Supreme Magus

Chapter 3850: Cynical Act (Part 1)

"Limiting the spread of the civilian DoLorean by setting it at a high price is a good idea." Lith nodded. "I assume you won’t make the blueprints public, correct?"

"Of course." Meron said. "Those interested in purchasing a DoLorean will have to bring the raw materials and pay the service fee in advance to the nearest branch of the Mage Association.

"The Royal Forgemasters will take care of the crafting process in Valeron. It’s the only way to ensure that the blueprints won’t be leaked in the near future."

With every new Train that entered in operation and every DoLorean that would soon be sold to the public, the mages of the Gorgon Empire and the Blood Desert would have more opportunities to study Lith’s creations and attempt to crack their cloaking runes.

Stopping the foreign spies was impossible, but even if someone managed to copy the power core’s structure in its entirety, they would find themselves in the same situation as the late World Tree with the schematics of Menadion’s old tower.

The positioning of the mana crystals, the sequences of external runes, and the mana pathways in an artifact were easy to replicate. Forgemastering its power core, however, required knowing the ingredients necessary to conjure each of the many pseudo cores and the order in which they had to be assembled.

One wrong ingredient or pseudo core out of order, and the partial power core would collapse, wasting all the materials employed in the experiment. Origin Flames could be used to salvage the enchanted metal, but without Creation Magic, mana crystals and natural treasures would be lost.

"The Crown is going to do everything we can to ensure that, by the time the other countries have their own DoLoreans and Trains, the Griffon Kingdom has gained enough of an advantage to always be a few steps ahead of the competition." Meron said.

"The Royal Forgemasters are also working hard to improve on your creations, Magus Verhen. The upgraded versions will be kept secret for the exclusive use of the army and the Association.

"We will disclose the advanced Trains and DoLoreans to the public only once the following generation of transportation artifacts has been perfected.

"The Kingdom will keep its edge, and the efforts of our rivals will be for nothing. Two birds with one stone. Yet the Royal Treasury can’t sustain such costs, not even with the flow of resources we receive from Jiera.

"When the moment comes, we’ll need your Creation Magic, Magus Verhen."

"I can recycle the current DoLoreans, Your Majesty, but even the Trains are already beyond me." Lith shook his head. "Your Royal Forgemasters have altered my blueprints and added their own cloaking runes.

"Unless you share the secrets of the Royal Forgemastery with me, my skills with Creation Magic are insufficient to unravel the enchantments of a Train’s power core."

"I see." The King rubbed the beard on his chin. "What about the wagons?"

"They are merely conduits for the energy that flows from the locomotive. I can recycle them with ease." Lith replied.

"It’s a start." Meron sighed. "As for sharing the Royal Forgemastery runes, it requires a thorough cost/benefits analysis. We’ll resume this talk once the assessment has been made. What matters is your willingness to help your country, Supreme Magus Verhen."

"You can count on me." Lith gave the King a polite nod.

"Perfect." Meron said. "This makes you all the more important, and we can’t allow the public and the members of the Royal Court to forget it. Your birthday and that of your daughter must be carefully planned to leave a deep impression.

"Otherwise, you’ll soon be embroiled in petty political schemes to ruin your reputation that I’m sure you’d rather avoid. Power without influence breeds envy, and your great power only makes your absence in the political arena more prominent, Magus Verhen."

"I understand, Your Majesty." Lith nodded. "Let’s nip these problems in the bud together."

***

Meanwhile, in the Tea Room of the Verhen Mansion, some of the most influential and powerful women on Mogar were sharing their troubles. One of them more than the others.

"Can you afford to be back here already, Yaga?" Menadion asked. "I seem to recall that no one is happy with Vladion taking every bit of Ruugat’s body for himself. Aren’t you worried your son’s so-called allies might pillage Detemer in your absence?"

"Not at all." The Red Mother replied. "Dawnie is still there. The moment someone tries something funny, it takes me a second to reach her. Besides, everyone is still too obsessed with the spark of evolution that Lith shared with the other humans to care about a bunch of trinkets, no matter how precious."

"I can’t believe I missed it." Silverwing grunted. "I have no interest in Jiera or Ruugat, but that weird resonance phenomenon might have given me the first clue about my apex form."

"I wish I could help you, Lochra, but I can’t." Menadion shrugged. "Demons are no longer humans, so whatever passes for my life force was unaffected."

"But Epphy and Verhen were." Silverwing replied. "I’m sure that your tower collected a ton of precious data, but they have no intention of sharing it with me. Correct?"

"Correct." Menadion nodded. "You should have played your cards better, Lochra. You are no friend of Lith, a reluctant ally at best. Epphy trusts you only as far as she can throw you, and I can’t blame her for that."

"I know." Silverwing groaned. "The worst part is that I can’t blame Epphy for it. Even after everything Yaga told us about Epphy’s relationship with Verhen, I still hate the guy’s guts.

"By the way, congratulations on Dawn and Acala reaching Manifestation again."

"Thanks, I’ll pass the message the next time I see them." Baba Yaga was in her Mother form, making her smile and the flush of her cheeks more prominent.

"Do you mind telling me why you haven’t explained how to reach Fusion and Assimilation to either Dawn or Epphy?" Menadion asked.

"For the same reason no Guardian will ever explain to you how to become a Guardian, Ripha." Salaark replied for the Red Mother. "Once Dawn and Solus know the answer, the act of sharing won’t be willing or altruistic anymore.

"It would be a cynical act, a means to an end. Solus and Dawn wouldn’t open themselves up or risk their lives because they care about their hosts, but to get power in return. Yaga explained it to you because it makes no difference.

"You are not bound to another being, and there’s no relationship that the revelation can spoil."

"Makes sense." Silverwing nodded. "Since you are already here, Salaark, can you please tell me if my apex form is identical to Valeron the First’s? After all, we are both humans and there can only be one apex of the human race."

Silverwing had never taken part in the unification of the Kingdom nor witnessed King Valeron’s true form. Menadion knew about it only because Valeron needed her help and the instruments of her tower to understand how his powers worked.

As for Baba Yaga, she had found herself on the wrong side of the Saefel Sword more than once in the past and learned the hard way what Valeron the First was capable of.