Central part of the Southern Continent. City of Mages Avenum.

True Mages gathered for a small conference. Such meetings were held every 5 years. At them, the various True Magicians of the three organizations spoke out about the global problems of the Southern Continent. The topics of anomalous zones and mortals were touched upon. Topics of overcoming the barrier, allocation of resources and so on.

If this or that proposal was supported by the majority of True Mages, then it went to the consideration of the second rank Mages.

In addition to the main agenda, many Mages used the meeting for private transactions and the exchange of knowledge and resources.

Andrew was a True Magician at the age of 120. He was one of those few Magicians who came from the very bottom of the mortal world. Finally it was his turn to speak.

Many Mages in the audience rolled their eyes as Andrew walked towards the podium. He tried not to show it, although his chest ached. He surveyed those present, among whom some cast unfriendly glances at him. If he wasn't part of the Mist Bastion and had a decent talent for spellcraft profession, it's quite possible someone present would have tried to kill him outside.

Taking a deep breath, he began.

- Dear Mages. We were all mere mortals once. Each of us has gone through a thorny path to be here today, but we must not forget our roots. I am appealing to you again in the hope that you will help me to submit a request for consideration by 2nd rank Mages.

The population of the mortal world of our central continent has been reduced from 45 million to just 20 million in the last 100 years. This is a real disaster! 30% of all deaths among ordinary people occur in the mines for the extraction of magic stones. It can be said that every day ten thousand mortals die from fatigue and injury. If we add here all the other areas in which we Mages use mortals as a labor force, then it becomes obvious that a catastrophe is brewing. The birth rate among mortals is much lower than the death rate. At the current rate of exploitation, in another 100 years, the mortals of the Southern Continent will be virtually extinct.

It is also worth mentioning the fact that Mages have the right to kill mortals without restrictions and consequences, which aggravates the situation even more. Even in the old days, this problem was not so relevant, but with each generation of Mages, mortals are increasingly no longer perceived by them as living beings. Killing a person is like squashing an ant to them.

It was this attitude that at one time served as one of the main reasons for the uprising of the Knights who led the mortal world against the Mages. But the lesson was clearly not learned, today the situation is even worse than it was in those days. The number of mortals who fear and hate Mages more and more, this hatred is passed down through generations...

One of the Mages interrupted Andrew.

- There are still a lot of soulless around. And what exactly do you suggest? Forbid killing the soulless?

- Of course not. Nevertheless, it is worth introducing at least some symbolic punishment for this in the form of a fine. I'm not trying to offend anyone here. This is only to let all Mages know that mortals are an important resource for us. The tradition of collecting hundreds of mortals as living targets for training, creating soulless puppets, and other barbaric habits should be curtailed.

Please do not mention those mortals who live in the various Outland zones around the Southern Continent. The cost of sending one thousand mortals is a minimum of 100 magic crystals. If nothing is done now, then in the foreseeable future, solving this problem will cost us ten times more!

I pray you not only for mercy. This problem needs to be solved for ourselves, for the future of the Mages World. Thank you for attention. - Andrew finished the report.

There was an oppressive silence in the hall. Obviously, few of the Mages were imbued with his speech. Andrew closed his eyes and tried to suppress his emotions. He couldn't do anything more. With a bowed head, he went back to his seat.

Kyle Tarrister was also present among the local Mages. Like the other Magicians, he wasn't too interested in Andrew's report.

Even though he was one of the youngest True Magicians present, what did he care about what would happen in a hundred years? If you reduce the use of mortals, then amount of resources extracted will become even smaller. It is unlikely that at least one Mage will agree to such a thing. His roots as a commoner didn't resonate much with him.

Now he is a True Magician. His father was his last contact with the mortal world and most likely already deceased. He had already paid him a visit and returned the debt to his father as best he could. He had never even seen Isabelle. Almost all of his conscious life is the desire for power on the path of studying Magic. Initially, this path was not even his choice, such was the desire of his father. As a child, he was angry about this, although now, of course, he did not regret anything.

Kyle wasn't going to stop there. He was still young and quite ambitious. Now is not the time to be distracted by charity.

Well, other True Magicians, especially those who had less than a hundred years left to live, generally looked at Andrew with contempt. At best, they will release a mission for the acolytes of the three organizations to invent a way to increase the fertility among the soulless to compensate for the losses. The Mages themselves were not at all interested in solving such problems.

This issue directly affected the resources of all three major organizations of Rank 2 Mages. None of them wants to lose profits, but at the same time, each will not mind if the others decide to show a little humanity.

As the meeting drew to a close, Kyle received a message from his mentor that he would have to leave the meeting early.

Apparently, he was not the only one contacted, many other Mages also received messages and went about their business. Apparently something important happened.

Meanwhile, Kyle's mentor was struck by the realization that the contract with Fading Star Mage Stevens had expired. The only reason for such a development of events could only be his death.

The mentor's name was Shelby and he was one of the strongest Elemental Star Mage of the earth element.

All Mages of the 2nd rank hated Stevens, but at the same time, everyone would like to be in his place. Of course, the only Rank 3 Mage wasn't going to share the details of his breakthrough with anyone, so they could only shake in anger. Not only that, most of the magic crystals, as well as other resources of the Southern Continent, went to this Mage.

And now finally, this curse vanished by itself. This pleased Elemental Star Mages of all organizations. Now they were free and there would be much more resources.

However, Shelby did not rejoice for long. Stevens' existence was not only harmful. Under his supervision, there were no global conflicts capable of causing a war of Mages. It just didn't make sense. But now the situation has changed. It was difficult to say what would happen next.

Kyle returned to the Earth Hold organization and went to his mentor. He was already waiting for him and invited him inside. After the greetings, the mentor began to speak to the point.

- 3rd rank Mage Stevens is dead. Most of the 2nd rank Mages of the three organizations, including ours, already know about this. Don't go outside anytime soon. I've already given instructions that you won't be assigned to any assignments anytime soon.

The news certainly surprised Kyle. Although he could only vaguely judge the consequences, he decided to clarify.

- But mentor, why I should not leave the organization?

- Because there is a possibility that a war will start. I hope this will be avoided and all three organizations will quietly continue to exist. But at a time like this, it's best to be on the lookout. Our organization Earth Hold has only five Mages of the 2nd rank, in this regard we are the weakest. Although we will try to make concessions and agreements, it is better to prepare for the worst.

However, as long as you stay under my care, everything will be fine. Your value to me is higher than the entire organization. As a last resort, we will leave this continent together.

Now Kyle was truly dumbfounded.

- We will leave the continent? Do you mean the entire Southern Continent? - Kyle asked.

Shelby chuckled.

- Right. At one time, I was one of the leaders in the exploration of various parts of Outland, in particular, I visited Outland where you come from. For many years, Mages have been puzzled about the reason why magical stones are practically not formed in that part of the continent, and in general magical creatures are very rare.

No one has been able to come to an unambiguous conclusion, although there have been many theories. However, your mentor is the best Mage of the earth element. I traveled miles underground in various parts of Outland and finally managed to find the cause.

It's all about the teleportation formation. It itself is not so huge, but the points from which the formation is powered are located throughout the Outlands deep underground. In fact, this entire vast territory serves only as food for the work and self-restoration of the teleportation formation between the continents.

It is impossible to understand how this formation works. Obviously, it was originally created by Mages above the 4th rank. However, you can use it without any problems. I have already been to the Western Continent. There are many Mages of the 3rd rank, but even more creatures with comparable or even higher power. However, apparently no one has yet discovered this formation on the other side.

I think you, like me, do not burn with the desire to die for this organization. Even in the Western Continent, I haven't heard of Mages with a blood element like yours. If you manage to extract the bloodline of an ancient being capable of reaching rank 4, then our Mage path will become much easier. Any potential risks are nothing compared to the chance of having such power!

Shelby's eyes sparkled fanatically. He looked at Kyle like he was a rare treasure.

Kyle's heartbeat also accelerated. He has already spent a lot of time studying bloodlines. If such a bloodline can be extracted and successfully implemented the Mage will become much stronger. At the same time, it will become much easier to break through the barrier between ranks.

There were many records of ancient beings with terrifying power. Unlike Mages, their very existence gradually made them stronger. Isn't that what every magician raves about in his sleep? The shortest path to power!

.

Melrose arrived in Outland and quickly took control of the Tarrister Guild and other guilds, ordering figurines and rag dolls to be bought from all the surrounding kingdoms.

No one could oppose anything to the True Magician.

However, taking control of all of Outland was too tedious a task for him and would take too much time, so he limited himself to that. Living golems had a peculiar mind, yet they were too young and stupid for difficult tasks. Their strength was also not enough. Melrose was keenly aware of the lack of capable subordinates, but he could do nothing about it.

Bertram was still alive and swore allegiance to Melrose. He worked with Tarrister and knew quite well how the garbage collection scheme worked.

Melrose did not kill Sam's acquaintances. Although he was already old, he still had the hope of finding a way to survive at any cost. Creating an extra blood enemy such as Tarrister had no advantage for him. He feared death more than anything and spent half his life trying to find a workaround. Everything else didn't matter much to him.

Leaving Harlem in charge, he returned to his tower again. He still had to create a formation for the Soul Stabilization Rune. He wasn't about to stop experimenting. After all, he still had about ten Ascension potions left. Hope dies last. There are sure to be quite a few volunteers after it turns out that Tarrister is alive. Maybe even one of the True Mages will want to take the risk. It was the only thing that cheered him up a little.

When the time limit of three years had passed, he sent a golem with a report to the teleportation formation in the central South Continent.

Although his contract with the Rank 2 Mage has come to an end, Tarrister is still alive. This means that he will somehow reappear and everyone will understand that the experiment was successful. There was no point in angering the 2nd rank Mage. This matter would still be known to everyone soon.

 

The formations in Outland and the Southern Continent were not too far apart. Both formations were watched over by acolytes. However, there were always two True Magicians on duty nearby, but they had only one task, to respond if someone tried to destroy the formations.

All such formations usually had one or two True Mages assigned to them and those Mages were called Guardians. They did not belong to the Orion coalition and did not interfere in the work of the formation or in who uses it. Even if for some reason they cannot prevent damage to the formation, they will try to restore its functionality. In fact, they went about their business hiding in the shadows.

Previously, there were cases when other Mages tried to destroy the formation. Some of them were even second rank Mages. Someone did it becouse they tried to escape from their enemies, others simply wanted to become the sole ruler by cutting themselves off from the central southern continent. But this rarely ended well for them.

Many Mages of the second rank risked their lives crossing the anomalous zones in order to connect the main continent with other territories. Anyone who tried to damage the formations became an outcast and the enemy of all Mages of the Southern Continent.

All sorts of hidden traps in the form of curses, tracking and protection, Guardians and other possible protection mechanisms that no one talked about. If we add here the considerable probability that hidden teleportation formations were installed somewhere as a precautionary measure, then we can conclude that only a complete madman or one who never intends to return could take such a step.

Even Shelby and Kyle, who arrived to Orion because of the attack on the Earth's Hold did not bother trying to damage the formations. They immediately set off towards Outland, ignoring everyone around.

As one of the pillars of the organization, Shelby was not bound by a strict contract with the organization and did not wait for the situation to get out of hand. Having captured the maximum amount of resources, he fled.

Kyle was originally accepted by Shelby as a personal student and they had a personal contract with Shelby, so Kyle was also not bound by a contract with the organization.

They soon left the Southern Continent.