Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World - Chapter 213

Chapter 213: Luna’s students
“You are all as dumb as a flock of geese!” – Luna’s impatient and irritated voice cut through the icy northern. Despite the distance, it reached Henry and Luke’s ears as they stepped through the gates as they made their way towards the small wooden hut near the city walls, their breath hung visibly in the cold.

They followed the voice, coming to a halt as the all-too-familiar sight of destruction appeared before them. The ground was riddled with craters of all shapes and sizes, some shallow, others jagged and gaping as though hundreds of meteors had pummeled the earth. Thin wisps of smoke rose from a few of the larger craters, the heat lingering long enough to melt the snow around them, leaving the earth dark and scorched. This messy constellation of craters surrounding the wooden hut was the only area untouched by the white blanket of the North.

“She is going to turn my capital into a crater one of these days…” Henry muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration.

Luke, balancing a teetering pile of parchments in his arms, gave a small laugh – “I will send someone to patch it up again, my liege” – he said, though his tone suggested this was not the first time he had made such a promise. His arms were too full to write down the king’s order, but he mentally filed it away with the long list of other tasks he was supposed to handle.

Henry continued to walk – “Be careful not to fall. She did a great destruction job this time”- he said, glancing back at the brown-haired midget – “These holes look big enough to swallow you”

Luke tilted his head to peer over the top of his documents, carefully picking his way around the craters. His eyes darted nervously toward the jagged edges of the nearest one, struggling to keep pace with the king.

As they neared the hut, they found the source of Luna’s anger. Ten students stood in formation, clutching what looked like twig-like wands in their trembling hands. They faced a line of battered wooden dummies, the same kind used in Stahl’s military training grounds.

“I have told you over and over!”- Luna’s angry voice rang out again, full of impatience. Her golden hair glimmered faintly in the weak northern sunlight, her emerald-green eyes flashing with frustration. She threw her hands up in exasperation – “All you have to do is pull the mana you can feel and focus it into one spot! How is that so hard? This is worse than teaching children! I should have charged three more books.”

The students stood frozen, clearly unsure whether it was safer to respond or remain silent. Their grips on the wands tightened, their shoulders tense as they exchanged nervous glances.

“You have all already learned to sense the strands of mana around you” – Luna continued, pacing back and forth in front of them like an impatient instructor – “The more you grow, the more strands you will be able to perceive and manipulate. And the more strands you control, the stronger your spells will become.”

Henry, standing at a distance, remained silent. His hands rested loosely behind his back as his gray eyes observed the scene. He made no move to interrupt, choosing instead to listen quietly.

“The next step after sensing mana is to pull the strands toward you” – Luna instructed, turning sharply on her heel to face the Frozen Forest. She raised her right hand, palm open, and extended it forward – “I will demonstrate this one more time. Watch carefully!”

As soon as she finished her words, the air around her shifted. A strong current swirled through the clearing, whipping the students’ hair into disarray and causing even Henry’s distant heavy black cloak to flutter. The air grew tense, and the snow falling lazily from the sky was caught in the current, making the movement of the mana visible to everyone.

Henry’s eyes began to glow faintly with a purple hue, giving him a more profound view of what was happening. Through his enhanced vision, he could see hundreds if not thousands of strands of Mana weaving through the air, converging in Luna’s outstretched hand.

“Once you’ve pulled the strands” – Luna continued, her voice steady – “you must reorganize them. At your level, you can only manage three strands at a time, so your options are limited. Just follow the formula I gave you, and the wand in your hands will help you sense the strands more clearly.”

Then, she twisted her hand slightly, as if turning an invisible knob. Henry’s glowing eyes widened as he watched the chaotic strands in her palm begin to realign themselves. They spun and twisted with purpose, forming a tightly woven structure, like an ancient seal or letter. Slowly, the mana strands settled into a concentrated and visible sphere of air, revolving rapidly within her hand. Yet, something about the flow seemed imperfect, like a river obstructed by unseen debris, as though the energy was fighting to stabilize itself.

“It’s like the seals in those books” – Henry thought, his mind racing as he watched magic unfolding before his eyes for the second time in his life. Those seals were similar to the patterns found in the tomes he had lent to Luna, the ones he had traded for her teachings.

“You are the fortunate few able to manipulate Mana in this desolate region” -Luna continued, her voice steady despite the immense power swirling in her hand – “While Mana itself has no set element, each of us has a natural affinity toward one element over the others. When you reorganize the strands of Mana, this affinity will reveal itself, shaping the spell into its elemental form. And once the strands are aligned.” – She paused and looked at the horizon, before continuing – “The final step is simple: focus your will and release the spell.”

She waved her hand slightly, and the spinning sphere shot forward like a cannonball. It tore through the air with a deafening roar, carving a deep trench in the frozen ground as it hurtled toward the line of wooden training dummies. The sphere slammed into the dummies, obliterating six of them in a single explosive impact before continuing its destructive path. The air trembled with its force as it shot toward the distant Frozen Forest.

Henry’s glowing purple eyes followed the orb. As the sphere neared the edge of the forest, he saw the seal holding it together begin to destabilize. The intricate patterns frayed and unraveled, as though an invisible force were tearing the mana apart. By the time the sphere reached the forest’s edge, the seal shattered, and the spell dissipated harmlessly into the cold air.

“This damn forest…”- Luna muttered under her breath, clenching her fists as she glared at the towering trees – “It’s impossible to maintain spells for long near its edge. The mana here disrupts everything.”

With an audible sigh, she turned back to the students, her tone sharp again. “Go back to training!” she barked, waving her hand dismissively. The group hesitated for only a moment before scrambling to obey, their faces a mixture of awe and fear.

Luna was about to return to her hut when she noticed Henry standing nearby, his expression unreadable as he stared at the now-destroyed dummies and the distant forest beyond. The faint purple glow in his eyes faded, returning to their usual gray.

She approached him, her tone less sharp but still blunt, not a single ounce of respect for a king present in it – “So? Did you bring me more books?” she asked, breaking the king’s trance.

Henry blinked and shook his head slightly, his focus returning to the present. “No,” he replied, his voice calm. “I came to check on your progress with teaching and to hear about your research on the Torch Tree Seeds.”

The excitement that had briefly lit up Luna’s face faded instantly, replaced with a look of boredom. She gestured toward the group of ten students behind her. “They are hopeless. Their talent is mediocre, and this area makes it even harder to practice magic. But if they can push through and learn even the basics, they will have far greater control over mana than the average mage.”

Henry nodded, though his mind was still replaying what he had just witnessed. The process of forming a spell, while different from the warrior techniques he practiced, reminded him of the way the Sun God Technique manipulated mana through his circuits. It was fascinating. He wanted to understand more about it.

“And the seeds?” Henry asked, bringing the conversation back to her research.

Luna raised her hand, and a small seed materialized in her palm. “Progress, but not perfection” – she said – “We can handle them now without them exploding, and they will stay stable if planted. But I still do not understand how the energy inside them is produced, or why they seem so tied to the Frozen Forest. If they’re taken too far from its influence, they could detonate. I’m working on stabilizing that.”

“Good work,” Henry said with a slight nod. “I’ll ensure the barbarians keep bringing you more from the forest.”

“That would help” – Luna replied, her green eyes gleaming with a faint hint of greed. “The more I can test, the faster I can figure this out. And…” Her tone turned sly. “You could always bring me more books. Those might speed things along too, and maybe even help me teach those ten hopeless geese something useful.”

A small smile tugged at Henry’s lips. Some things never changed. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said. “But first, I’d like you to explain something to me.”

Luna’s eyes lit up with excitement, her earlier irritation vanishing. “Of course! Shall we go inside? I’ve got tea,” she said, her voice suddenly more respectful.

Henry nodded, following her toward the hut, his mind already racing with questions – “You can wait here with them.” – He said to Luke, who nodded, afraid of that golden-haired woman.