*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Lawrend turned around. Two thunderous booms exploded behind him. He left the dungeon and headed to the training grounds.
"Master, welcome back," Aleshia said.
She smiled at him. The worry on her face from a week ago was nowhere to be found. She flew up there and saw him grasping their necks effortlessly. It bolstered her confidence in him, which was why she was very relaxed right now.
Lawrend checked up on his children before heading back to his room. As usual, he wanted to become a Heaven Mage sooner than later. His fight with the two Earth Mage angels strengthened that desire.
Even though his strength was infinitely close to the level of a Heaven Mage, he was still lacking something. He couldn't actually exert that power. But because of his elements and his skills, he should be able to defeat a very weak Heaven Mage.
A great example was when he used his All-Elemental magic to make that All-Element javelin. It was the most powerful magic he had used so far. It might not have created an eye-catching explosion, but it still destroyed a spell created by the Goddess.
You had to remember that the spell couldn't be broken with his Earth Mage spells which were already much stronger than normal. It was a crazy spell that was super complex even from Lawrend's perspective.
Lawrend naturally had more combination magic spells that he didn't get the chance to use. His options were limited because it was an enclosed space. It would be lame if he killed himself with his own spell.
Time quickly passed again. Lawrend would visit Nao once a week, then guide his children, help his maids with their magic, and then check up on his empire once in a while.
"Master, it's time for Inferno to learn magic," Ember said from outside the door.
"I'm coming."
...
Lawrend flew northwest with his maids and his children. They formed a V-formation with him in the very front. For the past few months, he had been teaching Inferno magic.
Seeing his drastic improvements made Lawrend proud.
He glanced behind him and looked at his flying little Inferno. The kid stared forward with a sword-like gaze. The world seemed to dim under his feet because of his brilliance.
Lawrend released a sigh. He didn't want to think about how depressing his son's improvement was. His other children became depressed the moment he started practicing magic.
Fortunately, they were already around five years old. Coupled with their improvement in soul magic, they were mature enough not to bully him. It would have been nasty otherwise.
As for Amene's bow, he wasn't able to gather the materials he wanted for it. They were heading to the Ignis Clan anyways, so he figured he would gather the materials there.
Before leaving the empire, they left everything under Humility's right-hand assistant. Humility reassured him that she was very capable and trustworthy. Only then did Lawrend allow her to take the reins of the empire.
In hindsight, Lawrend wasn't the least bit worried about it. Everyone in the empire knows about his strength. Unless an assistant could somehow convince a Heaven Mage to back her, no one would dare to usurp the throne in his absence.
Not to mention, he still had his Holy Sun Church there. None of his believers would allow the throne to change owners without his permission.
"This is the outer region of the Ignis Backyard," Ember answered and nodded her head.
"Backyard?" Lawrend repeated with a wry smile on his face.
He looked around, and this large space didn't seem like a backyard from his perspective.
"Yes. Our Ignis Clan is very powerful. There are more branch members like your Rubrignis clan than members of the main clan by dozens and dozens of times."
Lawrend nodded his head in understanding. He was quite powerful already, but this scale was still not something he could get used to. Things seemed to become exponentially big the stronger he got.
"I can't imagine what the two other clans are like."
Lawrend was already amazed by the scale of his own clan. Considering that the three were seen as equals, it would be fair to imagine that they would also have 'backyards' like this one.
"I have only been to the Zephyr Clan. They reside above the atmosphere with floating islands. I'd say that they have more land than us."
"Zephyr Clan, the clan with powerful Wind Mages," Lawrend said.
He looked up at the sky and wondered what kind of visual he would see if he visited their clan. It must be beautiful there.
"Alright. Let's continue," he ordered.
Lawrend's maids and children stopped chatting with each other and nodded their heads. They flew deeper in. The cold air they felt earlier changed drastically. Hot air currents met them. If they weren't this strong, they would've sweated buckets of water.
*BOOM!*
Without warning, a volcano near them exploded. It spewed out hot lava and created a thick plume of dark smoke.
"Let's go faster!" Ember urged them.
The group flew faster and soon left the volcano behind. They continued deeper and deeper, and the land beneath them turned into a pool of dark hardened lava that occasionally had red spots that flowed like liquid water.