Lith Verhen/History/Volume 9

## Chapters 954 - 1098

### Archmage Ascension

Solus finishes translating the Runesmithing booklet using Faluel's dictionaries. Lith revisits the Lost City of Huryole during his last tour as a Ranger. They meet Sevenus Hystar, the Headmaster of Golden Griffon Academy and host to the lost city's Living Legacy, who attempts to recruit Lith by offering the Davross Forge they had seen in their first visit and envelops him in a light. However, Lith tries to escape instead, fighting the hordes of centuries-old humans, beasts, and undead to get out. Jakra the Emerald Dragon capitalizes on the chaos to burn Hystar to a crisp before escaping through the barrier.

Lith reports to his temporary handler Lieutenant Brarr after finding Kamila unavailable. Brarr redirects him to King Meron, who orders Lith to be quarantined in the Royal Capital after hearing about the light Hystar had enveloped Lith in, which is how the Headmaster enslaves his subjects. Lith meets with Vastor and Marth, who explain how Manohar recognized Arthan's Madness as a modified version of the Odi's Body-Swapping machine with the use of modern Tier 5 magic, and how the light could be an improved version of the Odi's slave device carved upon their victims' life force. Vastor identifies a gaseous substance around Lith's body.

Solus manages to communicate with him via his mental library. Vastor, Marth, and Manohar visit Lith's cell wearing Spellbreaker uniforms and order him to change into a blue jumpsuit before escorting him to the Banquet Hall that is packed with notable nobles and mages. Orion joins the three Professors as Queen Sylpha addresses the court, detailing all of Lith's accomplishments since he was a student before promoting him to Archmage. He reunites with his companions, family, colleagues, and noble allies. He is given a non-imprinted Archmage robe after the ceremony.

Lith is promoted to Major and put among the reservists to be called in case of a state crisis, allowing him to hold his rank as a civilian and access to military resources. In the time until his apprenticeship begins, Lith spends time teaching Aran and Leria to write and helping with Selia and Rena’s kids. Solus' now deep cyan core allows them to practice adapting to each other's Forgemastering methods.

Lith asks Faluel to take Phloria and Quylla in and shows her War. She explains how the sword is imbued with two wills and will both teach and learn from him. He is invited to Jambel by Baron Eiros Wyalon, bringing his family. He also brings Nalrond to check out Zolgrish's silver mine after promising a share of the profits. Lith fascinates the Wyalons and the townspeople with his dimensional magic and high quality artifacts when they visit the Baron's mansion for a meal.

Nalrond uses Lith's hologram to create a hard light baby stroller to the delight of the mothers present, though the Verhen women mistake Lith's "invention" for Kamila as a sign of eagerness to have children. Baron Wyalon brings them on a tour of the city, whereupon the shopkeepers lavish them with gifts out of gratitude for Lith's service. Lith brings Tista and Nalrond to the mines, meeting the Lich and Ratpack again after triggering an array.

Lith makes a secret handshake that Kalla had taught him for Liches and manages to swindle the forgetful Lich into receiving 60% of the profits while Zolgrish provides the minions. Returning to Jambel, he shows Tista how to use true Healing magic to regenerate the Gate Sergeant's missing arm, making him ambidextrous. A city guard requests Lith's visit to the city hospital and he agrees as a good relationship with the guards would smooth over any of Zolgrish's antics. Lith agrees to teach Nalrond about anatomy in exchange for when Nalrond teaches him Light Mastery.

Near the end of their vacation, a group of bandits assaults the Baron's manor. Lith initially ignores them, but a young man struck by the bandit's horses causes Lith to see a resemblance of Carl. A bandit's attempt to steal Elina's necklace while she holds Aran causes Lith to snap and he massacres the nearby bandits while his Demons of Darkness spreads throughout the area. His family is slightly frightened after witnessing Lith in combat for the first time. After sending his family home, he kills the remaining bandits in one fell swoop with a powerful lightning spell, Mjolnir.

### Awakened Academy

With the upgrades to the tower thanks to Solus' deep cyan core, Lith plants the orc shaman Ragh'Ash's violet crystal in the walls of the underground mine as well as many other weaker crystals. They configure the newly restored second floor known as the **Heart** with arrays to aid them in defense and battle. He spends his time practicing Origin Flames, learning the basics of Light Mastery from Nalrond, and teaching Tista and the Trawn Woods Kings true magic.

#### Council Trial

Hitting a wall in his magical research, Lith takes a break in his personal secret clearing in the Trawn Woods where he had first conducted his training as a child. Three Awakened youths Cylla Gernoff and two of her suitors approach him to bring him to the Awakened Council, but being average Awakened Lith beats them swiftly, forcing Jiza Gernoff, Athung Soranot, and Faluel to intervene before he kills them. Lith accompanies them to visit the Council.

The Council welcomes to Lith to the Council, but questions him over his defeat of the Odi and Dawn. He provides plausible proof by revealing his Hybrid Form and Origin Flames, causing the human and beast factions to clash over bringing him to their respective sides. Lith successfully passes the trial after defeating a Meneos named Antor and becomes a part of the beast faction. Inxialot and Feela become fascinated with his gravity ring, mistaking it for an energy field. Faluel proposes to research how to improve it into an energy field, though it is limited by the Awakened's penchant for secrecy.

#### Battle of the Feymar Mines

Lith goes on a date with Kamila at the Flying Griffon Resort during which he tells her about Death Vision and his plan to Awaken Phloria. He receives an emergency call from Orion who explains the communication blackout with his daughters at the Feymar crystal mines. Faluel directs him to Ajatar the Drake, who hurls him at dragonspeed towards the mines, where he finds half of the army battalion turned traitor and an undead army led by Kallion Nuragor attacking the rest. Prepared to go all out, Lith has Solus take Tower Form at the nearby mana geyser a few hundred meters away that also powers the crystal mines. Protector finds and brings the Ernas sisters out of the caves to Solus' tower while Nalrond helps evacuate the innocents. As soon as Solus assists Lith with casting his Tower Tier Nova Series spells, he annihilates the army and kills everyone to keep his real strength a secret.

Lith rendezvouses with the sisters in the tower and goes on to explain what being an Awakened means as well as introduces Solus to them. Phloria has the opposite problem as Tista, having too many impurities and thus an imperfect body unready for Awakening. Lith explains his responsibility for Phloria for the next 100 years per Awakened customs, and agrees to give Quylla an interview with Faluel after witnessing her conjure holograms. After successfully helping Phloria Awaken, Lith undergoes a breakthrough himself to bright blue, his core having been stimulated from the earlier battle and helping Phloria. His Hybrid Form evolves as well, the barrier between 2 life forces becoming thinner.

After informing Orion of what happened (suggesting the traitors fled instead of being killed by Lith to keep his strength a secret), Solus Warps them back to Lutia. Lith and Solus talk to Phloria about the nature of their bond. Lith confesses that he feels closer to Kamila due to feeling that Phloria had pushed her feelings onto him during the academy and had only loved the image of him, not Lith himself. Lith leaves Phloria with Tista and Solus to learn the basics of being an Awakened while he returns to Kamila in the Flying Griffon Resort.

Faluel accepts Quylla, Nalrond, and Friya as students in addition to Lith, Solus, and Phloria. She teaches them about the first six Guardians Tyris, Leegaain, Fenagar, Salaark, Zagran, and Roghar, who were once considered gods. They have their first practice session with shapeshifting and Faluel helps Lith improve his Invigoration technique to see his own life force akin to the Scanner spell. The session ends and Lith has dinner with Kamila back in Belius. He tells her about his world tribulations, but she distracts him with recreational activities.

In the following lesson Faluel teaches them how to defend against Spirit Magic and how to mix it with the other 6 elements, as well as mind links. Lith excels due to his years of practice, and Solus follows suit due to their bond. Faluel demonstrates the great potential of mixing Spirit Magic with elemental energies and explains that specializations, while excellent tools to focus on one aspect of magic at a time, are too narrow-minded.

Lith shares a moment with Solus, who reveals her humanoid form is becoming more human and that she has a power core from the tower side of her human-tower hybrid nature. She explains the nature of her dual cores and how her bond with him is eternal, to which Lith comforts and reassures her they will stick together.

In the following lesson, Faluel explains the differences between regular Tier 5 Forgemastering, Menadion's runes, and Bytra's runes. Friya gives him a bag of unrefined violet mana crystals as a gift from Orion for saving his daughters. Nalrond proceeds to give Faluel, Lith, and Solus lessons in Light Mastery. At Faluel's suggestion, Lith and Solus separate and attempt to learn on their own to avoid using the other's thought processes as a crutch, and both are successful in creating their first hard-light constructs.

Lith, Kamila, Tista, and the Ernas are summoned to the Royal Palace to report what happened at the mines. They attempt to implicate Archmage Deirus but due to insufficient evidence he and his allies are only saddled with a Royal Restrict Order. Lith gives a doctored version of the events, using the beasts and their Warp Gate network as a cover and downplaying his abilities. Both he and Tista demonstrate Light Mastery to the delight of the Royals, and receive Forgemastering materials a reward.

The lessons continue, teaching them about Fringes, mage towers, and the creator of the undead race, Baba Yaga. He goes on a dinner date with Kamila in Valeron city, where he explains how the opening of the Jambel silver mines has caused distant family to attempt to pester the Verhens for a share. Kamila confides in him her strict upbringing and ex-boyfriends. They are taking a walk in the city of Assar when they are suddenly ambushed by undead targeting Kamila. Lith lures them into a trap while coordinating with Kamila to summon Royal Guards, who kill the remaining undead. Realizing his contact runes with those in Lutia are unavailable, Lith entrusts Kamila to the Guards while rushing back to Lutia.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 957: Sometimes They Come Back (Part 1)
2. ↑ Chapter 962: The Enemy Within (Part 2)
3. ↑ Chapter 967: Win Some, Lose Some (Part 1)
4. ↑ Chapter 974: Gifts and Gratitude (Part 2)
5. ↑ Chapter 969: Time to Move (Part 1)
6. ↑ Chapter 972: The Baron’s Hospitality (Part 2)
7. ↑ Chapter 975: Madness for Hire (Part 1)
8. ↑ Chapter 979: Gods Among Us (Part 1)
9. ↑ Chapter 980: Gods Among Us (Part 2)
10. ↑ Chapter 986: Struggle for Power (Part 2)
11. ↑ Chapter 988: Boss Monster (Part 2)
12. ↑ Chapter 994: Dragon Bloodline (Part 2)
13. ↑ Chapter 998: Treasure from the Past (Past 2)
14. ↑ Chapter 1002: A Gift Like No Other (Part 2)
15. ↑ Chapter 1026: Dragonspeed (Part 2)
16. ↑ Chapter 1033: Nova Onslaught (Part 1)
17. ↑ Chapter 1039: Unbridled Power (Part 3)
18. ↑ Chapter 1044: Unspoken Words (Part 2)
19. ↑ Chapter 1051: Gods and Guardians (Part 3)
20. ↑ Chapter 1058: Elbow Grease (Part 2)
21. ↑ Chapter 1066: The Source of all Spells (Part 2)
22. ↑ Chapter 1071: Foolishness and Wisdom (Part 1)
23. ↑ Chapter 1078: Bytra’s Legacy (Part 2)
24. ↑ Chapter 1083: Royal Summon (Part 1)
25. ↑ Chapter 1087: Darkness versus Chaos (Part 1)
26. ↑ Chapter 1098: Well-Laid Plans (Part 2)