Eras were defined as the differences between magic systems. Therefore, a better and newer magic system would start the ushering of a new era.
The present era was focused on the heart of a magus. This was significantly different than Henry's era.
Back then, the only important thing was to have a good imagination and a good grasp of the various transformations of mana. You didn't need a fortified heart to reach a very high level.
"You might think that filling your heart with mana is just a physical thing that won't affect your soul, but that's far from the case. Once the heart becomes the center of your magic, your soul will transform, and your Will will become sturdy and unshakeable!
"The current emperor has the strongest magus heart in the territory! He never changed in a thousand years, and power hadn't corrupted him. This is because of his strong heart."
Judy stopped and became silent. She allowed the students to digest the shocking information she revealed to them.
Many of these students had some understanding of magic, but her lesson was concise and easy to understand. Things that they didn't understand before became clearer.
Henry was the most affected.
"Is that the reason…"
Henry shook. His heart palpitated. He was still a Simple-class magus, so he lacked the ability to see through the bodies of others, making him miss this difference.
The foundation of Henry's era was on knowledge and understanding. As long as you were smart, you could reach far.
Henry took shallow breaths and relaxed his heart. He looked at Judy, feeling a bit inferior.
The present magic system was incomplete, but he could tell that their foundation was solid. At the very least, it was better than his era's!
Without hesitation, Henry closed his eyes.
He assessed his internal body and quickly judged that he could attempt to swap foundations. It was a crazy idea, but he was confident in succeeding.
All he needed to do was move the liquid mana in his hands into his heart. The chance of getting a heart attack was naturally higher because of that.
Henry opened his eyes and listened again. This time, he let go of his pride. There were things he could learn in the present era.
Judy gave a rough introduction to the various classes.
They were the Low, High, Master, Lord, Royal, Grand, and Forbidden.
Compared to Henry's era, they only got seven classes. The difference was too significant. They were missing a lot of potential.
Henry knew this, so he contemplated creating his own path, which solely belonged to him.
In the past, Henry found himself unable to surmount a certain threshold. Perhaps, by forging a new path, he could muster the momentum to finally overcome it!
The lesson flew by like pages of a flipbook. Henry stopped paying attention after some time and indulged himself in his imagination. After all, it was not simple to create a magic system.
A mistake at the beginning could easily cause a roadblock in the future, making him unable to take a step further. This was something Henry had to take into account and prevent from occurring.
Very soon, the lesson finished.
Judy tried to call for Henry. Instead of responding, he ignored her and walked out of the podium with a blank gaze. His mind was on autopilot as he walked back to his apartment.
Suddenly, Henry stopped.
He realized a crucial problem that was unsolvable at the moment.
His memory of the classes of his era wasn't complete. He only remembered until the Royal-class. He wasn't even sure if some of the classes Judy said had the same names as his previous era.
This was troublesome because it essentially meant that Henry would be unable to plan and design his magic system accordingly. He would be going in blind.
He also needed to start now, hoping that he had chosen the correct design.
It was a dangerous gamble.
Henry blocked a punch that came his way and continued walking forward. He returned to his apartment and crossed his legs on the bed.
The present magic system essentially missed the Simple-class and called it Low-class. This wasn't important as they were just names.
If Henry renamed it back to Simple-class, he should be able to construct the magic system to be as expansive as his past. He only needed to be careful with his choices and not to stray too much.
The great thing about magic was that it was quite flexible. As long as you abide by its rules, you could pretty much make it do anything. Thus, it wouldn't be impossible to combine two different magic systems.
"I have to try. If I don't do this, I will walk the same path and end up stuck like in the past."
Henry was glad he joined this academy. He initially thought that he wouldn't learn anything here. He was so wrong he found his previous arrogance to be laughable.
Alternatively, there was a chance that by the time he learned the present magic system, he would be in the Low-class. The difficulty in switching would dramatically increase.
At that point, Henry would be forced to reset his accumulation. And that would leave hidden problems he didn't want to deal with.
"Henry Cloud… I'm not afraid of death!"
Henry reminded himself of who he was. He returned and would change the world! He would surpass his peak and find answers to his past!
Henry closed his eyes.
His heart thumped with power. It sent blood to various parts of his body and kept him alive. Putting mana in it would not be easy, especially with the liquid mana in Henry's hands.
Since he already had veins returning to his heart, he decided to use them.
He experimented first and put a drop of mana inside his vein.
With each beat of his heart, the mana would inch closer and closer to his heart. The feeling was like having iced water flow within one's veins. It was odd.