Magic Springs were special places where the mana associated with specific elements liquefied to form special small lakes.

That was a very rare phenomenon and could be found in less than 0.000001% of the area of Polaris Realm.

However, considering how vast the continent was, there were several known Magic Springs on the mainland, and it wasn't out of the question for a new one to appear.

There were two kinds of Magic Springsthose that were PERENNIAL and those that were not. The difference was obviously in the continuity of these special areas, which could be renewed or not once they were exploited.

It was because of this possibility that Sarah had used such an excuse.

"Unfortunately, the Magic Spring I found was small and non-perennial..." She sighed, pretending to be disappointed that she could not return to such a place to use its essence again.

"Ah... It really is a shame. But where did you find this Magic Spring?" One of the soldiers asked.

Even if such a spring had disappeared, it would be worth investigating the area to understand why a Magic Spring had suddenly appeared in such a place.

Sarah lied. "Beavergamau Wall, Pyke Province."

The people there looked at each other and agreed they had to send this information to Pyke Province so that researchers could go to Beavergamau Wall to investigate the matter.

Magic Springs were very valuable because liquid mana was a very easy way to absorb this essence in large quantities.

Mana was an ethereal energy that was difficult to absorb and was usually very scattered in the atmosphere or the soil. In its liquid form, mana could contain the amount of mana of a Low-level Mage in a 200-milliliter glass.

That would be enough for a Junior Apprentice to use for weeks, allowing them to easily raise their powers to the 3rd stage with virtually no risk, using only 200 milliliters of liquid mana.

There was no danger in absorbing this type of mana as long as the elements associated with it were compatible with the magician's body. As such, it was a precious resource that could be used to promote safe progress through consumption or other methods.

One could drink the liquid mana, which would take away one's appetite for days or weeks but would eventually become one's mana. One could also meditate in the Magic Spring, use the liquid mana to moisturize the skin, and much more.

Depending on how it was used, there were additional benefits to increasing one's power.

Despite all this, these people couldn't help but take note of Sarah's report.

'Any investigation into this would take weeks, at least. But in weeks, I'll be out of here or dead. Either way, it won't make my situation any worse.' Sarah thought before being cleared to proceed to the next level.

...

Sometime later, Sarah was already at the 3rd phase of screening in the prison unit she and Vicente were trying to infiltrate.

Meanwhile, Vicente passed through the 2nd phase and entered a hut on the 3rd level, where soldiers were ready to verify his identity through biometrics, voice, and facial analysis.

One might have thought that this would be the most difficult screening point for Vicente and Sarah. However, the items they used to alter their appearance were not affected by the items the soldiers used to assess this information.

Shelby had spent a lot of time and coins investigating the workings of this prison. She wouldn't send her best contact to this place to fall for a simple check!

If Vicente fell there, he could open his mouth and compromise her considerably!

Therefore, she had purchased camouflage items that could only be identified by artifacts or people in the 4th stage/grade and above.

Without something of that quality, they couldn't tell that something was changing Vicente's appearance, voice, and biometrics.

That was why Sarah had passed the 3rd phase of screening with ease, and Vicente would go through more or less the same situation and soon have his voice, biometrics, and face approved.

"Commander Oscar Rose, proceed to the fourth test." The person in charge of this area said before calling the next person, Evan.

Vicente looked back and saw the man, who was a bit nervous despite the seemingly calm expression on his face.

"See you later." He said as he walked towards the 4th level.

After a few minutes of waiting in line on the 4th level, Vicente would enter another tent where soldiers would take the screening test before letting him talk to the Sovereign.

As soon as he entered the place, he would have his aura checked. At the same time, the surrounding soldiers chatted among themselves without paying much attention to him.

Even though there were several levels of screening in prison shifts like this, most of them went smoothly, with no problems during the screening or even afterward.

Considering the rarity of problems in this kind of screening, most of the soldiers in this place felt relaxed while doing their jobs.

Vicente observed this calmly, imagining he would have no problems entering this prison as planned.

'I should be able to reach Snow Claw without too much trouble.

Considering how calm these soldiers are, I imagine that most of the new guards are the same way.

The problem will probably be our escape. We won't be able to do that without attracting attention.' He glanced toward the exit of the large tent, toward one of the few entrances to the prison's detention area.

The woman assessing him was the only one watching him closely, keeping an eye on the black eyes of this soldier with a strong aura.

'Oscar's aura is 95% compatible with what we have in our records. Has he been to any special events recently?' She wondered because the normal range was for soldiers' auras to be between 97% and 99% compatible.

This test had a 1% margin of error, so the highest result was barely 100%. Since magicians were changeable beings, slight differences were always possible. That was especially true for soldiers who only had to update their auras every 6 months, as was the case with these individuals.

But the 95% result was below the lower margin of error, something out of the ordinary.

Fortunately for Vicente, it wasn't a big enough difference to raise suspicions.

The woman said. "Commander, you should update your spirit data after entering the prison. I think your aura is outdated. In any case, welcome to Long Bay Correctional Facility. You may proceed to the final stage of screening."

Vicente took a deep breath as he left this place and headed towards the most dangerous point of his infiltration into this prison.