It took a while for Cadmus to calm down. But when he had finally finished processing what he had seen, his mood improved substantially.

“Well... what can I say? This is great news!” Cadmus’s face lit up as if he had just heard that Helios was giving him a grandson.

“Yep, I can kick their asses, no matter who comes our way.” James bragged cheekily. “We might not even need to send Hedonia into the pocket dimension, I can probably just save it all by myself!”

“Ahh, to be young again.” Cadmus chuckled. “It’s true that your power has grown exponentially, even compared to the last time I’ve seen you.” His warm smile immediately vanished. “But this is war. Strength isn’t the only factor in war. There are so many moving variables that even if we had ten of you on our side, Hedonia would still be finished if we were to face a proper dark army.”

“Oh, so that’s why the kingdom of Andarmat was so gloomy.” James said.

“Exactly. Unlike us, they don’t have the luck of having the resources, knowledge and manpower of an institute that can create a colossal pocket dimension. Nor do they have a ... specimen like you. So if they do face the Darkness, they’ll have to do it head-on. Their city will be fully exposed. Even if they can overpower their enemies, the damage they will have to endure will still be unimaginable.” Cadmus explained with sadness in his eyes.

“I can assist them!” James valiantly declared. “Those guys looked terrified, it broke my heart. The soldiers were definitely brave, but I could feel an aura of sadness coming from them. The kind of sadness that consumes your very being.”

“Well, I would’ve said that you can’t do that yet, because we need to work on the pocket dimension.” Cadmus replied. “But you’re already done with that.” Cadmus picked up the cube again and examined it carefully. “Right, you are indeed done with that.” He still looked a bit confused, so he kept rotating the cube in his hand, looking at it with a magnifying glass. “I guess there’s nothing stopping you from helping Andarmat. Your part of the job is complete... I think.” He looked at the cube again, rubbing his eyes as if he was expecting that an illusion spell had been cast on him.

But no matter how hard he looked, the cube was indeed full. His eyes weren’t deceiving him. “Are you sure you feel all right?” Cadmus asked. “Perhaps you’re feeling a bit weak, drained?”

“Nope.” James shook his head. “In fact, I feel a bit refreshed. Like how when your stomach is bloated, you feel much better after you burp.”

“Burp. Yes ... burp.” Cadmus mumbled under his breath. “He’s comparing giving out an unimaginable quantity of mana with burping. Yes, that’s normal, nothing odd here. Just relax, take a deep breath.” Cadmus kept mumbling to himself.

Denmac was just smiling smugly. He wasn’t even shocked by James’s deeds this time, he was just so proud that he wasn’t an easily impressed weirdo after all.

“All right then.” Cadmus said when finally regained his composure. “You can go assist the kingdom of Andarmat. In fact, that’s the whole point of this project. Once Hedonia is safe, we can offer our assistance to the rest of the world, knowing that our home can’t be touched by the forces of Darkness.”

“So, when should I go?” James asked.

“The correct question is when should we go, brother!” Helios replied with a smile.

“Actually, I think I should go alone this time around.” James said while immediately bowing in apology. “Don’t get me wrong, I can’t live without you guys, I really want you by my side. But I think this is a perfect opportunity for you guys to rest a bit.”

“What about you?” Lunaris asked. “You need to rest too! You’ve been working the hardest of us all, and you haven’t rested for a single second.”

“Yeah, but those guys are about to get butchered, and I can really help them. If I’m there, thousands of innocent lives could be spared. I have to go, I can’t value my rest of their lives.”

Lunaris was about to protest, but Helios stopped her. “You’re right, brother. They are our allies, they need our help. Just promise us that your own safety will be a priority.”

“That means not melting your own flesh to the point you’re only a skeleton with a brain!” Lunaris shouted.

“I promise, I promise!” James quickly replied. “I’ll limit the damage to losing a limb or two, nothing too big.” He laughed, but then Lunaris threw a shoe at him.

“That’s enough, Lunaris.” Cadmus’s voice thundered. “James, you can go right now if you so desire. In the meantime, we’ll take care of things on our end.”

“I don’t mind leaving right now, but are you sure you guys will be all right?” James asked. “I mean, we do have a target on our back. In fact, the dark armies could be arriving any second now.”

“It’s fine.” Cadmus said as a group of mages entered the room, taking the cube from him. “The preparations are ready. Hedonia will be moved into the pocket dimension immediately.”

“Wait, how does that actually work?” James asked. “So if I come back here, Hedonia won’t exist anymore? It’ll just be a giant hole in the planet where this institute the size of a country once was?”

“Almost, but not exactly.” Cadmus answered. “Yes, the entirety of Hedonia will be transferred into the pocket dimension, land and all. Every single house, every single field, every single blade of grass. But instead of leaving a hole in the planet, the device will automatically replace the land with bland earth magic. It’ll just be a huge patch of dirt where our mighty institute once resided.”

“And how does one access this pocket dimension?” James asked.

“Well, for normal people, they’d have to use portals and scrolls attuned with the correct encryptions. But you are not ... normal.” Cadmus coughed. “I suppose that with your incredible supply of mana, you can just cast a spell and teleport directly, without relying on scrolls and portals. Others would find the cost prohibitive, leaving them weak and drained. But I suppose that’s not a problem for you.”

“Nope, I probably won’t even feel the cost!” James beamed cheekily.

“But in order to do that, I need to imprint the encryption on your soul. The process is quick, but it’s said to be the worst pain imaginable.”

“That’s not a problem for me!” James laughed yet again.

“That’s right, you don’t feel any...” Suddenly, Cadmus felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. A weird sense of jealousy. But that feeling was quickly overshadowed by the pride and joy he felt towards the person who was like a brother to his own son.