Only Lithâs exhaustion saved them from a long, awkward silence. Due to the constant fighting and use of Invigoration, he had lost all of his body fat along with part of his bone and muscle density.
Lith fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes to sniff Kamilaâs hair, giving his metabolism the opportunity to fix all the damages he had sustained.
Thanks to all the nutrients he had ingested during dinner and Lithâs ability to assimilate world energy, his body was rebuilt from its foundations, pushing the impurities within it away from the new tissues and closer to his mana core.
***
Lith spent the next two days doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and using Accumulation. His enhanced metabolism sped up his recovery, making him regain weight at an astounding rate, but that came with a price.
Healing and evolving required a huge amount of energy that Lith decided to take only through conventional means. His choice was based not only on the fact that his recovery speed was already unnatural, but also because in his condition, using Invigoration would do him more harm than good.
Despite all of Quyllaâs and Lithâs treatments, his life force was still unstable. Forcefully injecting a strength that his body might not have been able to handle yet was as risky as it was pointless.
Aside from the headaches Lith got by standing so close to Kamila and yet being forced to keep his hands in his pockets, there were no threats in the Ernas household. Also, he had noticed his impurities moving and by using Accumulation instead of Invigoration he could exploit that opportunity.
His entire body was being flooded by world energy, rebuilding itself stronger and denser than before. Using Accumulation allowed him to speed up the natural process of moving the impurities towards his core so that he would experience the next breakthrough the moment his body was ready for it.
It was a win-win situation for him which allowed Lith to strengthen both his body and mana core at once. Also, it gave him the time to assess his loot from Kulah. He still had in his pocket dimension Rizoâs Eternal Blade, the bead that activated the Godâs Will array, but more importantly, the books he had found in the labâs safe.
The Ernas Household was one of the most ancient and powerful magical bloodlines of the Griffon Kingdom. Their library could easily compare with that of any academy, covering almost all topics known to mankind.
It also contained several books about lost languages and all the dictionaries Lith needed to make heads or tails of his possessions. Or better, Solus did and he just reaped the fruits of her endeavor.
They were both overjoyed discovering that one of the books was a detailed explanation of the Body-Swapping technique, of which the Life Merging process was just an incredibly hard and mana expensive variation.
âBuilding the necessary equipment might take a lot of time and resources since I donât recognize half the ingredients listed in here, but this is a great start!â Solus had devoted her whole time since they had gotten back to checking Lithâs condition and translating the book about body swapping.
âAgreed, also, we might not even need all of them. The Odi were stuck with tier three magic in all fields but light magic and forgemastering, whereas we can use all tiers of true magic.â For once Lith shared her enthusiasm.
Not even he could find a sour note in such a discovery. Sure, there was no certainty that it would work, nor that they would manage to understand the underlying mechanism of the process, but it was a start. More than they had ever had.
âIâm so happy to have you back Solus.â Lith was brimming with joy like it didnât happen since the day he had healed Tista from her congenital disease. âWhen I thought I had lost you, I almost went insane.
âIâm really sorry that while we are here I canât spend more time with you, but isolating myself would arouse even more suspicions than my recovery speed already does.â
âDonât worry, we have all the time in the world, Iâm not going anywhere, you big oaf.â Solus mana enveloped Lithâs body, while her mind pushed her feelings of joy to the fringes of his mind, in what was the closest thing to a heartfelt hug she could give him.
âBy the way, thereâs something you need to know.â Solus shared with him all of her memories about her encounter with Mogar, the existence of the Guardians, and Lithâs alleged role during the tribulations.
âFuck me sideways.â Was his first reaction. âI donât like this at all. Do you think that Mogar has manipulated me so far? That all the bullshit that happens to me depends on some kind of cosmic scheme?â
âHonestly, no. I didnât feel any malice from her, and I consider myself an expert in recognizing cold-hearted manipulators.â Solus replied while looking at Lith first and then to Jirni.
She was teaching Kamila about Royal Constablesâ protocols and revising with her some of the most controversial cases as simulation exercises.
âMogar also said that itâs you who constantly call upon her, not the other way around. Iâm more worried about the Guardians. What if they feel threatened and decide to kill you? We donât stand a chance against such powerful creatures.â
âPlease, thatâs fubar paranoia, even by my standards.â Lith replied. âI doubt that they care about someone as weak as I am, just like I donât stomp all ants I see because they might evolve into something more powerful.
âWe must focus on the good news. Mogar didnât call me a monster or an alien, which means that either even this planet doesnât know what I am or that it doesnât care. Also, your out of body experience has finally given us conclusive proof that I was right all along.
âYou are human and have a nice C cup.â
If Solus had a body, she would have blushed from head to toe. She had completely forgotten about having checked her body back then and now she had shared all the knowledge she had acquired about her real form.
âYou- How can you focus on my breasts during such a dramatic moment of my life?â
âItâs just a memory, weâre safe now. Also, cut me some slack. Iâm only human, after all.â
"How are you feeling, Lith?" Orionâs arrival saved Solus from her predicament. She really didnât want to hear Lithâs opinion about her build, especially not in the over-aroused state he was.
"Weak, but aside from that, I feel great. Thanks." Lith was sitting on a bench in the manorâs park, located nearby the veranda where Jirni and Kamila where working. After being underground for so many weeks, he really missed the sun.
"I will never be able to thank you enough for saving my little girls, especially Phloria. It was really brave of you to face that monster alone instead of running away once you rescued the rest of the expedition."
"As I already told Jirni, our friendship runs deep. I would never let something happen to them on my watch. By the way, whatâs the status of the sword?" Lith asked.
"Itâs coming along nicely, but since Iâm really serious about it, it will take some time. I donât think you want something half-baked again."
âWhat the actual fuck? What kind of monster Orion is if the Gatekeeper was just something he did for fun?â Lith thought.