Chapter 4141: Right but Wrong (Part 2)

’Besides, I spent years wishing Mom was by my side to guide me and teach me her secrets.’ Solus thought. ’Now that my wish came true, it would be beyond stupid to reject Mom’s legacy and act like she’s not here.

’I’m not asking for handouts or to be spoon-fed knowledge. I’m expanding my limits with the help of my mentor.’

Menadion loved watching her daughter at work and loved helping Solus even more. The former allowed Ripha to learn more about the subtleties of modern magic than any book would, while the latter was her own lifelong dream come true.

’I always dreamed about this moment.’ Menadion had a hard time holding back her tears. ’Working together with Epphy without arguing every time I correct her. Looking at each other without the shadow of Threin’s death lingering between us.

’I already taught Epphy most of these subjects 700 years ago, but the experience was nowhere this enjoyable. She now loves and respects me. She doesn’t merely tolerate my presence for appearances’ sake in front of the other disciples.’

Salaark remained silent the whole time. No one asked for her help, and she didn’t offer it.

’It’s amazing how far those two have gotten without a proper mentor or a bloodline legacy.’ She thought. ’The tower helped Lith and Solus a lot, and my Creation Magic allowed them to practice to their hearts’ content, but it’s rare to find such a mix of talent, hard work, and dedication in one person, let alone two.

’Lith and Solus use the tower as a crutch, but they never stop trying to understand how to walk on their own. They don’t depend on the tower. They rely on it until they find a way to overcome their current limits, and then they use it to master their craft until they reach another wall.’

The more the Overlord watched her Featherlings work, the prouder and more envious she felt.

’Seriously, this is straight cheating.’ She frowned at the speed with which Lith’s and Solus’ creations improved. ’It took me a long time to learn how to craft Blade Weapons, and it’s still a chore to this day.

’The Ears skip all the most boring parts and save you weeks of trial-and-error. As soon as Ripha’s tower is done rebuilding itself, I’m going to ask Lith and Solus if I can make myself a shameless copy.

’Just because Creation Magic allows me for infinite retrials during my crafts, it doesn’t mean that I enjoy failing for days to achieve a single success.’

Suddenly, the lights in the Forge flashed green, and the ring of a bell broke the silence.

"What is that noise?" Salaark flinched in surprise. "Is someone attacking your family in Lutia?"

"No, that’s the lunch bell." Lith wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. "We have five minutes for a quick shower and return home. The Sage Staff is important, but so is our family."

"Also, I can really use a break." Solus’ hair was held up in a ponytail, yet sweat glued it to her shoulders and back. "My head hurts, my mana core is empty, and my stomach hurts because it’s just as empty! I’m hungry enough to eat a Phoenix."

"I see." The Overlord noticed how sweat also made Lith’s and Solus’ clothes stick to them like a second skin.

Yet while Lith had a toned, lean body, Solus had a softer frame.

’How much does she eat to have belly fat despite her Awakened metabolism and her rigorous practice of the mystical arts? She should burn more calories than a furnace in winter.’ Salaark thought in amazement.

They returned home in time to set the table and returned to the Desert an hour after lunch. Lith and Solus spent that time with their family and digesting the hearty meal Elina had prepared for them.

"Mom’s cooking is always the best." Solus sighed while patting her bloated stomach. "Too bad I had to hold back. I get sleepy if I eat too much."

"And you call that holding back?" Menadion was flabbergasted. "You know that you weigh as much as a Divine Beast because of the tower, but you are not one, right?"

"Mom, not in front of Grandma!" Solus replied.

"Don’t worry, Featherling." Salaark said. "I know that when you say you’re hungry enough to eat a Phoenix, you mean it."

"Grandma!" Solus became beet red.

"Enough teasing Solus about her eating habits. We have work to do." Lith said.

"Thanks." She grumbled. "At least someone here knows how to keep the workplace professional."

"There are only a few hours until dinner, and if we don’t feed her on time, she’s going to pick our bones clean." Lith’s straight face and serious tone only made the jab worse.

"Very funny." Solus snorted while Menadion and Salaark chuckled. "If you are done mocking me, I’d like to get to work. The Sage Staff won’t assemble itself."

It took Lith two hours to adjust the mana flow of the Staff to resemble Solus’, and she needed one more hour to complete the power core.

"Sorry to make you wait." She panted. "Finding seven pseudo cores that match my energy flow and assembling them was harder than I thought. The thought that everything we did until now might be for naught only made it worse."

"Please, don’t jinx it." Lith took the power core from Solus’ hands and connected it to Ears and the staff. "Use Invigoration, please. You know I can’t move on to the next step without you."

Solus took a few deep breaths with Sky Blessing, replenishing her mana core and restoring her mental focus. At the same time, Lith checked how the power core fit with the other enchantments and the changes in the overall mana flow.

Once she was done, she took the Yggdrasill staff. The runes, eyes, crystals, and power core followed it without breaking their connection to the Ears.

"I’m ready when you are." Lith said, and Solus began to cast her Blade Spell, Menadion’s Wrath.

She drew the energy from her armor, Fury, and rings with ease, but the pseudo–Sage Staff provided her an irregular flow of mana.

"I knew it." Solus groaned. "It stutters. They always do. All this work to craft something that matches my spellcasting rhythm, only to discover that we’ve placed the right runes in the wrong place."

"It’s the same thing that happened when we crafted our equipment and that of my Sigil Demons." Lith shrugged. "At least with the Ears it won’t take us weeks of crafting prototypes with the Factory and testing them in the Firing Range to find the solution."

He took off the Ears, and they reviewed the footage of the Eyes, discussing for a bit before resuming their work.

"You just focus on the Eyes." Solus put on the Ears. "I’m going to take care of the Staff from now on."

Solus conjured the first runes of Menadion’s Wrath and immediately stopped. She shifted the position of the various components of the enchantments a bit before giving it another try.

Her first attempts lasted a few seconds. The Sage Staff contributed little to the Blade Spell, providing a mana flow as smooth as pulling teeth from a man without putting him under anesthesia.

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