Chapter 4065: Forging the Path (Part 2) "This is as good as my Swirling Wind." Urhen said, half proud and half annoyed by her student’s progress. "And it will probably be as good as Ryla’s if Zoreth stops whining and works on herself. I’m pretty sure that if she manages to turn her troll half into a Traughen half, the power of the elements will cover her whole arm." Baba Yaga nodded. "Also, do me a favor. Conjure any darkness spell you want, but make it flow through your arm before releasing it. Remember this path. Core, arm, fingertips." The Mother traced a line that went from Zoreth’s solar plexus to her nails. Once again, the Arke obeyed. She felt nothing at all until the Plague Arrow reached her elbow. There, the stored darkness element turned into a whirlpool that absorbed and released the spell several times per second. With each cycle, the darkness element of the Plague Arrow became denser and more compressed until it almost became solid. When the spell reached her palm, the Arke’s fingertips absorbed the external darkness energy and injected it into the Plague Arrow, boosting its power. "Good gods!" When the Plague Arrow erupted from her palm, it had already grown to the size of a basketball, and its destructiveness had increased severalfold. "Not so fast." Baba Yaga had Zoreth close her fingers around the spell, holding it in what looked like a blade of pure darkness. "This is what trolls do, you runt." "Is that a darkness construct?" Solus asked. "I wish." The Mother shook her head. "But it comes close enough. Zoreth’s fingertips keep drawing the darkness element of the Plague arrow in, keeping it compact and preventing it from dissipating. "At the same time, the darkness in her arm synergizes with the spell and amplifies its effects through physical contact. Know that you can do this with all the elements associated with your current arms and apply it to all the related spells you can cast." "All of them?" Zoreth asked in disbelief. "Yes, but I have no idea how your arms respond to the Cursed Elements, runt." The Mother nodded. "Feel free to experiment by yourself, but do it away from Solus and at your own risk." "How could I never notice any of this?" The Arke let go of the darkness blade and used her newfound technique to fill up her light arm as well. "Because you don’t ask yourself enough questions." Baba Yaga’s voice became stern. "You just follow others around without thinking for yourself. Imitation can only bring you so far. After that, you have to learn who you are." "Are we still taking about my Arke form?" Zoreth asked. "In a way." Baba Yaga replied. "Bottom line, remember this, child. Everyone here is a unique individual with their own potential. You will never be able to unlock yours if you keep moving blindly on a path others set for you. "Forge your own path. Think with your own head. Be the person you want to be, not the one you think others want you to be. You are over a thousand years old, yet you keep acting like a child. Stop looking for your father’s hand and walk on your own." The room fell into an awkward silence as Zoreth stared at her toes as if they held the secrets of the universe. "Lutia’s reconstruction will cost you a pretty coin, Lith." Solus said, eager to change the topic. "Your speech worked. Most people decided to stay in Lutia. I’m proud of you. Your generosity is a bit out of character, but pleasantly so." "I’m not going to lie, your offer to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket surprised me quite a bit." Morok tried to replicate the technique Baba Yaga had just explained, using his eyes instead of fingertips, but to no avail. "Yet it surprises me more not seeing you doing your ’woe is my wallet’ routine." "Morok!" Tista, Solus, and Kamila said in outrage. "That’s insensitive of you!" "He’s right, though." Lith keep drawing the air element in from his feathers and shapeshifted into his Tiamat form, trying to maintain the same flow. "I would be bitching and moaning if I didn’t have my ace in my sleeve." "Your silver mines?" Quylla asked. "Ripha’s free labor?" Kamila asked, making the First Ruler of the Flames grunt. "The silver from the mines is still my money, and standing there while Ripha works would be a waste of my time, so no." Lith shook his head. "The ace up my sleeve is the blank credit letter Grandma gave me in apology." "And when would I have done that?" Salaark appeared out of thin air while holding the babies. "Dya!/Dad!" Elysia and Valeron said. "Not now, my Featherlings." "When you said you were sorry about what happened to Lutia and would have done everything you could to help." Lith pointed out. "I don’t expect money from you. Raw materials are just fine. "With you covering for that and the Royals paying for the building crews, I’m left with minor expenses. The reputation I’ll gain from the reconstruction of Lutia will boost the sales of Zekell’s products and with it, my share of the profits. "If you add up the value of the land I’m purchasing, I’m earning a lot more than I spend." "You son of a gracious woman and an honorable man!" Salaark couldn’t curse Lith’s parents since they were blameless in the matter. "You are being generous at my expense!" "That was the plan, but you are free to rescind your offer if you want, Grandma." Lith said. "I’m considering it." She replied, yet the mere thought irked the Guardian’s honor. She had made her promise freely and willingly, so her word was her bond. Salaark had no qualms about contributing to rebuild Lutia except for Lith’s scheme to exploit her generosity for profit. "My offer still stands." The presence of the children sealed the deal for her. Salaark would never set a bad example for them. "I’ll do as you ask, but I’ll remember this. The next time, I’ll set conditions for my support." "I hope there won’t be a next time, Grandma." Lith replied. "Good point." She nodded. "Now I’ll let you get back to your training. You lot have many things to do and little time to do them." *** In the following days, while Lith, Friya, and the others continued their training and Jirni and Orion worked on the final details for their daughter’s marriage, Ajatar floated amid the nutrients’ liquid of his gene-tank. It took a while for his body and mana organs to develop enough to move on to the next step of his research. His arrays and machinery constantly collected data about his condition, while Ajatar studied himself with his breathing technique, Foresight, and his newfound Dragon Eyes. He took notes from inside the tank, writing down everything he discovered about the changes in his body with Spirit Magic, ink, and paper. Lith came to collect the papers thrice a day and then compared Ajatar’s findings with the Infirmary’s. The Drake had left precise instructions not to be interrupted unless he made a life-threatening mistake. Everything else could wait until he left the gene-tank.