Chapter 209: Demonstration

"The ones that stand before you, are the future pillars of magic." My words resounded in the ears of everyone present.

The three mages stood taller, with their heads held high, and their chests puffed in pride. It was a big compliment to give, I was well aware of that, but I wasn't lying when I said it. They are indeed the future pillars of their respective elements.

They gained their powers through me, which already sets them a step above the rest. Their connection to the mana stream was denser, and I was sure that it would be much better than that of those that will come after them.

This, however, brought me to the next problem. I was well aware of how heavily reliant the empires and kingdoms were on their mages, so suddenly depriving them of that would cause massive loss and inconvenience. I was proven right when the empress of the Zasal dynasty spoke up.

"Honorable dragon lord, from what you told us so far, I would assume we have to cease all activities using our old ways of magic, right?"

"Indeed."

"Forgive me my lord, but may I speak freely?" asked the empress, to which I simply nodded.

"It is rather impossible to suddenly stop all magical activities as that may lead to the collapse of all the nations." Her face was full of hesitation as she tried to study my expression.

"I am well aware of that. Which is why the change will be a gradual one. This is also where they will come into play." I said and motioned at the three standing beside me.

"Introduce yourselves to the guests," I said.

Jon being the first mage, stepped forward with steady steps, his gaze was calm and indifferent as he glanced at the royals.

"My name is Jon. I'm the first orthodox mage under the Lord. My element is Earth."

Next up was Morena. Her stride was relaxed and her gaze held a faint trace of disinterest as she glanced at the leaders of the mortal world.

"My name is Morena. With the lord's blessings, I am the first orthodox Water mage." Saying that she took a step back and made way for Wane to step forward.

I could sense the leaders' apprehension when the young boy stepped forward. He was barely fifteen and looked quite young, but his eyes were bright and his brows were straight as he stepped forward.

"My name is Wane! I am the first fire mage thanks to the Lord's blessings!" His loud voice reverberated throughout the platform, greatly surprising the royals.

With the introductions out of the way, I studied the reactions of the leaders before I spoke;

"As you can see, we have proved that humans can indeed sense the different mana elements. With the three that stand before you, we shall start a revolution in the field of magic. I have imparted the necessary knowledge to create more Orthodox mages for them. Now, you might be wondering, what difference is there between them, and regular mages. For that, I believe a short demonstration will be enough to explain."

Having fought against previous mages, I was well aware of their fire output. Yet compared to orthodox mages, their strength was negligible at best. Although previous mages are able to use all elements, their connection to the mana stream was nonexistent. The orthodox mages, on the other hand, had a deeper connection to the stream which enabled them to better utilize the mana.

I was also still not convinced that there was no one who could use a double element or maybe more. There was a big chance that I just haven't come across such a person yet. Perhaps in the future, that will change, but for now, Morena, Jon, and Wane will act as the current pillars of the magic society.

I was still missing a wind mage, but that was a matter for another time.

The first to begin his demonstration was Jon. He stepped forward with a determined gaze and brought his hand forward. The ground rumbled beneath his feet as a large pillar rose abruptly. The shape of the pillar morphed into that of a large humanoid figure. The earth golem stood at an intimidating height as it stared at the Royals sitting below the platform.

Its sheer size was enough to flatten a small hill, but it was still negligible in front of me. For the Royals, on the other hand, the golem's sudden appearance came as a shock. The main reason for that was the low casting time, the seeming ease with which Jon summoned the golem, the creativity of the spell, and finally his precise control over it.

None of the people present were stupid, they were well aware of the dangers a mage of such caliber could cause on the battlefield. They were also aware of the advantages he could bring to other fields, say for example building. A single Orthodox mage would be worth a dozen old ones.

Thinking of such matters, the leaders began to whisper amongst themselves as Jon released his control over the mana causing the golem to collapse before he buried the rest of the rubble underground making it seem as if nothing had happened.

Next up was Morena. Her face still held the same disinterested gaze as she stared at the royals. She stepped forward and waved her hand causing dozens of large water balls to appear before her. Their shapes morphed into water spears which she shot at a few trees a distance away, closer to the church causing them to explode. Morena then summoned a large water wave that she held above everyone's heads.

The royals' eyes nervously shifted between her, me, and the large wave looming above their heads. When she finally turned the water into raindrops that drenched the ground below.

Their whispering intensified as Morena's demonstration concluded. Wane was the last to step up and for a good reason. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and raised both hands above his head. A spinning fireball the size of a fist appeared and continued to grow. From the size of a fist to that of a head, then to that of a chair, then it reached the size of an adult man. It still had a lot of room to grow but Wane still had some trouble controlling the mana. And so he aimed upwards to the sky and released it.

The giant fireball drew an arc in the sky and flew for a large distance before it exploded with a bang. It looked like fireworks. Albeit less pretty. I turned my gaze to the leaders of the human world and nodded in satisfaction at their flabbergasted expressions.