The Rise of the Black Plain

About a year after the first three members of the group left for Ganaway Refuge, Minos and Abby left the Artificial Moon and made their way to that island on Zocarro.

As they arrived at the instant transport platform on Ganaway Refuge, Abby nearly fainted as she felt the effects of instant travel along with three other aliens who were arriving in this world for the first time.

Of the five travelers who made their way between the Artificial Moon and Zocarro today, only Minos didn't show the typical signs of newcomers in this situation.

Even though the four people next to him had trained on the Artificial Moon before coming to the Ganaway Refuge, the training was still not the same as the real thing.

Abby threw up everything in her stomach, feeling the terrible sensation one would feel for the first time experiencing such a massive journey.

Minos endured it, seeing how even a person who could seal their senses very well, as with Abby, could suffer from such a journey.

He said to her. "Close your eyes and try to breathe slowly. I'm going to take you to the rest of the group. You'll feel better by the time we get there." She agreed before he put her on his back and walked away from the platform under the watchful eyes of the locals from the organization behind the place.

As he left the organization's building, Minos saw the sky of Zocarro again, the pink and cloudless local sky.

He stopped for a moment and smiled as he took a deep breath of the air in this place, which was not as strong as his guild's area, but it was already much stronger than the Artificial Moon and any other place he had been to in the past few decades.

Of course, this place couldn't be compared to the Celestial's dimension—The Red Expanse. But this place was an exception that Minos would never compare to other areas of the universe.

After a minute of feeling how good it was to be back in this rich world, Minos made his way towards his companions with Abby on his back.

He noticed the aura of one of them at a place he had arranged for them on this main part of the island.

In less than 10 minutes, he would enter a rental house where only two members of the group, Vico and Kendrick, were at the moment.

"Father, mother!" Kendrick shouted at the sight of the two arriving where he and Vico were, Abby already on her feet, less bad than before, but still not so good. It would take a few hours for her to fully recover from the negative effects of the instant transport.

"Where are the others? Was there a problem while we were away?" Minos asked, looking at the two of them.

Vico smiled and said. "No, don't worry, everything is fine. The girls in the group are cultivating in seclusion. Lily and Callie are close to advancing a level, and Gloria and Hollie are with them.

Ruth and the other members of the group are in the city buying resources, information, etc."

"So that's it..." Minos sighed.

Zocarro wasn't like any of the places they had passed through on their journey here. There were dangers in this world that even Minos could do nothing about to help his group members. He could only hope his family and friends wouldn't get too close to these problems.

If they did, he could only promise to avenge them in the future!

"In that case, you two can continue with your plans to stabilize your soul foundation. I'll stay here with Abby so we can rest from our journey." He advised them.

Vico and Kendrick didn't hesitate, and after a few more words with Minos and Abby, the two left to do as he had instructed.

Standing alone with his first wife, Minos smiled at her and said. "You should get some sleep, Abby. Tomorrow you'll be at your best and can stabilize your cultivation with the others."

Not feeling well and far from her best, she accepted his recommendation and then lay down to take a nap, relaxed under his observation.

Minos would monitor Abby for the next few hours, waiting for the other members of the group to return to give him a chance to cultivate.

But of all the members of this group, Minos was the only one who didn't need to stabilize his strength. While his 13 companions had made all of their level advancements over the past few decades on worlds weaker than Zocarro, Minos had made three of his five advancements on The Red Expanse.

Because of this, his foundation was so solid he would lose absolutely nothing compared to if he had cultivated on Zocarro!

'Tomorrow, I can go back to cultivating to become stronger... At my current pace, I'll be in the last half of level 104 by the time we reach the Armhands' headquarters.' He smiled as he planned his next steps.

'This should be the time the group needs to stabilize their cultivation and become more like local cultivators.'

...

Over the next few days in Ganaway Refuge, Minos and Abby would integrate into the group's routine in the island's capital, cultivating in the area to stabilize their strength while preparing to leave.

The group had enough resources to leave the island and venture out into the murky sea between Ganaway Refuge and the northern tip of Oqia. However, the small strip of sea between these two areas was dangerous even for high-level Sovereigns.

Minos planned to prepare well before his return to the mainland, planning to do some shopping on the island and give his weaker companions a chance to stabilize their powers and even advance in level.

Amid these short-term plans, he learned of an important auction to be held in the capital city of Ganaway Refuge, an event where even absorbable weapons would be up for bid!

The auction was scheduled for two months in the future.

Interested in attending this event, Minos planned to continue cultivating locally until then, when it would be time to decide the best time to leave for Oqia.

In this way, the group would continue their previous activities on the island until Lily reached level 104, a week before the auction!