Chapter 3452 Different Kinds of Talent (Part 1) "Thank you, gods. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Rena sniffled while kissing Leria's face over and over. 'I would like to say: you're welcome, but I'm afraid Rena would punch me in the nose." Salaark remained silent, handing the worried mother a blanket and a glass of water. Rena covered Leria with the blanket and drank the water with big gulps. "Can I have some more?" "Sure." Salaark refilled the glass Rena was offering. "Do you want me to call Senton? Lith? Someone?" "How long have we been here?" Rena's eyes widened, realizing the passing of time. "Less than three minutes." Salaark replied. "The people at the table haven't even noticed we are late." "Bring Senton here, please. Bring everyone." A quick mind link to inform the others about what had happened and a snap of Salaark's fingers brought the Verhens to her office. "Oh gods, is Leria alright?" Elina asked while Senton rushed to Rena's side and checked Leria's pulse and face. "She did it!" Aran clenched his fists like it was his own achievement. "Now I can have company and competition." "She's fine." Salaark said and Lith confirmed after checking on Leria with Invigoration. "Is there anything we can do to make her wake up sooner?" Senton asked. "No." Lith replied. "This kind of thing can't be rushed. Leria needs to rest while her body adapts to its new status and her core fills itself." "Even with my help and Solus' tower, Leria won't wake up before a couple of hours." Salaark nodded. "If you want to help her, go eat. You need your strength to take care of her." Rena caressed Leria's serene sleeping face, reassured by the steady heartbeat and her chest moving up and down. If not for what she had just witnessed, Rena would have thought Leria was sleeping in. "Fine, but please, let's eat at the tower's dining room. I don't want anyone around." She said. *** Leria slept in a bed just one meter away from the dining table under a Hush Zone. Abominus never left her side and Rena stopped eating to check on Leria often. No matter how much effort Rena put into taking care of her daughter, Leria needed over two hours to wake up. "I'm starving. She mumbled while trying to remember why she felt like she had skipped lunch. "Leria, thank the gods!" Rena hugged her tight. "You scared me to death." "How do you feel, sweetie?" Senton asked. "Congratulations, Leria." Aran gave her a congratulatory bow. "What are you talking about?" Leria was as confused as she was worried about her parents' weird behavior. At least until her drowsy mind cleared up and she remembered everything. "I did it! I'm an Awakened too!" Her stomach disregarded her enthusiasm and gurgled in outrage. "I'm also starving. Where's lunch?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 "Right here." Lith took the stove fresh food from his pocket dimension and set the table for her. "Help yourself." "Don't mind if I do." Leria broke free from her mother's embrace and ran to her seat, wolfing down the food. "You beat me." Aran sighed. "Of just one day but you beat me. I admit defeat." "No, I didn't." Leria swallowed a big morsel of meat, taking a break from eating so as not to chew her words along with her food. "I had many advantages and the most important one is you went first. "I would've had no confidence of success had you not Awakened already. I found a way to Awaken based on what we know only because you proved to me it was possible. "Also, I know you well enough to guess what you did wrong and right, saving myself a lot of time. On top of that, you took two days of rest while I only took one. If we consider only the days of practice, you were faster than me." "And don't forget that women are naturally more attuned to the world energy than men." Salaark pointed out. "With that and your two affinities, I can assure you had it easier." "Really?" Aran asked, puffing his chest out with pride. "Credit where credit is due, Featherling." The Guardian sighed. "You have no idea how embarrassing it is for me that the old lizard Awakened before me. My only consolation is that I always beat him in martial arts and Forgemastering" "It's your win, Uncle Aran." Leria stood up to give him a bow. "You did it fair and square." "I have a better idea." Aran shook his head. "Winning like this is disappointing and underwhelming. It doesn't feel like a victory and draws are equally lame. What do you say if we settle our score in a clear-cut way?" "I'm all ears." Leria nodded for him to continue. "Now we are on equal footing again. Our cores are deep green and we had our unique enlightenment. It means that whoever awakens her bloodline second will have no choice but to admit being a poor excuse of a niece," Aran extended his hand. "Deal?" "You mean his bloodline and a poor excuse of an uncle." Leria shook it, returning the fierce grip. "Deal!" "Not this again!" Onyx rolled her eyes. *** After a hearty meal and another nap, it was Leria's turn to celebrate her achievement with the rest of the family. Zekell and his wife joined them from Lutia and so did Protector, Selia, and their children. After a full night of rest and many meals, Leria was ready to learn the basics of Spirit Magic. Just like Aran, she had asked Lith to be her teacher and repeat the same lessons Aran had received to keep things fair and their competition running. As for Aran, he was entrusted to Solus' care. "Are you sure you don't want to move on to the next topic?" Solus asked. "I'm sure, but thanks for the offer, Auntie Solus." Aran replied. "I prefer to review everything with you and Aunt Kami and wait for Leria to catch up. This way Bog Brother can teach us together again." "I understand." Kamila nodded. "It must be hard going on, lesson after lesson with an ever-growing losing streak. You need someone as bad at this as you to score your first win." "I'm not bad at Spirit Magic, Sis Kami!" Aran pouted. "You are better than me only because you've been studying this for months now." "You should have thought about that before challenging me and claiming you would make me eat your dust." Kamila chuckled. "Jokes aside, you are really good at both Spirit and Fusion Magic, Kami." Solus said. "I don't know if it's the little Raldarak giving you a hand but you are one of the best green cores I've ever met." "Thank you." Kamila replied. "It's too early for the baby's powers to kick in. This is all me, yet. I practiced like crazy during my free time because I don't want to be Lith's weak point forever. I want to be able to stand up for myself." "I appreciate the sentiment, but until you reach the bright blue, you are just w-" Solus suddenly felt dizzy. Her knees buckled, forcing her to sit down. "What's wrong?" Kamila asked, quickly followed by Ripha who rushed to Solus' side.