"Do you think this could be Deirus?" Lith said.

"Who's Deirus?" Kalla said.

"It could be." Faluel ignored her. "You and the girls come here regularly. If he ever decides to take you out in one go, this would be the perfect place. Only time will tell."

***

The lesson continued in the afternoon when Kalla described to the class the rarest and the most powerful undead she knew in the Courts. Among them, Lith considered Blood Witches to be the most vicious.

Despite their name, they had no relation with Vampires. According to Kalla, Blood Witches could manipulate the stolen life force of their prey to not only conjure the next best thing to Spirit Magic, but also to replicate the abilities that mixed life force and world energy like Origin Flames.

"They are one of Baba Yaga's closest attempts to mimic a full Awakening. Based on what the only member of their species I met told me, they are a lesser version of the Red Sun, the Horseman of Dusk." Kalla said.

"They seem dangerous. What are their weak points?" Lith asked.

"I have no idea since not even I was so rude to ask and she didn't have any blinking sign of her body that said 'don't hit me here'." Kalla said, making the first joke in years and letting the others hope for the best.

"My hypothesis is that using such powers depletes their energy faster than what Spirit Magic does to an Awakened, but that's not a big issue for them. Always remember that undead are universal acceptors of all kinds of energy but darkness, and only because it destabilizes their blood cores.

"Baba Yaga made them immune to mana poisoning and their life forces can recover even from damages that are lethal to any other race. All they need to rejuvenate from any kind of injury is to feed."

Once the lesson was over, Lith returned home and kept experimenting with Fusion Magic while waiting for dinner. He had done it the whole day while Kalla talked since taking notes required but a sliver of his attention.

He used one element at a time to avoid hurting his body, but aside from pain and discomfort, he didn't learn much.

'I wish that Spirit Fusion was a thing.' He inwardly griped. 'Back when I was a baby, I discovered that everything I learned about Spirit Magic applied to all the other elements as well. Fusion Magic, instead, requires me to learn how to circulate every element in a different way.'

Lith had yet to succeed in creating a flow of a single element, but he had already discovered that each element worked according to its own principles.

'I know. I wish we could find the "How to get a violet core for dummies" book you misplaced.' Solus's thoughts oozed sarcasm. 'You've been training for just three days and do you already expect results?

'What we devised with Quylla is just another theory that we have to put to the test. If you rush things, there's no telling what might go wrong.'

'It's not just a theory. I know it's right, just like I knew that Kamila was right when she compared my vortexes to clumsy hands. I can feel it that we are on the right track.' Lith replied.

'Well, unless your feelings can also point us the way, you'd better take it easy. Otherwise when the next attack comes, you might be so tired that even Invigoration will fail you. You need to rest.' Solus said.

'Yes, Mom.' Lith scoffed as his army amulet drew his attention. 'Who the heck is this and why are the mana crystals blinking instead of a rune?'

"Good evening, Archmage Verhen. Why are you in a hotel at this hour?" The answer to his question came in the form of the hologram of Queen Sylpha herself.

She had never called him in person before and she didn't look pleased from either his commoner clothes or from his room. It was as big as a one-room apartment but for noble's standards it was too small and poorly furnished.

"This is actually my home." Lith rushed to kneel down, mostly because he didn't know what to do. There was no etiquette book that told what was the proper reaction to a Queen ambushing you.

"Really?" Sylpha furrowed her brows in disbelief as she turned towards someone off-screen. "Are we paying him so little? No wonder Overlord Salaark is trying to snatch him from us. Find those responsible for this madness and have them all executed!"

"Your Majesty, Archmage Verhen received every single coin of his annuities and of his rewards. Everything is recorded and accounted for." A male voice squealed.

He was one of those guys whose head was about to roll.

"Let me get this straight. Archmage Verhen, do you confirm to me that you received all this?" Sylpha had the hologram of a long list accounting for several deposits in his name that amounted to thousands of gold coins.

"That is correct." Lith said after checking his own ledger.

"And that's the place where you live?" Sylpha was so shocked that she forgot even the basics of etiquette.

"Correct again. I don't need a fancy palace full of rooms I wouldn't use or lots of servants to keep them clean. I only need a safe place where to live in between my experiments.

"I spent most of what I earned over the years in highly compressed defensive arrays and the rest to equip my secret labs. That's the reason why not even Night and her army of undead could get to me." Lith replied.

"But… But you're a Baron, an Archmage, and now you even have a personal Warp Gate. It makes your home a waypoint for all the nobility of the Kingdom, including the Royal Family.

"Where would you receive the Court when the King needs to confer with you privately? In a cozy dining room or would you have them sit on your bed?" Sylpha was getting a headache just at the thought of it.

"The Gate is in the barn so I'd rather go to the Court myself." Lith said with a shrug.

"What about your wife? I'm certain she would like more space and privacy."

"I'm still unmarried and my entire life is here." Lith replied.

'Gods how I hate bachelors and their man-holes.' Sylpha inwardly griped.

"Are you telling me that even if I built a proper mansion at my own expense, you wouldn't move there?" She actually asked.

"And what should I do with a place big enough to host Manohar's ego? I spend so much time in my labs that I'm barely home."

"Do you realize that the Royals coming to your home, as we did for Archon Ernas' investiture is the greatest honor the Kingdom can bestow upon its subjects and not some kind of twisted punishment?" The Queen said.

"I know, but my parents would never move with me and I doubt that a new home would be as safe as the one I built. It takes generations for a Household to be as secure as the Ernas's and I won't put my life's work at risk out of pride." Lith said.

"Wise words for someone so young." Sylpha nodded as she calculated in her head how much would it cost to prepare a mansion capable to withstand the enemies currently standing at the doors of the Kingdom.

All they had to do was to knock and safety would be the only thing that mattered for Royals and commoners alike.