As Shang left the room, he put on his helmet. Count Sword couldn't appear in public yet.
The armor and the helmet isolated Shang from all eyes and even Spirit Senses. They could see the black armor, but they couldn't see behind it. Naturally, Shang had worn the helmet on his way to the academy as well and had only taken it off in front of the room.
As Shang stepped out of the building, the drills in the academy became quieter.
When Shang appeared, the atmosphere turned oppressive for everyone around him.
Funnily enough, this wasn't the effect of Shang's connection to the Abominations. After all, that had been hidden by Lucius' Spell.
The reason for this change in atmosphere was Shang's decades of living in isolation amongst beasts.
When Shang had left Jerald's garden back then, one of the guards had told him that he felt very dangerous to him and that other people would feel the same. After living amongst humans, Shang's aura had retreated.
But now, it had come out again, and he no longer cared about suppressing it.
It didn't matter what others thought of him.
Shang slowly walked through the fields of the academy as many students and teachers looked at him apprehensively.
When Shang left the academy, most students released the breaths they had been holding.
The same thing happened when Shang passed through Warrior's Paradise.
When he reached the gates, he saw some nervous and scared guards.
They had to investigate every suspicious individual, and Shang was more than suspicious.
However, they also felt terrified.
"S-Sir!" one of the guards shouted nervously.
SHING!
Something appeared in Shang's hand, and he pointed it at the guard.
The guard looked at it, and his eyes widened.
Then, nearly all of his fear and nervousness vanished. "You may pass, sir!"
He was relieved that he didn't need to search Shang.
Shang had just shown Jerald's personal emblem to the guard.
This emblem was different from the emblem Shang had received many years ago.
The emblem from back then showed that Shang was Jerald's friend.
The new emblem, on the other hand, gave Shang Jerald's full authority.
Everything Shang said and ordered would be like if Jerald said or ordered these things.
Shang represented Jerald personally.
Not even George had had that luxury back then.
Shang stepped past the gates and walked down the road.
As he continued walking, his speed increased, although it still looked like he was merely walking.
In a matter of seconds, Shang reached a speed of over 200kph without even exerting himself.
After a while, Shang reached Jerald's castle and entered through the front gate. The guards didn't even stop Shang since they had already been informed by Jerald about his arrival.
The inside of Jerald's castle was quite simple compared to its outside. It had a very homey feel to it.
Shang could even see several happy paintings of Jerald with a woman and a young Mattheo.
Shang had already heard about Jerald's wife.
She had died a couple of years after giving birth to Mattheo.
Jerald had lost his family, but he still enjoyed looking at the paintings and remembering them.
Shang walked up the steps and walked to a closed door.
Shang opened it without knocking and entered.
Several humongous Magic Circles filled with piles of valuable materials filled the room, and in the middle of these circles sat Jerald.
Jerald's eyes were closed, and he didn't greet Shang.
Shang went to the side of the room and sat down.
He closed his eyes and focused on his Spirit Sense. This was a sensitive time for Jerald, and Shang was here to make sure that nothing went wrong.
For many hours, Shang only sat there, keeping watch over the surroundings. For once, his mind was not focused on training.
Sword remained at Shang's side and also stayed silent.
They didn't need to talk.
Eventually, night arrived.
Nothing had changed inside the room.
Then, day arrived.
Night arrived.
Day arrived.
Shang remained in the room for seven days, and he didn't move even once.
His mind had also never been distracted during that time.
Then, finally, the Mana in the room emptied as more Mana was pulled in from the outside.
All the materials in the Magic Circles had also turned into pure Mana already.
A powerful wind picked up inside the room. Luckily, there was nothing there for the wind to destroy.
Shang simply remained sitting at the room's wall.
A couple of seconds later, Jerald opened his eyes, and Shang could see a powerful storm inside them.
Shang could also see terrifying rainclouds and lightning being accompanied by the wind.
The storm in Jerald's eyes was truly powerful and intimidating.
As Shang saw them, he felt like these were not three different concepts but one singular concept.
It was a true Storm.
A second later, Jerald closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.
The wind and Mana inside the room calmed down, and it returned to its prior state.
Shang slowly stood up and cranked his neck.
Jerald's body slowly floated upward, and he extended his legs to stand up.
"Thanks," he said to Shang in an even voice without even looking at him.
This was unlike Jerald, but Shang knew why Jerald was like this.
Jerald had kept his emotions and urges suppressed for decades.
For decades, he had acted like nothing was wrong and led his falling territory.
But now, everything was ready.
His mind was no longer focused on being nice but on taking revenge.
He had kept himself in check for too long.
Finally, he could let go and do the very thing he had wanted to do for so long.
"I presume it was a success?" Shang asked.
Jerald slowly nodded. "I managed to combine the Concepts of Wind Movement, Water Drop, and Lightning Spark into a single Concept. I don't know the name of this Concept, but I'm going to call it Storm."
"If I so chose to, I could become an Archmage in a couple of years."
At that moment, Jerald's eyes narrowed.
"But, just like you, I'm not willing to jeopardize my future. Even though I can become an Archmage, I know that I would be wasting a huge part of my potential if I were to do so."
"I've made great strides in the Concept of Breeze as well, and I will not advance to the Archmage Realm as long as I don't understand it."
Jerald took a deep breath.
"But I am also finally at the Peak High Mage Realm. With my current power, I can rival the combined might of the Council on my own."
"Everything is prepared."
Shang nodded.
"When will we start?"
"I'm going to inform King Skythunder. I believe it won't take more than a couple of days."
Shang nodded.
Jerald then looked at Shang. "I want you to stay ready. I will inform you about how things will continue when I'm back."
Shang nodded again. "If it's only a couple of days, I might as well stay here," he said as he sat down at the side of the room again.
"That's fine," Jerald said as he walked over to the door.
"Just wait for me."
"I will," Shang said.
Then, Jerald left.
It was finally time.
