Chapter 3944: The Next Level (Part 1) "My answer is no." Lith’s tone brooked no argument. "Why not?" Yet with no other option left, Silverwing tried nonetheless. "Because you tried to kill me on our first encounter." "So did Dawn!" Silverwing countered. "True, but I also tried to kill her." Lith pointed out. "When Solus needed help, Dawn overcame our past grudge first and offered her help for Baba Yaga’s sake, no strings attached. She and Dusk are the reason Solus resisted the World Tree until we rescued her." "And I took part in the rescue mission!" "Yes, but you got paid for it." Lith replied. "I know you took plenty of Yggdrasill wood and books after I killed the Tree. You are a mercenary who got paid for her job. I owe you nothing. "What little I’ve learned about my human side took me time, sweat, and discipline, and I have no reason to share the fruits of my labor with you. Solus, however, thinks of you as a friend. If she’s willing to help you, I won’t stop her." "Solus?" Silverwing turned to the petite girl. "I’m sorry, Aunt Loka." Solus shook her head. "If my life force had reached a similar degree of evolution and I learned something, I’d be glad to help you. Yet we are talking about Lith’s life force and efforts. "Those are not mine to share. Neither of us has ever exploited our bond, and I’m not going to start now." Silverwing was about to point out that Lith had already taught Zoreth, but pursed her lips and remained silent. ’I would just make a fool of myself.’ She thought. ’The Shadow Dragon helped Lith and Solus to retrieve the Mouth and Ears of Menadion. Zoreth is often the first to answer Lith’s call when something bad happens. ’I can’t even compare to Dawn since she’s Yaga’s beloved child, and Yaga is the only person who helped Lith and Solus more than Sally did.’ "I admit I have wronged you in the past." Silverwing gave Lith a bow deep enough to express contrition. "I hope that won’t stop us from becoming friends in the future." "I accept your apologies, but about the rest?" Lith shrugged. "Would you become friends with someone you know is acting nice because they need something from you?" Silverwing opened her mouth to reply, but Lith didn’t let her answer. "I don’t think so, or there would be countless magical academies across Garlen founded by the many people who in the past begged you to take them as your disciples. Yet there is no academy that carries your name. "You had nothing to gain from those people and turned them all away, just like I’m doing now to you. The best I can do for you is give you a piece of advice. Don’t waste your energy on me and focus on yourself. "This way you have little chances of success, but still more than zero." *** Vastor Household, at the same time. Ever since her return home, Xenagrosh had slowly increased her training time to put the limits of her new body to the test without compromising her battle prowess in case of an emergency. She sparred with the other members of the Organization every day, yet the result was always the same. The Shadow Dragon overpowered the other hybrids so quickly that she learned little to nothing, and most of the Master’s precautions to hide the fight from prying eyes turned out to be useless. On top of that, Zoreth seemed to have become tireless. Her body regenerated its tissues so quickly that it purged all traces of extreme fatigue in minutes. If not for sleep deprivation hindering her higher functions and the need to replenish her mana, she had no need to rest. "Fuck!" Orulm slammed his fist against the ground, opening a several-meter-deep crater and hitting his target for the first time that day. "Xenagrosh is just too fast and strong. Even worse, what’s with her eyes?" Orulm was forbidden from using his Break skill against the Shadow Dragon and employed colored Chaos spells as dummies. Zoreth dodged everything with ease and sometimes, when she was about to get hit, Orulm’s mock-Break spells stuttered. They slowed down for a fraction of a second, but more than enough for the Shadow Dragon to dodge them. Every time it happened, Zoreth’s black eye flared with mana. The other eyes were able to do the same, as Kigan, Nelia, and Theseus had discovered at their expense. "It must be Domination." Tezka said, his voice almost covered by a blast wave. "I’ve heard a lot about it and even seen it in action a few times back in the day, but I have no idea how it works." "Same." Kigan sighed. "I’ve got the eyes of a Balor. I should have Xenagrosh’s same potential, yet nothing." "Don’t beat yourself up. That’s Zor’s job." Bytra chuckled, drawing several glares from the other hybrids. "Jokes aside, you have the life force of a fallen Balor. Zor’s human life force is pure." "I know." Kigan groaned. "Of all of us, how could a Phoenix and a Dragon end up with similar life forces? I guess the rivalry between our species is something that not even death can erase." "She’s terrifying." Tezka ignored the choir of whining. "With her new physical prowess, bloodline abilities, and the mass gap between us, it’s only a matter of time before I can’t defeat her anymore without my Suneater spell." "Really?" Bytra asked with a radiant smile that irked everyone but the Fylgja. "Yes, kid." Tezka’s pride belonged to the kind that pushed him to improve rather than blame fate for his shortcomings. "I can still deal with Xenagrosh because she can’t control her strength, and her speed leaves her in a daze as well. "She’s like a colossal toddler that stumbles and falls when she tries to move too fast. Look at Nelia. She’s keeping up with Xenagrosh in a brawl only because she used Life Maelstrom." The Frost Griffon was still stronger than Zoreth even without the silver lightning, but now needed it to surpass her speed. To make matters worse, while in the past a few well-placed blows would have brought the Shadow Dragon to her knees, now she healed so fast that only losing a limb slowed her down. Zoreth could afford trading a few heavy blows with Nelia since the outcome was always in her favor. The wounds she inflicted on the Frost Griffon bled, while her own disappeared in a heartbeat. "Enough!" Nelia raised her clawed hand, admitting defeat. "I’ve learned a lot from this fight and I’ve remembered even more." She dispelled the several hard-light constructs she had used to restrain the Shadow Dragon and tip the scales of the battle to her advantage. Griffons learned Light Mastery from a tender age, and Nelia was no exception. Back in her youth, she had been hailed as a prodigy of her generation. Nelia was a natural-born fighter, a talented mage, and one of Tyris’ firstborns. Everyone had expected her to become the matriarch of a powerful bloodline, and instead, she had died a pointless death. During a spar with a Garuda, Nelia had gained the enlightenment to reach the violet and broke through. Alas, in the heat of the battle, the Garuda had failed to heed Nelia’s request to stop.