The transportation process was rapid. They only felt the suction force of the rift pulling them in, followed by a brief blindness as everything went blank, and the moment their eyes fluttered open again, they were standing in a new world.

They could tell from a mere glance that this wasn’t Arden or anything close to Arden.

What first greeted them was a fiery red ocean that spread for a distance that did not seem to end, along with an intense amount of heat that threatened to melt their skin. Bubbles appeared and burst into sparks in numerous spots, revealing the nature of what they currently stood on... lava. An ocean of lava.

Aside from the fiery red ocean, the pale purple clouds and the massive red sun also made it clear that they were no longer in Arden.

Also, they were currently standing atop a tough rocky platform that floated on the lava without melting. It radiated its own heat, though not as strong as the lava, it was still far from comfortable.

While Solan and the other Solar Pathos felt comfortable in the presence of heat given their race, the others felt like they were going to turn liquid at any moment.

"This is fucking lava."

One of the Vereenas cried out as he finished observing the ocean that surrounded them. Very soon, the other Vereenas began to discuss among themselves, a slight panic settling in.

"They did not tell us this place is made up entirely of lava. Damnit, I would’ve brought better heat-resistant attire," one of them complained.

"Could it be we have been transported to the wrong planet? Nothing about the briefing mentioned an ocean of lava," another added.

Marlon remained quiet as he observed his surroundings. Sure, he was surprised they were only surrounded by lava, yet he was unfazed. His Adamant Body was at A-rank, and it could resist heat even at this level.

As the leader of this mission, his main objective was to remain calm and think clearly.

And he did so, quickly coming up with an idea.

He turned to Liora, who was currently equipping weird-shaped crystals from her inventory. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Liora saw his gaze and quickly knew what he was about to ask, as it was already in her head.

With stellar infusion, she transformed the strange-looking crystals into fine black coats with the magical effect of adapting to one’s surroundings and distributed them among everyone.

Once they put them on, the effect she had imbued in them began to manifest, and the result was a wave of relieved sighs from everyone present.

With this settled, it was now time to focus on the mission at hand.

Marlon summoned the terrain mapping orb and infused aether into it.

The orb floated above his palm and projected a big rectangular holographic map in mid-air.

The map covered the entire terrain of the lava ocean, which was clearly marked in red.

There were random spots on the lava ocean marked in black, given their size, they suspected they were islands.

And currently, the rocky platform they were standing on was drifting towards one of the islands.

Yet something caught their interest.

The rock did not seem deterred by the waves of the lava and kept moving on a straight path. Even when lava bubbles burst and exploded near it, it did not shake and continued forward.

"Something must be controlling it," Orion said with a frown.

"Seems like it," Nox agreed as he observed the rock even more closely.

"Now it makes sense why the rock refuses to melt despite floating atop the hottest natural substance," Solan added.

Marlon hummed in agreement.

They were in an entirely new world. The nature of the monsters present in this world was unknown. Also, it was not entirely clear if this world already had inhabitants.

Nonetheless, with all that, one thing was still very clear.

Creatures that could survive in this world, where the ocean is literally lava, would definitely not be weak at all.

They had to be very careful.

And even while being careful, they had to be hasty with their mission.

After all, the planet eater would soon reach Arden.

The purpose of their mission was to make this world inhabitable for their race to prevent extinction.

"Still, a world like this? How can people from Arden, where at least half of the population are not awakeners, survive?" Marlon wondered.

Still, he gave an order.

Liora and her fellow Stellar Pathos went to work instantly. They combined their Stellar Pathos and, together, transformed a certain amount of basic crystals into a boat.

The boat was black but had fiery red veins, revealing its heat-resistant attributes. It was also quite spacious, and with the pointy shape of its front part, it was obvious that it was going to be really fast.

They boarded the boat one by one, and the Stellar Pathos activated it.

With astonishing speed, the boat began to move in the direction of the island the rock was previously moving them toward.

As they rode the boat, they ensured they took a proper look at their environment.

And one thing was sure: this place is not habitable for humans, which defeats the main purpose of their coming here.

Still, they did not lose hope.

Orion and Solan even suggested that this ocean might be only a small part of this planet. After all, the map did not reveal the other terrains, only the terrain of the lava ocean.

As the boat sped forward, they drew closer and closer to the island they were heading toward.

It became visible to them now.

The island in front of them did not seem friendly at all, as it was fenced by dense black fog that made it pretty difficult to see through, and above it, black clouds floated. Lightning cracked amidst the black clouds as though it was going to rain.

"Everyone prepare yourselves for combat," Marlon tilted his head and instructed.

The Vereenas adhered quickly.

Orion shut his eyes. The moon tattoo on his head began to glow in a pale crescent as he tried to use his psychic ability to peer into the island.

After a few seconds, his eyes fluttered open. The expression on his face revealed just what Marlon was suspecting.