The information Joel managed to extract from his two prisoners proved far more abundant than he had initially anticipated, especially that from the man capable of invisibility. Although, to be precise, it wasn't the individual who possessed this ability, but rather the cloak he carried. An extraordinary artifact that, as soon as it was secured, completely captured Nana's attention, and she quickly devoted a considerable portion of her time to analyzing it, dissecting its magical structure with an almost obsessive fascination.

  Drawing on methods he had learned from Adam's experience, Joel resorted to an inelegant but effective combination of drugs, psychological pressure, and carefully measured doses of torture. The result was quite clear: the existence of a surprisingly well-structured criminal organization known as "Mavro Dory (Black Spear)."

  It was a network dedicated to robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and murder, with a presence in multiple cities throughout the region. The group that had attempted to assault him was nothing more than a minor cog in that machine: low-level operatives, assigned to simple, poorly protected targets. Mystic apprentices, at best.

  The four men who died in the confrontation had barely reached the beginning of the first rank. Only their leader had reached the final stages of apprenticeship. Darmien, the invisible archer, was a little higher: an adept in his early stages, still far from being a real threat to experienced warriors.

  Because of their positions within the organization, neither prisoner possessed critical information about Mavro Dory's entire structure. However, they both agreed on one key point: the organization was led by a Grand Master and maintained infiltrators in various cities, individuals dedicated exclusively to gathering information on potential targets. Merchants, innkeepers, intermediaries… eyes and ears everywhere.

  Joel had attracted too much attention, and to those informants, he was nothing more than a solitary merchant, with too much gold, too much movement, and no visible escort. A perfect target.

  For a brief moment, the idea of ??adopting the most extreme approach—the Adam way, as he called it internally—crossed his mind. Return to the city, unleash chaos, and erase any trace of the organization through sheer terror. But the idea dissipated as quickly as it had arisen. It wasn't efficient. And, above all, it wasn't smart. Instead, he redirected the interrogation toward more useful information.

  This is how he discovered the existence of several black markets operating in the surrounding provinces, especially to the north. Far from the major cities, hidden beneath small villages or in underground complexes, clandestine trading points operated, opening only on specific days. Access was strictly restricted, and only those with direct recommendations were allowed entry.

  Joel obtained the locations of four of these places, along with the methods needed to access them undetected. Furthermore, he acquired something even more valuable: the name and contact information for a specific merchant in the city of Pseinion, known for trafficking stolen mystical artifacts, exchanging gold for energy crystals, and acting as an intermediary for… unscrupulous clients.

  His prices, of course, were exorbitant. But that was the cost of operating in the shadows.

  The cloak of invisibility came from this very merchant and was of elven origin. It was an extremely coveted item for spies and criminals, though not without limitations. It could only conceal low-level warriors, up to a mystical adept at most, and its effectiveness diminished drastically against masters or entities with highly developed senses.

  The most powerful combatants didn't need sight to detect an enemy. Some were capable of perceiving minute energy fluctuations; others could even hear a heartbeat from hundreds of meters away.

  Joel, for his part, was mediocre at detecting energy. He always had been. But his hearing, his instinct, and his experience more than compensated for that weakness. It wasn't magic that betrayed Darmien, the mystical adept, but the almost imperceptible sound of the crossbow's mechanism cocking just before the shot.

  The blood of both men proved to be very different from that of mages, charged with energy from Gaea and possessing properties difficult to define. Connor himself had previously stated that this blood did not have the same uses as the blood of mages. Nana discovered that it possessed a certain catalytic and amplifying ability when reacting with mage blood, concluding that its best use would be in increasing the quantity of potions that could be brewed.

  There was still, however, the magical affinity of the mystic warriors, which should awaken at the fourth level of master. Perhaps Nana could steal the powers of those stronger warriors. This was something that would have to be tested in the future.

  On the other hand, Nana's analysis of the crystals confirmed what, deep down, they both already suspected: they were nothing more than energy in a crystallized state. Pure, dense, and stable energy. However, beyond that obvious fact, the initial results were disappointing. For the mages—and for Nana herself—the crystals lacked any immediate practical application. They couldn't be used for magical growth or to bolster their internal mana reserves.

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  This only deepened a doubt that had been nagging at Joel since his arrival on Gaea: the fundamental logic that separated mages from the so-called mystic warriors.

  The former grew in a brutal and unnatural way, depending on the consumption of other mages' blood. Their power originated from within, sustained by an internal magical structure, a kind of reactor or core capable of generating energy autonomously. A closed and, to some extent, self-sufficient source.

  Gaea's warriors, on the other hand, operated under the opposite principle. They didn't produce their own energy; they drew it from the world. Their strength depended directly on their environment, on the ambient energy that surrounded them, and on their ability to absorb, store, and refine it. In that system, crystals weren't a luxury, but an essential resource.

  The experiments Joel and Nana conducted after arriving in the new world clarified that a mage's body was extraordinarily adaptable: it could refine virtually any type of energy and convert it into mana. Ambient energy, electricity—if there was an affinity—heat, and even the chemical energy contained in food. From that perspective, crystals were redundant. An unnecessary external source for an organism that already processed other forms of energy with the same speed.

  The difference became even more evident when they began experimenting with the two prisoners.

  They couldn't generate energy on their own and could only absorb the world's energy to replenish themselves, like passive sponges connected to a constant flow. But when Nana placed an energy crystal directly on their skin, the effect was immediate and revealing: the absorption increased dramatically, several times the initial magnitude.

  According to what the prisoners themselves managed to explain—between gasps and involuntary spasms—this concentrated energy could be used, through specific techniques, not only to regain strength but also to expand the body's internal reserves, accelerating growth and allowing them to ascend to higher levels of power.

  Nana, being the living anomaly she was, operated on principles similar to those of a magician, so she initially dismissed crystals as having no use for her. However, upon learning of their nature and immense value in the world, far from being satisfied with her initial conclusions, she went further. She formulated a disturbing hypothesis: if ambient energy could crystallize naturally, then it should also be possible to force the process. To attract energy from the environment, concentrate it, compress it… and create artificial crystals.

  The problem, as she herself acknowledged, was the “how.” Magicians did not possess an instinctive mechanism for actively attracting ambient energy. The process would have to be discovered from scratch, patiently honed, and perfected over time. A complex and potentially lengthy project.

  It was then that Nana made an unexpected discovery. During further tests with the prisoners, she discovered that the bodies of Gaea's warriors attracted energy from their surroundings naturally, constantly, and unconsciously. They needed neither concentration nor willpower: their mere existence altered the energy flow around them.

  That revelation changed everything.

  With Joel's tacit consent—and once both men were no longer useful as sources of information—Nana proceeded to take the next step. She transformed the prisoners into veritable collectors of ambient energy. Their bodies, still alive, were modified and anchored to a channeling system she herself designed. The energy they absorbed was redirected, stored, and finally compressed into special containers.

  They didn't scream. They didn't fight. They just breathed… and drained the world around them.

  Joel couldn't stop a tide of contradictions from surging in his mind as he contemplated the result of the experiment. The inherent cruelty was impossible to ignore. Even Connor, usually unflappable and cynical, was visibly affected by the scene: two human bodies sealed in wooden sarcophagus-like structures, riddled with dozens of organic connections, like living roots emerging from their limbs, torsos, and necks, fusing with the wood.

  Nana had been clear about it. Before any procedure began, both men had been reduced to a vegetative state. They felt no pain, they didn't think, and they weren't aware of anything. Even so, Joel couldn't help but wonder if it made a difference.

  The doubt settled in his chest like an uncomfortable weight. Not because he was unaware of the brutality of the world he found himself in, but because, for the first time since his arrival on Gaea, that brutality no longer came from outside. It came from within.

  But everything changed when the first crystals began to form.

  Inside the containers designed by Nana, the energy slowly condensed into a solid, perfect form. They were indistinguishable from natural crystals: same luster, same internal structure, same energy signature. Exact copies, born not from the world… but from the deliberate exploitation of its inhabitants.

  In the course of a single week, the mystic apprentice was able to condense enough energy to create two level one crystals. The adept, on the other hand, proved to be a far more efficient source, allowing the formation of eight crystals of the same level in the same amount of time.

  When Joel held the crystals in his hands, all doubts vanished. It was absurd to waste such an opportunity. Both men were doomed from the moment they tried to kill him. He wasn't going to offer second chances to criminals of that kind. The only thing that had changed was the fate of their bodies.

  Even Connor ended up accepting the result of the experiment. Moreover, he expressed a disturbing suspicion: if Nana had managed something like this, it was very likely that the inhabitants of Gaea themselves would, sooner or later, discover—or had already discovered—similar methods for the artificial creation of crystals.

  That thought made Joel recall the words of one of the merchants, that casual comment about the artificial manufacture of crystals.

  Could this be the same procedure, albeit less refined? Or was Nana the only one capable of conceiving something so brilliant… and so twisted at the same time?

  For over a month, Joel had ample time to question, experiment, and, above all, reflect. It wasn't just about power or resources. It was about the path he was willing to take to secure his future in that world.

  In the end, he made a decision. He would visit the black markets and explore other cities, other provinces, other places that operated outside the law. As in any world, money was the true driving force, and perhaps it would be necessary to get his hands dirty in places where morality was worthless.

  And who knew… Perhaps, along the way, some other reckless individual would decide to attack him. And then, like those before him, he would end up becoming something far more useful to the cause than a mere corpse.