Lilithia felt her forging skills had peaked.

At least for now, she could craft gear for warriors on par with Intermediate Mages. She’d made two wands too—just average, neither great nor terrible.

Honestly, with this skill, she could live quite well without greed.

Advanced forging methods? Well, the Tulip Empire didn’t prioritize them. She understood—this world offered choices.

A strong forging industry needed minerals, and the Tulip Empire lacked them. Especially rare metals.

Alchemy could transform materials, but the cost was huge. Better to focus on strengths, like the Empire’s famed Forbidden Spell, "World of Truth."

The academy’s theme was reducing Forbidden Spell costs, stockpiling materials, or researching new ones.

At this stage, smithing became deeply personal. Smiths formed rival schools, each rejecting the others.

Legendary Divine Artifacts weren’t about skill alone. It was the caster’s power—their grasp of magic, Magic Arrays, material properties. Even raw materials for such items outclassed her current work.

Like the famous Hero’s dragon-scale armor?

She really wanted to see dragon scales…

Fiore’s sword—she’d known it wasn’t ordinary. But what was its material or craftsmanship?

For Lilithia, that chapter closed. Yet shadows loomed over Fiore.

Lisanna might just be throwing a childish tantrum.

That little girl Luna—the Seer probably knew more. Lilithia hated such people.

How much could Luna see? Future visions? Or, in the wildest case, time-rewinding power like some protagonists, guiding events? No—if so, Lilithia shouldn’t be fate’s blind spot. She should’ve met Luna countless times. But this time, it wasn’t the real Lilithia facing her—just another soul from another world.

So Luna likely foresaw the future. Or received "divine revelations." Lilithia couldn’t be sure, but one thing was certain: dark clouds surrounded Fiore.

Fiore had resolved many issues. His radiance had scared shadows away.

But thick clouds lingered within. Like Lisanna—even the snake couldn’t guarantee her problem wouldn’t erupt someday, wounding Fiore’s heart.

Was that little girl the culprit?

Lilithia didn’t know. She wouldn’t speak up yet. Arbitrarily altering fate was terrifying.

Telling Fiore about Luna’s ulterior motives was pointless. He’d still treat others gently, seeing them as sisters.

On that, Lilithia was certain.

If no abnormal moves appeared, inaction was best.

She’d silently wait for Fiore and Lisanna’s outcome. What fruit would it bear? She was curious.

Meanwhile, Lilithia bought weak creatures barely qualifying as "monsters."

Powerful ones were unaffordable and risky. Weak ones sufficed.

Quantity could compensate for quality. No proof high-level monster blood was better anyway.

Bit by bit, measuring her limits, she absorbed monster blood to boost magic. She stayed cautious.

Undoubtedly, this was a dark path.

If everyone mastered it, chaos would reign. Had others tried? If yes, obstacles existed. If not, she needed extra care.

Still, for ordinary-talented her, any path was a blessing.

Daily blood absorption gave her new Blood Magic insights. Becoming Vampire-like might not be bad.

She could take notes.

Speaking of Vampires—

She ran her tongue over her teeth. No sharp fangs for arteries. Make some? Too fake.

What mattered was the inside, not the outside!

She could feed on blood but loved normal food too. Blood sacrifice magics were just blood applications.

Shadows.

She recalled: Vampires had no shadows and could emerge from others’. But blood-sucking alone couldn’t achieve that.

Personally sucking blood seemed low-class. Forcing alchemy felt cooler. Biting was trashy, with a lewd vibe.

She couldn’t do that to everyone.

So thralls were key?

A classic Vampire trope. Lilithia was interested—but first, she needed immortality. Only then could she romantically share it with thralls!

Why obsess over Vampires?

Seriously!

That silver hair! Those crimson eyes! Wasting the blood theme was unthinkable, especially after learning Blood Magic. Ignoring Vampires would betray their fantasy existence.

But blacksmith Vampires? Rare. More a dwarf thing.

Wait…

What if she split herself?

Blood clones or other-race clones. Treat them as thralls—perfectly obedient and loyal…

Skilled in forging, alchemy, and magic, she could try.

…

When Fiore entered Lilithia’s room again, the thick blood scent made him frown.

Lilithia stood by a huge alchemical furnace, perched on a stool, watching the reaction.

He leaned in. Bright red, boiling blood churned inside.

Lilithia muttered a spell, tossing magic into the furnace.

Fiore saw the blood swirling, as if forming something.

"What are you… doing?"

Lilithia hopped off the stool. "Just a Blood Magic experiment. Success would’ve made me safer. But it failed again."

The blood turned pitch black, oozing a foul stench.

She slammed the lid shut. "Gonna scrub this furnace forever tomorrow."

Only then did she face Fiore. "So, resolved things with her?"

It took longer than Lilithia expected—two or three weeks. She’d thought it’d take days.

"Lisanna ran. I searched endlessly. Then she got angry and demanded a duel."

"So you held back, fighting till exhaustion?"

Fiore nodded.

"And then?"

"Then… something felt changed. Yet nothing changed."

Lilithia studied Fiore’s face, trying to read him, but gave up.

She grinned mischievously. "Speaking of which… did you climb that huge mountain?"

"...! Of course not!"

Fiore didn’t get it at first—then realized Lilithia had just run him over with a truck.

"Huh? I expected her to confess! That sneaky woman would’ve grabbed your hand, placed it on her chest, and played saint while pouring her heart out."

"How do you always describe events like you were there?"

Lilithia crossed her arms, smug. "I can predict your moves with my toes."

Fiore raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yep."

"Then guess why I rejected her."

"Huh?"

Lilithia’s smile froze. Fiore’s gaze pinned her. She panicked, avoiding his eyes.

"Y-you tell me! Rejecting someone’s your business! Why ask me?!"

"Heh."

"Stop laughing! Jerk! Don’t act out of character! That’s for tsunderes! Stop looking at me!"

"No, I just think… Lilithia, you really are cute."

"...Damn protagonist, scram!"

Still, Lilithia treated Fiore again.