The vast audience hall was silent once the Territory Leaders departed. Only Kaelus, the rest of the Obsidian Phalanx (Zane, Sylva, Zathis, Vara, Jian, Kaelan, Grund), and Aethon remained, facing the Mage Emperor. The heavy doors sealed shut, the air charged with secrets.
Moments later, Morthos, the Emperor's advisor, returned and took his place silently beside Ian.
Emperor Ian Emrys Skyrune leaned forward, his gaze fixed intensely on Kaelus. "Kaelus," he began, his voice low but penetrating, "I can feel your mana. It has grown exponentially, now easily comparable to my own. Tell me, what is your new element?"
Kaelus hesitated, feeling the weight of the Emperor's century of knowledge. "I—I don't really know, Mage Emperor."
"Let me elaborate on what happened, Mage Emperor," Sylva interjected, stepping forward to protect Kaelus from further interrogation. She concisely explained the events that transpired in the training area: Kaelus's successful absorption of the S+ Earth and Fire cores, the resulting failure to manifest those elements, and the shocking display of impossibly dense, boundless Wind power they had witnessed.
Ian Emrys Skyrune listened patiently, stroking his beard. "I see. So, the two S+ Rank cores of Fire and Earth simply converted completely into Wind mana."
Kaelus seized the chance for advice. "I may need guidance, Mage Emperor. I cannot manifest the Fire and Earth that I absorbed."
Ian's expression turned solemn. "If what you say is true, I'm afraid to say that you may not be capable of having any element besides your Wind."
Sylva frowned. "That's what I said to him last time, but that was just my hunch. Mage Emperor, what is the basis of this theory?"
"Theory?" Ian gave a slight, dismissive wave of his hand. "It's not a theory. In my hundred years of learning, testing, reading, and experimenting with magic, I am certain of this. Let me tell you why. I will take Sylva as an example."
The Emperor began his unconventional explanation. "Let's say Sylva's mana core is a platinum coin. A single platinum coin is worth 1,000 gold pieces. If we consider Sylva's entire mana pool to be a platinum coin, it means her mana core is composed of 500 gold worth of her innate Wind element and 500 gold worth of her secondary Fire element."
He continued, using precise financial terms to illustrate magical usage. "If Sylva summons 100 gold worth of her pure Fire element, it will only draw 100 gold worth of mana from her 500 gold Fire reserve. The 500 gold Wind reserve remains untouched. But if Sylva summons 200 gold worth of Plasma Element (Wind/Fire), it will take 100 gold of Fire mana and 100 gold of Wind mana, drawing proportionally from both reserves."
Sylva narrowed her eyes, thinking: The Mage Emperor is using weird, financial examples, but it's understandable enough. "So, how about Kaelus?" she asked.
Ian's eyes twinkled with a profound depth of understanding. "Kaelus is different. He didn't just absorb the cores; he converted the mana they held entirely into his innate Wind element. The Fire and Earth elements are gone, and they will never come back to their original state. But paradoxically, it is not a bad thing that this happened."
"But why, Mage Emperor?" Sylva pressed.
"Because the volume is entirely different," Ian declared, his voice rising with emphasis. "If you, Sylva, can afford to use 500 gold worth of Wind magic at your full reserve capacity, Kaelus can summon a Wind skill equivalent to two platinum, or even ten platinum worth of mana, and still have reserves left."
"Ten platinum?" Sylva whispered, stunned.
The Emperor confirmed the modified, terrifying scale of Kaelus's power. "If we compare your full mana pool to be 1 platinum coin's worth, I can easily say that Kaelus's new mana pool is equivalent to 40 to 50 platinum coins worth."
A unified sound of shock rippled through the rest of the Obsidian Phalanx. "What??? That much?" they gasped in unison.
Zathis blinked several times. "So that is why we couldn't deplete his mana during training. We were trying to empty an ocean with a spoon!"
Ian nodded. "Imagine having 40 to 50 platinum coins worth of wind mana. You can use very heavy skills using just the basic element of Wind. So, it's not that bad having mana solely dedicated to Wind. Unlike me, I have 50 to 60 platinum coins worth of mana, but it is distributed across my four basic elements. Therefore, unless I use a Deviant Magic of any element, I cannot unleash a basic element skill worth 20 platinum, like Kaelus can."
He then brought up a skill from Kaelus's past. "Also, if we use your ultimate skill, 'Ryujin no Kaze', as a point of comparison, that may be worth 20 platinum coins or more. This means, after absorbing two S+ cores, Kaelus could unleash that skill at most three times before running out of mana."
Zathis scratched his head, surprisingly comprehending. "Normally, I wouldn't understand these nerdy, coin-counting terms, but now, I can really follow this. I may be smarter than I think I am!"
Vara snorted, rolling her eyes playfully. "Mage Emperor simplified these terms so well that even a dumb like you can understand."
The rest of them burst into laughter, breaking the tension.
Kaelus finally smiled, relief flooding his expression. "I guess it really is not that bad that I do have mana solely on the Wind element."
Ian smiled back. "No, it's not. Also, I will guess the result of the mana classification crystal: it still registers you as a Peak 4 Star Rank Mage, right?"
Aethon stepped forward. "Yes, Your Majesty. And based on your explanation, even if we do have more mana, the Mana Classification Crystal can only detect what type of mana you possess, not the density or total volume."
"Exactly. That is the flaw of the Mana Classification Crystal," the Emperor mused. "But if you think about it, the Mana Classification Crystal is still reliable for identifying mage ranks, except for Kaelus's unique case."
Sylva, however, held a thoughtful look. "Now that I think about it, it does make sense. But we really can't still consider Kaelus just a Peak 4 Star Rank Mage, because the Visible Heavenly Manifestation of Mana that followed the absorption indicates a breakthrough far exceeding that."
Emperor Ian's eyes widened with genuine surprise. "Visible Heavenly Manifestation of Mana? Kaelus summoned that? So the disturbance of mana yesterday that shook the city was because of Kaelus?"
"That's right, Mage Emperor," Sylva confirmed.
"Hmmm... okay," Ian murmured, thoughtfully processing this new information. He then clapped his hands once, his decision made. "Morthos, bring the Dragon Fury Guild also to the dining hall. Kaelus, come with me."