Darius and his two Branded Servants appeared in the outskirts of an oasis, smack dab in the middle of a desert. Apart from the grilling sun overhead that was shining down upon the land, and the sand-filled plain that stretched into the horizon, there wasn't much else.
Gunner and Xela looked around with surprise. The temperature didn't bother them much with the level of Endurance they both had. If they wanted to feel the sweltering heat, they would feel it. If they wanted to ignore it, that was entirely possible too.
Darius faced the oasis and inspected it slowly. It was a large one, with a large-sized lake in the center, a cottage set up beside the lake, and a small bit of grass and coconut trees spread around for about a kilometer.
Gunner and Xela found this layout familiar, and gazed at Darius who nodded. "This is indeed similar to the Divine Glade of Fallon. We can call this one the Divine Oasis of Ludo, where Sino D'Mara should have spawned if he were anything but an infant."
Darius rubbed his chin. "However, as the Resurrections Stone needed to grow and develop with him from birth, he was one of - if not the only - Agent of Vena that started from infantilism."
Darius' smile faded as he frowned. "And it was precisely because of that that the Fake Lords were able to have him captured and subsequently tortured. Poor him never had the chance to explore his theoretical spawn point, but I felt that it would a be a good idea to claim it."
Gunner folded his arms. "Sounds like a good idea. The Fake Lords seem to have an inkling of its location though, so what do we do about that?"
Gunner's concerns were valid, but Darius reassured him. "I am aware, but just as they should know where the Divine Glade is on Fallon, they must be unable to enter."
Xela blinked her eyes with confusion. "Then how come we are about to enter it?"
"I believe it may be because we are also Agents of Vena, or because of the Supreme System. Another hypothesis of mine is that these locations are accessible to the public until an Agent of Vena 'activates' them." Darius began.
"In fact, there's a way to test it out right now. Watch how it is openly visible from where we stand while outside. Once I enter within, it should either vanish or become obscure in some way."
Upon saying this, Darius calmly walked into the oasis, heading straight for the cottage. He was visible for a minute or two before the entire oasis seemed to evaporate before the shocked eyes of Gunner and Xela, as if it had just been a mirage.
The duo glanced at each other with surprise, but waited. Soon, Darius came out with a smile, and the oasis became visible for a split second before it disappeared once more.
Gunner and Xela reported what had happened to Darius, which made him satisfied. The trio then entered the oasis and entered the cottage. The interior design was the exact same as Darius' own, which gave Darius and Gunner especially a feeling of nostalgia.
The trio settled in. Darius then removed an item from his Inventory that he had kept for a while, but found no use for until today.
It was the Desert King's Turban! It was a golden-cream turban that granted any wearer immunity from the desert conditions of Ludo, also qualifying them to become the next king of the content if they could pass the Test of Mettle.
Before, this had sounded like something obscure and needless to Darius, but after acquiring all the restricted knowledge of Faust, he understood that becoming the Desert King was not a joke.
It wasn't just an empty title that required the people to recognize him. It was more of an appointment made by the Laws of Faust granting a person supernatural power while on Ludo.
The Desert King could control all sand on the continent with ease, no matter where he stood. In the ancient days, Ludo had been one of the most powerful continents, until the last Desert King had been lured away from the continent under the pretext of a gathering and assassinated.
As for who organized the gathering? Was there really a need to spell it out?
After killing him, the turban had been claimed by them as a spoil of war. The Gods had sent out vassals, demi-gods, and even some Lesser Gods to take the Test of Mettle, but all had failed.
For almost 2,000 years, this failure rate had continued, so they had naturally lost interest and tossed it aside.
One thing led to another, and it ended up in the hands of the naturally lucky Darla Brown.
Speaking of Darla, Darius made a mental note to check in on her. While he and his two Branded Servants had higher Luck than her, it did not remove the fact that the lass had been born as a Paragon of Luck of the Basic Order.
There had to be an overarching reason for it, and Darius was determined to find out. For now, he set the matter aside as he refocused on the turban before him.
He had naturally come to Ludo this time to partake in the test of mettle. As far as accounts go, it wasn't something that took years. A Lesser God of the Sand Element held the record for spending 25 hours inside.
What was interesting though, was that none of those who had gone in could speak about the nature of the test, as they were bound to silence by the Laws of Faust. Darius felt like this would be an interesting experience even if he failed.
Becoming the Desert King was just a nice little bonus to help him takeover Ludo faster. It was the poorest continent after Fallon, but the standard of living here was far worse than anywhere else on Faust.
Due to the temperature and the scarcity of life, outsiders hardly came here unless they had a pressing reason, just like Pokterr. This made it a prime continent for Miranda to establish herself on and start taking over slowly.
What, you thought Darius fancied himself an adventure who wanted to see all the lands, experience cultures, and meet new people? Far from it.
He knew all he needed to of the world from the Restricted Knowledge, and he had enough power to climb to the top without partaking in needless adventurers.
Every single step he had taken after the 5-year recluse, every single word, action, and thought was planned out and calculated. This increased exponentially in intensity after he encountered Deia's reincarnation here and had regained a will to live so to say.
Coming here, at this specific time when he could easily finish the Quest by killing the bugs, had its own purpose too, and it wasn't just establishing Miranda nor becoming a Desert King.
He could certainly rush and finish off the bugs while they were weak, but no. They still had some use and Darius had made some predictions that should net him even bigger gains.
It wasn't the farmer who planted the most crops or worked the hardest who became the richest, but the farmer who looked up to the sky and monitored the weather patterns as well as the cycles who came out on top.
Darius decided to let his group rest for the night, as they had been fighting for quite a while. Gunner used his HoloBrace to watch some more DragonBall Z, especially the Broly Movies/Specials since that was his role model.
As for Xela, she was currently riveted behind her screen watching 'How To Get Away With Murder'. Darius chuckled as he saw these two native Faustians enjoy media from Earth.
As for him, he decided to sit cross-legged in his room and meditate on the Magical Method. When he had been creating the Insect Soul Course spell, his mana had passed through a certain pathway that intrigued him.
He and Miranda had explored it back then and hypothesised about whether they had discovered a pathway to a new element!
Specifically, the element diametrically opposite to Spirit!
It had to be noted that up until now, the counter to the Spirit Element had not been found! That was one of the reasons why it was so powerful, and taken seriously.
Now that Darius had discovered the preliminary pathway, as long as he could decide the rest, the Laws of Faust would acknowledge it and open the element to the world.
However, He - Darius Stone - would be given the highest authority over the element under the Laws themselves. This was what he was looking forward to, so he quickly delved into the exploration with Miranda in tow.
This would definitely take some time, as they were not just tracing the pathways for a spell, but for an element. There were more than one empty slot for opposing elements in the world of Faust currently.
Yet, the world had existed for so long and very few had been sussed out.. Naturally, it wasn't that easy.
