NOVEL NEXT Chapter 199: The True Sorcerers
Indeed, it was the color of the Third-Level Aura!
A faint blue glow radiated from his chest as his Aura Core shifted its shape and became denser…
Then, his Aura expanded outward uncontrollably for a moment.
The chamber's formation groaned as it momentarily struggled to contain the sudden pressure.
It wasn't because the Formation Array was weak. It was simply because it was no longer being maintained by the First Circle Mages for months.
Crack.
Just like that, a sound like shattering glass echoed inside his soul as he soon noticed a new notification from his Lens.
[ Aura Breakthrough Confirmed – Third-Level Aura Knight: Blue Aura Achieved. ]
[ New Trait Detected: Reinforced Skeletal Matrix – Passive Structural Fortification Activated. ]
[ Core Density: 173% | Flow Stability: 41% ]
[ Warning: Physical trauma detected – Minor muscular rupture, nerve inflammation. Forced breakthrough consequences detected. ]
Van gasped for breath. He even had tears in his eyes—not from emotion, but from the sheer physical overload.
But even through the pain, he could feel it—
Power.
He was filled with raw, dominant power, and it was something he felt excited about…
Blue Aura—unlike the muted force of Gray—felt more overwhelming.
The force behind it was more than pressure…
Just releasing a bit of it could already create a momentum, the sense of striking like lightning when he moved… He also felt like shaping the environment around him with his Aura alone…
"This is a strange feeling…" Van muttered to himself.
He clenched his fist…
Then, a pale blue sheen covered his knuckles. When he opened it again, the air around his hand hummed faintly.
This was a strength.
These changes, especially the reinforced skeletal matrix, felt more like an evolution.
Then, after a few moments, his Ocularis Lens finally grasped the situation on his body.
[ Additional Data: Skeletal Reinforcement is in unstable adaptation phase. Full integration pending recovery. ]
[ Recommended Action: Absolute rest. Internal trauma at 18%. Ideal recovery window: 72 hours minimum. ]
"Ahhh… no wonder I still feel tired even with this much power in my body." Van muttered to himself.
"Is there any way to hasten my recovery? The Tower might get attacked soon…"
After saying this, his Ocularis Lens didn't disappoint and immediately looked into a possible solution to this problem.
[ Five suggestions found for quick recovery: ]
1. Aura Circulation Mode: Low-Flow Recovery Pulse
— Initiate gentle, rhythmic Aura flow through primary and secondary meridians to accelerate tissue repair.
— Estimated Healing Efficiency Boost: +13%
— Risk: None detected under passive flow conditions. ]
Nutritional Intake Mode – Phase 3 Recovery Diet:
— Consume high-protein, mineral-dense food (e.g., dried bloodfruit jerky, marrow broth, steamed horned-beast egg).
— Supplement with iron, calcium, and high-energy bone powder if available.
— Drink warm tonic every 4 hours to maintain cellular hydration.
— Note: Tower ration packs are inadequate for optimal regeneration. Scavenge or barter recommended. ]
The first two suggestions were quite doable.
The Aura Circulation Method was also not something new to him. On the other hand, finding better food would probably be a lot easier if the war against the Rebel Mages wasn't about to come.
After all, food supplies should be quite expensive right now. This was especially true for servants or slaves…
Still, Van considered looking through it.
Anyway, he continued to check the rest of the suggestions.
[ 3. Skeletal Resonance Meditation ]
As soon as he read it, Van was confused.
'Another meditation mode?' He mused.
During the past few months, he had read a lot of meditation books and with the high-level Aura Void Method as a reference, it was indeed not surprising for his Lens to develop a new Meditation that would suit his exhausted body.
As he continued looking through the suggestion, he found more important information.
[ Lens Guided Meditation Mode Available:
— Sit in upright posture.
— Allow Aura to spiral through bone and spine.
— Focus on internal Aura movement
— Daily Sessions: 2x 40 minutes minimum
— Purpose: Stabilize and deepen Reinforced Skeletal Matrix integration.
— Estimated Effect: Core Stability +5%, Pain Suppression +8% ]
[ 4. Sleep Regulation Advisory:
— Avoid late-night exertion.
— Enter full sleep cycle within next 3 hours to synchronize with optimal hormone release.
— Minimum uninterrupted rest: 6.5 hours. ]
[ 5. Movement Restriction Warning:
— Avoid sparring, heavy lifting, or rapid acceleration of Aura usage.
— Warning: Sudden Aura surges may destabilize core pressure or cause re-rupture in recovering tissues. ]
"Ohhhh… This seems doable…" Shane muttered as he certainly planned to do all of them to hasten his recovery. The Rebel Mages would wait for him to recover after all.
Van collapsed onto the cold stone floor as he wanted to just do nothing for a moment…
He had done it.
He had stepped into the realm where Aura could do well against Spell…
If he were still in the Austere Kingdom, he had basically become a Blue Aura Knight…
Nonetheless, the timing could not have been more perfect.
Because war was coming.
He just needed at least a day or maybe even two to recover.
***
In the meantime, far to the southeast of the Rukh Tower, beyond the hills of the Blackbarrow region, a series of stealthy encampments were scattered along a valley…
These were not ordinary war camps. Here, tents made of scaled beast hide with wooden totems, and banners of a broken wand impaled through an eye, could be seen.
The True Sorcerers had gathered.
These rebel mages, known across kingdoms as heretics and terrorists, called themselves saviors of the old way.
At the heart of their growing army was the leader of their organization, Archmage Leon. A Fifth-Circle Mage and once a Royal Arcanist of the Right Wing Court of the Phyrexian Kingdom…
Leon had abandoned the Court after uncovering ancient doctrines hidden by the Kingdom itself…
At this time, his skin was marked with blood-tattoos of forgotten runes..
It was something that he had also shared with every other mage who had joined his cause…
"Magic has been twisted…" Leon once said as he spoke before a crowd of loyalists.
"They bottle it. Distill it. Inject it. They pretend to understand the will of the Arcane, but they only deform it. The Alchemists that's diluting our bodies are nothing but parasites to magic's original form."
Behind him, his most trusted followers.
One of them was Archmage Virel, a white-haired woman whose magic manifested in chants and mastered various Spells related to wind.
There was also Crux, a hulking warrior-mage who had fused his martial skill with forbidden blood runes…
Lastly, there was Lume, the Seer, a frail girl with no voice, but her visions were what made them successful in almost all of their missions.
Every day, the rebel mages honed their craft through various rituals.
They avoided modern spell circles and potion buffs.
Instead, they fed on raw mana from the earth itself…
Of course, they also hunted magical beasts to absorb their cores and practiced soul-bonding with forbidden relics...
Their method of magic was getting more and more different from the modern Mages.
But even if it only seemed to be the traditional practice of magic, it was actually forbidden by the Phyrexian Kingdom to practice it…
However, Leon's organization would ban these "forbidden" practices.
They believed in pain, sacrifice, and purity of the old arcana.
Though many had joined for belief, others had come from desperation.
Some of them were survivors of Mage Tower experiments, expelled students, or those whose families had been obliterated by collateral alchemical incidents.
Still, not all was smooth within the rebel faction.
Supplies had become harder to move. Scouts from nearby noble families had been spotted, and they were causing problems...
Furthermore, several minor strongholds had been lost to mercenaries hired by the Mage Council.
Furthermore, some dissenters even questioned Leon's obsession with the Rukh Tower.
However, he knew that this was the right decision. It was even confirmed by Lume, their Seer!
"Why not strike the smaller towers first?" A captain once argued.
Leon's answer was clear…
"Because Archmage Farrell must be stopped… He is not just a master alchemist. He is the one who gave rise to the practice of Arcane Alteration—the very concept of converting raw spells into crystallized forms. That knowledge birthed the Philosopher's Elixir… the same drug that has polluted the World's Mana!"
When he said this, no one really understood… Even if they somehow understood, they were still unsure how important this mission was.
However, they trusted him a lot, and so, they still joined his cause.
Anyway, it wasn't important for him even if the camp thinks that this mission was not just strategic, but was personal.
"Haa… I must end this…" Leon muttered.
He had once trained under Farrell. He had witnessed firsthand the experiments done on children in hidden levels of the tower. He had believed then that Farrell was a visionary. But at that time, he saw the man as the embodiment of magical arrogance.
And so, the siege was being prepared.
Although he knew that this mission would not be easy compared to the other Towers that they had destroyed, Leon knew that there was no perfect time other than this...
At this time, the Mage Council of the Kingdom would fail to send reinforcements... It was something that they had planned over the past few years and they were not going to miss it!