Shades of the New World

Sannah casually lifted her leg from the ground and looked at her sole. To her surprise, it was covered in a thin layer of Darkness, a clear indication of Evin's victory, despite the World Domain standing in front of her. Pondering a bit, she realized what Evin did.

"Ah, I didn't expect for your spell to go underground. Well, coupled with your sudden decision of making your darkness taller, it's a strong enough two pronged attack. It would be difficult for me to counter that," Sannah laughed and dispelled her World Domain.

"I've had lots of fun as well."

[Well, epic narration aside, it was a pretty fun game to play,] Evin thought in his head.

[You looked like you were having so much fun, you looked like Mother and Rith when they're bullying you,] Runa said.

"Well, I hope you learned something about World Domains today," Sannah said and sat down on her seat.

Evin thought about the prior exercise and summarized his conclusion.

"The World Domains are just simple spells, but what makes it special is that it's a very reliable one as it is one of the Absolutes. Probably the first proper Absolute that a mage will become acquainted with."

"Exactly so. For lesser-imposers like us, who need to be frugal with our Domain usage, it's the most reliable and adaptable and changeable weapon on our hands. It can become a shield to protect us from foreign forces like now, or it can become a sword or a spear that can disrupt the enemy's spells."

"What should I do when I'm the one being attacked by a World Domain?" Evin asked.

"Run away, hide. Do your best to avoid being locked down in a fight against a lesser-imposer. Especially if it's a one on one. You might have a chance if the latter doesn't know where you're hiding, but if your enemy can see you, then you should be mentally prepared to fight as a non-mage." 

Evin had experienced this feeling before, so he was definitely going to take this advice to heart.

"This is actually why all elite teams have to have at least one lesser-imposer in its ranks," Sannah said, holding her hand to her chest, "Our only job is to lock down and neutralize the enemy lesser-imposer's World Domain. I'll most likely be busy fighting the World Domain of the enemy, or if it's a sensible opponent, we'll probably just be watching over the fight casually. After all, the actual outcome of the fight will actually decided by the rest of the team. And who's to decide the importance of a random outsider in the balance of these fights?"

The old lady's words were simple, but there was a very important message in it. She was saying that Evin's role in the team was much more important than what Evin was most likely feeling currently. 

After all, right after Evin got into the team, Sannah had denied his potential cooperation with the rest and told him to act solo. Evin obviously didn't mind, but someone else might think they were being bullied or something. 

"Thank you, for explaining all this to me," Evin said.

"No sweat off my back. I've enjoyed myself quite a bit too," Sannah replied, "Also, do you have any ideas about what you're going to do to sniff out the other mages?"

"Nothing for now. Guess I'll go around town getting a feel for things for now. And if I can't achieve anything substantial during it, I might even opt to stalk everyone entering and leaving town one by one."

It was still daytime, so Evin could get a few things done during that time.

"A bit uninspiring, but honestly, I like it. Simple is best, even if it's a bit dumb. Anyway, after you're finished today, make sure to report your progress to me afterwards. As for us, we'll stay here for a bit and wait for Dzuko. Call it a one day paid leave. Besides, the man should meet up with us today evening, if nothing out of the ordinary happens."

Evin saluted Sannah and walked out of the room. He headed for his room for a bit, to get a feel for how it looked. 

'Actually, I'll probably just sleep in my shadow,' he decided after taking a glance. 

[Finally, we're going on a proper mission now!] Runa said excitedly.

[I'm sorry to disappoint, but you're probably going to get bored of it very quickly.]

[No, I won't!]

[Well, it certainly would be great for me if you don't, since I'll have some company while doing something boring.]

[I'm telling you I won't!] the skinshifter retorted quickly, to which Evin only answered with a casual "Sure".

…

An hour later, Evin was sitting under the shades of the tallest watchtower in the town of Saar, nodding slightly to himself. He held a piece of paper, one with a highly messily depicted drawing on top of it, and stared at it with a scrutinizing gaze.

'The map's a bit scuffed, but it'll do after I go around the streets and finish it. I don't have to map the surrounding area, as it's Dzuko's job… so I guess I'll go finish it and then come back to think on what to do next' he decided.

He transformed his shadow to the Dark Room, and the next moment he fell into his spell. Latching onto the darker shades of the walls, Evin climbed down from the building. Then, he started to move around the town in a similar manner, every so often getting out of his spell to add some details to his map. After he was done, he would get back into his spell and navigate the town while sliding over the walls.

He quickly learned to avoid the ground itself, as it occasionally had some very… foul-smelling items lying around. Even if his shadow form was as magical as it was untouchable (usually), Evin didn't want to get any closer to the things if he could help it.

And he didn't wish to cover himself with illusions, as that would be much more noticeable than a slightly darker spot on a wall. Even Dark Mages with their natural affinity to darkness would find it hard to see Evin, as his Dark Room was a very high-tier spell, according to Kyune. With it, Evin could feel assured of his safety. 

In any case, the town of Saar.

Saar was a fairly large town, which was maybe a bit smaller than a square kilometer in size. Evin didn't know how many people lived in it, but he reckoned it had about 700-900 people living in it.

As for the surrounding area, the town had a neighboring big forest on one side, and a small river running on the other. Evin was sure that the secret base was located in the forest somewhere, so he expected his team to head there tomorrow morning. 

Saar was also a much quieter town than he anticipated, with most of the streets empty of any human presence. Even when Evin looked at everything from above, aside from the occasional movement, everything would be still and silent. Naturally, this made Evin's job much easier, so he wasn't unhappy. Since there wasn't also much traction in the area, his plan of camping in the city gates was a feasible enough.