A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 501 - Testing the core



The greetings went on for a little longer after that. It remained a little awkward at first, but it wasn't long before things began to mellow. Runa decided Erik's wives were for real, but still wanted to experience the bond. Find your adventure at empire

Thus, Elora created a temporary link between Runa and the others. As soon as Runa experienced the heavy emotions that permeated the relationship between Erik and the others, most of her doubts were instantly wiped out.

But that was no surprise. The emotional bond that existed between them all not only served to remove any doubt about each other's feelings, but also served as a feedback loop which constantly reinforced that love. Even if their relationship started off as relatively normal, with the bond it would become harder and harder to find a comparison.

Afterwards, Runa was removed from the link again, until Elora could create a familial alternative.

With relative trust formed, it wasn't long before Erik was kicked out of the room so that his family could have some girl time. Not that he minded. If anything, it made him happy.

Once outside, he decided to find Ankhur and inform him his mother would soon be ready to receive visitors… and that it would likely be a while before she remembered anything of her time in Enkare Nkai.

Fortunately, Ankhur took the news with solemn dignity, simply vowing to wait until she remembered, or starting over from scratch. Erik was impressed by his fortitude and wished him good luck before leaving.

Honestly, so far, he appreciated what he'd seen of Ankhur and wouldn't mind if Runa had some fun with him. He wasn't so immature as to want his mother to only ever pine after the memories of his father and never get together with anyone again.

No, he certainly wouldn't be calling anyone 'Dad' again, probably ever, but his mother's love life was something he preferred to simply not involve himself with as much as possible. Instead, he simply wished her all the best, and he'd naturally grind anyone who hurt her into dust.

But, then again, she might just do so herself before he could.

Regardless, he went back to his room and enjoyed some time with Anne and Nora, before they went to greet his mother as well, after his wives were done.

"Hello girls," she grinned mischievously at her former students, knowing what they'd become since then. "I hope you two will serve my dear son well?"

Nora and Anne looked at their teacher with reverence and respect as they nodded eagerly. "Yes, teacher!" they both exclaimed, hungry for praise. The two of them were no different from the rest of the Enclave, as Runa had taken an almost divine place in their thoughts.

"In all things, yes?" Runa continued with shining eyes, still grinning.

Naturally, the two of them knew what she was talking about, and began to blush. They'd never expected their teacher, who they remembered as being intense and focused, to utter such words.

But they naturally nodded awkwardly. They'd already given themselves to Erik fully, and had no desire to extricate themselves.

Later, Runa also met with Seraphina, but that meeting was more of a formality. Seraphina wasn't currently Erik's wife, and she had no prior relationship with Runa.

That said, the vampire found the meeting somewhat enlightening—she'd always been curious where Erik came from.

* * *

Just like that, another few days passed, and Erik was finally fully recovered. The only physical reminder of how close he came to death being the scar on this chest.

And that meant it was time to get to work.

Right now, he had two things he needed to get out of the way: one, experiment with Elorium and hopefully use it to reach the third rank; two, go on dates with all of his wives, and Naeku.

There was Seraphina as well, of course, but he still wasn't sure what his future with her would hold.

Regardless, his impatience was immeasurable, so he was going to start with the Elorium

Currently, he was sitting inside the training room of his dimension, with Elora on his shoulder. She might not be able to merge with his body anymore, but she could still offer advice and keep an eye on the energy in this body. A dark sphere was covering them to keep any distractions from the outside world out.

"Okay, now remember, my love, start small, and don't try to use it for anything," Elora advised him sternly. "Just create the tiniest of drops, and then guide it through your body."

Fluidly, she entered teacher mode.

"Normally, you cultivate your body by simply exercising, which allows aetherium to enter your body. The natural processes of your body then use that aetherium to enhance your body," she continued sagely. "But this time, you need to mimic that process using Elorium."

Erik nodded thoughtfully. Unfortunately, neither of them had any idea on how to actually do so—but that was the price you paid for being the first to try something.

Thus, he simply closed his eyes and started guiding runic power and aetherium towards the fusion core in his soul. Very carefully, he engaged he core and dripped the tiniest amounts of both energies into it.

Instantly, the core began to whir. Intently, both Erik and Elora watched it using their mind's eye. Erik felt a little pressure building up inside him, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

Unfortunately, the core quickly began to fizzle and stop, without actually producing any Elorium.

"I guess I used too little," Erik muttered thoughtfully. "It needs a little energy to work before it can process the remaining energy."

"We knew that," Elora nodded attentively. "So just increase the energy with a tiny amount each time, until something rolls out."

Sternly, Erik nodded, and began to try again. Slowly, he increased the amount of runic power and aetherium he dripped into the core. He didn't want to become incapacitated again, or worse, so he made sure to be extra careful.

There was a time to rush, breaking any barriers foolish enough to put themselves in your way, and there was a time to slow down, carefully removing barriers until the way ahead was smooth and simple.

When he first created Elorium, the former method was the only acceptable one, but now it was time for the latter.

And so he did. It took over an hour of slowly adding tiny amounts of extra energy, with the core whirring just a little longer every time, until, finally, something changed…


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