Supreme Magus (Web Novel) -
Chapter 4307: Talos (Part 1)
"So cool!" The kids said in unison before running to cheer on their respective parents. "Are you okay, Mom? Was Awakening painful?"
"I’m as good as new, kids." Rena hugged them in turns. " You have nothing to worry about. At our level, Awakening only stung a bit."
"Don’t be too hard on yourself, Senton." Selia patted his shoulder. "When Ryman Awakened me, I went from the deepest of red to barely red. I could use chore magic for almost ten seconds before wheezing like a bellows, yet here I am today."
The huntress released a strong green aura and conjured the Loop spell.
"If even someone disliked by mana like me can grow this strong and learn Dimensional Magic, you can do it too."
Truth be told, while Lith and the others had needed only a few lessons from Professor Rudd to complete the exercise spells and a few weeks to open their first Warp Steps, Selia had needed months to master the Loop spell.
She had little talent for magic and even less dimensional awareness, but constant practice and the lessons she received from Protector and now Friya allowed her to make slow but steady progress.
"How was Uncle Lith’s lesson?" Teryon asked.
"Is Awakening difficult?" Lenart added.
"Can you shoot fireballs, Mom?" Falco mimicked an explosion with his hands.
"It was interesting." Rena would have replied with ’boring’ if Solus’ warning wasn’t still ringing in her ears. "Awakening wasn’t easy, kids, but Grandpa Raaz beat us all to it."
"Really?" The children turned to look at Raaz in admiration. "Are you that talented, Grandpa?"
"Of course he is!" Aran replied. "He is my dad."
"It was nothing much." Raaz wasn’t used to receiving so much attention and laughed nervously. "Lith is an excellent teacher, and everyone Awakened almost at the same time."
"What about the fireballs, Mom?" Raaz’s answer disappointed the triplets, who went back to focusing on their parents.
"If you call this a fireball, then yes." Rena conjured a sphere of fire the size of an apple, making the kids groan at the bad joke.
The barrage of questions continued, asking the new Awakened how strong they had become and what the most powerful spell they could use was.
"Guys, it was one lesson." Lith raised an eyebrow. "Your parents never practiced anything beyond chore magic their whole lives. You can’t expect them to go straight to conjuring fireballs and maybe opening Steps. That kind of spell takes years of study."
"I can confirm." Kamila nodded while emitting a bright green aura. "Even with the best teachers and lots of free time, I have yet to learn how to Blink."
"It’s perfectly normal, Kami." Friya said. "Dimensional Magic is a complex discipline, and with a core like yours, you can’t use raw power to make up for any mistake you make.
"Mastering Warp Steps is already a great result. Blinking is considered the final test for a mage because it requires flawless tetra casting and perfect control over the elements."
At the end of the meal, after Jirni and Orion returned to their quarters, Lith announced his intentions to his friends and family.
"I’ve activated the Lodestar, so no one can access the tower for the next 48 hours. I’ll be gone from tomorrow afternoon until the evening of the following day. Baba Yaga, Elysia, and I will work on the Cursed runes.
"Please, find a plausible excuse with the others, and make sure your versions of the story match."
"I can use Cursed Flames, so maybe I can learn Mirror Magic too." Tista said. "Can I spectate on your experiments?"
"No." Lith shook his head. "The Lodestar can’t host everyone, and allowing you to come would be unfair to the others. Moreover, you don’t have Cursed Elements in your life force.
"Mirror Magic is highly dangerous to Baba Yaga and me, but to you, it’s deadly. You can’t help us, and anything you might learn would endanger your life."
"It was worth a shot." Tista was aware she had never heard the Cursed runes on her own, and cold shivers ran down her spine when others used Mirror Magic in her presence.
Yet seeing her beloved brother go where she couldn’t follow him hurt Tista deeply. It made her feel as if they were growing apart and she was disappointing him. It was the reason she was so determined to learn how to conjure the Dread Flames.
"I’ll go with them, but only because I want to test the new floor of the tower and help them with the Eyes. While Malyshka and Lith focus on Mirror Magic, I’ll take care of Elysia and review the data to check if there’s anything they missed."
"I’m not comfortable with Ely learning advanced Mirror Magic." Kamila said. "If she gets scared or bored, bring her back home. Okay?"
"Okay." Solus nodded.
***
The following day, Lith and Solus claimed to have to test new Forgemastering techniques for Blade Weapons and left as soon as the Lodestar was fully charged.
They found Bloodhaven waiting for them in the Mansion’s keep, right next to Starforge.
"Thanks for the call." Baba Yaga was in her Maiden form. "I had given up on learning Mirror Magic millennia ago, and being wrong for once is a pleasant experience."
She looked at the tower’s renewed appearance, assessing how many floors it had regained by its increased height.
"Two floors above and two below, like usual, right?" She asked, and Lith nodded. "What about you, Solus? Have you discovered new aspects of your life force now that it has stabilized?"
"I have three more." Solus replied. "I have yet to find a name for them, so it’s easier if I show you."
She shapeshifted into an Indech, then into her Dragon form, and last into her tower form.
"Interesting." The Maiden examined the three aspects one by one. "It appears that part of the tower is deeply intertwined with your life force since none of your other forms can survive without it."
"Do you think I’m going to heal upon reaching the bright violet, or will I remain like this forever?" Solus asked.
"I didn’t expect you to become a Divine Beast in the first place, so I have no clue about what you might become next either." Baba Yaga shrugged. "All I can offer you is a name for your tower form.
"Back when I was researching how to fuse a living being with an artifact, I created a prototype called Talos. My current Horsemen are based on it, and Ripha and I used it as a starting point for the procedure that saved your life.
"In the end, we scrapped it for parts, but I would be honored if you carried on its name."
"Talos." Solus pondered. "I like it. It has a nice ring."
"Thank you." The Maiden giggled. "By the way, you have no idea how happy I am that you finally recovered the Thinking Room, I mean, the Lodestar. Every attempt I made to discover new runes failed, and I’ve been clutching at straws for days.
"Even with my white core, the Cursed Elements instill enough fear in me to keep me from establishing a connection with the violent side of the world energy." She sighed.
"You are in good company, Malyshka." Solus replied. "Only undead and Abominations seem to be able to learn Mirror Magic, and not even they are safe from it."
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