’This exercise must be a variation on the previous one. I need to change the minimum number of runes necessary to create a working enchantment without disrupting the bond between the pseudo core and the metal. ’If I do, putting the pseudo core back into the staff would need a Forgemastery circle and create imperfections I would have to fix.’ As soon as Lith conjured his mana, Menadion cloaked him from Solus’ vision so as not to let him influence her work. Lith tried and failed a few times before giving up on rewriting the pseudo core while it was still inside the staff. The enchanted metal surrounding the pseudo core absorbed and deflected his mana, neutralizing the effects of Dismantle. ’I knew it was too good to be true.’ Lith called upon the pseudo core, pulling it out of the Orichalcum and weakening its energy link with the metal while being careful not to sever it. Then, he unfolded the pseudo into strings of runes and fixed them one by one. ’Wait a minute, I’m doing this the wrong way.’ He thought. ’A pseudo core doesn’t require Runesmithing’s precise positioning of the runes that form the enchantment over the surface of the metal. ’The runes of a pseudo core only need to form a stable energy sphere. Why am I wasting so much time and mana trying to find among the spells I know one that matches Ripha’s pseudo core when I can just reshape Ripha’s pseudo core into a spell I know?’ A wave of his hand rewrote the runes into a working enchantment. The pseudo core Menadion had imbued in the staff had several more runes than Lith’s yet the solution was simple. He converted the extra runes into pure energy and divided it evenly between the runes forming the new pseudo core. This way, even though the two enchantments were completely different they possessed the same amount of energy When he stood up to bring his staff to Menadion, the cloaking field faded and he saw Solus going back to her desk with a beaming smile on her face. "Yes, she finished earlier than you." Ripha answered his silent question. "What took you so long?" "I tried to keep the same number of runes and used your pseudo core as a base instead of turning it into my own." Lith replied. "It’s a rookie mistake but an understandable one." Menadion nodded. "Excellent job. You know what to do." She changed the enchantment into one comprised by two pseudo cores and returned the staff to him. Lith sat down at his desk and rewrote the two enchantments. This time, the two pseudo cores not only had to work on their own but also not to hinder each other. At the fifth attempt, Menadion put Solus and Lith to work on a simple power core formed by five different enchantments. Each time they succeeded, she increased the difficulty of the exercise by adding a new pseudo core. As the situation grew more complex and delicate, Lith and Solus needed sheer focus to rewrite the multiple pseudo cores forming the power core and balance them with each other before the staff exploded in their faces. "You guys are amazing." There were a few hours left before dinner but Lith and Solus were mentally and physically exhausted. "You have only one exercise left but that can wait until tomorrow." "And what’s that?" Solus panted, her voice lacking any trace of her usual enthusiasm for the Forgemastering arts. "Putting everything you’ve learned together." Menadion replied with a proud smile. "Tomorrow, you work on a real artifact." *** Elina, Kamila, the children, and the babies were overjoyed to see Lith and Solus return much earlier than usual but they had each a different reason. Valeron the Second and Elysia were just happy to spend time with their father. They crawled all over Lith, using their Dragon scales to express their feelings and ask him questions. "No, I’m not having fun without you." The answers were transmitted through the Dragon scales as well. Lith also said them out loud to share the conversation with the rest of the family. "Also, no. I’m not going anywhere without you. "Solus and I are spending our days in the tower. You can come with us if you want." Valeron and Elysia shook their head with a grunt. Being locked up in the Doomslayer crib while Lith was too busy studying to play with them wasn’t their idea of fun. Being free at home and admiring the marvel of adult jobs was much more interesting. Especially because the babies only had to jump in someone’s arms to receive all the cuddles and attention they wanted. Elysia landed on Solus’ shoulder before complaining about her absence with chirps and baby babble that made no sense to her. "Ba!" Elysia soon understood she was talking to a wall. "Baba!" "I’m not bad, sweetie." Solus rocked the frustrated baby. "It’s not my fault if I don’t have Dragon scales. I’m trying to understand you. I swear. I’ve missed you the whole day." Lots of kisses and tickles earned Solus Elysia’s forgiveness. Kamila was happy to have Lith home and as soon as the babies gave him a second of respite, she showed him the result of her magical studies. "Ta-da!" Kamila tried to act natural while she opened a Warp Steps big enough to let Aran pass, but her face was a grimace of strain. "This is not all me. The baby powers have kicked in or I doubt I could have opened a Steps at the dull green." "Congratulations, Kami." Lith waited for her to dispel the Steps before lifting her in his arms. "Usually, it takes a bright green core to do that. Are you still working on your Accumulation?" "Yes." She nodded. "But I’m not going to break through to the green before asking Grandma for advice. I don’t want to risk endangering our baby." Elina winced at Salaark’s mention so Kamila rushed to change the topic. "How was your day?" "Terrible." Solus replied and Lith nodded. "I’ve sweated like a pig until the end of the lesson and focused so hard that my head is killing me. Creation Magic is no picnic." "How so?" Leria and Aran sat in front of her with their notebooks open and ink floating with water magic. Even though Lith and Solus never went into detail about their daily struggles with Creation Magic, the children loved to take notes and try to figure out how to tackle those problems. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 "All magic is about creativity and willpower but Creation Magic brings it to the extreme." Lith replied. "It’s about manipulating the different energies that power an artifact while also preserving their overall balance. "It’s like juggling with swords while walking on a tightrope on fire." "Is it harder than Light Mastery?" Aran asked. "Much harder." Solus nodded. "Light Mastery is about controlling pure energy and giving it substance. With Creation Magic, instead, you have to give that energy a physical vessel and ensure the different components don’t reject each other." "Why are you doing this?" Falco asked Aran and Leria. "What’s the point of writing down generic gibberish if Aunt Solus and Uncle Lith will teach you Creation Magic properly in a few years?" Terion and Nessa added.