Demonstrating Magic

"You mean you want to teach them magic?" Serie tilted her head and stared at Rhode.

After the excitement of their reunion faded, Rhode pulled her aside and made this request.

"Do as you like."

Serie had no objections. Teaching one was teaching, and teaching two was the same.

Besides, the magic she and Rhode used had both been improved and had already moved beyond the scope of Elf race magic.

Only, Rhode would have to convince Kraft himself.

But that probably would not be a problem. That guy had never returned to the Elf Forest in the hundreds of years since he left, so he likely no longer cared about those outdated rules.

"But what magic did you use to severely injure that Demon Race member?"

Serie remembered that when she reached the cliff, the Demon Race member had already been badly wounded. Half its body had been blown away, and it had only survived because of its unusual physique.

"I guess that Demon Race member must have modified its own body as well. Otherwise, it would have turned to ash long ago from such severe injuries."

Serie carefully considered it. Since the enemy possessed magic capable of controlling Monster corpses, it was hardly strange for it to alter its own body into something undead.

"That is indeed possible."

Rhode nodded, agreeing with her speculation, then explained the move he had used to severely wound the Demon Race member.

"Absorbing light and then exploding?" Serie found it difficult to understand. "Can you show me?"

Rhode looked somewhat troubled.

This move was still in its experimental stage, and he was not yet proficient with it.

More importantly, he only knew how to release it, not rein it in. It made quite a commotion, too.

After he told Serie his concerns, she merely said casually, "Then let's go somewhere farther away and try it."

Serie had never forgotten her purpose.

She wanted to teach Rhode magic so that he could create even more powerful magic.

Now that she had heard he had created such a powerful spell, she naturally could not suppress her excitement.

Rhode nodded and informed Norn and Erik. If the commotion he caused later was too great, it would definitely alarm the two of them.

It was also a way of giving them a warning in advance.

What he had not expected was that they wanted to see it too.

They had never witnessed the terrifying power of magic before. When they had sparred with Rhode earlier, the magic he used had always stopped short of causing real harm, and he had never used any wide-area destructive spells.

Rhode agreed, but he had not expected to attract Kraft and Som as well.

Looking at the group staring intently at him, Rhode said helplessly, "You people really have nothing better to do."

"It's rare for young Rhode to show us what he can do. Of course I have to join in the fun." The Dwarf Som replied with a grin.

And so, the group arrived at an open stretch of ground outside the village.

Since this was still within Gremir Forest, they did not have to worry about Monster attacks. They only needed to watch out for the occasional wild beast.

But for the people present, any foolish beast that dared appear before them would merely become an extra dish for dinner.

Rhode stood in the middle of the clearing and had everyone remain behind him at a certain distance before he began manipulating his mana.

One Magic Circle after another appeared in his palm.

The situation had been urgent at the time, so Rhode had not had the chance to optimize this magic. Fortunately, its power had still met his expectations.

Now, Rhode was preparing to release the spell in its complete form.

Rhode focused completely on controlling the flow of energy. Serie could clearly sense that the mana around him was taking on an incomparably violent nature.

Then, in the very next second, everything before them went dark.

More accurately, the light belonging to this space had been stripped away.

The darkness lasted only an instant, not even half a second. Norn and Erik even thought their eyes had deceived them.

Som, however, noticed something unusual. He rubbed his eyes, and his instincts made him take two more steps back.

Kraft and Serie were the most sensitive to that darkness, and both wore extremely grave expressions.

For Kraft, it was a warrior's instinct. As for Serie, she had noticed something wrong from the flow of mana in the air just now.

"What a terrifying presence," Kraft remarked.

His warrior's instincts made him unconsciously assume a fighting stance, every muscle in his body tensing.

"Yes, it seems Rhode has created a truly terrifying magic."

Without showing it, Serie layered two Defense Magic spells over herself. At the same time, she quietly formed a Magic Circle with one hand, ready to release a magical barrier the moment anything went wrong.

As their words fell, Rhode finally finished charging his spell.

Since he was no longer facing a life-or-death situation, Rhode could take his time building up power.

The tiny white dot from before had become a fist-sized orb of light, which also meant its power had increased severalfold.

The ball of white light floated quietly above Rhode's palm, then began to spin, emitting a piercing hum and forming rings of visible light waves.

Norn and Erik widened their eyes and instinctively backed away several steps, even ducking behind Som in unspoken agreement.

This made Som so angry that he practically puffed up his beard and glared—assuming he had had a beard to puff up in the first place.

Of the two who did not retreat, Kraft assumed a defensive stance, while Serie silently unfolded a magical barrier before herself.

They had never seen such powerful energy fluctuations. Simply watching from afar made their hearts pound.

"It's coming!"

Rhode suddenly flung both hands forward, sending the orb dozens of meters away. He then immediately cast the same magical barrier as Serie in front of himself.

BOOM!!!

Amid the deafening explosion, a dazzling Light Pillar shot into the sky.

A violent shockwave of energy spread in all directions, blasting everything off the ground. Everything at the center of the explosion was reduced to ash, exposing the black soil beneath.

Even the trees far from the blast center shook violently, their leaves and broken branches falling like rain.

When the light faded, everyone discovered in shock that a charred crater dozens of meters wide had appeared in the center of the clearing.

"This..." Erik's mouth hung open, and he could not speak for a long time.

He did not even dare imagine what kind of disaster such a spell would cause if it landed in the village.

"What an incredible spell." Norn stared at the crater left by the magic, as if deep in thought.

If humans could also learn such powerful magic, they should be able to stand proudly in this world instead of living lives of constant hiding and fleeing.

At that moment, Norn suddenly developed a fierce determination to make Rhode teach him this magic no matter the cost, so that he could pass it down to future generations.

If this magic were inherited and developed generation after generation, it would surely create a brighter future for humanity.