Hen and Tissaia were much calmer, but a flicker of surprise and understanding passed through the depths of their eyes.
It was obvious that Karl hadn't brought them out just to show off his power, but also to thoroughly prepare for the upcoming battle.
Karl's voice brought everyone out of their shock, and he looked at Hen, Tissaia, and the others.
"Teacher, Miss Tissaia, Margarita, and everyone else... these magical artifacts are war trophies I acquired earlier."
"If you find anything useful in the fight against the evil god, please feel free to use it."
Then his gaze stopped on Hen: "Teacher, as for the specific preparations for the upcoming battle..."
"Coordination of personnel, tactics, allocation of material resources, possible evacuation measures... I will have to entrust these matters to you and Miss Tissaia."
Hen didn't hesitate for a second and nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, just focus on what you need to do and improve yourself as much as possible."
"These secondary and non-essential tasks can be left to the teachers."
Karl nodded, his last gaze sweeping over the different expressions of Geralt, Yennefer, and Triss. Understanding and support were in their eyes.
On Margarita's face were surprise, question, and lingering shock.
He said nothing more, just nodded slightly to everyone.
Then, before everyone's eyes, Karl's body slowly lifted off the ground.
Moving slightly away from the crowd, his ascent speed suddenly increased, and his figure turned into a blurry shadow, soaring straight into the blue sky.
When the desired height was reached, BOOM!!!
A muffled sound, like a loud clap, came from the air, as if something had been pierced.
Simultaneously with the loud noise, above where Karl had been standing, a clearly visible white ring-shaped cloud appeared in the air.
As for Karl, the moment the ring cloud appeared, he had completely turned into a tiny, almost invisible black dot on the horizon.
Then he disappeared into the clear sky, as if he had never existed.
......
A dead silence fell over the entire training ground.
Geralt, Triss, and Yennefer had already witnessed Karl's ability to fly.
Although still in shock, they maintained relative calm, only struggling to look away from the sky.
And Margarita, Mousesack... people who had never seen this with their own eyes.
At that moment, they all stared at what was happening with wide eyes, mouths slightly agape, looking stunned and disbelieving.
He flew away?! Without incantations? Without magical items? Without magical fluctuations? He just... flew off like that?
Margarita blinked heavily, rubbed her eyes, and looked again towards the sky where Karl had disappeared.
Only a ring of white mist remained there, slowly spreading and dissipating.
She slowly looked away and lowered her head, as if she needed time to process this staggering fact.
After a few seconds, she looked up again at Hen and Tissaia, who also looked surprised.
"Teacher... then... you... you knew from the beginning that he could do this?"
"No magical energy emanates from him at all... What is that?" Her gaze shifted from one elder to the other.
"Some kind of high-level atmospheric magic? Or... did he make a pact with a djinn spirit? But the power of a djinn spirit isn't like that..."
She subconsciously considered various options, but none seemed to fully explain what she had just witnessed.
Flying without incantations or magical items, relying solely on one's own body? This was beyond her understanding of "humanity."
Hen, noticing the extraordinary confusion on Margarita's face, gave her a meaningful smile.
In this smile was both satisfaction with his student's performance and playful teasing at an old friend's reaction.
"Quick thinking, Margarita. But you are all wrong," Hen said with appreciation in his voice.
"Karl did not have a contract with a djinn, nor did he use any magic to hide magical fluctuations."
He paused, then looked at Tissaia standing nearby. By this time, Tissaia had completely set aside her previous doubts and close attention.
Her gaze became deeper and more serious. Hearing Hen's words, she sighed softly.
"Margarita, when you just tried to use telepathy to detect Karl, if you didn't feel anything specific..."
"When people look at mountains and the starry sky, they feel an invisible pressure and a sense of their own insignificance..."
"This means that the gap between you and him is greater than you think."
"So vast that your senses cannot even touch the surface of his natural 'presence' that he naturally radiates."
Tissaia's gaze swept over everyone present, her tone quite serious: "The stronger and more perceptive a person is, the clearer they will feel this sensation."
...…
Karl hovered high in the air, above the stratosphere, where the air was thin.
The sunlight streamed unobstructed, several times more intense than when it fell on the ground.
His eyes were closed, his body stretched out, every centimeter of his skin greedily absorbing the star's energy.
This energy circulates, compresses, and purifies within his body.
The condensation of divine power is not just an accumulation of energy, but rather a sublimation of the essence of life.
It requires a vast amount of energy as fuel, and, more importantly, a powerful soul like a furnace to temper and shape it.
One day, two days, three days... one week, two weeks...
On the ground, preparations for battle were in full swing.
Geralt, Triss, Hen, Tissaia, and others acted based on the information Karl had provided.
They discussed, deduced, and developed the most detailed plan possible.
Geralt locked himself in his alchemical laboratory and worked day and night.
The liquid in the crucible bubbled and emitted various strange smells.
He was preparing Witcher decoctions such as "Earth Elemental Decoction" and "Griffin Decoction," which could significantly increase damage resistance.
And alchemical potions: "Superior Blizzard," which increases reaction speed and dynamic vision, and "Patrik's Potion," which enhances sign strength.
They also tried to prepare "Daytime Demon Decoction" in response to the mental contamination described by Karl.
Fortunately, most of the group were sorcerers; otherwise, even finding the alchemical ingredients needed to prepare high-quality potions and decoctions would have been a real headache for him.
At the same time, he carefully maintained his two swords: steel and silver.
They also mentioned the preparation of several special sword oils that could be effective against carnivorous creatures and decaying entities.
A large number of high-quality honeycomb bombs, "Dragon's Dream," etc., were also manufactured.
Triss, Yennefer, Keira, and the recently joined Margarita.
Under the guidance of Hen and Tissaia, the four sorceresses formed a magical research group.
They carefully selected dozens of suitable items from the magical artifacts gifted to them by Karl.
A headband that enhances mental protection, an amulet that increases magical power, and a ring that creates an emergency energy shield.
The scroll contained powerful attack spells... after which, targeted training and exercises began.