The Arcane Emperor Chapter 57 The Ball

Chapter 57 The Ball

Rainer, Kara, and Luna occupied the same room within Furtak's Mansion as before. Rainer sat upright on the bed leaning against the wall with Kara at his side meditating and Luna at full-size lying with her head on his lap.

"You sure you don't recognize her?" Rainer asked Luna as he brushed her hair with his hand and the occasional touch of Mana. Luna merely let out a pleasant hum before returning to her state of half-awareness.

They had roughly half an hour to wait until they could safely wake up their prisoner. Rainer confirmed with Luna one last time before his thoughts strayed to just how exactly he'd negotiate with the prisoner. He recalled his recent thoughts on what exactly transferring Mana to torture a Fae truly meant and did not wish to do such a thing anymore.

He knew Fae didn't view it as such but, now thinking on the subject, it didn't feel right to force his Mana on another Fae. Especially when the goal wasn't to block Magic use or anything related to that.

With Yulia's death, at least if you didn't count the Soul in his ring, much of Rainer's anger had dissipated. Were it not for the lingering issue of Quera's mother, he likely would not feel a thing anymore about the subject matter, happy to move on. And with Luna not recognizing the prisoner as one of those responsible for her experimentation, Rainer held little anger for her beyond the role as Yulia's agent in the past battle.

With no real casualties, there wasn't much beyond the principle of the matter of being his enemy.

And so, he had thoughts just on how to use the little [Illusionist] they held prisoner. First was, of course, the numerous mind and illusion spells she was bound to know. His dealings with the Fae excluded those magics, and he knew eventually he'd desire to steal them if they delayed for too long. With his prisoner, however, he found a less antagonistic option. Being denied a few spells was one thing, but entire schools of Magic left him wanting.

On top of that, he wished to use her to fill in the blanks when it came to the world and the power of its people. The idea of his own personal Fae spy intrigued him.

Rainer's other arm held Kara close to him as she meditated. He recalled back to when Kara and Luna slept within one another's arms. He expected a bit of surprise from the Wolfkin when she woke up, but his expectations fell flat. She had only given the Fairy a glance before returning to sleep a bit longer.

The lack of reaction, while disappointing, had instead eased his thoughts on their arrangement. He knew despite Kara's agreements she wasn't initially too pleased, and either she was a convincing actor, or she started to come to terms with it, he thought.

Though, with Luna being one of the most beautiful even among the Fae he's seen, he wondered if that helped it for Kara to accept the Fairy. Seeing as jealously didn't seem to factor in.

There's one thing I can thank the Queen for…She chose some nice Fae to create Luna with.

Apart from a striking likeness to the Fae Queen, there were some differences putting Luna above the bodiless Soul in appearance.

Switching back to his spy, he wondered just what sort of bribe he could offer the Fae in exchange for her services. The threat of death wasn't the best way for a working relationship to go, he mused. Rainer sighed as he closed his eyes. In the end, everything depended on just how his prisoner would react.

"What do you plan on doing with the Fae prisoner?" Kara asked, leaving meditation.

Rainer opened his eyes back up and explained his thoughts on the matter.

"So, a kind of Scout? You don't plan on using leverage to take her as another one of your women?" Kara joked.

"No…Rainer already has…A Fairy. He doesn't need two," Luna mumbled half-awake causing both to try and hold in their laughter and not wake the sleeping Fae.

"Well you heard her," He whispered.

"Do you think she'll agree?"

"Who knows? She may truly be completely loyal to her Queen. Might even attack me the moment I tell her or she figures out her Queen is dead."

"She could also just be a hired agent. Or like Elru and some of the other Fae we've met Yulia offered something important to them. You may just have to figure out what the former Queen paid her with to be on her side, a.s.suming she wasn't loyal."

Rainer nodded as he thought it over. Such was the case for Quera at the very least as well as the first Fae that came after him.

Kara moved around to lean her head against his chest. A few glances at his arm draped over her told him what she wanted and he scratched her ears.

The three enjoyed a moment of rare relaxation as it slowly became time to visit their guest.

Sitting in a meditation room was the freshly Mana drained level 20 [Illusionist]. Her eyes blinked wearily as she looked at the only two other figures in the room. One being Luna who, despite Rainer's wish to speak with the prisoner alone, was reluctant to give up her Human pillow and the other being that pillow himself.

The gold-haired Fae's blue eyes opened wide in shock as she saw the experiment. She had been just conscious enough during one of her escape attempts as the battle went on to see her Queen take the experiment away.

The injuries inflicted by the [Archon], however, had her going in and out of consciousness. They left her far too disoriented to succeed in her retreat.

Seeing her here now and in far stronger form could only mean a single thing; Her Queen was dead. Of course, that wasn't necessarily true, but Maya struggled to believe anything else seeing the look on the [Archon]'s face and the ease at which they planned to interrogate her with.

She kept quiet as she felt for her missing Mana and thought over plans for what she'd do if she got the chance to recover it. Her mind focused while deciding to see just how much time she could gain.

Rainer smirked seeing her expression of concentration.

"Don't bother," He started speaking to the restrained Fae, held in place by his Arcane Weaved chains.

"Not only can I see through your illusions and Glamour. With my Willpower, not even the [Justicar] Elru could even bother me with her abilities. Plus, I'll be draining you again shortly."

Seeing the Fae still not speaking he continued.

"So, what's your name?"

"Reia," She answered.

Rainer only sighed as he felt the lie with his [Mana Reading].

"Look. I'll make this simple. You will write down the Formula, Name, and a one sentence explanation of every single spell you know. In exchange, I'll honor a single request," Rainer's flippant mood turned into a grim one, "Consider it your last will and testament," He lied.

Or rather, that was his plan if afterward, she refused his request to work for him. He couldn't exactly just let her go if she intended on revenge. He imagined it wouldn't be hard to discover, and that the Courts already knew, about him having a relation to Quera's mother.

She glared at him, but he spoke before she could, "Or I could just torture it out of you. In case you're wondering, I know you lied about your name. h.e.l.l, we can make a game out of it if you need proof. Just tell me three things about yourself and make two of them lies. I'll pick em out."

The Fae stared at him for quite a while before closing her eyes in thought. Several minutes pa.s.sed as he stood to drain the small amount of Mana she recovered before sitting back down. An annoyed "Rainer" was spoken by the experiment let her know just how serious they considered the current situation.

In that, they couldn't care less about her.

"Last will and testament…Oh so the mighty Archon can make my wildest wishes come true? Resurrect my family, make me the Queen of the Fae, or cure the incurable sickness of the Fae" The Fae said in anger before she managed to shove it back down. He had ruined her once chance in curing her wife by killing Yulia.

"I already have someone I need to cure from Akhor's Sickness, and I have a method planned, it shouldn't take me more than a week. I have several others in case of failure, but I shall cure it nonetheless." He answered before glancing down at Luna. He disregarded the Fae's tone entirely.

The prisoner noticed his glance and suddenly realized something after brushing away the thought the experiment had the sickness. Quera was in a similar situation to her, but in the end, had decided to help Luna escape. She a.s.sumed that Rainer's goal was to help cure Quera's mother which added credibility to his claim for her.

As she looked at him in continued shock, Rainer thought over the method he devised. Surprisingly, given their use of Mana for healing, the Fae library he looked over had a Tier 4 Water healing spell. He ventured it was obtained as Fae experimented with better ways of healing themselves.

In the end, he a.s.sumed that just directly using [Mana Manipulation] proved superior to any sort of healing spells.

Similar to how he created [Arcane-Lightning Channeling] with [Mana Drain], he planned on incorporating both [Arcane Rage] and [Arcane Invigoration] into a healing skill. Destruction and rebirth, with an added combination of the Fae sleeping enchantment to suppress the ma.s.sive pain it would cause. With Fae's natural resilience to survive pretty much anything short of death, it seemed to be his best shot.

He knew creating a spell that increased all attributes of another may be a far more challenging matter, to say the least, but adding the Chaotic and Ordered effects already present in Arcane Energy may prove an easier task.

Not that Quera's mother was to be his first test subject. He imagined it wouldn't be hard finding a Fae with a hope of treating such a debilitating disease given how much Mana is a part of a Fairy's life.

He also believed that the Court might have a limited but effective means of treating the disease. But that was another avenue to explore. If they were hiding some way of healing it, getting it from them may prove a challenge. And for now, even if he valued Quera's mother more than his relationship with the Fae Courts, he would do everything he could before resorting to erasing all his past work with the Fae.

"The Sacred Faerie Fire doesn't work on it," She responded back thinking that was his line of thought.

"I know," He lied.

There goes one of my plans…

"Are you…going to steal it from the Court?" She asked with derision in her voice as she mentioned the Fae Court.

Rainer hid the slight surprise on his face before answering.

"If my first plan fails, yeah," He kept his currently friendlier relationship with the Court a secret.

"Maya. That's my name." The Fae answered after some time. She looked strangely toward the [Archon]. The whole situation felt off to her. This wasn't how an interrogation with a prisoner, nor a deal, should go. A relaxed 19-year-old kid brushing his girlfriend's hair as she napped on his lap was hardly the image that should come to mind.

"So? Can I have something to write on?" Maya decided to go along with the strange pace.

She had always been prepared to die in Yulia's service to a certain degree. And dying after possibly accomplishing what she had set out to do in the first place wasn't the worst way to go. He was right; it was far better than to be tortured for the same information anyways.

The Queen's promise and hate for the Court had kept Maya loyal, it didn't matter if the Queen was dead. Or was doomed to die given her failure even with such heavy odds in her favor versus the [Archon].

For now, she'd go along with him. Even if she accepted that she may die, she saw no reason to simply keel over. Nor did she fully trust the [Archon] would bother to actually honor her last wish. But not cooperating would only serve to accomplish nothing for the time being.

She constantly thought over how she could avoid dying, along with still getting the [Archon]'s help.

Rainer raised his eyebrow as he manipulated the chains tying her hands and took out a stack of magically created paper from his Spatial Ring. It cost an extremely small amount of Mana to write, and would likely coincide with her regeneration rate to where he wouldn't need to drain her for a quite a bit.

"Well h.e.l.l. I didn't expect you to agree that easily without even trying to get some sort of magically contracted promise out me."

Maya snorted as she laughed slightly. The possible finality of her fate put her in a strange mood.

"What contract can hold you if the [Justicar]'s skill doesn't even work?"

"Getting to the point. As an alternative to death, do you want to work for me?" He asked before she started writing and his thoughts went towards studying magical contracts sometime in the future.

"Doing what?" Maya asked cautiously before looking down at the Fae still in his lap. At the very least she was sure it wasn't something relating to pleasing him or her dust given his relation with Elru, she imagined. Maya could hardly compare to her Queen's appearance let alone an enhanced version of that.

"In short, a spy. I want information on every Mage Guild in this world. Their leaders, their cla.s.ses, how many 2nd Tier Mages they have. If you can, some spells, but I don't know what kind of defenses they have. So, I'll leave it to anything you can safely get. Do well enough, and you can consider our debt cleared."

The term "World", as if it needed specification, wasn't lost on Maya. She understood he could be speaking about not including the Fae Realm, yet thought otherwise. She, however, asked a question about a different word.

"Debt?"

"You know? For trying to kill me?"

"Ah, that debt."

She thought it over as she started writing her spells down. With this offer, whether the [Archon] kept his side of the bargain, it offered her a chance to escape her death.

"You understand without a proper explanation most of this pretty dangerous, right?"

"Is that a yes?" Rainer asked.

She couldn't hold back a smile at how that didn't seem to concern him in the slightest.

"And it's my wife who's sick," She added.

"Then you have my word I'll do everything in my power to see her healed," Rainer said temporarily losing his otherwise careless mood. In truth, he kept [Arcane Sight] on the entire time.

Once more staring at the [Archon] for a long period, Maya nodded before continuing her writing.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She, of course, didn't trust him entirely. Not by a longshot. But not only did she have a chance of healing the person she loved, but also a chance for escape. She wouldn't let such an oppurtunity slip by.

Rainer dissipated the chains which were a show in the first place. Given her lack of any real physical ability compared to him, along with his [Arcane Sight], the Fae was about as little threat as could be. Add on to [Mana Reading] that showed no lies, he had some confidence.

"So, what was your loyalty to the Queen?"

"She promised to heal her. That the Fae Courts hid a cure because it was limited in quant.i.ty. It made sense. I've never heard a member of the Court having Akhor's sickness beyond those who fell out of favor with any of the Four Courts. Though, according to Yulia, very few know of the cure, even within the Courts. For what reason, it's such a large secret; I have no idea."

Rainer nodded, sensing no lies in her words.

"Head to Grimlar's Pa.s.s, and finish up your writing there," Rainer suddenly said. Getting Luna to sit up, he took Maya by the arm before using [Arcane Awakening] at its maximum and [Void-walking] twice.

They suddenly appeared in the middle of a snowy clearing. The Fairy looked around in shock. She couldn't even feel any magic in what had happened, causing her great confusion.

"I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the town?" The Fae asked after a few moments, understanding his intentions of bringing her out of the strange place. Rainer rubbed his head as he realized he didn't have a clue given how he just left Furtak's underground city.

"It's fine. It'll take some effort, but I can just use tracking magic to find the World Tree Branch nearby."

"Ah, add that to the list of spells. Everything you know about tracking magic. And you might as well give longer explanations."

She nodded.

"I'll come to Grimlar's pa.s.s sometime soon," He said before telling her an inn to stay at so that he could find her. Given that she hadn't lied per [Mana Reading] about her wife, he imagined Maya would still be there.

She nodded before flying off; golden b.u.t.terfly-like wings escaped her back. With the low cost of Glamour for a well-trained Fae and a decent regeneration rate for Mana, she disappeared soon after into the horizon.

Well that was painless…in more way than one.

Rainer thought as he watched the Fae fly off. After repeated testing of [Mana Reading] at the Fae Realm and otherwise, he grew more and more confident in the skill. He knew there might be someone out there who could fool or resist it, but he severely doubted Maya was such a person.

"Time to head back, I guess…" Rainer said to himself as he disappeared in a Void-walk.

As Luna helped Rainer get dressed for the ball, the rest of his party stood in discussion in a large room in Furtak's Mansion.

Their faces were mischievous as they stood in thought.

"So, what to do about dealing with Rainer," Gunthar said.

"I don't know…"

"How are we going to get him back?" Elru asked. They were all quiet as they thought it over. They all knew Rainer was dreading the ball, so that was the perfect opportunity.

"Gunthar. Do you remember, back in Nalmar, when he did that Arcane Weave Dance for Luna?"

"Yes, that was quite nice. Ah, would you like the same Little Wolf?" Gunthar asked immediately getting off topic.

"Yes…I mean No, never mind. That's not the point. To make his Arcane Weave dance so well with Luna he should have a Dancing skill as well. I cannot see another option."

"Most likely…" Gunthar responded causing the group to know just how they would get the [Archon].

Kara looked on the current scene with a slight frown.

Soon after the start of the ball, taking place outside under magical lights in a wide-open clearing of blue gra.s.s and a marble-like floor in the center, Rainer had been met with the proposal of a dance. All according to his party's plan of spreading his skill prior to the music starting and with it the dancing. Yet his face of resignation soon turned to one that appeared to be of genuine jubilation.

At the start of the dance he had many Fae who disliked their [Archon] guest thinking he had overreached and would soon embarra.s.s himself. Only for them to then be fooled into thinking it had been a trick as he danced far better almost at random.

And with the Fae having dances that varied as much as their outfits it turned into an impressive feat as each of his partners changed their style at his behest. Now no longer could any Fae be sure that he learned the dances to such proficiency within moments, or that he already knew them and was playing a game.

Within the middle of the outdoor dance was Rainer with a white-haired grey-eyed Fae. Rainer wore a suit that one from his planet would recognize alongside his enchanted overcoat with some magical additions by Luna for a more formal occasion. The tie was black with violet faux-runic lines.

It was Elru's suggestion as well that he have formal attire from his world, given how Fae often had little dress code at such events.

Dresses ranged from attempts to look like peac.o.c.ks of his world to one's that barely covered the necessary parts. The lack of covering extended to some men as well. He imagined the more eccentric fashion experts from his world would die to visit such a place where clothes looked in such a manner and freely changed with Magic throughout the night.

Above all else, however, were the modifications to the magical clothes that allowed his [Arcane Awakening] to shine through. And at its current 100%, the increase in Charisma, as well as the feeling of his Mana, caused many eyes to be drawn to him.

His dance partner's eyes locked with his blue ones that almost glowed with magic against the contrast of his black hair.

Laneth walked over to Kara's side.

"Jealous?" He asked half in joke and half in curiosity.

"No…" The Wolfkin answered with a dejected sigh, "We had planned to get a little revenge on Rainer tonight by revealing his skill with dancing. And yet," Kara said as she looked at Rainer fully enjoying himself.

Laneth laughed before responding, "Did he know you did it?"

Kara thought for a moment before recalling Rainer's sudden change in mood as he looked over at her. She had been grinning as the first female Fae came to ask him to dance.

"Probably."

"Well, there's your problem."

Kara looked over to Laneth, waiting for him to continue.

"If he knows you were trying to tease him he probably just leaned into it. You wanted to bother him with dancing, so instead, he'll have the time of his life."

With those words Laneth left to his own obligations for this Ball. He was less extravagant than most only wearing a simple tunic to compliment his golden hair and orange eyes.

Kara thought back from her first attempts to tease Rainer. Back in their first dungeon she had tried to carry him as a man would his wife and he only made himself comfortable in her arms. It was the same when Gunthar pretended the ritual had gone wrong. Rainer started mock crying soon after.

The only issue was he truly looked like he was enjoying himself so she couldn't be sure. Alas, she knew not of his [Acting] skill.

Rainer's attempts to bring Kara to the dance floor were met with refusal given her lack of ability and the public nature of the Ball. And so, the engagement soon came to a close.

Apart from a few private trade deals, and him giving polite refusals to several Court members dealing with visiting their mansions for feasts, Rainer had little to discuss and at the end of the official part of the Ball left soon after.

Heading back to Laneth's mansion Rainer enjoyed the night with Kara who had been slightly depressed at her effort at teasing Rainer failing completely. Her mood, however, quickly shifted to a far more positive one.

Entering the white void of [Sleep Learning] after nearly an hour of unaware [Sleep Learning], Rainer immediately created a copy of the spell he sought to test out.

[Water's Gentle Touch]

A Tier 4 Water spell designed for internal healing. The perfect vehicle in his mind for delivering an Arcane powered heal. Looking over the copied Tome of Magic Rainer realized a large problem that most would have when practicing the spell, it required an injury.

From what he saw, no other healing spell had this requirement. When asking about this training method to a nearby Fae, he only got a recommendation to stay away from the spell.

"Gentle my a.s.s," Rainer mumbled. Of course, the Tome could be incorrect, but he saw little issue in practicing this way considering he planned on modifying the spell to heal [Arcane Rage] like damage after causing it.

He had no way of knowing if afterward the damage would simply return to its original diseased state, or become healed, but it was worth the try.

Failing this, he could only speak with Laneth's father for the cure as he doubted the younger Prince would have lied about there being no cure for Akhor's Sickness. Either way, it was a place to start, and he could always ask Laneth afterward as if he did lie he had quite the strong reason in the first place.

He stared down at the spell's formula and after an hour of tinkering with his first healing spell managed to reform the Magical Formula with his Mana Output and Input Runes.

"This looks right…" He said aloud. His desire to avoid repeating the chant for the spell was strong enough to warrant testing a possibly nonfunctional spell.

Rainer activated [Arcane Rage] as he grunted in pain. He used [Arcane Invigoration] at its maximum but prevented it from healing him, intending on fully abusing his [Pain Resistance].

Looking inwards with the aid of [Arcane Invigoration], Rainer tried casting the spell as magical water appeared within him and started flowing toward the wounds.

It felt strange, but most of that annoyance was canceled out by the pain of having his body torn apart by [Arcane Rage]. The Magic Water seemed almost drawn toward his wounds as it flowed through his body. It entered them before the magic faded. But it did not heal them in the slightest.

Rainer refreshed his body as he repeated the experiment further. Eventually, he conceded to using the chant before fixing the spell to work without it. Even then he struggled. But the image of Kara ingesting the poison instead of him, and him being forced to reveal Luna and still possibly lose the Wolf, pushed him through the pain.

"Let the soothing touch of water heal any wayward Soul in need of its grace," He intoned with Magic as he finished the lengthy chant.

"Water's Gentle Touch."

The wounds caused by [Arcane Rage] started healing, though nowhere near as effectively as with [Arcane Invigoration]. He ventured he'd run out of Mana in reality before he could heal the rampant damage caused by the chaotic Arcane skill. And the after effects relating to his body's soreness and weakness would likely be ignored.

[Spell Gained: Water's Gentle Touch lvl 1/10]

Rainer sighed as this single tier 4 spell had taken almost his entire night. He wondered if his refusal in accepting the concept of healing magic mentally slowed him. It had with the [Rock Fist] spell in the past. His thoughts steered towards fixing his preconceived notion on what was possible with Magic before returning to the t.i.tle he gained.

[t.i.tle Gained: Wielder of Water and Tides]

Curious about the mention of Tides within the t.i.tle, he decided to read over the description. He knew he'd likely have to sail at some point and having a better a.s.surance of his safety in the middle of a possible monster and pirate-filled ocean sounded like a welcome idea.

[Wielder of Water and Tides: One who controls the ebb and flow of water and wields both the calm and powerful fury of the tides. 5% Experience Bonus]

[Experience Gained: %0.1, XX]

His session in [Sleep Learning] soon came to a close.

After awaking around noon, Rainer's party headed toward the Enchanter's Conclave to not only to meet with the enchanters there but perform a demonstration of the Aura Rune.

Furtak had opted to remain in the mansion, having found Laneth's niece an entertaining conversationalist. Rainer had little doubts as to the Goblin's motivation, given his multiple wives being far younger than him and in morally tenuous Master and student relationships. Not that he was in a position to judge anymore, nor would he in any case.

Though judging by the Goblin's expression, Rainer ventured he actually did find the Fae a nice conversationalist, leading him to be concerned in a different way.

As they flew, Rainer recalled from a conversation with Elru and his explanation of his [Demon Body Enchanting] skill she ventured he wouldn't have any issues. And along with some practice on the magical bark, Rainer believed as such as well. Of course, he'd use as little power as possible when testing. In the end, even Elru had been burnt a few times in the past when getting her enchantments, so it was a common thing.

And with their Fae biology, a burn was healed with a small application of Mana with little fuss.

Rainer's plan was to get on the good side of that powerful Aura using Fae through this enchantment as well. Politics may have its uses, but he understood the truth of this world filled with individuals that were armies in and of themselves.

If I have the stronger Fae on my side, I can let the Courts to go f.u.c.k themselves and trade for any magic I want. Huh…can they f.u.c.k themselves with Mana?

Rainer's thoughts changed back to the upcoming meeting with the Enchanter's Conclave and his own hopes for a painless transition from Demon to Fae Enchanting.

Rainer stared in shock while Gunthar nearly spoke aloud as he turned around in a huff, forgetting his act as a dumb undead.

The Aqua haired Fae with eyes to match raised an eyebrow at the talking undead before returning her view back to the [Archon].

"Well, let's begin?" She asked.

Rainer sighed and went on. Along with this Fae's tendency to block [Appraisal] as well as a larger Aura Pool than he's seen so far, Theodore included, it seemed modesty didn't factor in for the older Fae either. While certainly older than most Fae he's seen, it didn't show anywhere beyond her face being slightly, but gracefully, more aged.

Holding a Mana Crystal given by said Fae, only going by Mira, Rainer prepared to enchant the Aura Rune in tandem with her Mana one.

According to her, even if he screwed up her Mana Rune it wasn't hard to replace as she often had it improved and changed over the years.

Before Rainer could even speak with Elder Taramath the Aura using Fae from the Court meeting had dragged him off. He appraised her in tandem with [Arcane Sight] as he reminded himself of just how high leveled this Fae was.

[Fairy, Female, Aural Devastator(2nd) lvl 24, Runic Berserker(2nd) lvl 24]

As he dipped his hand into a bowl of his blood, Rainer concentrated with the utmost attention, no longer even paying attention to the bare-chested Fae. In this moment, there was only a canvas for him to draw his enchantment on.

Part of his focus still went towards maintaining his [Arcane Awakening] at a low level, and preparing for combat being so near a powerful Fae.

"I'll connect it to the enchantment responsible for your shields first," Rainer said as he begun. To his surprise, he actually found the enchantment on the Fae to be infinitely easier when compared to a Demon. His original guess of being a magical being as a requirement for body enchantment proved far more true than he thought. So much easier, that the message in front of him nearly broke his concentration.

[Skill Gained: Fae Body Enchantment lvl 7/10]

Ignoring the previous levels, the skill instantly rose to match his ability, 1 level higher than [Demon Body Enchanting]. This was another experience in a crossover effect, the first being when he gained [Mana Manipulation], and it started at level 2. Though much of this effect, he encountered thus far, had related to skills he previously trained in while on Earth.

Drawing the Aura Rune and connecting it to the Shielding Rune on her back had only taken him several minutes as he quickly consumed the Mana Crystals given to him. They counted as a Mana Object, thereby falling under [Mana Object Transfer] and not granting a new skill.

With a final touch of using his Arcane Aura to help connect the Aura Rune to her Aura Pool, the enchant was finished.

Mira hid her shock at how adept the Mage was. While she didn't believe him incapable, seeing him matching in skill with some of the better enchanters had been a surprise. Added on was the fact many enchanters believed the [Archon]'s skill didn't match the Aura Rune he had given. This event would cause many Fae to change such an opinion once they learned of it.

"All done," He said.

Mira did not even bother to recreate her magically constructed armor and immediately tested out the shielding rune.

"Try manipulating it," Rainer added, now without the distraction of enchanting, and joined Gunthar in looking toward the wall.

"Impressive," The Fae noted as she shrunk and manipulated the shield to various forms.

Kara watched how proficient the Fae was in manipulating the Shield to bother with anything else. She hoped to use Rainer's enchanting as an excuse to receive training from Mira at some point.

"Then we'll be off to speak with Elder Taramath. I'm afraid I need to learn more Body Enchantments of your kind before I can connect more." Rainer added.

Stopping her practice and reforming her clothes, Mira grinned at the [Archon]'s statement. She knew that likely wasn't true given what she knew of enchantment, but would be happy to do anything to get all her enchantments, as well as possible new ones, working with Aura. And she couldn't be truly sure that his knowledge of Body Enchantment would allow the proper connection to call him out on it if she had a mind to.

The change in her Shield Rune's function when used with Aura already intrigued her greatly.

Soon after she left the room telling the party she'd return shortly. She completely ignored several of the Court's earlier regulations and grabbed the relevant books from their more private library on the enchantments she wanted to be connected to the Aura Rune.

"Elder Taramath will want to study the successful Aura Rune on me fully. He is difficult to pull away from such matter. So, I can only give you my sincerest apology to come back tomorrow if you may," Mira said as she handed over the tall stack of books after coming back.

She knew after the success that the [Fae Enchanter]s around here seeing her joyous expression would likely bother the [Archon] endlessly. Especially, as none had been able to reproduce the Aura Rune given by the [Archon]. Several even privately considered that despite how real the Rune looked that it was a well-made fake.

And she was in no mood to allow them to delay the one who let her accomplish such a long-sought goal. In the end, she ventured he may even come up with special Aura-related Body Enchantments given such books to study and did not mind that delay at all.

Rainer laughed, knowing that likely wasn't completely true but saw no reason to argue and his party left soon after.

Temporarily leaving the Fae realm, Rainer's party headed back to Grimlar's Pa.s.s to both collect the spells from Maya and to pick up his future apprentice. Temporary, for many reasons, Quera's mother and getting more [Draconic Essence] for Tiamat at the top of them.

He also learned from Elru that the Fae's Fairy Rings extended across the World, so there was hardly need to travel by foot to his destination. Prince Yaf's hunters were scheduled to return tomorrow as well.

He did still plan a visit to the Arachne, though, he wasn't sure if he should just wait for his strength to increase further. There was no present rush to meet and try to establish a relationship with the Magicite and Mana Crystal mining race.

"Elru, how come there are no Fairy Rings in the Dragon Isles?" Rainer asked.

"The Magic for setting up the Fairy Rings works strangely there. While just a legend now, the Isles were not always Isles nor did they carry the name of the creature you casually made a familiar," Elru responded and then added, "that undead seem to swoon over."

"A Dragon War, or maybe even just a fight?"

"I'm not sure. There was nothing too specific in the records I read. Just a mention of Dragons destroying the continent."

As the flight continued, Rainer's thoughts turned back to what was waiting for him at Grimlar's Pa.s.s. He couldn't deny a bit of excitement at the prospect of such a thing. Both the spells and his future student.

He now realized that he actually didn't know the Affinity Talent that Luna appraised earlier.

"Luna, I've been meaning to ask, what was the kid's Talent. You know, the one we picked from the people we rescued at the mine?"

Luna's quietly mumbled response nearly stopped Rainer mid-flight.