"Haha! Finally, out!" A young Mage Apprentice yelled out in surprise as she finally escaped the barren dessert. On front of her, she could see the terrain had changed, from a sandy dessert to a slightly rocky mountain.
However, most importantly, there were trees here, meaning there would likely be water and other forms of life here. She could finally get food.
She was an Apprentice specialising in the element of water, so producing water for her own consumption on a daily basis was not too difficult for her, especially considering the high Mana recovery she was experiencing suddenly.
However, she had spent almost an entire day just searching for food, and after starving for so long, she was finally able to find a source of energy. She was not from a well-off Mage organisation, and therefore did not have a Spacial Tool. She only had her clothes, and a weapon for protection.
Although her sect was not well off at the moment, it had been a considerably prosperous sect in the past, resulting in them having many scriptures and notes passed down for countless years.
Therefore, they knew that other than the higher mana density which caused spells to have a lesser effect but mana absorption to be equally hastened, there was also an unknown force making spells act in odd ways.
Therefore, she had been given a short dagger to protect herself from others who entered, especially those from the Bluestone Sect, who were known to kill everyone they came across.
"Keuk"
Before she could end her celebration and enjoy the fruits of her labour, a sharp feeling of coldness appeared from her abdomen.
Looking down, she noticed that a gleaming silver object was growing from her stomach, with a slight tint of red on it, bringing out a beautifully rich shine.
'No! It is a sword!'
Just as she came to these thoughts, Kai pulled out the sword and stabbed her a few more times before going in for the kill and cutting her neck, resulting in large amounts of blood spilling onto the sand, which almost immediately devoured the liquid, leaving behind only the colour red of the blood on the sand.
Kai nodded as he picked up her head and put it inside his necklace before he continued walking. This girl did not have anything useful on her, so he simply ignored her corpse.
He too was to have found something. At least, he was no longer stuck in the desert. Although he had brought food and water with him, Kai did not want to be stuck in an environment so naturally hostile to humans.
However, as soon as he stepped off the sand and onto the rocky mountain, words were transmitted into his mind.
'Only those worthy enough shall scale this mountain.'
Kai shrugged. This was the very first interaction he had had with someone since coming here… someone who was not about to die or in the process of dying, so Kai simply followed the instructions while maintaining vigilance.
However, just 10 steps forwards and he realised what the issue was. There was a formless power pressuring his Spiritual Energy. However, for Kai, whose Spiritual Energy was just below Rank 2, something like this was insignificant and he simply continued walking.
Soon enough, he reached the top with complete and utter ease. At the top, he noticed there was a scroll, which Kai immediately opened and made the system scan before putting it away. Why did he immediately put it away? Because he had noticed another two people trying to climb the mountain.
Nevertheless, they were struggling like helpless babies. Noting that they were neither from the Royal Magic Tower, nor the Bluestone Sect, Kai swiftly dealt with the two who were under the pressure of the mountain, and had their spells act oddly.
Putting their heads into his necklace, Kai left the mountain, not realising that there was now a faint mark within his Mental Space, which only those existences above Rank 4 could sense.
Kai continued to explore the Dusk Realm as the scenery changed from a rocky mountain to a lush forest. In here, it was rather easy to lose your sense of direction. However, if you climb up on the tree, you would notice the setting sun, and you could easily reorientate yourself.
As the name suggested, the Dusk Realm was a realm where the sun was always setting, unmoving in its position or properties. It became a large compass for Kai to follow around every time he got lost, especially since the System was using all its processing power to analyse the mysterious force that was affecting his spells.
Soon enough, he heard another voice.
'Only those worthy enough will be able to pass through the gate.'
In front of him, there was a 5-meter tall and 3-meter wide stone gate which had been weathered greatly. Green vines were growing all around it as it was almost fused with the lush greenery around it.
Kai noticed that there were multiple people in front of this gate, their weapons drawn and prepared for combat. However, they were not preparing to fight someone like Kai who had yet to appear, but rather were facing off against each other.
One group was from the Hepis Royal Magic Tower, while the other was from a combination of other organisations. After all, in terms of the number of entrants, the Hepis Royal Magic Tower had 10 occupancies, while each of the other organisations, including the Bluestone Sect, only had 4.
Kai thought about taking action for a moment but then sighed as he decided to wait for another hour until the system fully analysed the force that was affecting his spells.
In just a few minutes, Kai kept his distance and noticed that a few more people from other organisations appeared, and joined the group against the Hepis Royal Magic Tower, despite all being from different organisations and having to friendship with each other.