'That's a good question,' Vicente looked at his group, particularly at Layla. 'The time had come for them to learn about the Throne of Darkness.'",

'So you intend to hunt with them?' Torne asked.

'Not exactly. But it is a fact that I can't hide the truth much longer. It would be too risky to attack the Nixlas' Shadows without me having at least two magical essences on the throne. But I'll have to justify a few things to them,' Vicente considered.

He knew it would be difficult to explain that he wanted to hunt pentagrams from the Dark Path.

The pentagram he had in the crystal around his neck didn't interest him. He wanted all of his Throne of Darkness pentagrams to be cyan.

As long as he did that, it was very possible that when he completed the 5 or 6 pentagrams of this magical form, the yellow essence of this magical form would develop to the indigo grade!

That would probably make him the strongest on the continent!

However, getting five Dark Path cyan pentagrams compatible with him would not be easy at all!

He didn't want to hunt down all the pentagrams he could absorb in his second magic form right away. He wanted 'only' two, which frankly would be a lot of work and probably cost them a few months of hunting.

'I'll tell them the truth when I get my 5th pentagram for my first Magic Gem,' Vicente decided. 'I will show them how a Dark Path magician can be as reliable and non-chaotic as the rumors and stereotypes make them out to be.

I'll show them the potential of the throne against vampires. I believe that my second magical form will put me on the same level as a superior vampire.'

'Yes, I agree,' Torne said. 'Perhaps it will even put you in a better position, master. If you had full control of your throne when you faced that 3rd stage vampire, you could have beaten him even if you were one level weaker. Of course, you would have had to have three pentagrams in that essence back then, but I think you would have been even stronger than a superior vampire of the same level and could have fought someone of a higher level.'

'Let's prepare for that moment,' Vicente ended the topic with a smile on his face as he returned to Casey and Layla's side.

"So? Did you make the most of your opportunity?" Layla asked.

"Hmm, I'll probably move up a level after my hunt... That means we have to go after my fifth essence," he commented to them.

"That would be great," Casey said with an anxious look on his face. Seeing a monster like Vicente evolve was great!

Since they were allies and not enemies, Casey was always excited about Vicente's progress.

Layla was also looking forward to this moment and couldn't help but let her eyes sparkle with anticipation.

"Perhaps you will reverse the current disaster if you become a Paragon with five pentagrams, Vicente," she commented, clenching her fists.

"Maybe not," he laughed bitterly. "I hate to be pessimistic, but I fear that civilization as we know it will be gone by the time we finish this journey.

Think of all the monsters and magical creatures we will meet along the way. It's not just vampires at work. There are so many creatures advancing against the human domains... I wonder how many cities will survive in the next few months?

I'm just one, Layla. Maybe I can do something about the vampires and magical creatures where I am. But the Polaris Realm is too big. I couldn't protect this continent and completely reverse the situation that started months ago unless I became an Archmage."

"Archmage, huh?" Casey muttered, knowing that even Vicente wouldn't become an Archmage soon.

Vicente had been a Sovereign for about four years. As he was about to turn 22, this young man had been cultivating mana for about 8 years.

'Considering that he will advance in a few more months, it will take him 8 years to become a Low-level Paragon... It's possible that it will take him 8 years to become a High-level Paragon, and 16 years to become an Archmage.

Sigh! That would make 24 years of waiting. Everything the vampires are planning would have happened by then,' Casey thought to himself.

"Then I hope you at least protect the Seidel Kingdom," Layla commented. "As long as we can survive the crisis until you become Archmage, there's hope."

Layla knew how mana cultivation worked, so she figured it would take Vicente to get to the 6th stage as long as Casey thought.

"We'll probably be Paragons by then... Anyway, I hope it's not as bad as you think. Otherwise, there may be no turning back. At least not in our lifetime."

If human life on the continent were reduced to 1% of its pre-

The Purification numbers, it could take millennia for the human community to regain its old numbers!

Reproduction becomes more difficult as one became stronger. Also, if many of the people had to live in situations of constant stress and struggle, the conditions for restoring the old numbers would be even more unfavorable.

In that case, even if they lived in the Polaris Realm for thousands and thousands of years, they might die long before the continent returned to normal.

That scared them!

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Layla said as she watched Sarah finish her cultivation. "We'll do our best to deal with the crisis when we get back. The vampires should ravage the north now, but in a few years, they'll reach the south."

The subject died down as Sarah showed her four pentagrams, revealing her first essence, newly evolved to the orange grade.

Virtually everyone in the group had achieved such evolutions so far. As one more achieved this transformation, the three magicians congratulated Sarah on her improvement.

Vicente hugged Sarah, his embrace giving her goosebumps all over her body.

Unfortunately, neither of them had relaxed and exchange deeper, warmer body 'caresses'. Since leaving the kingdom, Vicente had tended to the carnal needs of each of the three women in the group only once. They had traveled without enjoying each other's bodies, as they were at too dangerous a point in their journey to play that way.

Still, Layla, Lina, and Sarah naturally suppressed many of their desires. A single touch from Vicente was enough to make their bodies feel different...

Unfortunately for Sarah, nothing would happen today. She would have to suppress her desires for the time being while they were on an important part of their journey.

But soon, with the end of Lina's and Rory's cultivation, it would be time for them to go in search of Rory's pentagram!