Chapter 58: Progression and Rank Up!
Legacy News!!!
Emperor agrees to reform the Imperial Law Book at the request of Chief Judge Jamison…
78 outdated laws to be abolished… Nobles unhappy… Wizard Union opposes…
Duke Solman delays visit to Zenith Empire… Rebel Prince rumored to be involved…
Sword Princess engagement may be cancelled…
Graduates gathering in the Capital for the Crows Misery entrance exam…
New inferior version of Mind of Insight potion storms the Capital… creator unknown…
Wizard Union rallies behind Judith for the next Crows Misery President… Six Ancient Families support…
Giants spotted at Southern Wild Fortress… large settlement discovered… emergency reinforcements deployed… mercenaries flocking…
Western tensions rise—Viser Kingdom gathers 300,000 troops near border… looming war…
…
A knock interrupted the reading.
"Come in."
Marcellus, Leona, Reece, and Felicity entered and bowed.
"You called us, My Lord?" Marcellus asked.
Raven nodded.
"I've given the complete Mystic Spirit Convergence technique to all the students. You four may use it as well—focus on reaching the peak stage."
He tossed Marcellus a book.
"But… you said you would only give the full technique after the contract period," Marcellus said, confused.
Raven chuckled softly.
"Do you know how much Jacob sold my potions for?"
They shook their heads.
"One vial sells for twelve thousand gold. I gave him eighty vials. He will return with nine hundred sixty thousand gold coins."
All four went stiff, jaws hanging open.
Raven leaned back.
"He previously returned with over three hundred thousand gold. If he wanted to betray me, he had dozens of chances—he could have run away to another empire and lived like a king. So could each of you."
He scanned their faces—shock, awe, fear.
"That is why," Raven continued, "I'm giving you proper Knight Techniques. Based on your strengths. Train hard. Teach the kids everything you know."
Six more books materialized. Raven handed them out.
"When Jacob and Quincy return, tell them these were gifts for loyalty. And tell Selene to meet me later."
"Y-Yes, My Lord!"
Marcellus bowed deeply.
"We will serve you with everything we have."
"You may leave."
They exited with stunned expressions.
…
Raven returned to the newspaper.
War in the south… war in the west…
If either front falls, nobles will be forced to mobilize.
Count Spade's territory was on the eastern side, but even so, a large war could drag every noble into the conflict.
And the Royal Family would pressure Ancient Families to send expendables—low-rank nobles, like the Spades.
His jaw tightened.
I wanted to attend this year's graduation to recruit talents. But I can't afford the time now.
He sighed.
Next year… I'll try again.
…
Three Months Later
Raven devoted himself to two things:
Alchemy
He brewed over 550 Mind of Insight potions.
Drank 300 to enhance comprehension.
Sold the remaining through Jacob—earning 3 million gold coins.
Judith also continued depositing profits from the affinity potions—an extra 300k–400k a month.
Total savings: 3.5 million gold coins.
His beginner potion success rate soared to 75%.
Spell Comprehension
—Completely mastered Mind Eye, using it passively for 5 minutes.
—Comprehended Cold Breath in one day.
—Used a Darkness Affinity Potion → affinity rose to Intermediate.
—Comprehended Shadow Shift in fifteen days.
—Three spell models mastered in under three weeks.
If I had intermediate affinity potions for all elements, I could cut my time in half.
But he wasn't yet skilled enough to brew them.
So he moved on—to Iron Resilience and Poison Touch.
…
March 28th, Year 1421 — Rune Era
Raven pushed himself upright, breath frosting faintly in the chill bedroom air. His status window shimmered before him like a pale, floating mirror.
Five spell models glowed in the mind space—complete, steady, perfected.
A small smile tugged at his lips. Finally.
For someone with affinities barely better than a rock, those five models might as well have been miracles. Mind Eye still throbbed lightly behind his vision, and the lingering aftertaste of alchemic potions clung to the back of his tongue.
He swung his legs off the bed and headed downstairs.
The manor had undergone significant changes over the last three months. The Sepoy mercenaries drilled children from sunrise to dusk, their shouts echoing through courtyards and training halls. The air always smelled faintly of iron and sweat now—of effort.
Beyond the manor walls, the Empire shifted in far larger ways.
A truce at the Western Fortress; the Sword Princess's broken engagement; scouts stumbling upon a Giant Settlement so massive its boundaries swallowed the deep Southern woods. Orcs, goblins, cyclopes—the rumors painted a picture of a roving kingdom of monsters.
Every piece of news pushed the same pressure into Raven's spine.
Grow stronger. Faster.
He descended the final step.
"Lord Raven!" Emanuel hurried toward him, nearly tripping on the carpet. He bowed so fast his hair whipped downward.
Raven waved him off. "Call Edgar's group. Guest room."
The boy sprinted away.
…
Eight kids—faces familiar, eyes sharper than months ago—filed into the guest room. Raven adjusted his monocle, watching glowing status values rise. Spirit power had climbed across the board. Not spectacular, but steady.
He tapped the monocle once, dispelling the readouts, and extended a red-covered book to Edgar.
"Flame Body. Turn your body into fire for thirty seconds. Seventy percent fire resistance. Construct it, then find me in the study."
Edgar accepted it solemnly.
Next, Raven faced the chubby blond boy, shifting nervously on his feet.
"Memphis." Raven flicked a wind-etched book toward him. "You need movement. Feather Steps. Build it. Show me when it's stable."
He moved down the line.
"Jeffery. Blink. Try not to rematerialize inside walls."
"Jamie." The pale boy straightened immediately. Raven placed a lightning-streaked spellbook in his hands. "Spark Step. Twenty meters in a flash. One mistake and you may leave a smoking crater where you used to be."
Jamie gulped. "Thank you, My Lord!"
"Miley." Raven offered a frost-rimmed tome. "Ice Spear. Don't freeze your fingers."
Then came Drake—the boy practically radiated warmth, red hair catching torchlight like live embers. Raven handed him a book marked by glowing runes.
"Light's Embrace. Cleanses curses, dark magic, and mends illnesses. Rare. Don't waste it."
One by one, they bowed and stepped back.
Raven finally turned to the last two—Rebecca and Ronald. Their nervousness hung in the air like dust.
"You two lack the basics. Ronald, especially." Raven folded his hands behind his back. "Next few months, you'll learn from me directly. No shortcuts."
Both bowed instantly. "Yes, My Lord!"
…
The Holmes Household vanished into quiet seclusion.
Months slid by beneath the weight of study, ink-stained nights, and the sharp scent of brewing potions. Raven's comprehension surged. Circle by circle, line by line, every spell model fell into place.
By the end of 1421, he stood at the edge of something larger—the threshold of a breakthrough.
Insight potions flooded the market, the price of Mind of Insight collapsing to a mere three thousand gold. Raven didn't mind. Before the flood hit, he had already earned more than eleven million gold coins.
Judith's monthly deliveries raised the total to thirteen million.
But the gold paled beside the real treasure—progress.
His alchemy hit a perfect 100%. His hands had brewed Life of Nectar, an Adept-Rank potion with a miserable five percent success rate. Yet he'd succeeded. His life affinity blossomed into an intermediate rank.
And now…
Now he sat on his bed with a black vial resting cold in his palm.
The Dawn Shackle Potion.
Raven looked out the window—the sky blushing with early light—and uncorked the vial. He swallowed.
The effect was instant.
Agony tore through him like claws raking muscle from bone. His vision trembled; his mind lurched sideways. Another presence—familiar in the worst way—rose like a shadow behind his thoughts.
His skin darkened, turning a deep red. Nails lengthened. Muscles twitched unnaturally.
A rasping laugh escaped his throat.
"Hehehe… reckless child. Breaking the first shackle without preparation? How generous of you—to me."
Casper's voice. His other self.
His consciousness slipped—falling, drowning—
Then something ancient stirred inside him.
Golden chains, heavy as judgment itself, erupted from deep within his soul. They wrapped around the emerging madness, anchored it, crushed it.
Spirit power surged through the weakened gap in his soul.
A shattering echo rang through his mind, like glass breaking underwater.
The first soul shackle broke.
Casper screamed.
Raven gasped, collapsing back onto the sheets. Sweat drenched him; pain pulsed in waves. Minutes or hours later—he couldn't tell—the dizziness faded.
He opened his interface.
Notifications flooded his vision.
…
[Breakthrough Achieved — Radiant Warlock!]
Strength +1.2
Agility +1.0
Vitality +1.1
Spirit +2.01
Inventory Slot #2 Unlocked
Inventory Space Expanded: 20 cubic meters
Memory Library — Second Floor Unlocked
…and more lines followed.
Then, the full page appeared.
…
Name: Raven Sillalus Jorvot
Age: 16
Nationality: Zenith Empire
Title: 66th Prince, Rebel Prince
Level: 11
Class: Radiant Warlock (0th Circle)
Life Pathway: Adept Alchemist
Lifespan: 300+ years
Strength: 11.1
Agility: 10.9
Vitality: 11.0
Spirit: 22.00
Bloodline Spells:
Rank-1: Iron Resilience, Poison Touch, Fortuitous Finder, Blood Control, Face Morph, Mind Eye, Cold Breath, Past Self, Eye of Destruction, Shadow Shift, Memory Seal
Rank-2: —
Skills: Intermediate Spearmanship (1%), Ruler's Dominance (Beginner)
Affinities:
Life (Intermediate), Blood (Low), Poison (Low), Lightning (Low), Darkness (Intermediate),
Time (Low), Ice (Genius), Spear (Low), Luck (Low)
…
Raven exhaled slowly.
"It's over," he whispered.
Raven studied the changes on his status window, breath caught in his throat. Even after everything he'd endured, the numbers still felt unreal—too sudden, too drastic. He blinked once, twice, then finally shut the window.
A thought was enough to pull him into the Memory Library.
The familiar first floor settled around him like a warm echo of parchment and light.
"Congratulations, kid!"
Zera appeared with a soft shimmer, her illusionary elven form wearing a bright smile. "You can access the second floor now. Thirty minutes a day. Want to take a look?"
"Yes," Raven said without hesitation.
The library folded around him.
A heartbeat later, he stood inside a grand hall filled with carved tables, endless bookshelves, velvet chairs, and chandeliers that bathed everything in a warm, golden glow. The air itself smelled like old wisdom.
Zera drifted to his side. "What would you like to see first?"
"Spirit techniques."
She nodded and led him toward a towering golden shelf. Hundreds of thick tomes rested neatly in rows, their spines glowing faintly with dormant power.
"All Rare Rank," she said.
Raven scanned them before asking, "Which one suits me best?"
Zera rose effortlessly into the air, fingertips gliding over books one by one. After a moment, she plucked a tome bearing an emerald gem.
"This one." She opened the first page. "Lotus Bloom Technique. Enter your Mind Space, recite a rune-chant while visualizing a lotus. The visualization will pull you into a spiritual void. A lotus will appear there—sit beside it, breathe, and let it purify your essence."
Raven accepted the book.
His Instant Memorize skill kicked in, and the pages passed through his mind like water. Within twenty minutes, he knew every word.
He left the Library and sat cross-legged on his bed, closing his eyes again.
The moment he visualized the lotus, the world inside him shifted.
A strange emptiness unfolded around him—silent, endless, weightless.
Instead of spell models and floating runes, an endless void stretched out, soft and cold like starlit darkness.
A crystalline lotus bud rested near his feet, shimmering gently.
Raven looked down at himself.
His spiritual body was stained red. His arms, torso, legs—everything carried an eerie crimson glow.
Negative spirit essence… so this is what she meant.
Only a handful of white and golden lights hovered near his shoulders and heart.
A faint wickedness pressed against his thoughts, like a whisper urging him toward something dark. He forcibly pulled his gaze away.
Floating nearby were two orbs—one white, soft as a cloud, the other red and pulsing faintly. They drifted and collided, then drifted again.
Raven inhaled slowly.
Held the breath.
Exhaled.
The white orb drifted toward the lotus.
The red one recoiled and drifted away.
The white orb slipped into the bud—and emerged again, glowing pure gold.
Raven had just enough time to widen his eyes before the golden orb flew toward him.
It touched his spiritual form and sank in.
Warmth rushed through him—gentle, soothing, almost blissful.
His eyes snapped open in the real world. He was back in his bedroom, chest rising and falling quickly.
What… was that?