Supreme Magus

Chapter 4502: Chaotic Mess (Part 2)

"Not like a date. A date." Haug clarified.

"Yes! I’d love to!" Ryla smiled from the bottom of her heart, and her wings flapped so hard she now floated a few centimeters off the ground.

Haug should have been on cloud nine, yet he shared but a fraction of her excitement.

’Don’t delude yourself, old man. This doesn’t mean she likes you. Only that she likes the idea of having her first date.’ He thought. ’There’s no way to know if she wouldn’t react the same way even if anyone else asked her out.’

"We... I mean, I might have a problem, though." Her wings stopped moving, and her expression tensed. "I... I’m..."

"Don’t worry, Morok told me everything already." Haug noticed her distress and did his best to reassure her.

"He did?" Ryla went pale, and her wings froze in a half-unfurled stance, ready to take flight at a moment’s notice.

’I’m going to kill him!’ She thought.

"Yes." Haug replied. "He told me of your fallen state and that stepping out of the mana geyser would shorten your lifespan. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of Warping us across mana geysers until we reach our destination."

"Oh, that!" She sighed in relief, and her smile returned.

’I was actually worried about turning into a monster and Morok telling Haug about the circumstances of my... relationship with Glemos. Thank the gods he didn’t.’ She thought, and she was dead wrong.

"Also, if it makes you feel more comfortable, we could bring Garrik with us." Haug said. "I want to get to know you and-"

"No!" Ryla cut him short, her cheeks flushed and her fists clenched. "I mean, that’s not necessary. I’m comfortable around you, Haug, and..."

She struggled to let the words out and needed to take deep breaths to find the strength to say what she wanted.

"And I’d like to get to know you as Haug the man instead of Haug the bartender, just like I want you to get to know me as Ryla instead of Garrik’s mother."

"I would love to." He smiled back at her, and for the first time since the start of that conversation, he meant it. "What about Garrik? Won’t he feel lonely?"

"It’s just one evening." She shrugged. "Besides, I’m not leaving him stranded in the Blood Desert, but surrounded by his family. Give me a second."

She rushed outside, found Morok, and carried him over her head inside the Tavern.

"Haug here asked me out, and I said yes." She said, half-proud and half-embarrassed. "Can you look after Garrik for me during our date?"

"With pleasure." The Tyrant nodded, exchanging a quick look with the bartender. "My children love their uncle, and we’ll protect him against anything and anyone. Isn’t that right, kids?"

Orikan and Jirya had followed their father with their tiny wings and were now clinging to his shoulders with their claws. They answered his question by opening their mouths and showing a row of shark-like teeth that spun at high speed like a circular buzzsaw.

"I didn’t know Tyrants could do that." Haug said in shock.

"Me neither." Morok scratched his chin. "Guys, we have a problem."

"Wah?" The twins looked at their father, waiting to be praised.

"Don’t you do that again unless it’s absolutely necessary. Especially around your mother when she’s about to breastfeed you, or you’ll give her a heart attack. Okay?" He asked, and the children nodded. "Good kids. Now let’s go. I need to find a way to break the news to Quylla."

"Why do you need to tell her about my date?" Ryla blushed.

"I was talking about the teeth thing." The Tyrant replied.

"Oh. Sorry about that." She cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"Don’t worry, Ryla. Just have fun."

***

Lith waited until the Travelling Tavern left the Verhen Mansion before resuming his experiments with Dread Magic, Void Magic, and his newfound bloodline abilities.

’Whatever that emerald thing was, I can’t trigger it at will.’ He filled his eyes and wings with the power of all elements, yet he could only activate one Indech bloodline ability at a time.

’Maybe it’s because your mana organs are still partially atrophied.’ Solus was in her Vritra form, trying to understand if she had any special abilities and how to control them. ’Back then, your energy wings split up.

’You are an Awakened Indech, after all, yet you still don’t look like one.’

’Point taken.’ He inwardly sighed. ’What about you? How is your Indech training going?’

’I’ve mastered the theory behind our powers for weeks. Too bad that putting it into practice is not that easy.’ Solus switched to her Indech form, but even with the tower and the Hands of Menadion, her Swirling Wind was mediocre at best.

She needed her full focus just to draw in and stir the world energy. Splitting it into its elemental components was beyond her.

’Don’t give up. There is no shortcut. You need to keep at it until your human mana organs learn how to crawl before they can walk and then run.’ Lith said to encourage her. ’It took me months to get here.’

’I know, but it’s much worse for me.’ Solus whined. ’Look at this!’

She turned into her Talos form, taking the appearance of a short, golden construct with mana crystals studded into her surface and a blazing fire for hair.

’I have no idea what I can do in this form. I’ve trained for weeks now, and I’m still at square one. Same for this!’

She shapeshifted into her Dragon Form, her body covered in pristine white scales and her membranous wings covered in prismatic crystal feathers.

’I don’t even have a name for this form, and I don’t know the first thing about it.’ She exhaled sharply. ’I have so much work ahead of me that it makes me want to cry!’

’My advice is to focus on one thing at a time.’ Lith replied. ’The Indech is your best bet since we already know most of its abilities. Use it to build up your confidence, but practice the other forms from time to time. Unused muscles can’t develop.’

’I know.’ Solus Warped to the Greenhouse for a moment.

She stared at the Camellia Valeron had created for Kamila to fuel her competitive spirit before returning to the Firing Range to resume her training.

’What about you?’ She asked. ’What’s your next goal?’

’I too have a lot on my plate, but I’m trying to work together with my Sigil Demons and Golems to replicate what I managed to do in Verendi under the effects of the Eldritch resonance.’

Lith pointed at his five Demons, each at the seven eyes level, and the two Golems. Black chains linked the Demons to Lith and each other, while Spirit tendrils connected them to the constructs.

They were working together to establish battle formations and specific combinations of spells they would have to impart to feral Demons of the Darkness once they answered Lith’s call.

’I learned a long while ago that I can use my Demons as focus points for my arrays and to form runes for my spells, but even after reaching the bright violet, it’s still too much for me alone.’