Lith Verhen/History/Volume 4

## Chapters 169 - 340

### 2nd Exam

The second exam arrives, and Lith is asked to be the supervisor for his group as he has already proved his qualifications. The group's mettle is tested against humanoid monsters like goblins and trolls, while Lith's impulse control is tested as a bystander. The final test has Queen Sylpha make an appearance and request them to kill 3 traitors to the Kingdom. Phloria and Quylla forfeit, while Yurial and Friya comply, burdened by duty and helplessness.

Lith returns home, asking Zekell Proudhammer, Rena's father-in-law, to provide him with blacksmithing materials for his experiments with true magic Forgemastering. Solus reveals that she has gained a wisp form in her tower and can feel warmth and his touch. Despite his misgivings, Orion Ernas visits Lutia asking for Lith's help in helping Yurial and Friya with their trauma and Lith accepts, meeting Jirni Ernas in the meantime and establishing a mutual respect for each other. Lith confides in his group his early days, mixing in his history with his father back on Earth, to convince them not to be like him and shut everyone out. Afterwards, the group begins to actively treat Lith like a friend and try to understand him better.

The last trimester begins; Nalear begins teaching about mana crystals and Rudd begins the last lesson on Blinking. Lith reveals to the others that the saboteur in the academy has been releasing their report cards to the rest of the student body to stir unrest. During their practical healing home visits, the group is ambushed by Lukart's assassins in a last ditch attempt to kill Yurial, but the group easily kills them under Lith's command. Lith remarks on his lack of skill in armed combat and contemplates joining the army after graduation. Wanemyre teaches them how to infuse elements into magical items using natural treasures as ingredients, and Lith manages to successfully enchant a dagger.

Lith gives his Guilty Ballot to Phloria. Immediately afterwards, he encounters Raynart Pontus and his cousins who had been waiting to drug and r\*pe Phloria under their parents' orders, and tortures them until they fall unconscious. Later, Jirni visits the academy under the guise of official Royal Constable business to interrogate the Pontus boys, and questions Lith about what happened, wanting reassurance he can take care of Phloria and is capable of compassion.

### Balkor's Attack

Professor Calyn Zeneff teaches them Lesser Necromancy, and Lith's mana sense greatly improves to the point where he is able to reanimate and control several undead at once. Nalear announces the trip to the forest's crystal mines. Lith learns of the Lost Magus "god of death" Ilyum Balkor and the prospective attack on the Great Academies, and reunites with Protector and Kalla. Lith is with Phloria in the mines when the first probing attack hits, and fight their way back to the students' residence. Quylla and Yurial are infected by the Lesser Undead's toxins, which Lith manages to extract. During the night of the first attack, Lith fights alongside Phillard the Kroxy and realizes Balkor's undead are connected to each other in a hive mind and act as his eyes and ears. Kalla joins the fray, summoning her Undead legions and wiping out the creatures to prevent Balkor from realizing they know about the hive mind.

Knowing that she will likely be targeted in the next attack, Kalla asks Lith to teach her children in her stead and imparts to him the core of her Necromancy knowledge and teaches him how to create Greater Undead in order to understand how to fight the Valors, Balkor's strongest creatures. During the attack Kalla sacrifices herself to kill 2 Valors, and one Valor attacks Lith's group before they can Warp away. Lith stalls long enough to kill the Valor before rushing to heal Phloria and Yurial, who had been hit with a mass of darkness magic and their bodies invaded by the Valor's life force, slowly killing them or turning them into Undead. Lith nearly drains his mana core healing them, but is successful.

Meanwhile, Protector sacrifices himself to subdue a Valor, allowing Professor Ironhelm to cast a darkness spell on them both. Marth brings Lith to see Protector, whose core has cracked and is leaking its mana, and Lith flies into a rage, scaring the gathered professors with his killing intent. Scarlett Warps them away and Lith undergoes his second world tribulation, where his hybrid form takes physical shape. He expends his own life force and overdraws world energy to create and link an artificial core to Protector's dying one, cracking his life force in the process. Scarlett stabilizes both their conditions at Kalla's behest, and Protector asks both of them to tell Lith after waking that he died in order to prevent Lith from risking his life like that again. Lith is brought to the Ernas' mansion, where Phloria stays by his bedside and takes care of him for multiple days. Jirni brings Lith's family to visit, and Lith confesses his history with Protector and how he spent his childhood fighting in the Trawn Woods to Raaz's dismay. However, Raaz and Elina reassure him that Protector's death is not Lith's fault. As he recovers, Lith discovers Death Vision due to his cracked life force.

Returning to the academy, Lith learns how to possess his undead creations. Having studied the shotel that Orion lent him to fight Balkor's Undead, Lith finally manages to open the locked dimensional boxes after learning that an object can have multiple pseudo cores and how they interact with mana crystals. The boxes reveal to contain a portable alchemic lab automating the production of a more potent version of Kandria's anti-mana toxins as well as slave items. Lith and his group venture into the academy forest to visit Protector's grave, coming across a Clacker colony. Lith shapeshifts his into its hybrid form for the first time, and after Quylla is wounded, Lith forces his group to return to the academy without him. Phloria gives him his early birthday present, the Gatekeeper sword from Orion. Lith takes on the Clacker colony led by a recently Awakened Brood Mother, also witnessing for the first time one of his severed limbs reattach itself through black tendrils.

Lith meets with Kalla again, who explains that Awakened live for centuries and will outlive their family and urges him to live in the present. Solus, not wanting to taint his new outlook on life, reveals that Protector is alive and what he had told her. Lith feels betrayed by the lie and fuses their minds to read her memories by force, hurting Solus' feelings and causing her to sever their link a while. Afterwards, Lith falls into a slump, his only company being Phloria who constantly visits and spends time with him even in silence. During the house visits, Yurial requests Lith diagnose the Tanash household's son, who had been struggling in his studies. Lith realizes he had been subjected to prolonged exposure to the anti-mana toxin along with many other students, and shares his discovery with Headmaster Linjos. Lith diagnoses Linjos himself with the toxin, who in turn informs King Meron and organizes an examination of the students and staff. Lith's dryad vision finally changes - the academy is intact but he can hear sounds of combat and explosions and sees Phloria get stabbed by an unknown perpetrator and his family killed. Lith calls on Solus to help him explain the vision in a way that implicates the Kingdom's safety in order to ensure their support. He later relays the vision to his group, though reveals that aside from Phloria none of the others were in his vision. He confesses the truth about Protector to Phloria, who convinces him that it was for his own good.

The surviving staff of the Crystal and Earth Griffons are arrested for treason, though investigations reveal that the culprit is someone at the bottom of the food chain. Linjos reveals the 4th year rankings to Yurial, Lith, Friya, and their parents (aside from Lith's), but has Yurial take first place and Friya second over Lith in order to prevent any further internal strife. Lith and Solus reconcile. Lith returns home, rejuvenating Nana and healing Brina, the baker's daughter. He learns that Elina became infertile after his birth and that Rena is pregnant. Lith finally reconciles with Solus, once again achieving fusion. They discover a new room in the tower filled with mirrors and a globe that act as personal Warp Steps and a scrying device that also boosts magic used within the tower's range. Solus gains a humanoid form temporarily, and falls asleep for the first time in 8 years.

Lith heals Elina using Tista as a healthy template and also Brina. He purchases a Skinwalker armor and several crystals using his points, and upgrades his family's house with running water, lighting, and a real bathroom. He confers with Marchioness Mirim Distar about the sealed dimensional boxes, and at her request stirs chaos at the Lightning and White Griffon ranker party by demonstrating gravity magic, something that is a secret among the ancient noble households.

### Nalear's Insurrection

The 5th year begins, with Professor Amyla Farg (member of the Queen's Corpse sent by Tyris to keep an eye on Lith) outlining their assignments outside the academy for the Code of Practice, Nalear teaching them Magic Creation, and Vastor teaching Body Sculpting, which Lith also uses as reference for learning how to shapeshift. Lith's assignment selection for the Code of Practice brings him to the city of Xenatos as an aide to its local police force led by Captain Yerna and Sergeant Khran and meeting "Red," a Fire Griffon student. The assignment quickly goes awry as they discover they were set up for an ambush. Yerna attempts to retreat but they are teleported to Gadorf the Wyvern, a human-Wyvern hybrid and whose criminal empire is a large source of the Master's research funds. Gadorf kills the majority of the unit aside from Lith and several others whose cores are powerful enough to power his Life Draining Array. With Red and Solus' help, Lith manages kill the Wyvern. Lith reports to Constable Jirni, who in turn informs the Queen of the murder attempt.

Lith learns to embed mana crystals into objects, and discovers that Professor Wanemyre and several students are wearing the accessories found in the dimensional boxes. Lith asks Yurial to look into Impossible Arrays to get a better grasp on the power of arrays after facing Gadorf before going on a date with Phloria to the city of Vinea (which resembles Venice). He gives her a list of names and descriptions of those he noticed donning the accessories, also finally accepting that he cares for her. He forges a lily-shaped golden dimensional pendant for her birthday gift and removes her body's impurities while noting they had been converging towards her mana core, and is ambushed by Nalear when he leaves her room. Nalear imprisons Solus in a dimensional box (later revealed to be a Removal Unit) and locks Lith up inside a room closet with enslaved student guards.

Lith manages to free himself and kill his captors. He runs through the castle, managing to reunite and merge with Solus who had freed herself, and they face Nalear. However, due to Nalear's experience as an Awakened and her blue core, they fall into a disadvantage. Nalear summons enslaved Professors Thorman and Binlow to attack him. Amyla Farg intervenes, subduing the three Professors, but realizes Nalear's Awakened nature too late and is knocked unconscious. Orion, Jirni and Phloria Ernas arrive in time to support Lith. Nalear attempts to stab Phloria, but Lith, having rehearsed the events of his vision repeatedly, manages to kill Nalear. The images from the vision shatter like glass, indicating Lith's soul finally being at rest and the future unknown.

Phloria discloses Yurial's death to Lith, who consoles Phloria and regrets not having cared for Yurial more, because if he had he might have been able to see him in the vision. The two fall asleep in each other's embrace. Lith moves his family to the Ernas household, where he meets Yurial's father Archmage Velan Deirus. Velan gives Lith Yurial's notebooks filled with his research on Impossible Arrays as well as his thoughts regarding Lith as a big brother and true friend. Lith deeply regrets not having spent more time with him and comes to accept Friya and Quylla as more than just "fish in a tank," realizing that there are people outside his family that actually care for him.

Lith spends the next few weeks comforting the Ernas sisters as best he can and helps deliver his niece Leria and younger brother Aran. Phloria confronts him about his keeping his distance and rejecting her advances, to which Lith shows her the shadow of his Hybrid Form to scare her away. However, Phloria accepts him and the two of them make love.

The rest of the 5th year passes by, with Lith attaining first place excluding the 10,000 contribution points from his Resonance spell. Lith is made an honorary Spellbreaker and invited by Marth to be an Assistant Professor the following year due to the lack of staff, which Lith accepts. He attends the Royal Graduation ceremony with Phloria and Friya when Phloria breaks up with him, revealing that she will be leaving to attend army boot camp for 6 months and that she wants to develop herself as a person and leader. She wishes him happiness and asks him to live life to the fullest, lamenting that they had met at the wrong time. King Meron grants Lith the Verhen family name and the status of a Baron to him and him alone, with his starting fief being Lutia should he ever trade in his merits for the land and responsibilities a noble title implies. During the ceremonial graduation tourney with the Royals attending as spectators, the parents of the 4th and 5th rankers attempt to have their children spar Phloria and Friya, but Lith is called up instead. He brutally suppresses one and the other surrenders, with the Royals publicly referring to him as a proper household and showing support for the Ernas.

### Assistant Professor

Lith meets Phillard the Kroxy in the Trawn Woods, learning that Scarlett has left the forest and attempted to Awaken her lieutenants, though Phillard and some others fail to. Phillard offers to become Lith's test subject with Awakening to learn how to help Tista and Phloria Awaken later on. Tista begins her 4th year at the academy and Lith begins his term as Assistant Professor for the Principles of Advanced Magic class. On her first day Tista is hazed by her classmates, until Lith shows up and punishes the class after introducing himself as her brother. Lith becomes busy with his own magical research, helping Tista study, or being Manohar's assistant/warden/nanny. He arranges for Tista to have no friends and for her group to be placed in one of the worst spots of the forest during the mock exam in order for her to find her own comrades like Lith did. Meanwhile, Lith takes an unorthodox approach to teaching Advanced Magic - he gives full explanations of the exercises and short tutorials, but requires a deep understanding of magic and the ability to put them into practice. As a result, half his class fails miserably while the other half excel, with results influenced more by practice rather than raw talent. Those that thrive in Lith's lessons also improve in most of their other subjects.

Lith helps Phillard evolve into a Lindwurm. He teaches the Phillard and Reaper Invigoration and how to practice first magic, and requests Reaper watch over his family in his absence. After the pair wipe out a tribe of trolls at the cost of many magical beast allies, Lith teaches Phillard healing magic and helps Reaper and Lifebringer evolve into Emperor Beasts.

Over the next 2 years Lith buries himself in magical research and learns about other specializations, also engaging in several flings. He meets the Royal princesses more than once, but they are even less beautiful than Phloria and so stuck up that they are unbearable. After noticing the impurities in Tista's body dangerously close to her bright green core and her spells occasionally going wild, he finally brings her to the mana geyser and introduces her to Solus. He explains fake magic, true magic, and Awakening to her and helps her Awaken to a deep cyan core. He teaches her true magic and fusion magic, and introduces her to his Emperor Beast allies.

Lith and Tista return to Lutia at the end of the school year to visit Nana on her deathbed.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 171: Trial by Murder
2. ↑ Chapter 174: The Real Deal
3. ↑ Chapter 180: Crucible (2)
4. ↑ Chapter 185: Dimensional Business
5. ↑ Chapter 193: Helpless (2)
6. ↑ Chapter 195: Frost Dew (2)
7. ↑ Chapter 198: The Watcher
8. ↑ Chapter 203: Storm Front
9. ↑ Chapter 209: Hidden Agenda
10. ↑ Chapter 211: Tough Lessons
11. ↑ Chapter 214: Battle to the Death (2)
12. ↑ Chapter 216: Grieving (2)
13. ↑ Chapter 221: Truth Hurts
14. ↑ Chapter 226: Mystery Box
15. ↑ Chapter 233: Outmatched (2)
16. ↑ Chapter 235: Insights
17. ↑ Chapter 238: Foresight
18. ↑ Chapter 241: Rankings
19. ↑ Chapter 250: First Floor (Part 2)
20. ↑ Chapter 254: Learning (Part 2)
21. ↑ Chapter 260: Friendly Challenge (Part 2)
22. ↑ Chapter 273: Red (Part 1)
23. ↑ Chapter 276: Roll Out (Part 2)
24. ↑ Chapter 284: Call (Part 2)
25. ↑ Chapter 290: Bonding (Part 2)
26. ↑ Chapter 294: Discoveries (Part 2)
27. ↑ Chapter 1709: Removal Unit (Part 1)
28. ↑ Chapter 299: Broken (Part 1)
29. ↑ Chapter 309: Traitor (Part 3)
30. ↑ Chapter 315: Final Struggle (Part 1)
31. ↑ Chapter 318: Moving Forward (Part 2)
32. ↑ Chapter 319: Final Rankings (Part 1)
33. ↑ Chapter 381: Kaduria (Part 1)
34. ↑ Chapter 320: Final Rankings (Part 2)
35. ↑ Chapter 325: Test Subject (Part 1)
36. ↑ Chapter 328: New Job (Part 2)
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Chapter 336: Life at the Academy (Part 2)
38. ↑ Chapter 330: Trawn (Part 2)
39. ↑ Chapter 415: Agenda (Part 1)
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Chapter 340: Final Wish (Part 2)