It took a while, but Alnea assuaged all his Aspects, before finally leaving his Spirit World. He did not stop his training though. Instead, he seamlessly shifted into meditation, tempering his Heart, while trying to recover his Spirit Power as soon as he could. Another thing that took a while. More than a couple of hours, to be exact. Yet, expending all that Spirit Power did not even take half an hour.

  Although his Spirit Power had grown by a large margin over the past few months, no matter how high his Spirit Power became, completing a Cycle of the Art of Spirit Rebirth never took more than a tenth of an hour. And each Cycle costed about a quarter of his Spirit Power. Even if he counted the short rest he took in between the Cycles, each session of Forging his Spirit lasted only about half an hour or so.

  And so, just half an hour after he had recovered his Spirit Power, Alnea was left drained once again. Except this time, he did not delve back into meditation. Instead, he took out a Glyph Disc and a carving knife from his storage pouch. Glyphs were one of the only three ways Wanderers could harness the powers of the Origin Sea. Though, in a sense, they were just another form of Arcanas. A more disciplined and systematic form, but a form, nonetheless.

  Or it could be said to be the other way around. Arcanas were a more unrestrained form of Glyphs, allowing Wanderers to express their free will. Regardless, the similarities between Glyphs and Arcanas was undeniable. Even the dangers that one had to face when employing their prowess was more or less the same. One simple mistake, and even those around them would have to pay the price for their carelessness. Especially so for Glyphs.

  Alnea still remembered how he had almost blown up their mansion about half a year ago. Of course, he was not going to repeat the same mistake. His team had shifted to a safer mansion since then, and he had also grown more proficient in his Glyphs. Besides, he was not even trying to inscribe a Glyph anyway. His mansion, and in turn, his teammates, were safe from his Glyphs for the moment. But the same could not be said on the battlefield.

  Surrounded by enemies from all side, with the mounting pressure of supporting his team in time, casting a Glyph while in battle was not going to be easy. A small mistake, and all his efforts would be in vain. Not to mention the danger he would be putting his teammates in. Both for failing to support them in time, and exposing them to a failed Glyph. Only with relentless practice, perfecting each stroke of his Glyphs, while also reducing the time needed to carve them on Glyph Discs, could he mitigate the risks.

  Though it was not as if he had a large repertoire of Glyphs. Even when he practised each Glyph that he had mastered for around ten times or so, he was done practising his Glyphs in just a little over an hour. That was nowhere enough for him to completely recover his Spirit Power, but what Spirit Power he had recovered was enough to practise his Martial Styles.

  Exhaling a heavy breath, Alnea got up from the ground, and began practising his Martial Styles in his room one by one. Only the ones he could execute in the confines of his rooms, of course. But that was enough. It was just that by the time he was done with his Martial Styles, he was left drained of his Spirit Power once again.

  Getting back into a sitting position, Alnea let go of all his thoughts, and began meditating, reflecting on the Martial Styles and Glyphs that he had just practiced. And when he was done reflecting, he just let himself drift in his Serenity. To drift in the calm of empty silence, in the void of his Heart… In a world where he could just let go of everything… A world where—

  Alnea let out a sigh, as he felt his Spirit Power recover to its peak. Although he liked the infectious feeling of drifting in his Serenity, he could not afford to waste his time. It did not matter that he had covered up for most of his lacking foundations. If he wished to keep his Oath, and become the greatest Wanderer, he could not let himself be satisfied with just catching up to his peers. And he certainly could let himself indulge in the calm peace of his Serenity. Especially considering the things that he had to do next.

  In the beginning, when he had just stepped into the Lost City, facing its challenges had not seemed too difficult of a task. Rather, by easily winning in the Arena, and breaking records in the Blood Hall, he had felt as if he would not even take a couple of months to enter the inner city. And he was not alone in his thoughts. Cecilia and Yuri had also been just as ignorant as him. Maybe their experiences in the Night Canyons had left them a little too overconfident of their abilities.

  Though after learning of the city’s rules, they had come to understand that entering the inner city was not going to be easy, it was only when they ventured into the Black Desert for their first Black Desert Trial, and were ambushed by the Lotus clan, that they truly understood how difficult of a challenge they were facing. Maybe Orthodox Wanderers were not as dangerous as Heterodox Wanderers when working within the confines of rules. But if they were to be allowed to take advantage of the rules…

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  Nearly half a year had passed since he had faced the Wanderers of the Lotus clan, and yet he still could not forget the look of fear and determination that his teammates had. The way they had acted towards the end, as if they were going to face their death… Never again, Alnea had said to himself. And he had kept his word. In a sense.

  Getting injured while fighting was unavoidable. Let alone the desert, there were times when they needed treatment from just fighting in the Arena. The injuries they faced while out in the desert, facing Oren Beasts and Wanderers alike, were even more grievous. Sometimes, even more so than the ones they suffered on their first outing as a team. Enough for them to faint from shock and blood loss. Even the Blood Coins they had to spend on their recovery was greater than what they spent for their first treatment.

  Yet, no matter how grievous those injuries were, none of the Star Seekers had ever come as close to death as they had on their first Black Desert Trial. Because that was the day that they had grown into a true team. Sure, increased vigilance from the team must have played a part in their relative safety. As did the growth in their strength. But it was their increasingly smooth cooperation and tacit understanding as a team that ensured the success of the Star Seekers.

  They still made a few mistakes from time to time. After all, they could not compare to the teams cultivated by Orthodoxies to venture into the Thrall Domains. Still, they were good enough to support each other in the Lost City. And that was enough for him. After months of efforts, Alnea could finally lift his head up, and say confidently that he had not failed his team. That he had not failed the Star Seekers.

  However, he could not relax just yet. And neither could his teammates. Improving their teamwork was just a means. Their true goal was entering the inner city. A goal, that would have them go through even more challenges, ones that might quite possibly test their team to its limits. But first, he had to catch up with his teammates.

  The Black Desert Trials and the Arena aside, there were three other Trials that they had to overcome to gain the qualification of entering the inner city. Three sets of a hundred and twenty nine Trials, to be exact. One set each for the Warrior, Arcanist, and Scholar Halls. Even within the three Halls, the Trials were further differentiated into three branches, with ten Trials in all the branches for each Stage of the False Rank. The rest were the hidden Trials that only a few could trigger.

  Alnea had no idea what those hidden Trials were though, so he let them be for the moment, focussing solely on the Trials that he could challenge. In his plans, he only had to complete the Trials up to the Advanced Stage to catch up with the rest of his teammates. And he had to do that while breaking as many records as he could. Only then, could he redeem the special Martial Styles, Arcanas, and Glyphs of the Lost City. Not to mention the Medals he had promised to his teammates.

  Given how his teammates had not asked him for any Intermediate Medals or above for the past half year, they had probably grown beyond the point of being tied together with just some superficial interests. Cooperating with him was also in the best of their interests. All of them yearned to enter the inner city for one reason or the other, and being a Star Seekers was the best bet they could have of doing so.

  Still, since he had promised to let them exchange their contributions to the team for Medals, he could not go back on his words. Literally. Besides, even if he had not made any promise, he still would have to complete the Trials at some point. At least if he wished to see his master in the city. The only reason he had held back from doing so, was because he did not wish to draw any unwanted attention to himself. Or Yuri.

  But after all that they had been through, they were beyond the point of worrying about how not to attract attention. The only thing he could do next, was to draw most of the attention to himself. Another reason for why he had to break as many records as possible. Though if Vestia’s information was correct, which most often was, then he did not have to make any unnecessary moves. The Lotus clan would not let the limelight shift away from him. Still, just to be safe…

  Alnea went through the different steps of the plan in his head once again, tweaking it a little, before conveying it to Yuri, only to earn her stern warning for putting himself in the greatest risk. But that was the gist of the plan. If he would not even put himself at risk, how could he lure out the Lotus clan?

  In the end, he did change the plan a little, but not by much. He would still have to face the greatest danger. It was just that in the new plan, Yuri would have the least workload, so that she could come to his rescue whenever he needed it. As for how she would convince everyone about the sudden decrease in her responsibilities, that was something for her to worry about.

  After Alnea went through the plan in his head one more time, he finally left his meditative state, and got up from the ground, stretching out his limbs to get rid of their soreness, before strapping his sword to his waist, and walking out of his room. There was still some time before he would have to implement his plan. Till then, he would just have to do what he had always done. Walk on the path of becoming the greatest Wanderer.