Chapter 4314: The First Mage (Part 2)

"Or rather, I did once, after you got me drunk on Red Dragon. Luckily for me, you’ve lost your memory. What’s your last question, Lith?"

"I’m a bit worried about Elysia." He replied. "She has learned the basic runes for all the Cursed Elements but light and earth, the elements of creation. Does it have something to do with her natural affinities, or do you think Decay and Corruption scare even her?"

"You are overthinking like usual, child." The Crone smiled. "Elysia is a healthy baby who enjoys the protection of the Guardians. How many times has she heard the magic words for a healing spell?"

"None." Lith pondered. "We either use Invigoration or conjure healing spells with true magic."

"Also, Elysia spends most of her time indoors or in the air with her friends. Do you think she had many opportunities to witness someone conjure earth magic?" Baba Yaga asked.

"I see." Lith nodded. "She learned the chore magic Cursed Runes for the elements we use to perform house chores. Darkness to disinfect, fire to light the fireplace, and so on."

"Exactly. Use earth and light magic in front of Elysia, and she’ll learn their Cursed counterparts in a jiffy." The Crone said.

After putting his paranoia to rest, Lith devoted his full focus to deepening his understanding of the Cursed Elements.

Before the Lodestar ran out of power, Lith and Baba Yaga managed to test tier four spells and arrays with Dread Magic. The good news was that it turned out to be feasible. The bad news was that they made little progress on it.

Unlike the lower tiers of magic, tier four and above required several runes. So many that even the simplest tier four spell/array they could think of made Lith fall to his knees with a splitting headache and gave Baba Yaga a panic attack.

Dread Magic was true to its name, and the sight of so many Cursed Runes at once was more than even the Red Mother could bear. Combat spells were simpler, but adding a second element more than tripled the challenge.

Lith had to separate normal and Cursed Runes, weave them together, and control the three elements that tier four Dread Magic conjured. The scattered Cursed Element was the key element to protect not only the caster, but also the tier four spell as a whole, and keep it from imploding on itself.

"I’m glad the Lodestar takes so long to charge up, and it’s a hassle to use." By the end of the 24 hours, Invigoration had lost most of its effectiveness on Lith. "If this were a Fringe, I’d only need a good night’s rest before resuming our experiments."

"If this were a Fringe, either the voices would have driven you insane, or Mogar would have summoned you to have a chat." Small pearls of sweat shone on Baba Yaga’s forehead.

"She would probably be curious to know why you are calling upon her bad side and might even give you a taste of the medicine you’re so stubbornly looking for."

"Let’s follow your advice and take a break, Malyshka." Solus said. "You and Lith can use a bit of time to master the control over the scattered Cursed Elements. Also, you should try to get used to Dread Runes.

"Maybe you can’t get rid of the primordial fear they inspire in you, but I’m sure you can learn an effective coping mechanism."

"My thoughts exactly." Baba Yaga nodded. "Until I find a way to handle more than three Dread Runes at a time, I can’t teach you, Solus, and Lith has to work alone. We are not able to help him, and he would waste his time.

"Yet I have to admit that I’d pay your weight in Davross to see a perfect tier four Dread Spell."

"Why my weight? What about Lith?" Solus grunted, yet the Maiden ignored her.

"Do you have any idea what that blue light you produced earlier was?" She asked.

"I’m not sure, but I have seen it in the past when I was visiting a Fringe. and I have a theory about it." Lith replied. "Only time will tell if I’m right."

***

After leaving the Lodestar, Lith and Solus focused the tower on the Mana Injector and took one of the longest showers in their lives. Lith was tired, hungry, and in dire need of sleep.

Before going to bed, however, he announced to Orion, Jirni, and Ryla that his new "Forgemastering technique" wasn’t a failure, but he had a long way to go before he could make it work.

They knew that Lith was an Awakened, and seeing him look like a miner after a double shift sold his lie better than any detail ever could. Lith was exhausted, and since there was no news about a mysterious disaster or a bloody battle anywhere on Garlen, he couldn’t have snuck out for a fight.

"How did you get so tired, and why is Solus in much better shape than you?" Orion asked.

"Because she can use Invigoration only on herself. I have to share it with Ripha." Lith grunted.

"I’m a Demon." The First Ruler of the Flames shrugged. "To display my best techniques, I need my full strength, and only Lith can fuel my core."

After a hearty meal, he informed his friends and family of the results of his real experiments.

"This is nice!" Quylla was as excited as on her first day of academy. "You need to be careful, though. One mistake and there will be no one left to teach Dread Magic to me."

"I’m touched by your concern." He chuckled. "How was your day?"

"Terrible." Raaz sighed. "I spent half the time using Accumulation and the other half reading that damn book. After a few hours, I expected to actually die of boredom."

"Same." Senton shrugged. "Without the tower and with a core as weak as mine, I got exhausted after practicing magic for half an hour."

"That’s a great result for a beginner." Solus praised him.

"I meant that Invigoration lost its effect after half an hour."

"I stand corrected. That’s not good at all." Solus said.

"Mom, Rena, what about you?" Lith asked.

"We had to run a lot and then lift a lot of weights!" Rena grunted. "Selia worked us to the bone."

"What did you expect?" The huntress scoffed. "You are no blacksmith, and Elina is no farmer. With those toothpick arms and weak muscles, your body is much less developed than your core."

***

The next day, life resumed as usual.

Fenrir and the triplets thrived after bonding with their magical beasts.

Lenart, in particular, found the strength to face his trauma and start healing. Myrdin reminded the boy of Makhari, but his warmth and affection also proved that the Byk didn’t consider Lenart responsible for what had happened during the kidnapping attempt.

Also, the temptation to join his siblings whenever they rode their steeds across the Mansion’s park was hard to resist.

Byks were lazy creatures by nature, and Myrdin wouldn’t have enjoyed the physical activity much if not for Fluffy. Two male Byks in the same space triggered their competitive spirit, and neither could accept being the weakest in the group.

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