Supreme Magus

Erghak had indeed followed the ancient Dragon tradition of "calling dibs" and was the patriarch. What he lacked in the brilliance of his mind he more than made up for it with the strength of his muscles.

He could kick the asses of all the convened geniuses since their idea of exercise was reading a book or sitting in front of their lab desks.

***

A few seconds later, at the Verhen mansion.

"Good gods, this is the greatest yet burdensome gift someone has ever given me." Tista said while admiring Ishka's corpse.

The Spark's tendrils and cables had respectively seeped under Ishka's skin and attached themselves to his joints.

The powerful stream of world energy and a spark of life force produced by the Hands flowed through the dead body, nurturing and refining it better than the best breathing technique could.

The cracked scales had already been repaired, and the broken ones regenerated. Ishak had died before reaching the bright blue core, so he wouldn't fit even a deep violet-cored Divine Beast, let alone a violet one like Tista.

Yet with the Spark's refining speed, he would soon reach the 20 meters (66') and become a suitable crafting material. It would require thinning the bones and stretching the skin to cover the Hekate's 25 meters (82') tall form, but it was feasible.

The Spark would keep growing the corpse whenever the armor was stored on the tower's floor, and, over time, it would become a perfect fit. The real problem was finding the Adamant to coat the entire thing.

The more Tista grew, the more she would need.

"I know." Lith patted her shoulder. "Take good care of Ishka and find your armor a decent name. Make it unique as he is."

"I'll do my best." Tista replied. "Thanks for the armor, lil bro. And thank you for helping me look for a job, Solus."

"Don't thank me before you hear the whole story." Solus shuddered at the memory. "I can offer you two alternatives, and you will like neither."

Solus started by explaining to Tista what selling Origin Flames through Erghak's network would imply and then moved on to the Crimson Heart diamond.

"This is shit?" Tista asked in horror. "The wedding stone of my dreams is Dragon shit?"

"You wanted a Crimson Heart studded in your betrothal gift?" Lith was even more horrified. "Do you have any idea how much it costs?"

"Of course I do. That's why I just dreamed of it." Tista replied. "Dreaming costs nothing."

"It does, if you are the man supposed to make those dreams come true." Lith grunted.

"Can you please not ruin this for me with your money issues more than it already is?" She sighed in exasperation. "Gods, I really dodged a poisoned arrow here."

"You certainly did." Lith said. "How is your amplifier?"

Almost everyone who knew about the tower had left a sample of their tissues and blood in the Spark to accelerate the mana tempering process and turn them into powerful ingredients for their custom-made equipment.

"Not good." Tista looked at the vial containing her blood and another holding her hair. "First, it had to reach the bright violet, something I haven't done myself yet. Then the real tempering process started.

"I'm behind you and Faluel by at least one year."

"Don't worry too much about that." Lith pointed at Ishka's corpse. "I'll keep the Spark active most of the time, unless I have an emergency. I'll keep at it until we have enough materials to craft a proper armor or until you find me enough Adamant to make up for the difference."

"Thanks, lil bro." Tista hugged him. "Thank you for my future armor, my new job, and believing I can actually find that much Adamant without becoming Mogar's number one wanted woman."

Lith had made no mention of the new weapon crafted from Sunder's materials because he wanted it to be a surprise.

"You're welcome, big sis." He returned the embrace. "So are you going to sell your Flames?"

"That's the idea." She snorted in annoyance. "On the one hand, I'm pissed off at the idea I'll be underpaid for a while. On the other hand, I'll be treated no differently from any other Fire Dragon.

"I didn't want people to pay me just because I'm your sister, and I got it. If I earn a lot in the future, it will be because of my skill."

"I'm glad to see you have your confidence back, big sis." Lith pushed her away gently to look her in the eyes. "Now, it's my turn to ask for your help."

"My help with what?"

"Crimson Heart diamonds are also Kami's dream gemstone, and I have to tell her the truth."

***

"This better be a cruel joke!" Kamila gaped in horror. "My dream gemstone can't be just a lump of Dragon shit. It's okay if you don't want to buy me one, but going out of your way to ruin it for me is just cruel!"

"It's the truth, Kami." Solus patted Kamila's shoulder, sharing her inner grief. "I was there when Erghak gifted it to us, and he refused to touch it."

"Good gods!" Those words struck Kamila so hard that she needed to sit down. "Considering how much Dragons love treasures and their innate greed, there's no way Erghak would give away such a huge, beautiful diamond for free.

"Unless, of course, he's telling the truth!" She pointed at Lith like he weren't really there, just a hologram to address someone who had done something so terrible that now he couldn't be named.

"I'm right here, you know?" Lith rolled his eyes.

"He is telling the truth." Ripha sat right next to Kamila. "Gods, if I wish he weren't. Once I accepted a small Crimson Heart diamond as payment, and had Threin craft a pendant for me. I carried Dragon shit on my neck for over three decades!

"I gave away one of my best works in exchange for what I could have found any day in Solus' diaper!"

"I'm so sorry, Ripha." Kamila and Tista instantly forgot about their pain, knowing that Menadion's was greater, and rushed to console her. "You didn't know. You had no way to know, and neither did Threin."

"All the memories we made while I wore that pendant are ruined." Menadion almost broke down as the two women hugged her from either side. "I kissed my husband while holding shit in my hand!"

"About that, I can give you a pendant as well, if you give me six months. Give or take." Lith half-joked, drawing many hateful glares on himself.

"I admit I'm curious to see what kind of gemstone you'd produce." Kamila said after pondering the issue for longer than she liked to admit. "Yet like Ripha said, there's no way in Mogar I carry your poop as jewelry. Gods, if I dodged a poisoned arrow there."

"Me too." Tista said.

"I got it straight in my knee, instead." Ripha groaned.

***

Lustria County, Verhen Mansion, the next day.

"I sure would wear a Tiamat diamond on my neck, dear." Elina chuckled. "No pressure, though. Pun intended."

"Are you serious, Mom?" Lith asked, and with him most of his horrified female side of the family.