Chapter 4288: The Veil (Part 2)

"Thanks to the Veil, Solus can afford to share with Lochra and show her much more than before. Even though Solus doesn’t trust Lochra much right now, she trusts my work."

"I really hope you are right, Mom." Solus said, "Aunt Loka caring more about improving our relationship than pursuing her own agenda would be great news."

"Wait a second." Morok raised his hand to speak. "Does this mean that from now on we can also ask Master Ajatar for help?"

"Correct." Menadion nodded. "His Dragon Eyes are no longer an issue. He’s now a welcome guest as much as Lochra."

"I also have a question." Rena raised her hand as well. "Why did you call it the Hobby Room, Ripha? It’s an underwhelming name and says nothing about this place."

"It was actually very accurate." Menadion conjured a hologram of the appearance of the floor at the time when she was the master of the tower.

There were magical holographic puzzles, gaming tables, a liquor cabinet, and comfortable armchairs where one could smoke without the smell of their pipe or cigar stench the air.

All things that one would have expected to find in a noble household, not in a mighty mage tower. A place to spend the long and boring winter months while betting a bit of money with friends and guests to make things more interesting.

"The cloaking effect is strong enough to shroud even the minds of those under its effects, so many bloodline abilities don’t work as well. That and the fact that I rarely had to come here made me repurpose it into a small gambling den where my guests wouldn’t be afraid of any form of cheating.

"Also, it gave my disciples the opportunity to bond, vent their frustration with me, and solve their grudges without doing something stupid or resorting to violence. This is where we settled scores.

"Be it a high-stakes bet or a contest of magical prowess, one could give their all and hold nothing back."

"That’s actually a very smart idea." Tista pondered. "A Vampire’s Mesmerize or a Banshee’s Charm would make everyone suspect they might cheat, but here those abilities wouldn’t work."

"Would the Veil also work on, let’s say, the Gaze of Bytra?" Lith asked. "She has already replicated three of the five pieces of the Menadion Set. I expect her to complete the set sooner rather than later."

"Yes, if the day ever comes when Bytra makes her own version of the Eyes, the Veil will protect us." Solus shivered at the idea. "Even better, from now on, whenever we use the Prime Engine or are in the tower’s proximity, our combat spells can’t be read either.

"If we fight another Dragon, we won’t have to be afraid that they copy our spells and use them against us on the fly. The Veil will also support us in combat against anything that might recognize the tower’s true nature by either bloodline abilities or powerful detecting arrays."

"That’s nice, but it has a weak point." Fyrwal pointed out. "No matter how good the Veil is, with enough time and talent, any cloaking device can be cracked. It’s not an issue in the middle of a fight, but if you invite the wrong person here or an enemy discovers the tower’s location, they might be able to do it."

"I know." Menadion sighed. "There is no perfect cloaking system, but I figured out a solution to that as well."

She walked up to the pristine gemstone and put her hands on either side. One rune of power emerged from each of the hundreds of facets of the crystal, but no one could read them aside from Lith and Solus.

To anyone else, the mystical letters were a bunch of blurred lines and blots of light.

"This crystal is a direct interface with the Veil. It allows me to add or remove cloaking runes, altering the enchantment of this floor anytime I want." Menadion said. "Back in my day, I came up with a dozen different cloaking arrays and used them in rotation.

"Never in the same order or with a precise schedule, of course. Also, I changed them as soon as I came up with something better. With Lith’s paranoia, I’m afraid this might be his hobby room as well, and he might spend his free time inventing new cloaking runes."

Everyone chuckled at the joke.

Everyone but Kamila and Solus. They knew how close to home Menadion had gotten.

"We could make it a hobby room as well, if only we had hobbies." Lith pondered. "I hate gambling even more than I hate spending money."

"We’ll find something to do with this place." Solus shrugged. "In the meantime, this could be a nice place for the kids."

A wave of his hand conjured several chairs, tables, and tabletop games. They were all holographic and with 3-D constructs instead of physical pieces. The rules were enforced by the tower core, helping small children like Fenrir learn the different games.

Also, biting or swallowing the small pieces would pose no danger to their health.

"Thanks, son." Raaz patted Lith’s shoulder. "After witnessing your Forgemastery of Faluel’s weapon and visiting the new floors of the tower, I have gained a newfound respect for magic.

"Before I started practicing it myself, I only had a vague idea of how much effort you put into everything you did. Now, I believe I understand magic and you better. I have realized the monumental task that waits for me if I decide to Awaken."

Lith nodded, glad to have followed Faluel’s advice about not stopping his family’s reckless training. The failures and hardships they had endured hadn’t made the Verhens stronger, but had made them wiser.

Magic was no longer a miracle that would deliver their every wish as long as they put enough time and effort into it. It was a demanding work that could bear the sweetest fruits, but also nothing.

The Verhens had yet to make up their minds about Awakening, but now it would be a well-thought-out decision instead of a knee-jerk reaction to the kidnapping attempt.

"Unless there is something you want to see or do in here, we’d better go back home." Lith said. "I don’t want Jirni to ask herself more questions than she already does, and I want the Fusion Reactor to charge as quickly as possible.

"I’m going to turn off the lights of the tower if it means speeding up the process by even a single second."

***

Jiera continent, region of Maneka, inside the Black Throne, at the same time.

Jorl met his ally two mana geysers away from Tle’ket. It was a trip long enough to make sure that no one was following him, but short enough that the cursed tower could cover in a single Warp Steps.

If Orpal were to become suspicious of the Storm Griffon’s movements and call him, Jorl would be able to return to Tle’ket so fast that the Dead King would have believed Jorl’s lie about never straying far from the fortress city.

The Storm Griffon didn’t trust the Black Throne much, but trust was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

Orpal’s plans progressed faster than Jorl wanted, and without the cursed tower, he would never escape whatever fate the Dead King had in store for him.

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