Chapter 632 - Friend or Foe (Part 2) (2/2)

Lith recognized the woman from the Black Griffon. He was expecting some snarky remarks or even that she would attempt to report to his commanding officer the assault she had suffered by Lith's hand.

Not that Lith was afraid of either possibility. He was used to being insulted ever since he had stepped inside the White Griffon academy. Powerful people hated the idea of witnessing the growth of someone that could become more powerful than them.

Their natural response was to nip people like Lith in the bud, at any cost. As for the latter possibility, Lith would have loved to see Jirni discuss with someone that had dared to suggest letting her daughter die.

'I'm sure it would be something so slow and gruesome that I could learn a lot. I'd like to think of myself as a master of coercion, but compared to Jirni I'm just a learner.' He thought.

”Everything that's needed for survival has to be learned.” Lith replied.

”Wise words for someone so prone to violence.” Her voice was calm. She wasn't trying to insult him, only stating a fact.

”Without strength, wisdom is nothing but hot air. Without wisdom, strength is just violence. I was only protecting someone who I hold dear. If you expect an apology from me, don't hold your breath.” Lith replied.

”Quite the contrary. I've come to apologize for my earlier behavior. My assistant is like a son to me. I couldn't stand watching him die while I was helpless because of my wound. I was angry at myself and I took it out on you.” She gave Lith a small bow.

”Take these as a sign of my goodwill.” She handed Lith several mana cyan crystals, each one with a flat bottom and as big as a beer bottle.

”Thanks, but what am I supposed to do with them Professor…?” Lith was very confused. He had a lot on his mind, from the loss of the Gatekeeper to almost watching Phloria die. His brain was about to pop.

”Yondra Mefaal. Black Griffon's Professor of history of magic and Forgemastering. You can use them to set a barrier. I'm too weak to cast a spell, but at least I can give you some help.” She replied with a kind smile.

Seeing that Lith wasn't moving, Yondra laughed and showed him how to perform the Silent Shroud array. When Lith was done, a black dome surrounded the camp, preventing both light and sound from spreading outside of its premises.

”Now no one can see or hear us. The barrier it produces is not very strong, but as you can see, it's a very useful formation.” Thanks to the array, Lith could see the area surrounding them as if he was wearing thermal goggles.

It was quite useless for someone capable of using Life and Fire Vision, but it would allow him to rest more easily when others would relieve him from guard duty.

”Thank you very much.” Lith said while copying the spell in his grimoire along with his thoughts about how to turn it into true magic.

”Don't mention it. By protecting you I'm protecting myself. I'd like to talk about many things with someone as peculiar as you are, but alas, I'm beat. See you later.” Yondra checked on her assistant condition and after she made sure he was just fatigued as she was, she fell asleep.

Lith followed her example and went checking on his friends. Morok didn't seem to need his help and judging by his snoring, he was having a good time. Quylla and Phloria were both sleeping.

Invigoration confirmed to him that there was nothing wrong with them. Since there was no point in waking them up, Lith started to circle around the edges of the formation while using Acc.u.mulation.

The tunnel was quiet. There was no noise nor energy signature coming towards them, yet the space around them was far from being empty.