Lord Vegner stayed true to his words. After Khan and Monica spent a few hours in the dining hall, a waiter delivered a list with the requested information.
Obtaining the device cleared Khan and Monica from any task, but the two didn't immediately leave. They didn't only pay for that service. They also wanted to enjoy that date to its fullest.
When the night approached, Monica and Khan finally decided to prepare for their departure. They exchanged another short meeting with Lord Vegner and even visited some of the brothel's shops before ultimately returning to their ship.
Khan stretched the flight on purpose, but nothing could prevent the arrival at the space station. The couple left the ship in the hands of the capable crew before heading for the teleport that sent them directly to the Harbor.
It was past dinnertime when Khan and Monica reached their flat, but neither wanted to eat. Lord Vegner's estate had already taken care of that need, so the couple relaxed as soon as the elevator closed behind their backs.
"You went overboard," Khan commented, dropping a series of bags on the main hall's tables.
"It's just to annoy my mother," Monica laughed, happily jumping until she reached Khan's back. "She'll be so mad when our pictures appear on the network."
Khan could only shake his head and smile. Reporters had welcomed them back to the Harbor, snapping pictures of the many bags in Khan's hands. Those containers carried the estate's label, clearly hinting at sexual-oriented items.
"So much for having decorum," Khan sighed, drawing an item from a bag. A pink plug appeared in the open, and tapping on its bottom made it vibrate.
"It can even change the size," Khan exclaimed, tinkering with the item's functions. The plug stretched and shrunk freely, reaching dimensions that made both Khan and Monica open their eyes in shock.
"Maybe I went overboard," Monica admitted, hugging Khan from behind but keeping her eyes on the huge item.
"It wouldn't be you if you didn't," Khan said, stuffing the plug back into the bag before retrieving another item. A tail ended up in his hands, but no laces or belts hung from its ends.
"Oh," Monica and Khan voiced simultaneously while inspecting one of the tail's ends. They quickly realized how to wear the item and couldn't help but exchange a silent look.
"Only if you wear the ears," Monica announced, leaving Khan's back to cross her arms.
"You drive a hard bargain," Khan replied, his eyes darting between Monica and the tail. "Well, cat's ears can't be worse than Cegnore."
Khan laughed when he saw Monica's cold expression. She knew he was being difficult on purpose, especially since the ears and tail weren't even comparable. Still, she couldn't control her irritation.
"Let's take a bath first," Monica snorted, grabbing Khan by his shirt. "We'll deal with the bags later."
"So pushy," Khan teased as Monica began to drag him toward the bathroom. She snorted, but Khan promptly lifted her to princess-carry her into the corridor.
"What is it?" Khan questioned before Monica's still-cold expression.
"You'll go out once I fall asleep," Monica uttered. "Won't you?"
Khan halted his steps. Even without his senses, Monica could read him like a book. She had already understood his plans for the night.
"Yes," Khan nodded. "I need to start."
"I know," Monica sighed, reaching for Khan's neck. "So, I'll use any trick in the book to keep you in bed as long as possible."
.
.
.
The night went wilder than both Khan and Monica could predict. After a joint and cuddly bath, the couple began to explore the bags' contents, and the fun lasted until dawn.
Khan's incredible resilience wavered that night, but nothing could stop him from leaving the flat once Monica fell asleep. He had even booked a ride already, and only a few minutes had to pass before he arrived at a series of training halls.
In theory, the experiments wouldn't feature anything dangerous that morning, but Khan still opted for one of the vaster and better training halls the Harbor had to offer. He strongly believed he wouldn't destroy anything, but it was better to avoid worsening his already terrible track record.
After entering the hall, Khan deactivated any camera, scanner, and tracking mechanism. He couldn't let anything leak outside, especially since experts had already shown interest in that field.
'Let's start with the basics,' Khan thought, summoning a metal puppet. The training dummy left the workshop inside the wall and walked to the hall's center, but its orders ended there.
Khan tinkered with the hall's menus to obtain a bucket full of dark paint, which he used to draw marks on the immobile puppet. His fingers traced precise lines on those metal surfaces, following instructions he had long since burned into his brain.
Once the process was over, Khan took a few steps back to inspect his creation. The training dummy now carried the [Blood Vortex]'s marks, giving Khan a better perspective on the technique. Yet, he quickly realized the flaws in his approach.
'They are two different languages,' Khan cursed. 'Three if I count the blood.'
Khan had given much thought to his version of the Thilku runes. Realistically, his battle style didn't need anything else. After unlocking the Niqols' spells, he had surpassed any conceivable limit, so his first ideas converged on his foundation.
As long as Khan's attunement with mana increased, the entirety of his skillset would improve. Obtaining greater power would also give him access to better techniques, opening paths otherwise close.
Of course, those thoughts led to the [Blood Vortex]. After all, that was Khan's best training method, and transforming it into a technique that didn't require blood could bring immense benefits. His body could also endure far more now, so he considered improving the overall absorption speed.
However, the Thilku and Niqols were worlds apart. That pairing was even worse than Niqols and Nele since the latter shared some views on the mana.
The [Blood Vortex]'s marks didn't have any intrinsic meaning, and if they did, Khan didn't spend enough time on Nitis to learn them. Moreover, the blood used in the technique carried a unique purpose that increased the complexity of the procedure.
Khan wanted to completely translate the [Blood Vortex] into a Thilku rune, which meant finding lines that could express the technique's marks and blood. That was easier said than done, especially since he couldn't draw any intrinsic meaning from the original version.
'It's trial and error, isn't it?' Khan wondered, staring at the painted puppet. 'I already know something will explode.'
The lack of clues didn't involve the complete absence of a general direction. Khan knew how the [Blood Vortex] worked. Replicating it was the only issue.
The studies on the Thilku runes had given Khan a more than decent knowledge of the field. He didn't know everything, but the period spent on that subject had provided him with the tools to start those experiments.
Broadly speaking, Khan only needed to create something capable of attracting the mana in the environment and sending it inside his flesh. The first part required adjustments depending on the available symphony, and he could work around the second by using his control. Still, the technique had to take form before worrying about those details.
Khan connected his phone to the hall's floor and summoned a series of holograms. That wasn't his first time reviewing the issue. He had already taken notes on the possible lines and runes that could fulfill his needs, and his device put them before his eyes.
After a brief inspection, Khan summoned another metal puppet and released strands of mana from his fingers. He had a vague idea and quickly drew it on the training dummy's metal chest.
An intricate rune slowly came to life, but warning signs touched Khan's senses as soon as he pushed the many lines onto each other. He retreated at full speed, and an explosion reached his ears when his back hit one of the hall's walls.
'I so knew it,' Khan cursed, looking at the pile of smoke that had replaced the second metal puppet. 'This didn't even count.'
The mistake didn't come from the rune. Khan had messed up while adjusting the nature, density, and quantity of the strands of mana chosen for each line. Sadly enough, he had become aware of that flaw only after pushing them together.
'It will be a long day,' Khan sighed, tapping the floor to summon another metal puppet.
Needless to say, that wasn't the only explosion Khan had to run away from. His element added destructive effects he couldn't suppress even after altering each line to his needs. Also, his runes were unstable since he was merely attempting to recreate meanings that the Thilku had never put into words.
However, after the afternoon was about to end, Khan finally developed something stable enough to linger on the puppet's metal chest without triggering any explosion.
'It can't be so easy,' Khan thought, squinting his eyes before the bright symbol shining on the puppet. 'Right?'
To stabilize the process, Khan eventually opted for inactive runes. He only needed to touch the symbol to add the energy required to execute its functions, but some hesitation arrived, forcing him to inspect his creation again.
Still, after a few seconds, Khan decided to press on the rune. The symbol brightened, attracting the symphony and drawing mana toward its center. That energy even began to seep under the puppet's metal, but a far bigger detonation unfolded before Khan could try to smile.
