<h4>Chapter 60: Agony and Courage</h4>


    Leena entered the magic altar on the seventh day, and Faye left on the eighth day.


    With the fresh initiates nearly extinct, the Quasi Mages and senior initiates began entering the magic altar one after another.


    By the tenth day, the number of initiates in Shadow Valley had dwindled to three hundred initiates, the majority of whom were intermediate and junior initiates.


    It was at this point that the academy unexpectedly halted the process of sending initiates into the magic altar.


    Sein was not privy to the exact circumstances.


    “How’s it going? Have any initiates sessfully descended, or is there any other newsing in?” Vice Dean Dedaelon asked as he walked to theboratory at the top of the magic tower.


    “Lord Martin and Lady Jeanne are both monitoring the space-time rift. While some senior initiates and Quasi Mages didn’t make it, the vast majority have sessfully entered it.”


    “At the moment, there isn’t much detailed information about the other ne. We can deduce that it’s a ne with an unusually high concentration of geo elements based on the elemental energy overflowing from the space-time rift.”


    “Geo elements?” Vice Dean Dedaelon could not help but furrow his brow upon hearing the news.


    Having worked in ckhaven for thousands of years, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.


    It was a gut feeling, an intuition.


    The source of this unease was not due to the unique nature of the other ne but rather thoughts about other aspects.


    A geo-elemental ne? Why is it so conveniently rich in geo elements?


    <i>Both the dean and Martin are Geomancers. Could the dean somehow be connected to this?</i>


    <i>The dean’sst appearance was in Mystralora City over a century ago, and he has been absent since. No one has seen him, including myself.</i>


    <i>Could he really be connected to this?</i>


    <i>Centuries ago, there were rumors in ckhaven that the dean failed to reach Rank Four and was on his deathbed.</i>


    <i>However, the dean’s aplishment of establishing Mystralora City a century ago should dispel such rumors.</i>


    <i>But why hasn’t he appeared in public for such a long time, with Martin always acting on his behalf...?</i>


    Vice Dean Dedaelon could not help but contemte deeply.


    Normally, he would not overthink, but due to the recent threat from the Divine Tower on the surface world, Dedaelon was fraught with anxiety and fatigue, causing him to delve into these thoughts.


    He even had a daring suspicion that the so-called exploration of the space-time rift and the division of the rich ne’s resources were orchestrated by the dean and his apprentice, Martin.


    Otherwise, there was no reason for Martin to have invited an alchemist like Morsidor to Gloomhaven over a hundred years ago or to have contacted the dark creatures. It appeared that something more was going on.


    The scenarios racing through Dedaelon’s mind sent shivers down his spine.


    Still, those spections had little impact on him. It was not even certain whether they were true.


    The geo elemental ne was indeed real, and as long as they could sessfully invade it and plunder its resources, his contributions as the vice dean of the ck Magic Academy in Gloomhaven for hundreds of years would pay off.


    As for what exactly the dean and Martin were up to, Dedaelon, as a Rank Two ck mage, was better off not getting involved.


    In ckhaven, strength reigned supreme.


    As a renowned Rank Three mage in a specific region of ckhaven in the past, the dean was not someone Dedaelon could casuallyment on.


    Furthermore, if there was indeed a connection with the old dean, Dedaelon would likely benefit from it.


    A powerful dean as their lead meant numerous advantages and fewer external threats.


    The only thing that frustrated Dedaelon, and at times irked him, was the nagging feeling of being deceived.


    Had his appointment as vice dean been a calcted “ploy” from the beginning?


    “I wonder if Jeanne is privy to certain information. Perhaps I can coax something out of her,” Dedaelon contemted to himself.


    ***


    The suspension of sending initiates into the magic altar in Shadow Valley brought relief to many surviving magic initiates.


    However, Sein was far from relieved; he was deeply concerned about Leena’s well-being.


    <i>What do the depths of the magic altar hold?</i>


    <i>What exactly is a space-time rift?</i>


    <i>What awaited them in the other ne?</i>


    Thoughts swirled in Sein’s mind as hey in his empty tent, unable to sleep.


    If he had a choice, he would prefer to be in the deepest part of the magic altar with Leena.


    Even if there was real danger, he wanted to face it with her.


    Perhaps as early as ten years ago, when Leena chose Sein, who was only eight at the time, their lifelong bond was sealed.


    Sein also thought of Faye, who had chosen him as her first man toy in bed with.


    His feelings for Faye, the forever insatiable senior, wereplex. They had a connection as fellow apprentices of Master Morsidor, but there was also more to their rtionship than that.


    Any ws in Faye’s personality had faded away as his concern for both girls deepened.


    As time passed, news finally arrived from the academy after an agonizing half-month of waiting.


    This time, a group of initiates, starting from intermediate initiates, would be sent into the magic altar, but the number was limited to fifty.


    “I’ll go!” Sein, as an intermediate initiate, was the first to volunteer after Vice Dean Dedaelon announced the news.


    His decision immediately caught the attention of everyone in Shadow Valley, including a few full-fledged ck mages and the vice dean himself.


    Vice Dean Dedaelon recognized Sein. He pointed at him and asked, “I remember you. Aren’t you that apprentice of Morsidor?”


    “Yes, I am his fifth apprentice,” Sein replied respectfully.


    Dedaelon nodded in approval and said, “Good, you are a talented and courageous young one. You will be one of the intermediate initiates to enter the space-time rift.”


    Ignoring the whispers among fellow initiates and the scrutiny from other ck mages, Sein walked to the center of the magic altar.


    After Vice Dean Dedaelon counted all the initiates, Sein was thest of the fifty to step into the altar.


    Inside the magic altar, the pure white elemental light seen outside gave way to countless magic inscriptions and energy crystals embedded in all corners.


    A thinyer of crimson liquid coated the altar’s surface. The faint metallic smell in the air made it easy to figure out what it was.


    At the deepest part of the altar, an oval-shaped energy gate stood at the center of all the magic inscriptions.


    As initiates ahead of him stepped through it, Sein followed.


    As soon as he entered the energy gate, he heard his mentor’s voice.