The Indomitable Martial King

[ Chapter 100 ]

Repenhardt gazed gently at Relhard, who was sobbing heavily. Turning to Siris, he scratched his head in perplexity.

“Uh, sorry, Siris. I’ve used up the Nihillen. I’ll get you something better to replace it.”

Of course, Siris was hardly in a state to care about the loss of mere Nihillen right now. She was utterly bewildered by the miracle before her, her mind a blank.

“You are…”

It was not the time to question Repenhardt.

“What on earth are you…”

The miracle he had just performed was far beyond Siris’s comprehension.

Holding her trembling shoulders gently, Repenhardt whispered softly.

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll explain everything later.”

“Yes…”

Siris nodded quietly. By now, even the act of questioning Repenhardt seemed daunting. Watching the docile Siris, Repenhardt internally celebrated.

‘Ah, the effort was worth it.’

Thinking how compliant she became just from a slight embrace! Well, to speak this way makes it seem like Repenhardt revived the World Tree purely out of self-interest, but he is not so frivolous. Reviving the World Tree is definitely for a noble cause, of that he is certain. Yet, sneaking in a bit of personal gain doesn’t really call for condemnation, does it?

‘Aiming for multiple effects from a single action is the attitude of a great magician.’

Repenhardt, feeling proud, whispered into Siris’s ear.

“Shall we return to Grand Forge now?”

Vvvvvvooooom!

From the outskirts of the Grand Forge, a sound vibrated through the air at the ruined temple of Al Port. Simultaneously, a giant portal opened, spewing out Repenhardt and Siris. They had returned from their journey through the Spelrat Desert and the Daiman Ruins.

As they completely emerged, the portal began to waver and gradually started to disappear. Repenhardt hurriedly formed hand seals in the air, murmuring.

“I have to lock it so no one else can use it.”

In this era, no other mage had researched enough to use the portal at the Daiman Ruins. However, the unpredictability of the world remained. If a high-ranking mage accidentally discovered this portal during their exploration, it could cause a major headache. The existence of the Grand Forge might be revealed in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Repenhardt meticulously applied his magical energy to install control codes in all the portals at the Daiman Ruins. Even if another mage discovered a portal, they would be unable to activate it due to the encryption. Anticipating the chance that a grandmaster mage might decipher the code, he also incorporated a spell that would destroy the portal if the password was entered incorrectly three times. Losing the ancient heritage was painful, but it was preferable to risking the safety of the dwarves.

As soon as the portal completely vanished, Repenhardt looked down at Siris.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Siris replied readily, and Repenhardt smiled softly. Although his expression remained cold, it was noticeably gentler than his previously chilly demeanor. Moreover, the ever-present sense of vigilance was gone. His expression was faint only because of his long habit of not showing emotions.

‘Indeed, visiting the in-laws was worth it.’

Pleased, Repenhardt walked towards the center of Grand Forge, with Siris following him lightly.

The first to greet Repenhardt upon his return was Sillan.

“Hey, man! Where have you two been wandering off to?”

“Ah, sorry. Were you worried?”

Anger was clearly visible on Sillan’s face. It was understandable for Sillan to be angry since Repenhardt had left with a brief word and disappeared for nearly a week.

However, calming the excited Sillan was quite simple.

“Hey! Sillan! Staying a few more days seemed to have broadened your shoulders and built some muscle, huh?”

“Really?”

As if the previous tension had vanished, Sillan’s expression quickly changed to one of delight, even showing an understanding attitude.

“Well, you could have stayed longer but came back early.”

Though it was impossible for his physique to change significantly in just a few days, Sillan genuinely seemed pleased. Repenhardt chuckled inwardly.

‘…Such a simple guy.’

Then, a group of dwarves approached him. These dwarves varied in age, but unlike others, they were all draped in grey robes. The dwarves crowded around Repenhardt, rejoicing.

“Ooh, Master! You have returned!”

“Why didn’t you at least speak before leaving?”

“That’s true.”

The dwarves referred to Repenhardt with a title clearly different from the others who called him a savior. Repenhardt looked around at the dwarves and spoke.

“So, any progress, everyone?”

“Would you like to see?”

One of the dwarves stepped forward and began gesturing wildly in the air. Amidst his bushy beard, a deep voice emerged.

“Delphir la Sterin, I grasp the void to strike my enemy with a single shot bullet. Aero Bullet!”

As he finished speaking, the dwarf stretched out his hand into the air. The wind bullet sliced through the atmosphere and struck a stone floor about 10 meters away. A slight puff of stone dust erupted with a small explosion.

It was a first-circle wind magic attack spell, Aero Bullet. Though it was a low-grade spell, it was a definite manifestation of magic from the hands of a dwarf who had lost magic.

Repenhardt offered his praise.

“Excellent. Both the power and control are impeccable,” the dwarf who had cast the magic, his face beaming with pride. The other dwarves began to chatter excitedly among themselves.

“Please watch mine too!”

“Me, too!”

“Alright, everyone will have a turn to cast their magic,” suggested another dwarf as they took turns shooting spells into the air. All were basic spells of the first circle. With each attempt, Repenhardt corrected their magical control and offered advice on their spell formulas and chants. Siris smiled faintly at this scene.

‘Repenhardt has succeeded,’ she thought.

These were the newly formed Dwarf Magic Corps at Grand Forge. When Repenhardt first arrived at Grand Forge, he had discussed with Makelin and asked to gather dwarves he could teach magic to. Many dwarves volunteered, eager to regain the lost power of magic, and from them, about twenty with potential were selected and trained from the basics.

Repenhardt himself couldn’t devote much time due to the demands of his duties under the subterranean sun(?), but he still managed to impart knowledge and correct their magical control whenever he could. Now, nearly two months later, they had all reached a level where they could competently cast first circle spells.

“Achieving such control and sensitivity to magic in just two months is a significant achievement. You have all worked hard.”

Of course, in his past life, it had taken Repenhardt only two hours and twenty minutes to sense magic, but comparing the legendary Demon King to ordinary dwarves would be unfair.

He sincerely praised the dwarves, who were delighted and wore satisfied expressions. Repenhardt continued with a smile.

“I have prepared textbooks up to the second circle spells for now, so study them diligently. I will occasionally visit Grand Forge to supplement the further sections.”

The dwarves nodded unanimously in response.

“Thank you, Master! We will continue to work hard!”

Magic doesn’t happen overnight. However, Repenhardt was not fated to stay comfortably in Grand Forge. Thus, he sacrificed his sleep to mobilize all the knowledge he possessed, creating fundamental and detailed introductory texts on magic to help the dwarves understand it more easily.

Unbeknownst to the dwarves, this act would have astonished other magical schools.

Magic theory books are indeed circulated in the market, such as “You Can Be a Magician Too!” and “Easy and Quick Introduction to Magic” among others. Among them, there were quite a few magic books with bizarre titles like “Doesn’t Everyone Have at Least One Circle in Their Heart?” or “Me, a Magician?”

However, most were merely kindling, useless. They were merely hastily scribbled works by low-level magicians struggling to make a living through magic, so the likelihood of learning magic from them was nil. True magicians were extremely secretive about transmitting their knowledge. Magic spells are power, weapons, and authority. Such knowledge couldn’t be carelessly released into the public.

In contrast, the theoretical book written by Repenhardt contained clear explanations and easy-to-understand analogies, so someone with a fair amount of talent could definitely grasp the basics of magic. It was, after all, a comprehensive manual written by one of the greatest magicians of ancient and modern times. Considering it was impossible to always be by their side, this was sufficient for the dwarves to learn magic.

‘Even so, there are limits to learning magic from a book alone, which is why I deliberately held off teaching Siris.’

After personally overseeing the magic training of the dwarves, Repenhardt returned to Sillan. Tilla and Russ were already there, having heard of his return. She had significantly improved her skills through sparring with other dwarf warriors. Despite being of a warrior lineage, her practice alone without competition had left her somewhat inexperienced.

“But now, I can truly hold my own as a dwarf warrior.”

Tilla said, beaming with pride, to which Repenhardt gave a reassuring look. He then turned to Russ. He was wearing a mithril longsword forged by the dwarves at his waist and donned half-plate mail made of a mixture of steel and adamantium over leather armor. He looked more like a wandering warrior than a knight.

“You’re back, brother!” Russ exclaimed with a bright expression.

“Found something enlightening?”

Russ scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. Repenhardt continued his inquiry.

“Did you manage to find something?”

“A little,” Russ said, pinching his thumb and forefinger slightly with a somewhat smug attitude. However, after scanning Repenhardt from head to toe, his expression soured, and he clicked his tongue.

“But…”

What’s with that attitude? Repenhardt was about to frown when Russ suddenly sighed deeply.

“I didn’t notice it before, but now it’s clear.”

“What is?”

“Brother, you really are huge.”

“Huh? Did I grow taller recently?”

Repenhardt, trembling with fear, placed a hand on his head. He was already over 195 centimeters tall and worried about his continuously increasing height. The body of Teslon he had reincarnated into was growing little by little without even practicing the unique breathing techniques of Gym Unbreakable. For most, growth phases ended in their mid-teens, but his height was still increasing?

‘Ah, it can’t exceed two meters.’

Others might envy such growth, but Repenhardt remembered his past life as Teslon. Standing 230 centimeters tall, he had to stoop even when entering buildings and still would bump his forehead against the door frames! Everything should have a limit. He definitely didn’t want to grow that big!

Russ waved his hands, clarifying.

“No, I don’t mean you’re physically immense… Well, of course you are big, but…”

He hesitated, choosing his words carefully, then continued awkwardly.

“It’s hard to explain, but you’re just big, brother.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That is, maybe your soul itself is incredibly large? Are you really only twenty-three? It feels like you’ve lived several times longer than me.”

‘Huh? What on earth has this guy come across?’

Repenhardt looked at Russ with a surprised face. Even though he was a powerful aura user himself, he couldn’t comprehend what Russ meant. He understood why one might say his soul was huge, but to feel it? How was that possible?

Repenhardt clicked his tongue. Anyway, geniuses are always a bit annoying and hard to understand.

‘Anyway, he must mean that I’ve become stronger.’

With that thought, Repenhardt casually offered some words of congratulation. It had been a long time since all five of them were together. Sillan, shrugging his shoulders, asked.

“So, are we leaving the Grand Forge soon? Back to exploring ruins?”

“Yeah, we need to. Need the money too.”

Everyone looked pleased with the idea. They had been staying here for nearly two months, and they were itching to get moving. Both Sillan and Russ wanted to test out their new selves in the outside world.

“But exploring ruins isn’t our final destination.”

Shaking his head, Repenhardt spoke up.

“Our next destination is the Kingdom of Crovence.”

Feeling the puzzled looks on their faces, he continued.

“There’s someone there who will agree with my intentions.”