Magus Reborn

362. Moving pieces

Kai ended up operating on Veridia for more than a week.

Repairing a Mana heart was already a complicated process under normal circumstances, and the damage he had inflicted on hers had been severe.

That had been intentional.

At the time of their duel, Kai had fully intended to kill her. Breaking her Mana heart the way he did had been meant to ensure she would slowly die even if she survived the battle itself. Healing her had never been part of his plans back then.

But now things were different.

She had agreed to the mana oath, and Kai honored his deals.

Entering her astral space was an experience on its own. It was vast, far larger than any he had entered before.

That alone wasn’t surprising. Veridia had been a Magus for decades, and the astral space of a Mage at that level naturally expanded with their mastery over mana.

Still, even Kai found himself impressed by its scale.

Veridia herself showed great interest in the process.

There was no way for Kai to hide what he was doing once he began working inside her astral space, and she asked questions constantly.

Kai tried to answer as little as possible, keeping most explanations brief or avoiding them entirely.

But Veridia was far too intelligent.

Even without the spell required to enter astral spaces like he could, she was able to piece together much of what he was doing simply by observing the process.

Kai suspected it was only a matter of time before she developed her own methods.

And honestly, he didn’t mind.

Spreading knowledge of mana surgery was something he had already planned to do eventually. It would be a major advancement for Mages everywhere.

The real problem with healing her was the time it consumed.

Kai couldn’t do much else during that week. Each day followed the same routine.

He would enter her astral space, repair a portion of the damage, then stop and allow her body to recover before continuing the next day.

Her astral space was so large that every section took time to stabilize.

Rest periods were also necessary. Even though the repairs were magical in nature, her body still needed time to adjust.

Fortunately, Veridia required less recovery than most Mages. Her being on the fifth circle meant her body naturally regenerated faster. Because of that, the process that might have taken an entire month for another Mage was completed in just one week.

Kai also used that time to explain the plan to Veridia.

He first told her everything that had happened to the Elder Tree. He explained the attack on Sylvastra, the everlasting flames, the damage to the forest, how little time the Elder Tree had left, and how he planned to save it. The more he spoke, the more Veridia looked at him as if he had completely lost his mind.

As it turned out, she had no knowledge of how one could travel between realms. Even the idea of the space between realms was something no Mage in this era seemed to know of. To her, everything Kai described sounded new, dangerous, and nearly impossible.

For a while, she even said that his plan was the worst possible way to save the Elder Tree.

According to her, simply trying to enter the Earth Plane might get all of them killed before they even found what they were looking for.

But in the end, those were only objections. She had no real way of backing out now.

To make sure she did not panic or misunderstand anything, Kai explained every part of the plan carefully. He told her how the ritual would work, how they would enter the space between realms first, and how they would move from there toward the Earth Plane. That did not lessen her fear much, but it did make her more willing to go along with it.

That changed even more once Kai brought out the ritual sketch and showed it to her directly.

He explained her part in it in detail.

Veridia, as it turned out, had a basic understanding of rituals. That made it easier for her to follow some sections of what he had prepared. In those parts, she understood what the seals were meant to do and how the mana flow would be shaped.

But in other sections, she was completely lost.

Most of those involved seals that had not even been developed in this era.

Summoning seals existed, yes, but they were rare and worked only in one direction. They brought things in. They did not allow movement outward. Because of that, Veridia became deeply interested in the structure of Kai’s ritual.

Halfway through the explanation, Kai even felt as if he had somehow become her teacher.

For some reason, that thought made him shiver.

The amount of knowledge he displayed also gave Veridia exactly what she wanted—an excuse to pry further into who he really was.

She did not miss a single chance to ask more about his background, his knowledge, and what sort of person he was actually supposed to be.

By this point, Veridia was already convinced that he was not Arzan.

In her mind, he was another powerful Mage who had somehow taken over Arzan’s body. That assumption was not entirely wrong, though she had no idea that Kai had actually come from the future. Instead, she seemed to believe he was a reclusive Mage the world had never known about, someone who had remained hidden for decades while gathering knowledge and power in secret.

Kai knew that was what she believed because she had told him directly during one of their final sessions.

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

It was better for her to build her own assumptions rather than give her clues about the truth. Someone mysterious was always more dangerous than someone understood, and Kai had no problem playing that role.

Still, Veridia did not stop questioning him.

She repeatedly asked how he had developed the ritual and the unfamiliar seals he was using. Each time, Kai gave the same vague answer. He said that much of the knowledge had come from a book written by a powerful Mage he had once encountered.

He never mentioned any names.

As the days passed and her condition improved, her apprentices also began treating Kai with slightly more respect.

It was not friendliness, but they at least stopped glaring at him every moment. After each healing session, they entered the cottage to check on Veridia and gradually began bringing Kai food and water during the day.

Seeing their master recover clearly changed their view of him. Even so, most of them still kept their distance.

Kai preferred it that way.

The last thing he wanted was to build any sort of relationship with rogue Mages trained by Veridia.

Fortunately, he did not have to remain there much longer.

Once the final session was complete, Kai left Veridia to rest and told her to come to Veralt in a week.

That week would give her time to regain strength.

It would also give Kai time to return to his duties as king and prepare the logistics for his absence.

Veridia was quick to agree. She said she would arrive at his doors when the week was over.

With that settled, Kai left the forest and flew back toward Veralt once again.

Watcher Arel did not return with him.

The man had already begun cracking down on more smuggling networks in the region, following the trail they had uncovered during the search for Veridia. Kai was pleased about that. Someone like Arel was exactly what the Watchers needed—someone capable in both investigation and action.

Kai made a mental note to speak with Ansel about giving Arel additional rewards once things settled down.

For now, however, he had more pressing matters.

The moment Kai returned to Veralt, he summoned Killian and Francis and explained everything that had happened during his meeting with Veridia. He told them about the mana oath, the agreement they had reached, and her role in the ritual.

He then instructed them to begin preparations immediately.

The ritual itself required a precise design made with special chalk and several rare ingredients, but there was no reason for Kai to draw it personally. Any trained Mage could replicate the pattern if given the correct instructions.

So Kai decided to let the tower Mages construct the ritual array while he inspected their work afterward to ensure everything was done perfectly.

Killian, however, was far from pleased.

He clearly did not like the idea of Veridia joining them.

Kai understood the concern. In truth, he shared the same doubts. But the mana oath left her no room for betrayal, and Kai reminded Killian of that repeatedly until the Knight reluctantly accepted it.

There was more news waiting for him as well.

Elias had already arrived in Lancephil.

At the moment, he was staying with Viscount Redmont. Apparently, Elias had loved the man's wine collection and decided to enjoy it for a few days before traveling to Veralt.

Even so, he had already sent a letter announcing his arrival.

At the same time, Elder Caelith had also crossed into Lancephil and was traveling toward Veralt. Francis had been tracking his progress through Watcher drones and had already instructed every city along the elder’s path to allow him entry without delay.

Kai was relieved to hear that.

He would not have had the time to personally receive either of them anyway.

Once the ritual preparations were underway, Kai turned his attention to everything he had neglected during the past few weeks.

And as it turned out, there was a lot waiting for him.

Most of it came in the form of paperwork that required his personal stamp.

But several stacks required his actual attention. Reports about the kingdom’s reconstruction, supply movements, and updates from the Watchers all had to be read carefully before he approved anything.

Now that he had returned to Veralt, word also spread quickly. Many people requested meetings with him. Kai declined most of them.

He only allowed a few inside.

The first to get a meeting with him was Balen and Tharnok.

The minotaur blacksmith arrived with the dwarf beside him, and both of them looked unusually serious. Their request was simple.

They wanted a portion of the royal budget redirected to construct an entirely new workshop dedicated purely to research and development. The existing workshops already had small sections experimenting with new designs, but Balen argued that it was not enough anymore.

He wanted a full facility focused only on experimentation.

Now that Kai was king, Balen’s influence had grown significantly. As the most trusted blacksmith in the kingdom, he had begun gathering talented craftsmen from all across Lancephil.

His idea was to bring every creative smith he could find into this new workshop.

Tharnok supported the idea enthusiastically. In fact, he even suggested inviting more dwarves from his homeland to assist with the work.

Kai did not hesitate to approve the request.

More innovation in weaponry and artifacts would only strengthen the kingdom.

As they were leaving, however, Balen casually revealed that half the reason Tharnok wanted more dwarves brought in was because he missed his wife and wanted an excuse to see her again.

The comment earned the minotaur a heavy smack on the leg.

Balen only laughed.

The two of them left the room still arguing with each other.

The second person to request a meeting was Orion.

After serving as Kai’s primary alchemist for so long, Orion had gained a respected position within the Sorcerer’s Tower. His standing among the Mages had grown steadily.

This time, he came with a different kind of proposal.

He wanted Kai’s support to create a full series of alchemy books.

There were already texts on alchemy, but Orion wanted something far more detailed. According to him, most existing works were intentionally incomplete.

Alchemists had a long tradition of hiding crucial ingredients or altering ratios to protect their personal discoveries.

Orion wanted the opposite.

He wanted to publish guides that revealed everything—complete recipes, exact measurements, and proper procedures—so future alchemists could learn without wasting years rediscovering the same knowledge.

According to Orion, what the kingdom needed most were two things: a proper safety manual and the standardisation of common recipes. Too many alchemists wasted years studying simple mixtures that had already been discovered countless times before. If the basic formulas were written clearly and shared widely, alchemists could spend their time creating new discoveries instead of repeating the work of those who came before them.

Kai agreed to the request immediately.

That was exactly how alchemy had progressed in the future. There were standard manuals, safety guides, and detailed books that listed not only recipes but also the locations of ingredients and the proper way to handle them. Each generation built upon the work of the previous one instead of starting from scratch.

Orion left the meeting visibly pleased. But the stream of visitors did not end there.

More people kept arriving throughout the day. Many of them were heralds sent by nobles who had heard that Kai was finally back in the capital and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to present their requests.

The matters they brought varied widely.

Some asked for assistance dealing with food shortages in their territories. Others wanted royal support for rebuilding projects or new developments in their cities. One Viscount even came personally to invite Kai to his daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony. The man also asked if Kai could send a few Enforcers to attend the event, since he planned to host a tournament in her honor.

Kai quickly realised that these types of requests were far more common than he had expected.

With the civil war finally over, many nobles were beginning to organise public events again. Part of it was meant to give the common people something to look forward to after months of hardship. At the same time, the celebrations also served as a way of recognising the new crown and the peace that had followed the conflict.

Kai did not reject the idea of such events.

He simply made it clear that he would not be able to attend any of them personally.

In several cases, however, he did agree to send small groups of Enforcers. Events like tournaments and festivals could help stimulate trade and travel, and Kai knew that entertainment could eventually become an industry of its own—something he fully intended to develop in the future.

After dealing with paperwork and meetings from morning until evening, Kai barely had time for anything else.

Even during those rest hours, he often flew up to the rooftop where the ritual was being prepared. He inspected the progress repeatedly, making sure every seal and line was drawn exactly the way he had designed it.

The ritual could not be built in the castle grounds.

Kai did not want rumors spreading through the city, and large-scale mana rituals were unpredictable when placed directly on soil. The ground itself could interfere with the mana flow and distort the array in ways that were difficult to predict.

The rooftop offered a clean surface and fewer complications.

Aside from supervising the ritual’s construction, Kai also spent most of his nights in his workshop. There, he began processing the elemental cores he had gathered.

Each one had to be carefully alchemised into usable ingredients for the ritual. That meant breaking the cores down while preserving the concentrated elemental essence within them.

Despite how complicated it sounded, the process itself was relatively straightforward.

Extracting the essence from the cores into sealed vials did not take much time. The real danger lay in handling them incorrectly. Even the smallest mistake could destabilize the elemental energy and cause an explosion.

Fortunately, Kai was extremely precise.

He managed to extract the essence from all three cores without any incidents.

Still, even after finishing that task and overseeing the ritual preparations, there was one thing left he needed to do before leaving for the Earth Plane.

Something he had promised.

So, one day before the ritual was scheduled to begin, Kai went to meet Amara.

He had told her earlier that he would give her some time before he left. He had assumed she would be looking forward to it.

But the moment they met, the situation felt different.

Amara silently set up a battleboard between them.

Then she looked at him.

There was far less warmth in her eyes than he was used to seeing.

“Why don’t we play a game,” she said calmly, “before you leave?”

***

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