"I'm talking about mana, something that only a living being can produce. I think that after thoroughly manipulating their specimens' bodies with light magic, the Odi found a way to extract, purify, and store mana from other living beings.
"This, let's call it neutral mana, is something without an energy signature, allowing it to be used without suffering from mana poisoning.
"Hence, a Mana Reactor can only be fueled by living beings, which also explains why the Meat Factories have been moved down here, why the Odi keep breeding them up to this day, and how they were able to craft Flesh Golems.
"Forgemastering those dreadnoughts is otherwise impossible."
Lith had become so used to using true Forgemastery that he had almost forgotten that fake mages only had as long as a magic circle held to craft their works. Grafting flesh to stone, infusing the constructs with so many arrays and spells, it would have required more mana that even Manohar could possibly have.
'Dammit, Quylla is right. I bet that first they completed the Mana Reactor, and only thanks to that did they manage to bring the other projects to fruition.' Lith thought.
'Yeah, but why?' Solus asked, her mind sounded dejected.
'Why what?'
'Why did Quylla understand what a Mana Reactor is even though she had way fewer clues than me, whereas I failed? Maybe I'm not as smart as you think.' She replied.
'First, you're at least as smart as she is, and even if you weren't, you would still be leagues above me. Second, you failed because of me.' Lith said.
'Because of you? Do you think that you make me stupid or what?' Solus chuckled at Lith's silly attempt to justify her shortcomings.
'No. It's just that both you and Quylla are polymath geniuses, but while Quylla has always focused solely on light magic, because of me you also practice all kinds of magic known to us, both fake and true.
'Which means that, compared to her, you didn't have enough time. Magic is infinite, Solus, whereas we only have a limited amount of time each day. You didn't fail because you're not good enough, but simply because you've chosen to become a jack of all trades but master of none to help me overcome my problems.'
Lith's words forced Solus to take a few steps back from her wounded pride and look at the bigger picture. He was right, of course. Quylla knew nothing about other specializations, whereas Solus could outsmart most mages their age in their own field of research.
The realization made her feel better because as any mage worthy of their title, Solus was very competitive. Yet at the same time, it made her worry. Lith was periodically dragged into a big mess, and every time she was his life line.
If it wasn't for Quylla, this time they might have lost an important clue for his survival until it was too late, which she promptly pointed out to him.
'You're right, but let's be honest. If I was here alone, I would have left this accursed place right after fighting the fungal creature. I'm not stupid enough to not understand when I'm outside my field of expertise.' Lith thought.
He wasn't the only one worried about Quylla's words. Yondra and Phloria were racking their brains as well, trying to find a flimsy chance of survival. They were locked inside an unknown place, with nowhere to run, and surrounded by timeless enemies.
Their situation wasn't dire so much as a death sentence. They all reached the conclusion that their only hope was to find a Warp Rune that would bring them far enough from Kulah to escape the range of the deadly gas.
Lith took a short nap to recover his strength. His natural recovery was a great help, but it couldn't reset Invigoration on its own, only delay the next use of his breathing technique.
Unfortunately, that peace didn't last long. While the expedition group rested, the Odi studied the Earth Blocking array via their surveillance devices or by sending the Golems to investigate where cameras had been destroyed.
Neshal's formation was made of modern runes, but all arrays could be broken with enough time and preparation. On top of that, thanks to their hybrid nature, Flesh Golems could use magic almost as true mages, making it easier for them to adapt their spells to any circumstance.
A bit more than half an hour after Lith had fallen asleep, the Earth Blocking array started to flicker and the mana crystals fueling it to rattle. Yondra quickly woke up everyone while chanting her spells.
Despite her daze from being still quite tired, Neshal realized what was happening and recovered the mana crystals. Thanks to her mind link with her arrays, she knew that she had no chance to block the assault by herself, at least not for long.
Instead of wasting mana to buy a handful of seconds, it was better to prepare for the incoming fight.
"This shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" Morok said, wishing he could have slept just a bit more. His strength had almost returned, but almost wasn't enough. "You killed two more Golems on your own. If we just cover your back and delay the others, destroying fourteen constructs should take you what, one minute?"
"First, weren't you supposed to be asleep?" Lith was flabbergasted by both Morok's hearing and idiocy. "Second, that was an ambush, where I struck one Golem at a time under the influence of two arrays.
"They were sitting ducks. I didn't fight them, I assassinated them. Now they come in numbers and I have to face them head on. It's completely different."
"A man can dream." Morok sighed.
"The Living Quarters are a dead end. We must find the Meat Factories and their Warp Runes. The labs are our only way out." Phloria said after explaining everyone Quylla's discoveries about the Mana reactor.
The group nodded, and while the array slowly collapsed, they started moving along the east corridor and destroying the surveillance devices on their path. They were aware that is was a double-edged move, but it was their only option.
On one hand, it meant giving away their position, since magical items didn't break down on their own. On the other hand, in the case of retreat, the Odi and their minions wouldn't be able to trace them.
"We need to make haste." Professor Gaakhu said. "If we don't get far away enough before the array collapses our back with be expos…"
As Lith inwardly cursed her for jinxing their situation, the array disappeared, replaced by two Flesh Golems on their back plus two more in front of them. More would have been unable to move along the hallway.
This time it was the group suffering a well-staged ambush. The constructs didn't try to get close to their prey but unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning in unison. The electricity traveled through the metal comprising the whole corridor.
Each time it reached a fellow Golem, the lightning would be absorbed, released, and amplified, allowing the four constructs to create a devastating electrical formation in just a split second.
Lith and Morok jumped to avoid the shock, activating a float spell to stay away from the ground. Neshal activated another Earth Blocking array she had prepared while using her Crown Staff to absorb the enemy's spells before they could reach her.
Phloria managed to cover the ground below her feet with the stones stored inside her dimensional amulet just in the nick of time, dragging Quylla above it with her.
