"Of course not. After all, you have to compensate me for three Orichalcum Skinwalker armors. You better give it your all, old man." Lith actually said. His smug expression hid his awe at the idea of what Orion could craft for him if he actually went all out.
"Yeah." Instead of mocking Lith back, Orion nodded. He hadn't forgotten how Lith's armors had already saved her daughters plenty of times. Orion would make the best he could without breaking the Kingdom's laws.
Royal Forgemastering techniques could only be employed to craft authorized equipment. Doing otherwise was considered treason.
Lith then decided to strike the iron while it was still hot and exploit Orion's unusual meek attitude. Lith told him about the discoveries about runes he had made during his stay in Kulah, putting the blame for his forbidden knowledge on Neshal and Yondra, while keeping Phloria out of it.
Dead mages told no tales and the Kingdom could not put dead mages to trial.
"I'm really curious about runes. Is it a hidden specialization like those that are taught in the academies? How do I get to learn about it?" Lith asked.
"How the heck did you squeeze so much information from them?" Orion was taken aback by such a request.
"I told you. Kulah was filled with old runes, so they had to explain to me how to operate the dimensional runes and counter the Golems. Also, my Forgemastering analysis spells can detect runes, which made them all the more eager to recruit me for their academies." Lith replied with his usual blend of truth and lies.
"You're a bit too young for this stuff. The Kingdom doesn't accept Forgemasters who don't have a history of loyalty to the Crown. So far, you've been quite useful but no one thinks that you're loyal to no one but yourself." Orion sighed.
"What about Phloria and Quylla? They already have wands and know runes. What's with the double standards?"
"Kid, do you really want to compare a grassroots mage to an ancient household? Do you have any idea how many people owe me favors? I'm not waiting for the moment of my death to collect them.
"Since my daughters are interested in Forgemastering, it's only natural that I do the best that I can for them. Phloria is determined in pursuing her military career, just as Quylla wants to become a teacher for one of the six great academies.
"That's something the Kingdom is willing to bet on, at least with me vouching for them. But you? In a year you'll be out of the military and who knows, maybe even out of the Kingdom. Would you give away state secrets to a rogue mage?" Orion said.
"So, you can't teach me or you just don't want to?" Lith asked.
"Both, but I can at least answer your questions. Runesmithing is just a branch of Forgemastering, just like the Bonding process. As for how you can learn about it, there are only two possible ways.
"Number one, you commit to the Kingdom. Become a permanent military member, an echelon of the Mage Association, get a role in an Academy, whatever works for you and roots you to the Kingdom.
"Number two, marry into a family important enough to give you access to the resources you want. That's another kind of bond that can't be overlooked and works just fine."
"Isn't there at least a third way? Learning from an Emperor Beast or from another rogue mage?" Lith asked.
"Sure, that's not against the law. Good luck finding someone who possesses that kind of knowledge and is willing to give it away for free." Orion sneered at the idea. "Any more questions?"
"None that you're willing to answer to, thanks." Lith stood up and went to the kitchen. He hadn't eaten in almost two hours and his stomach was rumbling.
While eating a T-bone steak with roasted potatoes Lith pondered about what to do with his loot. After a thorough analysis with Invigoration, he had discovered that the magical artifacts were useless to him
They had a safeguard mechanism that would react to the imprint of a non-Odi destroying them, not to mention that the God's Will bead required a mana output that put Silverwing's Hexagram to shame.
The sword was at least covered in runes that Lith could study and its pseudo core was worth replicating.
'What if we trade the God's Will to the Crown in exchange for something?' Lith thought.
'The problem is in exchange for what? If we give it away now, there's nothing we want, whereas if we reveal its existence later, you could be charged with treason. We have only until you give your report to decide.' Solus replied.
Those two days soon became very boring to him. Not being able to practice magic and being forced to rest was something that Lith didn't experience since his childhood.
The only silver lining of that situation was that thanks to Solus using Invigoration on Kamila to speed up her metabolism and send the nutrients to the right places, she was recovering almost as fast as he was.
Quylla examined Lith multiple times a day, to check that his life force hadn't sustained any more permanent damage. She believed that just like Death Vision, Lith's transformation was due to the damage he had received by saving Protector.
That maybe their life forces had interacted, awakening some latent trait belonging to one of Lith's ancestors. It was impossible to think that Raaz wasn't Lith's father. The two men looked too much alike for their resemblance to be just a coincidence.
The truth was that Lith's current condition was due to the abuse of Origin Flames. The powerful technique required to mix a tiny speck of life force with world energy, but no matter how little it was, it would still put strain on the life force of its user.
To fight the Odi, Lith had pushed his body to the limit, resulting in his precarious state.
"You still need to rest, but tomorrow you might be able to do some light exercise." Quylla said at the end of the second day. Lith's life force was stable, but she would like for him to wait at least another full day to let it settle properly.
"Lith, I know it's none of my business, but I have to ask you anyway. What the heck did happen in that cave? What was that thing you became?" Her voice was genuinely worried.
Lith could see from her eyes that she wasn't afraid of him being a monster so much as of being sick. As if his second life force was a disease to cure instead of another mystery in his life.
'I wonder what did I do to deserve such people in my life.' Lith thought.
'You did the right thing for the wrong reasons, but it's paying off anyway. Be careful about what you say to her. You have yet to speak with Kamila. The more people know before she does, the more it will hurt her.' Solus warned him.
"Beats me." Lith honestly replied. He still had no idea what a world tribulation was nor why he was a hybrid even though both his parents were humans. "It started off back when I went to Kandria, but only recently I became able to shapeshift.
"I don't know how to explain it, but I've got two life forces."
"That's impossible." She said after examining him with Scanner again. "There is no such thing as a second life force."
