Chapter 247: The Birth of the First Magus Set (Part 5)

Magna started with the robe, the largest of the remaining pieces, leaving the arm guards and boots for later.

He had 93% mana left. Hopefully, that would be enough to make the changes he wanted without asking Renna for more pills.

Whistling, he guided his mana through his channels, forming the spell pattern inside his body. The familiar green light appeared at his fingertip, turning into words that spread across the robe’s chest.

He wasn’t going to modify the whole thing at once. Just as he had studied its components separately, he would change them section by section, casting the spell again for each part.

"Preserve the existing fire resistance and physical defense. Replace the vulnerable materials in this section with corrosion-resistant equivalents."

He first targeted the materials responsible for the robe’s fire resistance, choosing replacements that could provide corrosion resistance too. Green words moved across the chest panel as he began the changes.

The process was the same as with the hat. Materials already capable of resisting fire stayed untouched. He only replaced the vulnerable ones with corrosion-resistant materials, keeping their connections to the surrounding components intact.

Once the chest section was finished, he ended the spell, turned the robe over, and pointed at the back.

The spell pattern formed inside his channels once more. A new set of green words spread across the fabric as he repeated the changes there.

Then came the shoulders, each sleeve, and the long panels below the waist. He worked on them separately, ending each cast before moving to the next section.

His mana dropped with every use, making him check the number frequently. Just because the spell let him change materials didn’t mean he could afford to do it carelessly.

As he worked through the robe, its crimson fabric grew darker. The folds looked almost black, though the raised sections still showed a deep red under the light.

After finishing the protective layers, he returned to the collar. This time, he cast the spell on the magma lines running along its edges.

"Replace the Volcanic Snail flesh in these channels with Deep Frozen Sea Jellyfish blood. Preserve the remaining strength-enhancing components."

The orange-red glow rapidly faded from the cloth. Pale blue light took its place, flowing around the collar.

He ended the spell, then repeated the process on the channels across the shoulders.

From there, he worked down the robe, casting separately on the chest, back, sleeves, and lower panels. Each time, another section of orange-red lines turned blue.

With every replacement, the robe’s strength boost decreased. But he left the other strength-enhancing components in the inner layers untouched.

By his estimate, the finished set would still provide around a 50% increase in strength.

That was the balance he wanted. He would sacrifice half of the original 100% bonus for cooling, which would help him withstand the Desolation’s heat alongside the new corrosion resistance.

It was a reasonable price if it meant he could approach the monster without his body starting to boil.

Once the materials were in place, he needed to adjust the paths they followed. He pointed at the chest section and cast again.

"Distribute the cooling channels across this section. Connect them to the existing channels at its edges."

By now, Magna was enjoying the process so much that it no longer felt like he was making a robe.

It felt more like upgrading his equipment in an RPG to get through the next level. For the moment, he wasn’t thinking about a battle for his life. He was simply excited about figuring out how to clear the stage.

Watching him enjoy himself, Renna strangely found herself sharing some of that excitement.

Even she seemed to forget the approaching calamity for a moment. It was as though she were under the influence of some strange spell or aura, her worries giving way to comfort and enjoyment as she watched.

Before their eyes, fine blue branches spread beneath the fabric, joining the brighter lines along the front.

Magna studied the result before ending the spell and moving to the back.

Like the system inside the hat, it would work on the same principle as liquid cooling in a computer. The jellyfish blood circulated through connected channels, carrying heat away while its frost effect kept the flow cold.

For that to work across his whole body, the channels needed to reach the wider sections of fabric too.

He repeated the adjustment across each part, making sure the channels lined up where one section met another.

At those connections, he used smaller, separate casts to join the flow without disturbing the work he had already finished.

Casting the spell over and over took more time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t cast 2 spells at once, nor did he have enough mana to maintain 2 at the same time. Ending each cast before starting another was his only way to keep the mana cost as low as possible for now.

As more of the cooling system began working, faint mist rose from the robe.

Renna leaned closer to feel the cold coming from the blue lines. The mist brushed her face with a freezing chill.

"Will it stay that cold?"

"Not on the inside. I don’t want to freeze myself either."

Magna answered while preparing another cast, this time targeting the cooling channels beneath the collar.

He pictured the comfortable feeling he had experienced while wearing the hat. The effect needed to respond to the surrounding heat, rather than constantly pouring cold into the clothing.

After adjusting that section, he repeated the setting across the rest of the cooling system.

It required more casting than simply giving one command for the entire robe, but working this way let him check each change before moving on.

By the time he finished the cooling system, he had spent 23% mana, leaving him with 70%. Replacing the Volcanic Snail’s slimy flesh with jellyfish blood had been the most expensive part so far.

With protection and cooling taken care of, he turned his attention to the movement-enhancing components.

He needed speed to maintain his current fighting style, which relied mainly on an assassin’s movements. Sacrificing some more strength didn’t bother him as much as losing that freedom to move would.