"Valeron?" Lith opened his eyes wide at that name, remembering Solus's dream about the white crystals and the sword. "If they date back to almost one thousand years ago, how can they be that powerful?

"Back then, Menadion had yet to invent decent runes, let alone modern ones. Magic has improved by leaps and bounds since then. No matter how powerful their enchantments are, now they should be crap, like the Odi equipment."

"You are indeed right, they should." Mirim nodded. "Yet they are not. Every time there is a breakthrough in the mystical and the Forgemastering arts, Lady Tyris upgrades her spells accordingly.

"Then, she makes a trip to the Desert to update all of her creations."

"Does Salaark has an endless mine of Davross and white crystals or what?" The more he heard, the harder Lith found it to believe.

"No, but she has the next best thing. She's capable of something called Creation Magic that allows her to take apart an artifact without damaging any of its components." Mirim replied.

"Are you telling me that-"

"Yes. Salaark allows Tyris to endlessly recycling the same materials and keep all of the Kingdom's artifacts up to date. If you ever decide to move to the Desert, you could ask her to teach you." Mirim cut him short.

"Shouldn't you doing your best to keep me here instead of praising the competition?" Lith asked.

"That's exactly what I'm doing." Mirim chuckled at his naivety. "I'm proving to you how open the Kingdom is with you and how much freedom you have as one of its subjects.

"Salaark has a lot to offer to you, but with it comes at a great price. She has no use for mercenaries or free agents. Either you submit or you get the heck out of her hair. No matter if she makes you a Feather or, since you're a true Awakened, a member of the nest.

"Your obligations would be the same of a full-time job, if not more. The Empress too will try to recruit you, but remember that she has no fake Awakened to help her. If you move to the Empire, you would have to dirt your hands in politics."

Mirim gave Lith the time to ponder her words while she prepared more tea. He remained in deep thought for a long while. Now Lith knew what being a member of the nest meant, but the Empire looked even worse.

He had no idea what the Dragons would ask of him to become an integral part of the family and he couldn't ask Mirim without revealing the secret of his hybrid nature.

A Warp Gate opened, letting Amyla Farg through and derailing his thoughts.

"I'm done with Cyntilla's Dusk Court branch. It was a- What's he doing here?" She said while activating Life Vision to take a good look at Lith.

Farg was a woman in her early thirties with chin-length red hair streaked orange all over. Farg was very tall, almost 1.8 meters (5'11") high with the muscular build of a front-line soldier.

There was something noble about the grace of her movements. Each one of them seemed to be full of strength yet incredibly delicate. She exuded an aura of power that Lith had rarely met during his travels and that usually marked a natural-born leader.

Amyla Farg had been his Professor at the academy after Balkor's attack and had helped him defeating Nalear. She now had a deep violet core and a physical prowess similar to Lith's.

"We're having a conversation about the future of the Kingdom, Amyla." Mirim replied while conjuring a seat for her as well. "Lith, I suppose you remember about Professor Farg. She's a member of the Corpse as well.

"Amyla, this is Archmage Verhen, a true Awakened. Please sit."

"What the f.u.c.k?" Farg couldn't believe her own eyes. Between her rich experience with Life Vision and Tyris's teachings, her readings were almost as good as mana sense.

She could see the violet bursts in Lith's aura and they made even less sense than his physical prowess. Farg was less than four centimeters (1.58 inches) shorter than him and had been bestowed her enhanced physique by Tyris, yet despite her violet core, there was almost no difference between them.

As if, for some reason, he had a superior mass, something in between a human and a magical beast.

"How can Verhen have almost reached the violet core before twenty? Normal Awakened need decades for that and us members of the Corpse only obtain it after proving our loyalty by putting our lives on the line countless times." Farg said.

"Quit being rude and sit down. Remember the laws of the Kingdom. Not even the Royals have the right to extort someone of their secrets, let alone us." The Marchioness scolded her.

"But, my liege, when I was recruited, I already had a blue core, yet even after years of service, I've only recently been promoted. How can you stand such an injustice?" Farg asked.

"I can understand your feelings, but I can't condone your behavior." Marchioness Distar forced Farg to sit down with a push of Spirit Magic.

"Your complaints sound like questioning Lady Tyris's wisdom. She bestowed the power of Awakened upon you, always remember that. Archmage Verhen, instead, achieved it on his own.

"He owes us no explanation, just like Manohar. They are the two sides of the same coin." Mirim referred to the fact that despite the god of healing was a fake mage, his achievements outclassed even those of the members of the Corpse.

Lith, instead, wasn't a genius on Manohar's level, but his growth speed was extraordinary as well and so were his achievements. Farg clenched her teeth and her fists, but she did nothing aside from nodding.

"The reason why I summoned you both here is because Amyla will be your liaison with the Corpse in the case something happens. As the Lord Commander of the corps and a potential victim, I don't have the time to update you in person as I did in the past, Lith."

The Marchioness had Farg and Lith exchange their communication runes before teaching him how to use the hidden functions of the amulet. Among them, there was the ability to create a secure line that no one could tamper with and to override Warp Gates.

Once they were done with the explanations, the Marchioness sent Farg away before resuming the conversation.

"There's something that I still don't understand, Mirim. If you are so busy that you had to delegate some of your duties to Farg, then why are you taking care of my mansion and why did you personally invite me here instead of giving these tasks to someone else?" Lith asked.

"Because knowing your nature, I feared that you would have doubted such words if they came from a stranger and because I owe you that much. I regret how I treated you during our first meeting, but now that you know my burden, I hope you can understand why I acted like that." She said with a sigh.

"I moved from one battlefield to another for most of my life. Once you lose as many people as I did, you do your best to become detached and desensitize yourself. My first fiancé died in the field."

AN: feel free to join the novel's official discord at discord.gg/Z5T7CBD