Everyone turned their magic and released their aura outward, from close by, three faint lights of red-orange, azure and cloud-white could be seen shining on the bridge, then as they came close to each other and by their own will, the magic of the three began to fuse with each other and form a white membrane silver around them in intent to prevent any sudden move, so they continued along the bridge. Although mana spending was continuous, the rate was not great, and with the support and coordination of the three with each other, they will not face any problem in this regard until they arrive.
...
Half an hour passed, and as usual, Akina was tired: "Ryota! How long until we get to the other side?"
"Almost half of what we cut or a little more," replied Ryota.
"Oh… it's no use, I'll have some candy so that time will pass quickly."
"Stop being spoiled and be careful, don't do anything superfluous while we're still here. You can eat whatever you want when we get there."
"Screw you" Akina cursed inwardly after receiving Kotaro's scolding.
The bridge continued, and this time the three did not face any danger or fall into a situation as before, and after a while they arrived safely at the other end of the valley.
Once they did, the three of them stopped activating their magic and nullified the silver barrier. Akina looked a little tired from the mana exhaustion, as did Kotaro and Ryota, and stopping for a while was necessary to get some rest and recover their energy.
Traces of fog still cover the three and they weren't able to see what lay behind the valley Since they are not far from his range yet. Everyone walked away from the valley. They did not prefer to take a rest in this stifling place or even to stay for another minute near it.
After walking for a few meters, the three of them cleared of the mist, and then in front of them, the image of the world was revealed.
The ground was meandering but flat, broad lawns of fresh green grass drenched in the morning dew. In the middle of this land there was a lone tree, its leaves red as blood and its branches blacker than coal. It had neither fruits nor flowers, it just remained in place without being moved by the wind, nor with its leaves withering by the sun. Then a little farther away, two large mountains, piercing the clouds and covering the sky, formed a wondrous harmony between them. The first was an icy mountain on which snow fell throughout the months of the year, and the second was a barren land that benefited neither plants nor animals. Between the two calm mountains there was a great waterfall connecting them and its water was falling from the top of the clouds, unable to see its source, and as for the place where it was pouring, it was a great pit that was said to have not been filled since its formation, and around it blossomed trees of a vital forest with the howling of beasts.
The fresh breeze of the fertile plains slammed into the three faces, while each one of them fluttered in the winds of the coming spring, and they stood there silently with expressions of wonder and amazement, enjoying the visual painting that nature had drawn before them.
At this moment, the three friends were filled with something they had never experienced before, a mixed flow of feelings. It was peace, freedom, comfort, beauty, vanity as well as the power to defy anything in this world.
What distinguished this place was the deep contrast that harmonized with the valley that was an experience of delusion, loneliness, fear, suffering, and struggle to overcome difficulties. Like enjoying heaven after experiencing hell.
"Aaaaahhhhhhh…" Amidst the sounds of the wind, Akina's sudden scream reached the farthest limits.
"..."
"What do you do?!".
"I get rid of the negative energy inside me."
"What nonsense? my eardrums barely did not rupture."
"Try it. You will feel really comfortable."
"Akina! Are you done?" Akina's strange action, the silence broke again and Kotaro's amused expression just turned cold again as he continued to look toward the waterfall from afar.
"Huh...ah yeah, we can leave." Akina stumbled while speaking, she just remembered that she had done something embarrassing in front of Kotaro.
"Ryota! Do you know anything about this area?" Kotaro suddenly asked. He was curious and sensed a little mystery about the place.
"I don't know what the history or story of this place is, but it is known as the 'The Land of The Beginning''" rememberd Ryota and answered.
"The beginning? .... The beginning of what?" Kotaro thought inwardly and was eager to know the origin of this place, but he also knew that the time wasn't right for it: "Anyway, we'll know one day."
"It's almost sunset. We'll stay here tonight and continue tomorrow." Kotaro let go of his curiosity and walk towards the strange tree in front of them. There was no other place suitable for camping.
...
The three of them sat under the tree and slowly regenerated their mana and recovered.
Tonight, Ryota used his previous fight and his mana build-up to the limit to break through to the Higher C level. As for Kotaro and Akina, they are still far from their next level.
"I don't know why, but I feel that the efficiency of my training has increased today than before. Is this because of the higher station specifically?" Suggest Ryota.
"No, training efficiency in terms of mana absorption and so on varies between each station but this difference is almost insignificant. You will really notice the difference when you rise to the next level but since the difficulty of penetration also increases with that, then you will not gain any benefit in terms of training You will face even more difficult obstacles with each development," Kotaro continued: "But like you too, I sensed that the mana around us increased as soon as we crossed the valley and then became more concentrated around this tree. We better use this night to increase our training speed before we leave."
"Hmm… what is this feeling?!?" While she was training, Akina suddenly woke up.
"What is there?" Seeing her complex expression, asked Kotaro.
"Suddenly I felt a strange sensation close to me. It had no hostile intent. On the contrary, I felt familiar with it. This feeling...I had never experienced it before, but it was as if my instincts were responding to it."
"I have no idea" Neither Kotaro nor Ryota were able to pick up any leakage of external intent around them especially Ryota, the best sensor among the three, so they didn't understand anything, and the three exceeded the matter.
...
"Are you ready?" On the new morning, Kotaro checks out his two friends, getting ready to head out again.
"Yes." Akina nodded, then Ryota followed her: "The Magic City is behind those two mountains, once we pass them we can see it from afar."
"Good, lead the way then." Kotaro raised his head and stared excitedly at the two mountains in front of him.
The journey to the new goal has begun, where the name of each of the three friends will be heard by every mage on the continent.
But...that's a story for another time.
...
Ryota did not want them to pass through the road in the middle of the two mountains, but chose to take another path along the land of the beginning. This road is long but safer than the first and most mages choose to cross it.
It took at least two days to get past the starting area and then from there to Magic City, the distance was estimated to be about 270 kilometers.
This route used to include some ruins of ancient cities, fields that were once heaven on earth, but now you won't find a single spike in them.
"What happened here?" Akina wondered as she wiped the drops of sweat from her forehead. The temperature here was high and it was humid as well.
"It looks like a severe war has happened in the past," Ryota discovers as he wipes the place with his eyes.
...
Another two days passed and the views along the way were the same, ominous and lifeless which made traveling boring and that was what Akina hated the most, so she didn't speak the whole time.