Chapter 4051: Mana Injector (Part 2)

His feathered wings slowly absorbed the world energy, carefully splitting its six components from Mogar’s will and converting the elements into their volatile Cursed counterpart.

Each Cursed Element travelled on a different path, but they all converged into Lith’s lungs and heart. There, a spark of his life force coated them with an insulating layer which allowed the Cursed Elements to mix without consuming one another.

The Dread Flames manifested as a small spark that quickly grew in size and power. With each breath, Lith fanned the silvery fire while also compressing it and keeping it contained inside his lungs.

’Even if I cleanse a fraction of the Trawn Woods, it’s still a large area. I’m going to need lots of Dread Flames and exert surgical control at that.’ He thought, as the silvery fire he had accumulated struggled to break free from his control already.

’On my mark. Mark!’ Lith exhaled slowly, releasing a wave of Dread Flames that seeped out of his body and into the tower. From there, the flames dived into the ground, moving along the pathways identified by the Watchtower.

Menadion used the Eyes to check on the cleansing rate of the impurities and alerted Lith the moment he could move on to the next area. Solus, instead, followed Lith’s progress with the Ears, monitoring the changes in the flow of the world energy.

Whenever a negative fluctuation occurred, she warned Lith and used the Hands to give the Dread Flames something to feed upon without damaging the Trawn Wood further. At that point, Lith changed his approach until he found one that worked.

Lith kept breathing in and releasing Dread Flames nonstop to maintain his connection with them. This way, he could move the silvery fire like one of his limbs and even use it as a sensory organ.

’Enough with the clearing for now.’ Solus said. ’Let’s go to the Mansion.’

Lith repeated the procedure from the start and cleansed the area up to the bounds between the park and the Trawn Woods.

’It’s an excellent start.’ Solus took control of the Watchtower while Lith caught his breath. ’The Dread Flames always put a heavy burden on your life force, and you’ve used a lot of them. I’d stop here for today.’

’Not yet.’ Lith said as the wheezing slowly stopped. ’There is one more thing I want to try.’

’Can’t it wait?’ Solus said after he shared his idea.

’Brilliant! When do you start?’ Menadion sounded as excited as a kid before opening her birthday presents.

’Mom!’ Solus rebuked her. ’Lith’s life force is cracked. He shouldn’t exert himself.’

’One more flame tongue? Just one? Pretty please?’ Menadion begged.

’It will actually take two tongues of fire.’ Lith replied. ’Also, feel free to check on my life force. It shouldn’t take much.’

’Two against one.’ Solus sighed. ’Mom, you are going to pay for that.’

’Why me?’

’Here goes nothing.’ Lith moved the tower to the clearing and then took one more deep breath.

He didn’t accumulate or amplify the Dread Flames. He focused them into a long, snake-like jet that he sent past the already cleansed area and aimed straight towards the second geyser under the Mansion.

The low strength and intensity of the Dread Flame ensured that finesse mattered much more than raw power, sparing Lith’s life force from a significant strain. Once he reached the limits of his focus, he moved to the Mansion and repeated the process.

This time, the tendril extended towards the clearing, yet it didn’t reach the channel Lith had carved on the other side.

’This is it. How am I doing?’ Lith asked.

’You’re fine.’ Solus sighed in relief. ’The amount of Dread Flames you conjured was small enough not to worsen your fatigue.’

’Good.’ Lith slumped on the throne, letting the energy influx from the tower invigorate him. ’If we are right, the two channels will allow the geysers to exchange world energy, and when that happens, the Awakening process of the Trawn Woods should become much faster without disrupting the natural balance.’

’Yeah. One geyser should act as the mana core and the other one as an auxiliary core.’ Solus nodded.

’Or maybe they could fuse and become a single, stronger core.’ Menadion suggested.

’Whatever.’ Solus dismissed the idea with the coldness of an ice age. ’Now you rest, Lith. Where do you want to go?’

’Normally, I’d say the Mansion.’ Lith replied. ’The clearing has been cleansed twice, and the tower has been there most of the time. Yet Lutia needs us. Moving to the Mansion so soon would make it look like I’m washing my hands of it.

’The citizens need to know I’m there for them and that I’ll protect them if anything else happens. No matter how angry they are, my presence will reassure them and help them sleep better at night.’

’That’s... a sensitive thought.’ Solus said.

’And yours is not. Why do you sound so surprised?’ Lith’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

’Because it’s a bit out of character. For you, I mean.’ Solus replied. ’After the events of the Heavenly Wolf restaurant and how the Lutians treated you, I thought you held a grudge.’

’I do, but most of those people left Lutia, and most of those who died yesterday had nothing to do with the Heavenly Wolf restaurant.’ Lith shook his head. ’Never before has Lutia been attacked so hard, nor have so many people died.

’Grudge or not, Lutia is my city and my responsibility. The livelihoods of too many people depend on it, including those of many members of our family. Abandoning Lutia would be like neglecting them.’

Not knowing what to say, Solus gave him an apologetic nod.

’Before we go back home, there’s one last thing we need to check.’ Lith sat on the control throne of the Mana Injector room and put on the Eyes, Hands, and Ears of Menadion.

He used the Hands to boost the extra flow of world energy, the Ears to follow its movements, and the Eyes to observe the otherwise imperceptible alterations it caused in the surrounding Woods with each pulse.

The Mana Injector didn’t generate a constant stream of world energy, but rather worked akin to a breathing technique. The tower accumulated the world energy from the geyser below for a few seconds before releasing it into the ground.

The interval between the pulses allowed the soil and all life forms connected to it to absorb the extra world energy to the best of their capacity before the next pulse arrived.

This way, the strain they suffered was minimal and tempered their bodies over time rather than injuring them. The same happened to the ground itself. The different minerals and components of the soil had the time to move and rearrange themselves like grains of sand under a tide.

Moreover, without the impurities, the energy from the mana geyser had an easier time finding paths of least resistance. This way, it could focus itself into a complex warren of underground veins instead of wasting power to overcome the resistance of natural insulators.

With each pulse of the Mana Injector, the world energy that reached every blade of grass, flower, and tree increased. Not only because their mana capacity grew, but also because the ground carried slightly more world energy in a slightly more efficient way.

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