I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 152 Plan
Tanes, carrying the Source Stone he had obtained from Lelana, quickly returned from Ensis City to Stoneville City and arrived at the room where Teacher Seren was.

"Teacher Seren, I've gotten some new Source Stones!"

Tanes excitedly pushed open the door, causing Seren to lift his gaze from the book he was holding.

She asked with interest, "Oh? So fast. Where did you get the Source Stone? From Kalia Fortress or Reyalukalia Academy? If it was the latter, I had some personal belongings that I didn't have time to bring with me."

Tanes shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then told Serian about Ensis City: "No, that's not it, Teacher Serian. Have you ever heard of Ensis City?"

Seren asked in a puzzled tone, "Ensis City? Is it a city in this world?"

Seeing that Seren was not clear about the situation, Tanes gave her a brief explanation of the Shadowlands and the city of Ensis.

Seren said again with interest, "Interesting. Although I don't know much about Ensis City, I know very well about the once famous Princess Lelana of Kalia. It turns out that she suddenly disappeared because she gave up her status in the borderlands to follow her lover. At the time, the academy was in an uproar because of this. Everyone thought that Lelana had been secretly murdered by those invisible assassins who served the Golden Tree."

Just how much of a grudge does Kalia hold against the Golden Tree...?

Tanes lamented that the Golden Tree had been unfairly blamed for something, and felt a pang of regret.

Seren noticed the expression on Tanes's face and chuckled, saying, "This isn't some kind of scapegoating. You see, when Kalia and the Golden Tree clashed, both sides used every means at their disposal, including those black-blade assassins. At that time, the Kalia royal family had many outstanding knights, or highly talented but still developing mages, who were silently assassinated by those assassins. Of course, later, the Kalia mages also found ways to counter those assassins and retaliated, which stopped the Golden Tree from assassinating them."

Is that so?
Upon hearing that there were more aspects of the past that he didn't know about, Tanes' curiosity was instantly piqued by Seren.

However, Seren lazily refused, saying, "If you want to hear a story, you should come alone next time. There's too much to say about Kalia in just a few words. If I leave you here to listen to my story, the little girl behind you might not be happy. Let's get down to business and give me the Source Stone."

Tanes instinctively looked at Melina, who had turned around to face him. Melina remained calm and composed. "It's alright, I can wait here until you finish listening."

Tanes immediately shuddered and smiled: "It's taking too long, it'll delay our dinner time."

“Heh…” Seren chuckled softly when he saw Tanes’s appearance in front of Melina.

Tanes carefully took the Source Stone from his pocket and handed it to Teacher Serian, asking, "Teacher, how long will it take to make the new Soul Collector? A few days, or..."

Serian raised his hand, took the two Origin Radiance Stones, and casually placed them on the table.

Upon hearing Tanes' question, she replied in a nasal voice, "It won't take that long, it'll be done in a few minutes." Tanes' eyes widened in surprise. "So fast?"

Seren glanced at Tanes with displeasure, explaining as he wrote inscriptions on the Source Stone, "Do you take me for some mediocre magician, my dear disciple? I've already created a working soul collector, solving the most difficult problem of going from zero to one. After that, it's just a matter of combining the magic array I researched with the properties of the Source Stone itself to quickly create a soul collector that meets your needs... Alright, this one is ready to use."

As she spoke, she gently tossed one of the Source Stones, which was inscribed with magical runes, to Tanes, who frantically caught it with both hands, afraid that it would break on the ground.

“Don’t be afraid. Source Stone is very stable and sturdy. Even if you drop it hard on the ground, it won’t leave a mark. Otherwise, why do you think we mages would choose it as the thing to store our souls? If it could break with the slightest force, then the risk of transferring souls would be too great.” Seren added after noticing Tanes’s caution.

However, Tanes carefully kept the item close to his body and replied, "Better safe than sorry, that's one of the truths I learned in the Borderlands. Besides, the Soul Collector is related to how quickly I can summon people and things from the Borderlands, so it's only right to be cautious."

Seren responded with an "Mm," picked up the remaining modified Source Stone, and handed it to Tanes instead: "Your style of doing things in this way is completely opposite to your fighting style, but I think you're right about this. Just like how we mages must be careful when researching Source Stone magic."

After thanking Professor Seren again, Tanes quickly led Melina out of her room, which was filled with books and brilliance stones, before she could ask him to leave, thus restoring peace to Professor Seren.

Melina looked at Tanes, who couldn't help but smile because he had received two brand-new Soul Collectors, and asked, "Tanes, what are you planning to do next?"

Without a second thought, Tanes said, "Of course, we'll go kill the Orks and collect their souls."

Then a regretful expression appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, "I wonder if the souls of those Orks who died in the Battle of Lonely Mountain are still on the battlefield. But so many days have passed, their souls should have long since dissipated. It would be good if they were still here."

After speaking, Tanes stroked his chin, still lost in thought, and said, "But there are still a large number of Orc settlements? Bilbo... he's always lived in peace, he probably wouldn't know. Or should I ask Thorin, or Gandalf? Ah, Elrond would definitely know, I remember he occasionally leads the Elven riders of the Valley out on patrols to eliminate nearby Orcs. Alright, then I'll go to the Lonely Mountain to find Thorin first, and then go to the Valley to find Elrond after I return. Bilbo will probably be going back to Hobbiton by then, so I can also visit his house on the way. It's a pity I don't know where that old fellow Gandalf is now..."

"Tanes, wake up."

Melina looked helplessly at Tanes, who was inexplicably lost in his own thoughts, and gently patted his shoulder, causing Tanes to shudder.

He looked at Melina sheepishly and said, "Sorry, Melina, I accidentally started talking to myself again."

Melina gently shook her head, indicating that she was already used to it. Then, with her bright, amber eyes fixed on Tanes, she said, "Although you told me your story after you came here last night, I still don't quite understand your current situation. Please tell me what you need to do right now, and I'd like to offer you some assistance."

(End of this chapter)