Aegon took a liking to Liliana in their first meeting, simply because they were quite similar in nature. He liked her curious mind, which wanted to know everything about the world, as he was the same.

He smiled at her in response. "Yup! It's fun, and the best thing about it is that the mysteries are endless, so we can spend our lifetime learning them."

"You have the answer then," she said, staring down at the stairs. "I have only one thing in mind while creating things. Curiosity. Once it's made, then I have little use for it, so I give them away for the benefit of people."

"You still helped humanity a lot, though," Aegon said.

"Small matter," Liliana answered calmly. "If I can save them, I don't see why I shouldn't. Besides, if humans fall, then my death is guaranteed too. I don't fear death, but I want to die while thinking about mysteries, not demons."

"I think I'll run to ask for your help whenever I'm stuck," Aegon said after thinking for a while.

"You're welcome at any moment," Liliana said, excitement clear on her face. "I'm happy to spend more time with you."

Aegon pursed his lips and fell silent, not knowing how to react to that.

"My bad! I didn't mean to ruin the atmosphere," Liliana hurriedly apologised, seeing his expression.

"It's fine," Aegon shook his head. "I intend to talk about this later anyway. I don't think we can work while being restrained around each other, can we?"

"That's true," Liliana nodded and said after a moment of silence. "Did you perhaps use the human body as a base for that mana battery?"

"I'm surprised you saw through it so easily," Aegon's eyes flashed as he nodded. "Aside from the mana stone, I think our bodies are perfect for storing mana."

He pointed at himself and said, "I studied the pathways inside me and realised something. They actually form a Rune Formation, though in a very rough form. It makes it so that we can still absorb mana and store it too."

"The rough formation is because we complete it," Liliana said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "So you probably improvised on that side and made it self-sustainable."

"Bingo!" Aegon grinned and said. "I actually took inspiration from monster cores then. They're more complete than humans, after all. I combined everything I found and added a few of my own ideas, experimented a little, and boom, we got our first mana battery."

Liliana stared at his happy face and had the urge to pat his head. She felt so proud of him and wanted to shower him with praise and pats like a mother would, but she held back.

'I am not his mother,' she reminded herself, and then said, "I never thought of it that way. It's really impressive of you to find these things. It'll help in other sectors too."

"It will?" Aegon tilted his head slightly. "Now that's something I didn't think of."

"We tend to have a one-track mind when our creation is involved, after all," Liliana chuckled. "And yes, it will. The more we know about our anatomy, the better it is for us."

"That's true," Aegon had to agree with that.

"So, what are you trying to find?" she asked. "Perhaps I can help."

That was exactly why Aegon was excited to have her as a mentor. She understood this field far better than anyone and had more experience. She could definitely help him.

"As I've said before, I want to make cheap and affordable mana batteries," Aegon said. "And it's currently impossible. Three factors stopped my project, and I've solved two of them."

"I'm guessing it's material requirements and Essence Reserves," Liliana said, once again surprising Aegon.

'She really catches everything quickly,' Aegon thought and nodded at her.

"Is the county of Thornspire a part of that solution?" Liliana asked. "So the Emperor is already involved in this."

"I like talking with smart people," Aegon acknowledged.

"I'm confused about one thing though," Liliana said, pointing downwards. "Why don't you just ask Amon to share the Infinite Essence River? You can't find a better Essence Reservoir."

Aegon was speechless. Not because her suggestion was wrong, but precisely because it was right. Why didn't he think of that? The Essence River was indeed the best source.

"Damn that old man!" Aegon cursed. "He didn't even suggest it. Wait a second! I'll just ask him."

He whipped out his communication stone and contacted Amon. But of course, if he would pick up on the first try, then how else would he infuriate Aegon?

Disconnecting the call, Aegon had the urge to send a voicemail, which also worked with the communication stone, but then stopped. He had some reputation to maintain before Liliana.

He took a deep breath and then called someone else. Fortunately, this person never disappointed Aegon, so the call was swiftly connected and a sleepy voice came from the other side.

[What is it now?]

"You were sleeping?" Aegon asked. "At this time?"

[Unlike you, who was probably drunk or something, I had important things to do.]

Beside him, Liliana raised an eyebrow in surprise. She didn't think the Emperor and her son would have such a close relationship. The fact that Samuel was so casually talking with Aegon and even had his sleep disturbed for him told enough about their relationship.

[Anyways, tell me what you need now. If it isn't anything good, I'm taking back your Count status.]

Aegon rolled his eyes. "I gave the badge to Xiu. If you have guts, go and take it from her."

[You damned brat. Why did you give it to her of all people?]

"Exactly because of this," Aegon snorted. "Anyways, I'm also busy. I have more important matters, unlike you, who is just sleeping in some stable."

[You're the one who called me, brat.]

Aegon coughed and changed the topic. "Just tell me if there's anything dangerous about the Essence River."

[...the one beneath the God's Hand?]

"There are more Essence Rivers?" Aegon was surprised.

[Visit the Nightmare Desert for that.]

"I have it on my list of locations I'm going to explore."

[Shut up!]

"No," Liliana also said at the same time. "Never step there unless you're Rank 7 or 8. And even then, I'd suggest not going there unless you reach Rank 7."

[Listen to your mentor. Nightmare Desert is off-limits. I'll break your leg if you even think of going there.]

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