Excitement buzzed in the air as the headmaster's words reverberated in our ears. The top ten ranked students from each year level had gathered together for the departure, but all of us were already separating into our smaller groups. William was next to me as the first ranked student in the year level, and he glanced cockily at the other students, sizing them up. Each and every one of them would become a potential enemy in the upcoming days.

“I feel like I'm going to burst into flames with how hard some of these people are staring at me.” Amanda’s voice flickered toward me.

"Your hair is already bursting into flames.” I replied.

Familiar strands of fiery-red hair swept up the air next to me as Amanda stepped beside me, followed closely by Roxxy. Their eyes were glued onto the other year levels, each of their top ten students unknown to us first years.

There were nine second-year students with Gerial missing. He’d gotten to rank one in his year level through skill and hadn’t received a single challenge since reaching the top spot.

That didn't mean that the others were pushovers. I could feel the pressure their presence caused. It settled into the air around them and mana swarmed across their bodies and clothes. The only exception were the warriors in the group. And my cousin Berlia.

“What do you think our chances of keeping a treasure is once we find one?” Roxxy asked.

“Some of these people could steal them from right under our noses.” William said. “But I think if we react quick enough, we can beat a few back long enough to put whatever we find into an inventory. Don't worry, I'll come up with a plan once we're in there.”

William had become the de facto strategist of the team. It helped that he’d read files on every single one of our competitors from our year level and above. Amanda also looked confident as she sized up the competition. I knew for a fact that she’d also read up on everybody.

Most of the people were strangers to me. There were a couple of people that I recognised, but they were few and spread out far. My cousin Berlia was in a trio of second-year students, and she waved at me. She was wearing her battle dress and I could see symbols flaring up as she activated the regent. Among the third years was Kyle. I could see him humming to himself as he stood to the side. He was alone but didn't look unhappy about it.

There was a tug at my side, and I saw Amanda looking back at the first-years behind us.

"Does that girl look angry to you, or is it just me?” She asked.

I followed her stare and held back a groan as I saw the object of her attention.

Cagney, the lightning and connection magician.

Despite having four of the top ten first years in our group, we weren't the largest team in our year level. Five different students had grouped together, including Cagney, Shar, and Vesper. The other two were people I recognised from our homeroom class. It wasn't a coincidence that most of them were people that we had fought against previously. They had formed as a direct opposition to us, so that we couldn't overpower them when it came to a fight in the holy land.

The final student from our year level was one of the life-magicians from our class. Unfortunately, Ouros hadn't finished in the top ten.

“That’s the girl I told you about. The Marked one’s stalker.” I said.

"The one that attacked you?” A new voice asked.

Roxxy’s head popped up from behind Amanda’s shoulder, a beaming smile plastered on her face. A small wave of guilt crossed my heart. I'd been too caught up in Roxxy’s questions about my reincarnation and forgotten to tell her about my status as a Marked one. Or that Gerial was one.

I would get to it eventually.

“Oh-oh-oh, you really pissed off people with that name.” Roxxy said.

"I'm sure she's gotten over it. Or maybe we can use that as a distraction and make her chase after me instead of any treasures we find.” I said.

“Or we can get payback.” Amanda said. “She knows who you are now, right?”

“Everybody does.” Roxxy interjected before I could respond. “After using the name of a Divine like you did, I wouldn't be surprised if a few tried to chase after us.”

She had a point. A few people from other year levels were glancing at me occasionally with gazes that weren't friendly.

There was a chime, and the surroundings immediately grew quiet. The portal was forming. The teachers moved in front of each group, and we shuffled into straight lines, excitement buzzing in the air.

It was time to enter the holy land.

Gold chirped from my shoulder, his eyes peeking toward the portal.

Church friend.

"Church friend?” Amanda whispered into my ear from behind me.

I nodded, keeping quiet as Tago of the Earth glanced at us. Wahyu was standing to the side with professor Pernacles and another teacher. His expression was jovial, but his presence hadn't gone unnoticed by the various students. He was the only stranger present, and I resisted the urge to look away in embarrassment as he waved at the students enthusiastically.

The headmaster didn't seem to mind his presence, and I wondered if they'd met before. Gerial had told me that the headmaster had always been a member of the church, even before his son had been born.

“You will have three days of access to the burning lake before the rest of your cohort arrives.” The headmaster’s words spilled into the air. “Use it wisely.”

The portal formed behind him and took the shape of a majestic door carved from white marble. It was an entrance to the Nexus, but it was fancier than any I'd seen before.

Starting with the third years we entered through the portal and made our way across the swathe of purple mana that littered the nexus world. Out of curiosity I activated my [Mana Sense] and examined the students one by one, being careful not to accidentally annoy the Nexus by staring too hard at its walls. Most of them were fire and water magicians, the best suited for combat, though the majority of the third-year students weren't magicians at all. They were warriors like William.

"We’re the best.” William said.

"Are you sure you don't have a [Mind Reading] skill?” I asked.

A couple of the nearby students glanced at us curiously, but most were staring forward, determined to rush out the moment they could.

“If I did, would I tell you?" He replied.

“Yes, you would.” I said. “Also— oh.”

There was a light at the end of the hallway as we reached our destination. To my surprise it didn't open up into a wide area. Instead, we were all led into a building with walls of red stone. There was a desk with a bored staff member sitting inside, and as glanced up at the headmaster his eyes widened, and he straightened his back.

“Signups are going to take a while.” William said. “I think we're supposed to just relax while they check us out.”

I shrugged, and slowly the people around me grew comfortable with talking and relaxing. I'd never been to a holy land before, but apparently, we had taken the portal into the equivalent of an airport security check. The local authorities had to make sure we were who we said we were.

That left a lot of time for us to roam.

My footsteps were hard on the red stone floor, and I frowned when I couldn't see mana within it. The entire building had been cut off from my control, similar to the way that buildings had been within Koshima city. It was impossible to manipulate the materials and cause a riot here.

“You look like you stepped in something nasty.” A voice called out to me.

I turned around and saw Wahyu’s grinning face greeting me.

“Being disconnected from the earth around me feels strange.” I said.

The church member stepped beside me, and we walked further away from the rest of the students. The area was a lot less formal than I had expected, but also a lot more formal in other ways. I'd thought the portal would dump us in the middle of a forest. As we made our way toward the window, I was given the first glimpse of what lay beyond.

It was all red.

My hand pressed against the window, and I stared at the sky and land I was about to enter. Like a tsunami of blood raging above the sea, fire mana gathered and dispersed across my vision. Every now and then a tornado would form, and mana would spout into the air and transform into a red sun that shone bright in the sky. There were shadows beyond the forest. Giant looming mountains that looked more organised than the peaks I was used to. They may have even been buildings. It was impossible to tell with a sheer ocean of fire mana blocking my vision.

Looking at it made me feel claustrophobic. This was far more mana than I'd seen in a simple cultivation room. Even the fire plants that Amanda had shown me once weren't this potent.

It was a miracle that anybody could step into the land beyond and not be burnt into a crisp.

“This is the true face of a holy land.” Wahyu said. “A sight that never grows old. Monsters don't dare to enter here, and treasures form as a byproduct of its existence.”

"It’s beautiful. And terrifying.” I said. “If my dad were here then he wouldn't survive a second.”

“You'll find that there are more protections here than meets the eye. Manaless people will be fine if they come here, because sometimes it becomes necessary to move them here.” Wahyu said. “I'm sure you're worried about me annoying you on your treasure hunt, but don't be. I'm only here because the church wants to strengthen this ‘bond' I've apparently formed with the Academy through the building program. I'll chit chat with the staff and try to flatter whoever’s in charge. After that, quite frankly, I'm going to use my time relaxing.”

“Woah. You're such a good role model.” I said. “You have a great work ethic.”

He clicked his fingers and a tendril of earth wrapped around my leg, trying to trip me. I swatted it away and laughed.

“Fine, I'll give you a test. That way I can say you did something this week.” Wahyu hummed and hawed as he thought over his next words carefully. “What are the titles of the church's leading members? And a quick rundown of what they do.”

“Geez, you sure gave me a hard one. Next test you'll ask me to tell you the names of the seven divines.” I said. “The twelve cardinals come first. They run everything. From how dreams of the Divine are interpreted to when the church goes to war. Then the twenty-five archbishops come next. Most of them take charge of the church provinces. Finally, there are the fifty bishops. They're often left in charge of the chapels, and smaller institutions.”

My answer was spoken quickly and with pride. It had only been a few months ago that I wouldn't have been able to answer this basic question.

“I hope you get your next test right, because you would have failed this one.” Wahyu chuckled at my surprise. “The Marked of the Crijik is first and foremost at the top. Not adjacent, and not beyond. They are part of the church and integral to it. Consider their duty as being the word of the Divine.”

An earthen tendril rose around me as I resisted the urge to smack myself in the forehead and Gold tittered in his way of laughing. I'd forgotten the most basic part of the answer. In my defense, it was hard to picture myself as part of the church, considering how much I was outside of it.

“Right.” I said. “What now? Do I have to stay back since I failed?”

“Absolutely.” Wahyu said. “And I'll also confiscate any treasure you and your friends find. If you're lucky I'll give you a twenty percent cut of everything I sell.”

“Ha, good luck with that.” I said. “Sit back and enjoy your vacation.”

I broke away from the window and left Wahyu staring outside at the burning lake. I was curious to see what it looked like without my [Mana Sense] activated, but I'd know soon enough. Once I left the building it would be impossible to see while using the skill.

My friends had picked out their own section of the building to rest in, but before I could reach them, I was stopped by a pair of icy eyes in a flowing red dress.

“Hey cuz.” Berlia said. “Don’t forget that you've got me on your texting regent. If you find a treasure and get attacked, make sure to give me a call and I'll come running.”

“To help me or rob me?” I asked.

Berlia raised an eyebrow and considered her answer carefully.

“Also yes.” She smiled. “Just don't be a stranger. Family sticks out for one another. ”

“Same to you.” I said. “Text me if you need me.”

With a wave of her dress she disappeared back into this group of second-year students. Unlike the other year levels, they were a healthy mix of magicians and warriors, with the exception of Berlia who used symbols and regents to fight. Each of them had split off into groups of three, and I wondered how they would fare against us in a fight.

"It's our turn next.” William’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up to see him pointing at the quickly diminishing line at the security checkpoint. We made our way as a group to the staff member, and he smiled at us. Gold and Agni chirped happily as they pushed off our shoulders and glided over the crowds, avoiding the wait and revelling in their fun.

The man held up a device that looked eerily similar to the one that had been used to scan us in Gesti Sky. I brought my ID card out of my inventory, and my friends did the same.

A shadow towered over me as we handed the man our cards, and I saw my earth magic studies teacher, Tago of the Earth, looking over us.

"Students." He said. “Andross.”

“Sir.” I said.

We turned to him when it became clear that he wasn't just passing by.

“There are certain protections afforded within the holy land for visitors.” Tago explained as he waited for the staff member’s regent to check our ID’s. “They will work similar to the arena that our academy employs and protect you from harm, but due to the size and scope of the land they're mobile regents instead of a solitary room. That means they are less effective.”

He held up four regents in his hand. They were badges with pins to attach them to our chests. I could see orange light flickering within them as he activated each regent one by one, but the swirls of mana within told me that they were onze regents.

“Do not remove this badge while you are inside.” His tone left no room for negotiation. “It will protect you to an extent, but if you break it or overwhelm the protections then a marker will be created, and a teacher or staff member will come to collect you. A replacement takes three days to create and no, we will not let you go into the holy land without one. If yours breaks then consider the hotel we've reserved as your vacation spot.”

It wasn't hard to guess what would break the badges in the holy land. Fighting between students over treasures was a guarantee, but that didn't mean the school would stand by and let the students kill each other.

I took the badges and placed one on my chest, handing the rest to my friends. Amanda glanced at it curiously and then looked at the birds. I was sure that Gold and Agni wouldn't need protection, but I saw a flicker of worry cross her expression anyway.

“You’ve all passed the checks.” Tago noted. “Have fun inside. Make sure to stay in one place if you're injured.”

"Thank you, sir.” We said.

As we made our way outside, I raised my hand and Gold landed on it, hopping onto my shoulder. When I stepped out of the building, I deactivated my [Mana Sense] and the sea of never ending red mana disappeared. In its place was a burning forest. No, the forest wasn't burning. Each tree was composed of leaves of crystallised flames swaying in the wind. Their branches had veins of red crystals surging through them and the trunk. Each vein was pure fire condensed into crystal form.

“It's beautiful.” Amanda’s eyes were wide. “I don't think this is possible outside the holy land.”

Agni chirped in agreement from atop her head and I nodded. The moment someone took a branch or crystallised leaf outside the mana would escape into the air, destroying the item immediately.

"You could meditate and try to attune to fire here.” She said.

“Maybe once the others in our year level arrive that can be your next thing to do.” William said. “But we need to make the wisest choices with the time we have now.”

He turned toward Roxxy.

“Oh-oh-oh! My turn!” Roxxy’s shoulders bounced in excitement.

“Are you sure this will work?” William asked. “We've only done testing in a low mana environment.”

“If I can find Harpo in a hailstorm I can find you guys.” Roxxy’s voice was filled with confidence. “Gather around me.”

Connection mana flickered out of her palms as she wove a spell that pulled tight across us like a rope. There was a small pocket of resistance within me as the spell touched my skin, but I gave it permission and it took hold immediately.

There was a sensation of pulling within my chest, as though it were trying to reach toward my teammates. It was strange, yet familiar.

It felt similar to when Gerial and I were near each other.

“I can sense where all of you are, but you can also do the same if you concentrate hard enough. If you find something, then send a text and we’ll come running:” Roxxy said. “I just need to refresh the spell every twelve hours, or it’ll stop.”

"Perfect.” I said. “Let's move out.”

We split off quickly, Amanda and Agni pairing with me and Gold, and Roxxy leaving with William. I could see flickers of magic lighting up across the burning forest as the students began their journeys.

The treasure hunt had begun.