3034 Sparring Partners (Part 2)
Lith and Solus knew what the Ears looked like and how the artifact was supposed to work but that was it. They were missing the thousands of runes that comprised its power core and many enchantments.
"Gods, you two really are a younger version of ourselves." Surtr laughed, hearing them bickering from outside the tower. "One is a brilliant, light-hearted genius and the other is a sour, nagging grouch."
"Hey!" Sinmara and Lith said in unison.
"Nailed it." Solus laughed her ass off.
"Well, what do you think of the Engine?" Lith and Solus Warped out while the tower went back to its original form to repair and recharge more quickly.
"That it looks weird." Sinmara replied. "I get the human body since Ripha was a human. It looks male because Lith is its master. But why the metal head? What's with the face mask, the glowing eyes, and the weird shape of the helm?"
'Because he's a nerd from Earth.' Solus inwardly chuckled.
"I meant what you think of its capabilities!" Lith blushed a little at the remark.
"It's really good." The Phoenix of Darkness begrudgingly admitted. "I didn't have my ass kicked so hard since my last battle with Aylen. I'm not going to lie, your use of Silverwing's Annihilation was really creative and I'm damn happy we restricted the use of Blade Spells.
"I don't know if I would have survived getting hit by one."
"Same here." Lith shuddered at the thought. "And thanks for pulling your punches at the last second. Every hit at the tower causes damage to Solus' body and I don't want to discover what happens if the tower collapses."
Sinmara had struck hard at first to test the durability of the Engine but once cracks and holes had been opened, she had continued to exploit the openings she found in their strategies but stopped her blows at the last second.
This way, Lith and Solus knew when and how they messed up but suffered no harm.
"Hey!" The Phoenix of Darkness sounded offended. "How dare you thank me for that? Even if you are angry with me, I'm your big sister and I've been Solus' friend since the time she called herself Elphyn. I would never hurt either of you."
"Thank you." Solus said with a warm smile.
She didn't like her old name but she appreciated Sinmara acknowledging both her lives and how much she had changed as a person.
"You did give my sister quite a beating, but I think you could do better." Surt showed them his notebook.
Lith had allowed Surtr to use Dragon Eyes to study the Prime Engine and the techniques he used with Solus. It was the best and quickest way to find what they could improve.
"Well, that's obvious." Solus shrugged. "It was our first real fight against a powerful opponent. I would have been worried if you said otherwise. It would mean you are screwing up with us."
"No, I mean this." The Dragon of Light turned the page, showing a beautifully detailed drawing of what looked like a fusion of Lith's Tiamat form and the Engine. "I think there's a way to make up for the Ears or at least better deal with the stream of information during a fight."
"Meaning?" Lith asked.
"Ripha developed the Combat Core, now Prime Engine, because she was human. Even if she reached the white core, she was likely to not have the mass to fight on par with big creatures and needed a way to control the tower like her own body.
"Also, she didn't have Solus. Ripha had to do by herself what you two can do together." Surtr went on to explain his idea and how to check if it was feasible.
"I like it." Lith nodded.
"I don't." Solus pouted. "Why do you always get to be the main body?"
"Grow another 28 and a half meters (93'6") and we'll resume this talk." Lith patted her head like she was a big dog.
"It's not funny!"
"It is from up here." Lith projected a hologram of how he saw her from his point of view, making Solus even more angry.
"Guys, be honest with me. Do I really look like an excited puppy when I'm upset?"
"No." Surtr said too quickly to be believable.
"Lith is just pulling your leg." Sinmara turned away, incapable of looking Solus in the eyes while keeping a straight face.
"Dammit!" She stomped her foot with so much strength that the pressure turned the sand into glass. "Still, even if we want to try that, I think it's better if we master the Prime Engine first.
"I want to be able to fight on my own even without Lith and the Engine is exactly what I need since it doesn't consume my mana. Giving Lith a second phase can wait."
"What's a second phase?" Sinmara asked.
"Nothing!" Solus said too quickly to be believable.
"I agree with Solus." Lith hijacked the conversation, eager to change the topic. "If we don't learn how to use the Engine, the rest would be pointless. Also, we need another sparring partner."
"Like me?" Surtr pointed at himself.
"No, I mean someone we can go all out against. We can't practice Tower Gravity spells, Tower Silverwing's spells, and Tower Blade spells with you guys but we need to learn how to use them in practical combat.
"We can't wait to fight against Meln or someone like him just to discover there's a problem we hadn't taken into account." Lith said. "Jiera is full of lost cities that have no idea who we are and are too ancient to have heard about Menadion's tower.
"Do you know any of them that's weaker than Thaymos but strong enough to test the full scope of our strength?"
"No." Surtr shook his head. "Not yet, at least. I'll start looking into that immediately."
He called his children, sending them on a scout mission on Jiera under the pretense of helping the local Council. It would give the Dragons access to the already existing database and Lith plausible deniability.
"I'll deal with the paperwork. Get back inside the tower. It's time for round two." The Dragon of Light said.
"But I'm tired!" Solus whined.
"No, you are not." A snap of his fingers and a spell revealed that she, Lith, and the tower were back at their peak condition.
"Thanks, Solus. It was worth a shot." Lith sighed.
He knew nobody would have compassion for someone as big and tall as him. Solus, instead was short and cute.
"Don't mention it."?She grumbled.
They had no problem with working hard, but the constant headache from the Eyes was another story. Also, the Engine transmitted the pain of the hits to let its master gauge the strength of the opponent.
They could hardly look forward to getting beaten to a pulp until their body ached as much as their head.
***
Verhen House, a few hours later.
After pacifying Elysia and Valeron, they could be put in the crib with Surin. The baby girl was usually quiet but she scared easily. If she heard another child crying, she would join and increase the workload.
