"What? Why?" She couldn't believe her own ears.

"Do you know what happened today at Xenatos?"

Jirni nodded.

"Well, it seems that one of my swords was decisive in slaying a wyvern and now everyone wants one!"

"How is that bad news?" Jirni laughed, her fears were relieved.

"It's not bad news, it just doesn't make sense. The Gatekeeper is something I made to keep you and our little Flower happy. Since Lith is no swordsman and can't use spells with only one hand, its only ability is to channel and amplify first magic.

Phloria always says he is very good at it." What Orion didn't know, was that true and first magic worked through the same principles, making the Gatekeeper the perfect weapon for an Awakened one.

"Only ability? Do you mean you realized something that boosts the effects of the only kind of magic anyone can use and which can be cast silently, taking the opponent by surprise?"

"Yes. Even though when you put it that way, you make me feel quite dumb."

"Why didn't you make one for me too?" Jirni almost felt jealous.

"Because it's just a jack of all trades but master of none. I made you much better weapons!" Orion almost felt offended. Jirni's needles were among his masterpieces.

They amplified her light magic, allowing Jirni to stimulate the victim's pain receptors maximizing the effects of her interrogation techniques and healing most of the damage dealt at the same time. it was just one of their functions.

"Still, I could use a Gatekeeper." Jirni added. "I think you simply underestimate your talents dear. Why the suspension, though?"

"That's the odd thing. I'm a.s.signed at Forgemastering duty until I deliver nine blades like that to the Crown."

***

White Griffon Academy

Lith was really happy to have managed to tell most of the story on the way to the canteen, otherwise lunch would have taken forever. After sustaining so many wounds and consuming so much mana, he ate the equivalent of a whole turkey by himself.

By sharing with him part of his life force earlier, Vastor had replenished Lith's stamina, not his nutrients reserve. Magic couldn't create life, only enhance or alter it.

"Just how badly did the wyvern hurt you?" Phloria was worried. The few times she had seen him eat like two Quylla was when he had been pushed an inch from death.

Lith shrugged. He had nothing to add to his report.

"Okay, that's it. Luckily, there is still quite some time before the next lesson." She stood up dragging him by the arm.

"Sorry, guys. Lith needs to rest and I'm going to make sure he doesn't do something stupid like training or studying."

They got out of the canteen so fast that Lith had just the time to say:

"See you later!"

Quylla and Friya giggled like crazy at the scene.

"I swear, sometimes they look identical to mom and dad." Quylla was truly happy for her sister. Over time, she had outgrown her puppy love for Lith. Her new family had quenched Quylla's desperate desire for affection, allowing her to understand better her own feelings.

"If only their heights could be swapped it would be a perfect match." Friya added, making them laugh even harder.

"Is it me or Phloria got prettier?" Yurial felt uneasy asking such a question.

"Did you notice too?" Friya nodded. "After Balkor's attack, she's lost part of her edginess. Mom says it's because when a woman falls in love, she becomes more dazzling."

"The real question is: why do you care? Do you have a crush on her?" Quylla was a bit annoyed. After a whole year using Vastor's tonic and proper feeding, she was the one that had improved the most among the three girls.

She not only had become taller, but also her body had developed enough to make her look like a young girl instead of a child. Yet no one seemed to have noticed, even after the winter break.

"No, but I'm afraid I may be developing it." He sighed.

"What?" Friya was flabbergasted by his answer, but most of all by his honesty.

"I thought she wasn't even your type."

"She doesn't even get close. It's just that I'm desperate at the idea that I never had anyone that cared so much for me and probably I never will."

***

Lith was forced to spend the time before the Forgemastering lesson sleeping. Phloria had managed to knock him out with a clever trick. As soon as they started cuddling, she told him about her day and all the archiving protocols she had learned about.

Lith's mind didn't last five minutes.

Despite Invigoration, he still felt fuzzy.

'd.a.m.n, she was right. I really needed to…'

The moment he stepped into the cla.s.s, Lith was a.s.saulted by enough hostility to give him the creeps. There were less than twenty people, no one seemed to pay him any attention. Yet his instincts were warning him about an impending danger.

'There is no hidden threat.' Solus kept scanning their surroundings to no avail.

'I can get some of these spoiled brats are angry at me, but this much? It's not a single individual, more like a collective will. A shared emotion.' Lith thought.

"Why are you blocking the door?" Lith turned around, discovering that Professor Wanemyre was right behind him. He was so tense to not even notice her arrival.

"Sorry." He walked to the nearest desk. The hostility had disappeared, but he still felt nervous.

"Welcome back, future Forgemasters." Wanemyre was back in her prime. The effects of the toxin had completely disappeared.

"Today I'll explain to you the true value of magic crystals and how to employ them in your creations." Lith carefully observed her and all of those present. No one seemed to be aware of what had just happened.

"What you are going to learn today, requires you to have mastered everything we practiced during the fourth year. We are going to expand and revise your foundations of Forgemastering. From here, the sky and your talent are the only limits.

"First of all, why are magic crystals so important for us? Because as I previously explained, unanimated matter resists to our attempts to imbue it with external magical power.

"That's why without a crystal you can't put more than one spell per item, why the time window for the enchantments is so short. Forgemastering requires the strength and the skill to permanently force your magic onto something.

"Let's make an example with made up numbers. An iron sword has an innate magic of ten, while a tier three spell requires one hundred. This means that creating an iron sword capable of shooting lightning requires infusing it with a magical force ten times its natural capacity.

"It makes the process difficult and limited. Difficult because the sword will attempt to reject nine tenths of the spell, limited because if I try to infuse a magical force above the tenfold threshold the item will break."

'I wish I knew all this earlier.' Lith inwardly sighed. He remembered how many materials he wasted before discovering that silver was the best suited element for hosting great magical forces without the support of a crystal.