Wallace remembers the five skills that he can learn in the future. The Void Phase, Matter Disassembly, Essence Reconstruction, Astral Core Formulation, and Chasm Trample.

With all these skills, he may not be the strongest magician but he will be the most versatile one and he would be able to contend against the Celestial Beings at the northern continent.

That's right, after integrating himself with a Celestial Fragment to form the Astral Core, he understood a lot of things about their existence. It was also due to the Empire's Prince's logbook that explained almost half of it.

The Celestial Being was the perfected creature that the Prince wanted to use against the empire... But they became too powerful and they no longer listened to his instructions pushing him to flee from the northern continent.

They no longer require the world's mana to become a mana practitioner as they are the ones creating mana using the core inside their body. It was similar to his Astral Core but because Wallace only used a small fragment, if it was compared to the Celestial Beings who possess a complete core, then what he has was lacking.

Fortunately, having an incomplete core was still the best for him. After all, if he had a perfect Astral Core like what the Celestial Beings possess, his flesh will cease to exist and will be replaced by a complete form of energy.

He would no longer be capable of learning other skills like Chasm Trample, Matter Disassembly, and other skills that require the physical flesh as a base.

These are the things he realized after completing his core.

He felt obviously glad seeing his strength increased by a large margin but unfortunately, it was still not enough to fight an Empire that controls several galaxies.

He may be considered a strong foe here but he still can't compare to the material power that the Empire could bring to defeat a strong individual.

Anyway, he hasn't even compared his strength against a magician that surpassed the level of an Adept... or an Arcane Sage.

Wallace wasn't sure how long has passed when he managed to fully learn the technique. He doesn't have a sense of time while he was creating the core so he was a bit worried that a long time had gone by without his knowledge.

"It's a mess, huh..."

He muttered while looking at the basement filled with cracks on the ground and on its walls. The containers of the energies he used were also destroyed completely.

As a matter of fact, the mess he was referring to was only those cracks as the room was completely empty... He wasn't sure but they most likely disintegrated while he was in the critical part of learning the skill.

He was even naked at the moment due to the sheer power that was released when he formed his Astral Core...

Because of that, he can't ask Avalon.

'This place was really sturdy...'

Wallace thought as he surveyed the basement room. The power he released should've destroyed a normal high-rise building but the magic formation engraved managed to hold on and protected the whole villa.

It means that beyond this room was completely safe since the walls and ceiling weren't fully destroyed.

Wallace used his Divine Sense and noticed that there were two more people outside. He had no idea what's happening but before he asked the two or maybe Avalon instead, he checked the rewards from the Pathfinder.

"Eh?"

As he was about to check the rewards, he noticed that the old man just now reacted to his Divine Sense. Although it was delayed due to something he was working on, he definitely sensed his skill usage.

"He must be the skilled Mage Doctor that Senior Lacus recommended..."

After confirming this, he no longer hesitated to check the Pathfinder's message.

[ Congratulations! You have successfully created your Astral Core!

You are gradually achieving your goals.

Remember that your own strength is something that you can trust and rely on at any time. ]

[ You have received an Extreme Potion of Divine Sense. ]

[ You have received a Map of the Northern Continent ]

[ You have received a Mystery Box x3 ]

Wallace was satisfied at the rewards he just got and quickly materialized a vial containing the potion...

He drank the liquid immediately and it felt different from his previous consumptions. It felt cool and refreshing...

'Is this due to my Astral Core or a natural reaction?'

He couldn't answer but he was sure that his Astral Core that was formed just a little below his sternum was definitely working non-stop for the sake of his body.

He waited for a moment as he was still feeling the effects of the potion...

The moment the refreshing feeling disappeared, he tried to use his Divine Sense again to the same old man.

"Better..."

Sure enough, the Mage Doctor was no longer detecting his Divine Sense!

Unfortunately, the man didn't really focus on his Soul Arts but instead in Spirit Arts. So he must still try it to the idols at the academy or maybe to Miss Chamber herself.

'You shouldn't regret it...'

He remembers that he made an artifact for them to shield themselves for his Divine Sense... Right now, he felt that even without his trick, he would be able to use it stealthily.

As he was about to use his Void Phase to go to his room to get a change of clothes, he suddenly remembered to try something so he paused for a moment.

"Let's see..."

Wallace used his Void Phase again and appeared outside of his room but this time, he used the energy in his Astral Core. He used it again and appeared just a few meters from his previous location, he was now inside his room.

After he reappeared, he felt satisfied with the experimentation. He used his Astral Core and his Mana Reserves for the Void Phase.

Possessing the core doesn't mean that he can no longer use the world's Mana, unlike the Celestials which was convenient.

The Astral Core was mainly used to add on his strength or for more options in combat...

Soon, Wallace wore a simple shirt and shorts to meet the two people after asking Avalon about the details on what happened while he was out.

He had also learned that he was in seclusion for three and a half days!

And during that time, a lot of things happened!

***

Somewhere in the Northern Continent, there were two people working together to get out of a maze...

They believed that they were inside a building or probably an underground base and they were finding a way out.

Unfortunately...

"Why are their numbers kept increasing?!"

A female voice was heard and she sounded very irritated. The two had been fighting against their enemies for a long time already.

"Who knows?! You're the one who brought us here!"

Her male companion answered as he swept his arms and formed a wind blade cutting the man-eating plant that was trying to strangle them.

Their enemies weren't beast or humans but were instead plants that kept growing and extending its branches to strangle the two and its flowers trying to eat them. The plants were weak but their numbers were too many and at some point, they even had to escape.

They couldn't find its core whatever strategy they did.

It just kept appearing after some time had passed.

"Tsk... If I just brought all my weapons here... This wouldn't be a problem."

The middle-aged man said as he complained at their situation.

"Let's rest for now..."

They just cleared the plants and it would be some time before it appears again. They had to recover some of their energy before moving again.

Sigh~

The man looked at his dirtied robe and felt regretful that he didn't flee fast enough and was caught here.

"Next time... Don't use the special properties of a Sealed Mana Artifact if you don't know what is it."

Percival said to Avery.

During their fight in Tanza City, Avery was defeated due to the Headmaster's experience and superb control of his mana. Although a Sealed Mana Artifact was powerful, it needed a trained magician to maximize it's potential or it will just be wasted.

Avery realized this too late but at the moment that she was about to get captured, she willed the Heart's Grimoire to activate its untested special ability.

Unfortunately, it didn't help her to gain more strength or to kill her target... Instead, the two were transported to an altar somewhere... They weren't even sure if they are still in the Tanza City at first but after a few days of investigation and checking of clues found in the surroundings, they realized that they were in the northern continent.

'As expected of Celestial Being's heart... It could even transport people from far away to this place...'

Percival wasn't exactly sure but he already had a guess on why the grimoire's special ability was to bring them here.