The plume of the Thunderbird produced a yellow pseudo core that was comprised of pure air element. The static discharges that the golden orb emitted became less and less frequent as Lith rewrote part of its natural runes, to make it more stable.
'All the runes related to the emission of electricity are a waste of mana. I only need those that create the protective magnetic field to boost the Scalewalker armor's defense.' Lith thought.
As for the pseudo core of the dimensional item and the spell matrix of Full Guard, Lith knew them so well that he needed but a thought to form them.
Then, he merged the five cores together, using the slime good from time to time to reduce the rejection effect that the different energies caused. Slimes were incredible creatures with amazing vitality and capable of adapting to any environment.
Once dispersed inside the Forgemastering spell, the goop produced a fine mist that saturated the five pseudo cores and harmonized their magical wavelength, allowing Lith to make them overlap with minimal effort.
"Solus!" Lith said.
"On it!" Solus redirected part of the world energy coursing through the tower to form a blue circle of light that engulfed the Adamant armor and the pseudo core that started to orbit around each other.
Violent arcs sparked between them as the world energy from the Adamant flowed into the pseudo core's mana and vice versa. The arcs soon stabilized, forming a cycle that made matter and energy resonate with each other.
Lith took out his Orichalcum hammer, now reforged with runes and a violet crystal while Solus wielded her own and charged both hammers with world energy.
"Guys, the moment Solus starts helping me, I need you to take over the circle. She already did most of the work, you only have to keep it stable and fueled. Tista, Phloria, be ready to use Invigoration on yourself or the others as soon as they need it.
"I have only one shot at this so let's make it count!" Lith didn't wait for an answer and struck at the pseudo core with his hammer, using the combined effect of the mana in his body and that stored inside the hammer to force the armor to accept the foreign energy.
The strike released a pulse of blue light so violent that it almost knocked everyone but Tista off their feet. She knew how Lith worked and had braced for impact while the others had never witnessed anything like that.
'It will be like that every time one of the hammers hits. Keep channeling world energy or the following blasts will destabilize the circle.' Tista said via the mind link.
'Thanks for warning us in time!' The others would have liked to give Tista a piece of their mind, but the moment they saw Solus move her hand they focused solely on their duty.
Ever since Solus had gained a deep cyan mana core, her strength had improved by leaps and bounds. Yet even with the help of Runesmithing, she still lacked the mana necessary to overcome the resistance that the Adamant offered.
While Lith took care of merging the armor and the core with his superior might, she fixed all the imperfections that the process caused in the pseudo core with her finer mana control.
The technique allowed them to both improve their chance of success and to greatly reduce the time that each Forgemastering process required. Wielding such powerful energy took a great toll on both of them and needed a constant use of Invigoration.
Time was of the essence because the more Lith used Invigoration, the less effective it became. The hammer blows flowed into each other in a symphony of silvery clangs, producing a raging storm of blue light.
With each hit of Lith's hammer, the pseudo core would go deeper inside the armor, but the world energy that coursed through the Adamant opposed to the process with such strength that it caused deformations in the core, compromising the integrity of the spells it held.
With each hit of Solus's hammer, the bumps and indenture from the previous clash would disappear, shaping the pseudo core into a perfect sphere again. She had to make sure to preserve and fix all five cores at the same time so that they could withstand Lith's working.
During that time, Lith replenished his body with mana and injected part of it through the runes. That way, the energy coming from the armor couldn't mess with Solus's work due to being temporarily synched with their energy signature.
Lith and Solus complemented each other, allowing them to focus solely on their respective task without the fear of any external variable. Their combined Forgemastering technique not only required the power that only a mage tower could provide, but also two mages to work as one.
By the time the Scalewalker armor was complete, Lith was running on fumes and Solus had to give up on her energy form to keep the tower from collapsing.
"I think that congratulations are in order, little brother." Tista said amid pants. "Your work looks like a masterpiece."
"Yeah, but I expect to be properly compensated." Nalrond laid on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Without us, you would've never succeeded."
"Do you really think I allowed you guys to spectate just out of the goodness of my heart?" Lith replied with a sneer. "We never worked on Adamant before and I assumed that we might encounter several unexpected complications.
"Based on my experience, however, it should have been nothing that a squad of powerful mages, most of whom practice Forgemastery at that, couldn't solve. Worst case scenario, Solus would have focused on keeping the process on hold while we brainstormed the issue."
"You sure know how to make your friends feel appreciated." Friya said. "Does your brilliant contingency plan involve a good meal? Because I'm starving."
"My plan involves all the food and drinks you can eat plus the time for a hot shower. Every time I push myself to my limits, I sweat bullets and I can't appreciate a good meal while smelling like a wet dog." Lith said.
Everyone went to their respective room, replaying the Forgemastering procedure in their heads while pondering if they might be able to do the same. Soon, they all came to the same conclusion.
'No matter what I do, it's impossible. I would need to have several powerful mages to replace the mage tower in the process of conjuring and fine-tuning such a huge amount of world energy.
'On top of that, with Solus's help, Lith can exceed the limits of his mana core, crafting items that go beyond what a bright blue core can do. I wonder if Orion/Dad has a violet core.' They thought almost in unison.
The more they thought about it, the more everything seemed unfair, tainting admiration with a fair share of envy. Being friends, however, instead of ruminating such thoughts behind Lith's back, they told him to his face.
"Sure it must be nice having both a mage tower and Origin Flames. That's the same as cheating since not even Dad can purify metals with such ease." Quylla said, expressing the grievance of every single Forgemaster on Mogar.
"Indeed. Meeting Solus saved my life in more than one way and provided me with the best partner I could ask for." Lith had no problems admitting they were right.
