Joel found himself in the basement of a humble house in one of Mitrohr's many rural villages. The air smelled of damp earth and old wood, barely lit by a pair of oil lamps that cast dancing shadows on the walls. He sat at a wooden table, on which rested a circular metal artifact the size of a helmet, its surface polished to the point of reflecting light like a mirror.

  He wasn't there by choice. He had followed Alrik's instructions to the letter, joining the forces of the Dusk Cult, meeting with a Dimension Walker, and being transported to this hideout. However, not before ensuring that the three adventurers accompanying him were not mistreated in any way.

  The metallic sphere, as they explained, was one of the most precious communication devices available to the blessed cults, so its mere presence in that place was proof that the ongoing operation had enormous strategic weight.

  At his side was Simon, one of the leaders of the operation. He was a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a gaze like forged steel. According to what Joel had been told, he was also one of the leaders of the Cult of the Dusk and a powerful Level 7 mage with hundreds of years of combat experience.

  When it was time to initiate communication, the sphere vibrated with a low hum. A voice emerged from it, articulating a sequence of words and numbers that, to Joel, were completely meaningless, as if they were part of a fragmented language. Simon, for his part, leaned forward and responded in the same enigmatic code, with a precision that indicated practice and absolute familiarity.

  There was a brief silence, and finally, a different voice filled the basement. Joel was both surprised and relieved. That tone was unmistakable: it was the voice of Richard, the man in charge of assigning missions at the headquarters of the Cult of the Dawn.

  Richard began greeting Simon in a measured tone, though his voice held a hint of unease. "What's the reason for your call, Master Simon? From what I understand, the Cult of the Dusk is in the midst of an important mission. Did something happen in Myrrial?"

  Simon, his expression imperturbable, replied in a grave tone, "The mission is still ongoing, but we've just encountered a member of the Dawn acting alone and within our area of operations. He says his name is Joel... and he claims he just emerged from self-imposed exile after a disastrous mission."

  There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by a hint of surprise in Richard's voice. "Joel... wait a moment... I have a record of a Joel who disappeared three years ago in the kingdom of Tamburk. We had already presumed him dead."

  "Well, he's very much alive," Simon replied evenly. "I'm allowing him to speak with you so you can verify that he is who he claims to be."

  Joel approached the sphere, noticing how its metallic surface emitted a slight warmth, as if inviting him to speak. He took a deep breath before introducing himself, "This is Joel, reporting in... and requesting extraction from this world."

  Richard's voice turned serious, with an undertone Joel remembered well from the last time he heard it three years ago. "Identification code... and report what happened."

  "Code 36825964. The mission resulted in local agents discovering the presence of magical children being transported in the area. We decided to investigate…"

  Joel didn't have time to finish. Richard interrupted him abruptly, like a blade slicing through the air:

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  "Who was in charge of the team? And... who authorized the mission diversion?"

  Joel kept his gaze fixed on the metallic sphere, as if he could see Richard's face from there. "Kara was in charge..." he said firmly, "and the decision to investigate the leads was a group consensus. We didn't have time to inform anyone; the window of action was too small."

  Richard, without letting any emotion escape, asked, "What was the outcome... and where are your teammates?"

  Joel swallowed before answering, though his tone remained unchanged. "The lead led us to an Imperial caravan... but someone got there first." He paused briefly, his eyes hardening. "Apparently, members of Korvax."

  Simon raised an eyebrow and turned to face Joel, surprised. On the other side, Richard let out a stifled murmur, followed by a curse clearly heard through the artifact.

  Joel continued, “We tried to stay out of it… but they detected us. And they were insistent on eliminating any witnesses to what happened. Kara and Toren…” his voice broke for just a moment, enough for anyone who knew him to notice the memory still weighed heavily, “fell in the battle. I was the only one to survive.”

  Silence thickened in the room, broken only by the soft hum of the sphere. Finally, Richard spoke again, an icy edge to his tone. “What happened to the Korvax members?”

  “I was able to eliminate both of them, though I nearly died in the process,” Joel replied, terse, almost mechanical. His words hung in the air as if they weighed tons.

  Simon watched him with a mixture of disbelief and restrained respect. On the other end, Richard remained silent. It took several long seconds before his voice sounded again, deep and heavy with meaning. "What happened next?"

  “I returned to the caravan,” Joel continued, keeping his tone controlled, “and found it was transporting two magical children. Since then, I've been caring for them… keeping them away from any city and the hands of the empire, until they reached an age where they wouldn't attract too much attention. I've followed the protocols as best I could, and… I consider it prudent to request extraction.”

  Richard intervened immediately, “Are the children with you now?”

  “No.” Joel gently shook his head. “I left them in a safe, secluded place within a forest. Two years ago, I had an incident that forced me to escape civilization.”

  “What happened?” Richard asked, with a hint of interest that he couldn't quite hide.

  Joel shifted his gaze to the table and replied curtly, “It's not something I want to discuss… not now, not here.”

  Richard remained silent. Even through the sphere, the dry sound of a quill writing on paper could be heard. Finally, he spoke again, "I'm afraid we don't have the personnel to extract you from Myrrial at the moment. We're dealing with problems in another world. Furthermore..." his voice hardened, "the area you're in now is the target of a major operation, involving three other blessed cults. We can't hinder their delicate organization."

  Simon, who had been listening with his arms crossed, intervened in a deep voice, "Someone like Joel could help us with the operation. It wouldn't hurt to have another level-four mage."

  Joel opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Richard's voice, thick with surprise, "Level-four? But... Joel was level-two when he left the base three years ago."

  Joel could see Simon's face harden, a gesture that heralded uncomfortable questions. So before that could turn into a misunderstanding, or worse, a suspicion about his identity, he spoke calmly, "When I started the mission, I was already on the verge of advancing to level three. From there, I gathered my own resources… and I managed to advance again very recently."

  Simon watched him with an arched eyebrow, not hiding his distrust. "Advancing so quickly..." he murmured. "Is this guy some kind of anomaly?"

  Richard chimed in from the sphere, his voice thick with interest. "From the records, I can see that Joel isn't your average mage... He's a very atypical variation of a physical mage, with no real ability to cast spells, but with an uncanny ability to wield a sword as if it were a magical artifact. It also says here that he could take on level three or four mages without too much trouble under the right conditions. Joel... is that why you were able to eliminate the cursed mages?"

  "Correct," Joel said, nodding. "I took advantage of my speed... and the element of surprise."

  Simon narrowed his eyes, assessing him with renewed interest. "So... right now, what power level do you think you could fight?"

  Joel thought for a few seconds before answering, "If I put my mind to it and use all my cards, I could easily overwhelm a level 5 mage… and maybe take out a level 6 if I can surprise him. Of course… as long as he's not faster than me or doesn't have some special artifact."

  Simon's eyes widened with a barely contained spark of enthusiasm. "Then you're perfect. We have a mission that requires infiltrating a heavily guarded location, where it would be impossible to infiltrate a level-6 mage without raising suspicion."

  A faint smile spread across his face before he spoke his next words, "You're perfect to lead the attack from the inside."