Chapter 235: The Choice of Time

The 6th Circle magic tomes that Furnel brought were different from the magic books Hio had seen before.

First of all, they were several times thicker, and their titles weren’t just simple spell names but contained more abstract and broader meanings.

That’s because they were grimoires, not mere spellbooks.

Unlike the previous spellbooks that detailed a single spell, these were grimoires that listed high-level spells of a particular attribute in succession.

While most were 6th Circle, these grimoires also contained spells from the 5th and even the 7th Circle, provided their magical effects were significant and they could be linked together.

Of course, he couldn’t learn every grimoire.

There was a limit to the number of Circle Inscriptions he could hold, and above all, he simply didn’t have the time.

So, the priority was to pick out the spells with the best efficiency.

After spending a considerable amount of time examining all the grimoires, he was able to narrow it down to six out of the dozen or so volumes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

To briefly summarize their contents:

[Book of Divine Punishment]

Main Spells:

* Spear of Judgment: Summons a shining spear from the sky to pierce the enemy.

* Citadel of Thunder: Creates a shield of sacred lightning to reflect enemy attacks.

* Divine Bombardment: Multiple spheres of light fall from the sky toward enemies.

[Book of Nature’s Apostle]

Main Spells:

* Wrath of Nature: Borrows the forest’s power to subdue enemies with roots and vines.

* Torrential Rain and Storm: Summons a natural disaster that hinders enemy vision and movement.

* Proliferation of Life: Heals the battlefield and exerts a force that amplifies life.

[Tome of Time]

Main Spells:

* Manipulation of Time’s Flow: Makes time flow faster or slower within a specific area.

* Chamber of Regression: Briefly returns to the past, allowing one to reverse an enemy’s action or change strategy.

* Severance of Time: Renders a specific target powerless by excluding them from the flow of time.

[Sutra of Flame Transformation]

Main Spells:

* Resurrection of Ashes: Incinerates enemies to annihilation and creates soldiers made of fire.

* Fireball of Hell: Summons a giant fireball imbued with the power of destruction to engulf the battlefield.

* Immortal Flame: Envelops the user’s body in flames, removing all status ailments and restoring health.

[Tome of the Heavens]

Main Spells:

* Judgment of the Stars: Summons shining starlight from the sky to unleash a large-scale bombardment.

* Dance of the Storm: Traps the battlefield in a wide-ranging storm, confusing enemies.

* Shield of the Heavens: Condenses celestial energy to block both physical and magical attacks.

[Book of Earth’s Seal]

Main Spells:

* Wall of Sealing: Summons a high-difficulty barrier of stone and earth over a wide area.

* Prison of the Earth: Drags enemies into the ground and binds them.

* Mountain Range Transformation: Transforms the terrain into a massive mountain range.

Just from the descriptions, each one sounded like a tempting spell, but learning them all was nearly impossible.

In the end, it meant he still had to choose from among these.

‘The spell that can yield the highest efficiency with a single casting…’

Actually, the answer had been clear from the start.

The only grimoire containing solely support magic in a collection mostly filled with attack spells.

The magic of a non-mainstream school he had wanted to learn but couldn’t because it was such a high Circle.

“Chronomancy.”

It was the grimoire of Chronomancy, the magic that manipulates time: the Tome of Time.

Hio picked up the deep brown grimoire that looked brand new.

[Tome of Time]

Main Spells:

* Manipulation of Time’s Flow: Makes time flow faster or slower within a specific area.

* Chamber of Regression: Briefly returns to the past, allowing one to reverse an enemy’s action or change strategy.

* Severance of Time: Renders a specific target powerless by excluding them from the flow of time.

Manipulating the flow of time within a fixed space.

Briefly returning to the past, though temporarily.

Erasing the time of a specific target, and so on.

It sounded like a bunch of nonsense, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, it was magic from a school officially recognized by Tetradia.

“It’s a pity that ‘Chamber of Regression’ is a spell only perfected in theory…”

While the ultimate ‘Chamber of Regression’ of Chronomancy, which involves returning to the past, was a theoretical spell that couldn’t be cast even at the 7th Circle level, the other spells had sufficiently excellent functions, so it didn’t matter.

Reading the descriptions alone, they seemed like impossibly overpowered spells, but that’s precisely why Chronomancy’s drawbacks were so clear.

First, compared to other spells of the same Circle, the casting time was longer, and Magic Power consumption was nearly double.

The Circle Inscriptions had to be completely newly engraved, meaning the risk was also considerable.

Despite such risks, it was a magic worth learning.

Unlike traditional mages who only learned magic from one school, Hio could learn all types of magic he desired, couldn’t he?

The amount of Circle Inscriptions he could accommodate was also several times that of an ordinary person.

“The basic inscription for Chronomancy is the ‘Transformation of Drift’… Since time is ultimately a type of law…”

He began reading the Tome of Time carefully from the very first page.

***

Before going to the World’s End, Hio, as a 5th Circle mage, had a tendency to neglect attack magic.

‘Didn’t he have top-tier skills that were several times stronger and more convenient to use than attack spells?’

Of course, 5th Circle attack magic was powerful, but compared to his ultimate attack skills like Thunder Emperor or Blue Flame, the reality was that he rarely used them.

However, after returning from the World’s End and reaching the realms of the 6th and 7th Circles…

After experiencing the Infinite Night with its pouring Strange Entities and its master, Kreutzvalt, his thoughts had changed somewhat.

The more attack magic, the better.

Even 6th Circle magic probably couldn’t deal meaningful damage to Kreutzvalt, but still, the more attack magic, the better.

Because, in the end, it would provide various paths to create that decisive opportunity.

That’s why, even after obtaining Divine Status, he was studying magic so diligently.

***

The daily routine in the Tower of Mages was quite monotonous.

Hio clung to the Tome of Time, researched the inscriptions, engraved new ones, and experimented with the various effects that arose from them.

In his spare time, he didn’t hesitate to learn familiar spells of other attributes.

Unlike Chronomancy, which he had to learn completely from scratch, attack magic of other attributes, even at the 6th Circle, had a foundation he’d already walked, so the learning speed was fast.

And Furnel helped Hio learn Chronomancy and spent his remaining time roaming the newly opened rooms of the Magic Tower, collecting decent Artifacts or grimoires.

–

“Hey, what about this one? It’s a necklace I found on the 133rd floor. Aside from the design being a bit peculiar, the effect is quite decent……”

He would bring things like a necklace with a pendant the size of a human head.

Still, his hit rate was fairly high.

“This time, I’ve found something truly good. I found it in the research lab of a mage famous for golem research……”

It was only natural, as this was the Tetradia Tower of Mages.

If one possessed a personal research lab or room to that extent, they would have been a mage of some renown within the tower, and the items or grimoires such a person owned were highly likely to be outstanding.

“If we compare and research this and that Ice Golem possessed by the so-called Goddess of Love or Psycho Goddess, we could get good results.”

“That Ice Golem possessed by the Airlights.”

“If it’s as you say, it’s no ordinary golem. I’ve never even heard of one with that much power.”

“It’s probably one of the arrangements left by the Goddess Venus.”

“All the more reason to research it. Shouldn’t we find out the difference between a golem made by a god and one made by a human?”

“That’s true. The problem is that the Airlights aren’t here right now.”

The Airlights were currently headed to Fioria for a while.

It was to manage the believers and gather more Divinity Points.

Otherwise, the Airlights’ faith was spread over a not-so-wide area with a small population.

Therefore, the Airlights’ plan was to utilize that to the maximum to acquire Divinity Points.

Of course, Fioria was also a historic kingdom with a considerable population and vast territory, but compared to Hio, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

The Heavenly Demon Cult spreading its influence across the entire Earth.

The Order of Patience, centered around Irina, gradually growing to replace the Order of Liphyue.

So, while Hio’s Divinity Points accumulated at a tremendous speed even without him lifting a finger, the Airlights had to run around personally.

“Well, we can try that when the Airlights return… What about you, Furnel?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you satisfied with your current state?”

At Hio’s question, Furnel rolled his big eyes.

“Is it difficult to create an essence like before?”

Furnel had entered Hio’s body and become one with him thanks to directly creating the ‘Specter’s Essence’.

But wasn’t it due to some trick by Kreutzvalt that his soul was separated and he returned?

“An essence can only be created once. It’s a pity, but I can no longer travel with you like that…”

“It’s not particularly regrettable… But let’s check once. To see if you can also return to a human body.”

“Forget it. I, as a Necromancer, like the undead, but I don’t want to become undead myself.”

“Not an undead body, a human body. Among the many, many Divine Authorities, there must be one like that, right?”

Furnel, uncharacteristically, couldn’t continue speaking.

Seeing him like that, Hio wondered if he had been too indifferent until now.

The years he had lived as a Specter alone amounted to a thousand.

Of course, he had spent most of those years as a ghost corrupted by evil, not even remembering, but that didn’t mean he had no connections.

He must have had precious people. He must have had dreams he wanted.

He probably didn’t want to live as a ghost.

“Don’t think about that for now. We can’t use Divinity Points on such a thing, can we?”

“After everything is over. I promise then. There will surely be a suitable Divine Authority for you.”

“I’m telling you, it’s unnecessary.”

Despite saying that, Furnel somehow looked pleased.

‘You better manage those Divinity Points or whatever well. I can’t look after you anymore.’

“I was just about to check that.”

Thanks to the note left by the last Lord of the Magic Tower, Abelard Pavlenko, he had discovered that the true name of the previous God of Magic was ‘Drisella’.

This was information far more significant than he had imagined, saving a huge amount of time and even allowing him to learn what the previous God of Magic’s Divine Authority was.

[Divinity Point : 6,988,042 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Harmesia’s Swift Judgment: 6,500,000 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Rie’s Immortal Coordination : 8,000,000 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Venus’s Shining Confession : 7,777,777 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Isera’s Soul Wings : 5,500,000 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Kises’s Infinite Summons : 9,000,000 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Drisella’s Breath of Origin : 8,000,000 Pt]

[Divine Authority – Terabor’s Vanished Consciousness : 7,500,000 Pt]

***

Just a little more.

Making Drisella’s Divine Authority his own and learning other 6th Circle magics, starting with Chronomancy.

These were goals he absolutely had to achieve before the next conquest began.