“Do you have any idea how long does it take a Hydra to get the seventh head? I got mine once I became a fully developed Emperor Beast, around my sixties, yet here you are, barely nineteen and with a full Domination set at the ready!”
“About that, why didn’t I get my seventh streak once he reached the violet core?” Solus asked.
Although duller, the hair of her stone doll form bore the same streaks that her human body had in Kolga and it still lacked the emerald green color.
“Same. When do I get the seventh?” Friya asked while checking Lith’s body.
It was her first time seeing his Tiamat form in person and she found it truly majestic. Friya took her time touching his horns, the black feathers on his wing, and even the long tail that came out of his back.
Alas, Lith was still akin to a cat that doesn’t consider the tail as a part of its body yet hates it when someone touched it. The moment Friya grabbed his tail, Lith instinctively whipped at her with it, hitting her square in the face.
“That hurt you jerk!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.” He replied. “Yet I bet that if it was me groping any part of your body, your reaction would have been much worse.”
Friya blushed in embarrassment, but Morok missed the opportunity for one of his usual inappropriate remarks due to his blind envy.
“Me too!” With “just” five eyes, he felt left behind from the rest of the class, which pissed him off big time.”
‘Until a year ago, everyone treated me like a genius because I had four eyes at barely 25. Now, however, even though I got another in less than one year, everyone else already has six elemental properties minimum!’ The Tyrant inwardly griped, wondering if it hadn’t been a mistake to not Awaken inside the Fringe.
“I’m sorry, guys. It doesn’t work that way.” Faluel said. “Elemental affinities work the same for all races. You either are born with them or you don’t. Some bloodlines, however, like Hydras, Tyrants, and…”
She pointed at Lith, not knowing the name of his species.
“Tiamats.” He said.
“…and whatever that is, have the ability to turn the mastery over an element into affinity through the practice of magic. We develop a new head or eye when our understanding of the corresponding element reaches a threshold that varies from person to person.
“The emerald streak of Spirit Magic, however, is different. It manifests only in individuals that have mastered all of the other six elements and have grasped the true essence of mana.” The Hydra said.
“Meaning?” Morok asked.
“It means that Lith had already mastered the elements as a Wyrmling and what kept his sixth eye from opening was just his hybrid body that couldn’t withstand their combined power.
“Hence the moment his six eyes could manifest at the same time, he gained the seventh as well.” Faluel replied.
“Interesting.” Solus pondered. “Yet something is off. We both learned Spirit Magic at the same time and we used the same method to create an artificial flow of mana by injecting life force into six elemental streams.
“I know about Domination as much as Lith does and I learned Gravity Fusion as quickly as he did. Then why did he get the emerald eye and yet I lack my emerald streak?” She asked.
“I’m sorry, but I have no clue about that.” Faluel shook her head. “All I can tell you is that the moment you’ve mastered all six elements and Spirit Magic, you’re supposed to develop the seventh streak, eye, head, or whatever.
“That’s how I plan to train Friya. By making her discover what elements she is lacking in and then make her cram until she gets her emerald streak.”
‘By my Mom, there’s only one possible explanation for the gap between Lith and me.’ Solus thought. ‘It must be because of my Hands form. I always used that to train while Lith used his own skills.
‘I always considered the abilities of the tower as my own, but they acted as a crutch that limited my understanding of magic instead. Fuck me sideways!’
“What about me?” Morok asked, even more pissed off by Faluel cutting him out from the conversation.
“You are much easier to manage. You lack a single eye and we are going to train that. After that, you’ll be done with our Domination classes since a Tyrant with the seventh eye is simply unheard of.
“No Balor nor Tyrant did ever achieve it. Lith’s species is the first with seven eyes that I have ever seen.” The Hydra said.
“Is Tiamat such a hard word to remember?” Lith said with a snarl.
“There are no Tiamats, only you. One person doesn’t make a species, let alone a race. We’ll discuss this again once you give me a godchild or two.” Faluel giggled. “Now, follow me. The others will practice regular Domination, whereas I’ve got something special in store for you.”
The Hydra left a golem with her appearance behind and led Lith to a part of her lair that he had never seen before.
“Is this your Forgemastery lab?” He said while his eyes wandered in awe over the heavy Adamant tools and what looked like a forge entirely made in Davross.
“Yes, it is. You’re finally going to pay me back for my lessons like we agreed at the beginning of your apprenticeship.” Faluel wore a heavy set of blacksmith clothes, comprised of an overall, a lab coat, and a pair of gloves.
All of them had been crafted from the red scales of one of her heads.
“Don’t worry, I’m no masochist. I don’t rip them off nor any of the Dragon kind does. I simply collect the old ones when I shed and then I either sell them or use them myself.
“The red scales are imbued with my 300 years of fire mana and offer great protection from heat.” Faluel said. Then, she took several crates of metal out of her dimensional amulet.
“This is your assignment for today’s class.” She pointed at the raw metal. “You are going to purify my batches of Adamant. Then, once you’ve mastered your Origin Flames, we will work on my Orichalcum as well.”
“Wait, shouldn’t we work the other way around and start from the less precious metal? Also, until now you never let me purify anything because you know that I use my Origin Flames mostly to fight.” Lith replied.
“Wrong, it’s better to start from Adamant because even if you mess up, it takes no damage and I can fuse it again to make its composition even whereas one wrong move and you’d evaporate my precious Orichalcum.” Faluel said.
“As for the Origin Flames, you would be right if it wasn’t for this.” She pointed at the emerald eye in the middle of Lith’s forehead.
“Origin Flames are based on life force and now you can Dominate them. By combining Domination with Origin Flames you can greatly improve your purifying skills while training them both at the same time. Three birds with one stone.
“As for me, now that I have the Hands of Menadion, I need materials to experiment with them and step up my game.”
