Mage Adam

Frank got assigned to the logistics corps, which wasn't quite what he had expected. 

The logistics corps didn't get to board the main ship for combat, but he was still pretty happy. In the whole Mage World, not many level-two mages even got a chance to see His Holiness, let alone go on a campaign with him.

But when it was Adam's turn, there was a bit of a snag.

"Adam? A level-three Explorer? You want to join the corps for direct combat missions?" The level-four mage handling registration at the Gate of Truth asked three questions in a row, clearly surprised.

Adam nodded, confirming, "Yes."

The level-four mage frowned, "You should know Explorers aren't usually part of regular combat squads. You're considered special operations mages, usually reporting directly to the Plane Exploration Department."

Adam, a bit confused, asked, "Is that a problem? My mission style is pretty flexible, and the Tower hasn't stopped me from joining the regular combat corps."

"Actually, yes, it is a problem. This joint expedition already had enough battlemages. They all come from the regular corps, and they're battle-hardened with flawless combat coordination." Seeing that Adam still didn't get it, the mage explained more bluntly, "To put it simply, they've trained specifically for regular combat, and their magic is suited for that. You're different. Your level isn't very high, and in a war of this scale, you can't really take on infiltration tasks. Your path of development is different, so no matter where you're placed, there could be coordination issues. If you're put in the logistics corps, you're not a specialist in healing or alchemy magic, so... do you get it now?"

Adam hadn't expected to be turned down.

But after thinking about it, he had to admit the mage had a point. He rarely worked with the regular corps. The battles he'd fought against the Cthulhu creatures and the Diluses were relatively simple, and nothing like fighting in the void.

Now he understood why Ayesha had only suggested he observe the preparations, and why Wendy kept urging him to quickly become a transcendent mage. It turned out that without a specific mission, an Explorer's role was pretty awkward, especially at lower levels.

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"So, does that mean I can't join this war?" Adam asked, feeling a bit reluctant.

The mage tapped the table, "Not necessarily. There is one task that would suit you."

...

On the fifth day, all the final work on Titania was done. The only mages left were those confirmed to join the campaign tracing the Devouring Diluses. The portal at the Gate of Truth stopped transporting mages for a while.

All the mages involved in the initial combat phase, including Adam, boarded the Dimensional Hub Platform. 

The law of equivalent exchange was the most important part of Plane Sacrifice Magic. This time, with the discoverer of this knowledge leading the sacrifice, the benefits for the mages should be even greater than what they got during the Dragon Plane sacrifice.

Ten minutes later, the Gate of Truth started releasing a massive amount of energy. The chains anchored to the continent turned into energy, and in an instant, all of Titania was engulfed in roaring flames. 

The star-shaped tetrahedron at the back of the Gate of Truth descended into the Plane, creating a huge six-pointed star magic array.

The void shook as Titania's Origin began to descend, landing right in the center of the huge magic array. 

Then, a pure beam of ether shot upward, linking with the three ring structures at the heart of the Gate of Truth. 

The energy then split into countless beams, spreading back across the Plane.

At that moment, the mages saw what they had been eagerly waiting for---Maxis, the Great Archmage, slowly descending along the beam of light.

He didn't show his true form. Instead, what everyone saw was just an ordinary-looking mage, of average height, wearing a simple mage robe. 

His presence seemed completely unremarkable. If Adam hadn't known who he was, he might have mistaken him for a regular person.

But the energy waves coming off him were incredible. Just by being there, he suppressed all the energy radiating from the magic array.

Soon, His Holiness reached Titania's Origin. He placed one hand on the Origin and snapped his fingers with the other. 

Instantly, the Heart of the Mage World crossed the dimensional barrier, forming into a sphere in His Holiness's hand.

Then, he inserted this small sphere into Titania's Origin.

This time, there was none of the grand spectacle like during the previous Dragon Plane sacrifice. Everything happened in an instant.

Adam only saw a soft light suddenly fill his vision. When the light faded, Titania was gone, leaving behind just the rapidly spinning Heart of the Mage World.

In the next moment, the Origin exploded, turning into countless light particles that scattered across the sky, merging into the bodies and souls of all the mages present. 

Adam felt a familiar sensation. By his rough guess, the benefits this time were about thirty times greater than what he gained from the last sacrifice.

Adam's total mana level dropped from the peak of level three back to the early stage of level three, but each unit of mana was now much more powerful than before.

Most importantly, his soul now had one-fifth of the Origin's biological characteristics. *

His Holiness returned to the Gate of Truth, leaving behind just two orders:

"Dimensional Hub, resume operations, continue summoning mages."

"The corps will depart in one hour; Explorers, deploy immediately."

...

Adam was back in his original role as an Explorer.

This was a direct order from the command center. The movements of the Devouring Diluses were unpredictable, and the corps needed scouts to lead the way. 

A large number of Explorers were to move ahead along the projected path, gather information, and report back to the combat strategists.

This time, however, Adam wasn't on his own. The command center had assigned him a partner, a level-four pinnacle mage named Sandy, also from the Fifth Tower.

At that moment, they were traveling in a small warp aircraft, heading toward the plane where the Titans had discovered the Devourer cells.

"You've only been on two missions, yet both ended with unexpected situations. Should I say you're lucky or unlucky?" Sandy said, as numerous active elemental spirits flickered in and out of existence around her. 

She hadn't chosen to research her own unique knowledge but had followed the traditional path of the Fifth Tower, making her a pure elemental mage.

This was her final mission before advancing to transcendent status. She planned to gather enough Origin power in this war to support her soul's second transformation.

"Did you know? You're pretty famous in the Plane Exploration Department. Every mage who's been on duty in recent decades knows there's a youngster with a knack for getting into trouble," Mage Sandy teased Adam, clearly curious about him.

"You..."

"Just call me Sandy."

"Alright, Sandy. You should know this wasn't my intention," Adam replied, a bit helpless. He once again promised himself to take some time to settle down after the war. Maybe then, his luck would finally turn around.