[Wilhelm POV]
Pain.
Pain all over the body. In every nerve, every muscle, in fiber of my being, there is nothing but pain.
Groggily, through the closed lids of my eyes, light peered. An annoying light that caused me to feel searing pain in my head. But pressing through that pain, I opened my eyes, and what greeted me was a blinding flash of light.
This caused me to press my lids close once more, filtering the light and letting my eyes adjust.
"O-, -t s--s th-t -o- --e -w--k-."
'Hmm…who…is it?' I thought as I looked at a blur in front of his eyes.
"W-it, c-- -ou s-e m-?"
The same voice tried to say something to me, but all I felt as if I was hearing someone speak underwater.
Then I felt someone grab hold of my eye lids, and open them apart for me, shining a bright light at my eyes, who started to focus rapidly, and the blur in front of me started to gain form.
Slowly, the figure that formed in front of my eyes started to look familiar until I recognized him. A middle-aged woman with white hair, wearing glasses, and a white coat on his body.
"O…wen?" I managed to say, through the rough and parched throat, and suddenly, broke into a fit of coughing.
*COUGH* *COUGH*
"Here, drink this and don't speak now. Let it take a while." Owen said, as he placed a hand on my shoulder to prevent me from getting up by instinct, and placed a glass of water in front of my throat.
Without thinking, I chugged down the glass of water. As it touched my lips, I realized how dry they were and how parched I was.
"Aaahhh…" I let out a sound of relief after drinking water. Seeing it, Owen wrote something in a notepad and then turned to me.
"Well, from your eye movement and your heartbeat, I can say that you are fine."
"What…happened?" I asked, still some dryness in my voice.
"Long version, or short version?"
"Detailed one." I replied, wanting to hear everything.
"Well, before that, I have some bad news and a whole lot of good new-"
"Bad one *Rasps* first." I replied, moving the remaining moisture from water in my throat, as I could feel some itchiness in the back of it.
With a snap of his finger, Owen summoned several jellyfish-like creatures who floated in mid-air as if swimming on water and started to do something, which dealt with the itchiness in my throat, along with the body ache, giving me the relief that I did not know I needed.
"Close the windows and light while you are at it. I don't like *COUGH* *COUGH* light shining on my face." I said with a cough as air entered the wrong pipe by mistake.
Immediately, the room darkened, and the pressure on my eyes eased, and Owen began.
"Well, bad news. Your use of that magic in the end put a great amount of strain on your body, which weakened it severely."
A pit formed in my stomach hearing it.
'Please don't tell me that I am crippled or anything.'
As if hearing my thoughts, Owen replied in a soothing tone, as I could not see his face.
"But that is it. It will heal with bed rest, and full muscle recovery will take about a week to a month, depending upon your diet, though from what I have heard, your Fire Recovery Magic can speed up this process to hours as well, so don't worry.
There is no permanent damage to your body."
And I released a mouthful of air that I did not know I was holding.
"Hehehe, scared you there, didn't I?"
That old bastard chuckled as if he had told a good joke.
'What is wrong with these doctors? Everyone is so numb to the pain. That is why they only marry each other, because only they are the only people alive who can hold a marriage with that numb feeling.'
"Well, moving on.
Good news, first, from what I have heard and according to your captain, after killing Rhya, your grimoire changed. You can see what it means.
Also, by using that magic, while you put your body in harm's way, you accelerated an unprecedented growth of your muscles. If you train them with proper rest, you can be stronger than you were before.
You completed your mission successfully and managed to secure what the Wizard King asked of your team."
'Well, that is good news indeed.'
"All of your equipment, including sword, shield, armor, and…piss-tall…musk-cat?...they broke down because of your intense mana."
"How is that good news?" I asked, making a deadpan face that he could not see in the dark.
"Because Wizard King himself, after being more than pleased with your performance, has ordered to make items be made for you from a…legitimate source this time. Or give you better materials to make the last two items because he knew you were not too keen on sharing."
"*SIGH*…Well, that is good news indeed." I replied, turning my hand a little now since the soreness had eased due to the administration of healing magic from Owen.
"That is great news. You do know that even among nobles, there are only a handful of people who can get items manufactured by the one Wizard King speaks of."
"Gee, this not going to piss those nobles with ego as fragile as glass at all." I said with sarcasm dripping from my voice. My voice gaining more of its usual sound.
"Hahahaha, you are right about that. But since you are from Black Bulls, no one will want to mess with you. After all, nobody wants Yami visiting their home, and wiping his butt with their table cloth, then stuff that same cloth in their mouth."
"He did what?!" I asked, unable to believe what I just heard.
Owen merely chuckled at my tone and said, "Those were…interesting times."
He answered diplomatically, before continuing. "Anyway, moving forward. You have been here for around 2 weeks, 13 days to be precise.
In those 13 days, we have had an attack on Witch's Forest by Diamond Kingdom, which was thwarted by the combined efforts of the Witch Queen, some rebels from Diamond Kingdom, and members of Black Bulls. Namely, Vanessa, Asta, Finral, Luck, Noelle, and…another person with makeup that I can't remember- Oh! Gordon." Owen replied in the end as if he had solved the world's greatest mystery.
"Wait, what were Black Bulls doing there? Shouldn't a more… well-accepted squad like Golden Dawn?" I said, trying to put it nicely.
"Don't put it like that. After everything Black Bulls have done in the past few months, it will soon overtake Green Mantis, Blue Rose, Aqua Deer, and Purple Orca.
As for your other query, Vanessa was already there to develop her powers. Maybe she felt inadequate in your last encounter with Eye of Midnight Sun, and decided to train herself. Went to Witch's Forest with her friends, and you can see how the rest played out." Owen replied as he settled back into his chair from the creaking sounds that I heard.
"That explains it. Sounds like something they will do." Wilhelm said, satisfied with the reply.
"Also, we were attacked by the Diamond Kingdom, though Magic Knights successfully thwarted it."
"…
Are you sure that I was asleep for 13 days and not 13 years?" I asked about the absurdity of the things that have happened in barely 2 weeks.
"Well, a lot is happening, so I can understand the feeling. And…now I am going to leave it up to rest for a while. Who knows, your two little girlfriends may not give you time to rest by worrying over you."
WAIT, WHAT?!
"Little by your standard, or by my standard?"
"PFFFFTTTT-Hey! I am not that old." Owen said as he sprayed something from his mouth all over.
*COUGH COUGH COUGH*
"Mrrmm…jokes aside, Mimosa Vermillion and Noelle Silva repeatedly visited you every day, several times in fact." As those words left his mouth, my brain stopped working for a moment.
'Noelle, I can understand…somewhat. I am not sure about things…between us, but Mimosa, I have only ever met her 2 times. How can she be having feelings for me?
Nah, I might be looking too much into it. Maybe Mimosa just visited me to check up on me.
Or maybe I am so handsome that she fell head over heels for me at first sight.'
That must be it.
"Stop grinning." Owen said in a monotonous tone.
"It is dark. You can't see me."
"Are you grinning?"
"…Yes, I am."
"Then stop grinning."
"Okay."
"…
…
…"
"Stop grinning."
"I am not grinning."
"You are grinning.'
"Yes, I am."
"Stop it."
"I will. After a while."
***
[THIRD PERSON POV]
After that short conversation, Wilhelm slept in peace for 5 more hours, and woke up again, this time with less pain in his body, but still having much residual pain.
"Umm…pain is still there." Wilhelm groaned as he washed away the drowsiness that still had hold of him when he woke up.
Bringing his hand out, Wilhelm willed his grimoire to appear once again. It floated from the table beside him to his hands.
Without admiring the grimoire that was said to have changed, Wilhelm willed the Fire Recovery Magic, which set his body ablaze, giving him a soothing warmth.
"Ahh...that is it." Wilhelm spoke in relief as he felt the pain in his body disappear bit by bit.
'Huh, all pain in my body disappeared. But I guess it makes sense, since this magic was able to heal Rhya when he was cut into two.' Wilhelm said to himself when, finally, his body felt all right.
Then he stood up from the bed that he was on and felt a slight discomfort as he walked, as one would feel after not walking for a while.
"Well, I guess I should get a change of clothes." Wilhelm muttered as he gazed down at the plain white gown that he was wearing.
Then Wilhelm looked around and did not find the presence of anyone present. Seeing this, he walked up to the door in the room made of stone that he was in and pushed the door open by a twist of its knob.
Without making a creaking sound, the door opened, and he was greeted by the movement of some Clover Kingdom magic knights stationed here. They themselves were a bit startled by the sudden opening of the door, but seeing that the person behind the door was the patient himself, they lowered their guard.
"Mr. Rothchilde?" One of them said his name in an inquisitive tone.
"Can I please speak with Mr. Owen, or anyone who is in charge?" Wilhelm asked in response to which one of the guards who had asked him just now said, "Okay. I will call Mr. Owen. Please remain here till then."
"Thank you." Wilhelm replied with a diplomatic smile.
Then he entered the room again and sat on the bed, using the waiting time to check his grimoire.
'Let's see what gifts Rhya the Selfless Donor has blessed me with.'
Wilhelm mockingly chuckled as he first looked at the cover. The portion of the cover to Regulus Aurum belonged to, and found that here were a few additions. A twin-headed serpent. An ox. A sheep.
'Wait! Did I just gain another three spells of the portion of the grimoire that has like, THE Strongest Spell?' Wilhelm thought with barely hidden excitement and wonder.
But he restrained himself and observed no more changes. And there were quite a few.
Regulus Aurum's constellation has become more prominent, as if empowered.
There was a portion of the grimoire that resembled that of water, another of air, and earth.
There was a portion that looked like the roots of the tree, which appeared divine in appearance.
Mineral Magic and Fire Magic, which were before on the cover, were not there anymore.
Also, there was a contrast created by a bright light and all-consuming darkness.
There was a portion of the grimoire showing decay, like a corpse, and another that felt as if it was there, but not there at the same time.
'I just used Fire Recovery Magic, but why is it not showing there?
I guess I will find the answer to these questions by reading this.' Wilhelm thought as he started to flip through the pages. Passing through familiar pages, he finally came across the pages with changes.
There was a series of pages filled with spells regarding Water Magic, Wind Magic, and Earth Magic.
'So, I can control all 5 elements. What does that make me? Avatar?' Wilhelm joked to himself, snorting and continuing to flip.
Then he came across the pages that looked rotten, with ominous writings on them.
'This magic, this must belong to Rades from the Capital attack. Soul Corpse Magic was it called? There are a few spells here. One to reanimate corpses, and the other to modify the corpses.'
He flipped to the next page and was greeted by the one containing Dark Magic.
'Ah, Dark Magic from Captain Yami. FINALLY! I have it!
And Spells are wonderful too.
Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash, Black Hole, Dark Cloaked Black Blade, Black Cocoon, and Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash.
And there is more to come.'
Wilhelm grinned at that thought and flipped forward.
'Light Magic, Light Magic, aha! Finally, I can say that I am actually the long lost member of Royal Blood line and can really screw up political landscape.'
Next was…
'Is that, wait, this spell, isn't it used by Captain Vangeance? Magic Tree Descent.
This is World Tree Magic, but how did Rhya get access to this? I did not hear about any scuffle between Captain William with Rhya, or any member of Eye of Midnight Sun, for that matter.
Something to think about later.'
Wilhelm thought with apprehension, but moved forward anyway and came across pages that seemed to fade and come back into existence.
'Oh…this is Intangible Magic, neat.'
Next was the one he was holding out on for a while.
'Here comes the cream of the crop.
First, Regulus Aurum, there is a new series of spells that allows me more control over electricity, without calling on the big guns.
Oh, wait, here it is. This is where my other spells went.
Al-Meissa Mercury - Gemini Tritos / The Serpentine Dragon of Mercury
Spatial Magic. The twin-headed serpent that can eat spaces and dimensions. This can allow me to teleport and prevent other people from using Spatial Magic as well.
Mesarthim-Adamas - Aries Prote / The Divine Sheep of Adamantine
Diamond Magic. A sheep that can manipulate magical diamond-like gems that can form the strongest defense. I can also call on my usual Mineral Magic as well.
Finally, Cor Tauri-Sucinum - Taurus Deutera / The Ox Headed King Of Amber
Lava Magic. An ox that is capable of manipulating Lava and using it to attack enemies. I can also use my previous Fire Magic as well.
This has been nothing but a heap of great rewards.
Blessed be Rhya, the Generous Donor.'
***
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