Supreme Magus (Web Novel)-Chapter 3788: The Price of Success (Part 1)

"The other is that I want to follow your wish and not allow Filia and Frey to Awaken." Vastor said.

A heavier silence befell the room this time, but it didn’t last long.

"According to Tezka, the kids are talented." He explained. "Between the mana geyser below our mansion, the constant presence of powerful creatures, and the extra mana flow from the use of the potions, it would be possible for the kids to Awaken if they started practicing magic diligently."

"I see." Zinya’s stomach churned at the idea. "Thank you, Zogar."

"Don’t mention it, dear." He nodded. "Take the briefcase with the first batch, Lith. Inside, you’ll also find the instructions to produce both kinds of potions. I’m hiding nothing from you, so feel free to try and come up with something new, if you have the time."

"Thanks for your trust, Zogar." Lith took the booklet out of the briefcase and stored it inside Soluspedia, discovering that the Master was telling the truth.

’Gods, I wish I could stand by your side and thank the Professor as well.’ Solus thought, knowing how much it meant for a mage to share his secrets.

"I’m just upholding my side of our deal." The Master shrugged. "You brought me Hatorne’s notes, and I gave you the potions."

"Don’t be modest. The spell version wasn’t part of our deal." Lith said.

"We’ll have to agree to disagree, then." Vastor offered Lith his hand, and he promptly shook it.

***

After returning to the Verhen Mansion, Lith shared the news about the tattoos with Senton and gave him a training session of his own in the safety of the tower.

"Why was I left out of the meeting?" He asked while practicing.

"Trust." Lith replied. "Zogar doesn’t know you and needs plausible deniability for the spell potions. The Royals wouldn’t appreciate that he shared state secrets without their permission. He’s putting his life on the line for this."

"I wasn’t complaining. I was just curious." Senton said. "Vastor provided you with the means to protect me and Rena. It’s more than enough for me."

Meanwhile, in the Alchemical lab of the tower, Menadion, Silverwing, and Baba Yaga observed Solus as she brewed another batch of the potions.

"That Hatorne was a true genius." Ripha said. "Body-enhancing potions are but a clumsy tool and a pale imitation of fusion magic. Her tattoos, instead, are just as versatile and potent as the original."

"Any fake mage wearing one of them is immune to the basic effects of Spirit Magic, just like a magical beast." Silverwing nodded. "She could have been a Magus. Too bad she was a crazy, greedy woman."

"And Vastor is no less brilliant." Baba Yaga said. "I never thought a potion could be used to conjure spells, and neither did anyone else until now. If these things get mass-produced and are improved to support the upper tiers of spells as well, they’ll further close the gap between fake and true mages."

"Indeed." Menadion replied. "Fake mages don’t have Accumulation, but with one of these potions, their mana core would temporarily improve."

"There’s nothing to worry about." Silverwing chimed in. "These kinds of things are no threat to those like us. They will only make things more interesting for the three great countries in the future."

***

The moment Vastor’s feat of replicating Hatorne’s potions was revealed to the public, it earned him great fame throughout the Kingdom. It also earned him the gratitude of the Royals, who offered him any reward of his choosing for the region of Essagor.

While donating to a mage like Lith would just make him richer, rewarding an Archduke like Vastor was an investment in the Kingdom. Vastor would gain personal profit from the reward only if he put it to good use and developed his whole domain.

The news also brought prestige and fame to the White Griffon Academy in general and its Light Department in particular. Losing Manohar had been a huge blow to the Academy’s funding and research.

Yet after Lith had become the first Magus in over a century, many alumni had become Great Mages, and now, with Vastor’s latest achievement, the White Griffon was considered the crown jewel among the six great academies.

"Why?" Headmaster Duke Marth, however, had no reason to rejoice. "Why do you hate me so much, gods? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Headmaster, this is a golden age for the White Griffon." His assistant fixed her glasses. "You should be proud of Professor Vastor’s success. Every achievement of a past and present student of the academy is also your achievement."

"Proud of what?" Marth snarled. "Of the endless paperwork for the new research grants, scholarships, and partnership requests? Of the countless student applications we receive every day because all those who want to become a Healer demand to enroll here?

"As if the Void Magic lessons weren’t trouble enough! I want to go home, dammit!"

"You can delegate, Headmaster." She offered. "The other assistants and I would be glad to lighten your burden."

"Yeah, right. Too bad the consequences of your decisions would still befall me." He replied. "I would still need to answer whenever an admission test granted or refused by you is contested.

"Since I have to read everything before signing it anyway, I might as well do it myself."

"What about Professor Vastor or Magus Lith?" The assistant asked. "They are mages of great fame and can face any accusation on their own."

"Please!" Marth snorted. "The poor Zogar has barely the time to breathe right now. The Royals parade him around like a prize bull, and every two-bits Healer is flooding his office with collaboration proposals."

The assistant was shocked hearing the Headmaster talking about the Royals like that.

"As for Lith, I can already hear him laughing in my face before hanging up the call. He isn’t big on taking responsibilities that only earn him honor and a pat on the back."

The situation was indeed dire. The heads of the seven departments of every academy conducted the admission tests alongside the Headmaster, but only the Headmaster could give a young mage the opportunity to undergo the test.

The nobles wanted to keep the commoners out of the academies, and every commoner with a shred of magical talent applied in the hope of a better life.

Between Lith’s and Vastor’s feats, the admission requests to the White Griffon had reached an all-time high, and every one of them lay on Marth’s desk for him to examine.

Unbeknownst to the Mage Association, Lith was also reaping quite a fame on Garlen after releasing the blueprints for the Spyglasses to the public and renaming them Life Visors.

Their existence was no mystery for the Awakened community, but their price made them something only an ancient Awakened bloodline could afford.

Until now.

With the blueprints available, any skilled Forgemaster with the right materials could craft a Life Visors for themselves at cost or for others at a reasonable price. There were too many Forgemasters, and setting too high a price only resulted in sending clients to the competition.

Many would have loved to thank Lith by bestowing upon him the title of Ruler of the Flames.