81. New Tattoos

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July 13, 2010.

It always seemed strange to me that only the Charm of Luck could be tied to the owner. I mean, this charm is exactly the same as the others, it is included in the set.

But, for some reason, not a word was written in the Archamada Book of Spells about being able to do the same with other charms. This is at least strange.

It is possible that, since my book is only a copy of the real one, some of the information has been lost over time.

Or, the previous owner of the book could have simply deleted some information, just as I did recently.

It is also possible that there are some inaccuracies in the translation, yet it is not a fact that the original was written in Latin. There can be many options, but what I want to say is that this has been haunting me for a long time and I still decided to check everything personally.

And, as you can see, I'm going to tie the Keystone to me, just like I did with the Charm of Luck.

I'm willing to take the risk and lose the stone if something goes wrong. I'll be upset if that happens, but I've done without it before and will continue to if I have to.

Plus, there's always a chance that I'll be transported back to a alternative universe where I can get another Keystone. So, I have nothing to lose.

But if everything works out, the power of the Keystone will always be with me and I will never lose it again.

And the girls will also be able to perform this ritual with their Charms. I've always been a little worried that others who want Bezel's Charms might start hunting down girls, so it'll be a lot safer that way. I don't worry about myself, but girls are sacred to me and I don't want to risk it again.

Activating the Tattoo of Luck to the full, to be sure, without a second's hesitation, I began to feed Mana into the Keystone and waited for it to 'eat up'.

It turned out that unlike the Charm of Luck, the stone requires a huge amount of energy. Last time, it took quite a bit of Mana and the Charm was ready for the ritual.

This time, I even had to use the emergency mana in the Infinity Tattoo. As a result, after almost three hours, I finally felt that the stone had 'enough' energy.

If follow this logic, then it will want more blood, so I immediately cut my veins and began to 'water' the stone with it. I had to use telekinesis to keep the wounds from healing too quickly.

At first, I thought that nothing worked, since I did not observe any external reaction, but on the third liter of blood I lost, the Keystone began to change its colour, and I realized that everything should work.

If it wasn't for the serum, I'd definitely die. An ordinary wizard would certainly not have survived this ritual, so perhaps this is the answer to why no one has tied a stone before. There was simply no other such suicide.

Although, to be honest, I felt very bad. The enhanced regeneration just couldn't handle that much blood loss, so I felt all the delights of being bled dry. I was going to persevere to the last, but I certainly wouldn't risk my life if things didn't work out. It's just not worth it.

When I had already lost four and a half liters, the stone completely changed and shone with the color of my magic. At this point, I breathed a sigh of relief as I was already on edge and about to quit. Only the visual result of the work of the ritual helped me to persevere.

The moment came when it was necessary to cast the binding spell that I used for the Charm of Luck, which I was about to do, but, unexpectedly, everything went awry.

Now, blood red, the Keystone just exploded to hell, right in front of my face. I didn't even have time to understand or even do anything, as I was too lethargic due to blood loss.

- Ugh… - I uttered after landing, after a thirty-meter flight caused by the blast wave.

Knowing perfectly well that my body is not in the best condition now, I quickly turned into Rath. His natural regeneration is much better than mine, so with his help I should be completely cured.

For the next half hour, I just lay on the ground, gradually coming to my senses and fighting the buzzing in my head. I seem to have been shell-shocked, but glory to the Appoplexian race and their super-regeneration.

Fully cured, I finally stood up and canceled the transformation, after which I looked at the results of the explosion.

Good thing I was in the training ground, a baseball stadium-sized facility, and the explosion only ruined some of my simulators, which is easy to fix. It could have ended a lot worse, given that I'm underground. As well as…

- Eh ... I ruined my jacket. - I involuntarily said, looking at Gwen's gift, which was now a burnt rag.

- I don't understand… Everything was going so well… Why would he explode? - I said to myself, taking off my ruined jacket.

It wasn't until I put it in inventory, hoping in my heart that I could recover it, that I noticed that a new tattoo had appeared on my left arm. Right under the Tattoo of Infinity.

- So everything worked out? - I asked myself, looking at the tattoo on my wrist, in the form of the symbol of the Keystone.

It looks like all the Mana wasted was used to destroy the Charm itself and then bind it to me. And, since the Keystone is much stronger than the Charm of Luck, it required more energy and the destruction turned out to be more colorful than last time.

- Ha, and the spell wasn't even needed… Well, at least I survived. - from stress, I was drawn to the conversation and I again spoke to myself.

It would have been a very stupid death. I must be more careful. After all, I didn't even put on a suit, which is undoubtedly stupid ... Another proof that a great intellect does not make me an smart person.

Blaming myself for being idiotic, I finally checked out my new tattoo, which I decided to call «Ten Enhancement Tattoo», «10x» for short. Everything worked as before, the only thing is that now you need to apply Mana to the hand, and not to the stone. Again, no effect on the Tattoo of Luck.

I think I should not delay and let the girls tie their charms. Transforming into the Two-Tails, I teleported to the hotel and immediately entered Gwen and Ashley's room.

- Get up. There is an important matter. - I said unceremoniously, starting to wake up the girls.

- Child? - Ashley muttered when she heard the Two-Tails' baby voice.

- It's me. Wake up - I said and continued to wake them up.

- It's only 6 am, Lex. Where are you hurrying? - Gwen said, finally opening her eyes.

- The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. I'm sure you will be pleased. - I said quickly.

- Ok ok. We get up... We get up. - Ashley muttered as she slowly stood up.

- Get out of the room, we need to change. - Gwen said, covering herself with a blanket.

- God, what I didn't see there. - I said rolling my eyes. Given that I saw them in swimsuits, there was almost no place for fantasy.

- OUT!!! - both girls screamed and I had to dodge flying pillows.

After leaving the room, I had to wait almost half an hour while the girls got ready.

- What do you want? - Sleepy Gwen asked displeasedly, leaving the room.

- Remember when I told you about the Charm of Luck ritual? - I immediately asked.

- Yes. - Gwen nodded her head. Ashley also nodded, since when she saw my tattoo while on holiday in Yellowstone, I had to tell her everything.

- Well, then I said that it only works with the Charm of Luck, but it turns out that it doesn't. I did the Keystone ritual and it worked. - I said and showed my right hand. Even in the form of an alien, the tattoo is clearly visible.

- Are you saying we can do it with our Charms too? And we no longer have to carry them around and worry that someone will steal them? – immediately understanding everything, Ashley asked enthusiastically.

- Right.

- So, why are you delaying, let's go faster. - Gwen said sharply and pulled me somewhere.

Rolling my eyes at their behavior, I stopped Gwen and grabbed both girls with my tails and then moved us to my base. By the way, this is the first time they've been here.

Completely oblivious to the change in location, Gwen and Ashley looked at me expectantly and waited for my further explanation.

After telling them how everything should go, I gave them a spell for the ritual. I didn't use it, but that doesn't mean they don't need it anymore.

Gwen decided to go first. Taking only the Charm of Pyrokinesis, Gwen fed it with her Mana, and then courageously cut her hand, refusing my help, and sprinkled the amulet.

Everything went the same way as my first time. First, turning blood red, the Charm shone with the color of Gwen's Magic and disintegrated into particles that were immediately absorbed into the girl's left hand. She now has a Tattoo of Pyrokinesis.

- Fuuh... It was harder than I thought. - Gwen said, breathing heavily, and sat down on the ground. I immediately ran to her and healed her with the Charm of Resurrection. Losing half a liter of blood for Gwen turned out to be a serious test, since she is still an ordinary person. Mostly.

- You should rest. Now you, Ashley. - I said when I was sure Gwen was okay. During the ritual, I was on my guard and if something went wrong, I would immediately protect the girl, so she was out of danger.

- How should I do it? I don't have Mana. - Ashley asked puzzled.

- Really, no… But I think it will be enough if you just absorb the electricity and use it. This time, I give you permission to make this power. Using Osmosian abilities also requires your energy, most likely stamina or vitality, so if you use your powers, some of your energy will go into the Charm itself anyway. - After thinking for a bit, I suggested.

- Good let it be your way. - Ashley said and went to one of the simulators, absorbed the electricity, and then proceeded to the ritual.

Everything went well, although there were some minor difficulties with the spell, since, unlike Gwen, Ashley was not used to this. As a result, after 20 minutes, Ashley got a Tattoo of Telekinesis on her right arm. After healing, she still had strength left and she again began the ritual, after which Ashley received a second Tattoo, this time of Electrokinesis, on her left arm.

With that done, Ashley immediately began testing her newfound powers, ignoring Gwen and me.

Knowing full well that Ashley went into a rage, I also ignored her and turned to Gwen:

- Are you ready?

- Yes. - Gwen said and began the ritual, after which she received the Tattoo of Healing. This time, she had to heal the wounds herself, using the newfound power in her right hand.

Even without really resting, Gwen joined Ashley and, together with her, began to go crazy, testing her pyrokinesis. It's good that I immediately transferred them to the training ground and do not have to worry about damage.

Knowing full well that my girls would not calm down soon, I turned into a Juryrigg and set about restoring the simulators that had been destroyed earlier. There must be some way to kill time while Gwen and Ashley are busy.