“Why? Isn’t even that enough for you?” Solus sounded very disappointed in him.
“Are you kidding me? It’s amazing, but there was always the possibility it could be even better. I guess that finding the Ears has just become a priority.” Lith replied.
“Dya.” Elysia saying the Dragontongue word for dad moved Lith and angered Kamila.
‘I’m going to kill Leegaain. One day, I’ll have my vengeance.’ She inwardly snarled.
“But not as much as you!” Lith lifted the baby showering her with kisses. “You are Dad’s first, second, and third…”
Kamila cleared her throat in a way that made him wonder if she could still breathe Origin Flames if triggered.
“Priority along with you gorgeous Mommy. You two are my treasures.”
“Nice save.” Kamila said.
“We are going to talk about this later, farmhead.” Solus grunted. “Now, there’s only one floor left. It’s right above the Prime Engine which is placed between the Library and the Grimoire for reasons that will become obvious once you visit it.”
“The Grimoire?” Lith and Kamila echoed.
“Yes.” Solus nodded. “An apt name for its purpose.”
The room had a solid hardwood door studded with enchanted metals, requiring a clearance level above the Prime Engine but below the Thievery. After all, no one aside from the master of the tower could change the battle form’s specs.
The worst a traitorous guest could do was to take note of the current settings of the battle form but that was it.
Past the door, lay a room whose walls were filled with violet-white mana crystals, each one of them projecting a holographic terminal. At the center of the room, there was a now-familiar stone pedestal with a slot just the size of a pince-nez.
“As you guys know, we can use the Eyes to study our opponents, their equipment, and their spells.” Solus said while putting the Eyes in their place. “The problem is that a full scan takes a lot of time and brainpower.
“To make matters worse, the data about a dead enemy is usually worthless. Their equipment can be studied with the Thievery while the Grimoire allows us to put to use incomplete scans and records of every spell we witnessed.
“Observe.” The Eyes of Menadion started the projection of a past battle, showing the conjuring of an unknown spell and its effects.
At the end of the projection, the available data flowed into the crystals that used algorithms to guess the missing runes and fill in the missing percentage of the scan.
“The mana crystals here work akin to those we witnessed in Grampa’s lab, but unlike them, we have no control over them nor can we alter their function. Leegaain has magical computers whereas we have one trick ponies, but still.
“The Grimoire needs access to the Library to consult all the spells we know and the runes’ database to search for the best match. Even if it seems static to you, right now the Firing Range is also trying everything the Grimoire comes up to.
“Thanks to its abilities to cast and counter every kind of spell, the Firing Range is of paramount importance for the Grimoire to work. Even failures allow the Eyes to collect more data, look for better runes, rinse and repeat.
“Another priceless ability of the Grimoire is that it can also study old spells. As long as the Eyes have scanned enough runes, the rest can be derived by our databases from Huryole, the Odi, and all the junk we collected during our trips.
“According to my memory, once the Grimoire is done deciphering an old enchantment or a spell, it can also covert it in modern runes with no effort on our part. Everything will be cataloged in the Library, giving us instant access to the newfound knowledge.”
“This is not as exciting as the Prime Engine but it’s still outstanding.” Lith nodded. “Is there any possibility that the Grimoire might also provide us with a basic understanding of unknown branches of magic?
“Like Friya’s Gravity and Dimensional Magic or the Abomination’s Chaos Magic?”
“We do have the runes for Friya’s Dimensional Ruler but neither of us possesses the spatial awareness needed to use it.” Solus shrugged. “We can cast it, but unless we exploit the Mirror Hall to make up for our lack of talent, it would surely backfire.”
“What about Mirror Magic in general and Chaos Magic in particular?” Kamila asked. “Elisya’s life force is comprised of stable Cursed Elements instead of Cursed Flames like Lith. We need a way to teach her how to control them.”
“I’m sorry, but the problem is twofold.” Solus replied. “Knowing the runes but not how a branch of magic works makes it difficult to learn a spell. Also, when my mother built the tower she wasn’t aware of the existence of Mirror Magic so the Grimoire lacks the necessary safety means. Look.”
Lith and Solus had faced several Abominations and knew the tier three Chaos spell, Howling Void, like the back of their hand. At least effect-wise since they had no idea how to safely conjure Chaos.
The Eyes had long since stored the data necessary so when Solus set the experiment on Howling Void, the following prompt popped up on the holographic interface:
“Warning, unknown element detected. Due to the destructive power of the spell and the volatile nature of its matrix, it’s strongly advised not to proceed. In case of failure to control the effects of Howling Void the tower might suffer temporary if not permanent damage.
“Are you sure you want to proceed?”
“Wait, hold your Dragons!” Lith gestured for her to stop. “What does it mean, permanently? That the tower’s functions might forever be compromised?”
“Not that bad but close.” Solus shook her head. “Temporary means that the tower would retain the progress we made so far but would need time for the repairs. Permanent means that it’s like we never did it to that point.
“As if, for example, the last two years never happened and the tower has to recover the four new floors from scratch.”
“Fu- Farm me sideways, that’s a huge no.” Lith pushed the no button, aborting the request. “I’m not putting any of this at risk, let alone your safety, Solus. If it was just about the tower, I might be willing to gamble on low-tiered Chaos spells, but this is about you.
“I’m not going to endanger your body or your freedom.”
“Thank you.” Solus hugged him. “Also, it’s not like I would have allowed you to, but it’s nice knowing you care. Now, before moving up, what are we going to do with the Eyes and the Hands? Only one room at a time can work.”
“The Prime Engine is pointless unless we are planning a fight.” Lith pondered. “I’d say we put our best jack-of-all-trades battle strategy as preset and we leave it at that. The Spark must work 24/7 so the Hands stay there, period.
“As for the Eyes, I’d give priority to the Grimoire. We’ve partially scanned lots of spells in the past. From Dawn, to Night, from Zogar to his Eldritches. Not to mention the multiple demonstrations of Creation Magic that we have witnessed from both Grandma and Baba Yaga.”
