With her newly formed visual prowess, Cate led the Mage Born and Mary out of the forest. She did not tell them how it was that she could do such a thing. This was the Edgeless Forest. To cross it could take years, and this applied even to Supreme Magicians.
"Have you broken through to become a Supreme Sorcerer?" Mary asked on multiple occasions.
Cate avoided the question without seeming to lack trust in her friends.
When the three stepped out of the forest, they found that they were not the first to have crossed it. There was one person who had shocked everyone by crossing the forest in record time. When Cate saw this person, she felt as though her world was about to be turned upside down. It was Jordan Staranse.
"Did I not eat this woman? How is she here? Did I only eat the wolves and let this woman escape?" Cate did not know what to make of the situation.
If Jordan had seen how Cate ate the werewolves, this would have become a real problem. Even though there were countless magical beings in the world and even a few who enjoyed human flesh, the Avalon Society was one of the many organizations that had a strict rule to immediately kill any new magical beings discovered to have a taste for human flesh. They, of course, left the vampires and the werewolves alone, but this was because these particular magical creatures were too powerful, and a war against them would lead the world to destruction. The so-called righteous organizations only picked on weak magical beings and loners such as Cate. Cate would be killed on the spot, and her death would be celebrated. Her body would be cut apart for study, and even her soul would not be allowed to escape.
Cate looked at Jordan with eyes filled with killing intent. This was the best way to silence the annoying woman who had become a ceaseless problem.
"What is going on this time around? How come these people are crossing the Edgeless forest so fast?" one of the people from the Avalon Society asked as she moved towards Cate and her group.
"Jordan Staranse has created a record by crossing the Edgeless forest in only eight months. If they had not come out earlier than you, you would hold the record. She only beat you by a few days," the woman said.
Cate said nothing. She simply listened to the woman's words and monitored her actions. Cate even listened to the woman's heart. This enhanced hearing had caught her off guard, but she had quickly mastered it. Cate was looking for any signs of deception from the woman. If she saw anything suspicious, she was ready to kill everyone here and escape. She was not willing to die in this place. Jordan was quiet. She did not speak at all.
To Cate's surprise, there was no trouble waiting for her.
The four of them were led to the headquarters of the Avalon Society. The headquarters were established two hundred miles away from the Holy City. The headquarters was an entire city dedicated to the operations of the same organization. Everyone who lived in this city worked for the Avalon Society. The city was called Avalon, and it was about 300 square miles large.
This was not a mortal city. It was a city in the Immortal Realm, a place separate from the Human Lands.
Avalon did not have cars or trains. It had flying beasts such as Pegasus, Rocs, hippogriffs, wyverns, simurghs, Lamassu, and many more. These flying creatures were being used for transport. Cate could see humans standing and sitting on their backs. Other people were flying on brooms, carpets, and a few were flying through the sky under their own power. All this made the city very lively, but this was only the skies.
The ground was covered with palaces, mansions, forts, and many more beautiful structures. The streets were wide and lively. The people wore clothes from all kinds of eras in history. Some wore togas, and others wore mini dresses. There were people of all colors, from black, green, red, white, purple, and more. Some people in the city were not even human.
As Cate and her group were led through the streets, they got to see many of the wonders of this world. Shops were selling magical beasts such as those flying above the city, alchemy shops, apothecaries, and many other strange places. They passed a shop that sold human souls and another that sold slaves. The city was very diverse, with many beliefs intermingling.
Cate was led to the administrative palace that sat at the center of the city. This palace gave off an aura of authority and power. Each brick had been laid with this in mind. On the entry steps, people came and went with each passing second. From the conversations of the passersby, Cate learned that some of these people were coming back from missions or heading out for one.
Inside the building, Cate was separated from the others. Each person had to be registered on their own. This was the final step before they could be considered official members of the Avalon Society. So far, things were going well, and Cate hoped that things would remain this smooth till the end.
The registration was very simple. Cate filled in all the documents using information belonging to the real Catherine Staranse. She also made a Soul Oath before the god Horcus. In this oath, Cate promised to be loyal to the Avalon Society and to carry out all her duties without any malicious intent. Cate had not been told about having to make this oath, and now that she had, it became a very big problem that stood in her way.
Cate was given a token made from a kind of black stone. This token was her proof of identity, and it would allow her to move around in Avalon and other places within the Immortal Realm. Those who did not have the Immortal Token were not allowed to live in the Immortal Realm, and they were hunted down and killed by the Avalon Society.
She was then assigned to the Magic Research Bureau. There were countless posts available, but after evaluating her performance in the tests, the higher-ups decided to put her in this bureau, probably hoping that she could create a few more spells for them.