The moment Lancey stepped through the shimmering veil of the Platinum Gate and into the Eternal River Plains, her senses were assaulted by a tidal wave of elemental energy.
The concentration was staggering, more than three and a half times higher than the outside world. For any Magus, this was not just a resource point; it was a sanctuary, a heaven on earth where the very air felt saturated with the potential for breakthrough.
But Lancey had no time for luxury. Her orders were waiting, and as expected they were a death sentence in disguise. She was appointed to Zone 13, a high-tension highland at the shifting border between Light and Dark Magi territories.
Her task was to protect the Black Mandara Flowers and, should the Dark Magi launch an assault, trigger the distress signal from the highland tower.
The mission sounded straightforward to a layman, but in the current Magus world, it was a nightmare. The Black Mandara was a precious subspecies of the Mandara Flower, its palm-sized petals essential for those specializing in negative energy.
At night, these petals speckled with star-like blue spots emitted a ghostly milky-white radiance. In the markets of the South Coast, a single petal could fetch over 1,000 magic crystals.
Lancey was an official Potion Master, a healer by trade. To be sent to a frontline combat zone was a blatant move by Caesar. He was weaponizing the Garden's bureaucracy to ensure she was either killed by Dark Magi or executed for "abandoning her post."
Accompanying her were the two attendants arranged by Leylin. To the casual observer, they appeared to be two aging Grand Knights, their faces weathered and their auras suppressed. But beneath that veneer of age was a terrifying, bloody aura like a slumbering dragon waiting to be unleashed.
Lancey's Mini-Chip scanned them as they marched toward the highlands.
[Target Scan: Kaelen. Bloodline Knight (Elite). Strength: 30.2. Agility: 31.8. Vitality: 17.1.Status: Signs of Diminishing Life Force. Bloodline: Giant Earth Bear.]
[Target Scan: Vane. Bloodline Knight (Elite).Strength: 31.9.Agility: 29.5.Vitality: 19.3.Status: Signs of Diminishing Life Force. Bloodline: Iron-Hide Rhino.]
These were the elite of the Astral Requiem, their physical capabilities 20% higher than the standard Bloodline Knights Leylin had initially produced. They were silent, lethal shadows following her into the fray.
Zone 13 was a jagged highland dominated by a fort constructed from reinforced earth elemental spells. When Lancey arrived, she was met by a slender, gaunt male Magus who looked as if he were fleeing a plague. Without so much as a formal introduction, he transferred the black scepter of command to her and vanished toward the rear lines before the dust from his departure could settle.
The "army" left under Lancey's command was a joke: a mere ten acolytes.
"What a hassle," Lancey murmured. She walked into the central hall of the earth-fort and released her spiritual force. "I am the new Magus Guard! All acolytes are to assemble in the hall immediately!"
Her voice was soft, but it carried a magical resonance that vibrated through the stone walls. Moments later, ten acolytes jogged into the hall. They were a messy bunch; their grey robes were tattered, and the mismatched symbols of various academies revealed them to be the "inferior" leftovers expendable fodder from smaller organizations.
Lancey raised the black scepter. Runes flared to life across the hall, manifesting a shimmering defensive spell formation that pulsed in sync with the scepter's glow. The acolytes immediately fell to their knees.
"We greet the Lord Magus Guard!"
"I am Lancey Evans. You!" She pointed at an old, withered acolyte who possessed the strongest energy undulations. "Is everyone present?"
"Re—Reporting, My Lord!" the old man cowered. "Aside from a few on patrol, all are here…"
Just then, five acolytes—three male, two female, stumbled into the hall, their faces pale with apprehension.
"Lord! We are the new acolytes!" a youthful voice cried out. "We were delayed by a patrol mission. Please... permit us to enter!"
In the frontlines of a war, a Magus Guard held the power of life and death. Disobeying an order or being late for assembly could be grounds for summary execution. Lancey's eyes narrowed, her expression shifting to one of icy annoyance. She was ready to execute the leader of the latecomers to establish absolute terror.
The blonde acolyte at the front knelt, his jaw clenched. "My Lord! We didn't intend to be late! They gave us impossible routes to patrol!"
"Lies!" the old acolyte screamed, jumping forward. "The missions are chosen by the Bottle of Famedor! You simply lack respect for our new Lord!"
It was a classic scene: the veterans bullying the newcomers but Lancey didn't care, she was prepared to silence the blonde youth permanently when the Mini-Chip suddenly dinged inside her mind.
[Alert: Target Identified in Database. Name: George Borun. Age: 22. Status: Level 3 Acolyte (Transmutation). Energy Signature: Green Metal Tree. Historical Context: Identified as a traveler and friend of Master Leylin Farlier before academy selection.]
Lancey broke out into a cold sweat. Had the Mini-Chip not shared this fragment of her Master's history, she would have mistakenly executed one of the few people Leylin might actually care about. Even if the friendship was distant, she dared not slight a man who had shared a path with her Lord.
Lancey scratched her nose, her murderous aura evaporating instantly. She turned her icy gaze toward the old acolyte instead.
"You!"
The pressure of her Rank 1 aura slammed the old man into the floor. "Lord! Please forgive me!"
"I don't care for your petty squabbles," Lancey said, her voice freezing the air. "But from this moment on, such conflicts end. If our forces dwindle because of your bullying, I will draw your spirit from your body and torture it for a hundred years. Is that clear?"
The acolytes trembled. From that day on, George wouldn't just be safe from the veterans but they would be tripping over themselves to curry favor with him, terrified that he was somehow under the Magus Guard's personal protection.
Half a month passed in a blur of tension. Inside the secret plane, the sun and moon projections of the true celestial bodies captured by ancient Magi continued their artificial cycle.
At night, Lancey retreated to her private laboratory within the fort. She held a test tube filled with a swirling grey liquid, her blue eyes scanning it through the A.I. interface.
"The solution of Nefarious Filthbird feathers," she whispered. The A.I. confirmed the ancient legends that the Filthbird and the Trial's Eye were primal nemeses. Its essence was one of the few things capable of corroding a sacred oath.
"With this," Lancey smirked, her reflection in the glass looking predatory, "the shackles of the Four Seasons Garden are broken. I can finally dedicate myself fully to my Lord's mission."
She tilted the tube, watching the grey liquid shimmer with the promise of betrayal.
As the artificial moon reached its zenith, Lancey prepared to dissolve her contract, the first step in the Astral Requiem's total takeover of Zone 13.