Meera left the palace without any more interruptions or uninvited meetups with royalty and decrepit sorceresses that barely constituted as people. She was flying over the city with the sun blazing down on her. It was high noon, and the sun was cooking her alive in her armor. She felt like an egg that was going to come out full-boiled when someone finally cracked open her armor.

But even still, the excitement of seeing what the professor had cooked up was worth the heat. She hoped that he had three more Failed Crystals, at the very least. Honestly, she would be happy with even two more.

She landed at the gate and handed the guard the scroll that the professor's messenger had given her. The surly guard took the scroll without a word or a look in her direction and opened the gate.

Meera nodded her thanks and walked inside. Then came the problem of finding her way to the professor. Unlike last time, she didn't have a prince to guide her.

She asked a few kids for directions. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only half that time, she arrived at the professor's office. She knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Hiral's muffled voice.

Meera walked in with much gusto and came to a room that was in utter chaos. Scrolls and open books lay everywhere. It was as if a storm had been through here. The professor himself was sitting on a stack of books while making a rough sketch on a piece of paper.

"What happened in here?" Meera asked. "Did you get attacked by another group of assassins?"

"That's ridiculous. Why would anyone want to kill me twice?"

I don't know, maybe you pissed them off with your tardiness. That was what Meera wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Professor, you said you had something for me," she said, instead.

He finally looked up at her, and his face lit up. He dropped the piece of paper and pen, which explained the mess in the room.

"Ah, you're here," Hiral said. "A little late, but that's better than never, I suppose. I've had something prepared for you for days."

"Days?" Meera frowned. "But you just sent the messenger today."

He cocked his head to the side. "Oh…I must've gotten busy with something important then." He chuckled. "But no matter, you're here now. My lass, I've outdone myself. You will be more than pleased with the results. Come, let me show you, but do not disturb my papers. I want everything where it is, or I won't be able to find it later."

Meera looked around, and there was hardly any space to move about, and she doubted anyone could find anything in this rat's nest. So, she just flew over to him, without disturbing anything. He was none the wiser about how she silently appeared behind him. He was rummaging around in his desk and finally seemed to find what he was looking for.

"Aha, here it is."

He slammed a pale crystal on the desk that looked nothing like the Failed Crystal of Darthin. The crystal that Meera had given her was off-white, but this one was almost see-through, as if it were nothing but pure glass.

She looked up at Hiral, a little confused. "That is not the Failed Crystal of Darthin, that I gave you."

"It is not." He grinned. "It is something far better. If Edwyn had let me help him, we could've achieved wonders, but then he had to delve into evil ways. Anyways, just Identify the crystal, I'm sure you will agree with me."

Tentatively, Meera used Identify on the pale crystal.

[Impure Crystal of Darthin - This crystal can merge two compatible skills into a single evolved skill, combining effects, affinities, or functions into a more powerful and refined form. This crystal can be used as many times as its wielder desires.]

Meera's eyes popped open so much that she feared they would pop out of her skull. "You've got to be joking."

"I most certainly am not," Hiral replied, with the widest grin on his face. He leaned in.

"Darthin will not be happy about this," Meera commented, as she reached for the crystal and stopped. "Is there any cost associated with it? Is there any sacrifice involved? With the crystal of Darthin, you had to sacrifice a willing soul to use its power."

The professor was horrified. "That is barbaric."

"That is Darthin. If you'd met the guy, you would know."

He shook his head. "Have you met the god?"

She almost said no, but what was the harm in telling him. He already knew she was an Ascendant. She nodded. "Yes, when I became an Ascendant. He came to guide me from a human to an Ascendant."

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"I see…" he rubbed his chin.

Then he was lost in thought, and Meera wondered if he had forgotten about her altogether. So, she asked again. "Is there any cost associated with using this crystal?"

"No, my lass, there is none. I've used it several times already, and have a few amazing skills thanks to this skill, not to mention a few open skill slots." He chuckled.

Meera picked up the crystal and decided to give it a try, but she still couldn't figure out which two skills to merge. There was nothing that seemed compatible. The only thing that seemed compatible was Spectral Dominion and Mirror Phantom, but merging the two might weaken her shadow warriors. With a mirror core, they would be vulnerable to destruction, which would dispel them, unlike their current state, where they continue fighting for a long time. As she was going down the list, her eyes landed on something, and a question rose in her mind.

"Professor, can a skill from my regular skill slots be merged with a general skill?" Meera asked.

Hiral frowned at first, then rubbed his chin in contemplation. Finally, after a few moments, he shrugged. "I don't see why not. What did you have in mind?"

"I recently picked up a couple of Affinities that I don't have any skills for. I was wondering if I can merge an affinity with a skill and make something new."

His frown deepened. "How did you pick up new affinities if you didn't have the skills for them. That's not how this works."

"Well, maybe not for humans," Meera said. The lie came to her naturally. She wasn't about to tell this professor that she could steal skills. If she did, she had a feeling that she would never leave his office until he had asked her a thousand questions.

He nodded slightly. "That could be." Then he was quiet for a few more moments. "As to your question, I would need to confer my notes, but I don't see why not. If you don't need the Affinity, then go for it. It would be a nice little experiment."

There was a strange gleam in his eye, as if Meera were a lab rat and he couldn't wait to run experiments on her. This man always looked like he was a little cracked, but she figured all geniuses needed to be a little cracked. After all, he had created something that not even Edwyn had been able to, and that too without any experiments on animals and humans, as far as Meera knew.

She ran Mana through the crystal and chose Bone Affinity and Ice Ball. She didn't care for either of the skills. There was a slight flash, and the two skills merged into each other to form an entirely new skill.

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Bone Ice Bomb (II) – Level 71. Bone Ice Bomb – Type: Active. Affinity: Bone & Ice. This skill is an extraordinary fusion of bones and the cold. You can hurl this ball of frozen bone shards with violent force. Upon impact, it hurls razor-sharp bone shards that freeze anyone or anything they come in contact with.]

Meera raised her eyebrows at that. She hadn't expected a skill that she was ready to give up to become so powerful. Of course, she didn't have the affinities for the skill, but it seemed powerful enough as it is. She looked at the other two affinities she had picked up, but couldn't see what they would pair up with. Light Affinity might be a good match with her mirror abilities, but they would weaken her shadow skills. As for Power affinity, it was strengthening her Druvis Might. So, she left the two Affinity skills as they were and let them lie, for now, unless she picked a skill that she could be compatible with them.

But the best thing was that she knew that General and Regular skills could be merged. Even better was the fact that the crystal remained as is in her hand. It was a little warm to the touch, but it didn't shatter. There was not even a single crack on its surface.

"From the grin on your face, am I right in guessing it worked?" the professor asked.

"A lot better than I expected, Professor," Meera replied. "I hardly ever used this skill, but now it seems that I'll be using it a lot more."

He giggled like a madman, clapping his hands. "This is fantastic. It is revolutionary. This is going to propel us so far into the future. Could you imagine how many skills we could make just with a simple crystal?"

Meera slowly moved the crystal away from him. "But this is mine, right?"

"Of course, it is, lass," he replied. "If it weren't for you, bringing me that failed crystal, I would've never been able to figure this out." He rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to make more of these."

"One fair warning, Professor, Darthin doesn't like it when people play around with his powers, so whatever you do, please be careful. There could be consequences to mass producing this crystal, and I don't just mean from the god himself."

Meera saw the excitement die on his face. It was better for his excitement to die than for him. After all, the worlds could use a mind like his. He had a lot to offer for the betterment of society.

"Oh, I see what you mean. I will be careful. We cannot let these crystals fall into the wrong hands, and especially not my sister's husband."

That gave Meera a pause. She frowned. "The God King? Why wouldn't you want him to have it?"

"Because he is nothing but a warmonger. Lately, he's been dealing with his son's demands to choose a successor, which has been keeping him busy. If that were not the case, I can almost guarantee that he would've been unleashing hell on the Cervi kingdom. In the past three decades, there hasn't been a single year that we haven't been at war. The man puts on a great façade of being a gentle soul, but he is anything but. Be very careful of him, Meera. I will heed your warning and do the same. If he got his hands on this crystal, he would use it to empower his armies and launch a campaign to take over the other worlds as well, like his father tried to do."

"This explains why the people on the other worlds hate the Varshans," Meera said.

"The man is a wolf in sheep's clothing," Hiral said. "I don't know what my sister saw in that man when she agreed to marry him. Maybe it was just the title of Queen."

His words cut Meera to the core, and something struck a deep chord in her. If he truly was as dangerous as he said, then Meera was indeed in trouble.

"And I just agreed to help his daughter take down the Cult."

The professor flinched at that. He gripped her by the shoulders. "Meera, be very careful. The princess must be safe at all times. The man dotes on his daughter. If any harm came to her, he would put the entire might of his empire in ensuring that you follow the same fate that befell his daughter."

"But he hasn't said anything of the sort," Meera replied. "Or threatened me in any way."

"He won't do it himself. Most likely, he will send his dog, Munral, but be assured, lass, his threat will come."

Is no one trustworthy in this place?

Who was she kidding? There was no one she could rely on but herself. She would have to watch her own back, and the good thing was, she had eyes in the back of her head.

"Thanks for the warning, professor, and this."

She put the Impure Crystal of Darthin in her Hoard belt and couldn't wait to steal some new skills and get to experimenting.

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