Arthur and the others had been flying for nearly half an hour since leaving the island with the dawn-weed, the faint trails of energy from the other explorers fading behind them. Below them, clouds drifted lazily, casting shadows across the scattered landmasses that hung in the sky like shattered continents.
Arthur slowed mid-flight and glanced at Selene, who matched his pace effortlessly. "Wait a second," he murmured, as he brought out multiple probes.
She tilted her head as she looked at the fist sized orbs floating in front of Arthur, the others were also confused. "What are those?"
"These will help us map the area around us and will let us detect resources faster," Arthur replied, flicking his wrist. As,several silver spheres darted through the air before vanishing into the distance. Tiny contrails of blue light marked their departure.
Selene raised an eyebrow, feeling Arthur was too resourceful with those weird gadgets of his. The people who accompanied Arthur and his friends, as he couldn't just leave them, didn't question Arthur's methods as he was one of the two stronger members of the group.
Finn, who was flying behind them with Leon and the others, unable to contain his curiosity, asked. "Where did you even get those? Is it from the trial?"
Arthur shrugged and said, "Well… I will tell you later." And feeling Arthur didn't want to discuss it now, Finn also didn't push for an answer.
These probes were different from the ones Arthur had when he arrived in Thyrandel. With the help of the Guardian AI he designed them, tuned to detect abnormal mana density patterns in large-scale environments.
Finn continued, "You've seriously got a gadget for everything, man. You ever think of, I don't know, maybe not be over prepared?"
Leon chuckled quietly. "He's not wrong though, considering where we are, being prepared might save our lives."
Arthur's lips twitched into a grin. "Exactly."
…
About an hour later, one of the probes pinged a signal, a faint blue dot blinking on the holographic display on Arthur's holopad on his wrist.
"There's dense mana concentration ahead," he said, his tone sharpening a bit. "And a big one."
They adjusted their course immediately, cutting through a veil of low-hanging mist until a colossal floating landmass came into view. It was easily the size of a large city, blanketed in pale green vegetation and scattered crystalline formations that glowed faintly with veins of light.
Arthur used 'Analyze' on them, and except for being a bit stronger stones which contained mana, they were useless. So he didn't pay them any further attention.
The air here was thicker, and heavier with mana. The concentration of mana was so high, it could be considered a heaven for a mage.
Arthur slowed and gestured to the others to descend. The group landed on the outer edge of the island which was covered in sand, their boots crunching against sand that sparkled faintly due to their touch, like crushed gemstones.
Selene crouched, brushing her hand against the ground. "This place is so magical."
"Yeah," Arthur nodded quietly, and continued. "But have you noticed, we didn't come across any living beings other than flora."
Finn frowned. "That's… unsettling. You'd think a place this full of mana would be crawling with beasts."
Arthur didn't reply, he was thinking the same thing. His instincts had been on edge since they entered the pocket dimension, a subtle tension in his gut that refused to fade.
"Let's move," he finally said, taking point. "But stay alert. Whatever the reason is for the lack of monsters in this pocket realm might be extremely dangerous."
The others nodded and fell into formation behind him.
They trekked deeper into the island, the mana density increasing as they went deeper inside the island. And the deeper they went, the stranger the landscape became, glowing moss covering rocks, plants with translucent petals, and streams of red liquid which was most likely not water flowing down small hills.
Despite the beauty, there was an eerie stillness in the atmosphere, as if the place was dead.
Even Selene and Arthur, the strongest in the group, were feeling uncomfortable with the silence.
…
After about twenty minutes of cautious exploration, the forest-like terrain opened into a wide clearing. At its center lay a small pond, unusually circular in shape, the water inside it was glowing faintly blue. And the air above it was covered in a haze, making them unable to see what was beyond the pond.
"That's the source," Arthur said quietly.
Everyone could feel it, waves of pure mana radiating from the pond.
Arthur motioned for everyone to stop. "Stay back. I'll check it out first."
Selene stepped up beside him. "You're not going alone."
He smiled faintly. "Didn't think you'd let me."
They walked side by side until they reached the pond's edge. The mana here was almost intoxicating, thick enough to taste in the air. Arthur picked up a small stone and tossed it in. It sank without sound, creating a single ripple across the surface.
But even after a few seconds nothing happened.
Selene folded her arms. "So,there are no traps?"
"Maybe."
Arthur crouched down and extended his finger, dipping it into the water. The moment his skin touched it, a jolt ran through his arm. He felt the mana surge up his veins, and it was not chaotic or uncontrollable, but… refined.
The sensation he was feeling was entirely new from what he'd felt in his whole life, as if he was inside a sauna and getting a massage simultaneously.
His Energy Absorption ability kicked in automatically, drawing the mana inward and distributing it through his body. The process was smooth, like breathing.
Arthur's eyes widened slightly. "This is insane."
Selene frowned. "What happened?"
Arthur stood up and turned towards the other. "The mana in this pond is pure to the point of absurdity. I absorbed it for a single second, and it was comparable to what's inside a high-grade mana stone. Furthermore it's… gentle, there was no backlash or resistance due to such fast absorption."
Selene's eyes widened. "You're serious?"
He nodded. "Even a mediocre mage could reach Archmage rank by meditating here for a month."
That got everyone's attention.
Finn's jaw dropped. "Wait, you mean if I sit in that thing long enough, I'll be able to flex my strength like you?"
Leon gave him a flat look. "You'd probably blow yourself up first."
Arthur chuckled, then crouched again, this time scooping a bowl of the glowing blue liquid. "If we can't take the whole pond, who knows how far we can reach in strength."
He held the bowl and tried to store it in his dimensional storage. But before he could, the liquid began to fade, the glow dimming rapidly until it evaporated completely, leaving the bowl empty.
Selene frowned. "What is happening…?"
Arthur tried again, sealing the liquid in a bottle first. But the result was the same, it evaporated instantly.
He sighed. "It's bound to the mana field here, the liquid mana loses stability once it's separated from the pond."
Sophia looked disappointed. "So we can't take it with us."
Arthur nodded. "No choice but to absorb it directly."
Selene gave a small grin. "Then what are we waiting for?"
They stepped into the pond one by one. The water was pleasantly warm, not scorching, or freezing, and it only reached their chests even when they sat down. The moment they activated their mana circulation, they felt it, raw power flooding their meridians, expanding their cores, and refining their energy.
Leon closed his eyes. "It's… unreal. My mana pathways feel cleaner than they ever have."
Eva was amazed as she said. "I can feel the barrier of the Sixth Circle breaking already!"
Finn had his eyes shut tight, muttering under his breath. "Please let this work, please let this work…"
Arthur, meanwhile, wasn't meditating like the others. He was channeling his ability Energy Absorption at full capacity, drawing in more mana than any normal person could survive. His mana circle spun like a vortex, expanding rapidly.
He'd been stuck at the Fifth Circle for a while, mostly because he hadn't bothered to absorb the countless monster cores he'd collected. But now, his entire being was drinking in the power of the pond like a sponge.
Within half an hour, Finn and the others reached the peak of the Sixth Circle. Arthur, however, had already crossed into the Seventh. Everyone's body glowed faintly with energy, as veins of light pulsated beneath their skin.
Selene, sitting nearby, was calm as ever. Her power was harder to raise, as she was already an Archmage, and her mana heart demanded exponentially more energy. But even she could feel progress, her core was becoming stronger with every second inside the pond.
An hour passed in near silence, broken only by faint ripples in the water.
Just then a voice echoed from the edge of the clearing. "What… is this place?"
Arthur opened his eyes, and saw a group of explorers, a mix of humans, elves, and demi-humans had arrived. They looked cautious but intrigued, staring at the glowing pond and the mana swirling visibly around the group inside it.
One of them stepped forward, a young man with silver hair. "What are you doing? Bathing?"
Arthur's lips twitched. "You could call it that."
Selene smirked quietly beside him.
The newcomers widened their eyes finally realizing they were absorbing mana from the pond after coming close enough. "You're saying we can absorb it?"
Arthur nodded. "Yes, but you can't take it with you. We already tried, the liquid mana evaporates once removed from the pond."
That was enough to make them rush forward. Some tried to scoop the liquid anyway, ignoring his warning. Predictably, it vanished before their eyes.
Arthur leaned back slightly, unimpressed. "Told you."
Finally, realizing he wasn't bluffing, the new arrivals gave up and joined them in the pond, sitting cautiously at first, and then gasping in awe as the mana began to flow into their bodies.
More and more people began arriving near the pond drawn by the pure mana they could sense from afar. Within another hour, nearly a few dozen figures surrounded the clearing, some meditating, some arguing over territory, but none daring to fight outright as the strongest people here were Arthur and Selene.
Arthur opened one eye and scanned the growing crowd. "This place is about to become a madhouse as stronger people arrive."
Selene's eyes flicked open too. "You think we should leave soon?"
"Not yet," Arthur murmured, his tone thoughtful. "Let's see how far we can push this before a conflict starts."
And just like that a few hours passed, and a new group arrived. But there were two martial artists who were at the grandmaster rank present with them. The playing field was about to get more interesting.
***
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