"I've received no training about Runesmithing, but I've found enough relics to use as learning tools. My only problem is that I've no access to modern runes so…"

Sedra couldn't understand how so many powerful creatures could favor weaklings rather than their own flesh and blood. He was young, but he had already witnessed several of his siblings and friends die.

All because their parents, the very same people who had given them life had refused to give them the knowledge that was rightfully theirs. In his eyes, the source of the Awakened's decline wasn't due to the progress made by fake mages.

He believed that the old fossils who had power clung to it and refused to share their knowledge with the young because they were afraid to lose their privileged position.

"I won't stand being ignored!" Sedra roared, stomping his foot toward his mother.

Faluel's eyes burned with power as she said:

"Be quiet." Her voice was calm and yet it carried so much power that Sedra found himself kneeling with his head on the floor. Lith was surprised noticing that she hadn't used magic but some kind of killing intent.

"I'm really sorry for my son's rudeness and I'm willing to explain to you the basics of the basics of Runesmithing as an apology. Do you know what's the main difference between Warden magic and Forgemastering?" She asked.

Lith could only shake his head and admit his ignorance. The question was apparently simple, yet its answer was bound to be far from obvious.

"Warden magic uses runes to create magical formations just as Forgemasters use them to bind a metal to their will, but that's as far as the analogy goes. A Warden uses runes to hold their energy and create extraordinary effects, whereas a Forgemaster uses them to alter the properties of a material.

"Ancient runes, the ones that are visible to the naked eye, were akin to Warden runes, placing the enchantment on the surface of the metal rather than inside of it, to not tamper with the mana pathways that the Bonding process creates.

"You can think of them as a permanent array, to complement the strength of the spells imbued within an artifact."

"Modern runes, instead, even though they are still carved on the surface of an item, they exert their energy inward rather than outward, and that's why they are invisible to normal means.

"Also, this way they are able to alter the properties of both the metal and its mana circulatory system so that once the enchantment is applied, the final result is given from the synergy between the runes and the pseudo core.

"Old runes can only add an effect, whereas modern runes are able to blend together with the pseudo core and the mana crystals, creating something that's greater than the sums of its single parts." Faluel said.

"Does this mean that old runes are useless?" Lith moaned at the thought that all of his findings inside Huryole were for naught.

"Gods, no." Faluel chuckled. "You can apply modern forgemastering methods with old runes. It will make them invisible and preserve their effect, but that will not change the fact that such runes are outdated.

"It would be like crafting a sword following an ancient blueprint. The sword will still cut but it can't match a modern masterpiece, no matter how good the smith is."

The fear that had kept Sedra at bay was washed away by the shock and then by his unbridled outrage.

It wasn't just the fact that his mother was explaining to a stranger things that she had always refused to teach him that was driving him insane, so much as the realization that the human was able to understand her words while he could not.

In his human form, Sedra was an overly handsome man in his mid-twenties 1.9 meters (6'3") tall, with golden hair and a well-trimmed beard. Despite his young age, he had already achieved a cyan core and a second head.

His hair had streaks of both red and orange, making him appear as if a sun god descended among the mortals. His body twisted as it increased in size, reverting to his real form.

The two heads stared at the human in hatred, standing over 5 meters (17') tall. Sedra's stumpy lower body was all muscles and his claws were piercing the stone such was the strength that he was exerting to overpower his mother's command.

Faluel sighed while Lith made the young Hydra's fury turn into bloodlust.

"Wow, he's really small compared to you. Is it because he's young or is he a hybrid?" The question was incredibly rude, implying that no pure-blooded Hydra could be that puny and that Sedra had to be born from a lesser race.

"It's normal for someone who has yet to live a quarter of century." Faluel said. "He's not bad, just stupid and conceited."

The two heads plunged down with their mouths open, revealing a maw of poisoned fangs. Hydras bore more than just their appearance in common with snakes. Faluel struck her son's body with her opened palm, paralyzing him on the spot.

"Before you go, we should exchange our communication runes." Faluel took her Council amulet out of her dimensional item and so did Lith.

"If anything related to Awakened happens, feel free to give me a call. I'm officially your contact with the Emperor Beasts' Council, after all. Don't forget what we have discussed today." Her choice of words told Lith that she didn't trust Sedra with his secret.

"I've got tons of metals that need smelting and I could really use a hand."

"What if he bothers me once I get out of here?" Lith asked.

"Then beat him an inch from death and call me. The last inch is my burden for failing as both a parent and a teacher." The coldness in her voice sent shivers down Sedra's spine.

Lith had no idea what was going on, but he could feel that Faluel was deeply embarrassed. Her pearly pink cheeks had now a tinge of red that made her look less ethereal and much more charming.

'The idiot already earned me a free lesson. It's better to strike the iron while it's still hot.' Lith thought.

"One last thing. I know that you can't bestow knowledge upon me for free, but I could really use a magic dictionary book for this." He took one of the pages from Huryole's booklet out of his pocket dimension and showed it to Faluel.

"This is just the old language." The Hydra couldn't understand the reason for such a request. "You can find plenty of tomes about it in any decent library."

"Been there, done that." Lith replied. "You can find tomes about it, yes, but it's still a dead language. Dictionaries are not common, even less those who contain words related to magic. If I ask for them, I'm bound to be exposed."

"Humans." Faluel muttered in disgust while a pair of thick books flew from an adjacent cave into her hands. "I'm fluent in the old language, so I don't really need them. You can keep the dictionaries as long as you need."

Lith put them straight inside Soluspedia, discovering that one was a book about common words and the second was solely about the magical jargon.

"Thank you very much." He gave Faluel a deep bow before leaving the cave. Old runes were outdated, but beggars couldn't be choosers.