A massive explosion wiped out the entire area, and after the smoke and steam from it had subsided, a pitch black mass was generated. It was akin to a black hole that absorbed mana endlessly.
It penetrated into Maximus' body and merged with the sea of his consciousness, forming a new and inexhaustible source of energy in all its forms, be it mana, aura, shadows or spiritual power. It was only about Maximus' ability to exploit it to its fullest.
[Congratulations on being promoted to the ninth-rank, I think it worked easy.]
Maximus sighed and then took a deep breath and curbed the new power supply.
'It's very different from other ranks; I previously felt that if I hesitated for a moment I would have lost myself in the process.'
The mana completely disappeared from his body and a very dense black substance was transferred to his brain linked to the sea of consciousness, the sensation was very strange as it differed much from the mana to which he has been accustomed all his life. He had no idea how to deal with it or exploit it without experience.
[It is connected to the sea of your consciousness; the sea of your consciousness is connected to your brain.]
"If they are, moving them like mana will do."
He tried again and again but it did not budge, he made sure his method was wrong and tried to think of an alternative solution. If it did not move, why not trying to reshape it in the hope that this method would work.
"It doesn't move from its place though!? So where did I go wrong?"
[You are trying to move the tank when all you want is water inside. think about it like this.]
This time he tried treating it as a tank and tried to pull the mana out of it, but it also did not work this time. He realized that he had misunderstood the speech and thought about what the book had just told him.
"Sea of consciousness! Within the sea of consciousness you are able to do almost anything just by imagining it, if you are able to do it in reality."
He realized the answer after some thought, the solution was in imagination. Imagine a mana in your hand and mana will appear in your hand; imagine an aura, spiritual power or even shadows and it will work.
'That's the secret then. I feel mana running through my skin heading towards dark matter and then its presence disappears completely, so I don't need to think about running out of mana again.'
[You found the solution, what you have to do now is develop your skills with the techniques written within me and then create your own style. A unique style that you have on your own, a style no one can learn even if they wanted to. This is the only key to victory.]
Maximus found an excellent idea about the ideal place to train his techniques without harming others and away from disturbance. They are the ruins of the nameless cursed sorcerer.
[Do whatever you want, I will not object.]
'I remembered something, since I got the lost knowledge, I could manipulate the ruins however I wanted. Change its size, shape and even durability.'
Maximus found the perfect solution and arranged his hair and clothes to prepare for his next work, which he would continue for the next four days until the meeting, after which the first plan to prepare for the disaster would begin.
.........
He moved to the academy and headed to the office of the substitute director Morgan to tell him what he was about to do to avoid unnecessary problems. Even if he did whatever he wanted before, it was due to the presence of Albus, because he was his teacher, friend and co-worker, it did not mean he can do the same with others.
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[You are a really considerate person! What a joke.]
'This doesn't concern you.'
He knocked on the door and then entered the office, Morgan in the middle of a pile of papers. His face showed signs of extreme fatigue as if he was working non-stop.
'Good afternoon, substitute director, you look a bit tired.'
His thinking has become slow from too much work, and he may become dull if he continues like this before the duration Albus took is over. It took him a few seconds to recognize the visitor in front of him.
'Aaah, it's you, Heavenly Magician. How was Mr. Albus doing all this work? I won't endure for a week if I continue like this.'
'He is Albus, you know; he has his ways after all.'
Maximus winked at Morgan and the two exchanged laughs for a while, this removed some of the fatigue and melancholy that had exhausted the substitute manager Morgan.
'I feel a little better, thank you. Now, how can I help you?'
'I don't need anything but I wanted to let you know that I will deal with the two special guests, they will be under my responsibility from now on.'
Morgan laid on the back of the chair, rubbing his eyes and stretching out his arms, which were exhausted from too much writing.
'Thank you for your head-up, I'll send someone to let the guards know. Is there anything else other than that?'
Maximus took his dimensional storage and searched among the contents for a specific object until he found it.
'Caught it, take this necklace, mate, and put it on.'
Morgan was surprised by Maximus' action and expressed a categorical refusal, how could he accept a gift when he did nothing special other than his duties. He considered that he was not worthy of accepting it.
'I apologize, I cannot accept this gift. Thank you though.'
Maximus realized that there had been a misunderstanding and tried to explain his intention.
'It has nothing to do with work; it's a gift from me personally to you. It will help you do your job comfortably, please accept it.'
Maximus' intention was still unclear but Morgan could not be able to refuse the gift. Maximus asked him to wear it to activate its effect, and Morgan could not help but feel nervous, as he had no experience with magical objects.
"He never seemed to be a bad person, and was a friend of the manager who is selective in his choice of companionship. There should be no harm in accepting it."
As soon as he put on the necklace, he felt refreshed and atrophied the fatigue that had accumulated on him in the previous two days, a feeling of comfort, especially since Morgan was only an ordinary person who was unable to deal with magic, aura or others. The effect of an artifact like this is heaven for him.
'It's a necklace that increases vitality and slows down the speed of fatigue build-up. It will help you perform your duties much better. Consider it a gift from a friend.'
Maximus got up and then left after he had done what he had to do, he would not waste his time or Morgan's time as they both had a lot of stuck work that needed to be dealt with.
.........
'Greetings, guards.'
Maximus approached the entrance to the building where the two witnesses were present and greeted the two guards who had performed their duty perfectly. The two guards recognized him as he had visited this building several times before and returned the greeting as well.
'We greet Mr. Magician, both guests are inside. Need any other help?'
He patted them on the shoulders and then told them that he would take care of the rest and that their guard duty was over.
The guards left for the guard unit post and Maximus entered the building looking for the last two witnesses.
He opened the door to the room and entered where the two witnesses stayed. From the glance, he assumed that they were married by virtue of appearance and age; Maximus did not chat and entered directly to the heart of the matter.
'Let me identify myself, I am the heavenly magician and I came to meet you after I had finished the work that occupied me during the previous days. I apologize if you both have been waiting for so long.'
The two bowed, thanking him for coming to meet them despite his many busies. He was late but the accommodation and facilities at the academy were amazing and they did not bother to wait.
'We are the ones who are honored to meet you; we lacked nothing during the past days, thanks to the Academy.'
Maximus sat on a chair and went to the significant part.
'Let's not waste any more time, tell me the content of the prophecy you saw and then I will reward you and simply bring you home!'
The two looked at each other shortly before the man spoke first...