We humans have been at a disadvantage ever since we came to this world. Surrounded by races that are either magically superior, technologically superior, or physically superior to us. Our only advantage over them is through our numerical advantage, but that doesn't help much if those numbers could be dealt with a single spell, cannon fire, or pure brute strength. This weakness was shown clearly when the Beastmen were first been transported here on Astera.

The Beastmen, a race of humanoid animals were brutes. When they first arrived, they quickly tried to take over the land. The Elves pushed them back easily with their magic. They made them fear them so much that no other Beastmen tried to attack them. The dwarves are far in the north so they were untouched with the Human kingdom of Krishna as a buffer between them. The human race on the other hand, suffered the most. With the population of 10 million people, only 100,000 are able to use magic. Out of 100,000 there are only 10,000 people, which are mostly part of the noble class, can use it competently enough in combat. According to the records, there were 50,000 beastmen who attacked the Kingdom and before they were repelled with the help of the Elves, the Kingdom already reached a casualty was about a million.

After that horrendous event, a treaty between the four races were made. The Treaty of Partas. Among the important parts of the treaty was that invasion of other races is forbidden. If a race does attack another, the other races are required to come to the defending race's defense. The invader will then be sanctioned harshly to discourage further attacks. This has allowed two hundred years of peace.

The new generation might view the Treaty as a tool of peace. But to those who lived through the nightmare views it as the sign of our race's weakness. The humiliation we suffered by needing the help of others in order to defend our land. This must not continue.

Thus the Organization has been founded.

The Organization is a collection of likeminded people whose goal is for humanity to become stronger. They founded Magic Academies and made it accessible to the masses instead of the old tradition where only nobles were allowed to study magic. This opened the door to the talented commoners to learn how to manipulate mana and become stronger.

A large number of noble houses objected the idea but through negotiation and a little bit of blackmail, they finally convinced the then King of Krishna to authorize the opening of the Academies. With the backing of the King, the objecting Noble houses were forced to concede.

Due to the opening of the Magic Academies, the number of individuals who can utilize Mana boomed. Thus strengthening the country. But this was just the beginning. The Academies were the perfect place to scout for talented individuals to induct to the Organization. Mages, scholars, tacticians, knights and other prominent individuals soon filled the secret Organization, influencing the politics and pushing for policies in every towns, cities, and the military to further strengthen humankind. After a century, they finally realized their dream. Humans now gained the power to become one of the top if not the top power in Astera. Boasting the largest number of at least a million of Mages and Fighters that can utilize Mana.

Alas, mankind truly knows no satisfaction. After reaching their goal, the Organization thirst for more.

The Organization whose goal was to strengthen Humankind so that we can defend ourselves, is now pushing for human supremacy. Which, I don't really mind. The strong prey on the weak. The law of nature. Being one of the strong, it is fine by me.

I gaze at the ritual circle in the middle of the chamber. Thousands of golds were spent, countless of hours in research to perfect the magic circle, and the hours Master ritualists spent in making it. Yet here it is, the next step for the supremacy of mankind, empty. Setback after setback have we suffered. From the book of that would've taught us the secret of harnessing the Void that was stolen from us by Prince Reginald. After that he slaughtered most of the high ranking officers in both military and politics. The cherry on top was that the Book is now reportedly missing!

Will our dream ever become reality?

No matter. In my long time as and Elder of the Organization, I have met a lot of success and failures along the way. Each mistakes taught me a lot of how to approach a problem, further polishing my skills and knowledge. Each success earned me the respect and prestige of my peers while taking me a step closer to the top. All of my blood, sweat, and tears leads to this day. The day when we lead the human race to achieve power beyond anyone's imagination at hand. Until that day comes, we can only persevere.

Until the day the power of the Void falls into our hand.

"Elder. We have arrived. Requesting permission to enter." A female voice can be heard from outside of the chamber.

I checked my clothes to see if anything is out of place and once I made sure that I was presentable, I called them in. "You may enter." I answered.

The sound of the double doors open can be heard, revealing the identities of the people behind the door. Rebeccah Elwyn Frost and Weylin Cormine. The surviving members of Christopher Esclaire's expedition. Failed expedition.

The two women kneeled in customary greeting. "Greetings Elder Maximilian. Acolyte Rebeccah Elwyn Frost and Accolyte Weyline Cormine at your service." The sister of the prodigious late General Margarette Elaine Cormine. It is a pity we lost her in the first battle of Krishna Plains. So young and full of potential, she would've made a fine Elder. If only Rebeccah shared her zeal.

"You disturb me while I am working. I hope you have something important to report." These two, they have the gall to return after failing to capture The One even after I gave them double the men Mariam had when she first confronted them. Not only did they fail, they lost 8 of the men I gave them. Manpower that we sorely needed after our disastrous battle with the late Prince Reginald/ Kaizer.

"Indeed we do, Elder. We found out something that may help us with our goal even in the absence of The One." Rebeccah stated.

My eyebrows raised as I hear her claim. "Oh really? Do indulge me in what you found. If it can indeed help us achieve our goal, then maybe I will forget how you failed your mission."

"Yes Elder." Rebeccah answered. "We found something in the chambers of Senior Acolyte Mariam. Your disciple."

"I presume she let you inside her chambers without a fuss? What audacity. Telling me, her master how you broke inside my disciple's chambers without her permission." Granted Mariam's temper, she would most likely kill them both before they could enter her room. Seeing that both of them are still breathing, they must've slipped inside and got out without her noticing, a clear sign of their skill. How bold. A really stupid move, but bold.

"Indeed Elder. Once you see what we found, we hope it will be enough for you to overlook our failure to capture The One." She signaled Weylin and the talented scout, who she recently purchased from the late Durga's parents, took a few steps forward and kneeled while offering a cloth covered item with both of her hands.

I took the item, curious on what it could be that the lazy but prodigious daughter of the Frosts was confident that it will outset their failure. Slowly, I uncovered the item. What greeted me filled me with surprise and excitement.

A metal dwarven glove. Not just any ordinary metal dwarven glove, but a glove filled to the brim with Void energy! Not enough for the ritual, but still, it is Void energy! This is the first time I've seen this but this feeling, this sensation my energy, my very life was being pulled from my body. No doubt. This is Void energy.

"You're sure you got this from Mariam's chambers?" I asked the two, never letting the gloves from my sight.

"Yes Elder. When we found out that she have kidnapped a member of The One's party, we broke into her chamber to check on him. That is when we found his untouched belongings with this item within his bag." Weylin reported.

Mariam. Why didn't she reported this to me? Is she planning on using this energy herself? I know she is obsessed with power, we all are. But she doesn't know the ritual in extracting and absorbing this dangerous energy. Even I, if I botch the ritual will surely die from this wondrous but deadly energy.

My disciple. You make me proud by your hunger. But you are too green to be dabbling on things that is out of your reach. If someone was to be first to see the top of the world of magic, it would be me.

Covering the dwarven gloves with what looks like a Mana sealing cloth before more of my energy get siphoned from me, I gazed at the two women who are still kneeling in front of me. "Did you find another item like this?" I asked them.

"No Elder. This is the only one." Rebeccah answered.

Hmmm. If this is in the belongings of the man Mariam captured, maybe he have an idea on where I can find more of this. We might even be able to use him to lure The One to this place. "Tell my dear disciple to come to me immediately. We have much to discuss." I ordered them.

"As you wish, Elder Maximillian." They said at the same time.

As the two walk towards the exit, I called out to them one more time. "By the way. Good job you two. You are now forgiven of your failure. But remember." I paused. "I don't care wether you're a subordinate or a leader. Don't fail me again."

"Yes Elder. Thank you for your leniency." They bowed before exiting the chamber.

After they left, I uncovered the gauntlet once more, to gaze at the energy exudes. Alone in my chamber. In the middle of the ritual circle, I voiced my deepest desire. "Overwhelming power, unrivaled by nothing. You will soon be mine!"

-----------------

"I do feel it. An immense energy right in front of me. The only problem is, I don't see anything. Just more trees." Philip said as he walks towards the wall of energy in front of us.

"Don't walk one more step." Alora told him in a commanding voice. "No one take another step towards this direction." She ordered all of us before walking towards our left.

This energy. It is like a wall. I can feel it stretch from left to right in a slightly curved fashion. As far as I can tell, I can feel it as far as my senses can tell me. I gaze at Alora who keeps walking beside the wall of energy until she vanished from our sight. Only to appear once more after a few minutes.

Clearly bothered by something, she spoke. "No doubt about it. It is an illusion surrounding the area. Rough estimate from the curvature of the illusion, it must be covering at least 2 km of area inside."

"An illusion? Of this magnitude?" Philip gazed at the direction of the illusion in front of him with awe. "Just how many master illusionist must be needed to erect this level and magnitude of illusion?" The look on his face was like when a person has realized how daunting a challenge he is facing.

"With this quality? At least a dozen I suppose. But let's not talk here. We might not be able to see them, but they can see from their side clearly. Set up camp at least a kilometer from here. I will try to see if there is a spot in this wall of illusion that we can enter in." She stated before jumping atop the tree branch and disappearing from our sight.

We heed her advice and walk towards where we came from until we reached a place where we can camp 1 kilometer from the wall of illusion. The party was silent as death as we unpack their belongings and set up camp. The silence continues even as the party lit a campfire and cooked food for the night as the sun is about to set.

Even after we started eating, everyone is silent and I can't take any more of this tense atmosphere. "Is it really bad? The illusion wall I mean." I asked them.

"Do you really have to ask that? This is basic magic knowledge!" Philip raised his voice as if he couldn't believe what he is hearing.

"I do. I don't know much about magic." I answered. I saw magic being casted left and right, but I have no idea how they work since I came from a place where there is no magic.

"Even novices in the Magic Academies knows about this." Philip continued.

"Well if you don't want to tell me, you just have to say so." Sheesh. This guy.

"No, no. I'll tell. It is better if all of us is aware of what is ahead of us." He said while he settled on his seat. His eyes attentive. "Illusion spells are magic that fools the senses. It can either be visual or sound based. Advance spells can even make you feel that you are touching something when in reality, you are touching nothing."

"Uh huh." I nodded as I ingest all the information I can. "So that must be a visual illusion that we found earlier eh?"

Philip shakes his head. "No, not really. What we saw earlier was not just visual. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the forest critters jumping from tree branch to tree branch, I can even smell the trees and the grass from the direction of the illusion. This is no mere visual illusion. But a masterclass illusion that fools all of the senses. If you haven't told us that there is an illusion in front of us, sensing it wouldn't be even possible. We are only able to sense it because we know it is there."

So, an illusion that fools all of the senses huh? "Since we know that it is just an illusion, can we just go inside? It's not like it can bar us from getting in physically." I asked.

"That would be a bad move lad." Ortho interjected.

"A bad move indeed." Philip agreed with the dwarf before turning back his attention to me. "See, when you interact with an illusion, the caster will be able to sense you. That way he can tailor his illusion to suit his victim. If he wants to scare you, he will show you the thing that you are most terrified of. He can also make you see the one you love if the illusionist wishes to. He can make you see, and or feel whatever he wishes, as long as he have enough Mana and imagination. That means, if we pass his illusion, the enemy will know of our presence." He then continued. "Fortunately for us, an illusion cannot be maintained without the energy from the caster. If you cut the energy supplying the illusion, it will die out sooner or later."

"Then we just need to wait until the caster runs out of energy before sneaking in then." If it is that simple, I don't get why they are so gloomy.

"Technically we could." A voice sounded from behind me. I turned around and found out it was Alora.

This woman. She really is a master of stealth. Even while she is in front of me, I couldn't feel her presence. Both her Mana and Ki are concealed masterfully.

"What Philip here failed to tell you is that the original caster isn't required to be the one supplying the spell with Mana." She said while sitting close to Philip who handed her a bowl of stew and a skin of water. She took a few gulps of water before continuing. "The caster only needs to cast the spell and another person can supply it with mana. Thus, the spell can be retained until no one is left to supply it with mana."

"Are ye saying we have no chance of sneaking past the wall of illusion?" Ortho asked the elf.

"Not exactly." She started. "When a person supplying the energy for the illusion changes shift with another, the former will need to cut his or her connection to the spell first before the latter could take his or her place. The one who will be supplying the spell will need a few seconds to fully connect with the spell."

"That means we could use that interval to pass through the illusion undetected!" Philip exclaimed.

"Don't celebrate just yet. We still need to find out when they change shifts." Kurt interjected.

"We also need to find the best place to infiltrate. I will scout the area by using Eyes of the Familiar to create a map of the perimeter. Even if they used Illusion to cover their whole hideout, they still need to use the original landscape unless they want to be discovered by the Rangers." Alora declared.

"Then Kurt and I will observe the illusion and find out when they will change shifts." Philip answered.

"I think it will be better if Cloud and I will observe the illusion. He have keener sense than me." Kurt told Philip.

"What? Then what do you expect me to do? Wait for you to come back to camp while doing nothing?" Philip protested.

"Guardin the camp is also an important task mind ye." Ortho jested.

"I am not a nanny." Philip is fuming. "I want to be useful too!"

"Who said making sure that we have a safe place to go back to is not important? Knowing that we have a safe place where we can rest is as important as any job, if not one of the most important." Ortho replied to the increasingly irate Philip.

Before Philip could even answer, Alora chimed in. "Indeed. It makes me rest easy knowing that there is a place where we could be safe."

The mood of Philip turned around faster than a spinning top. "Of course. I will guard this camp even with my life. Just make sure all of you come back in one piece. Ok?"

"Ok." Alora smiled at Philip. "Off I go then. I'll be back once I finish mapping the area."

Just like that, Alora once again vanished into the forest. She even took the bowl of stew with her.

"Were going too. We will just grab some food and drinks. We may take a while." Kurt told Philip.

After taking our provisions, both Kurt and I walk once more towards the Illusion wall. I guess we are staking this shit out.

Haaahhh. I hope they will shift soon. Or else it will be a loooong night, and I want my sleep.