Earth's Greatest Magus

Emery stayed in hiding longer than he’d originally planned.

With Soltz continuing the journey alone beneath the sand, forced to make several detours to avoid detection, their original three-day estimate stretched several days longer. Emery used the extra time as best he could, focusing on recovery while preparing for whatever awaited them ahead.

First, he sent an updated report through Veyarel to the armada.

The devastation he’d witnessed through Sesani’s memories, a battle from two decades ago that was still reflected in the current state of the realm, was proof enough of how deep the corruption had spread. Even so, the three Supremes leading the armada chose to press forward, exploring Tartarus cautiously while gathering as much intelligence as possible. At their current pace, reaching Pardera would still take several months.

Which meant Emery had time to gather intelligence cautiously, taking less risky routes.

He intended to use the time well.

He settled deep beneath the desert sand, where the layers of earth above him provided another layer of concealment, and sat motionless in meditation. His breathing slowed until it was barely noticeable as he let the Fey Sovereign Mark ignite across his forehead.

The golden mark flared softly, its intricate pattern spreading with a faint radiance across his skin.

Emery began examining the artifacts he’d recovered from Sesani’s domain.

The identification process moved faster than he’d expected. The bronze Soul Resonance Staff carried only 22 restrictions, far fewer than he’d anticipated for a Tier 7 spirit weapon. The Demon Binding Beads, by contrast, contained 38 restrictions, comparable to a mid-grade artifact despite its low-grade classification. ℴ

Then there was the plain-looking rattan mat.

It supposedly a mid grade tier 7, yet it only contained twelve restrictions.

Emery studied the results for a moment, his expression thoughtful.

The findings reshaped his understanding somewhat. A higher grade didn’t necessarily mean an artifact had more restrictions. Some artifacts were simply designed with simpler structures, allowing them to be activated more easily without sacrificing their effectiveness.

The rattan mat was a good example.

Emery’s gaze lingered on the mat for a moment longer.

His began to pushed deeper into the woven mat. It took a while to untangle its intricacies. Most of the formation work etched into it existed purely to enhance the rattan’s natural properties—properties that, upon closer examination, were startlingly high-grade to begin with.

He let VIA continue the identification while he studied the material himself.

Before the results came back, his Elysian Vembrace suddenly stirred, its connection to the Elysian Tree becoming noticeably restless.

Emery smiled faintly, understanding immediately.

He arrived in front of the magnificent tree and held the rattan mat up in front of it. The moment the mat appeared, the branches of the Elysian Tree began to sway, and its countless leaves rustled despite there being no wind within the domain. The tree’s presence seemed to focus entirely on the ancient rattan, as if it had recognized something it desperately wanted.

”You want this one, don’t you?”

Emery didn’t hand it over right away. Instead, he studied the runes for a moment longer as VIA’s analysis finally completed.

According to one of Sesani’s own scriptures, the rattan had been woven from the remains of an ancient holy tree—a rare, high-grade Tier 8 material in its own right. Parting with something like that wasn’t a decision to make lightly.

But further refinement of the analysis revealed a problem.

The runes carved into the mat weren’t purely functional. They carried holy doctrine, including a binding mark tied to faith in a specific divine being. Unless Emery was willing to accept the faith, the artifact would never function properly in his hands.

There was a way around it: completely re-carving the formation array. However, doing so risked damaging the intricate structure of the rattan and degrading the precious material in the process.

”Well,” Emery muttered, glancing toward the eagerly swaying tree, ”lucky you.”

He decided to hand the mat over to Twik instead. Since his last evolution, Twik’s bond with the Elysian Tree had deepened considerably. No one would know how to properly integrate the ancient material better than him.

That left the other two items: the newly acquired Tier 8 legacy technique and the spatial shard still waiting to be refined. Emery considered which one to tackle first.

In moments like this, he found himself wishing either of his avatars were here to help.

They weren’t, but the connection between them had settled into something steadier since his arrival in Tartarus—a strange resonance he could feel humming quietly at the edge of his sea of consciousness. He couldn’t summon either avatar into his inner domain, but he could still sense them both, each managing as best they could while dealing with their own difficulties.

Accepting that there was no shortcut, Emery settled down to refine the items himself, one at a time.

The question was where to start. Logic dictated that he begin with whichever would offer the fastest return. With his Mark of Divinity and Astral Link artifact, refining an artifact would be much easier, so the bronze staff came first.

A spirit attack artifact would prove far more valuable against the Scourge, especially after seeing how dangerous their corrupted hosts could be.

Emery began carefully unraveling the staff’s restrictions, his Mark of Divinity allowing him to see the intricate rune structures hidden within the bronze. Each restriction appeared as a network of glowing strands, and with the Astral Link guiding his control, he gradually understood how the staff’s sound-based spiritual attacks were constructed.

A day passed.

The second follows

There was still no sign of the infected Supreme.

The third day came and went the same way.

On the fourth day, Soltz finally surfaced with news.

”I think I found survivors.”

Emery didn’t hesitate. He immediately accessed Soltz’s Waypoint and arrived at his location, more twenty thousands miles away within seconds.

The two of them stood facing one of the Thirteen Mountains range. Its enormous silhouette dominated the horizon, its slopes disappearing into the strange haze that covered the distant landscape. Emery immediately spread his Divine Sense across the mountain, carefully searching through the layers of rock.

It didn’t take long for him to notice something unusual.

Deep beneath the mountain was an anomaly—a sealed formation hidden beneath layers of stone and earth. It was ancient, but the formation itself remained remarkably stable, as if someone had deliberately maintained it over the years.

Emery narrowed his eyes.

”What is this place?” he asked.

Soltz’s expression was grim, almost reverent as he gazed toward the mountain.

”This is Kharzun Hold,” he said. ”A dwarven settlement lies within.”

To think there was still a settlement that had managed to survive for two decades was surprising.

”If you know about this settlement, those infected should have known about it as well.”

”Indeed. So, should we check this place out?”

Emery gave it some thought before nodding. The possibility of finding survivors was too important to ignore. The two proceeded cautiously toward the mountain, keeping their Divine Senses spread out as they approached the hidden settlement.

Eventually, they reached the barrier.

Emery attempted to use [Runelock Threading], manipulating the spatial structure of the formation in an effort to create an opening.

Surprisingly, it was far sturdier than Emery had expected. The formation surrounding Kharzun Hold was ancient, but its defensive power had clearly been preserved exceptionally well.

However, Emery wasn’t dismayed. If anything, he felt the opposite. The stronger the barrier, the more likely it was that survivors were still inside.