The Verhen Mansion had been decorated with high-end furniture and precious paintings as well, but Lith was a first-generation noble.
His house was tailored according to his taste and wishes, understating the beauty and elegance of the various artworks instead of using them to rub his wealth in his guests’ faces.
Vastor was a noble in a long dynasty of nobles. Even after getting rid of the most tacky and flashy pieces of furniture, his house remained opulent and a bit ostentatious. The collective riches of the Vastors glead with gold and precious gemstones from every corner of every room.
Unless the Master razed his mansion to the ground and built it from scratch, his guests would keep feeling like the past generations of Vastors were looking down on them from their portraits.
"Professor Vastor." Elina gave him a curtsy. "Thank you for everything you have done and do for our son."
"Please, call Zogar." He sighed. "How many tis do I have to ask you?"
"Well, you are... you." Elina cleared her throat while waving at the lavish room and the lineup of house staff at attention on either side of the Warp Gate. "And we are humble farrs."
"Nonsense." Vastor harrumphed. "You are the parents of so of my favorite students and the benefactors of my wife. That makes you the most honored guests this house can receive. Anyone who says or thinks otherwise is not welco here."
His final words were addressed to the house staff, who had already learned their lesson. All those who had been caught discriminating or just badmouthing Zinya and her children due to their humble upbringing had been fired on the spot with no references.
In high society, that was a mark of infamy that Vastor’s forr servants would carry their whole lives, and that made them undesirable to anyone who wanted to curry his favor.
All local nobles wanted to be in the newly appointed Archduke’s good book, so those he fired could only move out of the Essagor region or change careers.
"That said, thank you for keeping the children at your ho." Vastor said. "It’s important they never learn of this conversation and the fruits of my work. Don’t use it in front of Filia and Frey unless it is absolutely necessary, please."
"Why is that?" Raaz asked in confusion.
"You’ll see." Vastor replied. "Before we start, I need you to be in good shape. Do you need sothing to eat or drink?"
"No." Elina and Raaz said.
"Good. Follow ." A was of Vastor’s hand dismissed the house staff while he turned around and led his guest to his training room.
He locked the door, activated the arrays of the place, and perford a thorough scan for listening devices before taking a briefcase out of his dinsional amulet.
"Why all the secrecy?" Raaz looked around nervously. "You’re making nervous."
"Because this is big and I’d get in trouble if it gets out." Vastor replied. "Lots of people want to see in trouble, and I haven’t survived this long without taking precautions, Raaz. Behold."
He opened the briefcase, revealing dozens of vials arranged in two lines. Those on the upper line were filled with a colorless liquid while the vials on the lower line were filled with a violet liquid.
"No offence, but behold what?" Elina stared at the briefcase’s contents with disappointnt.
"Right. I forget you are magic layn." Vastor laughed at his own blunder. "These vials are filled with the materials for Hatorne’s tattoos."
He pointed at the transparent vials.
"They will grant you abilities similar to Fusion Magic. Do you know what that is?" Vastor asked, receiving nods in reply.
"These, instead..." He pointed at the violet vials. "Are sothing I made after studying Hathorne’s research and improving on her work. These potions will allow you to cast chore magic spells as strong as tier two spells even with your weak mana cores."
"What?" Everyone blurted in surprise.
"Didn’t you tell you were still a long way from a breakthrough just a few days ago?" Lith asked.
"I lied, my boy." Vastor shrugged. "We talked on Kingdom amulets, and I couldn’t risk being overheard. As I just told your father, I haven’t survived this long without taking precautions."
"Are these called Vastor’s tattoos?" Zinya ant it as a complint, but her husband grimaced at the na.
"Please, no. It sounds pretentious. I didn’t invent anything. I just tinkered with Hatorne’s research a bit." His words made Solus feel awful.
She was inside Lith’s stone ring, and not a day passed that she didn’t regret how she had treated Bytra in the past.
"Two tattoos? Raaz scratched his head. "I don’t like the idea of having one. Let alone two."
"They are temporary and don’t need to be tacky or flamboyant." Vastor reassured Raaz. "I’ve called you here to let you try them out in a safe and controlled environnt."
"What if we use them and soone sees us?" Elina asked. "Won’t you get in trouble, then?"
"No." Vastor shook his head. "The Royals know I replicated Hatorne’s tattoos and authorized to share them with Lith. If Lith finds a way to improve on them, it’s not my fault. At worst, they’ll be impressed by his talent."
Vastor winked, making the Verhens feel indebted and Zinya proud of him.
"Who wants to start?" He asked.
"!" Zinya offered him her forearm to show her absolute confidence in his work.
"While I work, please change into sothing with pants. Running around with a frilly gown can be botherso and embarrassing." Vastor applied what looked like a suction cup to a transparent vial and pressed it against Zinya’s arm.
Then, he used water magic to push the liquid out of the vial and under Zinya’s skin. The colorless liquid ford a circle of feathers, each the size of a bean and of a different elental color.
"The cup determines the tattoo design." He explained. "This is what I made for Raaz, since he bears the Overlord’s blood. You can make them however you like, Lith. The form doesn’t matter."
"It’s beautiful, Zogar. You are a genius mage and artist." Zinya gave him a dazzling smile, making him blush up to his ears. "How does it work?"
"You should feel sothing from each feather." He cleared his throat. "A slight chill from water magic, heat from fire magic, and so on."
"I can feel it." She nodded after focusing on the tattoo for a while.
"Pick an elent and command it to spread throughout your body. Start only with one." He replied.
"Which one is for strength?" Zinya asked.
"The fire elent. Don’t take too much. You only need a segnt." Vastor pointed at the black lines splitting each feather into five parts.
Zinya followed his instructions and felt a violent heat coursing through her veins.
"I feel hot, not stronger."
"Strength is not sothing you feel, it’s sothing you have." Vastor handed her a human-shaped mannequin. "This weighs 90 kilograms (200 pounds). As much as a fully equipped and properly trained soldier. It’s also just as dense as a human body."
Zinya lifted it like it was a doll and was about to punch it when Vastor stopped her.
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