Supreme Magus

Chapter 4542: Missing Elements (Part 2)

"These things will be of great help to all of us." The Suneater said. "The Rune Stores partially restore our connection with the world energy. I believe that using them can help us overcome the limits of our Eldritch side and balance out the flaws of our monster side.

"If I’m right, training with the Rune Stores can help us understand what aspects of our life forces we need to improve and how."

’I could also reverse engineer them to create a dimensional Rune Store, but that would come with several issues.’ He inwardly added. ’I don’t trust anyone but Filia and Frey with such a powerful tool, but that would reveal the existence of the Sekar rune.

’Once the kids witness the first dimensional rune, they won’t be able to discover it on their own, and they’ll forever lose their chance to reach enlightenment as mages.’

"I think Tezka is right." Vastor sighed. "The Rune Stores can help you, but I doubt they can help me with my eyes. Please, be quiet for a moment."

He brought the Darkness Store near his Chaos eye and donned the Skull of Bytra. It allowed him to detect the slightest fluctuation in the world energy around him, while the Yggdrasil wood it was made of amplified Vastor’s mental acuity.

It took the Master a few minutes and absolute silence to notice the thin undercurrent of Ekrasu that the Ekidu rune eclipsed. He didn’t see the Dread Rune, nor did he realize its existence.

Vastor simply perceived the sliver of natural Chaos hidden in the vigorous flow of world energy of the mana geyser below his house.

He repeated the process with the Light Store, obtaining the same result. The other Rune Stores took much longer because he had to find the right spot where his eyes would appear and then sense a Cursed Element he had no affinity for.

"It’s as I feared. I’m not like Xenagrosh or Lith. Unlike her, I don’t have a troll core to neutralize the Chaos in my body, and unlike Lith, my Eldritch side is still fully undead. I won’t develop air, earth, water, and fire eyes, but Choke, Corruption, Zero, and Cinder eyes.

"The same should apply to my wings. The Rune Stores can only help me master the elements like anyone else, but have no value for my Arisen side."

"How can you be so sure?" Tezka asked.

"Because through them I sensed an unknown force hidden deep inside the world energy." Vastor shook his head. "Something my eyes are attuned to, but I have no idea what it is."

"Can they be the Cursed Elemental runes?" Hushar asked. "Maybe Tezka and Bytra could craft Cursed Rune Stores for you."

"We can try, but I doubt they’ll work." Vastor shook his head. "The Ekoru rune conjures both Chaos and Decay, but it controls only the Chaos. The Decay always goes haywire, but normal Abominations can just feed upon it.

"I can’t do that. My human body would turn into a shriveled corpse, and the Cursed Rune Store would fall apart the moment I use it. That’s why I use Mirror Magic to conjure Ekoru and Viseni at the same time.

"The rampant Decay and Chaos they produce neutralize each other, but I’m still forced to control two Cursed Elements at the same time."

"What about Mirror Rune Stores, then?" Hushar said.

"A Rune Store that contains two runes?" Tezka snorted. "Replicating Dhiral’s work with a second rune would already be hard since I don’t understand the underlying principle. Even if I could make it work, what do you think would happen once Vastor activates them?

"The rampant Chaos and Decay would destroy the Rune Store anyway, and his training would last one second tops. What do you think he can achieve in one second?"

The good mood turned glum. The hybrids stared at the Rune Stores as if they had wronged their adoptive father.

"Why the long faces?" Vastor said. "Two of us can use the Rune Stores to discover their hidden bloodline abilities, and all of us can use them to master the elements. I’d say it’s more than enough reason to celebrate."

"There’s not much we can do with two sets if we can only access them when Filia and Frey are not practicing magic." Bytra pointed out. "We must find a way to replicate the Rune Stores, and without tearing them apart.

"There’s no telling if putting the pieces together is enough to restore them, and I don’t want to risk robbing the kids of their chance of becoming good mages. Who knows, the use of the Rune Stores might also help them to make up for the enlightenment they would have achieved by self-Awakening."

"We’ll think about this tomorrow." The Master replied. "We already had a long day, and I have a few calls to make."

***

Lith didn’t like Vastor getting his hands on the Rune Stores, but he liked the news about the attempt on Dhiral and Ryssa even less.

"This is bullshit!" He snarled. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Like what, my boy?" Vastor pinched his nose in frustration. "I wasn’t even supposed to tell you anything about Lema and the First Griffon Award. If not for the privacy our Council amulets ensure, I would only discuss such matters with you in person.

"If you take action, not only will you go against the decision of the Royals, but you’ll also make Marth and me the prime suspects. We are the only ones who officially know about this and have a motive to kill that old hag.

"If we want one of your Demons or my hybrids to take care of Lema in an ’accident’, we need to wait for a moment when you, Marth, and I have plausible deniability and, more importantly, a credible scapegoat.

"Without it, the Royals would keep an eye on us even if there is no proof of our involvement, and our reputation would tank."

"I know." Lith sighed in frustration. "About that array you used in battle, it looked familiar, but I can’t remember where or when I’ve seen it before."

"Are you kidding me?" The Master said. "That’s the Murder array that the Demon of my Highmaster mentor, Edrahg Paax, taught us during our battle against the World Tree to rescue Solus."

"Who taught what to who?" The confusion on Lith’s face brought Vastor to slap his own forehead, cover his mouth, and then burst into joyful laughter.

"Thanks, my boy. I needed this." The Master tried to regain his composure but ended up laughing harder. "I guess the rumors about your bad memory are no exaggeration. Grandmaster Paax was one of the Demons you conjured to fight against the World Tree.

"He taught his fabled Magus-level array to you. Orion, Tessa, Fyrwal, and I learned it thanks to the connection we shared through Tessa’s When All are One Spirit Array."

"The name does ring a bell." Lith frowned, struggling to remember anything about that day besides the grief of Valtak’s death, the joy of reuniting with Solus, and the surprise of meeting the legendary Ripha Menadion.

"With everything that happened that day, it must have slipped my mind. I’m not that good of a Warden, and I bet the entire spell went over my head."

"Of that, I’m sure." Vastor nodded.