Some time later.
In the laboratory, Kroya smiled at the apprentices who had arrived. "You're ready, aren't you? Have you brought everything?"
The apprentices standing before him, led by Lina, nodded firmly.
"Yes!"
Each carried a huge pack, with dogs on leashes, chickens in tow, and sheep following along. They looked less like they were setting out on an expedition than heading to a farm outing.
-and in truth, that was more or less what they were doing. They were going into the Void Luminary Paradise to begin developing it. Nearly every one of its strange cities was shrouded in powerful forces.
As a "paradise" refined from a deity's flesh and blood, it was both a Divine Kingdom that existed in reality and an illusory land distinctly separated from reality. Someone needed to plant the seeds Kroya had given them and use the Ring of Radiance's "reality" to light up each city.
Kroya had originally intended to take a look himself, but after some consideration, he abandoned the idea. Doing absolutely everything himself would be far too dull.
So he had summoned his dependable apprentices.
"I won't waste words."
"For every torch you light, you'll receive a reward."
This was no empty promise. Kroya had always been generous. Anyone who did a good job would receive ample rewards, whether knowledge, magic crystals, status, or power.
The apprentices were practically bursting with enthusiasm. One after another, they stepped forward and cautiously entered the revolving portal woven from platinum-white fungal threads.
The next instant, what appeared before them was a vast, boundless grassland composed entirely of pale green fungi.
"Baa! Baa!"
The rock sheep following behind them brightened up. Had they not been well trained, they would already have rushed over to gorge themselves.
Even so, the rock sheep nudged their owners'