Dozens of mages and as many tier five spells flew across the room. As chaos ensued, Lith and the others were Warped outside Thrud's hideout.

"Don't worry, we'll take it from here.

" Said an old mage with snow white long hair and beard. Lith could see several Wardens taking down the arrays protecting the outpost one by one.

The fighters didn't attempt to pile up on Thrud. Even in her weakened state, now that the Carpenters and their expendable vortexes were by her side, she didn't hesitate to make them self destruct.

The Mad Queen was aware of the mana geyser's presence and used it to overload her minions with world energy causing explosions that rivaled tier five spells. She hadn't used it to fuel her arrays because she needed it to draw energy for Arthan's Madness.

The Carpenters' ability to absorb the surrounding world energy was just a pale imitation of her pseudo Accumulation skill. For centuries she had been close to perfecting her father's creation, to the point that her core had actually evolved.

She was on the brink of turning it to purple, but she was unable to correctly expel impurities, leading her core to turn rainbow colored due to their presence. Thrud had used the mana geyser to refine her body and develop her clones before Mogar could reclaim its stolen energy.

Now she was forced to destroy her own sanctum, yet the outcome of that night's events pleased her.

'Manohar alone wasn't a match for me. Even this Country's greatest genius was a mere child compared to my strength. I just have to take my time and kill him as soon as the opportunity presents itself, before he can become a real threat.

'The others were irrelevant at best. My only worry is the Ranger, but first things first. To challenge Tyris I need more power, more artifacts. Let's see how granny dearest takes this blow to her precious Kingdom!'

Thrud made several Carpenters detonate at once, using them as cover while she retrieved the dimensional amulets from her thralls.

"Thank you for your help, idiots. This is my parting gift!

" Her eyes turned purple, activating the corresponding gemstone on her sword. Space itself was torn apart by her artifact, creating a fissure which led her hundreds of miles away.

Banishing wasn't an escape spell, though. The fissure instantly closed, leaving behind a crack that spread to all the recently opened Warps' entry and exit points. Arthan's Sword had made space unstable, turning dimensional magic spells into suicide.

"Fly away!

" Yelled many mages at once. Yet a few of their companions didn't manage to disengage from their opponents before it was too late. The fissure Thrud had left behind caused a domino effect.

Each crack made the fissure grow more and more volatile, until it exploded. The resulting flash was visible for miles, allowing both the people at Othre's Mage Association's branch and the members of the Courts to witness it.

When the dust settled down, where once the old outpost stood, now there was only a crater. The Mad Queen had made sure to leave behind no traces of her passage and no clues about her future plans.

Luckily, Lith's group had been Warped back to Othre right after their rescue. Vastor and Kilian were in dire need of medical attention, while the others had left since they weren't able, or in Lith's case willing, to take part in the fight anymore.

"A simple rescue mission, eh?

" He said while a couple of Healers treated his and Jirni's wounds.

"Okay, I stand corrected.

" She shrugged.

"I may have actually jinxed it, but we are alive and that's all that matters.

"

Before they were allowed to rest, the Crown asked each member of the unit for their personal report about the events.

'I could sleep for a week and maybe I will. Yet there's no way I skip the opportunity to get properly compensated. This mission was a disaster from start to finish, way above my measly paygrade.' He inwardly grumbled.

"Professor, could you explain to me how to turn holograms into constructs?

" He asked Manohar while they were waiting for their own turn. Lith opened his palm, creating a small replica of the Professor himself.

Yet it was unable to interact with physical objects, passing through them like it was a ghost.

"I can see you have spent a lot of time practicing first magic.

" Manohar had a smug grin while watching his self proclaimed handsome features.

"I'll tell you what I told the Crown every time they asked me to take an apprentice: I'd rather die than share my secrets. You have already made it this far, young Lith. If you are as talented as I have always suspected, you'll find the answer on your own.

"If you don't, it just means that you are not destined to wield such power. Do not worry, you are in great company. I'm the only known human that can do it.

" He gloated.

When Lith's turn came, he told them everything that had happened after they sent him to meet the Dawn Court, from their absurd rules and verbal traps to his grasp of Thrud's plans.

There were just a few hours left before sunrise, yet both the King and the Queen attended the reports, pondering every bit of information they heard carefully.

"We are grateful for your sacrifices, Great Mage Verhen. Tell us how can we repay you.

" Sylpha avoided offering him a noble title or a marriage. He had already turned down those offers multiple times and there was no reason for him to change his answer.

"This experience has proven to me that I'm lacking in several aspects. I need quite a few enchanted items to use as study subjects. Also, I would like to receive ingredients and equipment for my personal lab.

" Lith provided them a long list of rare materials.

"Do you already have a personal lab?

" Was the only question the Royals had about his request. Lith was asking for the equivalent of a Baron's annual budget, but after all he had done, they believed it was a fair price.

Especially after everyone, including Manohar, had stressed his contribution in the fight and reported Lith's ability with holograms.

"Anything else?

" Asked King Meron.

"Yes, Your Majesty. In the past, I have requested to check out several tomes, yet they were denied to me. I would like for my request to be reconsidered. Some of them may help me to better understand the threat Thrud Griffon represents.

"

After witnessing Arthan's Madness effects, Lith wondered if it could teach him how to speed up his own refining process. It was also a perfect excuse to hide the real purpose of his research.

Not only did he request books about souls and reincarnation, but also several others which were meant as misdirection. His obsession with afterlife could be misinterpreted as madness, but put together those tomes made his research seem nothing more than eccentric.

The second list worried them much more than the first one. Most of the titles belonged to forbidden books. Tyris had forbidden the access to some of them in the hope of smoking out the Master or at least their accomplices.

"Last, but not least, I really need a vacation.

"