Supreme Magus

Just like Soluspedia, the Library allowed Lith to access the content of the books with a single thought and to quote them word by word as if he had memorized them. Just like the Armory, however, the Library's effects didn't apply only to the master of the tower, but also to the people that the artifact recognized as his apprentices.

"Is this how you cheated your way through the academy?" Friya didn't even bother hiding her envy.

"Yep." Lith shamelessly shrugged. "What's the difference between the Library and Soluspedia?"

"Soluspedia is accessible solely to the both of us, but we can use it anytime and anyplace. The Library is much bigger than Soluspedia, it works for anyone of our choosing, but it can't be used without a mana geyser fueling the tower." Solus replied.

"Between the Library and the Yggdrasill branch in the Armory, our magical research will go much faster, and teaching to the kids will become much easier. Whoever we decide to share our gift with, will be able to read our techniques in an instant and have their ingenuity boosted by the staff."

"That's great news." Elina put a cooking book and a few recipes that she wanted to teach Solus in the Library. "With the help of the new floor, our cooking lessons will go much better."

Everyone took something out of their respective dimensional amulet and put the Library to the test. Not only did they remember every single line of each book as if they had an eidetic memory, but thanks to the Yggdrasill branch they could also understand and memorize their contents much faster than usual.

"What's on the last floor?" Salaark asked.

"The Greenhouse." Solus led them to the fourth and currently top floor of the tower.

Beyond the door, there was no room but a small biome that looked like a cultivated field.

They were still inside the tower yet they could see the sun high in the sky as if it was still noon.

A gentle breeze passed between them, making the long blades of grass that surrounded the field bend until it passed.

"Let me guess. Like the mines but for natural treasures." Lith said.

"Yes and no." Solus giggled. "You can't further refine a natural treasure nor can you turn a sunflower into a Frost Dew, no matter how much world energy you make flow through them."

"Then what's the point of this place?" He asked.

"It allows the tower to study the mystical plants that we possess and to preserve their potency even once out of our pocket dimension." Solus said while planting the Earth Root, the Thunderstone flower, and everything they had left from the Dryad's bounty into the cultivated field.

"Given enough time, the tower will understand how their life cycle works and what are the conditions necessary for their growth. Long story short, once the tower is done with them, we will learn how to cultivate them at will."

"Good gods!" Every mage present said. "This means that instead of looking around Mogar to find an ingredient, all we have to do is to obtain one, make the tower study it, and then grow them akin to wheat?"

"It's not that easy." Solus replied. "Plants are living beings and you can't hasten their growth too much without damaging their magical properties. Also, most natural treasures require special nourishment that we need to provide them."

As the tower studied the various ingredients that Lith had accumulated during the years, he realized that growing them would require care, dedication, and skills that he had never practiced his whole life.

Each plant needed to be regularly pruned at the right moment of their life cycle, a specific amount of nourishment based on their size and development speed, and so much more.

"Dad, can you take care of this for me?" Lith asked.

"Sure." Raaz nodded. "Gardening has always been a hobby of mine. On top of that, thanks to the Library I can learn everything I need about natural treasures in a jiffy. As long as you give me the proper tools and fertilizers, taking care of these little fellows is far from impossible."

Lith would have preferred to have professional help, but trust mattered more than skill when it came to the tower. He could afford to lose a few plants due to Raaz's mistakes while learning the ropes whereas revealing the existence of Menadion's masterpiece to the wrong person would ruin him.

"This place is really nice." Elina said while appreciating the cool wind on her skin. "It doesn't seem to be in the Desert at all. It almost feels like home.  We could use it to have picnics whenever we want."

Salaark nodded with a warm smile on her face. Only an occasional twitch in her left eye betrayed how frustrated she felt.

'I swear, Ripha, that if I ever find a way to resurrect people, you'll be the first one that I bring back just for the sake of beating the crap out of you. How could you be so stupid to let your legacy die like that?' She thought.

'I can understand your love for Elphyn, but everything I just witnessed went this close to disappearing from Mogar forever. I knew about the Greenhouse, but before Solus explained it to me, I never realized its full potential.

'Luckily, Elphyn is safe now and the tower is in good hands. I must ask Leegaain how much he knows about tower crafting in general and about Menadion's tower in particular.

'If he doesn't know how the Crucible and the Greenhouse work, I will have to ask Lith to make me study them. I can't bear the thought of the tower being lost again and with it all of its secrets.'

After finishing the tour of the new floors of the tower, Lith and Solus remained in the Greenhouse even after everyone else left.

They both needed more rest and staying inside the tower was the best way for them to recover. Yet the real reason was that Lith wanted to speak with her.

"You know, the Greenhouse is definitely the less useful floor we have gained. I mean, this annoying bastard requires a lot of maintenance whereas the Crucible and the Armory just need us to put stuff into them and they do everything by themselves.

"Yet it's also my favorite." Lith said while sitting among the grass with Solus by his side. "It allows us to replicate any place, any time, and gives you a bit more of the freedom you deserve."

A simple wave of his hand allowed him to turn the day into the sundown. The night lasted just enough for them to appreciate the replica of the starry sky before the sun rose again.

At the same time, Lith changed the landscape from a valley to a mountain. The Greenhouse was capable of reproducing any environment since some natural treasures required a very specific set of conditions to thrive.

"I know that this floor is actually smaller than it seems, but unless you look at it with Life Vision, you have the illusion of walking to different places instead of our usual circling around the tower." He said while shapeshifting the Greenhouse into some of his favorite restaurants.

"It's very sweet of you to say. Maybe a bit too sweet.." Solus rested her head on his shoulder.