Chapter 1693 - Doppelgangers (Part 1)

"Of course I know." Quylla replied. "It means that Marquis Beilin had his shapeshifters watch my mother, but due to her unexpected arrival, they didn't have the time to get used to their new bodies, allowing her to notice the clumsiness of their movements!"

"Who cares about that. It means that I discovered a new species! I'll call it Manohar 34 since it's the 34th discovery that I've chosen to share with the Kingdom." He replied.

"First, we discovered a new species. Second, this might be worse than we thought. The shapeshifters-"

The wannabe fly had no interest in their bickering and kept experimenting with its body until it got the hang of it. The fake insect stood up and took flight, yet instead of going against the closed window like a dumb creature would have done, it went for the door's keyhole.

Quylla pointed her Forgemastering wand at the runaway but Manohar was faster. A blue tendril from his silvery wand caught the fly, squashing it due to his lack of control.

"Professor! Light magic doesn't work on corpses and that thing is too small to study with the naked eye." Quylla said.

"I know, but we still have three more of those and there are plenty of flies on Mogar. I wanted to try out your trick." He shrugged.

Quylla was about to spill that it had taken her time and practice to learn how to fine control pure mana when the remains of the fly started to writhe. Manohar let them go, observing the broken form assemble itself into a healthy fly.

Manohar squashed it instead of capturing it again, clicking his tongue in self-disapproval.

"This is harder than it seemed." He said.

"These things have an amazing regenerating ability." Quylla got close to better observe their specimen. "Any other living being would have died of malnutrition shortly after healing such wounds."

"I disagree." Manohar replied while capturing the fly-like creature again.

It took him three tries and almost ten seconds to master Spirit Magic enough to keep the insect still without hurting it. After that, he conjured a new tendril of gold streaked emerald energy from his wand.

"How did you do that?" Quylla's jaw hit the floor when she recognized a tier one Spirit Spell manifesting the light element. They were both fake mages but she had needed Faluel's teachings and hours of practice to do the same.

"It's not that hard once you know Forgemastery and Healing magic as well as I do." Manohar sounded casual, but he had actually been trying to use Spirit Magic ever since Balkor had revealed its existence to him.

Until that moment, the Mad Professor had simply lacked the means to practice it. Now, however, he could feel the wand stirring something inside of him, bringing Manohar one step closer to crack the secret of Awakening.

Thanks to the wand, now he could use one of his diagnostic spells from a distance.

"What do you mean, you disagree?" Quylla simply assumed it was all due to his genius and cursed at herself for underestimating him.

"That's not regeneration. It's much worse. This thing is just a big lump of shapeless life force akin to bread dough. Even if you squash Manohar 54 or grind it into pieces, it just needs to reattach the fragments to be as good as new.

"It's not healing or regeneration simply because this thing is immune to physical damage." He said with the huge smile of a kid who had received the best gift of his life.

As for Friya and Phloria, they took turns casting the array necessary to tap into the communication amulets inside the Marquis' house and take note of whoever he called.

Until that moment, the stakeout had just been a waste of time. Beilin had simply performed social calls full of flattery and gossiped about the local nobles who were not invited to his parties.

"How was the Desert?" Phloria asked.

"It would have been pretty nice if not for Lith working me to the bone." Friya replied with a sigh. "Sure, I learned a lot and even came back with a nifty present, but I would have liked to have more time to think. What about you? Why did you never join us?"

"Because I needed some time alone to think about my life." Phloria sat on the ground, holding her knees close to her chest. "After what happened with Kallion, the army, and then Awakening, I found myself in a tough spot.

"I'm thankful to Lith and I like Solus, but things have always been awkward between us ever since I discovered her existence. At first, it was hard to accept how much Solus had influenced our relationship, but between him already having a girlfriend and me having to learn about Awakening, it helped to keep a lid on it.

"I still have feelings for Lith, but I'm not ready to give us a second chance. My personal life is a mess, I'm bound to him for the next 99 years, and I can't wrap my head around him being so close to another woman.

"As long as he was with Kamila, I could use her as an excuse to not dwell about it and focus on my studies. Now that they broke up, however, I need to make up my mind. Either I decide that we are worth the risk of being an eternal threesome or I move on for good." Phloria leaned her face against her legs, not knowing what to do.

"What's the rush?" Friya tried to console her. "You are both bound to live for a long time."

"What's the rush?" Phloria echoed with a scoff. "If I don't catch him on the rebound, Solus will. Only a blind, dumb, and deaf person can miss how she looks at him. Now that she has her body back, it's only a matter of time before she makes her move.

"If they end up together, with their stupid mind link, their bond, and all the damn time that they spend working in the tower, it's going to last forever!"

"Okay, then why don't you approach him first?" Friya asked.

"Because I'm not certain it's what I really want. I didn't like how intimate they acted even when Lith was still with Kamila. I don't want to be second to anyone and I'm afraid of what would happen if things between us didn't work.

"Can you imagine being forced to hang around your two times ex and his shiny girlfriend for one hundred years?" Phloria shuddered at the thought.

"Gods, it would be a nightmare." Friya nodded. "You know, sis, you could have gone a little easier on me. I think you have just doomed me to a lifetime of one-night stands."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm bound to Faluel for one hundred years as well and if she takes me as her Harbinger, I will be in the same situation as Lith. With a silent partner in my head that leaves me no privacy and to which I'm bonded for life." Friya replied.

"Well, at least your boyfriend won't have to worry that you have a relationship with a Hydra.." Phloria said.