Supreme Magus

Chapter 4481: First of its Kind (Part 1)

"Still, thank you for your explanation." Faluel nodded goodbye and Warped away.

"Is there any chance you can share your techniques with me, Master Menadion?" Orion asked. "I would love to reforge my daughters’ weapons with your help."

"I’m sorry, but no." Menadion shook her head. "Those techniques are meant solely for my heir."

’I bet that he believes Solus’ Staff and Gungnir are sentient because of my help, and in a way, Orion is right.’ She actually thought. ’The Ears greatly improved Solus’ and Lith’s craft, but what truly made the difference was the intent behind them.

’Lith worried about Solus while making the Staff, while Solus didn’t think at all. She put all of herself into it, which is probably the reason the Sage Staff came out so whimsical and silly.

’Gungnir, instead, was born from the desire to punish all those who threatened their family. It’s no wonder that glaive is obsessed with power and strength. To Gungnir, weakness means the death of the Verhens, which would negate its whole existence.’

"It was worth a shot." Orion sighed as he gave her a deep bow. "Thank you anyway, Master Menadion."

"I wish I could help you, young man." She replied. "But I don’t want to share my secrets with you more than I bet you want to share yours with me. And Lith, of course."

"Guilty as charged." Orion raised his hands in surrender.

"Wait. Doesn’t that mean that my new hammers might actually be semi-sentient, Daddy?" Morok asked.

The mere thought of such a thing, and the Tyrant referring to Orion with such a moniker, made Lord Ernas want to puke blood.

"I think so." Quylla said, delivering a second mortal blow to her father’s heart. "Dad can’t stand you, so whatever feeling he had during the Forgemastering process, you can bet he focused it on the hammers. Your chances are pretty high, dear."

"What about my crystal sword?" Nalrond asked.

"That’s a prototype." Friya replied. "Let’s hope it’s just a weapon, because otherwise I would feel terrible abandoning it once you get something better."

"Say something, dear. They-" Orion turned to look at his wife, noticing her blank stare. "It’s not what you think. I was still mad at you when I created Skywarp and-"

"And you had every reason to." Jirni dismissed the matter with a sweep of her hand. "I hurt you, beloved. Deeply. I’m the one who should spend her days apologizing to you, but I know that words don’t mean much after what I did to you.

"Only time can heal the wounds in your heart, and I’m grateful you gave me a second chance that I probably don’t deserve. In a way, your resentment was a blessing in disguise. Without it, Skywarp would be but a cold piece of metal.

"Instead, it always reminds me of what I did and is a warning not to repeat my mistakes. I don’t blame you for the circumstances that led to Skywarp’s sentience. Only myself."

"Then why that face?" Orion asked.

"Because Ripha just pointed out another thing I lack. Blade Magic." Jirni replied. "Adding another item to my endless to-do list is the last thing I need, but I’ll have to find the time.

"For someone as weak as me, it might make the difference between life and death."

"I’ll teach you to the best of my abilities." Orion felt something tugging at his consciousness and took out his communication amulet. "When our schedules align. Duty calls, dear. See you at lunch."

***

With Orion gone and Lith and Solus busy with their experiments, Jirni still had an ace up her sleeve.

"Can you teach me?" She asked Vastor on a secure back channel that the Master and Orion had created.

"I can’t. I have my hands full of Ishara crap, if you catch my drift." Vastor snarled. "But I can send you someone who can. Bytra knows Blade Magic, and so do Tezka and a few others of my hybrids.

"Beware, though: you can’t learn someone else’s technique more than you can imitate the innate flow of their mana core. I had to sweat blood to find my own way to cast Blade Spells."

"I’ll take what I can." Jirni didn’t miss the not-so-subtle message.

The Master kept growing stronger, and so did his forces.

"Then I’ll send someone to you as soon as you get the Guardians’ promise not to kill, probe, or use my hybrids to track me down. I’m not that stupid, Jirni." He hung up the call and put the amulet back into his pocket dimension.

’Gods, I wonder how I could live without it for so long.’ Vastor smiled.

The Master lacked the means to Forgemaster an omni pocket, but also the need to.

The one he now possessed once belonged to the late Vareen the Plaguespreader. Vastor had hesitated for a long time before imprinting the ancient artifact, afraid that its dimensional aura might betray his identity as the Master.

Bytra had Forgemastered a special cloaking item for him and solved the issue. Now, unless someone used Invigoration on him, they wouldn’t notice the dimensional aura more than they could notice his black core.

’And the best part is that so few people can detect a pocket dimension that nobody ever found a way to hide their presence until Bytra and Tezka pooled her Forgemastering talent and his dimensional awareness.’ The Master thought.

’No one will suspect the pin on my shirt is a unique dimensional cloaking item because it’s the first of its kind. The only annoying part is that it must be constantly in direct contact with my skin.’

"Tezka, do you mind teaching Jirni Ernas the basics of Blade Magic?" He asked when the Suneater, Filia, and Frey entered his study.

Vastor observed the kids’ mana cores with Life Vision and noticed they had already turned orange.

"As long as it’s just the basics, not at all. Besides, I bet our little archmages here can’t wait to test their new powers and knowledge in a battle to the ice cream with their Verhen friends." Tezka replied.

"It would be amazing!" Frey said. "I love magic, but spending every day reading books and practicing breathing techniques is so boring."

The two Vastor children had dropped out of their schools to focus on their magical studies. The Master had claimed that Filia and Frey’s talent had bloomed late and needed proper nurturing, so no one dared oppose him.

Even for noble children, subjects like geography, history, and politics came after power and wisdom. Two more mages would increase House Vastor’s standing in the Royal Court and bring endless merits.

Also, it would more than justify an Archduke marrying a commoner.

***

Verhen Mansion, later on that same day.

"I don’t really know how Jirni does it all. I need a real vacation or even better, a romantic date." Kamila sighed.

After spending her morning helping Jirni sift through the reports and the afternoon having many friendly magical challenges with Zinya, Kamila was exhausted. Her sister was much weaker and less skilled than her, but Zinya was more stubborn than a mule.

What she lacked in mana capacity and magical prowess, she more than made up for with pure will and fighting spirit.