Chapter 66: Magician Henry
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Benjamin followed Suits backstage.
The backstage was spacious but it did not appear so due to the flow of human crowds flooding the place. Fashionistas in eccentric clothing weaved through the crowds - a youth in a tuxedo and a top hat, a curly-haired lady in a short skirt, a clown as round as a ball...... There was also a person wearing a wig that looked like his head was stabbed with a knife. His was holding a blood-stained violin.
This was an unusually rowdy place. The managers, actors, prop-makers, makeup artist, musicians...... The number of people that flocked together were uncountable, and Benjamin could not discern what they were discussing. In short, the atmosphere backstage was tense like a warzone before the performance.
Benjamin was grateful for this.
If he felt something was up, it was convenient for him to quietly leave this unruly place. He would not have to worry about fleeing.
However, it would be difficult for Benjamin to find the owner for the piece of cloak amidst the crowd.
He grossly estimated around one hundred people here in the backstage, and it would be problematic to find one out of the one hundred.
"Here, this is Mr Henry, and you’ll just need to cooperate with him," Suits led Benjamin to the youth in the top hat.
Mr Henry looked like a pretentious magician. He nodded at Suits, without uttering a word.
Benjamin did not react as well. He was too preoccupied observing the people around him.
Henry the magician drew his brows together.
"Will this be okay? It is indeed realistic to get a real beggar to play the role, but wouldn’t it be too realistic? This child does not have the required abilities to help with my performance. A professional actor would be a better choice."
Suits smiled tightly, "Mr Henry, we are left with no choice. You needed a mere beggar, but the actors in the kingdom are all big wheels in the industry. Who would be willing to play a pitiful beggar? You don’t even know how bad of an attitude the actors have; they are not like any actor you can pick from the crowd in the circus. Please bear with it, Mr Henry."
Displeased, Henry snorted and grumbled something along the line of "Might as well get someone from the circus," but he did not make any further requests.
However at the same time, Benjamin who appeared to be in the clouds felt an abrupt disturbance from the elements.
Oh?
His heart leaped. He never expected to find a clue that easily.
A disturbance from the elements must be caused by a mage.
Still, how would Benjamin be sure if the person is a mage?
Benjamin had a sudden idea and he decided to widen his senses to detect the elements. Without anyone noticing, he started to use his Water Particle Detection to feel his surroundings.
The nature of magic was the communication between elements, thus surrounding elements of a mage would always be unique.
In the blue world of the water particles, the backstage was unnaturally boisterous too. Most of the water particles appeared ordinary as they floated about aimlessly in the air. Some, however, would orbit around certain people - one of them being Henry, the magician.
Henry the magician? Benjamin was dumbfounded by his findings.
Were these people mages as well?
He did a brief headcount of these people, and the number he got was approximately forty.
Holy hell...
Benjamin could not believe his own eyes. Did he see this wrongly?
To make sure that his senses were not screwing up, he retraced his Water Particle Detection before spreading it out once again, attempting to sense the disturbances of water particles backstage.
The result was the same.
Benjamin inhaled sharply.
This was a winning lottery ticket!
He imagined that mages would hide in the theater, but he never expected the theater to be the mages’ hideout cache!
The Fulners were... really something!
Benjamin knew that some nobles would secretly sponsor several mages within their manors. But to sponsor them within the kingdom, gathering all forty of them together, and using them all to hold a performance? The Fulners must have balls bigger than the tall mountains to do this!
Benjamin was in severe deep shock.
Suits and Henry ended their conversation when Benjamin was still in a daze. Suits left after that, and Henry led Benjamin towards the other end of the backstage. They finally stopped in front of a huge box.
"What you need to do is easy. Hide in this box, and someone will move this box up to the stage. When I knock the box thrice, you will then push the box open and step out of it. Remember, you must look confused. Understand?"
Benjamin tried his best to snap out of his daze. He nodded at Henry.
After learning all of them were mages, he was at a loss on how to face Henry the Magician.
Magician.... It was indeed a wise choice to hide his identity. Even if he used magic in public, the clueless crowd would just assume that it was another interesting magic trick and applaud the act.
Benjamin grumbled in his heart, but he realised that no matter how much he complained, he could not get over his astonishment at the situation. He was still in disbelief and finding it hard to snap out of it.
More than 30 mages!
Could it be possible that almost all of the mages in the kingdom were here?
As he wondered, he was rushed into the box under Henry’s orders.
The moment the box was sealed and darkness enveloped Benjamin, he instinctively deployed Water Particle Detection again. Maybe it was because he still had trouble believing the situation, as he once again focused on the people around him for confirmation. It was true; more than 30 people here had water particles orbiting around them. Besides, Benjamin had a slight feeling that these people’s spiritual powers were much sharper than the common folks too.
So.... They were really mages after all.
This time however, Benjamin tried something new.
Under the Water Particle Detection, he focused on himself instead of the others. Unexpectedly, the water particles around him did not experience any disturbances.
This.... This is interesting. Was it because of the space of his consciousness? Was it because of the difference in training that caused this contrast?
Benjamin wondered, and soon he realised the theory behind it.
The ordinary joe who trained their magic used the method of raising their spiritual power and affinity to the elements. When their affinity level increased, it was normal for the elements around them to change as well. Not only that, they utilized the elements around them when they cast spells. Thus, the phenomenon of elements orbiting around them was also a way for them to prepare themselves before casting magic.
Benjamin was a whole different story. His affinity to the elements was weak, and he could only rely on the triangular rune. Therefore the elements surrounding him would not be affected. Also, when he cast a spell, he relied on the stored water particles in his Space. His spells were not derived from the real world.
This was indeed an interesting disparity.
This could also explain why the power of a spell is limitless if the mage learnt magic with the space of his consciousness. The concentration of elements in reality would also be limited; no matter how dense they were, they would always have a cap. Thus, if a mage relied on the elements available to him in reality, his power would also be capped. On the other hand, the concentration of elements in the Space was not an issue as long as the triangular rune was strong enough. Hence, there was no limits to how powerful a spell could be when the mage used his Space.
This seemed to be it.
Benjamin’s understanding towards magic became clearer after this round of brainstorming.
Even though he was trapped in a dark box, he was still delighted.
Eh, wait.
Something did not feel right.