Supreme Magus

Chapter 3789: The Price of Success (Part 2)

After all, the Life Visors gave the Awakened community an edge over the fake mages since their use required Life Vision.

That and Menadion’s presence that allowed Lith to Forgemaster Blade Weapons for anyone fulfilled the only other criteria to be recognized as a Ruler of the Flames.

Lith, however, disagreed, claiming that he had just cracked the code, not invented the Spyglasses, and that Menadion was still a long way from catching up with modern magic.

As Marth said, Lith wasn’t big on taking responsibilities with no return. He wanted to become a Ruler of the Flames, but only on his terms and when the achievement wouldn’t mess with his life.

He had no time to deal with endless requests for Blade Weapons because, unlike Menadion, he would refuse to craft one if he had the slightest suspicion that it may be used against him or one of his friends.

The same achievement that gave Lith the fame he enjoyed in Garlen also branded him with the infamy that his name was associated with in Verendi.

"How dare you reveal the secrets of my work?" Rakar Guun, human Elder of the Verendi Council and closest thing to a Ruler of the Flames they had, roared in Lith’s face after forcing an emergency call via the Council amulet.

"You’ve broken the most sacred covenant between all living beings, magical and not! No mage can be forced to reveal his secrets! Ever!"

"I did no such thing." Lith stared at Guun with the disdain of a man who gets buzzed at his door in the middle of a shower. "I never forced you to reveal anything. We never even met before today, and I would have loved to keep things that way.

"I simply took something from a couple of assassins and studied it with the help of the Hydras. Then, we decided together that we couldn’t keep such precious knowledge to ourselves and shared it with others.

"If you don’t like this, either improve your device or choose your clients more wisely. If in the future something happened again because of your goggles, I’d have to hold you responsible."

"I just sell, or rather, sold my Spyglasses!" Gunn snarled. "What people do with it is none of my business. Also, don’t think I buy that lie you went spreading around about you and the Hydras.

"Those bastards bought my Spyglasses the moment I put them on the market. If they had the smarts and resources to crack my cloaking runes, they wouldn’t have kept buying more from me for this long.

"I’m certain that it was Menadion to screw me over, and she can’t do anything without your permission. So drop the mask and answer my question. Why did you release the blueprints for the Spyglasses to the public?

"I’d rather split the market with you than with a thousand Forgemasters!"

"What you believe has no value, only what you can prove. The Hydras back my claim, so you need something better than ’Because I say so’ to accuse me of anything." Lith closed the book he was writing and gave the man from Verendi his undivided attention.

"As for your clients, I hold you responsible for selling those goggles to professional assassins. It doesn’t take a Ruler of the Flames to guess what they’ll use them for. You knew what they were going to do. You just didn’t care.

"I do care, instead, and so does Master Faluel’s bloodline. Very much." Even from half a continent of distance, Guun could feel Lith’s killing intent. "That’s why we agreed on releasing the blueprints.

"We don’t have the time to Forgemaster enough Life Visors to satisfy the demand, and if I’m right, you don’t either. You kept your monopoly to set the price as high as you wanted, and we wanted to hurt you where it hurts the most. In your treasure trove.

"Now, everyone who wants the Life Visors can have them. Every Awakened can add them to the standard equipment of their guards and even the playing field with the assassin guilds who paid you so much for the Spyglasses.

"With one move, the Hydras and I have destroyed your business, taught you a lesson about greed, and given you plenty of disgruntled clients who soon will knock on your door for a refund. If you don’t believe me, ask the Hydras."

"Well, I don’t believe you, and this doesn’t end here, Verhen!" Guun gripped his desk hard enough to crack its enchanted hardwood. "I know it’s all your fault, and I’ll make you pay for what you did."

"Really?" Guun enjoyed the mocking laughter that Marth had only imagined. "Let’s assume for a moment that you are right. Do you really want me to return to Verendi? Do you remember what happened the last time I visited your continent?"

The human Representative standing next to Guun became covered in a cold sweat and glared at the Forgemaster with enough killing intent to make him cower.

"Listen to my words, and listen well, whoever you are, because I’m not going to repeat myself." Lith lowered his voice while staring at the hologram in the eyes. "If I so much as smell anything funny coming from Verendi, you are the first person I’ll hunt down.

"If anything happens to me or someone I care about, I won’t waste time listening to excuses, apologies, or explanations. What I’d do, instead, is contact my allies in the Organization and join forces with them.

"I’ll be the one to find you, because I’m the only one who can. I’ve found the secret Fringe of the World Tree and every criminal I’ve hunted down. You are no different from them and will fare no better than them.

"I have to admit that Meln escaped me, but he’s probably continents away from me and hides like a rat, something you can’t afford to do. You are a Forgemaster. You need connections to gather the materials for your experiments and clients to fund them.

"If you run and hide like Meln, you’ll escape me, but your life will be miserable for as long as I draw breath. If you set up shop anywhere, I will find you. When I do, I’ll have the Organization tear your defenses apart and throw you at my feet.

"At that point, I’ll let the Organization have everything you possess. Your treasures, research papers, everything. The only thing I’ll take for myself is your life. I’m pretty sure the Organization will accept my deal.

"Not because we are in a friendly relationship, but because I expect a powerful Forgemaster like you to have plenty of secrets and Forgemastering techniques that the Organization can use.

"I’m sure your books and research journals would make Bytra happy."

The mention of the Fourth Ruler of the Flames sent a shiver running down Guun’s spine. His research was no bargaining chip without someone to decipher his coded notes and cloaking runes. Someone like Bytra.

She was renowned for having invented the modern runes and crafting her own modern version of the legendary Mouth and Fury of Menadion. The existence of the Maw and the Absolution was public knowledge.

The Skull of Bytra was still a secret, but Guun wouldn’t have been more scared even if he knew about it.

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