Chapter 2907 The Outsider (Part 1)
2907 The Outsider (Part 1)
"How do I hold things now?" Lith whined as both of his hands were held hostage.
"That's what Spirit Magic is for, baby." Kamila chuckled.
The Gate brought them to the entrance of the Heavenly Plume Tribe since the Royals lacked a pass for direct access to the Overlord's Palace.
Salaark was already there, taking care of retrieving Shargein before leaving the Kingdom.
She had arranged a welcome ceremony and informed the rest of the family of the group's arrival. A long red carpet covered in flower petals went from the Gate to the palace and there was a small crowd waiting for them.
"Welcome back, son." Raaz gave Lith a quick hug and patted his back before passing him to Elina for the inspection.
"Thanks, Dad. It's nice to see you too." Lith conjured Trion from his Void Sigil to let him take part in the family reunion.
"Why is everyone so glum?" Elina patted Lith's arms and chest for injuries and then took his face in her hands to look for signs of malnutrition. "Based on what Salaark told us, the expedition was a success."
"It was, but a few things have happened that have ruined the trip for us." Lith nodded at Aran and Leria.
Elina understood that the matter had to wait until after bedtime and moved on to the Trion.
"Welcome back, son. How was Jiera?"
"It was… interesting. We have been welcomed by a tribe of merfolk." It was the only nice thing he could say about the trip without delving into the politics, the fights, and the diseases.
"Really?" Aran and Leria asked in unison, conjuring the holograms of the various depictions of the merfolk they had seen in different children's books until they found the right one. "Cool!"
"Yeah. They want to build a city here in the Desert so you might meet them soon." As the children burst into cheers, Elina performed her wellness check. "Mom, do you have to do this?"
"Do what?" She asked.
"Asking how I am and looking for wounds. You know that I'm dead. I lost my body years ago and now I'm bound to Lith. If he's fine then I'm fine. As simple as that." He tried to take her hands off his face, but Elina resisted and Trion was afraid of hurting her.
"Don't you ever say something like that again." She forced him to look her in the eyes. "You are my son and I'll always worry about you. Even though you have lost your body, you can still get hurt, feel the warmth of an embrace, and laugh with us.
"You are not dead, Trion. You are part of our lives and you are as important to me as any other of my children." They shared a long hug and then Elina greeted the others.
She noticed the distance, both emotional and physical, between Bodya and Tista but said nothing. After Solus and Kamila confirmed to Elina that the source of their distress was the same as Lith's, she could only smile and wait.
"How did your magic lessons go?" Lith asked the kids.
"They went great, Uncle."Leria puffed her chest out with pride. "We are the top of our class. I just don't get why the instructor refuses to teach us tier one magic. There's only so much we can do with chore magic."
Lith nodded, uncertain of what to do.
On the one hand, he wanted to expand the magical knowledge of the children and teach them responsibility. On the other hand, he knew that once they focused on fake magic, the chances of self-Awakening would plummet.
He remembered well Menadion's words about picking the right time to Awaken her daughter. Too soon and a child would be a danger to others. Too late and the pain from Awakening would become a traumatic experience.
Aran and Leria were seven years old, one year older than when Nana had taught Lith fake magic. On top of that, they already had a bright yellow mana core. If Lith waited for too long, they wouldn't just puke impurities.
'This is not a decision I can make by myself. I have to talk with Mom and Rena first.'
"She's lying, big bro. We are not the top of our class." Aran pouted while offering to hold Elysia for Lith. The kids loved the baby girl like a little sister but were still on the fence about Valeron.
He was the son of a very bad woman and was in no way part of the family.
Phloria had been one of their favorite aunts and their swordsmanship teacher. Her death had left a scar in the children's hearts and it was hard for them to not resent Valeron for what Thrud had done.
"Abominus, Onyx, and Garrik run circles around us." Aran said while rocking the baby between his arms.
"They don't count! They are the only ones that can use true magic and that's cheating." Leria replied.
The mention of the Fomor reminded Lith of the weird interaction between Life Maelstrom and his eyes.
'Fomor can produce a golden lightning. Maybe I can ask Ryla to help me in a few experiments.' He then noticed Solus glaring at him. 'Not now, of course. I mean many days from now.'
"That's not cheating since they use chore magic just like us." Aran countered. "That's talent."
"Yeah, right, because a bell rings every time they exceed the mana we can use." Leria replied with a sneer. "The difference between chore and tier one magic is just power. They cheat. Maybe they don't do it on purpose but they cheat."
"You are just envious of their talent." Aran scoffed pointedly.
"Cheating!" "Talent!" The bickering went on for a while until they demanded a tiebreaker. "Uncle/Big bro!"
"Leria is right. Given a task regarding chore magic, is easy for an Awakened to cheat without even noticing." Lith replied making Leria gloat. "Yet Aran is also right. The affinity for the elements of Emperor Beasts and Fomor also gives them a great talent for magic."
Leria gasped and it was now Aran's turn to gloat.
"So you are both right." Lith concluded, disappointing them both.
"How can I beat them, Uncle Lith?" Leria asked, tugging at his arms and pointing at Valeron.
She felt guilty for discriminating against him. Garrik too was the son of a bad man but he had no fault for it and was a good friend to her and Aran.
"The same way I beat Aunt Quylla and Friya at the academy even though they were more talented than me. By working hard." Lith handed the baby boy to Leria and he smiled at her with so much joy that her guilt worsened by leaps and bounds.
'By my Mom, can you believe the nerve of this man, Kami?' Solus chuckled at the children moaning and groaning. 'He beat them because he could do all-nighters thanks to Invigoration and because he had me.'
'I know.' Kamila chuckled as well. 'He's one of the dirtier cheaters on the face of Mogar if not the dirtiest.'
'Please, you are just envious of me.' Lith inwardly clicked his tongue in mock indignance, making them laugh harder.
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