Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Kothar sent his Spatial Mana out toward the location, almost a hundred and fifty meters away, to his surprise, it wasn't difficult in the slightest, and the portal smoothly opened.

His jaw dropped open in surprise, and Kothar stepped through, and tried to open a portal even further than the last.

Again, he opened it easily, it seemed that the Spatial Artifact had gained a lot from absorbing the enormous Spatial Crystal.

Kothar kept testing further and further distances, before finally finding his new limit, of about five hundred meters.

[This is ridiculous, just having this Artifact puts me equal with most at the higher end of the Intermediate Rank. Even though my Spatial Core is still at the size of someone just entering within the Intermediate Rank, and that's after it being artificially enlarged.] Kothar said in surprise to Silane, a clear smile on his face.

[Wonderful, this does put your Lightning Core far behind, but it should still have it's uses.] Silane replied, as Kothar continued summoning portals and stepping through them, this was quickly becoming Kothar's favored method of travel.

This method was actually quite common amongst Spatial Mages, but Kothar wasn't aware of this, having lost his mentor before he could learn anything significant from him.

[The distance to the hideout is probably enormous, considering how far I flew the Aemos' ship out into the ocean.] Kothar said, the landscape around him changed from grasses to enormous trees.

------

The enormous sun that hung in the sky of Atla was beginning to set, the sky changing from a bright blue with wispy clouds all through it to a deep orange, with a thick carpet of fluffy clouds that were lit up like a bonfire by the setting sun.

Kothar had constantly been opening portals for the entire day, the rich mana on Atla meant that his body was nourished as he travelled, his mana draining dar slower than it should.

Unfortunately, this time around, Kothar hadn't come across any beasts travelling toward his hideout, and wasn't able to hitch a ride within their hides.

There had been a few that had crossed his path, their footsteps shaking the ground as if Kothar was experiencing an earthquake, but Kothar was far too small for them to even vaguely be interested in them.

Now, Kothar had finally come across a familiar sight, the enormous torrent of water that was the stream that ran past the willow tree he had carved his hideout within.

Kothar felt a faint sadness, it had been so long since he had been thrust into this world by betrayal, and it had become a great opportunity for him.

A world rich with resources and dense with mana, that would allow him to grow stronger in both the realms of his ability, through improving his magic and upgrading his body.

Kothar decided against using portals to travel the rest of the way, while the small stream was like a mighty raging river to him, walking alongside was still quite calming.

As he walked, Kothar thought over the constant swirl of action he had been embroiled in when he had returned to Ursten.

It felt as though he had barely had even a moment to rest, he wished he had the chance to properly spend time at his childhood home, and return to the Academy without fearing for his life.

But for that, he would need to become far, far more powerful than he already was. That would also allow him to protect his new home, it was impossible that he wouldn't become fond of Eclat and its people. 

This time, he had managed to stave off the threat, by sabotaging the enemy's greatest asset, and trapping their troops within an underwater coffin.

BUt he had been extremely lucky, with his Spatial Artifact affecting the crystal and by not having to confront the Ascendant. 

Kothar needed more strength of his own, he didn't want to rely on luck, or on an artifact anymore, when the time came to protect his home again, he wanted to be sure that he could do it with solely his own ability.

As Kothar was ruminating in these thoughts, he came to the willow tree that contained his hideout without realizing, almost walking past and continuing his walk.

There it was, the tiny hole in the enormous trunk, as well as the hidden staircase that he had carved out within the trunk to help with travelling up and down the enormous tree.

[Be careful around here Kothar, those Freemen that Krieg sent after you may have left traps inside, or one could even be laying in wait.] Silane warned, as Kothar started up the staircase.

Kothar walked slowly up the stairs, carefully inspecting the floor, walls and roof as he did so, looking for any sign that anyone had left a trap or even been there.

By the time he made it up the staircase it was dark outside, and he summoned a ball of lightning to light the way as he continued.

[Everything is exactly as we left it. And by that, I mean exactly, nothing has been moved by even a millimeter.] Silane commented, as Kothar sent the ball of lightning spinning around the main cavern.

[Wow, we really left a mess here, didn't we.] Kothar said, with a smile, remembering the excitement they had both felt upon the launch of the ship.

The chunks of wood that he had sawed out to widen the tunnel that led between the main cavern and Silane's workspace littered one side of the cavern, while the rest of it was dominated by chunks of metal and components for the ship that had failed to make the cut.

At one side of the room, was the tidiest area, where Kothar had parked the Hoverbike, as well as creating a space to store the tools he had purchased from the Pebble Network.

[Well, I guess you'd better get to cleaning.] Silane said, teasing Kothar a little.

[Hahaha, sure thing, The sooner that gets done, the sooner we can get to work.]