“What about a Davross Forge so big that it would weigh dozens of kilos even after purifying it from the Darwen?” Lith’s answer made everyone’s eyes shine with the greed worthy of a Dragon and put an end to the discussion.
“How do we split it?” The Firstborn asked.
“Fifty-fifty.”
“Deal.” Kalla and Vladion said in unison before realizing to have fallen into a trap.
“Half for me, and half for the Eclipsed Lands. You two are on the same side whereas I am my own faction. Isn’t it right, Kalla?” Lith “casually” showed her his stone ring, reminding her that Solus deserved her share as well.
“Listen well, you little-“
“He’s right.” Kalla cut Vladion short. “He deserves half of the Davross. If not for him, the mission would have failed on the first floor.”
The Vampire opened and closed his mouth several times, speechless from anger and the betrayal he felt for the Wight siding with the enemy. Then he got tired of his own goldfish impression and just nodded.
Sadly, the Forgemastery lab turned out to not be the one Lith had found during his previous visit.
“Fuck me sideways.” He said after noticing how the ancient books had been replaced by modern tomes. “Either what we are looking for is on the fifth floor or Thrud took the forge for herself.”
Lith would have loved to take a few books as souvenirs. They were filled with teachings that the Mad Queen had derived from her centuries of mastery of magic after thoroughly studying the Awakened legacies she had stolen.
Yet he couldn’t risk the Headmaster noticing something missing from his inventory. Yet.
The fifth floor was reserved to Thrud’s generals, with bigger living quarters and individual labs for each one of them. Once again, the hunt for the Davross failed.
“Damn, if not for this place being a lost city, it would have been a marvel of magic.” Vladion said while pointing at the arena in the middle of the floor.
It was so wide and its ceiling was so high that there was plenty of space for the Divine Beasts to spar against each other and experiment on their bloodline abilities.
“Indeed. The idea of destroying it and killing all of its inhabitants almost pains my heart.” Kalla said. “Almost.”
Before entering the sixth floor, where in a regular academy the secret specializations would take place, the group made sure to be at their peak condition. Lith ate to his heart’s content while Vladion and Kalla used their respective breathing techniques to focus their minds.
‘According to the imprisoned undead, this is where Thrud experiments on everything she needs to fuel her war machine. Meln, his tower, and even the Davross forge should be here.’ Just the mention of his brother’s name brought Lith’s rage to the point that it eclipsed the Abomination’s hunger.
‘That and it’s unlikely to be as empty as the previous floors.’ Kalla said while scanning with the Eyes past the wall behind which they were hidden. ‘Not everyone is suitable for the battlefield and in times of war, research is more important than ever.
‘A single discovery can turn the tide so the work of the researchers must go on.’
Lith’s Life Vision and Solus’ mana sense were blinded by the magical aura coming from the corridor in front of them. Vladion’s senses were muddled by the wild energies and odd smells in the air, leaving Kalla as their only guide.
They had to wait until the Eyes managed to separate the energy signatures of the living from those of the experiments, allowing her to mark the position of the enemies on the map.
‘I hate it when you are always right.’ Lith said while noticing the ever-growing number of light dots. Some were even in places that had yet to appear on the map.
‘Don’t be a sourpuss.’ Solus said. ‘The good news is that they are assembled in groups so no matter how many they are, you can consider them as a single individual. On top of that, any good lab requires insulation and isolation.
‘The former means that they wouldn’t notice even if we threw around tier five spells while the latter means no windows to avoid distractions. Unless many people take a bathroom break at the same time, we should be safe.’
‘That and the guards keeping an eye on Meln.’ Lith thought with a snarl while sharing her estimates with the others.
‘I agree.’ Kalla nodded. ‘I’m sorry Scourge, but I don’t think that either your brother or the Davross is worth the risk at this point.’
Vladion nodded and after a while, Lith did as well.
‘Cheer up. I give you my word that once we’re done with the power core, I won’t oppose giving a shot at killing Meln, searching for the Forge, or whatever you want to do. Just first things first.’
The Vampire meant to be supportive, but his words made the stone ring weigh on his hand, and the image of Kamila waiting for him flash in front of his eyes.
‘Screw that stuff.’ Lith replied. ‘None of them is worth my life.’
The moment the Eyes revealed that the coast was clear they opened the hidden passage and stepped into the sixth floor.
‘Me and my big mouth!’ Lith inwardly cursed Solus for jinxing it.
She was right about the labs being perfectly insulated from magic.
It was the aura of their protective arrays that blinded the mystical senses. The magical formations were designed to keep every iota of foreign energy out and work as safety valves, releasing the excess energy in the air around the labs before it overloaded.
The problem was the top half of the walls of each room was comprised of glass. It wasn’t a security measure, just a way for Thrud and other researchers to spectate the experiments and give their input without crowding a lab.
Vladion had promptly conjured Blindside, spreading the black mist around them. Alas, the corridor was already filled with the wild mana coming from the safety arrays.
The Golden Griffon gave low priority to getting rid of the mana, focusing on the safety of the researchers. The fumes provided Lith’s Abomination form with enough energy to keep his hunger at bay.
Yet they also reacted with Blindside, generating sparks where the mist born from the Vampire’s life force clashed with the multi-colored fumes.
The phenomenon was as physically harmless as the wild energy, but it drew a lot of attention, defying the purpose of Blindside. A cold shiver ran down Lith’s back as one of the mages in the room in from of them turned around, looking at him through the glass wall.
Lith’s group started to weave their best spells, preparing for the worse.
At least until the researcher took his sweet time writing something on the glass. Its mirrored image appeared on the other side, allowing Lith to read a string of runes while the man kept talking with his colleagues.
‘What the heck? How could he miss us?’ Vladion thought in amazement.
‘My guess is that the wall is comprised of a one-way mirror.’ Lith replied, sharing with them a scene from a crime series after replacing anything that would reveal it taking place on a different planet.
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