But it looked like that wouldn't be necessary. The power had nearly finished building up and Kesh's mind was still holding strong albeit with a lot of trembling.
Then, the power reached its zenith, and in an explosive outbreak, it erupted and began to push me out of Kesh's mind. I could of course stay if I wanted but that would endanger Kesh's advancement. Therefore I didn't put up any resistance and let myself be pushed out.
Kesh was breathing heavily and his body was heating up rapidly. The power that had accumulated in his mind provoked a qualitative change and he subconsciously started to convert his magic power into magic essence. This change was brought by compressing the magic power that was considered gaseous until it reached a liquid state. However, to be able to handle the compressing a mage's mind would have to pass a certain threshold.
That was what made breaking through such a hurdle for many high mages. Because many of them had largely neglected training their minds or alternatively their souls so they usually needed a push to get there.
Of course, there were also other factors like having enough magic power to allow compression and having enough fine control over the magic power to not screw it up but these were usually not much of a problem.
Kesh had nearly succeeded in converting all of his magic power to magic essence but his body continued to heat up.
He was trying to take the momentum from surpassing his limit once to make another breakthrough. If he succeeded he would directly ascend to a rank two archmage with his own innate understanding.
However, for a double breakthrough at this stage to be successful, a mage's basic understanding of the element or concept he tried to comprehend would have to be very firm and profound.
And not to put Kesh down or anything but he really didn't have the necessary foundations to complete the second breakthrough. Nevertheless, it would be a valuable experience even if he failed. Failing the advancement to a rank two archmage was less drastic than the shortcut to rank one.
The heat in Kesh's body reached the point where he started getting burns. The pain disrupted his concentration and the advancement was interrupted.
As soon as the advancement was halted the heat in his body stopped rising and was absorbed by his tattoos. Some minor burns remained but they should heal quickly now that he was an archmage.
"You should take some time to inspect the changes in your body. You have just reached a new level that brings with it many changes. Before familiarizing yourself with those changes you should be cautious when casting spells."
I was about to return to the oasis when there was some movement from the dunes a little way off. A group of skeletons was marching through the sand heading for us. They exuded a sort of hatred towards life that was typical for most undead. Blackish smoke rose from them. It was extremely faint except for one of them.
That one skeleton had clearly visible black smoke coming off it and was also wearing armor that didn't look as rusty as the bits and pieces the others wore.
All in all, they looked like a pretty ragtag bunch that didn't exude much danger. Following my line of sight, Kesh too saw the skeletons.
"That's a skeleton captain with a group of armed skeletons. They are a rare sight nowadays."
"Aren't these undead active by night?"
"They are but these guys are just stragglers. During the night there are many more and the higher-ranking ones come out too. This here is no trouble at all. They should be intercepted by a patrol soon.
"How strong are they?"
"This group here is pretty weak. Skeleton captains have decent magic resistance and good combat skills so they can fight someone on the mage level but no more. The armed skeletons are really only a problem for apprentice mages and normal people. Even a seasoned fighter stands a chance to defeat them."
"And from their bones, the fertilizer is made?"
"Indeed but we can't always harvest the bones. If they are burnt or shattered they can't be used anymore so we abandon them."
Intriguing, but with how weak they were I quickly lost interest and returned to the oasis. Just as I arrived a small commotion was happening near the treehouse.
A large ostrich was standing in the middle of a crowd of onlookers. Red was also there kneeling next to a half-collapsed bunny-kin. The young woman had dark hair with streaks of green here and there. Based on her current state I judged that she had been excessively using spells draining her magic power and completely exhausting her mind.
Red and I exchanged a short look and he picked up the girl and brought her into the treehouse. I followed after him avoiding the dispersing crowd.
"This is Aura, she was sent to another oasis to gather information. I don't know what happened but she must have been in a big hurry to overexert herself like this. Can you help her and then make her wake up?"
Red laid out the situation before me and I nodded in affirmation to his request. I approached Aura's unconscious form and drew out a minuscule amount of magic. I slowly released my hold on the magic and let its density decrease until it became magic power.
The resulting magic power was then injected into Aura as a sigh of pleasure escaped her lips. Simultaneously, I entered her mind and used my magic to help her relax and repair some damages left by the strain.
With the damages taken care of, Aura quickly regained her consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and needed a few seconds to focus and take in the situation. Then, she jumped up and kneeled before Red nearly face planting in the process.
"Lord Rem, it's terrible! The Buns have left fortress city and are heading right for us. They arrived at a nearby oasis in the morning and I overheard them talking about attacking us! I rode here as fast as I could but they will soon arrive!"