Chapter 878: A Second Life

Brenda, standing nearby, burst into laughter.

"No need to strip down, Torvin! Sisi can work with the uniform while you’re still wearing it!"

Sisi nodded, already raising her tiny hands. "Just stand still, please. This will only take a moment."

Torvin obeyed, freezing in place as a constellation of sigils and runes materialized around his body.

They orbited him slowly at first, then accelerated, weaving complex patterns through the air.

The light grew brighter, pulsing with magical energy, and Torvin squeezed his eyes shut, terrified that any movement might disrupt the process.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over.

The light faded. The runes settled into the fabric of his uniform, just faint lines that gleamed when the light caught them at certain angles.

"That’s...That’s it?" Torvin asked, blinking in confusion.

"Sisi smiled proudly. "That’s it."

"But...But it only took a minute! I thought enchantments were supposed to take hours!"

"The traditional methods would have taken hours." Sisi explained. "But Sir Cassius developed a new technique that dramatically streamlines the process."

"Now, your uniform has been fully upgraded with improved shield projection, enhanced oxygen retention, emergency location beacons, and impact dispersion systems."

Torvin stared at her blankly.

"It’s much more protective now." She simplified. "Even if a boulder were hurled at you at full speed, the shield would hold!"

But despite Sisi’s reassurances, doubt was creeping into Torvin’s mind.

It had all happened so fast. Too fast. In the past, any magical modification, no matter how minor had taken considerable time.

Hours of careful work, intricate rituals, complex preparations. And now the entire process had been completed in sixty seconds?

Other miners in the surrounding lines seemed to share his skepticism. They exchanged uncertain glances, their earlier excitement dimming.

Sisi noticed the shift in mood. "Is something wrong?"

"It’s just..." Torvin struggled to find the right words. "It happened so quickly. How do we know it actually worked? This is supposed to protect us for the rest of our lives. If something went wrong..."

The implication hung heavy in the air.

These weren’t luxury items or fancy accessories, these uniforms were the difference between life and death.

A faulty enchantment could mean the difference between walking out of a collapsed mine and being buried forever.

A voice cut through the murmur of doubt.

"It seems someone is questioning my work."

The crowd parted as Cassius approached, his hands clasped behind his back, a knowing smile playing at the corners of his lips. There was no anger in his expression, only amusement and perhaps a touch of theatrical disappointment.

Torvin immediately bowed, his ears flattening against his head.

"N-No, Sir! I didn’t mean any disrespect! It’s just...It happened so fast! I don’t know how to feel about it!"

But Cassius simply patted him on the shoulder with a warm smile.

"It’s perfectly alright. I understand your hesitation. And I suspect you’re not alone."

He raised his voice, addressing the gathered workers.

"Many of you are probably wondering the same thing. Is this too good to be true? Can something this simple really offer that much protection?"

The silence that followed was answer enough.

Cassius’s eyes gleamed. "Then let me give you a live demonstration!"

He turned and called out: "Isabelle, my love! Come here, please!"

"Coming!"

From somewhere nearby, Isabelle emerged with a polite smile on her face.

The crowd couldn’t help but stare—she was so beautiful, so graceful, so utterly out of place in this dusty mining camp.

Her clean dress and delicate features made her look like a flower growing in the middle of a quarry.

"Everyone, this is my lovely wife, Isabelle." Cassius announced proudly. "She’s an extremely powerful mage in her own right—but physically, her body is just as fragile as any ordinary human."

"Right now, she’s going to demonstrate the effectiveness of these upgraded uniforms for you."

He gestured toward a stack of freshly enchanted uniforms nearby.

"Isabelle, would you mind putting one of those on and standing over there?"

He pointed to an open area some distance away.

Isabelle nodded without hesitation. She walked to the stack, selected a uniform, and began pulling it on over her dress.

The sight was somewhat comical. The uniform was clearly sized for a much larger person, and the sleeves hung past her fingertips. She waddled slightly as she moved, the heavy fabric making her look like an adorable, oversized penguin.

Several miners couldn’t help but chuckle at the endearing display.

But she obediently positioned herself at the indicated spot, standing alone in the open space.

Cassius turned to Ragnora. "Commander, would you mind doing me a favor?"

Ragnora raised an eyebrow. "What sort of favor?"

Cassius pointed to a massive boulder resting near the edge of the mining area, a chunk of stone easily the size of a small cart, weighing several tons at minimum.

"I’d like you to hurl that boulder at my wife. As hard as you can."

The crowd went deathly silent. Even the mages stopped their work, turning to stare with expressions of pure horror.

"WHAT?!" Brenda shouted, her face going pale. "Sir Cassius, that’s insane! You can’t possibly—"

"He’s lost his mind." One of the miners whispered. "That boulder would flatten her completely!"

"Even with the upgraded uniform, there’s no way—"

"Commander Ragnora, please don’t do this! She’ll be killed!"

But Ragnora wasn’t looking at the boulder. She was looking at Cassius or rather at the absolute confidence in his eyes, at the slight smile playing on his lips.

She had seen that expression before, moments before he’d produced the impossible enchantment that had stunned even Sisi.

"You’re certain about this?" She asked quietly.

"Absolutely." Cassius replied. "I trust my work. And I trust my wife."

Ragnora’s gaze shifted to Isabelle, who stood waiting with her hands clasped in front of her.

The young woman didn’t look afraid. If anything, she looked excited like someone about to witness something wonderful!

’These two are absolutely insane.’ Ragnora thought. ’But also very suited for one another.’

Nonetheless, she found herself walking toward the boulder anyway.

The crowd parted before her like water around a stone. Everyone watched in tense silence as she approached the massive rock, studying it for a moment before bending down to grip its edges.

"Is she actually going to do it?" Torvin whispered, his ears flat against his head.

"She wouldn’t if she didn’t believe it would be safe." Durn replied, but his voice was uncertain.

"Everyone, stand back." Ragnora commanded. "Behind me. Now."

The crowd scrambled to obey, pressing themselves against the walls of the mining sector.

Mages erected hasty protective barriers, though their eyes remained fixed on the scene unfolding before them.

Ragnora’s muscles tensed. The boulder creaked as she lifted it, her crimson arms bulging with effort.

It rose slowly, breaking free from the earth with a sound like tearing roots, and she hoisted it above her head.

Isabelle stood her ground, sixty feet away, swimming in her oversized uniform.

"Ready?" Ragnora called out.

Isabelle nodded, giving a cheerful thumbs up that seemed utterly inappropriate given the circumstances.

Ragnora took a deep breath.

And she threw.

Whoosh!

The boulder hurtled through the air like a meteor, crossing the distance in less than a second.

The crowd gasped collectively. Someone screamed. Several people covered their eyes, unable to watch what was about to happen.

The boulder came down directly on top of Isabelle.

Boom!

The impact shook the earth. Dust erupted in a massive cloud, obscuring everything. For a terrible moment, no one could see what had happened.

Then the dust began to settle.

And there, standing in the center of the crater where the boulder had landed, was Isabelel.

Completely unharmed.

A shimmering barrier surrounded her body, a dome of translucent energy that had absorbed the full force of the impact.

The boulder had shattered against it, breaking into dozens of smaller rocks that lay scattered around the crater. But Isabelle herself stood calmly in the center, not a single scratch on her.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Then—

"IT WORKED!"

The roar that erupted from the crowd was deafening.

"IT ACTUALLY WORKED!"

"SHE’S ALIVE! SHE’S COMPLETELY FINE!"

"DID YOU SEE THAT?! DID YOU SEE THAT?!"

"THE BOULDER JUST...IT JUST BROKE!"

"NOT A SCRATCH! NOT A SINGLE SCRATCH!"

Miners were jumping, cheering, crying, hugging each other. Some fell to their knees in gratitude. Others raised their fists to the sky in triumph.

Torvin stared at the scene in disbelief. Beside him, Durn and Merek were similarly overcome.

"She’s fine." Merek whispered in disbelief. "She’s really, completely fine."

"Of course I’m fine!" Isabelle called out cheerfully, waving at the crowd. "My husband’s enchantments never fail!"

She began waddling back toward them in her oversized uniform, still looking somewhat like a penguin, and the absurdity of it struck the crowd as so ridiculous that their cheers dissolved into laughter.

It was the laughter of relief. Of hope. Of fear finally released.

Ragnora approached Cassius, her expression unreadable. "That was reckless."

"Perhaps." Cassius admitted. "But now there’s no doubt, is there?"

Ragnora was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, she extended her massive hand.

"You have my gratitude, Sir Cassius. More than I can properly express."

Cassius took her hand and shook it firmly. "Just buy me that drink, Commander. We’ll call it even."

For the first time since they’d met, Ragnora let out a smile that reached her golden eyes and softened the hard planes of her face.

"I think I can manage that."

The celebrations continued around them as more and more miners lined up to receive their upgraded uniforms.

The doubt that had hung over the crowd had evaporated completely, replaced by an almost giddy sense of optimism.

"Looks like you won’t have to quit after all." Durn said quietly, nudging Merek with his elbow.

Merek stared at his own uniform and felt something loosen in his chest.

"My wife." He said slowly. "Is going to cry when I tell her about this. But this time..." He looked up, his eyes bright. "This time, they’ll be happy tears."

He looked toward Cassius, who was now surrounded by grateful workers, shaking hands and accepting thanks with that same easy smile he’d worn since the beginning.

"Whoever that man is." Merek said. "I’m going to remember him for the rest of my life."

"We all will!" Durn agreed.

And they would.

Every time they pulled on their uniforms before descending into the darkness.

Every time they felt the protective runes hum against their skin.

They would never forget the man who has basically given them a second life.