Epic Of The Demonic Sage

The next morning, Lucius woke up and waited for Kiana to appear. She would always greet him the first thing in the morning and this would be the best time to get more information from her.

~knock~ knock~

"Asher are you awake?" Kiana asked from the outside.

"Just in time…" Lucius muttered. "Come in," he said.

The door opened and in walked Kiana, who was in her maid uniform as always.

"Ah, you woke up early today?" Kiana asked.

"Yes, I felt much better and woke up," Lucius replied.

"That's good. It means your body is recovering and returning to a normal cycle." Kain said with a nod.

Kiana then turned around and walked towards the wardrobe to pick out some clothes for Lucius. Taking this opportunity, Lucius used Nexus and looked at the information that appeared.

Gift Name: Stone Shooter

Description: Shoots stones at a great speed similar to bullets.

Rank: Rare

The information that appeared was what Lucius had been told by Kiana herself before. This part did not consume his Aether and appeared automatically. He then used his aether and fully activated Nexus.

He felt the drain on his Aether and one by one; the words started appearing in front of him.

Type: Emission

Evolution: Possible

Evolution Requirements: Rock Bee Rune Crystal 5x + 15 Aether crystals + 500 grams Trivonite Ore

Looking at the new information that had appeared, Lucius was a bit surprised. While there was the rune crystal in the requirements for the evolution which was understandable, including the Aether Crystals, what he had not expected was this ore that he had never heard of.

He went to the books on his study table and opened the compendium of rune beasts. He flipped to the page where there was information on the Rock Bee.

——

Rock Bee: They are E ranked dangerous insect rune beasts that live high up on mountain cliffs. They are each about 12 centimeters in size with the queen rock bee being over thirty centimeters in size.

They live in large colonies of over ten thousand and create their hives attached to the cliffs.

Their honey is also a highly prized delicacy, having medical properties and is also the antidote for their venom.

On an average, one out of one thousand beasts will yield a rune crystal, while the queen will always have a rune crystal.

Rune crystal gift: Petrifying Sting

Description: Hardens the tissue where the venom is injected.

——

After reading the description, Lucius could tell that obtaining this rune crystal would be quite difficult on his own and unless there was someone selling them, it would be hard for him to get them.

He could also see the danger level of these beasts. Alone they might be manageable and even their sting could be bearable. But bees seldom attack alone and once a single bee attacks, more of them will rush to attack the foe.

Lucius could image an unsuspecting victim passing the mountain and being stung by them, becoming stiff due to the effect of the venom and falling to the ground unable to move. Or worse, rolling off the mountain itself.

But this was still not enough, as Lucius needed information on two more things. First was the Aether crystals, the use of which he could easily guess, and then next was the ore that he had never heard of.

"Kiana, do you know about Aether crystals?" Lucius questioned.

"Of course, nearly everyone should know about them." Kiana answered.

"I see. Can you tell me more about them?" Lucius asked, while watching Kiana pick out a matching set of clothes for him.

"Aether crystals are like containers of Aether. They can be found in a variety of places but are most commonly mined from Aether Mines." Kiana spoke.

"I understand that, but how is the capacity of them decided. I mean if they are crystals, won't there be many shapes and sizes of them?" Lucius questioned.

"Oh, they are of the same size always," Kiana spoke.

"Same size? How is that possible?" Lucius questioned, as he did not know how it was scientifically possible unless there was another factor linked to it.

"It's the grace of the gods, it is how they intended it to be. When we mine them, they are stuck in veins and need to be pulled out. But in other locations such as a forest deposit of Aether crystals, they will be growing in the trunks of trees.

There are many other locations that they can be found and there are many ways by which they may come into existence." Kiana explained.

'This is interesting… so the gods themselves made 'laws' to make them equal.' Lucius thought.

"Then, how much Aether do they restore for the gifted when they are used?" Lucius questioned further.

"Hmm… this is a bit hard to answer as people's Aether capacities vary greatly. But on an average, a person who has a rare ranked gift should be able to fully restore their stores of Aether with a single crystal.

While those that are a rank up will need twice the amount and those that are one rank down will be able to use the same crystal twice. The amount doubles for each difference in rank.

"Can I see what an Aether crystal looks like?" Lucius asked.

"Sure, there should be an extra one left here." Kiana said and went to one of the cupboards which Lucius had not opened till now.

Kiana opened the cupboard and revealed a small safe in it. She spun the dial on it and opened the safe, inside of which a plain white crystal was lying on a velvet sheet.

"People who can afford them usually carry it as an emergency backup to restore their store of Aether. Though mostly they are used for Artifacts and during the war." Kiana explained as she handed the Aether crystal to Lucius.

"Why was this kept here?" Lucius questioned.

"This is your allowance I think, or what's left of it from the last time," Kiana spoke with a chuckle.