"Everyone tries to strengthen the vortexes with Acc.u.mulation whereas they need to be Awakened with fusion magic. Yet no one even trains it because fusion magic grows stronger the more you get used to it and its output depends solely on your core.

"Or so everyone thinks." Lith started to try and make the elemental energy circulate while showing the process via the hologram, but the pain brought him to his knees.

"Can I say that for someone so smart you really are an idiot?" Quylla said. "Starting with all six elements at the same time is beyond idiotic. First you learn how to crawl, then how to walk, and finally how to run."

"Agreed." Solus said, slipping back on his finger.

"Let me know how this goes and if you manage to identify the runes for fusion magic. I could use a hand." Quylla said while opening the door to them.

"Thanks for your help. See you at Faluel's for the next lesson." Lith was too focused trying to make the air element circulate through his body to notice the huge smile on her face.

"No, thank you. By the way, I'm locked up in here, but you can always come to visit me, jerk." Quylla said with a giggle.

'If I'm right, then I still have a chance at Awakening. First, I must train my body as much as I can to withstand the transformation. Second, I need to master fusion magic to start tempering my body.

'The last step will be using mana poisoning to forcefully weaken my core. If violet is overloaded, then all I have to do is to bring it down to a point where I can survive. That way, once my body is enhanced, it will keep out the excess mana.

'My only issue is to learn how to feel the world energy without dying and get Lith to help me with his tower. Without it, my odds of success are nigh-zero. Luckily, I've still got a long way to go before it comes to that.' She thought.

***

Griffon Kingdom, Kellar Region, Xedros the Wyvern's lair.

The Father of all Wyverns had chosen the top of the Golden Crown Mountain as his residence for several good reasons. The first and foremost was that it guaranteed him the isolation he needed to conduct his experiments.

The peak was so high that its glacier never melted. The combination of low temperatures and the frequent thunderstorms that painted the mountain a golden color was a deterrent against unwanted visitors.

The older Xedros became, the greater his desperation to evolve into a Dragon and to increase his longevity from about 3,000 to 10,000 years. His dream was to get rid of the lesser title that plagued his species and to bask in the glory of his father.

The first Wyvern also hoped that, in such a long time, he would find his way to the white core since he had no interest in Guardianhood. Besides, during his life, he didn't experience a single world tribulation and it was unlikely things would change.

To achieve his goal, he kept researching questionable spells that bordered on Forbidden Magic which made privacy of paramount importance.

Xedros's cave was hidden by a thick vapor generated by one of the many protective arrays that the Beast Lord of the Region had set around his home.

Usually, the mana imbued within the mystical clouds would keep techniques like Life Vision from locating the entrance to the lair so he was beyond surprised when someone knocked on his door.

Not the external door, but the one right outside his personal quarters.

'This can't be Sedra. I've sent him to fetch a few ingredients for my arrays and-' His train of thought derailed as the door opened before he could answer, letting two visitors in.

"You must be pretty paranoid to set so many defensive arrays around this dump. If I didn't have help, it would have taken me a lot of time to get in." A woman wearing a heavy armor said while she strode in as if she owned the place.

She was 1.78 meters (5'10") tall, with hip-length ash blonde hair that framed the delicate features of her oval face. Her rosy skin was flawless, emphasizing the contrast between her silver eyes and her full red lips.

A one-handed sword with seven different colored crystals on each side of the blade was hung to her heap, making her identity as clear as the day.

"What does the Mad Queen want from me?" Xedros snarled while taking a deep breath. Between his mastery over Origin Flames and the protections of his lair, he was certain to win.

Once Xedros stood on hind legs, he was over five (16'5") meters tall, with his long neck taking a quarter of his height and ending into a long reptile snout as big as a barrel.

Compared to him, the woman was smaller than a child.

On top of that, his tail was about 1.67 meters (5'6") long, ending with a thick bone spike that resembled the sting of a giant wasp. Two golden membranous wings extended from his forelegs, connecting his little fingers to his h.i.p.s.

The wings were a few shades paler compared to the scales that covered Xedros's upper body and that offered the Wyvern's skin a protection on par with a heavy Orichalc.u.m armor.

"Say that name again or hurl those flames and I assure you that breath will also be your last." Jakra, the emerald dragon, said while putting himself between the two and charging his own Origin Flames.

He had taken the appearance of a handsome man with emerald shoulder-length hair and purple eyes, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall. He wore a set of armor made of perfectly purified Adamant that looked more impressive than hers even though it was actually inferior.

Between the slave spell that controlled Jakra's will and the innate paternal instinct toward the child that was growing inside Thrud's w.o.m.b, the Dragon would die before letting any harm befall her.

The stench of sulfur coming from his mouth and the vigor Jakra exuded revealed his real nature to Xedros, making him more curious than worried about the reason behind that visit.

"You have my apologies, my dear brother. I meant no offense to your lovely companion. What can I do for you?" Xedros's kind smile didn't extend to his eyes that wandered on their equipment with greed.

Words were cheap and he could always kill them the moment he learned what he wanted. Jakra's worth went beyond the enchanted metal he wore. By studying him, Xedros might have learned what made Wyverns different from their half-siblings.

"Please, I'm no idiot. I can feel your arrays humming with power as you charge them." Thrud's right hand never left the hilt of the Sword of Arthan. Among its many abilities, the blade gave her a keen mana perception.

"Shut them down or I will make you. Believe me when I say that I've got nothing to gain from killing you. We need each other more than you imagine." Thrud plunged the sword into the ground, making its power core clash with that of the arrays in the cave.

"Fine." Xedros powered the defensive systems down only to trigger several silent alarms that would summon help from the Council at a moment's notice.