The Carriage entered the Royal Castle.

There was a room where the Protagonist used to stay, but now that he was married, he would go to the Princess’s room.

She, who was inside, brightened up as soon as she saw the Protagonist.

It seemed she was glad that the Protagonist had returned safely. Perhaps she had heard the news from the Soldier who had rushed ahead.

He buried his face in her thigh.

Lily seemed to growl briefly, then stroked his head.

People were strange.

He hadn’t known her for long. But now that they were married, she felt like a very close family member.

Inhale.

He felt her scent.

The scent of a woman had a calming effect. He wondered if this was what it would be like to have a mother.

“Can I take a nap?”

“Don’t talk with your face buried in my thigh.”

Lily made an astonished expression but didn’t stop stroking his head. He took that as permission and closed his eyes. Sleep instantly overtook him, and he lost consciousness.

He was looking forward to what dream he would have this time.

It would be great if he could have a Possession again. Then he could practice making Rings.

Since it wasn’t his body but someone else’s, it didn’t matter if it burst. He also wanted to learn the Golem Magic that the future Protagonist had learned. The current him would surely know how to make advanced Golems.

After learning the Magic to create intermediate Golems, the Protagonist had nothing to fear.

Even an intermediate Golem was better than most armies. He couldn’t even imagine how amazing it would be if he could create an even more powerful Golem.

He dreamed.

This time too, his disciples were gathered, receiving instruction from the future Protagonist.

However, their number had decreased compared to before. He wondered if it was because some had died while making Rings.

A skilled intermediate Mage might have been able to hold their head high even then. But they died reaching for something higher. When they died, all their efforts became useless.

He breathed heavily. The future Protagonist looked at his disciples.

“Last time, I calmed the flow of mana, which is how you survived. Still, more than ten of you couldn’t endure it and either became crippled or died. I didn’t realize your skill was so lacking.”

I gasped at the mention of ten deaths.

Considering the difficulty of handling mana, it wasn’t surprising that so many died. Having experienced it myself, the Beggar felt that the Protagonist’s statement about one in three dying was based on too high a standard for someone thirty years old.

Among the Mages gathered here, only one or two were truly capable. Even then, luck had to be on their side.

“For now, creating Rings is forbidden. If anyone wishes to attempt it, speak with me separately.”

The thirty-year-old Protagonist taught them mana handling training. It involved circulating mana vigorously within the body, and surprisingly, it was exactly what the Protagonist had done in the recent battle.

His instruction was to circulate the mana in the body from head to toe ten times in under ten minutes. He also said that only those who could do that would be allowed to create Rings.

The Protagonist had already managed the flow of mana even faster in this battle.

It was still quite possible now. Still, I felt a little uneasy. At that time, the Magic Ring had also helped. Without it, I didn’t know if I would have been capable of it.

I slowly took a breath and calmed my mind.

My body was also an issue.

Currently, the Protagonist was in a dream, inhabiting the body of one of his disciples, just like last time. As soon as I realized this, I looked at my arm. It was perfectly intact. It was strange.

Last time, the Protagonist had gathered mana in his arm while practicing creating Rings. Then, unable to endure it, his arm exploded.

If the dream was continuous, my arm should have been exploded. Perhaps what the Protagonist did was interfere, but it didn’t reflect in the dream.

This was a memory of the past. However, it didn’t seem like the Protagonist had traveled to the past. It was merely a memory.

Nevertheless, for the Protagonist, it was a memory that felt incredibly real. If he spoke to someone, they would reply and react.

This time, I wanted to try creating a Ring in my heart. To do that, I first needed to be able to accomplish what the future Protagonist had spoken of.

Immediately, I controlled the mana in my body and circulated it throughout.

Perhaps because I had tried it once before, it was much easier this time.

The flow of mana gradually picked up speed, reaching a point where it became difficult for the Protagonist to handle.

As I slowly calmed it and opened my eyes, someone was looking at me. The thirty-year-old Protagonist was glaring at me with a terrifying gaze, as if he had been watching for some time.

The disciples around me were the same. They stopped their training and just stared. It was similar to last time.

“You.”

The future Protagonist, who had been watching for a long time, crossed his arms.

“You may go ahead and create a Ring right away.”

“Really?”

“If there is a dangerous moment, I will help you. Everyone, shut up and watch. You might just witness the birth of a High-ranking Mage.”

The disciples straightened their posture and didn’t even breathe loudly. My heart felt a little heavy. Suddenly, I had to create a mana Ring in front of everyone.

“Then I will try.”

“Don’t worry about anyone disturbing you. If anyone even coughs, I will kill them.”

The thirty-year-old Protagonist was not lying.

His words made me feel much more at ease. It wasn’t my body anyway. Even if my heart exploded and I died, I thought it would be fine since it was just a dream.

Only after calming the mana did I move again. And slowly, I began to push it towards one spot. It was in the direction of the heart.

As I pushed more and more mana, the burden on my heart grew, and eventually, blood flowed from my eyes, and my heart pounded like crazy.

“Why do you have so much mana? I don’t understand. Normally, before pushing in that much, you should keep circulating it. If you endure any longer, your heart will explode, so rotate it quickly. Think of it like spinning a top.”

The future Protagonist muttered and said.

As per his advice, as I fiercely rotated the mana, it was pushed outwards, taking the form of a Ring. I couldn’t estimate how long this process took.

I couldn’t let my guard down even for a brief moment, and the mental exhaustion was so great that my entire body was already drenched in sweat. As I absorbed all the mana into my heart in that state, an exclamation burst out beside me.

“That’s unbelievable. What took me half a day, you did in just over an hour?”

Pushing it into the heart was the critical point.

There was tremendous progress compared to last time. The experience of handling mana to its limit in the previous battle seemed to have led to this significant advancement.

Having overcome the initial hurdle, all that remained was to endure. But I didn’t stop there and fiercely rotated the mana.

Then the Ring became even thinner. This was good. The higher the density of the mana, the greater the power it could exert later.

What the Magic Ring did was merely speed up the flow of mana. While that alone would be a significant help, it was the Protagonist who fully controlled the mana.

As the flow of mana accelerated to battle levels, he focused on preventing it from scattering too far from his heart, even as he let it flow.

At this point, his whole body was already dizzy, and he even had the illusion that the world was going crazy.

It was a process he could never have endured if he hadn’t gone through tough battles before. No sound was heard around him.

Even the future Protagonist, who kept muttering advice, merely watched the unfolding situation in silence.

How much time had passed?

The flow of mana was slowly stabilizing. Now, even without forcibly holding it, the mana naturally circled his heart, taking on the form of a Ring. However, his mind was gradually blurring.

He had endured for over a day, but that was his limit.

He wondered if the problem was accelerating too much at first. The time it took to create the Ring was drastically reduced, but it was like running at full power, leaving him drained and dizzy.

Eventually, his strength gave out, the mana scattered slightly, and he coughed up blood. A tearing pain assaulted his entire body.

“Endure!”

At that moment, the future Protagonist stepped forward, placed a hand on his back, and channeled mana.

With the addition of newly infused mana, it became even harder to control, and he almost let go of everything.

But before long, it actually became easier. The mana he poured in helped the flow naturally and stabilized it.

He was gritting his teeth and frowning intensely, and the Protagonist knew he was terrified.

Interfering with mana was an immense risk even for him, who was helping.

He would at least suffer from Mana Reversal for several years, and they might even die together in the Capital City. He didn’t know why he was helping. He cried out in a fervent voice, as if he himself were making the Ring.

“You’re almost there! Just a little more and the engraving will be etched!”

He surrendered his body to him and inhaled.

While he held the Ring’s mana, he quickly gathered the mana that had just been scattered.

The mana scattered throughout his body disappeared as if sucked into a typhoon, and now a change was coming over the Protagonist’s mana.

He wondered if this was what breaking through the Wall felt like.

A pleasure far more intense than embracing a woman coursed through his back and pierced his head. It continued dozens of times in a row. His body, which had been fatigued moments ago, was now revitalized.

“Oh, ohhh!”

“Woahhh…!!!”

He didn’t know what kind of change was happening to the Protagonist. But he knew it was something extraordinary. This was because the disciples around them had lost their composure and were only sighing.

As the cries of the disciples filled the hall, the thirty-year-old Protagonist, back to back with him, shouted loudly in an ecstatic voice.

“A High-ranking Mage is being born!”

He took his hand off his back and covered his face with his arm.

A cold wind swept through, and the mana from outside newly filled his entire body.

Compared to the mana absorbed into his heart, the density was lower, but he now had double the amount of mana in his body than before.

He clenched and unclenched his fist.

He knew what it meant to have crossed the Wall. His body was trembling with excitement, almost beyond his control. If it weren’t for the fact that the Protagonist was currently dreaming, he would have shouted with joy.

He extended his palm.

It felt like pulling in mana from outside rather than using the mana within his body. Then, as if responding to it, the Ring in his heart rotated and began to interfere with the external mana.