The long-haired man stared at the horizon as the shadow visibly grew with every passing moment. The crew shouted, people hooted and mortals jumped in joy. But Kiran turned away from the ocean; the emotions in his heart had long since died.

7 years. It had taken them 7 long years to reach land. People celebrated. They cheered. They screamed in exhilaration. They rejoiced.

Once upon a time, Kiran too would have rejoiced with them. He too would have cheered. He too would have been excited. But it no longer held any meaning. There was nothing for him to achieve here. Or back home. Did he even have a home at this point? If he went back, where would he return to?

To the ashram? Only to be treated as a failure and disgrace? Or to his parent’s house? The place where people pinned all their hopes on him; where people still prayed for his success; where he was their sole ray of hope; where people had named him Kiran, a ray light?

A place where he hadn't stepped in the last 21 years now?

21 years.

…

It had been 2 years since he had lost his first level. And in the time that had passed since then, he had lost 2 more. He was Level 21 now.

But that mattered not to him. He was no longer an ascetic.

0.0

His ship neared the spotted landmass and the [Ship Captain] frowned as he observed the mental map of the region created by Skill [Sense Land]. The shore didn't allow docking. “Stop the ship and drop the anchors!” The moustached man’s deep voice reverberated across the ship. “This is a rocky shore. We will be docking right here.”

The activity and the noise within the ship multiplied as excited men and woman raced to do their tasks. Even the passengers were left jubilant by the sight of the green landmass greeting them. The landmass, despite being a rocky one, was home to a lush forest a few kilometres inside while the shore housed copses of tall trees that had wide but few leaves. These trees were quite different from the one inside the forest.

The tall trees and green leaves of the forest were a welcome sight. And so were the songs of birds and the hum of insects. These were the absent sounds which these people hadn't heard in so long that they might as well have forgotten them.

Though, the sight of the forest was celebrated only because this was a low mana zone. Any monster that survived in this area could be easily culled; if not individually then collectively. However, if this had been a high mana zone, then the very sight of the forest would have had sent them running. They wouldn’t even have dared to anchor, let alone land on the landmass.

This was no fortune though. It was a result of the hard work of their [Mana Sensor]. He had been the one guiding the [Ship Captain] all along. As a result, he had been the one issuing the early warnings of the mana channel twisting and mutating into a more powerful one.

During the entire journey, not only him but the [Ward Smith] had been busy too. The old-man had constantly been activating ship's wards against detection while laying new wards where old ones had dissipated. Although his efforts had not stopped the truly powerful monsters, for they noticed the ship and broke the wards, his wards had kept the ship from attracting most monsters that had come in their path. This had saved them constant struggles and battles of attrition.

It was because of these efforts that they had survived. And now, success was within their grasp.

At that moment, as the crew celebrated, the door to the [Ship Captain]’s office opened and a woman walked in. She was dressed in an unbroken fabric of dark green silk that was wrapped around her elegantly. Her hair was short and barely kissed her shoulders, while her head was tilted up high, causing her dark eyes to look down at the world from their high mantle.

“Are there no high Tiered zones nearby?” The folds on the lower parts of her dress fluttered as each of her movement eluded grace. “There is none that Anubhav could find yet.” The man’s lips twitched in the barest hint of a smile. “We might find one in the future, however.”

The green-clad woman nodded. “Once things have settled down, lend Anubhav to me for a while. His Skills as a [Mana Sensor] would be indispensable in finding our son’s first monster.”

“I will keep it in mind.” The man turned his attention back to the ship. “Don’t expect him for quite some time though.”

“The boy is already seven years old.” The woman’s brows furrowed the slightest amount, yet they displayed their displeasure. “He is already two years behind his peers back home.” The middle-aged man's forehead crinkled but he sighed. “I understand. I will send him as soon as a base has been established.”

The woman pursed her lips. “It will have to do.” She turned to leave but paused after a moment. “I would recommend blocking access to Chambermaids for now. With the sailors this happy, they might not survive.”

“Hmm? Yes. That’s true. We cannot let them die.” The man agreed without much thought. “The Royal decree demands at least 20 years of service before death, doesn’t it?”

0.0

As people landed on the rocky shore, some laughed as they felt the rocks beneath their feet, while others ran. Some merely sat on the ground, enjoying the stillness that they had lacked for so long. And then there were those who lost themselves in sensations of the very sand.

It took quite some time for elation to wear off enough that the crew could start working. However, when all was said and done, it didn't take much time to get them back on the job.

The first to get back to work had been Anubhav Dhyan, the [Mana Sensor], and he had been busy scouting the area ever since. Anubhav was a Tier 2 mage with specialization in sensing. His spell [Cast Vision], along with his Skill [Mana Vision], allowed him to project his vision through the Mana Streams to scout. It had taken him quite a while to finish exploring before he had declared the area as unclaimed land.

After his declaration, a semi-permanent settlement -instead of a mere temporary one- was allowed to be set up. This allowed their [Ward Smith] to place a rather durable ward with his Tier 3 Skill [Mana Permanency]. This Skill allowed wards to leach the surrounding mana for the use, rather than needing a fixed mana source.

Though his Class [Ward Smith] wasn't incredibly high levelled for a Tier 3, thus his Tier 3 Skill wasn’t high levelled either. This forced the man to strengthen the ward daily with [Mana Permanency] as his skill wore off after a few days.

After the wards had been set up, they allowed people to feel a sense of security and the construction had truly begun after that. The atmosphere in the settlement was jubilant and exhilarated as people dreamt of riches and honour that awaited them back home.

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-