

At a quick glance, this seemed like a simple spell, but it was actually a very difficult one. Henry was not controlling a single property, but hundreds of them, all at once, keeping them stable.

Paradoxically, Magic Arrows was one of the most basic offensive spells, but it was also perfect for a wizard to display their mastery of magic.

Elevating a basic spell like Magic Arrows to this incredible level was a wizard’s way of establishing their dominance over their foe, proving that their powers were vastly superior.

Henry looked down at Dracan with one corner of his lips curling up.

Seeing this, Dracan said, “Magic Arrows, each with its own property… This looks very fancy at first glance, but even ordinary mages can pull this off, right?”

“Is that so? Then you should have no problem blocking these arrows.”

“Maybe your spell would do something against me if I were an ordinary mage, but I’m special. In fact, I’ll soon be the only Archmage on the continent.”

“You’re being too cocky.”

Cockiness could be amusing at first, but it became disagreeable very quickly.

Henry slowly lowered his hand and pointed at Dracan, and with that, the Magic Arrows that filled the sky rained down on him.

It was as if hundreds of millions of shooting stars were falling from the sky.

The arrows crashed down with a destructive sound that no ordinary weapon could ever make and completely erased Dracan from existence.

***

As he was still controlling and shooting the arrows, Henry crossed his arms and looked at where Dracan was with a blank expression. However, he could only see the thick cloud of dust caused by the arrows.

The wind was blowing in Henry’s direction, but his Magic Shield was still active, so he didn’t get dirty.

Henry’s gaze was still fixed on where the arrows were landing, but it wasn’t the dirt that he was looking at.

‘This is definitely strange.’

What Henry was looking at was Dracan’s life force, disappearing and reappearing within the cloud of dust. It was cold, or rather, repulsive.

But Henry could clearly feel from his magic that Dracan was dead.

The Magic Arrows were still falling down like a waterfall, but Dracan’s life force kept disappearing and reappearing.

Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, Henry summoned a giant gust of wind.

Whoosh!

He directed the gust of wind toward the scene of destruction, dispersing the dust and revealing the full extent of the destruction.

Henry couldn’t help chuckling in disbelief. What he saw was so ridiculous that he spoke out loud.

“Ha? What the hell…?”

Henry saw Dracan being impaled by the Magic Arrows from head to toe. However, the shocking part was that he was literally shedding his entire skin like a snake.

Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. He raised one hand and clenched it into a fist, stopping the Magic Arrows from raining down on Dracan.

Dracan finished shedding his skin, emerging forward in his sleek new body. He locked eyes with Henry, who was staring at him blankly.

“Haha.”

Dracan raised one eyebrow in a proud, or rather, smug expression. He then swept his hair back with one hand and asked, “Did you see?”

“What… did you just do…?”

“It’s exactly what you just saw. I came back to life thanks to my special spell, Reborn.”

“Reborn…?”

“Yes, Reborn! This is the unique great magic that I’ve created and that has allowed me to rise to the 7th-Circle! This spell will undoubtedly be hailed as the greatest form of anthropology magic of all time!” Dracan shouted confidently.

Reborn—a spell that literally allowed its caster to be reborn.

Along with the development of Reborn, Dracan had awakened the 7th-Circle, the dream of every wizard, and undergone significant physical changes.

Seeing Henry still staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, Dracan proceeded to explain Reborn in a confident voice.

“I don’t even remember how many prisoners I had to sacrifice in order to create this spell. Yes, it took a lot of time, but I eventually realized the secret of Reborn when I observed reptiles prolonging their lives by shedding their skin!

“It occurred to me that humans could perhaps also shed their skin, just like reptiles! I thought that if we managed to do that and become reborn, we would discover the secret to eternal youth!”

“...”

Shedding, rebirth, eternal youth… Even though Dracan was a criminal, his discovery as a wizard was objectively outstanding.

Thus, Henry was genuinely amazed, having goosebumps all over his body.

‘They do say that opposite extremes often meet, but I didn’t think that this saying would be applied to this kind of situation…’

A twisted genius had made a great discovery.

Henry had no choice but to acknowledge Dracan’s discovery. Regardless of his character and his inclinations, he had managed to discover the secret of immortality, which had been speculated and fantasized since the dawn of man.

Excited, Dracan said, “I’ve absorbed five hundred humans into my body, which means I can come back to life up to five hundred times, no matter how I die!”

“...What?”

“I did in fact take inspiration from snakes, but we’re not reptiles, so we can’t shed our skin if we don’t have a new body. Thus, I came up with the idea of planting different bodies in me! That’s the secret of Reborn!”

“You sick bastard…!”

Henry unclenched his fist.

Just when Dracan finished his absurd monologue, Henry reactivated the Magic Arrows, which instantly rained down on Dracan unrelentingly.

Henry’s expression contorted in disgust and contempt and shouted, “You sick fuck! To think that I admired you for a second there!”

Henry was so enraged after briefly admiring Dracan because Reborn was a type of black magic that the Magical Spire had prohibited without any exception.