Supreme Magus

took point, using Life Vision and mana sense to make sure that nothing had changed.

After a thorough analysis of the area, he moved to the nearest building. All structures inside the military compound looked the same, resembling huge rectangular warehouses with a flat roof like those Lith had seen more than once on Earth ’s docks.

Each of them had a single entrance, comprised of a double door so big that a truck could easily fit with space to spare and a sealing array visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

It was shaped like three concentric circles, each one inscribed with unknown runes and fueled by both purple crystals and the mana geyser underlying Kulah. A thin cable made of mana crystals connected the arrays with the ground, fueling them.

”Oh gods, I ’ve never seen something so complex on a single door! ” Professor Neshal, the only Master Warden of the group said. ”It will take us days only to understand how to deactivate one of them. ”

”Can everyone see that thin, blue line, camouflaged along the door frame? ” Lith asked.

”Yes, why? ” Professor Yondra couldn ’t see the relevance such a visual detail could have.

At least until Lith used a small knife to cut it and two out of three arrays were suddenly powered off, leaving only the one fueled by the purple crystal active.

”Or not. ” Professor Neshal was flabbergasted. ”Is this how you freed the fungus creature? I swear, if we make it back to the surface, the title of my report will be: Odi, the dumbest geniuses ever. ”

”Well, there is still the last array to defuse. ” Lith said.

Neshal just shook her head, pulling the purple crystals out of the wall with her bare hands and giving them to Lith.

”You would be right if the arrays you just deactivated weren ’t also the ones protecting the energy cores. I ’m starting to believe that the real reason the Odi empire was wiped out in less than a generation is that once the weak points of their workings were revealed by the Odi rebels, their defenses amounted to nothing. ”

Seeing such a poor design, Lith ’s lip curled in disgust. He wasn ’t a Master Warden, but even his creations required more than pulling a plug to be deactivated.

’Those morons abused the ”Keep it simple ” rule. They basically left on/off switches on all the arrays we have seen so far. ’ He thought.

’Maybe back then reading and magic were an exclusive of the elites. ’ Solus suggested. ’For ignorant folks and laymen, magic is a godlike power. It seems dumb to us because we are all cultured people. ’

After giving her a mind nod, yet not stopping from considering the Odi a bunch of idiots, Lith asked:

”Why did you hand me these crystals? ”

”Consider them a present. They ’re nothing special, so the Kingdom will surely give them to us as a reward. They will deduct them from my share instead of yours. You just saved me days of work and weeks of frustration.

”Just the thought of wasting a single brain cell to solve such a moronic device might have given me a stroke. ” Neshal replied.

Professor Gaakhu opened the second door under Lith ’s supervision, cutting the power cable before asking:

”How did you learn how they work? ”

”I have excellent mana perception. These arrays don ’t have enough crystals to support them and the cable emits a powerful aura. ”

”I noticed that too, but only because I could take my time and focus on the door. Doing it under that creature ’s siege must have required more than cold blood. It takes talent and guts to bet everything on an intuition.

”Would you be interested in becoming a Professor for the Crystal Griffon? ”

”I called dibs already. ” Yondra snorted.