The second method, instead, required for Lith to create new strands of life force and use them to connect the isolated bricks inside the tendrils to the ones inside the body. Lith did like Vastor suggested, using triple casting to keep everything under control.

When the gong rang, the cla.s.s was disheartened. Only a few slimes had died, but none of the students succeeded Sculpting the slime back to normal. Lith had only managed to make a single tendril a bit shorter after the whole hour.

Vastor didn"t seem to mind, patting their backs and complimenting them.

"Excellent work, people. I"m amazed by how many of you successfully used triple casting. We"ll continue next time."

"Continue?" Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah." Vastor replied with a laugh. "To finish at your first attempt in just an hour you should be monsters. Before you go, a word of advice to those who killed their slime. Cutting meat it"s a butcher"s work, not a Healer"s.

They may be mindless creatures, but if you do not anesthetize them, even slimes die out of shock from the excessive pain. Cla.s.s dismissed."

Lith walked toward his companions, pondering about what he had learned.

"Now I get why Marth was so enthusiast about the diagnostic spell I shared. Scanner is able to sense life force in great detail, but it gives no information about the actual body. Also, it"s overly convoluted. Even repairing a single bone by altering the life force is not an easy feat. It"s much simpler to use normal light magic." He thought.

"Not only that." Solus chimed in. "It"s also very risky. Altering the life force means that the slightest mistake causes damage that can only be fixed by using Chisel again, which can lead to another mistake. The silver lining of this method is that on Mogar they can use it to fix genetic disorders."

"Indeed. We must find a way to incorporate Scanner with Invigoration or at least with your life sense, otherwise…"

"Is it true?" Friya interrupted their conversation. Yurial and Quylla followed her closely.

"What is true?" Lith was still thinking about genetic disorders, but there was no such term in Mogar"s tongue.

"That you fought a wyvern, you dummy!"

"I thought it was supposed to be a secret, but yes it"s true." Lith nodded in slight surprise.

"It"s a secret if you have no relatives in the army, the Mage a.s.sociation, or in an important family." Friya scoffed at his naivety.

"That or if unlike most of us, you aren"t working as a clerk for the a.s.sociation." Quylla pointed out. It was the second available duty awarding the most points. It came with zero risks, aside from dying of boredom under a mountain of doc.u.ments.

"What happened in Xenatos generated a mountain of paperwork. I doubt any student of any academy at this point doesn"t know about it."

"Who cares about the paperwork!" Yurial wanted more juicy news.

"What does a wyvern look like? Was it strong? How the heck did you survive? The reports didn"t say much. You must tell us everything!" Lith was happy and p.i.s.sed off at the same time by seeing them so excited.

Happy because after Balkor"s attack, the mood turned heavy. It took the whole winter break for things to slowly go back to normal. p.i.s.sed off because it was his life they were talking about like it was some kind of reality show.

"He was impressive." Enemy or not, Lith refused to speak about Gadorf as a thing instead of a person. He used the same respect he would have liked for himself or for Solus, if their true nature was ever exposed.

"A wyvern…"

"Thank the G.o.ds you are okay!" The moment they walked out the light magic department, Phloria hugged him tightly, lifting him a few centimeters from the ground.

"I"m going to kill you for making me hear about it from my mom instead than from you." Contrary to her words, the embrace was tender and her voice filled with warmth.

"I didn"t want to bother you during your community service." He had prepared no lie, so Lith spoke the truth.

"How can you put your life and my community service on the same priority level?" Phloria was shocked.

"Did you at least call your parents?" She put him down.

"Why would I?" Her questions didn"t make any sense to him.

"Are you telling me you almost got cooked, sliced, and yet you didn"t feel the need to call anyone? To hear a friendly voice to share the joy of being alive? Seriously, what"s wrong with you?" Now her voice and words were a match made in heaven.

Lith froze for a second. It was all true. Between the disregard for his own life he felt ever since he was on Earth and everything that had happened on Mogar, a near death experience felt just like a Monday to him.

The realization was disturbing.

"I never made a mystery of being kind of insane in the membrane." Lith tapped his temple with an index finger.

"So do you want me to list what"s wrong with me in chronological, or alphabetical order?"

The group had a good laugh at Phloria"s expenses. She was the only one to not find the joke funny. Not one bit.

She pinched her nose with her eyes closed, trying to calm down.

"Okay, now tell me everything about your day from the beginning. I need to know how bad it is."

While they walked toward the canteen, Lith shared with them the whole story.

***

House Ernas, at that moment.

Lady Ernas managed to get home just in time for lunch. Even if their duties kept them apart for most of the day, she and Orion always tried to consume their meals together. It was a way for them to relax and unload their daily burdens.

Jirni had still much to do in Xenatos. After Cailon surrendered, he had given her the names of all the players involved in that morning"s events together with all the dirt he had on them.

In the underworld, there was no honor among n.o.ble criminals. The best way to get rid of a compet.i.tor had always been to collect incriminating evidence until there was enough for an anonymous tip.

At that point, if the constable a.s.signed to the case was competent enough, it was only a matter of time before the Kingdom did the dirty work in their stead. What Duke Cailon had given her wasn"t enough to indict any of them, but enough to start an investigation.

A confession to a Royal Constable didn"t allow to bargain for a reduced sentence unless it was backed by proof. That was another reason why so many collected information about their compet.i.tion. It was both a weapon and a s.h.i.+eld for rainy days.

Now that she had completed a branch of the investigation, she had to open the new one from what she had. Like a domino, Jirni had to bring down the little pieces, until she had enough to make the big ones fall too.

There was only one rule in that game: follow the money.

While power plays could be concluded with an allusion or a handshake, moving huge sums always left a trail. Following such trails was Jirni Ernas"s specialty. Aside from interrogation, of course.

She was surprised to discover that Orion had prepared the main dish. Cooking was a hobby he practiced when something was troubling him.

"Did something happen today to you too, dear?" Orion was a good cook. It was the timing of the events worrying her.

"As a matter of fact, yes. From today onwards, I"m relieved from all my duties as a member of the Knight"s Guard."