Supreme Magus

Chapter 4408: Matter and Mana (Part 2)

Solus diverted enough world energy to the Lodestar to preserve its effects while also ensuring the Firing Range’s maximum efficiency.

”How are we doing this?” Baba Yaga asked. ”I hope you don’t want us to shoot spells at each other.”

”We’ll aim at the same point, just like Teneb’s Golems.” Lith and Baba Yaga fired their respective spells a few times to get used to their different speeds and gauge the timing necessary to make them reach a set spot at the same time.

The Firing Range used Ekrasu to neutralize the Decay and earth magic to stop the lightning bolt. Once Lith and Baba Yaga were done with their tests, he Warped a large rock in the middle of the Firing Range.

”Even if we mess up, the tower will suffer no damage.” Lith said. ”Let’s stick to the walls. I have an idea of how Decay reacts with elements other than darkness, and it won’t be nice.”

Baba Yaga unleashed Jolt, the first lightning spell any young mage would learn, while Lith conjured the tier one Decay spell, Blightspark, a heartbeat later.

Thanks to their practice and experience, Lith and Baba Yaga succeeded on the first try. The two spells met centimeters away from the rock with disastrous consequences.

The elemental forces clashed, collapsing on themselves into what looked like a pristine ball lightning. Then, the energy mass exploded into a corona effect with a radius of over 10 meters (33’).

The countless bolts of lightning that streaked across the stone walls carried the power of Decay, leaving thin, shallow gouges in their wake only because the gold-veined white marble that comprised the floor repelled the mystical energies until the Firing Range managed to counter them.

When the combined spell disappeared, the tower had suffered minor damage that Solus perceived as an itch, while the rock Lith had Warped in the room was broken into pieces no bigger than a finger.

”Impressive damage.” Baba Yaga looked around the room as the fissures in the floor repaired at a speed visible to the naked eye. ”A tier one spell exceeded the Firing Range of the legendary tower of Menadion.”

”Not really.” Lith pointed at the area past the rock. ”We programmed the Firing Range to counter our two spells, not the energy released by their interaction. The tower was caught unprepared like us, but only because it lacked data.

”The Firing Range neutralized our pseudo tier four spell before it could come close to us, and we are talking about something as fast as lightning. If we tried again, I doubt the tower would suffer so much as a scratch.”

A quick glance at the updated defensive protocols of the Firing Range confirmed Lith’s words. The tower had analyzed the phenomenon and found a way to counter spells comprised of Decay and air magic.

”Was that what you expected?” Menadion asked.

”Yes.” He nodded. ”I noticed that Tezka’s Decay Gates explode as soon as something goes through them, so I assumed that the other elements would react the same way. I had underestimated the violence and the range of the resulting explosion, though.”

”If you have some other experiment with the Dread Elements in mind, you should input your hypothesis in the Firing Range.” Menadion snorted. ”It will allow the tower to create a tentative defensive protocol instead of improvising from scratch.

”My baby got hurt, you numbskull!”

”Mom, it wasn’t even a scratch!” Solus replied. ”It hurts more when you pinch my belly to remind me that I need to lose weight.”

”And it’s working.” The First Ruler of the Flames patted Solus’ stomach, producing a duller sound than usual.

”Mom!” Solus blushed hard.

”That’s impossible! How did you do it, Ripha?” Baba Yaga was in utter shock.

”Why are you so shocked, Malyshka?” Solus prayed to Mogar to swallow her whole. ”Anyone can lose weight.”

”You’re not anyone, Epphy, you’re a glutton.” Baba Yaga replied. ”Ripha?”

”I put a poster of Tyris in a tight-fitting dress inside every pantry and fridge of the tower.” Menadion replied. ”It kills Solus’ appetite on sight.”

”Can we please go back to our experiments, please?” Solus whined.

”Next I want to give Cinder Magic a try.” Lith took a mental note to have a snack later. For science, of course. ”Based on what Tezka’s Cinder Steps do, I expect the secondary element to carry the same kinetic energy as the Cinder Spell.”

”So, tier four Cinder Magic should conjure a spell that hits you like a physical blow?” Baba Yaga couldn’t help but draw a parallel with the Blood Magic she had created for her undead.

”I wish.” Lith conjured a hologram of how he imagined a tier four Cinder spell would behave. ”Fire magic controls speed, so while Zero stops things dead, Cinder should accelerate them.

”A gust of wind should become a typhoon. A stone should move like a cannonball. Something like this.”

”That’s very interesting.” Solus pondered. ”Hard-light constructs, earth, and darkness have the same weakness. They are slow. If you are right, by combining them with Cinder, they’d become as fast as water magic.”

”Yeah, but there are also problems that come with that.” Lith sighed. ”If I use Cinder against one of Yaga’s spells like I just did, the kinetic energy going in different directions will cancel each other.

”If I try to conjure that kind of magic myself, instead, it’s a tower tier spell for earth and darkness, and even more for light.”

”Cinder plus its scattered counterpart are two elements already. Adding light or darkness brings the total up to three.” Ripha pondered.

”And since Light Mastery is light element used on itself, it counts for two.” The Mother said. ”You are right, Lith. This kind of magic is feasible while near your tower, but impossible otherwise.”

”I’m not so sure about that.” Solus grabbed her Sage Staff and paced around the room. ”Give me a minute. I need to think.”

After a while, her eyes lit up with black light and Lith’s became golden.

”It’s still as creepy as the first time.” Menadion said. ”Please, use your words.”

”The Lodestar will stop working in less than 20 hours, Mom.” Solus replied while gesturing Baba Yaga to leave the Firing Range as well. ”This saves us a lot of time we can use to find another working theory in case I’m wrong.”

Another wave of Lith’s hand switched the broken stone with a new one. At the same time, he conjured the tier one Cinder Spell, Scorching Thrust, in his right hand. Once it was safe and stable, Lith weaved the tier one darkness spell, Plague Shot, in his right hand.

Then he joined his wrists together to form a quasi-tier four spell. The fiery mass of darkness energy moved more slowly than Chaos, but much faster than usual. The spell seeped deep inside the rock, melting its center while a spiderweb of cracks formed across the surface.

”That’s cheating.” Baba Yaga frowned. ”Did you use Domination to do that?”

”Yes.” Solus answered for Lith. ”It’s the only way to fuse two different spells into something that moves that fast without it exploding in my face.”

”It’s not a technique I can use in a real fight, Solus, but at least you’ve found a way to prove my hypothesis.” Lith said.