After Lith's performance, the red haired girl did the best she could, going above and beyond in her efforts, but failed nonetheless . Lith stayed behind, while the others marched out of the classroom in silence .
From their gloomy expressions, one could have thought they were going to a memorial service .
After Professor Wanemyre instructed the academy's clerks to clean the Forgemastering lab and repair the broken equipment, she finally noticed his presence .
"What can I do for you?" She was back to being all smiles and niceties . Lith didn't know if it was because the class was over or because she was still overjoyed from his success .
Whatever the reason, he found her creepy .
"I have a few questions for you . "
"Shoot . "
"Today Professor Nalear showed us your latest creation . I was wondering how many enchantments it possesses and what is its market value . " Lith was actually only interested in checking if it had a weight reducing spell, but he couldn't ask it directly .
If Nalear was an Awakened one, by exposing her he was likely to expose himself too .
"You really are the greedy type . " Wanemyre clicked her tongue in disapproval .
"What we do is a perfect mix of art and magical science . It's not about how much you earn, it's the journey that matters . Money is just a pleasant side effect of our line of work . "
- "How can she say that with a straight face after keeping the Frost Dews for herself? She's shameless . " Lith thought .
"The pot calling the kettle black?" Solus sneered . –
"As for your questions, here . You can keep it . " She gave him a small booklet, containing drawings and descriptions of all the magical items Wanemyre had for sale . The pricing of most of them was enough to make him weep blood .
- "I wish I had it earlier . Maybe I can still ask the Crown to give me a few of these things . The reward I asked for would barely cover for the cheapest items . "–
When he found the sword's description, the weight reducing spell was listed among many others . Lith felt like a burden had been lifted from his chest, yet another was added when he checked out the price .
- "Maybe if I reveal to the Crown how much I contributed to finding a cure for the plague, they will gift me half a sword . I need at least another two plagues to be able to afford this thing . " -
"Another thing, how does the dagger work? You never explained that part . "
Wanemyre slapped her own forehead with her palm, realizing her mistake .
"Sorry, I never thought someone would succeed . I didn't want to get your hopes up just to be disappointed as it happened to your classmates . It's actually very simple . Once you imprint it, activating the enchantment will make the blade turn hot enough to melt stone .
It can easily cut through most conventional protections and weapons . It doesn't cause bleeding, but makes the wound unbearably painful and harder to heal . The effect lasts a couple of minutes per activation . With the Frost Dew I gave you, I doubt it can be activated more than thrice per day . Sorry . "
Her apologies sounded fake like a three dollar bill, but Lith had to let it slide .
"The last question is a personal one, so I apologize in advance for being nosy . I couldn't help but notice that you changed quite a bit from the last trimester . "
"Changed how?" She tilted her head, seeming more flattered than annoyed by his curiosity .
"You look even prettier than before, you now wear makeup and jewels . " Lith pointed at the gold necklace with several embedded gemstones she wore around her neck and the small silver bracelet around her wrist . "You also smile a lot more . "
"Well, thank you for noticing it . " She giggled like a little girl .
"I admit I was a bit too stern before, but you know, love changes everything . I am betrothed now . "
"Betrothed?" Lith was dazed .
"Yes, I know it may seem rushed to a twelve year old with his whole life ahead of him, but for a woman of my age there is no time to lose . We want to have children, so we'll get married after the end of the trimester . "
- "Told you so . Again!" Solus laughed her heart out, mocking his paranoia .
"Don't think I have forgotten about our bet . "–
Lith ignored her remark, noticing instead the contrast between the two accessories .
"It's a wonderful betrothal gift . " He said pointing at the necklace . In the new world there was no such thing as engagement rings . The one proposing could provide any kind of jewelry or commodity as a sign of good faith .
"That's my protective necklace, page twenty-three of the catalog . " Wanemyre snorted, quite offended by his remark .
"I wear it only because of Linjos' paranoia . He wants us to be ready in case another sabotage happens . It's too flashy for my taste, but it was the most useful if something went wrong during today's lesson . This is his betrothal gift . "
She extended her slim wrist, showing him the silver bracelet .
- "And you say I'm the stingy one, Solus . On Earth this trinket is barely better than those you would find in an Easter egg . Judging from the numerous runes and magic crystals, it should at least be powerfully enchanted .
"Even I would have bought something better . " -
Solus was tempted to say "It's the thought that counts", but she was too afraid Lith would use it against her the next time he had to buy presents .
"It's simply lovely . " Lith lied through his teeth .
"Sorry for my rudeness before . It's just that your masterpiece drew all my attention . " He added flattery to make sure she wouldn't resent him for his blunder .
"I forgive you . Now go to your room and prepare for tomorrow's lessons . "
Lith didn't make her say it twice, he had already wasted too much time indulging his paranoia, now he had to rush .
If only he had spent a few more minutes with the Professor, he would have seen that despite her smiling and the joy on her face, her right eye twitched uncontrollably, shedding a single tear before returning to normal .
***
Blood Desert, the day before .
While waiting for Salaark's return, Leegaain and Tyris kept singing, rejuvenating the heaven and earth from the damages that the prolonged experiments performed by the Abominations had caused .
The barren land had turned into a flourishing oasis . The two Guardians could already perceive many animals migrating toward the newborn haven guided by their innate mana sense .
Salaark came out of the caverns with her talon-ending hands covered by bits and chunks of a black matter that were quickly turning into smoke .
"How did it go?" Tyris asked, worried by the phoenix's frown . She wasn't the kind to mull over a victory, more likely to banter about it and demand a celebratory feast .
"While you lovebirds were singing about peace and love, I risked my feathers . This b*stard…" She took out Pazul's head, handing it to Leegaain before it could disappear .
"…was very well prepared for our arrival . If it wasn't for the fact that I never underestimate any opponent and brought you along as a contingency plan, the Garlen continent would now have only two Guardians . "
"If this is a joke, it's not funny Salaark . We have killed Eldritchs for millennia and each of them had less power than a single one of your feathers . " Tyris scoffed at the idea of a Guardian dying at the hands of an overgrown tick .
"A single Eldritch is indeed irrelevant," Leegaain said after having stabilized Pazul's remains and studied them for a bit .
" . . . but this thing is so much more . The other artificial Abominations we encountered earlier were harmless despite their humongous power because they were utterly insane . So many minds could not coexist, so the whole was less than the sum of its parts .
"This time they used an Eldritch as a base, fusing it with countless artificial Abominations . An Eldritch has enough power and experience to beat the other minds into submission .
That's why it was able to retain its personality and harness all their powers at once . "
"How bad is it?" Salaark had just finished cleaning herself .
"Quite bad, if you ask me . It's still a rough product . It had to spend most of its energies just to keep all the other minds in check, but it's a huge step forward . They have already solved the madness issue .
"Even as it is, if they put up a squad of these things, even a Guardian may not be enough . What did it say to you before dying?"
"Not much . " Salaark shrugged .
"I had no idea his mind was so fragile . I was quite pissed off, so things turned ugly fast . Torturing its soul made his mind collapse and melt in the psychic maelstrom . There is a full lab down there, and it's still in almost mint condition though . "
"Make way, please . " Leegaain asked with a stern expression, making Tyris grow even more worried .
In all the time they had spent together, she had never seen the dragon completing so many sentences without cracking even one joke .
***
It took Leegaain a few hours to check and catalog everything . When he finished, the dragon was pleased with his results .
"Excellent work in preserving the lab Salaark . Now we know everything but the identity of our enemies . "
"We do?" Tyris and Salaark asked in unison . Since they couldn't make heads or tails of the equipment, they had spent their time playing Lith's game . Chess had become renowned as the "Queen of the games" and "the game of the Queens" .
"Yes . Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"Whatever . I'm sure that no matter what I pick, you'll tell us both anyway . " Salaark snorted in exasperation .
"You are right my fair lady, but this time I will do it because it's vital for you to understand how serious our crisis is, rather than for the simple pleasure of annoying you . " His mocking tone told a different story, though .
"The first thing I ascertained by examining the lab, is that whoever is behind this, they are not Awakened ones . Their method to mass produce Abominations is brilliant but too crude .
An Awakened one wouldn't need all this equipment nor to sacrifice so many lives for so little result . " Leegaain pointed at the mountains of corpses .
"They would just use Invigoration to call upon the world energy and forcefully feed it to their test subjects . Our culprit is sapping the life force of countless living beings to produce a single Abomination, instead .
Clearly they have no idea of what a mana core is or how to sense the world energy . "
"How can you be so sure?" Tyris asked . "Most Abominations were once Awakened ones, can't they have taught to others the secret behind the awakening?"
Leegaain sneered in response .
"Even if they wanted to, they can't . Abominations lose all their connections with the world energy after the transformation . Would you be able to Awaken someone by using mere words? The answer is no . " He didn't give them the time to reply .
"Sure, Abominations can explain what a mana core is or how the world energy affects magic, but knowing and doing are two different things . Also, I'm certain of my assumptions because I'm very familiar with the blueprints of those tanks…"
"Since you made them yourself?" Salaark interrupted him, shocked by her intuition .
"Why would I do that? Just like you, I can create artificial Awakened as well as true ones . I'm the father of all dragons, if I wanted to take over the world, I would just need to call all of my offspring and take down a Guardian at a time .
No, I know them because they belong to the Griffon Kingdom . They are the upgraded version of Arthan Griffon's immortality project . "
Tyris had done her best to forget that name . King Arthan Griffon, the Kinslayer . The Soul Eater . The biggest mistake she had ever made .
Unlike natural Awakened ones, those Salaark and Tyris made were incapable of using techniques like Invigoration and Accumulation, their sensitivity toward the world energy was purposely sealed during the process .
Having a stronger mana core than the one they were born with, made them age more slowly, but they aged nonetheless . Arthan had been a genius mage, that during his final years had focused on studying the limitations of the gift he had received and how to overcome them . Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click for visiting .
His experiments had sacrificed countless lives and almost led to the Griffon Kingdom's destruction .
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