Chapter 4581: Bridging the Gap (Part 1)

"Balors and trolls are physically stronger than their rank 0 counterpart not because they are supposed to tussle with a magical beast." Baba Yaga said.

"In close-quarters combat and without equipment, the lack of claws, fangs, and protective fur would doom them to defeat. Balors and trolls get bigger and stronger because otherwise channeling so much elemental power would kill them.

"The same happens at every evolutionary step they take. That’s the reason a magical beast can Awaken at any time during their life, but their mana core can’t reach the blue unless they Awaken and evolve into Emperor Beasts."

"It’s like a Forgemaster." Quylla pondered. "They are not supposed to step into the battlefield, yet they develop great stamina and physical strength by channeling enormous amounts of mana during their crafts."

"An apt comparison." The Mother replied. "When you try fixing the life forces of evolved humans and Odi, child, remember they are just the physical vessel. They turned into Fallen Races because their foolish Body Sculpting procedures altered how their bodies channel the power of their mana cores.

"The so-called Fallen Cores simply adapted to the changes in the life forces. Their true nature is still the same as the mana core of a perfect rank 1 creature. What the progenitors of the Fallen Races did is no different from imbuing an Ice Dragon’s scale with a fire enchantment.

"Is it possible? Of course. Does it work as well as a Fire Dragon’s scale and with no unforeseen side effects? Of course, not."

"Thank you, Lady Yaga!" Quylla held the Mother’s hands and gave her a deep bow. "This changes everything. Now I’m sure of it. After I’m done with the Fomors and Balors, I’ll have everything I need to understand how the various races fell and reverse the process. I’m- Gack!"

She tried to bolt back to her lab, but Baba Yaga grabbed Quylla by the collar of her shirt, almost choking her.

"Not so fast, child. We are not done yet." The Mother said. "Lith, do you mind bringing me the Rune Stores, please?"

"I can try. Wish me luck." With only Surin’s set available, the Rune Stores were in high demand, and the Verhens followed a flexible schedule based on the baby girl’s fickle interest in magic.

"I just got them. It’s my turn now." Elina said.

"I’m sorry, Mom. Baba Yaga needs the Rune Stores, and I don’t know why or for how long." Lith replied. "I’ll bring them back to you as soon as I can."

"If she teaches you anything that might help a beginner like me, please let me know, sweetie." She said.

"I will." Lith returned to the keep and handed the foam constructs to the Mother.

"I still can’t make heads or tails of how these things have been crafted, but their effectiveness is beyond doubt. Take a look at them and tell me what you think, Lochra." She said.

"What’s there to look at? These are toys." The First Magus studied the Rune Stores with her best spells, but to no avail.

"I hoped you’d have better luck or notice something we missed." Baba Yaga sighed. "Turn into your Valkyrie form, please."

"Do you mind telling me what’s going on?" Silverwing did as bidden, shapeshifting into her apex form.

"I’d rather not. I want your unbiased opinion." The Mother replied. "Do you feel something now?"

"No." As soon as the First Magus’ aura stabilized, the foam constructs floated on their own. "Yes. I can feel some kind of resonance."

The Rune Stores started to move, orbiting Silverwing slowly at first, and then accelerating by the second.

"I can sense the single elements in the world energy now, and my aura is stabilizing." She instinctively unfurled her wings to their full span, and the Rune Stores expanded their orbit to keep encompassing her.

"I’m getting stronger." The world energy was split into its components by the foam constructs and entered the Valkyrie’s wings in the form of elemental bolts of energy, covering her pristine white feathers in flowing prismatic streaks.

The energy coursed through the First Magus’ body before being returned to the Rune Stores with another jolt, and then released into the world energy.

"Not really." A flick of Baba Yaga’s wrist returned the constructs to her hand, and Silverwing’s aura plummeted. "The Rune Stores compressed your aura and formed a bridge between the newborn mana organs in your wings and the elemental energy.

"They didn’t make you stronger, so much as they split the world energy on their own, allowing you to focus solely on interacting with it. It’s like practicing water magic near a lake. You can cast stronger spells because you can skip the conjuring phase and use your mana solely to control the water."

"Whoever invented them must be a genius." Silverwing said. "They are amazing!"

"And that’s not all." The Mother turned to Quylla. "During my stay, I couldn’t help noticing the weapons your parents are practicing with, child. I assume you know about the crystal sequences."

"Sort of." Quylla cleared her throat in embarrassment as everyone stared at her. "It’s nothing much, people. You used my sequence to give Ragnar?k access to your bloodline abilities, Lith.

"My father, instead, used Tezka’s sequence to make Skywarp into a dimensional weapon and the Saefel sequence to give Grimlock a well-rounded power source for its enchantments. I thought you knew about them already."

"No, we did not, but we’ll talk about this later." Solus snorted. "How is this supposed to help us, Malyshka?"

"Remember the Forgemastering simile, child. If the body is the vessel and the mana core is the spell matrix, then the Rune Stores are the mana crystals." The Mother replied. "Turn into your Indech form and use them in the Saefel sequence, Solus."

A few seconds later, Solus discovered that the world energy answered her call, offering much less resistance than usual.

"It’s working. My Swirling Wind has reached the next level." Solus said as the world energy formed a thick cocoon around her that her wings absorbed with ease. "I can feel the power of the elements flooding my body before it focuses in my eyes."

"I’m sorry, Solus, but your Swirling Wind hasn’t improved one bit." Baba Yaga shook her head. "The Saefel sequence is focusing and splitting the world energy in a form that’s easier for you to assimilate."

"Then what’s the point in using the Rune Stores?" Solus asked in confusion.

"The point is that they are like a parent holding their small child’s arms as they take their first steps. They help you keep your balance and allow you to walk longer before you get tired." The Mother replied.

"You, Lochra, and anyone else with atrophied mana organs can use the Rune Stores arranged in this sequence to nurture your mana organs and ease their development, while Quylla can use them on her patients to find where the elemental flow gets twisted in their life forces."

"What’s the difference with Quylla’s sequence?" Tista asked. "It helped me split my wings in my Indech form and manifest them in my Hekate form. Isn’t that nurturing as well?"

"No, that’s overcharging you." The Mother said. "You did with the Rune Stores what I did for Lith."