Chapter 3957: Upper Rank (Part 2) The Arke complied, and the rune patterns on her darkness and fire arms rearranged into the runes of her tier five Battle Mage spell, Cruel Sun. The pressure of keeping the spell at the ready disappeared from her mind, her full focus restored. "As I suspected." Baba Yaga studied the runes on the Arke’s arms. "This is a Traughen bloodline ability. You can use it to store all kinds of spells and arrays." "What else can I do?" Zoreth asked. "This is enough for today, child." The coldness of Yaga’s voice brooked no argument. "I have no interest in mentoring you. I did what I had to do to test a theory and assess your potential. "Now we know. Until you decide your path, I can’t afford to nurture someone who might develop into a threat to my work." She paused, her eyes and words boring into Zoreth’s head ominously. "Do you need me for something else, Solus?" "No, Malyshka." Solus gave her a deep bow. "Sorry for bothering you. Next time I’ll be more careful." "You never bother me, silly." The Mother turned into the Maiden, who leaned her forehead against Solus’. "We are friends, and we haven’t talked for 700 long years. Missing a bit of sleep is worth not missing you any longer." "Thank you, Malyshka." Yaga’s sincerity and dedication moved Solus. "You are a great friend." "You are welcome." The Maiden kept the contact for a few seconds before stepping away. "Just don’t get too used to this. I have my own life, and the time will come when I’m too far away or busy to help you." *** By the time Baba Yaga returned to her tower, the spell stored in Zoreth’s arms started to fade. "I wonder if this is normal or just another proof that I’m close to rank 2 but still a rank 1." She said. "How did it feel?" Tista asked. "What do you mean?" The Arke replied. "Did it consume your mana like for a fake mage or a spell holding ring, or did it cost you nothing like a true mage?" The female Indech said. "I didn’t consume mana, but I feel tired." Zoreth said. "More tired than before, I mean. It drained my stamina." "What about your troll side?" Lith pondered. "Shouldn’t it restore your strength just by eating?" "Not that stamina. I don’t feel like panting." Zoreth shook her head. "My arms sting, and every attempt to tap into their powers hurts." "Just like my wings." Morok sighed. "Tista’s technique works great, but it puts quite a burden on my body." "Same." Everyone nodded. "Hey, I warned you it requires a massive overload of fusion magic." Tista was still resting from her use of Raging Severance. "Besides, we all have atrophied or underdeveloped mana organs, and we trained all morning. What did you expect?" "She has a point." Quylla moved from one evolved human to the other, studying their life forces. "You’d better rest. If your training is really effective, you need to give your mana organs the time to recover and grow. "Invigoration will give you back your strength, but it might also revert your mana organs to their pre-training state." *** Zoreth spent the rest of the morning lying on the grass in her Arke form, resisting the temptation to restore the elemental energy she had spent during the training. Lith and Tista, instead, used that time to take flying lessons from Ryla and Urhen. Balancing themselves in the air without their tail was a weird experience, and they still felt clumsy and bulky in their Indech form. The Fomors were saddened by saying goodbye for lunch, but not as much as Garrik. "I miss you already, Big Brother." He gave Morok a long hug. "Me too, Little Bother." The Tyrant said. "I’ll be back sooner than you think." Elina and Jirni had prepared another feast, yet the food was barely enough since everyone had worked up quite an appetite. "Watching you guys train is exhausting." Quylla munched a mutton chop. "All that thinking about how to help you tap into your bloodline abilities drained me." "And I appreciate your sacrifice." Lith’s voice held only as much sarcasm as his friend’s volatile mood could tolerate. "But we are also tired." Watching Quylla eat was always a shocking experience. Yet watching her eat for three was unsettling at best, and her Tyrant shark-like teeth gave her the appearance of a monster not-so-cleverly disguised. "Do you have to-" Quylla’s bite ripped the meat and crushed the bone of the mutton chop, cutting Jirni short. "Never mind. Not to sound ungrateful, but how long do you plan to stay in Lutia? "This place is small and there aren’t enough bathrooms for everyone." Her eyes lingered on the pregnant women for way longer than it was polite. "Also, I understand you love this place, Elina, but Ryla and Garrik are left alone." "I know." Morok sighed. "I’ll go visit them as soon as we are done here. Excellent cooking, Jirni. Like always." "Thank you." She politely nodded. "Jirni is right." Elina pondered. "After spending so much time with Garrik and Ryla at the Mansion and the Desert, they are part of our family, and we are cutting them off from our daily activities. Also, our home really is cramped." The entire Ernas family dined and lived with the Verhens, forcing some to sleep on couches and Nalrond to return to his old room at the Fastarrows with Friya for the night. "How do you feel, dear?" Elina asked, looking at Lith. "Better, thank you." He shrugged. The relentless training allowed him to keep his mind busy, and the time he spent with his family pushed the lingering memories of Raum’s victims away until they faded forever. Moreover, Elysia and Valeron were his little suns. The joy that the babies felt at his presence and transmitted to him via the Dragon Scales dispelled the misery of the lost souls that still haunted him like mist. "Lutia is fine, but there isn’t much space to play." Aran said. "Also, everyone looks at Onyx like she’s a monster." "I also prefer the Mansion." Solus cleared her throat in embarrassment. "I have more freedom there, and I can use a bit of space to talk alone with Mo-enadion." "Seconded." Selia leaned in from the window. "I saved a lot of money in food and repairs while we lived and trained together at the Mansion. I could use saving a bit more." "This is a family decision, and you have no say in this!" Lith said. "How can you say that?" Selia said in a perfect imitation of sincere outrage. "You are Lilia’s and Leran’s godfather! Aren’t they part of your family? Tell him, children." "I’m hungry, Uncle Lith." Lilia sniffed the air. "Can I have some food? Please?" Leran asked. "You have just had a three-course lunch!" Selia blushed hard in embarrassment, and this time it was no performance. "Stop talking like I starve you." "I’m sorry, Mom, but the smell of Auntie Elina’s cooking is so good." Fenrir said, her stomach growling. "Her dishes also taste much better than yours." "You’re right, Lith. This is none of my business." Selia didn’t know what was worse. Whether the comments on her cooking skills or the humiliation from her children’s gluttonousness.