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I wanted to go and explore to ship, to see why Theodora thought it appropriate for a trade ship that could double as a flagship for a mid-sized fleet if the need aroused. 

After all, it raised several questions, one being how she managed to improve her reach enough to arrange such a ship since our last communication — and why she thought that it was not information important enough to use one of the emergency channels we have arranged. 

Coming from someone else, I might have assumed betrayal, but the same didn’t apply to Theodora. First, I was rather convinced of her loyalty, and even if she had changed her mind about things 

That didn’t mean I trusted the people on the ship, of course. Just because Theodora didn’t intend to betray me didn’t mean that people that worked for her shared the same intent — not to mention the suspiciously well-armed ship she somehow managed to hire. 

And, since they were clearly sailing away from Rome, and we were safely hidden behind several isolation wards that no doubt took weeks of expert work to implement, which was good enough to hide the dragon heart that Xia still had in her grip despite her exhaustion — one that I left in there as I could sense it filling her reserves slowly and obediently

A great contrast to the raging storm in my chest, struggling to get out. 

The silence of the hidden deck was an excellent chance for me to take a breather, for the first time since the fight in the arena. Even thinking about everything that happened since the last chance I got to rest…

The fight in the arena, letting myself get poisoned deliberately, arranging the initial cooperation with Xia under her implied threat, the show battle in Junia Estate, the long — and fun — string of sessions where I had kept the noble ladies entertained while their husbands discussed politics… 

The infiltration of the base, penetrating the actively monitored defensive wards, saving Xia, fighting against the squad of mages while losing control of my core, discovery of my ancestral weapon, finding the strength to defeat them, absorbing the second, much bigger piece of dragon heart despite its supposed impossibility, the escape, spreading the treasures we had managed to acquire to trigger a small civil war, killing Marcus and Antony before escaping with the Nemean lion to create a convincing direction of escape, using the river to switch back to sea…

Then, the Archmagus…

A breather was certainly welcome, I decided even as I examined the room more carefully, taking note of the layout and other features. 

The room itself was not tall. I had to slouch as I stood up, and even then, my head was rubbing against the ceiling. The room itself lacked any kind of walls or other platforms, but luckily, the racks that held the spears had a large panel on their back, and I had enough strength to break the connection of them with one pull, pushing it forward a bit, creating a space of two feet, just enough for Xia to lay and for me to sit. 

And, the fact that it was under the only stairs that led to the secret compartment made it a better coverage. All I needed was to find something to throw on top of the newly generated gap to cover the empty space. 

I looked around, and found a large bundle of magical fabric, etched with an even split of defensive runes and wind runes. I considered taking it to create some coverage for the little hiding spot I had created. It was clearly a backup sail.

After a while, I decided against it, and even carried that sail to the other end of the room. Classifying that as a backup sail was not accurate. It was better to define it as the real sail, and they currently equipped an ordinary one to avoid the suspicion it would generate. 

I looked around more, and finally found a less suspicious item, a large piece of fabric they used to wrap the arrow bundles. I unwrapped it and throw that over the little hiding spot I had created. 

It was not the greatest hiding spot, I had to admit. I doubted it would delay anyone that was searching for us, or even paying any attention to the small gap, by more than a fleeting second. 

If my control wasn’t ruined completely, to the point that I doubted my ability to cast even the simplest spell without blowing half of the ship to smithereens, I would have tinkered with the wards to create a unique concealed space for me, one that could not be sensed without taking down the wards that protected the secret deck. 

Unfortunately, without that utility, I had to rely on external factors, particularly the fact that the sailors wouldn’t casually visit the secret compartment filled with very dangerous weapons. And, considering they were also very expensive, I doubted the captain would allow casual visits in the first place. 

I turned my attention to Xia, who was still lying on the floor with her naked clothing. A touch to her face showed that she was getting rather cold, showing her unique form of Sorceress talent also didn’t support her physically. 

I sighed as I quickly undressed her, before going and picking a similar roll of fabric, fashioning an impromptu blanket that was also fashioned as sleepwear, leaving her to sleep.

Then, I sat down and crossed my legs, and finally turned my magical senses and attention inward. 

The first thing I noticed was my core, the magic flowing inside wild and unrestrained, already crackling like lightning without any attempt from me to push to an elemental nature. 

Even without any trial, I could feel that my ability to cast lightning spells was strengthened, and I had no doubt that it came with an equal sacrifice from the four fundamental elements. 

And, I didn’t know what to feel about that. 

There was a reason that four elements were the preferred tools for combat for almost all mages. The impact they created compared to their power requirement was almost always better than the alternatives, and while the lightning was more than enough to compensate for certain offensive applications, the same didn’t apply to more utilitarian or defensive purposes. 

Just an hour ago, I would have been saddened by the sudden loss of utility, seeing it as a bad tradeoff for even more explosive penetrative power — something I had already in troves. 

Yet, watching the mysterious Patriarch of House Junia Ascend in front of my eyes, only to be locked down by the same four elements, chained in a conceptual level until he lost his ability to react completely was an eye-opening show.

Showing that the benefits of the four elements weren’t as free as the mages assumed. 

Unfortunately, that didn’t mean that my transformation was a simple affair. Considering the ease of the Patriarch in Ascending, it was clear that he was already on the edge for a long while, and kept himself from that step to avoid the chains of the Earth, and instead chose to experiment with the Dragon Hearts. 

While the experimental notes I read were limited, and I was yet to have a long chat about it with Xia — as we had more urgent issues to deal with — about the experiments, guessing that he was trying to find a way to Ascend without those chains. 

Yet, I doubted it was as simple as simply absorbing a dragon heart. It was also likely that doing so ruined any chance I had to actually Ascend in the first place, maybe along with my ability to use magic flexibly at the same time. 

The power that was thumping under my skin, begging to be let out, was another problem. While it didn’t empower me enough to give me any hope to fight against an Archmagus — not with the great display of power already fresh in my mind — it was still enough to erase the threat of any sorcerer presented unless they gathered in enough numbers not to be counted by the fingers of one hand. 

Even then, it would be a battle, and not a hopeless last stand. 

Assuming I could actually control that power, of course. I still remembered the troubles I had gone through the last time I tried to learn it, only an accidental Ascension to sorcerer allowed me to control that. 

And, I doubted I would simply jump to Archmagus level — and considering what I had seen about that, I wasn’t sure I wanted such a jump in the first place. 

“No need to lose hope,” I murmured suddenly even as I tightened my hands, the transformation getting harder to push back. The reason was simple. The spell Xia had cast on me during our escape, to make it easier for me to transform, started to get weaker and weaker as time passed, which was making it harder to keep it at bay. 

Luckily, not impossible. 

Not yet, but it was not a guarantee for the future, a dark part of my mind reminded me.