"It makes it easy to organize my findings in a technique with solid foundations that anyone can use." Quylla said. "I’m preparing to pass down my research to my weakened future self. "Otherwise I would have made much more progress yet I would have ended up writing down gibberish I’m unable to understand or perform after I give birth." "That’s brilliant." Lith pondered. "I’m glad we had this talk. I would have wasted a lot of time just to get where you are now." Lith took a thick tome and a small ring studded with a white crystal out of his pocket dimension. "This is the latest version of Void Magic’s textbook. We’ll ask the Royals to add you to our lessons but in the meantime, you can study it on your own. As for the ring, consider it a gift. You must promise me no one will study it, though. "Not you, Faluel, and especially not your father." "Deal!" Quylla jumped from her seat and hugged Lith. "What does Faluel have to do with this?" "The pact you made with her to get your apprenticeship, remember?" Lith said. "Everything you create also belongs to Faluel and you need her permission to share it." "Shit! I had completely forgotten about that." Quylla whined. "That’s great. Working my ass off and making a great discovery isn’t enough to become a Magus. I have also to get Faluel’s permission." "Would you have gotten here without her help?" Solus asked. "No." Quylla ruefully admitted. "I wouldn’t have even Awakened or gained many insights about the elements if not for her teachings and Spirit Wand." "Then it was worth it." Solus said. "One word of advice. Use your powers as little as possible, or losing them will affect more than your research. After Elysia was born, Kami fell into a deep depression that lasted months. "Going from a powerful mage with all elemental affinities to a weakling with none hit her hard." "I know." Quylla sighed. "I already use my extra eyes only when I face a wall I can’t surpass and plan to work only on this project until the end of the pregnancy. The power I get from the twins is intoxicating. Almost addicting." Four extra eyes opened, the fourth was blue and opened on the palm of her right hand. "I now have five out of six affinities. I get new insights simply by practicing the elements with chore magic and their mana flow comes effortlessly. You have no idea how hard it is for me not to tap into the twins’ powers at the first obstacle I met." "Damn, Tyrants are better than Hydras in that aspect." Lith whistled in admiration. "They are born with two elemental affinities like a magical beast whereas Hydras need to master one element to gain an extra head." "Yeah, and I’ll be honest, once I opened four eyes, I stopped looking for more." Quylla returned to her human form. "I’m afraid that if I push myself any further, Kami’s depression will look like a walk in the park compared to mine. "She’s just an apprentice who has no idea what she can do with her temporary talents whereas I’m a professional. My magic is a huge part of me and every progress I make fuels my ego. Realizing I’m not as talented and brilliant as I thought would kill me." *** Jiera Continent, at the same time. The Awakened Council had assembled to take stock of the situation and update their respective plans to restore their continent to its former glory. "As much as it pains me to admit it, the colonization parties from Garlen have contributed greatly to contain the threat of the monster tides." Aren Dolm, Jörmungandr and beast representative, said. "Their presence has drawn the attention of the monsters and reduced the frequency of the attacks on our cities. The number of casualties per skirmish has also decreased and our numbers are finally growing again." "It’s more than that." Gyrwin Isaar, human representative of the Council, said. "Their allies have also played a key role in crippling the strength of numerous monster tides and preserving Jiera’s natural resources. "The elves, the citizens of Zelex, and the undead, have also worked together and wiped out monster hordes before they could grow into new tides. On top of that, since they have occupied the mana geysers to build their strongholds, no new species of mutated monsters have been encountered. "This has allowed us humans to expand our cities and reclaim the fertile lands around them. Our situation is still dire but I dare say we are no longer at risk of extinction." The other representatives needed but one look at Gyrwin to believe her. The human representative had regained much of the weight she had lost since the plague outbreak in Jiera and even though she still looked tired, she no longer appeared like she might faint at any moment. "I bring good news as well." Maeve the Morrigan, the plant representative, pushed the mana crystal at the center of the stone table and conjured a holographic map of Jiera. "Many open wounds remain across our land but it has finally started to heal." The map was divided into green, red, and yellow areas. Green marked the regions where nature still thrived and the local flora was enough to sustain animal life without endangering its own survival. Most of the green areas were around or at least near the Awakened settlements. Humans and beasts needed fruits and vegetation to survive and had sacrificed many lives to protect them. The rest were scattered around the map, spared from the endless hunger of the monster only due to sheer luck or a very powerful creature that had chosen that particular spot as their dwelling. The red color marked the areas where there were still bits of green but not enough to sustain any life but their own. Even worse, for one reason or another, the soil of the areas marked in red had been depleted of nutrients. Plant folk and Fae couldn’t hasten the regrowth of the vegetation without the risk of impoverishing the soil to the point of exhaustion. It was unclear if Abominations, Eldritches, Lost Cities, or trolls had caused such devastation. They all had the ability to consume even the most minuscule life forms and turn a luscious land barren in just a few days. Which was exactly what had happened to the yellow areas that covered half Jiera. Yellow was the color of the sand and marked the places that had become desertified. The water had disappeared from the surface and the soil had become so dry that no plant could take roots any longer. "As you can see, we have reconquered half of our continent." Maeve continued. "It will still take time to turn the red areas green again, but their desertification process had been halted and reversed. "Once the red areas have stabilized and the soil is fertile again, we’ll move on to the yellow areas. Until then, we’ll let the monsters lie in the bed of their own making." All the Council representatives nodded. The longer a territory remained barren, the longer it would take to restore it. Yet vast desertified areas also meant the monster tides had nothing to feed upon.