After receiving the map and giving it a glance, Simon nodded.

‘Not exactly unexpected. It’s D- Tier and approximately 4 times further than the previous ruin.’

It made sense that dangerous ruins were less common. After all, those who had the strength to enter even a D- Tier ruin were few and far between in the lowest zone.

Thankfully, he had a certain airship with a resplendent lion's head at its bow, which was considerably faster than his other airships... Combined with him having refurbished the arrays in the ship, Simon could now traverse the skies at double the rate than of the past. As a result, he estimated that the journey would only take roughly three or four days of travel this time around.

‘Very well. This shall be the day I depart!’ Simon promptly decided as he folded the map and stowed it in a pocket, before striding outwards from the island core.

Soon enough, amidst a crowd of residents, the airship took off into the boundless skies with two men in tow. Meanwhile, Joe, Jake, Kathryn, and a few other important figures within the island were at the front, respectfully and solemnly sending them off.

-----

A few hours later...

Two figures stood atop the deck of a flying airship, soaring in the endless blue skies. The temperatures here were rather frigid - enough to render the average man extremely uncomfortable. And yet, the two wore simple cotton clothes, unfazed by the cold.

“Show me your strongest attack in each element.” one of the two commanded, whilst watching the other intently.

Jake quickly obliged, and began a series of profound movements while conjuring mana.

Woosh!

A fireball the size of a football was sent into the skies, only dissipating after traversing well over 500 meters.

Woosh!

A barrage of shards of ice was sent forwards at a speed that was barely visible to the eye, disappearing from sight within seconds.

Woosh…

As Simon watched, he nodded in acknowledgement.

“Not bad! You just reached the first star core yesterday, and yet, the power of your attacks are at the second star core standard.” he complemented.

Indeed, Jake’s progress into magic was truly marvelous. It was precisely due to this fact that he had brought him along in this expedition. That way, Simon could teach him while travelling, where he would normally have had little to do.

It has to be known that transcending magical tiers was already difficult when one was on the verge of breakthrough to the said tier. To transcend tiers whilst still being far away from a breakthrough? Such a thing was undoubtedly much harder!

“This was only because of your guidance.” said Jake humbly, shaking his head and smiling.

Though Jake’s talent was ungodly, Simon likewise had combined insights from two worlds in his teachings. Thus, Jake was not exaggerating Simon’s abilities in the slightest - he was practically the best teacher out there...

But suddenly, as if unable to contain himself Jake asked excitedly, “Master, when are you going to impart to me a magical technique? You said you would do so when I reached the first star core!”

Simon laughed. “Well, you sure are eager! The moment we are alone together, you ask. But of course, as I said that I would do so, I’ll naturally keep my word. Are you ready?”

Jake tried to nod solemnly, however, the excitement contained within his eyes was impossible for him to conceal.

With a nod, Simon closed his eyes and readied his body. Then, he suddenly began executing a series of profound movements, which were both mystifying and mesmerizing. His limbs moved in such a way that he looked unnatural - yet profound in an unsettling manner.

Eventually, Simon began emanating an aura of melancholy and berserkness, his actions becoming increasingly bizarre and inscrutable. Threads of darkness and flame then gathered around him as he continued on, and anyone who saw this scene would feel a faint sense of dread.

These threads continuously grew thicker and denser until eventually…

Woosh!

The strands of darkness and flame came together to form a humanoid figure!

Now, a flaming demon that seemed to have climbed from the depths of hell, which was emanating a horrifying aura... was kneeling subserviently below Simon, amidst a miniscule storm of embers and darkness.

Seeing this, Jake was speechless and he felt his mouth go dry. “M-Master, I’m not sure that I will be able to do that…” he quietly said.

Simon abruptly laughed. “I was just demonstrating what a basic level of proficiency in this technique yields! Even for you, such a level of proficiency should take at least a year to achieve. Of course, what I expect to see you execute will be relatively simple! Here, watch this.”

Simon then waved a hand, and the demon dispersed into a plume of darkness and flames which soon disappeared entirely. Afterwards, he began executing a series of simpler movements as he conjured mana.

Just a moment later, a vibrant, yet gloomy ball of dark flames appeared atop of his palm.

“Now this is called Demonflame.” Simon said with a nod, as he displayed to Jake the flames that were dancing on his palm - as if they contained sentience and will.

He then began playing with the ball of flame in his hand.

“This flame is best suited to those who have felt boundless anguish and an insatiable need for strength at one point in their life.” Simon sent a meaningful glance towards Jake, before continuing.

“As for its properties, this flame has high destructive power and can also be used to summon demons. At the lowest level, it of course, remains as a flame. At the basic level, it is possible to create a non-sentient demon. At the advanced level, it is possible to drag the soul of a true demon into a body created through Demonflame.”

“And at the level of perfection?” Simon chuckled slowly.

“You can become a demon yourself for a period of time, possessing the unbridled power of darkness and flame.”

But then he shook his head. “But that’s for the future; even I couldn't do that at my peak. Let alone you. For now, I’ll have you focus on conjuring the Demonflame by itself.”

Jake nodded vehemently as he excitedly took this information in. After all, he could tell from just the descriptions and the short demonstration that this technique was frighteningly powerful and profound! If he were to master this technique, he could surely use it to rise to great heights and to better serve his benefactor!

“However, you have to be careful, disciple. Such a technique is extremely dangerous, and a single misstep could burn you to a crisp or subject you to a demon’s control. You mustn't fool around with such a thing.” he warned sternly.

His warning was not a joke. After all, this was indeed a frighteningly profound and powerful magical technique, founded by an extremely infamous figure in Simon’s past life.

That man was basically a demon in human skin, and actually had eight star cores! He was feared by millions, and had even killed many thousands of people when he still lived, many of whom were mages as well... Using his secret technique, very few could rival his power; only a mage with nine star cores could contend with him when he activated the technique!

And this man, whom so many feared…

Was actually Simon’s old master! And this secret technique… was his Art of Demonflame!

Naturally, the infamous secret technique of Simon’s old master that had elevated his fame to its heights in his past life was impressive. No typical technique could ever hope to compare with it.

When Simon had first learned such a technique himself, his old master had once told him sternly that if he departed from the world, Simon would have to impart his prized technique upon at least one disciple.

In his past life, he had not been able to fulfill his Master’s wish, which he regretted to this day. This was one of his master’s few desires after his death, after all. Thus, in this life, he was naturally quite eager to do so.

Now that he had found an unfathomably talented disciple such as Jake, who even had an affinity with the technique, he had no reason to withhold it.

And so, Simon began imparting unto Jake the technique of controlling Demonflames, keeping his emotions buried within his heart. After all, now was not the time to reveal the origin of the technique. Nor was it the time to explain his past.

-----

On an unassuming 50 meter long airship, floating in the endless skies of the lowest zone.

Three figures stood at the helm of the ship, discussing their situation grimly: A peerlessly handsome young man, a similarly peerlessly beautiful maiden, and an elderly, yet sophisticated looking man.

The young man frowned as he turned to the elder. “Butler Cario, are you sure that he’s located within the... Layer of the Fallen Warlord?”

“Yes, I have just received word from an associate...” Butler Cario said solemnly and gently.

Following the confirmation, the young man sighed dejectedly, while the other two silently looked down.

The young man and woman were actually the son and daughter of a prominent merchant in the middle zone of Island Ascension Online, who was known as Merchant Toxilis.

He was a merchant who had amassed an illustrious reputation and incredible vast quantities of riches through a booming empire of trade; the riches and influence which he held was even rumored to be equivalent to Silver Tier Organizations.

Moreover, this awe-inspiring empire of trade merely took him 15 years to create, causing a great commotion among the various powers of Island Ascension Online!

Only, his rise to prominence was so sudden that many saw him as easy prey, inevitably leading to his capture despite his many precautions.

After all, at the end of the day, a new organization was just that, despite its potential: A new organization, yet to prove itself to be capable of survival in Island Ascension Online... Only organizations which could endure the ever-changing tides of this brutal world were considered to be true mainstays.

And his captors demanded not only his entire net worth, but the ownership of a particular treasure…

This treasure was something which Merchant Toxilis could never afford to part with, precisely because it was what he used to create his empire of trading!

Of course, he did not dare to keep such a treasure on his person. Before he was captured, he managed to tell his daughter and son of the location of the treasure, as well as what to do with it.

The two of them could vividly remember the day where their father had come to them, solemn beyond compare. On that day, he instructed: “Keep the treasure and escape far away - live a prosperous life! It does not matter what they tell you. Never give it away, and never divulge its location! Worst comes to worst, you can always return the treasure to the void. Your father will always love you.”

Alas, by the next day, he was already gone.

Of course they wished to save him! But his once mighty trading empire had long since collapsed, as his captors had ripped apart his empire in searching for the treasure. The only surviving remains of the empire were his most loyal servant, Butler Cario, and his son and daughter...

Butler Cario was actually a powerful Basic mage. Unfortunately, achieving anything with that meager amount of strength would be next to impossible. After all, their enemies possessed the means to deal with Master mages; there was no need to mention Basic mages.

And though they maintained a certain measure of wealth, it could only be considered to be a drop in the sea in the grand scheme of things.

Thus, they were helpless... especially when they heard of the location where he was held captive. The Layer of the Fallen Warlord. Just these words alone could instill fear into practically everyone who knew of the place.

Suddenly, on the seemingly endless horizon, a barely discernible speck suddenly came into sight.

“Eh?”

Butler Cario was the first to notice the speck. After all, as a mage, he had much greater eyesight when compared to normal people.

A wary look suddenly appeared on his face, as he began casting a spell.

“What is it, Butler Cario?”

“What did you see?

The two couldn’t help but ask as they saw his sudden change in demeanor.

After a tense moment, Butler Cario chuckled and sighed in relief as he deactivated the spell with a wave of his hands.

“I found an airship in our vicinity, but they aren’t pursuers. Just some lowly residents of the lowest zone. They most likely won’t cross our path and even if they do, there should be no problem.”

Everyone was relieved after hearing this. After all, as refugees with an incomparably valuable treasure, their lives were bound to be precarious; they had already traversed plenty of dangers to reach this point, and if they were caught here it would all be for naught!

But suddenly, as everyone was relaxing, Butler Cario turned 180 degrees with a sharp gaze, hurriedly reactivating the same spell that he had cast moments ago.

“Sh*t!” Butler Cario cursed, and his expression immediately paled whilst gazing at the distant speck which had just come into view.

“What?”

“What happened?!”

The other two immediately noticed Butler Cario’s foul mood and had a sudden sneaking suspicion, which made their hearts go cold.

“It’s a destroyer class airship from the Salvation Federation! I’m activating the overdrive.” Butler Cario grimly explained as he rushed to the airship’s controls.

The expression of the two tightened as they heard this. It seemed that… their worst fears had been realized. They had been found. By one of the organizations which destroyed their father’s trading empire, no less.

“Do you think we can outlast them with what remains?” the maiden worriedly asked.

“There’s no way. In the last three chases, we used up most of the essence crystals, and they know of that. This time, they surely will have brought enough to outlast us.” the young man explained as he shook his head, trying his best to keep calm.

Butler Cario shook his head as well and sighed dejectedly, his eyes containing melancholy, resignedness, and even a hint of madness as he gazed towards the approaching ship.

“I suspect this may be the end. There is no way that we can escape this time, with all of our cards being used up.” he muttered quietly.

He had never expected that they would be chased so relentlessly; there was simply no place to hide!

“Well, we have to give it a try.” Butler Cario growled determinedly, as the previously unassuming airship began speeding up.

And so, the chase began.