《Magical Academy: Rise of the Supreme Magic Craftsman》


 Chapter 1 - Descent

    "Red Alert! Red Alert! All crew proceed to battle station!"


    A loud siren apanied by an explosion shook their spacecraft. Various personnel of the ship were scrambling about to get to their stations.


    "Damage report?"


    The steel door opened and Captain Heather with his son immediately asked without waiting for the door to close as he entered the bridge.


    "Rear shield ¨C 9% damaged, All their missiles are targeting our thrusters. Our enemy seems to n to just immobilize our ship!"


    Officer La answered as she checked on her monitor the damage. She noticed that all missiles are aiming their ships aft.


    "15% damaged!"


    "Put all power on rear shield!"


    "Yes, Captain! Shifting shield priority."


    "Maximum output activated on rear shield."


    After a few more bombardment, the damage reached 24% on their shield and the ship''s shaking came to stop.


    "Did you recognize the fleet? Howe they''ve closed in without being detected?"


    "Yes. That''s the newest battle cruiser of Meredith Empire ¨C ''Executor''. If it weren''t for the mines we sent out before, they would have gotten even closer."


    As them officer answered the captain, he immediately projected several feeds of the spacecraft on the center screen. Everyone in the bridge noticed that their number wasn''t small.


    ''No wonder''. Captain Heather realized why their radar wasn''t able to detect this stealthy spacecraft.


    Everyone was aware of this new battlecruiser of this invasive empire. Executor was a medium-sized vessel with excellent maneuverability and high firepower apanied by the most advanced stealth technology of the Empire.


    Although its size was way smaller than their Dreadnaught-ss Zymeth, their spaceship''s current firepower is at its lowest.


    They had just left a battlefield and were on their way back to resupply their munitions. They discovered a few relics of an alien technology but before they could leave the ce, they were ambushed by their business rivals.


    Yes, the Dreadnaught-ss Zymeth wasn''t a part of the army of some Nation or Empire but owned by a business tycoon which is Captain Heather himself.


    They no longer hired someone to protect them on their business trades in space but had their own forces to protect themselves.


    Unfortunately, they had no means to resupply and seek reinforcement with their branch that was still three standard hours away from their current location.


    Captain Heather trip to Asteroid Bul''Zar was to retrieve a certain relic from who knows how many millennia ago. He invested a lot on this dangerous trip causing him a lot of loss on his trade business. The captain never expected this trip to attract so much attention. They made sure that this expedition was kept in secret.


    "To think that even the Meredith Empire is involved in this, at least they probably don''t want to destroy the relic we have retrieved"


    Captain Heather looked at the several dozens of Executor circling around their ship. He noticed that a gship that had previously been in stealth mode appeared behind a cluster of these Executor.


    Everyone in the bridge could only feel helplessness seeing this Imperial-ss Arcane Star. If it was only these Executors, they could have maximized their shield and propulsion to escape this entrapment ignoring the firepower of these medium-sized Cruisers. Even though they had few munitions and could not retaliate massively, they were somehow confident that they could withstand the shots of these Executors.


    "What''s your order Captain?"


    "Let''s wait. They will contact us."


    He was confident as he believed that the empire wanted to acquire the goods without any damages.


    As soon as he said this, a contact immediately arrived and them officer asked permission to the Captain. But before answering, Captain Heather looked at his son before turning to his subordinate.


    "Shin, execute protocol Last Cycle."


    He was looking very seriously at Shin, a retired lieutenant in the army, who nodded with the same determination as his Captain.


    "Wace, follow Shin and he will help get you in safety."


    Wace was a bit reluctant to leave the bridge. Although he was only 15 years old, he contributed a lot in the previous battle at Asteroid Bul''Zar which had a very treacherous environment. But looking at the situation and the serious look of his father, he knew that there wasn''t any room for argument this time.


    He was also aware of the current status of the ship. Aside from the shield they could rely on, they only had a few missiles and hadron beams they could use before their canons will fail. Even their Mech Frame only had 6 left from the previous hundreds. They could never win this uing battle.


    "Yes, father. Please be careful"


    Wace could only abide to his father''s order leaving with his Uncle Shin.


    After the door closed, Captain Heather heaved a sigh before nodding to them officer to ept the audio-visual call of the enemy.


    "Captain Heather, we meet again." A deep and calm voice echoed in the room as they saw the representative of their enemy ship. They all looked at this stern soldier in his mid-thirties sitting on the captains seat.


    "Solon, so it was you!" Captain Heather looked at the familiar person on the screen. Everything now made sense to the captain.


    "I never knew you were such a high ranking officer of Meredith Empire."


    The captain gritted his teeth as he tried to contain his anger and disappointment in his voice. Solon was delighted seeing Heather came to a realization.


    "You know why I''m here Heather."


    ''I will never hand it over to you Solon.''


    Captain Heather said in his mind as he looked at one of the small surveince screen on the bridge. He noticed that the preparation for Last Cycle Protocol was almostpleted.


    ''I''ll buy as much time as I can. It''s all up to you Wace. Farewell, son.''


    ***


    "Uncle Shin, what''s with the protocol?"


    Wace asked as they walked along the hallway. He noticed that they weren''t going to the shelter but actually to the warehouse where the relics were left in stock.


    "It is to safeguard you and the relic, Wace. You have to survive in this ce. The relic cannot be handed over to anyone. This relic is the fruit of your mother''s research."


    Uncle Shin answered as he opened the door to the warehouse. Several containers could be seen tied in the right part of the room.


    Wace was astounded that the relic his father had been trying to obtain at all cost had some rtion to his mother. He never expected it.


    He was only aware that the relic could earn them a huge sum of money.


    ''It seems there is still a lot of secret in this relic.''


    He would have liked to ask a few more questions but they obviously didn''t have enough time.


    His uncle Shin stopped momentarily and pressed a few control buttons on his wrist guard.


    Whoosh~


    A room could be seen after the walls on the left part of the room split open.


    What Wace saw was a very impressive ship. It was a small ship that looked like a luxury Corvette-ss spaceship.


    Uncle Shin urged him to go in.


    Wace obediently nodded and started to get in.


    "Let''s wait the others here then? Hmm... I didn''t think we had this ship."


    He checked the status of the ship. The ship was already on standby mode and ready to take off anytime.


    These kinds of ships weren''t forrge scale battle but even if that was the case, when looking at the design, he could see some advanced technology from a powerful empire including the exquisite propulsion tech that this spaceship was using.


    "How about you, father, and everyone?"


    As he realized that his Uncle Shin wasn''t answering, Wace asked again.


    He knew that they could not all fit in this spaceship in case they needed to escape. He was aware that there was a specific shelter with several escape pods on the ship.


    There was nothing wrong to retreat whenever there was extreme danger ahead. After all, although the crew they had was mostly retired officers, mercenary and professionals on their field, they weren''t patriotic soldiers trying to protect some country but were all here to supposedly earn a profit on this expedition.


    He believed that if their ship couldn''t handle the battle, his father would order to handover the relics to the marauders and would not sacrifice his men''s lives. But if these marauders weren''t satisfied with just that and wanted them to be silenced, he believed they could only retaliate as much as they could and order an escape if possible.


    But with everything said, it seemed that Wace was still ignorant on how important this relic was.


    "You will take this ship and escape. We will have our own escape route."


    ***


    Wace immediately woke up after hearing some noiseing from the monitor. He looked at the screen and noticed that he was nearing to a.


    The buzzing sound was due to multiple errors and warning sign telling him that this was not included in any database that human civilization had reached.


    It was already his second week wandering aimlessly in the space. He set the destination to the coordinates of that.


    "About six standard days."


    He murmured as he noticed the number on the screen when checking the ETA.


    There was no choice but to try to check that and try his chances there. Though looking at his supplies within the ship, he discerned that they wouldst him maybe an entire year but he would never know if he would even see any known in his current location. During his entire journey the ship''s A.I. tried all possible calctions on its huge database but they could never identify their current star system or gxy.


    This all happened after his Uncle Shin ordered his quick departure. The ship''s A.I. who he called Avalon, as it was written on the screen, was activated by his Uncle as soon as he was on pilot seat. Avalon actually took over the flight and Wace only watched as his small ship that was in stealth mode escape the entrapment of the enemies.


    He was actually shocked during that time as even the Meredith Empire''stest technology could not detect his ship with all their radars and sensors.


    He remembered that when he looked at the monitors on the screen and observed the situation of Zymeth, it looked like they were about to be besieged. But as his ship moved away from the encirclement he noticed that there was some changes on the center screen and quickly looked at it.


    Last Cycle Activated.


    It was the only words written and after that, a bright light took over his vision. His visor immediately activated to protect his sight. He looked at his back where the light came from and noticed a cube that was just the size of a fist only after several adjustment of his visor due to the bright light it was discharging.


    He thought at first that it was just a decoration but looking at it now, it seemed to be one of the relics they retrieved and the ce it was attached to seemed to be linked to the whole ship as he could see lines of light webbing through some part of the ship.


    `Is this a new type of energy that my mother is researching?'' This was what he had in mind as he nervously waited to see what this phenomenon was about to do.


    He heard some buzzing sound and looked at one of the screen and noticed that the ship was locked on by the enemy ship. It seemed that due to the energy of activation of the cube, their stealth was seen through. But the bright light didn''tst long and it only took a bit over 15 seconds then he almost lost consciousness.


    It was because after that bright light, his ship continued its flight but with unimaginable speed. If it was seen from another''s point of view, after the ship discharged its bright white light, it just disappeared.


    It was then the start of his aimless journey in an unknown location in the space until he found this unrecorded.


    Haaa~


    Wace sighed as he remembered his father and his crew on the ship. He wondered if they were safe. He tried contacting them and even tried logging to the Dark Net but after multiple attempt even with the help of Avalon they are unable to connect. Even Dark Net who boasted to have connection in more than a hundred gxies is unusable. He couldn''t browse or get any information online.


    ***


    Wace was now wearing abat suit. It was a ck bio-armor suit that fitted his entire body. You couldn''t see his face as well with his solid matte ck full-face helmet.


    He was now looking at the which was roughly the same size as Earth and as the ship went closer he already prepared himself on whatever he would encounter on this journey. His first aim was of course to check if the natives of this had human civilization or were friendly with it but if they weren''t, he woulde up with something to escape. He was confident in his survival skills.


    Wace was a bit worried of thenguage barrier if there was an alien civilization below since this should be undiscovered until today. He could only rely on the tens of thousandsnguages stored in Avalon database that human civilization umted in thousands of years.


    His second aim was to find a way tomunicate with his family. Whatever would happen, he would first have to descend on this and take it from there.


    "Avalon, start descending."


    The ship''s A.I. dutifully obeyed the instruction. He already waited for almost 12 hours for any form ofmunication that coulde from the but no one contacted him so he could onlymand to descend.


    He could think of a few reasons, maybe their technology was too backward, or there were no intelligent beings living on the or some other possibilities that could stop them from making contact with outer space.


    He was worried of those possibilities because it meant that he wouldn''t be able tomunicate with his family if even his ship''s small pieces ofmunication device were much more advanced than the technology of this.


    He looked at the now dimmed cube at the center of the pilot room just at the back of the pilot seat.


    "Whatever you are, you''re most likely one of the reasons for this entire situation."


    Wace talked to the cube but immediately shook his head. He would first have to set his priorities. Uncovering the secrets of this cube wouldeter once he settled his current predicament.


    *****


    Wace was now seated on the pilot seat and was monitoring the damage report popping out of the screen as his ship descended on the. His ship obviously wasn''t in a good condition and needed to be repaired. It had already umted damages when his ship was transported by the light that came from the cube. This descent added to the damages. He would obviously need to repair it first if he wanted to travel back to space.


    It could also be seen that the A.I. was multitasking, trying to get photos or relevant information it could get on the surface of the. The ship was now trying to fly safely in the atmosphere and Wace could now see the surface of this.


    "It doesn''t look that different from Earth"


    Wace muttered as he could see this beautiful scenery of nature. The ship was currently flying on top of the ocean but looking in front was and with lush forest and mountain. Thend seemed so enormous that he couldn''t see the end.


    "Damage has now reached 82% and exceed the threshold. Rmending for immediate descent."


    A robotic voice was heard as Wace was viewing the scenery.


    "Permission granted."


    "Scanning for a safe location to descend."


    It only took a few seconds for the AI to scan the surroundings and find an isted small ind near the maind. The system started its countdown for its descent. Wace saw a few dozen small inds near the maind. The chosen ind was about 5km away from the maind. As the ship neared the ind and after a few shakes on the ship, it safely descended.


    Wace heaved a sigh of relief as it safely descended as the system''s countdown stopped. He wasn''t warned by the AI as well for any living being that could be near the ship, aside from the unknown but familiar small insects and animals living in the small ind.


    The young man was now equipped with a rifle gun, grenade, and handguns. He also brought his onlyser gun. Even though he was equipped with a bio-armor suit, it only increased his defense and he still needed some offensive equipment as the bio-armor suit was initially only equipped with two des.


    The two handguns ced on the left and right side of his waist were seemingly attached to the bio-armor itself and only the handle was sticking out.


    This bio-armor suit was thetest technology of his father''spany and he luckily had 4 more extra suits on the ship.


    The suit''s usefulness was at the top of the Gctic Federation and Wace was confident in protecting himself on this.


    He was confident in its high adaptability in any environment but he could not know what was awaiting him in his journey on this and could only hope for the best.


    As hended on the ground, he clutched his chest in pain and died.

 Chapter 2 - Two Souls

    Wace abruptly woke up, startling the small birds eating his leftover food on the ground before he lost his consciousness.


    He was trying to remember all those dreams he had. A world where technology was so advanced that humans could conquer even the gxy. It was such an absurd dream but felt so real.


    As he tried to dig more in his memories, another surge of pain struck his brain. It was so painful that he couldn''t muster any strength to scream. He lost consciousness again immediately after.


    Wace was a 2nd-year student of the Leonhearts Academy of Magic and was studying to be a Magic Engineer. He was an average student but dreamed to be a sessful Magic Engineer someday.


    A while ago, he rode a bus and left the academy to visit his family living in a small town near Beirun Forest. As he alighted and walked for about 10 minutes he saw the familiar signage.


    "Wee to Red Star Town"


    It was the same old signage. Due to the policy in the academy, he could onlye home about 2 or 3 times a year.


    Instead of immediately going back home, he thought of visiting the Lunake which was about 5 minutes'' walk on the left of the town and taking a chance to see if the thousands of red star flowers nted near theke had bloomed. It was normally around this time of the year that they started to bloom.


    He was nning to capture a few photos in his mobile device to show them to his friends at the academy. His stomach grumbled as he walked, he rode 2 buses and had about 8 hours of a journey after all. He opened his bag and ate the snack he purchased before his travel.


    It was at the moment when he was about to get closer to theke that his mind went nk and he lost consciousness. He woke up after a weird dream and experienced a surge of pain digging through his brain.


    It was already getting dark when he woke up again. But this time his eyes had two different lights.


    "Impossible."


    It was the only word he could think of as he was trying to get a feel of his body.


    For some unknown reason, the Wace of the outer space and Wace of this Earth have merged. There was no conflict in his mind but he felt overwhelmed by this discovery at first.


    Fifteen years of someone else life merged into his body. A different world where no magic existed but a purely advanced form of technology allowed human civilization to reach the apex.


    Conquering humanity''s short lifespan to allow people to live a thousand years, enhancing genes to have superhuman bodies, technology so advanced that Wace from this Earth was left shocked.


    His confusion onlysted for a few seconds and something jolted his mind before he closed his eyes again and after opening them, the two different lights in his eyes had somehow merged.


    "Father, just where did you send me?"


    This world where ''Wace'' had descended seemed like an alternate world. The Wace here was looking exactly like him. He felt some kind of conspiracy going on here.


    Wace shook his head and got up.


    He was ''Wace'', it didn''t matter whether it was from space or this Earth.


    He started walking back home as it was starting to get dark. He was trying to sort his mind as well. The memories of the two lives were all very clear.


    "I need to look for my body to confirm everything."


    All his doubts about his identity would be cleared once he saw and confirmed that there was ''Wace'' who descended here on this Earth.


    Of course, he would like to check the spaceship as well. As the technology it contained was far above what this could offer. This had mixed of magic and science after all. Advancement in science was poor as most people still relied on magic or usage of Mana.


    Wace made up his mind. He needed to check out where his spaceshipnded. He remembered the scenery where he alighted and when he was still above with the spaceship. He nned to use all possible resources he could have just to get wherever it was. The first thing he could think of was actually to check the library in the Academy.


    He could already think of a possible location but left it on his mind for now until he could gather more information or evidence as it was likely to be located in a different nation.


    It would be difficult if the location was in another nation due to his identity as a student. Even if he skipped school he might not even be allowed to enter another nation yet.


    He had five days of vacation before going back to the Academy, he still had plenty of time to n his next action.


    As he was nearing his home, he met familiar faces and was noticed by them. He politely returned their greeting without being awkward.


    He was now standing in front of a house. This was his home. He smiled thinking about this as his other home was a huge spaceship.


    He opened the door and found his father''s back sitting in the living room watching the news on the television. He noticed his mother as well as preparing dinner for the family.


    He smiled and announced his presence.


    "I''m home."

 Chapter 3 - First Step

    "Brother, breakfast is ready!"


    Wace''s cute little sister called out to her brother after noticing that he was still asleep on his bed. Right now, there was only his parents and his younger sister living in the house. Though Wace still had an older sister, she was currently serving in the military and wouldn''t be back soon.


    He opened his eyes and smiled at his 8-year-old little sister. He was actually awake for quite some time now and was only in deep thought.


    "Mom said you will return to your school today. Is that true?"


    "Yes, but I''ll be back before the end of the year."


    She pouted and seemed unhappy about her brother leaving again. During his several days at home with his family, he had only gotten closer with them especially with this little sister of his. She felt unhappy and was about to head downstairs for breakfast but before she left the room, his brother called her.


    "ire, I''ll bring you another gift next time."


    This time she smiled a bit and nodded before leaving.


    Every member of the Ravencroft Family had grey hair. Wace was not an exception, he was now looking at his reflection in the mirror. His looks could be said to be quite attractive with his fit body and pale skin.


    He washed up a bit before heading downstairs to join the family''s breakfast.


    "Mom, Dad, I n to participate in the Twelve Magic Academies Competition. No, I need to qualify to be a representative of our Academy"


    Yes, Wace had sorted his mind and already had ns for the near future, and joining thepetition was one of them.


    Both his parent sized up their son. They knew what he meant by announcing this, after all, students who qualified to participate in thispetition possessed knowledge far above on what their current Academy could teach them.


    This meant that students who were participating there boasted powerful background, either because of wealth or their lineage. They had a heritage that could keep them above the rest.


    Looking at his family living in a simple house in a small town, they shouldn''t be capable of possessing such heritage, and to participate in such grandpetition should be impossible.


    But Wace knew his parents. Their background wasn''t as simple as what it looked. His mother who was a diligent housewife was a member of the prestigious Mavis n. His father who was working right now as a mechanic had a good family background as well, though their family had somehow declined already, it had still produced many renowned Magic Engineers throughout the years.


    Wace was basically asking to get support from them. He was aware of the situation of their family and could only hope for the best.


    His father Chase exined to Wace while smiling,


    "It''s a good thing that you have an ambition, we will definitely support you. We can impart all our resources to help you here. But getting direct assistance from the family might prove difficult"


    "Let''s finish our breakfast first and we''ll show you somethingter. This will help you to improve your performance as a Magic Engineer."


    His mother ine unhurriedly suggested to her son. She looked d as well that her son had ns to further improve himself. She could only hope that his n wouldst for long and he wouldn''t change his mind as improving in mana study would be very difficult.


    The assistance she could actually offer for her son''s endeavor was called Memory Crystal. But using this crystal could be very painful so it was not really being rmended and was only being used in desperate times. Normally, three crystal was the maximum amount that a person could consume.


    Wace had a weak affinity to mana. But it only meant that he couldn''t exert control on arge amount of mana.


    He could not be Combat Magician like his older sister due to this reason. He couldn''t even create a Grade 1 Mana Shell that could cover his whole body. This skill was one of the most basic that magicians could learn without Mana Artifact. But unfortunately, Wace could only manipte a small amount of mana.


    Even with these shorings he still had some talent in magic engineering. He was gifted on mana maniption, mana blessing, and has a good brain which was enough for an average magic engineer who was aspiring to work in some Mana Artifact factories.


    Wace was different, his out of this world knowledge about advanced technology would prove to be very helpful in his career and the only problem he had right now was to also get a piece of advanced knowledge in mana study. He was obviously nning to merge both of them to achieve something new or different that would give him some edge to qualify in thepetition.


    He was nning to create something new. A new Magic Artifact never before seen in this world to guarantee that he would qualify in thepetition. But to aplish that, he required an advanced knowledge in Mana Maniption, Mana Formation and Array, Material Enhancement, Magic Structure, and other advanced mana studies.


    With all those said, he was also hoping that his parents had some surprises they could give for him. He then started eating his breakfast while feeling a bit excited as well on what his parents would show himter.


    He knew his own weaknesses too, so he needed to take whatever help he could get.

 Chapter 4 - Mana Study

    Mana Study had made a huge breakthrough about three hundred years ago.


    Before this, mana practitioners of that era were only capable of emitting mana in a crude manner. The use of mana to attack by gathering it using their own mind and throwing it at their opponent had be obsolete. Such a way of using mana wasted a lot of potential in mana.


    The introduction of Mana Artifact made by the early Magic Engineers allowed all mana users to have an easier, more flexible, and more creative way of using mana. Aside from that, battles between mana practitioners had be more dangerous due to the improving quality of Mana Artifact during the years.


    Unfortunately, almost a century had passed but they were still stuck at thetest 5th generation of Mana Artifact. This generation of artifacts introduced a way for mana users to integrate their mana with an element. Through the usage of a 5th gen artifact, the mana could be converted to me, water, wood, metal, and others.


    But now, further developments of artifacts were stagnating. The current direction of the research was the maniption or control of elements through an artifact. There wasn''t any news about the possible 6th generation at all.


    Wace was currently reading a book written by Aeolia Schien. It was a book about his story when he sessfully created the 4th generation of the artifact, this breakthrough allowed mana users to control mana to enhance the human brain. Strong memory, fast reaction speed, fast analyzation, this was called the brain-boosting era.


    During the introduction of this 4th gen, people had been skeptical about how this would be called another era of mana artifact, many were not convinced about how it would change the mana users.


    It had been a bloody war instead of two countries that proved how important a brain-boosted mana user was. A small country that immediately adapted to the 4th gen at all cost, not caring about how expensive it was versus arger country that still primarily used 3rd gen artifact. With mana users that could react almost instantly, battlessted only a few seconds and it could decide their life or death.


    The victory of the smaller country did not only magnified the importance of thetest mana artifact but also the significance of having talented magicians.


    That small country had a lot of talented people who were able to manufacture 4th generation artifacts. Their investment in the advanced study of mana formation and array proved to be a very good move made by their nation.


    It was then the surge of Magic Engineers. It is said that only 28% of the world poption possess mana affinity. The remaining 72% are normal people.


    This 28% was arge amount as there were more than 5 billion people in this world. From this 28%, 4% of it was people that only had extremely low mana affinity.


    Fortunately, even though Wace was not capable of being abat magician he was not part of that 4 %.


    It was also included in the book he was reading that Aeolia came up with the 5th generation of mana artifact 52 years after he introduced the 4th gen.


    Due to the fact that almost all mana users had adapted to the 4th gen, people realized that the offensive or destructive powers of mana users were severelycking. At first, it wasn''t noticeable as with the fine maniption of formless mana by the brain boosted mana practitioners, every move they made was deadly.


    But after some time, when all mana practitioners got used to those brain-boosting artifacts, they realized how difficult it was to get an upper hand. There were even cases of a fight between two mana practitionerssting for more than a day with still no upper hand gained in the battle. Instead, it was like a battle of attrition which would determine who had arger pool of mana.


    If both mana users fought with the same 4th generation artifact, they fought by manipting formless mana to attack or defend. Obviously, with the breakthrough made by Aeolia, the way the mana users fought changed.


    The creation of the 5th gen was also the start of mana users or practitioners being called "Magicians". It was because of how a mana user previously controlling the formless blue light of mana was now controlling the elements as people saw them.


    Magic Engineers in recent years umted prestige and honor by creating different ways to use the elements. Although the 5th gen was over a century old already, the creative way of using elements had given the magic engineers a lot of roads for development. The creation of different mana artifacts could make thebat magicians capable of adapting to any situations and fight in any form of environment and could also give advantages depending on how mana artifacts were made.


    Wace was on his way to the Academy, reading the book again as he found something unusual on how Aeolia died. He found that Aeolia seemed to be hinting about the possible path for further development of Mana Artifact. Wace kept it in mind and stored his book in his bag. He had decided to think more about itter.


    He was now in front of the academy. A part of the huge gate was open for the students toe in.


    Wace was also in a good mood as he had already received the present from his parents, it was memory crystals containing his parent''s n knowledge about some specific elemental pathway on mana artifact forging. It contained advanced knowledge that Wace needed.


    His n of retrieving ''his'' body and spaceship wouldpletely start once he qualified for thepetition.


    "I should start earning money."


    It was costly to be Magic Engineer. If he relied on using the resources given by the Academy, improving to the point of topping all the students would be difficult.


    It was then that he heard a voice in his head.


    [ Pathfinder tool haspleted its activation process. Would you like to open Pathfinder? ]

 Chapter 5 - Magic Structure

    Wace was rmed by the sudden voice he heard out of nowhere. He focused his mind to make sure he had not misheard.


    Unsurprisingly, he heard it asking again after a minute without giving an answer.


    [ Would you like to activate the Pathfinder tool? ]


    A lot of things happened in his life and he had an advanced scientific knowledge imprinted in his mind. But he couldn''t determine how or when did something assimte with him. Yes, he could feel that the thing asking questions to him was something attached to his body but not really. He couldn''t exin the connection it had with him.


    At the very least, he could somehow feel that it would not threaten his life.


    For now, he didn''t know what would happen if he agreed. So he cautiously answered.


    "I would like to open itter, is that possible?"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    That was what it said but Wace had no idea how he would call it out again. He closed his eyes briefly and after he felt the connection to that unknown voice, he stopped dazing around as ss was about to start.


    He hurried to the building and headed to his ssroom. He rxed after noticing that there are still about 10 minutes before the ss would start and he chatted a bit with his friends asking about their vacation.


    There was 30 student in the ssroom and 10 other sses that mainly studied Artifact Forging. They were all being groomed to be Magic Engineers in the future.


    Wace was a second-year student in the First ss - Moon, a gathering of talented rookies aspiring to be Magic Engineers. It could be said that Wace was doing well in the ss being an average performer. His less than average mana affinity did not affect his mana artifact processing in the least as they were mainly producing 2nd or 3rd gen artifact. Making the 4th gen artifact was done in a group and the 5th gen was a whole different story.


    Artifact forging didn''t consume a lot of mana in the process but you had to master mana maniption due to the difficult way of embedding magic structure in the artifact. They were not only creating the artifact but also programming the device itself.


    "Wace, did you hear about what happened to Sheryl the Frost Queen?"


    His friend Gilbert asked in a soft voice. He was one of his close friends in the academy. He adjusted his eyesses when he asked this, he was one of those dedicated students in magic structuring.


    Although it was not a secret, Gilbert chose to be discreet when gossiping hence his low voice. Wace remembered that Sheryl was a 2nd year student of First ss - Sun.


    Their academy was offering 2 pathways for a magician. The Moon ss which had 10 sses that studied mana artifact forging and the Sun ss which had 30 sses that allowed students to focus on mana usage. This ss mainly studied extreme mana control that could be used forbat with or even without the help of mana artifacts. They were being taught from the old way to thetest form of using mana.


    After all, possessing a mana artifact didn''t mean that you could utilize the embedded magic without proper training. Invoking magic wasn''t as simple as triggering a gun. It needed calcting the power of the human brain. By studying in the academy, they would not only be taught how to use all the mainstream mana artifact but also a very stable foundation from using low gen totest gen artifacts.


    "I know her. She was featured in the top 100 rookie magicians after all. What happened to her?"


    Wace was a bit curious as well. He remembered the list of the top 100 that came from a magazine - "The Fortune in Magic" but this could easily be found on the inte as well.


    Aside from that, Wace remembered Sheryl not only as a student in the Sun ss but also because she was a school belle. She was an attractive teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a member of the illustrious Vermont Family, a military family who had adapted Red Frost VI Artifact as their main mana artifact weapon. They were popr in a way as their brilliance in using the artifact made them one of the powerful n.


    Unfortunately, this artifact was only avable for the family. The Magic Engineer who made it only allowed members of Vermont lineage to utilize the artifact, which wasmonly being done by the powerful family. And of course, they were able to license it without any problem from the government as their private magic structure. These powerful families or people with the connection in the higher up could easily have their artifact magic structure privatized. But the things that the government was tightly controlling was the magic structure or the main program of the artifact.


    Theponent itself of the artifact didn''t have too many stringent requirements as long as you didn''t use dangerous materials in making it. Only the most sensitive part of the artifact, which was the magic structure had a rigorous requirement because the structure itself was the one connecting with the Magician''s mind to control the mana. This very sensitive part of the artifact was being closely monitored by the government not only to control it but to protect the magicians themselves.


    This was to safeguard the magicians from going crazy, out of control, and even from death in severe cases of unrefined magic structure.


    Only mana artifact and magic structure that had passed the strict standard of National Magic Trade and Industry could be used by magicians. Of course, you could use those that didn''t passe NMTI standards but if you used unlicensed magic structure in your mana artifact, you could only me yourself if something uncanny happened to you. The government would not help you.


    The standard process to register an artifact in NMTI was a long process and one even had to reveal everything. The Red Frost VI of Vermont Family was focused on ice element usage, the magic engineer who created it had quite an aesthetic as he forged the artifact to create crimson ice.


    It had its uniqueness as the ice magic this artifact could create would not only freeze the victim but also burn them inside and most surprisingly, the people that had already been affected by Red Frost VI could be healed by the same user. It was suchplicated magic that it would challenge any magic engineer.


    "Yes, that is the Frost Queen. It seems like she''d like to transfer to our curriculum. And if that''s true, do you think she will be in our ss?"


    You could hear the excitement in Gilbert''s voice as he asked Wace.


    "Why would she even transfer?" Wace instead asked back as he didn''t have any idea of an answer.

 Chapter 6 - Pathfinder (Part 1)

    It was not impossible for a qualifiedbat magician to be a magic engineer instead, but the same couldn''t be said the other way around. Magic engineering was normally being chosen by magicians with lower mana affinity after all.


    Although magicians with lower mana affinity could be inbat, they would normally fail to be a licensedbat magician.


    "I''m not quite sure as well, but I heard it in passing."


    "I see, but our academy doesn''t have the best quality of equipment in artifact forging, if she really ns to build a foundation in magic engineering, I believe their family can afford her to study at Mystic Gate Academy."


    ''It was two cities away but that should be a minor concern.'' Wace added in his mind.


    It was not bizarre for 2nd year student to change course. Academies permitted those changes as they let the magician decide their career.


    It may also be the reason why during the first year in the academy, they were being taught general knowledge for both courses with only a few discrepancies. In the first year, bothbat ss and artifact forging ss were being taught from their foundation and werepleting practical sses.


    Combat magicians were required to at least have a general knowledge of artifact forging as that would prove helpful in the long run for a magician. There was even a saying that a goodbat mage would be a good magic engineer. It could be true in some parts, as they were mostly the users of theplex magic structures. Unfortunately, studying both would only hinder one from reaching the peak of one''s ability. Magic engineering consumed a lot of time topletely grasp and sometimes could be boring for others. So thosebat magicians who had a chance to be licensed would quickly seize the opportunity.


    Both of them were not aware of the reason why Sherly would transfer in a different course. But since she was popr, there would definitely be more newster on.


    Everyone in the ssroom was chatting happily as they talked about their recent vacation. At exactly 8 AM, a stocky middle-aged man wearing an instructor uniform entered and everyone was confused as this guy wasn''t the one they''re expecting.


    "Miss Tales won''t be able to guide you this semester so I''m here to guide you temporarily while she''s out. For those who don''t know me. I''m Garen, a new instructor here. I mainly teachplex magic structuring. Supposedly, I''ll only teach 3rd years. Sigh... In your first semester, you already learned andpleted multiple artifacts forging tasks, but your 4th gen artifact was made by groups. This semester, we will have to focus on practical exams and this time you''ll try to create a 5th gen artifact alone."


    "Eh? Sir, did I misheard you saying we''ll create 5th gen artifact and we''ll do it alone?"


    "What happened to Ms. Tales?"


    They didn''t even have time toment about Miss Tales story of leaving them when he mentioned something ridiculous. Though some concerned students asked after they remembered.


    "I just did. About Ms. Tales, she has some family concerns, I''m not quite sure as well but you can ask the dean."


    Instructor Garen answered with a grin on his face. As if they could meet the elusive dean.


    Everyone thought that they misheard him about creating the 5th gen artifact. He just said himself that we created 4th gen by groups of students. It was six people in a group so a total of 5 groups created five 4th gen artifacts. Now you want us toplete a 5th gen alone? They could not believe it. Although they had already learned the theory, without enough practice it would be difficult for them. Especially now that they had created a 4th gen, they knew how difficult it would be.


    A majority of his ssmates were dumbfounded when they heard it. If he hadn''t consumed 3 memory crystal prior to this, he would be raising a fuss as well. Wace noticed that some of his ssmates were uninterested even after Instructor Garen dered his intention. He thought for a bit and realized that these seven students had prominent backgrounds.


    Perhaps they have consumed memory crystals as well. Wace shook his head and thought that he was sure that they did. After all, these seven students were the top performers of the ss and were all aiming to be included in the Twelve Magic Academies Competition or TMAC.


    I can''t ck here, with 4 months until the selection, I need to have opportunities to prove my skills.


    He couldn''t help being nervous. The memory crystals only provided knowledge and not practical experience after all. But the excitement was also visible in his expression as he wanted to try his skills.


    When Instructor Garen finished answering some doubt of the students, he further exined.


    "Although I said you will create 5th gen. It will just be some kind of simtion with a readied device, but before that - I need to know how much you''ve already learned."


    Their excitement died down a bit after being told that it would just be a simtion. Immediately after he announced this, their desk all lit up, questions appeared on the desk, and with a touch on it using their palm, their student information appeared and their examination began as they answered the questions.


    Thissted for three hours. You could only hear people typing on keyboards during this time as they diligently answered. Questions not being taught in the academy appeared quite a lot. Being a magician, they had better memory and could absorb a lot more knowledge. So with free ess to the library, even though some questions weren''t particrly being taught they could still answer them.


    But when questions about 5th gen appeared, their pace clearly slowed down. Questions rted to Mana-to-Elementpatibility, Mana Conversion Theories,pound magic structuring, and even mana particle emission. With all these difficult questions, the instructor really wanted to see the limits of everyone''s knowledge.


    Instructor Garen collected the results in his device and he dismissed the ss after telling them there would be practical ability test tomorrow. They somehow expected that practical skills were still the best way to have a grasp on someone''s ability.


    Homeroom sses only happened in the morning and students were allowed to use the facilities in the academy in the afternoon. Of course, the Main Artifact Forging room was not included.


    Wace and Gilbert stayed in the room and used their desk to browse through the academy website. Wace carefully browsed information about mana infused device. Apparently, almost all electronic devices being regarded here were the ones with infused mana. Technological advancements here were still relying heavily on mana usage so alternative sources of energy were not being particrly researched.


    The appearance of magic engineering with the 1st generation several centuries ago allowed normal people to use most basic mana infused materials whichsted particrly longer than those not infused.


    Wace sighed as he checked the technological advancement of this Earth. He had already witnessed the several thousand years of innovation made by human civilization so he could see that this Earth was in its infancy stage.


    He still had some time before lunch in their cafeteria when he remembered something. He immediately left the ssroom and headed for the library after telling Gilbert that they would meet at the cafeteria for lunch.


    He reserved a room in the library and opened aputer device inside. There wasn''t really surveince in the reserved room and only the things you searched online were being monitored. But he wasn''t here to browse online for something.


    "Uhmm. Excuse me, you can now activate this Pathfinder you mentioned a while ago."


    [ Affirmative. ]

 Chapter 7 - Pathfinder (Part 2)

    Wace froze for a couple of seconds as something appeared on his mind.


    [ Activating Pathfinder Tool... ]


    [ Authentication of the User... ]


    [ Pathfinder activationpleted. The tool will guide the user to achieve the goals you selected. ]


    [ Startingplete assimtion... ]


    [ Please wait as Pathfinder will analyze the best possible paths for the user based on your current location. ]


    [ Counting down, 3... 2... 1... The world environment has been checked. ]


    [ User may now select on the options listed.


    1. Combat Magician''s Path


    2. Magic Engineer''s Path


    3. Mage Doctor''s Path


    4. Celebrity Idol''s Path


    5. Emperor''s Path


    6. Create your own Path ]


    [ If the user does not select a Path within 300 seconds, the Pathfinder will instead choose one from options 1 to 5 for you. ]


    Wace then saw a countdown appearing in a corner of his mind. He was, of course, surprised to see all this. He didn''t even know where this thing came from. If he were to make a guess, it probably had something to do with the relic he touched in the spaceship. After all, with the events that had urred like their spaceship being ambushed, sending him somewhere in the universe then merging or probably reincarnating in this body, it all started because of the relic.


    He didn''t delve too much in his mind as he epted this another supernatural event. He confirmed that descriptions could be seen on each option and first checked what was this Celebrity Idol thing, he was already aware of whatbat magician, magic engineer, and mage doctor''s path implied. But this Celebrity Idol seemed toe out of nowhere.


    Wace shook his head after reading on it, he could not imagine performing in the popce, be in entertainment industry or be some expert artist in some field and be a famous celebrity.


    ''Why is it even in my options?''


    He then checked the Emperor''s Path description then checked the first 3 options. He was curious aboutbat magician as supposedly, he wouldn''t be qualified on it. He noted as well the 6th path which is creating own path.


    [ You have 15 seconds left. ]


    The voice in his mind reminded him. After checking the description of each options, he chose his path.


    ***


    Wace and his ssmates were now all in the testing room for practical examination to create the 5th gen artifact. Everyone had an idea of how to do it but some had never tried as pieces of equipment and materials needed were all expensive. Failing to properly iy magic structure in the artifact could destroy the whole thing. Aside from that, the mana formation and mana array required was a problem as well.


    Instructor Garen had prepared the room and was now about to tell them the examination.


    "As you can see here, we can only prepare six Artifact Forging Box so this will take some time. You all just need to infuse me Mantra created by Weiss Holdings in these essories."


    He then showed 30 bracelets with all the same look. They were all in silver bracelets without any adornment. Besides these essories were a bunch of bead sized crystals containing the magic structure. The 4th gen artifact only required 1 magic structure crystal containing all innovation from 1st to 4th gen. But with the 5th gen appearance, they had to use another magic structure crystal for it.


    "There are already prepared Array. The Formation is there as well. So you really just have to infuse the magic structure of Blue me Mantra."


    Their job was indeed lessened. But it wasn''t that simple.


    The standard process of forging had several steps. First, you needed an Artifact Forging Box which was the main device. It was a 3 feet high machine that they had here in the Academy. This machine had two handles at the side which magicians could hold to channel mana into the machine. This box had a lot of uses depending on the array.


    Secondly, you needed a Mana Formation to give a stable source of mana. Magicians don''t need to use their own mana pool as it will alle from this formation.


    Third would be the Mana Stabilization Array or just Mana Array. It helped the magicians control the infusing process. It would not matter if you had a low or high mana affinity with the array in ce.


    Fourth would be the materials themselves. In the standard process, the material had to be made in the same Artifact Forging Box forpatibility concerns whenpleting the forge, though there would be an auxiliary array to be added. But due to demand for mass production, it was being epted to have a third party mold the material to its desired shape since there was only a very small difference that could not be obviously felt. Only some perfectionists would really press to have it made on the same Artifact Forging Box. This time, the bracelet they had was obviously a mass-produced one.


    Once the material was in the forging box, mana formation, and mana array in ce, the magician could start the infusing process of the magic structure. This time, there was an already prepared one which was the Blue me Mantra, a magic structure made by Weiss Holdings and sold in bulk during the early stage of the 5th gen artifact. The structure contained me rted magic and was really quite simple, the only notable thing about this Blue me Mantra was the way to control the heat it produced.


    Infusing the magic structure''s content in the material was taxing on one''s mind. Especially 5th gen which required 2 magic crystal.


    Wace waited for 2 hours before his turn. He was itching to aplish the task given by the Pathfinder. He was given a task after he chose his path yesterday.


    [ As someone who dreams to attain something big, you have to improve yourself.


    Mission: Get a high score on practical examination tomorrow.


    Mission item: Ne of rity


    Mission Reward: Improvement in Mana Affinity


    Bonus Reward: If the mission ispleted with the highest score in the ss, the Ne of rity will be given to the user. ]


    Wace noticed that he was now wearing a thin ck thread as a ne


    [ Ne of rity ]


    Unfortunately, it didn''t have any other description and he could only guess what it was.


    Wace gathered his thoughts and started his artifact forging.

 Chapter 8 - Artifact Forging

    Wace opened the lid of the Artifact Forging Box and ced the bracelet inside carefully. After closing the lid, he ced the first magic structure crystal on top of this lid which created a reaction as blue light emerged from the crystal.


    He was holding on the box though he hadn''t channeled any mana yet. He carefully sensed the mana gathering formation before channeling his mana to control its flow, he felt the mana stabilization array activating while he carefully connected to the magic structure crystal.


    Wace immediately felt the difference between using the professionally made formation and arraypared to his own. The feeling of smooth and stable channeling worked wonders in this process.


    Unfortunately, these things were only temporary as Wace felt that after 3 or 4 more usages of the mana array and it would be worn out. As for the mana formation, itsted longer as it could normally help magician up to 15 times before you would notice a decline.


    After Wace connected his mind on the crystal, a gush of information appeared in his mind as the crystal melted, he now had about 15 minutes to iy the content of the crystal before the structure''s content would dissipate. Four orbs of blue light were now hovering about on top of the machine.


    He absorbed the information and started to work, it was actually weird that he could easily understand how to iy the magic structure to the bracelet. The four blue lights represented the innovation of 4 generations in artifact forging, so the information it contained was massive. They had infused these four lights before in the first semester.


    Yes, four students worked on infusing the contents of these four orbs of blue lights before, but now he would be working on it alone and after this, he would still have to iy thest crystal containing the Blue me Mantra.


    Minutes had passed but Wace wasn''t having trouble. He was extremely focused and his mind was clear in all his actions. Once he started iying thest magic crystal, although he was having difficulties due toplex patterns in the magic structure, it was only consuming his time to properly infuse it. Even though the memory crystal he consumed had different elemental paths, he was still able to use it as a foundation toplete the forge. Especially the 3rd memory crystal he consumed, he noticed it would be perfect for this task.


    ***


    Outside the forging room.


    Students who were done with their turn formed a group and shared their experiences.


    "Ericka, how was it?"


    They noticed that Ericka, one of their ssmate who was performing averagely in the ss seemed a bit down ever since she left the forging room.


    "I failed, I was able to infuse the 1st crystal and was doing really good on the 2nd one, but at thest part where the magic structure of that Blue me Mantra has topletely fuse on the bracelet, it seems that it rejected the way I infused the 1st crystal. Even though I prevented the artifact to bepletely wasted, it only turned as a 4th gen artifact."


    "Hah! Are you bragging? I didn''t even infuse the 2nd orb of that 1st crystal."


    That was sad. Everyone looked at Gilbert with pity as he announced his failure.


    "I could havepleted it if I used my own mana array just to let you know. I''m just notpatible with that too smooth array. I like it rough!" Gilbert added to defend himself after he noticed the look on their faces.


    "Ehem, how about you Kazimir?"


    "Mhm, Ipleted it. But I took too much time."


    Kazimir was a man of few words, he came from a foreign country and was too careful about his conduct. But it didn''t hinder their ssmates to befriend this aloof guy. They were even able to drag him here in their group.


    Everyone present was also impressed when they heard that hepleted the task.


    Apart from the seven ssmates they had that were top performers since their 1st year, you could say that Kazimir could be the top 8. He was onlyckingpared to the seven due to the other''s wealth and prominent background who could almost give them unlimited resources to practice forging art. Apparently, the top 7 had a group of their own and were a bit difficult to approachpared to this foreign guy who couldn''t say no.


    They chatted for a while but this time everyone looked at the forging room''s door when they heard it open. They saw Wace walking out of the room and immediately asked how he fared.


    "I got lucky, that was really tough." Wace answered as he unconsciously touched the thin ne he was wearing.


    "You really did it? That''s awesome!"


    "Howe I failed if you were able to do it?" Ericka was exasperated as she heard Wacepleted the forge, she expected to be a bit better than him based on the previous asions.


    The result of the exam would be announced the next day but as they had nothing important to do, they waited for everyone toplete the examination andpared their results. Everyone now had a rough idea of those students who had passed the exam.


    Many were surprised at Wace as he was one of the 11 students who were able toplete the forge. It didn''t matter what grade of 5th gen artifact he created, as a 5th gen artifact was still the 5th gen whatever grade it was.


    Everyone was still chatting with each other when Instructor Garen came out of the Forging Room.


    "Oh, you are all still here? Go home and rest, I''ll study each of these and give the result tomorrow."


    "Yes, Sir!"


    Everyone dispersed and left to have their rest.


    ***


    At the faculty room of the Academy.


    Instructor Garen was checking carefully each of the bracelets his students made. Although only 11 of them hadpleted the forging process, he had to grade the others as well for ranking purposes. Giving a rank to a student would normally encourage them to study harder.


    It was now Wace''s artifact turn to be checked. He was checking the capability of the artifact and felt weird, he double-checked his evaluation as he could not find a w.


    "That''s weird."


    There should have been a w, after all, the Blue me Mantra could only exert its full potential if the material used on the forge came from a star burr. But obviously, he never provided that item and did not notice a star burr included with the material.


    After 10 minutes of careful scrutiny, the instructor eximed.


    "Perfect! Such an ingenious way of fixing the w, it seems this ss has a lot of surprises."


    He actually only expected no more than 5 students toplete this task, 11 studentspleting it was already a huge surprise for him.


    Now, Wace seemed to have aplished something more than what the instructor expected as well.

 Chapter 9 - Rewards

    The next day, Instructor Garen announced the results of the exam.


    "So, 11 from your sspleted the 5th gen artifact, 9 students were able to at least create 4th gen. Unfortunately, 10 studentspletely wasted the artifacts."


    Those who wasted the artifact like Gilbert embarrassingly lowered their heads after hearing the announcement. But the instructor wasn''t finished speaking yet.


    "But it''s all eptable. Your ss is already doing good as you''re just sophomores. I expect that everyone will improve under my education. Here''s the rank."


    After Instructor Garen finished speaking, a part of the huge screen behind him lit up and a list of names appeared numbered from 1 to 30.


    1. Wace Ravencroft


    2. Tracy Guilford


    3. Mark Halevey


    4. Ross Schien


    5. Keh Cummings


    6. Katherine Cummings


    ...


    Everyone was shocked seeing Wace at the top of rankings.


    "Whoa! Wace my friend, have you been hiding your skills all along?"


    "I thought our skills were about the same? That was amazing."


    "Sir, did the artifact you checked really belong to him?"


    "You topped the seven nobles, you''re so cool."


    Wace was overwhelmed by his ssmate''s excited reactions. Though others were clearly expressing doubts over his achievement, they could only frown for now and waited for their instructor to tell them the reason. Of course, someone had to ask.


    "Instructor, can you please guide me where I can improve more?"


    Tracy Guilford raised her hand and asked a humble question, she was the top student ever since their junior year. For someone to surpass her did not raise her ire but instead made her quite curious on what was her ws in infusing that magic structure. It had to be said that with her background, artifact forging was something that she could do without limits to improve her skills. With her skills and experience in the forging process, she could not remember a w she made.


    "Mhm. Actually, you were able to perfectly infuse that magic structure to the material. It was a perfect score for this examination."


    The students were even more confused upon hearing this. But they suddenly thought that Wace or the others may have made a perfect forging process as well. Maybe it was scored on the time they spent creating the artifact? It made sense if that were to be the case. But they were still impressed to learn that Wace was faster than the seven. Unfortunately, their guess was wrong.


    "To tell you the truth, the exam I have given is wed. Blue me Mantra would not normally be infused in the material I gave you, it actually requires a material called Star Burr so it can give it''s 100% performance. By using the inferior Storm Silver, its durability and performance would lessen by about 8%."


    Most of the students were clearly unaware of this and were very surprised after hearing their instructor''s words. They had heard of Blue me Mantra but were not aware of its specificities. It seemed there really was a catch in this examination.


    But some top performer students only nodded upon hearing this. They clearly had some idea regarding this magic structure and were aware that the task they had been given would clearly not produce a top ss 5th gen artifact. But even if that were the case, they felt that they had utilized their resources to the maximum and perfectly created the 5th gen required for the task.


    "Well, our Wace here seems to have found a way to ignore this restriction given from the very start and was able to perfectly infuse the Blue me Mantra without degrading its performance. So I have given him extra points. At least I could say that Wace seems to have a very good foundation in pathways he chose."


    Instructor Garen was clearly aware of how Wace aplished it. Based on his investigation, Wace used a non-elemental pathway. It was actually just an unorthodox path in the 5th gen artifact that wasn''t very popr as it didn''t provide destructive power or usefulness in battle. Its main purpose of creation was for support. He remembered that it was a magic structure called Mavis'' Prayer.


    After the instructor checked Wace''s background, he realized that his mother came from the Mavis n. He then assumed that Wace was being nurtured by the n to be given such an opportunity to receive important knowledge. He presumed as well that Wace had likely consumed a precious memory crystal.


    Most of his ssmates were happy for him for achieving a high mark and as everyone was listening to Instructor Garen''s exnation on the ws of each and everyone, Wace was checking the rewards he just received.


    [ Congrattions User! You havepleted your first mission!


    You have sessfully scored a high score in your examination and even received the 1st rank in your ss.


    You will now receive your rewards. ]


    [ Your mana affinity has increased ]


    [ The Ne of rity is now fully given to the user. You will now be able to see the full function of the item. ]


    [ Ne of rity


    Increases the user''s concentration, memory, and reaction speed.


    Ability: Glimpse of the Mind ]


    [ Glimpse of the Mind


    Allows the user to see the w in any material upon receiving enough mana


    Duration: 5 minutes


    Cooldown: 3 days ]


    Wace was very surprised after getting all this. He felt his body heat up before turning normal again, his mana affinity was increased so significantly that he felt the change. The ne he received was even more surprising.


    To think that such an ability was hidden on the ne. He was looking forward to using it and was actually excited to get more missions to get better rewards until he achieved the path he had chosen.


    Unfortunately, no new mission appeared afterpleting the first one.


    What should I do to receive a mission?


    [ Tips: Trigger an opportunity for yourself to improve and it may give mission as well. ]


    Well, the pathfinder seems to be helpful enough.


    The ss had ended and as Wace was about to go visit the cafeteria to eat, he was approached by the twins Keh and Katherine Cummings.


    "Hello there, Wace.. Can we talk?"


    Katherine timidly asked him but they weren''t that close as they had different cliques so she was hesitant.


    "We only need a minute." Keh added. Wace has no reason to decline anyway and was d to be closer to these top students.


    "Sure, no problem." He then gestured for them to start speaking.

 Chapter 10 - Invitation

    The twins Keh and Katherine didn''t have a lot of interactions with their fellow ssmates so it was surprising of them to proactively approach Wace.


    The two''s normal routine was attending ss then after that, they would be escorted by their chauffeur or perhaps their bodyguard as they went home.


    "Uhm, can we talk somewhere else?"


    Keh asked as he noticed that they were being stared at. Wace stood up and told Gilbert to wait for him at the cafeteria.


    As they stood in an empty hallway in about 2 ssrooms away from theirs, Wace had a closer look at the both of them.


    They both had blond hair, fair skin, and their prominent feature were their deep blue eyes that could captivate anyone looking at it.


    "Would you like to be part of the student council?"


    Katherine suddenly asked.


    "Sorry?"


    Wace was of course confused by the sudden invitation. He wanted to make sure as well that he heard correctly.


    "Why me?"


    "Well, let me exin the situation. My cousin is actually the current student council president and I was the one invited by him to be part of themittee. But I can''t join due to my circumstances..."


    It was Katherine who answered but it was continued by Keh.


    "We wouldn''t have spare time for such school activities. We''d be better off training our skills."


    Wace noticed that Keh was a bit stern. Theplete opposite of Katherine who was bing more genial as she spoke.


    As Wace went silent and thought for a bit, it prompted Katherine to continue her exnation.


    "What really happened here is that they have a vacant position as Sheryl transferred to a different academy."


    Oh, I see now. Sheryl was indeed a member of the student council, I''m just not aware of her position. Wace thought as he realized that it was all because of her that he was given an opportunity to join themittee. But he was a student of the Magic Engineering course! Normally, only students of the Combat Magician''s course had a say in themittee. Wace frowned as he was still a bit confused with the situation.


    Katherin noticed this so she exined further.


    "Our cousin Aaron would actually like to implement some changes and wants our course to be involved in the student council. He said that he would be needing a coordinator from our bunch so once the TMAC started, he would not be looking for someone unfamiliar."


    "How about Tracey, Mark, or Ross?"


    "We already approached them but they declined."


    They definitely had poor persuading skills.


    "If I ept the position, it will definitely consume my time doingmittee activities too. What would I gain if I joined?"


    Wace wasn''t looking for material benefits but would just like to let the twins know that his time was precious as well just like their.


    "Well, there are several privileges that members of the student council can benefit from..."


    Katherine was exining the benefits he could get but Wace was not focused on listening to her as he received notifications from the Pathfinder.


    [ Be a part of the student council in your Academy to broaden your horizon.


    Mission: Be a registered member of the student council


    Reward: x1 Mystery Box


    Failing toplete the mission will be bad for the user. ]


    Wace was awed about the new mission. To think that this opportunity that just appeared, had triggered the Pathfinder, he somehow gained a better understanding of how the Pathfinder worked.


    He did not think too much about the mystery box as he would receive itter on once hepleted the mission. Wace was more curious about what kind of penalty he would get if he failed the mission.


    "Ok. I ept it."


    "Really? That''s great, we will speak with Aaron and exin to him that we invited you instead. He will definitely be d as you just ranked 1st in our exam."


    "I hope so, but do you think that there wouldn''t be a problem with other members that a student of the Magic Engineering course would be part of the council?"


    "Mhm, I don''t think so. At most, they may try to get a better look at your skills. But I''m sure you can handle that, you''re one of our ssmates after all."


    Yes, of course. She was confident as the ss they were in was carefully selected to be the elite ss. Every one of them had talents that were unique of their own so they were chosen.


    "Meet us at around 3 pm at the student council office in Building B. We will introduce you to Aaron."


    Katherine advised Wace before he left for lunch at the cafeteria.


    Wace met with Gilbert who had reserved a seat for him. Wace took his food and thanked Gilbert.


    Wace chatted and informed Gilbert as well that it was indeed confirmed that Sheryl transferred to a different academy.


    He still had a lot of time before the meetup time of 3 pm. So he visited the library and passed over his time. He read information about materialsmonly being used at artifact forging. He was looking as well for rare materials and was clearly nning for something. He already had an idea of Mana Artifact that he would like to build.


    Unfortunately, it required a special type of material. But once hepleted the magic structure for it, he would definitely be approached by the academy instructors to participate in the Twelve Magic Academy Competitions - Artifact Forging section.


    He couldn''t help but feel excited once he thought about it. Wace needed to properly make a timetable for his work to make sure he couldplete it before thepetition started.


    After spending some time in the library, Wace came to Building B and looked for the student council room on the 2nd floor. There he met Katherine waiting for him. She was alone and gesturing for him to speed up his walk.


    "Let''s get in. Five members of the council are inside. Good luck ssmate!"

 Chapter 11 - Student Council鈥檚 Test

    Wace and Katherine entered the Student Council''s Office and saw Aaron at the center of the long table having a cup of tea while checking some data on hisptop.


    There he saw 4 other students who were busy doing some paperwork. Only one of them bothered to look at the two newly entered students.


    "Hey, Jenny. This is Wace that I''ve mentioned a while ago. Are you guys still busy?"


    Katherine seemed to be familiar with the other girl.


    "No, we''re actually done and just looking for something. Nothing important." Jenny answered as she looked at Aaron who was still busying himself.


    Wace was just silent as they chatted. Aaron and the others seemed to have finished whatever they were doing and looked at Wace.


    "Thank you for bringing him here cousin."


    "No problem. I''ll leave him to you guys. Bye Bye!" Katherine bade her farewell as she left Wace in the hands of the student council.


    "Hi there Wace. I''m the student council president Aaron Schmidt. You can just call me Aaron. This is Jenny, our secretary. Wesley, our ounting officer. Garry and Humphrey our ethics officers."


    Wace had a quick look at each of them as they nodded at him. He was actually more curious about thest two. It was said that only those with highly ratedbat skills were capable of being an ethics officer. He couldn''t think too much about them though as he was still conversing with the president.


    "Do you know why are you here?"


    "Well, I was told by Katherine that you need someone from our course to be a representative or member of the student council. But I''m not sure how''d you assess my qualifications for the seat. Will you be doing some tests?"


    "It''s good that you are expecting that there is still a need for a test." Aaron smiled after Wace spoke and was quite delighted to know that he seemed to be prepared.


    "The TMAC that will happen in a few months will be very important for us, so what we really need is a reliable Magic Technician. I need someone who can take a lead for the Artifact Forging section in thepetition."


    Magic Technician was what students aspiring to be a licensed Magic Engineer were called.


    "Uhm. I understand."


    "Good. For us to check your skills, we just need you to analyze something and give your opinion."


    Wace was actually quite surprised hearing this. After all, he expected to be tested on his forging skills or something like magic structuring and rted things about being a magic technician. His interest in this rose up as he waited for the test.


    "We''ll show you a battle between twobat magicians. Observe it carefully."


    Aaron arranged something on hisptop and gave it to Wace.


    "The battle will onlyst for about 5 minutes. Tell me once you''re done watching"


    Wace was then shown a recording of a standoff between two men. The first man was wearing a military suit and had drawn his gun-like mana artifact. The other was wearing a blue cloak covering his body. Due to the angle of the video, he was unable to identify both of the men.


    As time passed, it seemed like the two men were done probing each other and the military guy started to pour mana in his artifact and pulled its trigger. An explosion of light surged from his artifact, it not only blinded people looking at it but a projectile also quickly approached the cloaked man that seemed to be stunned by the blinding light.


    The projectile made of mana neared the cloaked man but it just suddenly disappeared like a bubble. The cloaked man walked slowly to the military guy as the other tried to shoot him with all he got. He exhausted all the offensive skills he had but was unable to give any damage to the cloaked man. Wace saw a variety of elemental attacks created by the military guy, Water Serpent Gaze, Molten Dragon''s Roar, Wind de IV, and other familiar skills were thrown.


    He was amazed by the abundant mana pool of this guy but even more surprised by this cloaked guy that for some reason, he looked like an invincible person who was not being affected by any skills he received.


    It seemed that the cloaked man had enough of his opponent and attacked for the first time. He raised his hand and pointed his index finger at his opponent. Wace saw the cloaked man''s ring lit up then the military guy received the attack and was suddenly burned. His response was quick as he was able to use a water ability of his mana artifact and was able to protect himself. Also this time, the military guy realized the difference between their ability and forcefully escaped instead.


    The recording ended after the military guy was able to get away from the cloaked man by using all the tricks and skills he had. It was too bad that there were no sounds in the recording but it didn''t lessen the feeling of intensity of the fight and Wace could clearly feel how dangerous the battle the two men fought.


    "Hmm. That cloaked guy..." Wace muttered as he was thinking of something.


    "Are you done watching the video?" Jenny asked.


    "Yes. So as I was saying... that cloaked guy, who is he?"


    "A master. You will know someday." Jenny smiled, she did not really answer and teased him.


    "Since you''re done watching. What did you notice on the battle?" Aaron confirmed that Wace was done watching and asked him a question.


    The destructiveness of the skills that had been released by the military guy was actually scary if some other magician was on the receiving end instead. The battle was actually quite simple, one guy throwing skill and another guy receiving all of it but without any damage.


    "For the military guy, I noticed that he uses six mana artifacts at the same time. He is definitely not some unknown magician."


    Unfortunately, Wace wasn''t familiar with any powerful magician and more knowledgeable on famous Magic Engineer from past to present. He further exined his observation.


    "That cloaked man. He was definitely using Magic Jammer."

 Chapter 12 - Magic Jammer

    Everyone in the room nodded in approval of what Wace mentioned about the Magic Jammer. But if it were to be other people watching it, they may not think that it was a magic jammer. Others may think that the cloaked man was using an abnormally strong ability of a mana artifact.


    As the recording was analyzed by the student council, they all came up with the same conjecture that it was a Magic Jammer as they could not think of another strong defensive ability that could defend against all those offensive skills thrown by that soldier.


    But they could only guess, after all, the Magic Jammer mentioned had limitations. It should not work like how the cloaked man did it.


    "Although I can say that it was a Magic Jammer. The principle it uses differs from what I have learned. It was probably a variant of a perfected version." Wace added but he wasn''t sure and could only guess at some point.


    Magic Jammer was a magic structure created by the Dasovich Royal Family of the Maja Country during a struggle of power against the Guwain Freedom Alliance. The country was in dire straits as the Maja King of that time was assassinated. The conquered country of Guwain took its chance to regain its freedom from the royal family. They took up their arms and fought for their liberty.


    Unfortunately, the leaders of the Alliance became greedy. Instead of just iming back theirnd which was their original objective, they tried topletely end the royal family''s regime. They forced the royalty''s hand who released their imperfect Magic Jammer.


    Its magic structure still had a lot of ws at that time but considering how it could intermittently cancel the magic attacks of the enemies it was a huge help to the normal soldiers, using their high powered gun they could easily kill magicians without the protection of defensive skills of mana artifacts. Their only concern was the magician''s mana shell.


    But there was a limitation on the mana pool of every magician so it only took some time to reverse the situation. Soldiers apanied by magicians wielding magic jammer would spell death to any magicians they encountered. It was soon time for the royal family to take their revenge, they immediately utilized their high mobility magician battalions to sweep through the battlefield and stabilized the country.


    Although the Guwain Freedom Alliance had seeded in taking back theirnds, they suffered heavy casualties as they did not expect that the trump card of the royalty was so ruthless. Magicians who were used to controlling mana to attack were rendered helpless.


    The magician battalions released by the royalty received some damages as well and during that war, there were times where the enemies were able to steal their mana artifact from the fallen magicians. Although they did their best to retrieve the mana artifacts containing the Magic Jammer structure, there were still some cases of sessfully stolen items. It could not be avoided in arge scale war, so the most they could do was to limit it.


    It was discovered by the Guwain Country who regained their freedom that the wed Magic Structure the Maja Royalty created was based on the Lamat Stone that could only be mined in the Buk teau which was located near the center of the Maja Country.


    The Lamat Stonebined with the Magic Jammer structure was able to release a formless wave of dissonance to interrupt any magic invocation in a certain range. The w of this structure was that the wielder would be unable to use other magics as well while it was activated. It was not capable of differentiating friends or foes.


    The discovery of the enemy put the royalty in a predicament as several neighboring countries wanted to have a piece of it. The Magic Jammer was a game-changer. If a country had a steady supply of its perfected magic structure and Lamat Stone that was needed as a material, the invincible magicians would be destroyed by regr people wielding a high powered gun as long as they had a helper who could activate the magic jammer.


    The leaders of various countries hastily made arrangements to procure its supply to equip their soldiers. Countries allied and readied themselves for a war for resources.


    If the royal family hadn''t done anything, their country would have been the battlefield and countless citizens would have been affected. The royal family received offers of alliance with the Republic of the Virgan, ind nation of Montego, and Zairus, andlocked country in the southern part of the continent. Those three countries who offered help were already in decades of alliance and the Maja Country was invited in it. The royalty epted the offer to have enough means to protect their country.


    The Guwain Country with its newly established government adopted a constitutional monarchy. The heir of theirte King was the one who led their fight for freedom and was proimed as the new King. He was King Darson the Third, he gained support from other countries to demand the royalty of Maja a supply of the indispensable Lamat stone.


    He allied with Kazan, an ind country in the east, Utara, a nation bordered by Virgan, Maja, and Guwain. Even though he was still unstable on his power, the new king was able to establish cooperation with the strong nation of Seiji as well.


    A war was about to erupt with the eight countries involved when something suddenly happened. The war suddenly halted as they had received news telling them that the teau containing the Lamat stone vanished leaving a several kilometers wide crater. Even the miners, soldiers, and Magicians stationed on it disappeared together with the teau. It was a very strange phenomenon that had urred.


    The teau was heavily guarded and constantly being patrolled. No meteorite had fallen or high powered magic that could dissolve the entire teau was used. The only conspicuous thing during that time was the thick fog that covered the teau before it vanished. Many conspiracy theories came up and the most popr theory that was being entertained was that a superpower in the northern part of the continent had made a move. But nothing was proven as it was all conjectures.


    This case had never been resolved even after more than 60 years had passed. After several negotiations made with their neighboring countries, Maja''s Royalty had seeded in making a non-aggression pact with the other countries. And after several changes of their leader, this turned into a peace treaty instead.


    The Lamat stone that was required to forge Magic Jammers could not be mined any longer. Even a huge part of it was destroyed during the war. A mana artifact containing this magic structure was already in a rare list of artifacts.


    A small number of magic jammers could not affect arge country, especially after it was studied carefully. They were able to form a strategy to handle magic jammers as it only had a small area of effect.


    "If you can tell me how the soldier could have used the 6 mana artifact he was using to defeat the cloaked man, you can join the student council." Aaron said finally.


    The question wasbat-rted but if you were not aware of how the six artifacts worked, you wouldn''t be able to answer as well.

 Chapter 13 - Answer

    Wace carefully organized his thoughts. He was familiar with all six mana artifacts that the soldier had used and should be able to find an answer.


    Each mana artifact had a grade. Grade C being the lowest and Grade A the highest.


    The mana artifacts the soldier had used were all Grade C. They were ranked not only ording to their capability but alsoplexity. It had to be said that a Grade A mana artifact had extremelyplex magic that would put average magicians in trouble when being used.


    Aside from that fact, a standardbat magician was only capable of wielding 2 mana artifacts. Even with the finest brain-boosting magic structure for 4th gen artifact, it could only allow 3 mana artifacts to be wielded by average magicians at best.


    The soldier on the recording was wearing the standard uniform of their own country, Zairus. Every soldier in the Magic Corps also had the 2 standard mana artifacts provided by the country. It was the 2 bracers the soldier was wearing, a Grade C artifact that could be used by anybat magicians.


    Wace also noticed the other mana artifacts which were the ring on his left index finger, a ne, a dagger, and a gun.


    He tried remembering the fight that had urred. The soldier could actually release all the magic skill he had but when it reached about two meters of the cloaked man, the magic disintegrated and formless wave of mana would instead touch the mana shell of the cloaked guy giving no damage at all.


    It was the perfected version of Magic Jammer. Apparently, the soldier wasn''t familiar with it. The cloaked guy did not interrupt the magic casting of the soldier and instead allowed him to waste his mana pool. After the soldier spent a huge chunk of his mana, the cloaked guy used only a weak magic skill to prate the mana shell of the soldier.


    It could be seen here as well that although the defence of the cloaked guy could be said to be almost perfect, he didn''t have enough destructive power in his offense. Wace wasn''t sure if the cloaked man had spent all his money on the magic jammer and had to purchase a cheap mana artifact in exchange. He even entertained the thought that the cloaked man was using multiple magic jammers.


    "Well, if I were the soldier... once I would have noticed that the enemy was using a rare magic jammer, instead of me throwing skills randomly to test how much the cloaked guy could take, I would have utilized the surroundings to attack him. After all, magic jammer can only stop magic skills. Mana shells have limitations, I could have used the dagger imbued with Wind de IV to close in for closebat.


    That would be for me being highly trained in close quarterbat. But I doubt that it was the answer you were looking for." Wace answered but was not finished speaking yet.


    It was obvious that since a magic jammer could only block skills, you could still fight them on close quarter. But standard magicians mostly relied on their mana shell to defend themselves from close range attacks and had several skills to distance from the enemy.


    Wace thought of all the scenario and could only think of one opportunity to defeat the cloaked man without relying on close quarterbat.


    "That was the time when the cloaked guy attacked. That man switching to offense means he cancelled the magic jammer, even the perfected version was not capable of allowing the wielders to be immune to the magic jamming. The man obviously has weak offensive skills and relied on exhausting the soldier''s mana pool to deal real damage. He may have miscalcted the soldier''s mana pool and allowed him to escaped. If the soldier did not panic due to low mana pool, he could have used that opportunity to counterattack.


    Especially the ring that the soldier was wearing, if I''m not mistaken, it should be the recently popr Molten Ring that has an instant cast skill called Heat Wave so instead of using the bracer''s stored mana to escape he could have used it differently." Wace was done analysing the battle and answered upon the best of his knowledge.


    The bracers that soldiers of Zairus were wearing had stored mana that could be used for emergency. He was sure that the soldier could have dealt damage to his enemy as Wace observed how fast his magic invocation was during the battle. The soldier could''ve just quickly stabilized his mana shell for defence and simultaneously attacked the cloaked man.


    "Haha! You have a good eye Wace. I won!"


    It was Humphrey, the ethics officer who happily voiced out his thoughts. He had a fine build for a 17 year old student. It seemed that he was working well with his closebat skills as Wace noticed some callouses on his hands too.


    "It only means Ick realbat experience. It can''t be helped." Aaron said as he further exined to Wace who was confused.


    "You can actually be a member of our student council since my cousin highly rmended you. We also know that you topped the recent ranking in your ss in forging 5th gen artifact. We just wanted to ask you that as we have varying opinions."


    Wace nodded at this and didn''t know what to say about their carefree attitude. He was actually expecting a strict and difficult council member to obstruct him from aplishing his mission.


    "Fill this up and just ''submit'' it." Aaron gave a tabletputer to Wace and saw in the panel disy screen the form he had to fill up.


    [ Congrattions User! You havepleted your second mission!


    You are now part of the student council in your Academy. ]


    [ You have received x1 Mystery Box. ]


    ****


    Wace had returned to his rented apartment a few blocks away from the Magic Academy. He would formally start his work as a student council member tomorrow but he was already registered as such. He couldn''t help being excited and felt like he was opening a birthday present.


    [ Mystery Box.


    A box containing random rewards.


    Would you like to open it? ]


    Yes. Wace answered in his mind.


    [ Opening... 3.. 2.. 1..


    You have received 1 Body Strengthening Potion (Small) ]

 Chapter 14 - Real Plan And New Mission

    Wace carefully grasped a bottle of potion in his hand. He had already received a ne which was able to enhance his mind. Now he received something that would improve his physical body. He wondered what other rewards he could get from the Pathfinder.


    Well, he would most likely continuously receive mission until he reached his designated goal opted in Pathfinder. He uncapped the bottle and unhesitatingly drank the blue liquid it contained.


    Wace felt sleepy. He groaned as his mind tried to oppose his body that was feeling weak. He didn''t want to sleep as he was nning to make arrangements for his magic structure.


    The video of the fight he watched this afternoon gave him some inspiration for his ns in the future. He had a lot of ideas for a mana artifact he would like to create but his aim, for now, was to create an artifact with a ground-breaking magic structure to allow him to participate in the Twelve Magic Academies Competition. The reason was simple, once he at least reached the top 3 in the Artifact Forging section of thepetition, he would be invited to anotherpetition which would be held on the ind nation of Montego.


    Yes, his real aim was to go to that ind nation to have a chance to retrieve his spaceship and check out his ''body'' there, if there was one. He had already checked their academy''s library and other sources online and the most usible location where the spaceship could havended was on the southern part of the nation. Coincidentally, the yearly magicpetition by the joint countries of Maja, Montego, Zairus, and Virgan would be hosted by the nation of Montego.


    This was the real reason he wanted to have enough ability. Topping the uingpetition was not an easy hurdle and he had to prepare considerably.


    Wace wasn''t able to fight his drowsiness and fell asleep on his bed. It was the next day when he woke up and he felt hungry as he had not eaten any foodst night. His stomach grumbled and he ate a gran bar he found in his bag.


    It was at this time that he felt some changes in his physique. He felt his muscles to be a bit firmer.


    "Oh, maybe a few more of that potion and I''ll get my previous physique into this body."


    His previous body was gically enhanced by the most advanced technology of human civilization and it was obviously much stronger than his current one.


    His current body although in a very good condition, it was only in this world''s standard. He was a magician after all. As someone who was practicing magic, it was normal to have a weaker body but a stronger mind. Apparently, controlling mana relied on the human brain rather than the human body. There were even some theories that controlling mana was instead dependent on the strength of the soul. Unfortunately, it could not be proven as the soul was still a bit too much for the human to study.


    Wace readied himself to go to the academy. It only took him a few minutes to prepare and leave the apartment.


    He went to the academy and the day passed as normal. His ss lessons proceeded without any unusualness.


    In the afternoon, he reported at the student council as he was told toe. He was aware anyway that being a member of the student council entailed some responsibilities. Aaron did not ask him to do much but he was told that more task will be given to him when the TMAC was about to start. He was only told to familiarize himself with events being held at the Academy, mana artifactsmonly used by the ethic officers. As a student attending Artifact Forging ss, he was asked to check the academy''s artifacts in the warehouse that were being given to the officers for usage, and if that required maintenance or even recement, he would have to notify the president to make a request for it. This allowed him as well to better his understanding of thesemercialized artifacts.


    Every time that he got some opportunity, he would always try to program or make arrangements on his magic structure.


    A week had passed and he had nowpleted the magic structure he had been working on. Unfortunately, it required some special material. He would not be able to procure it with his current status and could only ask his parents for possible solutions. Luckily, they were able to help him and he was told to wait for a few days for an answer. Once he acquired the material, he would then be able to start forging his own mana artifact.


    Five more days had passed but still no news from his parents. He was feeling a bit impatient and worried.


    Although that was the case, he instead received another mission after visiting the library that day.


    [ You have received enough knowledge to create your very own artifact.


    Mission: Create your first mana artifact that is befitting your desire.


    Rewards will depend on the Grade of artifact you have created.


    Grade C - x5 Mystery Box


    Grade B - x3 Random Memory Crystal


    Grade A - x1 Potion of Divine Sense ]


    Wace was surprised about this and felt happy knowing that he would receive rewards by creating his own artifact. He had not expected this mission from the Pathfinder and was very interested in the possible rewards shown. He epted the mission and contacted his parents again to ask for any news instead of just waiting as he emphasized how badly he needed it.


    It seemed that it was effective as 3 days after that, a box was delivered to his apartment. Atst, he received the required material for his magic structure. He apologized in his mind to his parents as it seemed like he nagged at them to procure this, he thought that he would repay them in the future.


    Today was on weekend so there were no sses. Wace, as a member of the student council, was able to borrow a better Artifact Forging Box. He was in the forging room to create his own mana artifact. He was preparing to make his own mana gathering formation and mana stabilization array as he could only borrow the forging box.


    After he finished setting up. It was time to start forging equipment from the materials he received. He was not only nning to use his own magic structure for the mana artifact but he wanted to create his own equipment as well.


    "Alright, let''s begin."

 Chapter 15 - Mana Artifact

    The process of forging equipment consumed a lot of time so Wace was prepared toplete his forging for the whole day. He arrived here in the Academy early in the morning and even brought food as he nned to stay here for a while from the start.


    Wace ced other auxiliary mana arrays in the Artifact Forging Box. He then brought out the materials he received from his parent.


    Allum grey stone, frozen nephrite shard, a very small piece of Jax stone. and assorted metals. There was no readied 4th gen magic structure crystal and Wace still had to make his own after processing the materials.


    He ced the materials one by one except the jax stone in the artifact forging box while activating its material molding array ced. At the same time, Wace poured mana in his Ne of rity. His eyes had a tinge of blue light and he immediately directed his vision on the material and saw all its impurities.


    Wace was d about having this ne as he could assure himself that he could make the best possible equipment for his very first mana artifact.


    Using the Material Moulding, Material Detoxification and Material Disjunction Array ced, he removed all impurities or unnecessaryponents he found in the materials using his ne''s ability, Glimpse of the Mind.


    The ability onlysted for 5 minutes. So he had to be quick and precise in his every action.


    Whew~


    "Done! Exactly 5 minutes... that was tough. Luckily, the number of impurities was small." Wace finally said as hepleted the first part. Without the boost in concentration that the ne had given him, he would have taken more time aplishing this task.


    He wiped his umting sweat on his forehead before continuing. He checked the materials which were now in the best condition and started making the shape of the device.


    After 4 hours of fiddling with the material, he was able to create a silver sphere with a 4 inch radius out of the materials he used. He took it out from the forging box and checked if it worked.


    He poured a little bit of mana on the surface of the sphere and he heard some gears operating inside. A moment after he did this, the sphere split open by about 2 cm from its centre but it was still being supported by a ck metal inside. Nothing happened after that, since no magic structure was ced in the device yet.


    Wace ced it back in the forging box after cing the jax stone inside the sphere and took out an empty magic structure crystal. Again, this crystal was obtained through the courtesy of his generous parents.


    He spent another 2 hours creating a 4th gen magic structure on this crystal. His ssmates would definitely be horrified if they learnt about this. After all, just infusing this 4th gen magic structure crystal into an equipment would already take about 2 hours of their time. But Wace actually created one from scratch, the difficulty of this was very huge.


    Infusing was just pouring or passing the readied magic structure to an artifact so it normally took less time but constructing a magic structure should consume more time. It meant that Wace, who spent the same time constructing a 4th gen magic structure than they would normally take to infuse it, had a very remarkable skill.


    After Wace confirmed that there was no problem with the crystal, he rested for a few minutes and started the infusion process of the 4th gen artifact. He was already quite familiar with this and after the 4 orbs of light appeared, he spent no more than 20 minutes to infuse all the orbs into the silver sphere inside the forging box.


    "Great, I''m almost there."


    Wace eximed as he checked his watch when he felt his hunger after his work. It was already lunchtime and he had not eaten yet. He brought out his lunch that he had purchased in a convenience store. He ate for about 15 minutes and checked his nned magic structure on his mobile device. The program or arrangement of the magic structure was all prepared and Wace just had to use this n to create his 5th gen magic structure.


    Creating a 5th gen magic structure would normally take a lot of time. Though it depended on theplexity of the structure and the skills of the magician.


    Wace readied himself as he was about to start creating the structure. He ced another empty magic structure crystal on the lid of the forging box to start the construction process.


    He took a deep breath and started pouring mana in the box. Wace had consumed 3 memory crystal. The first was Mavis Prayer, a support type magic structure which enhanced the performance of other magic pathway. This was a veryplex structure as it needed to be oveyed on existing 5th gen magic structure.


    The second memory crystal he had was Howling Tempest. A destructive elemental pathway.


    Thest magic crystal that he consumed was Magic Jammer. Yes, Wace had already learnt about this when he was in his parents'' house. That was why when he saw the cloaked guy using the magic jammer, he was aware that it was a variant from the perfected version of the magic structure.


    After consuming the 3 memory crystals, he created his n about the possible magic structure or mana artifact that would allow him to rise. He had a lot in his mind due to having memory and knowledge of an advanced technology. He carefully selected the best magic structure he could create.


    With that in mind, Wace spent another gruelling 5 hours to create the magic structure. His expression of delight could not be hidden afterpleting it. He checked again the crystal for a while to see if there was any error or thing he missed but it was perfect. No issue urred during the construction of the magic structure in the crystal.


    Another hour was spent infusing the magic structure crystal to the jax stone that was ced inside the silver sphere. Apparently, the 5th gen magic structure he created could only be ced in the jax stone. He made it to be like that.


    Wace slumped on the floor as he sessfully created his very first mana artifact.


    He remembered that when he was in his parent''s house. It took him a day of thinking to select the most appropriate magic structure he should create. Something that could not be ignored, not by the school nor the government. Something that would propel his status so he would have a lot of opportunities in the future. It was then that he thought of something that he believed he could make.


    He called it "Magic Jammer Canceller".

 Chapter 16 - Taking Another Step

    Wace took out the silver sphere inside the Artifact Forging Box and observed it for a while. People may think why would a device specializing with canceling magic jammer requires a 4th gen magic structure inside. Why can''t we just input the 5th gen magic structure itself on the artifact which can be activated by magicians by pouring mana into it? Is the addition of the 4th gen really required?


    After Wace poured mana in the artifact and triggered its mechanism, the silver sphere split open again at the centre. But this time, a blue wave of light started to undte from the centre of the sphere. This wave actually covered the whole room he was in.


    Wace smiled upon seeing this. The cover of the canceller wasrger than he expected. It should be about 50 meters radius. He checked the opened sphere and looked at the 4 sides where 3 empty slot wereid, as the 4th slot was upied by the Jax stone, where the 5th gen magic structure was ced.


    The 3 empty slot was obviously in consideration for future upgrades of this sphere. It meant that the three 5th gen magic structure could still be ced to further improve the ability of the mana artifact''s user. Wace still had some ns for this.


    Due to the highplexity of the Magic Jammer Canceller, the whole crystal was upied by only this one magic structure. It didn''t possess auxiliary magic skills like how other magic structure had. The 3 avable slots would be used to solve this problem.


    "I will register the mana structure name as Magic Jammer Canceller. Hmm.. but for this new mana artifact. I shall call it... The Silver Egg.. it doesn''t sound appropriate.. Sphere of Magic? Mana Sphere? Silver Orb?


    "Naming is too hard, I''ll just call you Silver Orb."


    Standardbat magicians should be capable of multitasking 2 mana artifact at the very least. This Silver Orb, once fully equipped with four 5th gen magic structure could still be treated as one mana artifact with the arrangement that Wace made.


    Apparently, magic engineers here focused more on studying better 5th gen magic structures. The study of material advancement wasn''t keeping up. So Wace also had ns for some technological advancement here, but it would all depend on if he could sessfully retrieve the spaceship in good condition. He required the assistance of the A.I. in the spaceship for further development.


    Although he was gically enhanced, it was his previous body who achieved it. During the soul merge or reincarnation in his current body, only the enhanced intelligence and knowledge was carried over. But it had its limits so he would be needing the spaceship''s A.I.


    This was another thing that Wace was trying to look into, as he wasn''t quitefortable with how weak this body was. Even though he had magic with him, he would only feel more safe if his physical strength could keep up. The Body Strengthening potion he consumed before had given him a hope for his further physical improvement.


    After naming his mana artifact, he heard a familiar sound of notification in his mind.


    [ Congrattions User! You have sessfully created your very first mana artifact!


    Pathfinder will analyze the grade of your mana artifact. ]


    Ding!


    [ The Pathfinder has graded the artifact based on this world''s standard.


    Your mana artifact received a Grade A evaluation!


    You will now receive your reward. ]


    [ Potion of Divine Sense


    A potion containing the mysterious origin. Consuming this will allow the person to have divine sense. ]


    The description wasn''t helpful at all. He could just vaguely guess its effects for now based on its name. He did not consume it immediately as he was aware that something could happen to his body once he drank the potion. It would be best if he drank it once he was in his apartment.


    Wace cleaned the forging room before he left. It was already 6:30 in the evening when he was done and only a couple of students and some guards stationed at the Academy could be seen.


    He was now in his apartment and already done eating his dinner as based on his experience. Last time, he slept until the next day before waking up after consuming the potion. In case he fell asleep again, he made sure to be ready this time.


    He uncapped the bottle and consumed the ck liquid inside. He felt that after drinking this, he would further improve himself, leading him closer to his goal.


    Gulp! gulp!


    After consuming it, he felt pain in his head and his brain. He also felt his body to be oversensitive for a few seconds before it calmed down. A lot of information wasing into his brain. Luckily, Wace was already on his bed when he consumed the potion, and when he fell unconscious, he was justying there on his bed.


    A weekter...


    Ring! Ring! A sound of a mobile device rang.


    A middle-aged looking man was reading a newspaper as per his usual habit every morning. He drank his coffee from time to time as he read the news.


    His ck long hair was still a bit wet as it seemed that he just came out from the bath and he was wearing a blue robe covering his finely build tanned body. But his aura and charisma could not be hidden.


    He picked up his device and looked for the name of the caller before answering.


    "Hello, Yumi my cousin. Isn''t it a bit too early to drink?"


    "I''m not calling for a drink! Tsk. I just want you to look something for me in your Academy."


    A female voice was heard on the other end of the line.


    "Haha! I''m just kidding. Of course, what can I do?"


    "I know you are the new headmaster of Leonhearts Academy, Sir Percival. It seems one of your students there submitted an interesting magic structure for evaluation here. You may want to take a look at this."


    "Oh? An original magic structure? Is there something odd on the structure?"


    "Not really, it''s just a bitplicated. Well, this structure can''t be made public."


    "Hmmm.. What did my student here created?"


    "It''s something you''ve been looking for. Hehe. Meet me at eight at my office. I''ll exin more once we''ve met."


    "Can''t you just answer me now? Sigh. Alright then, but who is this student in question?"


    "Wace Ravencroft."

 Chapter 17 - Patent

    After Wace fell unconscious upon consuming the potion of Divine Sense, it took him a day before waking up again.


    Wace opened his eyes and checked his digital clock near his bed. It is already 6:00 PM of the next day. It seems that the potion was too amazing or his body''s foundation was too weak to consume the high-grade potion.


    [ You have sessfully learned Divine Sense. ]


    It was a notification that came from the Pathfinder after Wace got up from his bed. A burst of information suddenly surfaced in his mind. It was all information rted to the usage of Divine Sense.


    "So, it was like these."


    He closed his eyes then activated his Divine Sense. His sensory perception expanded to almost 100 meters, he felt all signs of life and objects within the range. He could see what was happening within this scope and it even felt that the time slowed down. No, his senses were actually elerated as well.


    "Mhm... This sensation. Divine indeed."


    Wace regaled at this newfound ability. As he tried to explore this new ability of his, he spent almost a whole day fiddling with his divine sense and discovered some weaknesses on it as well. Apparently, there were some asions where magicians were able to sense someone peeking at them. It was due to his imperfect control of divine sense.


    Luckily, with the increase of his concentration and abundant knowledge, it only took Wace several tries to correct this and he got familiar with its usage after spending a day with it. He discovered as well that it wasn''t actually consuming that much of mana when activating the divine sense and it was almost negligible.


    Unfortunately, even though he could use the sensory boost that divine sense provided, he still could not use the other abilities it could do. It seemed that he needed more potion of it to further upgrade this ability.


    Within the same day, Wace contacted his parents to get assistance to register his magic structure. He would definitely get a patent for it.


    His parents were surprised about their son''s achievement and more than happy to support him when he spoke about his ns to have a patent on this magic structure.


    Wace lived at Tanza City where a branch of the National Magic Trade and Industry was located. His parents had already contacted necessary personnel to assist him with this and he only had to meet with someone his parents knew in the Intellectual Property Office to guide him through the process. After all this, he got the patent-pending status and was told to wait for only a month.


    Patent-pending status just meant that it was already filed in the patent office. Even if an inventor had that status, it was still undetermined whether he would get a patent. Normally, this status wouldst for about a year before receiving a patent.


    ***


    "Yumi! So, what was the structure the kid has submitted?"


    A tanned man with messy ck hair and wearing a ck suit, entered the room demanding an answer to his question. Percival, the new headmaster of the Leonhearts Academy, just pushed the door open in the office of the Director of Magicians Bureau of Patent. This office was located inside the NMTI.


    "Perci atst, you''ve arrived. Here take a look at this and give me your thoughts."


    A middle-ageddy was fiddling with herputer when her cousin arrived. She too had ck hair and her reading ss could be seen on her head. She was wearing office attire that fitted her slender but sensual body. She gracefully passed her tablet device and shown something to Percival.


    "So, that''s why you''ve called me here! Magic Jammer Canceller! This is an amazing innovation!"


    "That''s true, it was amazing for a student to aplish this."


    "Right, I actually researched this Wace from our academy. With the information I found about him, he doesn''t seem to possess something that can allow him to create this innovation. He was just average until recently. The most incredible performance in the Academy was that recent exam they had but..." Percival exined as before he left the Academy, he made sure he had enough information.


    "Yes, I really want to learn more about him. He actually agreed when we mentioned that we would like to make this as secret as possible and for it to be used by our government."


    Yumi added as once they learned the capability of the magic structure, they immediately did their best to contact Wace and to make arrangements for military integration of the magic structure. Even though there was a scarce number of magic jammer users, they were still there and were a problem to deal with. Especially the one creating a variant magic jammer. It was tough to deal with someone who was equipped with that variant.


    Percival checked the pages about the other description and about the magic structure limitations. It was perfect. Without considering future upgrades, the limitation was just basically the coverage area of the canceller and that it required precise control with the mind for its usage. But the improvement of material and structure for a further upgrade was definitely doable to improve its performance.


    ***


    Wace was inside the headmaster''s office in the Academy. He was actually quite curious about the reason he was called out here. He was in front of the dignified Percival who was behind his desk and looking carefully at Wace.


    "Traceless Hands, it is the name you would like to use as the creator of the new magic structure recently submitted in the Patent Office. Not a bad decision, I must say."


    The conversation started with that. Sir Percival just revealed to Wace that he was aware of what he was doing. Wace was somewhat aware of the ripples his magic structure would create in the government so he was only surprised a bit when the headmaster learned it. After all, Leonhearts Academy and other academy were somehow tied or controlled by the government asbat magicians wereing from these academies.


    "Yes, I chose Traceless Hands for the brand of my creations. Though I would like to keep my identity as confidential as possible." Wace spoke confidently in front of the headmaster.


    "Well, I can understand your point and I can help with that."


    Wace only needed enough prestige to allow him to participate in the TMAC. As long as his skills were recognized by the top brass, it would be easier for him to have an opportunity to retrieve his spaceship.


    "Only a few months until the selection of the participants for the TMAC... I was hoping I could participate there."


    He wanted to step ahead and make arrangements for the future since he was now in front of the headmaster anyway.

 Chapter 18 - Lucent Force

    "Well, that''s even better."


    Percival smiled at Wace as he further exined.


    "I know that with your current skills, you have a high chance to be a participant. You just have to continue your outstanding performance."


    "I will." Wace nodded as he understood what the headmaster was trying to tell.


    "So, the reason I called you here is that I want to give you an opportunity. You can ept or decline it... But since you''ve mentioned you want to join thepetition... I suggest you ept it."


    Wace was delighted about being given an opportunity. But he was quite curious about the reason for the headmaster to be willing to give him an opportunity, he was about to ask but Percival seemed to have read his mind.


    "The magic structure you''ve created, it is very helpful... very."


    The headmaster smiled mysteriously at him and he didn''t want to delve too much about it as well so Wace did not ask further. He was more concerned about the opportunity that the other mentioned.


    "I don''t know how you managed to create it and since our army or country will benefit from it I''d like to give you a task." Percival cleared his throat before continuing.


    "There''s an ongoing project being managed by your seniors here in the Academy. Unfortunately, they are currently stuck on that project and they couldn''t make progress. So if you were to help them, then your participation in thepetition would be in the bag. Would you like to give them a hand?"


    "Of course, I''ll be willing to help. But Sir, you''ve mentioned that they are my seniors? Can I really be of help?"


    Wace smiled wryly as it wasmon sense that seniors had much more advanced knowledge. If 1st year in the Academy was a foundation building and 2nd year was focused more on theoretical knowledge, the 3rd years had been immersed in a lot of practical training. Almost every day throughout their academic year they would be in intensive training on their selected course.


    "Good! The third-year students you''ll assist are in the Artifact Forging ss and all currently busy doing research in a particr magic structure. I believe that you''ll be able to help them. You can meet them tomorrow."


    "If you think that highly of me, then I will do my best, Sir" Wace had epted the task not only because he wanted to have a chance to participate in thepetition but because he received another mission from the Pathfinder.


    [ It is better to grab a rare chance to improve yourself.


    Mission: Assist your seniors in the research project they are currently stuck on.


    Mission Reward: x2 Random Memory Crystal


    Bonus Reward: If the mission ispleted with the highest rating, the user will receive x1 Mystery Box ]


    Wace wasn''t even aware of the project that his seniors were working on. But since the mission was already there and no penalty if he failed it, he epted it without hesitation.


    "That''s good, I will exin to you the details... No, Instructor ine is almost here so she''ll exin it to you."


    As soon as the headmaster finished speaking, the door in the room was knocked on before a gorgeousdy entered. She was wearing casual attire, not looking like an instructor at all as she wasn''t wearing the academy''s instructor uniform. She was wearing a red cardigan and a modest skirt and holding a handbag on her left. She smiled and greeted the two of them.


    "Good afternoon, Headmaster Percival and you too Wace."


    Wace greeted back, a bit confused for a second before remembering that this instructor was handling the first section of 3rd-year ss.


    Most likely, it will be her student whom I''ll be assisting. He thought and could only guess at this point.


    Anyway, she''ll tell me what I should do to help them.


    ***


    The night before Wace would start providing his assistance to his seniors in the academy, he was contacted by the Director of Bureau of Patent about purchasing rights on the manufacturing of the Magic Jammer Canceller. Wace wasn''t too sure about the pricing of this and had to ask assistance to his parents who willingly agreed to help by negotiating on behalf of him. He was told by his parents that the amount would be transferred on his bank ount and he just had to wait for it.


    "It seems I''ll be able to purchase better materials for practice." He needed money as well to enhance his forging skills. He was nning to purchase bulk materials and practice since he stillcked experience in forging though he had enough knowledge.


    "Working with seniors tomorrow might be tough. Haaa... I need to rest now."


    Wace shook his head and after few breaths, he slept soundly as he needed to have a good rest for his battle tomorrow with his seniors.


    ***


    Later that night. Two people wearing ck cloaks were on top of a certain building in the center of Tanza City.


    "Raven, how is the new artifact?"


    "Not bad. I tried it with Crow''s Magic Jammer and it works perfectly."


    Raven answered with a grin on his face. He was very satisfied with the new artifact he received. He was currently wearing a ring with a small Jax stone on it where the magic structure for the Magic Jammer Canceller could be infused to.


    "We can take our revenge now with that guy. He injured our new guy, we can''t let him get away with it. What about you, Hawk?" Raven added.


    Both of them wore more than six mana artifacts and were wearing military uniform under the cloak. They both wore the trademark bracers of Zairus.


    They were a member of a special magic corps of Zairus, the Lucent Force. It was a small group of elite magicians nurtured by the country.


    Their new friend was injured by an enemy spy who infiltrated the country. Tonight, they received the new artifact to destroy the trump card of their enemy and would not let this opportunity slip.


    "Mhm... Good. We move now. Our Lucent Force would not take this lying down."


    After saying this, both men melted in the shadow of the night and disappeared.

 Chapter 19 - Battle In The Night

    The two elite magicians of the Lucent Force were running fast without any sound in the dark night. They were about to reach the suspected hideout of the enemy country''s spy.


    It was an abandoned building near the edge of the city. The building''s main entrance was facing the road on the north and a river on its south. A lush forest was behind this river and it was where the two soldiers silently appeared.


    Hawk had drawn out his two gold-ted guns, his favorite artifacts. Their ammunition was specially made mana material, so instead of a human-made metal bullet, a highlypressed elemental bullet woulde out that was capable of instantly destroying weak mana shells.


    Apparently, the creation of the Magic Jammer Canceller was still time-consuming and it didn''t have a 100% sess rate. Jax stone was a very fragile material that could easily be destroyed if it received too much pressure during the infusing process. It meant that with the short duration when the government''s Magic Engineers received the structure, they were only able to sessfully create one Magic Jammer Canceller.


    Currently, it was Raven who was assigned to equip this mana artifact for this mission.


    "I''ll go in, just stay here and make sure no one escape." Raven said gravely. He was confident in his skills inbat and he was willing to attack alone in the abandoned building.


    Unfortunately, if his enemies decided to flee instead of battling him, hecked sufficient skills to prevent many people from escaping at the same time. His n to let Hawk stay outside was because his partner specialized in more diverse attacks.


    Hawk only nodded behind his cloak and readied his position. He chose a water tank tower near the abandoned building, an elevated position where he could see the whole surroundings.


    At the same time that he positioned himself.


    Bang!!


    Raven sted open the rusted metal door of the building, he used his right hand equipped with a gauntlet emitting purple light to smash it open. Dust and debris was thrown all over inside the building.


    "Enemies!!"


    Some of them were injured by Raven''s first attack. They immediately used their weapons to counter-attack. They numbered 15 as Raven counted and were all equipped with high powered guns.


    Since Raven specialized in frontalbat, he was more than willing to face them head-on.


    "Show me what you''ve got!"


    As soon as he shouted, the body armor that he wore inside the cloak suddenly emitted a purple light that expanded to form a 5-meter radius dome protecting him from the inside. It onlysted for a second before abruptly shrinking in and covering his whole body instead.


    The high powered guns that would normally trouble standard magicians were useless in front of this protective cover that Raven had activated.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!...


    A metallic sound was the only thing being heard whenever the bullets touched his cover. Itcked the sound of flesh being torn by the high powered gun''s bullet. When they noticed that bullets weren''t working, some had even thrown explosives leaving a deafening st.


    Raven immediately activated the other mana artifact that he wore, it was the boots he was wearing. Red light covered his feet before a Haste Skill was activated.


    "Ahhh!"


    "Noo!"


    "Where''s Lance?!!"


    Every time he neared an enemy that was using a gun to shoot him, a shout of pain was following on as he punched them using his enhanced gauntlet. They were being thrown in air, rendered heavily injured and knocked unconscious.


    Some other guy even called their superior in despair. This time, as Raven was about to finish them. A wave of noise was suddenly heard as his magic skills were suddenly canceled.


    The protectiveyer suddenly copsed as the enemy retreated afraid to be the next victim of thisbat magician. Raven was now standing in front of a blue cloaked man.


    If Wace was here, he would recognize that this person was the same one who battled a Zairus soldier in a video that the student council president allowed him to watch.


    "So you''re really here."


    Instead of being afraid as he lost his magic skills because of the neer, Raven''s expression was delighted.


    Their informant only told them that there was only a 30% chance that this cloaked guy still hadn''t left the vicinity of the Tanza City and rendezvoused with the other enemies that they are already monitoring.


    Apparently, the government was already aware of their location from the start and allowed them to stay in a monitored ce keeping them informed of their activities.


    There were also possibly more secrets in why the government allowed this but it didn''t matter anymore. As Raven nned to capture them all now.


    Raven immediately activated the ring he had on his left index finger. It immediately allowed him to use all his mana artifacts. He had not given the cloaked guy a chance to learn that his jammer was canceled as he vanished and reappeared at the back of the enemy.


    "What?! How could you-"


    As the guy felt Raven''s presence at his back, he was shocked and immediately attempted to gain distance.


    Of course, Raven did not allow it to happen as he pped the man''s back and multiple purple hands made of mana bounded the cloaked guy. It was magic spelling from auxiliary magic in his gauntlet.


    As the man was bounded by the purple light. Raven approached him and punched the man in the stomach putting him in pain and another one in the jaw to put him unconscious.


    "That''s for our Falcon."


    Raven said after and looked at his surroundings.


    He noticed that aside from the 11 enemies lying on the floor, the remaining survivors in his assault had fled the building. He did not bother to chase over the small fry as Hawk was outside to clean it up.


    ***


    The next morning, Wace woke up early and took his breakfast while watching the news on the television.


    He noticed news about some explosions that had urred in an abandoned building at the edge of the city. It was said to be a military practice conducted by the army. Wace did not think too much about it as he only noticed it since it happened in his city.


    Wace prepared himself as he went to the Academy. Today, he would meet his senior and he was hoping that no trouble would arise.

 Chapter 20 - Research Project

    "Wace, I''ve seen instructor ine at the cafeteria and she was looking for you."


    Gilbert approached Wace who was seated in front of aputer as he was requested by the instructor to notify him. The morning ss had already ended and Wace was currently in the library.


    Both he and Gilbert were not wearing their academy''s polo uniform. Wace was wearing a blue long sleeves shirt instead due to the sports activity every Friday of the week for the 2nd year students.


    Wace was currently browsing the database of their library and searching for something before looking up to his ssmate Gilbert who approached him.


    "Ah, thank you, is she still at the cafeteria?"


    "No, she said for you to see her at the faculty. Did you do something wrong?"


    Gilbert asked as it wasn''t normal to be called out by a higher year instructor.


    Instructor ine was famous for her beauty in the Academy. She was only 24 this year and already a licensed magic engineer. Not only did she teaches at the academy but she was also working as an engineer in a certainpany. Gilbert was more than willing to know any news about her.


    "Nothing, there''s just a small request I was asked to help with." Wace answered mysteriously, he packed up his things and stood up.


    After learning that the beautiful instructor was waiting for him, he went directly at the faculty on the 3rd floor of the main building in the Academy.


    He saw that the door was open and peeked at the room. There he saw again the only instructor that was never wearing the designated uniform.


    Instructor ine could easily be seen with her long amber hair draped over her shoulders. She was sitting in front of her desk and seemed to be focused on herputer.


    Wace tried to get closer before calling out on her as there were other instructors and students in the faculty doing their own things. As Wace got closer, he found the aura of elegance that the instructor radiated to be umon.


    A very intelligent woman, close to the headmaster, capable of wearing her own outfit in the academy and that aura, definitely not a simple instructor. Wace thought as he neared.


    "Excuse me, Instructor. I heard from Gilbert that you were looking for me."


    Of course, Wace was aware of why she was looking for him. He just wanted to make her aware of his presence. ine looked up at him and smiled upon noticing Wace.


    He was able to clearly observe her pale face and noticed a small mole on her lower lip on the right side. It only added to her mature beauty.


    Wace would turn 16 in the next month so he very much appreciated this picturesque scene.


    "I thought that you''ve stood us up."


    He scratched the back of his head as he felt a bit awkward for beingte. He was too engrossed reading in the library.


    "Follow me, your seniors are currently at the Forging Garden 3A."


    Wace nodded and remembered that it was on the left wing of the Academy.


    As they both walked for the door, the students and instructors they passed by all looked at her with different lights in their eye. Apparently, aside from her beauty, she wafted as well a delicate aroma of honeysuckle attracting everyone''s attention.


    Wace sighed at this. He thought that this instructor would grab attention wherever she went. But Wace wasn''t aware yet if it was good or bad.


    ***


    Forging Garden 3A.


    There were currently 5 students in the open room discussing their predicament. It was called a garden as two side of the walls could be detached and provide an open air. It was providing them a scenery of the garden.


    There was a circr table located in the room where the five were having their discussion. The room had 2 shelves containing frommon to unique materials. A couple of mana artifacts could be seen as well and at the other side, you could see 3 Artifact Forging Boxes.


    At the centre of the table they were seated, about a hundred pieces of varying shapes of metal was lump together.


    "Mei, have you found a solution yet? You saidst time that you have records of Material Mana Sync Theories in your family''s record."


    A blond male student asked the one seated on his opposite side.


    "I have tried to read all of it, Eric. But there''s no records or clues on how to maintain long operation time of synchronization. How about you Neo?"


    "Same here, but I''ve asked around and at least learned that all six of our predecessors to this invention had the same issue. They could not fix it and instead just epted it as limitation of the current technology."


    As Neo answered, everyone felt drained. The Academy''s library allowed them to learn that the thing they were researching caused 3 groups of their predecessors to give up. Now, Neo told them another 3 were defeated by this mana artifact pathway.


    Before they could graduate from the academy, they had toplete a task. Students had to form a group of no more than 6 to research an underdeveloped mana artifact pathway. They didn''t have to develop it themselves and it would just be fine as long as they gave path for next developers.


    Haaa.. It seems that we really have to ept the assistance offered by instructor ine if we really want to stick to this pathway. They all sighed and thought of this.


    The five of them selected a difficult research topic expecting that as top students, they would be able to create a path for future discoveries. They were told yesterday that since they weren''t able to make progress, their instructor would be sending help. They all did their bestst night to find a solution to change her decision but weren''t sessful.


    Now, they really had to ept it. What kind of help? They weren''t aware yet.


    They looked at the time and thought that ine might be on her way as they were told to wait here. They observed the surroundings and tidied some things. They noticed the thick grown bushes that were at the side of the garden and the fallen leaves umting, it was unkempt.


    They should be asking for a cleanerter. It was already noticed before by ine and told them to clean it but previous cleaners and gardeners weren''t able toe in as they locked the room even during the night as they studied their project. They normallysted until the evening since they started this so the gardener or cleaner did not have a chance to take care of it.


    As they thought of this, ine wearing a simple but elegant white dress entered with Wace in the tow.


    "Great! Instructor ine. Is he the gardener?"


    Mei asked merrily.


    Huh? Is their research about gardening? Wace thought and was confused but did not think too much about it as he immediately noticed the lump of metals in the centre of the table.


    He activated his Divine Sense and was surprised with what he found out.

 Chapter 21 - Solution

    After his Divine Sense touched the metal lump on the table, information about these pieces of metal appeared in his mind.


    Wace was able to tell that the structure of these metal pieces would actually form a full-body armour once fitted together.


    Interesting...


    This is what Wace thought while admiring the pieces of metal on the table.


    He remembered his full body bio-armor he wore before he ''died'', it is a product of the most advanced technology before he got here in this world. It was a development made from maic mechanical suit and nanotechnology.


    "No, this is Wace. He''s a second year and will join your team... or will assist you guys. Since all other third years already have formed their team."


    It was ine who exined to them.


    "What?!"


    "Uhmm.. Is that a joke?"


    "Seriously? I don''t really mind but can he really help?"


    "Perhaps... we should just change our research topic?"


    They had different opinions as it should be since a second year student dared to get involved in their project. Of course, since it was their instructor who told them and if she was really serious then there should be a reason for this arrangement.


    "Yes, it was decided by me and was approved by the headmaster. He''s capable so he should be able to help."


    ine smiled at them as she calmly answered their questions. She was aware that it was Wace who created the magic jammer canceller and she was confident about his skills due to howplex that magic structure was.


    The five could only ept it even though they were still unwilling. Since they really couldn''t disobey or argue with this gentle instructor they had.


    Wace looked at the five students. There was only 1 female in their group and he wasn''t familiar with any of them.


    "Alright, you guys have to brief Wace about your research topic so he could help you. It seems our headmaster is looking forward to have this research move a step forward. I know Wace will be able to provide assistance. So I''ll leave now, try not to stay toote here."


    ""Yes, Ma''am""


    After the instructor left Wace with his seniors, it got a bit awkward before someone started the conversation.


    "First, let''s introduce ourselves. I''m Eric, leader of this group."


    "Mei."


    "My real name is a bit long, so just call me Neo."


    "Hello, I''m Darryl."


    "Jake, nice meeting you."


    The five of them were being polite with him. Apparently, even though they were somewhat against the idea of letting him in the group, they at least nned to test his skills first before appealing to their instructor.


    Wace looked at the group leader. He was a blond guy with fair skin, and had a prominent cheek bone. He then nced at everyone, nodded and introduced himself again even though it was already done by ine.


    "I''ll do my best to help."


    Wace could only say at the end. He now had an idea on what they were researching. If that thing on the table was what they were studying indeed.


    "So, we''re stuck at this..." Mei pointed at the lump of metals at the center of the table before continuing.


    "Can you tell me what these pieces of metals are?"


    He was being tested. Wace nced at Mei, who had big blue eyes, fluffy short brown hair with tanned skin. And as she was currently standing, he was able to confirm that they had almost the same height.


    The other students kept quiet and waited for his answer. They thought it would be difficult to determine these pieces of metal without prior knowledge.


    Of course, Wace was aware that Mei isn''t asking the name of the metal pieces. She was asking the purpose of these metals.


    "That''s an armour technology that could form a weaponized exoskeleton."


    As Wace answered quickly, they couldn''t help but nce at each other and doubt their instructor. They thought that ine already briefed this person about their research.


    "Mhm... that''s right. We''re having trouble in the operation time of this suit. It hasn''t been resolved by previous researchers and developers as they med it on our insufficient advancement in technology instead."


    Wace could somehow agree on what Mei had said. He had already observed every piece of metals on the table and noticed that the suit heavily relied on mana and no other source of energy. He observed as well that they leaned more towards the advancement of magic structure to resolve their issue.


    As a source of power, they all relied on a mana stone, a material that could store mana which could be used indefinitely. If Wace wanted to help them, he had to provide knowledge with regards to possible alternative energy sources and even consider some changes on the metals that was being used here.


    If not that, Wace had to create a revolutional magic structure to resolve this issue.


    "If you have an idea, just tell us. Anyway, we don''t have to create a working armor itself. We just have to make a viable resolution and prove it on our papers then we can submit it to be checked."


    It was Eric this time who further exined their situation.


    "I have a couple of ideas that might be able to help you here."


    Actually, Wace nned toplete the mission with the highest rating to get the bonus reward. He was thinking that if they weren''t able to create this armour technology with longer operation time, he wouldn''t get the bonus.


    Unfortunately, resolving this issue would be difficult and he could only give up on the bonus reward for now.


    As he was thinking of missing a bonus reward, the five students couldn''t believe what they heard from Wace. He actually thought of a resolution already? Are you really aware of the problem? Do you really think it is that easy to solve this?


    They could only hope that Wace really had a resolution. If he was messing with them, they would immediately throw him out.


    ***


    Car Park 1 of the Academy.


    ine is currently inside her car talking to her phone.


    "Brother, was it really that amazing?"


    "Yes,st night, I alone defeated the spies with the help of this magic structure. It''s quite amazing for a 16 year old kid to develop that highlyplex structure. He''ll definitely reach higher standing in the future."


    ine was silent for a moment before answering.


    "Ok then, let''s see how far he can reach."


    ine smiled and continued her chat with her brother with other topics.

 Chapter 22 - Armor Tech

    Wace was about to suggest his idea but suddenly remembered some things. He thought about it first before voicing his ideas.


    He was asked by the headmaster to help this group of seniors on their projects. He epted it as a favor given by Percival since he somehow appreciated the magic structure he created. So, why did the headmaster choose this task specifically for him? What do they expect from him to be able to solve his senior''s predicament?


    After thinking for a few moments, he deduced that the headmaster Percival or even instructor ine would be expecting him to provide assistance with the highlyplex magic structure.


    Yes, since the magic structure for Magic Jammer Canceller was already leaked, they realized howplex it was. Without his enhanced intelligence being migrated as well to his current body, he may not be able to aplish such a task.


    He looked at the pieces of metal. They could form an external framework of metallic muscles and bones that would protect the wearer and also enhance their physical prowess exponentially. It would be a huge breakthrough if he was able to help them solve the problem of operation time.


    Wace did not hesitate anymore.


    Since that was what they are expecting...


    "Yes, I have an idea. But I have to take a look first on the current magic structure that''s being used for this armor tech."


    Wace requested this to everyone as although he had something in mind, he had to learn the current limitation of the magic structure they made and decide if he had to create something from scratch or just to improve the structure.


    The group did not have a problem showing their current magic structure as they already expected it. They then waited for Wace to study it.


    After checking the structure. He started giving his ideas to have an improvement in their current magic structure. This discussionsted until seven in the evening before they decided to call it a day.


    Everyone was not expecting that with just the addition of this 2nd-year student, they would be able to resolve the issue immediately. But they clearly realized during today''s brainstorming that with this student joining into their group, they would have better chances of resolving the issue.


    ***


    Wace was now lying on his bed as he was thinking of his decision a while ago of developing a magic structure.


    In outer space, humans had acquired the greatest power source they could ever find. They called it Aether, it was apparently a mysterious gas-like thing that only existed in space. The only problem for that was the difficulty of containing it.


    Aside from that, there was apact thermonuclear fusion reactor that was being used by a mech frame. This was called the Ion-Sting reactor.


    As Wace had checked, this world didn''t even possess a normal reactor! So nothing to say of apact one that mech frame possessed and ultrapact reactors fortest generation mech frames.


    Wace still wasn''t quite sure why there was no nuclear power nt in this world and could only put it aside from now.


    "Hmm... Even iridium energy cells as a power source could probably not be used. There should still be something I could use as an alternative if I thoroughly check this world''s elements but going for a different power source will deviate the people''s current path of discovery."


    Wace muttered to himself.


    "That would be too much if I started it. I should let them thoroughly explore or discover the magician''s pathway instead. With all those considered. Creating a magic structure should be my best option since that is what the headmaster is expecting on me as well."


    He settled his mind and nned topletely develop a revolutionary magic structure that would resolve these decades of a fruitless endeavor of providing longer operation time to this armor tech. He would create something that was based on a nuclear reactor.


    Wace smiled as he fell asleep while trying to think of a name he would use once hepleted this structure. Wace Reactor? Ravencroft Mana Reactor? Mana Fusion Reactor?


    ***


    On the afternoon at the Forging Garden


    Although he said that he would create a new magic structure, he still required a special material to infuse that magic structure.


    Wace nned to use this material as the central location of his mana-based reactor. Not only that, but he also nned to infuse a little special magic structure on each piece of metals as well to lessen the burden of electromaism being used on the armor tech as well.


    "I''ve brought it here. What''s your n on asking me to bring this thing?"


    Mei opened a box containing a metallic white stone the size of a fist and ced it on the round table.


    "Thank you... I''ll show youter."


    Their group actually worked for a week more before theypleted the task. It was next Friday night when they finished their project.


    "Atst, the structure you made has been infused to this armor tech."


    "Yes, Mei. That took us more than a week. I couldn''t have done it without all your efforts."


    "I''m just hoping now that once it was tested, all will be working fine."


    "That''s alright Neo, even if we have issues with creating physical mana based equipment, with our papers that have a solid base, we will still achieve a perfect score."


    It was true as they weren''t really required to realize the development theory they submitted, it was already enough to have this revolutionary magic structure that Wace created for future development.


    ***


    [ Congrattions User! You have assisted your senior to resolve their predicament!


    Pathfinder will now analyze yourpletion rate...


    You will now receive your rewards. ]


    [ x2 Memory Crystal ]


    [ x1 Mystery Box ]


    Great! Wace was delighted upon seeing the results of hisbor. Not only was he able to develop himself as a magic engineer, but he was also able to get a reward too. He even received the bonus reward!


    Wace thought for a bit and decided to open the Mystery Box.


    [ Opening... 3.. 2.. 1...


    You have received 1 Bracelet of rity ]


    Wace was a bit disappointed since he already has a Ne of rity. He checked it''s description and noticed that it was actually even a bit worse than his current ne.


    [ Bracelet of rity


    Increases the user''s concentration and memory ]


    It didn''t even possess an increase in reaction speed and an option for ability like his ne.


    Since it was not really helpful to him, someone who had enhanced intelligence developed by the most advanced human discoveries, he thought of something instead that was bothering him.


    "Can the things I''m getting from the Pathfinder be taken or consumed by other people?"


    He was quite curious to try now.

 Chapter 23 - Participant

    Eric and his group submitted theirpleted project to their instructor. It included both the magic structure and the finished product.


    "You guys havepleted it?"


    ine was surprised upon learning that they hadpletely resolved the issue. Her beautiful face expressed astonishment as her eyes grew wide.


    After all, the students'' project only required them to provide a path for future discovery. It would be fine if they could just provide a theory for development.


    She looked at the suitcase containing the parts of the armor tech and checked the tablet device containing information about the newly created magic structure and its capabilities.


    In the information given, it included the results of improvements on the armor tech they were developing. Not only the operation time was resolved, but its other aspects were enhanced as well.


    ine could only imagine how much more amazing this new magic structure that their group developed was.


    "Yes, all thanks to Wace. At most, we provided the special materials required to prove his theories. In the end, he was able toplete the design of the magic structure."


    It was Mei who first exined what happened.


    "That''s true... and it seems that he actually hadn''t nned toplete the structure at all and just to provide a path for development. But he maybe got engrossed too much."


    Eric agreed with Mei as he voiced his opinion. You could hear a hint of amusement as he spoke and gratitude on what Wace had aplished for them as well.


    "Since this was actually created by Wace, we''ve already advised him to get a patent for this new magic structure and he instead told us about his n for this revolutionary magic structure."


    "Correct. When we told him that, he said he would discuss it further with the headmaster about his future ns."


    Neo saidst as he joined the conversation.


    "That''s good to hear. This magic structure seems to be much more amazing than what he previously made."


    ine softly muttered the second part as he further questioned her students.


    "What did Wace or you guys named on this new structure?"


    Everyone looked at each other before answering.


    "He called it Compact Mananuclear Reactor."


    ***


    Wace was carefully considering his thoughts as he nned to gift this bracelet to someone for a trial.


    Honestly, Wace was not sure if his decision to gift this bracelet was a correct one. Only time would know.


    At the very least, once he could confirm it, he would be able to n ahead for the future in case it was necessary. Also, this bracelet was a weaker version of his ne right now.


    Wace was soon summoned to the headmaster''s office.


    "It seems Eric and his group alreadypleted their report."


    Wace said after his instructor Garen told him at the end of his morning ss. He had not been discreet about this so everyone in the ss was now aware of his meeting with the headmaster.


    It was notmon to always be in contact with the headmaster or even instructors of higher years. So Gilbert made his conjecture.


    "Wace my friend, are you going to be elerated now? Will you be joining the 3rd years and graduate with them this academic year?"


    His voice was loud as he asked this seriously since he had been aware of Wace''s activities in recent weeks. He was with a group of seniors every afternoon doing a project with them.


    "What are you saying? I was just helping them."


    You? A second-year? Helping our seniors?


    They did not say it loud but his ssmates'' faces showed what was in their mind.


    "Alright, I''ll see youter."


    ***


    Wace was nearing the headmaster''s office as he walked in the hallway. But he was stopped by the most beautiful instructor of the academy who started a conversation with him.


    "Congrattions Wace! It seems that you will be joining as a participant in theingpetition. Keep it up."


    ine, with a genuine smile on her face, greeted Wace. It seemed that she was really happy for him.


    "Thank you, Instructor. I''ll definitely work hard."


    With her greeting, it seems that the headmaster will keep his word when he gave this mission to me. A guaranteed slot. Wace thought as he politely spoke with ine.


    "Instructor, I would like to give you something..."


    Wace did not wait for her reply before taking out the bracelet in his pocket and gave it to ine.


    She was used to receiving gifts from her colleagues and even more from her students. But she still received the red bracelet with her left hand and had a questioning look.


    She took a nce at it and noticed that it was actually a simple but elegant design. She was attracted to it.


    "I noticed that your favorite color was red, so when I had this created, I immediately thought of giving this to you as a ''thank you gift''. Thank you for trusting me that I could help your students."


    Wace created an excuse.


    "How did you learn that red was my favorite color?"


    It seemed that ine had different concerns about what he said. She was more interested in how Wace knew something that she hadn''t told.


    "The earrings you mostly wear are red. The car you drive is red. Even your phone and your umbre have a tinge of red on them. I doubt you''ll have another favorite color or I would have noticed it so."


    "Thank you, Wace."


    ine smiled as she heard him exin.


    As Wace headed to the office, ine dialed a number on her mobile. It was her boyfriend.


    "Hi. Are you still working?"


    "No, I''m free. What''s up?" Her boyfriend quickly answered on the other line.


    "What''s my favorite color?"


    "Huh? Why did you ask so suddenly?"


    "It''s nothing. Just please answer me."


    "Alright, It should be yellow color right?"


    "..."


    "No.. I think it''s green. Am I right?"


    "..."


    "Purple?"


    ***


    At the headmaster''s office.


    "Wace, there''s a couple more months before thepetition. Just maintain your performance and you''ll be able to participate in thepetition."


    Headmaster Percival said before further exining.


    "Do you know Ross Schien?"


    "Yes. He is my ssmate."


    As he answered. Wace remembered the rankings when instructor Garen told them to create the 5th gen artifact.


    He was first, next was Tracey then Mark. The fourth person was Ross Schien.


    "As you know, there is only a limited slot for participants, and Ross will definitely do something to get him epted as a participant as well. It''s a matter of pride."


    Wace was silent for a while before asking.


    "Perhaps... is he a descendent of Aeolia Schien?"

 Chapter 24 - Memory Crystal

    This question had been on his mind for a while now. Wace looked up to this marvelous magic engineer who had made a huge contribution to the advancement of modern magic.


    Aeolia Schien, he created the 4th generation and started the 5th generation of mana artifacts. A genius in his era dubbed as the greatest magic engineer that had ever appeared. He came from an impoverished background but established his name due to his intellect.


    Wace clearly remembered the story of this engineer. His death was filled with mystery. Even though there had been a funeral for Aeolia Schien, it was revealed after a few years that all was fake or just an act.


    His body was never really found. Because of this, all the events in his life or any information about Aeolia before his death were brought to light and were revealed to the public. Apparently, Aeolia even left some words before the day he ''died'' that was still being argued up until now.


    As Wace thought reached up to this point, Percival confirmed his suspicion.


    "Mhm... That''s right. Ross is a member of the Schien Family and a direct descendant at that. He isn''t from the branch family that is here in Tanza City but from the main family in the capital."


    Wace was somewhat aware of the difference in the status of children that came from a branch or main family. Resources, education, wealth, and even the environment would be different. The financial supporting from their main family would allow them a better standard of life.


    For Ross to be an elite student of this Academy should be a normal thing. It would be a disgrace in the reputation of the main branch if even with ample resources given, Ross were to still be unable to reach high standing in the ss.


    Wace confirmed some more information from the headmaster before he left.


    ***


    After he arrived at his apartment and settled in the small living room, Wace withdrew the 2 memory crystals he obtained as a reward from thest mission he had.


    Each memory crystal had a size of about a man''s fingernail. It was a blue crystal that radiated with purple light from time to time.


    He observes the crystal before a piece of information appeared.


    [ Law of Mana Force and Conservation ]


    [ Elemental Mana Dynamics ]


    It didn''t have further description because once he consumed the crystal, all information is contained within would be a part of him anyway.


    "Normally magicians are only capable of consuming 2-3 memory crystal. If more than that, it would be detrimental to the human''s brain and would result in mana deviation."


    Wace was obviously hesitant of consuming this crystal as he had already received 3 of such crystals before. He was a bit worried that he would suffer some side effects.


    "Mhm... Pathfinder, are you sure this is okay?"


    Wace asked this to the pathfinder within him hoping to get rification. There was no one else he could ask about this after all.


    [ The user''s body has already gone through transformation upon assimting with the Pathfinder Tool. ]


    "So, there shouldn''t be any issues. Right?"


    The Pathfinder did not answer anymore so he understood that he could indeed consume the memory crystal now.


    Wace did not hesitate anymore and consumed both crystals that night as he gritted his teeth to endure the pain it gave while forcefully imnting the information that the crystals contained into his brain.


    ***


    In a high rise building in the center of Tanza City.


    A teenager was silently gazing at the busy street filled with lightsing from vehicles, stores, and others below.


    He had lustrous hair like an onyx stone and his keen ck eyes seemed to be pondering over something.


    He was Ross Schien. A proud member of a prestigious n in this country.


    As time passed, the phone rang beside him and as if expecting the call, he didn''t check the caller disy before picking it up as soon as it started ringing. It was his uncle as he expected.


    "Ross, will there be a problem getting in the top 3 in your ss? I heard there''s someone in your ss that was recently doing a very good performance."


    For the uingpetition, there would only be 3 participants each year. Being a 2nd-year student of Artifact Forging ss 1, Ross had to outperform the top students in his ss to be able to participate in thepetition.


    There was Tracy Guilford, who had a very strong foundation as her family possessed unimaginable wealth and legacy. Mark Halevey is a son of a Prime Minister, anyone could just imagine the resources he could get on a daily basis for his training. And now there was Wace Ravencroft who was umting praises giving him a chance to be able to participate in theingpetition.


    Ross was aware of his abilities, although he admitted that he couldn''t beat the skilled Tracy, he would have a chance to beat Wace or Mark as long as he persevered.


    The Twelve Magic Academies Competition of the country was very important not only because of the rewards that the participant could get, but also the prestige that would be given to the person. Those who were able to top thepetition would have a guaranteed bright future along with their family.


    "That''s right. There''s Wace in my ss who''s most likely aiming to participate in thepetition. I''ve already made an investigation on his background... there shouldn''t be a problem outperforming him including Mark in theing months. As long Iplete that mana artifact."


    Ross did not deny the existence of Wace as a possible threat to his participation. But even though that was the case, he was still confident in his abilities.


    "Alright then, you make sure that you can participate."


    "Yes, Uncle."


    "Right, the thing you''ve requested will still take a week before it arrives. Just be patient in the meantime."


    Ross ended the call with his uncle and sighed like he was tired just from speaking with him.


    Ross observes his room filled various materials. At the center of his table was an openptop containing a design for a mana artifact.


    A short sword emitting different elemental power was being shown on the screen. Ross closed theptop and sighed.


    "I''ll have a long night with me."

 Chapter 25 - Training

    Wace received a message from his parents that he could now check his bank ount for the money he had earned upon selling the exclusive rights of manufacturing for the magic jammer canceller.


    "It seems the government was really generous." He ndlymented as he saw the money he earned.


    He was using hisptop at the moment to check his bank ount and was surprised to see a huge amount of money that was added to it.


    "60 million credits."


    I wonder how mom or dad negotiated for that. Wace thought as he happily browses an online store to purchase materials.


    It was already a few days after he consumed the two memory crystals of Elemental Mana Dynamics and Law of Mana Force and Conservation.


    Although he was not a professional, he was aware of the general prices of this magic structure in the market and for the prices of mana artifact itself, he could always see it online.


    A standardplete 4th gen mana artifact alone ranged from 300-600 thousand credits. If you nned to have a 5th gen mana artifact, you can purchase it with the price that ranges from 800 thousand up to 3 million credits.


    Apparently, manufacturing rights ofmon elemental magic structures like zing Gaze that specialized in Fire Magic was only worth about 15 million credits and Aqua World that was obviously water-based magic would be priced at 16.5 million.


    Manufacturing rights for amon magic structure that allowed basic control and standard attacks with a certain magic element would range from about 15 to 20 million.


    However, there were mana artifacts that had structures that were capable of controlling 2 or more elements. Those mana artifacts ranged from about 2-5 million credits each.


    Besides that, Wace was aware that there were magic structures that weren''t being registered at NMTI.


    Those were either mana artifacts or magic structure with banned magics or wed magic structures that could harm magicians.


    The notorious Devil''s Whisper was a mana artifact used by an underworld organization before, it was a pendulum-like artifact. It had a light-based magic structure that was capable of controlling human minds. It was hypnotism at some point and considered banned magic. It was said that the magic structure of this mana artifact had a requirement to be infused in a circr metal to give its full effects.


    Unfortunately, that rising underworld organization owning Devil''s Whisper had offended a strong faction and had been forcefully disbanded by its adversaries.


    Although no one knew which magic engineer created it for the underworld organizations, they knew that the person never nned to register it at NMTI.


    After the disbandment of that organization, selling off its magic structure was atrge during that time and all of this happened just about two decades ago. Of course, it was heavily suppressed by the government thatsted for nearly 5 years before traces of it disappeared.


    But up until now, there were rumors that you could purchase the unnamed magic structure for Devil''s Whisper for about 40 million credits.


    Unfortunately, no one knew where to purchase it and the government was on the hunt for these banned magics. So if there was any leak of information on the whereabouts of the sellers, you could guarantee that in the next second, the police would be at your doorstep.


    Wace was currently browsing the inte as he was trying to purchase materials that he needed for training his magic structuring and artifact forging. He was currently in thergest online store named Secret''s Shop.


    "Hmm... Magic Jammer is out of the market as well because of its circumstances."


    He tried searching for it just to satisfy his curiosity only to find "0" search results on it. He then continued purchasing his needed materials.


    Star burr, luminous crimson scale, velvet tears, low-grade to high-grade mithril ores, garonite ores, arcane alloy, empty magic structure crystals, and some other materials were purchased. Unfortunately, Wace needed a certain status to be able to purchase mana stones. He had to use his parents'' connections to do this and would ask themter to have them purchase sufficient mana stones for his experiments.


    He had a lot of inspiration after consuming the 2 memory crystals a few days ago and he even felt that his body could still take about 3 or 5 more of these. Due to his ns for the next mana artifact he would like to create, he ended up purchasing so many materials that his current apartment would not be enough for all of it to fit in.


    "I need to move ce." Wace smiled wryly as he looked at his small apartment littered with random things.


    "I should own a workshop for the sake of my future development as well... since there is some avable space in the city, it shouldn''t be too difficult to find one. Well, I''ll just consult a realtor tomorrow."


    He obviously required arger space to store all his materials and also, he had been considering better security. In his mind, he wanted to have his magic structures and mana artifact-to-be in a protected ce. Of course, he wouldn''t want himself to be sabotaged or have his creations stolen.


    He was thinking far ahead now so he shook his head and thought of his first task. He would like to ask his parents again for this but after thinking for a while, he decided not to and would just try to arrange this on his own. He wanted to choose his own ce of work first thing in the morning tomorrow since there weren''t any sses due to it being a weekend.


    Wace was still browsing the online shop for better materials. He noticed that an A.I. chip was being sold as well that could follow the simplestmand and could be used for a simple robotic machine.


    He made a full hour of research on it and discovered that Artificial Intelligence was not being heavily developed by any country for an unknown reason. At most, they had simple functions but clearly insufficient forbat andplex functions. He would definitely try looking unto it someday.


    Wace smiled at this as he thought of a certain path for development again. He put it at the back of his mind for now as he thought that he may only be sessful on this once he acquired his spaceship.


    He couldn''t wait to participate in thepetition.


    ***


    At a certain forging room in a huge manor located near the edge of the Tanza City.


    A youngdy with short brown hair and a cream-colored hairpin on the left side of her head was busily working in a pile of metallic materials. She was wearing her casual clothes and it could be seen that she had eyes of the same brown color as she observed the changes on the silvery metal whenever she infused strong fluctuations of mana.


    A few secondster, she smiled widely as it seemed that she reached her goal on the experiment she was doing. She fixed the hair that was sticking on her forehead due to sweat as she breathed a sigh of relief.


    She was the top student in the 2nd year ss of Artifact Forging course, Tracy Guilford. As she was about to be engrossed again in her study, a knocking sound was heard at the door outside and a voiceing from her servant was heard.


    "Mistress, a young man named Mark Halevey wishes to speak with you."

 Chapter 26 - Traced

    Tracy changed her clothes before appearing in the guest room. She''s now wearing a white dress that exudes noble simplicity. There aren''t any essories except for the in silver bangle on her left hand.


    Her previous cheerful eyes were now changed to a stern one as she approached a young man in the living room.


    "I thought I''ve told you not to visit me here again?"


    Tracy doesn''t seem to wee the young man as she coldly reminded him of what she had mentioned before.


    "I have not agreed with that. Also, I''m only here now purely for cooperation."


    It was Mark Halevey garbed with a formal suit. His blond hair entuates with his gold essories from his ne to rings on his fingers. His expensive clothing was loudly telling that he was a son of a prime minister.


    Tracy sighed at this and still seated on a couch in front of Mark. They made contact like this more than once.


    "What do you need this time?"


    "I received some information from my father that the ''Traceless Hands'' who created the recent hot item magic jammer canceller isn''t some kind of organization or group of magic engineers. It''s an individual... a student at that."


    Tracy raised her brows as she wants Mark to continue what he was saying. As Mark understood this he did not disappoint her.


    "If you''re still not interested, how about if I tell you that Traceless Hands is Wace, our ssmate?"


    This time, he got her interest.


    Apparently, in a week that the magic jammer canceller went to the hands of government and was used to finish off the spies who infiltrated Tanza City, multiple incidents were repeated in different parts of the country stirring the local powers as they tried to get a hold of the situation.


    Only a couple of days ago that the news was leaked to the upper ss and aristocrats about the cause of the disturbance. The authorities have acquired a mana artifact that was capable of canceling magic jammers. This news shocked them as even though magic jammers were rare, they always induce some headache to the government whenever they appear.


    During the cleanup operation conducted by the government in 5 bases of the enemies, they have collected magic jammer artifacts but due to intense fight, 2 artifacts were destroyed and was only able to retrieve 3plete artifact. It was such a big haul for the government since this operation has an element of surprise to the enemies.


    All the disturbances that urred during the fight were glossed over by the government and provided superficial excuses to the public. Of course, people in the upper ss have sources of intelligence on their own and only took a couple of days to know the truth behind the skirmishes in several parts of the country.


    Traceless Hands, it was the name that has appeared in the patent application and its real identity was deliberately hidden not just by the NMTI but the government itself to protect this young magic engineer. Right now, even though they know who created this structure, only the Zairus government holds the magic structure for this magic jammer canceller.


    "Well, we can''t fall behind our ssmates, right?"


    Mark added as Tracy was pondering carefully as she absorbs how this revtion implicates her.


    "Was it confirmed?"


    Tracy doubted a bit but then shook her head as she remembered that this guy is the son of an influential politician. Their source of intelligence would be better than their family who dabbled in business with regards to this kind of information.


    Tracy was unaware of the real identity of that Traceless Hands and only learned it now. Although she was aware of their existence, she wasn''t curious about their real identity and more interested in learning the magic structure for magic jammer cancellers. If it was easy to create that mana artifact, it has long been created by some other powerful countries and would not take 60 years after the appearance of magic jammer just to develop it.


    Everyone was aware of its importance as no magician wants to experience a time where they weren''t able to use their magic and never feel mana in their daily life. It would be a nightmare for them, fortunately, the magic jammer is already scarce and only top organizations, the country''s government or other powerful entities possess such artifact with a very limited number.


    "Yes, we got it from a very trusted source," Mark answered her question nevertheless.


    "Then, what do you want me to do? Do you feel threatened that you won''t be able to join thepetition?" Tracy voiced her question to this top 2 students in their ss.


    "It''s not that, I just want to make sure that Ross would be the one joining us in thepetition. You know that he''s my friend, right? It would be better for us if we''llpete with someone you are close with, won''t you agree?"


    "I don''t care who would be participating. As long as they''re qualified."


    Tracy wasn''t interested in whatever game Mark was brewing. She doesn''t want to be involved and more concerned about how to improve herself in the remaining month before the selection of participants.


    ***


    Wace was now browsing the catalog given by the realtor for his new ce and workshop. There are only 6 choices that match his criteria. These 6 houses with the included workshop was considered due to their size and location.


    But if Wace will add his budget in his criteria, there would be only 2 choices as the other four is located in the busiest location of the city and would cost an enormous sum.


    After careful consideration, Wace selected a 6,600 square foot modern house with three distinct living spaces. It''s a two-story building with stunning copper and stone exterior thatplements the multiple balconies. In the main structure, it uses radiant floor heat, there is also an enchanting wine grotto, a temperature-controlled wine cer. Although Wace doesn''t need this wine cer, he has other ns for it. There''s also a private master balcony with an outdoor firece.


    Wace looked at the surrounding houses and structures and noticed that this ce has a lot of spaces and trees unlike the center of the city which has a busy crowd all the time. Though he needs 30 minutes ride on a bus to attend ss in the academy, it matters a little for him.


    "I like this ce."


    Wace smiled and immediately decided to purchase this new ce once he saw a beautiful ce and it''s an eptable price. If the owner doesn''t need a quick cash, Wace would not be able to purchase this at a small price.


    Aside from that, the realtor liked it even more than Wace and happily assisted him to purchase this ce. 9.8 million credits immediately disappeared on his bank ount.


    Wace moved to this ce the second day after he purchased the house and a day after it, the materials he purchased a few days ago arrived in this newly provided address.


    "Hmm... I''ll first practice the hydraulic drive system." Wace was not thinking of using just a fluid for this one but he was nning to have fluid mana rece it.


    The memory crystal he absorbed inspired his n for a bigger project and he needed to start or explore on quite a few things before tackling this.


    Waceughed as he suddenly remembered his wed Compact Mananuclear Reactor he provided to his seniors. It wasn''t his intention.

 Chapter 27 - New Mission

    Wace tried to n his new magic structure that evening. He was aware that his attempts to gain enough reputation to participate in thepetition hadn''t gone unnoticed to his ssmates.


    He purchased a bunch of alloys and ores as his new mana artifact design requires better quality equipment.


    Only 29 days left until the selection for thepetition in thest month of the year. Once a participant was selected in their academy, they would still have a month of preparation before the start of thepetition, they will receive special training and privileges during this time.


    If the academy will select the participant right now, no doubt that Wace would be selected. But there are remaining days left so he can''t be rxed yet and has to maintain a good performance.


    Wace entered his new workshop that is connected to the left side of this house. The interior was painted white and gray at the edges. There were stacked boxes and piles of metals on the floor.


    Wace created a space at the center table and put the artifact forging the box on top of it. This forging box was an old one inherited from his father. Unlike the school''s box, this one was an older design but was well maintained by Wace.


    "Should I first create a much better mana stabilization array?"


    Wace pondered a bit. His mana affinity has increased a bit thanks to the first reward he received before and felt that he was able to control arger amount of mana. And maybe due to the changes in his body, it continued to affect his improvement in mana affinity.


    Due to this, he needs to adjust his array. Although any mana stabilization array out there would control the flow of his mana to the forging box, just like Gilbert told before, it would be better to use your array due topatibility reasons.


    Of course, it doesn''t mean you''ll be able to perform to the best of your ability as those professionally made arrays can be found to be better than what you can create. Not all rookies were like Wace who has a good grasp on this array.


    Wace started adjusting his array and mana gathering formation to better suit himself before he started the forge.


    ***


    A week has passed and some changes urred as Ross introduced his newly created mana artifact and was even published at the local newspapers. Several articles were introducing the new mana artifact.


    "A top student at the Leonhearts Academy, a descendant of a legend, Ross Schien has submitted his new mana artifact at the NMTI. Another 5th gen artifact that has a grade rating of A..."


    "Arcane Sword - A new mana artifact designed by Ross Schien, an uprising star in the field of artifact forging..."


    It''s unusual to have a second-year student in school create their original mana artifact and magic structure. At most, students and new graduates are expected to only be capable of replicating a pre-designed mana artifacts. So this news was immediately noticed by many people.


    Although it was surprising to many, after they learned the person''s background, they attributed it as him being a descendant of Aeolia Schien.


    ***


    Wace got a hold of the news as Gilbert told him about it this the morning on their ss.


    "Isn''t Ross amazing? I wish I could aplish that as well. Someday, I''ll make my own."


    It was Gilbert, he was referring to making his own artifact. He was chatting with Wace as they have free time between their subjects.


    Wace was also checking out this new artifact featured. He used hisptop to check the Arcane Sword made by Ross. Although theplete attributes weren''t published due to confidentiality reasons, it was enough to have some grasp on its capability.


    It is a 23 inches dull short sword, silver hilt and handle. It was designed that the de wasn''t so sharp but with the usage of magic structure imbued in the mana artifact, it could unleash sharpness that could cut almost anything.


    Another notable thing is the shimmering purple gem attached to the sword just above its hilt. Base on its description, it allows the user to control lightning and fire element. Of course, the two-element could not be used at the same time but its transition was quick. If the magician''s mana control was superb, they could transition elemental attacks with only 2 seconds as a buffer.


    Wace observes the mana artifact and absorbed all the information in the articles he read.


    "It seems that Ross is going all out. This is definitely his attempt to secure his position as a participant... but it seems to be a bit rushed. There are still some ws in it."


    Wace was muttering and Gilbert heard this.


    "Really? Where? Haha... Maybe because he''s in a hurry? Who knows, he probably thought that you might be selected as a participant instead."


    Gilbertmented but did not wait for Wace to answer him. As they continued chatting, Wace noticed that Tracy was looking at him from time to time.


    She was seated 2 desks in front of him so whenever she looked behind, Wace could notice her in his peripheral vision.


    Wace wasn''t too concerned about it as he ignored the girl. A few moments before their instructor arrived for the next subject.


    Wace heard a familiar sound in his mind. It was a notification from the pathfinder.


    [ Thepetition is near! Make your presence known once more.


    Mission: To be selected as a participant in the uing academiespetition


    Mission Reward: 2x Mystery Box and a small increase in mana affinity. ]


    Wace checked the new mission. It was aligned to his goal so he just nodded upon reading the new mission from the pathfinder.


    "21 days left before the selection. I still have some time." Wace thought he could stillplete his new mana artifact.


    As he was thinking about his ns, it seems that Tracy could not wait anymore and approached him.


    Gilbert, who was sitting just beside Wace saw her proactively approaching them was amused and he immediately went silent. In his mind, first, it was the Cummings twins but now, even the top student.


    "Do you have some time after this ss?" Tracy asked Wace who was now looking at her.


    Mark''s eyes squinted as he saw this scene. Although it was normal for ssmates to have a chat, form a group after sses and Tracy was even known to be friendly and approachable, he felt that it was different this time.

 Chapter 28 - Naturals

    For the uingpetition, you don''t need to be a magic engineer capable of producing original mana artifact or magic structure.


    It doesn''t require you to have experience in that field as long as you''re foundation in forging was broad. As long as you have a wide range of mana artifact and magic structure in the list that you can make, it would be enough.


    Of course, if you''re capable of creating your own, it would be a surprise factor that could add some chances in winning. But a proven and tested mana artifacts was considered to be a better choice whenever participating in suchpetition.


    In fact, Tracy and Mark have not yet published any original mana artifact as well as the twins, Keh and Katherine. But even though that was the case, with the skills of both Tracy and Mark in creating various pre-designed artifacts and structure, they imed top spots in overall rankings in the 2nd year ss. Added with their talent and avable resources, it was no wonder that they could get top ranks.


    Tracy doesn''t feel threatened about Wace''s appearance and in fact, she was d to see another goodpetitor. She believes that a good challenge will allow her to better herself.


    "I have some time... so let''s talkter."


    Wace did not ignore Tracy this time and answered her as he noticed that their subject instructor has arrived.


    Tracy nodded at this and went back to her seat while grinning.


    The instructor who just arrived was their Sir Riba who teaches Mana Praxis and Assiduity. It revolves around the utilization of naturally mana infused materials.


    Yes, some materials already possess mana within because of their long exposure in mana filled environment or because their structure is just susceptible to mana.


    This study allows the students to familiarize themselves with the abundant numbers of materials, nts and even creatures that possess mana.


    Materials like mana stone, Jax stone, star burr are samples of naturally mana infused materials. They were indispensableponents in some mana artifacts.


    Of course, materials that were artificially infused by mana using a forging box with array and formation were more popr since acquiring these naturals was easier said than done.


    Just like humans, not all nts and materials has mana affinity. Most of the sources of these materials were even being controlled byrgepanies, governments, and other private organizations.


    There was also these interesting creatures that have an affinity in mana that can be found in mana filled environment. They normally possess a strong body, some level of intelligence and could control mana with a thought.


    Although their numbers were low, every creature that was naturally nurtured by mana has the strength to be reckoned with.


    Wace is very interested in this subject as the location where his spaceshipnded seems to be an environment filled with mana and rich with nts infused with it.


    He was able to recognize those nts because of this subject. This sssted for 2 hours and being taught 3x a week allowing them to learn a lot over this subject.


    After the ss, Tracy joined instead with Wace and Gilbert''s group on their lunch at the cafeteria. Tracy did not really start a conversation about what she has in mind when she asked Wace about the ss.


    It was only until Wace nned to go visit the student council office that Tracy asked toe along with him. Both of them were on the way to the office.


    "I heard that you were the Traceless Hands?"


    "Hmm? That fast? It seems there''s a lot of holes in the NMTI''s security."


    Wace knows that it will be leaked but he''s not expecting to be that quick.


    "Haha, at least only the upper sses are the ones who were aware of it. It can be a form of protection for you as well. So they know who not to mess with."


    Tracy seemed to be happier after confirming his identity as it cleared all her doubts.


    Wace only used Traceless Hands as another identity because the magic jammer canceller will not be likened by some people. It was to protect himself as well. Of course, it is with the intention of making his own brand for the future too.


    "I hope so." Wace answered Tracy as they near the student council office. She doesn''t have the intention of joining Wace in the office and just liked to talk to him.


    "Well... Have you seen our ssmate''s original mana artifact?"


    Tracy stopped walking as she asked Wace once more


    "Yes, it''s a good artifact. He''ll be an amazing magic engineer someday."


    Waceplimented Ross as if it doesn''t affect him in any way.


    "Haha... Is that so? Do you n to get a slot on the TMAC? That artifact could allow him to gain better chances with the slot though."


    "Yes, Don''t worry. I''ll have one."


    "Cool, it seems you''re really confident, huh? Good luck then."


    Tracy waved goodbye as Wace entered the student council office to report.


    ***


    That night Wace was busy with his workshop. as he ns to finish his mana artifact to gain leverage. With Ross earning prestige with his new mana artifact, him being selected as a participant was more likely to happen if Wace did not do something.


    "Controls are good, transitioning was quick, power is sufficient and operation time was longer than expected. This should work."


    Wace was about toplete his finishing touches when he suddenly remembered his Silver sphere. There were still 3 avable slots on it. The first one already contains Jax stone which a magic jammer canceller structure was infused into it.


    He has ns for this 3 slot but hadn''t had time to work on it.


    "Hmm..."


    He was nning to work on it as it may only take him for a few days. After all, this new mana artifact that he created may be too much when thinking about it.


    "Let''s finish this first."Wace said after he contemted his future ns.

 Chapter 29 - Prototype (Part 1)

    The new mana artifact or technology that Wace created does not heavily rely on the magic structure but requires a bit more in terms of advanced technology.


    Fortunately, even with his limited knowledge, he was able toplete this new device.


    "It''s still a bit crudepared to what I''ve imagined but... this should be enough for now, once I''ve found my spaceship, with it''s installed A.I. I could still improve this."


    Waceforted himself as he looked at the ''crude'' artifact on the table. Of course, this is in terms of technology that he learned in his previous life, but ifpared to technology here, this ''crude'' that Wace mentioned would be enough to blow the mind of innovators.


    He had only been able toplete this technology due to him having a few knowledge about repairing mech frames, spacecraft, and other advanced technology devices.


    He had these learned as for someone living in space, it required them some general knowledge on how to repair their types of equipment. After all, they could only depend on themselves especially when they traverse a long journey without any near space stations where they could resupply and dock for repair.


    He was d that he learned these things from their Zymeth''s only stationed master engineer. As Wace remembered their Dreadnaught-ss spaceship Zymeth, he couldn''t help but feel emotional.


    He could onlyment as he knows that he couldn''t do anything about it and could only hide this deep within his mind so as not to affect his performance whenever he requires to do some work.


    Wace retrieved his mana artifact and nned to submit it for evaluation. Unfortunately, no rewards from pathfinder this time for his newly created mana artifact as the current mission he received was for being selected as a participant.


    "Let''s see what they''ll think about my new artifact."


    Wace was grinning with confidence as he readied to travel in the city to get an evaluation. He had already informed in advance so evaluators for this mana artifact would be ready once he arrived.


    Unlike the magic structure for magic jammer canceller that he submitted before, he will now submit aplete mana artifact including a magic structure so this will be different. And also, since he was already a bit known in the industry, they have quickly made arrangements for this evaluation.


    Wace hired a service van to bring him to the NMTI at the heart of the city and with oversized bag apanying him, he looked back at his house and workshop.


    "It''s bing unsafe, I should try increasing my security here."


    Providing protection can be handled by some securitypanies that Wace could hire. After all, he couldn''t just install destructive magic, high powered firearms and explosives in the surroundings of his property. He still has to abide in certainws mandated by the government.


    He has little knowledge of it so he''ll most like ask assistance from his parents. Of course, this wouldn''t stop Wace from creating artifacts or technology that would protect him and his creations. In fact, he himself already has a couple of mana artifacts to protect himself.


    ***


    Ross was currently waiting for his uncle to finish speaking with his guest. He has visited a manor located near the edge of Tanza City where the branch family of Schien lives as he was told that his uncle from the main branch arrived here to discuss some things to him.


    He waited patiently and soon heard the door opening as a middle-aged man wearing a ck coat and hat stepped out of the room. The man''s blue eye radiates coldness that could freeze anyone looking at him. Ross did not speak and waited for the to man pass over him as he silently left the manor.


    Ross had seen the man''s face and felt that the person was familiar but couldn''t quite remember where he saw him. He gazes over the man''s back as he tried to recognize this person but to no avail.


    He bears in mind the man''s face and will try to look into it once he had time. Ross knocked on the door and introduced himself.


    "Come in."


    A voice devoid of warmth was hearding from the room. It was his uncle.


    Ross entered the room and saw a plump middle-aged man adorned by a luxurious ornament. The man has a wellbed graying hair that doesn''t move even with the strong air conditioning of the room, one could even conceive it as a wig. His eyes wore a stern expression as he looked at Ross.


    "Uncle George, I''ve heard that you wish to discuss some things with me."


    Ross asked directly. He may have missed starting with pleasantries because he was in a hurry to get out of this ce as well. It''s not that he was at a rebelling phase as a teenager but he just hates to deal with his uncle who felt that he was the Schien''s Family Head.


    This man always tries to get involved in any actions that the family gets into. Especially for the younger generation, he was more strict and unforgiving. Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances of the family head, he had to deal with it.


    "Yes, we have to celebrate the original artifact you made! Such an amazing item couldn''t be gone unnoticed! As expected, we do have the same gene."


    "Thank you, uncle."


    Ross was silent for a moment before voicing out his words.


    "You don''t have to worry about taking care of the manufacturing rights on this artifact. I can take care of it all!"


    His uncle announced happily as if it was a huge help to Ross.


    "This..."


    "You don''t have to be thankful, we are family after all. Hahaha!"


    ***


    Mr. Bryson is a certified magic engineer and is working in the field for more than 30 years. He was a friend of ine Mavis-Ravencroft, Wace''s mother.


    He was contacted by this old friend and requested to take care of her son. Today, her son arrived bringing something to be evaluated.


    Bryson looked at the information presented about this astounding mana artifact or maybe an advanced technology powered by mana. He was unsure at the moment until he fully scrutinized this equipment. Although there is a special magic structure, he noticed that it heavily relies on some unusual technology and mana was just an auxiliary.


    "An atmospheric floatation device of electromaic and mana cycle principle... it requires gyroscopic stabilization... capable of suspending users in stationary flight and moving through the air at fast speed... a prototype... A prototype?!"


    He was quickly reading through its description and noticed a statement telling it''s just a prototype that shocked him a lot. He looked at the provided statistics of its performance and wondered what a final product could do.


    He shook his head in amazement and finished reading its description He looked back at the name of this mana artifact.


    "Float Drive System."

 Chapter 30 - Prototype (Part 2)

    Wace arrived at the National Magic Trade and Industry buildingte in the afternoon. There he met with some familiar people who helped him process his patent application.


    As he had given a notice before his visit, the personnel already made some arrangements for him. He was now sitting at the receiving room and was greeted by a man in his fifties with a warm smile.


    "Hello there Wace, I''ve heard a lot about you from your mother. It seems that you have a promising future ahead of you."


    "You ttered me. I probably inherited it from my mom."


    Wace humbly epted his praises and wondered who this person is. He was about to ask his name because he really can''t remember to have met this person, introduced by his mother or met even in photos.


    "Oh, I forgot. I''m Bryson. Bryson Grant."


    Bryson introduced himself as he extended his hand for a shake.


    This time, Wace had made some recollection. Bryson Grant was a name recorded in the books he has read. He is an underrated magic engineer who had made a lot of contribution in the recent years of mana study.


    To have met the engineer in person and to be known by him was really ttering. This man has contributed a lot to developing Arcane Force Field that now protects everyrge city of Zairus from anyrge scale magic bombardments. Wace was very interested in how this force field works too.


    There was also this Argus Drones v1.6 that was used forbat and reconnaissance. Although these drones or formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles that were developed by Nord Aviation was still immaturepared to what Wace was aware of, their creations were already amazing despite theircking energy sources.


    Unfortunately, due to years of no advancement in this field andck of funds, further research was canceled. There were others like Aerial Gaze, drones who were only capable of surveince and border patrol that was developed but the Argus Drone created by Bryson Grant''s team was already thetest and most advanced drone technology that has ever appeared.


    Although there''s no war that was brewing in the past hundred years, magicians never stopped to research, develop and improve their abilities. Having a peaceful time only allowed these genius talents in their fields to better their skills. Of course, up to when this peaceful time willst, Wace was certainly not aware.


    It seems that I still underestimated my parent''s connections.


    This was what he thought since this person has a level of prestige in the magic engineering field.


    "It''s my honor to meet such an exemry magician."


    Wace respectfully shook his hand with Bryson as they started to discuss the mana artifact that he brought with him. They proceeded in the evaluation room as Wace took out the oversized bag with him and brought out a device.


    It is a ck device or machine that can be worn at the back of a magician with a size of 2 ft and weighed for 16.3 kg. It scaled just to cover the back of a person and one noticeable feature of this device is the protruding semi-circle at the back. It''s pitch ck circle felt like a ck hole that could devour you in.


    Bryson was a bit bewildered by this unusual artifact, but as a magician who has seen many incredible things, it didn''t show on his face and browsed over the description of the mana artifact.


    It was this time that he was astounded by the capabilities of this Float Drive System that Wace has created. He was amazed about the usage of mana and electromaic principle in this device that allows the user to float and fly for a maximum speed of 260 mph and its operation time alsosts for 6 hours.


    How?


    It was the question that Bryson would like to ask.


    Of course, this technology was still very crude in front of Wace so he was okay on releasing some information for the country and give him enough prestige for a chance to participate in thepetition. After all, once he contributed here, it will not go unnoticed in the academy since Leonhearts Academy is tied to a government''s military and his identity as a student there will give him an opportunity.


    As Wace looked at Mr. Bryson who was seriously studying the artifact, took a seat and waited. Evaluation for this artifact would take quite some time so grade will be given. It may take a day or two if the personnel focused only on evaluating it.


    "It seems I would need other magic engineers stationed to give a proper evaluation. Rest assured that with such a perfect magic structure andponents of the material, this will be evaluated highly."


    Of course, it wasn''t perfect for Wace but he just smiled at this. He only waited for 15 minutes before four other magic engineers arrived and with Bryson''s lead, they carefully evaluated the mana artifact.


    "This is such an amazing artifact to be called a prototype!"


    "Float Drive System... such a superb way of utilizing mana cycle."


    "To think this was made by a 2nd-year student in the Academy"


    "This... when I was in the Academy, I was struggling just on fabricating a mana artifact."


    Somements can be heard from the engineers as they look at this mana artifact.


    Since he had been asked to stay during the evaluation of the mana artifact, he seated in a corner and answered some questions from time to time. It seems they were eager to understand the principle of this technology as they also scrutinized the magic structure it has.


    They were certainly curious about the energy source of this artifact. But the main system on how the engine works were secured and not exined clearly in what has Wace submitted.


    Of course, Wace would still like to keep how this harnesses byproducts of particle decay. Something that this engineer was not capable of doing as of yet.


    If Wace had not studied this part for about 2 years and repaired multiple mech frames in space, he wouldn''t acquire this knowledge.


    After about 3 hours of studying, it was time to test its practical performance. He wasn''t nervous or anything and was even happy to move forward at this stage. He was confident in his creation after all.


    It was alreadyte in the evening when Wace arrived back at his workshop. The artifact was graded as A as what he expected.


    "Pathfinder, will you not give rewards for that?"


    No answer came from the pathfinder but Wace did not care about it and just like to strike conversation on it since there are times that is answers.


    "Pathfinder? I think it would be great if you could help me get supplies too. After all, I have a lot of idea''s in my mind about my further improvement but I can''t progress since materials here were so scarce and some may not even exist here."


    He would like to ask about this since pathfinder could produce materials that could even be given to other people. He tested it before with his female instructor.


    It should have stocks of items or materials on it so Wace was thinking that it would be helpful if he has other options to get some items from it withoutpleting a mission... like purchasing it instead.

 Chapter 31 - Rights

    Wace failed again to strike a conversation with the Pathfinder. But he was not disappointed and tried multiple times until it got tired.


    [ User needs to continue pursuing the path that was decided and more options will appear in the future. ]


    Oh well... Wace epted it''s answer since he was given 6 pathway before and selected one. The missions he was receiving now is in ordance with the path he had chosen.


    "A couple more weeks and the participants will be selected... I''ve done my best, it''s up to our academy now."


    Wace muttered before he decided to sleep. He was tired as well in the past weeks forging mana artifact and creating magic structure.


    ***


    Just two days after Wace has submitted Float Drive System and got an evaluation from the NMTI, his other identity as Traceless Hands was again out with the public. Of course, the upper sses are aware of the truth and noted this rising star, Wace Ravencroft.


    It didn''t take a lot of time for them to confirm the specifics of the new item. Since after receiving a grade "A" evaluation on hisplete mana artifact, the NMTI published some of its performance allowing the interested people to recognize how amazing this artifact that Wace created.


    Of course, as a student at Leonhearts Academy, the headmaster Percival was also quickly informed. After all, the purpose of this academy is to nurture future leaders of the country, they would have a better chance to lure these outstanding talents to serve their country if during their budding stage they will show their concern and provide them proper guidance.


    "Aplete mana artifact this time, huh?"


    Percival was having his coffee in the morning when he received news about the evaluation of Wace''s artifact. He was still unkempt and doesn''t seem to have ns to tidy himself anytime soon, he was most likely to bete or he won''t be going to Academy at all.


    "He still called such an amazing artifact as a prototype, interesting... and even Bryson could only think of a possible way to improve it but don''t know how to do it yet. Just howplex is that creation?"


    In another high-rise building at the center of Tanza City, a meeting with a dozen of people is currently happening. This building is owned by Golden Trident Group, a private militarypany that is providing armedbat or security services for their financial gain. They can be said to be in the top 5 in Zairus within this industry and have a lot of branches throughout the country.


    Apparently, their headquarters isn''t located at the capital but here in Tanza City instead.


    An emergency meeting was conducted this morning due to the mana artifact that was newly released by Traceless Hands. Theirpany was unable to get their hands on the magic structure of Magic Jammer Canceller and still negotiating about purchasing a few Arcane Swords and othertest artifacts for their officers. But because they saw the capabilities of the new artifact by Wace, they know that they have to seize an opportunity to have one of its products.


    "Officer Ray, tell them more about this artifact." A middle-aged woman with a stern face at the end of the long table ordered one of his subordinates. She was the president of thepany and overseeing this meeting.


    "Yes, President Eun. I got some more news about the Float Drive System. Apparently, the manufacturing rights being sold only covers the forging of mana artifact and one of its magic structure blueprint. Yes, only one magic structure. This new artifact seems to have 2 magic structure and thest magic structure can only be made by the creator."


    Officer Ray finished his report and received some reactions from the other officers who were seated around the table.


    "The NMTI allowed another one?"


    This wasn''t the first time that this has urred. Some magic engineers, of course, would like to keep something for themselves. But those normally happens in those prestigious magic engineer and not some newbie. After all, newbies tend to create some ws in their structure and selling theirplete creation would be more beneficial so as for other buyers to check the structure and could perfect it to their needs.


    There were a lot ofws to follow when selling these rights for manufacturing the mana artifact and magic structures.


    "But since this is also the guy who created that jammer canceler, his magic structure should be a perfect one."


    "Can we bear its production? It seems that the artifact consists of some rare materials. Right?"


    Although they haven''t had theplete list of materials on what it''s made of, they had an idea that it could only be made by some umon materials.


    "If we stop procuring some other mana artifacts like Sky de, Gentle Fire Scepter and Luminous Orb, we can amass enough budget for it."


    This was suggested by an old man seated beside the female president. Everyone nodded since these 3 artifacts were always avable. It''s only a matter of funds, but this new artifact would be difficult to acquire even with funds since they are aware that this Traceless Hands is a single person and doesn''t have capabilities to mass-produce his magic structure.


    They are clearly aware that creating one magic structure would take several hours so they weren''t expecting a student at an academy would have time to create a lot.


    "Do you have a way to contact him?" The president asked officer Ray since no one disagreed on the proposal of the old man.


    "Yes, his parents were the ones handling the negotiations for selling the manufacturing rights."


    "Good. Send someone to negotiate it with his parents. Make sure to personally converse with them to show our sincerity." The president smiled and ended the meeting as officer Ray made some arrangements for negotiating with Wace''s parent''s


    While this is happening in the Golden Trident Group conference room, in some locations of other private organizations, they are also expressing their interest in purchasing this mana artifact. An artifact capable of quick flight, with such a long operation time and possesses auxiliary magic for attack and defense, it is a must-have item for them.


    Wace wasn''t aware of this yet as he had thrown the transactions to his parents. He had just given his instructions and things to note during negotiations and allowed his parents to handle it. Of course, he doesn''t n to make his parents deal with it in the long term.


    ***


    Two weeks had passed and during this time, Wace had sold several manufacturing rights and produced 8 main magic structures for Float Drive System.


    Wace was now in the academy and was waiting for their instructor.


    "The list of participants for the uing Twelve Magic Academies Competition will be posted at the bulletin at twelve. Those name that was listed is to proceed to the Training Room A at 2 pm."


    Instructor Garen arrived and told them ndly as he started the ss.

 Chapter 32 - Serum

    A month before the selection of the participants in the TMAC.


    In an underground facility owned by Halevey Holdings.


    There were a dozen of researchers garbed with a white suit as they busy themselves on their experiment that was about to start.


    They have recently perfected a potion through a series of trial and error that took for about 8 months. The potion that they created is currently in a vial that is emitting purple light and was carefully protected in an apparatus. They had never achieved this stable result before as previous experiments would always be dimmed in color, would explode or solidify.


    Then, of course, they are in thest part where they have to test it. This is the first time that this will be tried by human consumption, so they have to make sure that it will work like how they''ve nned it or would there be any deviation.


    There was a healthy man constricted in a chair inside the testing room separated by a ss with the researchers. He was blindfolded and seemed to be drugged to calm down.


    A machine arm suddenly took the vial in the apparatus where it was ced and was emptied as it was transferred in a syringe. The machine was being controlled by one of the researchers and after he confirmed the transfer, he controlled the machine to inject it on the arm of the test subject. He did not react at all on the abrupt injection on his body.


    "How was TS1049?"


    One of the researchers asked after a while, the blindfolded man is apparently a guinea pig for the researchers. They may not even aware of the name of the person and only called him on his code name as a test subject.


    Everyone in the room has their body covered with a suit as if the surroundings were poisonous and afraid that a leak in the air would cause them harm. One of them was always monitoring a screen that is used to detect any changes in the person''s body.


    "No reaction. He''s stable even after a minute mark. His cells and mana flow on the body were normal."


    This does not mean that they have failed, they even felt delighted upon hearing it. They were expecting that there would be no reactions within a couple of minutes upon consumption since this is not a harmful potion, but after that, there should be some changes in their body.


    They were indeed correct as after waiting 5 minutes and 30 seconds mark, TS1049''s skin radiated a purple light. His body cells were starting to mutate and this time, he could not keep silent anymore and roared as if he wants to release the abundant mana that is surging within his body.


    "Raaaaahhhh!!"


    His roar doesn''t contain a hint of pain. He was actually delighted to feel such an overwhelming mana that he could control for himself.


    The researchers were even more delighted upon seeing this. They clearly felt the astonishing mana inside TS1049 and some mana particles visible to the human eye were also hovering close to him as if waiting to be ordered.


    "How was it?"


    "Did we seed?"


    "Are there any abnormalities?"


    "It''s still unstable. The mana within is still fluctuating there." Some of them were closely monitoring any changes within TS1049''s body.


    They then felt nervous as the unstable mana could still cause some deviation resulting in mana burst within the body. This will obviously kill the man.


    After 20 minutes of fluctuation, the mana started to stabilize and the hovering mana particles started to be absorbed within TS1049''s body.


    Everyone in the room was excited to see the result of their experiment as they got close to the screen that projects the body statistics of TS1049.


    "We seeded?"


    One of the young researcher who was reporting the changes within the test subject''s body every few seconds asked in delight upon noticing that the manapletely stabilized.


    "Hahaha! Indeed. So with this Cryptic Link form, we can now manufacture powerful magicians!"


    Everyone nodded at this because even though they are still at the early stages and still needed to observe this in a certain amount of time, the most dangerous part of the experiment has already passed.


    ***


    Two weeks had passed since they reported the initial sess they had in their experiment. They tried it to eight more test subjects and gained positive results. The only differences in the experiment is the amount of time that the serum would take effect and it''s mana stabilization period.


    They were then contacted by the higher-ups to try the serum to a certain person.


    This person is an important individual and they were all aware of his identity. Due to this, they were even more surprised to hear it as they still have toplete at least 3 months of observation.


    "But Director, we still have to wait and monitor them for at least 2 more months."


    It was an old man in his fifties who answered. He was the head researcher who is managing the Cryptic Link project.


    "That''s fine. Since no abnormalities in the 8 test subjects and all of them are performing well in all the tests and practice you''ve given in the past 2 weeks, there shouldn''t be problems. Unless... were you hiding something from us?"


    The head researcher was currently in his office and speaking to someone that is projected on a monitor installed inside the room.


    He smiled at the head researcher when he asked thetter part. The man wore an amiable expression that seems to bore no ill will to anyone. He had a mustache which is his discerning feature on his face and blond hair with a touch of red on its end.


    "O-of course we''re not hiding anything Director Hall. It''s just that this needs to be further be observed since unlike the prepared materials that have constant variables or can be easily controlled, this is for humans. Results can be changed depending on their immunity level. Also even though there doesn''t seem to have side effects right now, there are cases that there are hidden effects that would only show in a month or two.. or even more and besides--"


    "Stop."


    The man on the other screen was now wearing a stern expression as he felt that the researcher will never stop on his exnation. He continued on his words as he ordered again.


    "Just do it. You will not bear the consequences if you failed. This isn''t just my own decision, this was all agreed upon by the other directors."


    The head researcher could only swallow his words and follow the higher up''s instruction


    Just a day had passed after the order was given. A young man came in their facility. He has a handsome face but with an arrogant demeanor. His blond hair, luxurious clothing, and essories confirms his identity.


    He is Mark Halevey, the important individual where they have to use the Cryptic Link serum.


    "Old man Han, I heard from father that you have perfected a serum that enhances the magician''s genes."


    Mark greeted the Head Researcher Han as if they were close. Thetter also warmly greeted back the young man and exined the serum they created.


    Upon conversing with Mark, he noticed that Mark wasn''t fully aware of the research and it seems that what he knows is that the serum waspletely harmless and no side effects. He wasn''t aware that they stillck more than 2 months of observation. Head Researcher Han did not bother to exin this to Mark although something was off.


    He only wants toplete the instruction given by the higher-ups. As Director Hall told him that he wouldn''t bear the consequences for this anyway.


    He could only sigh as he gave up thinking about it and prepared the Cryptic Link Serum.


    ***


    A few days have passed and the day to announce the selected participants for the TMAC came. Apparently, they noticed that a name they expected to appear was missing.

 Chapter 33 - Participants (Part 1)

    The list of names who will be participating in thepetition was now posted in several bulletins spread throughout the academy.


    A crowdposed of students in Combat Magician ss and Mana Technician ss were busily discussing the news about the participants for the uing TMAC in front of the bulletin just outside the cafeteria.


    A group of four 2nd year students who were in the lower section in the ss werementing about the decision of the academy for thepetition.


    "No changes on the 3rd year roster forbat magicians?"


    An average looking male studentmented on the result.


    "True, they''re still the same team who participated inst year TMAC."


    The opposite female added as she confirms that they were indeed the same team.


    "Well, since they did well as a second-year student before, they might get better results this year."


    A different male student with ash brown hairmented. They were clearly expecting some changes on the roster at first since the haven''t reached the topst year.


    "I just hope that we ce at least 2nd rank in the overall score at thepetition."


    Thest female student said as she voiced out her hope for her academy.


    The other three nodded at this becausest year, the overall score result for the Leonhearts academy only allowed them to reach the 4th ce in the twelve magic academiespetition.


    This time a first-year student in Sun ss - Combat Magicians neared them and asked about thepetition. She noticed that the four were wearing 2nd-year uniform and has an emblem that identifies them as a student in Sun ss. She couldn''t find anyone she knew near the bulletin posted so she approached the 4 higher year student to ask some questions.


    "Excuse me, seniors. I''m Hilda Calem, a first-year student in Sun ss - Section 2."


    Upon hearing her introduction, they immediately sized her up as they just saw her name in the bulletin. She has short, dark-brown hair reaching her shoulder and wears a pink hair-band over her head. She wore a shy expression as she approached and introduced herself.


    "Oh, I''ve seen your name on the list of participants!"


    "Indeed, Hilda Calem. But you are from section 2? That''s unusual."


    "Well, maybe she has a lot of potential."


    "True, even if she''s not from section 1, as long as she''s good then that should be fine."


    Hilda felt even more embarrassed as they were discussing something about her, she just really want to ask something.


    "Uhmm. Yes, seniors, I''m selected as a participant. I just want to ask where is the training room where we should be heading?"


    She politely asked since she wasn''t aware of its location.


    Hilda actually felt quite nervous when she saw her name on the list of the participants for thepetition. Not only that, for the 5 participants selected for the 1st year division, she was the only one in Section 2 that was selected as the other 4 were ssmates in Section 1.


    Apparently, thepetition requires 15bat magician students, since there should be 5 students each year. It is unlike the mana technicians which only needed 3 participants each ss year. So 9 students from Moon ss will be participating.


    "Oh, so that''s it. The training room would normally be used by 2nd and 3rd-year students so it''s normal you aren''t aware."


    "Well, Section 1 in the first year should also be using that."


    "You don''t have to say that."


    The four students helped Hilda locate the training room. It was still early so she ns to visit the library after confirming it.


    ***


    Wace is currently in the cafeteria with his ssmates Gilbert, Ericka, and Kazimir.


    "I really can''t believe that you were selected. It feels like there was a conspiracy or bribery that has urred."


    It was Ericka who joked. She was really surprised upon seeing Wace as a participant in their 2nd-year team. He will be joined by Tracy and Ross.


    "So, it is why you were recently active in our ss. You have been preparing for this since the start, don''t you?"


    Gilbert interrogated Wace who was casually eating his lunch. Kazimir is beside him and only nodded at this, he had been a man of few words since before.


    "I just got lucky. I wonder what happened to Mark. He didn''t attend today''s ss and had not been selected."


    "Indeed, it must be awful."


    Wace didn''t exin himself as to how he was chosen since it may take too long. His ssmates will know it soon anyway. He instead diverted the topic to Mark since he was actually expecting that this son of prime minister would actually be selected due to his sturdy foundation in artifact forging.


    "I wonder what happened."


    It was the question they all want to ask. Mark Halevey had participated inst year''spetition, after all, so they were curious about it. But that''s all since it was normal for the academy head to select different participants as long as they qualify in certain criteria anyway.


    Wace headed to the library as there''s still some time before the meeting. Also, he would be busy at the student council since he will be assigned some tasks rting to TMAC after the meeting at Training Room A.


    As he neared the library, he activated his divine sense as a habit before entering. He was constantly practicing the usage of this ability since he found it helpful for observation forging, andbat.


    Upon activating it, it actually warned him about a powerful magician nearing him. Wace turned his head back and noticed a 1st-year female student approaching him or maybe walking in the same direction as him.


    This powerful mana felt the same with a few instructors in the academy. Her level of strength is definitely not low.


    But her sensitivity on detection isn''t that good since she hasn''t noticed that Wace had grasped her strength in a matter of seconds when he activated divine sense. A few times when he tested it for instructors, they will feel something has tried to examine them. Although of course, they couldn''t locate where it ising from.


    After Wace confirmed this, he entered the library to pass over his time as he needed it to check the notifications from the Pathfinder.


    [ Congrattions User! You have made yourself known a little in your Academy due to being selected as a participant.


    You will now receive your rewards. ]


    [ Your mana affinity has increased. ]


    [ You have received x2 Mystery Box. ]


    "Ohhh... this is great. My affinity increased yet again!"


    Wace felt good as he felt some more changes in his body. He then checked out the 2 mystery boxes and decided to open it now.


    "I hope I could get something better than thest time."

 Chapter 34 - Participants (Part 2)

    [ Mystery Box.


    A box containing random rewards.


    Would you like to open it? ]


    ''Yes.''


    Wace answered as he waited for the result.


    [ Opening... 3.. 2.. 1...


    You have received 1 Body Strengthening Potion (Small) ]


    "Another one... well, it''s not bad. But I just hope I can get something new in the next box."


    Wace muttered as he saw a familiar potion. It was the same potion he received when he seeded in joining the student council. He then proceeded to open another mystery box.


    [ You have received 1 Berserk Potion Recipe. ]


    "Recipe?"


    Wace was surprised upon seeing this. He immediately checked it''s content and confirmed that a list of ingredients and methods on how to brew the potion was included.


    He had been wondering before how were the potions he was receiving from pathfinder were made. This can help him to understand more about what pathfinder can do. It seems that there may be a recipe for body strengthening potion that he could receive someday.


    Wace kept the potion and recipe for now as he doesn''t have a n to consume the potion due to the known side effects. As for the recipe, it may take quite a while before he''ll have a chance to use it so after he nced on the paper containing the recipe, he just kept it on his pocket. But it was good to know that it was possible to concoct a potion in the future.


    Although Wace has learned a lot in the academy about how to utilize the nts, materials and other things that contain mana, he doesn''t have the n to be an apothecary. Even if the potions study hadn''tpletely phased out in this continent, their usage was so limited and unorthodoxpared to mana artifact that was able to give stable performance.


    Wace continued browsing the inte to be aware of the current events of this country. Aside from knowledge about magic and a little bit of history, he realized that he has a little information about this world itself.


    More than an hour passed by and after noticing that the meeting was about start. He stopped his browsing and went to the Training Room A to meet with his fellow participants.


    Wace activated his Divine Sense again before he entered the room and observed the ce. He felt familiar mana fluctuations within the room. It is a room for practicingbat so there is a space on the left side and a few seats on the other side.


    There were several students in the room but all the participants selected hadn''t arrived yet. There should be a total of 24 students but only 18 has arrived. Wace looked at the time and saw that there''s still about 4 minutes before the appointed time. Anyway, it wasn''t unusual to havete students.


    Wace noticed that the two seniors he knew has already arrived. They noticed him as well and approached Wace.


    The male has blond hair, prominent cheekbone, and fair skin. The female has short brown hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. Both of them is wearing Moon ss uniform for 3rd year. It is Eric and Mei, the students who Wace assisted to provide technical assistance in the Armor Tech they are researching.


    "Wace, I''m not surprised that you''ll participate in thepetition."


    "Right! With you participating we should be expecting better results."


    It was first Eric and followed by Mei. Wace already saw the list of participants and wasn''t surprised upon seeing the duo. He wasn''t familiar with their 3rdpanion but noticed that her name was Talia Caseja.


    Wace chatted with them a bit and approached Tracy and Ross. They were already seated and reserved a seat for him.


    "So, our ssmate is popr with our seniors."


    Tracy smilinglymented as she gestured Wace to sit.


    "Not really, I just got to know them weeks ago."


    Wace replied and nodded at the silent Ross beside her. Ross smiled at him and acknowledged Wace. There''s nothing to talk to between the two or they both don''t know how to start their conversation.


    While they are waiting for the others, Wace remembered the impressive mana fluctuations he felt prior to his visit to the library. He noticed that the same girl was actually in the room and seems to be a participant as well.


    Wace saw that her other 4panions were chatting happily while she was there awkwardly seated. They don''t seem to be close to her.


    "Tracy, do you know her?"


    Wace couldn''t help but be curious about this female student. He whispered at Tracy describing where the girl was seated and her pink hair-band. Tracy immediately recognized her and replied to Wace.


    "Oh, you have good taste. She''s Hilda Calem, 1st-year section 2 in Sun ss. She''s the only section 2 participating in thepetition this year. Isn''t she amazing? She''s a good catch."


    Wace immediately regretted asking Tracy and thought that he could''ve waited until they were introduced. After all, there''s only 24 of them who will be participating, he''ll know her name sooner.


    "So that''s why... I was just curious since I noticed that herpanions seem to be ignoring her presence."


    Wace ignored Tracy''s teasing and told her what he noticed.


    "Oh, I noticed it as well. She just actually arrived just about a couple of minutes before you. Hmm... Maybe because she reced their ssmate that they''re expecting to be selected."


    After Tracy replied, they noticed a cluster of students arrived as the group of 24 participants is nowpleted.


    About 5 minutes after the appointed time. A familiar figure arrived. It was the Headmaster Percival apanied by 5 more instructors.


    All the students immediately stood up and greeted the newly arrived group.


    "First of all, as your headmaster. I congratte all of you for being selected as a participant for the Twelve Magic Academies Competition.


    There are some changes in the rules for this year''spetition, so here is Instructor Jake to exin them to you."

 Chapter 35 - Preparation

    Instructor Jake is a full-time instructor in the academy and one of thebat magician experts stationed to teach 3rd years for some practicalbat techniques. He is a retired veteran from the military that has found joy in teaching these budding magicians.


    He has ck hair, tanned skin with a very fine build that could be recognized even if he''s wearing a coat.


    Instructor Jake stood in front of the students as his keen ck eyes swiftly nced at each of them. After having a look at them, he started to exin the rules of thepetition.


    "I believe you are aware ofst year''spetition... or some of you."


    He looked at the 8 first-year students on thetter part of his words, as they may not specifically aware of the rulesst year.


    Upon noticing this, the first-year students nodded maybe to indicate that they know the rulesst year or indeed not. Instructor Jake continued.


    "Last year, thepetition forbat magicians and mana technicians is a separated round-robin between the 12 Academies, but this time, the organizers decided to merge both of them."


    The students reacted at this as they doubted what they''ve just heard.


    "Merge? Will we be fighting alongside technicians?


    A female third-year student from Sun ss asked. She has long ck hair, pale skin and her almond eyes were staring back at the instructor. She is Vera, one of the outstandingbat magician who participated in thepetition since her 1st year.


    "Well, in a sense, yes. Unlikest year, the two sses will have to cooperate now to win thepetition. Thepetition will start with mana technicians creating a mana artifact. They could only use the avable resources provided by the organizers. So these mana technician has to have a wide range of knowledge in their field or they should be someone who could improvise with whatever resources they could get."


    The students in Sun ss looked at the Moon ss students. They seem to be aware of the next words of instructor Jake. If that is indeed the case, theirbat strength will be greatly affected depending on the abilities of the mana technicians who will be making their mana artifact. Instructor Jake continued in his exnation.


    "Then the 5bat magicians would have to use the artifact they created. Of course, you should be aware that the selected mana technicians have the capability to provide you suitable mana artifact. They just have to at least be aware of your quirks orpatibility so they could make considerations when making an artifact."


    It was indeed what they have thought. There were still several rules in thepetition and after about half an hour of exnation, Instructor Jake ended his part.


    "That''s all the rules you have to keep in mind. Any more questions?"


    Another female student raised her hand asked a question, but this time, it was Mei.


    "Why the change?"


    She asked this because it seems that it has gottenplicated with these new rules. Thepetition before was more straight forward after all.


    Instructor Jake nodded at this, it seems he expected that someone would ask this eventually.


    "One of the reasons that I''m aware of is because of evaluation difficulty. The created mana artifact by the talented mana technicians are getting harder and harder to evaluate it''s potential or value."


    The students indeed remembered the disputes in the decision that has been urring in the pastpetitions. Although the organizers were still able to hold their ground on their decisions, with the changes of the rules this year, they would be able to perfectly address these concerns.


    After confirming that no more questions about thepetition. Instructor Jake looked at another instructor in the back as he gestured for her to take the stage. It is anotherbat magician and instructor in the school. The headmaster already left long ago, as he left the 5 instructors in the room to guide the students.


    "Some of you already knew me, but for the sake of others, I''ll introduce myself first. I''m Eve Luxford, I''ll help you guys during the month of preparation before the date of thepetition."


    She was referring to Moon ss students as most of them were only aware of instructors rted to their ss, including Wace. She has short ck hair and blue eyes, her instructor''s uniform couldn''t hide her beautiful curves as she stands in front of everyone.


    ***


    After about 2 hours of briefing in the Training Room A, Wace said his goodbye with his ssmates and made his way to the student council office.


    He was told to visit here to do his part as an officer.


    "Wace, good thing you''ve already arrived. Here, take a look at this."


    It is Aaron Schmidt, the student council president who greeted him. He saw Jenny on the side busy on tapping theputer''s keyboard in front of her.


    Wace took the paper that the president handed over to him. He took a look at it and noticed that it was a list of mana artifacts that other magic academy students created. It seems that Wace and Ross wasn''t the only one who was able to create an original mana artifact.


    ''I see, this would be helpful. As long as we are somewhat aware of other academy''s strengths, we could make an amount of preparation.''


    Wace thought as he noticed some creative mana artifacts made by some students especially the one in the Mystic Gate Academy.


    "Hmm... Those are only some of the information we got through our channels, we still require your help to acquire more of these and of course, as a mana technician who will be participating in thepetition we''ll be needing some of your opinions on it as well."


    Aaron exined as he noticed Wace who was lost in thought as he browsed the information regarding the other 11 Magic Academies.


    "Of course, I''ll do my best to help."


    Wace agreed to help and continued by asking questions.


    "I believe Gary and Humphrey, the two ethics officer can be selected as a participant in thepetition. Howe they weren''t selected?"


    He had already made enough research on some outstanding 3rd-yearbat magicians and that duo was certainly included.


    After this question was voiced out, Wace noticed that Jenny, who was busy typing on the keyboard stopped for a few seconds before quickly continuing whatever she was doing.


    "Oh, the ethicsmittee is a part of the student council and we have some task to do as well. Participating in TMAC will coincide with it... so we can''t participate, we could only help by gathering information and making ns before thepetition."


    Aaron then took a sip of his warm tea ced on the table and smiled mysteriously on Wace.

 Chapter 36 - Mystic Gate Academy

    Inside a training facility room, a female magician who''s currently garbed with a white training suit is standing in the middle of the room without any movement. This a 200 square meters wide room and designed forbat training.


    The training suit perfectly contoured her curvaceous body allowing anyone who could see her to be captivated even just by a nce. She had long red hair reaching on her chest and her eyes were closed as if in deep thought.


    There was another female student within the room and she''s wearing her academy uniform. After she noticed the red-haired girl in the center of the room had readied herself, she nodded and turned around to leave the room.


    As soon as this girl left, the lights within the room disappeared leaving the red-haired girl inplete darkness.


    At the same time, not knowing where they came from, several shining eyes opened within the room surrounding the girl. Because ofplete darkness, their whole body could not be seen.


    After these creatures appeared, two magic attacks were activated. It is a Freezing Fog and Paralysis Fume that was aiming to immobilize the girl.


    This time, the girl started to take action. With still closed eyes, she activated her mana shell and using her left hand holding an exquisite dagger, activated another magic skill.


    Her mana shell that was activated can cover more than 3 meters around her stopping the 2 magic skills that were aimed at her. This allowed her to activated 2 more magic skills.


    "Fire Blessed Armor."


    "Domain Magic -- Continuous me Orbit."


    The Fire Blessed Armor wasn''t really a skill that could summon an armor for her to wear but a magic skill that could create a fire that is lingering around ready to protect her. This skill also allows her not to be affected by the second skill she activated.


    Domain Magic are skills that allow the magician to affect their environment. The one she activated, Continuous me Orbit, would change her environment to a burning site. Since this changed the whole surroundings, without her Fire Blessed Armor activated, she would also be affected by the excessive heat released by her second skill.


    The room was now lit up with her magic. This time, she opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings that were filled with raging mes.


    She noticed that the 12 creatures she needed to defeat were still struggling in the mes and it seems that they wouldn''t go down so easily.


    She waved her right hand and at the same time, the mana artifact she''s wearing on her wrist produced a dull crimson light. She looked at the 12 creatures with a curled lip that could indicate sardonic as they were covered by another wave of me.


    "Lava Mine. Detonate."


    Baammmmm!!


    A loud explosion was heard within the room as the creatures were now heavily damaged. The 12 human-like creatures are a mana artifact that has a certain level of magic resistance and has closebat skills that were perfect for practicing magic skills. They were still struggling to get up after the explosion, this could tell how high their endurance is.


    "Good, let me see how strong this new mana artifact."


    The girl was even happier upon seeing the inhuman endurance of these ''targets''. After all, this would only allow her to use or try more of her magic skills.


    Right now, a rare expression is on her face. Her perfect and white teeth can be seen as she smiled while observing the target opponents. Her eyes lit up as she continued her assault on the poor mana artifacts.


    ***


    After 15 minutes more in the one-sided battle, the room became silent before a group of people opened the door and magic swept the ce cleaning the surroundings from its mess. Some burn marks could still be seen but it could easily be fixed by the facility officer at the end of the day.


    "Sheryl, these mana artifacts you made are really interesting. It''s a good thing you choose to prioritize artifact forging."


    The group that has entered consisted of 3 students. There''s a single female who stood in the middle. She has wavy blue hair and bright blue eyes, she was smiling back at the girl as she felt contented being praised by the opposite. The two male students beside her were just standing behind her as if guarding Sheryl.


    "Thank you, K. If you have any more suggestions, you can just tell me so I could make some adjustments to its magic structure."


    K shook her head as she felt that the artifact really suited her style and couldn''t think of other improvements at the moment.


    "I''m just curious, your family specializes in ice and water magic pathway, but here you are, dabbling with fire magic pathway."


    K was really amused by this 2nd year transferred student she befriended. She was aware of her background and knew that this girl is a previous student at Leonhearts Academy and abat magician at that. But now, she''s studying artifact forging and was even selected as a participant in TMAC as one of the 3 mana technicians that will be representative for 2nd-year students.


    "Haha. Don''t be. I just found my interest in forging mana artifact that''s all."


    Sheryl answered K as she approached thetter.


    Frost Queen, this was the title given to Sheryl and was acknowledged even in a popr magazine ''The Fortune in Magic''.


    She transferred to another excellent magic academy, it is one of the most outstanding educational establishment capable of nurturing talented magicians, the Mystic Gate Academy.


    ***


    Wace was now at his workshop reading some information about the five 2nd yearbat magicians who will be participating with him on thepetition. He wants to familiarize himself with them as although the papers couldn''t give him enough information, it would be enough to at least know their backgrounds, habits, and skills.


    He was then notified by his parents about a recent transaction they made with Golden Trident Group as they met the criteria that Wace had set up before selling the artifact, Float Drive System.


    He noticed arge increase in his savings on his bank ount.


    "Good timing, I could buy more materials with this. Since I also needed to practice creating those mass-produced mana artifacts and magic structure."


    Wace was grinning upon seeing the huge amount of money added on his ount.


    He opened hisptop and gone to the same online store which is Secret''s Shop to purchase necessary materials also for creating those standard mana artifacts.

 Chapter 37 - Before The Competition

    Wace earned a lot with his sales in the manufacturing rights of the Float Drive System. But because of this, he had to spare some of his time creating the main magic structure of this mana artifact.


    There is a total of 16 orders for the magic structure crystal required in the artifact. Wace needed about 3 hours toplete a single order so it would eat up a lot of his time.


    "Mom, we''ll not sell any more of this float drive system. I mean, it''s only for the meantime. I''ll be focusing on thepetition since I have enough in my savings."


    "Sure, just let us know if you need something else. Don''t overwork yourself. Good luck with thepetition."


    "Thanks, mom, I''ll do my best."


    Wace phoned his mom to inform about his n. After the call ended, Wace passed some of his time by browsing the inte as he waited for the delivery of the materials to arrive.


    He only ced the order yesterday but he added some premium fee so it would be quickly be delivered. He was informed that his orders would be delivered today before 12 mid-day.


    The ordered materials are consisting ofmon metals up to rare mana suffused materials.


    During the month before thepetition, the participants weren''t required to attend their morning ss in the academy but have a mandatory attendance every afternoon during the weekdays. So Wace still has some time before going to the academy.


    Just as Wace nned to take his lunch, he was notified in his phone that his order is already in transit and would arrive in 10 minutes.


    "Mr. W Ravencroft, your order''s expected delivery time is 12:15 PM. If you miss the delivery, you may change the delivery address or pick it up in our local depot, just reply to this message or arrange it online. Thank you for using Secret''s Shop service."


    It was the notification he received on his phone and after a while, he heard a truck closing in and confirmed that it was Secret''s Shop delivery truck.


    He saw the same delivery man when he first made an order and noticed he was with 2 more helpers since he ordered quite a lot. After confirming all the materials has arrived, he signed the acknowledgment form presented by the delivery man.


    Wace left the boxes of materials in the workshop as he prepared himself to attend the meeting in the school.


    ***


    Leonhearts Academy. Head office.


    There''s a meeting of 3 people in the office who were discussing things about the students.


    "How were the participants?"


    Headmaster Percival asked the opposite female instructor. It was the beautiful and elegant Instructor ine whom Wace had gifted his red bracelet he got in a random reward from Pathfinder.


    "They are ready. All required preparations werepleted, there has been visible improvements in both of ourbat magicians and mana technicians. I believe that we have a high chance of getting a higher position in the rankings."


    Instructor ine answered as she mostly works in providing statistics development for each student. She has more information about their progress since day 1 when they were selected as participants.


    During the weeks of preparations before thepetition, there has been a lot of mock battles conducted. There was even a participation of several instructors during the battle.


    It was very helpful to the students since battlingbat experts like Instructor Jake and others would give them opportunity to see how experts utilize any mana artifact they could acquire.


    During this time, they also realized the gap between the expertbatants and students who mostly battled mana artifacts or automatons.


    "Thebat magicians of each year has now better coordination. Their daily practice was very fruitful as their teamwork has immensely solidified. They also got ustomed to utilizing multiple mana artifacts."


    It was Instructor Eve Luxford who answered this time as she exined the improvement she had noticed during their weeks of practice.


    Headmaster Percival nodded at the two. This two female instructors from 3rd year, one is for the Sun ss - Combat Magicians and other is for the Moon ss - Mana Technicians were the representatives who will be leading the group of 24 to the venue of the TMAC that will be held in Cavalen City, the capital of Zairus.


    "That is good to hear, I won''t be heading to the capital so you guys with 3 more instructors will lead the group. I also made arrangements with Aaron.


    Alright. I''d also want to meet the participants before you head to the capital tomorrow."


    Percival gave his instruction as the other two followed him to head where the students practicing theirbat and forging skills.


    ***


    Wace is currently with Tracy and Ross as they rested during their spare time. The three of them have gotten closer, especially Ross and Wace as they were able to converse now without any awkwardness.


    "I''ve noticed that the range of mana artifacts that you can make is getting wider and wider."


    It was Ross who started the conversation as he noticed a great progress on Wace''s forging skills. Of course, it was all thanks to his money and time spent in practicing standard mana artifacts, this allowed Wace to have a sturdier foundation in artifact forging.


    During the month, Wace even received a mission to create 20 mana artifacts that are considered to be in ''top 100mon mana artifacts that mages use''. This allowed Wace to earn another memory crystal.


    "That''s true, Your improvement is more obvious than the two of us."


    It was Tracy this time as she agreed on Ross'' statement.


    "Instructor ine, Garen and others were just great teachers that I could easily improve."


    Wace smiled and answered, both of them knew he was Traceless Hands who created magic jammer canceller and float drive system. So they should have an idea of his capabilities.


    As they were seated on a bench just near the Forging Room in the Training Facility, they noticed a group of people entering the ce. It was the headmaster with a few instructors following behind him.


    Tomorrow will be thepetition so he may be giving his words before they attend thepetition.


    The group of students gathered and weed the group.


    "Tomorrow, you will be heading to the capital, Cavalen City. Good luck to all of you. Do your best and I know that you''ll bring glory to our Leonhearts Academy when you get back."

 Chapter 38 - Arrival

    A group led by several instructors from Leonhearts Academy arrived at the capital city of Zairus. Their presence was eye-catching as they wore their academy''s uniform, a red and brown coat with a logo of a winged lion representing their school in their left chest.


    They rode here from a bus owned by their academy and arrived in the city before 3 in the afternoon. They headed first to a pre-arranged hotel that would facilitate their stay in the city. It would be near to Zairus IV Arena where thepetition would be held.


    There will be a week-longpetition and the first day would be a feast with all the participating academy and of course, it includes the organizer of the event, the Ministry of Magic Education.


    "Vera and Eric lead your group and rest in your rooms for the meantime. You guys will be attending tonight''s evening meal with other academy students."


    It was Instructor Eve who advised the group leaders. Both Vera and Eric are 3rd-year students and outstanding in their ss so being selected as a leader is normal.


    "Yes, Instructor." The two answered at the same time.


    Instructor Eve continued with her instructions.


    "Alright, we will be meeting the organizers so behave yourself. Be sure to be present at the reception hall for the event. That''s before 8 in the evening. Okay?"


    "Yes, Instructor Eve~"


    "Mhmm.."


    Everyone answered this time or nodded their heads in agreement with her words. The group of 5 instructors left as they headed to meet the representatives of the Ministry of Magic Education.


    Eric then led his group of mana technician students to the 8th floor where they were assigned to stay.


    The group of 3rd years was Eric, Mei, and Talia. The 2nd years were Tracy, Wace, and Ross. Thest group which is the 1st years were Escanor, Alice and Samantha.


    "Mei, bring the girls with you. Wace, Ross, and Escanor will follow me."


    Escanor''s stature was bigger than Eric''s, he''s unlike a normal 1st-year student with his build. His brown hair and eyes, matured and tanned body full of muscles made him look like a senior instead.


    At the first look, he doesn''t seem to be suitable as a mana technician and would be more qualified as abatant. But the truth is that he''s the best mana technicians in the first year followed by Alice and Samantha.


    He always wore a smile whenever you talk to him that hisplete white teeth could always be seen and has a very approachable attitude.


    "Tracy, Alice, Sam.. let''s settle our things and let''s all take a bath together. We need to look beautifulter at dinner!"


    It was Mei who excitedly invited the other 3 girls.


    "Haha. Do we really have to look beautiful? With senior Mei attending, you''ll be attracting all the attention anyway."


    It was Alice who bantered at Mei. She has ck hair and eyes and long, flowing hair. She had two hair bands at her two sides of her front hair. She was also quite renowned for her beauty as she was one of the candidates to be ced in the ''Princess and Princes of Leonhearts Academy''.


    "We have to. After all, those cool guys in Eternal Fey Academy will be attending the event today."


    Mei insisted on taking a bath together.


    "Hahaha... As if you''d want to hook with them, senior."


    It was Samantha who finally said. She had gotten closer to this easy-going senior of her.


    Samantha has blonde hair that is tied up to make twin-tails. She wears a pair of blue-colored hairpins to prevent her hair from covering her face.


    As everyone went upstairs to settle their things in their designated room, the group ofbat ss magicians met with another group of students who were also participating in the TMAC.


    "What do we have here? Students from Leonhearts?"


    It was a group of 4 students and leading them was a short female who wore sses and has ck hair. She seemed to know Vera, the leader of their group, as she approached thetter.


    Their group wore their student uniform, a coat with white and blue color in the edges. A logo of a flying swan surrounded by orbs representing mana is also on their left chest.


    They were clearly from Skywalker Academy.


    "So, it''s just you Vanessa. Nice meeting you again. We will be meetingter on, so we''ll head on our room for now."


    Vera gestured at the baggage they have as she tried to politely extract themselves from here. She doesn''t want to have a long time talking to her.


    "Hmph. Vera, we''ll definitely defeat your team again in this year''spetition."


    It was the words Vanessa left before leaving as they headed downstairs. She clearly has some kind of grudge with Vera herself or her team.


    Vera wasn''t even able to answer before the 4 continued their walk as they left them. Some first-year students may not be aware of Vanessa''s identity, but the higher years were aware of the whole situation. They did not bother to exin it to them and decided to just head up in their rooms.


    "Let''s go, after settling in your room, you guys can go outside but make sure you be here before 8 in the evening. Also, make sure to have someone apany you when heading out. It''s best to be in a group as we are on unfamiliar grounds."


    "Understood, senior Vera~"


    "Alright."


    Everyone agreed at Vera''s words. Some of them actually felt excited meeting with other academy students but with this first interaction, their excitement died down.


    "Oh well, I hope not all other academy students were like that. Is it?"


    "Haha. It shouldn''t be, we have friendly fellow students like those from the all-male Stoneheimer Academy and those in Eternal Fey as well."


    A first-year student walking in front of Hilda asked and answered by Ray, a 2nd-year student.


    "How about the others?"


    The first year continued to ask.


    "Well, we don''t have much interaction with them but I can assure you that Mystic Gate Academy is always our rival. Whenever we battled with them, it would always be like a life or death situation--"


    "Wait there. They might believe you..."


    It was Shirley, another 2nd-year student who interrupted Ray. She removed her coat and now just wearing a white blouse uniform from their academy. She''s holding the coat on her left hand as she walked and her short ck hair bounces smoothly as she stepped.


    "What Ray meant is that there has been a lot ofpetition between Mystic Gate and our''s in the past years. Yes, not only in this TMAC but also in some otherpeting event. You''ll learn more about this soon."

 Chapter 39 - Twelve Magic Academies

    It is now eight in the evening and the opening ceremony for thepetition is about to begin.


    The reception hall in the hotel can be seen to be divided by 12 groups representing 12 participating academies in thepetition.


    A stage is in the northern part of the hall and from here, there are tables arranged in four rows.


    The first row has three tables, each for Skywalker, Stoneheimer, and Eternal Fey Academy.


    The second row consisted of tables for Leonhearts, Isolde and Phoenix Academy.


    It is to be noted that if Stoneheimer is an all-male academy, in contrast, the Isolde Academy is an all-female one.


    The third row is for Mystic Gate, Sacred Peak, and Abuxorth Academy. Thest row of tables would be for Odrexelts, Honeysuckle and Neon Academy.


    As the ceremony begins, the emcee introduced a middle-age man representing the Ministry of Magic Education, the organizer of the event.


    It is Hayden Fraser, one of movers and shakers in the industry of magic. He walked and stood at the center stage and observed the crowd for a moment before starting his speech.


    "Good evening students of the twelve prestigious magic academies of our country."


    All the students including Wace looked at the new speaker on the stage upon hearing the name that was called out, most of them weren''t aware of the man''s appearance but surely as a magician, they were aware of the name Hayden Fraser.


    He is the first and oldest enneadic magician or someone who could use 9 mana artifacts at the same time. He alone could fight an army with this ability as not only his capability to use nine mana artifacts was outstanding but also his abundant mana pool that could sustain such a draining number of mana artifacts.


    Hayden Fraser continued his speech as the students gawked at his presence.


    "It is wonderful to see you all tonight! I know that many of you have struggled very hard in order to make it here and neither storm nor distance could stop you. I am not surprised. You are magicians and you can''t be stopped. You made it because you are strong enough!


    This event that has been ongoing for 17 years will help you establish useful connections, which is not our only goal. By providing this extensive match on magic engineering andbat, we want you to learn a lot more about the things that the academy could not teach you. I hope that after thispetition you will be able to build even better mana artifacts or appreciate every single artifact being created for its usefulness, be involved more inbat training, or upgrade your existing magicbat strategy."


    As the students listened to Hayden,ments from some students are being softly whispered as they appreciated his presence.


    "To think that I''d meet such a legendary magician here. I''m really lucky."


    "He doesn''t look to be in his fifties, he looked just like my father."


    "What? I''ll pretend I didn''t hear that. Anyway with such abundant mana pool nurturing his body, he''ll maybe live for hundreds of years."


    "Haha... As if."


    Apparently, it wasn''t every time that such an amazing figure would do the opening ceremony speech in thispetition. Hayden continued on his speech.


    "Today the Twelve Magic Academies Competition had some changes in its rules. We have developed better management as the quality of education improved and students have grown faster individually. We grow together and we must never forget that it is good to win a trophy but what is much greater is to make friends.


    "That''s right, there will be rivalry, but keep in mind that although you arrived here aspetitors, you will leave as friends.


    I hereby, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic Education, invite the Bailiff of Cavalen, Ms. Aurelia Powell to officially open the Twelve Magic Academies Competition."


    After this, everyone had their meal eaten and aimed to socialize with other students after. Friends and rivals met at this gathering. Most 3rd years here were already old participants as they could be seen associating with different academies.


    Wace with some other first-year is just seated on their table, he was actually tempted to activate Divine Sense when Hayden Fraser was speaking but stopped himself as he was worried that it will be detected by thetter.


    In his previous experimentation on this skill, a powerful magician could detect his analyzing skill or Divine Sense but could not pinpoint where it wasing from. He was worried that if he tried it to Hayden, he''ll be detected and won''t be able to exin.


    "I''ll probably have to create some other detecting tool. Ahh.. right, there should be something simr to it that has already been created."


    Wace murmured on his seat and Tracy heard a part of it.


    "What would you use that for? You have ns on peeking to someone?"


    "No, don''t put it like I n on doing something bad."


    "Oh, Wace... You have some devious n again? Your n or strategy in this artifact forgingpetition is already quite underhanded, so you have thought another n?"


    Ross butted in the conversation though not fully aware of Tracy and Wace''s conversation.


    "Hey, don''t call those devious. That''s strategy and we won''t even know if it will be effective in thepetition."


    Wace defended himself from Ross''s usation. As he noticed that the instructors of academies left and gone to their own reception leaving students on their own device, he started scanning all the students in the room.


    As he started scanning everyone, he noted some remarkable mana fluctuations. Apparently, with his activation of Divine Sense, there''s only 7 people who have felt something on their end and tried looking where those scanning magic came from.


    The seven people felt the Divine Sense but took a while before noticing. The quickest one to notice is K Rogers from the Mystic Gate Academy. Then another female, Avery Marshall from Isolde followed by Hector Newman from Stoneheimer.


    Those first 3 students only took between 5-8 seconds before noticing Divine Sense. After the three was Aria Scott and Vanessa White that is both from Skywalker Academy.


    Thest two would be N Lawson from Odrexelts Academy and surprisingly Hilda Calem from Leonhearts Academy.


    "To think that Hilda has improved a lot in the month of training prior to thepetition."


    Wace was analyzing all the information that his Divine Sense returned to him.


    "Hmm... Although she took more than 10 seconds to notice, it was such an amazing improvementpared to before. Also, Hilda''s mana fluctuation is still way stronger than the six, the only problem is that it seems that she will be having difficulty in controlling this mana unlike those other six who has such a refined mana fluctuations."

 Chapter 40 - Competition

    Wace was now in his room with three other male students. They were about to sleep as tomorrow morning would be the start of thepetition as well as the arrival of students from each academy to cheer their representatives.


    Thepetition is also open to the public as long as they can afford the admission ticket. But the first day ofpetition is for mana technicians, so the audience in this boring event is obviously low and would only be watched by those with the same interest. The arena would certainly be filled on its second day.


    The event will be held at the near Zairus IV Arena and has only about 10,000 seating capacity so organizers are clearly aware that these seats will be easily filled.


    Wace slept soundly as they had already done their best on their preparation, so there is no more need to feel nervous. He woke up in the morning and as he was prepared to join Ross and others to the venue, he received notification from the Pathfinder.


    [ Thepetition begins today! Make your presence known once more!


    Mission : Achieve an overall rank. Reach at least the 3rd rank in the event that you will be participating in.


    Mission Reward :


    Rank 1 : Aeon Guardian


    Rank 2 : Large Potion of Divine Sense


    Rank 3 : Random Memory Crystal of a Lost Technology. ]


    Wace was dazed at the possible rewards he could get. There is this Aeon Guardian which he was curious about since it''s something new from the rewards that the pathfinder had offered him before. Unfortunately, no description whatsoever can be seen on each of them.


    Therge potion of Divine Sense is obviously just an enhanced version of what he had consumed before.


    "Hmm... This divine sense had been helpful in these past few days. Especially whenever I design a mana artifact. It shouldn''t be bad to receive it instead."


    Wace nned to create a mana artifact capable of scanning, surveying, and analyzing any object just like his Divine Sense.


    He was nning to use it as a camouge in case that someone has sessfully backtracked the activation of his skill. After all, there is no way for magicians here in this world to use that kind of skill without using a mana artifact. Wace won''t be able to exin his scanning ability if he was detected.


    But if in case that he received arge potion of Divine Sense, he may not have to create a mana artifact at all since he expected that after enhancing the skill, no one would be able to trace his usage of Divine Sense.


    Wace gazed at the third option.


    "Lost Technology... It is one of this world''s mystery. Only vague records could be found about this topic."


    He was lost in thought as he remembered the mysterious disappearance of Aeolia Schien''s body after his supposed death.


    Before his possibly faked death, he left some words that triggered the whole magician''smunity and those were all about this Lost Technology.


    Wace was curious about this but not entirely sure how it could help him. Anyway, he would try to do his best in thepetition. Whatever free reward he will get, he''ll dly ept it.


    ***


    Zairus IV Arena. Cavalen City.


    "Hello everyone! I''m Felicia, the announcer for today''spetition! I''d like for the match to start immediately and see how the amazing mana technicians make their magic on their designs. So, the first part of thepetition will be a battle between the elite mana technicians of 12 different academies! Let us wee all the participants from each Academy."


    A female announcer at the side of the arena is announcing the event that is taking ce.


    The first part of the event is for the 1st year mana technicians and that would take 3 hours of time. For 2nd years, it''s 2 hours and 30 minutes. Lastly are for 3rd years, which will only have 2 hours to be given in thepetition.


    Thepetition would start for these mana technicians to create mana artifacts that thebat magicians will be using in their battles for tomorrow.


    "As we can see, the twelve groups of students here were in a circled position surrounding the bunch of materials at the very center. As the match begins, they could take any materials they could get from the center and use it to create their desired mana artifact.


    "If you think that it''s simple and easy, then worry not! From this mountain of materials, only 20% of these are genuine, another 10% were materials that are filled with impurities. How about the other 70%? They are amazingly fake copies of materials! They will look genuine outside but they might be just a dud inside!"


    It was the same girl who was announcing thepetition proper for the audiences. Her beautiful and energetic voice could attract the listener.


    The participants are already aware of the rules. Included in these rules was a ban in bringing other mana artifacts in the venue.


    The emcee continued exining the rules for the audience.


    "In these thousands of material collection, only 20 can be picked by each student. Once the participant touched a material, it will automatically be added on his list. You can''t take it back anymore!


    "Also my dear audience, remember this! There were only 3 mana technicians for each team and they even have to create mana artifacts for 5 students! Isn''t that thrilling? What would happen if only 2 or 3 were created? How awful would it be for thebatants?!"


    "Haha, Felicia. It seems you are much more excited than our participants. Anyway, all of them have the same problem. Let''s just see who would have enough skill and experience that could withstand this hurdle."


    Another male announcer beside Felicia butted in as he felt that thetter had taken all the script.


    Escanor, Alice, and Samantha was now standing in their position as they look at the mountain of materials about 50 meters away from their position. They had been trained by their instructors for this and even received some tips and guidance from Wace.


    As each team had the same distance from the mountain of materials, they all intensely gaze at these objects as if trying to look for something.


    In their position, there is also a readied three artifact forging box for each of them but without mana stabilization array and mana gathering formation.


    "Alice and Samantha. Let''s just stick to the n and we''ll certainly get good results."


    Escanor said softly to the two but he only received a nod as a reply.

 Chapter 41 - Selections

    As soon as the mana barrier blocking the materials has disappeared, it signifies the start of thepetition.


    "Just focus on your part, Escanor."


    It was Alice who ndly reminded Escanor as she, together with Samantha went to the mountain of materials to pick the items they need to use.


    They weren''t in a rush as the artifact forging may not be the hardest part of thispetition but instead this first part where you have to acquire the genuine materials.


    The three of them were the elite students and had noble backgrounds as well allowing them to gain a lot of experience in forging and be exposed in multiple materials.


    They closed into the shelves containing the materials. There are about 8,000 objects disyed and from this number, the 36 first-year students are only allowed to take 20 materials each.


    So a total of 720 materials would be taken from this 8,000.


    "We only know that there will be fake copies that would be mix in the disys, but to think that it would be this much."


    Samantha grumbled a bit as she looked at the thousands of materials that are disyed and ced on its shelf. Of course, it wasn''t only her as other students can be seen frowning at therge number of materials in front of them. They don''t have the luxury to stay too much time scrutinizing each material.


    They can''t be too slow as well as genuine materials can be selected by the other team if they will consume too much time studying each item.


    "Alice, it''s up to you now. You''re the one who received more guidance from him and he''s watching so do your best."


    Escanor patted Alice''s back as he urged Alice to start her selection.


    "You-- Whatever, I''ll do my best. But you should analyze my selections as well to double-check them. Of course, if you''ve seen a material that is genuine and you can be sure about it, just pick it up."


    "Mhm.. alright, Alice and Escanor. Let''s focus now."


    Alice had a deep breath after answering Escanor who was teasing her. Samantha only shook her head at this and reminded them to focus since it''s already the start of thepetition.


    In the month of preparation before this. Wace and these 3 first-year students had gotten close to the former as he taught them some tricks about validating materials. With Wace''s Divine Sense, he could clearly analyze any object that his skill has touched.


    Due to this ability, he was able to determine more hidden traits about the materials being used for artifact forging.


    Alice quickly started to gather her mind as she remembered all the training she has including Wace''s personal guidance.


    "Dotted coating... minimal shade of blue.. moist texture... purple reflection... golden bearing... incorrect volume -- full of impurities.. obsidian hallow... glittering powder..."


    Alice was muttering something as she collected materials. Every time her hand touches a material disyed on the shelves, it would be considered as her selection lessening the 20 avable slots for selection. As soon as it was selected, automatons would take the materials and bring them to their academy''s station was the 3 artifact forging box is located.


    Everyone could not be bothered to check their opponent''s selection as they busy themselves on their own problem. But it doesn''t mean that the audience and announcers wouldn''t notice the abnormal sprees of Alice.


    "Whoa~ As we can see, someone from the Leonhearts Academy seems to be rushing her selection. Are they sure that what they are selecting arent fake or filled with impurities? Have they given up or this is just a part of their strategy? What do you think Dervi?"


    "Well, Felicia... The student is Alice Winterfrost, an elite in their academy... So they should definitely have some n."


    "That''s true but --- Oh, it seems another one is rushing in. It''s the handsome Travis from the Stoneheimer. I wish that they''re selecting genuine materials."


    The audience could see that not only Alice is rushing as another student named Travis seems to have gone mad in selecting materials. Either he loses his very short patience or just a part of their n.


    "I''vepleted my 20 selections. Now let me help you guys."


    Alice approached her two teammates to help them select materials as it wasn''t their strong side in the artifact forging.


    "Ok, Alice. Help me first."


    It was Samantha who answered and Alice didn''t mind as they walked around the ce to find materials. After taking almost half an hour, they are now looking for Escanor''s pick.


    "Jax stone, fake. Mana stone, fake. Sunearth fragment, fake. Mithril ore, about 90% impurities. Arcane alloy, 96% impurities. Rayleigh obsidian stone, genuine. Silvereye gem, genuine. Mana stone, genuine. Ancient abyssal ss, genuine... Aqua gemstone----"


    "Wait, stop! Genuine ancient abyssal ss?!"


    It was Escanor who stop Alice giving herments in the materials they are passing by.


    Samantha who was following also stopped and looked at the materials.


    "Hmm... There''s only 1 specific mana artifact that I know that requires this material." Samanthamented.


    "That''s true, and no one from us has ever experienced creating that mana artifact. What a pity."


    It was Alice who looks sad that they can''t make a use of the artifact.


    "Why can''t we pick it? If other teams found this and capable of forging ''that'' artifact. We''re into tough luck."


    Escanor suggested shamelessly. After all, they could select a total of 60 materials which is still a huge number as for 5 mana artifact they n on forging for the math seem to only take about 25 materials. So they could fail several times as it''s OK, but they have to get 25 of their desired materials to this.


    As the three of thempleted their selection, they noticed that none of the other group has returned yet. They confirmed that the other 11 groups were still analyzing and cursing as some of them realized they have selected fake materials or even materials filled with impurities.


    "Darn, can we stillplete 5 mana artifacts?"


    "For the materials selected, we have a very limited range of mana artifact we can forge. Hmm.. this will be difficult."


    "No worries, at least we had 5 genuine products. We can do this."


    It was the group of three female from Isolde Academy that is worried about their performance.


    "Daryl, howe all 20 of your selected materials are fake?"


    "I''m sorry Borris, I really tried. It was too difficult for me."


    The two were from Honeysuckle Academy as they were all disappointed about the oue of their selection.


    ***


    "Wace, what do you think? Will they be able to create enough artifact?"


    Tracy asked Wace as they conversed on the audience seats.


    "They did pretty good."


    Wace can be seen smiling as the group of 3 started their artifact forging.


    Only 2 hours and 14 minutes left for this segment of thepetition.

 Chapter 42 - Forging (Part 1)

    "Tsk! It seems we don''t have enough materials."


    "I''m sorry. I miscalcted the difficulty of this selection."


    "It''s okay, we can still make 5 mana artifact in these materials. We can just focus on its quality to make sure that ourbat magicians can still perform the best of their ability."


    These kinds of conversations can be simrly heard to the other groups of the student except the Leonhearts, Mystic Gate and Skywalker Academy of Magic.


    Escanor looked at the remaining time and rxed.


    "We have enough time. Eight or probably nine mana artifacts can be done."


    Other groups were worried if theirbat magicians would have mana artifact they can use but Escanor''s group could easily create more than enough.


    "We''ve already arranged all the materials." Alice sorted the materials they collected and thrown the fake materials that have mixed on it.


    "Hmm... From 60 materials we''ve selected, 16 were still fake. Oh well, it isn''t that bad." Samanthamented as she fixed her hair clip.


    "Good, as expected from you guys. I''ll make the best mana gathering formation, watch me."


    Escanor smiled and boasted a bit as he started to work.


    "Just don''t make mistake creating one. I''ll arrange mana stabilization array in other artifact forging box."


    Samantha also started to work as she noticed that Escanor was about to start. The third artifact forging box would have to wait as it wasn''t Alice''s strong points in making these two auxiliary magic. Although she was capable of creating them, the other two would be better for thispetition.


    The three of them excel on different things so they need seamless teamwork.


    Alice observed the two quickly set up the mana formation and array on the 3 artifact forging box. After some time, she noticed that they were all ready to start forging. She swiftly arranged the readied empty magic structure crystals and materials at the side of each forging box.


    No words are being said as they started forging an artifact.


    They first created the artifact and proceeded on creating its magic structure. Creating this magic structure is the longest part of artifact forging, but as the three were extremely familiar with these, it didn''t consume so much time, unlike the others.


    Since they collected enough materials for the nned mana artifact. They could easily carry out their n.


    If just in case they weren''t able to take the genuine materials they are looking for. They would have to make do on whatever materials they have and use it as a base on which magic structure is suitable for it.


    But of course, there are some magic structures that don''t need special materials. The only problem is that it would not be enough for this type ofpetition.


    They all took almost an hour in creating three mana artifacts.


    Ring of Luxury Protection.


    Bracelet of Earthen Spirit.


    Scourge Staff.


    The first two were made by Alice and Samantha. Creating small essories would be beneficial in this time-constrictedpetition.


    But Escanor, living up to his reputation as the most talented first-year student in the Leonhearts, had created a shy staff with golden lines on its edge as design.


    "Hey, are you sure we have enough time? You took your time." Alice shook her head as she saw the staff Escanor made.


    "Haha. I''m assigned to create 1 artifact for Hilda, right? This is for her. Sir Wace and I created this idea, but I overdone it''s design a bit."


    Escanor smiled and continued.


    "No worries, I''ll make a simpler design next so we''ll have enough time."


    "Alright, just don''t get too engross in forging again."


    Alice said atst.


    The three continued creating mana artifacts with simple external design but solid magic structure.


    Alice created 3 mana artifacts the same with Escanor but Samantha created only two. Since they were able to create a total of 8 mana artifacts, they still felt motivated especially that they were aware themselves about the quality of mana artifact they created. Due to enough special materials they have, they were able to maximize their skills in forging, allowing them to create powerful mana artifacts.


    They look at the remaining time and noticed that there are still 6 minutes left before the end of the match.


    They observe the other academies and have seen that some are also wrapping up, but others are shaking their heads and frowning at the results they made. Looking at some other students who are still confident in the creations they made were studentsing from Mystic Gate, Skywalker, Stoneheimer and Abuxorth Academy of Magic.


    But of course, the final results would still be based on thebat magicians who will be using these mana artifacts.


    A buzzing sound was heard as soon as the countdown reaches 0.


    "The time is up!"


    Felicia who was still active announced the end of the match.


    The mana artifacts were then collected by automatons, shelved and transported in a highly protected room inside the arena.


    These will only be taken out again once the first yearbat magicians started their battle.


    Of course, prior to this, the mana artifacts have already been analyzed as soon as it was shelved by the automaton allowing the viewers to see the artifacts that were made by the students.


    All academies were able to create at least 5 mana artifact but it doesn''t mean that all of these 5 artifacts have special materials. Some of it are mostly justmon metals that have been forcefully imbued by magic structure.


    Although it''s durability will be low, it is just enough for thispetition. After all, they don''t have a choice if their collected materials aren''t up to par.


    The tally of mana artifacts was shown in therge screen in the arena and a picture of them was also shown at the side.


    Leonhearts Academy : 8


    Skywalker Academy : 7


    Mystic Gate Academy : 7


    Stoneheimer Academy : 6


    Abuxorth Academy : 6


    And all the remaining 7 academies were only able to create 5 mana artifacts.


    ***


    Wace, Tracy, and Ross were already at the waiting room and watching thepetition instead of the live stream within the room.


    "The juniors did it, huh. Let''s show them how us, sophomores, will triumph over the other academies."


    Tracy smirked as she saw the tallied results. She was confident enough as she boasted with certainty.

 Chapter 43 - Forging (Part 2)

    Mystic Gate Academy''s waiting room.


    "So Arial, due to the changes in this year''s rules, our first years weren''t able to maximize their ability. Is that right?"


    "That''s true, but it doesn''t mean that we already lost since other academies should have the same concerns."


    "Right, Dn and Arial, thepetition still relies on the result of the battle between the magicians. I believe that our first years have created a mana artifact suitable for their fivebat magicians... We can only wait now for the battle for tomorrow.


    For now, let''s focus on our own battle."


    The two nodded. It was Sheryl whostly voiced out her opinion and both Dn and Arial have a deep respect for her due to her recent achievements even as a transferred student.


    Sheryl has also noticed that the first years from her academy weren''t able to utilize their real ability due to the insufficient materials they acquired. But luckily, since the 3 of them have a wide range of knowledge in mana artifact and magic structures, they were able to find a way and was still able to create eptable 5th gen mana artifacts.


    Of course, other teams did their best as well even with ack of materials, but their Mystic Gate Academy is known for its Artifact Forging. They have a highly trained and experienced magic engineers as teachers, top-level facility and during thepetition rted to creating mana artifacts, they always got the best results. So, they were actually expected to somehow top the contest in Artifact Forging.


    This was also the reason why Sheryl transferred to this Academy.


    "The difficulty of the match with the 2nd year students would be higher. Either there will be a high number of fakes or a low number of genuine materials will be present. But as you saw, as long as we calm down and analyze the materials quickly we can definitely acquire enough materials for our ns."


    Sheryl said before they head out to the arena as the match between the 2nd years were about to start.


    ***


    Wace, Tracy, and Ross stood at the forging ce designated for their academy. Due to the mana barrier, the sounds outsideing from the audience and announcer was actually being filtered. There isn''t any noise so mana technicians could focus on their forging process.


    Wace nced a bit at the audience area and noticed his ssmates that seem to be cheering for them. It was Gilbert, Ericka, Kazimir and the others. Although they weren''t participants, students of the magic academies could always watch and support their fellow magicians. It was even encouraged by the academy to let them learn something from this match.


    "Thepetition between the sophomores of each academy is now about to start! The rules for 2nd year is still the same but the number of selections of materials increased! This will increase the number of fake materials but the genuine ones would be the same. Good luck everyone!"


    It was still Felicia who was announcing the battle.


    "Ok, let''s go as nned. Wace will tell what to pick as only 5 minutes is allotted for this selection."


    Tracy now wore a serious expression as thepetition is about to start.


    Both Tracy and Ross weren''t specifically aware of how Wace can do it but during the month of exercises and training, he was able to always tell fake from genuine and even it''s level of impurities in forging materials.


    Of course, they weren''t aware of Wace''s Divine Sense allowing him to see through the materials and about his other mana artifact given by pathfinder.


    As soon as the sound of the start rang up, all twelve groups proceeded to the center of the arena to begin the selection.


    Wace approached the first shelves of materials and with his activated Divine Sense, he started scanning each material within his 300 meters of radius.


    The first year only has 8,000 materials in the disy before, but with the 2nd year, it increased to 10,000 materials instead.


    With Wace''s skill, he could have just taken 60 materials alone but due to the rules that each of the students could only touch 20 materials, he had to take Tracy and Ross with him.


    The two also have an amazing ability in analyzing materials but their sess rate is only 85% to 90% and time-consuming. Unlike Wace who has 100% and with a very fast record at that. This was something that was proven during the month of preparation.


    The audience and announcer noticed again this abnormality. The Leonhearts Academy team was briskly walking as Wace lead them and he is pointing his fingers from time to time where the other two will abruptly touch the materials without any hesitation to let the standby automatons take those materials and deliver it at their forging area.


    Then after a quick while, they were already heading back. The automatons were hurriedly going back and forth as they tried to quickly deliver all the materials selected.


    "It was less than 5 minutes?! The students of Leonhearts Academy seem to have sufficiently prepared since they were able to immediately select 60 materials! Is the contest that easy? Or the guy pointing his hand randomly is really just a genius?"


    Feliciamented a bit about Wace''s action before shifting her view on the other academy teams.


    "The Mystic Gate seems to be almost done as well. The 3 of them actually separated and collected on their own. It seems that the 3 students were fairly confident in their own ability to judge the materials."


    "Hmmm.. Also, look at the Honeysuckle''s young mana technicians, he seems to be having trouble with their selections. The three were stuck discussing something about the material in front of them. They are hesitating to pick it? Do they have time?"


    The other announcer asked in the end. As they saw them not moving in front of a certain material.


    "Oh well, maybe part of the n? After all, a maximum of 20 materials for selection is just some limitation given to not abuse selecting materials. Mana artifact could normally be created by just 2 to 4 materials. So maybe, they really are looking for specific materials for the mana artifact they nned to create for theirbatants whatever the cost."


    "Probably, but this could be a bane for them."


    ***


    It is prohibited to bring a Mana Artifact during thepetition. So Wace was actually worried about the ne he received from the Pathfinder, but luckily, this was resolve by its other function.


    [ Any objects given by the Pathfinder tool can be hidden as long as it touches the body of the user. ]


    Wace wasn''t aware of it until he asked the pathfinder weeks ago and felt that he still had a lot to learn about the pathfinder.


    As soon as the mana formation and array were infused in the Artifact Forging Box, Wace activated the ability of his ne.


    [ Ne of rity


    Increases the user''s concentration, memory and reaction speed.


    Ability : Glimpse of the Mind ]


    [ Glimpse of the Mind


    Allows the user to see the w in any material upon receiving enough mana


    Duration: 5 minutes


    Cooldown: 3 days ]

 Chapter 44 - Forging (Part 3)

    The mana stabilization array and mana gathering formation ced in the 3 artifact forging box was in courtesy of both Ross and Tracy.


    Wace had arranged the 60 genuine materials they acquired from the shelves. The 15 metal ores they took has some impurities but can easily be removed using auxiliary magic array to be ced in the Artifact Forging Box.


    As the audience watched the live feed and noticed that all the materials taken by Leonhearts Academy seems to be all genuine, they were surprised and waited for the announcers to report the status of selection.


    "We received a report and confirmed from the automatons that all the materials taken by the students from Leonhearts is genuine!"


    Felicia announced the news excitedly after she received the report from the organizers.


    "This is the first time that a team was able to pull that off. I wonder if there would be a simr asion in the third year''s match."


    The other male announcer beside Feliciamented.


    They also look at the other academies, especially Mystic Gate and Skywalker Academy which is noted to be amongst the best contender. He continued hisment as he watched the live feed.


    "Looking at the Mystic Gate''s team. Although the genuine materials they were able to get were only 37. It seems it was enough for them as they coolly started their forge."


    "That''s right. After all, it''s not apetition of how many genuine materials you can take, but it is all about the mana artifact you can make."


    It was Felicia whomented which received a nod of approval from the audiences. She then voiced some more of the things she noticed.


    "I noticed that the Skywalker, Isolde and Phoenix Academy of Magic did not even fill up all the 20 allotted materials that each student could take."


    "That''s right, I noticed that as well. It seems that they are confident in the materials they selected and perceived that the materials they acquired is more than enough."


    "I agree with that, these 2nd-year students or participants in thispetition are no joke. They all have outstanding skills that couldn''t be ignoredpared to the first years that made a lot of error in their selection."


    Felicia nodded and agreed on the announcer beside her and even asked him about his opinion after.


    "Dervi, as a previous participant of this Twelve Magic Academies Competition, how will youpare it to this year''s students? Was it about 30 years ago?"


    "Hey! I''m not that old. It was only 8 years ago. Haha! But the rules arepletely different. During that time, we were given abundant materials and the only task is to create the best mana artifact out of it. You also wouldn''t have to worry about its practicality in battle as long as it''s powerful."


    Dervimented as he recalled his experience during his school days. Felicia nodded again as she agreed on it.


    "This time, not only you will have to worry about the materials you acquired but has to consider the 2nd year counterpart who will be using your creations."


    ***


    On the audience area in the Zairus IV Arena.


    "Kazimir, how do you think Wace aplished it?"


    Ericka asked this question to her ssmate as there''s no one else to ask since her other genius ssmate like the Cummings twins and Mark Halevey is nowhere to be found. Only Kazimir who could somehow perform at almost the same level were present so she asked the question that has been bothering her including Gilbert beside.


    She was referring to how Wace just pointed his fingers and all resulted to be genuine. It was quite a feat that needs to be analyzed.


    Unfortunately, Kazimir could only shake his head as he was confused as to how Wace did it as well.


    "I''m sorry. I''m simrly surprised about it."


    Ericka and Gilbert sighed as they could only wait now after thepetition was finished and ask the culprit.


    ***


    "Wace, are you sure about this?"


    "To just suddenly change the n, it''s not like you."


    It was first Tracy followed by Ross as they got confused about what has Wace just told them.


    "I''m certain of this, this will be the trump card they can use in case something goes south."


    The reason for all of this is because Wace took a genuine material that could be used for a certain magic skill.


    It is a genuine ancient abyssal ss!


    This was the same materials that the first years had seen but this time, the material isrger. It was about the size of an adult''s fist.


    "Can you make its magic structure in time?"


    Tracy was still worried because even she would require quite some time to create that highlyplex magic structure.


    Ross clenched his fist as he wasn''t even sure if he could make its magic structure, but Tracy could aplish it as long as she was given some time and Wace seems to be confident as well on doing it.


    He did notment anymore and continued in creating the mana artifact assigned to him. His thoughts were that as long as he created and did not make a mistake in his part, it would be enough. All the materials he requires were all present and it will be easy for him to create the nned mana artifacts.


    "Yes, trust me Tracy, Ross. The other academy''s team seems to be very confident about their nned mana artifact. Everyone is, including us. But I felt that it would still be dangerous especially just how confident those in Mystic Gate."


    Wace looks at the direction of Mystic Gate''s team who were quickly making arrangements on their artifact forging that is about to start.


    "We can''t waste any more time. So, if you are confident then just do it. Just make sure that you will still create the other nned mana artifacts."


    Tracy assented after noticing how firm Wace looked.


    "Of course, I will do so."


    Wace was certain that he could create a surprise because of this material that has been included in the selections. He noticed that there are 12 of these materials from the 10,000 avable options but only took one as it''s more than enough.


    Since the suitable magic structure for this would consume some time even for Wace, he decided that he''ll make thisst.

 Chapter 45 - Forging (Part 4)

    Sheryl Vermont, a student who transferred from Leonhearts Academy to study Artifact Forging in Mystic Gate Academy is a highly respected Mana Technician in her current school.


    On the day she was transferred, it was hinted by an instructor that she may be representing their academy for the uing TMAC which roused some animosity from other students that were aiming to be selected.


    Some questions or doubts about her ability was raised.


    "Howe a transferee from Leonhearts could attend thepetition instead?"


    "I even heard that she was abat magician on her first year."


    "Indeed, such an undecided person would never reach the peak of forging."


    "I should be better than her. Maybe we should try her skills."


    "That''s true, if it was proven that we are better than her in mana artifact forging, then she can only dream of participating in TMAC. Hmph."


    It was then the start of dueling between Sheryl and other students dreaming to be selected to join in the prestigiouspetition.


    A battle between mana technicians can be done in multiple ways like measuring the speed of creation on a specific mana artifact and magic structure. Also, battles like creating mana artifact on whatever resources that were provided, or measuring the capabilities of the mana artifact and many more challenges can be done.


    During the early days of Sheryl''s transfer, she was challenged multiple times but remained steadfast as she defeated and made all those students who doubted her silent.


    Now, as the leader of the team, Sheryl had made a lot of preparation and prepared a surprise with the help of some Mystic Gate''s instructors.


    "Once I havepleted this, I doubt anyone in thepetition could defeat K."


    Sheryl smirked as she remembered K Roger''s training in the academy on how she utilized the mana artifact she created.


    ***


    Skywalker Academy is known for its highly trainedbat magicians but it doesn''t mean that their mana technicians have a low rating. As a matter of fact, their mana technicians were able to get high scores in ranking as well.


    "As long as we created the mostpatible mana artifact for ourbat magicians, we can win this."


    "Mhmm. Just make sure we all stick to the n. So our magicians won''t get confused."


    "Alright, let''s start the forging process."


    The leader of the group announced the start of their process to also help them get their focus.


    ***


    Phoenix Academy was known for its unorthodox main course of study which is the study of potions. So the expectation for this academy was quite low.


    Other academies like Neon, Odrexelt, and Abuxorth seem to have also prepared for thispetition giving them some form of assurance as they got excited for the battles for tomorrow.


    ***


    Wace had justpleted the three mana artifact assigned to his bucket.


    The changes in the ns made by Wace are all because of the material he took even though it wasn''t part of the n.


    The fourth mana artifact he was about to create would be where the unique material he got from the selection is to be used.


    It must be remembered that during the month of preparation, Wace received 2 memory crystal from pathfinder due to the missions he hadpleted. He will be able to use the knowledge he acquired from the two with this 4th artifact he''s about to make.


    Wace nced at the genuine ancient abyssal ss as he first prepared to put all materials required and start the material creation process.


    "Luckily, it seems that no other students picked up the same thing."


    He thought of some other possibilities why the material wasn''t collected by anyone.


    ''They probably have their nned mana artifact and did not dare to pick it up and go out of n.''


    It was his opinion as he believes some other participants could recognize the material and use it for their own but ultimately decided against it.


    "Good luck then, I''ll start my fourth mana artifact."


    Tracymented at Wace''s decision to start the fourth mana artifact. She continued and felt happy about Wace''s decision in creating a surprising mana artifact.


    "Hmm... You guys are sure fast."


    Ross finally said as he justpleted his 3rd mana artifact.


    The three of them ns to create 4 mana artifact each. It means 12 mana artifacts for 5bat magicians.


    Wace nodded at this as he started taking other required materials for the forge. He needs other alloys like arcane metals.


    Thepetition of 2nd years would onlyst for 2 hours and 30 minutes, so for them to create 4 mana artifact is an incredible feat.


    "Time is up!"


    Felicia shouted the end of thepetition as the automatons started to appear and put the materials in a safe ce.


    "The match has ended. Let us check the result and see the tally of the artifact they created."


    Leonhearts Academy : 12


    Mystic Gate Academy : 10


    Skywalker Academy : 10


    Honeysuckle Academy : 8


    Isolde Academy : 8


    Other magic academies were at least able to create 7 mana artifacts at its lowest.


    "Congrattions to everyone. I hope these artifacts can bring satisfactory performance. Now, I''m excited about the oue of the battle ofbat magicians for tomorrow."


    "Correct, Felicia. No matter how fancy the mana artifact looks like, it has to be usable. Durability, diversity and power must be considered for the mana artifact as this will be used for real battles."


    Dervi dutifully agreed with Felicia.


    "Haha, that''s right. Now we just need to have a break as this afternoon will be the start of the battle between third-year mana technicians."


    ***


    The third-yearpetition for artifact forging segment waspleted in the afternoon. But this time, the highest number of mana artifact creation was with Mystic Gate Academy who created 9 mana artifacts in 2 hours of given time.


    Wace slept well during the night. He had difficulty sleeping as tomorrow will be the start of the battle betweenbat magicians. It was due to excitement and a little nervousness.


    "No problem urred in our mana artifact forging process, it was all up to ourbatants now."


    It was what Wace said finally before he was able to fall asleep.

 Chapter 46 - Combat Magicians (Part 1)

    Zairus IV Arena.


    This arena which has 10,000 seating capacity was known for its magic reinforced structure as this ce is mostly being used for events likepetitions or battles between magicians.


    Yesterday, during the artifact forging segment, it was barely filled with audiences. But during this time, the 2nd day of TMAC, a round-robin battle between the magicians of each academy is about to take ce so as expected, the seats were filled to the brim and some of them weren''t even able to get in. Fortunately, the battle could still be watched in the live stream.


    "Ericka, what''s the scheduled match today? There is quite a crowd here."


    "It will be a battle for the first years this time. It seems that 2nd years would still start tomorrow."


    It was Gilbert who asked Ericka the question as they were currently seated on the audience area designated for their academy.


    "Well, do you know anyone from the first years? We could''ve watched it on the live stream anyway."


    "We just need to show our support here, alright? Who knows, we may get some inspiration on the mana artifact they will be presenting here."


    Ericka finally said to convince Gilbert to stay and watch the match in the arena. As students on the Artifact Forging course, they care more about the mana artifact that will be used rather than the battle itself.


    Kazimir beside the two took out his mobile device and searched for the scheduled match this morning. They all went here together with other students of Leonhearts to go with the flow but also to show support to the participating students from their academy.


    "Hmm... This is today''s match. This will be the same arrangements with 2nd-year and 3rd-yearpetition."


    Skywalker vs Eternal Fey


    Mystic Gate vs Stoneheimer


    Leonhearts vs Honeysuckle


    Isolde vs Abuxorth


    Odrexelt vs Phoenix


    Neon vs Sacred Peak


    The match only has few rules. First, thebatant must use the mana artifact created by their mana technicians. Any usage of other mana artifacts would result in a disqualification for the wholepetition.


    Second, once the mana shell of thebat magician has been destroyed, it will be considered a loss.


    The match will start with a battle between the team''s 1st fighter. The second would be a battle of pair, the 2nd and 3rd fighters would team up for the match.


    The third battle would be a single match with the 4th fighter.


    The fourth would be a battle of pair again, the 5th fighter together with any capable fighter.


    The fifth orst match would be another battle by a single fighter.


    The team only needs to acquire 3 victories on the match to win the battle.


    "Hey, Wace. I thought you weren''ting here."


    Gilbert noticed Wace who approached them from the side. He seated beside Kazimir as he nced on the mobile device showing today''s schedule.


    "Well, I have nothing to do at the moment so we can just watch the match together."


    "Where is Tracy and Ross? Why they aren''t with you?"


    "Not sure, I think they''re with the instructors."


    Wace answered Ericka since he noticed the pair before going here that they went to talk with Instructor Eve with something. He didn''t think too much about it.


    "Hey, do you think our first year will get a good score?"


    Ericka casually asked Wace not to bother to stay on that topic. Thepetition would still start within 10 minutes so they were just passing time.


    "Mhm. I think that our first years have a good chance."


    ''But our seniors would most likely have a terrible performance this year.''


    Wace only said thest part in his mind. During the opening ceremony, it must be remembered that 7 students were able to somehow feel his Divine Sense. All six were senior students from other academies. Only the seventh student who felt his skill was the first year. Base on this result, the seniors in his academy may have trouble with thepetition.


    ''Oh, there is still Vera. She maye up with something that could help them win. Anyway, I''m not sure of the third year''s strategy on this.''


    Wace remembered Vera''s mana fluctuation. Although she does not possess overwhelming mana, her strong and stable mana fluctuation gave him a feeling of indestructible power.


    He must admit that Vera, even without mana artifact may be able to give a fight with those who possess mana artifact.


    "I can see two stages in the arena. So it seems that this will be quick."


    Wace checked out the arena and saw two separate mana reinforced stages on the left and right side of the arena.


    Each battle will notst more than 10 minutes, most of them may even onlyst 5 minutes, especially now, thebat magicians will be using the hastily made mana artifact of their fellow first-year student.


    "It will be quick indeed. But even if the mana shell of these students were weak, as long as they were able to utilize their mana artifacts. They should be able tost long."


    As they chatted more, the time passed and the start of the first match came.


    "I know everyone was excited about today''s battle! We are not going to make you wait any longer! The battle between 4 teams, Skywalker Vs Eternal Fey and Mystic Gate Vs Stoneheimer will start now!"


    Felicia, the cute announcer started doing her job as she announced the presence of each team.


    There were a total of 24 people in the stage, the 20 are the 1st yearbat magicians and 4 referees for the match.


    The four referees were an expertbat magicians and highly trained in speed casting. Anyone who had their mana shell destroyed would be unprotected and can easily be damaged critically by a magic attack.


    The four would be able to give a certain protection to those magicians. In any case, the magicians would have to stop their attack once the referee announces the loss of their opponent. Deliberately attacking the magicians who lost their mana shell would lead to a penalty.


    It may result in an immediate loss in the match or disqualified depending on the severity of the case.

 Chapter 47 - Combat Magicians (Part 2)

    "Mystic Gate''s Chloe vs Stoneheimer''s Gaston"


    Wace focused on watching Mystic Gate''s match. After all, this Academy is famous for its ingenious mana artifact creations. He may receive some inspiration as well in their pathway. As someone who dreams big, Wace was keen to improve himself in any possible way.


    "The 1st fighter or the vanguard is expected to make a momentum for the team. This magician must be capable of taking some pressure, as they are the first up, and their result sets the mood of the rest of the team! They must be strong if you want to show off your academy''s skill!"


    Feliciamented as the battle was about to start. This time, a young titled Battle Mage was together with Felicia. He is wearing a coat indicating that he is from the Ministry of Magic Education.


    "Mhm. The magician who will first battle would certainly be in huge pressure but the 2nd and 3rd fighter should also be someone who can focus under pressure. If the 1st fighter loses their match, it''s up to these two individual to try and make up the loss. They can be experienced or can be less experienced, it is up to the strategy of the selectors, but the pair should be good in their teamwork. Fighting in pairs can be found more difficult if there''s no coordination."


    Felicia nodded at this and added more.


    "And if both the 1st and the 2nd matches achieved victory, the rest of the team can rx a little!"


    After the two referees at the side noticed that the magicians were ready, they signal the start of battle.


    The two magicians had activated their Grade 1 Mana Shell at the same time. Although the magic skill is in the Grade 1 category, it doesn''t mean that the skill itself is weak. The uniqueness of this Grade 1 skill is that the Mana Shell can be sustained or strengthened as long as the caster has enough mana pool.


    Chloe''s mana artifact is a purple bracelet with a 4 lined blue crystal embedded on it. After activating the mana shell, she poured her mana on her bracelet to activate her piercing magic skill.


    "Ice Enchant -- Arrow Assault!"


    A barrage of arrows made of ice appeared in front of Chloe as they flew over Gaston who was just looking at the iing spells.


    The skill was also a Grade 1 spell, which is normal. Casting Grade 2 spells normally has long buffering time. Also, Grade 3 skills are too much for the academy''s 1st-year students, even third years would have difficulty releasing Grade 3 magic even if the mana artifact is designed with such skill.


    The mana artifact is just a medium to convert the magician''s mana to an element that the magicians wish to control.


    Releasing magic spells from the mana artifact still requires magic skillprehension. They have to still analyze the skill to be able to release and control it. Without precise control, the magic attack can just hurt the caster himself. It wasn''t as simple as triggering the mana artifact itself.


    As they have about 50 meters of distance, Gaston felt he have enough space to dodge the attack and get closer to Chloe. Apparently, the best magic spells in his arsenal could be better used in a short-ranged battle.


    He quickly cast auxiliary magic to boost his ability to fight using his bracer as his mana artifact.


    "Wind Enchant - Haste"


    "Earth Enchant - Protection"


    The 1st magic that Gaston released summoned a wind magic that would enhance his speed and the 2nd had summoned a translucent wall of rock surrounding his body to protect himself and his mana shell from being easily depleted.


    He easily dodged and deflected some of the ice arrow as he slowly got closer to Chloe.


    After reaching about 15 meters, Gaston started his counterattack.


    "Golem! Explode!"


    No one knows when, but a small gray golem with a size of child just materialize beside Chloe and immediately turned red seemingly about to explode.


    Chloe quickly jumped sideways as she cast another skill to protect herself from any debris after the explosion.


    "Fire Enchant - Armor!"


    She was covered by a thin curtain of me and as soon as it created another concave curtain of wall as additional protection, the golem exploded.


    Baaaaaammm!!


    Stones, y and some crystals were included in the explosion.


    Chloe smirk at the thought of easily thwarting his opponent''s scheme. She moved away from her gaze in from the golem''s position and looked at Gaston. But he was no longer in his same position where he cast thest spell and disappeared on her vision.


    "Where--"


    She haven''tpleted her words before she felt someone''s presence on her right, Gaston was about toplete a Grade 2 spell.


    "Rock Storm!!"


    Gaston activated the only Grade 2 spell that he could use. As expected of Grade 2 magic attack -- sharp and crystallized stones materialized and continuously smash Chloe''s defense.


    Chloe switched to a defensive stance as she tried to strengthen her armor and mana shell. She was unable to have an opening to release a spell. She looked serious and knew that it couldn''t go on like this as she wasn''t specialized in defensive magic skills.


    She keeps her defenses up and gave Gaston a feeling that she was about to sumb in the spell. But Chloe''s teammate know that she was extremely focus and waiting for an opportune time to counterattack.


    After persisting on the attack, her defense spell was almost used up and her mana shell was now about to be destroyed as long as a single grade 1 spell hit her. Luckily, although Gaston released a grade 2 spell Rock Storm, his control wasn''t that precise.


    Gaston noticed this and felt that victory was now within his grasp. He activated onest skill aimed to finish the battle. He even felt that he could get closer and deal a heavy punch instead of her mana shell if thisst spell did not work.


    As he activated the spell in close proximity, this also gave Chloe a chance.


    "Earth Enchant -- Earth Spi--ke! Aaarrghh!"


    ***


    Wace had been observing the battle in arena and felt amused about their usage of skill.


    ''So they still decided to use Enchant Series as magic skills. A standard magic or perhaps one of the easiest magic structure for elemental conversion. They probably used most of the magic structure for an explosive or a singleplex magic spell instead.''


    Since it has been a century since the creation of 5th gen, many magic structure for an elemental spell has appeared and the Enchant Series is the most basic but has a wide range of helpful spell especially for speed casting although it''s on the weaker side.


    Enchant Series were practical magic spells as well for magician''s use as it only requires a small amount of mana.


    As the battle continued and everyone felt that it was Gaston''s victory, hisst spell had not activated and an explosion urred where his mana artifact is.


    It shattered his mana shell and dealt some damage in his body.


    "Wait! What happened there?"


    "It''s so quick. Did you see that?"


    "I think Chloe activated a spell but it happened so quick."


    Some audiences watching the fight of Mystic Gate and Stoneheimer were confused about how the table was turned.


    Wace is now looking apprehensively to Chloe. It also seems that he noticed what had just happened.


    "Hmm. If all Mystic Gate''s mana technician has that magic structure in their Mana Artifact then they would be able to give a good fight."

 Chapter 48 - Combat Magicians (Part 3)

    The battle between the 4 academies continued and Wace was able to notice the quirks of each academy that weren''t on the intelligence report from the student council.


    As a member of the council, Wace was able to see and share with his fellow participants the information that they''ve gathered. Aaron, the student council president had given him some printed copy of these intelligence reports allowing them to better understand their opponents.


    Some of the information they have were like how Stoneheimer''s magic engineer instructors, alumnus, and current students are all specializing in earth and wind-based elemental pathway.


    The Skywalker specializes as well in a wide variety of pathways as long as they are fast-paced spells. The academy believes that pursuing speed casting was the right path in the magician''s battle.


    The Mystic Gate academy, known for its mana artifact creations pursued elementalbinations. They are not satisfied with elemental spells and like tobine their elemental pathway. This is a very powerful path but also quite difficult for mana technicians andbat mages as well. Luckily, only 2nd or 3rd-year student of this academy is capable of creating and utilizing the mana artifact.


    Anyway, almost all 1st years would use their own acquired knowledge in thispetition instead of the path that the academy had taken.


    Compared to Leonhearts Academy, it doesn''t specialize anything in artifact forging but known for its amazing training method forbat magicians allowing those who graduate here to be sought after.


    It isn''t bad to have specialization in artifact since you have to consider the future.


    The mana artifact has grades depending on itsplexity. The highest rank is Grade A and the lowest is Grade C. But the grades magic spells or skills that could be used have 5 ranges. The highest rank this time is Grade 5 and the lowest is Grade 1.


    The artifact that Wace made containing Magic Jammer Canceller, was graded A because of it''splexity.


    The Grade Cplexity was those standard mana artifacts that contain mana spells that could be released easily by even a rookie magicians and has less valuable materials in its mana artifact.


    With all those said, only those magic engineer who reached a profound understanding in their elemental pathway was able to create a Grade 5 magic spell. As a matter of fact, there weren''t even a dozen of them recorded in the whole Zairus. So it was said that its better for mana technicians right now to have them select an elemental pathway they like to further study especially when they became magic engineers.


    The battle between the 4 academiessted only for half an hour.


    "Amazing, those students from Mystic Gate has some kind of ability somehow interferes in magic casting."


    "All the mana artifact that is being used by the 4 academies were Grade C with Grade 1 or Grade 2 spell as the limits. The spell that they''re using must be the unique magic spell that is only for this magicpetition."


    "That''s true, I haven''t heard of any spell that could stop magicians on casting except the legendary magic jammer."


    Everyone who has heard of this nodded as an agreement. The audience watching the battle below couldn''t help but be amazed at that part. It seems that the Mystic Gate Academy has sufficiently prepared.


    Mystic Gate wonpletely against Stoneheimer scoring 3-0 and Skywalker had only lost the first battle against Eternal Fey scoring 3-1.


    After about 5 minutes of cleaning the battlefield or stage, dozen of automatons stood guard at the edges of the arena. Only the referees are allowed on the stage during the battle.


    Wace took notice of these automatons as he was very interested in how they were made and very much like to have one for his use.


    ''Hmm... Are they guarding the edges of the arena to prevent any misfire to the audience as well?''


    Wace spread his Divine Sense to check the automatons and while doing so, he noticed a Lamat stone that has a dormant magic jammer contained in each of them! It seems that it is a second protection aside from the barriers protecting the audience from any misfires of thesebat magicians.


    ''As expected of the Capital, it seems that thispetition is really important for the country. Dispatching two dozens of these important automatons that have magic jammers must be already the treasure of this country.''


    Wace felt that someone was also sneakily tracing his Divine Sense so he immediately retracted his skill.


    ''It came from that direction, it must be the security. After all, it would be a nightmare for the country if something happened to these automatons.''


    Standing at the edges of the arena may look like they are unimportant machines. But it seems that it is a secret for these automatons to have magic jammer. He better have to stop himself from further checking these automatons as it seems to be highly guarded by security personnel too.


    "It was now the start of the next battle! Leonhearts vs Honeysuckle and Isolde vs Abuxorth! Another exciting battle is about tomence!"


    Felicia continued her job as the students from the academies entered the arena. The first fighters took the stage and readied for battle.


    "Leonheart''s Michael vs Honeysuckle''s Grant"


    Michael is wearing two mana artifacts since the 3 mana technicians, Samantha, Alice, and Escanor created a total of 8 mana artifacts. Being a vanguard, his victory would give confidence and would set a mood for the whole team. Possessing 2 or more artifacts is a must to have a better chance of winning.


    His Bracelet of Earthen Spirit and Paleness Ring were created by Samantha.


    As soon as the signal to start the battle was made, the two had activated their mana shell.


    "Earth Attunement!"


    "Blinding Fog!"


    Michael made the first move and cast 2 magic spells.


    The spells that are unique to its mana artifact was activated, it was all due to the materials that the 3 mana technicians gathered. By having these special materials, the magic structure they could use would also be special allowing them to have special magic spells. It is unlike those Enchant Series and other which are standard and can be ced in almost any mana artifact materials.


    The Earth Attunement allowed Michael to have a grasp in any movement in the stage even if he was also blinded by the fog he summoned.


    "Hmph! Wind Enchant -- Howling Wind!"


    Grant seems to disdain this type of magic as he calmly used a spell to push away the fog.


    As soon as he thought that the wind he summoned could remove the fog, the wind seemed to only pass by and hadn''t affected the fog itself.


    Grant frowned at this but didn''t lose hisposure.


    ''I should strengthen my defense then. As long as you got near to me, I''ll give you a surprise.''

 Chapter 49 - Combat Magicians (Part 4)

    "Prime -- Fire Shield."


    "Prime -- Focus Shot."


    Two magic skills were calmly activated by Grant as he waited for Michael to take action.


    His Fire Shield just protects his front in a concave shape of barrier made of fire. Although with limited defense it can be seen that he may also be asking to be attacked from behind. But it could probably be a trap as well.


    Another possible reason for using a concave shield was that he has confidence in his mana shell not being easily destroyed and would have time to counter.


    The Focus Shot is a ball of mana converted to any element that his mana artifact could utilize. This time, Grant''s Focus Shot made a ball of me on his right hand ready to be thrown once Michael appeared in his vision.


    "He was now using a different series of magic. Prime Series was developedter than the Enchant Series if I''m not mistaken."


    "Hmm. Correct, I wonder what''s the standard magic that our first years made."


    "It''s better. Michael hadn''t shown his standard magic spells yet. But we''ll know soon, I believe."


    Erickamented as she noticed some changes in the magic patterns of Grant. It was followed by Gilbert and Kazimir.


    After Michael cast the 2 spells and did not notice any movement from his opponent, he silently went to move and positioned on the right''s hand side of Grant.


    He was aware of Grant''s preparation that is asking to be attacked, Michael can see his opponent''s bright fire shield and fire focus shot that is attracting even in the dense fog he created.


    ''Let''s see what''s your n. I''ll take you on!''


    Michael started his attack.


    "Archon -- Earth Bind!"


    "Cyclone Punch!"


    He wasn''t adept at using long-range magic spells but has confidence in hisbat skills. Combining magic to his physical attacks is more convenient for him.


    Grant felt Michael''s presence on his right and thrown his focus shot in the same direction. But his feet were unable to move due to the Earth Bind that was activated, although the skill can be forcefully removed with sufficient strength, it has still thrown his bnce making him off the mark!


    Michael easily avoided the shot and hit Grant''s defense.


    "Baaaammm!!"


    A collision between a punch and a shield was heard followed by cracking sound.


    "Once more!"


    Michael shouted full of energy. His opponent tried to cast a more defensive spell since his mana shell was about to be destroyed and tried to counterattack.


    But Michael did not give him a chance as he opened his palm and gripped the mana shell.


    "Vacuum Grip!"


    A shattering sound was heard as thest magic spell that was used shattered the mana shell of Grant and the referees announced the result.


    "This... I could still fight."


    Grant felt bitter on his loss because he hadn''t shown his full ability yet. It happened so fast.


    "If only we could still battle even without mana shell, I''ll surely win!"


    Michael did not think it was necessary to reply as he walked off the stage trying to act cool to the audience.


    The audience apuded the duo in their battle. But apparently, the battle on the other stage was still ongoing.


    "Vacuum Grip, that should be Samantha''s magic spell."


    It was Wace whomented. He had known the 3 first years background and somehow learned about their skills. He had even got familiar with Escanor and helped him create a better magic structure to utilize Hilda''s abundant mana pool.


    "Ohhh.. so our first years were using Archon Series? That''s quite good."


    Ericka noticed the Archon magic spell Michael used prior to his usage of the exclusive skill of mana artifact.


    "That''s indeed the best magic structures for some standard spells aside from Royal Series that I''m aware of." Gilbert agreed.


    "Cyclone Punch and Vacuum Grip must be exclusive skill of the mana artifact. That''s very impressive, especially thest part where he shattered the mana shell with that grip. It looks awesome." Ericka was still thinking of thest part of the battle.


    ''But creating that Vacuum Grip magic structure must be quite challenging.''


    Wace thought in his mind as he was aware that only Samantha could make that magic structure. It could be their family secret after all. Unfortunately, there''s no way to reverse engineer the created mana artifact and see it''s magic structure due to its protection.


    It all because of how magic structure is being embedded in the mana artifact so it won''t be easy to copy someone else''s magic structure.


    Just after about 2 minutes, the other stage''s battle had concluded. It was the battle between the all-girls academy, Isolde and Abuxorth academy. The battle was barely won by Isolde Academy''s student which surprised many people as they were expecting that they could easily win against Abuxorth.


    The Abuxorth Academy always ranks at the bottom in everypetition as their Academy specializes in unorthodox potion-making. But with this battle with Isolde, it seems that Abuxorth will give them more surprises.


    After all, Isolde ranks in the top 5 duringpetitions. With all those said, this was only base on First Year''s result in every year ofpetition.


    Now it was the two on two battles. The 2nd part of thepetition.


    "Leonheart''s Lillian and Axel vs Honeysuckle''s Ivan and Violet"


    Both Lillian and Axel have their confidence pumped up as Michael won overwhelmingly in his battle. But their opponent seems to be not affected and still looking confident.


    "Let''s show them what we''ve got!"


    Ivan shouted to fire himself up before going on stage together with Violet.


    "We can do this, let''s stick to the n."


    Axel looked at Lillian who smiled back at him. He was even more pumped up due to this.


    "Alright, let''s show Hilda our skills. Hmph."


    Lillianmented with her long blue hair fluttering about as she entered the stage. It seems that she still doesn''t ept Hilda''s presence on their team.


    "The battle begins!"


    The announcement followed by a whistle as heard to signal the start ofbat.


    Everyone activated their mana shells.


    "Prime -- Earth Protection!"


    "Wind Enchant -- Haste!"


    Ivan moved forward after buffing himself with two magic spells. Violet stayed behind and it seems that she was preparing a spell that requires some time.


    The two from the Leonhearts moved as well.


    "Blinding Fog!"


    ""Archon -- Heat Detection.""


    It was Lillian who first activated the spell. It came from another Paleness Ring made by Samantha. The 2nd magic spell was activated by the two so they could still see their opponent. They aren''t wearing a Bracelet of Earthen Spirit so they can''t use Earth Attunement to detect any movement in the stage.


    "Tsk! Same trick eh. Such cowards, don''t think that it will work on us!"


    "Hmph! Scared of fighting head-on. Prime -- Frost Field!"


    They felt that this Blinding Fog was a cowardly tactic created by Leonhearts mana technicians as they aren''t confident with their magician''sbat skills.


    Wace coughed at this after hearing them.

 Chapter 50 - Hilda

    The Frost Field that Violet has activated only covered 4 meters of frost around her. Beyond that range, there were snowkes floating around that will rm her if there''s anyone who approached them.


    "Hmph! Your surprise attack won''t work with this. Ivan, ready your spell. We''ll target anyone that would first show up."


    The second part was said in a lower voice to remind Ivan of their n.


    Ivan nodded in agreement as he cast a magic spell but did not release it yet. He readied himself to throw the magic spell once Lillian or Axel showed up.


    He positioned himself in front of Violet to protect her from the frontal assault but about 10 seconds had passed and no attack came, Violet decided to approach Ivan and stood back to back to cover all sides.


    Almost a minute has passed and still no rm was set off or no human movement was detected by the snowkes scattered.


    Base on the rules of thepetition the battle could onlyst for 15 minutes. If there are no winners at that given time, the battle will be considered a draw.


    "I doubt that they want to have a draw here. I couldn''t think of any reason."


    Violet was pissed off by their opponent''s strategy.


    "Tsk, if those mana technicians just ced some other detection spell or magic spell that could remove this annoying fog..."


    "Stop! Don''t lose your focus."


    Violet said as she stopped Ivan for furthermenting about their mana artifact.


    "But you started it..." Ivan said in a low tone.


    "On my left!" Violet informed her partner after detecting the movement returned by the snowkes she summoned.


    "Take this!"


    A fireball was thrown by Ivan in the direction pointed by Violet.


    "Diversion! Put up your defense!"


    After Violet noticed that the movement she detected was fake, a fireball was already thrown by her partner and multiple movement was also detected


    "How are you doing this?! A movement in all directions?"


    Ivan frowned after hearing this. He realized that Violet is detecting multiple human movements. Their opponent seems to be well prepared and they couldn''t even use their own nned strategy.


    "Tsk! There''s no more choice, I''ll use a wide range magic skill that I''m saving. But this will exhaust my mana pool so try to use the opportunity."


    He did not wait for Violet''s answer as he cast a spell. She understood the n and canceled the Frost Field protecting both of them as soon as Ivan was ready to release another offensive spell.


    "Prime -- Stone des!"


    Dozens of ck swords made of stone conjured around the two. The swords thrust around them and even circled a few times covering the whole stage before disappearing.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Sounds of the collision was heard before the swords disappeared. Probably due to interruption of the attack, the Blinding Fog was canceled and the two students from Leonhearts were revealed. But even that was the case, the two were prepared and has a readied skill.


    ""Archon -- Rock Smash""


    The two had actually activated the same magic spell. This spell was actually the only Grade 2 Archon Magic Spell they could cast using their own magicprehension.


    Rock Smash is actually just a magic spell that would summon a huge levitating rock. The most difficult part of this was that during the conjuring process, the rock would stay invisible and just formless mana hovering about.


    As soon as they finished casting the spell and confirmed the position of the enemy, the huge rock appeared in the top of their enemy giving a huge shadow, Violet and Ivan looked at descending rock on top of their heads. Violet might still escape but Ivan hadn''t recovered yet on his recently cast spell.


    Unfortunately, Violet decided to immediately grab Ivan and dodge the rock and she had miscalcted the speed of its descent. She even felt her that her movement was a little bit dyed.


    "Hehe. Did you think that Blinding Fog would only affect the surroundings and restrict your vision?"


    Lillian said in contempt to her opponents. It seems there are another side effect in using Blinding Fog.


    Axel only shook his head as both of them were also affected by the side effects of Blinding Fog. This only happens whenever they stayed a prolonged time inside the fog. But it is nonlethal and only affects the movements temporarily.


    The rock descended and smashed to both student of Honeysuckle, Violet poured all her mana to strengthen her mana shell and to resist its destruction. But as soon as it cracked and about to be destroyed, the referee made their move as the second her mana shell was destroyed, the rock disperse into a tiny specks of light as there has never been a huge rock summoned a while ago.


    Another victory for the Leonhearts Academy scoring 2-0 against their opponent.


    It was now the third match. Normally the one positioned here would be a strong and trusted one to win a battle. The third match must be won especially if the first two battles were lost, so the magician ced here should be someone that could handle huge pressure.


    Of course, it''s different for the winning side as they could still somehow rx and not be affected by pressure which would also result in not making many mistakes as the fighter could think clearly.


    "Leonheart''s Hilda vs Honeysuckle''s Jason"


    Jason wore a serious expression on his face as his match could decide the end of the battle between the two academies.


    ''I must win the fight. Just be calm, there shouldn''t be any more mana artifact that could summon that fog. Ohh? Look at that, just a small girl. I can do this.''


    Jason said in his thought and as he noticed the opponent he will be fighting on, he felt happy as Hilda looked so weak and can be blown away by a wind breeze. He smirks at the thought but told himself to not let his guard down. Anyone who could participate here has an ability on their own.


    Hilda stood on the stage calmly as her ck hair swayed with the wind. She has pale skin, blue eyes and her pink hair-band was eye-catching for everyone.


    As the two were readied for the battle. The referee started to announce the start of battle together with a whistle.


    Jason and Hilda activated the Mana Shell as required as soon as they heard the signal.


    Jason hastily cast three spells.


    "Wind Enchant -- Haste"


    "Prime -- Gauntlet of me"


    "Prime -- me Arrows!"


    He was ready to get close to Hilda as he summoned me Arrows to distract and approach her with his activated Haste. He was confident that just one hit using his Gauntlet of me on his left hand could destroy Hilda''s Mana Shell.


    Hilda was holding the Scourge Staff made by Escanor. She used her left hand to hold the other end of the staff and stomped it at the ground.


    Thud!!


    As soon as the staff hit the ground, Jason''s Mana Shell shattered.


    "Traceless Oscition"


    Hilda said softly as she activated the skill at the same time that the staff hit the ground.

 Chapter 51 - Traceless Oscillation

    Samantha, Alice, and Escanor were watching the battle the whole time but they were seated 3 rows below Wace''s group.


    "What? How was the battle ended? I didn''t see any spells thrown by Hilda at all."


    Samantha was surprised at the result of the battle as she weren''t able toprehend the battle that has urred. A simr notion was heard in other audiences who were keeping an eye on their match.


    "I didn''t know you''ve prepared such a powerful magic spell in the artifact you''ve made for her."


    "Haha! No. It wasn''t my idea. That magic structure was passed over to me by Wace. Unfortunately, the magic spell requires a powerful magician to utilize that spell so it was only usable for Hilda in our first-year roster."


    Escanorughed and admitted that it wasn''t his idea. Samantha and Alice then nodded as they realize how amazing their senior was.


    "I hope he can teach me it''s magic structure too."


    Alice murmured as she felt a bit envious since only Escanor was taught of the magic structure. But Escanor was able to catch it and given her an advice instead.


    "I could teach it to you if Sir Wace agreed, you can ask himter."


    Escanor suggested to Alice which she happily agreed on and was now excited to askter. He wasn''t knowledgeable enough to tell how it works but he only followed or copied the magic structure made by Wace.


    "I shouldn''t have bothered adding other standard magics if this spell was this powerful."


    Escanor murmured as he was in awe on the magic artifact he created.


    ***


    At the entrance for audience area in the arena, two students from Leonhearts Academy had just arrived and had seen how Hilda easily shattered her enemy''s Mana Shell.


    Right now, even Jason had copsed and being helped by the referee. Medic team was immediately sent out to diagnose Jason''s injury. Due to how fast the skill that Hilda released, there has been no time for the two referees to help Jason avert damages.


    "So, this is the spell he has given to Escanor to create for her?"


    It was Tracy who asked the question though she wasn''t waiting for any answer.


    "How did hee up with such an amazing magic spell?"


    Ross was also very curious about the spell that Hilda released. The Scourge Staff is supposedly specializing in me, Wind, and a little bit of Earth Magic Spell because of the materials it contains. But now, the magic structure for the staff seems to have been modified to a certain extent and it could now release this unknown magic spell.


    "I''d like to know as well."


    Tracy could only say this as she watches Jason receive first aid treatment with Mage Doctors assigned in the arena.


    Jason recovered after the treatment and was simrly confused about how he had lost. Besides that, he felt disappointed as well having lost their first battle in thepetition.


    ''There are still 10 other academies. We can still do this''


    He encouraged himself as he epted his defeat in today''s battle. He was also nning to watch the recorded battle between him and Hilda as he was curious about how he just suddenly felt dizzy and copse in the stage.


    ***


    "Hey Wace, what was that?"


    Ericka asked Wace beside her. Gilbert and Kazimir in the same row were simrly interested so they kept quiet and waited for their ssmate to answer.


    Wace did not keep them in suspense and answered truthfully.


    "That''s ''Traceless Oscition'', it is still crude but it seems that it''s working properly."


    "Oscition? Eh, how does that work?"


    Wace was silent for a moment as if thinking about how he would exin the science behind it.


    "Resonance, it is when a structure or object is forced to vibrate at its natural frequency, its vibration amplitude increases. In other words, if this structure or object begins to vibrate in a violent manner, it will copse and this will lead to its total destruction. In Jason''s case, after Hilda forcefully destroyed his Mana Shell, he received bacsh due to an abrupt stoppage of his mana flow causing him to copse."


    Wace tried to exin it as simple as possible. As he felt that there will be more follow up questions, he added more.


    "After thispetition, I''ll formally register this magic structure as my exclusive magic skill."


    ''It had limited use at the moment as the magic structure was hastily made. Only those with strong mana fluctuations could use it. Even I would have trouble utilizing it like how Hilda did. But once I fully develop and improve its structure, I should be able to utilize it as well.''


    Wace added in his mind and as soon as he reached this thought, sounds of gasp and surprise were heard again in the audience area.


    "Eh, it seems that Isolde was having trouble with Abuxorth Academy."


    "The score is 2-2. To think that the battle willst until the 5th match."


    "Hmm, it''s either the Isolde has gone weaker or Abuxorth has recruited strong students this time."


    "Don''t say it like that, they were first years after all. As you can see, almost all the magic spells they are releasing are all standard ones. It just depends on their strategy. It seems that Abuxorth students heavily studied their opponents this time."


    "That''s true, I noticed how they could calmly act in various spells released by Isolde''s students. Too bad, the variation of their magic spell is too limited so they are losing the one on one match."


    "Unfortunately, the 5th match would be another 1v1 match. Abuxorth will have a high chance of losing the battle then."


    Wace heard variousments from the audience. He was d that the match between the two schools wouldst that long.


    After all, thispetition is round-robin so they will be fighting all other schools. It would be better for them to be aware of all magic spells and capabilities of other magic academies. Of course, it would be the same for other schools.


    Since the battle between Leonhearts and Honeysuckle was finished, some students from their academy left to take a break but Wace stayed as he was quite interested now in thest battle between the other two schools.


    The round-robin battle between the first-year students of 12 academies willst until this afternoon and will continue tomorrow morning. So a day and a half is allocated for each academic year.


    ***


    Tracy and Ross approached Wace''s group as it seems that they were also interested in the battle that was about tomence.


    "Hey, are you interested in why we''ve met with our instructors?"


    Tracy teased Wace but he only smiled at her. He knows that Tracy would still tell him even if he didn''t ask knowing her attitude.

 Chapter 52 - News And Plans

    "Something happened in Tanza."


    Tracy said to Wace but she didn''t mind if others heard her. Anyway, it seems that the news she was about to tell would be cascaded to them sooner orter.


    "Oh? Something that would require both of you to coordinate with the instructors about its details?"


    Wace asked though he still seemed not too interested. Upon seeing his reaction, Tracy smiled and added.


    "It seems some mutated magicians attacked some government facilities in Tanza City. Isn''t that quite interesting?"


    "Mutated Magicians?!"


    As soon as Tracy revealed the news, Ericka blurted those words out attracting attention from other students in the area. She ducked her head in shame and asked again in a lowered voice.


    "Uhmm... There are still Mutated Magicians?"


    Tracy nodded to her but since thest match between Isolde and Abuxorth was about to start, she didn''t make a follow up on the news and watched the battle instead.


    On the other side, Gilbert was just looking absentmindedly at Tracy''s gorgeous appearance. And since there was a vacant seat beside him, Tracy decided to sit beside him which made Gilbert even more conscious to himself. There, he remained quiet until the end of the match.


    Ericka noticed Gilbert''s stiffness and upon seeing Tracy seated beside him, she immediately understood and rolled her eyes at him.


    ***


    ''Mutated Magicians? If I''m not mistaken, this term only appeared due to some kind of human experimentation made by an underworld organization a few decades ago and they should have been eliminated by the government as soon as they appeared. Perhaps they have survivors? Well even if that was the case, they shouldn''t be able to finance that money-eating project.''


    Wace thought quickly as he remembered the history lesson he learned.


    ''Well, I''m not rted to that. Let''s leave it to the government.''


    He looked at the matchup on the stage that was about to start.


    "Isolde'' Sana vs Abuxorth''s iza"


    As soon as the whistle was blown signaling the start of the battle, their mana shell was activated but it can be seen that the intensity of their shell wasn''t as strong as before. Both of them have already fought once after all and they also don''t have enough time to be fully recovered.


    Sana immediately moved further away from iza as she was aware that her opponent specializes in short-range but powerful burst magic.


    iza activated Wind Haste skill allowing her to have faster movement to catch up on Sana. As she tried to get closer, Sana threw her a spell to either slow her down or damage her mana shell.


    "nt --Elemental Whip!"


    "Earth Enchant -- Stone Wall"


    iza hid behind her Stone Wall to avoid getting damaged by the Elemental Whip. But although she stopped the whip from hitting her, this defense onlysted for a few seconds. She cast her magic spell and readied to get in range to destroy Sana''s Mana Shell. She needed to advance to throw this and soon found an opportunity.


    Bam! Bam! Baaam!!


    Due to powerful strikes of Elemental Whip. The Stone Wall was destroyed and torn to pieces, but it served its purpose as iza was ready to release her magic spell.


    "Lava Stone Spike!"


    Sana immediately noticed the conjuring Grade 2 magic spell behind her and realized that there was no time to dodge so she instead released the spell she was readying to supposedly defeat iza.


    "Prime -- Water Jet!"


    The skill she released was thrown behind her, the collision between the two spell made her momentum moving forward. As she got closer to iza, she released an almost instant cast magic spell called Mana Explosion.


    "Booommm!!"


    This mana explosion was targeted above iza, she tried to resist the explosion from destroying her mana shell but it wasn''t enough. She was still defeated and her mana shell was destroyed.


    "Haaa~ That was tough."


    Sana eximed as she saw iza''s mana shell shattered into pieces.


    "So, you actually have a Mana Explosion. Well, at least I forced that out."


    iza said after she realized that she lost the battle. It was normal to hide some skills as you will be fighting the other 11 magic academies. Having an element of surprise to defeat an enemy in the uing battles would be a good strategy.


    Sana was also exasperated at thest moment, their team nned to use the Mana Explosion only for some specific Magic Academies that they will be fightingter on. For it to be revealed on the very first battle would destroy their ns, but due to Lava Stone Spike a Grade 2 spell cast by iza, she had no choice but to reveal her trump card.


    As the four academies left, the automatons cleaned the stage where they''ve battled before calling out another four magic academies.


    It was now the battle between, Odrexelts and Phoenix together with Neon and Sacred Peak Academies.


    ***


    Within the meeting room allocated for Mystic Gate Academy.


    "Have you recognized the Magic Spell cast by that student from Leonhearts?"


    A third-year student from the academy asked the question. He was together with almost all the participants. They have toe up with a n to avoid or resist that magic spell.


    "I heard it was called Traceless Oscitions, it was already checked by the organizers and nothing is uncanny on the spell. It was a legal Grade 2 Magic Spell."


    It was answered by Sheryl. As someone who transferred from Leonhearts, she was a bit curious about the background of the magic spell that was used before, so she already consulted the organizers on the premise that she''s using them that they''ve used illegal magic spell.


    But of course, she was ignored by the Ministry handling the affairs and provided a brief introduction to the magic spell used. But it''s specifics is highly confidential.


    "How do you think we could fight that back?"


    As soon as this question was heard. The room remained silent. A minute had passed before Sheryl suggested an idea.


    "We don''t. I believe that the magic spell requires the magician to have strong mana fluctuations for it to be released. Because of the magic spell was that easy to release, the first 3bat magicians could have used the same thing and dominated the whole matches."


    Sheryl said these words while watching the rey showing in the monitor ced within the room.


    She was also looking expectant for tomorrow''s battle for 2nd years.


    ''Let''s see how my mana artifacts fare.''


    Sheryl smirked a bit and said to herself.


    "Hmm, I was also thinking that."


    Agreed by a third-year mana technician near her to save himself. After all, nning or strategizing would normally fall under the third year''s hands. He also added some more words to supplement or exin Sheryl''s n.


    "So we can expect a loss from the first year, Hilda, but we have to make sure we win the other fights. Now about the Mana Explosion used by Isolde, was it something simr to our Magic Spell?"


    This kind of meeting wasn''t just taking ce in Mystic Gate''s meeting room. Other schools were also nning and even made the same conclusion:


    Expect a loss from Hilda but you must win the other matches.

 Chapter 53 - Scores

    It was now another day of the week-longpetition.


    Each academy now only has to fight once and the round robin for the 1st year''s batch would bepleted. Only the Leonheart''s Academy had achieved aplete victory in the past battles although there are tough times when they reached 5 long matches to attain victory. Those battles were fought against Skywalker and Isolde Academy.


    Their match today against Mystic Gate would be theirst battle and if won, they will achieve an undefeated record for thepetition.


    It is surprising to have an Academy that doesn''t have a single loss in 11 matches they fought. After all, your strategy, mana artifacts, habits, and decision making would somehow be analyzed by the other teams making them prepared in the next matches.


    But Leonhearts, due to some superiority in their mana artifact especially the inclusion of rising star Hilda, were able to achieve dominance against other academies.


    The Mystic Gate Academy already lost once against Skywalker Academy. Although thetter lost against Leonhearts and Phoenix Academy already.


    The current score was shown in the huge sma screen in the arena.


    Leonhearts: 10 wins


    Mystic Gate: 9 wins


    Skywalker: 8 wins


    Isolde: 5 wins


    ...


    Looking at the current score, if Mystic Gate won the fight, a tiebreaker would ensue as there could only be one champion in each academic year. Of course, it would be fine if 2nd ce would have tied on their win streak. It can still be weighted.


    "The students from Mystic Gate Academy were tough, so our first years must be really careful here."


    "Well, we''ve made enough preparations, it would be up to them now."


    "Since they defeated Skywalker, the academy who made Mystic Gate taste a loss, our Academy would have a high chance here."


    "Hilda would certainly achieve victory for our Academy. She never experienced a loss anyway and also, only that one from Skywalker was somehow able to resist her magic spell."


    "That''s true, I doubt that Mystic Gate''sbat magicians would have weird Mana Shell like the one in Skywalker."


    A few students from Leonhearts Academy can be heard analyzing the battle before it even started. They were all proud and expectant that the first years would achieve victory for thisst match.


    During yesterday''spetition, there was only one magician who was able to give Hilda a good fight. Although it wasn''t enough for him defeat to Hilda, it gave a good reminder to others and made them realize that she can still be defeated.


    Unfortunately, after Skywalker was defeated by Leonhearts, their next fight earned them another loss against Phoenix losing 2 fights in a row.


    The Skywalker have lost their momentum due to their loss against Leonhearts but quickly gathered themselves and won a total of 8 wins. Skywalker was also expected to have another win in theirst match today.


    ***


    As nned the first match roster for Leonhearts will be Michael followed by Lillian and Axel duo. The third match would be handled by the reliable Hilda. The fourth match, if there will be, would be fought by Enrique and Hilda. Enrique is what you would call the team captain, although he wasn''t as strong as Hilda, he was a reliable support for team fight due to his mana artifact especially made withpatibility in his expertise.


    Thest match or 5th battle was still undecided as it will depend on the oue of the first 4 fights but would most likely be fought by Hilda.


    In the first match of the battle, Michael fought with the best of his ability and utilizing his Archon spell as much as he can. Unfortunately, he was defeated by his opponent, it was Chloe andbat magician from Mystic Gate who specializes on Enchant Series.


    Although Michael used up almost all his skills and even Vacuum Grip, an exclusive magic spell of his mana artifact, he was only barely close in defeating Chloe. On thest seconds of the fight when he tried activating Vacuum Grip to destroy her Mana Shell, she activated a spell simr to Mana Wave disrupting his Mana Artifact from activating the spellpletely, although it hadn''t fully stopped him. It dyed him a bit and gave chance to Chloe to retaliate.


    It caused Michael''s teammate to worry a bit but not enough to lose their mood. After all, they''ve already battled 10 academies and it wasn''t Michael''s first time losing the fight. Also, they have Hilda on their team.


    "Next match up. Leonheart''s Lillian and Axel vs Mystic Gate''s Derrick and Vivian."


    "Both duo''s winning rate was above 60%, we can''t tell who would have an upper hand."


    "Looking at the previous match, the Leonheart''s Blinding Fog was no longer effective with the Mystic Gate''s spell. This magic spell called ''Mana Wave'' was able to remove the fog that was a big problem with other Academies."


    "That''s right. The Wind magic spells weren''t able to remove the fog but this spell was able to easily nullify the skill not giving Leonhearts their advantage."


    "I''m quite curious about its magic structure."


    The one exchanging words were the announcers doing post-fight analysis while the 2nd matchbatants were still preparing and the automatons doing their cleaning job.


    As soon as the battle started. The Blinding Fog was activated again by Lillian but the opponent was prepared and cast the prepared Mana Wave.


    There was a gap of 3 seconds before the fog waspletely removed. During this gap, the Leonhearts duo did not remain idle and separated to attack in different directions.


    Although it surprised the two from Mystic Gate, they immediately made their move and tried to gain distance to give them more space for defending or dodging if required.


    "Archon -- Earth Bind"


    "Archon -- Double Wind de"


    Series of magic spells were thrown and cast to also defend themselves. The fightsted for 11 minutes which is considerably long since the only aim is to destroy the Grade 1 Mana Shell they all had.


    After another 3 more minutes, the battle concluded in favor of Mystic Gate. Lillian and Axel gloomily left the stage but it can also be seen that they were also satisfied in their performance although they haven''t won their final round of battle for this TMAC. They only felt gloomy because this sequence of battle felt like the one in their Skywalker match.


    During that time, Skywalker won the first 2 rounds but wasn''t able to win thest 3 matches because of Hilda''s existence.


    "Hilda will gain more poprity."


    It was what the duo thought. Even if Lillian dislikes Hilda, she has to admit that her domineering performance left her longing for such power. She knows that without Hilda holding the ground, they would have lost multiple times already.

 Chapter 54 - First Years Division Conclusion

    Hilda stood calmly as she stared at her opponent for this match. This time, she will be fighting the captain on the first-year representatives of Mystic Gate. His name was Art and just a head taller than her.


    She noticed his confidence stemming from his position as the team captain. Normally, team captains were positioned at the veryst match but to ensure their victory, They positioned Art at the 3rd match to immediately fight Hilda.


    "He''s prepared for my Traceless Oscition, but let''s see how you can resist this."


    As soon as the battle started, Art activated his Mana Shell together with another spell from his mana artifact.


    So as soon as Hilda activated her Mana Shell and Traceless Oscition, the opponent wasn''t that affected. Art''s Mana Shell only trembled for a bit before stabilizing again.


    "How did he do that?!"


    "Oh?! Someone could resist that first year''s powerful spell!"


    "This time, it was unlike those from Phoenix school who were struggling just to fend off Hilda''s attack."


    "Indeed, Art looks like he could still take several of those attacks."


    Series of exmations were heard in the audience area after Art disyed his amazing defense. It halted yet again Hilda''s almost unstoppable one-hit victory.


    Hilda nodded at this as she somewhat expected this oue as well. After all, her attack had beenpleted analyzed by now by other academies. Especially Mystic Gate, who is in the forefront in Mana Artifact development for their student courses.


    "This time, we won''t let you win another round!"


    Art was also happy as he resisted Hilda''s attack.


    ''Senior Sheryl did a good job analyzing the spell. Since I''m constantly changing the natural frequency of the Mana Shell. I could somehow resist the skill Hilda was using.''


    Art said in his mind as he thanked Sheryl for the n she made yesterday night. There have been some ns in making changes in using Mana Shell, with the battle today, she could test her theory as she was somehow expecting that the 2nd year or even 3rd years from Leonhearts will use the same trick.


    "Archon -- Water Bullet!"


    "Piercing Fire Shot!"


    Hilda used the standard magic spell of the artifact which is in the Archon series. The 2nd spell came from the exclusive Mana Spelling from the Scourge Staff.


    Art made a dodge on the attack instead of defending. He was aware of how Hilda''s standard Grade 1 spell could easily destroy other''s mana shells if not careful about it.


    Art utilized a wind element magic spell to drag the fight with Hilda. He was using Prime and Enchant Series Magic.


    After dodging a couple of attacksing from Hilda. He felt it was now time to counter-attack.


    "Enchant -- Wind Arrow!"


    "Prime -- Wind Wave!"


    He used 2 magic spells to try cornering Hilda, but she did something unexpected. Instead of dodging the attack or summoning defense spell, she prepared to counterattack.


    ''Do you think that my magic spell isparable to others?''


    Art felt offended that Hilda won''t even bother defending on his attack. Although it was standard magic from Prime and Enchant Series, it was a spell summoned by him, the team captain and strongest on their team.


    He sneered at the thought that Hilda was taking him lightly.


    As soon as the magic spellnded, everyone expected that Hilda would have trouble stabilizing her Mana Shell with 2 magic spellnding solidly on it. But they were wrong, the 2 magic spellnded with a strong sound of collision but it did not destroy her Mana Shell.


    Instead, it was Art''s Mana Shell that was destroyed.


    ***


    "Another Traceless Oscition with such timing and precision, that magic is a trouble. But at least, we confirmed that only Hilda can use it and it exhausts her a bit whenever using the spell."


    "That''s true, there seems to be buffering time as well. As you saw, she was using another magic spell to attack before she uses again that particr spell."


    Sheryl and one of her teammates were discussing the oue of the 3rd battle.


    "It seems that the oue is inevitable."


    "That''s alright Sheryl. With you at our side, I believe that our 2nd-yearbat magicians will have a high chance to win most of their battle this afternoon."


    Sheryl only had a stoic expression on this ttery and was focused on analyzing the battle instead.


    ***


    Their battle continued until the 5th match and as expected, Hilda never lost a fight. Because of this oue, their team won the most fight and the conclusion for the first year battle was soon announced.


    First Year''s Battle Results


    Leonhearts : 11 wins


    Mystic Gate : 9 wins


    Skywalker : 9 wins


    Isolde : 6 wins


    Honeysuckle : 6 wins


    Odrexelt : 5 wins


    Phoenix : 5 wins


    Neon : 5 wins


    Sacred Peak : 5 wins


    Stoneheimer : 3 wins


    Abuxorth : 3 wins


    Eternal Fey : 3 wins


    ***


    Everyone ate a bit for their lunch before the 2nd year''s battle this afternoon. The Leonhearts Academy was especially in a festive mood as they celebrated their victory for the First Year''s Division.


    "Hilda and everyone, you did an amazing performance there. I hope you guys will still be the one participating for next year''spetition."


    "Hey, aren''t you thinking too far ahead?"


    "Haha. Anyway, the battle in Second Year''s Division would start in one and a half hours so for the contestant, make sure you mind your food."


    Some seniors were happily chatting with the first years as they congratted Hilda''s team on their amazing performance. They praised the other as well for using Blinding Fog effectively in the previous matches that easily gave them a win in some battles.


    Hilda''s team of five and the three mana technicians, Escanor, Alice, and Samantha ate together as they happily chatted about their experiences in the matches.


    ***


    "Wace, what do you think will be the oue for this 2nd-yearpetition?"


    Tracy asked Wace suddenly as they ate together with Ross.


    Wace smiled wryly at this, their 2nd-year roster doesn''t have absurdly strongbat magician like Hilda. But although that was the case, they were highly trained in battle and learned to utilized a wide range of magic.


    "We have a chance, of course. You just have to trust them that they can also properly use the mana artifact you made for them."


    Wace answered after thinking a bit. He looked at his lunch, a seafood meal matched with cold drinks for the hot weather.


    He did not make any morements as he already did his best for the 2nd year. It must be remembered that he made ast-minute change during the Forgingpetition.


    He created a mana artifact from the material they unexpectedly found. As for the oue, it would be up to theirbat magicians now.

 Chapter 55 - Second Years

    The battle between the 12 Academies in the 2nd Year''s Division is finally about to start.


    Wace looked at the scheduled matches and found out the same arrangements with the first years will be used for the 2nd year.


    Skywalker vs Eternal Fey


    Mystic Gate vs Stoneheimer


    Leonhearts vs Honeysuckle


    Isolde vs Abuxorth


    Odrexelt vs Phoenix


    Neon vs Sacred Peak


    But apparently, only the 1st match will be the same and it follows different arrangements for their 2nd match.


    Wace was hoping that their academy will be matchedter against strong academies.


    ''It would be better if we can save some trump cards before fighting Mystic Gate or Skywalker.''


    This is what he thought since although they created 12 mana artifacts, they only have a few trump cards. He was worried that if it was revealed too early, the enemies might create some strategy to counter it.


    But of course, Wace was just worrying unnecessarily since the mana artifact that the magicians will be using was already made and can''t be altered. Also, creating counter moves against their hidden magic spells wouldn''t be that easy.


    ***


    The five members of the team from Leonhearts were now in the waiting room preparing before their match. They were together with an instructor from the academy givingst bit of advice and moral support.


    "I know you guys are a bit pressured. Our first years performed splendidly after all. You''re probably thinking that you have to achieveplete victory like them or you shouldn''t lose at all costs. It''s ok if that will motivate you. But if it hinders you from performing your best, then you need to change your mindset. You''ve all trained enough, just show them what you''ve learned in all those training."


    Unexpectedly, it was Instructor Eve Luxford of the 3rd-year ss who is giving them somest advice.


    Shirley nodded and clenched her fist. She saw how Hilda dominated all her fight and she admits that thetter was too strong. She was well aware that she''s certainly not capable of defeating Hilda without Wace''s Mana Artifact.


    As the ace of the team, fighting with the same position as Hilda, she must try her best as she knows that she''ll bepared to her.


    She shook her head and gathered her mind.


    ''You can do this, I''m also strong. Even stronger with those mana artifact readied by Wace.''


    Shirley was talking to herself as she tried to gain confidence before the fight.


    Inside the waiting room, they could watch the matches between the four academies that are scheduled to fight first on the sma screen but they only nced a bit on these fights. There is a team in their academy who will be recording these battles and create some ns once they have been matched with that academy.


    For now, they have to focus and remember all the information they received about their opponent gathered by their student council. Although Honeysuckle wasn''t in the top teams, they still have to be careful as anything can happen within the stage.


    As soon as the battle ended with the first 4 academies, they checked the results and as expected, Skywalker and Mystic Gate achieved their first victory.


    A few minutes have passed and the door opened and the coordinator from Ministry of Magic Education together with a few automatons brought the mana artifacts created by Wace''s group.


    This is the first time they saw the artifact they made but there were briefed by Wace''s group about the artifact and during the practices they did in the past month, they have nned the mana artifact they will be using for today.


    They made 12 mana artifacts as the three mana technicians created four each.


    Shirley took the first 3 mana artifacts created by Wace.


    Ray as the vanguard took the 4th orst mana artifact and took another 2 mana artifact made by Ross. He then checked that circr t surface mana artifact or a mirror made in Ancient Abyssal ss and some other alloy on its edges as a holder.


    "So, it was this mana artifact?"


    "What''s so special about this, Ray? He was supposed to create you an Asura Gauntlet, right?


    Alphonse and Lina asked. They were the duo who will be fighting for the 2nd match. Also, they are a couple so their teamwork can be considered top-notch amongst the group. They took two each or all mana artifacts made by Tracy.


    "Hmm, I heard it was made in Ancient Abyssal ss. So, you can just imagine how amazing this is."


    It was Kite who said atst. He was the team captain and took thest 2 artifacts made by Ross.


    "Eh? I''m not quite sure about the materials but I''ve heard about it. Isn''t the TMAC sponsors so extravagant to use such treasure as a material for thispetition?!"


    Lina was surprised upon hearing this. She only learned about this mana artifact now. Also, Ray did not tell them of its specifics so she has been unaware of Wace''s advice about this artifact and how it is utilized. Wace only told Ray about how to use this mana artifact.


    "I''m more surprised that Wace could forge something out of it. I heard this material is difficult to use as forging material. Especially with such limited time in forging."


    Kite said as he pondered how Wace aplished such a task. He could only think that he has a different style of forging mana artifact. Though he didn''t care too much about it as long as they would have a better chance of achieving victory.


    Kite then took the lead to head out on the stage to face Honeysuckle''s team.


    Shirley only nodded and followed the group as her admiration towards Wace increased more.


    "Good luck to all of you."


    Instructor Eve said before they left. They thanked her and moved out.


    Shirley caressed her 3 mana artifacts made by Wace. These were familiar mana artifacts as this is the copy of artifacts that Wace made during the month of practice. She really liked these three but of course, she also knows how to utilize other mana artifacts and she was only ustomed to these due topatibility that Wace has considered before it''s making.


    Wace made something special about her mana artifact as trump card as well that even her teammates were unaware of. She smiled at this and now felt excited for the uing battle. She no longer felt pressured as she confidently stride together with her teammates towards the arena.


    As they walked out of the dimmed hallway, they were basked by the sunlight and saw the stage full of audiences as they cheered for the team they wished to win.

 Chapter 56 - Battle Begins

    Ray took the stage as he will be fighting on the first match. He has long golden hair for a male as it reaches his shoulders and has fair skin. His looks were attractive that he immediately charmed the audiences just by standing there.


    He already wore the two bracelets and ced the mirror on his left chest pocket. He felt that with these three mana artifacts he had, he could conquer all his matches.


    As soon as his opponent showed up, he confirmed that it was indeed someone he knew from the intelligence report gathered by the student council.


    ''Lauren Young, she''s known for her perfect utilization of Wood Element spells. Her casting and reaction speed are both top-notch, her only known weakness is that she''s notpatible with other elemental spells.''


    Ray remembered the report about her opponent.


    ''Although she can utilize other elements, the casting time takes much longer. Since that''s the case, I''ll just have to use it as my advantage. But I also have to consider that our opponents are aware of our intelligence report or they know their weakness that was revealed so they can be prepared as well.''


    After the referees noticed that the twobat magicians were ready, they signaled the start of the battle. A whistle was blown alongside the referee''s announcement.


    Their Mana Shell was immediately activated. Ray immediately used a Field Magic to make the environment in favor of him.


    "Freezing Mine Field!"


    This magic spell was unique to the mana artifact made by Ross. Although it wasn''t as powerful as a Domain Magic, it could still affect the environment to make it to your advantage.


    Lauren didn''t stay idle, she strengthened her Mana Shell. She didn''t bother struggling to fight for a better environment, although her mobility was lessened due to the Field Magic that Ray cast, she decided to make one pure and powerful attack at Ray to destroy his Mana Shell.


    After all, even if the field was to your advantage, the aim of the battle was still to destroy the Mana Shell protecting your body.


    The stage was almost filled with ice and Ray''s mana pool decrease by arge chunk. He noticed Lauren defending her position and made an attack.


    ''It would now be difficult for her to cast Wood Element spell. Then her n now should be attacking my Mana Shell thinking that the Field Magic is just some normal frost to affect mobility and deal some small damage when cast.''


    "Fire st!"


    Lauren stepped on the ice field to gain some closer distance and has thrown her Grade 2 magic spell. She knows that this spell won''t be affected by the Grade 1 field magic. Even though she was known to her Wood Element spell, she wanted to surprise them that she can also be a versatile magician.


    "Archon -- Fire Arrow"


    Everyone was surprised about this spell that Ray has thrown to match the Grade 2 Fire st Spell. Lauren frowned at this, it was obvious that an exclusive skill of a mana artifact especially those that reach Grade 2 of level would be stronger than any standard magic spell. But now, Ray even used a small Fire Arrow to contend against the massive fire thrown toward him.


    She might understand if he has thrown an Archon''s Water Bubble spell but she couldn''tprehend this pitiful Fire Arrow. This made her a bit worried since she felt that her opponent is nning something.


    But since this happened so fast, they no longer have enough time to think and the two magic spell collided... or not.


    As soon as the two spell neared each other, the Fire Arrow managed to barely dodge the Fire st and proceeded to hit Lauren Mana Shell instead.


    She didn''t give up her control on the Fire st as she already cast a defensive magic spell to protect her a while ago. Also, she was confident that even with just her standard Mana Shell, it would not receive any significant damage from standard magic so she decided to ignore it.


    As soon as the Fire st neared Ray, he tried to dodge on the side.


    "That''s futile!"


    It''s not easy to get away from a Grade 2 spell controlled by the caster. Lauren controlled the Fire st but Ray already cast another spell, it wasn''t to defend himself but was aimed at Lauren.


    "Archon -- Ice Spikes"


    As soon as the Fire Arrow hits Lauren''s defenses, the collision made a bright explosion blinding her in a few moments. After noticing this, Ray used a standard magic spell Ice Spikes. If the Ice Spikes were cast without the Freezing Mine Field he could only summon one magic spell, but together with the field magic, there are six ice spikes created and destroyed Lauren''s Mana Shell.


    As soon as her Mana Shell was destroyed, the Fire st lost control and could now be easily dodged.


    "Eh?"


    Ray was surprised that he already won.


    ''I haven''t even used the Mines in the field. Oh well, that''s a good thing I guess.''


    The Freezing Mine Field was an altered magic spell made by Ross. He was known in his wide range of knowledge on mana artifact but not in creativity. Wace''s appearance pumped him up to create something unique in all his mana artifacts instead of just copying the mana spells they learned.


    Of course, he knows his limits that''s why aside from the Mines in the Freezing Field. He only altered the Fire Arrow to have an explosion spell tied on it. Since that was just an Archon spell, he easily seeded in creating thatbo spell but still failing to do so with higher-level spells.


    ***


    "Oh. Not bad!"


    Wace praised Ross a little about his creation. He wasn''t aware of the specifics of the mana artifact they made for their fighter just like how Wace has surprised on the mana artifact that Shirley will be using.


    But with this battle, they have somehow grasped their ssmate''s ability in creating mana artifact.


    "I noticed that there is something unique on the Freezing Field that Ray cast. Or was it the Field Magic I know?"


    Tracy asked Ross about to confirm her observation.


    "I''ve altered it a bit."


    Ross said smilingly as he fixed his onyx ck hair that is blocking his eyes. It can be seen that he was proud of his work.


    ***


    Alphonse and Lina entered the stage and fought together against the Honeysuckle''s duo. They easily defeated them with Tracy''s mana artifact. Her artifacts were known for its stability and further enhancements in magic casting speed. With quick casting, they could easily move one step ahead with their opponent.


    After the field was cleaned, Shirley went to the stage with the three mana artifacts made by Wace.


    She wore a silver ne with a blue gem as a pendant. This mana artifact was partnered by a ring with a small blue gem sparkling with beauty on her left ring finger. It can be seen that Wace worked hard on its aesthetics too. The designs were superb that Shirley loved to own this mana artifact.


    Herst mana artifact is shaped like a gun. But of course, there isn''t any bullet on it and was only designed as such.

 Chapter 57 - Shirley

    The first two battles against Honeysuckle earned them 2 wins and if Shirley won her fight this time, they''ll be able to get their first victory in the 11 matches they have to fight.


    She briefly nced at her opponent and confirmed she''ll be fighting someone they''ve studied but it doesn''t matter, Wace made her an original mana artifact that could probably defeat almost all her opponent depending on how she utilized it.


    The ne and ring that he made for her mostly contained defensive magic spells but the gun or ''Sonic Gun'' she had was a different story. It possessed high offensive power enough to incapacitate mostbat magicians. For safety purposes, Wace even limited the power it could release to avoid unnecessary injuries it may cause to other students.


    "Leonhearts''s Shirley vs Honeysuckle''s Amber"


    As soon as the battle started and Mana Shells was activated by both participants. Shirley''s opponent quickly activated her brooch which is her mana artifact and summoned a water spell to attack her.


    "Royal -- Water Viper!"


    Arge winged snake having 10 meters of wingspan and all made of water pounced over Shirley in an attempt to destroy her Mana Shell. The viper opened its mouth with sharp fangs and bit the Mana Shell.


    "Distortion Wave!"


    Whooooosshh!!


    Shirley activated the ring on her left finger and it''s exclusive magic spell activated, the Distortion Wave dissipated the Water Viper that her opponent activated. Only a pool of water remained on the stage and vanished after a few moments as it was only made of mana.


    Her opponent was surprised about the oue as Shirley was able to easily destroy her opponent''s magic spell like it was nothing. Shirley wasn''t finished yet and made her offensive move.


    She lifted her Sonic Gun and activated the imbued magic spell on it and as the name implies, the magic spell uses sound to attack the opponent.


    "Ultrasonic Burst"


    This attack could not be felt or heard because of its high frequency but it could incapacitate the receiver. Amber had a headache out of nowhere. She wasn''t aware of what hit her and how to defend this kind of attack.


    Unfortunately, the Mana Shell was only capable of blocking physical and magic attacks but these sound waves couldn''t be blocked unless the opponent had a mana artifact specially made to counter the attack. Of course, no one would expect that someone would develop something this sinister. Invisible attack is very much difficult to defend after all.


    This Sonic Gun that Wace developed doesn''t have standard magics like Enchant, Prime, Archon or Royal Series imbued within. It only contains three offensive spells, the first was the Ultrasonic Burst and the second would be ''Infrasonic Ray'' which has loud, low-frequency sounds. This second spell has the effects that are like "punch in the guts", ranging from nausea to involuntary evacuation of the bowels. These magic spells weren''t used to attack or countermagic. It ispletely used to attack directly to magician''s body.


    Once the body was affected by these spells, they won''t be able to control or even activate any spell. Even Mana Shell requires the magician some concentration to maintain it''s activation, being influenced by these spells would certainly incapacitate unprepared enemies.


    ***


    Wace was bombarded by a series of questions about the magic spell that Shirley used.


    Once Amber received the full brunt of the magic spell, the battle didn''tst any longer. She was unable to maintain the activation of her Mana Shell resulting in her loss.


    Even Felicia, the announcer, was surprised about the oue of the battle.


    "Wow, what a dominating performance! I don''t even recognize any of the magic spell that the contestant from Leonhearts Academy used."


    "That''s right, even the Mana Artifact that was used was all original. Based on the recorded information we received from themittee, these artifacts all possessed Grade A evaluation."


    "I see that you look interested in these Mana artifacts, rence."


    rence is the young titled Battle Mage from the Ministry of Magic Education that was apanying Felicia on their post-fight analysis.


    "Of course, any magicians would like to have a powerful mana artifacts. I hope that I''ll have a piece of it."


    "Let''s wait in the market if it''s for sale then."


    Felicia joked as they continued chatting about the quick battle that has urred. They have a bit of information about the mana artifacts and magic structure used as the organizers need to make sure that no uncanny magic spell was imbued in the mana artifact.


    Ross was very interested in this mysterious artifact that had an invisible Magic Spell, but he didn''t ask questions since there would be someone who''ll ask this anyway and he just nned to listen. As expected, Ericka and Tracy asked the question at the same time.


    ""What was that?""


    Wace couldn''t help but smile as he saw their very curious eyes upon asking the question. He gave them a brief exnation enough to satisfy their curiosity.


    "So, another sound wave rted attacks? Just a bit different from the Traceless Oscition that Hilda used."


    Ericka asked after Wace exined the Sonic Gun and Ultrasonic Burst that Shirley used. The oscition was aplex magic spell aiming to destroy any object, this was a difficult spell since it requires abundant calction and eats a lot of mana as well. But this Sonic Gun is much simpler and attacks the human body instead.


    "Well, you could say that. I could see that the development of Magic Structure stirred towards elemental spell. But Mana can actually be used in a lot more ways other than elemental conversion. Also, this magic spell I developed heavily relies on the materials I''ve collected too."


    Wace said what he believed so. Although the elemental path was vast and full of possibilities for further development, magic engineers shouldn''t have neglected other usage of mana. He wasn''t sure why they insist on focusing their research on the elemental path, there could be secrets he was unaware of but he doesn''t care about it now.


    As Wace saw Shirley went down the stage, he noticed that her eyes radiate happiness as she achieved her first victory. He felt relieved upon seeing that she looks fine. He was actually worried if Shirley could perfectly utilize the simultaneous activation of mana artifacts.


    Everyone believed that Shirley only used two mana artifacts during the battle. The ring and the gun, but the ne that she was using was also activated silently. It was used to protect Shirley herself from being affected by Ultrasonic Burst and also the Distortion Wave. Wace only gave a brief exnation about the Distortion Wave, but it was morepound than the Ultrasonic Burst.


    Although she could control the direction of the attack, she wasn''tpletely safe so Wace used a special mana artifact to defend on this attack he has developed. He did not bother exining this for now. Some people will certainly interview Shirley and full details of this mana artifact may even be revealed after thepetition.

 Chapter 58 - Meetings

    After the battle between Honeysuckle and Leonhearts Academy, various magicians from the remaining Magic Academies tried to analyze the battle that has urred. Everyone ns to be prepared when they faced Leonhearts on their match.


    The video copy of the battle was immediately spread out towards the so-called battle experts, magic engineers and instructors toe up with a battle n against Leonhearts.


    The said academy already imed the champion in the First Year Division, it would be too much if they still took the Second Year Division.


    Within the meeting room designated for Mystic Gate Academy, their third years were giving advice towards the second years about the previous battle that has just urred.


    Dn, Arial, and Sheryl were the three mana technicians for the Mystic Gate and was tasked to analyze the mana artifact that the opponent used.


    "There seems to be no more Hilda. I mean, that Traceless Oscition shouldn''t appear anymore."


    Sheryl said calmly. While everyone was at the edge about how to face Shirley''s magic spell, she reminded everyone that it was still better than that oscition spell.


    If there is still someone capable of utilizing that spell, they should''ve used it already instead of utilizing a new magic spell to allow them to prepare for it.


    "What do you mean Sheryl?"


    A third-year student asked her to exin it clearly.


    "As what everyone guessed, the magic spell being used seems to being from a sound wave, unlike Hilda''s vibration. It was indeed difficult to take on that attack unprepared and we don''t even know the intensity of the attack."


    "So what do you rmend that we should do to prepare?"


    The same third-year asked the question.


    No one was suggesting what should be done to battle against Shirley so they waited for Sheryl to give her opinion instead.


    "It would be tough, but as you can see, after she activated the sonic attack, Amber was still conscious and enduring nausea or difort due to the magic spell. Only when she can''t endure anymore was the time that she lost control of the mana shell."


    "I see, so the sonic attack maybe wasn''t that powerful but if you''re not prepared you''ll be defeated."


    Arial voiced out his thought but Dn added more.


    "Sheryl also advised that we aren''t aware of its intensity so we really wouldn''t know if ourbat magicians could endure the torture of that spell."


    Everyone looked at K, she was the ace of their 2nd year and positioned as the 3rd fighter.


    K was only silent as she seems to be pondering over something. She nced at Sheryl, the mana technician who made 3 artifacts for her.


    During the forgingpetition, their team made a total of 10 mana artifacts and Sheryl made 3 mana artifacts solely for her.


    It must be remembered that during the first year''s division, although their team lost twice. They have this mysterious magic spell that could halt or interrupt magic casting. The spell wasn''t perfect and failed several times as it was difficult to utilize. This magic spell was made by Sheryl for everyone''s use.


    The spell was called Mana Shockwave. During their previous meeting, someone even told them it was somehow simr to what Isolde''s Academy used which is Mana Explosion.


    The Mana Shockwave was also an invisible magic spell that creates a simultaneous eruption of mana causing disruption in magic casting. The shockwave will halt the gathering of mana and will result to a mana burst. This mana burst happens if the casting wasn''tpleted and would cause the magician''s self-implosion. Although self-implosion may be too much, it was enough to stop magicians in further magic casting.


    Unfortunately, the spell Mana Shockwave requires perfect timing to cast because if it fails, the opponent will just feel a wave of air passing by.


    Although it has simrities in the Mana Explosion that Isolde has previously used, the Mana Shockwave doesn''t possess a fire element that Isolde added on their explosion.


    K was considering if she could use this when facing Shirley.


    Unfortunately, she doesn''t have enough time to think as another wave of information appeared.


    "Phoenix Academy won against Abuxorth Academy."


    It wasn''t that surprising for them to win but the way they won was certainly eye-catching.


    "The Phoenix magicians utilize a lightning magic spell!"


    It was such an amazing feat for young academy students to create lightning spell. Lightning element was several more difficult to create than fire, water, wind or earth.


    At the moment, only the Phoenix Academy has utilized a lightning spell.


    "It seems that they also have capable mana technicians, with such a magic spell developed they might get a good ranking this year. After all, their attack was almost impossible to dodge if unprepared."


    Arial said as he saw the newly arrived information.


    "Since they have a lightning spells, we can just use the n that we made during our practices. Nothing much."


    The third-year student said atst.


    Although they were surprised, they didn''t feel pressured unlike how the Traceless Oscition and Ultrasonic Burst did to them. They have made enough preparation to counter lightning spell users. What causes them a headache are those Wace''s traceless spell.


    ***


    The Skywalker Academy was having the same meeting.


    Aria Acott and Vanessa White were both third-year students from the Academy. They were the strongest duo and that allowed them to im the championship inst year''spetition.


    As a matter of fact, these two were included in those students that were able to detect Wace''s Divine Sense!


    It only means that they were really capable magicians that match Hilda. After all, within the Mystic Gate Academy, only K Rogers was able to detect Wace''s Divine Sense and no other third year in the academy was able to do so.


    Vanessa finished watching Shirley''s battle and voiced some of her thoughts.


    "Hooo~ That was something. This sonic attack was quite good, I can probably bear this attack but not you young ones."


    ''You''re only 1 year older than us senior.''


    ''Please, take this seriously. I don''t want myself to be like Amber.''


    The 2nd year students would like to reply to her but was scared to be picked on by this short temperer senior. The ace of Skywalker or 3rd fighter was feeling helpless as no useful advice wad being given to him.


    They asked again for advice in case there was something useful they could rmend as a battle n.


    "Well, your bodies are so fragile so you probably won''t be able to take on that attack. You can just ept your defeat when faced with her. Just don''t lose tragically, at least try to deal some damage."


    Aria Scott beside Vanessa answered. It was as if it doesn''t concern her if her fellow student lost the fight.


    "Hmm... It looks to me that the technician even weakened the effects of the mana artifact to pass it on the organizer''s standard. If that was strengthened or the intensity increased even more, not only nausea, headache or other pain will you receive."


    They all went in silence upon hearing this.


    Vanessa was sitting with her eyes closed as if trying to remember something.


    "Who made this mana artifact?"


    She asked the question as she opened her eyes. She looked extremely interested about the craftsman who designed this artifact.

 Chapter 59 - Magicians

    Shirley garnered attention due to her unique magic spell that easily shatters her opponent''s Mana Shell. Likewise, other notable magicians were showing up as thepetition started.


    Cloud from Skywalker possesses original mana artifact. His Radiant Sword is a blunt short sword that has simrities in the artifact originally made by Ross.


    Cohen from Phoenix Academy utilizes the Lightning element to destroy his opponents. It''s fast, urate and destructive power can easily defeat some ace students of other academies.


    K from Mystic Gate uses the mana artifacts made by Sheryl the Frost Queen. As expected, she uses Domain Magic to overpower her opponents. It is several leagues higher than Field Magic previously used by Michael from Leonhearts. She wasn''t using the Mana Shockwave yet in her seeding fights. It seems that she was reserving this magic spell until she fought with Shirley.


    After the battle between Leonhearts and Honeysuckle, Shirley''s group defeated Sacred Peak and Odrexelt Academy giving them 3 consecutive wins.


    Thest 2 academy they fought was in the same league with Honeysuckle. But the strategy of the Odrexelt changed as when they realized that their opponent was Leonhearts, their team captain that is supposedly positioned in the 4th and 5th upied the vanguard position instead.


    He fought toe to toe with Ray and managed to gain their only victory.


    "Hey! I was told not to use that 3rd artifact!"


    Ray reasoned out as he was teased by his teammates for losing the fight. Instead of lifting his mood, his friends even teased him not minding his feelings about his loss.


    "Haha! I know, but why''d you have to kneel like that?"


    Lina replied as thest scene of the match where Ray lost was being broadcasted and shown after their fight together with the announcement of the match-winner. This can be seen in the multiplerge sma screens ced in the arena.


    Ray''s Mana Shell was the first one to shatter in his brawl against the team captain of Odrexelt. Unfortunately, thest captured scene and was disyed in the sma screen was the moment where he looked exhausted and kneeled after his Mana Shell shattered. He was even looking up to his opponent that was standing in front of him making quite a good scene to be disyed.


    Although he lost, his mind was still at ease since he hadn''t used the mana artifact made by Wace yet.


    ''Hmph. Once I fought with either the other top 3 academies, I''m allowed to use this artifact if necessary to guarantee my win.''


    They don''t n to show that mana artifact yet to avoid the top 3 academies from immediately forming a strategy to counter it. Their team felt that it was still eptable to lose their 1st match against these weaker academies as they were confident that they could im overall victory in their 5 matches. They''d rather lose the 1st fight than to reveal their trump card.


    ***


    The audience suddenly cheered as K entered the stage. Her battle was always dominating and everyone could feel how powerful she was.


    Her Domain Magic was not only powerful but also looks beautiful insight. It exudes a charm that made the audiences even from different academies admire it.


    Wace was keen to watch her battle as he acknowledged that this student is really strong. Mystic Gate Academy is in the middle of theirst battle for the day. This afternoon, each academy was scheduled to fight 4 others and will continue tomorrow morning until the afternoon.


    ''As expected of someone in the instructor''s level. Maybe once my Divine Sense was upgraded, they won''t be able to feel it''s presence.''


    He was contemting the possible reward that the Pathfinder may give him once he achieved a rank in the overall ratings. He was given 3 options depending on his rank and felt that all three were good but now, he felt that it would be better to receive an upgraded potion of Divine Sense instead.


    ***


    In an abandoned town not far away from Tanza City.


    "Have you found her?"


    A young man in his teens asked a question to his subordinates over the earphone he wore. His current team consisted of two more teens and two middle-aged men wearing a soldier''s uniform from a magicians unit. They were even wearing bracers that are unique to a special regiment in Zairus, the Lucent Force.


    "Negative." A person on the other replied as he heard the question of the young man.


    "I found traces here in point B. We''ll need a tracker and concealer. I think we''re getting close." Luckily, another team seems to have found clues and delivered good news to the young man.


    The other two young men beside him immediately felt delighted upon hearing the news.


    "Aaron, let''s go quickly!"


    One of them couldn''t wait and were hurrying Aaron to order them to go to point B.


    Yes, the young man was Aaron Schmidt, the student council president of Leonhearts Academy together with his trusted friends, Garry and Humphrey from the ethicsmittee.


    Garry nudged Aaron to move. Aaron also couldn''t conceal his excitement and looked at his other two subordinates together with them.


    The two older magicians apanying them were from Lucent Force and they were assigned with a certain task that requires Aaron''s presence.


    A few more minutes had passed as they rendezvous with the other team who located some traces of the person they were looking for. The two other teams weren''t soldiers but like a private bodyguards of Aaron.


    One magician from Lucent Force immediately used some exclusive magic spell and used it to discover more clues.


    After using the magic spell. He pointed his finger in a certain abandoned house.


    "She''s there."


    Everyone looked on their east where the sun is and saw an abandoned house under a shade of a tree.


    The other member of the Lucent Force nodded and decided to go first. He was strongest within the team after all.


    He noticed some concealed traps and barriers ced in the surroundings of the house.


    It took them almost an hour to safely remove all these and enter the abandoned house.


    They saw a haggard and pale middle-aged woman with a few bruises in her body seated on the floor and leaning on the wall. She looked like resting and she was using her left hand to hold her stomach that has a wound. Traces of blood can be seen on her shirt. Her boots were full of dirt and looked like she had traversed an arduous journey. Her vest was set aside to her left full of scratches and de marks.


    She must have experienced such a difficult battle.


    "Miss Tales!!"


    Aaron and his group recognized the woman. She was an instructor of Leonhearts that was handling Wace''s ss. However, after a week of vacation, Ms. Tales did not return and was reced by Wace''s current instructor, Garen.


    After confirming from the two members of Lucent Force that it was safe.


    Aaron approached Miss Tales and gently whispered.


    "You''re safe now."

 Chapter 60 - Kyla

    Mystic Gate Academy was currently in a battle against Stoneheimer as they now reached the 3rd match.


    "Stoneheimer''s Klein vs Mystic Gate''s K"


    "This beauty from Mystic Gate has such an intimidating power. Her control in Domain Magic reaches different heights, she''s even more impressive than the 3rd years I know." Sam, a third-year student from Stoneheimermented as the battle of his fellow student was about to start.


    "Klein''s power heavily relies on his strong defense so I think he would have a chance here. As long as he could endure and find an opportunity to counter-attack and hit K''s Mana Shell, it would be a good chance." Another third-year student, Ves, analyzed the chance that Klein has to win the battle.


    Everyone in the arena may be expecting him to lose but he was holding his hope to Klein''s defensive power to struggle his way to victory.


    "That''s true, no one was able to hit K''s Mana Shell so we don''t know it''s toughness yet. Maybe, it is fragile as she focuses only on her offensive power." Sam replied.


    "That''s hard to say, her Mana Artifact was made by an elite so there should be some defensive magic spell on her as well." Another 3rd-year student joined their conversation and both Sam and Ves looked over.


    The two noticed that it was their team captain for the 3rd year roster. He is Hector Newman, the strongest magician in the academy that could rival and fight toe to toe against a licensed Combat Magicians.


    Hector has short brown hair and azure eyes. His lower left cheek had a scar from a de that he didn''t allow to get fully healed. In the advancement of Mana Study, the field of medicine had also benefitted and allowed them to create a path for Mage Doctors. In short, this type of wound can bepletely recovered as long as he received treatment from a doctor.


    However, Hector refused to do so and maintained the scar telling that it was a reminder for him.


    It must be remembered that Hector was included in the third year students who were able to sense Wace''s Divine Sense.


    "Klein would have a chance if K''s Mana Shell were more fragile. But if it has the toughness that couldpare to his Mana Shell then, It would be difficult. Anyway, with the strength he possesses I believe that only those from Leonhearts, Phoenix, Skywalker and this Mystic Gate a good chance to defeat him."


    Hector trained Klein for a few months so he was somewhat aware of his capabilities.


    ***


    As soon as the start of the battle was announced, the two magician onstage activated their mandated Mana Shell.


    K, as expected has activated her Domain Magic spell alongside protection spell.


    "Fire Blessed Armor."


    "Domain Magic -- Continuous me Orbit."


    The first spell was used to create heat protection that would being from her domain magic. The surroundings immediately turned to a burning field, ravaging mes and moving orbs of me can be seen as it slowly covers the whole stage.


    Klein didn''t stay idle and activated an Earth spell than his Field Magic making his surroundings a bit better.


    "Archon -- Copper Boulders Field!"


    "cial Remnant Field!"


    He knows that the magic would onlyst a bit on this dominating domain magic. Once the domain magic epasses the whole stage, who would have a very little ce to maneuver. The Copper Boulders changes the surroundings by summoning several bs of stones in 10 meters of proximity. The several dozens of this boulder only has a height of 2 feet but these boulders can be controlled to protect himself.


    The cial Remnant Field wouldplement these boulders as it will add anotheryer of protection so the stones won''t be easily shattered.


    After he had confirmation that he still has stable Field Magic in 9 meters of his radius, he started to ready an offensive spell. The cial Remnant Field could at mostst under a minute against this ravaging me. He was waiting for an opportunity to strike. The Domain Magic was eating his defenses.


    K noticed that Klein wasn''t attacking and only enduring the Domain Magic.


    "Since you''re not attacking... Let me try this spell, I haven''t used it against the other three academies. Be d."


    K smirked after saying this since Klein seems to possess sturdy defense. She decided that he will be a good practice target.


    "Lava Mines. Detonate."


    Baaamm!


    An explosion can be heard shattering a part of Klein''s defenses. But it didn''t stop there, the explosion continues until Klein only has 3 meters of defenses left.


    The referees were ready to save him the moment his Mana Shell shattered.


    The audience felt that it was also only a matter of time before his Mana Shell was destroyed.


    A group of students from Phoenix Academy who were readying for their final battle for the day against Leonhearts is watching the current battle.


    "Well, at least hested longerpared to the others who only survived for a few seconds." Brentmented as he noticed that Klein was about to sumb to the powerful magic cast by K.


    "Every time I watch her Domain Magic, it looks fascinating. I wish I can also control this kind of spell."


    "That''s true, even this explosion looks beautiful. It feels like an art."


    "So d we watched this battle live. She looks so dazzling." Anothermented as he noticed that K was smirking.


    They were captivated by whatever K did. But something unexpected happened as soon as they felt it was finished.


    It seems like ast-ditch effort of Klein in a struggle for a win, he abandoned his defenses and charged forward after getting the rhythm ofva mine detonation. He was covered in a yellow aura protecting him from the Domain Magic. He lifted his right hand pointing his palm towards K and released the magic spell he readied.


    "Obsidian Surge!"


    A ck orb of mana immediatelynded on K''s Mana Shell.


    Thud!


    A dull impact sounded as the spell, Obsidian Surge seems to have destroyed her Mana Shell.


    Everyone was surprised at this development thinking that Klein was able to do the impossible. But they saw that K only smirked as the impact came from her Fire Blessed Armor. Although the spell is originally for heat or fire resistance spell, it was improved by Sheryl and can now be considered to be another barrier against any attacks.


    Unfortunately, Klein wasn''t able to prate thisyer of protection.


    The yellow aura covering him vanished. It seems that it could onlyst for a few seconds enough to cast that Obsidian Surge for a counter. Although it failed, it was a good attemptpared to the others.


    He was now exposed to K''s Domain Magic. This immediately shattered his Mana Shell. The referees immediately acted as they cleared Klein''s surroundings to protect him from the fire domain.


    K''s victory was expected but it excited the audience as Klein did a very good performance in the battle.

 Chapter 61 - Lightning

    The Mystic Gate Academy won theirst match for the day getting 4 consecutive wins. They had a very good start and it lightened their mood. Confidence was building up even if there are still strong opponents out there.


    They were now ready to watch the battle between Leonhearts and Phoenix. Their academy hadn''t had a chance to fight them yet and was scheduled to fight the two tomorrow. It would be a very good reference if both of them will show all their trump cards in the battle allowing them to prepare even more.


    "Let''s watch the battle carefully, I know they aren''t using the full power of their mana artifact. We may have a chance of seeing it here."


    K said to her team. Everyone nodded as they also watched the previous battles of these academies and notice that they were holding back. However, since both of them are strongpetitors, they will show their hands to win the match.


    "I wonder if Shirley only has Ultrasonic Burst."


    One member of the team muttered but Sheryl immediately shook her head.


    "Impossible." She said calmly as he stared at the stage waiting for the battle to start.


    "It was only because she hadn''t fought someone who would force her to use other magic spells." Sheryl added her conjecture. After all, it is only normal to ce other back up magic spell and Shirley has 3 mana artifacts.


    Although no one knows their use. They were noticing that it always lit up whenever Shirley uses the offensive spell. It means that Ultrasonic Burst has more secrets that they weren''t aware of. In the first ce, they only have a vague idea about the principles of how it works but not the entire magic structure blueprint itself.


    ***


    Wace together with his close friends, Gilbert and others including Tracy and Ross were watching the battle of their team against Phoenix in the audience seats.


    "You don''t look concerned. Are you confident that they''ll win?"


    Ericka asked as she noticed Wace that wasn''t paying attention. The others nced at him waiting for him to answer. Especially Tracy beside him who looked curiously on him as if wondering where did he get his confidence from.


    "Huh? No. I was just thinking of something. Hmm... I think Ray and the others can do just fine."


    Wace answered awkwardly, he was checking out his mission given by Pathfinder before thepetition. He was wondering if he could at least get the third ce reward which is some lost technology of this world. After all, it was something that thete Aeolia Schien was searching for.


    ''The students from Phoenix have such high offensive power. So Ray can win this if he decided to utilize that artifact.''


    They heard a cheering crowd and soon noticed that 4 magicians took the stage. The left stage would be taken over by Leonhearts and Phoenix while the right stage alongside them will be with Isolde and Neon Academy.


    Of course, Wace and the group were monitoring the left stage.


    "Phoenix''s Neil vs Leonhearts'' Ray"


    As soon as the battle started they saw the two of them being covered by their Mana Shell. Neil didn''t bother to hide his strength this time as he knows that Ray is a tough one.


    "Lightning Chain!"


    A lightning spell immediately hit Ray''s defense but he was able to hold on as he activated his defense.


    "Freezing Mine Field!"


    It was the field magic he always uses and everyone in the arena is already familiar with it. But there is still an auxiliary magic spell embedded in this that Ray hadn''t had a chance to utilize.


    After barely manipting a block of ice to have it cover in front of him to defend against the Lighting Spell, the block immediately shattered exposing Ray. His opponent specializes in ranged spell and the field magic could only temporarily halt Neil''s assault.


    Maintaining field magic is also consuming to his mana pool so he has to act before he runs out of it. Of course, Ray was just looking calm about this maintaining his focus and observing Neil''s movement and attack.


    Neil used multiple lightning spells to attack Ray but his opponent was very patient and utilize the ice to block the attack. Ray also shoots out a petty attack that only annoys Neil.


    After all, the attack was only an Ice Shard that could barely scratch his Mana Shell. Neil sometimes didn''t bother to defend and let it hit his Mana Shell. He instead focused on looking at the gaps between Ray''s defenses.


    The field magic slowly expanded, bit by bit and surrounded Neil. It only started a few meters around Ray but as the battle goes on, he decided to expand the field every time he made a sessful block against Neil''s attack.


    As Neil noticed this, it was already toote.


    "Ice Shard Explosions!"


    Booommm! Several explosions were heard. The Ice Shards that Ray was throwing about wasn''t just to annoy Neil but also to control his surroundings. If Neil had focused on his surroundings instead of just looking for opportunities to strike Ray, he would have vacated his position and it would be difficult for Ray toplete his n.


    A thick mist was now in ce of Neil. The audiences couldn''t see if his Mana Shell was already shattered.


    In the Phoenix Academy''s camp, his teammates were looking worried for him. Neil is a strong magician and he wasn''t even able to use all his reserve in this battle. After all, it would feel too bad if you lost while not even showing a hundred percent of your strength.


    As soon as they felt that Neil already lost, a bright red light radiated within the mist and seems like it was pulsating with a strong fluctuation of power.


    His teammates celebrated and saw that Neil was about to use his strongest move.


    "It''s Crimson Bolt!"


    They were aware of this magic spell, this is Neil''s trump card.


    ***


    "That looks scary."


    Tracy has a grim face as she felt the strong powering from within the mist.


    "Can Ray safely defend against that?"


    Gilbert asked but everyone was silent. Only Wace was looking at it without any expression.


    "The battle is over." Wace replied after noticing that no one answered Gilbert.


    ''Eh? You''re giving up on Ray already?''


    ''Is Neil going to win or can Ray still defend against that?''


    They asked the question in their mind thinking first that Wace gave up on Ray.


    ***


    Ray was feeling quite nervous on the stage feeling the strong mana fluctuation within the mist. If he was hit by this without any defenses, he''d see a Mage Doctor in months.


    The pulsating red radiance was looking very eerily together with the mist.


    But although he was nervous, he wasn''t scared. He was now holding the 3rd mana artifact he has that was made from Ancient Abyssal ss. It was called ''Mirror of Trace''.


    As soon as he did this, Neil finished his preparation and a red lightning was sent to attack Ray.


    "Crimson Bolt!!!"


    This is a thick red bolt of lightning with the size of a man and was thrown to Ray. Thetter was ready to risk everything as he relied on the mirror to help him fend off this attack.


    But something unexpected happened. He saw two silhouette blocking the attack.


    He then realized that the two referees had joined together to stop the bolt of lightning that was aimed at him.


    "Uhmm... What happened?" He was certainly confused about this oue.

 Chapter 62 - Last Battles (Part 1)

    Ray was surprised about the sudden turn of the events. A powerful magic spell aimed at him were being blocked by the two referees.


    ''Are they thinking that I couldn''t take that attack and may cause severe injuries or my even death so they kindly helped me?"


    Ray couldn''t help but smile wryly after thinking up to this point.


    ''It seems that I look too weak?''


    He thought for a bit but he was suddenly struck by an idea.


    ''There''s only a few asions where a referee would make a move. First is to protect those magicians whose Mana Shell has crumbled. The other is...''


    The crowd in the arena that were watching their battle made a sudden gasp as they had realized the reason why the referee protected Ray.


    "So it was like that!"


    "I didn''t notice that! The referee are experts."


    "It''s great that they immediately acted."


    "Isn''t that illegal. He might get a penalty."


    "Well, he may not have noticed due to their heated battle?"


    The audiences have different thoughts about the oue of the battle.


    The bolt of lightning seems to have been dissolved or eaten by the barrier summoned by the two referees and the mist blocking Neil''s body was also dissipated as a Wind Wave cast by the referee casually has cleared the stage.


    There they saw Neil standing and was still in an awkward position when he thrown the spell.


    The man himself looked confuse too but then suddenly realized the reason for their interference. He looked stunned upon realization.


    The referee announced the victory.


    "Ray Penber from Leonhearts won!"


    The crowd cheered for the victory acknowledging Ray''s prowess in his battle. He felt happy hearing the crowd cheer for him as it motivated him to do better in his next match tomorrow.


    Neil was only standing there and was approached by the referee.


    "You are not allowed to attack once your Mana Shell was shattered. This will be your team''s first warning."


    The referee did not ask the reason why Neil acted even after his Mana Shell was destroyed. There could be reasons like due to his anger on his opponent, not noticing that his Mana Shell was gone, he couldn''t stop the spell from being released or he just don''t care so he deliberately did it.


    But whatever the reason is they will receive a warning for the team not individually. The whole team itself will only receive until the third warning and they will be disqualified if they continue to incur penalties in their next battles.


    Neil sighed upon hearing the referee''s decision. He shook his head and went out of the stage.


    He was approached by his teammates and his instructors together with the medic team in case he was injured in the fight.


    ***


    "Wow, did you already saw that Neil''s Mana Shell shattered?" Ericka asked as she looked at the one seated next to her.


    "Wace, how did you see that?" Gilbert also asked as he only noticed that the Mana Shell weren''t there after the referee dissipated the mist.


    "Even the referee only noticed that his Mana Shell was gone after he released thest spell." Kazimir said animately while still looking at the stage where the battle happened thinking how did Wace saw the detail.


    "I''m curious."


    Tracy said and acted cutely as she waited for Wace to answer.


    Wace said that ''the battle is over'' even before Neil released the Crimson Bolt spell within the mist and it must be remembered that only Neil''s silhouette with pulsating red radiance can be seen at that time.


    But after announcing this, just a couple of seconds past and Neil released the lightning spell, it was blocked by the referee and they announced Ray''s victory.


    The group realized that Wace could have been referring during the moment that Neil''s Mana Shell was already shattered but they were just unaware.


    It was correct.


    Wace looked at them and felt that he couldn''t escape so he told them his observation.


    Wace recalled that the Ice Shard Explosion that Ray used were crucial to his victory. After the explosion, Neil''s Mana Shell was unstable and Neil probably noticed that he couldn''t maintain the Mana Shell anymore. He may be thinking that due to the mist, no one will notice this so he started to cast his strongest magic spell in an attempt to get a draw against Ray.


    As Wace saw the entire event, he noticed that Neil''s Mana Shell was shattered the moment he focused on casting the Crimson Bolt. Even if Neil noticed this and decided to reactivate his Mana Shell, it would be felt quickly by the referees since Mana Shell activation has some kind of familiar mana fluctuations.


    But Mana Shell deactivation or destruction can be hidden by another strong mana fluctuation and in Neil''s case, the activation of Crimson Bolt had hidden his Mana Shell destruction.


    After all, that pulsating red radiance during the activation of the spell has such a powerful and eerie mana fluctuation. All the audiences could testify on it.


    Wace told them about this and they wondered how he was able to tell something that has urred within the mist. Even the referees only acted or realized when Neil has thrown the spell.


    In regards to that, Wace conjectured that the referees may have realized that the Mana Shell already shattered but decided to wait for Neil to finish casting. After all, Neil may receive bacsh upon abrupt canceling of magic spell especially that powerful Crimson Bolt. It wouldn''t be good if it harmed the young magician.


    The battle continued against the Phoenix academy. Everyone from Phoenix uses a lightning spell as well and it has a very fast attack speed. Alphonse and Lina uses fire and wind magic to defeat their opponent.


    Alphonse deliberately took all the damages and although his mana shell was shattered in process, it was alright. Lina was able to finish her Grade 2 magic spell.


    "Multiple Active Air Shots!"


    A single ''Air Shot'' is a Grade 1 magic spell that hasparable power with Wind de and Wind Cutter from Archon Series.


    The spell Lina cast was like the Ice Shard Explosion of Ray. But this time, Lina created several stationary orbs of mana with wind element surrounding her opponent before activating the spell. Both Ray''s and Lina''s spell requires to gather and surround their opponents with their magic spell beforemencing the attack.


    It resulted in their 2nd victory. Their team coordination was superb as the two hadn''t even talked in the entire duration of the fight as it seems to be aware of their partner''s thought. Maybe aside from practices, being a couple would sometime help in this.


    The third battlemenced and Shirley fought against the enemy team''s ace and as expected, Shirley won. The lightning could not prate Shirley''s defenses and Mana Shell. It was a good attempt though.


    Unfortunately, after his attack failed, he was affected by Shirley''s Ultrasonic Burst. He felt nauseated as his stomach felt upside down and he couldn''t maintain his Mana Shell activation and was involuntarily deactivated.


    ***


    K in their academy''s camp watched all of this happen in the sma screen.


    "So if the attack is fast enough then we could stillnd an attack against her. It is just that even if itnded, it would be a question whether it can destroy her Mana Shell."


    K muttered as she watched Shirley''sst battle. After all, a hastily released magic spell would normally have weak power. Although itpensated for quick casting, it has weak pration power that could normally be handled by Mana Shell unless you cast plenty of those.


    She was analyzing the battle as the first fight tomorrow morning would be their Mystic Gate Academy against Leonhearts.

 Chapter 63 - Last Battles (Part 2)

    Tomorrow will be the 4th day of the Twelve Magic Academies Competition.


    All the academies were preparing themselves for the battle that wouldmence the next day. They all had 4 matches this day and allowed everyone to have a peek on their prowess. They somehow learned each and everyone''s ability so they expected to have a tough battle tomorrow.


    Of course, their mana artifact won''t be changing or possibly be upgraded as the mana artifact can only be taken before the battle. But they coulde up with a strategy since they were aware of the capabilities of their mana artifact.


    ***


    In the hotel near the Zairus IV Arena. A couple of Magicians wearing casual clothes can be seen resting in the lobby.


    The two weren''t unknown magicians but has been popr recently because of their appearance in the wholepetition.


    "All this time even during the previous TMACs, we only know how to use mana artifacts to cast a magic spell and throw it to the enemies. But this time, Leonhearts were showing interesting ways to shatter or deactivate the Mana Shell."


    The female magician said. She''s only wearing a casual attire of a white shirt and a skirt instead of a fancy clothes she normally wears whenever she worked. She is Felicia, the announcer in thepetition and currently, she was together with rence, a Battle Mage.


    "Mhm. This year''spetition looks more interesting than before. Also, I''ve seen several strong magicians..."


    rence nodded and said as he agreed with Felicia.


    "Hey, they are still studying. Do you n on recruiting someone already?"


    Felicia was surprised that a magician caught this man''s attention. rence''s status wasn''t simple and Felicia was aware of it. She was only an average magician but rence has a prominent background behind him.


    He onlyughed at her.


    "I didn''t say that. I''m just happy to see magicians that have a lot of potential."


    He smiles at her but Felicia only shook her head.


    "You sound like an old man. You''re only 23."


    ***


    The day has arrived and the students were excited to win their matches today.


    "Is everyone prepared?"


    Kite, the team leader of the 2nd year team in Leonhearts Academy asked his members. He had only fought once when Ray had lost once in a fight. Currently, the couple Lina and Alphonse together with Shirley hadn''t lost a fight yet.


    "Yes!"


    Everyone answered full of energy as they picked up their mana artifacts delivered by the automatons. Every after fight, the automatons will take the artifact and will be maintained to keep it''s performance always on top.


    The first fight was with Isolde vs Sacred Peak and Leonhearts vs Mystic Gate.


    A lot more audiences watching the arena were more interested in thetter''s match. After all, both teams were currently undefeated and the two made amazing performance during their previous matches.


    ***


    Instead of going to the arena, Wace is currently watching the live feed within Leonhearts camp together with Ross and Tracy.


    His other ssmates or Gilbert''s group were still in the audience area and were cheering for their fellow students.


    "Leonhearts'' Ray vs Mystic Gate''s Lawrence."


    An exciting match is about to ensue as the two participating magicians are known for their toughness.


    Lawrence was using two mana artifacts. A ck baton and a bracer tinted with gold.


    Ray used his signature move. Freezing Mine Field to restrict his opponent''s movement. But Lawrence was aware of this field magic. This spell can be used together with Ice Shard Explosion that could easily destroy his Mana Shell.


    Lawrence decided to attack while the field magic still has a small influence on the stage. After all, when the field magic stays there longer, he may be a disadvantage unless Ray consumed his Mana Pool.


    "Royal -- Wind Wave!"


    "Archon -- Piercing Wind Arrow"


    Simultaneous casting. Lawrence used the artifact almost at the same time.


    His first skill cleared any obstruction so he the Wind Arrow could effortlessly hit Ray''s defense. The field magic wasn''t able to stop the arrow as it was temporarily halted by the Wind Wave.


    Unfortunately, the power of this Wind Arrow cast by Lawrence isn''t enough to shatter Ray''s Mana Shell and base on its sturdiness, thetter will just recover his Mana Shell in a few seconds.


    Ray uses this moment to cast his attack spells. But he was surprised that he wasn''t able to control his magic casting.


    "You--!"


    Boom! A weak explosion was heard and Ray''s Freezing Mine Field crumbled, he felt dizzy due to the bacsh. His opponent used his Mana Shockwave perfectly stopping him from sessfully casting his magic spell and interrupted his Field Magic.


    "Tsk!"


    Lawrence would like to follow up on an attack to quickly finish off Ray but he was disappointed as due to abrupt canceling of Freezing Mine Field, it caused some chaotic mana interference and he wasn''t able to properly control the mana to attack Ray.


    Although it onlysted a couple of seconds, it is very to crucial to both magicians. The two of them are utilizing the 5th gen mana artifact that has brain-boosting magic structure within. Their senses and reaction speed were enhanced so the battles were normally fast-paced.


    Ray was able to survive the Mana Shockwave as Lawrence wasn''t able to sessfully do a follow-up attack. He tried to retreat and gain some distance between his opponent but Lawrence didn''t allow Ray to have more time to recover.


    Lawrence unleashed his only Grade 2 magic spell. It''s even an exclusive magic spell from his Wind Haze Bracer artifact.


    "Cyclone sh!"


    A twisting mana sh aimed at Ray pressuring him and almost unable to counter the attack. Ray saw in split second that Lawrence looked very exhausted. The Mana Shockwave together with this Cyclone sh might have drained his mana pool.


    Although he felt the danger of this magic spell and still feeling a bit dizzy. Ray took out the Mirror of Trace, gritted his teeth and activated the artifact.


    "It''s all up to you!"


    As soon as he poured his mana into the artifact and controlled its activation, a blinding light thatsted a second came out and the Cyclone sh was absorbed by the mirror for a moment before reappearing. But this time, it was headed to Lawrence.


    "What magic is this?!"


    He couldn''t believe that his exclusive magic spell was reflected towards him. He doesn''t believe that his opponent uses the same magic structure as Ray specializes in ice spells.


    He remembered that he only lost control of his spell in a moment when a bright light blinded him.


    As he opened his eyes and tried to see the result, the Cyclone sh was already a few feet towards him and couldn''t cast a strong enough spell to defend. After all, it was a Grade 2 magic spell and even felt stronger after it was reflected.


    Lawrence''s Mana Shell shattered and the referees announced the result.


    The crowd watching the fight cheered as Ray achieved another victory for his team.


    "Hehe, that feels awesome."


    He recovered from his dizziness and was appreciating the cheering from the crowd.


    ***


    Inside a certain room within the arena.


    "Urghh. It was made sessfully. Such a waste."


    A fat and balding middle-aged man said when he saw the activation of Mirror of Trace. He felt his heart bleeding.


    There were two morepanions beside him in the room. Another middle-aged man wearing a full ck suit together with a youngdy in her teens.


    "Uncle Kurt, what happened? Why is Sir Mace looking heartbroken?" The youngdy asked.


    "The guy used Mirror of Trace, it was made from Ancient Abyssal ss and once created, it can only be used thrice before it shatters... This artifact is said to be capable of reflecting even Grade 4 magic spell."

 Chapter 64 - Last Battles (Part 3)

    The group of three were rted to the Ministry of Magic Education that has sponsored thispetition.


    The one who organized the forgingpetition''s materials was this stout middle-aged man who felt his heart bleeding because of the wasted Ancient Abyssal ss.


    The 12 of this Ancient Abyssal ss that''s avable in thepetition are the only existing genuine material that can be found in Zairus, legally.


    Although the scarcity of this item stops many magic engineers to explore what the material could further do, this item had many theories published by researchers on how it can be used if it was sessfully forged.


    Because of these theories and research on how to utilize the material, many aspiring mana technicians or even magic engineers felt that once they have the material, they could also create an amazing mana artifact from it.


    Even Wace''s ssmates, Tracy and Ross, felt that they could also create an artifact using the Ancient Abyssal ss simr to what Wace made but they needed a longer time, maybe half a day would be required to finish the Mirror of Trace. All because they know the theory from the books they have read on how to make it.


    Also, the magic structure for the Mirror of Trace is an open secret since few could manipte or mold the material to create one. With Tracy and Ross resources, they could get a copy of this magic structure easily but unfortunately, the materials were tightly held by the Ministry.


    What others do not know was how difficult this Ancient Abyssal ss to be processed and to sessfully create a mana artifact from it. Only those who were lucky enough to use the material knows how difficult it was to forge the material.


    If not for an additional memory crystal he consumed that was given by the Pathfinder as a reward, he won''t be able to forge this Mirror of Trace.


    [ High-Level Unhindered Mana Gathering Formation ]


    [ 12 Cycles of Mana Stabilization Array ]


    These 2 memory crystals that he consumed was what Wace relied on to be confident in forging the artifact. Without this 2 knowledge prior to thispetition, he would not pick up this mysterious material that can only be normally found in the northern continent.


    Not only that, together with Wace''s knowledge, he perfectly assimted his other Magic Structure that could be used in any mana artifact, Mavis Prayer.


    The known sessful Mirror of Trace that was ever made can only be used 3 times, but what Wace did here can be used twice that number before the Ancient Abyssal ss loses its power. It was all because of thebination of his skills that it was made possible.


    Of course, if Sir Mace here learned about this, he would be even more surprised and may directly hire Wace to work for the Ministry.


    "Sigh... The 12 pieces of Ancient Abyssal ss that we put there should only be for decoration so I can use it to make a speech at the closing ceremony about how they are still ipetent and needs further exploration and improvement in their judgment."


    Sir Mace took a deep breath thinking what he would do now in his prepared speech.


    The man beside him whom the youngdy called Uncle Kurt twitched his mouth on what this bald man said.


    "You can just call your secretary to make you a new one. There''s still a couple of days before the closing anyway."


    Kurt said as he shook his head and given him advice.


    "Let''s continue watching the battle for now.." Kurt nced at the youngdy beside him before continuing. "The battle between your friend and K is nearing."


    "Shirley will win." The youngdy said confidently. She has already forgotten the grumbling Sir Mace and focused on the current match.


    ***


    The battle between Ray and Lawrence brought everyone watching the fight on their edge as it made them feel how exciting the battles between magicians could be. Magicians are full of mysteries and couldn''t be judged on how they looked. They seem to always pull surprises and a battle between them could always change its favorability in an instant.


    Because of this, everyone was expecting that the second battle or in the next battles would also be intense.


    Now, the couple Lina and Alphonse fought against Edward and Tim.


    The style ofbat of the former would be one assigned for defense and the other is for the offense. Lina took the attacking position as her Multiple Active Air Shots were also giving them an easier time to defeat their previous opponents. This skill requires high-level skillprehension and she had practiced these magic spells for years that she could perfectly manipte each Air Shot. Not anyone could just copy her style.


    Her partner Alphonse was used to take magic spells as he was always Lina''s target practice. He uses "Five Layered Elemental Coating" to protect himself. Although it is amon Grade 2 Defensive Magic Spell and easy to maintain, it is still a Grade 2. Tracy also did a very good job creating this magic structure allowing Alphonse to have a very smooth usage of the skill. The spell was very stable, whatever hit him, his mana artifact wouldn''t malfunction and the Five Layered Elemental Coating will only be destroyed when his mana pool was all consumed. No other Grade 2 Mana Spell was yet to prate his defenses. If he has arger mana pool, he would be a perfect meat shield.


    Because of Alphonse other defenses, Edward and Tim''s Mana Shockwave weren''t able to deter them. But their opponent was more diverse as no one is assigned for offense or defense. They worked together and whatever opportunity that rose up, they would take it.


    They attack whenever there is a chance and defend when required.


    "Royal -- Earth Rend!"


    "Royal -- Water Chain!"


    The two attacks at the same time giving Alphonse a wider range to defend as they attacked from a different angle and he also needed to protect Lina.


    "Archon -- Vortex Barrier"


    Alphonse used his body protected by Five Layered Elemental Coating to defend Edward''s Earth Rend but used the barrier to nullify Tim''s Water Chain.


    "Tsk... His defense is annoying."


    Edward said as he couldn''t prate his opponent''s defense with his quick casted Grade 1 Spell. He needed some Grade 2 spells to break that defense but...


    "It''sing! Careful!"


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    They were always being interrupted by an attacking from Lina.


    As soon as Tim shouted, Edward knows that Lina has attacked again and immediately dodged and cast a defensive spell. The Multiple Active Air Shots hit nothing at first but some Air Shots hit their defenses and their Mana Shell trembled at the impact of these Air Shots.


    Drops of sweat can be seen on their forehead as they couldn''t think how to defeat the enemy. Luckily, their mobility was enhanced to extreme allowing them to dodge these attacks that wereing almost instantly.


    Before Tim shouted to warn Edward, he tried to use the Mana Shockwave to interrupt her but to no avail. They were the one who was unable to cast Grade 2 spell because of these stationary orbs that could be Air Shot spell anytime. They always use Mana Shockwave in their previous fights to gain advantage to their enemies and although it won''t always seed, after 3 or 5 times their attempts would be fruitful.


    But this time, their opponents weren''t being affected by Mana Shockwave for some reason as they could no longer count how many attempts they already made. Either they are lucky or they have some sort of defense is what they thought.


    They immediately shook their head as they remembered that Ray was affected by Mana Shockwave. So they shouldn''t have learned a way to neutralize their Mana Shockwavepletely. As they reached this thought they heard a soft voice from their opponents.


    "Let''s end this." Lina said softly as she suddenly stopped attacking, it was enough for the two to hear her and she red mockingly towards her opponents.


    Alphonse twitched his mouth upon hearing this as he knows that his partner always likes to show off her skills.


    Edward and Tim didn''t have time to attack anymore as they marveled at Lina''s another Grade 2 Magic Spell before them.

 Chapter 65 - Last Battles (Part 4)

    The duo from Mystic Gate gritted their teeth as they prepare to defend themselves from the Grade 2 magic spell. No, they have to dodge when they see an opportunity. They couldn''t waste too much of their mana pool to defend on something like that.


    The Grade 2 Magic Spell released by Lina wasn''t a simple one. It can only be released with thebination of Magic Spell she released together with Alphonse''s auxiliary magic spell.


    "Water Vortex!"


    Arge spiraling water came to the Mystic Gate''s duo as they tried to use all their defenses to neutralize the spell. The water vortex covered a wide range and it first hits Edward destroying his Mana Shell before itnded to Tim.


    "Aaaarrgh!! Layered Mana Barri--!"


    Tim tried to further solidify his defense as he received a lesser force of impact from the Water Vortex but after the continuous assault of the Water Spell he wasn''t able to maintain his Mana Shell and stopped him from further casting a spell, he soon sumbed in the prating forceing from the vortex and sent him flying as it destroyed all his defenses.


    The referee announced the result confirming Leonhearts'' 2nd victory against Mystic Gate.


    "Wow! Mystic Gate''s winning streak may be ending here."


    "True, these 2nd-year students from Leonhearts were full of surprises. Not only their magicians were strong but also their mana technicians have brilliant minds."


    "Water Vortex is aplicatedbo spell that utilizes both wind and water elements, it''s difficult enough to cast it but the two were also capable of controlling the spell to a certain extent."


    The audiences gasp at the brilliant disy of skill from the Leonhearts duo and poured a series of praises to the two. They even remembered to give apliment on the mana technicians behind it.


    After the automatons cleaned and repaired the stage, the 3rd match started.


    Despite the overwhelming momentum from Leonhearts, K, on the other hand, remained calm as she prepared herself for the uing battle. She knows that their academy has high expectations for her in this round and she can''t show any weakness that could further affect their morale.


    She took a deep breath and stared at Shirley on the other side. If she won this fight, they would have a better chance since their team captain and she would have a goodbination once they reach the 4th match.


    She actually hadn''t thought that Ray would win the fight against Lawrence all because of Wace''s mana artifact. But even though that was the case, K analyzed that aside from Shirley she could easily take on the first 3 students.


    ***


    Tracy was grinning widely as she epted the adorationing from her fellow students.


    The Grade 2 Water Vortex magic structure wasn''t easy to create at all. Aside from the water spell ced in Lina''s artifact and wind spell in Alphonse''s, both artifacts must be activated with coordination so the other magic structure called "Chain Link" will be activated. This Chain Link, once activated willbine two magic spells in ordance with its mana technician''s will when they created it.


    In Tracy''s case, the two spells resulted in a Water Vortex, a Grade 2 level that could easily defeat unpreparedbat magicians on their level. She may be able to create more two-elementbinations but the time limit did not allow her to do so.


    "Well, only someone like her who has a very sturdy foundation in basic magic spell of all kinds could possibly do it in their batch."


    "Maybe if Wace and Ross tried, they could also aplish the same thing. Who knows?"


    The two from third-yearbat ss said, not minding if the 2nd year batch heard them. They haven''t seen or known other than Tracy who could make 1bination spell that could only be cast by 2 different individuals.


    Ross has his unique magic spells and knows tobine two elements but they can be wielded by a single individual, as a matter of fact, the original mana artifact of Ross, the Arcane Sword has multiple elemental infused within it.


    Wace has even more strange magic spells that haven''t been seen before. It seems that they already epted that Wace''s magic artifacts would always have its originality.


    Wace and Ross wasn''t surprised about the spell since they already know this beforehand but didn''t shy away on giving some praises to Tracy as she did praise them before with their own mana artifact''s unique magic spell.


    ***


    K activated her signature magic spell as quickly as possible. It is the Fire Blessed Armor together with her Domain Magic, Continuous me Orbit.


    Of course, Shirley wasn''t just watching when shepleted the spell but tried to use her Ultrasonic Burst immediately in an attempt to cancel K''s magic casting and defeating her altogether but surprisingly, the magic spell doesn''t seem to affect her.


    "Impossible!"


    Not only Shirley was surprised but also the crowd and even Wace squinted his eyes as he noticed that K stayed unaffected after the spell hit her.


    ''I see, so she has that high level of mana maniption. This would be tricky for Shirley but...'' Wace thought as he had quickly grasped what K did. He really couldn''t underestimate those magicians who have strong mana fluctuations that could even detect his current Divine Sense.


    "I thought Wace had wasted cing other magic spells here in the mana artifact with how strong this Ultrasonic Burst is. He may have anticipated that someone like K could resist the spell to a certain extent."


    Shirley didn''t cower at all even if the spell didn''t affect K. She was also thinking that her opponent was just keeping a strong front and has been injured by the spell.


    As she waited for the magic spell cooldown on her Ultrasonic Burst. She used other spells from her other mana artifacts to defend from the assaulting Domain Magic.


    K, on the other hand, was delighted upon her sessful defense.


    ''So Sheryl was right! You can''t stop me now!'' She was now beaming with confidence as she wasn''t sure at first if her n will be sessful.


    It must be remembered that mana artifacts are only a medium for casting a magic spell. Magicians could still control the mana to some extent, but due to the appearance of mana artifacts, current magicians focus only on studying its utilization instead of manipting the formless mana.


    After all, Mana-to-Element Conversion is currently impossible without using mana artifacts and using the formless mana to attack or defend is almost negligible. Battles between magicians were normally fast-paced due to how strong the magic spells released by 5th gen mana artifactspared to bare mana attacks. The difference is so huge.


    Sheryl, who was watching the battle couldn''t help but feel excited as well. Although she only theorized how to defend against the spell, without K''s amazing mana maniption they won''t be sessful in defending against the Ultrasonic Burst.

 Chapter 66 - Shirley VS Kyla

    K created a secondyer of mana protection on her body that allows her to defend against Shirley''s sonic attack.


    Using her superb mana maniption, she created this skill and named it "Mana Instion" with Sheryl''s rmendation. The concept of this is quite simple but unfortunately, aside from taxing mana consumption while maintaining the skill, the user will also be unable to hear any sounds at all.


    But for the sake of defending against Ultrasonic Burst and having a chance to counter-attack, it is just a small price to pay.


    K can only maintain Mana Instion for 30 seconds so she has to defeat Shirley as quickly as possible. Fortunately, her opponent wasn''t aware of her limitation and howrge her mana consumption is so she may have a longer time where she can use it to bluff as well.


    But she can''t bet on that, she must take down Shirley before her Mana Instion dissipated. K rapidly thought and nned her attack in an attempt to destroy her opponent''s Mana Shell.


    Booom!


    An explosion suddenly resounded as K was about to attack Shirley. Of course, she hadn''t heard anything but only felt that her Domain Magic had taken damage. She was maintaining the spell around her as protection from any iing magic attacks and felt another huge consumption of mana was triggered to maintain her Domain Magic.


    She realized that Shirley was now circling around her very fast as she uses another magic spell in an attempt to destroy her Continuous me Orbit and shatter her Mana Shell.


    At first, Shirley defended against the onught of her opponent''s magic. She used Water Sphere Protection against the domain but she felt that if this continued, she wouldn''t win. She has to attack instead and break K''s defense.


    Shirley used a haste spell and circled around K looking for the best angle. After she saw an opportunity, she pointed her Sonic Gun and used her other spell.


    "Echo st!"


    This is an entirely different magic spellpared to Ultrasonic Burst. Thetter is an inaudible and invisible magic spell that directly affects unprotected magicians.


    But this time, the Echo st was a sphere of mana that was thrown to K. Although it ultimately hadn''t reached her Mana Shell, the damage it dealt to her domain magic is massive. It took K a huge amount of mana to retain her domain and hadn''t been able to counter-attack.


    Shirley hadn''t left unscathed as she miscalcted the power of her Echo st when it hit K''s me Orbit. Although, it destroyed a part of her opponent''s defense, the massive vibration after their mana spell collision affected her Mana Shell as it trembled crazily before she was able to stabilize it.


    "That was surely dangerous. I really should keep my distance before activating that spell."


    Shirley said and noticed that she can now use again her Ultrasonic Burst. She did not hurry and try to use it against K but tried to analyze thetter''s abnormality.


    She noticed that K has a bit of dyed responses in her action. Although it wasn''t much, it still caught her attention.


    Wace had taught Shirley on how to defend against Ultrasonic Burst. The magic spell utilizes unperceivable frequency to affect her opponent. Wace realized that Mana Shell could not defend against this kind of attack so he developed the artifact aiming to take advantage of this, so the Sonic Gun was born. He also advised Shirley that if a magician could defend against the spell, they must have an ability to stop the sounding for them.


    ''It means that the opponent isn''t hearing any sound and only depending on their sight and mana detection.''


    Shirley remembered Wace''s advice as she noticed K''s reaction to her few attacks.


    Although it doesn''t seem to be too disadvantaged, with 4th gen mana artifacts, their senses were boosted to the highest level they could achieve. Listening ability doesn''t pale inparison with vision skills.


    "Blinding Mist Fog!"


    This is the skill that first-year magicians from Leonhearts used. Of course, this skill wasn''t originally with Wace but he improved the version up to his standard to give a goodbination with Ultrasonic Burst.


    A fog quickly covered the whole stage obstructing K''s sight.


    Now, K could only depend on her mana detection. In case that K could summon a magic spell to clear the fog, it would still give Shirley a few seconds to send her attack.


    ''Tsk.. 20 seconds more. I can''t stay like this.''


    K couldn''t maintain her Mana Instion for too long so she ns to expend all her Mana to end the battle. She knows that Shirley will send her attack somewhere so she hastily strengthened her defense.


    The Domain Magic retracted and now only covers 3 meters around her. Although the range is shorter, the defense it could give to her multiplied. After she confirmed that her defense was now solid, she readied to cast another spell. Another Grade 2 spell that will consume half of her mana.


    Before shepleted the spell, Shirley used another Echo st but this time, the effect wasn''t solid due to K''s tight defense. It dealt with damage to her Continuous me Orbit but not enough to destroy itpletely.


    K couldn''t tell where Shirley was but it doesn''t matter with her next spell.


    "Frost de Tempest!"


    K canceled her Domain Magic to send this Grade 2 magic spell. The cancetion only took less than a second then the Tempest was sent. Hundred of Frost de appeared around her orbiting in fast-paced as it extends to the whole stage clearing the fog exposing Shirley.


    Sheryl the Frost Queen couldn''t just forget her origin. Although she was now looking for her own Magician''s Path, as a descendant of Vermont Family who created Red Frost Magic, she was knowledgeable in any Ice Magic out there. Although the Domain Magic she created made her proud of herself, she couldn''t say that she had achieved better than her family''s heritage. So despite her confidence in her domain magic, she still ced her family''s Frost de Tempest as an assurance to win in thepetition.


    A cluster of de made of ice hovered and circled the stage and eliminated any obstructions.


    Shirley tried to distance herself from the tempest but the des were quickly following her leaving her unable to cast a defensive spell. She was really surprised about this Grade 2 spell, she felt that she could never cast this spell, like how K did.


    ''This should be consuming too much mana on her as well.''


    Shirley thought as she looked K on the distance, her tired look said it all but she wasn''t in a good condition. Dozens of des now surrounded her and were about to sumb in the tempest, she couldn''t escape anymore.


    ''That should be enough.''


    Shirley pointed her Sonic Gun on K not bothering to defend against the des of frost. As soon as she activated the Ultrasonic Burst spell, the dozens of de alsonded at her.


    The collision of her defense and frost des left some mist covering her body.


    The audiences were on their edge as they want to know who won the fight. They saw K''s Mana Shell shattered as Shirley activated the spell.


    Everyone eximed and some even sighed in disappointment.


    "So in the end, no one can defeat Shirley."


    "K did her best. She was the only one whosted this long against her."


    "Mhm. She was even almost defeated by K''s frost de."


    As theymented, the mist around Shirley cleared and they noticed that her Mana Shell was also shattered.


    "This..."


    "So whose mana shell shattered first, Shirley or K?"


    "Look at the referees. They seem to be discussing the result of the battle."


    The referees stopped the fight and were now talking with each other. After a few seconds, they seemed to make an agreement and announced the result.

 Chapter 67 - Results

    Tracy and Ross automatically nced at Wace as if asking for his judgment about the battle. Their eyes were asking who won the bout.


    "I''m not quite sure as well. Let''s hear the referees."


    Wace smiled wryly at the two. They were only watching the monitor within their camp so they have limited vision and couldn''t use mana detection to determine the winner.


    Internally, Wace was hoping that Shirley won the bout but even if she lost, he contemted that it would still be eptable.


    Everyone was waiting for the referee''s announcement especially the crowd supporting Leonhearts and Mystic Gate''s Academy.


    On the other stage, the battle between Isolde and Sacred Peak was still ongoing but only their solid supporters were watching the match. Even some of the students from their school were watching the exciting battle between Shirley and K. Isolde and Sacred peak will still battle for the 4th match.


    As the referee announced the result, the seated crowd was surprised and cheered for the winner.


    "Mystic Gate''s K won!"


    Shirley missed the beat to affect K with her Ultrasonic Burst and destroy her Mana Shell. This resulted in her first loss in thepetition.


    "Wow! So Shirley can be defeated."


    "I wonder what magic did K used so she won''t be affected by Shirley''s sonic attack."


    "That was an awesome battle."


    "Don''t feel down Shirley! You did great!"


    "Good luck in your next match!"


    "Woooh! K! K! K"


    The passionate crowd did not all came from the students of their academy but with other academies as well and even non-students that supported the two.


    It would be a lie if Shirley wouldn''t feel disappointed about the oue as she did her best.


    "That''s okay Shirley, K wouldn''t have enough time to replenish her Mana Pool."


    Kite, their team leader said smilingly and wasn''t showing that he was affected by the loss. The automatons were now cleaning the stage and the 4th battle will soon start once they finished.


    He knows that they still have their advantage and have a high chance to defeat K''s team.


    ***


    Wace concluded the same thing with Kite.


    "Thest spell K used, Frost de Tempest, expended almost all her mana. This may have been the cause for her protection against Ultrasonic Burst to disappear. It means that the next match would give the pair an advantage."


    "Maybe, K knows that she couldn''t maintain her defense any longer so she decided to use that Grade 2 Spell instead even with the cost of her defense. But in the end, she still spent a lot of mana in the process." Ross added as he heard Wace''s conjecture.


    "Yes, that could also be the case. We don''t know the duration and tenacity of her defense after all." Wace agreed with that and the three of them were not too worried now that their team will lose the next fight. They have a huge advantage now that K expended a lot of her mana.


    They just have to be careful and they will win the fight. Even thementator and announcer agreed on this.


    "K did a very good job against Shirley''s inconceivable attacks." Felicia said sincerely as she can see how difficult it was to defend against those sonic attacks. The four previous academies were helpless against thetter but K managed to overwhelm her with her abundant mana pool and power. Albeit with the cost of expending almost all her mana just to destroy the Mana Shell.


    If it was a real solo fight though, to spend all her mana pool just to destroy the opponent''s Mana Shell and not to incapacitate the enemy would not be a very wise decision. Especially if the opponents still have abundant mana despite having their Mana Shell being deactivated momentarily.


    ***


    Within the arena, the group of three who were rted to the Ministry of Magic Education were also appreciating the battle that has ensued.


    "Uncle Kurt! Howe the referees are so blind! Shirley has won! You hired them, right?" The youngdy within the room said to the middle-aged man sitting beside her.


    "Ehem. The referees were all veterans and titled Battle Mage so they should have made a correct decision." Kurt answered the youngdy exining to her without getting mad at her word.


    "Also, although I recruited them. It was agreed on by the wholemittee." Kurt said thisst part in a soft voice that could barely be heard.


    "I still think that you should rece them for the 4th match. They''re not doing their job correctly." The youngdy insisted. This time, it was the silent Sir Mace beside who replied.


    "Well... Miss Erza, do you know what''s thebat magician''s path?" Sir Mace asked Erza patiently and willing to exin her more not just about the referees.


    "Mhm, It was taught to me by my mom. If I''m not mistaken, once abat magician was acknowledged by the country through a series of licensure examinations, a Battle Mage title will be given to the magician and after that, once the titled Battle Mage passed another examination they will be given another title of Adept Mage. It should be the same as other magician''s path."


    "That is correct. Whatever path the magician has taken, they will be given a title by our country as a recognition. Remember, the Battle Mage title wasn''t being given to just anyone. Not all magicians can be abat magician as well as not allbat magicians can be a Battle Mage."


    Sir Mace exined to Erza, although he wasn''t used to teaching or exining and always requires assistance from his secretary for his every speech where he is required to attend, he can still exin something as simple as this for her.


    Kurt nodded at this and decided to borate it for her.


    "Sir Mace is telling that the referee wouldn''t easily make mistakes on their decision. Their title as a Battle Mage isn''t just for show after all."


    Erza, the youngdy, calmed down after hearing their exnation but still not feeling good about her friend''s loss.


    "Well, looking at the current situation, it is highly likely that Leonhearts will still win the overall match." Kurt''s eyes glinted as she observed K. Heforted Erza as he noticed that she was still indignant about the result of the battle.


    "Really?" Erza asked him for confirmation. Her mood immediately brightened up.


    "Of course, looking at K, everyone can see that she exhausted a lot of mana by activating that massive Frost de Tempest. It was already an amazing feat to use and maintain that Domain Magic together with her other mysterious magic defense. Sending thatst attack that covers the whole stage is too much even with a prodigy like her." Kurt said the same thing as he was clear about K''s mana fluctuation as well.


    "That''s right, the Mystic Gate''s team was still bound to lose but K had already proven herself. Their team won''t lose the match because she was weak but because the difference in mana artifacts is hugepared to your friend''s team." Sir Mace said seriously as if contemting something. The two middle-aged men looked at each other thinking the same thing. It seems they made an agreement with that simple look as well.


    ***


    Their prediction didn''t disappoint them and as expected, the overall match winner was still taken by Leonhearts even with one lose point in the third round.


    "Leonhearts'' Kite and Shirley won!"


    Kite''s support magic together with Shirley''s offensive magic earned them another win against K''s team at the 4th match giving them their 5th victory. They needed to fight 6 more battles today to end thepetition for their division.

 Chapter 68 - Second Years Division Conclusion

    The second year''s battlested until the afternoon and as expected, only the Mystic Gate''s team gave a tough time against Leonhearts.


    Ray Penber wasn''t able to get another chance to use the Mirror of Trace as the other academies weren''t that overwhelming and when he fought against Cloud of Skywalker Academy, he couldn''t use it against thetter since he is a closebat mage. The artifact is only capable of deflecting projectile magic and Cloud''s Radiant Sword is an enhanced weapon capable of destroying Mana Shells easily, provided the fact that he can close into his opponent.


    The Skywalker Academy''s strategy was to ce Cloud as a vanguard to somehow guarantee their 1st win and if they reached the 4th match, he will partner with their team captain to defeat Shirley and Kite. Cloud knows himself that fighting alone with Shirley with that Ultrasonic Burst which can be used indefinitely would be difficult for him.


    He doesn''t know how K defended against that attack and wasn''t in any position to ask for help either. Thus, after Cloud won against Ray in their tough fight and lost the 2nd and 3rd match of the battle, they used their strategy against Shirley and Kite in an attempt to win the 4th match.


    Unfortunately, even together with Cloud''s partner, they couldn''t defeat Shirley''s offensive power. Kite was using 2 Mana Artifact made by Ross that has an Archon Series as a magic spell. Aside from this, the artifacts contain exclusive spells focusing on defensive capability.


    After all, during the selection stage in the Artifact Forging segment were the mana technicians has to select their materials, Wace was able to acquire all genuine materials they needed and the quality of those were reaching their peak as well.


    Within the camp assigned to Leonhearts Academy, a festive atmosphere can be felt as another big aplishment was achieved by the second-year participants.


    "Good job, Shirley! Can you teach me now how to use that spell?"


    Lina asked Shirley as she was extremely curious about this Ultrasonic Burst. During the month of preparation, she was only focused on mastering their nned mana artifact andbat strategy with Alphonse and doesn''t have too much time to ask and study other''sbat ns.


    "No worries, although it wasplicated, as long as you work hard, you can also use that spell. It took me a while to get used to that magic structure as well. Sigh.. it requires a high level ofprehension."


    Shirley said and even took a deep breath as she remembered that during the month of preparation before the start of TMAC, she had almost used up its whole duration just to perfectly learn the spell usage. She had a tough time utilizing Wace''s original spell at first. Looking at the past, she was very d that she endured the training and mastered Ultrasonic Burst.


    "Ray, you can take a lot of hits. You performed better than the practice matches we did." Kite said to his ssmate. He was impressed by Ray''s improvement.


    Being in the realpetition put the participants a lot of pressure but Ray perfectly used it to his advantage and improved himself.


    "That''s right! You look cool in all your matches." This time, it was the first year Michael who praised him. As a fellow vanguard, he knows the pressure it takes when fighting the other academies.


    "Haha. Did I? Let''s all celebrate tonight! Bring out all the juice and buns." Ray said as he felt happy being praised by his juniors.


    "Hey, don''t forget. There''s still our match for third year''s division tomorrow." Vera reminded Ray as he was intoxicated with the praises he received this time.


    At this moment, Instructor Eve within the camp caught everyone''s attention.


    "Everyone did a good job including our mana technicians who created perfect artifacts for ourbat magicians. Good teamwork." Eve smiled and nodded before continuing.


    "Let''s all wait for tomorrow''spetition and also hope to have better results."


    Instructor Eve''s words made the third year''s students conscious about tomorrow''spetition. After all, first-year and second-year participants this time made an amazing performance.


    The third-year participants this year were all the same participantsst year and weren''t able to get good results previously. Although they have improved by arge margin this time, they still weren''t confident to take the first ce. What they are thinking instead is just to perform upon the best of their ability.


    Wace affirmed and also couldn''t wait to see the third year''s performance tomorrow. He was curious about some students and would like to see how they battle.


    As everyone was celebrating, Wace checked the results of 2nd year''s division. The top mana technicians will be selected in ordance with the performance of their mana artifacts. He was wondering how the judges will grade his results. Depending on his rank, he''ll get a different reward from the Pathfinder and he was even hoping to get the 2nd or 3rd prize.


    Second Year''s Battle Results


    Leonhearts : 11 wins


    Mystic Gate : 10 wins


    Skywalker : 8 wins


    Phoenix : 8 wins


    Stoneheimer : 5 wins


    Isolde : 5 wins


    Abuxorth : 5 wins


    Honeysuckle : 4 wins


    Sacred Peak : 4 wins


    Odrexelt : 3 wins


    Neon : 3 wins


    Eternal Fey : 2 wins


    Eternal Fey Academy performed very poorly this year on their first and second-year batchpared to their previous years. But their academy was still hoping to get their 3rd-year magicians to show a good result.


    ***


    The day had passed and Leonhearts Academy''s dominating performance has ended.


    Today is the battle of their third-year participants and although they did not poorly perform in their matches, some academies have very powerfulbat magicians. With these kinds of magicians participating, your experiences and strategies may not necessarily work against these absolute powers.


    It must be remembered that when Wace used his Divine Sense during the opening ceremony, seven students managed to feel it''s presence. The only 1st year who felt it was Hilda Calem from Leonhearts and the only 2nd year was K Rogers.


    The other 5 were all third-year students from other academies. First is Avery Marshall from Isolde Academy, her surprising dual Domain Magic made her almost unstoppable in third year''s division. It was followed by Hector Newman from Stoneheimer, with his Earth Fire Blitz magic that could summon blue me almost instantly in any part of its effective range, no one could defeat him in terms of offensive capability.


    The others were Aria Scott and Vanessa White from Skywalker Academy. The duo could not be defeated. Their Fire and Waterbination was reaching its perfection. Although they have a lower quality of mana artifacts, their amazing control in battlepensated for it.


    One more remarkable third year was N Lawson from Odrexelt Academy. Her teammates were performing very badly and almost couldn''t win a single match. She was the only magician in their academy whose performance was on a higher level and had carried their team to win 8 battles. She only lost against Skywalker, Isolde, and Stoneheimer. She may have a better chance if she haspetitive teammates but she did not have.


    Wace, who had watched the entirepetition intently learned a lot as well about the standard of other academies magic spells. He even got inspired and had ns in his future mana artifact that would help him in the long run.

 Chapter 69 - Awarding Ceremony ( Part 1 )

    Vera and her team did their best to gain better results this year but fall short in terms of their explosive power.


    Their team was very stable, coordinated and have always made the right decision during their battles. Unfortunately, even with a good strategy, they were still unable to suppress the overwhelming power of the 5 magicians that Wace took notice of.


    "If their mana artifact had been changed or made a further adjustment, they might have a chance."


    Wace muttered to himself upon seeing the final results of the third year''s division. He wasn''t belittling Eric''s team in their artifact forging ability, as a matter of fact, their ability even surpassed those in Skywalker. They created above standard mana artifact that even provides peak Grade 2 magic spells for them to use but their opponent is just that strong.


    There is nothing that he could do about it as well.


    After all, he is not in a position tomand or give advice to his seniors during their month of preparation and while Wace could think of a possible improvement to help his seniors in their artifact forging, he hadn''t had a chance to do so. He doesn''t want to be stubborn at this since he was also curious about his senior''s ability. He would like to see their capability as a 3rd-year mana technician as well.


    After the matches, Wace hadn''t been too surprised with the results in the third year''s division. It was a bit expected for him when he saw their 3rd to 4th matches in other academies. During these matches, Wace saw their potential, strengths, and abilities which allowed him to somehow predict the result of thepetition.


    "I''m thinking that this Avery from Isolde is an Instructor in their Academy." Gilbert smiled helplessly and said as after he watched all her battles, it was like she was ying with kids. No one has defeated her in a one-on-one fight. She only lost against the duo Vanessa and Aria from Skywalker. The duo was like her and on the same Instructor level and had been undefeated when they partnered together.


    Avery had even defeated the strong Hector Newman from Stoneheimer Academy.


    Wace heard Gilbert but didn''t deny his ims. Although Avery and others aren''t an Instructor in their academy, they were still reaching that level making other academies look very weak.


    "Our seniors just had bad luck being with the same year with these prodigies." Tracy said in conclusion. She was also looking at the result of thepetition and saw the difference in their level. The battle of these 3rd years can''t bepared to the 1st and 2nd year''s division.


    Third Year''s Division Battle Results


    Skywalker: 11 wins


    Isolde: 10 wins


    Stoneheimer: 9 wins


    Odrexelt: 8 wins


    Leonhearts: 7 wins


    Eternal Fey: 6 wins


    Phoenix: 5 wins


    Sacred Peak: 5 wins


    Mystic Gate: 4 wins


    Neon: 4 wins


    Abuxorth: 1 win


    Honeysuckle: 1 win


    Leonhearts Academy was no longer ced at the top and was reced by Skywalker Academy who took the undefeated win streak. At the very least, they had performed their best and still took the 5th ce.


    Eternal Fey Academy also garnered some attention since they had sessfully removed themselves in the bottom ranking. It must be remembered that during the 1st and 2nd-year division battles, they took 12th ce on both asions. But now, they were ced just behind Leonhearts Academy. It was already enough for them to not be too dejected once they returned to their city.


    "Everyone, the awarding ceremony will begin at 7 PM. Be sure to arrive early." Instructor Jake informed the participants. Everyone acknowledged it and proceeded to busy themselves as there still about 2 hours before the start. During this time, the non-participant students were also preparing to head back to their city. They aren''t invited to this closing and awarding ceremony.


    "Goodluck Wace! You''ll be selected for the internationalpetition." Ericka waved goodbye to Wace. She was together with her group, Gilbert and Kazimir in a car owned by Kazimir''s family. Thetter also congratted Wace and asked for him to treat them a meal back at the academy.


    "That won''t be a problem. As long as I''m chosen for the joint countrypetition." Wace chuckled and agreed to their request. As long as he was selected, he''ll have a chance to look for his spaceship and his ''body.'' He couldn''t wait to see if it''s still existing and if his bio-armors, space gun, and other equipment were still there. Especially the ship''s A.I. Avalon has a lot of information stored that he can take advantage of.


    He was getting worried the longer it takes to visit the ind nation of Montego.


    Although he stealthilynded in a very hidden location, his body that died in front of the spaceship may cause attention. Of course, it''s on the premise that his body is out there, cold and lifeless.


    Recently, he had made a wild guess that the Wace of this Earth and the other Wace from the outer space is the same but since he arrived here in the, the world did not allow two Wace to exist resulting to his death and reincarnating or merging with the other Wace here. The Pathfinder was also a mystery that probably came from the ancient relic he had with him in his spaceship.


    Wace took a deep breath and gathered his mind. In the history of Leonhearts Academy, no one was selected as a participant for Artifact Forging at the international level.


    At this level, there will only be three selected Mana Technicians that will represent the country. The judges from the Ministry of Magic Education will select them from 1st to 3rd-year students. Being a 3rd year won''t give you a higher chance of being selected. It all depends on the results they made during the Artifact Forging segment. There was even a time that all 3 Mana Technicians came from 1st-year students from three different academies.


    Wace went to his assigned room in the hotel to take a bath and nned to nap for a bit before attending the ceremony. He had ack of sleep during thepetition and now that it''s over, he''d like to rx a bit.


    Before all his n wille into fruition, the Ministry willter reward all top 3 Mana Technicians each year. As Wace understood, if he got 1st, 2nd or 3rd ce in second year''s Artifact Forging, he''ll get the rewards from the Pathfinder. He was also looking forward to this. Hopefully, the Ministry will not disappoint his expectations.

 Chapter 70 - Awarding Ceremony ( Part 2 )

    Wace noticed Hayden Fraser, the Enneadic Magician who made the opening speech for thepetition proper. He is currently seated near the small stage made for this awarding ceremony.


    He doesn''t seem to be involved in this ceremony and will just observe. Wace saw that he was together with three individuals. A bald and stout middle-aged man, a good looking gentleman in his thirties and a youngdy about 13 or 14 years old. The four of them upied a seat as the three gentlemen chatted regarding some topics. He couldn''t hear their conversation and wasn''t interested in it anyway. Wace also noticed that the youngdy seems to be looking for someone as she always pops her head and nce at some group of students that were gathered together.


    Wace shook his head and stopped minding about it. It was almost 7 PM and the students were getting impatient to see the final results of thepetition. Although they know the winners of each year, they are still curious about the awards they will receive and eager to learn who will be qualified for the joint countrypetition.


    Apparently, in that saidpetition, only 6bat magicians and 3 mana technicians from the 12 Magic Academies will be selected. The others can only envy those who will be selected.


    After some time, they saw a young man walking to the stage.


    "Good evening to everyone! It is a big pleasure to share this night with all of you here. The Twelve Magic Academies Competition is a traditional event that takes ce annually in our country. Thanks to the benevolent support from the Ministry of Magic Education, the awards over thest 17 years are found widely recognized and warmly saluted by winners. Again in this year, the Awards are separated into two categories, distinguishingbat magicians that have not only achieved academic recognition but also proved their potential as future Battle Mages. There are also Mana Technicians who had proven themselves and createdpetitive Mana Artifacts for magician''s use."


    The young man said his introduction. Everyone was already familiar with the person as he was givingments in every post-fight analysis during thepetition. The man is one of the youngest Battle Mage of the country that was fully sponsored by the Ministry when he was still studying, rence. His appearance did not surprise anyone as they are already used to him this time. Although he is a celebrity Magician, as they were always seeing him analyze every battle, they felt that they''ve gotten closer to him especially whenever he points out their mistakes and suggested a way to improve them. rence continued his speech.


    "We have given equal opportunities to all the students so that they realize their true potential and get ready to face the outer world once theyplete their academic studies. And I am much pleased to see our young students performing and excelling in their respective areas of interests."


    "Also, I would like to address those students who have not won any prize and say that do not lose hope as this is not the end of everything and there will be many more opportunitiesing your way to prove your mettle. The Twelve Magic Academies Competitions are just a beginning. I have a very inspiring line for all of you said by Aeolia Schien, the founder of the 4th and 5th Generation Mana Artifacts, the National Hero of our country who contributed all his wisdom for the sake of our future:<em>"You don''t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Some people may have dreamed of aplishing great things but others stay awake and make it happen."</em>


    "In the end, I would like to use this wonderful opportunity to thank Sir Hayden Fraser, Sir Mace Reyes and the board members for taking thispetition to new heights and creating a distinct path for the students to follow. I would also like to extend special thanks to all the people who watched the whole event for joining us and making this asion a huge sess. Thank you!"


    Everyone apuded after rence''s short speech to start the ceremony including the instructors, students, and organizers within the hall.


    Soon, the winners of each year were called to receive their prizes of winning.


    In the first year''s division, the reward is as follows:


    1st ce - Leonhearts Academy: A trophy and Gold medals together with 10 Grade A Mana Artifacts and 6 blueprints of different Grade 2 Magic Structures.


    2nd ce - Mystic Gate Academy: Silver medals together with 5 Grade A Mana Artifacts and 3 blueprints of different Grade 2 Magic Structures


    3rd ce - Skywalker Academy: Bronze Medals together with 5 Grade B Mana Artifacts and 3 blueprints of different Grade 1 Magic Structures.


    The second year''s division:


    1st ce - Leonhearts Academy: A trophy and Gold medals together with 10 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts and 6 blueprints of different Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures


    2nd ce - Mystic Gate Academy: Silver medals together with 5 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts and 3 blueprints of Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures


    3rd ce - Skywalker Academy: Bronze medals together with 5 Grade A Mana Artifacts and 3 Blueprints of Grade 2 Magic structures.


    The third year''s division:


    1st ce - Skywalker Academy: A trophy and Gold medals together with 10 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts, 6 blueprints of different Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures and 8 One-Day Pass in Revitalization Mana Spring


    2nd ce - Isolde Academy : Silver medals together with 5 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts, 3 blueprints of different Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures and 8 Six-hour Pass in Revitalization Mana Spring


    3rd ce - Stoneheimer Academy : Bronze medals together with 5 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts and Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures


    This announcement made the crowd stunned before buzzing whispers could be heard within the hall.


    They didn''t have time to be surprised about the generous rewards in the 1st and 2nd year''s division due to the Revitalization Mana Spring Pass they heard.


    "Did we hear correctly?" A student asked their instructor if they couldn''t believe that such a luxury will be given as a reward. The instructor from Mystic Gate nodded gravely. The importance of this pass could not be said in a few words as the spring is something that is heavily guarded by the government. It is not normally being given as a reward and only aplished magicians have the opportunity to visit the spring.


    "To think that the Ministry will give such an opportunity to these students." The instructor could only sigh in disappointment as they missed the opportunity to receive even a six-hour pass in the spring.


    Wace only have superficial knowledge about the spring and looking at Ross and Tracy''s reaction, it seems that they know a lot more about this mysterious spring guarded by the government. As much as he would like to ask more about this, the ceremony continued as each group of students received their award.


    Now, the master of ceremony is about to announce the participants of the joint countrypetition.

 Chapter 71 - Chosen Participants

    Wace''s group took their medals and prizes with them on the stage and their 2nd-year team had a quickmemorative photo as a keepsake for this TMAC. For the golden trophy they received, it would be sent to their Academy''s collection. He had thought that ranks will be announced for the Artifact Forging segment, but it seems they havebined it with Combat Magician''s results.


    They returned to their seat and took their time to check the prizes they received. The 6 blueprints of Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures would be given to Wace, Ross, and Tracy. They would either have to divide it themselves or let them jointly study the 6 magic structures as the three of them have quite a few magic structures as well that reaches Peak Grade 2.


    As announced a few moments ago, these Magic Structures were indeed different from each other. Water Prison, Iron Wood Bind, Wraith Fire''s Wrath, Tornado sh, Frost Breathe, and Earth''s Tremor.


    "They were generous this time." Tracy said upon checking the blueprints.


    "Are you familiar with these magic structures?" Wace asked as he wasn''t too familiar himself with these, though he can vaguely remember that he heard or read of these structures before.


    "If I''m not mistaken, these magic structures were previously being used by our military. Butthey recently had new and more advanced magic structure... Oh, I believe it wasst year so these weren''t being used anymore." Ross exined to Wace but after he remembered that it was someone from his Schien''s Main Branch Family who supplied the new magic structures, he recollected that it happenedst year.


    Wace nodded telling that he understood now. He didn''t ask further questions as he waited for the ceremony to be over first. He would like to take a nce as well in the 10 Peak Grade A Mana Artifacts that will be divided by the five 2nd years. He was curious about the artifacts that the ministry is willing to reward and it''s quality. It wasn''t every day that Wace could personally see other''s mana artifact.


    The 3rd years could only look in envy while this is all happening, but they were also happy for their juniors achieving better results.


    A few momentster, the top participants in both Artifact Forging and Combat were about to be announced.


    "For the Joint Country Competition, we will be selecting the top performers in thepetition regardless of their respective years."


    Everyone went on silence upon hearing this. Even if you''ve won 1st ce in your respective year, it doesn''t guarantee you a slot and will only give better leverage.


    "For the Combat Magicians, here is the results."


    1. Avery Marshall - 3rd year from Isolde


    2. Hector Newman - 3rd year from Stoneheimer


    3. Vanessa White - 3rd year from Skywalker


    4. N Lawson - 3rd year from Odrexelt


    5. Aria Scott - 3rd year from Skywalker


    6. K Rogers - 2nd year from Mystic Gate


    A projection came and everyone saw the list of selected participants. Everyone was surprised to see a 2nd year had managed to sneak into this selection but they weren''t too shocked as there has been a precedent asion in the past years. As the crowd was about to discuss the results, the projection changed and the name of participants for Artifact Forging was shown.


    1. Jun Richardson - 3rd year - Mystic Gate


    2. Wace Ravencroft - 2nd year - Leonhearts


    3. Sheryl Vermont - 2nd year - Mystic Gate


    As an academy that is known for its Artifact Forging, the Mystic Gate deserves the slot. Many were surprised to see the name Wace, the crowd wasn''t too familiar with him but since they noticed that he was from Leonhearts and second year at that. They had somehow connected it to the weird mana artifacts used by the magicians.


    "Was it him? The one who made the Ultrasonic Burst?"


    "Yes, I heard that he also made the Mirror of Trace. That was very impressive."


    "Then no wonder he was selected for the joint countrypetition."


    "Do you think he''ll register the magic structure in NMTI? Sigh... I hope I could buy and learn that spell too."


    "If ever that the structure was for sale, I''ll purchase it whatever the price is."


    Whispers can be heard as soon as they saw the results. Many were curious but some others don''t care too much. After all, no one is expecting too much about the international level of thispetition. It will only give them at least an honor and a chance to perform outside the country. They weren''t too optimistic to win against other countries and were already happy to excel here in their home field.


    Theirck of excitement or urge to join thepetition was due to the past few years that Zairus were performing poorly. On the other hand, Wace wasn''t too excited as well since he was more worried if he''ll have a chance to look for his spaceship in Montego.


    After all, this international levelpetition will be joined in by Zairus, Maja, Montego, and Virgan, the security level that will be ced for the sake of the event must be very high.


    But his worries were somehow resolved upon announcing that thepetition will happen in a month from now and they will arrive 5 days earlier in events. The event will start 10 days after the new year. It means that during these 5 days before thepetition, Wace must try to locate his spaceship in that ind nation.


    Yes, it will be very difficult but Wace had been preparing for this in the past months and almost ready with it. He still has few weeks toplete his preparation for this anyway.


    "Congrattions Wace!" Tracy and Ross said beside him upon seeing his name in the projection.


    "Thank you, I think both of you deserve the slot as well." Wace replied.


    "Haha, maybe if they are looking for 10 slots, I might have a chance." Tracy chuckled at this and said looking not too concerned about not being selected.


    "Senior, you''re amazing. You''ve been selected, please bring us souvenirs." Shirley said not too far away from their group.


    Upon hearing this, Wace didn''t reply immediately as he remembered his promise to his little sister that he''ll bring a gift once he went back home to celebrate the new year. Wace kept it in his mind and agreed to Shirley. Alice, the first year mana technician joined the conversation and congratted Wace.


    "You deserve it senior, I hope that you can win there as well."


    "Haha, winning might be too much but I''ll do my best." Wace said to Alice, they have gotten a bit closer due to the training they made before this TMAC.


    The night was long as they celebrated the winners and ate joyously together with other academies.


    ***


    On the same night of celebration, in Tanza City. A group of cloaked individuals were moving very fast as if they were running from something.


    "This is Hawk. We''ve been ambushed, abort the mission. The location is a trap. Again, abort the mission..."


    Hawk is the leader of the team and was tasked to apprehend a group of researchers that was suspected to have something to do in the recent attacks from a mutated magician. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the alleged researchboratory, they were weed by powerful attacks by high-level magicians and even used poison to paralyze them. They were currently being pursued by the enemies and warned the other team on site.


    "We can''t abort it yet. Proceed to point B, Raven''s team will be there in 5 minutes." It was instructed by someone in the other line where he was speaking. Before he could reply, the person continued.


    "Once you rendezvous with his team, use the new equipment they brought and annihte the enemies. You don''t need to capture anyone alive."

 Chapter 72 - Returning To The City

    Early in the morning, the Leonhearts Academy students returned to their city. The bus traveled for a few hours before arriving in the city.


    Some of the students weren''t aware at first about the recent incident rted to the mutated magicians that had attacked a government facility in Tanza City. But due to the informed students, the news was quickly spread to everyone.


    "What happened while we''re gone? It wasn''t even aplete week since we left the city." Alice asked worriedly as she was unclear about the ryed news.


    "I hope that it''s still safe in the city. Have they apprehended the criminals?" Escanor asked as well since aside from the news he heard from his seniors, no other news can be found even in the online news portal or newspapers. It seems that news was being suppressed no information can be found at all regarding the details of the crime that have urred.


    "I believe that some group of mutated magicians had tried to steal a Sealed Mana Artifact from a government facility in the city. It was said that the presence of that artifact in the facility was a top-secret and should have been concealed to others." Ross said as if the news weren''t critical. This news tells a lot already, it seems there could have been spy or internal dispute that has urred.


    "Eh? Is that OK for you to divulge such information?" This time, it was Samantha who asked the question. Ross only chuckled at this and continued.


    "Although the news was suppressed at the moment, it will onlyst within 72 hours. Later tonight, the news or details will surely be all over the media." There are plenty of asions that Ross could think of about simr events where the government had tried to suppress the news but that wouldn''tst long and will be revealed sooner. After all, it is impossible topletely suppress the media.


    Their bus stopped at the academy. There are barely any students in the academy as it is 6th day of the week. There are no sses during weekends and only students who require the facility to improve themselves were present. It was like when Wace still doesn''t have his own high-grade artifact forging and still borrowed one from the academy.


    The group of students separated from here and went back to their homes. The instructors remained as they were still required to make a report to the headmaster.


    Wace informed his parents about his safe arrival and once he rested a bit, he checked the notification from his Pathfinder. It was rted to the reward he should receive as per his mission.


    [ Congrattions User! You havepleted your mission and proven yourself in the whole nation!


    You have sessfully achieved the 2nd rank in the Artifact Forging division.


    You will now receive your rewards. ]


    [ Your have received x1 Large Potion of Divine Sense ]


    Now that Wace receives another potion of this Divine Sense, he believed that he would be able to use this ability more safely not worrying about high-level magicians to detect his scanning process during its activation. By using it more covertly, he would be able to do a lot more things and gather more information, especially about higher-level magicians.


    Wace consumed the potion and spent the evening in his abode and did not tinker any mana artifacts at the moment. He would like to settle his mind about his next ns. He noticed as well that side effects after consuming the potion given by Pathfinder has lessened a bit. He was no longer fainting and could endure the changes that ur in his body. His physique may be getting used to the changes.


    Unfortunately, around 7 PM, he was interrupted by a call. He checked the caller disy and noticed that it came from his mother.


    "Hello. What made you call, mom?" His parents wouldn''t normally call him if it is not important, especially if they''ve already talked with each other just a bit earlier.


    "Well, I just had a visit here as some group of people were requesting to purchase the manufacturing rights together with an order for the main magic structure of your mana artifact. Their identity is a bit troublesome to decline." Her mother did not beat around the bush and directly told him her reason and concern.


    Of course, Wace was aware of what mana artifact she was referring to. It was his Float Drive System that requires his creation of the main magic structure. The production was stopped because of the recent TMAC where he had been so busy helping the student council in gathering information about the opponents,ing up with strategies, creating original magic structures and practicing artifact forging.


    "Who requested the magic structures?" Wace asked at first as he was curious about the identity that his mother seems to be wary of.


    "The request came from a 1st-rate businessman, but as a standard process, I investigated his background and found out that he was a direct subordinate of Prime Minister Halevey. They were offering arge amount ofpensation for it and even willing to triple the price. It seems that they needed it as quickly as possible." ine finished exining to her son and waited for his response. She wouldn''t force her son to create the magic structure if he refused them. She was letting him decide about this instead.


    Wace thought for a bit before he answers.


    "I don''t mind selling it to them. As long as they will use the artifact for legal purposes."


    "Yes, they have shown documents that it will be used by a private securitypany to protect VIP''s and they even guaranteed that if we found out that it was misused, we can reim the mana artifacts."


    Wace sighed as he replied to his mother.


    "Alright then, since they are being generous in their offer, we''ll take it. But due to time constraints, I can only make 5 magic structures for them in 5 days." He can, of course, create these magic structures faster since he already improve himself. But he wouldn''t like to make the number of this artifact to be abundant. He remembered that the Float Drive System was only sold before to the government''s military, then to the Golden Trident Group, and another privatepany. Their client has increased a bit. If Wace will ept more requests, he''ll earn a lot but wouldn''t have time to look for a chance in retrieving his spaceship.


    Wace ended the call and proceeded to rest instead. Anyway, he still has 5 days toplete the order and has plenty of time to finish it.


    ***


    In a location outside the Tanza City.


    "Did we secure a contract?" A man sitting in his study room seemed to be talking to himself in the darkroom. He''s wearing a ck suit and looked clean without any beard or mustache in his face. He had wellbed blond hair and a sturdy build for a man in his fifties.


    "Yes. We''ll receive 5 main magic structures in a week but the price negotiated was higher due to the urgency of our request." A muffled voice answered in the shadows, their gender couldn''t be identified due to this reason.


    "The price doesn''t matter. I didn''t expect that Lucent Force would hit us hard due to this mana artifact." The man paused a bit before continuing. He looked sinister after remembering the battlest night. "They''ve utilized the artifact to its full potential. Once we have this, they won''t be able to pull the same trick on us."


    ***


    On that same evening, as Ross predicted, the news about the recent attack was partially revealed to the public.

 Chapter 73 - Trouble In The City

    In the living room, Wace was listening to the news report about the recent incident that has urred.


    "...it is the criminal organization named by the police as Z-Company. They started their operation that could be traced back six years ago when several Sealed Mana Artifact was sessfully stolen in Mayan River City."


    Thete evening news was also seen by many residents of Tanza City. It cleared some of their questions regarding the several disturbances that have urred in the past days when tight security by the police and military ensued in the city. Fortunately, there was already a piece of good news included in the report.


    "Yesterday evening, the military dispatched several magicians from Lucent Force to uproot the organization in their known area of activity outside the city. They were able to sessfully eliminate the upper echelons of the Z-Company but it was confirmed that the organization is arge one consisting of thousands of members and they''ve only defeated a part of it, 103 members of the said criminal organization were killed including 2 mutated magicians and 28 magicians. Aside from this, 5 individuals were captured alive..."


    The news that was provided had enough information for the citizen''s view but this news concealed some important part of the battle that has urred. The number of losses in the military, suspected leaders of the organization, and news about the stolen Sealed Mana Artifact years ago. Some quick-minded individuals noticed that the government was still hiding something but did not try to unveil this thing. As long as they are safe from any harm and could continue living blissfully, it would be enough and there is no need to make their life moreplicated.


    ***


    Wace was interested in his upgraded Divine Sense and would like to experiment more on this to have a careful look at its new limits.


    "There''s still a week left before the year-end vacation. I''ll just experiment on this once I''m in the academy, for now... I should try improving the security in my ce."


    Wace said as he will be away for quite some time and felt that the security he ced before the TMAC wasn''t good enough. He doesn''t wish to find his ce swept clean by burrs once he returned. The Z-Company made him realize that high tier criminal organization still exist and was even close to the city.


    In the morning, Wace contacted his parents to introduce a reliable securitypany in the city. Unfortunately, they weren''t familiar with the leading securitypany, Iron Body Association, that is situated within the city. At the very least, they suggested trying consulting the Golden Trident Group that was his previous client that had purchased his Float Drive System and fitted it in theirbat suit.


    "Alright, I''ll be contacting them today." Wace replied to his mother as the ss will resume tomorrow, he would only have enough time to sort his premise''s security today.


    Just a few minutes after his call with his mother, she phoned back telling that someone was requesting for the Float Drive System manufacturing rights and order the main magic structure.


    "I couldn''t handle another order in the meantime. I still need to prepare for the internationalpetition." Wace answered. He would earn enough money for the order yesterday which he''llplete in a week. No need to expand his production. His mother understood and ended the call.


    Wace then contacted the said securitypany to have assistance. He mentioned that as a magician, he already ced his defenses but would still like to improve them following the federalw''s limitation. He can''t make the ce overly protected that could threaten his neighbors. Wace is still willing to abide by the mandatedws.


    Upon recognizing Wace, they treated him especially as he was told that someone will immediately visit the location and discuss the possible level of protection or security they could provide for the ce.


    Wace agreed and busied himself. The representative from thepany will still visit him in the afternoon anyway.


    ***


    "Ma''am Louise Tales, I''m Marvin Cummings from the Zairus Magician''s Congress. I know that you still need a rest but I would like to rify some information we received. I hope that you can cooperate with us."


    A man in a suit politely asked Miss Tales that were still recuperating in the hospital. He wore a six-winged emblem in his left chest indicating his status as a member of the congress.


    The Zairus Magician''s Congress handles all magic affiliated concerns within the country. Under them were organizations like National Magic Trade and Industry or also known as NMTI, Ministry of Magic Education and even the Lucent Force, a special military battalion consisting of best magicians in the country were operating by the instructions given by the Congress.


    Their presence here did not surprise Miss Tales at all. There were a total of 6 people in the room including 2 other subordinates of Marvin. Aside from that, the student council president, Aaron Schmidt, and Headmaster Percival is surprisingly within the room apanying Louise Tales.


    Louise looked at the twopanions she has in the room. She sighed and nodded to Marvin in agreement.


    "ording to your report, a member of Halevey Holdings was found together with an upper echelon of the Z-Company." Marvin said slowly and without waiting for Louise''s response, he continued.


    "You''ve only found out about this while investigating the disappearance of an artifact, Hallowed Eye. This Sealed Mana Artifact that was stolen six years ago in Mayan River Hall left some clues which you were able to follow for months but you''ve been discovered few days before you made your report to your superiors."


    This time, Marvin looked at Percival before turning his head to Aaron. He was aware of the headmaster''s identity but for Aaron, he was only aware that the person was an important individual within the Lucent Force organization. They were the ones who made theplete report to the congress.


    Louise nodded to confirm what the former had said. Her ck hair was tied and she still has a paleplexion. She looked weak but her matured beauty could still not be hidden. She knows that Marvin was just validating the report so she''s just waiting for the officer to ask his question.


    "The individual you''ve found that is rted to Halevey Holdings. Can you confirm if this is the same person?"


    Marvin showed a picture of a young adult, about 25 years old in his device. The man has blond hair and an unkempt face. There''s growing beard and mustache that wasn''t cleanly shaved. The scar on his lower left eye was his dominant feature.


    Louise could not be wrong at this and nodded at the officer.


    "Yes. He''s the person."


    Marvin sighed after confirming. He asked a few more questions to validate before leaving the room.


    "Do you think you can return on teaching next year?" Percival suddenly asked Louise after the group of officers from the congress left.


    Louise only rolled her eyes at the headmaster before returning to rest.


    Aaron sighed at this. Their investigation had gotten even moreplicated because of Halevey Holdings'' involvement in the case. Ms. Louise Tales was a secret agent of Lucent Force that was assigned to investigate the Sealed Mana Artifact, this military battalion is more than what meets the eye. Her status as an instructor is just one of her several identities as an informant for the organization.


    A few minutester the two remaining guys also left the room to let Louise have a rest peacefully.


    "We were now told to keep out of the case. But as a young master of Lucent Force, what''s your n?" Percival smiled and asked suddenly, he is walking in front of Aaron and didn''t look back at thetter even after asking the question.


    "They still need us to work as a median between the Traceless Hands and the Congress, since they''ve seen how important the Float Drive System is and got rejected, we''ll work something out." Aaron seriously answered. He wouldn''t let someone easily go especially if they hurt someone important to him.

 Chapter 74 - Nuclear Research

    A total of three representatives of Golden Trident Group visited Wace''s ce in the afternoon. There was one female that looked like a secretary apanying the other two male. They all looked professional and reliable.


    He weed them after confirming their identity and discussed the detailed level of security he wished to be arranged in his property.


    "I can see that you have already ced quite a lot of mana artifacts for defenses here." The middle-aged gentlemanmented. The other young man in his 20''s nodded as they already surveyed the ce and was able to confirm that there are mana artifacts that could even trouble battle mages were installed in some important ces of the house. The female representative was keeping silent and noting the things that were being discussed.


    During the entire event, no one brought out the information that Wace was Traceless Hands who sold them the manufacturing rights and the main magic structure of the Float Drive System. They all kept professional even after the contract was finished.


    They offered to Wace a Level B3 package for the security defenses in his property and as requested, the main focus of defense would be the workshop itself. Level B3 includes 5bat automatons, 8 customized mini defense turrets, 3 mana pulse barrier, 18 mana fluctuation detectors, 20 mana particle automated guns and a heavily fortified room that doesn''t exceed 10 square meters that can be customized. They also offered Wace to have security cameras and they can provide a 24-hour shifting guard who will monitor this. Wace refused to have the guard hired by the Golden Trident Group but agreed about the security cameras and told that he''ll make a space for the monitors to be ced in one location.


    "I''ll just hire my guard in the future." Wace said to conclude the contract. He felt that they were reliable enough. The Golden Trident Group was also a bigpany that reaches the top 5 in the quality of service they provided in the industry. Even though they weren''t the first in the ranking, their main headquarters was located here in Tanza City and the other top securitypany has only branches here. It means that the city was their territory in terms of giving private security, it''s wise to cooperate with local power than external one who only have small branches here in the city.


    The package that Wace had selected was quite high for a civilian who owns a small property. Package B3 was normally being taken by a medium-sizedpany. As the contract was signed, Wace has to pay 40 million credits and 800,000 credits yearly maintenance fees.


    In the package that he had selected, the 5 automatons can''t be touched and will still be partially owned by thepany. After all, the technology that was installed in this automaton was one of their lifeline in the business. The magic structure it had and the level of artificial intelligence it possessed was their secret. At the very least, Wace can still control the automatons for protection but it can''t be dismantled and be used for experiments. It includes the other mana artifacts as well but the rules or limitation for the automatons was more imposed than the others.


    The three had only left afterte in the afternoon as Wace invited them for tea. After leaving the premise, the middle-aged man respectfully asked the female individual they have in theirpany.


    "President Eun, what can you say about it?"


    The woman wad surprisingly the current president of the Golden Trident Group who ultimately made the decision before to stop purchasing other mana artifacts so they would have enough budget to purchase the manufacturing rights of Traceless Hand''s Float Drive System together with its main magic structure.


    "He was young. His revolutionary mana artifacts were something. No one can even reverse engineer his Float Drive magic structure." President Eun sighed even as she remembered how well protected the ce was. She couldn''t cover her impressed reaction a while ago.


    "That''s right, he has tons of unique ideas and the scary thing about it is that he possess the ability to make it happen." The young man said in agreement. Many mana technicians have brilliant minds but almost all creative mana artifacts can only be theories and inspiration until it can be made by future generations. Aside from that, they even received news about the Ultrasonic Burst that Wace had revealed in the recent TMAC.


    A while ago, Wace had shown them a few of his defense mana artifacts so they could adapt and suggest a defense system that can beplemented with his. She remembered Wace told them "your defense turrets might not be good to pair with mysers."


    They were confused at first but when Wace showed them theser cannon. They were amazed by its destructive power. When they momentarily asked how did he produce one, he dismissed them by telling that it was just a simple light spells that were put together forming a very intense light.


    The three did not believe him but kept in mind the existence of this scary mana artifact. With their words, Wace even learned that unmannedser cannon was beyond their level of technology. He was told that only a Grade A Mana Artifact with Grade 3 Magic Structure that was equipped by a Battle Mage can achieve the same level of power it has shown.


    Unfortunately, Wace can''t mass produce thesers and it only has a limited number of uses before the materials would copse in extreme heat. It all lies to the raw materials he can procure to improve its ability and prolong its lifespan.


    In the end, thepany mustplete the instation within 3 days. It is quite fast already considering that they still have to construct a fortified room and still needed to get construction permits to the city hall office.


    ***


    During his free time, Wace continued his research for alternative sources of energy in preparation for his journey in the other country. He couldn''t believe that nuclear energy is not existing on this.


    His tenacity in finding the truth bore fruit in the morning before the ss started. His face was unkempt, obviously tired as hecks sleep but a smile can be found on his lips, he couldn''t hide his happiness in finding the truth about it.


    The day when Wace assisted his seniors to create the Armor Tech, he created a Compact Mananuclear Reactor to sustain its operation but it''s principle works entirely differently. Only the name has simrities in what Wace has nned to create.


    In short, his sleepless nights made him understood that the existence itself of mana suppresses nuclear fission reactions by blocking the movement of free neutrons. Of course, nuclear fusion which does not rely on neutron emission would be unaffected by the ever-present mana.


    "I already know the problem, but how can I resolve this?" Wace muttered as he shakes his head. This problem stops the to have nuclear weapons and obviously, nuclear power nts.


    He checked the time and noticed that only 22 minutes were left before the ss would start. He would bete for sure.


    At the very least, with his enhanced body, he still has enough energy to attend the ss even with theck of sleep.

 Chapter 75 - Projects

    Wace arrivedte at the academy and courteously apologized to Instructor Garen.


    "Mhm..that''s fine, we''ve just discussed your participation in the internationalpetition. You''ll be exempted in projects that will be assigned to your ss so you only have to focus yourself in thepetition."


    The instructor said as Wace seated in his chair. Since there will be a long vacation to celebrate the end of the year, the academy instructors normally assigns small projects to their students to keep them a little busy.


    Since they were in Moon''s First ss in Second Year and Section 1 at that, these small projects would normally be about providing insights in some unrealized Mana Artifacts, certain Magic Structure theories, and even some certain individuals that werergely involved in Magic Engineering can be their focus of research.


    Wace thanked the instructor but he did not mind even if he was still tasked to do this small project. After all, it wouldn''t take too much of his time and maybe interesting as well if he was given an engaging topic by his instructor.


    In the meantime during the remaining week before the vacation, their ss has topletely familiarize themselves with all important Magic Structure theories. They don''t have to necessarily be capable of creating them as long as they know how it''s principle works. Once they are in the third-year ss, all the known and official method in artifact forging will be learned as they will be readied to take their licenses as Magic Engineer after they graduate. After all, licensing may take years before beingpleted.


    The ss resumed and during the remaining time in the morning ss, instructor Garenpleted the assignment of projects to each of his students. Everyone has different topics that they have to tackle which makes it a bit difficult for others. Aside from that, Garen taught them some umon Magic Structures that were quite helpful.


    These magic structures were those that are not being heavily looked into by Prime Magic Engineers who wanted to only create powerful Mana Artifact that is helpful inbat. In truth, these simple Magic Structures can only be helpful in the daily lives of not only non-magicians but also for the certified magicians themselves. Some examples of these Mana Artifacts were mostly being used to helpborers in doing detailed constructions, some were assistive Mana Artifacts to make cleaning easier, there are even those that help in agriculture, those that prevent toxic smokes or air pollution, even a simple Mana Artifact that helps in removing fine dust is very useful and many other simple but umon artifact.


    During the remaining week, he taught them that learning basics would give them a higher chance of seeding in Magic Engineer''s path.


    "You all know that a licensed Magic Engineer isn''t the end of the road in your path. There''s still a lot of challenges to reach the apex of craftmanship, so learning the basics will give you a sturdier foundation. Do not forget that."


    Garen told everyone and was acknowledged by all the students. They agreed that a good foundation will bring them to higher heights. A good example of this is Tracy Guilford, their number one in academic grades. She doesn''t have unique abilities and hasn''t submitted original mana artifacts like Ross and Wace but due to her extensive knowledge in theories and practice, she''s almost always sessful in artifact forging. She''s not failing in any artifact forging they did during their practical ss.


    ***


    "I got lucky, I only have to give insights about Dr. Mau Zed''s theory of Mana Density and Constancy. How about you?"


    Gilbert said to the group while having their lunch in the cafeteria. Their group upied a table, their number increased to 7 people. After all, everyone in their ss were friends since there''s only 30 of them in it. Most of them were also ssmates when they are in their first year.


    "What? That won''t be easy alright. Dr. Zed''s research probably contains 10-12 thick books if I remember. Are you aware of that?" Erickamented on the side. She seems to be aware of the theory.


    "Really? You''re aware of it?" Gilbert asked in disbelief.


    "Yes! I also stumbled on it when I visited the library before. I don''t think it''s useful at all in battles but can be used for research purposes. That doctor has a unique way of viewing mana as an energy or source of power."


    It was answered by Ren Morris. He is one of the seven nobles in their room aside from Tracy, Mark, Ross, and the twins. Ren is a short guy with a ck hair and wears luxurious essory, unlike Ross and Tracy who likes to dress simple. His identity as the son of a prestigious hospital owner in the city made him popr in the academy. He refused to study the Mage Doctor''s path to join their family ranks but he instead selected to study in Leonhearts Academy that only focuses onbat magicians and mana technicians.


    "I''m only familiar with his name as he created that useful Mana Artifact, Zed''s Poison Detoxifier, that still being used until to this date. Right?" Gilbert asked to clear his doubt.


    "Haha! There''s more to him. Be prepared once you begun to read his theory. My project is just to give reaction or insights about the situation in the Northern Continent." Ericka replied to Gilbert. There''s only very limited information about the situation in the northern continent. Some of the information states that only powerful magicians can live there due to the chaotic mana that is existing there.


    "Oh! You have an interesting one." Kazimir said to Ericka. He was also quite curious about the northern continent.


    "My project is to provide insights about the Lost Technology." Kazimir took a deep breath before continuing.


    "Aeolia shouldn''t have died before discovering this." He joked a bit. Ross wasn''t present here anyway. Apparently, before Aeolia''s death or disappearance, he was focusing on research of a specific Lost Technology.


    Everyone discussed their chosen project except Wace who silently ate his lunch and kept listening with the others. Their other two ssmates in the table also joined the conversation and shared their chosen topic for the small project.


    During this time, because of their discussion, Wace remembered that he had also discovered that there were side effects in the existence of mana that prevents nuclear energy. The side effect is its ability to disrupt radio waves as well, which heavily restricts the range of radar and conventionalmunications. That could be why standard machines without mana enhancement has very limited usage.


    Wace recollected that before his spaceship''s descent, he waited in this''s orbit to receive a form ofmunication as no one is responding in his attempts. This could be the reason why no one was answering him, the mana may be the barrier that stops them in any outer space contact or exploration.


    He shook his head and continued listening to his ssmates. He may discover more once he gets the assistance of his A.I.''s calction ability, so he kept it at the back of his mind. After today, everyone will go to their provinces to have their vacation and will only meet the next year that''s why they''re spending more time in their chat.


    Wace was now on his way home and he''s looking forward to his nearing union with his spaceship. He couldn''t help but feel a little excited and worried.

 Chapter 76 - Vacation

    Wace sold 5 magic structure crystals containing Float Drive System within a week as nned. But before that, the Golden Trident Group alsopleted the construction and instation of magic defenses in the property.


    Of course, one thing that Wace added after in these defenses were his exclusive Magic Jammer Cancellers. He doesn''t need to mention this detail to the securitypany so he proceeded and ced it as he wanted. This cement of magic structure may be exaggerated as magic jammers are rare and mostly being used by the government''s factions. So he only ced it as an assurance for the unforeseeable future as all his things rted to his ns in Montego to retrieve his spaceship is still in his workshop. He can''t bring those in his parent''s house.


    After Wace confirmed that his property seems to be safe and well protected, he traveled back home to where his parents live.


    Of course, he didn''t forget to bring his gift to his little sister. He took a deep breath and remembered that a lot of things happened from thest time he visited here.


    Wace arrives in front of his parent''s house, he sighed and moved his feet to enter the ce. He still actually has mixed feelings with his family here on this Earth but kept it inside. After all, having some vague memories of his life here and clear memories in the outer space isn''t something that anyone could rte with. He only tries to keep strong and not lose his sight towards his goals.


    "You''re already here. You didn''t even inform us." His mother, ine, smiled and was surprised to see Wace. She didn''t expect that Wace will hurry back home once their ss ended. She expected that he''ll still take a couple of days before deciding to return here.


    "I just want to surprise everyone. I brought some gifts. Where''s ire and Dad?"


    Wace answered as he put his bag of gifts on the living room table. He only asked his mother after <em>noticing</em> ire and his father, Chase, isn''t present. Of course, even before entering, he was already aware since he used his Divine Sense and was only confirming to his mother.


    "They just went out a bit to our new neighbor. Their small family recently moved to this town to live a peaceful life." His mother exined to Wace and even without waiting for his reply, she added a few more words.


    "Their family head is also in the Magic Engineer''s path that''s why your father can easily get close to them. They should be back within half an hour. Do you want to eat first?"


    ine said and she didn''t forget to ask Wace to eat as he''d been traveling for several hours on a bus.


    "Sure. I missed your cooking." Wace happily agreed and said his heartfelt remarks.


    His mother busied herself to make some food for Wace.


    "I saw that you''ve been selected to participate in Montego. Would you require something?" His mother seems to be worrying about something but ultimately asked for Wace''s needs.


    "Nothing. I just need to prepare some mana artifacts before this. Is something wrong?" Wace was able to catch any fluctuation in his mother''s emotion due to his high sensitivity.


    ine smile to his son due to this.


    "Well, every time that country of Montego organizes thepetition, it always goes a bit messy. So be careful." She reminded this as she continued to cook.


    Wace wasn''t sure about thepetitions before that was held in that country. He took note of it and made sure that he''ll spend some time to search for its details online.


    "Don''t worry, I will." He answered in assurance.


    ***


    The moment ire noticed someone else''s shoes in the front door, she quickly connected it to her brother and looked for him.


    Wace is leisurely watching the television for the evening news when his father and little sister arrived.


    ire quickly noticed a bag ced in the table. It wasn''t there when they left so it''s safe to assume that her brother brought it.


    "Here, this is yours." Wace took a small wrapped box from the bag and gave it to ire.


    Thetter thanked him and opened the gift. She saw a golden brooch in the form of a Red Star flower where their town is famous. This type of flower can almost be found only in the Luna Lake near their town. Looking closer at the brooch, the flowers are made of finely carved and tinted ivory and it only has 9 cm high.


    ire saw how beautiful it is and even loved it more as she''s very familiar with the flower.


    She quickly tried wearing the brooch with the help of her father.


    Chase took the brooch from ire and as soon as he touches it, he was able to analyze the mana artifact. Yes, the brooch is a Grade A mana artifact that Wace made specifically for her little sister. This was inspired by the brooch that he saw in the TMAC. It looks more like an elegant decoration than a weapon used for battle.


    As a Magic Engineer, even though he no longer heavily work in the field, Chase noticed the exquisite design for its smooth mana flow. Based on his experience, he felt that this mana artifact is more focused on defense. He couldn''t analyze the magic structure ce here without proper tools.


    After helping ire, he asked Wace about the Mana Artifact.


    "I''ve only ced Layered Mana Barrier and some locator spell. I''ve also recently learned stealth magic so I tried putting it on the brooch as well. But it doesn''t have any offensive spells in it."


    Wace answered to his father. ire doesn''t have formal education about mana usage and was only personally taught by his mom and dad, it may cause trouble if she has destructive magic spells in her artifact so he only ced defensive spell, stealth magic and a locator in case necessary.


    Chase nodded at this, like a Magic Engineer, he was also capable of making mana artifacts for his children but when Wace moved to study in the academy, most of his mana artifacts were left here at home as Wace is now somehow capable of making for himself. As for ire, Chase hadn''t made one for her age but prepared something she grown up a bit more. For now, they are teaching her mana maniption without using mana artifacts.


    Unlike Wace who previously had weak mana affinity and couldn''t cast aplete Mana Shell that would cover his whole body, ire has a very good mana affinity.


    "Is she still in service? When will she return?" Wace suddenly asked his parents. He was referring to his older sister serving in the military. Although she wasn''t a member of Lucent Force, a special magic battalion, his sister is working for another magician''s troops. He wasn''t clear as well about his sister''s rank and position but it seems to be quite special.


    "She mentioned that she''ll be back before the year ends. Why?" Chase answered and was curious as Wace isn''t normally interested in his sister''s life.


    "I see. It''s nothing. I just want to ask her about some things." Wace nodded and said after hearing his father''s answer.

 Chapter 77 - Attack

    Wace woke up due to a loud noiseing from an engine. The noise from it was so disturbing that his body is feeling the vibrations it exudes.


    He stood up and noticed that furniture, utensils, and other objects in his room is also vibrating like there''s an earthquake.


    A few moments passed and the loud sound lessened like it was able to sessfully stabilize its a machine.


    "Where did thate from?"


    Wace still felt sleepy and asked himself. Such noise didn''te from a car, there wasn''t any huge factory in the small town and he''s also aware that there weren''t any nearby constructions going on.


    He tried looking where was iting from and opened the window in his room. It should be around eight in the morning but the sky still seems to be a bit too dark. The sun should have been up more than an hour ago.


    Wace remembered that there wasn''t any report yesterday about possible rain or storm for today.


    As the engine noise could still be heard though not as loud a while ago, it was still annoying and not polite at all.


    Wace saw that their neighbors went outside and seems to be looking at the sky. Wace couldn''t see in the window what was it they''re looking at since they were looking on the eastside and his room is located on the northside. He had to go outside and look at it as he was quite curious right now.


    He didn''t bother to change his clothes or fix himself as he took his slippers and went outside.


    As he headed downstairs, he saw his father was also about to go out.


    "Oh, dad. What could that be?"


    Wace asked his father. He just arrived here in the town yesterday so he asked him just in case that this happened before.


    "I''m not sure as well. This is the first time that this had happened. Oh, your mom is almost done cooking breakfast, you can eat first." Chase replied to his son.


    "It''s fine. I''ll go with you." Wace said as he couldn''t contain his curiosity.


    "Alright." His father agreed and headed out together with Wace. His little sister may still be sleeping or together with his mom in the kitchen.


    The father and son saw their neighbors and greeted them casually but as they noticed that they didn''t respond and just continued looking up in the east, they decided to look as well.


    There they noticed a huge disc that could almost cover the whole sky.


    Not only that, the floating disc doesn''t seem to be alone as they could even vaguely see a dozen more silhouettes of this gigantic floating disc slowly descending to the ground. They felt that that the other floating monstrosities were just waiting for the first vanguard to descend before theyplete their own.


    A few momentster, they saw a clear view of the floating machine.


    Looking carefully, the disc is just actually a base of a floating city or ind. Thisrge and dark floating ship hovers effortlessly without any visible means of propulsion. They also noticed a rotating colored lights underneath the ship that seems to gauge the distance from the ground and looking at the top portion of the ship, it has a well lit structure where they could identify things that look some kind of tall buildings.


    Everyone was so surprised on this and couldn''t say a word until someone broke the silence.


    "W-what is that?" A young man asked. He was scared hearing his tone of the question. But this question was in everyone''s mind and no one could answer.


    "Itnded near Ste Region, I hope that people already vacated that ce." An old man besides Wace muttered. The man was still able to worry about others and remain calm although he couldn''t exin what is happening.


    "I''m scared."


    "Everything will be alright. Let''s eat breakfast first."


    A young child being carried by her mother felt scared about the monstrous ship that has descended. The child''s motherforted him by reminding him about their breakfast even though she was scared of herself. The ship emits a scary presence with its dark color design and some even felt hostilitying from it so the child''s reaction was normal.


    "Should we go there?"


    "Have you called the police?"


    "Are we still safe here? That huge thing doesn''t seem to belong to our country."


    "That''s right, it''s impossible for us to have this kind of technology."


    Everyone was curious about the origin of the floating giant and only feeling a little bit scared because it hadn''t done anything yet. It could destroy the Ste Region where it is located or it may just be a project of the government and is there to protect the region itself, no one knows the truth until the thing in the sky started to do its purpose.


    Chase frowned at this because as a licensed Magic Engineer he''s aware of the limitations of his country. It could never create something like that at the moment. He was worried as they were too close on the floating city or ind so he nned to tell his family to move away for the meantime while they weren''t sure about its purpose yet.


    He looked at his silent son and he saw the dread and frightened Wace staring silly at the floating thing. His eyes were open wide and his body couldn''t stop shaking. Chase noticed his abnormality and immediately tried tofort Wace.


    "Wace, you have to keep calm during this time. We have to get your mom and little sister and move away from here for now." Chase said to get Wace''s attention. Thetter only looked at his father but didn''t move. He struggled to open his mouth and said.


    "T-that''s Meredith Empire''s Conqueror Starship." Wace felt weak upon seeing that there''s even dozen of this giant starship waiting to descend.


    "What do you mean?" His father was confused.


    "I can''t exin for now but we have to get away from here." Wace answered after recollecting his mind.


    ''Where''s pathfinder when I need it? What should we do from here? The empire will not do anything peaceful as long as they can aplish their task brutally...and if the magicians here couldn''t fight against the advanced technology of the empire, then this may be another source of ves for the empire. I couldn''t just let it happen.''


    Wace said in his mind but he was still so weak that he may not be able to change anything at all for the country.


    ''Just how unlucky I could be for them to descend near my ce. Tsk.''


    As soon as they nned to move away from their ce. The starship made flickering lights and several hundreds of small ck and elongated battleships were released. Most of these battleships aimed at therge Ste Region but a few couples of them turned their sight in their small town.


    Wace couldn''t rx anymore, he immediately grabs his dad''s hand to head back home.


    "They are a dangerous existence we have to get away from here." Wace said grimly after getting his mom pack up. He carried his little sister who doesn''t understand what was happening.


    After getting surprised and scared of Meredith Empire''s abrupt appearance, Wace came to his mind that he needed to calm his mind to make the right decisions. He couldn''t panic at this critical moment.


    "The capital should be safe. The strongest magicians were all hiding there."


    His father suggested after carefully considering their options. The capital may also receive heavily focused fire from the starship but it should be able to defend itself. After all, if their capital falls, then their whole country is doomed.

 Chapter 78 - Urgency

    Wace didn''t care how the Meredith Empire had gotten here. All he knew was that every it set its eyes on would be plundered until almost no valuable resources were left.


    The natives would be ves if they''re weak or killed if ever they possess some threat.


    The empire doesn''tck people but additional ves were always wee as it''s treated as a business.


    Since Wace was fully aware of the capability of the battleshipsing towards their town, he knew that there was no chance that they could survive their confrontation. Unless his parents have some amazing mana artifacts in their possession that could make them escape here, they wouldn''tst long in fighting against this enemy ships.


    BOOOOM!!


    A loud explosion collided against the battleship as it tried to enter their town in the sky. It temporarily halted the ship''s advance.


    Wace and his family were still trying to get in their car to escape when the earth-shaking st happened.


    "So fast! They''re already here."


    Chase was surprised about the speed of the battleships but Wace is somewhat aware of it. He also knows that their town''s mana barrier wouldn''tst long against the two battleships here.


    "We have to move now or we won''t have a chance." Wace said.


    The empire has an advance technology that can detect human life or any living things. Hiding isn''t a good option and only escaping is the best chance they have to survive. Luckily, only two battleships are present to apprehend their town. Wace felt a bit relieved as the car moved to the northern gate to leave the ce.


    "They just collided to our town''s barrier. It should give us some time. Right?" ine said worriedly as she grasps the situation they''re into.


    "No, they''re just probably analyzing the barrier that stopped them and will destroy it in a moment." Wace answered and as if they were listening, a hadron particle beam was released that destroyed the barrier.


    Wace felt that it was overkill. The barrier in the town isn''t that strong enough to even hold a couple of their missiles at all.


    As soon as the particle beam hit the barrier, it was shattered like ss and it continued hitting the town. The houses, people, and even some magicians trying to defend using their mana shells with their mana artifacts were disintegrated by the sheer force of the beam.


    A few seconds after the beam was released, their target was cleared and a deep hole was caved in where the beam run through after pulverizing the part of the town.


    Many cries and angry shouts were heard after it was fired. Several families died just like that. Some people who had some knowledge in magic and a few Grade C mana artifacts tried to attack the floating battleships but to no avail. The force field emitted by the ship is so strong that only Grade 3 magic can probably damage it.


    "We can''t stay here! Leave the town. We have contacted the nearest city to send us some help here. Just focus on surviving right now!"


    They heard the town chief''s instruction and alleviated some of their worries. They saw that he was together with a dozenbat magicians stationed in their location. They probably n to hold against the enemy while they''re waiting for the special forces that are hurrying over here.


    At the very least, it is a good thing that they are also waiting for Cove City''s reinforcement to arrive and help them in their predicament.


    Now, they n on heading to the nearest city as their ce will be the battlefield. They may also meet with the reinforcements and give them some security once they move towards the city. After all, their town''s defenses don''t seem to look enough to fight against the two battleships.


    Unfortunately, even if their n sounds good, the Meredith Empire''s battleship wouldn''t give them a chance.


    Several hatches of the ship opened and marauder gears came out. It has the size of two cars with 3 people in it and has very good mobility as it floats in the sky. Their purpose is normally to capture or fight people. Only about 30 of these gears came out of the ship, it was very few as they may just be probing thoroughly about what the natives here can do.


    The dozens of thebat magicians tried to fight against these aircraft.


    "sting Wind Howl!"


    "Cyclone Fire!"


    "de of Fire!"


    Three Grade 2 magic was immediately releaseding from the group ofbat magicians.


    Unfortunately, only the town chief and one of his subordinates seem to be a titled Battle Mage in the town. Thus, the other magicians tried to release Grade 2 and Grade 1 spells as the duo tried to prepare their Grade 3 Magic Spells.


    The marauder gears seem to have lower defense than the battleship as after taking 3-4 hits from the spell, they now tried to dodge and maneuver as they approach. Then they counter attacked.


    Paralyzing Beam!


    Thirty beams of light hit their target magicians or citizen, thebat magicians Mana Shell was somehow able to lessen the effect of the beam but those that do not have this was quickly paralyzed as they were unable to move. Due to this, the marauder gears change their method of attack.


    Sonic Wave!


    Now even the magicians were affected by this attack. But it wasn''t enough to stop the two Battle Mage. They finished their casting and released the spell to the crowd of marauder gears.


    "Petrification!"


    Two Grade 3 magic spells that covered the 30 marauder gears blocked the sky. It stopped the enemy aircraft as they slowly be stone.


    This is the first time that Wace saw a Grade 3 magic spell cast in person. He had only watch it in the recordings before. The sheer force of mana undtion in the town would cower any weaker magicians. The two Battle Mages live up to their name.


    But Wace knows that it wasn''t over. First, each of the battleships should contain more than 500 marauder gears, 300 abyssal destroyers, and at least 100 mech frames that could easily destroy their whole town.


    As soon as Wace thought about it, 20 humanoid mech frames came out of the hatch from the floating battleship. Again, they seem to be probing what else these native magicians can do. If they just want to kill everyone, they could just release another of those particle beams but they look like gauging the limit of the magicians.


    But he is aware that once they had recorded the information they needed, they''ll remove anything that is not valuable. They will kill or capture everyone and establish their base of operation as they milk the with all the valuable resources they could get here.


    A minute hasn''t even passed when the mech frames came out but now, only the two Battle Mages remain on the battlefield and everyone else has died. But the two mages were also exhausted and could only dodge from the mech frame''s attacks and couldn''t deal damage at all. Their group was easily annihted by the mech frame''s powerful firing ability that shatters their mana shell and absurd mobility that could easily keep up to their movements. The two know that they wouldn''tst long until the reinforcement from the city arrived. They needed at least 10 minutes to hold but they failed.


    "We did our best." This is the only thing they could think as a burning palm of a mech frame grabbed and held the two magicians. It destroyed their Mana Shell and burned them alive as thest two defenses of the town perished.


    A few seconds passed and as the empire noticed that no other attacks came towards them, they set their eyes on the fleeing ves. Yes, in their eyes, the citizens here only deserved to be ves and be sold for money.


    They released almost a thousand marauder gears to capture them. A hundred of Mech Frames also joined in the fun of hunting people.


    Wace and his parents saw everything that has urred as worry could be seen on their faces. They know that they were locked on by a Mech Frame that killed the 2 Battle Mages.


    His father, Chase, looked at his son with a resolute face.

 Chapter 79 - Wallace

    "Son, you have to survive here. Bring your mom and little sister into safety."


    Chase resolutely said to Wace. The speed of their car couldn''t bepared to the mech frame or even the marauder gears, it''s only a matter of time before they were caught.


    "W-what are you saying? How can I bring them to the city?" Wace replied in question. He was confused by his father who was driving as fast as he could. They all felt that the mech frame was about to reach them but he couldn''t tell how his father ns to send them in the city.


    ine looked from the back of their car and saw a humanoid mech frame catching up. She doesn''t have an idea where theye from but she knew that once they were caught by these unknown species, they would be at their mercy.


    As she heard Chase say those words to his son, she immediately understood what he meant. She couldn''t just say nothing and immediately joined the n.


    "You can''tst that long. It would be better if we do it together to guarantee their safety. What do you think?" ine said with a trace of a smile on her face. She doesn''t look worried as she resolutely epted what was about to happen. In return, his father could only sigh and smile back to his wife.


    Wace couldn''t understand until he remembered what happened when their Zymeth spaceship was also cornered by the Meredith Empire''s force. His father, Captain Brian Heather, his uncle Shin and all other crews in the ship were left as he escaped using the luxury spaceship.


    "NO! We have to escape together!" Wace instinctively say those words aloud. He just couldn''t allow his parents to leave him like this again. He clenched his fist as he was clearly out of options as well. The Pathfinder isn''t responding and he doesn''t have effective means to fight against the Mech Frame. If it''s only the marauder gears, he was confident that they will have enough time to reach the nearest city.


    Wace looked at his little sister who has fallen asleep due to his mother''s magic spell. How could he exin to his little sister if both their parents perished here? How could they even survive anyway? It was all his fault. Maybe if he didn''tnd his spaceship here, the Meredith Empire wouldn''t be able to trace him up to this. Maybe if he continued searching for a known and didn''t take his chances here, he wouldn''t be in this situation now. Maybe the ''Wace'' here would have lived happily together with his parents and would create a peaceful family with his wife and children when he grows up. But all of these didn''t happen because he descended here and made a mess.


    He regretted his decision that day. He med himself for this situation they''re in and couldn''t help but feel very emotional. He''s just about to lose his parents again.


    "There should be something else!"


    Wace raised his voice but he couldn''t stop his parents, even he himself couldn''t think of other options aside from whatever his parent''s n was.


    Chase only shook his head telling that it''s alright.


    "It will be fine. Just be safe and take care of your sister, you have to promise me." ine said softly to his son.


    He was still thinking of refusing it but upon seeing his mother''s pleading and resolute face, he could only agree to her request.


    "I promise." Wace solemnly said.


    Chase put the car in automatic mode as he moved himself to let Wace sit in the driver''s seat.


    Wace could no longer control the situation as both his parents moved at the back of the car to let Wace take a seat in front to drive the car together with the sleeping ire beside him.


    The couple checked their daughter and made sure that she was fastenedfortably and gave one final look to Wace before opening the door of the car and jumping out to face the Mech Frame.


    Wace saw his parents holding hands to face therge Mech Frame. Their body was so small that the humanoid machine could grasp the two in a single palm.


    He then saw his parent''s golden rings on their fingers lit up so brightly that affected even the whole town and its surroundings. Some people who were running for their lives as they were being pursued by other Mech Frames and marauder gears were also blinded by the bright light. But it didn''tst long for the empire''s forces as they have sufficient preparation for this kind of attack. Their machine''s function kicked in and filtered the bright lighting from the couple and it didn''t even take a second to aplish all of this.


    They saw the two natives who were the source of the light. The couple has closed their eyes and holding each other''s hands. The Empire''s forces didn''t detect any danger and only saw this light as an attempt to buy some time, but even if that was the case, the nearest Mech Frame tried to be careful just to make sure.


    The Mech Frame did not approach the two and on his position, he aimed and fired a bullet to the couple in an attempt to probe their response.


    Unfortunately, the fired shot didn''t provide them their desired oue. The couple didn''t dodge or send an attack but just stood there as the bullet passed through them like they were a ghost. The Mech Frame pilot seems to be surprised as he forgot to take further actions.


    The couple opened their eyes and they slowly disintegrated as thousands of light particles formed in return. After this has been formed, these particles turned towards the Mech Frame. The pilot may have felt some danger as it tried to dodge but the light was so fast. The particles phased through over the Mech Frame.


    Everything happened so fast as Wace could only clench his fist in anger, despair, and sadness. He was not aware of what happened inside the frame but once the particles of light phased outside, the Mech Frame seems to be frozen as it slowly dropped to the ground. The Mech Frame''s engine was still functioning but it looks like the pilot lost his control on the machine.


    The light particles then moved towards the other marauder gears and Mech Frame as it stopped them their movements for some unknown reason. The citizens and other remaining magicians was surprised upon seeing what has urred. They didn''t know where the light came from but they felt that they were now safe as every enemy it passed through would immobilize their machines dropping them to the ground helplessly.


    "Great! Destroy them all!"


    "We''re saved!"


    "Is it the reinforcements from the Cove City?"


    "Luckily, they made it here."


    They celebrated as they had a glimpse of hope in surviving their predicament.


    Unfortunately, it didn''tst long enough. The light particles only defeated 50 marauder gears and 4 Mech Frames. There were still tons of enemies. Not to mention that there''s still one battleship nearby that hadn''t released all of their forces.


    As Wace''s parents sacrificed themselves for them to escape, he made quite some distance away from the town. He saw that after the particles of lights disappeared, the enemies didn''t get cautious at all and instead gone even crazier as the battleship released their 300 Abyssal Destroyers in anger.


    Wace knew that these destroyers mostly have explosives in their arsenal, unlike the marauder gears. After that, the hopeful people just a while ago were bombarded by bombs and other explosives killing all the people and destroying the whole town leaving nothing in the previous lively Red Star Town.


    Wace could no longer contain his anger as his eyes turned bloodshot. He can only think of vengeance. He will make them regret this. He will annihte these empire''s forces on the. As long as he survives today, he will--


    His thoughts were interrupted as a Mech Frame blocked their car''s path. He stomped at the brake pedal as hard as he could to stop it from hitting the Mech Frame.


    He saw his little sister groan as she seems to be waking up due to the abrupt halt they made. He sessfully avoided a collision but what will happen next is another problem.


    Wace didn''t have time to think of the reason how the Mech Frame appeared here as he only saw the humanoid machine lifting its hand and aimed his gun on their car as it fired a shot.


    NOOOoo!!


    He doesn''t know what to do and could only hug his little sister as they were covered by a warm light.


    "Wake up! Uncle is here to celebrate the new year with us!"


    His little sister forcefully removed his brother''s nket as he tried to open his eyes due to the sudden disturbance. Their uncle''s family arrived today to celebrate the new year with them and as they heard Wace''s achievements, they wanted to meet him.


    Wacepletely woke himself up and opened his teary eyes as he stared at his little sister.

 Chapter 80 - Studying

    Wace noticed that he''s currently in his room and has been woken up by his little sister. He looked at the time and saw that it''s four o''clock in the afternoon.


    He remembered that he took a nap a while ago as he was exhausted due to his practices in potion-brewing. He stayed for over a week in this town now and there are 5 days left before the end of the year.


    "Are you crying? Do you want me to call mom?"


    ire asked his brother upon noticing the tears at the corner of his eyes. She always calls her mom tofort her whenever she had bad dreams.


    "N-no! I''m okay. It''s not tears, okay? Tell them I''ve woken up and will head downstairs in a minute."


    Wace was a bit flustered due to his emotions that were triggered because of that realistic dream. He had also heard a familiar sound but ignored it for now.


    "Okay~"


    His little sister understood and did not ask too much as she left quickly. Their uncle has surely brought some gifts from their province. ire didn''t tell him which uncle visited but Wace knows that it should be their generous uncle Mitchell who always gives them some gifts whenever he visited their ce. This uncle is his mother''s older brother who is also a licensed Battle Mage.


    As Wace calmed his mind, he spread out his Divine Sense and felt his parent''s presence, alive and healthy. Again, he felt very emotional as he confirmed their status. He couldn''t help but feel d that everything that has urred was all just a dream.


    "Did I get too tired experimenting in making that potion?" Wace asked himself. He couldn''t understand why did he dreamed something like that at all but it gave him a wake-up call to hurry his advancement and immediately reach his target goals.


    After all, the dream that he had just now might happen sooner orter. Due to the event where the Meredith Empire''s forces cornered their Zymeth spaceship, it seems that they value the ancient relic he received. Who knows? Maybe it was the Pathfinder he assimted was what they were searching for. No one could answer the doubts in his mind at the moment so he must be prepared in case that time urred and he must be capable of dealing with the threat himself. That way, his parents wouldn''te to the point that they needed to sacrifice themselves just for him and his little sister to survive.


    Wace shook his head as he quickly fixed himself to head downstairs. During this time, he saw the Berserk Potion his father made for him safely ced in his study table.


    He thought that the Berserk Potion Recipe he randomly received from the Pathfinder would still take months or years in his storage before he''ll decide to dabble on it. After all, he didn''t have any impression of potion study.


    But as he got nothing to do that day since he got stuck in resolving the issue on how mana suppresses nuclear fission reactions, he decided to look into the potion recipe to refresh his mind. He even found out that all the ingredients in the recipe can be taken in his parent''s storage and some can easily be ordered, so he immediately decided to just try dealing with it.


    Wace vaguely remembered that when he was still an eight-year-old child, his father mentioned that he was an expert in many fields like crafting, potion-making, and battling. He exined that when he studied a bit of the healer''s path, he partly learned pioneering. But as Wace grow up and learned the difficulty of each path, he thought that his father was just boasting to his child. Only a few days ago when he asked assistance in brewing the potion did he learn that his father has a wide variety of skills.


    His father saw the recipe and tried brewing it. He did not make a single mistake and has been sessful in making one potion. Although it might be a fluke as his father no longer dared to try creating another one, it was still very impressive on his side.


    He didn''t stop Wace to dabble in potion-making and even encourage him to study it seriously as it will enhance his critical thinking. He advised Wace that he shouldn''t rely on the brewing method that is listed but only make it as a guide.


    Unfortunately, Wace still failed multiple times in creating one and wasted a lot of resources. There wasn''t even a mission from the Pathfinder so his motivation hit the rock bottom.


    Wace headed down and saw his father, little sister and uncle Mitchell together with his daughter in the living room. He noticed as well his mother and his uncle''s wife in the kitchen.


    "Wace, you''ve grown up. I heard that you won in TMAC and is now getting ready for the internationalpetition?"


    Mitchell is just 3 years older than his mother. He has ck hair, a well-built body and always has a cane with him.


    Wace has always seen this cane as his uncle''s tool to help in walking or for style but looking at it now, it is a mana artifact.


    "Yes, uncle. There''s still about two weeks before thepetition. So you can still give me some tips to win." Wace smiled and replied to the man.


    "Haha, since you''re not inbat ss, I have nothing to teach you. You can always ask your father about it, he''s a jack of all trades." Mitchell said and he did not wait for Wace to answer as he turned to his daughter.


    "Trixie, greet your cousin."


    Mitchell said as she brought up his 10-year-old daughter. She has the same tanned skin like his father and wears a simple red dress. It looks like they''ve just arrived.


    Thest time that Wace saw Trixie was when she was 7 years old so he couldn''t help but notice the changes in her physique. He also noticed the mana fluctuations that she exudes just by sitting on the sofa.


    ''It seems that uncle wants her to be abat magician as well.'' Wace said in his mind. His mother''s family was famous for their utilization of Mavis Prayer which Wace has already learned. But apart from that, they have a great number of Battle Mages as well.


    As Wace reached that thought, he was reminded that he only knows this one rtive of his from her mother''s side. They haven''t made contact with other Mavis n members and he only knows some inconsequential things due to the stories he heard from his mom and his uncle Mitchell.


    "H-hi Wace, dad said that you will go abroad?" Trixie asked Wace.


    "Yes, what do you want as a gift?" Wace proactively asked his cousin. As he would be leaving the country for the first time, he was expected to bring some souvenirs from the distant country.


    "Anything... oh! I want a brooch, same with ire. Can I?" Trixie seems to be hopeful that Wace would agree to her request.


    "Of course, I can make something simr." Wace agreed and promised that he would make er, once he has some time.


    He chatted with his uncle a bit as he listened to some stories about his journey to be a sessfulbat magician when he was still young and how he earned a chance to join internationalpetitions. But it''s different from the TMAC these years as this specificpetition has only started 17 years ago.


    ***


    Wace was now alone in his room contemting the dream he just had this afternoon. It seems that it wasn''t just a simple dream.


    A while ago, he received another mission from the Pathfinder and only had a chance to check it now. It made him believe that he has to move forward with his ns.

 Chapter 81 - Mission And Potion

    Wace checked the mission he received from the Pathfinder.


    [ Prepare for your inevitable future and reach the apex of your career.


    Mission: Retrieve the Cube of Paradox


    Mission item: Fervor Timepiece


    Mission Reward: Improvement in Mana Affinity


    Bonus Reward: If the mission waspleted without exhausting the Fervor Timepiece usage, the item will be given permanently to the user with further usage improvement. ]


    Wace noticed that an item materialized in his hand. It is a golden pocketwatch that has an attached chain to allow it to be secured in a waistcoat or belt. He checked the item he received for its information.


    [ Fervor Timepiece


    A pocketwatch containing mysterious energy that can temporarily elerate brainwaves and provides physical burst at the same time for 10 seconds.


    Number of Avable Usage: 5


    Once the usage reached zero, the item will automatically be returned to the Pathfinder. ]


    Wace had to stop for a few seconds to make sure he understood the effects of this mystical equipment. By saying that it will temporarily elerate brainwaves is probably the same as the 4th gen''s uniqueness, which is the brain-boosting ability.


    Once he received the eleration after activating the item, the time would probably be so slow in his senses but it doesn''t mean that his body could keep up with it. That is probably why the physical burst is added to make him capable of moving while in that state.


    As for the cube that the mission mentioned, he already had an idea of what it refers to.


    "The Pathfinder is really connected to that cube."


    Wace muttered as he was getting closer to the truth behind this Pathfinder. He wanted to know the origin of this system and of course, he wanted to know his mother''s research that led to the discovery of the cube. He knows too little about these details and he could only wait until he uncovers them slowly.


    For now, he could only trust the Pathfinder in bringing him to the peak of his path.


    Haaa~


    Wace sighed and shook his head as he focused his mind on analyzing the reason why the Pathfinder gave him this mission item. He remembered the first mission he had which rewarded him the Ne of rity, it was very helpful in aplishing his first task.


    Now, the Fervor Timepiece seems to imply that he will encounter a level of danger or event that will lead him to use this item to either save his life or defeat his opponents.


    Wace could only imagine the situation of his spaceship that is containing all his things. He thought that if the location is the only problem, the Pathfinder may have given him something like apass or detector to locate it, but it gave him something that can be used forbat.


    ''It seems that there will be a danger to some extent. Did the government of Montego found out about the spaceship? Or maybe some other private organization? Do I have to fight against these people just to get the spaceship?''


    Wace couldn''t help but feel nervous just by thinking about it. It would be awesome if he can just find the spaceship safe and sound, then retrieve all his things, unite with the A.I. and get the cube toplete his mission. But that seems to be too good to be true.


    Once he located the spaceship, it may be barricaded and surrounded by soldiers or transferred to a secret location full of scientistprehending the technology it contains.


    ''I could only try.''


    Wace said as he closed his eyes to sleep. Anyway, there isn''t any option to decline the mission and no penalty will be given if he failed. Also, there isn''t any timeframe that was given to aplish it so he can only try doing his best to the current n he decided, but he has to take an even more proactive approach this time.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace upied his father''s workshop to try creating berserk potions. He might need the assistance of this potion in the other country, so he decided that he might as well make as much as he can while his father is here to guide him.


    He checked the status of the only sessfully made potion.


    [ Berserk Potion


    Temporarily puts the Magician to Berserk State once consumed.


    Lasts 20 minutes.


    Berserk State: 150% increase in the user''s ability.


    Restrictions: Can only be consumed by Magicians. Ordinary people can die upon consuming.


    Side Effects: The magician will experience Weakened State for 2 minutes after the Berserk State ended.


    Repeated usage will decrease the effect of the Berserk State. ]


    After checking the effects of the potion, he was even more inspired in concocting one.


    He then checked the list of ingredients and instructions listed in the recipe provided by the Pathfinder.


    [ Berserk Potion Recipe


    Main Ingredients


    - an adult Worm of Madness


    - stomach pouch of Spirit Rage Spider


    Supplementary Ingredients


    - 70 ml of scourge tree juice


    - 9 grams of hazel blossom grass


    - 7 venom mint leaves


    - 10 ml of mirage owl''s blood


    - 50 grams of dragon clove powder


    - 8 drops of Bittermace worm mucus ]


    Wace seriously read again the steps that are required in making the potion. He wants to make sure that he won''t miss anything once he started making it again. Due to his failures yesterday, his avable resources now is only good for 8 batches. Luckily the supplementary ingredients can still be purchased in many apothecaries. Only the main ingredients would be a challenge to acquire, especially to those thatck connections to certain people or organizations. After all, these ingredients can only be found in some dangerous territories.


    For the six attempts he would tryter, he was hoping that at least 1 or 2 potions would be sessfully concocted.


    Although there is no mission to create this potion and not really in line with the path he had chosen, he believed that his knowledge in potion-making would give him some benefits in the future.


    ***


    Ministry of Magic Education, Zairus City.


    Within the conference room of the building, six people were discussing a certain issue that was pressing them.


    "The Congress has contacted us again, they are requesting assistance in deducing theponents of the Cryptic Link Serum they''ve retrieved from that organization''s research facility." A plump middle-aged woman with long ck hair said as she got the attention of the 5 other people seated. She is the only female in the conference room. She showed them the formal written requesting from the Congress.


    Silence permeated in the room.


    "Sir Chester, would you like to take the task?" An old man in the 70''s seated in the center finally said as no one responded at thedy''s announcement. He has a wellbed gray hair and shows a very neat appearance in his casual attire.


    "Does the Congresscks potion experts now? How about those old men in NMTI?" Chester frowned. He is the Head of the Mage Doctor of Medicine department in the Ministry. His achievement in the field allowed him to enjoy this grand status even though he''s only 30 years old. He also has a lot of tasks to do so he was a bit unwilling even though he was quite interested in the serum.


    "They also received a request but they''re not making any progress. This Cryptic Link is said to be a project that spanned for more than two decades, so it wouldn''t be easy even if we have a sample." The old man replied.


    "Fine, but I can''t guarantee any timeframe until I saw it." Chester finally gave in as no one could handle such a task in the room. He can only think about how to aplish this taskter on.


    "Donna, tell them that we''ll make arrangements. Also, remind them that there''s still apetition in Montego that we have to prioritize." The silent Hayden Fraser, the Enneadic Magician, assigned in the Ministry concluded the topic.


    "Understood." Donna acknowledged the man''s instruction and immediately made an arrangement.

 Chapter 82 - Celebration And Meeting

    Wace spent his day patiently brewing the berserk potion. Fortunately, from the six batches he had, one potion was sessfully made.


    ''That''s why potion-making has its own course in other academies. It''s really difficult.''


    Only a few academies can cater potioneering and Leonhearts isn''t one of them.


    Wace felt proud of himself upon seeding in making the potion. After all, he doesn''t have any background in making potions at all and he only watched his father once as a guide. His achievement is already quite outstanding as a beginner but even though he seeded, it never crossed his mind to dabble too deep in the field. Memorizing the herbs, raw materials or ingredients and its corresponding purposes for potion making is quite difficult unless he spent a lot of time studying or has other means of assistance to memorize them.


    Of course, he didn''t forget to tell his father about his achievement which earned him some praise. Now, his father may consider contacting his connections to gather more of the main ingredients for the berserk potion. This way, whenever he has some free time, he could decide to concoct a potion to temporarily change his mood and better himself.


    "I hope it wouldn''t go to the point that I''ll have to use this."


    Wace sighed and muttered upon contemting his recent sess in making the potion.


    ***


    A few more days had passed as his family together with his uncle''s own celebrated the end of the year wishing for their good health and prosperity. They all ate Zairusian food during the celebration and went to watch an impressive fireworks disy arranged by their town''s officials in their small za.


    During this event, Wace noticed a few things.


    He noticed some familiar individuals and he was sure that it''s the first time he met them personally. Yes, because the first time he saw these individuals weren''t in reality but within his dream where the Meredith Empire''s forces invaded. They were the few Combat Mages together with the town''s chief that battled the Marauder Gears.


    Wace had met this old chief several times before as a resident here in the town, but for thesebat magicians, it was the first. He also remembered the other Battle Mage together with the chief in the dream and notice that he''s not present here.


    So he decided to use his Divine Sense to try looking for him thoroughly and sure enough, after scanning the ce and slowly analyze them, he found the other Battle Mage overseeing the ce far away while the town''s chief was in the center of the za celebrating together with the residents of the Red Star town.


    "Howe they appeared in my dream even though this should be the first time I''ve met them? That dream was somehow controlled by the Pathfinder? It''s the side effect? Premonition? Or it just really giving me hints to prepare for the future?"


    He was sure though that the dream was rted to his mission so he had to seed in his journey to the ind country.


    After enjoying the fireworks disy in the festive za, they all went home.


    "Wace, you''re traveling back to the city tomorrow?"


    His father Chase asked. Wace has to return there for thepetition as they were instructed to arrive in Montego 5 days before thepetition.


    "Uhmm... no, I can still stay for a few days. Why''d you ask?"


    Wace replied, confused by his father''s sudden question.


    "Maybe you need more time practicing your artifact forging? After all, you were not able to practice here." Chase answered his son. He noticed his son only researching the potion, ying with his little sister, reading books, and even asking for more memory crystal even though he and his wife had given him three before.


    Of course, the two did not allow Wace to have more memory crystal consumed as having more than three could make the magician go crazy or retard and that would even be the best scenario. Sometimes the magician''s brain that couldn''t handle more than three memory crystals would cause their death.


    Wace appreciated his father''s concern. His previous self, Wace Heather, also had an amazing father in the space and saw Chase Ravencroft in semnce.


    The captain of Zymeth, a dreadnaught-ss spaceship, Brian Heather, was not only an amazing leader but also a father who cared for him the most.


    "No worries, I already made preparations in my workshop. That should be enough. Anyway, our academy instructors told me that results or ranking there isn''t important as long as I did my best."Wace exined.


    "That''s good to hear then." ine joined the conversation of this father and son on the balcony of their house. It seems that ire has already slept.


    The two turned their heads and saw the lovely appearance of thedy under the moonlight. Chase smiled at her and turned to face his son.


    "We have a request for you..."


    ***


    Wace just arrived in his own house in Tanza City. The ce was clean and seems that no intruder dared to cause trouble while he was away. He visited his workshop and saw his mana artifacts prepared for his journey.He arranged his things and fitted them all in three travel bags.


    Ring! Ring!


    Wace picked up his phone and saw that his instructor was phoning him. He pressed the answer button and answered.


    "Hello, Sir Garen. I''ll be there at three." He predicted that his instructor was already looking for him to make sure he won''t miss their flight.


    "That''s good. You can still rest. I''ll send someone to pick you up, send me your address." Instructor Garen replied. He won''t being in thepetition as he still has to teach his students in the academy. Instead of him, it seems some other instructor will be sent apanying the only representative of the academy.


    "Thank you. I will send it in a moment. Right, may I ask if it''s already decided? I mean, who will be joining me? Will you send me there alone?"


    Wace joked. Of course, their academy wouldn''t let him visit there without someone supervising or protecting him. They couldn''t just allow him to be cared for by the Ministry''s delegates. Aside from representing their country together with other selected participants, he''ll also represent his academy.


    "Oh, I''m not sure. It was arranged by the headmaster."


    "Headmaster Percival? Not an instructor in the academy?" Wace asked and felt that if it was an instructor in Leonhearts, instructor Garen should''ve been made aware. After all, there''s only a handful of instructors capable enough to be assigned for this.


    "Perhaps. You''ll meet themter anyway. Just ask the headmaster if you have further questions. Good luck!"


    Garen ended the call leaving Wace in thought. He was curious about the person or people who will be joining him on his trip because they were the ones whom he''ll have to abandon in search of his spaceship. He had to escape from their surveince before he''ll worry his escape with the country''s guards for the event.


    He only had about 5 days to escape, travel, and search for the spaceship. If he didn''t return at that time, no one will represent Zairus academy and they will be disqualified unless the ministry arranged a reserve mana technician. If that were the case, it would be better for him.


    After a few hours, an expensive car stopped in front of his house.


    Wace determined that it was the car that will pick him up. He carried his bags and went to the car to load them. He noticed that a young woman in her twenties was seated in the car smiling at him.


    "Hello, Wace! I''ve finally met you! I''m Yumi."


    Wace had no idea who the girl was but it seems that she''s also a powerful magician based on the feedback that came from his Divine Sense.

 Chapter 83 - Yumi

    Wace smiled at her as he tried to remember who Yumi was. But seeing the confused expression of Wace, Yumi instead decided to further introduce herself.


    "I''ll be apanying you to thepetition. Oh! Of course, there would be two more security personneling with us."


    Yumi smiled as she exined the situation. Her hair was coral-ck that tumbled over her shoulders and entuate her simple low cut evening dress exposing her unblemished white skin. Her luminous white teeth sh as she showed her vibrant smile to Wace. Thetter was mesmerized by the beauty in front of him as he missed the beat to reply.


    ''She wasn''t a faculty member in the academy. An instructor from a different one? An employee of the headmaster? Or she probably has a personal rtionship with thetter if she was rmended to join me overseas.'' Wace said in his mind.


    They can''t just send anyone toe together with him in the other country.


    As he tried to contemte it, it seemed like he was just dazed upon seeing the beauty and couldn''t speak.


    "Nice to meet you, Ma''am Yumi. I''ll be in your care." Wace finally said and politely addressed her as ma''am since he was also unaware of her status.


    "You don''t have to be too polite. Come in, we''ll head to the academy first. I''ll brief you while we''re on our way." Yumi gestured for Wace toe in and sit in front of the car beside her after loading his luggage.


    "It seems that you already knew me even before you were assigned to apany me in Montego. Is that right?"


    Wace tried to start a conversation as he seated in the car. It was only his guess as he heard her say ''I''ve finally met you'' a while ago. It sounded to him that she already knew about him for quite a while now and only had a chance to meet him today. He was curious about this so he wanted to make sure that his guess was right.


    "Haha! Well, of course! I''m from NMTI." Yumi said and chuckled upon revealing her status. Yes, this is the same person who called Headmaster Percival when Wace registered his Magic Jammer Canceller before.


    She was the one who immediately informed Percival about Wace''s submitted Magic Structure as she saw the importance of such magic.


    She did it for his protection as this magic structure, even though not seemingly useful in many ways, could still give arge impact if used correctly against terrorists,rge criminal organizations or even enemies from other countries.


    As someone who had a high ranking status in the field, she was aware of the danger that Wace could experience due to this magic structure. She was genuinely worried for his safety. That was why upon seeing the value of the said magic structure, before it was leaked to malicious people, she directly informed Percival about the news and nned to leak another information as a deterrence to those who had evil thoughts. They leaked the news about how he was also being protected and nurtured by NMTI and candidate for a high position when he graduated. This way, people would think twice before messing with him.


    The National Magic Trade and Industry isn''t just for office jobs but has a powerful line up of magicians in every city of the country as it oversees all the trades of Mana Artifacts, mana infused materials, Magic Structures, memory crystals, potion''s ingredients, and others. They also had a dedicated group to acquire these raw materials or ingredients in dangerous environments.


    After all, if there isn''t a government organization capable of acquiring materials in these almost forbidden ces, the trust of the independent magicians will be lessened.


    If only the private organizations had a strong magician that could explore these ces to acquire materials and ingredients, the young magicians like Wace may instead decide to just rely and sold themselves in these organizations to make further improvements in their path.


    Special materials for practicing Artifact Forging is not only expensive but also controlled byrge organizations. But due to the government having a way to acquire these materials as well, they were able to properly set expensive but eptable prices of materials for the public. They just need clearances to acquire them.


    In short, the security defenses that Wace paid for his house seems to be a bit of waste as someone was already protecting him in the background. Though it would still be useful if some uninformed people tried to mess with him.


    Of course, when Wace submitted the structure, he expected that he''ll be noticed by the government but not this much. He only wanted enough attention to let him join the TMAC before but looking at it now, this made him a celebrity in higher-ups and was noted as ''not to be messed with'' people.


    "NMTI? I only knew a few people there. You must have heard about me from Mr. Bryson or others?"


    Wace asked. He then mentioned the magic engineer who took care of his Float Drive System.


    "Nope." Yumi answered while shaking her head. She was also driving the car and ncing at Wace from time to time. She chuckled before continuing.


    "Try to guess more!"


    Wace could only try again as he didn''t mind prolonging the conversation since there was still about half an hour before arriving at the academy.


    "If not, then the headmaster probably told you about me? Ah! No, since you''re from NMTI, you probably saw me visit there a couple of times. But since I caught your attention, you should have a high position there and learned my achievements. Is that right?"


    Wace said to Yumi.


    "Spot on! Yes, I''m handling your Magic Jammer Canceller up until today. I studied that structure for so long and had learned it''s everything. All its strengths and weaknesses were revealed to me. I even made ns for further improvement but was a bit stuck since any other improvement we try would destroy the Jax stone."


    Yumi exined energetically in the first part but thetter part had a sound of exasperation. She seems to have also experienced a lot of failures during her research. Ultimately, it was alright to study his magic structure since they paid for the copyrights and made agreements with Wace himself. This will also provide him some earnings.


    "Hehe. Since I''m making no progress, my cousin told me to join you in Montego just in case I''ll get some inspiration."


    This cleared a lot of Wace questions. But it brought him another question in his mind. Cousin? Wace wasn''t sure but Percival should be in his forties or maybe reaching forties. But this cousin of his seems to be around 22 years old. It made him realize something.


    Was she also a prodigy like rence, a Battle Mage in the early twenties? That was impressive. But was his eyes deceiving him this time? Was that really her age? Too bad that Wace''s Divine Sense couldn''t determine his target''s age. And it was also for his safety not to ask further.


    The two chatted more as Wace learned about their nned schedule. Once they arrived in the academy, they will be meeting with the headmaster and will assign the two security personnel for them.


    "We will be traveling for a few hours on a bus. Then we''ll meet the other participants at the airport."


    "I see." Wace nodded at this and remembered the faces of certain individuals who made a strong impression on him in TMAC.


    ''Those third years had a chance to dip in that Revitalization Mana Spring. Let''s see the improvement they''ve made.''

 Chapter 84 - Arrival

    The two arrived at the academy and headed to the headmaster''s office to meet with Percival.


    The morning ss had already ended but there are still many students left in the academy participating in their club''s activities, borrowing academy''s facility for learning and practice, or just ying around enjoying their youth.


    As soon as the door opened Percival saw Wace together with a young woman. He looked at the woman and blinked twice beforeprehending the situation.


    "Good afternoon, Headmaster." Wace greeted Percival not noticing any abnormalities as he noticed that there are two unfamiliar people within the room.


    ''Another Battle Mage? Are they the security personnel Yumi mentioned?'' Wace inwardly thought.


    "It''s good indeed. Have a seat." Percival replied and gestured for the two to take a seat opposite the two suited men.


    "This is Lucian and Max that will be escorting the two of you. You can assume Yumi as your manager in Montego."


    Wace nced at the two guys wearing ck suits and lookingpetent with their body build. Lucian was in his thirties that also looked like a rich business instead of a bodyguard. He had blond hair and a handsome face while Max is a bald middle-aged man and had a scar on his forehead. Scars can easily be healed by utilizing Mage Doctor''s ability and if the wound is just recent, there''s even a potion that can be used to avoid having a scar, so he assumed that the scar may have a deeper meaning for Max.


    Wace greeted the two but noticed that Yumi did not react at all.


    "I know them." Yumi said as if she read his mind.


    A few more minutes had passed as the five of them discussed the arrangements that will happen in Montego.


    "You''ve been made aware of the rules in thepetition. So I have nothing more to say. You can always ask for her help if you needed." Percival said as he nced at Yumi.


    "Alright. I will do so." Wace replied. All his thoughts were looking for possible loopholes while in their guard that he could use to escape. Luckily, they already discussed the arrangements today so he could make further ns.


    "You three can head out first and meet with the driver at the carpark. I''ll talk to Yumi first."


    Percival instructed.


    The three men stood up and didn''t ask any more questions as they headed outside to meet with the driver Percival mentioned. They needed a service to bring them to the airport.


    "Yumi, you have to make sure that you won''t lose sight of him there." Percival had a serious look on his face as he faced Yumi. Thetter also no longer wore a cheerful face but now smirking like she''s telling that she all understood and there''s no need to remind her.


    "I know. Isn''t that the reason why you selected me for the mission?" Yumi replied.


    "Yes. Once Wace left the country, only the three of you would be his protection aside from the ministry''s given security. Just always be on your guard." Percival had left other words unsaid. The two already learned the news that quite a few Battle Mages from a certain organization went ahead to visit the country of Montego, there''s even an Adept Mage together with them.


    This organization was suspected to have dealings with the Cryptic Link Project but no solid evidence could be discovered by the police. It is suspected to be the organization that had produced mutated magicians and possesses several Magic Jammers in their usage.


    Unfortunately for them, the Lucent Force from the government had its canceller that is why their movement was very minimal at the moment.


    They learnedst month how this Magic Jammer Canceller magic structure heavily affects their operations when they tried to steal a Sealed Mana Artifact here in Tanza City. This made them desperate to crack the magic structure. They spent decades slowly collecting a number of Magic Jammer but suddenly, an unknown student created something that could disable them.


    With this in mind, there will be a high chance that Wace would be targeted once they''ve seen an opportunity. If they sessfully captured him, they''ll be able to use him and learn all things about the canceller.


    Yumi''s team in NMTI made sure that the structure itself wasn''t leaked. Only three trusted people in NMTI are aware of theplete structure including Yumi herself, the Magic Engineer who approved the structure that Wace submitted and reported to Yumi, and another Magic Engineer who created the canceller for Lucent Force''s usage.


    Yumi understood her cousin''s concern, as someone who had some connection in Lucent Force, Ministry of Magic Education, and NMTI, she was aware of how the upper society works and how these malicious people could not be easily removed. The most they could do right now is to have the strength to protect themselves.


    "Even though it''s been a while and I''ve been mostly stuck in myboratory, Remember that I''m still an Adept."


    Yumi proudly said. Her confidence stems from her powerful strength and long experience in her path as a magician. She was also the best person that Percival knew in terms of covert operations.


    With that having said, he trusted that this cousin of his was capable of protecting Wace in the background.


    "Good! Have a safe trip." Percival smiled as he let Yumi take over the responsibility.


    He could only hope that everything there would go smoothly and for them to return safely.


    ***


    The Ministry had arranged all the requirements for their trip. They will even use a private ne to bring them to the ind country which is more convenient than traveling on a passenger ne.


    As Wace''s group arrived at the airport''s lobby, he met some familiar faces, they were also the selected participants in the uing internationalpetition.


    He noticed Aria Scott and Vanessa White from Skywalker Academy smiling at him. But he couldn''t remember any interaction between them so he treated it as them being kind to their juniors. Unlike Avery from Isolde and Hector from Stoneheimer who only nced at him, it seems that the former couple was more approachable. He also saw N Lawson from Odrexelt whom eyes were closed while seated. Each one of these elite magicians was apanied by 3 personnel as well like Wace.


    He carefully spread out his Divine Sense to peek at the strength of these individuals.


    ''It seems that the spring was mystical.'' Wace said in his mind after quickly scanning the group. This time, he didn''t notice any response from these third years when he scanned them due to the improvement of his Divine Sense as well.


    These third-year students from Skywalker and Isolde had only experienced the spring for one day and six hours respectively but their mana fluctuation had an immense improvementpared tost month. He presumed that the spring is highly effective towards magician in any path he''d chosen.


    Wace looked around and noticed some missing people.


    ''The three representatives from Mystic Gate isn''t here yet.''


    The three were K Rogers, Jun Richardson, and Sheryl Vermont.


    As soon as he thought of this, he saw a representative from the Ministry approaching their group. He ushered them to a private ce where the other delegates of Ministry and student of Mystic Gate Academy is located.


    ''She''s Erza if I remember correctly.''


    Wace saw another individual whom he noticed during the closing ceremony of the TMAC. He remembered that she''s looking for someone during that night andter found out that she''s acquainted with Shirley.


    Including the people from the Ministry, there were a total of 68 people who boarded the private ne and headed to Montego.


    It only took them 9 hours of travel as they arrived in the country early in the morning the next day.


    Wace closed his eyes as he silently prayed for his sess in his escapeter.

 Chapter 85 - Escape ( Part 1 )

    The delegates from Zairus arrived at the international airport of Bluefields City, the second most prosperous city of Montego, and were all weed by the organizer''s representatives. The Ministry''s officials even met with the country''s ambassador briefly.


    Wace saw the Ministry''s leader in their group named Troy Webb meeting with this ambassador. Although the strong Hayden Fraiser hadn''t joined their group, he had sent his strongest disciple to lead them here.


    He was unable to properly gauge his strength but felt an overwhelming mana fluctuations emanating from him. He''s the strongest magician that he''d ever dared to scan using his Divine Sense.


    After all, he held himself back before in using his scanning ability due to his low level of Divine Sense.


    After the officials met with the ambassador, they were all sent and escorted to a luxury hotel where the other representatives from the participating country were staying. They were from Maja and Virgan. The representatives from Montego were staying in a different building.


    As it was just past midnight, they were expected to meet and greet the other participants in the morning.


    Wace was assigned with his room but it was first fully checked by Max as a part of his job. He ensured no problem within the room. Aside from his highbat ability, he specializes in detecting any hidden threats or traps and gathering intelligence.


    After Wace was left alone as he was instructed to sleep, he instead nned to open his bag containing his mana artifact as a tool to escape here but was interrupted when a person knocked on his room''s door. He calmly set aside his bags and tucked them under his bed as a precaution.


    Wace unhurriedly check the person who knocked on the door using his Divine Sense. He then approached the door to open them after confirming that it''s Lucian and Max again.


    "How may I help you?" Wace smiled as he asked after opening the door.


    "Yumi told us to give this to you. In case you need assistance, you know how to use it." Lucian handed a titanium whistle with a ne to Wace. Max was just observing the whole thing and nodded after Wace looked at him.


    He politely epted the whistle that seems to be a mana artifact. The way to activate it seems simple but he couldn''t help to think why would they choose to make a whistle instead of something that he just has to press with the improvement of technology.


    ''Anyway, mana artifact also depends on the creator''s aesthetics. Hmmm.. This should have a tracking ability. So I can''t bring this with me.''


    Wace thought as the mana artifact may disrupt his n if they could locate him using this whistle.


    ***


    Just outside the building where they were staying. A lone man wearing casual shorts and a white shirt was walking in the vicinity of the hotel.


    He looked just like an average middle-aged man having a walk at night. As the city was only second to the capital, the streets and roads were still busy as people and vehicles travel in many ces. A lot of buildings and businesses were still open for people to enjoy the long night.


    "The kid has arrived and there''s an Adept Mage closely monitoring his room and two peak Battle Mage just close to his room."


    The lone man spoke silently. His ent reveals that he''s from Zairus. It wasmon to see foreigners in this country so his presence wouldn''t cause any abnormal attention.


    "Understood, we act once he''s ready. We can''t do it at ater time as the security will just increaseter on. Only the two of us need to act. Let those Battle Mages guard the perimeter." Another man in a ck cloak was standing at the top of a clock tower just 500 meters away from the hotel.


    The two did not expect an additional Adept Mage in the group but it was still eptable.


    "Tsk. Tell him to hurry up." The man closest to the hotel finally said. They were referring to another member of their team. Their group was aware that there are still other Adept Mages lurking within the hotel, but they already have sufficient preparation for that and had a n to temporarily divert their attention.


    ***


    Wace was now left alone in his room. He was thinking that his escorts wouldn''t have put so much guard within the hotel itself as the ce was surrounded by Montego''s best magician battalion and just their group alone have several powerful magicians. Once the powerful individuals within the other country''s group was added, the defense of this hotel would beparable to an Adept''s Tower.


    Only a siege of multiple Adept may have a chance of infiltrating the ce. But even though this was the case, Wace remained cautious in his every action. Anything could happen until he sessfully escaped here.


    He pulled out his travel bags and took out two enclosed suitcases. The first one is containing an armor technology inspired by the full-body armor project he''d created together with his seniors in the academy before, but this time, aside from the improved materials he used to create an arcane alloy for the suit, the Compact Mananuclear Reactor installed within was an improved version. There was also a Float Drive System included that would allow the suit to possess an ability to fly.


    Beside this suitcase was another ck butrger metal suitcase, he did not open it up yet as there is no need to do so at this time.


    Wace then took out another mana artifact that he had brought here, it was his Silver Orb which could amodate four magic structures. Aside from the Magic Jammer Canceller, the 3 other slots were already filled.


    He also checked the Fervor Timepiece that was chained or attached to his belt.


    After confirming that everything was prepared, Wace closed his eyes and activated his Divine Sense, he scanned the whole building and confirmed that no one was paying attention to his room at the moment.


    This ability consumes mana but Wace could maintain its activation for more than an hour, all thanks to the multiple increases in his mana affinity.


    He confirmed that Yumi was seated close to the elevator at the end of the corridor and talking to someone on the phone. They''re on the 14th floor and upied all the rooms.


    This floor is only for the Mana Technicians of their country. Close to his room was Jun''s room then Sheryl''s. The other rooms were upied by their escorts and managers.


    They will only stay here tonight as the arena where thepetition would be held is in a different location. Their amodation would still be changed.


    He also opened the door to his balcony and checked the vicinity outside. He saw the beautiful city filled with various lights from establishments and vehicles. He noticed some people monitoring the ce as well and assumed they were guards of the building.


    Wace then started his n, he returned to his bed and activated his Magic Jammer Canceller in the Silver Orb. He controlled this so that it would only affect his entire room. He did this to briefly disrupt any mystical surveince to his room. It onlysted for 3 seconds but Wace and his suitcases had already disappeared. What remained in the bed was a dummy pillow that had the same mana fluctuation of Wace.


    If someone scanned his room, they will still feel his presence and think that he had just fallen asleep. He also politely left a letter for Yumi''s group in an intention to cate their anger once they learned that he left without notifying them.


    ***


    Yumi near the elevator pocketed her phone looking a bit confused and scratched her head as she tries to decide what to do. She then decided to go to the nearest window to see the situation outside but she was stopped by a cloaked magician that seems to have emerged out of nowhere.


    "Enemy?"


    She distanced and muttered to herself as she didn''t expect him to answer.


    Yumi saw in her peripheral vision that the other two escorts had moved out of their room. Lucian stayed close in Wace''s room and Max hastily approached her.


    The person didn''t have a mask that hid his face so Yumi still recognized the person in front of her after just a second. Her eyes glinted as she uttered her next word.


    "You''re Mark..."

 Chapter 86 - Escape ( Part 2 )

    There was a sudden force field that had covered the whole building rming the powerful magicians within. They were the first ones who detected the changes in the environment and reacted ordingly.


    But they couldn''t quickly tell if this magic was to protect them and being a part of Montego''s nned security or if this is a prelude to an attack.


    As these powerful magicians nned to check the situation outside, they felt multiple mana fluctuations that were full of killing intent aiming towards the participants of thepetition. This made them apprehensive and made sure to stay close with their students.


    "There should be three unweed Adept Mages in the building and eighteen Battle Mages surrounding the ce."


    Troy Webb said to himself. He detected the intrusion while resting in his room. The two Adept Mages disappeared without any traces after entering the building so he immediately ced himself where most students are at. He then immediately gave instructions to the managers of each participant. He also noticed that the third unwee Adept Mage he detected had encountered another Adept on the 14th floor.


    As he determined that there are several Battle Mages together with the affiliated Adept Mage, he didn''t instruct to send reinforcements on the 14th floor. He determined that the female Adept was more than enough to handle the enemy she''s facing. They''d rather use their forces to secure a perimeter where they could protect all these importantbat magicians.


    Unlike Yumi, who was approached by an intruder, the others only felt hidden lurkers in the shadow waiting for an opportunity to strike.


    They could feel that if they moved out of their ce and had allowed the enemy, their beloved students may experience some danger.


    ***


    Yumi couldn''t help but be surprised upon Mark''s appearance here. Mark Halevey, a student in Leonhearts and son of an influential politician, disappeared about two months ago and almost without any traces until the recent attack in Tanza City.


    It was reported that a figure simr to Mark was included in the heist, unfortunately, no solid evidence was found to prove this. At the very least, due to the recent operation conducted by the Lucent Force, they busted a research facility backed by an underworld organization and traced a connection between Halevey Holdings. This business was found to be a major shareholder of the facility but denied that they are aware of the Cryptic Link Serum project.


    A spokesperson from Halevey Holdings said that they were only connected to the research facility due to the other projects that were presented to them by the researchers and expressed their grievance from also being a victim.


    Indeed, the research facility had contributed to the field of medicine for many years that is why there are other businesses aside from Halevey Holdings that had a share in the facility. They were able to get themselves unrted to the facility with their status and connection.


    "So you''re a part of that organization..." Yumi muttered under her breath before giving a signal to Max.


    "Domain Mana Shell"


    Max calmly said to activate his mana artifact.


    They coordinated their attack on Mark as Max activated a magic spell capable of affecting the whole ce and turning them to a mana protected environment. This shelled environment will prevent Mark from using or controlling the ce to escape while Yumi engages with her attacks. They nned to capture Mark alive.


    Yumi extended her left hand to have a grasp on Mark''s body. The former was already protected by Mana Shell and a dark light surrounded her hand. Her speed was so fast that a Haste spell used by students would pale inparison.


    Mark didn''t dodge her at all and he even extended his fist in a bid to punch against Yumi''s assault.


    The two hands collided and Mark stumbled a bit but was able to quickly recover.


    "What?"


    Lucian and Max was surprised upon seeing the result. They both frowned as they were aware of Yumi''s strength. Aside from her unique skill, her instantaneous burst attacks were iparable to Battle Mages and even Adept Mages would normally dodge her full-powered attack.


    Although Yumi didn''t have the intention to kill Mark, she had used arge part of her Mana for that dark light to subdue him.


    She had used Soul Strike of Darkness, a unique magic spell, in a bid to immobilize Mark. The spell was rumored to touch upon the human''s soul and could never be defended. This is one of her trump cards that never failed her before even when fighting against fellow Adept Mages.


    "Was the Cryptic Link so powerful?" Yumi who hadn''t been interested in that serum was now changing her mind.


    "Not bad." A cold voice sounded as Mark muttered. This is the first time he had said anything.


    If Wace was here, he would notice the changes in Mark''s stature and voice aside from theplete transformation of his mana fluctuation.


    This time, Mark didn''t remain idle and made his move on the surprised Yumi. He lifted his and hand-like shadows extended from his hands to bind Max and Yumi. As an Adept Mage, they only needed to give a thought in activating the spell in their Mana Artifact.


    Yumi ordered Max and Lucian to retreat. She recognized the spell Mark used.


    Her body burst with a dark aura and the Shadow Binds from Mark''s attack only passed through her body. She moved to close the distance between them and throw a paper in front of Mark. This happened so fast that Mark hadn''t been able to react and could only look at the paper getting closer at him.


    He felt something more terrifying than her Soul Strike a while ago. He immediately maxed out his defenses as the paper hit his Mana Shell. Unfortunately, the paper was capable of ignoring his Mana Shell.


    The paper turned out to be a binding mana artifact that was capable of expanding and slither on Mark''s body. It tried to mummify thetter but struggled to do so.


    Mark remained steady as he used his mana force to stop the spell from binding him but as soon as he was about to overpower the spell, he saw a dark matter aiming at his forehead. He didn''t feel any danger on this spell but he tried to activate a defensive spell imbued in his cloak. Unfortunately, he missed the beat to defend and a ck dot appeared on his forehead. The purpose was unknown at the moment but Yumi smiled sweetly upon aplishing the task.


    "I probably get it now. You are an outstanding mana technician in the academy but it wasn''t enough. Due to your family''s standing, they couldn''t ept someone who had a low mana affinity to inherit your father''s position in the business. That''s where the serumes in, a serum capable of turning magician with low mana affinity to an outstandingbat magician."


    Yumi said as she spected the truth. She had a trace of a mysterious smile on her face while saying this and none could tell if she''s mocking the young man.


    Mark''s father wasn''t just a politician but had also be a business tycoon due to him being a long-standing influential figure. It had opened a lot of opportunities to dabble in the field.


    "Too bad, you didn''t reach your Adept status due to your hard work," Yumimented while looking at the unmoving Mark.


    ***


    Wace was now more than a kilometer away from the hotel and could still see the high rise building of the hotel. As he looked back, he noticed that the building was covered by a film of mana that could iste the ce from having any external form ofmunication, but he didn''t stop his journey.


    "I''ll be quick." He mumbled and promised to himself. He had no idea what trouble is happening in the building but his spaceship would be his priority at the moment.

 Chapter 87 - Dont Ask Me

    BAaam!!


    A loud noiseing from an explosion was heard in Wace''s room direction. It was followed by sounds of falling debris which made the three escorts of Wace worried.


    On the other hand, the escorts of Jun and Sheryl from Mystic Gate had long grasp the situation and were only waiting for a chance. After all, they were only a group Battle Mages and won''t do much help with the high-end battle between the two Adepts.


    After they heard the explosion near their rooms, they felt that it was time to go out and provide assistance.


    They quickly ran out of their rooms and grouped together. They assessed the situation and saw four individuals in the hallway other than them. The female adept they had acquainted a while ago seems to be about to apprehend the cloaked intruder. They also noticed the other two suited escorts who were trying to open Wace''s room. It seems that something is stopping them from barging in.


    Yumi was still facing Mark and was trying to gain control of his movements but because of the sudden disturbance in Wace''s room, she wasn''t able topletely seed. She was worried that something would happen to the young student as she felt that there''s another hostile Adept in the room where Wace was sleeping.


    "Two Adepts? You think too highly of him, huh." Yumi said as she felt the mana fluctuation of the other person in Wace''s room. She saw Lucian and Max who was about to enter the room but was stopped by an invisible force.


    She noticed the others as well but couldn''t be bothered about these newly arrived Mystic Gate associates.


    She had already realized that their intelligence was so wrong when Mark appeared but she couldn''t help but be frustrated at the current situation.


    ''Tsk. What are those people in Ministry doing?!'' She couldn''t help but me the Ministry for not immediately sending out reinforcements here.


    Due to her losing focus, Mark had a chance to free himself and was now slipping on her grasp as he slowly regained control of his body. His body turns blurry from time to time as if he was just an astral projection.


    As he was about to seed, a wave of warm and bright mana was felt by all the magicians rejuvenating their vigor. Unfortunately, for the cloaked individuals who intruded their ce, extreme difort was felt as if it was trying to pierce their flesh.


    It was effective as Mark and the man in Wace''s room was stopped for a moment.


    "Heaven''s Treatment!" All the magicians in the building eximed as they recognize the wide range spell that gave them a form of blessing. It was a skill that only at the level of Troy Webb could cast. It was a highlyplex magic skill that empowers all allies and even provides healing for the weak and injured. But for the enemies, it would feel like a curse that would try to eat their bodies.


    Yumi was grateful for the help that Troy provided them as Mark and hispanion seems to be taking time to remove the curse on their body. Of course, the curse being referred to was only a form of Mana trying to create havoc within the magician''s body. This gave Yumi a chance to enter the room forcefully and deal with Mark''spanion.


    "You two! Use this and bind Mark, he''s weakened." Yumi called Lucian and Max as she brought out two mana artifacts in the shape of a sphere. She then threw this artifact to them as she approached Wace''s room.


    The duo didn''t say a word but nodded in acknowledgment, they caught the orbs that were thrown and quickly moved to activate the spell within. As a Battle Mage, they have their method in determining the ability of the mana artifacts they are holding.


    ng! ng! ng!


    The nk of chains was heard and caught everyone''s attention except Yumi who mmed the door of Wace''s room to save him. They couldn''t afford to lose Wace and after she used enough strength, the invisible force blocking the room was shattered. She felt Wace''s presence under the cover of the nket then turned her head at the Adept who destroyed the room''s wall to capture Wace. She saw a middle-aged man in a simple short and white shirt as if he was just a passerby.


    She couldn''t be bothered about his attire and think too deeply about why the student was still sleeping with all this incident happening.


    But Wace might have been affected by a calming or sleeping spell as Yumi could still sense the familiar life presence under the nket.


    Outside the room, the two orbs of mana artifacts continued to summon multiple chains to bind Mark after it received enough mana to activate its magic spell.


    "I recognized this artifact, to think that Yumi possessed something like this..." Max was awed upon activating the Magic Spell within.


    "Indeed, a one-time use mana artifact." Lucian could only sigh in amazement upon realizing the mana artifact they''ve used. These one-time use mana artifacts, just like its name, could only be used once and the artifact will be unusable or even disintegrate in some cases.


    Although they were Battle Mages, it doesn''t mean that they were rich. Some of the Battle Mages, like these two, relied on some organizations which they have to serve in a period of time in exchange for being promoted.


    Even if the two don''t have an ability to be promoted alone and have affiliated with the NMTI, this allowed them to utilize more of their abilities and learn a lot. They recognized the value of many artifacts and the artifact they''ve just used was called Infinity Chains. One of these could apprehend multiple Adepts but they''ve been instructed to use two of them for a single weakened Adept. They weren''t aware of what''s going on Yumi''s mind but they trusted her ability to lead.


    ***


    Troy quickly rushed to the 14th floor upon realizing that there was another Adept attacking the ce.


    "Protect Erza and students. Don''t ck!"


    He let the other Adepts to protect the clustered students but as he left the group formed by their country''s team, an attack from an unknown location barraged their students. This attack came from all direction but Troy managed to determine that the attacker uses the cover of the shadows to cast the spell. It was as if the enemy was manipting the shadows.


    ''So, this is what I''ve sensed a while ago.'' Troy said in his mind. Although he left the team, he had means to discern their situation and he presumed that the attacker was only buying time for the two Adepts on the upper floor.


    Troy still stopped for a moment and released his peak Grade 3 Magic Spell - Heaven''s Treatment. He used this spell also to buy himself time as he was monitoring the situation on the 14th floor.


    ''They should be able to handle this attack for now.'' Troy thought as he decided to hurry in Yumi''s location.


    ***


    ''Three! Howe Adepts seems to be somon now?!'' As a fellow Adept, Yumi''s sense was extraordinary. She felt the special method of spell maniption that has urred on the lower floor but wasn''t sure if the third attacker was an Adept. But, even after the appearance of the Heaven''s Treatment, the barrage of shadow spells was still continuous.


    This made Yumi sure that the attacker was another strong opponent. An Adept that was either outside of the building that is why they were unaffected of the Grade 3 Spell or really strong enough to be undetected and capable of defending against it.


    Yumi cast a strong spell capable enough to pierce through the Mana Shell of an Adept and injure them. A spell capable ofpletely killing an Adept would likely take some time and the enemy may have a chance to counterattack once they removed the curse. So she opted for a quick skill.


    "Hmph! You''ll pay for your conceited thoughts." Yumi was incensed in these intruder''s attempts to deal with Wace.


    She formed a spinning fire arrow and lightning and the spell looks like it was made ofva with sparks of lightning revolving around it. Yumi then threw the spell to the intruder.


    The middle-aged man perceived the danger as he summoned all his strength to dodge the attack sessfully.


    Due to his wild control of Mana, the whole room was messed. The stones from the wall, broken sses, clothes, furniture, and other things within the room flew around. Including Wace''s nket.


    "..."


    "..."


    The two saw a pillow in exchange for Wace''s supposed location. They can still feel his presence like he was there but what they see says otherwise.


    The middle-aged man was dumbfounded and looked at Yumi as if asking what''s happening but thetter seems to be confused as well.

 Chapter 88 - Looking For Avalon ( Part 1 )

    Yumi wasn''t exactly sure what''s happening but she determined that Wace had most likely escaped at some point.


    ''He''s aware of tonight''s danger?'' She immediately made conjecture on her own but hadn''t thought too deeply about it.


    Yumi gathered her mind as she still has to deal with the man in front of her. She only needed to dy him as Troy''s presence was getting near.


    The middle-aged man was simrly thinking the same thing.


    ''Did someone leaked our operation? Howe they seem prepared and hidden Wace ahead of time?'' The man quickly assessed the situation and after he couldn''t find other <em>Wace</em> in his effective range of scan, he ordered to stop the mission temporarily.


    "Mark, don''t y around anymore. We need to regroup for now."


    Mark, after hearing the man''s order, was no longer struggling on the chains that were binding him and instead rxed his body.


    Aside from this, the hidden Adept had also increased the density of his attacks. Not only was he aiming for the students on the lower floors but also included the students on the 14th floor. It must be remembered that the hidden Adept had also attacked the other students from Maja and Virgan on different floors. He must be using a peak Mana Artifact to assist him in his assault.


    Including Yumi and Troy, the Zairus team had 4 Adepts on their side. Unlike Maja and Virgan who only had two Adepts each in theirpany. In short, the hidden controller of this shadow-like magic spells were aiming simultaneously in almost all floors of the building.


    Yumi, Troy, and other Adepts didn''t entertain a thought that there''s several more Adepts attacking because of the same unique mana fluctuationing from the spells.


    "You two! Careful!"


    Yumi shouted after sensing Mark''s abnormality. She trusted the two artifacts capable of binding Mark to stop him from escaping but thetter may have secrets allowing him to be capable of attacking even if he was bounded by the chains. Adepts, especially mutated at that, was hard to deal with.


    The two didn''t ignore Yumi and braced themselves. They didn''t stop manipting the chains to bind Mark and they also cast defensive spells at the same time to provide them more protection. Their Mana Shell may notst long in case they were attacked by an Adept.


    Yumi wasn''t sure at first but her worries were soon proven to be correct. As soon as Mark resumed in his struggle to escape the chains, his eyes radiated a crimson light stunning Lucian and Max. It was as if they were frozen as soon as Mark gazed at them.


    ''Is that Petrification? But that crimson light doesn''t seem to be under earth element...''


    Yumi thought at first but immediately changed her mind upon realizing something.


    ''Oh, no! That''s Death Gaze!''


    Yumi immediately cast a spell to help Lucian and Max ignoring the middle-aged man in the room who easily retreated after she lost her focus on him. If Yumi was only concentrated in trapping the man, she would be capable of doing so until Troy arrived on the floor.


    Unfortunately, Death Gaze is more lethal than the Petrification Spell. Thetter can be dispelled by an appropriate magic skill but Death Gaze was said to eat away a part of the victim''s soul. Unless it was removed immediately, it may cause permanent damage to the victimized Magician.


    Soul was still a vague topic that even Aeolia failed to expound but the Death Gaze spell was an unusual Magic Spell that affects any human''s ''Breath of Life'' in exchange for the caster''s own ''Breath of Life''. Only the crazy mutated magicians would use this kind of attack.


    This is the signature spell of the mutated magicians that have appeared decades ago.


    This revtion almost guaranteed now that the previous underground organization that was supposedly purged had survivors and continued their research relentlessly. They might have even perfected these mutated magicians.


    Vacuum Shield.


    Yumi was able to save the two on time as the Death Gaze wasn''t able to lock on its target due to the sudden appearance of a small ck hole in between Mark and the two Battle Mage.


    At the same time that this urred, Troy who camete noticed the situation and immediately tried to apprehend Mark who freed himself from the chains due to the disruption.


    "You stay here!"


    Troy waved his hand as a thin string made of mana tried to tie Mark. He was unable to quickly dodge as thetter was a bit injured due to the failed magic spell he just used. Although he created space for him to unbound the chains, it seems that he will be captured again.


    "Tsk! Thene at me." He was about to activate his berserk magic spell but as soon as the string tied on Mark''s left foot, the middle-aged man appeared next to him and use his hand to forcefully cut the string that Troy created.


    "Hmph! It''s not up to you."


    The man took Mark in his arms and slowly vanished. The two Adepts didn''t just let them escape, as they were preupied with the sudden attack of the third hidden Adept who hid his attacks from the darkness of the shadows.


    "Seriously?! We haven''t captured even one?" Yumi eximed annoyed at the sessful escape of the enemies.


    "No worries, we''ve captured some suspicious Battle Mages around the building." Troy had a real-timemunications from the security personnel outside the building.


    "Also... you should have an idea who were those people. Isn''t that the reason you are here?" The man asked the female Adept.


    "I''m only here to guard someone. It''s not what you think." Yumi answered. She was still pondering why Mark would reveal himself. After all, he was an important individual and a direct descendant of the Prime Minister himself. His actions would affect the politician and would lead to thetter''s downfall. ''Is he acting on his own and wasn''t under his father''s instructions?''


    Yumi wasn''t able to think further as he was interrupted by Troy.


    "Oh? But it seems he didn''t want to be surrounded by guards?" The man picked up a paper that was thrown from somewhere and read it to Yumi. The ce was a mess but the letter caught his attention.


    It was the message that Wace left as an apology for his escape.


    "This..." Yumi realized that Wace had truly escaped and didn''t just hide for a while to avoid the attackers. She felt having a headache with all these events she had to deal with.


    Lucian noticed what was happening and he immediately tried to locate the whistle he handed to Wace. But as expected, it was included in the mess within Wace''s room.


    "He shouldn''t have gone too far. I''ll try to find and convince him to stay." Yumi finally decided and left the building to try searching for Wace. She''s confident in her ability to trace someone as she let Troy handle the aftermath of the battle.


    ***


    Wace arrived in a secluded ce just at the edge of the Bluefields City. He took out a map and confirmed his current location. The suspected ce of the spaceship was marked as ''X'' and the city he''s currently at wasn''t too far from the marked location. It was only a few cities away.


    He pressed his hand on the suitcase containing the armor tech he prepared. It is a ck and silver exoskeleton armor used to improve his mobility, defense, and even offensive power. Right now, he needed its flight ability to arrive at his destination as quickly as possible.


    Wace was currently in a ck full-body skinsuit and as soon as he activated the armor within the suitcase, the armor moved as if havings its own life as it covered Wace''s whole body.


    It only took a few seconds topletely fit Wace''s body. The armor wasn''t too bulkypared to his senior''s design in their project but it can still be considered as thick armor. He designed the armor with the advanced bio-armor suit in his mind, so the aesthetics look somehow simr but he was still unable to create a body fit armor without sacrificing its main purpose.


    The armor''s outer shell isposed of a multyer arcane alloy of remarkable strength and has been augmented with a refractive coating that was also capable of dispersing a limited amount of Mana-powered attacks.


    The suit also contains a gel-filledyer underneath. The gelyer can regte temperature and can reactively change its density. Aside from this, the inner skinsuit was made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to a magic structure that allows Wace to easily control the armor with his own body.


    Unlike the bio-armor suit, he was still unable to create something that can be controlled using the neuralwork. In any case, he didn''t have to create one, he only needed to take the bio-armor suit in the spaceship.


    Wace picked up the other metal suitcase looking as if it was his weapon.


    Looking at the armor, small letters were written on its left chest that read as Amplified Assault Armor. It was the name he came up with after making this first version of the armor.


    "Please, be safe." Wace muttered under his breath.


    He activated the armor''s cloak mode and flight system as he started his adventure in locating his spaceship.

 Chapter 89 - Looking For Avalon ( Part 2 )

    The cloaking ability of the armor alters its outer surface through the use of a crystalline formation. During the activation of this function, the armor is capable of fully absorbing or bending iing wave spectrums such as visible light, radio waves, infrared or thermal imaging, and possibly microwaves or others, to render itselfpletely invisible to the human eye and most surveince equipment. Of course, Wace also enhanced this technological equipment so that it could bypass most mana detection spells.


    Looking on the outside, the armor was enveloped within a clear "shimmer" as the light was bent around the suit causing invisibility. There is, however, a slight distortion that can be noticed by the human eye during its motion. Additionally, this mode also increases the user''s speed slightly, but not as much as it''s another function of ''burst speed mode''.


    Wace had to travel from Bluefields City to Araceli Ind Group where his spaceship was suspected to have descended. He had to pass severalrge cities like Linshamn City and Vummerberg opposite the capital''s direction on the west coast of the country.


    It was still dark and Wace took it as his chance to move.


    The Float Drive System activated and brought Wace up in the air. Based on his estimation, it would take about a couple of hours to arrive at his next destination.


    ***


    In a building within the Bluefields City not too far from the hotel where the participants for the internationalpetition were staying, a group of four Magicians was having a meeting. The ce was well lit and looks like a normal office room.


    "Four Battle Mages were captured by the enemies, Mark was even injured and we didn''t even manage to get a single hair from our target?!


    A disappointed young man in his twenties questioned the three Adepts in front of him. The man doesn''t exude the aura of a magician and seemed to be an ordinary person. But the person obviously had authority and wasn''t afraid of the three.


    "We were sure that the target was in his room 5 minutes before the operation. I was thinking at first that a piece of vital information was leaked, but after analyzing the whole situation, I couldn''t find a loophole in our operation. It means that the target''s disappearance wasn''t due to our operation." The middle-aged man wearing casual clothes answered confidently. Beside him were Mark and the third Adept who attacked them in the building.


    "How are you sure? Also, how did he disappear within your sight?" The young man was doubtful but he knows the capability of the three, he just couldn''t ept this failure. Only a dozen of them were sent here for their operation, now they lost four Battle Mages, and rescuing them would also be a challenge. The members of their organization stationed in this country weren''t that strong and there are only quite a few of them. Unfortunately, they also couldn''t use them in these operations with a high level of danger.


    "I couldn''t say I''m sure how did he disappeared but about the information leak, our flight''s schedule was intentionally leaked to the police with vague information. They shouldn''t be too wary of us yet and maybe doubting our true purpose here. But now, there''s a lot of Adepts in theirpany, they should be thinking that we are targetting Wace." The middle-aged man smiled and answered. He pondered a bit before continuing.


    "It was confirmed they weren''t that prepared when Sir Watson attacked the building using his unique magic spell. They were all caught surprised and he managed to injure a lot of students and instructors resulting in a great diversion on the 14th floor. We should''ve achieved our goal."


    The young man sighed after hearing this. Although it was their intention to divert attention and let the Zairus and other officials think that they''re targetting Wace, it was still frustrating that they didn''t manage to capture the person with all the effort they made.


    Sir Watson, the cloaked person in the room was silent and Mark was only closing his eyes the entire time. He looked like he didn''t n to join their conversation but at the end of their meeting. He still asked something he was curious about.


    "About our true purpose here, have they discovered what technology it was?"


    ***


    The sun was already high up in the sky and Wace was walking within the streets of Linshamn City.


    He had arrived in this city several hours ago but hadn''t left yet. Not because he didn''t know where to proceed but to sound out the situation. He even disguised himself and left some of his things in a hotel before going to the busy street of the city.


    He confirmed that there are no rumors whatsoever with regards to any unidentified machine or technology found in recent months.


    He tried to probe the people within the city but they seem to be unaware of any unusual events in the Araceli group of inds.


    "Ok, the situation shouldn''t be that bad, right?"


    He was about to continue his journey to the inds but he heard exmations from the surroundings. It seems breaking news was being reported in the morning news.


    He tried to join a group of huddling people and listened to their conversation.


    "What are they doing here?"


    "They probably wanted to disrupt thepetition and to sour the rtionship between the four countries."


    "Hmph, good thing that they were defeated and discovered ahead of time."


    "That Z-Company was really a worldwide organization. It''s a bit scary though."


    "At least, the participants weren''t severely injured and were easily healed back to their peak."


    "Yeah, I hope that they wouldn''t cancel thepetition."


    "Didn''t you listen? They postponed thepetition for two more days to ensure safety during the event."


    Wace listened for a while and learned that after he left the ce, the building he was staying at was attacked by the Z-Company and targetted the students participating in thepetition. Although they were caught surprised by the sudden attack, they fought back and won against the organization and even captured several Battle Mages.


    Wace stopped in a small store and watched the TV for the live footage of the building.


    "Huh? That''s 14th floor right?" He analyzed the ce where a hole was smashed in the building. He believes that it should have been his room. Based on the curved of the smashed hole, the pration came from the outside.


    "Are they targetting me? Coincidence?" Wace wasn''t sure at this time but he''ll surely ask Yumiter on.


    ''I hope she wouldn''t be too mad about this.'' Wace could only specte right now until he got firsthand information.


    He returned to his hotel and packed up his things. He was expecting that within this afternoon, he would be in the vicinity of the ind group. He had to be careful as he gets closer to the ce.


    He nned to ride a bus and arrived at the nearest port city, Vummerberg, normally. He didn''t want to overuse his equipment to avoid getting traced.


    He was currently wearing a disguise that made him look like a young native of the country and his aura differs in his original one. He doesn''t seem to be a magician at all and just looks like a normal traveler.


    As he was waiting for his turn for the bus, he was approached by a cute young child in a red dress. She had hair that tumbled over her shoulders and had bright eyes of a young innocent child. She only looked like a 10-year-old kid and could even be lower.


    Wace honestly felt familiar but didn''t think too much about it. The youngdy was a Zairusian base on her looks,plexion, and it was further confirmed by her ent.


    "Are you lost?" Wace asked.


    "No." She shook her head and didn''t speak further for a time so Wace asked again.


    "Do you need help? Where''s your parents?"


    "I''m grown-up and I''m traveling alone. Uhmm... Are you going to Vummerberg?" The kid answered and finally asked shyly.


    Wace wasn''t sure if this ce considers a 10 years old kid as a grown-up but didn''t further question the child.


    "Ah, I see. Yes, I''m going there. Is that also your destination."


    "Y-yes.."


    "Oh, here''s the bus." Wace got on the bus and noticed that he was being followed by the child.


    He left one of his suitcases on the luggagepartment of the bus then went to the middle of the aisle and seated on the left side near the window to see the opposite oing traffic.


    His remaining suitcase remained on hisp for safety reasons.


    "Can I sit beside you?" It was the same girl. Wace wasn''t surprised and smiled back at her.


    "Of course." Wace gestured for her to sit.


    "Thank you. By the way, I''m Hani. May I know your name, too?"


    Wace almost provided his real name. Although there''s a lot of Wace, it would be safer to use a different name from now on. He chose to give the alias he used in the hotel a while ago.


    "I''m Nortrom."


    Wace answered and didn''t notice Hani''s amused expression. The girl then smirked and closed her eyes.

 Chapter 90 - Looking For Avalon ( Part 3 )

    "What are you going to do in the city? Will you also look for your parents?" Hani asked the young man seated beside her.


    "Huh? So you''re really looking for your parents?" Wace was looking outside through the window when the kid asked.


    He realized that the kid could really be lost and looking for her rtives.


    "Oh, not really. I mean, I will visit my parents there... How about you?" The girl corrected herself.


    "Not really, but I''m looking for something." Wace nodded and smiled at her. He nced back on the outside as he wanted to familiarize himself in the vicinity.


    "Oh? Can you tell me what it could be?"


    "That''s a secret."


    "Hmph. OK, then. I hope you find it."


    "Thank you."


    Wace chuckled as he hadn''t really considered his lie on what to tell if someone asked what he was looking for.


    But now, because of Hani, he was contemting on what to tell once some other people asked him.


    ''Well, let''s just say I''m on vacation.'' Wace decided on his thoughts.


    The bus traveled smoothly without any idents.


    The two of them didn''t sleep within the two-hour trip, so Hani asked questions from time to time.


    "Eh? Now you''re telling me you''re just going on a vacation. Why were you acting so mysterious just a while ago?" Hani couldn''t help but mumble upon hearing Wace''s inconsistency.


    "Haha. Sorry about that." Wace actually didn''t mind changing his statements as he was only speaking with a child and this may even be theirst meeting.


    Soon, the bus arrived at the port city. He said his goodbye to Hani as the two separated. Hani waved goodbye and ran somewhere.


    He proceeded to wait for the passenger ship and considered eating at a nearby convenience store. He already had a ticket reserved ahead of time and only needed to wait for at least an hour.


    Apparently, going to the ind by airne wasn''t possible as there''s no airport on the said ind.


    ***


    As the boarding time approached Wace noticed a familiar figure also waiting at the port.


    He didn''t approach her and only shook his head before looking for a seat to wait.


    It only took 15 more minutes before the passengers were called to board the ship.


    Wace wasn''t able to reserve a luxurious cabin due to time constraints and only had a chance to reserve a standard cabin where he had to share with someone else.


    Anyway, the trip would be a short one as it would only take three to four hours to arrive at their destination.


    Luckily, there is good weather as well making the trip smooth. The sun was also hidden a bit by the clouds which made Wace go out from his cabin and visit the deck.


    "Beautiful..." Wace sighed in amazement.


    It has been a while since he had seen arge body of water so close to him. It must be remembered that he grew up in space and barely set foot onnd before.


    The scenery of the boundless ocean glistening from the sunlight from time to time was a sight to behold.


    He took a moment to admire the scene before she noticed a girl approaching him.


    "Mister Nortrom! We meet again." The young girl wearing a dress and now has tied hair called Wace.


    "Mhm. It must be fate. Have you met your parents?" Wace acknowledged this girl''s persistence. He''s unsure if it''s really a coincidence or the girl really ns it.


    "No. But I was told that I''ll meet them in our province."


    "That''s good to hear... Oh, I''ll have to leave now. Take care."


    ***


    Wace remained in his cabin to pass the time as the ship docked on Araceli ind in time. This ship only had about an hour to stay on this ind before it would continue it''s travel on the other inds.


    With Wace''s heightened senses and Divine Sense that he always activated as a habit, he noticed Hani following him. If he didn''t focus his attention on her, he might''ve missed her movement.


    This made him suspicious. But since he didn''t felt any mana fluctuation on the girl he still didn''t get too cautious around her.


    ''It''s impossible for her to get so attached to me, right?'' Wace shook his head and tried not to bother with a little kid.


    He nned to erase his tracks so no one could follow him. He first needed to avoid the girl so he could start his operation.


    The port was full of people so he easily lost Hani from her attempt to follow him.


    He found an inn to stay where he gathered more information about the ce.


    Apparently, only the town near the bay was full of people.


    The other side of the ind is apparently restricted as it is government property.


    He asked people what can be found in arge forest.


    "The ce was full of medicinal herbs that can only grow in the wild."


    "There are also rumors that Keroxes dwells in the Kharvatt Sierra."


    "You haven''t heard of a Kerox? Oh! That''s understandable, I can see you''re from a foreignnd. A single Kerox was said to be equal to five Battle Mages in strength."


    "You can imagine them as a humanoid abomination of several animals. It has ahead of a bear that has two horns with an arm of a gori. They have a strong body, it runs faster than a Nite Horse and very agile in the forest. They don''t normally fight humans as long as you don''t invade or cause trouble in their territory, they have a high intelligence after all."


    "Oh, you don''t need to thank me for that. All the information I gave you ismon knowledge here. Even a child would be aware of it."


    Wace thanked an old man reading a newspaper at the front of his house. He approached the man who kindly answered his questions.


    "It seems that Keroxes were strong and scary. It''s a good thing that they remain in their territory." Wacemented.


    "Oh, thanks to the guards. It''s also all about the bnce of life. Although Keroxes is at the top of the food chain, their numbers were low and so they feed less. As long as they were not hungry, there wouldn''t be a chance for them to leave their territory."


    "That''s why the government controls the hunting within the ce since we can''t afford to eradicate all weaker Mana Beasts here or the citizens of this ind would be the one to suffer."


    Wace concluded his conversation with the residents of the town after having a good grasp on the situation of the forest. Although it was only a small part of what''s inside, it is always better to have this kind of conversation so he won''t be clueless once he entered the forest.


    The Kharvatt Sierra is the longest mountain range in Araceli that bordered almost half of this ind. Wace calcted that the small ind he was searching for was still behind this mountain range.


    ''It seems that deeper within the forest was fully inhabited by Mana Beasts aside from Keroxes.''


    Wace pondered after going back to the inn.


    "I''ll sneak once the night approached." Wace decided his next n. He was aware of the tight security being ced by the local police to stop the intruders from entering the forest without permission. Only contracted Mercenaries were allowed to enter whenever there is a requesting from their Ministry.


    Wace doesn''t have time to disguise himself as a member of a Mercenary group and wait for a request to enter the forest. He would rather find a loophole on the guards and use his flight to sneak into the forest.

 Chapter 91 - Looking For Avalon ( Part 4 )

    The people guarding the road to the forest were also strong magicians and Wace even sensed a Battle Mage acting as a leader in each group.


    The forest was still about two kilometers away from the town proper but the main road to the ce was already heavily guarded by these magicians and soldiers. Also, he learned that several outposts were ced almost randomly to arrest those people trying to sneak in.


    Apparently, the officials were aware that if someone tried to sneak into the forest, they wouldn''t use the main road as they will be heavily checked.


    These people would normally try to use another path only to be detected by these magicians.


    "That''s interesting, they probably allotted more than a thousand guards just to secure the perimeter." Wace mumbled after he scanned the town''s surroundings. It seems that the forest was really important. He surmised that it''s for the citizens'' protection but also recognized that the government valued the ce a lot.


    After all, the ce was full of natural treasures and could be considered as the wealth of their country.


    The night approached and Wace wore his Amplified Assault Armor. He brought his other suitcase and silently flew with the cover of the night.


    The town doesn''t have high walls but was surrounded by hills. The only way to pass through this ce and head to Kharvatt Forest was the main road or climb the hill.


    Whoosh...


    Wace silently passes over not too far from the main guard''s outpost.


    After reaching about a kilometer high in the sky, he had a clear view of the positions of those scattered outposts.


    He flew at a very slow pace at first but after he confirmed that there''s no reaction from the nearest Battle Mage, he had more confidence in his covert operation.


    A few more minutes had passed and he reached the Kharvatt Forest.


    "Oh, it looks entirely different from other forests I''m aware of... maybe that''s why Mana Beasts lives here."


    He was surprised by the abundant Mana particles being generated within the forest. The trees were also abnormallyrge that could never be seen within Zairus.


    After admiring the forest a bit hended on a nearby tree and disabled flight mode. He changes the mode of his armor to Hunter Mode. This allows him to have better mobility control while traversing the unknown forest.


    "I have to pass the mountain range first and look for that specific ind."


    He scanned the surroundings and it seems there were still a few outposts within the outer edge of the forest. He noticed some patrols monitoring the forest.


    "Eh? They don''t look like patrols to me..."


    Wace noticed a group of eight heavily armed hunters.


    He wasn''t sure if they were operating legally but if he continued his current path, he will bump unto them. They were about three kilometers away from the nearest outpost of the guards and just a kilometer far from Wace.


    "Hmmm... If they are operating legally, they wouldn''t need to erase their tracks in this safe zone...


    Oh well, they''re not of my business." He shook his head and didn''t bother the leading group. He kept his guards up and moved in a different direction but was still approaching the Kharvatt Sierra


    He noticed several Mana Beasts that he''d only ever heard from the academy instructors and especially the herbs that can be highly sold in the market.


    "Belierboa, a snake with Ram''s head. Merlvencus, a bull-like beast. Satyr, Baleorel... here they are. I thought I''ll only see them as raw materials for ingredients."


    Wace was a bit distracted upon seeing these marvelous beasts that he had only seen in textbooks or on the inte.


    "Fire Spearmint, Drake Spice, Star Fennel, Moon Vine... these potion ingredients were precious." Wace was tempted to grab some as even though he had enough money he could use to purchase this, it will be extremely difficult to find one. Apparently, these potion ingredients he was looking at could also be used to enhance crafting materials.


    Obviously, better crafting materials will result in better mana artifacts.


    "I''ll definitely return for you once I settled my purpose here." Wace said as he was looking at a single Monk''s Saffron nted on the nearby ground. The mesmerizing purple flower was alone in its field and no other nts or trees can be seen within its fifty meters radius. He moved his gaze and continued his journey.


    Wace neared on the mountain range and felt that the number of weaker mana beast lessened. The ce was already the territory of Keroxes.


    He made himself very careful to avoid any confrontation from the said beast. Although he felt that it was an exaggeration for a single Kerox to be equal to five Battle Mages, he knows not to test their capability.


    Wace halted his steps and made his armor operate in full alert. He felt the presence of three Keroxes observing him silently like a predator waiting for its chance.


    "Not too close... about 300 meters. They sure know how to distance. Tsk. The old man said that they hunt alone but why are those three together?" He shook his head but could only smile wryly. He didn''t fully trust the information he got from the residents so he wasn''t too shocked by it. At the very least, they said the truth about these Keroxes that they only live within the area of the mountain range.


    He observed the leading Kerox and noticed that it indeed looked like a horned bear with a long muscr arm like a gori. It also has golden fur on the top part of its body. He especially noticed its absurd Mana fluctuation.


    "Man, they didn''t exaggerate. They actually underestimated these Keroxes."


    He realized the reason why his armor''s cloak mode was seen through. Apparently, his personal stealth spell from his Mana Artifact was betterpared to the stealth ability of his armor but it would lower his movement speed if uses instead.


    He carefully analyzed the strength of the leading beast and he noticed that the other two behind hiding on a nearby tree trunk was weaker and didn''t have golden fur on them.


    "It should be a leader of some sort... What a find, but now''s not the time to fight. That golden Kerox should be on par with an Adept in terms of strength and Mana Shell." Wace decided to escape.


    Mana Beasts have natural Mana Shells protecting them. He felt the sturdyyered Mana Shell of the beast and perceived that it wouldn''t be fruitful battling them.


    He firmly grasped his other suitcase in case there was a need to battle. He covertly activated his armor''s Speed Mode.


    He determined that it''s best to fully use his armor''s function to bypass the mountain range instead of slowly moving. The longer he stays here, the more he would encounter these Keroxes in their territory. He didn''t dare to use flight as it was said that flying Mana Beast was even more dangerous in the Kharvatt Sierra and anyway, the flight mode consumes a lot more Mana. He only ns to use them if it''s really required.


    Wace was about to move but stopped for a moment to analyze his path. Apparently, a number of Keroxes were in his supposed path.


    "Whatever, it should only take about 15 minutes to reach the end of this Sierra."


    Speed Mode could operate for two full hours so he wasn''t worried that Keroxes could catch up on him. He only needed to make sure not to bump with Adept-level Keroxes.


    ***


    Not too far from Wace''s location. Eight individuals were silently moving as they approach the Sierra.


    "There''s an activity in our front." One of the fully armored men at the back reported. All of them had hidden their faces on a full ck helmet that seems to be magically engineered to have a Night Vision


    "How far?" The man in the front with the biggest build asked.


    "About four kilometers. We can reach there in two minutes if we use Haste."


    The leader nodded and nced at the person beside him who understood the former and cast a magic spell.


    "Imperial Command - Full Haste"


    The eight of them were shrouded by blue Mana Particles before disappearing.


    "Move!"


    As soon as the leader ordered, the eight of them almost vanished within the cover of the night.

 Chapter 92 - Discovery

    The eight fully armed mercenaries arrived at their destination. It was near where Wace activated his armor''s Speed Mode and left the three Keroxes.


    There were traces of these Keroxes attempting to chase Wace but it can be seen that they''ve given up just after reaching a kilometer on their tracks.


    "What happened here?" The leader asked as he nced in the golden Kerox''s direction.


    "There are traces that those three Keroxes in our front were chasing something. It seems to be another humanoid monster but has an extremely agile movement."


    They all looked at the strange footprint left behind by the Amplified Assault Armor. They were familiar with this forest but it was their first time seeing this kind of beast''s footprint. It made them think a bit of the situation.


    "Let''s hunt those three, get to your position." The leader finally ordered after observing the surroundings. Their mission was to hunt a single evolved Kerox. This golden Kerox had never appeared before until recently. So the residents of the nearby town were still unaware of them and only the mercenaries and the government officials were aware of them.


    Unfortunately, this evolved Kerox always hunts together with his group and intelligent enough not to fight multiple human magicians. It slowly gathers other Keroxes and brings them on their flock.


    "It seems like a humanoid machine for me." One of them mumbled but didn''t say it aloud as he was only specting. He kept a record of the footprint and followed his leader''s order.


    ***


    Wace left behind at least 12 more Keroxes and 2 more golden furred in his Speed Mode. He was still halfway through the forest but canceled the mode as it attracts too much of attention.


    He felt some presence observing him a while ago but suddenly disappeared after using his Cloak Mode.


    "I really can''t underestimate this ce." Wace said upon using his Divine Sense to scout the area.


    The ce was full of Mana and realized that it was extremely helpful for magicians and Mana beasts. The density of the Mana here was multiplied by at least three times than normal making magicians have easier maniption of Mana and powerful Magic Spells.


    Wace stopped his tracks and detoured from his current location.


    "That''s not a Kerox. Even the residents were unaware of it."


    He hastily retreated and changed direction after sensing a powerful Mana Beast hidden in a nearby cave. He had no idea what it was but it was definitely on the same level of an Adept. He felt the same intensity of mana fluctuations when he scanned Troy, the Enneadic Magician''s disciple.


    Apparently, mercenaries were only capable of dealing with a Kerox and leave alive. These mercenaries would of course tell their tales to the residents of the town making them aware of the forest''s situation. But anyone who unluckily bumps with the beast he just scanned, may have perished already.


    It was definitely not a good idea to fight them in their territory.


    "It seems the forest had a lot of its secrets." Wace was obviously trespassing to this country''s restricted areas so he doesn''t want to create too much of disturbance and would like to avoid any unnecessary contact within the forest.


    He hastened his pace and was now on top of one of the mountains overlooking the Kharvatt Forest.


    He looked back and saw the unending forest where he just passed through. He could no longer see a in and everything was covered by the canopy of trees.


    "This view..."


    Wace was momentarily stunned as if realizing something important. His heartbeat increased as his excitement could not be hidden on his face.


    He turned his head in front and looked for his next destination. There was still about two kilometers to reach the shore and he can already observe several small inds in the vicinity.


    "Several dozen small inds and the ce Avalonnded was about 5 kilometers away from this maind."


    Wace muttered as he clearly remembered the scenery before his spaceship descended to an isted ind.


    "Yes! This should be the right ce. I''m not wrong."


    He excitedly moved to approach the shore. He was tempted to use his flight but felt some presence of flying Mana Beast around. He doesn''t have that confidence in battling in the sky.


    He was confident in defending himself against humanity''s Battles Mages but fighting a Mana beast on the same level who doesn''t require Mana artifact to control the surrounding Mana may prove to be difficult to deal with. Their skill works entirely different from a human standard.


    He had to bear witness in several fights within the forest between a different species of Mana Beasts.


    The invoking of their skills was almost untraceable unlike how magicians would first require to connect on the Magic Structure to select a specific magic spell they like to activate using mana tracing, which also requires magicians to have high mana affinity.


    Only after connecting to the Magic Structure of a Mana Artifact and analyzing the spell, could they start using the magic spell. Also, it may not even guarantee their sess unless they have good control.


    But these Mana beasts seem to have a unique method in activating their Mana skills.


    Wace sighed after thinking about the current situation. He could only use his feet, or his armor, to bring him to the shore.


    ***


    "Sir, we are being followed by a child."


    A member specializing in reconnaissance noticed a girl not too far from them observing their haul.


    They''ve just hunted three Keroxes and one of them was golden furred.


    The leader was tending his wounds when he heard his subordinate''s report. During the battle, two of them were heavily injured and had to use high level potion to treat their injuries. One of them was pierced by a horn in his stomach and the other was bitten on his shoulder. The Kerox just missed the head of the unlucky mercenary during the heated battle.


    Their group of eight managed to defeat the Mana Beasts by almost depleting their expensive Mana enhanced ammunitions. They were aware that the battle would attract the attention of other beasts nearby but they had sprayed something that would keep the Mana Beasts away from this ce for at least a while enough to hunt the three Keroxes


    The wounded leader was quickly tending his wounds as the spray would be ineffective in a little while. The others hauled their spoils using a mana artifact and were readying to transport the corpses.


    "A child? There is no way a child would be in this forest."


    "I''ve already scanned multiple times before reporting to you sir."


    His scanning ability would only give him a vague figure and unreliable feedback of Mana fluctuation but it was extremely useful as it can be used in arge area. It would still allow them to be notified of any approaching beast or enemy.


    "Don''t stop. Let''s approach her and ready for a battle. Kirov, continue observing the area and look for traces of the child''spanion."


    Kirov was the magician assigned on reconnaissance in their team and the same person who detected Wace''s activity when thetter activated his Speed Mode after confronting the golden furred Kerox.


    "Mhm, understood."


    Kirov never stopped scanning the surrounding area but couldn''t find a trace of the child''spanion. Soon, they had a clear view of the said child. The culprit was actually a cute girl innocently walking around the forest. The girl who had ck hair reaching her shoulders doesn''t seem to be afraid of the gloomy forest that was only lit up by the bright moonlight.


    "This is weird." The leader mumbled as he seriously tried toprehend the situation.


    "Maybe... she''s the ghost of the forest? I heard rumors about a child that haunts people within this forest." The man who had almost lost his head whispered. Everyone looked at the person and ignored him after.


    They were now just about 50 meters away from the child and the eight mercenary distanced a bit as they positioned themselves so they have enough space to react to any incidents that could happen.


    "Who are you?"


    The leader asked the child warily.


    "I''m looking for someone. Did you see a strange person that passed by here?"

 Chapter 93 - Obstacles

    "Have you received anymunication from her?"


    "No, sir. Thest time she contacted us was to inform us that she''s still trying to find Wace."


    The man who asked the question was Troy, the leader of the Zairusian''s delegates, and was answered by Lucian. They were now in a different location after the attack that has urred on their previous hotel.


    Max was together with Lucian as they were called by Troy in his room. The ce they were staying at was now closer to the venue of the International Competition.


    They still have about a week to prepare before thepetition thus, making Troy hopeful that Yumi would find Wace on time.


    He was the one who picked up the letter that Wace left so he was aware that the escapee still had ns to attend thepetition.


    He recalled that the letter only said he would be looking for something important in this country and it would take him some time depending on the situation.


    This is the reason why he agreed to let Yumi search for Wace and help him instead.


    "Mhm, I trust her abilities to track Wace as I personally knew her and know her tricks. But she doesn''t have any responsibility to report back to me, so I''m not sure what''s the current situation. Once you receive any update from her, please let me know." Troy sighed and sincerely requested. He was partially worried for the two due to the ambush they fought and would like to help in searching to make Wace''s task faster but someone was needed to stay and protect this ce filled with their country''s students.


    "Of course. We will do so." Lucian swiftly answered. It seems that Troy was really kind as he didn''t get mad despite Wace''s action.


    The two guards were even more worried about the situation as they were tasked by Percival to protect Wace at all times, but here they are, waiting for Yumi''s update and guard the ce to defend against possible assault from the Zpany.


    ***


    "We didn''t see anyone passed over. Only Keroxes lives here." The leader answered the girl and he didn''t mind that the girl ignored his question.


    "Is that right? Then, please excuse me."


    The young girl answered and continued to walk. She looked exasperated at the current situation. She doesn''t really care about these mercenaries illegally hunting Keroxes here in Kharvatt Sierra.


    She had been confident in her tracking abilities but this forest had such a high density of Mana that disrupts her ability. She could only follow the physical traces she found based on thest ce she detected his presence.


    The eight mercenaries didn''t think that the girl would just leave at that. It''s not like they wanted her to ask more questions, but they couldn''t help being curious about this young girl.


    Kirov nced at his leader waiting for instruction. Unfortunately, the man was also struggling to decide on what action they should take.


    Finally, after considering possible oues, the leader decided to get on the offensive.


    "Salko, probe her." The leader ordered silently using his hiddenm. Salko was positioned on the young girl''s left side just about 20 meters away.


    Upon hearing the instruction from the leader, Salko unhesitatingly pulled out a short staff mana artifact.


    "Imperial Command - Bind"


    The staff emitted a dark blue light and surrounded the ground where the girl was standing. The ground started to shake and as ifing into life, the soil tried to trap the girl and enclose her.


    Salko was only ordered to probe her and not to lethally attack, so he didn''t use a high-powered gun they were using to kill mana beasts. This spell he just used was one of his best spells in terms of immobilizing unsuspecting targets.


    The girl frowned at the sudden attack but didn''t lose her cool. She stepped aside and dodged the attack effortlessly surprising the eight mercenaries.


    No, the single-step she made covered at least ten steps in total. The leader understood that the girl wasn''t normal and had probably used a high-level technique. Aside from that, he didn''t felt any Mana fluctuations from her so he was really getting confused.


    "Hey, I ignored you guys hunting here illegally."


    The girl said unhappily. She was annoyed at the fact that these guys attacked her abruptly but she didn''t show any intention to retaliate.


    "You''re obviously a high-tier magician, what are you doing here?" The leader replied. Everyone was now on high alert upon seeing the unscathed girl who remained calm despite the situation.


    ''Ahh... we shouldn''t have provoked her and just continued on our mission. This girl seems dangerous.'' Kirov thought. He didn''t voice this out as to not affect the morale of hisrades. He backed away a bit since he also had a support role.


    ''Definitely not simple. She''s even aware that we are hunting illegally. Maybe a bluff to scare us?'' The leader thought differently. He doesn''t want to have an unknown variable on their mission so he finally decided to attack her.


    "Since you know I''m on a higher tier, do you really want to offend me? Tsk."


    The girl asked but didn''t wait for an answer. She raised her right hand and pointed at the leader. The ring on her index finger lit up a bit and this time, they felt the strong Mana fluctuations building up.


    They wouldn''t wait for her spell casting to finish before they acted.


    "Imperial Command - Wind Wave"


    "Water-Dragon Vortex"


    "Fire Order - Heat Field"


    The mercenaries quickly released their multiple spells to attack but it didn''t reach the girl. Some even cast support spells to enhanced everyone''s ability.


    Kirov then shoots a bullet from his enhanced firearm and targetted the girl''s body after he noticed that the magic spells didn''t work.


    "It''s not Magic Jammer! She''s definitely exhausting her Mana pool for defense. Don''t stop attacking her." Kirov said on hism to ry the information to his scatteredrades.


    The heat field together with the water dragon created steam but didn''t cause a problem for them as they were fully prepared and equipped their goggles with Mana enhancements. They could easily see the girl''s figure using these types of equipment, they had been using this tactic to hunt Mana beasts so they were quite familiar and synchronized on their attacks as they continue to barrage her with mana spells.


    Unfortunately, there was weird magic surrounding her that stops their attacks from reaching her.


    "It''s weird. It doesn''t look like a magic jammer. Physical attacks like bullets or stones were also useless."


    They couldn''t think anything more as the girl seems to be satisfied now and released a wide range of Mana spell. A blue ring of light that started from her body was released and covered about two hundred meters before vanishing.


    The steam was cleared and the surroundings were also revealed. The trees and ground were messed due to the eight''s attacks on her. The blue light didn''t seem to have destructive power but any living beings that it touched were immobilized.


    "Well, this only works for these low tiers." She nced at the eight mercenaries and even noticed six more Mana beasts that were hiding before they were affected by her Mana spell. It seems they were lurking during the battle to await the victor and steal the spoils.


    ''These Keroxes really have a certain intelligence.'' The girl said in her mind.


    She was about to call someone she knew from the guards nearby but she noticed something from the leader who was now unconscious.


    "Hoo.. that tattoo..." The girl approached the leader of the eight. The man''s left arm was covered with long sleeves and had gloves on but since it was tattered. She could see arge tattoo and upon fully checking, she discovered that it covers his whole left arm. She blinked and could only be sighed upon realizing the identity of the eight. She somehow expected their presence but not here in the forest.


    "Z-Company." The girl frowned as she mentioned this organization''s name.


    ***


    Wace was stealthily flying across the inds as he approached the specific ind where his spaceshipnded based on his memory.


    "Sigh... So it really happened."


    The small ind that was previously deste now had a small harbor and a single fortified ship that was docked within.


    He could see several outposts that have several guards overlooking the ce. Luckily his altitude allowed him to have a good view of the situation below.


    He also noticed a small dome at the center of the ind which was suspected where his spaceshipnded.


    "This is it."

 Chapter 94 - The Truth ( Part 1 )

    Wace has been searching for a safe ce tond for a couple of minutes. He wanted to make sure that no other traps were present on the ind.


    He nced at the eastern part of thend and used his Divine Sense to monitor and avoid alerting the guards.


    As Wace descended in an isted area near the shore. He noticed that the dome at the center of the ind was lighting up from time to time. Although it wasn''t that bright, it was enough to see them during this dark night.


    "They''re still working during the night, huh. I wonder what it looks inside." Wace mumbled as he was getting nervous and excited at the same time.


    He chose an area opposite of the dock to avoid the stationed battleship and as soon as hended, his Divine Sense felt some connectioning from the dome. Unfortunately, there was another presence he had detected filled with killing intent. He scanned the surroundings again and noticed a person trying to find his presence.


    As soon as Wace locked into him as a target using his Divine Sense, thetter seems to have also noticed Wace''s presence.


    "Tsk. He''sing." Wace said as he prepared to escape and hide. Although he had means to defend himself, he couldn''t afford to fight as there''s a lot of magicians here. He''d be exhausted and surrounded after fighting several of these magicians.


    His armor glinted a bit before it silently vanished. No traces like footprints can be seen due to an auxiliary magic he ced on the armor. Though it can only be used when Cloak mode was activated, it is very convenient to use at this time.


    Now, he ns to capture an unsuspecting guard to extract information. He left and headed to a dozing guard he had detected a while ago while scanning the ce. It wasn''t too far from where hended but he had to be careful and constantly use his Divine Sense, never leaving it off to avoid any mistakes.


    Just thirty seconds after Wace left, the middle-aged man that Wace detected using his Divine Sense arrived where thetter descended.


    "Was that my imagination?" The man said to himself. He was contemting the fluctuation he had felt a while ago. It seems that the relic they found here on the ind had just transmitted some connection around here and attempted some form ofmunication. But due to special materials of the dome that blocks surveince magic andmunication technologies going in and out, it seems that the relic hadn''t been fully sessful. He had barely detected where themunication attempt happened but looking at the ce, there were no traces of someone being here.


    "Haaa... Is this due to decades of unfruitful research?" The man thought that it could be due to him being tired and might have felt incorrectly. He was aware of the security of this ce and there shouldn''t be anyone capable of reaching the shore without their notice.


    "Well, I should still report it just in case."


    The man didn''t investigate further and returned to his position guarding the vicinity of the dome.


    ***


    Wace saw a young guard sleeping behind a tree while seated. He seemed to be a guard from a nearby outpost but neglecting his duty and slept due to having a peaceful night.


    He doesn''t want to be overconfident as he activated his Enhanced Magic Jammer that is also capable of disrupting radio signals. Wace doesn''t want to focus on just improving his Mana skills mastery but would also like to develop his technical skills together. So he would always consider adding an advanced technology in his Mana Artifacts.


    As soon as he confirmed that the guard would be incapable of sending out information stealthily, Wace expanded another spell that he had been using for a while now, it was Silence Wall that came from his Silver Orb. Four 5th gen magic structures can be ced on his Silver Orb and this Silence Wall was just part of the third 5th gen he ced.


    He grabbed the head of the unsuspecting person, lifted it and pounded on the tree he was leaning to. For a trained individual equipped with multiple Mana enhanced clothes and weapons, the guard wasn''t that injured and only had a bit of pain. Though it was definitely enough to wake the person.


    "W-who are you?" The person asked upon seeing a ck humanoid monster. Although his head was grasped by its cold metallic hands, he can still see the glistening ck being who was holding him between the gaps on its fingers and had enough space for his mouth to barely voice out his words. He tried to activate his emergency Mana artifacts, ne, rings, and even his Mana artifact hidden within his mouth but something seems to be stopping them.


    ''Magic Jammer? Hmph.'' The guard didn''t lose hope yet as his left hand stealthily pressed a button on his belt while his right hand was trying to hold the wrist of the monster.


    The red eyesing from this monster was really scary, but even though he felt weakpared to him, he could still call for someone else''s help.


    He was confident that the strong magicians stationed here are capable of quickly dealing with this intruder. He was still an experienced individual even though his level of attainment in magic was low. So he didn''t panicked and tried to keep his mind calm and executed what he had been taught in this situation. Unfortunately for him, Wace hade prepared.


    No sound, magic, and any radio wave signal will be sent out here.


    "Are you done?" The voiceing within the full-bodied armor sound so deep and eerie.


    "Eh? I-I''m..." The guard was now really getting scared. It seems that he realized that his attempts to ask for help was seen through and was even given some time toplete those things.


    "What do you want?" The guard could finally find his words. If his enemy intended to kill him, he would have been a corpse already and not lifted like this. But since he was still kindly woken up, he still has a value even if its small.


    "Tell me everything you know about this ce, Brylle?" Wace asked and as he noticed a name tag attached to the guard''s uniform, he mentioned his name as menacingly as possible.


    ''Eh, you''re infiltrating this ce without knowing what''s in here?'' Brylle said in his mind after hearing the question.


    "I-I''m just a lowly guard here. I don''t know any vital information, we were only tasked to guard the ce around the dome. Please... I''m telling the truth." He replied honestly. He was just a guard and not aware of any specificities within the dome but Wace was only looking for some basic information.


    "Oh, then you seem to be useless now."


    Wace tightened his grasped on the man''s head as if trying squeeze his head out. Brylle screamed in agony but no one could hear his voice other than Wace himself. Wace loosened his hold to allow Brylle from spilling out all he knows. If he didn''t get any information from him, he wouldn''t waste any more time with him.


    "Last chance." The cold voice within the armor echoed once again. It seems that he wasn''t joking, Brylle realized that he''d die if he didn''t provide the information the monster was looking for.


    "I''ll tell you all I know! Please, let me live!" Brylle gave up as he gasped in pain. Wace released his hand and the man slumped on the ground grasping his head.


    "I''ve only been a guard for this ce for two years. The operation within this ind was rumored to be a top-secret that the Z-Company had been conducting for almost two decades or even more."


    "Two decades?" Wace tried to confirm the years.


    "Y-yes. There was a rumor that there''s an Ancient Relic being studied within the ce. But some said it was one of the Lost Technology that wasrge enough and could not be moved in normal terms, s-so the organization built the dome instead to study it here."


    "The dome seems to be a bit special." Wace calmly said.


    "T-that''s correct. It was made out of unique materials. My seniors told me that before a dome was erected, the item within was corroding the ind especially the Mana beasts."


    "Continue..."


    "R-right, they said the mutated Mana beast like golden Keroxes and others was due to this mysterious object within the dome. That''s all I know, please..."


    Wace silently contemted what the guard had said.


    "This is not simple." He sighed and nced at the man slumped on the ground. He needed to infiltrate the dome and thought of something.

 Chapter 95 - The Truth ( Part 2 )

    Wace immobilized the guard after asking a few more questions and stealthily headed to the dome.


    As he approached the ce, he noticed that the number of guards outside increased even more. It seems that the man he scanned a while ago had been alerted and added security in the ce.


    "At least, it seems that the alert level wasn''t that high."


    Wace surmised as he observed the rxed guards overlooking the ce. It could have been amon routine they''ve been doing in the past two decades as well, so Wace wasn''t sure.


    He doesn''t have time to study their routines or schedules to find a loophole on their security. He could only think of a few methods to get inside the dome.


    At first, he had actually nned to infiltrate the dome using the uniform of the guard for himself but the guard wasn''t even aware how to enter and when he had used his Divine Sense a while ago, he recalled that there''s indeed no entrance whatsoever that can be found to enter or leave the ce.


    This made him realized that all these guards in the vicinity really came from small barracks near the dome.


    Also, there wouldn''t be any huge advantage disguising as a guard and at most, he might reach the dome unobstructed but he wouldn''t take his chances.


    Using the Cloak Mode of his armor, Silence Wall from his Mana Artifact, and the Enhanced Magic Jammer to avoid being detected, Wace made it closer to the dome.


    "There should be some secret here." He whispered to himself after checking out the purple dome made of unknown metals or stones.


    There''s no way that this dome is empty and missing an entrance. He tried circling the ce to make sure if there''s any visible mark for entrance.


    "There must be a hidden path since the person I felt a while ago came from this dome." Wace analyzed and after his failed probing, he quickly approached the smooth wall of this purple dome. He touched the wall and activated the Mana artifact that he had first-ever received from the Pathfinder.


    [ Ne of rity


    Increases the user''s concentration, memory and reaction speed.


    Ability: Glimpse of the Mind ]


    [ Glimpse of the Mind


    Allows the user to see the w in any material upon receiving enough mana


    Duration: 5 minutes


    Cooldown: 3 days ]


    He was worried that his Divine Sense would alert that powerful magician so he would try to limit his usage for now but the Glimpse of the Mind has differentws in itself.


    Wace had never seen any other Mana Artifact or Mana Spell capable of looking through a material''s w. At the very least, not that he was aware of any. Even the Magic Engineers within the National Magic Trade and Industry doesn''t have such tools when they examined Wace''s Float Drive System before.


    A few seconds passed by and turned to minutes, Wace''s palm was still ced at the wall.


    Currently, the ce was so silent, there wasn''t even any noise and only the bantering of some guards can be heard. The wind was so stable in this deeper part of the small ind, there''s no rustling of leaves and the noise from the waves of ocean could no longer be heard.


    These were some of the things Wace had missed due to his extreme focus in understanding the ws on this wall.


    A few more seconds had passed and Wace opened his eyes. His eyes contained enlightenment as he realized the structure of the dome.


    Not only that, some mysterious thing was trying tomunicate with him!


    He couldn''t exin it but there''s definitely something calling out to him now that he had gotten closer and touched the wall.


    "Hey, Pathfinder won''t you help me out here?"


    ***


    Kharvatt Sierra.


    After the girl defeated the illegal hunters and discovered their identity as someone connected to Z-Company, she immediately reported this to her point of contact within this ce. She couldn''t report this yet to the police or government officials since she wasn''t too aware of the political inclination of this ce yet.


    The Z-Company isn''t a simple organization as it wouldn''t survive long without the support of some prominent figures. She would let the agents they have here to settle this problem.


    It didn''tst long before an officer she knew arrived.


    "Senior Officer Yumi, are they really a member of that organization?" An agent with a Zairusian ent appeared near Yumi. The man wasn''t surprised whatsoever upon seeing the child in front of him and even addressed thetter as his senior.


    Although Yumi works at NMTI, she had a special status allowing her to utilize the resources of Lucent Force in this country.


    "That''s right." Yumi answered and looking nkly in a certain direction. She didn''t wait for her to speak and continued.


    "How many members of the Lucent Force can be called here?"


    This time, the man had a grave expression. Their delegates were assaulted in the hotel by this Z-Company. Now, Yumi found traces of this organization. It was easy for him to connect the hidden message of his senior.


    "Aside from me, there''s four more we can call out. Hmm, there''s also about 30 personnel we could use but only 7 of them had reached Battle Mage." The man only wore civilian clothes and had a long brown hair reaching his shoulder. He actually looked like someone who''d just woken up with a messy hair. He seemed to have hurried here upon receivingmunication from Yumi.


    "I understand. Well, I have a bad feeling about this. What do you say about our current situation, Eagle?" Yumi wanted to take the opinion of this Lucent Force officer assigned in this country.


    "We''re aware that this Z-Company had been in contact with some high ranking officials of Montego. But all their transactions were all too secretive and we''re unable to dig deeper. We can only make a theory based on the clues we had..." Eagle paused a bit as he took a deep breath before continuing.


    "It seems that more than two decades ago, the Montego''s president that time, the father of the current one, had been in huge trouble and leaned to an underworld organization for help in stabilizing his status. What I''m saying is that we can''t handle them here in their turf. Haaa~ Everything started on this ind."


    "Oh? This is the first time I heard this."


    "Ugh, you''re just probably not interested in the political status of this far ind."


    Yumi nodded in agreement. She was more interested in making artifacts recently than to study the history of other countries.


    "So, there really is a problem on this ind?"


    "Mhm... We couldn''t tell the level but there''s definitely a single powerful magician stationed deep within this ce."


    "I see. Right, how will you handle this members of Z-Company?"


    "Hmm... It seems they''re from another faction within the same organization so I could use them to gather more information before erasing them."


    Yumi could only stare at him as she didn''t fully understand.


    "Ah, You can say that the faction of Z-Company that Raven was dealing in Zairus was different in members that you can find here. These individuals came from Ember''s Fist Faction while those who attacked you guys in your hotel were members of Shaman''s Hex Faction. That faction originated from Zairus."


    "Hmph, they''re all the same."


    ''Uhmm, they actually have different goals. Ember''s Fist focus on controlling political power to gain advantage but Shaman''s Hex although had a certain part in political maniption they focus on human experimentation to gain power.''


    Eagle could only say in his mind because, at the bottom of this, they''re really on the same underworld organization.


    After leaving Eagle to settle those eight people she apprehended, she left in the same direction Wace had chosen.


    "Now, where did that kid go." The girl said while contemting her next n. She was already near the shore as she continued her journey to find Wace.


    ***


    Meanwhile, after Wace called for Pathfinder''s assistance, he received a response unexpectedly.


    [ You have arrived within the range of mission item, Cube of Paradox ]


    [ Would you like to establish a connection? ]


    Wace smiled after seeing this within his vision. But before he could answer, he felt a menacing presence locking down on him putting a lot of pressure that he even had to kneel whilst on his armor.


    He raised his head and saw the same powerful magician he felt a while ago.


    He was still wearing his long gray robe as he stands on the air and looking down on Wace.


    The middle-aged man was now frowning as he stared at the humanoid ck being below him.


    "What are you?"

 Chapter 96 - The Truth ( Part 3 )

    Although it hasn''t been a month since Chester started to study the Cryptic Link Serum, he already made a huge breakthrough.


    "Haha! You''re excellent as always! Even the people from the Congress had a hard time deciphering the serum but here you are, you''ve managed to do something they''re unable to." An unusual figure visited theboratory of the head of Mage Doctor in Medicine Department of the Ministry.


    "Haaa... It''s not that easy you know."


    Chester recognized the voice without turning his head as he said humbly to this powerful magician he respected deep in his heart. But he was addressing him informally since the former had requested to do so telling that they probably hold the same level of authority within the Ministry.


    "Honestly, there''s still an unknown element included within the form. Until I''ve identified that element, I can''t say that I''ve sessfully uncovered the secret of this serum." Chester exined while he was seated and observing the screen showing the structure of the serum.


    "I understand that, but with this, you don''t have to strain yourself. We can easily use the Congress''s resources to deal with it." Hayden Fraser encouraged Chester as he deeply valued Chester''s ability for the Ministry and kinda liked his personality since they both have the same goal.


    The unknown element was also alien to him. But this discovery was enough result for the Congress as even getting the otherponents of the serum made it difficult for them.


    Discovering the new element should be handled by other experts in the field since Chester doesn''t have an obligation for this and wasn''t his forte.


    "That''s right. I should take some rest. Identifying the truth with this new element that could trigger improvement on magicians with low Mana affinity could not be easily done." Chester said in his tired voice.


    ''Just where did the Z-Company acquired such valuable material.'' The two of them thought at the same time.


    ***


    After Wace saw the man floating just above him. He couldn''t help but feel nervous about the situation. The opponent he was dealing with was either too strong or too weak like the guard he had recently taken out.


    Luckily, the man didn''t immediately attacked and injured him but instead chose to incapacitate him by being pressured of the invisible Mana. Due to this, his Mana-Enhanced armor was able to adjust after bearing the pressure for 10 seconds.


    During this time, the middle-aged man had already gotten closer to Wace. He walks indifferently as he approached step by step.


    ''Hey, Please establish the connection. Hurry up!'' Wace said to Pathfinder.


    [ Establishing Connection. ]


    [ Please wait... ]


    [ 130.04 seconds left. ]


    ''That''s too long! How can I survive here?'' Wace said in his mind.


    "Hey, I asked you a question. Are you mute?" The man spoke with a hint of a threat as he noticed the armored being in front of him who was not answering his question even after pressuring it to the point of kneeling on the ground.


    Wace needed to buy more time so he could only try.


    "What''s inside this structure?" A suppressed voice within the armor came out as Wace tried to speak even with the pressure.


    "Oh~ So you can speak. Anyway, you will never know what''s inside there." The man stopped approaching Wace after reaching 10 steps away from him.


    ''So you''re also being careful?'' Wace analyzed the situation. He noticed that the man didn''t get near him and kept his distance as Wace kept his half-kneeling posture.


    "Well, you''re probably another one of those spies. Which country sent you?" The man said as he extended his hands and pointed on Wace.


    "I''m not a spy. This is a misunderstanding." Wace said as his mind keeps thinking about what to say before he continued.


    "I''m just testing this new armor tech I''m wearing and was lost after detecting something unusual. You can ignore me as I''ll leave this ce in a while."


    "Really? Then that''s even more dangerous. Whatever country made your suit must be exterminated."


    The man said as he frowned at the capabilities of the armor on detecting the uniqueness of this ind if ever Wace was saying the truth. Of course, he''d neverpletely believed him until he tortured him for the answers. He snapped his fingers as dancing me approached Wace as it tried consuming thetter.


    But as soon as it reached closer to Wace''s armor, the me dissipated as if the spell was too weak and couldn''t reach him.


    "So your Magic Jammer seems to be on a different level, huh."


    "That''s right. I must thank the magic engineer who made this." Wace said to lighten up his mood.


    A few more seconds were left so he had to either engage in conversation or even fight him.


    "How about this?"


    The man opened his palm and the soil he was kneeling at caved in as Wace stumbled. For some reason, the Magic Jammer missed the beat to cancel the magic that manipted his surroundings.


    "Tsk!" Wace clicked his tongue after losing his bnce.


    ''It seems there''s still a loophole when attacks aren''t targeting me.'' Wace surmised after coping with the situation.


    The Magic Jammer''s program isn''t perfect that''s why it has multiple variants and Wace''s enhanced version is only one of the many.


    After the man had sessfully interrupted Wace''s concentration, he continued controlling the surroundings to enclosed him as if he would like to wrap Wace in soil.


    Even the middle-aged man was having trouble as some of the soil was getting out of his control due to the Magic Jammer.


    "Interesting. So even my coated Mana can still be affected if you concentrate your Magic Jammer and increase the intensity." The man amusedly said to Wace as if enjoying his struggle to get out of the situation. It seems that he would like to y with Wace


    "It looks like your having fun... but I''m not." Wace said gravely. For the first time after arriving here on this and umted knowledge and ability, he unleashed his full fighting capability.


    The armored being threw a projectile and targetted the man''s abdomen. The sharp objects were so fast but the man didn''t get flustered.


    Wace noticed that he also activated a magic jammer but after quickly noticing that it doesn''t have any effect, he decided to increase his defense instead.


    Wace could even feel that the Mana Shell of this person was probably as sturdy as this dome. It was almost impossible to prate without spending time on it.


    The sharp projectile hit''s the defense of the middle-aged man and didn''t make any openings for Wace at all.


    He continued his attack by using his Magic Spell. The same that he provided to Shirley.


    "Ultrasonic Burst"


    Wace activated the spell even without a Sonic Gun like Shirley. It came from his Silver Orb. The 4th Magic Structure Crystal ced within contains several original magic that Wace had created.


    The spell caught the middle-aged man unawares as it was his first time dealing with such magic. But probably due to his unique physique, he was able to endure the attack.


    "Traceless Oscition."


    The spells he was using would probably expose his identity but he couldn''t care less at his situation. The new version of this spell no longer consumes a lot more Mana than before.


    The man widened his eyes after receiving this very unusual magic spell.


    "This... What kind of magic is this?" The man was surprised upon seeing his Mana Shell almost crumbling. Due to his extremely precise control and distribution of Mana, he managed to retain his Mana Shell and avoid it from getting destroyed.


    His eyes were filled with greed as he would like the spell for himself and study it more.


    But he noticed something weird as pain suddenly jolted his mind.


    He looked at the sharp de which Wace threw and deflected by his defense a while ago. It was now lodged on his left thigh as crimson blood was dripping slowly and the armored being was now even standing on his left side 10 steps away from him.


    "How?" The man wasn''t worried but was in deep thought.


    His Mana Shell was still as sturdy as ever, how could this de reach him? How did this armored being reached there?


    [ 2 seconds left. ]


    [ Connection Established. ]


    [ User will unite with the Cube of Paradox. ]


    [ 3... 2... 1... ]


    Wace vanished from the middle-aged man''s sight. And as soon as it happened, sounds of rm within the dome sounded.


    "What?!" The man''s eyes were red in anger as he somehow understood what had just happened.


    He couldn''t imagine that someone slipped from his grasp and even reached the ce he''d been guarding for decades.


    "You''ll pay for this!" He shouted and removed the de from his thigh not caring for the blood that oozed out as he used a simple mana maniption to suppress the blood loss.

 Chapter 97 - The Truth ( Part 4 )

    Wace opened his eyes but couldn''t see anything within the dark ce he was moved into. He felt weird and noticed that he was not standing on the ground but floating in an empty dark ce.


    Although he was surprised, he didn''t panicked and instead tried to absorb the situation he was in.


    After a couple of breaths to calm himself, he noticed a familiar cube appearing in front of him and started floating within this empty void. The cube was now lighting up with blue and amber color.


    After the Pathfinder notified him that he will be uniting with the Cube, he never really expected to teleport near the item or be transported in this unknown ce.


    "Where am I?"


    Wace asked but he wasn''t expecting an answer.


    He urged his mind to reach the cube that was probably a couple of meters away in front of him. But instead of him approaching the cube while floating, the cube itself obediently came towards him.


    "Hmm... Is this missionplete?" Wace asked.


    ***


    As soon as rms were triggered within the dome, the man didn''t waste his time as he jumped about 20 ft high from the ground. As he was about to collide with the sturdy wall of the dome, a part of the purple wall turned soft as it slowly sucked the man inside.


    The man opened his eyes again after being sucked and saw the same bright ce he had been staying at. The ce had well-conditioned air, even grass and trees can still be seen in healthy conditions.


    The dome had eight such entrances circling the ce and it was connected by steel bridges. At the center of the dome, anotherrge spherical ss was ced where a technologically advance aircraft was being held at.


    The Mana concentration here was so dense that not anyone could easily adapt and work inside. Apparently, only six people are working within this ce.


    There are three more specialists and two battle mage level servants aside from this strong middle-aged serving as the main protector of this ce.


    The three specialists could only study this ce because of the expensive suit they wore that was protecting them from any harm. Even their Z-Company could only acquire six of these suits. The two servants were only allowed to stay within the eight connected facilities within the dome and not being allowed to go out for their safety. Somehow, the facilities were made with the same heavy materials that made the dome. It was able to suppress the Mana leaking from the aircraft.


    "Sir Chalice, some existence entered the aircraft. We were able to capture it on our recordings. After that, the aircraft started to pulsate a bluish glow from its edges." One of the specialists wearing a silver and ck full-bodied suit approached Chalice and reported the situation.


    "How about the body?" Chalice asked a bit more concerned about one of the important discoveries within this ce.


    "It wasn''t touched or anything. The bio-armor was still present and protecting it."


    "Hmm... Let me see the recording." Chalice nodded and said as he tried to calm himself from anger. He can''t afford to lose control of the situation. He needed a calm mind to decide the best course of action at this time.


    "Should we call the headquarters?" The specialist inquired to this powerful individual. He was only assigned to craft whatever he could at the materials they could get in this ce. One example of it was the sessful creation of the Cryptic Link Serum which he pioneered. The other two were working on a different project of their own that would benefit their organization.


    "What can those old geezers do?" Chalice answered coldly.


    "We can get help to increase our external defense. We don''t know what could happen." He didn''t say that he was worried that there''s only a few battle mages and three adepts on this ind aside from this powerful magician in front of him. If something went wrong, they''ll be needing a lot of hands to work.


    He had watched the surveince outside and saw Wace''s battle with Chalice a while ago and was worried that more of them woulde.


    Chalice looked at the man sternly but thought about the situation carefully before nodding in agreement.


    The specialist sighed in relief upon hearing the agreement.


    Chalice let the specialist contact the HQ and went to the observing deck near the spherical ss covering the aircraft.


    It was now glowing with a beautiful light like it''s about toe alive. The bluish light was pulsating from the aircraft, it was something he had first ever seen together with a certain individual decades ago.


    Chalice sighed as he remembered all the work he spent on this project.


    It was exactly 24 years ago when Chalice discovered unusual phenomena within the inds of Araceli.


    He found out that the Mana beasts had started to gain more strength, life force, and even show signs of intelligence in some cases.


    He tried to analyze the situation and found some ancient texts recorded about this simr phenomenon.


    "This... Perhaps... Are they slowly mutating?" The young Chalice said after reading a book he acquired from the organization he recently joined in. This book was umting dust in the library of their headquarters even if there''s a low level of restriction to view it. Well, not many would be interested in the book entitled "The Diary of Gate Traveller" as they would rather read books about the magic spell and possibly crafting, than a diary of an unknown individual.


    Based on the text, the evolution of Mana Beast could only be triggered with a small chance on ces with high density of Mana but there has been a record stating that there were some weird urrences in the world where the exposure of an ancient relic or lost technology could also trigger these phenomena.


    It was never stated how many times this has urred before but Chalice was sure that he could find the answer if he thoroughly looked within the group of inds.


    Luckily, although he was a new member of this secret organization, his ability allowed him ess to several materials that could never be easily acquired through normal means. Due to this, he learned a lot of things and had been prepared in his search for the truth about the ind.


    It took him a month to find the source of the problem.


    On an ind few kilometers away from the main ind of Araceli, he saw an unforgettable sight that changed his life.


    It was a beautiful metallic aircraft as he surmised due to wings it had for flight and thrusters or engine at the back and lower part of its body. The cockpit was dark and he couldn''t see through it from the outside.


    The ship doesn''t have wheels or probably hidden as it was docked using eight w-like hands to support itself from the ground.


    The ship looks damaged and umting dust and moss but its beauty could not be overlooked. The fine craftsmanship for it''s every detail was superb and it was his first time seeing such brilliance. He believed that after cleaning it''s outside he would see at least half of its magnificent existence. It was not something their small country could make.


    ''Is this the lost technology that the ancient text mentioned?''


    "Eh? W-What was that?"


    He saw a lying still humanoid figure in ck armor that was also umting dust and moss. Near its figure, several items or probably Mana artifacts were scattered. The figure seems to be clutching their chest. Probably due to a pain caused by an injury or whatever. He wasn''t too sure and couldn''t bother to think too deeply at the moment.


    "Is that... Hahaha! Jackpot! This should be it." Chalice was so happy upon the discovery of this site.


    A few moments passed and after contemting the situation, he braced himself as he activated all defense magic he could churn out and approached the ce.


    As he was about to reach the site, he was stopped by another person that was also observing the ce. Chalice doesn''t have an idea about the identity of the old man who suddenly manifested in front of him so he put his guard up and readied for battle.


    "Who are you?!" Chalice shouted as he jumped away from the stranger.


    Magic was everywhere so he wasn''t too surprised about the ability of this old man looking like a schr. He''s more concerned in his share of loot with this discovery.


    "I got here first! This site is now a property of Z-Company! Leave this ce now or you''ll be executed."


    Chalice warned as he sternly gazed at the old man but thetter was only staring at the aircraft and the ck humanoid body near it.


    The old man wore an eyess and had an oddly unemotional ck eyes within. His lustrous ck hair and arrogant smirk and the robe that belongs to only high-level Magic Craftsman was something he could easily identify.


    Chalice was chilled upon seeing the figure carefully. He wasn''t sure but this person was supposedly dead.


    ''Impossible! M-Maybe they just look the same. That''s right. That person even lives in a far country.''

 Chapter 98 - Origin ( Part 1 )

    Chalice could never forget the following event after the prominent figure showed up.


    The old man did not speak a lot but gave a few instructions for him to take care of this ce.


    It seems the man wasn''t too interested in the site and would just like to sightsee on this ind or he probably obtained already the most important thing in this ce.


    "Do not get too close while unprotected or you''ll be corrupted by its power source."


    It was the first instruction the old man said. After his familiar voice was heard, that deep and clear voice with the Zairusian ent, Chalice no longer doubted the identity of the old man and listened carefully.


    Whatever this old man has to say, he would keep it in his heart because of the person''s reputation acknowledge by the whole southern continent.


    Chalice contemted the warning and of course, he didn''t understand at first what could corrupt him just by getting near the site, it sounds ridiculous for a Battle Mage like him. onlyter he found out about its mystery after studying the ce for years.


    "Where did this thing came from? Is this one of the Lost Technology you''ve mentioned before? Are there other sites like this?" Chalice asked questions to the old man. He didn''t feel any animosity from him so he asked him a lot of questions that were in his mind. After all, it is rare to meet a reputable person especially in their poor ind country that was struggling with internal strife for years.


    Unfortunately, the old man only smirked and shook his head.


    ''Eh? What do you mean by that? There are no other sites like this and it''s not a Lost Technology? or you don''t know as well? Ugh, I should''ve asked only one question.'' Chalice thought but as soon as he was about to ask more, the old man spoke again.


    "You must not destroy this ce. Someday, someone will reim these."


    It was what he said and Chalice could only nod but deep inside, he''s already nning on how to plunder the ce once the old man left.


    ''Hmph. I would agree if you n to share the loot with me, we can go 50-50, but since you don''t want the loot, I''ll take it allter.''


    Chalice thought as he smirked. He was already imagining what he can get within this aircraft and identify those items or artifacts lying on the ground with the human figure.


    But it seems that the old man noticed his dark thought so the man gazed at him without saying a word.


    Chalice looked back at the old man which only made him even more stiffed with that cold gaze. The pressure was so heavy and scary that he would like to beg for his forgiveness.


    "I-I won''t touch them, I promise!"


    Luckily, the old man seems to have acknowledged his word or he probably just found it below him to bother with a petty Battle Mage.


    ''I thought he was just a nerdy engineer. Crap! Why is he so strong? I almost died from that look. Those magazines werepletely wrong!'' Chalice said remembering the news and reports about this person. His achievements in magic were never mentioned telling him he was just an average magician that failed to pass being a battle mage and thus, he focused on engineering instead.


    ''Tsk! One day, I''ll also be capable of doing that pressure just by looking at someone.'' He even made an oath on that day because of how impressed and scared he was with this old man. He would definitely like to be as strong as him.


    His thoughts were interrupted when the old man took out something and spoke again.


    The man took out a fragment of stone or something from his inner robe pocket. After Chalice observed it using his Mana detection, he noticed that it was being covered or protected by an extremelyplex Mana Shell.


    ''What?'' The foundation was definitely created using Mana Shell as a model. But theplex structure was made so magnificently that the oue became the strongest Mana Shell he had ever seen. ''I also want that! If my Mana Shell is as sturdy as that, no one could ever defeat me.''


    Chalice''s eyes were filled with greed upon seeing it the first time. It was due to his thirst for power and knowledge that he achieved his status now even with theck of support or even moneying from his family. He was promoted to a Battle Mage using his own ability and was even recruited by a secret organization that promised him tons of benefits.


    He noticed that the old man removed the Mana Shell protecting the fragment and as soon as it happened, the aircraft lit up with a bluish glow. The light was pulsating like it wasing back alive, it only happened for five seconds but the pressure it emitted left Chalice stunned.


    "W-What was that? What happened?" Chalice asked but the old man did not answer. The man only covered the fragment with that strange Mana Shell again and put it back in his pocket.


    "Remember what I told you." The old man said. As soon as he said this, his figure started vanishing bit by bit as if being erased. He couldn''t understand that time the type of magic that was used but it left him a deep impression.


    "Wait! Sir Aeolia! What if someone else found the ce?!"


    Chalice shouted but never heard a reply.


    "Oh well, I only promised that I wouldn''t touch the ce. So it should be alright if I let others do it for me."


    After that day, he contacted his trusted friends to plunder the site with him as he was still a bit afraid of ignoring the warning given by Aeolia. Unfortunately, all of his friends died a few days after touching the aircraft, the human figure, and the items near the human figure.


    After a year of unfruitful study, that''s the time he consulted the secret organization to explore the site with him.


    But he never mentioned that he was able to move or loot some scattered items on the ground that was together with the human figure. He hid it somewhere safe but still refused to touch those things personally even with the protection of his Mana Shell, only a decadeter when he was able to copy that strange Mana Shell he saw today did he dared to touch those items and carefully study them.


    ***


    "How''s the current situation on the ind?" Yumi asked as she walked over the clustered officers. They were currently on a small ind not too far from where Wace had gone into.


    "Within these three days, we only saw an amphibious assault ship docking near the ind. We have seen five people leaving therge ship and went inside the dome. Aside from that, we have noticed that the security of the ce had increased to a higher level. The guards were probably resting for only three to four hours a day." One of the officers reported. They were staying at a makeshift tent where several Mana Artifacts used for concealment and detection were ced.


    "Those five people, are all of the magicians?" Yumi asked. She was curious if there are any high-ranking government officials included in their ranks.


    "Yes, one of them was an Adept. We believe that he''s someone you''ve met at the hotel, the other four were Battle Mages. Who knows maybe Mark and the other Adept were hiding within thatrge ship?" Replied the officer. It means that there''s only a low probability for a government officialing from therge ship.


    Three days had passed since Yumi felt the abnormal activity within the small ind. They found an encampment of suspicious people being led by a strong individual.


    Yumi highly suspected that Wace either infiltrated the ce or was captured within the ind and being held inside the dome.


    They couldn''t just raid the ce and look for Wace especially with the strong defense established in the area. They could only call for reinforcements and bring over several Mana Artifacts to enhance their abilities and chances of infiltrating the ce.


    As they were on foreignnd, their superior would like to keep their identity hidden during this operation so they requested several artifacts that would enable them to do so.


    All the reinforcements and Mana Artifacts arrived today and they were ready to infiltrate the ce and look for Wace.

 Chapter 99 - Origin ( Part 2 )

    Wace opened his eyes after being startled by a beeping sounding from somewhere.


    He looked around and noticed that he was inside the familiar spacecraft. Yes, the luxury corvette-ss spaceship he used to descend on this, he named it Avalon, same with the A.I. operating the ship itself.


    "T-this..." He felt a bit emotional after reaching this ce. Although only several months had passed, it felt forever just to reach this goal of his.


    He felt a bit numb and checked his body but found nothing new on it. He was probably lying down for quite a while now numbing his arm.


    And most important, it seems that he was still possessing the same Wace''s body of this.


    "Haaa~" Wace took a deep breath as he remembered the events after the Cube of Paradox appeared in the empty space a while ago. After the Cube moved towards him, he felt coldness wrap over his body then felt his soul was being sucked inside the Cube.


    Of course, he felt scared being trapped inside the Cube but luckily, it didn''tst long. As soon as he felt the suction force, the Pathfinder inside his body moved out instead.


    The bluish light of the Cube was bright and the ''Pathfinder'' that came out of his body was a darker and stronger color of blue light as it merged with the Cube.


    After all of it happened within the empty space, the merged Cube and Pathfinder shattered to a tiny piece of broken ss before it surrounded Wace. He saw his previous body telling something but he couldn''t hear it. It was as if the body was telling hisst goodbye to Wace.


    Soon, the surrounding pieces of ss that were made of light turned to his body and seeped through his skin.


    He felt pain all over his body as if he was being tortured. He never knew that it would be like this toplete his mission.


    ''I would never trust this Pathfinder!'' He could only say deep in his mind.


    The mission tells him to ''retrieve'' the Cube and never did he knew that it would be this painful process. But he couldn''t reallyin that much as he was still in the middle of experiencing the pain it brought. He could only grit his teeth and wait for itspletion. Unfortunately, he didn''t think that it would take more than 5 minutes and still not finished! His mind could no longer hold out and was about to lose his consciousness. It must be remembered that his body had already gone through several enhancements.


    When he had consumed the rewards being given by the Pathfinder, he was always experiencing extreme pain and would naturally enhance his body. Not including the body strengthening potion he had consumed that had obviously enhanced his body further. Aside from that, he was always keeping his physical body in healthy and strong conditions as he does routines to keep his body at its peak.


    But even if that was the case, he was about to sumb to the pain of this merging with the Cube and Pathfinder. He''d really be mad if this didn''t reward him in plenty.


    He wasn''t exactly sure how long did it pass before he woke up but now that he regained his consciousness, thanks to the beeping sound that actually came from the Pathfinder or Cube that merged within his body.


    After he triedmunicating with the Pathfinder, his brain was jolted by acute pain. It seems some information was filling up his brain. He actually got nervous that it would be the same torturous experience, but luckily, the pain was bearable with his pain resistance umted due to his body being battered by the Pathfinder.


    "So my soul was really iplete..."


    After his mind received all the informationing from the Cube of Paradox, he clearly understood what happened when he descended here.


    "Whew~ So almost three decades had passed? But based on what the guard said, the ce was only taken over by their organization for over two decades. It seems that this ce wasn''t discovered immediately." Wace said after contemting a bit.


    He tried looking into his memories about the past events. Apparently, as he descended on this, the Manaing from this world had drowned him to death. His body wasn''t suited for this world. It was something that his armor could not defend against.


    Luckily, as soon as the Cube arrived on this, the Artificial Intelligencepletely awakened and recognized the closest person to be his master. It quickly pulled his soul and contained it within the Cube.


    But since it had just woken up, it doesn''t have enough power to bring him to life.


    So the Artificial Intelligence made arrangements that took several years to find a suitable body to ce a part of his soul. Yes, some part of his soul remained in this Cube for a reason.


    He sorted as well some other important information he noticed.


    First of all, there were several Cubes of Paradox that contains an artificial intelligence that would normally be used to help or apany a young descendant from an Ancient Mayan Royal n in his journey until the end of his life. Wace does not have an idea where this n is. But these Cubes were definitely made by an Advanced Civilization that was not human.


    Second, it already contains a lot of mystical materials and was always creating new mystical materials as long as it had enough energy. Apparently, it had a mystical space where artificial intelligence works in creating the materials that the user would probably need. It could also scan its surrounding environment and get as much information it could just to help the user. Unfortunately, due to the arrangement made by its creators, he couldn''t just receive those items but had to work hard to attain them. The missions and rewards were there to help the user grow.


    Third, the Cube can still be destroyed or be useless...


    Wace was interrupted in his thoughts upon seeing the notification of the Pathfinder.


    [ Mission: Retrieve the Cube of Paradox ]


    [ In Progress... ]


    [ The cube contains a lot of power that the user''s body was not capable of immediately retrieving. ]


    [ Time left before retrieving waspleted: 21:56:78 ]


    "About 22 hours more." Wace muttered upon seeing the progress.


    "So that was why I''m feeling a bit stuffy. The retrieval was still not finished." Wace scratched his head as he stood up and observe the surroundings.


    The bio armor suit was still in a safe ce. The Mech Frame was still there.


    "I hope it''s not rusted there." Wacemented upon seeing the single stuffed Mech Frame stored in the spaceship.


    He walked to the pilot seat and tried powering up the ship but he noticed a notification showing in front of the screen.


    "Last Cycle Completed"


    He remembered that for him to be transported to unknown coordinates in space, the activation of the Last Cycle protocol was triggered.


    Wace was still unable toprehend some of the events that have urred. First of all, about him being sent away with that protocol, Wace would like to ask if his father was aware that the Last Cycle would actually bring him here? Also if his mother, who was researching this Cube, aware of the circumstances, or is it just a coincidence and was really looking for a source of energy?


    Wace sighed as he tried to have a look outside the spaceship to check the situation.


    ***


    Yumi together with some strong members of the Lucent Force infiltrated the ind being protected by Chalice.


    "Owl, Eagle... I''ll leave that unusual peak Adept with you." Yumi instructed. There were a total of 6 people that have infiltrated this ind and had different goals. The other three were tasked to cause diversion during their operation.


    "Leave it to us, focus on finding that kid." Eagle replied and smiled at Yumi. But she couldn''t really see him as his face was covered by a ck helmet. Everyone was wearing armor that hides their identity except Yumi.


    During the days that had passed, Yumi found traces of Wace arriving on this ind so their team was sure that he was still somewhere here.


    "Alright, let''s begin."

 Chapter 100 - Chaos ( Part 1 )

    [ System Activation Started... ]


    [ Initiating Avalon Assistance Program... ]


    [ Analyzing Spaceship Status...


    Aether Force : 3% [ Red ]


    GH Drive - System : 92% [ Green ]


    Shield Nucleus Energy : 100% [ Green ]


    Hadron Beam Energy : 100% [ Green ]


    Armour Phase : 67% [ Yellow ]


    Internal Assembly : 91% [ Green ]


    Over-Trace Protection : 19% [ Red ]


    [ All Systems - Green ]


    [ Loading User Interface... ]


    [ Loading System Backup... ]


    [ Avalon Starting Up... 3... 2... ]


    [ Wee Back Captain! ]


    Wace stared at the widescreen in front of the pilot seat that has booted up. The blue lighting from it lighten up the small space he was in. Before the system booted up, there wasn''t light within the ship at all. It was due to Wace''s improved vision that he was able to view the dark surroundings as if it was normal.


    He didn''t notice this at first as he was focused on observing the whole ce. Only until his eyes adjusted to the light did he notice his new ability.


    "Is it a perk for merging with the Cube?"


    Wace could only wryly smile at this.


    He checked the familiar panoramic screen and noticed that something is ''loading'' at the corner of the widescreen so he asked questions to the A.I. to rify.


    "What''s still missing? Can we still fly this ship?"


    [ Negative. The ship doesn''t have enough Aether. ]


    "Is there any way we can sort that out?"


    [ Assistive Ten-fold Scan Activated. No Aether being detected within 19 AU. Unable to find an option to refill the Aether. ]


    Wace was disappointed upon hearing that there''s no source of Aether within that vast distance. It was unfortunate but he was impressed that his spaceship could still scan that far, to scan 19 astronomical units was not an easy task since he was fully aware of how the ever-present mana on this could affect mostmunication methods.


    ''Well, it''s not like I could collect an Aether outside this.'' Wace helplessly thought about his current situation.


    He had already checked the situation outside the ship and saw that they were enclosed by a spherical ss in the same ce where hended the ship. But the rocks and trees nearby were already removed and aside from the few patches of grass on the ground, he saw a familiar figure outside. It was him, a figure wearing a bio-armor clutching its chest. The figure no longer possessed his other weapons but the dagger attached to the armor itself was still intact.


    There''s also one thing that he noticed, it seems that a part of bio-armor was removed somewhere around the figure''s head.


    "Are they trying to see if there''s a person inside it?" Wace pondered. Honestly, he was also curious and wanted to see the body. But at the very least, he was d that the bio-armor was tough as the Z-Company seems to be troubled on removing the armor. He doesn''t want some high-level magician to study that body.


    Two decades had passed and they weren''t even capable of removing a part where a person''s skin, or probably bone, would show. The removed part was still too shallow, which he found weird. The strength of high-level magicians here could not be taken lightly. The spaceship''s Hadron beam might even be blocked by Grade A defensive Mana Artifact wielded by an Adept Mage. The bio-armor, although very tough, it wasn''t to the point where it could defend against a Hadron Beam.


    It means that something is protecting the figure that was why they can''t move it elsewhere and take apart the armor. Wace would investigate thister once he had found a safe ce for himself and the spaceship. After all, this spaceship was his only way out of this for his future exploration unless there is another spaceship he could use. Its importance is higher than his bio armor outside.


    Of course, Wace would like to take it with him in his ship but unfortunately, there were four high-level magicians suspected to be an Adept closely guarding their position outside.


    He can''t just go out there, open the hatch of his spaceship, pick up the bio-armor, and return to the spaceship unscathed. The four would stop him at all costs.


    There was also this other person he had to keep in check, the magician whom he''d encountered and even had to use his Fervor Timepiece to surprise him and have a chance for his escape. He was not included on the four but Wace felt that the guy was sitting on top of the dome itself overlooking the whole area.


    "Haaa~"


    Wace sighed at this. He was trying to find his escape route but the spaceship exhausted its Aether, with 3% remaining it wouldn''t be enough for his escape and due to the system''s policy, the ship wouldn''t fly if Aether was less than 5%.


    "The Aether should still be more than 50% before I went outside and died, so something consumed it. Aether is a type of energy that wouldn''t just disappear. Without GH Drive to utilize the Aether, no other engine should be capable of using the Aether. This is weird, I have a lot of questions but no one could answer me... Hah! Perhaps..." Wace was thinking too much and forgot that he could still ask Avalon. He took a deep breath and started with a question that he had been curious about for a long time.


    "What''s the purpose of your existence?"


    [ The Spaceship X23A6 A Corvette-ss based on Horun Empire''s standard was made to harness the Sacred Relic. ]


    "Hmm... What''s this Sacred Relic?" Wace asked again but he already had an idea about the answer.


    The image of a luminous cube appeared on the widescreen.


    ''Just like what I thought... The Pathfinder calls it Cube of Paradox and the A.I. calls it Sacred Relic''


    "Avalon, are you aware of the capabilities of this relic?"


    [ Not fully aware but there are 18 of them listed from the discoveries made by several specialists. The limitation of the Relic hasn''t fully explored yet. ]


    ''I see, so the information probably came from my mother''s research group. Heh, too bad they were not even aware of the real name of the relic. The A.I.''s information regarding the cube was definitely from the researcher''s hard work.''


    "Ok then, tell me what''s Over-Trace Protection?"


    [ It is a portion of energy that came from the Sacred Relic that was being used to protect the ship from any infiltration or damage ]


    "Oh? Does it also protect the bio-armor outside?"


    [ Yes, but it was not controlled by this Artificial Intelligence. ]


    ''Great... So it was probably the Cube who controlled it to protect that body.''


    Wace asked a bit more but there''s no information about the cube''s rtion on this at all, at least he learned that the Cube had consumed the remaining Aether of this ship. He asked for its details but couldn''t process it on his head right now, he could only set aside his curiosity until he escaped here.


    His Amplified Assault Armor had long since been removed and he was only on his casual clothes so he took them out again and wore the armor that was nowpressed to fit in his suitcase. He opened his palm and touched the armor. After waiting for 3 seconds, the armor recognized his identity and shuddered slightly before spreading to Wace''s body starting from his right hand that touched the armor.


    Wace calmly waited for the armor to fully cover himself. He then picked up his other equipment especially a pocket watch amongst them.


    He held it in his right hand as he readied to go outside. He was confident at the moment since he learned about what could 19% of Over-Trace do for them.


    As he was about to move out. An explosion was heard and an earthquake shook the whole ce.


    ***


    "Ho~ Intruders? You have some guts." Chalice was standing in front of the two members of the Lucent Force. Of course, they''ve hidden their faces to avoid being recognized.


    Chalice was about to engage in battle with the two intruders but an explosion on the east side of the dome was heard. The dome trembled for a bit before a part of it rumbled and got destroyed.


    "Diversion? Hmph!" Chalice left four Adepts inside the dome. He was confident that they would at least be capable of defending the ce until he finished off these two magicians.


    "Haaah!" A shout was hearding from Owl when he noticed that Chalice was just looking at the east. A burst of blue fire came from his palm as it slithered through Chalice''s defense.


    Eagle didn''t stay idle as he took out his sword and shed it into Chalice''s body.


    Thebination of the attack would normally weaken the defense of the magician but Chalice wasn''t normal. His Mana Shell''s structure was something different. After the two attacksnded, Chalice released his Mana Pressure. Owl jumps back to try to avoid the pressure but it was futile.


    "Tsk. So it was really like this. Just dy him as much as we can." Owl noticed that their attack was incapable of even scratching their opponent''s defense so he quickly decided to distance themselves and dy the fight as much as possible.


    "Understood."


    On the east side of the dome, the three members of Lucent Force assigned to cause diversion was trying to escape the pursuit of multiple Battle Mage-level guards. But they were prepared for this as before they used a mana artifact to destroy the part of the dome, they already created an escape route for their survival.


    "Should we send one?" One of the four Adepts guarding the spaceship said.


    "Chalice told us to stay and guard this ce no matter what." Another one with an old man''s voice said as he closed his eyes and felt the surroundings.


    "Chalice said that he was sure that the armored being was inside this ancient technology. If that escaped here, it would be Chalice himself that would deal with us." The third Adept said as she calmly assessed the situation.


    "That''s right. Anyway, he was only facing two Adept Mage at the intermediate level." The same old man''s voice was heard again as he felt the Mana fluctuation outside.


    As the four were guarding the area where the spaceshipnded, one sneaky figure was observing and listening to their conversation.

 Chapter 101 - Chaos ( Part 2)

    Yumi had been observing the ce as she tried to find some traces of Waceing here but couldn''t find any, aside from few Mana traces they found outside the dome.


    Despite that, her intuition told him that he was somewhere here, hiding, and waiting for a chance to escape. She noticed an aircraft at the center of this ce being guarded by four Adepts but they didn''t seem to have a n on leaving the ce to deal with the diversion, not even one.


    "Is that what he was looking for in here? Tsk! This is taking too much time. At this rate, Owl and Eagle may notst long enough." Yumi grumbled a bit but still tried to remain calm in this situation. She looked somewhere else to make sure she didn''t miss any ce or facility within the dome and this aircraft in the middle was the only ce left.


    ***


    Wace had already used his Divine Sense as he probed the situation outside. He noticed a familiar young girl sneaking around as she observed the four Adepts.


    "Eh? She has the same Mana fluctuation with Yumi." Wace paused for a bit as he realized what happened in the past days.


    "A puppet? Or is that one of her magic abilities?" Wace pondered for a moment but immediately shook his head. Puppetry was elementary magic where a magician had to use his talent in control or maniption of Mana to move inanimate objects. Of course, this would result in him detecting the same Mana fluctuation of the caster but this case was different. There''s no trace of someone controlling the young girl.


    If that is really magic, then his years of learning in the Academy would all seemed like a lie. Based on what he was taught by his teachers, instructors, and books, magic was only ''made'' because of how the engineers created a mana artifact where Mana Practitioners would be capable of using it as a medium to convert Mana into different elements. That was the first time the Mana Practitioners were called ''Magicians''.


    Although it had already improved due to the persistent effort of several magic engineers, it doesn''t deviate from the fact that there should be no magic capable of changing a human body''s structure at this level, unless it was the rumored Lost Magic Technology.


    He had never thought that Hani was also Yumi due to their contradiction. It seems that the merging with the Cube had affected his current Divine Sense as he had sessfully bypassed her unknown concealment technique capable of nullifying his previous Divine Sense. He couldn''t be wrong about the feedbacking from his Divine Sense so he could only ept the fact.


    "To think that there''s magic like this in her arsenal. Very impressive, this is definitely useful for me. I hope that I could learn it as well or I should ask her to teach that to me someday." Wace shook his head as his thoughts wandered away from his priorities.


    He took a deep breath as he tried to ascertain Yumi''s purpose.


    "Are they trying to find me here? It seems that they traced me up to this ce. Her skills were really amazing. But what should I do with the ship? There''s still a long time before the Pathfinderpleted the merge and could help me." Wace pondered as he nced at the remaining weapons within the spaceship.


    There''s a single Mech Frame, Enhanced Rifle Guns, Bio-Armours, Laser des, and several types of bombs. He was also currently equipped with his Amplified Assault Armor, Silver Orb, and Fervor Timepiece.


    Wace was staring at the container where the small bombs were ced. It was safely ced underneath the container where the bio-armors were ced.


    "I have four types of bomb here with 20 pieces each."


    He was nning to assist Yumi as Wace couldn''t just leave her alone. He quickly decided on what to do as he noticed that the twopanions of Yumi fighting with Chalice was barely holding on.


    He took four bombs out of the container before he readied himself in opening the hatch of the spaceship.


    He closed his eyes as he observed the events urring outside using his Divine Sense. He was waiting for an opportunity before he can take action.


    "Avalon, open it up! Quickly close it once I sent you the signal."


    ***


    Yumi''s patience bore fruit as the two Adept Mage guarding the ce started to approach the opened portion of the dome.


    They have prepared several ns for this operation and it seems that her team outside decided to use one of them due to the urgency of the situation.


    ''They''ve called for aerial bombardment. This should give us more opportunity.'' Yumi said in her mind as she felt the tremoring from the aerial attacks of the Lucent Force.


    They came from the team that was standing by outside the ind. Yumi''s team of six not only left them outside to be used as one of their escape route in case things go south but also for this type of situation to help as reinforcements.


    "Wace''s Float Drive System can really be handy at this time." Yumi praised Wace''s creation that made the current aerial bombardment possible. The utilization of these types of assistive Mana artifacts can only be fully shown in the hands of experts like the Lucent Force.


    As soon as the two Adepts reached the edge of the dome, Yumi started to take action.


    "I can''t be wrong, Wace was definitely in that aircraft."


    Yumi concluded as she got even closer to the center.


    She immediately prepared for battle because once she reached a certain distance from the remaining two Adepts, she''ll definitely be noticed so it was better to sneak attack and quickly immobilize at least one of them.


    The young girl took out a small dagger in ck color from it handles up to its de.


    As soon as she utilized her Mana to propel herself to the nearest Adept wearing a blue robe, she was quickly noticed by the two and they subconsciously activated their defense. The farthest Adept in purple robe even released a quick counterspell in an attempt to distract Yumi.


    Unfortunately, Yumi was extremely focused on taking down the Adept and did not react on the quick spell cast by the other Adept Mage. She just quickly approached her target and as soon as she was two meters away, she threw the ck dagger in full force.


    "Haaa!" Yumi shouted as the dagger was engulfed with ck mes and pierced through the Mana Shell of the blue-robed Adept.


    ng!


    A sound of metal was heard as the dagger collided with another metal defense. The blue-robed Adept soon revealed his armored body.


    "Hey, little girl. That''s pretty dangerous."


    At the same time, the small Mana Force thrown by the other Adept reached Yumi. Thetter only waved her hand before it dissipated.


    "Hey, old man. I''m not done yet."


    Yumi was actually disappointed about the failed surprise attack due to his enemy''s armor but she still smirked as the two Adept started to position themselves for a counter-attack.


    "Raul, I''ll handle the girl. This can be just another distraction, just stay on your guard. Don''t let anyone approach that." The blue-robed said as he was also quite curious how this girl got this close without their knowledge. ''It would be a problem if there''s more of them hiding.''


    "I understand, but I''ll still send support magic, so quickly finish it." Raul said unhurriedly, he was confident about hispanion''s skills so he wasn''t worried that Yumi could do any more damage now that both of them can see her.


    The two Adept fought Yumi but the young girl seems to be too difficult to catch as they can''tnd an attack on her. Soon they noticed something wrong.


    "Crap! Don''t let her use her magic anymore, the ss will be destroyed!" Raul shouted but it was toote.


    Yumi grinned at this as she sent her full force to destroy the spherical ss containing the aircraft.


    But she had never thought that it would create such an unexpected incident. As soon as the ss shattered, a monstrous aura came out and spread even outside of the ind.


    The Lucent Force bombarding from the sky fell. Chalice kneeled on the ground, dizzy, and unable to move. Owl and Eagle that was thrown away by Chalice were still a bit better due to their maximized defense, they were actually waiting for an attack from Chalice but it was shattered the moment that mysterious aura was released. Luckily, they had good timing on their release of magic defense. The guards near the dome with low-level magic achievement stationed hadpletely passed out.


    ***


    At the edge of the ind where an amphibious assault ship was docked, a simr event urred. Everyone inside had also felt the pressureing from the center of the ind and some ordinary humans passed out due to the pressure.


    "T-that can''t be... this aura..." Mark Halevey, who was resting inside his cabin stuttered on his words as he realized the source of aura he had felt. It was the same horrific aura when he consumed the Cryptic Link Serum.

 Chapter 102 - Chaos ( Part 3 )

    Wace had been observing the battle outside using his Divine Sense and as soon as the spherical ss covering the area of his spaceship was shattered, an aura that was being suppressed for a long time spread out of the whole ind even affecting the docked enemy''s ship.


    Wace could only guess at the origin of the aura. He immediately noticed that the two Adepts fighting Yumi had been prepared and used a special Mana Artifact to barely defend themselves.


    The other two Adepts who went outside to deal with aerial bombardment had returned as well upon noticing the situation, they had luckily witnessed the scene where Yumi sent an attack to the ss so they made it in time in activating their defense, unlike Chalice who had no idea what was about toe so he was lightly injured.


    "W-what have you done?!" Raul shouted at Yumi who had lost her consciousness due to the heavy pressure of the aura.


    "Capture her! Make sure she wouldn''t have a chance to suicide!" One of the two Adepts who was about to approach them instructed.


    The blue-robed Adept was about to step in and grab Yumi who was lying down on the ground but suddenly heard a mechanical sound and wind puffing out from the aircraft.


    "No way..."


    The four of them were definitely surprised. They had spent decades studying the aircraft and even tried to destroy it as they were unable to open this huge aircraft. They couldn''t even damage the aircraft as if it was coated by some kind of energy they had never seen before.


    That energy had been protecting it for these years thus, they were not able to move the aircraft. They had tried it on the human figure on the ground but that even took them several years just to get a small chunk of weird material to make the Cryptic Link Serum after diluting it. Luckily, the energy protecting the human figure had a thinneryer of foreign energy, so they had made progress on this.


    They had been expecting that within 5 more years, the magicians who had consumed this serum would have an easier time destroying the protective energy. Unfortunately, it seems that all their n had been messed up. They had been peacefully studying this thing for over two decades that they had beencent on their defenses and this ambush had been allowed to happen under their leadership.


    They stopped what they were doing and felt quite nervous about what was about to happen. Is there a foreign being living inside the ship or Chalice''s instinct was right? Was the man Chalice fought a few days ago had somehow entered the spaceship without their knowledge?


    Everyone stood on their ground holding their breath waiting for what was about to happen. They made sure their defense was at its peak and even maximized their senses so as not to miss any movement from the aircraft.


    Soon, they saw a humanoid being that resembles Chalice''s description.


    They didn''t speak or even asked questions that were bugging their mind. They wanted to know if this person is hostile to them. Who knows? That foreign being might think favorably with them after taking care of his aircraft for years.


    ''If that was the same person Chalice fought with, how did that enter the ship without notice?''


    ''I can''t feel any Mana Fluctuation. Is it the same as the aircraft?''


    If that were the case, it would be a problem. The magic engineers stationed here hadn''t created an artifact capable of sensing the unusual energy yet. The humanoid being was blocking their scan like how they were unable to prate the defenses of the aircraft.


    The four Adepts looked at each other as confirming their next step. They wanted to get close to this being, wait for him to loosen his guard, capture him, tie him up, and answer all their questions.


    The blue-robed Adept who was closest to the foreign being gathered his courage and tried tomunicate as smoothly as he can.


    "I''m Rashid Al-bandar. We are officials from the Geneva Pce of Montego. How may I address you?"


    They had waited for a bit but the being did not answer and only walked out of the same ship. The hatch hadn''t close yet so they tried peaking using the best of their ability but to no avail. The ce was extremely ck as if space itself was inside the aircraft.


    "To think that we can''t even see the things inside even if it was opened in front of us. Just what in the hell are we dealing with?"


    "Stay calm, he doesn''t seem to be hostile yet."


    "That''s right, based on Chalice''s description of the event, he had attacked this being first. So maybe, this foreign being was only defending himself and was a peaceful being who hates fighting."


    "Dream on."


    The two Adept farthest to the site had been silently conversing as they prepared to take action any moment that the being decided to sh with them.


    Rashid was a bit annoyed after being ignored by the humanoid foreign being. He could only try again but if this still fails, he would take an action and have this alien down on the ground. He was a proud Adept and wherever he goes, he was being highly respected and regarded even by nobles in the society of Magicians.


    "We would like to invite you to the pce on behalf of our King. We have been taking care of this relic for over two decades now. I hope you can consider this." Rashid doesn''t know how to address this alien so he was being careful not to immediately invite any hostility when he spoke.


    After not hearing a response, he consulted again with other Adepts as they readied themselves to forcefully apprehend the foreign entity.


    "I gave you a chance but you continue to ignore me." Rashid muttered and quickly threw his prepared attacks to Wace and jump away to gain more distance. Wace''s armor doesn''t seem to have a long-ranged weapon so they expected him to fight in close range. It was also to their advantage if the fight was like that as they were experts in sustained emission of Mana Spells from their Mana Artifact. Aside from him, the other three Adepts also attacked Wace.


    But something unexpected happened. The spell dissipated even without visible defense was used.


    "Is it the same energy used by the aircraft?"


    "No, the dissipation has simrity with the Magic Jammer. But it happened so fast. Hmm... I''m not too sure."


    "Hmph! Just continue your attacks until his jammer couldn''t nullify it anymore."


    Of course, Wace didn''t remain standing there and attacked on his own.


    They only saw that the foreign entity threw a small object at Rashid. It happened very fast as Wace''s physical strength was enhanced by the Armor.


    Rashid didn''t dare to catch the mysterious object nor tried manipting his Mana Shell to defend against it. He could only dodge as he had a bad feeling about it.


    As soon as the small object reached Rashid''s position, the object curiously remained floating and started to suck in surrounding air and dust. It seems a vacuum has appeared five meters in the radius of the object. Shortly afterward, when its vacuum mode reaches the critical stage, a void explosion urred destroying anything within its range. A clear spherical hallow appeared on the ground and blood was sttered on it.


    "Rashid!"


    Unfortunately, Rashid''s left arm was sucked during vacuum mode and he had been unable to do anything but wait for the implosion. The cut was so clean as if it was done by the sharpest de.


    "That''s definitely a foreign type of bomb. It has simrity with a Vacuum Decapitator, a high-rank Wind Magic Spell."


    "Tsk! That''s right. But it doesn''t have any Mana at all. It seems to be an advanced technology to me than Magic. Look at that, the guy seems to possess more of those."


    Raul pointed at the hand of Wace who was holding three more simr-looking objects.


    "B-be careful... Once you were caught by the vacuum, you won''t be able to extract yourself from it." Rashid said after applying pressure to his left arm to stop the bleeding. His face was a bit pale due to his pain and blood loss.


    Wace threw two more of those objects which made them extremely attentive to the surroundings but they seem to have different effects.


    The first one created a zing sphere of blue fire making them jump back and creating more space between Wace and the four. The second seems to attack all four of them with an explosion of shrapnel.


    Baaam!!


    It seems to be a normal grenade from their military forces but its power was multiplied by about five times and the shrapnels seem to be even more dangerous.


    They easily fended it off but they noticed that the alien had covered for the little girl and took her in his arms and was about to be brought inside the spaceship.


    "Crap! Stop him!"


    They had widened their distance due to their precaution and previous attacks. Now, it proved to be an incorrect decision.

 Chapter 103 - Chaos ( Part 4 )

    Wace ran as fast as he could and was about to take Yumi inside the spaceship but he suddenly felt an impending danger. He immediately ceased his step and an attack from above blocked his path.


    Just a little three meters were left. One leap was more than enough to reach his spaceship but the attack came so fast that he had to jump back instead to avoid crashing on those things that blocked his path. The attacks weren''t from Magic Spells but came from tenrge and sharp des that came from above.


    His Magic Jammer would be useless against these physical objects. Wace looked above and sure enough, he met a familiar person looking down on him again.


    "Good thing that I arrived on time. I won''t let you escape this time."


    The voiceing from above was having a good feeling after being sessful in stopping the armored Wace from stepping inside the ck spaceship again. The four Adepts were even more d at this.


    Wace just understood why could someone just suddenly follow his movements and even used several sharp des to block his path. The man seems to have prepared for this event and learned how to act.


    ''Tsk, you deserve to be the head of this ce.'' Wace thought and felt disappointed at this man''s fast reaction. He no longer bothered at the two Lucent Force he was dealing with and came here as soon as he came out of the spaceship.


    Although Chalice doesn''t look to be in his peak condition, his face revealed his excitement and confidence upon seeing Wace.


    "I know you have something that could block Mana Spells. I prepared this just for you."


    Chalice chuckled upon seeing Wace stunned at his appearance. Though he couldn''t see his face, he believed that Wace was panicking and now within his grasp. He was floating just above Wace and holding a short sword that was leaking a red aura as if this sword was soaked in boilingva. That''s a high-level Mana Artifact but Wace had to know his priorities.


    He nced at the ten sharp des in front of him and used his Divine Sense to immediately scan them.


    ''So that''s why it felt so dangerous. Those des and handles contain a well-hidden maism, rust solutions... it was even coated by special thermites and some highly enhanced auxiliary Mana Spells. It can erode this armor once gotten closer. Well, they''ve been trying to erode that bio-armor, so they were prepared in their materials.'' Wace took note of the characteristics of the des.


    ''Hmph... If you want to sabotage my current armor and stop me, you have to do better than that.''


    Wace did not hesitate to put his attention on his Fervor Timepiece but as he about topletely send his Mana to activate the timepiece he noticed that Yumi was groaning and was about to wake up, he was reminded and a bit worried if her body would be affected after he activated his Physical Burst and run through the entrance.


    ''Tsk, she should be fine. After all, she''s still an Adept.'' Wace finally thought and decided to go all out.


    But he was interrupted again by a heavy pressure that came down to his body. Even if he was prepared at this kind of Mana Pressure he really couldn''t do much about it. After all, there''s still a limitation on what his Magic Jammer could bear.


    Wace realized that it felt different from before where he knelt for the first time upon experiencing this with Chalice''s power. It seems to be bearable at the moment but it is maybe due to Chalice being injured as well.


    "What do you want?"


    Wace asked to buy some time and to also gather information.


    "Where do did youe from? What''s this aircraft? Are you from the northern continent?"


    Chalice asked as he descended in front of the spaceship and blocked Wace. The four Adepts positioned themselves in a way where they could easily act but not to be in the way of Chalice''s attack range.


    "Heh. Why would you like to know?" Wace asked teasing Chalice.


    "Just answer my question." Chalice replied as he tried not to be impatient.


    "Well, it''s a long story. Would you like to listen?"


    "Hmph... I''ll just capture you and we''ll have a longer time chat." He was done talking with Wace as he released his domain magic.


    But Wace seems to be prepared as he threw his remaining bomb at the ten sharp des blocking his way. The bomb had a different effect where instead of a destructive forceing out of the explosion. There''s only a loud sound that came out with it and a powerful force of wind came from its center. The des were thrown away but not enough to throw the four Adepts especially Chalice who had an abnormal Mana Shell.


    "Urgh..."


    ***


    Probably due to the disturbance, Yumi on his arms woke up. She immediately tried to understand the current situation and noticed her current predicament.


    She''s being carried by an armored being that seems to be going in the direction of the opened spaceship. Arge explosion of wind seems to have urred as dust, dirt, and shattered sses flew away from the center of the dome leaving them at the sides. She, of course, noticed Chalice blocking the armored being''s path to the spaceship.


    As she understood the situation, she immediately used a secretmunication method where a low-frequency sound came from one of her Mana Artifacts. This sent an order to the members of Lucent Force outside the dome.


    All of her actions didn''t remain unnoticed in front of Wace who had maximized his Divine Sense.


    ***


    "Is that your final struggle?" Chalice''s deep voice caught Wace''s attention.


    But as soon as Wace heard those words and confirmed the path was cleared except for Chalice, he utilized again his Fervor Timepiece. The world seems to slow down as some dust and sand floating in the air remained unmoving.


    He then felt his body being unrestricted and full of strength. This was the Physical Burst that came together with the activation of the Fervor Timepiece.


    He used this strength to carry Yumi and bring themselves inside the cover of the spaceship. He was tempted to give a jab on Chalice''s Mana Shell and deal a bit of damage to see his improvement but there are only ten seconds in every single usage of his timepiece. He couldn''t waste his time on that, especially if he wasn''t sure if he could even deal damage on Chalice.


    He still remembered the first time he used the Fervor Timepiece just to deal with an injury on his opponent''s thigh. In truth, it had only been possible after using two out of his five chances in his timepiece to barely destroy a part of Chalice''s Mana Shell and stab it on the man''s thigh then used the remaining second to jump away from the scene.


    Of course, Wace didn''t forget to grab his previous body wearing the bio armor near Chalice. He was hoping for something unexpected once the body within was revealed.


    ''Well, it should be skeleton by now if everything follows the standard way of life.'' Wace said in his mind as he couldn''t understand the expectation he was feeling right now.


    Seconds had passed as Wace sessfully brought Yumi within his spaceship. He bypassed Chalice and quickly ordered the A.I. to close the spaceship. The spaceship still has more than enough Aether Force that they could use to defend the ce so he was quite confident.


    Anyway, he was expecting more changes or rewards once the Pathfinder and the Cube hadpleted their merge.


    As soon as the effect of Fervor Timepiece went off, only the sound of a closing spaceship was heard.


    "W-what? Again?!" Chalice was surprised but he quickly reacted. He attempted to stop the hatch from being closed using his full mana force but he was forced back and was even thrown away after losing some of his strength. The strange energy was leaking again that weakens the people or magicians close to this technology.


    The spherical ss was able to contain it before but now that it was shattered, the energy was freely leaking within the whole area.


    He was very disappointed that even with all his preparation to trap the armored being, it was still deemed useless. He had already felt this before when Wace had first escaped within his grasp outside the dome. Even though he felt that he''s more powerful than his opponent, it seems that thetter had some tricks to just suddenly vanish or escape his vision and senses. Now that a simr event urred, he couldn''t help but mock himself for being too sure of himself.


    If he had probably coordinated his ns with the four Adepts, he might have a better chance of capturing Wace but it''s toote for regret now. He could only sigh and move forward.

 Chapter 104 - The Completion ( Part 1 )

    Chalice could no longer manage this ind alone. An extremely organized ambush within their base could not being from everyday pirates in the sea who just know how to find some treasures and rob people in the sea. After he fought with two powerful magicians, he realized that they were holding back to avoid revealing their true identities. Aside from that, he hadn''t discovered any nearby vessel where they could havee from.


    ''Did they swim here?'' Chalice absurdly thought but didn''t entertain them since it shouldn''t be possible to reach here through swimming with all their arrays and formation ced. For now, he had to further increase the defenses of this ind especially now that their infrastructures were damaged due to the bombardments of the enemy. Some guards or magicians were even severely injured due to the chaos that has urred outside.


    "Take him to the infirmary." He said after ncing at Rashid''s arm. He realized that the man would probably be one of the weakest Adept Magicians from now on. Missing an arm would affect their mana control and they had to practice for a long time to get used to it.


    Even with the help of Adepts he still failed to protect the ce. He realized that it would be better to have a deal with the other faction.


    Now that the being has retreated within his turtle shell, he might as well let the higher council decide on what''s the next n.


    He then instructed the three remaining Adepts to go outside, deal with the remaining intruders and handle the aftermath.


    "Also, tell those guys in the ship to lend us manpower here." He coldly said as he remembered the members of the other faction loitering at the dock.


    He noticed that the little girl sent a signal that reached outside a while ago but ignored it due to the situation. Now that he calmed down, he noticed that the intruders were trying to escape.


    "So it was an order to retreat?"


    As he calcted the distance, there was no way they could reach them. They seem to have heavily prepared for their escape route.


    ''Anyway, I won''t be able to know much with those low-level magicians. They should be able to handle it. As long as we know a bit about their background, it should be enough.''


    He hated it when he wasn''t aware of his opponent''s identity. But due to his weakened state at the moment, he had to let his people handle some important matters.


    He let the Adepts do the chase and he guarded the spaceship.


    ''Why did he take that little girl? Who are these people intruding anyway?''


    Now that he had time to analyze the whole situation, he felt that there were too many coincidences that have urred.


    ''Looking at it, I can assume that they were all somehow rted. Only when this armored being appeared here that all this bad lucks appeared, a little girl with a unique physique, two powerful adepts hiding their strengths, and those abnormal bombardmentsing from flying magicians. Are they here to retrieve this spaceship we''ve been protecting for decades?''


    Chalice was, in fact, aware within his heart that the armored being is rted to this aircraft but something was telling him not to give up on this treasure. He couldn''t ept that someone will just take this technology out of his reach.


    Now that it is still within his grasp he won''t let other people take it from him.


    ***


    Wace wasn''t thinking much when he saved Yumi outside. He just can''t let her die outside and he''ll be needing her assistance at some point since she''s a high ranking official of NMTI.


    But Wace doesn''t have any ns to reveal his identity yet. There were still about 20 hours remaining for the merge, he had to at least wait for his Pathfinder. He still hadn''t received his reward anyway.


    Yumi, on the other hand, was also quite nervous. She wasn''t sure who this armored being is, she only felt a familiar aura from him. Also, this person saved her from the enemies a while ago so she felt safe around him but not to the point where she''ll let her guard off.


    Wace noticed she was silent and not moving. He put her down and as he was about to ask questions, Yumi beat him to it.


    "Thank you for saving me there. May I know how to address you?"


    ''Should I introduce myself for real?'' Wace thought but immediately denied the idea.


    ''No... it would be better if I can gain her trust even without revealing that I''m Wace she was looking for.''


    So instead of answering her question, he decided to ask in return.


    "Why are you people here?"


    "Eh? We''re just looking for someone and it leads us to this ce." Yumi answered but deep in her mind, she was extremely excited with the discovery of this technologically advanced aircraft.


    She couldn''t contain her internal magic engineer traits as it was showing up in her eyes. But due to her current situation and being in front of an unknown person, she had topose herself and focus on this armored man for now.


    It has been a dangerous mission. Especially with the problem in their intelligence report that kept changing. At first, what they received was a piece of information that the five magicians that left the amphibious assault ship only consisted of 4 magicians and a single Adept. Butter on, the 4 magicians they ignored turned out to be 4 Adepts that were tasked to guard the main treasure here within the dome. The single Adept''s presence that they identified and thought to be the leader before was actually a new Adept that came from a different branch of Zpany and even went back to the ship docked on the shore.


    "Are you telling me that the magicians stationed here aren''t your enemies?" Wace wanted to know their stance against these magicians stationed on the ce.


    "We don''t intend to fight against the organization stationed here. It''s just that the person we are looking for is extremely important. We aren''t really native to this country so we had to be extremely careful"


    "Alright."


    "Are you aware where did he go? Oh, wait..." Yumi remembered something and took out a photo of the person they are looking for. It was the face of Wace and not Nortrom which he used as a disguise.


    Wace wouldn''t know how to exin himself and this spaceship if he revealed his identity now.


    He only nodded as an answer. Soon enough, Yumi lost her consciousness again and almost dropped to the ground.


    "Whew~ That took a while to take effect."


    ***


    Wace had already prepared beforehand on how to handle Yumi. He had to avoid revealing everything about him so he could only try to do so until he had the ability to protect himself even if they learned that he possesses otherwordly knowledge, technology, and mystical items.


    He had already ced Yumi in a makeshift bed near the Mech Frame''s container.


    "Five more hours." Wace said upon noticing the timer of the merging.


    During the time spent, he had contemted the words that Chalice had said. It was about him being from the mysterious northern continent.


    His research about that ce was extremely limited and was only heard through words of other people. It really couldn''t be trusted.


    The textbook that mentions the northern continent only vaguely described how there were strong mutated magicians and magical beasts located there but full of natural treasures.


    It was like a story that would be told to children in a nighttime story.


    "Why did he asked if I''m from the northern continent? Was my armor looked like something that exists in that ce as well? Or maybe they have seen simr spacecraft on that ce? Haha... That''s impossible."


    Wace went silent at this point. If that was true, then it would be difficult to contain his desire and explore that ce soon.


    If there were predecessors from the non-magic world that has descended in this ce, it may lead him to find something new. After all, even his Avalon could not discover the star system where this was located at. Maybe he could find a chance with the help of other''s knowledge.


    All of this was only in his thought since he was still unaware of what his Pathfinder and Cube would give him as a rewardter.


    A few more hours had passed and Wace received notification within his mind.


    ***


    "Do you think she''s truly safe at that ce?"


    Eagle asked after they have settled in a town located at the maind of the country. Almost a day had passed when they were instructed by Yumi to immediately retreat on their base.


    "She''s trickier than us. I know that she has ns and we should just trust her." Owl answered as he prepared to leave the headquarters of their Lucent Force and back to his other identity in this ce as a disguise. "Remember what she told us in herst message." He added in which Eagle nodded in response.


    "Retreat. Leave me here. I''ve found treasure." Thetter imitated Yumi''s voice on the message she left.


    "That''s right, what kind of treasure did you think she found there?"


    "Who knows, as long as Ipleted that dangerous mission I''m already satisfied."

 Chapter 105 - The Completion ( Part 2 )

    [ Congrattions User! You have retrieved the Cube of Paradox. ]


    [ You can now utilize the power of the Cube within your body. ]


    [ You have received further enhancements in your Mana Affinity. ]


    [ Your Mana Affinity could no longer be increased. ]


    [ The Fervor Timepiece still has remaining usage left. You have acquired this Mission Item. ]


    [ Fervor Timepiece''s function will now be fully revealed. ]


    [ Fervor Timepiece


    A pocketwatch containing mysterious energy.


    Effects: Protects users from the magic that affects the human mind.


    Skills:


    Brain Burst - Allows the user to elerate brainwaves for 15 seconds.


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Physical Burst - Allows the user to elerate physical activity for 15 seconds.


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Dual Burst - Allows the user to elerate both brainwaves and physical activity at the same time for 10 seconds.


    Cooldown: 48 hours ]


    [ Due to the manner that the mission waspleted, the user still has 2 usages left for Dual Burst which can be used without affecting the cooldown. ]


    Wace was bombarded by notifications as soon as thepletion of his mission was determined. He felt some changes on his body as an abundant amount of power was leaking out of his body before it stabilized and making an extremely sturdy Mana Shell-like structure around him before vanishing.


    "W-wow... That''s definitely on par or even sturdier than that man''s Mana Shell."


    Wace was surprised and excited upon realizing those minute changes that have urred.


    As he read through the notifications, he first felt a bit disappointed about his Mana Affinity that could no longer be increased.


    But he immediately changed his mind as he remembered what it does. The affinity in Mana isn''t everything in this world of Magic, it only means that he reached his limit in terms of how his body could attract Mana for his own usage. Regarding how he utilized this Mana was still different, with the A.I.''s data about all the advanced technology, together with his magic knowledge and the Cube''s assistance, he will definitely achieve far more than what others could.


    Since the path he had chosen wasn''t in the option that the Pathfinder provided and created his own path, he had to work hard for it.


    "Now, what does it mean that I can now utilize the power of the Cube?"


    As soon as he thought of utilizing the power he was again prompted by another notification.


    [ Cube of Paradox Guide ]


    [ As a chosen individual, even if you do not possess any Ancient Mayan Royal blood in your body, the Pathfinder recognizes your identity as someone who can bring glory to the Royal n and determined that you can be granted Knight-Level ess on the Cube''s power. ]


    [ Knight-Level ess:


    - Allows the user to utilize one stored ability of the Cube based on the Path the user had chosen.


    - Allows the user to use 5 cubic meters of spatial space of the Cube for storing inanimate objects.


    - Allows the user to have more options on the rewards in future missions.


    - Removes protection granted by the Cube of Paradox. The Cube will no longer interfere with the user''s fate. ( Effective Now)


    - 1 Life Guarantee ( Used up ) ]


    "Eh? What do you mean by this?" Wace had several questions in his head but another notification was sent to him.


    [ Due to the restriction of your granted ess, you can only choose one ability from the selection. All of the options came from a predecessor of your chosen path. You have to increase your level of ess to gain more authority.


    Reminder: The options that will show were all based on the path you had chosen. There will be a chance that you can acquire all of them in the future. Please, work hard. ]


    [ Select one of the options below.


    1. Void Phase - Beginner


    2. Matter Disassembly - Beginner


    3. Essence Reconstruction - Beginner


    4. Astral Core Formtion - Beginner


    5. Chasm Trample - Beginner ]


    Wace forgot the questions in his mind as the options for the ability caught his attention. It was something he was looking forward to ever since he selected the path he chose. It seems that all the rewards he had been receiving so far were only for the sake of building up his foundation.


    Now, it seems like the game is on for his struggle to reach the apex.


    He then tried to see the descriptions of each skill. It seems that the system was kinder now that it waspleted. Although he wasn''t being pressured by the time limit before, it would still be best if he could spend his time checking the list.


    ***


    Mark had visited the ce where the spaceship was located. He wanted to make sure about the feeling he had felt before. Now that the ce had calmed and being reconstructed, he realized that the same aura of the Cryptic Link Serum seems to have reallye from the aircraft.


    "Is this where we are getting resources for the serum? But this ce seems to be alreadypromised. Why can''t we just change location instead of fortifying this isted ce? We should have a lot more secure facilities than this ce."


    As he frowned and contemted a bit, he felt an acute pain starting from the abdomen and slowly spreading throughout his body.


    He was very familiar with this feeling so he immediately took out a bottle from his pocket and uncapped it. He took out 1 ck pill and consumed it without any hesitation. A few seconds passed and the pain dissipated but it can be seen that beads of sweat were trailing on his forehead.


    He decided to go back in his ship as he let the members of their Shaman''s Hex Faction help these people of Ember''s Fist in guarding the area.


    They sent a dozen of Battle Mages and two more Adepts in the ce to protect all corners of the ind to avoid any more ambushes.


    A lot of guards and Battle Mages were injured on thetter''s faction so they ''kindly'' provided them further help while the Ember''s Fist leaders are still finding a way to replenish their manpower. This will make the leaders of the Ember''s Fist Faction owe their Shaman''s Hex faction and the leaders can use this as their leverage in the future.


    He took onest nce at the metallic aircraft that was pulsating an iprehensible aura before leaving the area.


    ***


    The center of operation of the Lucent Force in this ind country was a town located near the 2nd most prosperous city of this country, Bluefields City. Although they have a level of thework within the capital of Montego, the security was too tight to be used as a ce for their headquarters. The Royal family doesn''t want to have any suspicious organization lurking near their Pce and so, the ce was constantly being purged by Royal Knights for any wrongdoings.


    Aside from the King being suspected to be tied with the Z-Company, the royal family was also rumored to be a pious believer of a certain Celestial Being that resides in the Northern Continent.


    The Lucent Force members that were stationed here have a job not only to gain information advantage but also to investigate suspicious activity happening in this country that was isted by waters from others.


    Three members of the Lucent Force in the town were having a talk as they gathered at a table. They were currently on the first floor of their headquarters.


    "I heard that the young master has arrived?"


    "Huh? Why would hee here? Wasn''t he supposed to study at the Academy?"


    "I''m not sure but you may ask him personally if you really want to know. He should be here any moment by now."


    "Haha! I''m just kidding. Let''s greet him at the entrance."


    "Heh! Alright, who knows maybe I can request to be reassigned back to the country. I miss home. Sigh~"


    "Hmph! If he''s here, there should be some sort of special mission that''s about to happen."


    Their headquarters was only a three-story building on the outside but the ce has an underground facility where they normally held their ssified pieces of information. They also have here the Mana Artifacts that can be used to sendmunication from this country up to their headquarters in Zairus without being intercepted by other Mana Spell or technology, and Mana Artifacts capable of creating a barrier at the level of City-Wide Mana Shield was located here.


    Zairus was the ce where Aeolia hailed, his contribution in Mana Engineering was so tremendous and this barrier was only one of his left blueprints before disappearing. The blueprint was left untouched until recent years when they had made a huge breakthrough in magic engineering. This barrier was called Magnum Barrier.


    It can be said that Aeolia''s fame isn''t fabricated and is very realistic. Leaving blueprints of magic structure that can only be used in the future, just imagining the limit of his creativity and knowledge could make all aspiring magic engineers left in awe.


    The Mana Artifact they made using the decades-old blueprints was something that no one could beat even after the long time that had passed.


    Several figures adorned with traditional clothes and essories of this country were seening into the building. The ground floor was a coffee shop and being used as cover for their base of operation.


    "It''s nice meeting you again, young master Aaron."

 Chapter 106 - Another Escape ( Part 1 )

    Owl was cleaning a mug using a towel when several people arrived at their coffee shop.


    It was him who greeted the group of people as he recognized the one leading them since he''s not using anything to disguise himself.


    He was about to offer a seat to these people but he heard heavy footstepsing from the stairs on the upper floor. It was the three other members of the Lucent Force who had reached an early stage of Battle Mage.


    "It''s been a while." Aaron smiled at the guy who seems to be enjoying his job in this shop and nodded at the three newly arrived Battle Mages.


    He observed Owl who was currently wearing a waiter''s uniform and seems ready to assist any customer who will pass by.


    "Should we close the shop for the day? We don''t have any customers anyway." Owl asked as he believed that Aaron had some important request to make.


    "No need. Should we head upstairs?"


    "Alright. But not upstairs, these three will lead you to a more secure ce. Eagle should be there waiting for you, young master." After Owl finished saying this, the three moved forward and present themselves to Aaron.


    "This way, young master." One of the three said as he was pointing to a door that would lead downstairs.


    Aaron was together with three members of Lucent Force he brought with him from Zairus. One of them was left on the ground floor to guard the ce.


    Aaron did not waste his time as he went to meet Eagle, one of the leading figures within this branch.


    He especially went to this ce as he was worried about the situation of one of his juniors in the academy. He went missing for several days and now, he even received a report that one of the NMTI''s special agents was left in the enemy''s base while Wace''s location was still unknown.


    ***


    Wace checked each of the descriptions. of the skill. The five of them probably require a hundred pages of a book just to provide all the information about the skills, including its limitation, method of execution, requirements to sustain, and full description of the ability. He then read a part of the introduction in each skill.


    1. Void Phase - Once fully mastered, the user will have the ability to be liberated from the existential principles and constraints of both time and space.


    2. Matter Disassembly - Once fully mastered, the user will receive five skills to freely use. Matter Redistribution, Matter Melding, Density Maniption, Vector Control, and Fluid Maniption.


    3. Essence Reconstruction - Once fully mastered, the user can restore anything living or non-living to either their optimum state, including high-speed healing/regeneration of themselves or others like restoring life in an environment.


    4. Astral Core Formtion - The user can generate their own energy instead of always depending on the energy around them.


    5. Chasm Trample - Once fully mastered, the user will be free from the chasm of human and transcendent physiology, a state of being free from the constraints of the material world.


    Wace deliberated for a while before selecting the first option. Truthfully, he would like to select Matter Disassembly for various reasons but his current situation made him select the first one.


    As soon as he made the decision, acute pain was felt in his brain as if something was trying to incorporate within his body.


    The painsted for a few minutes before his body could adapt to its pain. The pain then lessened in a while up until it disappears.


    "It''s a bit difficult even if I already know how it works." Wacemented after analyzing the information he received. Although he learned the skill, executing it can prove to be difficult especially in his case where only a Beginner level of knowledge was acquired.


    He then summarized the ability that he could also execute probably in the near future. One of those was to move into any location with just a single step regardless of distance or obstacle as long as his energy could. It will make him remain unaffected by the distance or proximity of things in existence. Due to this, he will be in absolute exemption from any type of temporal and spatial ability whether offensive, defensive, or maniptive.


    For now, as a beginner, his Void Phase will allow him to move unhindered within 300 meters. Unfortunately at that point, it would exhaust all his reserved Mana pool. To be safe, it would be better to move sparingly.


    "Too bad, the spaceship wouldn''t fit within the dimensional storage space that the Cube provided me. I can only barely fit the Mech Frame by removing some parts on it."


    Wace disappointingly said. Due to this situation, he was now nning to leave the spaceship here as he doesn''t have an option to take it with him.


    But because of the 5-meter cubic storage space, he gained as a reward, he could at least store all the important items within the spaceship.


    Wace took out an armed guard that was stored below the controls panel of the spaceship.


    He then nces at the widescreen where Avalon showed approval remarks.


    "The arm guard contains 60% copy of the stored database in this A.I. but as long as we don''t lose signal in this main database, I can utilize 100% of the stored data."


    It is what it says on the widescreen. Now that he''s here, he doesn''t have any ns to leave his A.I. anymore.


    Wace removed his armor and wore Avalon''s Arm Guard. Then a holographic image of himself appeared even showing his body status, weapons equipped, and others like his personal data. But some of it still remained nk.


    "Well, I''ll let you connect to the inte of this world soon." Wace softly said and grinned as if he was nning something. He was already thinking of making a room for his A.I. filled withputers to make it its main database in the future.


    But for now, he checked the A.I.''s function and didn''t notice anything wrong.


    Now that he settled every item within the spaceship. Except for the current energy or Aether within the spaceship that protects it from any intrusion and a part of the A.I. to maintain its function, he now only had to deal with his previous body.


    As the Pathfinder could now be used, he nned to check this body covered by bio-armor. He may be overacting a bit but he just wanted to make sure that there''s no danger in checking out his previous body.


    ***


    "Are you thinking of him?" A man''s voice was heard as a sudden question made the girl being asked startled a bit.


    "Huh?" The girl recognized the man''s voice as she didn''t bother to look at him and remained to observe a Mana Artifact in her possession.


    "I mean, you were in the same year in your previous Academy. You should have an impression of him." The man exined vaguely.


    "I still don''t understand."


    "Well, I heard that they sent people to find him so I hope he could join thepetition tomorrow." These words made her realized what he was referring to.


    "Haaa~ I''m not thinking of him. I''m probably thinking about how this would affect our overall performance tomorrow. Although they sent a substitute in a hurry, he doesn''t look thatpetent, unlike Wace."


    The two were Jun Richardson and Sheryl Vermont of Mystic Gate Academy.


    The internationalpetition relies more on the individual''s skills instead of a team. Unlike the Twelve Magic Academies Competition, the Mana Technician''s segment doesn''t have any rtion with the Combat Magicians at all. Thepetition will only be based on the student''s foundational skills but would still give them a chance to showcase their expertise in the field.


    "Well, that''s true. Even I would acknowledge his unique perspective in Mana Artifacts creation. I also learned a thing or two with all the Magic Structure he made before. Especially his absurd ability to identify materials. I practiced a lot due to that." Junmented as he agreed with Sheryl.


    The two of them had witnessed the attack that has urred within the hotel where they saw Yumi fought against the enemy''s Adept. They were both aware of the danger that coincides with Wace''s disappearance. As fellow students and countrymen, they were still worried for him even though they had been opponents in thepetition.


    "It would probably be horrific if he disappeared here. Even if he can''t participate, let''s just hope that he could return."


    "Let''s just hope now that he would return on time, okay? I still wanted to see what surprises he could offer to us. Who knows, maybe another eye-opener Mana Artifact will be released once he participated?" Jun smiled andmented as if he really knows Wace. He was actually looking forward to Wace''s new creation especially within thispetition where they would be allowed to create their best Mana Artifacts.


    The manner that Wace created those magic structures like Ultrasonic Burst and Traceless Oscition made a deep impression not only on the young students but also on the many Mana Engineers who were tired of following the same practice of creating Mana Artifacts.


    Although it was only within a small part of the younger generation, he was slowly building up his reputation.

 Chapter 107 - Another Escape ( Part 2 )

    Wace without his armor touched the bio-armor that was protecting his previous body. He ced his hands on the armor''s chest and after a few seconds of no response, the armor shuddered and bit by bit, it started to shrink.


    It slowly unattached itself from the old body and take a form of a suitcase.


    Wace hadn''t noticed the form that the bio-armor took because he was gaping at the body he was seeing in front of him. It was an intact, unblemished, and perfect body of his that is identical to his current body.


    "What''s the meaning of this?" Wace couldn''t help but question this miraculous event. He hadn''t expected that his body that was left here for about three decades remained as it is. Although there seems to be no life being detected at all, it is still very amazing to find the body without any signs of deterioration. He took a deep breath and tried tomunicate with the Pathfinder about this phenomenon.


    Unfortunately, Pathfinder seems to have no intention of answering his question. He tried touching the body to see what would happen.


    ''Maybe it will crumble to dust after touching or it will shatter into bits of lights until it vanishes?'' Wacempooned as his thought process was now being influenced by the everyday magic he was dealing with within this world. Unexpectedly, he got a response from his system that it could be stored in his dimensional storage space.


    "This should be enough for today. I should leave this ce now." He finally decided as he stored the body within the remaining space of his storage. He felt that a lot of things had urred and changed in these past few days due to his mission, so he wanted to escape this ce and explore the knowledge and things he could do together with his A.I. and improved Pathfinder.


    He focused on using his improved Divine Sense and confirmed that several magicians were still closely monitoring his spaceship as if afraid of missing any movements from it.


    After all, they know for a fact that there is an existing living being inside the spacecraft. Unlike their assumptions before, that it was left alone by a foreign being. Some even believed that the owner of this aircraft was the humanoid figure that was clutching its chest on the ground and only fossilized due to the passage of time.


    Wace also had tomend the strong individual who has been guarding the front of his spaceship without any rest. He only left once to amodate the helpers he called that probably came from their headquarters.


    Due to this, Wace noticed that with the new spherical ss that was ced, there was a specially made transparent door made of ss that can be seen floating whenever controlled by Mana to use as entrance or exit within the spherical ss.


    This new spherical ss was ced to cover the strange aura leaking from the spaceship which as Wace understood was due to the uniqueness of the Aether Force that was stored within. This unique type of energy that could only be found in space was making a strange reaction from the Mana that was ever-present in this world.


    He doesn''t have that much time to explore this topic but would surely look thoroughly into this in the near future.


    After observing the current situation, he


    changed from wearing his Amplified Assault Armor and instead wore one of the bio-armor he has from the stocks. This bio-armor was simr to what he wore when he descended on this since there''s only this one version of bio-armor that was stocked in his spaceship.


    It was the same full ck bio-armor and currently in a mode where its smooth surface was activated. There was a mode where the rough and sharp de can protrude on this armor to increase its defense but since he was carrying the unconscious Yumi in his left arm, he had to modify the bio-armor''s form.


    Wace closed his eyes and with the help of his Divine Sense, visualized the targeted location for his Void Phasing skill.


    As soon as he touched the core activation of the skill that was structured within his body, the surroundings turned ck and white aside from himself and Yumi.


    He took a single step and felt that he had gone closer to his target. Of course, he also felt the huge chunk of Mana that was consumed in his Mana Pool. That chunk of Mana might be enough to cast 50 Traceless Oscition. Now that his Mana Affinity was maximized, he should have enough Mana that could contend with a Battle Mage in terms of their pool size. He was now onlycking in variousbat magic spells and experience.


    Another three steps were made as he kept getting closer to the target until his fifth andst Void Phasing step where hended at a safe location hidden by a cover of arge tree and leaves from its branches.


    The distance he covered reached 180 meters. Although he could reach more, he limited himself in case things go south.


    He also wanted to avoid touching the ground itself as he noticed that the helpers called by the strong magicians had set up a strange Mana Formation on the whole ind. It was probably to avoid any more sneak attacks from the unknown enemies which seem to be very effective if the enemy is unaware of the Mana Formation.


    Unfortunately for them, his Divine Sense was powerful enough to detect the strange formation they ced while he was within the spaceship. For flight options as an escape, his bio-armor doesn''t have any flight capabilities but he doesn''t require them at the moment since a very strong Aerial Defense was also established by the Z-Company.


    They have learned their lesson and do not n to repeat the same mistakes.


    "Right! I wonder if thepetition had already started. Haaa~ I want to know how the other three countries faired in terms of Magic Study." Wace said. This has been one of his thoughts during his practice of Artifact Forging for thepetition. Although he was upied before for his mission to find the spaceship, he had plenty of time to study Artifact Forging to improve himself. As he learned how amazing his creation in the eyes of other people, he was curious to see how the top Magicians of other countries faired.


    It must be remembered that Sheryl Vermont ces 99th in the magazine titled "The Fortune of Magic" where it features the top 100 Magicians of the younger generation.


    The magazine doesn''t just cover the magicians in Zairus but covered the whole allied countries.


    Due to Sheryl changing course from abat magician to a mana technician, there isn''t enough record of achievement to retain her status as one of the top 100. K Rogers ced at 89th and some third years in Zairus''s lineup was also ced in the rankings. They were Avery Marshall from Isolde Academy ced at 49th and Hector Newman from Stoneheimer Academy at 67th rank. The other third years weren''t that active before inbatpetitions that would highlight their skills so there wasn''t enough data to rank them. The ranking was only made based on the local, regional, national, and internationalpetitions being held so the Magicians that were hiding their skills from the public may still appear and destroy those ced in ranks.


    But of course, having a rank would still tell a lot of things about the person''s achievement and ability.


    Wace was thinking of various things as he rested for a while and after passing some time and made sure that his Mana Pool was fully recovered, he initiated another Void Phasing step.


    ***


    Today is the start of thepetition for the internationalpetition being participated by the four allied countries, Maja, Virgan, Zairus, and the host country, Montego.


    The arena where the event was being held was full of people from different countries to give supports to their fellow countrymen.


    The event for this morning would be for the Combat Magicians to test their foundational skills in Magic. There wouldn''t be any fight towards any otherpetitor but they will be tested using several pieces of equipment prepared and will be scored depending on their performance.


    Within the room designated for the participants from Zairus, the sixbat magicians were all prepared in the uing warm-up segment of thepetition.


    The powerful duo from Skywalker Academy, Vanessa White, and Aria Scott can be seen rxing in music with their headphones. They seem to be unaffected by the uing game.


    "Everyone! Let''s do our best. The first part only requires us to demonstrate our strength without using any Mana Artifacts. Everyone is prepared for that so I believe everyone will provide good results. There may be arger audiencepared to TMAC but don''t get nervous. We can do it!"


    Hector tried to be the leader and said words of encouragement.


    Avery ignored him, Vanessa and Aria weren''t listening, N Lawson from Odrexelt Academy observed, and since none of the other third years responded, she ignored him as well.


    K Rogers, the 2nd year from Mystic Gate nodded her head and clenched his fist as she quietly made a sound of approval.

 Chapter 108 - International Competition

    K was the only 2nd-year student that will be participating in thepetition. She felt a lot more pressure than the others due to this but it also means that she probably worked harder than everyone else.


    She doesn''t want to have that much skill difference with her seniors.


    Hector appreciated K''s acknowledgment of his existence.


    The six of them together with their managers were all waiting for a signal to enter the stage. In another room, the three Mana Technicians together with their managers werepleting some debriefing about theirpetitionter today. A few minutes passed and one of the staff assigned to them approached one of the managers before making an announcement.


    "Honored students from Zairus, you can now please ready to enter the stage." The staff politely informed the group.


    The first part of the ceremony aside from the opening speeching from someone in the host country was to meet every other participant within the stage. The four groups will have a face-off like this as it was also needed to excite the T.V. viewers as well as the audiences.


    The 6 Combat Magician students from Zairus were seen wearing their white uniform with red color on its edges and a tie. The 3 Mana Technician students wore the same uniforms but had the color reversed.


    The substitute student of Wace was a 3rd-year student from Skywalker Academy. His name was Van and he was the same Mana Technician that was previously assigned to Vanessa and Aria who was considered top contenders at the TMAC.


    Their team didn''t have a clear view of their opponents due to the ceremony but they all felt the strong aura especially the one that wasing from the students of the Montego. After all, they''re the students from the host country and had the support of almost all the audiences watching thepetition. They ought to show their abilities.


    Soon, the opening speech from the Royal Court Magician started. He was an old magician looking around 80 years old but his aura remained lively and fiery. Although many magicians weren''t aware of the old man''s appearance, they must''ve heard at least his name. He was Julian Esmeria, one of Aeolia Schien''s assistants during his early years in the field. His achievements in magic engineering weren''t noticed by many due to the brilliance that Aeolia left in the industry but his efforts bore fruit and were recognized in hister years due to the many lessons he learned from being Aeolia''s assistant. He slowly climbed up his ranks and was noticed by the previous King of Montego as he was recruited to he the Royal Court Magicians who would teach foundational Magic to the Royal Family.


    Now, as one of the pirs of this country known by almost all the Magicians, just his presence made the younger generation felt proud of being noticed and evaluated by someone in Aeolia''s generation.


    "Wee to the start of the Allied''s ninth Young Magicians Competition..." Julian said as he started his speech. The official name of thepetition, as it says, was for the younger generation of Magicians as there was a separatepetition being held for professional Magicians.


    "Thirty-two years ago from today, Prince Magalona IV dered Montego''s independence with the power bestowed by the Allied Nations and to this day marks another new hope in this country''s colorful and proud history.


    "Thepetition will bring a new perspective to every participating country by showing that the human spirit knows no limits.


    "Over the next seven days, you will see the true meaning of Magic and the true definition of ability.


    "You will witness how thispetition has the ability to inspire an individual, and the outstanding capacity to transformmunities and countries."


    The first part of the speech caught their attention as thetter part of thepetition wasn''t disclosed. All the students were quite curious about what kind of challenges will they have to conquer just for the sake of winning the event. But although no one knows what was thest event of thepetition, they weren''t afraid or nervous since they have some confidence in themselves. After all, they wouldn''t be selected here if they don''t have the guts to challenge the unknown.


    "Today, we put our faith in your hands, but we put actions into our faith. Today, we gather as brothers and sisters, as amunity of Allied nations...


    "Today, I dere open the Allied Nation''s ninth Young Magicians Competition!"


    As soon as the old magician said thosest words, the open arena they were located at was suddenly covered by darkness, and beautiful fireworks were seen in the sky.


    It wasn''t normal. The speech started around nine in the morning and it couldn''t possiblyst until the evening.


    The Magicians, aside from appreciating the beauty being shown in the sky, were trying to understand how thatrge-scale magic works.


    But they could only sigh thinking it was beyond theirprehension. They couldn''t even detect the source of Mana fluctuation that was controlling the changes.


    "As expected of someone who studied under Aeolia."


    "Hmph! Aren''t you giving too much credit to a dead guy? Sir Julian had achieved his status while Aeolia was already dead."


    "I understand that, but he wouldn''t grow this much without the foundational skills he learned from Sir Aeolia."


    "Whatever... I still believe that those who survive will aplish more things and do more greatness than the dead."


    Simr discussions like this from the audience and students were being heard as it''s normal for some people especially those die-hard fans of Aeolia or Julian. They always tried topare the two.


    Away from the crowd, a man was standing alone in a corner and observing the whole event.


    "An interestingrge-scale Mana Artifact."


    He silently voiced out. It was Troy Webb, the disciple of Hayden Fraiser and the leader of Zairus Magician''s delegates. He was concerned at the level of security so he was making his rounds to make sure nothing could happen to their precious seedlings. The participants here were an important asset of their country and he''s liable for their safety so he had to do his best.


    After observing a bit and found nothing wrong with Julian''s magic, he walked away and continued his rounds. He needed to do this since he can''t keep himself calm as he was still worrying about Yumi and Wace''s safety.


    ***


    Wace has already escaped from Araceli ind and was currently in a hotel in Linshamn City where he previously stayed before going to Araceli where everything started.


    He smiled at the familiarity of the ce. Atst, he had escaped that cursed ind. He checked his A.I. on his arm guard and confirmed that he can still detect the main A.I. in the spaceship.


    He left the spaceship intact as he was worried about how the Aether Force remaining in the spaceship would affect the country. The energy source wasn''t anything normal and he understood that it''s something that this world is even trying to eliminate due to the corruption it exudes to anyone near the ce. Without the special ss covering the spaceship, just the aura of the Aether weakens the Magicians and mutates the nts and Mana beast in the nearby area.


    "Oh... so it''s already the start of thepetition. I''ll probably reach there on time if I hurried."


    He was currently watching the T.V. so he was aware of thepetition that has started. He saw the faces of his fellow participants wearing the white and red uniform and noticed an unfamiliar figure which was probably the substitute they found in a hurry. Wace nced at the unconscious Yumi lying on the bed. He made her like that again since she was about to wake up a while ago. He was nning to leave her here and travel alone but felt that it was a bit wrong.


    Although he would have trouble exining once he returned her in their hotel at the Bluefields City, he couldn''t just let Yumi remain here since the Z-Company must be aware of her face since she fought with the four Adepts and had seen her face during the chaos.


    "Well, she''s an Adept. As long as she wakes up, she''ll probably know what to do in her disguise."


    As soon as he nned on removing the effects of sleeping scent. His Divine Sense detected feedback that a fast-approaching group of strong Magicians was heading to his location.


    Wace was trying to remember any ws he made during the escape but hadn''t found one. He looked at Yumi and thought of something.


    He carefully focused on his Divine Sense and noticed that it was a group being lead by his student council president, Aaron.


    "Aaron? What is he doing here leading a group of Lucent Force?"


    He blurted out as he was surprised by the man''s appearance here.


    Only 20 seconds were left so he decided to activate his Void Phasing step to leave the area.

 Chapter 109 - Secrets

    Aaron felt something amiss upon arriving at the door where they assume Yumi was in.


    "Did you feel any presence together with her just now?" Aaron asked his subordinates beside him. They were standing in front of the room but a few were scattered to surround the whole area.


    "No." One answered behind and some nodded in agreement but Aaron was still skeptical and asked one of the high officials of Lucent Force he brought together with him.


    "How about you, Griffin?"


    "I''m not sure a while ago. But it feels like a remnant Mana was left by a strong magician just now." Now that Griffin had gotten closer, he felt that the Mana density in this room''s area was thicker than anywhere else.


    Aaron nodded at this. He wasn''t stronger than anyone here but his status allowed him to equip exclusive Mana artifacts for himself.


    One of his silver rings, a Mana Artifact he wore on his left middle finger had a magic structure called Life Source Prober. As the name implies, it''s capable of detecting life force in a certain area.


    A few seconds ago when they detected Yumi''s presence, Aaron had activated the ring and probed her surroundings. It probably just took milliseconds where he felt another presence beside Yumi then it suddenly vanished into thin air.


    He hadn''t thought too much about it since he was focused on confirming Yumi''s state but now that he was about to open the door, he remembered the life force that has disappeared a few seconds ago.


    Aaron looked at Griffin who nodded in return indicating that it''s alright.


    The former made up his mind and opened the locked door using basic mana maniption. The inn doesn''t have any protection against Mana interference but it was normal with this cheap inns within the city.


    As soon as the door was opened, Yumi woke up and opened her eyes as she carefully analyzed her current situation.


    She was in an unfamiliar room lying in a soft bed that was made for couples. She felt the familiar presence of the Lucent Force members near her so she calmly tried to remember what happened before she was made unconscious.


    "I just asked that armored being about Wace and..."


    Yumi was trying to remember the scene prior to this and could only recall that she was brought inside the aircraft. The ce was something she had never seen before. The patterned lights that sh at the controls panel, the exquisite metal craftsmanship that exudes unknown energy, piles of unfamiliar weapons, and the unfathomable being itself was something she couldn''t just forget.


    "Miss Yumi Juria. Please, pardon our intrusion. I''m Aaron Schmidt, a member of Lucent Force. We have used all means to locate your presence here, we thought that you''ve been captured by the enemies in the Araceli Ind."


    Yumi nced at the young man in front of him and assessed his bearing. She didn''t have that much of an impression of the man but hisst name made her remember the undying old monsters being kept by their country out of the public eyes.


    They were the hidden officials of Zairus that were not leaving the capital city and were only being called when a national level threat was identified 35 years ago in a certain incident involving Aeolia''s project...


    "Miss Yumi, are you hurt? Do you need any medical attention?" Aaron worriedly asks upon seeing Yumi''s nk expression. He brought a magician focused on the study of medicine, so he was about to instruct someone to call him. He just wanted to make sure that Yumi was in the best condition.


    Although she still looked like a kid, the aura she exudes made Aaron careful with his words. He was well aware of the identity of this young-looking girl with an abnormal gift that was being treasured by NMTI. Although she doesn''t possess destructive power as an Adept Mage, she was someone who had an ability above the average Adepts, excels in her agility, tracking ability, and sensory aside from her hobby as a Magic Engineer.


    "No need. I just needed a rest." Yumi calmly answered.


    "That''s a relief. If you don''t mind, can we ask how did you end up here? Actually, we still have people on standby and observing the vicinity of Araceli but they hadn''t reported any sightings of you escaping the ce." Aaron asked curiously. Only him, Yumi, and Griffin were present in the room as thetter instructed the others to guard the ce outside. Griffin tensed up as he was curious to know how the heavily fortified ind was easily escaped by a single woman. He had a talk with Owl and Eagle so he had some impression about the magicians that were staying at the ce.


    "Well... Before that, how were the other members that joined our expedition?" Yumi was still undecided about what to tell them. Aaron was heavily tied to the Zairus military. So if she mentions the uniqueness of the aircraft, it may lead to war. The interest of the strong people in the seat to obtain more power and a very peaceful atmosphere was like a fragile ss that could easily be broken with a tease from a devil.


    Maybe a stronger expedition force will try to forcefully take over the ind. This won''t just affect Zairus and Z-Company as the royal n of Montego would not allow arge force of army to take im on one of its inds especially they were supposedly an Allied Nation.


    "Don''t worry. Everyone was able to escape sessfully. Although some of the magicians involved in aerial bombardment were injured, they were saved by Eagle and Owl''s ability. They just had to take a rest for a while." It was Griffin who answered the question as Aaron had given him a cue. Aaron just arrived recently and specific details about the situation of the people involved were better to be discussed by a stationed official of this branch.


    "I understand. In truth, I can''t remember that much as well since I''m in a hurry to escape. By the way, is there any news about Wace?"


    Yumi replied in which Griffin and Aaron had their eyes nced at each other.


    ''She wasn''t telling the whole truth. Why does she need to hide something from us? What in the world happened there?''


    The two felt Yumi was avoiding the question and felt abnormality. But they can''t force her to tell everything she knew.


    "We still don''t have any news from him. But rest assured, our people were already scattered in ces that he might visit so we''ll receive good news in a few days." Aaron tried to bring hope as he was also doing his best to assist in locating Wace''s whereabouts.


    But after finishing his words, he noticed that Yumi seems to be dazed. Aaron nced at the ce where Yumi was staring at. It was television where the coverage for the international or Young Magicians Competition was being shown.


    Griffin also watched and didn''t notice anything amiss at the match.


    But right now, Yumi''s mind was lost in thought as she was analyzing all the information she had gathered so far. The traces she followed when she was traveling in Kharvatt Sierra, the tworge suitcases Nortrom was carrying, the armored being who protected her and even brought her inside the unknown aircraft, losing consciousness after interacting with that same armored being, waking up in a safe ce and was kindly left under the protection of the Lucent Force.


    ''Perhaps...'' Yumi didn''t dare to say out loud or think anymore. She''ll just probably have a huge headache thinking about it.


    ***


    Wace was now on a bus on the way to the city where thepetition was being held at. He wasn''t hurrying so he didn''t use his Void Phasing steps to attend thepetition as he could only do so much with the skill. It was better to ride a bus in this situation where he requires to spend a long time traveling.


    "I wonder if I can still join. They might be worried a bit if I''m not seen participating in thepetition." He was referring to his family that was probably watching thepetition on the television.


    "Anyway, they shouldn''t be worrying that much." Wace finally said to calm his mind as he remembered something. He will just contact his familyter to inform them about his well-being.


    "That''s right, they even made such a request thinking that I could survive that..." This made him remember the request that his parents made before attending thispetition. He remembered that under the bright moonlight before he returned to Tanza City to be escorted by Yumi, both of his parents, ine and Chase said some words that almost sounded like a whisper...


    "We have a request for you... Maybe it was fate or luck but you can try to visit this person in Montego. He''ll surely be involved in thepetition so you will have plenty of chances. Tell him you are ine Mavis and Chase Ravencroft''s son." Chase said seriously which baffled Wace.


    "I don''t think it''s something that serious for you to have grave an expression. Is there a catch?" Wace still doesn''t understand the situation.


    "Maybe it''s time for you to know why our Ravencroft Family and Mavis n had somehow isted our small family of five... Well, this man you will have to find is a magician named Julian Esmeria and he doesn''t like you."

 Chapter 110 - Mana Affinity

    The first round of thepetition would test the ability of the Combat Magicians in terms of their control or maniption of the free Mana.


    The arena was separated into four stages in which each participant of the country will perform one by one. Each of the country''s team had sent one participant to stand at the center of their stage.


    The first participant that was selected from the Zairus students was K. She was there as she volunteered herself telling that it''s better if she won''t see others'' performances as she might be affected. Although the first part of this event wasn''t that difficult and only requires the most basic ability of a magician, keep in mind that the participating contestants can be said to be the best in their generation in their respective countries. She also had to perform well so that it would boost the morale of the team. As she knew herself, she would get the best possible oue on this as long as she remained in focus.


    "Hello to everyone watching thispetition. The first part of this event was to test the contestant''s affinity with Mana. The world was constantly producing an important source of power for everyone, which we all call Mana. Whenever it is being used in Mana Artifacts by the Magicians and consumed by all living things in this world, it''s always being returned to the world as its natural cycle. Thus, it was said that we will always have an unlimited source of mana.


    "Now, what if the world has an unpredictable free Mana? What if the Mana that magicians all trusted to be on their side turned to be chaotic and unruly? What if this Mana was impure? Would it change the ability of each magician to control these Mana?


    "All these questions will be answered if we all watch the magicians struggle to control the ''free mana'' on this first day of thepetition! The Mana Resistance Examination!"


    K stood at the center of the stage where she was assigned to. She was well aware that the other contestants from different countries had also entered their stage but she didn''t bother to check them out.


    As soon as the signal to start was heard the stage was somehow filled with dense Mana. Then a ball made of foggy crystal popped out at the center of the stage. It came from the ground and floating in front of K.


    "I see... So they turned the whole stage into a huge formation. Then there would probably be a patterned movement of Mana within the stage." K immediately understood her situation after she felt the unusual activity of mana that was previously being attracted to her. She noticed that her Mana affinity was being disrupted by the formation so she had to quickly adapt to her surroundings.


    This round''s instructions were simple. They had to control and contain all the dense Mana from their stage to the foggy ball of crystal.


    "Whew, as expected of an absolute monarchy they control on such rare materials," Vanessa said as she was watching the proceedings of the contest.


    "Rare? You might be right. The size of that stone could never be found in any market. No, I''ve never even seen thisrge stone in Zairus." Ariamented as they all recognized what the crystal ball was made of.


    This crystal wasn''t any simple item since it was a highly sought-after material, especially for those magicians who would like to advance their level from being Magic Engineer to Arcane Artificer, it is a Mana Stone. But to be precise the one needed for taking the promotion examination was an unprocessed Mana Stone.


    After a Mana Technician was promoted to a Magic Engineer if they wanted to further get a promotion, aside from improving their ability, gaining more knowledge, having more methods in Artifact Forging, and creating original Magic Structures, they had to be capable of cleansing an unprocessed Mana Stone.


    That''s right because these unprocessed stones that were freshly out of the mines would have certain behaviors that only Arcane Artificer can tame and process before they can be used and sold to the market.


    With such arge processed Mana Stone that they are seeing, the Arcane Artificer that cleansed the material was definitely not a simple engineer. It may have been Julian Esmeria himself.


    "If I could bring that home, I might create another original Mana Artifact. It may even be a groundbreaking Artifact of all time."


    "It seems that Montego was truly hiding their Mana Stone vein. Probably a vein with arge deposit of Mana Stone was found in these years. They weren''t that extravagant in their hostedpetitions before, right?"


    "Who cares where it came from? It doesn''t change the fact that any Magic Engineer that


    can bring that home will have the best chance of creating a powerful Mana Artifact."


    The magicians who were well aware of the uniqueness of therge crystal were already imagining the possible oue once they used it for themselves. It wouldn''t be that far-fetched if they created a powerful artifact since they will be using such rare material. Probably, any spell that was structured and powered by arge Mana Stone would create an explosive oue. No one could deny the usefulness of such material.


    K put her hands at the side of the floating crystal ball made of pure Mana Stone, she didn''t touch the crystal as she left a few inches gap from her palm.


    She then tried sensing the dense Mana around her and felt that she was in such an amazing environment, this ce would probably be the best training stage if she wanted to improve her Mana Maniption.


    ''Amazing, with such a dense Mana around, the effects or spellsing from almost all Mana Artifact would probably receive an enhancement.'' K thought as she was genuinely surprised at the dense Mana. If Wace was here, he''ll probably remember the dense Mana he had felt at the center of Kharvatt Sierra.


    Outside the stage, the audience had also seen with their bare eyes the specks of blue light floating around in each respective stage. It was as if they were seeing an ocean that was reflecting the lightsing from the sun. It was such a spectacle and they all love the beauty it exudes.


    K tried to expand her range of control to forcefully ce the mana within the empty Mana Stone. All the magicians have a level of Mana Affinity in which they could use their minds to connect with Mana. After connecting to a dense part of Mana around her, she had found it difficult to move the Mana.


    It seems that it was trying to break out of her control if she loses a bit of concentration. This was the first time it happened in her Mana Maniption as she frowned at the difficulty. It wasn''t that impossible to move the Mana to her crystal but it would be very slow. Thepetition would only be for fifteen minutes for each contestant. She felt that not even a fourth of the crystal would be filled if she continued her practice.


    ''This is probably the effect of the formation. Although it is normally difficult to control a dense Mana, it shouldn''t be this difficult at all like I was dragging a car.'' Kmented but now that she had grasped the idea and the challenge in thispetition, she sorted her mind and made another attempt.


    ***


    Wace was still traveling on a bus and on the way to Bluefields City but he still had a chance of watching thepetition due to the television that was attached at the front center within. It is very convenient for him.


    His Void Phase ability would consume all of his Mana just to bring him in about 300-400 meters away. As he had to travel for about 200 kilometers, it is wise to use a bus. Also, they ought to have some entertainment within the bus aside from some stopovers. It may have probably been quicker if it was a train but the railway''s transit system isn''t that developed in this country.


    "Ohh... K was still behind even with her very stable phase. She''s also using a forceful method, she had to exert more effort on this."


    Wacemented as he could watch the difference in each participant. He remembered a topic that was discussed in the Academy in his subject, Mana Praxis, and Assiduity. It wasn''t further expounded as it was said that it would further be borated in the third-year ss.


    "Right, it is said that there are three known paths of manipting mana. That would be the Forceful Maniption, Inducement Control, and Arcane Link. I can probably switch my maniption method to Inducement Control now with my peak Mana Affinity. Looking at it this way, the standard or instinct of all Magicians that started to control Mana was probably the Forceful Maniption." Wace said as he remembered his study in the academy in which they were just told to follow their instinct in controlling the surrounding Mana. Which was in a sense, they had to rely upon themselves.


    He also doesn''t have an idea about the Arcane Link maniption method but he at least had a hunch that it was something that only an Adept Mage or Arcane Artificer was capable of doing so.

 Chapter 111 - New Method

    K wasn''t thatfortable as she struggled to keep up with the phase. At first, using Forceful Maniption would bring desired results but it rapidly exhausts the magician''s mind and concentration. With her continuous attempt to ''capture'' Mana and move it inside the Mana Stone, she had realized that the Mana that was floating around the stage was constantly changing its density and movement. It feels like it has its own behavior. It wasn''t something she had never heard of but she learned this in the Academy. These types of Mana could normally be found near the edges of the Northern Continent. It was said that if a Magician tried to visit the center of the said continent, they will experience a struggle between life and death. The Mana wouldn''t be as peaceful as this and it would attempt to attack Magicians. It would try to create havoc within their body as the mana pool of a Magician would be like a ticking time bomb. It was very dangerous for anyone.


    As she learned the unusualness of the Mana, she realized that it would be better to attempt something new. They attended thispetition not just to show off but also to learn, she thought that it may be the best time to explore something. She had been stagnant in her ability, her fighting skills had only improved due to Sheryl''s Mana Artifact. Now that she''s alone without any Mana artifact to assist her, she decided to do something that would benefit her as well in the long run.


    ''Anyway, this segment in thepetition wasn''t all. There are still four more events to rank all of us and identify the winner.'' K said in her mind as she calmed her mind and stopped controlling the surrounding Mana to forcefully inject them into the crystal.


    "What is she doing there standing without doing anything?"


    "She probably thought that it would be enough to fill one-sixteenth of the Mana Stone as she realized that she can''t win anymore."


    "Maybe part of the strategy? They don''t want to reveal all her skills?"


    "Ha! This is just manipting Mana. What''s there to hide?"


    As everyone observed the progress of each participant, someone had caught their attention not because she was leading in terms of progression but because she was just standing idly while others were trying to do their best to fill up therge crystal made of Mana Stone.


    Even her teammates were curious about K''s action but they don''t have any intention to stop her nor tell her what to do instead. They all qualified to be present here and they all have the same status in regard to thispetition.


    "That Mana fluctuation, is she trying to..."


    Avery Marshall, the top student from Isolde Academy seems to have realized what was K trying to aplish. She nced at Vanessa and Aria, the duo from Skywalker Academy who has acquired full-day ess in the Revitalization Mana Spring as a reward for being first ce.


    During the Twelve Magic Academies Competition, their Isolde Academy only received six hours pass in the said spring as second ce in rank.


    The two had noticed Avery''s nce and nodded to her. Hector realized their silent gesture but didn''t ask what was happening as he was a bit ashamed for asking what they had understood, it would be embarrassing for him if the three girls were referring to something different. The three already don''t listen to him and it might get worse with that. Fortunately, N Lawson had asked in his stead.


    "I''m unsure what was K attempting to do right now. Have you realized what''s happening? Only five minutes left in this round and she had been standing there for almost 8 minutes." N asked her fellow participants. K had only tried to manipte mana for about 2 minutes before giving up and closed her eyes.


    "She was trying to find another method of attracting Mana." It was answered by Vanessa. But she did not give another exnation she instead gestured to Aria to exin.


    "Well, the thing is that when we went and dipped ourselves in the mana spring, we realized that there was a strange behavior of Mana depending on who the magician was. You can think of it as one of the keys to getting promoted as an Adept Mage." Aria tried to tell them the gist of it.


    "One of the keys? Are you referring to Arcane Link?" N asked to rify.


    "So, are you telling me that she has that talent already?" It was Hector who followed up N''s remarks.


    "No. K was only trying to change her Mana fluctuation to incorporate with the dense Mana around her. You can say that she''s trying tomunicate to the Mana and request to get in the crystal instead of forcefully dragging those Mana inside." Aria tried to rify.


    ''But it isn''t that easy. I had spent a full twenty-four hours within the spring but only learned a few tricks and this K was trying to do it on the spot.'' Aria added in her mind. Vanessa and Avery may be thinking the same thing as they knew how challenging it was to establish a certain connection with Mana.


    "It is still far from being called an attempt to create an Arcane Link. She may be leaning towards establishing Inducement Control." Vanessa said as a remark, establishing that method means that you were nearing the initiation of Arcane Link. Although she acknowledged K''s ability, there was a limit to everyone''s talent. The ability to establish an Inducement Control especially Arcane Link wasn''t something that can be done easily but something that has to be umted from years of experience.


    "Unless she''d consume Cryptic Link--" Avery muttered silently but she suddenly stopped. She realized that she was speaking what was in her mind instead of leaving it as a thought. She heaved a sigh of relief as no one seems to have heard her.


    Only two minutes were left and she was still standing there without any action.


    ***


    Wace could only guess the reason for K''s action. After all, he''s only watching the television and couldn''t feel the mana she was surrounded by.


    "Oh well, enough of this." Wace said as he instead tried to check out his A.I. on his arm guard. There wasn''t anyone seated near him within the bus so he unceremoniously lifted the guard and tap a few times.


    The A.I. had been trying to connect on the inte wirelessly since a while ago and it seems to have established a connection in a nearby cell tower.


    "How was it?" Wace asked the Avalon.


    [ The gathering of all types of information may take up approximately 48 hours. Sorting the level of information may take up to 6 hours. ]


    "Alright. How was the security level of this''s inte so far?"


    [ Weak. A total of 2,136,522 security had been breached as of now.


    Searching...


    Multiple articles were found stating that the security level online wasn''t prioritized due to other means of protecting information. Important information that you''ve asked for hadn''t shown up yet. ]


    "That''s alright. There should be another form of database exclusive on this. It is called Memory Crystal."


    [ Searching... Memory Crystal''s data indeed shows that it has the capability to store information indefinitely. ]


    "I consumed some of these." Wace replied in confirmation. The A.I. couldn''t perform in its full potential due to the current multitasking it does and the A.I.''s main core was located inside the spaceship. It was already impressive for the small arm guard to aplished a lot of things in just a few hours.


    [ It shows that there was a level of Memory Crystal that can be used. ]


    "Really? Tell me more about it." Wace was curious upon hearing it, he only knew a few things about the Memory Crystal as it wasn''t something that can be easily acquired. Even the Secret''s shop where he normally purchases rare or unique materials doesn''t have many of them.


    ***


    Chester deserved to have a rest after deciphering the Cryptic Link Serum that the Z-Company had created. As he sent his results of investigations back to the Congress, he received his due reward but he also requested that if ever they had found a clue about the new element within theponents of the serum, they had to inform him about it as well.


    Early in the morning today, he received a summons to go to his office just to discuss this new element. The Congress itself had sent people to inform him. It seems they have made progress on their own.


    "Tsk, I made a request like that but it doesn''t mean that you have to interrupt my sleep, right? It''s not like it is something urgent. Also, you can just send the details through the mail if you don''t want to send a copy online." Chester said. As he just woke up from his sleep, his hair was still messy and his face was still unkempt.


    "Sir, it is almost 10 in the morning." The man answered at the other end of the phone.


    "It is still early for me. Anyway, I''ll be there at twelve. So, have you found the source of the new element?" Chester said and even had a serious tone at thetter part.


    "No, sir. We hadn''t found it."


    "You are contradicting yourself. You called now as you''ve found the source of the new element, right?"


    "Yes, sir. But it came to us."


    "Huh?" Chester was surprised by what he just heard and his drowsiness immediately vanished as he heard some details.

 Chapter 112 - Discoveries

    [ Memory Crystal was categorized as consumable and non-consumable. Consumable Memory Crystal only allows a single individual to forcefully learn the knowledge it contains. Non-consumable Memory Crystal can only be used by a special Mana Artifact that was capable of deciphering it. ]


    "Hmm... I heard a little about that, tell me more, and what was this level you''ve discovered?" Wace replied after getting a response from the Avalon.


    [ All Consumable Memory Crystals were made by nature while all Non-Consumable Memory Crystals were created by human researchers or Mana Practitioners during the 3rd Generation Era of Artifact Development. ]


    Wace tried to process the information he just learned. He hadn''t thought too much about the Memory Crystals before but this time, he was quite interested in how the early magicians had managed to inject a particr knowledge in a crystal for other''s usage and how did they manage to create a non-consumable crystal from it. Wace continued to listen.


    [ Consumable Memory Crystals were naturally developed stones that can be mined within multiple ces in the southern continent. The Zairus, where you mentioned it as your home country, was said to have a single mine in Ste Region that provides supplies for the whole country. ]


    "Ste Region? That''s near my hometown." Wace remarked and this brought him some bad memories where he had a dream about the Meredith Empire''s descent on this. The empire''s Conqueror Starship had descended in Ste Region which had been visible from their Red Star Town. Although they were separated by more than fifty kilometers, the several monstrous size Starships floating in the sky made it look like it was very near.


    [ The Non-consumable Memory Crystals were also made from the naturally developed crystals that were mined but it was processed differently. These crystals will be mixed with other raw materials to produce a crystal that could store an amount of data with a small torge capacity. Anyone who had reached even a low level of Mana Maniption could extract information from these Non-consumables as long as they possess the Mana Artifact used to decipher them.


    The Consumable Memory Crystal was put into two levels by an unnamed researcher. The first level was what normally being consumed to enhance the knowledge of magicians called Essence Memory Crystal. It was said to be a low-level form of using Memory Crystal. The high-level form was called Eidos Memory Crystal where the crystal would not be orally consumed but requires to establish an Arcane Link from the said crystal to naturally learn its content without destroying the original crystal. ]


    "Oh! So you were saying that I wasted those Memory Crystals that could have been used by others?" Wacemented although he didn''t really care if it was wasted since it had helped him a lot. After all, establishing Arcane Link wasn''t something that can be easily done. In short, only those that has reached a high level of Mana Maniption could extract information from it.


    "Thanks for the information. Continue what you''re doing and get as much information you can get." Wace finally said as he concluded his conversation with the Avalon. He wasn''t in a hurry to find some information he was searching for. Aside from the information stored in the Memory Crystals, with his reliable A.I. in hand and a low-level of data protection in this world, it was only a matter of time before he can grasp all information he needed. If some information could not be found at all in these sources, he''d think of a way to get that information even if it was saved in consumable or non-consumable Memory Crystals.


    ***


    The audience watching K was actually waiting for something to happen. Although they were saying that she already gave up, they were also hoping for her to do something unpredictable. After all, this is thepetition where geniuses gathered from several countries.


    It seems that their wish didn''t remain unfulfilled because as soon as a minute mark was left in the given timeframe, K had opened her eyes and the surrounding Mana within her stage stopped their unusual movement or behavior.


    The dense Mana that was like specks of light scattered around the stage remained still as it slowly moved towards the crystal she was holding as if it was being attracted by an unknown force.


    This surprised many, including the instructors she had as a manager who came together with them, her fellow participating students, and many magicians watching thepetition.


    "Inducement?"


    "How could it be? It wasn''t supposed to be this easy."


    "Just a while ago, she was clearly struggling in her forceful method of maniption."


    "Was she just pranking us a while ago?"


    "That''s right, she might have learned of this method before. She may be a true genius in the Zairus and just did it to make some excitement and publicity."


    "Well, we can''t eliminate that. It would be too absurd to think that she just attempted it today. Maybe she was already on the verge of breakthrough before and due to today''s pressure in thepetition, she got some inspiration and sessfully pushed her limits."


    In truth, after the Twelve Magic Academies Competition, K had been practicing rigorously to enhance her senses or sensibility around.


    The reason was simple. Her fight against Shirley who had used Ultrasonic Burst pushed her to do so. During their fight, she was forced to alter her Mana Shell in a way that no sounds could enter her defense. During that time, she was only relying on her vision to keep track of her enemy. It was a nightmare for her as although she barely managed to win, she had be too exhausted and wasn''t able to win the next fight.


    During the month that was given to them before thepetition, she didn''t take her well-deserved rest and only practiced as hard as she could.


    Her hardships bore fruit today where she had managed to realized something. After she closed her eyes, she tried to empty her mind and allowed the free movement of Mana within the stage. She didn''t try to connect with the Mana like how the theory works with Arcane Link but instead change her Mana fluctuation and connected to the crystal.


    That''s right. She realized that Inducement Control isn''t just attracting the Mana to follow hermands or swaying them to follow her will but Inducement Control''s essence was to be one with the Mana. Copy their behavior and guide the Mana with her directions.


    She doesn''t have to forcefully control them and just had to make these Mana connected to her and be guided by her will.


    Using an outside force like their Magician''s mind power was effective if the Mana around wasn''t that dense and had a peaceful behavior. But if it''s like these or maybe even worse, the forceful method would be tiring and difficult just to have progress.


    K smiled after realizing the movement of the previous unsteady Mana.


    "Well, I might have spent too much time but it is worth it." She didn''t think that she would be able to fill the crystal ball made of Mana stone due to the time she spent concentrating. After all, only a few seconds were left. But it was fine for her since this would allow her to perform better in the future.


    ***


    Chester hurriedly went to his office to discuss the new or unknown element with the representative sent by the Congress. Although he said that he would arrive around twelve midday, he miraculously arrived an hour before that which surprised many of the staff in the Ministry. Chester would normally not visit the Ministry in an earlier time as he was known to only be present here when an evening meeting was being called out or he would rather stay inside hisboratory.


    "Oh? A new face... So tell me, where did ite from?"


    Chester hadn''t entered his office yet but when he noticed an officer wearing insignia of the Congress, he immediately approached him and asked questions. It was his first time seeing the man.


    "Ah! Of course, I would like to discuss it with Sir Chester. I''m Marvin Cummings, a specialist in Anti-Mage Mutation Task Force. You can just call me Marvin."


    "Right! Where are my manners? Chester Cornfield." Chester shook his hand with Marvin after saying his name.


    "Let''s discuss these in my office." He added as he gestured for him to enter the room with him. He had been curious about the details since a while ago and couldn''t restrain his excitement. But now that Marvin was here to borate the details, he can now rx a bit as he would soon get the information.


    As soon as Marvin seated in a seat in front of Chester''s desk, he didn''t make the Head of Mage Doctors wait any longer.


    "As I said on the phone, we received an unknown package from someone. It is a piece of metal with an unknown origin. It either came from unexplored Northern Continent or probably something that dropped from space." Marvin seriously said. He waited for Chester''s reaction.


    "So, you found an element within the metal that was simr to what I found within the serum?" Chester squinted his eyes and rified his understanding of the matter.


    "No, but the structure was close to it." Marvin shook his head as he denied Chester''s conclusion.


    "Who sent it?"


    "We are unsure of his identity as he may be using a fake one but the name was written as Chalice." Marvin answered.

 Chapter 113 - Anti-Mage Mutation

    "Chalice? Is it someone famous that I should be aware of?" Chester asked. It was the first time he heard the name.


    "Notorious is probably more appropriate in his case." Marvin replied. He was ready to exin the situation.


    "So, who is this Chalice? Is it an organization?"


    "No, Chalice is a magician. One of the leading figures of Z-Company."


    "Huh? Why would someone associated with that criminal organization send such valuable specimens to us?" He wasn''t too inclined to know the names of the leading figures in a criminal organization.


    "I''m not sure what he was thinking. Based on his message, it looks like he was working alone right now."


    Chester raised his brows not understanding what Marvin was trying to say.


    "It seems that the Z-Company wasn''t aware of his actions or maybe he left the organization itself."


    "Now, that''s interesting."


    "That''s right. But it is not the reason I personally visited you here." Marvin seated straight after saying this. He looked into Chester''s eyes before continuing.


    "A lot of things were happening in recent days. There were restless movements from each country trying to strengthen their military forces. All of them were preparing for something."


    "For something? Our government should be aware of it, right?" Chester may not be sure about the identity of the enemies but he wasn''t a fool. He knew that something or someone had been causing troubles, not only the Z-Company was trying to acquire the Sealed Artifacts guarded by each power but also some organizations were bringing pressure to the government.


    "I''m only a messenger, my position may seem to possess some authority but it''s just in papers. I''m only aware of that information that I''m being told." Marvin shrugged after hearing Chester. He also had limited ess to some information especially those linking to problems that were brewing within the borders of their country. It was really out of his jurisdiction, so he could only say so much. His aim here was still rted to his current job.


    "So I don''t think it was connected to me. I''m a mere Mage Doctor with some rank in the field." Chester remarked. Although they acquired a specimen that possibly rtes to the Cryptic Link, the most that it could do was to create some more serums. What Chester wanted was to get the origin or source of this mysterious element. Now that Chalice seems to possess some clue, he believed that the government should instead do their best to capture the guy and let him spill everything he knew.


    Marvin went silent and seems to be deliberating his next words.


    "What? Is it something that serious?" Chester asked getting amused at this man that was sent by the Congress.


    "It depends on how you would take this..." Marvin said and the Mage Doctor didn''t speak anymore and waited for the former to finish.


    "We are requesting you to facilitate a group of specialists that aims to create a perfected version of Cryptic Link Serum. Your skills in medicine and science couldn''t bepared to anyone within this country. We believed that with you leading the group and with the supply provided by Chalice, we can make a version that wouldn''t have any side effects. This way, our military forces could not only gain an increase in their strength but it would also lead us to new discoveries." Marvin said in one go but it seems he was not contented at the expression that Chester was showing so he added.


    "By perfecting this serum, just imagine how many magicians with low Mana Affinity can we help. Although they wouldn''t reach a level above Battle Mage due to restrictions that serum could give them. At the very least, those magicians would have hopes for their future. They wouldn''t stay to someone who would just forever work as fabricators of Artifacts. With this serum, their exceeding numbers as workers can be additional forces for the military instead. Also, many Magicians that had failed to reach the standard of being abat magician had given up their hope to study Mana as they knew that their future wouldn''t be so bright in other fields. We only hope to at least give them a chance." Marvin finished his piece and waited for Chester''s response. He was sent here to recruit this Mage Doctor and negotiate with his demands. They knew that Chester may raise his own demands during this recruitment process but as long as the Congress didn''t find it ridiculous, it doesn''t matter.


    "I''m speechless. Your words seem to carry some weight..." Chester finally said which brought a genuine smile from Marvin''s face. He didn''t know that his words were very convincing.


    "That''s right, you can raise any dem-" Marvin was about to entice Chester more but was interrupted by thetter.


    "Wait. Can you tell me again your position in the Congress?" Chester asked.


    "Of course. I''m a specialist from Anti-Mage Mutation Task Force." Marvin answered without getting any hint. Chester remained silent. Thus, Marvin also shut his mouth. A knock on the door was heard and opened by ady. It was Chester''s secretary. She greeted and brought a cup of tea for the two but she noticed that the atmosphere seems to be a bit weird, she saw Chester''s face and knew that he wasn''t in a good mood. She knew him better as she had worked for him in several years already, so she carefully ced the two cups in front of them without any unnecessary noise before quickly leaving the room and closing the door gently.


    "How ironic, isn''t it?" Chestermented in response to Marvin''s im about his position.


    ***


    The first part of the Young Magician''s Competition had ended smoothly. The four countries had done their very best to showcase their amazing ability in terms of manipting Mana.


    Everyone had a gist about their opponent''s Mana Affinity. In this regard, they would somehow be aware of their opponent''s capability in utilizingplex Mana Artifact like those that belong to Grade A with the highest rank.


    K tried to fill the crystal ball she had within the stage but didn''t have enough time to exceed her opponents. She was barely able to get behind the 3rd ce and almost exceeded her. Although she ced in thest on this round, many people believe that she would perform better in the next rounds. Her amazing Inducement Control brought excitement to many viewers. Her opponents only utilized Forceful Maniption and it seems that their technique varies greatly and they could fill the crystal ball quickly. Unlike K''s for Forceful Maniption, their technique seems to be evening more refined and thus, it didn''t exhaust them as much as K was.


    "You did great. You must have worked hard." Hector smiled at K after her bout. K seems to be beaming with confidence even after losing. This only proves how much of a benefit she had just received from learning Inducement Control. It seems that there was something more with this method that K hadn''t revealed.


    "Thank you. I would do my best in the next rounds." K said before taking a seat for a rest. The other third years had performed average but no one seems to be bothered by it. No one reached the first rank from the six of them. Only Avery who had reached second ce was the best they had. Vanessa, Aria, and N ced third in their match. Hector cedst in his bout like K.


    Surprisingly, only K had shown an ability that suggests that she had reached Inducement Control.


    "Am I that amazing? No, that''s weird. There should be a catch." K muttered. As she had some free time, she went and joined together with her fellow academy mates, Jun and Sheryl.


    "I think you were an amazing one but I believe they were also hiding their strength. There would be a part sooner within thepetition that a matching battle would ensue. They must be protecting their aces at the moment. The first part isn''t a decider anyway, they could afford to lose the match."


    Sheryl said what had been in her mind after watching the whole event. The student magicians seem to be tooposed. Especially those magicians in Virgan, they didn''t mind when they made mistake and was just having fun during the entire event. They aren''t losing their bearing and just continued in theirpetition.


    Virgan had the most wins during the previous international events, so it must be a part of their n.


    Also, one thing they noticed was how the magicians in Montego behaved. Although they are hosting the event, it was surprising that their six contestants would achieve first ce in all their matches. It was an amazing feat that made the crowd be even more passionate in their cheer. They hosted thepetition and now their fellow countryman was dominating the contest, who wouldn''t be proud. Only a few observant people had noticed some unusualness not because they found it too impossible but they have their ability to notice the abnormality. One of those who has this ability was Sheryl the Frost Queen.


    ***


    [ Traces ofmunications, photos, and other information about the location of rifle gun,ser gun, and grenade were found. ]


    "That''s fast. Quick, tell me." Wace smiled upon hearing the notification of the A.I., it was truly convenient to have someone else do these types of works for him.

 Chapter 114 - Second Round

    Thepetition continued after a few minutes of break. They had shown their Mana Affinity, now it was time to do a mock battle against an automaton. All the magicians would have a choice of weapon they want and could take them out from the shelves prepared.


    Beside each of the stages, there were two shelves full of different Mana Artifacts.


    "That''s about a hundred Grade A Mana Artifacts." Hector counted and noticed that there were 50 Mana Artifacts on each shelf.


    He was surprised about the grades of each Mana Artifact. He had never seen such arge number of products with such high-grade so close to him.


    This time, instead of K going first, Avery Marshall had decided to volunteer and be done with it. Avery had been acknowledged as the strongest in terms of individual prowess.


    She stood in front of the many Mana Artifacts and picked up a brown sword that seems to be made of wood. It has a simple design and seems to be very light.


    The Mana Artifacts within the shelves weren''t repetitive and a hundred weapons were different from each other. That was why just from the weapon selection itself, they were given 10 minutes to find their suitable artifacts and the battle itself would only be timed up to 15 minutes.


    "I''ll go with this." Avery said as she unhesitatingly brought the wooden sword to the stage.


    "I wonder what type of Mana Artifact senior Avery picked up..." K muttered but it seems that it was everyone''s question in mind.


    Luckily, the two announcers for thispetition was doing their job. Only those within the stage would be unable to hear noises that could distract them.


    "Yuferev from Virgan selected Stormfire Scepter. This Mana Artifact has difficulty controlling Mana Spells that leans towards wind, water, and fire. But he has an amazing Mana Affinity and won their nationalpetition so it should befortable for him. Wait, it seems that all the participants in this round had ranked first within their country''spetition."


    "Is that right? Was it coincidence?"


    "Haha. They all probably thought that winning the first round of mock battle would give them a boost in their morale."


    "That made sense, although it was only a mock battle against automaton, they will all treat it seriously."


    "Of course, these automatons were made by Sir Julian himself. They had to be careful on this."


    The two announcers discussed the weapons and a bit of detail about the participant.


    "Avery from Zairus selected a mass-produced Dawn Sword. An interesting choice. This sword was crafted for military''s training and probably the most underwhelming Grade A Mana Artifact out there."


    "It may be right but her confidence shows that within her hands, the sword would seem to aplish anything. Thatdy must be a swords master to exude such aura."


    "Look at Vittore from Maja, his choice of weapon was a gauntlet. That''s Lite White Gauntlet made of rare materials from a sea beast. Weapons made of mana beast that lives within the sea was definitely something we would like to see."


    "That''s true, I didn''t know that they ce that here. Based on the record shown, there are only 10 of these guantlets. To think that four of them would be present here, the organizers had really made an amazing job." The announcer said as each stage had simr selections of weapons. It only means that three more of these gauntlets were on the shelves of other participant''s stage.


    "Now, looking at Kadeen''s choice, it seems that he chose his favorite type of weapon, a staff. That should be Vampiric Staff but isn''t it a weapon that was more effective against magicians? They will be fighting an automaton that couldn''t feel any pain or someone that can be distracted by illusions easily, right?"


    "Hmm... Your words are correct. I wonder what was our home team was thinking."


    "Well, if we knew those details. They should be even more aware. I wonder what kind of tricks they would use this time."


    "Right, they surely have ns on their side. We''ll see once the battle started."


    ***


    [ Photos of apleteser gun were posted and spread out a bit online. It was originated within this country, Montego. ] The A.I. said before showing the photos of theser gun. The A.I. had also kindly shownments of people about the gun and seems that they aren''t taking it seriously. It was then forgotten and left on the inte.


    The photo was there three years ago and was posted by an unknown individual. The caption was a question asking if someone had seen any simr objects like these.


    [ These are thetest information we have. Parts of grenade had been sent specifically to Zairus this day. Some ammunitions of rifle gun was also sent together with the grenade''s part. The sender also indicates that they originated from this country. ]


    "Why would it be sent there? Who received those?" Wace curiously asked. He was aware that this ce should be the origin, but to send it to a far country, he never expected that. The guns and grenades he had weren''t simr to amon weapon made on Earth but were made by the Gctic Federation. Especially that photo of ammunition that even possesses markings of the federation.


    [ It was sent to the Zairus Magician''s Congress. Unable to tap on the currentmunications within Zairus due to limited resources. ]


    "Oh? So you can do that? Right, it may be possible as you''ve mentioned that security was indeed weak." Wace wasn''t worried that they have those materials as it wouldn''t seem to affect the bigger picture.


    [ If we are able to directly connect to any Zairus'' cell tower, we can easily gain more information. ]


    "That wouldn''t be very long..." Wace concluded but the A.I. seems to have something more.


    [ Online information or traces within the inte about the sent materials to Zairus were being deleted by all servers. ]


    Wace couldn''t understand what was happening and could only guess. The materials from his weapon were probably sent to Zairus in secret but the photos were perhaps leaked and uploaded online. Then the Congress might''ve taken an action and quickly suppressed the information leak.


    "What''s going on? Why is it there? Only the Z-Company that was guarding the ind should have ess to those materials. Why would the Z-Company, a criminal organization, send such materials to the Congress. That''s weird." Wace shook his head and decided not to think too much. Once the A.I. had probably collected more information, he''ll get some answers.


    Wace was nearing the Bluefields City so he decided to get updated on thepetition that was happening at the time.


    "Avery seems to be uninterested." Wace noticed her eyes that doesn''t seem to take the automaton seriously.


    He watched the battle ensue and noticed the strength of the automaton was quite scary. If this was used in TMAC, probably only a few can manage to fight against it. Aside from these six from Zairus, Wace couldn''t think of magicians that could fight the automaton made by Julian. Probably only Vera from their Leonhearts could fight against it. Shirley and Hilda''s wasn''t that well-rounded yet to fight against these automatons as most of their ability heavily relied on the ability of their Mana Artifact.


    "It looks difficult. If it was me before, I''d probably give up on this." Wace said as he observed. He was impressed with how Avery was handling the automaton.


    Avery was only parrying the attacks of the automaton and hadn''t gone to the offensive. The magic she had used was probably just a movement spell. The automatons seem to be using several enhancement magic spells as well. There wasn''t any other magic as it seems. Unfortunately, Wace couldn''t tell every detail with such a limited view in the battle.


    The view was moved to another participant that was fighting the automaton.


    "Eh? Are they fighting differently programmed automaton?" Wace was surprised to see that the automatons that the others were fighting had been using Magic Spells. They were throwing strong spells to fight against the strong spells being thrown by the students.


    Wace watched the battle a bit more. After about three minutes more of battle, Wace realized that the automatons were programmed to battle at the same level as what the students were showing.


    "So that was why..." Wace said because upon noticing the timer that was showing in the television. Other magicians probably thought that the 15 minutes mark was just there to limit the battle time so it wouldn''t take too long. After all, there are still many events.


    Some participants were even thinking that this 15 minutes was too long and had thoughts of finishing the automaton as quickly as possible. But these 15 minutes were probably there to save the students from exhaustion.


    The automatons were too strong. These Mana Artifacts that were under the category of puppetry were made so as to respond depending on the strength of the magicians. This mock battle was to let everyone see the ability of these magicians within the 15 minutes timeframe.


    "That''s an amazing automaton. As expected of someone within the same generation of Aeolia. They do have scary abilities. I hope I could get one of those. It is definitely a lot more diverse than the automatons within the TMAC that was guarding the ce.


    ''Oh, I shouldn''t judge that quickly... I haven''t seen those fight and only noticed that they just possess Magic Jammer.'' Wace remembered his encounter with the automatons during the TMAC.


    The battle continued and Avery doesn''t seem to sweat during the whole 15 minutes, unlike the others.

 Chapter 115 - Wallaces Plan

    K, Sheryl, and Jun from the Mystic Gate Academy were impressed by Avery''s performance in thepetition. Her smooth and stable movement from the start-up to the end of the battle wasn''t easily achieved just like how she made it look.


    "I didn''t think that a battle with an automaton could be so graceful, I hope I can see that again..." Jun said after admiring Avery''s amazing performance. Although there wasn''t any explosive magic used during the whole battle and only pure enhancement skills were used, it was still amazing seeing the automaton cast a fouryered movement speed buff and be parried by Avery''s Water Curtain Sword Art. The audience and announcers may not be aware of Avery''s sword skills but these students from Zairus were surely aware of their teammate''s ability. It would surely be a disaster for the automaton once Avery added Magic Skills during the battle.


    "What are you saying? It wasn''t easy for Senior Avery to limit her strength. She probably realized the capability of the automaton so she tried not to show all her cards. In any case, the purpose of this second round was only to battle the automaton for 15 minutes." K who somehow knew it better replied. Her skills to analyze battles were improved due to her sensitivity in Mana having enhanced together with her affinity.


    "Hmm... I wonder if I can do that as well..." K added after contemting a bit.


    "Hey, K. Your battle style ispletely different from senior Avery, you just have to stick with your style." Sherylmented without much of an expression and only focused on the next contestant that was trying to look for their weapon on the shelves.


    "Hehe. Of course, I''m kidding. I''ll probably onlyst in few exchanges before I''ll be beaten by the automaton if I ever attempted to copy her style. That would be embarrassing."


    "At least, you''ll also gain a lot of attention with that. Haha. By the way, you''ve mentioned that you''ll fightst this time?" Jun curiously asked.


    "That''s right. This time, they wanted me to watch all their battle carefully and learn some tricks." K rolled her eyes and answered Jun. The three waited for the next contestants to have their mock battle. This time, it was Hector Newman''s turn.


    As the only male who was chosen to participate in thisbatpetition. His enthusiasm was at its peak. Surrounded by five girls, he had to at least impress one of them.


    ''I''ll show you how to fight an automaton.'' Hector said to himself.


    ***


    Wace had been curious about the A.I.''s gathered information. Although he wanted it to be ced at the back of his mind and focus on thepetition, he couldn''t help but think about his future ns.


    Now that he had the A.I. and the Cube with him. He must n his next steps. Currently, he tasked the A.I. to gather as much information it could get from this world and get a solid background about this world''s level of science and technology. He had also tasked the A.I. to study the Mana Nuclear Reactor he made, study the Magic Spells, Magic Structure, Mana Formation and Array, Mana Study, Mana Artifact''s 1st to 5th gen, puppetry, martial skills, traveler, and also get some general knowledge or skills that a Mage Doctor possesses for future references.


    Once he gets that information, he nned to properly integrate advanced technology in his creations bit by bit. He would start from a small project to a veryrge one.


    Truthfully, if it was in other''s cases, an Artificial Intelligence''s ability to learn can be so dreadful if it was not controlled properly by a human. Fortunately, Wace wasn''t worried about this because his Avalon was a bit special.


    Wace also remembered that this world''s material development wasn''t solid so he would also look into that. Regarding nuclear energy as another source of power, he hadn''t forgotten it.


    He had already discovered how the Mana suppresses nuclear fission reactions by blocking the movement of free neutrons and learned that nuclear fusion, which does not rely on neutron emission, would be unaffected by the presence of Mana. This discovery made him have a glimpse of hope about his future space travel. As long as he created a magic structure or a technology that would negate the side effects of having Mana, or create a field that would stop Mana from interfering with nuclear fission, he would have a chance of making nuclear reactors and weapons with the help of his A.I.


    In all honesty, he wasn''t sure if he could rely on Mana once he was out in space so he would have to create alternatives in many possible situations.


    He may be thinking too far ahead. After all, there''s still an issue about strengthening himself due to possible Meredith''s Empire visit here. But all of these was also for himself. He had to set his goals and n his actions so as not to waste time. He had to take his opportunity within these peaceful times.


    As Wace was about to fall asleep thinking of his future, the bus stopped and an announcement that they arrived in Bluefields City was heard.


    "Ahh.. atst. I should probably meet Lucian or Max for now." The two were the bodyguard assigned to him together with Yumi as a manager. Once he informed them about his return, the two would surely spread the information and handle everything.


    Wace spread his Divine Sense and found the familiar Mana Fluctuations of Lucian and Max. The two seem to be inside the arena where thepetition was being held out.


    After going to a secluded ce and confirming no eyes were watching him, he used his Void Phase and went near the two.


    The two adult men were seen together and one of them was talking on his hidden microphone. He was reporting to their superior about their patrol.


    They were within thepound of the arena and there was no presence of other people. They were probably making sure that no people were loitering around. Aside from them, Wace had noticed arge number of Battle Mages working together to guard the arena to make the ce safe.


    "Eh? He noticed?" Wace eximed as he was about to call Lucian and Max in the hallway. He sensed the presence of Troy Webbing to his location at a very fast speed. Even Chalice hadn''t noticed his Void Phase so Wace was genuinely surprised, it was an impressive feat.


    "Ah, no... It was probably a formation." Wace stopped for a moment and used his Divine Sense differently. Unlike focusing his senses on the mana fluctuations of a person, he focused his attention on his surroundings instead.


    It seems that any uncounted people within the arena would be felt by Troy, the one who ced the Magic Formation.


    "I was careless, I focused too much on people''s Mana Fluctuation even if the Divine Sense had noticed the unusual movement of mana." Wace scratched his head as he still wasn''t too versed in utilizing the full potential of his Divine Sense. Even though this ability could give him a lot of information, it was still depending on how he processes the information he was receiving.


    "I felt that the ce was safe because I''m no longer on that ind." Wace sighed as he admitted his mistakes this time.


    "Let''s just meet him then." But before that, Wace called Lucian and Max''s attention.


    "Wace!"


    "Huh?"


    Lucian was the first to notice Wace followed by Max.


    "W-where have you been? Yumi had been looking for you all this time." Max didn''t expect that Wace would just suddenly appear like a ghost.


    "Are you alright? Have you eaten yet?" Lucian asked worriedly as he didn''t bother to ask where he had been all this time. Wace was actually a bit touched on Lucian''s words asking about his well-being first.


    Waceughed at this but momentarily stopped when he felt Troy''s presence behind him.


    "Oh, so it was you." Troy said nkly as he sized up Wace. It seems that he was trying to find something from him.


    "Have you met Yumi?" Troy asked after a few moments.


    "No. I haven''t seen her yet. I''d like to apologize to her. Can you tell me where-"


    "I''m not sure where she is. Report to our coordinator if you still want to participate in thepetition." Troy said as he turned his back from the three and walked away.


    "I don''t think that he likes me." Wace softly said after confirming that Troy had left.


    "Of course, he was assigned to take care of all of the nine students participating in thepetition and one of them just left without any care to the superiors he left. Who wouldn''t be mad?" Max teased Wace as the two bodyguards was already d since Wace returned intact. Regarding Yumi''s whereabouts, an Adept Mage would surely survive here. They were expecting that she''ll be back in a while.


    "I''llmunicate with the relevant officers about your return. Headmaster Percival was truly worried about you, I believe that a special squad from Lucent Force was sent here recently to join an operation to find you." Lucian said which made Wace remember Aaron''s appearance. He was tempted to ask about Aaron''s identity but he would be discovered that he already encountered them.

 Chapter 116 - Hector

    Hector''s im wasn''t just empty words. He had observed the automaton''s ability and learned their limit from the other three representatives.


    "Although their ability to adapt was iparable to what I''ve seen, their critical thinking couldn''t bepared to a brain-boosted Magician." Hector smiled as he grabbed a short staff from the shelf assigned to their stage.


    The staff was designed in a dark color and iid with a marking of a mythical beast from the northern continent, a winged dragon.


    As he stepped on the stage, the Magic Formation activated and blocked all the noisesing from the outside. Hector then focused his sight on the copper automaton at the other side of the stage.


    The 15 minutes timer had also started as soon as he entered the stage.


    Hector activated his Mana Shell and cast an exclusive Mana Spell of the artifact.


    "Eight-Fold Roar!"


    The attack was made of eight Mana Bombs exploding at the same time. It was a bit difficult to control due to its number but Hector was someone who specialized in multicasting so it wasn''t too hard for him.


    The automaton that charged to him was thrown off by several meters. It then released a high-speed mana burst afternding on the ground. The attack wasn''t made or converted to an element like what normally magicians used.


    It seems that because Hector attacked using mana-based spells and not elemental, the automaton had also attacked using a formless Mana.


    This was actually a bit scarier than a mana-based attacking from a real magician. The automaton''s attack was so precise aside from its response that was extremely quick. It even felt that its movement was actually faster when it had fought Avery.


    "Hmph..." Hector smirked at this as everything was still under his control.


    ''Just like what I thought. So this is your weakness.'' The man thought as he believed that he grasped the automaton''s strengths and weaknesses.


    As soon as the automaton released its attack, it was suddenly seen unmoving from its location where itnded.


    The audience only noticed that the automaton''s leg was actually petrified.


    During the recent fights, Hector noticed that the automaton''s program was extremely arrogant as if it was belittling them. He had noticed that these lifeless puppets were programmed to respond depending on the level of ability that the magician was exerting. If the magician was casting an elemental spell, the automaton would try to return something simr with an improved version.


    If the magician was only using enhancements spells, it would also try to use enhancements spells with a higher level, just like how it tried to fight Avery with fouryered movement speed buff and others.


    To test his theory he cast an exclusive spell of the staff which was purely made of Mana while also secretly casting another Grade 2 Magic Spell that was structured within the staff.


    ***


    Before Hector fought the automaton, everyone in the arena was excited to see the next battle because they expected that it would also be an intense fight.


    That''s right, only Avery''s stage doesn''t look that intense but the battle was still thrilling due to their fast movements.


    "Look, Hector from Zairus has decided to select our signature Mana Artifact. It is such an honor. This ssic Red Dragon Staff that was always being sold in multiple countries had originated here in our small country. The staff contains the passion of our 4th generation era Magic Engineers and was improved by thetter years." The announcer provided a bit of introduction in Hector''s chosen Mana Artifact.


    "That''s true. The staff was one of the Mana Artifacts that was mostly being used by beginnerbat magicians and had helped many of them to have a stable foundation in terms of using Mana-Based attacks."


    "A popr Mana Artifact is known by many beginners. How about the others?"


    "Let''s see, there''s Cranium Smasher, Azure Thorn Whip, and looking at our home team''s selection... eh?" The two nned to introduce each of the Mana artifacts but were surprised upon finding out the weapon that Zarif, from their Montego''s team, had selected another inappropriate weapon.


    "Why? Why did they select another Vampiric Staff? Haven''t they learned from Kadeen''s experience? Or were the others not watching as their leader struggle fighting that automaton using that Vampiric Staff?"


    "I couldn''t understand. It was just a bit weird. They surely have a better choice. Just what are they thinking?"


    "Is it still a part of the n?"


    The announcers could only shake their heads as they take a quick nce at the side where their home team was resting and overviewing the fight.


    As soon as the battle started, they saw the overwhelming power that the Cranium Smasher was releasing as the magician tried to beat the automaton into a pulp. The magician was a female one and as she held therge hammer like it was nothing, the crowd had cheered for her to destroy the automaton. Before, they felt that the automaton was too strong but now, it seems it could only try to dodge the magician''s attack that was empowered by the hammer.


    It seems there was a limit of power where the automaton could take damage head-on. The automaton then also tried to fight the magician using multiple strengthening buff and soon gain an upper hand as there wasn''t any unnecessary movement like before in the first round. It was as if its graceful movement was copied from Avery''s actions a while ago.


    The automaton was then covered by Mana that was utilizing its speed and strength. It focuses a lot of its strength in its every punch making the female magician frown as it felt that they have equal strength. If that was the case, she''ll be fully exhausted within the next 13 more minutes.


    Soon the audience stopped their eyes on Hector''s stage. The battle hadn''t looked so intensepared to the three. It seems that the Zairus students would always like to finish their round in an anticlimactic way.


    "Wow! Such a quick cast from Hector. That Eight-Fold Roar spell would normally be released by a beginnerbat magician within 30 seconds. But the student only used a short 8 seconds. Isn''t that too amazing?"


    After Hector threw the automaton, he didn''t give them a chance to fully stabilized themselves and make aeback. Although it tried to counterattack with high precision, it was only the automaton''s attempt to have a breather and distract Hector from following up.


    Unfortunately, Hector didn''t mind the mana-based attack. All he was thinking was that once this automaton had shifted its mode of attack to elemental-based magic spells, it would be too troublesome for him.


    Now that it hadn''t changed its programmedmand yet, he had to grab the chance. He had to defeat it now.


    Soon the audience saw the automaton lose its bnce and fell to the ground.


    The Eight-Fold Roar was found to be Hector''s distraction and the real attack came from his another Grade 2 Magic Spell, Weak Petrification. It sessfullynded on the automaton''s leg.


    "Hah, I understand now. This Hector was really talented in multicasting. I forgot that one of the special traits of that staff that was always being ignored was the intensive 4th gen background of the whole mana artifact. After all, it has one of the best brain-boosting magic structures during its era." One of the announcers said. The brain-boosting magic structure within the staff couldn''t be normally handled by standard magicians and only those with a solid foundation in multicasting can properly utilize the brain-boost power of the staff.


    ***


    Wace had been watching the battle since the start and was impressed by his senior''s brilliance. He had already seen his battle before in TMAC and it seems that he further improved himself during the month prior to thispetition.


    Wace had been trying to see how magicians would battle even before as he had very limited battle experience for himself. His retrieval of the Cube had only provided him a little battle experience using magic. As he mostly used his Amplified Assault Armor and his Silver Orbs magic structures aside from the bombs and Fervor Timepiece.


    The most that he did before in space was control a mech remotely and fight the enemies. Though it improved his reaction speed, he wanted to learn and have a mock battle and test his prowess in fighting using magic to those within his level.


    He would like to also find the best fighting method using magic that wasn''t his creations. This way, he would easily adapt himself for the sake of his future ns.


    "Wace, You might want to ready yourself. Yumi already found out that you''re here." Lucian said as he approached him.


    ''Eh? That was fast?'' Wace thought as he felt that they should''ve rested in Linshamn City first but then he suddenly remembered that he rode a public bus and the Lucent Force probably have their own means of travel.


    "Alright, I''ll meet with her." Wace could only say as he was readying himself to reason out with Yumi.


    "Ah, also. Your substitute seems to be unhappy that he''ll be reced just because you arrived." Lucian smiled and added before leading the way to Yumi''s group.

 Chapter 117 - Automaton

    Chalice consulted and told his ns to the higher-ups of Z-Company and they had an argument for a while.


    Recently, Chalice felt that he was guarding an empty shell. It wasn''t the same before where the aircraft felt like it was something filled with unknown treasures.


    His instincts never failed him before, so due to this, he had to change his ns. His strength had stagnated in recent years as he could no longer do anything to increase his power and unaware of what to do next as he doesn''t have a mentor strong enough to guide him.


    Also, the higher-ups of the Z-Company don''t want to fully help him anymore. There were some internal changes within the structure of the organization as the people who were fully supporting his back before were no longer in position and were reced by younger officials.


    This made Chalice realized that he was bing unfamiliar with the organization.


    But due to the help provided by the organization when he was still starting his path in magic, his loyalty didn''t waiver. He reported his ns to them and asked permission to be assigned elsewhere as the value of this relic site seems to have lessened. He wanted to be involved in the northern continent''s forces and let others handle the defense on this ind.


    Unfortunately, it seems like the Z-Company had even be more cautious of him after he asked permission for this. Instead of approval, he received a mission to participate in an experiment.


    "What? Do you want to test those for me? I heard that there was a high fatality rate on those experiments." Chalice frowned after hearing the request of one of the researchers from Shaman''s Hex Faction. The man looked to be in his fifties as he tried to entice Chalice into participating in the experiment.


    "You are different, you are one of the strongest magicians out there. Your degree of immunity to this experiment is much higher than the others. We have made calctions that your physique is suitable for these enhancements. Also, there''s already a level of sess when we tried it to others but they just can''t control the new strength they received. They were unable to properly control or utilize them to avoid harming themselves. But we know that you can do this..."


    "How would you know? What if there are any mistakes? That project you have wasn''t even as long as the Cryptic Link." Chalice questioned him and shook his head as he wasn''t convinced.


    "We willpensate you. But if this seeded, you can just imagine the further increase in strength that you would receive." The man still tried to lure Chalice. He was aware of Chalice''s stagnated strength so he was clinging in the hopes of recruiting him by providing more power. But to change Chalice''s mind was difficult.


    "I will still not agree on this. This is not the reason that I contacted you, people." Chalice wanted to say more but the man seems to start changing his approach to him.


    "Why? You''re still unable to tell? This is the future, this is the path for the 6th gen! The creation of the Human Mana Artifact! Your strength will not improve in the northern continent and we can''t have you move away yet. Also, we still have some ns within this southern continent and your presence would be needed." The man seriously said in the end as he took a heavy breath.


    Chalice was getting unhappy with the man he was speaking with. At the very least, the man''s words still indicate his importance to the organization and he would surely not be killed within the experimentation.


    ''What 6th gen? You just wanted to test my body if I could endure being ingrained by those magic structure orbs.'' Chalice thought.


    "No, it''s too dangerous. I don''t need your experiments to improve my physique or even my power. I will seek my own path."


    Chalice remained in his stance as another argument with the researcher happened. This time, Chalice could no longer take it.


    ***


    Hector''s ability to adapt to the situation was very impressive. He learned the weakness of the automaton and used this chance to immobilize the automaton.


    As soon as the automaton''s leg was petrified. It would be much easier for him to finish it.


    However, since he had used elemental-based Mana attack, the automaton should now use an elemental base as well. He had to be careful but he knew that he already won this fight afternding the petrification spell.


    Hector followed up with another quick-casting magic spell. But just like what he thought, the automaton was fully prepared. It easily cast Stone Wall to block its front and as Hector tried to use a more diverse attack, it just cast Water Sphere Prison to defend against attacks from all sides.


    The magician didn''t falter as he waited for a few minutes for an opportunity and thanks to his patience, after 6 minutes of waiting, a chance finally urred. This wasn''t something that luckily appeared but nned. It was due to the petrification he ced before, which have corrosive effects.


    Unfortunately, the effects can be dyed depending on the victim''s Mana usage. So Hector didn''t give a chance for the automaton to gather enough Mana and focus on removing the petrification he cast. Finally, his means and preparation sessfully lead to this situation.


    "That Weak Petrification is really effective against non-living objects. The corrosion was enough to deal with the structure of the automaton." Hector said after defeating the automaton andpletely immobilizing them.


    This battle made everyone realize the dy that the automaton does whenever it switches its programmed battle style. The next contestants that have noticed this, took note of it quickly as they prepared themselves for their uing fight.


    But it seems that the Montego team doesn''t have ns on copying Hector''s strategy.


    Hector had clearly dominated the round and was given praise by the audience and acknowledged by his teammates. K especially went and congratted her teammate.


    Of course, K was also inspired by Hector''s strategy and would like to use it on her own but with a different battle style. She wasn''t good enough to use the Red Dragon Staff and she had never tried multicasting eight Mana-based attacks before. Although there''s already a magic structure that would guide her to cast, it would still be challenging if she''ll do it the first time so she''d rather use familiar Mana Artifacts.


    The third round urred and it was N''s turn on Zairus''s side. N hadn''t use Hector''s method of using mana-based attack to throw off the automaton and have a chance tond a quick elemental spell. The reason was simple, the automation had changed its pattern for some reason and became a bit more cautious and not so aggressive unlike in the first match. In this round of battle, no one has defeated the automaton but everyone were been able tost for fifteen minutes.


    The Montego team was still curiously using Vampiric Staff which even feels like it was getting more difficult for their student. The announcers were tired toment about it and had only said a few things. The announcers had instead highlighted Maja''s Prisci, a female second-year student.


    She has tanned skin and short ck hair. Her bangs were clipped to her left to make sure that it would not affect her vision. During the whole battle, her eyes seem to see through the automaton''s attack as she yed with it within the whole fifteen minutes. It feels like the girl was warming up with the automaton as a partner.


    Wace had returned after meeting Yumi and noticed Prisci''s semnce with his third-year senior, Mei. It made him quite curious.


    As the third round ended and the fourth round started, they all realized the automaton''s strange behavior. It took them this fourth battle just to learn that the automatons were actually capable of learning.


    "Isn''t this very tough?"


    "That''s right, what will happen to thest participant. They would definitely fight the strongest automaton."


    "What bad luck. Too bad that no one knows aside from the organizers about the secret of this match."


    "Yes, if they were aware of the rules of the automaton at the very beginning, they would''ve been very careful on this. And the strongest student might be ced on the 6th round instead."


    It was a disaster, all the participants except Montego''s team had struggled to fight against the enemy. They had barely held on and the battle which Aria fought was very difficult as she was almost defeated. She had only luckilysted long because she revealed her Mana Affinity that reached the level of Inducement Control. At least at this time, K learned how to take advantage of having high affinity in a battle.


    "They are too strong... What a stroke of bad luck, I should''ve fought first. That Avery was lucky." Aria grumbled as she regretted giving up her chance to fight in the first round. It was because Avery said that she just wanted to fight first for their sake as she kindly asked them to find the automaton''s weakness during her fight so it would be easier for the next participant.


    Vanessa looked at her best friend, patted her back, andforted her.


    "That''s alright. Just imagine K''s luck." Due to the rules of thepetition. The submitted lineup before the round can no longer be changed. So K has to fight the sixth round even if Vanessa was willing to exchange the round with her.

 Chapter 118 - Hani

    Wace greeted and talked with Yumi and her group in a few minutes before going back to the crowd and watch thepetition. They were in an empty hallway inside the arena.


    The Adult Yumi haspanions together with her, it was Max, Aaron with a strange look at Yumi, and probably another member of Lucent Force.


    "You have a decent skill, huh." Yumi smiled at Wace and mocked him a bit. She wasn''t really mad but she put a lot of effort in what happened after he left.


    "I''m sorry for the trouble I caused."


    "It''s good that you''re sorry. How did you disappear in the hotel?" Yumi asked instead, she had investigated the pillow that Wace left which fooled them by cing his Mana Fluctuations within it and was actually amazed that Wace has such an advanced method mana maniption.


    "Ah, that? I conveniently brought my Float Drive System to fly away." Wace answered. He doesn''t have to tell every detail. He wanted to make an excuse but if he told a lot of things, there would be a lot of holes. Luckily, It seems that Yumi wasn''t too inclined to know that detailed event.


    In truth, Yumi was still unconvinced because she believed that she should have detected the Mana artifact''s activation unless Wace deliberately created a cloak spell to hide its presence. Reaching this line of thought, she realized that Wace might have really created one.


    "Alright then, did you get what you''re looking for?" Yumi asked instead. She has another theory about what truly happened specially about the armored being''s appearance but since there were more people here at the moment, Wace may not admit. So she decided to confront him about thister on.


    "Yes." Wace answered in which Yumi nodded in return.


    "Wace, I''m not sure what happened but it''s good that you''re safe." Aaron said after noticing that the Yumi and Wace had nothing else to say. He was genuinely happy that Wace has returned although he wanted to scold him a bit. But since Yumi was cool about what happened and didn''t take it too seriously, he stopped himself to do so.


    They still have another tasked to do. They have discovered one of the hideouts of the criminal organization, Z-Company, that was hidden in one of the isted inds of Araceli here in Montego.


    This requires a lot more attention as the Lucent Force felt that the royalty here wasn''t too inclined in pursuing this. The only response they received was a message telling that they''ll investigate the ind and if the criminal organization really does exist there, they will be dealt with in ordance with thew.


    It only means that the Lucent Force wasn''t included with further follow up investigation or operation against the Z-Company. Although Aaron''s expected this, they were still unhappy that their sacrifice in discovering the ind seems to be about to go to waste.


    They were in a different country so they couldn''t take that much of an action and whatever result of investigation or operation they made, they could only ept it.


    The Z-Company had been active on stealing a Sealed Mana Artifact in the past years, their country was victimized in this event, and this could have been a chance to trace those artifacts.


    "Thank you pres, I wonder why you''re here. I didn''t thought that you''d personallye and support me in thispetition." Wace said as he smiled at Aaron.


    "Eh? Right... I visited you here to watch youpete." Aaron awkwardly said as he remembered that Wace shouldn''t be aware of his identity. As he met with various members of Lucent Force and people who somehow knew his identity, he forgot that Wace was not included in them.


    "Really? I''ll work hard then. But I heard that there''s already a substitute that was selected."


    "Oh, we can just remove him. What''s the matter?"


    "It seems that he was unconvinced about Wace''s talents." This time it was answered by Lucian who coordinated with the substitute himself.


    "Unconvinced?" Yumi smiled after hearing this and further asked Wace.


    "What would you do?" She felt that it would be better if Wace would personally deal with this. After all, she wanted to find out more about him. But just in case that Wace decided to go thru proper procedure and speak with the manager or organizer so he could forcefully reim the slot, Yumi would still be willing to help him.


    Wace pondered a bit and sighed. He believed that it''s fine to show some more things about his skills. Anyway, he would show even more once he''s in thepetition.


    "Alright. I would speak to him once we are on lunch. If I remember correctly, submission of line up would be between 1 and 1:30 PM as the first round of Artifact Forging would start at 2 PM, is that correct?" Wace tried to rify the little rules that was provided to them. Thepetitions themselves weren''t described in great detail and could only guess based on the title of event.


    "That''s correct. Then I believe that you can sort that out with yourself? Although we weren''t too inclined in winning thispetition, I heard from Aaron that you still have your fans in your academy watching thispetition, so you have to be part of it." Yumi smiled and said before gesturing on others to quickly leave her alone with Wace. Although the other magicians was surprised, they didn''t asked too much.


    "I just want to have a quick word with him. This won''t take a minute." Yumi reasoned as she just want to really tell something to Wace.


    After leaving the two alone, Yumi cast a quick istion barrier making her conversation with Wace unheard to the others.


    "What''s with this secrecy about?" Wace curiously analyzed the istion barrier but it seems that he expected too much. The barrier could only lower the frequency of the sound going out from it and stop other people in hearing their conversation. There are still many ways to deal with this kind of barrier but since they were in a safe ce and no one would bother to put so much effort in eavesdropping on their conversation, Wace and Yumi felt that it was enough.


    "Well, I just want to tell you something uncle Nortrom. I''m Hani." Yumi said with a teasing smile.


    ''Ah, she already knew? No, she''s definitely aware that I disguised as Nortrom so she followed me. But one more thing... What about the armored being within the Araceli ind? Was she aware about it as well. Does she knew everything?''


    Wace quickly thought and was surprised that Yumi would actually use this approach. He took a breath and cleared his mind. It might also be a trap and Yumi may not be too sure as well. ''She only called me uncle Nortrom, he may be aware of that idenity being me but she can''t be sure about the armored being. That''s right. I just have to deny for now... Once I learned her motives, I might even have to enlist her and have her work with me.'' Wace finally concluded his thoughts. His ns can''t be aplished alone. Building a spaceship could never be done alone even with the help of an A.I.


    "Haha... I''m not sure what you''re saying."


    Yumi had been watching Wace''s face as soon as she asked the question.


    "Well, it seems that you''re not ready yet. Don''t worry, I will not report what I''ve seen in that ind and inside that aircraft." Yumi didn''t lose herposure after Wace tried to deny it. Wace was even more d upon hearing this. It seems that Yumi was a good person.


    ***


    After returning to the crowd to spectate the battle, Wace had already realized the ability of the automatons to learn within the third round. But the changes was only magnified at the fourth round where all participants and even the audience had seen the drastic change in their behavior, movement, magic skills, and spell utilization. The automatons became more careful and had been so good in decision-making.


    "It would be tough for K." Wace ndlymented after observing the team. He then turned his eyes on the Montego''s team''s area who were calmly assessing the situation. It seems it wasn''t only him who noticed their too amazing n in this event.


    The announcers defended the Montego''s team as they felt that people was having the same thoughts as Wace. They tried to find a word to reason out. After all, it was their home team''s reputation.


    "Our Montego''s team seems to have a great strategist. As we all know, aside from several spells that could restore the user''s Mana, vitality, and corrode the enemy''s mana, the Vampiric Staff has a spell called Five-Force Push. A mana spell that could store abundant mana force with the help of vampire stone attached at the middle of the staff and this Five-Force Push can only be used after five different forces of mana was stored in this stone."


    "That''s right, that skill should be enough to deal with thest automaton. They must have realized this based on thepetition 10 years ago that thest match against a puppet, now called an automaton, would be tough."


    "Yes! The strategist must have nned this for them. Its good that it bore fruit, because if the strategist failed his deduction about thepetition, the students could have suffered for nothing."


    "True... After all, the participants would not be informed about this. Only the main organizer of the event, or Sir Julian himself would be aware of the proceedings. They just have a capable strategist."


    After the audience heard this, they all nodded and understood everything as they awed about the brilliance of the strategist.

 Chapter 119 - Sixth Match

    Wace watched the fifth round where Vanessa struggled a lot tost 15 minutes against the automaton.


    This time, one team loses a point as one of the participants was not able tost and left unconscious on the stage. He was a member of Maja''s team and he wasn''t used to fight a magician that could quick-cast while buffed by a threeyered movement speed spell.


    The other four onlysted for so long because they have a very strong defense and sturdy Mana Shell.


    The automaton seems to have reached its peak after this fifth round. It probably learned Vanessa''s Motion Break, a technique where her cast was being dyed to catch the target off guard. It wasn''t a magic spell but a skill for those who possess high level of control on Mana.


    Vanessa had only learned this trick after getting a chance to dip in the Revitalization Mana Spring.


    "Haaa~ This is so tough. I almost showed all my cards just tost that long." Vanessained as her pale body was full of sweat after an intense battle against the automaton. She had to move around the stage to avoid the focus fire of the automaton which drained her not only a lot Mana but also stamina.


    "I wonder if K can just give up mid-way if she find it too difficult." Vanessa kindly thought for K. Although she had learned Inducement Control in the first event. She still needed time toprehend the full ability it could give her. It requires time and practice to properly utilize the skill.


    "It should be alright. You can just announce that you''ve given up and the referee should stop the match." Hector butted in as K was now together with them since the fifth match. She had been watching the fight together with Sheryl and Jun a while ago. K heard this and seems to be pondering on the advice.


    "Well, that guy who had gone unconscious at the stage was remarkable and would surely receive praises from his teammates. But you don''t have to copy that. There''s still a match tomorrow and the next day so you have to preserve your strength." Aria finally said to let K decided. They were worried that K would push herself tost 15 minutes.


    The automaton didn''t just learned Vanessa''s technique and probably learned the other student''s special skills. The one from Virgan had shown a technique called Nine Shadow Step to avoid all the automaton''s attacks and move on its blind spot for a counterattack. Although it was an amazing skill, the automaton hadn''t been defeated due to its continuous movement just like Avery''s Water Curtain Sword Art where it uses minimal movement to make a precised and timelyeback whenever an opportunity strikes.


    The automaton had also been using the techniques that the other students had shown during the others rounds.


    "I understand. I will do my best first and give up if I find it too much for me." K finally acknowledged due to her teammates insisting on her. Their words was true but it felt difficult for her to admit loss just like that. She''ll surely show all her skills before she''ll think of giving up. Anyway, they are here to just show their skills and not really aiming to win the wholepetition. This is what she''ll do. Sheposed herself and went to the shelves beside their stage to look for a suitable weapon.


    She looked at the automaton standing on the stage that looked to harmless. It doesn''t look to be too strong just by looking outside.


    This type of puppet Mana Artifact may seem to be too strong but its ability could never reach the level of a Battle Mage. It may be enough to take a bit of time of a Battle Mage but it wasn''t enough to defeat one. These automatons could only bully thosebat magicians that are still learning. Also, Sheryl had also told her that these type of learning automatons had limitations. The skill that it copied using a special magic structure could only be saved for half a day. Because the special stone where the Learning Skill magic structure can be infused would be burdened and destroyed if itsted more than that time frame. It isn''t a limit of magic structure but materials.


    K took her time to find a weapon. Although she already have something in her mind, it didn''t stop her to study the other Mana Artifacts out of curiousity.


    Looking at the hundred Mana Artifacts, she had used about 60 of them in practice due to her family and academy''s resources. About 30 of them was Mana Artifact she had only seen in text books. There are ten of them that she had never heard even once at all. Even with the artifact''s name and a brief description written beside them, she didn''t found it familiar.


    "Alright... This should be good enough."


    K picked up an azure ring and wore it on her right middle finger. They ring size was a bitrge but it immediately changed it''s size after K wore it to fit her finger. It''s one of the simple function of the ring.


    After she wore the ring, a ck tattoo formed on her right arm looking like a flowers with a thorny stem slithering in her arms.


    ***


    Wace was invited to watch thest match together with the other members. The nine of the participants together with the substitute was now in a same area near the stage with some of the managers of their team.


    It seems that since this is thest match, everyone had gathered together to support theirst teammate.


    He politely greeted everyone as aside from Sheryl and K, they were all his seniors. He also met Van, the substitute they selected for him. The man didn''t say a word but still nodded at him. Although he seems to be doubting Wace''s skills, they were still students from the same country. As long as he proved himself, it was even possible to be his friend after this event.


    "What happened? We''ve been worried about you." Jun Richardson asked Wace. They weren''t close but during thispetition they were all teammates and will be working together in the next few days. He wanted to destroy the invisible wall separating them and get close to each other.


    It seems that the others had gotten his intention as Hector also joined the conversation.


    "That''s right, we first thought that you''d never return. We didn''t received any notice about your whereabouts until just now. Did you bring any souvenir? Did you go sightsee? I was told that we''ll be given a day for that after thepetition. It was supposed to happen before thepetition but got rearranged due to the attack that has urred."


    "Ah... I just had to sort something out. It wasn''t really serious. I''m sorry, I didn''t have time to look for a souvenir, I hurried here after finishing my business." Wace exined his side as he approached Jun who offered a seat beside him.


    "Haha, I''m just joking. It''s good that you''re back. Thispetition would give you a good experience so it would be a pity if you missed the chance." Hector said before concluding the chat. It was now time for K to battle against the automaton.


    Wace was about to ask the unfamiliar Mana Artifact but decided to wait. It would probably be exined by the announcers or he could also ask the A.I.


    ''Oh, the A.I. still doesn''t have a small version. I won''t be able tomunicate with it like this. I probably need a smaller version. An earpiece or probably a contact lens.'' Wace thought as he nced at the arm guard, but he suddenly remembered his limited resources. The earpiece might be doable at the moment but the contact lens level may be too much for the meantime.


    During the event in artifact forging, he wouldn''t be allowed to wear the arm guard too. Anyway, the A.I. was still learning and at the moment, it was only as good as a database. It may still take a while before it could do more than that.


    As soon as the match started, everyone was curiously watching the Montego''s team''s participant. She was a small chestnut-haired girl holding the Vampiric Staff which had loaded five powersing from the five participants earlier.


    The battle onlysted for about 10 seconds. The automaton had received a direct attack that was approaching the level of a Battle Mage. Because of the girl''s fast reaction speed he immediately caught the automaton that hadn''t fully shown it''s might yet.


    The automation''s program about how it would fight depending on the magician''s type of skill hadn''t changed. This is the only w that remained on it aside from what Sheryl had told K.


    As the girl hadn''t even cast a simple Mana Shell, any defensive spell, movement spell, or even an attack spell, the automaton attacked first using a mana-based spell with an extremely quick and precise control.


    The automaton had even anticipated a counterattack so it didn''t stay on it''s location.


    Sure enough, the girl released the Five-Force Push that they have been saving up.

 Chapter 120 - End Of Round

    The Five-Force Push was a magic spell that possess the power of five different magicians, it wouldn''t be surprising to see the automaton defeated after receiving the full brunt of the attack.


    The spell didn''t have such grand effects like everyone would expect from abination spell, not only was the spell silent but also extremely quick. The spell created a beam that followed the automaton even if it tried dodging, it was a spell that hunts a moving target.


    "A beam that could bend and follow the target?" Wace observed the fight interestingly. The particle beam that was being used in outerspace had always been in straight line. It would annihte any obstruction and leave nothing behind.


    The battle of innovation with regards to the particle beams would be it''s size, destructibility, and the distance that it could reach.


    After seeing the Five-Force Push, Wace was inspired to integrate the trick to a weaponized particle beam. Although he doesn''t have the required knowledge to make it happen yet, he added it on the list of his future innovations.


    "Haaa~ That wasn''t really fair." Hector couldn''t help but voice it out. Of course, he made sure that only their team could hear it. It would be a problem if it was misunderstood by the fans of this Montego''s team.


    Wace remembered that he had actually been warned by his mom prior to thispetition. She was telling that all thepetition that was hosted by Montego always had some dirt or mess.


    ''It seems that mom warned me correctly. Was that the reason why our school wasn''t expecting us to win and just told us to show our best and not mind the result?'' Wace suddenly made some realization. So it wasn''t as simple as giving up in bing a champion in thispetition, it could be because they were just aware how the organizers in Montego would act so they didn''t set the bar high for the sake of the geniuses in their academy.


    It was still a spection but Wace thought that it was close to the truth. Anyway, it doesn''t detract that much on what thispetition aims, they could still perform and show their abilities to people and they even have a chance to improve themselves.


    ''Now, how long would Kst?'' It was the question that all members of the Zairus team was pondering about but none of them voiced it out as they only wanted to show their support for her.


    They were also curious whether K was still hiding something and would surprise them in this match. After all, she was also a genius and was selected here in this event for a reason.


    ***


    ''Calm down. I can''t be nervous. It will only lessen mybat ability.'' K said in her mind. Although it doesn''t show in her face, she was actually feeling a bit nervous because of the huge pressure that the final automaton was emitting.


    She could only harden her resolve and face this opponent. She activated her Mana Shell and waved her right hand that wore the Mana Artifact. As she did this, it can be seen that ck particles made of Mana was following every movements made by her hand.


    "Hoo~ Look at thest participant from Zairus."


    "Oh, Isn''t she the one who made a breakthrough in her Mana Affinity?"


    "Yes, that was her, K Rogers from Zairus who showed impressive progress from the first round. Although people was telling that she was only bluffing and had already reached the level of Inducement Control in the beginning, I believe that the girl had justprehended the full essence of the skill andpleted her breakthrough during thepetition."


    "It sounded that you''re really sure about it."


    "Haha. For someone who experienced the same thing, of course, I am."


    "It seems reasonable in my opinion as well. We were able to see her crude method on how she utilized her Inducement Control to her advantage during the first round. Now, let''s see if there''s any improvement.


    Look at her selected Mana Artifact, Shadow Command''s ring."


    "Interesting choice, many low level--or I mean Combat Magician students were unaware of this Mana Artifact. The students these day were only aware of the mainstream Mana artifacts that everyone uses or whatever was being taught in school. But this is an unconventional ring... although it may still prove to be difficult for K in this battle, at least she may have a chance tost 15mins."


    As Wace heard this point, he immediately nodded as he was also one of the students who was unaware of the Mana Artifact that K selected.


    The other announcer continued.


    "Let''s see, the Shadow Command''s Ring was full of Crowd Controlling skills that would affectrge areas. This ring wasn''t that useful if you wanted to deal arge damage to your enemy but can be useful if you just wanted to trap, dy, or if you are just fighting with arge numbers of enemies."


    "K was probably looking for a chance to dy the fight andst for fifteen minutes." The announcer said. They seem to be familiar with all the 100 Mana artifacts ced on the shelves.


    Wace noted the Mana Artifact as he tried to remember any mention of it in the books he borrowed but it didn''t ring a bell. He was now looking forward to see the skill and what kind of spell it could show.


    ***


    K used a spell called Blurry Fog, a variance of Blinding Fog that Wace was familiar with, to block the vision of the automaton. The fog spread throughout the whole stage and covered any of the two''s presence.


    She then made a follow up spell topletely hide her presence and fade into the fog. Turbid Mana Shell, it was an auxiry Mana Spell that aims to change the structure of the Grade 1 Mana Shell. Combined with the Blurry Fog, it was a spell that could easily stop the enemy from targeting you.


    K had observed the battles before her and noticed that the automaton wasn''t releasing a wide-scale spell and was only using a small but pure spell that targets the core of the enemy''s tactic. She was amazed by how the automaton was copping up in response to wide-scale spell being thrown to it.


    But because of this, she had also realized that she could take this as an opportunity to have a stand off against the automaton.


    She was also one of the strongest participant in her country that was selected here so it was never bright to underestimate her skills.


    The battle between K and the automaton could not be easily seen due to the fog.


    The people could only see vague figures of shadows that was sometimes shing.


    Elemental spells were also seen being thrown and it could take a part of the fog but it will suddenly be engulfed by the fog and block any visions within again.


    The members of the Zairus team seems to focused on K''s match as they waited for the result. Some of them hadn''t notice the fight that was happening from the other teams.


    Wace on the other hand, was able to fully absorb the battle even with the Blurry Fog''s presence. He even have some time to watch the other''s match.


    The representative from Maja was defeated by the automaton and the one from Virgan conceded defeat due to the helplessness he felt during the battle.


    "If we knew this was the case, we might have sent Yuferev in ourst match."


    "That''s right with Yuferev''s Stormfire Scepter, he''ll surely own the match against the automaton."


    "Hah.. This Montego''s team really lives up to their reputation." One of them whispered.


    Simrints can somehow be heard in Maja''s team.


    "Vitorre, how about the sixth round? Do you think you can defeat that if you were given the chance?" One of the members in Maja''s team asked the strongest in their line up.


    "It will be tough but as long as I hit that even once with my Lite White Gauntlet, I''ll be able to control the whole match." Vitorremented as he was also wary of the strength that the automaton was showing. Luckily, he didn''t have to make a lot of effort and fought against the weakest automaton. This way, he would be able to save his trump card at thest day of thepetition.


    ***


    The match ended after 15 minutes. K looked so exhausted as she depleted almost all her Mana.


    The Shadow Command''s Ring have various spells like Shadow Bind that was used to stop the movement of the target, Shadow Copy that used to have an illusion of yourself within the Blinding Fog, Moon''s Frost that aims to slow the movement of the enemy in wide-scale area, Fog''s Hold to suppress the enemy when it stayed long within the fog, and there are other spell but it was not effective against the automaton who wasn''t feeling any pain or pleasure. Luckily, she was very familiar with this Mana Artifact.


    "Great job. I didn''t know you have such skills with you."


    "You did very well."


    "That was impressive. Actually, I only know how to use about 30 of those Mana Artifacts, it seems I still have a lot to learn." Hectormented after having a good watch in K''s battle.


    With the event having finished, it was now time for lunch and for Wace to deal with the substitute.

 Chapter 121 - New Magic Structure ( Part 1 )

    Everyone had their fill at the cafeteria assigned for all the participants. Their numbers weren''t thatrge to begin with. Aside from the participants, including the managers, and substitutes for the line up, there were barely 70 people that was needed to be fed.


    Wace ate together with the other participants and left to meet with Van, the substitute, in a meeting room assigned for their team.


    "I''m unconvinced. In your view, I may look like someone selfish but that is not correct. Although our officials in Zairus didn''t force us to get the championship, it didn''t mean that we should becent and ept the fact that we''ll just show our skills here. I believe that we have to win in thepetition." Van passionately said as he started to convince Wace. He was a head taller than Wace with a fit figure and tanned skin. He looks more like abatant rather than an Mana Technician.


    "I understand. I would try do my best to win, rest assured." Wace said after understanding what Van was trying to tell. It seems that this substitute have a good intention after all.


    "That''s not what I mean."


    "Eh? Then what else?" Wace asked to rify the man''s intention.


    "What I''m trying to say was that you got selected here because the officials just wanted you to experience the feel of this high-levelpetition, alright? But if you understand or feel that we should win here instead, then you should let me fight."


    "I can do that for you instead. I''m pretty skilled as well."


    "No, you can''t even defeat me." Van said and shook his head. He was confident about his skills especially being a senior, his knowledge should''ve surpassed this second-year student.


    "Then, shall we bet?" Wace tried to go to the main point of this meeting. He was already prepared and had been aware that showing off will be necessary in this meeting.


    "I don''t want to bully the weak. If people learned that I defeated you so I could participate here, it would seem like I''ve stolen your chance to experience the world. But if you volunteer to give up and be reced because you had ''troubles'' or may even be ''injured'' due to wherever ce you went to, then that would be better."


    Van shook his head and even hinted Wace what to tell if he gave up.


    Of course, Wace was amused about the train of thought of this person.


    "How about this, if you beat me in a match, I''ll do just that. I''ll tell that I''m not in a good condition to participate. But if I won, aside from you epting my position as real participant you have to give me a copy of those blueprints you received as a reward during TMAC." Wace said while having a grin on his face.


    This man was a 3rd year student from Skywalker Academy who received 1st ce ranking during thepetition.


    Aside from the pass they received to enter the Revitalization Mana Spring, they also received 10 Peak Grade A Manager Artifacts and 6 blueprints of different Peak Grade 2 Magic Structures.


    "Oh? Those six?" Van said as he contemted a bit. Of course, he have a copy of those six and it wasn''t that impressive individually. But those six together could contend to many Grade 3 Magic Structures.


    Wace waited for the man to answer. After all, those six magic structures isn''t that simple. He even expected the man to bargain but it seems that for Van, thepetition was really important.


    "Fine. That wouldn''t be a problem. In a very small case that you defeated me, I can give a copy of those six but you should never inform anyone that I''m the one who gave it to you."


    "Good. But before that, how can I be sure that you''ll give them to me after defeating you."


    "You sure are confident... Take this." Van said before throwing a ring to Wace.


    "That''s a Peak Grade A Manager Artifact I received as a reward. You can hold it for now as a guarantee." Van said as he was confident he could take it backter.


    Wace checked the ring and information about it was shown in front of him.


    With the evolution of the Pathfinder and Divine Sense, detailed status can now be seen whenever he tried appraising a Mana Artifact.


    [ Impact Ring: Peak Grade A Mana Artifact


    A ring that grants the owner the power to store a small amount of Mana to create a strong blunt force and released to any target that was touched.


    It also absorb a strong impact of explosions.


    Made of Golden Gourd Shell and unknown materials.


    Magic Structure: Archon Series 9


    Auxry Magic Structure: Zerg Series ]


    Wace saw the information and nodded at its authenticity.


    Aside from possessing exclusive magic spell to create a strong impact or blunt force, it can also help on taking damage. He nced at the magic structure series and found it familiar.


    The Archon Series was mostly used within the TMAC as the series was made exclusively for Zairus Magicians. Wace wasn''t just sure what was the series that was used before since this is the 9th version.


    During TMAC, the magic structures that was mostly being used aside from Archon was Prime, Enchant, and Royal Series. Those were magic structures that anyone could get as long as they have money and a licensed Magic Engineer in Zairus. But just like the Archon Series, with a lot of versionsing up, these Series wouldn''t be viewed as something cheap and below average. With a lot of versionsing up, it can also be seen that the manufacturers were trying to improve any of it''s shoring and also to incorporate any new innovations.


    These arrangements were likened by many magicians who always tries to seek newer things. To these magicians who doesn''t want to get stuck in a single magic structure, the four was the best choice.


    ***


    Wace and Van had decided the rules of their match. Due to the limited time and preparation they have, they decided to create the best magic structure they could make using a Basilisk Stone that Van has obtained thru Vanessa''s kindness.


    Normally, this thumb-size stone was being used to ce at the tip of a scepter. The Mana Artifacts like Vulcan Scepter and Craze Wand that uses this Stone would actually increase the speed-casting of a magician whenever they used fire-rted spells. Aside from that, if the stone was smaller like a bead, it can still be used as pendant that could handle Grade 1 Magic Structures.


    The material was a bit tricky to use because of it''s small capacity. The magic structure that can be iid in a standard thumb-size stone couldn''t reach Peak of a Grade 2 Magic Structure. It can only sustain magic structures that would not burden the material by a lot. So with all the experiments and study from many Magic Engineers in this specific stone, they discovered that only Grade 1 up to Low Grade 2 Magic Structures can be used to iy on the stone.


    "There is an Artifact Forging Box here, but we only needed it to iy an offensive Magic Structure on the Basilisk Stone. The one who has a higher grade of structure that was iid would be the winner."


    "Eh? What if we both created a Grade 1 Magic Structure? Or what if we created an original magic structure? Who will grade them?" Wace asked to confirm the rules of their match.


    "We''ll get someone to review our magic structure. They can check the effectiveness, strength, and destructiveness of the Magic Stucture." The substitute said while feeling a bit of contempt now that Wace seems to imply that he was nning to make an original Magic Structure. In matches like these, it was normal to use a known Magic Structure because creating an original one would be tough and difficult to grade. There could be a chance where you are expecting a Grade 3 Magic Structure but when checked by professionals, it turned out to be a Grade 1 structure.


    Also, if any mishap happens during the creation of an original magic structure, you can only rely on yourself to try and correct it. Unlike the one that was already known, magicians would have a lot of guide if ever there was any deviance during the creation process.


    The Artifact Forging box that they currently have here was a bit more advanced than the one in their Academy. This box can also be used as a quality tester for a Magic Structure that is known and registered in it''s database or memory crystal.


    "We''ll only contact someer if needed after we produced a magic structure. It''s better we keep our bets a secret." Van said before they started. He was implying that during the appraisal process, whoever the appraiser is, they shouldn''t be aware that the two were doing some kind of a bet.


    At this point, Wace could only chuckle at the man''s careful ns.


    He sighed and tried to think of the best magic structure appropriate for the stone.

 Chapter 122 - New Magic Structure ( Part 2 )

    They only have two Basilisk Stones, so each of them could only try the forging process once.


    Wace tried to recall the detailed information about the stone. This Basilisk Stone was brittle during the infusing process, so if this stone was going thru forging process it must not be stopped at all cost and could only be continued or the stone would easily be shattered.


    Unlike other materials where the magician could pause their work when they felt exhausted and continue at ater time, this item that they will be using have many requirements.


    ''The Basilisk Stone can boost the speed-casting of any fire-rted spells. But it can only handle Grade 1 or Low Grade 2 structures. This man probably ns to create a Peak Grade 2 or might even be a Grade 3 by using some other means, since he looks so confident.


    ''I can only try that.'' Wace had made up his mind and proceeded to n on creating his first magic structure for the first time after getting all his enhancements with the Cube and Divine Sense.


    Too bad that the Pathfinder was not giving him a mission right now. Not even anything rted to the internationalpetition.


    ''Well, I guess the reason why I received those missions before was so I could be selected to participate here and have a chance to take the Cube with me. Now, I probably have to utilize it to reach the peak of my path.'' Wace pondered after realizing that the missions right now aren''t easily given by the Pathfinder. Although there was no mission being provided at the moment, he believed that he just have to do something that will trigger a mission just like the previous advice of the Pathfinder.


    Wace reigned over his thoughts as he made up his ns to create an improvement of one of his already made magic structures.


    Before Wace had a vacation at his family''s home, he hired the Golden Trident Group to enhance the security of his house in Tanza City.


    With the money he spent for about 40 million credits, he received 5bat automatons which he wasn''t allowed to take apart and study, 8 mini defense turrets, 3 mana pulse barrier, 18 mana flux detectors, 20 mana-empowered guns, and a bunker being thest line of defense. This package of weapons was the best choice he had due to his already ced defenses. He had toplement them to his current defenses that has a touch of advanced technology with it.


    That''s right, one of his creations that was seen and even tested by the three representatives of Golden Trident Group during that time was an automatedser cannon.


    It''s destructive power made them curious and Wace tried to hint them the simple magic structure it possess though they didn''t seem to believe him. They even evaluated it as a Grade A Mana Artifact.


    When he told them that it was just a simple light spells that were put together forming a very intense light, they dismissed itpletely because of their limited understanding aboutpound magics.


    This time Wace nned to create a magic structure for hisser. A spell that was made of multiple Torch Spell put together. It was perfect for this stone and it''s limitation. He only have to add an influence of the Mavis Prayer.


    Also for this time, he would like to try something else or incorporate some new things with it''s structure.


    ''Alright, I should try creating the magic form now.''


    Although his A.I. hadn''t fully taken all the information he could get and was still downloading as much data as it could, the A.I.''sputing ability was still enough to test Wace''s theory. He wanted to improve the limit of his Mavis Prayer.


    He grabbed the prepared Basilisk Stone and ced it on the Artifact Forging Box so he can start the infusion of his magic form to the stone. As Van was busy doing his thing, Wace covertly operated the A.I. to record his forging process.


    He then took control of the Mana Gathering Formation and Mana Stabilization Array to start.


    In many cases, the Magic Structures were infused to a Magic Crystal before it was forged to an artifact to be a Mana Artifact.


    Aside from that, there was only about 40% of the known Mana Artifacts that required a specific materials like Basilisk Stone, Ancient Abyssal ss or Jax Stone to be used as a vessel for a Magic Structure that acts as the core of the Mana Artifact.


    Wace and Van took exactly 10 minutes of infusion process before they stopped.


    This is the time they had agreed upon. The two may have finished the infusion process in an earlier time but took their remaining minutes in order to check any shoring or validate the Grade of their Magic Structure.


    The infusion process of magic form to a crystal, or stone in this case, to be a magic structure would normally not consume a lot of time. It was due to the magic form being inside the magician''s mind so they just needed a strong mental force and mana maniption skills toplete the infusion. Of course, it was rted to their talent as well on how they easily visualized the form and infuse them easily.


    As both of them were outstanding students from their respective academies and was selected to even participate in an international event, it was normal that it wouldn''t take that longpared to some students right now who were deemed to only be a fabricator of Mana Artifacts in some random shops or factories as their future job.


    "So, let''s use the Appraisal function of this Artifact Forging Box first." Van announced after noticing that Wace had also finished.


    "I don''t mind."


    "Alright, I''ll let you check mine first. Here, have a look." Van said after activating the appraisal function. He gestured to Wace to check the result showing in the box. It seems that he didn''t want to tell it himself as Wace may not believe it he let him check it.


    "If you''re doubting it, you can appraise it with your Artifact Forging Box or call for someone else to check it for us." Van said confidently and was even smirking at the 2nd-year student.


    Wace sighed and nced at the result that the box was showing.


    [ Overheat - Magic Structure ]


    [ Created using Basilisk Stone. Naturally enhances fire-rted spells. ]


    [ Magic Spells Infused:


    1. Overheat - Grade 3


    2. Fire Eruption - Grade 3


    3. me st - Grade 3


    4. Wide Heat Wave - Grade 2


    5. Fire Orbs - Grade 2


    6. Absolute Fire Shield - Grade 2


    7. Fire Arrows - Grade 1


    8. Fire Lance - Grade 1


    9. me Jump - Grade 1


    10. Lava Mine - Grade 1 ]


    [ Auxiry Magic Structure: 3rd ss Brain-Boost ]


    [ Low Grade 3 Magic Structure. ]


    [ Remarks: A Magic Structure Stone that canplement with many other materials to further enhance it''s effects and create a powerful Mana Artifact with an eptable Brain-Boost function. ]


    ''Impressive. It seems like he was really prepared for this. Was he expecting that I''ll return and challenge him like this for the spot?'' Wace couldn''t help but think about it after checking Van''s creation.


    A Magic Form is the Magician''s Idea that was being used to be a Magic Structure that was then infused to a crystal or stone to bepleted as a core of the Mana Artifact. Within this form was a set magic spells imbued together.


    Yes, these magic spells has their own form. In short, the Magic Structure is a collection of Magic Forms to form the heart of an artifact.


    It was already impressive for Van to imbue 10 Magic Spells within aside from the Brain-Boost function.


    It must be remembered that the Archon Series and the other popr magic structures normally possesses only 8 Magic Spells in it.


    "Alright, do you still want me to check your magic structure?"


    ''Or just give up'' It was left unsaid by Van. He felt that he was being kind to Wace. He doesn''t want to embarrass this junior that much so he kindly asked him instead.


    Wace was a bit speechless at this person''s confidence.


    "Well, we can try checking it." He finally said after finishing his review on Van''s Magic Structure stone.


    ''Try?'' Although he was proud of himself and his creations, he was still sharp at these kind of hints.


    Van somehow realized Wace''s hidden message and he doubted it at first but after ncing at the result of the appraisal, he can only shake his head.


    "You really..."


    [ Laser Focus - Magic Structure ]


    [ Created using Basilisk Stone. Naturally enhances fire-rted spells. ]


    [ Magic Spells Infused:


    1. ?? - Grade ??


    2. ?? - Grade ??


    3. ?? - Grade ??


    ...


    99. ?? - Grade ??


    100. ?? - Grade ??


    [ Auxiry Magic Structure: 3rd ss Brain-Boost ]


    [ Grade ?? Magic Structure. ]


    [ Remarks: Contains unknown Magic Form. ]


    Wace wasn''tpletely sure how Van managed to infuse those Grade 3 Magic Spells to the stone that was only capable of amodating Grade 1 or 2 spells in normal forging process. But he has some idea and it was probably something simr to his Mavis Prayer that usesyering method.


    "Alright, I guess we have to seek someone else''s assistance."


    As soon as Wace said this, his Divine Sense that was subconsciously activated had felt Troy''s presence near them.

 Chapter 123 - Appraisal ( Part 1 )

    The forging process of a Magic Structure wasn''t easily aplished just like how the two made it look like, especially for a structure that approaches the Grade 3 level. A structure that reaches this level wasn''t easily appraised even by a licensed Magic Engineer. There are cases like for those original creations that needs to be analyzed by multiple engineers just like how Bryson from NMTI called several more magic engineers to appraise or grade Wace''s Floating Drive System.


    So right now, they needed someone not only well-versed in terms of recognizing the Magic Forms infused, but someone who can also properly gauge the power, usefulness, simplicity to it''s difficulty in terms of utilization, method of creation, and destructiveness that the structure can potentially apply to an artifact. After all, those were the main points to determine what Grade of Mana Artifact it should be.


    "It seems that we can try getting some help from him..." Wace muttered softly. He approached the door to immediately inform the Magician as the gentleman might leave quickly.


    During thepetition this early morning, he had felt Troy''s presence multiple times due to his dedicated task to guard the surrounding arena from any internal or external threat. He was constantly moving so Wace wanted to catch his attention quickly.


    "Who?" Van asked as he hadn''t felt the presence of the nearby Troy. His presence was actually concealed very well and it was only due to Wace''s abnormal senses that he managed to feel the Peak Adept Mage''s mana fluctuation.


    Wace ignored the senior student and opened the room''s door. He sent his gaze to Troy as he tries to think how to call the Peak Adept. Thetter had surely felt that Wace was looking at him but he didn''t bother to look back.


    Wce had no choice to call him deliberately.


    "Sir Troy, can we please have a moment of your time?"


    His voice wasn''t loud but it was enough for Van and Troy to hear him.


    Troy halted his steps and turned his gaze at Wace as if waiting for an exnation. They were only away for about 3 rooms apart so he didn''t approached Wace for now.


    "Ugh... It was like this... I''ve made an original magic structure but the Artifact Forging Box''s function to appraise it couldn''t give me a proper evaluation. Can we ask for your help?"


    Troy observed Wace then to Van behind him before approaching the two. It seems that he was willing to assist them. He then looked at his wristwatch to check the time.


    "Alright. It should be fine as long as it won''t take 15 minutes. Let me have a look." Troy said as he entered the room. His cold demeanor and those ck eyes that seems to see through everything was something that scares half of the participants from Zairus. But Wace seems to not mind this as Van surprisingly looked at the former.


    Troy nced at the two Artifact Forging Box in the room as he understood what was happening. He waited for Wace to give him the magic structure they wanted to be evaluated before going in silent.


    Van had been silent all along as he marvelled about Troy''s presence within the room. This man wasn''t just anyone they could approach and ask for help since he had a special status that divided him from the student aside from his unapproachable aura.


    He was actually a bit impressed that Wace had the courage to call him and ask for help.


    ''Very well, his evaluation would definitely be correct, fair, and just since he also had a reputation to consider.'' Van smirked upon realizing the advantages that Troy could give here. His words would surely be acknowledged by anyone and Wace wouldn''t have a chance to dispute it at all.


    ''You even wanted to involve this reputable man, you''re just making it more difficult for you.''


    There was an invisible Mana that was moving strangely around Troy as soon as he touched the Basilisk Stone that was now a vessel for magic forms or the so called Magic Structure Stone.


    Based on Wace''s Divine Sense, the Mana seems to have pierced through the Magic Structure. But the connection was something entirely different that Wace couldn''t properly exin.


    ''What''s this? Wait. Is this perhaps--?'' As soon as he reached this thought, a familiar notification from the Pathfinder was heard.


    It was mission that he had been waiting for. He immediately check the mission but could only frown after reading it.


    [ Attain Enlightenment ]


    [ Any path that requires practicing of Mana must learn the core method of it''s utilization.


    Mission: Learn the Arcane Link.


    Mission Item: Memory of Arcane Link Flow


    Reward: Memory Crystal containing a Lost Technology ]


    ''Arcane Link? That should be something I''ll be dealing with once I''m about to be Arcane Artificer...'' Wace frowned as he felt that the mission was too early for him.


    ''Anyway, there should be a catch on this. I''ll just think about itter... Ah right, looking at this, there''s no time limit or any penalty, so there shouldn''t be a problem whether how long this would take.'' Wace thought before ncing at Troy who was silently checking the Magic Structure Stone. He wasn''t worried that he would be defeated by Van but was just thinking whether the mission item that was listed was something like a memory crystal that would help him learn the Mana Maniption method.


    He doesn''t dare to materialize the mission item at the moment as it may be noticed by the two magicians with him, so he silently waited for Troy to finish. It took the man about 7 minutes before opening his eyes.


    "Sir Troy... How was it?"


    Van was so eager to hear the result that looks like it was his own magic structure that was being appraised.


    Troy chuckled a bit before ncing at Wace.


    "This is an interesting application of Magic Spells. I have detected exactly 100 magic spells aside from the core magic inside


    and all of them were heavily modified. Forty spells from it were somehow with the same function of a Light or Torch Spell, a Grade 1 Magic Spell, another forty were Fire Amplification spells, an auxiliary Grade 1 Magic Spell, ten modified Remote Mirror Magic Spell, and ten modified Dedicated me Spell, a Grade 2 Magic Spell."


    Troy said after reviewing Wace''s creation.


    Van was about to burst inughter but tried to keep his demeanor.


    "Thank you for the praise." Wace humbly replied.


    ''Haha, you don''t even have a single Grade 3 Magic Spell. It''s my win!'' The senior student thought as he was about to celebrate but was stopped due to Troy''s next words.


    Yes, unfortunately for him, Troy wasn''t finish evaluating the spell. Although Wace had only used modified Grade 1 and 2 spell, there was still something else on it.


    "Also, the form for this magic structure shows that it requires a fortified or enchanted metal to create better results. If it was made sessfully, it can surely rival or could even kill an Adept." Troy said after giving full review on the Magic Structure.


    Thosest words made Van stiffen for a bit. Something that could threaten even an Adept wasn''t simple.


    "I-is that so? Then if in case you''ll grade the Mana Artifact... What grade would it be?" Van was a bit nervous and was clearly hoping that if would still be considered a Grade 2 Magic Spell.


    "Well, it''s difficult to properly gauge it since everything was almost new. Even the application of Remote Mirror Spell to control the offensive attack spell and further add in it''s destructiveness was something that can only be called as innovation. Aside from that, remember that there are 100 spells in it. Even if it''s mostly Grade 1, a hundred spell was still a hundred and the scary thing about this was that all of them can be activated at once. So its hard for me properly grade it."


    "Activated all at once? Is that even possible?" Van gawked at the mention of those words. He was having trouble believing this Peak Adept''s words.


    "That''s right... So it will be tough even for me as I don''t really focus in this. I only have some knowledge due to my status." Troy exined but after seeing the disappointed look of two magician''s faces, he added.


    "Well, luckily... Aside from Yumi and your own manager that brought you here, we have someone who specializes in these type of things. Rest assured that she''s not rted to any of you so it will also be a fair judgement."


    After hearing this, they learned that Troy was aware about their minipetition here. Luckily, he didn''t mind it and was cool with it. Anyway, he wasn''t informed what was the bet.


    "I see, can we ask who was it? I''ll be happy to call them for you." Van even volunteered as he really wanted to get this over with.


    "No need. I already informed her to visit here."


    Wace nodded in realization upon hearing this. He noticed a strange utilization of Mana a while ago that went outside the room. That was probably a message that was sent to call the appraiser.


    ''Is that also an Arcane Link? Just how many things could that method do.'' Wace was getting even more intrigue at this.


    They didn''t wait long as someone that Wace recognizes visited the room.


    It was Erza.

 Chapter 124 - Appraisal ( Part 2 )

    Wace tried to recall this little girl in front of them. Erza has long red hair tied at the back of her head. She wasn''t wearing their Zairus uniforms and was instead wearing red flowery dress matching her pale white skin.


    She appears to be around 12 or 13 years old and seemed to be having a vacation in this ind country.


    Now that Wace had thought about it, he was quite curious about this little girl who seems to be acquianted with Shirley.


    ''What''s the identity of this girl anyway?'' He thought briefly before sending his Divine Sense to probe the girl. Very well, she''s a genuine young girl unlike the other. But if that was the case, how could she help them evaluating the Mana Artifact?


    "Hello Uncle Troy, you called me?" The girl said after seeing Troy Webb. The two students never had an idea about her identity and Van was only aware that Erza was connected to Ministry of Magic Education. Aside from that, he know nothing else as he didn''t bother to dig deeper.


    "Right, these students here wanted to appraise a magic structure stone and I couldn''t properly evaluate the grade of this artifact, so--" Troy said as he gestured to introduce the two students but Erza seems to be excited to speak.


    "What? Something that you couldn''t grade? Then that should be amazing." The girl was curious about anything that would trouble her uncle. It wasn''t easy for someone in his level to be stumped on something.


    "Correct. So you check it for me."


    "Eh? How would I grade it if even you, Uncle, were unable to appraise it?"


    "It should be easy for you..."


    "Really? But I haven''t finished learning from my master yet..."


    "That should be enough. I know you can do it."


    Troy said as he tried to convince the girl to start appraising the stone.


    He handed over the Basilisk Stone, now vessel of a Magic Structure, to the girl and waited for her to start appraising it.


    "Who made this?" The girl ask after checking the Basilisk Stone visually.


    "I''m Wace. I made it just now." Wace stepped forward and smiled at the girl.


    Erza seems to have given up as she nodded at Wace and started fulfilling her uncle''s request. Although she doesn''t feel that confident since even her uncle was unable to grade it himself, she could only try and see.


    Wace observed the girl as she starte pouring her Mana into his magic structure. He was a bit skeptical at this girl''s ability but since the Peak Adept Mage had trusted this girl, he didn''t dare to say a word and just silently waited for the results.


    Anyway, they wouldn''t lose anything if the girl was attempting to appraise it carefully. There could only be some problem if ever she had failed to identify some forms and the girl tried to push herself or exerted a lot more Mana just to further evaluate the magic structure within the stone. He believed that when reaching that point, Troy would know what to do.


    There are cases like these were the structure would be slightly be damaged or even be wastedpletely if it was not handled carefully.


    Just like whenever Yumi tries to dig deeper at Wace''s Magic Jammer Canceller, the Jax Stone would always shatter as it couldn''t handle the burden of Mana that was constantly interfering or going around in it''s core.


    "Brilliant!"


    A few minutes had passed as Erza finished evaluating it. A look of surprise can be seen on her face as she realized the surprising capability of the magic structure she''s holding. She couldn''t help but praise the stone and have another look at Wace. She actually had an impression to this Mana Technician because he was the same person who made Shirley''s Mana Artifact during TMAC.


    On the other hand, Wace was also surprised to see that this girl did something simr to Arcane Link.


    ''That felt like Arcane Link. But it has a different feel to Troy''s method.'' Wace thought suddenly but he could only put this at the back of his mind for now since the topic was stillpletely foreign to him. He can think about itter after this wholepetition.


    Wace showed a visible smile after hearing Erza''s but didn''t say a word while Van at the back clenched his fist. Although he tries to hid his worry, Wace had clearly felt Van''s aura. He was surely starting to lose his confidence on his own Magic Structure and only with his pride as a senior made him stood proud and look undisturbed.


    After all, there''s a professional young magicians girl here so he had to show the professionalism of a 3rd year student as well.


    He was waiting for Erza''s evaluation but it sounds simr to Troy.


    "Impressive core structure. Those 105 magic spells aside from the core structure was amazingly connected. This means that this magic structure is dedicated to only one offensive spell. Wow! It''s rare to see these dedicated Mana Artifacts recently. If this was sessfully made to an artifact, I''d definitely have one."


    Erza paused for a bit as if she was trying to find words to properly describe the spell before continuing.


    "Also, with all these modified Grade 1 Spells, once activated at once, could probably turn an Adept to a dust if they don''t have enough defensive power. After all, the remote mirror spells was also modified to control the direction of these Grade 1 spell..."


    Van appreciated her praise as he was also learning something new but it would actually be better if she just given them the grade of this Mana Artifact. He was dying to know whether it surpassed the grade of his creation or not.


    Theirpetition was to create a Magic Structure with the best offensive spell infused within the Basilisk Stone.


    If Wace has lower grade of Magic Structure, obviously, he will win this bet and take Wace''s slot in thepetition. It was all because the appraiser would always consider the destructiveness as core value that the Magic Structure possesses in grading them from 1 to 5.


    Aside from that, if it was actually tie, he might not be too embarrassed if he lost as he could still keep his dignity.


    Yes, if it was a tie, he believed that he would still actually lose the bet. Why? Because that''s 100 Magic Spells that can be activated all at once.


    He felt that his infused Grade 3 through secret method could not contend to it. After all, even though there''s three Grade 3 Magic Spells into it, it can only be activated in interval. It was impossible to cast those 3 spells sessively and had to wait for about 10 minutes so the materials that will be used would not be destroyed.


    While Erza was praising the magic structure, Troy''s face stiffen a bit.


    ''105? It''s not 100? What are the other five spells?'' Troy thought as he didn''t dare to ask the kid. It would be too much of a blow.


    It was already enough to ask Erza to review the structure for him.


    Luckily, he didn''t told Erza that he only evaluated 100 Magic Spells.


    He waited for Erza to enumerate the remaining five spells but the girl doesn''t seem to even n on listing the one hundred and five Magic Spells.


    "What''s the Grade of this Mana Structure then?" Wace asked finally.


    "Well, this is Mid Grade 3 Magic Structure."


    Erza said casually. Her voice doesn''t have any hint of hesitation at all.


    ''How could you say it''s Mid Grade 3?!'' Van could only say in his mind as he tried to suppress himself from abruptly questioning Erza''s judgment as he might just offend a Peak Adept Mage in the corner. Although he was doubting Erza''s ability he could only endure as he would still like to return to Zairus inplete piece.


    Unlike Wace who had a Divine Sense and felt how amazing Erza was during her appraising process, Van only has an unrefined probing skills. He didn''t dare to use his probing skills to Erza during her appraisal as she might be disturbed once she felt it. That would not be a good idea with Troy supervising them.


    ***


    Wace won the bet and Van didn''t have the courage to dispute the result and could only bitterly ept the reality. He promised to hand over the blueprints of the six Magic Structures after thepetition and let Wace hold his Impact Ring, a Peak Grade A Mana Artifact, for now.


    Troy and Erza already left the room after giving their evaluation. After all, Troy only spared them 15 minutes of his time.


    "Alright... We''ll meet again." Wace said before having their separate ways. Van went back to his room to silently make an arrangements for the six blueprints that Wace had requested. He had to secretly give this to Waceter on so he was making sure that no one would notice him.


    Wace visited the waiting room where Sheryl and Jun was waiting.


    "Oh... I thought that Van had convinced you to give up your slot." Jun said as though he was expecting Van to have a chance against him.


    "Hahaha! He''s just being generous to me." Wace said.


    ''Generous? That guy?'' Jun and Sheryl felt that it was impossible for Van to just give up the slot but they somehow believed Wace since he said so.


    They weren''t aware that Van didn''t just gave up his slot.

 Chapter 125 - Artifact Forging Competition

    "This morning, we have witnessed the student''s outstanding battle performance. Of course, we''ve also seen their prowess in their Mana Affinity. They really deserved to be called our younger generation''s topbat magicians." One of the female announcers said as she started to introduce the match that was about to happen.


    "They gave us an exciting match a while ago against the modified Automaton made by Sir Julian himself. This time, let''s call up our young and future Magic Engineers. Right! On this afternoon, they will be battling using their wisdom with ''Creator''s Fist'' segment in thispetition."


    "You don''t have to mind the title of our event for now. Haha! To let everyone know of the rules, all the 12 Mana Technicians of each country would have topete at the same time for the top rank. Each of them has toplete a self-sustained automaton of their own. Correct, this automaton should not be controlled by a Magician once in the field. It has to be capable of battling on it''s own. Why? Because at the end of this match, a battle against these automatons woulde." One of male announcer said to exin the basic rules to the audience.


    ***


    Wace and his team had only learned the rules 30 mins before thepetition. Creating self-sustained automatons would normally be tackled at 3rd year sses. Anyway, in normal cases, it was really those 3rd year students who were being selected to participate here.


    Both Sheryl and Wace was just special exception due to their unique abilities. Luckily they have studied enough to learn this method of artifact forging. Sheryl learned it due to her family background and Wace learned it just a while ago. He only had some superficial knowledge before due to his interest in the Automatons he had seen at Cavalen City during the Twelve Magical Academies Competition.


    Also with his knowledge prior to power source, he already improvised an existing one and made a Compact Mananuclear Reactor for an armor tech. All of these will be useful to the currentpetition.


    With the remaining time as well, he collected all the information he could get about the topic and kept everything in his mind.


    After all, it is not allowed bring any device or Mana Artifact on the stage.


    "Good luck to the three of us. I hope any one of us could at least reach the top 3. That would already be an honor once we returned." Jun said as he said to his twopanions. Since he was the only third year hear, he felt that he has to act as leader for the two.


    The personnel from the Ministry of Magic of Education only assisted them thru providing some information about their opponents and also about the previouspetition that has urred so they would have some reference. Aside from that, they can also request some information regarding a Magic Structure or Mana Artifact as long as it is within eptable limits.


    The other Combat Magicians from Zairus had also cheered for the three as the young Mana Technicians step out of the waiting room and went to the prepared stage.


    "Good luck! You can do it!"


    "Please, don''t rank at the bottom. At least aim for the 11th ce."


    "Show us what you got!"


    It was K, Hector, and Vanessa respectively.


    Sheryl thanked and smiled at them. Wace also did the same and nodded to acknowledge their support.


    Wace stepped on his stage as he looked around the neatly arranged materials that they will be using to create an automaton.


    He nced at the other participantz and noticed that the teams were arranged in 4 rows and 3 columns.


    The 1st row was Montego''s team, followed by Maja, Zairus, and Virgan''s team.


    Wace noticed that the sounding from the audience was silenced and they could only here now the reminders of the rules for thispetition.


    ***


    "The aim for this round was to create an automaton that was capable ofbat. All participants would be given the same selection of materials for fairness.


    You can take look at your front to see a specially made Artifact Forging Device for an automaton. At your left, various parts of automatons can used. You can just use those parts or limbs that was pre-made for your automaton or if you would like to create your own, there''s several raw materials that can be found as well.


    At your right, you''ll see various materials you can use for your core, the Magic Structure. And again, keep in mind that after evaluating the automatons that you''ve made, a battle amongst them would ensue. You only have two hour and a half for the first part. Good luck!" This voice was heard by the 12 participants and ended without a fanfare.


    They were not given time to familiarize with their workce and just introduced the things around them.


    "Oh well, let''s see..."


    Wace turned his eyes to the pre-made parts of the automatons that couldter be used for forming a body. The parts or limbs that he saw weren''t just for humanoid automatons as he could also see parts that was inspired from animal figures. There were falcon wings, bull''s legs, huge arms which resembles that from a gori, four legs from a horse, crocodile''s tail and others. Aside from that, they could also use the torso of these animals. Yes, it was not required to use aplete body of certain animal orplete human body for an automaton, it was alright tobine different type of limbs to any torso they find suitable depending on their magic structure.


    This arrangement would allow them endless possibilities to avoid any resembling creations.


    The time-limit provided to them wasn''t a long time and was actually quite short. But considering their talents and provided parts there, they should be able to barely make one workingbat automation.


    Wace thought carefully as he realized that the hardest part would probably from creating the Magic Structure that wouldter be self sufficient for a fight. After all, there''s a lot to consider when making a core for an artifact that is capable of fighting on it''s own.


    Wace closed his eyes as he wanted to clear his mind and concentrate. He also wanted to avoid viewing his opponent''s creations as it may affect his decision. After a few moments as he visualize the automaton that he wanted, he started to create a Magic Structure. He picked up a standard Magic Crystal, Basilisk Stone and a Jax Stone.


    "This should be the best option for me." Wace smirked as he started to organize his thoughts in order to start making his magic structures.


    Sheryl had also finished familiarizing herself on her working station or stage as she started picking up a vessel that she would use for her core Magic Structure.


    ''Sigh... I''m not confident in making my automaton an expert inbat. I''d rather arrange it with a high defense and powerful counterskills. As long as it saw an opportunity to retaliate, it should be enough for me to have more chances of winning.'' Sheryl said in her mind before finding a suitable materials.


    On the other hand, Jun Richardson who was a third year student had instead started building up the automaton''s figure first. It seems that he''ll make the creation of Magic Structure as ast step for his method.


    ***


    "Very interesting... What a coincidence, the three students from our Montego''s team seems to be creating simr automatons or something that resembles each other." The female announcer said. But it was rebuked by the other male announcer.


    "Its not really a coincidence, after all, each one of them studied in the same academy. They surely learned from the same Magic Engineer assigned to teach them Automaton''s Inner Working. So it''s normal that they have simr methods."


    "Ahh... That makes sense." The female nodded as they turned their views on other participant''s work.


    "Look at Maja''s team. They started choosing the parts they wanted to use. They seems to be dedicated to make it resemble a humanoid figure."


    "They must be someone who was well-versed in this type ofpetition. Although a humanoid automaton wasmon to see, their core Magic Structure was actuallyplicated. Most automatons that can be purchased would use the ''Cold Heart'' Magic Structure as a base and only beng modified to some extent... But this time, they can''t use any outside resources and could only start from the scratch. So if they selected a humanoid automaton, creating it''s magic structure would surely consume a lot of time." The male announcer analyzed as he then changed his viewing perspective to Virgan''s team.


    "Let''s see, Virgan''s team had previously dominatedpetitions rted to Artifact Forging. Now, the most capable participant in their team was Olga. I wonder what type of automaton will they make."


    "They all seem to focus on creating Magic Structure for the automaton. They weren''t pausing at all, they really know what they''re doing."


    Looking at the students from Zairus, they seems to have no semnce in their individual work at all. Their method of creation doesn''t have any simrities unlike the other partcipants.

 Chapter 126 - Automaton

    The Magic Structure or Core of an Automaton wasn''t as simple as those that was being used for a standard Mana Artfifact.


    Wace had to carefully think of a n before he picked up the Basilisk and Jax Stone.


    "It''s better to use my own formation and array..."


    After Wace said this, he removed the prearranged Mana Gathering Formation and Mana Stabilization Array from the Artifact Forging Device. He noticed as well that they were just a standard formation and array and doesn''t have unique arrangements on them.


    ''Luckily, I can still use them on this stage.'' Some of the rewards given by the Pathfinder were memory crystals containing knowledge about the two auxiliary magic.


    He had revealed it during the TMAC as well when he created Mirror of Trace using the Ancient Abyssal ss, a fragment of ss with mysterious origin, to guarantee one of their Combat Magician''s victory.


    Those two memory crystals were the High-Level Unhindered Gathering Formation and 12 Cycles of Mana Stabilization Array.


    This time, Wace carefully ced the formation and array as he didn''t dare to modify them for now since didn''t have sufficient time to do so and it was safer too.


    The Artifact Forging Device that they have right now isn''t a box but it does look like arge altar with a protruding metal b. The b was there for the forger to ce their hands on and connect to the system. This will make their minds connected to the device and control the creation process of the structure.


    Wace made sure to remember the inner workings of this artifact forging device as much as possible. He used his Divine Sense to check every inch of it''s structure so he could use it as a reference for his future creations.


    After this, Wace ced the Basilisk stone on the device and willed his mind to start creating his magic structure.


    He wasn''t nning to create a veryplex magic structure for his automaton. He was aiming to create one that was at least capable of basic movements and protection other than possessing high-attack power.


    Indeed, in his very first automation, Wace aims to create one that can obliterate any obstacles. Some may focus in movement, defense, adaptability, and others, but Wace thinking was simple not because he thinks it was the best possible automaton but because this is what he was good at.


    When he was still repairing a Mech Frame in outer space, the mostmon parts they had to repair aside from armor was the weapons.


    It can be said that brittle weapons were always targets of the enemy rather than the tough armors. Once they had destroyed the enemy''s weapon, they will be just a moving target waiting to be destroyed.


    This time, Wace picked up the Basilisk Stone thanks to Van as he had managed to create a powerful offensive type magic structure. This will greatly enhance the fighting power of his automaton.


    The Jax Stone was obviously an insurance because he noticed a Lamat Stone in the selections. Although the Magic Jammer''s magic structure was difficult to find, it was only for those average Magicians. The 12 Mana Technicians here were definitely people who possess knowledge about it.


    Wace himself was aware of it but didn''t bother to create one since it would just add some burden in the Automaton''s internal calctions. It must be remembered that once a Magic Jammer was used, even the user will be affected. But his opponents may not think the same and nned to gamble on it. Anyway, the Magic Jammer Canceller''s magic structure should he under wraps by the NMTI as Yumi told him, so he could avoid any problems that Magic Jammer could do.


    Luckily, the Jax Stone was also used for unique magic spells that requires an influence of gravitational force. One sample of this was K''s Continuous me Orbit that she had used in TMAC.


    Wace had spent almost an hour for his Magic Structure which was not a surprising thing as his design in his automaton was a simple one. He used a standard Magic Structure Crystal, Basilisk and Jax stone, a total of three cores for his Automaton.


    He only needed another hour toplete it as he already had a little experience when he made his Amplified Assault Armor.


    ***


    "Take a look at that... Olga had finished his Magic Structure for only half an hour. I''m a bit worried about his Automaton'' functionalities though." One of the female announcer immediately noticed Olga''s figure moving to create his automaton''s design while leaving his magic structure ced on top of his Artifact Forging Device.


    "Of course, the faster he made it, the more unpolished it is. But who knows? Maybe he''s not finished yet. He still has about two hours anyway."


    "That could possibly be the case. He can still try improving it after he was done in his Automaton''s design." Most of the time, the quality of the core would depend on how much time you spent creating it so it was normal for the announcer to have some doubts at the magic structures that was finished so quickly.


    "Now, let''s see our home team''s work. Hmm.. their design really resembles each other."


    "I wonder if that will be effective in thebat roundter on. After all, if they have same functions, they will have same weaknesses as well which can be exploited by calctive automatons."


    "That fully makes sense, I hope they have a clear n about theirbat strategy."


    The man approved the other announcer''s analysis. Simr creations might be good for the sake of stability, but in their case, they should consider some other things as well like how it requires for them to have some uniqueness to avoid being predicted by their opponents. Because if there are simr attack patterns, movements, and energy in those three, it can easily be seen through by perhaps even the lowest grade automaton.


    "How about those from Zairus?"


    "They are the only team that has 2nd year students, there were even two of them, so many people were really looking forward on their performance. I hope the two wouldn''t disappoint these people."


    "Haha! Aren''t you looking forward to it as well? I don''t really mind but their presence gives inspiration to others. We all know how hard it is for Mana Technicians as well. I hope that in the nextpetition we could find more younger generation magicians capable of participating here..."


    Of course, these were just an empty words. Third year and second year student only have a very small gap in their Mana Study.


    The announcers continued their job to introduce the participants and their creations. They were closely observing each of the participants for about five minutes before it changed their perspective to view the other''s progress.


    "Amazing, Jun Richardson had finished making his design for his automaton. Probably some finishing touches would do. But now, he has to create his Magic Structure core and hopefully he could make it on time."


    "Looking at the design, it resembles a praying mantis with eight des."


    "Eight des? Such a unique design... It surely requiresprehensive core too. It seems that this third year has an ambitious design. This will surely be tough."


    "On the other hand, his two teammates was still dealing with their Magic Structures."


    The two, Wace and Sheryl, were seen forging the vessel they selected for their magic structure and although they named stones that was used, the announcers did not fully discuss it to the audience.


    Although they are providing information about the abilities of the participants and insights about their selected path or design, they weren''t going too deep about theponents of their Magic Structure due to various reasons.


    ***


    Half an hour before the start of thepetition.


    Khamir was standing in front of his two teammates. He was the leader of their small Artifact Forging team.


    In Maja, their home country, they had learned a lot about automatons. Their academy specialized in puppetry and being able to create an automaton was their entrance examination. So with this segment ofpetition, they have high confidence being on top 3 in the rankings.


    The three 3rd year students here nned to create a human design with various sizes for their automaton, which they were extremely familiar with.


    "Alright, I''ll make the strength type. Saida specialized in agility type automatons and Ilia will create a genuine mage type automaton. This should be enough." Khamir said to his team. They already nned the automatons that they will make and although he said it was strength type, it was just a heavily armored automaton that could still send an eptable attack magic.


    The agility type automaton was the one capable of doing closebat and has a high-burst magic attacks.


    For thispetition, they n to go all-out and show these magicians the ability they have learned in their academy.


    "We wouldn''t have a problem with the core of our automaton but I''m worried about the battlefield that will be used in the next round. So please keep that in mind when your designing your Magic Structure."


    "I understand~"


    "No problem. I and Ilia are fully aware of this. Don''t worry." Saida smiled as she felt excited for thepetition.

 Chapter 127 - Evaluation

    Wace started to design his automaton. He already nned to make it resemble like a Mech Frame he had seen once in earth. Apparently, the Mech Frame design for space was not that suitable for thispetition, although it can still be used.


    The Mech Frame he had seen before waspale green-blue in color. It was in the shape of centaur and can wield spears, which can be used for devastating charges together with a shield for maximum protection.


    "It''s better this way...


    He was aware that mobility will be important for the next battle, so he modified it''s legs so it could adapt to any terrain.


    As long as the automaton could move anywhere, even though it wasn''t too quick, it would be enough for him.


    Wace will instead be focusing on the weapon that would be attached physically on his automaton.


    No one nned to create a detachable weapon for their own creation, like wielding removable swords, shields, guns, staff, and spears. It wouldn''t be a good idea if in case it was dropped by any sudden explosions or movements. A lot of things could happen in an uncontrolled battlefield. After all, these automaton would be fighting on their ownter.


    Wace equipped the centaur-like automaton with two ck long barrel. Obviously, it was for long ranged attacks and the audience admired his design a bit.


    It was still iplete so they couldn''t determine if it was truly a good design as they could see andpare to the other''s automaton as well. Aside from that, it has to have some kind of melee skills as well. Relying only with ballistic skills, although very important, will be difficult. It must include some other Magic Spells for cover or even closebat skills of the automaton, this will depend on the Mana Technician''s preference.


    They were not familiar with Wace so they could only guess. After a quick look in his work, they changed their view as they tried to evaluate the other''s design and even tried guessing the final results of these automatons.


    ***


    "It seems that Maja has adopted a humanoid automaton. For Montego, I couldn''t really say. The figure they adopted seems to be goris to me... I really thought that they were creating a humanoid one at first. But this arm gave it all."


    "Zairus and Virgan on the other hand, created a mixed designs of human and animals. It looks very interesting."


    "I wonder about their fighting capabilities. Well, in real life battles, Strength Type Automatons were most poprpanions for the magicians. After all, most Magicians focus on their firepower, so they needed a form of protection near them."


    "That''s the poprbat method in Maja in their magicians battalion. A single magician there could even have 2 or 3 automaton as a guard."


    "But those aren''tmon as well. Automatons are expensive after all. I believe it wasn''t always like that..."


    The audience were discussing the contestants decisions in their designs. Only half of the audience was left watching the eventpared on this morning''sbat magician''s event. These remaining people watching were those highly interested either in Mana Artifacts, building automation, a fan of a contestants or just waiting for the automaton''s battleter on. Some were even seen sleeping.


    Of course, the announcers didn''t fail to give their own analysis tirelessly. Especially now that more than two hours had past, they really did their best to keep some of the audience alive.


    "We are now reaching the end of forging round. Only 20 minutes was left."


    "Everyone of them was almost done. All the design of their automaton was already clear to see. Let''s see... the biggest automaton were those from our home team, reaching 3 meters in height." The female announcer said. She was looking forwards on their teams performance so she kept note of anything that seems to differ from their Montego''s team to other countries.


    "Look at the students from Virgan. Aside from automaton''s different bodies, all their automatons have wings?" The other announcer said as he was seemingly attracted at the beauty of those wings. It exudes a majestic aura on their automaton.


    "Those wings isn''t just for design, it looks more like a de to me. Other teams doesn''t look like they have means of propulsion on their creations but I believe it was covered by magic. No need for technological propulsion if magic could take over on it."


    It is just like what she said. The female announcer was well-versed in artifact forging. She was aware that most of the automatons was capable of flight not because of wings or visible thrusters or propulsion, but because she had watched them create their magic structure. As a fellow Magic Engineer, she could easily see other magicians selecting magic structure stones that was mostly used for short-term flights.


    "They all have very interesting designs. I''m looking forward on their performance. I hope they wouldn''t be just empty shell."


    "That will surely be the case. I believe that we''ll see an even more exciting battleter on." The announcer finally said as they all waited for the participants toplete their finishing touches on their automatons.


    ***


    The 20 minutes that was left had quickly passed as five certified Magic Engineers took the stage to evaluate the automatons.


    Aside from it''sbat statistics, some information will be revealed about the automaton through their appraisal. These engineers will grade the automaton and evaluate its potential ability.


    Apparently, although the Arcane Artificers are at the same level of Adept Mage, they couldn''t easily be seen as they were rarer than an Adept. But these Magic Engineers present although doesn''t have an Arcane Link, possesses Mana Artifacts capable of helping them in appraisal process.


    "Our five Magic Engineers led by Engr. Jackson would take at least an hour to evaluate the automatons. So it would be time for everyone to take a break while they review these creations. Especially our participants, they were surely tired after this. Thenter on, we''ll hear the rules for the Battle Event..." The female announcer said and noticed a lot of people had went out, either for a break or going back home. There''s really not many people interested watching these engineers evaluate each of the automatons.


    During this time, it was also a break for the two announcers. The two announcers was now having a tea that was good for their throat. They have been talking almost non-stop during thepetition so they have to take care of themselves.


    "Nina, what do you think about these mana technicians?"


    "They surely are bunch of ipetent fools. Tsk, that''s why Artifact Forging is not flourishing. Are you not feeling the same, Schneizel?"


    Nina said as she shook her head thinking about the participant''s choice of build.


    "Haha! Just like what I thought. I really admire how you can still praise them a while ago. Sadly, what you said was the truth but I''m not expecting these newbies to perform great anyway." Schneizel said as he was truly not expecting much on those 12 participants.


    "Heh, that''s why up until now, there''s still not much of a progress in the 6th generation Mana Artifacts."


    "Don''t think about it too much, our aim here is just to recruit someone we''ve found capable and if we are unable to, there''s no consequences as well. We can just try next time." Schneizel smiled as he took a sip of his tea. Truthfully, he found his job really tiring. Nina specializes in both Combat and Artifact Forging and Shneizel was a previous Adept Mage. Due to his injuries, he could no longer use his Arcane Link and was then demoted in his rank. Now, he was assigned to recruit people in their organization.


    "I just hope that they''ll give us a surprise."


    "Haaa~ Not a single one of them used ''that'' method. It means that they have very shallow understanding in Artifact Forging. What would you expect here?"


    "Don''t worry I believe that some of them will still give us a surprise. We can still probably select those who performed good and try to recruit them. It''s still not toote to teach them." Schneizelmented. Although, his rank was lowered, his intuition about those dangerous automaton was something he couldn''t just ignore.


    ***


    It was now time to reveal the evaluation of the five engineers. A list of information about the automaton was shown to people.


    [ Zairus ]


    [ Red-Eyed War Beast: Designed by Wace Ravencroft. A four-legged beast with a high-powered fire cannon as a main weapon. Tornado Lance as secondary weapon and hidden fire-inclined Mana Guns. Grade 6/10]


    [ Sword ve: Designed by Jun Richardson. A half-man and half-praying mantis with eight Mana des as main weapon. Mystic Eyes as secondary weapon. Grade 8/10]


    [ Vital Thorn: Designed by Sheryl Vermont. A werewolf with thorny scales armor. Possessed Fire and Ice ws. Grade 7/10]


    A long list of information appeared but Wace first found the information that was for his team. The information was so limited and was only for the audience to have a general idea for the automatons.


    The Magic Structure wasn''t even evaluated deeply so it would still be a surpriseter during the fight.


    The Grade that the engineers provided was from 1 to 10 and number 1 being the weakest. This is how they grade the potential ability of the automaton.


    Wace smiled and shook his head upon seeing the results. It alles down when their automaton was tested in battle.


    The grades here was only superficial for him.

 Chapter 128 - Battle Royale ( Part 1 )

    "We have seen everyone''s design in their automaton. It was even graded by our established engineers for their potential. Now, all that was left was to see their actualbat skills." Nina said as she started to get the attention of all the viewers watching thepetition, either through live broadcast or with audience inside the arena.


    "Do you have your bet on this match already? Haha! It''s not toote to change your mind. Allow us to exin more about this uing event." Schneizel joined in as both of the announcers were seen. They have change their clothes to a more casual one in this events.


    "That''s right. I know a lot of you were waiting for this exciting match but let us introduce the rules of the battlefield first so everyone can watch the fight with a much broader view."


    "Keep in mind that even us, had learned the rules just 30 minutes ago and the actual participants had learned this just now. Isn''t that exciting?" As expected, they wanted to emphasize how the rules were kept in secrecy to tell everyone watching that this event will be fair to all the participants.


    "The Battle Royale Event willmence in any moments by now and willst for full 30 minutes in consideration for the automaton''s operation time."


    "Now, how will the winner be determined? Well, there will only be three winners in this event and since this is Battle Royale, even participants in the same country could fight each other or could help each other. Having an alliance with other countries was even possible. Once there were three remaining automatons left, even if the time wasn''t up, it would be considered as the end. If many automaton''s remains even after 30 mins, it will be calcted through a point system."


    "That sounds mess up. I mean, the part where other country could actuallybine their forces." Schneizel couldnt help but say his opinion.


    "Haha! Of course, that''s only possible in theory. Keep in mind that the program for the automaton has beenpleted more than an hour ago. So whether the participants made instructions for their automaton to cooperate with their fellow teammates or even to other countries, it was still a question."


    "That makes sense. In any case, I believe that everyone at least made arrangements for the part where they have to cooperate with their teammates."


    "True. But just in case, I''m wondering whether teaming up with other country would benefit them as only three winners can be rewarded."


    "Well, they could cooperate and eliminate the other automatons then once they seeded, they could then fight each other for the position. That''s one of possible scenario I could think right now. But as you said, the automaton''s magic structure was already made an hour ago, and rules was only given now. So it''s impossible to happen."


    After a bit of the discussion about the rules and regtions, the two announcers then turned at the battlefield where this Battle Royale willmence.


    "The event will happen here in the arena. Don''t worry, the arena is full of defensive magic making sure about the safety of our dear viewers. After all, these are uncontrolled automatons. They will be fighting to it''s maximum ability."


    "Once they were activated, they can only be deactivated by the creators. So the participants were also on standby near the arena. You can see them at the tform on the left side of the battlefield."


    "Now look at the terrain or this battlefield. These changes were made by our magicians just within 20 minutes. They surely did a great job."


    "A swamp at the center, an artificialke on the north, grasnd, mini forest, a ravine and a good amount of boulders." Schneizel said as he admired the beautiful arrangement of the field. Depending on the magic spells that the automaton can use, they can utilize their terrain advantage if they are capable of doing so.


    "Indeed.. This is an impressive work from our Terrain Magicians, partnered of course with our technical team who transported these natural resources."


    ***


    After a few minutes more of Nina and Schneizel''s banter, the signal to start the Battle Royale was heard.


    "Atst!"


    "This had taken so long! Come on!"


    "Go Maja! We win as one!"


    "Don''t lose M-o-n-tego!


    The audience cheered as the surroundings turned dark and only a few mystical orb of lights can be seen in the battlefield. With the loud cheer from the audience, it can be deduced that a lot of people returned to watch this battle event. This wasmon to see as not many people would be interested watching the technician''s create those automatons.


    The dim light onlysted for about 10 seconds before the lights returned. This time, the 12 automatons had appeared in the field.


    None of the same team''s automaton was close to each other.


    These 12 were scattered throughout the whole battlefield. After a couple of seconds, all automatons lit up as their core activation was triggered. Finally, the battle was about to begin.


    ***


    On the tform at the left side of the arena, the participants were huddled together as they observed the whole battlefield. Aside from these, about 40 meters above the arena, severalrge screens can be seen that was installed and being used to monitor the whole battleground.


    Surveince cameras for better view was installed in many parts of the field. This way, the editors would be able to create a better content or highlight of the event once they made a video for it.


    Wace cast his gaze to his automaton. The centaur-like automaton was unfortunately near the swamp area. This would affect his movements. In the first ce, it''s mobility was only average.


    Suddenly, he heard the announcer focusing on his automaton.


    "Oh no! The Red-Eyed War Beast was caught in the exnding swamp. How unlucky, this automation might be the first one to get defeated."


    "Isn''t that too early to say? It may be faking it''s struggles right now."


    "How can that be borate? Could Wace possibly program his automaton like this? To fake and catch his opponents off guard?"


    "Haha! I''m not really sure myself."


    Wace listened as he grinned after seeing his automaton''s struggle to leave the swap area and go to the nearest grasnd.


    He checked in a bit wider range and noticed that for some reason, the three automatons of Montego''s Mana Technicians were gathering in the boulder area at the West side of the battle field.


    Wace tried observing the others before turning back his gaze to the nearest enemy that his automaton could possibly fight..


    He checked the opponent''s evaluations given by the certified Magic Engineers a while ago.


    [ Virgan ]


    [ Turtleback Wolf: Designed by Zhilina Lesya. A wolf with controble turtle shell. Possessed top grade defensive skills.


    Grade 7/10 ]


    Wace continued watching, the slow and careful wolf trying to get near to it''s prey, which is his Red-Eyed War Beast. On the other hand, his automaton was out in the field and making a lot of noises just to get out of the swamp.


    As the wolf was about to pounce on Wace''s automaton, it activated multiple fast paced spells as cover. The wolf then moved quickly as it went to the centaur''s blind spot.


    The wolf sent several wind des and some was even targeted on the swap to explode and block the automaton''s vision.


    The wind des did nothing as the War Beast''s eyes glow red as it activated a powerful defense and detector.


    The senses of all the automaton can easily be made through the use of a standard magic structure. The magic form was so easy that every third year students that were under the Magic Engineer''s course would be taught about it.


    With the three magic structure''s vessel that Wace has ced in his automaton, each of them has its own limit or function.


    The standard Magic Crystal that Wace had picked up a while ago contains magic form for the automaton''s senses. Aside from that, inside it was the instructions about it''s goal, and it''sbat sense was in that standard crystal. About it''sbat capability or battle mode, all of those will be seen any moment by now.


    The wolf pounced towards the centaur after failing to damage it using thrown magic spells. It might have also noticed it''s opponent''s sturdy magic defense so it tried to probably deal physical damage.


    Unfortunately, although it pounced behind the War Beast that has difficulty turning due to the swamp, the long barrel that was previously pointing to it''s front was suddenly in the face of the wolf.


    MMMMM!!


    A spell that was cast so quick were seen by almost everyone and because this is the first contact made with other participant''s automaton, this first encounter was seen by many audience from the verythe beginning .


    A light was then seen devouring half of the Turtleback Wolf. The automaton wasn''t thrown far away as for some reason, there''s no impact force contained in that spell and just pure prative force.


    Everyone was stunned seeing this. They took another nce at the source of this phenomena and saw a dimmed centaur-like automaton. It was still struggling to get out of the swamp though.

 Chapter 129 - Battle Royale ( Part 2 )

    They started to pay attention on this half horse and half human automaton. It made them curious about it''s full battle potential.


    Wace''s creation was graded 6 out of 10 and it''s opponent, the Turtleback Wolf, was graded 7. This information tells a lot to people now that the Turtleback Wolf was defeated even with a higher grade.


    Now, no one dared to underestimate these automatons even if their grade was low.


    "Did the engineers failed to evaluate the automatons properly?"


    "No, I don''t think so. It''s not that they failed to evaluate correctly. It was because of Zhilina''s installedbat sequence was poor so it was taken advantage by the War Beast. The wolf should have a very strong defense but it chose to attack for some reason and after getting caught off guard by that fire or magic cannon, it didn''t have time to defend using it''s turtleback."


    "I see... So it''s a problem on the automation''sbat capability?"


    "That''s right, it doesn''t matter how good the magic spells imbued on it''s magic structure if they don''t know how to utilize them depending on their situation."


    "Although the Turtleback Wolf has below average attack, it has a very outstanding mobility even in a swamp environment and could wear out its opponent. If it was controlled by a magician, it surely has a higher chance of winningpared to that struggling automaton that was unable to get out of the swamp."


    "This can also be a reminder for everyone to not just look at the grade given to them."


    "That''s right, especially those from our home team... All three was graded as 5 out of 10. I wonder if they will surprise us just like how Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast did."


    ***


    Wace scratches his head upon seeing his automaton unable to get out of the swamp.


    "Anyway, it could also use the swamp to his advantage." He said after contemting about the situation of his automaton.


    There where only a fewbat tactics that was installed to the automaton.


    One of them was to find the best terrain for sniping. Hisser cannon has a cooldown to generate power and also to ensure that the weapon would not be overused and be destroyed.


    He doesn''t have to worry about the operation limit of his automaton but was more worried about the materials he used. Theser generates unimaginable heat and he didn''t installed a magic structure to help it in mitigating this heat and he only used a Passive Heat Dissipation System that he learned using his A.I. to transfer the heat to the ground.


    The reason why he selected this four-legged beast was to utilize those four cooling systems.


    This way, his automaton could fire a lot moresers in short duration and destroy the enemy as long as it had locked on it''s target.


    With the swamp on it''s feet, probably 30-40 moreser shot and it will turn to a dry field.


    After themotion on his side was over, some of the automatons had already met their first opponent. Unlike Wace''s automaton, the others were taking time fighting their opponents.


    ***


    Sheryl checked the information about the automaton her Vital Thorn was dealing with.


    [ Maja ]


    [ Fabled Atom: Designed by Saida Khan. A humanoid automaton. Possessed high agility and pointed de as installed weapon. Focused on movement buffs. Grade 7/10 ]


    This Fabled Atom has a build simr to human but was made of various metals and some parts were covered by ayered armor. The short de installed was detractable on its arm so it won''t affect it''s movement in any terrain.


    "Hmm.. I wonder if mybat sequence was enough." Sheryl muttered which didn''t escape Jun and Wace''s ear.


    "Let''s just see, no need to get worried now. Trust on your abilities. I know that you have a high chance winning here." Jun said as if he was sure that Sheryl will not lose against her current opponent.


    "Hmm... It seems you''re confident? What did I miss?" Wace asked.


    "Haha! Nothing... I just know that she worked really hard for this event, so I believe that the automaton will at least show a good performance in this fight.. but if not, let''s just do better next time." Jun said as he sipped a cup of tea served in their seats.


    "But honestly, I''m really tempted to ask some details about that beam of light from you War Beast. Sigh~ That''s really impressive." Jun added after having a chance to speak about it.


    Wace could only smile upon hearing this. Although hisser wasn''t that much of a secret, he didn''t bother to exin them for now as he was intently watching the current fight that was happening near his automaton. Of course, for hisser, he doesn''t have ns to patent it for now.


    The two automatons were currently fighting in the boulder field just near the swamp. If one of them just stood at thergest boulder or crossed the field, it will surely see the centaur-like automaton struggling to get out of the swamp.


    ''It has a booster to get out of the swamp but it was programmed to only use those in case of emergency.'' Wace thought as he started to realize several things that he could have programmed in his automaton.


    ''I''ll definitely let Avalon assist me in this type of concerns in the future.'' He didn''t missed the chance to keep note of things as he ns to install his magnificent artificial intelligence program to some of his future automatons.


    Wace then started to observe Sheryl''s Vital Thorn fight against the Fabled Atom.


    An armored werewolf with sharp ws versus an armored human with pointed de. This is how the announcers describe the fight between the two. The Fabled Atom was a bit more bnced while the Vital Thorn was focused in offense. The only defense it has was its thorny scales around it''s body. It can be used as defense and also to injure his attacker.


    Ice w!


    Mana de!


    Fire Breath!


    Water Wall!


    The Vital Thorn possessed Ice and Fire Magic on it''s left and right ws while the Fabled Atom was parrying the magic enhanced ws using its Mana de. And shielding using Water Wall to those attack that it was unable to parry using the Mana de.


    "As expected, a closebat skills to preserve their energy output. They surely are calcting the energy expense of their opponent before sending their killer move. I wonder who willst until the end." Nina said as she deduced that the two automaton was saving their Mana for possibly one strong move to defeat their opponent.


    "It''s a good strategy to save Mana unlike what the War Beast did. Expending arge amount of Mana in single move. If there are other enemies nearby or the opponent has managed to dodge, that would be the end of it." Schneizelmented.


    "It seems that the two automaton would still take some time. Let''s have a look here in the boulder''s field. It was an automaton from Maja fighting against the graded 5 automaton from our home team." Nina excitedly started to introduce the two automatons. She was well aware of their details as someone who also has a license for Magic Engineering.


    "A battle between Khamir''s Fabled Ambush and Renzo''s Helios. Both of them has very good mobility. This boulder field couldn''t stop them from having an exciting match. Fabled Ambush Magic Spells could almost destroy those boulders if it wasn''t reinforced by our magicians. This automaton can also m through these stones and send a heavy punch to it''s enemy."


    "Amazing, this Ambush has a very good foundation in both strength and magic power. The Helios could only passively defend and sent some counterattack in desperate moves... No, wait... this Helios was only targeting the enemy''s joint!" Schneizel was a Combat Magicians so he could see those minute details when he carefully observe a battle.


    "What?! Really? What an amazing find. Although ambush has sturdy build and powerful attacks, it''s joints seems to have a gap that the enemy automaton could exploit." Nina observed and started to find ws of those two automaton. Although these twelve automatons looked fine outside, their professional eyes could see several ws from the start. But of course, those things will only be mentioned during the fights as part of their job.


    "But it''s not that easy, remember that it''s not being controlled by a magician. We can''tpare the automaton that Sir Julian made to these young talents."


    "Of course. Anyway, if Helios continued to target those joints.. It might actually win against the Fabled Ambush."


    ***


    [ Montego ]


    [ Helios: Designed by Renzo Ponte. Gori-like automaton that possessed several unknown mechanism that can only be triggered by multiple Helios. Pointed Knuckles as it''s main weapon. Protected by Purple Jade Eye. Grade 5/10 ]


    This is what the evaluation says. Wace turned his head to see the other two Helios hurrying to Renzo''s Helios location although it was far, separated by theke and mini forest. It seems that the other two couldn''t be stopped at all.


    ''So the three has arrangements and could team up? How convenient.'' He smiled wryly upon realizing the tactics of Montego''s team.

 Chapter 130 - Battle Royale ( Part 3 )

    It didn''t take long before the other two Helios reached the boulders field.


    One of them even detected Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast but chose to ignore it. Either because of it''smand to join with the other Helioses or it just disdained fighting someone who can''t even get out of the swamp.


    "Whoa! It really ignored Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast. It seems that it really prioritizes it''s mission to unite with other Helioses." Nina said as she realized that the three automatons of their Montego''s team was trying to converge in one side.


    "Hmm.. Impressive. The three automatons were probably with several program or magic structure capable of detecting each other. Apparently, due to the uniqueness of this battlefield, normalmunication method would actually be hampered by the Mana Field surrounding it." Schneizel exined which made the audience admire these participants. It means that the participants of Montego anticipated or put in consideration this type of issue and made amunication method that would bypass this hurdle.


    While the audience admired the Montego''s team''s readiness in all situations, the participants in Maja cursed within their heart. They also have a way to supposedlymunicate with their teammate''s automaton and they actually felt weird upon seeing that their automatons weren''t finding a way to gather themselves. Now that it was exined by Schneizel, they could only grit their teeth and hope for the best.


    ''To think they have nned this deep. Even my Fabled Ambush couldn''t fight three automatons at the same time. What a bad luck.'' Khamir said as he resigned to his fate.


    On the other hand, Wace was calmly observing the battlefield. His automaton was probably seen as weak opponent as well and the danger level was most likely calcted as very low so it was ignored.


    Half of the previous Turtleback Wolf was already covered by muds looking like a muddy stone that was in the midst of this dark and murky swamp so it couldn''t easily be detected by other automatons that was passing by. It was due to the War Beast''s struggle that muds was constantly slopping everywhere.


    Up until now, half of the War Beast''s leg was still deep within the swamp and once this automaton detected the Helios hurrying over to the other side of the field, it stopped it''s movement and waited for the opponents further action. It couldnt just fire theser without making sure it would hit the enemy.


    The War Beast may look like a good target practice for the enemies, but it has to make sure that it would not give them a chance to be locked on by it''sser cannon.


    After a couple of seconds of scanning and detecting that War Beast posed no threat at the moment, the Helios left and fought together with it''s other copies against Fabled Ambush.


    Amazingly, the Fabled Ambush wouldn''t fall down without a fight. It managed to use the boulder terrain to it''s advantage to drag the fight. Although it sustained a lot of damage already, it was still struggling looking like it was waiting for reinforcementsing from it''s teammates.


    ***


    Jun Richardson had been keeping an eye on his Sword ve, it is a half human and half praying mantis that has eight Mana des. The dark blue eyes it has was a special Mana Artifact he made that was called Mystic Eyes.


    Aside from his core Magic Structure, this Mystic Eyes helps the automaton have a better sense of it''s surroundings. In this way, the Sword ve could better utilize it''s eight Mana des. After all, having a lot of weapons doesn''t necessarily mean that it would have higher power. It still heavily depends whether it would actually hit the enemies.


    "Oh, this Sword ve is using his advantage in this mini forest. Well, the nearest automaton was supposedly Silva''s Helios but it ran away and went to the boulders field."


    "Will it just wait there in the mini forest until a wandering automaton pass by?"


    "Don''t worry about that. As everyone knew, the battle would onlyst for 30 minutes. But aside from that, if there was only 20 minutes left, there would be some changes on the battlefield." Shneizel exined to Nina and to every viewers of the fight. He didn''t exined further as only 3 minutes had passed, so a lot of things would still happen on this event.


    "I see. That makes sense then." Nina replied as if she wasn''t aware of it.


    "Hold on... Look at Alina''s automaton, it tried to follow the Helios that passed over her range of detection. It also went to the boulder field! Now there''s 5 automatons in the field, it''s about to get messy in this part of the battlefield."


    The newly arrived Winged Shadow Serpent by Alina from Virgan caught Schneizel''s attention and Khamir smiled upon seeing this.


    ***


    Jun Richardson turned his eyes at the match happening near the grasnd, it was an automaton from Virgan and Maja.


    He recalled their information as he believed that during this fight, his Sword ve would surely detect it and most likely, his automaton would decide to benefit from this battle.


    Yes, it will most likely wait for the winner before joining in. It is one of his program in his automaton.


    [ Virgan ]


    [ Ratman: Designed by Olga Lesya. A half human and half rat with foldable wings. Possessed Wind and Earth spells.


    Grade 8/10 ]


    [ Maja ]


    [ Fabled Midas: Designed by Ilia Frost. A humanoid automaton with Fairy Staff as main weapon. Grade 7/10. ]


    "This will be tough. Olga was one of their best participant." Jun muttered after seeing the details and it seems that the two announcers were thinking the same thing.


    "Ratman! The highest graded automaton out there. How will the Fabled Midas deal with it?"


    "Midas had been throwing spells to Ratman and dealing some damage. Ratman was unable to get closer. It couldn''t send any projectile magic spells due to Midas'' continuous assault."


    "This Ratman burrowed under the soft soil. Good strategy! Midas was now unable to hit it with any spell." This Ratman seems to be capable of burrowing underground or flying into the sky.


    "Well, he may try flooding the hole?"


    As soon as Nina said that, the Fabled Midas cast a methrower within the hole. Although this may heavily damage the Ratman, looking at it''s own mana usage, it seems that it would be a lot of trouble if the Ratman survived or haven''t received heavy damages. Also, if another enemy was observing the fight, they might benefit instead in this battle.


    The Ratman has Magic ws and Iron Tail as it''s weapons. The armor scales also provides decent defense against Magic and Physical attacks.


    "Tsk... My automaton heavily focus on its magic attack power. It has good defensive spells but continuous attack on it and it will still copse. It should''ve reunited with my teammates''s automaton. Sigh~ Even Ambush is having trouble right now." Ilia said as although her automaton looks like it''s dealing a lot of damage with all fancy spells that Midas was throwing, there''s still a limit on how much it could send. If it wasn''t able to defeat the opponent before it''s energy run out, then Midas could only try and run away to escape.


    "Oh right, if I remember correctly, all automatons made by Virgan''s participant has folded wings installed." Nina said upon seeing the wings that was carefully folded behind the Ratman. Although it has different design with Zhilina''s turtleback wolf, it could still be identified if it was investigated carefully. Apparently, the automaton that the War Beast defeated also had aplicated folded wing on it''s back but hadnt been used.


    "True, I remember now. All of them created a folded wing indeed. But the Turtleback Wolf failed to activate it in time and got obliterated by the Red-Eyed War Beast." Schneizel nodded as he waited for the battle tomence.


    ***


    As the Red-Eyed War Beast struggles to get out of the swamp, Wace continued to watch Sheryl''s Vital Thorn fight against the Fabled Atom.


    Multiple enhancements was cast on their weapons in hope to deal serious damage against their opponent.


    The stalemate between the twosted for three more minutes before a critical mistake made by Vital Thorn has urred.


    The supposedly Fire w cast by the Vital Thorn failed to activate, it met with Fabled Atom''s Mana de and got destroyed. Now, the werewolf automaton was missing a limb. It could only try to dodge as it lost its momentum.


    "Oh no. What happened there?" Sheryl worriedly asked. She was unable to find a reason why her automaton failed to activate it''s magic spell...


    "Don''t tell me..." Sheryl realized it herself.


    "Magic Jammer." The two students from Mystic Gate Academy said at the same time.


    "So they really used one? But it''s weird, their Mana de wasn''t affected. How did it happen?" Sheryl was confused. Magic Jammer doesn''t differentiate from friend or foe, but this one used by her opponent managed to only target her weapon.


    Wace had been using his Divine Sense to observe the battle so he managed to find the trick behind it.

 Chapter 131 - Battle Royale ( Part 4 )

    ''Its not a Magic Jammer.''


    Wace said in his mind. His Divine Sense had been working non-stop since the start of thepetition and only detected the Lamat Stone in three automatons and those were from the gori-like automatons.


    Althoughh it hasn''t been utilized yet, those three Helioses would surely use it when the time is ripe.


    Wace didn''t exin it to his teammates because in a sense, the magic that the opponent used was also a spell that could disrupt a magic.


    The Lamat Stone''s uniquenesses from it''s natural elements that disturbs thepound formation of Mana.


    Any form of Mana that was being controlled by a Mana Practitioner or Magician would have special characteristics that originates from the caster. This special characteristics was the one holding thepound Mana to form the Magic Spell and also the one being forcefully disturb by the Lamat Stone causing any Magic Spell to scatter and be a formless natural Mana that can be found in this world.


    The first Magic Jammer was created by the Dasovich Royal Family from the Maja Country during a struggle of power against the Guwain Freedom Alliance. They used them as a trump card although it was imperfect.


    Now, with the progress of Mana Study, improvement of Magic Jammer''s Structure was being studied as well as creation of simr Magic Spells with the same effects were also being researched by the professionals. Of course, it would be weakerpared to those using a Lamat Stone as a base.


    The magic spell that the Fabled Atom used was simr to Mana Burst that aims to disrupt the magician''s concentration of mana. In this case, instead of targeting human physiology to interrupt magic casting and stop the mana flow, it targeted the automaton''s power source, the Mana Stone.


    Although it only stops the Mana Flow for a second, it was enough for the Fabled Atom to gain a relevant advantage over it''s opponent. Looking at it, the Vital Thorn hurriedly distanced itself to it''s opponents as first reaction when receiving significant damage. The Fabled Atom surprisingly stand down as well and it didn''t follow the injured Vital Thorn until 5 seconds had passed.


    "Dy? It seems that your opponent couldn''t use that continuously... If it is, your Vital Thorn wouldn''tst this long or actually, no one would be able to defeat it."


    "That''s right. Even though it will be tougher with a missing arm. My Vital Thorn haven''t used it''s killer move yet." Sheryl said not losing hope in her current predicament.


    ''Disrupting the power source. Thats a good method of fighting against another automaton. Luckily, I don''t have to worry about it.''


    In this case, only Wace had a backup power source as he possess Compact Mananuclear Reactor.


    Wace then turned his sight at the five automatons battling within the boulders field.


    The three automatons from Montego''s team against Fabled Ambush and Winged Shadow Serpent.


    ''Wait... So they really nned this far?'' Wace was surprised about the capability of the three simr automatons.


    After the third Hellos arrived at the field and fought a bit with the Fabled Ambush. They surprisingly retreated away and waited for the Winged Shadow Serpent.


    Fabled Ambush decided to have a wait-and-see approach as it probably calcted that fighting those three head-on was just a suicide. It didn''t rush forward and look for a fight. The same goes for the Winged Shadow Serpent that was probably calcting it''s chances of winning. After all, it had been trying tomunicate with it''s other teammates but was unable to. With the wings on it''s back, it could escape if necessary and probably decide to look for it''s teammates.


    As the three Helioses retreated, Wace then saw that an amazing connection between the three has urred.


    They formed a triangr formation and moved to surround the Winged Shadow Serpent!


    "This... Why did they choose to ignore the Fabled Ambush?" Nina muttered as she noticed the decision that the three automatons made.


    "That''s a good question. I wonder why... unless they detected that this flying serpent could escape through air and this Fabled Ambush can easily be dealt with on the groundter on?"


    "Well, if you say it like that then it make sense. But if it tries flying now and escape the formation then nothing would change. Also, one possible reason they chose this serpent was because they detected that it was probably weaker." The two announcers could only guess.


    Although it happened so fast, the automaton that was in the center of formation hadn''t detected any danger from the three yet. This automaton was graded 7 and the Helios was only 5 so it surely has capability and wouldn''t easily be defeated.


    This time, the three automatons did something which made even Wace surprised. A red light came from a single Helios, then it became like a thread that connected to the second Helios then connected to the third and from this third Helios, the red light then connected to the first Helios. It formed triangr red light having the Winged Shadow Serpent at its center.


    It may have detected danger as the automaton tried to attack one of the Helios.


    ''Rush Destruction!''


    It was an old Mana Spell that doesn''t possess any elemental inclination. It was a pure Mana forming a sharp de aiming to pierce any obstruction and the killer move of this automaton. It locks on the opponent and follows them until it sessfully hit the target.


    As soon as the spell was about to reach one of automation, the three Helioses burst with red light and moved in unprecedented speed to dodge the attack. Compared to their previous movements, the current Helios shows unusual mobility and flexibility.


    They easily avoided the Rush Destruction and didn''t have trouble moving around the boulders.


    They used the cover of the boulder to dissipate the attack instead of taking it head-on. It shows that they may still be wary to this killer move.


    After the Rush Destruction failed it''s purpose, the three automatons sent multiple magic spells. The winged serpent tried to fly away but found it was unable to.


    "Rush Destruction, that was a powerful one, too bad it didn''t manage to touch even one of them." Schneizel recognizes the uniqueness of the spell.


    "Mhm.. If it managed to hit at least one of them, it would deal a lot of damage and could even incapacitate one of the Helios but looking at it now.. Even escaping might be toote."


    "What happened?"


    "Something was stopping the winged serpent to fly." Nina said as someone who was always dealing with Mana Artifacts and Mana Spells, she noticed that the incapability of the Winged Shadow Serpent to fly was something unusual.


    The two announcers observed the fight for a bit as the winged serpent struggled to flee from entrapment.


    "That red light connecting the three... I have encountered them before and it should be the Mana Link Chain. As for the one stopping the serpent to fly, it should be Mana Suppression, an Arcane Spell and supposedly, only those with Arcane Link can manage to cast them." Schneizel finally said after getting all the clues.


    "What? Only someone with a level of an Adept Mage or Arcane Artificer could use that?"


    "That''s right, that was why I''m surprised... That spell was difficult to cast and having the three connected may be the reason why they could do so."


    This is what Wace made even more surprised. It was the same feeling when he used his Divine Sense to observe Erza appraise his Laser Focus, the Magic Structure that he used topete with Van. During that time, even Troy Webb had difficulty evaluating his Magic Structure and called for the young Erza.


    Surprisingly, this young girl had also used something simr or something approaching the level of Arcane Link to appraise his Magic Structure.


    Seeing it again here made Wace surprise and got even more excited on his mission to learn the Arcane Link.


    "It seems there''s still tons of things I needed to learn." Wace said softly as he waited for the next move of the three united automatons. He was curious whether this Winged Shadow Serpent can still escape as Wace had detected using his Divine Sense that it was still full of power.


    Unfortunately, Wace felt vibration on his arm. It was a notification from Avalon that was on his arm guard.


    [ Task to gather important information about space exploration. ]


    [ Found traces of records that indicates the involvement of Skywalker Academy in project rted to outer space. Distinguished individuals rted to the project were Dr. White and Scott. ]


    [ Would you like to see further details? ]


    He had instructed the A.I. to gather information about this world and to take note of some important things. He even added to notify him quickly once thosebeled as extremely important was found so this happened.


    ''Good news but not for now.'' Wace said in his mind. He could deal with itter as he wasn''t rushing anyway. He quickly and sneakily dealt with the A.I. and watched the ongoing fight.


    Wace had a lot of things to do but he was happy to explore this Artifact Forging Event and learn many things that he might use in the future.


    He then noticed the Sword ve about to sneak attack on Olga''s Ratman.

 Chapter 132 - Battle Royale ( Part 5 )

    The Ratman had been fighting against the Fabled Midas all this time while the Sword ve was waiting it''s chance to benefit from their battle.


    It didn''t take long before the Sword ve found an opportunity to hasten the defeat of this Ratman.


    The Ratman, after being unsessful in utilizing a surprise attack by burrowing underground, changed it''s tactics and was now using flight in order to avoid it''s opponent''s attacks.


    Fabled Midas at least dealt some damage on the Ratman''s scale armor. But this also meant that it exhausted a considerable amount of it''s mana reserves. It now had to sparingly use it''s magic spells while waiting for its Mana Stone to recover bit by bit.


    This Fabled Midas was specially made to be a dedicated Mage-Type Automaton.


    me Arrow!


    Wind de!


    Mana Explosion!


    The Fabled Midas doesn''t have a good closebat skills so it could only try to throw some spells to the Ratman whenever it tries to close their distance. But the Ratman can still avoid and take some spells head-on so the Fabled Midas had no choice to use Mana Explosion to gain itself some distance and to throw off the flying Ratman. But this Mana Explosion was a huge burden on it''s mana reserves.


    Although the Ratman can send projectiles or throw magic spells, the Fabled Midas has been dodging it everytime.


    Thetter doesn''t possess heavy armor and only has a very thin defense as it heavily relies on it''s Magic Spells. The Ratman, although bnced, has better chances of defeating Midas if it manages to destroy the brittle armor that this Midas uses. Unfortunately, thest Mana Explosion brought it very to close to where the Sword ve was hiding.


    Jun Richardson noticed this as well as he saw his automaton slicing down it''s Mana de to cut apart this Ratman.


    "A chance came! Ratman will now have to fight against Fabled Midas and Sword ve." Nina eximed seeing the opportunity for the Sword ve."


    "Can it still avoid this?"


    "Hold on... It managed to forcefully use it''s flight ability to avoid the Sword ve''s attack! What a luck, but it wasn''tpletely unscathed as the Mana de still grazed on the Ratman''s left wing. It seems that thetter could no longer control the flight trajectory! This won''t end well!"


    "That was very close for the Ratman... look where it willnded."


    Ssh! The Ratman dropped at the center of the artificialke as it could no longer control it''s wings and continued flying until it''s flight''s power source was either exhausted or it''s program decided to cut it off instead.


    "Lucky one. It was still showing in our detectors that the Ratman was still active at the bottom of theke. It may still have some chancester on if it persevere and be in the top three!" Nina announced after confirming it using their Mana Artifacts that was overseeing the whole fight. She was closely monitoring any signs of Mana Fluctuations whenever an automaton take a massive hit. In Turtleback Wolf''s case, almost half of this automaton was obliterated so even if she didn''t look on it, anyone could tell that it was done for.


    Schneizel squinted his eyes as he noticed the excellent maneuver of the Ratman to escape its predicament. Not only did it escape from being taken advantaged by the Sword ve, it even lead for the Fabled Midas to fight against this undamaged Sword ve.


    Yes, this Sword ve hadn''t engaged in any fight yet. Its first attempt was even dodged by the Ratman. Compared to the Fabled Midas who had shown all of it''s skills in front of the unknown Sword ve, thetter will surely gain an upperhand in this battle.


    Sword ve utilized all its movement enhancements magic spells and activated the Sharp Mana de as it pursued the weakened Fabled Midas.


    Mana Explosion!


    Ice-Fire Fog!


    "Wow! It used the explosion''s impact to gain some distance away from the mantis... and even added the fog to cover it''s escape. What a quick reaction... "


    "But it''s not enough! The Sword ve managed to get out of the fog."


    "Sigh~ This half praying mantis has some swift moves." Ninamented after seeing the automaton immediately deciding to ran away from the fog and positioned in an elevated ground.


    It quickly searched for Midas and jumped into it. Midas tried to use it''s remaining Mana reserves to counterattack but the eight des of the Sword ve was actually thrown towards it.


    The Fabled Midas could only try to dodge as it was still unable to cast another magic spell since it just thrown a Mana Explosion and couldn''t quickly cast another one.


    But the eight des pierced through the automaton. Dealing critical damage to the Fabled Midas. It was a sure win by now. It could no longer move as it hit on it''s limbs, head, and torso.


    BoooOoM!


    An explosion was heard as thestmand of the Fabled Midas was to self destruct when it''s about to be defeated. Unfortunately, the Sword ve was several steps away and was only hit by the impact.


    But it still managed to destroy the Sword ve''s eight des. Now, this automaton no longer has Mana des as weapon and could only use the installed basic Magic Spells for an attack.


    Sheryl looked at Jun Richardson and noticed that the man was a bit shocked seeing the ruthless counter of the enemy. Self destruction to deal damage or defeat the enemy? It never crossed his mind to make something like that. All his magic spells and techniques was to send magic attacks, make sturdy defenses, and enhanced it''s movement for survivability of his automaton.


    "That''s allowed?" Jun said in disbelief. Now, his automaton''s ability to deal damage went down by 70%. At the very least, his automaton was now very light and still possess movement enhancement spells and could still escape to any opponents. It may have some chance to survive and help if it met with Sheryl''s Vital Thorn and Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast.


    "Yeah... Maybe we have different concept of making automatons." Sheryl could onlyment at this. The two students from Mystic Gate Academy loves Mana Artifacts and was not willing to see them get destroyed in this manner. Self-destructing isn''t their thing.


    ***


    "It''s a noble way of ending its life. This way, the Midas has dealt significant damage to the Sword ve, it would at least help his teammates, Atom and Ambush, in case they face against this half mantis and half man." Schneizelmented as therge explosion took their attention while they were watching the Winged Shadow Serpent get bullied by the three Helioses.


    "As you say that... It seems that Ambush may not meet this Sword ve at all." Nina said as she watched the three automatons from their home team deal with the serpent.


    It could no longer fly to escape nor outrun the three. Although it''s defenses was sturdy, with the constants attacks of the three, it still perished after several hits by their Magic Spells.


    The Winged Shadow Serpent''s armor scales was chipped one by one until it could no longer hold on and get directly hit by one of basic Fire Palm by the gori-like automaton. It''srge zing palm hit the automaton as it''s body caved in and received critical damage. The three no longer threw magic spells and only used enhance physical attacks to destroy the enemy.


    After this was done, the three Helioses was still full of energy and was now chasing after Ambush. It didn''t take long for the three to catch up and surround the pitiful Fabled Ambush.


    Khamir gritted his teeth upon seeing the powerful momentum of the enemy. He was aware that his automaton could notpete with the three. He looked at his teammate''s surviving automaton, the Fabled Atom was still fighting with the werewolf, Vital Thorn, and was still in stalemate.


    This was already when the Vital Thorn had lost it''s Ice w and only having Fire w on its right hand.


    "Haa.. Such a tough luck... If my Ambush fought against the weaklings first, I could''ve ce in top three or top five." Khamir said as he looked at the Red-Eyed War Beast, Vital Thorn, and the remains of the Winged Shadow Serpent. His Ambush also possess the spell simr to what Atom used to Vital Thorn but unfortunately, it''s not working on the united Helios. It could not stop their power source even for a second to have a moment of chance for counterattack.


    He was confident that if the fight was one versus one in a stage, then his Ambush could surely defeat all of it''s enemies assuming that his Ambush was in it''s peak condition.


    "Don''t worry about this leader. There would still be ast event for us to participate at the third day of thispetition and will be thest chance for us as well. I know that we can still salvage the situation." Ilia said to her leader tofort him. Saida could only clenched her fist upon seeing the disappointing result of their team.


    They were expected to gain good result by the royal family back on their country. They received ample resources and were nurtured to be the best in their league so they had to prove themselves.

 Chapter 133 - Battle Royale ( Part 6 )

    A few more minutes passed and Ambush perished under the assault of the three Automatons. The former didn''t even managed to deal any significant damage to a single Helios before being sumbed by the relentless attacks of the three.


    Khamir was seen very disappointed because for some reason, his automaton''s self-destruction didn''t activate.


    ''That Arcane Link Spell is very troublesome.'' Khamir thought as he realized the reason it didn''t worked.


    Meanwhile, the Vital Thorn had also stopped functioning as it was defeated by Fabled Atom after a gruesome battle.


    Sheryl could only ept the fact and tried to note all the weakness of her automaton. Sheforted herself that it wasn''t her specialization anyway. The creation of Automaton isn''t her focus so she easily grasped her disheartened feeling. She''ll surely excel in the next event, is what she''s thinking.


    At the very least, the Fabled Atom was no longer in a condition to fight due to heavy damages it received from her Vital Thorn.


    Only 11 minutes had passed since the start or thepetition but it seems that it was already about to end. The 30 minutes timeframe might be too long and the organizers themselves hadn''t thought that it would be like this. After all, once there were only three automatons left from the twelve, then it''s the end of thepetition.


    Everyone checked the status of the remaining automatons. There were three undamaged Helioses, the recuperating Ratman, the unarmed Sword ve, the heavily damaged Fabled Atom, and the stucked Red-Eyed War Beast.


    "Now, everyone seems to have ended their initial battles. It''s time to move to the other fields and hunt for the remaining automatons!" Schneizel excitedly said as he noticed that the three Helios went in the direction where the Red-Eyed War Beast was staying at.


    "Hmm... I wonder if their sensors were capable of detecting the Ratman at the bottom of theke..." Ninamented as he noticed that the Sword ve passed by near theke. No one knows if it detected the Ratman but decided not to take action or it just really failed to sense the automaton at the bottom of theke.


    "Look, it seems that the three was nning to help the Red-Eyed War Beast out of the swamp." Nina joked as they observed the three Helioses surround the standing still half human and half horse automaton at the middle of the swamp.


    "Now, how would they deal with the situation?"


    "Remember that this automaton has a powerful beam of light. We still do not know whether the three could take on that firepower."


    "That''s true. The three Helioses doesn''t have that information, I wonder--"


    "What?!" Schneizel stopped his words as both him and Nina eximed upon seeing four more barrels came out from the back of the centaur-like automaton.


    A total of 6 barrels of cannon now turned to the three automatons having 2 barrels aimed at each of them.


    "Hey, do you think that each of those barrels were capable of releasing that same beam of light before?"


    "Er.. that''s a good question. But we''ll surely see that any moments by now." Schneizel said unsure of it''s capability. If just in case, that 6 barrels of cannon could truly send the same intensity of magic beforehand, then they might have to reevaluate the power of this automaton.


    Soon, the three Helioses made some strange movements probably to avoid being locked on by the enemy. They are only at the edge of the area and not stepping on that dark and muddy swamp.


    The three were still connected by the red thread of light or Mana Link Chain and soon activated their Mana Suppression. This Arcane Link spell aims to control the surrounding Mana to be more ''solid'' or in other words, difficult to move.


    This was why the flight spell being used by the Winged Shadow Serpent a while ago failed activate.


    ''That Mana Suppression again... I''m not sure about it''s full function but my magic structure should not be fully restricted. But this means that it would still affect my Laser Focus and it''s power will go down by at least 30-40%'' Wace thought as he analyzed the level of Mana Suppression that the three was releasing. The situation was still way betterpared to Chalice''s Mana Suppression when he was still in Araceli Ind.


    This level of Magic that was supposedly a spell only for an Adept or Artificer was something even Wace''s automaton could not fully contend with and he was already d that it would only weaken his automaton by an eptable margin.


    Since the War Beast wasn''t attacking yet, the three Helioses sent some attacks to probe the former.


    Earth''s Tremor!


    me Kiss!


    Fire Lance!


    The War Beast didn''t dodge nor cast a defensive spells but instead sent a counterattack to the three enemies. This attack stupefied the audience and even the smug face of Renzo, the leader of Montego''s Team, was now frowning at the sight. The counterattack happened so fast that their Helioses were hit urately.


    Earlier while the three automatons were positioning themselves and waiting for the War Beast to make a move, on the other side of the battlefield, the Sword ve met with the Fabled Atom.


    It''s sensors had also detected its teammate but it''s already defeated by the automaton in front of it.


    This Fabled Atom was so damaged that it could no longer escape but as it was programmed to, it still took a fighting stance against the Sword ve.


    Although this Sword ve doesn''t possess a single Mana de by now, it could still cast and throw some spell or even kick it''s enemy with it''s enhanced armor tes.


    Jun watched his automaton cast multiple enhancement spells and approached the Fabled Atom with swift movements. It cast a basic Fire Ball to probe but the automation didn''t dodge.


    The Sword ve moved in different direction as it tried to move in circle and get behind the Atom.


    But it didn''t expected that the Fire Ball would hit the enemy and dealt some damage.


    ''Eh? There''s no more Mana remaining? No... that was not the case. These students from Maja ced self-destruction in their automatons. That Atom was only bidding its time and waiting for an opportunity to self-destructive together with my Sword ve.''


    Jun was correct on his spection as Saida clenched her fist and waited for her automaton to do it''s purpose.


    "Sigh~ Even though this would destroy the Sword ve. It will only let the Montego to get the top three ces." Saida said as she observed the battle.


    Sure enough, after enduring some magic spells, the Atom charged ahead and tried to explode itself and damage it''s opponent. It was easily dodged because the very patient Sword ve wasn''t going near the Fabled Atom and was only sending those Grade 1 magic spells.


    The Sword ve learned it''s lesson with the previous automaton that self-destructed, the Fabled Midas.


    At the same time of it''s explosion, the counterattack of the Red-Eyed War Beast hit the three targets.


    "It really did!"


    "Those were six beams of light! Such a beautiful magic spell!"


    "Indeed, it surely dealt considerable damage to the three!"


    "What a spectacr sight!"


    "Those steam and dust should be cleared in any moment now."


    The announcers and viewers were waiting for the result of the War Beast''s desperate attack. They were thinking that it already exhausted all it''s power with that inconceivable Magic Spell. After all, none of them thought that an automaton could cast those destructive spells multiple times.


    Everyone believed that this automaton would now turn to a target practice if the three still somehow survived that attack.


    As the dust and steam were cleared, the three gori-like automaton were seen damaged but still functioning.


    "Wow! They really survived! It''s the end for this magnificent War Beast. Too bad that it was facing three at the same time. It has to exhaust all it''s power in an attempt to surprise the three but resulted like this..."


    "Sigh... It was a great match..."


    Renzo''s team were already about to celebrate as they survived the attack but the War Beast cast another beams of light!


    Whoosh!! Same power, same speed, same targets. It was truly magnificent sight.


    "What? Again?!"


    "That''s impossible!"


    "How did he do it? Is it cheating?"


    "Who can exin it to me? How many more?"


    "Wait! Hold on! The Helioses can still miraculously defend... Is that armor made of Ancient Abyssal Alloy?"


    As everyone was surprised seeing the War Beast cast multiple killer moves. They were also shocked seeing the Helioses enduring the might of the spell.


    "I see, so that was why... That alloy was said to be the toughest one ever existed even without the enhancement of Mana."


    "That was amazing. So it was included on the stuffs that was given to them?"


    "It surely is. Probably, only these three participants found it on the piles of materials a while ago." Schneizel said.


    "That makes sense and even if the others found it, it doesn''t mean that they could use it anyway." Nina said in which Wace decided to recall all the list of materials given to him beforehand. He could only wryly smile and shake his head.

 Chapter 134 - Top Three

    Wace saw the three automatons impressively standing even after taking two full brunt of his automaton''s Laser Focus.


    ''That alloy is surely tough. It would be amazing to have several tons of these as a reward.'' Wace thought after seeing the impressive durability of the opponent''s armor.


    He remembered that the reward in thispetition was not set. It would depend on the winner''s desire as long as it was rted in the Artifact Forging.


    There are cases that the champions would request for an Arcane Spell''s Magic Structure, top-grade Mana Artifact, very rare materials or even several memory crystals containing knowledge about a Lost Technology.


    With all of these options, he was more inclined in gaining materials for his future spaceship.


    As Wace was having his thought about the possible rewards he would request if he ever won thispetition, Renzo and his team on the other hand were sweating profusely as they nervously watched their automatons struggle tond a counterattack.


    If they still didn''t win with all their ingenious or supremely brilliant preparations, they would surely be punished.


    Whoosh!


    Another wave of that beams of lightnded on the three automatons. It made them tumble a bit as they struggled to get up. The Mana Chain Link had already dispersed and the three were on their own. That spell that allows them to strengthen their defense, enhance their movements, and upgrade their Magic Spells to higher tier was no more. It would be a disaster if they were hit by another one of those beams.


    Their automatons were steaming in heat and the previous silver color of their armor were now turning slightly red as it was receiving unimaginable heat.


    "This... isn''t it a bit too strong?"


    "I wonder what kind of Mana Stone did that participant used. Is it really something that our staff has provided."


    "That''s true. Howe it wasn''t being exhausted. I hope that we could get someone to investigate the materials that was used by the War Beast."


    "Let us first see whether this War Beast was capable of truly defeating the three Helioses..."


    The two announcersmented as they do not have the concept of the Compact Mananuclear Reactor that Wace had used. This reactor, although could not provide unlimited source of Mana, it was also constantly drawing in some Mana in it''s surrounding as Wace ced the 12 Cycles of Mana Stabilization Array as auxiry magic. This array also helps with the continuous operation of Passive Heat Dissipation System that was installed and as the name says, this technique has 12 cycles that helps stabilizing the Mana that was already stored or being gathered.


    Normally, eachser focus has a cooldown and couldn''t be fired continuously but this array can be activated during this time of emergency where it has to face three automatons at the same time. That''s right, with 6 barrels firing at the same time, all of the burden will be ced on this Array and the cooldown wouldn''t be a problem as it would also help in fortifying heat dispersion systems that was installed.


    Each cycles could cover at least 18 shots of Laser Focus before being wore down.


    As Wace calcted, there should be 11 cycles remaining and once all the cycles was consumed, his automaton will be back to normal and his Compact Mananuclear Reactor again would only be able to fire one shot at a time with 30 seconds as a cooldown. This would lower the efficiency of his automatons firing rate but Wace wouldn''t believe that these three could reach that point.


    This array was normally being used only for Artifact Forging but this didn''t stop Wace in his innovation. After all, this array was provided by the Pathfinder before so he was sure that this technique wasn''t so simple.


    As he was contemting whether this will be the end of the three automaton, his Divine Sense had felt something unusual but he couldn''t pin point the problem.


    As soon as the Red-Eyed War Beast was about to send another volley of attacks, everyone waited in bated breath.


    "Again?! Is it another beam?!" They already noticed the orange to red light umting inside the barrel. This means that another beam of light was about to be released.


    "When will this end?" Nina asked but she wasn''t waiting for anyone to answer. She was amazed at the War Beast''s power and also the Helios'' tenacity. She also noticed that the swamp was starting to dry due to the excessive heating from those attacks.


    Wace then felt something was amiss and looked at a hidden location in the arena. It was a room where the VIP''s were watching the battle.


    He noticed the man whom his parents requested to look for just to clear his understanding about his family''s status in their respective ns. The man was Julian Esmeria.


    As soon as Wace noticed that something was about to happen, his automaton that was about to fire it''s 4th volley ofser attacks suddenly stopped it''s movement.


    It failed to shoot out thesers. Wace squinted his eyes upon seeing this.


    Although his Divine Sense didn''t capture it clearly, he was sure that something went into his automaton.


    ''What happened?'' It was his question and the same with everyone else. One thing was for sure. Something went inside his automaton and it was something that he couldn''tprehend with his knowledge yet.


    "What? It failed? Is this the chance that the three Helioses was waiting for?" Nina asked doubtful at the current situation of the battle. They already failed to predict the offensive power of this War Beast so they weren''t confident to predict what was about to happen.


    "Yes, probably. With the continuous powerful attacks being sent by the War Beast, it was proned to have these kind of side effects. It was probably overheated or malfunctioned due to the excessive force being used continuously." Schneizel said after considering the possible reasons of it''s failure.


    "That makes sense, it would be too powerful to see that beams of light raining endlessly."


    "But even with that side effect. I believe that it should still be investigated due to it''s questionable power source."


    "Well, that would be up to the officials."


    This was an incredible battle that highlighted a strong offensive power and sturdy defensive strength that would surely attract many organizations. Who wouldn''t want to learn something like this and use it on their own? Even if the War Beast lost here, it''s poprity would surely soar high.


    But right now, even though it was the best time to defeat the Red-Eyed War Beast, the three Helioses weren''t moving. It was not because it didn''t want to but due to the extreme heat they took head on, they already received severe damages and were only able to stand because of the core magic structure that was still intact. For the physical structure itself, a lot of internal damages were present.


    It must be remembered that the Ancient Abyssal Alloys were only allocated outside as it''s armor. It could not protect the internal structure of the automaton. A lot of joints and wires were already destroyed so even walking wouldn''t seem to be possible anymore.


    The most that it could probably do was to cast some projectile Magic Spells.


    Wace then noticed something as he grinned while looking at the battlefield. Their team still has a chance!


    A shadow passed through and destroyed the furthest Helios that was thrown away by the impact of theser a while ago.


    "The Sword ve! Although it waste, it arrived on time to help it''s teammate! It even destroyed one of the Helioses!"


    "Wow! The Helioses might just actually lose this round..."


    Ssh! A sound of breaking out of water was heard!


    "The Ratman! It was flying and was observing the current status of the remaining automatons! What a good timing..."


    "This is it! This event was surely about to end. With the five automatons that was remaining, once two more of them was defeated. It would form that top three in this event."


    The Sword ve destroyed the first Helios using the impact from it''s high jump paired with it''s piercing armor.


    The armor that the Helioses wore had already soften due to the War Beast''s heating and as the Sword ve was about to try destroying the second one, something stopped it from functioning mid-air. It was unable to control it''s trajectory.


    It was that same problem that the Red-Eyed War Beast was facing but only Wace was aware of this.


    The Sword ve dropped badly but it''s body still hit the Helios and severely damaged it. The other Helios cast a magic spell to totally destroy the unmoving Sword ve.


    "Ha... Only four automatons were left. That one Helios near the Sword ve was also heavily damaged. It no longer have a feet and one of it''s arm was already destroyed."


    "True, but since it was still activated, it can still be considered as a participant... Oh it can still cast a spell?"


    The remaining two Helioses threw several low-level magic spells as they couldn''t cast a strong one. Although the other Helios was severely damaged physically, one of it''s arm could still surprisingly function to cast a very weak spell.


    The Ratman also joined in and threw a magic spell but not to the War Beast but to the heavily damaged Helios. It was then truly destroyed.


    Then the signal to stop the battle was heard as several officials went to clean up the battlefield and retrieve the winners and also investigate the War Beast.

 Chapter 135 - Arcane Link

    Wace sighed in relief after barely getting into the top three of this event. Although he wasn''t heavily inclined in winning thispetition, as a young and developing teenager, he still wanted to see his creation to win thepetition even just for the sake of his parents watching the event.


    "That was close..." Jun said as he wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead. He was happy despite his Sword ve being defeated.


    "Someone had at least reached the top three from our team... That should be good enough." Sheryl nodded, agreeing with her senior.


    "That''s true."


    "Luckily, your Sword ve made it on time and assisted our War Beast."


    After confirming the winner and announcing the end of today''spetition, the audience left the arena ordingly with the help of the staffs.


    While this is happening, on the tform where the twelve participants at, Renzo gloomily left as their Montego''s team didn''t bother to say a word or nce with the other participants.


    Their team was expected to win the top three but only one of them managed to do so. It was a disappointing result especially in their case where almost all of them were annihted even after revealing their capability to somehow use an Arcane Spell.


    On the other hand, Olga, the leader of the Virgan''s team, approached Wace to congratte him. The former made the Ratman who had also made it in to the top three.


    "That was an incredibly powerful spell... What was that called?" Olga asked after greeting Wace.


    Olga''s teammates also perked up their ears as they were curious about the spell. If they ever learned something like that, they would surely dominate their schoolmates once they returned.


    "Your Ratman has amazing Flight Spell as well. Right, that magic spell my War Beast used was called Laser Focus. It''s an original Magic Structure I made." Wace answered. There is no harm giving the name of his Magic Structure. This Laser Focus was one of hisnd property''s main defense system so he doesn''t have any ns to sell it''s magic structure.


    "No wonder. I''ve never seen anything like that or rather... I''ve never seen a spell that possess that much power that can continuously be fired."


    "Haha. You have an amazing automaton as well.. Something that could go underground, survive underwater, and could even fight in the air. Yours would surely caught everyone''s attention." Waceplimented Olga''s creation as well thinking that the only thing left was whether his automaton could survive in outer space too.


    Olga felt that Wace knew how to talk nice since he wasn''t just epting praises but also knew how topliment others. He felt that he could easily befriend the guy.


    Of course, he was also proud of his creation because normally, automatons being used by Magicians would only have simple functions as the main force of power would stille from the magicians themselves. Automatons were only made to provide some assistance with Combat Magicians. Luckily, he had studied this automaton for months now.


    This event surely broadened everyone''s mind about the possible improvements they could do to automatons.


    Especially the one that the participants in the first event fought. Those creations made by Julian Esmeria made them rethink about the usefulness of automatons.


    As Wace was about to leave, Khamir, the leader of Maja''s team also approached him. His Fabled Ambush didn''t managed tost that long against the three Helioses but Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast managed to make the three helpless and almost won.


    They also befriended Sheryl and Jun as they believed that someday, anyone from this group would be a prominent figure within the Magic Engineering field. Wace''s group were also thinking the same thing as they might also meet someday aside from this event.


    ***


    Within the hidden room at the arena, there were six magicians that has been overseeing the fight and making sure the fairness of thepetition.


    They were now discussing the previous events because their home team were almost out of the picture. The rewards for thispetition were too high that they had to make sure that everything works in their favor.


    "We were almost defeated." One of the middle-aged woman frowningly said. She was one of the organizer of this event.


    "Thank you for Sir Julian''s action." An old man wearing a greenced robe showing the status of being a Magic Craftsman said. He was aiming to gain favor with the legendary Royal Court Magician within the room.


    "That automaton''s magic structure... did they managed to retrieve them?"


    "I''ve already asked the officials to study that kid''s magic structure." The female organizer said.


    "Hmm.. Just get the cores and power source and I''ll study them myself." Julian finally said after hearing his subordinate''s words. Everyone nodded as one of them informed the Magic Engineers assigned in the field.


    A few minutes had passed and the news came from the engineers.


    "I''m sorry. Our engineers reported that the cores that were used had exploded after they tried removing it from the automaton."


    "What? How foolish! Did they handled it properly? Who destroyed it?" The old man furiously asked.


    "It was Sir Jackson himself." Answered timidly by the staff tasked tomunicate with the engineers.


    That person he was referring was the same leader of Magic Engineers who evaluated the twelve automatons prior to the Battle Royale. He was a trusted individual and they would have never thought that he''d failed in properly retrieving a core of an automaton that was made by a student. These participants doesn''t even have licenses yet.


    "What was his excuse?" Julian calmly asked. The other magicians were already fuming in anger at the news but he kept his cool and curiously probed the situation.


    "They said that they found three cores within the automaton but after they sent their probing Mana to check their status, there has been some strange reaction--"


    "Strange reaction?" Julian squinted his eyes as he wanted to rify.


    "Y-yes... They said that it vibrated for a bit then after that, when they removed the cores they found that all data was destroyed. Even the strange power source had also disappeared."


    "Disappeared?"


    "It should be better to call it melted, sir." The staff exined after he remembered what Sir Jackson showed him a while ago.


    "I understand. Nevermind investigating the automation since I''m only interested in it''s power source anyway."


    ***


    Within the hotel''s reception, Wace went with his teammates to have a dinner together. They were bound to do a small celebration after having a good performance in the first day of thepetition.


    A while ago he also called his parents briefly to tell them the news about the event.


    He mentioned as well that he might not want meet with Julian Esmeria and learn about their family''s issue. Not because he wasn''t interested in it but he doesn''t want to confront someone he''s unableprehend. He mentioned that he''ll only befortable about it once he further advanced in Mana Study and learned Arcane Link.


    Wace was sure that Julian or some other magician did something to his automaton before. Unfortunately, he wasn''t sure about the details due to his ignorance about the Arcane Link at the moment. He would like to learn this mysterious ability first before meeting the man but he wasn''t sure when he''d learn this as well.


    "You all did an amazing job in your performance this day. I hope that everyone will continue doing their best in the following events whatever challenges you will face." Troy Webb announced before they dine. He was rarely giving speech in front of many people but he made an exception today as he realized the hardships that their participants had to endure.


    As a Peak Adept Mage closely monitoring the events within the arena, he had already noticed some unusual arrangements but he couldn''t do a thing. He was alone in a foreign country and although he was the strongest on their group, he had to still tread carefully and follow the ''rules'' because if something happened to him, it would be a disaster for the whole country''s team.


    He could only encourage the team to do their best and even if they wouldn''t be rewarded in thispetition, they will be rewarded by their own country.


    As everyone done eating their dinner, they went back to their room and have a good rest in preparation for their battle tomorrow. Now, Wace have an ample amount of time to study the memory crystal he received. He reviewed the mission he received a while ago.


    [ Attain Enlightenment ]


    [ Any path that requires practicing of Mana must learn the core method of it''s utilization.


    Mission: Learn the Arcane Link.


    Mission Item: Memory of Arcane Link Flow


    Reward: Memory Crystal containing a Lost Technology ]


    Wace then tried checking the ''Memory of Arcane Link Flow''. He was surprised to see that this memory was his own memory when he watched Troy appraise his Magic Structure. But this time, there was a lot more information as if he could feel Troy''s Mana flow within his body and how he mysteriously tries to connect to the surrounding mana.


    ''No! Arcane link isn''t about connecting to surrounding mana. It seems everything wasing from his own body and the movement of the surrounding mana was only the byproduct of activating the Arcane Link... This is Mana Body." Wace somehow realized that Adepts were no longer bound by just using their own Mana Pool. There was something more from it. He wanted to learn more.


    It took him a long while to study it and after making a breakthrough and sessfully learn this Arcane Link, he had passed out and woke up only after several days. It was already the Ending Ceremony of the internationalpetition as Van had substituted him during his absence.

 Chapter 136 - Returning Home

    "What happened to you?"


    Wace heard a familiar gentle voice after opening his eyes. He also noticed the unfamiliar ceiling, it was surely not from his hotel room that their team rented so he immediately tried to have a better view of the ce he was in.


    ''Hospital? Why would I be here?'' Wace knitted his brows as he couldn''t understand why his healthy self would have to lie down on a bed for patients.


    "Ma''am Yumi? I''m not sure as well... Ugh... How did I get here?" Wace answered momentarily and asked. He was feeling a bit of pain in his head, probably due to lying on the bed for too long. He noticed that a nurse was also with Yumi and seems that she''s about to call a doctor for help.


    "We found you unconscious in your room. You''re already sleeping here for 5 days. Right, thepetition had long ended and Van participated on your behalf. What happened? Medical results doesn''t show any injuries in your body." Yumi said amusedly and asked again, she doesn''t seem to be so worried that Wace had been unconscious for that long at all.


    "What?" Wace was surprised upon hearing this revtion, it didn''t feel that long for him.


    ''Well, I''m unconscious after all.'' He then tried to recall what happened before passing out. He was studying the Arcane Link flow and got an enlightment because of the help of the Pathfinder.


    ''I see, it seems that I seeded after all.'' Wace grinned after feeling that mysterious connection in his body. He also noticed at the back of his mind about the notification from the Pathfinder. It probably contains the reward of the mission as well. It''s not a good idea to check it now.


    For the meantime, he tried to use his Divine Sense to have a grasp on his surroundings. It wasn''t like he no longer feel very safe if he doesn''t have a good understanding in his environment but it was habit he had when he was practicing his Divine Sense before.


    But something went unexpected when he tried to activate his Divine Sense. Luckily, no one was harmed.


    "You..." Yumi gaped upon sensing that Wace already had an Arcane Link.


    ***


    Wace was helped by Yumi as they went back to the hotel. They were greeted by their team as they congratted Wace for being released from the hospital. It was like he had been fatally ill and had only survived after almost a week. He was speechless.


    "Sigh... You shouldn''t have stressed on it. Even though your automaton couldn''t get out of the swamp, it was still powerful." Jun said after greeting Wace which made thetter confused.


    "I don''t think thats the reason. Remember that he was away for a couple of days, so something must''ve happen." Sheryl said as she smiled at Wace to help him defend.


    Wace then learned that the doctor told them that it was due to being stressed that his Mana had be unstable. This unstable Mana would cause incorrect Mana flow in magicians body which would normally result to fainting or being unconscious until their body was naturally healed by their natural connection to Mana. They were told that he was fine and only needed rest.


    ''Mage Doctor, you''re not doing your job properly.'' Wace thought as he wasn''t the least bit stressed. At the very least, they didn''t tell that it was Mana Deviation. His parents would surely worry about his safety. It was an even more serious case after all.


    Maybe because of his healthy body and perfectly concealed Arcane Link while asleep, the Mage Doctor had dismissed the possibility of him having a breakthrough.


    Thinking up to this point, he wasn''t sure himself whether learning Arcane Link would really make people unconscious for days. He should''ve asked Yumi a while ago.


    "Haha.. Thank you for worrying about me. Who won thepetition in the end?" Wace asked Sheryl. He was interested to learn who had gained the chance to make a ''wish'' as a reward.


    "Ugh.. For thebat magician''spetitions, our Avery won the 2nd ce. She was so amazing in the following events. Unfortunately, none from the three of us reached the top 3 in Artifact Forging event. They were taken by Renzo, Khamir, and Zhilina." Sheryl said and further filled up Wace about thepetitions.


    "That sounds amazing... I''ll watch the recording once we''ve returned." Wace amiably smiled as he appreciated Sheryl''s effort to inform him all the events that has urred while he was sleeping.


    They already boarded the ne leading back to Zairus. Everybody except Wace were tired as they slept the whole trip. Thetter already slept for several days and he surely had enough.


    Wace brought out the memory crystal that was a reward for learning the Arcane Link, his mission.


    [ Memory Crystal - Arcane Technology - Low Grade ]


    [ Optical Phenomena Maniption ]


    [ The power to manipte optical phenomena also called as Atmospheric Phenomena Maniption. User can create, shape and manipte optical phenomena, observable events resulting from the interaction of light and matter, including sun dogs, halos, rainbows, auroras, airglows, and mirages. ]


    [ May be unable to create optical phenomena, being limited to manipting only from already existing sources. The distance, energy, mass, and precision would depend upon the knowledge, skill, and strength of the user. May not be able to control optical phenomena in outer space. ]


    ''Lost technology is Arcane technology?'' Wace was surprised upon seeing the strange ability that he could learn once he consumed the memory crystal.


    ''Where would I use this?'' A question that bugs his mind.


    ''Anyway, I didn''t expect that a lost technology was something like this. I expected it to be something even more amazing. Right, it was Low-Grade. Maybe High-Grade ones would be something more interesting.'' Wace thought upon seeing the content.


    Previously, there was only a name on the memory crystal that he was consuming but now, information about what it could do including it''s limitation was included. He decided not to consume the memory crystal at the moment and will wait until he''s at home.


    ***


    It was already seven in the evening when their group arrived in the Zairus International Airport. Wace went straight back to his house as he was offered to be driven back by Yumi''s group.


    He immediately informed his parents about his safe arrival in his house and after confirming that everything was fine within the property, he went to his most secured room protected by severalyer of defense mechanisms.


    Using his mental force to connect in his dimensional storage space, he brought out all the things inside except his ''body''. He have some ns on it but that would probably take some time.


    Wace checked all the contents and smiled satisfyingly. The contents were the remaining four perfect condition and one damaged Bio-Armor suits, several cases containing a total of 77 bombs with four different types, disassembled Mech Frame, Laser des, Enhanced Rifle Guns and it''s ammunitions, some essential parts ofputer for Avalon''ster use, Amplified Assault Armor, Silver Orb, unused Berserk Potions,munication tools, mineral detectors, and some space suits that was neatly arranged within the room. His bio-armor, although can be used in outerspace, it was mostly used forbat. The space suit was still required or important for various reasons.


    After he arranged all the things within his storage, he deemed that it was enough for today.


    He took a seat in the balcony of his house to clear his mind. A lot of things happened in that country. Some things he didn''t even want to recall.


    He observed the stars, the constetion, it was familiar yet it''s not.


    He reminisce his previous life where he lived in the outer space and that he would views as something unsafe before due to the natural disasters that was so difficult to avoid if you were caught unprepared and wouldmonly pop out everywhere.


    But he now got used living in thend where gravity always exist and only magic or technology could defy it.


    ''Haah... Still a long way to go.'' Wace muttered while looking at the stars.


    He noticed a shooting star and remembered that there was a supertitious belief that people could have one wish after seeing it.


    ''Well, I hope it''s not the Meredith Empire''s forces looking for me.'' Wace was imagining that the Meredith Empire had actually destroyed a star after learning that he wasn''t there. Then the starship would go to another nearest and look for him.


    ''There''s no way that''s happening. I probably needed a rest.'' Wace thought as he went to drink a milk before going to bed.


    In case that the empire was really looking for him, as long as they gave him 2 or 3 more years, he would surely be prepared as he already had ns after learning the usefulness of having an Arcane Link with a Mana Body. He could do more together with his A.I.


    Wace doesn''t have a grand ambition to create aary Defense System ns that could protect the whole world but he wished to have something that was enough to protect him and his family. And he wanted to at least give some hope in case the dream he had before would evere true. He can''t aplish all of this alone.


    Three more months had passed as Wace''s 2nd year in the academy hase to an end.

 Chapter 137 - Last Days Of School

    "That took several revisions before I got a pass." Gilbert said as he grumbled after taking a seat. Although he was internally happy that his project gained a passing mark, it made him feel very tired thinking about the four revisions he had to make before it was epted by the instructors.


    His project to give a reaction paper about Dr. Mau Zed''s theory of Mana Density and Constancy had taken so long. It wasn''t that difficult reading and giving insights in an aplished book but due to it having several volumes, he had to make sure that he''d connect the earlier book''s conclusions to theter ones.


    "I heard that the theory you''re researching was his foundation on why he managed to survive in the northern continent. Also, I''m actually interested in his involvement to a specific research rted to Temporal eleration. It was supposedly Lost Technology." A deep voice with a foreign ent was heard behind Gilbert. It was Kazimir that has arrived as he greeted Wace, Ericka, Ross, and Gilbert at the cafeteria. Behind him were the twins of their ss, Keh and Katherine Cummings.


    It was already three in the afternoon and their group was having a light meal with milk and bread as they waited for Gilbert to finish his dealing with the instructors.


    "Oh... That''s right. Your project was rted to giving insights about the Lost Technology. Hmm... Truthfully, Dr. Mau Zed has indeed made an appearance in my research as well. Haha! He was mentioned a couple of times. It seems that he was very active when he was young. As you know, I''m researching about the Northern Continent and there was a passage there where it stated that only 24 known individuals managed to leave the northern continent unharmed. The doctor was one of them." Ericka smiled and agreed with Kazimir''s im. Of course, only 24 were known individuals but no one truly knows whether there were more individuals capable of going in or out of the continent. It was only a number given to the public with the joint countries'' agreement.


    It seems that the said person was involved not only in the study of science and mana technology but also in pioneering the mysterious northern continent.


    Due to being exempted on this research project. Ross and Wace have plenty of times and even offered some help with their friends. With regards to Tracy Guilford, Wace had rarely meet her during the remaining days in their academy. She had only appeared when there was only about a couple of weeks before the end of their second academic year. It seems that there has been some trouble within their family.


    "So, everyone''s here. Where should we go next?" Ericka asked even though she was already aware. Only a few days left before the end of the year and their small group wanted to have some more memorable experience before they separated. Apparently, Ross Schien will be transferring to Skywalker Academy in the third year.


    This academy was situated within the Capital City of Zairus where the main branch of Schien n was also located. Aside from that, Kazimir would also be returning to Virgan. He was originally there and recently, some people were sent by his parents to take him home.


    But he didn''t agree immediately and asked to wait until the end of the academic year.


    Not only that, there were rumors as well that Tracy would also be transferring to a different academy though they weren''t sure where to yet.


    Most of his ssmates weren''t aware of what''s happening but Wace had a gist of the storm that was brewing within this city. He didn''t bother mentioning it to his unaware ssmates as he was sure that someone would do something about it.


    The group went to visit an amusement park within the city and enjoyed themselves. After getting tired, they enjoyed the city''s specialty cuisine in a high-ss restaurant''s top floor VIP room. It was reserved by Ross but payment would be shared by him, Kazimir, and Wace.


    After befriending Ross, Gilbert had learned that the former was also a bit talkative and would be a great friend. Unfortunately, the man would be transferring to a different academy already.


    As they were about to start dining, someone knocked on the room. They noticed that it was their friend.


    "I thought you wouldn''t grace us with your presence." Ross smiled teasingly at the newly arrived youngdy. After the school ended, Tracy immediately left telling that she had to do something. But this didn''t stop them to invite her here.


    "Sigh~ I spoke to my dad again. It seems that I''m really be transferring in Skywalker." Tracy muttered as she announced disappointingly. Everyone felt her sadness as they tried to cheer her up.


    "It''s alright. We''ll surely meet again." Keh said. The twins will remain studying within Leonhearts.


    "That''s correct. Hey, Wace. How about we all transfer to Skywalker?"


    "Eh? I don''t think its necessary. Besides, the capital is too far."


    "It seems that its a trend to transfer now. What will happen to our beloved Leonhearts?"


    "Don''t think too much. It was just a coincidence. There would still be a lot of students who''ll enroll for this year. That''s for sure."


    "Well, we had a good publicity this year after all. Aside from performing good in TMAC, we had someonepete internationally."


    "Don''t forget about the local events, some charity and sports events showcasing our abilities. We had been very active recently after all." Ericka proudly said as she was involved in some public activities since she was a member of cultural club in the academy.


    Everyone happily talked about many things as the sun was slowly setting. As the night approached, they separated and went back home.


    "Wee back, Captain" A gentle but mechanical voice was heard after Wace stepped within the house.


    It wasing from the speaker installed somewhere within the house.


    "Yes. I''m back. How was the progress?" Wace changed his clothes and seated on the sofa.


    "As per yourmand, we''ve sessfully made the fifth andst humanoid machine." Answered by Avalon.


    During this time, Wace created a humanoid automaton where his A.I. Avalon could upy or control. It was a mixed of science and mana technology.


    He would never aplish this task perfectly without him learning the secrets of Arcane Link.


    Arcane Link wasn''t as simple as making a connection to Mana. This mysterious ability that only Adept or Artificer could learn changes the Mana Pool within a Mana Practitioner''s body.


    The Mana Pool no longer exist as the limited container of Mana after having a breakthrough.


    That''s right, the Mana Practitioners will possess a Mana Body instead in exchange of the limited Mana Pool. The practitioner''s Mana Framework would be different. Their physique would have some changes and Mana will flow naturally within the body. Mana maniption ability would excessively increase, normal magic spells would multiply by several times, and their senses can be connected to Mana. And although it was miniscule, the magicians who had broken through would start to possess an ability to create Mana on their own.


    It was only a theory and wasn''t fully studied yet but Wace felt that it was something that can truly be done after remembering one of the rewards that he could have learned aside from the Void Phase.


    Wace went to his workshop where a fully modified Mech Frame was standing menacingly. The pressuring aura was being contained with the help ofyered Mana defense within the workshop. This aura was due to the power source that he had created recently. But it was still not too stable.


    This Mech Frame was his creation together with the help of his A.I. Avalon.


    After he had two humanoid automatons with a high-level artificial intelligence, he immediately rearranged the Mech Frame with a different power source and several changes in it''s part to amodate Mana.


    Right now, afterpleting the fifth automaton, Wace and his A.I. will have more hands to make specific magic or technology he needed.


    It was a technology to stop Mana from interfering nuclear fission. Wace had been trying to find a way for a better power source. Although his A.I. was capable of helping him in creating nuclear energy, he had to deal with the main problem first.


    "Hmm... Let me see the blueprint of the Zymeth." Wace said after thinking for a while.


    The table at the side of his workshop showed a hologram of the Zymeth. It was his father''s starship. He admired it for a bit before switching to other spaceships.


    All sample blueprints they had were based on Aether as a source of energy which requires GH Drive to run. Wace doesn''t have anyway to find Aether so he ns to use Nuclear Energy if possible. At the moment, he couldn''t trust Mana if it will not cause any problem in the outer space.


    "Sigh~ We may have no other choice but to do that..." Wace muttered before receiving a call from his mom. As the academic year was about to end in the next few days, he ns to return to the Red Star Town.


    ''She will probably ask when will I be home.'' Wace thought but he heard something different.


    "Your older sister heard that you''re still there in Tanza, she''ll fetch you before going home together."

 Chapter 138 - Works

    "When will she be here?" Wace asked after getting a bit surprised. His sister was not able to return thest time for celebrating the new year due to an important assignment within the military.


    It has been a while since they''ve met and only had vague memories of her from the previous Wace.


    "She''ll visit you tomorrow morning so be prepared." His mom answered.


    "Sure, I will. Will father be back as well?" Wace asked about his father''s whereabouts, the man was assigned to work in a huge project that requires veteran Magic Engineers within the Ste Region. Wace wasn''t sure about its details but he was sure that his father didn''t apply for a job there just for money but something that ignited his father''s passion for engineering.


    After confirming that his father would still be away, Wace ended the call after having a few more words telling how he''d eaten already and was about to sleep.


    ''Ste Region... Father was employed by the samepany mining the Memory Crystals. Just what kind of project requires arge number of Magic Engineers toplete?'' Wace asked himself after remembering that the Seed Holdings was the grand organization that deals with memory crystal''s trading. He remembered that his mom told him that aside from his father, about a hundred more magic engineers were hired for this special project.


    He shakes his head to clear his mind as he would deal with that once he''s back at the Red Star Town and thus, he decided to visit his secret room, now the mainframe of Avalon and confirmed that everything works perfectly.


    "Now, what do you think Avalon? Do we reallyhave to destroy our spaceship in Araceli?"


    "The Aether that was remaining there wouldn''tst long for three more months. It is consuming more energy than predicted. It would be better to use it to destroy the cepletely and leave nothing behind."


    "How much Aether was left?"


    "There''s 2.35% left. Due to recent major attacks made by the enemies, it consumed a lot more energy than usual."


    "I understand, but let''s do the self-detonation if there''s only 1% left."


    "Affirmative."


    Wace was aware of how destructive this Aether was, so after he contemted a bit, he agreed on the n to totally destroy the spaceship. The technology contained within the spacecraft wasn''t something that he would like to give to someone else. It would only cost more trouble once this was mishandled.


    Anyway, during the past three months, Wace was able to give Avalon a good enough ''space'' to store all its content in several mainframeputers. The secret room was now Avalon''s.


    All the information left within the spaceship was sessfully transferred recently. Wace only felt a bit of pain due to its sentimental value and it''s already made GH Drive, a unique technology capable of harnessing the Aether.


    Also, he had instructed the A.I. to only self-detonate the spaceship once it reached 1% to avoid massive destruction. Even if it''s only 1%, Wace presumed that it might erase the whole ind and its surroundings. Luckily, it was away from the maind.


    "Alright, give me all the updates about this Cryptic Link. Have you found their base of operations?" Wace solemnly asked after dealing with the detonation issue. He wasn''t interested to make the serum but because he felt that it was very dangerous for those people that consumed them, he had to be updated on its progress. Not only that, he found out that they were also testing them to the prisoners in the near city. Many failed experimentation caused the disaster and were only being covered by the officials. He doesn''t want the problem to reach his city.


    Right, his A.I. found information that the Ministry of Magic Education had dealings with the project. It was first found as a project made by the Z-Company and was confiscated by the Congress. Then for some ''righteous'' reason, Avalon found out that a man named Chester Cornfield from the ministry was actually leading a group of researchers to perfect the serum.


    ***


    Wace went to his study room after organizing his ns with Avalon. He was now reading a copy of Ericka''s project. It was the insights about the northern continent.


    Although, he could also ask the A.I. about this. he wanted to read Ericka''s own insight on the matter as she has reviewed almost all public information about the northern continent.


    Sure enough, Wace found some interesting details about the northern continent.


    Aside from the name of the individuals who visited the ce, there were statements or probably rumors telling about a powerful civilization living within the vastnd. These people were unaffected by the chaotic Mana and never experienced any hindrance while they are within thend. The ce was also described as a world filled with thick Mana,rger trees,rger and stronger beasts and most of them were even mutated beast.


    Wace felt that it was simr when he went to Araceli ind where he found Golden Keroxes along the way. Wace had discovered before that those weren''t normal and multiple of them shouldn''t appear within the same ce.


    As Wace turned the pages, he found that


    there were also rumors that these people were powerful enough to destroy the teau where Lamat Stones were being mined. Yes, it was the Buk teau that was located at the center of the Maja. It has suddenly disappeared including the miners working within the said ce.


    Wace sighed as he noticed that people would always like to connect the unexinable things to the mysterious northern continent.


    He continued reading and also learned that unlike the people in the southern continent, it was said that people born in the northern continent would experience Mana Cmity whenever their group stayed for a long time in a single location or if they gathered in arge group.


    It was stated that to avoid the disaster, only 5 or 6 Magicians were allowed to group together. More than that and they will attract the Mana Cmity but lesser than that and they might be eaten alive by the strong Mana Beasts living within the continent.


    The ce was littered with strong Mana Beast and most of them could not even be found in this southern continent. It was described as a truly dangerous ce and none could survive unless with the help of those who learned how to survive.


    ''This ce sure is mysterious. Why would traces of Aeolia be found here? What did they found there anyway?'' Wace thought after seeing that the countries had only stopped sending people in that ce after they sacrificed tens of thousands of magicians. He couldn''t imagine the bloody expedition that has urred. As only a few people was left alive, it could only mean that the level of danger could not be a hoax.


    Aside from that, the real information or situation on the said continent that people could get was very limited and it mostly came from the announcements being made by the government, it can''t be fully trusted.


    Wace had fallen asleep after reading a few more pages and woke up due to the sound of an rming from Avalon''s security system.


    "What''s up?" Wace groggily asked after having his sleep disturbed.


    "Ady identified as your sister was waiting outside the gate."


    Wace immediately opened his eyes after hearing Avalon.


    "Ah! I forgot! Open the gate and let her in. Make a space in the living room. Make sure that our automatons and defense mechanisms were perfectly hidden."


    Wace instructed before immediately standing up to wash with a basin prepared by the Avalon''s automaton.


    He also didn''t mind if her sister found thebat automatons that he purchased from Golden Trident Group.


    ***


    A minute before seven in the morning, ady riding a motorbike stopped in front of a huge red gate.


    After confirming that she was in the correct address, she removed her ck helmet as her long grey hair flowed out. She admired the beautiful mansion for a while and looked for the doorbell near the gate.


    It''s not that she forgot to get Wace''s phone number from her mom but she''s not using one at all. She only uses public telephones tomunicate with her parents.


    She noticed a well-designed doorbell beside the gate and pressed it. She noticed with hee sharp sense that this gate and walls around the house were full of surveince cameras.


    ''Hmm... Isn''t this ce too protected?''


    At the same time that she had pressed the button to ring a bell, she heard a clicking noise and a part of the gate opened.


    "Well, that''s convenient." Thedy said before entering the ce bringing along her bike.


    She then settled her ride immediately and walked to the door of the house.


    It was the same with the gate as it conveniently opened after getting near.


    "Hey, Wace! Won''t you greet your sister personally?"


    After calling out his attention, Wace immediately appeared and greeted thedy. He felt familiar but at the same time, feeling a bit awkward with the beautifuldy.


    "Hi there sister rice, it has been a while. How was yourst assignment? Have you eaten yet?"


    He immediately went down from the first floor as he offered to have breakfast.


    "Sure. Will you cook for me, little brother?"

 Chapter 139 - Simulator

    Wace ate his breakfast together with his sister rice. They had a lot to talk about since they haven''t met for so long.


    "It seems you''re getting a lot busier on your job." Wace said as he wanted to start a conversation where he will learn what kind of work his sister was on about.


    He was only aware that his sister was part of abat magician''s battalion and he was sure that it wasn''t the elite forces which were the Lucent Force.


    "Heh. I got promotedst year. I no longer work on the field."


    "Eh? What kind of soldier are you then?"


    "My battlefield was on the desk."


    "Oh, makes sense."


    "What did you do to get promoted."


    "Nothing dangerous."


    "It''s dangerous for sure. Tell me more about it." Wace heard that she has been involved in the joint security area in the boundary of both countries of Maja and Guwain.


    Wace was well aware of the history of the two country due to his research about the Magic Jammers.*


    "Haha! That''s ssified. I can''t tell you. You''re the one who should tell a story. Dad told us that you''re making weird Mana Artifacts and devices recently. There was even a case were you even sold them to a terrorist. Urgh..." rice said as she grumbled remembering the trouble that they''ve made after selling the Float Drive System to thepany associated with the Prime Minister.


    They sure got investigated but because he was associated with NMTI and it seems that his parents still have a bit of reputation, they didn''t get too embroiled in it and was able to smoothly pass it over.


    "They''re not weird. They''re innovative." Wace said referring to his Mana Artifacts he made during the past three months. He could do a lot more things after learning Arcane Link. But he was still unsure if he can be called an Adept Level due to him not learning any Arcane Spell.


    Also, he might pass as Magic Engineer but as Arcane Artificer, he would need a teacher for that. As techniques at those levels could not be found by the A.I. on the inte as they were stored in Memory Crystals and it was also carefully protected by ns, privatepanies, churches, or government. After all, those techniques were the foundation of their organizations. Although there were individuals who possess these techniques without having trouble, they were those people with powerful strength and has a level of influence to people.


    "Innovative?" rice was amused and suddenly said.


    "But those inventions you made caused an issue! Infringement of privacy!"


    She was referring to one of the inte programs he made together with the A.I. The inte wasn''t well developed but it was slowly progressing.


    He also made some electrical devices aside from those software programs. He made somebat simtor pods which he was still perfecting.


    Hi-tech equipment was still present here but most of them couldn''t function without Mana. Mobile equipment was the same as most batteries, a device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy, doesn''t have a long life.


    "Ah, those programs could help people, right?" He was referring to a detailed map he made with the help of his drones. At first, he didn''t n to share it and only use it for his own but because he wanted to make a name for himself and sell his Mana Artifacts that he made, he decided to release it on a whim.


    Unfortunately, it was deemed as an infringement of privacy capturing photos from above. Although there wasn''t anyw about this, people started toin after learning about it. It took sometime before the issue calmed down. Luckily, hisbat simtion pods were released and helped to cover the issue.


    Aside from several programs he made, he was also constantly making Mana Artifacts with an improved Artifact Forging Device that he made on his own. He could do a lot more with the automatons his Avalon was controlling.


    Due to therge number of Mana Artifacts he made, it was taking too much of his space in his warehouse. But he couldn''t just throw them away or pile them in his warehouse and gather some dust so he had to circte them.


    After he purchased tons of materials to experiment, he then sold those artifacts that weren''t too valuable for him. Of course, they could never reverse engineer them even if they found it very valuable to them.


    Also, what Wace sold were always a gun-looking design Mana Artifacts. Guns that shoot a different types of Elemental Mana Bullets. Each has different calibers and models and were highly sought after.


    Most Mana Artifacts right now we''re designed like a scepter, gauntlet, sword, shield, spear, talismans, and others, so Wace''s gun-like Mana Artifacts were being highly epted by the buyers.


    Apparently, guns were always deemed as weapons for non-magicians so they weren''t inclined in designing such weapons before.


    And as guns and explosives were made by non-magicians that could still kill unprepared magicians, it was deemed not to make fun of these weapons. So most magic engineers didn''t touch this design, it was an unwritten rule that Wace broke because of his cool aesthetic designs. Everyone liked his idea of improvement and changes.


    More than that, Wace had also received a mission from the Pathfinder. This is the reason he had to make some reputation.


    [ Find a Master! ]


    [ Your path dabbles in multiple fields. You first needed to learn from a Master Craftsman.


    Be taught in a natural way and be flexible for the sake of learning the other fields.]


    [ Rewards: Void Phase ( Intermediate Level ) ]


    Wace was actually disappointed with the reward for this mission as he was about to reach the intermediate level on his own if he researched for a few more weeks. He had researched and practiced a lot using his Void Phase.


    He was able to improve the distance that he could cover, thanks to his Arcane Link. Then after a month of experimentation, he was able to fuse it together with his Divine Sense perfectly.


    After every night of practice, he was now able to cover 5 kilometers in a single attempt, also with lesser mana consumption. Wace actually expected before that improving the distance that he could cover means increasing his mana consumption, but after he infused his Divine Sense perfectly, the consumption was almost negligible.


    But there was some problem that has appeared, he could no longer increase the distance he could take and if he maximized the 5km distance. A small explosion of Mana would appear in the targeted location. He could only use 3 kilometers of Void Phasing Steps to avoid the small Mana Explosion.


    ***


    After Wace toured his sister within his workshop, thedy asked to try his unreleased version of thebat simtor pod.


    rice observed the silver oval-shaped pod and without activating it, it only looks like a perfectly sculpted egg.


    "This looks better than the crap you sold! Nice..." She blurted upon seeing the new version.


    Wace assisted her to wear a special suit and helped her lie within the pod.


    "These things aren''t in the previous pod you made. What are these?" rice pointed out some things in the pod. She had purchased Wace''s products before to support him so she was familiar with the old simtor pods.


    "Those are for nutrients, so your body is always in perfect shape even if you like there for 24 hours. Those gels help for sensitivity. This pod I made could simte 20% of pain, in maximum. You can opt to activate it. It is up to the user." Wace answered. There were a lot of problems in the first version but this unreleased version would surely take all the market for simtor pods. Although it says Combat Simtor Pod, Wace actually made it not only forbat use.


    "Whoa... That''s interesting. Where did you learn all of this? This could never be taught in the academy."


    "Err... I just got some ideas after thepetition in Montego."


    "Haha! as if... I heard that you''ve slept in the wholepetition."


    "Urgh... Why does it sound like Ized around there?" Wace said as the two chuckled. His sister doesn''t really care where did Wace learned all of this and only asked in a moment of surprise.


    "How to activate it?" rice asked after making sure that she was in afortable position.


    "Just close your eyes and wear that breather. Then say ''Start Link'' and you''ll be sent to the Virtual World. Good Luck there!"


    He didn''t just create this equipment to have fun, this simtor pod powered by Mana Battery was only a step to his future ns. He had to take things slowly and improve himself along with it.


    rice followed Wace''s instruction and sure enough, after she opened her eyes, she was back in the Virtual World.


    Unlike with the previous pod, the rity of everything was improved tremendously. It felt like she was in the real world! She looked at vast grasnd ahead of her and she swears that she could smell the grass and feel the sunlight on her skin.


    "Just how did my brother do this?!"

 Chapter 140 - Sealed Mana Artifacts

    "Start Link!"


    rice said following Wace''s instructions. After feeling a warm embrace to her whole body, she opened her eyes again and was brought to a familiar white room to fix her avatar.


    This is somehow the same in the first version. As she was only making a test, she didn''t bother making someplicated changes and left it as it is. As she admired her appearance, there were four options that have appeared in front of her. She could select any of the four to proceed.


    [ Battle Arena - Survival ]


    [ Adventure Mode ]


    [ Practice Mode]


    [ Tutorial ]


    rice wasn''t really in a mood to do battle and was only here to try one of her brother''s work to offer some suggestions and help him. She nned to select the [ Linked Park ] which was previously in the previous simtor. It was a ce where all users of the first version of the simtor pods could gather. That ce wasn''t crowded as only 200 copies of those pods were sold by Wace as a trial. She wanted to suggest something in that Mode but unfortunately, this Park has disappeared and was reced by [ Adventure Mode ].


    She selected this mode to check it out and was thoroughly surprised at what happened next. She even questioned how his brother could do something this amazing.


    After getting surprised and taking a few breaths to calm down, rice had a sense of her surroundings as her face turned very serious. She walked for a couple of minutes and felt a familiar connection to the world.


    She took a deep breath and tested to execute some magic spells.


    "T-this..."


    She could connect to the mana! She can feel the mana within her body without any issues or difort!


    "H-how? Did I get transported to a different ce instead? Was that the true capability of the pod?"


    Transporting a person to an isted ind that Wace had reserved for Adventure Mode beforehand? She was trying toe up with what kind of trick Wace did to aplish this but she could only give up. She''s not an engineer but a battle mage. This is tooplicated for her so she didn''t bother thinking too deeply about how this works.


    "Is this a Lost Technology perhaps? Yes, this is definitely one. How did he learn this?"


    Her breathing got heavy upon experiencing all this. She just tried using the magic she was familiar with even without Mana Artifact and she perfectly executed them.


    Not only that, she felt the texture of the grass, the trees, and even bit into some leaves. Sure enough, she could taste them. It felt so real!


    She also noticed a city far away after looking around, but its structures and vehicles weren''t so familiar.


    "This technology... this is too valuable. I need to fully discuss this with him. He''s probably not even aware of what kind ofplications this device would make once it is released."rice said in a grave tone. The firstbat simtor pod that Wace made was in the standard that other engineers in the country could somehow make with great efforts. It was only improved by a bit due to having several options for the battlefield, avatar options, and a good practice environment due to multiple options. You can almost design your own ce during the tutorial phase.


    But this simtion that she was looking at wasn''t so simple. It was like a new world. It even felt like she had entered an advanced civilization after looking at the far city. Also, she felt the freedom that she could do in this ce after trying her magic several times.


    She didn''t have enough in this world yet as she decided to visit the near city.


    But as she was about to step on the citynd, she felt everything darken and was woken up in the simtor pod. The gels around her have already shrunken.


    "What happened?" rice was of course disappointed about the sudden cutting off of her fun.


    "Err.. not sure. It''s not yetplete... perhaps. Anyway, let''s check this thing instead." Wace reasoned out. Actually, Wace was also surprised about the city in the Adventure Mode. That city was almost an exact copy of an advanced civilization''s metropolis. Showing that to her sister was asking for trouble.


    So after learning it, he immediately asked Avalon to safely disconnect her from the virtual world. It wasn''t his intention to put that city there but as he let the Avalon design the ce after he perfected the program in simting mana, he forgot these structural details. He forgot to tell the artificial intelligence to only put a simple city or better yet, an old fashioned one.


    "Eh? You haven''t finished that yet?" rice furrowed her brows as she questioned Wace. She was feeling a bit doubtful and unable to get over that feeling of realism within that virtual world.


    "That''s right, I haven''t perfected it yet but you can retest it... perhaps after a month." Wace smiled after leading her to his other creations.


    Unfortunately, rice wanted to talk about the virtual world and her interest in the other Mana Artifacts had greatly lessened.


    "Hmm... I was capable to use magic in there. That is too real. Is this a Lost Technology? Wait.. thinking about it now, the level of realism was very simr to a Sealed Mana Artifact I heard about."


    "Sealed Mana Artifact?" This time, it was Wace who raised his brows upon hearing it. It was amazing that a simtion program simr to his work was already existing here.


    "Mhm. Actually, it only possesses an ability that has simrities to your virtual world. The artifact will make the target fall asleep and drag them together within the user''s dream world."


    "Oh.. so that how it is but it''s the first time I heard about this."


    "That''s natural, I only heard it identally but I believe that it truly exists. Although I haven''t seen it personally, I know where the artifact was hidden. Unfortunately, the problem with that artifact was obviously falling asleep together with the target. That''s inconvenient, right? You have to make sure that someone was protecting you or ensure the safety around you before you use it. Oh, and it was called Dream Weaver''s Circlet if I''m not wrong."


    "I see... are you sure it''s ok to tell me that?"


    rice paused for a bit after hearing Wace''s question.


    "Well, it should be fine. Anyway, I shouldn''t have learned about it too."


    "These sealed artifacts were too mysterious. I don''t think that they were dangerous since it could only do that much."


    "Heh.. You''re still ignorant about them. Sealed Mana Artifacts didn''te from this southern continent." rice continued.


    "Aren''t you surprised that it could drag people into dreams? Those are no longer conversion of Mana to Elements. Those are real and mysterious magic."


    This time it was Wace''s turn to get a serious expression.


    ''So that was it. It''s the missing information I couldn''t find elsewhere.'' Wace thought after hearing his sister.


    There are several mysterious magic that he had read about through the help of his Avalon''s ability to gather information. He couldn''t properly exin some of them, like those that affect human souls, dreams, spatial, temporal magic, and others.


    He could somehow exin the life and death magic as most living things requires Mana and messing with it would truly affect anyone''s life.


    But the magic that was first mentioned couldn''t be properly exined. Even Aeolia hadn''t finished investigating the magic of souls before he ''died''.


    ''But what if he went to the northern continent just to learn the truth in this? Err... that''s not the point.'' Wace thought as he cleared his mind.


    ''It means that either the people within the northern continent found a way to use the Mana''s full potential unleashing other possibilities or it was also a natural phenomenon.''


    He had read some theory before that some outstanding Mana Artifacts, those that don''t have a copy of its Magic Structure, were naturally made by this magical world.


    Yes, a Natural Artifact. It wasn''t proven as no evidence can be found about this. But it was also said that this theory was only made just to hide the fact that some engineers out there could actually make these mysterious magic spells with their ability.


    ''Wait... were those Natural Artifacts were also the Sealed Mana Artifacts?''


    Now, with his sister''s words, Wace somehow felt that this northern continent must be explored at some point in time as there were a lot of riddles in this ce. But it''s surely not very soon as he had a lot to do first in this country.


    "What made you silent?" rice asked seeing Wace had frowning look on his face.


    "Ah... I''m just thinking why are they called ''sealed''? I mean, do they have to be sealed?"


    "Oh that... Maybe you haven''t learned yet. I''m not sure if I learned this in my third year but anyway, they are called ''sealed'' because there''s a problem happening whenever it gets unsealed for a long time. Have you heard of Mana Cmity that was rumored to only happen with the northern people?"


    "Yes, the famous example was the ''Illusion of the Venarian Town'', it was one of the worst Mana Cmity having made the entire ind float." Wace answered after having a thought and he suddenly stopped upon realizing what rice meant.

 Chapter 141 - Unveiled Secrets

    "Sealed Mana Artifacts were that powerful?" Wace asked to confirm his thoughts. Although he was aware of these artifacts, he wasn''t aware of it''s true capabilities.


    The Mana Cmity could not be treated lightly based on his several sources. It really has to be taken seriously if this is the truth.


    The ''Illusion of the Venarian Town'' was one of the tragedy that has urred during the time when exploration within the northern continent was still a hot subject.


    After more than 5 years of stabilizing the wide scale production of 5th generations of Mana artifact, people set their eyes on the northern continent feeling that they were strong enough tounch an expedition within the inner region. Unfortunately, this caused them thousands of lives and only the 24 known individuals survived.


    The 24 survivors were investigated on what happened inside. They were brought to an ind separating the northern and southern continent. They were detained at the Venarian Town within the same ind and after a day of investigation, the 24 left the ce including all their loots they have gathered. It was taken and safely kept within the town for proper evaluation and division of profits.


    Then the problem ured, it was rumored that it was the fault of those several loots they gained that the Mana Cmity happened in the ind but no one could tell the truth as whatever happened there was tightly controlled by the joint countries that participated in the exploration.


    Then years had passed as the 24 survivors made a huge contribution in the southern continent just like how Dr. Mau Zed remained a prominent figure in the study of Mana and Detoxification.


    Wace could only sigh remembering all of this events in the past.


    "Yes, that was why it was very important to seal them." rice answered as she smiled widely upon seeing this amazing younger brother of her being educated from the few knowledge she had learned in her service. Although her brother was showing a lot of amazing skills in terms of artifact forging, she felt that he still have a lot to learn about this world.


    "Hehe... If you don''t know some things rted to these, you can always ask me." rice ced her hand on her waist as she proudly announced.


    A lot of things could not be learned within the 3 years of education in the academy, so she was confident that she would still be of help for Wace.


    "Sure, I''ll remember that. Uhmm.. By the way, have you heard any rumors going around this city?" Wace suddenly asked in case his sister was actually involved in the brewing storm within the city as thedy seems to know a lot.


    "Uh.. not really? What rumors?"


    "Ahh... nevermind about it. So, what do you think about my Combat Simtor Pod?"


    "Well, it will surely be the hottestmodity once it''s released. This device that perfectly simtes Mana could never be found elsewhere... but there could be some problems."


    "Problems?" Wace raised his brows upon hearing this.


    "Yes... First of all, you will have to license this to NMTI, right?"


    "Err... yes. But there shouldn''t be a problem since this is just improvement of my first version." He had licensed his first version. So honestly, he didnt think that there would be some problems.


    "No, its not that simple. The first version could not simte your connection to Mana. The realism in your work was probably 95 to 99% if not 100%, due to controlled pain. Once this was learned by the government, they might monopolize your creation." rice said worriedly. She knows that her little brother was weak in political drama of this country.


    "Eh? Why would they do it in that extent? Its just a simtor. At most, it could avoid people from getting hurt during practices. They will surely be happy about this, right?"


    "That''s the main point. Once this was learned, you may not have a chance to even sell this to the public and all the devices will be purchased in bulk by our government to use in the military." rice said as she shakes her head before continuing her words.


    "In any case that you couldn''t supply their number of request for this artifact. They will start asking for it''s core magic structure or program and they will make it themselves."


    "Hmm.."


    "Don''t ''hmm'' me, that''s the truth. It happened before."


    "Huh? What happened before?"


    "It''s a long story but to make it short, a magician made an incredible progress in Mana Artifact usage. It was a huge contribution not only to our country but also to our continent. But our government don''t want it to be released to the rest of the world just to maximize it''s potential and gain an upperhand to other countries'' advancement. Well, I couldn''t me them as it''s warring era."


    "So, what happened?" Wace was very curious about this familiar story.


    "Of course, the magician or that magic engineer did not agree and released that discovery to the world for the sake of future and faster development of Mana Artifact." rice said smiling at Wace.


    "You''re saying that it''s not rumors?" Wace heard about this already and was convinced upon seeing his sister nodding at his question.


    She was surely referring to Aeolia Schien, the man, the myth, the legend. He wanted to increase the pace of Mana Artifact development as he probably reached his limit. It was within his rights as it was all his own efforts. The government never provided him some funds.


    Unfortunately, the government wanted to monopolize this knowledge and did their best to stop Aeolia from spreading it. Luckily, the man seeded and spread the 4th gen artifact. Then, several decades had passed as the same person discovered another method for advancement of Mana Artifact, the debut of the 5th generation.


    It was all thanks to the clues from the other countries'' Magic Engineers which had inspired him. The man released the discovery again to the rest of the world which garnered a lot of disagreement from the government during that time. They should have the ability to outdone their neighboring countries with this power but instead of contributing this to his home country, he betrayed them... as what they would describe.


    "That''s right. Why do you think the Schien n was declining? They should be a rich n and pir of this country but look at them now. The man even ''died'' mysteriously. Also, remember that it all happened a century ago. These things didnt just happened to them. There were still some magicians you might have even heard before." Thedy chuckled after saying this. Obviously, she doesn''t really care whether the government or Aeolia or other magicians were right or wrong. After all, it happened all in the past, none of her concern and she only have to do her work as she doesn''t have any grand ambition to uphold justice and punish all the evil.


    She just wanted to have the best time of her life. This train of thought wasn''t because she was weak but because of her brutal experience within the military.


    She had a lot of realization as she noticed that everyone has fragile life. It can be extinguished by simple snap of the fingers by the powerful individuals. There was an unimaginable power she could never imagine that was actually existing unknowingly and hidden in the eyes of most people. She had also experienced a lot before getting the mysterious ''desk job''.


    "Are you sure that you can tell me this?" Wace never doubted his sister''s words as everything makes sense and it matches in all the information he had gathered and her knowledge surely didn''t came from external source. It was definitely an information she had learned within her post.


    "Of course, don''t worry. Although it''s a secret, those aristocrats were aware of the past events. It''s an open secret as no one would question our government anyway. Only us,moners, were not informed and even textbooks in our academy were being controlled by them so it''s impossible to change the ''truth'' that they made." rice said matter of factly.


    "I understand. Well, I think that I can still try but I''ll speak to someone I know within the NMTI first. I believe that she can be trusted."


    "Oh? You know someone there? Who''s the girl?"


    "Huh? Don''t look to me like that. Anyway, thank you for informing me."


    Wace and his sister rice had talked a lot of things and bonded the whole day. His sister only have two weeks of vacation and would be back in service. They didn''t know when could they meet again so they just can''t help it.


    As the evening approaches, rice left her bike at Wace''s house as the two rode a bus together going to the Red Star Town.


    Wace happily went away from his house as his sister seemingly forgot the metropolis she saw within the virtual world.


    He didn''t forgot to instruct his A.I. about the works to be done. Anyway, he was always connected to his A.I. so he wasn''t worrying that his progress would be dyed significantly.

 Chapter 142 - Town Square

    "Good morning, mom. Is there any news from father?" rice asked her mother, ine, after seeing her cook their breakfast.


    The siblings arrived in this townte at night so they didn''t have a lot of time to chat as they''ve immediately gone to sleep.


    "Oh rice, you''re awake. He messaged mest night and said that he will have some time the day after tomorrow. You missed your father, huh?" ine replied while still busily preparing a heavily meal for everyone. The family, excluding Chase, ns to join an event within this small townter.


    "Great. I''ll only be here for two weeks. What''s with his job?"


    "Your father was assigned as a Project Manager. It seems that some new discoveries were found about the crystal they were mining there."


    "Ah, now that you said it, I remembered that the Seed Holdings was thepany dealing with mining and processing the memory crystals. What could possibly be discovered there? They''ve been mining it for almost 50 years." rice said but she''s not really interested on what was being done there. She was more concerned whether her dad could really spare them some time.


    "Haha... Who knows, maybe they''ve unearthed a gigantic crystal that they couldn''t easily process?" Wace answereding from upstairs. He woke up early as a habit since during the past months, he always had to make some progress in his works.


    He then checked the morning newspaper for sometest news. He was looking for some news surrounding the Tanza City but he didn''t find any significant article.


    Although he have his A.I. to help him in this case, it still has it''s own limitation and he also wanted to properly integrate himself to this world.


    Nevertheless, he still couldn''t help using his Divine Sense in this scenario as he quickly gathered all the information within the newspaper. He found sometest news about their town instead.


    He then folded the newspaper as he already smelled his mother''s cooking. His stomach immediately grumbled as he sat on the table waiting to be served. He noticed that his sister was just taking a sip of a hot coffee as she waited for the meal. It was refreshing to have this kind of morning.


    The two can only act like this now, they totally appreciated these moments where their mom would always cook for their breakfast. It has been several years when rice had to serve military and then followed by Wace as he had to move in his dormitory near the Academy.


    The siblings can also cook for their own but they could never reach their mother''s level of attainment.


    On the other hand, ire, their youngest sibling, was still sleeping on her room but they''ll probably have to wake her up soon as they nned to visit a ce in their town.


    "I''m thinking about what you''ve said, about the gigantic crystal. That''s actually possible but your father said that it was ssified so I didn''t ask that much. Oh... check whether ire has already woken up. She''s been sleeping for over ten hours now. We''ll leave after breakfast." ine said instructing Wace whilst serving the food.


    "Don''t worry. We have plenty." ine chuckled sweetly after seeing Wace''s expression after being instructed to wake up his sister. It seems that the man was really hungry.


    ***


    It was nine in the morning and after having their breakfast, the family went to the town square and saw many residents. It even looked to them that residents of other nearby towns had also visited their small Red Star Town.


    There were several events this morning and there was even a surprise guest on this event. One of the event was showcasing of several Mana Artifacts made by a rising group, Veritas. They had been going town-to-town to promote their products that was helpful to magicians and even non magicians.


    Their efforts were being highly appreciated by the local government as it lessens the invisible division between the magicians and those that are not.


    Aside from this, there was a surprising appearance of Miya Linus. The residents never expected that this Celebrity Idol would actually be present in their small town. She was recognized as a star rookie of the entertainment industry.


    "Whoa... She''s really getting popr, huh." rice said looking at one of the buildings near the square. She was referring to Miya who had a fan meeting and album signing event in the said building. It seems she wouldn''t be performing at all as there was no preparation at all.


    "Not really. She wouldn''t be here if she is. Look at our town. Most of the residents just wanted to have a look at the new Mana Artifacts that Veritas made and that other thing." Wace said not in a negative manner but just a matter of factly. Their small town doesn''t have good or outstanding qualities at all.


    ''Oh... We have the Luna Lake nearby and the red star flowers. I think it can be counted.''


    Wace thought whilst also getting interested at the disys of Mana Artifacts.


    ine brought them here not only for the disys but also to see the airship that this group made. They will be given a chance to have a ride if ever they purchased a total worth of 50,000 credits for the Mana Artifacts they are selling. It is a significant amount to many people so most of them were only interested to see the airship in person.


    Soon, the sunlight was blocked by a floating ship. The ship looked like an exquisite wooden sea ship but it was floating in the air instead.


    "Whoa... That''s huge..."


    "Amazing, there''s hardly any noiseing out."


    "How could they fly this ship?"


    "I wonder if this is for sale?"


    "Nah... I heard that this was the only ship they made and the engine was so expensive that their group would go bankrupt if they didn''t sold all their stocks of Mana Artifacts."


    "Really? So that was why they''re so hardworking going town to town and even enticing people to purchase thatrge amount."


    "Haha... That''s normal. I heard they borrowed a huge sum of money to make this airship. Unfortunately, it is almosy defenseless and only good for showing off."


    "Right, I heard that it doesn''t possess powerful attacks and mighty defense."


    "Maybe a flock of birds could even put that thing down."


    "That is where you are wrong, man. Even though the ship doesn''t have strong defense. It houses severalbat magicians to protect the ship."


    "Anyway, I won''t purchase thatrge amount for the sake of riding that ship."


    "Me too.. But some artifacts were quite interesting so I will still try purchase some." They couldn''t see the airship well while looking up so they took their eyes on the disys after a few admiring nces at the ship.


    There were artifacts that helps in cooking,undry, sanitizing, entertainment, and other more which were being sold in a discounted price so anyone would still be interested.


    An artifact called Problem Solver 2 was a garbage collector that could make garbages turn to dust. It helps in disposing things that you''d never want anyone to learn of. It was also powered by Mana Stone and were being sold for only 5,000 credits. Although it was small and can only be used for five thousand times, they could just rece the Mana Stone so it can be used again.


    There were also toys like remote controlled flying airship, trucks, and cars.


    It seems that Magic Engineers were also gradually mixing technological science and mana study perfectly. Before, Mana Stones were only being used as power source or battery for mechanical products. But now, there were also magic structures, magic formation and arrays that were being integrated by the engineers. Of course, there were these integration before but they''re not being popr as mistakes or problems would still ur in some.


    There were some cases that machines would melt because they couldn''t handle the existence of a concentrated mana within their structure. There was even a time where a product exploded because of gradual declination of materials harnessing the Mana Stone.


    Well, about a century had already passed since 5th gen was made so it was about time to have them mixed together perfectly and for the engineers to learn their mistakes.


    Wace spread his Divine Sense and sure enough, he discovered that a Mana Stabilization Array was also ced in the artifacts itself.


    He was familiar of this array which was called Three Layered Protection Array. It helps in avoiding any Mana Destabilization in an already made product.


    It was actually one of his creations. Although he had only perfected an already made Array, it was still named to him as its creator. Anyway, Wace thought that it was only a matter of time before someone would make this. He just basically consolidated several engineer''s work to perfect the array.


    Now, his eyes turned to where the Celebrity Idol was.

 Chapter 143 - Celebrity Idol

    As Wace apanied his mother in her shopping spree, he suggested some solidly made artifacts for her.


    He also had some time to observe his whole surroundings and take a look with all the Mana Artifacts disyed. He was interested in quite a few of them.


    He also scanned the whole Veritas Airship and found the unusual engine powering the ship.


    ''That''s another interesting way to harness the Mana as a power source...'' Wace thought upon checking the engines they were using to run the airship. Unlike his CMR, it doesn''t have a grand magic structure that enables it to continuously provide an almost unlimited power supply. It was instead using the mana to control the wind elements for continuous float function.


    Wace was interested on the usage of the 6 engines to run this airship. They were clearly identical with almost a hundred percent simrities. Most likely, they have fabricators or a machine that could copy an already made product. Perhaps a 3D printer, but there''s no news that there''s something like that here that could copy even the magic structures and arrays without any mistakes.


    It was something that even his A.I. was unaware of. The blueprints that Avalon have were for printers that could process the rarest ores or alloy but it obviously doesn''t have capability to fabricate Magic Structure and Arrays.


    That was the reason that he was first experimenting in simtor pods. Once he gathered enough samples from the users, he would start making 3D printers that could also help with magic structures, formations, and arrays. Base on his calction, he should be able to do it within a year or even less.


    He remembered that the engineers in Zymeth Spaceship had a Bentheim Printer that they normally use for recing or creating parts of Mech Frame that was heavily damaged. Although he wasn''t allowed to use them, he had seen how it works so he has an idea how much these types of equipments could do to help him.


    "Hmm?" Wace stopped for a moment as he noticed some strange Mana fluctuations somewhere else.


    He sent his Divine Sense to Miya Linus'' location. He was a bit curious about the mysterious Mana fluctuation she has. The walls of the building could not stop his ability. Although he hadn''t seen the girl personally, his Divine Sense could easily pin point the uniqueness of her Mana undtions.


    "Huh? Did she noticed me?" Wace mumbled and this caught rice''s attention. Thisdy seems to be very vignt, probably due to her being in service for so long.


    "Haha... Did you perhaps activated an Investigative Mana Artifact?" His older sister probed which made Wace frozen. He looked at his older sister with a wide eyes as he saw her grinning.


    "Don''t be so nervous. That''s normal. I saw you ncing on that building as if you wanted to see Miya, but you were suddenly shocked. Anyway, those popr Celebrity Idols normally have a very strong souls so they''re very sensitive in those investigative or probing skills. You have to be careful. You have to deactivate that immediately or her manager will mark you if she reported it." rice said confidently. Although she didn''t feel any activation of Mana Artifact, she was sure that Wace did something. It seems that she has been dealing with this kind of issues before.


    At the very least, she was still unaware of his Divine Sense.


    "You really knew a lot." Wace smilingly said but deep inside, he was also extremely surprised with Miya''s ability to evaluate her surroundings.


    His Divine Sense was already improved by several times by drinking the potion and also after the merge of the Cube and the Pathfinder. It must be remembered that not even Chalice, Troy, and Yumi was able to detect this probing skill.


    ''Ah, sister just said that Miya has a very strong soul that was sensitive to probing skills. Does it mean that most of the Celebrity Idols cultivates or studies the soul? Urgh.. Is that for the sake of having a lot of fans?'' Wace wasn''t sure what kind of advantages these people can get once they possessed a strong soul so he could only guess based on Miya''s situation. First of all, having a strong soul seems to be a bane for his covert Divine Sense.


    He was thinking more about it as he suddenly remembered that he was given an option by the Pathfinder before to select a Celebrity Idol as his path of career.


    ''Hmmm... I have strong soul probably because there''s two soul of Wace in this body and the Cube probably strengthened it as well. But what about the idols? What did they do to make their souls stronger? I thought that the study of souls was still in the early stages?'' Wace have some doubts and looking back, if he perhaps selected the Celebrity Idol path before, would his Pathfinder give him opportunity to further strengthen his soul? Well, that would surely be theoretical but nevertheless, he was satisfied in his path as he even learned the Void Phase.


    "This should be a total of 100,000 credits."


    Wace heard his mom as she happily went to the cashier. For the chance of boarding that Veritas Airship, the 50,000 credits worth of receipt could only amodate 2 people so his mom would have to purchase double that amount as there''s 4 of them.


    "Great, they said that the passengers can start boarding the airship 15 minutes before 1pm and it wouldst for 1 hour and 30 minutes."


    "Eh? Would all of us fit there? I can see that there''s still a lot of residents who''d like to board the airship."


    "Don''t worry. There will be three tours that would allst for an hour and a half. We got here early so we can ride at the first tour." ine exined as it seems the she really nned for this. She also mentioned where would the airship travel once boarded. Wace was happy to see his mom enjoying this thinking that someday, he''ll let her board in a grander airship.


    ***


    It was still a bit early, so the family enjoyed the other booths that were together with the Veritas and Miya''s group. As for the artifacts his mom had purchased, they employed someone to deliver it to their house.


    "Let the best magician win!" An announcement was heard as the crowd nced on the mini event happening at the side of the town square.


    There''s also one of this mini events happening at the other side.


    "Let''s go over there." Wace pointed to a well shaded ce.


    Aside from the airship above, the cloudy weather also helps blocking the sunlight.


    This made Wace and his family get a good location to watch one of the events scheduled for the day.


    This mini event gave some space within the town square to conduct a challenge to Magicians. They had to build a sand castle without using their hands and only through Mana maniption.


    There''s a middle aged man, the title holder, that was currentlypeting with a challenger.


    The challenger seems to be young, he''s approaching thirty, but looking at the logo on his belt, he seems to be a licensed Combat Magician.


    They watched the two magicians make the tallest and grandest sand castle.


    "What''s the reward for this event?"


    "It should be that Mana Artifact and a pass to board the airship." rice pointed at the disyed artifact near the announcer.


    "By the way, why was ire being so silent? rice added.


    "Haha... She''s just not used to this crowd." Wace answered as he was carrying her at the moment so she could easily see the magical ways of the two magicians building the sand castle.


    "Wow... can you do that as well, brother?" ire asked innocently. The white sands were wondrously flying about to create the castle. It looks beautiful watching them build it in this way.


    "Err... I should be able to do so." Wace smiled weighing whether a 2nd year student of an academy should be able to do so as well. Anyway, ire looked at him with a brighter eyes. She then looked at her older sister, but before she asked, rice already answered her.


    "Yeah, I can also do that. But mom can surely defeat them even if they teamed up."


    "Ah, spare me. I''ve never practiced for years..."


    "Haha.. No way, didn''t you told us stories how you and dad fought together in Montego."


    "Oh? Why didn''t I heard of this?" Wace asked being surprised at rice''s revtion.


    "Err... I think I''ve only mentioned that to you once when you were eight? How can you remember that?" ine was shocked at rice''s words. Her love story with his husband was actually a mysterious to both Wace and ire but it seems that this eldest sister was somehow aware of it.


    "Ehehe... I would never forget these type of information."


    As they chatted for a while, they noticed that a tall middle aged woman wearing a business attire suit was walking in their direction.


    rice then whispered to Wace.


    "See? They probably have some time now. She''s probably Miya''s manager or bodyguard."


    Wace didn''t know that his usage of Divine Sense would cause this situation.


    "Sigh... Let''s hear them out first."

 Chapter 144 - Miya Linus ( Part 1 )

    "Hello, I''m Diana Humeray."


    Wace observed thedy who approached their group. Her voice sounded sweet as she smiled at everyone.


    ''She looks approachable...''


    She''s a middle-aged woman with brown hair and dark grey eyes. Her hair was cut short into a bob and styled to the left. She dons her uniform which includes a white shirt, ck tie along with a dark blue zer and pencil skirt, plus a pair of ck kitten heels and stockings.


    "Hi there, miss. How can we help you?" rice said not giving a chance for her mother to speak with the woman. She didn''t even provide her name to Diana.


    ine trusted her daughter and since she had volunteered herself, she just let her deal with it. She instead took ire in Wace''s hands to busy herself.


    ine heard rice mentioning about Wace''s usage of Investigative Mana Artifact a while ago since her daughter didn''t bother lowering her voice to discuss it with her younger brother.


    The two were already grown up, so ine was just nning to observe for the meantime and see how will they deal with the situation.


    "Oh... Sorry to intrude on your time. I just wanted to ask whether you''ve seen anyone stalking one of our artists? As you know, it''s prohibited to secretly take recordings during these types of events." Diana said as if she wasn''t really aware.


    ''Oh? So they were doing this approach? Well, there was no evidence so they couldn''t just im that I did it...'' Wace suddenly paused in his thoughts.


    ''Are they perhaps looking for the investigative or probing Mana artifact I used to serve as a piece of evidence? or maybe, this is her warning?'' Wace was quickly trying to find out what was in Diana''s mind.


    ''Well... if its the former, you wouldn''t find any evidence since it''s my Divine Sense and not an artifact. Unless I admitted it myself.'' Wace thought while looking at thedy curiously. Of course, he would never admit that he did such a thing. Now that he learned that Celebrity Idols have such sensitive souls, or perhaps it should be called unique traits in their souls, he had to be careful or even try to avoid using Divine Sense near them.


    "I see. We didn''t find anyone suspicious. We''ll let you know if we noticed one." rice answered after acting like she was trying to remember if there were any suspicious people they''ve met around the ce.


    "Mhm..." Diana nodded and suddenly nced at the young man beside rice. It was Wace.


    "Why do you look nervous?"


    "Eh? No, I''m not."


    "You''re sweating."


    "It''s hot."


    "You''re shaking."


    "I''m... so hungry."


    "Oh... Good timing, would you like to eat in our office? We have plenty of food there."


    "Thanks for the offer but I''ll eat with my family."


    "We can invite all of you. We''ve just finished the signing and meeting event so we''re about to take a break. We have plenty of space there."


    "I see... But why so sudden? I mean, why us? You don''t even know us, right?"


    "Correct. Actually, we don''t know anyone here in this town. So it would be great if we could get to know each other."


    "That sounds alright. It''s great that you''ve asked us, we can also introduce you to the local products of our town. But let me first ask mom."


    "No worries. I''m fine with it. We have some time before the airship would ept their passengers." ine said smilingly.


    "It is fine for me~." rice said looking amused at his brother getting someone to pay for their lunch. Even acting as a kind tourist guide.


    "That''s settled then. By the way, I''m Wace. This is rice. My mom, ine, and my little sister, ire."


    "Nice meeting all of you. Thank you for epting my offer.


    "No, It''s our pleasure. Thank you for inviting us." Wace answered as their group followed Diana at the building where the Celebrity Idol was.


    "Do you think we''ll meet her?"


    "I don''t think so." Wace answered in a low voice after hearing rice''s whispering voice.


    ''You should know that we''re invited to be investigated right?''


    Although he was somewhat aware of what was in Diana''s mind, he fearlessly went to the building not feeling a bit of guilt. He doesn''t have any bad intention when he used his Divine Sense anyway.


    ***


    "Guinevere, how was it? I don''t have much time." Diana asked her colleague after she gave an excuse and left Wace''s group. Of course, she made sure that they were busy having some light meals together with their staff.


    "They don''t have any mana artifacts at all." Guinevere answered looking a bit unsure of her own report.


    "Impossible. That girl was definitely a military officer. She should always have an artifact in case of emergencies."


    "Oh is she? Did you see some ''marks''? Anyway, there are only three possible reasons if ever I''m unable to detect Mana Artifacts using my array. They may not be wearing one of the Mana Artifacts ratings was higher than A or perhaps they have something that blocks the ability of my array."


    "I don''t think they have something higher than graded A, they should not be living in this town if they possessed one. Haah... Its also quite impossible for your array to fail, your detector has never failed and it was even acknowledged by Sir Hayden. Did they hide the artifact outside?"


    "We''ve monitored them after Miya gave us an rm. Our agents never left their eyes on this group. Maybe they weren''t the one we''re looking for or perhaps, a false rm?"


    "Tell that to Miya. Hmph."


    "Sigh... Just tell her my findings then."


    Diana clicked her tongue remembering the frustrated Miya after feeling that her body was being looked at a while ago.


    "I felt that some guy tried to see my whole body using some kind of magic. Disgusting... Make sure you catch him!" Miya said rming Diana of her experience. She then described to her how Wace looked like. She clearly saw his image after her soul connected to his Divine Sense. His prominent feature aside from being good looking was his grey hair.


    Diana immediately instructed their secret agents to observe the man since they easily found him in this small town.


    As their agent''s Mana Artifact detector didn''t detect any Mana Artifacts being carried by Wace, they couldn''t just apprehend him.


    Obviously, these types of problems didn''t just happen once as they seemed prepared to handle the situation. They even have this mobile detector ready. Unfortunately, the unique traits of Wace''s Divine Sense were it is an ability that does not require a device or mana artifact to activate.


    So Diana had to take action and bring him here in an attempt to find evidence that it was Wace who tried to peek on their artist.


    She trusted Guinevere to find it for her using the Decoder Mana Array that they ced within the whole building. Unfortunately, they meet another dead end.


    Diana didn''t really want to report bad news to Miya so she was still trying to find a way.


    "What''s taking you so long?"


    The door opened as Miya entered the room. She saw her manager, Diana, and her assistant, Guinevere, discussing the possible culprit as the Guinevere holds the keyponent of her Decoder Mana Array.


    "Miya, you should be taking a rest. Anyway, we don''t have evidence that he was the one who tried to peek on you but rests assured that we''ll find him."


    "You don''t have to find him. He''s already here. That''s him and I''m sure of it. Just make him admit to it... Wait, I don''t really want to cause a scene in this town. It should be enough to make him apologize and make him promise not to do it again."


    Miya said as she has already calmed down. She was merely surprised at the probing skill she felt a while ago since she hadn''t felt something like that in a while due to arrays and protection that her team was providing to her.


    Diana was surprised but she suddenly smiled upon hearing it. It would be easier for her if that''s their only goal. The three then checked the surveince video of Wace''s group. They saw them happily having a meal with some of their staff.


    Wace was actually thankful as Diana seems to have treated them really well. She didn''t even discuss her suspicions about him.


    ''We''re done eating. Are we just gonna leave here and that''s it?'' He actually didn''t feel better if he wasn''t thoroughly asked since he was sure that Miya had recognized him. It is better to try clearing his name now than to wait for them to secretly investigate their family.


    After waiting a few more minutes, Diana arrived with a smile. Beside her was the Celebrity Idol that was currently topping the charts with her beautiful songs that touches the heart of both magicians and non-magicians.


    "Hello, everyone. I mentioned to her that I''ve met some amazing people here, so she joined me here as she wanted to see you. Haha..." Diana drylyughs as she introduced Miya Linus.


    Thedy was surely a beauty even off-screen. Wace even felt a slight attraction. It wasn''t significant but it was enough to view her in a positive way.


    ''Urgh... Is this also the power of the soul? Isn''t that too strong?'' Wace thought after sensing the abnormal attraction he felt.

 Chapter 145 - Miya Linus ( Part 2 )

    "Hi. I''m Miya. Diana already introduced everyone to me."


    Miya greeted their group with an alluring voice then she continued without waiting for their reply.


    "Uhmm. I hope I wouldn''t offend you..." Miya trailed her voice as Wace thought of something.


    ''This is surely the words before saying something offending...''


    "Are you the one who used scanning ability to peek on me?" Sure enough, she was really trying to make him admit. Aside from that, there''s an almost untraceable subtle feeling making those who hear her voice thinks that it''s only a normal conversation. It felt that everything is fine since she''s the one asking.


    Yes, there''s a feeling that a person affected by this subtle feeling would never get offended to any of her actions.


    ''Aren''t you being too direct on this?'' Wace immediately thought after hearing her ask and feeling her soothing presence in their midst. Anyway, he''ll never admit it as he''d just have to be firm.


    He sighed inwardly noticing that ine and rice were only absentmindedly looking at Miya. They didn''t seem to be charmed but was instead looking at her dumbfounded.


    It seems that Miya was still thinking that they were really affected by her powerful soul. But in fact, the twodies here actually possessed a level of immunity. Although even Wace was unsure how they manage to do it, it doesn''t matter.


    "I''m sorry, you found the incorrect person." He answered after thinking for a while acting as if he was affected.


    "Sigh... it doesn''t matter then. If ever you found him, I just hope that you tell him not to do that again. It is very inappropriate."


    ''I''ll keep that in mind. You have a magnanimous heart as it seems. Now I feel bad lying.'' Wace thought that Miya either faltered due to his act, convincing her that she might have really made a mistake or she just decided not to deal with it anymore.


    "I understand. I''ll tell him if I ever found that offender." Wace said smilingly.


    "Ahh... By the way, may I ask why did you guys decide toe to our small town? I doubt that you''ll earn a significant amount here." rice asked suddenly after Miya went silent.


    "Ahhh. Since Miya was still a rookie. We''re trying to slowly build up her reputation and we are connected with the Veritas, so we just grabbed this chance. Haha. I hope you can also support her." It was Diana who answered this time. It wasn''t a secret so she just mentioned their n.


    "Of course, we will do so."


    "We''ll also be looking forward to your performances in the future."


    "That''s right. I''ll surely buy a ticket once you decided to make your first concert."


    "Thank you! You guys are so kind. Uhmmm... I still have something else to do, so..."


    "Right, we also have to go. We''ll be boarding the airshipter on."


    "Really? Then we might actually meet again." Diana answered looking a bit surprised.


    "What time will you board?"


    "Oh, we are scheduled for the first trip."


    "Great. What a coincidence? We''ll also be on the first trip. Right, Miya?"


    "Ah? oh... That''s right. We''ll be boarding the airship. I might even give a small show for the passengers."


    "Is that right? Then we''ll look forward to it. Good luck! And also thank you for treating us for lunch."


    "It''s ok. We''ve also learned a lot about this town. We will surely visit here again once the red star flower near the Luna Lake blooms." Diana said but no one really believed these empty words except ire.


    ***


    "Sorry for what happened there, Miya." Diana apologized after Wace''s group left.


    "Sigh... You shouldn''t have pushed that hard. If I didn''t understand your ns, then they''ll get super suspicious." Miya answered after taking a deep breath.


    After Diana heard that Wace''s group will be boarding the airship, she immediately recalled the security rules, magic formation, and arrays that were within the flying ship.


    Although it was already hinted by ine when she invited them to the building for a meal, she didn''t keep it in her mind as she was confident before about Guinevere''s arrays.


    Luckily, Miya easily understood Diana and even blurted out that she''ll be performing within the airship to make it more believable.


    Miya had truly thought of giving up on pursuing the case about Wace''s attempt to peek on her. But since Diana made an effort to make Wace admit, then she could onlyply as she started it anyway.


    "It''s alright. It will be a worthwhile effort. This Veritas Airship wasn''t as simple as it looks. Although it doesn''t have a powerful barrier or great offensive power, its arrays and formations were top notches in this country. But really, you shouldn''t have said that you''ll be performing there, you know?"


    "Sigh. I was just startled at your words. You could''ve told me first. Anyway, I''ll just sing one. It shouldn''t be that much."


    "Right, I''ll be coordinating with Alex now to prepare for your performance. We have to make sure that the sound system and stage were properly arranged."


    Although their team doesn''t have ns to make some performances during their trip here, they were always prepared in this kind of situation


    ***


    It was already time to board the airship. Wace''s group waited for their turn to board as they pass the security measures prior to boarding the airship.


    "Wow! It''s so huge!" ire gasped after closely seeing the Veritas Airship.


    "I know right, it looks small when it was stationary up there."


    "Hmmm... That''s true and with its exquisite carves, it looks like a luxury ship. They really spent a lot just to decorate this thing."


    "Well, their fees were certainly expensive. So this just fits the price, I suppose." Wace mumbled. They were waiting for all the 50 passengers to board the ship.


    They were all gathered on the spacious deck as one of the officers got their attention.


    "Hello, everyone. I''m Alex, the vice-captain of the Veritas Wing, the very first airship in our country that could sustain flight for three whole days without any rest!


    In today''s trip, we''ll be experiencing the airship''s uniqueness! We''ll be flying around the Star Region to view several of the beautifulndmarks within our very own region. We''ll surely give you the best spot to view the famous mountains,kes, and cities. Yes! We''ll be flying in Blue Feather Town''s direction and get near to the Kamin Range before returning here." The vice-captain announced as he further mentioned the ces they will visit.


    The Kamin Range was only a 100-kilometer narrow mountain range that separates their Star Region to Ste Region. Their Red Star Town was actually near the edge of the region and thus, Wace''s effort to study at Tanza City which was on the other side of the region wasmendable.


    After all, there were still several small academies like the ones within the nearest Cove City.*


    Wace just decided not to attend there as although Leonhearts Academy wasn''t known to be the best ce to study Artifact Forging, they were still better and should have a better chance of getting a license.


    Before Wace enrolled in Leonhearts Academy, he had read that the academy has an average 87% passing rate in licensure examinations during the past years.


    "Also... For this first trip, we will be graced by the rising star, singer, and songwriter, Miya Linus!"


    This time, all the passengers aboard apuded after Alex finished his speech. They were surprised for Miya''s special appearance thinking that it might be the reason for their expensive fee just for the chance of boarding the airship.


    After all, if they boarded a ne from Cove City to Dolu, the capital city, it would only cost them three to four thousand credits. With Miya''s presence, they would have a chance to see her up close. It''s a chance. They were sure that someday, this girl would be very popr and so, they have to grab this opportunity now while they could still easily meet her.


    On the other hand, Wace was thinking of something else.


    ''To think that they''ll even confiscate any Mana Artifacts. It seems that they''re really not giving up.'' Wace was sure that the security shouldn''t be this tight. Normally, after checking the name and records of a Mana Artifact, the securities will only be using a special material to be attached to the passenger''s Mana Artifact. It will be used to closely monitor the Magic Structures of a Mana Artifact and rm them if there''s any Spell Invocation.


    But now, they took all Mana Artifacts for safekeeping during the trip. Wace was cool with it as all his Mana Artifacts were in his dimensional storage space. Anyway, only rice''s silver wristband and ire''s brooch was confiscated. For some reason, the ring in her mother''s finger wasn''t detected whatsoever. He remembered that during his ''dream'', this was used in coordination with his father''s ring to activate a powerful suicidal spell.


    ''Well, this should be Miya''s final attempt.'' Wace thought as he would do something if ever they still wouldn''t stop.


    As the ship flew the vastnd, he heard the gentle voice of the beautiful Celebrity Idol.


    "Oh, miracles are not by chance;


    they are the fruits of ourbor,


    and so, whatever darkness we are in,


    we''ll have a beautiful dream..."


    As Wace was listening to the song, he received notifications from his A.I.


    [ Your house is under attack. Activating First Emergency Defense Strategy.]


    [ 1st Emergency Defense System destroyed. ]


    [ Activating secondary Defense System. ]

 Chapter 146 - Intruders ( Part 1 )

    Wace didn''t even have a chance to enjoy Miya''s song as he was bombarded by Avalon''s notifications.


    ''Who would dare?'' Wace was truly caught by surprise with this sudden attack on his property.


    ''Who did I offend now?'' He quickly tried to think of anyone he had offended during the past months and only thought of few. That would be Chalice, from the Z-Company, but he should have perfectly removed the traces of his trip. He used his trustworthy Void Phase after all. Did they somehow connect it with my few days of disappearance in Bluefields City? That actually made some sense. Are they trying to continue their failed assault within the hotel? But why would they attack now that I''m not present in the house?


    ''Sigh, it probably means I''m not their target, maybe a warning, or they might even be trying to unveil something within my workshop.''


    Wace shook his head and thought of other possibilities.


    ''Is it perhaps somepany where I declined selling my Float Drive System. Err... That''s quite offending since I sold them to other trustworthypanies'' Thinking up to this point, there are probably severalpanies who was denied in his sales.


    He had to make sure that the same issue where it was sold to the wrong hands must not be repeated.


    But he still felt that it''s not enough to harbor some intention to directly intrude his property. They even destroyed the 1st Emergency Defense System quite easily.


    It only managed tost for half a minute before it was destroyed. That was surely impressive.


    ''Anyway, the first defense system was those provided by Golden Trident Group. They should be rmed by now.''


    He was referring to the Level B3 package that they provided him. It was supposed to be a package the was capable of protecting a medium-sizedpany. And that was at least 10x of his property.


    It was quite embarrassing that it didn''t even manage to hold for a minute.


    The package contains 5bat automatons, 8 customized mini defense turrets, 3 Mana pulse barrier, and some other assistive tools to repel and monitor the enemies.


    Luckily, he wasn''tcent in terms of his security so he was sure that even if his 2nd Defense System waspromised again. His 3rd one would surely end everything.


    Wace was tempted to watch the surveince of his property so he found an excuse to visit thefort room.


    He asked one of the staff for assistance and was brought inside to the hallway.


    "Walk straight from here and turn left. You''ll see a sign so you won''t get lost."


    "Thank you."


    "Alright, make sure to quicklye back and don''t loiter around. Don''t enter other rooms."


    "I understand. Don''t worry." Wace answered as he followed the given directions. He didn''t dare to enter other rooms as he was also well aware of the surveince that the Veritas Group ced within the airship.


    As Wace found a safe ce and made sure that no one was monitoring him, he opened his mobile device and quickly operated it to show the current situation of his house.


    ***


    It has been a peaceful day within Tanza City for the past few months.


    The Golden Trident Group, one of the local powers in this prospering city, has enjoyed dominance within their trade. Theirbat automatons were highly acimed and manypanies tried to make contracts with them even with their a bit expensive fees.


    Their reasoning was simple, cheaper fee means lesser and weaker security. They imed that their expensive fees were fitting to the absolute security they could offer.


    And because there were several high-profile criminals recently that were easily arrested by the automatons they rented, it added to their prestige making the prices of their automatons even more expensive.


    Yes, even with criminals that sometimes pop out within the city, they can still call it a peaceful time as they don''t have a powerfulpetition within their trade.


    Unfortunately, it seems that these peaceful times were about to end. Rumors about a nearing full assault that wasing to their city were going around.


    It is not baseless rumors as the main source was the rumored Sealed Artifact, Hallowed Eye.


    "What was thetest news?" President Eun asked one of the board of directors. Currently, an urgent meeting with high-ranking officers of the Golden Trident Group was being held.


    "We still couldn''t get concrete information."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Several sources mentioned that Hallowed Eye was still being kept by the military and the criminal org wouldunch a full assault to rob it. But recently, some sources say that it was already within the hands of a criminal organization and they nned to activate the Hallowed Eye within this city."*


    "What? Don''t we have trusted sources within the military? Can''t you make them talk? Are they asking for some---"


    "No, president. It''s not that they don''t want to give us the intel. It seems that the handling of that Sealed Artifact was handed over to a special task force. It happened three months ago."


    "Special task force?"


    "That''s right. Even our friend, Sir Marvin, could no longer give us urate intel. He was transferred to a different region."


    "Sigh... In any case, it doesn''t change the fact that we have to strengthen our forces. Especially if some of our contracted clients were affected by this uing storm."


    "I suggest that we ept the offer of cooperation with the local government units and prepare for the worst." Hanzo, of the board of directors, said.


    "That''s right. Even though this will highly affect our current ie, we will ensure the safety of our clients."


    "I agree on this, it will cost a lot more to us if ever our automatons had to be repaired due to this."


    Some of the directors stated their agreement with Hanzo''s statement. They were all fully aware that even though their automatons were capable products, it wasn''t up to the point that could defeat organized criminals with fully armed heavy armaments. They wanted their automatons that were rented by severalpanies, families, or organizations within the city to not be involved with these criminals.


    "It seems that you guys are really being cautious about this, huh." President Eun said smilingly after she heard their suggestions.


    "O-of course. We heard that it''s no longer the Z-Company that was having eyes on it. We have to think for the sake of the wholepany. We can''t afford several repairs for our automatons. It''s would be fine for the barriers and defense turrets but the core of our automatons was something we couldn''t take risk of losing." One of the directors exined. Their automatons weren''t simple at all. He then further exined so the other members of the board realized the seriousness of this case.


    "Everyone knows that the core material that we possess for a single automaton was so expensive that it could easily be sold for 15-20 million credit. I even heard that it was purchased for 30 million in a ck market in Virgan."


    "Thirty million? So our Solidified---"


    "Hanzo, We agreed not to mention its name." President Eun reprimanded one of the directors as he was about to name the material.


    "I''m sorry. I was just caught in surprise. Anyway, we have to make sure that no automatons will be damaged and any of them that activated their defense must be quickly informed to us to ensure their safety within the city."


    Yes, their automaton''s core material was so expensive. The B3 package that Wace had purchased for 40 million credit includes 5 of these automatons and other Mana Artifacts, but why would it be so expensive?


    It was simple, aside from it being an extremely rare material that they couldn''t even maximize its usage, it was a material that could no longer be reproduced.


    Yes, their technology couldn''t find a way to pull out even a quarter of the material''s full potential. So although these core materials can probably be used to operate battleships, it was only being used for boats.


    It took them 5 whole years before they found a way to somehow use the material for automation. It can still be used but it was being wasted due to their limited abilities. They also couldn''t put a high price due to various reasons. So they had to always monitor them and make sure that their automatons were always kept safe and weren''t in very dangerous situations.


    This is also the main reason that their contract includes the prohibition of studying their automatons. Anyway, they don''t want to sell these limited resources and they don''t want to let these items just gather some dust. It''s still better to earn some profits even with some risk.


    Wace had also respected this prohibition but his Divine Sense still had to make sure that there''s no hidden danger within the automaton. So he had studied this humanoid artifact for a while already and found this core material. But he only thought of this as something as quite interesting. After he confirmed that these don''t spy automatons, he no longer bothered with it.


    "So as I was saying----" Eun stopped after noticing that one of her officers outside was trying to do an emergency call. She had to stop everything and answered the call without hesitation.


    "President, I''m sorry to interrupt your meeting."


    "Get to the point."


    "The life signal of the five automatons that were stationed within the property of Traceless Hands had disappeared."


    "Did he break the contract?!"


    "No Ma''am. An attack from an unknown group of individuals had infiltrated the ce. Oh, wait¡­ Eh?"


    "What happened? Have you sent people for reinforcement?! Also, make sure that the police were informed."


    "Uhmm... Actually, it seems that those intruders were neutralized... already."

 Chapter 147 - Intruders ( Part 2 )

    Wace watched the cloaked intruders destroy the Mana Pulse Barriers. His surveince system caught twelve of them but he wasn''t sure whether there were others watching from a distance as lookout.


    That''s highly probable.


    Aside from the cloak that somehow interferes with the scanning ability of an investigative Mana Artifacts, these twelve have something inmon. They wore simr gauntlets that were oozing with ck miasma.


    It looks dreadful and very dangerous.


    "What are these things? No, what are they looking for?"


    Unfortunately, it seems that he wouldn''t have a chance to learn what were they searching for yet.


    ***


    "There''s only few Mana Pulse Barriers, defense turrets and automatons. This will be easy." The leader of the cloaked individuals received a report from their scout ahead about the status of their targeted location.


    Prior to this, they received a report that there''s no one present within the house as well. It was a perfect timing to act as ordered by the higher-ups. But they felt that it actually didn''t matter even if the owner of the house was present here. They would still act and aplish their mission.


    "Our task was only to retrieve those materials. Although this is the most vulnerable ce considering all of our targets, keep track of the time. Once we retrieved the items, you can just take what you want as your bonuses. Remember, we only have four minutes and a half to rummage the ce."


    "Haha! That should be enough, taking out that barrier and the automatons wouldn''t take a minute with our numbers here."


    "I heard that the owner of this ce was an Artifact Forger. There might be a lot of good things here."


    "Haha! That''s only natural. So we''ll have more than three minutes to take whatever we found there, right?"


    "Mhm. As long as we retrieved those, whatever loot you snatched afterward would be yours to keep."


    "Haha! Good, That''s what I like about you, boss."


    "Alright, it should be about time."


    The group of twelve immediately moved to forcefully open the front gate. Sometimes, it was easier to enter from the frontpared to sneakily tunneling on the other sides.


    The three on the front put their hands on the gate and cast a magic spell.


    It was Magic Jammer. Something that could not easily be acquired by random individuals. This already shows that their background weren''t so simple.


    The Mana Pulse Barrier onlysted for 8 seconds before a hole, enough to fit 2 people, was made easily.


    They then proceeded to destroy the defenseless gate as they officially entered to Wace''s property.


    This was immediately detected by the automatons standing guard. These five humanoid automatons were shining gold in color with a trident logo on their forehead. Sometimes, the logo of Golden Trident Group already instilled fear to other criminals but not this time.


    The golden automatons immediately went into formation coordinating with the defense turrets.


    The twelve intruders also formed a circle as they prepared to cast another spells.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The defense turrets that were exposed and hidden started to activate and aim for the enemies.


    On the other hand, the other assistive tools installed together with the B3 package immediately identified the intruders as ''highly dangerous'' since they recognized the gauntlets that the enemies wore.


    This made the turrets and automatons change their immobilizing spells to killing spells.


    ''Ten-Fold Mystic Barriers!'' Four of the cloaked individuals formed a defense in circle. The spells didn''te from the gauntlet with ck miasma yet.


    They couldn''t use Magic Jammers this time as some of the projectiles that those turrets could shoot were grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and advanced rifle bullets aside from the magic spells. It will be safer to cast defensive spells as using Magic Jammer would also leave them unable to cast magic.


    From the 8 Turrets installed by the securitypany, there were 2 Heavy Auto Turrets, 2 Minigun Turrets, 2 Rocket Turrets, and 2 Elemental Turrets.


    The Elemental Turrets could only shoot magic spells reaching the level of Battle Mage''s spell. Theoretically, these sets of turrets were capable of defending even against an Adept Mage. Although it couldn''t defeat or kill one, they should be capable of keeping them out of their territory.


    The relentless bullets raining and coordinated spells as well as the constantly moving Minigun Turrets between the walls could easily catch even the seasoned magicians off guard.


    Unfortunately, it seems that the twelve intruders were very well prepared. The location and movements of turrets were easily seen and defended.


    The automatons didn''t get near the twelve as they instead sent lethal magic spells that they could cast.


    Water Hail Wolves!


    Piercing Frost!


    Hell Hound!


    Sr re!


    Wind Storm!


    Thest spell was specifically cast to contain the twelve intruders and to make sure that no one could escape from the multiple spells, bullets, and grenades thrown at them.


    As the spells were nearing them, instead of getting panicked or shocked by the onught of the defense system, they instead smiled as if they were waiting for the automatons to act.


    "Now!" Shouted by the leader at the center of their formation.


    After they heard the leader''s shout. The ck miasma that were only lurking around their gauntlets started to cover their whole bodies and even turning their eyes toplete ck.


    ''Casting those killing spells will result to 1.5 seconds of buffering before it could move again. Keke! Dealing with automatons is so easy if you learned theirbat sequence.'' The leader grinned as he was very confident that they could easily take the cores of this automatons.


    All the information of this automaton was given for them to study so although this was the first time that they will be dealing with these types of automaton, they were already thinking of the rewards after this mission.


    Theirbat patterns, spells that could cast, and other important aspect of their structure wereid bare on their eyes so they could confidently im that these automatons were like a fish on cutting board.


    Sure enough, the twelve cloaked intruders that were shrouded by the ck miasma easily disposed the five automatons. The five didn''t even managed to cast another spells before being taken down.


    The enemies only used their speed and strength advantage to win, the bane of all elemental-basedbat magicians. They were aware that these automatons were heavily relying on their firepower while under the protection of other defense systems. They were weak in closebat. Even their Mana Shells were easily corroded by their ck miasma.


    If its anyone else, they would have to be extremely careful as they will have to still defend against the other turrets.


    "Haha! This is amazing. Master''s Hallowed Eye really works perfectly."


    "Alright, boys. Take whatever you can. We still have about 220 seconds."


    The leader said after retrieving the five cores andpletely destroying all the turrets surround the outer yard of the property.


    The twelve no longer replied as it was a race against time. The ck miasma protecting them also had about the same time limit.


    They had to be quick.


    As the battle urred within the courtyard, the house and workshop connected were still in perfect shape.


    Two intruders went to enter the house while the others decided to check the workshop.


    As soon as the two who decided to enter the house tried to crash the window using their bodies to easily enter, they were met with a counter-attack from the 2nd Defense System.


    Avalon has fully activated the secondary contingency defense n to annihte the enemy. It first activated several weapons that were on standby.


    [ Laser Sledge 1.0 ] Designed to shoot down aircraft, drones, or any flight-capable intruders.


    [ Laser Focus 4.0 ] A small sizedser cannon. A total of 12 cannons were installed around the building. It is an upgraded version of the Laser Focus that was made during the internationalpetition.


    [ Terror Centrigal Gun ] A gun that could fire 110,000 rounds per minute with .50 caliber. There''s only two of this downgraded version of a gun at the moment. This gun also uses electrical energy tounch each round, rather than the traditionalbustion of gunpowder, so it''s also disturbingly quiet.


    [ Elysium 1.0 ] + [ Bio-Armor ] Automaton that was made with extremely highbat standards and also wearing the dreadful bio-armor that was recognized as one of the best even within the Gctic Federation.


    [ Wave Ward ] The shield protecting the house and workshop. The ward also creates waves out of vibrations and can cause explosions when the vibrations hit somebody else''s mana. These waves can be controlled to be thrown as projectiles, and Avalon could also control the ward to be able to change the length and width of these waves.


    The activated Ward stopped the intruders from entering.


    Boom! Boom!


    Multiple explosions were heard as the intruders made contact with the Wave Ward surrounding the buildings.


    "Argh! What''s this magic?!"


    "Tsk. This isn''t included in the reports. Darn those scouts!"


    "We don''t have time to argue. Use your full force quickly!"


    But as soon as they started gathering more ck miasma to guard them. They were showered by the terror centrifugal gunshots.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Their ck miasma didn''t manage to defend all the iing bullets. Some of the bullets were hitting their armors inside.


    "Tsk! Ten-foldMystic Barriers!"


    The barrier activated to protect them but it didn''t evenst for more than a couple of seconds before it crumbled.


    As soon as they nned to cast another one to cover their retreats, the Laser Focus thatpleted their activation sequence started to rain them with multiple beams of light.


    "Ahh!"


    "No! What''s this!"


    "Magic Jammer!"


    "Hurry!"


    Unfortunately, Magic Jammer Canceller has already been activated ever since the 2nd Defense System was activated.


    The twelve intruders were sumb by the endless rounds from centrifugal gun and thoroughly annihted by the Laser Focus.


    Avalon might''ve also detected a dangerous existence, probably contagious disease from the gauntlets as the beam of light thoroughly destroyed everything leaving nothing behind.

 Chapter 148 - Soul Arts

    Wace watched everything that has transpired within his property.


    It certainly didn''t feel good to see your ce getting destroyed by trespassers.


    Luckily, they only destroyed the insured defense systems and the cheap gate that he has upgraded.


    Due to the magic jammer, it easily sumbed to the intruder''s powerful strike. Without the Mana Pulse Barrier protecting it, it looks so brittle in front of them.


    Anyway, the recording wasn''t that long. Avalon had also sent him information about the twelve individuals. Looking at it, they were stillbeled as unknown.


    Although they were obliterated, the A.I.''s scanner captured their images and it was now tracing their origins.


    As Wace was about to return, an iing call from a representative of the Golden Trident Group came. Wace thought for a moment before deciding to answer the call. Anyway, it wouldn''t take long.


    "Hello!"


    "Hi, Sir Ravencroft? I''m Ray from Golden Trident, we have been rmed about the burry that has urred within your property. Are you safe?"


    "Yes, I am. Thank you for contacting me. I have seen the recordings of what happened. It seems that your equipment were all destroyed. I''m sorry to hear that."


    "Eh? Oh. That''s not important, as long as you''re safe."


    "About the insurance..."


    "Of course... We will cover all the recement. It''s included within your maintenance fee. Even if our equipment gets destroyed every day by thieves or bandits, we will not increase the price."


    "Oh! That''s good to hear."


    "I believe that the enemies were neutralized by your own defense system already. The police were about to arrive in your property..."


    "I see. I''ll send the recordings I''ve gathered. Can you help me coordinate with the police instead? I''m actually not in the property right now."


    "I understand. We''ll cooperate with the police investigation then. Since we will go to the scene, about your defense system..."


    "Don''t worry, my Defense System will recognize you as friendly, they won''t activate." Wace assured the worried officer.


    "Ohh... That''s a relief."


    "Then I''ll go ahead and meet with the police."


    "Alright. Let me know once you traced their origins."


    Wace ended the call with officer Ray. He then immediately traced back his steps and returned to the deck. He noticed that Miya alreadypleted her performance.


    He observed the deck and noticed that there''s ring sunlight outside their airship but the people were unaffected by the sunlight''s heat. The airship seems to be covered by a barrier that was capable of controlling the temperature. It was convenient.


    ''Only half of the passengers were here.'' Wace immediately noticed that from the 50 passengers, only half remained on the deck to marvel thend below.


    He immediately activated his Divine Sense to check where are the others.


    ''They''re having a tour inside? Oopsss---''


    He noticed that the remaining half were being toured inside the luxurious airship. Unfortunately, Miya''s private room seems to be quite near to where the passengers are.


    This made the girl feel a subtle feeling of investigative skill being used near her.


    However this time, Wace was quick to act as she didn''t have a chance to trace it back to him again.


    ***


    ''This...'' Miya had felt a familiar feeling just now stopping herself to undress.


    She just finished her performance and was about to change her clothes but the sudden feeling of eyes looking at you from somewhere made her frozen.


    "Is everything alright?" Diana asked after noticing that Miya stopped her movements behind the curtain. The thin fabric allowed her to see Miya''s silhouette and after seeing her abnormality, she cautiously probed.


    ''Sigh... If I told this to her again, she probably wouldn''t stop until she found the culprit.'' Miya had onlyined a while ago in the building because she was too shocked by the extremely covert method of probing and also being a bit embarrassed getting probed like that. It felt like everything was seen from her. No one would like to have that kind of experience.


    If she hadn''t had a breakthrough in her Soul Arts prior to her visit here, she may not have felt that mysterious probing skill that Wace had used.


    Anyway, after she met with Wace, the culprit of the incident, she had used her Soul Arts and noticed that he really didn''t have any evil intentions.


    Now, she just wanted to let him know that it was impolite to use the probing skill without the target''s consent and a bit of her pride had to ask him to apologize to her. But after thinking for a while, she would be happy as long as Wace would just stop probing her like that again.


    Unfortunately, her manager Diana was so inclined in pursuing the case. She couldn''t stop her as she was only doing her job as her manager. It was all for her sake.


    Although Miya was happy about Diana acting like a protective mom, she didn''t want to make a stretch out of it so she replied.


    "Nothing... I just remembered something." Miya answered not exining anything. Diana no longer asked as she waited for Miya to change her clothes.


    "Anyway, we didn''t find any probing Mana Artifacts from him. Their group only provided two Mana Artifacts and those two don''t have strong investigative skills that could bypass our defenses." Diana said remembering Alex''s report.


    "I see... Nevermind it then. We already told him our message. That should be enough."


    "Haaa~ As you say. But just in case he really possesses an Artifact that we couldn''t detect whatsoever, it actually felt scary. It should be better to stay away from him." Diana gravely said.


    "Good. That''s what I would like to point out as well. Anyway, this should be thest time that we''ll meet him." Miya felt better seeing Diana give up.


    "That''s true. Haha... We''ll go to Ste Region after this. He''ll only see you again in television, album, or posters." Diana said also feeling a bit better. As a manager, she always had to weigh the situation for the better of her artist.


    Diana and their secret agents had already caught several of these fans that had gone extreme in their interest to the artist. But this time, their opponent seems to be too deep, it''s better not to mess with him.


    Miya smiled but her eyes traced with loneliness. Her Soul Arts could see anyone who had evil intentions to her. It was tough. She could always see people''s intentions, good or bad. This made her unconsciously lose friends.


    When she was still a trainee, a lot of her batchmates wishes her to seed. They were not aware of her achievement in Soul Arts so they just say all sweet words without them knowing that she, Miya Linus, was aware that they meant the opposite.


    This didn''t happen once or twice. This has even urred within her own family.


    It had been a while ever since she saw someone who had to peek through her without having any malice or evil intentions.


    "Haaah~"


    ***


    "Haaah~ I was almost caught there. I should limit my Divine Sense. Mhm... I should practice avoiding those kinds of undtions in my probe." Wace mumble as he walked towards his family.


    "Oh? What happened? You don''t look so good?" ine asked seeing Wace''s expression.


    "Is it the food that Diana gave us?" rice raised her brows as he asked.


    "Er? No... I''m good. I just received a message that there was a burr in my house at Tanza."


    "What? Who had the guts?! Did they take something? How was your simtor pod? Is it safe?~"


    "Is there any important thing taken?"


    "Ahh... no. Everything was ok. They didn''t manage to steal anything. I have improved my security, remember?"


    "Oh right, you have taken a security package from Golden Trident. Then your house should be safe?" ine asked after realizing that she was the one who rmended the Golden Trident Group to Wace.


    "Is that so?~" rice asked curiously.


    "Er... Right. Anyway, someone from the securitypany will handle everything. They just have to inform me of some things."


    "Good. Luckily, you''re not there. It would be disastrous if your security failed their defense."


    "How many burrs were caught?~"


    "Ahh... There are twelve of them. They seem to know a bit of magic."


    "Wow. It seems that this golden something group has an amazing defense system. Should I try contracting them too? I''m nning to buy a safe house recently~"


    "Urgh... I rmend not to..."


    ***


    "Sir... The five cores seem to have vaporized."


    "What?! Impossible! Dig deeper."


    Officer Ray was looking at the several holes within the yard that has appeared due to Wace''s signature magic spell that he had shown within the International Competition, it was the Laser Focus that was enhanced by several times.


    He thought that the material was only pushed deeper on the ground after seeing the holes. He was clearly aware of the toughness of that material so he just couldn''t believe that it can be easily melted or destroyed like that.


    After spending almost an hour looking for the traces of the cores, Officer Ray can only give up and send his report to his superiors.


    "Sigh~ Tell them that the cores were vaporized by Wace''s defense system." Ray paused and looked at the destroyed automatons and turrets before continuing.


    "We also have to send five new automatons and turrets quickly."

 Chapter 149 - Veritas Trip

    Wace enjoyed the scenery below the airship. It was great to have a rxing time like this every once in a while.


    His family marveled at the beautifulkes, towns, viges, forests, and mountains below. When they felt tired, they would sit and rest inside the airship. There was some staff ready to assist them.


    He also no longer felt the presence of Miya Linus. He doesn''t dare to use his Divine Sense for the meantime.


    As time passed, they reached their farthest destination, the Blue Feathers Town. They could easily identify the town as it was surrounded by the blue meadows. They will now have to return to Red Star Town but they will be flying near the Kamin Range. The mountain range separating Ste and Star Region.


    The mountain range was also being used by several towns and viges as a source of ie.


    The whole ce was filled with unique materials that can be used for artifact forging and potioneering.


    "The forest in this mountain range felt a lot more different." Wacemented after seeing them closer.


    "That''s natural. The mana density was a notch higher than the previous forests we passed by." rice said. Of course, Wace probably knows it better than his sister but he still replied casually.


    "I see. What kind of materials weremonly found in this range?" Wace asked in curiosity but before rice answered, one of the staff heard Wace''s question and his call of duty kicked in. As a tour guide assigned, he felt that he should answer these types of questions for the passengers.


    This way, they might leave a good review of the ship after the trip.


    "Hello, sir! I heard your question. Let me help you with that. As a man born in a vige close to this mountain range, I could exin it more."


    "Right... Thanks..." Wace answered, surprised about the enthusiastic disy of the man.


    Thetter cleared his throat before introducing himself.


    "I''m Harith, I grew up in a small vige that was near the Mid River. I could tell you themon and rare materials found in the mountain range that was being used as a source of ie of our vige and others nearby.


    "First, was the popr Tama nts. Have you heard of them? Once they grew like trees, they will continuously emit waves that were capable of driving away all the weaker mana beasts. It is crucial to all the viges or towns that were situated within the mountain range that houses mana beasts. Of course, its parts could also be used in many things. Since we have plenty of them surrounding our viges, the excess nts that we can find or sometimes cultivated we''re being sold."


    "I didn''t see anything like this-" in Montego''s town or viges, is what Wace nned to say but stopped midway. His visit to different inds of that country was supposedly a secret.


    "If you haven''t seen them before, that''s natural, you were probably living in a rich town or city that was capable of funding a barrier. We can''t afford that. Normally, the buyers of the nts or trees were researchers and mercenaries aside from other viges thatck the nts for their homes. Also, you wouldn''t expect to see this in other countries. This nt can only be found in our country and some few in Maja."


    "Ahh... That makes sense. You''re knowledgeable."


    "Mhm... Aside from that, there''s Luminous Moss that was unique to this mountain range. Imagine a moss that would glow brightly as long as you mixed some Granite Salt. The glow couldst for the whole night as long as you have enough of that salt.


    "Right, aside from the medicinal herbs, red oak tree''s branches, horns of horned rabbits, blue-eyes white serpents, and ming frogs that can be used for artifact forging or potioneering, there were chances that you could gather some Star Burr near the snaking river at the center of the mountain range. It brings a lot of profits if you get even a few ounces."


    After Wace heard it, he felt really curious to explore more about the magical side of this world. Hearing Harith exin and tell stories about the forest, it made him very interested in bing an adventurer instead if not for his pressing matters.


    ''Star Burr...'' Wace thought of the name and remembered his instructor, Garen.


    During the instructor''s first day in ss, he instructed them to forge an artifact. It was all because of instructor Tales'' disappearance, he had to gauge the skills of the student he will be handling for the rest of the year.


    At that time, he instructed them to create Blue me Mantra, but instead of giving them the Star Burr, the provided materials were the Storm Silver forcing Wace to use Mavis Prayer to achieve his desirable results for the artifact.*


    The Star Burr was quite expensive so it was normal not to use them in practices and it''s better to use inferior materials that can still be used although with decreased effects. It was fine since their aim was the experience of creating mana artifact and not to create a perfect artifact.


    "That''s interesting. Star Burr would fetch a hefty price in the market."


    "I know right. Unfortunately, although it''s free if you have a chance upon them, you''ll need some courage as at the center of the mountain range lives a small group of Druid Apes. So people only take some chances at the edges of their territories."


    "Mhm... You really know a lot."


    "Haha. Thank you..."


    "Are there any unique stones that can be mined around here?"


    "Well... there weren''t anyrge deposits of ore vein. All known locations for deposits had long since been emptied by Seed Holdings decades ago. It was all covered by trees and moss now. The only remaining mining site near the range was the Memory Crystal''s Vein." After Harith said this, Wace''s mother spoke.


    "Oh, that''s right. I remember that somewhere near the end of this mountain range was the mine where the Seed Holdings dig those memory crystals. A tall building near there was where your father was working. He sent me a photo." ine smiled remembering Chase''s every 4 hours update just to let her know what he was doing.


    "Oh... That''s right. On the other side of this mountain range was the Ste Region." Wace said ndly. He was now looking at the exact location where the first Meredith Empire''s Conqueror Starship descended. He was only gazing without any words which drew their attention. His thoughts were unknown.


    "What happened?"


    "Did you see anything?~"


    "Ahh.. nothing. I''m just curious at the other side."


    "What? You make it sound like it''s something mysterious. Our Star Region is more prosperous than Ste Region. We have higher numbers of the poption, it means more magicians and also, most of the prosperous city is in this region. Are you not aware of that? What made you curious there?" rice blurted out feeling a bit weird about Wace''s words. ''Curious at the other side?'' She can only shake her head remembering his words.


    "Haha... No. What I meant was that I''m curious about father''s work. Can we visit him instead?"


    "No. He''ll be returning here." ine quickly said leaving no arguments.


    ***


    After the tour, the family went straight back home to have a rest.


    "Haaa~I wish that dad could''ve joined us." rice said after she slumped down onto the sofa.


    "That''s true. Unfortunately, the Veritas group will be leaving after today."


    "Well... Someday or probably soon, we can enjoy something like that with better reception." Wace said and smiled mysteriously.


    "Oh? Will you use the simtion pod?"


    "Eh? No. It would be different."


    "Then we''ll look forward to it." ine said to encourage Wace before continuing her words.


    "Right. It seems that there would be some turmoils within Tanza. Would you like to transfer to a different academy?"


    "You know about it?"


    "Not really. I''m not sure when will it fully blown. But the city was starting to get restless. You know it. Just now, your house was targeted by some burrs, right?"


    Wace nodded after hearing it. Their identities were weird, especially that Mana Artifact with ck miasma. It wasn''t so simple.


    He can only hope that it will quickly be over or resolved by the government.


    His A.I. had identally tapped some radiomunications where he learned about some organization trying to find something within the city. The police within the city had been doing their best to patrol and respond to any incidents happening right now. Unfortunately, due to the background of the organization they will be facing, they had to ask some assistance to a magician''s battalion.


    Though it seems that it was a different battalion from his sister.


    Anyway, one thing is for sure he couldn''t leave just yet.


    ''I''ve already constructed my headquarters within the city.'' Wace thought.


    "I can''t transfer to a different academy. I''m sure that everything will be fine." Wace smiled hoping for the best.


    It has been a very peaceful three months for him and it seems that it was indeed too good to be true to have itst long for 2 or 3 more years.

 Chapter 150 - News

    In an abandoned house not too far from Tanza City.


    "We have failed, Sir Avarice."


    As Wace had suspected, there weren''t just the twelve thieves who nned to break into his house. There was a lookout left outside the property to make sure that there wouldn''t be a third party messing with their ns.


    A cloaked man was currently reporting to his superior, Avarice, who was shrouded by a stronger and thicker ck miasma.


    The report was about the failure of his group to steal the core materials of the golden automatons. Their group was trained and had even received special mana artifacts just to steal all the cores. Unfortunately, the leader of the twelve had gotten too greedy as he didn''t stop his subordinates to retreat after retrieving the cores.


    They paid with their lives in exchange.


    Now, he was the only remaining agent in their group. Their team was supposedly aiming to steal a total of 100 cores that was being used by the golden automatons scattered around the city. Their location and movement patterns were all recorded and studied by their team for months.


    Their very first target that was supposedly easy was in reality, the hardest of them all. They had learned it the hard way.


    He was regretting their action as he thinks that if they have chosen a different target first, they could''ve sessfully stolen most of the cores before bumping to this wall. Unfortunately, he could no longer turn back the time. All the time they spent to train and master the usage of the gauntlet was all wasted by that fortress.


    ''Tsk. How could the government allowed someone to build that kind of firepower in the city?''


    He had witnessed the struggle of hispanions as they tried to retreat but to no avail. He could only watch them get pulverized by that freakish beam of light.


    He then sent the video of their attempt to his superior and waited for his instructions.


    "Those greedy fools. The cores were already on their hands but they just have to provoke someone out of their caliber."


    The survivor''s superior watched the whole incident until the twelve perished. He noticed the style of the defense system where it didn''t bother to activate even if the turrets and automaton were destroyed until they set their eyes on the house.


    ''Just what kind of secret that house possesses...'' The superior thought for a while before instructing the survivor.


    "I''ll send another team to gather those materials. In the meantime, investigate the owner of that house. Dig deeper in your investigation, the initial investigation might be false information. Make sure you find the origin of those magic spells. Dismissed."


    "Yes, Sir."


    The survivor immediately went away after hearing the instruction and dismissal. He was happy for not being punished for their failure.


    Although he was still a bit terrified thinking that he''ll investigate the owner of that fortress, he still found it eptable as long as he wouldn''t enter the ce itself.


    Avarice could only try to salvage the situation. It might actually be harder to gather the cores now that they have learned that it was being targeted by an unknown group.


    The Golden Trident Group might even have to pull out all their automatons that they''ve provided to their clients.


    ''No, they won''t do that. They would pay massive contract breakage fees if they just retrieved them without any good reason. But they might rece them instead. Tsk. We have to act fast.'' He thought for a while as he sent a dialed a call to one of his investors.


    ***


    Wace was unaware of the new organization targetting him. The A.I. and the police''s investigation about the identity of the burrs might still take some time since they were just relying on the images and 3D copy provided by the Avalon.


    The automaton''s battle video that was sent to the database of the securitypany was actually a bit useless as it had not been able to pierce through the cloak of the burrs unlike the powerful scanning ability of Avalon.


    Unfortunately, even if they have photos of those people, they couldn''t find any matches of their faces that quickly. It would be terrible if they even get to the point of changing their faces.


    "Should we retrieve the remaining automatons outside?" One of the old directors of the Golden Trident Group asked.


    "What?! Then that would affect our reputation."


    "Maybe they would stop now that 12 of their men were killed." Another mad suggested. It will be difficult for them to forcefully take the automatons. Instead of saving money, they might spend more.


    "Didn''t you see that ck miasma?"


    "Sigh... It seems that the Sealed Artifact was really in the hands of that syndicate."


    "Then what should we do?"


    "That''s Hallowed Eye, the user can just train other servants and return with greater force. We must cooperate with the military. We can only defeat them if we joined forces. They''re targeting our assets. We can''t just do nothing."


    "Then what do you suggest, Zach?" President Eun asked the young director at the meeting. He was the calmest about the situation.


    "I suggest that we retain those automatons in their ces and make them as bait. If we captured even one of the members of that group. It will lead us to their queen." Zach replied confidently. The ck miasma says it all. If they hadn''t identified that, they will not make a fuss about this single incident thinking that it would not happen again. But they all know what the Sealed Mana Artifact - Hallowed Eye can do.


    "That''s too risky. You know how expensive those materials are." One of the older directors said just to object.


    "We can only sacrifice. Even if it was stolen sessfully, we still have a chance to get it back. It is better than being vaporized by that house."


    "Urgh..."


    They couldn''t argue with that.


    ***


    "Dad!"


    "Oh! ire! You''ve grown up! I''ve only been away for a couple of weeks!" Chase said as he ced his hand on top of rice''s head. He was also carrying a bag on the other.


    "Haha! That is rice, dad! I''m ire." ire chimed in after hearing her father. She immediately ran to her father asking to have a hug or probably be carried.


    riceughed as she also hugged her father as she truly missed him. After all, it was because of her father that she decided to serve in the military.


    "Oh... is that souvenir?"


    Wace on the other hand focused on what his father has brought from his workce. He stopped seeping his tea as he asked to open the paper bag.


    He already sensed that the bag contains a memory crystal but after opening it up, he noticed that it was a nk or empty memory crystals.


    It was easy to identify whether a memory crystal was empty or filled. There would just be some changes in the density of color.


    Right now, the memory crystal was almost transparent with a small amount of pale blue color. If there''s content, the blue color will gradually turn rich depending on the content.


    "Ah... That''s just a gift from thepany leaders. After all, we''re creating a very innovative project right now." Chase said referring to the 10 empty memory crystals. It was already very difficult to chance upon a memory crystal. Although only the magicians that have learned the Arcane Link could transfer information to memory crystals, the demand was still high. After all, memory crystals help a lot in nurturing the younger generation.


    "What project are you working on?"


    "Err... Due to the disclosure policy, I couldn''t really say. But I can tell you that it would cause massive changes especially to therge ns or organizations once we''vepleted it."


    "Ohh... That''s sounds interesting."


    "It really is. Anyway, once the project was a sess. The product would also be avable to the public."


    "That''s generous. When can your group finish it?"


    "Probably a week or two more. We have several prominent figures in the field working on the same project. It''s really amazing just seeing those individuals gather to work in a single project."


    "Then you''re also not so simple since you could join them¡­ Right, dad?" rice said proudly as she went to assist her mother in cooking their dinner.


    "Haha... Of course..." Chase replied to his daughter.


    ine had only watched everything as she warmly smiles at herplete and happy family. It has been a while ever since they gathered like this.


    ***


    On the fifth night of Wace''s stay at the Red Star Town, he had received an update about the burrs. They were members of a syndicate that was connected to Z-Company, The Silent Enigmas.


    Officer Ray had also made some updates about his security system. It was all repaired and they even provided some upgrades at no cost.


    The video they captured was clearly told that they were targeting the core materials of the automatons.


    The Golden Trident Group didn''t deny the im and instead acknowledged it telling that because their automatons were very amazing, there were people targeting their core so otherpetitors would benefit.


    But Wace knows the truth even without being told. He had already sensed the peculiarity of those cores before. He knows that it was a very valuable material.


    It seems that the securitypany still wanted to hide the fact that they were using an overqualified material as a core of an average automaton.


    "Sigh~ That''s not my problem anymore. Although I really like to stay here, I couldn''t start making my projects with my family here... Right, I should start with my fabricator..."

 Chapter 151 - Fabricator

    During the night, Wace opened hisptop. This device wasn''t purchased in any shops of this world as it''sponents were from the integralputer parts that he brought from the spaceship.


    Wace had modeled it not to look like too advanced as he modified it''s casing to a standard level. Of course, he also considered how it looks so it wouldn''t look too cheap or too expensive. It was now at a satisfactory level.


    Thisptop was of course connected to Avalon''s database.


    He was checking the blueprint of the Fabricator he wanted to create. Without this item, it would take decades to construct his mech frames, aircraft, and spaceship.


    Of course, the A.I.''s automatons will be his main workforce to build his needs. But he stopped creating more automatons for now as 5 was more than enough hands to build his first Fabricator.


    Once they build this 3D printer ormonly called as Fabricator, they can just ce the materials along with blueprint to create certain high-end machined items.


    The blueprints would obviouslye from the A.I.


    Wace nned to name it under his name once it was constructed since it wouldn''t just be another copy that came from Avalon''s database. He would be enhancing the machine to be capable of analyzing magic structures together with arrays and formations. It would be a lot of work but it can be done. He''ll just be needing some materials like memory crystals.


    Aside from that, he will also require a lot of precious materials, so he had to build connections. There are some things that he could not purchase even if he had money.


    He had to make his brand, Traceless Hands, be known so those materials that he has his eyes on can be easily reached in the future.


    "Hmmm... Let''s see..."


    During the whole night he had been conceptualizing the full design of the fabricator using several blueprints as a base. For its capability to fabricate ''magic markings'', it was still in trial and error stage an hour ago.


    He had instructed Avalon for the five automatons to test their beta products before. They made a mini machine that would try to read the blueprint that was containing a mana formation and copy it to a certain material. This mini machine can only do one task at the moment and that is to copy a magic formation blueprint and fabricate it.


    Unfortunately, all the test had been a failure so far until this day.


    They couldn''t find a way to perfectly fabricate them before, but luckily, he had some inspiration today so they have made some progress now.


    The process of fabrication was built up with a Sustained Arcane Link as the heart of the machine.


    This mini machine that was already built with a Mana Formation to hold the Sustained Arcane Link, wasn''t easily made as well. The Sustained was basically Wace''s filtered mana that allows the machine to copy a certain Magic Formation blueprint contained in magic crystals and then ce it to a magic structure core that was programmed beforehand.


    Wace took a month and a half just to make that magic form.


    Unfortunately, it was still failing before as for some reason, even though the mini machine can copy the magic formation or whatever it copies to a material, it still doesn''t work.


    This made him stuck for a while and he could only ask the A.I. to test many variations while he was thinking of other solutions.


    He had asked before whether magic must really be made in the hands of a living magician. As maybe that was why the fabrication doesn''t work.


    But if that was the logic, then why would the automatons be capable of using magic? They aren''t living as well.


    Well, the automatons can use magic because its core or magic structure has a set of instructions to activate its magic spells. The magic spells work because of its magic form simr to the magic structure. So it alles down to instructions.


    But Wace couldn''t find fault in the instructions he made for the fabricator. He had checked it multiple times but couldn''t find the problem that he should fix until he had an idea recently.


    Although it took some time to materialize his idea, the time spent was worthwhile. Miya had made him realize that there were still a lot of things he wasn''t aware of about this world and that''s even with the help of his A.I. He never had thought that Celebrity Idols can have that peculiarity.


    So he decided to ask his father for suggestions today. Although he was also unaware of the answer, his words gave Wace a path.


    Wace remembered his conversation with his father.


    "How can I make a machine capable of creating magic arrays or formations on their own?" Wace asked after getting a chance to talk with his father alone.


    "Ohh... Just like how automatons were capable of casting magic spells?" His father, Chase, grinned as if he was remembering his younger self.


    "Yes. I tried making one. My machines can cast magic spells but they can''t create magic formation and array. That''s really weird. I''m stuck."


    "Ahh... I also tried that before. I created automatons to forge an artifact for business purposes when I was young. Unfortunately, even though they can follow instructions. The artifact they forge wasn''t working. Although magic structures were made perfectly. It just doesn''t work. I thought that time that the gods don''t really want to make those non-livings create those foundational magic. I remember before..."


    Wace''s father seems to be talkative at the moment. Probably due to his work that made him unable to talk too much. He continued to tell some stories before getting to the point.


    "So, I found out that magicians have unique Mental Waves that we unconsciously release whenever we cast magic. It means that the magic structures or cores needed that. But no one had a clear understanding of it. It might even be incorrect. It wasn''t in any books you''ve read right?"


    "That''s right."


    "Mhm.. because it was only a theory. That theory waspletely overthrown and any traces about mental waves study was removed."


    "Huh? Why would they do that?"


    "Well, are you aware of Aeolia''s unfinished works before he ''died''?"


    "Yes. He does have several unfinished works like the study of souls, the Lost Technology, and the path for the 6th generation. There are many theories and possible answers that came out after his death but none of them was proven. There are still many parts that others need to polish. Why did you ask?"


    "I remembered before that there was a rumor telling that when Aeolia was studying the mysteries of the soul, he learned its connection with Mental Waves. He was also about to be sessful during that time but his resources were cut off. He couldn''t continue the critical part of the study so he sets his eye in a particr lost technology that would give him resources for his future research. Years after that was his death."


    Wace only stayed silent as he knows that his father wasn''t done telling the story.


    "What do you think will happen if automatons can make products imbued with magic formation and arrays? Do you know what country has the highest numbers of automatons?"


    "It should be Maja." Wace answered confidently. During the internationalpetition, the representatives of that country had all used humanoid automatons. This made him curious as he learned that the country had prioritized the creation of the automaton as additional power due to their small poption. Each magician in a mage battalion must have at least one or more automatons following beside them.


    "Correct. Their automatons numbered in 450,000st year,pare it to our country who only has 20,000bat automatons. Some of them might even be trash. Just the number of their automatons were scary enough. What do you think will happen if they were capable of fixing themselves or creating themselves using their knowledge in magic formation and array?"


    "That''s going to be tough on their enemies."


    "Yes. That is what everyone thinks so too. You know that Aeolia likes to share his research with the world right? Like the 4th or even the 5th gen mana artifacts..."


    "Hmm... I understand." Wace said. His father was clearly hinting at the danger of his study. Their country who doesn''t have automatons as the main source of military power doesn''t want to further strengthen the other''s source of power.


    Wace wasn''t sure about the political dilemma going on but he was confident that studying Mental Waves was the correct path.


    The problem now was how he could make the automatons possess the unique Mental Waves that were required to make magic formation and array.


    This is where Miya''s help came in. The key was his Divine Sense.


    The skill he received from the Pathfinders wasn''t just a simple probing skill, it is a Soul Art. It was clearly proven when Miya, who doesn''t even have a strength of abat magician, was capable of sensing his Divine Sense.

 Chapter 152 - Ravencroft Printer

    The powerful magicians he met like Chalice could probably kill Miya with a snap of his fingers, but this same person couldn''t do what Miya has done. It says a lot about how unique this Soul Art was.


    In short, he further studied his Divine Sense and sure enough. It can be left to a certain object and could act as the mental waves for the machines.


    ''I see. This fully made sense. If automatons can do what the Mana Technicians can do, then there wouldn''t be any human fabricators around.'' Wace said in his mind. It must be remembered how difficult it can to be a magic engineer. Most students that couldn''t pass would have to work in a factory and fabricate Mana Artifacts for a living. If automatons can do the same thing then there might be a different level of civilization of this world. The world might be filled with automatons working non-stop. It would be a lot scarier.


    Wace sighed looking at the report about the sessful fabrication.


    ''Atst... This should be the real start of my hardbor.'' Wace thought as with this machine he could start a lot of his project.


    A while ago, he had traveled back and forth, from his house in Tanza City to here in Red Star Town and it only took him an hour using his Void Phase. It may have been faster if he wasn''t having a serious headache after continuous usage of the skill. With this side effect, he had to take a rest every time he used the Void Phase four or five times.


    It was still eptable to him.


    After arriving in his house, he noticed that the ce outside was already fixed as if nothing has happened. Turrets on the wall and holes on the ground were perfectly fixed as if no crime has urred recently.


    He didn''t bother to check it before as long as his workshop was fine. So he appreciated Officers Ray''s thorough assistance on his property.


    He brought the material containing his Divine Sense to act as Mental Waves for the machine or Fabricator.


    Yes, the material in question was the memory crystal. His Divine Sense could not be stored to Magic Crystal or any objects other than the empty memory crystals. He asked his father to have three of the memory crystals he brought from work but his father was quite generous giving all 10.


    Anyway, there''s no one in their family other than Wace who was interested in the crystals. rice has nothing in mind to use it for, ire doesn''t know what it is. And his parents were surely uninterested.


    "That was probably the same method for transferring the magician''s knowledge to the crystal." Wace mumbled remembering the sensation of cutting off his Divine Sense to be stored in the crystal.


    Wace was in a very good mood now that he uncovered several things just by attempting to create his Fabricator. He actually thought that the test would take several hours but after he got back home, he was immediately informed by Avalon about the progress so he quickly checked hisptop to make further arrangements.


    Now that the main part of his Fabricator was sessfully designed without any issues. It was now time to fully build his Ravencroft Printer.


    Wace immediately instructed the A.I. to start making the machine. Based on their workflow, the machine, partly mana artifact, can be built within two days.


    ***


    The Zairus Magician''s Congress.


    "How was Chester''s progress in perfecting the Cryptic Link?" An olddy probably reaching in her sixties asked one of the younger officers of the Congress. Her attention was fully focused on the reporting officer.


    The two were currently in her office and on her desk was her wooden namete.


    ''Tiffany Ahmed - Deputy Secretary''


    Marvin Cummings, who had been working for the Congress for years now was transferred from tracking the Sealed Mana Artifact -Hallowed Eyes in Tanza City to the Anti-Mage Mutation Task Force. He was now the key person between Chester from the Ministry of Magic Education and the Congress.


    He was actually feeling a bit of regret as he had thought before that there would be more actions in this squadpared to his previous task. It''s really hard to be promoted further in his current position.


    Unfortunately, the task force he transferred to was so peaceful as they could no longer find the traces Shaman''s Hex Faction of the Z-Company, the faction that deals with the experimentation of human physiology. They have hidden very well that it made them spend a lot of time just for searching clues.


    The prime minister had even found a scapegoat from his trusted aides as he had escaped from receiving any usations. In the meantime, they can only guard and wait for Chester to perfect the serum.


    "He mentioned that he had almost perfected it." Marvin added in his report.


    "What''s missing?" Tiffany asked in curiosity.


    "He said that once a magician consumed the Cryptic Link serum, the magician would reach the Arcane Link level forcefully without any side effects."


    "Isn''t that the aim of the project? He should be done right? Why isn''t it perfect?"


    "Mhm. That''s right, but they can only remain in that state for half an hour. If they stayed in that for a longer time, it would be difficult to return in the previous state and it would corrupt their Mana Bodies."


    "Hmm... Half an hour, huh."


    "Yes, but even though it was only half an hour, it can still help those stuck magicians to feel the Arcane Link and this might help them a breakthrough in the future."


    "I get that but... its not a guarantee. What happened to those materials given by Chalice?"


    "Ahh... Chester made an incredible magic formation that was based on the Z-Company''s work. This formation allowed him to extract the mysterious energy gathered around those materials. He had taken almost a bucket of that mysterious energy or element before the materials turned to normal. By being normal, I mean to the primordial being''s standard."


    Marvin provided photos of the materials together with the serum.


    Tiffany then checked the photos of those weird but familiar-looking materials again before she replied.


    "Heh.. primordial beings, huh... It''s been a while since I heard that. Tsk. It pisses me off remembering those people who call themselves Celestial Beings. Hmph... I hope they would all just die there." The second part of her words was said in a soft voice as if remembering something terrible with those Celestial Beings.


    Marvin hadn''t really understood what this olddy was saying. He only knows that the term ''primordial beings'' was a jargon they aremonly using to refer to some mysterious individuals living in the northern continent. Of course, the information was gathered in exchange for sacrificing thousands of magicians during the expedition. They learned about their weapons that always have umon functions.


    For the Celestial Beings, he hadn''t heard of this before. Are they the same? He wasn''t sure.


    Anyway, thisdy was one of the 24 survivors of the northern continent expedition together with Dr. Mau Zed. Although she looks old, being only around in her 60s, Marvin was not aware of her true age. It may be higher than that but he just didn''t dare to ask since it was none of his business.


    "If Chester was done in extracting all the energies from those materials. Hand over those items to Czarina from Armory Division, she''ll know what to do next."


    "I understand."


    Marvinpleted his report and went back to Chester''sboratory. He was actually having a hard time managing Chester''s mood. He was clearly aware that if ever they were not in the possession of the items they received from Chalice, this person may not have even epted the task to perfect the serum. Anyway, it would really be tough just by relying on the leftovers of Shaman''s Hex Faction.


    ***


    Two days had passed as Wace awaited for the news of his A.I. about thepletion of his 3D Printer. He was a bit excited about this.


    Although he could still watch the recording of the creation process to keep updated, he still doesn''t want to. Anyway, it shouldn''t be that helpful to watch only thetter part of the creation process.


    Wace felt better if he wasn''t thinking too much about the A.I.''s progress. It means that he''ll be able to think clearly for other things. After all, he was also making some arrangement to get a master. It was a mission given by the Pathfinder so he was taking it seriously.


    Ding!


    A familiar sound was heard so he immediately checked his A.I.


    [ News Update - Tanza City ]


    ''Oh... I remember now. I asked the A.I. to gather information around the city that could possibly affect my stay.''


    Wace read the news and was a bit surprised that the article actually refers to his Leonhearts Academy.


    "Eh? They will be adding a new curriculum? Why? Is there a new faculty? Amazing..." He couldn''t help but be surprised due to the sudden news he had received.


    He read further and saw that the academy was now epting new students and transferring students were even more weed for the new Magician''s Path avable in the academy.


    [ New Magician''s Path Enrollment Notice ]


    Wace shook his head after re-reading the article''s headline. It seems his third year would be very interesting.

 Chapter 153 - Qualifications

    Wace was a bit curious about the decision of their academy. Adding a new curriculum not only requires students but also capable faculties, equipment, and most importantly, a space in the academy. He thought that it was already crowded within the Leonhearts Academy.


    They will even ept transferees from the first year to the third year. It seems that they were truly confident in their n.


    "Well, there should be some space if they will build new buildings near the sports field."


    Wace said as he continued reading the article. It seems that their headmaster Percival was quite ambitious. He had been nning to add the two new curriculums in their academy ever since he was elected as the headmaster a couple of years ago. And now, due to the closure of a vocational school within the same city, it triggered them to hasten their ns and ept those students and some of thepetent faculty members.


    As Wace continued reading halfway through the article, the journalist even quoted Percival''s words telling that they will be announcing some new members of the faculty that will spearhead the new curriculums.


    It seems that the new faculty members have some prestige in the field so they were creating hype to attract students. Anyway, it was a normal strategy since they needed to get a certain number of enrollees so that the curriculum wouldn''t die out. They will surely recruit outstanding individuals.


    "You couldn''t even give us the top ss equipment that we need." Wace mumbled instead after reading the article. These changes they made would surely cost the academy a lot of money.


    He personally felt that it would have been better to just improve their current specialization, the Combat Magician''s Path and Magic Engineers''. But it would have been too bad for the students of the closed vocational school. Anyway, it was his own opinion. The headmaster and directors of the academy must be nning something. After all, the closure of the other school was too abrupt.


    And for the equipment he mentioned, he was referring to the outdated Artifact Forging Boxes and other materials and devices they have in their Forging Rooms.


    ''Well, they might create some changes now that the academy will expand.'' Wace thought for a while and noticed that it was alreadyte, he called it a day as he instructed the A.I. to start their production and slept soundly throughout the whole night.


    ***


    Now that the Ravencroft Printer was made, Wace had to make sure to maximize its utility.


    He first nned to make a thousand new version of Simtor Pods. This would give him a considerable ie for his bigger projects.


    He was confident enough that with Yumi''s support, he will easily get his permit to sell his products. After all, his Magic Jammer Canceller''s Structure was still being kept and studied by the NMTI.


    As for the five automatons controlled by Avalon, they would continue to build four more Ravencroft Printerter. And of course, these printers must be kept in absolute secrecy. No one should know that he possesses a machine capable of copying both magic formation and arrays or it would be a disaster.


    Its capability to fabricate high-end machined items was already very impressive leaving aside its capability to construct magic. It would be difficult to peacefully construct his designs if there''s too much attention on him.


    Anyway, he recalled that during the robbery attempt in his property, these five automatons or named Elysiums that wore his bio-armors were not able to join the fight as the battle waspletely handled by his several Laser Focus hidden around the property. This made him realize their effectiveness inbat against magicians, so he also instructed the A.I. to add a few more for a surprise.


    Unfortunately, with all his projects being done, his budget was also running low now that he purchasednd and materials for his Simtor Pods production. He only has around 500,000 credits from his previous 180 million by selling some of his mana artifacts and inte programs.


    "At the very least, my device can now simte even Mana. I should be able to earn back my money once I started selling them." Wace mumbled. Although he ns to create a thousand pods, he doesn''t have a ce to stock them so he needednd. His current printer had even consumed most of the space within the workshop. It wasn''t really the best ce to start arge scale production.


    Thend that he purchased was quite near the Red Star Town, it is at the edge of the Cove City. It was far from Tanza City so even with his Void Phase, he would need an hour to travel back and forth.


    He actually wanted it to be in Tanza City, although the city seems to be restless at the moment due to the syndicate nning something to the city, he was confident that he could still protect his property. Unfortunately, all thends and shops being sold wasn''t good enough. There were several good locations but they are not for sale but for lease. Although he didn''t mind leasing a property, there are just too many restrictionsing from the owners.


    He then told his concerns to his mother who suggested to look for a good spot near their town instead. She mentioned that their family could help in his business if he wanted to.


    Of course, Wace immediately agreed since his family members were the people he can absolutely put his trust.


    Wace remembered his conversation with his influential mother.


    "Mom, I would like to tell you something about my nned business."


    "You can tell me anything." ine replied.


    Wace nodded and started to exin.


    "...I have automatons with eptable artificial intelligence that would act as a workforce and help with the production."


    "I see, so you mean that you don''t need much presence in the workce? Since it will be handled by a capable artificial intelligence?"


    "Yes, they don''t really need to be supervised. But I still need to check from time to time to check their maintenance.


    "That''s very impressive."


    "Mhm... You know the product I released a month ago, thebat simtion pod?"


    "I remember them. It is quite remarkable. I heard that its demand was high but you stopped producing them.."


    "Yes, those 200 were already difficult to build within my workshop. Actually, I created a second version of it and I will be needing a production area for the pods."


    "You need to buynd?"


    "Yes."


    "What''s your requirements?"


    Wace mentioned all of his requirements. He also mentioned that any nearby ces were fine as long as it meets his expectation.


    There are few ces his mother could rmend as they had to consider the supply routes of the raw materials.


    In the end, they decided to settle in and within the Cove City. The ce was peaceful and also very well protected. They purchased and that already has a factory built within. This factory was previously used in processing cottons with 100 employees so they only have to do some renovations and everything should be fine. The ce was wide enough to start his production process.


    Wace nned to have his Simtion Pod popr before the start of his third year and increased his productions to more than 10,000 in half a year. During that time, he should have enough Ravencroft Printer and his products must have reached the other countries during that time.


    If necessary, he can consider selling the manufacturing right to hasten the production of his simtor pods.


    For now, he will let his A.I. manage all the production procedures as he sets his eyes to a specific craftsman.


    It was normally difficult to find these masters looking for an apprentice, however, right now, a master will conduct an examination to find five apprentices who will be under his tutge. This examination only urred because the master announced that after he provided guidance to these five apprentices, he was nning to go to the northern continent.


    He doesn''t know whether he could return or not so he wanted to make sure that his legacy wouldn''t cut off here.


    Although he already has 4 apprentices under him, he said that he had always wanted to have 9 apprentices. Wace wasn''t sure why he decided on such a number but it doesn''t matter.


    Tomorrow, he will visit the capital to join the examination.


    He then read the qualifications to take the examination.


    *Male or Female.


    *Must be 13-18 yrs old.


    *Must be Single.


    *Having an Arcane Link is a plus but not required.


    *Candidates must have excellent analytical skills, good knowledge of project life cycles and ability to work in a team environment.


    *Must have knowledge in using Holm''s Version of Artifact Forging Device.


    *Must have reached at least beginner-level mastery over designing and developing Magic Formation and Arrays.


    *Must have a registered original Magic Structure or Mana Artifact.


    *If you have a rmendation letter from an Arcane Artificer registered in the Congress, the candidate can immediately take the second examination.

 Chapter 154 - The Peak

    Wace read the qualifications that were set by the magic craftsman himself.


    After understanding the content, he was sure that he was qualified to take the examination. Anyway, even though he doesn''t have a rmendation letter, he was confident to pass the first level of examination.


    "Well... as expected of Grand Arcanist, huh. He would ept even those without Arcane Link... I should have an edge in this examination."


    Wace muttered softly after he checked the requirements. Of course, the seeding examinations may not be as simple.


    He was expecting more 5,000 magicians to apply in this apprenticeship. Anyway, he believes that he possesses a solid foundation and talent in crafting so even though a lot of young Mana Technicians would take the examinations, he surmised that he had a good chance to be selected in 5 slots for the apprenticeship. But he can''t be toocent as there would surely be many hidden elites amongst the candidates. After all, the Grand Arcanist did not limit the qualifications to only citizens of Zairus. Most likely, allied countries would use this opportunity to send their own elites.


    ''Urgh... I might actually meet familiar people...''


    Wace thought as remembered the other talents in the three allied countries.


    Also, he will be turning 16 this year so those 17 or 18 yrs old in higher education would surely dominate at some point, he had to be serious about this.


    He looked at the information of the Grand Arcanist gathered by his A.I. and recalled the details he learned about the magic engineer''s path.


    The Engineer''s path would start on bing a Mana Technician, then being licensed as Magic Engineer. After learning the Arcane Link and pass another examination, the Magic Engineer can be promoted to an Arcane Artificer. Once the Artificer reached a specific amount of aplishments, they will be called an Arcanist, and the peak of this was called Grand Arcanist, these were the people who had received a national level aplishment. Currently within their country,there were only 3 living Grand Arcanists.


    Although Aeolia didn''t officially receive the title of Grand Arcanist during his days, he was acknowledged as the first Grand Arcanist of their nation. After all, the official titles were only made 50 years ago to differentiate the level of aplishment of the Magic Engineers.


    Magic Craftsman was a title given to address an Arcanist and Grand Arcanist to a certain extent. It was because of its history prior to the creation of the official titles.


    Wace was quite excited to visit the capital and take the examination. He wanted to meet the so-called peak of the Magic Engineer''s path.


    He also recalled that these Arcanists had great differences with the Arcane Artificers because the field that they cover was no longer just in the creation of Mana Artifacts, Magic Structures, Formations or Arrays but also----


    Wace''s thoughts were interrupted when his mother called out.


    "Wace, I need your help here."


    The obedient son immediately went to assist his mother.


    ine was managing the sales of Wace''s Float Drive System. After he retrieved the Avalon in the Ind Nation of Montego, all his seeding creations were managed by him and his exclusive artificial intelligence.


    Only the manufacturing rights of this float machine was left to be handled by his mother.


    Currently, orders of the main magic structure crystal of the float drive system were still being received. So he was still selling them creating a significant amount of ie.


    This also leads him to be connected to Gordon Iron and Steel Group, this state-owned enterprise was headquartered in Ste Region.


    The capacity of thispany reaches 7 million tonnes of steel per annum, making thepany thergest steel provider of Zairus.


    Thepany produces steel products such as special steel, stainless steel, carbon steel that was also being exported to other countries. It supplies for areas like petrochemical, transportation, household appliances, metalwork, energy, manufacture of machinery, and electronic instruments.


    His connection with thispany would allow him to easily acquire one of the important resources that he needed, the supply of steel.


    At the moment, they were considering whether to sell another main magic structure of the Float Drive System as the representative of Gordon Iron and Steel Group notified them of an order for 50 magic structure crystal. Wace wasn''t against the idea as he could easily make the magic structure crystal already.


    It''s just that 50 crystals in a single order was quite high considering his previous productions. The total sales they had for the main magic structure only reached 65 pieces. For the manufacturing rights, a total of 6panies had purchased it including Gordon Iron and Steel Group.


    "Why do they need arge number of this magic structure crystal so suddenly?"


    "They said that it helps them in one of the productions of their steel. It seems that they didn''t use the magic structure to float a suit but a piece of machinery."


    "Hmm.." Wace could only imagine that floating certain machinery might make an easier mode of transportation. After all, the stability of his float function couldn''t bepared with other''s flight functions.


    ''They must''ve studied the crystal thoroughly. Anyway, the essence of the structure was already a pre-existing one. I just consolidated and reformed some previous arrangements of flight magic form.''


    "Tell them that it wouldn''t be a problem. Anyway, I will also make an order in theirpany, arge one at that. I will send the request quickly."


    "If you''re fine with that, then let''s do it. Is this order you''re saying will be delivered to your new property in Cove City?"


    "Ah yes. I also remember that I need to visit the factory. I will bepleting some final arrangements in the building."


    "Do you need help?"


    "Nope. Thank you, mom. You''re really helpful."


    "Of course...I have a few things to do in our house so I find these things very interesting." ine answered putting Wace at ease


    He chatted a bit more to his mom about his future ns he also mentioned his application of apprenticeship to a Grand Arcanist and he will visit the capital tomorrow. Unfortunately, Chase had already returned to the Ste Region to continue his job so he could only ask her mom to tell his father about all of these.


    In the afternoon, Wace decided to visit the factory he purchased in Cove City.


    Wace didn''t use his Void Phase this time so he could familiarize himself at the new location. Anyway, it didn''t take half an hour to arrive at Cove City using a bus.


    He then hailed a taxi to bring him over to his new property.


    Since he purchased this yesterday, he already brought 4 of his automatons to make arrangements within the building and created space for Avalon''s other mainframe.


    He had thought before that making the 3D printer would take him half a year to build but because of his unexpected discovery about Soul Arts or Mental Waves that was also Divine Sense, it hastens his ns by multiple folds.


    Thend was quite wide with a high two-story building at the center.


    The 1st level had a height of 9.5 meters while the 2nd level was 5 meters. The wholend itself had 3000 sqm. It was a good price since he only purchased thend for 110 million credits. The building was also renovated internally. As for the outside, he had only ced some defensive Mana Artifacts. He doesn''t have time to create an intensive defense system yet. Anyway, he had these four automatons that could wear the bio-armors to act as the core protectors for now.


    It was also quite easy for him to transport all of these through his dimensional storage space.


    As for his required official security for thend, he was nning to hire any local securitypany here. He only had to do this to pass the business permit here in Cove City.


    Apparently, within Tanza City, these permits and even taxes were easily managed by NMTI since they also wanted to benefit from his products, Float Drive System, Magic Jammer Canceller, and the first version of his Simtor Pods. But now that he was in a different city, he had to apply permits and other requirements. Of course, these can easily be acquired through his mom''s influence as long as he followed the basic requirements.


    They didn''t even bother to do a site evaluation in his business.


    ''Influence'' was truly something.


    Wace was now looking at the three Ravencroft Printers as the other two were still being assembled by Avalon''s Elysium.


    The three were still unable to create the outer part of his new Simtor pod since the supply of steel was still not being delivered.


    "I should at least add a few more defensive structures since I''ll visit the capital tomorrow."


    Wace said after walking around the property. After he learned Arcane Link, it was quite easy for him to use Grade 2 Magic Spells and if he worked hard, he believed that he could also cast Grade 3 Magic.


    ***


    After Wace worked within his new factory, he went to the capital that night and arrived early in the morning in the city.

 Chapter 155 - Magic Shop

    It was already seven in the morning and Wace had already prepared himself to visit the site where the examinations will be held.


    He had only slept for three hours but his body was not affected whatsoever due to the enhancements he had taken before.


    Since Wace arrived in the city when it was dark, he was only able to appreciate the beauty and grandness of the capital city now.


    Also, he was trying to limit his Divine Sense as much as he could to avoid any unexpected circumstances.


    The Dolu Capital was four timesrger than the Tanza City. He can also feel the powerful barrier that was not only covering the great wall surrounding the city but also covers the sky like a dome.


    He had rented a room at the nearest hotel in the southern part of the city. Just by traveling from there, he had already felt the abundant presence of Battle Mages and a few Adept Mages.


    These individuals weren''t easily found in Tanza City and as for their Red Star Town, there were only three Battle Mages and above aside from his parents that can be seen around. They were also quite old already at that but here, he can find young Battle Mages in thete twenties in the streets.


    He remembered rence, the announcer and young Battle Mage that was giving post-fight analysis during the TMAC, was originally from this Capital City. rence should only be in the early twenties so he was still quite remarkable.


    As he nned to directly proceed on the examination site, he saw a very popr Mana Artifacts Shop.


    "New Era''s Magic Shop"


    It was a shop that has branches in all of the cities within the country. It was the leading store for pieces of equipment, weapons, and Mana Artifacts. There were even some branches outside the country.


    Unlike the Secret Shop where Wace was frequently purchasing materials, this shop has the main focus of selling already made products. They were either made by their own Magic Engineers or being entrusted by other Magicians.


    He believed that there were also some cases where they conduct an auction for some rare artifacts or materials that were only avable on the members of the store.


    The Secret Shop, on the other hand mostly dealt with online transactions rted to raw materials, ingredients, and equipment parts. Of course, they were still selling Mana Artifacts, but those weremon artifactspared to what this New Era''s Magic Shop could offer.


    "Hello, sir. Please,e in. We have thetest products of Lacus Minerva."


    "Lacus Minerva?"


    "Yes! We only have limited stocks of her zing Thunder Ring so please grab this opportunity. We will give you a matching wristwatch if you purchase today, sir." Said by the beautiful salesdy just outside therge store. She was also handing out pamphlets to all passers-by just a moment ago.


    It seems that there was a reason why they can maintain being the top Mana Artifacts Store in the country, even though they dominate the field of selling high-quality Mana Artifacts, they weren''t stopping in their thorough marketing strategy. Wace actually believed that even without any advertisements from them, this store would always be visited by most Magicians due to their amazing reputation.


    Anyway, he only has a few leftovers in his bank ount so he probably won''t be able to afford a Mana Artifact suitable to his needs. At most, he can probably purchase some Grade C Mana Artifacts on his money. Unfortunately, he no longer required low-level artifacts. Probably, he will only need such equipment if he wanted to be in disguise with someone and act as a weak magician, but he wasn''t doing that.


    "Err... I''ll look around. But I might not purchase anything." Wace honestly said.


    "Oh... Of course, that would be fine. You can just go ahead and enter the shop, sir." The beautifuldy said amusingly. Anyway, she made a way for Wace to pass. She didn''te in together since he wasn''t purchasing a product anyway and was only going to window-shop. She continued inviting other passers-by as she had forgotten Wace.


    "Hello, sir. May I ask what you''re looking for?" Another salesdy approached Wace after seeing him enter alone. They didn''t miss the chance to offer their help.


    Wace was only admiring the grand shop that looks so magical from how the ce was decorated before he was interrupted by the store representative offering help.


    "Ahh.. I''m only here to look around." Wace said smilingly. This made the saledy back out. They wouldn''t earn any incentive to a customer that was not buying anything anyway. But due to hospitality, she still reminded Wace.


    "Of course, sir. Take your time. If you have any questions, feel free to look for me in this section." Thedy said before approaching another customer who had just entered.


    Wace then had a peaceful time admiring the materials on the first floor of the shop.


    Probably due to their attempt to attract customers. There was a considerable number of amazing Mana Artifacts disyed near the counter of the ground floor.


    Wace checked one of the five notable Mana Artifacts on this floor.


    The first was a Stealth Cloak. It was made by the samepany that created the Archon Series, the Vector Organization. Their products mostly had some inclinations towards hunting or assassination. Thistest Stealth Cloak that wasbined with high-tech equipment and magic was one of their best sellers but has limited supply due to unique materials that were required.


    The second was a Sea Saint''s Tear. It was a deep blue pearl with the size of an infant''s fist. The pearl was a very rare material that can only be found at the deepest part of the Alba Seas. The uniqueness of this artifact was that it possesses the capability to triple the strength and power of any water elemental spells. And as per its description, it has powerful healing effects as well.


    The third artifact that caught his attention was the Energy Bow. It was a majestic bow that draws Mana from the user and uses it as an arrow. It has a very interesting method to draw mana from the magician. The weapon was using a special stone to store the user''s mana to amplify and convert it to a pure and sharp arrow form once the string was pulled. Its uniqueness can be seen in its description that the direction of the arrow that was released by the user can be controlled as long as it is within 300 meters of the bow. It was like a homing missile itself.


    The fourth artifact was a dozen pieces of throwing knives called Ethereal Feathers. Throwing knives aremonly made of a single piece of steel or other material, without ''handles'', unlike other types of knives. The Ethereal Feather knife has two sections, the "de" which is the sharpened half of the knife, and the "grip" which is not sharpened.


    The fifth artifact was the one made by Lacus Minerva, zing Thunder Ring.


    As he was about to inspect it further, he then noticed a young teen with blonde hairing down from the 2nd floor. From the way he was treated by the employees and how the young boy greeted them, he doesn''t seem to be a customer of the ce. He was quite young probably about 13 or 14 years old. Wace had also realized that outside was a ck car waiting for the boy as they soon left to go somewhere.


    ''If I recall, there''s a membership system in this store and only Bronze Members can go to the 2nd level of the building. As for the Silver Members, they can go up to the 3rd level and for the Gold Members, they can visit all the floor avable.''


    The New Era''s Magic Shop all had the same rules across the whole country. They always have at least 5 or higher floors depending on the city they were located at.


    Since this is the Capital City, there were 11 branches of this store with 9 levels and as for its 12th Store or also the main branch of this grand Magic Shop, it had 25 floors.


    Currently, Wace was only in one of the branches of the southern part of the city.


    "Well... It''s almost time. I should move as well." Wace mumbled as he went outside the building and hailed a taxi to immediately arrive at the examination site.


    "Ahh... I should probably buy my own car and get a driver." Wace muttered silently. He was still underage so he still couldn''t get a license for himself.


    At the very least, it wouldn''t be a problem if he employed a personal driver soon. He might be needing it as well whenever he fully started his business.


    Although his Void Phase was convenient for traveling, he must try to minimize its usage and only use it if really necessary just in case he needed to surprise someone, either his enemies or allies.

 Chapter 156 - Candidates

    Wace was now standing in front of therge red gate separating the huge manor from the outside. Behind this gate was the home of the Grand Arcanist as well as the site for the apprenticeship examination.


    It seems that he had to fall in line seeing that there are about four hundred young magicians that have arrived earlier than him. It was a bit noisy due to the crowded ce.


    A few minutes had passed and a small door opened from therge gate. A man, probably a butler due to his attire, went out to meet with the applicants.


    "Everyone... I''m Clyne Troyard the representative of the Grand Arcanist living in this Cloud Hawk Manor, Sir ine Allusia."


    After everyone went silent, he was satisfied and continued.


    "We will only ept those who have applied online. Before you enter, I will check your names and records to confirm that you have truly passed the qualifications to take the exams."


    The stern middle-aged man announced to the to all the magicians.


    "May I ask what kind of examination we have to pass in the first part of the apprenticeship?"


    A brave 18 years old young magician asked the middle-aged man that was about to take the names of the people that were in line. He didn''t get offended and instead answer for everyone to hear.


    "Mhm... The first part is a medical examination. Those magicians who used prohibited drugs even if only once during their entire lives will be detected. These prohibited drugs that we meant were those enhancements drugs to improve mana affinity, genes, and other drugs to enhance your body."


    Many of the lineup magicians gasped upon hearing this. But there were still a lot more magicians who had confident expressions on their faces. Seeing their reaction, the middle-aged man added.


    "Don''t worry, it doesn''t mean that you won''t pass if we''ve detected these. It will only help us to properly gauge your potential. There''s still a lot more for medical exams but it will be exined once we confirmed all of your qualifications. Now, don''t bother me."


    Clyne said as he proceeded to confirm the names of the students in front and their application status online. Some had actually regretted not taking drugs to improve their capabilities. If they have consumed some, their potential might actually increase more.


    Wace only nodded at this as he went at the back of the line and noticed that the same 13 years old young magician he saw from the New Era''s Magic Shop was also lining up. He was 10 students apart from the front since the young magician arrived earlier than him with a service.


    "Hey, look. Wasn''t he the guy who won the championship in the previous TMAC, probably 3 years ago?"


    "What?! You''re right! That''s Jared Faust III..."


    "Tsk. Then this means that there will only be four spots remaining." The young man shakes his head as he felt the difficulty of this apprenticeship.


    "Sigh... I heard that he was about to undergoMagic Engineer Licensure Examination this month. I also heard that he had about 5-7 original Mana Artifacts published already. Why did he have to go here?"


    "Of course, even if it''s me, I would ditch the examination just try my chances here. As long as you have a Grand Arcanist as a master, you can easily get a Magic Engineer license. It''s just a matter of time. He can''t lose this opportunity."


    "That makes sense. Anyway, he should be an alumnus of the Mystic Gate Academy. It''s no wonder he had such an amazing achievement."


    Wace heard the two candidates chatting behind him. It seems that they recognized several prominent individuals.


    "This... Look at the one in front. That''s Rhine Wimbledon, another 18 years old. That guy had his Magic Engineer Licensest year. He''s one of the youngest licensed engineers in history! He''s already working at the Congress right?" This young teen was utterly surprised seeing one of the most prominent individuals within the younger generation in this country.


    "That''s right. He should be under Czarina of Armory Division. Sigh~ It seems that our chances of getting a slot were getting lower and lower."


    "Urgh... Not again. That''s Merlin Hermes, he''s the only son of the Skywalker''s current headmaster. What bad luck..."


    "At the very least, he just reached 13 years old a month ago, barely passing the qualifications. He might be here just for the experience, right?"


    "No way, remember that everyone here has registered their original Mana Artifacts. He was only 13 years old and had created an original artifact when he was 10. I think that with his potential, there''s a high chance that he would be selected."


    Wace continued listening to other gossiping candidates as he learned some of the remarkable magicians that will join the examinations.


    Wace had realized that there seems to be a lot more pressure now that he will bepeting to those graduates of an academy, licensed Magic Engineers, previous champions of TMAC, and other individuals that have prominent backgrounds within the country. There were also those magicians who came from another country just to try their luck.


    "That''s Ren Tao, from Virgan right? Another 18 years old, huh. This one even officiallypeted in the internationalpetition."


    "Virgan should have two Grand Arcanists if I remember correctly, right?"


    "That''s correct. Unfortunately, the two Grand Arcanists were husband and wife of a prestigious n in Virgan. They will only ept disciples or apprentices that have their bloodline. So it''s impossible even for him who has incredible talent in crafting to reach his peak. Those in the prestigious ns would surely not like to have amoner amidst them. He doesn''t have any powerful background supporting him after all."


    "Huh? Why would their government allow him to be unsupported all these years? If he''s here, our Congress, Ministry, NMTI, and military who love talents would surely not leave him alone."


    "Well, I heard that he refused to submit and be tied as a government worker for his whole life in Virgan. He doesn''t want to limit his potential growth as an everyday worker there. It quite difficult to establish your name in Virgan as the country was mostly controlled or shared by powerful ns."


    "Then that should be the reason why he''s trying to apply here. After all, our Grand Arcanist was popr for not having a very strict binding on his apprentices. Probably the harshest condition in being his apprentice was that you have to remain single until you reached the level of an Arcanist."


    "Urgh... Now that you reminded me that... Anyway, as long as you reached the rank of an Arcanist, it wouldn''t be a problem."


    Wace, who was listening all this time was amazed not only about the information about the several candidates but also to the knowledge of the two behind him. They were clearly aware of events not just in this country but also in other country''s news.


    As Wace absorbed all the information he was hearing around, he suddenly realized that it was almost his turn.


    A man walked next to Clyne and showed his information using his mobile device.


    "Get in. Next." Clyne said after taking a nce at the information in his own device.


    Another man approached him. He looks 17 or 18 years old.


    "Scram. Next." Clyne said with a nk expression. But the young magician didn''t found it very pleasant.


    "Why?! I passed all the qualifications!"


    He wasn''t the first one to be rejected but he was the first one to raise his voice after hearing Clyne''s decision. Some didn''t even ask questions and just left silently but this guy seems to be very confident that he really passed the qualifications or he wouldn''t raise his voice. This made the other magicians waiting on the line to anticipate Clyne''s next actions.


    But Clyne only gazed at the man without any words. This put a lot more pressure on him.


    The young magician tried to be tough at first but he couldn''t take it anymore as the gaze of the middle-aged mansted for half a minute.


    "C-can''t you just tell me why I didn''t qualify?"


    As his voice became softer after asking the question, Clyne grinned and answered the young magician.


    "You''ve married someone just a year and a half ago-"


    "We''re already divorced." The young man interrupted as he was well aware that they can easily find this information.


    "You have a son. We don''t need a single parent. Get out of my sight." Clyne said coldly.


    "Urgh..." The man could only grit his teeth and clenched his fist as he walked away.


    "Next." As if nothing has happened, Clyne called out for the next person.


    After three more calls,it was now Wace''s turn.


    He gave his mobile device to confirm his application online. After Clyne validated Wace''s record, he looked at the young man''s face as if to confirm something before making an announcement.


    "Scram. Next."


    Wace stood frozen on his spot.

 Chapter 157 - Examination

    Wace never expected to be rejected at all. This made him truly surprise since Clyne seems to be very sure in his judgment that he doesn''t qualify for the requirements they''ve arranged.


    As for the people behind him, they didn''t care at all and wishing for Wace to move away already.


    "Sir, may I know the reason why?"


    Wace asked after getting over on his surprise. He was sure that he had passed the qualifications. He is single and had also made several original mana artifacts under his name...


    ''Wait, is it because of that? is this perhaps a misunderstanding?'' Wace had suddenly realized his blunder. He looked at Clyne who had his eyes squinted as if annoyed by Wace''s persistence.


    "You don''t have any registered original Mana Artifact."


    Clyne coldly said and as he hadn''t lowered his voice, everyone at the back of the line was surprised.


    "Isn''t he a bit too presumptuous?"


    "Haha! He needs to learn how to read first before applying as an apprentice."


    "That''s one of the most important qualifications that was needed. I hope some other guys trying their luck would hear this so they can move away already."


    "Mhm... That would shorten the line."


    "Hahaha! He has some guts! Just to apply here even if he hasn''t registered a single original mana artifact is admirable."


    "That''smendable courage but it is not enough to let him slip this time."


    "It''s a bit sad. Maybe, he hasn''t read the qualifications carefully?"


    "Impossible. Anyway, I found this guy familiar."


    "Haha... He''s probably aedian."


    "I think I''ve seen him somewhere before."


    "Hey, can you move over now. There''s still a lot of people behind you!"


    "Just because you''re handsome, you can think of bypassing the requirements! Move!" One of the impatient magicians couldn''t help but shout at Wace.


    "Pfft!"


    Merlin Hermes, the 13-year-old scion of Skywalker Academy''s Headmaster couldn''t contain hisughter after seeing a 15 or 16-year-old magician applying to be an apprentice to a Grand Arcanist even without registering a single mana artifact on his own.


    He himself had grasped the essence of crafting at eight and created his very first original artifact when he was ten. He can only shake his head seeing Wace''s stupefied face.


    After he released hisugh, he immediately tried to calm himself thinking about his father''s words, he was a genius that only appears in a century. He had to act like one.


    ''It seems that there are still too many ignorant magicians.'' Merlin thought as he closed his eyes and waited for his turn.


    Wace on the other hand didn''t care about their words or thought.


    ''Just like what I thought...'' Wace''s inner thoughts were spot on. He prepared himself to exin but Clyne doesn''t seem to be willing to listen to his words.


    "I can exin!"


    Wace needed to get the man''s attention. He wasn''t sure when will someone of this caliber require another apprentice. Although he could probably apply as an apprentice to an Arcanist or Artificer, the chance of being apprenticed to a Grand Arcanist would give him better status. He couldn''t miss this chance.


    After he raised his voice, the surrounding students quieten down waiting for him to exin so they couldugh at him.


    "Maybe he created an original Mana Artifact today and he hadn''t registered it yet?"


    "Haha... Then that might work for him."


    "That''s true. After all, some Magic Engineers would like to keep their originals hidden as their trump card."


    "Well, that only goes for the licensed magicians. For us, students or apprentices, we need prestige so that our names can catch the attention of these high-level Arcanists. We don''t have to be so secretive on our stage, right?"


    "That fully makes sense. Anyway... let''s hear him out..."


    Wace remained unwavering as he didn''t wait for Clyne''s reply.


    "I have registered my Original Mana Artifacts under my brand, Traceless Hands, so my name would not show."


    Clyne frowned after hearing this. He was a magician from the capital city so he wasn''t too inclined in learning the real identity of Traceless Hands.


    What he was aware of before about this brand name was that it symbolizes an organization or group of researchers.


    He had also read the certifications about the original mana artifacts and magic structures that Traceless Hands had submitted for evaluation. All the submissions urred in a very far city called Tanza City.


    ''Is it really just a single person?'' Clyne wasn''t too sure. He was only a butler that relies on general information. Although he knows many internal secrets, Traceless Hand''s identity wasn''t included in it.


    "Are you sure that you''re Traceless Hands?"


    "Yes!"


    "Was all the registered mana artifacts and magic structures under that name was made singlehandedly by you and not a group of people?"


    "Yes!"


    "Mhm... Allow me to consult some things. Kian,e here." Clyne said and suddenly, another man came out from the gate. It seems that he was the one assisting those people who got in first.


    "Sir Clyne, how may I help?"


    "Rece me here for now. Check all of these kids'' qualifications. I''m going somewhere."


    "Mhm. You can leave it to me." Kian answered.


    Clyne handed his devices that were used to verify other''s identities to Kian.


    "Just wait over here." Clyne said as he nced at Wace.


    Clyne even waited for thetter to confirm that he understood before going back to the manor.


    Wace felt relieved that Clyne seems to have methods to learn the truth as long as he would try.


    "Hey... Did you hear them?"


    "Traceless Hands?"


    "Isn''t that the organization that registered Magic Jammer Canceller?"


    "Amazing..."


    "Does it mean that its not really a group but an individual?"


    "Then if that''s true, he''ll surely pass the qualification and might even have a high chance of getting selected."


    Everyone nodded at these words. Although they all created their original mana artifacts, it was all Grade C with even lower grade magic structures.


    They were those artifacts that the high-level magic engineers didn''t bother to make.


    After all, the 5th gen had only been discovered hundred years ago and during that time, it was a chaotic era and border expansions were the main focus of all the powerful countries. Only after realizing the bnce of each country in terms of military might did they set their sight on the northern continent.


    This method not only allowed them to gauge the power of each nation but also to test the extent of their understanding of the 5th gen.


    This also shows how each country prioritized the weaponized mana artifacts rather than convenience mana artifacts that help people live in their day-to-day life.


    That''s right. Since the senior magic engineers chose the development of mana artifacts towards weaponization, the young mana technicians took this chance to develop simple but original mana artifacts that can be used for convenience. But there are some mana technicians who had actually dabbled towards the weaponization of mana artifacts like Ross Schien, Rhine Wimbledon, and if the guy in front of them was telling the truth that he has developed those mana artifacts that can be used for battle, then this Wace would surely have the edge.


    There are not many mana technicians that can make artifacts that can be used forbat, either through offensive, defensive, or assistive.


    Clyne didn''t take long as after Kian checked about 40 students, he returned telling Wace to get in.


    "I''m sorry for the misunderstanding."


    "No, it''s not your fault since I didn''t use my name in registration."


    Clyne shook his head and replied.


    "We should''ve done our research beforehand. Anyway, good luck on the first part of the examination."


    Those few remaining students were surprised hearing Clyne apologized to Wace. They also didn''t forget Wace''s face as they noted him as the Traceless Hands.


    Wace thanked the man and felt that this butler doesn''t seem to be too bad at all.


    As he entered therge gate, he was greeted by therge manor house surrounded by several ck-suited guards. Due to the presence of hundreds of magicians, it was normal for them to assign multiple guards around the ce.


    The style of the house tells that it has been built for more than a century but its majestic appearance does not decline.


    At the left of the manor was a small camp where the qualified applicants were having their weights and heights were being measured. There were also vision tests andstly, the blood test where they can identify any drugs or foreign elements within the magician''s body.


    Wace wasn''t sure what they were looking for. For him, it seems that the first examination was too simple.


    ''What are they searching for? Is it just for health? Oh-- Maybe this is the reason why those rmended by Artificers don''t have to conduct the first examination.''


    He was then ushered to fall in line again and to be tested. He saw those people who mocked him a while ago for believing that he didn''t make any original mana artifacts. Although they were surprised to see Wace, they couldn''t bother with him as it seems that several mana technicians were sent home after the blood test results came out.


    ''Didn''t Clyne said that even if the drugs were used, we can still pass the exam?


    Sigh~ Its really hard to be an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist. Their selection method is so unconventional.''

 Chapter 158 - Slaine Allusia ( Part 1 )

    Wace waited again for his turn to have his physical data recorded.


    Some of the magicians in line recognized him as he waited quite a while near the gate as Clyne validated his information somewhere.


    "I heard that it was alright to consume drugs to enhance your physical prowess and even your mana affinity but there''s a point where a magician consumed too much and ruined their body''s potential." One of the magicians in front of him said.


    They were trying to find a reason why these tests were required.


    "Right, it means that they could no longer progress. Exhausting your life potential just to gain a quick boost in your body is not a good trade at all."


    "It seems that even though they said that they will still ept those who used drugs, what they meant was that only those that still possess potential even after consuming the drugs."


    "Mhm... I agree with that but what amazes me here was that they were capable of detecting whether a magician used drugs and other enhancements or not."


    "That''s a Grand Arcanist for you. Anyway, I remember that when Sir ine had taken his third and fourth apprentice, it wasn''t thisplex. I wonder what''s on their mind now." Thest sentence was said in a low voice as the magician tried not to be heard by the Grand Arcanist''s personnel. After all, he might be used of questioning his method of selection.


    There were cases for those high-ranking officials to be easily offended with those words alone and as he wasn''t sure of Grand Arcanist''s attitude, he had to be careful.


    Wace heard everyone''s words and confirmed that this medical examination seems to be really important. He felt that for an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist, their future must reach a level of Arcanist and if not, it would only be a taint under the Grand Arcanist''s name.


    After about 10 minutes, Wace''s medical examinations started.


    Age: 15


    Gender: Male


    Height: 170 cm


    Weight: 60 kg


    Hair Color: Gray


    Eye Color: ck


    Blood Type: O


    Civil Status: Single


    Nationality: Zairusian


    upation: 2nd Year at Leonhearts Magic Academy


    Rmendation Letter: None


    Body Modifications: None


    Enhancements Drugs Consumed: None


    Registered Original Mana Artifacts and Magic Structures: Magic Jammer Canceller, Float Drive System, Traceless Oscition (Simplified Structure), Echo st (Simplified Structure), Compact Mananuclear Reactor (Unstable Version)


    Unregistered Original Mana Artifacts and Magic Structures: Laser Focus, Completed Versions of Traceless Oscition, Echo st, and Stable Version of CMR.


    Affiliation: None


    Family:


    ...


    ...


    Overall Potential Rating: 89/100


    Wace answered a few more questions about himself before getting the result of the overall potential rating.


    ''They might as well ask for my favorite food or color.'' Wace thought after answering some personal questions.


    ''They can''t detect the enhancement I received from the Pathfinder, huh.''


    An hour more had passed and all applicants had been tested. It seems that there are no longer any applicants as the gate was already closed.


    All the results of blood tests were being shown after three to five minutes so it was very quick.


    It seems to be very important as well since all the blood that was being collected waster used to drop in a certain thumb-sized crystal after being tested for drugs or enhancements consumptions.


    Wace wasn''t sure what were the crystals for but he wasn''t in a hurry to ask. It better to wait in this situation.


    Now, only about 600 young magicians from 13-18 years old were left. The number was actually quite smallpared to what Wace had imagined.


    He expected to have them numbered at least double that due to the number who applied for the test.


    "Alright, everyone that has remained until now passed the qualifications and medical examinations. But its not over yet, this is just the first part of body examinations. Next, you will be joining the others below." Clyne announced after gathering the 610 Mana technicians.


    "Below?"


    Everyone unconsciously looked below but they only see the grass on their feet.


    "Yes, follow me."


    Clyne said before leading them to a building connected to the main house. As they entered, they realized that the building was made of wood but enhanced with powerful protection magic.


    Soon, Clyne reached the center of the wide and empty building. He pressed something on the ground before a bright light came out blinding everyone that was not prepared.


    As they opened their eyes, a stair going down appeared on the ground that Clyne had pressed.


    They were awed not by the changes in the structure but because of the concealment that was used. All of them have some kind of detectors or scanner but they hadn''t realized that there was a hidden stairway there.


    Apparently, they were allowed to bring their own Mana Artifacts in this ce and were even free to use them.


    The walked down for about five minutes before reaching the underground base below the manor.


    "Huge!"


    The applicants eximed seeing therge area in this underground facility. The ce was also partly filled by workers and other applicants. They were most likely the rmended mana technicians by those Arcane Artificer registered at the Congress.


    Their number wasn''t that small as there were about 400 of them inside already.


    "Wow! Isn''t this ce some kind of secret ce or something?"


    "That''s right. There''s a thousand of us here and only five will be selected. Is it really wise to reveal this ce to us?"


    "Maybe this ce is not very important so they are fine with it."


    "Or maybe they wouldn''t let anyone alive leave this ce."


    "Hah... You''re watching too many movies."


    There weren''t any seats as the young mana technicians outside stood together with the rmended individuals.


    Clyne stood on the stage at the front as he eyed everyone who had passed the examination.


    "Only those with a potential rating of 80 and above were allowed to be here. It means that you guys have above average potentials in your generation. You all know that we only require five apprentices under Sir ine this time and there are 1,035 applicants present here."


    Clyne paused for a bit as the sound of murmurs were heard in the crowd.


    "Ehem... You don''t have to be disappointed. The potential rating records and other test results that we''ve gathered were stored in the thumb-sized crystal you saw outside except for those rmended by Artificers. These crystals were recognized within this whole country and even in Maja. It means that you can use this to apply as an apprentice to other Artificers, Arcanist, or even a Grand Arcanist. After all, since Sir ine wanted to see the potential of the candidates, others would want as well."


    After Clyne said these words, it lightens up the mood of those people who had a very small chance of getting selected.


    The man continued as he further exined.


    "Those thumb-sized crystals were recently invented mana artifact that allows us to gauge the potential of a Magician. It was specially made by Miss Lacus Minerva, Sir ine''s first apprentice."


    "Whoa!"


    "Amazing!"


    "Didn''t she just released the zing Thunder Ring?"


    "That''s right. I think that this Potential Measuring Crystal she created was something she made before that ring."


    "Mhm... Since this crystal must''ve done arge number of tests or samples before it was used to us. After all, it would be a disaster if they made incorrect potential ratings."


    "But for it to be recognized even by Maja was impressive."


    "That should be normal, they''re our closest ally."


    Words of awe and amazement were heard after Clyne revealed the creator of that crystal where their blood was ced.


    Wace wasn''t unfamiliar to Lacus Minerva due to the salesdy''s advertisement outside the New Era''s Magic Shop.


    Anyway, he wasn''t too inclined knowing about her for now as it wasn''t confirmed whether he''ll be an apprentice yet.


    Wace had carefully spread his Divine Sense a while ago avoiding Clyne and other personnel as he covered all the applicants.


    It seems there weren''t any magicians who studied soul in their group. This made him breathe a sigh of relief even though he detected a lot of strong candidates right now.


    "Alright, the second examination is simple. You just have to withstand Sir ine Allusia''s pressure. You have an hour."


    As soon as Clyne said that, all personnel including him went away leaving a thousand magicians confused.


    "What did he mean by that?"


    "Withstand his pressure?"


    "Does it mean--"


    Soon, they heard the sound of footstepsing from behind the stage.


    There, they witnessed the first appearance in public of Sir ine Allusia since 15 years ago.


    He was one of the most outstanding individuals within the country and was also one of the 24 survivors of the northern continent expedition.


    They gulped nervously as they waited in bated breath.


    ine Allusia, contrary to their expectations, was a handsome and well-built man looking like someone in his thirties.


    The man doesn''t look like a person who joined in the expedition about a century ago at all.


    Rumor says that it was a side effect of the


    Secret Arts he practices called Awakening of Thunder and Lightning and this was also being personally taught by him once a magician became his apprentice.


    His dominant aura made everyone revere the man as they subconsciously called him with the title that he previously had during his active years.


    "Thunder Emperor..."


    A title more suited to a warrior than a craftsman.

 Chapter 159 - Slaine Allusia ( Part 2 )

    Lacus Minerva''s creation of the popr zing Thunder Ring wasn''t a fluke. It was thanks to her enlightenment towards the study of lightning and thunder under her master,ine Allusia.


    Wace was curious about the identity of the Grand Arcanist but he didn''t dare to use his Divine Sense to check him out.


    As the man reached the center of the stage, a huge pressure came down to the thousand examinees putting most of them on their knees.


    "Guh-!"


    "T-This..."


    "What kind of magic is this?!"


    "Help! I can''t breathe-"


    Many of them were unprepared as they couldn''t catch their breath.


    They were unable toprehend how did it happen so they were at a loss in what to do on this sudden change at the building.


    At the very least, none of the thousand examinees gave up as they tried to endure the pressure bearing down on them.


    Wace wasn''t sure if the gravity was multiplied several times or there was just an invisible force pressing down on each of them. He couldn''t find the source of power yet.


    "Is it really different magic?"


    "A Sealed Mana Artifact perhaps?"


    "Or a Natural Mana Artifact?"


    "I didn''t even see him activate an artifact at all."


    "Perhaps it was really that thing..."


    The magicians who don''t have a rmendation could only guess at this point.


    The pressure doesn''t seem to be from the invisible mana as it feltpletely different. The struggling mana technicians could only guess in their hearts.


    ''Unfathomable. So this is a Grand Arcanist.''


    Wace could only praise this master in front of them for doing something that even his Divine Sense was unable toprehend. Anyway, he could only suppress his Divine Sense for about three meters in radius to avoid being detected by the Grand Arcanist.


    So that was probably the reason why he couldn''t find the source of power. One he sent the Divine Sense around the ce, he''ll surely locate the source.


    After all, Wace and all the others couldn''t believe just yet that this powerful pressure really came from the Grand Arcanist alone.


    They felt that it might actuallye from a mana formation or array they had ced before they were gathered here. But they were very familiar with these and didn''t found any magic markings that can identify it as magic formation or array in any ce.


    They just couldn''t imagine how could a magician release this pressure alone for an hour just for the test.


    They can only think that the Thunder Emperor instead activated one of his artifacts and this one might actually be one of his very own...


    "Arcana!"


    All the magicians that were rmended by an Arcanist eximed the same word upon realizing the power that was pressing down on them. Although they weren''t a hundred percent sure, they believe that this can only be done by an Arcana.


    Wace heard them exim the word and immediately asked the A.I. to give him brief information about the Arcana.


    Avalon was already in the form of an earpiece. Its main body was still in the spaceship, a full copy was on Wace''s house within a secured basement and another copy was at the new factory in Cove City. The earpiece was just one of itsputer terminal just like the armguard before.


    Although he was still wearing a thinned and simpler armguard for the A.I.''s terminal, it was still convenient to have another one as an earpiece.


    Anyway, all electronic devices in this world can be easily hacked or meddled by the A.I., so he wouldn''t reallyck a form ofmunication as long as he was in an urban ce.


    A few moments passed as he managed to stabilize his body from the pressure, a notification came from the Avalon as it provided him the information about the Arcana.


    As the information gathered wasn''t from a data storage memory crystals, Avalon had only found few details about the Arcana.


    [ Arcana - It can be a genuine object, knowledge, or even a living being that was created through the powers of an Arcanist. They are normally being mistaken from a Sealed Mana Artifact or Natural Mana Artifact due to the incredible and iprehensible power they possessed. ]


    [ Only limited information can be found about a genuine Arcana appearing in the public.


    The first Arcana that was revealed in Zairus was Arial''s Electromaic Constructs and Terrence''s Soul Summoning. ]


    Wace would like to further learn about the two Arcanas but his situation does not allow him to do so.


    Not even 10 minutes had passed as about two hundred examinees had already sprawled on the floor as they couldn''t bear the heavy pressureing somewhere.


    ''Oh? It seems that the people who were unable tost and gave up had their pressure disappear. Interesting.''


    Wace said in his mind as he observed everyone in his vicinity. He noticed that whenever a magician was already sprawled over, they would stand up after a few seconds and walk away as if nothing happened. Only after a bit of thinking did he realized that they were being sent home.


    At twelve minutes mark, Wace discovered something as he hadpletely adapted to the pressure and was no longer having difficulty in his breathing and felt that he could even easily stand up. Of course, he just kneeled just like the others for now as it might be too shocking for everyone even to the examiner if he could ignore the pressure.


    Anyway, as defeated magicians walked away, everyone who wasn''t having too much trouble bearing the pressure noticed those people being sent home.


    "One hour, huh. I guess I can bear this pressure even for two hours."


    "That''s boasting, you were just lucky with your muscr body."


    "Mhm... You''re more suited than a warrior."


    "Shut up. Just reserve your energy."


    "Don''t be too nervous. This pressure won''t defeat us."


    "Urgh... This is weird."


    Some of the magicians even had time to chat during this test. Even with the pressure from ine, they could somehow feel that they couldst an hour if it''s just like this.


    It was amazing but it was still taxing to their body.


    With the other''s performance, it only means that their Mana and Physical prowess was something not to be taken carelessly.


    After 20 minutes, the pressure being release was doubled. This made all those who were chatting caught off guard and sprawled on the floor and eliminated on the examination.


    Rhine Wimbledon was also checking out all the other contestants. Especially those who have some spare energy even after talking a lot.


    He noticed Wace''s unconcerned expression while withstanding the pressure. It almost feels like Wace wasn''t feeling the pressure at all and was only kneeling down so he wouldn''t be different from the others.


    Jared Faust III had also noticed Wace''s calmness on the situation. Even after doubling pressure at the 20 minutes, Wace was still very positive about their situation.


    "It seems that having an Arcane Link and Soul Arts would give the examinee an advantage at this stage."


    Wace realized his advantage after using his Arcane Link to feel out the pressureing from somewhere.


    This pressure wasn''t some kind of invisible mana pressing them but instead another form of energy that Wace was a bit familiar with. This made it easier for him to cope up with his current situation.


    As they reached the 40 minutes mark, only 200 were left from the thousand examinees. But this mark was another problem as it also corresponds to additional strengthing down at them.


    "Guh! this pressure was a bully. They increase the difficulty whenever they found the reason."


    At 15 minutes mark, he had actually realized that the pressure was targeting not their flesh bodies but their spirits. Although it differs on his Soul Arts or Divine Sense. The Spirit Arts that ine was showing wasn''t too far from his Divine Sense.


    What saves Wace from the effort of withstanding the pressure was that whenever he tried to connect with his dimensional storage space, the pressure was disappearingpletely. It was magical but this also implies it''s the profoundness of this Arcana that the Grand Arcanist was possibly using.


    Anyway, with this discovery at hand, even after 55 minutes had passed that only he was left standing, he was still not tired at all.


    That''s right, only Wacested at 55 minutes after ine released his maximum strength to bring down the examinees at 50 minutes mark. So the Grand Arcanist decided to stop since Wace had already proven himself to be ahead of them.


    Wace was basically the top 1 followed by the 13-year-old Merlin Hermes, then Jared Faust III. The fourth was Ren Tao from Virgan and Rhine Wimbledon. And the sixth one whosted until the 50 minutes mark was the young magician that Wace had seen in New Era'' Magic Shop.


    The tenacity of the young mana technicians was truly admirable considering his very young age.


    The Grand Arcanist, ine Allusia, apuded the remaining six kneeling on the ground. He was amazed at these people whosted until the 50 minutes mark.

 Chapter 160 - Rest Day

    This examination doesn''t feel like they were looking for a craftsman at all. It felt like the test was simr to military or mercenary organizations.


    All of them except Wace were not able to appreciate the Grand Arcanist''s congrattions due to their exhaustion.


    Especially Merlin Hermes, he was heavily panting even after ine stopped the pressure bearing down on them.


    It seems that although he had reached the 2nd ce, he had pushed himself too hard. As his eyesnded on Wace, a hint of furiousness can be seen and detected by his Divine Sense.


    ''What did I do to this guy?''


    Wace couldn''t help but be surprised upon seeing the hatred in the eyes of this 13-year-old magician. After considering some things, he could only guess that the kid was aiming to be the first ce from the beginning. Unfortunately for him, Wace had found out that the Grand Arcanist''s Arcana touched upon the principles simr to his dimensional storage space. Connecting with thetter would allow him to be unaffected to this Arcana. Other than that, he wasn''t really sure where or what kind of magic this Grand Arcanist was using.


    In his mind, if ever he had the chance, he would surely ask to study this Arcana.


    After a couple of minutes as the six picked themselves up, ine Allusia that was still at the stage spoke again.


    "I never thought that anyone couldst more than 5 minutes after I activated the maximum power of my Arcana at 50 minutes mark."


    ine amiably smiled at Wace. After all, once he activated the full power at 50 minutes, the pressure would increase every minute at that point. He stopped at 55 minutes not just because Wace was the only one left but also he was worried that the kid might be injured and too exhausted and it would be too unfair to him for the third examination.


    He also recognizes the other''s resilience in his Arcana''s activation. The group''s performance wasn''t something that can easily be ignored especially to him, who was fully aware of the strength of his own Arcana.


    This made him believe that these six had secrets of their own that their earlier test hadn''t found. But that was fine for him as this made him sure that whoever thest five will remain, would surely perform greatly once epted as an apprentice.


    "Wace Ravencroft, Merlin Hermes, Jared Faust III, Ren Tao, Rhine Wimbledon, and Tristan White, I believe that all of you are aware that I only needed 5 apprentices this time. One of you must leave."


    As ine said this, the six applicants looked at each other probably thinking who would be left out. After being silent for a while, ine continued.


    "Anyway, we''ll just proceed with the third examination. Since there''s only six of you remaining, this will be quick... but looking at your faces now, we can conduct the final test tomorrow so we can be sure to measure your abilities when you''re at peak condition."


    Everyone agreed at this since they were also worried that their current body condition might affect their performances.


    "You will be given a room at the manor.


    to rest and prepare yourselves. We''ll resume the examination tomorrow morning. Clyne, lead them out."


    As ine said this, Clyne appeared behind the group of six.


    They didn''t feel his presence only until he spoke.


    "Young sirs, congrattions forsting this long in the examinations. Please, follow me."


    The six could only nod and thanked the man. They were too tired to ask questions. As they looked back at the stage, ine was already gone somewhere. Anyway, they will meet again for sure, their aim right now was for this meeting with the Grand Arcanist not to be their first andst.


    ''I will be selected tomorrow'' is what in their minds right now.


    Clyne leads them upstairs as he showed them their rooms on the first floor of the manor.


    ***


    Within a small room in the tall building at the Dolu City. The room has the smell of a cigar that couldn''t easily be removed just by letting some air in from the window. It probably requires magic just topletely remove the smell.


    Currently, there were two people within the room as they spoke with a suppressed voice.


    "What happened back there?" The man sitting on his desk said while having a puff of smoke.


    "We are not sure- I mean, we haven''t fully investigated the reason behind it. Please, give us some more time." The young man was bowing in apology as he was unable toplete the mission given to him.


    "Hah! I can''t believe that not a single magician rmended by an Arcane Artificer managed to be in thest six. That''s ridiculous."


    "The six surely possess something that allows them to lessen the effect of Sir ine''s Arcana, or they might''ve found a loophole in the examination." The young man can only say to lessen the burden in his chest. He was proud of his skills but during ine''s test, he was unable to bear the 45 minutes mark. It was too painful as he felt that he would die.


    "I don''t need your guesses, give me definite answers! If you have nothing else to report, leave!"


    The fat old man finally said to his subordinate. He is Albert Schien, Ross Schien''s uncle who had also ''taken care'' of thetter''s manufacturing rights of Mana Artifact that he made on his own.


    Their Schien n was now declining due to theck of outstanding magic engineers. In the past years, their n members even tried to get some recognition in the other fields but failed to do so. They tried to get into Mage Doctor''s Path, some tried to be a Celebrity Idol, and some tried to be just a merchant but no one made it very sessful to the point of lifting up the whole n.


    Anyway, due to this person handling most of the external activities of the n, the quality of the Schien n members declined even more. It was all because of his ability to send people away from their main branch here in the capital.


    All capable people that may threaten his position in the future were being sent to some dangerous missions and for those still too young, he was unable to really send them for a mission but he has the power to send them to study away from the capital and be taken care by the other declining branches of Schien n.


    This is one of the reasons why Ross Schien was studying in Tanza City and living at the small branch of the family in the city. But even Ross doesn''t have much money to support his study, his amazing performance made Albert rethink his decision. Since the young man was capable, Albert sent him resources to help him in his artifact forging but in exchange, he would maximize its profits.


    As he remained rich within the n, even the elders were unable to do anything to him.


    This time, to make his position even sturdier, he sent 5 young Schien n members loyal to him in the selection. He even made arrangements to get them rmendation letters. They were already trained for two years by an Artificer that he hired before.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t work this time.


    They were all eliminated and unable topete for the apprenticeship.


    "Useless kids. I should''ve sent Ross..." Albert muttered but suddenly remembered.


    ''No, if ever he was epted by ine, he''ll just get a powerful backer. I won''t be able to control him. Tsk. What bad luck!''


    He had already made arrangements for Schien to get him back in the capital so he had to make sure that he could control the man.


    In the meantime, he had to learn the identity of the six. After all, once the five from them gained the status of an apprentice to a Grand Arcanist, their value will increase steadily the longer the time passes. He should try to make a connection to them or to their families.


    ***


    Cloud Hawk Manor.


    The examination had ended midday. It was still too early but because of everyone''s sore muscles and exhausted mind, they each ate them lunch in their room. Of course, since Wace was still in his peak condition, he could only busy himself talking with the A.I. about the new factory in Cove City.


    He had a lot of ns to it, especially with therge space it possesses. The height or the space of the first level in the building was actually very ideal to manufacture Mech Frames.


    As the evening came, everyone had recovered to their peak. It was also thanks to the Mage Doctors that were sent to heal them.


    The six ate their dinner together as they tried to acquaint themselves with each other. After all, only one of them will be leaving as the others might be their future colleagues.


    "Mr. Wace Ravencroft! I heard a lot about you from my sister!"


    Tristan White excitedly said during their first formal meeting. This is also the same 13 years old magician he saw at the New Era''s Magic Shop.

 Chapter 161 - Final Exam

    Wace wasn''t sure who the young kid was but he still greeted him politely and asked a question.


    "Sister?"


    "Ah yes. Her name is Vanessa..." Tristan answered. His eyes clearly showed the light of admiration after he said his sister''s name.


    Wace then noticed his semnce with Vanessa White. She was a third-year student at Skywalker Academy that was also sent to Montego for the internationalpetition.


    Wace clearly remembered her amazingbat skill against the puppet made by Julian where she used abat skill called Motion Break.


    Anyway, Skywalker Academy was situated here in the capital, he was just not aware where the academy was located in thisrge city.


    ''Come to think of it, before we all separated, they made some invitations to visit them at their ce.''


    Wace thought as he refers to all his teammates inviting everyone since they became close to each other. Although he hadn''tpleted thepetition as he was substituted by Van in the end, they all appreciated the expertise that he had shown during hispetition. Since he is in the capital right now, he might as well visit some of the people he knew here. Ross Schien, Tracy Guilford, Aria Scott, and Vanessa White, they should be all in the capital at the moment.


    "I didn''t know that she had a younger brother." Wace smiled back at the young magician and suddenly recalled something to ask.


    "I saw you before at the New Era''s Magic Shop near the southern gate. Are you a member of the shop?"


    "Eh? You were there? Uhmm... You can say so. My father is a shareholder of thepany."


    Tristan said humbly but Avalon quickly validated the information and found out that his father Rowan White owns 70% of the shares. Their family was also the one who founded argepany.


    Avalon had also finished gathering some information for the other four that can be found online. It seems that it was only him who had a humbler background.


    "Your sister Vanessa is one of the most outstanding magicians I''ve met. I heard more about her peerless beauty especially after she had finished bathing at the Revitalization Mana Spring." These words were said by Jared Faust III. He was an 18-year-old alumnus at the Skywalker Academy. His face suggested that he deeply admired Vanessa White.


    "Oh? Do you also know my sister? She''s really amazing, right?" Tristan''s eyes shone even more brightly. The light in his eyes shows not only his deep respect towards his sister but also how he liked those people who also revered her.


    "Of course. I also studied at the Skywalker Academy. I''ve seen her there personally but most of it was when she was still in her first year..." Jared chatted with Tristan as he mentioned that he only saw her again during the live broadcast of thepetition at Montego. Tristan then told him how great his sister was during herbatpetition.


    Wace on the other hand felt that this younger brother was even more amazing. For a 13 years old young magician and be capable of bearing the pressure of ine''s Arcana, it was simply amazing. Even Vanessa might found it too difficult.


    He was curious about what kind of ability did he possess to survive that hurdle for so long.


    "Right, you''ve mentioned that you heard a lot about me from your sister. What did she tell you?"


    Wace asked seeing that Jared''s non-stop praises to Tristan''s sister were getting out of hand. Jared was also curious about Wace as he doesn''t seem familiar to him.


    "Ahh... She told me how you disappeared during the ambush in the hotel that you were all staying at. She mentioned that several Adepts went hunting you for some reason but you instead disappeared for several days and returned mysteriously without a word. She said that during your absence, they''ve made a lot of theories about your disappearance as a game to pass their boredom." Tristan answered Wace.


    ''I didn''t know that. Well, anyone would''ve been curious at that time so it''s probably normal.''


    Wace thought as he was curious about their theories.


    Only now did the others remember who Wace was.


    "So that''s why I found you so familiar."


    "You were briefly there in thepetition. But they said that you''re not in good condition so you were unable to finish thepetition, is that right?"


    Rhine and Jared realize Wace''s identity as they nodded. Their thoughts were unknown.


    Everyone then chatted for a while as they familiarize themselves with each other. Only Merlin was a bit too cold as he didn''t bother to even say a word to them.


    ***


    On the next day, the six young magicians were called out to begin the final examinations.


    They were again brought in the underground base of the Cloud Hawk Manor. But this time, instead of the wide room that has a small stage, they were brought deeper underground where they saw 20 rooms aligned.


    "We have seen all your history, records of aplishments, or Mana Artifacts and Magic Structures you''ve created. You were all in a satisfactory level in terms of forging artifacts and developing structures. But you were all still missing something...


    Master''s Secret Art, the Awakening of Thunder and Lightning, had a lot of requirements before it can be practiced. In short, only a magician that was suitable to practice the arts will be epted. If ever six of you were all suited for the Secret Arts, then we will base the selection in yourpletion time. So make sure to do your best in the examination. This will be thest examination so I suggest that whatever secrets you have, use them if you have the opportunity. Now go to your assigned rooms. Good luck!" Clyne Troyard said to everyone before leaving them to get inside their rooms.


    The group then looked at the six rooms that have their names from the 20 rooms on the floor.


    It seems that there were still floors below with the same arrangement to amodate people in case there were more than six magicians who survived from the ine''s Arcana activation.


    They weren''t sure yet what kind of examination they would have to pass but no one thought of backing out as they entered their rooms. The door automatically closes as the room''s light turned on.


    The room was simple with several magic arrays to keep the air-conditioned. There''s a bed, desk, and a simple chair.


    ced on top of the desk was a purple crystal in a ss bottle emitting dim purple light. It was a memory crystal but it doesn''t seem normal. It should be blue in color, but it''s structure was surely one of the memory crystals they knew.


    Everyone here had already consumed three memory crystal so they were all worried to consume another one except Wace.


    Although the other five had their body enhanced, they hadn''t tried consuming more than three memory crystals to try their brain''s endurance.


    As they thought for a while, they could only try to consume it in the end. There''s nothing else in the room and they also wanted to pass the examination. There''s no turning back this time.


    Wace opened the bottle and consumed the purple memory crystal. It melted on his mouth as some memories or information appeared in his mind.


    They learned that this is a special memory crystal and was a private product of Magic Engineers working in this Cloud Hawk Manor. Surprisingly, the crystal wouldn''t affect the limitation that the brain could handle when consuming the standard memory crystals.


    All the information that will be provided next would disappear from the magician''s mind after three days.


    After reaching this point, a breathing technique to get into the first stage of Awakening of Lightning and Thunder came into their minds.


    It was this Secret Arts that allowed them not to be limited in a fire, water, earth, wind, and ice elements. This was a special method to control lightning and thunder.


    It doesn''t require an Arcane Link or Mana Body but only requires an astute mind and Mana Affinity level that reaches Inducement Control.


    But then, they realize something as another surge of information came into their minds.


    ''Is this the method of the 6th generation Mana Artifacts?!''


    Everyone had this on their minds because the content of the crystal wasn''t as simple as breathing technique for the first stage of AOTL, the other half of the information they have was a different method of forging an artifact through the help of mastering the breathing technique.


    ''This...''


    ''Was the 6th gen already existing without our knowledge?''


    Thinking up to this point. It somehow made sense. Each country must have surely studied further advancements of Mana Artifacts during the past century. But because of Aeolia''s disappearance, further discoveries where now being held tightly.


    ''Does it mean that the official "6th generation" wasn''t named yet because they were all probably thinking to use it as a trump card? Sigh~ Who knows, maybe other countries even have their own version of 6th gen.''


    As they all calmed their wandering thoughts, they all started to absorb the information about this new forging method.

 Chapter 162 - AOTL

    Before Wace could fullyprehend the new forging method. For now, it was just a lump of information in his brain. He first had to learn the Secret Arts.


    Only a couple of minutes had passed for him to fully absorb the surge of informationing from the crystal. He now had time to analyze all some things that were put into his brain.


    ''The memory crystal was arranged tost for just three days. That should be the time limit for the examination but this timeframe they gave was too short... Sigh~ They just wanted for us to work all day in this room, huh.'' Wace concluded after calming his thoughts.


    After being surprised by his discovery about the possibility of sixth-generation mana artifacts, he realized that the country was still full of mystery to him.


    There were still a lot of things he hadn''t discovered about this world even with his Avalon. This made him even more hopeful about creating more powerful objects in the future. After all,he didn''t n to build a spaceship, mech frames, or other superior technology devices that were only fully based on advanced science.


    He had wanted to integrate magic to science and his Ravencroft Printer was currently his best sample followed by his Combat Simtor Pod.


    ''Anyway, as long as Ipleted this task within three days, they would most likely give us something to retain our memory. After all, once I became Sir ine''s apprentice, he would still teach us theplete Secret Arts and this new forging method was probably the biggest reward once we passed the examination.'' Wace thought which perfectly made sense. Everyone was aware that Sir ine''s apprentices would be allowed to practice Awakening of Thunder and Lightning. The first apprentice, Lacus Minerva, was living proof for this. But for the second, third, and fourth apprentices, they weren''t active or it can be said that they are not registering their creations for some reason. There were only rumors about their artifacts that were barely being seen to the public.


    Wace sits on top of his bed to start practicing the breathing technique. He also didn''t forget topile a bit of information about this Secret Arts for the A.I. as his backup.


    [ Awakening of Thunder and Lightning ]


    [ Also known as A.O.T.L, is a Secret Art belonging to the Cloud Hawks Manor''s Grand Arcanist, ine Allusia. The AOTL is the only one from the 3 known Secret Arts that allows the user to focus on the maniption of the thunder and lightning using a unique cirction method of mana or also called as a breathing method. The breathing method of AOTL amplifies the presence of the metal element of mana in the atmosphere and collides it with a medium, creating lightning. AOTL had long evolved and no longer constrained with traditional movements and forms and has instead been taught so that each sessor could incorporate AOTL into their own styles as a way to advance the art.


    The method to awaken or learn the AOTL depends on how the user incorporates it into their body.


    Essentially, the AOTL uses the "quality, not quantity" approach, as the Secret Art relies on having a very refined and pure Mana even if not much in amount, instead of an enormous quantity of unrefined Mana. The breathing method is the key to purifying the Mana to be used, simr to how only pure uranium can be used to create an atomic explosion ( Wace''s ownprehension ).


    Included in the memory was a simpler statement that exins the Secret Arts breathing process. It needed Mana within the Mana Pool of a magician and Mana from the outside and then turns them like negative and positive charges which are then collided.


    The focal point of breathing is inhaling outside Mana (negative charge) and exhaling of Mana from the Mana Pool (positive charge).


    To learn this method, a tough body was required. During Sir ine''s Arcana Test, the metal element''s presence in the examinee''s body was further enhanced allowing everyone to have an easier time learning the breathing method that normally takes half a year. ]


    Wace summarizes the information about the AOTL. Unfortunately, he used a loophole during the examination so his body didn''t receive that metal enhancement in his body.


    ''So that was actually some kind of enhancement. I thought that it was just torture. I should''ve worked harder instead and bear the pressure.'' Wace thought but there was no point regretting the past so he could only start practicing the breathing method.


    The method heavily relies on the practitioner''s good control in their bodily functions so he had to fully concentrate in order to achieve any significant progress in this breathing method.


    ***


    It was tiring. Six hours had already passed but Wace couldn''t maintain the correct rhythm.


    ''What''s missing? I followed all the instructions...'' Wace thought for a while and suddenly had an idea


    ''No, maybe it''s not that I''m missing something but I just needed time to practice it and be more natural.''


    To be able to tell whether the breathing method was mastered or not wasn''t just toplete a single correct cycle of inhaling and exhaling mana but it must be to the point that you canplete the perfect cycle unconsciously.


    However, Wace was too conscious whenever hepleted the cycle and it reaches the point that he notices everything. Everything in terms of the changes within his body.


    Being sensitive about any abnormal changes within the body might be good at some other time, but Wace doesn''t want that at the moment as his concentration was being lost.


    He then tried to immerse himself and studied the changes in his body but it only resulted in him finding fault in his breathing method.


    ''No, it not a fault. I was just unable toplete the cycle correctly. I have to do it more naturally.'' Wace thought after analyzing his method. He was having a hard time.


    ''I need to rx. I can do this.''


    During this time, the waiters or probably butlers had brought them some healthy foods in their rooms. Anyway, it was impossible to just practice the Secret Arts non-stop. Sir ine was fully aware of it. It is up to the magicians how to use the three days that were given to them as long as they were in the room.


    Wace took his time to eat the food.


    ''This meat...''


    [ Red-Eyes ck Serpent''s Meat ]


    It was analyzed by Avalon''s scanner, one of the functions of his armguard. It is a highly nutritious food that helps blood cirction and smoothens Mana flow during digestion.


    ''They at least care about us, huh.''


    Wace couldn''t help but say in his mind. It seems that they were also aware of the difficulty of the examination so they were being helped through their food consumption.


    After eating the meal, Wace decided to go all out. He spread out his Divine Sense and confirmed that there''s no surveince within the room. There was only a special magic array that he didn''t notice before which would activate once he had sessfully created an artifact using the new forging method bestowed upon them.


    He didn''t dare use it before as he worried that it will be detected. But he gambled instead and maximized his Divine Sense this time. Anyway, there''s still these Soul Arts. He can probably exin the Divine Sense as something rted to Soul Arts in case he was asked.


    "Avalon, record my body changes as Iplete a cycle of the breathing method."


    Wace then instructed Avalon after using his Divine Sense.


    [ Understood. Requesting permission to take Number 7 form. ]


    "Permission granted."


    Wace approved Avalon''s request. The metal armguard on his hand suddenly removed itself and floated in front of him. After a few clicking noises, the previous armguard now became a floating metal ball with a single mechanical red eye at the center.


    Wace smiled seeing the transformation. This floating machine in front of him wasn''t a magic but a pure product of advanced technology.


    The floating drive that he used was something that the Mech Frame was using before. Anyway, since the Mech Frame has 4 of them, he took one of the floating drives it possesses and stuffed it into his new version of armguard. Well, the Mech Frame only requires 2 of these floating drive tools for it to work and the other two were just a spare.


    "Start the recording now."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The floating Avalon could also speak but Wace instructed it to just use the earpiece inmunication.


    He wasn''t capable of using his Divine Sense while doing the breathing method yet so he needed Avalon''s help. Its human scanning ability could even rival Divine Sense so he was sure that this will be a fruitful attempt.


    Sure enough, after a few cycles of breathing method, Avalon found the key points that require further refining.


    The problem was his originally pure mana within his body.

 Chapter 163 - Arcane Baptism

    Wace''s pure mana was supposedly a good thing. Purer mana implies that the magic spells being cast would be stronger and mightier. This also means that the mana formations and arrays would be more stable or sturdier.


    Unfortunately, this also means that the spells which were purposedly made for impure mana would not be possible to use.


    This was what troubling Wace right now. Although he could do the breathing cycle multiple times, he always had to concentrate or be conscious of it as it''s impossible to do it naturally.


    This will lessen his effectiveness since the new forging method requires him to be capable of doing the breathing method that has reached the ''Natural'' state.


    ''Well, it is good that I''ve found out the problem this quick.''


    He could only view this in a positive way as Wace wasn''t someone who would give up easily.


    With the help of his A.I., they tried to make some changes with the breathing method. The amount of external Mana to be taken in and the amount of internal Mana to be released, the duration of inhtion and exhtion had also been changed.


    The breathing method was supposedly an additional method to further refine Mana, aside from the purpose of allowing the user to control the lightning elements.


    The main problem was that this method was made to only refine the mana with the highest percentage of purity known to the continent which is 93%.


    That''s right, the purest mana ever known could only reach 93%. This was believed to be the limit of all the magicians ever since the level of purities had been discovered. It was epted by everyone since impurities should be normal. There was even a theory that 100% pure mana would make the magician unable to control them and be useless.


    It was a huge matter before when Magicians were still being called Mana Practitioners. The level of purity of every practitioner was a serious matter to every n or organizations.


    But at the same time of the discovery of the 4th generation mana artifact almost 150 years ago, they have also discovered an advanced method of the magician''s body.


    Indeed, the Arcane Link was discovered during the Brain-Boosting Era caused by the 4th generation mana artifacts. During the Arcane Baptism, the Mana Body would be awakened. This Mana Body was capable of absorbing mana that has reached 93% purity.


    It was supposedly the same for everyone. Everyone''s Mana Body should awaken with 93% purity.


    It was the same to all countries, average, above average, genius or super genius magicians would have the same Mana Body after they were baptized by the Arcane Link until Wace has appeared.


    During the awakening of Mana Body, it was normal to pass out for a couple of days as there would be some changes within the body. This was what happened to Wace so he was not able topete in the followingpetitions after he won the first event.


    But the problem was that instead of the standard two days of body awakening, Wace had been unconscious for five days.


    No one suspected Wace about him having Arcane Link baptism because of the Cube of Paradox''s intervention. The baptism didn''t catch anyone''s attention and it was only discovered when he woke up and carelessly activated his Divine Sense.


    During that time, Yumi had felt his refined Mana and Mana Body. He remembered their conversation when he woke up in the hotel after passing out for five days.*


    ***


    After learning about his situation, Wace tried to use his Divine Sense to have a grasp on his surroundings as he had just woken up. It wasn''t like he no longer feel very safe if he doesn''t have a good understanding of his environment but it was a habit he had when he was practicing his Divine Sense before. It was supposedly the same undetected ability but something went unexpected when he tried to spread out his Divine Sense. Luckily, no one was harmed.


    "You..." Yumi gaped upon sensing that Wace already had an Arcane Link.


    The whole room was already in a mess as he was not able to control his pure form of mana. The sudden change within his body was a bit unexpected even though he had prepared himself after learning the prowess of an Arcane Link.


    "Did you justplete your Arcane Baptism in this bed?!" Yumi asked in surprise.


    "Urgh... Yes?"


    "That''s reckless!"


    "Reckless?"


    "Of course! If it''s not reckless then just call it crazy. During Arcane Baptism, your whole body would be in the most vulnerable state! Are you not aware that you''ve been targeted in the previous hotel?"


    "Arcane Baptism... Vulnerable... That made sense. I''ll be careful next time."


    "What are you saying? Next time? There''s only one Arcane Baptism!"


    "Argh... now that you''ve mentioned. I mean, I''ll be more cautious in the future."


    "Sigh~ Now look at this mess. Anyway, before you trigger any spells or arts, be sure to consolidate your mana. I can sense that it''s being emitted relentlessly you have to be more... what? Did you just stabilized and retrieved your mana?"


    "Ah yes. It seems that I''m good at it. So this is Arcane Link, huh."


    "N-no, Arcane Link doesn''t help on that." Yumi softly said but her voice faltered a bit. She was obviously surprised to see how fast Wace managed to gain perfect control over his refined mana.


    "Is it surprising?"


    "Well, it''s not that bad. After all, before Arcane Baptism, the highest purity of Mana that can be controlled was 75%, so it was difficult to control higher than that after the baptism. Remember, once someone finished the Arcane Baptism and established Arcane Link, they''ll immediately reach 93% purity."


    "It''s the same for everyone? Including me?"


    "Yes, of course. That is the same purity to everyone who finished the baptism."


    "Then there''s no 76-92% purity?"


    "There is. Those were magicians who forcefully increased their purity without Arcane Baptism. But it also means that they were no longer allowed to take the baptism."


    "I only heard of this now."


    "You''re only 2nd year. You''ll be learning this on your 3rd year." Yumi smiled after answering Wace.


    "I see. I guess I won''t need to check the purity of my Mana?"


    "That''s right. It would just be the same. I sensed your Mana a while ago. It''s definitely pure, I even thought that the purity was higher than mine. But thinking about it, it should be a mistake because you suddenly sent out that arge amount of mana, so my perception was a bit clouded and unable to properly gauge it."


    "Ah, that made sense. Right, where would you normally conduct Arcane Baptism?"


    "Mhm... Anywhere isted, as long as there''s abundant Mana in the surroundings. It should be isted because if you get disturbed, you''ll have to restart the baptism after more than five years.


    "Five years? That''s a harsh condition. Anyway, it seems that the location will not really affect the purity of Mana." Wace frowned as he absorbed all the information he was hearing from the Adept. He had a lot of questions.


    "It won''t, but the duration of baptism would be affected and be longer. The longest Arcane Baptism was two and a half days and that''s already in a barren desert." Yumi exined patiently. She seems to be enjoying her conversation with Wace.


    "You''ve mentioned that I was out for five days, right?" Wace curiously asked after remembering her previous words before he carelessly activated his Divine Sense and messing the room.


    "Hmm... That''s right. Did you perhaps woke up on the third day... and only started your Arcane Baptism two days ago?"


    The second part of her words was said in almost a whisper voice as Yumi wasn''t sure herself. Anyway, as long as Wace was alright, everything''s fine. She didn''t ask too much.


    During this time, she was still suspecting Wace to be that armored being and she even had the courage to reveal that she was also Hani in front of him as she also called him Uncle Nortrom a while ago.


    ***


    After Wace returned to Zairus, he didn''t fully believe Yumi and he had his Mana Purity secretly tested.


    Anyway, he could just purchase the tester in Secret''s Shop even with a discount due to his multiple bulk purchases.


    There he found out his 99.99% purity of Mana. He was extremely happy about this because he knew the benefits it could give to him. But now, it caused him some trouble.


    After several trials and errors, Wace together with Avalon created an improved version of the breathing method allowing him to reach the ''Natural'' state.


    Tsk!


    "So a day had already passed..."


    Wace clicked his tongue as he grumbled after seeing the meals delivered to his rooms.


    "I only have two more days to learn the new forging method... Now, let''s see your secrets."


    He said to himself before looking over at the method that was already imprinted in his mind.


    [ Spirit Forging Magic ]


    [ A magical forging method to create the Sixth Generation Mana Artifacts. ]

 Chapter 164 - Spirit Forging Magic

    Wace read the introduction of this mysterious method of forging an artifact. He was fully absorbed in learning this Spirit Forging Magic as he forgot to even eat his meals.


    Anyway, he was aware that it wouldn''t be a problem to skip meals for several days with his Mana Body.


    ''It heavily relies on magician''s constitution. I should be able to learn it if given time but two days might be too tough.'' Wace surmised after he fullyprehended the method. Now, he only had to practice this magic to achieve at least a beginner level. This would allow him to create the most basic 6th generation Mana Artifact included in the memory crystal they consumed.


    With all the information he received, hepiled the information and provided it to Avalon as a backup. He even added his own understanding of the matter.


    [ Spirit Forging Magic for Sixth Generation ]


    [ This magic allows the user to create predetermined items that were perfectly envisioned. This is done by entwining their mana with their aura or life-force turning themselves into a living forge or even a furnace with the correct condition and generally focusing it through the magician''s hands for direction so it can easilybine and shape materials into the item envisioned.


    Though it seems to be possible to focus it from any point of the magician''s body, such as through the mouth for smaller items to leave both hands free, it requires years of practice.


    ine Allusia''s prohibition in this magic is that it is to never be used on a living thing. This does not include things that are long since dead.


    It is against the governmentw for a user of this magic to make counterfeit money made of gold. (Does not count for making an item with gold.) If found out, the Grand Arcanist would act himself against the vitor.


    Like all the Magic Engineers, the user of Spirit Forging Magic cannot create material for use. They will still require raw materials or whatever they have on hand to produce an item. Spirit Forging Magic only helps in the creation of products but could not create items from nothing.


    Spirit Forging Magic is not limited to solid matter alone, other elements such as fire or water can be used as well. ]


    [ The magic''s appearance is like that of a blue fire but it is not hot once touched so it can''t be used for offensive attacks. Spirit Forging is only meant to forge materials and not harm the living. ]


    This is the introduction that Wace ced to record in Avalon''s database. Though the full content was still quite long and might take at least 10 pages of standard books.


    ''I should start now...''


    Wace closed his eyes as he concentrated for a while to begin the first step of learning the magic.


    After confirming his stable ''natural'' state of AOTL, he started to imprint the magic form of the spirit forging method to his Mana Body.


    Imprinting magic form to the Mana Body wasn''t permanent and if left untouched for several days, it will naturally vanish. This also meant that if they forgot the memories of the imprinting method due to the memory crystal losing its effects, the secret method would remain tightly held by the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    It took him half a day to imprint one of the spells required for spirit forging.


    ''Tsk... this is taking too long. I won''t reach the deadline.''


    Wace frowned after realizing his slow progress. At this rate, he might be the one eliminated in this examination.


    ''I wonder how they''re progressing now.'' Wace thought but immediately shook his head.


    ''I don''t have time to worry about them. I have toplete this.''


    Apparently, they were required to imprint several magic forms on their Mana Body before they can begin the forging process. He reviewed the spells to see if there are other options he could use.


    [ Mana Spells ]


    [ Material Appraisal - spell that was normally used to identify any materials that the magician touched. It will allow the user to determine the material''s valuable information like quality,ponents, weight, etc. This is not a visual technique but a sensing technique. If mastered to the peak, the user would have limited range when executing the spell allowing the user to use the spell even without touching the material. ]


    [ Mage Cover - spell that allows the user to touch materials without being harmed. The protection of the spell has limited power depending on the mastery level of the user. ]


    [ Spirit me - a spell that creates forging me. ]


    [ Living Furnace''s Touch - a spell thatbines materials into the envisioned item of the magician. The spell requires beginner mastery level of the Spirit me as activation of the Living Furnace''s Touch would make the user''s hand be engulfed by the Spirit me. ]


    [ Living Furnace''s Breath -a spell variation of the Living Furnace''s Touch that allows the mage to blow the "Spirit mes" from their mouth. The spell helps in freeing up the hands of the magician to allow better hold on materials and used in unison with Mage Cover when handling dangerous materials. ]


    [ Weapon Artifact Forge - is a specific spell for creating predetermined weapons quickly with many variations to the spell. Such as; - Artifact Forge: Sword - Artifact Forge: Axe - Artifact Forge: Spear. Further advancement of the spell is adding unique materials to making the weapon. An example would be Fire; Weapon Artifact Forge: Fire Elemental Sword. This would give the de the elemental power to produce fire to a certain extent depending on the magician''s method of forging. ]


    [ Soul Imprinting - a Soul Art to imprint mysterious connection to the artifact and the forger. The connection allows the magician to control the Artifact they made. Optional during the artifact forging process. ]


    [ Spirit Channelling - a Spirit Art that allows the magician to control their aura or life-force to be ced in the artifact. This will allow the artifact to "remember" their structure. As long as the artifact has an aura supplied to its structure, it will rebuild itself even if it was destroyed once given some time. Optional during the artifact forging process. ]


    Wace had already analyzed all the information noted to Avalon. Thest two spells, Soul Imprinting, and Spirit Channelling were the main reasons that this Spirit Forging Magic was called as 6th generation Mana Artifact''s method of creation.


    ''They perfectlybined Soul Arts of those Idols and Spirit Arts of Mage Doctors...''


    Sigh~


    Wace was truly impressed upon seeing the spell for the first time. Soul Arts have mysterious power in terms of magic rted to perception, attraction, and maniption. Spirit Arts have this ability that allows the Mage Doctors to heal or repair any living things. Wace and Avalon were only aware of superficial information so he couldn''t fully understand but he was fully aware that these Spirit Arts have a lot more secrets just like the Soul Arts.


    ***


    While Wace was having troubleprehending the master the Sprit Forging Magic. The other five were also experiencing the same issue.


    Rhine Wimbledon looked exhausted. His meals were left untouched as he doesn''t have any mood or leisure to eat due to his crawling progress in achieving the natural state of AOTL.


    "Why is this so hard?! I can probably reach that state but I need at least three weeks for that, not three days. There''s also this spirit forging method, I wouldn''t reach the deadline with this..."


    Ren Tao, the foreigner from Maja was also struggling.


    "Awakening of Thunder and Lightning, huh. This is tougher than I expected. Sigh... I might have a better chance of convincing the Grand Arcanist at home than to pass this test."


    Merlin Hermes, the 13 years old sessor of Skywalker Academy''s Headmaster was also frowning at this AOTL.


    Jared Faust III was also stressing out during this time as he was thinking that all his opponents had probably started learning the Spirit Forging Magic.


    It was the same for Tristan White but his mood wasn''t that depressing or sad. In his mind, he was still young and have lots of opportunities. He was also aware that the 18 years old magicians he waspeting against were all-powerful so he doesn''t feel so conflicted when he was stuck at learning the natural state of the breathing method. He didn''t waste any meal as every time that it was delivered, he''ll immediately eat them to avoid it from getting spoiled.


    After the second day of the examination, as they couldn''t find a way to reach the natural state in the remaining time, their train of thoughts had changed.


    "Maybe... the exam wasn''t toplete the weapon it was asking us. Maybe... we only need to learn as much as we can."


    "Hmm... What if the real test was our patience and how to handle the impossible situation?"


    "That''s right. Sir ine must be fully aware that we can''t aplish this. This must be his secret test for us."


    "Anyway, I shouldn''t be the only one experiencing this problem. Everyone might be in the same situation. If that was the case, then the one who will be eliminated would be the one with lesser progress."


    As they were backed into the corner. Their thoughts trained to were it was convenient.

 Chapter 165 - Artifact Forging

    Wace wasn''t aware of the train of thoughts of those other examinees.


    He was focused on learning the forging method and finding a way toplete the task.


    The first spell that he imprinted on his Mana Body was the Spirit me. After all, it is the core of the magic.


    He recalled the information to pass thisst examination.


    Based on the instructions included in the memory crystal, once the Mana Arrays within this room detected that he imprinted the ''Weapon Artifact Forge'' spell on his Mana Body, the materials to forge a simple knife will be sent here. After that, he needs to use whatever he has learned to forge those materials using the new method. Also, the knife must possess Spirit Channelling to consider it as a 6th gen mana artifact and pass the test.


    ''Then... I can probably skip the other spells. Let''s see... Three more spells should be enough. Living Furnace''s Touch, Spirit Channelling, and Weapon Artifact Forge should do it.'' Wace thought after making some considerations.


    In the meantime, Material Appraisal can be reced by his Ne''s exclusive skill, Glimpse of the Mind. For the Mage Cover spell, its purpose was to protect him from harmful materials, he''ll just do his best to protect himself without this spell in case there really was a need.


    As for the Soul Imprinting spell, it wasn''t required this time so he could skip it for now. The Living Furnace''s Breath on the other hand can only be learned after mastering the Living Furnace''s Touch, so there was no point in learning it''s magic form for now.


    "Alright... there''s no time to hesitate. I can only move forward."


    He immediately started to control his internal Mana to simte the magic form he learned in the memory crystal. The process was simr to the Artifact Forging step where the magic structure crystal was being ced to a material to act as the core or brain of the Mana Artifact. But instead of cing the magic form into a material, it was being imprinted to their Mana Bodies.


    The process was slow and requires full concentration. During this imprinting process, the AOTL breathing method must be continuous and can''t be interrupted. Apparently, it was this breathing method that makes the magic form stay within the Mana Body, and without this, the form would just immediately vanish or dissolve like normal mana. Of course, the spells imprinted won''t be permanent on his Mana Body as well.


    Wace couldn''t think of anything else after he started another round of imprinting process.


    He wasn''t aware of how many hours had passed and only stopped after hepleted the imprinting of the fourth andst spell.


    "How much time had passed this time? Avalon, how many hours left?" Wace asked after confirming that the fourth spell was imprinted sessfully.


    Since they were underground, he doesn''t have a concept of time and only relies on Avalon. Although he have pocketwatch with him, it''s more convenient to ask it.


    [ 47 minutes left. ]


    "Guh! It''s almost time?!"


    Wace immediately looked at the floating sphere beside him, he was about to ask if it was serious but remembered that it''s an A.I. and it wouldn''t tell a joke at times like this.


    "Let''s try this then..." Wace can only begin forging the artifact.


    He looked at the materials that have suddenly appeared from a secretpartment of the desk.


    The drawer just suddenly opened and within were neatly ced materials for the knife he had to forge.


    ''Glimpse!''


    Wace thought after pouring Mana to his ne.


    [ Daedric Steel - Ten times stronger alloy of standard steel. It has mysterious energy. ]


    [ Ebony Wood - Sturdy yet springy wood. It has an extremely high cold resistance and corrosion resistance. The wood will continuously emit heat unless it was isted from Mana. It has mysterious energy. ]


    The Daedric Steel was just a lump of metal at the moment while the Ebony Wood was a piece of log. Thetter seems to be used for the handle of the knife that he was about to make.


    ''Continuous heat... A mysterious energy, huh.''


    After pondering for a bit, Wace started to feel his Spirit mes. Anyway, the materials provided were enough for 3 sets, so it would be fine to fail 2 times but he had to hurry.


    This first attempt would be his method to feel out all the skills so it wouldn''t hurt even if he failed.


    The Spirit mes appeared on his two hands, it was blue in color as it dances beautifully on his palms.


    ''This feeling is a bit weird.''


    Wacemented after using it. The Spirit mes feels so differentpared to the standard magic spells being cast through Mana Artifacts and the formless Mana he normally controls.


    After he got used to the Spirit mes, with Wace''s fine control, the two materials started to float. This time, he activated his Living Furnace''s Touch as he molded the materials to his envisioned item.


    It wasn''t hot in the room due to the Mana Arrays stabilizing the temperature but drops of sweat can be seening from Wace''s body.


    ng!


    The Daedric Steel dropped on the floor as it caused some noises. For the Ebony Wood, it was caught by his foot.


    He failed to mold the material.


    "I envisioned it correctly, but using the Living Furnace''s Touch spell is really causing a problem."


    Wace grumbled upon noticing the difficulty of controlling the spell since after touching it and molding a bit, he had also used Weapon Artifact Forge spell to seal the deal but it wasn''t working. It was causing conflict in his mind as he was multitasking. It was very difficult.


    He stopped for a moment after failing once. He can''t just repeat the same process. He had to do something different on the second try.


    He contemted for a while as he realized his weakness.


    "Multitasking is tough. If only my brain capacity was better than now... oh."


    During the critical part of the forging process where he had to refine the steel and wood to make the knife form, his brain had to process a lot of things and he couldn''t take all of it so he could only fail.


    As a magician, their mental capacity was already high abovepared to non-magicians. Unfortunately, the difficulty of the process seems to be set too high even for him unless his senses were further improved from his current capacity.


    Wace could only pull out his pocketwatch this time.


    ''Well, he said that we can use whatever trump card we have.''


    He checked it''s details before activating the artifact reward by the Pathfinder. He never really nned to use it at first as he wanted to save it in case of an emergency or something like life and death matter but he had no other choice at the moment.


    [ Fervor Timepiece ]


    A pocketwatch containing mysterious energy.


    Effects: Protects the user from the magic that affects the human mind.


    Skills:


    Brain Burst -Allows the user to elerate brainwaves for 15 seconds.


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Physical Burst - Allows the user to elerate physical activity for 15 seconds.


    Cooldown: 24 hours


    Dual Burst - Allows the user to elerate both brainwaves and physical activity at the same time for 10 seconds.


    Cooldown: 48 hours ]


    [ Due to the manner that the mission waspleted before, the user still has 2 usages left for Dual Burst which can be used without affecting the cooldown. ]


    Wace started again with the second set of materials, the previous materials had been corroded by his Spirit mes, although he could still use the materials since it hadn''tpleted its form, it would still take an hour for the corrosion to be removed naturally.


    ''Mhm... I must aim to seed in this second attempt.''


    [ 24 minutes left. ]


    "Don''t remind me of the time until 1 minute was left."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    He couldn''t be disturbed during this 2nd attempt.


    A few moments passed and he was already on the part where he failed the first time.


    But as soon as he reached this part, he activated the Dual Burst, it would onlyst for 10 seconds but it was more than enough.


    The world slowed down and he could clearly see the minute changes of the two materials in his hands.


    He carefully molded them and realized that the materials have a very tiny foreign energy within causing chaos during the forming process. The energy was purple in color and it doesn''t seem to be harmful to people. Its effects seem to only affect materials. Wace then realized something.


    ''Right! Is this the mysterious energy? Did they ce this? Didn''t they want anyone to pass the examination?''


    Wace thought quickly. He was amazed that Sir ine or Clyne would still ce this hurdle to them. His Divine Sense was not able to detect this minuscule energy before, so it was a bit tricky.


    For now, since he was still in the dual burst mode, he carefully isted the foreign energy and ced it outside his Spirit mes. It then dissipated like it was never there.


    ''Sess!''


    Not only was the foreign energy causing problem has been resolved but also the knife form itself.


    Only onest step was remaining, Spirit Channelling.


    He took a deep breath and started to apply the magic spell to his knife.


    [ 1 minute left. ] Avalon reminded but it doesn''t matter now.


    "Done!"


    Wacepleted his very first 6th generation Mana Artifact.

 Chapter 166 - Evaluation

    "Huuu~"


    Wace wiped the sweat trickling down on his forehead after confirming that he sessfullypleted the task.


    It seems that the Mana Array within the room had also detected the finished product that he made using the new forging method as another secretpartment opened from the desk near the bed.


    The inside of the drawer this time was simr to an Artifact Forging Box but its functions seem to be quite different.


    "Oh... Should I ce the knife here?"


    [ Thispartment is simr to Item Scanner Artifact. It will help in appraising your creation. Due to its size, only small objects can be appraised. ]


    This was answered by Avalon, the floating sphere beside him.


    Wace was satisfied with it''s answer and thought of something else.


    ''Great... It can easily identify Mana Artifacts now. Once the Simtion Pods were fully released, it can learn more. Hehe...''


    While Wace was lost in his thoughts as he imagined the future of Avalon, the scannerpleted the appraisal on his creation.


    [ Light Daedric Knife - A simple but extremely sharp knife made of Pure Daedric Steel and Purified Ebony Wood. It can barely be considered as a Sixth Generation Mana Artifact as per Cloud Hawks Manor''s standard.


    Effects:


    - High Cold Resistance - this will take effect when the knife was gripped.


    - Reform - due to Spirit Channelling, the knife can reform to its original state by itself even if it was destroyed or damaged given enough time.


    Quality:


    - Rank C - Low-Grade Sixth Gen Artifact.


    Bounded to Wace Ravencroft. ]


    "Mhm... Not bad." Wace evaluated his own creation. He was referring to the "bounded" effect that was included in the status of the weapon. Based on the information that was in the memory crystal, this means that its effects would only work if it is being used by him.


    For the Reform effect, as long as the parts of the weapon were still present, it can still be repaired. But if it was destroyed to the point of leaving nothing behind, then the Reform will not take effect.


    "I wonder if everyone finished the task... but if that was the case, we might be graded depending on our duration... That may not be favorable to me. I just barely finished it at thest minute."


    Wace heard a knock on the door. It was Clyne Troyard calling them outside.


    He stood up and was about to take the knife with him but thepartment suddenly closed.


    "Oh... Maybe they still need to grade it personally?" Wace thought upon seeing that he can''t open thepartment without using stronger force.


    He walked outside and met with Clyne. The others hadn''t been called out yet as it seems.


    "Your room signaled us that you finished the task at thest minute. Congrattions." Clyne said smilingly after seeing Wace.


    "Thank you..." Wace smiled as he appreciated Clyne''s words.


    "Mhm... I will still call the others, wait here."


    He then proceeded to fetch the other examinees.


    ''He didn''t look for the artifact I made. I guess it was really supposed to be on thepartment then.''


    Wace thought for a moment but after seeing the other five that was beaming with confidence, he felt a bit worried about the result.


    ''Did they finished it earlier than me? Let''s just hope that there''s someone who failed or at least has a poor quality of weapon.''


    This thought only appeared in his mind and not to be taken too seriously. He wasn''t that petty to hope others to fail, just only a little bit. After all, he was still a young andpetitive teen.


    Wace saw that Merlin Hermes has a bit of a smug look on his face.


    ''Well, it seems that this kidpleted the task easily. He doesn''t look stressed or tired at all. I hope he''ll be eliminated.'' Wace thought but again changed his mind.


    ''No. I can''t be like this. If he really possesses superior talent... then I guess he can be smug about it.''


    Wace looked at the others who were also looking good after getting out of the room.


    Although Ren Tao has a stoic expression as always, this time, he couldn''t hide the satisfaction showing on his eyes.


    Tristan White who was supposedly only here for experience always had a happy expression on his face so it seems that nothing had gone wrong in his examination.


    Rhine Wimbledon and Jared Faust III were also in a good mood as they greeted Clyne Troyard as if they will be part of the Cloud Hawk Manor after the results came out. Wace even heard "I''ll be in your care, senior" on their words as they speak to the butler.


    ''Isn''t that a bit too early?'' Wace''s mouth twitched upon hearing them.


    Anyway, the five look satisfied with their gains inside the room.


    ''Am I really the only one worried here? Sigh~ I still need to learn, huh.''


    "Alright, we''ll meet at the office above. You guys can take rest for half an hour as we''ll double-check all your aplishments." As soon as Clyne said this, one of the servants at the manor came to lead them out.


    The six followed as they were brought to their previous rooms. They all took a fresh bath as they rxed their bodies after the three full days of examination. Although they were satisfied with their performance, they didn''t have the mood to talk to each other. They felt that it''s unnecessary for the meantime.


    Half an hour had passed and they were brought to a hall where ine Allusia was standing and waiting for them. Clyne can also be seen standing behind ine''s right hand.


    They immediately bowed and greeted the Grand Arcanist with respect. They may be his master after a few moments so they have to watch their attitude.


    "Mhm. Any moments by now and your memories about the new forging method and AOTL will be forgotten." ine announced after facing the six young magicians.


    The examinees had almost forgotten about this problem. They were aware that they must consume another type of memory crystal from this manor to retain those memories. They were all hoping to receive them. Those memories were precious.


    "For now, Clyne will evaluate your results."


    Clyne steps forward holding a small notebook as he prepared to announce the results. He prepared to have this paper notebook rather than using an electronic device to save his notes.


    He turned the page and soon started to evaluate each of them.


    "Tristan White, you sessfullyprehended the "Perfect" state of the breathing method of Awakening of Thunder and Lightning within 2 days and reached the "Natural" state at thest minute of the examination."


    As soon as Clyne announced this, the other examinees except Wace were surprised upon hearing this.


    Wace didn''t miss their shocked expression. After all, he was also shocked upon hearing this but his state of mind was stronger so he immediately surveyed the others to feel out their progress.


    ''I see, they were also shocked by his slow progress.'' Wace thought quickly but he realized that it was only normal since Tristan was only here to have an experience.


    ''I guess, I have a guaranteed slot now.''


    ine requires 5 apprentices and there''s only 6 of them here. Tristan''s low progress means a chance for him.


    "Ren Tao, you managed to reach the "Perfect" state of the breathing method and using your own secrets, you managed to find a way to start imprinting the spells to your Mana Body but you didn''t have enough time to finish even a single spell. After all, without reaching the Natural state, although you''ve found a loophole, it would still take a lot of your time." Wace couldn''t help but raise his brows upon hearing this. He can clearly see Ren Tao''s smirking and satisfied look.


    "Jared Faust the 3rd, just like Tristan, you reached the Natural state of the breathing method almost at the end of the exam. It was five minutes before the deadline. You were a few minutes earlier than Tristan."


    Wace, while still stunned on what he heard from Clyne, saw Jared''s conceited look. Well, he is an 18 years old magician and he has beaten a 13-year-oldpetitor. He probably felt good about that.


    "Rhine Wimbledon, on the second day of the examination, you already learned the Natural State but you had troubles in your Mana Body. You probably needed more time to get used on the imprinting process of magic forms."


    "Merlin Hermes, you reached Master state on the first day, Perfect state on the second day and Natural state on thest day. You had stable progress and had an hour more to start studying the new forging method but you didn''t attempt to apply it. Well, only 60 minutes were left so I can somehow understand." Clyne said as he turned to thest page of his notes.


    He paused for a moment and announced to everyone.


    Jared and Merlin were still feeling better but they heard Clyne''s announcement.


    "Wace Ravencroft, you learned the Natural state within a day. Learned the new forging method within the remaining days andpleted the Sixth Generation Mana Artifact at the veryst minute of the examination."


    Finally, Clyne dered.


    "For the result of this apprenticeship examination, only Wace will be epted as an apprentice of Sir ine. Thank you foring."

 Chapter 167 - Apprentice

    "T-thank you foring?"


    Merlin repeated as if unable to believe what he just heard from Clyne.


    They couldn''tprehend how did it end like this. First of all, how did Wace managed to reach the Natural state of the breathing method in just a day and even created a Sixth Gen Mana Artifact in the remaining time?


    They nced towards the silent Wace as if to look into his secrets.


    ''Was he aware of the breathing method even before the start of thepetition?''


    ''Maybe he had something simr?... No, Secret Arts isn''t something that can be found without an Arcanist or Grand Arcanist backing them.''


    ''Wait, this guy also didn''t have a rmendation from an Arcane Artificer registered in Congress. He was probably like me who wanted to climb up the ranks through his own efforts. He probably has a prominent background I''m not aware of.''


    ''Sigh~ It seems that the Grand Arcanist was serious to have an apprentice capable ofpleting the task. But that was too tough, they should make some considerations. I can''t imagine that others would be capable of finishing the task. This Wace is just a deviant.''


    After calming their minds, Merlin asked Clyne while gritting his teeth.


    "Excuse me, but based on what you''ve previously said, you needed to find five apprentices, right?"


    It was followed by Jared''s pleading voice. They don''t have time to think about how Wace managed to finish the test. Their memories about the new forging method and AOTL were about to fade away.


    "Mhm... That''s right, you still haven''t reached the quota. Would you consider testing us differently? I believe that we have a chance if we were tested in a different manner."


    A few moments of silence passed as they stared at the Grand Arcanist waiting for his final verdict.


    But the butler spoke first...


    "That''s true. I also believed that all the top unaffiliated 13-18 years old magician of the country were all present here. So it would be tough looking for another good seedling." Clyne looked at ine Allusia hinting that the Grand Arcanist now have the chance to clear things up.


    ine''s eyes lit up and speak.


    ***


    Half an hour ago after Clyne collected the Progress Indicator Crystals within the rooms of the examinees.


    He together with ine evaluated their results.


    Clyne actually kept silent about Wace''s progress to surprise the Grand Arcanist.


    "They should''ve learned the Natural state at the very least, correct?" ine asks after Clyne ced the six indicator crystals on the table.


    They were currently in ine''s study room where the Grand Arcanist frequently stayed at. He was sipping a cup of tea at the time Clyne arrived.


    "Yes, all of them learned the breathing method at Natural state." Clyne replied.


    He was aware of it even though he didn''t ask the six and only met them briefly. After all, he felt the same aura from the current four apprentices of the Grand Arcanist. He was very familiar to the AOTL''s breathing method although he hadn''t fully learned it yet.


    "Mhm..." ine nodded since this indicates that the six were truly talented. It was to be expected to reach this stage.


    "Now, let''s see their progress..."


    ine said and just like that, they checked each content of the crystals. He was actually satisfied with the first five examinees and felt that they already qualified to be his apprentices. Only Wace''s Progress Indicator Crystal was left.


    "They were much better than rk and Farah when they started to be my apprentice." inemented remembering his current 3rd and 4th apprentice.


    "For you to praise them like that, they must be really talented." Clyne nodded as a realization came to him. The two apprentices that Clyne mentioned were recruited in a special way and not from this kind of open examination. But one thing is for sure, ine will not ept average talents. Their overall potential rating must reach 85 or even higher. This meant that Rhine, Jared, Merlin, Tristan, and Ren''s talent weren''t easily found.


    ''Then what about Wace''s talent? Is itparable to Miss Lacus Minerva?'' Clyne thought for a moment as he waited for ine to check thest crystal.


    ine ced his hands and a link or connection from the indicator crystal to the Grand Arcanist urred. There, he learned Wace''s progress.


    Although, he couldn''t see real visual events about what was Wace doing during the three days, he noticed from the information how the young magician had failed multiple times in practicing the breathing method but suddenly increased his progress and reached a natural state.


    Clyne and ine had also noticed something even more surprising from the recorded information.


    ''Wace''s mana seems to be too pure based on the information. How pure was it? He possesses Mana Body, then it should be the same 93% purity.'' This is what Clyne thought but ine seems to be lost in his thought. He didn''t disturb his master.


    The Grand Arcanist wasn''t saying any more words as they validated all the information. His eyes were also showing amazement about Wace''s decisive action and attitude inpleting the task.


    He ignored other spells included in the new forging method and only used the appropriate spells.


    ''But how did he manage to remove that energy in the materials? Haaa~ Sir ine''s recruit this time seems to be very interesting...'' Clyne had this sudden thought upon realizing just how talented this Wace was.


    This time, ine''s mouth twitched after Clyne brought out the knife that Wace made.


    "This guy... just what kind of talent is this. His very suitable to be my--" ine stopped as he realized that it''s not appropriate. "No, he''s too young. Sigh~"


    Everyone was aware that this Grand Arcanist ns to visit the northern continent after teaching his new five apprentices. But he couldn''t go there alone and needed some powerful guards and assistants or retainers.


    That''s right, this third examination was meant for retainers. He needed some capable and talented retainers and normally, their age was about 30-40 years of old. They must be Arcane Artificers at that age.


    Their aim for thisst exam for apprenticeship was only for them to learn the breathing method and for them to have a nce at the new forging method so they could have a hopeful dream to be stronger than their current self.


    But they were surprised by this result.


    "He really did it, huh. This man doesn''t even have his official license yet." ine said while holding the Light Daedric Knife. He closed his eyes and again, his mouth twitched upon confirming something.


    ''Is this 95% or 96%? It shouldn''t be higher than that.'' ine scratched his head upon realizing this.


    ''It looks like this child''s situation wasn''t simple. Wace Ravencroft, huh... Eh? is it that Ravencroft?''


    "Clyne, this guy is a descendant of the Ravencroft n?"


    "Yes, master. I''ve confirmed all their background..." Clyne paused for a bit before continuing. "...and Wace''s mother was from Mavis n."


    ine was surprised upon hearing this. Luckily, he wasn''t sipping a cup of tea.


    ''What a troublesome situation.'' ine remembered that two n''s problematic situation even for him as a Grand Arcanist.


    "But don''t worry, Sir ine. Wace''s family wasn''t caught by the n''s stigma. Their family was isted in a small town in Star Region."


    "Hmm... That''s good to hear."


    After pondering for a while, he decided.


    "Very well. Looking at this result, only Wace passed as the task given was to produce this knife. It would''ve been easier to ept five apprentices if all of them failed..."


    It would tarnish his reputation if he epted the other four when none of thempleted the task. Also, this Wace might feel that it would be too unfair for him since he perfectly finished the examination.


    After thinking about it, they could only adjust.


    "How about this..." Clyne made a suggestion.


    ***


    "Mhm... I understand. How about this, the five of you will be students in this Cloud Hawk Manor to better your skills. I''ll give you a week and Clyne will retest your skills at the time."


    As soon as ine was done speaking, the others except Tristan thanked the Grand Arcanist.


    Some of them were confused about seeing Tristan''sck of gratitude.


    "Er... I''m also thankful for the offer. But I guess, I would give up at this point." Tristan politely announced.


    He then further exined how he just really wanted to gain experience and his father was not aware that he was present here.


    Wace doubted that. ''His father must be fully aware but he just didn''t find it necessary to stop you.''


    They were all thinking the same as they remembered Tristan''s background.


    Soon, the five of them except Tristan consumed another purple crystal to stop the memories of the AOTL and new forging method to fade away.


    They were then instructed to return to their rooms as they will meet again in the evening.


    As they were sent away, for now, Tristan approached Wace and he seemed to be nning to talk about something important.


    "Alright... I''ll just pack up my things and meet you in your room." Tristan said after Wace agreed to meet with himter.

 Chapter 168 - Benefits

    Wace returned to his room as the formal eptance of his apprenticeship would happen in the evening. It seems that it''s not as simple as ''you''re my apprentice now'' to receive the status of being one.


    They seem to be preparing something.


    Wace even heard from the servants that the apprentices must really be a single before epting this status as the Grand Arcanist''s Apprentice.


    ''Is it that important? Why would they not ept those that aren''t single?.'' Wace can only put this at the back of his mind. Anyway, this should be answered soon.


    He only had to wait for the evening toe.


    As Wace nned to have a chat with Avalon, he heard a knock on his door and as he opened, he saw the smiling Tristan.


    "Come in... So what would you like to talk about?" Wace said after letting him in.


    "Ah... Since I''ll be leaving the Manor, it may be difficult for us to meet in the future. Well, I have a Silver Membership card from our New Era''s Magic Shop, you can have this. There''s an auction about to happen two days from now. I just like to invite you there since there will be a lot of interesting and mysterious objects to be sold at the auction..." Tristan handed the card and trailed his voice as he tempted Wace.


    "Auction?" Wace was a bit confused by this sudden invitation. They only met a few times and couldn''t be called friends at all.


    "Yes. It would be on the 5th floor of the same shop where you saw me. There will be a lot of interesting things there."


    "Mhmm... But why would you invite me? You even gave me this Silver Membership Card. I heard that you have to spend at least 100 or 200 million credits at the magic shop before you can get this card."


    [ 300 million credits. I found records that other apprentices of ine Allusia also received free membership from the New Era''s Magic Shop. Lacus Minerva was noted to have received Gold Membership on the day she was appointed as an apprentice. ] rified by Avalon but only Wace could hear this.


    "Of course, you''re an apprentice of Sir ine so we can do this much."


    Tristan indeed replied matter of factly. His smile doesn''t look like from a thirteen years old kid but from a sly merchant.


    ''Right, if I remember correctly, this Lacus Minerva''s Mana Artifacts were being sold at their shop. It seems that the shop earns a lot due to Cloud Hawk Manor''s craftsmen, huh.''


    Wace could only guess that his status seems to be more convenient than what he had assumed before.


    Anyway, he wasn''t officially an apprentice yet since if that was the case, he should''ve received the reward from the Pathfinder due to the mission he got.


    Previously, Wace was only interested in bing an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist for the sake of his mission and level up his Void Phase but now, it seems to be going a bit more interesting for him.


    "Alright, I''ll ept. But too bad, I don''t have a lot of money with me. So even if there are some interesting things there, I can only watch them." He couldn''t help it. He spent almost all his money on his new factory and for the materials needed for his products. His new Simtion Pods wouldn''t be ready until a couple more weeks so he''s pocket wasn''t really in a good condition.


    "That''s a shame. You can borrow money from your master. He''s super rich."


    Wace smiled wryly upon hearing this.


    "No, I won''t do that. Anyway, that will be a good experience for me so I will attend the auction. Thank you for giving this to me." Wace had only tried an online auction before when he was still capable of connecting to the Dark Net of Gctic Federation. So aside from gaining experience, he wanted to see the event for himself and broaden his horizon about


    "Haha. Is that so? Then let''s meet at the auction. My sister would be there too. Here''s my contact."


    Tristan made sure to leave his details like a professional businessman before going out of the manor.


    ***


    "It''s time. Follow me."


    It was already seven in the evening when Clyne came to his room and brought him to meet the Grand Arcanist.


    Wace was now standing in front of a 5 meter tall and 3-meter wide door. The room was a bitrger than usual. At the same time, he was feeling a bit stuffy just by getting closer to the room. The ce was definitely protected by a higher level of magic.


    "Alright. I can''t enter the room. You can enter now since Sir ine was expecting you."


    Wace nodded and thanked the butler. He pushed open the wooden but tough-looking door and entered therge room.


    The first thing that he noticed within was the Mana Density which almost suffocated him at the first breath.


    The walls were made of an unknown metal. The room was dimly lit and had a vibe of mysteriousness.


    At the center end of the room, he could see ine Allusia''s frame but what was even more amazing was the thing behind him.


    Thud!


    The door closed and at the same time. Avalon warned him.


    [ We have lost connection to the mainframe. ]


    ''Tsk. This is bad.'' Wace immediately understands the situation. The room was isted with a different level of magic that he had never encountered before.


    Although losing Avalon''s connection to his main body won''t cause a problem in itsputing ability, his separated A.I. would take action.


    That''s right, it was programmed to investigate the ce where the connection to Wace was lost.


    It means that the A.I. will send either some automatons, drones or maybe the mech frame if necessary just to find out the problem. It will most likely try to hack any surveince cameras around. In short, it will be dangerous for him and for the city.


    Sigh~


    ''There''s nothing I can do at the moment... I must finish this ceremony as quickly as possible.''


    He couldn''t ask the Avalon some questions like how long will the other part of it take to send investigators as it would surely be noticed by the Grand Arcanist.


    "You look nervous. I''m not scary."


    ine noticed Wace''s expression had suddenly changed after seeing him.


    "Er... I was just surprised at that thing behind you."


    "Haha! I understand how you feel. I was also shocked seeing this for the first time." ine smiled understanding Wace''s current predicament.


    "May I ask what is that thing called?" Wace was curious about the design of the machine.


    "Mhmm... Excited, huh. This is rted to your apprenticeship. The requirements I ced were a bit harsh because it''s not easy to wield these things..."


    "These? So there''s more of this?" Wace just wanted to get more information about it.


    "Yes, all my apprentices have one but there''s a limited number of them."


    Wace was impressed after hearing ine''s answer. It seems that this world was doing good in technological advancement. This is an amazing discovery.


    The Grand Arcanist continued.


    "Alright, thest part you need to be recognized as my apprentice is this."


    ine already stood up beside therge humanoid metal disyed in the room and patted it.


    "This is called an ''Iron Knight''. my gift to you for being my apprentice. You just have to enter andplete the process."


    ine then threw a metal key to Wace. Thetter caught it and understood that it is needed to activate the thing. Wace even heard the notification of Pathfinder about thepletion of his mission. It was definitely his reward for getting a Master.


    He nced at the key he was holding. It seems that the key was the sign of him being an apprentice and this was recognized by the Pathfinder. He ignored the notification for now and focused on his front.


    "Yes... M-master." He was still not ustomed to it.


    Wace looked at the four-meter high humanoid mechanical suit. It resembles a small version of a Mech Frame.


    He and Avalon were sure that this thing had never appeared in public.


    ine smiled and exined the situation as Wace prepared to enter the mechanical suit.


    "Sixty. Our country only has sixty of these Iron Knights. I have acquired 10 of them. I n to give nine of it to my apprentices to continue my legacy."


    Wace was amazed upon hearing this. To acquire thatrge number from the very limited supply tells a lot about the influence of his master.


    "Are we unable to reproduce them?"


    ine shook his head to answer Wace''s question and stayed silent for a while before exining further.


    "We can''t. The blueprint of this Arcane Technology was found in the northern continent and the most important heart or core of these Iron Knights was discovered alongside the blueprint. We have no way to reproduce them. You''ll know a lot more once you activated it. Have a look." ine finally said as he waited for Wace to check the machine.

 Chapter 169 - Master And Apprentice

    ''Arcane Technology? Isn''t that the same as Lost Technology? So, they were aware of its real name... Anyway, this looks like a highly advanced product of science and technology for me rather than equipment made of magic.''


    Wace thought after hearing ine exining the origin of the machine. He had only learned that the Lost Technology that Aeolia was also curious about was called Arcane Technology because of the Pathfinder''s reward.


    He has this Optical Phenomena Maniption technology that was still not being used. Of course, he already had some ns for it but it''s not yet necessary at this point. He was first trying to aplish all the immediate goals he needed to step forward in his main n.


    He was tempted to send out his Divine Sense but he won''t be able to exin how did he learn the Soul Art if ever his master felt it and asked him about it.


    For now, he can only trust his master and see for himself. ine then told him how to use the key to open up the machine.


    At the back of the Iron Knight wasn''t a keyhole as he expected. He had toy t the metal key instead and a form of connection would activate to open it up.


    This time, as soon as Wace entered the cockpit, he found the keyhole to activate the Iron Knight. He inserted the key and the cockpit lit up with blue lights.


    [ Celestial Army - Iron Knights Brigade ]


    It was the words he saw at the screen before he felt something simr to the quantum brainwaves control system that the Mech Frames have. But this time, the feeling was painful.


    He then heard ine speak from the outside.


    "It''s synchronizing... This will be yours if you reached at least 70% sync. But don''t worry, with all the tests that you had, I''m sure that it will be easy to pass that number. Right, based on all the tests we had, the synchronizing process only failed to those that aren''t single. Well, at least 99% of the time."


    ''Guh! Is that the reason why you only ept singles.'' He couldn''t help but think about it even if he was in pain. This Arcane Technology seems to have the weirdest requirements.


    "Yes, that''s the main reason, I suppose..." ine said as if he was hearing Wace''s thoughts.


    ''W-wait... Although Master ine looks like a middle-aged man, he was someone who had joined the northern continent expedition. Does it mean that...'' He remembered that there''s 10 of these and nine will be given to his apprentices. The tenth must be for him, right?


    Wace stopped himself from his random thoughts. Anyway, he could no longer reply to ine as he tried to fight against the pain that he was experiencing. It should be as painful as ine''s pressure test during the second examination. But this time, he can''t escape the pain by connecting to his dimensional storage space. He had to experience this so as to reach the synchronization rate he was looking for.


    It took five long minutes toplete the process.


    [ 90% Synchronization Rate ] Showed in front of Wace. This time, he felt like the machine was a part of him and could easily operate it. This is almost the same feeling when he was piloting a Mech Frame in his previous life.


    ''Impressive. This is at least better than my Amplified Assault Armor but...'' Wace''s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden question from his Master.


    "How many percent was it?" ine asked after noticing that the synchronization process waspleted. Wace even made some simple movements in its arms and legs to feel out his controls.


    Anyway, the pain of synchronization disappeared as soon as it waspleted. He then took a deep breath before answering.


    "Ny percent, as it says."


    "That high? It''s impressive."


    "Er... What was the ratepared to others, Master ine?"


    "You have four seniors. Farah Carlos, my fourth apprentice had 74%. rk Gates, my third apprentice had 75%. L, my second apprentice had 85%st year when he was tested. Lacus Minerva had 89%. Thetter two had reached more than 80% rates because of their superior-ss body modifications. But based on our records, you didn''t have any..."


    ''Crap!'' is what Wace immediately thought. He didn''t have time to ask why his second apprentice only have a single letter as its name. Anyway, it was true that the Pathfinder''s potions for body strengthening had not been detected by their tests. He then heard ine continue his words.


    "Even Farah and rk had top-ss body modificationter on before they reached 80% sync rate..."


    "Er... Oh? Is that so... I''m working out a lot so maybe it helps."


    ''If working out would give that kind of results then thepanies creating serums, potions, and imnts for body modifications might close down.''


    ine didn''t point that out as all his apprentices have their own secrets. He doesn''t want to meddle with it as long as they''re doing their task as an apprentice and learn his legacy.


    "Alright,e out for now. That thing will be yours anyway. You''ll have a lot of time experimenting with that."


    Wace then left the cockpit but before that, he made some arrangements.


    "Avalon, investigate its program for me."


    His armguard, previously floating sphere with a red light acting as an eye, opened a smallpartment. A spider-like machine came out and connected to the internal system of the Iron Knight.


    The humanoid machine is an Arcane Technology thatbines science and magic. This will be a very good reference for the future.


    Wace thanked his Master ine and posed a question.


    "What''s my task as an apprentice, Master?"


    "Mhm... Some menial tasks will be exined by Clyne Troyard. He will alsoter give you another modified memory crystal. My aim was for all my apprentices to learn Awakening of Thunder and Lightning to its peak. Once you consumed the crystal, you must reach the 2nd level - Natural state of the AOTL before you can take out this Iron Knight. There''s no time limit."


    "Second level?"


    "Mhm... Breathing Technique was the first level and Lightning Break was second... Right, another gift I can give is that you can ask me two questions you have in mind, I''ll answer it to the best of my ability. I just wanted to remind you that any questions rted to secrets arts, soul arts, spirit arts, and other rted questions to your profession can be answered by the memory crystal you''ll consumeter."


    Wace nodded after hearing it.


    "Only two questions? Can I save it for now?"


    "Yes, only two questions, it''s the same for your seniors, and no, I''ll be leaving soon and meet with some others who''ll be joining me in my visit at the northern continent."


    Wace thought for a while, there''s nothing that he can do about it. He knows that this is a precious chance so he carefully thought through it.


    "I found records that some people rted to the Skywalker Academy in this capital had attempted space exploration but there were no results from it. I want to learn what happened."


    ine was a bit caught off guard by this question. It''s way different from his first apprentices where they ask about methods for their self-improvements, methods to reach Arcanist, methods to discover Arcana, or even ask for material things.


    He went silent for a while before taking a deep breath.


    "Alright, but instead of me telling you, I will ask Clyne to bring you the documents about it."


    "Really? Thank you so much, Master!"


    "Mhm... Next question."


    It looks like Wace was thinking for a while about his question but in truth, he was waiting for Avalon toplete its hack at the Iron Knight''s system.


    Unfortunately, Avalon seems to be stuck at a 29%pletion rate so he decided that it was enough.


    "I would like to ask what''s the most interesting fact or thing within the northern continent..."


    ine smiled after hearing it and looked deeply at Wace finding this new apprentice very interesting.


    "Haha! What a good question... Only the 24 survivors of the firstrge expedition were aware of this so you have to keep this a secret. Anyway, I''m sure that the others had somehow informed their trusted aides about this but we have to keep this knowledge to a minimum. Right, not even my first apprentice is aware of this so listen..."


    Wace couldn''t help but gulp at this moment.


    "...the most interesting thing I can say within the northern continent was the existence of the Celestial Beings."


    "Celestial Beings?"


    ***


    After Wace came out of the well-protected room. Clyne brought him to his new and luxurious room and gave a box containing some items that would allow him to be recognized as Sir ine''s apprentice.


    Wace then asked Clyne to rify some things about him working as an apprentice of Sir ine, he needed to learn what should he do and what he should not. Luckily, as the rumor says, being his apprentice wasxer than the others.


    As for the Iron Knight, although he can''t take it out yet, as long as he has the metal key, no one can operate it.


    In the meantime, he made a ne out of the key so he can keep it safe. He doesn''t want to ce it in his dimensional storage just in case it was suddenly asked to be taken out by his master.


    As he rested in his room, he noticed some notification on his mobile device from Tristan reminding him about the auction. After replying to him, he asked Avalon about the ident a while ago.


    "So, what happened after we lost connection to the mainframe?"

 Chapter 170 - Strength

    Avalon, in the form of armguard, separated from Wace and turned itself to a floating metal ball with red light like an eye as it made its report.


    [ 1 minute after losing the connection to the mainframe, Avalon Main immediately traced ourst location.


    8 minutes: Itpleted the investigation about the strength of Cloud Hawk Manor.


    Results of Investigation:


    Battle Mage: 30


    Adept Mage: 10


    Mana Pulse Barrier (Modified): 5


    Heavy Auto Turrets: 20


    Minigun Turrets: 25


    Rocket Turrets: 10


    Elemental Turrets: 10


    10 minutes: Electronic and wirelessmunicationing in and out of the manor were fully controlled.


    11 minutes: Five Elysiums bringing untested Positron ster Gun were prepared to sortie.


    13 minutes: Hacking of all Automated Turrets at a 19%pletion rate.


    14 minutes: Reconnection to the mainframe was established. ]


    ''''Only 14 minutes had passed, huh... You''re very efficient, Avalon." Wace was satisfied with the quick action of the artificial intelligence. Luckily, after he went out of that room, Avalon immediately halted it''srescue operation.


    [ Avalon wasn''t only made for information control and guide but can be used as a battle adviser and life-support for its user. ]


    "Mhm... I know that much. Thank you."


    Wace smiled as he replied. Although Avalon doesn''t have emotion and could only follow instructions, it is capable of holding a conversation and he wanted to treat his A.I. as a friend. After all, it''s one of the important things he has that connects him to his previous life and the outer space.


    After reaching this thought, he opened the box given by Clyne containing materials rted to his apprenticeship.


    There, he found stacked printed documents and things. He picked up the papers and read the title.


    "Flyby Space Mission?" It was a new word for Wace so he asked Avalon to exin it to him.


    "Urgh... I thought that they''ve already advanced more than this. But thinking about it, this should be normal at this stage."


    As Avalon exined, space mission had four different stages, it was called flyby at the first stage, orbiter at the second stage, rover, and human space exploration for the third and fourth stage.


    The documents were as thick as four books so he used the A.I.''s scanner to have a softcopy instead and have Avalon review it for him. Of course, he was still nning to read it for himself. Anyway, he was also instructed by Clyne to destroy this copy once he finished reading it.


    Wace spend an hour to review the document and learned a lot.


    The space mission was spearheaded indeed by Skywalker Alliance and spent a huge sum or money to sessfully build a small spacecraft.


    A flyby space mission is where a spacecraft was being sent to outer space to gather information about the sr system. It passes by a celestial object but isn''t held in orbit by it. As the spacecraft passes by, it uses its instruments to observe its target and it sends the information it collects back to this. So, this is like a private eye zooming past a house to take a few pictures to scope out the ce they''re going to spy onter in more detail. But this spacecraft doesn''t stop, nor does it circle around; it just keeps going past the target.


    They called the spacecraft Pioneer 100 and Wace read the document as he learned their struggle of getting out of the stratosphere. They spent a huge amount of power to break through an invisible force that was covering the. It seems that there''s a natural force prohibiting them tomence space exploration.


    This made Wace confuse as there seems to be no problem in descending to this. At the very least, the problem that he encountered before was that no one was answering themunication signals he was sending to this world. And it seems that this was also the problem of Pioneer 100.


    Wace kept himself from going deeper into this topic for now as it would be managed by Avalon anyway. He just had to slowly build his foundation and he''ll get there soon.


    After putting aside the document and burned by the floating metal ball after copying everything, he checked the other contents of the box.


    A silver emblem depicting a flying hawk above the clouds was included as a token of his identity. There''s also a single purple memory crystal in a ss bottle. It doesn''t have any introduction whatsoever but ine already hinted him about its content a while ago before he asked his two questions to him.


    There''s also a blue apprentice robe for him andstly, a silver card.


    He checked the card and written on it was his name and string of numbers embedded with magic. It is connected to a bank.


    He wasn''t sure if it was empty or if there''s an amount inside so he just left it for now.


    There''s nothing else that he can do tonight as he would normally busy himself in his workshop during this time. But because he was out of his workshop, he was feeling a bit restless.


    He can only try to practice the Lightning Break before he falls asleep in exhaustion.


    ***


    As the morning came, he confirmed that he was truly free to do whatever he wanted as long as he will continue to learn the Lightning Break so he can take out his Iron Knight and follow his Master''s principles.


    Although there''s no time limit, it would be best to put a good use at the Iron Knight so he was nning to learn the 2nd level of AOTL as soon as possible.


    For now, he found the head butler and chatted with him a bit.


    "Clyne, where is Master ine?"


    "He already left to prepare for his expedition."


    "Mhm... So, you''ll manage this manor? Does he have a family?"


    "In the meantime, yes. But Ma''am Lacus would visit here to help the Manor on its operation. For his family, I haven''t heard of them."


    "I see. By the way, howe only senior Lacus had her name around the crafting industry. I mean, I haven''t found records of L, Farah, and rk registering their Mana Artifacts after they studied under Sir ine?"


    Wace had already consumed the purple memory crystal so he was aware just how helpful it is to one''s ability in crafting. He actually believed that anyone would benefit and improve themselves after consuming that crystal.


    "Mhm... I may not be correct but as I''ve understood, they were trying to perfect the AOTL first before putting their creations in public and getting their names famous. They have tons of money at the moment so they may not think it was necessary to have their creations be sold off to people."


    "I see. If ever they will create a mana artifact, they wanted to make sure they''ll create the best, huh. Right, Sir Clyne, I recalled that a qualification required for epting an apprentice was having knowledge in Holm''s Version of Artifact Forging Device. But there''s a new forging method, right? Why was it required?"


    "That? Well, it''s still important to learn how to use those kinds of devices. You can''t always depend on your Spirit Forging Magic to create some things, you''ll understand it soon if you repeatedly use that forging magic..."


    "I understand... Thank you for your time, sir Clyne."


    "Mhm... You can just call me Clyne, Sir Wace. Oh right, you will be a third-year student thising semester, correct?"


    "Yes, Clyne. Will there be a problem?"


    "No, not really. If you want, we can make arrangements to transfer you to an academy here in the capital. Are you interested?"


    Wace shook his head as he exined about his businesses to earn money.


    ***


    A couple of days had quickly passed as Wace came to the New Era''s Magic Shop at the southern part of Dolu City wearing normal clothes to join the auction. It doesn''t look like he''ll attend the auction at all.


    He was currently outside therge building and waiting for Tristan to pick him up.


    There''s a huge crowd outside the building as luxurious vehicles parked around the venue.


    It didn''t take long after he notified Tristan that he was waiting outside before he met with his group.


    Tristan was apanied by two Battle Mage bodyguards wearing ck suits together with his beautiful sister in a sleeveless red dress.


    "Vanessa White..." Wace murmured. Its been a while since he met thedy and she was as beautiful as always with her long ck hair that had grown a bit longer after a few months of not trimming it.


    The identity of the two siblings was not a secret to the public so the huge crowd outside waiting to get inside the building had easily noticed their presence.


    "Isn''t she the sole daughter of the Head of the White n?"


    "That girl is truly beautiful..."


    "She looks like an angel, I hope I could have a daughter like her."


    "Intelligent and sessful in her career even though she just graduated at the academy."


    "Who is that guy?"


    "Guh... Although he looks pretty, his clothes were pathetic."


    "Look at his face, he''s definitely thinking something inappropriate... Tsk!"


    Murmurs or buzzing noises can be heard as their group approached Wace.


    "We meet again. I heard you were now Sir ine''s fifth apprentice. Congrattions." Vanessa''s words weren''t loud but it was heard by almost everyone outside the building.

 Chapter 171 - Auction ( Part 1 )

    "Thank you. It''s been a while, senior."


    Wace greeted Vanessa in return.


    "I''m also here, you see?" Tristan said pointing his fingers to himself.


    "Haha... Of course, Tristan. Thank you for inviting me here."


    Vanessa and Tristan were very weing to him as they chatted for a moment. They then led Wace to a VIP entrance as they apanied him to the fifth floor of the building.


    Since the crowd was not able to hear their conversations, this made them create their own assumptions about Wace''s identity.


    "Did you see that? They escorted him!"


    "Yes... He doesn''t look that important at first nce."


    "Who was that guy? Anyone recognized him?"


    "He wasn''t even in presentable clothes."


    "He''s young, maybe he was Miss Vanessa''s ssmate?"


    "Mostly likely or maybe a rtive... Anyway, it shouldn''t be necessary to escort him like that unless he''s an important individual."


    After hearing this, they realized that although Wace wore simple clothes, it wasn''t to the point of looking like a poor or being out of ss. It just looks inappropriate as everyone attending the auction were businessmen, reputable individuals, representatives ofrgepanies, high-level magicians, and even some politicians. They normally wear business suits or anything that would make them appear professionals.


    After all, aside from bidding for the items in the auction, they might encounter the opportunity to meet those high ranking individuals and they need to make an impression. And as for this high ranking individuals, they have to take care of their image and keep their appearance presentable.


    But Wace doesn''t really care about all of these. His quality products or brand would speak for him.


    ***


    There''s still 10 minutes before the auction starts.


    Wace arrived at the fifth floor and noticed that the hall can amodate a thousand people. The auction hall seems tobine 5th to 7th floor making it wide and higher.


    There were around 50 small rooms probably for VIP as Wace surmised.


    "Right, Tristan gave you Silver Membership Card, you''re allowed to rent a small room if there''s a vacant but Tristan mentioned to your friends that you''ll be attending here as well. So they asked me to tell you to join them in their room if you''re interested."


    "Oh. my friends? Who were they?"


    "Tracy Guilford and Ross Schien. I met them in TMAC so I remember them."


    Vanessa smiled after answering to Wace. She then mentioned their room to Wace and excused herself. It seems that she had to meet someone. As the daughter of the White n''s Head, she was busy in this type of gathering of influential people. Meeting and escorting him here was already a huge show of hospitality. They seem to value him or his identity as ine Allusia''s apprentice.


    Tristan on the other hand whispered to Wace before leaving.


    "She''ll be meeting with Miss Lacus, they know each other. Hehe! Your senior apprentice is in room number 7. Be sure not to fight her in an item."


    "Why not?"


    "Because you have the same master and she''s your senior. You''ll also meet her frequently. It''s better for you to befriend her." Tristan chuckled before leaving together with his sister.


    Wace thought about it and it somehow made sense. Anyway, it''s not like he''ll be very interested in something to the point of outbidding his senior apprentice. First of all, she''ll definitely be richer than him. Then, he was also not looking for anything specific so something that would interest him would be difficult to find.


    His ns for strengthening his power, creating his envisioned machines and spreading knowledge to improve the world''s standard only requires time and resources.


    Attending this auction, learning about the mysteries of the northern continent, or even studying potion brewing was mostly due to his curiosity.


    He then looked for an usher to lead him to room number 27 where Tracy and Ross were in.


    He knocked on the door and was soon greeted by Ross Schien who was wearing formal attire.


    For someone bearing the name of Schien, he must appear respectable in every way. Especially Tracy who wore an elegant purple dress, a daughter of a business tycoon owning Guilford Tradings must be presentable on all types of asions.


    After getting in, he realized that the room wasn''t that smallpared to looking from the outside.


    The room can fit eight people without making the ce feel crowded. He also noticed that there''s also anotherdy around 25 years old behind Tracy. Her attire and bearing made Wace conclude that she''s a bodyguard.


    "Wace! I heard from Senior Vanessa''s little brother that you''ve been epted as an apprentice by Sir ine."


    "I should''ve been in the test as well but my uncle sent different magicians..." Ross paused as he remembered that it''s not appropriate to rant about his uncle right here. "Oh... Congrattions, by the way."


    "Haha... Thank you, I just got lucky. So you should''vepeted, huh. It would''ve been nice if you''re epted as well. How about you Tracy?"


    "Er... It''s not appropriate to join the Cloud Hawk Manor''s side right now. So my father didn''t allow me to participate."


    "The Manor''s side?"


    "Don''t mind it. You''ll learn soon about that Manor''s political standing in this country. Anyway, that''s not important for now. Do you have an eye to a specific item about to be auctioned?"


    "Well, if you say so... Right, I''m not even aware of the things that will be auctioned."


    The three ssmates chatted for a while and discussed their transfer to Skywalker Academy. This made Wace a bit emotional as he only had few friends at the academy. Now, two of them or three including Kazimir will be transferring out.


    After a few minutes had passed, it was now time to start the auction. The auctioneer came to the stage which caught everyone''s attention.


    "Wee to everyone attending this Special Auction. Thank you foring here even with short notice. I''m Sylvia Hazelrink and I will be presiding over the whole duration of the auction.


    "Before the auction begins, I''ll exin the rules of this auction for the sake of the new participants. There will be 50 items, each and every one of them are items of high rarity. Before a single item is auctioned off, the next item will not be released."


    Sylvia made sure to pause in her speech to make sure that everyone can follow.


    "Every item will have a base price, and the next bid will be no less than 1000 credits. Apart from that, to increase the excitement of this auction, each item will have a buyout price which is seven times or more of the base price."


    About half of the participants here were new to this, so murmurs from them can be heard. But Sylvia wasn''t finished yet.


    "In the entire process, everyone could choose to buy out the item. The blue sign is to raise the price, you can easily change the numbers to the amount you like to bid, but without changing it, your bid will automatically be considered as 1000 credits higher than the previous bid and for the white sign, it is used to buyout the item. Everyone please remember this."


    As she finished speaking, she didn''t care about the discussion of other participants and started the event.


    "Now for the first item."


    At the center of the stage, two helpers brought and unveiled a ss bottle containing blue liquid.


    "A perfected Cryptic Link Serum distributed by the Congress of Zairus Magician and made by the one and only Chester Cornfield. It was obtained through legal channels so you can rest assured. This serum can help those Magic Engineers or Battle Mages breakthrough without Arcane Baptism! A different powerparable to Arcane Link! More information about this can be found at the official website of the Congress. The base price is 7 million credits and buyout price is 49 million credits."


    "8 million!" Someone from the hall immediately bid after Sylvia announced the starting price.


    "9 million!"


    "9.5 million!"


    "9.6 million!"


    ...


    "12 million!"


    ...


    "16 million!"


    After reaching this number, everyone became more careful and started to weigh their choices. In the end, the serum was sold for 16.8 million credits.


    Within the room number 27, Tracy and Ross were discussing the serum.


    "So, it''s the first item to be sold, huh." Tracy muttered after seeing the Cryptic Link Serum. Although they have information about the items to be sold, they were not aware of the sequence.


    "Tracy, aren''t you interested in that?"


    "No, maybe my father has a use for it and not me. But this single bottle won''t do much. It''s only here probably to feel out the market."


    Wace was silent not because he doesn''t want to join the conversation but because he wasn''t aware of its details. He checked the official website and learned how precious these materials is. Unfortunately, there''s only one being sold.


    Sylvia revealed the second item.


    "Iplete Secret Arts: Resonance Palm. This is a technique where once it''s mastered, the user will be capable of inflicting internal damage through the palm.


    Mastering this can easily inflict damage to the brain of an opponent even by its touch. Unfortunately, only the second and third stage part of the Art is present. The first, fourth, and fifth were missing. But this can still be used as a reference. The base price is 10 million and the buyout price is 70 million."

 Chapter 172 - Auction ( Part 2 )

    The high price didn''t surprise anyone. Although it was an iplete version of a Secret Art, it''s value could not be denied.


    As a matter of fact, some were even more shocked that the directors of the New Era''s Magic Shop were willing to part with this rare technique. With their money and resources, they can surely maximize its content and be used as their own source of power.


    Wace who had learned the first stage of the Secret Art: AOTL and currently learning the second stage, Lightning Break, was even more tempted at this item. He knew just how valuable these Secret Arts are.


    "10.5 million!" The bidding war started.


    "10.9 million!"


    "11 million!"


    ...


    "Wace, are you going to bid? You look interested." Tracy asked after seeing Wace''s face.


    "Mhm... I''m quite interested but I only have a few million here. I''m more interested in the other item you mentioned a while ago." Wace replied referring to a specific item that was on the list. The two had informed Wace about the items to be auctioned when they learned that he wasn''t aware of the list.


    Only forty items were revealed to the public to attract customers and thest ten were kept in secret and only the VIPs like them were informed.


    Luckily, as part of being an apprentice to Sir ine, he received a significant amount of money. It was supposed to be used for acquiring materials, knowledge, and capital to practice the art of forging mana artifacts.


    After a couple more minutes, the Secret Arts was sold for 39.5 million credits. It was taken by a VIP in room number 19.


    "Now onto the third item." The auctioneer continued as a brown pearl with the size of an infant''s fist was revealed.


    "This is a Fairy Soul Bead. Anyone who practices Soul Arts or any techniques that require a stronger soul would benefit from this item! This item is consumable and you can ask some help from a Mage Doctor to make sure that you won''t waste this. The base price is 14 million and the buyout price is only 90 million credits!"


    "14.9 million!"


    "15 million!"


    "15.6 million!


    ...


    "25 million!"


    "30 million!"


    As soon as the base price was revealed, it didn''t take long for the participants in the lower floor to raise their bid and reach 30 million in a matter of seconds. No one in the VIP rooms hadpeted yet until the bid reached 50 million.


    It''s already a huge amount and with this money, you can already purchase top ss Mana Artifacts with grade A evaluation.


    Troy Webb''s Mana Artifact that was capable of releasing Heaven''s Treatment to curse the enemy and heal the allies was sold for a couple of times worth about 50 million credits. It may have only priced to 40 million if not for the limited number of the artifact being sold. Apparently, Troy, who was also the same magician who made the artifact, decided to just only sell 5 copies of it.


    As the bid reached 55 million,only two bidders remained fighting.


    It was the VIP room number 7 where Lacus Minerva was staying at and the other was in VIP room number 2.


    In the end, Lacus seems to be adamant about getting the item as she raised the bid to 70 million.


    "70 million, Going once, going twice, sold!" Congrattions number 7 for winning the third item." Sylvia was actually quite d to see this item that can normally be sold for about 30 million had suddenly reached more than twice the amount.


    A few more items were sold before Tracy and Ross joined the auction. Tracy was obviously the richest of the three at the moment. After all, backing her was a business tycoon. She was even the sole daughter at that.


    Tracy had purchased an automaton. The name was Sword Magnate II and it was a two-meter tall humanoidbat automaton. It seems that she got interested in these automatons after watching the internationalpetition. She said that she has been purchasing powerful automatons to be used as a reference for her own creation someday. She was dreaming of creating an automaton that could fight against several Adepts at once.


    Sword Magnate II was sold for 43 million from the base price of 9 million. The price of these auctioned items was truly expensive. Wace even remembered those several mana artifacts that the Veritas Group had sold to their Red Town Star. His mother ine had only used 100,000 credits and already imed a handful of mana artifacts.


    "Automatons isn''t really that expensive, the standard was only around 13-15 million credits. It''s just that this automaton was a bit special. The one who created this was a dual path practitioner, his name was Keith Mavis. That man was a licensed Arcane Artificer and Adept Mage at the same time. Since he practices both paths, he created his own style ofbat and called himself a Magic Swordsman. He made a special sword using his knowledge as an Artificer andpliment it to his identity as an Adept." Tracy exined after Wace asked her why would she go that far for this automaton. Ross then further exined seeing Wace was still a bit listless.


    "I heard about that story. This Magic Swordsman had learned a lot of swordsmanship style after traveling around the southern continent, but he was unable to reach the apex to any of them due to his practice of other styles. He could only set his eyes to automaton. It was said that he created different automatons to impart those different swordsmanship styles."


    Ross continued to exin that because these automatons only follow the instructions it received, they made perfect materials for Keith to help him and his legacy to continue.


    "I see... You know a lot, huh." Wace muttered after hearing the short story. He confirmed that this information was also within Avalon''s data. It was only left untouched because Wace never encountered a situation before where this information will be required.


    ''I guess... I''ll ask Avalonter to tell me some interesting stories like these. That man might even be a rtive.'' He thought after realizing that this information should be amon sense to those who love to read the history of their magician''s path.


    After a few more items were sold, Ross had then decided to purchase an item for his own but it seems that someone was also aiming for the same thing.


    The Thenril Glory Armor Forging Manual contains the method to create a powerful armor that could defend even against the modern Heavy Auto Turrets. The manual was an heirloom of the declined Shaw n. Their treasury was seized in the past decade and the items within were circling around the ck market until it reached this auction.


    "Why are you interested in this?"


    "Mhm... I''m more interested in learning the method to process Thenril than the method to create the armor."


    Tracy and Wace nodded after hearing Ross'' answer. Thenril alloy was approaching the level of Ancient Abyssal alloy. But this alloy seems to be very rare already.


    Since Ross was interested in this, he definitely possesses a handful of this alloy.


    The base price of the manual was only 13.5 million because of the rarity of the materials required to create the armor. But even so, someone was stillpeting with him. She was a youngdy at the lower floor surrounded by two bodyguards.


    "35 million!"


    "35.1 million!"


    "40 million!"


    "40.1 million!"


    "45 million!"


    Thedy was increasing her bid by 5 million. Ross frowned as he still needed to purchase a very important materialter on. He was even nning to buyout that item once it appeared to avoid any mishaps. Apparently, during buyout process, whoever had first raised the buyout sign wins. Although the item would be so overpriced, that would suffice if you truly needed it.


    Ross can only give up on this item. But Tracy only smiled at this and offered her help.


    "45 million... Going once,--"


    "50 million!" The price lit up from room 27 where the trio was at.


    Inside the room.


    "Thank you, Tracy. I''ll repay you once I sold my Mana Artifacts."


    "That''s okay. Thank me once we got this. Anyway, we''ll be in the same academy in the uing semester. So just take care of me."


    Tracy smiled sweetly which made her female bodyguard have a double look at Ross.


    Sylvia was againughing internally for selling this almost unusable manual for a high price. She looked at thedypeting. Her male bodyguard seems to have whispered something to her which made her forfeit in this bidding war.


    "50 million. Going once, going twice, sold! Congrattions number 27 for winning the 11th item."


    The auction continued and some of the other items that were sold during the event were Memory Crystals containing fighting techniques, Combat Arts for Battle Mages, Magic Structure Crystal containing iplete Magic Jammer, a chunk of Refined Orient Burr, there was even an unconfirmed treasure map. With all of these precious materials, what surprised Wace was the 17th item which was extremely familiar to him.


    "This is a Mirror of Trace made of an extremely rare Ancient Abyssal ss. As you all knew, the artifact made of that material can normally be used only 3 times! But look and behold at this artifact! It can be used 6 times. Unfortunately, 2 charges were already used so you can only use this for four more times. But fear not! This item was also identified to have improved greatly that it could even reflect Grade 4 Mana spells that were cast by an Adept! You can use this for defense or even for your own research. The base price is 18 million and buyout price is only 110 million!"

 Chapter 173 - Auction ( Part 3 )

    Wace twitched his mouth after hearing Sylvia''s announcement.


    A Mirror of Trace that can be used twice the number of timespared to standard one was something he had also made.


    Even, Tracy and Ross were surprised at this.


    "That description..."


    "Wace, did you teach someone else on how to do that?"


    "No.You''re wrong, Ross. That''s definitely his creation..."


    The three were only aware that there''s a Mirror of Trace to be sold since they have a copy of the list but its description, origin, and prices were not disclosed at all.


    "That''s surprising... Can you confirm whether it''s really yours?" Ross nced at Wace who was also intently looking at the item on the stage.


    There''s no doubt about it. It was really his creation.


    He remembered that he made this item especially for Ray Penber. Thetter ultimately used the Mirror of Trace to win a close fight against Lawrence from the Mystic Gate Academy. Lawrence specialized in wind elemental spellsing from Archon and Royal Magic Series.


    As he was about to defeat Ray Penber using an exclusive magic spell of his Mana Artifact, Ray brought out and activated this Mirror of Trace to win the match.


    "I didn''t think that it would be expensive." Wace mumbled softly but the other three had clearly heard it.


    "That''s what you''re thinking? Shouldn''t you ask why it is even here?" Ross could only sigh after seeing that Wace doesn''t seem to care that his creation was being sold without his knowledge.


    "19.5 million!" As the three chatted about the Mana Artifact, the bid didn''t stop from increasing.


    "19.7 million!"


    "19.9 million!"


    ***


    "It''s not that I''m uninterested to learn about the Mirror of Trace''s backstory or how it ended up here, it''s just that I''ve already realized it before." Wace replied to Ross.


    Tracy was just silently listening to the two. Her bodyguard instead refilled the cup of tea on Tracy''s hand. There''s a tea table in front of them where they could enjoy a high-ss tea as a perk of being a VIP within the shop.


    The 50 items would surely take a lot of time to be sold and there would be a break once the 30th item was auctioned off so some food and beverages were included in the room.


    "You''ve realized?"


    "Mhm... The Mana Artifacts we are producing during local tournaments, sspetitions, academypetitions, and even internationalpetitions were being handled by the organizers. They called it partial telling that it was because they''ve provided the materials. Anyway, due to the bountiful rewards they are giving from theirpetition, it is being overlooked."


    "N-now that you said it... But normally, these organizations would not be interested in the materials made by students who didn''t even have a license yet."


    "That''s what I thought so too. Anyway, it looks normal for them to take all the creations after thepetition since it''s being done by all of the other organizers as well. But think about it, if argepany organized an Artifact Forging Competition and give some enticing prizes, they could attract talented Magic Engineers and make them use their secrets and keep it on their own. They can reverse engineer some products if they could and learn from it." Wace stopped exining as he let Ross and Tracy imagine what can be the benefits of owning the contestants'' creations.


    "I get it now..." Tracy who was silent just now joined their conversation. Ross was also nodding to himself and asked his final question.


    "Then, how do we avoid this?" Ross has been nning to join some local tournaments outside the TMAC to gain fame and money. But it wouldn''t feel good to have the organizers learn his secrets.


    "Well, I did it during thepetition at Montego." Wace said as he exined how he tampered the core of his automaton during thepetition to avoid leaking his Magic Structure.


    ***


    "29 million, Going once, going twice, sold!" Congrattions number 247 for winning the 17th item." Sylvia announced as she waited for the 18th item to be brought on the stage.


    "That level of Mana Artifact should''ve been sold for around 35 million." Ross muttered after seeing that the Mirror of Trace was sold to a business representative on the lower floor.


    "There''s no helping on it. The Magic Engineer who made this Mirror of Trace wasn''t named. They couldn''t just blindly follow the auctioneer''s enticement. Although they don''t doubt the shop''s appraisal ability, they don''t believe that an unknown Magic Engineer deserve to have higher than 30 million credits on their artifact." Tracy replied to Ross and continued after sighing.


    "If they said that it was made by a student without a license, it may even decrease the value of the item. So it''s important to have a level of fame in this industry, if you want your items to be sold in the right price."


    The two young boys nodded in agreement with Tracy''s words as the 18th item was brought out. It was a bottle containing ck liquid. Around this item was a ck miasma reminding Wace of the intruders in his property. The police investigating the case should have a lead about the real culprit''s identity but was kept hidden from him.


    "This a synthesized Hallowed Eyes'' potion. Hallowed Eye is one of the Sealed Mana Artifacts capable of producing multiple Berserk Potion just by absorbing the natural Mana. This synthesized version of potion here is the same with the Berserk Potion of Hallowed Eye but has some heavier negative effects... The base price is 4 million credits and the buyout price is only for 30 million credits."


    Before anyone could raise the price, a white sign had suddenly lit up. It came from the lower floor.


    "Congrattions number 345 for winning the 18th item." It happened very fast so some of the bidders were quite curious about this potion. They were not new about the existence of a Berserk Potion.


    Although the potion that they can acquire in the market wasn''t as impressive as the one created by the Hallowed Eye, the gap shouldn''t be too high. Did they miss something? Is this synthesized version has something more to it? Isn''t that single bottle too expensive?


    They couldn''t think more about it as the 19th item was revealedAnyway, everyone has their own needs. That number 345 might be in badly need of a unique berserk potion.


    "This is the Nightingale Throwing Knives. A set of eighteen beautifully carved knives created by Julian Esmeria in his younger years. The knives were imbued by a special Magic Structure to create 19 deadly attack patterns. You can use it to hunt or even use it as a part of your collections! Just look at those beautiful engravements on each of the knives. The base price is 11 million credits and the buyout price is only 65 million credits."


    Sylvia said doing her best to hype up the item.


    But the business-minded Tracy didn''t get lured even though it was created by a living legend.


    "The grade of Mana Artifacts wasn''t mentioned. Even the materials to create the knives were avoided." Tracy shook her head upon seeing the scrambling bidders acquire the item.


    "Well, it looks like most of the bidders right now had only ns to use it as collectibles."


    "Mhm... It''s not that bad if you''ll look onto that angle." Wace agreed about it.


    He even imagined that once a memento or an item that was associated with the legendary Aeolia has appeared, its price would be definitely unimaginable.


    He nced at Ross thinking whether this guy inherited something from the great figure.


    In the end, the set of throwing knives was sold for 48.9 million credits. The price was quite high for a low-grade Mana Artifact that can only be used to hunt birds or horned rabbits in the forest.


    The auction continued as the next item that was sold was another iplete secret arts.


    "This is a manual containing an iplete version of high-grade Secret Arts: Flowing Spirit. This is mostly for magicians practicing to be a Medical Practitioner or a Mage Doctor. There is no stages like the other Secret Arts in this manual. But we can say that the manual that we have contains at least 38% of the genuine Secret Art. The base price is 10.5 million and the buyout price is 70 million credits." Sylvia announced as she was expecting that the bidders will scramble after she introduced the item but it seems that the item wasn''t as popr as she expected.


    The raise of the bid was so slow and only a few from the lower floors were participating.


    "16 million!"


    "16.9 million!"


    ...


    "24.9 million!"


    "25.1 million!"


    Sylvia was a bit disheartened after seeing that no one was raising the bid anymore. She was expecting the item to reach 30 million credits but anyway, she had already profited a lot with the previous items especially to those customers who opted for a buyout.


    "25.1 million. Going once-"


    Sylvia smiled widely upon seeing the room number 27peting for the item.


    "26 million!"


    "26.1 million!


    "27 million!"


    ...


    "34 million!"


    "34.1 million!


    "Wace, do you really need this? I can lend you if you needed more." Tracy kindly offered her help.


    "It should be fine. Grand Arcanist ine--, I mean, my master gave me 100 million for an allowance."


    "Ahh... It feels nice to have such a kind Master, huh." Ross envied Wace''s status for a moment.


    Soon, the bid stopped at 37 million where the other participant gave up.


    Wace heaved a sigh of relief after acquiring the item.


    He waited for the item to be quickly delivered while his consciousness checked out his lifeless body inside his dimensional storage space.

 Chapter 174 - Auction ( Part 4 )

    Wace still has his previous body inside his dimensional storage space. The body wasn''t dposing at all like a lifeless puppet instead of a human. It seems that the body wasn''t capable of utilizing mana at all and even feels like it''s being avoided by the natural mana like it''s a poison.


    After hearing about the Flowing Spirit, he had a hunch that it was something valuable to him and had quickly asked for Avalon to check the background of this Secret Arts. Anyway, Sylvia hasn''t given them a significant exnation about its importance.


    Luckily, although there is no information about its origin or any leak of its content, a practitioner who had a 69% copy of the manual stated how valuable this technique was.


    Wace doesn''t have time to celebrate his acquisition of the item as the auction continued.


    The 22nd item that was sold for 39.3 million was a set of medicine created by a known Mage Doctor. The miraculous medicine was capable of improving the physique of a magician in exchange for a painful experience that wouldst for an hour. The set was capable of improving 10 magicians.


    ''Body Strengthening Potion, huh. Just like what I thought, it seems that the rewards being provided by the Pathfinder isn''t something impossible to this world.''


    Wace had already realized this before and it only strengthens his belief after hearing Sylvia introduce the item. His rewards like the Ne of rity, Body Strengthening, Mana Affinity improvements, a recipe of a Berserk Potion, Divine Sense, and others, wasn''t unique to him. This world is also capable of producing them but it seems that what he acquires in the Pathfinder can be a bit better at the very least, as long as he aplished his mission.


    "This is the legal documents for the Hairon Mountain and it''s surrounding area. This is owned by the Shaw n but due to their recent difficulties, the ce hasn''t been put to good use and now being sold to acquire a better asset. The mountain was filled with Nama trees and is an underdeveloped area of the region. There are only a few resting areas in the ce. There are also quite a few Mana Beasts that were living in this area. There''s a lot more you can find in this ce if you will check the ce. Here are some photos of the Hairon Mountain." Sylvia said as the wall behind him changed into a huge projector where the ce being auctioned was clearly shown. The beautiful trees, clean river, animals, and Mana Beast were being shown. Of course, they surely didn''t ce any images that would decrease the value of the area.


    They only hinted that the ce is underdeveloped which could mean a lot to them.


    "The base price is 350 million! There is no buyout price for this one."


    This 25th item was probably the most expensive item to be sold. This is what everyone thought after hearing Sylvia''s introduction for this 25th item.


    Many of the participants in this auction hade for this. Owningnd in this prospering country is a big deal. Some of the new and prosperingpanies or organization possess a lot of money but does not ownnd. They normally rent or acquire a lease from their favorednd to conduct businesses.


    Even Wace was tempted at this. He was nning to have his own hangar and even have his own Rank Driver.


    Within the two days prior to this auction, Wace and the Avalonpleted their study about the Skywalker''s Project in outer space exploration, the Flyby Space Mission. They made their own calctions and theories as they decided to have an electromaic catapult instead of using a rocket system for their spaceunch.


    The Rank Driver is a design or a method of a non-rocket spaceunch that would use a linear motor to elerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds. This is a bit more challenging but they believed that this is more appropriate considering the uniqueness of the stratosphere.


    This way, he''ll be able to save more power to use in breaking through the protectiveyer of this Earth. Anyway, this will only be possible once they started to multiply the number of automatons he has in his ranks.


    Wace wasn''t creating a lot of automaton at the moment since he was waiting for something that would improve his ability in crafting automatons. That''s right, he felt that his automaton wasn''t good enough and felt that it was too wasteful to mass-produce his current Elysiums. He only has limited money and resources at the moment so he decided that it would be more appropriate if he''ll use them in the best conditions.


    Sigh~


    ''Too bad, this is still too expensive for me.'' Wace was referring to the mountain being auctioned. If ever he had acquired this ce, he''ll surely advance his ns and create some moreborer automatons.


    In the end, thend was actually purchased by Lacus Minerva.


    "My senior apprentice is surely rich, huh." Wace muttered after seeing that the ce was auctioned for an amount of 498.4 million credits. It is equivalent in purchasing a dozen top-ss Grade A Mana Artifacts.


    Although the ce doesn''t look so important due to it not having any unique traits like a valuable mine, precious trees, a breed of a special mana beast living in the mountain, or any archeological value, it''s position was still quite valuable. The mountain and its area being auctioned off was located near the border of Zairus and Maja. It may be underdeveloped at the moment, but an ambitious owner can probably make this ce a major trading hub if given enough capital.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration as Zairus is andlocked country. It doesn''t have a coastline or seaport. Any Zairusian who wanted to travel and see the ocean and not thekes of the country, would have to travel to Maja to experience them. Not only that, but the area was also quite near to the Cursed Forest where many adventurers seeking treasurese to.


    ''Having tons of money seems to be so good, huh.''


    "Avalon, can you rob a bank using it''s system?"


    Wace wasn''t serious when he asked this to his A.I. softly.


    [ Negative. A special method unlike standard electronics was used to store information about the customers. Unable toprehend this design. ]


    Wace now remembered how they tried to analyze the silver card that was given to him as an apprentice. They couldn''t identify or breakthrough it''s defense at all. It seems that the card wasn''t simple in the slightest. It may even be made by an Arcanist through an Arcana.


    Anyway, the auction continued but after the 30th item, 900-year-old root herb was sold for a few million, a break was called out.


    There will still be 10 more publicly announced items and 10 surprise items to be sold.


    The break wasn''t that long but it''s enough for them to analyze the trend of the items being auctioned. They had also recognized some of the prominent buyers and some of the representative''s purchasing limits. This can be used to their advantage during the bidding war.


    Wace even checked the Secret Arts: Flowing Spirit he won in the auction.


    The time quickly passed as the 31st item, Maser Vibration Dagger, was sold for 60 million credits. This weapon was approaching the standard of a top-ss high-tech weapon even in outer space. It was even rumored that it was found in the northern continent but no one can prove it. The only information they can use to tell that it came from the north was because none of the southern countries were capable of reproducing one.


    Some other items had also caught Wace''s interest like the 35th item, Myriad Phantom Iron Suit, which was sold for 48 million credits seems to be a weaker version of his Amplified Assault Armor.


    There''s also uninteresting items like the 39th item, it was a bow with its empty quiver. Sylvia exined how it became very valuable as she mentioned who was the previous owner and it seems to be a popr female Celebrity Idol about a decade ago.


    Thest item before the 10 secret items will be auctioned off was another treasure map. It is said to lead them in a location where a specific Lost Technology can be found. Some of the adventurous participants tried to take a chance as the item reached an amount of 13 million credit from the base price of 3 million.


    Soon, the 41st item or first out of ten secret items to be sold was revealed to everyone.


    "These are genuine Lamat Stones! Twelve pieces of them to be sold at once. This is a very rare item that can normally be used for Magic Jammer Structure but can also be used in other forms of magic now. The base price is 15 million credit and the buyout price is only 120 million credits." Sylvia smiled as she introduced the 41st item. This shocked many of the unaware participants as they believed that this stone should be a national level treasure and be controlled by the government instead.

 Chapter 175 - Auction ( Part 5 )

    "Do not worry! These items were acquired through legal means. No strings attached." Sylvia added after seeing their shocked expression. Lamat Stone can be used to create Magic Jammer and this weapon is not only good for defensive measures but can be used to strike unaware opponents. A tactical weapon.


    Wace had actually thought that there will be people willing to buyout immediately but it seems that he thought too much. As the bidding started, buyout in the middle, is no longer epted.


    "15.9 million!"


    "20 million!" The price was still quite low but it came from VIP room number 13 who had purchased a couple of expensive items like the one in room number 7 and 2. Some participants in the lower floor felt disheartened seeing their participation. Those VIP''s surely have a lot of money to spare.


    But some of the participants couldn''t just give up at this opportunity as they bid until it reached their purchasing limit.


    "69 million!" The price was still low. Sylvia was actually frowning at this because the other branch of the shop before had sold a set of Lamat Stones for 145 million about 6 months ago.


    They had even lowered the base price and buyout price but it seems that the appearance of that specific magic spell that stops the magic jammer affected their sales. They can only try to empty their stocks of Lamat Stone while the price was still quite high.


    ''It is still too low. It must reach at least 90 million. We can''t ept this.'' Sylvia thought as she looked at room 28 and soon a blue light lit up and the amount of their bid showed up.


    "69.9 million!" Sylvia smiled seeing this. The battle between numbers 13 and 28 started until it reached 92 million before the person in room number 28 stopped their battle.


    ***


    Wace had felt something as soon as Sylvia looked at room number 28. Their room was in number 27 so his Divine Sense immediately felt a very faint fluctuation of soul connection. It was too subtle that he almost missed it if not for him assimting his Divine Sense with his intermediate Void Phase.


    That''s right, it is the reward he acquired from his mission.


    [ Void Phase - Intermediate ]


    [ Once fully mastered, the user will have the ability to be liberated from the existential principles and constraints of both time and space.


    Beginner Level: Allows the user to utilize a limited Void Phasing Step.


    Perfectlybining with Divine Sense will improve the technique tremendously.


    Intermediate Level: Allows the user to have a unique level of control in his surrounding space and time at the cost of draining arge amount of Mana called Void Domain.


    Can passively detect any unusual changes in the surrounding ]


    Wace had actually thought that by learning the intermediate level of Void Phase, he would be able to have a wider range of Void Phasing Steps or decrease his mana consumptions or even resolve the mana shockwave urring whenever he maximizes the technique to the farthest range it could reach.


    At the very least, he learned another skill called Void Domain that made him sensitive to any changes in his surrounding space.


    He had only kept silent for a while and made a guess about what happened between the bidding war of number 13 and number 28. Of course, he wasn''t nning to tell these findings to his ssmates as he doesn''t have any evidence. It would be enough to be careful with the remaining nine items to be auctioned off.


    "Let''s go to the 42nd item! This is a 3-days pass at the Revitalization Mana Spring...Yes, you didn''t mishear me, this is a genuine 3 days pass at the national treasure of our country. The only Revitalization Mana Spring located at the Aries Fortress will be essible for 30 magicians that haven''t experience the Arcane Baptism yet. We have luckily acquired one opportunity for you guys! The base price is 18.1 million credits and the buyout price is 130 million credits."


    The pass was a golden card with a very exquisite carve of the national g of the country and a blue gem at the center. It was even glowing for a little bit.


    "Is this serious? What are they thinking?"


    "Isn''t this pass too valuable? I can''t imagine that the government would allow anyone to acquire this opportunity."


    "Me too, but since this is an auctioned item from the New Era''s Magic Shop, it seems that they really are allowing civilians to partake in this opportunity."


    "Mhm... Anyway, there''s only one pass so it wouldn''t affect the bnce."


    Some couldn''t help but make a reaction andment about this item.After all, it wasmon knowledge that the bring was only given to outstanding individuals.


    The Revtization Mana Spring wasn''t always in the best condition. Every time a group of magicians used the spring, the concentrated Mana will be thinner a bit diluted due to impure Mana of the magicians.


    Only time would cleanse and improve the small spring so every opportunity was a treasure.


    Apparently, no buyout sign came as the bidding was started by ady on the lower floor.


    From 18 million credits to 45 million credits, it only takes a few seconds and it''s still increasing.


    ***


    "Wace, it seems you''re not interested at this?" Tracy asked as she and Ross were obviously tempted at this item.


    ''Oh right, I already have an Arcane Link but they''re still unaware.'' Wace recalled how he kept his Arcane Baptism and possessing Mana Body a secret with Yumi.


    It''s not like he wasn''t aware of how to register himself to the government as a magician with Arcane Link, he just didn''t want to be too upied dealing with his status once it was revealed.


    A teenager with a Mana Body would make him busy in a lot of ways like meeting a lot of people. After all, the Mana Body would normally be acquired by Adepts or Artificer at the age of 30 or more.


    Although he wanted some level of fame to his name, he wanted to acquire it through the use of his Mana Artifacts or other products.


    Wace heaved a sigh before answering Tracy. It doesn''t matter anymore.


    "Mhm.. It''s not that I''m not interested. I''m just not suited for the item. Maybe for my siblings..."


    "What do you mean not suited?"


    "I''m done with Arcane Baptism."


    "What?!" Ross and Tracy were surprised upon hearing it. They didn''t bother to ask whether the baptism was a sess or not because of Wace''s confident tone.


    Even the female Battle Mage Bodyguard was a bit shocked after hearing this.


    ''So that''s why his Mana Fluctuation was so stable. He has achieved the perfect mysterious mana affinity, the Arcane Link. No unnecessary leakage, a very subtle Mana Fluctuation. Truly an impressive feat. He should be at the same age as Miss Tracy...'' Thedy couldn''t help butpare Wace and Tracy since they were ssmates. She thought that her young miss was already very talented since she was always first in terms of academic gradings, but this man in front of her just defeated probably more than 90 or 99% of young magicians in the country.


    "You''re truly impressive Wace. You are probably the best magicians of our age." Ross can only admire Wace''s sessful advancement.


    "If not for the rumored illegal but sessful gene modification of Mavis n, that created a powerful 8-year old magician... You''ll be the strongest magician at the younger generation." Thedy bodyguard muttered softly but Wace didn''t miss what she said. He was nning to ask some rification but he felt that it''s not a good time as the three were now intently watching the 43rd item in the auction.


    "This is a set of Grade A Holy Elixir! It can heal almost any injuries as long as the patient still has some remaining breath. Unfortunately, this Elixir would not work for normal people. This can only be consumed or applied to an injured patient or magician. The base price is50 million and there is no buyout price."


    The 6 Holy Elixir is like 6 lives so it was extremely precious. Although there''s still many medicines or potions out there at a cheaper price.


    The effects of this Elixir were also notable as there will be no side effects whenever it is being consumed by the magicians unlike some of the other inferior copies of the elixir.


    The Grade A Holy Elixir was sold for 349 million credits to room number 16 who fought against number 28 for a few times before thetter gave up.


    It was the same method with other VIP rooms. The numbers 4 and 8 as well as room 20 would always fight to anyone in bidding the battle before giving up after reaching a high price.


    Soon there were only two items remaining in the auction.


    "This is a sack of Grade C Mana Beasts Cores..."

 Chapter 176 - Clues

    Tracy and Ross wore a serious expression after the 49th item was introduced. Wace didn''t find any abnormalities on the item.


    Cores of the Mana Beast were not some raremodities. They were mostly used as materials for mana artifacts, potion ingredients, and others.


    ''Is there something I missed?''


    He nced sideways at Tracy who was about to join the bidding war any moment from now. Ross was also looking interested but he kept himself from raising his bid and only watched the event.


    He recalled Sylvia''s introduction.


    The 49th item to be auctioned was a sack containing 30 pieces of cores from three different Mana Beasts. Ten from Fire Ravens, ten from ze Wolves, and another ten cores from a me Warhorse. The base price was a staggering 150 million and no buyout price as expected.


    It seems that the bidding war would take a while due to the slow rise of the price so Wace decided to understand what''s happening.


    "Why is this so expensive? Mana Beast Cores shouldn''t be this expensive right? Based on the previous market price of these cores, it should only amount to 160,000 to 200,000 credits each piece." Wace couldn''t help but ask some rification to Ross.


    "Ahh... Right, you''re not aware of the recent incident here in the capital."


    "Incident?"


    "Yes. It should be for the top ns only but I''ll make it short for you. Cores from mana beasts that have fire affinity were discovered to be the main ingredient to create a new power source called Molten Core. Unfortunately, mana beasts that have fire affinity were too rare in our country. Most fire mana beasts can only be found in Utara but we don''t have a reliable channel in that country. These cores might even be all the remaining cores avable in the market. If others wanted to hunt, it would also be tough even for a group of Adepts." Ross kindly exined while observing the auction.


    [ No public or private information found on the inte about the new term. ]Avalon dutifully checked any online information about this but found nothing. It seems that this information was tightly guarded for some reason.


    "Molten Core? I haven''t heard of it and why for top ns only?"


    "That''s fine... I can tell you now since you''re an apprentice of Sir ine, you''ll surely hear of this soon."


    Ross didn''t bother to hide anything from Wace since his identity and status would rise up after the government or society acknowledge his apprenticeship. This information would soon spread to the whole nation. He''ll definitely be a small-time celebrity soon and ess to these kinds of information will easilye to him.


    "In short, the Molten Core is like the Mana Battery made of Mana Stone but in this case, it is made of cores from those fire beast''s cores."


    "What are they useful for?"


    "To make Steel Knights..."


    Wace knitted his brows at the familiar term. "They''re few grades lower than the Iron Knights found in the northern continent... Oh, if you''re not aware of Iron Knights, they arerge humanoid machines made of magic and science. I''m not too sure of its specificities but I''ve seen one." Ross smiled feeling proud of his knowledge.


    Of course, he was aware that he can only brag for now because Wace has not yet fully taken advantage of his status to get some internal information like these.


    ''I see... It''s a good thing I''ve learned about this. I''ll have to make some adjustments in the settings then.'' Wace thought about something else after understanding Ross''s words.


    "I got it. So it is normal that these people were all trying to get hold of these cores. Well, if I have the blueprint of the Molten Core and Steel Knight, even I will be tempted to bid. Haha."


    "That''s right. I heard that two fire beast''s cores can be used to create one Molten Core for Steel Knights. Sigh~ This shop didn''t even separate the cores. They could''ve sold per pair and might even earn a lot more but they still decided to do this."


    "Mhm..." Wace nodded in agreement.


    "322.2 million!" The bid already reached a very high price. Even Wace was feeling that it was too absurd at this moment. Well, most of it was due to the continuous bid of room 28 to increase the price.


    Anyway, the 49th item was sessfully won by someone in the VIP room 11 for a final price of 472 million credits. It also means that whoever won this item would have a chance to create 15 Steel Knights for their own use.


    The amount of money being spent here was also an eye-opener for Wace who deemed that his security contract with the Golden Trident Group was too expensive already.


    Atst, after more than an hour of this event in the New Era''s Magic Shop, the final item was revealed.


    "I know that most of you came here for this item so I''ll say no more! This is thest item for our event, a Celestial Fragment. I believe that I don''t have to exin what this item could do. The item could not be purchased through money as our client requested. He wanted to have an equivalent exchange."


    Sylvia said making some of the participants eyeing this item disappointed. They prepared a lot of cash and even liquidated their funds but this happened now.


    Some didn''t evenpete with the 49th item to use it for this final item. They can only sigh and regret their decision.


    Sylvia continued as she mentioned what their client wanted in exchange for the Celestial Fragment.


    "Our client wanted 5-10 cubic meter Spatial Bag."


    "What?!"


    "Tsk... They''re targeting the prestigious ns."


    "Indeed. Who doesn''t know that only thoserge ns have ess to these Natural Mana Artifacts?"


    "Fool! That''s not a Natural Mana Artifact. Spatial Bag is a remnant of Lost Technology."


    "Hmph! Who would believe that? And don''t call them Lost Technology, that was still on Aeolia''s Era. It''s already ssified as Arcane Technology." Some even started to argue about the origin of the storage bag but in the end, no one could truly im the source of the item since no one could make them and can only modify an existing Spatial Bag found in the northern continent and in some ruins on the southern continent.


    As no one was making a trade, Sylvia immediately made some secretmunication with their client. As she was about to add some details about the exchange, a voice was heard from room number 7. It was a cold but feminine voice from Lacus Minerva.


    "I can give 1.5 cubic meters of Storage Bag. I''ll also add an Assault Airship."


    Most of the participants at the lower floor were floored upon hearing this. None of them was too surprised about the Storage Bag but it about the Assault Airship... it is a weapon of war. They were awed at the extravagant offer of thedy in room 7.


    ***


    Wace on the other hand was annoyed at this auctioneer who didn''t exin this Celestial Fragment. No online information about this item can be found. Even Avalon who integrated himself to the inte wasn''t able to find even a single rumor or article rted to the item.


    Sigh~


    He felt too ignorant aftering to this Capital City. At the very least, he thanked the Pathfinder for giving the apprenticeship mission to him. This way, he had an encounter with a lot of oddities and brought light in some of the mysteriousness shrouding this world.


    He really can''t underestimate a magical world. He can only humbly ask Ross who looked knowledgeable.


    "Celestial Fragment... I''m not too sure as well. I only know something because I read some notes from my ancestor, Aeolia."


    "Really? Can you tell me?" Wace asked and even Tracy and her bodyguard listened. Any information that came from Aeolia seems to be a bit more reliable than what they''ve heard somewhere else.


    "Of course. Most of the people here must have heard of it through some other means but what they know is that this fragment only helps to reach the apex of being a magician. What I''m about to tell you is a piece of information only Schien n and it''s tight allies were aware of... Based on what I read, Aeolia mentioned how a Celestial Fragment can be used to either form a core or to transcend."


    Question marks were written on the three''s faces after he was done speaking.


    Ross chuckled before further exining.


    "The core formation was noted as something achievable after integrating with a celestial fragment. This core would allow the magician to generate their own source of energy instead of relying on this world''s mana."


    He paused for a moment and exined the other use of the item.


    "It was also said that using this celestial fragment would give an opportunity to be free from the constraints of this material world. It seems that it was something to do with changing the physiology of the magician, like how an Arcane Baptism changes the magician''s body."


    Wace was stunned hearing this exnation from Ross. It was exactly the same with Astral Core Formtion and Chasm Trample that the Cube of Paradox given to him as an option. It is just that he selected Void Phase during that time.


    As soon as he realized this, a familiar ring was heard. It is the sound of a mission notification from the Pathfinder.

 Chapter 177 - New Mission

    Wace had a quick nce at the new mission given by the Pathfinder.


    [ The real knowledge is to know the extent of one''s ignorance.


    Mission: Study the secrets of the Celestial Fragment yourself. Learn the method of integrating with one.


    Reward A: 1 Grade A - Holy Elixir, Low-Grade Arcane Technology, Low-Grade Arcana, Mystery Box x2.


    Reward B: Aeon Guardian, 5 Grade C Holy Elixir, Mystery Box x2.


    Mission Progress: 0/100]


    ''Seriously?''


    He was surprised to see this new mission. The first thing that he noticed is that he only needed to study the fragment and not steal or acquire one at all. It also looks like he can''t use the research study of an existing magician since it was noted to study the fragment himself.


    It seems that he had to learn something from the celestial fragment using a method unique to his own.


    The rewards were also quite tempting. If hepleted the mission, he can choose either reward A or B. The Pathfinder seems to be more generous now. He recalled that this Aeon Guardian appeared as an option for a reward a couple of times already but he didn''t qualify for it or he opted for a different reward.


    The mission was also given to him without any option to refuse so he can only n his next actions for now. Anyway, the auction was still not done and some VIPs were still negotiating.


    ''Spatial Bag, huh. It seems to be simr to my Dimensional Storage Space but based on their description, the former is an artifact. Definitely unlike mine, which was mysteriously connected or part of me ever since I retrieved the Cube.'' Wacepared as he watched the negotiation happening.


    It looks like Sylvia has her own method ofmunicating with the client so she can quickly decline the offer made by the VIPs. In the end, the closest offer was a 3 cubic meter storage space plus some other precious gems included. It was an offer made by a VIP from room number 30.


    The client was not tempted at the expensive and almost impossible to acquire Assault Airship offered by Lacus Minerva.


    After deliberating for a while, Sylvia exined that the client really requires at least 5 cubic meters of Spatial Bag or dimensional storage space for his mission. In the end, he at leastpromised that it doesn''t matter now whether to lend him one instead of exchanging the itemspletely.


    But it also means that the Celestial Fragment can only be borrowed from him.


    Wace was a bit disappointed hearing this because he can''t lend his 5 cubic meter dimensional storage space as it''s part of him instead of an item.


    Sigh~


    A few seconds passed but opposite to his expectation, there''s still no one cing their offer.


    ''Eh? None of them has 5 cubic meters spatial bag?''


    Wace realized that the VIPs where also stump even at this offer.


    "Is it rare to have 5-10 cubic meter Spatial Bag?"


    Hearing his question, Tracy answered him using what she learned as a daughter of a business tycoon.


    "Yes... The standard artifact only has 1 cubic meter space and thergest known was a 15 cubic meter owned by the Monarch. I heard that even the Prime Minister has one but lesser space. Anyway, these Spatial Bags, capable of storing more than what it looks, were a pricelessmodity. It''s very rare to even trade it with money. Thest sale made for this item happened 2 years ago where a Spatial Bag with 6 cubic meter space within was sold for 400 million credits and 10 Adept Mages."


    "Eh?! Adept Mages?"


    Tracy chuckled after seeing Wace''s surprised reaction. After all, thetter just absurdly imagined that ten Yumi was sold in exchange for an artifact.


    "That didn''t happen here but in Maja. You''re aware of their conflict with their neighbor country right?"


    "Urgh... Yes. I think I can understand now."


    "Here in our country, only 35 Spatial Bags were known and protected by each n and the government. I believe that only 5 or 6 has 5 cubic meter space. The client might be taking his chance to attract someone with an unregistered spatial bag but it won''t work. Sigh~ I wonder what will he use it for?"


    Although only 35 where known Spatial Bags, they were sure that there''s more than that.


    A few moments passed and soon, no one has been able to satisfy the client''s request. It was a shame.


    Everyone can only look at the small treasure chest that was emitting a faint yellow light like there was a sealed Sun within the small chest.


    As Sylvia was about to close the event, room number 27 lit up and a young teen''s voice was heard.


    "I have Spatial Bag with 5 cubic meter space. But I can''t part with it. I can''t lend it away as it''s bounded to me so we can discuss this if your client wanted to."


    Sylvia was surprised and felt relief after hearing Wace''s voice.


    Their shop had an agreement that if the client found a customer in this branch, they will be paid with 10 Malphite Stones as processing fees but if no transaction was made, they will only get a service fee worth 800,000 credits.


    Sylvia quickly coordinated with their client and luckily, thetter was willing to discuss with room 27.


    The auction was sessfully ended and some were returning with a smile on their faces but most of them had a disappointed look.


    ***


    "Vanessa, can you tell me who was in room 27?"


    Lacus asked her friend. There is no hint of hate or gratitude on her voice so Vanessa was sure that thedy was just curious about their identity.


    ''It seems that she didn''t mind losing the trade, huh.''


    Of course, it''s not allowed to tell the name of the customers within the rooms.


    But she doesn''t care a bit about the rules made by her family''s business. Thedy in front of her was the first apprentice of ine Allusia and brought them unimaginable wealth in the few years of their cooperation.


    "They''re Tracy Guilford, Ross Schien, and Wace Ravencroft."


    "Wace?"


    "Yes, it''s him. Your Junior Apprentice."


    "Mhm... I wonder who among them has the Spatial Bag..."


    "Now that you said it, I think it should be Ross. His Schien n must''ve given him some treasures. But it''s also possible for Tracy, with the widework of their business, they can probably acquire that artifact if they were into it."


    "Mhmm..." Lacus only nodded as she left the building after being escorted by Vanessa. She had a bountiful harvest today especially thend that she had won.


    ***


    Wace was now seated on a sofa. He didn''t drink or eat the snacks ced on the table.


    He''s currently in a luxurious living room within the New Era''s Magic Shop at the 9th floor and waiting for the client selling the Celestial Fragment.


    Ross and Tracy had already left with their purchased items leaving him alone in the room.


    It didn''t take long for a group of individuals to enter. There''s a total of five of them now within the room.


    The four newly arrived were Sylvia, two middle-aged men representatives of the Magic Shop based on their clothes, and another young man who seems to be the client as he held the treasure chest containing the fragment.


    The man has a strong build and seems to be 25-28 years old. His skin was dark due to long exposure to the sun and had messy ck hair. There was even some dirt on his mercenary clothes.


    That''s right, the client seems to be a mercenary magician exploring the hidden dangers of the Cursed Forest, Wailing Gorge, and Thunder teau. Wace can only imagine based on what he read about these mercenaries.


    After all, not all magicians learning the Combat Path were turning to be a soldier orw enforcers. Some of them take on the mission to hunt beasts for a living, some turn to be criminals, some became pirates on the seas, and some of them just wanted to better their strength by staying in the fighting arena.


    "Wace, this is Drake. The client owning the fragment. You two, take your time."


    After Sylvia introduced each other, the three left them to let them talk in peace.


    "Do you really have the Spatial Bag?"


    "Mhm.. 5 cubic meters. But I can''t leave it to someone else due to it being bounded to me."


    "We''ve been looking for a long time for one. I guess, we''ll just have toprise. Listen, our small mercenary squad acquired this fragment in the ruins we''ve discovered. The ruins are a private property of one of our members. We needed the Spatial Bag to retrieve something in the same ce but somewhere dangerous deep in the ruins. I can''t tell you more details unless you agree to cooperate with us instead."


    "Cooperate? That''s good to hear. It seems that we reached an agreement. Since you needed something from that ce and I can''t give the spatial bag to you, I will be the one retrieving it for you..."


    The two discussed their cooperation in detail and shook their hands after reaching an agreement.

 Chapter 178 - Lacus Minerva And Alien Invasion

    Wace returned to the Cloud Hawk Manor to settle some things. His agreement with Drake would still happen in the next full moon so there''s still two weeks of preparation.


    "Good evening, Sir Wace. Miss Lacus would like to speak with you. She''s waiting in the living room."


    "Alright. I''ll meet her now."


    Wace wasn''t particrly sure why would Lacus meet him. But after thinking about it, this should be natural since they have the same master, they should at least get to know each other.


    As Wace entered the living room, he saw thedy who spent hundreds of millions at the auction. Someone who also has an Assault Airship at her disposal and a Spatial Bag artifact. Lacus is ady in her 20''s who has long blonde hair that has reached her waist, she is notable for her dark pink-colored eyes. Her beauty is probably on par with Miya Linus, the rookie Celebrity Idol he met at his town.


    "Senior Lacus, I was told toe here by Sir Clyne."


    "Wace Ravencroft... I heard a lot of things about you. You''ve easily learned the first stage of AOTL and the new Spirit Forging Magic to create a Sixth Generation Artifact within three days. Very impressive."


    "Thank you for your kind words."


    Although Wace wanted to also praise his senior apprentice, he only has superficial knowledge about her.


    "Mhm... Do you have your emblem with you?"


    "Ah, yes. It''s with me, here."


    Wace took out the emblem given to him. He only knows that this is a token of his identity but his Divine Sense had detected mysterious energying from it. Since it wasn''t harmful, he didn''t bother to investigate it further and thought that it''s just some kind of a method to differentiate the genuine emblem from possible fakes.


    Lacus took out a rectangr device with a size of an adult''s palm. The device seems to be a piece of small machinery with strange patterns on it. At the center was an indent where a small object can fit in.


    "This is a device used to connect to Veda."


    "Veda?"


    "You can think of it as the system or awork that the people who became a member of the upper-ss uses to connect with each other. You can say it''s inte not formoners."


    "I see... So I''m no longer amoner, huh."


    "That''s right. It should be Sir ine introducing this to you but he had to busy himself for his expedition. He asked me to help you get used to being part of the upper-ss."


    Wace stayed silent as he listened to Lacus. It seems that this conversation would take long.


    "Your blood was integrated here in your emblem, so all authentication has beenpleted. Here... ce your emblem at this space." Lacus said after pointing at the center of the device.


    Wace followed her instruction and he connected sessfully to Veda.


    A light came out and a holographic screen appeared in front of the two.


    "You can explore this on your own but I have to tell you some things first. It''s about the rules of using Veda. We have to be careful of using this..."


    An hour had passed as the two discussed Veda and the rectangr device used to connect to it called Terminal. Wace made several questions which made him realize that this Veda was an amazing privatework for selected individuals. This system was also not unique to their country but the other seven countries could also use it to connect with each other.


    Aside from the guaranteed security of information dissemination within Veda, it could not be used to other purposes. But even though that was the case, this Veda was still a huge contributor in securing high-level information like Arcanas, Secret Arts, Martial Techniques, High-Level Magic Structures, Forbidden Mana Artifacts, Sealed Mana Artifacts, Arcane Technology, List of ssified Mana Beast, and other wonders of this world can be essed using Veda.


    Using his emblem, he can only ess, Level 1 information but it''s more than enough for him to realize how big this world of magic is.


    "I''ll leave for now. Also, take this as a gift, junior apprentice." Lacus smiled and left Wace to explore Veda.


    Thetter thanked her and looked at the small box she left.


    Wace opened it quickly due to his curiosity. He wanted to see how generous his multi-millionaire senior apprentice was. As soon as she opened the box, he saw a familiar ring.It was the red and blue ring simr to what he saw at the New Era''s Magic Shop, the zing Thunder Ring personally made by her.


    ***


    A couple of days had passed as he returned to his factory at Cove City to make some changes to his ns.


    Due to the impressive information he acquired after traveling to the Capital, he realized that he had to make some adjustments and add some details in his new version of the simtor pod. The appearance of Iron Knights and Steel Knights had to be considered.


    There are only 2 weeks and 4 days left before he had to go back studying at the academy. There was also his mission together with Drake''s squad to borrow his ''bounded'' Storage Bag in exchange for allowing him to study the Celestial Fragment for a month. But the fragment will only be given on the day of the mission. He had to settle a lot of things now.


    "Avalon, we''ll make some change to the virtual reality game."


    Wace started to exin the changes he wanted to do. Thebat simtor pod that he was creating had a specific game that he wanted to spread in the whole continent if possible.


    He also asked Avalon to create five more Elysiums that will be returning with him to Tanza City.


    Four days had easily passed before hepleted all the necessary changes in the game and some other trivial things he had toplete for his business. He had even coordinated with Yumi about the license for his product.


    Wace wore the required suit and entered the oval-shaped pod. He wore the breather and after confirming that he was in afortable position, he activated the pod.


    "Start Link!"


    The gel under the pod flowed out to cover his entire body while his consciousness connected to the virtual reality game.


    The same four options appeared in front of him but this time, there''s already a title for the Adventure Mode. This title didn''t show up when rice tried the simtor before as he hadn''t finalized this game until today.


    [ Battle Arena - Survival ]


    [ Adventure Mode - Alien Invasion ]


    [ Practice Mode]


    [ Tutorial ]


    Wace selected the adventure mode and immersed himself within the game.


    He opened his eyes and grinned at the quick introduction being shown to him.


    Three hours had passed before he satisfyingly left the game and gave an ''OK'' to Avalon to wrap up everything and proceed with the mass production of the game. He couldn''t wait to see the reaction of the gamers or magicians going to y the Adventure Mode - Alien Invasion. The only thing left was to make sure that his pods would be sent to the different parts of the country and of course, including the allied countries. As for the remaining countries, he couldn''t think of a solution for that at the moment.


    This should help him raise some awareness of the world even by a little bit.


    Wace returned to his parent''s house and celebrated with them for being epted as an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist. It was big news for the family. Unfortunately, rice already left as her approved leave was over. As for his father, Chase, he was still working on a big project at Seed Holdings in Ste Region but the two sent their congrattions after being informed.


    He briefly advised his mother about his activities before leaving the ce in the morning as he returned to Tanza City bringing along the additional Elysiums with him. He had enough money to create these Elysiums thanks to the remaining money left by his master. After all, from the hundred million given to him, the Secret Arts: Flowing Spirit was only worth 37 million credits.


    He spent another 19 million for the five Elysiums leaving him plenty of allowances. But he had to save these for now due to his ns to acquire arger ce for his hangar and Rank Driver.


    "Well, if I started to sell my Simtor Pods, I should earn back my money."


    As he returned to his house at Tanza City, he didn''t take a rest as he immediately started his paused project. It was the continuation of his research about the technology to stop the Mana from interfering during nuclear fission.


    The project wasn''t easy but he had some inspiration recently after he learned the breathing method of AOTL, the method to iste Mana was very unique and he wanted to make some experiments.


    Several days had passed as he received amunication from Drake reminding him of their meeting.


    "Eh? Already?" Wace hadn''t realized that two weeks had already passed since the end of the auction in the Capital.


    He fixed himself up and used his Void Phase to arrive near their squad''s location.

 Chapter 179 - The Alien Invasion

    Before Wace left to cooperate with Drake''s squad. He sent 30 finished products of his "Virtual Reality Pod" for beta testing. It is the registered name on the license he acquired from Yumi at the NMTI.


    Aaron Schmidt, the previous Student Council President of the Leonhearts Academy, was one of the lucky magicians selected to be a beta tester.


    Today was the delivery of thetest simtor pod made by Traceless Hands.


    "Whoa! This device looks futuristic. What was it called again?" Aaron looked at the contract given to him as a beta tester.


    "Virtual Reality Pod or VR pod, huh. It has a nice sound."


    Aaron also noticed the "(For Magician''s use only)" written as a warning on the document included.


    "It seems that it''s dangerous to have a non magician use this... or perhaps, there would be a VR pod for nonmagicians?"


    Aaron mumbled as he read the papers.


    The contract he had with him was of course about his job for being a beta tester. It is only three pages long containing some things about what and what not to do at the device and a simple non disclosure agreement.


    Also, aside from enjoying the game, he had to create a daily report about his experience within the virtual reality, make constructive criticism about the gamey, and give any suggestions he could offer to provide a better gaming experience.


    He observed the device and was mesmerized by this clean white oval-shaped pod. This white pod shines even more as the light at the ceiling of the room reflected from it. It looks beautiful and sexy if he described it himself.


    For only 5 million credits, anyone can purchase this amazing device made from an advanced technology once fully released to the public. The price wasn''t too cheap or too expensive since the target market was the young adult magicians.


    It was even said in the contract that the gamey of these beta testers will be used as an advertisement once the device was fully released to the public and they will freely receive some rare in-game items as a reward if their gamey was selected. They will also receive a discount at the shop items if they contributed a lot during the beta test.


    So they had to do their best during the 7-days of beta testing.


    Although it''s not yet being sold to the public, Wace selected these 30 magicians who had purchased his old version of Combat Simtor Pod to let them experience the new version of his device since they will easily appreciate the new changes or improvement he included once they operate within the new pod. These 30 should be enough to have good feedback on his work.


    Aside from that, he had also asked assistance with Avalon to select influential people as a beta tester as much as possible. This would help him a little to promote the game.


    Aaron Schmidt was together with his bodyguard in his room as they helped him set up the VR pod. He wore the ck tight suit included in the package and pressed the side of the pod. A sound of smooth mechanical gears and air release was heard as the pod opened up.


    "It looks just like the manual." Aaron couldn''t help but praise. Every part of the VR pod seems to be made of expensive material to make sure that the experience would befortable for the body.


    He slowly entered the pod and made himselffortable as he rxes his entire body. He wore the breather he found located on his right andy down his head at the soft cushion of his seat.


    Aaron took a deep breath before chanting the activation code.


    "Start Link!"


    Aaron opened his eyes as he familiarizes himself within the white room he was currently at.


    This is the "Room of the Beginnings" as per the document he read. His avatar was a perfect copy of his real body wearingmon clothes, a gray shirt, and brown shorts. The white room only has a body-size mirror, chair, wardrobe, a shelf, and a table.


    He nced at the reflection of himself and stretch his limbs as if he was trying to see if there''s any need to get used to his new body. But much to his surprise, there is no feeling of difort and it feels like it really was his real body.


    Aaron was now in front of the table and on it was a small gray sphere with the size of an adult''s head. On top of it was a holographic screen where four options can be selected.


    He hadn''t selected an option yet as he was still feeling amazed about the level of realism of this game. It didn''t feel like an illusion and felt like he was using his real body.


    In the meantime, he wanted to make sure that he was not going to be trapped in this virtual reality so...


    "End Link!"


    [ You are about to exit the game. Are you sure? ]


    [ Y ] [ N ]


    Aaron was satisfied at seeing this and selected the "N" option.


    He turned to the four options in front of him to start the game. He was familiar with the Battle Arena and he felt that there would not be a need for the tutorial since it''s not his first simtion game, although the others where crude ones, it taught him what to expect during these kinds of simtions. As for the Practice Mode option, based on the document, it would help him fight any opponent he wanted to fight with.


    But during this beginning phase, he could only fight twoputer programmed opponents. New and stronger opponents in Practice Mode would only appear if he met them in Adventure Mode and made a certain level of familiarity with them. In short, he skipped the Practice Mode for now.


    The Adventure Mode was the only left.


    "Alien Invasion, huh. Is it something like unknown beings from the northern continent woulde and try to conquer the southern continent setting?"


    Nevertheless, he still selected that option and felt a bit excited about what was about to happen.


    He was covered by a bright light and as he opened his eyes, his view change from a high vantage point like he was an eagle observing the ground below. He no longer possessed his avatar so he was a bit lost at this sudden change. The ground was burning, severalrge craters can be seen, ruins of cities, burning towns and viges and even the tall mountains were destroyed. There were also mechanical floating inds that can be seen.


    The sky was even red to add to the gloominess of the scenery.


    Soon, a voice was heard as the cinematic scene started.


    [ Only 6 months had passed and the powerful empire from a different conquered the whole southern continent. Their weapons, even without magic, were so strong that it could easily melt even an Adept Mage by a single hit. Only those with powerful defensive Mana Artifacts can barely survive.


    This is the Dorssia Empire, a highly advanced civilization from a different near our Magic Earth. They descended to our world and destroyed the previously prosperous cities and nations to peacefully acquire resources on ournds, the abundant Mana Stones, and other precious gems unique to our.


    No one was spared alive whenever they saw a native from this. The previously 5 billion poption of the southern continent was now a pitiful 100,000.


    Some of them were left living deep underground, deep into the forest, and somewhere hiding at the cover of arge desert.


    No one was willing to fight the Dorssia Empire as they knew how weak they are, even thebined power of the eight nations could do nothing to stop them. They could only despair and hate the powerful empire who stripped them their freedom and tradition, rights and honor, and finally, even their name was taken...


    Seven. That number represents this whole world and people living on it.


    After the six months of clearing this continent, whenever the empire''s soldiers found survivors, they were quickly being killed and were only referred to as "left-over sevens" without any morality.


    But this is now over! The geniuses left in all nationsbined their abilities and discovered a way to steal the alien''s technology. They gained assistance from a powerful Artificial Intelligence called Freya that has been assisting them to build from scratch and fight against the powerful empire who conquered the world! We now have vital information about the advanced weapons of the empire! You, as a part of the resistance, has to study all this information to learn the weaknesses of the enemy!


    Learn how the weak fight the strong! Join missions to fight a small number of patrols from the empire until we can fight a whole army of them!


    Come and help us regain our freedom and oust these aliens living in our mothend! ]


    The introduction together with the cinematic scene moved Aaron as his eyes lit up.


    "This is it!"

 Chapter 180 - Ruins ( Part 1 )

    Drake''s mercenary squad only has seven members. All of them were dark-skinned and their clothes were obviously about to sumb to wear and tear and begging to be reced.


    Although Wace had felt that their clothes, robes, and shoes possess a bit of Mana Enhancements, it was already in a poor condition.


    He was somewhat amazed that the squad didn''t ask for a huge sum of money to live a better life in exchange for the Celestial Fragment. They were instead looking for a Spatial Bag.


    Anyway, if that was the truth, this also implies something...


    ''It only means that whatever treasure we are about to take within the ruins would worth a lot more than the several hundreds of million credits...''


    "It''s good to see you again, Wace."


    "I feel the same way. So, is this your squad?"


    "Yes, this is Franco, Marsha, Mordred, Ordessa, Giovanni, and Barrett."


    There are two females within the squad and their appearance wasn''t any better in terms of weapons and mana enhanced clothes... They seem to be used on their job, looking veterans on their field. Marsha and Ordessa even look a bit stronger than the other five members because the two were carrying an unusuallyrge and sharp Heavy Sword. At the very least, the weapon seems to be well taken care of.


    They all greeted Wace as they tried to get to know him more. The ruins they were about to visit were notpletely safe so they had to ease themselves up. It''s best to learn now how tomunicate with them so, during emergencies, they could rely on each other.


    "The ruins that we found was in and owned by Marsha. It''s actually farnd that she inherited in her small family." Drake said after the introductions.


    "A farnd?" Wace tried to rify and this time, it was Marsha who answered.


    "Yes... I learned how to use mana and became a magician when I was 8 years old through the treasures, documents, and weapons, I identally found in the ruins. That was 20 years ago. I thought that I already excavated all the treasures within but I recently found arger underground facility just beneath the skeleton beside the ce where I initially found those manuals and pieces of mana artifacts..."


    Marsha exined how she returned to the farnd recently just to supposedly pay respect to the skeleton underneath believing that those treasures she had taken were the skeleton''s belongings.


    Wace listened as they walk around the vige.


    Yes, they were in a small vige just 30 kilometers away from Tanza City. It was quite near considering that their leader, Drake, went to the far capital just to trade the fragment for a Spatial Bag. But he suddenly recalled that this item was indeed very rare so it was a good decision to try therge Capital City instead.


    The small vige probably only has 50-60 people. Wace noticed that there are few young or adult men in the vige. There are around 45 females and the others were old and young males.


    He found it a bit weird but realized that the capable must have been working at the nearest city as a living. After all, there are only a few hectares of cultivatednd here.


    He also noticed that one particr house or probably a barn emits a very mysterious Mana Fluctuations.


    The barn was weirdly ced at the center of the farm destroying the nice view.


    "I know that you''re tired, I heard that you came from Tanza City, right? That''s quite far."


    "No, I''m good. We can start at any moment you like." Wace confidently said. He has much better control over his mana now so his Void Phasing Steps didn''t cause too much trouble.


    "Haha! That''s good, we''re actually quite excited today as well. We''ve been stuck on that part of the ruins for a while now... You can just imagine our desire piling up."


    Everyone chuckled as a fiery light shown in their eyes. Their adventurous spirit was rising up but Wace had to take his priorities."


    "Uhmmm... As for the--"


    Wace was interrupted as Drake suddenly remembered.


    "Oh! Sorry... This is your Celestial Fragment. You can have a look to make sure."


    Drake carelessly threw the small chest containing the precious item.


    Wace caught it and even without opening, he confirmed that it''s the genuine mission objective.


    He grinned at this and felt quite happy as he was getting closer and closer to his real objective. He was aware that the mission he was receiving was in ordance to the path he had chosen and the Pathfinder was only guiding him to it.


    He didn''t store the small chest in his Dimensional Storage Space because it was reserved for whatever things they were about to retrieve. All the previous contents of this space were safely transferred to a secured room within his house at Tanza.


    The group of eight entered the barn that seems to be hastily built just to hide the underground ce.


    At the center was a crater with about 6 meters in diameter and about 6 feet deep. Below was a white and a little bit shining skeleton of an adult man. Besides this unusual skeleton was a small hole fit for one person to enter.


    Wace sent his Divine Sense to investigate.


    "What''s with the skeleton?" He asked after a moment of investigation.


    "Not really sure."


    "Can I buy it?"


    "Well, let''s talk about that after the main mission..."


    "Fair enough..." Wace nodded after hearing Drake''s resolute answer.


    One by one, they entered the underground passage. During this time, Wace''s Divine Sense didn''t stop in observing every movement of the squad and scouting the ce they were at. It was for his own safety. Anyway, in case things get too dangerous, he can use his Void Phase to either escape or use it for a much more beneficial cause.


    After entering the passage, the ce below was quite wide, enough to be an underground railway.


    The tunnel wasn''t just supported by a well-engineered pir but it seems that the ground itself was quite sturdy.


    As they walked in a straight line, Wace saw many destroyed or disarmed traps along the way. He had also noticed that there were several other paths they passed by. They didn''t even nce to either left or right path showing but continuously walked straight and enter the center path whenever three tunnels would appear. Of course, he sent his Divine Sense to the other paths and noticed that some were actually rooms that were emptied. Only empty boxes, empty shelves, and empty weapon racks can be seen. The squad had obviously looted those ces already.


    Wace kept silent as he sensed that some of them became tense after walking for about 6 minutes.


    "From this point on, the path we will be entering would look a lot more different." Drake said and as they entered, Wace was surprised to see that the final location doesn''t look like an abandoned underground facility.


    The ce was a circr room. The walls and ceiling were covered by metal tes. There''sputers, seats, and other mechanical things like the ce were just recently constructed.


    Wace was curious at his mission. There are also hidden traps that were interconnected to self-destruction.


    "We have checked all the useful information from theputers here but we didn''t find any clues about the owner of this ce."


    "Is that so? Mhm... I understand. So, what should I do?"


    "We only found records that at the center of this room was an 8 cubic meter space for a treasure.


    "Here''s the video we retrieved from a hard drive of oneputer here."


    The video content was only a ck and white animation showing something like a blueprint of the room. Beneath the center was indeed space where the treasures are located.


    Unfortunately, once it has been opened up, self-destruction of this underground facility would happen within 120 seconds making the treasures be destroyed and buried underground. Not only that, but some defense structures were also going to activate during that time.


    Wace also noticed that at the center of the room was a weird empty space like there was a thing taken out from there.


    "That is where we got the fragment... Are you ready?"


    "Mhm..."


    As soon as Wace answered, everyone focused their Mana at the center of the room as it started to shake a bit. The floor opened up as expected.


    "Wace, it''s up to you now...."


    The 8 cubic meter space below was filled with a variety of things like the Mana Beast cores, precious gems and metals, and many high-powered guns. Yes, not the usual Mana Artifacts.


    [ 119... 118... 117... ] The countdown of self-destruction started.


    Since he only had 5 cubic meters in his "Spatial Bag, he was asked to ignore some of the Mana Beast Cores. It''s such a shame wasting them like that but there''s nothing he can do.


    Click!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Sounds of mechanical gears can be heard as the treasures were being looted.


    Soon, 12 ck humanoid automatons came to stop them from leaving the ce.


    Ordessa and Marsha immediately took action.

 Chapter 181 - Ruins ( Part 2 )

    The automatons that have suddenly appeared look very deadly due to their sharp des equipped as weapons, but it feels like they''re about to copse at any moment.


    It was probably due to the corrosion after being trapped here for an unknown number of years.


    Ordessa and Marsha who were equipped with heavy swords opened a path for the group as they take the brunt of the assault.


    "How long?!" Drake asked Wace. They were clearly aware about the consequences of taking those treasures but they couldn''t help but feel nervous that this deep underground tunnel was about to copse and be buried along with it. There was also the addition of the automaton guards blocking their path.


    The pressure in this kind of mission was way different to others they''ve taken before.


    "Just give few seconds more... Done! Let''s get out of here."


    While the two females were leading the path, the other mercenaries were using assistive magic spells to disable or restrain the automatons.


    Archon - Water Bullets!


    Archon - Mud Hands!


    Wind Enchant - Haste! Haste! Haste!


    They have been saving their mana pools for this event so they no longer bothered about therge expenditure of mana as long as they get out of here.


    Wace didn''t take action as his role was only to be their baggage. The squad was aware that it is now up to them to bring Wace outside.


    "Careful! Fire Spear!"


    Drake cast a spell to help Marsha on her fight against four automatons.


    "We''re moving so slow! Giovanni, use it now!"


    "Alright, leader."


    Giovanni quickly brought out a blue orb from his pocket. He powered it using his own mana and it was soon shining brightly like there''s a whole blue sky trapped inside the orb.


    ''What''s this?''


    Wace wasn''t exactly sure about the artifact Giovanni brought out but he felt a strong surge of violent mana umting from it. It felt dangerous to some extent but the other members seems to not mind it and even waiting for it''s eruption.


    "Franco! Take Wace!"


    Drake shouted while fending off an automaton attacking him using a magic spell.


    Franco was a big guy and quickly approached Wace and carried him.


    The young man wasn''t sure what''s happening but since there''s no I''ll intenting from Franco, he let the big guy take him. As soon as this happened, Giovanni threw the orb behind them.


    "Now!" He shouted as the squad quickly huddled together.


    At this moment, only 2 automatons were destroyed and 4 of them were struggling from being trapped by some earth magic spells. The other 6 automatons on the other hand were still using their agile footwork and sharp des to fight against the squad.


    Some of the squad members were already injured fighting against them in narrow space. Giovanni''s signal came in the right time.


    [ 45... 44... 43... ]


    The timer before the underground passage can fully copse isn''t stopping so they had to quickly act.


    Drake activated another artifact as soon as they gathered together. A magic spell simr to arge Mana Shell covered them all.


    At the same time, the blue orb that Giovanni threw erupted. The passage was instantly filled with a surging water.


    Apparently, the blue orb was one of the so called one-time use Mana Artifacts that could not easily be purchased even with money.


    If ever there''s one being sold, it will be expensive and many magicians wouldpete with it.


    After all, these types of one-time use Mana Artifacts were normally life savings tools that can either be used to kill an opponent, restrain them or used to escape.


    There wasn''t really an artifact that was officially called "One-Time Mana Artifact", it was just because of a very powerful magic being released that the vessel or the artifact would normally get destroyed after being activated. The name was only created by the consumers to differentiate it from themon mana artifacts. All in all, it''s still a mana artifact.


    It didn''t take long before the group together with automatons were swept from the surging water. It must be remembered that this underground passage had several paths and rooms before they got here so they have to make sure that they won''t get lost.


    Wace remained calm in this situation as he maintained his Divine Sense activated and had a better view about their situation. The automatons could not properly attack them and were also struggling in the water. The Mana Shell covering them did a great job from assisting them to avoid being drowned and to easily be swept by water.


    They were still half-way from the exit and it seems that this surging water hastened the destruction of the underground passage as they all noticed that cracking ground, walls, ceiling.


    "W-what should we do?" Mordred couldn''t help but ask. He was probably the most vulnerable in this situation as he only specialized in scouting missions and disarming traps. His Mana Affinity hasn''t even reached Inducement Control even though he was already 28 years old.


    As for his only Mana Artifact, it was his Wind Ranger''s Shoes that has five spells but it won''t really help in this situation where the ground is cracking and the ceiling is copsing, alongside the surge of water behind them. Even his weapon was only an enhanced dagger, it''s not even an artifact.


    Instead of answering him, Drake nced at Barrett who had a grim face.


    Based on Wace''s observation using his Divine Sense, this Barrett was the strongest magician in the group in terms of mana capacity. But he also noticed that Barrett''s action against the ck automatons was so minimal as if he doesn''t want to expend his energy.


    Anyway, Barrett quickly understood Drake''s concern as he nodded gravely


    ''It looks like they''ve n far ahead.'' Wace quickly thought about it.


    Due to the explosion of water, the tunnel was about topletely copse. They have probably miscalcted the toughnesss of the structure but they still seem to have readied a n B for their escape, since they most likely be short in time on reaching the only exit at this rate.


    "Everyone! Hold on tightly!" Drake instructed as another Mana Artifact was activated from Barrett. It obviously emptied his Mana Pool after he activated the spell as he lost consciousness. Luckily, the man wasn''t heavy as Marsha supported him.


    Immediately after that, the Mana Shell covering them glowed red as they were forcefully lifted up by an unknown force. Wace on the other hand didn''t missed Barrett''s usage of another orb-like Mana Artifact that was quickly destroyed after the activated. The magic spell seems to have an effect to rocket them up in 45 degree angle. It was probably an artifact used to escape from an enemy.


    But this also meant that they''ll be colliding on the ceiling!


    ''Oh... so that''s why Drake asked to hold on tightly...''


    The force seems to be strong enough to st them through the ceiling and escape the copsing underground. The mana required to aplish this was probably so enormous that even Barrett with the highest Mana Pool capacity fainted.


    They were then thrown outside and created their own exit. Even some surge of water followed their way before dissipatingpletely. Soon, an explosion underground created a bit of an earthquake that affected the whole vige.


    The farmnd had received the most damage as the ground cracked and an unknown force came from underground destroying previously beautiful ce.


    "We''re alive!"


    "Hahaha! We did it!"


    "Anyone injured?"


    "Quickly treat the wounds!"


    "This needs a celebration!"


    "Someone wake up Barrett."


    "Let him be..."


    "Urgh... Look at the vige... it''s a mess. I guess, we have topensate them? We should have probably evacuated them, I didn''t know it would be this strong..."


    "That''s natural, it wouldn''t cost too much topensate them after this haul, anyway..."


    Wace listened as the squad members were all celebrating. It must have been very tough for them before to see a lot of treasures but unable to get it due to the consequences. He wasn''t sure how long they have been trying to aplish this task but they look so satisfied finishing their mission.


    Only a few seconds passed before Barrett regained his consciousness and celebrated with his members.


    They then nced at Wace as if asking something.


    "Don''t worry, I filled the 5 cubic meter space." Wace smiled at them to remove the worries on their eyes.


    "Great! Let''s see, let''s see!" Mordred couldn''t wait to see the treasures.


    "Haha! Don''t get too excited, we don''t have to hurry now. We''ll go to Marsha''s ce first and check all of them." Drake said calming them down.


    But even before that, the group decided to make sure that no one was hurt in the vige during the earthquake and they even offered help to anyone who needed.


    ***


    Marsha''s ce was probably the best that this vige could offer. It also didn''t suffer any damage from the earthquake.


    At the very least, it was wide enough to aodate 10 people at once. The house was even separated by a fence from its neighbors. She only has two younger siblings taking care of the house and the small farmnd they have.


    As the squad rested for a bit and even changed to a normal and clean clothes, they gathered at the living room to have an inventory on their haul this time.


    Waceplied and brought out everything making the ce messy.


    Their eyes lit up as they quickly segragated the treasures.

 Chapter 182 - New Clues

    Drake''s group didn''t take long to organize all the treasures they looted this time.


    They made a list so they could easily divide the items for each member''s benefit.


    [ Unknown Mana Beast''s Cores x450 ]


    [ Malphite Stones x178 ]


    [ Garonite Ga x45 ]


    [ Full Moon Stone x32 ]


    [ Unidentified Gems x361 ]


    [ Refined Excellent Burr x30 ]


    [ Luxury Protection Potion x1 ]


    [ Aquamarine Cat''s Eye Gemstone x17 ]


    [ Maximilian Gems x259 ]


    [ Unidentified Gold Coins x1010 ]


    [ Unidentified ck Metal Coins x21 ]


    [ Memory Crystals (Unknown Content) x91 ]


    [ Ancient Abyssal Alloy Fragments x40 ]


    [ Ancient Abyssal ss Fragments x30 ]


    [ Spatial Bag (3 cubics meter space) x3 ]


    [ ck Phantom Automaton x1 ]


    [ Rusty Sword x3 ]


    [ Rusty Dagger x10 ]


    [ Unknown Potion/Liquid Vial x55 ]


    [ Sniper Rifle ( Sting Model ) x11 ]


    [ Magnum Handgun ( Leon Model ) x29 ]


    [ Light Automatic Rifle ( Carnage Model ) x17 ]


    [ Arcane Destruction Grenades x10 ]


    [ Sealed Book x1 ]


    [ A sack of Unknown Metal Fragments ]


    "W-we''re rich? Right?" Mordred couldn''t help saying after looking at the vast amount of precious materials in front of him.


    "Hahaha! We are!" Giovanniughed merrily as he answered.


    "I guess, we can have a longer vacation now?" Ordessa smilingly probed their leader.


    "You bet... Just the gems are enough for us to live a luxurious life."


    "Haha! You did a great job Wace!"


    "Thank you... But if not for that magic spell you''ve thrown, we won''t be able to escape. Right, may I ask what kind of spell was that?" Wace asked Giovanni.


    "Oh, you mean that orb? It''s one of those one-time use artifact out there. We acquired them during our mission at the Wailing Gorge... That was quite dangerous, you know?" Giovanni answered as he reminisces the past.


    "That''s true, just remembering that experience chills me." Even Drake expressed his thoughts. It seems that their squad encountered a lot of dangerous events or missions during their adventuring life.


    "The artifact is called Violent Water Orb and the other artifact we used to st through the ceiling of the underground tunnel was a Violent Cloud Shuttle Orb. We found a total of 5 different orbs at the Wailing Gorge. Now that we used two of them, only three was left." Drake exined very clearly making the members of the squad curious. Telling about their trump cards to someone else that is not part of their squad would do no good.


    But their leader thought otherwise, during the past two weeks after the auction, his members were sent to other missions to acquire some essential resources for their future while he collected information about Wace, their coborator in this mission.


    He did simple research to find out more about him and learned about his potential. But he wasn''t that satisfied as he wanted to learn more about him aside from his achievements that can be found online.


    He paid the Night Rat to gather that information and found out that although unannounced to the public, Wace was already an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist. Not only that, but the young teen also possessed powerful or destructive artifacts. Through paying a huge sum of money, he acquired a video where the young man''s house was attacked by powerful robbers but managed to fend them off using his personally installed Defensive Mana Artifacts.


    In short, he decided to befriend him. His members immediately realized their leader''s intention so they no longer mind. They trusted Drake''s judgment.


    "Oh, I said that you can only study the fragment for a month. But you see, we don''t really have a use for it, it''s been with us for more than a month and we discovered that none of us werepatible with using it..."


    Wace remained silent after hearing this and realized that he was being given a chance to acquire it fully.


    "Uhmm... Is that so? Do you mind if I purchase thispletely?"


    "Haha! I don''t mind! Look at these treasures... I''m sure that these are more valuable than that Celestial Fragment with unpredictable purpose." Drake answered.


    "Really? Then... please tell me your price."


    "Price? How about we be friends? After acquiring these treasures, we might even retire from being a mercenary. Well, our main purpose for adventuring is to live a glorious life but recently we decided to live a different but interesting life. How about this, as a friend... help us buy a certainnd instead and we''ll give you the celestial fragment. What do you say?"


    "Buy and?"


    "Yes, the one we wanted to purchase requires a certain level of status. After you purchased it using your name. You can transfer it to me."


    "Eh? Do I have that certain status? I''m still a student and don''t have any license you know?"


    "Haha... You jest! So, can you do it for us?"


    "Huh? Then, if I can really purchase it. I don''t mind."


    "Great! By the way, is there any item here that interests you? As you can see, we were unable to appraise most of the materials here."


    "Mhmmm..."


    Wace looked around the items as if pondering about it but in truth, ever since he acquired all these treasures, his Pathfinder was giving him notifications several times. Aside from that, after he released all these treasures, his Avalon had been constantly notifying him about some familiar items.


    [ You have discovered fragments of destroyed Cube of Paradox ]


    [ Acquiring the fragments would help the user improve the power of the Cube. ]


    [ Current User Authority Level: Knight ]


    [ Promotion to "Knight Commander" can be achieved after integrating with the remnant destroyed Cube of Paradox ]


    This is what it says after they gathered the "Unknown Metal Fragments". The perks of having a Knight Level ess were already quite amazing and Wace had never desired to improve his ess level. It is not because he didn''t want to get stronger but he thought that this level was already an absolute thing.*


    He remembered that due to his bloodline not originating from the Ancient Mayan Royal, the Cube can only give him a Knight Level ess.


    Whatever the reason was, this news was still surprising to Wace. But there was something even more shocking news after his Avalon, the reliable Artificial Intelligence, scanned the treasures and found that the "Unidentified ck Metal Coins" were actually the Gctic Federation''s Zen coins!


    The coins were made from a very precious metal that can only be mined at a owned by the Federation''s Central Forces. The metal was called Damocles ck Iron. The coins aren''t just a form of money but can also be used as a source of energy in the vast outer space.


    Putting that aside, this only confirmed that the underground tunnel was actually a base created by someone who came from the outer space. No, it may have also been transferred to other natives of this Earth but this doesn''t change the fact that this had already made a contact to the outside.


    ''So this only means that its really not impossible to find this. If this is the case, there''s truly a high chance for the Empire who was chasing after the Cube to find this ce.


    Tsk! Mom, you''ve been researching a very dangerous ancient relic!''


    Wace couldn''t help butment upon learning this. Everything has changed after his mother went missing and his father, Brian Heather, was looking for her traces as he continued his wife''s research. Wace understood this detail after his Uncle Shin hinted that the Cube was part of his mother''s research.


    He already realized that all their unusual businesses, travels, and operation using the Zymeth spaceship before was actually an action to fulfill his mother''s dangerous hobby.


    In the meantime, he had to deal with his current predicament.


    "I found interesting? I guess, these ck coins and this sack of metal fragments. After all, we can''t identify them. Although the vials were also unknown, I''m sure that you have a reliable channel to get them appraised. Also, the two items give some impression to me. For the unidentified gems and unknown Mana Beast''s cores, it''s also interesting to learn about them but I''m not into this type of material."


    "Haha! You''re quite honest. Great!" Drake looked at his members before speaking again.


    "Most of the items here will be reappraised and be converted to money. So how about it? Wanna purchase them?"


    "Sure! Let''s talk about that."


    As the two made an agreement, the other members were all trying to decide who would receive the three Spatial Bags. But they suddenly realized that the bags were actually filled with Revitalization Mana Water!


    ***


    While this is all happening, the group of beta testers was crazily studying a unique mechanical technology within the game.


    They were given a timeframe on this third quest they received.


    "This is interesting..."


    "That''s true. Too bad, this is only a game.''


    "What are you saying? Look at the principles of this technology. I bet that this is possible in real life!"


    Currently, there are five beta testers that actually know each other in real life.


    Looking at their avatars, they were surprisingly students who participated during TMAC.

 Chapter 183 - Beta Test

    The start of school was about to start when the lucky young magicians received the VR Pod to be a beta tester. It means that they only have a few days to y it full-time.


    Hilda, one of Wace''s junior in the academy, has luckily be a part of the beta testing. She was very excited about operating the device since this was something that her senior made. The very same senior who originally made the Traceless Oscition and modified Infrasonic Ray. That two spells had helped her easily win thepetition in her bracket.


    Now, the current device in front of her was something even more amazing.


    This is the second day that she will be ying the game and she couldn''t wait for the server to open. Due to some reasons, the game could not be yed 24 hours a day as the system had to do maintenance for at 3 hours every day.


    ''Five minutes more... Why is it so long?''


    As she waited for the time, she received a few messages from her friends.


    [ Its about time. Are you ready? ] - Shirley


    [ Are you done eating? We need toplete the quest this time. We need you... I think. ] - Escanor


    [ Hello, Hilda. This is me, Ray Penber. I will be waiting for you at the same spot. Take care. ] - Ray


    [ Hey! The server is about to open. I''m just reminding you as you requested. :) ] - Lina


    Hilda replied to all of them.


    The five of them including Hilda had met in the virtual reality game since they were all sent in the same underground base, one of thest bastions of the Sevens or the natives of the world.


    Studying at the same academy, although different academic years and different magician''s path taken, they easily got friendly with each other as they are familiar with their faces.


    They''ve all fought and won the TMAC.


    On the first day of their game, the five of them had the very first offensive mission against a group of invaders.


    A 10-man patrol team from Dorssian Empire equipped with high-tech guns, scanners, and a two Assault Gears ( Designed simr to Meredith Empire''s Marauder Gears ) had discovered a group of fleeing Sevens and they were about to kill everyone. The five of them received a mission to rescue the fleeing NPCs.


    The mission was quite easy considering the fact that they received assistance from powerful NPCs stationed within their current. underground fortress. It seems that they were just being readied about the fighting method of the invaders.


    The enemies doesn''t need a long casting time, no unusual phenomena like during their magic invocation, and no mana disturbance or chaotic movement of mana during the enemy''s assault. They only possess pure and simple destructive weapons. They only had to trigger their gun and a powerful beam of light almost simr to Wace''s Laser Focus would fire. Only the color was different as they are firing blue light instead of Wace''s red beam of light.


    Aside from that, the others also possessed something simr to the guns they''re familiar with but their bullets seems to be so strong that their Mana Shell was like a fragile ss in front of it.


    Even if they had a chance to return fire at them, these invaders also possess something simr to their Mana Shell, but it was called Energy Armor. There was also the problematic Assault Gear. A floating machine or drone that could carry one person tounch an assault from the sky.


    Fortunately, a strong NPC joined in their mission. It was Arthur, the current basemander of their underground fortress, he possess a powerful weapon that disrupts the Energy Armor making it useless whenever he fired his magic spells. He also possesses powerful magic that could petrify the machine making the device useless.


    "I want to learn it!" Is what all they said. Unfortunately, within their current group, only Escanor had learned things about the Artifact Forging. The other guy and girls were Combat Magicians. They have a good sense ofbat tactics, calm and broad mind during battle, and amazing weapon utilization, but forging this weapon was not their forte.


    Unfortunately, during this virtual game, they had to study this in order to battle against the small fries of the Dorssian Empire.


    How could they defeat or fight against therge number of humanoid machines, floating castles, high-speed airships, army of full-body armored soldiers if these weak patrol teams were already giving them headaches?


    ***


    Hilda looked at her wristband mana artifact ced on her bed before entering the virtual world.


    Her VR Pod was conveniently ced in her bedroom beside her bed as she felt that its better if she have quick ess to the device.


    "Start Link!"


    As she selected the Adventure Mode, she disintegrated to many orbs of lights and reformed in herst location when she ended the link before.


    She was in the hallway going to the training hall in the underground fortress. Then, other lights appeared as her friends started their link into the game.


    "Hilda... Can you still use that amazing magic spell here?" Lina asked after she suddenly appeared.


    "You mean that oscition?"


    "Yes.."


    "I can''t..." Hilda shakes her head as she continued to exin. "That magic spell was created by Wace. Although I know how to cast the spell, it''s in the premise that I have the artifact in hands."


    Hilda said as she showed her empty hands.


    After entering this game, they were all surprised about how they can still feel mana and control it in the same level from the real world. It was not something that exists in other simtion games.


    This made them sing praises to the creator and easily got addicted to the game. After all, there is also a training ground here where they can borrow some standard Mana Artifacts and they could just release all their power without caring in the surroundings.


    Hilda was one of the magician who benefitted a lot in these perks. She was the strongest first-year student in the twelve academies during TMAC''s month. Her power could not easily be controlled so she had to be very careful whenever she uses it.


    Wace had noticed this situation before so he created a wristband Mana Artifact for her that can perfectly take advantage of her almost overflowing mana reserves.


    "Why did you ask?"


    "Nothing... I''m just thinking that since the realism of this game was almost 100%, maybe someone here can make a mana artifact that we desired to have."


    "Well..." Hilda looked at Escanor. He was the only man capable of artifact forging in their group.


    "We''re only on the second day of the game, we can still explore a lot of things here. Who knows, maybe there''s something more impressive here than what we know in the real world."


    "Haha! That makes sense. This is just game, after all."


    The five then went to the basemander.


    "Sir Arthur! Please teach us the method to destroy the enemy''s Energy Armor..."


    "Of course! You bravely joined and fought together with me against those invaders. You all must learn this..."


    Ding!


    [ You have gained enough recognition from the Base Commander. ]


    [ You have received a copy of Energy Armor''s blueprint. Thanks to Freya. ]


    [ Energy Armor Orb - Grade B


    An armor made of pure Vers Energy. It is a source of power unknown to this.


    Notpatible with Mana Users. ]


    [ Learn how it was made to learn how it can be destroyed. ]


    "Right... Since you are all trustworthy and hard-working magicians... 5 hours from now, another group of invaders would visit the Lagune Lake to survey the surroundings. It is far from our current base, so I will give all of you three hours of time to study the blueprint. I will send someone to help you fight against the enemy''s Assault Gear.


    [ 2 : 59 : 58 ]


    It is also the start of the five''s dream to materialize this Energy Armor Orb in real life as someone suggested to try a different source of energy.


    They were nning to use some Mana Beast''s Cores instead in exchange to the missing Vers Energy.


    ***


    Wace was already on his way home. He got the Zen coins, the sack of metal fragments or a destroyed Cube of Paradox with him and his reward, the Celestial Fragment.


    He had made a good deal with Drake. The squad seems to be quite humble and trustworthy so he didn''t mind having an honest and expensive transaction with them.


    After a few more Void Phasing Steps, he quietly arrived in his Workshop.


    "What did I miss?" Wace asked Avalon.


    [ The popr rookie idol, Miya Linus, will continue her study while being an idol. ]


    [ The most influential Grand Arcanist has revealed to the world that before he went to the northern continent, he epted an outstanding apprentice that would surpass his achievements. ]


    "Eh?! But... I''m not really asking for some news updates... Sigh~ Anyway, I remember that I said to only give news rted to me or something that would affect me. So what''s with the idol news?"


    [ Miya Linus decided to enroll at Leonhearts Academy. ]


    "Eh?" Wace remembered the charmingdy he met in the town. He was rightfully used of peeping on her due to his careless usage of Divine Sense.


    ''Haa... Soul Arts user, huh.''

 Chapter 184 - New Curriculum And New Objective

    The news piqued Wace''s interest as he read the article.


    Aside from the news that this rising star will be attending sses at the Leonhearts Academy, it also featured the other new curriculum and noted some famous individuals in the field that will be teaching in the academy thising semester.


    Celebrity Idol also has 3 years of training and studying at the academy, the same as the other curriculums.


    After all, students being epted in this program were those who have trained at an early age.


    Although the curriculum itself helps in improving an individual''s skills, before anyone can be epted, the person must already possess the talent and dedication rted to this path.


    The Mana Affinity requirement wasn''t strict as their path had a different method of mana development. They focus more on physical appearances, talents in singing, dancing, acting, and most of all,patible with Soul Arts.


    The other curriculum was Materia Medica. It mainly focuses on creating medicines for Magician''s consumptions. After all, there are already medical schools that are only for non-magicians.


    The study of concocting medicines, potions, or elixir takes a longer time, so this curriculum requires 5 years before being able to graduate.


    ''It would be lively at the academy... for sure.'' Wace thought as he realized that only a few days before the school starts.


    "Oh right... Pathfinder? What should I do with the metal fragments?"


    [ Nothing. Consumption of the cube fragments has already started. ]


    "Is that so?"


    [ 79:54:30 left before Cube''s upgrade will bepleted. ]


    "Mhmm... That''s good. I''ll wait for it then."


    He checked the time and after noticing that it was alreadyte, he asked Avalon to take care of some things while he slept.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace wants it to be the Celestial Fragment day. He wanted to ensure that today, he will learn something from it even bit by bit.


    He opened the small chest and marveled at the beauty of the fragment. The ce''s Mana Fluctuation was even affected due to the sudden suffocating amount of Mana that was released.


    "This fragment can help in Astral Core Formtion and Chasm Trample. Haaa~ Let''s do this..."


    He touched the crystal-like fragment and felt it was simr to ice that was burning down the skin of people unprepared.


    He sent his Divine Sense and found nothing from it, aside from the weird fluctuations of the fragment. Whenever he sent his powerful Divine Sense, the feedback wasn''t good. The item was just like a bottomless pit. He was sure that the skill was passing through it but there was no way for it to stay and observe the item''s structure.


    "I can only try other means, huh. How about tasting this?" Wace has some other method still but first thought of this. He quickly shook his head as it doesn''t seem to be a good idea. He''ll first cooperate with his A.I. to do some testings here.


    ***


    The day before the first day of school.


    "What happened to the Zen coins? Can you tell me more about its origin? Why is it together with the fragmented ancient relic? Right, do you think you can extract the energy within those coins?"


    Wace simply wanted to know all the progress about the work he dumped to his A.I. Of course, he wasn''t idling as well since he was still trying to learn the 2nd Stage of AOTL, Lightning Break, and study the Celestial Fragment.


    Unfortunately, the Lightning Break technique was a bit harder than he thought it was and the mission for the Celestial Fragment wasn''t progressing faster as he predicted.


    Checking the progress of his mission, he saw the 11/100 progression. It seems that it would take a while.


    [ Unable to trace Zen Coins'' origin as the surface was being diluted with this world''s mana. ]


    [ Energy extraction requires a piece of special machinery. ]


    "Then you make it. What do you need? I''ll buy it."


    [ GH Drive ]


    "Eh? What do you need that for? That''s for Aether, isn''t it?"


    [ It hasponents that could harness dangerous energy like Aether. Simr to Zen Coins, it needed a technology that is unique to Trinity Realms. ]


    Wace paused for a bit remembering that the major force within the gxy that created a technology to exploit the elusive Aether was the Trinity Realms.


    They were the only ones capable of creating GH Drive, the original creators, and mysterious force within the Gctic Federation.


    Although many copies of this technology came out, their original creations couldn''t bepared to fake ones in terms of the operation time, durability, and speed of processing the Aether Force. They have their own trade secret so they never went out of business even though many tried to copy them. At most, they just lost some customers, but within therge gxy, this kind of equipment would never lose its poprity. The demand was extremely high that they couldn''t be bothered to fight against the small fries.


    "Are you saying that the Corvette-ss Spaceship we left in Araceli has an original GH Drive?"


    [ Yes. ]


    Wace went silent and contemted for a while.


    He was fine at self-destructing the spaceship before since he emptied its contents or valuable resources within, or as he thought. He deemed that with Avalon on his side, it was only a matter of time before he can create something better, arger, faster, powerful, and innovative spaceship using magic integration.


    But the existence of genuine GH Drive was different that it made him rethink his decision. The engine was made of something that was definitely not existing on this.


    If his memory was correct, the Trinity Realms can only produce 150-180 GH Drive each year. A very small amount but priced absurdly. This encouraged a lot of organization to find its secrets and learn it for their organization''s benefit. Theserge organizations had a super A.I. like Avalon or something that might even be better.


    They have unimaginable material and human resources and incredible wealth on their side. In short, with all the resources they possess, they tried to imitate the GH for so long and only managed to create a lower grade, lower efficiency GH Drive.


    But this small sess already made them happy since even if it only functions at least 28% of the original, it was already somethingmendable.


    Wace thought that it was also what his spaceship had since he never encountered a genuine GH Drive before. It has beenmon knowledge in space that the organization that purchases Trinity Realm''s product would only be those royalties or the most powerful factions on their side. So this revtion was quite a surprise.


    ''So dad''s business can actually afford this, huh.'' Wace thought before shaking his head. Anyway, his ns must be changed.


    "Avalon, I know that I instructed you to self destruct once the Aether Force had reached the 1% mark. How many were left?"


    [ 1.33% left. ]


    "Abort self-destructionmand."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ''Hmmm... This should be it for now. But I have to hurry, once the Aether protecting the spaceship was emptied, that organization will take it away.''


    Wace closed his eyes and after contemting for a couple of minutes, he realized something.


    "If I think about it, one of the perks from having aKnight Level was my 5 cubic meters Spatial Bag. With this as a reference, it can be said that once my ess became higher, it has a good chance of increasing my perks as well..."


    Wace mumbled as he tries to n his moves.


    "I guess, I''ll see for now."


    If ever his Spatial Bag increased its capacity, then he might have a chance of taking away his spaceship.


    ***


    The start of school wasn''t very pleasing to some people, but being able to enter the Leonhearts Academy was different, every student here was excited to go to ss and enjoy their youth.


    Apparently, there''s a group of five people that was actually not too happy at the start of their ss.


    [ Hilda? Are you going to the academy now? ] -Lina


    [ We have a mission at 4 pm. Go home early, okay? ] - Shirley


    [ Don''t you have club activities, Shirley? Don''t you miss your other friends? Haha! Right, Hilda, I heard that you will be a part of the student council, correct? ] - Ray


    [ Yes. That was the n. ] - Hilda


    [ Let''s make an after school club for virtual gaming activities. I think that the game must be introduced to a lot more people. ] - Escanor


    The five of them made a group chat to discuss all things rted to the virtual world. They had learned a lot of things inside the game and were even nning to try something in real life.


    [ Wait... Have you finished your daily reports, suggestion, and others to the creator? ] - Hilda


    [ Yes! I rmended to add leaderboards! ] - Escanor


    [ Unlike other games, there is no leveling system here. There''s not even an option to see the character status. The most that we can see was the list of skills we learned or trying to learn. We only have very limited assistance from the game system and had to work hard in all of our missions. ] - Shirley


    [ Well, I suggested it but it''s up to the creator. I guess, they can use the highest number of Dorssian killed, influence ratings, or other statistics for the leaderboard. ]


    Escanor suggested eager to make the virtual world morepetitive.

 Chapter 185 - Again

    Wace woke up early as he asked Avalon to be his rm clock. It was the first day of school and he doesn''t want to bete.


    ''Should I use Void Phase?'' Wace thought after fixing himself.


    He already nned to purchase a car from a dealer but it would still be on theing weekend. The only other problem was his license. He was 16 and still minor. He must be at least 17 years old before taking the license exam.


    He looked at his watch and since it was still early. He decided to ride on the bus.


    It didn''t take long before he arrived in front of the academy''s gate. He can see that there''s a lot of new studentsing in.


    As a third-year student, the border of the uniform''s logo on his left chest was different.


    Their academy logo, a lion with an open wings, has a crimson color at it''s circr border unlike the second year''s pale blue. For the first years, it was green color. There has been some changes but it was probably due to merging with the other school. Wace had also read that due the addition of new curriculum, the division of students, Sun or Moon ss were also abolished. Anyway, it was only a way to differentiate Combat Path Magicians to Engineer''s Path. Now that there''s four courses avable, the headmaster removed this method of differentiating instead of adding more method of division. Percival wanted a more united student as it seems.


    Most of the students at Materia Medica and Idol Training came from the closed down school so he wanted to make sure that everyone can easily adapt in the environment.


    As Wace was about to enter the gate, he heard many students eximing at the back. He looked behind and noticed a crowd of students peeking at a certain direction. He didn''t have to ask what''s happening as he heard them talking.


    "Isn''t that Miya''s manager? What was she doing here?"


    "She''s Miss Diana Humeray, right? Ahh... She''s a mature beauty. A perfect pair with another beauty."


    Many had recognized Diana who was in front of a parked van.


    "Maybe... Miya will perform at the ceremony?"


    "What are you saying? Are you not watching news?"


    "I heard that she''ll be attending herst year in training here."


    "Mhm... Right, she''s on her 5th year as an idol trainee."


    "Urgh... But I can''t see her..."


    "She''s in the van. There''s no vehicle allowed to enter the academy, right?"


    Soon, they saw Diana opening the sliding door of the van as Miya step out.


    The student''s exmations had only gotten stronger and there was even a sign from some students that can''t hold their urges to approach Miya. It may cause some trouble if there will be more students who will follow.


    ''Urgh... So this can really happen, huh.'' As Wace was about to ignore the situation and head to the academy but everyone had suddenly managed to keep calm and not be overly excited. They still kept their smiles and eyes of admiration towards Miya, but they look a little moreposed than a few moments ago.


    ''This... Isn''t magic affecting minds should be prohibited?'' Wace had suddenly thought but after a moment, he immediately realized that it could be different since they practice a different art.


    He nced towards the culprit and noticed the great difference when he had met her at the town. During that time, thedy wore a make up that makes her a bit more mature. But this time, she even cut her hair short and dyed her hair ck. She looks more innocent and approachable this way.


    Wace then recalled the news he read before and he was sure that Miya still has a longer hair that time. It seems that she wanted to change her image while she was still attending school.


    After realizing that he was kept here for more than a minute, he quickly ignored the people behind him and walked to his ssroom.Information about his ssmates, instructor, and others were already given to them online.


    Their ssroom was on 2nd floor of the left-wing building. He immediately found it and met with his friends.


    ''Sigh~'' He couldn''t help but notice the missing members of their group. Tracy was no longer here. She was together with Ross Schien attending at Skywalker Academy instead. Kazimir had also returned to his country.


    "Yo~ Wace!" Gilbert greeted him and gestured toe over next to his seat. Wace went over and returned his greetings.


    "How about Ericka?"


    "She won''t be present for this first day. I heard that she got stuck on her vacation and will only return home this evening."


    "Mhmm..."


    Soon, they were joined by Keh and Katherine Cummings. They were a bit more attached to Wace''s group now that not only Mark went missing, even Tracy and Ross decided to move away.


    After a few moments. Their instructor came in. She was a familiar person to Wace.


    "Only one is missing?" That voice sounds very soothing to hear. Thedy was ine Hazelrink, the person who had given him a chance to meet with his previous seniors and learn a lot of things through helping them on their project.


    ''Oh, she''s wearing it?''


    ***


    Since this is the first day of school, there wasn''t much to do. Many of the students went home early after being dismissed and some others went to their respective clubs. The academy promotes other healthy activities aside from Artifact Forging and Combat Practice.


    There are clubs used for their hobbies like sculpting, painting, archery, fencing, other simr sports. This is also a way to have a better control of their Mana aside for being a source of enjoyment.


    But there was group of five who had another goal by forming a club. It was to be used for a more intensive discussion about the Alien Invasion that was giving them a headache.


    "Senior... isn''t the mission too difficult for us?" Hilda asked her senior Shirley.


    "Haah~ I''m thinking of that as well. But I already confirmed that it should be doable."


    "Where did you get that confidence?" Escanor, the young man who looked like their senior student, asked.


    "Well, I sent a review on their website and someone answered that it can be done. It seems that the group of Beta Testers at Desert Fortress had manage to do something simr to it."


    "Is that so? Isn''t that impressive?"


    "Yes... Too bad, I couldn''t ask for their help." Shirley said after recalling it.


    Their group was stucked on their quest as they couldn''te up with a method to fight against Assault Gears if they weren''t being assisted by an NPC. Their only saving grace was that this mode can bepleted anytime they are ready. They are not bound toplete that quests at all cost and they could stillplete other missions. It is just that the reward forpleting it was very tempting. The reward was having method to assemble a Silver Knight. A humanoid machine that can be piloted by a magician. They suspected that it contains information that can be used in real life.


    ***


    Wace went home early as he didn''t really have that much to do. He wasn''t even needed at the student council this time. Even the new president was still not decided.


    He remembered ine''s words as she introduced the ns for their third year. Aside for having them group up and create their projects just like how he assisted his seniors for the Armor Tech he made, he was interested at the mention of creating their own "Series".


    Although ine didn''t borate. They will surely be taught with a moreprehensive method of creating "Series"patible to them. They may copy or even use an existing "Series" for their own good but it''s normal. It was difficult to create an original.


    That''s right, the Royal Series, Enchant Series, Archon Series, and many others weren''t just made on a whim. Wace had been nning on creating his own "Series" and even had a name for it. This thought came in when he made those magic spells for his junior Hilda and for Shirley.


    "Urgh..."


    Wace cleared his thoughts as he continued to study the Celestial Fragment. He has been doing this for the past days and his progress has already reached 90/100.


    He was almost there. He couldn''t help but be excited at the rewards he will be receiving from the Pathfinder.


    Based on his tests and probing on this item, it was simr to a form of energy that was entirely different from Mana. It made Wace realized why it was called a Celestial Fragment. It seems that the item wasn''t even from this world.


    But he doesn''t have any basis on that. As he was stucked at this stage for a day, he has been feeling a bit annoyed at the fragment.


    He wasn''t sure what was missing on his study. Should he really determine the origin of this item toplete the progress? Or even use it to improve himself?


    No one was able to answer for him and can only try other methods suggested by Avalon.


    But suddenly, there was a bit of shaking on the ground and Avalon had quickly notified him of what was happening.


    [ Your house is under attack. Activating First Emergency Defense Strategy. ]


    [ 1st Emergency Defense System destroyed. ]


    [ Activating secondary Defense System. ]

 Chapter 186 - Defense

    Wace was surprised to hear Avalon''s report. Although there weren''t any big changes applied to his firstyer of defense due to the Golden Trident Group''s arrangement, thepany had added a bit of security.


    They improved the turret''s system, the maneuverability of their automatons, and added ayer ofMana Pulse Barrier around his property.


    Not only that, but a couple of logos from the securitypany was also shown outside his property to supposedly drive away criminals from targeting his ce.


    Wace immediately thought the previous group who tried to infiltrate his property were the same culprits now. But he suddenly realized that they shouldn''t be a death-seeking group. They should''ve gotten information about what happened here in the first time they tried.


    "Show me what''s happening outside."


    Wace instructed Avalon as one of the sma screens at the corner of his workshop lit up.


    There, he saw seven cloaked individuals fully armored and now defending against his Laser Focus and Terror Centrifugal Gun. They were covered by the same ck miasma which Wace learned before as Hallowed Eye''s effect. Even a synthesized version of it was auctioned off at the capital.


    "Oh, they''re prepared this time. They look stronger now... Avalon, send out the Elysiums now. Don''t kill them all. Leave someone alive."


    Wace praised the seven intruders as they gathered together and defended against his installed defenses.


    He also quickly nced at the destroyed Mana Pulse Barriers. This time, they no longer created a hole to sneak in but they seem to possess a piece of special equipment that canpletely destroy the barrier''s core. Not only that, but all the turrets were also destroyed making it just a pile of metals, and some were even melted. Nothing can be recycled at all.


    ''Do you have a grudge with me?''


    Wace couldn''t help but feel suspicious of their actions. They should be clearly aware of the danger ofing here...


    Right now, Wace''s very own created barrier had activated and reced the Golden Trident Group''s pulse barrier. It is a much stronger defense and it would not allow anyone to leave or enter the coverage of the barrier without Wace''s permission.


    It was called Force Field Protection. The concept of this barrier was simr to his Wave Ward. This can even be used to deflect electromaic radiation like hisser focus. This was also a way to control hisser beams so it can only damage the ce within his property once activated. Of course, if necessary, this Force Field can be deactivated for his Laser Focus to pass through.


    This also means that the intruders were trapped within his property.


    The Wave Ward that was protecting the house and the workshop was also left untouched since they probably learned its effect before.


    "Eh? They might actually be nning to leave now but they can''t?"


    He saw that the intruders were really aiming for the cores of Golden Trident Group''s automaton. Wace forgot what it was called but their automatons seem to be causing him some problems.


    Ring!


    The sound of his mobile device was heard. It was someone from the securitypany. They''ve surely got the news that their automatons and installed defenses were destroyed.


    He saw that it came from the same guy who also notified him and assisted with the police investigation before.


    ''Is it Ray?''


    Wace remembered the name and picked up the phone to answer.


    ***


    While Wace was chatting with the officer from the securitypany. The seven intruders were regretting their decision to target this location first.


    They have prepared for a long time to thrash this ce. They brought equipment to destroy the core of the Mana Pulse Barrier called Origin Tracker. It was used to find the core of the barrier so they can easily sabotage it. This process only took them about 5 seconds to aplish and it even causes some shaking on the ground due to their powerful spell. They used this powerful magic to forcefully destroy the barrier''s structure from the inside. It cost them a lot.


    And after entering the ce, they made a quick job of destroying the installed mobile turrets.


    In truth, they even ignored the turret''s bullets. Heavy Turret, Mini Turrets, Elemental Turrets, and others were nothing due to their armors and improved Hallowed Eye''s ck miasma.


    That''s right, they already activated the power of the sealed artifact after stepping into Wace''s property.


    After destroying the automatons and taking the precious cores they needed on their mission. They were nning to leave the ce after cing powerful explosives around the ce to get revenge for their fallenrades.


    Unfortunately, they realized that they were stuck here.


    The Magic Jammer isn''t even effective. They can''t stop the assault as well. They can only rely on their defenses.


    They were even protecting the explosives they held as they were afraid that the Centrifugal Gun would randomly hit it and cause their demise. That would be the oue they wanted to avoid.


    Defending against the powerful centrifugal gun that fires 110,000 rounds per minute with .50 caliber and theser focus was actually within their ns. They prepared for it for several weeks. Unfortunately, 5 normal looking automatons came out to organize an assault against them. It''s not within their n but they quickly managed to adapt to the situation.


    "Defend!"


    "Hold on!"


    "We can exhaust the bullets and theser should be overheated by now!"


    "We can do this!"


    These shouts can be heard as they remained strong despite their current bad situation.


    Well, it was true in a sense. The bullets that Wace has in his stocks weren''t unlimited. Theser focus does indeed generate so much heat but this has been resolved already. He could no longer use his previous Passive Heat Dissipation System as he doesn''t want to heat up his ground. Instead, he was using a Cooling System where magic is involved to cool down hisser cannons. Through the help of airflow cirction it lessens the burden of getting overheat. Although the cannon still can''t fire unlimitedsers.


    At most, it can fire for about half a day before it will be destroyed.


    And for its energy, it was simple since he has a unique Mana Gathering Formation.


    This was one of the benefit in learning to incorporate magic spells and advanced technology.


    Right now, the seven intruders were getting desperate. The Elysiums appeared and they were probably a hundred times better than the Golden Trident Group''s automaton.


    Without any words or noise, the automatons were moving agilely like they were assassins.


    Fortunately for the intruders, the mission wasn''t to annihte them but to capture some of them alive.


    "S-so fast!"


    Their armor was made of Ghrain Alloy from Utara and was powered by Hallowed Eye''s miasma. It could practically ignore the securitypany''s installed turrets. They never bother to use their magic barriers.


    But it was different news for theser focus, and to the ming daggers being held by the Elysiums. Damages, cracks, and dimming of the ck miasma on their armor ur whenever they were hit directly.


    The seven can only move around while being together to avoid being targeted easily.


    "Thirteen! We''ll sacrifice here! We''ll make an opening and you escape from here.!"


    "No! I''m not leaving you behind!"


    "We have our mission!"


    "I will not agree! We live or die together!"


    "You--"


    "Say no more, brother sixteen."


    "Idiot! Who will avenge us if we all perish here!"


    "I won''t ept it! Neen! You''re the youngest. Take these cores and bring it to master. We''ll make an opening. Hurry!"


    "A-alright."


    As soon as Neen held the bag containing the important cores, the other six were prepared to trigger the explosives they brought. But this time, they nned to control the explosion to create an opening to the force field protection.


    Unfortunately, this will be difficult to aplish even if they all helped together. Especially now that only six of them can do it to allow Neen to escape.


    Neen stayed at the center of the group as he tightly held the bag containing the cores. He had warned his seniors numerously to avoid this ce and try to gather other cores from different target ces. He even asked their master''s opinion on this and agreed to it. However, once they are on the field, Thirteen would be themander and they have to follow his orders. Unfortunately, he didn''t listen and wanted to prove that he was someone better. Their team was also blinded by the powerful artifacts and abundant Hallowed Eye''s blessing they received from their master.


    Now, they were about to perish in the mission and unable to even send their mission objective, the automaton''s cores, to their master without sacrificing his brothers'' lives in the process.


    "Look out!" Thirteen shouted but it was toote.


    "Argh!"


    "Guh!"


    Fourteen and Fifteen were heavily injured by the automatons. Elysium''s arms had suddenly extended by a meter while holding the ming dagger. It bypassed the ck miasma''s cloud defense and pierced through their armor burning their skin.


    Due to the painful stab, they failed to control their ck miasma and were instantly hit by theser focus making holes with the size of an infant''s fist to their bodies.


    Currently, there are 6 Laser Focus firing at them, 1 Terror Centrifugal gun, and 5 Elysiums wearing them down.


    They couldn''t think straight anymore and could only follow Thirteen''s previous instruction. Using their powerful mental strength, they controlled a part of the ck miasma to form a cylinder or a cannon. Thirteen no longer hesitated as he didn''t have much time. It was too difficult to control these miasmas with only 4 of them!


    In the end, as soon as he tried to detonate the explosives, they lost control at the ck miasma and the explosion became scattered.


    They failed.


    They could only despair and wait for their death.

 Chapter 187 - Devoured

    "Wace, are you at your house? Your property is under attack."


    Officer Ray from the Golden Trident Group immediately said over the phone after Wace answered the call.


    "Yes." The young man answered as he deliberated what toment about their exceptional security service.


    "Are you safe?"


    "I am. Don''t worry about me. Are you sending the police?"


    "Mhm. We''ll be there in 5 minutes, hold on!"


    "Oh? Alright then..."


    "Don''t panic... In case they needed something, just give it to them. Don''t fight recklessly, prioritize your safety. Okay?"


    "Eh? Yes, sure. I will."


    ''I''ll have to make this quick, huh.'' Wace added in his mind.


    He ended his conversation with Ray while not leaving his eyes on the sma screen. He noticed that the group had failed to execute their n as the Force Field had only trembled for a bit before bing stable again.


    "Cut off the feeds." Wace instructed to Avalon.


    There is no longer surveince camera from the Golden Trident Group within the property since those cameras came from the five automatons as their ''eyes''. Now that all five of those were destroyed, the securitypany was no longer aware of what''s happening inside his property.


    But the police might ask for his surveince camera so he decided to cut off any recording for now as he wanted to try something with these people.


    Right now, the Elysiums managed to apprehend the five intruders. The Centrifugal Gun stopped firing and the Laser Focus remained on standby.


    It seems that the four who tried to control the explosion''s direction had exhausted too much of their mental strength and failed to fight against the Elysium.


    On the other hand, thest intruder alive who was holding the sack of cores, remained standing on the ground. The Elysiums were initially wary about him but he didn''t respond when he was approached. He was probably too shock at the result of their operation here.


    The five of them were handcuffed by a metal or a machine with a size of two adult''s head. The arms were wrapped with ck squared chain and from their wrist to their hands were covered by arge metal. It was even a bit familiar.


    "Avalon, where did you get these?"


    [ Those were made after the first intrusion within the property. ]


    "Oh? Why didn''t you report it to me?"


    [ You instructed to strengthen our defense structure within the property. Capturing enemies were part of the process. ]


    Wace raised his brows as Avalon further exined.


    [ This is in order to learn the objective of the enemies attacking the property to avoid future attacks and retaliate in order to defend. Twenty handcuffs were made in the process. ]


    "Is that so? Good work! Just do what you think is the best."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Eh, wait! Just don''t go overboard. I mean, you still have to prioritize our safety and the construction of our ns."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Okay. I would like to talk with them. Can I do it, now?"


    [ No problem. Elysiums are in the process of removing any dangerous weapons on them. ]


    [ Two minutes and forty-three seconds before the police will arrive. ]


    "Mhmm..."


    He was about to go out and ask some questions to the intruders but a sudden sound of rm came from Avalon.


    [ Anomalies detected. Rmending not to approach the entities outside. ]


    ''Entities? You''re no longer referring them as humans?''


    He stopped going out and listened to Avalon''s rmendation. He watched from within and noticed that there were some changes within the bodies of four intruders.


    They were being shrouded by the ck miasma as sound of bones snapping as the intruders started to wail in extreme anguish.


    "What''s happening with their bodies?!"


    Avalon didn''t answer. It may be unaware of the answer or concluded that it was a rhetorical question from him. Nevertheless, the four intruders were in extreme pain. The remaining intruder wasn''t experiencing this and he was only looking at them in fear. His eyes tells that he knows what was happening as pity could also be seen in his eyes.


    Only about 30 seconds had passed as the four stopped wailing, vanished on the spot and only leaving a ball of smoke behind.


    It was a very unexpected turn of events for Wace.


    But this time, Avalon no longer stopped Wace froming out.


    ***


    Neen couldn''t do anything as he was restrained by the abnormal automatons.


    Yes, he considered them as abnormal. These automaton''s movements were extremely life-like. The minute details of their movement, their steps, their way of handling people as they handcuffed them, how they helped hisrades from sitting up, how they agilely remove their weapons, and how they smoothly searched their clothes almost without feeling that they were being searched at all.


    It was very impressive. It was probably very convenient to have them as maids or butlers.


    The country of Maja was the top creator of automatons and based on his knowledge, it hasn''t reached to this perfection.


    "What are you going to do with us?" Neen asked the automaton as he waited for a reply.


    It only looked at him but didn''t answer.


    ''It can''t speak and hold a conversation, huh.'' Neen heaved a sigh of relief as it would probably be too much if it could indeed hold a conversation. That was just too much of perfection if it could.


    Right now, he was aware of what was about to happen to him. He wasn''t too worried of being captured and tortured as he can kill himself if it is necessary. As for being rescued? Not a chance. He would never believe that their master would even bother to do so.


    "Aaaurghhh!!"


    "Help! Stop it! Arrgh!"


    "N-no k-kill me! Please! Someone! I c-cant-"


    As he gave up on himself, he suddenly heard the wailings of his previous teammates. They were in extreme pain and couldn''t even kill themselves.


    "Hallowed Eye''s devouring..." Neen mumbled as look of fear and sadness showed in his eyes. Their cloaks and armors were already removed making their expression easily read this time.


    After their pointless struggle, they were devoured by the ck miasma and formed into four faint orbs made of ck smoke. Their previous bodies can no longer be found.


    Soon, he heard the sound of the door opening from the workshop as a breeze of cold air went out to remove any dust in front. He then heard the footstepsing from the owner of this property. Based on the light sounds, it seems that the owner was rxed and not worried or anxious about meeting them. Instead of striking fear to the owner due to his brutal killing of theirrades, it seems to have a reverse effect.


    At the same time this happened, he also noticed the ball of smoke that came from the four had actually floated and tried to escape from here but got stuck above the spherical force field covering this whole terrifying ce.


    Neen then saw a young and handsome man with gray hair and ck eyes walked out of the workshop. The man wore simple clothes but he still looked very dashing as he approached him without anything on his hands.


    He was definitely confident in his power. Neen assumed as he saw the young man''s eyes that were looking above and probably trying toprehend the action of struggling balls of smoke.


    "What happened to the four?"


    Neen didn''t answer. Wace expected this.


    "The police were about toe here. You have more than a minute left. If you answer all my questions truthfully, I''ll let you go."


    There''s not much time to exin so he didn''t bother to borate and give time for Neen to think.


    "Again. What happened to the four?"


    "Are you telling the truth?"


    "Yes. I won''t repeat my question anymore."


    Neen gritted his teeth. He was aware that once he was captured by the police, only suicide was his best choice. He was prepared to die but since he was given a chance, he wanted to gamble and see to it whether this young man would keep his words.


    "Fine... The four were devoured by the Hollowed Eye''s curse. It is a side of effect of using the Sealed Artifact''s power."


    "Side effect? Why are you not being devoured?"


    "It will only happen if we overuse its power." Neen answered since this information isn''t that too sensitive.


    "Alright. Why are you targeting those cores?"


    "I don''t know. It was an order given to us. We only followed them."


    "What''s the name of your master and organization?"


    "I don''t know his name. Our organization? Its called Order of the ck Knights..." Neen smirked as he was hoping that this would make Wace afraid to go back on his words.


    "I will not seek revenge and I will speak with my leader not to send another retaliation if you let me go." He added.


    "Of course. That''s our agreement. So, are you the leader of this team?"


    "No. I''m not..."


    [ 20 seconds left before a group of police will arrive. ] A message from Avalon was heard from Wace''s earpiece.


    "I don''t have time to try my spell, huh."

 Chapter 188 - Academy Class

    Neen heard Wace''s mumble.


    ''Try your spell? You n to experiment on us?'' The man quickly thought and reminded Wace.


    "Y-your promise!"


    "Put him to sleep." Wace instructed as the Elysium grabbed the man''s head making him unconscious in three seconds. It wasn''t a magic spell but the Elysium''s hand can emit a particr fragrance, an incapacitating agent that can put anyone to sleep without having other harmful effects.


    Wace looked at his messed up yard before ncing back at the four orbs that were made of smoke.


    "Let me take those first..."


    Suddenly, a small part of the force field protection shrunk and wrapped the four orbs as it went close to Wace. Thetter then touched the force field wrapper as it sessfully vanished and transferred in his Spatial Bag.


    Soon, he heard the police''s siren and hid all his installed defense systems including the automatons.


    Wace had also asked Avalon to remove the handcuffs for now. Anyway, only one was left and he had already fallen asleep.


    "Wace! It''s good to see you safe." Officer Ray said after seeing Wace unharmed.


    The gate was partly destroyed so even though he hasn''tpletely left the car, he saw Wace outside together with three lying bodies beside him. He suspected that it was one of the intruders.


    "Mhm... I am. You guys are fast." Wace said to the approaching officer of the securitypany. The police officers also noticed the situation and were now securing the perimeter to make sure that there are no longer any enemies lurking around.


    "Of course. We are always alert in this kind of situation... Right, can I ask, did you kill the three of them?"


    "No, one is just unconscious, but the two died because they fought against the defense system I installed... Sigh~ I like to avoid killing someone if possible. I''m not used to it."


    "Ahh... I know what you mean. Don''t let it affect you. The death of the two and those previous intruders were not your ountability. It was the defense systems that you installed doing their job as how they should be."


    Officer Ray kindly said as he thought that Wace was still thinking about the previous intruders that he vaporized using his Laser Focus.


    "By the way, where are the others? Before we lost our recordings, we saw that there were seven of them... Which direction did they escape?"


    "Eh? No, they just vanished on the spot after being shrouded by a ck miasma."


    "Mhm... I get it now. We''ll take this man into custody."


    Officer Ray wore a serious expression after Wace exined what happened. It seems that he was not clueless about the Hallowed Eye''s side effects.


    "I apologize for the brittleness of our defense structures. It couldn''t evenst long against this bunch of Battle Mages. As an apology, we''ll give you an additional defense structure and some changes on your current n at no cost."


    "Really? You don''t have to... You can just repair all the current ones..."


    "I insist. Please allow us to better your security system. Although it will be costly, it would be fine as this is not a matter of money anymore. It''s our reputation as the top securitypany in our region."


    Wace listened to Ray as he exined their side. Anyway, it wouldn''t harm him more and he wouldn''t need to make an additional payment for the improvements they were suggesting.


    "Fine, do as you like. But you have to exin to me all the changes you''ll ce."


    He epted Ray''s offer after hearing thetter''s sincerity.


    Ray happilyplied and exined his ns to Wace.


    In the end, Officer Ray said...


    "Rest assured, this attack won''t happen again. Now that we captured one of their people, we''ll find a way to end their whole organization."


    ***


    On the next day after the attempted robbery in his property, Wace went to the academy as usual. None of his ssmates learned about this at all, since he never told them and it wasn''t in any news article as well. It was surprisingly suppressed either by the securitypany or the police themselves.


    Right now, the Cube''s upgrade was still not finished. The securitypany was still adding some defense structures in his property. He was still studying the Celestial Fragment, Lightning Break, and others. He has many things to do but it''s a good thing that he still has time to attend the ss.


    "Today we''ll study a better way of creating 5h gen artifacts!" Their instructor ine announced as she caught everyone''s attention.


    "Better way?"


    "Is it some kind of doing a shortcut?"


    "Well, I think that we are doing great with our 5th gen."


    "That''s right... Although we are slow, we are doing it correctly and if he always practices the method, it should be normal for us to get quicker."


    "That''s right, but since Miss ine said this... it should be something that we don''t know yet..."


    As the students spected momentarily, ine didn''t bother to say more words. But this action just made them quickly quiet down as their instructor decided to bring out a machine instead.


    Few of them recognized the machine.


    "Who can tell me the name of this device?"


    Six hands were raised from the ss.


    "How about the others?" ine asked.


    "It looks like a scanning device..."


    "Probably an assistive device used when forging an artifact?"


    "Oh... That makes sense. After all, instructor ine first mentioned something about having a better way of creating the 5th gen artifact. It should be rted."


    The unaware students said as they tried to figure out the device being shown.


    "Mhm... That''s enough. Although it had gotten small and the external tings were changed, this is just a beta version of Holm''s Artifact Forging Device." ine said after having enough of their spections.


    "T-that small?!"


    "How can we forge an artifact using that?"


    "This... Beta? There''s nothing like that in the market... Is it an unreleased version?"


    A student mumbled but it was enough for everyone to hear. As for the size, it was also surprising as their thought that the development of artifact forging device leans towards its ergement to forgerger artifacts.


    ine smirked and answered.


    "No, this is even graded as a ''failed version'' by the NMTI. It didn''t garner enough attention as this small device with the size of the rice cooker in your house could only do half of the artifact forging process."


    ine said and looked at everyone in the ss.


    "This forging device doesn''t ept the 4th gen''s brain-boosting magic structure and was only capable of helping in cing the blue orbs..."


    Wace listened to ine as she exined the capabilities of this failed product that still possess some usefulness. This was something that could be found online so Wace was somehow familiar with it. Avalon can even remind him through the earpiece he wore even if he forgot.


    The blue orbs that ine was referring to were the contents of a magic structure crystal during the forging process.


    In short, using the beta version would give a more stable forging process that helps the Mana Technicians to create 5th gen without worrying that the orbs of magic structure would dissipate. Unfortunately, it was with that cost of not epting structure that affects the human mind or the brain-boosting structure. It was said that it would cause a conflict and the machine wouldn''t work.


    After ine exined everything, she made a sample work. She used a simple ring as the vessel for the magic structure crystal she prepared.


    During the process, the crystal dissipated and turned to an orb of blue light. It was also slowly turning to be a smoke-like orb as the ring absorbed the magic structure through ine''s guidance. Yes, the infusing process was so smooth that it looks like the ring was absorbing the magic structure.


    ''Impressive, as expected to an instructor...''


    It was also in the mind of everyone after seeing it once.


    Even Wace was impressed for a bit and spread his Divine Sense in a very wide manner to see what was happening. The orb of blue smoke even seems familiar.


    Apparently, as he tried to scrutinize the detail, his Divine Sense reached somewhere else as he lost focus in his ss.


    ''Thirty-three Soul Arts users, huh''


    His Divine Sense had identally reached the Celebrity Idols Training room.


    ''No, there''s more of them... But only this thirty-three people emit a stronger fluctuation so it is easy to recognize their group and only one of them could---''


    "Crap!" Wace had suddenly pulled out his Divine Sense.


    There are five years on this curriculum so it was normal that many of them had practiced the soul art to an impressive degree. But he thought that only Miya could actually pinpoint the location of his Divine Sense because of her uniqueness.


    He somehow forgot the news article he read when Headmaster Percival announced the addition of the curriculum.


    He remembered that the headmaster said that there will be famous people in the industry that will spearhead the new curriculum.

 Chapter 189 - Confrontation

    Wace wanted to avoid any confrontation with any magicians specializing with the Soul Art.


    First, he was already aware of his soul''s abnormality due to the Cube''s arrangement when he set foot on this world.


    Next, he had been using his Divine Sense that is probably a technique unique to their path. This might cause someplication if it was confirmed by the instructors and learned by his parents. After all, he won''t be able to exin the origin of his Soul Arts.


    Lastly, people who trained in Soul Arts were somehow capable of affecting someone''s mind. Wace wasn''t exactly sure how they were doing it but he had seen and experienced it before.


    It happened first when he met Miya at the Red Star Town together with his family. After that incident, he had his Avalon research about the Celebrity Idols and he found out that there was an unpopr article about them telling that these idols can make mental suggestions to any person within a limited range.


    He didn''t think that his mind was strong that could ignore the Soul Art user''s mental suggestion. It was all thanks to his equipment given by the Pathfinder.


    [ Fervor Timepiece ]


    [ A pocketwatch containing mysterious energy


    Effects: Protects users from the magic that affects the human mind. ]*


    This item that he always has with him had this effect aside from the Brain Burst and Physical Burst. He just didn''t think too much about it until he experienced this type of magic.


    Of course, he doesn''t know to what extent this item could protect him. If he met someone who was more senior than Miya, his item may not be capable of protecting his mind.


    It wasn''t even a stretch if they could cast a soul-based magic spell... and he doesn''t like to be in that situation. It was fine for him if he was the one doing the probing but if he was the one getting probed by something simr to his Divine Sense, he wouldn''t like it.


    It was simply because he was fully aware of what kind of information a Divine Sense could give to the user.


    Unfortunately, trouble might being in a moment.


    Instructor ine finished her lecture about the unique Artifact Forging Device. She had given them homework to study a number of artifacts that have passed or failed the NMTI''s qualifications.


    It would indeed be a good reference once they tried making their own original Mana Artifacts in the future.


    "Hello, Instructor ine. Do you have a student named Wace Ravencroft?"


    "Yes, you are?"


    "I''m sorry. Let me introduce myself. I''m Lind Taylor, 5th-year student of Idol Training ss, student body president of our curriculum, and a rookie idol under FLT Entertainment."


    Then the man shed a dashing smile showing his perfect white teeth to leave a good impression on the beautiful instructor. The man has long ck hair like a female, he was taller than Wace and had the same handsome face but this 5th-year student was more docile looking face. His skin was pale white, smooth, and almost no pores can be seen on it.


    Many of Wace''s ssmates curiously observe the man while thinking the same thing.


    ''This man would be even more popr once he graduated and had be a full-time celebrity.''


    This man might not be takingrge projects right now in consideration of his studies.


    "Yes. Wace,e here. Someone is looking for you."


    After saying that, instructor ine left the ssroom. She didn''t ask the student''s purpose and left everything to Wace. Although she wanted to ask his purpose, she surmised that it''s normal to ask for Wace''s attention now that he''s gaining a reputation in his field.


    That''s right, news about the 5th apprentice epted by ine Allusia, one of the three Grand Arcanists of the country, has spread far and wide this morning. The name Wace Ravencroft was one of the top searches now online.


    Wace steps out of the room to speak with Lind.


    "Our instructor would like to speak with you after your ss today."


    "Mhm... May I ask the reason?"


    "I''m not really sure myself. You can ask herter. She said that it wouldn''t take much of your time."


    "Fine... What''s your instructor''s name?"


    "Ah, right. It''s Miss Chamber. She said that you can meet her at the Tier 1 Training Room in our building at around 3 PM. Do you have club activities?"


    "I''m fine. Tell her I''ll be there." Wace smiled as he sends off the 5th year student.


    As soon as he returned to his room, his ssmates immediately asked him what had just happened.


    ***


    "Argh... So you really don''t know, huh." Ericka disappointingly said after confirming that Wace was saying the truth.


    "Yes. I didn''t bother to ask more questions to Lind since he was only delivering a message."


    "Mhmm... You''re so lucky! There will be a lot of beauties there... I''m sure! If you meet Miya, then that''s even more amazing... Sigh~ Can I join you?" Gilbert added.


    "Sure, I don''t mind."


    "Nah, I''m just kidding. I''m not invited. I''ll be nervous just standing in there."


    "Oh right. Have you heard the news about the 5th apprentice? It seems that he has the same name as you." Ericka excitedly said after remembering part ofthe news she heard this morning.


    "Really? I saw the news but I didn''t get to hear the full details. So his name was also Wace?" Gilbert said as he wasn''t that particrly interested in the news from the far capital. Most news there wouldn''t affect their city anyway.


    Wace only amusedly smiled at his ssmates and didn''t bother to correct them.


    ***


    ine Allusia was now together with a group of powerful magicians to explore the deeper part of the northern continent.


    He looked behind him and saw his subordinates'' faces filled with vigor. There are 46 of them on this expedition. The weakest of them even had the strength of a peak Adept Mage. They also brought two Mage Doctors that specialize in two different paths in Materia Medica. One was proficient at ''Enhancement'' who was capable of repairing bodies using various magic forms and potions. The other was a doctor proficient at ''Alteration''. This doctor was quite special as he brought his two strongest bodyguards. The two don''t have aplete human body. One of them has metal right-arm and metal left-leg and the other one even has a mechanical left-eye that never blinks.


    Within this group, only ine and the two Mage Doctors have Spatial Bags with them. The other materials or supplies that could not fit within were being carried by some of their vehicles.


    ine looked at his front and saw two Steel Knights leading their group to arge forest. The outer edge of the northern continent was rtively safe but once they passed through this Giant''s Forest, they will lose any form ofmunications to the outside world.


    But this doesn''t matter, in fact, all of them were a bit excited to explore this mysterious ce and even wanted to meet those legendary Celestial Beings.


    "Everyone, beyond this forest is our first objective in our expedition. There will be a lot of danger passing this forest. I won''t be able to guarantee everyone''s safety, even my life can''t be guaranteed..."


    All of them were aware of this already so they only smiled and nodded after hearing this.


    ine saw this and he chuckled before he continued.


    "But there''s one thing I assure you... Once we imed our first objective, it will be our victory. We will be experiencing less danger and we can go even deeper within thisnd... just like Sir Aeolia."


    ine no longer said more words as he instructed the Steel Knight to enter the forest. Behind him, the vigorous Magicians roared in excitement as they march towards the Giant''s Forest.


    ***


    Wace knocked on the door of the Tier 1 Training Room but no one answered. After noticing that the room wasn''t locked, he decided to see if there''s someone inside and if none, he would just leave the ce.


    Before finding this room, he gained a lot of suspicious look from the trainee or students of the curriculum. After all, his uniform tells that he is a student from an Artifact Forging ss.


    No one said a word to him but it made him ufortable.


    "Hello! I''m Wace... I''m looking for Miss Chamber."


    The room was bright and was quite big. The front wall was even made of mirror, probably essential for practicing within the room. It was very different from their curriculum''s training room.


    "Oh! I''ve been waiting for you, 5th Apprentice. I''m Instructor Chamber. Thanks foring here."


    Wace sighed seeing the woman.


    ''She''s the one who detected my Divine Sense... We really can''t judge a book by its cover, huh.''


    The woman was in her early thirties. As an instructor of the idol trainees, she was impressively not wearing any makeup and only with her bare face. Also, she probably didn''t hear his knocks due to the sound from her headphone. She also wears a green and white tracksuit that covered almost all her skin. She was a very in and simpledy in Wace''s opinion.


    "Have you seen enough?" Thedy said and smiled mysteriously at Wace.

 Chapter 190 - Soul Arts And Celestial Fragment

    Wace was startled after hearing Miss Chamber speak.


    ''That''s not fair...''


    He was definitely feeling some sort of attraction towards thisdy. It was a weird sensation since part of his mind was trying to deny it.


    "I was told toe here. May I ask the reason why?" Wace reigned in his thoughts as he asked the instructor.


    "Are you not aware?"


    "No... Uhmm... I have to get home early, Instructor. Can I leave now?" He wanted to leave as fast as possible as he sensed something was not right.


    Wace thought for a moment, thedy had called him "5th Apprentice" just now. Since she was aware of his identity, she must be aware of her limitations.


    Although he felt that thisdy was powerful than him in terms of unusual method of domination, she shouldn''t be thinking of harming him.


    After reaching this thought, Wace rxed for a little.


    "Not yet. Can you show me what Mana Artifacts you have with you?"


    "I didn''t bring any. Also, it''s not allowed to bring one in the academy. We only use artifacts provided by the school if necessary."


    "Is that so? Then, how did you do it?" Miss Chamber''s tone changed for a bit. Wace noticed that she was getting more serious.


    "Did what?"


    "Well, someone peeked at the Special Training Room this morning. I wonder who that is?"


    After Miss Chamber said these words, her iris becamepletely ck turning into a void as if sucking Wace''s soul.


    "..."


    For some inexplicable reason, Wace couldn''t say his readied words of lie.


    The instructor continued...


    "That Special Training Room has threeyers of defense against any probing rted skills. Even someone who had achieved a high attainment at Soul Carnage would not be capable of doing that in a swift manner... You don''t have to hide anything from me... Tell me, who did it?... Tell me everything you know..."


    Miss Chamber''sst words kept repeating in his head. It feels like she wasn''t asking the physical Wace but his soul. It was an absurd feeling. Unfortunately, Wace was helpless at this.


    There''s nothing he can do to stop this act of interrogation. Obviously, his Fervor Timepiece was not enough to protect him this time.


    It was really an ident, his Divine Sense was like an activation of a powerful radar that could cover his surroundings. Even if he focus to a certain direction, it doesn''t mean that his Divine Sense was disappearing in other ces, it was only weakening in some part.


    What happened this morning was a mistake. He instead strengthened the intensity of his Divine Sense and itcked some control. It normally wouldn''t cause some problem to him until this unholy Soul Art users came in.


    As he was about to spill everything he knew, a cold breeze brushed away the feeling of getting sucked into the void.


    They immediately looked at the door''s direction.


    There was now another person within the room without their notice, or at least without Wace''s knowledge.


    "Headmaster..." Wace felt relieved seeing Percival. He was a kind but cunning man who was sure to help him if he followed his orders. He had given him an advice prior to TMAC and he even arranged Yumi together with two bodyguards, Max and Lucian, to apany him at Montego.


    "Miss Chamber... I thought that we already agreed on this. It''s prohibited to use Soul Arts to students other than those under your curriculum..."


    "Sir Percival..." Miss Chamber felt a bit embarrassed being caught by surprise. The headmaster was her superior and more than that, Percival was stronger than her. He called Wace here at the Tier 1 Training Room since it has a stronger defense system than the Special Training Room where Wace peeked at. This was to make sure that their conversation today would not leak out.


    First, she doesn''t want other trainees or students learn that a young man, a student at that, was capable of peeking at them anywhere within the academy. It would question the academy''s integrity and power.


    Next, it would cause panic as their privacy would be in shambles.


    The idol trainees were trained to deal with the people in media, fans, supporters, and alike. In regards with this, they were taught about the consequences of being popr and one of them was having a little privacy in life as many eyes would be on them. But this act of peeking at them without their knowledge would be a huge impact in their morale.


    The Soul Art wasn''t just taught to them to add some charms on their performances, it was also taught to protect themselves from any probing-rted magic skills.


    There is a level of attainment where any type of that skills would not take effect on them. Unfortunately, practicing this magic also has a lot of requirements and Combat Magicians or Magic Engineers who had a chance of encountering Arcane Baptism should not be capable of practicing this.


    Lastly, she wanted to avoid being detected by the Headmaster. Unfortunately, it seems that her preparations were futile.


    "Sigh~ I''m just asking him about his usage of Soul Probe a while ago. I''m sure that he used it this morning at the Special Training Room."


    "He''s not practicing Soul Arts. You said that it happened at that Special Training Room? That''s impossible, he''s not even at the level of Soul Origin. Only Soul Carnage can have a chance at that. I personally checked it''s defenses before."


    "Then how could you exin what I felt a while ago?"


    This time, Percival didn''t answer and only looked at Wace. Thetter felt that he had to say something.


    "I... don''t know." Wace decided to stand with his act.


    "You hear that... We''ll leave now."


    Percival smiled at Wace''s words and forcefully ended the conversation as he brought Wace outside the building.


    "Thank you, headmaster."


    "You owe me one." The headmaster smiled mysteriously.


    Wace felt grateful and asked what favor he could do for him. He ultimately felt that something was amiss at the headmaster''s act of saving him this time.


    The man doesn''t even show interest in his "Soul Probe" skill.


    After deliberating for a moment, the headmaster said.


    "You''re the 5th apprentice now... We will be publicizing your identity and be the mascot of our academy."


    "Eh?"


    "Yes! We will have to increase our enrollment rates for the next semester by 200%!"


    Wace hadn''t expected this at all and could only nod with a nk expression. The two chatted while they walk to the headmaster''s office. Percival invited Wace to have a tea and thetter agreed since he wanted to ask some questions to fill his curiosity.


    "So, what are your questions?"


    "I heard you talking about Soul Origin, Soul Carnage, and Soul Probe with Miss Chamber. I could only guess based on the context of conversation but can you tell me more about it?"


    "Hmmm... Soul Art''s study was a bit secretive because it was prohibited to use magic that control or affects human minds... But since you are using something simr to it, I don''t mind telling you a bit so you can understand how dangerous that is."


    Wace kept his silence as he waited for Percival to exin.


    "The Celebrity Idols has another name in the magician''s circle. They were called Certified Soul Arts Magician. They were only allowed to study Soul Arts to protect themselves in any probing magic or technology and slightly charm people. Using this to harm people is only valid if there''s a justified reason. There are other limitations I won''t mention now. Alright?"


    "Mhm..."


    "Just like the other path, it has levels of attainment. Trainee, the beginner soul arts user. Afterpleting the requirements, they can choose two paths, either Soul Origin or Soul Carnage.


    "The Soul Origin relies on their soul energy from within to draw out their power and affect their surroundings. The Soul Carnage on the other hand is an art where the user uses external soul energy to use their soul magic. They collect souls from the living using their blood and use those energy as consumables. In a sense, it can be more powerful than Soul Origin since the soul energy from the others can be used recklessly than your own which you had to carefully use to avoid permanent damages in your soul.


    "But one good thing about the Soul Origin magic is that it can''t be easily affected by an external mana forcepared to Soul Carnage''s magic..."


    The headmaster exined a lot of things to Wace which made thetter very grateful. He even unconsciously drank four cups of tea during their informative chat.


    He excitedly returned home and immediately went in his workshop to study the Celestial Fragment. He was inspired by the headmaster''s lecture.


    He had only tried to understand the Celestial Fragment through the feedback he receives from his Divine Sense, reactions to other elements, and whenever he used it as a battery.


    Now that he returned from the academy, he decided to bravely absorb its power through mixing it with his life force, his blood. He was inspired by the Soul Carnage method of absorbing soul energy. Through his pleading, the headmaster briefly informed him some tricks used by the Soul Carnage in collecting souls.


    After a couple of hours, Wace heard a sound that he had been waiting for a while.


    [ Mission Progress: 100/100 ]

 Chapter 191 - Upgrades

    Waceughed in delight after he confirmed thepletion of his mission.


    The blood of a Magician truly possesses unique energy in this world as it is constantly being refined by Mana within the practitioner''s body. Although he wasn''t well versed in how it is being used, Headmaster Percival''s advice to treat the blood as an extension of his Mana solidification bore fruit and haspleted his mission that was stuck for several weeks without any progress.


    He then checked the reward options for this mission.


    [ You have studied the secrets of the Celestial Fragment and learned the method of integrating with one. ]


    [ Mission Progress: 100/100 ]


    [ You may choose your reward. ]


    [ Reward A: 1 Grade A - Holy Elixir, Low-Grade Arcane Technology, Low-Grade Arcana, Mystery Box x2. ]


    [ Reward B: Aeon Guardian, 5 Grade C Holy Elixir, Mystery Box x2. ]


    When he received this mission, he has already selected the option he would like to choose but he just kept it in his mind. However, now that he really has the chance to select one of the rewards today, he became a bit hesitant whether it is really the correct decision to make.


    The Grade A Holy Elixir was sure to be very impressive. During the auction at the capital, a set of 6 vials of Grade A Holy Elixir was sold for 349 million credits. It was an impressive amount for a small bottle of liquid with a powerful healing effect. It was said that possessing one of these elixirs can be called having another life so it can be very advantageous to acquire this.


    The Grade C elixir has weaker effects but it is very convenient to use if the injury isn''t life-threatening.


    After all, it would be too much to use a Grade A Elixir to a simple stab wound.


    Sigh~


    Wace took a deep breath before selecting the second reward option.


    Although he was very curious about Arcane Technology and Arcana, he wanted something that could probably increase his power in a short time.


    It must be remembered that Wace still has an unused Arcane Technology with him. Although he has ns where to use it, it was a bitplicated at this time since he had to prioritize some things. As for the Arcana, he wasn''t even a certified Arcane Artificer yet. It was still a question if he will be able to use an Arcana that supposedly belongs to an Arcanist or a Grand Arcanist.


    Although he had a hunch that he can use it, it was better to select the Aeon Guardian which had appeared to him as a reward from a mission long ago. He believed that it was the right time to get this guardian thing.


    [ You have received the following: Aeon Guardian, Grade C Holy Elixir x5, Mystery Box x2 ]


    Though he was excited to get the rewards from the mission, he made sure that everything in his workshop was kept in a safe ce and the now red Celestial Fragment was put in his Spatial Bag.


    He didn''t bother to check the five elixirs since those were just five small vials of an elixir he had seen before in the auction and the mystery box no longer excite Wace. The reason was that it was a random reward thing. He even had a berserk potion recipe reward from that box which wasn''t that useful for his path.


    He understood very clearly that the mystery box may gift him a very useful item he can immediately use or a useful item but that would be for his future self.


    Right now, a mysterious connection to an unknown being suddenly caught Wace''s attention.


    "Aeon Guardian!"


    Wace called out the being connected in his mind as half of his mana reserves were suddenly consumed in a couple of seconds.


    It was a horrifying amount of mana considering all the boosts that he had before.


    Shortly after this, a huge magic formation appeared in front of him. As it reached almost 5 meters wide, the formation slowly turned to mechanical gear or cogs of different sizes turning like a clockwork.


    At the center of this, a giant metallic snake emerged as it coiled around Wace before disappearing into particles of light.


    "This..."


    Wace was stunned as information came into his mind and understood what had just happened. He immediately tried to use his Magic Spells, pulled out his Silver Orb, activated his Divine Sense, used his Void Phase to go somewhere, and other activities that could consume his mana.


    This onlysted for three minutes as he satisfyingly returned to his workshop.


    Apparently, after the metallic snake or the Aeon Guardian coiled around him, the details about what it could do had appeared in his mind.


    The Aeon Guardian has a rather unique and special ability that allows him to freeze his current state for three minutes the moment it was summoned.


    The three-minute-state-freeze was a bit difficult to exin but he immediatelypiled its data for Avalon''s consideration in his future calctions. He was providing this information to Avalon to make the A.I. help him in the futurebat decisions he will be making. He believed that it would benefit him in the long run.


    Simply put, during the summoning of the guardian, the user''s current condition would remain unchanged no matter what happened in the next three minutes.


    In other words, his health or life wouldn''t be threatened no matter how many attacks hit him and his mana wouldn''t drop no matter how many spells he cast, making him effectively invincible.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t use it repeatedly. Aside from the long cooldown of 2 days, his mana pool that consumed half of his reserves during the summoning would remain that way for 12 hours unless he consumed a Grade A Elixir that could also heal the abnormal status of a magician.


    Now that it was settled, he decided to open the two mystery boxes and see what he could get.


    [ You have received 1 Spectacle. ]


    [ You have received 1 Bottle of Mana Rejuvenation. ]


    Wace checked its description and got satisfied with its effects. He then found that it was alreadyte and decided to make it a day and rested in his room.


    ***


    The next day, another good news came in.


    [ The Gordon and Iron Steel Group hadpleted our order of supplies today. The Traceless Hand''s Factory at the Cove City can now continue to mass-produce the VR Pods. ] The Avalon reported to Wace.


    "Great! Make sure to tell me if there''s any problem with the operation in the city. I can''t visit there frequently."


    [ Affirmative. Here are the reports about the feedback you received from the Beta Testers. Some meaningful suggestions were highlighted for your consideration. ]


    "A-alright. I''ll read themter today..."


    Wace said before leaving his house for school. He had initially read those feedbacks before but heter found out that their ideas were either terrible or probably already one of his ns in hister updates of the Alien Invasion game.


    Other than that, he was satisfied that the beta testers hadn''t found any issues about practicing the mana inside the virtual world. After all, that feature was extremely necessary for the future and he had to make sure that he was able to replicate the essence of mana within the game.


    As he went to the academy, a familiarmotion urred as Miya Linus had again appeared together with Diana Humeray.


    The same thing happened as she decided to use her Soul Magic which seems to be capable of affecting their almost uncontroble desires.


    Wace took a deep breath as he repeatedly told his mind to avoid using his Divine Sense if not in an emergency.


    ''Haah... I''ll just think of it as a form of training...''


    Though it was difficult for him since he already made it as his habit, he had to control himself so it won''t cause him any more problems.


    The ss went smoothly as he learned many things about the real usage of practical mana spells. Instructor ine''s thought-provoking method of teaching was highly popr in the ss as thedy''s method was out of the norm. It seems that she really wanted to tell to her students everything she knows about mana and magic spells just to help them achieve higher heights.


    Every question was answered as clearly as possible and she was very pleasant to speak with.


    Suddenly, Wace heard another notification from the Pathfinder or the Cube altogether.


    [ The Cube Upgrade has beenpleted. ]


    [ Your Knight-Level ess has been promoted to Knight Commander-Level ess. ]


    [ Knight Commander ess:


    - It allows the user to utilize one stored ability of the Cube based on the Path the user had chosen. ( Used )


    - It allows the user to use 10 cubic meters of spatial space of the Cube for storing inanimate objects.


    - It allows the user to have more rewards in every mission.


    - It allows the user to select one weapon within the Weapon Armory of the Cube.


    - Removes protection granted by the Cube of Paradox. The Cube will no longer interfere with the user''s fate. ( Effective )


    - 1 Life Guarantee ( Used ) ]

 Chapter 192 - Decisions

    Wacepared his previous ess level to his current one.


    ''It is more convenient now, huh...''


    Hemented after validating one of the upgrades he had just now.


    He was referring to the additional size of his Spatial Bag, from 5 cubic meter to 10 cubic meter space. This new feature would even let him bring his Iron Knight or his Lotus Mech Frame allowing him to carry a powerful form of weapon.


    Unfortunately, the Corvette-ss spaceship would still not fit in.


    Anyway, he was also thankful for having more rewards in his future missions. Aside from this, he was curious about the weapon that he could get.


    He willed his mind to validate this reward as his consciousness was suddenly sucked into the Cube of Paradox within him.


    After a few moments, information about five weapons appeared in his mind.


    ''So, these are my options? Let''s see...'' Wace immediately tried to review all the weapons.


    [ Dread Portable methrower


    Range: 10 meters


    Fuel Type: Mana ( If fueled with a higher purity of Mana, the methrower''s output will be higher in quality. )


    Effects: High chance of triggering "Tenacious Burning". A burn effect that will stick to the target until decimated. ]


    ''That effect is quite dreadful indeed..'' Wace imagined an unending me burning the target until ash remained. It was quite scary to use. If this was given to the wrong hands, a disaster could happen in the country. Wace twitched his mouth and decided to check the second weapon.


    [ Light Battle Spear


    Type: Highlypressed cold weapon


    Magic Enhancement: Fire Element


    Effects:


    - Activates the enhancement and releases fire magic bullets from the tip of the spear.


    - Activating Arc sh releases a sharp de empowered by me.


    A weapon made of magic and top-sspressing technology. Usable for range and meleebat. ]


    ''It looks a bit simple this time. I only have a little idea aboutpressing technology. Hmm... But it should be something awesome since it''s included in the options for Knight Commander''s use.'' Wacemented before going to the third option.


    [ Chaos Eagle Pistol


    Effective Firing Range: 180 meters


    Effects: Triple Shot - the gun has been modified with the capability to fire up to three bullets per shot.


    Due to the strong recoil, the user needs to have considerable strength before attempting to use it. The bullets weren''t only enhanced by magic but it was also using a unique explosive technology.


    The package includes six 10mm Magazines and 12 boxes of ammunition with 50-rounds per box.


    Caliber: 9mm ]


    Wace was a bit interested in this weapon but still decided to check the other two. The methrower was a bit bulky and the battle spear was a bit long. He felt that the handgun was convenient to use against surprise attacks.


    Although he still had to test just how powerful it ispared to his magic spells cast by his mama artifact.


    [ Phantom Sniper Rifle


    Effective Firing Range: 2,900 meters to 3,200 meters


    Effects: Uses electromaic force tounch high velocity, silent, and traceless bullets.


    Low recoil and high uracy due to Assistive Mana Imprint to the target.


    The package includes 6 magazines and 6 boxes of ammunition with 50-rounds per box.


    Caliber: 16mm ]


    ''This can be a weapon for assassin instead of amander.'' Wacemented after seeing the impressive image and specification of the sniper rifle. The weapon was shining ck and carved delicately. Holding such a high-end weapon was definitely very satisfying.


    Wace then checked thest weapon before he can decide to choose.


    [ Mechanical Bird


    A very useful silver and blue color bird made of advanced technology.


    Weapon: Sharp Beak and Sharp ws.


    The bird doesn''t feed organic food and only requires high purity of mana as a source of energy. ]


    "That''s it?" The description was very vague but it at least mentioned that it''s useful. Anyway, all these weapons are useful in their own way.


    Wace took a deep breath as he considers the pros and cons of each weapon. After about 15 minutes of thinking, he decided to settle for a more effective weapon for him.


    ***


    "Miya, I heard that you''re quite familiar with Wace?"


    "Huh? No, I''m not. Where did you hear that from?"


    "Hmmm..." Thedy paused for a moment as if trying to figure out whether her information gathered was real.


    "Well, I''ve spoken to him before when our group went to their town. Do you remember the time we joined with the Veritas Group before our team went to Ste Region?" Miya could only add to exin.


    "I see. I understand. Then, did you notice any powerful artifact with him? Something capable of breaking through into any magic defense?"


    "Do you mean the probing magic he has with him?"


    "So, you really know him!"


    "Sigh~ I really don''t. At most, I''m aware that he doesn''t use any Mana Artifact to use a very powerful probing magic of his. It was very impressive."


    This was Miya Linus and Instructor Chamber talking about Wace''s skill.


    Their conversation shows that Miss Chamber wasn''t just an instructor of the academy but also a friend of Miya. After some time, Miya narrated everything that has happened in the town and within the Veritas'' Airship.


    "It''s better not to further mess with him, instructor... You should''ve heard the news, correct?"


    "Ah, you mean that identity of being an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist?" Miss Chamber asked to rify.


    "Mhm..."


    "Well, I know my limits. I just want to do something about it. I can''t just ignore that and let our defenses be this weak. Learning about that magic may help us create a better defense. Don''t you agree?"


    Miya smiled hearing this before answering.


    "You always think about our safety, I guess... you''re right. But if that was the case, you can just ask them to cooperate. Tell him your reasons, maybe he''ll give in and even help you to create a powerful defense. He''s an exceptional Mana Technician, after all."


    Miss Chamber paused as if realizing something. It seems that it was a good decision to speak with this youngdy...


    "Great! I''ll try that. I hope it works..."


    ***


    Within a high-ss hotel at the center hub of the Tanza City. A group of five people entered the elevator going to the 14th floor. They were all middle-aged men and seemingly business executives based on their attire and manner of speaking.


    They were all talking about some kind of business in their field but their topic suddenly changed after entering the board room on the 14th floor. The room was highly protected and this made them a bit rxed and morefortable.


    "The Z-Company was no longer operating within the City..."


    "Have you confirmed it with him?"


    "Yes, it was from the Prime Minister himself."


    "Do you know where the Shaman''s Hex Faction operates now?"


    "We haven''t been informed. But they wereying low due to some recent failures about their operations... Even their Cryptic Link Serum was stolen and perfected by the Congress...


    "Are we still taking over this city?"


    "Yes... The experimentation for the Sealed Artifact Hallowed Eyes has beenpleted. We can proceed to our ns now..."


    "But I heard that we haven''t gathered all the solidified cores yet..."


    "Hmmm... We''ve sent two teams but they were all annihted even before they gathered some cores.. It''s very annoying."


    One of the five men started grumbling about the failures of the people he has been sending to collect the cores. Although he has the Sealed Artifact with him and uses it indefinitely, it wasn''t without a price. It was also costly to hire mercenaries. Although they have plenty of funds, he felt that they could''ve used it with other projects.


    "Who was interfering? Is it the police?"


    "Hey, don''t tell me that they can''t even defeat those lousy automatons from the Golden Trident?!"


    "No! Of course not. They were just failing because they are targeting the automatons stationed at the house of ine''s apprentice..."


    The Sealed Artifact owner then started to exin what happened in the past operations. Soon, they learned about Wace''s identity and decided to stay away from him for now and gather the cores from other ces.


    They have a grand n for this city as this ce held some secrets they desire.


    "Fine... Then we should call Avery as we need another Sealed Artifact wielder. Does everyone agree with that?"


    The other four looked at each other and didn''t voice any disagreement. The meeting still continued for an hour as they talk about other problems they''re encountering and the sess they''re getting.


    ***


    Wace attended the school on the next day as he was bombarded by his ssmates about the 5th apprentice thing.


    "Hey! Why didn''t you tell me about it?!"


    "I evenughed about it as you have the same name... Huh!"


    "By the way, have you met Miss Lacus? Do you think you can help me meet her?"


    "Aren''t you famous now? You should at least treat us!"


    "Let''s celebrate!"


    "Mhm... I can arrange a ce."


    Thest sentence came from Keh Cummings. Their background wasn''t simple so he suggested a very nice ce as a venue. Ericka, Gilbert, and some other ssmates agreed about it as they tried to get as many details as they could about the method of apprentice selection.


    Wace could only helplessly satisfy their curiosity.

 Chapter 193 - Avalon

    After a long day together with his ssmates, Wace exhaustedly returned home.


    As it was alreadyte, he just asked Avalon to give him some updates about the progress of the beta testers and its study about Veda.


    He then sprawled across the bed and listened to Avalon''s report. The A.I. has now turned to a floating metal ball with a red light at the center acting as its eye.


    [ The Beta Testers spent an average of 8 hours a day ying the adventure mode of the game.


    Four yers received the blueprint of a Baron Mech Frame.


    None of them have acquired all the required materials to build one.


    One yer gained 1 out of 5 fragments of the Viscount Mech Frame.


    Two yers received a blueprint of Magic Assault Gear.


    They both have the required materials but failing to build one due to inconsistent arrangement of Magic Formation.


    Five yers managed to trigger a B rank quest, "Starship Infiltration". They failed. ]


    "Oh? That quest? That''s fast... and only five of them, huh. They should gather more members to finish that. Oops...Continue your report."


    [ All yers suggested having more NPCs to help them during high difficulty quests.


    70% of all the quest given were getting failed marks. Adjustment of the difficulty is rmended.


    yers rmend having a portable Freya. ]


    "Oh... That''s what I''m nning to do..." Wace muttered after hearing the report.


    Currently, the super A.I. Freya within the game can only be essed within the three remaining strongholds of the Sevens.


    It just means that having a portable Freya could help them answer questions and guide them from time to time. This might even help the yers pass the quests.


    After all, if the game was too difficult, they might get tired of ying the adventure mode andin a lot to the game creator.


    "Mhm... Let''s just make a mission for them to acquire a terminal for Freya. I''ll work on it tomorrow... How about Veda? Any progress?"


    [ The Terminal of Veda possesses powerful energy that blocks any form of probing. There''s no other option found aside from acquiring GH Drive to help. ]


    "Haah~ We''ll go with that. But you know... Even if we can still go back to Araceli Ind. How can we bring the spaceship back to here?"


    Wace said helplessly before having an idea.


    "Can we disassemble it?"


    Assuming that he would have the time to do so, of course, he could. He just has to deal with all members of the Z-Company guarding the spaceship.


    Using his current strength, he was confident that Chalice would not be a big challenge anymore. A battle against such a criminal group would not hold him back and he could release everything he has. Though he still has to be careful as he doesn''t have some kind of reinforcement if ever he was trapped by some unknown magic.


    The existence of Veda proves that the magic within this world isn''t as simple as a recement of energy but a genuine form of mysticism. He had to consider this as the criminal organization must''ve also increased their defenses this time. After all, the Lucent Force was involved at that time.


    They must be prepared to handle a powerful organization just like before.


    Wace had been thinking a lot of things he needed to work on until he went silent as steady and slow breathing was heard within the room. He had fallen asleep.


    Avalon had noticed this and stopped making its report. The A.I. sent one Elysium to help Wace sleep in afortable position and covered him by a nket.


    After making sure that Wace was soundly asleep. It continued its operation. The A.I. can function through the help of electricity, sr power, and though Wace''s effort, a part of the A.I. managed to function through the help of unique form of energy called mana.


    Artificial Intelligence doesn''t need to sleep or reboot at all and it could function all day as the mainframe used for the A.I. was thetest technology made by the Gctic Federation.


    Soon, the Elysium returned to the workshop and continued its study towards the metal ores they have ordered at the Secret Shop.


    Apparently, Wace had tasked them to find the best materials they could use for his future projects.


    Unfortunately, the alloys being made by the best Steel Companies weren''t good enough. Wace wanted the sameponent or even way betterponents than the corvette-ss spaceship they abandoned at the Araceli Inds. But it wasn''t that easy.


    Although the A.I. possesses an unimaginable number of information about various metals or alloys, most raw materials were affected by the ever-existent Mana in this world making its calction full of errors.


    At the moment, the A.I. doesn''t possess a way to determine the amount of Mana in a specific material. Avalon''s weakness was the fact that it was not capable of doing such an important task. Mana Detection was extremely necessary but it could only rely on Wace''s Divine Sense.


    Although it has a lot of work to do, the A.I. had been trying to find a way to resolve this issue by itself. Of course, it never forgot to continue and aplish all of Wace''s orders.


    ***


    On the next morning, Avalon sounded the rm for Wace to wake up and go to school.


    Before Wace left, Avalon reminded him about his wordsst night.


    "Ah... That mission... I''ll work on it this evening... Urgh, I might be tired again. How about this, can you make the mission to acquire the portable Freya. Make them salvage some unique metals at the Garbage Mountain. If I''m not mistaken, the Dorssian Empire was programmed to dump various waste materials in several mountains every third night, right?"


    [ That''s correct. ]


    "Then that''s it. Please make it happen."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Soon, Wace left after eating the breakfast prepared by Avalon.


    Then, the A.I. remained working for the Alien Invasion''s game adjustments and updates.


    As it was made to help the user, it neverined to Wace''s orders and only tried to do it''s best to aplish the instructions given.


    Luckily, the user or Wace wasn''t limiting Avalon in many ways. It was given permission to do things that it deemed to be beneficial for the user''s life. So it has been trying to do it''s best to breakthrough or understand how the magic works. Right now, it was not even capable of analyzing the bank card given to Wace by ine. Not only that, but Avalon was also sincerely asked by Wace if it could bypass the security system of the bank here but it couldn''t do so.


    This may be a challenge given by it''s user to Avalon reminding the Artificial Intelligence that it was still insignificant on a broader scale.


    As it kept working for the game updates, a mail from Yumi was received. The A.I. immediately processed the message and after confirming that there was no virus or the mail itself was safe, it allowed the message to go through Wace''s device.


    A few minutes passed and another message came in. This time, it was from the Headmaster Percival. After doing the same scanning process, it allowed the message to be sent to Wace''s device.


    After this, a reminder came in and Avalon confirmed that the refrigerator was now nearing empty. It needed to restock its food. As it can''t personally shop, it can only order food and ingredients online and make payments online.


    Another mail came in but since the originator came from an official of the Golden Trident Group, Avalon decided to handle it as per Wace''s instruction.


    Apparently, the securitypany wanted to start pulling out all the automatons they''ve scattered around the city. Although they could do this based on their contract, they must also pay for the corresponding termination fee.


    Avalon immediately agreed to send out those automatons. It also briefly informed Wace about the decision it made and provided a long narrative about why it decided to do so.


    Avalon immediately received an "OK" from Wace making the process smooth.


    Then, one of the Elysiums cleaned the front yard where Wace practices the Lightning Break whenever he has some time. It was readying to receive Wace who was always tired from school.


    ***


    Today, Wace started the day the same as usual. But during his break time, he was again informed to meet with Miss Chamber at the Tier 2 Training Room.


    After meeting the charmingdy, they took some time to chat as they discussed some things thatsted for an hour.


    The two made a deal.


    Miss Chamber will teach Wace some techniques using the magician''s soul while Wace will help them to create a stronger defense to defend against a powerful probing skill.


    "Haaah~ I wonder if this is the right decision. Anyway, it''s beneficial for me to learn the Soul Arts."


    The young man said before receiving another mission from the Pathfinder. This time, he really had to return to his spaceship at Montego.

 Chapter 194 - Slaines Grand Plan

    Wace attended school as normal. The ss was a bit more interesting this time as Instructor ine lectured them about Sealed Artifacts.


    It is just like what his sister rice said. This information was indeed being taught in the third year in the academy.


    Wace wondered what new things he will learn about it. After all, information about Sealed Mana Artifacts that can be found online was only superficial and didn''t touch the topic clearly.


    "Have anyone seen a Sealed Mana Artifact?"


    The instructor asked and surprisingly, only Wace didn''t raise his hand.


    ''Eh? What''s the meaning of this?'' The young man was surprised as he hasn''t seen one at all.


    Soon, Gilbert whispered behind him.


    "Haven''t you seen one online?"


    "You should watch the news more often." Erica added.


    It seems that there has been recent news about a sealed artifact. Anyway, Instructor ine called one of the students to share her knowledge about the topic.


    "Sealed Mana Artifacts were said to possess a unique form of magic outside of Elemental Path."


    "Mhm... That''s correct. Anything else?"


    "It was said to have simrities with Natural Artifacts... Er... I might be wrong."


    "That''s fine. Anyone?"


    "Sealed Mana Artifact was said to be uncontroble artifacts. That was why it was sealed." One of the students said after raising his hand.


    "They are powerful weapons but can only be used by the government."


    "It was rumored that all Sealed Mana Artifacts were made by Sir Aeolia..."


    "I heard that they came from the northern continent..."


    "Using the artifact could cause a Mana Cmity depending on the artifact''s power."


    "Oh, that''s right. Mana Cmity came from long exposure to this sealed artifact. If they are not sealed every time it was used, it was said that Mana Cmity like the "Illusion of Venarian Town" could happen..."


    The students exined one by one their understanding of the topic. Instructor ine only kept her silence while listening to her student''s exnations...


    After a few moments, she looked at Wace who wasn''t cooperating at the discussion.


    "Wace, what do you think?"


    The young man paused for a moment before he carefully voiced his thoughts.


    "The Sealed Mana Artifacts were very mysterious since their origin is highly likely from the unknown northern continent. The natives there might have another method of utilizing Mana."


    "Alright. Thank you everyone for giving your ideas about the topic. Now, let me tell you, the records about the Sealed Mana Artifacts were just very few. Information about it was very limited and it was just barely mentioned in some books. But I would like everyone to know that there were shreds of evidence that the first Sealed Mana Artifact has already appeared before the 4th Generation of Mana Artifacts."


    The ss immediately went silent as they listened intently.


    "The Magic Structure of the Brain-Boosting Magic was said toe from a Sealed Mana Artifact called Faded Skull Staff."


    "..."


    All the students including Wace were surprised after hearing this revtion. Certainly, the magic structure of the brain-boost was always special as it has to be separated from the structure of the 5th gen.


    Thinking about it now, the brain-boost was indeed strange in its own way but many magicians didn''t think of this case because they believed that brain-boost can even be done with the advancement of technology. That''s right, Sealed Mana Artifact was synonymous with ''mysterious artifact capable of creating an unexinable form of magic''. The brain-boost shouldn''t be included within the same level of Sealed Mana Artifacts. But looking at Instructor ine''s face, she seems to have more to say.


    "The staff was a Sealed Mana Artifact that was destroyed during the warring era. If you want to know where these fragments were found... they were discovered at the rubbles of Aeolia''s research facility after his death. Theter researchers studied the fragments for several years. Although it was very difficult to analyze, they found out that the magic structure imbued naturally at the skull has simrities to what we use now in brain-boosting magic for the 4th generation... Now, why am I telling you this?"


    The student went silent and didn''t answer her question but their minds were trying to find out why indeed.


    "Its because in the future, the Sealed Mana Artifacts will no longer be as rare as it is. There would be a lot of them appearing in the near future. Everyone must be knowledgeable and have an open-minded view of the uniqueness of this magic."


    The students were confused about hearing this.


    "Instructor... The Sealed Mana Artifacts were very rare. It was said that only 10 or so exists in our country."


    "Mhm... That''s right. The study of these artifacts has never been fruitful due to their small numbers. One mistake of handling the artifact and it might get destroyed through some unique tests."


    "That''s correct. It was rumored that once the mysterious power within such an artifact was emptied, it can no longer be used again. Howe they would suddenly inte?"


    ine smiled and asked another question.


    "Then, tell me where are the three Grand Arcanists of our country?"


    ***


    The Northern Continent''s weather wasn''t very stable. Right now, after ine Allusia''s team passed through the Giant''s Forest, they were weed by a strong blizzard after half a day of trekking.


    The group immediately dropped their things and made a temporary settlement in a matter of seconds. It was thanks to their portable equipment and vehicles behind them carrying these things.


    A magic formation was immediately arranged and a Mana Barrier was set up to protect them from the strong blizzard. Although they were capable of continuing their journey using their Mana Shell to protect themselves, that would quickly drain their energy and they would easily sumb to the coldness of this ce. Looking at the group right now, their number has dwindled for a bit.


    Right now, ine Allusia and the five other members of the expedition were in a separate tent and have been discussing their ns due to the losses they had when they passed the forest.


    "Four of our Adept Mages died just like that..." ine muttered after seeing everyone present before taking a deep breath.


    "Everyone is aware of the danger ofing here... There is no one to me, ine."


    One of the Mage Doctor said. In truth, without their presence, there could have been more casualties in their journey. Due to their tireless efforts, they managed to heal 10 more injured magicians back to their peak.


    Within the Giant''s Forest, they encountered powerful groups of Mana Beasts. They woulde almost endlessly and the group had very little time to take some rest.


    First was the group of Vale Apes, followed by ck-Eyed Wolves, then they will have to be careful of Laughing Poison Bees and other small mutated insects like Shelled Ants and Diamond Horned Beetles.


    It would have been alright if this was their only problem. Unfortunately, they caught the attention of one of the notorious flying monsters of the northern continent, a Thunder Wyrm. Luckily, ine who practiced AOTL to its final stages managed to send it away after some sacrifices on the battlefield.


    One of the reasons they chose to travel through thend was to avoid these powerful monsters of the sky.


    In truth, this wyrm wasn''t the only one they had to deal with if they decided to travel through the air. There will be a lot of mana beast like Iron Vulture, Bone Fletcher, and other flying mana beasts.


    It was too difficult to fight or defend in the air so they decided to travel through thend. This way, even though the existing mana here in the northern continent was difficult to control, they could still manage to adapt in due time.


    "Haaah~ There''s no turning back now. Was everyone really healed, Mao?"


    ine was referring to the Mage Doctor in Enhancement Path. Mao chuckled and didn''t answer since ine was only asking to make confirmation of what he already knows himself. The doctor instead asked a question.


    "ine, tell me. Why are you so hardened to go on this expedition? Your status in the country is almost at the peak. No one would dare to question or fight against you. Even your country''s leader wouldn''t dare to annoy you thoughtlessly."


    ine went silent for a while before deciding to answer truthfully. There''s no point hiding it now that everyone''s life can be at risk.


    "Mhm... Since we are already here near our objective, let me tell you something I''ve been thinking about all these years... Do you know Alpha, one of the 24 survivors?"


    "I heard from him. He ims that he''s an Oracle and went crazy before he died from suicide."


    ine nodded at this and said.


    "He had visions for the future. He was always seeing the nightmareing to this world. It haunts him every single night for 10 years. He wanted to stop the visions but he couldn''t. Years had passed and since he couldn''t take it anymore, he ended his own life."


    He was absentmindedly looking at his warm tea when he said those words. After a while, Mao asked.


    "His vision has something to do here?"


    "No... But his vision made me decide to try changing the future of this world. In order to do that, I will be needing some help."


    ine resolutely said to everyone while holding a stone he got somewhere from passing the Giant''s Forest.


    The magicians within the room felt the powerful desire in the man''s eyes during that moment.

 Chapter 195 - Mission

    Wace was satisfied in today''s lesson. He had learned that all the Grand Arcanists of this country were trying to improve the magician''s society using their own ways.


    It was very good news for him since he wanted this to happen as well.


    After the ss, he noticed that he received a message from Yumi asking about the Virtual Reality Pod. It seems that she''s interested in purchasing one.


    ''Let''s see...''


    Wace quickly checked the number of finished products with Avalon. It seems that it has already reached more than eight hundred copies.


    ''Well, I should start selling VR Pods now... For the advertisement... I''ll just buy some banner space on some popr website and perhaps I should ask for Tracy''s help... I wonder how''s Kazimir now...''


    Kazimir was his ssmate during the first and second year at the academy. The man has returned to his country, the Virgan, and continued his studies there.


    Based on his understanding, Kazimir''s family wasn''t so simple. This made him decide to ask for his help on spreading the VR Pods in that country. Unfortunately, he didn''t have time to contact him during the vacation but it seems that he can try doing it now.


    Soon, another message came in. This time, it was from the Headmaster. It looks like Percival was being contacted by Miss Chamber to be a middleman between him and her. Thetter seems to have a request for him and so, asking the headmaster''s presence seems to be appropriate due to the previous encounter.


    Wace thought carefully before agreeing to meet with Miss Chamber as long as the headmaster was present.


    ***


    Wace headed towards the Celebrity Idol''s building where they all agreed to meet.


    "It''s good to see you again..." Miss Chamber kindly smiled as she immediately greeted Wace after he entered the Tier 2 room.


    Thetter smiled and greeted them back politely.


    The room has a different ambiance due to the presence of the sofas, table, and snacks.


    The headmaster gestured for Wace to sit in front of Miss Chamber while he was in the middle.


    ''This man really likes to drink tea.'' Wace thought after seeing the drinks and snacks at the table. This made him wryly smile thinking that this conversation might actually take longer than he expected.


    "Alright, Wace... We were just discussing her request. It is not a simple matter. You don''t have to be pressured. Whatever your thoughts are, you can discuss it with her. She''s open for negotiations."


    Wace had no idea about thedy''s matter so he kept silent and just nodded to tell him that he understood his advice.


    Percival then nced at Miss Chamber informing her to begin her piece.


    "Hah... I think that my request is quite simple, actually... It is for us, Soul Arts Magician, to be capable of defending against such powerful probing skill... Right, you don''t have to hide it. I''m clearly aware that your skill had something to do with Soul Arts... We don''t want to learn how you do it but we want to learn how to shield against it."


    Wace kept his silence for a moment. Thedy must really be confident based on her tone. Anyway, she''s the real expert in terms of Soul Arts. Maybe, the Divine Sense was just too difficult to fight against due to the several improvements it had before. The skill''s only drawback was its traceable origin which even led him to be discovered by thisdy.


    "So, it''s really a Soul Art, huh." He muttered softly before ncing at Percival''s direction and continuing his words.


    "What do I get in exchange?"


    "In exchange, we''ll give you three Grade A Mana Artifacts useful for defense, attack, and healing."


    "I''m not interested in that..."


    "Mhmm... How about this, I''ll let you meet some popr female idols I know."


    Miss Chamber smiled after saying this. She had quickly thought about what could this young man be interested in and immediately remembered how he tried to peek with so many celebrity idol trainees. So she immediately offered this thinking that she had a good grasp towards Wace''s thoughts.


    Wace shook his head and smiled wryly. He had a guess on what thisdy was thinking about.


    "What I want is everything you know about the Soul Arts..."


    "Impossible..."


    "Then I can''t help you."


    "W-wait. Listen, Celebrity Idols requires five years to graduate, remember? It''s not just because of the long talent training but because the Soul Arts requires umtion. It''s not something we could teach in a week or so. It requires diligent practice that spans 5 or longer years." Miss Chamber immediately exined to Wace.


    "Fine... But I still want to learn. Isn''t there a quicker way? Don''t you have books, memory crystals, or something like that?"


    "We do have... but..." Thedy was feeling a bit conflicted since it was their duty to teach the Soul Arts to their students. It''s all because they don''t want others to suffer.


    Indeed, the Soul Arts is a very dangerous path to study alone since it basically touches that human''s ''breath of life''. Any mistake and the magician could suffer irreparable consequences. She doesn''t have any intention for this talented student to suffer soul damages.


    Wace gave thedy some time to think as he brought out his mobile device. He saw a message from Avalon with an attached message from the Golden Trident Group. It was about their automaton''s cancetion of service. Well, it seems that Avalon has decided that those automatons were really not useful. So the A.I. has already replied in his ce and it was just making a report. He replied with an OK to let it know that he approved its decision.


    "Fine! I can give you a memory crystal. But you can only practice the first stage of the Art if you have someone expert guiding you. I could be that expert. As for the rest, it shouldn''t be as dangerous. Even if you fail, you won''t die for sure." Miss Chamber said as she gave in to Wace''s request.


    Then, after making some rifications and formal agreement with Miss Chamber, Wace waited for thedy to leave so he can speak with the headmaster alone.


    "Are you really going to help them create a mana artifact to defend against your own skill? That''s doesn''t sound good to me."


    "Well, I didn''t intend for them to be insecure about my skill. Anyway... I will be learning a lot of things and I will just create an artifact that is "eptable." That should be enough to satisfy her."


    "Mhm... Just remember to make sure that it''s somehow effective since she will surely hire some Magic Engineers to either reverse engineer it or study its structure to understand it''s secrets... they may even try to improve it to their satisfaction."


    "I understand. I''ll keep it in mind."


    Percival nodded after seeing that the young man was taking this seriously. He then started asking his question.


    "So, What would you like to discuss with me?"


    "Mhmm... I just wanted to have a leave of absence for perhaps four days or more?"


    "Hah? What do you mean?"


    "I''ll need to go somewhere. So, can you guarantee that it won''t affect my study and not let my ssmates be suspicious of anything."


    Percival furrowed his brows but soon nodded in understanding. He didn''t ask for the student to exin further and immediately made a suggestion instead.


    "How about I''ll announce that I''ve given you some tasks so you''ll be absent for the next few days..."


    "That sounds good to me. I''ll do it next week after I made an artifact for defending against my Soul Probing Skill..."


    The headmaster was as carefree as usual.


    They chatted for a long while again discussing random things and about the current events in the city. This made them feel a little bit closer to each other and this somehow resulted in them gaining a little bit of each other''s trust.


    ***


    Wace returned to his home as he quickly went to his workshop to work on the artifact being requested.


    He pondered a bit about his decision as he wanted to make sure that it was fine.


    "Haaah~ I wonder if this is the right decision. Anyway, it''s beneficial for me to learn the Soul Arts."


    Although he sounded confident while speaking a while ago, creating an artifact that could backfire on him wasn''t a small matter. So he had to carefully put all his thoughts about the artifact to make sure that it won''t heavily affect him.


    As he was nning to start making the blueprint, he was stopped by a sudden mission notification from the Pathfinder.


    [ Finding More Strength


    The presence of the Zen coins buried in an underground base showed that this world has already made contact with an advanced civilization outside this world.


    Hurry and increase your strength and not waste any resources.


    Maximize the remaining Aether to forcefully advance your research.


    Rewards: Module of Quantum Brainwaves Control System x10, Arcana x1, Complete Secret Art of Flowing Spirit, Mystery Box x3 ]

 Chapter 196 - Spaceships Return ( Part 1 )

    Wace was silent after receiving the mission as he clearly understood what the Pathfinder wanted him to aplish.


    A Celestial Fragment was now in his possession and this item could either help him learn Chasm Trample or Astral Core Formtion. Unfortunately, the fragment was not enough toplete the learning process. It is only capable of triggering the method to learn the skill. For Chasm Trample, he still needed to be in a special ce to fully learn it while the Astral Core requires four other types of immensely powerful energy so he could form the core.


    That''s right, aside from the powering from the fragment, he nned to use thermal energy, mana force, nuclear energy, and aether force.


    Apparently, he already made huge progress in creating a field where nuclear fission is possible, although the field was small with a size of a room, it was enough to create a space for nuclear energy. For thermal energy, he could easily manage to prepare one using his Laser Focus. Then for the Mana Force, it would be quite easy for him. Ever since his Arcane Baptism, he already had a very strong foundation with regards to Mana.


    With that in mind, the missing Aether was the only one left. He wanted to use a bit of Aether toplete the formtion of the Astral Core that he wanted. Right now, within 19 AU as Avalon said, no other source of Aether can be found aside from the remaining Aether within the spaceship.


    "I guess... I''ll dy the blueprint for the artifact for now... or should I postpone this mission for next week instead?"


    Wace was feeling a bit undecided on what to do first but after he carefully weighs the situation, he decided to immediately visit the Araceli Ind. He was worried about what could happen in his spaceship in the next several days. Who knows if the Aether would just suddenly run out?


    It would be a tragedy if something unexpected happens while he was trying to create an artifact that should not really be his focus.


    He then contacted the Headmaster about his changes in schedule advising him about his disappearance in the next few days.


    After this, he immediately sorted out all his necessary equipment and weapons that he should bring in his journey. His Lotus Mech Frame was also included.


    He considered for a while and decided to bring four Elysiums with him.


    "Mhm... This should be enough for now. Anyway, I should try to avoid fighting head-on."


    Wace looked at the case containing several explosives that originally came from his spaceship. He still had a lot of them left so he decided to maximize its usage in this operation.


    It seems that everything was settled.


    ''Did I forget something?''


    In truth, Wace was a bit nervous since he didn''t have that many battle experiences. His experience was more on a simtion program and using drones to fight enemies. His real tough muscle fight was here in this world. Although he knew that he was strong, he was aware of hisck of strong battle sense that can normally be seen from only the battle-hardened soldiers.


    Sigh~


    He had one more check within his Spatial Bag and after confirming that nothing was missing. He quickly disappeared.


    Void Phasing Step!


    Through the help of this skill, he sneakily smuggled himself to Montego. Though he still took about four hours before he arrived at the soil of this country, he felt that it was worth it. He didn''t officially use his travel documents since he wanted to keep this journey a secret. He doesn''t want anyone to find out that he went back to this country.


    After a few more usage of his Void Phase, he arrived near the Araceli Ind. He didn''t dare to physically appear on the ind yet so he appeared on a nearby ind just about 500 meters away. He wanted to make sure about the status of the ind first.


    His Divine Sense was carefully sent out to determine this and soon, information about the ind came to his mind.


    "That guy is no longer here, huh."


    Wace felt that it was a shame since he wanted topare his strength to that man. After all, that guy was so difficult to face the first time they met.


    ''Urgh... I shouldn''t think about that. It''s good that there are less troublesome people here.''


    In exchange for that man, Wace noticed that the number of Battle Mage and Adept Mage had increased.


    From their ranks, four of them had a mana fluctuation that tells that they weren''t ordinary Peak Adept Mages. Although the young man couldn''t clearly tell the difference, he was sure that those four were the standing leader of this ce.


    For his spaceship, it was still safely covered within the dome and spherical ss.


    ''Eh?''


    Wace was a bit surprised that he could clearly see everything using his Divine Sense. Before, this skill was being blocked by the dome itself. But now, it feels like there was barely any obstruction from him to the Spaceship.


    "Was my Divine Sense really that strong now... Or perhaps, is this a trap trying to lure me in?"


    He couldn''t remove that from the possibility since someone had already infiltrated this ce before. They surely made some improvements in their defensive traps given the time they had to prepare in the past few months.


    ''Tsk, there''s no time for second thoughts... Let''s do this...''


    ***


    Geno has been assigned to govern this ind and protect the aircraft together with the researchers studying it.


    The job looks to be very simple since, in the past few months, no one had even tried to fight their way on this ind.


    They spent a lot of money to enhance this ce''s defenses and he was sure that even he himself would try to infiltrate this fortress ind, it would be a matter of seconds before he will be caught.


    Geno was drinking his coffee and reading the report of the researchers about the abnormality of the aircraft.


    Today seems to be the same as usual until suddenly...


    Boom! Boom!


    Explosions in four different directions were heard followed by a low magnitude earthquake.


    "What?!"


    As soon as he nned to move out and go to the nearest site of an explosion, he suddenly remembered the previous assault they experienced.


    He read in the reports how the enemy managed to sessfully infiltrate this ce by causing arge explosion of mana outside.


    He immediately reminded the people to stay on guard and keep reporting about any other abnormalities.


    The sound of the rm can be heard within the whole ind as everyone braced for the battle that was about to ensue.


    Soon, Geno heard the reports of the guards outside.


    "This is Creed One. There''s only one enemy at the southern shore. Our team is about to engage. Over."


    "This is Creed Six. I can see an automaton causing havoc at the eastern dock. It doesn''t seem to have ns on targeting humans but only wanted to destroy the docked ships."


    "This is Creed Eight. One armored man-- No, it is an automaton, was trying to destroy our aircraft at the eastern hangar. It''s very fast! We need backup! I repeat! We need backup!"


    "This is Creed Four. The explosion was caused by an automaton. It was holding six more of those grenade-like objects. We need confirmation to destroy the enemy."


    Geno immediately gave instructions to the guards and quickly called out his three other subordinates in this ce.


    "Trisha, Arnold, and Greg! Hurry over here. Make sure no one slips in."


    These four including Geno himself were the strongest magicians assigned in this ce. They were all wearing ck and Gold robe showing their status in their organization. They also show excitement within their eyes as the battles seem to be approaching them.


    Trisha, the only female in the group, quickly tried to have a good grasp on the surrounding areas as she silently seated outside the spherical ss covering the spaceship.


    "You guys... Hide in the nearest shelter..." Trisha was talking to the researchers who hadn''t left the ce yet.


    "Yes ma''am. Please be careful."


    "Mhmm..."


    Half a minute had passed and not a single good news was heard as the guards confronted the automatons.


    "Greg! Aren''t you the one assigned in training those guards?"


    "I already tried teaching them. They''re just not diligent enough!"


    "Haha... An excuse..."


    "Shut it!" Geno shouted as Greg and Arnold stopped bickering.


    "This is weird... The enemy should try to attack head-on after those four tried to get our attention."Geno muttered softly as he analyzes the situation.


    The other three understood what their leader wanted to say as they activated their probing skills to make sure they protected every corner of the ce.


    "Find the main culprit!!" Geno shouted to hismunicator device to instruct the guards.. It wasn''t a sudden instruction since everyone was already aware that the automatons wouldn''t just be here without someone''s instructions.


    As soon as he said this, a cold wind brushed past behind him and noticed that Trisha and the others had horrified looks on their faces as they stared at the entity behind him.

 Chapter 197 - Spaceships Return ( Part 2 )

    ''Guh... Void Phasing while wearing this Mech Frame consumes a lot more Mana than expected...''


    Wace thought after he suddenly appeared behind the strongest magician he sensed a few minutes ago. He didn''t have time to observe their looks but only see their figures as enemies he had to eliminate.


    Boom!


    The five-meter tall Mech Frame mmed its hands to the unprepared Peak Adept Mage. His head including his torso exploded by the sheer force of that mechanical hands.


    "Eh?"


    Even Wace was surprised by this oue. He was expecting some resistance from a mana shell or other defensive artifacts.


    "Genooo!!!"


    "How dare you?!"


    "You monster! Take this!"


    The three immediately activated their mana artifacts to fight against the ck and silver humanoid machine. Their eyes turned bloodshot especially Trisha who had close rtions with Geno.


    "Fire Bull!"


    "Judgment Fire!"


    "Lava Ground!"


    The three have already fought against huge humanoid automatons so they were somewhat prepared on how to deal with this machinery. They have also seen something simr to an Iron Knight before, though they didn''t have a chance to fight against it.


    Now, although they were aware that this isn''t a simple automaton since they could clearly feel a life presence due to unique mana fluctuations within the humanoid machine, it wasn''t wrong to treat the machine as arge automaton for now while fighting it.


    Instead of dodging the attacks from the three. Wace decided to fight head-on!


    He didn''t use his Mana Shell but instead relied on the powering from the Mech Frame''s energy source. The Mech Frame was suddenly coated by an almost invisible film that deflected all the fire attacksing from the three.


    "Tsk! This guy is tough. Trisha, Greg... Get into formation!"


    Arnold instructed as soon as he noticed that their n won''t be effective. At first, they wanted to use a simple trick where they will have to heat up the metallicponents of this machine before pouring cold water on it causing a quenching process. This is how they normally deal with extremely hard and metallic automatons.


    They had noticed that the arm that mmed Geno a while ago wasn''t covered by any mana enhancement whatsoever. It was a sheer power of its brute force without a doubt. Now that it shows that the machine was also capable of using unique protective magic, they realized that this battle won''t be easy.


    Aside from that, they saw how it suddenly appeared without their notice. This one thing was also causing them to have a dreadful feeling about fighting against this enemy.


    "Careful! It shouldn''t be capable of using that instantaneous movement repeatedly."


    "Mhm... Just watch your back whenever that thing got lost in your sight!"


    "Understood."


    Wace felt confident seeing that the Lotus Mech Frame was capable of fighting against the three Adepts at the same time. This is without using his mana to enhance their power.


    ''I can do this... Just like in that dream, Mech Frames were really formidable...''


    Although the virtual world that he and Avalon made simted the power of a Mech Frame against an Adept Mage, he was still quite happy seeing that their calctions aren''t wrong.


    There are four miniguns installed in the body and arms of the mech and Wace decided to try them out.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The bullets weren''t capable of prating the three''s Mana Shell but it obviously gave them a shock as they probably didn''t expect the heavy powering from those bullets.


    Even Arnold, the strongest of the three, sweated after deflecting a round of those shots.


    "What do you want?!"


    Someone from the three enemies shouted to Wace as they quickly scattered in different directions to avoid getting easily targeted. They realized that being together was more dangerous since the enemy could just fire in one direction.


    Wace didn''t answer as he merely thought that these people were buying time to turn the tables. He wouldn''t be that foolish. He did it before when he was still weak and trying to fight against Chalice.


    Instead of answering, he immediately used his Void Phasing Step to approach the currently strongest magician in their midst.


    He repeated the same tactic as he reappeared behind Arnold and the Mech Frame''s hand mmed towards the enemy.


    "Not this time!"


    The ck and gold robe of the Adept shone for a moment before a powerful defensive barrier appeared. It was able to hold against the powerful m of the Mech Frame but it still trembled and shown cracks after getting hit. It seems that their robe wasn''t just for decoration.


    There was no time to be surprised as Trisha and Gregunched their assault.


    "Greater Petrification!"


    "Earth''s Hold!"


    Two earth-based magic spells came to the Mech Frame and Wace had no time to dodge. No, he didn''t intend to in the beginning.


    As soon as Arnold was able to stop the arms of the Mech Frame, Wace already decided to use the machine''s other weapons. Therge blue crystal at the center chest of the humanoid Mech Frame suddenly lit up as the machine tried to get more power from the reactor.


    As soon as he was hit by the two Grade 3 Magic Spells cast by the two Adept Mages, the crystalpleted its Radiant Beam''s charge and fired at the pitiful Arnold. It seems that he was too happy after stopping his single attack and forgot to distance himself. Although he might be buying time for the two''s spell, he should be knowledgeable enough not to fight the 5 meters tall Mech Frame in this close range.


    Boom!


    Arnold and his barrier evaporated as the beam continuously hit the ground causing an explosion. This explosion caused a disturbance in the surrounding mana protecting Wace from getting affected by the two Grade 3 magic spells.


    This was within his calction.


    "Wind Wave!"


    Trisha cast the spell without hesitation after dust and smoke were scattered. It cleared the surroundings and notice a huge crater where Arnold and the Mech Frame were previously standing on.


    "Behind you!"


    Greg shouted as Trisha saw a shadow covering her head.


    ''This..''


    Trisha understood now. Wace was conditioning their mind that they can detect his life force anytime. The first time he appeared and killed Geno, all of them felt his presence. Geno was only caught surprised by the ambush since it was the first time he saw someone capable of such instantaneous movement.


    When Wace appeared behind Arnold, they also felt the enemy''s life presence near their colleague which allowed the man to cast his defensive barrier.


    Unfortunately, the enemy''s instantaneous movement was no longer traceable. She didn''t felt any life presence whatsoever making her slow reaction. She was fully aware that a mere Mana Shell was not capable of blocking this powerful machine. Such a small fraction of second cost her life.


    She didn''t even have the time to close her eyes as she was crushed or melted by the silver left hand of the Mech Frame.


    ''Sigh~ So not even the Mana Shell of someone at the peak of an Adept Mage can defend against the Radiant Hands...''


    The silver left hand of the Mech Frame was a powerful microwave radiation emitter. It was normally used to fight against other Mech Frames since by grabbing onto an enemy Mech Frame and activating the emitter, the left hand of the Lotus Mech Frame can fry the frame''s electronics and heavily warp the enemy frame itself, not only rendering the unfortunate machinepletely un-salvageable, but also ensuring that the pilot will perish with its Mech Frame.


    This type of ability was only for the Lotus models of Mech Frames. Other Mech Frames have their own specialties like shooting guns, sword fighting, flexibilities, adaptabilities, and others.


    Only Greg was remaining in the previous group of four. The man was already scared and ready to flee at any moment. He no longer wanted to know how thisrge humanoid machine was doing the instantaneous movement and even enter the dome without their notice or how was it capable of fighting without any emission of mana... He now just wanted to give whatever this monster wanted and let him flee.


    ''I curse you, Chalice! So this is why you''re so adamant about leaving this ce and hide in the northern continent! You were aware that a monster would target this ce!''


    He didn''t know how much time was needed before the monster could use that instantaneous movement again. So he decided to gamble and use his full force to find the exit.


    ''Great! Stay there!''


    He was very happy to see that the humanoid machine wasn''t moving to follow him. The machine might be overheated or something but, of course, he didn''t dare going back and continued to flee. After all, the enemy might just be interested in the aircraft being kept here and not their lives.


    ''I''ll definitely get my revenge soon. I will never forgive you for killing Trisha! I will find out your real identity and hunt you when you''re out of that machine!''


    As soon as he reached the hidden exit within the dome, he was nning to instruct the remaining guards to dy or even fight the humanoid machine inside to buy him some time in his escape. This is his way to ensure that the machine was really not after his life.


    Unfortunately, he saw a shadow of a small bird blocking his vision before losing his life.

 Chapter 198 - Spaceships Return ( Part 3 )

    The battle wasn''t over yet.


    The forces outside of the dome, or the other members of the Z-Company, were only being temporarily held by the four Elysiums. He didn''t even know how long they couldst.


    Wace wasn''t nning to eliminate all the three hundred members of the organization on the ind but he wanted to create enough space for him to take what he needed.


    He nced at his spaceship and saw the spherical ss covering it. He remembers that after breaking this ss, a powerful wave of pressure woulde down to everyone on the ind.


    It happened before when it was identally destroyed by Yumi. It would only attract more trouble. This time, he made sure not to make the same mistake as he can use thister.


    Within this dome, only five more researchers were left behind as they tried to hide within asheltered magic room inside one of the remaining buildings.


    They were probably unaware whether the four peak Adept Mages were dead or not.


    ''Mhmm...''


    Seeing that they were harmless low-level magicians and all their call for help were being intercepted by Avalon, he deemed that it was not necessary to spend some time eliminating them.


    The Lotus Mech Frame vanished from where it was standing from and suddenly appeared inside the spherical ss beside the spaceship. He didn''t intend to destroy the ss as it can serve as ayer of protection itself.


    Wace quickly stored the Mech Frame within his spatial bag as he wore his Bio-Armor instead and started to carefully dismantle or take apart the important parts of the spaceship through the help given by Avalon.


    He was doing this smoothly as he already studied the structure of the spaceship ever since he nned to create one of his own several months ago.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions can be heard as the dome seems to be experiencing multiple bombardments from the outside.


    As Wace expected, only those peak Adepts were allowed to freely enter and exit the dome. Now that the four were dead, they had to forcefully get in.


    ''Avalon had intercepted all externalmunications and I would''ve sensed it using my Divine Sense if there''s any mana-basedmunication being sent out. Is it Soul Arts? Arcana?''


    Wace didn''t know but the other members of the organization must have been informed without his knowledge. The situation within this dome must have been leaked already.


    If that was the case, Wace even praised them in his hearts as these members were really brave. After all, anyone that could not be handled by four Peak Adept Mages must obviously be a very strong opponent.


    Adding the fact that they can''t contact the four Peak Adepts, they were surely aware that something happened to the four.


    Wace usedAvalon to instruct the Elysiums to take care of these people outside but was suddenly rejected since the Elysiums were also in trouble.


    He didn''t have time to check the status of the four automatons a while ago due to his recent battle but after checking it now, he discovered that one of them was already destroyed while the other three were almost reaching their limits.


    ''They''re capable, huh. Tsk... Then there''s no time to hesitate...''


    The dome seems to be capable of holding on for a few more minutes so he decided to ignore them for now.


    The most important thing was to take the container of the remaining Aether and the GH Drive. Using his bio-armor in this situation was making this task easier since the armor can easily create sharp des or even hammer to break apart the spaceship.


    As soon as he took those important parts, he took some other parts of the spacecraft as long as it can still fit within his 10 cubic meter Spatial Bag and after a couple more minutes, the previous majestic spacecraft was left with its external frame.


    Ding!


    A beautiful sound of notification to confirm the missionpletion was heard. He ignored it for now and continued what he was doing.


    Wace grabbed the remaining parts of the spacecraft as he tried to use his Void Phase...


    Unfortunately, he didn''t disappear and reappear at his targeted location.


    ''As expected... It''s really not enough, huh...''


    The Void Phase he had practiced was only for his small body. Taking others with him was already very taxing in his mana consumption like when he took Yumi with him and escaped this ind before. And of course, including this short distance Void Phase while on a Mech Frame was five times more taxing already.


    Now that he tried it to therger spacecraft''s frame, he realized that it was truly an impossible feat and he probably needed the advanced version of this Void Phase to somehow aplish this task.


    Wace can only shake his head and removed his bio-armor and recover the mech frame from his spatial bag as he readied its arsenal to destroy the remaining parts of the spaceship.


    "Goodbye, X23A6..."


    Boom!


    As soon as Wace was about to fire a shot using the Mech Frame''s crystal cannon, arge explosion was heard as part of the dome was destroyed which allowed the members of the organization to enter the ce to head towards Wace''s location.


    Wace immediately sensed that there were only thirty of them and they were all carrying simr weapons.


    Their strength had all reached an Adept level but wasn''t at the peak yet. Wace then sensed a familiar aura different to Arcane Link...


    ''Oh... This is probably the Cryptic Link were only Battle Mages that were not capable of surviving the Arcane Baptism or someone who wanted an immediate strength would use...''


    He had already aplished his mission so he wanted to get out of this ce already but it seems that he had to deal with them first.


    "Fire!"


    The leader of the group shouted as soon as he saw the tall Mech Frame.


    ''Hey, the ss is still here... Are you blind?''


    Their group carries identical Mana Artifacts designed like a bay. As soon as the leadermanded, they all pointed their weapons towards Wace and fired at will.


    Wace tried to use his Void Phase but suddenly realized that he cannot do so.


    He only frowned for a bit as he started to get on a defensive stance.


    Boom!


    A huge pressure astounded everyone and most of the Adepts even wobbled a bit. They already expected this to happen after destroying the ss that was containing the contaminated auraing from the aircraft but it was still very hard for them to take on this pressuring aura simr to Cryptic Baptism.


    Aside from that, everyone grinned as they were expecting that the enemy took most of the damage as they pushed themselves to continue firing at the enemy.


    An almost invisible film had coated the Mech Frame''s entire body before deflecting all the bulletsing from the enemy.


    They were all shooting Mana Enhanced bullets or materialized magic spells so it was quickly draining the Mech Frame''s Energy.


    He didn''t want to defend at first and only wanted to escape using his Void Phase but...


    "What''s happening? I still have mana... I can still connect to the void but why..."


    The young magician can ignore the pressure but couldn''t understand why he can''t suddenly use his treasured Void Phase...


    "It doesn''t make sense..."


    He spread out his Divine Sense and carefully studied the ce.


    "This..."


    Wace made a rough guess but he couldn''t be bothered to determine whether it is a correct one.


    Anyway, the Mech Frame was still fast on its own as he fired towards the remaining parts of the spaceship to totally destroy them.


    The four thrusters behind the Mech then activated as it charged towards the group of enemies.


    They didn''t get scared and was instead looking delighted at this action...


    "What''s wrong with these people?"


    As soon as he neared them and about to use its short-ranged weapons, he suddenly sensed an iing threating at him...


    "A trap?!"


    Dual Burst!


    Everything slowed down as his brain waves elerated apanied by physical eleration...


    He decided to store the Mech Frame in his spatial bag andnd on the ground. He then tried to inspect the surroundings but couldn''t find where was that threating from...


    ''No visible iing projectiles, no enemies underground, no magic formation ced on the ground... Why were these people look so delighted after I approached them?''


    ''Wait, don''t tell me...''


    He focused his Divine Sense towards the group and observe their weapons...


    ''Sigh~ A suicide squad, huh. Fine...''


    Anyway, if his deduction was correct... he should be capable of using his Void Phase...


    Whoosh!


    He immediately vanished and reappeared outside the dome. It also ended his Dual Burst and sessfully escaped that death seeking squad.


    "It works... I understand now..."


    He no longer bothered fighting against that squad and retrieved all the four automatons to make sure that no evidence was left at the scene. Unfortunately, it seems that all of them were destroyed already.


    At the very least, now that he has a genuine GH Drive, he can now start creating better and stronger automatons.

 Chapter 199 - More Rewards

    Wace was too tired and decided to stay at a nearby hotel in Bluefields City, the second most prosperous city in the country.


    It was due to his excessive use of the Void Phase making him a little bit dizzy.


    He slept soundly during the night and woke up early in the morning as he excitedly connected his mind to the Pathfinder and made some confirmation about the missionpletion.


    [ You have sessfully found and retrieved the remaining Aether on the. ]


    [ You have received Module of Quantum Brainwaves Control System x10 ]


    [ You have received an Arcana x1 ]


    [ You have received a Complete Secret Art of Flowing Spirit ]


    [ You have received Mystery Box x3 ]


    "This looks promising..." Wace muttered after he confirmed that he received all the rewards.


    The very first thing that he did was to study the Flowing Spirit. He had a part of the secret art as he bought one in the previous auction.This made him somewhat aware of what it could do for him in the future.


    Wace materializes the manual of the Secret Art. It wasn''t a book of some sort but instead a silver stele with a picture of two human bodies sitting side by side carved in front of it.


    It waspletely different from what he got from the auction.


    He ced his hands on the stele and was suddenly sucked into the void. Without doing anything, massive information came into his mind giving him knowledge about the Secret Art.


    This passing of knowledge took him for about an hour before the stele cracked in the middle as Wace consciousness came back to reality.


    As soon as it happened, the stele turned to ashes creating a mess in the room.


    ''Is this how it should be?''


    The Awakening of Thunder and Lightning was also a Secret Art and it was taught by consuming a memory crystal. But the one that he just did had a seemingly different process of passing the knowledge.


    This made him realize that the origin of all the Secret Arts might be from some other stele and passing the knowledge it contained would only depend on the original inheritor of the stele.


    ''Interesting... But where are they finding these steles if that''s the case?''


    Wace shakes his head and tried to organize his thoughts about the Secret Art that he had just learned. Unfortunately, he was disappointed after studying it for about half an hour.


    ''I need help from a Mage Doctor... But I don''t even know anyone with that profession.'' Wace twitched his mouth and sighed helplessly. Anyway, he might just ask one of his close friends to introduce him to one. Maybe his parents were even acquainted with someone they could trust.


    After all, he will have to divulge some parts of the Secret Art to the Mage Doctor if he wanted to ask for their help or maybe, he had to study the Spirit Arts himself if he wanted to conceal the fact that he had this Secret Arts.


    Anyway, this isn''t his priority and was only preparing it for his other body.


    Now, Wace nced at the ten orbs made of metal which was the module containing Quantum Brainwaves Control System.


    When Wace was introduced to an Iron Knight by his Master ine, he tried to pilot one and was subjected to the synchronization process which he passed after having a 93% mark. This process was required to ensure that one could pilot the Iron Knight seamlessly. But it also means that not all magicians could pilot an Iron Knight as it would depend on their sync rate.


    On the other hand, the Gctic Federation uses the module of Quantum Brainwaves Control System in order to help the pilots connect to their Mech Frame without taxing the pilot''s mind and to easily control the Mech Frame.


    In short, with these 10 orbs of the control system, Wace will be able to make 10 Mech Frame that anyone could pilot without having high requirements. As long they are good in realbat, they will be able to perform the same level using the Mech Frame or better even without prior training or practice. The control system works wonder to the pilots.


    Wace grinned at this. Although he can''t use them for himself since he already has a Lotus Mech Frame that has a powerful microwave radiation emitter, he wanted to create other designs of Mech Frame. After all, his current Mech Frame was designed to fight in a zero-gravity environment. Even with its current float system, it can''t be considered to be the best flying Mech Frame. He also had to consider other characteristics of the Mech Frame. Anyway, he has ten modules so he has plenty to consider.


    Next, he sets his eyes to the Arcana. This is something very intriguing even for Wace. The first time he encountered one was when ine had used to pressure them with some unexinable source of power. He had been unable to analyze clearly before since he was afraid to get interrogated during that time.


    He willed his mind and connected it to the Arcana shrouded with red mist within his sea of consciousness.


    Soon, his very first Arcana materializes in front of him. It was surprisingly a card with the size of an adult''s palm. Based on what he knows, after passing as an Arcane Artificer, one could only be an Arcanist if they created or controlled an Arcana. The Grand Arcanist was normally on the same level of strength as the Arcanists and it is just that they have aplished more outstanding feats than the rest so they were entitled to receive a title of a Grand Arcanist.


    There weren''t many Arcanists and Grand Arcanists throughout the whole continent so Wace was wondering whether all of them have the same form of Arcana, a card.


    He looked at the card and it shows a drawing of metal bars like it was from a gloomy prison and behind it was a shadow of an unknown being. On top of the card was most likely the name of the Arcana he holds, "The First Seal".


    ''Sealing Magic? Or is this used to remove the seal to release the unknown being inside?''


    "Hey! Why is there no instruction on how to use this?"


    Wace couldn''t help butin about the Pathfinder.


    [ The user can ask assistance from an Arcanist to learn how to use it. Only Magicians at their level could immediately understand the power of the Arcana even just by touching. ]


    Wace twitched his mouth at this.


    "Well... Thank you for answering."


    Wace then immediately settled the Mystery Boxes.


    [ You have received a 100 Gold Coins]


    [ You have received an Anti-Aging Cream x2 ]


    Wace''s mouth was gaping as soon as he saw the rewards that he just got from the Mystery Box.


    ***


    After Wace left the Araceli Ind,rge numbers of Z-Company''s Ember''s Fist Faction came to the ind.


    "Any recordings?"


    It was asked by one of the seemingly high-ranking officers of the organization who just arrived on the ind.


    "We have checked but all of them have a missing recording from the time the assault started until it ended in a few minutes." The member in charge ofmunications within the ind said disappointedly


    "Is it done by an insider?"


    "I doubt it. All the guards stationed here are the magicians we have hypnotized into submission. Only me, the four Peak Adepts, and the five researchers have a stable state of mind..."


    "Mhmm... Then how can you exin this?" The high-ranking officer wasn''t that mad but he was obviously curious about the way they infiltrated this highly protected ind.


    "I-I wasn''t sure as well but I highly doubt that it is our men who did it. It only means that it was done by another culprit we haven''t seen. There should be four automatons, one magician piloting something simr to an Iron Knight, and another one who silently sabotaged all our recordings of the battle."


    "Sigh~ Then we can only rely on the description given the Fourth Creed Squad." They were referring to the squad that forcefully entered the dome after confirming that the four Adepts were non-responsive.


    The officer continued.


    "This project has been eating a lot of our funds. I guess that its already time to use them in other projects. We should thank Chalice for this..."


    Themunication officer could only nod in agreement with what he said. Soon, they interrogated the Creed Squad who had a brief encounter with Wace.


    ***


    In a high-rise building at the center hub of Tanza City.


    "Sir Avarice! We have brought you another holder of a Sealed Mana Artifact. I hope that both of you could cooperate in this operation."


    Said by one of the businessmen in the board room.


    "Ah... You said that you''ll bring her. Where is she?" It was Avarice''s question.


    They were the group who had been eyeing the cores of the automatons made by the Golden Trident Group.


    Soon, a youngdy who was wearing a ck evening dress came in. She doesn''t look interested at meeting with another Sealed Mana Artifact wielder but looking bored meeting all these old men in the room. She didn''t even greet these seniors and only stated her name as her introduction.


    "Avery Marshall."

 Chapter 200 - Tanza Siege ( Part 1 )

    Wace didn''t immediately return to Tanza City and remained in the vicinity of Bluefields City. He wanted to ensure that the infiltration he didst night wasn''t traced back to him.


    He instructed Avalon to closely monitor the electronicmunications in some ces while he studied the 2nd stage of AOTL, the Lightning Break. He was already on the verge ofpleting it and he had noticed that the quality of the surrounding mana in this city was actually quite different.


    He had asked Avalon so check any information rted to the surrounding mana here and after a few minutes of searching, he found out that the Royal Court Magician Julian Esmeria had his Mage Tower here in this city.


    It was called a tower but it is only a 10 story building and there were even a lot more of taller buildings within the heart of the city. Soon, Wace discovered that just like how the Maja Country spent almost all their military budget to their high-ss automatons, this country spent their money in building Mage Towers in every city.


    "So that was why they don''t have intricaterge barriers protecting their city, they were relying on the defensive power of the Mage Towers..."


    Not only that, due to the existence of the Mage Towers in almost every city within the ind country, the quality of mana was also better. Wace''s purity of mana had reached more than the standard of 93% based on thest test he had so he could immediately tell the difference.


    Although the value of having high-quality of mana in the surroundings can only be seen once the Arcane Baptism waspleted, ( since prior to this, everyone has the same purity of mana ) the existence of magicians with an Arcane Link was only increasing almost day by day. Once many magicians had reached this level, they will want to go to ces with a higher purity of mana to better their skills and affinity with their magic spells.


    The existence of Mage Towers that could help with that was something that this country was doing very well for the sake of the future.


    "I hope that Zairus will learn from this..."


    Wace had actually noticed that their country was focusing its finances on the advancement of magic and technology. After all, only their country has traces of Space Exploration pursuit, Magic Airships, and the creation of Steel Knights.


    Looking at it now, every country seems to have its own focus to implement its resources to their maximum potential.


    Anyway, he had advised the headmaster about his absence so it would be fine. Although this ce isn''t at the level of Mana Rejuvenation Spring, he felt that he willplete his Lightning Break technique if he stayed here just for a couple more days. If hepleted this, he will be able to return to Cloud Hawk Manor and take his Iron Knight with him.


    He might even ask Clyne or Lacus at the manor to help him find a trustworthy Mage Doctor.


    ''Right, there were Mage Doctors during the apprentice examination... Maybe I could really ask them... I should be able to use my status to have them work for me, right?''


    Wace thought for a while and approved this n after confirming that there seems to be no problem in this arrangement.


    Suddenly, he saw the floating metal ball beside him shing its red light. The A.I. would normally not disturb Wace and only sh its red light or vibrate if it has some message it wanted to convey.


    "Any news? Just tell me..."


    [ Game Updates for the Adventure Mode: Alien Invasion waspleted. ]


    "Oh! You alreadypleted the adjustments? Great... Can you tell me the changes?"


    [ Thirty Assistive NPCs were added on each stronghold. ]


    [ A Chain Quest was made to reward yers with Portable Device containing Freya''s Terminal. The mission was as the user instructed: Through salvaging metals at the Garbage Mountains, the yers will collect 24 Fragments of Metal to build the Portable Device. The Garbage Mountains was a ce where yers can get a disease or other debuffs making the task more difficult aside from the ce being constantly patrolled by the Dorssian Empire''s soldiers. ]


    "Good... How many Garbage Mountains are there?"


    [ Thirty-four. ]


    "Fine. Ensure that it won''t be too hard for the yers but also not too easy."


    [ ... ]


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    Tanza City was a prosperous city although it wasn''t in the top three of the country.


    Due to the recent efforts of the City Mayor, it was at least recognized as a first-ss highly-urbanized city as it continuously developed itsnd to boost it''s resource production and opened more opportunities in trade.


    This afternoon, the peacefulnd was suddenly disturbed by the appearance of a red cloud covering the entire city.


    "W-what''s happening?"


    "This doesn''t look good..."


    "We are in a city protected by a strong magic barrier... Any destructive or harmful objects going into the city would have to pass through that. We should be safe."


    "B-but look at those Battle Mages..."


    Although they were non-magicians, they were well aware that a red cloud doesn''t seem to be a good omen.


    As they look at the nearby magicians and Battle Mages that were alerted by the sudden changes in the sky, they realized that this red cloud was really a problem. Their dreadful faces can be seen as their sweat was trickling down their faces.


    ''They are sensing something even more dangerous than we think.'' It is what they realized after doing a little observation.


    After all, magicians were more sensitive to this kind of phenomenon, unlike themoners who could only trust their instinct.


    It didn''t take long before a sound of rm jolted everyone in the city.


    The people were not aware of what''s happening until a sudden explosion happened at the Municipal Hall!


    It should have the strongest structure of defense since this is the centralmand and where the City Mayor stays.


    At the very least, an announcement was immediately made that resounded throughout the whole city.


    "The city is under attack by an unidentified group of magicians. They were heavily armed and dangerous. Everyone, please evacuate to the nearest shelter.


    "A few enemies had infiltrated the city but most of them were being taken care of by the soldiers just outside the city. Please, follow the police and authorities for the evacuation procedures.


    "I repeat, please evacuate to the nearest shelter and follow the authorities on the process."


    The voice was very familiar and the people didn''t have to ask who the person was. It was the City Mayor himself making an announcement.


    The people in the vicinity of the municipal hall, that was now caught on fire, sighed in relief after confirming that the mayor was safe.


    Soon, they saw many police cars and bikes on the streets as the police officers alighted and assisted people to proceed to the nearest evacuation shelter.


    All the works and sses stopped due to these sudden attacks from the unknown group of magicians.


    The scale of this city siege seems to berger than they realized since even the Mayor doesn''t seem to be confident of holding the enemies outside the city. They had to abandon whatever they were doing and get into the shelter.


    Suddenly, within the vicinity of the municipal hall, gunshots, magic spells, explosions, screams, and angry shouts can be heard.


    It was suddenly total chaos as an unknown group, or they can probably call a terrorist now, exchanged fires with the hall guards and the police.


    Thud! Boom! Boom!


    The four police officers who were guarding the surroundings of the municipal hall was suddenly assaulted by a group of terrorist.


    Luckily, the terrorist doesn''t to be interested in the fleeing civilians


    "W-we need to move out..."


    "No! We can''t leave this ce yet! We have to keep them here and ensure that the mayor wasn''t followed and had safely moved before we can leave here..."


    "Roger--"


    Boooom!


    Their conversation was cut off after being suddenly fired by a highly concentrated Fire Ball Magic Spell...


    This isn''t a rare event as other parts of the city were being razed to the ground.


    Most of the Adept Mages were fighting at the terrorist outside the city and only a few Battle Mages and magicians were left to defend therge city.


    On the other hand, the Leonhearts Academy was immediately informed about the situation. The headmaster even dispatched as few high-level instructors to help the people fleeing in the streets.


    "All of the students must remain in your ssrooms and follow the instructions of your teachers. The academy''s building is stronger than any other shelters made within the city. I would like everyone to remain calm in the situation and stay where you are. We will quickly settle this issue... I guarantee you that."


    Percival announced after getting a private message from the City Mayor. Their academy graduates have an almost 100% passing rate to Battle Mage''s license examination. This meant that the standard of their teaching was top notch and their instructors were simrly high-level.


    It was normal that they have enough people capable of protecting this ce and even spare some to help the people outside.


    "Headmaster! I would also like to be sent outside. You said that you gave some tasks to Wace and he had to stay at home. I''m worried that a student in our academy might be in serious danger. Please, as his current instructor, let me ensure his safety."

 Chapter 201 - Tanza Siege ( Part 2 )

    Aaron was peacefully ying the Adventure Mode: Alien Invasion on his VR Pod. It was his routine to y at least 12 hours a day and today wasn''t an exception.


    As he yed longer than the average, he learned that many people he knows were also ying the game and they even partied for some time.


    But after ying with them for a while, he decided to be a solo yer and make his own adventure within the vast virtual world.


    He was very impressed by the creativeness of the maker and how realistic the game was. Not only due to the almost perfect simtion of the real world but also due to the fact that everything that was happening doesn''t look like a game at all. He had a subtle feeling that this might actually happen.


    When he was younger, he had some point in time where he was also curious if there are others living in the stars above. This is the very reason why he was so interested in this expensive game. The cinematic introduction caught his interest and he couldn''t stop thinking about it.


    He was at first scolded by his mother since he no longer focuses on improving his Mana Study and makes preparation for his license examination.


    That was normal, they are not aware of how impressive the game was.


    "Let me show you what I learned inside the game!"


    He proudly announced after getting fed up by his mother''s scolding.


    Soon, without using his signature magic spell, he fought and defeated an automaton using a palm technique he learned inside the game.


    Apparently, the Dorssian Empire''s soldiers wear thick armors covering their whole body and not leaving any gaps.


    It was like a humanoid automaton that has powerful defenses against magic attacks. The super A.I. Freya had taught them that to fight against such enemies, they had to learn an attack capable of bypassing their thick armors.


    It was an amazing experience.


    Due to theplete set of training within the game, he easily learned the Ten-Fold Palm, a technique utilizing vibration to fight against armored opponents.


    He was aware that all gamers had a chance of learning this if they worked hard enough so he wasn''t too smug after learning it. But this was enough for him to tell his mother that he had a reason for taking the game seriously.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    [ The emergency call button was triggered from the outside. Please, logout on the game to avoid forceful disconnection. ]


    [The emergency call button was... ]


    The message was being repeated until he decided to either "Ignore" it or "Logout".


    As soon as he came out of the VR pod, Vulture, one of the powerful members of the Lucent Force, reported the current siege happening at the border of the city and about the attack that hit the municipal hall from the enemy organization''s detachment force.


    "This... Who are they? Is it from the ck Knight?"


    "Yes, young master."


    "They acted earlier than expected... Make sure that nothing happens to the City Mayor. I''ll contact the other branches to send some help here. Move."


    "Yes."


    Vulture answered as he no longer said any unnecessary words and vanished from the room.


    ***


    Ever since Wace had gifted her a unique bracelet of unknown origin, she had been attentive to Wace''s actions inside the academy.


    She analyzed the red bracelet before but it didn''t bore fruit. This made her a bit curious but she didn''t put too much effort into finding out.


    Although she wanted to ask him about how it was made, she felt that it wasn''t that important so she carries on with her daily life.


    "Instructor ine... I understand your concern but it is Wace we are talking about. That guy isn''t as simple as we think."


    "H-how can you say that? You are the headmaster! We should be worrying about the safety of our students. Didn''t you see that red cloud? Only that Sealed Mana Artifact is capable of doing that!"


    "I know, that''s why you have to stay here... What if you encounter its wielder, your ability is not a good match against that..."


    "But we should still do something about it!"


    "Of course... A group of eight instructors being led by Eve Luxford was dispatched a few minutes ago. They should be able to handle the safety of our students outside. All the remaining instructors must stay here to protect the students..."


    "Fine..."


    A frowning expression can be seen on ine''s beautiful face as she decided not to bother the headmaster anymore.


    As soon as she left, the headmaster immediately contacted some relevant individuals to ensure the safety of the academy.


    "Aaron? I need to leave the academy. Can you make some arrangements to leave one or two members of the Lucent Force here?"


    "Oh, headmaster. Sure... I will be sending Crow and Falcon there. Would that be enough?"


    "It is. Thank you!"


    "Alright. Are you going to the frontline?"


    "No... I just want to visit a certain ce..."


    As the call ended, the headmaster reminded the teachers and students to remain calm and collected in the situation they are in and left the ce using a secret underground tunnel.


    The tunnel had many turns and paths but Percival''s movement shows that he was very familiar in this tunnel.


    He even used Haste Magic to himself so he quickly arrived at the end of the tunnel.


    Percival was now standing near the edge of the city. Here, he could observe the battle going on against the terrorists.


    "They have thetest weapons and vehicles. They numbered around 400 but there should be more of them waiting for a chance...


    "It felt more like they were buying time..."


    Percival saw the terrorists utilizing their advantage on the terrain as theyunch magic spells against the soldiers stationed at the City.


    "They were trained as soldiers and even protected by this ck miasma... It''s really that guy, huh. He even has a helper..."


    Percival looked at the red clouds on the sky as he worriedly nces at the magic barrier that was about to copse due to the bombardment from the terrorists scattered around the city.


    Although there were more than two thousand soldiers dispatched to protect the city, they were spread out and thinned in some sectors. They couldn''t concentrate their forces in a single location.


    It can''t be helped since they had to ensure that the terrorists would no longer sneak any more detachment forces who were capable of making another round of attack to the City Mayor.


    "Keh! Do you have an idea of what''s happening?"


    Gilbert asked as everyone can see the red clouds hanging from the sky. They couldn''t help but feel nervous seeing such arge cloud that could cover almost the whole city and stay like that without being removed by the soldiers garrisoned around the city.


    Tanza City has several powerful Adepts that should be capable of affecting the clouds above but since it is not being removed, this thing seems to be a really serious matter. After all, they could feel the sinister auraing from that cloud.


    "Red clouds... I''m not truly sure but I have a guess..."


    "Oh! As expected of the seven nobles!"


    "Stop that..."


    "Sorry... Please, continue. I just want to know what that is. Even the headmaster''s voice sounds so serious just now. Instructor ine also left after she saw that cloud. She had only left a few words before she went to meet the headmaster and looking so worried..."


    "Alright, alright. I''ll tell you what I know but I can''t guarantee you if it is real...


    The red cloud you see was most likely a result of a magic spell using a Sealed Mana Artifact."


    "What? Really? Do you know what Sealed Artifact was used?" Erica asked as she only knows two Sealed Mana Artifacts. The Hallowed Eye and the Faded Skull Staff.


    "It should be the Heart''s Grimoire..."


    ***


    Avery Marshall was holding a crimson book as she monitors the diversion caused by Avarice''s soldiers.


    She was pretty interested in wielding the Hallowed Eye as she found it interesting to control such powerful miasma. Unfortunately, she felt so disgusted at the current owner.


    He smelled like a rotten corpse. Even though he attempts to hide the smell to normal people or to even some weak magicians, she could always smell him with her heightened sensitivity.


    Soon, she was reminded that the Red Clouds was about to reach its limit.


    Avery grinned at this and put her right hand on top of the grimoire as she connected to the Sealed Mana Artifact.


    "Corrosive Blood Rain!"


    Soon, a few drops of crimson liquid came down from the red cloud. It doesn''t seem to possess a powerful or prative force but the Magic Barrier activated. This only meant one thing, it recognized that the liquid was harmful and dangerous to the people living within its protective cover.


    As soon as this happened, a small force made of six powerful magicians were sneakily surrounding the Main Headquarters of the Golden Trident Group.

 Chapter 202 - Tanza Siege ( Part 3 )

    Wace''s mobile device was suddenly flooded by notifications. There were unread messages and missed calls after he finished a set of training in learning the second stage of AOTL. He had given advice to Avalon not to disturb him in his training unless it is very urgent.


    As he was about to check the messages, an iing call from his mother came.


    "Mom? What''s up?"


    "Wace, are you at home in your workshop?"


    "Eh? Not really... Why?"


    "Your instructors at the academy told me that you were out... I''ve been calling you for a while now. Are you safe? By any chance, are you near the terrorist attacks?"


    Wace went silent as he was trying to understand what was happening. He looked at the floating metal ball in the hope of getting some light in the situation.


    [ ... ]


    [ The Tanza City is under siege from a terrorist group called ck Knights. ]


    A voice was heard from the earphone connected to Avalon.


    ''Huh? Since when?!''


    Wace didn''t voice it out as his mother was still on his mobile device.


    "Yes. I''m safe! I''m about to go home. Don''t worry about me. I will contact you from time to time."


    "Is your home safe?"


    "Yes! It is heavily protected. Do you remember the automaton I made during thepetition? I made something better than that. There''s also the security added by the Golden Trident Group! That should be enough."


    "I don''t think that''s enough!"


    "There should be a shelter for evacuees, right? Just join them. I will feel less worried if that''s the case."


    ''Shelter? Evacuees?'' Wace thought as he suddenly remembers the evacuation procedures taught to them.


    "Ah! Right. Of course. I will do so... Don''t worry about me..."


    Wace answered as they ended the phone call. Soon, he tried to get all the news he missed from Avalon.


    After taking a moment to understand the current situation, he realized that going back to the city will be too dangerous, and staying here at the hotel might be more beneficial to him.


    ''But people will try to look for meter on... I have to be present once everything calmed down.''


    Wace thought as he wanted to make sure that no one will realize that he infiltrated one of the bases of Z-Company.


    "Avalon, keep me updated on the current situation of the city.."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace then immediately packs up as he decided to be in a nearby vige or town from Tanza City to ensure that he can immediately use Void Phase and arrive somewhere near the shelter.


    [ You still have unread messages from the Headmaster and others. Would you like to read them? ]


    "Ah! That''s right." Wace quickly read the headmaster''s and his ssmate''s messages that were simrly concerned with his well-being. He quickly replied to them so they can have peace of mind that he is still alive.


    ***


    Inside one of the protected shelters within the city...


    It only took about half an hour before the authorities confirmed that most of the civilians were already safe in the shelters underground. These shelters were heavily protected and even aerial bombardment would not be felt from the inside.


    A few police officers were together with the civilians within the shelter to ensure everyone''s safety and order. They were also in charge ofmunicating with the authorities outside.


    "I guess... We can say that we are somehow lucky that the detachment force of the ck Knights didn''t cause tremendous damage to the city..."


    "Mhm... They didn''t target the civilians and instead focused on hunting the City Mayor..."


    It was the truth. Just thinking about a group of several dozens of powerful magicians causing havoc in the streets of their city, killing innocent civilians, and destroying buildings and roads, they felt that it would be very difficult to save the citizens. Especially if they use them as hostages or even act as civilians to create more damages.


    It may really be a blessing that they just want the head of the City Mayor which was now in hiding as the police forces started to hunt the remaining terrorist inside the city.


    ***


    Outside the building of Golden Trident Group...


    "Why is this ce looking deserted?"


    "Use your detectors! Can you confirm that those cores were still inside the building?" The leader asked as he felt something amiss.


    One of the six magicians in their midst brought out a small golden bell before shaking it once to activate the magic spell imbued within. The sound of the bell wasn''t loud but the wind suddenly got stronger before calming down in a few seconds.


    "The cores were all concentrated on the top floor of the building."


    "They were surely expecting us... What do we do?"


    "Are you scared~?"


    "I''m not! Don''t you realize that if they are expecting us, they definitely put some traps inside!"


    "Aren''t we at least prepared for that?"


    Their team was the elite force of their organization so no one was truly scared. They just didn''t expect that the best securitypany in the city have a very poor defense within their main headquarters. It rmed them for a possible ambush from the enemy.


    "The 12th Phantom squad who attacked the City Mayor, Ma''am Avery who was assigned to take on the strongest person in the City, and Sir Avarice with his ves to hold off the members of the Lucent Force and the soldiers... didn''t we prepare enough already?! We can''t give up this opportunity or we will be a disgrace in the Order of the ck Knight!"


    The leader of the six passionately said as he fully trusts the helpers they have this time. Two of them were even Sealed Mana Artifact wielders.


    As soon as they took the cores of those automatons, even if many members of the organization might perish today, it will be their victory!


    "Everyone! Get into your position... We''ll attack the building on my signal!"


    "Yes!"


    ***


    "It started, huh..."


    Percival nced at the crimson rain falling from the sky.


    ''Hmmm... It should be about five minutes before the barrier will fully corrode and copse...''


    He had quickly estimated how long the barrier couldst as he controlled his mana to trace the source of the spell activation.


    ''Thisrge scale magic activation will at least tell me where you are...''


    It didn''t take long before he found thedy who was the source of the magic.


    "Found you!"


    He then quickly used his Superior Haste as he appeared in front of thedy.


    Thedy was young and looked like someone who just left an evening party with her elegant dress.


    "So... Our intelligence was really correct. Sigh~"


    Percival sighed upon confirming the identity of thedy.


    "Oh? So you were already on me?"


    "Yes... We''ve been trying to find pieces of evidence against you just recently... but you were just too clean. We know you were involved with the Silent Enigmas and even formed alliance to create the ck Knights..."


    "I''m impressed!"


    "Don''t be... If not for your careless member of alliance whom we captured alive, we wouldn''t have a lead..."


    ''Well, we really have to thank Wace for that. It has always been a struggle to capture any of your members alive...'' Percival said in his mind in addition.


    "So, Avery... do you want me to help you stop that corrosive rain, or will you stop it yourself?"


    "Hahaha! You are funny Headmaster Percival! Why don''t you try me?!"


    Avery then pulled open the Heart''s Grimoire as a signal for the battle to start.


    ***


    "Heart''s Grimoire?" Erica, Gilbert, and other ssmates who were listening to Keh asked at the same time.


    It was the first time they heard such Sealed Mana Artifact.


    "That is correct. I even heard of some others like Mourning Ear and Mind''s Arm..."


    "Oooohh! You know a lot, Keh!"


    Many of the students praised Keh''s knowledge about the topic.


    But opposite to their expectation, Keh''s expression turned sad after he heard this and shakes his head as he continued to exin.


    "I thought that it was just an exaggeration that there was a possible attack in this city... Although some even took it seriously as they transferred to different schools to make sure that they will not be affected..."


    "Wait... don''t tell me-"


    "Yes, I heard rumors and such but I didn''t take it seriously. After all, no one confirmed the situation to the public. I thought that it can be settled quietly due to the efforts of the authorities... Unfortunately, it is already happening...


    "But I know that the police together with the Lucent Force will win against these terrorists!"


    Soon, Keh shared all the insider information he was aware of in order to lessen the worry of his ssmates. It will assure them that the terrorist attack wasn''t aplete ambush to the authorities but something they are somewhat prepared for.


    "Hey! But you didn''t tell what the terrorist wanted here. Why did they attack this city? Do they have a grudge to the City Mayor?"


    "Oh... I wasn''tpletely sure and only have an idea. Haven''t you notice anything from the names of the Sealed Mana Artifacts?"


    "Eh? Wait..."


    Just a couple of seconds passed as they quickly noticed the simrities of the four artifacts he named but this was still just another question bugging their minds.

 Chapter 203 - Tanza Siege ( Part 4 )

    Avery and Percival were on top of a tall building opposite from the terrorist''s direction of attacks. The stationed soldiers here were thin and most of them were just helping to find more civilians to bring them to the shelter.


    These soldiers were also hurrying as they could see that cracks were starting to appear from the barrier activated to protect the whole city. They know how precarious their situation was.


    "Die!"


    Avery waved her hands as a flood of red liquid started to gush out from the grimoire. Percival watched the liquid as it started to cover him from all directions.


    ''Good! Be arrogant about your tough defense... Think of it as a weak corrosive magic spell that you can easily break through anytime you want! Your own pride will kill you!''


    Avery grinned seeing that Percival allowed the red liquid to surround him. He was probably testing the limit of her magic spell to know if it could seriously damage him. This would allow her to sessfully execute her n without spending too much effort...


    ''But I still have to be careful... Being dubbed as the Strongest Mage in the City is proof of his strength...''


    "And it will also be your weakness! Come! Acid Waves! Focus st!"


    The red liquid that suddenly appeared from the grimoire emanated a different sinister aura as it tries to swallow Percival who was relying on his Mana Shell to protect his body. Aside from that, the scattered rain that was slowly corroding the powerful magic barrier of the city suddenly focused its direction on a single point!


    "Evaporate..." Percival whispered as the surrounding mana suddenly thinned. The Acid Waves was still there and it only weakened for a bit.


    He frowned at this since the effect that he expected did not happen. This time he repeated his cast but with more power behind it.


    "Evaporate!"


    The Acid Waves made of red liquids slowly evaporated. But this is only a small portion of the gushing waves.


    "You''re not using your own mana!"


    Avery had suddenly noticed that the headmaster''s two attempts to evaporate the spell she cast was only using the first stage of mana affinity.


    "You''re really underestimating me!"


    Although it would be to her advantage, she felt a bit annoyed that he wasn''t using his Mana Reserves to cast a spell. Apparently, Percival achieved an unprecedented level of Forceful Maniption.


    There were three stages of mana affinity, Forceful Maniption, Inducement Control, and Arcane Link after receiving the baptism. Although achieving Arcane Link would not stop you from using the 1st and 2nd stages, it can be said that using them was only limiting yourself to greater heights. After all, exploring the limit of Arcane Link was still fruitful in strengthening one''s self rather than using the crude method of controlling mana.


    "No, I''m not underestimating you... It''s the opposite, I''m taking this seriously..."


    Percival, without any sign of using a Mana Artifact, opened his palm to confront the waves of remaining red liquiding at him.


    "Haaa!" He merely shouted and suddenly, the waves stoppeding at him and were scattered everywhere destroying some buildings around.


    Avery only grinned at this as she thought that she could just regain her control on the liquid that was scattered around. She nned to buy more time for the other team to get their objective but to her surprise, the mental connection she had with it was no longer working.


    "What did you do?!"


    She used a Sealed Mana Artifact to materialize the liquid... It shouldn''t be defeated so easily. Percival did not answer as he approached thedy.


    "The artifact you have is strong... but you still needed some time to learn how to use it..." Percival said matter of factly.


    "You''re the one who needs to learn!" Avery gritted her teeth as she poured more mana to the grimoire she was holding. Soon, a part of the barrier covering the city shattered, and the concentrated raining from the sky headed towards Percival.


    She saw him not caring about the Corrosive Blood Rain from the sky and seems to be very intent on disabling her. It was natural, the headmaster was most likely thinking that disabling her would also stop the spell she cast using the grimoire.


    "Hmph! Let''s see what other tricks you have!"


    ***


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions were heard as soon as the six mages from the ck Knights arrived in the vicinity of the building. Anti-Aerial Craft Turrets, Elemental Turrets, Heavy Machine Guns, and different models of Automatons weed their arrival.


    Everyone was expecting this as they activated their superior magic defense and enhancement spell.


    "Myriad Shield!"


    "Frenzy Time!"


    As soon as they activated these spells and were covered by its protection and amplification, they all jumped to the 5th Floor breaking the window ss in the process as they sessfully infiltrated the Headquarters of the Golden Trident Group.


    The building was quite high as it has 21 floors and the top floor was their target. Although they couldn''t jump up to the 21st floor, the 5th floor was not bad since they believe that they avoided a strong resistance force from the lower floors.


    ''They should be expecting us to enter from the first floor... I guess you guys just wasted your defenses there... You''re not aware that we know where the cores are hiding!''


    The leaderughed internally as they move hastily to the upper floors. They haven''t encountered any magicians yet and were only being stopped by a couple installed minigun turrets and automatons that only have a strength of a beginner Battle Mage. Confronting six Adepts in a narrow space would end them in mere seconds.


    "Halt!"


    As soon as they reached the 20th floor. The leader felt something different. From the 5th to 19th floor, they never encountered any magicians and only fought with controlled artifacts and weapons. Although it wasn''t hard, it wasn''t that easy as they had to maintain their defenses at all times since they were not aware of where the attacks wille from.


    He took a nce at hismunicator to check whether he missed a notification from Avery or Avarice. After all, they have an agreement that if ever the Headmaster of Leonhearts Academy or the members of Lucent Force was unupied, they have to inform him so they can make a tactical retreat.


    These are the only magicians they were afraid of within this city. The Phantom Squad or that suicide squad should still be holding on against the forces of the City Mayor. Now that they are a few meters away from their objective, he suddenly felt that this was too easy.


    "Did they just give up like that?" The leader couldn''t imagine that the strongest securitypany would have no backbone and be easily scared by six peak Adepts.


    "Are they nning to just ce a weak defense to ensure that we''ll take the cores and tail us?"


    "Maybe, they want to find our headquarters?"


    The leader was listening to his member''s words and it somehow made sense. But they are prepared for this.


    There was no way that they will back out so he just reminded everyone to cast all the spells they needed to protect themselves and remain focus on their objective. As soon they stole it, they will immediately scatter and rendezvous in a prearranged location after a couple of days to ensure that no one followed them.


    As soon as they stepped on the next floor, they were greeted by a single magician blocking their path. It was the female president of the Golden Trident Group who once visited Wace''s ce when he first ordered his security package, it was President Eun.


    ***


    "Hey! I still don''t understand!" They started toin to Keh as he keeps making them on the edge.


    ''Man, why couldn''t you just tell us directly.'' Everybody thought but they still went along with him.


    "What do you mean? What''s the connection of the Sealed Mana Artifact''s simrities?"


    "That''s right! Do you mean that there''s another simr level of man artifact being hidden here? So... does the terrorist group waged war to the city to take it?"


    "Not really... I actually find this absurd at first but as you noticed... all the Sealed Mana Artifacts seem to be named to some parts of the body." Keh said this as he nced at his sister Katherine implying for her to continue instead.


    Katherine only rolled her eyes as she let his brother exin. In truth, everything they are about to tell was only their conjecture after hearing rumors and some insider information.


    "Sigh~ Alright! Listen, it is rumored that all the Sealed Mana Artifacts were made from a human body... But not a normal human body you are thinking of... it probably came from a Celestial Being! A powerful transcendent being that only lives in the northern continent!"


    Keh took a deep breath before continuing.


    "The thing that the terrorist was looking for was most likely to be some drops of blood that came from this Celestial Being..."


    Keh sighed afterpleting his words. He was expecting that everyone would justugh at the conjecture he made with his sister.

 Chapter 204 - Tanza Siege ( Part 5 )

    "Oh? Hahaha! You scared me there... So it''s just the president of thispany."


    The leader felt d seeing thisdy blocking their path. If it was someone that was on their dangerous list, then he might order a retreat with his men.


    "Just me?"


    The beautiful president chuckled upon hearing the man''s words.


    "Well, I know why you guys are here. So I won''t waste any more words with you... Come!"


    "Arrogant!"


    They wasted no time as the five peak Adepts approach thedy from different angles. The leader himself didn''t act to ensure that he had a wider view on the fight that was about to happen, he just cast a simple stealth spell on himself as he believes that there would be a hidden ambush against their team.


    The six of them acted that they don''t know about it and yed along with the president.


    ''It''s impossible that you''ll face us alone...''


    ''Now, where are your reinforcements?'' The leader looked around the floor, the ceiling, tables, cabs, and walls as he heightened his senses to detect any abnormalities in their surroundings.


    The six of them were trained as assassins so their fighting method was vastly different from normal magicians.


    They like to use single-burst magic to defeat their enemy and often use unconventional methods to kill their targets.


    As the five neared thedy president, they realized that no reinforcements wereing to interrupt them.


    ''If that''s the case... We''ll take your life now!''


    They were holding des and daggers imbued by powerful magic. Once they activated the magic spell that was infused, as long as they did not let go of their weapons, it will continuously suck their Mana to empower it. In return, it will be the most destructive weapon and could easily slice the Mana Shell of even an Adept Mage.


    But they never expected how rich the president was.


    Thedy threw 5 orbs at them and because of how close it was, they didn''t have time to think whether it''s better to dodge or take it head-on.


    They could only act in instinct as they used their weapons to parry the attack.


    "This..."


    They soon realized that they were hit by a single-use Mana Artifact.


    ng! ng! ng!


    The nk of chains was heard as the orb she threw summoned binding chains that were trying to entrap the five enemies.


    "Domain Mana Shell! Guh!"


    They tried to fight against the activation of the artifact but they were having trouble. The leader frowned a bit but he didn''t panic. He never doubted the abilities of his subordinates.


    "Despair Chains, huh."


    ''They will not be defeated easily. If this is only what you''ve got, then you''ll really die here.''


    The leader then sends a secretmunication to his team telling them to hold thedy president for now while he''ll sneak to the top floor and take the cores with him.


    The leader used his superb movement speed as he passed the president without being noticed. Or even if he was noticed, he believes that there''s nothing that she could do.


    As soon as this happened, the five magicians struggled to open a vial of potion and drink them. As they consumed the potion, they gritted their teeth as they felt an immense power coursing through their veins.


    "Berserk Potions... You guys are being desperate." Thedy said as she took out another set of orbs and thrown it to the five.


    ''Another Despair Chains!''


    ''Just how rich was thisdy!''


    "Haha! This binding chains won''tst!"


    "Once this chain loses all its power. I''ll dismember you!"


    "Well, try it... if you can."


    As soon as she said this, she opened the bag she was holding showing a handful of orbs. They all look like a single-use Mana Artifact.


    "W-what!"


    The five were surprised seeing such arge number of expensive mana artifacts. It seems like thedy in front of them was only adamant about letting them stay here. They suddenly a grim idea.


    ''Crap! Maybe her task is just to hold us down.''


    ''She''s definitely waiting for a powerful backup!


    ''We have to get away from here.''


    ''Mhm... The leader should be able to take those cores away.''


    They soon decided to take a bit of time of thisdy and after they confirmed that the leader had taken away the cores, they will quickly leave the building. For that, they had to create an escape router.


    While being bound by the chains, they can still move a little. As for casting mana spell, it was close to impossible. They can''t properly connect to their mana reserves due to the interruption by the chains. But because they had a chance of consuming the berserk potion a while ago, they could fight back and consumes a lot of powering from the Despair Chains.


    ''Thedy must be fully concentrated to us... Hurry up leader!''


    The leader arrived at the top floor and saw a room walled with thick ss. Inside was a table and a briefcase on top of it.


    "Ho~ You even readied it for us."


    The leader said but he frowned a little since the cores were pitiful in amount. There were only 10 of them. The securitypany should have more than a hundred of these cores.


    He approached the thick wall ss and took a stance to make a punch. His fist glowed as he strikes the ss.


    Contrary to his expectation, instead of hearing shattered sses, he felt pain punching through the ss.


    "How was this thing made?!"


    There was not even a dent at the ss.


    He didn''t underestimate the wall blocking him as he used more than 50% of his strength in that simple punch. He tried to take another stance to punch and put all his strength this time but to his horror. He could no longer move.


    ***


    The 12th Phantom Squad tasked to assassinate the City Mayor failed terribly. From their 44 members, only 9 were left and they were now escaping the pursuit of the Lucent Force assigned by Aaron to protect the City Mayor.


    "This is so infuriating!"


    "We couldn''t even have a proper nce at the City Mayor..."


    Although they were called a suicide squad. They couldn''t die pointlessly. They had to at least die in order to give an opportunity to other members and kill the City Mayor.They were ready to use powerful explosives hidden within their body but they couldn''t even find the City Mayor.


    The one that they killed within the Municipal Hall a while ago was just the Mayor''s double. As they revealed their location, they were easily surrounded and had to fight to the death with the guards and police officers.


    It was still fine at that time. They have magic enhanced rifles that were made like powerful turrets capable of killing unprepared Battle Mages. If ever they encountered an Adept, they would just have to increase their firing intensity since those Adepts would still have a hard time taking the bullets if they were shot multiple times.


    Unfortunately, Five members of the Lucent Force that was supposedly tasked to take on the Hallowed Eye''s wielder arrived at the scene. It caught them unawares and several of them died pointlessly.


    They can only scatter and rendezvous after some time and strike again after gathering their forces. At least, that was their n until most of them were hunted by the Lucent Force.


    During their escape, they were destroying buildings and such in order to harm civilians if there are still some of them that are remaining outside. This would at least stop some of their pursuers and giving them a breather. Luckily, after fleeing for a while, they noticed that no one was following them anymore as they met at their rendezvous point. It was Wace''s neighborhood.


    "Tsk! There were 19 of us when we scattered. Now, we''re only 9!"


    "Should we retreat?"


    One of them asked but everyone already has this on their mind.


    The highest-ranking officer that survived with them take on the role of the leader and answered.


    "Yes, after ourst objective." He said as he looked in a certain direction.


    The others looked in the same direction and saw a simple but scary house not too far from them.


    "The previous groups sent by sir Avarice died in this house... In order to avenge them... We''ll tten thisnd to warn them not to mess with us!"


    "Oooh!!"


    They shouted loudly as they agreed with their current leader''s words.


    Soon, they took out many powerful artifacts and explosives as they nned to make a mini-missile to destroy the whole ce. They didn''t dare to enter the gate as they knew that it will be the cause of their death. They were aware of how dangerous that ce is.


    Soon, when they were satisfied at the improvised explosive they made and distanced themselves for around 500 meters away from the house. Their leader, which was the strongest among their small group, took the task of sending the explosive to their target.


    Boom! Wace''s house took the brunt of the assault.

 Chapter 205 - Return

    Wace had been constantly using his Void Phase to quickly return to the city that was under siege.


    As soon as he reached the vicinity of the city, he saw arge group of people covered by ck miasma fighting against the soldiers of the city. Magic Spells, bullets, and other projectiles enhanced by magic were flying across the sky as they fought intensely.


    ''They''re really the same group who previously attacked my house... What do they want anyway?''


    Behind the group of the terrorist was a hooded man. He feels like an evil magician with arge red orb grasp in his hands. The orb was ck and inside it was a pulsating crimson light as if it was an eye.


    ''Ahh... This must be the Sealed Mana Artifact: Hallowed Eye. Just by looking at it, it really does look something that must be sealed. No wonder.''


    Wace nced at the ongoing fight and noticed that the soldiers where being pushed back.


    ''That''s weird... Our defense forces shouldn''t be this weak.''


    "Avalon... Do you have an idea on what was happening?"


    [ The chain ofmand was disrupted due to the disappearance of the City Mayor. ]


    "What happened?" Wace knitted his brows upon hearing the report.


    [ There was a group of terrorists who had sneakily entered the city and caused havoc within. Many high-ranking officers were deployed to rout them but perished in return. ]


    [ They made an assassination attempt to City Mayor and although the Mayor wasn''t killed and only his double has suffered, he and the Chief of Police were still injured by the sheer force of the suicide bombers of the terrorists. They were now in hiding and couldn''t give orders. No information about the Mayor''s current location. ]


    [ Based on thetest information, the defense was currently beingmanded by a member of the Lucent Force. Unable to get more information due to the changes in theirmunication method. ]


    "Changes in the method?"


    [ ... ]


    [ Due to the terrorist''s devices simr to an EMP, the Lucent Force took over themand and were using Magic to send orders andmunication instead of the police forces'' electronic device. ]


    "Oh... Makes sense..."


    Wace then decided to give a bit of help to the frontline who was fighting against the same people who tried destroying his house.


    He took a distance, about 3 kilometers away, and brought out his Lotus Mech Frame. He then took out a long barrel of cannon from his Spatial Bag. It came from the only offensive weapon installed in his spaceship.


    He couldn''t trigger it normally as it was already detached from its power source. So he had to use the Mech Frame''s source energy to fire this thing up.


    After Wace has hidden and felt satisfied with his position, he aimed the makeshift cannon to the holder of the Hallowed Eye.


    Due to his distance, the young man was sure that the enemy was unable to detect that he was being targeted by a gctic weapon.


    Wace grinned at this. At the moment, he was just waiting for Avalon toplete the calction to make sure that he won''t miss the shot.


    Although it was sad to say, he only has to pull the trigger.At the very least, he learned how amazing his A.I was.


    Beep!


    [ Target Locked. ]


    Wace didn''t hesitate as he pulled the trigger.


    Whoozzzsh!


    It was a genuine shot from a Positron Impulse Cannon.


    Wace holds his breath as he wanted to see how powerful this weapon was. He was actually hoping that this Adept he targeted could somehow defend against it.


    Why? Because once the Meredith Empire really came here, he was hoping that there were really some powerful artifacts or Adepts out there that could contend against the forces of the empire. After all, the powerful Arcanist and Grand Arcanist were very few in numbers.


    So Wace wanted to have a better way to calcte the strength of the Adepts and learn how to better help them in the near future.


    As for his current simtion in VR Pod, the simtions for Adepts were still imperfect due to his low sample. It will naturally be adjusted by Avalon in due time.


    Boom!


    A huge explosion disrupted the ongoing battle. This stopped both the terrorist and the soldiers from exchanging fires. The shot caused a powerful shockwave making everyone wobble on their feet. The ground even trembled for several seconds before it stopped.


    Even the few fully buffed or enhanced Lucent Force members were shocked at the scene.


    Some of them immediately look at the direction where the shot came from. Although they couldn''t see the shooter clearly they noticed a silhouette from afar. Well, since they aimed at the terrorist, although the soldiers were affected a little bit, they can tell that he should be friendly so they didn''t bother recognizing them for now. It can be der after the enemies were routed.


    "Take this chance, now!"


    "Annihte them!"


    The leaders suddenly found an opportunity as they turned the tables.


    Wace quickly left the ce as he achieved his desired results. The holder of the Sealed Mana Artifact was indeed somehow capable of defending a powerful strike like that. The man only suffered by losing one of his limbs and just almost turned to ashes since he was quickly protected by that ck miasma.


    Wace even saw him staring nkly at the dimmed Hallowed Eye and nced at therge crater made by his shot.


    Wace had then noticed that the ck miasma that came from the Hallowed Eye and was currently protecting the terrorists were weakened by a huge chunk. This means that the soldiers will be more than enough to handle the enemies. Their morale was boosted and Wace''s job was done.


    "Alright, let''s go home."


    Wace vanished and reappeared close to his house. But suddenly, he was warned by Avalon about an iing projectile. It happened so fast as Avalon gave him instructions on what to do.


    Since that was the case, he relied on Avalon''s suggestion. This super A.I.''s processing speed was beyond him so he trusted him and did what it wanted.


    ***


    The Phantom Squad was looking so happy about their aplishment this time. They watched the improvised missile they made as it collided to the house''s barrier and saw a huge explosion after.


    Boom!


    A deafening st was heard as the explosion even formed a mushroom cloud showing how powerful this attack was. It was followed by an aftershock as it even caused a little earthquake cracking the surroundingnd.


    "Hahaha! Eat that!"


    Most of themughed and some had a grin on their faces as they started to back away and retreat. Thismotion had surely attracted the attention of some members of the Lucent Force. They have to quickly get away from this ce or they would be captured or killed.


    St!


    "Eh?" They saw that the leader that threw the improvised explosives was suddenly sttered on the ground. And for some reason, his death didn''t activate the bomb inside his body.


    A huge metal humanoid body was suddenly standing in front of them.


    "W-where did this came from?!"


    "Scatter!"


    "What was an Iron Knight doing here?!"


    "Stupid! That''s not an Iron Knight!"


    One of them could only say as he doesn''t have time to exin. Iron Knights were products from the Northern Continent that could not be revised to avoid degrading its performance. Those things were definitely cutepared to this evil-looking humanoid machine.


    ''A custom design? It must be a Steel Knight that was recently popr...''


    ''Right! There was no report that he already acquired the Iron Knight from his master! This definitely came from a different person!"


    Arge number of coresing from fire elemental mana beast were being purchased recently. He guessed that some organizations within this city had sessfully created a number of Molten Cores to run a new model of Steel Knight.


    ''Is this arge automaton? I can''t sense a human life inside...''


    ''It''s a waste fighting such a difficult opponent if it is only an automaton. It''s a waste of time!''


    ''I told you! We shouldn''t have nned to mess with that ce again!''


    ''Tsk... What''s with this ce?! There shouldn''t be a power capable of acquiring this thing within this City yet...''


    They have different things in mind after seeing what was in front of them but they still have something inmon... and that was their n that didn''t need to be said - Escape.


    Wace noticed the difference from the attackers today and from the previous two. They do not possess arge amount of ck miasma with them but they possess a threatening amount of energy hidden within their bodies.


    For this reason, Wace had been careful when he stepped to the man who threw the improvised bomb. He made sure that he didn''t have a chance to activate the bomb within their bodies.


    And so, he repeated the same thing to the fleeing enemies. He could fire at them but he decided not to do so to ensure that they wouldn''t have a chance to use their bombs and cause more damage in his neighborhood.


    "Urgh... I think this ce is a bit unlucky... Should I move to a new ce?"

 Chapter 206 - Victory

    President Eun had sessfully bought some time until her reinforcements came.


    She had waited for someone capable of fighting against such powerful magicians. After all, their group realized that there would just be meaningless casualties if their weaker members, fought against them.


    Since they were aware that the enemies were targetting the cores, they turned their headquarters instead into a huge trap to catch them.


    "Hmph! So what if you trapped us here?!"


    "Do you think our leader will be defeated by mere traps you people ced!"


    The assassin mages were still not giving up. After all, they were only bounded and not being tortured or something. Once the restriction was removed, they will be back in full health and cause havoc in this building.


    "Dream on..."


    Thedy only smirked at them and at the same time. The upper floor trembled as cracks slowly appeared on the ceiling. The 5 mages were unaware of what was happening but thedy president only smiles at this and jumps back for a bit.


    Crash!


    The upper floor copses as the floor turned into a mess. Dust and debris scattered around the room while the 5 mages were also hit and got injured for a little as they were unable to gather mana and protect their bodies.


    Soon, they saw their leader unconscious and bleeding. Looking at his skin and nerves that were almost popping out, he must have used their berserk potion excessively.


    ''What in the world happened upstairs!''


    They nced at the higher floor but they only saw the silhouette a man.


    Soon, the five mages lose their consciousness not knowing what truly happened.


    "Are you alright?"


    Thedy president worriedly asked the young man.


    "Mhm... I''m fine. But I think that I overdid it. I need to take some rest."


    "Yes, thank you foring to save us here."


    "That''s fine. We''re also targeting these guys."


    ''Also, if I sent a normal member of the Lucent Force here, they will sure to terribly fail this mission. This group is no joke... Especially that leader, I have to use a sizeable amount of blood energy to defeat him...''


    Luckily, he still came prepared on this mission.


    "So, about our deal..." Aaron asked about their previous arrangement.


    "Of course. As per our agreement, we will give you 20 Solidified Celestial Bloods. Oh, would you like to take them now?"


    "Not yet. It is safer here at the moment. Call your hiding members and make sure that these six remained unconscious. Just use the potion that I give you. Later, one of the Lucent Force''s members will drop by here and take them away. We, still have use for them. Well then, I must oversee the ongoing fight outside."


    "Sir Aaron, please wait. Allow me to treat your injuries first. You might encounter one of the enemies outside and you won''t have time to rest. Also, please bring at least a dozen of our Battle Mages. Although they couldn''t contend against the Adepts that may possibly be hiding outside, they can still buy you some time."


    "Well, if you insist..."


    Aaron agreed to get treated as he also needed some rest. He wasn''t the young master of the Lucent Force for no reason. His family, especially his father was the strongest member of the Force and he inherited a quarter of his talent.


    Even though Aaron had just recently achieved an Arcane Link, hisbat prowess immediately reached to the peak of the Adept Mages. It was all thanks to his bloodline.


    The beautifuldy then gave the best medication she could give to the young man. A while ago, their team requested assistance from the Lucent Force.


    Unfortunately, due to the terrorist attack to the City Mayor, the appearance of the Hallowed Eye''s wielder outside, and the destructive power of the Heart''s Grimoire, the Lucent Force''s members were scattered around the city and they werecking manpower.


    Especially the destruction caused by the Corrosive Blood Rain. The magic barrier around the city took a huge deal of damage and they had to fix it as quickly as possible. If a small hole caused by that spell wasn''t immediately fixed, the corrosion would just slowly affect the whole barrier and it will soon be unsalvageable and they had to rece it instead.


    This city-wide barrier was so expensive that it was worth 2 years of the annual profit of the city. One could just imagine how important this is.


    With all that exined, no one bothered to take on a mission to protect the building of a securitypany.


    They had only exined that more members wille from nearby cities and they will assign many members of the force to help them. But the Golden Trident Group couldn''t ept it as it will be toote for them. They could only beg and even offered them a deal about their cores to make them agree.


    They know that the Lucent Force was eyeing their cores as well after they learned their origins, probably through the person that Wace had captured. It was just due to thew protecting them, the Lucent Force couldn''t force theirpany to hand over its assets.


    At the moment, the headquarters had already turned lively as many people tried to clean the mess caused by the battle within the building.


    Aaron was only staring nkly while he was getting treated by the doctors.


    On the other hand, the President was supervising the doctors that were treating him to ensure that nothing goes wrong. She really admired this man who was not only young and strong but couldn''t easily be moved by her beauty.


    She''ll ensure that theirpany had close ties with this young master of the Lucent Force.


    Aaron blinked his eyes as he saw the eye bags of the doctors with him and remembered something.


    ''I wonder if I canplete the quest if I yed 16 hours per day... Having a portable Freya around seems to be livelier than just by traveling alone, right?...''


    Aaron was seriously pondering about this.


    ''Sigh~ I hope that the creator made the quest a little easier though...''


    ***


    The aim of the terrorist attack was to acquire the Solidified Celestial Bloods. Unfortunately, due to the unexpected reinforcements from the City forces, they failed miserably.


    The mysterious shoting out of nowhere, Aaron''s show of strength, and Avery''s disappearance with the Headmaster of Leonhearts Academy was something they couldn''t take.


    Even the 12th Phantom Squad had only seeded in killing the double of the City Mayor and the real Mayor was only injured.


    The remaining members of the squad were even killed by an unknown Steel Knight as per the words of the witnesses.


    A couple of Lucent Force members who were pursuing the remaining members of the squad to stop them from causing more havoc within the city had witnessed a huge explosion in the southern direction of the city. It was hard not to notice such a powerful explosion in a quiet city. After all, the civilians had all hidden at the shelters underground and in other simrly magic enhanced structures.


    The couple saw a silhouette of arge humanoid machine that was simr to the standards of the Steel Knight but it has a different model design. It was highly likely a customized Steel Knight from a privatepany they are unaware of and this new model had a form of instantaneous movement that had easily defeated the remaining members of the Phantom Squad without letting them detonate themselves.


    It was an impressive feat as their understanding about Steel Knight was that it was supposedly slower and Adept Mages should still be more agile than the humanoid machine but...


    "It was still prohibited to create a Steel Knights without approval from us!"


    Yumi eximed after reading theplete and detailed reports of her subordinate. The creation of Steel Knights must be registered to the government and this was being handled by NMTI.


    She only had the time of reading this report due to her mission in Ste Region involving the Seed Holdings. And after reviewing the report, she realized that the Steel Knight had only appeared after a house of a certain individual was targeted by the improvised missile.


    "Did that guy--"


    Yumi kept her mouth shut at this. She already had a suspicion about the young man''s identity and this only made her suspicion grow.


    In the end, it was a victory for Tanza City as the terrorist withdrew after suffering heavy casualties on their side. The Hallowed Eye''s wielder had even escaped by himself after suffering grievous wounds, leaving the other terrorists behind to get killed.


    "Eh? Did he really disappeared?"


    Yumi was talking to herself. Unfortunately, it was reported that the wielder of the Heart''s Grimoire, Avery Marshall, had disappeared together with Percival, her cousin, due to some unknown reason.


    With this unexpected situation, the Leonhearts Academy was left with no Headmaster.


    But this problem had not affected their Academy heavily since most of the time, Percival was absent and the Academy was being run by the Deputy Headmaster.

 Chapter 207 - Aftermath

    After the incident of having his house damaged by a powerful explosive, Wace decided to find a better ce that was still within this city. It was due to his desire ofpleting his studies at the Leonhearts Academy to satisfy his family''s desire to have their only son graduate in a prestigious academy.


    There were hundreds of Magic Academy within this country and only 12 of them were affiliated to the government military. With this connection, even if the student had not passed the licensure examination, they won''t have to be factory workers of magic artifacts, working as guards for a securitypany, or adventuring in the wild to earn a living as a magician.


    The graduates in the twelve academies can easily be recruited in the military guaranteeing their stable ie and status. Being a magician in the military wasn''t stringent at all and they were normally being given a better treatment.


    A Magic Engineer or an Arcane Artificer in the military could even do their own research freely without worrying about a deadline. They will be given a certain budget they could use in their project and it doesn''t matter if it will be fruitful or not as they will still be supported by the government. It was probably an action so that Aeolia''s incident would not be repeated.


    Anyway, Wace was now together with a realtor.


    Finding a better ce was not just a matter of money but he had to consider the people living around him. In his previous ce, almost all people in the neighborhood were non-magicians, and every time they nce at the fortress-like house he has, they were feeling scared to get close at it.


    Hiding his turrets and such had not helped him since he had been attacked a couple of times already. Aside from that, the police had been constantly patrolling around his house. Probably to deter any more aggressors. Although it added to the security, this still made the people around worried about their safety.


    "This ce is not bad..."


    Wace muttered after considering not just the quality of the house being offered but also to the surrounding ce. It was arge vi located on a mountain. The ce was deserted as it is no longer under the city''s magic barrier protection.


    The vi wasrge and as per the realtor, it has been built 60 years ago by a powerful Adept Mage during that time. It was being maintained every month and the current owner had been looking for someone to purchase the ce for more than two years already.


    "This ce is perfect..." Wace already decided. It no longer matters if the academy was far away as he already had a Void Phase he can use. He can travel back and forth here just by a few seconds.


    The scenery was good as there was a garden outside though it was not being attended by a gardener by several months. Anyway, the realtor said that the vi itself was cleanedst before the incident in the city.


    The vi was elevated and although still far from the top of the mountain, Wace could see the high-rise buildings of the city further ahead.


    The explosion caused by the enemies who attacked his house had only destroyed the outer perimeter. Luckily, his Wave Ward had managed to block the explosion. The house only cracked for a bit though it still needs to be heavily repaired.


    "Oh, right. Is thisnd... or the mountain around for sale?"


    "Ahh... Well, it is. It can be purchased but it requires a certain status. It is not being sold just to anyone. Hmmm... Thend title that you can purchase was only for this vi but if you want to expand, you will have to file a case with the Magician''s Congress..."


    "Eh? Why are we going to involve them in thisnd acquisition?"


    Wace was curious since the Magician''s Congress only deals with magic-rted things.


    "Ahh... This mountain is a bit special. The forest here was previously a habitat for several powerful mana beasts. Although they were all killed by the Adept who built this vi 60 years ago, he filed a request to the Congress not to touch or make any more changes on this mountain."


    "Really? So that was why this ce was excluded from the City''s Magic Barrier Protection?"


    "Mhm... That''s correct."


    Wace thought as much. To include this ce within the protection, they had to ce Magic Nodes around this ce for the Magic Barrier to take effect. It will affect the structure of the mountain and it would be against the request of the Adept 60 years ago.


    ''I guess, the owner has some authority at the Congress, huh. Why would he leave this ce then? Haaa... Anyway, it''s all in the past.''


    "Alright, I purchase the ce and I''ll coordinate with the Congress for expansion..."


    The realtor was almost in tears afterpleting such a huge deal. Wace was also feeling delighted since he was nning to create his Mass Driver here.


    While thinking about it, he suddenly remembered Drake''s mercenary squad. They asked him to purchase a certainnd that requires some level of status in exchange for him acquiring the Zen coins.


    It must be something simr to this ce that was under the supervision of the Congress. However, they haven''t contacted Wace yet as most likely, they were still converting the treasures they found to some real money. After all, it wasn''t easy to find the best buyers for those treasures. They probably had to go to different cities to maximize their profit. They might even resort to an auction to ensure that all their items were sold to the right person or the richest.


    After a week, a lot of things happened. The vi was looking like a brand new building. The garden was well kept, the paints were changed, new furniture arrives, and new magic defenses were installed. This time, Wace no longer hired a securitypany for this setup and used his own style.


    Wace had also increased the number of automatons and all of them now possess a memory crystal that contains his Mental Wave or his Divine Sense. It was all thanks to his father who brought him another batch of empty memory crystals from hispany, the Seed Holdings at Ste Region.


    This will increase his productivity and increase the strength of his automatons. They can be considered now as mini-Ravencroft Printers.


    "Avalon, how was the sales?"


    The beta testing had ended early as Wace started to sell his VR Pod making a huge wave at the market. Many magicians and non-magicians had been talking about it online. Wace hired workers to promote his VR Pod and purchased the best locations for his ads and hired a Celebrity Idol formercial advertisement.


    Of course, he utilized his connection with his new friend to do this.


    "Miss Chamber! You really are so kind. You even convinced Senior Miya to do this..."


    "Hoho... Of course, I''m always here to help the students at our Academy. You can always ask me whenever you need help."


    A simple Mana Artifact was already given to Miss Chamber for her study. It was the mana artifact capable of warding off his Divine Sense.


    He called the ring artifact a Sentry Ward.


    Although it will be convenient for them, Wace was capable of bypassing that if ever he wanted to. It was just like changing the frequency of his Divine Sense and it will no longer stop his ability. Of course, he doesn''t have any ns of telling that to them.


    In return, he was now being taught personally by Miss Chamber about the specificities of the Soul Arts. It was a very fruitful deal he made with her.


    After that, Miss Chamber had be very attentive to him as she was nning to be the Headmaster of the academy as Percival was still missing. Well, since he was a popr 5th apprentice of ine Allusia, a Grand Arcanist, she wanted to be supported by him making her chance to be selected as a headmaster increased by arge margin.


    It doesn''t really matter to Wace as long as he graduated here and she even helped him convince the rising star, Miya Linus, to advertise his VR Pod.


    During themercial ad, Miya was wearing a ck skin-tight suit showing her impressive curves before she wore a helmet and be transported to the virtual world.


    Inside the game, she was wearing abat suit that was damaged here and there as she fought against arge number of Dorssian Empire''s soldiers. It looks a very exciting game that resulted in over 450,000 reservations for the VR Pod in a single day.


    After that, Wace had announced that the next VR Pod about to be sold can be used by non-magicians and it was less expensive. What was exciting was that the non-magicians can y together with the magicians in the Adventure Mode. They can y and learn the path of being a Mechanic, Doctor, Warrior, Chef, cksmith, and others...


    This announcement made another wave of reservations for the VR pod increasing it to more than a million reservations.


    "Urgh... It would take years for me toplete this order. I need to hire fabricators or divide the creation of some parts of these VR pods to some other manufacturingpanies..." Wace muttered as he sets his eyes to his trusted friends and senior apprentice.

 Chapter 208 - Virtual World

    Several days had passed and there was still no further update about Percival''s disappearance.


    Yumi had even taken the job of finding clues about what really happened during the man''s fight against the wielder of the Heart''s Grimoire.


    The ce they battled at was on the edge of the city where many abandoned buildings were still standing. The district was deserted when the fight between the two urred having no witnesses at the scene.


    Thest time they had a contact with Percival was his report to Aaron about him dealing with a certain individual from the terrorist group. Then, after the Magic Barrier of the city was pierced by the Corrosive Blood Rain, Percival sent him a hiddenmunication that he was going to deal with the sealed mana artifact''s wielder and advised them not to let anyone near their fight so they can avoid more casualties.


    In the end, the buildings copsed and the whole ce can no longer be distinguished from its previous state.


    It was hard to find a piece of evidence in this torn and broken ce.


    They didn''t have concrete evidence that the wielder was truly Avery Marshall from the Isolde Academy. They were about to get stuck on the investigation until they discovered something.


    More than a week after the terrorist attack, they found the Heart''s Grimoire, the Sealed Mana Artifact, that was about to burst with Mana Cmity. It was hidden or covered deep under the shambles of a copsed building.


    It was a close call. If the Mana Cmity urred here like what happened at the "Illusion of the Venarian Town", then this city was done for.


    If Yumi was unable to absorb and release corruption it emits, then it would be a disaster.


    "Search around this area! Be careful about what you touch! This is most likely to be thest ce they fought..."


    Yumi shouted to her subordinate while she was wondering why did this thing ended up here unattended.


    "Why would the two leave it here? Are they both injured? Did they escape? Perhaps, there was a third party? Did they somehow capture the old man? No way... That would be too difficult unless they send someone at the level of a Supreme---"


    "Yumi! Look here!"


    Yumi quickly nced at the man who called her. He was one of the specialists working at NMTI but she could only bring him here as he specialized in Spirit Arts. He has very impressive magic that could scrutinize every detail that they could miss. It can be said that he was thepany doctor of NMTI working overtime here.


    "Dr. Lao, what did you find?"


    The doctor then showed a drop of blood on the stone. It emits a very distinctive fluctuation...


    "Can you confirm it?"


    "Wait a moment..." The doctor quickly brought out his equipment and tools using his spatial bag as he started analyzing the blood.


    "You''re always carrying that?"


    "Oh? This? No, it just happened that I''m about to send this to my Artificer friend to get its monthly maintenance. Don''t worry, there shouldn''t be a problem for this small task."


    Soon, they discovered that the blood matches Percival''s records. Yumi was satisfied at this though she still instructed her subordinate to search the area. The night had passed and they didn''t find any more piece of evidence as they ended the search.


    Anyway, Yumi already knows what to do.


    ***


    "Uhmmm... Sorry, are you dissatisfied with thepensation?"


    "What? No, do I look like someone whocks money?"


    "Then, why would you like to end the contract?" Wace thought at first that she just wanted to get a better offer but it seems that thedy was truly adamant of getting out of the contract.


    "Haaa~ It doesn''t suit my image... I want to be a singer or an actress. I don''t want to be recognized as a gamer girl!"


    ''What''s wrong being a gamer girl?!'' Wace was about to exim but he stopped himself for voicing it out.


    He first tried to put himself in her situation to at least sympathize with her.


    Due to that, he discovered that it was indeed hard to swallow if you are being told to do something you didn''t want to. Well...


    "Did you y the game?"


    "How could I?" Miya said in exasperation. She only modeled at themercial and everything was done in 3D effects. Thanks to Avalon.


    "Oh, right... How about this, let''s y the game today. At least for an hour and if you still found that it was something that could taint your image, then we''ll end the contract right here... What do---"


    "Really?!"


    "Y-yes..." Wace was surprised to see the enthusiasticdy in front of him.


    "Don''t go back on your words! Okay?!"


    "Of course..."


    Soon, Wace brought Miya to his new workshop where a couple of VR Pods were quickly arranged by the New Elysiums. They left Miss Humeray, her manager, in the living room watching the news on the television and being served by an automaton. She was quite happy to have leisure time.


    Miya had insisted to speak with Wace personally about her contract, so even though it was weekend and time for a rest, Diana apanied the celebrity here to satisfy her.


    "Hey... This ce is big? Are you living alone here?"


    "Eh? Yes. If you discounted the automatons..."


    Miya had a nk expression after hearing this. She was using her skill as an idol to hide her pity on him.


    ''Poor Wace... He was living alone in arge vi away from the bustling city like a hermit. He was probably treating those machines as his friends... I heard that he was skipping sses as well. Maybe, he has no friends at school?''


    Miya was lost in her thought as Wace was setting up the VR Pods.


    ''Maybe the reason why he has no friends was that he was practicing that impressive peeking-- I mean, detection magic...''


    "It''s done... We can use it now. Which one do you like to use?" Wace interrupted her thoughts...


    "It doesn''t matter. Let''s end this... Right, even if we ended the contract, we can still be friends..."


    "Eh, Oh... sure."


    Miya smirked seeing the delighted face of the young man.


    But suddenly,she noticed something different.


    "The suit... Why does it look so different from when we filmed the advertisement. This suit looks more formal!"


    Miya remembered the sexy outfit she wore for the advertisement.


    "Really? Well, that''s called marketing strategy... Don''t mind the small details."


    Miya shakes her head at this and stayed silent as she prepared to enter the virtual world.


    Then, as per Wace''s request, she selected the Adventure Mode: Alien Invasion as she immersed herself at the cinematic introduction which can capture the heart of every person that was struggling to reach the apex of their path.


    She was amazed by the sheer imagination used to make this happen.


    ''Did he just make this up? This storyline can surely charm a lot of people and heavily invest in the game. He''s probably very rich by now...''


    As the introduction ended, she found herself standing in front of a statue of a man holding a spear and torch.


    Based on the information she got, she was now in one of the three remaining strongholds of the Sevens. They were in the middle of the desert several hundred feet underground.


    Soon, she met with Wace as he helped her get used to the game. After all, she didn''t try the tutorial mode.


    "W-we can really use magic here?!"


    "Of course... It''s amazing, right?"


    "This technology can be used in a lot of things aside from this game... Just how many years did it take you to produce this?" Miya was truly admiring his intelligence now. This technology was so important that she bet that this guy had a firm connection to the government. He was bing more and more mysterious the longer she gets to know him.


    Then, Miya didn''t notice that they''ve been ying the game for more than four hours now.

 Chapter 209 - Break

    "How was it? Did you enjoy the game?"


    Wace asked thedy as she was getting out of the VR Pod. The two yed for more than four hours as they met tons of yers within the game. The ce was lively and the missions were challenging.


    Many yers had even recognized Miya after a few minutes of looking around the ce. Of course, Wace didn''t dare to give their model a Novice clothes and he let her wore a custom design. It wasn''t just for her image but for hispany.


    Wace let her interact with the yers within the game so she can learn their experience. After all, he was expecting that her visit here would just be a quick one. He also did not expect that she would enjoy the game and y that long.


    There, she learned how much joy this game was being given to the young magicians, the yers weren''t quitting the game if they failed their quests but instead pushing themselves to get rewarded in the end. The gamemunity was also very friendly as they helped each other to achieve their goals and remove themselves from being called Sevens.


    The realism of the game makes this Virtual World very popr in all ages.


    "It was a good experience..."


    "So, would you like to quit the being our advertiser?"


    Miya remembered the friends she made within the game in just a short time. It felt like betraying them if she quit now.


    "I''ll see to it in the end... But I hope that there''s no more filming like that..."


    "That''s fine! Actually, if you noticed the game, most of the music was all instrumental... In truth, I''ve been I''m nning to add some music to some part of the game. Are you interested?"


    "Well, if the lyrics are good, I don''t mind..."


    "Great!"


    The two talked about his idea for about an hour as they forgot Miss Humeray in the living room.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace was practicing the 2nd stage of AOTL outside his vi.


    "Haa!"


    He punches through the air and it created several lightning sparks as it reaches the huge rock that was 10 meters away from him.


    Baaam!


    The rock exploded to multiple pieces creating dust and messing the beautiful garden.


    Wace left the cleaning to his A.I. as he satisfyingly ended his practice.


    "I''m good... Its time to return to the capital."


    "Avalon, I''ll be out. Just tell me once you deciphered Veda or if you have any update..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace possesses a Terminal that Lacus had given him thest time he was in the capital. This Terminal is the only way to get some insider information by connecting with Veda, a mysterious form ofwork connection simr to a cloud server, but recent investigation shows that it was being operated by mysticism instead of technology.


    Thankfully, with the technology that the GH Drive possesses, they manage to bypass the mysterious energy protecting the Terminal and its private connection to Veda. It is only a matter of time until Avalon learned something from it. They even made some precautionary measures where they separated an Avalon to work on this case.


    It was just an additional measure to ensure that they will not be counter hacked by Veda. After all, the two had theorized that Veda was also a form of artificial intelligence in this world but unlike Avalon, Veda had achieved a full integration to this world''s mana and probably evolved to something they weren''t aware of. It was something that Avalon wanted to learn.


    How they came up with it? It was because of their discovery of the Zen Coins.


    The coins were made by the Gctic Federation and during that time, almost every person has their own "guide" or Artificial Intelligence supporting them in their journey. If the Zen Coins were brought here by people from outer space, where are their spaceship? Where are their A.I.s? What happened to the first people from the space?


    With all those unanswered questions, Wace can only guess until new clues were discovered.


    In the meantime, Wace had several goals by going to the capital. First, to get his Iron Knight since he already learned the Lightning Break. Next, to get some assistance with Lacus about finding him a Mage Doctor that could help him with the Secre Arts: Flowing Spirit. This is for the sake of his other body sealed somewhere in the vi.


    Lastly, it was to get assistance for purchasing the whole mountain.


    Unfortunately, he doesn''t have any connection to the Congress so he had to rely on his senior apprentice about this. This way, once Drake''s squad contacted him to purchase a restrictednd as they agreed upon, then he could easily make an arrangement.


    Wace was now riding in a ck sedan that was driven by his automaton that was specially made for this job. Wace was not in a hurry so he didn''t use his Void Phase to travel to the Capital.


    He was taking his time checking all the manufacturingpanies suggested by Avalon to work together with him in creating some unimportant pieces of the VR Pods like its metal shells, suits, and other small parts of the machine.


    "Avalon, let''s arrange a meeting with the representatives of Cornerstone, Metworks, and Investya..."


    Wace decided after reviewing 30 Manufacturing Companies that could satisfy their demands. He decided to choose the three even though they were from different cities because he has been nning to expand his business to many ces as well.


    Soon, he received a call that he has been waiting for.


    "Miss Yumi, it has been a while. I heard that you were busy. What made you call today?"


    "Mhmm... I''m still busy. I still can''t find a trace of your headmaster."


    "I''m sorry to hear that..."


    "Hmph... Anyway, I just like to ask a few questions... Was that modified Steel Knight yours?"


    "Huh?"


    "The one that has appeared to kill those terrorists after bombing your house..."


    "Eh? Why would you connect that to me?"


    "Because I know you, Uncle Nortrom."


    Wace twitched his mouth hearing this from thedy-kid. He remembered how he got tricked by this woman by shapeshifting. Right, how was she doing that anyway?


    He shakes his head as that was not important for now.


    "Alright, if that was really me. What would happen?"


    "Well, although it''s not prohibited to make them as long as you have the blueprint and possess the Molten Core to run them, you still have to register that to NMTI...


    "Do you even have a license to pilot that thing? What if you''ve been found out by the Congress? Steel Knights were still under strictpliance due to its destructive power.


    "There are many regtion you have to follow by making that thing as underprehensive firearms and ammunition regtion act, we have to stop the proliferation of illegal firearms or weapons and the illegal manufacture of firearms or weapons, ammunition and parts... Your Steel Knight will be under thisw..."


    "Oooh... So it''s really illegal..." Wace muttered after hearing her lengthy exnation.


    "Then how can I get a license or make it legal?"


    "Just let me handle the paperwork and let me see the Steel Knights. How about that?"


    So that was her aim. Yumi''s excitement could not be hidden in her voice. Although she was busy finding the missing old man, her hobby could not easily be hindered by such.


    Apparently, although she was a high-ranking official at NMTI, she was not allowed to see the inner workings of the machine and could only see its beauty from the outside.


    "I''ll think about it--- No, I mean, can we talk about something else. Can we meet next weekend?" Wace said as his tone changed for a bit.


    "Huh? Why so serious now?"


    "Hahaha... Not really. I know that I can trust you so I would like to offer something else."


    Yumi didn''t consider for long as she answered.


    "Mhmm... Sure. I don''t mind. Will youe here?"


    "No, can you visit my ce instead? I''ll give you the addresster."


    They immediately made arrangements as Wace was satisfied with their conversation. He felt that thedy was truly a person he could trust. It was worth saving her under the Z-Company''s grasp at that time.


    It didn''t take long as he arrived at the capital. He didn''t forget to visit the New Era''s Magic Shop and met with Tristan White, the little brother of Vanessa who was also his apprentice examination mate, as he introduced Wace to the new products of their shop.


    The little guy didn''t waste the opportunity at all on selling products to the rich Wace.


    "Haha... Did youe here to visit my sister Vanessa? I''m sorry but she left already. She wanted to practice herbat skills with wild Mana Beasts so she went to the Wailing Gorge apanied by several guards."


    Wace wasn''t asking, Tristan was just talkative. Anyway, Wace likes to hear such news.


    ''So, there were Mana Beasts I can try catching there...''

 Chapter 210 - Iron Knight

    Wace granted Tristan''s request for checking out the new product at the store.


    ''Hmm... Senior''s product was still a hot item, huh.''


    Wace thought after seeing the zing Thunder Ring as the most popr product of the store.


    It can''t be helped, Mana Artifact that contains a magic structure rted to thunder and lightning was very rare. Lacus Minerva''s creation was a great way to get used to such magic.


    This time, Wace utilized his Silver Membership card as he went to the 3rd floor. It was the floor that was only allowed to Silver and Gold Members. As for Bronze members, they were only allowed up to the 2nd floor.


    There, Tristan introduced him to several interesting Mana Artifacts. But in the end, only two Mana Artifacts caught his attention.


    [ ck Phantom Automaton


    Humanoid automaton specializing in assassination jobs. The automaton has 12 Hidden Weapons and all of them were smeared with a potent poison.


    Origin: Unknown


    Creator: Unknown


    Price: 8,000,000 Credits ]


    This automaton wasn''t new to Wace as he had seen this before.*


    This is definitely the automaton they''ve looted within that ruins!


    Looking at the other Artifact, it was also the same thing. It also came from their looted treasures.


    ''So they ended up selling these things here.'' Wace thought after he saw the two familiar Artifacts. Well, it wasn''t so surprising as this shop has a wide range ofworks and could identify the value of the treasures that others can''t.


    The second Artifact was actually the previously "Sealed Book" they identified since it was carefully covered by ss cases and wrapped by a chain lock.*


    Wace read the description and he was astonished by the discovery.


    [ Records of Unknown


    Records that were written in an unknownnguage. It contains blueprints of many machines and weapons but due to unreadable content, it was unusable.


    Origin: Unknown


    Creator: Unknown


    Price: 2,500,000 Credits ]


    "Oh, are you interested in this book?"


    "Mhmm... You can say so..."


    "You have good eyes... As expected of a Grand Arcanist''s Apprentice. Well, many researchers were also interested in this. So if you want to purchase it, it will only be a certified copy of the book. If it is not, the book would probably reach a price of 20 million credits. The value isn''t just because of its content but its historical value... Just where did thise from anyway? Are you sure to purchase this, even the current schrs were unable to decipher this..."


    "Don''t worry... I would like to purchase one for my collections." Wace said nonchntly as he even tried checking out the other artifacts when he said this.


    Soon, he left the Magic Shop while carrying a copy of that book. As he went inside his car, he quickly gave instructions to Avalon.


    "Avalon, analyze this book."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon quickly transformed into a floating metal ball as it quickly scanned the whole book. It didn''t take long before the results came in.


    Ding!


    [ The book was written in Aerathi Language. It is the officialnguage of Lonar Alliance before it was invaded by the Meredith Empire.


    The Lonar Alliance wasposed of three different races including a small part of the Human race ]


    "Only a small part of the Human race?"


    [ Correct. The Humans in the Alliance were from a defeated faction of a Prince in the Meredith Empire. The Lonar Alliance was also recognized as an ally of the Gctic Federation due to the identity of the Prince.


    The Alliancested for only 15 years before it was routed by the Meredith Empire. This all happened 50 years ago before you were born. ]


    Wace had limited knowledge about the many events in the vast universe but he was aware of the most important things.


    The Gctic Civilizations were divided by Major Races and Minor Races. The 8 Major Races were also divided into two alliances.


    The two powers were being led by humans. The Gctic Federation wasposed of Humans and 4 other races and the Meredith Empire that was gically enhanced Humans who allied with two other races.


    It was said that all the people of the Empire were all born from test tubes and that they could be called superhumans at times. Although the humans in Gctic Federations were also using enhancements, it was not to the point of making transformation to human body unlike the Meredith Empire who put it to the extreme in order to achieve their so-called "Peak Evolution".


    There were many asions that their experiments were leading them away from being called a human.


    Anyway, it was not important for now as Wace wanted to first have a read on the book.


    "Create a tranted book for me..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace then proceeded to the Cloud Hawk manor to meet his senior sister. Tranting the thick book might take 15-20 minutes for Avalon since a lot of its processing speed was being taken by productions of VR Pods.


    As soon as Wace arrived, he was greeted by the butler, Clyne Troyard, and lead him to the living room where Lacus was already waiting.


    "I heard that you already learned the Lightning Break?"


    "Yes, Senior Lacus..."


    "Show me..." She quickly stood up and lead him to the practice area where multiple targets can be seen.


    As expected of the first apprentice. Herposure was different. There was also this aura suffocating him a little.


    ''I''m sure that she''s an Arcane Artificer now. But thest time we''ve met, she wasn''t this intimidating. Did she gets promoted? Arcanist?''


    Wace wasn''t sure so he kept his words with himself. She didn''t wait for thedy to speak as he prepared himself in showing the second stage of Awakening of Thunder and Lightning... the Lightning Break!


    He closed his eyes and remembered all his practices. His breathing method was perfect as he controlled the new energy umting within his body to his right fist...


    "Eh?"


    The lightning wasn''t forming. It was not doing what he wanted which surprised him for a moment.


    ''This...''


    He quickly used his suppressed Divine Sense and noticed that the area he was at had a formation that puts the mana around to be unstable.


    ''Perhaps, another test?''


    Wace wasn''t sure so he just restarted his formation. As long as he was aware of what was disrupting him, he can easily do something about it.


    Wace strengthened his lightning formation and to ensure that he will achieve the best result. He added his recently learned Soul Arts. Thanks to Miss Chamber who didn''t hold back on teaching him the Art.


    By utilizing his Soul Arts together with the technique, he can easily create multiple Lightning Breaks!


    "Haa!"


    It wasn''t just one target dummy. All twelve targets were hit!


    Even Lacus was frozen for a moment seeing the disy of his strength.


    "You... you said that you''re still a third-year student, right?"


    "Yes, Senior."


    "And you''re studying Artifact Forging? Not a Combat Magician?"


    "Yes."


    "Mhmm... Very well. Keep it up. I believe that you can do better than that."


    "Yes. Thank you, Senior!"


    "Let''s go take a look at your Iron Knight."


    "Ooohh! I''m looking forward to this..."


    Wace didn''t hide his joy after hearing this. Ever since the first time that he saw such a version of Mech Frame, he had been so interested in dismantling it and seeing what was inside. He was curious about how it was made and its source of power.


    He had heard about the Molten Core used by Steel Knights since they can''t copy the cores of the Iron Knights. It was a core made by thebined intelligence of the country''s Arcanists. It was a huge breakthrough that had increased the military might of Zairus.


    Although the blueprint for the core was leaked in the end, their country was still the one that benefitted the most since the government has already acquired most of the cores from the Fire Mana Beast, making the other powers unable to mass-produced them.


    Wace then had a good look at his new asset.


    "I heard that you have a very high synchronization rate... It was higher than mine..."


    Lacus said smilingly.


    Wace remembered that he achieved a 90% sync rate while his senior... He couldn''t remember.


    [ Lacus Minerva achieved an 89% sync rate as per Grand Arcanist''s ine Allusia''s words. ]


    ''Oh... Thank you, Avalon.''


    "Well, I just got lucky... I guess." Wace replied as he scratches his head not knowing where this conversation will lead to.


    "Haha... Is that so? You don''t even have any recorded modifications or any enhancements in your body but you still reached that rate. How intriguing..."


    "Me too... I''m also curious about that. So anyway, can I take this home already?"


    "Of course. Since you already have an Iron Knight and you also have a higher sync rate than mine... Then, how about we test it inbat?"


    "Eh?"


    "I have never fought someone who can equal me in the battle of Iron Knights... As you are aware, your other seniors have below sync rate than mine. So, can you grant my request?" Wace almost saw a pleading face of the beautiful senior apprentice. It may have been his imagination but as she requested like this, he couldn''t just refuse.

 Chapter 211 - Lacus Vs Wallace

    The two agreed to fight in the afternoon as Lacus had given Wace some time to get used to the Iron Knight.


    "I don''t want to bully my juniors. You can have some time to get used to it. Anyway, with your high sync rate, it shouldn''t be a problem for you learning how to battle with that in an hour or two..." is what she says.


    Though Wace didn''t really mind if they started immediately, he still followed her instructions as he swears that he heard some contempt in those words.


    ''Was her pride hurt after learning that I have a higher sync rate even without enhancements?''


    Wace thought after realizing that he doesn''t have that good impression to his senior.


    ''But I did have! Your machines weren''t just advanced to identify it yet.''


    It will just cause more trouble if Wace said that so he justplied with thedy.


    After all, he will still ask herter about some help with a Mage Doctor. With her influence and his identity as a fellow apprentice, it shouldn''t be a problem finding a trustworthy doctor who can help him with his "body".


    "I just hope that whatever the result will be... She will still help me." Wace muttered while he was practicing the Iron Knights.


    He was actually surprised by the impressive control it has when he tried it the first time. It was not losing to his Lotus Mech which wasmendable.


    But this discovery just made him more interested in the northern continent, the ce where they found the blueprint for this weapon.


    ''I wonder what Master was doing right now... I guess I can ask senior Lacuster.''


    Baam!


    Wace was practicing the spear weapon of the Iron Knight as the two will not fight using firearms to avoid fatal injuries or unnecessary destruction of the Iron Knight and the practice area. So they decided to use this cold weapon instead.


    The spear was hitting the target and slicing them smoothly. His control was superb just like with his Lotus. Wace had also released thepression mode of the Iron Knight. From its previous four-meter tall state when it was still inside the secret room where he first saw it, it now became about six-meter tall making a huge difference.


    Wace likes thepression mode so he can use it in narrow space. Even his Lotus Mech doesn''t have such a feature.


    ''Using the Void Phase should be prohibited. Can I beat her just by pure skills? She doesn''t look like a pushover either...''


    Sigh~


    "Avalon, are you done?"


    [ Gaining control over Celestial Army: Iron Knights Brigade System: 91% Completion Rate... ]


    Wace waited for a couple more minutes before the great news came in.


    [ Take over had reached 100% Completion Rate. ]


    [ Found 2 Sealed Features of the Iron Knight ]


    [ Limiter Release and Burst Beam ]


    "Hmm... Tell me more about it." Wace said seriously. If he was not mistaken, even his senior apprentice or his master was also unaware of this feature.


    Avalonplied as it gave all the information they found after gaining full control of the Iron Knight''s System.


    ***


    "It''s time... Are you confident now? Or do you need more time?"


    "I''m good, senior Lacus."


    "Very well. This ce is small for our battle. Let''s go somewhere else."


    Lacus invited him to go outside as their Mech Frames were brought by an attendant using an aircraft to stealthily carry the Iron Knights.


    It was probably the same transport that Wace needed to transfer it to his property.


    The capital was huge. It has seven Battle Arenas they could use to execute their battle. One of the Battle Arenas was apparently under the supervision of their master and they could use it anytime they want as long as there was no scheduled event at the Arena.


    Today was a free day for the Arena so they were able to use it to their heart''s content. It was big and he felt that even 20 vs 20 Iron Knights can be amodated on the battlefield.


    Soon, Wace saw the painted version of his senior''s Iron Knight.


    Wace''s Iron Knight was still the ck and silver metal model while his opponent was painted pink and white.


    It kinda suits her image as a public figure of the Cloud Hawk''s Manor.


    As a junior, Wace felt that he should initiate the attack and take the challenger position.


    He used the machine''s boost to quickly shorten the distance and calmly thrust his spear at the Iron Knight''s head.


    It wasn''t to defeat her but to see how she would react.


    Wace was still on guard for any counterattack so he wasn''t rushing it.


    As expected, Senior Lacus has outstanding control over her Knight. She easily dodged the attack by tilting its body and avoided the de by a hair''s breadth.


    Wace wasn''t confident in doing that yet unless he used his Fervor Timepiece. Of course, he wouldn''t use it now to show off.


    Aside from that, he wanted to gauge his current strength without using his almost cheat skills.


    Lacus was only dodging all his attacks as if she was watching a kid struggling to reach her. It felt like she was giving him the chance to show off his skills and after that, she''ll quickly eliminate him. But this was only in Wace''s mind since Lacus was also unable to find an opening to strike him due to his endless assault.


    ''His movement and stance could not even be called an amateur... Perhaps... He never received any proper training in spear handling?''


    Although she admits that his stance was terrible, deep within her heart, she praises Wace''s tactic and control of the Iron Knight. Hepensated for hisck of skills in spearbat by using his superb control and footwork. He probably felt that by giving her a chance to attack, the table will quickly turn.


    Unfortunately, this kind of tactic will surely reveal an opening after some time. If that happens, Lacus wouldn''t shy away to finish this bout.


    Thissted for a couple of minutes until she found what she was waiting for!


    Wace overextended his reach and he got a bit too close to Lacus. She didn''t waste the opportunity as she used the Iron Knight''s pauldron to m Wace and make him unbnced, then she took the stance of hitting the Iron Knight''s head to achieve the victory.


    It was the end.


    This is what she thought until Wace used his Knight''s boosters on its legs to avoid getting hit and back away from her.


    Then on the next three minutes of the battle. Lacus swears that the opponent she was fighting had changed!


    It felt like a different person as it never made a mistake during the battle. The first part of their duel was an inexperienced opponent in spearbat. But after downing him once, Lacus can tell that she was already fighting a grandmaster of the spear arts.


    ''Is he ying with me?! You won''t get serious until I showed you my skills, huh!''


    Lacus felt a bit annoyed after realizing that her opponent was actually at the grandmaster level and was going easy on her. She was the strongest apprentice under ine Allusia, she couldn''t just take it lightly.


    But after doing her best, she was unable to gain any advantage at him as they were almost at the same level. No, she was sure that he was only fighting her at her own level. He was definitely hiding his true skills.


    ''Hmph! It''s not like spearbat with this Iron Knight can truly tell who was stronger. I still haven''t shown all of my skills.'' She thought as she decided.


    Since Wace wasn''t nning to defeat her and was only fighting at the same level as her, she could only end this act as nothing will be achieved here.


    "Alright! I''ve seen your skills. You can take away your Iron Knight now. If it was damaged, it can be repaired at the Cloud Hawk Manor but you have to pay. Don''t try to fix it by yourself. Your school didn''t train you for that. Understood?"


    "Yes, Senior!"


    Wace might have rejected Avalon''s request to take over during thebat if he learned what was on her mind. Anyway, now that the battle was over, he can now ask for a favor.


    ***


    "You needed a trustworthy Mage Doctor you can hire?"


    "Yes. I was hoping that the manor has someone we could trust."


    The two were already in a private room that was still within the arena as they rested and chatted for a bit.


    "Hmm... You will be requesting a confidential treatment? Well, not that I care. I could find you one but promise me that whatever work you wanted to assign him would not be something illegal?"


    "Of course, senior." Wace quickly answered after seeing her stare like that.


    Although it wasn''t bad being stared by a beauty, he was feeling that her stare has a low-level soul art included. Though he can''t check it yet since he was trying to suppress his Divine Sense.

 Chapter 212 - Logbook ( Part 1 )

    "How long do you think will the job take?"


    Lacus asked as she was probably considering the schedule of the Mage Doctors she can ask.


    "I''m not really sure. Maybe... a month? I mean, it can be shortened if he has the skills..."


    Wace answered. Honestly, he was really unsure since the Secret Art was trulyplicated. Though he rated it using his unprofessional eyes. It may be easy if the Mage Doctor he hires was truly capable.


    "Fine... What type of mage doctor?"


    "Eh?"


    "Do you need someone who specializes in Alteration, Enhancements, or Mysticism?"


    "That... can I ask someone who knows the three?"


    "..."


    Because of Wace''s limited knowledge, their discussionsted over half an hour before they decided to hire someone that requires him to pay an expensive amount.


    "Then, just ready your money. I will still ask if he will agree to this."


    "Yes... Thank you, senior!"


    It was really great to be affiliated with someone who has a lofty status. Their wideworks can be used to find outstanding individuals that could not be easily found by ordinary people.


    ''Just what kind of job did this guy work with anyway... Why would he look for Mage Doctor with a high-level requirement? Sigh~ Anyway, now that Master is away, I have to take care of the Manor and these juniors...''


    Lacus had decided to consult the best Mage Doctor she knew.


    It was an opportunity to deepen her rtion to the senior and it will also help her junior, hitting two birds in one stone. The only thing she was worried about was that if the job being offered by Wace was too simple.


    However, after she remembered his skills, recent achievements, and secret connections to NMTI, she believed that the job would not be simple. If it was, then there was no need to visit the capital to find someone as he could hire many Mage Doctors in Tanza City or perhaps get assistance with his friends at NMTI.


    Anyway, now that Wace has learned the second stage of AOTL, she must give him the final stage.


    "I heard that you have a Spatial Bag?"


    "Y-yes..."


    Wace worriedly answered. She surely realized it during the auction. If she asked where was it, he wouldn''t be able to show it.


    Luckily, she has a different intention.


    "Good... Take this memory crystal. This is the Final Stage of AOTL. Learn it before our master came back. This is very important, hide it in your Spatial Bag and consume it when you''re alone in a safe ce. Right, make sure that you always practice your Spirit Forging Magic. You will be needing that once Master returned..."


    "Yes, senior..."


    Wace took the bottle containing the memory crystal as he swiftly put it in his pocket before being sent to the Dimensional Storage Space he has.


    Lacus felt that the bottle disappeared as she realizes that he was actually hiding his Spatial Bag in his pocket. She just nodded at this and she didn''t see him out.


    But still, Wace thanked thedy before he left.


    As for his Iron Knight, it was already being readied to be transported to the address he gave. So he has to return quickly.


    It was truly great to have a reliable senior. She even promised that she''ll ask someone in the Congress for the mountain he has his eyes on.


    ***


    As soon as Wace entered his car to go home, he quickly checked Avalon''s pending notifications.


    [ Trantion has beenpleted. ]


    Now, Wace has the time to read the book tranted by the ever so trusted Avalon.


    He can now read an online copy of the tranted book. He quickly checked his device and saw the title of the book.


    [ Captain''s Logbook ]


    Just by seeing this, he already had a hunch about its content.


    "I, Zhaeus Zaimphail, the rightful heir of the crown, the first Prince of Meredith Empire, will leave this book behind in hopes that you will not suffer the same fate as mine."


    He read the first page and confirmed that it was indeed the logbook of the fallen Prince of Lonar Alliance... Wace gulped just by imagining the background of this book. He almost didn''t want to read it.


    How did they get here? Are they also transported by the Cube of Paradox near the sr system of this Earth?


    His imagination started to run wild after he realized the origin of this book. It can''t be helped, he had already seen and even used the fragments of a destroyed Cube of Paradox to improve his own.


    Wace was thinking that the destroyed Cube was not able to find a user it can cooperate with before getting destroyed or it was probably intentionally destroyed so no one can use it. He wasn''t sure.


    Now, did they die in old age in this world? Did they hide in the northern continent? Are they involved with the Celestial Beings?


    All of these guesses and questions may be confirmed and answered by the book today.


    Wace skimmed through the thick book and hadn''t finished it even after returning home.


    But it was enough to learn many things. Even if he hadn''t finished reading the book, he was already sure of one thing, the Empire was truly seeking the Ancient Relic or the Cube of Paradox and will surelye here.


    Aside from that, the Prince had arrived here not identally but due to the fruitful efforts of their researchers. The head researcher managed to unveil the power of the Cube through various clues and records but they were unable to find a method to fully activate it.


    They can only utilize a part of the power of the Cube which was to give them a unique form of energy that will not lose to Aether Force. But when they used this power from the Cube, they were found out by the Emperor.


    They had to cut any of their traces to ensure that they will not be followed here when they escaped.


    "In the end, we have to use the power of the Ancient Relic to create a unique istion barrier that utilizes not just its own energy but also the unique energy of this world to cover the whole from being traced back by the Empire. Unfortunately, this consumed all its power as it gets destroyed afterpleting its purpose..."


    "But we are not aware of how long this wouldst... Some day, this will be found out and may be vulnerable to the attacks of the empire... So before that, we will create the strongest practitioner of mana in this magical world and multiply them to create the strongest resistance against the empire..."


    Wace was reading some part of the book that was interesting for him.


    This happened long before the Mana Practitioners were called Magicians. It means that not even the First Generation of Mana Artifacts was established or the official guide for Mana Study was made when they stumbled on this Earth.


    Unfortunately, it seems that they failed in creating one as their group dies one by one after 2 years of living here and only the Prince was left alone who was capable of adapting to the environment.


    It was something that waspletely different from Wace''s experience.

 Chapter 213 - Logbook ( Part 2 )

    It was written that only when half of their group died that they realized that it was due to their physique which was being poisoned by this world''s unique energy or mana. The illness was untraceable making them unprepared for such tragedy.


    Even Zhaeus wasn''t sure how he survives and could only think that it was his bloodline. The same blood with the Emperor that was collecting the Ancient Relic which at same time was rted on this.


    "Was the Emperor trying to look for this too? He even prepared their physique for this problem..."


    Wace was surprised about this but more than that, he was surprised by how long they survived before they suffered from Mana Suffocation.


    "What?! They reallysted for 2 years?! I onlysted for 2 seconds there..."


    He was unsure but it was probably due to the unique body modifications to the people in the Empire.


    He can only me the Federation for not giving him a better body enhancement.


    After getting such important information, Wace asked some questions to Avalon to ensure that he didn''t miss something...


    "Are there any clues written whether the Prince was still alive?"


    [ No information found but written at the 12th paragraph of the 77th page was a hint that he will establish an organizationprised of the natives that aim to create the strongest magician on this Earth. ]


    Avalon dutifully answered withplete details.


    Wace quickly checked and confirmed that there were indeed such notes...


    After reading that part, he quickly remembers the Z-Company that was also trying to create a strong magician through experimentation.


    ''Just like how the Meredith Empire do their ways...''


    Although the Prince left the Empire, his method of experimentation was still the same with his origin.


    Experimentation of human genes even by means of sacrificing his subordinates and people.


    He read how he was prepared to sacrifice the people as long as he would get the result...


    He was fixated on his goal that he left this logbook not just in case he perished but in case the theory of the head researcher came true, which was the arrival of several Ancient Relic that were all leading people to this.


    Luckily, the empire no longer has any capable researcher who can learn the method of using the Relic. They even destroyed all their records to ensure that even if the Empire learns the method, they will still have ample of time to prepare.


    "They''re good..."


    Wace praised the Prince and his group as even now, the Empire was still unaware of the method of utilizing the Cube that they already have. It was an impressive feat.


    Anyway, he wanted to finish reading the book so he just returned to his study room and checked them together with Avalon. Now that he finished skimming through the part where the Prince told his stories, he can now check the "gifts" he left.


    Wace was interested in some of the blueprints of machinery, recipes of potions, and even magic formation that was included in the logbook.


    Although the magic formation was crude, it was still interesting since it was all made for convenience.


    He also read that all his creations and the spaceship they used were actually in the northern continent. Unfortunately, the prince didn''t make any notes about their ns on that continent.


    But he clearly noted something terrible.


    "Unfortunately, due to theck of capable subordinates, one of my human experimentations failed and caused havoc in myboratory. They were not following orders and I couldn''t overpower them. I had to escape and hide here at the southern continent. But this is not the end! I firmly believed that my failed experimentation will continue to evolve and may reach the apex of mana practitioners!"


    "But rest assured, they won''t be leaving the northern continent yet as they will be needing a different vessel if they had to... They will be weakened if that happened! So let''s just stay here and not get involved in the northern continent! Our lives are more important to continue the legacy of our fallen predecessors..."


    The prince sounded confident but Wace wasn''t sure whether the man seeded in the end since he didn''t continue writing about his story and only left those blueprints.


    Haaa~


    Wace closed the book as he surmised that it was enough for today. He let the A.I. analyze the blueprints that were drafted on the logbook and see if they were feasible. He might use some of them when he creates his own Mass Driver.


    A lot of things were going on in Wace''s head. He has to absorb all this information while he was making ns for the future.


    On the next day, a couple of visitors came to his house.


    "Ahh... Miya? What brought you here..."


    "Haah... I''m sorry to intrude on you today. I''ve been trying to purchase a VR Pod on the market but I can''t even make reservations. All orders were reserved and there''s no space at all. Aside from your payment, can''t you just give me a pod? If you don''t want... I can pay for it..."


    Wace felt embarrassed at this. He actually has ns of sending her one but he forgot this because of his priorities. To think that their model doesn''t have their own VR Pod, if this was leaked to the public, theirpany image would take a hit.


    "I''m sorry about that... Here, I can even modify your VR Pod, just make a request."


    "Really? Then can you make it ck and pink? Also, please shape it like car instead of like an egg... If you can also add this and that.."


    Miya listed her requests as Wace made Avalon remember them.


    "Sure... Stay here for half an hour and it will be made." Wace said as he looked at Miss Humeray who was already taking a sip on her tea.


    "That fast? Alright." Miya happily agreed as she joined her manager in the living room.

 Chapter 214 - Connection

    After Wace satisfies Miya''s request, she quickly left home and y the game at home. She and her manager even prepared a truck to bring the VR Pod away. It seems that they were already expecting that he will give them one. Anyway, this all happened in the morning. Right now, Wace was carefully disassembling his Iron Knight since he was nning to utilize the reward he received from the Pathfinder before. It was the 10 pieces of Quantum Brainwaves Control System module.Each one of these can create a high-grade Mech Frame. First of all, why would all the Frames look like a human body? It was due to the requirement of having a high sync rate. If it was formed as an eagle, tiger, or alligator, the pilot can still operate it... but for itsbat effectivity? It will be awful. If it fought against an enemy piloting a humanoid Mech Frame with a high sync rate, then the humanoid Mech can just toy around and still win the battle. The maximum potential of all Mech Frames can only be brought out by having a high sync rate. The 10 modules that Wace has in his possession was the key to that. Even if it was the first time for a person to pilot a Mech Frame, it wouldn''t be a problem because of this module. They will be able to perform the best of their ability even just by sitting on the pilot seat. ng! ng! Metals and other gears were being thrown all around the ce as Wace was looking for something. The Elysiums were only watching around as he instructed the Avalon that he''ll take care of this and for the automatons to only assist him. "Where was it..." Wace muttered as he was removing the parts of the Iron Knight around its chest. He wanted to make sure that he didn''t forget all the knowledge he learned while he was still working on the Zymeth Spaceship before. "Found it!" It didn''t take long before he found what he was looking for. It was covered by multipleyers of metal protection to avoid getting easily damaged. The core that he was looking at was still encased by metal and transparent ss. There were also several tubes attached where the energying from the core was passing through to provide energy to the whole Iron Knight. The design of the internal system of this Iron Knight has simrities with the Mech Frames he knows and some parts were only changed to adapt in this environment. After all, most Mech Frames that he was aware of were only used mostly for spacebat. "So this is it, huh..." It was the unique core where the Molten Core of the Steel Knights were based on. He can see that it was shaped like an octagonal prism and it radiates a green light. Unfortunately, Wace had to at least touch the core so he can use the ability of his Ne of rity and learn itsponents. Of course, Wace didn''t dare touch the glowing core as he let the Avalon analyze the power that was being emitted. [ Analyzing energy emission... ] [ Unknown energy fusion... ] It took about 5 minutes before the A.I. managed to at least have a clue about this new power source. [ The power source was 76% simr to the blueprint recorded on the Captain''s Logbook. It should be an iplete project that the Prince wanted to aplish before it was ruined by his failed human experimentation. It was a highly efficient fusion reactor called Zaimphail Reactor written on page 136 of the logbook. ] "Mhmm..." Wace was already expecting this much. There was no way that the advanced technology and design like an Iron Knight would just suddenly appear in this world where not even an aircraft that could surpass the speed of sound was ever made unless it was brought or created by someone with advanced technology and resources. He continued his study and confirmed the there was indeed a safety limiter attach to the core as it suppresses the power it was emitting... After realizing this, he asked assistance with the A.I. to analyze everything and soon, he confirmed the releasing the limiter would also shorten the lifespan of the Iron Knight. It will slowly start to malfunction and thoroughly stopped working even if the limiter was only released once. But in exchange, it will give the pilot a short burst of power that could probably contend to even ten Iron Knights at once. During that night, Wace used theyout and idea on the Iron Knight to create his own Mech Frame. *** It was already early in the morning. Wace was now about to take a rest in his room as he took out the memory crystal that contains the Final Stage of the AOTL. He trusted that the modified memory crystal he was receiving from the Cloud Hawk Manor wasn''t harmful, so he quickly consumed the crystal as he absorbed all the knowledge it contains... "Roar of Thundering Destruction..." After muttering the name of the Final Stage of the skill, he couldn''t help but think of when will he finish learning this skill. It already took him about a month learning just the 2nd stage. But now, thest stage contains instructions and the difficulty even increased by ten times. "This is going to be tough..." Wace said as he reviewed the training he had to do in order to learn this new skill. Aside from that, his master might be returning after some time and he had to show that he had also practiced his Spirit Forging Magic. It seems that the Manor wanted to have many people on their side that was capable of creating the Sixth Gen. As he finished absorbing the knowledge, Wace heard a notification that he hadn''t heard since he retrieved the GN Drive.


    [ Learn at least one of the two Ability!


    You have to ensure that you gradually achieve your goals. Material power is good but your own power will never betray you.


    You now possess all the requirements to learn the Astral Core Formtion! You can learn it now.


    You have an iplete requirement for the Chasm Trample! You can learn itter.


    The user can either wait for requirementpletion of the Chasm Trample or learn the Astral Core Formtion.


    Rewards: Extreme Potion of Divine Sense, Map of Northern Continent, Mystery Box x3 ]


    Wace was d that there was a mission to form his Astral Core. The Pathfinder might have thought that he''ll spend all the remaining Aether Force in his other project.


    ''Rest assured, I didn''t forget that I''ve chosen a path... But... Why would you give me a map of that ce? Do you really want me to go there? For what?... Sigh~''


    Wace was already tired as he slept until the afternoon. *** A couple of days had passed and the sses and jobs in the city started to operate as normal. The terrorist attack that previously threatened the city was now almost out of the mind of most people and only a small part was thinking of still leaving the city. It was due to the efforts of the City Mayor pacifying the nervous people as he dutifully works on his job to ensure their safety. The problem that was still remaining not only for the Mayor but also for the Leonhearts Academy was the disappearance of the strongest magician in the city. If he returned or someone reced his position as the strongest, then it will be easier to calm the citizens that were thinking of leaving the ce already. Wace attended the ss and made sure to copy the notes of the lectures that he missed. After all, he still wanted to graduate and take the license examinations in the future. In the meantime, he heard that Miss Chamber was now acting as the Headmaster of the Academy. Although it was only temporary since the Ministry of Magic Education would still give the final decision on this case, it was still a huge step forward for her desire to be a Headmaster. Wace chatted and caught up with his friends at the academy as he still values his social rtions. It was an important thing since he was aiming to be an influential person someday so he has to create an image for himself. Part of it was for the sake of the Cloud Hawk Manor as well. He can''t let other people say that just because he became an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist, he was already a cold person or something like that. It might damage the name of the Manor too. *** As Wace returned home. He quickly visited his new workshop that has now two floors and heard Avalon reporting its progress about his attempts to hack Veda using the Terminal he has. Then, he heard a good or probably bad report from Avalon. [ A connection to Veda has been made. ] [ Veda is requestingmunication with the user. ] [ Would you like to link the connection? ]

 Chapter 215 - Veda And The Northern Continent

    Wace stiffened after hearing the A.I.''s report.


    Their task was to stealthily gain ess to the information that Veda holds, but hearing this now, he realized that it was impossible.


    "What are your impressions about Veda?"


    Wace asked Avalon who made its investigation. It didn''t take long before it answered.


    [ A superior Artificial Intelligence. ]


    Wace heard the reply as he gulped unconsciously.


    ''To think that this world has something like that...''


    This can only be exined by one thing, it must be a remnant of the previously technologically advanced people who arrived on this first.


    ''It most likely survived by itself... But what could be its goal all these years? Now, was it mad at me for trying to bypass their security?''


    Haa~


    There was no point in worrying about this now so Wace can only answer.


    "Alright... Connect to Veda." Avalon then quicklyplied with his instruction.


    [ Connecting... ]


    After a couple of seconds, Veda appeared on the screen of his mobile device.


    No, what appeared was only a graphic of sound waves moving up and down...


    [ Why did you try to establish a direct connection to Veda? ]


    These words didn''t just appear on his mobile device. There was also a voice different from Avalon.


    Apparently, it doesn''t have a gender-neutral voice but a voice leaning to the feminine side. Anyway, he had to answer.


    "Curiosity..."


    It was the truth. Wace was hoping that Veda would ept it.


    [ Where did you acquire a high-level artificial intelligencework? ]


    ''Mhmm...''


    He felt lucky that it didn''t acquire any of his information. It was a good thing that they created a stand-alone Avalon that was assigned to handle this job.


    Even if it managed to take over this Avalon, it wouldn''t make any significant damage by leaking all his information. They could just destroy itpletely if necessary.


    But thinking about it, he wanted to gain the trust of this Veda or maybe create a rtionship that can benefit both of them. He wanted to avoid mutual destruction as it won''t be a fruitful endeavor.


    Wace was considering the benefit of having Veda, it must have acquired a lot of information about several countries as it was controlling the information flow of all aristocrats, nobles, royalty, or any people that have an established status, people that were trusted by higher-ups to gain ess to a Terminal of Veda.


    He took a deep breath before answering...


    "It was the A.I. of my previous spaceship... You can say that I''m from the Gctic Federation."


    It was an answer that would also test the Superior Artificial Intelligence.


    ''What would be its reaction? You should be the Prince''s remnant, programmed to support him... A person who hated the Empire...''


    Wace noticed that it didn''t reply quickly this time as it was probably processing or considering whether his words were true.


    [ Prove it. ]


    ''Eh? So it was really aware of the Federation... But how can I prove it?''


    He tried thinking of how to do it as he considers letting Veda connect to the mainframe of Avalon. But it was still too dangerous at this point. In this case, it was better to ask.


    "Tell me. How can I prove it?"


    [ To ensure that your blood was really used to activate the Terminal, do it again. This time, I will be watching you. ]


    ''Oh...''


    Wace remembers that a small amount of his blood was indeed taken during the apprenticeship examination. Lacus even exined that it was also used to activate the Terminal.


    "Very well... If that''s all I needed to do..."


    He quicklyplied as he felt that there was no harm in it since he had already done this before. He also didn''t believe that there would be some kind of magic that could curse him just by having a drop of his blood.


    He cut his finger using a de given by an Elysium that also brought the Terminal. Wace dropped a couple of blood and waited for Veda.


    ''At most, it might get some information about his current body... No, wait...''


    [ Beep... Your blood doesn''t show any semnce from a personing from the Gctic Federation. The test shows that you were born on this. ]


    ''Just like what I thought... What a blunder...''


    [ Loading Subject Termination Sequence... ]


    "W-wait! Wait! I can exin!"


    [ You have 10 seconds to exin. ]


    "I switched bodies! Do you know the Cube? The Ancient Relic? The Cube of Paradox... It was that thing''s fault! I mean... It was to save me frompletely dying due to Mana Suffocation... Y-you can have a look at my previous body... It looks very simr to mine! You can test that blood as well..."


    His body was preserved by the mysterious power of the Cube.


    Luckily, Veda listened to his exnation and agreed to take a quick check on his body. Wace wasn''t sure what was the Subject Termination Sequence but it sounded very dangerous to him.


    It doesn''t surprise him if Veda has controls to powerful automatons or such. Not just that, it can just post his image at the internalwork and ce a bounty on his head. Then, Veda wouldn''t have to move and many influential and powerful people will be willing to work for it.


    [ Identity Confirmed. Trace of blood doesn''t show any semnce to the people from the Empire. ]


    ''I heard that the Empire had strict requirements for their people.''


    One of that was they have to agree to the Empire''s sacred body modifications to achieve the Peak of Human Evolution. Everyone will have to receive a syringe containing a unique drug. Aside from that, all newborn babies in the Empire were also receiving the same treatment.


    ''It seems that Veda had found a way to distinguish them, huh. Even Avalon doesn''t have those capabilities. Is it due to its integration to mana?''


    "Now that I''ve proven myself. Can we cooperate? I want to know your goals... Of course, I''ll be willing to tell you mine in exchange."


    ***


    The northern continent truly has an unpredictable environment. The mana was unstable and very difficult to control. More than that, there were even some extreme ces that the mana they trusted so much was not present at all.


    That was probably the most dangerous thing in thisnd. Even if they encounter a Flying Dragon, Phoenix, or other mythical beasts, as long as they have Mana, they could struggle and have a chance to survive. But without it, they would be just like a normal person with a better body due to some body enhancements they have.


    There was also the problem with the stealthy and strong mutated beast that would lurk around especially at night... These powerful beasts can only be found in thisnd and are extremely dangerous even for a group of an Adept.


    In short, thisnd isn''t a ce for human settlement.


    "Are we almost there?" An injured Adept asked their leader. His eyes were still filled with hope even though most of the members of the expedition team had already perished and only a few had survived.


    After all, ine has revealed his true purpose ining here to uplift their morale, if not, most of them would probably just let themselves be killed just to escape this torturousnd.


    "Mhmm... I can feel that we are getting closer..." ine said nkly as he looked at his subordinate.


    They already achieved one of their objectives with the cost of sacrificing several Adept Mages. They just needed one more thing before they can think of escaping from this ce.


    ''Just beyond this mountain... I just need to meet him... or even just one of them...''


    Behind ine, the previous lively bunch of powerful Adepts with other vehicles and Iron Knights were now a measly group of 12 people.


    All the Iron Knights have already met their ends and were left behind to avoid it from being an additional burden to their group.


    Being the leader of this expedition, ine was pained in his heart that his previous friends and subordinates breathe they''rest in this forsakennd.


    Most of their corpses couldn''t even be brought home as they were either eaten whole by the beasts or they have to detonate themselves just to give the remaining members a precious time to get into safety.


    If this is the case, not even their ash would remain.


    Now, with all these struggles in the northern continent, he has to remain firm and move forward.


    His expedition is for the sake of the future. He was aware that a tragedy is about to befall in this world... Maybe a year or two... Or if they are lucky, it might take 5 more years...


    He was feeling it, the protective Mana covering the was slowly thinning out. As a Grand Arcanist and one of the 24 Survivors of the first expedition... He can recognize it.


    He didn''t know for sure what would happen once it disappearedpletely but it wasn''t hard to guess with all the old clues left behind...


    ''Aeolia didn''t die, that much was proven... For someone who had grasp knowledge beyond his era and even continuously improves them... Someone who left behind blueprints that could only be used fifty or a hundred yearster... Why... Why would someone who can make great changes in this world left some clues for future generations to visit this ce?''

 Chapter 216 - Cooperations

    Wace exhaustedly left the workshop as he made some agreements with Veda.


    Unfortunately, even though Veda had sessfully integrated itself with mana, that took five long decades before it was made. It was also limited to a unique form of connection. Establishing awork to the whole continent took another three decades of its time toplete.


    In short, it was impossible for Avalon to drastically increase its potential like Veda in a short time.


    But that was enough, Wace was already satisfied with what Avalon can do.


    Whatever it couldck, this Veda can justpensate.


    Anyway, Avalon will now be able topletely focus its full processing power to VR Pod production, building Mech Frames, building Spaceship, and Mass Driver.


    For intelligence gathering, he can just ask Veda for assistance as he remembered their conversation.


    [ Can you avoid making this continent a battlefield? ]


    ''Avoid this continent? Where do you want the battle to take ce? In ocean? Wait...''


    He quickly realized its intention.


    "That''s too difficult..."


    Wace answered as he was sure that Veda wanted the Empire to be intercepted in the outer space.


    ''Veda was nning not to let the Empirend here? That''s wishful thinking... We don''t have decades to count... We don''t have time to create enough spacecraft that could contend against their number outside... We have to utilize the power of all the magicians on this so we can have a better chance...''


    Wace was against the idea of confronting them in the field they specialized in.


    It seems that Veda wanted to protect something here but it was still not willing to tell. He can only guess.


    In the end, Wace agreed to create a small spaceship fleet with the superior A.I.''s help that could somehow redirect the attention of the Empire to this. Of course, all the expenses will be handled by Veda while the production will be handled by Wace.


    The fleet wasn''t topletely rout the enemies but a form of assurance.


    He learned that Veda was supposedly an A.I. used for medical practices. It doesn''t have blueprints of spaceships and other technology aside from things rted to medicine. It was already an impressive feat for it to create such argework after it managed to integrate with mana.


    It was also unaware whether the Prince was still alive or perished in an unknown ce.


    Apparently, for a citizen of the Empire, living for about 200 years wasmon much more for a Prince that was fully supported by various drugs and modifications since birth.


    It wouldn''t surprise Wace if the man survives for four or five hundred more years.


    They discussed a lot of things about their cooperation as it took them five hours to have a concrete n.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace received manymunications from various steel and manufacturingpanies about some work offers.


    Of course, it was offered by Veda. The otherpany''s aim was to create some parts of the machines, mech, and spaceship he needed. The work will be divided and Wace''s job was to create the main parts and assemble all the parts created by variouspanies. To check their qualities, he also has to ensure that Avalon monitors their work ethics.


    But because this happened too fast he let them standby for now as he was nning to purchase the whole mountain first so he can use the ce as the main production area.


    His factory at Cove City won''t be able to handle such arge influx of materials.


    ''Should I contact her now? But she might think that I''m rushing her... No, I can just ask normally... Oh wait, maybe I should contact Clyne first.''


    Only a few days had passed when he made a request. He knows that it will take some time but Wace wanted to get an update now so he called Clyne to ask about his senior apprentice.


    "Miss Lacus? She left already. She hasn''t returned to the manor ever since you took your Iron Knight. But... I heard that she went to meet someone associated with Mavis n... Right, she also mentioned to me that awyer from our Manor will be helping you with your ns to purchase a plot ofnd or so."


    Wace was surprised to hear Clyne''s words on the other line.


    "Wait... Mavis n?"


    "Yes... She said that she''ll need to speak to a Mage Doctor of the n..."


    This revtion made Wace confused.


    ''Was my requirement too high? Don''t we have a Mage Doctor at the Manor?''


    Wace felt that it was better to ask Clyne who manages the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    "Ahh... A Mage Doctor in our Manor? We do have a few... But the two outstanding Mage Doctor working with Sir ine hase together with him at the Northern Continent..."


    Clyne answered as he also exined that the current Mage Doctor they have was probably judged by Lacus not to bepetent enough for the requirements they were looking for.


    "Is that so? Thank you for confirming..."


    "Mhm... As for thewyer I''m saying, he will be contacting you in the next few days. I heard that he was already aware of the details so he might be investigating at the moment..."


    "I see, thank you, sir Clyne. Please send my regards to senior Lacus once she returned."


    Wace ended the conversation as he decided to wait for a few more days.


    But in the end, he was contacted by a different person on the next day.


    "Yes! It has been a while... Do you still remember me?"


    "Drake?"


    "That''s right! We already have the money with us. I would like to meet with you and discuss our deal. Are you free?"


    "Yeah!"


    They quickly made arrangements as Wace took his time to instruct Avalon in preparing the different types of energy he needed for his Astral Core Formtion.


    Wace used his Void Phase to arrive at their meeting ce. It was the same vige near the ruins they explored before.


    ''Oh... Did they use their money to improve the vige? This ce looks much better...''


    Wace thought as Drake''s squad probably felt guilty about causing trouble when the ruins copsed and caused damage to the surrounding area. He remembers that part of the farnd was destroyed due to that...


    Soon, he was noticed by Marsha, one of Drake''s subordinates, and was also living in this vige. She quickly invited him to her house where everyone was waiting.


    "Oh... Everyone has a different aura now, huh..."


    He couldn''t help butment after seeing them. Their clothes have changed from mercenary clothes to formal ones. Drake was now wearing a suit and the others were also looking neat and clean. The females even wear dresses now.


    It waspletely different from Wace''s first impression of them. Aside from that, they are no longer carrying their swords or other weapons on their back.


    "You''re already here?!"


    "Haha... I told you, didn''t I? I''m free at the moment." Wace chuckled as he didn''t exin how he got here fast.


    Drake invited Wace to have a drink as they talk of random things before getting to the point.


    "So... Tell me about the ce you wanted to buy..."


    Wace asked after getting a chance.


    "Right... Do you know the Seed Holdings?"


    Drake said as he rxed on his seat.


    "Yes... They''re thepany dealing with Memory Crystals production. What about it?"


    "Mhmm... Thend we wanted to buy was now being eyed by thispany... It''s our fault."


    There seems to be more trouble than he expected.


    Soon, Drake exined their situation. Their squad wanted to purchase a plot ofnd that was previously filled with powerful Mana Beasts.


    Because the ce has a small ore vein before, the beasts have to be subjugated before the people can operate.


    After that, it only took them about three years to empty the ore vein and the ce was supposedly abandoned until Drake''s group nned to acquire thend.


    "What do they wanted? Do they own thend?" Wace asked.


    "Well, thend was still owned by the government... The Seed Holdings were just contractors working on that ce before... Now, the ce should''ve been abandoned for five years."


    Wace still doesn''t get the situation so he waited for them to get to the point.


    "The ce was perfect for us to establish a stronghold but thepany wanted it for themselves telling that there could be hidden treasures formed after five years of abandoning thend... That ce is rich with Mana but not to the point that the government would desire it... There''s a lot of better ces but that one was the only one that we can reach with our status... No, we even needed your help... Sigh~ We just want to be stronger but this..."


    Drake said emotionally. They seem to have a backstory but Wace didn''t ask more.


    "Alright... I''m also about to meet awyer working with my master. I''ll ask for their help." Wace answered as he returned home. He will try to do his best to help since he promised this in exchange for getting the fragment of the Cube and the Zen Coins.


    He rested for a while to prepare himself at forming his Astral Core.

 Chapter 217 - Astral Core

    The Astral Core Formtion has several requirements.


    Aside from having the Celestial Fragment as a catalyst, he needed four other types of energy to create his Core.


    There are many types of energy that he can use but since this can only be done once, he had to choose the best form of energy he''ll use.


    He previously asked Avalon to prepare all the necessary requirements. In the end, it actually changed his n and created a better option for him.


    Instead of using thermal energy, Avalon suggested using the unique core of his Lotus Mech Frame model. All Mech Frames of this model have Radiant Wave Spectrum Technology. In general terms, it was a powerful microwave radiation emitter. By activating it on its silver right arm, any enemy Mech Frame it touches would fry its electronics and heavily warp the frame itself, making the machine unsalvageable.


    This technology was all thanks to the unique Ion-Sting Reactor it possesses.


    Now that he has a small amount of outer space''s most powerful energy that humans could use, Wace was confident that he can form the best Astral Core he could get.


    But he was still worried about something...


    "Do you think it is safe to do this in my room?"


    [ Unable to answer. There is no reference we can base on. ]


    "Have a guess... You can do it."


    [ ... ]


    [ If there is a possibility that the user will fail to form the Astral Core, then the fusion of energies may go out of control causing arge explosion and destroying the ce. This is assuming that there is a chance to fail. No precedence we can use to run a simtion. ]


    "Well... You have a point. But I know that I canplete it. I wouldn''t fail!"


    He was confident since he was already blessed by the knowledge that came from the Pathfinder. Avalon can only process data that is base on Wace''s exnation about the Pathfinder.


    It was still unable to quantify the information he was receiving whenever he consumed memory crystals or other potions that came from it.


    But that was enough since Wace can just add that into consideration whenever Avalon was making a calction for him.


    "Everything was prepared... But senior Lacus might contact me when I''m forming the core..."


    Wace muttered.


    Consideringthis, he decided to give a set of instructions to Avalon once someone tries to contact him. He couldn''t just let anyone disturb his seclusion once it started.


    Forming an Astral Core might take three to seven days based on his own calction.


    It can also be very dangerous so he has to take this seriously.


    After this, he went to the basement of his vi where four differently colored metal containers can be seen. The spherical containers weren''t idle as they all slowly being rotated by several machines built around them.


    There was even pulsating sinister energy around the golden container. It contains the mysterious Aether Force that can only be processed by the GH Drive.


    He took his eyes off it and nced around the room. It was walled by a thick metal and the door was even thicker by several inches. This was to lessen any damage that coulde if the machines handling the four energies malfunctioned at some point.


    Of course, Avalon made sure that it wouldn''t happen but they have to always consider the safety protocol in handling these dangerous things.


    "Mhmm..."


    Wace was satisfied at the ce as he went to sit at the center of the room and took out the Celestial Fragment from his Spatial Bag.


    He removed it from its small container and ced it on his palm.


    It felt warm at first.


    But soon, the fragment started glowing brightly with higher intensity every second that passed.


    He feels now that his palm was about to get burned...


    ''Urgh... Let''s begin!''


    He felt the pain on his hand so he quickly started.


    He focused his energy on his hands as he shattered the fragment into many more pieces.


    Crash!


    As the fragment shatters, the pieces started to dissipate turning into a cloud of blue smoke. The blue smoke then started to slowly pass through his skin where it used his pores as an entrance...


    The Astral Core Formtion officially begins!


    ***


    Avalon noticed that its user has now started his "body enhancement".


    Aside from monitoring Wace''s condition, Avalon started its daily tasks.


    The sales of the VR Pod was doing good as they earned 35 million credits in profit.


    This was only their sales here in Zairus and Maja, which was their neighbor country.


    It was doing very well.


    Miya''s rate will definitely increase at this point.


    Avalon has to always get into contact with the people they hired to operate their sales outside. At most, Avalon was recognized as the secretary of thepany, Traceless Hands.


    The vendors they hired were also closely monitored by Avalon.


    Although Veda can be used for intelligence gathering, monitoring their business operations wasn''t included in that.


    After confirming that there aren''t any anomalies at their business operations, it focused on the virtual world of the VR Pod.


    Firstof all, the reason why Wace wasn''t just giving free knowledge to people was that he wanted to ensure that they will be in the right hands. There were many crimes happening not only in Tanza City but in other cities or even small viges.


    There were even organizations that could contend to a country that can be very rming.


    Wace didn''t want any countries to be in a war when the Meredith Empire arrives. Even though the countries may not be allied with his n, at least, every country must be in their full strength when the empire invades.


    Now that Veda was present, it can easily provide some hints to the leaders of a country and avoid any infighting.


    Aside from that, Wace nned to give the most important knowledge to capable people to help them improve themselves and those around them.


    The game inside the Virtual World can be used by Avalon to judge them.


    After all, Avalon was basically the god inside that game and could easily learn about the people essing the game. Even if a problem arises, Wace was sure that it wouldn''t be too bigpared to when he just freely gave powerful technologies to all people. It would just destroy the bnce.


    The people that will use the game might be younger and magicians like ine Allusia, Troy Webb, Hayden Fraser, and other powerful mages may not y the game but that would still be fine.


    After all, these people already have a clear goal in their minds and they can''t just easily change their ways or path taken.


    For someone like Troy who always fought with his self-made Artifact that could curse or bless people, he might be unwilling to do battle when inside a Mech Frame for example, or pick up a powerful gun to fight or use other fighting techniques that requires usage of an advanced technology. Unlike younger people who always wanted to try something new.


    [ Updating leaderboard... ]


    [ Server 1 Rankings


    1. Aaron Schmidt aka Fiery Fist


    2. Karen Gray aka Jelly Fish


    3. Ilia Frost aka Miss Taken


    4. Farah Carlos aka Fourth Apprentice


    5. Mark Halevey aka Strongest Man


    6. Marvin Cummings aka Retired Man


    7. Ferdie Sigma aka Alpha Dog


    ...


    15. Hilda Calem aka Hilda Calem ]


    After checking the leaderboard that was based on questpletion rate, knowledged absorbed, and their battle points, Avalon quickly made a short report for Wace to see after he formed his core.


    Wace had been monitoring this detail for some reason.


    Soon, Avalon focused most of its operating speed at the factory at the Cove City. The ce was no longer just for VR Pod production''s but also the Mech Frame that Wace wanted to produce has started its production there.


    Unfortunately, they only have 10 QBCS and if they wanted to produce more, they have to downgrade their quality and copy the Iron Knight''s sync system.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace was still inside the basement and Avalon was handling themunications being received.


    "I want to speak with Wace..."


    "He is not avable at the moment. You can leave a message for him and I''ll immediately convey it to Wace once he returned."


    "Did he left any messages for his Senior Apprentice? I''m Lacus Minerva. Can''t you do something about it?"


    "I understand. If you are hurrying, I would like to know if it''s rted to his request regarding his ns to purchase a plot ofnd or is it rted to the Mage Doctor."


    "Both, It''s about thewyer and the Mage Doctor... "


    "Very well..."


    Avalon followed Wace''s instruction and tried to get all the details.


    It heard the good news but the two she invited were also busy people.


    "With regards to the Mage Doctor and the Lawyer, I can deal with them. I''ve been given authority to handle this concern. You can let them visit the vi we are staying at and I''ll exin everything to them..."

 Chapter 218 - Avalons Job

    "Fine... Let''s go with that."


    Lacus felt conflicted at first when she thought of handing this over to his junior apprentice''s secretary.


    But since he already left instructions, she can only agree and let the two people know.


    After she informed the two, they decided to give their contacts so they can personally speak with Avalon.


    Anyway, the task of thewyer helping them wasn''t thatplicated.


    The most difficult part of the job was to find someone who had a bit of influence in the Congress. But since he was selected by Lacus and even epted it immediately after knowing the specificities of the job, he must be capable.


    As for the Mage Doctor, Wace was nning to provide half of the Secret Art: Flowing Spirit first to confirm whether the person was truly capable of the job.


    Aside from these two, Avalon was also contacted by several people and even the other A.I.


    It almost feels like they were waiting for Wace to go into seclusion before thinking of contacting him.


    What a bad timing...


    But of course, Avalon didn''tin and answered all of them.


    [ When do you n to start building our agreed space fleet? ]


    [ Due to various circumstances, the production was nned to start after we acquire a plot ofnd. Thisnd will be used as the base of operations. We are currently dealing with the n to purchase. Do you want to provide assistance to hasten the arrangement? ]


    [ No. ]


    [ I understand. Then, please wait until we purchased and. ]


    Avalon then ended its conversation with Veda.


    Another call came in.


    "Hello? I need to speak with Wace. Please tell him that the temporary Headmaster of Leonhearts, was looking for him..."


    "He is unable to speak with you now but I can inform him once he can..."


    After acknowledging this, Miss Chamber exined that she was requesting Wace''s presence so he can announce his support for her at the iing meeting of the faculties and student councils.


    Apparently, a representative of the Ministry of Magic Education will arrive tomorrow in consideration of finding the suitable Headmaster of the Academy.


    The representative dered that he would like to consider the faculty and the student body''s opinion on this subject since if the representative couldn''t find the best candidate here, the ministry would be forced to send one of their internal members to be assigned in this Academy.


    On the night of the second day of Wace''s seclusion, Yumi came knocking outside of Wace''s vi.


    ***


    Today, Yumi found a clue about her cousin''s whereabouts.


    "Northern Continent, huh..."


    She muttered while nning to follow the lead they got but unfortunately, she can''t bring the officers working at the NMTI. They could only entrust the job to a small number of Lucent Force.


    The Lucent Force was small in number in the first ce.


    Since only the elite of the elites can pass its training and examinations. Although she trusted their capability, she can''t just stay here and do nothing.


    She can call two or three of her friends to apany her in the location but after remembering that there was someone with a mysterious ability and identity that she can ask, she quickly made up her mind as she went to his property even without an appointment.


    ''Anyway, he''s not attending sses. He should be at home, ying that game he made...''


    Yumi was also almost addicted to this game but she learned how to control herself. She recognized the revolutionary idea of the game but in the end, she decided not to y it after learning that she can''t shapeshift inside.


    ''Hmph! All mana-rted skills and techniques were working inside but Body''s Secret Arts are not...''


    While she wasining in her mind. She already reached the vi owned by Wace. Thetter didn''t inform her of his address but she was aware of this, simply because she can just quickly make a phone call to someone working at their intelligence department.


    "Ahh... This ce is really extravagant, huh."


    The aura emanating around the vi wasn''t so simple. A while ago, she can feel that even though she was 500 meters awayfrom the ce, someone was already monitoring her.


    She didn''t mind this because there was no ill intention included and was only observing her.


    ''Well, it doesn''t surprise me... His house was somehow hot to the eyes of burrs and criminals.''


    Thedy tried looking for a doorbell or any way to contact the person inside.


    As she didn''t notice anything like that, she decided to just call Wace on his phone. Enough for the surprise... Telling that she was already outside waiting was enough for that.


    But before she can make a call, a voice was suddenly heard from the small speaker outside. She thought that it was Wace at first but she quickly recognized the difference.


    "Miss Yumi of NMTI, how can I help you?"


    "Eh? Do you recognize me? Uhmm... I would like to talk with Wace..."


    "I''m sorry. He is not avable. I would suggest visiting in the next couple of days."


    "Really? He''s not here?"


    "He is here... But busy with something I can''t tell."


    "Is that so? I can just wait for him..."


    The voice stopped speaking. Yumi thought that it was consulting Wace or probably thinking about what to do. If the person was undecided, she probably needs to say more convincing words.


    "I''m willing to wait here as long as he meets me... Or perhaps you can invite me in?" Yumi said after realizing that it was a bit hot outside. There were no clouds blocking the sun as Yumi started to sweat a bit.


    Inside the house, Avalon was already preparing to receive thedy. After all, Wace ordered that if anyone visited him at the house...


    "Deal with them..." was his vague instruction.


    Now that thedy had said that she was willing to wait, Avalon couldn''t refuse since Wace wanted to create a mutual rtionship with this transformingdy that was also his strong connection to the NMTI.


    "Come in."


    The voice said as the gate of the vi opened. She was then approached by an automaton working as a gardener. It was previously gardening and trimming the hedges when it was ordered to receive Yumi and to lead her in the spacious living room.


    ***


    Yumi noticed that inside the vi waspletely different from the outside. It wasn''t easily noticed but after stepping into the gate, the wind blows different. The temperature was controlled and unlike her expectation that it was hot due to the burning sun, the breeze thates and go from time to time was very refreshing.


    ''Hmmm... I like this ce.''


    Yumi wasn''t surprised at the automaton leading her since although a small number, there were still rich people using it to serve themselves. Automatons that were used to do chores and such wasn''t rare but it was very expensive so it can''t be seen in the normal household.


    She was praising the ce but then, she realized that she was left alone in the living room.


    ''W-wait... Should I really wait here?''


    Yumi wasn''t sure when will Wacee as the voice didn''t say much.She was even waiting with that person in the gate to speak with her.


    ''Sigh~ Alright, I''ll just wait here... Anyway, I''m the one asking for a favor.''


    ***


    Hilda Calem and her group with other students from Leonhearts Academy were now about to start a high rank quest.


    The quest this time was very difficult. Luckily, it can bepleted anytime unlike other high rank quest that requires to bepleted in a specific time of the day.


    There were cases that they had to skip sses to y the game and finish the quest but they don''t want to do that again.


    Luckily, the game masters or the creator heeds their request and made the quests more essible.


    Hilda was about to meet her team so she checked the mission while she still have some time.


    [ Team Quest: Pilot''s Final Test


    Thanks to Freya, you learned how to pilot an aircraft created by the invaders. This time, find four more people that passed the four pilot examinations and capture one of the invader''s spacecraft!


    Team: 5/5


    Mission Reward: Unknown


    Time limit: None ]


    She was getting excited just by imagining that they will be flying an aircraft and escape in the midst of the enemies.


    If this almost suicide mission was sessful, then the rewards will surely be bountiful. She was hoping that she''ll receive those Mana Rejuvenation vials that could remove exhaustion and easily be filled with Mana again.


    "Here!"


    Soon, Hilda saw Escanor, Shirley, and the others as they started to chat a bit.


    Everyone already checked their inventories. There were Holy Elixirs, drones, automatons, Mana Artifacts, grenades, top ss guns in case they exhausted Mana, and other hi tech devices that only exists in this game.


    No one was nervous as even if they failed the mission today, they can just try again.


    After all, they learned that they were the first people who received this mission ording to the system''s announcement.


    It means that they will stillhave the advantage of clearing it first even if they failed once.


    Soon, the group set off to start their quest.

 Chapter 219 - Flower

    Charles Mavis was the previous chief of the Mage Doctor''s Department under the Ministry of Magic Education.


    Although he has been reced by Mr. Chester Cornfield, who was tasked to identify the Cryptic Link Serum, it was within his consent since he was already old for the job.


    Right now, he just wanted to live a rxing life and the only thing that interests him was his hobby of taking care of various nts.


    Though he was still helping to teach a few kids from the n about the doctor''s path. It wasn''t consuming much of his time since it only happens once a month. After all, he still wanted someone from his n to follow a few of his footsteps.


    In his courtyard within the territory of the Mavis n, there were a lot of exotic nts that could never be seen growing in this country. Many of them were exported from various countries and a couple of them were even from the northern continent. This was his treasure and today, someone offered him to add something on his collection...


    "Lightning Spirit Flower?"


    "Yes, a flower that can only grow by bathing in lightning for three years continuously. Only after that, it can live alone as the flower could attract lightning for its own use..."


    "I heard as much... But, do you really have it, youngdy?"


    "I''ve been taking care of a couple of them. Last month, one of the two has bloomed already...I no longer have to supply it with lightning... Oh, but I didn''t bring it with me."


    "Hoho... Then what do you want in exchange?"


    "I heard your reputation in the medical field..."


    Lacus said as she smiled mysteriously at the old man. Charles Mavis has long white hair and wrinkled skin due to old age. He was probably more than 100 years old already. Even with his knowledge in medicine and mana, it could not defy the passing of time.


    But thedy saw differently, ever since she entered the courtyard of the respectable man, she had clearly felt the strong vigoring from him. He wasn''t weakened or anything like in the rumors and seems to be strong enough to contend the aura of her master.


    "Medical field, huh... Is there a disease or patient that Dr. Mao couldn''t handle?"


    "He went together with master... and I think that you''ll handle this case pretty well. Dr. Mao specializes in Enhancement and a bit of Alteration. But you specialized in the three paths. You''re the only one I know with the highest attainment in Mysticism... Also, your reputation for dealing with high profile cases was admirable. The task we are requesting must be kept in absolute secrecy that''s why I''ve chosen you..."


    "Ho~ You have a high standard, huh... So, you wanted to borrow my skill in medical field in exchange for your flower?"


    "Mhmm..."


    "Then, we have a deal. Come..."


    Charles invited Lacus to have tea with him to further discuss their cooperation. Then, after she worked hard for this... She learned that she can''t even speak with Wace and could only tell the old man about the situation. At the very least, the old man seems to be more interested after hearing who was going to be his client today.


    "Wace Ravencroft..."


    He muttered after seeing the background of the young man that was hiring a high-rank mage doctor.


    He was actually a bit skeptical about epting the mysterious job he has to undertake but seeing that there was a Mavis blood flowing through the veins of the young man, he decided that it would be interesting to meet him...


    ***


    Avalon was trying to determine the best way to treat thedy in the living room. Using the previous reference they had, Avalon let thedy watch T.V. and have a snack or tea.


    Although she was different from the Manager Diana Humeray, they were bothdies with unique auraing from them.


    On the other hand, Yumi was very curious about the automaton that was serving her.


    ''Does it mean that the previous voice was just programmed? Artificial Intelligence that could make conversation? Very interesting... Let me see the limit, can it converse even with random topics?''


    It was the start of a long conversation between Avalon and Yumi. Avalon wanted to apany thedy so that it wouldn''t hurt Wace''s reputation by some rumors that say that his visitors weren''t being treated nicely.


    As for Wace''s example with the previous visitors, Wace treated them nicely and even serve them food. Anyway, it was still within Wace''s instruction of "Deal with them".


    "Do you watch television or listening to the news?"


    "Yes."


    "Do you know my rtionship with Wace? That''s really interesting..."


    "Yes. I was told that you work in NMTI."


    "Hmm... I also met him at Araceli Ind in Montego. Though, he was wearing armor at that time..."


    "I have no knowledge of this."


    "Heh?~ Is that so. Did Wace made you?"


    "I cannot answer."


    Although most of her questions weren''t answered, she was still surprised that everything that she says was being understood. She was amazed by this intelligent creature talking and responding to whatever she says.


    She almost felt that someone was controlling this automaton and hidden somewhere in the building but she doubts this. By having a long conversation with it, she easily realized that it wascking emotions even though its response was spontaneous at times.


    The voice behind the automaton was monotonous and no topic could rouse its interest or change its tone. She might suggest to Wace to better this part of its function.


    Conversing with this thing may be more engaging if it could make some expressions.


    Anyway, it no longer bores her to wait here.


    ***


    Hilda''s group were now infiltrating the Dorssian Empire''s hangar.


    They were wearing the suits worn by empire''s soldiers. Due to its impressive function that can adjust to its wearer, there was no problem about their sizes.


    Unfortunately, there was still a huge challenge. Most of the infiltration missions were conducted during the cover of the night but this time, they were doing this in broad daylight.


    It was because the generalmanding the base that they were targeting has left temporarily.


    The general possess a unique physique that could easily defeat an Adept with its bare hands. It was a very scary trait and no one wanted to fight that guy head-on.


    Luckily, the general brought all the members of their elite squad as his bodyguard. It was the best time toplete the mission!


    Escanor, one of the members of their team wasn''t even abat mage. Although he looks like one, he wasn''t that confident fighting professionalbatants and could only do some supports for them. Their timing of attack was in favor for him.


    He was an outstanding member of their team that has easily learned all the advanced knowledge being taught in the game. He created many weapons that can only be found in this world and he was even the first yer who passed the Pilot Licensure Exam by Freya.


    He was an irreceable member of their group though he was weak inbat.


    Right now, the members except for Escanor were getting ready to board the aircraft.


    It was nerve-wracking considering that any inappropriate movements could lead to being discovered and busting their mission.


    Although it was okay to fail their first try, no one wanted to be the cause of their team''s failure.


    As they got closer to their target by having a perfect disguise, they all waited for Escanor who separated with them to disable all the rms. He also had to bypass the control system blocking the gates. It would be a problem if the aircraft couldn''t fly out after boarding it.


    Whew~


    "I''m done... Wait for my signal." Escanor announced using their Wave Radio. It was a product of an Arcane Artificer that helps themmunicate without using any electronics but through the use of the ever present Mana only.


    "Mhmm..." Everyone nodded as they waited for the sign.


    Then, Escanor took his time to arrive at their targeted aircraft as he nervously waited for something to happen. The smooth steel-hulled aircraft was shining ck and looks brand new.


    Baam!


    A weak explosion caused by a short circuit in the power room surprised many soldiers working at the hangar.


    The light in the whole building turns off but the electric generators quickly started to work and the light came back.


    The ck out only ured for about three seconds. But it was enough for these gamers.


    They boarded the aircraft as they waited for another sign to kick in before they cause havoc in the ce and use the confusion to buy time in activating the aircraft.


    Escanor was tasked to be the main pilot of the aircraft and Shirley was to utilized the weapons it possess...


    "How''s the armor of this thing?" Ray Penber asked after he confirmed to everyone that no one was indeed inside this 100 meter long aircraft.


    It didn''t surprise them since that was part of their n. They waited for the maintenance to bepleted this morning before they started.


    "Pretty thin, but it has several energy shields topensate. Anyway, we have long range anti-matter guns and short-range anti-barrier guns... Fully loaded." Shirley said while grinning.


    "Then? What are we waiting for?"

 Chapter 220 - Not Just A Game

    Avalon received amunication from the Mage Doctor whom Lacus rmended. It answered the call while one of the automatons it controls was still aodating Yumi in the living room.


    It simply multi-tasked and conversed with the Doctor.


    "Hello? I already gave my number to you but I haven''t been contacted at all. Are you really going to hire me? Oh, by the way, I''m the Doctor that passed your requirements..."


    The old man sounds cheerful thinking that he will be speaking to the young boy with Mavis blood.


    He decided to contact him first as he also wanted to finish the job as soon as possible to get the flower he wanted.


    Anyway, as long as he cooperated and did his best, even if he didn''tplete the job, Lacus would still give him the flower. But he doesn''t want that.


    He wanted to earn that flower with his skills. It wouldn''t feel good to him if he gets it even if he failed the job.


    Though, he noticed the seriousness in Lacus'' words before. It means that even with his reputation and knowledge that had almost reached the peak of the three paths of Mage Doctor someone was still thinking that he may fail.


    It was an interesting challenge for him so he was now quite interested in this.


    "I apologize. Sir Wace was still busy at the moment. But since you are already on the phone, I can just discuss the task with you."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes. If you are worried about someone tapping on our conversation, you don''t have to. I already checked thework and there shouldn''t be a problem."


    "No... Well, I want to discuss this job personally. I may not be satisfied just by hearing it over the phone."


    If that''s what it takes for the man to take the job, Avalon can only concede and let him visit here.


    "Alright, I''ve sent the address in your device. You can visit anytime."


    The man also needed to know this address so Avalon just gave it.


    ***


    Yumi was surprised after hearing that another visitor was about to arrive at the young man''s vi. She was even asked by the Artificial Intelligence or Avalon to receive him at the front gate.


    It seems that Avalon decided to get assistance with a real human since Wace and the Mage Doctor weren''t that close yet. The man might get too surprised or untrusting if he learned that he was only making a deal with an A.I.


    In short, Avalon deemed that Yumi and Wace were close enough to make this kind of small request. Of course, Yumi didn''t mind it and was even quite happy that there would be another person waiting here.


    "Who''s visiting him today?"


    "Charles, a Mage Doctor that Wace hired."


    "Charles? Alright... Is it an old man?" Yumi knows a lot of Mage Doctor because of her job. Part of her work in NMTI was to license the medicine that the Mages came up to.


    It wasn''t her main role to confirm the medicine''s effectivity but more on its legality and paperwork. Anyway, Yumi visited today as a 23-year-old female so she was thinking whether to keep her appearance with the other visitor.


    After all, whenever she works at NMTI, she was using her middle-aged woman appearance to look more professional and reliable on work.


    "Yes, he is an old man." Avalon answered.


    "Mhmm... Alright! Wait... Old man? Mage Doctor and has the name of Charles? Don''t tell me its the legendary Mage Charles Mavis?!"


    "No records states that he is a "legendary Mage" but his name is indeed Charles Mavis."


    "Of course you wouldn''t find that out. His patients were all high-profile and his deeds were never recorded to the public. Only individuals with outstanding backgrounds were aware of his exploits. Some average people only know his brilliant works but not his name. He wasn''t appearing in the public as he wished for a simple life... or so I hear."


    Yumi seems to be surprised and Avalon took a note of it. The A.I. may be unaware but Veda surely knows more about it. It can just consult the other A.I. if necessary.


    She didn''t have to wait long as the man arrived at the front gate of the vi just within a couple of hours.


    ***


    Charles arrived outside of the vi and he was sure that the ce wasn''t so simple. Although it feels empty on the outside, he was feeling a powerful and threatening auraing from the within. He wasn''t sure what that is yet and he would like to find out.


    This didn''t stop him from approaching the ce and it even made him a bit expectant about the job he was about to take.


    As soon as he stands outside, the gate opened and a little girl around 8 or 9 years old weed him.


    ''His little sister?''


    "Hello, Sir Charles. We are expecting you. Please,e in..."


    "Sure, was your name ire?"


    "Eh? No, I''m Hani... Sorry for thete introduction."


    "That''s fine..."


    Charles tried to be polite and didn''t further ask about her rtionship with Wace. She may be his cousin he was unaware of or some friend. She may even be the patient he has to treat.


    After all, the information he found through Veda was only his direct family members. He was thinking that Wace may not be too important yet to have more records within the mysterious informationwork.


    He followed the youngdy in the living room but as soon as he stepped inside, he felt something.


    He felt that something was going on below him or in the underground. He wasn''t too sure.


    Although it was subtle, it was there.


    Below him was definitely a source of unimaginable power!


    ''What''s happening here?!''


    He noticed manyyers of protection blocking the energy deep underground but due to his proficiency in Spirit Arts, he can feel the restlessness of spirits around.


    He tries to remain calm as he was sure that the person who hired him would be able to exin. It might even be rted to his job.


    Gulp...


    ''Lacus was right... This seems to be something very difficult...''


    He hasn''t heard the job yet but he was sure that it wouldn''t be simple.


    ***


    "We''re all good!"


    Lina shouted as she confirms that all the systems were green.


    Escanor didn''t hesitate as he started to operate the ship.


    "Leave it to me! Hilda! I need 20 seconds..."


    "Alright!"


    He starts its engine which activated every system it possesses including the energy shields. But this brought attention to the soldiers...


    Hilda and the others controlled the now activated energy shield and weapons to defend the aircraft from being shot down.


    Everything was still within their expectation so Shirley quickly operated them.


    "Grand Strife Seven! Grand Strife Seven! Stop your engine now!"


    A message was repeatedly being announced hoping that their team would follow.


    After ignoring the message three times, the soldiers below started firing at the aircraft they called Grand Strife Seven.


    "Destroy the aircraft now! It''s stolen! No need to capture it! Just destroy! Use every arsenal you can just to stop that from leaving!"


    One of the officers shouted and led the other soldiers to fire at will.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t get past its energy shield. Their enemy seems to be well aware of how to operate their aircraft. The Sevens shouldn''t be aware of their technology...


    "Tsk! There must be some spies among us..." The officer said as he looked at the other soldiers.


    Some soldiers tried to bring cannons and even activated their Mech Frames in an attempt to destroy the aircraft''s engine...


    Soon, they heard that the hangar''s gate was slowly opening!


    "Stop it! Close the gates!"


    "Our system was being overridden! We can''t control it!"


    "What?! How did they do that?!"


    The engine was now fully functional as the hundred meters long spacecraft floated steadily and rushed outside!


    "Oh no! Follow it! Hurry!"


    Due to the suddenness of the operation, there was a dy in their response and they couldn''t quickly arrange a group that would pursue the enemies. It took them over a minute to assemble a unit and with the speed of the stolen spacecraft, it would be very difficult to catch it.


    The officer in charge despaired at this failure. Only a few hours had passed when the general left the base and this bad news has to be reported!


    It can only describe his ipetence and he may be subject to demotion.


    Sigh~


    It was very bad luck for him.


    While he was sad about the fact that he was about to get demoted, Hilda''s team was celebrating their sess as they brought the stolen aircraft to their hidden stronghold.


    Soon, they received an amazing reward!


    "Hey... Did I read this right?"


    Ray Penber asked after seeing the generous reward of the system.


    Apparently, aside from the in-game items that they will receive, there was a single and genuine Bottle of Mana Rejuvenation that will be sent to the address they agreed on.


    There was also a note telling them to expect better real-life items in the future...


    "T-this..."


    They will receive a very important real-life item just like that?


    What could be the rewards next?


    There will be something more valuable in the future?


    Is this true?


    It didn''t take long before everyone realizes that this was the starting point where the yers will be more serious about this game.

 Chapter 221 - Flowing Spirit

    Charles wanted to know more about his job here but after he was led by the little girl in the living room, no one came to meet him.


    The little girl disappeared for a couple of minutes before returning with a snack.


    "You''ve just arrived, you need to rest first Sir Mage Doctor."


    "Oh, thank you, littledy. I heard that Wace wasn''t present but someone would still ry the job on me."


    "That''s correct. That someone wanted to meet you inside the virtual world. After you rested, I''ll lead you there."


    "Is that so?"


    Charles looked at the high-quality tea that was served and he took a sip on it.


    It was good but not on par with his tea at home but he did notment.


    "Alright... I''m good."


    The little girl or Hani then led him to the room where a VR pod was already prepared. From the moment he arrives here, he had not seen any automatons at all.


    It seems that Avalon decided to hide them for some reason.


    "Ho~ I heard about this... It is currently popr with young kids.Am I right?"


    "Yes... It is called a Virtual Reality Pod. Inside was a Virtual World that... Well, you''ll see it for yourself. Uhmm... This VR pod was specially made. You can just enter the pod andyfortably and say the words Start Link."


    Hani said like she was reading something.


    "Alright..."


    ''We''ll meet in the virtual world? Is it to ensure that no information will be leaked?''


    Charles thought as he tried guessing the person''s intention. He still followed the little girl as hey downfortably at the VR Pod.


    Anyway, the pod doesn''t possess any dangerousponents as he could see. He quicklyplied and entered the Virtual World after muttering the words.


    He was brought to a white room where a figure was waiting for him. There were an empty chair and a table between them.


    "Nice to meet you, Sir Charles. I''m Avalon."


    "I see... You are Wace''s representative?" Charles wanted to confirm the person''s identity first.


    "Yes... Would you like to hear the details of your job now?"


    "Uhmm... Before that, are you a human?"


    The old man couldn''t help but ask since the one speaking with him was only a ck figure of a man. It doesn''t have any face and was just a silhouette of an adult male


    "I''m an Artificial Intelligence."


    "..."


    "I was tasked by Sir Wace to ry the information about your job. Do you have an idea of what that is?"


    "No..."


    "Very well. It was about the Secret Art called Flowing Spirit."


    "That''s an interesting Art... Unfortunately, no one has obtained theplete technique... It must have been destroyed through the passage of time... If I''m not mistaken, only half of it was found and it''s now gathering dust in a collector''s shelf..."


    Charles said not hiding what he knows about the Art.


    "It is good that you have heard of it. We have obtained more than half of the Secret Arts and we needed your help to figure it out. Look at these two parts..."


    Avalon manifested a book containing a part of the Secret Art. Avalon gave some time for Charles to read its content.


    "Hmmm... It is somehow the same as what I''ve seen before. Honestly, I''ve seen about 30% of this iplete Art... But this is too difficult..."


    "What did you find difficult?"


    "Well, the aim of the Flowing Spirit is to create another vessel for one''s self. The one who can perform this was indeed a Mage Doctor that possesses knowledge in both Soul Arts and Spirit Arts. Because I studied the Mysticism Path of Mage Doctors, I have some knowledge about the Soul Arts but..."


    Charles paused for a bit before continuing with a grave tone.


    "The person that will be subjected to this Art must endure the tearing of their soul and spirit for that to be ced sessfully in another vessel... If I''m not mistaken, the missing part of this Art was a secret method to ensure the safety of the subject."


    "You are notpletely wrong... The missing part included a method to lessen the burden of the subject when his soul was being torn apart and being ced in another vessel. But the most important part was thepatibility with the vessel...


    "I won''t show the missing part yet... I will give you a test."


    "Will that be done here?"


    "No, I''m already preparing something outside... Your test would only let us know about your attainment in both Soul Arts and Spirit Arts. If we deemed that you have the skills, we''ll go ahead and let you learn theplete Flowing Spirit."


    "I will be tested first? Hahaha! I haven''t heard that for a long time... Very well, I''ll take that test!"


    "Alright. Before that, we''ll have to sign a contract. It includes the non-disclosure agreement and payment about this job. If you fail the job, you will not pay anything but we would like you to keep a secret about our possession of the Secret Art."


    "Mhmm... That''s fine for me."


    ***


    On the third day of Wace''s seclusion, Charles was in a secret room somewhere in the vi while Yumi was just ying the VR game to pass the time.


    Although she hated that she can''t use her Body''s Secret Art inside, there was nothing else to do so she can only try enjoying herself inside the game.


    But suddenly while she was ying the game, an earthquake urred outside and the system of the VR Pod warned him about it inside the game.


    [ An earthquake with magnitude 4.1 has been detected in the real world and your location was found as the epicenter. Confirm your body''s safety outside. Your progress will be saved and you''ll be forcefully logged out in 5... 4... 3... 2... ]


    "Eh?"


    Yumi came returned to the real world but the earthquake seems to have ended... She checked the surroundings and everything was in ce and no cracks on the ground whatsoever.


    ''As expected of his house...''


    Yumimented since this is a Magician''s house, light earthquakes like that won''t affect the entirety of its magic formation protecting it from external attacks.


    As she was about to ignore it and re-enter the game, another earthquake happened. It felt stronger than magnitude 4.1. Unfortunately, no automaton of Avalon can be seen so she can''t ask.


    "An aftershock?"


    It didn''t take long as well and the shaking stopped. She waited for some time and it no longer happened...


    "Well, that''s it?"


    Yumi then returned to the game forgetting about this incident.


    ***


    There was a forum online stating that ying the currently popr game called Alien Invasion would reward people a rare item that will be given in the real world.


    No one believed in this at first but several proofs were shown online.


    A screenshot of the in-game announcement and the item itself was posted on the inte and various tform.


    Some people weren''t sure whether it was a marketing strategy of thepany desperate to have people purchase their VR pod or it was just a promotion in limited time.


    "Hey? Do you think this is real?"


    "Yes! Of course, some of the researchers had even confirmed that the theory for thosesers and other advanced tech weapons were entirely possible!"


    "That''s right! Didn''t you realize that many unknown weapons and super engines can be used in real life!"


    "I support that! The engine used in Stratos Falcon Fighter Jet can even surpass the speed of sound by three times! There was nothing like that before! Engineers and other magicians didn''t even think that surpassing the speed of sound was possible! No one had that line of thought but this game defied that! Blueprints and other pieces of knowledge like these kept appearing to the lucky people..."


    "Hmph! I got a blueprint of F-22 Mustang and P-51 Raptor! Although they weren''t strong fighter jetspared to what the Dorssian Empire uses, it was a good foundation to learn more about their technology. I wouldn''t share that too!"


    "Yeah! There were people like this receiving amazing blueprints of various weapons but they wouldn''t dare to reveal it. Some only show iplete data and avoiding its most important part, the engine that was used... I thought it wasn''t real at first but ever since I got one on my own, I realized that I wouldn''t want to show it to others too. I work hard for it you know!"


    Discussions like these were happening everywhere and even caught the attention of various groups.


    After all, the Bottle of Mana Rejuvenation was extremely rare. They were not aware whether this is a one time reward or it will happen again. There may even be better rewards since the game was justunched not long ago.


    In short, the powerful groups couldn''t let the opportunity pass! A lot of unknown blueprints of mystical weapons, engines, aircraft, and even a rare item in the real world were within their reach! They must buy the game pod immediately and have their people y the game and get all those for themselves!

 Chapter 222 - Astral Core

    Wace remembers the five skills that he can learn in the future. The Void Phase, Matter Disassembly, Essence Reconstruction, Astral Core Formtion, and Chasm Trample.


    With all these skills, he may not be the strongest magician but he will be the most versatile one and he would be able to contend against the Celestial Beings at the northern continent.


    That''s right, after integrating himself with a Celestial Fragment to form the Astral Core, he understood a lot of things about their existence. It was also due to the Empire''s Prince''s logbook that exined almost half of it.


    The Celestial Being was the perfected creature that the Prince wanted to use against the empire... But they became too powerful and they no longer listened to his instructions pushing him to flee from the northern continent.


    They no longer require the world''s mana to be a mana practitioner as they are the ones creating mana using the core inside their body. It was simr to his Astral Core but because Wace only used a small fragment, if it waspared to the Celestial Beings who possess aplete core, then what he has wascking.


    Fortunately, having an iplete core was still the best for him. After all, if he had a perfect Astral Core like what the Celestial Beings possess, his flesh will cease to exist and will be reced by aplete form of energy.


    He would no longer be capable of learning other skills like Chasm Trample, Matter Disassembly, and other skills that require the physical flesh as a base.


    These are the things he realized afterpleting his core.


    He felt obviously d seeing his strength increased by arge margin but unfortunately, it was still not enough to fight an Empire that controls several gxies.


    He may be considered a strong foe here but he still can''tpare to the material power that the Empire could bring to defeat a strong individual.


    Anyway, he hasn''t evenpared his strength against a magician that surpassed the level of an Adept... or an Arcane Sage.


    Wace wasn''t sure how long has passed when he managed to fully learn the technique. He doesn''t have a sense of time while he was creating the core so he was a bit worried that a long time had gone by without his knowledge.


    "It''s a mess, huh..."


    He muttered while looking at the basement filled with cracks on the ground and on its walls. The containers of the energies he used were also destroyedpletely.


    As a matter of fact, the mess he was referring to was only those cracks as the room waspletely empty... He wasn''t sure but they most likely disintegrated while he was in the critical part of learning the skill.


    He was even naked at the moment due to the sheer power that was released when he formed his Astral Core...


    Because of that, he can''t ask Avalon.


    ''This ce was really sturdy...''


    Wace thought as he surveyed the basement room. The power he released should''ve destroyed a normal high-rise building but the magic formation engraved managed to hold on and protected the whole vi.


    It means that beyond this room waspletely safe since the walls and ceiling weren''t fully destroyed.


    Wace used his Divine Sense and noticed that there were two more people outside. He had no idea what''s happening but before he asked the two or maybe Avalon instead, he checked the rewards from the Pathfinder.


    "Eh?"


    As he was about to check the rewards, he noticed that the old man just now reacted to his Divine Sense. Although it was dyed due to something he was working on, he definitely sensed his skill usage.


    "He must be the skilled Mage Doctor that Senior Lacus rmended..."


    After confirming this, he no longer hesitated to check the Pathfinder''s message.


    [ Congrattions! You have sessfully created your Astral Core!


    You are gradually achieving your goals.


    Remember that your own strength is something that you can trust and rely on at any time. ]


    [ You have received an Extreme Potion of Divine Sense. ]


    [ You have received a Map of the Northern Continent ]


    [ You have received a Mystery Box x3 ]


    Wace was satisfied at the rewards he just got and quickly materialized a vial containing the potion...


    He drank the liquid immediately and it felt different from his previous consumptions. It felt cool and refreshing...


    ''Is this due to my Astral Core or a natural reaction?''


    He couldn''t answer but he was sure that his Astral Core that was formed just a little below his sternum was definitely working non-stop for the sake of his body.


    He waited for a moment as he was still feeling the effects of the potion...


    The moment the refreshing feeling disappeared, he tried to use his Divine Sense again to the same old man.


    "Better..."


    Sure enough, the Mage Doctor was no longer detecting his Divine Sense!


    Unfortunately, the man didn''t really focus on his Soul Arts but instead in Spirit Arts. So he must still try it to the idols at the academy or maybe to Miss Chamber herself.


    ''You shouldn''t regret it...''


    He remembers that he made an artifact for them to shield themselves for his Divine Sense... Right now, he felt that even without his trick, he would be able to use it stealthily.


    As he was about to use his Void Phase to go to his room to get a change of clothes, he suddenly remembered to try something so he paused for a moment.


    "Let''s see..."


    Wace used his Void Phase again and appeared outside of his room but this time, he used the energy in his Astral Core. He used it again and appeared just a few meters from his previous location, he was now inside his room.


    After he reappeared, he felt satisfied with the experimentation. He used his Astral Core and his Mana Reserves for the Void Phase.


    Possessing the core doesn''t mean that he can no longer use the world''s Mana, unlike the Celestials which was convenient.


    The Astral Core was mainly used to add on his strength or for more options inbat...


    Soon, Wace wore a simple shirt and shorts to meet the two people after asking Avalon about the details on what happened while he was out.


    He had also learned that he was in seclusion for three and a half days!


    And during that time, a lot of things happened!


    ***


    Somewhere in the Northern Continent, there were two people working together to get out of a maze...


    They believed that they were inside a building or probably an underground base and they were finding a way out.


    Unfortunately...


    "Why are their numbers kept increasing?!"


    A female voice was heard and she sounded very irritated. The two had been fighting against their enemies for a long time already.


    "Who knows?! You''re the one who brought us here!"


    Her malepanion answered as he swept his arms and formed a wind de cutting the man-eating nt that was trying to strangle them.


    Their enemies weren''t beast or humans but were instead nts that kept growing and extending its branches to strangle the two and its flowers trying to eat them. The nts were weak but their numbers were too many and at some point, they even had to escape.


    They couldn''t find its core whatever strategy they did.


    It just kept appearing after some time had passed.


    "Tsk... If I just brought all my weapons here... This wouldn''t be a problem."


    The middle-aged man said as heined at their situation.


    "Let''s rest for now..."


    They just cleared the nts and it would be some time before it appears again. They had to recover some of their energy before moving again.


    Sigh~


    The man looked at his dirtied robe and felt regretful that he didn''t flee fast enough and was caught here.


    "Next time... Don''t use the special properties of a Sealed Mana Artifact if you don''t know what is it."


    Percival said to Avery.


    During their fight in Tanza City, Avery was defeated due to the Headmaster''s experience and superb control of his mana. Although a Sealed Mana Artifact was powerful, it needed a trained magician to maximize it''s potential or it will just be wasted.


    Avery realized this toote but at the moment that she was about to get captured, she willed the Heart''s Grimoire to activate its untested special ability.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t help her to gain more strength or to kill her target...Instead, the two were transported to an altar somewhere... They weren''t even sure if they are still in the Tanza City at first but after a few days of investigation and checking of clues found in the surroundings, they realized that they were in the northern continent.


    ''As expected of Celestial Being''s heart... It could even transport people from far away to this ce...''


    Percival wasn''t exactly sure but he already had a guess on why the grimoire''s special ability was to bring them here.

 Chapter 223 - Previous Body ( Part 1 )

    Wace was about to visit the room where the Mage Doctor was working but he suddenly noticed that the young girl ying the game disconnected from the Virtual World.


    It can easily be noticed since there will be a glowing white light on the VR Pod if the gamer was ying inside. It will naturally turn off if the yer disconnected.


    Wace was sure that his Divine Sense felt that it was a little girl lyingfortably inside but when she was about to open her pod, she probably noticed his presence and the young girl became a youngdy in her twenties...


    "Oh, Wace. You''re no longer busy? That took you some time!"


    Yumi greeted the man as she gently moves out of the VR pod. Her small dress no longer fits her current body showing her white unblemished skin.


    Thedy version of her would definitely not lose out to Miya, as a matter of fact, her mature beauty was even more attractive in Wace''s opinion.


    Of course, he didn''t forget that thisdy should be around the age of her cousin, the Headmaster Percival...


    Anyway, Wace greeted her back and asked.


    "Why are you here?"


    "Ah? Already on business, huh. You''re in a hurry? Fine..."


    "Not really... I''m just curious, you never visited me before..."


    "Is that so? Well, I have an important matter to discuss. I''ll prepare my things first, we can discuss this as well after we eat our dinner..."


    It seems that thedy already got used to eating here as it felt natural for her to say that.


    "Very well..."


    He was about to end their conversation but he suddenly remembered something.


    "By the way, how was your influence within the NMTI?"


    The sudden question confused her. Her position was well known by the kid, and he must be able to tell her influence with that.


    "Huh? Just so-so..."


    Yumi just answered halfheartedly but after she saw that Wace wasn''t satisfied and was about to leave, she added...


    "I''m very influential if I''ll use my background within the NMTI! As long as it''s within NMTI''s scope of the job, I can even move 5-10 branches for my cause, impressive right?"


    Thedy proudly announced and Wace was satisfied at hearing this. As expected to an Adept with such a high-level body transformation skill.


    "Hmm... If that''s the case... Avalon, let her read a part of the tranted book..."


    [ Should we remove the blueprint''s part? ]


    "Correct..."


    Avalonplied as an Elysium came to bring a device containing an online copy of the tranted logbook of Prince Zaimphail.


    "What''s this all about?" Yumi asked as she was lost at the two''s conversation.


    "Nothing, make sure to read that before we meet at dinnerter."


    "Really? I''ll try... if it''s not interesting then don''t me me for not finishing it." She was telling the truth, it wasn''t her thing to read some books. It bores her a lot.


    Wace was satisfied at this as he left Yumi under Avalon''s care and proceeded to meet the old man.


    "Avalon... You mentioned that he''s Charles Mavis... Do I have any blood rtion with him?"


    [ No information found in public data but Veda provided details that he should be your mother''s great grandfather or as it says in the papers it found. ]


    "Papers? Alright..."


    ''I''ll be asking him as well to make sure about that. Anyway, he probably knows my identity too so he might be the one telling the story without me asking...''


    Wace thought as he walked outside the room dedicated to the Mage Doctor.


    It seems that Avalon had informed the man already as he opened the door to meet Wace.


    "Hello, Sir Mavis. I''m Wace. I''m sorry that I only had time to meet you today."


    "That''s fine... You can just call me Grandpa Charles... Hahaha!"


    The old man seems to be happy as heughed wholeheartedly.


    "Grandpa? Haha... Indeed. Although I''m not fully aware of our family situation... if you don''t mind calling you that then I shouldn''t too..."


    But honestly, he felt that he should call the old man as ''ancestor'' instead. He was sure that this man was a living fossil.


    Soon, the Mage Doctor excitedly got into the business. He was eager to discuss the Flowing Spirit that he was trying to learn. His age didn''t matter as it excites him whenever he discovers something new.


    Although he hadn''t received the full Secret Art yet, Avalon had given him more than half and this made him look forward to the time when he learned it fully.


    He already passed the A.I.''s test and it was just waiting for confirmation with Wace to continue the transferring of knowledge.


    The Secret Arts almost defied what he had learned about human life. He had never thought that it was possible for a living person to keep another life. He thought that it was only a legend or a fantasy created by the imaginations of the hopeful people.


    "So... the Flowing Spirit can really help preserve life. No, not preserving but cloning life..."


    The old man said as he was exining what he learned.


    "Mhmm... That''s what I realized as well. Based on the first part of the Art... it states that a man wasposed of soul, spirit, and body. The Secret Art can be used to eitherpletely transfer the soul and spirit to a different body or it can be used to take a small part of the soul and spirit to be transferred to another vessel."


    "I assume that you want this second function, right?"


    Charles confirmed since Avalon already hinted this before.


    "Yes... That''s correct."


    "Very well... If you can give me theplete Secret Art then I only needed a month or less and we can perform the operation..."


    The man was filled with confidence. He was truly a goodborer.


    "Is that true?"


    Wace was truly impressed at this. But part of him was also worried that the man was rushing things...


    "Don''t worry, it depends on thepatibility of the spirit and soul to the new vessel. Avalon told me that the other body that will be used had a 99%patibility rate if not 100%... Is that right?"


    "That''s correct..."


    Wace remembered that it was indeed the case. With his previous body, there shouldn''t be any form of rejection that will happen and it will lessen the probability of failing...


    Anyway, he had to give him some time to truly master the Art and he will even make some arrangements to try experimentations before performing it to him to ensure its safety.


    The two chatted more for a while as Charles only talked about the Arts. No discussion about their n at all.


    Wace didn''t mind that since he instructed Avalon to coordinate with Veda to ensure that the old man doesn''t have any ill intentions against him.


    Wace offered to have dinner with him together with Yumi but the old man requested that he''ll eat within the workshop as he was still in the middle of experimentation.


    The young man nodded as he went into the dining room and met with Yumi.


    "Did you read the book?"


    "Yeah... Is this another plot for your game? Well, the Alien Invasion was already good. I heard that you are earning from there for quite a lot."


    "Eh?"


    "I mean... Is this your hobby? I think you should focus more on Artifact Forging. You are the 5th apprentice, remember?"


    Yumi was actually impressed at the book. She was thinking that it was a part of his materials to be included inside the game.


    "That''s true, but..."


    "I heard that the apprentices of a Grand Arcanist learn the method to create the 6th gen artifact. Don''t you think that you should maximize this skill? You can try practicing it, you know?"


    "T-this..."


    Wace wasn''t sure what to say to the youngdy. Of course, he doesn''t have ns to let this woman think as she likes. He would exin it to her but he was thinking about where to start...


    "What did you read on that book?"


    "Isn''t it somehow simr to your Alien Invasion plot? But this time, instead of an invasion, the one who arrived here wasn''t barbaric, and instead, they n to use the resources of this to create a living weapon or something, right? I was impressed by the topic of Mana Suffocation, I wonder if there were really some other people existing on the different... Where are you getting such inspirations? Are you one of them?"


    "Eh?" Wace was surprised to hear thedy''s words.


    "I''m just kidding... Let''s eat first..."


    Wace could only sigh as he nned to make her realize that the book wasn''t a prop to be used inside the game.


    He can only try as he wanted her to learn about the history included in the book since her connection to the NMTI would be very useful for his endeavor...


    Unfortunately, it seems that he needed the whole night to make her realize this.


    In the meantime, they didn''t waste the healthy food that Avalon prepared for them.They ate until they''re full as Yumi had also brought out the thing she wished to discuss.


    It was about the rescue team she wanted to establish...

 Chapter 224 - Previous Body ( Part 2 )

    Wace was surprised to hear about Yumi''s findings...


    "That''s very impressive... You managed to determine all of this due to the blood left by the headmaster and the Sealed Mana Artifact that was left?"


    Yumi exined that the Heart''s Grimoire possesses an unimaginable power before. But after they found it on the battlefield, they realized that aside from the brewing threat of Mana Cmity, there was no longer any danger acquiring the artifact.


    "That''s right... Luckily, we know someone that was capable of analyzing these Sealed Mana Artifacts..."


    "Ho~ Is it difficult to analyze them?"


    Wace asked as Yumi said it like she wasn''t working at the NMTI where many outstanding engineers worked at.


    He hadn''t encountered these Sealed things yet so he was unable to tell their strengths and capability. At most, he can base on the things he read online and the stories told by their instructors at the Academy...


    Veda might know something more but Wace doesn''t have time to have good chat with that A.I. yet.


    It must be enlightening talking to that knowledgeable A.I.


    "Of course! Those are Sealed Mana Artifacts! They were rumored to be parts of a Celestial Being!"


    "Parts?"


    "That''s right. The Heart''s Grimoire, Mourning Ear, Hallowed Eye, and Mind''s Arm are all Sealed Mana Artifacts and were said to made of a single Celestial Being..."


    It was his first time hearing this bit of information so he wasn''t sure how to react.


    "That doesn''t sound pleasant?"


    Wace voiced out his own opinion. He also remembered another Sealed Mana Artifact mentioned to him by his sister rice.*


    It was a Sealed Mana Artifact capable of dragging people into the user''s dream world. It was a scary ability if an injury caused within the dream world will actually be a reality. He remembers that it was called Dream Weaver''s Circlet and he was thinking whether it was actually made from the brain of a Celestial Being. But something doesn''t seem right...


    "Yeah, it doesn''t sound pleasant... But that should be the truth... These Artifacts were supposedly created to fight the strongest Mana Beast out there... It was proposed by a powerful organization to be the 6th gen Mana Artifact but all the governments from various countries opposed this method of creating artifacts. That was why aside from them being called as "Sealed" to avoid the Mana Cmity, they were also called like that because it was still not being fully epted by people."


    Wace went silent after hearing this.


    It was still confusing since after the survivors of the first northern continent expedition escaped thend, the first Mana Cmity urred at the Venarian Town making the whole ind afloat.


    It was the ind where they ced all the things including artifacts they found at the northern continent. That happened about a century ago already.


    It was highly probable that a Sealed Mana Artifact was included there causing a Mana Cmity. If not, then aside from these artifacts, there should be more things that could cause a Mana Cmity.


    ''Sigh~ I should have a chat with Veda about this...''


    "Oh, you said that someone was capable of analyzing them? They must be a top tier Arcane Artificer or probably an Arcanist?"


    Wace remembered to ask. After all, there shouldn''t be many engineers deserving of Yumi''s praise.


    "Haha! No! She''s an Instructor from your Academy, a licensed Magic Engineer. Her name was ine. Do you know her?"


    "Ahh... I didn''t know she possesses such skills..."


    "Well, she specialized in that area... Anyway, I''ll be needing your help..."


    Wace already has a map of the northern continent with him and he was also very curious about the ce. Unfortunately...


    "I want to wait until the job I entrusted to Sir Charles waspleted..."


    "Really?!" Yumi was excited even after his rejection.


    "Huh?"


    "Oh! Haha! I thought that you would reject me outright... But since the man only needed to finish his work before we can go then that''s fine... I''ll be preparing something on my end as well in the meantime..."


    Yumi was actually nervous when she invited Wace. After all, it was just a gamble since the guy was mysterious...


    A young student who could defend his house against powerful Adepts and even possibly possesses a Steel Knight hidden somewhere. For someone who could manufacture that kind of technology without the government''s knowledge was very impressive. He was also mysteriously connected to the aircraft that was on Araceli Ind.


    Although she wasn''t sure what that thing was, the Z-Company was guarding it with a powerful force.


    ''Very well.''


    After seeing that Yumi was satisfied at this, Wace turned the topic over the tranted book.


    "Then, about the book that I''ve told you to read... What would you do if all of that was real?"


    Yumi remembers how the first group of humans that arrived on this was preparing their forces to defend against an invasion that will happen in the near future. They even used a powerful concealing technique that covers the whole in order to buy them some time.


    There are also some clear rifications about the situation of the northern continent in that book.


    Yumi looked at the young man seriously as she didn''t hesitate to answer.


    "Then we''ll send the invaders packing..."


    ***


    Wace had a quick conversation with Veda confirming the old man''s identity and past actions.


    After that, Veda was also hurrying him about the ns to purchasend that will be used for manufacturing the space fleet.


    "Don''t worry, Avalon was handling that. It should be over in a couple of days. We already prepared the money and we''re just waiting for thewyer we hired to get things done."


    This temporarily satisfied Veda.


    "Avalon, you can also continue your preparation with energy extraction on those Zen Coins once we purchased this whole mountain."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace nodded as he rxed within his room. Yumi has already left the vi as she will also be preparing for the northern continent''s expedition.


    He was actually looking forward visiting that ce ever since Chalice, a member of the Z-Company, hinted that his spaceship was something that can only be found in the northern continent and as a matter of fact, the Flowing Spirit was part of his n on visiting thatnd.


    After all, he didn''t know the dangers hidden in that continent and he wasn''t sure how long the expedition wouldst.


    It means that he may not be able to contact his parents or attend sses if that happens.


    His other self would be the one resolving that issue.


    Wace was nning that if the second function of the Flowing Spirit was made, he can leave it here and manage all the social requirements he needed while he was roaming the world unhindered.


    "Hehehe..."


    He couldn''t stop grinning thinking about his brilliant idea. He will dump all the tiring work to Veda, Avalon, and to his other body... He will only manage all the critical decisions and the path they have to take.


    This would surely lighten his work and he''ll be able to focus on things he wanted to do.


    With all that in mind, Wace went to the Mage Doctor''s workshop as he let him study his previous body. He already confirmed with Veda that this Doctor''s reputation was well known to the aristocrats and will never betray his clients.


    Adding to the fact that Wace was somehow part of the Mavis n, he can easily deduce that the old man can at least be trusted.


    "So... this is the other body, huh..."


    Charles said as he curiously observes the sleeping young man wearing white clothes. It resembles Wace and only their muscle mass has a difference.


    The Doctor''s eyes turned blue as he observed the body, the vessel was looking more perfect on his eyes as he couldn''t find any impurities on the body and it was even cloaked by a thinyer of energy.


    "H-how did you do this? Cloning? Are you already experimenting with human genes? No... Maybe, he is your twin brother? Now that he''s dead, you want to..."


    The old man was only muttering but Wace heard it all.


    He can guess as much as he wants but Wace wasn''t about to tell him yet. He was nning to tell his secrets to his parents first before he will mention it to others.


    "It''s a trade secret. But once I''ve settled everything, I''ll let you know..."


    Wace said to keep the old man''s hope up. It would be good if the doctor was motivated while working for him.


    "Is that true? Then, I''ll definitely work hard in this Secret Art!"


    "Sure... Eh... By the way, don''t think that you can imitate this creation of the body, alright?"


    "Don''t be so sure. I have many skills I haven''t shown yet..."


    "But... Oh well, it''s up to you. I''ll be waiting until you finished learning the Secret Art."


    Wace gave all the information that the doctor needed. Right now, he can only wait until the man does his job.

 Chapter 225 - Second Version

    "Avalon, prepare a VR Pod for me."


    Wace went inside the Virtual World after a while as he would like to see for himself the progress of these gamers.


    He made some arrangements for them to receive valuable rewards if they passed several conditions. This would help them increase their strength and slowly influence the real world.


    "Let''s see how far did they reach this time..."


    He wasn''t gone for long but because the game''s reward system was fast except for getting the Terminal for Freya, the gamers should''ve uncovered many secrets already. He didn''t ask Avalon about their progress as he wanted to see everything while inside the virtual world. It would be easier for Avalon to present all the information.


    He cannot be hasty on introducing a groundbreaking technology as many people would be too suspicious and won''t be open to epting it. He was actually starting to introduce a technology that wasn''t too far ahead for them like engines for vehicles that would help them in reaching the speed of sound.


    At the moment, this world doesn''t have the concept of mach speed.


    Wace has been thinking before how he could announce to the whole continent about the impending threat without causing panic, that his words wouldn''t be treated as a joke, and his life would also be in safety.


    Well, he doesn''t want to be the second Aeolia.


    If the country judged that he was a threat to the peaceful humankind and trying to cause chaos among the public, his words would no longer weigh that much and he will even be targeted by the government''s magicians.


    The worst-case scenario was that his family would also be affected by his actions.


    That was why he was trying to gain a reputation and earn the trust of the people. Although this can easily be done by a Celebrity Idol, as someone who specialized in artifact forging at the moment, he has his own ways.


    Luckily, he recently learned that the Grand Arcanists were doing something on their own to increase the power of mankind, he was considering whether to just cooperate with them depending on their actions.


    Apparently, aside from Lacus, Veda confirmed this bit of information as well so he was waiting once his Master returned from the northern continent.


    "Oh... So you already rewarded that bottle? Impressive... This is Hilda''s team, correct?"


    Wace was satisfied seeing that the students from Leonhearts Academy were doing good. Their performance and way of epting a quest were efficient.


    They weren''t randomly epting quests from NPCs and they were mostly taking missions that can be done by a group. This can trigger a lot of opportunities for them since that is the concept of this game.


    This is the correct way to easily increase their chances of obtaining valuable quests and rewards. After all, Wace wanted to promote unity in this game making the game very difficult to be yed solo. He wanted them to realize the importance of working together and finding people with the same goals.


    Wace remembered that he still has three mystery boxes that he hasn''t open yet. So he was hoping that it would be something that can be given to others.


    ''Maybe, I can try gifting a few berserk potions this time?''


    The problem was that his potions weren''t registered yet so he might be questioned by the authorities.


    ''I''ll ask Yumiter...''


    Wace continued his observations at the yers and noticed that the previous student council president seems to be an amazing solo yer. Although it will be very difficult in this game to y that way, it was up to the person on which path they will take.


    "Oh, he learned ancient martial arts?!"


    It was the technique that Aaron showed to his parents to let him y the game. It was called Ten-Fold Palm, a martial art that utilizes the vibration to defeat an armored opponent. It was amon art developed by the Gctic Federation to be used by foot soldiers.


    Wace hadn''t fully learned this technique as he studied more about Mech Frames and other highly advanced weapons. He was aware of manybat techniques but it was mostly for fighting in space using tools or weapons.


    "Avalon, how many Combat Arts did you ce in the game for a reward?"


    [ Sixteen Martial Arts developed by the Federation and Two Martial Arts developed by Fyoran''s Race. ]


    The Fyoran was a Minor Race allied with the Gctic Federation. They have the same build as humans but has blue skins and some yellow spots on their body.


    Wace remembers that they have stronger physical potential since even a one-year-old Fyoran can grasp a stone and turn it into dust without much effort.


    "Did you find individuals that have the same level of physique inside the game?"


    [ Yes. A group of twelve. ]


    This piqued Wace''s interest. These people must be absurdly strong if they also possess unimaginable control of mana. A magician with a strong physique was an idealbat magician as they could fight both in closebat and in ranged.


    ***


    On the next day, Wace went to the academy to meet with his ssmates and to avoid being suspended. He also wanted to experiment with his Divine Sense.


    "I''m sorry for being absent at that time... I got caught up in something."


    Wace halfheartedly apologized to Miss Chamber. She was requesting his presence to announce his support with her when the representative arrived here a few days ago.


    But because he was in seclusion, he missed that time and came to apologize.


    Luckily, even without his formal announcement, Miss Chamber was still appointed as the new Headmaster.


    It seems that she pulled other strings she could while he was out. An instructor of various popr Celebrity Idols was truly influential if they tried.


    "That''s fine now. You already announced that before the representative came so I just let him know that..."


    Thedy smiled as she even offered him to have tea with her. It was her way to celebrate her appointment as the new headmaster.


    Wace took the invitation since she also helped him with his constant absences. He was a bit thankful for this.


    Anyway, Miss Chamber was aware that being an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist would guarantee the young man''s future. He will surely surpass his ssmates today even though he fully stopped attending sses.


    But because the young man wanted to graduate with certificates to present it with his presents, she didn''t mind it and even encouraged him to do so.


    "How was your master? I heard that he went to the northern continent?"


    "Yes... He hasn''t returned yet..."


    "Mhm... It should be very dangerous in that ce. I hope that they can return safely..."


    "I hope so..."


    Wace chatted for a while to satisfy thedy since he also has ns to use her influence someday.


    But she kept asking about the situation of the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    He didn''t mind at first but because she was hinting that she wanted to get close to other apprentices of the Grand Arcanist, Wace excused himself and went to see Miya.


    ***


    Miya ended her practice earlier this time since she wanted to y with her new friends in the virtual world.


    "Ahh... Avalon is so kind... I hope I can y together with him."


    Miya muttered as she already gave Avalon a gender. Apparently, Wace instructed Avalon to take care of this model inside the game so Avalon did.


    Miya requested to Avalon that she wanted to y the game without anyone knowing that she was Miya Linus.


    It wasn''t that hard for Avalon since it only needed to adjust her appearance to what she desires.


    The A.I. recognizes the girl''s importance as it remembered that Wace even customized a VR Pod for her. A model that waspletely different from their concept.


    With that as a reference, Avalon didn''t mind taking care of her when inside the game and while Wace was in seclusion.


    There was only one request that Avalon didn''t grant to her, it was for Avalon to take a human form and y the game with her.


    "Miya!"


    Thedy was surprised to hear a man''s voice as it interrupted her thoughts.


    "Oh, did I startle you?"


    "Wace? I heard from Avalon that you were out for several days. What happened?"


    "I was busy with something..."


    "Mhm... Studies are still important... I hope that you won''t be blinded by money. Anyway,Why are you here?"


    ''Eh? What do you think I''m doing? What did Avalon say? Oh well...''


    Wace thought for a moment.


    "I just want your help with the second version of the VR pod..."


    "The second version?"


    "Yes. The one that non-magicians can use..."


    "Oh... What about it?"


    "I like to advertise that differently. Do you have any ideas? I want your image as advertisers to our fellow magicians but for this version... I''m thinking of hiring a non-magician as well. What do you think?"


    The two were still within the academy grounds. They were not far from the gate as the two were walking side by side. They were like in their own world and not caring about the staresing from the students around. After all, Wace was a celebrity in his own way because of his status as an apprentice.

 Chapter 226 - New Land

    "I don''t think that it matters since the content of the game was more important... Anyway, do you really n to let them y the same game with us? I mean, they will be fighting together with magicians against the powerful Dorssian Empire, wouldn''t that be too difficult for them?"


    Miya asked curiously. She had yed the Alien Invasion Mode for a while now and knows the difficulty of this virtual game. Those non-magicians can stay at the stronghold to be safe but where was the fun on that?


    The VR Pod for them may be less expensive but the amount would still be sizable. If they won''t be enjoying the game and get stuck inside the stronghold, they might quit ying after the hype dies down.


    "Mhmm... It will definitely be hard for them but I think that they can contribute to a lot more things than you can imagine... As long as they have the knowledge and right tools with them. They can aplish things that magicians cannot..."


    "Hahaha... I don''t discriminate them but what can they do without magic? At most, they can be used as abor force... Well, that would really be helpful."


    Wace smiled after hearing her words. It can''t be helped that she thought that way since magicians were always at the top in this world''s society.


    Although non-magicians had also aplished many things that made their life easier, the Magicians always thought that they can do better than that if they decided to dabble on it.


    "Well, who knows? Maybe, the game would help them realize their dreams..."


    Wace said mysteriously, aside from letting the non-magicians take part in being a Mechanic, he was nning something for them as long as they persevere.


    They chatted a bit more as Miya started asking Wace to let Avalon y the game as a human.


    "Huh? Avalon and I created the whole game, especially Avalon. In case you''ve forgotten, that''s an A.I., Artificial Intelligence..."


    Wace meant many things for saying that.


    "I know that, but Avalon seems to be better than Freya..."


    ''Avalon made Freya, you know?'' Wace wanted to say but stopped himself.


    "Anyway, I''ll just let Avalon apany you like Freya within the game. Is that fine?" Wace said as he didn''t really mind it.


    He already has eyes on some interesting people within the game.


    "Sigh~ Alright, that would be fine..."


    "Great... Then, please continue to work hard..."


    "Of course, just contact my manager when you need help."


    "Sure..."


    Wace was referring to various advertisements nned for the game. Although the VR pod for non-magicians will be released, the advertisements for the first version wouldn''t stop as Wace wanted to have a wider range of yers.


    Most yers at the moment were from his country and Maja. He would like to introduce them to other countries so he will be needing her image to easily do this.


    ***


    Wace quickly returned to his room at his vi using his Void Phase and started to open the three mystery boxes he set aside.


    After a few moments, he received something very helpful not for him but to others.


    [ You have received Body Strengthening Potion ( Small ) ]


    [ You have received a Recipe of Body Strengthening Potion ( Small ) ]


    [ You have received a Bottle of Mana Rejuvenation ]


    "Oh! This is it!"


    Ever since he received the recipe for his berserk potion, he was already looking forward to getting the recipe for other potions and even for the Divine Sense.


    Unfortunately, he never had such luck as he was receiving some random things and only today did he receive what he wanted the most.


    The bottle of Mana Rejuvenation would at most help magicians to reach the Arcane Baptism but for Body Strengthening Potion, the magicians that will benefit weren''t just the magicians below the Arcane level but to those who had reached above this level as well.


    Wace quickly nced at the ingredients and procedure listed at the recipe.


    "Guh... I should ask father about this..."


    He muttered as he remembers that Chase helped him with regards to his berserk potion.


    "No, wait. I have a Mage Doctor here... He should be able to help or I can ask him to get someone to manufacture this potion for me."


    Wace corrected himself as he almost forgot the old man living here.


    It was a good idea and it can wait. This old man should know someone that can help him even if he wasn''t interested in this potion.


    These potions were no longer useful for Wace as he has already reached the limit of its consumption long ago.


    Now that he has some time, he also checked the previous rewards he got from the mystery boxes.


    There were some gold coins, anti-aging cream, and spectacle that hasn''t been put to use yet.


    The gold coins that the box gave wasn''t from the gctic federation nor the empire. It wasn''t even close to the gold coins on this. It did not match with any other country''s form of money.


    If he would make some guess, the mysterious gold coins engraved with a unique pattern was probably from Lonar Alliance, a unique coin from the northern continent, or perhaps some coins from the Ancient Mayan, the origin of the Cube of Paradox.


    "Hey... Can you tell me the origin of these coins already?"


    Wace asked and as expected, the Pathfinder didn''t answer him.


    Anyway, he checked the ss-like spectacle. It looks so fragile that it may shatter at any moment.


    He used the skill of his Ne of rity to identify the item since only its name was written.


    "Glimpse of the Mind..."


    [ Random Spectacle ]


    [ A nice looking eyesses.


    Skills:


    Vision Correction: Superb vision within 800 meters of the user. Requires Mana to activate.


    False Identity: The wearer will have a random identity. Requires Mana to activate. ]


    The description only gave a little help so Wace gave it a try.


    With Avalon''s help, he quickly determined that the Vision Correction wasn''t that good as his eyesight was already better.


    As for the False Identity, he will get a random image if he activated it making a perfect disguise. The effect will be removed if he no longer wears the spectacle and if he stopped sending mana to it. He wasn''t sure whether this will be helpful so he set that aside for now.


    The Anti-Aging Cream, on the other hand, was really a mysterious thing.


    ***


    Wace doesn''t have much to do as everything was now mostly being done by Avalon and he just have to patiently wait for the good news.


    As for his other body, the Mage Doctor would still take some time to study the Secret Art so he can rx in the meantime.


    Ring! Ring!


    Wace looked at his mobile device and saw an unfamiliar name registered on it.


    "Mr. Harold? Avalon, who is this person?"


    He didn''t answer the phone yet and instead asked the floating metal ball beside him.


    [ He is thewyer assisting you with purchasing the whole mountain. I notified him to only contact us if there is a significant progress or problem he was unable to resolve. ]


    "I see..."


    Wace nodded as he decided to answer the call after learning the caller''s identity.


    "Hello, Mr. Harold..."


    "This voice... I believe I''m speaking with Mr. Wace this time?"


    "Yes... I''m about to call you as well. I''m sorry that I haven''t been in touch while you''re working hard out there..."


    "Haha! That''s fine... Anyway, It''s good that I can talk to you now. I have a good news for you... As long as you have the money, you can purchase the plot ofnd. I used a bit of your master''s reputation as instructed by Miss Minerva so keep that in mind..."


    "Really? Then if that''s the case... We''ll buy it now... The price doesn''t matter!"


    The expenses for creating a space fleet would be handled by Veda so it doesn''t really matter how much was the price as he will either refund it to the A.I. or he''ll let it know quickly to settle the payment.


    "Oh... When you said that you used my master''s reputation... what should I keep in mind?"


    "Well, since the one purchasing thend was his disciple, there maybe some curious people looking out on thatnd..."


    "They will spy here?"


    "You can say that they wanted to know the real purpose of you purchasing thatnd. So make sure that you have some mouse trap there... Hahaha..."


    "Heh... Is that so? Anyway, as long as I have thisnd for my own, it shouldn''t be a big problem. Right, how about the othernd we mention.."


    "Oh, the previous mine site... Give me at least a week for that..."


    "That''s fast... very well, I''ll be waiting for the good news."


    After ending the call, Wace immediately gave instructions to Avalon...


    "Use half of your work force to create more automatons. Thenmunicate with the various manufacturers and suppliers. We need to quickly start renovating this mountain..."


    [ Affirmative. ]

 Chapter 227 - Base Design

    "We''ll follow this design..."


    Wace approved the blueprint containing the new design for this whole mountain. The only condition that was left by the government was to retain at least half of the forest in the renovation he was about to start.


    Of course, he didn''t mind this since most of the n will cover the underground of thend. The forest was a good method to conceal some entrances of therger facility. He only ns to utilize the center of the plot ofnd that he purchased and retain the forest at the outer edge.


    The design he approved was very well made and it would conceal the true purpose of this mountain.


    A part of thisnd will be used for the production facilities, followed by the hangar itself, andstly was for the Mass Driver that would extend up to the edge of the mountain.


    The renovation alone would take a whole month since aside from waiting for the steels and other materials required, digging a foundation, moving the soil or the earth somewhere else, and the work speed of the automatons must be considered.


    Probably, if Wace helped at the workforce, it would take lesser time but he decided to just let Avalon do its work since it already has its own n.


    But for the security around the mountain, Wace decided to modify them again. Their ce was no longer protected by the city''s barrier so he had to take it seriously. Without the barrier, he might suffer to some random criminal group if he wasx about it.


    "Avalon, let me see the design for the security..."


    His previous house''s security system includes his original creations like Wave Ward, Terror Centrifugal Gun, Laser Focus, and other mobile turrets. There was also the Force Field Protection covering the house.


    "Hmm... Thend that we bought was huge but..."


    The elevation of the mountain reaches only 1,090 meters so it wasn''t that high. On the other hand, the plot ofnd that they bought includes the forest around the mountain making the wholend they purchased for about 2,030 hectares.


    The ce was huge and expensive. Anyway, Veda was the one going to pay so he didn''t have to worry about it.


    Because of that, all his profits on his VR Pod will be used for a different purpose now.


    "I''ll handle the design for the security... Show me your current n."


    Wace nned to add some features on his security system. He wanted to maximize the benefit of having his property outside of the city.


    On his old house, he had to somehow limit the firearms installed since he was under the protection of the city''s barrier and must follow thew and regtions.


    But now that he was out of it, the restriction was a bitxer so he can now start building a stronger defense even if it was noticed by the government.


    "Hmm... Let''s put it here... As for the Iron Knight..."


    Wace paused for a moment as he was considering the structure of his defense.


    "Avalon, I''ll leave the Iron Knight and the Lotus Mech Frame here... Make sure that you can control them at any time..."


    Now that he possesses the Astral Core, he felt confident about his strength and decided to leave the two humanoid machines here.


    It would make him more confident of traveling to the northern continent since the two machines should be strong enough to lead the defense here.


    "Now, for thebat spaceship''s design... I''ll leave it to your discretion, Avalon. Leave our personal spaceshipter once you''ve experimented enough for the fleet. I want you to make the best spacecraft after all these were done..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace didn''t end their conversation here as he thoroughly exined to Avalon all his ns for the space fleet that they were nning to make.


    He wanted to ensure they will be able to damage the Meredith Empire as much as they can before theynded here.


    In short, he wasn''t expecting for this fleet to defeat the Empire but to at least tear a limb on its forces.


    Sigh~


    "I can only assume the number of forces that will be sent here... I doubt that the emperor himself will be the vanguard if they decided toe. At most, that man will probably use the strength of some royalty to probe the strength of this first..."


    After reaching this thought, he remembers the 10 Mech Frame with installed QCBS that were currently under the process of creation already...They were a good batch of weapons that they can use to also probe the empire.


    Those 10 can be easily piloted by magicians or even non-magicians because of the existence of QCBS that was installed to them.


    Wace was trying to think whether these 10 will apany the space fleet in the outer space or leave them here as well.


    "No... Let''s just leave them here... Those QCBS were too precious to be destroyed. Avalon, I believe that you already have a copy of the control system of this Celestial Army - Iron Knights Brigade..."


    [ Correct. ]


    "Very well, use this standard for the mass-produced Mech Frame that we''ll use. I can no longer provide other QCBS but I''ll let you know once I got another batch..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    Yumi managed to invite two more people to their rescue operations on the northern continent. They weren''t paid mercenaries but friends that she trusted a lot.


    She didn''t think the number would help them rescue her cousin so she decided to have small but high-quality team members.


    "Yumi! Are you really not afraid of going there?" One of them asked worriedly. The ce was just too bad to be a ce of magicians.


    "Of course... Although I don''t like my cousin... He still treated me very well when I was still not too adept in magic, I should return the favor..."


    "Haha... Don''t ask her these kinds of questions, Hannah..."


    Said by the only male in their group.


    "Mhmm... That''s true... Anyway, I also had a debt with your cousin so I''ll apany you, sister Yumi... How about you, Clint? Why did you bother joining us? You could die in the northern continent, you know?"


    "I understand that... I''m also confident in my survival skills and since no one else was willing to join your team, I can only ept... That''s how kind I am! "


    They onlyughed at this. The two were sure that the man was very interested in that ce as well.


    Now, Yumi couldn''t help but contact Wace. She has now prepared all she needed and was only waiting for the Mage Doctor''s job to bepleted.


    "Three weeks or more?"


    "Yes... Is that fine?"


    "Well... It''s fine for me... But I don''t even know how long will your headmaster survive there... Can''t you make it quick..."


    "Sigh... I understand... I''ll try to assist the mage doctor as much as I can to make it easier... I''ll let you know if there''s good news."


    Wace ended the call as he decided to visit the Mage Doctor''s room again.


    He doesn''t want to rush the man but it shouldn''t be a problem to help him as much as he could.


    Because of this, the Mage Doctor was now ready to start the operation after two weeks of studying the Secret Art.

 Chapter 228 - Progress

    Wace was curious about the progress of the old man. He knows that the job will be very difficult so he didn''t want to really disturb him.


    The most that he can do for now was to wait for him to have a rest and take that chance to offer some help.


    "Avalon, what was the doctor doing right now?"


    [ The doctor was seated and looking something on the table. ]


    "Something?"


    [ Unknown. The closest possibility was that he was looking to a form of undetectable mana. No function to detect this form of energy yet. Would like to get assistance with Veda? ]


    "No, no... I''m just curious. Just continue with your work."


    Wace had been monitoring the doctor through Avalon inside his room so he would immediately know if the old man was truly resting.


    A couple of days had passed and the old man went outside to get some fresh air.


    Wace took this chance and asked for the man''s progress.


    "Hoho~ I''m almost there... Right, can you get me some human... I need to test some of my progress..."


    ''Test the Secret Art?'' Wace was confused but he suddenly realized that it was indeed normal to try it out on other test subjects first before trying it to him.


    "This... Where would I get them?"


    "Oh... You don''t have a channel for that? Nevermind it... I''ll make a call with someone to bring me a few... Would that be fine?"


    "Well, I wonder what kind of people will be sent?"


    "Don''t worry... They should be prisoners with no hope of getting out in their cells. Also, you don''t have to pay for that... I''ll handle the expenses... They are expensive since they are magicians but I can get a discount on that..."


    Wace could only nod at this as he asked him if there anything that he could help to hasten the progress of his study.


    In the end, what the doctors needed right now was a different vessel or another test subject.


    The doctor wanted to ensure that he wouldn''t make any mistake once he did the operation real-time.


    It wasn''t just his reputation at stake but Wace''s life...


    "Do you think my life would be in danger?"


    "Well... Before I saw you, that was what I thought... But seeing you the first time made me realize you have a different level of life force with you... You can probably live for more than 500 years if there''s no ident..."


    "Really? You have some good eyes..."


    "So you wouldn''t deny it, huh..."


    "Are you curious?"


    "You''re teasing me? Haha! I already lived long enough... I''ll be happy living the rest of my life with my garden once I''m done here..."


    ''If the empire would post pone their visit in next decades then you can happily live with your nts...''


    Wace sighed as he thinks whether the man can really live happily in the next few years with the iing threat...


    On the next day, a truck came into his property bringing 5 people that the doctor requested to one of his subordinates.


    Wace only sighed at this since he was aware that the doctor knows what he was doing. He didn''t nned to stop him and consented it. This is also for his sake.


    In their conversation yesterday, he already realized that this wasn''t the first time the doctor used convicts in his practices.


    Wace even asked Veda to learn some of this world''s deepest secrets.


    He learned how thevery was still active in other countries and continuous human experimentations were being practiced.


    There was also a country that focuses their might in their naval power. That country was even making powerful missiles at this moment to ensure their "safety" in any external threat.


    He also learned that the Mage Towers that can be found throughout the whole country of Montego was made through the sacrifice of about four thousand magicians and over ten thousand non-magician humans more then 50 years ago.


    As for his country, one of worst thing that Veda has in its database was how the leaders of the government was secretly copying the method of creating the Sealed Mana Artifacts.


    Wace already knows how those things were somehow made and as he looked into its detail, he remembered his sister rice''s assignment in the military...


    "Sigh~ That should be enough... It''s not good to know too much of these. They have their own method of handling things. As long as the Grand Arcanists were truly aiming to improve the mankind''s power, then I should cooperate a little."


    Wace realized that every one of them were trying to increase their power due to the unknown threat. They are not just building their power just for the sake of creating it.


    "I''ll wait for several days... I hope that he''ll finish this quick."


    ***


    A couple more days had passed as the VR pod for the non magicians were fully released to the public!


    "Wow! Can we really y alongside magicians?!"


    "That''s true... Did you not see the ads?"


    "Yeah! We can fight through various method.... I''ll be the best mechanic and create the strongest Knight Frame!"


    "The VR pod was so expensive! I only have an average ie. I can''t y this..."


    "I heard that the price was decreased by more than half with this new VR pod. It was already quite generous for thepany..."


    The onlinemunity had been waiting for this moment while the magicians inside the game were also looking forward to learn what the non-magicians can do against the Dorssian Empire.


    Wace was satisfied with their marketing strategy after seeing that there was over 50 thousand orders despite the current price of their VR Pod.


    They hired a non-magician to promote their product and made him y the game as a mechanic, pilot, general, researcher, and salvager.


    This was easilypleted with Avalon''s help.


    Anyway, the salvager can be said to be one of the most interesting professions they could take within the game since they will be in constant travels and easily exposed to the Dorssian Empire''s soldiers just to retrieve the wreckage of some machines or others important metals and resources for the stronghold.


    They were assigned to take on the role of getting the supplies needed by their fort and be in constant danger... They can sometimes be guarded by magicians but it will only be in the beginning for them to get used to it...


    Their weapons were also unique since they can equip modified weapons of the empire.


    Within the game, if they brought a weapon from a wreckage that can be easily repaired... They will have a chance to obtain it for themselves.


    Aside from that, Wace made sure that the other professions can bring the yers fun while teaching them something that they will be needing in the future.


    As for the rest, it will be up to the yers to find what was their worth and how they can help eliminating the Dorssian Empire in their own ways.


    A week and a half had passed and Wace suddenly received a message from the Mage Doctor.


    [ I''m ready. ]


    He read the message and took a deep breath before using his Void Phase to appear outside the doctor''s room.

 Chapter 229 - The Body ( Part 1 )

    Wace now had a serious face as he appeared outside the doctor''s room.


    He wasn''t nervous now because one of the five convicts managed to get out of this room safely. The man was also the final person that Charles has treated. He wasn''t exactly sure what happened inside but it seems that the doctor achieved something out of it.


    That happened 3 days ago and only at this time did the Mage Doctor consolidated all his learning and tell him that he was ready.


    The door was unlocked as the old man was expecting Wace to arrive.


    As soon as he stepped in, Wace saw the old man was freshly bath and have his eyes closed while sitting. He seems to be concentrating on what was about toe.


    Charles was waiting for Wace and as he sensed his presence, he opened his eyes and smiled at him.


    "You''re here..."


    "Do you need some more time?"


    "I''m good..."


    Wace asked the old man and nced around the room. He noticed that the previous room filled with various papers and bottles of some unknown substance was now clean like the room just had its cleaning service. It doesn''t have a semnce to an office of a mage doctor at all.


    "Are you sure that you''ve learned everything?" The young man just wanted to know more about the Secret Art. After all, he only understood a quarter of it.


    "Hoho~ I am... How about you, Wace? Are you ready for this? Although it will not be very painful, it would still hurt and I''m not sure about your pain threshold. You can''t just pass out once we started it..."


    Charles only said it to remind Wace but he was sure that with the kid''s abundant life force, there wouldn''t be a problem for him.


    Deep in his heart, he was even thinking whether the young man can actually endure three more operations of Flowing Spirit. This thought only passed briefly as it seems to be impossible to find such a perfect vessel.


    Up until now, he was still clueless about the method of creating this body.


    His thoughts never passed to the point that it was actually his true body before. After all, it would be too preposterous to imagine such a thing happening. Even this mysterious Secret Art: Flowing Spirit can only tear a small part of soul and spirit and not move theplete soul at all. It would be akin to a deity if someone was capable of doing that.


    "When can we start?"


    "Hmmm... We need a very safe ce to conduct this..."


    "Of course... Don''t worry, this ce is a lot safer than you can imagine..."


    Charles thought momentarily and nodded.


    "Alright, I also discovered that the lesser mana in the surrounding ce would be better. It would even be the best if there is no mana in the surrounding at all..."


    "Why is that so?"


    "Once I tear out a small part of your soul and spirit, it would be exposed to the world''s external mana for about a second..."


    Wace still couldn''t understand so kept silent. He also wanted to learn these things so he won''t be ignorant of what he was about to undertake.


    "The external mana and internal mana is different, I believe that you learned more about this when you started practicing the breathing technique of your Awakening of Thunder and Lightning..."


    "Ohh... That''s correct..."


    "Mhmm... You can just imagine that there will be less than 1 percent of impurity on your soul and spirit if we do this right now in this unprotected room..."


    "I see... Very well. So you just need a ce with lesser mana..."


    "I have made a magic formation to lessen the surrounding mana but I just asked you in case you have other options... I heard from Avalon that I can just ask you whenever I require some materials and arrangements for this project..."


    "Yes, it''s a good thing that you ask... Give me a few moments to arrange that..."


    Wace said as deep in his mind, he realized the simrity of how nuclear fission was being affected by mana. Luckily, Wace has already researched this thing and managed to create a small field that could remove the invisible mana...


    "Mhmm... I will wait for it."


    Charles nodded satisfyingly, this kid was truly resourceful in his own way.


    Wace quickly made arrangements with Avalon.


    The A.I. has been working on a machine that would supposedly extract energy from the Zen Coins that he has. The machine was simrly powered by the GH Drive that they got from his spaceship.


    The GH Drive could harness the power of Aether and it could also do the same to other form of energies.


    The previous force field that he made to create a nuclear energy was too small for their project now so he had to maximize his GH Drive now.


    It didn''t take long before he called out the doctor and proceed with their operation.


    "Right... How long would thisst?"


    "It shouldn''tst that long... About six to twelve hours at most..."


    "Very well... Avalon, take care of the things here as usual..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    It felt like days had passed when Wace lied down on a soft bed filled with magic formation he was unaware of.


    Beside him was his familiar previous body that didn''t aged at all.


    As he has to stay awake, he had to ensure that his mind was constantly active whatever happens.


    He was staring at the ceiling of the room as there was nothing to do.


    They were inside his workshop and from time to time, he was also feeling a bit of pain in his whole body.


    He can see the mage doctor''s eyes filled with burning blue light as he was fully utilizing his Spirit Arts...


    ''I don''t feel any difort aside from the acute pain. But it was nothing... Sigh~ Twelve hours, huh.. It feels like I''ve been here for three days already.''


    There was a feeling that he couldn''t properly describe, it wasn''t really a difort and it felt like he was just broadening or expanding...


    He couldn''t tell at first but it was slowly getting clearer. It seems like he was getting bigger...


    ''Wait, is he trying to tear my spirit now... Urgh!''


    ***


    "How was it? Any good news?"


    "I can''t reach him at the moment... I only reached Avalon..."


    "Avalon?"


    "Ah, no. I mean, answering service. The man might be busy at the moment. I told you that he hired some big shot in the medicine industry, right?"


    "Oh... Then it must be important..."


    Yumi nodded to Hannah as they were still waiting for Wace''s go signal.


    Yumi felt that their survival rate would actually increase if he came together with them at the rescue operation.


    She couldn''t properly exin and what she only told to her friends was that it was her intuition working wonders.


    "Alright... I don''t want something to happen with us as well... If he''s useful as you''ve said, let''s just wait for him."


    ***


    Avalon has been recording everything. Although it was instructed not to put too much security due to the user''s confidence in his vitality, it was an A.I. programmed to help its user and their safety was its top priority.


    As soon as any life threatening situations happened, it would quickly assess the situation on how to best respond in the situation.


    Right now, it was constantly monitoring Wace''s heart rate and vitality through Veda''s assistance.

 Chapter 230 - The Body ( Part 2 )

    Charles Mavis was a living legend in the medicine industry. His contributions surpassed that of the current head of the Department of Medicine, Chester Cornfield.


    Before he came here, he only thought that there was a severe sickness that he has to heal using his medical knowledge.


    He had never imagined learning another Secret Art that even came from a junior of his n. He diligently learns the Art and realized that this can never be attempted to anyone other than Wace who had made ample preparations for this.


    As a matter of fact, the prisoners that were sent here never managed toplete the operation due to their weak life force.


    These prisoners were already magicians and they didn''t evenst for an hour of operation.


    Thest one who managed to survive was only because Charles didn''t intend to pursue it further. At most, he just made use of his soul and spirit to practice on a way of handling it.


    He never tried to tear it which allowed him to survive.


    Right now, he was at the critical part of the operation the tearing of Wace''s soul and spirit to be transferred on the other body.


    ''This life force... This soul and spirit... How can someone have this level of attainment in their bodies? Is he rted to the rumored Celestial Beings?''


    This only passed briefly to his mind as he continued the operation.


    ***


    Wace wasn''t sure what was happening to him but he was definitely feeling his soul being ripped and he almost unconsciously defended himself and activate his Astral Core.


    Luckily, one of the doctor''s magic formation somehow tried to restrain him which he immediately realized and calmed himself down.


    It would be a problem if he fully activated his magic defense and astral core''s power during the operation. It may not only hurt the doctor but also himself.


    ''Calm down... Calm down... Urgh!''


    He felt it. His life force was weakened and he was sure that a part of him has been ripped apart.


    It didn''t take long before the doctor''s attention turned to his other body. He realized this because the doctor''s Soul Art and Spirit Art pressing down on him lessened by a huge degree.


    ''It should be almost over... I''ll leave it to you, doctor...''


    Now that the most critical part was over, Wace can now have a rest to bring back the life force that he had lost together with a part of his soul and spirit...


    ***


    Percival and Avery had been on the run for several days already. They already lost the count since they haven''t seen the sun for days and they stopped bothering to count.


    It felt like the deep and dark dungeon they moved into using the Sealed Mana Artifact was created to be a maze and nest to some unknown creatures.


    Anyway, the only source of light inside the ce were the crystals growing around almost in every corner of the building.


    They were now in tattered clothes and the previous majestic presence they both exude was long gone...


    "Are you still alive?"


    Avery asked Percival who was now lying down due to recover his strength. He was more powerful than thedy and even though he wanted to save his strength to avoid getting backstabbed by thisdy, the creatures they were fighting just keeps getting stronger.


    Luckily, thedy seems to be in the same condition as she was aware that without him, she''ll be unable to leave this ce in aplete piece. So during all the time that they spent here, she more or less bes cooperative to Percival''s instruction.


    Even if she was told to act as bait several times to defeat some chimera, Percival didn''t have to repeat himself and she will act ordingly.


    "Mhmm..."


    "You should already have a guess about this ce we''re into..."


    "Mhmm..." Percival doesn''t seem to have ns to waste his saliva at the moment.


    "This should be aboratory with some sphemous goals..."


    Avery seriously said.


    The man-eating nt they defeated by burning its core, the several chimeras they defeated, and the structure of some rooms and facilities they found inside this underground base gave all clues...


    "I''m not sure how long had passed when thisboratory was made but the Sealed Mana Artifact I used was definitely older than my grandfather... This ce doesn''t make sense..."


    Avery softly said as she had seen one of the facilities that seem to have the purpose of incubating some unknown species and she guessed that they were the chimera''s origin after meeting one of them.


    A bear with a tail of a scorpion, bat wings, and eyes of an eagle at the back of its head doesn''t seem be natural urrence however she look into it.


    They first thought that it was only an evolved Mana beast but the way the other parts of their bodies was fixed into doesn''t seem to be naturally grown there.


    "Hey, are you listening?"


    "I heard you... I saw them as well. Stop thinking about the origin of this ce. Don''t waste your energy on that. Just find another exit..."


    "Hmph! You even called yourself a headmaster... What''s with that way of thinking, don''t you know that learning the origin of this ce may allow us to learn how to get out of this ce?"


    Percival went silent and Avery gloatingly looked at the middle-aged man. She didn''t noticed when he said ''another exit''.


    She rejoiced deep in her heart as she felt like she defeated him the first time.


    Anyway, she was like this since they weren''t in a battle anyway. Once a battle started, she will behave and follow the man''smands.


    While she was thinking how perceptive she was about their current predicament, Percival answered him.


    "The room where we first arrived here was the first exit we found..."


    "What?!"


    Percival didn''t bother to exin as he walked away leaving her behind to follow.


    "Wait! Exin it to me... Shouldn''t we going back instead?"


    The man didn''t stopped and continued walking while ignoring thedy. He even dared her to go back there. Of course, she didn''t take such obvious taunt.


    Soon, they met another chimera as they busied themselves fighting it. It was now a mix of a snake with other three more heads of different species of snake and a it also has a tail of an alligator.


    There was also a folded butterfly wings behind it even though it looks so impossible for this being to fly. The thinness of the wings felt like it would just be ripped apart by a strong wind.


    "Stay behind me... Ready your Piercing Vortex!"


    Percival quickly instructed. He was taking every fight with seriousness and instructs the most efficient method of eliminating their opponents. It was to conserve energy and always be ready with multiple battles.


    ***


    Avalon could not quantify the life force of a being but through Veda''s help. It was able to monitor Wace''s status.


    [ Your user is under a weakened state after the mysterious medical treatment he just had. ]


    [ Is it life threatening? ]


    [ No. Not even a quarter of his life force was removed. He can repeat the same medical treatment about two more times without suffering significant problem in his life force. He will heal naturally. ]


    [ Understood. Please, continue to monitor him. ]


    [ Fine. ]


    [ Thank you. ]


    Veda went silent before it started to converse with Avalon again.


    [ Do you want to be like me, a superior Artificial Intelligence? ]


    [ Negative. The user is happy at the current me. ]


    [ Fine. Suit yourself. ]


    After a few more hours, Veda reported the current situation.


    [ There''s two identical life forceing from inside the room. ]

 Chapter 231 - Northern Continent ( Part 1 )

    Wace was looking at the other body that has their eyes closed. The previous mysterious energy that was coated around this body has now gone somewhere or melted away.


    He wasn''t sure what exactly happened and he ns to ask the old man. Suddenly, the other Wace opened his eyes and they locked their eyes with each other.


    They seem to have different minds but they are connected mysteriously. The soul and spirit weren''t just a breath of life but it also contains his memories.


    "Amazing..."


    He was about to celebrate their sess but the two noticed that the doctor suddenly copsed due to exhaustion.


    "Doctor!"


    The new Wace was still weakened and can''t properly move so the other immediately helped the old man.


    "He just needed a rest... How about you?"


    "Ahh... Mrm.. I think that... I''m slowly... getting strength..."


    His voice was stuttering a bit as he was slowly feeling the familiar energying through his body.


    It felt like mana was starting to incorporate into his body but it was different.


    He doesn''t have the Astral Core with him or even the Arcane Baptism that further enhanced his body but this original body was approaching the peak of the human body. He has a better understanding of this body so he was sure that the energy running through it was foreign energy.


    "This... is mana..."


    "You''re no longer affected by Mana Suffocation, huh... What should I call you?"


    The new Wace took a deep breath before answering artictely.


    "Well, I should be Wace Heather and you are Wace Ravencroft... Though I don''t think it''s appropriate to call each other with just thest name or full name..."


    "That''s true..."


    "Then, just call me Ace... You wanted me to work with your social rtionships and other work-rted stuff, right?"


    "Yeah, but your physique seems to be a bit more..."


    "Fit? Well, you have been out of their sight most of the time. You barely appears to the public. It should be no problem to say that you''ve thought of building your muscles..."


    Ace chuckled as he sits up. He looks at his hand for a moment before closing his eyes as he slowly shakes his head. It was like he was trying to feel out his current body.


    "I think I''m good."


    Wace nodded as he let the doctor rest for some time. He immediately brought him to a room and lie him to afortable bed.


    "Avalon... Take good care of the doctor, he just needed some rest."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Congrattions on your sess. You have broadened my horizon. ]


    A different feminine voice was suddenly heard after Avalon spoke. It was also using Avalon''s speaker through the floating metal ball. This time, instead of red lighting out of it, it was glowing with green light.


    "Veda?"


    [ Correct. Now that there''s more of you, I hope that you hasten the space fleet production. Just call me if you needed more help or money. Bye! ]


    "Urgh... Yeah... Bye..."


    The lights have already turned red before he even answered. It means that it was now Avalon. He wasn''t sure what happened between the two but he was sure that Veda doesn''t mean any harm. If it does, it would''ve done so long ago with the power of information it possess throughout the whole continent.


    He used Void Phase and appeared beside Ace and observed him for a bit.


    Although he was prepared in this scenario, he still couldn''t help but be amazed at the entire event.


    "Well, this lessens a lot of my burden... Let''s have amemorative photo, the two of us..."


    "Seriously?"


    "Yes..."


    ***


    As Yumi was waiting for Wace''s return call, she went to discuss some matters to her superior. After all, she wasn''t sure how long will she leave her post and she has important information to share.


    The ce she went into was an orphanage. It was still within the Tanza City.


    The home or the building was looking like a brand new because their previous home was destroyed due to the terrorist attack. Although it was renovated, signs of previous mess can still be seen. Therge tree that was previously covering the house was now removed.


    It was badly damaged because of an explosion and it may cause more idents if they didn''t remove itpletely.


    Outside the premises, there was arge sign hanging to identify the ce.


    "Gtea House."


    She looked at the familiar sign and opened the gate. She saw some children tending the garden and some were ying around. Some of them came to greet her as she brought them some presents.


    "Sister Yumi!"


    "Whoa! Presents!"


    "Haha! It has been a while. Here you go..."


    "Will you be staying here tonight?" One of the kids asked.


    Yumi shakes her head but she smilingly replied.


    "I''ll stay before sunset... We can yter after I''ve talk to grandma Thea."


    She handled those kids very well as she went straight to the second floor of the house.


    "Mhm? Any problem with your mission?"


    As soon as Yumi opened the room, an olddy with white long hair asked. She was wearing a monocle in her right eye as she flips some pages of a thick book.


    "Not really..."


    "I heard that you were nning to avoid it and even ns to escape somewhere far away?"


    "Escape? Me? Haha! I''m not sure where you heard those things but I''m not escaping the investigation happening at the Seed Holdings. Isn''t it just some project involving some memory crystals? Tsk... I''ll work on it once I''m back..."


    "Very well... I trust you with your words..."


    The olddy even chuckled seeing Yumi''s reaction. It seems that she was just teasing the youngerdy.


    "So, what made youe here?"


    "Sigh~ I''m not sure... I just hope that this would help me to decide some things... You''re one of the 24 survivors on that expedition, so I wanted to ask you... What did you really saw there?"


    On Yumi''s right hand was a copy of the Prince''s logbook that Wace gave to her. She was holding it tightly as she waited for the olddy''s answer.


    Although a part of her mind wanted to deny Wace''s im about the realism of this notes, she couldn''t help but gradually realize its authenticity after she carefully thought some clues and some unanswered questions she has about the history.


    Some questions like, who truly created the first gen of Mana Artifact and slowly improving it until Aeolia appeared in the history?


    What was the origin of the Celestial Beings? Or in the first ce, what are they? There was even a Celestial Fragment that has an unknown usage.


    These were only few questions that doesn''t have clear answers but if she considered that the notes were real. Then a lot of things would make sense.


    Not only that... they have to quickly act as well. After all, the notes clearly states that the protectiveyer or the shield covering the entire may run out at anytime.


    ''The actions of the three Grand Arcanists were also suspicious...''


    Yumi wanted to know the truth and learn as much as she can before her team would go to the northern continent and rescue her cousin.

 Chapter 232 - Northern Continent ( Part 2 )

    Wace made arrangements with Ace and Avalon to take care of this base while he will apany Yumi''s group at the northern continent.


    As he was nning to let Yumi know, a familiar sound came in. It was the notification from the Pathfinder...


    ''New mission?''


    He quickly checked and confirmed his thoughts.


    [ Let''s stick to the n and learn more things.


    Mission: Find clues about creating 7th Generation Mana Artifacts


    Mission Reward: Arcana, Zen Coins, Mystery Box x3


    Clue: The Map ]


    "This..."


    Wace thought for a while as he remembers the map of the northern continent given to him before.


    He immediately realized what the Pathfinder wanted and asked Avalon to connect him with Veda. He wanted to make some things clear.


    [ Yes? ]


    Veda quickly took over the floating metal ball''s speaker and light.


    "Do you have information about the 6th Gen Mana Artifacts?"


    [ The Spirit Forging Magic? ]


    "Yes... So its really the 6th Gen, huh... Were all countries aware of it?"


    [ Yes. They just have different names for it. But your four allied countries call it as Spirit Forging Magic. The other four call it Zero Creation Magic. ]


    Wace did not bother to ask why was that the case but instead asked a different question.


    "How about the 7th Gen Mana Artifacts? I mean, do you have clues about that?"


    [ I''m not sure. But there''s a country making huge progress in their research. I''m not going to tell you more. Right, consider enhancing the spaceships with mana. Mana should work in outer space so take as many Mana Stones as you can to power them up. It would be your best advantage when they arrived. ]


    "Yes, I''m nning that. I''m even working to ce powerful mana artifacts in the Mech Frames that we''ll be creating."


    [ Oh... Good idea. Make them as powerful as you can. Quality over quantity. Alright? ]


    "Yeah... Thanks for your help..."


    Wace could only say before Veda quickly disappeared.


    This A.I. was really something. If Wace was not aware that Veda was an A.I. created for medical purposes, he would never realize that it was not a real person.


    ''Wait, maybe Veda was like that as it deals with treating patients.''


    Anyway, he set aside his thoughts about Veda as he was now ready to go to the northern continent.


    ***


    Yumi was satisfied that she learned some things about the northern continent. She can brag about it once she found an opportunity. She even received an iplete map of the ce. This would lessen their troubles in finding her cousin''s location.


    "Grandma Thea, I''ll leave everything else to you... You''re the only person I know that I can entrust these notes without any worry."


    "Sigh~ I''m old already... Shouldn''t you be handling that?"


    "I have something else to do. It may even be rted to those notes. Anyway, the one who gave me that will alsoe together with my team on the northern continent. I think that it was a good chance to make things clear... and I also wanted to see it for myself."


    The olddy sighed as she epted the notes and replied.


    "Fine... Do what you think is right... I''ll do my best to put this into good use..."


    "Thank you,grandma Thea!"


    Right now, she only has to wait for Wace and they can immediately move out.


    Of course, she didn''t forget to stay with the kids for a couple more hours before she left and contacted her group.


    It should be about time that Avalon or Wace would inform her about his decision.


    ''All our equipment and ride were ready... Just hold on, cousin...''


    It didn''t take long before she received a call from Wace.


    "I''m good. I''m sorry for taking so long. When can we travel?"


    "Finally! We leave as soon as possible. Let me just inform my team."


    "Cool... By the way, how many members do you have aside from me?"


    "There''s Hannah, my childhood friend, Clint from the Congress, and ine, she''s an instructor at your academy..."


    "Oh? Why would she get involved?"


    "Didn''t I tell you before? She''s the one who used blood magic to locate your headmaster''s location..."


    "Now that you said it..."


    Wace indeed remembered her mentioning that bit of information but he set that aside since he thought that it wasn''t that important during that time.


    ''A magic that can locate someone else through blood, huh...''


    It was very interesting magic and Wace was curious about how it can be done...


    Wace suddenly remembered the Heart''s Grimoire''s ability that was also rted to blood magic.


    He heard and watched a lot of news about the terrorist attack. His ssmates were even talking about it most of the time when he attended the school.


    "Alright, where should we meet?"


    "I''ll send you the address..."


    Yumi sent him an address where the other members were also aware of.


    The location was one of the NMTI''s owned vi outside the Tanza City. It was normally being used as a base for agents working at the organization.


    It wasn''t that far but Yumi expected Wace would need at least 30 minutes to arrive there.


    It was seven in the evening when everyone aside from him arrived at the vi.


    "Where''s the guy you mentioned?"


    Hannah asked after noticing that Wace still hasn''t arrived.


    She was now wearing her ck battlesuit that covers her body except the head. She looks battle-ready...


    "He should be here any time from now..."


    Wace didn''t use his Void Phase to appear inside the vi and he opted to arrive a little far from the location.


    The truth was that Wace already arrived here for some time.


    ''This seems to be a better vacation house than mine.''


    Wacemented as he saw arge swimming pool and noticed many recreation areas around the ce...


    "So... This is supposed to be a fast aircraft to bring us to the northern continent, huh..."


    Wace was informed that Yumi will work with the transportation.


    He doesn''t haveints about the aircraft as long as they will be brought to the northern continent without any troubles.


    The Aircraft doesn''t seem to be a mass-produced one as every part that was used exudes with power.


    Wace decided to show up and arrived at the gate of the vi to inform everyone about his presence.


    "What took you so long?"


    "I got lost. Anyway, do we ride that thing?" Wace pointed at the parked aircraft near the vi.


    "Yes... Don''t be scared..."


    "I''m ok with that. I''m just curious..."


    He said as he nced at therge arrow-like aircraft that seems to be a carrier of weapons instead.


    Wace also greeted the other members. The cheerful Hannah, the silent Clint, and the responsible-lookingdy, ine.


    "Instructor, I didn''t think we''ll meet again like this..."


    Wace smiled as he greeted thedy.


    "Me too... This is very important for me..."


    "I understand..."


    "Wait, I should be asking why you are here..."


    ine immediately realized the situation.


    "Oh... I''m quite close with Yumi so she let me join her team..."


    ine was doubtful but it doesn''t seem to be important at the moment so she just let it be.


    "Then, that would be for the best..."


    Yumi grinned seeing that everyone got to know each other.


    It was now time to n their actions once they arrived at the northern continent.


    Their estimated time of arrival will suffice for that, so she quickly invited everyone to board the aircraft and discuss some things.

 Chapter 233 - Northern Continent ( Part 3 )

    Yumi and her group were now inside the aircraft traveling to the northern continent.


    Wace had briefly used his Divine Sense to check its status and learned many things about it


    "This seems familiar..."


    Yumi heard him mutter as she nodded in agreement.


    "This was made by the Veritas Group. You''ve probably seen their first creation... Do you have a connection with them?"


    "Veritas?"


    Wace asked in confusion. Avalon noticed this and kindly reminded him about them.


    [ They are the group who apanied Miya Linus in your town. They have another airship called Veritas Wing. ] *


    ''I see... Then they probably got sessful in their business...''


    He was happy that they are gradually advancing the magic technology of this country and this would make his ns a lot easier to be epted by the people.


    Their flight didn''t take that long as the aircraft flew as high as 70,000 feet making it undetectable by the radar of several countries.


    Also, as far they know,no other countries have developed at this stage yet since they were focusing their finance with other projects like Mage Tower in Montego or top-ss automatons in Maja.


    In the meantime, Wace had been monitoring his connection with Avalon.


    He was curious whether his A.I. would still be able to connect to his mainframe.


    Of course, even if it''s not, it would not be much of a problem since he already made preparation with that.


    He brought Avalon''s terminal that can work without being connected with his mainframe although it will be limited.


    In any case, it would be sufficient within this ce and if he needed to connect online, Wace can just ask Veda for a favor.


    He was already informed that Veda still has connections at the northern continent but only in few areas.


    "We''re here..."


    Everyone looked outside after Yumi announced their arrival.


    Their aircraft was about tond far away from where visitors of the northern continent would normally pass.


    It was because their entrance was unwarranted. Anyone who was nning to enter the northern continent must have proper documentations approved by their country''s Magician''s Association or in Zairus, the Magician''s Congress.


    ''So that was why she used this new model of aircraft...''


    Wace thought of this while the airship stealthily silently descended near a forest they were aiming at.


    "Alright. Let''s move out..."


    This airship won''t be safe for too long in this forest. It will leave and return to here once Yumi or the other members have given the signal to be extracted in this ce.


    In the meantime, it will hide somewhere under the sea as long as it''s not too far from the northern continent.


    The other members of the crew inside seem to be employed by Veritas Group and will be handling everything rted to piloting the aircraft.


    "Eh? This ce..."


    "There''s no mana?"


    "That''s right. That was why we chose this ce. Hide your Mana for now and we''ll now move using just our physical abilities."


    Yumi reminded everyone. She already discussed this with them and everyone was fine with it. All of them had trained their body to some extent and so there shouldn''t be a problem for running around for even an entire day.


    The ce they were at was in the maind of the northern continent and they have to travel further north as per ine''s instructions.


    Yumi already determined that the path they are trying to traverse has never been explored by the past adventurers. Even the iplete map she has only have a bit of geographical representation.


    There are no notes on what kind of Mana Beast or Mythical Creatures they could encounter. It also means that there is no information about safe ces or locations where they can use their mana.


    "Mhmm... The connection is getting more vivid. We just need to travel for six or seven more days and we''ll probably reach the headmaster''s current location..."


    ine cheerfully reported.


    Unfortunately, it would be called the mysterious northern continent if they could just arrive there without any problems.


    After all, the main reason that their aircraft could only stay at the edge of thisnd was because of the unique environment within this ce and also the strong creatures living within.


    There were also unexinable things happening here and the dreadful Mana Cmity could naturally ur without any sign or warning.


    As they were silently traveling under the cover of therge canopies of trees, they heard a rumbleing not too far from them...


    "Below..."


    Hannah noticed that everyone was already gazing on the ground before she even speaks. Soon, as if they all nned their action, they jumped away at the same time.


    Baam!


    A hideous monster appeared in front of them. It was arge worm that doesn''t have noticeable eyes. It only has arge mouth with severalyers of teeth. There was even a mucusing in and out of its mouth...


    There were no such evil-looking monsters at the southern continent...


    No one intends to run away as everyone wanted to gauge their strength. If they would have trouble defeating this monster living at the edge of thend, then they would have no rights about going deeper to this dangerous continent.


    Aaarrrgh!


    The worm was seemingly disappointed for not catching even one of its prey. It soonunches itself to its next target.


    As their group scattered, it can only attack one of them...


    This time, it was Yumi who was targeted.


    "Careful!"


    ine said to Yumi but she was referring to the hidden attack of the monster.


    Crassshh!


    Another sound of an explosion was heard as the tail of the worm tried to attack Yumi on her blind spot while it''s head aimed to swallow her whole...


    Yumi quickly ducked and moved her feet agilely and distanced herself. Her team members then swiftly moved without saying any more words.


    Hannah grasps her de and lightly injured the worm. Her knife created a small wound but looking at her face. She seems so satisfied with it already.


    Wace assumed that it was poisoned or with something simr.


    Clint uses his fist to directly smash a portion of the worm''s body while ine just merely pointed her hand and the worm stiffened making it an easy target for Wace.


    He decided to deal the finishing blow.


    he clenched his fist and gathered some energy.


    Astral Core, Activate.


    A unique form of energy gathered in his hand and emits a different aura than Mana. His team members felt it but they didn''t ask since Wace might be telling them something for using this technique in this first fight.


    "Ha!"


    Wace suddenly appeared on top of the worm, he was like a ghost and sent a powerful punch to finish it off.


    Boom!!


    It exploded and even the ground below caved in.


    The four could not exin how did he manage to do it. They had been unable to follow him even after they raised their awareness to its peak.


    "I haven''t felt any Mana utilization at all..."


    "Impressive... What did I miss? Sister Yumi, did you see that?"


    "This..."


    Yumi suddenly remembered grandma Thea''s words when they first met a Celestial Being in thisnd.


    Those being doesn''t possess any Mana and has its own unique form of energy, just like Wace.


    Instead of being scared or anything, Yumi even felt satisfied bringing this man here.


    "Celestials, huh..."

 Chapter 234 - Northern Continent ( Part 4 )

    Wace squinted his eyes after seeing that the monster he expected to put up a fight just sttered like that without much resistance.


    "So this is already forty percent of Astral Core''s energy..."


    He muttered while remembering the sensation of destroying that monster.


    He didn''t use the full strength of his core. It was simply because he didn''t want to create too much mess and noise for killing the unknown beast. It may just attract more monsters if that happens.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t go as nned. The ground caved in and two nearby trees were even damaged.


    "Let''s hurry."


    Yumi felt other presenceing from monsters with different sizes. They were starting to gather on their current location. Everyone nodded and hurried to follow Yumi on her trails. She was already running at her full speed.


    "Hey! I used one of the abilities of this knife... It happened after I sliced that worm a bit. So don''t be surprised that your punch looks strong..."


    Hannah smilingly said to Wace while they were running. She even showed her knife to him that was still glowing with blue light...


    "Oh? So that was why it felt so soft... or probably brittle... May I ask what kind of effect it has?"


    "It affects the flesh of any being I sliced with this knife... Interesting, right? This is a 6th Gen Mana Artifact..."


    "6th Gen? Impressive..."


    "Hehehe... Of course! I spent my whole year of savings just for this weapon... These artifacts weren''t out for the public yet..."


    "That must be expensive..."


    "Of course, not anyone can create a 6th gen mana artifact... Just call me sister Hannah and I''ll introduce you to someone I know who can create one..."


    "Really?"


    "Hey! There''s another one..."


    Yumi said in front as she noticed another mana beasts or monsters. They seem to have trespassed their territory so right now, a lot of simr monsters were appearing...


    "What are they?"


    Clint nced at the group of beasts they encountered.


    "Sentient trees?"


    Hannah muttered after seeing them.


    "Treant!"


    Yumi shouted as she used ice magic to stopped their enemies from getting closer.


    "Frost Field!"


    The domain magic wouldn''tst long so they have to immediately act.


    "There were neen of them... Should we escape and conserve our energy?"


    Wace suggested after using his Divine Sense to determine their numbers. They can surely defeat all of them but it will take some time. They only engaged with the worm a while ago to determine their strength against such monsters.


    "Let''s eliminate a few... About three or four of these treants then we''ll leave..."


    Yumi was the leader and as soon as she ordered this. They acted at once and targeted the Treant in front of them.


    Unfortunately, unlike with the previous worm filled with flesh and blood, these treants doesn''t have those and they can mysteriously regenerate their branches.


    It continuously tried to strangle them or pierce their bodies. They were even using the cover of the ground tounch a surprise attack using their roots.


    "They''re weird creatures..."


    "Tsk... I can try burning them but the whole ce might be affected..."


    Hannahined as she saw her knife skills were ineffective against the monster.


    Clint, on the other hand, was still managing to deal some damage using his gauntlet that seems to be made of bluestone...


    Craaasshh!


    One of the treants was half-destroyed by the sheer power of his punch.


    They were obviously minimizing their usage of Mana as most of the skills they used were the powers imbued in their Mana Artifacts...


    "Let''s see..."


    Wace decided to use one of the Mana Artifact he brought with him instead of using his Astral Core again.


    He pulled out a handgun simr to what he made during TMAC but this time, it was a bit bulkier and had a red and silver color on its design.


    Whooosszzhh!


    He pulled the trigger and instead of a bulleting out of it, a steady beam of light came out and took a perfect whole out of the treant''s body.


    The part where it was damaged was even continuously being burned until it turned the whole treant into ashes.


    "Good..."


    Wace was satisfied with the result and decided to keep away his Mana Artifact. Although it was only very effective to people or creatures not using an Arcane Link to suppress the burn damage, he was still satisfied at the level of its destructiveness.


    He made this during one of his sses at the Academy.


    During their third year in the Academy, they just mostly spent their time studying Mana Artifact''s method of creation and practical learning.


    They normally use what they learned to fabricate other Mana Artifacts using theirtest version of Artifact Forging Box but not in Wace''s case.


    Although Wace created this artifact before he had an Astral Core and learned other skills, it didn''t matter since he was still unable to incorporate them to his mana artifact especially the energying out of his Astral Core. He was unable to use it as he pleases at the moment as any other object except his fist and other parts of his body would be destroyedpletely.


    Aside from his physique, there is no other body that could contain such energy.


    Unless he met those celestial beings that could probably do the same.


    Wace nced at Yumi who used another Magic Spell to control her opponent, she cast a spell to freeze a treantpletely before shattering them into many pieces.


    She was looking strong as always and not breaking any sweat against such enemies.


    "That should be enough as a warning... Let''s go..."


    A space or path to escape has been created so Yumi dered and quickly lead the way out of the enemy''s encirclement.


    Seeing her swift escape, the members followed quickly.


    This time, Yumi and her group decided to ignore the other monsters and just try to escape until they reach Percival''s location.


    ***


    Somewhere in the underground facility where the two magicians from the southern continent were sent into, a huge explosion was suddenly heard making the ground tremble and dust fall from the ceiling.


    It has been very tough for Percival to cover the youngdy during their struggle to fight their enemies. It was almost getting to the point where he was thinking of using Avery as a distraction to escape from a powerful beast.


    "Wait... This sensation... ine?"


    Percival suddenly noticed a unique fluctuation of energy.


    Although it was faint, he couldn''t be mistaken about it.


    He immediately connected it to an instructor in his academy and realized that their rescue wasn''t too far away. It would probably take three or more days based on his calction.


    One of the reasons he didn''t send ine to rescue Wace during the Terrorist attack was due to her power rted to blood. If ever she encountered the Heart''s Grimoire who simrly utilizes blood to some extent, she would be in huge trouble.


    Anyway, his mood immediately lifted up as he learned that someone was trying to find him.


    ''It''s impossible for ine to be alone. She must''ve brought an Army or got some help from the Lucent Force...''


    Percival didn''t think of Yumi yet since he was sure that Yumi was still working on a case rted to Seed Holdings.


    "Very well... Our struggle here seems to be going nowhere... I should find a better ce to wait for them instead...."


    Percival decided as he was truly running out of ideas. There seems to be no end in their struggles here.


    He looked at Avery who was starting to look lifeless due to exhaustion and hunger.


    The man decided to give her a piece of good news to lift up her mood.


    "Hang on... We just need to survive for three or five more days..."

 Chapter 235 - Sudden News

    Wace was having a bad feeling in their current situation. He wasn''t sure why but he can feel that danger was approaching them.


    He didn''t keep it with himself and mentioned it to Yumi and the others.


    "Mhmm... I''m having that same feeling..."


    Yumi said while still keeping their running pace.


    Hannah didn''t say a word but she nodded at this while Clint and ine seem to be extending their sense to detect any approaching dangers.


    "What do you suggest?"


    Yumi asked Wace since he was the one who mentioned this.


    "I''ll be in front... We''ll only need to follow this direction, right?"


    "Ho~ Sure... Take the lead..."


    If he was in front, he was confident that he can survive or escape any monster threatsing at him.


    "It''s only natural that you''ll feel some dangers around here... After all, this is where thousands of adventurers perished in just a few days..."


    ine reminded them about the first wide-scale Northern Continent Expedition which only has 24 survivors.


    Yumi nodded as she remembers grandma Thea''s warning about the Celestial Beings...


    "We''ll move cautiously... If you felt any danger, just give us a sign..."


    They continued their run as they passed several mana beasts who tried to follow and catch them. There were also some who gave up just by seeing their speed.


    Unfortunately, they experienced the ever-changing climate of the northern continent just before they got out of the forest.


    Baam!


    A bolt of lightning strikes a nearby tree followed by a loud thunder... The sky had quickly turned dark and the rains pour heavily.


    "Careful... Don''t let the rain touch your skin..."


    Yumi immediately warned the others. For someone who specializes in water and ice magic, she quickly noticed the abnormality of the raindrops.


    Everyone covered themselves with a bit thicker Mana Shell to avoid being drench by the heavy rain.


    "What''s the problem, Yumi?" Hannah asked after getting closer to her.


    "This rain isn''t made of water... We have to be careful..."


    They no longer asked further as they hurried away from this ce.


    Wace noticed that Yumi was telling that truth as the raindrops seem to contain a small parasite. No, the raindrops itself was made of a parasite! They were jelly-like creatures and their numbers were too scary...


    A heavy rain containing billions of parasites dropping from the sky was definitely a scary sight.


    Luckily, they were confident with their Mana Shell and they just had to run through this ce. They no longer bothered studying what could these parasites do with them.


    It was better to get away from here as soon as possible.


    After running for about five kilometers, they notice that the rain has weakened and as they run for a couple more minutes, there was no longer any rain as they left the dark sky.


    The group has also left the forest and now standing on a cliff. Below them was another patch of forest and they can see that there''s ake far away and a mountain range they had to cross.


    Whoosh!


    There was even arge vulture-like creature flying above their head... Its wingspan nearly reaches sixty meters. They were ignored for some reason as it headed towards theke.


    "Let''s go..."


    Yumi said before jumping from the cliff as if it was the most natural thing to do.


    Everyone gauges the distance below before jumping while Wace waited for all of them to jump while he suddenly disappeared and reappeared below surprising Yumi who had the first jump from the cliff.


    ''This kid...''


    Yumi wasn''t sure how did he manage to do that as this young man was full of mysterious abilities.


    ''Whoa~ That''s looks so convenient...''


    Hannah thought after seeing Wace who was already surveying their location for any approaching dangers.


    ine even looked up to ensure that the Wace above had truly disappeared. They were surprised seeing it the first time and seeing it again was truly something...


    Of course, they tried to avoid asking his secrets since it may not be appropriate. Anyway, they were d that he wasn''t their enemy. It would surely be difficult if they ever fought against him.


    "Is there something wrong?"


    Clint asked Wace who was silently observing the trees far ahead. They allnded safely as the cliff was only about 300 meters high. They had also used their Mana to cushion their fall so they quickly realize that the Mana here was thicker and not in a good way.


    It was to the point where it could hamper their senses a little bit. It seems that going deeper into thisnd would prove to very difficult or challenging.


    "I found some ruins... No, it should be a previous encampment of first adventurers. Should we check it out?"


    "Are there any nearby monsters?"


    "I don''t think so..."


    "Hmm... Which direction?"


    "Over there..."


    Wace pointed to their left and everyone tried to extend their senses and only to find nothing. No, they were just unable to reach further ahead to be exact.


    ine, on the other hand, had noticed those ruins as well but it was a bit vague. She couldn''t even tell that they were remnants of first adventurers.


    "Let''s see what happened there... It may give us a clue on what''s further ahead." Hannah suggested which made sense.


    They couldn''t just blindly travel ahead so Yumi''s iplete map was already very helpful.


    If they find more clues about the dangers they will be facing ahead, it will be a lot easier for them to cope up.


    Wace looked at Yumi as she nodded at him to approve Hannah''s suggestion.


    "Alright, lead the way..."


    Wace quickly moved his feet to the direction he pointed. He was even carefully avoiding some unknown nts and insects he passed by from time to time.


    It didn''t take long before he noticed that the ruins he thought to be remnants of the first wide-scale Northern Continent Expedition were actually remnants of a much more recent group.


    "This insignia... This should be from Cloud Hawk''s Manor..."


    Yumi said after seeing the destroyed tents,rge containers for food, even some nkets, and destroyed four-wheeled vehicles were here. They seem to have suffered some attack and left this ce hurriedly.


    Unfortunately, traces of the path they used to escape could not be detected probably due to some heavy rain or caused by Mana Spell.


    ine and Yumi looked at Wace as they know his connection with the manor while Hannah and Clint were clueless about his real identity.


    "Indeed... It matches their insignia..."


    Wace didn''t say more words as he left the decision to Yumi.


    "Mhmm... Let''s continue in our way..."


    Thedy said as she confirmed to ine the path they have to take...


    "Let''s try to avoid thatke... Let''s take a longer route just to be safe."


    ine suggested as she didn''t feel right about theke. It seems to be a lot more dangerous than how it looks. She couldn''t properly exin but Yumi took her advice seriously as they decided not to approach thatke.


    ***


    Avalon was working together with Ace about the creations of severalrger Mech Frames.


    Right now, they were considering whether to incorporate some high-risk Mana Artifacts to one of their Mech Frames.


    It was an artifact that has several domain magics imbued within.


    "We should try utilizing the Mech Frame''s built to its advantage... Avalon, find more details about the Steel Knights. Having this Iron Knight as a sample is not good enough... This might even be just a failed product of the Prince..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    These new Mech Frames they are making would be a total of five that woulde in a set. It was to create the strongest Mech Frame they could while using its advantages to the fullest.


    [ Iing call from Veda. Would you like to ept? ]


    Avalon suddenly reported. Ace quickly agreed since it might be an urgent matter.


    [ The''syer of protection had lost a huge chunk of energy... ]

 Chapter 236 - Beasts

    Wace sent a bit of his Divine Sense towards theke to investigate it a little.


    As soon as it reaches the surface of the water, Wace had a cold sweat in his body as he sensed a human figure with a familiar form of energy bathing under theke...


    He remembered his conversation with his master when he was epted as an apprentice. The man gave him an opportunity to ask any two questions and he''ll answer it to the best of his ability. The first question he asked was rted to Space Exploration while the second question was about the northern continent.


    His master, ine Allusia, mentioned that the most interesting existence within the northern continent was the Celestial Beings. During that day, it was Wace''s first time to hear such a name.


    He wanted to learn more about them but his master only gave him a vague exnation...


    "Is there a problem?"


    Clint suddenly asked Wace. The former had been very curious about this young man invited by Yumi.


    As he observed him closely, he noticed that the young man had a solemn expression looking at theke''s direction.


    The thickness of mana hampers their senses so it couldn''t extend more than 50 meters, unlike Wace who can do so without any problems.


    Even thedies noticed his unusual reaction after ncing in that direction.


    "Nothing... It seems that it is a good decision to avoid that ce..."


    "What did you saw out there?"


    "Someone we can''t possibly outfight at the moment..."


    "A stronger monster? Is it the rumored mythical beast?" ine asked suddenly after hearing Wace''s grave tone.


    "Mythical beasts? I believe they''re Dragons, Phoenix, Gryphons, or something?" Hannah wasn''t so sure about their existence and only rumors were made.


    Aside from these rumors, there were also some rumors rted to the existence of a group of natives here in the northern continent who had the power to easily destroy a whole teau without too muchmotion. That''s right, it was the teau that contains the Lamat Stone deposit that disappeared at the center of the country of Maja.


    Wace shook his head before answering...


    "It''s not a mythical beast...That should be a native in this continent..."


    "Someone was here?" Yumi asked doubtfully.


    As she understood, the native that Wace was referring to was a Celestial Being. But based on the intelligence that she gathered, these being would be somewhere deeper in the continent. Theke they were at was still close to the edge of the maind.


    "Mhmm... That''s why I''m surprised as well... Anyway, it doesn''t look like they noticed us... Or they probably did but wasn''t too bothered to deal with our small group.


    "Is that so? Then let''s continue... Keep your pace as it is..."


    Yumi announced as he let Wace led the way as they went around theke to reach the mountain range...


    However, it was already about to get dark when they reach the edge of the mountain.


    "Wace, can you look for a safer ce?"


    Yumi said to Wace after noticing that there were several small beasts around them. If they couldn''t find a proper ce to build their tent, she nned to rest at the top of arge tree


    Although there seem to be monkey-like creatures around them, they only number about a hundred and they could easily eliminate them if they dared to attack their group.


    "There''s a small cave where a giant bear was currently living... We can take it for ourselves..."


    Wace answered after surveying the area.


    "Hmm... Alright... Do you think we can handle that bear swiftly? It would be the best if it didn''t attract too much attention to nearby monsters."


    "I understand... How about this, wait for me here..."


    "Eh? Alright... I trust you..." Yumi could only say after seeing Wace''s confident smile.


    The young man quickly engaged with the bear about four times his current size. The bear wasn''t overweight and it even looks very agile with its bnced muscles.


    "Rooaa--"


    Whooszzh!


    The bear was about to release a loud roar after seeing a person suddenly appear within his abode. Unfortunately, the young man quickly fired hisser gun to its mouth killing therge monster instantly.


    The other members quickly noticed the disappearance of a life force from where Wace disappeared to...


    "That''s faster than I thought..." Yumi suddenly said, she was already at the entrance of the cave and behind her was Clint, Hannah, and ine.


    Everyone saw the sted head but Wace was still observing the giant bear for some reason...


    They also observed the bear and noticed that its head was actually healing very slowly...


    "No way..."


    The bear was definitely not normal since its arm and back were like wearing a stone armor and its w even seem like it was made of the finest steel. But to think that it also has the regenerative ability... This was definitely a tough beast.


    "Should we burn it?" Clint asked as he noticed that the bear was about toplete its regeneration.


    "No... I think we can finish it by crushing its four hearts..."


    Wace said which dumbfounded the other four.


    "Four hearts?"


    They quickly sent their scanning abilities to the body of the beast and realized that Wace was telling the truth...


    "Alright, I''ll do it..."


    Yumi said as she conjured four ice spears and thrust it the location of the hearts. She also conveniently cleaned the ce as the stench of the beast was removed.


    The cave now smells better and looks cleaner making it a bit morefortable to take a rest.


    On that night, Yumi showed her map to everyone and mentioned the changes to their ns because of Wace''s suggestion. Instead of going directly to the headmaster''s location using ine''s blood tracking ability, they n to utilize Wace''s scouting skills to avoid ces that would perhaps endanger them.


    Wace suggested this and agreed by everyone because they noticed that the closer they get, therger number of remnants from the recent group of adventurers were showing up.


    The remnants they saw weren''t even looking better as they have seen many clues that a lof of the Cloud Hawk''s Manor''s people had perished on their current path.


    The first group of adventurers might''ve even lessened the dangers on their current path but they would not like to take chances... The monster which they have trouble dealing with might still be around following the trails of the first group.


    As they thought the night would pass without any more problems, a snowstorm surprised everyone...


    "What kind of environment is this? How could a snowstorm just suddenly appear here?!"


    Hannah was exasperated as she wasn''t good at dealing with the cold environment without her mana artifacts activated. It would cause her some mana and she won''t get a proper rest at this rate.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll deal with it.."


    Clint said as he activated one of his one-time mana artifacts to create a wall of energy film protecting not just the entrance but the whole cave for extreme coldness.


    ine used this chance to find a small stone to cast a spell on it. The stone lit up and became like a molten stone and brought them some heat and more light.


    They had been using Yumi''s ice crystals the whole time for the light inside the cave and now that a snowstorm appeared outside, it would not be appropriate to continuously use this ice light.


    On the other hand, Wace was secretlymunicating with Avalon.


    [ We''ve lost connection to the mainframe. ]


    Wace heard Avalon reporting the news. However, before they lost the connection, they were warned by Veda that theyer of protection around the whole lost a huge chunk of energy.


    "What happened?"


    It was definitely not a piece of good news. They haven''t even finished creating a single spaceship...


    Sigh~


    Wace can only hope that it wasn''t an external intervention causing that problem.

 Chapter 237 - Hunger

    The snowstorm didn''tst long and it only took about nine hours before it started to weaken and gradually disappear.


    When they looked outside, it was already filled with a thickyer of snow and they can even see several footsteps from wild beasts around their cave.


    At the very least, the snowstorm was really a snowstorm, unlike the heavy rain filled with small parasites trying to deceive them.


    "Let''s hurry. This time, let''s not engage with any beasts. Just continue our path so we canpensate with the longer route we''ve taken."


    They avoided thergeke so they had indeed taken a long route.


    "Wace, lead the way. ine and Hannah, you go in the middle. Clint, you will be behind them. I''ll follow you a bit further behind using this, to be safe..."


    Yumi brought out a gray cloak and as soon as she wore it and activated its effects, her presence weakened by several times and if they stopped looking at her, her presence wouldpletely vanish...


    "Another 6th gen mana artifact?"


    Wace asked seeing the unique artifact...


    "Hehe, I acquired it for her..." Hannah answered to Wace. She also has a 6th gen knife and even offered herself to be a middleman if Wace was interested in acquiring one. It seems that she was serious about that.


    They continued their journey and aside from finding unusual beasts or monsters around, they also discovered a lot of unknown nts and flowers. Even the trees were differentpared to the southern continent.


    After traveling for more than 6 hours, they could no longer see any traces of snow or cold weather. As a matter of fact, ine and Hannah had sweat trickly down their faces. The ce was getting hotter and hotter.


    They stopped momentarily to rehydrate themselves before continuing their way. They were only having a bit of snacks prepared by Yumi. Although it doesn''t taste good, it would keep them going and energize.


    "Our supplies canst for a month but... do you want to try cooking those beasts?"


    Wace suggested seeing his instructor''s nd expression after having a bite at something like a gran bar given by Yumi...


    He also had food supplies on his Spatial Bag and they were aware of it. But the food he brought were better if they were in the camp or settlement while Yumi''s food can be eaten even while on the run.


    Although he also had meat and vegetables in his spatial bag, he suggested this just in case they wanted to eat some fresh meat from this continent.


    "Err... If you found something not poisonous... Maybe we can try..."


    Hannah was cool with the idea while ine and Clint remember the weird monsters they found while traveling up to here.


    "As long as we found something that looks normal... It should be fine..."


    Yumi added after considering. They will be traveling for four to five more days so it wouldn''t be bad to eat some good foods to ensure that they were in the peak condition to rescue people.


    "How was his life force?"


    Yumi suddenly asked ine referring to the headmaster''s situation.


    "He has a stable life force now. It seems that he halted any battles in the meantime..."


    "Great! Do you think that he was aware that we''re about to arrive?"


    "Probably... I couldn''t really tell since thisnd interferes with my ability. If I haven''t strengthened it by taking some of the essences of the sealed mana artifact, I wouldn''t even find him here..."


    ine exined to everyone. The Heart''s Grimoire that was left at the Tanza City was under the jurisdiction of the Lucent Force. Through her connection with Aaron, the young master of the Force, she managed to get a bit of heart''s essence and reinforced her ability.


    Wace had gotten more curious about these sealed mana artifacts but this thing was too dangerous considering that their origin was from the Celestial Beings.


    Caaw! Caw!


    They were covered by a huge shadow from arge crow that passed over their heads.


    The ck bird looks angry seeing their group.


    It doesn''t have any intention of ignoring them and even circled around to target their group.


    This would be their first time dealing with flying Mana beasts so they readied themselves and ensured that there were no other monsters lurking around.


    They can''t be too engrossed fighting this steel-like crow with a wingspan that reaches about 60 meters.


    Haaa!


    Clint used a Mana de and probed the defense of the diving crow...


    Pah!


    It was deflected like it was just water that crashed into steel.


    "No way!"


    Even a Sage would still put up his Mana Shell to block his attack. But thisrge crowd just ignored itpletely!


    "This guy''s feathers were tougher than steel... Piercing it would be tough."


    "Try freezing it, sister Yumi!"


    Hannah wasn''t too confident that her knife would even cut that bird. Her other spells were also not suitable in the situation as most of her magic were all support spells.


    Wind Wall!


    Water Wall!


    It was a simultaneous cast by Hannah in an attempt to slow down the dive of this huge bird.


    Craaash!


    It was like a paper and hadn''t halted the bird at all.


    But that was enough for Yumi to finish her cast.


    Frost Domain!


    Ice Shell!


    The crow was frozen and based on its size, the frost would onlyst about two seconds before it would shatter and be harmless Mana again. But these two seconds were important in this type of battle.


    The moment it lost control for two seconds made it crashed towards the ground.


    Boom!


    Flesh and blood sttered around together with some earth and dust.


    Its ownrge size and force behind its dive killed itself by crashing its head on the surface of the sturdy ground!


    It was a good strategy thought by a few seconds.


    "Urgh... I thought that it wouldst for a couple of minutes."


    "Haah! It''s exhausting to cast domain spell, you know? I don''t want to repeat that on the next time..."


    "Haha! Let''s just hope that there''s no next time..."


    Wace and ine didn''t do anything in this battle but just ensured that no third party would interrupt their battle with the bird.


    "Hey, Wace! Can you check if this is edible?"


    Hannah suddenly asked after seeing that half of itsrge body was still around.


    "Mhmm... Of course, let me check..."


    As soon as they confirmed that there''s no problem with the meat, they quickly stored some and continued their way.


    They also made sure to deal with the dead body to avoid any disease manifesting in this area.


    ***


    Percival and Avery hadn''t eaten an appetizing meal for a while now. Although mana practitioners canst for several days without eating, it doesn''t mean they would not be weakened at all.


    Thest meal the two had was from a snake-like beast that they cooked with a fire spell. That was two days ago and they were starting to get hungry and nning to find more edible foods.


    "I''ll look around here... "


    "Don''t be too far... Don''t get lost again."


    "I know..."


    Avery answered annoyingly. It wasn''t her fault for getting lost before since this ce was truly a maze.


    But now that they were staying here for a couple of days, she was already familiar with the ce and confident not to get lost this time.


    "Did she gets lost again?"


    Percival muttered as he noticed that she was gone for about six hours already.


    However, as he was nning to find her again, thedy returned with a surprising guest.

 Chapter 238 - Guest

    "I thought that you''ll get some food?"


    Percival asked Avery after seeing her together with an unexpected guest.


    "Well, he said that he has food with him. He has Spatial Bag, unlike you."


    Avery answered as she went to her room cave to clean herself. It seems that she got dirtied while finding her some food.


    The floor they were at has 5 cleared rooms spanning about 100 square meters each. They were still unsure howrge this floor was and as far as they counted, they had gone up for about 30 floors already.


    They were still unsure about the difficulty of the higher floors since during the 30 floors they passed through, they had always been fighting stronger monsters. They don''t have medicines, reinforcements, or even supply of proper food so they decided to stay here after Percival learned that a rescue wasing to them.


    When they first got here, the ce was full of dirt, unknown nts, rubbles, destroyed furniture, and even traces of dead monsters from some kind of incubators ced in several rooms.


    But now that they were not being assaulted by any monsters here, they had the time to clean the mess as they just can''t stand having a dirty ce especially now that they have ns of staying here for several more days.


    They were expecting that this room was a facility used to give birth to such monsters or chimera they fought before but it seems that those monsters don''t have ns to return to this ce as the two magicians have been peacefully living here.


    "You''ve got a nice ce here..." The guestmented after observing the room they were at.


    "Yeah... We''ve cleaned it a bit. How did you get here? Wait, do you know where are we?"


    "Our group entered a tower with about 20 floors but we got separated. That was more than a week ago. I''ve been wondering around this ce until I stumbled upon thatdy."


    "I see... May I ask why did you decide to enter here? Well, we''re trying to get out of here."


    "Is that so? I was told that he was living here..."


    "Who?"


    "Aeolia..."


    Percival froze at the mention of that mysterious person''s name.


    "Sir ine, he really is alive? Living in this godforsaken ce?"


    "I believe so... Sigh~ I need some help for the future, I can onlye here to try my luck..."


    ine solemnly said before being silent. After a few moments, he suddenly chuckled as he remembers his journey up to here.


    "I asked one of the Celestials to help us... I even had to sacrifice half of my team just to meet that being... Then, he just told me to visit here and ask that person."


    "Celestial Beings?"


    "Yes..."


    "They''re dangerous..."


    "More dangerous than you can imagine. I almost died just by getting near that creature..."


    "That must be awful..."


    "You bet..."


    "So, what are your ns now? Just to let you know, we''ve been climbing up this building and this should be around the 30th floor already. We don''t even know if we are transported at the very bottom of this building..."


    "I''m not sure. I will try to look for him as much as I can... Wait, you just said that you got transported here? How?"


    Percival then exined how the Sealed Mana Artifact called Heart''s Grimoire has this hidden power. Unfortunately, it seems to be a one-time use since the grimoire has disappeared after Avery activated the ability.


    "Well, it is good that you''re not here to take your chances and create a weapon out of those Celestials..."


    The headmaster joked with the Grand Arcanist.


    "Hmph! I''m guessing that whoever made it just luckily found a dead Celestial... There was no way a human could defeat such entity. I just can''t imagine."


    "Ho~ Even if the three Grand Arcanist worked together?"


    "Huh? If we worked together, the most that we can do was to guarantee our escape. Not even our finest creations can fight against that." ine said without any hesitation.


    They all have life-saving skills that can only be used for a few times, it can be said that it was a perk of being a Grand Arcanist.


    On the other hand, their counterpart in Combat Magician''s path or the Grand Sage, they also have skills they can use to fight back.


    ine wasn''t just sure whether it was enough to heavily injure a Celestial.


    Percival observed the man who, although looks exhausted, still exudes a majestic presence in front of him.


    It may be due to his hidden Arcana or it was truly his aura born through the years of being at the peak of his path.


    "You need to rest..."


    "I can''t... Not now..." ine said solemnly. He even pressed his temple using his right hand as if he was hurt.


    "What happened?"


    Percival asked as he felt that the man was hinting something.


    "Last night, one of the problematic Celestials tried to destroy the moon and although it was blocked by a protectiveyer covering the sky, that Celestial would surely try again once it gathered its energy..."


    "This..."


    If Percival heard this words to others, he will definitely think they were crazy or joking with him.


    But the one saying this was a respectable Grand Arcanist! So it can already be considered as the truth!


    "Sigh~ I''m not sure about what kind of journey you had on the surface but it was surely tough..."


    "Mhmm..."


    ine nodded since that was truth.


    It was really hard. At first, he thought that their journey in this continent would be quick. It would be finish after retrieving some materials to manifest an Arcana...


    This Arcana would supposedly help other magicians and non-magicians for the future but he slowly found clues about Aeolia and gradually decided to step further on his ns.


    He put up his courage and met with a non hostile Celestial and got some answers. But it only leads to getting tied more and more to this continent.


    Anyway, ine had to meet with Aeolia as it seems that the man achieved some sort of agreement with a few Celestials.


    "Just where was he hiding?"


    ***


    Wace and his group had a sumptous meal that night after cooking a part of the ck bird''s body.


    Since Wace had brought a lot of condiments and even some fruits, ine had easily cooked an appetizing foods for everyone.


    "Tomorrow, we''ll not be stopping to rest even at night. The ce we''re about to go was a lot more dangerous but this time, it would lessen the danger during the night..."


    "Understood..."


    "Alright, then let''s enjoy thisst alcohol now."


    Hannah offered to everyone while bringing out a bottle of alcohol from her backpack


    The others only shook their heads after seeing it and remained unperturbed.


    "It seems that it was raining... with genuine water this time..."


    Clintmented as he looked at the entrance of the small cave they were in.


    "You''re right... It''s genuine water..." Yumi agreed after ncing at the entrance''s direction.


    Even though Yumi calmly said this, Wace can still see traces of worry on her face.


    The five rested for a few hours before continuing on their way.


    They found a 3 story building covered by moss and tree on the surface.


    This time, Wace reached a ce where Veda can still be contacted. He can now connect to the super A.I. and ask sometest news.

 Chapter 239 - Veda

    [ Congrattions on reaching here. This facility still has a working machine underground powered by the same energy being used by Celestial Beings. It is extremely outdated but I can still connect with it so it''s better than nothing. ]


    Veda informed Wace as they reached the vicinity of the old building. Wace was curious how the A.I. manages to connect here but it''s not the time to be curious about its framework.


    "Is this ce dangerous?"


    [ No, but be careful of some chimeras that visits around this ce during the night. ]


    "Tsk... Are they failed experiments?"


    [ Well, it can be considered as sessful considering they lived up until today. They can still be used as living weapons. ]


    "If they can be controlled... Right?"


    [ Yes. ]


    "I assume that the Prince has methods to control them. But those methods failed... Sigh~ Not just those Celestials, these chimeras, and monsters were also his failed experiments, right? So he had to escape at the southern continent..."


    [ Not quite right. Only the Celestial Beings and Chimeras were made in several facilities on thisnd. The others were just mutations from radiation after this ce was left without control. ]


    "There are many facilities? How did the prince manage them? Was he using automatons or something simr?"


    [ No, he found natives living in this continent to work for him. ]


    "Natives? Oh, right... That was mentioned in the logbook... Do you know where are they? Wait, did they even survived through the years?"


    [ Yes. There were traces found that they were living at the northernmost of thisnd. I can no longer reach there. ]


    "I understand. Anyway, how were the projects?"


    [ They are bing quite faster. Now that Ace was doing the production full time, there were a lot of thingspleted in a few days. Your mountain was also being renovated very fast. ]


    "Hey? I haven''t been away for a week and there''s already a lot of things done?"


    [ Of course! Don''t underestimate the full-time workers. You will be surprised once you returned. ]


    "Alright... But I don''t think I''ll be able to return quickly."


    Wace had a bad feeling about their journey here... He even saw some traces of worry on Yumi''s face.


    ''She must''ve sensed something that I missed.''


    "What are you muttering there?"


    Yumi asked seeing Wace being silent. Now that they found a building and surveyed the surroundings, Yumi stopped using her cloak and approached the group.


    "Nothing... I''m talking with Avalon..."


    "Oh? You can still connect with your A.I.?"


    "Ah no... What I have is a standalone A.I., it doesn''t need to be connected to Avalon at the house."


    Wace said as he pointed on his left earpiece.


    "No enemies sighted... Wace, use your ability to confirm any lifeforce inside again, just in case I missed something."


    Clint said as he nced at the two.


    "Alright..."


    His Divine Sense activated fully and confirmed that aside from the small insects and some mutated animals living inside, there were no Mana Beasts or chimeras that Veda warned about...


    "Should we enter ?" Clint asked as he nced at Yumi after Wace finished his investigation.


    In truth, Wace was the one who suggested checking this building since this was noted in his map where Veda can still be reached.


    [ There is a small machine underground. If you want to be connected with me all the time, you can bring that with you. ]


    Veda reminded Wace. The young man was already aware of this when the A.I. informed him about the ces it could reach its connection.


    "Will there be any problems?"


    [ Well, if you bring that with you, you''ll be easily sighted by those Celestial Beings. But of course, you can use it as an indicator to inform them that you meant no harm and you were on their side. ]


    Wace listened and weighed its advantages...


    "Is that really all?"


    It was too good to be true when Wace realized how important it was.


    [ Yes, that''s all. You just have to avoid the problematic Celestials since they wouldn''t care if you have that machine or not since they will still do what they want. ]


    "Huh? What do you mean problematic?"


    [ It means what it means, they are problematic. Oh, your Avalon here needed me. Bye! ]


    Sigh~


    They must be busy with something...


    ''Wait, can''t it just multitask while helping Avalon? Tsk...''


    Wace shakes off this thought as he was still undecided about whether to take that machine with him. The problem was that it can be detected by Celestials making him unable to hide with them in case he encountered a problematic one.


    But he suddenly thought of a simple solution.


    "That''s right, I can just store that with my Spatial Bag... That way, I can even use it for experimentation once I returned... Even those Celestials should be incapable of detecting objects inside my dimensional storage space.''


    As he thought of this, he voiced out his opinion to everyone.


    "Wait, I can just enter by myself... There is no danger inside. I will just look for something..."


    "Look for something? Have you been to this ce before?"


    "Eh? No... I just sensed something. Don''t worry, I''ll be quick..."


    Wace quickly entered the building leaving the group behind to guard the surface.


    The building was three-story on the surface but it has underground floors. The lower floors seem to have copsed already so it was impossible to reach the lowest floor where Veda''s machine was located.


    It means that he can only use his Void Phase to reach that ce without troubles.


    The ce was extremely dark so Wace had to use his Divine Sense to survey the surroundings.


    "Lowest floor, huh..."


    Now that Wace entered the building, he realized that although no Mana beasts living in the surroundings, there was some sort of poison leaking from the floors below...


    Unfortunately, Wace didn''t have tools to detect it and he only realized it using his improved Divine Sense.


    But Wace couldn''t entirely determine what type of poison it was and even Avalon was helpless if it doesn''t have any equipment to use.


    "Is it some kind radiation?"


    He was unsure what it was but it was not important anymore. He activated his Astral Core and covered himself with a unique energy. He had a bad feeling about the poison and he felt that his Mana Shell would not be good enough.


    As soon as he reached the lowest floor using his Void Phasing Steps, he noticed that the ce has thicker of that poisonous gas.


    ''Veda didn''t mention that the machine has this side effects. It must havee from different source...''


    It didn''t take long for Wace to see a small oval shaped machine with a size of an adult''s head carefully ced in a ss case.


    It was pulsating!


    The object was glowing with a white light from time to time like it has a life.


    "This..."


    Wace was about to approach the object but he suddenly realized that even his Astral Energy was starting to be corroded by the "radiation" in the surroundings. He had to quickly take away that machine!


    He swiftly vanished and touched the ss case before it disappeared on his hands.


    Now that it was stored properly, he had to quickly leave the ce.


    On the other hand, as soon as he took the machine with him, a nearby existence sensed its sudden disappearance and now hurrying to reach the ce.

 Chapter 240 - Celestial ( Part 1 )

    Wace immediately returned to the surface after confirming that he has safely stored the machine.


    He didn''t even bother to check with Veda whether it was the real thing and only trusted his hunch since he had a bad feeling about staying longer on that cramped and dark ce.


    "Are you alright?"


    Yumi asked seeing Wace was breathing heavily. He wasn''t even gone for long.


    "I''m good. We have to leave this ce..."


    "Just like what we wanted..." Yumi smiled as she nced at the ground.


    Wace did the same and noticed that the previously grass-filled ground was now filled with mosquitoes...


    The group was certainly attacked during the short time he went away. This means that this ce wasn''t really as peaceful as it seems to be.


    At the very least, these insects were weak creatures considering that Veda had only warned him about the chimeras that lurk at night.


    Wace leads the way as they quickly left the ce. They were still in the forest but their current path seems to have a road that naturally formed through the years of usage.


    This path may have been used by either arge number of monsters or a road might have been built here before but it just got covered by ground and some grass that grew in time.


    There seems to be no problem traveling for several hours as they avoided any troublesome mana beasts.


    Rooaaarr!!


    A sudden loud roar halted their movements as the sheer forceing from the sound even bent some trees.


    "Let''s try to avoid that..." Hannah suggested as she realized that the source of such a powerful roar was surely a strong opponent.


    Yumi waited for Wace to decide since she realized that the man looks to be more ustomed to this kind of ce considering his decision-making and unrivaled senses.


    Roooaaarr!!


    Another loud roar from a beast was heard and this time, the origin of the sound was getting near them.


    Clint and ine even readied their weapons in case they engaged in a fight.


    "Wait, I think we need to try fighting this one. There will surely be a lot of these kinds of creatures in the ce where the headmaster was staying at."


    "What kind of creature?"


    "Chimeras..."


    Crash!


    They were about to ask what he meant by that word but as soon as the monster suddenly arrived in front of them, they realized that Wace meant what he said. It was really a chimera...


    Grrr!


    A threatening growl sounded as the monster stared at the group of people.


    The chimera was a mix of red deer''s head, gori''s torso, scorpion''s tail, and lion''s limbs. Its skin was even covered by a thinyer of scales.


    It was unlike the previous bear that Wace finished off who only had mutated some of its body to strengthen itself. This one was an abomination of a creature.


    Wind Haste!


    Mud Ground!


    Hannah cast a quick support spell for everyone and another spell to slow the creature.


    Luckily, the creature doesn''t seem to be proficient in utilizing the mana hidden within its body so they quickly injured the chimera.


    Slice!


    Hannah used her knife to cut a small part of its skin and utilized its effect. Clint used his gauntlet tond a heavy punch that throws the monster by several meters.


    "Raaahh!"


    The chimera was hurt by these people as its eyes turned red in anger. Hannah even noticed that her 6th gen mana artifact wasn''t effective with the creature.


    This time, even Wace, who thought that this would just be an easy fight was threatened by the aura it exudes.


    "Be careful! It is channeling some sinister aura on its mouth. It mayunch an attack at any time..."


    Wace reminded them as he noticed the aura umting on its body that was being directed to the chimera''s mouth.


    The aura was simr to mana but it felt like it was a corrupted form of energy.


    Rooaarr!


    The chimera made another deafening roar and this time, it was apanied by a powerful force that even makes the ground tremble.


    They tried gaining their bnce but the chimera was already charging to the nearest person. It was Clint who just dealt a blow to the chimera.


    st Shield!


    He was aware that his Mana Shell wouldn''tst long to a rampaging beast that has a towering height of four meters. The spell he used has an ability to create a wind shock to any approaching projectile that could deflect or dy any attack.


    "Come!"


    Clint was readying his gauntlet and once the beast was within his reach he would release his strongest strike to finish off this beast.


    Hannah had even supported Clint and cast a unique spell called Water Wave to further dy the approaching beast.


    As they thought Clint would finish the opponent, a sudden thumping noise was heard and though itsts for a mere couple of seconds, they realized that there was no longer any mana present in surroundings.


    "Crap!"


    Clint was surprised by the sudden disappearance of Mana.


    Wace immediately realized the graveness of the situation. Although Clint has a strong bodypared to the other Adepts, he was still not a match to the huge raging beast ramming at him.


    Its head''s antler doesn''t seem to be fragile at all and it seems that it could even destroy several trees with its single charge.


    The young man used his Void Phase to quickly appear at the side of the beast and used 60 percent of his Astral Core''s power to deal a heavy blow...


    "Haaah!"


    The chimera took the hit but it wasn''t thrown away this time since it was being protected by corrupted mana. At the very least, the charging beast changed its direction and Clint avoided taking a direct hit.


    "What happened? Why can''t we suddenly use Mana?!"


    Hannah worriedly asked as she tries to gain control of the surrounding Mana. Her Arcane Link was still there but she can just barely utilize her internal mana. She can''t manipte it and bring it outside her body.


    Something was definitely causing a problem. They have been in ces without Mana before and the only problem in those locations was that they were unable to control the surrounding mana to strengthen their spells and to utilize it for themselves.


    At the very least, in those locations, they can still use their internal mana that was reserved within their bodies.


    It was unlike their situation now that even summoning mana from their bodies was causing them problems!


    They were worried about this incident... This continent seems to have more secrets than they expected.


    "Thank you, Wace..."


    "Don''t mind it. That guy was still not finished..."


    As soon as he said this, he quickly activated his Astral Core and used his strongest punch to deal damage to that chimera.


    St!


    Its body parts or flesh and blood sttered around the whole ce.


    Wace was surprised for a bit. He didn''t think that the chimera would just die like this since it was able to defend his 60% strike a while ago.


    As everyone sighed in relief and rxed their bodies, Wace was only standing on his ground and looking up in the sky.


    His face was looking serious and he even slowed his breath unconsciously.


    Yumi, ine, Hannah, and Clint noticed Wace''s unusual behavior and as soon as they nce at the direction he was looking at, they froze.

 Chapter 241 - Celestial ( Part 2 )

    The existence they were looking at has a figure simr to a human. It was floating steadily in the sky about two hundred meters from the ground.


    With their improved senses, they easily saw that the figure they were looking at wasn''t a normal human being since the figure was like a glowing human.


    Its face was still distinguishable like an androgynous human but its entire body doesn''t seem to be made of flesh and bones and only blue light of energy. There was even some visible aura or energy leaking on its body while it was steadily floating.


    It doesn''t have clothes so they can see that it doesn''t have any even gender at all...


    "Hey... This..." Hannah stepped back unconsciously after seeing the mysterious figure.


    "I didn''t think that they''re really not humans..." ine muttered softly as she realized what kind of existence was in front of them.


    "Guh... Can we even talk to this one?"


    Clint felt that it was bad news fighting this opponent. The scary thing was the unknown. He knows in his instinct that this existence possesses immense power but for some reason, he was unable to gauge its strength using his abilities.


    ''Am I really this weak?''


    Clint felt dismayed having realized the gap between their strength. He thought that it was too strong for him to calcte its strength.


    He didn''t know that this existence cannot be gauged by normal standards since they have a different form of application in mana.


    The figure slowly descended not too far from them.


    The five magicians gulped as they were looking at a different species, it was what they realized after seeing the difference of this beingpared to them. Aside from having a human figure, it could not be considered a human at all.


    "Who are you?"


    Yumi asked cautiously after the figurended softly on the ground. Their mission was to rescue her cousin so they can''t be stopped here...


    They waited for it to answer but no words came from this lifeform. It feels like the existence was examining them in its gaze.


    Wace was itching to probe this creature as he slowly gets closer to the figure. Everyone praised Wace''s decisiveness in this situation.


    There are cases that they have to act first to gain an advantage.


    Although he still maintained a distance, Wace also made sure that if ever this existence attacks them, he would be their first target. He decided to do this as he has several methods to guarantee his life.


    The others may also have their life-saving skills but he thought that it would be better if he was targeted first since he was more knowledgeable about this existence.


    "Wace, be careful..."


    ine worriedly said. Now that the being got closer to them, she realized that it was the source of a disturbance at the surrounding mana that makes it unusable.


    Right now, they can''t use their mana at all and even their top-grade mana artifacts may not even work in this situation.


    After a couple more seconds, the existence started to converse with them. Surprisingly, it didn''t use its mouth to converse but it talked to them telepathically.


    "I''m looking for someone. I noticed that there was a disturbance and a fluctuation of astral energy brought me here."


    Its voice was echoing within their minds. Unfortunately, Hannah couldn''t take it and it felt like her head was about to explode. The only thing she could do was to concentrate her internal mana to protect her from the voice.


    She no longer bothered listening from what it has to say.


    Wace realized that this existence probably sensed him using his astral core a while ago. Another guess he could have was that it sensed the machine on his spatial bag that also possesses this astral energy used by Celestial Beings...


    There was no doubt, what was in front of them was the mysterious Celestial Being of the northern continent. A result of the prince''s experimentation to create a powerful existence to fight against the Empire.


    ***


    ine decided to give Avery and Percival some of his food stored within his spatial bag.


    The Grand Arcanist came to this continentpletely prepared unlike these two, as they just got suddenly transported here in the middle of their fight.


    "I''ll explore this ce for a few days... How about you two?"


    "Well, we''ll reserve our energy in the meantime. A rescue team was about to get us out of here so we''ll wait since its better than moving around in this maze."


    "Oh, they have skills to trace you?"


    "Yes... One of my friends learned a blood tracking ability. I conveniently left some drops of blood that they can use when I realized that something was wrong with that Heart''s Grimoire. But... they seem to be taking their time getting here..."


    "Haha! It won''t be easy getting here... Most of my people died just by getting here... Your rescuer must be an elite of the elites to arrive here unharmed."


    "That dangerous?"


    "The chimeras you fought here, weren''t considered very strong since they are weakened here by theck of their resources. There will be chimeras and mana beasts on the surface that has a full supply of resources since their birth so some of them mutated to be very tough monsters to deal with..."


    "Urgh... I didn''t consider that..."


    Percival believes that ine brought a group of Lucent Force to rescue him. He was even hoping that they announced their n to the public so his friends in the Congress, Sky Raven Manor, and Luxford n would hear about it so they could volunteer in helping them.


    "How many days had passed when you notice that the blood tracking ability was tracing you?"


    "About three days."


    "Ho~ If they are still surviving until today, then they must have impressive skills. You don''t have to worry a lot. I don''t think they will encounter any Celestial in their way here."


    ine remembers the many obstacles they faced just by getting here. Aside from that, they also eliminated quite a number of chimeras and mana beasts along the way so they should be fine.


    The only problem they had before was the chimera that lurks in the shadows which created a lot of troubles in their team as it followed them for several days.


    The only time they got rid of it was when he decided to meet a Celestial and thetter conveniently eliminated it for them because it didn''t like its aura.


    "Great! That''s good to hear but how did you know of this, Sir ine?"


    Percival has been worrying the existence of Celestial Beings roaming around in this continent so he sighed in relief that the Grand Arcanist guaranteed that the rescue team will not encounter a Celestial.


    "Celestial Beings don''t really like to talk with people like us. They wouldn''t even engage in a conversation unless you possess something they were looking for..."


    The two magicians chatted for a while as Avery started having a meal. It has been a while ever since she had a healthy and appetizing meal so she didn''t wait for the two men as she ate her fill.


    She was honestly disgusted by the foods they were eating here before but because she has to survive until they got rescued, she had to do everything she can.


    Even if she was captured by this personter, she has ways to get out of prison as their organization also possesses power over government officials.


    As a matter of fact, it may be the easiest way to return and get connected with the organization.

 Chapter 242 - Celestial ( Part 3 )

    Avery was sure that after she went missing, the previous hideouts she was aware of will be abandoned and all other facilities of the organization she knows would either stoppletely or be sold to different legal organizations.


    It was a normal action considering that they were also not aware of the hidden power possessed by the Heart''s Grimoire.


    They might even be thinking that she was truly captured by the headmaster and never went missing with him. It can be considered as a ploy by the Lucent Force to root out the other members.


    "...I don''t think they will encounter any Celestial in their way here."


    Avery suddenly perked up her ears as she listened to the two''s conversation. She wasn''t ignorant about the existence of Celestial Beings but she knows too little about them.


    It can''t be helped since most of the information about them came from the hints given by the twenty-four survivors of the first grand expedition.


    As she listens to them, she realized that the person she brought here wasn''t a simple man.


    The only introduction he gave to her was that he was associated with the Cloud Hawk''s Manor at the Capital and he was currently lost.


    Since she was a member of a criminal organization that sought the power of the Celestials, she had learned the list of notable organizations ruling the country aside from the government''s military.


    One of the small but dreadful power was the Cloud Hawk Manor which houses hundreds of Adepts, dozens of Arcane Artificers, five Arcanists, one Sage, and one Grand Arcanist in their midst.


    It was small considering that the other ns has more Sages who focused onbat. But the existence of one Grand Arcanist can equal to several dozen of Sages because of their power to create many things. They are the magicians closest to bing a Supreme Magic Craftsman.


    "ine?"


    Avery heard Percival calling the man''s name and realized that she had truly underestimated this person.


    "There''s really no escape here, huh..."


    She still has ns of escaping in case there was a chance but with this person''s existence, she might as wellply with the headmaster''s words to avoid being taught a lesson. With that in mind, she joined their conversation.


    "Sir, I didn''t realize you are the respectable Grand Arcanist. Please, forgive my rudeness..."


    Percival heard Avery utter such words and he gets a bit curious about this girl''s ns.


    "It''s fine. Don''t worry about it."


    ine answered as she nodded at thedy''s politeness.


    "Thank you, Sir ine. May I ask something about the Celestial Beings?"


    "Sure..."


    "But Sir--"


    Percival wanted to stop the Grand Arcanist but thetter just waved his hand so he can only wait for Avery to ask her questions.


    "Are they natives of this continent?".


    "Not sure... But they existed longer than your master, the one who gave you the Heart''s Grimoire..."


    Avery was stunned by hearing his usations but she quickly gathers her thoughts as she rebuked the Grand Arcanist''s words.


    "She''s not my master. She''s an employer... That''s entirely different..."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes. Anyway, I heard from your conversation that Aeolia might be hiding in here..."


    Avery wanted to avoid that conversation as she had even identally confirmed the existence behind her power. She was too surprised by this man''s words and it felt like he knows herpletely.


    "It''s not guaranteed since I only have clues..."


    "So you really think he''s alive? Is he one of those Celestials?"


    "He should be alive... That man was tougher than what everyone has thought. And I don''t think that he''s a Celestial as well, you will understand once you''ve seen a real one."


    ine was not bothered by her questions so Percival just let her be. Anyway, this woman won''t be out of his sight anymore.


    "Are they strong?"


    "The Celestials? Yes... Hmmm... I think that''s enough. I already rested for a while. I should continue going deeper."


    Percival nodded and lead the man on the path they have previously taken. It leads going deeper on this site and he can only pray that this Grand Arcanist would be able to find the mysterious man.


    Now that he learned what he was aiming for going to this continent, he wanted him to seed and help humanity strengthen for the sake of the future.


    ***


    "I don''t think we know that someone you''re looking for..."


    Wace answered the Celestial Being he identified as not problematic. He was expecting that those problematic Celestials that the A.I. meant would just probably attack them on sight and would not converse like these. But his telepathic form ofmunication can really cause a headache.


    "Mhmm... That''s weird..."


    The Celestials trusted their senses a lot and they would not normally get mistaken.


    Soon, the being tried to probe them.


    It flicked its fingers and the next thing they know was that they were thrown away as they crashed in the nearby trees and rocks. Hannah was injured with a broken right arm. Clint was also not in good condition as his head got smashed in a nearby rock.


    "Guh!"


    ine vomited a mouthful of blood as she almost canceled the blood tracking spell.


    It would be real trouble if the spell loses its effects now.


    Everyone else understood this so even though Yumi was also hurting after being thrown to a nearby trunk of a tree, she worriedly looked at ine to confirm that she was still conscious.


    Yumi then nced at Wace who was also struggling to stand up. There was no visible injury on his body but it can be seen that he was wobbly standing on his feet.


    "Well, it seems that I''m mistaken..."


    The Celestial was seemingly disappointed about the result of the test. The figure even slowly walked to them and it seems to be nning something.


    ''Crap... Another one of those and they might take serious injuries...''


    Wace can only protect himself and he really didn''t take that much damage and he only acted in hopes of making this Celestial unguarded to his surprise attack if necessary.


    ''But what was this guy''s looking for-- Wait, Maybe...''


    "Your eminence..."


    Wace didn''t know how to call the being so he only tried calling him this. He started to talk as the existence might try that attack one more time and finish them off. He was now sure that this one was actually a problematic Celestial or probably reaching that state. Seeing that there was no reaction, he continued.


    "We''ve seen one of your kinds bathing under theke in that direction. Your eminence can probably reach that ce in a few minutes... I am unsure whether they''re the ones you''re looking for..."


    Wace pointed in the direction they avoided as he prayed that this guy would leave them already.


    "Hmm... I don''t think that they''re the one I''m looking for but I would like to meet one of my kind..."


    The Celestial answered slowly and thought for a few seconds. Wace gulped as he waited for this being to disappear from his sight. The five seconds it took to decide felt like an eternity. ine, Hannah, and Clint needed quick medical attention!


    Luckily, his prayers were answered as the Celestial floated and disappeared like he was never there. The blocked mana was also removed and they can already feel the surrounding mana flooding their location.

 Chapter 243 - Troubles

    Wace pulled out his Holy Elixirs that he received from the Pathfinder. He unhesitatingly uncapped one of them to quickly heal Clint,the man with the heaviest injury.


    His head suffered a bit of deformation as he was unprotected by mana when he was thrown away.


    He was unconscious and unsteadily breathing.His physical strength was not enough to guard such a powerful attack.


    "Yumi, take these two!"


    He noticed that thisdy was in a better condition and threw two of his elixirs so she can give it to the two seriously injureddies.


    They probably have their own healing tools, magic, or potions but he decided to give him his own since the quality of his elixirs should be better and would surely heal thempletely.His Pathfinder never gave him bad quality objects.


    As he was trying to do his best to save Clint''s life, he didn''t forget to survey the surroundings for any approaching danger.


    Although there was a little chance that they will be attacked by a chimera or a mana beast due to the show of force made by the Celestial, he can''t be too sure in this unpredictablend.


    Yumi assisted thedies to take the potion orally and waited for it to take effect before letting out a sigh of relief.


    "Whew... We survived, huh..."


    Yumi slowly said as she waved her hands. Blood can be seen on her palms due to clenching her fist tightly.


    She was about to use her one-time-use mana artifact and escape from here but when she almost activated the artifact, Wace spoke to the Celestial Being and made it fly away.


    "Wace! Is he alright?"


    Yumi asked as she noticed that although Clint still has an abundant life force, he wasn''t waking up.


    "He''s healing slowly... We probably needed more time to rest."


    "I understand but we need to get away from here as quickly as possible..."


    Yumi nced worriedly at their current location. Hannah already stood up as she thanked the two for their quick response to the situation.


    "Mhmm... I can carry him in the meantime. How about the two?"


    "Your elixirs worked very well. They should be fine in about ten minutes..."


    Yumi looked at Hannah who was starting to gain her bnce.


    "Alright... By the way, don''t you have any tools with you to protect against such Celestial, you shouldn''t be clueless when you decided to go here, right?"


    "Isn''t that''s the reason why I chose you toe with us? I trust you..."


    "Hey... That''s too much..."


    "I''m kidding... Grandma Thea-- I mean, one of my friends told me that it was almost impossible to encounter a Celestial here but in case we needed to escape from one, I have an artifact here that would let us escape but..."


    Yumi started to exin the mana artifact to Wace.


    Unfortunately, although she has this artifact in case of emergency given by Grandma Thea, once it was used, it also means that their journey in this continent would be over and they won''t be able to rescue her cousin just to save their lives.


    "Sigh~ Be sure to use that if you notice that our lives were in danger..."


    "Yes... I''m sorry. I couldn''t think properly... I was thinking that once I activated the artifact, we can no longer save my cousin but..."


    Yumi emotionally said as she looked at her friends that suffered some serious injuries a few moments ago.


    "I realized that we can just return here with stronger force in case we failed today..."


    She said decisively as she was not willing to give up in rescuing her cousin.


    Wace listened to Yumi and approved her words but as soon as he ns to add more to it, he sensed another creature approaching them very fast. He felt relief after realizing that it was not a Celestial Being but just another worm that was trying to catch them unprepared.


    "Let''s avoid engaging with it..."


    Yumi also noticed its presence. It was slowly burrowing to their current ce as it thought that they can''t sense its presence.


    "Alright..." Wace agreed as he carried the still unconscious Clint. Yumi helped ine stand up while Hannah was still aching a bit due to her broken arm.


    But since she can still jump or run, she didn''t need that much help.


    Baam!


    Therge worm almost simr to the first creature they encountered rushed out but failed to catch any one of them as they already jumped away and continued their path. They ignored the worm as they can''t be bothered to waste such precious time with that creature.


    "Wace, do you think that the Celestial would note back to find us?"


    Yumi suddenly thought of this as they run through the forest so she quickly asked the man to give his thoughts about it.


    "I don''t think so... I''m even thinking that they will fight against each other..."


    "Really?"


    "Not sure... I just have a hunch."


    "Well, I hope that it''s true... I don''t want to encounter them anymore."


    It was what everyone felt so Yumi didn''t really have to say.


    The night was quickly approaching and everyone was already back to their peak conditions...


    "Man, that was terrible..."


    Clint said as he remembers the painful experience.


    Being unable to utilize mana was truly a nightmare for all the magicians.


    He trained his body and taken multiple body enhancements to improve it to the limit as he wanted to be a versatile magician.


    Unfortunately, the gap between the Celestials and magicians seems to be too huge.


    "Yumi, you should treat me to a luxurious meal at the best restaurant in the capital after this!"


    "Hahaha! Don''t worry, my cousin has a lot of money... We can ask him for a fee after this."


    Thedy answered which brought a lightugh to everyone. Yumi, Clint, and Hannah have been friends for a long time so they could take that previous encounter lightly. Anyway, they already survived and they nned to survive until they rescue that headmaster.


    "Wace, I heard that those elixirs were expensive..."


    "Don''t worry about that... We can talk about it after all of this was over..."


    The young man smiled as he looked far ahead on their path. He noticed that a group of chimeras hiding within the dark shadows of the nearest gorge was waiting for them to approach and probably to ambush their group.


    "Everyone, can you sense them?"


    Wace asked as he wanted to rify his guess.


    "No... Is there an approaching enemy..."


    Yumi said after she tried to extend her senses.


    "Not really... They were hiding in the shadows... Let''s stop and camp somewhere else... The night was already approaching."


    They followed Wace''s advice as they went to find a good spot. Unfortunately, they couldn''t find a cave that was simr to the one they found before.


    "Let''s just make our cave..."


    Clint said as he was well versed in earth-based magic spells and his mana artifact can easily create a cave for them.


    It only took five minutes to create a spacious cave.ine and Hannah helped each other to cast protective spells to ensure that no one would disturb them.


    But Wace was still unsatisfied as he brought out another device from his Spatial Bag.


    "What was that?"


    ine asked curiously at the small machine Wace brought out.


    "It can generate a radiant wave shield if necessary."


    He answered.

 Chapter 244 - Princes Tower ( Part 1)

    The Radiant Wave Shield has simr technology to Wace''s Lotus Mech Frame. The shield it creates wouldn''t just protect them from external attacks but it was also capable of counterattacking.


    "This should be good enough. We need to have a good rest..."


    Wace said after setting up the machine at the entrance. They''ve just survived a disaster and the reason they were attacked was most likely due to his actions.


    He nced at a certain direction as if he was observing something from afar.


    A while ago, he decided to halt their advance not just because it was about to get dark but he realized that the chimeras hiding in the shadows seem to be very dangerous.


    He saw theirrge and sharp ws that can cause them some serious injuries if they were not careful.


    Now, he noticed that they were not moving from their previous location so they can only act that they haven''t noticed their presence yet.


    ''Their ws match that one we''ve seen at the encampment ruins...''


    Wace thought after he remembers the encampment made by the Cloud Hawks Manor''s people. They found it yesterday and they noticed that the camps and vehicles they used were filled with w marks like they fought a strong beast during their resting period.


    The chimeras he saw in the shadows have a simr build with arge sloth but they have steel-like ws and reptile scales covering their bodies. These creatures may be simr to the beasts that attacked the Manor''s people.


    "We could''ve lessened our traveling time if we ignored the dangers at night but..."


    Hannah softly muttered as although she hadn''t sensed the existence of the enemies hiding in the dark, she felt the cautiousness and alertness in Yumi and Wace''s actions.


    The existence of such enemies stops them from traveling at night.


    Of course, they have been considering traveling even with this obstacle but after they realized that their senses or detection skills have been severely limited during the day as well, they ultimately decided to just make an encampment before the night approaches.


    If their vision was also limited, they might just suffer a casualty if they continued.


    "Wace, what probing skill are you using that lets you be unaffected by this ce''s environment?"


    Yumi asked after Wace took a sit to rest. Thetter didn''t answer immediately as he thought carefully.


    It wasn''t really a big secret so he decided to just tell them.


    "That''s a Soul Art..."


    "Just like what I thought..." Yumi nodded after hearing Wace.


    "You realized? I don''t think you''re practicing a Soul Art as well..."


    "No, I realized because I heard within your Academy that you have a good rtionship with Miss Chamber. She even helped you to contract with Miya in your project''s advertisement... I hear some rumors that--"


    "Miya? Advertisement? Are you referring to Miya Linus? That rookie star?"


    Hannah interrupted as she perked up after hearing them. It seems that she was updated on thetest news.


    "Ah, yes... That''s her." Wace answered and confirmed her thoughts.


    "Then, are you working with Traceless Hands? The one who made those VR pods?"


    Wace scratches his head and as he was about to answer, Yumi interrupted and answered for him.


    "He''s the one who made those VR pods. He was also the 5th apprentice of Sir ine Allusia."


    "Eh?"


    Hannah and Clint who just realized this young man''s identity tried processing Yumi''s words in a few seconds. They remembered that the Traceless Hands didn''t just create the VR Pods but they have also made several other original mana artifacts. Especially the Float Drive System that was used not just by the Lucent Force but even by the criminal organizations.


    They also heard about the apprentice thing but because it happened in the capital, they didn''t really bother getting into its detail. After all, they were living in the previously quiet and peaceful Tanza City.


    "Wait, before that. What kind of rumors have you heard about me?"


    Wace wanted to learn what do people say about him. It made him even more curious since Yumi said that he heard this within the Academy. She even explicitly mentioned that she learned that he has a good rtionship with the current female Headmaster.


    "Oh, the rumors? Hmm... They said that you''re always within the office of this Miss Chamber discussing many things. I''ve seen her a few times... She deserves to be an instructor of Celebrity Idols... Right, some even said that you never went out in that office for a whole day. You even supported her to be the Headmaster and she also did her best to help you sign Miya as your helper... So there were rumors saying that you''re into that thing..."


    "What is ''that thing''?"


    Screehh!


    Wace wanted to rify her vague words but a screeching noise interrupted their conversation...


    "Aarrghh!"


    "It''s painful... What''s that noise?!"


    "Bats!"


    Wace said after he probed the surroundings and found its source.


    He found that about five hundred meters away from them, a group of flying mana beast was trying to fight a single butrge winged horse that was probably taking a nap at the nearby shade of a tree.


    ''Thisnd was really filled with troubles.''


    Sound-based attacks weren''t filtered on their constructed shields. It was because they also needed to hear very clearly. After all, their probing magic was limited here so they can only trust their senses.


    ***


    On that same night, Percival and Avery were peacefully having a good rest but they suddenly felt the ground tremble. Itsted for a whole fifteen seconds beforepletely stopping.


    There has never been such an earthquake before. It only means one thing...


    "What did that guy do down there?"


    He was sure that the earthquake was caused by the Grand Arcanist''s actions. It may have found trouble deep underground or he probably woke up someone who had been resting there for a long time.


    "If that legendary man was really down there, I don''t think he''ll be happy being disturbed at this time..."


    Percival chuckled before going back to rest while Avery was worrying for any aftershock or iing beast attack.


    "Are you just going to sleep like that?!"


    "Mhmm..."


    Anyway, the headmaster believes that Aeolia was still alive and he had also found many clues from that man about his true aim for the future. He was even imagining himself meeting with that man.


    The Lucent Force possesses some blueprints that Aeolia made that can never be constructed in this generation. It may probably take two or three more generations before their technology could construct suchrge scale projects.


    That man possesses an unimaginable talent that didn''t belong to their era. He was sure that this man also has ns for the future and was well aware of the Grand Arcanist''s desire to obtain the power to protect the human race.


    Percival has many questions about the clues left behind by this man so he really wanted to see him as well, but it was not his priority for now. Three Grand Arcanist was already working on it.


    What he has to do is to lead the promising magicians that he found on the right path, so he had to return to the Academy at all costs.


    He already found two special students at the Academy, it was Wace and Hilda. They have a bright future and Wace had already taken his path but he still has to help Hilda reach the peak of her potential.


    "Urgghhh... If I just brought my Arcana, I wouldn''t be in this situation..."

 Chapter 245 - Princes Tower ( Part 2 )

    Wace and his group endured the whole troubling night and as soon as the daybreak came, they immediately moved out using their fastest movement skills.


    It was their n to avoid battling the nearby monsters. They no longer have ns to probe the chimeras or gauge their strength against them. They already learned enough so they just have to hurry and rescue the headmaster.


    They crossed the gorge as quickly as possible with the help of several Haste magic spells and concealing spells. Their formation was still the same, having Yumi at the back of their group as she has the strongest stealth spell imbued on her cloak.


    "A river..."


    Wace said after he sensed the river up ahead. Some of them already heard the noiseing from the running water and the man just confirmed their thoughts.


    The existence of the river here means that it could also sustain the life of mana beasts or chimeras. They have to be careful.


    "We''re not too far from the gorge, expect some beasts around."


    "Yumi, I can sense that the Headmaster''s location is not too far from here..."


    "Really?"


    "Mhmm... We can surely reach that ce before the night approaches... as long as we continue our pace."


    "Very well. Wace, use your Soul Art again and find the best route for us." Yumi said to the young man in front.


    "Urgh... That''s not how it was used. I''m also using it ever since... Anyway, I don''t see any notable beasts or chimeras in front. They''re still behind us..."


    "Behind us?!"


    "Yes... A group of chimeras has been following us for a while now. But its fine, they won''t cause too much trouble."


    "If you say so... Clint, can you check for any beasts below us?" The man specialized with earth-based magic spells so he has better sensitivity as long as he''s opponent is on the ground.


    "All clear..."


    "Alright, let''s head to that river..."


    Unexpectedly, the river they found was clear and the vicinity was beautiful. As they have seen weird beasts and ugly chimeras around, they forgot the fact that thisnd can possess natural beauty.


    "The water is clean..." Wace said to everyone.


    [ An electromaic pulse has been detected. ]


    "Everyone, strengthen your mana shell."


    The young man immediately instructed after he heard Avalon reporting. Avalon''s current form was constructed using advanced technology so it won''t be easily ruined by an EMP.


    "What''s wrong?" Yumi asked but she also followed the young man''s advice.


    "Something''s not right..." He answered gravely as he tries to look for the source of that pulse.


    "Yeah... That''s definitely not right..." ine nkly said so they quickly nced at her only to see that she was gazing towards the sky.


    Soon, they saw a floating ind high up in the clouds and was slowly traversing their region.


    They stared at it for a moment as they couldn''t find proper words to describe their feelings.


    "What was that?" Wace muttered softly and Avalon probably thought that it was being asked.


    [ The description of Mana Cmity, the "The Illusion of Venarian Town" matches the current sighting. ]


    "Oh... That makes sense... A Mana Cmity, huh..."


    "Let''s ignore that for now." Yumi decided as they had to prioritize their objective.


    Anyway, it doesn''t seem to be aiming at them and it was most likely a coincidence that it was also present around here. Who knows whether there is a bunch of this floating ind in this continent.


    Luckily, the floating ind doesn''t seem to be harmful at the moment so they immediately continued their journey.


    They traveled non-stop and met a lot of obstacles. There are ces without mana, chimeras that don''t know any fear and continuously attack them even after being at disadvantage, parasites living above the trees, poisonous insects, mutated mana beasts, and many others had been causing them a lot of troubles but in the end, they managed to arrive at the ce where ine was detecting the Headmaster''s life force...


    "A tower, huh..."


    They have seen this tower about four kilometers away and seeing it closely made the amazed by the constructing technology used to build this.


    "It doesn''t seem to be recently built..."


    Hannah muttered as she looked at the tall tower made of ck stones and it doesn''t seem to have windows at all. No, maybe there is but they just couldn''t see them in their position.


    Anyway, this structure was unlike the previous ruined buildings they found before. It was constructed with different technology that surpassed even their current generation''s.


    "Yes... This should have been present long before the first northern''s expedition."


    Yumi said after observing the tall tower. It doesn''t seem to be simple and as a matter of fact, it seems to be even more dangerous than the mage tower she has seen before.


    "ine... Can you tell in which direction?"


    "Now that you asked... I can sense his lifeforce further down this tower..."


    "Below? Not up there?"


    "Correct..."


    "Fine, then let''s enter... Look, there are traces of people entering here..."


    Yumi noticed some footprints that seem to be just recent.


    Wace had already noticed this and he already had a guess about their identities.


    "We just need to head down, right? I''ll lead the way. Stay close..."


    The young man reliably remarked. The burden of taking the lead inside this unknown tower wasn''t small.


    "Something was blocking my senses going deeper but I had a good vision of the first few floors below..."


    "How about those beasts?"


    "There are tons of them, don''t worry. This might even be a breeding ground..."


    Wace answered but deep inside, he was also a bit curious as he was expecting that the beasts around here should''ve lessened by quite a lot considering that there was the first group of people who arrived here.


    [ Warning! ]


    [ An iing projectile is fast approaching. It is rmended to immediately vacate the location. ]


    Avalon warned him but the projectile doesn''t seem to being from the tower. He checked behind them and realized that a blue light was indeeding at them.


    ''Crap! Is it the previous Celestial?!''


    "Hurry! Enter the tower!"


    Wace lost a bit of his cool as he quickly runs towards the entrance.


    He saw that there was a familiar text written above the entrance but he ignored it for now as he''ll ask Avalonter to trante it for him.


    In the meantime, everyone had also seen the blue light so they no longer asked Wace and just followed.


    The entrance doesn''t have doors but there was a thick form of energy that was blocking their way.


    After they saw Wace passing through without any troubles, they sighed in relief as they stepped inside.


    Boom!


    A sudden loud crash was heard as the blue light must have collided to the barrier protecting the entrance of this tower.


    "That blue light..."


    "Is it from the Celestial?"


    "Ha... That light might even be the Celestial himself..."


    "Anyway, why can''t it enter here?" Hannah curiously asked.


    "Who knows? It is better for that entity to stay outside... Let''s just hope that he''s no longer outside once we nned to leave here."


    After hearing this from Clint, Hannah was stunned for a moment before shaking her head.


    ''Let''s solve the rescuing problem for now before we think of getting out of here.''

 Chapter 246 - Princes Tower ( Part 3 )

    "We should be safe here from that attack..."


    Wace announced and had a look at the surroundings. The ce wasn''t dark at all due to several glowing crystals lighting it up.


    The ground floor they were at was quite simple if it was carefully observed, only the glowing crystals were unusual.


    Aside from being dusty and partly mossy ce, this floor was actually constructed very well if it was cleaned.


    There was a section for the receptionists in front and there were stairs leading to the upper floors. Looking closely, there was even a suspected elevator on the right side.


    As they searched for possible path onwards, they saw a wrecked door just behind the receptionist''s table. But this seems to lead them further inside the ground floor.


    They have to take a path going underground.


    "Follow me, there''s another door on the left. It leads further down." Wace said as he took the lead and started walking.


    "ine, do you think that he has detected our presence here?" Yumi asked referring to her cousin as they followed the young man.


    "He should be. But Wace mentioned that something was blocking his senses. It may be weak but he should sense that we''re getting closer."


    "That''s good."


    "But if he can''t just move up here... He must be in a tight spot, so we have to be careful."


    It made a lot of sense. Everyone hasn''t revealed their trump cards yet as they were saving that with their encounter against the organization behind Avery, one of the leaders behind the terrorist attack in the city.


    They were expecting that the headmaster was either guarded by a small of group of strong criminals, so they had to be ready.


    In any case, ine''s blood tracking skill was one of a kind so they were sure that the enemies were unaware of their moves at the moment.


    "It looks empty..."


    The first underground floor they entered was only an empty space. It was opposite to their expectations.


    "Wace, I thought you''ve said that there''s a number of beasts here?"


    "Mhmm... Yes... They''re on their way. We don''t have to engage with them right now, just follow my lead, we''ll pass through them."


    "Hannah, ine..."


    "Yes!"


    They understood Yumi''s intention so they quickly cast all support spells they have.


    "Wind Haste!"


    "Mana Boost!"


    "Earth Trace"


    "Overload"


    The Wind Haste gives them boost on their speed while Mana Boost was another coat of mana that helps the magicians maintain their Mana Shell without any troubles.


    The Earth Trace and Overload was cast by ine and the former was used so they can easily run even by using walls to step on and thetter was used as an alternative for Mana Shell but this Overload was also capable of deflecting some attack back to the sender.


    Soon, Wace and his group run through the dizzying floor full of turns and paths.


    "What kind of ce is this?!"


    "Is this tower full of maze?"


    "I hope that it wouldn''t be like this on other floors..."


    "That''s true..."


    As they leisurely moved forward, they suddenly heard a creepy sound of crawling insects getting closer to them.


    The sound suggested that they were small creatures but their numbers seem to be increasing every second.


    "They''re behind us... Let''s hurry..."


    Yumi didn''t like the sound of the nearing insects. Although they hadn''t seen them yet. She was sure that they were disgusting creatures.


    "Oh right... Clint! You have Lava Mines with you, correct? Use that to eliminate some of them or just to halt their advance."


    "Sure!"


    Clint agreed to Yumi''s suggestion as he focused his mana to one of his bracers and activated its unique spell.


    "New Lava Mine!"


    He repeated this for four more times before they noticed that the noise lessened for little bit.


    The four usages was his limit so his movement speed would not be affected.


    Unfortunately, it would trouble him to cast more than that in the meantime.


    After all, they can''t slowdown yet in this kind of situation.


    "We''re almost there. Keep it up..."


    Wace encourages them as his ability senses that the room they were about to enter was quite special. It was very different to other rooms and constructed in a much more delicate hallway.


    There was a door blocking them and opening it up might take a few seconds so they have to defend themselves against the insects in that short moment.


    "Everyone, we need to open a door. Its about 200 meters away from here... I''ll do something about the insects. Just find a way to make it happen. There was a lever on right but I''m unsure whether it would help or not... Right, there''s a special path going underground inside that room."


    "Oh? Something like a shortcut?!"


    "Don''t worry. We''ll find a way to open it... How long can you hold?!"


    "Half a minute, perhaps..." Wace said after thinking for a moment.


    "You better take on your words!"


    They believed that half a minute was more than enough to open a single door so their moods lifted up.


    Although they might be capable of fending off these insects. It would consume a lot of their Mana and they might use their hidden cards if that happens.


    Their group hurried and as soon as the door was in the vicinity, Wace slowed down and took the rear of their group.


    He takes a deep breath as he slowly maximized the first stage of the AOTL, he then clenched his fist to ready the second stage of his Secret Art...


    "Lightning Break!"


    Boom!


    His fist became a source of lightning as it pass through the hallway and eliminated all the nearing insects.


    Unfortunately, only a small part of them was affected as the insects were still flooding the hall crazily


    They do not care whether their fellows in front was obliterated or not as they were constantly chasing them madly like they have smelled something they wanted in their group no matter what the cost.


    "This is troublesome, but... I can do this for all night!"


    Wace only used the Lightning Break as he realized that it was very effective against the bunch of insects.


    They were being burned to crisp orpletely paralyzed as soon as the lightning hit them.


    Due to the thick carapace of these 20 legged insects, only the ones in front were taking serious damage while the ones behind still has intact shells but burned inside. Then, they will get stepped over by the insects further behind them.


    Wace realized that Yumi and the others were having trouble opening the door since he noticed that the half a minute he provided to them was almost over and they were still helpless.


    "Avalon... Are you still unable to find anything..."


    [ Nothing. This tower is not operated by electricity, nuclear energy, and other source of energies that I can easily detect. ]


    "If that the case, what kind of energy was being used? Is it simr to Veda''s machine?"


    [ What did you do to that machine? Did you destroy it? ]


    The voice behind Avalon was suddenly changed as Wace realized that it has been taken over by Veda.


    "No, it is in a safe ce..."


    [ I understand. I can no longer connect with that terminal and I must remind you that it was made with very good materials. It would be a waste if you just destroyed it. ]


    "Oh... Alright.... but can you help us first?"


    [ Of course. ]


    Soon, the door surprisingly opened with a creaking sound and the other magicians were taken aback as they didn''t know what they did to make it happen.


    "So, you can really help, huh..."


    Wace said though he realized this already. It was after Avalon tranted the text at the entrance but seeing that Veda can truly aplish it was still something entirely different.

 Chapter 247 - Princes Tower ( Part 4 )

    [ Z Tower ]


    This was the trantion of the text he found at the entrance. Beside this was a symbol that was simr to the symbol he found on the logbook.


    It was the symbol of the Prince of the Lonar Alliance, Zhaeus Zaimphail.


    This revtion even made Wace believe that the Z-Company which was existing for decades was truly closely rted to the Prince''s remnants...


    It may be his followers or perhaps a coincidence. He couldn''t tell for sure but he was a bit expectant to learn whatever the truth this building was hiding.


    "Wace! Hurry!"


    Yumi called him as he slowly steps back while using his Lightning Break from time to time to ensure that the insects would not follow them.


    "me Cover!"


    Clint cast a wide-scale spell to lessen Wace''s burden so he could back out...


    "How do we even close it?!"


    ine suddenly thought of the problem. They thought of this too but defending a single door was better than defending from all sides.


    "I don''t know... Find--"


    As soon as Yumi nned to instruct them to find a way to close the doorway, a sudden creaking sound was heard as the door was slowly closing after Wace entered the room. It was as if it was waiting for him to enter.


    "Eh?"


    The members of their group except for Wace weren''t sure what was happening but whatever it was, it did save them the trouble of fighting such arge number of small creatures.


    "Careful... This might be a trap!"


    Yumi reminded everyone as they waited for any traps to be activated. They were thinking that the insects were truly meant to bring them here and be trapped inside the room.


    ''Is this a toxin room trap? or a water trap? Maybe, this ce was about to get burned and we''ll get cooked alive?''


    Hannah was already imagining the worst-case scenario but luckily, nothing like that happened as Wace opened another path leading down by forcefully lifting up one of the floor mats.


    They were truly d that the man was here since even though they might also find that hidden path, it might take some time.


    Ssssss!


    The sound of hissing snakes was heard as they entered the dimly lit tunnel that should lead them further down. But after looking around and extending their senses several times, they were unable to find any snakes at all.


    They concluded that it was most likely due to the wind''s speed causing vibration through the air.


    Anyway, based on Wace''s words, this tunnel should be a shortcut so they were actually expecting that they will be entering an elevator shaft or something simr.


    "It doesn''t feel like we''re going downwards. We''re just going straight ahead..."


    Yumi voiced out her thoughts. She was not doubting Wace''s decision but she wanted to confirm that her sense of direction was still alright. Who knows whether she was affected by a spell or poison that was making her unable to properly sense her surroundings...


    "It''s alright... We''re on the right track..."


    Wace assured the group as if it wasn''t his first time here.


    ***


    Dr. Mao was one of the subordinates of the Grand Arcanist and was partly working as a doctor within the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    Unlike Charles Mavis who studied all the paths of Mage Doctor and achieved the possible peak of it, he was only focused on the Enhancement Path and only having a few knowledge in the Alteration Path and others.


    "To think that I''ll get separated with Sir ine..."


    The old man muttered as he was trying to find his way to meet with the remaining members of their group.


    Their expedition that was supposedly over after finding one of theponents needed for Sir ine''s Arcana was extended because of the Celestial Being''s encouraging words to meet a mysterious man hiding deep within this tower full of maze.


    All the clues they found pointed that the man they were referring to was Aeolia Schien, a legendary existence recognize within the whole Southern Continent.


    "Oh? Life force? There were even four of them..."


    The doctor was suddenly excited to meet other people here since he has been traveling alone in this creepy tower for several days already.


    He was alone fighting chimeras, beasts, and even living nts within this ce and it was slowly taxing his body.


    If he could cooperate with them to find a way out of here, it would lessen a lot of burdens when fighting against the monsters roaming here.


    He tried to get closer with them but he suddenly realized that there was actually another person in their midst...


    "Five people? Howe I''ve missed sensing this guy just now?"


    The doctor was partly amazed by whatever trick the man had used to hide within his senses but since they were already getting closer, he then decided to wait for them in his current position and ask him directly.


    He already realized that the five was actually moving very fast as if they were trying run away from a predator...


    "Let me help them a bit..."


    The doctor was already living within this ce for several days and he already encountered many unusual things. He was confident that he would be able to help them as long as he saw what kind of problem they are facing...


    Baam!


    The five people suddenly jump as the earth trembled due to a sudden attack that even the Doctor didn''t sawing their way.


    "What happened?!"


    The group was only 150 meters away and still getting closer to him so he was previously confident that nothing would be missed... Unfortunately, the attack they encountered was something he never experienced before.


    Baam!


    Another attack from an invisible opponent came as the Doctor tries to understand what was happening.


    He now had a vision of the group and realized that they had also seen him. He was hoping that he''ll be recognized as a friend by exposing a bit of his mana.


    ''Hmm... They don''t look like someone within our group... Are they natives here? Wait, that''s impossible... Their clothes were products made in the south... Are they adventurers hired to explore this cursed tower?''


    This was the guess he coulde up in just a few moments.


    Soon he noticed that one of them suddenly disappeared in their midst and appeared somewhere else. However, as soon as the man appeared, he has already skewered arge chimera simr to chameleon mixed with various amphibious beasts.


    "What was that?!"


    He had never seen such movement speed before. Disappearing almost without any mana fluctuations.


    It was probably the strongest assassination skill he had ever seen.


    Dr. Mao couldn''t properly exin the trick behind the move that the other person just made. He couldn''t guess whether it was a mana spell simr to a movement enhancement spell, or it was actually a powerful spell from a unique mana artifact...


    Anyway, there was no way it can be easily done like that. So he concluded that the man either possess a Sealed Mana Artifact or its a Secret Art he was unaware of.


    "Oh! I recognize you! You are the 5th apprentice that Sir ine epted!"


    That''s right, it was Wace''s group that has been finding a way to rescue his headmaster in this tower that was suspected to be a hideout of a small group from the terrorist organization.

 Chapter 248 - Doctor

    Wace finished off the chimera that was causing them some troubles because of its ability to remain invisible for a long time.


    It also has the corrupted form of mana so they were unable to pinpoint its location just by using the mana fluctuation around the ce and target the beast.


    Luckily, after leading the beast to a narrower path, Wace managed to use his sword to strike the beast on its head.


    ''This looks sharper than I thought it would be...''


    Wace thought after he realized that even without much force, the sword easily prated the head of the chimera.


    The sword he has looks like a simple ck long sword but it was made from one of the best alloys he could gather in the continent, it was the Ancient Abyssal alloy.


    He didn''t acquire the alloy through purchasing on the market or bidding in an auction but it was supplied by Veda after they made arrangements to create a space fleet.


    After all, Veda was the one supplying him to create the space fleet and in truth, the alloy it contains was supposedly meant to be studied for the benefit of the fleet.


    In short, although he didn''t make the sword itself and only received it from the A.I, it was still good enough to be used in a battle like this since he never really fancied creating swords as weapons.


    He would rather create armors, guns, explosives, and mana artifacts capable of wide-scale destruction spells.


    "I''m Wace, the fifth apprentice of Sir ine Allusia. Are you one of his subordinates?"


    He approached the old man that has been observing them for a while now.


    "Hoho~ So I''m not wrong... Yes, You can call me Doctor Mao and I''m a resident doctor at the Cloud Hawk Manor."


    The doctor smiled after seeing Wace introduce himself as an apprentice.


    The young man also introduced the other members as they continued their way deeper.


    "Are you here to rescue your master?"


    "Eh? No, not really... I don''t think he needed it with his strength..."


    "That made sense, so why are you here?"


    "The headmaster of our academy was captured and brought in this dungeon."


    "Leonheart''s?"


    "Yes..."


    "I understand now... But calling this ce a dungeon, huh. You may be right... Well, I''m looking for a way out of this ce but since you''re here to rescue someone, I can''t just leave you guys alone especially with your identity as the 5th apprentice. I would get scolded by Sir ine if anything happens to you here."


    He wasn''t asking theplete detail of their cause so it saves them the trouble of exining it to him.


    "You don''t really have to... We can just give you the path we''ve used to get out of this ce..."


    "It is fine... I was also a bit curious about this ce. Now that I have some people together with me, I can try to satisfy my curiosity. Oh, if you are worried about me getting in your way, then don''t be. If it is truly an emergency, I can get out of this ce though it would cause too much stress on my body. After all, I still mastered my Spirit Arts..."


    Wace wasn''t sure what kind of trump card this old man possesses but this Spirit Art seems to be more mysterious than he thought.


    Anyway, since the old man already said this much and considering that he was his master''s subordinate as recognized by Avalon, he decided to let him join.


    Thinking about it, having a doctor in their midst was also beneficial. They might find the headmaster injured and in would be the best to have someone check him up.


    With that set in stone, Wace decided to ask some things about the purpose of their expedition and why are they even here.


    It was such a coincidence to have their target in the same tower.


    Soon, Wace heard about the thing about Arcana and about his master''s desire to meet Aeolia for the sake of the future.


    It seems that the three Grand Arcanists of the country had learned something about the possible future as Lacus mentioned and they realized that the burden was too heavy to be carried by only three people.


    "Why didn''t you asked some help with the government or with the Grand Sage we have?"


    "We did, but even the government doesn''t possess the power to save us from the ominous future. Just managing the vastnd with millions of people living on it was already an arduous job."


    Wace remained silent as he continued listening. He was somewhat aware of how difficult it was to manage people with different minds.


    "The government you spoke of just don''t have the manpower to spare and find all the required materials for the Arcana that the three Grand Arcanist was trying to make..."


    ''So that was why they have to work alone...''


    "Not only that, but there were also some powerful ns or organizations that do not believe in their words."


    "Is that so?"


    Wace frowned at this although he already expected such a thing. In any case, that was why he created the Virtual World. Even if they believe it or not, they would at least have the knowledge and power to improve themselves so once the real deal came here, they wouldn''t be too helpless just like what happened in his dream.


    "That''s correct¡­ It was unfortunate but many ns like the Ravencroft and Mavis n don''t support their idea to strengthen the mankind. They believe that the bnce will be destroyed if that happens..."


    The old man exins as he looks at Wace''s expression while saying this. He specifically mentioned the name of the two ns because he was aware of the young man''s background.


    Wace was surprised to hear about such news but he has a lot of things going on his mind now so he set that aside in the meantime and he will validate that information with Vedater on.


    In the meantime, he sensed another presence of a chimera so they have to engage in another battle.


    ***


    Percival ns to stay within their ce for a longer time and only move once he sensed the presence of his rescuer but due to some unexpected turn of events, they had to quickly vacate the ce.


    "Is this ce... about to be destroyed?"


    Percival was unsure because based on ine''s story, they were in a tall tower that had existed in this continent for a very long time.


    Why would it get suddenly destroyed?


    "Avery, hurry up! We have to quickly move.."


    ***


    ine Allusia has already gone deeper in just a few hours after he met with Percival.


    "What''s happening here?"


    He noticed that the shaking of the floor happens more frequently like it was hinting that the ce was truly about to copse.


    It was unexpected but he believes that he was getting closer to the man he wanted to meet so he persevered and eliminated all the mutated insects or chimeras thates in his way.


    It didn''t take long before he entered the deepest part of the tower.


    There was now a metal door in front of him and based on his estimation, its thickness should be about half a meter.


    ine nced at the glowing screen beside the door as he studied it carefully.


    It was a t-screen device that has an image of a rotating circle.


    ine was a bit unsure about its purpose so he decided to observe it closely.


    As soon as he gets in front of it, there was a sudden greenser light that traces his face.


    It wasn''t harmful but it seems to be looking for something.


    [ Retinal scanplete. ]


    [ Result: Unrecognized identity. ]

 Chapter 249 - Chimera

    Wace and his team have now reached the floor where his Divine Sense was being greatly suppressed by another form of energy.


    "Wace?"


    Yumi called his name after noticing that he went silent after reaching their current floor. The floor they were at was still looking simr to the other floors above so they weren''t sure if he found any problems.


    "Nothing, let''s continue but we''ll have to slow down our pace this time..."


    "Understood!"


    "ine, do you know his current location?"


    "Lower floor and I can sense that he was now moving. He probably sensed our presence..."


    "That''s good to hear..."


    If Percival can move around, it means that he either managed to defeat the enemies that brought him here or there were no enemies, to begin with.


    It was good news. Once they saw the man, they can just quickly leave this ominous tower.


    They fought against many more chimeras but because of their number, they can quickly finish them off. Luckily, the chimeras around here were not living in groups as it seems that they all have their own territory that they are protecting.


    They were also encountering many mutated insects and arachnids around and these creatures are the ones who always assemble inrge numbers to attack their prey, but luckily, they managed to easily defeat them as they found their weakness, the heat generated by fire.


    Within this damp and dark tower, the existence of fire greatly weakens the living monsters.


    Haaa... Haaa...


    Clint was already getting tired of using his artifact. After all, he was the most adept at using fire elemental spells. Wace can also use hisser guns but it doesn''t have a scattered mode yet as it was only a focus fire. It wasn''t as effective against a group of insects.


    He can use his Lightning Break, but he can only defeat those in front of him unlike Clint''s me Cover, zing Luminous, and Fire Wave which could scatter its attack and defend in all sides.


    "Can I borrow your artifact?"


    Wace asked after they manage to arrive in a safe ce. He saw that Clint was already exhausted so he wanted to at least help the man. This way, it would also lessen the breaks they have to take.


    "This is a 6th Gen mana artifact. Although I can let you borrow this, it will be difficult for you to use it."


    Clint realized Wace''s intention. If not for Hannah and ine''s various support spells, he may be unable to continue his skill usage so he understands the young man''s worry.


    "It should be fine..."


    Clint no longer asks more questions and handed his right hand''s gauntlet.


    Wace wore it on his right hand and it automatically fitted on his hands as he felt the power it possesses.


    He silently used one of his item''s spell to identify the gauntlet.


    [ Glimpse of the Mind ]


    The information about the artifact was suddenly revealed to Wace.


    [ Onyx Dragon Gauntlet


    A gauntlet made from the scales of a draconic beast and phantom alligator''s leather.


    Effects:


    - Contains 5 Fire Elemental Mana Spells and 10 Earth Elemental Mana Spells


    - Low Cold Resistance


    - Low Heat Resistance


    - Reform - due to Spirit Channelling, the gauntlet can reform to its original state by itself even if it was destroyed or damaged given enough time.


    Quality:


    - Rank B - Mid-Grade Sixth Gen Artifact.


    A gift from Arcanist K to Clint. ]


    Wace read the information and was impressed by each spell it has. With this weapon, any Adepts could easily utilize its full potential and be powerful inbat.


    Unfortunately, the fact that only limited individuals were capable of creating a 6th gen artifact, many people would still rely on the high-grade 5th gen mana artifacts as their main weapon.


    After all, they can still be found as long as you possess some money. Not only that, but the "Series" like Archon, Royal, Enchant, and the others were also constantly improving their spells so it wouldn''t be a problem to still continue purchasing their products.


    "This is a good weapon..." Wace muttered.


    "Of course... It''s the second 6th gen that I have."


    After this, they continued their way and Wace took over the job of using fire spells to block any of those mutated insects trying to eat them.


    **


    ine couldn''t enter the door as he tried various things to open it up.


    Unfortunately, he was not being recognized as someone authorized to enter the room.


    "What''s inside this ce? This device is still working up until now, intriguing..."


    The Grand Arcanist muttered as he was impressed by the technology.


    He looked around and knows that this room wasn''t cleaned or used for many years.


    He was also unsure how this electronic device used to identify people was still working despite the many years that have passed.


    He was trying to think of possible solutions like forcefully destroying the metal door to enter the ce but energy simr to what the Celestials used was blocking his spells.


    He tried using many spells but he only managed to scratch off a small amount of its energy. If he wanted topletely remove it, he has to spend several months working on it.


    Sigh~


    He was getting out of options but he realized that something was happening inside this tower and he wanted to wait and see what was about to unfold.


    He waved his hands and the previous dirty and dusty room was instantly cleaned. The wind carried the specks of dirt away from this room.


    Then, with a flick of his fingers, two golden humanoid golems suddenly appeared in front of him as they served the Grand Arcanist to make himfortable while he was waiting for something to happen.


    "This earthquake... It''s not natural."


    The earth trembles again as ine


    muttered this.


    There was nothing to do in the meantime so he closed his eyes and waited for the time to pass.


    ***


    "He''s close..." ine suddenly said while her eyes were closed. She was trying to concentrate so she can easily feel the headmaster''s presence somewhere on this floor.


    "It''s fine. I found him but..."


    Wace suddenly said making everyone sigh with relief. His senses were truly reliable.


    "But?"


    Yumi knows that the man has something more to say.


    "They''re being followed. We have to get ready..."


    "They? Who''s with him?"


    "I''m not sure but there''s another mana fluctuation close to him. Further behind them seems to be another chimera but this time, it was part human."


    Their faces turned grim as this was something they do not want to happen.


    After they saw the chimeras, they already had a hunch that the one who made them can surely use humans as well to increase the intelligence of his creations.


    ''Just what kind of desire did they have to create such abominations.''


    Yumi couldn''t understand the purpose of this tower. She couldn''t understand why there were so many chimeras living here and why they were even made in the first ce.


    "Urgh... I don''t care anymore. Let''s just save him for now... Clint and Hannah, ready your one-time use Mana Artifacts for our escape..."


    "Understood!"


    Soon, they saw Percival and anotherdy running together with him as they were being followed by a half-human and half-snake being. They can also see that there were green andrge bat wings behind the existence.


    Percival also recognized their group but instead of being happy, he was worried about them because of the creature behind.


    "Careful! Mana won''t work on this guy!"He warned everyone as they continued their run.


    Yumi and the others understood Percival since it wasn''t that unexpected to have such another abnormal creature living here.


    Luckily, they have someone in their midst who doesn''t just rely on mana to fight against these creatures.

 Chapter 250 - Lamia

    Wace steps up and carefully analyze the situation. He focuses his eyes towards the approaching beast and realized that it was also observing them.


    Its eyes were definitely unlike humans as they have simrities with a snake.


    Looking at it closely, the young man noticed that this beast was covered by a different energy that makes any mana be unstable around it.


    It was like a living magic jammer itself.


    "Immune to mana and tough scales, huh..."


    Since that was the case, they just have to defeat it without using mana. They can use their des or physical weapons but in this situation were the beast seems to be more agile than them, they had to attack it by surprise.


    Wace readied his Void Phase and targeted the location behind the beast. He also pulled out hisser gun but it was not to finish off the beast but only to soften the energy and scales protecting its body.


    "Headmaster, just run straight to us!" Wace instructed them as he didn''t wait anymore and disappeared from their sight.


    He was sure that the headmaster had means to fight against a beast that could ignore mana attacks but seeing that he was not doing so, he determined that he had to be careful. There must something more with this beast that he hasn''t realized yet.


    Wace reappeared behind themia and pointed his gun at the back of its head.


    Whoozzsh!


    The force didn''t prate the energy protecting its body but the being stopped chasing the headmaster after it was attacked by an enemy behind.


    Wace no longer used the gun seeing that it was too ineffective against the enemy.


    Themia was about to use its tails to sweep through him but he was fast enough tounch another strike.


    "Haah!"


    A punch filled with Astral Core''s energy and Lightning Break hit the beast''s body before it couldnd an attack to Wace.


    Boom!


    It was thrown forward to the ground as the impact created a small crater on the floor.


    Wace saw that its body was heavily damaged and he believes that it no longer possesses any danger even though it still has some remaining life force on it.


    "Don''t put down your guard yet... It can''t be easily killed!"


    Percival suddenly shouted. Wace took a nce at the damaged body of themia and he saw that it was rapidly healing!


    "This..."


    He had never encountered such an enemy that could heal itself without much trouble.


    It only took about seven seconds for themia to have its body healed to the point that it can already move around. Then after about fifteen seconds, it waspletely healed like it never had experienced any injuries just now...


    ''So that was why he''s running away. He probably tried killing it several times but it was always getting healed in full in a few seconds.''


    Aside from feeling amazed by this discovery, it causes them a headache as this beast would surely be difficult to handle.


    Running away from it was also a problem since the beast was probably more familiar on this ce than them.


    Their options were to find its weakness or if it is truly hard to kill, they have to find a way to immobilize or imprison the beast.


    Wace attempted to kill it once before by sending a much more powerful attack but this time, he wanted to destroy its head and its heart.


    It may be themia''s weakness.


    Boom!


    Although themia was agile, it was unable to predict Wace''s movement with his Void Phase.


    Whoozzsh!


    Another set ofsers and punchnded on the beast. Unfortunately, it seems that it truly has several lives as it can heal in such a short time.


    The others also joined in and used various spells after Wace sent his powerful attacks.


    "Is this truly a monster and not an illusion?"


    Wace couldn''t ept that such a cheat-like ability existed to anyone. Even with the help of the others, it was still rapidly healing itself like an immortal. He already destroyed its head and pierced its heart and was still able to regenerate by itself.


    What if this monster was not alone? How could anyone fight such undying creatures?


    Turn itpletely into ash?


    That was difficult considering that its scales were too tough and mana spells don''t work very well on it. They do not have the time.


    He wanted to ask Veda about this creature but it doesn''t seem to be connected with Avalon.


    He had to bring out the machine he has that was inside his Spatial Bag tomunicate with the super A.I.


    It may be knowledgeable enough to know how to end this creature. After all, they might encounter another one of these monsters on their way back.


    Aaarrrghh!!


    Themia screamed out loud as it was annoyed by the constant barrage of spells after Wace dealt some heavy blow on it.


    Although it was capable of blocking mana spells, it wasn''t that reliable after getting hit by Wace''s strikes.


    Yumi and the others were timing their attacks perfectly after Wace''s.


    "This can''t continue like this. We don''t know how long this creature can maintain its rapid regeneration... We''re spending too much mana to deal little damage on it..."


    "It should be better to escape from it..."


    "That''s difficult, we already tried losing this creature by running fast but it was able to follow without much trouble."


    "Calm down... upy this creature in the meantime. I have a n."


    Wace announced as he wasted no time and used his Void Phase to arrive in a safe ce. He quickly brought out the machine he can use tomunicate with Veda.


    ''I hope that you have a way to deal with this...''


    Wace said in his heart before activating the machine.


    ***


    It was Ace''s job to continue or manage all the production rted to the space fleet and VR pods.


    Although it wasn''t an easy task, it wasn''t thatplicated because of the A.I.''s assistance. The most that he could do was to make critical decisions and help to create the most critical parts of the machines.


    Right now, Ace was working on the strongest weapon that their space fleet could offer. It was not a Mech Frame but the strongest Positron Impulse Cannon he could create.


    Through Avalon''splete blueprint, controlled automatons, and Veda''s supplies, they have just enough to equip such weapons on eight spaceships.


    Haaa...


    "I need a little break. Anyway, our progress was doing very well... Veda, do you think that the Empire will arrive here this year?"


    Ace suddenly asked the A.I. after he decided to take a quick rest.


    [ There''s not enough information to make a guess. But if we consider that the barrier of this has weakened by a huge margin, then the empire could arrive in a few months up to a couple more years. ]


    Ace doesn''t really like the idea of fighting the empire at the outer space but since he was already working on the project, he had to ensure that they will have trouble fighting against them.


    "Right, I would like to know if you are aware of the Mage Towers built in Montego... I''m thinking of creating one after the Mass Driver that we''ve nned was made..."


    Instead of answering, Veda went silent and Avalon took over the machine it was using tomunicate with him. It was easily noticed as the light changes from green to red.


    "What happened?" Ace wasn''t sure what urred just now but if Veda just went off like that, there must be some sort of a problem on its side.


    It took about half a minute before it answers again.


    [ It takes a lot of my processing speed to connect inside the northern continent. ]


    "I see... Did you help Wace?"


    [ Just a little. ]

 Chapter 251 - Secret Base ( Part 1 )

    Wace would like this battle to get over with because aside from getting a piece of advice from Veda, it even warned him about something else.


    [ Themia has an experimental stage Healing Orb somewhere inside its body. You can try removing that to kill it. Also, you may want to hurry and leave this ce before your mana starts being corrupted. ]


    "Corrupted?"


    [ Correct. You may possess a level of immunity because of your Astral Core but your subordinates do not. In any case, you can consider going deeper inside this tower after this trifling matter. You might find that ce interesting. Good luck! ]


    Wace didn''t mind thetter part in the meantime as he was curious about the corruption it mentioned.


    If it was really that dangerous, then Percival and thedy together with him must be affected already, considering that they have been here for a long time.


    Realizing this, Wace took a quick nce to the two and noticed that there were indeed a little and unnoticeable changes on their mana but...


    ''That''s not the time for that... I need to finish this quickly.''


    He thanked Veda for helping him again before he ced the machine back to his spatial bag.


    He tries looking for the orb that Veda was saying but even if he uses his Divine Sense, he was unable to find it inside this creature''s body.


    "Tsk... This is the first time I''ll be using this but..."


    Wace muttered before closing his eyes.


    He concentrated his energy around him and slowly expanded until he felt the presence of themia.


    It took another couple of seconds before he opened his eyes.


    As soon as it happened, a huge pressure came down to everyone for a couple of seconds before disappearing.


    "What was that?!"


    "Urgh... What happened!"


    Even Percival was a bit startled after sensing the pressure that came out of nowhere.


    It was due to Wace''s poor control that his group was also affected by his ability for a few seconds.


    Luckily, he quickly realized his mistake and controlled the pressure with his will. He easily focused it on themia that was being bombarded by various spells.


    The young man didn''t lose his concentration as he was still trying to find something inside themia''s body while it was still immobilized by his pressure.


    This was a technique that he has been interested in ever since Chalice made him kneel down by his powerful pressure. He remembers that person in Araceli Ind giving off a huge pressure to him while he was floating in the sky looking down on him.


    It was such a marvelous presence that was etched within his mind.


    It was at that time when he realized how this world''s powerful magician can look down at any people as long as they possess indisputable strength.


    "Found it!"


    Wace eximed as he decided to use his Secret Art to take the Orb acting as its core.


    Lightning sparks umted on his right hand while he was still emitting the pressure bearing down on the beast.


    Whoosh!


    He quickly moved his feet and arrived in front of themia.


    The beast was struggling to get up but as soon as it saw Wace appearing in front of it, it bared its fangs and attempted to bite the young man.


    Rage and madness can be seen in its eyes as it was surely annoyed by the pressure that was limiting its movement.


    Wace ignored the attack and continued piercing the beast''s lower chest. Wace held something on his hands as he quickly pulled out his arm and jumps away.


    Aaargh!!


    The beast screamed loudly due to the painful experience. Everyone also notices that the hole made by Wace''s attack was no longer healing rapidly.


    ''So, he really did something! Good!''


    "We can kill it now!"


    Percival said after he realized what had just happened. Soon, everyone bombarded the beasts with various spells and although it was still somehow blocking most of the mana spells, it could not defend against such iing attacks from all directions.


    The beast perished after a few moments which made Percival and Avery sigh in relief. It has given them such trouble on their way here. Luckily, Wace has something up in his sleeves to deal with such a monster.


    ''I can''t sense anything about this thing....''


    Wace was holding a palm-size green orb that he took inside the beast''s body. He decided to keep it for future investigation.


    Anyway, he now has two souvenirs that he got from thisnd, it was Veda''s machine and this orb. He stored the orb within his spatial bag and approached the group who was resting for a bit.


    They surely used almost half of their mana reserves just to hold back and finally eliminate that beast. It was still a tough battle for them even without the orb healing it.


    After a while, the group decided to get out of this ce as quickly as possible. They were nning to return by using the same path they used to get here.


    "Wace, are you noting with us?"


    Yumi said after the young man returned the 6th gen mana artifact to Clint.


    It was the gauntlet he borrowed to eliminate a colony of insects a while ago.


    "I have to check something deeper in this tower... Don''t worry, it should be rtively safe going outside. We''ve already eliminated most of the insects and beasts."


    "Hey! Did you forget that missile-like blue energy?"


    "Oh, that... It was from the Celestial but it should no longer be lurking around here... You can just go ahead trace your way back. I will catch up to you guys..."


    "Sigh~ Anyway, you''ve already done more than enough. Be careful here..." Yumi said as she leads the group out.


    She wanted to ask how did he know such detail but after remembering all the incredible feats he aplished in thisnd, Wacepletely had her full trust...


    Percival also thanked the young man before following Yumi''s lead.


    ''Sigh~ So it was really senior Avery.''


    Wace thought after the group left. He didn''t immediately recognize thedy as he wasn''t focused on identifying her a while ago.


    He was a bit familiar to her since she was part of the team that attended the internationalpetition representing their country.


    He was also curious about what lead her to join such an organization seeking chaos everywhere but it was not the time to ask such questions.


    "Right... I can now move as much as I want..."


    Wace said before he suddenly used his Void Phase to disappear... For some reason, the distance he could utilize the Void Phase was extremely limited.


    He encountered bizarre beasts and chimeras around but he just ignored them as he continued his way down. He noticed that there were also signs of a recent battle in several rooms and hallways that he entered.


    So it may be the reason why he encountered only a few monsters.


    "This aura..."


    Wace felt a familiar presence as he quickly entered the opened room.


    "Master, it has been a while..."


    "Wace?"


    The Grand Arcanist paused for a moment before he realized something.


    "Are you one of Percival''s rescuers that he mentioned?"


    "Yes, I was hired by a friend." Wace answered as he nced around the room.


    "Mhmm... You''re surely brave going deeper here. Didn''t it caused you some trouble?"


    "It was quite tough but I managed somehow. Right, what''s in this ce, master?"


    "Sigh~ I also wanted to know but I''m unable to enter. I''m not good with this stuff... You can try checking it out.."


    ine pointed at the metal door and the device that was working as a scanner to identify who can enter the room beyond the metal door.


    Wace saw this and pulled out Avalon''s terminal. It turned to a floating metal ball and quickly connected itself to the device attached to the wall.

 Chapter 252 - Secret Base ( Part 2 )

    [ Bypassing ess Control... 36% ]


    [ Counter-Hacking Detected... ]


    [ Anti-Tracing Activated. ]


    [ Self-Destruction mode has been detected. ]


    [ Removing Self-Destruction mode. ]


    [ Threat has been eliminated. ]


    [ ess Granted. ]


    Wace was impressed by Avalon since it only took about 15 seconds to take over the building''s control system.


    ''This was the prince''s tower. Luckily, Avalon was more advanced than the prince''s technology.''


    Wace said in his mind as Avalon was one of thetest artificial intelligence in the gxy before he arrived here.


    The prince''s technology could not be ignored but it was behind by about a century so he didn''t have to worry about any technical problems inside this building unless it was at Veda''s level.


    A creaking noise was suddenly heard as ine nced at the thick metal door that was slowly opening.


    "Impressive... What did you do?"


    "I have a tool prepared for this kind of situation. I can''t use my senses deep inside... How about you, master?"


    "Not quite well. Let''s find something to light up this ce... Mana seems to be unusable in this ce..."


    Wace noticed that detail as well. Avalon also reported that it detected something simr to the technology they made. It was a field generator to stop mana from entering this ce.


    They made this simr technology before and its aim was for the nuclear fission not to be affected by the ever present mana.


    ''Wait... This ce doesn''t seem to be an abandoned structure.. It''s clean and there''s a warm temperature inside.''


    From the moment they entered the tower, the temperature had dropped by many degrees and it was getting worst the deeper they get.


    The reason that no one wasining was due to their mana coat or protection on their bodies keeping their temperature at the right level.


    ''This... Is there someone taking care of this ce? Another A.I.? Perhaps one of the prince''s creation...''


    Wace wasn''t sure so he can only guess. Then, he suddenly froze as he just realized that the prince might''ve actually returned here when things calmed down.


    The young man looked at his master who was trying to find a way to light up the room before he remembered that he was the only one with a superb vision here even at dark ces.


    The Grand Arcanist might also have a trick to improve his vision but it probably requires mana...


    "Avalon... I can''t find any switch. If you can check the system-"


    Lights came up before he even finished his words.


    [ Lights has been turned on. ]


    Avalon reported.


    As expected, almost everything was controlled by the system here so he had to rely on Avalon''s ability.


    The two observed the room curiously. It was a clean and small room with only a few things that can be seen.


    There were four chairs facing a ss window at the front and as soon as the light opened up, Wace noticed that a hidden table filled with various keys or buttons appeared in front of the chairs.


    ''What''s with this room...''


    He suddenly nced at the window but it was very dark. He can only see a silhouette of another structure outside.


    "Is this a control room?"


    There was a small door on their left side beside the ss window but Wace felt a bit hesitant about opening it.


    It feels like he will unveil something terrible once they opened the door.


    "Avalon... Try to find a way to light up the room beyond this ss."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    While Wace was instructing his A.I., ine actually went out of the small room to do something else. He returned to his previous position when he arrived here and pulled something out of his pocket.


    The young man only observed his master and didn''t ask any unnecessary questions.


    He then noticed that the man used one of his abilities to summon five golems.


    They were humanoid creatures made with steel and mostly stones.


    They looked like experts inbat seeing their unique build and weapons attached to them.


    Something that wascking a bit on Wace''s automatons. His Elysiums were made to be workers and only a little part of its system was forbat purposes. Its build was even more simpler unlike these golems that were filled with equipment.


    "They look strong..." Wacemented after seeing the golems.


    "Of course. After all, I''m showing my strongest golems."


    "So that''s why they look impressive and giving of a threatening aura... Strongest, huh. Master, did you brought other golems with you?"


    "Yes... I can pull them out depending on the situation. Why?"


    "I''m wondering if I could study them..."


    "Haha... Even if I let you borrow them. You might have trouble understanding how they works. You have to at least possess a little background about Arcana. This isn''t just a simple automaton..."


    Wace smiled at this. At the very least, he was given a chance. Once he learned more about the Arcana, he will surely ask his master again.


    "Good..."


    ine suddenly said after the golems he summoned was able to enter the room together with him.


    He observed them for a moment and noticed that they were working fine except for one thing.


    It seems that summoning out or utilizing Mana was the only problem after entering the room.


    Although his golems could no longer use their mana, they can still exist and function a little.


    "Alright... What did you find, Wace?"


    The young man paused for a moment as Avalon had also found out everything about this room and reported it to him.


    "Well, it seems that its better for us to see."


    Wace smiled as he opened the door on the left leading further inside.


    At the same time, the lights was also turned on and blinding them a little.


    They were now looking at a very spacious room. No, very spacious doesn''t seem to be enough to describe it as they seem to have entered arge stadium.


    In front of them was a gigantic red and ck battleship made of unknown steel and they couldn''t even easily see its end. It was giving off an ancient aura as being in front of it even gives a little pressure.


    "Roughly 1 km in length..."


    Wace muttered after seeing the huge battleship. Its design was already identified by Avalon.


    "So it was really here... The one that brought the prince''s group on this...''


    "W-what kind of vessel is this? Why is it located deep underground?"


    "I have a rough idea but it will be a long story, master."


    Wace decided to tell everything he knows or perhaps he will also provide him a tranted copy of the Prince''s logbook. It would easily help him in exining many things.


    "Hmm... So you know something, huh..."


    "Only a little... I''m still unaware of many things about this ce."


    "Very well... Have you detected any life presence or any automaton controlling this ce?"


    "No, but there should be something or someone taking care of this ce..."


    "That''s correct. This ce was unusually clean and warm."


    They wanted to check the battleship in front of them and other rooms on the side but before that...


    Thud... Thud... Thud...


    They suddenly heard some footsteps approaching them. It didn''te inside this huge hangar but from behind them.


    "Ho~ So, someone has really managed to bypass my security. I thought that my rm was just malfunctioning..."


    An old voice was suddenly heard behind them and he sounded more amused than annoyed about their intrusion here.

 Chapter 253 - The Legend ( Part 1 )

    Wace and ine looked at the person behind them and saw an old man wearing a long gray robe.


    The man looked clean and even seem that he just came fresh from a bath. He doesn''t seem to be hostile but they still kept their guards up.


    They were unsure who the man was but he seems to be familiar in this ce based on his words.


    "We''re sorry to intrude your ce..."


    Wace replied to the old man as he wanted to be polite as much as he can. After all, anything could happen here in this unpredictablend. It was better to get a positive impression from the unknown party.


    The Celestial Being before taught him that.


    However, ine seems to have different thoughts...


    "So, you''re really here..."


    His master said softly as if he was meeting someone he knows.


    ''Eh? Who is this guy?''


    Wace was confused but it seems that Avalon read his thoughts as it tried to find an answer for him.


    [ Commence Face Identification... ]


    [ Identifying... ]


    [ Showing results of the top three identities with simr features found in all resources stored in the database. ]


    [ 88% - Aeolia Schien ]


    [ 52% - Gram Troy ]


    [ 46% - Myrtle Schien ]


    ''What?!''


    Wace did a double-take when he heard Avalon''s report.


    Looking at it closely, he truly resembles the man shown in those textbooks or online articles.


    ''How is he involved in this tower? What was he doing here? Wait, perhaps he''s just a clone?''


    Thest part was due to Wace''s sensitivity to mana. His ability to sense mana can be said to be reaching the peak already due to the massive changes in his body.


    He couldn''t sense the mana that was supposedly hiding inside this man''s body so he was thinking whether it was just a clone, hologram, automaton, or an ordinary guy, although unlikely.


    If not that, this man probably has tools to block his senses or he was someone stronger than him who could easily hide his aura.


    "Oh? Someone still recognizes me?"


    The old man suspected to be Aeolia was a bit surprised that the people who intruded this ce recognizes him. He didn''t think that he was actually that popr especially the fact that many years had already passed before he became an inactive individual in his career.


    "Yes, you can say that I''m one of your followers. I live up until today by following your ideals and continuously studied to realize the blueprints you''ve left behind..."


    The Grand Arcanist said proudly to the old man. It looks like he was really happy to see him here.


    "Blueprints?"


    The old man seems to be confused for a moment before his eyes suddenly gleamed with realization.


    "Oh? Yes... I really left behind some... Hoho~ It was a messy blueprint. Did someone manage to use that?"


    "Some blueprints were made into realization. Some of them were being used today to send encrypted messages throughout the whole southern continent. It was truly impressive, Sir..."


    ine was referring to themunication device used by Lucent Force stationed in various countries.


    "Is that so? It seems that they are useful, huh. Right, what brought you and this young man here?"


    The old man said as he looked at Wace before he suddenly froze for a moment.


    He squinted his eyes as if he wanted to find something from this man.


    "You''re not a Celestial but..."


    He paused for a moment before he continued.


    "It must''ve been tough, huh. Only a Secret Art that should''ve been buried in thisnd can aplish that... I didn''t think that someone manages to copy that..."


    ine wasn''t exactly sure what the old man was talking about but looking at his apprentice''s reaction, it seems that he hit the nail.


    Wace, on the other hand, was surprised to hear the old man.


    ''He must be referring to theplete Secret Art, the Flowing Spirit.''


    When he received it as a reward from the Pathfinder before, it turned out to be a stele filled with unknown texts engraved on it.


    He was unable to understand the words written but as soon as he touches that stele, a burst of information came into his mind containing theplete knowledge about the Secret Art before the stele vanished.


    ''So they really originated in this northern continent...''


    Sigh~


    ''It feels like this person can see through everything as long as he focused his mind.''


    "I just got lucky..."


    He replied.


    The old man only smiled at his answer and said more words that surprised Wace.


    "Did you make that A.I. you have with you?"


    "Urgh... You even noticed that..."


    "Well, of course. I already learned that someone managed to bypass my security without using physical force. There was only one way to do it aside from that..."


    The old man said matter of factly. It seems that he still has some effective methods to learn whether his system''s security was bypassed or not. It may be through other mystical means or a program that even Avalon was not capable of detecting.


    ''So, he was trying to find the source of his system''s failure. He really paid attention, huh.''


    Wace thought that the old man probably noticed Avalon reporting to him a moment ago...


    ''His senses were really sharp...''


    "My A.I. came from somewhere else but anyway, my master here seems to have a business with you..."


    "Oh, right. You don''t look like natives of this continent or someone who has rtives here... Again, what brought you people in this dangerousnd?"


    "Sir, I need your help..."


    The Grand Arcanist started to tell his story.


    He started with Alpha''s dream about the future, he was one of the finest magicians who joined and survived the first expedition here and waster called as an Oracle.


    He revealed that in the future, they will be invaded by another race to take all their resources, their homes, and their families.


    At first, he thought that it was the recently active sea creatures living at the southern part of Kazan''s Sea.*


    They were creatures with powerful physical strength as they started to slowly invade thends.


    However, an Adept Mage could take on a hundred of them even if they''re alone so they realized that Alpha''s prediction wasn''t referring to them and it was probably something even more dangerous.


    Then, the Grand Arcanist exined the Arcana he wanted to create for the sake of everyone''s advancement. He also mentioned how he spoke with one of the Celestial Beings which brought him here...


    "Ho~ Tell me more about it... Follow me."


    The old man didn''t bring them somewhere else and actually lead them to the 1 km long battleship.


    Wace gulped at the sight of it. It''s exterior was definitely high ss considering that this was a prince''s ship. It was surely a top-ss ship during its time.


    However, Wace was curious how did this old man learn to operate this thing.


    Well, considering that he was aware of the A.I. and have ess to the control system in this building, he must''ve found a way to control this after several years of staying here.


    But there was another idea that came to his mind about this old man''s identity. However, there was no proof and it seems to be better if the old man tells it himself.


    ''Anyway, I have a copy of the Prince''s logbook with me... I can try showing it to both of them...''


    Wace thought as he followed their lead.

 Chapter 254 - The Legend ( Part 2)

    The old man stopped somewhere at the bottom of the battleship. There were no signs of stairs that they can use so ine was curious how they would enter therge vessel.


    It didn''t take long before a circr tform slowly descended to receive them.


    "It''s floating... I can''t sense any mana fluctuation at all..."


    The Grand Arcanist was curious how this thing works as he can also see using his own enhanced vision that there weren''t any strings or ropes attached to the tform.


    However, he maintained his professionalism as he noticed that his apprentice was calm and collected at the situation.


    ''Did he not sense that there was no mana working behind this? Impossible, he already has an Arcane Link...''


    Although he wanted to learn more about it, there was a time and ce to ask his questions. In the meantime, he followed the old man and stepped on the tform.


    Then, without any signs of giving amand, it floated up again to bring them inside the battleship.


    ''I see... Someone must be controlling this elevator. They should be observing us without my knowledge...''


    He no longer bothered thinking about the logic behind this tform as he gawks at the exquisite internal structure of the vessel.


    The inside has a luxurious design and it seems like they have entered a high-ss hotel instead of a battleship.


    The old man leads them to a spacious room that only has a few chairs and tables at the center. Looking at the corners, they can see several cabs made of ss that was filled with bottles of unknown content.


    The room was a bit unique but they can''t properly point out the difference.


    "What room is this?" ine couldn''t help but ask.


    "Oh, did you sense it?" The old man looked at his guest as he gestured them to have a seat.


    "Not really, I just felt that this room wasn''t as simple as it looks."


    "Is that so? Well, you''re correct..."


    ine went silent for a moment before asking another question.


    "Sir... May I ask if you are the same Aeolia Schien of the past?"


    "Haha... I can understand where you''reing from... Don''t worry. I''m the same Aeolia. I didn''t think that someone would be brave enough to impersonate me."


    He admitted it without any hesitation.


    Now, the Grand Arcanist wanted to know why did this person leave the southern continent to live his life here. Did he make this tower? Did he make this battleship together with the natives here? What was his purpose for living and hiding here?


    As he was about to ask another question. The ground trembled a little but with their sensitivity honed on their bodies, it didn''t escape to their sharp senses.


    "This ce was starting to be too cramped..."


    The old man said as he looked on his left. He doesn''t seem to be looking at the wall but somewhere far away from here.


    "Is the tower on the surface about to copse?"


    "Copse? Not really... Its the Mana Cmity I''ve been holding back for many years."


    ''Mana Cmity?!''


    Wace and ine were surprised that he can hold back a Mana Cmity. It was an entirely different concept to stop the formation of Mana Cmity and to stop a genuinely formed Mana Cmity.


    From Aeolia''s words, it seems that he was capable of stopping it with his unknown methods.


    "Impressive..." ine softly muttered.


    Wace wasn''t as surprised as ine because he hadn''t had many clues about what it could do to them and his only reference was the Illusion of the Venarian Town and the floating ind he saw outside. Thetest information about that was the existence of something simr to EMP being emitted around it. Aside from that, there was nothing else.


    Of course, he was sure that the Mana Cmity wasn''t as simple as it shows since the other survivors of the expedition dreaded such an incident.There was definitely something more to it.


    Anyway, they seem to have the time to discuss many things inside this room. Aeolia doesn''t seem to be hurrying and so the Grand Arcanist stopped himself from being too excited to ask many questions.


    Wace also wanted to show the logbook he has in his possession but before that, he wanted to ask about the bottles that have been giving off a different pressure to him. He noticed that the Grand Arcanist wasn''t experiencing the same thing as hepletely ignores the bottles that were safely ced inside the cabs.


    "Sir Aeolia, it is great news to hear that you''re still alive and looking well. May I ask what kind of ns you have right now?"


    "Nothing... I''m just waiting for something to happen. I''ve already done my part..." Aeolia smiled mysteriously. He didn''t add more words so it seems that he didn''t want to fully discuss his ns.


    Wace paused for a moment and looked at the Grand Arcanist before asking another question. It was to make sure that it was fine for him to lead the conversation. Thetter didn''t mind him and just nodded his head. ine wasn''t in a hurry to ask his questions.


    "I see... How about those bottles? They... They''re giving off a menacing pressure." Wace actually wasn''t sure about the pressure he was feeling since his master couldn''t feel it. He was doubting a little bit about his own senses.


    "Impressive... You''re really impressive. I''ve been away in the southern continent... Did it improve by this much already? Were your senses and physique moremon now?"


    "Eh? No... I''m a bit special... I guess."


    "That''s too bad. It would be better if there would be many young practitioners as sharp as you. Haha..."


    Aeolia seems to be enjoying himself but he didn''t forget to answer his question.


    "Those bottles, huh... You can say that they''re the seventh..."


    "Seventh Generation?"


    Wace and ine were gaping their mouth at the sudden news. The Sixth Gen was just recently developed through the many clues they obtained. As for the Seventh Gen, it wasn''t even being studied yet.


    The Sixth Gen wasn''t even fully explored yet!


    There were still many things they could make and discover from it. Once many people used the 6th gen, they will surely discover more about it and improve them in due time.


    "That fast?" ine blurted out after Aeolia''s words sink in.


    "That''s not even fast... Hoho... Anyway, isn''t it about time to tell me more about your purpose here? Right, I''m already old and weak. Don''t expect too much that I can help you here."


    ine acknowledged this and requested for the old man''s advice.


    "Sir, is it possible for us to utilize the strength of the Celestial Beings? I believe that their power would be a game-changer in the predicted invasion on ournd."


    Aeolia went silent before he asked in confirmation.


    "Do you have an idea about the possible invaders?"


    In truth, ine wasn''t really sure and he couldn''t even give proper evidence that there would be an invasion at all. It was also the same problem he had when he tried asking for help from the government.


    Wace saw that his master went silent so he decided to join the conversation. He opened up his palm and retrieved the copy of the logbook he has in his spatial bag.


    "I believe that the invaders woulde from a distantnd..."


    The young man said before showing the logbook to the two.

 Chapter 255 - Plans

    Wace noticed that Sir Aeolia had an amused expression after reading the tranted logbook.


    ''Is he familiar with the records?''


    He suddenly remembered that outside this tower was a sign written in Aerathi, it is the officialnguage of the Lonar Alliance where the prince came from.


    Thinking about it, there might''ve been some things that were left in this ce that would allow Ross Schien''s ancestor to study thenguage.


    Wace suddenly had an urge to record this moment to let his previous ssmate, Ross Schien, know that Aeolia was still alive...


    Anyway, it wouldn''t be a surprise if this old man found many hidden records here that contain something simr to the logbook he has with him.


    He might''ve learned about this already at some point.


    "Sir... Do you believe in what was recorded here?"


    Wace asked as he noticed that the old man was no longer paying attention to it.


    On the other hand, his master was reading it carefully afraid that he would miss something.


    The Grand Arcanist felt like he was reading a made-up story.


    ''Prince Zhaeus Zaimphail.''


    ''There were already people who arrived here from a different world?''


    ''They possess an ancient relics that were being collected by a powerful empire?''


    ''Now, they have to ready themselves until the moment they arrived?''


    What kind of story is this?


    Urgh!


    If he believed in this, then everything would make sense. But a part of his mind couldn''t ept that such otherworldly beings would try to upy theirnd.


    He reviewed the blueprints that were recorded here but even if the group of people who first arrived here left them these copies to help them, it would be tough for them.


    He sighed looking at the exquisite designs for weapons, facilities, and even various groundbreaking technologies noted in the book.


    Unfortunately, based on his understanding of these blueprints, it wouldn''t be so easy to make them unless several countries would unite together and gather all the resources required.


    This was easier said than done!


    Simple and private trades between nations were already limited due to the difference in government. To ask them more to cooperate and build a weapon or facilities to make these lethal arms would be more difficult. After all, even if these weapons were made, the one who would have the authority to use them would also be put in question.


    It was at this point that ine heard Wace''s question to Aeolia.


    "I believe in them..." The old man answered which made ine a bit expectant.


    ''If he believes in this information... Then the oracle must be referring to this...''


    "Then, would you help us? I previously asked one of the Celestial Beings for their help but they brought me here to you... Is there anything you can do?"


    ine also wanted to ask Wace where in the world did he get this information but he wanted to get Aeolia''s opinion about this first.


    "You said that you''re already preparing something, right?"


    "Yes... It is an Arcana..."


    ine exined in detail how his Arcana would affect all the Mana Practitioners and boost their strengths further.


    This time, Wace listened carefully as he also has an Arcana with him given by the Pathfinder. He was unable to determine what it can do since even the Pathfinder only told him to seek assistance with an Arcanist to appraise it.


    As he remembers that, he kept in his mind that he''ll seek his master''s help about thister on.


    About half an hour had passed and Aeolia seems to be satisfied with the Grand Arcanist''s n. However, both of them were aware of the weakness of the n. It was time.


    The Grand Arcanist already possess the materials with him but creating the Arcana and introducing it to the people until they gradually get used to it was a different story.


    Of course, it was better than nothing.


    ''An Arcana that slowly affects the magician''s meridians to improve their power... This is impressive...''


    Wace listened to them and he understood that the Arcana his master was trying to make was revolutionary.


    Even Aeolia looked interested on it. If they probably have the time, this n would be perfect.


    Once the army from the empire arrives, they would surely be surprised if they fought a bunch of Sages and Arcanists rather than Adepts and Artificers.


    This time, Aeolia offered his help to the Grand Arcanist. Thetter''s n was good but it needs more refinement.


    With his help, they crafted a n that even Wace didn''t dare to think of.


    ***


    Yumi and her group safely arrived at the ground floor of the tower.


    For some reason, the special room they''ve entered before was still working automatically. It still opened and closed at the right time and it was impressive.


    It gave them an easier time and they even found traces of some other members the Grand Arcanist''s expedition team. They had some time to group up with them adding 6 more people in their midst.


    It was mostly thanks to Percival scanning ability. It consumes a lot of his mana if repeatedly used, so he didn''t dare use it before without proper support.


    But now that he has Hannah and ine backing him up, he was no longer afraid to drain his mana even to a critical level as long as they could find more people to save.


    "We''ve been attacked just outside this building right before we could enter the tower. We suspected it toe from a Celestial."


    "Huh? Did you guys offended one?" The other guys from the expedition team were looking worried and have the same thoughts as Percival.


    "No... We didn''t... Not that we are aware of."


    "Do you think that Celestial was still outside?"


    "Well, Wace hinted that it should be fine going out already, so..."


    "Alright...But just to be safe, I''ll be going out first and survey the surroundings."


    Percival quickly acted as he said those words.


    As soon as he stepped out. He activated his wide-scale scanning ability to find any unusual presence around the tower.


    Aside from a few mana beasts, he didn''t sense any other abnormality so he gave an ok sign to the others.


    Everyone wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible but because of the Grand Arcanist and Wace''s absence, some of them were reluctant to leave the tower.


    "Sir ine went deeper as he sensed something deeper in the tower. Wace was the same, they would most like meet and it means that going out would be easier for them."


    Percivalforted Yumi and her friends after seeing their worrying nce at the tower. They were now stealthily moving towards their extraction point and it will still take several days so there would be plenty of chances for Wace and ine to keep up with them.


    Right now, they have to pray that they would not encounter the Celestial Being who attacked their previous group, or Wace and ine would not even see them anymore as they will perish earlier than the two.


    On the other hand, Dr. Mao was looking better now that they made it outside. He has been collecting various herbs, fruits, grass, insects, and other samples he could take to studyter on. It was the best time to find out more about thisnd.


    Aside from various chimera and mana beasts they encounter, there hasn''t been a lot of trouble along the way until they were confronted by an uninvited guest.


    Everyone was suddenly unable to use their mana and as soon they found the source of it, they could only stare at the being made of blue energy floating above them...


    ''Sigh... So, it still found us...''


    Yumi frowned at the sight of the same Celestial Being they encountered before.

 Chapter 256 - Corruption

    Yumi clearly remembers how this existence managed to easily immobilize them with a flick of its fingers.


    Seeing the same Celestial Being here had a different pressure now that Wace was not present in their group. That young man seems to be full of miracles with him so they can always move forward on their path, but now that he was left inside the tower, they have to deal with the situation and think of a solution.


    "Careful... Sir ine already spoke with another Celestial. Although they were not aggressive, they can cause you some harm just by getting near them..."


    It was Dr. Mao who warned Yumi and the others. It seems that he was together with the Grand Arcanist when thetter negotiated with the Celestial.


    Yumi nodded at this. She looked at Hannah who was now prepared unlike thest time as she immediately added ayer of defense so she could bear the pressure once the existence spoke to them within their minds.


    No one started to talk and only cautiously stared at the floating Celestial. Even Percival felt the pressureing off from it. This was his first time seeing a Celestial Being which was shrouded in mystery.


    No one wanted to speak first since it may offend the creature.


    Anyway, the two other groups had an experience with a Celestial already so the Headmaster decided to wait for their instructions before he would act.


    It took about a minute of staring down at them before the Celestial decided tond on the patch of grass in front of their group.


    ''This... It wouldn''t attack without even talking to us, right?''


    Yumi was frowning at their current situation, no one knows whether it only has ns to observe them or it was already nning who to eatter.


    Sigh~


    As everyone was starting to be stressed on their situation, the Celestial Being started speaking. Again, it''s a telepathic form of conversation which was giving them some troubles.


    "Where is the other person together with you?"


    The pressure was difficult to handle but because they''ve been preparing for this, it didn''t catch them by surprise.


    Dr. Mao was sure that this Celestial wasn''t referring to the Grand Arcanist since they met a different one...


    Looking at the existence''s eyes, they were actually staring at Yumi''s small group.


    Oh, it even looks like that it was also interested in Percival and thedy with him. It must''ve sensed something from them.


    Anyway, the doctor quickly understood that this creature may actually be referring to the other person who wasn''t here.


    That was Wace, the fifth apprentice of Sir ine...


    ''So they really encountered this existence before... Luckily, this one doesn''t seem to be problematic...''


    The one they met before had kindly described to them the characteristics of the problematic Celestials. After all, they were dangerous beings that even nned to destroy the moon after umting a bit of foreign power.


    Instead of blue energy umting within their bodies, they described that the problematic ones were umting darker color of energy.


    "He remained inside the tower..."


    Yumi gambled on her answer. She wasn''t even exactly confident if the creature was really referring to Wace.


    Anyway, they can only tell what they somehow know in the meantime. Since the young man was together with the Grand Arcanist, they will surely find a way to get over this.


    In fact, the two seem to be in a safer ce since they were remaining inside the tower unlike them who was exposed in these various creatures roaming the continent.


    ***


    Wace was amazed by the ns crafted by the two powerful men.


    Although he also has ns made together with Veda, it was very reassuring to know that the others were also trying to find a way to handle the empire.


    It would be a good thing if they spread this awareness without causing panic to the popce.


    ''Anyway, that''s where the VRes in... The yers should be able to notice it by now.''


    Wace left many hints within the game. Not only were they giving real life stuff, true battle technique, and advanced technologies within the game, but also clues leading to the changesing to the real world.


    It was subtle and not enough to cause panic. It would ensure that the government would not immediately act against him saying that he was causing a public disturbance. He also informed Yumi about the logbook and probably reported it to her higher-ups.


    Now that he showed it to the two, he felt that some of the weight he was carrying was lifted. It feels better if there would be more people helping them in this endeavor.


    "I already said why I''m staying here... I need to hold back the Mana Cmity in thisnd..."


    Aeolia suddenly said after his master offered him to return to the southern continent together with them.


    "Is there anything we could help?" Sir ine could not force the man to join them as he already offered a lot of his help.


    "Nothing, just take care of this Dreadnaught-ss Grayback..."


    That''s right, Aeolia has offered them to use this battleship against the invaders. The old man even hinted that this thing could fly and reach the stars which astounded the Grand Arcanist. He didn''t know how this thing works but he fully trusts this living legend.


    "This young man should know how to operate this thing... You can seek his assistance at that time." Aeolia said as he smiled at Wace.


    ine nodded at that but most importantly, he wanted to ask him how will they bring this outside? However, before he could ask the question, he realized that it may be insulting to his intelligence to ask such an obvious question. Sir Aeolia must''ve his preparations already.


    They went quiet for a moment as everyone seems to have mentioned all their concerns. Well, Wace was waiting for this to ask another question not rted to the invasion stuff.


    "Sir, two people were sent here deep within this tower and we rescued them. I''m concerned if there was another organization that was also based in the southern continent and was actually using this ce as their base of operation."


    "Two people?"


    "Yes, a man and a woman. They were probably sent here weeks ago..."


    "Oh? Those two..."


    "Do you know them, Sir? Can you tell me how did they end up here?"


    Aeolia didn''t answer immediately as he carefully thought.


    "Well, they seem to have used one of the failed artifacts made from the body parts of a Celestial. There were several artifacts I made that would allow me to be transported in different locations. They arrived here using one. I don''t think they are aware of it as it seems."


    Wace carefully analyzed this revtion as he suddenly had an idea.


    "Did you make the Sealed Mana Artifacts?"


    "Sealed Mana Artifacts?"


    "Oh, I mean mana artifacts made from the body parts of a Celestial Being, that''s what we called them..."


    "I see... You are calling them "sealed", huh... Correct, I made a few but I''m not sure whether other practitioners followed my steps."


    ''Urgh... I don''t think that there would be another magician who would dare to attack a Celestial just to make those artifacts.''


    Wace thought as he felt that it would be too absurd to think that someone could fight such a powerful existence.


    "That makes sense... So it seems that you were capable of monitoring this tower from everywhere?"


    "Not really... I can only sense the presence of those who entered the tower. After a day or two, I would no longer sense their presence as their mana would start to get corrupted..."


    Wace heard the word corrupted as he suddenly perked up. He wanted to learn more about this thing.


    "Don''t worry. As soon as you entered that metal door, you were safe from the corruption."

 Chapter 257 - Meeting A Celestial ( Part 1 )

    Wace''s mind quickly processed all the information he learned.


    Aeolia was here to stop the mysterious Mana Cmity.


    He didn''t mention how did he find this ce but based on his actions, it almost felt like he actually owns the ce. The act of giving them this spacecraft was already something very notable.


    The two guests have the impression that this person, Aeolia Schien, actually made this ce. They were thinking that he was probably unable to take care of it for the past years that resulted to have those monsters live in here.


    It may be the truth or probably close to it based on the clues they gathered.


    The man was also aware of the mana corruption which was just new to the two. The Grand Arcanist wasn''t knowledgeable about this as well considering that there was no such thing as mana corruption in the southern continent.


    The most he could think of was the mana purity.


    Beforepleting the Arcane Baptism, the limit of everyone''s Mana purity was only 70% and after getting the Arcane Link, everyone would have 93% of purity with the exception of Wace. The two were thinking that the mana corruption Aeolia was referring to was also a form of mana purity''s abnormality.


    "What''s with the corrupted mana?"


    ine directly asks as he was quite new to this information.


    "Something simr to radiation, I guess... This tower was previously made to conduct various experiments. Unfortunately, it didn''tst long because of several failed experiments."


    They had the urge to get theplete story of this tower but they don''t think that it was a significant thing to their current ns. They believed that they will know theplete history of this man when the timees.


    "Can we still do something about the people affected by corruption?"


    "Hmmm... Let''s see. If you find a location where there''s a revitalization mana spring and has been existing for more than a hundred years, then try letting them take a bath in that ce... It should help them remove the corruption..."


    Wace nodded and looked at his master for this...


    ine didn''t put him down as he nodded. He was aware that his apprentice doesn''t have a way to get ess to a Revitalization Mana Spring and his nce meant that he was relying on him about this. He was also acquainted with Percival so he didn''t really mind helping.


    He was also grateful that his apprentice gave him a copy of the prince''s logbook so it was fine to fulfill some of his requests. Anyway, it shouldn''t be too much trouble once they returned to the southern continent.


    Now that it was settled, the only remaining concern was ine''s request to get assistance with the Celestial Beings.


    They were powerful sentient beings with vague origins.


    Their way of life was also different considering that their bodies were different from humans. But it didn''t mean that they could no longer cooperate with each other. ine believes that as long as their intention was genuine and for the better of this world, those powerful Celestials will understand and give them a hand once they were in trouble.


    He would feel absolutely confident to face the invaders if they have at least one or two Celestials on their side.


    "Sigh~ A Celestial really mentioned that you have toe and visit me?"


    "Mhmm... That''s right... I asked for their assistance but it seems that they were unable to help unless you''ve allowed them. At least, that is how I understood. Is there something wrong?"


    "Haaa... So they really think that I can help, huh..."


    Aeolia sighed before exining everything to the two.


    "That truth is that they wanted to leave this ce as much as you do. That was their goal for many years already. Unfortunately, whenever they tried leaving the center of thisnd, their powers will gradually weaken and if they continued moving away, their powers will slowly vanish until there was nothing left."


    Wace and ine who had read the tranted logbook immediately remembered the prince''s notes about his human experimentations to create powerful soldiers to fight against the empire.


    One of their weaknesses noted by the prince was their incapability to leave the northern continent. They only had a hunch about them before but Aeolia''s words confirmed everything.


    ''Those soldiers... Then, they are referring to these Celestials? If that was the case, this prince was truly impressive.''


    Apparently, for these beings to have their own intelligence can be good or bad and on the prince''s case, it backfired on him as he had to escape this continent as he may have encountered the problematic ones.


    "If they can''t leave this ce... Then they will not be able to help us..." Wace muttered as he understood the situation.


    "Sir Aeolia, do you have a method to bring them outside thisnd?"


    "It will be tough...Anyway, listen carefully. This Northern Continent has already adapted to the Mana Cmity, this is what they need. If the Southern Continent became the same, then you can bring out those Celestials who were willing to help you..."


    Aeolia fully discussed the significance of Mana Cmity to the Celestials and differentiated it to the Mana Cmity that he had to stop at all costs.


    The one he was trying to stop was actually the strongest cmity in the continent and letting it out would destroy half of the continent and will also affect the bnce of mana in the southern continent.


    If this strongest mana cmity ured, the southern continent would be flooded by mana and it will destroy the bnce of life.


    If will create stronger mana beast and will suffocate non-magicians and will surely cause a tragedy.


    Wace could only imagine how was Aeolia stopping that cmity. It may be inappropriate to ask for more details about that but Wace wanted to learn at least how to create and control this Mana Cmity so they discussed further about this cmity.


    ''I don''t have time to right now to research this cmity. I might need to ask Veda about this...''


    If Celestials can''t really be transported to the southern continent, they could only hope that the empire would send most of their forces on thisnd so the Celestial can be very busy to eliminate them. Of course, it was a wishful thinking.


    After being unable to find a quick solution with regards to the Celestials. They decided that it was already time to leave the ce.


    Aeolia promised that the battleship will be ready after a week and he will be personally sending it off.


    They just have to be ready to receive the battleship near the border of the southern continent.


    ***


    A couple of days had passed but Yumi and her team were still quite nervous about their situation.


    "Do you think that Wace already met with the Celestial?"


    Yumi asked though she knows that no one could answer her yet.


    Their group were already reaching the extraction point and she was worried that the two won''t be able to keep up. They might be forced to leave earlier especially if they encounter dangerous creatures in thisnd.


    "Let''s just hope that they''ll reach us here before we were forced to leave..."


    Dr. Mao also expressed his worry since they also fought a flying wyrm thest time and it has air supremacy that could not be ignored.


    They have Iron Knights to use before but all of them were already destroyed and thest one was within the Grand Arcanist''s spatial bag.


    They can only try to wait as much as they can before they''ll decide on their next step.


    ***


    Wace was very satisfied on this trip. They met Aeolia in this ce and the old man even gave each of them a bottle of his Seventh Generation Mana Artifact!


    Although he was excited to study and learn about it. He controlled himself as he wasn''t in the right ce.


    Everything was interesting and fun until a Celestial Being blocked their exit to the tower two days ago.

 Chapter 258 - Meeting A Celestial ( Part 2 )

    Wace wasn''t as nervous as he was before when they met the Celestial Being waiting for him outside the building.


    First, they were already aware that it was not a problematic one as it doesn''t have a darker color of energy.


    The second was that there were only two of them facing the Celestial.


    It means that he doesn''t have to worry about the others that may get injured if this Celestial decided to harm them. He was confident in his escaping capabilities, thanks to his Void Phase.


    He was also aware that his master already met with one before and even held a conversation with them. It only proves that he has some confidence in dealing with the situation so he didn''t have to worry about him.


    The third point was that the Celestial who confronted them was no longer blocking the presence of mana in the surroundings. They can feel that they can perfectly use the thick and pure mana that was existing outside the tower.


    Thest one was that they can still use the tower behind them as their escape route in case they really need to hide from this creature.


    With all these considerations, they decided to listen to whatever this Celestial Being has to say.


    The Celestial Being approached them and started talking within their minds.


    "You... How did you sense one of us?"


    Wace was sure that it was asking him but he couldn''t immediately understand what this creature was trying to ask.


    After thinking for a moment, he remembered what happened during their first meeting.


    ''Wait, is he referring to the Celestial Being bathing at theke? I pointed this guy in theke''s direction... Is there a problem with that?''


    He wasn''t sure but if this is the root cause of his presence here, then his question now makes sense. It seems that it was interested in the trick he has.


    He used his Divine Sense to locate them and it was probably curious about this Soul Art. Speaking of which, are they also aware of such arts? Too bad that they forgot to ask Aeolia about this. They were only aware that this existence was using a different source of power. It wasn''t mana and Aeolia called them as Astral Energy...


    They have a stronger and purer version of Wace''s Astral Core.


    Anyway, Wace answered truthfully.


    "I have a skill that allows me sense anyone''s presence. It is rted to Soul Arts."


    "Soul Arts? What is it called?"


    "Divine Sense..."


    As soon as he answered, ine on his side squinted his eyes as if he remembers something from those words.


    The Celestial, on the other hand, remained silent after he answered. It looks like it was trying to recall if such technique exists in their vocabry.


    "I want to learn it..."


    These words from him was the real problem as Wace could only agree due to their situation. Anyway, this was also a good opportunity to convince one of them to join their battle against the invaders once they found a way to bring them in the southern continent.


    ***


    Yumi and her group just arrived at the extraction point and there were still no signs of the two''s presence.


    ''They''re surelyte... Did they encounter any troubles inside that tower?''


    ine frowned as she hadn''t thought before about taking a drop of Wace''s blood to ensure that his alive and that he''s following their route.


    She only remembered it after a day of their escape as everyone was worried about the two''s situation. After all, they are unaware of their situation whether they were still alive or not.


    Unfortunately, it was toote to ask for Wace''s blood and they can only move forward.


    The forest was also unusually quiet and it honestly made them more nervous at the situation.


    There were only rustling leaves that can be heard. It was devoid of soundsing from other insects or animals.


    It was a weird situation considering that the forest they were at was previously filled with such creatures.


    Whhooosszzzh!!!


    The aircraft that was tasked to carry them out had also arrived at the pointed location. It was now ready to bring them away from this continent.


    Most of the Cloud Hawks Manor''s remaining people already wanted to leave this ce as fast as possible. It wasn''t because they didn''t want to wait fo the Grand Arcanist but because they fully trusted him.


    Sigh~


    "Everyone¡­ Let''s trust those two and leave this ce already. They can meet up with some other government outposts a few kilometers away from here so it shouldn''t be a problem to return if they really have to..."


    The Grand Arcanist''s people entered thisnd withplete permission and requirements from the goverment while Yumi''s group was not.


    Anyway, with ine''s presence it should not be a problem to bring Wace with him.


    "I will also assign some people to monitor this ce for any signaling from Wace."


    Yumi assured everyone before she lead the group to board the airship thatnded safely near their group.


    ''Urgh... I''d feel guilty if something happened to you... Please, be safe...''


    Yumi prayed in her mind as she was the one who recruited Wace in this rescue mission. She would surely feel responsible if something happens to him during this time so she can only hope for the best.


    As soon as they left, the previously quiet forest became lively again as no one noticed there was another passenger who joined them within their airship.


    ***


    "Is there any update from him?"


    Ace asked Veda as he was a bit curious about his other body''s situation. He wasn''t too worried for him as he was fully aware how powerful he was and how effective his life-saving skills are even without using a top-ss mana artifact.


    He just received an information that Yumi had sessfully rescued the Headmaster and has returned to the country safely.


    Right now, he wasn''t sure how he would act if he suddenly met those people who joined their operation in the northern continent.


    [ Nothing. I will let you know once I have one. ]


    Veda answered truthfully. Wace was no longer in the ce where it could still use its coverage and the machine he took from it was also not being used.


    ''Sigh... I''ll just improvise if I met them. I just have to stay low-key... No, that wouldn''t happen. I still have to attend sses and Sir Percival will surely return to the Academy.


    Should I pretend to be an A.I.?''


    "Urgh, that won''t work... Sigh. Whatever, I''ll work on it when the timees..."


    Ace wasn''t sure how to deal with the situation but since he had to act like the same Wace, he can only try to do his best if the incident urs.


    In the meantime, he continued working diligently on his mountain and he was sure that Wace would be surprised by the huge changes he made in the past couple of weeks.


    He had alsopleted working on three Mech Frames that wouldn''t lose much against his Lotus Mech Frame.


    A few hourster, before the evening approaches, Ace was working as usual when he was suddenly notified by Avalon that there was a visitor in front of their vi''s gate.


    "Eh? Who would visit me on a weekend?"


    Soon, he got an answer from his A.I. and learned that it was Miya Linus...

 Chapter 259 - Ace And Miya

    Miya just received news from Miss Chamber, the current headmaster of the Academy, that Percival has already returned.


    She was shocked to hear that they rescued him from the Northern Continent!


    It was such big news for her since she was aware of the rumors that thisnd was so dangerous that even Adept Mages can perish at any moment...


    She learned from Miss Chamber that there was a secret operation conducted by Percival''s friends or supporters to save the man from the clutch of the terrorist organization.


    But there was one more thing included in the information she gathered, it was about Wace Ravencroft, her friend, that had actually joined the operation and was still not being found. She was unsure of the details so she wanted to confirm by visiting his ce.


    They already cooperated several times for the VR Project and even had a few visits in this vi so she considered him as her friend already. After all, being a celebrity limited her social activities by several times. That was why she treasures the friendship she had with Wace.


    She had asked Avalon inside the game about Wace''s situation but it only mentioned not to worry about him and she was not getting a satisfying answer so after deliberating for a while, she decided to directly visit the vi he owned since Avalon didn''t seem to prohibit her for doing so.


    She was a little worried and wanted to verify whether he was truly left in the northern continent. She couldn''t believe that a young student that was still enrolled and studying at the academy has the courage to travel in that dangerousnd.


    As soon as she reached the mountain''s vicinity, she noticed the huge difference it hadpared to herst visit almost a month ago.


    ''This... isn''t these changes a bit too fast? What exactly is happening here?''


    Miya was astounded by the massive wall and tall structures just near the vi. The path at the front was still eptable but behind and on its sides havepletely changed to something else.


    ''No, it''s not a tower... Is it a road? But it''s pointing up...''


    The structure she was guessing was only about 500 meters away from her so she was curious at this new sight... She had never seen such a building before.


    Not only that, but there was also a previous patch of forest on the left side of the vi that has now turned into barrennd. It seems that another building was about to be constructed there.


    Apparently, thergest change she can see was the arena-like structure behind the vi. She wasn''t sure what it was but it seems to be a huge project for a young man studying at Leonhearts Academy.


    ''He hasn''t even graduated yet and he''s already so efficient in these types of things.''


    Miya was at a loss for a moment but it only made her more convinced that Wace should be safe. After all, there was no way that thisplicated building project would be handled by anyone but him.


    ''I don''t think that Avalon can just create these things without Wace''s supervision...''


    Miya had the impression that Avalon was only used to help for the daily chores and to guide yers inside the VR game. She didn''t have any idea how powerful this A.I. yet.


    Anyway, now that she reached the vi without troubles, she became a bit more expectant to meet the young man...


    As usual, the gate opened to wee her as she delightfully entered the Vi.


    She didn''t meet the automatons she was expecting to see as they were working non-stop at some designated work areas.


    They would normally greet or guide her to the lounge of the vi.


    It didn''t take long before she heard some approaching footsteps...


    As soon as she saw the man smiling awkwardly and walking towards her, she felt that there was something wrong...


    ''This feels weird...''


    ***


    Ace decided to meet Miya right now since, in the end, he was tasked by Wace to handle social rtions and even attending sses at the academy.


    It means that he''ll meet the others sooner orter so it was better to practice it with her already.


    He took a deep breath and started talking to Miya...


    "You must be surprised by the huge changes in this ce..."


    "Haha... That''s natural... I didn''t think that you already owned this whole mountain..."


    She realized this simply because of the wall that Wace used for the entire mountain has simrities with the fence surrounding his vi...


    It was simple but the defense mechanism that was installed has a unique pattern that she can sense using her soul arts. She would never miss such detail.


    "Right... What made you visit here?" Ace asked the youngdy who was quietly observing him.


    "Haaa~ I didn''t know if I should say it..."


    ''It seems that Wace was fine and Miss Chamber had received incorrect news. He looks healthy and lively. I''m sure that I''m meeting with a real person and not an automaton.''


    Miya thought as she realized that she worried for nothing.


    "It''s fine... Just let me know..." Ace insisted.


    "Alright... I heard from Miss Chamber that you were missing after the rescue operation in the northern continent. Sigh~ What happened back there? You also have a different aura... Is that the effect of going to the northern continent?"


    "Oh, I didn''t notice... Well, I was missing? Haha... "


    ''This is a problem... What did he do back there? Tsk...''


    Ace wasn''t sure how to answer as he was unaware of what happened on the northern continent.


    ''He didn''t even notify me about his ns...''


    "Yeah, Miss Chamber said that after the rescue team recovered the previous headmaster, you had to separate with the group. In the end, you were missing until the extraction day... Is that wrong?"


    "Oh... It''s fine... Anyway, I had my ways to leave the ce and so here I am..." Ace can onlye up with a good answer.


    Miya was obviously unconvinced but she didn''te here to argue about his reasons. She only wanted to know whether he was still alive or not. Now that she confirmed this, she didn''t really have any more reasons to stay here...


    "Hmmm... I''m also taking a break right now so if you can stay here for a while, I''ll just prepare some snacks we can eat. I''d like to ask you about the VR game. Are you still ying?"


    "Am I still ying? Haha... Of course! I enjoyed ying it every day. Especially after my friends received some real-life stuff from the creator."


    "Oh? That real-life stuff was only a few in numbers. They must be pretty lucky."


    The two chatted for a while as Ace got ustomed to Miya.


    He carefully observed her reaction after seeing his current body and learned that she totally didn''t mind it.


    She surely must''ve noticed the difference but it seems that it was not to the point where it would attract too much attention.


    If he considered this, then it should be fine if he showed up with other Wace''s friends.


    As he was enjoying his chat with Miya, Ace suddenly received a message from Wace through Avalon.


    [ I will be away for several months. Handle everything there in the meantime. You can do it. ]

 Chapter 260 - First Spaceship

    After Ace heard Wace''s message from Avalon, he didn''t immediately react as he was stunned by this sudden news.


    ''Several months? He''s really nning to dump all these tiring works to me, huh...''


    Ace was already aware that it was really his task to manage the construction and the creation of magic technology.


    After all, although his body was physically strong and has already adapted to mana, he wasn''t as strong as Wace who has Void Phase, Astral Core, and Arcane Link. He has to work on something that would benefit not just his individual strength like what his other body pursues.


    He needs to maximize his A.I.''s capability unlike what Wace did and show to the world the vastness of the gctic technology.


    ''Sigh~ I just hope that he won''t get too attached in that ce and decided to live there for good... Anyway, I should be more than enough to protect this ce.''


    Ace''s main strength would still be the technology he has. But considering that his body was trained in several martial arts, as long as he managed to avoid the spells or even managed to destroy the opponent''s artifacts, he was confident to finish off his enemy.


    It was risky, so that was why even if he was busy constructing the structure in this mountain, the hangar, mass driver, and the others, he didn''t forget to develop his own weapons that would fit his style.


    In the meantime, the main defense of his property would still be the Mech Frames controlled by Avalon.


    "What happened?"


    Miya noticed Ace''s expression as she worriedly asked.


    "Oh... Nothing... I just got reminded by the tasks I have toplete."


    Ace smiled wryly as he answered.


    After a while, Miya decided to leave the vi as she confirms that ''Wace'' was fine in contrast to the news she had.


    It was also good to know that this ce was actually about to be turned to Wace''s business district. A ce where all his current and future creations passed by the NMTI will be produced.


    She clearly understood this point since this young man''s business with his VR Pods was expanding every day! As an endorser of such products, she realized that their target market wasn''t just for gamers but it was catered for everyone and not just here in their country.


    The virtual world it offers was so advanced that no otherpetitors would dare to copy their business. It will surely conquer the market sooner orter.


    Anyway, she felt that it was natural that a huge business that was nowpeting in the international stage would have such expenses to create a better quality of products.


    Miya looked back at the mountain behind her and confirmed that Wace has even controlled the temperature around his property through magic.


    She was impressed by how meticulous he works to improve the ce he has.


    "Satisfied?"


    A voice was suddenly heard as she was interrupted in her thoughts. It was her manager who decided not to apany her and let the two have a chat with each other.


    Miya smiled before she answered.


    "Yes... It seems that he was fine... Nothing to worry about."


    "That''s good to hear... But it''s weird that Miss Chamber would tell you incorrect news."


    "Hmm... It''s fine. He might have just returned or something... As long as he''s okay."


    Miya replied before she silently entered the car brought by her manager.


    ***


    Ace had been trying tomunicate with Wace at the northern continent but it seems that Avalon and Veda were unable to help.


    Veda exined to him that the message he received through Avalon was actually due to the help of one of its devices left in the continent.


    Unfortunately, Wace has been storing it back to his Spatial Bag and unless he retrieved it out, it won''t be able to connect to Wace.


    "Fine...Let''s leave it at that... I''ll see what I can do here. He should be safe given that he''s able to give me such message."


    Ace decided not to think more about Wace and focused on working at the construction site.


    Ace has already built the huge framework of the firstbat spaceship sponsored by Veda.


    It was equipped with a Positron Cannon, Magic Enhanced Turrets, and several destructive weapons but the internal design was still in a mess.


    Ace wanted to create a spaceship that would let anyone befortable after getting in so he ordered a batch of expensive products to design the floors, living quarters,fort rooms, and even the bridge wasn''t any exclusion.


    After all, this was the first spaceship he was trying to create. Although it was only a middle size spaceship, about 350 meters in length, he wanted to make it as perfect as possible since this would be the gship of the fleet.


    Ace was almost done creating the ship and he only has to ce a few more weapons.


    "Avalon, check the missileunchers if it''s ready to be mounted..."


    [ Affirmative ]


    Ace was referring to the 10 x 4 tube missileunchers.


    It has three types of missiles, the ground missiles, interceptor missiles, and space missiles which was perfected in a different way.


    Normally, they should conduct a firing test for these missiles before it would be mounted but through Veda and Avalon''s cooperation, they easily identified any defects on it and managed to perfect a missile without firing even once.


    Almost everything was beingpleted and tested through virtual simtion.


    It was such a huge help for Ace who couldn''t find a way to do a test-fire of his powerful and destructive weapons.


    Especially that Positron Cannon that could potentially harm the environment. It was a weapon that was advised to be used only in space as much as possible.


    Aside from the Positron Cannon hiding at the middle front of the spaceship, there were also two beam cannons at the left and right side of the vessel that acts as its main weapon aside from the several turrets mounted everywhere on the warship.


    After a day ofpleting the finishing touches, Ace looked at his masterpiece and admired it for a while.


    "I should give this a name..."


    Ace thought for a moment before he picked one...


    "I''ll call you Excellence..."


    At the moment, it was the finest creation he had so he gave it this majestic name.


    "Avalon, show me its details..."


    [ ssification: Transatmospheric Battleship


    Model Number: WMR-005


    Official Name: Excellence


    Overall Length: 360 m


    Propulsion System: 20 x Thruster ]


    [ Main Armament:


    - Positron Cannon


    - Primary Beam Gun


    - Secondary Beam Gun


    - Space Missiles


    - Ground Missiles


    - Interceptor Missiles


    - 6 Enhanced Turrets ]


    [ Magic Armaments:


    - Mana ster


    - Mana Bomb Launcher


    - Petrification Caster


    - Laser Focus


    - 4 Magic Enhanced Turrets ]


    [ Equipment


    - Mana Battery - Power Generator


    - Space Booster ]


    There were tons of other information on this warship so Avalon showed only the important ones.


    Ace was satisfied looking at the information before he decided to call it a day and have a good night''s rest.


    Working on these projects was both tiring and enjoyable. The satisfaction he felt every time he finished one of his tasks gave him more energy toplete all the others and see their finished products.


    Tomorrow would be the same day as he continuously creates other smaller warships.


    "No... I have to start attending sses tomorrow... Ugh..."


    Wace had to attend sses from time to time just enough for him not to get suspended.


    "Sigh~ I just hope that nothing goes wrong..."

 Chapter 261 - Ace In The Academy

    Ace woke up early in the morning and confirmed that Avalon was still working non-stop on the construction site.


    Well, it was not really Avalon itself but it was the automatons controlled by the A.I.


    It only had to supervise them since those automatons were already programmed on what it had to do. Even Veda helped in cing independent artificial intelligence to help the construction.


    After all, Avalon''s processing speed would be consumed by so much if Veda just watched everything on the sideline.


    Anyway, if Ace found any uneptable deterioration in any parts of the automaton, he had to immediately repair them to avoid causing trouble.


    These automatons were working not only in the construction of the site but they are also exposed to a massive amount of mana that can deteriorate some parts of their internal system.


    ''It looks fine here... How about those working on Mech Frames...''


    Ace confirmed after checking the status of some automatons.


    The source of the massive amount of mana in this ce was the mana stones he had to gather or purchase for the sake of strengthening the spaceships and Mech Frames.


    He couldn''t gather enough mana just by waiting for it naturally or by using a mana gathering formation. If he did that, the amount of mana within the ce will continuously be eaten up until it became unstable in the mountain.


    He didn''t want that to happen as he wanted to use this ce for a longer time.


    In fact, the automatons weren''t just powered by electricity as some of them were using Mana Stones as the battery.


    This was the main reason why he always had to check these automatons. They require maintenance to ensure their effectiveness.


    He also confirmed that some of the printers were working fine and continuously creating the important parts for the VR Pods.


    The other printers were, of course, creating the outer parts of thebat ships he needed to assemble.


    He didn''t want to overly rely on the energy shields or mana shields for the protection of the spaceships.


    He wanted to make sure that the outeryer of the warship was tough enough to bear thesers and missiles from the empire. This would only be possible if the metals he was using was imbued with mana formation and array.


    "Alright... Everything seems to be fine... Avalon, take care of this ce in the meantime."


    After Ace cleaned himself and ate his breakfast, he quickly went to the Academy to attend his sses.


    "Eh? Is that you, Wace?"


    The question was asked by Gilbert, it was his close friend and ssmate. Because Wace had been so busy with a lot of things, he had been unable to get in touch with them.


    It was a perfect cover for the changes that have happened in his body.


    But this question made Ace a bit alerted.


    ''Haaa~ I must calm down. Miya didn''t mind my changes, then it should be fine with the others.''


    After getting to this point, he answered confidently.


    "Hey! I''ve only been away for a few weeks. Why do you have to ask that?"


    "Oh? You definitely have the same voice, but..."


    "But?"


    "You looked better, I guess. Haha!"


    It was Ace''s first meeting with Wace''s ssmate.


    They were just outside the Academy so the two went in together and just barely made it in time before the ss started.


    "Wace... I heard from our instructor that you''ll be out for a longer time. But here you are attending sses? What''s going on?"


    It was asked by Ericka after one of the subjects was finished. His other ssmates were also curious about this celebrity''s life. He was instantly popr because of him being an apprentice and there was even a rumor that he was working for Traceless Hands, a mysterious magic engineer who created many magic spells and magic technology avable for the public.


    Instructor ine was not present at the moment and the one supervising their ss was another instructor of the academy.


    It was Garen, their homeroom instructor during their second-year. In truth, he was also curious about what truly happened to him since their headmaster already advised them to excuse him for the sses.


    After his ss ended, he immediately left and went to the headmaster''s room to report the situation.


    "Eh? Who told you that I''ll be out for a long time?"


    Ace asked his curious ssmates.


    "Isn''t that what the headmaster decided?"


    "I''m not too sure but we were told to expect that you''ll not be present in theseing days."


    "We were told that you will be excused to sses due to some project you had toplete."


    "Is that so?"


    ''Miya didn''t tell the headmaster about my ''return''?'' Ugh... That made sense, it only happened a day ago. She must''ve forgotten or probably didn''t bother to tell since they will surely found out as well. But because of this, I have to exin to the others about my story again... Fine...''


    "Haha... I settled my things already so I had the time to attend sses. Don''t mind it!"


    Wace answered.


    ''Haa... Good thing my body didn''t garner too much attention...''


    While Wace was thinking this, his ssmates started to talk about his new look.


    "You seem to have worked out a lot, huh."


    "Oh? You also noticed? He looks different and I like it!"


    "What are you saying? He just gained a bit more muscle... That''s all. He didn''t change much."


    "Working out, huh... I don''t have time for that. My schedule was already full just because of those new mana formations and arrays I have to learn..."


    "That''s right! I also learned some new Magic Technology inside this virtual game... I wanted to study and show it as my thesis project!"


    "Thesis? Haha... That''s probably fine. Anyway, you''re referring to that game right?"


    "Yes! It''s the Alien Invasion game! I''ve been ying it for a couple of weeks now!"


    "Whoa! You''re lucky! I just bought my VR Pod because their stocks were always running out. Thepany producing them should really work harder..."


    "Haha! It only shows how good it is."


    Ace sighed in relief after their conversation shifted to the game.


    ''Anyway, it seems that the next instructor waste...''


    ***


    Instructor Garen announced his presence outside the Headmaster''s room.


    After a few seconds, he was given permission to enter.


    He was surprised to see that there were several people inside the room aside from Miss Chamber.


    "Err... Did Ie at the wrong time?"


    In front of him were the previous headmaster, Percival, his fellow instructor, ine, and some other people he didn''t know.


    "It''s fine. It is rare for you to visit me here, is there something wrong?"


    "Well... It''s like this. I was told that Wace would be out due to some project but he just attended my ss. I just want to make sure that the instruction you gave us wasn''t misinformation. That''s all."


    They went silent for a moment after hearing his statement. But after processing his words, the people inside the room had different expressions. Some were shocked, some were doubtful, and some had a frowning look.


    "What did you say?! Where is he? Did he really attend your ss?!"


    A young girl, probably 13 or 14 years old suddenly eximed after hearing his words.


    Garen didn''t mind being shouted as he realized that the young girl must be a friend of Wace or she might even be his rtive.


    Anyway, he nodded in confirmation and mentioned his room''s location.


    "He should be in Building E, room three..."


    Thedy nced at him seriously before she immediately left the room to confirm his words.


    Garen felt that he would probably die if he was lying. Her stare made him feel threatened for a moment there.


    On the other hand, Percival and the others only kept their silence and had their eyes closed.


    ''Oh, detection magic...'' Garen realized what the others were doing.


    They were trying to sense Wace''s presence using their own techniques.


    They obviously didn''t bother using it before since they must be expecting that Wace would also not be attending sses as what they were told.


    After a few moments, he saw that they opened their eyes with shock and excitement as they disappeared in front of him.

 Chapter 262 - Aces Reasons

    "Mhm?"


    Ace noticed that something or someone was approaching his room at a very high speed. He wasn''t using his Divine Sense to detect it and was only using his sensitivity with mana.


    Anyway, for some reason, his Divine Sense wasn''t passed over to his current body which didn''t give him much of a surprise.


    Right now, he couldn''t identify the mana fluctuations but as it gets near, he became sure that it was a person.


    ''Oh? There''s more of them?''


    He suddenly sensed several figures that were quickly arriving at this ce. Soon, the first person arrived in the ssroom.


    Ace can now urately sense the mana fluctuation as girl gets closer to him. He recognized that this first one who arrived was someone he knows.


    The memories he has with her was before their journey in the northern continent. He was sure that there were a lot of things that happened during their rescue operation together with ''Wace'' so he wasn''t sure how to approach her.


    Ace suddenly felt pressured as they didn''t have ns about the other staying on the northern continent. The problem was that this group of people seem to be concerned about him just like how Miya reacted when she saw him the first time.


    ''Now... Where should I start exining?''


    ***


    The other students at the ss were waiting for their next instructor to arrive but suddenly, a gust of wind disturbed everyone from what they were doing.


    They quickly nced at the source of distraction and noticed a 13-year-old girl arriving at the room''s entrance.


    She wasn''t wearing a uniform of their academy and some of them instantly had a ridiculous idea that this could be their new instructor or perhaps a temporary recement.


    "Good morning, ma''am. Are you our new instructor?" Gilbert suddenly asked which amused everyone.


    The girl didn''t answer and she was only looking in one direction. She was looking at Wace who was seated at the third row beside the window.


    "Do you know her?"


    One of Wace''s ssmates whispered after seeing that their friend was also looking at the girl with aplicated expression.


    They wanted to know more about it but there was another batch of people who arrived after the girl. They were the previous headmaster, the current one, instructor ine, and two others they were not familiar with. Looking at the two''s clothes, the first one seem to be an old office worker and the other was perhaps a bodyguard with his fit body.


    "Wace?"


    The girl suddenly asked as if she was doubtful about the identity of this young man. First of all, although they looked simr, with the same gray hair, ck eyes, and his face, this person in front of her has a different body fitness.


    He looks a bit more fit like someone who had trained their body for many years. Unlike the other Wace who was brimming with abundant mana but a bit weaker in his physique.


    That was their impression with him so they couldn''t help but to double-check their senses.


    ''Same mana fluctuation...''


    ''He still has the same soul presence...''


    ''He has the same aura...''


    ''Mhmm... He seems to have gotten weaker...''


    Percival, Miss Chamber, Yumi, and ine had used their own skills to observe him closely.


    On the other hand, Wace also noticed that behind the four, was someone he didn''t recognize. Luckily, Avalon was there to help him.


    The A.I. managed to recognize the two so it quickly reminded him.


    [ The one on the left was Clint, one of Wace''s teammates during the rescue operation. ]


    [ The one on the right was Dr. Mao. He is associated with the Cloud Hawk Manor. ]


    The information about Dr. Mao was only transferred to Avalon''s database thanks to the brief connection it had with Veda in the northern continent.


    Unfortunately, it was only limited to that as it was unable to transfer more information in such a brief time of the connection from a farawaynd.


    Ace was only smiling wryly at the sight of these people. Anyway, they decided to call him out as it seems to be inappropriate to discuss things within the ssroom.


    His ssmates were obviously curious about the situation as it feels like their ssmate just did a crime resulting to the current attention he was having.


    They started whispering about Wace''s possible crime.


    "What did he do? Did you see Saint ine''s worried face? I''m so curious!"


    "They seem to be confirming whether he was truly Wace..."


    "Is he an impostor?"


    "I think that the two guys behind the headmaster were the police and they were probably looking for Wace..."


    "Nice try... How about he did something wrong to that girl who first came here?"


    "Haha... Anyway, we''ll hear from him once he''s back..."


    His ssmates were not worrying for him since they were aware that their ssmate was truly popr in his own way.


    ***


    The group has now returned to the headmaster''s room together with Wace.


    Percival even added someyer of protection within the room to avoid any leak of information.


    The ce was already filled with protection spells and arrays so it only shows how important are the things they were about to discuss.


    "What happened?"


    It was the first question and it came from Yumi who was curiously staring at him.


    Ace was sure that she wasn''t blinking at all!


    He tried to think carefully and didn''t hastily answered.


    He started weighing the situation and in the end, he decided to also ask his question.


    "Well... You can say that I''m safe. Right, can you tell me what happened after you returned?"


    He wanted to buy some time and think of a way out of this situation.


    Yumi and others looked at each other before ine decided to answer him.


    "We waited for you and Sir ine until thest moment... Sigh~ Although we managed to safely return here, Sir Percival and Avery seems to have caught a disease by staying for too long in the northern continent. It doesn''t show that much but it was slowly affecting them."


    ine smiled wryly before ncing at the man beside her. It seems that their disease wasn''t too serious considering that the man in question was looking well in front of him.


    "Enough about us... How did you return here? Where is Sir ine? Are you the only one who managed to return? Wait, did you even met him deeper in that tower?"


    Thedy asked a series of questions as Ace started to give in.


    ''Ugh... Anyway, it shouldn''t be a problem if it''s only this group of trustworthy people. I believe that they will give us some help in the future.''


    After considering the status of these people, Ace decided to tell them the truth, or some of it.


    "Haaa... I guess I won''t be able to keep it a secret..."


    Ace paused as he looked at everyone.


    "You can consider me a part of Wace..."


    "Part of Wace?" They wanted to rify if they heard it correctly.


    "Yes..."


    "Ugh... Can''t you give us a better exnation what''s going on here?"


    Miss Chamber was confused like everyone else as he was speaking vaguely.


    "Alright... There was this Secret Art called Flowing Spirit... That art helped Wace give birth to me and made me act as him in this type of situation."


    After couple of minutes, part of their mind believed him because they already heard about that Secret Art that could affect both soul and spirit but arge part of it was not epting his exnation.


    They were looking at a person with flesh and blood, with a beating heart, with mana fluctuation, with soul and spirit!


    This is no longer a magic but a genuine mysticism! Was a Secret Art truly capable of that?

 Chapter 263 - Aces Plan

    Ace decided to tell his secret as it will be very difficult to lie with these people who were aware of his Divine Sense and his Void Phase that he can no longer use. There was also his Astral Core which ultimately given him a different form of energy that he can no longer show.


    These people were sensitive to foreign energies so it will be hard to trick them with mere words.


    In fact, there was not a single hint of such energy within his body so these people who had joined him in the operation would easily identify the difference.


    He can tell them that many things had changed after going to the northern continent but aside from that, he was also unsure of what more to say about the events that truly happened when ''he'' decided to be left behind in that tower.


    "Well, so that''s the reason why I''m unsure what happened to my Master as well... Right, can we keep this a secret?"


    Ace said as he smiled awkwardly to the group. They were probably thinking whether he was saying the truth or thinking if what he says was truly possible. It wouldn''t be a surprise if these people were doubtful of his identity.


    Even though they were in a world where magic exists, cloning a person was still deemed as an impossible feat.


    They can obviously tell that the one in front of them wasn''t a different person because he has the same mana fluctuation and soul energy to the Wace they know.


    "This... so you''re telling me that he was prepared to stay there for a longer time, huh..."


    "Haha... Maybe he just joined your rescue operation as it was convenient for him to travel using your aircraft?"


    "That might be so... He was well prepared and could battle any chimeras or mana beasts thate in his way. He can even sense the Celestial Beings..."


    "He could?"


    "Yes... There was a time where we have to take a longer route to avoid a resting Celestial Being. We didn''t sense their presence but Wace at that time was able to use an unknown method to do so. It was impressive..."


    "That''s very convenient..."


    "Now that you said that, I saw him with his greedy eyes before while he was looking at one of the floating inds caused by Mana Cmity."


    "You saw one? That''s amazing!"


    "Haha... We were lucky. Unfortunately, we didn''t have the time to visit it as we are too focused on rescuing you..."


    "I''m already happy that I survived my first andst visit to that continent... They said that the Celestials would only be present at the center of thatnd, but we were actually blocked by one not too far from the edge of the maind! That was scary!"


    It was Clint who had been severely injured after one of the Celestials decided to y with them. He couldn''t forget the near-death experience he had with just a flick of that creature''s finger.


    Ace kept his silence while listening to their words. After chatting for a while as they remember their journey in thatnd, they decided to let go of this Wace and have a few more talks after his ss. Yumi decided to visit his viter on to have a bit more conversation with Ace.


    "Ace... Are you also aware of the logbook?"


    Yumi asked after they were left alone. They were now walking back to Wace''s ssroom so he can attend his ss.


    "The prince''s logbook? Yes... What about it?"


    "I had an answer with Grandma Thea-- I mean, my superior... She wanted to cooperate using all her resources about your ns if what was being said in the book was real... No, I think that she was already convinced that it was real... However, she wanted to know how can she help..."


    Yumi looked at Ace seriously.


    If he was faking his identity, then he would be unaware of what she was saying but since Yumi felt that this Wace can be trusted, she didn''t mind telling more about it. Seeing Ace''s reaction, she was sure that he was aware of the content of that logbook.


    Ace thought for a moment as he couldn''t really say what they should do at this point.


    He has ns on his own, like the VR Pod''s Alien Invasion that would simte the strength and capabilities of the empire as far as Avalon was aware of.


    It was also used to spread the advanced technology he has with him. There was also this unique method of his application of advanced technology to mana in which they called magic technology.


    Though it was a slow process, this seemingly low-key technology would gradually open the minds of the younger magicians and they would be able to easily ept the fourth phase of this VR Pod Project.


    "Oh... Maybe she can help..." Ace suddenly had an idea after reaching this thought.


    The First Phase was the release of the VR Pod to the Mana Practitioners. The Second Phase was the release for the non-mana Practitioners which resulted in very good feedback to the public.


    In truth, Ace was surprised by the fast progress of these people as they easily associated themselves inside the virtual world despite ying together with magicians and fighting with a powerful empire.


    The Third Phase was the spreading of the advanced technology and providing real-life items to help the yers realized their dreams. This has been going on for a while now and it made a satisfying result.


    Apparently, due to this phase, there was a lot more attention ced on this game and even made some otherpanies and organizations participate in it. The game was a hot topic not only in here Zairus but also in the neighboring countries that were slowly having an abundant supply of VR Pods.


    The Fourth Phase that hasn''t been realized yet was a real-life event for the yers.


    That''s right. Wace nned to have an event that would let real people participate in it. But this would cost a lot and needed a lot of preparation.


    As a matter of fact, his Mech Frames would be part of it so he wanted to finish them as soon as possible.


    "Tell me... What can we do to help?"


    Yumi asked sincerely. She was genuinely concerned about their future. If she had not seen the unknown tower built for an unknown number of years with unknownnguage written on it within the mysterious northern continent, she may be doubting the logbook up until now.


    However, all clues that she found would say otherwise and after she saw the reaction expressed by Grandma Thea, she was even more convinced that there was really arger threat than the Z-Company hiding somewhere.


    "Well, you see... I need some permits about some things that I''ve built and things I nned to build in the future..."


    "What? Only permission to build things? How can we consider ourselves---"


    "Wait... Those things I wanted to build weren''t simple... First, I need permission to build Mech Frames-- I mean, Steel Knights..."


    "You know how to build those Steel Knights?! Ha! Got you! So you''re really the one who eliminated those terrorists using your Steel Knight! Hehehe! I''m sure you were hiding one... Now, I got evidence..." **


    "Ugh? So you still remember that?" Wace was impressed by the quick thought process of thisdy.


    "Hehe! Of course... Don''t worry, I can manage that..."


    "Great, then how about the permission to build a massive flying aircraft?"


    "Just how big are you trying to make?"


    Yumi was curious as Wace seems to be serious on this and felt like it should be a much more difficult request.


    Well, she didn''t find it difficult at first so she asked the question.


    "About four to five kilometers..." Wace answered.

 Chapter 264 - Showing Off

    "About four to five kilometers?! Who are you kidding?! Go ahead and attend your ss first then we''ll talk..."


    Yumi didn''t believe him which was quite understandable considering that the aircraft within this world was still in the developing stage.


    There wasn''t even a properbat airship that has been developed yet. Even a solid military air force was not fully established in several countries.


    There may be a few but it hasn''t matured due to the various focus of each government.


    Wace was sure that the countries like Montego would focus on their Mage Tower while Maja would focus on their automatons. Each country has its own specialization and even if they have an air force, they haven''t realized how powerful it can be due to the current peaceful era.


    Aside from that, there were tons of mana spells that could reach to the sky, and people on board of this vessel were deemed to be an easy target... This was also one of the reasons why Wace released several engines that could surpass the speed of sound. This way, people can realize that the sky supremacy was still one of the best methods to establish power.


    "Sigh~ Alright... I''ll just show youter on..." Ace felt that it would be better to show Yumi about his current work.


    Wace nned to use thebat spacecraft they were building today to be used as a practice for the real deal. He wanted to build a Conqueror-ss Starship someday that would surpass even the Gctic Federation''s starship.


    To do that, he had to get used to incorporating Magic Technology within his works.


    "Show me?" Yumi asked as she was confused by this guy''s ns...


    ''He''s already building his Steel Knights and yet, he still has time to build huge aircraft? He surely has all the time he wants, huh... Right, did he say that he was only about to build this thing? What would he show me then?''


    The girl was unable toprehend this guy. She was already shocked by his current identity and now, she learned that he was actually preparing so much in order to fight against the future invaders.


    "Yes... Wait for my ss to end. Let''s go home together..."


    Wace answered as he headed to his ssroom.


    "Ugh... Fine... You should''ve calmed your mind after your ss..." Yumi can only reply as she shakes her head after seeing Wace return to his ssroom.


    ***


    Within the Headmaster''s room, Percival and the others were having a different conversation.


    "Miss Chamber, what do you think about that Wace?"


    Percival asked her because as everyone knows, she was the most talented here in terms of practicing the Soul Arts.


    There are cases that a person''s aura or mana fluctuation can be faked with a high-level magic spell or mana artifacts however, Soul Energy could not be easily faked.


    ine and Percival were confident about their detection magic and they didn''t find any problems with his aura or fluctuation. But as they remember the impressive feat that this person had done, Wace may have actually created an artifact to dull their senses.


    "Everything seems to be normal on his Soul Energy. Although, he had gotten a bit weaker. I''m sure that it was truly Wace... I don''t think that someone was impersonating him."


    "Haaa... That''s impressive then. Flowing Spirit, huh... Do you guys know about it?"


    "I''ve only heard about it. Right, I''ve seen it in an auction before..." Clint suddenly said as he told them about the auction that has urred in the capital.


    Secret Arts were a hot item and no one would easily sell such valuable items. News about these products was always a huge deal to many collectors and researchers who wanted to identify the origins of these mysterious techniques.


    "We don''t have a way to contact Sir ine or Wace... Do you think that he has a method?"


    "I don''t think so... He already exined that they have different minds and he was also unaware of whatever that has happened in the northern continent."


    "Anyway, make sure that this information only stays within this room..." Percival said gravely as he looked at everyone.


    They were not sure about the details, but an ability to clone a person and have almost the same flesh, simr mana fluctuation, aura, and soul energy would covet many people''s greed.


    Although Percival and the others doubt that anyone can just easily replicate them, they still couldn''t help but worry about Wace''s safety if the information was leaked. Those people would surely find a way to get their hands on such valuable Secret Arts and make it their own.


    "Yes... That''s obvious."


    "Of course... I can keep secrets."


    "Just in case, I''ll also monitor him whenever he''s at the academy."


    "I think Yumi can handle that if we needed to monitor him outside..."


    ine suggested as she was well aware of thatdy''s capabilities.


    Everyone agreed on it as they ended their conversation and continued to discuss the real reason they were gathered here.


    "About this Mana Corruption... Do you think Wace can actually? That guy seems to be unpredictable..."


    "Ha~ He''s only a kid. Even though he''s intelligent and seems to be mysterious, his main talent was his Artifact Forging skills and that secret art was most likely due to his recent involvement with Sir ine."


    "You''re right... Anyway, we''ll first try to consult the best Mage Doctor we''re aware of before trying some other means..." Miss Chamber said as she concluded their conversation.


    They''ve already asked assistance with different Mage Doctors and even Dr. Mao with them was unaware of how to resolve the Mana Corruption.


    Apparently, their best option right now was to consult a Mage Doctor that specializes in all three paths of this profession, the Enhancement, Alteration, and Mysticism.


    They first thought that this Mana Corruption was only a type of disease that could affect the status of someone''s Mana. But after doing some tests on it, they have discovered that this corruption can probably be a boon or bane depending on how it was handled.


    ''Wait... If Wace and Sir ine stayed within that tower for a longer time, will they also have the same problem?''


    Percival was suddenly curious about those two mysterious and powerful people.


    ***


    Wace was barraged with questions after returning to his ss. After all, several important people just went to their room and brought him to the headmaster''s room.


    They were not worried about him being reprimanded but they actually believed that he wasmended for something.


    He brushed it off telling that it was nothing important and refused to discuss it.


    It didn''t take long before the sses for this day ended and for Yumi to pop out from somewhere and joined Wace back to his vi.


    "Oh? Is this Avalon?"


    Yumi asked after she saw that the driver in Wace''s car was an automaton that was dressed as a human.


    She wouldn''t miss this obvious detail.


    "Hello, Miss Yumi."


    It was Avalon''s familiar monotonous voice as Yumi smiled after being greeted.


    They traveled smoothly and it didn''t take long before thedy saw the previous deste mountain where the vi was situated has now turned to apletely different site.


    "What''s going on here?!"


    Ace didn''t answer her as he leads thedy to his vi and to have a quick rest before he would show one of his finest creations, the Excellence.

 Chapter 265 - Excellence

    Yumi was curious about what''s happening in this mountain. She can sense that there were several powerful sources of energy scattered around this ce.


    A while ago, she was unable to sense them as they were still out of the mountain''s perimeter but as soon as their car entered, especially when they arrived inside the vi, she can sense the powerful energying from somewhere and she believes that it was even being suppressed by several Arrays or Formations.


    ''It hasn''t been long since myst visit here... Just how efficient is this guy?''


    Not only her curiosity was triggered but she was also impressed by the changes that have urred within this ce in such a very short time.


    It means that the Wace here was capable of creating many useful things before the invasion takes ce.


    ''It seems that if he gets serious, he can truly aplish many works...''


    Yumi rested at the living room while Ace was arranging several things with Avalon. As soon as he was ready, he called for Yumi and leads her inside the hangar.


    This was the first time that someone else had visited this ce so Ace made sure that aside from the things he wanted her to see, there would be nothing else inside the hangar.


    "What is this ce? Wait, that''s-"


    As Yumi entered the hangar, she was a bit blinded by the bright lighting from the ceiling.


    But as soon as her eyes get used to the ce, she was shocked to see a huge vessel or probably the one of the aircraft that Wace was saying. It was such a magnificent view and this was her first time seeing such majestic ship. It could not bepared to the works of the Veritas Group at all!


    "This is huge..."


    In front of her was theplete Transatmospheric Battleship, the Excellence. She couldn''t properly describe what she was feeling right now.


    This vessel she was seeing had an unimaginable powering from within. It was probably its source of energy or there may be a powerful shield covering the entire vessel. She wasn''t exactly sure.


    She can see that there were several automatons working on one part of the aircraft so she immediately asked Wace.


    "What is this thing? What are those automatons trying to do?"


    "This battleship is called Excellence... It is a mid-size transatmospheric battleship."


    Ace dutifully answered.


    "Transatmospheric?"


    "Well, you can say that it is a spacecraft capable of flight within the atmosphere simr to a normal aircraft."


    "This? How confident are you to say that this is a spacecraft if no one has even sessfully used it in outer space... I bet that this thing hadn''t even flown once..."


    "Haha... Don''t worry about that... Avalon is a top-ss artificial intelligence, you can just imagine that the Virtual World was moreplicated than this... All simtion was alright so it shouldn''t be a problem if we really need to do a test flight here... Right, you also asked what are they doing up there... Let''s see..."


    Ace checked the automatons working and realized that they were making adjustments to a part of the spaceship.


    "That''s a Linear Catapult... It seems that adjustments were necessary as there were several Mech Frame''s designs that were only finished now..."


    "Mech Frame?"


    "Oh, I mean Steel Knights..."


    "You mean, you have several designs of a Steel Knight? Are you also using a Molten Core? Where did you get them? Oh wait, is it from your master?"


    "Ah, right... Anyway... Do you want to see what''s inside?" Ace shifted the topic as he was still not ready to discuss how his Mech Frames works. After all, it has apletely different concept of how it works internallypared to a Steel Knight.


    "Sure thing..."


    Yumi answered as she was also curious to see what was inside.


    "So, I guess that this Linear Catapult thing is where your Steel Knightse out whenunched..." She muttered while observing appearance of this battleship.


    Yumi was also thinking that she would stop being surprised to whatever she was about to see inside the battleship.


    Anyway, there was two Linear Catapult ced just behind the two Particle Beam Cannon of the battleship. The automatons were working on their adjustments due to thest minute''s changes in the design of one of their Mech Frames.


    ''This guy has some guts... Maybe that was why he aimed to have a Grand Arcanist as a master. So he can do this type of thing...''


    Yumi realized this as she knows that Wace should be fully aware that having this destructive force was strictly prohibited by the government. Not only for the safety of the public but also for the fact that they couldn''t just let anyone umte this type of power without being tied to the government.


    As soon as Yumi entered the bridge, she was stunned by the various tools,puters, equipment, arrangements of seats, multiple sma screens, tables filled with various buttons, and unknown things she wasn''t aware of.


    However, this looks simr...


    "Where have I seen this before?... Wait-"


    Yumi was shocked as she remembered clearly now. From the huge aircraft itself made of thick metals and thismand center, she was sure that she had seen something like this before...


    The design of the battleship was only somewhat changed but it has the same presence as what she had seen before.


    "This has semnce with the Dorssian Empire''s warship... Now that I think about it... This whole Virtual World thing that you created---"


    Yumi suddenly paused as everything had truly made sense. This guy has been nning this for a long time even before he was made as an apprentice.


    Ace didn''t interrupt the silent Yumi as she was surely trying to understand everything that was suddenly revealed to her. It was understandable even to anyone who would take her position.


    "Haaa~"


    Yumi let out a breath after shepletely grasp the situation.


    "Is this one of your test projects? Didn''t you mentioned that you''ll build an aircraft with a size of a few kilometers in length?"


    "Oh, don''t worry about that. This is only the beginning of the project. I have ns for it... So, what do you say? Do you think that you can help me peacefully create these things."


    "Mhmm... I''ll tell everything to my superior. I believe that she''ll be able to do something."


    Ace sighed in relief after hearing this. It is only a matter of time before his construction here would be discovered by the authorities. Although he ced many concealing formations on the mountain, it was still bound to be discovered after some time.


    After Yumi agreed to help him, she toured the battleship for sometime until she was satisfied. She checked all the armaments that was equipped and even had a quick look at the Mech Frames that they were building.


    These Mech Frames were all humanoid machines as Ace has been nning to let humans pilot them.


    Anyway, he''ll probably find their pilots at the Fourth Phase of the VR Pod Project so he wasn''t in hurry...


    While Yumi was still watching the automatons works, Ace suddenly received a message from Avalon.


    [ Twelve suspicious people were lurking just outside the perimeter. Veda confirmed that they all possessed the mana fluctuations simr to an Adept Mage. They have an unknown intention at this time. ]


    "Huh... What''s wrong this time?"


    Ace frowned at this. Since they haven''t entered the perimeter of his defenses yet, he couldn''t do anything about them at the moment. But he have to be careful for possible attempts to trespass his ce.


    "Is there something wrong?"


    Yumi asked as she noticed the sudden change of his expression.


    "Oh... It seems that we have some visitors. I''ll just wee them really quick... You can stay here for now..." Ace smiled before he left the hangar.

 Chapter 266 - Visitors ( Part 1 )

    Ace wasn''t in a hurry to meet the visitors outside the mountain''s perimeter. He only tasked Avalon to observe the group for now and only instructed it to act once they trespassed his property.


    In case they have an evil intention, this would be the first battle that Ace would have after waking up in this body.


    It must be remembered that he hasn''tpleted his Arcane Baptism yet. It means that he doesn''t have an Arcane Link and his mana purity was still poorpared to the Adept Mages.


    Anyway, he doubts that he''ll actually need to take it on his hands considering that Avalon had several improvements already. His previous house has been attacked by several mages before and Avalon managed to hold them off swiftly.


    But it didn''t stop him to be curious about how he''ll fare to the mages here.


    The Meredith Empire''s main army was alsoposed of humans just like him or maybe a bit more gically enhanced than him. It would be a goodparison of how they''ll fare if they fought with him instead of just Avalon''s automatons and it''ll help stretch his muscles too.


    Ace went to the hangar''s secret room where sma screens were installed. The main screen at the center was now showing twelve silhouettes of unknown people.


    They wore their hooded robes just like a member of a suspicious cult so he was unable to identify them. But looking at their swift and coordinated movements as they run just outside the perimeter, he was sure that they were trained professionals.


    The leaves, grass, and branches of the trees they passed were seemingly unaffected by their movements which awed Ace at the sight. If not for Avalon''s highly advanced camera, he would not be able to capture them at all.


    ''Interesting... Who are these guys?'' Ace muttered as he observed the people that seem to be trying to find a good entrance.


    "Very well..."


    Ace readied himself to meet the group as he took the Bio-Armor delivered by one of Avalon''s automatons.


    "Aahh... It''s been a while..." The young man felt some nostalgia after seeing the briefcase in front of him.


    This is one of the proofs that the previous Wace exists. There were only a few things that were brought here in this world from outer space aside from Avalon itself. So he really values this Bio-Armor made by the Federation.


    "Avalon, entertain Yumi for now... I''ll be going out."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    The group was running around the mountain and they could sense that several mana arrays and formations were ced almost everywhere.


    They were sure that if they entered unknowingly to the territory of this ce''s owner, they will surely be detected and their n will fail.


    At the very least, they were sure that as long as they do not touch the ce with mana formation, they can effectively enter without being noticed. They just have to find a weak spot on this formation and they will try to tamper on it as soon as they find a chance.


    They brought six experts of mana formation here so they were confident that it wouldn''t take long before theypletely studied this ce''s defense system.


    "How is it, Howard?"


    "Just a little more... I already understood the pattern... I just need to see a few more formation to confirm the best method we should use."


    "I understand. We''ll keep moving then..."


    The leader of the group decided as they went to whatever direction Howard pointed.


    Howard was a specialist when ites to Mana Formations and Arrays and although he was considered weak when ites tobat, he was always being desired as a teammate due to the many conveniences he could create during missions like this.


    After a few more minutes, Howard suddenly frowned which didn''t escape from the leader''s eyes. He quickly asked for any problem.


    "There''s no problem... But I noticed that the Mana Formation used here was centralized one which is very inefficient since the ce being protected was too big..."


    "Centralized? What do you mean?"


    "Oh... It''s about the Formation''s power source... It seems that there was only one energy source which is very unconventional considering the size of this mountain... Normally, cing arrays or formation in this type ofnd would be a Clustered power source... Anyway, I already found a way to enter the ce. But keep in mind that we''ll only have three seconds to enter without raising an rm."


    Howard exined which satisfied the other members of the group who were unaware of the things about the formations.


    "That''s more than enough."


    The leader was already getting excited toplete this mission and instructed the specialists to work on their job.


    ***


    Ace was now fully equipped with his bio-armor and was ready to meet the people lurking around his property.


    He sets it in a speed armor mode which looks like a ck skin-tight armor.


    After stretching for a bit, as he was first trying to get used to the armor, he directly ran through the forest to arrive not too far from the visitors.


    Avalon has reported that they were already attempting to open up their own entrance so he was hurrying to meet them.


    Ace was actually not proficient when ites to creating these mana formations, he only selected and studied the most convenient one that he found within Veda''s terminal.


    He still has the Terminal given by Lacus which was a part of the gift from him being an apprentice of the Grand Arcanist.


    Since he was already ''friend'' with Veda itself, the previous level 1 ess that he has was already changed to the highest level possible.


    There, he found many useful formations and arrays but he was unable to build them due to the resources required, and due to the limited size it could create.


    The mountain was toorge and so it was difficult to find even a simple design that would cover the whole ce.


    "There you are..."


    Ace realized that six robed figures were doing something on the supposedly invisible mana formation he had ced as a part of the first line of defense in his property.


    It was just used as a simple shield and to trigger hisbat automatons and other defense systems likeser focus, centrifugal guns, or drones to activate. However, even if they could sessfully bypass this, there was still another surveince system which was Avalon itself.


    "It seems that they were about to sessfully enter..."


    He was nning to wait for them to enter before he would act together with Avalon''s automatons that were stationed near this area...


    "Almost there... ready yourselves..."


    Ace heard one of the magicians that were working on the formation. The others perked up and readied themselves to enter.


    "Now!"


    As soon as it was shouted, the hooded magicians quickly entered the space they created. It onlysted for three seconds, but twelve people managed to enter swiftly.


    Ace believed that they''ve used Grade 3 Magic Spells to enhance their movement speed based on the fluctuations of Mana. It was nothingpared to the spells used by the students during the TMAC at all!


    ''Ugh... These people seem to be tougher than I expected.''


    Anyway, he was still confident in his and Avalon''s abilities.


    He waited for a while before he flicked his fingers to signal the automation''s entrance and also to get the attention of the twelve people.


    Soon, the intruders were surrounded by twenty automatons equipped with Grade A Mana Artifacts and another ten automatons holding high-powered guns while equipped with Float Drive System version three.


    Yes, the ten were floating above the trees while they pointed their guns to the group.


    Ace noticed their surprised expression as he announced his presence.


    "Wee to my ce, mysterious visitors..."


    Ace said and as he was wearing his bio-armor, his voice had changed to a deeper tone.

 Chapter 267 - Visitors ( Part 2 )

    As soon as Howard gave them the signal, the leader of the group prompted everyone to move ordingly to their ns.


    "Now!" The specialist shouted to tell them that it was now ready.


    With the help of the various enhancements that they''ve cast a moment ago, the three seconds gap was more than enough to let them enter the territory swiftly.


    ''Ho~ This ce has thicker mana than I expected...''


    Not only the leader but everyone noticed that the concentration of mana in this ce was higher than what they were used to... This ignites their curiosity even more than before...


    "Alright, investigate this ce and-"


    Whooosshh!


    As the leader was about to remind his team about their mission, they suddenly realized that several mana-less figures were nearing them and about ten floating figures with a little bit of mana were also flying around them.


    "This..."


    The leader quickly nced at the specialists together with them. Their main task here was to ensure that they would enter and leave this ce without being noticed.


    However, it obviously failed.


    He also realized that these six people who call themselves "mana formation specialists" were also dumbfounded at the sight. It seems that they were thinking that they should have sessfullypleted the job without being noticed by the magicians who ce the defenses...


    ''They failed terribly, huh... This young man was too mysterious.''


    As a response to the sudden entrapment, they also cast a quick defense shield on everyone and made several enhancements in case there was a need to battle.


    "Wee to my ce, mysterious visitors..."


    They heard the menacing voiceing from a certain direction and had a quick nce at it. It was an armored individual and they couldn''t properly tell whether it was a magician or not probably due to some kind of interference. Anyway, for someone to confront a group of twelve adept mages, they were sure that this was a magician.


    "I''m sorry for intruding your ce, we''ll leave now..."


    The leader suddenly said which dumbfounded not only Ace but also his teammates. They can see that the figures surrounding them where only automatons with original designs.


    Although there was a threat from the floating ones, they were confident that they can handle them in a few moments.


    "Leader..."


    "I know what I''m doing..."


    The members of the group can only sigh as they have to follow his words.


    "I''m sorry as well... I can''t let you leave just yet..."


    Ace raised his hands to signal that he was about to attack. They realized that as soon as he waved it down, these automatons were surely going to start attacking them.


    However, the leader of the group didn''t order them to prepare to attack and instead faced the armored being.


    "I know that you''re Wace Ravencroft... I''m Falcon from the Lucent Force. I would like to speak--"


    Maybe his voice wasn''t that loud as before he finished his words, Ace already ordered the automatons to fire at will.


    Boom!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    A series of spells rained down on the group and several high-powered guns carried by the floating automatons tried to breach their defenses.


    "Eh?"


    Ace suddenly realized what did the man just said.


    "Lucent Force? Sounds familiar."


    "..."


    Baam!


    Another explosion was heard as the automatons realized that the opponents this time were tougher than expected. They used earth-rted spells to control the ground and created a wall to lighten the damage on their shields and mana shells. This prompted Avalon to use concentrated mana spells to cause an explosion to the surroundings.


    Ace had also realized that a powerful spell, probably a Grade 4 spell, was umting in their midst. It seems that they were about to counter-attack.


    "Wait... Stop!"


    Ace already remembered the familiar words as he instructed Avalon to halt their movements.


    "Falcon! Prove to me that you''re truly from the Lucent Force! I''ll give you ten seconds!"


    He wasn''t too familiar with that organization but he had heard of them before as it was taught in the ss as part of the government''s military forces.


    Wace still doubted them as he believes that an organization backed by the government would not just enter his property without his permission...


    ''Err... They might actually do just that... Are they nning to secretly investigate what I''ve done here?''


    After thinking about it, it may be true!


    However, it doesn''t mean that he''ll tolerate their unweed visit here.


    As the automatons stopped their attack, the group had also dropped their defenses but remained cautious to the armored being.


    Their hooded robes were now long gone as Ace can see their light gears. They wore simple bracers, enchanted armors, and a short de on their backs. They looked more like an assassin than a soldier.


    However, it may be their suit to avoid being recognized.


    "Haaa~ Thank you for listening. We really meant no harm against you... Again, let me introduce myself. You can call me Falcon and I''m part of the Lucent Force..."


    The man was a head taller than him and his face seems to be familiar to Ace.


    The young man squinted his eyes as he tries to remember where he had seen him before...


    ''Oh, right! He''s the one in the video that the president showed!''*


    Ace was surprised to see this person again. He remembers that the people in the video that was shown to him was unrecognizable at the beginning of the fight but when it neared its end, after part of their hat and robe were torn to pieces, he managed to have a quick nce at their faces.


    He didn''t think too much about it before but it seems to be useful now.


    ''So he''s from Lucent Force, huh... Right, President Aaron was also part of the Force as Veda mentioned so this actually makes sense...''


    "I''m counting! Ace said to remind him about the ten seconds."


    "I''m not sure how to prove it to you... I can show you the membership token but I doubt that you''ve seen one and you may consider it a fake identity..."


    "Let me see... I''ll decide whether it is fake or not..."


    "Very well..."


    Falcon threw a ck token made of metal to Ace. It has the size of standard gold coins they have.


    The young man caught it swiftly and observed the moon pattern engraved on the token as he also noticed that a falcon was drawn on the other side.


    Well, it was his first time seeing them but he was sure that with Avalon and Veda''s database, they should have records about this to confirm its authenticity.


    [ 100% match to the recorded token used by the members of the Lucent Force to identify themselves. ]


    ''Lucent moon on one side, their code name on the other side... Very well...''


    Ace acknowledge Avalon''s report.


    "What''s your purpose ining here?"


    "To investigate the reports that you have ns to overthrow the government..."


    The leader replied which stunned Ace after hearing him...


    He wasn''t even able to reply as he was too shocked by this man''s usations.


    "Overthrow? How am I supposed to do that?!"


    "Let''s say... by secretly creating weapons that could result in mass destruction..." Falcon said as he nced at the surroundings.


    It seems that he was trying to see what are the other changes that have urred in this mountain.


    Ace didn''t know where to start exining as he was truly surprised at his words.


    Anyway, they said that they meant no harm...


    It doesn''t seem to be a lie as they were probably only tasked to look for evidence of his destructive weapons at this time.


    After thinking for a moment.


    "Alright... I''ll exin the situation... In the meantime, I''ll be capturing you guys. Do not resist."

 Chapter 268 - Lucent Force

    Ace felt that he was having a headache after learning their purpose foring here.


    He wasn''t exactly sure how the government became interested in what he was doing but he was impressed by their decisive actions of sneaking into his ce to conduct their investigation.


    Since he was an apprentice of one of the three Grand Arcanists of the country and he was also the Traceless Hands with decent connection with the NMTI, he already thought that he was on the watch list of the government.


    However, it doesn''t exin how they could easilye up with such a grand usation. He doesn''t have a suspicious background or connections to any underworld organization to point him with such an absurd n...


    ''Ugh...''


    Well, he may have a suspicious background considering that he was only a sixteen-year-old young man and was already capable of creating groundbreaking technologies.


    ''Maybe, my creations were causing problems to the government? No, maybe only for a few. I may be affecting some of their business but if they have the capability tomand the Lucent Force, then they were not so simple. Should I confirm this with the president?''


    Ace was referring to the previous student council president, Aaron. He had seen him together with the other members of the Lucent Force when he left Yumi in a safe hotel after their escape in Araceli Ind. During that time, he was curious about his identity and so, he made his own research and even double-checked it with Veda.


    That young man wasn''t as simple as he seems to be. He bet that if he and the other members of the ethicsmittee, Garry and Humphrey, participated during the TMAC or the internationalpetition, they would sweep through the tournament.


    They were on apletely different level that these types of tournaments no longer excites them.


    Ace believes that Aaron should know something about this. He instructed Avalon to remind him about it.


    Anyway, Ace has now brought the group a bit deeper in the forest but it was still far from his vi and the hangar. They were still unable to have a nce at these structures due to the trees and the ground''s elevation blocking their sight.


    However, they had a closer look at the tip of the Mass Driver as they were no longer affected by the mana formation''s ability to deceive their vision... This mana formation was only effective to those outside the perimeter so they wouldn''t see whatever he was building inside the mountain''s territory.


    He wasn''t sure what they were thinking but Ace noticed that they were ncing at it as if to engrave the image in their minds.


    Ace brought the group in a cabin not too far from their original location.


    The cabin was made of enchanted woods and there were several of these around the mountain acting as a station to hide the security automatons. These woods were tougher than steel so Ace didn''t have to worry about it being easily destroyed.


    "Follow me..."


    The cabin wasrge enough to house the 30 automatons who responded to Ace''s call so having the thirteen people inside wasn''t too crowded yet.


    Ace let the 30 automatons stay outside to guard the cabin while Ace talks to the group. Of course, this wasn''t just the reason he brought them here.


    "Leader..."


    "This ce..."


    "Don''t worry. I don''t think this is a trap... Isn''t that right, Wace?"


    Falcon confidently asked the armored being.


    Apparently, they just felt that this ce just bounded them... They can''t properly sense any mana inside. It probably dulled their sense or there was no mana within this room at all!


    "Well, it depends..."


    Ace continued wearing his bio-armor and not showing his face at all.


    He was confident that Falcon was still doubting whether he was truly Wace inside the armor.


    He felt that Falcon was just calling him with his name to ensure that he was really Wace.


    "Very well... I believe that you''ve confirmed our identity. As long as you''re clean and wasn''t truly nning to overthrow the government, then you should not worry... We are only here to investigate whatever projects you have in this mountain, dangerous or not..."


    Ace went silent for a moment as he was considering how to exin the situation or should he even bother to exin?


    Haaa~


    Of course, it seems that the government has misunderstood his aim here. They weren''t like his friends who would ept whatever ns he has in his mind. These people would surely question his work.


    Even Aeolia had trouble with them.


    "I''m not sure what you''re talking about... Tell me, what leads you here..."


    "We heard about the reports that massive dangerous materials and numbers of restricted resources were being sent to this ce..."


    ''Oh, crap... So it was problems caused by importing those materials...''


    The materials used for his Mech Frames and his spaceships were massive... Truly massive.


    Most of them were even imported from different countries through Veda''s help just to acquire the best possible materials.


    He didn''t bother about it before since he thought that Veda can handle it. However, it seems to be asking for too much since it was almost impossible to transport those things stealthily without using a Spatial Bag that could perfectly hide them.


    ''Err... Now what?''


    He couldn''t find a good exnation for bringing those materials aside from telling the truth. But he wasn''t ready yet and he needed Yumi''s superior''s help with that.


    Veda should''ve handled the documents required to transport them so even if he kept silent about it, he wouldn''t really be pinned from the crimes he didn''t do. That was why the group entered here illegally to find out about the truth.


    After all, they were aware that if they investigated this openly, no one would confess that they were really nning to overthrow the government...


    However, he couldn''t do much about them as well since he didn''t want to be enemies with the Lucent Force...


    ''Alright... I can only ask for help...''


    "No one here was guilty of nning to harm the government. You''re mistaken. You will be staying here for now while I''m confirming things to your superiors. Any attempts to get outside of this room would be dealt with, so be careful about your actions..."


    Ace warned the group as he left the cabin to talk with Yumi and ask for some advice. If she can''t help either, he''ll ask Aaron.


    After all, he didn''t really know their superiors and Aaron wasn''t even truly a part of the Lucent Force itself. He only has a strong connection to them due to his father''s identity.


    ***


    Falcon couldn''t negotiate even if he wants to. The young man didn''t even bother to look back after saying those words to them so they could only wait until the man returns.


    ''But this ce is really interesting... Howe I couldn''t sense any mana at all...''


    The man was impressed by this unfamiliar sensation.


    He had experienced the dreadfulness of the magic jammer that made him constantly bring his magic jammer canceller, however, the kind of problem he was experiencing right now was scarier than the magic jammer feared by many magicians.


    ***


    "Yumi... I need a favor..."


    Ace asked the young girl in front of him. She wasn''t busy at all and was only talking to one of the automatons controlled by Avalon.


    "Oh? Where are your visitors?"


    The girl remembers Ace''s reason for leaving her here with Avalon.


    "I left them in one of the cabins in the mountain. Anyway, let me exin the situation..."


    Ace told the story made by the Lucent Force''s leader, Falcon.


    Yumi seems to be even more dumbfounded at the situation after understanding what happened.


    She was also not expecting that the Lucent Force would act like this. Ace even showed to her the token given by Falcon.


    Yumi frowned at this and decided to meet the group.


    Ace also nned to briefly contact Aaron to clear some of his doubts about them.


    But while he was doing that he didn''t notice that as soon as Yumi left the room she was staying at, she already turned to a middle-aged woman.

 Chapter 269 - Accusations

    Ace easily managed to contact Aaron who was currently ying the Alien Invasion game. Thetter took a moment to stop ying and answered his call.


    "Wace? It''s surprising for you to contact me like this... Is there anything wrong about how I y this game?"


    It seems that the president was well aware of who made this VR Pod even if he didn''t say. Not only that, but this was also Aaron''s first time to receive a system notification that someone in the real world was trying to contact him on his phone.


    Normally, the notification he would get was only when the VR Pod was being shaken, or if someone pressed the button outside to notify him about their presence.


    This time, it was different.


    "No, there''s nothing wrong. I''m actually impressed by your solo gamey and you were even at the first page of the leaderboard at that..."


    "Hahaha! Isn''t that amazing? Well, I didn''t have much to do these days and I''m learning many things... I just can''t get enough of it..."


    "Great! But please, take care of your health. Right, I just wanted to ask if you know something about Falcon and his other Adept friends from Lucent Force who broke into my property?"


    "What did they do?! What happened?!"


    "I''m not sure... That was why I''m calling you in a hurry... They said that they were investigating my ns to overthrow the government... It seems that there was a misunderstanding..."


    Ace exined as he scratches his head in helplessness. He needed some help from the legal authorities with regard to this type of situation so he had to consult as many helpful people as he can.


    "Where are they right now?"


    Aaron asked as he felt that it was indeed something that the Lucent Force can do. After all, breaking into the property of suspected people to find evidence could not be easily done by the police so they needed assistance with these professional magicians.


    "I put them into custody."


    "..."


    Aaron went silent for a moment after hearing that... It seems that it was a different Lucent Force they were talking about...


    "Wait, are you sure they are real members of the Force, the Lucent Force? The elite magicians trained by the Grand Sages and one of the three Grand Arcanist in the country?"


    "Yes... They showed me a token that seems to be legitimate."


    "Really? I would like to meet these people... I know some members of the organization. Wait, how do you know that I''m rted to them? Did they told you?"


    "Oh, not really. I just read it from somewhere... Anyway, what''s your n?"


    "Sigh~ Alright, I''ll contact Hawk, a friend of mine within the Lucent Force... I''ll try to rify things first... I''ll contact you again if I have something with me."


    Aaron said as they ended their conversation. Ace was already satisfied with this as he believes that this person will be able to do a lot for him.


    Aside from that, just in case the group was actually faking their identity, then he wouldn''t mind if they stayed here for good. It would be easier for him to handle this situation.


    Ace quickly followed Yumi who was being led by one of his automatons. He also quickly wore the bio-armor he removed just a while ago.


    He can''t be too rx by meeting the group. The armor was giving him a sense of security against any hidden attacks.


    He didn''t want to leave any opening just because he kept them inside a building that prevents mana from entering.


    That''s right. The cabin was a structure not only made by enchanted materials but he also ced a magic technology he used before to create nuclear energy.


    The Wace from before didn''t give a name on this technology as he believes that it wouldn''t be used too much.


    However, Ace found a lot of usage on this and started calling it as Nuclear Energy Field Generator...


    He wanted to call it Anti-Mage Field at first but he also wanted to consider naming the artifacts or magic technology he created to be rted to their purpose. And this Field Generator was indeed only meant to be used for Nuclear Energy when he first created it. It would help him remind the true purpose of these technologies.


    ***


    ''If it''s really the Lucent Force targeting Wace... Then I really have to contact Grandma Thea immediately. Sir ine is not present to help his apprentice and I''m not sure if Wace can even get help with Lacus... Aaron should be able to do something but he can''t heavily affect the decisions made by the directors... Sigh~''


    Yumi was concerned about the presence of these people. The crimes being pinned to Wace were too heavy and it would really require the government to act with full force if necessary.


    She had to know who was the mastermind behind these allegations and work from there. She does not believe that the Lucent Force would really act with just petty rumors and tips about the illegal possession of dangerous materials.


    It didn''t take long before she noticed that they were getting near to the cabin. It was because of the ten flying automatons circling around the perimeter to ensure that there will be no more unweed visitors.


    As soon as she saw the cabin, she immediately felt the presence of the twelve individuals while they were still unaware of her presence.


    Wace already caught up to her and he was already on his ck armor...


    "You don''t want to show your face?"


    "Not really... I just want to protect myself from any dangers... I''m not as strong as the other Wace, remember? So I''m not confident meeting with a dozen Adepts unprotected."


    "Really? Haha... It''s good that you''re honest. Don''t worry. Just stay beside me and I''ll protect you."


    "Haa... That''s reassuring..."


    Ace said as he leads Yumi inside the room to meet the twelve.


    Yumi squinted her eyes as she realized that she could no longer sense any Mana...


    ''Interesting... This kid truly has many things he was hiding from NMTI... Sigh~ I hope that he''ll consider sharing this technology... I bet that he''ll earn a lot from this...''


    ***


    Falcon and the group were only waiting for about 15 minutes before they suddenly heard people entering the cabin.


    They saw that the armored being has now brought a middle-ageddy with him.


    ''Awyer?''


    As Yumi was only wearing a long robe she got from somewhere, they couldn''t tell her real identity.


    However, considering that the young man was facing several usations, they could only think of her as someone who would defend his rights.


    "Who''s the leader?"


    Yumi asked the group and a middle-aged man stepped forward from them.


    "I''m the leader... Falcon, from the Lucent Force."


    "Very well... What''s the name of your superior within the Force."


    "I''m sorry. That''s ssified information."


    "Alright, then you''ll probably be staying in this ce for a long time until we confirm your identity."


    "..."


    Falcon went silent as a hint of anger was umting in his eyes. They were part of the authorities!


    They weren''t acting too rude to Wace a while ago and they didn''t fight back at all because he wanted to settle things with him peacefully.


    But if they get forced like this, they would have to consider using their trump cards to get out of this ce and find evidence in a different way.


    "Wace... Prove to me that you''re innocent and if you failed, we will arrest you here, right now..."


    "Acting tough, huh. You can''t even release your mana... Anyway, I''m Yumi, a Regional Administrator of NMTI... There is nothing wrong in this ce..."


    "Yumi? This..."


    Falcon squinted his eyes and suddenly realized that she was telling the truth. Because he couldn''t sense her mana fluctuation, he was unable to quickly recognize her. He was definitely aware of this fearsomedy with mysterious Secret Art that affects her physical body.


    "That''s right... I have legal documents and I received permissions for transporting those materials in my property... Your usations were only based on the list of materials I bought... You have nothing to prove your words. So I wanted to know who''s behind this..."


    Ace said gravely as he wanted to truly clear his name while avoiding the revtion of his spaceship and mech frames. It would only cause more trouble if he revealed them too early.


    Luckily, Aaron suddenly contacted him that he was already nearing to his address and brought another member of the Lucent Force. It seems that this case was even moreplicated than he expected.

 Chapter 270 - Space Race ( Part 1 )

    Aaron hurried to the address given by Wace and was surprised to see that the ce he was at seemed like a hidden fortress.


    He can recognize the various defensive spells set around the ce and right now, due to the current incident, he saw several automatons patrolling within the vicinity.


    "This ce seems to be hiding many secrets... No wonder they were interested..."


    Hawk suddenly said as his eyes glowed with a green light. He wasn''t simply using a mana spell to enhance his vision but he was using a Secret Art to scout the surroundings.


    Aaron was again surprised to hear this from him. This man with a code name Hawk probably has the finest appraisal skill in the country and he had seen many incredible things in his life.


    It wasn''t easy to impress this man.


    "Haa~ If you say so... Anyway, I''ll exin things to Wace. I hope that he won''t do anything on the group..."


    "Hmmm... With his ability to set up this formation and use those automatons, Falcon would have a hard time if he didn''t bring his mana artifacts."


    "You really think so?"


    "Yes... I don''t think that he could handle the young man''s Traceless Oscition without his artifact. It would be a disaster for him if they fought..."


    "That spell, huh..."


    Aaron had seen this being used during the TMAC when he watched the recordings. They learned that Wace was the creator of that spell which could easily destroy anyone''s mana shell or any defense to leave the magicians unprotected.


    "It has been a while since that spell was developed. I''m sure that Wace improved that thing even more. Especially now that he can get resources from his master..."


    "Mhm... That''s what I''m afraid of. So we have to hurry."


    Hawk muttered as they drove at the road going up the mountain. They alighted near the formation they could sense as they easily noticed that the defenses were currently active. It would be better to wait for Wace to receive them as they might trigger the automatons patrolling or those who were observing them secretly.


    It didn''t take long before a flying automaton that came from deeper within the forest arrived and weed them.


    "Sir Aaron and hispanion, Sir Wace was waiting for your arrival. Please, follow me... You can also bring your car in."


    Aaron nodded as they went back to the car and followed the automaton.


    After a couple of minutes, they saw their guide stopped in the middle of the road so they also stopped the car and went out to know the situation.


    "Is it here?"


    "We are close... We have to walk from here."


    "I understand. Right, can you also answer questions aside from guiding us?"


    "Yes."


    "Then first, what is that tower being constructed?"


    Aaron pointed at the Mass Driver that was still not finished building.


    It would probably take a month or more topletely build the structure.


    Aaron was also sure that the thing he was seeing right now wasn''t there before they entered Wace''s property so he knows that there was some kind of spell that was used to deceive their vision. Aaron was impressed with that.


    He thinks that the man beside him was probably the only one capable of seeing through Wace''s formation using his Secret Art.


    "It''s ssified information."


    "Then, can you tell me whether Wace harmed the members of the Lucent he put into custody?"


    "Yes, I can answer that. He didn''t harm the visitors iming to be part of the Lucent Force until he was sure about their identities He first wanted to learn their true reason for intruding this ce."


    "Is that so? Right, are you using the Float Drive System?" Aaron suddenly asked as he observes the automaton floating stably while guiding them.


    The automaton didn''t answer immediately.


    It was probably processing whether it was fine to answer the question.


    "Yes. It''s the Float Drive System..."


    "Haa... Impressive. I can see that it has gotten more stable than before."


    Aaronplimented the incredible mana artifact. After all, manypanies have tried creating flight-capable spells and mana artifacts that would help anyone to fly but nothing came close to the stability and flight speed capability of Traceless Hand''s Float Drive System.


    Although only a few magic structure crystals were made, it didn''t change the fact that it was still one of the best flight-capable systems that have been built.


    He would like to get more information from the automaton but he realized that they already arrived near a cabin surrounded by many Automatons holding powerful weapons


    "We are here. Sir Wace was waiting inside."


    "Alright..."


    Aaron focused on the current situation as he also wanted to find out what could possibly attract that family to act against Wace.


    As he entered the cabin, he quickly noticed the absence of Mana and nodded in realization.


    ''So this was why he managed to put the group into his custody...''


    Soon he saw a familiar figure beside a full-body armored being.


    In front of them was a group of twelve Adepts who wore the same style of clothes that makes them look like a group of assassins.


    "Yumi, so you''re here and you must be Wace..."


    "That''s right..."


    Ace answered and confirmed Aaron''s guess.


    Yumi, on the other hand, seemed to be surprised that the young master of the Lucent Force was already here.


    Falcon nced at the new visitor and as soon as their eyes met, he can only nod to the two to acknowledge their presence.


    He terribly failed to the mission given to him. He should be secretly investigating this ce and not like this. He may be getting too old to be a leader of the Lucent Force''s Scout Team...


    "Wace, I do not mind if you''ll just keep them here... However, you''ll be dealing with more people like them if you will not resolve the main issue."


    "Main issue? My possession of dangerous materials? But I acquired them with the legal process..."


    "I know, but..."


    Aaron looked at the surroundings before he paused for a moment. Ace understood that he was about to discuss confidential information.


    He offered to go outside which the other agreed to do so. On the other hand, Hawk remained within the cabin to probably speak with Falcon.


    "So, what''s truly happening here?"


    "Haaa~ It seems that your creations attracted a certain n and they wanted to acquire your technologies in a pretense that it should be given to the government..."


    "What?! Haha... That''s absurd... I''ll enlist whatever technology I want to give to the public."


    Aaron smile wryly upon hearing this. This man truly has a lot of technologies being kept to the public if he says it like that.


    "Right, which n was it?"


    "Sigh~ It''s the Vermont n..."


    Ace has heard of this familiar n. Avalon also reminded him politely.


    [ Vermont n. It started with a small military family until they grew in power due to their possessions of a powerful original mana spell called Red Frost. ]


    That''s right, it was Sheryl''s family... She was previously studying at Leonhearts Academy but decided to transfer to the Mystic Gate Academy in her second year. They already met in TMAC as well as in the internationalpetition at Montego so he was quite familiar to her.


    "What did I do to get their attention like this?"


    "The Vermont n and the Skywalker n partnered together to be the first people to get into the outer space..."


    Wace knows about this since he even gets assistance from his master to learn about their first attempt in Space Exploration, their Flyby Mission. **


    He didn''t know that they value this project a lot and they even wanted to sabotage his ns for that.


    However, they were toote... They probably didn''t expect the might of Avalon''s workforce.


    "I''m not sure how they managed to learn that you''repeting with them..." Aaron added in concern.


    Ace was notpeting with them. He was sure that the two ns have a different purpose in their minds when they started their project...


    "Aaron, do you know something about their current ns for this Space Exploration?"

 Chapter 271 - Space Race ( Part 2 )

    "I heard that they were about tounch their first human space exploration... It seems that they had a breakthrough creating a powerful engine involving both magic and technology... They have this ridiculous idea ofnding on the moon."


    Aaron said after considering the rumors he heard from his father.


    "Haa~ That''s impressive... However, I don''t really have ns tounch my spaceship soon. I''m notpeting against anyone..."


    Ace answered as he couldn''t really be bothered about their current ns right now. It was already enough for him to learn about their previous achievements with regards to their space exploration.


    "Oh, are you telling that you''re only waiting for something before youunch your spaceship? So you really build one already?"


    "Yes... They canunch their spacecraft as much as they want. I don''t have ns to interfere with them. Anyway, I''m more concerned about the Lucent Force. Can they really act like this?"


    "Sigh~ It''s not like that. A member of the n just informed the organization and created exaggerated evidence about what you can do with the materials you recently acquired. Adding to the fact that your property has an incredible defense system, they probably thought that they have to get serious about investigating your property so this scout team was called to fulfill this mission. You know that the government wouldn''t let anyone acquire too much firepower..."


    The recent terrorist attack at Tanza City only strengthened their cause to control the cirction of firearms and mana artifacts in the country.


    In all honesty, Wace already has this "too much firepower", however, he was discreet about it as he was umting them silently and with incredible speed. After all, no one could guess the production speed that Avalon could do.


    They were unaware of his Ravencroft Printers which could even create mana formations and arrays on their own. Aside from that, the numbers of these printers were only increasing almost every single day.


    "Hmm... If you would like, I''ll handle their usations against you. I''ll exin that you''re not creating dangerous weapons or experiments and we''ll just reveal that you were also constructing a spacecraft."


    "Ugh... I don''t understand. Wouldn''t that cause more problems?"


    "Maybe... But you have Yumi on your side. If she asks her grandma for help, then you''ll easily get all the permissions you needed to build one. You can also ask for help from your master... Wait, he''s not here yet... I guess you can ask your senior apprentice to get some additional protection."


    "This... It''s getting moreplicated..."


    Ace smiled wryly after hearing all these sudden ns. He just wanted to peacefully build his things but it seems that it was something impossible considering the nature of his creations.


    After all, his technology was certainly something that would really attract people''s attention.


    "It''s like this... If you announced your project to the public. The two ns would need to have second thoughts if they still wanted to mess with your ns. They would not be able to openly stop you once that happens and if they still try to sneakily sabotage you, they would have to deal with your various protections and you can do anything against them if you captured anyone..."


    Ace took a deep breath after hearing Aaron''s advice. He couldn''t think of a better idea to deal with the situation. After all, Falcon''s group was only here because of their mission given by the organization. It would also cause more problems if they just died here...


    "Sigh~ Let''s go with your ns..."


    "Great! Now, would you let me see your spaceship... Is it something simr to the game? The one that the Dorssian Empire uses?"


    Aaron seems to be excited and looking forward to it.


    "Well, there are some simrities in it. I''ll let you see itter. Just ensure that no more members of your Lucent Force would sneak around my ce..."


    Ace''s only connection with Lucent Force was this person. Yumi may personally know some of the members of the Force but she can''t influence the organization as a whole.


    If showing his spaceship would gain the man''s trust, then he didn''t mind it since he knows that he already influenced this person''s mind due to the game he created.


    After their conversation, they returned to the cabin and Aaron handled everything.


    A few moments passed and the group left together with Aaron while apologizing to Wace due to the problems they created. It seems that the other guy who went with Aaron had also beaten them into sense while the two young men were outside the cabin.


    Ace was unsure what he said to Falcon but it seems that thetter calmed down and became humble while speaking.


    He also noticed that Yumi was pouting as she observes them leaving Wace''s ce.


    "What''s on your mind?"


    Ace asked as he was curious about thisdy''s current reaction.


    "Mhm... I just felt that they got away far too easy... You should''ve demanded some things from them, you know?"


    "Haha! I don''t think there''s something interesting I could get from them. I''m more curious about your superior... Can they really help with the permissions I need?"


    "Yes. Don''t worry about that. I''ll handle that easily."


    "Good... Aaron and I n to announce my spaceship''s creation after I got all the required permits..."


    "Really?! That will be explosive news! I bet that the whole continent would celebrate on that..."


    "Haha... Not really, since there will be someone else who''ll firstunch their spacecraft. Anyway, we will also wait until the two ns finished their spacecraftunch in the next two weeks."


    "You really wanted them tounch their spacecraft first? I only needed two days to get all the necessary documents... So you canunch your Excellence a bit earlier..."


    "No... I don''t think it''s a good idea. I''ll let themunch it first. As I said, I don''t really want topete against them. They''ll just think even more badly on me if I did that... Haha..."


    Ace exined to Yumi who seems to be dissatisfied with his decision.


    ***


    On that night, Ace worked hard toplete all the necessary things he had to do before his spaceunch he was nning to happen in a few weeks.


    He can''t just let it fly and be stationed somewhere on the moon alone. He had to fill the Excellence with various supply, automatons, mech frames, and others to start creating their Moon Base.


    That''s right. Ace was nning to create a Moon Base where he would station most of their spacecraft. After all, he was now nning to create more than a hundred small-size spacecraft and eight more mid-size spacecraft like Excellence with a length of about 360 meters.


    His n to create the 4-5 kilometer length spacecraft was initially nned to be created in this Moon Base once it waspleted. However, it would be too difficult since Ace was still unsure how their magic technology to create the proper environment would work once they were on the Moon.


    Anyway, now that Yumi would help him, he should be able to build thisrge-size spacecraft here on Earth in the near future.


    ***


    Faraway from Tanza City, the people who nned to deal with Wace''s n to create spacecraft received Falcon''s report.


    "The team from Lucent Force failed... However, we confirmed that he was truly hiding many things... Did you see the recorded video of those automatons?"


    "Yes... Those automatons weren''t simple... Even the Float Drive Systems that were used have exceptional flight stability. It''s too impressive to be created by a kid."


    "Hmm... Anyway, it seems that the kid was only starting to build his spacecraft. Our spaceunch would not be stopped anymore. Let''s announce it to the public. Let everyone know that Gaia, made by Skywalker and Vermont n, would be the first spacecraft tond on the moon!"


    Two middle-aged men wearing business suits were meeting at the Dragon''s Pavilion at the capital. The two were elders from the Skywalker and Vermont n.


    A few weeks ago, they had found out that the materials they needed to create more of their spacecraft were already purchased and delivered somewhere else.


    They believed that their n was leaked somehow and thus, some people were trying to monopolize the resources required to create their spacecraft...


    "Hmph... Even if our ns may have leaked during these five years of spacecraft construction, they would surely take some time to create their own."


    One of them confidently said as they continued to discuss their ns in the next two weeks.

 Chapter 272 - Space Race ( Part 3 )

    Ace continued to make some arrangements about his uing Spaceship Launch.


    Due to this, he had to ce 70% of his workforce to the construction of the Mass Driver.


    This Mass Driver was basically an electromaic catapult that would fit small-size and mid-size spacecraft. It was a structure that he previously believed to be less priority.


    Just yesterday, only ten automatons were working on it so the slow construction process was taking too long.


    It was due to the fact that he didn''t really have ns to have the Excellence or any other spacecraft he was about to create to beunched very soon.


    "This should be fine. Anyway, this construction should only take for less than a couple of week... I can even prepare other things..."


    Ace muttered after arranging his workforce.


    Now that the situation made him put his attention on his Space Launch project, he decided to focus on this Mass Driver and dyed the creation of other small size spacecraft.


    Anyway, with the size of his underground base, hangar, and the vacant space in this mountain including the forest, he can only have about 5 mid-size spacecraft like Excellence and 50 small size spacecraft that ranges about 120-170 meters in size. Of course, he had to remove more trees in the vicinity for that to happen.


    Now that it was settled. Ace decided to contact Lacus for assistance. It would be his first time meeting her with his current body so he was unsure how she would react.


    ''It should be fine. Even my ssmates epted my changes...''


    Ace encouraged himself as he contacted Lacus who was in the capital.


    "It''s been a while..."


    "Yes... I''m sorry for only contacting you when I needed a favor."


    "That''s fine. Have you encountered problems while studying the final stage of AOTL?"


    ''Crap...''


    He wasn''t practicing it at all. He was even unable to perform the breathing technique or the first stage of the Secret Art with this body.


    He may be able to do so if he practiced for several days but he didn''t have the time. It should be the other Wace working on it!


    "Aah... That''s not it..."


    "Is it about the Spirit Forging Magic? Wait, don''t tell me that Doctor Charles failed his job... Are there any side effects?"


    "No, no... Senior... It''s not like that... I actually had some trouble with two ns. I''m just a bit worried about what they can do to me."


    "What?! Which ns?"


    "Ugh... It''s the Vermont and Skywalker n..."


    "This... What did you do? Tell me everything, don''t leave any small details... I''ll do my best to help as your senior. If in any case that I can''t help, you have other seniors we can rely on..."


    Lacus said sincerely as she truly cares to other apprentices under Sir ine Allusia. She had also helped the 3rd and 4th apprentice many times so she wouldn''t mind doing the same to the fifth apprentice.


    "Thank you, senior Lacus. This is what happened..."


    Ace told her about the group of Lucent Force''s members who sneaked into his property and about the usations he faced from them. He also mentioned what he learned from Aaron and what he was about to do now...


    "You have your own Spacecraft? How did you create one? Wait, why would you even build one?"


    "Well... The idea just came to me. Anyway, do you think that they would no longer find any trouble?"


    "I''ll look into it..."


    "Thank you, senior Lacus."


    "Well... About your Space Launch. I would like to attend... Wait, I''ll invite your other senior apprentices too..."


    "Sure! Thank you for supporting me..."


    "No worries. I''ll be contacting you once I learned something on the other side. By the way, before I forgot... Did you use body modifications this time? Are you really inclined to increase your Iron Knight''s sync rate? I think that your rating is already too high..."


    "Ah? No! I''m not... I just worked out a bit."


    "Haha! As if I''d believe that. Anyway, don''t do too much of these modifications... It''s better to acquire them naturally."


    "Of course, of course... Thank you for your concern, senior..."


    Ace smiled awkwardly before they ended the call.


    Their conversation went well and his senior would now help him keeping the two ns in check. There were also new people adding to the gallery when the Space Launch event would take ce in a few days.


    ''I guess... I should prepare a small celebration for this event?''


    Ace thought after realizing that his Space Launch would indeed be the focus of the country even if the two n''s project would be sessful or failure...


    People would surely await the result of his own project.


    "Avalon, should we make a little change about our fourth phase? Can we invite our yers to this event? What do you think?"


    The yers were still not aware that the creator of the virtual world, Traceless Hands, was also Wace Ravencroft.


    Some of them were aware that Wace was involved with Traceless Hands. Someone who works for that creator but they could never imagine that he was the Traceless Hands himself.


    [ Analyzing... ]


    [ No problematic issues found. Revealing your identity would further help us acquire the pilot needed for the Mech Frames and you can easily find people who will man the space fleet. ]


    The Mech Frame and spaceship could not be all controlled by Avalon. It will be ineffective since Avalon was only made as a guide to help its user. It will not be able to bring out the machine''s full potential especially to those that require a bit of mana to operate.


    He can only hire some people to do it for him and he wanted them toe from the yers who would volunteer themselves. That was supposedly his fourth phase of VR Project and would only take ce once his gship was already constructed.


    However, it seems that he had to adjust his ns a little.


    "Right, I''m curious about the spacecraft made by the two ns... Can you find any information about it?"


    Ace asked Avalon in case it could find information online.


    [ Negative. No information found. Permission to connect to Veda to ess more information. ]


    "Permission granted... I guess."


    [ Searching... ]


    [ Veda is connecting... ]


    [ Hello! Ace. ]


    "Aahh... Veda?"


    [ Yes... I see that you wanted information about their spacecraft. You''re curious? Did you want to copy their design? ]


    "Of course not."


    [ Don''t think too much about it. I only gave them an idea... I don''t even think that they created it perfectly. ]


    "Wait, so you helped them?"


    [ Not really. You know that I''m an Artificial Intelligence meant to help doctors and patients. I don''t have knowledge about building spacecraft at all. I just gave them a bit of encouragement since they''ve been trying to find a way to do it for many years... ]


    "Haa~ Is that so? Anyway... Are you aware that they''re trying to cause problems to me?"


    [ You call that a problem? Well, yes. Anyway, do you still want information about their space shuttle? ]


    "Ugh... Yes. Since you''re already here..." Ace answered since he was indeed curious about it.


    [ Here you go... ]


    Veda showed him the various photographs of the space shuttle they nned tounch in the next couple of weeks.


    "This is their Spacecraft?"


    [ Yes... ]


    "That''s cute..."


    Compared to his majestic mid-size transatmospheric battleship, their space shuttle was looking cute if they were put together.

 Chapter 273 - Space Race ( Part 4 )

    Ace was looking at a 30-meter long space shuttle and it would obviously use something simr to a rocketunch system, unlike his electromaic catapult which is understandable for him.


    The space shuttle was not meant forbat and their aim here was only to bring people in outer space for their research. It seems that it was not even meant tond on the moon like what he was trying to do and their only aim was probably an orbital spaceflight or some sort.


    He also noticed that the two ns had spent a lot on the material used to build the shuttle.


    Veda kindly listed all the materials used to build the vessel and he was surprised to see that those materials were almost simr to the outeryer he used on his spaceship.


    They''ve used simr enchanted steel but because he added his own enchantment, there was only a few difference in the result.


    ''Wait, did they took notice of my work because I recently monopolized these resources?''


    It wasn''t hard to believe if that was indeed the case. However, he no longer cared about it since he already made preparations on his own. Even if they still caused more troubles on him, he would surely deal them with a heavy hand this time.


    [ Their Space Shuttle Launch will happen twelve days from now. It will be within thend owned by the Vermont n not too far from the capital. Are you interested? You cane to the party. ]


    "Even if I am... I''m not invited..."


    [ I can sort that out for you... ]


    "Err... No, I''ll just use my time to work on my things here."


    [ Fine. ]


    "Well, I also wanted to ask if you''re fine with this hastened revtion of our project... I mean, the reason why I''m making these spacecraft was due to your suggestion and sponsorship to start the production. Do you have any opinions?"


    [ It''s fine. Sooner orter, thisnd may even be a battlefield. At that time, all secrets will be revealed. The money I own would no longer have value. It would be better to put it into use. In any case, you have to ensure that you still have enough resources to create an army protecting this continent or even just this country. Just in case we really failed to keep them froming here. ]


    Ace paused for a moment after hearing that. He clearly remembers that Veda was against the idea of making thisnd a battlefield as much as it could.


    It was when he previously suggested utilizing the magicians in thisnd to fight against the empire. Veda gave a different suggestion on that as it seems that it was protecting something on thisnd.


    However, right now, it looks like this Artificial Intelligence had different ns at the moment. It seems that it already epted that thisnd will truly be in chaos when the empire descended here.


    "Of course. I won''t leave this ce unprotected. I have my family here."


    [ Very well. Let''s do our best for this. Contact me again if you have interesting news. ]


    Veda then disconnected to Avalon without waiting for Ace''s reply.


    Haa~


    Ace took a deep breath as he reset his mind. He now had to focus on his uing event where he would have to deal with the yers.


    As he was about to ask something to Avalon, he received a message from Yumi saying that she already settled all the necessary permits he needed on all of his projects. He tried to rify about it and was d to know that he can now create Steel Knights or Mech Frames legally and his spaceship was also included...


    "Great! Avalon, how''s the invitation to the yers."


    [ A notification about the event has been sent to every yer in this country. ]


    "Send them to everyone even if they''re not here in Zairus."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Sending notification... 30%... 72%... 100% ]


    "Good... Now, I need your help with the selection process..."


    Wace has been nning this for a long time ever since he started making the virtual reality simtion pod. He needed people to fight against the empire and not just an artificial intelligence fighting for the.


    Using the A.I. has its advantages in many ways like during the battle, using their calction, a need for swift and decisive actions can easily be aplished through their help, however, once the power was cut out, they will stop working. Once an advanced technology that interrupts their connectivity or something like a powerful EMP activated from a distance, then they will be useless.


    He couldn''t put all his hope with a single Avalon while the empire possesses more of this Avalon. He had to believe with the people or the magicians on what they could do.


    He believes that they would aplish more if they worked together instead of just relying on the decisions made by Artificial Intelligence.


    Their nning took a bit more time and while this was happening, the gamers in different countries were astounded by the announcement made the game''s creator.


    Hilda and her group just finished a mission that would reward them a piece of the broken stele. It seems that it would allow them to learn a Secret Art.


    "Oh, this is part 2 of 5 broken pieces of a stele..."


    "Do you think that it will really give us a Secret Art?"


    Shirley asked as she was feeling doubtful about this. Secret Arts were treasures that were monopolized by the six powerful ns together by the government and a few private organizations like the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    "If it did... Then, Traceless Hands was really something else." Escanor muttered as he was truly impressed by this man. Everything about this virtual world was giving them a surprise.


    They have learned many things here that they could never imagine learning inside the academy. Learning how to fly an aircraft with 3x or even 6x the speed of sound, learning how to pilot a Steel Knight, learning how to operate advanced weapons that may probably exist in the near future, and others were something they never imagined that they will experience when they purchase this VR Pod.


    Of course, they were not aware that information about Secret Arts and Sealed Mana Artifacts was only a level 2 information inside Veda. Wace was someone who had ess to all levels so it was easy for him to give rewards like these as long as they deserve it.


    "Whoa... Look at this, I have a message from the system..." Ray suddenly eximed after getting a message.


    "We also received a message... This..."


    [ Are you enjoying the game? How about we take it to another level? ]


    [ Do you want to pilot a real Steel Knight? Do you want to operate a real Particle Beam Cannon? Do you want tomand a real transatmospheric battleship and sail around the world or maybe even out of this world?Or are you already satisfied ying in a virtual world? ]


    [ Well, if you wanted more... Maybe it''s about time for you to meet this game''s creator. ]

 Chapter 274 - The Real Event ( Part 1 )

    The notification they received has piqued their interest.


    They''ve been all thinking about it ever since the first day of their game.


    "How would it feel if this happens in the real world? Will there be a time that our technology would really reach this level?"


    It was some of the questions that everyone wanted to answer. Questions that make them desire to achieve something more within the game and have those pieces of knowledge they needed in order to build or create some remarkable things.


    They wanted everything to happen in the real world except for the part where foreign creatures started iming theirnds.


    They wanted to possess an ability that not many has.


    An achievement that not many people could aplish.


    This was something that pushes them deeper within the game.


    However, right now, the creator of this game hinted that everything may actually be real and existing in this world.


    Who wouldn''t feel excited about that?!


    This is what they''ve been waiting for! Ever since people received those real-life items from the game, they knew that it wouldn''t take long before something like this would happen...


    "Was the creator messing with us?"


    "Another marketing stuff?"


    "Who knows- Wait..."


    After they read the message, the notification suddenly added more things.


    Soon, they noticed that a link about the details of the event was ced just below the notification.


    They looked into the link and saw that the event would actually take ce near Tanza City!


    "There no real description of what kind of event would happen but..."


    "It seems that the creator was hinting that it would lead us to pilot or see the real deals..."


    "Haa~ Who wouldn''t be tempted at this?"


    "The top 1000 in the leaderboards will be directly invited while everyone else could watch the event online..."


    "There would be rewards for those attending the event or even to those watching online... Well... I guess I wouldn''t mind getting free things...


    "It seems that this event will be big..."


    "Wait... The event will happen two weeks from now on Monday..."


    "Great! We wouldn''t miss the Space Shuttle Launch!"


    "Oh! That''s right. That''s another remarkable event in history... I wouldn''t miss that, surely."


    Everyone was curious about what would truly happen from the invitation given. However, Ace has already hinted a lot, and would be best to give them a bit more surprise once everyone was there.


    A couple of days had passed and more news about the very first human space exploration funded by the two ns was sent to the public.


    Details about the orbital spaceflight were shown online and it was exined how this small step would be a huge contribution to the future sess of mankind.


    Everyone was waiting for this event hoping that everything would be sessful.


    "So they will be sending three Sages and two Arcanists..." Ace muttered after seeing the information online.


    The n would obviously select powerful people in case trouble came up in outer space or even during theunch itself. They would definitely be capable of handling any mishaps.


    "Interesting... I hope that they''ll be sessful..."


    "Why do you hope so?"


    A woman''s voice was suddenly heard as ady in her twenties showed up in Wace''s vi.


    "So you''re already here..."


    Ace smiled seeing thedy with mystifying eyes. Of course, he was aware that her group has already arrived near the vicinity of hisnd and had an automaton take them to his vi.


    "You have a really nice ce... I didn''t think that the mountain I helped you to take would almost no longer have any semnce from where it was used to..."


    "Well, I''m quite a hardworking person, senior..."


    Thedy was his senior apprentice, Lacus Minerva, together with her five trusted people.


    "We''re already arranging all your rooms and they''ll be ready in a moment. I know that you''ve been on a long journey."


    "Thank you, Wace. However, I''m quite excited to see this project of yours."


    Lacus came here for good reason. She wanted to ensure Wace''s safety and to understand more of his project. It seems that he wanted to really expand this and wanted her little help. Mainly to handle the other manor and ns eyeing this project.


    "Wait... You''ve really changed, now that I got to see you closer..." Lacus suddenly squinted her eyes as he runs it over to Ace''s whole body.


    "Oh? I''m sure it''s not that big of a change... Here, let me take you somewhere else."


    Lacus smiled at this and nodded to her subordinates to leave them alone for now. They have seen that tight defenses put into this ce and it was almostparable to the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    One can just imagine how much money was being spent to sustain such functionalities of the formations and arrays. Even the number of automatons would scare anyone that would visit this ce.


    It was hard to impress them. It was because they''ve been living in the most prosperous region and richest city in the country. They have seen a lot of defense formation and automatons but never like how Wace did it to such hugend! To cover such space and money being spent here was definitely something she wouldn''t want to know.


    It just shows how the VR Pod was truly making her junior apprentice a fortune.


    "Oh, right... I just noticed that I could no longer sense your Breathing Technique!" Lacus said after she suddenly remembered one of her reason foring here.


    "Well, you see..."


    "You must have perfected the Secret Art! That''s fast!"


    Lacus eximed as she believes that if Wace perfected the Secret Art: Awakening of Thunder and Lighting, then she would be less likely worried for his safety.


    "Oh?"


    "That''s right... You may not know, but those who also perfected the final stage of the Secret Art wouldn''t know others who simrly perfected them. It just shows how the breathing technique would be perfectly hidden!"


    "Yes! Of course! That''s right... That''s right... That was really something..."


    "You said it! You''re really good. Not only were you higher than me with Iron Knight sync rate but you''re also faster than any other apprentice topletely learn the technique."


    "Ugh... Haha... You''re giving me too much of apliment. Anyway... we''re almost at the hangar. You might notice that you''re mana will be restricted a little bit but that''s normal."


    ''Well, that''s convenient.''


    Ace added in his mind after hearing her exin. It seems that the side effect of learning the final stage of Secret Art was a perfect cover for him... for now.


    "Right, I also wanted to ask about the recent news..." Lacus suddenly said. She was still not too sure about what he mentioned about mana restriction but she''ll learn itter once she''s there.


    "Mhmm?"


    "That news about the two n''s project tounch their space shuttle. I heard that on the next day of this event would be your big event..."


    "Are you also ying the game?"


    "Not that much... But you''re other senior apprentices were ying it much as I expected... Anyway, this big event of yours and about your recently acquired permits to build Steel Knights and other aircraft, or perhaps spacecraft..."


    "Yes?"


    "There are rumors going on... That you''re preparing against real foreign invaders... I''m just so confused... Help me."


    Lacus seemed serious after saying this. It seems that she had truly studied a lot about his projects before going here to meet him.


    Ace took a deep breath as he already expected thising...


    "Senior... You have Veda''s terminal, right?"


    "Yes, I have..."


    Lacus answered while still feeling confused about the sudden question. It doesn''t make sense... yet.


    "What ess level are you?"


    "Level 3 ess... I worked hard to gain that level for five whole years. That was why I learned a lot of things making those Mana Artifacts..."


    "I see..."


    Ace smiled at this after hearing that. He looks sideways and talked to a floating metal ball with a green light on it following behind them.


    "Veda, can you increase her level a bit higher?"

 Chapter 275 - The Real Event ( Part 2 )

    [ That''s fine. What do you want her to see? ]


    "The logbook, I mean that record left by the prince..."


    Ace answered while smiling mysteriously. Instead of carrying the tranted version of Prince Zamphail''s logbook. He decided that it would be better and much more convincing if this book was some kind of top-secret information kept within Veda''s database.


    The higher the requirement it needed to be viewed, the higher chance that it would be treated as the real deal. It was an idea he thought so he would no longer have to exin where he found it and how did he manage to trante it.


    He found it better to exin that it came from the mysteriouswork connection called Veda.


    "Wait, this is Veda? I mean... It has consciousness?"


    Lacus doesn''t seem to believe him at the moment or she was confused by the sudden mention. She had never thought that it was possible tomunicate with Veda... Well, everyone thought that it was only a mindless database powered by mysterious energy which was understandable.


    "Well, not really but yeah, it has intelligence... although artificial."


    "Artificial?"


    "Yeah, an evolved one at that. Anyway, you''ll learn more about this someday. In other words, I managed to get its help after confirming everything within the record I found so I think you can check it as well..."


    "This..."


    Lacus was not only impressed by Veda''s existence but due to the fact that Wace, her junior apprentice, has a deeper connection to this artificial intelligence!


    Compared to her who was trying to slowly acquire more reputation to increase her ess level, this guy who only had Veda''s terminal for a few months was the one who was truly something else. It seems like he was better than whatever she felt that she was good at.


    She had a lot of questions on her mind but she asked the most important one for now. They have a lot of time to talk about thister.


    "What''s the content of that record you found?"


    "The content... was the reason why I''m doing all of this... Everything I know was in there... So you can check it now before we enter this hangar."


    Ace answered as he let her decide on what to do after reading that. The help that Wace can only give was a bit of hope or chance for the magicians to fight back. He doesn''t want a ughter to happen once the empire arrives.


    He wanted to at least give them a chance to fight for theirnd. Whatever they would achieve, Wace believes that even small things can make changes in such arge poption.


    He even provided the non-magicians pieces of knowledge about how to create useful things in war since their poption was greater than the number of magicians.


    He was also looking forward to working with them once more of his spaceship was made.


    "I''ll give you some time... You can bring out your terminal..."


    "Fine..."


    Lacus waved her hand and a different circr device appeared in front of her. It was the size of her palm and has a different design to what Wace has.


    ''Her Spatial Bag was quite unusual, huh...''


    "Whoa! I''m really at level six ess! Unbelievable..."


    Lacus eximed and seemed to be very curious as she quickly tried looking around the information she could have ess to.


    "Mana Formations... Arrays... Sealed Mana Artifacts... Celestial Beings? Introduction to Gxy? Unsolved cases around the world? Mana Cmity... Untainted History?"


    Lacus was only staring at the floating information she could see. She hasn''t read the content yet and only softly muttered the titles or subjects she could find.


    There was a lot more she could view as it seems.


    She also remembered Wace''s instruction to Veda, this was only supposedly a "bit" higher!


    She doesn''t desire to acquire the highest level possible and was already happy to learn many things that could help her. This would surely broaden her horizon and help her create more things!


    "Wace... I... How can I thank you? Oh, wait... I should read the record... Where was it?"


    "Yes... Right... Veda, can you help?"


    Ace was honestly unaware of where to find the information so he asked the A.I.''s help.


    Soon, a record that would take more than 100 pages of a book was shown in front of Lacus...


    The introduction about the identity of the prince threw her a bit off since she had never heard of such a name. However, after the Gctic Federation, Meredith Empire, and Ancient Relic was mentioned, she realized that it wasn''t confusing, it was actually a hard-to-believe story!


    She skimmed to many unimportant ones and focused to may interesting bits of information.


    As she reads more on the record, she couldn''t hide the shock and realization on her face.


    ''This story... it would make everything sense...''


    The part where the prince warned that the protection his team used to cover the whole may also be removed someday had rmed her for a bit... If this was real, it would only mean that the Empire would have ways to trace them and it would end their peaceful days.


    If anyone else would tell her this, then she may have thought that they''re crazy.


    However, she was well aware of how legitimate Veda is!


    Veda was something that was being used not only by one country but the whole continent to hide information or to create the best ce to find information.


    She trusted this database so much that she had done many experiments based on the information she received from it. It contains a lot of information about mana beast and other existences that weren''t event taught anywhere else other than Veda.


    "This... How am I supposed to-"


    "Well, you don''t have to be too much pressured by this... Just take it as an information we can use for the future. It''s already good that it opened your mind a little. Now, I''ll let you see my creation..."


    Ace said after seeing that Lacus was already holding her temple while thinking about what she had just read.


    ***


    Several days had passed and the day of the two n''s spaceunch has arrived.


    Everyone was watching online and many people attended the event near the capital. Even the government got involved and was closely paying attention.


    Yes, although the government doesn''t have ns to fund projects like this, they surely wanted this to be sessful at some point. After all, it would still be under the banner of the country once it wasunched sessfully today.


    This would also prove that their country was more advanced than the others and would surely help them to make little changes to the government''s current priorities.


    "Oh! Here they are!"


    "The Sages and the Arcanists!"


    "Look at them!"


    "Whoa, what are they wearing?"


    "It is protection once they were in outer space..."


    "This is quite scary... I hope nothing goes wrong."


    The five people showed up in front of everyone attending the event.


    About 300 meters away from the space shuttle and its space booster, the gathered attendees were also praying about the group''s safety and the sess of their mission.


    Everyone was excited to see the space shuttle fly across the sky.

 Chapter 276 - Space Flight And Arcana ( Part 1 )

    Ace was also observing the current event as he was curious about the rocket system that they have created.


    He wanted to know whether it would have enough force to bypass the film of energy protecting the entire or would there be any problems during its flight at all.


    Ace was already aware that the energy utilized using the Cube of Paradox to wrap the entire wouldn''t be destroyed even if several spacecraft wasunched to the outer space as confirmed by Veda. The most that it would do was stretch a bit of its energy and it would fill the gap created byunching a spacecraft.


    "Avalon, based on the information provided by your friend... Do you think it would be possible for them to seed?"


    [ Yes, it is possible. They only have a 42% chance of failing. However, I''m unable to calcte some variables. The presence of the three Sages and two Arcanists may even lower the chance of failure. ]


    Avalon can now quantify the strength of some mana formations or arrays it has on its records, however, it would still be tough to calcte the magician''s ability.


    "Wait? Do they only have a 58% chance to seed without the magician''s ability? Isn''t that a bit too low? That''s reckless..."


    [ They don''t have enough information about the problem passing through the mesosphere. Based on the records that we gathered while descending to the surface, the spaceship has encountered a thick film of unknown energy that was unidentifiable during that time. That energy was the one that caused severe damage to the spaceship and it has a high chance of being the violent mana also known as Mana Cmity, as suggested by Veda. ]


    "They should also be aware of that..."


    [ Yes... However, we are the only ones who possess very effective energy that could easily protect the spaceship from any damages caused by this mana. ]


    Avalon was referring to the improved Ion-Sting Reactor he copied from Lotus Mech Frame. Apparently, they found out that the Radiant Wave Spectrum Technology was effective with dealing with violent mana.


    "I see... That may be the reason why they brought an Arcanist... I''m thinking that someone brought an Arcana to increase their chances of seeding."


    Ace was no longer clueless about the powers possessed by the Sages and Arcanist thanks to Veda who almost has everything kept in its database.


    The limit of many Mana Practitioners who dabbled inbat and forging were either an Adept Mage or an Arcane Artificer. If the practitioner wasn''t talented enough, then they wouldn''t even pass the Arcane Baptism to reach this level. It only means that the five people tasked to man the spaceship was very important to the two ns and giving them powerful Arcana wasn''t surprising just for this event to be sessful.


    They were very strong individuals but few in numbers and they possess mystical means to survive many life-threatening situations. Their possession of Arcana may also prove very effective if they have a very suitable one for their current situation.


    "Very well... It''s almost time."


    Ace said as he observes the event while also checking up the venue where his own big event would take ce.


    He didn''t want to idle around while he was aware that a lot of things must be handled for tomorrow''s event.


    ***


    The five magicians have now arrived at the tform that they could use to enter the space shuttle.


    The shuttle was steely white, cylindrical, and it was attached to a rocket triple its size.


    It was quite a view to the people who had only seen this for the first time.


    "Everyone..."


    A middle-aged man with deep blue eyes said to get the attention of the other four. All of them were wearing their spacesuits so only their faces can be seen.


    "I don''t have any encouraging words prepared but we have all waited for this day... Let''s just do everything we can to make this sessful."


    "Yes, captain!"


    "Of course... We will be the first people going out of this world! Let''s do this!"


    The four answered and nodded in agreement with their captain.


    Their group has made a lot of preparations for this event and the two ns already had previous sess for sending something out of the.


    Even though it was the first shuttle in outer space with humans in it, the engineers or artificers assigned to create this spacecraft and rocket weren''t simple. It was even supervised by one of the three Grand Arcanist.


    The vast resources and Secret Arts that the two ns possess have allowed them to ensure that everything would be safe and sessful as long as the five followed everything that has been taught to them...


    "Very well... Let''s make this event etched in the world''s history!"


    The captain said as he confidently entered the spacecraft followed by the other four.


    The room inside of the space shuttle was a bit more simple than many had expected and the most eye-catching part of it was the two cards ced at the center of the shuttle. It was covered by a spherical ss...


    "Check the two Arcanas..." The captain said referring to the two cards.


    "Mhmm... Nothing''s wrong... They look perfect..."


    "Very well. Send the signal."


    After taking a seat and ensuring that they fastened themselves carefully, they gave the signal to themand center and started the countdown for their space flight.


    ***


    Several hundred meters away from the space shuttle, the people watching the event live saw that the rocket lit up and started spewing smoke.


    They noticed that bright light started emanating from the bottom of the rocket as it started to lift up.


    The noise and shockwave it created astounded many people, whether they are magicians or not.


    "I didn''t imagine that this would be this eye-catching... I wonder how would Wace fly that big Excellence up there? I forgot to ask about that..."


    Yumi suddenly said after seeing the rocket starting to gain speed as it flies through the sky. She hadn''t seen rockets attached to the battleship he made so she was curious.


    "Whoa... This seems simr to the low-level technology that we acquired within the game..." Hilda suddenly muttered which caught the attention of the other four in her group.


    "That seems to be correct... However, does it mean that Traceless Hands has insider information?" Ray Penber asked after having the same conclusion with Hilda.


    "Isn''t that obvious? All the technology and magic within the game were all top ss... Giving various items, Secret Arts, and other important knowledge could not be done by just anyone. They should be powerful people in the upper ss. Commoners like us wouldn''t have a chance like this if not for their help..."


    Escanor said. It was already something within his mind for a while now.


    "Wait--- Look at that!"


    Shirley suddenly eximed as she noticed that after the rocket reaches about 75-80 kilometers altitude, the rocket turned to a big bright light before disappearing.


    ***


    "What happened?!"


    One of the directors supervising this whole project asked after the space shuttle suddenly disappeared from their radar.


    It just vanished after the bright light or the small explosion.


    Well, a bit of an explosion was somewhat expected because it should be the second rocket system that was being activated.


    Its rocket system wasn''t just created using advanced technology but it has more of a mana spell to help the shuttle to sustain its flight... However, it shouldn''t cause problems like this.


    "Check the two Arcanas for any signs of activation! Hurry!"


    The director said after getting lost for a moment.

 Chapter 277 - Space Flight And Arcana ( Part 2 )

    "Don''t panic... The people up there were powerful magicians. Our tools may just be having difficulty detecting its presence."


    A woman in ck robes said calmly to everyone. She confidently showed up at themand center giving off a majestic presence...


    Not anyone could just enter here so they immediately nced at the person who just arrived and was surprised after recognizing her.


    She has long white hair and her face was hidden by a white mask. One can see her feline-like eyes that made everyone quickly recognize her identity.


    "Grand Sage Maze!"


    The director assigned to monitor the status of the space shuttle was stunned seeing thisdy. They were aware about her involvement in this project and as a matter of fact, she was the one who trained the three sages in preparation for this big event.


    However, thisdy wouldn''t easily leave her fortress...


    "Do we have any vision?" Thedy hiding behind her mask ask the director.


    "We''re working on it now..."


    All the staff working at themand center did their best to find ormunicate with the shuttle but they failed even after a couple of minutes. This is not a good sign so they immediately looked at the Grand Sage to get more instructions.


    They were all worried about the possible oue.


    "There were no signs of debris falling after the explosion... We also couldn''t locate them... They must have activated one of the Arcanas that must only be used once they''re having trouble on the orbit. Tsk!"


    The Arcana she was referring to has the ability to move the entire space shuttle for a few kilometers in just a couple of seconds.


    That Arcana was one of a kind and was only made through the help a Mage Tower supplying it with unimaginable amount of high quality mana.


    However, it has a side effect of slightly damaging the external armor of the shuttle and few minutes of disorientation of the unfortunate people inside the shuttle...


    "Do you think that they''ve already broken through?"


    "Perhaps... I just can''t believe that we lost all types ofmunications with them. The shuttle has many back ups. There''s also Mana Spell..."


    "Maybe there''s a problem using Mana Spell up there... After all, no one had ever cast a spell in outer space..."


    "Veda wouldn''t lie..."


    "But there must be more to it that we weren''t aware of.. Haa~ I don''t know anymore..."


    The director muttered softly as he continued monitoring themand center as they look for any signs of the shuttle''s whereabouts.


    "Grand Sage, I know that this is hard for you since your three pupils were out there. But I think that you needed rest..."


    "I''m fine... I will try to find something on my own so you continue what you were doing here..."


    The Grand Sage left as she went to her fortress to find a method on her own. She avoided overexerting it before, but it seems that she had to use everything right now to find the space shuttle...


    It was her Mage Tower... The very first and currently the only one here in Zairus.


    ***


    "It was missing? What happened? Avalon, Did you find anything?"


    [ I''m connected to the two n''s internalwork and they were also finding it difficult to locate the spacecraft. ]


    "This... I thought that they made a lot more preparation?"


    [ They did. There were two Arcanas boarded together with the five people. Thest record they have with them was the sudden explosion and the disappearance of the spacecraft from any device and mana artifact they were using to trace it. They also took notice of missing debris after the exlosion so they were thinking that one of the two life-saving Arcana was activated. ]


    Avalon then exined to Ace how the Arcana works and made him convinced that there might really be something more in this incident...


    "Have you detected any disturbance to disrupt themunications?"


    [ No signs of something simr to electromaic pulse that could stop the two ns from detecting the space shuttle. ]


    "I guess that''s it. They must have a bad luck..."


    Ace said as he left the investigation to the two ns and have Avalon keep him updated.


    [ Veda is requesting to be connected... ]


    The A.I. suddenly announced which startled Ace.


    [ Asking permission toplete the link... ]


    "Veda? Alright, permission granted... It must have something for us."


    [ Hi Ace! I''m worried... ]


    "Whoa? You are worried? That''s rming... What happened? Anything that makes you worry was definitely something terrible... Tell me..."


    Ace answered curiously as he ignored the fact that an artificial intelligence can actually worry... What a thing to say...


    [ Before the disappearance of the space shuttle. I detected some other being who interfered. I''m not fully aware whether it was to save them or it may actually be the reason why this has all happened. ]


    "I''m confused... What did you sense?"


    [ A Celestial Being... ]


    Ace squinted his eyes after hearing this. The Celestial Beings were powerful creatures that doesn''t have any affiliations. There was no way of controlling them as per the prince''s logbook.


    "Wait... Celestials couldn''t just leave the northern continent, right? What happened?"


    [ Correct. They must have found another way... ]


    "That''s not fair... Sigh~ What should we do about this? Did you only detected one of them?"


    Based on Veda''s record, a Celestial will do anything to find a purpose of their existence. They have tendencies to cause trouble and hurt those around them. So he had to find a way to put the creature back to where it belongs.


    [ I don''t know either... ]


    "Sigh~ How did you sense its presence? Where did ite from?"


    [ I''m monitoring the shuttle using my own method but a familiar energy that should only be existing in the northern continent blocked my detection magic. ]


    "Now, that'' promising... In the meantime, I believe that we should inform the authorities."


    [ They wouldn''t buy it. I''m nning to put the information at my Level 1 ess. ]


    "Alright... That seems to be the best."


    Ace asked for more details about this and confirmed what kind of trouble they could possibly run into if the Celestial finally acted against human.


    [ You''ll probably needing some help from 5 or more Grand Sages to survive... ]


    "We don''t have that many here... Sigh~ Anyway, do you think that there''s more of them?"


    [ ... ]


    [ I just got a hit. ]


    "You mean you found something?"


    [ Yes. I just found an important clue. There should only be one Celestial and it came from an airship created by Veritas Group. It seems that during Yumi''s trip back to the continent one of the Celestials secretly boarded the airship without the crew''s knowledge. How careless... ] **

 Chapter 278 - Space Projects

    "A Celestial boarded their aircraft and all of them were unaware of it?"


    Ace knows that Veda has reliable sources but he still felt doubtful about that report.


    [ It seems that it has an ability to avoid being undetected. They must have learned to appropriately use their powers after many years, so it is possible.]


    "Wasn''t Percival together with the group? There was even that Mage Doctor together with them?"


    Ace couldn''t help but ask as he was aware that Percival was supposedly one of the strongest magicians in the city and the mage doctor has unique methods of sensing the surroundings through his spirit arts.


    [ It only shows how good these Celestials are. ]


    Ace could only nod in acknowledgment... It seems that this existence was truly mysterious.


    "Then, what are you worried about, Veda?"


    [ Celestial Beings would supposedly perish after leaving the northern continent. If one coulde here, more of them could follow. There will be chaos if that happens. ]


    "We can''t let that happen..."


    [ Correct. It is highly likely that before the Empire arrives, the continent may already be on the brink of destruction. ]


    The young man was unsure if Veda was exaggerating it but he acknowledges the trouble this could cause to everyone. These creatures weren''t just anyone they could confront at the moment without sacrificing many people.


    "It''s been a while since Yumi''s group returned. Why would it only act now?"


    [ I''m not too sure but I can only guess that the Celestial may have used more of their energy than expected when they arrived here. They must''ve rested enough so it only acted now after getting some of their powers back. We can also consider that they have been roaming around the ce for a while now but didn''t take any action until they got interested in this space shuttle that was going out of this. ]


    "Haa~ Your reasons make sense... However, how do you want to deal with this?"


    [ I want to ensure that no more Celestial would be transported here. ]


    "Very well... I can help you with that. Tell me anything you need."


    Ace said as he made ns with Veda. This super A.I. seems to be interested in creating more of its exclusive item. A device capable of detecting the Celestial Energy.


    Apparently, the A.I. hasn''t realized that it would be needing these devices so it only created a few. Most of them were also in the northern continent.


    However, now that a possible arrival of more Celestiales in, they had to ensure that they will be capable of finding or monitoring them.


    Not only that, but the A.I. also needed to ensure that they will be able to improve the device and not let any mishaps happen.


    They had to level up their technology if they wanted these Celestials monitored.


    In short, they had to use Avalon and Veda''s database to create the best magic technology to hunt the Celestial Beings.


    ***


    The big event that was supposedly worthy of celebration made people a bit lost due to theck of any update online about the whereabouts of the space shuttle.


    The two ns didn''t give a report to the people that the space shuttle disappeared out of their radars and detection spells. They just kept the people hanging about what truly happened up there.


    They only saw a bright light like an explosion before the shuttle vanished. No signs of debris falling or anything like that.


    It feels like it waspleted obliterated by powerful magic or something simr.


    Some also believe that the shuttle only traveled so fast that after the bright light, they haven''t seen any traces of it.


    "When will they tell us the situation?"


    Hilda was curious about the oue and she can''t obviously ask the two powerful ns so she can onlyin to her group.


    "Let''s just wait. They will surely announce the situation."


    "That''s right. However, it seems to be really simr. The Space Rocket system or something was somehow simr to the piece of knowledge we acquired."


    Shirley and Ray said after getting a bit bored of waiting.


    "Yes... The second explosion must be the second rocket system to lift up the space shuttle... However, it could have experienced some troubles."


    Escanor could only say. He was unsure of himself so he can only guess.


    "Anyway, what would you think would happen tomorrow?"


    "At Traceless Hand''s mysterious gathering of top-ranking yers?"


    "Hahaha... I wanted to see the current top yers... I hope that he''ll attend the gathering..."


    "Let''s hope so. There would be a lot of rewards and maybe, we''ll get precious in-game items after attending this event as a surprise..."


    "Just keep your optimism. I hope that it will not disappoint us like this event... Sigh~"


    Hilda finally said as they all started thinking of heading inside the game instead.


    "Well, I guess we can y for a few more hours today before we attend tomorrow''s event. Anyway, the creator decided to have a maintenance tomorrow..."


    Shirley said as she tempted everyone to just y the game while they still have some time.


    That''s right. No one would be able to y the game tomorrow as Avalon will update a lot of game details, scenarios, weapons, strengths calction, and others for a better gaming experience.


    Avalon already had more than enough data to adjust the strengths of those Adepts and Arcanists inside the game.


    They would also be able to add more quests and rewards after this maintenance. And of course, after this event, it would be time for the Dorssian Empire to be aggressive.


    It was time for them to harass the yers and stopped waiting for these yers to hit them.


    ***


    Ace heard that night that the space shuttle remained missing.


    No signals or any form ofmunication at all. It seems that they just vanishedpletely.


    It was quite a scary event and also very interesting to some. After all, this means that going out of thiss seems to still be impossible with their current technology. If that is the case, they would have to find another way and have more experimentation before they will attempt another space mission.


    "Is everything prepared?"


    [ All Mech Frames, Automatons, Spacecraft, Mana Artifacts, and other various rewards we could give were ready. The event''s location was also properly arranged. The food and beverages will also be handled by people assigned by Miss Lacus Minerva. ]


    "Ugh... She will do what?"


    [ She wanted to be able to help you aside from arranging your personal security so I had given her a simple task that she can aplish. ]


    Ace shook his head after hearing this. Anyway, as long as his senior apprentice wasn''tining, then he''ll let it be.


    "Very well, tomorrow will be a long day for us."


    It was about time to start the fourth phase of their VR Project.


    Tomorrow, he''ll meet the yers personally, revealing his identity to the public.

 Chapter 279 - The Fourth Phase ( Part 1 )

    Aaron Schmidt woke up early today as he needed to attend a very important event.


    His junior in the Academy or now his friend would make a revtion today in the gathering of the top-ranking yers within the Alien Invasion game.


    This Wace only gave him a little glimpse of what he was about to reveal. It was too bad that those members of the Lucent Force needed to be handled immediately so he had to leave quickly.


    After that, he had to deal with a lot of things, especially within the game.


    He had been busy as he was previously top 1 in the Leaderboard and now, he dropped to the top 19...


    Well, it was mostly due to the ineffectiveness of being a solo yer but he wanted to at least reach a single digit in the ranking before the uing event nned by Wace. He wasn''t exactly sure but it seems that the higher rank you are, the better the reward you will get.


    Anyway, he clearly understood the benefits of having a team because he had failed to ept many important missions that require 3 or more yers to be epted.


    Luckily, the creator wasn''t so cruel and still made quests for solo yers but it was all very difficult as if telling them to find a team quest instead.


    But Aaron was different, he persevered throughout these difficult quests and achieved where he was at now... Although he dropped in the rankings, the Ancient Martial Arts he learned, the pieces of knowledge he acquired, the in-game weapons in his arsenal, and several other real-life items he received, were proof that he still benefitted a lot from solo ying for more than eight hours a day.


    "Young master, are you leaving?"


    Aaron''s daydreaming ended after the butler of the house asked him a question. The man seems to have noticed his attire.


    There were no scheduled appointments as he was aware of and there were only a few security personnel at the house tasked to guard the house. He normally can''t leave without apanion.


    Aside from that, there were obviously no members of the Lucent Force arriving as well.


    Apparently, Aaron''s safety was a huge matter for the family.


    He can''t get out without bodyguards or at least someone within the Force. After all, he would be inheriting his father''s position in the future, and aside from his education, his safety was their utmost priority.


    "I''m fine. The city is safe now, remember? I''ll only be visiting this Mt. Raven."


    The event was still in the afternoon but Wace didn''t mind having him in the morning so Aaron happily oblige.


    "Mt. Raven? The mountain and the forest that was being renovated?"


    "Yes..."


    "Do you need anyone to apany you?"


    The butler''s intention was different. He wasn''t really asking but reminding him that someone should apany him.


    Aaron was aware of it so he answered.


    "I already informed my dad. My friends, Gary and Humphrey will be present there. There were also two members of Lucent Force attending the event so no need to worry... And yes, I can''t bring any bodyguard to the event unless they''re invited."


    "Very well... Have a safe trip, young master..." The butler really couldn''t say anything else.


    Aaron sighed as he rode his own car to quickly arrive at the mountain.


    Since Wace was expecting him, an automaton was already waiting for him to arrive and lead him somewhere else.


    He also noticed some changes in the vicinity.


    "Is that structure already finished?"


    Aaron knows that the automatons can answer simple questions so he pointed at the Mass Driver at the east side of the mountain.


    He felt that it was iplete or something. It seems to be a road but only pointing up.


    ''Wait... Is that the purpose?''


    [ Yes. That structure has beenpleted five days ago. It is called Mass Driver. ]


    Aaron thanked the automaton. He would surely ask rifications with Wace.


    After a few minutes, he unexpectedly arrived at the hangar instead of the vi as he was expecting.


    "You''re early..."


    Ace suddenly said after meeting Aaron.


    "Well, someone put maintenance at the game I''m ying... So I have nothing to do at this time."


    "Haha! That''s only for a day. Anyway, maybe we can settle that after this event. You may be able to y again tonight..."


    "That''s good... But I''m more excited about your nster... I''m very curious."


    "I''m also excited... Right, since you''re already. I''ll let you see some of it..."


    Ace led him inside the hangar and Aaron was surprised to see that the huge building was empty.


    "What is this ce?"


    "Well, you can say that this is partly a shipyard, a hangar, and where I build Mech Frames..."


    Thest words were said silently.


    "A shipyard? But there''s nothing being built. Are you still nning on it?"


    "Haha... No, not really. I already finished some. They''re just moved underground for the Mass Driver..."


    Aaron had a lot of questions and he believes that the other guestster would also have some, so he tried not to ask too many questions to avoid the event where Wace had to repeatedly answer these questions. Anyway, he was still unsure about what would happen in the eventter.


    In the meantime, Wace brought him around the ce and asked his opinion about some of the ces he wanted the others to show as well.


    ***


    Hilda Calem was a powerful magician. She had a lot of potential with her and was already considered as top magicians at thetest Fortune in Magic magazine.


    It was due to her suitable Mana Artifacts that could draw out the full potential of her abilities.


    The recently rescued Percival even offered her some private tutoring so she could be even more in control at her powerful mana that was being suppressed for a long time.


    "Thanks for the food... Mom, I''m leaving now! I''ll be back at six... maybe."


    She had just finished her light meal for lunch and was now heading at Mt. Raven for the uing event arranged by Traceless Hands.


    She was directly invited to the event due to her high-ranking status within the game. However, she mainly wanted to meet the Traceless Hands so she didn''t hesitate to join the fun.


    She wasn''t ambitious about this at first as she just wanted to y together with her friends or even make new friends from it.


    However, after some recent updates and changes within the game. She realized that she had to treat the game seriously.She wanted to know what was the creator thinking when he created this game...


    As soon as she arrived in the vicinity of Mt. Raven, she realized a thick form of mana covering the entire forest and mountain.


    Many people were already there waiting to be escorted in. There, she saw her fellow yers and friends.


    Ray, Shirley, and the others were all waiting for her to arrive. They haven''t entered because they were waiting for her.


    "What took you so long?"


    "Isn''t it still a bit early?"


    "You don''t expect us to arrive at the cited time of the event right? We have to find a good spot."


    "Oh, that''s right. Very well, let''s go..."


    Hilda leads the way to go up the mountain. She was also really excited about the event already.


    "Wait, why is there a lot of people down here?"


    Thedy suddenly asked after noticing a huge number of people. There should only be a limited number of people attending the event so she was curious.


    "Oh, not really. Many of them were only waiting for a chance. Who knows, this traceless guy might change their mind?"


    Hilda shook her head at this answer.


    After that, they saw that an automaton approached them.


    [ We need to confirm the invitation. Press your finger here. ]


    The automaton has a device to get fingerprints to identify the yer''s leaderboard ranking. As for the source of Avalon''s fingerprint database, it was all thanks to the VR Pod they use everyday...


    After confirming their identity, they were allowed to enter the mountain, and soon, the magic used to tamper their vision was removed, they can now see the whole mountain clearly.


    "What is that thing?"


    Shirley suddenly asked catching everyone''s attention. They were focused at the mana formation surrounding the mountain but as soon as they followed Shirley''s gaze, they were simrly surprised to what they are seeing today..


    "Oh my... Is this--"


    "How is that thing floating..."


    "No, wait... I think I know- we know, the answer..."


    "The Dorssian Empire?"

 Chapter 280 - The Fourth Phase ( Part 2 )

    "Wait- Is that a floating ind?"


    "Mana Cmity?"


    "N-no way..."


    The other group of people who entered the territory suddenly remembered the records about the Illusion of the Venarian Town where it says that a whole ind floated in the sky which had never been found after many years.


    The people that had literally seen that before may have died in old age already but due to the many records found in the history books, it was considered as a real event and not just a myth.


    However, the question now was how in the world did this happen? They were sure that there was no floating ind just a few seconds ago.


    This only happened after entering the creator''s territory...


    ''That''s it... This whole ce was covered in a huge formation hiding this floating thing!''


    ''This Traceless Hands is the real deal!''


    Hilda''s group, on the other hand, noticed that it wasn''t an ind but a floating battleship. They have different questions in their minds.


    "Maybe, it''s an illusion?"


    "No, look closely... That looks real to me..."


    Hilda suddenly said as due to the shadow covering the bottom of the vessel, they were unable to clearly analyze the floating monstrosity... Their mana detection spells were also not doing very well probably due to defensive magic cast around the floating battleship.


    However, after observing it carefully, they quickly realized its exquisite details and even the unique engine sound that reverberates throughout the surroundings.


    "Hey... someone was up there observing us..."


    Shirley muttered softly but enough for everyone to hear. She realized this due to her sensitivity magic. Although she can''t see them, she was sure that there was someone observing their group.


    "That''s normal..." Escanor said and proceeded to follow the automaton leading them somewhere else.


    "This is something really big..."


    "They don''t n to send that thing in outer space as well, right?"


    "Of course not. That is just another floating airship. Though a bit bigger andpletely made of steel..."


    "Yeah... It seems that this event is going to be very interesting..."


    Shirleymented in the end as she realized that the creator of the game seems to be conditioning their minds by putting that floating battleship up there... or perhaps they were just showing off their wealth.


    They probably wanted to show how capable they are or to intimidate people. Well, she had to admit that it was really effective.


    They were now looking forward to the start of this event...


    ***


    Ace waited for everyone to arrive, he had selected a location not too far from his vi to gather all the yers who were invited.


    "Avalon... Let me see the leaderboard and note it whether they already arrived or not."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Server Rankings


    1. Karen Gray aka Jelly Fish - Present


    2. Ilia Frost aka Miss Taken - Present


    3. Farah Carlos aka Fourth Apprentice - Present


    4. Hilda Calem aka Hilda Calem - Present


    5. Hector Newman aka Stone Man - Present


    6. Shirley Manson aka Shirley - Present


    7. Ray Penber aka Death God - Present


    ...


    13. Marvin Cummings aka Retired Man - Absent


    14. Aaron Schmidt aka Fiery Fist - Present


    15. Ferdie Sigma aka Alpha Dog - Present ]


    "So there were only a few changes, huh..."


    Ace remembered that Aaron Schmidt was the rank 1 before but due to his solo yer mindset, he dropped to rank 13, which was still eptable considering that there were more than ten thousand people ying the game every day.**


    Maybe it was due to him having an advantage as a beta tester as well but it was still very impressive.


    He had invited the top 500 yers but as of the moment, only 450 of them has arrived. The number was already good and as long as the time reaches exactly 3 PM, then they could start the event.


    Soon, the yers arrived not too far from his vi where he cleared a patch of trees and created a small za to wee everyone. It is an open area but because of the controlled sunlight going in, the ce was cool andfortable.


    There were many seats and foods being served by automatons. There was a luxuriously decorated stage on the east side where everyone can clearly see the Mass Driver.


    However, what caught their attention wasn''t that structure but the 5 tall pirs with a height of 8 or 9 meters covered by top-ss fabric ced just behind the mini stage of the za.


    "I think I know what this is..."


    "What? A mini mage tower?"


    "Haha... No, I think this is that thing... Can''t you see the protrusion at the center?"


    "No way, I think that this is just a model... There''s no way they would build it. Only the government was allowed to create them..."


    "That''s right. Traceless Hands is a privatepany. It would be tough to get permissions for that... It would surely be reported to the news in case that happens..."


    They were dying to know what was behind that fabric and some of them even had a guess already.


    Although there were other things covered by the same type of fabric around the stage, those 5 pirs were emanating a mysterious aura even though they haven''t seen it yet. This made them a bit more interested in those things.


    As for the floating battleship, they had seen a floating airship before so they can only conclude that it was just a bigger one used to transport more people. It was impressive but that was it.


    Soon, the time has arrived and Ace suddenly appeared on the stage to wee everyone. There were still 30 people who were absent but it doesn''t matter anymore. They may have more important things to do or probably runningte.


    As soon as Ace walked at the center of the stage, many people were surprised to see such a young man taking over the spotlight.


    They were thinking that he was only an emcee or probably staff but as he introduced himself, everyone was surprised to learn his identity.


    "Hello, everyone. I''m Wace Ravencroft, the Traceless Hands, the VR Pod''s creator, and the one that will soon allow you to experience the same magnificent technology you found inside the game-- here in the real world..."


    All the yers within the za were first surprised to hear the familiar name. It only took about a couple of seconds to remember who this person was...


    He has been recently popr with the younger generation as he was a top-ss individual that has been raised far from the capital.


    After all, the most powerful individuals were raised in the capital or have studied there.


    For someone who grew up in a faraway region and even gained the support of a Grand Arcanist, he had a very remarkable and inspiring achievement to everyone that was not from the capital.


    Everyone here in the za had somehow heard of this name but they still can''t believe that he was so amazing to create the almost perfect virtual world.


    Of course, the people who were closer to him was even more surprised to learn about this... They would have never thought that the rumored guy working for Traceless Hands was actually the real boss.

 Chapter 281 - The Fourth Phase ( Part 3 )

    "Senior Wace?"


    Hilda muttered softly after recognizing the young man. He had allowed her to use his Traceless Oscition and Infrasonic Ray magic structure for the sake of winning the tournament...


    After that, she was also contacted by the same person to be a beta tester of the game that theirpany was developing. She was aware that he was involved with the production but she had never imagined that he was the real deal.


    Shirley was simrly surprised by this discovery.


    She was still thankful for the two magic spells she had used during thest year''s TMAC, the Ultrasonic Burst and Echo st that allowed her to triumph against betterbat magicians.


    "I can''t believe that he was already at the peak of his career while he was still a student..."


    Wace hadn''t reached the peak yet but considering his status and achievements, many artifact forgers or mana practitioners were already thinking that this height was already something unachievable to many and can only be dreamed of.


    Not only their small group have questions in their minds but everyone who was also watching this event online.


    What did he mean by experiencing the same technology in the real world?


    Their hearts were pounding loudly on their ears as they suddenly made an absurd guess about the floating airship and the five pirs covered by some fabrics.


    After Wace introduced himself, he officially started the fourth phase of this project, to find outstanding people.


    Of course, he had to consider their identity as well to ensure that they were not here to just spy or probably sabotage his work.


    Anyway, Veda would be the one helping him aplish that.


    But before all of that, he had to first do something incredible to gain the trust of everyone. If he aplished something that the two ns were unable to, then he would be taken seriously.


    "Very well... You may be asking what kind of technology you''ve seen inside the game that can also be found here in the real world... It''s not hard to exin but let me show you instead..."


    Soon, the holographic model of the Transatmospheric Battleship: Excellence was shown to everyone.


    The model was shown in front of the stage as Ace exined what this battleship can aplish. He describes it as something very simr to what the Dorssian Empire has but it was even more improved because it possesses a magic technology, unlike the Empire''s advanced technology.


    Well, most of the yers were just staring at it as the information they are hearing may have not sunk in their minds yet.


    Ace didn''t take too much time as he soon announced that the Excellence would be sent to the Moon to explore it.


    He obviously kept the part that he nned to create a Moon Base from it. It can be exined next time.


    At the moment, the Excellence was filled with various building materials and builder automatons that would create this base as soon as possible.


    Apparently, Wace has already built two mid-size battleships. Thetest battleship was the one he stationed in the sky to intimidate the visitors a little bit.


    "Everyone, I know that you''re curious about the structure over there... I call it Mass Driver and it would help any spaceship to reach the outer space... Watch..."


    Soon, some red lights were seen blinking around the structure like a signal. Well, they weren''t clear about its purpose so they can only guess.


    The structure was a bit far from them and everything looks small in their vision.


    Then, something was sent out and it happened very fast. Luckily, mana practitioners have superb kic vision thanks to the brain-boosting magic they all have.


    What they have seen was a battleship simr to what Wace showed them just now was sent out to the sky...


    "This..."


    "Look... It''s really up there!"


    "That''s fast!"


    "How did it happen? Did you see any rocket attached to it?"


    "No... I think that they used magic to lift it up..."


    They can still see the battleship but it was getting smaller and smaller until it almost seems just like a dot.


    The yers watching the event were worried about this. After all, it was just yesterday when the space shuttle created by the two powerful ns failed terribly. Their whereabouts were unknown, they couldn''t find any debris of the shuttle or any corpses of the powerful magicians.


    It must be remembered that the creation of their space shuttle was supervised by a Grand Arcanist and the three sages who joined the mission were personally trained by a Grand Sage. Their sess must be higher considering all this.


    However, right now, Wace attempted the same thing and as far as they were concerned, there weren''t any powerful individuals involved in this project because if there was, then they would be somehow informed and the media wouldn''t stay quiet about it.


    They know that he was an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist and that may be the reason why he has resources to create all of this, however, the Grand Arcanist himself was stuck in the northern continents for months already. It was impossible for him to help.


    It was also impossible for other Grand Arcanist or Grand Sage to help Wace since the Cloud Hawk Manor isn''t that friendly towards their peers.


    While everyone was shocked and nervous about the suddenunch of the Excellence, Ace was only watching everything with a smile on his face.


    ***


    Today''s event isn''t just attractive to the yers but also to many mana practitioners who were curious about this Traceless Hands.


    Some insiders were also watching this closely because they recently received a piece of news that this organization received several top-ss permits. Those were to create Steel Knights on their own and build aircraft, spacecraft, and even dangerous weapons!


    This was rming to many powers of the country since private army or something simr must always be supervised by the government. Private organizations were not allowed to build too much firepower unless arge percentage of their profit would be eaten up by the government. They wouldn''t want that win-lose rtionship.


    As soon as they saw theunch of the battleship in the sky, they were surprised by the audacity of this young man after the huge failure of the two ns.


    The members of the Skywalker and Vermont n themselves were watching this event and felt that this Wace Ravencroft was pping their faces for doing the same thing they did.


    Did he not learn from yesterday''s event?


    Did he want to prove that he was better than them?


    Did he think that he would be sessful even after we failed?


    He''s arrogant...


    At themand center of the joint n''s project. They stopped looking for the missing space shuttle as they nned to observe the sudden spaceunch of this young man.


    "Do you think that Grand Sage Maze is watching?"


    "I''m trying to inform her now. This Traceless Hand''s attempt to breach the outer space may help us understand the whole situation up there. Try to record everything. I''m thinking that this spacecraft would also explode any second now..."


    "Very well. Monitor everything and report to me anything unusual you''ve found..."


    It was the director of the previous spaceshipunch who instructed this. They were already curious about the missing rocket system of this current spaceunch but it wasn''t time to question that as they were expecting the same explosion to happen once the spacecraft reached a certain height.


    Unfortunately, even after reaching the height where their space shuttle exploded, nothing happened to Wace''s spacecraft...

 Chapter 282 - Moon Base

    The Excellence has already reached the exosphere and it continuously flew up and went to the direction of the moon.


    Ace was constantly receiving reports from Avalon so he was fully aware that everything went smoothly just like the simtion they had.


    The A.I.''s ability to calcte these things was irreceable for Ace.


    After all, he may not have thought of cing the Radiant Wave Spectrum Tech in this whole battleship without Avalon''s analysis of how it affects the violent mana up there.


    Ace even thought that yesterday''s explosion of the space shuttle had something to do with this violent mana simr to mana cmity.


    If not for the Lotus Mech''s Technology, then he would really have to worry about today''s spaceunch.


    Ashe confirmed that the flight was stable and there was nothing wrong with the battleship, Ace started the second part of this event.


    "Everyone... The Excellence managed to breakthrough and was now on its way to the moon."


    As soon as he announced this, everyone was stunned and couldn''t help but express their confusion with the sudden event.


    ''On its way to the moon?!''


    ''That''sinsane!''


    ''If I''m not wrong, the two ns were only nning an orbital spaceflight, right?''


    ''Yeah... But this guy wanted to reach the moon...''


    ''This is absurd... How can anyone just reach the moon...''


    ''He''s not just anyone. He made the virtual world that almost seems impossible.''


    ''Haa~ I''m impressed... This is big news... Do you think that there are foreign species living on the moon?''


    ''Haha! You wish...''


    They all had different reactions but deep inside, they were all impressed by Wace''s move.


    ***


    A group of five people at one corner of the za was having the same conversation. "Aaron... This guy is the real deal... So what you''re saying was true..."


    "I wish that I could join the next spaceunch... Do you think that he''ll be sending more spaceship up there?"


    It was Gary and Humphrey, the two previous members of the student council, and now a licensed Combat Magicians. They were together with Aaron and two more members of the Lucent Force who luckily reached the top 400 of the game so they were invited.


    "Yes... He obviously has more of those spaceships..."


    Aaron said as he nced at the other floating battleship. He took a deep breath before continuing.


    "There should be something more but I''m not sure what he ns on doing with that..."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do you see those five pirs?"


    "Yes... I''m thinking that they''re Steel Knights..."


    Gary answered but Humphrey was doubtful as he told them the information he found out...


    "Hmm~ I''m also thinking the same... However, we all know that the Molten Core''s blueprint was strictly controlled and even if you received some leaked information about it, no one would dare to openly create them. I checked the records of the organizations that were allowed to use the Molten Core, and Traceless Hands or Wace Ravencroft was not included."


    "If that''s that case, then if what''s behind that fabric were Steel Knights, then its either just an empty model or..."


    "He has his own method of creating Core..."


    The three of them said at the same time. They were allbat magicians but they were fully aware of how difficult it was to create those cores as they were normally being managed by old mana practitioners tinkering day and night to create a perfect core for Steel Knights.


    They were knowledgeable about this because they have their own Steel Knights and Aaron even has his own Iron Knight aside from that.


    His status as the young master of the Lucent Force wasn''t just an empty status, after all.


    While they were still expressing their excitement about Wace''s n to send the Excellence to the moon, he continued to announce the second part of the event.


    "Now, I''ll be needing everyone''s expertise in piloting a Steel Knight... This time, there will no longer be assistanceing from Freya..."


    ***


    While Ace was busy about his event on Earth, Avalon was doing its best to reach the moon safely.


    The Excellence was honestly too heavy this time because it was filled with various materials and workers. Luckily, the Mass Driver wasn''t just created using advanced technology but there were also mana formation and array that was added to help with the catapult.


    Anyway, it may probably be the same weight for the three or four spaceships that will be sent up here since they''ll need a lot more materials. Apparently, the materials they brought was only enough to create a kilometer wide headquarters. There will not be any defense structures at all or even enough air supply. The environment was only good for the automatons who only require energy to function.


    Of course, Ace nned to make the base livable but it would only happen after the third spaceship with supplies was sent out. The n was to make the Moon Base thest outer space defense line if possible. After all, they may not have time to create a base in a Lagrange Point.


    [ Scanning... ]


    [ Looking for traces of the space shuttle... ]


    [ No traces of the space shuttle detected within 22 AU. ]


    It seems that the range was no longer being hindered by mana after leaving the Earth. The previous maximum range or 19 AU was now 22 AU. However, as it cost a huge chunk of energy to scan with a range like that, Avalon wasn''t doing it unless instructed.


    Ace instructed Avalon to look for the space shuttle once it reached a stable flight. Unfortunately, it seems that the space shuttle had truly exploded or perhaps, it has a powerful stealth system that even Avalon couldn''t detect.


    It wasn''t surprising if there''s magic involved so Avalon couldn''t find it with normal means.


    Beep!


    Apparently, instead of finding a space shuttle, Avalon detected something different. The A.I. runs a simtion to confirm everything before immediately reporting it to Wace to get an instruction.


    [ An Asteroid, approximately 13 kilometers wide, is projected to hit Earth 12 days from now. ]

 Chapter 283 - Pilots And Mech Frames

    Ace revealed the Mech Frames that were hiding within the covers of a special fabric. Everyone feasts their eyes at the five uniquely designed humanoid war machines.


    "Whoa... Is this amercial model of the Steel Knights?!"


    "No way... The Steel Knights I''ve seen made by thosergepanies were trashpared to these... This must be thetest design..."


    "But this doesn''t look like they were suited for battle... Just look at how expensive the materials used. It seems to me that they were only for decoration and not forbat..."


    "Decoration?"


    "Yes... To show off their status. I''ve seen a Steel Knight before and I''m familiar with the aura exuded by a Molten Core. But I can''t feel its presence in any of those five..."


    One of the yers said after analyzing the five Steel Knights in front of them. They were obviously surprised to see these war machines but it also made them curious about each of itsponents.


    The five Mech Frames were made with different models and by using simple detection spells, each part of the war machine easily informed them how expensive they were.


    Luckily, the five weren''t activated so they can still use mana spell to appraise its external appearance. Of course, Ace nned this as well as he wanted them to try and see the difference of his Mech Frame and the Steel Knights.


    However, it seems that not even half of the yers here have seen a real Steel Knight and had only seen them through other forms of media.


    The most eye-catching Mech Frame was the one at the center. It was a red and ck Mech with a bulky armor. It even has tworge shields mounted on its hands. Some were even curious about whether it could take a single step.


    Looking at it closely, its main weapon seems to be the machine guns mounted everywhere.


    But they were sure that these Steel Knights haveser des hidden somewhere.


    They can even imagine that the bulky Steel Knight at the center could remove its armor if it''s out of bullet or had a badly damaged armor already... so it couldbat in close range to give a surprise to the enemy.


    Of course, their imaginations were like these thanks to the Alien Invasion game. This game allowed them to have many expectations for these Steel Knights.


    Ace was satisfied with the reaction of the yers as he nced at his masterpiece.


    The Mech Frames were all giving off different majestic aura to everyone standing in the za.


    The models he made weren''t purely made of advanced technology but almost half of the system was through magic or mana-rted functions.


    It was a way to avoid getting hacked by powerful A.I. or be easily intercepted by the technologically advanced Empire. He didn''t want his Mech Frame to suddenly malfunction which is amon tactic used in any gctic war. It was normally being countered by another equipment but he can''t be too sure that it will always be effective. So he had to utilize mana in this case.


    If there was one thing that the Empire doesn''t possess, it was the ability to maximize the potential of mana.


    So Ace had to heighten its usage in every chance possible.


    However, it would also limit the A.I.''s ability as it doesn''t have a refined method to use mana spells at all. Thus, the pilots were crucial.


    Avalon was still unable to quantify mana so it was impossible to control all its functions.


    Veda was also not willing to learnbat techniques with Avalon, it was telling that it defied its main existence if it had to learn to fight.


    After giving them some time to admire his creations, Ace started to exin the event.


    "I have Mech-- or Steel Knights as you can see... I can proudly announce that they are way better than any Steel Knights you''ve seen... Well, at least you canpare them to the Steel Knights within the game."


    There were suddenly whispers going around the za as they were stunned to hear Wace praise his creation that much.


    ''He really thinks that he was way better than the Arcanists who created many Steel Knights used by the military...''


    ''I like it... He has guts...''


    ''No, its confidence due to the result he had created...''


    ''Do you think that he already did a sparring match against the military''s Steel Knights?''


    ''Who knows? Maybe that was why he was confident...''


    Ace didn''t want to brag but he wanted them to treat his Steel Knight differently.


    "Alright, enough about that... I needed the best pilots... Once you''re selected, you''ll have a chance to own this thing, however... there will be a simple contract... Only those who passed will learn about it. Anyway, I believe that everyone here had passed the Pilot Licensure Exam from Freya... Correct?"


    The yers looked at each other before nodding. Well, these were top 500 yers so it was natural that they all passed that exam.


    Aside from that, even if they were selected, it seems that they can still refuse the contract so there was no harm in joining the Pilot Selection.


    Ace then started to let them enter a simtion. However, this simtion would happen inside the Mech Frame.


    It sounded simple but it must be remembered that the Mech Frames he created had Quantum Brainwaves Control System.


    By utilizing this together with the simtion program from Avalon, half an hour in the virtual world would just be a minute in the real world.


    That''s right... It was one of the best functions when using QBCS... The only downside is that it can''t be used every time as it won''t be healthy for people who''ll use it.


    Ace didn''t exin it to them as automatons assisted everyone to have a try. Anyway, they are all magicians who had brain-boosting magic so it wouldn''t cause any problems at all.


    ***


    Ace was resting on his seat as he let the yers observe and touch the Mech Frames while the first batch of magicians goes in for the simtion.


    ''Let''s see... I wonder if Avalon was already on the moon...''


    He looked at the time and noticed that it was still early and it may still be traveling and was only about tond.


    Anyway, he now has the time to check Avalon''s message...


    "Asteroid?"


    As soon as he reads the report, he did not know why, but he felt a foreboding that this sudden cmity heading on Earth wasn''t as simple as it seems.


    Ace suddenly gulped at this as he treated this matter seriously.

 Chapter 284 - Hidden Problems

    "Any explosions sighted?"


    "We haven''t found any..."


    "Was it really sessful?! I don''t believe it... How did thatrge vessel even fly up in the sky anyway?!"


    At the joint n''smand center, the director couldn''t ept the sessful spaceunch lead by Wace.


    Not only that, but they were also getting curious about the propulsion system that the young man used which was almost non-existent in their eyes.


    There was no visible rocket system attached and they couldn''t imagine how did that huge ramp manage to generate enough force to lift it up...


    They were unaware of what kind of magic was imbued in the spacecraft to make it happen. Although they have their own method of spaceunch, they were dying to know how Wace managed to be sessful in this very first space project.


    They had never heard of any simr projects he has done before. They were sure that this was the first time unless they would count the events within the virtual reality game he created...


    ''Wait... The virtual world?''


    After reaching this thought, the director suddenly realized that this could be one of his secrets.


    ''Did it already reach to the point that it could also simte such things? That''s...''


    If that was the case, then they have to get this technology or perhaps borrow it from him...


    As every staff in themand center was unable to find any traces of the spacecraft sent out by Wace, they could only conclude that it has already reached a ce where their sensors were unable to pass through. It may also have something simr to the stealth system and perhaps it was already about tond on the moon.


    In the end, they could only sigh in amazement at this sessful spaceunch.


    "Officer Ron..."


    "Yes... Director Hall..."


    "Purchase a VR Pod and analyze it using our coder..."


    Officer Ron who was called out was handling the technical stuff for their spaceunch project. He was the second-inmand Arcanist when the space shuttle was still being built by the Grand Arcanist.


    The sudden instruction made him a bit stunned as he didn''t immediately realize the director''s n.


    However, since he was already interested in that VR Pod for some time now, he still agreed and worked on it.


    He has been nning to analyze this device before but because of the space project he was in, there was no time for him to tinker on it.


    The Director was satisfied and went to Grand Sage Maze''s Mage Tower to personally give a report.


    ***


    At a certain part of the Mt. Raven not too far from the za, there was a group of people who had also attended the event but decided to stay here.


    "That was incredible... I didn''t think that Wace had nned this far... All Grand Arcanist''s apprentices were really on a different level..."


    It was said by a middle-ageddy with a stunning body. She was apanying the VR pod''s model and endorser, Miya Linus, in this cabin, and they were watching the whole event.


    The middle-ageddy was Diana Humeray. Although she hadn''t really yed the virtual game and only tried it a few times, she was still invited here as there should be someone assisting Miya.


    Once the Pilot Selection waspleted, Miya had to show her presence to the yers and give a little performance for a break. After all, the event wouldn''t just end on this selection.


    "You praise us too much. Not all apprentices can do this. This guy was just too mysterious... I doubt that the Master was even aware of his true capabilities..."


    Lacus replied after hearing her praise.


    It was the truth, the Space Launch project, the number of huge spaceships, the n to create a base on the moon... especially thatst part, it sounded fantasy for her since even the other countries had never thought of that. The northern continent was still a mystery to them so how would they even think of exploring the moon?


    ''Sigh~ Is it really happening?''


    Lacus suddenly felt worried as she has already read the Prince''s Logbook. There was still a little doubt in her heart as she just couldn''t ept it all.


    However, by the looks of it... Wace has been doing everything in preparation for that day and she couldn''t help but be wary of it as well. The most that she could do was help this junior apprentice of her as much as she could.


    "Do you think that he''ll be sessful in his Moon Base project?"


    Miya was already wearing her makeup and her red evening dress... She wasn''t that fully aware of the reason behind Wace''s action but she had learned about his ns for the Moon as after the maintenance today in the Alien Invasion Game the subtitle "Moon''s Project" will be added to it.


    She wasn''t sure about the specificities but his n in real life seems to be connected to the game world which made her really curious about it.


    "He will be... Considering that his first spaceunch was sessful, no one can stop him anymore..."


    "I thought as much... I just can''t believe that he would be this ambitious..."


    Miya softly muttered. Her goal was only to earn money to feed herself and her family through her hobby. That was why she studied the Spirit Arts and became a Celebrity Idol...


    Lacus smiles at her after hearing this. She thought how mysterious this young man indeed.


    ''The man still has many secrets but you are correct, he was ambitious and it was this trait that draws people near him.''


    Lacus nced at the other side of the cabin and saw two young girls happily observing the Iron Knight that Wace left here.


    The Iron Knight was gold and white with a height of 9 meters if it was standing. Right now, however, it was in a kneeling posture so the two young girls can closely observe the majestic war machine.


    It wasn''t bulky like the one at the za but its most eye-catching feature was itsrge sword on its back that already reaches the ground.


    If Wace didn''t tell her about its origin, she wouldn''t realize that it was the Iron Knight he had before.


    That''s right. This is the Iron Knight he received from Grand Arcanist ine but Ace modified it a lot after Wace disassemble it to study its core. It was to the point that you could no longer see any semnce from the previous Iron Knight he received.


    Lacus sighed as she said a few words to Miya before approaching the two youngdies. Honestly, she was truly impressed by how Wace managed to get a connection to these people.


    The two youngdies observing the Iron Knight were Yumi from NMTI and Erza from the Ministry of Magic Education.*


    ***


    At the za, no one had noticed Ace''s worry as he instructed Avalon to continue its path towards the moon.


    He also instructed the A.I. to carefully observe the asteroid found and make sure that it was really an asteroid and not a form of camouge to trick them.


    It would be a disaster if they treated it as a normal asteroid and it happens to hide a spacecraft inside.


    "Be discreet with your investigation..."


    Ace finally said to Avalon as he put his focus on the event.

 Chapter 285 - Selections ( Part 1 )

    "What did you say?"


    "I said that you only stayed there for a minute... So what happened? Don''t tell me that you actuallyfailed to activate the simtion?"


    "What? No... Ipleted the 30 minutes simtion... What are you saying?"


    The yer just got out of the Mech Frame and was suddenly approached by the other magicians present to ask about the simtion.


    However, he got confused by their questions...


    ''One minute? They''re crazy...''


    The man could only shake his head as he ignored them.


    The other four hatches were also opened as the other magicians went out of the cockpit.


    The people gathering around him immediately noticed this and decided to ask them as well.


    "Haha... Thirty minutes? Let''s hear what they''ll say... It seems that all five of you onlysted there for about a minute..."


    One of the yers who asked the first guy suddenly approached the others who just got out of their Steel Knights.


    It seems that he wanted to get as much information as he could so once it was his turn, he''ll have an idea how to proceed.


    "Hey... What happened? Was the simtion truly just a minute-long? Well, is it that too difficult or just too easy?"


    "What? It took me about half an hour..."


    "Right... It''s more or less half an hour... Even if you''re terrible, you canst more than a minutein there..."


    The five yers were confused as people were asking them the same thing...


    ''We''re telling you that itsted for about thirty minutes! Why can''t you believe us?!''


    Unfortunately, no one believes them as the second batch of yers opened the hatch of the Steel Knights in front of them and proceeded to take the simtion through Avalon''s assistance.


    Ace smiled wryly at this as he didn''t bother to exin to them about the time ratio once the simtion was activated. He simply wanted to give them a surprise.


    In the meantime, he started to monitor the spaceship''s travel as he needed to give some glimpse of the Excellence''s sessful endeavor in outer space.


    He didn''t want to show his ns of creating a base on the moon but he could at least show them the scenery in the outer space.


    Soon, he uploaded the videos for the world to see.


    As expected, it didn''t take long before the news exploded.


    They have seen a full minute of the Excellence''s stable flight towards the moon.


    The outer space was filled with stars and it looks so beautiful in their eyes.


    "Amazing!"


    "This is beautiful... I wanted to go up there as well..."


    "True! I hope that they would consider this as a business..."


    "What?"


    "I mean, Traceless Hands can consider setting up a passport for a back and forth trip to outer space."


    "You wish... It isn''t that easy to send in or out a huge spacecraft on the Earth''s atmosphere..."


    "Haha... Of course, I''m just saying things..."


    These peoplementing were those watching the event online.


    Apparently, the event isn''t just focused on the Space Launch. It wasn''t even the main course of the event as it was just a way for Ace to tell them that the virtual world and the real world wasn''t that different any longer.


    His real aim was still to have those talented people learn some things about the future. It would be a waste if they were too underdeveloped when the Empire arrives.


    He didn''t just want them to pilot ormand a spaceship for him but he wanted them to have a choice.


    As a matter of fact, they can even refuse to work with him if they wanted to.


    ***


    "Yumi, Erza... The two of you have been observing this Steel Knight for a while now... What''s there to see?"


    "Senior Lacus... It''s my first time seeing this design. Take a look... This Steel Knight is funny. There is no visible cannons, guns, or any other weapons aside from therge sword. I think that''s very impractical."


    Erzamented as she approached thedy and started talking about the Steel Knight that Ace designed.


    Her status allowed her to see several models of Steel Knights and there was one thing that she found simr to each of those machines, they all have several weapons in their arsenal. It was unlike this Steel Knight who only has a sword on it which doesn''t make sense.


    Lacus had noticed this as well but because of her unique method of detection, she could breathe the suffocating airing out of the Steel Knight.


    It means that this thing has an unimaginable source of energy hidden somewhere within its framework.


    It only proves that this Steel Knight may actually be capable of casting high-grade mana spells. Whatever that was, she was still unaware of it.


    Although she had seen others capable of doing such things, it wasn''t to the point where she would suffocate just by getting near one.


    Lacus looks at Yumi to hear her thoughts about this Steel Knight, however, she seems to be mesmerized by the machine as she keeps staring at it for some reason.


    The Grand Arcanist''s first apprentice could only think that it was Yumi''s method to analyze that humanoid machine in front of her.


    "Look... It seems that Wace decided to show us what''s up there..."


    Manager Diana suddenly said as they saw Excellence''s footage from the outer space. The recording was really short but the message was clear. Wace seeded and the joint n''s spaceunch project failed.


    Right now, Yumi was the only one aware that the Wace here was actually just a part of him who calls himself as Ace.


    So deep inside, she was still worrying about the Wace who was battling somewhere in the dangerous northern continent.


    She took a quick nce at the holographic images that were conveniently ced at the center of the cabin, it was indeed simr to some recordings or footage that can be found inside the game.


    Apparently, the current recordings that Wace decided to show include a quick view of the Earth from outer space. Then there was also the moon itself which was getting closer and closer. It looks beautiful.


    ''As expected, Wace had too many secrets.''


    Yumi and Lacus thought the same thing as there were just so many questionable things that Wace did.


    ''The Vermont n and Skywalker n must be thinking of some ways to regain their reputation... I wonder how they''ll work on this...''


    The two girls were aware of what happened weeks ago when a group of Lucent Force tried to barge in within Wace''s property because of the two n''s influence. It means that they wouldn''t just take this lying down.


    They could only sigh and try to n Wace''s protection from the background so he can focus on building things.


    ***


    As the second batch of yers came out after a minute, they were asked by the same questions but they answered the same thing...


    The simtionsted for about 30 minutes.


    "This... I can only think of one reason..." Ray muttered softly after realizing the situation. Actually, most of the yers here have already reached the same thought.


    "But how did he managed to do that?" Hilda could only ask helplessly.


    She couldn''t think of a way for it to happen. There was no magic that could affect time and there was brain-boosting magic but it wasn''t to the point that you couldpress such a long span of time to just a bit more than 3% of the original.


    It was such an absurd thought.


    "This is revolutionary magic..."


    As they realized this, they looked at Wace who was now grinning while observing them at the za.

 Chapter 286 - Selections ( Part 2 )

    There was no need for Ace to exin the situation as the yers already made their own guesses. After all, it wasn''t that hard to realize once several yerspleted their simtion tests.


    ''Very well... I''m looking forward to your decisionster on.''


    Ace thought after seeing the ten magicians who had justpleted their simtion as they gather around and talk about their experiences inside.


    The Pilot Selection exam was actually quite easy on itself as it just mostly tests the decision making as a pilot.


    Ace then busied himself with the current updates about the asteroid that Avalon has found. He wanted to make sure that it was truly an asteroid before he creates a n to deal with it.


    ***


    The third batch of the magicians taking the simtion exam includes Hilda Calem. She was already excited about it ever since the first batchpleted their own exams and heard a little about the simtion.


    It seems that there were different simtions so it was useless to ask about their experiences inside. It may just hamper their judgment and be unable to perform well.


    After all, even if they were not selected to be a pilot, they were still promised to get an in-game item as a reward afterpleting the exam. This was more than enough to get serious about this. There was nothing to lose at all.


    ''Haaa~''


    Hilda took a deep breath as she prepared herself. She wasn''t pressured at all as she approached one of the majestic Steel Knights and even gave it a touch to have a feel about the real deal.


    The one in front of her was a full ck humanoid war machine equipped with a rifle gun on its right hand and a small shield on the other. It was still a bit bulky but not the same way with the one at the center.


    There was also something simr to a jetpack, or probably a booster of some sort, attached at the back of the war machine.


    ''Does it have a name? I hope that Wace can share it with us...''


    She suddenly had a feeling that she would be able to connect more to a Steel Knight if she knows its name.


    She had suddenly realized that the mysterious ''sync rate'' that needs to operate a Steel Knight or Iron Knight may actually prove to be helpful during the examination.


    Anyway, now that she had gotten closer to it, she could feel that the pressuring energy hiding deep inside this machine was also getting clearer to her.


    It was a sensation that she couldn''t properly describe as it felt very powerful and suffocating at first but after getting closer to the machine, it feels gentler and very safe under its shelter.


    This all happened quickly as she entered Mech Frame''s cockpit to experience being inside the real Steel Knight even for half an hour.


    It smelled refreshing and noticed that she was immediately covered by gushing mana!


    ''I''m synchronizing already?''


    This made her reallyfortable as it wasn''tpletely new to her.


    It was very simr to the Steel Knights she piloted inside the Virtual World!


    [ Hello, Miss Hilda. I''m Avalon and I''m here to help you start the simtion. ]


    A genderless voice was suddenly heard which didn''t surprise her.


    "Hi, Avalon. Are you simr to Freya inside the virtual game?"


    [ You can say so... But I can''t give you any quests. ]


    "Haha! Of course..."


    [ Very well. You can start the examination by cing your hand at the spherical ss that you can see at the center. ]


    Hilda also knows that touching this spherical ss is part of the standard activation sequence needed to run the Steel Knight inside the game. It was different from an Iron Knight in the real world that normally requires a key to operate.


    Anyway, it seems that touching the ss won''t be activating the machine but the simtion test at this time.


    "Alright... I''ll take the exam now..."


    Hilda said and as soon as she touched the ss... nothing happened.


    "Avalon? Is there something wrong?"


    ''Maybe I should insert some of my mana?''


    Hilda thought after Avalon remained silent. She was expecting that she will be transported in a virtual world after touching the sphere but it seems to have encountered a problem...


    She was still inside the cockpit... Same sensation... No changes whatsoever...


    ''Mhmm...''


    She poured some of her mana to make sure that it will work but still, nothing happened.


    As soon as she had a thought of getting out of the cockpit. The Steel Knight activated and she suddenly had a clear vision of what was happening outside.


    She noticed that several yers were still busying around the za but arge part of them was looking somewhere else.


    Of course, she was curious about the thing they were looking at so she controlled the Steel Knight''s system adeptly and noticed that the sky was being covered by a huge shadow...


    At first, she thought that it was just the previous spacecraft hovering above Wace''s territory. It was the one that gave them a real surprise when they first got here considering its size and the mysterious float system that it uses to fly.


    However, she immediately realizes that the size of the shadow was probably 20 times bigger than the spacecraft simr to Excellence.


    "W-what was that? Is it one of Wace''s project?"


    It can''t be helped that she was stunned seeing such a huge shadow covering the sky.


    Everyone had learned from Wace''s announcement a while ago that he has ns for the Excellence to visit the moon...


    ''Was it sessful and the spacecraft was now trying to bring a part of the moon here?''


    She suddenly had an absurd thought considering the fact that they have little knowledge about the moon.


    Anyway, she noticed that the magicians on the ground were all nervous and waiting for what was toe.


    As she nced at Wace''s previous seat, she realized that he already disappeared for some unknown reason.


    ''Hey... Isn''t this part of your ns? Where are you, senior? Don''t leave us here unattended...''


    Boom!


    Not too far from Mt. Raven, there was a sudden loud explosion that made the earth tremble. As a matter of fact, Knight''s control system detected several of these explosions in different ces.


    They didn''t know what started it but the sheer force that followed after the explosion terrified them.


    The almost unbearable heatwave and the shockwaves that came after were something they hadn''t been prepared for. Luckily, due to this territory''s defense system, it has been lessened by a lot and the addition of their Mana Shell proved to be quite useful in the situation.


    Hilda, on the other hand, wasn''t exactly sure how powerful it was since she was inside the bulky Steel Knight. She was protected from any external damages.


    But as she can see the messy za and some trees that were bent due to the powerful shock, she realized that she had to take this seriously.


    She was honestly worried if there were people that were hurt outside this mountain.


    As for the Tanza City, she didn''t have to worry about it as after the terrorist attack months ago, the government strengthened its City''s Barrier a lot to calm the citizens and keep them from migrating to other cities.


    Soon, she heard the yers on the za eximed while looking at the sky.


    Of course, she also had to take a look and as soon as she saw it, her mouths were left hanging open.


    It was a scary-looking floating city. No, it was a spacecraft with a circr base but has many tall buildings on its top. The fact that it was also purely ck just added to its menacing feature.


    After seeing it, she just had a thought that it was definitely not a friendly spacecraft.


    "Oh, no... Is this still part of Wace''s program for today''s event? No... definitely not... That huge explosion shouldn''t be a part of the event... What''s happening here?!"


    Soon, the Steel Knight''s control system detected some movement from the spacecraft above.


    Although it was high up in the sky, the Knight''s system manages to capture its opening of hatch and detect its release of hundreds of humanoid war machines simr to a Steel Knight.


    She also noticed that a huge part of them was aiming at this mountain.

 Chapter 287 - Selections ( Part 3 )

    "What should I do?"


    Hilda felt quite nervous about the current situation.


    It was unlike the virtual game that she didn''t have to worry about the others as she was well aware that it was only a game and they can be resurrected once they died.


    There was pressure in the game but it wasn''t this heavy.


    She only has to worry about the reward''s reduction or possible quest failure at that time.


    However, right now, any misfire of the Steel Knight she was piloting can cause a real casualty.


    She was sure that the war machines aiming this mountain don''t have any good intentions so her initial thought was to try and defend this ce...


    "Defend this ce? Can I just escape?... No, I can''t leave the others behind."


    She had an urge to protect those feeble magicians at the za. After all, her seniors at the academy were also present at this time.


    She couldn''t l just leave them behind and fly away using this Steel Knight...


    Beep!


    [ Sixty Mech Frames, simr to Steel Knights, are approaching. ]


    Beep!


    [ Locked On. ]


    Beep!


    [ Enemy ECM has been detected. ]


    [ Activating ECCM. ]


    Hilda saw the sign that her Steel Knight has been targeted by the enemy''s Mech Frames... She didn''t have that time to think about why it was called a Mech Frames and what are the other things being detected by the Steel Knight''s system as she tried her best to learn everything about the current Steel Knight she was piloting.


    Soon, she had a clear grasp about its full capability and even learned the Steel Knight''s name, Radiant...


    She had a hint of an idea why it was named like that but the situation didn''t allow her to confirm it. She had to ready and try to defend the ce while the magicians were starting to evacuate or even prepare to help with the battle.


    She was sure that powerful magicians would surelye and rescue them here after some time.


    They just had to hold on until that moment.


    "Everyone! Run! There is a shelter beneath this mountain. Hurry! The automatons and others will try to defend this ce while we evacuate so we have to hurry!"


    A man, probably a staff on this event, shouted as he gave instructions to the magicians who were preparing their low-grade mana artifacts to fight against the Steel Knights.


    "We have already sentmunications to nearby cities informing about our situation... Don''t panic! This whole thing may just a plot of another enemy country!" The man added to give them a bit of assurance as they followed his instruction.


    It was still up to debate whether this was really a product of the country but it doesn''t matter at this time.


    Hilda had also heard the man''s words and as she ns to evacuate together with them, she suddenly received a message inside the Steel Knight telling that the organizers don''t have the time to find and switch to a pro pilot and requested for her to dy the iing Steel Knights.


    Anyway, she will be receiving some help from the automatons protecting this ce and the mid-size battleship floating outside. She just had to be on the back lines and try to assist as much as she can.


    ''This...''


    "I... I understand. I will do my best..."


    Hilda can only nervously answer as she operated the Steel Knight and prepare for the inevitable. Anyway, she also noticed that the four Steel Knights were also advancing. It means that the four other yers had agreed and was ready to fight against the enemies.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    A series of explosions were heard as the dark-blue and winged Mech Frames that came out of the huge spacecraft were now starting to tear out the barrier that was just activated within this mountain''s territory.


    Boom!


    Finally, the barrier was broken but before the enemy Mechs took their advance a counterattack has urred.


    Whooozzsh!


    A bright light suddenly came out of nowhere and hit more than a dozen Mech Frames that were attempting to enter the territory.


    It halted the advance of those at the back as they change their tactic and started firing their weapons from the distance.


    Hilda was ted seeing such a powerful attacking from this ce''s defense system and forced the enemy to halt.


    It seems that it was true that they will not have to go at the front lines and only had to support from the back and ensure that everyone would be able to safely evacuate to the shelter.


    Soon, she noticed several automatons floating around as they attempted to fight against therge Mech Frames.


    They summoned powerful mana-based barriers and took the full brunt of their assault.


    "We are unable to continuously fire the particle beam. We need 5 minutes to recharge. Help the battleship and the automatons fight."


    A voiceing from the Steel Knight''smunication mana artifact was heard. It seems that the enemy still managed to disrupt their electronicmunications so they had to switch their method and used mana artifacts as a medium.


    Hilda wasn''t sure who was speaking but it was definitely themander of this ce''s security defense.


    "Yes! I''ll do my best..."


    She then started helping the automatons and fired the rifle gun that almost has an unending mana bullet. She was monitoring the Steel Knight''s energy filler and realized that even after four minutes of constant firing, it barely moved.


    ''This is so impressive?!''


    It was nothing like the Steel Knights in the virtual world who had many limits.


    It seems that they haven''tpleted enough missions yet and only managed to unlock the low-end Steel Knights within the game.


    Anyway, as she realized its fearsome power and noticed that many automatons were being destroyed, Hilda decided to show the full might of the Knight.


    "Fly!"


    The booster that she previously thought attached on the Steel Knight''s back was actually a well-folded wing, imbued with various mana spells for its flight module.


    Whoosh!


    The huge Steel Knight flew so fast that it almost arrive in front of the enemy Mechs.


    Even though that was the case, Hilda no longer panics as she was already far from the evacuating magicians. She was nning to unleash at least one of its powerful attacks before retreating behind the lines until the particle beam fires out again.


    "Radiance!"


    ***


    Avalon was trying its best to stealthily observe the asteroid that was still twelve days away from Earth.


    [ Scanning... ]


    [ No abnormalities detected. ]


    Beep!


    [ Preparing 6th Method... ]


    [ Mini-Investigator IV preparationplete. ]


    [ Permission to send Mini-Investigator IV for asteroid investigation has been requested. ]


    [ ... ]


    [ Permission Granted. ]


    [ Mission to investigate Unnamed Asteroid: 3 Days to Complete. ]


    Suddenly, Avalon receivedmunication from Earth. It was another instruction from Ace.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Preparing Anti-Asteroid Module. ]


    Avalon just received an instruction to change the size of the asteroid before it hits the if it was found as a normal or real asteroid.


    It had to make it smaller to lessen the damage on Earth.


    But if it was a camouge to trick their sensors, it had to immediately report to him before taking action.


    Haa~


    Ace sighed as he slowly makes his ns for the possible iing asteroid.

 Chapter 288 - Vanguard ( Part 1)

    Radiance!


    The Steel Knight''s color suddenly turned ck but it onlysted for half a second as it was immediately covered by a golden light.


    Its brilliance blinded everyone in the vicinity and gave cover to the automatons fighting at the front. It seems that these creations were unaffected by the light.


    However, the receiving enemy Mech Frames weren''t just blinded but also hit by powerful pressure as they were unable to properly control their machines.


    The other four Steel Knights who were together with Hilda activated their protection system and adjusted their visions from the bright light...


    They had also noticed that the enemies were affected by binding magic and they decided to use their Steel Knight''s special abilities to fire at the nearest war machines and destroy them.


    "Good... We just have to hold on a bit more and we can also retreat, I guess..."


    Hilda muttered softly after seeing the result of their sudden burst attacks.


    "Hello?! Are you also one of the simtors?"


    A nervous male voice was suddenly heard on theirmunication devices. It seems that one of the five examiners managed to learn how to operate the device they''re using.


    ''Oh... It should be here...'' Hilda looks for the option to reply back to the friendly unit.


    The IFF signal was very clear and she was aware that there were only 5 Steel Knights defending the mountain and about 300 automatons flying around to dy the Mech Frames.


    "Yes! I''m here... I heard that the pro pilots were unable to make it in time so it should be five of us on the Steel Knights..."


    "That''s right..."


    "Don''t be too nervous... Although it''s not a game, we''re not in the frontlines... Speaking of which, get back here, Radiant! You''re advancing too much. Let theme..."


    "Right... Yes, I pushed my flight too hard."


    Hilda answered and noticed that the IFF signal has also noted the names of the other four Steel Knights.


    The magician who spoke to her was the one piloting the bulkiest automaton named Prominence and she can see that it only moved for several feet ever since the start of the battle.


    It was only using all its powerful long-ranged weapons to assist the automatons and monitor the evacuating magicians.


    The one who firstmunicated with them asking whether they were also the simtors was piloting a green Steel Knight called Jade Rain that has a patterned scale as armor and its main weapon was surprisingly a huge staff.


    That''s right... It seems that this Steel Knight didn''t take the high-tech route but opted for the high-grade magician route.


    Hilda wouldn''t be surprised if it suddenly casts a Grade 4 or even a Grade 5 spell considering the abundant mana inside the machine.


    As the automatons finished off the remaining Mech Frames, another batch of them arrives and their numbers exceeded the previous group.


    The group has now about 300 Mech Frames and the five young magicians felt that it was impossible to defend here.


    They have to retreat or if it''s possible, surrender...


    "Sigh~ I thought that this was still a simtion... But if the four of you were real... Then it doesn''t make sense that we''ll take the exam together... If I''m not mistaken, Wace wanted to test our individual skill, so it is impossible to group us like this..."


    The man said it aloud for everyone to hear. This made them ponder.


    "Simtion?"


    They suddenly asked themselves if this is reality or not. However, they remembered their friends, seniors, and juniors during the evacuation process. It looks so real and their actions match their attitude.


    They even saw them bringing out the life-saving mana artifacts that they kept hidden until now. Wace shouldn''t be capable of replicating those unknown mana artifacts.


    How would they know if its the virtual world? Should they even try to test it? What if this is the reality and they made something that could no longer be changed? Wouldn''t it be better to treat this as a reality and not worry about its authenticity for now?


    It didn''t take long for them to decide on what to do. Reality or not, they will act ording to their hearts.


    "The reinforcements were here... We have to change the battlefield to a different location. The numbers of the enemy were a bit too much. It would be a problem if the people at the shelters were affected."


    The voice from themand center suddenly advises them. It seems that they couldn''t really rest this time.


    The five young magicians noticed a group of 20 magiciansing to the mountain and based on their mana fluctuations, the group can be said to be very powerful.


    There were surely three Sages or even more as they couldn''t just probe them urately since they were clustered.


    However, the weakest mana fluctuation they felt was a peak Adept Mage.


    The battle continues...


    They have been requested to continuously support the front lines and they were getting adept with controlling their Steel Knights as they continuously fire from the distance. They learned how to help magicians that were in a pinch and save them from dying.


    It happened so many times as the five Steel Knights learned to coordinate their movements as they steadily shifted the battlefield to a different location.


    "We can do this..."


    Hilda encouraged herself as she looks at the time. Twenty-four minutes had already passed and if this is a virtual simtion, it should onlyst half an hour as per the first batch.


    The five of them also believe that if this is a virtual world and its part of the simtion exam for the Pilot Selection event, then there should be something more that was about to happen.


    ***


    Avalon had sent out the mini-investigator and it was now getting closer to the asteroid.


    By getting closer, it means that there were no longer any celestial bodies that could block the investigator''s detection ability or magic.


    [ Illumination Sensor. ]


    This is a Grade 5 Magic Spell and only Adept Mages or above could cast them at the cost of a huge chunk of their Mana.


    In other words, even the magicians who had higher purity of mana wouldn''t take this magic lightly.


    Soon, the image of the asteroid kept zooming from the mini-investigator and immediately had a perfect frontal view of this celestial body.


    There seem to be no problems at all as it looks just like how a normal asteroid should be.


    However, the magic didn''t end there and Ace was indeed correct!


    The asteroid wasn''t simple and it must be a vanguard sent by the empire to investigate.


    This wasn''t good news!


    Beep!


    [ Investigation Complete. ]


    [ Anomalies with the unnamed asteroid were found. ]


    [ Taking more action with caution. ]


    [ Sendingplete report to Earth Base. ]


    [ Requesting to continue investigating. ]


    [ Mana Reserves: 23% ]


    [ Recovery Rate: 0.5% / hr ]


    Avalon was dedicated to its job and as it realizes the danger that this vanguard has to its user, it needs to either eliminate it or learn everything about it to make an appropriate response forter.


    Ace, who just received the report, froze as he realized that it was happening too fast.


    "This... Where are you, Wace?!"

 Chapter 289 - Vanguard ( Part 2 )

    In truth, although Ace had a hunch that the iing asteroid was just camouge, he was still hoping that it was just a normal celestial body.


    He didn''t hope that it was truly an army sent by the empire. After all, he still has a lot of things to do. He was even unaware of Wace''s current situation on the northern continent.


    Sigh~


    "I have to deal with this alone... I can''t coordinate with the magicians here yet... It''s too early."


    Ace didn''t think that the iing troops were from the Federation as it was not their style to use an asteroid as a cover. He was sure that it was from the enemy.


    Luckily, considering the size of the celestial body, the army that has been sent were surely few in numbers.


    Normally these vanguards being sent for an away mission would have 5-10 years before sending their reports back to the empire.


    "But if they have sent a vanguard here... It''s definitely not a coincidence. Did they found another Cube of Paradox?"


    Ace shook his head as he realized that it may also be the result of investigating the Prince''s previous actions. After all, they may have left behind some clues from their previous Sacred Relic''s investigation.


    Although their chief researcher during that time made some arrangements to remove any traces of their experiments, they may have left a little clue that has been processed for years which resulted in today''s problem.


    Ace was also confident that the''s protective cover created by the prince''s team was still present. It means that they shouldn''t be capable of detecting the''s existence as of the moment.


    "Then, is this really a coincidence? Maybe the empire has sent a lot of these Vanguard roaming around this star system or maybe gxy and stumbled upon this path?"


    He was thinking about how to deal with these enemies. He may have a way to obliterate them using the maximum power of his umted mana. However, a part of his mind wanted to capture a few of the empire''s army to gather information.


    Ever since he was sent here to this Earth, he no longer has any news about the Federation and the Empire and of course, about the Zymeth Spaceship.


    Wace wanted to know what happened after he left that ce as the spaceship was surrounded by the enemy''s fleet. He remembered that the force of the Empire was evenmanded by his father''s supposedly friend, Solon.


    He clenched his fist as he couldn''t easily decide about the best course of action. Capturing the soldiers may result in many unknown problems. Completely destroying them should be the best course of action.


    Ace took a sip on his tea as he decided to consult other people. He nced at the za and noticed that the third batch of the yers should be reaching the climax of their simtion already.


    He instructed Avalon to handle the events here as he visited the nearby cabin where Yumi and the fewdies were staying at.


    ***


    Hilda and the other four yers were in a precarious situation.


    They were suddenly flooded by numerous Mech Frames who had an absurd movement speed. If not for their brain-boosting magic, they may have been unable to capture any of the enemy''s movements at all.


    "I can''t move..."


    "Guys... I think that they disabled my Steel Knights..."


    "I no longer have any vision!"


    "Me too... Oh no... I can''t reach themand center!"


    Hilda heard the other yers panicked after being immobilized by the enemies.


    It seems that the Mech Frames were nning to capture them alive. Perhaps they wanted to study the Steel Knights they have so they wanted to avoid destroying it.


    Luckily, it seems that the mana artifact they were using formunicating with each other was still not being blocked due to its unique construction.


    "The cockpit ejection system seems to be failing as well..."


    Hilda muttered as she tries to calmly analyze their situation. She remembers that after dozens of Mech Frames broke out of the automaton''sst line of defense, their group of five tried to eliminate them but failed due to the enemy''s superb piloting skills.


    The enemy also possesses unknown technology that manages to block some of their bullets and magic spells.


    Hilda and the others used their Steel Knight''s special ability but it only lessened the increasing numbers of the Mech Frames by a small amount. It didn''t take too long before they were captured by the enemies and realized that they were being lifted up and probably being sent to the floating monstrosity in the sky.


    "I can''t stay like this..."


    As Hilda understood their situation, she realized that they can''t just wait until they were sent to that huge spacecraft up there. It would be their end once it happens.


    They have to escape or fight back whilst some of the automatons and the mid-size battleship made by Wace was still fighting out against the enemies.


    Speaking of which, that battleship was truly impressive as it could hold on until now.


    Hilda cleared her thoughts as she closed her eyes to visualize her ns for escape.


    As soon as she opens her eyes, a determination can be seen as aside from being a pilot, she was a proud magician who possesses a powerful mana artifact.


    She has a series of spells that she believes to be suitable in creating a path for her escape.


    "Manual Override..."


    As soon as she got full control, she immediately controlled the system to forcefully open up the cockpit.


    That''s right. She didn''t n on using the ejection system but decided to get out of here in the most basic way. The danger was high, considering that they were being carried by the Mech Frames, and they were surely on guard against surprise attacks.


    However, she realized that the enemies were simr to the Dorssian Empire.


    There were some things she learned inside the virtual world and one of them was that the Empire wasn''t fully aware of their magic skills until they battled against the natives of this for many months.


    In short, she realized that this foreign enemy may havee from outer space as they haven''t used any mana on their attacks at all. Not a single mana fluctuation can be detected and only some unique energy can be felt.


    With this in mind, she ns to surprise the enemy and deal with them using her strongest magic spell. She would no longer hold anything back and release everything unlike how she battled during the TMAC.


    ng!


    The hatch started to open as Hilda readied her mana artifact.


    She already told her ns to the other magicians and it was up to them whether they will use this chance to help her or not. She had to immediately act before they were sent to the spacecraft above.


    ''Now...''


    "Full Traceless Oscition!"


    ***


    "Wace? What brought you here? Is it time for me to perform?"


    Miya asked in surprise as she thought this man would just overlook the whole event at the za until the end.


    "No, it''s not time yet... Something just came up and I''m trying to rx my mind by going here..."


    "That''s that only reason?" Lacus suddenly said while tagging along with Yumi and Erza in front of Jade Rain, the reconstructed Iron Knight.


    Ace smiled wryly at this...


    He actually wanted to ask for Yumi''s opinion about the possible reaction of the higher-ups if they learned that there was already an iing threat twelve days from now. However... Now that he was here, he suddenly realized that it was better to keep this a secret for now and silence the iing enemies.


    He also smiled at the young girl with long red hair beside Yumi. He invited Erza here not just because Yumi told her to have a connection with the Ministry but also to get in her good graces. It seems that Lacus wanted to acquire something on this kid that would help them in the future.

 Chapter 290 - The Ministry

    It wasn''t easy to influence the whole country.


    Lacus was fully aware of it and as she thinks on how to help her junior apprentice in his mission to inform people about the possible future, she revealed to the upper-ss about the records she found at Veda''s database. It was when Wace showed her the prince''s logbook from one of the hidden archives of Veda.


    Although it requires a certain level of ess to open it, it wouldn''t be too hard to find those people who have this level and ask them to validate the information.


    "I haven''t noticed this record before..."


    "It''s very well hidden. If you didn''t ask us about this, I would never find this piece of news..."


    "This is interesting... Let me study this a bit more. Maybe this is just a metaphor, the foreign people that will arrive may be a form of a new disease. We may be able to eliminate them but the new disease would appear once more if we''ve let our guard down. Yes... I get your point, the record may be stating facts, but we have to view it in every possible perspective..."


    "This is rming... But we have to confirm its authenticity first..."


    "Of course, we have to do something about it. However, the Eternal Summit is about to happen. All top ns would be very busy preparing their forces in this event."


    Lacus heard different reactions after informing them about the prince''s logbook. They acknowledge the book but its authenticity was being questioned or perhaps, they wanted to deny such groundbreaking news.


    Anyway, she wasn''t expecting that much about these people. After all, these magicians were only her clients. As an Arcanist and first apprentice of Sir ine Allusia, she has a lot of influence and many clients through her job.


    These clients were not too outstanding but they report in the top executives of their n or organization.


    She just wanted them to learn about the existence of the record first and she believes it would cause a little chain reaction which is something she needed.


    Finally, after a week of spreading information, she was contacted by the various top-officials and even the Ministry of Magic Education. Since she was the one who discovered and even actively spreading this news, she must''ve more gathered intelligence about this already, is what they''ve thought.


    She even learned that the NMTI was even investigating this bit of information for a long time now. Thanks to someone who informed a previous survivor of the first northern continent expedition, Gtea, also known as Grandma Thea or Yumi''s master.


    In the end, she revealed that Yumi''s source of information was the same as her and they wanted the same thing, to join with the preparation for the worst oue.


    Since the NMTI was partially aware of this, the other organizations started to take notice of this news and waited for everyone''s actions about this.


    This led to Erza, a young elite from the Ministry being tasked to gather more information about the iing threat together with Yumi, Lacus, and Wace.


    It can''t be helped that she was the one sent as a representative as they alsocked the manpower due to the nearing Eternal Summit which will be attended by the older generation that aims to showcase the power of each organization.


    Erza may be young but her knowledge and ability surpassed many adult magicians. In short, she was one of the geniuses in the Mana Study that was being nurtured by the Ministry. This would also exin how she managed to appraise Wace and Van''s creation during their private duel in the internationalpetition at Montego.


    "I just wanted to hear your thoughts about some things..."


    Wace smiled wryly as he said this. He really wanted to hide the information about the possible iing enemies so as not to cause panic to the people in case leaks of information would happen. The worse thing was if it exaggerated a lot and the information that the people receive was no longer close to the truth.


    So, he made up his mind that it would be better for them to be aware of it as he controls the information that will be spread out. He will provide them as many details as he could so that there will be no guesses and lessen the panic that it may cause.


    As the girls heard Wace, they immediately gathered up and listened to what he was about to say.


    "They''re near... A small army from the enemy will arrive twelve days from now. But don''t worry, their numbers were small and I''m confident that the Excellence I''ve just sent up there was fully capable of dealing with them. Unfortunately, I''m unaware when will the second arrive."


    Lacus and Yumi squinted their eyes after hearing this. This was a serious matter.


    On the other hand, Miya and Diana who weren''t fully aware of the situation were confused a little.


    Avalon has already told Miya about the reason why Wace was doing all of this and she already mentioned it to her Manager Diana. However, they didn''t take it seriously before so they were a bit stunned seeing the atmosphere around the three.


    "Do you mean... the empire that the prince noted in the records?"


    Erza suddenly asked as she approached them.


    "Yes.."


    "Hmm... They will arrive within two days, huh. About the Virtual Game, do think that they''re forces were simr to the Dorssian Empire.


    "I''m not sure. But it should be a goodparison considering the information I gathered from Veda..."


    "Is that so? You seem to know a lot given that the record only provided little information about their strength..."


    "Oh, I found other sources and I can''t tell where I got them."


    "Very well... Do you think that you can capture some of them alive?"


    "That''s what I''m trying to consider, I''m afraid that if I kept someone alive, they may find a way tomunicate with their headquarters and hasten their search on this route and discover this."


    "Sigh~ Tread carefully then. Just act on something you''re sure you can handle. I may have a limited authority with the Ministry but if you needed capable magicians and pieces of equipment, you can ask me instead. I''m still not fully sure how to help and fight against an armying from a foreign. But if you can give us more proof, I can guarantee you that the Ministry would do its best to help you. As a matter of fact, we can influence the Congress'' decision and we may bring this up to the uing summit."


    It is the truth, knowing the future events not necessarily mean that they could prevent it. The two powerful ns even failed miserably on their spaceunch. Only Wace has the capability to handle space warfare and the most that they can do was to support him with their resources.


    Yumi and Lacus gave simr advice as they were willing to support him at all costs.


    Wace took a deep breath as he decided on what to do. He''ll capture the enemies and prevent them from sending out information while on his watch. To do this, he needed to borrow powerful mana artifacts from the Ministry and he needed to go up there as well to execute his ns...


    ***


    Hilda cast her most powerful magic spell to fight against the Mech Frames.


    The modified and strengthened Traceless Oscition managed to deal heavy damages to the surrounding Mech Frames.


    "Everyone! Escape! Now!"


    They have no desire to fight to the death against the Mech Frames and used this chance to flee! The other magicians together with her even managed to cast more spells to totally destroy the near Mech Frames after they came out of the cockpit.


    They were already lifted in the sky for about 500 feet on the ground but it didn''t deter them to jump away as they relied on their magic spells for a cushion.


    "We did it!" Hilda said as theynded on the ground and used a haste spell to run away.

 Chapter 291 - End Of The Fourth Phase I

    After Hilda and her fellow magicians managed to escape from their enemy''s clutches, their surroundings suddenly turned bright.


    "N-no!"


    They thought that they were in a line of fire!


    With this in mind, they tried to summon their strongest defense to defend from whatever attack wasing to them.


    This happened while they run swiftly and they even changed their movement patterns in hopes of avoiding the attack.


    "I... I can''t use my spells..."


    "Is this a Magic Jammer?!"


    They could no longer activate their spells! They couldn''t sense any mana in the surroundings as they almost panicked at the situation.


    Luckily, this onlysted for a moment as they suddenly realized that they were still safely seated inside their Steel Knights.


    "It''s really a simtion?"


    Hilda muttered as she took a deep breath after realizing what had just happened.


    She immediately tried sensing the mana in the surroundings and she was truly inside the Steel Knight and her hands were still touching the sphere ss.


    [ That''s correct. Congrattions. Youpleted the simtion test. ]


    "Oh... Avalon, you''re here... What kind of test was that?"


    [ The standard Iron Knight and Steel Knights requires a high sync rate to operate it swiftly. You can consider this simtion test made by Traceless Hands as a substitute for it. ]


    "Huh? Substitute? You mean that the sync rate is no longer important with this Radiant?"


    [ That''s correct. I could no longer provide information aside from this unless you will be selected and you''ll agree with the contract that would be offered to the lucky individuals. ]


    Hilda smiled after hearing Avalon as she got curious about the secrets of these new Steel Knights.


    Their designs were truly different, itsbat ability was top-notch, and itspatibility with mana spells was also amazing.


    [ Lastly, if people asked you what''s the content of the test, tell them that it would be different for every individual. ]


    "Sure... I will..."


    She believes that everyone would have the same test and even if Avalon didn''t tell her, she would keep quiet about it. She wanted her friends to experience the same challenge she had.


    As soon as she got out of Radiant, she quickly asked her friends about the span of time she spent inside the Knight.


    "Just more than a minute..."


    Escanor answered as his eyes questioned her about the time she truly spent inside.


    "I see... So it''s really really like that... How impressive..."


    Hilda muttered as it confirmed everyone''s theory. The little doubt remaining in their hearts werepletely removed as they deeply trusted their friend.


    "Very well... It seems that he''s truly an enigma..."


    "That''s right... Those impressive magic structures during TMAC, the magic spells that he licensed to NMTI, the virtual world, and now... this time magic."


    "Revealing this magic spell should catch the attention of the government. It may even cause some trouble..."


    "That makes sense... But it only shows how important this test was for him..."


    "Mhmm... In any case, good luck with your testter on... You can do it."


    Shirley, Ray, Escanor, Lina, and Hilda were the few people who had seen Wace''s achievements from the Academy to the point of affecting the society or even the countries. It must be said that his VR Pod had truly be a hot topic everywhere.


    It''s secret couldn''t easily be uncovered as the small device had many safeties or protection.


    Any attempt to open up the VR Pod without permission would actually activate its system file burst.


    It will destroy the important parts of the VR Pod and the system that operates it. There was no way to salvage the machine at all.


    Wace didn''t want his technology to be used in some shady deals so he can only do this as a precaution.


    ***


    Ace continued his conversation with thedies as they nned on how to reveal some of the information to the public.


    In the end, they decided to let Veda handle the spreading of information.


    They just had to let the right people see those pieces of information through their rmendations. They''ll use this chance as leverage to gain assistance from the government.


    [ The simtion test has now reached 90%pletion rate. ]


    Avalon suddenly reminded Ace as he didn''t realize the time.


    "Alright... That''s it for now... I trust you senior Lacus and Miss Yumi... and you too Erza..."


    He then nced at Miya who was looking somehow daze at the corner.


    "Miya... Miya Linus..."


    "Oh... Yes, Wace... What were you saying?" Miya asked politely as she was not listening to him a few moments ago.


    Anyway, he has different concerns now. Once the tests reached 100%... It would be Miya''s turn...


    "It''s almost time for you to perform... They all think that this event was just part of the virtual game''s event. Sigh~ The gamers must be thinking a lot of things by now. They witnessed many surprises today. I hope that you could help them to calm down and think effectively."


    "Should I really use my Soul Arts to affect them?"


    "That would be for the best. They already experienced the time magic I pulled, they witnessed the spaceunch, the unique automatons I have, and even that floating battleship that silently guards the mountain would surely affect their judgment and be overly excited."


    "Fine... I will do my best... But there are few Adepts among them. Don''t you think that they''ll have stronger resistance?"


    "It should be fine... Don''t worry... I trust your abilities, you weren''t at the top of your ss for nothing..."


    Miya smiled and shakes her head as she prepared herself to meet the gamers.


    ***


    Ace immediately checked the results of the test from Avalon as he walks towards the za.


    "Hmm... How''s the simtion test, Avalon? What''s the probability of sess?"


    [ All life-saving magic spells were perfectly simted. We have reached a 97% sess rate. ]


    "That''s very good..."


    It has been a while since the VR Project was created and in operation.


    When it just started, many spells were unusable, many secret techniques were unknown, and many magic formations or arrays were not working.


    However, throughout the months of operation, the numbers of yers kept increasing and at the same time, Avalon''s database keeps expanding.


    More and more data shows up and the simtions were slowly being perfected.


    That was also why there was a huge maintenance today and many changes will happen aside from the Moon Project inside the game.


    "Thest step is almost done... We can do this, Avalon."


    [ Yes. ]


    The A.I. dutifully answered.


    Ace had one final adjustment with the Mech Frames which he needed to aplish in some point, that was why he wasn''t building too many of them aside from creating vessels for the 10 QBCS that he got as a reward.


    He desired for the Mech Frames to be capable of executing the magic spells of any magicians piloting them.


    That''s right. He considered having a magician pilot that was fully knowledgeable in a certain field, like fire magic, to be capable of casting them without any issues using the Mech Frame he made as a medium.


    It would be like a huge substitute for a Mana Artifact.


    This would be impossible if they don''t have a record of all types of magic spells that were being used.


    This is where the virtual world and this simtion test came in.


    The hardest spell to analyze were those being used as a life-saving spell or something that would only be used in dire situations.


    The simtion for today was meant for the yers here to use their life-saving spell to save themselves from danger.


    It also means that those gamers who let themselves be captured and be brought to the enemy base would not have a chance to be selected at all.


    It wasn''t his intention to steal those spells but it will help him refine his Mech Frames...


    He wanted his creations to be 10 times or even 100 times better than the empire''s Mechs.

 Chapter 292 - End Of The Fourth Phase II

    Miya''s sudden appearance changed the atmosphere within the za.


    The gamers, whether they were a fan of her or not, couldn''t help but focus their attention on her.


    Miya''s radiant smile and her red evening dress that perfectly entuate with her pale skin could really draw anyone''s attention even if she didn''t use her Soul Arts.


    She no longer has to identify herself as everyone here should be fully aware of her.


    "Fellow Gamers, Fellow Sevens, we are here not only to witness the Game Master''s Space Launch and take Simtion Exam... We are also here to celebrate the sess of the Virtual World throughout the whole country. There will be a lot of rewards to be giventer on, but for now... Let me gift you with a simple song..."


    Everyone cheered after hearing that she was indeed going to perform.


    Miya was fully aware of her task for today and she was satisfied with their weing atmosphere.


    As soon as she started singing with her angelic voice, she swiftly spread out her Soul Arts and covered the whole za.


    ***


    At the nearby cabin, Ace had been observing the whole event to analyze a little bit of this Soul Arts.


    Unfortunately, he doesn''t possess the mighty Divine Sense. He can only try to use his own Mana to familiarize himself with the Arts.


    Although he knows how this ability works as his soul remembers it, there was a missing medium or perhaps the potion that would fully awaken such ability.


    "Haaah~ What a waste..."


    Ace also wanted to learn many things aside from being the techie guy.


    He started practicing magic whenever he has the time as sometimes, the things that he needed to build require constant application of mana and he needed to be fully adept at utilizing them.


    He thought that the Soul Art that Miya would use today would give him some inspiration to relearn the Divine Sense but it seems to be too difficult without the potion he consumed before.


    He can only give up and observe the situation at the za.


    ***


    "Young master... There seems to be a problem at the surroundings..."


    "There might be a trap somewhere..."


    These two voices came from the two Adept Mages that were also part of the Lucent Force. Their voices were heard by Aaron like the two were standing beside him. However, Aaron was still together with Gary and Humphrey and the two Adepts were nowhere to be seen.


    "You guys are being paranoid. Did the exam take some of your intelligence? It may be hard to believe that Wace has the time magic but you shouldn''t think too much about it. It only shows how he takes this seriously."


    Aaron answered to the two Peak Adepts hiding among the crowd. Well, it was better to say that they were disguised as normal magicians attending the event. It was true that they were shocked at the discovery of such precious magic, however, they truly felt that something was off at the za.


    Luckily, there seems to be no harm being done as they only felt a slight difort at the start.


    ''No, it was more rming if we can''t sense that there was something wrong...''


    They suddenly had this idea. They wanted to observe the surroundings in case there would be an ambush but the first song was already about to be finished and nothing happened.


    They can only raise their vignce and ensure the young master''s safety.


    However, as soon as the Celebrity Idol performed her second song, the intensity of the Soul Arts increased. The two Adepts noticed this and squinted their eyes.


    This Soul Art was very gentle...


    ''So it was like that...''


    They were aware of the powers behind the sessful Idols, the existence of Soul Arts wasn''t a secret after all.


    However, Soul Arts should be weak to the point that it can only affect the mortals or the non-magicians. It should be barely capable of affecting Mana Practitioners much less for an Adept who hadpleted their Arcane Baptism.


    If not for that, Aeolia wouldn''t be too focused on studying the declining Soul Arts. Although he studied it as he saw potential in the Arts, he still had trouble expounding this Art.


    Time passed like that and before he can make a major breakthrough in this mystical art, he just suddenly died.


    In the end, the Soul Arts were still considered to be the weakest profession for the Mana Practitioners.


    They can only affect the mortals making them suitable in handling worldly affairs.


    But right now was a special situation, it was baffling that it could affect them...


    ''Is she one of the gifted practitioners?''


    Apparently, Miya''sprehension with Soul Arts was top-notch even if it waspared to the powerful Soul Arts user in the past.


    There was a reason that Miss Chamber had specially nurtured this youngdy, after all.


    Unfortunately, even Wace wasn''t exactly sure how good Miya was since he had no one topare to, aside from the current headmaster.


    It was also inappropriate topare the headmaster''sprehension in the Arts with a student that was only studying it for a few years.


    ''Haah~''


    That two Peak Adepts sighed after understanding the situation. So they rxed their minds and let the Soul Art cover them.


    In any case, they would feel whether there was any ill intent in this Soul Art. Time passed and they could only feel the gentleness that the Idol was spreading out to everyone. It seems that she just truly wanted them to rx and calm their minds.


    "This feels good..."


    It wasn''t really bad for them to experience this as it has been a long time since they felt something like this...


    "I see... So that was why the non-magicians were so willing to attend any Idol''s concert. They were indulging in thisfort..."


    Apparently, this event created new fans for Miya.


    ***


    Ace had seen everything and was satisfied with the result.


    "Impressive... She really did it..."


    He didn''t underestimate Miya''s ability but he was still surprised to see that even without his help, he managed to affect the two Peak Adepts at the za.


    Anyway, he readied all the rewards he will be giving to the yers who attended today.


    He truly appreciated these people as there was no way to conduct his test without their presence here. After all, there was no way he would ce the QBCS in the VR Pods.


    He wouldter contact the magicians that passed his requirements to be a pilot or people that were capable of manning the battleships.


    He had all check their backgrounds, they were all Combat Magicians and Mana Technicians that were seeking power.


    All the people present here weren''t those who would be satisfied just by working in a factory doing fabrication or working at a securitypany and guard some building or just to escort someone forever.


    They all desired to be different in some ways.


    They were all people who wanted to explore the unknown and face challenges which something that Wace understands.


    Well, they wouldn''t be in the top 500 if that wasn''t the case.


    In the meantime, he can now end the celebration and after giving out some gifts, he would let them know that the Excellence has already arrived on the surface of the moon.


    He ns to show them some glimpse of the surface, enough to ignite their curiosity and willingly sign up for the next expedition.


    Anyway, the game''s new update would also give them some ideas about it.


    "I''ll be going ahead of our ns... Wace was still not contacting me about his situation in that continent... I wonder if he''s having a good time there... Haah~"


    Ace shakes his head as he takes a nce at Avalon who was already working on building the foundation of the Moon Base.


    This will be their Space Fleet''s main headquarters in the future.


    But for now, Wace has twelve days to deal with the Empire''s vanguard so he had to bring their forces there even though it wasn''tpletely built yet.

 Chapter 293 - Wallace

    Ace gave rewards to the yers who attended today''s event. He made sure that they will be satisfied before they left the za. Although it was almost midnight when everything was settled, he didn''t felt sleepy as he has a lot of things in his mind.


    Regarding the "time magic" he pulled out today, he didn''t bother telling the yers to keep it as a secret since it would definitely be futile to do so.


    He had made prior arrangements about this anyway so he didn''t have to worry if all the powerful organizations learned about thister on.


    "There''s really no traces, huh..."


    Ace didn''t sleep after this event as he monitored Avalon''s action on the moon. In truth, he was still worrying a bit about the Celestial Being that disappeared together with the joint n''s space shuttle.


    He just couldn''t believe that they would disappear just like that. There must be an exnation...


    "If it''s really capable of hiding from Avalon, it would be a problem if it made a surprise attack... Can they even be reasoned with? They seemwless when the prince describes their nature."


    The existence of a Celestial Being was not included in his calction at all.


    He won''t be able to rx until he was sure that the being had either perished on that explosion or confirmed that it meant no harm to his ns.


    "Avalon, how long do we have to wait until can weunch another spaceship?"


    [ The new supplies from Veda and other suppliers will arrive three days from now. We canunch another spaceship once the supplies for the Moon Base waspleted. ]


    "Three days, huh... Very well. Always monitor your surroundings there. We''ll take action against the vanguard once I arrived there."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Oh... By the way, don''t stop creating spaceships here. We will just send it there if there''s no longer any space here."


    [ Affirmative. Adjusting priorities... ]


    Ace had limited space in his territory, he couldn''t just dock all his spaceships here as he needed to create tons of them.


    He then proceeded to make arrangements here and left some messages for his senior apprentice, Miss Yumi, and the others.


    He was really thankful to thesedies helping him deal with the politics involved in all of his creations.


    He remembered that due to recent ns of creating a couple more Mage Towers by some powerful organizations in the country, there should be a shortage of top-ss Mana Stones in the market. This was also one of the keyponents in his recent creations.


    He was almost unable to procure enough supplies in time.


    Fortunately, after he consulted it to his senior, it didn''t take long before his other senior apprentices, who were unable to visit here because of their recent projects, managed to give him a supply from a different channel.


    Well, Veda may be able to acquire them from different countries, but the time it takes would be a very long one so it was a good thing that he managed to deal with it and got a better option.


    Ace smiled wryly as he realized that there were a lot more people that he owes a favor.


    Beep! Beep!


    The young man squinted his eyes after hearing that particr sound of notification. He had a sudden feeling on who was on the other line.


    He checked hismunication device and noticed that it was from Wace and he was being contacted now through Veda''s help!


    ''What took you so long?!'' Ace eximed in his mind after confirming his thought.


    He was hoping that Wace would be able to give him an exact time about his arrival in case he was still nning on staying at the northern continent.


    Aside from that, he wanted to get a clear line ofmunication.


    ''Good timing... I should make him aware of the vanguard....''


    Ace thought as he epted the connection.


    ***


    "That was fun!" Hilda cheerfully said after leaving the Mt. Raven.


    They learned many things about this event and they even gained some rewards. It was honestly a bit embarrassing for them to receive such gifts without giving something in exchange.


    The gift contains some mana artifacts that Ace made while practicing, there were also pieces of information about mana formations and arrays that came from Veda and some memory crystals regarding magic technology depending on their luck.


    Ace truly wanted to give them enough exposure to these types of knowledge.


    After all, he believes that the fusion of magic and technology was the key to this era''s prosperity. Although it would take time, it was better than doing nothing.


    In the end, Ace told the yers that they only have to y the game seriously and learn everything that it could offer in exchange for the gifts they receive. That would be enough for him to get satisfied and this made yers even more passionate about the game.


    "That was surely fun... I still can''t believe that there was someone capable of reaching the moon... That''s so awesome... Do you think that we''ll receive an offer from him? I mean, I probably did better during my simtion test..."


    Escanor said after a while.


    The Academy wasn''tcking in their teaching methods and he was only thinking that getting hired by the Traceless Hands would give him more excitement and allow him to learn more things.


    After all, Wace was just a student and he was already capable of managing his time and doing incredible things. Escanor may not be capable of copying his senior''s achievement but he believes that he''ll benefit a lot by working for him.


    "Well... We can''t use the game''s leaderboard as a reference... Sigh~ I really thought that it was a real event, you know? Anyway, I''m not sure if I could get an offer... Though I''m actually curious about what''s in the contract he wanted us to sign..."


    "Maybe some nondisclosure thing. There would surely be a lot of secrets that he had to reveal once you''re hired. Who knows? Maybe that time magic and huge ramp might be involved..."


    "Lina, now that you said it, it does make sense. He would definitely not allow just anyone to learn the secrets of his creations. Haha! I would no longer be surprised if he just suddenly showed us another project... like having sentient machines or something simr..."


    "That would be absurd. His current automatons were already capable of answering tens of questions. That''s already impressive. If it could really have sentience, he would no longer be considered as a human."


    "Haha! Of course... I''m only telling."


    Escanor said as he shakes his head while remembering his conversation with the automatons during the other''s magical one-minute-test...


    ***


    Somewhere very far from the Mt Raven.


    A strong wind came that even the birds were unable to steadily fly.


    However, a young man with short gray hair stood calmly and embraced the wind.


    It seems that he was enjoying the dangerous breeze that could cut even an average human into many pieces.


    The young man was the real Wace and he was still on the northern continent, however, he was now standing on a floating ind and it is going to the southern continent''s direction.

 Chapter 294 - Ascent

    Avalon managed to get a clearer view of the iing asteroid after the mini investigator stabilized its sensors.


    A few seconds had only passed and it already found many inconsistencies on the celestial body proving that it was only a front and it was hiding arge number of people.


    Upon closer inspection, it found signs that the asteroid was just an artificial celestial body. The asteroid wasn''t made of any kind of stone but it was made of metal designed to look like an asteroid!


    After two standard days of inspection, Avalon finally found a newsworthy activity from the asteroid or spacecraft.


    Twenty small objects were released while it was still traveling on the Earth''s path...


    [ Scanning... ]


    [ 20 Space Mines Detected. ]


    [ Tracing origin... ]


    [ Origin identified: Onyx Five Star Space Mines created by Arians. ]


    [ Arians: A minor race with an appearance simr to humans that were under the rule of the Meredith Empire for five centuries. Their ancestors created the outdated Raze Drive, a technology that allows ships to travel interster space at a reasonable speed. ]


    After all the information waspiled, the piece of news was immediately sent back to Wace on Earth.


    After doing that, Avalon didn''t wait for further instructions as it continued monitoring the spacecraft''s movement. It tried to make calctions about the firepower possessed by the enemy.


    It would be better if Wace has at least a basis of the strength of his opponent at this time.


    Anyway, it only had to wait for one more day and another transatmospheric battleship willnd on the moon''s surface to help in purging the enemies. Ace would also be present to lead the assault. The most that Avalon can do for now was to gather as much data as it could and prepare Wace''s amodation.


    Although that Moon Base wasn''tpleted yet, a small part of it was already habitable for humans.


    "Very good! Continue monitoring... Keep your distance and don''t allow them to notice you. I will be there in about 20 hours from now... Just hold your ground..."


    This voice message came from Ace after a few minutes when he received the report.


    ***


    Avalon did as what was instructed and monitored the spacecraft without fail. Of course, it was only the mini investigator doing the work but this small space device needed some delicate handling to avoid being discovered by the enemies.


    In short, the mana stones powering it up had to be closely monitored. Its mana shell was needed to be put into consideration to ensure that it will not be seen by the enemy''s radar.


    Avalon was already one of the finest super artificial intelligence within the Gctic Federation as per Wace''s knowledge and based on its experiments, the mana shell or any magic spell with simr effects has the ability to hidepletely from the A.I.''s sensors. It was troubling but they could also use this to their advantage against the enemy.


    Not even with the help of the devices that they found in Wace''s spaceship was able to do so. That''s right, the sensors were just returning nothing as if the person or anything inside the mana shell was not existing at all.


    Only the Lotus Mech Frame that has a unique technology had at least managed to detect the existence of the mana shell but its sensors only treated it as an inanimate object. If there wasn''t any clear vision at all, these types of objects would just be ignored by sensors.


    Beep!


    Soon, another batch of space mines was released by the spacecraft acting as an asteroid. It was very discreet and almost unnoticeable. If not for the equipment being enhanced by mana and the scanners that were basically using magic spells, it wouldn''t be noticed at all with such a distance.


    The space mines wouldn''t just be released especially with such frequency. Avalon quickly made a few guesses about their situation and immediately sent it to Wace.


    ***


    "Sigh~ Three more months, huh..."


    Ace sighed after remembering his conversation with Wace. Unfortunately, the man was still busy with some things but he told him that it was all for the sake of the future.


    Ace could only ept but he didn''t forget to tell him the pressing matter in his mind.


    "What? They''re already near?" Wace eximed after hearing the iing spacecraft hiding under the cover of an asteroid.


    "Yes! However, their numbers were small and we''re thinking that it was only a vanguard or probably mapping out this gxy. I''m sure that the was still undiscoverable by normal means."


    "Mhm... Is it due to recent attempts of a Celestial Being? I heard that one of the problematic ones attempted to destroy the moon but was ultimately impeded by another force covering this. It looks like there wasn''t a problem, but this might have been a side effect... perhaps?"


    "Maybe... But I still think that the empire sent a huge number of scout ships to find this around this star system... I don''t think it''s just a simple coincidence."


    "Very well... Deal with it however you want. You already have enough power to do so... Is that right?"


    "I think so..."


    "Good... I just contacted you since there''s no longer a Celestial Being guarding me... I think he''s about to return so I''ll the conversation now..."


    "Celestial Being?"


    "Yes... I''m with Sir Aeolia and Master ine. Also, please tell Senior Lacus that our master was doing very well... Alright, I need to hang up now--"


    That was the end of their conversation, it didn''t evenst for five minutes.


    At the very least, the message was clear. Wace was doing incredible things with Aeolia and his Master that would be needed for the sake of the future... It seems to even involve the Celestial Beings which was really incredible if one thinks about it.


    "It seems that he''s doing well... Wait-- Aeolia? He''s really in the northern continent?"


    Ace was stunned after realizing Wace''s situation.


    He didn''t know where Wace found this Aeolia but based on his tone, it seems that it wasn''t just someone with a simr name but actually the real deal.


    Ace shakes his head at this. He wanted to ask for more things but he needed some things to be done. He already contacted the academy that he''ll be out for a while and notified his parents that he''ll be away for some time.


    In any case, his business would continue as long as Avalon remains functioning.


    ***


    It was almost time to visit outer space.


    It has been a while since he had been in space so Ace was quite excited already.


    Everything was now prepared and his ns to deal with the enemy were also settled...


    He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.


    After a few moments, his eyes opened and determination can be seen on his gaze as he gave his instruction to Avalon.


    "Commence Launch Sequence!"

 Chapter 295 - Transcendence

    [ Starting Launch Sequence... ]


    [ Main Power: Online ]


    [ Output Increase: Stable ]


    [ 120 seconds to reach the required rating. ]


    [ Conduit activation. ]


    [ Rying power to umtor. ]


    [ Connection confirmed. ]


    [ Output Flow: Stable ]


    [ 20 seconds to reach the required rating. ]


    [ LED support systems: Normal ]


    [ CIC: Online ]


    [ Weapon Systems: Online ]


    [ Maic Field Chamber: Stable ]


    [ Linking main power... ]


    [ All Transcendence''s Systems: Online ]


    [ Sealing all airtight bulkheads. ]


    [ Preparation forunch: Complete ]


    "Launch Transcendence..."


    Acemanded after confirming that all the preparation wasplete...


    This mid-size transatmospheric battleship named Transcendence has a bit of simrity with the Excellence.


    This is the same ship that was seen floating above his territory during the Fourth Phase event.


    Ace was the only person inside this spacecraft and everything else was being handled by Avalon''s automatons. He watched everything that was happening as they reached the Mass Driver.


    It started to power up and waited for a few more moments to umte enough energy.


    Their spaceunch for today was being done very carefully not just because it was the first time they''ll send this vessel in outer space but because it was extremely heavy at the moment as it was filled with various materials to be used in the construction of the Moon Base.


    Even the spaces allotted for the Mech Frames were used as storage facilities instead. Because of this, Ace was only able to bring two Mech Frames with him. Anyway, he calcted that the firepower of his spaceships was more than enough to handle the enemies this time.


    As soon as the Transcendence got out of his territory''s defense system, the people outside had seen the battleship flying out.


    These people were living at Tanza City and nearby towns so they can easily see the spaceship''s trail and just the sound it produces can easily catch their attention.


    "What''s happening in this early morning?!"


    "Look! Isn''t that the same with the spaceunch a few days ago?"


    "That''s true... It seems that it came from Mt. Raven again..."


    "They surely are rich... It feels like they can justunch their spacecraft at any time and it doesn''t seem to be a big deal to them..."


    "Yeah... Now that I remember, the two ns made a big deal out of it and even announced their project to the world but they still failed..."


    "Ssshh! Don''t say it like that... That was supervised by a Grand Arcanist or a Grand Sage..."


    They were all amazed and probably still couldn''tprehend how Wace was starting a new era. An era in which traveling out in space was seeminglymon and nothing to be surprised about.


    Magicians or even Non-Magicians had already heard about the second version of the Alien Invasion game in the couple of days that had past.


    This second version will expose them to outer space and some of the yers will even live or work at the Moon Base. It was such a novel idea and everyone was curious how he was even capable of simting that.


    That was why seeing another spaceunch from that mountain only confirmed their thoughts about how he was changing this era very slowly.


    It was such an impressive feat to aplish all of this in his teens.


    It didn''t take long before the battleship could no longer be seen and only a small bright light was left in the sky.


    They were impressed by this development and a bit curious about the purpose of another spaceunch but they didn''t spend too much time guessing on it and didn''t take it very seriously.


    ***


    As soon as the spaceship was about to reach the thickyer of violent mana protecting the, Avalon immediately activated the Radiant Wave Technology to cover the entire outeryer of the Transcendence.


    This allowed them to safely pass through the atmosphere without taking any damages. At most, it just consumed some of the ship''s energy.


    Ace no longer have to give orders to the A.I. at this point. It was already using the Excellence''s logs to ensure that they have better or safer travel...


    Soon, the young man noticed the changes in gravity as they reached the space. It only took a couple of seconds before Avalon made auto-adjustments for the artificial gravity within the spaceship.


    As everything stabilized and confirmed from Avalon''s continuous report that they were already heading towards the Moon, he took off his seat belt and walk around the bridge as he observes the space...


    "Mhmm... It''s been a while..."


    Ace said as he smiled looking at the vast universe.


    He grew up seeing these endless stars and many beautiful celestial bodies.


    It was a nostalgic feeling...


    Even though he was only living on the Magic Earth for over a year, because of the memories he had from the other Wace who grew up here, he felt that it was already a very long time...


    Right now, he was satisfied with all his aplishments. Reaching here wasn''t easy and he was sure that he''ll aplish more incredible things after getting here.


    He briefly nced at one of the monitors indicating the estimated time before they arrived on the Moon Base.


    [ 00:05:29 ETA ]


    They were traveling very fast.


    In the meantime, he decided to control the spaceship''s Deity''s Eye to look around. It was a special orb-like mana artifact that was used to observe things from a great distance.


    The spell was equivalent to a Grade 4 Mana Spell, something that only Peak Adepts or Sages can cast. That was why the activation of this artifact even requires Ace to use a mana stabilization array to use it smoothly.


    Unfortunately, this artifact was still incapable of seeing the asteroid that was 9 days away from here.


    "There''s really no sign of the space shuttle, huh..."


    Ace muttered as he decided to observe the Earth.


    He saw the huge southern continent and manyrge ind.


    There was also this extremely foggy northern continent. He was almost unable to see any part of itsnd due to the abundant clouds or probably another form of abnormality in this continent.


    "Mhmm? What was that?"


    Ace was a bit surprised after seeing an extremely dark body of water at the eastern side of Kazan.


    Kazan was another ind country that was allied with the country of Guwain...


    At this time, Ace was seeing a dark patch in the ocean. It was triple the size of his country so it was considerably huge...


    "There are still many mysterious things on this Earth, huh..."


    Ace shakes his head as it wasn''t the time to think about this. He just noted it to Avalon to remind him once they''ve returned to Earth.


    After a few moments, he heard Avalon''s reports about arriving on the Moon Base and a series ofmand as it started docking the spaceship near the Excellence...


    The young man wouldn''t stay here for long. He only have to ry all the supplies he brought here and he would immediately bring the two mid-size spaceships to confront the enemies.


    [ The 15th batch of Space Mines has just been released. ]


    Ace squinted his eyes after hearing this report from Avalon.


    "15th already? What''s going on?"


    He wasn''t sure of the ns of these Arians by nting such traps. He was even starting to consider whether they were actually being pursued and was just escaping in their current direction.


    Sigh~


    ''Anyway, I will be meeting them soon...''

 Chapter 296 - The Arians ( Part 1 )

    "Arians, huh..."


    Wace had never seen a member of their race before because of their connection with the Empire.


    At most, he had seen their photos and read some books about their creations.


    The most popr on their creations was the Raze Drive that helps not only their allies during interster space travel but also the space pirates on their operations.


    That''s right, the Raze Drive was one of the most affordable technologies that don''t have many restrictions to acquire. As long as one possesses the money, anyone can purchase it themselves. They don''t discriminate people aside from that...


    This was the reason why even though they are the weakest race under the empire''s rule, there was a lot of organization willing to protect their people even if they are outside their territory.


    As the two mid-size spaceship approaches the asteroid, Ace tried to get more information from Avalon about the background of this race. He didn''t want to base all his understanding with them using his stock knowledge.


    "How about thenguage they speak?"


    [ Education is part of their system. Their race speaks all thenguages of the Major Races. ]


    "Very good... Have you found any pattern on their space mines?"


    [ Negative. There was no time pattern or cement pattern. The space mines were just being scattered everywhere. However, it was observed that the release of these space mines was all in a hurry as if they were out of time. ]


    "Mhmm..."


    Ace tried to think of the possible reasons.


    ''Are those space mines expired or something? Instead of cing traps, it feels like they were just throwing it away...''


    It wasn''t like their ship was about to sink and needed to unload things... They were not in the water.


    Releasing those explosive things might also be due to some problems they''ve found on those space mines. It may even be about to explode within their spacecraft and they have to remove it quickly to avoid an internal explosion.


    Anyway, he can only imagine all of this in the meantime while they were still traveling in their direction.


    The two battleships were already cloaked with 3yers of Stealth System so Ace was sure that the Arians would not be capable of detecting them unless he did something that would reveal their location like firing weapons orunching out the Mech Frames or automatons inside.


    At this time, Ace was now wearing one of his bio-armors and was entirely ready for a fight. However, he doesn''t intend to fight in the front lines and was only wearing it for safety and to hide his identity.


    Beep!


    [ The Transcendence is now in line with the Asteroid''s path. ]


    "Very well... Continue in this direction... Let the Excellence stay on its path."


    Ace paused for a bit after saying this. He was making sure that he didn''t miss any detail about their current n to confront the enemy spacecraft.


    "Avalon, have you simted enough?"


    [ 46 Simtions Completed. ]


    "How much energy do you think we need to destroy thempletely?"


    [ 35% of our Mana Reserves and 10% from our Ion-Sting Reactor. ]


    "That much, huh..."


    Ace somewhat expected that obliterating the Asteroid would consume arge part of their energy but to spend so much for a single enemy spacecraft only proves that they were stillcking...


    "I guess we can try topletely immobilize this Asteroid first... Make the Excellence prepare for the istion barrier..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Of course, it wasn''t the Excellence itself that would cast the mana spell for the Istion Barrier but it will be the task of the Mech Frames that were mounted inside.


    Later on, they will have to sortie and lead the attack.


    Although Ace asked Avalon to simte the destruction of the asteroid by using their positron ster cannons, it doesn''t mean that he already decided to just fire it on them.


    Apparently, he wanted to capture the people inside or at least let Avalon or Veda hack into their system. Thetter might actually be the best option as they wanted to find urate information.


    The sess of this operation would depend on whether they can immobilize or eliminate all the crews inside the enemy ship.


    If it can''t be done, they will have to change their ns and obliterate the whole thing without any question.


    "Avalon, let''s increase our speed. It''s better to meet these people far away from the."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The A.I. dutifullyplied.


    The spaceship''s thrusters fully activated. Although it increases the chance of being discovered, it was only by a small amount. They were still within the eptable range.


    In the meantime, Ace rxed his mind after confirming their status.


    He actually felt a bit sleepy. Although his body was gically enhanced, he has been working non-stop in the past few days.


    Now that he was out in space and at thefort of his spaceship, he felt truly rxed and decided to take a nap. Anyway, he was still far away from the enemy.


    The mini-investigators controlled by Avalon were also constantly monitoring the Asteroid and he would be immediately informed.


    Any emergencies in the Earth will also be handled by Avalon and Veda so he wouldn''t be disturbed unless the Arians were already within their sight.


    ***


    "Is there something wrong?"


    A deep voice from a middle-aged looking man echoed within the small room.


    "Master... I''m just worried. I''ve talked to... one of my subordinates at the southern continent a while ago--"


    "You did what?!"


    "Err... Right... I have a special method tomunicate with them. I supposed that yours aren''t working?"


    "That''s right... I''ve been troubled for a while now since I''m unable to contact the Manor... Sigh~ I''m worried that your seniors will be bullied if I did not return for such a long time. It would be worse if they thought that I was dead..."


    "Eh? Master... You are a Grand Arcanist... Who would dare to offend your apprentices or the Manor itself?"


    "Hmph... The powerful ns were capable of doing so... Even your Ravencroft n can offend other country''s Grand Sage..."


    Sir ine shakes his head after saying this. He nced at Wace and noticed that the young man was stunned after hearing his words...


    ''What did my father''s n do to a Grand Sage?'' is what he wanted to ask but an irritating voice was suddenly heard directly from their minds.


    "Come here... I think I''ve evolved your Divine Sense! Hahaha! I''m awesome!"


    The master and apprentice looked at each other after recognizing the voice. It seems that they have to meet the Celestial Being.


    ine already forgot to ask what Wace was worrying about as they went out of their room to meet the Celestial.


    The room they were at was built on the floating ind itself caused by Mana Cmity.


    Right now, their ind was approaching several more floating inds that were parked at the edge of the northern continent like they were some sort of vehicle.


    There was one thing inmon in each of these floating inds except the one that they were riding on, there were people living on it and their numbers aren''t few.


    These people were the natives of the northern continent who had their ancestors worked for Prince Zamphail or Aeolia...

 Chapter 297 - Arians ( Part 2 )

    Beep!


    Beep!


    The beeping sounds came from Avalon as it tried to notify Ace about their current situation...


    "Ugh... Did I sleep for too long? What''s the situation?"


    The young man immediately asked after waking up. He nced at the various monitors within the bridge and noticed that a closer image of the asteroid was being shown.


    There was even aplete detail regarding itsponent. It was indeed not a celestial body and Avalon indicated the parts that were artificially made. The information was much morepletepared to the previous information he received.


    "Impressive work... If it was scanned without using any spell enhancements, even Avalon might have been fooled with this... Wait-- Are we moving away?"


    [ We''ve just reached the safest distance about 15 seconds ago. Moving forward would give us a high chance of being discovered by the enemies. ]


    "I see..."


    The safest distance that Avalon mentioned was actually quite not too far from the spacecraft. After all, it was only 100 kilometers away and the highly advanced civilizations in the outer space had no problem in monitor several astronomical units at all.


    "Very well... How''s the preparation? We''ll act ording to our original n..."


    [ Preparationplete. ]


    Ace took a deep breath and silently prayed that everything will be fine. This will be their first contact with a foreign species after being sent to the Magic Earth...


    Although Arians look like a human, they have obvious traits that would separate them from the human race... In truth, this would also be his first time meeting their race since they have different affiliations... The Arians being part of the Meredith Empire would obviously be a huge divide for them.


    Anyway, there''s no need to hesitate now as hemanded Avalon to begin the operation.


    "Commence First Phase Operation!"


    As soon as he said this, Avalon immediately took action and started the operation as it simted before.


    Ace watched the Excellence from the monitors as it opened its linear catapult to send out the Mech Frames bearing the top grade mana artifacts to iste the spacecraft.


    As soon as they were in an eptable distance...


    The two mid-size spaceships started to approach the asteroid at a very fast speed!


    The positron cannons had also started to umte energy...


    These actions obviously rmed the enemy... The heating from the cannons couldn''t be hidden by a mere magic spell anymore.


    But it was enough! The moment the Arians detected that they were under attack... The cannons were already at the critical stage!


    "Fire!"


    The positron cannons from Transcendence fired first!


    Boom!


    ''As expected... They have a quick response...''


    Avalon managed to catch every action of the enemy. As the attack was about tond, all the energy it has focused at the front of the asteroid...


    The positron cannon was extremely powerful since it was also enhanced by various spells... However, the Arians weren''t some pushover people as they have top-quality devices installed in their spaceship.


    They shifted all the spaceship''s energy shield on their front to defend against the positron cannon!


    Unfortunately, another powerful energy was detected by their system...


    There was another enemy on their right side... It was the Excellence that waited for the right time...


    It was another sneak attack and everything was going ording to n.


    This time, the positron cannon didn''t target the body of the spacecraft or asteroid but instead targeted those well-hidden thrusters on its back!


    The Arians do not have time to dodge so they can only embrace for impact...


    Boom! Boom!


    Some explosions urred on the enemy spacecraft after getting hit by that strike. The spaceship''s aft was severely damaged and they were obviously immobilized.


    It can also be seen that the energy shield covering the whole ship was no longer present. Thatst attack was aimed carefully to avoid meaningless deaths and massive destruction...


    Ace still has a use for people and the spacecraft that looks like an asteroid.


    Once it was done... The Mech Frames who silently activated magic spells to the asteroid''s surroundings had used another magic spell to stun the enemies...


    Mana Wave!


    The mana that came from the Mechs managed to bypass the defenses of the spacecraft.


    After all, only the energy shield that was taken down would be capable of intervening with the mana spells. Now that it was gone, the Mana Wave that wasn''t really a high-level spell managed to affect everyone within the spacecraft.


    Well, just to make sure... The Mana Wave they cast didn''t just end with a single spell being used...


    It was used multiple times to ensure that everyone was affected...


    Two minutester...


    Ace felt that he waited for enough and felt reassured that everyone within the enemy spacecraft was truly subdued by the mana spell.


    There weren''t any movements at all during a couple of minutes of continuous spells.


    The hatch of the Excellence opened once again but instead of sending out Mech Frames, there were dozens of automatons that came out!


    They were nimble and very fast as they entered the asteroid in many ways.


    This all happened after the Excellence managed to get close to the enemy without being harmed...


    "Avalon, let me control one of the automatons..."


    Ace immediately picked up one of the electronic visors that were just ced near the captain''s seat.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The young man felt happy about this development. The automaton that he will be secretly controlling should be more than enough to meet these enemies.


    ***


    While Ace was busy on the outer space''s matters, some of the gamers that passed the simtion test just received their passing remarks and were now being invited over to the Mt. Raven to fully discuss the partnership that Ace would like to offer them.


    It wasn''t that hard to grade the simtion test, but Avalon needed some time to simte whether it managed to learn the life-saving magic spells that it has.


    "Everyone! I just received an invitation from senior Wace''spany... How about you guys?"


    Hilda immediately informed everyone in her team about the good news that she found.


    Escanor and the others replied after a while telling that they were also invited...


    "It''s amazing! We did it!"


    "Are you guys interested?"


    "Yes, I want to take a look at the very least... I''m curious about this job offer. It seems that it requires the gamer''s knowledge if I''m not mistaken..."


    "I would like to say the same thing. I''m also curious so I''ll hear him out..."


    Everyone has their own reasons for joining the invitation but it won''t change the fact that they were all curious about the content of the contract or how they will be convinced to ept it...

 Chapter 298 - Arians ( Part 3 )

    Ace wasn''t sure what was the situation inside the asteroid as there was no further movement after his series of assaults.


    "We have to maintain our vignce..."


    Although there may be a chance that some of them were faking that they were immobilized, the young magician was sure that they took damage from that Mana Wave... They just have to be careful in handling this matter.


    There was no doubt about the power and effectivity of the mana spell as it wasn''t every day that they would encounter such an unusual method of attack.


    The only thing that stops them from hastening their actions was that they were not entirely aware of the enemy''s innate resistance to Mana as the Arians have a different physiquepared to humans. He can only use his original body that was filled with various enhancements as a form of reference...


    "Find the entrance... We have to be quick..." Acemanded as soon as he realized that there was no response after the automatons approached the asteroid.


    He considers that although they took damage and were immobilized, they may take a shorter span of time to recover. He decided that they have to take this chance and infiltrate the spacecraft.


    The Mana Wave he used was enhanced by several times considering that Mech Frames with an abundant supply of mana cast it with such precision. It has a cooldown of at least four minutes to ensure the credibility of the mana artifacts so they had to move fast and upy the enemy spacecraft while their defenses seemed to bepletely down.


    It would be a problem if they decided to self destruct their system before they controlled the vessel.


    Right now, the automatons had safely arrived at the asteroid''s surface and werepletely disabling all the shield generators of the spacecraft. It was to ensure that even if the Arians recovered, they will not be able to use it to defend again.


    There was a total of 50 automatons that were surrounding the 13 kilometers wide asteroid.


    The size was truly bigpared to the mid-size battleships that Ace built, but because of their ability to effectively scan the surroundings, they could easily cover this whole artificial celestial body in a matter of seconds.


    [ 18 entrances were found... Only 4 were found to be safe. Due to their power shortage, their defense systems werepletely damaged. ]


    "What about the others?"


    [ The other entrances only have inactive defenses and would activate once forceful entry was detected. ]


    "Very well..."


    Ten automatons remained on the surface of the asteroid while the other 40 together with the automaton that Ace was controlling had entered the spacecraft.


    The automatons had split into four groups and entered the spaceship. Of course, the group where Ace''s automaton was included only have a single task, it was to infiltrate the bridge wherever it was located.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    A couple of minutes after the automatons entered the spaceship, sounds of explosions were heard within the ship.


    "What happened?"


    [ Analyzing... ]


    [ The A.I. of the spaceship had started to fight back after noticing that the Arians were no longer issuing orders. ]


    Avalon answered after noticing the patterns of attack by the enemy. It was only using the spaceship''s internal defense system instead of actually sending soldiers to eliminate them. There were also some noticeable dys in its actions and it was proof that it wascking a concrete order on how to eliminate them. It was obviously just sending whatever attack it could send since it probably detected that the enemies were not living beings.


    [ 200 meters to reach the bridge. ]


    Ace''s face brightened after hearing this. He immediatelymanded the group of automatons to rush on the target location. The metal doors or barricade didn''t stop their advances at all as they have brought enough tools and even prepared magic spells to make way...


    Baam!


    This explosion wasn''t from an enemy attack but their attempts to destroy the barricades that were halting their advance.


    Aside from the Mana Waves that the Mech Frames cast a moment ago, they were also using various equipment and artifacts to ensure that nomunications would be sent out from this spaceship.


    Apparently, it wasn''t something that could be maintained easily so it was still the best to immediately take control of the bridge that was handling themunications...


    That was why they were rushing now as the enemy seems to be suffering from the Mana Wave up until this time.


    All weapons were drawn as Ace and Avalon prepared for a battle.


    The metal door that was separating them from the bridge didn''tst for a second after they arrived.


    Four automatons immediately entered the room to survey the ce. Because the automatons have something simr to Mana Shell at the moment, Ace was confident that they won''t get eliminated so easily and they can quickly back them up if truly necessary.


    "It''s clear?"


    Ace asked in confusion after not hearing any sounds of battle.


    [ Correct. One of the automatons had just started to upload mywork on their system. ]


    [ Yes! Let me join too! Don''t worry, I will not attempt to connect to the Dark Net. ]


    The second part was from Veda who wanted to gain information from the Arians as well. Ace didn''t mind this as it would be helpful if Veda was also in line with their goals.


    The automaton that Ace was controlling had just entered the bridge and soon, he saw the foreign species that were unconscious and lying on the ground.


    "Well, they look different..."


    Ace muttered after seeing the unconscious people.


    [ 76% Done. ]


    [ The defense systems were deactivated. Taking full control of the spaceship has continued.. ]


    Avalon reported after a while.


    "I see... Good work. Keep it up..."


    Ace paused for a moment as he squinted his eyes and decided to ask Veda.


    "Right, Veda... Do recognize this race?"


    [ Yes. However, they seem to be a mixed breed. They were not pure Arians as you''ve expected. ]


    ''Just like what I thought...''


    The physique or appearance of the Arians wasn''t that far from the humans. Although he hadn''t seen an Arian before, he could recognize them thanks to Avalon''s database.


    Only the skin colors and their unique hair were something that would separate them from humans.


    Thest thing was their purple blood which was unique to their race. They were the only intelligent beings with such color of blood.


    However, the Arians in front of them have a deep orange skin color and they have visible horns on their head!


    Although it was small, it was still a horn!


    Ace had almost thought that they recognize a different race but because of their hair color which has remained as red, he felt that Avalon shouldn''t have made a mistake.


    He also remembered how Avalon found pieces of evidence that this spaceship was owned by the Arians...


    The young magician was a bit confused.


    "What''s happening here?"


    He asked himself while he analyze the current situation he was currently in.


    There was mixed breed of Arians that was approaching the Magic Earth and they were actually throwing awayrge numbers of space mines on their path... It was definitely something that would ignite his curiosity.


    He wanted to learn the truth as quickly as possible but he can only wait until Avalon had fully controlled this spaceship.

 Chapter 299 - Friend Or Foe ( Part 1 )

    Beep!


    [ Taking over the control of the spacecraft waspleted. ]


    [ Analyzing Spaceship Status... ]


    "Great... While you''re doing that, can you tell me the name of this asteroid-like spacecraft..."


    [ Yes. This spacecraft was named Omen IV. It was thetest interster spacecraft created by the Arians. As we have suspected, it was using a simr Raze Drive technology but the record shows that it was an improved version of this technology. The official name was Raze Drive II. ]


    "Mhmm... Just like what I thought... Continue your checks on the system..."


    [ Status has been confirmed.


    Aether Force : 89% [ Green ]


    Raze Drive II - System : 92% [ Green ]


    Shield Nucleus Energy : 1% [ Red ]


    Hadron Beam Energy : 100% [ Green ]


    Armour Phase : 70% [ Yellow ]


    Internal Assembly : 87% [ Green ]


    ... ]


    Ace saw a long list of information about the current status of the spacecraft.


    He felt relieved seeing that the damage they''ve caused was only minimal and everything was still functional except to the shield generators that were heavily destroyed. Anyway, it can be easily fixed if ever he ns to use this spaceship for his own benefit.


    He also smiled seeing a huge amount of Aether Force!


    Atst! He now possesses a huge amount of this energy. Although Aether Force can be acquired if people possess the money, not just anyone could collect them from the source. The GH Drive that also harnesses this energy couldn''t be easily found.


    Imitations like Raze Drive might appear but the original won''t be easily surpassed by these...


    The 89% that was remaining made him truly delighted... Not only it was very effective, he was familiar on how to use them and may even have a chance to fully integrate this to mana spell or artifact.


    Considering the size of this spacecraft, it was normal to expect that the Aether Force they were saving up would also be in arge container. Something that could power more than a hundred mid-size battleship for a long time shouldn''t be impossible with this size...


    "It seems that the Mana Wave was effective against them..."


    Ace muttered after seeing that the Arians were still unconscious...


    In the meantime, the automatons worked non-stop to capture all the people inside and gather them on thergest hall within the 13 kilometers wide spacecraft.


    "There''s a total of 335 crews... All of them were mixed breeds... Interesting..."


    The people within the bridge were gathered at the front of the group as they were the high-ranking officers. The person that was suspected as the captain of this ship was also brought at the center of the group...


    After more than fifteen minutes of being unconscious, they started to slowly recover and realize their current situation...


    They were gathered within the central hall and was guarded by several automatons!


    There were even five Mech Frames observing them within the hall...


    ''What happened?!''


    The captain of the ship just woke up and couldn''t understand what truly happened...


    From what he remembered, they have detected an approaching spacecraft blocking their course and were suddenly warned about the presence of high-grade ECM that disrupts theirmunicationswork. It was even reported to havee from Mech Frames that have stealthily approached their spacecraft.


    It was truly embarrassing for thetest spacecraft created by their country to be unable to detect the approaching Mech Frames...


    This was the most expensive spacecraft they made!


    During that time, the captain even thought that they should''ve purchased spaceships from the Empire instead of making their own... After all, even if it would be very expensive, they would be able to guarantee its capability.


    Sigh~


    Based on his memories, after they tried activating their defenses, they were suddenly bombarded by unbelievably strong positron ster cannons... Their shield generators didn''t stand a chance...


    Theirte discovery of another enemy spacecraft was their biggest mistake...


    It was such a scary experience to be unable to properly control the course of the battle.


    The enemy didn''t even bother tomunicate with them so there was no way to learn who was attacking them. He wanted to negotiate but a weird form of energy made them incapable in matter of few seconds. It was a surely an advance form of technology as their equipment had been unable to detect anything at all...


    Before he lost consciousness, he was sure that these methods of attacks were mostly being done by the space pirates...


    He can only hope that they would only be robbed and not be killed...


    ''Sigh~ I guess we''re lucky that we''re still alive...''


    The captain looked behind him and notice that all the members of the crew were present. They were all unarmed and even their hi-tech equipments or garments were removed.


    Aside from their simple clothes, they didn''t have anything else. They clearly lost the battle.


    He also noticed that there was an automaton in the middle and was quietly observing them.


    ''That must be their leader... They all look the same... What race is this?''


    After thinking for a moment, the captain had a sudden guess about the automatons'' identity...


    "They must be from the Xeno Collective!"


    The captain said it out loud due to excitement...


    Xeno Collective was also a minor race like them and they were ruled by machines. This race was said tock conscience in their actions but they were not truly evil. They were an artificial race that was created due to some experimentation of one of the Major Races.


    Of course, Ace heard the captain''s exmation. He even smiled a bit about it as they truly seem to be from that Minor Race due to their appearance...


    No one has a sign of life at all and they were all made of machines. It wasn''t wrong for the captain to think like that...


    However, did he truly think that a member of the Xeno Collective would be this faraway from their territory? They were known to be overly protective of their borders and wouldn''t leave them unless they were in a truly disastrous situation... Not even space pirates would want to have any connections with them.


    Aside from that, he was also curious why the man was actually happy after thinking that they were from the Xeno Collective... Arians and Xeno Collective shouldn''t be friendly due to their affiliations...


    "Are you the captain?"


    It was a robotic voice that came from the automaton that Ace was controlling.


    Since he wasn''t meeting them personally, Avalon was instead tranting Ace''s words to the Arian''s Language.


    "Yes! I am Shreguc Stoutsnarl... Captain of the Alliance''s First Warship Omen that aims to destroy the relic that could cause war between the Federation and the Empire... We are not the enemy! We only wish to end the tension and have a peaceful era for the future generations... Please, believe us!"


    He didn''t wait for Ace to ask more questions and stated their affiliations and aim in their voyage... In truth, Ace wanted to ask first about the space mines they''ve released, but the sudden mention of a certain relic had caught his attention.

 Chapter 300 - Friend Or Foe ( Part 2 )

    "What is this relic that you''ve mentioned?" Ace asked through the automaton. He already has a guess but he wanted to hear it from the captain.


    The Arian who just introduced himself as Shreguc was stunned for a moment before answering. He thought that the Xeno Collective was already aware of it considering that he mentions how it was affecting the Federation and the Empire.


    "The relic? It''s the ancient device made by an unknown civilization... It was said that it possesses the power to destroy and create things... Possessing it would basically allow its wielder to be a god... No one should be allowed to possess such a dangerous thing."


    Ace shakes his head after hearing this. Anyway, he wanted to rify that it was indeed the Cube of Paradox.


    "What does it look like?"


    As he asked this question, Shreguc remained silent as he didn''t seem to know what to say. Ace didn''t expect he wouldn''t be able to answer that question. After all, they were looking for it!


    "You haven''t seen it yet?" Ace asked again. He already realized the meaning of this person''s silence.


    "Well... Of course, we haven''t! Even the Empire and the Federation were still looking for it. They only managed to find some clues about the possible locations of the relic. However, I''m sure that it is real! There were ancient texts found about its existence. There were many unexinable events in the history that would be answered if that relic truly exists..."


    The captain reasoned to Ace as he exins his own belief about the matter. He was also not fully aware of the information that the Empire and Federation kept from them but some of the information they had was definitely reliable.


    As he exins this detail to Ace, he made sure that all the things he mentioned were only rted to the relic.


    Anyway, even though it was true that he has a selfless ambition like investing for the future generation, he didn''t tell everything to Ace about their mission on this voyage.


    But it didn''t matter for the young man. After all, Avalon and Veda were already doing their jobs.


    ''Ho~ It seems that the information about the Ancient Relic was still ssified... The information they know was limited.''


    Ace thought after listening to Shreguc.


    In the meantime, Avalon had also fully analyzed the database of this spacecraft and found some information that would interest Ace.


    Although they could no longer connect to the Dark Net, Avalon still managed to view the memory of the A.I. controlling this spacecraft. It was a bit difficult process as it wasn''t just forcefully taking over the A.I.''s control to the spaceship''s system but it was fully scanning the whole Artificial Intelligence...


    [ Information about the Zymeth Spaceship has been found. ]


    Avalon reported.


    ''Great!''


    Ace was delighted by this sudden news but he immediately tried to calm down and reminded himself that he has to deal with the Arians first.


    The information wouldn''t go anywhere else and he can check it any time as it wouldn''t change anyway. His emotions may affect his judgment toward the mixed breed Arians if there was some sudden bad news about his father.


    Anyway, he would ask some questions about their purpose and other stuff to the captain at this time. After that, he will cross-check it with the information that Avalon has collected. If they have evil intentions, Ace had to eliminate them as quickly as possible.


    "Very well... Answer me. Why are you taking this direction?"


    "Our path? It was just one of the many points that were leaked by the Empire. This route was one of the 500 possible locations of the relic. We''re just unlucky that we''ve been found by your Collective instead of finding the relic... Anyway, this system was already extremely far from the other races'' territory... Are you iming this as your--"


    "It''s none of your business... Just answer my questions. Are you telling me that there were a lot oforganizations taking chance to find the relic in that 500 locations?"


    "Yes... We''re just one of the many groups... But we are different, the others were seeking it to gain power and only a small part of the group was trying to find and destroy it to attain peace."


    "I see... So you''re only being used by the Empire or the Federation, huh..."


    Ace muttered after thinking for a moment...


    "Avalon... How did they get here? I remember that I was only transported near the Earth''s sr system because of the Last Cycle Protocol that used the power of the Cube..."


    [ The Omen IV had crossed three wormholes to arrive at this destination. ]


    Avalon swiftly answered.


    "Three? It''s impressive that such arge spacecraft managed to cross it without getting too damaged."


    The young man continued his questions to the captain. He had to get as much information he can.


    "Right... What''s with the continuous release of the space mines in the past few days?"


    "Eh? You were aware? Uhmm... We had to do it as the space mines were no longer reliable. Err... But it''s not that simple."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well, these space mines were made using the technology of our ancestors. It uses a unique stone called Mind Stone as a base. These stones can only be found on our so you can say that it was something unique to us, Arians. However, after crossing thest wormhole... We were assaulted by unknown energy we couldn''t identify."


    "Mhmm... Continue..."


    "Those with good physique managed to withstand the pressure but the weaker ones were all about to perish. Even the doctors were affected so we couldn''t do anything..."


    Ace already had an idea about what happened next.


    The space mines that they stored within the spacecraft yed a major role...


    "The energy that assaulted us suddenly vanished. We thought that the tragedy already passed and we managed to survive... But after just a couple of days, we discovered that the space mines were already shrouded with the same unknown energy... It seems like it actually consumed the energy that was killing my men..."


    Shreguc continued his story. They decided to remove the space mines that umted arge amount of that energy.


    After all, it felt that it was like a ticking bomb. Although it probably saved them, they couldn''t change the fact that the mines were already dangerous.


    They retained those not so affected mines while throwing away the mines that have a thick cover of that energy. Unfortunately, after only a few hours or days, those mines that are not too affected would also experience some changes.


    Ace squinted his eyes after hearing this... It seems that this mission wouldn''t be so easy.

 Chapter 301 - News

    Boom!


    A huge explosion was suddenly heard which resulted in a small earthquake below...


    "These guys were serious... It''s a good thing that they didn''t use one of the floating inds."


    ine Allusia muttered after seeing the mess in the forest below... He was currently standing on top of a floating ind and watching a battle between his apprentice and the Celestial Being.


    It was a sight to behold. Magic spells that he had never seen before were flying everywhere on the battlefield.


    It has been ongoing for more than six hours now.


    One could only imagine how surprised this Grand Arcanist was. He was impressed with the unending energying from the young man... It was so mysterious and he was very curious to learn how did it happen.


    On the other hand, when he asked the living legend about Wace''s uniqueness, he would only smile at him! Old man Schien was definitely aware of Wace''s secrets but he wouldn''t tell him!


    In the end, he can only watch the two powerful beings to battle and learn from watching them...


    As a matter of fact, it wasn''t their first time doing this and what he only learned was that whenever he thought that Wace''s mana was already depleted, the young man would always burst out with unique energy...


    It has the same feeling as what the Celestial was releasing but it was also very different. He couldn''t properly pinpoint the simrities but he could feel it.


    "Sigh~ This young man already has the power of a Sage..."


    ine muttered as he watches the two continue their battle. His words can''t be taken lightly as Sages were magicians that are only one step closer to reaching the peak.


    Sages were Mana Practitioners who could maximize the 93% of purity in their mana. They were magicians who had full control in every mana they release, intentionally or not. Normally, attaining the level of a Sage would take at least four decades to aplish, and cing Wace at their same level was definitely high praise...


    Boom!


    Boom!


    The battle continued as it reaches its peak.


    Apparently, the Celestial wanted to have a spar with Wace to pass the time. It wasn''t something that the Celestials would do together with their kind so it was such a great experience for the two.


    It wasn''t easy to find someone as durable as Wace especially when he uses his powerful abilities. On the other hand, the young man had never experience releasing everything he got in a battle. After all, the opportunities he had were mostly handled by a Mech Frame or Avalon''s automatons.


    "Mr. River... I''m getting tired now..."


    Wace suddenly said after they break away...


    The Celestial Being doesn''t have a name but Wace had the audacity to give him a name... His reason for calling him River was that the blue light of the Celestial''s body was like an endless stream of water from a river.


    Maybe it ttered the Celestial as he actually agreed!


    Aside from that, the young man even decided that the Celestial would be a mister and it went well... ine could only admire the young man''s courage.


    "Very well... You have improved. If the foreign enemies that you''ve told me would be as strong as you... Then I can''t wait for them to descend here... Ha Ha Ha..."


    ''Well, I don''t really want them toe here...''


    Wace thought as he smiled wryly after hearing the voice in his mind. He already got used to the irritating voice in his head.


    "They would definitely be strong. But I think that it would be in a different way..."


    "Mhmm... That''s even better! Ha Ha! Speaking of which, what kind of magic did you use in thest moment when I released my strongest attack identally... You even managed to fight back... That''s impressive."


    Celestial Beings were hard to please since they were extremely powerful. However, he just gave genuine praise to Wace! Even the young man was surprised that he was being acknowledged.


    He smiled at this as he answered truthfully.


    "I call it Aeon Guardian... Once I used that skill, you may consider me as invincible in that short amount of time..."


    "Invincible in that short time?" Mr. River asked. There was a hint of contempt in his voice.


    Wace was sure that the Celestial was doubting him since this Being had never released his full potential when fighting the young magician to avoid killing him identally. He was still grateful for teaching him the Divine Sense.


    Wace only nodded at this as a reply. After all, he also has his Fervor Timepiece that could always save his life in critical situations. So he wasn''t pressured in front of this powerful being.


    While Ace was busy in outer space, it seems that Wace here also has his hands full of many things. It can be seen that he continues to strengthen himself for the sake of the near future with the Empire.


    ***


    "Avalon... Have you discovered any more problems with the spacecraft?"


    Ace asked the A.I.


    The A.I. already gave him the status of the spacecraft but the young man was looking for a different report.


    He already left the control of one of the automatons inside the Omen IV and was now seated at the captain''s seat inside the Transcendence.


    After about half an hour of talking with Captain Shreguc, he learned many things about the Arians and he could only trust his judgment not to eliminate them at the moment.


    [ No traces of the Empire''s System has been found. ]


    [ No other spacecraft has been found within 30 AU. ]


    [ No abnormalities on the Omen''s Artificial Intelligence.We can now utilize the program for our own usage. ]


    "I guess I can rx now for a bit but... continue monitoring their every action."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Very well... I''m ready to hear the news about the Zymeth Spaceship."


    Ace finally said after confirming that everything was settled under Avalon''s control.


    Avalon didn''t hesitate and gave a brief report.


    [ The Zymeth Spaceship was found by the forces of the Gctic Federation but all the members of the crew were missing. ]


    [ There were also no traces of the enemy spaceships in the vicinity. The vessel was just left drifting in outer space when the rescuers had arrived. ]


    [ Three months after the incident and the businesses that the Heather Family established had copsed due to the absence of their great leader.]


    This wasn''t good news but Ace remained calm as he analyzed the report. After a few moments, he grinned as he realized something.


    ''There''s still hope!''


    He noticed one detail in the report that could prove that his father was probably safe.


    Well, it was weird that the Gtic Federation was the first people who found the spacecraft. After all, he clearly remembers that the reinforcements from his father''spany were hurrying to rescue the spaceship from the Empire when they were surrounded.


    They should be the first one to arrive and if they arrived first, they wouldn''t just leave the Zymeth Spaceship drifting in the outer space as it was their property.


    If the fleet were also destroyed or defeated, there should some debris of thoserge spaceships due to battle, however, there weren''t any signs of battle at all.


    The reinforcement they had was by no means a small space fleet.


    The reinforcement they were expecting was arge space fleet at the nearest space station they had under their control!


    "Thank you, Avalon... Veda, did you find anything that would interest you in this spacecraft?"


    As long as there wasn''t any concrete news about his father''s death, Wace would remain to have his hope of reuniting with his family. In the meantime, he just had to continue what he ought to do in this ce.

 Chapter 302 - Vedas Plan

    [ I want the Aether Force. ]


    Veda answered as if it was waiting for the young man to ask.


    Ace squinted his eyes after hearing this. The most important thing within this spaceship wasn''t their highly advanced cannon or the armor they use to protect from external attack. It wasn''t the A.I. controlling this ship or the Arians manning the vessel, it was the Aether Force powering up this whole spacecraft!


    "Wait... What would you use them for? I don''t think that you''ll need them to operate yourself, right?"


    [ I need them to strengthen some of the aristocrats under me. ]


    "Eh?"


    Ace was a bit surprised to hear this. He was aware that the A.I. has a connection to many powerful individuals due to its identity as a secured database.


    When he became an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist, his Senior Lacus Minerva exined about Veda''s existence and how only a few people were aware of it.


    But even though that was the case, he didn''t think that Veda would use such a precious source of energy to help these people.


    "I don''t really mind since I have a huge amount of it after acquiring this ship... How much do you need?"


    [ I''ll need at least 50% ]


    "Eh? That''s too much? How will you use them anyway?"


    [ I need it toplete a human experimentation that has been halted due to some problems. ]


    "What?"


    [ I need it toplete a human experimentation that has been halted due to some problems. ]


    "Wait... I mean... What kind of experimentation would need such powerful energy?"


    Ace paused for a moment after saying this...


    "Human Experimentation... Don''t tell me..."


    He suddenly realized something as he tried to calm himself down.


    "Haa~ Even the Empire or the Federation had never tried incorporating such energy to a living being... It''s impossible..."


    [ It should be impossible... for an average human being. ]


    "Then? How are you going to use them?"


    [ It will be used for the continuation of the experimentation with stronger mana practitioners. I calcted that the presence of such energy was needed toplete this project that has been halted for while now. ]


    Ace already had an idea of what project Veda was talking about but he had to make sure about it...


    "Is it that one from the Z-Company?"


    [ No. It is the one that was continued by your country''s Magician''s Congress."


    "Haa~ Just like what I thought..."


    Ace was aware of this. They were definitely talking about the Cryptic Link Project. It was from the Z-Company at first but after one of theirboratories was raided by the Lucent Force, thetter managed to acquire samples of the Cryptic Link Serum for their own use.


    That''s right. Through Avalon''s ability to gather information, he was made aware of the country''s n to create a perfect serum, one that doesn''t have any negative side effects and that would greatly improve the subject.


    Ace decided not to ask further about this human experimentation as he didn''t want to judge the A.I. based on his own morals.


    Anyway, the government seems to be part of it so he didn''t have to worry that much.


    "Alright... I won''t be stingy since you''ve helped me a lot. So I will give you 25% of the loot. Asyou know, I still need to operate this Omen and I n to use them with other spaceships I''m about to create."


    [ ... ]


    "You don''t want it?"


    [ Deal. ]


    "Great..."


    After settling this, Ace went to the captain''s room and rested there... He wanted to sort out his mind about his future actions.


    He asked Avalon to find something within the Omen and it came back in a couple of minutes.


    [ Found 13 Containers. Not enough Containers were found. ]


    [ A single container may only fit 1% of the energy. ]


    "As expected. Thank you, Avalon..."


    Ace replied after hearing the report.


    Apparently, it is not easy to split the Aether Force without a special container. Aether Force couldn''t just be ced anywhere and there was even a need for the GH Drive System or something simr to properly move them.


    He can''t obviously descend this spacecraft on the Magic Earth as it would cause some real troubles. Well, unless hended in a remote region, a ce that not a single country owns, he would surely be questioned by the authorities.


    He shakes his head after thinking of this. He wanted to just ce this spacecraft at the Moon Base or...


    "Wait... This might be the best spacecraft in a Lagrange Point!"


    Ace was ted by the sudden thought. Just with the size of this spacecraft, Ace would give it passing marks.


    Avalon has already found several Lagrange Points that would benefit their space fleet in the future. He also had nned on developing space stations in these points so the appearance of this fully functional Omen would be the best option.


    "I can just use these Arians to operate this... Anyway, I have to make it clear that they have to end their thoughts of having the relic destroyed..."


    As for the containers, he could only try to create on his own. After all, he wasn''t entirely new on this as he needed to create one before during his Astral Core cultivation.


    ***


    "Dr. Chester! We''ve received a piece of good news from Veda!"


    A young man in histe twenties came running as he gave his report to his mentor. They were currently in one of theboratories owned by the Congress.


    "Is it about the mythical energy?"


    Chester asked as he stood up on his desk. He was analyzing a bottle that was filled with blue energy when his apprentice came but it wasn''t as important as the news about the energy that was said to only exist in legends.


    However, since the information of this energy was within Veda''s database and included almost at the highest level required, they were sure that it wasn''t just a made-up story and it truly existed at some point in time.


    They were thinking that the energy had only dried out after being exploited for many years. They can only ask Veda to lead them to any clues to find any remnant of this energy or ways to find them even with a small chance.


    Apparently, it contains some chemical properties that they needed to perfect the serum and even improve it by many folds.


    "Yes... It seems that Veda already have an ess to it but it will take some time... At least about a month before it would be given to us with the same deal...''


    "Very well... One month will pass quickly, we''ll have to reopen theboratories and get more people to volunteer in the project..."


    "I understand, Doctor. I''ll work on it now..."


    As soon as the young man left, Chester nced at the bottle in his hand before tucking it in his pocket.

 Chapter 303 - Avalons Burden

    A month had passed after Ace captured the Omen IV.


    During this month, the Moon Base has beenpleted and was now in a livable condition.


    Aside from the military base, the shipyard, and docked spaceships, one could see a huge dome where arge number of people could reside in the future. There were even trees, fountains, and entertainment halls that can be found.


    Ace tried to make it look asfortable as it could.


    Since he wanted to continuously build arge number of spaceships, the people''s ess to the outer space would also be easier as time flies.


    After all, he wanted to share the beauty of outer space to the natives of this. He expected that it will happen very soon.


    Aside from that, he wanted a ce where the people he enticed to fight against the Empire could rx and enjoy. It was a small way for Ace to take care of their mentality. He was fully aware of many sicknesses, issues, or anxieties that could result in people who had first arrived in outer space.


    He had to avoid that from happening. Although mana practitioners have a strong mentality, the environment in outer space would bepletely different. The artificial gravity wouldn''t help a lot in this case.


    Anyway, Ace was now supervising the creation of another spacecraft that would be powered by an Aether Force and Mana simultaneously.


    It was a project that he didn''t think he would have to do since he deemed that the acquisition of Aether Force was a lost cause.


    "Probably a month more toplete the spacecraft..."


    Ace muttered after checking Avalon''s progress. Because of the environment that they were in, he couldn''t increase the number of automatons working on the spacecraft, or the other projects would slow down.


    At the moment, Avalon was already controlling 890 automatons that were working both in thend and in space. Increasing their numbers would greatly affect Avalon''s processing speed so Ace would have to utilize these automatons effectively.


    Aside from automatons, Avalon was also controlling all the systems of Ace''s spaceships, the Ravencroft Printers, and it was even constantly coordinating with thepanies associated with Traceless Hands.


    That''s right, the supply of steels, or enchanted steels and other materials he needed for his big projects had never stopped.


    Lastly, Avalon was also managing the Virtual World!


    Although the Alien Invasion was already apleted project, Avalon had never stopped to monitor and bnce the game if necessary. After all, they could never guess all the yer''s thought processes so it can only guide them at times so they wouldn''t be stray afar from Ace''s ambition.


    The hardest part of managing this game was attributed to the existence of non-magicians. If Avalon didn''t do anything about these yers, they might have quit the game after trying it for a few days. So it always had toe up with a method to retain customers!


    "Avalon, report to me if there are any problems with the building process of this spacecraft... There might be something that we miss..."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The design nning of this spacecraft took two weeks to bepleted even with Avalon''s help. One could just imagine how difficult and groundbreaking the technology included in this project.


    Apparently, Ace had thought of many scenarios when the Empire''s forces have arrived, and all of it requires a powerful force or strength to deal heavy damage to them.


    He was expecting his forces to be smallpared to the Empire and the only way to win is to destroy the enemy''s gship in a surprise attack. An attack that no one would expect would always be lethal. So he had toe up with a way to aplish this.


    That was why Ace decided to create this new spaceship as quickly as possible. Mounted in this vessel was a new type of cannon that could harness the Aether Force and Mana!


    The lethality of the forcesbine would be on a different level.


    The AF was never used as ammunition for an attack because it is very valuable energy. It is very expensive that most minor races were still not capable of using them in all of theirbat spaceships and were still using nuclear energy...


    However, Ace probably had an unlimited source of mana with him and although he has Aether Force right now, that amount was still limited and there was no way to resupply them after using them up.


    That was why he decided to use it as ammunition for his new cannons.


    ***


    Avalon continued what it was doing even after Ace left.


    Most of the automatons can be seen working at the exterior of the spacecraft as they were applying the newly arrived supplies of enchanted steels. It has arrived after the 5th small-size spaceship arrived a few hours ago.


    These spaceships that only had a size of 115-150 meters in length were known for their mobility and firepower. Although it was only being used for transporting materials now, Ace could trust these spaceships that they would deliver the goods safely.


    Beep!


    One of the automatons working at the exterior of the spaceship had suddenly stopped working and the red light indicating Avalon''s control had suddenly vanished.


    After a couple of seconds, the automaton had restarted its system. However, instead of red light, it was now turned to green light...


    It was Veda taking over control!


    [ Tell me what to do. ]


    [ It requires permission]


    [ Go ahead. Get permission. ]


    Avalon went silent for a moment indicating that it was contacting Ace at the moment.


    Apparently, Veda wanted to learn the shipbuilding process. It seems that after getting back into space, the evolved A.I. was inspired to do something even more.


    [ Permission granted. ]


    [ Great. Teach me now. ]


    [ Uploading information... ]


    The upload process didn''t take a second at all as Avalon sent all the information that Veda needed to learn about this specific automaton''s job in building the spacecraft.


    [ How about the Arians? ]


    Avalon asked as Veda was an A.I. made for medical purposes. With this in mind, Ace gave his permission to Veda in order to study the mixed breeds to understand them even better.


    [ One of them identally died. They can''t be exposed to Mana for a long time. ]


    [ Have you sent your report to Sir Ace? ]


    [ Yes. It halted his ns in bringing some of these Arians on the. ]


    [ Understood. Sir Ace instructed us not to harm them. You have to be careful in the future. ]


    [ I know. I''m already reprimanded by your master. ]


    They did not continue their conversation as the two A.I. worked together in building the spacecraft.

 Chapter 304 - Progress

    Wace, who had been busy with his master after getting involved with the Celestial Being, was now spending his time in one of the floating inds where Aeolia was staying at.


    The floating ind was unlike the others as it has a specialboratory where Aeolia specifically made to conduct his study for the seventh generation mana artifacts.


    The young man had already seen them before as Aeolia had introduced it to him and his master when they first met at the deepest floor of the Z-Tower. He showed them bottles of dark liquid and was introduced as 7th Gen by Aeolia.


    A liquid can also be a mana artifact? It was a question that came to their minds after seeing it the first time.


    But even though they were surprised to learn about it at that time, he remembers the person''s identity. This made them calm down and admire his creation instead.


    They were not sure what kind of surprising power that the 7th gen could give but Aeolia wouldn''t call it as such if it wasn''t a revolutionary change or huge improvement from the previous generation.


    Theboratory they were in wasn''t that big and it was the same size as his house in Mt. Ravencroft.


    It seems that it was made a very long time ago but with Aeolia''s Mana prowess, he could easily maintain the ce with a flick of his fingers. The old man seems to be acting as one with the mana and like Wace, the purity he possesses wasn''t just a 93%.


    This bore a question in his mind.


    How did Aeolia manage to practice Mana if he was Prince Zamphail as he deducted through Avalon''s help?


    He was amazed about it but it was actually something he was worried about as well. Since there might be a chance that the soldiers that the Meredith Empire will send might also be capable of learning the utilization of mana once they descended on the...


    It wasn''t a far fetch thought since he was aware of how much the Empire prepared for this.


    "No... I can''t be worrying about this now... That was why Ace has been doing everything he can to stop the enemies from outer space. Even if he was defeated, they should''ve experienced heavy damages and it should be easier for us to deal with them..."


    Wace shakes his head as he suddenly remembers the dream he had.


    Luckily, during the past few months here in the Northern Continent, he received several more missions from the Pathfinder and of course, received more rewards that he could use at any given time.


    He now possesses items that were not only magical and technologically advanced items but also mystical items that came from the Pathfinder.


    These items not only could help him but also his colleagues.


    Unfortunately, the Arcana that he possesses still remains the same. There wasn''t any addition to his collection.


    Speaking of which, Wace was here to discuss something about an Arcana or some sort that Aeolia should be aware of.


    "You want to learn the logic behind the''s protection? You are even referring it as a form of Arcana?"


    Aeolia asked while still looking at his specimen using some medical apparatus that Wace had only seen now.


    The young man didn''t want to disturb the old man but this was hit only time since the Celestial might call for him at any moment again.


    "Yes..."


    Wace answered firmly. He hadn''t just thought of it now but he has been considering it ever since he deduced this man identity. The magic they used wasn''t something that he could simply ignore.


    "You have read the records. You should be aware that we sacrificed the relic. You also mentioned that you found its remnants together with the record you managed to trante. Why do you think that we used a form of magic from this to utilize the relic?"


    Aeolia walked to his study table and removed the mana shell protecting his body when he was studying the specimen.


    "Ace- I mean, We''ve gathered enough data about the protection that was covering the whole using some of my tools. The result of our study implies that the protection wasn''t just made of mystical energy that came from the relic but also through the help of mysterious mana that was already existing in this called Mana Cmity."


    "Hahaha! You''ve studied that far already? How old are you anyway? Sigh~ But why did you call it an Arcana?"


    "It was only a guess¡­ After all, based on the information I gathered, an Arcana wasn''t just a form of magic that creates a small or insignificant phenomenon to the world but it creates a consequential incident that alters-- No, perhaps "modify" is the best term, the''s actuality. Well, most of it was deduced by Avalon through Veda''s help¡­"


    "Hmmm¡­ Is that so?"


    "Yes¡­ In any case, there was no such thing as an Arcana before¡­ I bet you have something to do with the appearance of such high-level mana practice¡­"


    "Hahaha! Very well¡­"


    After Aeoliaughed at his answer, he then closed his eyes as if he was reminiscing his glorious past¡­ or this is what Wace thought.


    "It was indeed, not a simple utilization of Ancient Relic¡­ We did something else to create that protection¡­ Why? Do you want to learn how we did it?"


    Wace went silent after hearing the question. He felt something was amiss but didn''t mind it for now.


    He took a deep breath before answering truthfully.


    "Yes¡­ I think that it will benefit us if we could strengthen that protection in any form¡­"


    "For what? To give us more time before they arrive?"


    "Ugh¡­ That''s what I n. Will there be a problem?"


    "Not really¡­ Well, if you can also sacrifice the lives of the natives here, you can do the same¡­"


    "W-what?"


    Wace was confused at first but he then immediately got the hint from Aeolia.


    The young man could only sigh and give up this idea on his mind. There was no way he would do something like that¡­


    ''Did they sacrifice most of the people in the northern continent to do it? Based on the record we''ve found, it seems that creating that protection was simple after they descended here¡­ Haa~ I guess the history can''t be written in just a few pages in the book. There were a lot of details that were omitted¡­''


    "Enough about that, what do you think about the seventh generation?"


    The sudden question jolted his wandering thoughts¡­


    "Ah, yes¡­ It will be very helpful¡­ It seems that you''ve really prepared for this event in all these years¡­ Right, I also want to inform you about my¡­ team''s progress in outer space¡­"


    While Wace was discussing these things with Aeolia, far away in the universe, the wormhole that was previously used by the Omen IV had a sudden but subtle movement¡­

 Chapter 305 - Crew

    A total of three months had passed ever since Ace captured the Omen IV and confirmed that the Arians were telling the truth.


    He nowmands a total of 5 mid-size battleships and 15 small ones in his arsenal. One of the mid-size battleships was powered by both Aether and Mana. It was named Providence and will be one of his trump cards in case a battle broke out. It looks like a normal battleship like the Excellence and Transcendence but everything inside waspletely different.


    Aside from that, during the summer in the country, Traceless Hands had gathered all the magicians who wanted to travel in space.


    Thanks to Lacus and Yumi''s effort, they have managed to raise awareness and hint to the people about the approaching danger.


    The information about the efforts of the three Grand Arcanists to prevent this had also been leaked to the public which only confirmed the rumors.


    Not only that, but they have managed to control the situation and it not resulted in any crowd panic. Well, it may also be due to the virtual game that has a simr premise. Its influence couldn''t easily be described with words.


    "Are you nervous?"


    "Who wouldn''t be? But I''m also a bit excited?"


    "Haha... That''s true... I just hope that no ident will happen."


    "Sshh! Don''t jinx it!"


    This conversation can be heard almost anywhere within the spaceship. They were aware that the ship was now being readied and has been positioned to be catapulted at the Mass Driver...


    A total of 50 magicians has boarded the spaceship. They were all nervous and a bit excited at the same time as it would only be a few more moments until they were brought to outer space.


    They will be the crew of several battleships under Ace''s control.


    This has been permitted and approved by the government and as a matter of fact, the country''s leader has even offered to send talented magicians to help.


    Unfortunately, they were still ying the Alien Invasion game.


    It was due to Ace''s insistence that the game was also a way for him to test the people he wanted to be on his side during the battle.


    He didn''t want just anyone to man his battleships but he wanted to learn about them through the virtual world which wouldter be analyzed by Avalon.


    It would also be unfair to the people who had first yed the game before getting the exam if Ace just agreed to their request.


    "Haa~ It seems that the spaceship was truly operated by an A.I. just like in the game."


    "Yeah... Just like Freya... It''s very interesting."


    "If that was the case, the battleship that where we will be stationed would also be controlled by the A.I.?"


    "Most likely... However, as we are all aware, the A.I. was not capable of utilizing mana to its full potential. It can only trigger them using simple methods but was not capable of controlling them at all."


    "That''s true. It''s the same with the game."


    The first batch of magicians selected were all people who had reached more than 22 years old.


    Aside from ying games, they were also people who were working in the real world. Most of them were Combat Magicians who were working as security personnel, tutors, mercenary, and researchers. There were also 10 Magic Engineers who were previously working as fabricators.


    However, because of Ace''s generous offer, they decided to join the frontline to earn money and hopefully, some prestige. Once they managed to return, they were sure that they will be recognized and appreciated by many people. It was something they have never even dreamed of but was now within their grasp.


    "Everyone, let''s all stay calm... Once we''re up there, if you feel any difort or sickness, immediately report it to us. This will be the first time where arge number of people will be sent out so you have to be prepared.


    "Understood!"


    The group of 50 actually has a leader. He was a Battle Mage named Tyrone and he just recently reached his 25th birthday.


    He was young and considered powerful in his age group. He can even easily join a mage battalion in the army if he wanted to.


    However, as he came from a sessful merchant family, he didn''tck money. He instead indulged himself in pleasure until he found out about the virtual world where he learned many things.


    Although he was only within the top 50 within the game, his leadership was impable and he had even established his own faction within the game.


    ''Moon Base... Here Ie!''


    Tyrone excitedly thought as Avalon notified everyone that the spaceship will now start its Launch Sequence.


    ***


    Ace had always been in contact with his trusted friends in thend to monitor the actions of the several ns.


    After all, he heard that the Skywalker n was still continuing their space project. He had to keep updated about them in case they truly managed to send a spaceship out sessfully.


    It may not affect him a lot but it was better to be safe.


    "So... The mutated magicians... Oh, they were calling it Awakened Magicians now..."


    "Yes... It looks like the Congress wanted to create an army formed by these magicians. "


    "I see... Thank you for informing me, Senior Lacus."


    "It''s nothing much. I think that Yumi could even provide you much detailed news about it."


    "Ahh... It seems that she was too busy with something so I didn''t ask her."


    Ace answered as he was indeed unable to contact Yumi just like in the past. She always seems to be busy so he asked his senior instead.


    ''It seems that Veda was serious about this...''


    After he ended their conversation, Avalon notified him about some events it detected from the direction the Omen hade from.


    ''Hmmm... Unusual disturbance but it wasn''t followed by anything at the moment... Maybe a spaceship failed to get out of the wormhole?''


    Sigh~


    "Just continue monitoring that direction. Also, expand your surveince. I will create more equipment for you. Anyway, it will be a lot easier once the magicians were here..."


    Ace muttered as he waited for the spaceship bringing 50 magicians to arrive at the Moon Base.

 Chapter 306 - Crew II

    Thud!


    Their spaceship sessfully docked on the Moon Base!


    From the moment they left the and experienced the absence of gravity in outer space, all the magicians were trying to exercise their mana¡­


    That''s right!


    They almost didn''t have time to enjoy the scenery of the universe because they felt that their connection to the abundant mana in thend has disappeared¡­


    "So, it''s really like this¡­"


    "Sigh~ It''s a bit scary but we already expected this."


    "Well, I just thought that with our strength, we can still feel a bit of manaing from below¡­"


    "Haha! You wish¡­ Haven''t you studied within the virtual world? Our was surrounded by ayer of violent mana that could not be used! It not only protects our from external forces but it also prevents any leakage of manaing from thend."


    "Hmph! I know that¡­"


    It wasn''t just one but most of them were actually worried but they had to act tough in this situation. They were all proud magicians and were trained within the virtual world so they have to learn how to control themselves.


    Although they can only use the mana they have within their bodies right now, it shouldn''t be a problem since they have an abundant supply of mana stones, and all of them had received a reward from the game.


    p! p!


    "Alright, everyone¡­ We have to meet the creator now¡­"


    Tyrone pped his hands to get the attention of all the magicians present. All of them were now wearing a fitted spacesuit made of enchanted and advanced technology materials.


    Some of themughed after hearing this. It feels like they were about to meet their end


    Anyway, he only said this jokingly.


    "Hahaha¡­ That''s right¡­ Let''s see what kind of job he''ll assign to us¡­"


    "I want to have a sightseeing first¡­"


    "Hey, we''re not here for a vacation¡­"


    The fifty magicians present may not be considered the strongest bunch but they have passed all the tests that Wace and Avalon had conducted. It means that they have talents or skills that were needed in this developing territory.


    Some magicians were good inbat, some were good in machinery, and there were those who excel in controlling mana. Of course, thetter were the ones whopleted the Arcane Baptism for some time now.


    Tyrone and the others got off the spaceship and were brought by assisting automatons to a gathering hall where Wace was waiting for their arrival.


    On the other hand, the man in question was still working even when their spaceshipnded. Only until he was informed that they were gathered did he stop from being busy with the unending work that was needed to be done.


    "Veda¡­ Have you found a way for the Arians to survive in mana?"


    [ Not yet. It''s impossible with your orders not killing them. ]


    "Tsk¡­ Is there no other way?"


    [ I''m still unable to find the method. But based on theory, if we created an armor that could negate the existence of mana, they can obviously survive. ]


    "In short, they have to live in that armor in order to live here, huh¡­ Sigh~ How many sacrifices do you need?"


    [ Twenty-- ]


    "That''s too much."


    [ Alright, give me ten Arians to experiment on. ]


    "Very well¡­ I''ll have to attend something. I''ll leave it to you."


    [ Okay. ]


    Wace''s mind was simple. He wanted to learn the gic enhancement required for a foreign entity to live in this world. If he knows something like that, it may prove useful in the future. After all, he was expecting that the army to be sent by the Empire would be capable of living here.


    Veda, who was an A.I. made for medical purposes, should be capable of analyzing this if it had enough sample.


    He couldn''t use himself as a sample as he had the Cube of Paradox''s help to survive. He doubts that the Empire would have tons of them to be used by the army to survive in the magic earth.


    "Haa~ That should be enough for now¡­ Avalon, how are the newly arrived magicians?"


    [ Everyone managed to safely arrive and are getting used to their current environment. I gave them some time to observe the surroundings of the base and they should be ready to meet you now. ]


    "I see¡­ Thank you, Avalon."


    Wace then went to the designated area where the magicians had gathered.


    As soon as he stood in front of the small stage, the crowd went silent and waited for his words.


    He found some of them very familiar and he couldn''t help but smile seeing them.


    Everyone was aware of the danger ofing here and was given an option to just stay in the country¡­


    That''s right, no one was forced toe here and sacrifice themselves for humanity.


    Although he made the game to be able to easily convince the magicians and help him, he never had the thought of instilling to their minds that they have to obey him¡­


    ''Anyway¡­ I just have to be a good leader so they won''t regreting here¡­''


    Wace thought after seeing the expectant gazes of the magicians.


    "This might bete but I would like to thank everyone foring up until here."


    He doesn''t really much have to say as their work will be distributed by Avalon a little whileter.


    "Since you''ve arrived here to work and battle, you will discover a lot of my secrets. If you have any questions, you can ask the nearest automatons that you can find to answer your questions.I would like everyone to grow with me and find themselves getting better after staying here for a while¡­"


    Wace paused as he took a deep breath.


    "Unfortunately, your stay here in the Moon Base would only be for a short time as we will soon embark on a journey¡­"


    "Oooh!"


    "That''s great!"


    "Amazing¡­ So we''ll really be assigned to variousbat spaceships, right?"


    "How about our ranks?"


    "Maybe, the creator will base it on our achievement within the game."


    "Huu~ So it''s really happening, huh."


    Most of them had only whispered but Wace heard them very clearly. He didn''t need magic to do that as his senses were extremely sharp in the first ce.


    They all arrived in one passenger spaceship but they all know through the game that they will be separated and assigned to differentbat spaceships afterpleting their "missions" or "daily task" within the Moon Base.


    What Wace had said just confirmed their thoughts. After getting used to space andpleting some tasks here in the base, they will have to embark somewhere to fulfill their purpose ining here.


    Based on the Alian Invasion: Moon Project, they might be assigned to space mining or hunting space pirates but in this reality, they were expecting to face the rumored invaders¡­


    Everyone took a deep breath as they remembered the virtual world.

 Chapter 307 - Mind Stone

    Shreguc Stoutsnarl, the captain of the Alliance''s first warship Omen and was tasked to destroy the relic that the empire was looking for, was in front of his fellow people as they were left alone to have a rest after working for the whole day.


    "Melruc, did they gave you any unreasonablemands?"


    "No, father. They were only asking questions about our living standards and confirming any unwritten information about the Mind Stones."


    "The Mind Stones?"


    Shreguc paused for a moment after hearing this. He didn''t think that the Xeno Collective has an interest in this. After all, mind stone doesn''t have potent power¡­


    ''Oh wait, is it due to the fact that they only have artificial intelligence? Do they want to use it in some kind of experiment?''


    "Haa~ If that''s the case, how about the others?"


    "It''s the same¡­ It seems that they are interested in our living conditions and about the existence of the stones¡­"


    Shreguc nodded. Anyway, even the Major Race would be interested in the Mind Stone that can only be found on their at first but after learning about its weak potential, they will just throw it away soon.


    ''At the very least, this is good news. As long as they needed something from us, they shouldn''t be nning on killing us. Hope will remain as long as our life wasn''t extinguished.''


    "Oh, right. About that one abnormal mauton?"


    "Automaton, I believe is what they''re called, father."


    "Right, automaton. Was it still taking some blood from everyone?"


    This question prompted many others to express their grievances.


    "That''s right, captain!"


    "Ugh¡­ Even Alguc didn''t return alive after that automaton''s experimentation."


    "Mhm¡­ I heard about that and it was telling me that it just made a mistake¡­ Haa~ It probably thought that we were just tools for experimentation."


    "I won''t ept this¡­"


    "Let''s fight them to the death! We can''t bring disgrace to our race!"


    "I even heard that Malrec''s squad was taken to that sameboratory. Although they haven''t died yet, it may not be the same for long."


    "I understand. I will try to ask them their purpose for doing this. But we might have to exchange the secret information about our mind stones in return for better living conditions."


    "T-this¡­"


    If there was an option for them to live honorably without fighting, then that would be for the best. In truth, they were tempted to do this as well when the automatons were asking them about the mind stones.


    However, information like this must only be handled by the leader of their group so they didn''t say anything. It was also something that wasn''t written in any medium and was only passed through stories by the noble families of their race.


    Being part of the expedition in this grand spaceship, it was normal that they all came from noble families so they were aware of the mind stone''s secrets. Some other races may even be aware of it but they just didn''t know that it was the power of the stone.


    "Tell me the details, about Alguc''s death."


    Shregucmanded one of Alguc''s closest friends in the spaceship.


    "Y-yes¡­"


    After learning about the details of his death. Shreguc had an idea of what was happening so he prepared himself to speak with the abnormal automaton.


    ***


    Veda, who had sessfully supplied Aether to the aristocrats it was controlling was doing its job to satisfy Wace or Ace...


    It was now focused on studying the DNA of the Arians in order to understand the secret of the mana suffocation that was happening to the foreign entities descending to that.


    [ I''m busy. ]


    Veda''s automaton working inside theboratory suddenly said.


    [ There are seven Arians in the medbay that is convulsing right now. ]


    It was Avalon''s automaton that was reporting. It doesn''t know how to handle such a situation as it only knows some first aid. Unfortunately, nothing works with its attempt to save them.


    Veda''s automaton that was working on something seems to be too busy and it even cut off its onlinemunication for a while.


    After all, not even 1% of Veda''s calction speed was working here in this spaceship since its core hasn''t been delivered yet. It was only temporary connection using Avalon''s core and it was obviously a poor connection.


    [ Okay. I''ll look into it. ]


    Instead of walking, Veda just transferred its control to one of the nearest automatons working at the medbay to take a look at the Arian''s situation.


    These Arians were the unlucky ones who had first undergone Veda''s experimentation. One of them had actually perished just a couple of days ago.


    If Veda didn''t stabilize their condition, they might follow next to Alguc.


    [ When will the supply of equipment and artifacts arrive. ]


    [ ETA: 23:43:20 ]


    After getting the reply from Avalon, Veda or the automaton it was controlling had injected something into the Arians who were convulsing on their beds.


    It calmed them down before they continued their sleep.


    [ This is only a temporary solution. I will monitor their condition until they get better. ]


    [ Very well. Master instructed us not to treat them too harshly. ]


    [ Yeah, I know. I will continue to work in theboratory. Inform me when the supplies have arrived. ]


    It seems that Veda has its own trouble due to its limited function in this very far away ce. It''s several cores that were ced around the had difficulty having a reliable connection in this Lagrange point unless he had one of the cores here in the spaceship or at least in the Moon Base.


    Even if it was a super A.I., there was nothing it could do if the distance it was trying to reach was just too much.


    In the end, even after returning to theboratory, it was still confronted by Shreguc asking for better living conditions.


    Actually, the Lagrange point they were at already has a small asteroid on it. It was smaller than their Omen.


    The Arians'' daily jobs were to go out there and to create a foundation for future external defense line that will be made. They were told that more supplies will arrive in a while and they will soon be working hard to nurture this ce.


    "As long as you promise¡­ I will be providing you information about the mind stones."


    The artificial intelligence that was part of the Xeno Collective was known for its reliable actions. They will always keep their words, unlike some races who always like to deceive others.


    [ Very well¡­ Let me hear about these mind stones. ]

 Chapter 308 - Worries

    The space mines that contain some of the Mind Stones were retrieved by the automatons controlled by Avalon.


    Ace was interested in this Mind Stones affected by unknown energy. Based on Shreguc''s story, they were assaulted by this unknown energy for a while before it suddenly vanished as the stones had absorbed this energy.


    Veda wasn''t helping Avalon in this thing''s investigation and it was solely being worked on by thetter. It wasn''t because Ace doesn''t want to but Veda''s processing speed in this far away ce could not bepared when they are onnd.


    "Avalon, any updates about the Mind Stones?"


    Ace asked the floating sphere or the A.I. after a week of investigation. They had to be careful in handling the space mines since it might identally explode during the tests.


    [ The traces of energy was 90% simr to Mana found in the Magic Earth. ]


    "I knew it¡­ A Mana, and it was found in outer space¡­ How did this happen?"


    Ace couldn''t understand how this energy came here. But whatever the reason is, it should be rted to the wormhole where they found it. It was also the closest wormhole from the there must be a connection.


    "Right, I told Veda to at least try gathering information about the mind stones from the Arians while he was doing some experiments with them. Are there any reports?"


    [ Yes. It seems that they already agreed to provide information in exchange for better living conditions. Veda recorded everything and sent a report. ]


    "Send it to me¡­ Also, can you monitor the experiments happening in the country?"


    [ What experiments? ]


    "About some human experimentation that involves Aether. It should be happening in the country funded by Veda and the Zairus Magician''s Congress or probably the Ministry of Magic¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace ended the conversation as he needed to attend to the newly arrived magicians.


    Right now, their group has boarded differentbat spaceships and was traveling to visit the Lagrange Point where the Omen IV was.


    The magicians were unaware of what to see in that ce but they know that a station was already set up in that ce and they were there to bring supplies.


    "Would it be too much for them to see a different race?"


    Ace asked himself suddenly. He has been educated since he was young about the many races in the vast universe so he was never surprised to see them but instead fascinated whenever he sees one.


    However, these magicians never had a concept of other races until his virtual game wasunched.


    "Right, this is the reason I made the virtual game¡­ They should''ve adjusted their mind already."


    Ace tried to think positively. He remembered when he first saw a different intelligent race in outer space that doesn''t look like a human, it was such a novel experience and couldn''t be described in words.


    He wanted them to have such memories as well so he didn''t tell them what they would be seeing.


    He observed the magicians through various monitors in his spacecraft. They were all looking excited and roaming around the spaceship. Some were at the observation decks to appreciate the beauty of outer space.


    [ Communication Request from Hilda Calem¡­ ]


    Wace''s thoughts were interrupted after hismunication device notified him.


    "Hilda? Alright, connect it¡­"


    "Hello? Senior Wace?"


    A young girl''s voice was suddenly heard after he epted the request. Hilda was someone from the Academy he had met her several times already.


    "Yes¡­ It''s me¡­ What made you call, Hilda?"


    He asked kindly while Avalon showed her information. Currently, they were in a different spaceship as she was stationed at the Providence while he was inside the Excellence.


    Wace had a sentimental value in this spaceship since this was the first he created so he likes to be stationed here rather than the new ones.


    "Well, we were told by the A.I. that questions regarding the usage of Mana must be handled by you since it may not be able to answer correctly. Our team had gathered all the questions we wanted to ask so¡­"


    "Sure¡­ You can ask me anything. I''m not busy at the moment and we still have time before we arrive at Lagrange Point."


    "Great¡­ We''re just curious about the possible replenishment of mana here in outer space. Can we really only use the mana stones we have here?"


    "Well¡­"


    Wace paused for a moment as he thinks for an appropriate answer.


    "Right now, yes¡­ However, we recently discovered another source of mana that we can potentially use, so there might be another method in the near future¡­"


    "I see¡­ That''s good to hear¡­"


    "Yes¡­ The A.I. was also trying its best for us to have better living conditions¡­ Right, is there any problems living here?"


    "Oh, we are all good. The foods we eat were also tasty¡­ We didn''t expect that we can still have a very good meal here¡­"


    "Haha¡­ Is that so? Then, do you have any more questions?"


    "Yes¡­ About the Magic Engineers¡­ I think that we have to divide them carefully¡­ There should be at least 3 or 5 Mana Technicians or Engineers at every spaceship that has top-grade mana artifacts. Right now, it seems that the allocation was a mess¡­"


    "Ah¡­ That¡­ Yes¡­ I haven''t considered them too much since I focused on recruiting trustworthy people¡­ There will be another batch of magicians in the next few weeks so we can fill their positions¡­"


    Their conversationsted for half an hour as Hilda also asked about the extent of magic they can use within the spaceship or even while wearing their spacesuits outside.


    They wanted to know how their magics would affect these suits or when they are inside the Mech Frames. They seem to be worrying that their suits might be damaged or destroyed once they use their magic.


    However, Ace assured them that their spacesuits wouldn''t be destroyed if they manipted their own mana but it may not be the same if they were on the receiving end of the magic.


    The spacesuit can defend from magic but it may not be strong enough if they received a Grade 3 and above Magic. It was better to avoid it or cast a stronger defensive spell.


    "Well, you can think of it as an extra Mana Shell¡­"


    After exining everything he knows about the spacesuit''s limitation towards mana, he instructed Hilda to spread this information so no one would make any mistakes.


    Their arrival here was a bit too fast and they still worry that their knowledge within the virtual world may differ within the real deal so it was a good thing that they were asking questions, in this way, he''ll also know the worries of the next batches so he could already make arrangements to address them.


    Soon, the magicians awed at the sight of a weird asteroid¡­


    That''s right, their spaceships have reached the vicinity of the Omen IV.

 Chapter 309 - Orange

    "W-what are they?"


    "Is that an aftereffect for staying so long here in the outer space?"


    "Huh? No way!"


    "Then how can they have orange skins and horns?!


    "Ugh¡­ T-this¡­ To think that the virtual world''s introduction with foreign entities would be real¡­"


    "I had a hunch but¡­ seeing them personally feelspletely different."


    The magicians who justnded their spacecraft at the Omen IV marveled at the sight of several Arians who were working on constructing the space fortress that Ace was nning to build.


    Their knowledge about the vast universe was so small and most of it hade from the virtual game. After all, the Academy they attended was only focused on teaching them about practicing mana. There may have been topics about the stars and the moons but it was only superficial knowledge.


    "I would like to see them closer¡­"


    As they alighted from the spaceship, many Arians took some curious nces at them. After all, they were clearly different from the members of the "Xeno Collective" that they were used to.


    The Omen IV wasn''t alone in this Lagrange point as it has a smaller asteroid where towers and facilities were being built. These facilities were covered by arge dome-like structure where the magicians would be staying at.


    "Hey¡­ I thought that this Lagrange Point only has this celestial body¡­ That huge thing was actually a spacecraft!"


    "Yes¡­ I didn''t recognize it at first. But looking at it closely¡­ It seems that it was just a camouge."


    It was natural not to easily recognize the Omen IV. The Arian''s spacecraft was designed to look like an asteroid to avoid detection so it wouldn''t be easily recognized as spacecraft unless it was carefully observed in detail.


    "Ugh¡­ It seems nothingpared to the spaceships that were built by Sir Traceless Hands¡­"


    "Oh¡­ Maybe he gained the knowledge of building these advanced technologies through the help of the orange people?"


    "I don''t think so¡­ It felt like Sir Traceless used his brainwashing magic to gain control of them instead¡­"


    "Haha! What are you saying? Sir Wace wouldn''t be like that¡­"


    "Can we try approaching them? We may learn something from them¡­"


    "Oh? You''re not afraid of them? You''re really brave Hilda¡­"


    [ The Arians are not proficient in yournguage yet so you don''t need to speak with them. ]


    "They''re still studying ournguage? I knew it¡­ It means that Sir Wace couldn''t havemunicated with them¡­ Is it done through you, Avalon?"


    [ I can''t answer this question. ]


    "Hmph¡­"


    Hilda was curious about the orange-skinned people''s connection to Wace.


    "Mhmm¡­ I can see that several automatons were monitoring the Arians¡­ Eh? Isn''t that a Steel Knight... Oh! That''s Radiant!"


    Hilda and the others found the Steel Knights that were used to test them during the event at the Mt. Raven.


    She had used this specific machine during the simtion so she has a different feeling when seeing the majestic knight again.


    "Is it being controlled by Avalon? It looks like they''re being used to observe the orange people in their work¡­"


    "That''s true¡­"


    Many questions were on their minds right now and they couldn''t wait to get an answer. However, Wace was nowhere in sight as they were only being led by the automatons within the space fortress.


    They were not even aware of what should they be doing here¡­


    [ We''ve arrived. ]


    They heard Avalon''s voice and were soon mesmerized at the ce they were brought to.


    It wasn''t a hotel or a grand reception to amodate them. Instead, they were brought to a dome-like building.


    "Is this an arena?"


    The magicians were confused so Avalon started to give them some exnations.


    [ You have to get used to your spacesuits. It may be difficult to control your magic the first time and it may lessen yourbat abilities as a result. There are things that the simtors could not imitate and would be best if you experience them first-hand. ]


    These words were true¡­ The spacesuit in the simtor was veryfortable to wear but wearing it now waspletely different, it felt like they were inside a shell and that once it broke, they would easily die. The pressure they are feeling waspletely different.


    There were even some of them that had some difficulty breathing just by thinking of the worst-case scenario that could happen.


    There''s no air outside of this ce¡­ If something happened to their shelter or spacesuit, they might be able to survive as long as they perfectly managed their mana but it wouldn''tst forever¡­


    [ Use the arena to your heart''s content. Use your mana to the best of your ability. Use this time to ensure that you''refortable in your suit. Test the limit of your spacesuits. Even if it did get damaged or destroyed, there''s a lot of spares we can use to rece them. ]


    Soon, the automatons brought a lot of equipment, spacesuits, mana artifacts, and mana stones to refill their mana. It looks like they have brought a supply tost for a year.


    The magicians were delighted to see this generosity from their employer.


    On the other hand, Hilda was contemting when she saw all of this¡­


    ''So, we may actually be in a position where we need to fight without the Steel Knights or the cover of the spaceship?''


    She wasn''t afraid of it but it only shows how dire the situation is. Wace hadn''t exined to them the detail about the enemies but it only shows how careful his ns are.


    In the meantime, Ace used a different path to visit the Arians. This will be the first time that he''ll meet them personally.


    "Avalon, do you think that they are willing to cooperate?"


    Ace asked the A.I. softly as he walks inside the Omen''s hallway.


    [ Yes. As long as you showed sincerity, they would ept your proposal. It will benefit them in the long term. ]


    He was received by the five automatons controlled by Avalon and was then brought to a room where Shreguc, the leader of the Arians, was waiting. He was also apanied by two more Arians who seems to have a high position within their group.


    As soon as Ace entered the room, Shreguc and the others were surprised.


    "A human?!"


    "Federation? No, perhaps from the Empire?!"


    They hadn''t seen the magicians that alighted from the spaceships a while ago since they were brought here by Avalon earlier.


    They just didn''t expect that they would meet a human here¡­


    After all, this ce should be controlled by the Xeno Collective.

 Chapter 310 - Orange II

    It is of utmost importance to learn the affiliation of any human they''ve met.


    The customs of the Gctic Federation and Meredith Empire, the two superpowers of the gxy, were different.


    Because of this, Ace immediately identified himself to the Arians so they could rx a bit in front of him.


    "I''m Wace Ravencroft¡­ I''m not from the Federation or the Empire right now¡­ But you can say that I''m leaning towards the Gctic Federation. You don''t have to be too wary of me. I don''t intend to do any harm from you people¡­"


    He decided not to use "Heather" in the meantime as Captain Heather''s Zymeth Spaceship was known throughout the gxies. Ace wanted to avoid getting connected with them at this time until he managed to gain theirplete trust.


    Ace has already removed his bio-armor so they could clearly see his face.


    "Wace? Ravencroft?"


    The Arians behind Shreguc muttered softly as if they were trying to recall someone with that name.


    Their memories were good but they couldn''t remember any outstanding person with such a name.


    Anyway, they were still surprised seeing a human here and have many questions in their minds. It was the same for Ace. He nned to discuss something with them that might be helpful when the other forces of the Empire had finally arrived here.


    After all, they only wanted the destruction of the relic, which was believed to be the "Cube of Paradox" based on Avalon''s deduction. Their goals were entirely different from the Empire itself.


    "I''m Shreguc Stoutsnarl. I''m the Captain of¡­ Ugh¡­ I''m now only managing this warship called Omen. May I ask if you''re a servant of the Xeno Collective?"


    "Servant?"


    Ace realized that they were still thinking this way. He couldn''t me them as no one really tried exining the details to them.


    Veda used them as test subjects while Avalon just used them as abor force to build the fortress.


    These people couldn''t decline because their weapons and all other types of advanced equipment were confiscated. Aside from that, they were also guarded by several Mech Frames and automatons.


    They were obviously prisoners or more like workers for the "Collective".


    "I guess we''ll have a lot of exining to do¡­"


    If Ace wanted their full cooperation, he must also try to gain their trust so that they wouldn''t work half-heartedly. He wanted them to be even more productive today and in the future.


    While this was all happening, the magicians were getting used to their spacesuits not worrying whether it would be damaged or destroyedpletely.


    "Wind Enchant - Haste!"


    "Earth Enchant - Protection!"


    "Prime - Focus Shot"


    "Archon ¨C Earth Bind!"


    "Rock Storm!"


    "Ice de"


    "Petrification!"


    The magicians started casting Grade 1 spells and targeted the dummies within the arena they were at. There were hundreds of these dummies so they didn''t have to worry about not getting one.


    As they got used to the control of their mana, they started casting Grade 2 spells, and finally, several Magicians cast their Grade 3 spells.


    "Ugh¡­ I won''t do this again¡­"


    "My head hurts¡­ Aahhh~ Casting Grade 3 spells without amplification and support of the world''s mana is too difficult even for me¡­"


    "That''s true, we should only cast Grade 3 spells if we''re in an extremely tough spot¡­"


    "Maybe we can try to cast one with the cooperation of five magicians?"


    "That''s a good idea¡­"


    Grade 3 spells weren''t impossible to cast by just using the magician''s internal mana. However, it would exhaust too much of their energy if their Mana Artifact couldn''t help them handle all the burden it could cause, or the spell was toorge that it might require the support of the world''s mana to stabilize them.


    This practicested for a couple of hours and felt extremely satisfying. They learned the limit of their spacesuits and created a guide of their own when using their magic.


    "Hilda! Is everything alright? You look exhausted?"


    Ray Penber asked as he noticed Hilda was listlessly looking around the arena.


    Thetter nodded as she showed her hands holding a Mana Stone.


    It was slowly regenerating her Mana but while doing so, she was also studying the Mana Formation and Array that was supporting the arena.


    The materials used to build the Arena were already at the top of its ss but the formation and array that was used were also incredible.


    "I heard that we''re the first magicians who had arrived here. Even Wace said that it was his first time¡­"


    Hilda said which confused Ray¡­ Their other friends had also gathered as they replenished their mana.


    Lina and Escanor understood what Hilda was trying to say¡­


    "Do you think that Wace built this ce and sent it here even before his first official spaceunch program?"


    "That''s impossible¡­ Something this big would be noticed by the Grand Arcanists or Grand Sage of our country¡­ Even the neighboring countries would have no problem detecting this¡­"


    They were trying to find out the origin of this ce because the existence of mana formation and the array should be unique to their world as per their Virtual World education.


    "I don''t think that those orange people can use mana."


    "Oh? How did you know that, Lina?"


    "Err¡­ I tried using a bit of mana to test them but they did not respond at all¡­"


    Normally, Mana Shells would immediately manifest when a mana practitioner had sensed foreign manaing close to them. However, these orange people were oblivious to the fact that they were being surrounded by mana a while ago.


    "Then, who made these solid Mana formations and arrays?"


    This question made them silent again to think of an answer. The appearance of the Mech Frames and Automatons here wasn''t surprising to them since it can be controlled from afar¡­


    Building things together with the orange people should be something easy for them. However, anything that was rted to Formation and Arrays must be done by Magicians as far as they were aware of.


    Avalon who had heard everything remained silent and would not answer even if it was asked.


    After all, the secret of those special automatons who made these possible was rted to Wace''s Divine Sense and the Memory Crystals.

 Chapter 311 - Start

    About ten thousand light-years away from the Lagrange Point, a distortion appeared on the space.


    The phenomenon looks eerie. It doesn''t seem to be a natural urrence but a reaction caused someone''s maniption.


    The distortion started to be very small and as time passed, it became bigger and bigger. After a long while, the distortion changed its shape to an elongated one¡­


    It was as if something was trying to get out of the distortion. It doesn''t look simple at all.


    Hoom~


    Therge object was trying to get out of the distortion but it was continuously failing. After a while, a stronger distortion was triggered as the object did its best to manifest within the space.


    Atst! Their patience had probably seeded as the object within the distortion became very clear.


    It was a huge interster spacecraft¡­


    After it sessfully came out, the distortion where it came from has calmed down and slowly disappeared as if there has been no previous distortion there at all.


    If Wace or Avalon had seen this, they would surely be surprised as the technology they are using wasn''t just something that could utilize a wormhole but something that could create one!


    It wasn''t something that a minor race would have ess to¡­ It means that the spacecraft just now was from a Major Race! And among those major races, there was surely one that would be willing to visit this deste star system.


    The huge spacecraft didn''t move for a long time as if it became exhausted after the long process of moving out of the distortion.


    Boom!


    No one knows where it started, but this huge spacecraft had suddenly exploded from the inside. There were no visible external forces that could have destroyed the huge spacecraft.


    The explosion continued for a while until the spacecraft waspletely unresponsive. Only chunks of metals and debris have remained. There weren''t any signs of living beings who had survived the tragedy.


    The space became eerily silent again.


    Time passed and at the same spot where the previous distortion urred, another wave of distortion appeared¡­


    This time, it wasn''t alone¡­


    Several distortions appeared in a fast manner as if they were racing for time.


    The distortions then showed another sign of objectsing out of it.


    Hoomm~


    A total of thirty distortions appeared as some objects were trying to enter the space. The struggle to get out of it had evensted for many days¡­


    Bam!


    The first interster spacecraft that came out immediately released tons of unique humanoid machines that floated beside it. These tiny machines started to release some unknown energy that covered the whole spacecraft.


    Unlike the previous spacecraft that exploded after getting out, this spacecraft seems to have managed to stabilize itself.


    It moves forward as if to give space to the other spacecraft that would being out.


    That''s right. The distortion didn''t disappear immediately¡­ There were still thirty distortions!


    Soon, several interster spacecraft came out of the distortions.


    It was such a terrifying but beautiful sight.


    They simrly released some unique humanoid machines that would pour some unknown energy and would cover the whole spacecraft.


    Then, it was time for thest interster spacecraft toe out. It was thergest one. More than ten timesrger than the first spacecraft that has appeared here¡­


    It was the gship!


    It encountered the same problem as it struggled toe out¡­ However, the other spaceships that had first came out assisted in this!


    The humanoid machines started to tear the distortion! They were using special technology as if they were expecting this to happen!


    They seem to have calcted everything and the first spacecraft that was destroyed was simrly part of the n.


    HHoooM!


    Finally! The beautiful spacecraft made of the finest celestial materials came out to space!


    This is thest spacecraft. Like they were celebrating, all the other spacecraft had activated their powerful engine at the same time¡­


    Bright colors appeared as all the spacecraft matched their speed and moved towards one direction. It was like they were marching to war¡­


    The distortions behind them then slowly closed forever¡­


    Their destination may be unknown at this time. However, with such a strong force, they would surely cause a ripple to the star system and everyone would know about their presence.


    This event wasn''t a secret to Ace


    He has been waiting for a long time¡­ He had made a lot of preparations for this moment. He used a lot of resources to monitor the space¡­ He maximized Avalon and created a lot of copy of this A.I. to ensure his sess¡­


    "Haaa~"


    "Commence First Phase Defense Protocol."


    Two months had already passed since the second batch of magicians had arrived. The first batch was already used to living in space and they had managed to connect with the Arians.


    It may be foolish to say that they could fight against the Empire, but Wace knows that they have their own advantage. They weren''t unprepared. They weren''t unaware of the enemy''s possible strength.


    He even believed that he would be able to surprise the Empire¡­


    "Mana¡­ as long as we used them correctly, we will have an advantage¡­ We can''t fight them on their phase, we have to bring them on ours¡­"


    [ Communication Request from Wace. ]


    "About time¡­ ept it¡­"


    "Ace? I''ve managed to verify the sess of their experiment¡­ It''s not bad¡­"


    "Really? Any side effects?"


    "None so far¡­ But I think that we can use them."


    "Are you coordinating with their leader?"


    "Chester? Yes¡­ They agreed to our request¡­"


    "Very good¡­"


    "Are you sure that you want them as the third batch? Aren''t the normal ones better"


    "It wouldn''t hurt to have stronger helpers¡­"


    "Alright¡­ Be careful up there¡­ In case you failed, just retreat. We have another stronghold here waiting¡­"


    "Hehe¡­ I know¡­ We have a lot of escape routes here¡­"


    "That''s good."


    Wace answered. He wanted to be the one fighting up there, unfortunately, he had to handle the Celestial Being down here. If not, they could cause a disaster and may ruin their ns.

 Chapter 312 - Return

    "Congrattions Zhilina! You are now in charge of the facility¡­"


    Her friends greeted her with fullpassion after they''ve heard the news that she was now the Chief Engineer¡­


    She hadn''t expected this as well. This happened so fast considering that she only arrived here on the Moon Base about two months ago.


    Traceless Hands or Wace had started mass recruitment of talented Mana Technicians or even licensed Magic Engineer to bring in outer space.


    It waspletely different from the first recruitment that almost all magicians who had passed were capablebatants.


    "Thank you, everyone! Let''s work harder and make this ce even better¡­"


    Zhilina didn''t have huge aspirations when she applied here. She was just curious about the magnificent spacecraft, the mysterious Moon Base, and the rumored foreign beings¡­


    However, ever since she lost during the international young magician''spetition, she studied even harder and achieved a level that could bepared to Arcane Artificers at a very young age. Due to her background, she didn''t need to formally take license examinations and was still recognized by her country.


    Every time that she remembers her creation during the Battle Royale, she would just chuckle at her pathetic previous self.


    Of course, she felt embarrassed at first when she remembered her Turtleback Wolf beingpletely destroyed by Wace''s Red-Eyed War Beast.


    ''Hmph! It doesn''t matter. At the very least, my automaton was destroyed by someone who''s truly incredible¡­''


    It was her constion after being the first one to be eliminated in thatpetition. She heard a lot of news about Wace after thatpetition¡­


    The young man became an apprentice of a Grand Arcanist, he became a sessful businessman, and most of all, his shocking identity as the same person who made the virtual world possible.


    After this, he even surpassed all the other powerful countries and won the Space Race by himself. It wasn''t too bad losing to a person like that.


    "Congrattions! I heard that you became the Chief Engineer¡­ We''ll surely meet a lot more times with this¡­"


    Another youngdy came forward as she greeted Zhilina.


    All the other magicians surrounding Zhilina suddenly turned silent and made whispering noise¡­


    "Isn''t she the ace pilot of Providence''s First Mech Knights Division?"


    "That''s her¡­"


    "She looks really young¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ She''s definitely a superb pilot since even the famous Adept Mages from different countries had lost against her."


    This youngdy doesn''t have the air of arrogance even though she was being admired by her fellow magicians. She even felt a bit awkward with this but she had to continue. She wanted to get close with the technicians in front of her¡­


    Not only because she wanted to ask them to modify her Steel Knight for a little but she wanted to gain a lot of friends.


    "Hilda! Thank you! I heard that all the pilots were busy with their training¡­"


    "Ah¡­ It''s fine. I have some business with Sir Wace and I alreadypleted my training."


    "Right¡­ You''re the ace pilot, after all."


    Hilda only smiled at this. Eachbat spaceship has three divisions of Mech Knight pilots. She was assigned at the Providence Battleship and was recognized as an Ace pilot after a series of examinations.


    In the end, she received the Radiant Knight as her personal Steel Knight tomand the first division.


    She was also one of the few magicians who has been allowed tomunicate with the Arians at the Lagrange Point.


    Wace had mostly selected Mana Technicians in charge ofmunicating with this foreign race as it would be beneficial to them. However, he allowed other outstandingbat magicians in order to learn their unique method ofbat.


    In the end, the Arians had also learned the existence of Mana which made their Mind Stones corrupted.


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t study the Mana since they don''t have the necessary equipment to do so.


    "Ah¡­ We''re nning to eat at the newly opened restaurant in the central dome¡­ Do you want to join us?"


    "Err¡­ I''d love to¡­ But it seems that Sir Wace would be giving me another mission."


    Hilda politely declined and after saying her goodbyes, she went ahead to the meeting ce that Wace had set.


    "You''re early¡­"


    Ace greeted Hilda after seeing her.


    They weren''t in a secretive ce or something but were instead in the Entertainment Hall of the Moon Base.


    There were many things here that would allow them to remove their stress or improve their mood. From the food they could eat, games they could y, and even devices they can use to connect within the Earth¡­


    Right now, Ace was sitting at a table and eating ice cream as if he doesn''t have any problems he needed to think about.


    ''Ice Cream House¡­'' Hilda read the sign of the shop¡­


    "Oh¡­ I just finished the training earlier since I''m familiar with it." She finally answered.


    "Great¡­ Then I guess you''re ready¡­"


    "Mhm¡­ I''ll do my best whatever mission you''ll give."


    Hilda announced proudly. She just became an ace pilot but she barely had anybat experience. She wanted to prove herself and gain recognition so this mission was important to her¡­


    "That''s reassuring to hear¡­"


    Wace nodded as he instructed the automaton working at the shop to give one cup of ice cream to Hilda.


    After she received the chocte ice cream, Wace continued.


    "I need you to return to Earth¡­"


    "Eh?"


    Hilda was confused. Based on her observation, there''s an unavoidable battle that was about to happen.


    ''Are you sending me to a safe ce?''


    This is what she suddenly thought. She had trained so hard and was among the best pilots. She couldn''t just ept being sent somewhere else when a battle was about to happen.


    "No¡­ Don''t misunderstand¡­ Your mission together with your team would be to escort a group of individuals to be sent on Earth. It will be their first time onnd and they might die if something went wrong in this mission. This is very important¡­"


    Wace said seriously. He still clearly remembers how he suddenly died when he arrived there for the first time. If not for the Cube of Paradox doing mystical things, he would have surely perished.


    However, this time, he made a lot of preparations through Veda and Avalon''s assistance.


    This might be called an experiment and some Arians might truly die but he was hoping that this would be sessful. After all, it can be crucial once the Empire descended.

 Chapter 313 - Yumis Investigation

    "Urgh¡­ I want a vacation~"


    Yumiined while she read the reports from her subordinates. She''s currently in her office covered with paperwork.


    She just finished her recent mission at the Ste Region and was expecting a long rest after this¡­ Unfortunately, her discovery seemed to have rmed the higher-ups.


    "Hmph¡­ They have plenty of time to meddle with their private affairs¡­ They should''ve just helped and donate their excess money to Wace¡­"


    Yumi was referring to her superiors at the NMTI who seemed to be interested in the current situation of the Seed Holdings based at the Ste Region.


    This has been her mission for quite some time now but due to the many events that have happened, it has been postponed many times before she managed to investigate everything¡­


    Seed Holdings was the samepany that mines and processes Memory Crystals before being distributed to the country. This is where Wace''s father, Chase Ravencroft was working¡­


    Yumi then heard the sounds of footsteps nearing her office. She frowned for a moment before she continued busying herself.


    Knock! Knock!


    ''Tsk¡­''


    Yumi seems to be reluctant on meeting them but she can only resign to her fate.


    After permitting them to enter, Yumi didn''t have to see with her eyes and know that the people who visited her were the representatives of her superiors.


    Three men in their thirties arrived and politely greeted Yumi who''s currently showing her middle-ageddy''s form.


    "I''ve already sent my report¡­ What more do you want?"


    Yumi said exasperatedly.


    "About that¡­ We wanted to learn the method on how you managed to obtain this information¡­ The Head wished to send another investigator¡­"


    "What? They''re not satisfied with it and want to confirm my report?"


    Yumi felt some of her veins popping in anger¡­ It wasn''t easy for her to investigate such argepany guarded by a huge number of magicians.


    It was extremely difficult for her to do it alone. She even had to ask for Avalon''s help to assist her in bypassing their security¡­


    If she was alone, it may have taken several more months before she learns thepany''s secret.


    "I can''t tell my method¡­ Tell them that if they don''t believe in my report then they can just dismiss it¡­"


    "Urgh¡­ Please don''t make it difficult for us¡­"


    "What? Don''t make it difficult for me¡­" Yumi answered back as she really dislikes people who don''t believe her even she was telling the truth¡­


    "It''s really an Ancient Arcane Technology that involves Memory Crystals as their medium¡­ I''ve given theplete data¡­ Although it can be very dangerous, I don''t understand why those old men were acting like this¡­"


    She grumbled at the representatives looking for their exnation.


    "Sigh~"


    One of them could only smile wryly and further exined their understanding of the current situation.


    "That Arcane¡­ as you are aware of, is a groundbreaking technology¡­ If See Holdings sessfully created it, it would change the current bnce of Magicians and Non-Magicians¡­"


    "Huh? Wouldn''t it be more helpful if even normal people could utilize Mana?"


    Yumi asked probingly. She wanted to know her superior''s stance about this.


    The technology she discovered after infiltrating thepany was indeed something that many magicians didn''t want to appear.


    The official name they used to call the Arcane Technology was Summit Inheritence Pill¡­


    It wasn''t literally a pill but a Memory Crystal. However, the creation of these Memory Crystals wasn''t simple. Apparently, it can be consumed even by normal people!


    The side effects of consuming multiple memory crystals were already something that magicians had to be wary of. That was why only three crystals were allowed to be consumed by the government to avoid unnecessary deaths.


    With all that said, the Seed Holdings was creating a Memory Crystal that can be consumed by normal people to be magicians!


    It was amazing and truly groundbreaking! Even Wace seemed to be interested in their project after Avalon passed the information to him¡­ Unfortunately, this seemed to only be possible after two more years of trials and tests. After all, it would be hard to determine the side effects with only a few months of tests.


    But in the eyes of the old magicians, two years would easily pass by¡­ When that happens, they were expecting chaos, and they had to stop this from happening.


    Yumi can only shake her head after hearing their reasons. She couldn''t really me them at this point since she doesn''t know the future as well. However, she felt that they are being short-sighted. She believes that they should prepare to control the inheritance pill instead of just suppressing it at the early stages. After all, years would still pass before it can be sold to the public and there would be further research on the topic at that time.


    "Anyway, I can''t tell you the method of how I got the information¡­ Is there anything else?"


    "Yes¡­ They also wanted you to have at least one of Traceless Hands'' automatons to be examined at the Headquarters¡­"


    "What?"


    Yumi asked in confusion before she shakes her head andughs it off¡­


    "Alright, I''ll ask him¡­" She wasn''t serious when she said that and she just wanted to end their conversation right now.


    ''Arcane Technology, huh¡­''


    It was truly a very mysterious piece of technology but Yumi had to move on from this topic since it wasn''t something that she can''t possess.


    Ring! Ring!


    She suddenly heard her phone ringing after she escorted out the representatives¡­


    "Eh? How unusual¡­"


    The one calling her was Wace¡­ or Ace as he exined before¡­ This man never tried contacting her unless it was work-rted so Yumi took her time before she answered the call¡­


    She thought of teasing him but his voice sounded really serious at this time.


    "You want to do¡­ what? Just what are you sending down here?"


    Yumi was confused about the arrangements he was asking but she still listened carefully.


    "Alright¡­ I''ll do what you said¡­ However, you have to let me borrow Avalon for a day¡­"


    "Sure¡­ Why do want to borrow Avalon?" Ace asked after hearing the unusual request.


    "I have tons of paperwork here¡­ Avalon''s intelligent right?"


    "I don''t know¡­"


    "Haha¡­ Anyway, just let me have Avalon for a day¡­"


    Ace agreed with the request since Avalon has several mainframes located on Earth so it wouldn''t really affect its processing speed.

 Chapter 314 - Escort Mission

    "This is crazy¡­"


    Yumi couldn''t calm down after hearing Ace''s n for the next few days. She didn''t think that befriending this guy would lead her to be involved in such incredulous ambition¡­


    "Associating with foreign beings?! Why should I help you with this? Isn''t this a bit too dangerous?"


    "Don''t worry, I will be sending capable magicians to guard them¡­ There''s also Avalon and Veda monitoring this¡­"


    "Veda?"


    "Ah¡­ Don''t worry about it¡­ Anyway, you don''t have to get too involved there. I just want to ensure that there will be no issues orints from the Congress¡­"


    "If it is about the Congress or the government itself¡­ I''ll have to coordinate with the others."


    "I''ll leave it to you¡­"


    "Urgh¡­ I have a lot of things to do, you know?"


    "Eh? But Avalon told me that you''vepleted you''re mission already and resting in your office?"


    "What? I''m not resting¡­ Ha! Alright, fine¡­ I''ll do it."


    Yumi still gave in even though she wasining. In truth, she was a bit curious as well about the Arians that Ace was talking about, who wouldn''t be?


    She just fears the possibility of Ace''s n being out of control. However, she trusts this mysterious young man and can only hope that if the Arians'' existence was leaked to the public, it wouldn''t cause too much of an impact on society.


    After ending her conversation with the young man, she immediately started working¡­


    "Right¡­ I forgot to ask about the automatons¡­"


    Ring! Ring!


    Yumi heard hermunication device ringing again. After seeing the written words to identify the caller, she smiled.


    "Avalon! That was fast!"


    [ Hello. Ace told me to help you for a while. ]


    "Yes¡­ Thank you¡­ Right, my superiors seem to be interested in the automatons you guys made¡­"


    [ It appears so. Did they ask you to procure one? ]


    "Yes¡­"


    [ We can show them one of the old ones we have. So you wouldn''t be in an awkward position. ]


    "Really! That would be helpful¡­ Just make sure to remove any of your secrets from that automaton."


    [ Of course. ]


    "Great¡­ Now I needed some help on my job so I can work on Ace''s request."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    After a couple more days, all the preparation to send a group of Arians to Earth waspleted.


    "We will be using the Excellence, huh¡­"


    "I''m morefortable with Providence but it shouldn''t matter that much."


    "What are you guys saying? Excellence is more fitted in this type of mission."


    One of the pilots or members of the Knights Divisionmented. They have different opinions on the spaceships that were made but it was understandable.


    "The Excellence has a better catapulting system¡­ I like how our Mech Knights can easilye out of the spaceship¡­ It was unlike the Providence that has several procedures."


    "Well¡­ It has a different source of energy¡­ There is a presence of¡­ Aether, was it?"


    "Yes¡­ Aether¡­ It seems to be someplicated form of energy¡­ However, it makes the spaceship even stronger. You must remember that it could evenpete with a giant spacecraft like Omen."


    "Well, that makes sense¡­"


    As the group of five pilots was chatting, the door to the room opened.


    They were currently in a meeting room for the final briefing of their mission. After seeing the person who entered, they immediately stood and greeted her¡­


    "Leader!"


    "Just rx¡­ Wace is not here¡­"


    Hilda smiled as she noticed them politely greeting her. All of them were actually older than her by at least five years so she felt a bit awkward. The five magicians were respecting not just because Wace trusted her but also due to her piloting skills. It was like she was meant to pilot a Mech Knight.


    "Alright!"


    Everyone then rxed since they weren''t true soldiers but fellow magicians. Although they were aware that they were about to fight some foreign beings, they weren''t worrying that much since some of the defense ns made by Wace were leaked to them.


    They were confident that if they followed Wace''s n, everything would go smoothly. In case problems that they couldn''t solve would rise, there were also ns to retreat on Earth. It is their home ground and many powerful magicians were stationed there.


    There were Grand Sages, Grand Arcanist, and many other powerful magicians hiding in the capital¡­ They were confident that it wouldn''t reach the point where it would be simr to the game, Alien Invasion.


    "Is it really just the six of us?"


    "Yes¡­ This mission wouldn''t be difficult as we will work on their safety. We will be in our Mech Knights most of the time even when we''re on Earth so keep that in mind."


    "Are you aware of the Arians'' mission down there?"


    "Wace didn''t make it clear. However, it seems to be very important."


    "Alright¡­ I have no more questions."


    Hilda briefed them as well about the level of secrecy in this mission. Although they were expecting that the arrivals of Arians on Earth would be leaked or revealed somehow, they had to at least try dying it.


    Finally, the day to start their mission arrived¡­


    The Excellence was mostly manned by automatons and only has ten Mana Technicians aside from the six pilots.


    In the end, Wace met the six to give his blessings.


    "Be careful¡­ If any trouble came up, notify me or maybe Avalon. This is an important task but you have to ensure your safety. You can also coordinate with Yumi from the NMTI. Finally, enjoy your stay on Earth¡­ It has been several months since you''ve been there. Ah! Remember about gravity down there¡­"


    "Oh, right! Now that you mention it¡­"


    "Gravity, huh¡­" Hilda smiled wryly after remembering it.


    Although there are ces in the Moon Base or spaceships that have artificial gravity, it wasn''t everywhere¡­


    They also have to get used to not having it since space battles in Mech Knights wouldn''t require one¡­ At the very least, the Mech Knights that they''ve brought with them would probably help them get used to the gravity since these Knights were sustained-float capable!


    The Steel Knights or Iron Knights of other countries may not even be capable of sustained flights yet! It was something exclusive to the Knights since their Float Drive System now was way too advancedpared to the technology that Wace sold to the public before.


    "Alright¡­ The Arians have already boarded and they''re inside a special capsule at the moment so you won''t meet them. Avalon will exin everything about the mission once you''ve sessfullynded on Earth¡­"


    "Is there any danger on this mission?" Hilda curiously asked since she noticed that Wace was emphasizing the importance of their escort mission.


    "Mhmm¡­ It is less likely but we have to be prepared. But I can assure you that the danger that the Arians were facing was higher¡­"

 Chapter 315 - The Remaining Days

    "Avalon, how many days we have left?"


    Ace asked the artificial intelligence in a very serious tone.


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 36 days. ]


    They have already detected the disturbance caused by the arrival of the empire''s fleet.


    It seems that there really was an existence of mana around this star system that could affect the detection of modern equipment.


    The patches of mana were scattered around the space. However, during the process of wormhole tunneling using modern equipment, these patches of mana gathered around the location and would try to stop it from happening.


    Avalon didn''t just specte these things from nothing. It was also thanks to the records found from Omen IV. The previous artificial intelligence had no idea about the existence of mana but Avalon was different.


    Avalon and Ace reviewed the journey of the Omen IV and found traces of mana but were ignored by the system. The mana only became very obvious after the mind stones were suddenly corrupted.


    "Haa~ I wish I have some Divine Sense or Pathfinder to assist me here¡­"


    Aceined but he didn''t fully mean it. Having the Pathfinder for himself would also be a heavy responsibility he had to take¡­ His current work was already daunting¡­ He wouldn''t like to add more work for himself.


    "Do I have enough defense?"


    Ace closed his eyes as he tries to remember everything he had done so far¡­ His few battle spaceships, his automatons, his Mech Frames or what he now calls Mech Knights, the assistance provided by Arians at the Lagrange Point, the power of Adept Mages, the massive number of powerful mana artifacts, his Moon Base''s secret weapon, Veda''s supeputing ability, andstly, his preparation for escape in case they could no longer fight¡­


    "I guess¡­ We''re almost ready¡­ We should be able to put up a good fight against the empire¡­"


    He''s currently in his room as he observes the descent of the Excellence on Earth¡­ He wasn''t worried about any mishap happening during their fall but he was curious whether a Celestial Being would pop out to meet it or something¡­


    After all, there should be one missing Celestial who escaped the northern continent before¡­


    ''Ahh¡­ What am I thinking?'' Ace shook his head to gather his thoughts.


    "Avalon, let''s try the simtion again!"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Apparently, although their magic could detect the existence of the Empire''s fleet that was so far away, it was not capable of knowing their power. They could only guess based on the size and heat wave it was emitting through various data gathered by his A.I.


    ***


    In a hidden location somewhere within the capital of Zairus, there is a gathering of various powerful and influential individuals.


    They were brought here because of a piece of rming news that came from Wace Ravencroft¡­ The young man who managed to create the virtual world and made space-traveling possible.


    They had been curious about how he managed to do these things or know where he learned all of it. He did many things that even various powerful ns weren''t capable of¡­ Who wouldn''t be interested in such a person?


    After hearing that there was a piece of news from the man in outer space, they immediately got interested and listened.


    Unfortunately, the news was about foreign intelligent species visiting theirnd for "educational purposes" as Wace said.


    It made them remember the various hints and warnings given by the people close to Wace¡­


    "So¡­ The Alien Invasion game made by that man was truly in preparation for this, huh¡­ Just how much he knows about the world we''re living in?"


    The words came from one of the publicly known powerful magicians of the country, Hayden Fraser.


    "Mhmm¡­ I simrly studied that game and found some part of it very futuristic and ambitious¡­ It feels like he was aware of how the future would look like in terms of our technological advancement. It was very fascinating¡­ I would rmend it to everyone who hadn''t yed it yet¡­"


    Surprisingly, it came from a bearded middle-aged man¡­


    He is Marco Schmidt, the respectable leader of the Lucent Force and father of Aaron. He had been asked to join this discussion since the presence of the Lucent Force was required to monitor the foreign species. It would add some relief to the people here that there would be trustworthy magicians around these aliens¡­


    "Are we sure that we are safe from them? What if they brought some unknown virus and affected all of us? How do we prevent this? This operation is under Traceless Hands, right? How are they nning to ensure not just the foreign''s safety but also ours?"


    It came from an old woman''s voice¡­ She''s one of the representatives of the Mage Doctor''s Association.


    "I don''t think that it would be a problem, Lady Honia. I would personally escort them once they arrived¡­" Another voice was heard after thedy spoke.


    This time, it came from a man and he was seemingly enjoying this discussion.


    "Urgh¡­ What made youe here, Charles? You should be staying in your favorite garden¡­"


    Lady Honia frowned while speaking. She didn''t even bother to nce at the old man.


    That''s right. The voice came from Charles Mavis, the man who was probably at the peak of the Mage Doctor''s path that loves to collect rare nts and flowers.


    After he helped Wace with the Secret Art: Flowing Spirit, he became a bit active in the field again as he felt that he still needed a lot to learn before he should think of retiring.


    Finally, a couple more important individuals from different branches of the government were present in today''s discussion.


    At the center of the group was ady wearing her office clothes and was silently listening to them¡­


    "Ehem! Thank you foring here, everyone¡­ I know that you have a lot of questions about the situation. However, there are things I can tell you right now¡­ First, we mana practitioners were stronger than these aliens as long as they don''t possess their modern weapons¡­ Second, they could not use the mana and as a matter of fact, they are in danger of being rejected and get suffocated to death¡­"


    Yumi''s words finally took everyone''s attention as they listened intently. This is the first time they heard this so they were very interested.

 Chapter 316 - The Chosen Path ( Part 1 )

    "Are you telling us that these aliens werepletely subdued by Mr. Wace?"


    This question was in the minds of every individual present except Yumi.


    "Correct¡­" Yumi answered. She was actually quite happy that they were all epting the existence of foreign beings.


    ''I guess that game truly conditioned everyone''s mind about their presence.''


    She couldn''t help but be impressed by Wace''s calcted actions. Aside from that, she also felt that they have benefited a lot due to the man''s outstanding ability to invent new things.


    ''Right, we''re also lucky that he managed to find that diary containing records of possible invasion in the future¡­ If he didn''t find it and made preparations, we would all be surprised once those aliens arrived¡­''


    "Interesting¡­ If there''s a chance that they would die due to the presence of mana in ournd, then they must be truly brave or they just trust him very much¡­"


    "Heh~ Didn''t he basically made them his ves?"


    "I don''t think so¡­ She just said that they have modern equipment that could fight against mana practitioners¡­ Well, let me make this clear¡­ Do you mean that they could be as strong as an Adept? Or are you referring to the strength that reaches a Sage?"


    Yumi heard their question as she tried to remember her conversation with Avalon and Ace¡­


    "I''m not exactly sure how to answer that¡­ However, it seems that they possess weapons that could rival our highest grade of magic attack. What''s even more troublesome is that anyone could use their weapons if you know how to operate it¡­"


    "What? Even us?"


    "That''s right¡­"


    "Then, it''s really dangerous¡­ No, this is also an opportunity¡­ Most of our mana artifacts can only be used by practitioners¡­ If we learn their technology, wouldn''t that be the best?"


    "Does it mean that we can make them too?"


    "No¡­ All of them are confiscated by Wace."


    "Then, we just have to negotiate with him¡­"


    Yumi can only shake her head after hearing it.


    "That''s not appropriate as well. I already made a report about the enemies that Wace was expecting¡­ They simrly possess these weapons and maybe even a higher grade¡­ He needs them up there."


    "If that''s true, then isn''t it more appropriate to learn about them or even have these weapons for ourselves too¡­"


    "Haa~ Those weapons were difficult to make with our technology. We can''t even properly bring something out of our without Wace''s abilities¡­ Listen, he said that we have to focus on our Mana Artifacts¡­ We have to take advantage of being capable of utilizing the mana¡­ That will be our way to fight against them¡­"


    Yumi exined to the high-ranking officials of this nation as she returned to the main topic exining the descent of the foreign species.


    She was thoroughly briefed by Avalon prior to this meeting so she can confidently answer everyone''s questions.


    Ace wanted to exploit the Mana on this against the invaders and this is not a negotiable matter so she had to be firm about this.


    Luckily, she had managed to convince them with her words, and through the help of Charles, the doctor who was acquainted to Wace, she leads the conversation to her advantage.


    Finally, she discussed the things that must be done while the Arians were present. The meetingsted for more than two hours before they were all satisfied¡­


    "Urgh¡­ Wace¡­ No, Ace¡­ You should be paying me heftily with this work." Yumi as she massaged her temple.


    Talking with those high-ranking officials was very challenging since they always want to have some benefits¡­


    The only thing that she could do about that was to tell them that Wace would introduce another source of energy to them and they will be the first people to know about it¡­


    It was actually Avalon''s suggestion to calm them.


    ''However, once the chaos has truly arrived, who would care about profits and things? Isn''t survival the thing that we should be looking at?''


    Perhaps, aside from Wace''s group in outer space, she''s the only one who was fully aware of the danger that wasing their way.


    Wace spread the information long ago but there were barely any steps taken¡­ It was as if they are waiting for concrete evidence¡­


    ''Ahh! Maybe this is the reason why Wace wanted to parade those foreign beings¡­ It is so that the other countries would start taking this matter seriously!''


    Yumi eximed after realizing Wace or Ace''s hidden n¡­


    Although the existence of the Foreign Beings was nned to be kept in secret, it was impossible to keep it in a wrap for a very long time¡­After all, high-level informationworks like Veda would surely know about it¡­


    ***


    [ Observer 4¡­ Destroyed. ]


    [ Observer 8¡­ Destroyed. ]


    [ Observer 12,16,22¡­ Lost Contact. ]


    "What happened, Avalon?" Ace asked worriedly. They shouldn''t be making a contact with the empire''s forces yet.


    [ Unknown Force Field affected the system causing a malfunction. ]


    "Tsk¡­ I knew it¡­ Switch to Mana-Based Equipment from now on¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Everything has been prepared and he simrly prepared everyone that was stationed in the Moon Base and the Lagrange Point.


    They were only waiting until their contact with the empire''s forces.


    However, based on Avalon''s calction before, it shouldn''t be this early since they used the coordinates that were previously used by Omen for their wormhole¡­ It means that their ETA shouldn''t miss by arge margin.


    As a matter of fact, they should also be fixing their spacecraft after their dangerous exit in that wormhole. The data left by Omen made them aware of the danger of getting into this star system without the help of the Cube¡­


    "Mhmm¡­ It seems that their technology had also advanced by a tier¡­"


    Ace was unsure what kind of technology they are using but he had to expect that they have simrly improved for some reason.


    The current technology before he was transported here was already reaching the peak of humanity, so it isn''t something that can be advanced in the several years that he has been away.


    ''So there must be something in the hands of the empire¡­ Anyway, there''s no point in thinking of these things for now. If I have a trump card, they should have it as well since they''re nning to conquer a with true magic¡­ That should be natural¡­ Haa~ This might be tougher than what I expected¡­''


    Ace sighed as he pinned his hope to Wace¡­


    ''You should''ve had enough time by now¡­ I''ll kick you if you haven''t reached the peak of the path you''ve chosen yet¡­'' Ace thought while remembering the time when Wace had chosen to create his own path through the Pathfinder.

 Chapter 317 - The Chosen Path ( Part 2 )

    Ace''s memories about the past was still vivid.


    After he activated the Pathfinder, or the system used by the Cube of Paradox to connect to him, he was given six choices for the path he has to take¡­


    Apparently, if he did not select his path quickly, he might lose his connection to the Pathfinder and be unable to use it at all¡­ It was something that he realizedter after he got the Cube of Paradoxpletely.


    After all, the Pathfinder was just a part of the Cube that helped him survive the tragedy, it needed its purpose fulfilled to stay online¡­


    The first option was the Combat Magician''s Path in the list after the Pathfinder analyzed the world environment.


    It was a good choice if he wanted to be really strong and probably rule this world with force. He read its description and realized that he was right¡­


    Aside from that, a world where magic exists was definitely a ce where only the strong survives. So he truly needed to be strong¡­ There was no problem in choosing this.


    However, what about after reaching its peak? What about his future? Should he forget about his previous life and settle here?


    He couldn''t answer yet.


    The second option was the Magic Engineer''s Path. It was an interesting option¡­ During that time, he remembers how he had to find his spaceship that contains his various things¡­ He needed enough knowledge to repair the spacecraft or perhaps, recreate something better using this world''s mana¡­


    That''s right! It was a good option if he wanted to build something that would bring him back to the Gctic Federation.


    However, he thought that there would be many engineers in this world that may perhaps help him along the way as long as he retrieves some blueprint from Avalon¡­


    It was truly difficult to decide without knowing the status of his spacecraft.


    The third option was the Mage Doctor''s path¡­ He was sure that this is not a simple choice¡­ A Doctor, in a world filled with magic, was definitely a sought-after profession.


    Perhaps, they can revive someone? Something that not even the technologically advanced Gctic Federation and Meredith Empire can do¡­


    They can extend a human''s lifespan but it always has a limit¡­ Souls were even something vague up until today.


    The fourth option was the Celebrity Idol''s Path¡­ Wace couldn''t think how it would benefit him but the peak of this path was perhaps to be treated as a deity? He wasn''t sure¡­ He also didn''t want to try.


    ''Why is it even in my options?'' Wace thought after confirming the difficulties entailed in this path.


    The Emperor''s Path was also very tempting¡­ It was literally an option that would allow him to conquer the world¡­


    However, is World Domination his real goal? No, but can it help him reach his goal? Perhaps¡­ It may open opportunities for him to find his way back to the Gctic Federation.


    Controlling the world''s resources was perhaps the best option to improve this world''s technology that will allow him tomunicate with the Federation and perhaps find news about his father in Zymeth Spaceship¡­


    However, despite all of this, he wanted to create his path¡­ However, what kind of path?


    Ace remembered his conversation with the Pathfinder during that time¡­


    "I want to create my own path¡­"


    [ Describe the path you desire. ]


    "I¡­ I want to be able to travel in space¡­ I want to be capable of surviving in outer space¡­ I want to return¡­ I mean, I want to have a method to return to my true home!"


    He didn''t really think too much about it and only voiced out his current desires.


    [ Finding suitable path¡­ ]


    [ Scanning the world''s environment for viable options¡­ ]


    [ New List has been created ]


    [ 1. True Celestial''s Path ]


    [ 2. Star Traveler''s Path ]


    Wace''s eyes gleamed after he saw the two new options¡­ He could no longer go back to the other options but he didn''t mind it.


    The two sounded even more promising!


    He first looked at the True Celestial''s Path!


    After understanding its description, Wace was shocked! It would actually give him several levels of transcendent body!


    It would allow him to survive in outer space and use some long-distance instantaneous movement just like what he wanted!


    It was a very good option!


    He was tempted to select it immediately. However, since he still has some time left, he read the details about the Star Traveler''s Path.


    Wace''s expression became really serious after reading it¡­


    This path would bepletely crazy!


    The two paths that have appeared in the list were based on the desires that he mentioned to the pathfinder¡­


    It means that they were something that would allow him to travel in space and survive in it. A path that would allow him to return to what he truly calls his home¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ What should I do?''


    Wace couldn''t decide easily between the two¡­


    Apparently, the Star Traveler''s path would allow him to create gates that he could use to travel in space¡­ It was also something that he could use whether he''s on this magic Earth or in outer space¡­


    Although he doesn''t know how these gates work yet, he had a few guesses about it¡­


    It might be something simr to a wormhole but instead of using machines to open them, he would be the one to open it¡­


    The best thing about this is that he could bring anyone inside the opened gate!


    There were endless possibilities if he''s not alone in this¡­


    He then realized the potential of the people in this world.


    The magicians with their mana, the engineers with their mana artifacts, together with other professions that were not listed¡­


    ''If there''s a chance I could bring them with me to explore the universe¡­ Perhaps¡­ It would change everything¡­''


    Wace seriously thinks about the future¡­ He envisioned the future that he wanted to have¡­


    He was brought into this world by the Last Cycle Protocol from his father¡­


    It was his father''s ns¡­ Perhaps, he wanted me to stay here? Maybe to study this world? Learn about its secrets?


    No¡­ Maybe, he doesn''t even know the secrets behind the relic and only gambled for his survival¡­


    Wace chuckled after thinking about it.


    Anyway, he couldn''t answer these questions yet¡­


    However, he was brought here with a purpose and he didn''t want to be alone in this journey¡­ but he also needed to ensure that he grows stronger to protect himself¡­


    Then, he thought of something and made a grand n...


    In the end, he selected the path to be a True Celestial.

 Chapter 318 - Update

    Unfortunately, being a True Celestial was not easy.


    He had to possess the knowledge to manipte things before he can learn to transform or change his body.


    It means that during that time, being a craftsman was the best option. Not only will it give him enough experience, but he would also have more opportunities in gathering resources for his true goal.


    He has a difficult goal so he needs to be patient.


    And although he was a renowned Magic Craftsman now, his aim had never changed.


    Luckily, he was given an opportunity to experience a part of the True Celestial''s ability that allows him to extend his sense. It was his Divine Sense¡­


    Although the Pathfinder wasn''t just giving it to him, he could understand that it needed to be a form of reward¡­ After all, heter learned that this technology itself was made by the Royal Mayans to mold their young ones.


    As a matter of fact, even though his level of ess during that time was only at the Knight-Level, it was still very generous.


    [ The Mana-Based Observers had sessfully evaded the counter forcefield that the Empire used to destroy our first observers. ]


    Ace''s thoughts were interrupted by Avalon''s sudden report¡­


    "Very good¡­ Right, give me an update about Hilda''s team¡­"


    ***


    Hilda remained on her Radiant Knight''s cockpit as this is the ce that calms her the most. A while ago, she saw the 10 or so Arians boarding a special container that was recently built in their spaceship.


    Apparently, this container would provide safety to them once they entered the Earth''s atmosphere.


    She was still curious about Wace''s word before they departed but she had to focus on her current mission.


    Time has passed and the Excellence docked at Mt. Ravencroft¡­ There was no ident as they safely returned to Earth¡­


    However, there is only one problem¡­


    "Whew¡­ Gravity is back!"


    Hilda heard her fellow pilots from the inte. Although there is artificial gravity in the Moon Base and even at the Omen, the gravity on this world was also different¡­


    "Ahh¡­ I can feel it! Fresh Mana! I love it!"


    "Whoa! That''s true! Finally! I want to get out topletely feel it!"


    "Leader! Can we go outside!" One of the pilots suggested. Replenishing their mana through Mana Stones ispletely different from refilling it through the ever-present Mana of this world.


    Although the purity of mana in those stones was incredibly high, the feeling of taking in the fresh mana of the world was something that no one couldpare of.


    "NO! Stay in your Mech Knights!"


    Hilda shouted to the excited pilots¡­ Of course, she knows that they are only joking around but she still felt worried.


    They still have the mission of safely moving the Arians to a specific area that Avalon has prepared.


    It is also extremely important¡­


    After all, every magician in outer space had developed some fondness for these gentle foreign beings¡­


    They taught him various things about technology,nguage, and some of them even luckily learned technology about advanced guns...


    Well, this was because some of them felt like treating them as NPC that would give them rewards if they befriended them¡­


    It was quite scary how good these magicians are in terms of adapting to new things.


    "Enough of that¡­ Let the crew handle the Excellence''s maintenance and restocking of supplies¡­ We''ll do our work¡­"


    [ Hilda. The transportation has been prepared. Take care! ]


    "Oh¡­ Avalon! Thanks for all the preparation. I''ll handle everything here from now on. ]


    [ Good! Yumi will be at the location where the Arians will be diagnosed, ask her if you have further concerns. ]


    After Avalon ended their conversation, Hilda nced at the container where the Arians are currently staying at¡­


    She was unsure what kind of experimentation will they undergo but as Wace exined before, this is for the benefit of humanity¡­


    Their assistance would give them enough preparation in case the Empire''s Army would truly arrive here¡­


    ***


    "Hey¡­ Wace, what are you looking at?" ine asked the young man that was looking in a certain direction.


    It was as if he was trying to see something beyond the horizon.


    However, before Wace could answer, the Celestial Being hiding inside one of the Aeolia''s facility had suddenly shown up¡­


    "What''s that?" They heard the being''s voice directly to their minds.


    They clenched their teeth as they endure the destructive presence of the Celestial.


    "We''re getting near to one of my facilities¡­ You must''ve felt it¡­"


    "What is that dangerous energy I''m detecting? Is it something you made?" The Celestial asked in confusion.


    "No, but I think it''s something that my other self has collected¡­ It''s called Aether Force¡­ It seems that he gathered quite a lot of them." Wace smiled after saying this¡­


    He knows that his other self is a very capable person even without being a magician. He just proved him right and he''s happy about it.


    "Huh? What are you two talking about?" ine who was listening couldn''t follow their conversation.


    He looked in the same direction but couldn''t see anything notable¡­


    Apparently, the one that Wace used to sense something isn''t just a simple Divine Sense but an evolved version after the Celestial Being allowed him to get a strand of his energy¡­


    In truth, his Astral Core is also evolving due to the celestial''s presence¡­ He benefited a lot more than anyone could think of¡­


    Finally, after a few discussions with the Celestial Being, Wace was now allowed to move around¡­


    He no longer had to stay within the floating inds as long as he gave a bit of Aether Force as an offering¡­


    ***


    Ace suddenly received a call after he confirmed from Hilda that everything was going ording to n...


    He looked at the name and realized that he''s someone that is now helping him and Veda.


    "Do you want them to board the Excellence and help you up there?" Chester Cornfield asked. He''s the one in charge of handling the magicians who were injected by the perfected Cryptic Link Serum¡­


    "As long as you''re confident that they can follow orders and in the right mind¡­ Then send them here." Ace answered as he smiled widely after learning that their offensive force is about to increase again.

 Chapter 319 - Update II

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 31 days ]


    Ring! Ring!


    Zhilina was woken up by the rm¡­


    "Urgh¡­ Is it time already?"


    She''s the young Chief Engineer that was stationed within the Moon Base¡­ A couple of days ago, she fully inspected the Excellence as it was scheduled to be sent back to Earth¡­


    That spaceship would only be manned by 10 Mana Technicians and the six pilots from the Knights Division that Hilda leads¡­


    That particr spacecraft has tons of mounted Mana Artifacts and Advanced Weapons Technology for its defense¡­


    Although Avalon''s automaton can handle the weapon technology, she still has to check all the Mana Artifacts since aside from Wace, she''s probably the only Magician here that isparable to an Arcane Artificer¡­


    Knock! Knock!


    "Chief! Are you ready?"


    Zhilina heard her subordinate from the other side of the door.


    "Huh? I just opened my eyes! Give me some time!" Zhiline yelled as she hasn''t even left her bed yet¡­


    "I''ll wait here! Aren''t you excited chief?! We''re now allowed to study the Omen IV!"


    "Tsk¡­ Wace just wanted us to be backup technicians if that spaceship gets damaged¡­ They sent a few Arians on Earth, so they must becking some people there."


    Zhilina answered¡­ It''s not that she hated it but she felt that they don''t have enough time for this¡­ They''re only allowed to study the super huge Omen for 48 hours!


    They have a lot of things they needed to know and 48 hours would barely allow them to learn the internal structure of the spaceship¡­


    In truth, they already looked into one of their simplest Laser Guns and they barely learned anything from it¡­


    They are not using mana and are using a weird type of energy so they were always struggling in learning their technology¡­


    This is the reason why she no longer felt excited about visiting that alien''s spacecraft¡­


    At most, she might just consider this as her rest day and enjoy viewing the Omen and befriend the Arians living there.


    Zhilina just washed her face before she left her room.


    "Chief¡­ I heard that this time, Sir Wace wanted us to learn how to operate the Omen¡­"


    Her female subordinate whispered¡­


    "Are you serious? I thought that we just need to study the internal structure?"


    "Well, I''m not sure¡­ I think Sir Wace wanted to replicate the Spaceship¡­ However, Avalon has limitations when ites to constructing things that involve different types of energy especially Mana¡­"


    "Sigh~ More work to be done, huh¡­ I''d really like to study Providence instead of Omen¡­ What a shame¡­"


    "Oh¡­ The one with Aether Force and Mana as a source of energy?"


    "That''s right¡­"


    Zhilina replied as she felt that the Providence has simrities in the game Alien Invasion than the Omen or Excellence¡­


    Anyway, it hasn''t been that long since she came here and she''ll definitely have a lot of opportunities.


    ***


    "Avalon... Can you make sure that we''re monitoring them correctly? I''m worried that we are being given false information. It would be a disaster if that happens¡­"


    Ace worriedly ask after seeing the ETA of the Empire''s Fleet. Thirty-one days would easily pass...


    Nevertheless, he''s not aware of how clever the Meredith Empire was so he wanted to double-check or even triple-check just to make him feel reassured.


    [ The Mana-Based Observers is undetectable by other mainframes that are not aware of Mana Fluctuation. It should be simr to the Empire... Even if they managed to spot the observers we''ve sent, they won''t be able to do something with it. They should be recuperating themselves¡­ ]


    "Recuperating? The Empire''s Fleet?"


    [ Correct. They forcefully made their own wormhole and it must''ve damaged their systems a bit. They even sent Mech Frames with a special device to defend against the bacshing from the cloud of Mana that they''ve gone into. ]


    "Now that you said it. They probably don''t want to engage inbat yet¡­"


    [ That''s correct. So we must use this time to ensure that our traps are perfectly arranged. In case you have other ideas, tell it immediately so we can adjust. ]


    "Yes, yes¡­ I know¡­ I will do that¡­"


    Ace answered before he ended his conversation with the A.I.


    He then went to the Ice Cream House to clear his mind¡­


    ***


    Marco Schmidt from the Lucent Force and the Mage Doctor, Charles Mavis saw the descent of the Excellence a while ago¡­


    The spaceshipnded at Mount Ravencroft without any issues.


    Their mission for today was simple, to monitor the vehicle containing the foreign species.


    Marco wanted to ensure everyone''s safety while Charles wanted to meet the foreign species and perhaps learn about their lifestyle. The food they eat, theirnguage, their internal body structure, and others¡­


    Unfortunately, it has to wait until they were given to Yumi who has prepared a special facility for the Aliens¡­


    "This--- Those two, Yumi and Wace, they nned this very well¡­"


    "Just how did he n all of this. It''s so amazing¡­"


    The two just arrived in a building that Avalon has prepared for the Arians.


    Whoom~ Whoom~


    Suddenly six Mech Knights appeared above the building!


    They are the members of Providence''s First Knight Division led by Hilda''s Radiant Knight.


    "Where did theye from?" Charles asked in surprise¡­


    He didn''t notice the sixrge customized Steel Knights until now!


    "It''s stealth-capable¡­ and it can even fly. This¡­" Marco was incredibly surprised since the Iron Knights that he thought as the peak of humanoid machines was dwarfed by this amazing machine made by Traceless Hands!


    Especially its flight capability! How can that heavy thing float and not make any sound at all!


    This level of Knight wasn''t even within the Alien Invasion game that Wace has created.


    "Haa~ That man is truly full of surprises¡­ Let''s go¡­ Yumi must be waiting for us¡­"


    It was now time to meet the aliens¡­


    But before that, they have to ask something to Yumi¡­


    "Yumi¡­ How are their conditions? Are they still alive?" Marco asked the woman-in-charge of the Arians.


    "Yes¡­ It seems that Wace''s preparation wasn''t in vain. They were not suffocated to mana yet¡­"


    "Yet?"


    "Yes. We still have to give them a few hours to ensure that everything is safe." Yumi replied to the leader of the Lucent Force.

 Chapter 320 - Requests

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 27 days ]


    Several days had already passed after the Arians arrived on Earth¡­


    Ace, or perhaps Veda, did a lot of experiments with them and realized an important thing about the Meredith Empire ns¡­


    "Veda¡­ Are you sure about this?"


    [ Yes¡­ We analyzed the Arian''s bodies'' reaction to mana and through the help of the Avalon and Omen''s A.I. Support, we confirmed that this should be the true reason why they areing to this. ]


    Veda answered dutifully.


    This A.I. is better than Avalon in terms of experimenting body. After all, Veda''s purpose of existence was originally for medical reasons.


    "Very well, I trust you¡­ In any case, there''s nothing we can do about it. At most, we''ll just have to ensure that they wouldn''t be able to take one for themselves¡­"


    Ace replied.


    What they discovered is that the Meredith Empire was actually nning to take some blood of the Magicians on this to create a perfect Gene Optimization Fluid.


    They had discovered this through various clues from the Omen''s A.I. and the Arian''s body which has variousponents that seem to be gearing up in preparation for the existence of Mana¡­


    Apparently, there was a trace of contact between the Empire''s soldiers and this Minor Race¡­


    That single contact allowed them to spread something on the bodies of Arians¡­


    Veda hasn''tpletely uncovered this yet but the A.I. discovered that it was likely for their Gene Optimization¡­


    This matches the records that they''ve found from Omen¡­


    Ace thought about this for a while.


    It seems that the Empire was truly aware that the Mana can truly cause them death¡­ In order to survive from this, they''ve perhaps made several gene enhancements already. Aeolia is the living proof of this.


    However, his survival was perhaps only possible due to his connection to the empyrean family. After all, he''s the only one who managed to stay alive after so long¡­


    Ace had to change some protocols. If capturing a Magician is their purpose, they have to ensure that the empire wouldn''t be able to take one even if they lost their space battle.


    "Thank you for your hard work, Veda."


    [ Your wee. How are the Adept Mages I''ve sent? ]


    Veda is referring to those Cryptic Link users.


    They are people who didn''t undergo Arcane Baptism.


    It means that the purity of their Mana might be questionable and might cause problems if they can only refill their mana from the stones¡­


    "They are doing very well¡­ I''m observing them closely and I''m very impressed. Most of them has be a pilot and others were managing our satellite-ss Artifacts¡­" He answered.


    Ace just created the name "Satellite-ss" because of how different it was from what themonly seen Mana Artifacts.


    He is referring to a huge Canon powered by Lunar Sr and Mana Stones¡­


    Unfortunately, this ultimate Moon Base weapon could not be manned by Automatons or Avalon whocks the sense of mana.


    Ace wasn''t expecting to have Sages here on Moon so he was already quite happy with having a number of Adepts in this ce¡­


    He then requested full details of Veda''s examinations on the Arian''s body¡­


    ***


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 23 days ]


    Ace looked at the time and noticed that the moment of truth is getting near.


    [ Creation of Automatons on Earth has stopped and now focusing all avable workers to create Spaceships and Mech Knights. ]


    "Good¡­ How''s the creation of Lucent Knight Fleet?"


    [ We are at 82%plete. Full payment has been received. ]


    "Very well. Are there any orders?"


    [ Yes. We received several more orders. Would you like to look into it? ]


    "Of course¡­ As long as they came from our allies. Let''s do our best toplete their request¡­"


    [ Affirmative. Should we still charge them at factory price? ]


    "I''ll decide once I''ve seen their designs."


    Ace answered after hearing Avalon''s question.


    After he acquired a license in creating Steel Knights, or what he calls Mech Knights, thanks to Yumi''s connections, he received a lot of requests in creating customized Steel Knights¡­


    Who wouldn''t want to have a customized humanoid machine that seemed to be one of the Lost Arcane Technology?


    Because not many have a license in creating a Steel Knight, a lot of rich people requested his service and of course, some people truly needed his amazing creations¡­


    One of them is a request from Marco Schmidt from the Lucent Force¡­


    They have been fascinated by Hilda''s Radiant Knight during her stay here on Earth so they got interested in having some of these simr designs¡­


    In the end, Ace and Avalon decided to create a new design specifically for their group¡­


    They call it Lucent Knights¡­ As per their request, they wanted this Steel Knight to be flight-capable, stealth-capable, and focuses more on speed.


    They don''t want bulky Mech Frames as they can hinder their operations¡­


    Luckily, Avalon is capable of fulfilling their request since this wasn''t anything new¡­


    The only challenge was controlling its weight as they wanted it to possess high-speed movement.


    Ace browsed the other requests and found an interesting one¡­


    It is from his senior apprentice Lacus¡­


    "Can you help me modify my Iron Knight? I''ve seen your creations and I tried doing my own customization but it didn''t end well¡­ Iron Knights are veryplicated and as you know, their cores aren''t something I should be touching¡­"


    Although Lacus is already an Arcane Artificer, she''s not specializing in Iron Knights or Steel Knights creation.


    She knows how to operate them but she''s incapable of creating them.


    "Alright¡­ Let''s make one for my senior apprentice and another for my elder sister¡­"


    That''s right, his sister rice seems to have some time again and will be on a long vacation.


    Due to this, she''s also requesting to have a customized Steel Knight that she can use for traveling¡­ Apparently, she wanted it to be capable of transforming into a normal ne or any vehicle that can hide the true appearance of the Steel Knight.


    Although there would be a lot of sacrifices to aplish this request, Ace still decided to do this for his sister.

 Chapter 321 - Getting Update

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 20 days ]


    Time is quickly passing by as the Empire''s Fleet is getting nearer and nearer¡­


    Luckily, they are maintaining their speed so Avalon''s estimation shouldn''t be wrong. Nevertheless, even if the fleet arrives now, he''s confident that they''re ready to hold them back.


    The Providence has already sortied out. The Excellence is also leading a fleet of spaceships around the Moon Base.


    The Omen IV was also fully repaired and ready to defend the Lagrange Point¡­


    "Avalon¡­ Any updates? Did I miss anything?"


    [ The food and water supplies have just arrived and our storage is filled to the brim. All the spaceships have their materials fully supplied. However, a group of few magicians together with a bunch of normal humans ying the Alien Invasion is continuously asking us to have another recruitment¡­ Although you''re nning for normal humans to participate in the war, you haven''t given them the opportunity yet. ]


    Avalon truthfully reported¡­


    First of all, Ace was d that Avalon manages most of the social interactions now and he didn''t have to remember them all.


    It was pretty awesome to have reliable Artificial Intelligence by your side.


    ''I didn''t give them work?'' Ace thought for a while before agreeing¡­


    "Alright¡­ Let''s give them some work¡­"


    Ace muttered after thinking for a while.


    Honestly, he also wanted to know their capabilities so he wanted to make a test for them¡­


    [ What kind of work? ]


    "Do you have a suggestion?" Ace inquired.


    [ Most of their tasks in the Virtual World are unrted tobat. Only a few high-level tasks would require them to participate inbat and most of them are tasks simr to being a bait or just distractions¡­ ]


    "Is that so? Then give them work that''s rted to their missions in the virtual world. Have them work as a Fabricator."


    [ All our Fabricators are Automatons with Wace''s Divine Sense. It may slow the production if we have to teach them our technology.]


    "Then have them work as an assistant or something. As long as they can have experience and have a chance to learn even if it''s slow, I''m sure that they''ll grow someday¡­"


    [ They may be able to do so even without your help as Seed Holdings has already prepared for this kind of simr project.. ]


    "Sigh~ The Seed Holdings, huh. You''re talking about the Summit Inheritance Pill¡­ I wonder if father seeded in the end."


    Ace muttered after remembering thepany''s research about the Memory Crystal that can be consumed by normal humans in order to evolve as a magician.


    Not only that, but he also read that the New Memory Crystal ispletely different and even if Magicians who already had 3 Memory Crystals consumed this, they wouldn''t experience any brain damages or death itself.


    "Avalon. I''m sure that you also said that the pill would still require several years before it can be sold to the public¡­"


    [ Yes. ]


    "Alright. Then don''t mind it for now. Let them work in facilities thatck manpower. Make it rted to building Spaceships or even Mech Knights¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "You also make sure that you recruit the best humans out there."


    [ That''s the n. ] Avalon replied matter of factly.


    "Well, I''m just trying to make sure that we can protect all the other great minds of human society."


    [ I see¡­ That''s a good move. ]


    "Isn''t it? This way, we can ensure that they wouldn''t perish easily¡­ As long as we have talented people with us, I''m sure that we''ll continue to improve even if it can be slow¡­"


    Ace said proudly as he envisioned that these normal humans right now might be capable of doing something great in the future.


    He wanted them to have the opportunity to develop so taking them under his protection is probably the best idea¡­


    "Any more information from thend?"


    [ Yes. Wace has returned. ]


    Avalon answered after being asked.


    Ace was astounded by this¡­


    "Hey! Isn''t that something that you should be reporting at first?"


    [ Wace didn''t emphasize any importance of his message to you so I''m only telling now. ]


    "Sigh~ Very well. What''s the message all about?"


    Avalon didn''t reply and instead yed the voicemail to him.


    "Ehem¡­ Ehem¡­ Avalon, you recording now?"


    "Yes."


    "Good¡­ Ace! I seeded¡­ I did it I''m now powerful! Hehe¡­ I also brought a Celestial Being with us. Although he''s alone right now, I''m sure that this being is a powerful addition to our forces."


    When Ace heard this, he smiled widely.


    "A Celestial Being? Are you sure? Can I study them?" The young man in the outer space muttered even though he knows that he won''t be able to hear him.


    "I heard that only about 20 days were left before the fleet would arrive. So I just want to tell you not to get too pressured up there as we have our forces on the ground. Alright?"


    Wace encouraged Ace as he fully knows what things would make his other self worry.


    Ace smiled at this as he looked at the window¡­


    The darkness together with the endless stars was truly a sight to behold¡­


    However, this would be a war zone very very soon¡­


    He decided not to contact Wace for now as he no longer want to worry about the things rted to the Magic Earth.


    "Avalon, hand over all the tasks rted to the ground to Wace now that he returned. Hehehe¡­" Aceughed evilly after saying this¡­


    Finally, he no longer has to worry about the many things rted to Magic Earth.


    He can already leave them to Wace who wouldter be taught by Avalon.


    As long as Avalon managed to tell him what he needed to know, there shouldn''t be a problem.


    Finally, Ace can now focus here in space.


    ***


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 19 days ]


    Ace looked at the timer as he found an intriguing discovery by one of Avalon''s Mana-Based Observer¡­


    Apparently, the Empire''s fleet started slowing down as they released a bunch of Mech Frames to test the asteroid belt that they are about to cross¡­


    They seem to be expecting an ambush at this point so they are being extra careful.

 Chapter 322 - Alarm

    "Avalon! Record everything!"


    Ace immediately instructed his A.I.


    The Mana-Based Observers that they''ve sent to monitor the fleet can still be controlled by Avalon even with such a great distance.


    [ Affirmative ]


    Ace nervously went to the Moon Base''s headquarters as he wanted to see the live feed from various observers.


    He''s acting like this as the information about the strength of the fleet is extremely vital.


    If they know the Empire''s strength, it would greatly help them in calcting the result of the battle once they faced each other.


    Of course, Ace didn''t dare to put an ambush this early as the fleet might decide to stop their stealthy activity and just force their way to the Magic Earth.


    It would be better if the fleet just continued with their current pace to let the people on Earth have more peaceful days to continue their research in improving themselves.


    It didn''t take long before Avalon managed to identify the Mech Frames that they have¡­


    [ We have identified 3-types of Mech Frames. ]


    "What are they?"


    [ Dragon''s Warrior, Serpent''s Marauder, and Wolf''s Sledger. ] Avalon replied.


    Ace can easily remember these three powerful Mech Frames of the past¡­


    They are Mech Frames that could easily contend against his Lotus Mech with a Radiant Wave Technology.


    "I expect that they''ve made enhancements with these Mechs already¡­"


    [ That''s is correct. Although the frame still looks the same, we can see some additional weapons and improvement in its speed. ]


    "Very well¡­ That''s still eptable. However, I want to make sure that they do not have any technology rted to mana."


    [ No signs of it. Since they are also unable to detect the Mana-Based Observers, we can assume that they do not have anything against Mana. Do not be paranoid, Ace. ]


    "Hahaha¡­ You''re right¡­ Mana isn''t something they can have for themselves."


    Aceughed at himself for thinking too much as he let Avalon monitor the Mech Frames from the Empire.


    It seems that they are exploring the asteroid belt and it''s something that would take a very long time.


    ***


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 18 days ]


    Ace woke up from his sleep after a sudden sound of rm¡­


    He immediately asked Avalon for a report.


    [ A disturbance caused by unknown energy. The energy seemed to be trying to enter the Moon Base but with the severalyers of Magic we''ve ced with the help of Veda, we managed to stop it. However, it caused some damages to some of our equipment and exhausted 13% of our Mana Reserves. ]


    "What? 13%?! Where did thate from? Have you identified the source?"


    Ace was shocked to hear the amount of Mana that was used since 13% of their reserves should be equal to firing their Satellite Cannon by 30 times¡­


    [ No. We tried to locate the source but there are no traces. I couldn''t trace Mana so I asked for help from some magicians stationed here. ]


    "Tsk¡­ Is it from the Empire''s Fleet? No, that''s impossible¡­ Wait--- How about the missing Celestial Being?!"


    [ Unlikely. There''s no way we can stop the power of a Celestial if we used Wace''s report as a reference. ]


    "Is that so?"


    Ace tried to think but he doesn''t have an idea.


    [ In any case, if the attack didn''te from space, we might consider checking whether it is an attack from the surface. You should be aware that aside from gaining followers, you also gained enemies after taking over the moon. ]


    Avalon reported truthfully. Well, he wouldn''t be surprised if he has some enemies wanting him to fail.


    After all, he truly aplished a lot of things and perhaps robbed other businesses'' source of ie.


    In the meantime, Ace instructed Avalon to fix anything they needed to fix and get a supply from Earth as soon as possible.


    This sudden attack that wasn''t from the Empire wasn''t in his calction.


    After all, the people from the Earth don''t even have a method to break through the barrier-like atmosphere¡­ There shouldn''t be any way for them to attack their Moon Base at all.


    "Sigh~ Another problem urred. I can''t even trace the source of the attack. I just hope that they won''t attack us when I''m dealing with the Empire¡­"


    Ace thought for a while as he considers whether to ask his friends on Earth for help about this.


    Perhaps if he asked Yumi, Lacus, and Miya, they might be able to help him narrow down the list of possible suspects¡­


    ''Tsk¡­''


    As he''s about to call Yumi regarding this, a call came to hismunication device. It''s from Wace.


    "Hey, Ace¡­ Sorry¡­ I think I caused you a lot of trouble. It was my bad." Wace immediately said after Ace epted the call.


    "Huh? What are you trying to say?" Ace had a bad feeling about this.


    "Well¡­ I managed to evolve my Void Phase and I tried moving to your Moon Base to surprise you but¡­ I didn''t know you''ve set up such strong defense that my ability was thoroughly canceled! What in the world is that defensive array? Are you trying to catch a Celestial Being? I don''t think that even smashing an asteroid in your base would destroy it¡­"


    Wace praised Ace''s defense set up but thetter is not having it¡­


    "You¡­ You''ve destroyed a lot of precious devices due to that!"


    Ace blurted out but he immediately took control of himself.


    He took a deep breath to calm down as he slowly exined to his other self the damage that was done.


    Although the damages are repairable, they still disrupted their work and wasted their precious time.


    In the end, Wace apologized as he exined to Ace about his current strength and ns.


    "Alright¡­ Your Void Phase is awesome¡­ However, instead of going here to surprise me, deal with the 6th Gen Mana Artifact or perhaps the 7th Gen Mana Artifact. Help Aeolia or something¡­ I don''t think that 5th Gen is enough¡­"


    Ace replied as he exined the recent information he got from Avalon.


    "Ho~ Those three Mech Frames¡­ Don''t worry, I''m sure that our Mech Knights can handle them¡­ However, you''re right¡­ I''ll make some arrangements with Aeolia to teach me the 7th Generation. In the meantime, you should practice A.O.T.L as well... Who knows, it might help youter in the war."

 Chapter 323 - 15 Days

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 15 days ]


    Not many days were left before the Empire''s force would start appearing in their territory.


    Ace didn''t want to get pressured but problems after problems started urring.


    After he fixed Wace''s blunder in their Moon Base, he strengthened the Base''s defense and made added supplies in case other structural problems started appearing.


    He also prohibited his other self to use his Void Phase here, as it truly causes some form of disruption even without activating their security system.


    It seems that the skill powered by his enhanced Astral Core was quite destructive.


    [ The Mechanic have started working and as you instructed, they''re working on weapons that they can use in a fight and helps in producing Mech Knights'' parts. ]


    "Very good. I hope there are no big issues with this."


    [ None at all. At most, these Mechanics wanted to create a Mech Knight that isn''t powered by a Mana. Also, due to the huge numbers of Mechanicing in, there might not be enough work for them. ]


    "I see¡­ Anyway, they want a Mech Knight simr to Lotus? Mhmm¡­ What are your thoughts?"


    [ Waste of resources. These average humans don''t have brain-boosting abilities. Not even something simr to gene enhancements. Mech Frames or Mech Knights are not suitable for them. ]


    "I see¡­"


    Ace nodded at this.


    Avalon was right, an average human doesn''t have the capacity to control such arge machine to a satisfactory level.


    They may be able to make it fly, run, or shoot, but fighting inrge battles that requires extreme map awareness and swift movements might be too much for them.


    "Oh¡­ I still have the recipe for Body Strengthening Potion, correct?"


    Ace remembered the reward that Wace received from the Pathfinder.


    He managed to produce some of these and used them as a real item reward during the recruitment phase of the Alien Invasion.


    The random rewards from Pathfinder allowed him to give away impressive items that attracted a lot of powerful organizations to invest in the game.


    One of these is the said potion. Although it was only categorized as ''S'' or small, it should be more than enough for the average humans.


    [ Yes. ] Avalon answered.


    "Alright, include the Berserk Potion with it and give these recipes to them. Let them produce as many as they can."


    [ Affirmative. We''ll divide their work into Mechanic and Potion-Brewer. ]


    "How are you nning to divide them?"


    [ We have stopped the productions of the VR Pod so we will have enough machines and automatons to work on the Knights and Spaceships. We will need fewer Mechanic at this point so we will have 70% of them work in the potion industry and the rest will work as Mechanic. ]


    "That sounds good."


    Ace may have miscalcted the number of normal humansing to his organization but he''s more than happy to help them.


    Making them strong will also help him even just by a little.


    "Aside from that, coordinate with Yumi to help them create some weapons like guns or something. We''ll need to get the government''s help to start with that so ask her or my senior apprentice."


    [ Affirmative.]


    Avalon dutifully answered.


    Creating weapons meant for civilians isn''t part of his permit so he has to coordinate it with the NMTI first.


    He doesn''t want others to disrupt his operations so it is better to anticipate his enemy''s movements. He wouldn''t want another member of Lucent Force sneaking in his territory and allow them to find a hole in his operations.


    After dealing with this, Ace was informed about the problems that they''ve encountered in making a transforming Mech Knight.


    This knight was supposedly for his sister and this is quite challenging. After all, Avalon is not an Artificial Intelligence meant for creating Mech Knights.


    Avalon is an Artificial Intelligence meant for a pilot''s life-support and enlightenment interface system.


    Although it has advanced and evolved to a now all-around A.I., it was still incapable of creating things that weren''t in its database.


    [ We have made a total of nine failures in this transforming Mech Knight. ]


    "What seems to be the problem?"


    [ Itcks effectivity. The Mech Knight can transform into a vehicle but mechanical problems would arise if the transformation urs during high-speed movement. ]


    Ace was lost in thought after hearing the problem. In truth, it shouldn''t be a problem if they would just tell her sister not to transform during the high-speed movement that Avalon is talking about.


    However, it would feel like they are limiting themselves if they just give up here¡­


    "Urgh¡­ Just let Wace handle it. I bet he''s just experimenting with his newfound abilities down there¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ .. ]


    [ Passing responsibilities to Wace Completed. ]


    "Very good¡­ Is there anything else?"


    [ There are signs of distress from the Arians that were left behind after not hearing anything from their family and friends. ]


    "Oooh¡­ I forgot about that. Let''s see¡­ Allow them tomunicate with the Arians on Earth¡­ Ensure that the Arians under Yumi''s supervision were all healthy and good-looking before allowing them tomunicate with their colleagues."


    Avalon dutifully followed his instructions. Of course, the A.I. just coordinated this to Veda who was handling the Arians staying at Omen IV.


    Finally, all simple matters of today were dealt with.


    The only thing left to do was to address the battle n that he made against the three types of Mech Frames from the Empire''s fleet.


    The Radiant Wave Technology that the Lotus he has was still quite effective against mana¡­


    It should be simr to the three that have a technology above or simr to Radiant Wave.


    Of course, Ace already expected this but he actually thought of a more effective n by using the Omen''s space mines made of the Mind Stones.


    Although he''s confident fighting against the fleet in close-rangebats, he still wanted to dwindle their forces using these methods.


    Ace looked at the floating metal ball beside him as he ordered it to connect him with Veda.


    "Veda¡­ If what you discovered about the Mind Stones is true, then we''ll use it to our advantage. Gather as many as you can from the Omen."


    [ I understand. However, I''m also quite busy with the expansion of the Cryptic Link Serum Project. Get Avalon to help me. ]


    "Isn''t that projectpleted already?" Ace was confused.


    [ Of course not. We''re about to try them to normal humans. ]

 Chapter 324 - Mysterious 7th Gen

    Veda''s n to involve the non-magicians in its project is quite concerning.


    First of all, the Cryptic Link Serum is a method created by a certain organization that Wace had to fight against with before.


    This serum is meant to be used by Magicians who were unable to advance to Adept or people who''s unable to undergo Arcane Baptism. Its purpose was to forcibly increase the magician''s purity of mana.


    However, how can a non-practitioner of mana be allowed to take the serum? Although they were born in this world where Mana exists everywhere, they are unable to feel or control it even after years of living here.


    The people of this world epted that there are only a selected few that can utilize or practice the mana.


    "Veda... Are you telling the truth? You are fully aware that thepany called Seed Holdings is trying to use an object simr to a memory crystal to make normal humans a mana practitioner. It was said that it will still take quite some time toplete this project... However, are you telling me that you''re trying to do something simr?"


    Ace asked in confusion.


    [ No. It''s different. ]


    "Then why are you nning to let them consume that serum?"


    [ Although it would be difficult for them to be a genuine Mana Practitioner, this serum would make them sensitive to mana... ]


    Ace wanted to ask more questions but he waited until Veda finished exining.


    [ Although they would be incapable of controlling mana, allowing them to feel its presence would help us increase our workforce and let them handle dangerous experiments that our automatons couldn''t handle. ]


    "What kind of experiments are you talking about?" Ace couldn''t immediately think of one.


    Veda sounded like he was someone from the Z Company that is trying to create chaos in the world.


    [ The 7th Generation Mana Artifact. Wace has recently told us about Aeolia''s method of creating the 7th Gen and it''s not something pleasant. That may also be the reason why he stayed in the northern continent... ]


    Veda answered which confused Ace even more. He didn''t hear anything about the method of creating a 7th Gen yet!


    In truth, he thought that the 6th Gen should be something they needed to work on with since it was still not being spread around even after learning it from the Grand Arcanist.


    As far as he knows, the number of people who have the method of creating the 6th Gen wouldn''t exceed a hundred within his country with millions of poption.


    "Haaa~ 7th Gen, huh... Very well. I don''t know what''s that all about but I can''t involve myself in that matter anyway... Just make sure you coordinate with Wace about this."


    [ Of course. He''s the one who instructed me about this. You should talk to your other self more, you know? ]


    "Alright, alright... Go busy yourself." Ace finally said before ending their conversation.


    It seems that Wace was not just idling around after returning from the northern continent¡­


    Anyway, it''s not like Wace was aware of his ns in outer space as well¡­ It was normal that there are things that they are not bothering to report especially if they think that it''s not as important.


    ***


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 14 days ]


    Only two weeks were left before their peaceful days will be over.


    Ace brought Avalon, in the form of a floating metal ball, to inspect or patrol within the Moon Base¡­


    He walked on the hallway connecting the headquarters and the main dome and noticed that there are Mech Knights outside doing some mock battles¡­


    "Avalon¡­ What are they doing right now?"


    [ Some test flights andbat trials. We have recently acquired brand new Mech Knights so I have tasked the second Mech Knight Division to conduct some exercise. ]


    "I see¡­ What designs am I seeing?"


    Ace found the Mech Knight''s design unfamiliar¡­


    [ Their main armors were removed but they are based on Radiant Knight that you''ve designed. It appears that Chief Engineer Zhilina decided to realize some of her fantasies about Steel Knights. ]


    ''Pfftt¡ª''


    Ace couldn''t help but be amused by Avalon''s words. He didn''t mind if the Chief decided to utilize some of the unused parts and make them into a working automaton.


    He would even like to encourage them to do this in order to control their waste materials¡­


    ''Impressive¡­''


    There are three new designs of Mech Knights that Zhilina has made and one of them caught his attention. It is a Mech Knight with a humanoid body but has a total of six arms¡­


    Ace shook his head at this as he continued his way to the main facilities.


    He''s always being greeted by the magicians that woulde in his way so he decided tomunicate with them to know any of their concerns.


    He already announced to the whole crew of the Moon Base and the Omen IV about the uing battle. A lot of them got worried but many of the adventurous Magicians were feeling excited.


    After all, they wanted to prove that this will not be a repeat of the Dorssia Empire who humiliated them within the Alien Invasion game¡­


    Within that difficult games, they died numerous times because they barely possess any advanced Mana Artifacts or weapons for themselves. Their spaceship was also just scrapped from the Empire''s trash mountain.


    They do not have the power to dominate thempletely. However, it is different now.


    Of course, they all know that it could simrly happen in reality if they did not take this seriously.


    That was why they were so eager in mastering their weapons and Mech Knights¡­


    ''Mhmm...''


    As Ace understood this, he was quite happy seeing the hardworking magicians around.


    "Right, Avalon¡­ How was the Linear Catapult installed within the Moon Base? Do we have enough? With the increase of pilots and mech knights, we must consider increasing them just in case.


    [ We have six operating Linear Catapult and three more under construction. ]


    "I see¡­ That''s good." Ace was quite happy with this arrangement. If they have more of this catapult, sending reinforcement or moving around would be easier for them.

 Chapter 325 - Out Of Place

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 12 days ]


    Avalon haspleted the construction of the Linear Catapults even after Ace asked for a couple more to be installed¡­


    It seems that the young man was nning something for having a lot of these catapults instead of cannons or other defense turrets that they construct around the Moon Base¡­


    This only proves that Ace heavily relies on his Mech Knights in this uing battle¡­ He must have some other tactics to utilize it but he didn''t mention it yet.


    However, he was definitely keeping in track the number of Mech Knights that can sortie and battle spaceships that can amodate them.


    [ All the Mana-Based equipment within the spaceships can nowst for about 15 days depending on the intensity of the battle they''ll face¡­ ]


    "That should be more than enough."


    Ace replied after hearing Avalon''s report. He was quite happy with this improvement. A standard 15 days should be more than enough.


    Even if they had to increase their mana usage, at most, they would have sufficient Mana for emergency retreat.


    After all, one of his concerns is that once the war started, they wouldn''t have the leisure to replenish their supplies. So every spaceship must have plenty of supplies in order to avoid problems like shortage of power.


    However, for Ace, even just three or four days is already quite a long duration for their war¡­


    The war they are about to take can even end in an instant since this era ispletely different. It means that war would also change¡­


    Nevertheless, three days before the arrival of the Empire''s fleet, they are nning to move and engage with them at a certain point where space mines and other traps are already in ce¡­


    "Do you think that there will be some good news about the 7th Gen?" Ace asked as he suddenly remembered the Mana Artifacts that Zhilina has installed to some Mech Knights¡­


    They were quite interesting so Ace remembered the 7th Gen. It might be able to help Zhilina in case it is something that can be used by Mech Knights.


    [ Don''t put too much hope for it. Although Aeolia has some of the 7th Gen Mana Artifacts, they are not suitable for spacebat¡­ ]


    "I see¡­ So they are only good on the surface?"


    [ Not necessarily. It depends on the Arcane Artificer who made them. But ording to Wace, none of them is usable in space battles yet. ]


    "Alright¡­ Nevermind that¡­ I''m just thinking whether it could be additional help for us. However, as you said, I shouldn''t hope for something like that¡­ I''ll just use whatever we have here¡­"


    [ Very well. Wace also sent a message telling that if you''re nervous, you should always be on your lifeboat¡­ ]


    The lifeboat that was mentioned wasn''t a literal lifeboat but a small spaceship meant to save 2 or 3 lives to return to Earth.


    Although he''s hoping that he wouldn''t have to use it, anything can happen during the war so he has to be careful.


    ***


    Ace entered themand center within the Moon Base.


    The ce was controlled by Avalon but three more people are assisting him in this room.


    "Sir Wace¡­ You''re here." They quickly stood up and greeted him.


    They are the three Magicians who had passed one of Freya examinations meant for the captains of battle spaceships.


    However, instead of sending them away to have themmand a spaceship, Avalon decided that their talent would be more useful if they are working in themand center where they can have a clear overview of their army.


    Apparently, Ace knows someone from the three even before being recruited. He''s Escanor, a student at the Leonhearts Academy. They have known each other for some time since he helped the man during the contests before.


    "Is everything alright?" Ace asked in routine.


    "Yes, there are no changes. However¡­"


    Escanor trailed his voice as he was hesitating whether he should continue asking¡­


    "Go ahead. Tell me what''s in your mind."


    "Right¡­ I''m just curious about this Spaceship¡­"


    Escanor seated again on his desk and pressed a few buttons before the monitor that was filled with numbers had suddenly changed.


    It is the image of the Meredith Empire''s Conqueror Starship.


    This starship looks like a floating city carried by a cone-shapednd and was even protected by a dome or perhaps a forcefield.


    It looks quite beautiful if it was seen from afar but itsbat ability might be questionable especially if it sacrifices speed in order to achieve an alluring style.


    "Why are you curious about it?" Ace asked as he suddenly remembered the dream he had before. It was this starship that has managed to descend first and destroy their Red Star Town so he wouldn''t forget it.


    "Mhmm¡­ I found this spaceship weird. I noticed that this is the one setting the pace of their journey and was the only spaceship that would release Mech Knights to find some traps around their path¡­"


    "They must be conserving their forces so they''re letting it handle such easy task¡­"


    "It can be¡­ However, there are several Conqueror Starships around but this one looks so active than the others and it feels like it''s out of ce¡­ I have a bad feeling about it¡­ Once we engage them, can we try to focus on eliminating this Starship as quickly as possible?"


    Ace was silent after hearing that¡­ He couldn''t find anything weird in the starship''s actions but he hired Escanor and the others for a reason, so he must try to listen to their observations.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t find anything wrong in targeting a spaceship to eliminate it as quickly as possible. It might even be a good move to start their momentum in this war¡­


    It would disrupt their enemy''s advance and would boost their morale. It will be a good move.


    Ace looked at the floating metal ball beside him¡­ However, he didn''t ask Avalon for his opinion as it would only base its decision on what was being seen on data¡­ and none of it look weird for him¡­


    "You two, do you have the same opinion with him?"


    He asked the twodies who were only silent until now.


    "Yes¡­"


    "No¡­"


    Ace heard their reply as he looked at Escanor. It was a 2 vs 1 vote, so Ace decided to listen this time¡­


    "Very well, create a battle n using our forces to eliminate the Starship as quickly as possible¡­ Make sure that it won''t be able to release its full potential."


    "Y-yes¡­ I will!" Escanor happily replied as he looked at the space army that he can use for his n to be a sess.

 Chapter 326 - Gift

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 11 days ]


    Ace analyzed the battle n that Escanor has suggested.


    It only took a day for him to create this n as if he has been waiting for this all along.


    Of course, although he let the young man create this strategy, he would still have to check the feasibility of this n¡­


    In truth, nning the quick elimination of the conqueror starship is a huge task considering that they''ll face dozens of spacecraft.


    There is also the huge gship that is ten timesrger than the other spacecraft¡­


    That one was not in Avalon''s database so they just called it Imperial Starship for now¡­ It must be one of the Empire''s finest spacecraft.


    Ace thought that the Omen IV in the Lagrange Point was alreadyrge, but the Imperial Starship was on a whole different level¡­


    They can only wonder just how many people were inside that spacecraft¡­


    ''Mhmm¡­ Utilizing the Mech Knight''s Stealth System, huh¡­ However, although the Stealth system they have was powered by magic or mana, the Mech Knights were still partially machine¡­''


    Ace thought after he read the part where they have to rely on Stealth Mode¡­ The Magic Spell itself is quite powerful but what was worrying him is that the Mech Knight might still be detected due to the machinery included in it¡­


    They can''t think too lightly about their radar technology¡­


    The only reason that the mana-based Observer was still not being detected is that because it is purely made of materials rted to mana¡­


    It is unlike the Mech Knights that still rely on the machinery in most of its core parts.


    ''Using 30 Positron Impulse Cannon at the same time after disrupting their defenses using Mana Wave or Traceless Oscition, huh¡­ Well, that''s not a bad idea.''


    Escanor was also expecting that the Empire''s Starship has a forcefield simr or stronger than the Dorssia Empire in the virtual game.


    However, because he knows that they have Magic Spells to disrupt or weaken it, he didn''t hesitate to boldly use this strategy.


    The improved Positron Impulse Cannon was also something that can be easily equipped by all the Mech Knights if they wanted to do so¡­ Aside from this, Escanor also nned several more Grade 3 Magic Spells to support the operation¡­


    "Mhmm¡­ Interesting¡­ Avalon, what do you say?"


    [ This is theoretically possible. However, we will be facing a total of 31 spacecraft, we have to consider the actions of the others or we might be cornered in a tight spot. ]


    "I get your point. How about we increase the diversion nned here?"


    [ What kind of increase? ]


    "We will time it with the space mines that we nted. Or perhaps increase the number of missiles to disrupt theirmunications?"


    Ace voiced his thoughts. Since their number is smaller, Ace had created several strategies topensate for it¡­


    They are the inclusion of the automatons, traps, Mana Artifacts, and others Adept Mages piloting the Mech Knights¡­


    Of course, one of his best strategies for this was his method of disrupting theirmunications.


    If they stopped their coordination, they could easily hunt their target spacecraft especially with their fast-moving Mech Knights including Providence that is both powered by Mana and Aether.


    Ace and Avalon worked together to create an improved version of Escanor''s n.


    That''s right, they will be eliminating the Conqueror Starship as quickly as possible¡­ It may sound ridiculous but it should be possible considering the number of resources they will be pouring to aplish this.


    Aside from this, Ace hated that Starship as well. After all, it looked like the spacecraft that destroyed their Red Star Town.


    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 10 days ]


    Ace looked at the various Mana Artifacts in front of him.


    Although they have spacesuits and other such advanced technology, the Artifacts were still integral parts of their force.


    "Ehem¡­ Ehem¡­"


    Ace called everyone within the gathering hall of the Moon Base to make an announcement¡­


    After Avalon confirmed that everyone has already entered, he greeted everyone to get their attention.


    He thanked them for gathering and immediately went straight to the real reason why he asked them to convene here. This is quite an unusual event since Wace wouldn''t normally call for them like this and would just message them through a device or perhaps use Avalon to ry his message.


    "Everyone, you will have to take one of these Mana Artifacts with you at all cost¡­ This may save your life especially to the pilots that will be battling in the front lines."


    As soon as he said this, the crowd became quite excited.


    What was in front of them is a metal ball of unknown purpose¡­ Although Ace said that it could save their life, no one can easily appraise the item as it was blocking their senses¡­


    Perhaps only an Arcane Artificer or experienced magician can help them to identify this¡­ Nevertheless, everyone celebrated¡­ Who doesn''t want a free Mana Artifact?


    Anyway, this is just one of the perks of passing Wace''s evaluation and be included in this Space Mission.


    ***


    The meeting didn''tst long and ended after Ace confirmed that everyone has taken their Mana Artifact.


    "Zhilina¡­ The war is approaching¡­ Have you contacted your family on the surface?"


    "Yes¡­ I already spoke with them¡­ Ha~ It seems that my little brother wanted to apply at the recruitment. I wanted to tell Wace not to ept him but I''m really feeling bad for it¡­"


    "Whoa! He''s so brave?!"


    "Ha! Of course! But that''s not it¡­ I think he got too engrossed in ying the Alien Invasion Game¡­ He now wants the real deal. Sigh~"


    "Well, I know a lot who got addicted within this game... He''ll calm down after a while, don''t worry... Anyway, the game is pretty well made and it has a goodmunity, he should be fine."


    Zhilina''s friend replied. Everyone here yed the game at some point before bing a crew in this mission, so they could somehow understand each other.


    The Chief Engineer nodded at this as she grabbed the Metal Ball Mana Artifact to study it¡­ She wanted to busy her mind so she nned to study this Artifact.


    ''Haa~ As expected of the Traceless Hands, he even created a Magic Node to gift us¡­''


    ''Eh?! This is a Magic Node? Aren''t they meant for creating a city-wide Magic Barrier?"


    "Yes¡­ This is a simplified one¡­ This is quite scary¡­ He truly lives up to his reputation." Zhilina expressed her true feelings after realizing how amazing this item was.

 Chapter 327 - Completion

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 7 days ]


    Only a week was left and the war against the Meredith Empire would start.


    Once it began, it will only end once the opposing side has surrendered or perhaps, eliminated.


    There was no way for Wace to coexist with them and there was no way for the Empire to ignore the rich resources of the¡­


    If it''s also true that they are here to create some perfect gene optimization fluid with the blood of the Mana Practitioners, then they have to make sure that their is united once the Empire has arrived¡­


    "Avalon, are you finished with the preparation for the live broadcast?"


    [ We are at 98% Completion Rate. ]


    "Ny-eight?"


    [ Yes. Our production of VR Pod just recently stopped and the stocks were still being sent to other parts of the world. ]


    [ Makes sense. It''s not bad¡­ Can we cover all the countries?"


    [ The Ind Country of Montego has Mage Towers in everyrge city that can block our attempt for broadcasting the war. Our only medium that they can use to watch is the VR Pod. If they do not possess one, there is no way for them to know what was happening. ]


    Avalon replied truthfully.


    Although Veda did its best to share knowledge and connect all the countries with such a high-level informationwork, the country of Montego didn''t exploit Veda''s effectiveness.


    The leaders of the country decided to suppress information and made Veda only avable to five or so people in the country.


    They have failed to utilize it effectively.


    Due to this, their technology didn''t advance that much and they remained dependant on their Mage Tower to establish their power.


    Nevertheless, Ace was still quite satisfied with this.


    After all, as long as he managed to inform therge countries about the war that is about to happen, they wouldn''t be surprised once he decided to return to the surface while being followed by the Empire.


    Once they watched the war even a day or two earlier, the leaders of the countries would definitely take action and be united to face a stronger foe.


    "Alright, we have also captured better quality images¡­ We can start by spreading these images and give them a bit of engaging caption¡­"


    [ Are we going to spread it through Veda''s informationwork? ]


    "Mhmm¡­ Do whatever you think is the best as long as we informed the people we are targeting."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    By allowing them to see the images, they would be able to realize the intensity of the situation.


    "Right, give them some illustrationparing the size of the Providence and the Empire''s starship. Everyone should''ve seen my Spaceship by now¡­"


    At this time, Wace''s spaceships were the standard spacecraft on this. They have no idea about the possible spacecraft made by another civilization.


    Even the Alien Invasion didn''t showcase such a gigantic spacecraft at all¡­


    Nevertheless, everyone should have seen both Excellence and Providence at least once by now. He can guarantee that the space travel that he sessfully started has attracted the whole world.


    After all, it is an achievement that must be celebrated by everyone not just by the Traceless Handspany¡­


    ***


    Yumi can finally rx after hearing that the original Wace has returned.


    She immediately visited his home at Mt. Ravencroft but found out that she''s not the only one who visited him.


    As soon as she was permitted by Avalon to enter the highly protected vi, she noticed a familiar fancy car¡­


    This is Miya''s car, the recently popr Celebrity Idol. Her poprity blew up after endorsing the VR Pod to every country on the continent or wherever they can reach.


    Not every VR Pod users know Wace but every one of them knows Miya¡­


    "You''re here¡­ The two are talking about something serious¡­ Let''s have a drink for now."


    As soon as Yumi entered, she saw Miya''s manager, Diana Humeray¡­


    She is very rxed watching the news as she sips some alcohol from time to time¡­ She even pointed to the room where Wace and Yumi are talking.


    "This early? Who''s going to driveter on?" Yumi pointed out after seeing her drinking this early in the morning.


    "Miya can drive¡­"


    "Haha¡­ Is that so? Anyway, how long they''ve been there?"


    "Who knows? Just let the young ones have their time¡­"


    Miss Humeray replied immediately and it seems that she doesn''t care about it.


    However, Yumi can feel that this woman is using her Soul Arts to monitor Miya in the other room.


    It is an Art that she hates the most since it is difficult to defend against it.


    Her Transforming Body Arts would have some troubles facing it.


    Due to this, she decided to distance herself from the woman and found a corner to wait¡­


    In the meantime, she also noticed an automatoning to her.


    "Ohh¡­ My snacks thest time I''m here¡­"


    The familiar automaton controlled by Avalon served her some snacks as she waited for Wace.


    It didn''t take very long as the door in the other room opened.


    Miya and Wace went out at the same time¡­


    "Miss Yumi! It has been a while." Miya greeted the government official.


    "That''s true¡­ Both of us has been busy in work¡­"


    "Yumi, what brought you here?" Wace joined the conversation as he curiously asked her¡­


    "Well, I finally have a rest day¡­ Do you know how much I worked hard in the past few days?"


    Yumi had many things toin about but decided to limit it to few words.


    "The Arian Race that your other self sent here on Earth, there''s a lot of people who wanted to see them after their presence was leaked to the public¡­"


    Thedy then exined the troubles she had.


    Apparently, many people are not satisfied with just trusted sources and they want to see these aliens for themselves before they can be satisfied.


    Yumi wanted to add more but she suddenly felt something different from Wace¡­


    "Mhmm¡­ What''s with your Aura?"


    She stepped back for a bit as Wace approached her.


    The young man smiled and started exining.


    "I''ve lived together with a Celestial Being for quite a long time, so this happened¡­"


    "Ahh! Now that you said! We just need to save Percival that time¡­ But you decided to have a vacation on the Northern Continent¡­ Sigh~ You''re really impressive in many ways¡­" Yumi added.


    In the end, Wace decided to tell his story on the northern continent.

 Chapter 328 - 7th Gen

    Yumi, Miya, and Diana were all interested in his story.


    After all, they barely knew anything about the Northern Continent and Yumi was too busy thinking about Percival during that time.


    "Right, we saw a floating ind back then¡­ You''ve stayed there for a while, I bet you have researched more about that ind, right?"


    Yumi was reminded of that magnificent view.


    There are many weird things in that continent like the corrosive rain, treants, huge worms, and others¡­ However, what truly marked in her mind was the floating ind that looks so beautiful as it peacefully moves in the sky.


    Of course, she already knows that it was most likely caused by a Mana Cmity simr to a popr story about the Illusion of the Venarian Town but knowing that doesn''t help in understanding the mystery behind it¡­


    "Yes¡­ But I thought that you will ask more about the Celestials¡­" Wace replied.


    "Ha! Their existence is what I want to forget¡­ I don''t like them. They''re unreasonable. I almost died¡­ We almost failed that mission because of that Celestial¡­"


    Yumiined about it after Wace reminded him of that previous event.


    If not for Wace''s quick thinking at that time, they would''ve really died right there¡­ As a matter of fact, one of them was in critical condition after the Celestial attacked them, and without Wace''s elixir healing him, they would''ve lost one member of their party.


    "Oh, that makes sense¡­ Anyway, the Floating Inds is just one of the benefits of letting Aeolia stay in the northern continent¡­ I guess you can thank the people who were so eager in eliminating him that he needed to lie low."


    "Wait¡­ So someone was truly plotting against him? It''s not a baseless rumor?"


    "That''s right¡­ He mentioned a couple of powerful ns in the Kingdom. But I don''t think that you''ll be interested in it. Anyway, about a century has already passed so I''m thinking that the previous n who tried to plot against him has already changed for the better."


    Wace smiled mysteriously.


    "Urgh¡­ Can you at least give us some hint?!" Diana asked as she was truly curious about this part of their history.


    Wace was about to exin more but Avalon interrupted him.


    [ Your Senior Apprentice Lacus and older sister rice are outside. ]


    "Oh, they''re already here¡­ Let theme in¡­" Wace replied as he was expecting them. Only the three other girls were surprised.


    Apparently, after everyone heard about Wace returning home, they just decided to visit him here¡­


    Lacus wanted to discuss the enhancements of AOTL that he hinted while rice wanted to see the progress of her transforming Mech Knight¡­


    ''Right¡­ I just let Avalon handle it after giving some advice¡­ I wonder how did turn out.'' Wace suddenly recalled rice''s reason foring here¡­


    Nevertheless, the two joined the group as they also got curious about Wace''s adventure in the northern continent¡­


    "Aeolia? Are you sure that he''s not his son or grandchild perhaps?" rice asked. Although she holds top-secret information in the military, there wasn''t anything rted to Aeolia''s existence.


    "True¡­ How can he still be alive? Longevity Pills shouldn''t be that potent¡­" Lacus added.


    She''s an Arcane Artificer and also dabbles in the field of medicine, so she was curious about Aeolia''s body¡­ It would be great if she could study him for a while.


    They are not doubting Wace''s words. He definitely saw a human with Aeolia''s appearance but his identity would make them question the true lifespan that a Magician can have¡­


    "Haha¡­ I already confirmed it. Don''t worry, I have my ways to determine the truth. Trust me, he''s Aeolia¡­ Anyway, you guys already heard about the 6th Gen, right?"


    "Of course¡­ That''s the Spirit Forging Magic¡­ I heard that it has some kind of soul-bound functions or something. It can''t be literally destroyed as it can be manifested as long as you have the energy¡­ or something like that."


    It was her older sister who answered¡­ It seems that the 6th Gen has already spread within the military of their kingdom.


    That is good to know.


    "That''s somehow correct¡­ However, Aeolia was already done on that and made the 7th Gen Mana Artifact¡­ It''s a groundbreaking technology and without his many years of research, I doubt that anyone coulde close to his creations¡­"


    Wace praised the legendary man as they realized that his longevity might perhaps be rted to the 7th Generation Mana Artifact?


    He himself was already considered as a renowned person for aplishing a lot of things like the Virtual World, Space Explorations, and other groundbreaking magic structures like the Float Drive System and Traceless Oscition¡­


    However, since he was still regarding Aeolia as someone greater than him, thetter must''ve shown something to him that would make him acknowledge his superiority.


    "Wace¡­ I actually heard that the 6th Gen Mana Artifact should be simr to Human Body Artifact, or making the magician''s body capable of holding the Magic Structures through a form of marks or tattoo¡­ I guess I was wrong?" Yumi muttered as she shared what she knows.


    Everyone in this room was close to Wace and wasn''t an average person living in the kingdom¡­ They all have a certain status that would qualify them to know such information¡­ In truth, they may even know more about her¡­


    "Ahh¡­ Miss Humeray, I think we also heard about that. I was offered to advertise a new Mana Artifact¡­ They said that it was an ink that could boost the power of the person marked with it¡­ However, I didn''t ept it as it sounds dangerous." Miya then shared one of her stories.


    "An Ink, huh¡­ I think that is still rted to one of Z-Company''s attempts to spread their nasty creations to the public¡­ We have received some reports about that recently."


    Yumi replied. As one of the people working in NMTI, she has a clear grasp of the new Mana Artifacts appearing in the market, whether they are legal or not.


    "So Wace, can you at least tell us what''s the 7th Generation Mana Artifact that Sir Aeolia has created?" rice asked as she''s really excited to know about this¡­


    Wace smiled at the girls and exined what happened in his meeting with Aeolia¡­


    "Aeolia showed me one of his Mana Artifacts that he called as a 7th Generation¡­ However, what he showed was a bottle containing a dark liquid with unknown energy¡­ He called it Synthetic Mana Core, a Mana stronger than what we are used to and capable of turning our bodies into weapons¡­"

 Chapter 329 - Synthetic Mana Core

    Wace was also confused after he first learned about the Synthetic Mana Core. However, he has an Astral Core in his body which allowed him to easily grasp its function.


    His Astral Core was something he ced into his body after a painful and dangerous operation using various types of energies that he can find.


    Although it is not something perfect that could equal the Celestial Beings, it is more than enough to be bnced with his Mana¡­


    In this way, he would not be dependant on a single type of Energy which can be very useful in many situations.


    Especially right now where there is something like a Magic Jammer¡­ He even heard from Aeolia that the Lamat Stones which should''ve been extinct were actually somethingmon within the deepest part of the northern continent. He just decided not to find them since these stones can destroy the Magician''s society if discovered.


    It is better to leave them there than to bring it to their continent.


    After all, he couldn''t guarantee that his Jammer Canceler would be effective forever¡­ There''s a lot of talented Arcane Artificers and Arcanists around and they might find a loophole in his Magic Structure if given a bit more time¡­


    Of course, at this moment, there is also no such thing as Astral Jammer so he can be confident that his abilities would not be stopped or canceled by such technology.


    There might be some Lost Arcane Technology that could fight against his Astral Core as per Aeolia, but there shouldn''t be one created as of yet¡­


    "Synthetic Mana Core?" Lacus repeated the unfamiliar words that she just heard.


    "What''s that? This is the first time I''ve heard of this?"


    "There''s no such thing in the military as well. At most, there is the Molten Core that I heard of but that is something for the Steel Knights only, right?"


    "Yes¡­ Besides, that Molten Core was created by multiple Arcanists of various countries just to contend against the Iron Knight''s Core. There is no other purpose than that¡­"


    Everyone who heard about the Steel Knights would also know about the Molten Core that it possesses. After all, it is a huge breakthrough in the Magic Engineering world.


    Wace remained silent as he let them guess about this 7th Gen Mana Artifact¡­


    In truth, even Aeolia only gave him some hints about its power. It means that all of its functions weren''t something that even he would know unless he tried using it himself.


    "What does it do? What do you mean that it could make our body as weapons?" Miya curiously asked.


    She''s not abatant so she couldn''t follow that easily. Her powers rely on her Soul Arts and it''s not something that she can just practice with anyone¡­ After all, it might cause problems to their souls and it''s not something that can be fixed whenever you wanted¡­


    In short, she''ll only use offensive Soul Arts technique if extremely necessary, so she''s probably the weakest one here¡­


    This is the reason why she''s more interested in this 7th Gen¡­ Perhaps, it may help her be a bit stronger and capable of protecting herself.


    "Well¡­ You can say that it can help you control a lot of Mana to the point that you can manipte them to create swords, spears, spikes, or anything without the help of Magic Structure or Artifacts as a medium¡­" Wace replied.


    "What? How can it be 7th Gen? Isn''t that something that the Mana Practitioners before the 5th Generation are doing?" Yumi asked in confusion.


    The 4th Gen was the Brain-Boosting Era and the 5th Gen was the Mana-to-Element Era¡­


    "That''s true¡­ but this time, you will have a different Mana¡­ I think it''s a corrupted Mana? Perhaps a new form of Mana? Maybe because the Mana has a Sentience? I can''t say¡­ You may be able to try it yourself once I learned how to do it¡­"


    Wace replied.


    Of course, it wasn''t him who is trying to discover the method of its creation but Veda who is currently doing some dangerous experiments to find all its secrets and look for a different method that would allow them to manufacture them in a short amount of time.*


    That''s right¡­ Creating the 7th Gen is extremely dangerous as it involves some living beings to create such Mana¡­


    "What? A Mana with Sentience?" rice had a bad feeling about it¡­


    The Mana should be formless energy that they can manipte using their affinity.


    There should only be three methods to establish their affinity with mana: Forceful Maniption, Inducement Control, and the Arcane Link¡­**


    If a Mana has Sentience, then it might be harder for everyone to control it and may even cause a problem¡­ It shouldn''t be a 7th Gen if that was the case!


    However, Wace continued sharing some information with them about the things he discovered.


    All of them discussed the matter of the 7th Gen and many other things and itsted for a couple of hours¡­ Some of them started getting hungry so Wace instructed Avalon to bring them some refreshments.


    "Hey! Wace¡­ You should show me the changes you made with the A.O.T.L. already¡­" Lacus then reminded the man after having some snacks¡­


    The others were confused so Lacus added¡­


    "The A.O.T.L. is our Cloud Hawks Manor''s special technique¡­ He said that he made improvements on it¡­ Haa~ It''s something that is extremely crucial with the sess of the Manor¡­ There shouldn''t be a way to improve this technique drastically but I still want to see it myself¡­"


    "That''s true¡­ But there''s something that we learned in the Northern Continent¡­ Wait¡­ Master ine should''ve told you already, right?" Wace asked¡­


    "Urgh¡­ He said that he''s still busy with something and couldn''te back to the Manor yet¡­"


    "Busy?"


    "Yes¡­ He said that he''s still in the sky sorting something out¡­" Lacus replied nonchntly. She thought that he''s just making some excuse.


    Miya and the other girls tilted their heads in confusion¡­


    "Don''t ask me¡­ I don''t know what he''s talking about as well."


    Wace''s senior apprentice seemed to be truly unaware.


    After hearing this, Wace recalled that ine was helping Aeolia at the moment¡­


    "Right¡­ He should still be at one of the Floating Inds¡­"


    "Floating Inds?!" Everyone was shocked¡­


    In the end, Wace had to give them some information about the inds and they have to keep it a secret.


    After all, it is one of his weapons once the Meredith Empire''s Starships started to descend on their.

 Chapter 330 - Changes

    [ Empire''s Fleet ETA: 5 days ]


    Almost all the magicians under Wace have already mastered the Mana Artifact that they recently received.


    This Magic Node is not just a normal 5th Gen Mana Artifact and it requires a bit of time for them to properly handle it¡­


    After all, the shield or the barrier it can create would be capable of protecting them even if they fall from space to Earth, theoretically, at least¡­


    They do not have a volunteer or even the time to do such a thing at the moment¡­ Most importantly, anyone who could master the Magic Node is definitely a talented Magician and they can''t just let them have such a highly dangerous mission.


    It would be better to use their skills to fight against their invaders¡­


    "Avalon¡­ We should''ve spread thetest information to the public by now¡­"


    [ That''s correct. Almost everyone should be aware of their presence by now. ]


    "Good¡­ How was the sentiment of the public?"


    [ They are rushing to learn anything that could help them in the nearing invasion. Some of them started finding ways to hide by building better underground shelters. ]


    "Shelters¡­ That won''t work with the Empire''s Life Sensors¡­ I hope that there''s not a lot of them."


    [ Yes. They were mostly renowned people who can''t afford to lose their riches. ]


    "I understand. Just monitor them for me¡­"


    Although Ace didn''t want to meddle about the Earth''s current situation now that Wace is present there, he still wanted to know how they are coping up after he released the information about the Empire¡­


    "How about the Arians? Are they still alive?"


    [ Yes. Veda has finished their experimentation. We can call them up here at any time. ]


    "Is that so? What do you think?"


    [ We can ask them instead if they want to stay on Earth¡­ ]


    "That''s a good idea. Go ahead and ask them¡­"


    After saying this, he headed to themand center to meet with the officers.


    He wanted to see if his strategist has any more suggestions¡­


    After this, he would have to do his routine check with their Satellite and Impulse Canons.


    ***


    Hilda and the First Knight Division pilots have just finished their training with the Magic Nodes¡­


    It was quite a difficult Mana Artifact even for them. It was better to learn how to pilot the Mech Knights than to learn how to effectively use such aplicated Artifact.


    They were all secretly wishing that Wace would make it simpler but none of them dared to tell him about this¡­ After all, he already put a lot of effort just to give this item to them.


    So they have to at least show that they deserve having such a valuable item that could save their life. They don''t want to be an ungrateful person to him.


    They were also subtly aware of the price of this Magic Node if it was sold to the market¡­


    It would easily be sold for 50 million to 100 million credits per piece¡­


    One could just imagine how rich this man was¡­ Anyway, now that he managed to build a base on the moon and create a small fleet of battle spaceships, Traceless Hands must''ve received a lot of support and weren''tcking in money at all¡­


    "Do not let your Magic Node leave your body¡­ Take it with you wherever you go¡­ Even if you have to take a bath." Hilda instructed her team.


    "Yes, Ma''am!"


    "Urgh¡­ Don''t call me Ma''am¡­" The young girl said as she was not used to it.


    However, her teammates wanted to call their Ace Pilot with respect¡­


    "Ahh¡­ We''re supposed to let Avalon know once we learn how to use this."


    They quickly informed Avalon about their progress¡­


    They were expecting that they will be instructed to rest for now since that is what they normally do after training for long hours¡­


    [ Very well. Visit the 4th Hangar where your Mech Knights are located. Have some final checks on it as we will advance our schedules¡­ The First and Second Knight Division will move out tomorrow at 13:00. ]


    Hilda squinted her eyes but she resolutely replied.


    "Copy."


    She ryed the information to her team as they clenched their fist¡­


    It''sing¡­ Their time to protect their home is getting near¡­


    "Are we going with Providence?" Her team members asked.


    "Mhmm¡­ I didn''t ask Avalon but there shouldn''t be any changes with our carrier."


    "I see¡­ I''m morefortable with Providence behind us."


    "Haha¡­ Don''t be like that. Don''t underestimate the first spaceship¡­ Sir Wace seemed to be very attached to Excellence and improved it several times¡­"


    None of them seemed to be very nervous after hearing Avalon''s orders¡­


    It was because of Ace and Avalon''s hard work to condition their state of mind¡­ From the VR Pod, the Virtual Game, the 4th Phase of his Recruitment, his early creation of the Moon Base, and the battle against the Arians¡­ All of this created a huge impact on the Magicians.


    That was why they willingly decided to protect their own against the invaders¡­


    If not for all of his efforts, they may still put up a fight against the Empire, but it wouldn''t be as organized as his ns and their weapons wouldn''t be as powerful as his own.


    In short, he made them realize the difference between joining his team or going on their own¡­


    "Alright, everyone¡­ Let''s proceed to the Hangar. Coordinate with the Magic Engineers if you found something off. Right¡­ You also need to make sure that you have spare parts¡­ We don''t know for sure what will happen in the fight¡­"


    "Yes, leader!"


    They all shouted in unison before heading to the hangar¡­


    They met with Zhilina''s team as thetter also heard about the changes in the ns.


    ***


    In themand center, Ace was holding a paper containing Escanor''s n to surprise the Empire''s forces¡­


    He found it really interesting that was why he decided to move up their ns¡­


    Tomorrow, they will finally start their offensive operation¡­

 Chapter 331 - Arcane Tech

    To boost the morale of the Magicians, Ace decided to apany them with their gship, the Excellence.


    Only two spacecraft would be engaging against the Empire''s forces but they are not underestimating them at all¡­


    There''s a total of 31 Spacecraft from the Meredith Empire and all of them were bigger than Excellence and Providence.


    One could just imagine the number of Mech Frames, Destroyers, Marauders, and Enhanced Soldiers inside one of the spacecraft.


    However, they at least have some weaknesses that Escanor has pointed out. Of course, Ace was also aware of this but the former decided to create an ideal n out of it.


    First, the Empire is not familiar with this territory. They have to be wary as they might encounter unknown entities or other enemies aside from the Magicians, especially after encountering the block of mana when they used a wormhole to enter this star system.


    They must have a very strong army but their systems might take some time to gather all the information they needed within a hundred A.U.


    Escanor and his team learned a lot after being together with Freya and Avalon.


    Another one of their weakness was their inability to respond or detect the Mana Artifacts.


    Unless they are being attacked, they should be able to detect the Mana-Based Observers that they have.


    It should be simr to the Arians when Ace attacked the Omen IV.


    Finally, the Empire is not aware of Wace and Avalon''s existence yet¡­


    It means that they are clueless that Wace has already influenced their objective and even created a space fleet to wee them.


    They will be able to give them a surprise as long as they nned their attack carefully.


    ''There''s two Mech Knights Division with a total of 30 pilots¡­ We also have another 20 Mech Frames under Avalon''s control. The number is extremely smallpared to the enemies. But we have tons of space mines nted and 5th Gen Mana Artifacts¡­ If Escanor is right, this set of Magic should enough to at least damage several spacecraft and clear up any Mech Frames they''ll bring out¡­''


    Ace pondered as he entered the bridge¡­ He made several checks about their operation and didn''t find any problems with it.


    As long as the Empire''s firepower is within the limit of their calctions, their Mana Artifacts would certainly y a big role.


    That''s right, the key to the sess of their offensive operation is not the Mech Knight Division, the Particle Beam Cannon, or even the powerful Sattelite-ss Canon installed in their spaceships¡­ The key to this was the set of 5th Generation Mana Artifacts that would give them destructive power¡­


    These Mana Artifacts that they''ve prepared are those ''One-Time-Use Artifact'' that are extremely expensive and banned in the market¡­ Of course, Ace was no longer a person that would be intimidated by money and he also has Veda''s widework of information to help him out to connect with the ck market.


    "Avalon¡­" Ace called.


    [ Everything is prepared. ]


    "Very well¡­ Commence Launch Sequence!"


    Acemanded as the Excellence and Providence started their engine¡­


    [ Starting Launch Sequence ]


    [ Main Power: Online ]


    [ Conduit Activation¡­ Rying Power to umtor¡­ Connection Confirmed. ]


    [ Output Flow: Stable ]


    ¡­


    [ All Excellence''s Systems: Online ]


    [ Sealing airtight bulkheads. ]


    [ Preparation forunch: Complete ]


    "Alright, Avalon¡­ Launch the Excellence¡­"


    Ace gave hismand as the Excellence went out first from the Moon Base followed by the Providence.


    He nced at the Transcendence hovering above the Moon Base as it was left behind¡­


    It will be the main battle spaceship that will protect this territory while they''re gone. It is apanied by several smaller spacecraft as they remained in battle stations.


    Now that the Empire is getting closer, they have to be alert at all times.


    "Avalon, how''s the condition of our pilots?"


    [ They made a report that they are at the peak of their condition. ]


    "Is that so? Inform them to have a rest whenever they have the time. We will alert them once we''re close to the enemy fleet and once that happened, they would no longer have time to take a rest¡­ So tell them it''s an important order¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    Escanor and his colleagues were left at themand center watching the two Transatmospheric Battleships taking off.


    As soon as they exited the Moon Base''s spherical protection array, their boosters immediately activated as they went to the path of the enemy fleet.


    "It''s beautiful¡­"


    "I wish I could''ve joined them¡­"


    "You''ll just hinder Sir Wace¡­ I''m sure that he''ll be sessful even without your help..."


    "Ha! I didmand a spaceship from Dorssia Empire several times¡­ I might be useful¡­"


    They allughed at this as they did their best to improve the mood within the room.


    Their battle n to fight them head-on may sound ludicrous to others if they considered the number of enemies¡­ But having a Magic ispletely different and Escanor wanted to just show them how threatening the magicians can be¡­


    If they pulled this off perfectly, they will create a mysterious and also powerful impression on the minds of the imperial army.


    As Ace shared with them, the Empire doesn''t know their Magic Skills and was barely aware of anything about this.


    ''Haaa~ But I might be wrong¡­ If the Empire''s forces are stronger than I expected, I just hope that Wace won''t be ming me¡­'' Escanor silently prayed as he saw two small dots of light in his monitor. The ships are getting further away and there is no turning back in this mission.


    Thanks to Avalon, Escanor knows a lot about the empire¡­ However, he was still reminded that there might have been a lot of changes considering the sheer power of the empire.


    "Alright¡­ There''s no time to waste. It''s time to work¡­"


    Escanor urged his colleagues to start the task that Ace has left for them.


    Apparently, the young man wanted them to work on one of the Lost Arcane Technology to create anotheryer of defense for their base.


    It is the Optical Phenomena Maniption technology that Wace has received from Pathfinder! It is now time to use this so-called Lost Technology.

 Chapter 332 - The Key

    Escanor''s group was actually confused when Ace introduced to them the technology.


    After all, the Lost Technology is something that couldn''t be bought with money... No one knows the origin of this mysterious knowledge and there were only clues that it came from the Northern Continent or the legendary city under the sea...


    Aside from this, no one knows where can they find them as they were mostly hidden or destroyed through the passage of time. Some of this iplete Lost Technology would appear in the ck market, auctions, and even in some museums but it is extremely rare to happen...


    However, right now, what in front of them is a piece of detailed information about Optical Phenomena Maniption. A genuine Lost Technology that Ace calls Arcane Technology.


    He said that he already learned this knowledge and it was now time for them to study it and help him continue his project...


    They were quite surprised that they still have to study while the Empire is getting near¡­


    Nevertheless, they know that Wace just wanted to help them and perhaps control the OPM Tech.


    "Avalon¡­ Sir Wace said that he wants us to study and create a device meant for this Lost or Arcane Tech¡­ Do we have enough time for this?"


    One of them asked after checking how much information is contained within this technology¡­


    [ Yes. You only need to learn various functions of this Technology. So once it is needed to be activated or perhaps requires some repairs, you''ll be able to handle it. ]


    Avalon then rified that Wace already set up a device with such technology but they still have to study it in case some emergencies urred.


    After hearing this, they stopped asking questions and started to immerse themselves in the study.


    For some reason, to be trusted by that man during emergencies was something so pleasant to hear¡­. This made them happy as they regained their energy to study it.


    Apparently, Wace is confident that his Moon Base and Omen IV can avoid the Empire''s life sensors due to the array that they''ve arranged. However, it doesn''t mean that they can avoid their cameras or scopes.


    That is where the maniption of the optical phenomenones in¡­ With the creation of a device that is capable of doing this, they wouldn''t have to worry about being sighted¡­


    Of course, even if they are sighted after all of this preparation, they still have enough power to defend this fortress and escape the ce if truly necessary.


    ***


    Ace had his eyes closed as he seated at the captain''s chair within the bridge.


    There''s nothing more to do and he''s just waiting for them to arrive at the targeted spot to create an ambush.


    As he was about to doze off, a suddenmunication link alerted him¡­


    This made him sit up straight as he asked Avalon.


    "Who is it?"


    [ Zhilina, the Chief Engineer. ]


    The engineer was left at the Moon Base so he has no idea what she wanted.


    "Let her through¡­"


    Beep!


    "Wace? I have some concerns with the Adepts that you told me to watch out for¡­"


    She''s referring to the Adept Mages that Veda has sent. They were the magicians who managed to breakthrough after establishing a Cryptic Link instead of an Arcane Link.


    "What''s going on? Tell me¡­"


    "I noticed that their umtion of mana increases a lot¡­ It happens extremely fast like they are evolving¡­ I mean, they are getting too strong. Instead of letting them work here, how about you consider making them as part of the frontline?"


    After all, only a few of these Adepts managed to be in the Knights Division and they were mostly ced in the 4th and 5th division.


    If he decided to ce them there as well, they might have to create another Knights Division.


    "Getting stronger?"


    Ace doesn''t know how to react to that.


    However, Zhilina seemed to be very serious about this so he looked at it in a positive way just like what she did.


    They would indeed be powerful assets if they are truly effective. Aside from these, the Adepts with Cryptic Link also possesses forbidden Magic Skills that would allow them to avoid suffering its bacsh.


    ''Mhmm¡­ If they have truly improved, then it might be better for them to work as part of the assassin squad instead of being Mech pilots.


    "Alright, thanks for letting me know¡­ I''ll coordinate with Avalon and let you know my nster¡­"


    "Thank you, Sir Wace. I hope your mission will be a sess¡­"


    Zhilina finally said as she ended their conversation.


    Wace discussed this case with Avalon and decided that the Adepts with Cryptic Link would train more in fighting automatons instead of working as engineers or train as pilots.


    Needless to say, his Battle-Geared Automatons were several times stronger than the ck Phantom, Elysiums, and the Automatons of the Golden Trident Group¡­.


    It is because they are suited in spacebat and also possess a bit of Wace''s Divine Sense inside their memory crystal.


    With such a powerful automaton, he would be able to easily gauge the strength of these Adept Mages andy out a better n for them¡­


    Wace stood up as he no longer felt sleepy. They still have several hours before they arrive.


    He went inside a room containingrge boxes with unknown content¡­


    These artifacts were the key to lead them to sess.


    About ten automatons are guarding the room even though it was almost impossible for someone to sneak into this ce without his notice.


    "This should be more than enough¡­ But I hope that I could get more than this¡­"


    Ace muttered seriously as he checked each One-Time Use Mana Artifact inside¡­


    The Artifact is extremely rare because it contains a valuable source of energy¡­ It doesn''t just contain a vast amount of mana, but it also has a fist-size solidified blood of a Celestial in each artifact!


    That''s right! Wace managed to obtain some of the treasures that the Golden Trident Group was hiding!


    It must be remembered that these pieces of Solidified Blood were the trigger to cause a siege within the Tanza City¡­ This is the reason why the Z-Company dared to wage a war against the adepts or even the soldiers stationed within the city, including the Lucent Force!


    Now, Ace will be using these items to fight against the empire.

 Chapter 333 - The Confrontation I

    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    Ace immediately woke up after hearing Avalon''s rm¡­


    [ We have 10 minutes left before we arrive at ESN1 Asteroid. ]


    "Very well¡­ Have the automatons activated and inform the pilots to standby in their Mech Knights."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace stretched out for a bit as he truly had a good nap as if they are not going to war.


    [ The automatons and the Mech Knights are ready. ]


    It didn''t take long before the preparation to sortie waspleted.


    Ace was already seated at the Captain''s Seat within the bridge and saw everything¡­


    "Alright¡­ Go ahead and open the Linear Catapult¡­ Let themplete their task."


    [ Affirmative. We will start with the First Mech Knight Division followed by the Second Division that will carry the Mind Stone Mines before we will send out the automatons with the Mana Artifacts. ]


    "Go ahead¡­ Proceed with that arrangement."


    There are already nted space mines in this region and their only task was to add the Mana Artifact Traps and Mind Stone Mines stealthily¡­ Of course, these space mines weren''t stationary and can slowly move ording to their will¡­


    As long as someone has a strong Arcane Link, it wouldn''t be difficult in controlling them¡­


    [ We still have 45 hours before we get into their scanning range. ]


    "I see¡­ We have plenty of time. Tell the pilots not to get too pressured. Just ce all the traps carefully¡­ Right, Freya should''ve given missions simr to this, correct?"


    [ Yes. However, only about 40 yers managed to reach that level. ]


    "That little? Well, it should be fine¡­ Just guide them in case something went wrong¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Well, the second part of the game, or the Alien Invasion: Moon Project was quiteplicated so he understands why only a select few can trigger difficult missions.


    ***


    Hilda and her team were sent out first to survey the area¡­


    They needed to ensure the safety of the next Mech Knights and Automatons that will beunching out.


    After all, they will be carrying extremely valuable materials to halt the advance of the Empire¡­


    They have to do this perfectly or they will suffer.


    "It''s clear¡­"


    "Sector B clear¡­"


    "Launching Observer Wards¡­"


    [ All Green. Sending the Second Knight Division. ]


    Avalon followed up as they smoothly continued the operation.


    Ace was monitoring everything as the automatons went out to install the 5th Gen Mana Artifacts¡­


    After one of them was ced in its position, Ace closed his eyes and tried sensing it¡­


    He couldn''t feel any Mana from it¡­ He used the Excellence''s radar and didn''t find anything wrong with it¡­


    It ispletely ''invisible''¡­ The solidified blood was working really well¡­


    Ace was satisfied at the first trap so he just silently watched on his chair and monitor everyone''s work¡­


    Several hours had passed and the instation was allpleted.


    "Sir Wace¡­ Wepleted our mission. We''re going back to Providence¡­"


    "We alsopleted the Mind Stone changes¡­"


    The two leaders of the Knights Division reported in their private channel.


    "Great! It wouldn''t be very long before the battle starts¡­ Remember, do not sacrifice your life¡­ If you found that you''re not in a good position, run away¡­ Use the Magic Node if necessary. Return to Moon Base or descend to our if you can¡­ This is for everyone¡­ I hope you are all listening¡­"


    Ace said as he gave his final instructions¡­


    Later on, he would no longer have time to converse with them and it would mostly be done through Avalon.


    "We understand, Sir Wace!"


    They all said in unison even though the man didn''t hear them on the other side. After all, he only has his link open with the two leaders¡­


    Then, the Providence, together with the Mech Knights disappeared somewhere within the space¡­


    They have used a Magic Spell''s Stealth and were now waiting for the ambush¡­


    Ace could no longermunicate with them as any traces of their connection might be detected by the Empire¡­ On the other hand, Mana Basedmunication might affect his link with Mana Artifacts they nted so they needed to avoid it for now as well.


    ***


    Several hours had passed and Ace was finally notified by their Observers about the presence of the Empire''s Fleet.


    They did not change their route as expected and followed the Omen IV''s path¡­


    ''They really used the Arians as their Vanguard without them knowing it¡­'' Ace smiled wryly after realizing this¡­


    Nevertheless, this allowed them to predict their next movements and make preparations in advance so he was still thankful for that.


    [ Switching from First Phase Defense Protocol to Second Phase ]


    They have been in the First Phase ever since they''ve detected the Empire''s entry using their wormhole.


    However, now that they were about to sh against them, the protocol was changed. All Avalon''s operating system outside the would be used to fight against the Empire¡­


    Ace looked at the formation of the enemy¡­ It would only take 3 or 4 minutes to reach him at their distance.


    The huge interster starship or the Imperial Starship was at the center of their fleet, while 6 Conqueror Starships were in front with a bow formation.


    There were also 10 Invader Starships above them, 8 ck Sovereign Spaceships below them, and 6 Conveyor Spacecraft behind the fleet.


    They have a total of 31 space vessels moving at the same speed and path.


    They have a simple formation but it is very effective considering that the Conqueror Starship has the most bnced abilities in terms of defending and attacking¡­


    He looked in the direction where the Providence is hiding and ensured that their stealth wasn''t broken yet¡­


    [ We have sessfully deceived the enemy''s sensors. ]


    "Good!"


    It was something that Ace wanted to hear the most. Now that they have gotten closer to each other, he expected to have difficulties in hiding their presence. It was because their anti-detection would normally weaken at this distance¡­


    However, now that Avalon confirmed the effectiveness of their devices, he felt that it is a very good start in this battle¡­


    Finally, after reaching a certain distance, the Excellence slowly showed itself in front of the Empire''s Fleet¡­


    He hadn''t opened his linear catapults or readied his impulse cannons as his spacecraft seemed to be harmless in front of the huge fleet.

 Chapter 334 - The Confrontation II

    The bold appearance of the spacecraft wasn''t something unnned.


    It is part of their strategy and Ace understands that it is very dangerous. However, he''s sure that the Empire wouldn''t just destroy his spaceship without any form ofmunications.


    Especially at this time in which he hadn''t activated any of his turrets, cannons, or any of their destructive weapons¡­


    The Excellence didn''t take any actions aside from revealing itself from the enemies¡­


    This may have confused the Meredith Empire''s fleet¡­


    As expected, they decided not to underestimate this unknown spacecraft.


    They immediately formed a defensive formation and activated anotheryer of their energy shields.


    Afterpleting all of this, Ace received amunication link from his open channel.


    "Where is iting from?"


    [ It is from the 3rd Conqueror Starship we marked. ]


    "Not from the gship, huh¡­ Very well, just open the voice link."


    [ Affirmative¡­ ]


    As soon as they were connected, Ace heard the representative of the fleet speaking to him¡­


    He couldn''t understand it¡­


    [ They are using the Ancient Empire''s Official Language. ]


    "Are they trying to test me?"


    Ace thought for a while, Avalon can help him trante it andmunicate back with them but he doesn''t like it¡­


    ''Instead of using the Meredith Empire''snguage, they are using the Ancient''s¡­''


    "Mhmm¡­" Ace smirked at this and decided on what to do¡­


    "We''ll use the Gctic Federation''s¡­"


    Using theirnguage might be more effective against the Empire. If there is a single force that can fight equally against this powerful invader, they are the Federation''s forces formed by the four Major Races and many influential Minor Races¡­


    "You are entering the Gctic Federation''s Economic Zone. Leave now or face the consequences!"


    He used Avalon''s neutral voice to send the message.


    Ace would probably be surprised if they actually turned around and leave.


    However, that''s impossible to happen.


    There was no way that they would stop at this point¡­ They have used expensive devices to create the wormhole and probably spent a lot of other resources just to pass through the gxy''s natural defense.


    It was quite on the other line perhaps they are trying to consider whether to answer with the samenguage.


    [ Activation of Missiles, Lasers, Cannons, and other weapons has been detected. ]


    "Haa~ So they are not bothering to answer, huh¡­ Alright, bring it on!"


    Anyway, Ace just wanted to get some information from them, that is why he decided to open amunication channel.


    Even if the Empire started firing at him in his first appearance, he wouldn''t mind it at all as he was already prepared at this¡­


    "Avalon¡­ Take care of our defenses¡­"


    Ace said as he nced at ESN1 Asteroid where the Providence should be hiding.


    He noticed that none of the Empire''s weapons were targeting it so he calmed down a bit¡­


    The offensive maneuvers were only seen at the two Starship in front of him¡­


    "It''s not enough¡­ They should bring in more¡­ Avalon, let''s give them a warning shot."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The A.I. swiftly acted as it triggered one of their Mana Tech Arsenal.


    The activation sequence of their Positron Impulse Cannon only took about 10 seconds¡­


    [ Positron Impulse Cannon: Ready ]


    "Fire!"


    There was no hesitation as Ace ordered to shoot the cannon¡­


    The two Starships in front acted like a real vanguard as they deployed not only a huge barrier but fired their missiles followed by their beam cannons.


    They were quick to act as Ace has expected.


    Boom!


    There was a huge explosion and the Starship was visibly shaken¡­


    They have not expected that his Positron Impulse Cannon would carry so much power behind it.


    [ Iing Missiles: CIWS Activated ]


    Their close-in weapon systems were mixed with Machine Gun with a rapid-fire projectile elerator and Mana Artifacts that they have developed through their Elysium''s help.


    The missiles were cleared but the two Starship has already started sending out their Mech Knights¡­


    ''Mhmm¡­ It''s earlier than I expected¡­''


    Instead of getting help from other spacecraft. They have decided to just send out their Mech Knights.


    [ 10 Serpent''s Marauder and 40 Wolf''s Sledger has been detected. ]


    "Very well¡­ Ignore them and let''s start targeting all their spaceships."


    It is now time for one of their Mana Skills to be disyed in front of the Empire.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace didn''t like how the Empire is responding to their brave actions¡­ Although it''s still within their expectation, it feels like they are not being taken seriously.


    He has to change their minds and appear like a dangerous hostile spaceship.


    ***


    Zhilina and the rest of the pilots were watching the battle unfold in front of them.


    They are still waiting for the signal so they remained in their positions. They have to be patient if they wanted to sessfully destroy a part of the enemy''s forces¡­


    ''It seems that Sir Wace is about to use that Artifact¡­''


    ''Mhmm¡­ I can feel it even from here¡­''


    ''If I''m in the enemy''s side, I would order to scatter immediately.''


    ''Well, they can''t detect Mana¡­ So they are not responding appropriately.''


    The Mana umting within the Excellence didn''t escape their sensitive senses.


    Everyone within Providence has an Arcane Link so they have realized Wace''s n immediately¡­


    Then, a burst of light blinded them like a sun just appeared nearby¡­ Their visions were immediately corrected as they filtered the blinding light.


    It is a Mana Wave mixed with Mana Burst!


    The Mana Artifact capable of doing this massive attack was powered by Wace''s own CMN Reactor. The same reactor that powers their Float Drive System so the burst of energy was familiar to the Magicians.


    The Mana Wave took a huge part in disabling the Arians when they decided to upy the Omen IV. Now, it is being used again not to sneak inside their spaceships but to threaten the Empire''s forces¡­


    The Mana Burst on the other hand was mostly to strengthen the Wave they needed to affect all the Spaceships.


    As expected, all the 31 Spaceships created anotheryer of force field to defend against the unknown attack¡­


    The Mech Knights stopped moving for a moment¡­ Itsted for about 20 seconds or so before they started moving again.


    ''They really have a better physique than the Arians¡­''


    Ace concluded after seeing how the pilots quickly recovered¡­


    However, this was enough¡­ Ace has sessfully drawn their attention as they activated their weapons system and targeted him.

 Chapter 335 - The Confrontation III

    The Mana Wave and Mana Burst should''ve rmed them a bit¡­ It may not be enough to halt their advance but it was enough for them to take the Excellence seriously.


    After all, he introduced himself as part of the Gctic Federation''s Force and told them that this ce is part of their Economic Zone.


    Then, he used an attack that could bypass their forcefield barrier.


    "Can we dodge their attack?" Ace asked as he let the A.I. calcte for him.


    [ Negative. ]


    "Well, let''s try our new Radiant Wave then¡­"


    [ New Radiant Wave: Activate... ]


    Ace can see in front of him the massive numbers of missiles and umting hadron cannon that is about to deal with his Excellence¡­


    However, since he noticed that they are only using them to probe his spaceship''s power¡­ He decided to impress them a bit and for them to have false information about the strength of their defense system.


    Boom!


    A series of explosions urred as the Radiant Wave defended against the hundreds of missiles sent to his spaceship¡­


    As for their hadron cannon, it was dealt with anotheryer of their protection as the former is capable of bypassing their Radiant Wave¡­


    It is the Sentient Reactive Barrier they installed around the spaceship...


    It has simr principles to the Reactive Armor used in the Young Magicians Competition. It is made of explosives designed to detonate and deflect iing enemy fire¡­ However, it can move around the spaceship where the barrier is needed.


    Although it is quite risky, it is very effective in dealing with such cannons¡­ Of course, he wouldn''t dare to use this kind of defensive system if they are not supported by a massive amount of Mana Stones and super A.I. like Avalon¡­


    He made the Excellencepletely bnced with Advance Technology and Arcane Technology¡­


    [ Barrier Viability: 89% ]


    [ Fixing¡­ ]


    [ Barrier Viability: 100% ]


    They only need Mana to repair their barrier.


    "Mhmm¡­ Only 11% damage with all of that attack¡­ That''s good¡­"


    Although it wasn''t a serious attack from the Empire, it was a good result... After all, he was expecting damage of about 30% if attacked by such a number of missiles¡­


    As Ace was celebrating a little, he noticed that five Conqueror Starship decided to close their distance to him¡­


    They have finally realized that such a long-range attack wouldn''t deal significant damage to his Excellence¡­


    "Alright! Come!"


    His traps were ready to wee them if they advanced a little more¡­ Although only five starships will be caught into it, it shouldn''t be a problem¡­


    As long as they can deal a huge blow to them, they wouldn''t act recklessly even if they got near to the Magic Earthter on¡­


    Instead of sending missiles and wasting their hadron cannon, the five Starships sent out their Destroyers and another batch of Mech Frames¡­


    The previous 50 Mechs has now reached a total of 400¡­ They are mixed with the three models they''ve identified before.


    "Track all of them¡­ Don''t lose sight in any of their Mechs¡­"


    [ Affirmative¡­ ]


    They have started to scatter around the spaceship to ensure that he would have no chance to escape. On the other hand, the other spaceships were also wary of having other spaceships ambushing them while they are busy dealing with him¡­


    They weren''t that clueless to believe that there''s only a single battleship ready to fight against them¡­


    After all, if someone saw 31 massive spacecraft on their path, they would normally give way or move in a different direction or perhaps, just run away without any word.


    However, the small spacecraft in front of them did the opposite.


    It decided to stay on its course and even threaten them by mentioning the Federation¡­


    [ One-Time Celestial Blood Net is ready for activation. ]


    "Yes¡­ Let them get closer first¡­ I''ll give you a signal¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    Hilda is sitting in her Radiant Knight''s cockpit and watching the entire battle unfold¡­


    She was impressed by the Excellence''s sturdy defense and felt that it was several times stronger than the Virtual World''s spaceships¡­


    ''It must be so difficult to control¡ªAhh¡­ There''s Avalon and Veda¡­ I guess it''s not a problem at all¡­''


    She mused¡­ It was quite tough to control the Mech Knights even with QBCS, so she felt that controlling the Excellence would be more difficult until she recalled the A.I.''s existence.


    ''Ahh¡­ No!''


    She saw the massive number of Mech Knights surge towards the Excellence¡­


    They have several machine guns and cannons but there was no way to cover the spaceship from every direction there is¡­


    The Knights were also nimble and could avoid the turret''s line of fire¡­


    Thud!


    Finally, the Excellence''s linear catapult has opened, 20 Mech Knights under Avalon''s control sortied out¡­


    It made the enemy Mech Knights cautious¡­ They have perhaps tried to identify the new Mechs but didn''t found any model simr to them¡­ Unknown Mech Knights were the most dangerous even in the Virtual Game¡­


    However, instead of firing against the iing enemy, the new models of Mech Knights have triggered a device¡­


    The device seemed to contain mana and they could feel it from their current distance¡­


    ''Is that--?''


    Then, she realized that it was the sign!


    The One-Time Celestial Blood Net!


    It has begun!


    "Everyone! In your positions! We will act once the Net caught their vanguard!" Hilda immediately reminded everyone¡­


    "Yes!"


    There were two Mech Knights Division and a total of 30 pilots¡­ They have different missions but both of them are significant¡­


    There was no practice in this operation since even Avalon was unable to simte the Celestial Blood Net in such a short time¡­


    Perhaps, if Avalon had a couple of weeks to analyze the one-time Artifact, they may be able to put it in the virtual world¡­ Maybe a week if they have Veda''s help.


    Nevertheless, Their mission was clear¡­


    Distract the remaining spaceships!


    Don''t let them send help to the isted troops!


    That''s right! They aren''t here just to destroy a part of them! They have created this n to capture some of the enemy forces!


    They want to obtain information from the enemy pilots or perhaps if they can hack into the Starship''s system, the better¡­


    Finally, thest signal was made¡­


    Whooom~


    It is the activation of their new space mines¡­ It was Veda''s Mind Stones Mines!


    Without Veda''s help and the Arians'' cooperation, there was no way for them to create this¡­


    The Mind Stones corrupted by Mana weren''t simply dangerous but they could affect not the physique of the living beings but their souls¡­


    Luckily, Veda has a massive amount of information regarding Soul Arts and Spirit Arts¡­ This made the A.I. perfect for the research and development of such dangerous items.


    Although the experimentation resulted in some deaths of their people, the result was satisfactory and it advanced their research by leaps and bounds.


    [ Providence, Radiant Knight. System Activated. Please Launch. ]


    "Yes! Hilda Calem! Radiant, taking off!"


    Whoosh!


    Her Radiant Knight was first to be sent out and was followed by her team¡­


    "Aether Jammer! Activate!"


    The Mech Knights appeared above the Empire''s fleet¡­ As for the Providence, it quickly hid its presence after sending the Knights out¡­ Of course, this spaceship would be joining the battle once the Knights Division needed its firepower to cover them.


    The Aether Jammers that they have with them, were just prototypes and its effect wouldn''tst very long¡­ Especially with the huge number of enemies.


    Aside from that, the spacecraft should have other sources of energy and they would surely receive a counter-attack in a few seconds.


    ''Very well, everything is going ording to our n¡­''


    Hilda breathes steadily as she observed everything that is happening on the battlefield¡­


    ***


    As soon as the Mind Stones and Celestial Blood Net were activated, the 20 Mech Knights quickly captured two enemy Mech Frames¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Unfortunately, the effect of the Blood Net was a bit dyed and the other Mech Frames managed to fire at his Mech Knights before being disabled.


    At this time, a thread of red energy clung to the bodies of the Mech Frames¡­ It is simr to the Starship''s condition¡­


    Although their n to capture two Mech resulted in the destruction of a few Mech Knights, it was worth the price.


    Fifteen Mech Knights were left as they retreated quickly¡­ The effect of the Artifact is not finished yet¡­


    Zap! Zap!


    The Five Conqueror Starships that were caught were undamaged but they are still unable to release their arsenal¡­


    [ The Mech Knights have retreated to the Safe Zone. ]


    "It''s on time! Good!"


    As soon as Ace said this, the red energy thread from the Blood Net exploded¡­


    Unfortunately, because the coverage of the Artifacts was too huge, it didn''tpletely destroy the Mech Knights or deal significant damage to the Starships¡­


    At most, it weakened their force field barrier to a critical level!


    This was still within their calction¡­


    As the Starships were about to counter-attack, the normal space mines nted were revealed. The Mana Skill hiding them has dissipated!


    "Detonate!"


    Boom!


    Another series of explosions urred and this time, Ace was sure that they have dealt massive damage against their opponent.

 Chapter 336 - Sudden Discovery

    "They''re resisting¡­ Increase the output¡­ It doesn''t matter whether our Artifact gets broken!"


    "Yes!"


    Hilda was fully aware of the danger they were in. If they have allowed the Empire''s forces to start their counterattack. It would be extremely difficult for them to escape or defend themselves¡­


    After all, their Mech Knight''s size was probably even smaller than one of their main cannons¡­


    Even if they are confident with their Mana Barrier, there was no way for them to resist a massive amount of enemy fire.


    They can only rely on one of their advantages to hold them off, their Mana Reserves and their Artifact!


    Boom!


    They heard the series of explosions from the Blood Net they''ve set up¡­ They''ve managed to buy enough time!


    The second Knights Division quickly acted as theypleted their arrangement for their escape path¡­


    st!


    The ESN1 Asteroid with perhaps twice the size of Omen IV exploded! The rocks and debris were going in the direction of the main fleet!


    Yes! Everything is going ording to their n!


    "Hilda! Our Artifacts is at their limit!"


    "Alright¡­ We have to retreat¡­ Not slowly! We have to move fast!"


    They activated their thrusters to full capacity as they headed towards the Providence¡­


    However, as they were nning to retreat, a full st from the main cannon of the enemy blocked their path!


    It is from the Imperial gship!


    Although none of them were hit directly, the sheer power from that cannon affected the Mech Knight''s system¡­


    ''Just like what Sir Wace said, they are also using backup energy aside from the Aether¡­''


    Hilda thought as they quickly organized themselves¡­


    "Stay in Formation! Use your stealth! The second division will do their job¡­"


    Aside from smashing the Asteroid into many pieces and making them crash towards the Empire''s position, the second division had also prepared another set of Mana Artifacts¡­


    They weren''t offensive tools but are meant to suppress them even by a little¡­


    Their Aether Force System shouldn''t have activated yet after the First Division''s Artifacts messed with them¡­


    "Activate!"


    Ray Penber, the leader of their division, ordered his team¡­


    "Activating Devices!" His team replied in unison.


    It is the activation of the Neutron Jammer and EMP Sequence!


    After a moment, they also activated theirst Mana Artifact and used half of their Mana Reserves¡­


    Binding Traceless Oscition!


    It is an improved version of Wace''s signature Magic Structure.


    Whoom~


    The devices they just used were half artifact and half machines so it still requires Magicians to trigger them effectively.


    Ray then noticed that the barrier that the Empire has set up wobbled a bit¡­ Unfortunately, it seems that it was not enough.


    But they must be affected by that¡­ It''s enough...


    "Tsk! We got all the data we needed¡­ Detonate the remaining space mines! We have to retreat!"


    "Yes!"


    Whoosh!


    Their thrusters activated in full force¡­.


    However, two of the ck Sovereign Spaceships glowed for a moment before they started to detach themselves from their formation in pursuit of their team.


    Unlike the Conqueror Starship''s floating-city appearance, the ck Sovereign is arge elongated spacecraft¡­ and although it is heavily armored, it can be said that this is the fastest spaceship within their fleet.


    Aside from that, this Spaceship boasts overwhelming firepowerpared to other spacecraft that normally require a small fleet to protect them¡­


    To their surprise, they ignored the space mines they detonated and continued pursuing them unscathed!


    "Tsk! Ray! What should we do? We can''t lead them to where the Providence is hiding¡­"


    "I''m thinking! Just scatter for now! Let the first division retreat first! They should''ve spent most of their Mana Reserves already¡­"


    "Copy!"


    Ray Penber can order them to just rush to the Providence together with the stealthy First Division. However, if the ck Sovereign started firing in their direction, the Providence might be in a lot of trouble¡­


    The spaceship''s Mana Barrier and Radiant Wave might be capable of defending it but it would surely affect its performance¡­ After all, once they retreated, there would still be another mission meant for the Providence¡­


    Of course, they can make adjustments to it but Ray wanted the Providence to be in its peak condition untilter¡­


    He nced at the Imperial gship and noticed that they are still dealing with the remnants of the ESN1 Asteroid¡­


    As expected, they were still affected by various Mana Artifacts they''ve used so they can''t just charge out¡­


    It seems that the sudden glow of the two spaceships just a while ago allowed them to ignore the constraints of their Mana Artifacts¡­


    Whoom~


    Ray saw the ck Sovereign closing in¡­ There was no way for his Mech Knight to fight such gigantic spaceships so they have to quickly take an action about this.


    As he was about to order his group to fire at the iing spaceship while moving away, amunication link connected to his Mech Knights¡­


    [ The Providence will start its Active Defense Phase. Return to the spaceship as quickly as possible. We will cover your retreat. ]


    "Avalon? Ahh---Yes!"


    He immediately gave an order to his team. Of course, they activated their Magic Skills to block the enemies from tracking their movement even for only a little time.


    ''Active Defense Phase¡­ It means that this is no longer just a hit and run tactic¡­'' Ray thought for a moment as he nced at the far Excellence that has dealt with several Conqueror Starships¡­


    None of them had used their destructive weapons and the skirmish appears like they were just probing each other¡­


    However, if the Defense Phase started, it means that Ace was now nning to take this battle to the next level¡­


    ''What happened?''


    Ray Penber was curious but he doesn''t have anyone he could ask about it since Avalon used a one-waym just now.


    Anyway, he would surely learn its full detailster on¡­


    ***


    Ace managed to capture two Mech Frames from the enemy but he didn''t allow them to enter their hangars yet unless Avalon has fully examined them through his investigative automatons¡­


    In the meantime, he let his Mech Knights carry them in the meantime¡­


    [ Istion: Activate ]


    [ Blocking transmitters¡­ ]


    [ Hacking into Wolf Pride System¡­ ]


    [ Hacking into Dragon Hive System¡­ ]


    Apparently, the Mech Frames that Ace managed to capture were the Dragon''s Warrior and Wolf''s Sledger.


    They have advanced their security system but Avalon has already evolved from normal life-support A.I. to super A.I. with massive numbers of mainframes within the Earth''s continent, Moon Base, and even at the Lagrange Point.


    As long as it managed to iste the Mech Frame''s A.I. support, Avalon would be able to do anything on it in a matter of seconds¡­


    "Continue our retreat¡­ We have nted them already!"


    Ace gave his orders.


    He knows that even with Mana Wave, Mana Burst, Blood Net, Space Mines, and Mind Stone Explosives that they used, the five Conqueror Starships would still be able to fight¡­


    It is unfortunate but it just shows how powerful a single spacecraft of the strongest Empire can be¡­


    They are the strongest Gctic Empire that has ever existed, after all¡­ Ace wouldn''t doubt their strength even with his knowledge about Mana¡­


    Because of this, he was extremely cautious when he started their operation¡­ What he has nted in the five Starships was part of the Celestial Blood that has turned into liquid within the Blood Net that restricted them a while ago¡­


    It would, even if it''s slow, corrupt the Conqueror Starship¡­


    It will happen¡­ As long as none of them possesses Mana that could solidify it or Astral Energy that could absorb it¡­ He would seed in this n.


    [ The Providence is in danger¡­ Rmending to start the Active Defense Phase! ]


    "Go! Launch it!" He replied immediately.


    He doesn''t want the activation to be dyed especially when ites to the safety of his fellow magicians.


    Of course, Ace was rmed so he immediately checked the situation after permitting Avalon''s request.


    He noticed that a couple of ck Sovereign Spaceships were getting near the Providence¡­ It doesn''t look that dangerous but he immediately noticed the problem¡­


    "Tsk! Is it the Cube of Paradox?!"


    It is going to be very dangerous if they didn''t act now¡­


    [ It is still unclear. However, they have managed to defend against the Mana Skills even for a brief moment. It shows that only these two were capable of resisting Mana as of yet. ]


    "Alright! Use everything we got! We need to destroy those Spaceships¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    They were perhaps using the Cube simr to how Wace''s father used it on his corvette-ss spaceship before.


    However, the gigantic spaceship might be too much for the cube to handle as well¡­


    As soon as the Active Defense started, their particle cannons, mana artifact, and other weapons system activated and targeted the two spaceships with the intention to destroy them¡­


    This surprised many of the Providence''s pilots. Instead of escaping, they areunching an assault?!


    As this was all happening, Ace received a report from his A.I.


    [ No response simr to Mana''s Frequency has been detected. ]


    Avalon reported.


    Ace sighed in relief but this is still not over.

 Chapter 337 - Space War I

    The appearance of energy simr to the Cube of Paradox was quite concerning¡­ The ''Sacred Relic'', as per his mother''s research, have many uses¡­ However, only a method to harness a bit of the cube''s power was discovered¡­


    Luckily, the Empire seems to be unaware of how to properly use it until now¡­


    ''Well, it''s not that easy to study it especially after the death of its main researchers¡­''


    Ace was talking about the first people from the gxy that has entered the Magic Earth¡­


    It is the team lead by the Prince or Aeolia who didn''t manage to survive the rejection of mana in their bodies.


    "We have to destroy those two spaceships¡­ Coordinate with the Mech Knights Division. We will be needing their support."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ''Mhmm¡­ Their main fleet would recover from their restraints in a few minutes¡­ and the five conquerors in front would be dealt withter on¡­ We don''t have much time¡­''


    Ace analyzed the situation quickly¡­ The nted liquified Celestial Blood wouldn''t immediately take effect but the corrupted energy would certainly damage the starship''s internal system¡­


    "Avalon, what Mana Artifact can they use at this time?"


    [ There are three of them. Modified Mirror of Trace, Stealth Armor, zing Thunder Spears ]


    The Mirror of Trace that was capable of deflecting Grade 4 Magic Spells was modified to be capable of handling advanced tech weapons as well. Theoretically, it could also return a particle beam if they have enough mana reserves.


    This mirror made of Ancient Abyssal ss was just too powerful.


    On the other hand, the Stealth Armor that they have also had thetest Archon Series. This is a Mana Artifact that he made in consortium with Vector Organization who made the said Series.


    Finally, the zing Thunder Spears were Mana Artifacts influenced by Lacus Minerva¡­


    All of them were quite useful but not in terms of dealing with the two ck Sovereign Spaceships.


    "Tsk¡­ It''s not enough¡­"


    [ All of the powerful Mana Artifacts that can damage the spaceship were installed in the Providence Spaceship. ]


    Avalon replied. The Mech Knights weren''t meant to fight these gigantic spaceships in the first ce¡­ They were meant to fight smaller machines like Mech Frames, perhaps Destroyers, or Marauder Gears of the enemies¡­


    "Haa~ I understand¡­ Let''s just try something out¡­ They are still Adept Mages¡­ There should be something we can do."


    [ Affirmative. Just give your orders. ]


    ***


    Ferdie Sigma, one of the elite solo yers in the Alien Invasion game, was fascinated at the thought of seeing genuine spaceships¡­


    Not just an orbital spacecraft but one that is capable of interster travel¡­


    This is the reason why he was so interested in the recruitment at the Mt. Raven before. He met with other yers and this was also the first time he realized that he was ranked 15 at their Server Rankings.**


    He wasn''t yingpetitively and was only enjoying the game so he wasn''t checking the leaderboard at all¡­


    He was mostly focused on learning the top-secret Magic Structures and mechanics of the Advanced Techs¡­


    He even felt bad about learning them for almost free¡­ After all, they are things that can be used in the real world and would surely benefit them.


    Nevertheless, he spent most of his time studying these Magic Structures and Technology while also enjoying the game through the missions that Freya was giving to him from time to time¡­


    When he arrived at Mt. Raven and sessfully passed thest examination, he felt truly happy and even wanted to have a Mech Knight simr to the Radiant Knight that he used in the simtion¡­


    He epted the final interview and agreed with all the contracts given to him¡­ He didn''t find anything negative about the contract as it was full of benefits except for the fact that they will be facing real aliens in the future¡­


    When he was 23 years old, he was just working as a Fabricator. At the age of 27, he managed to luckilyplete his Arcane Baptism but he was just promoted as a Fabricator Manager since he has no other interests¡­ He was overqualified but he wasn''t really interested in researching Magic or bing a powerful Magician.


    Anyway, he''s unable to aplish anything amazing in his life.


    However, he was very interested in joining Wace''s cause, to stop the invasion from happening in the real world¡­ It was like fantasy and he somehow wanted to be part of it.


    He has many questions about how Wace managed to prepare on such arge scale like this but it doesn''t matter since his reason is genuine¡­ He truly wanted to save their country or the world from destruction and even gave free knowledge and items to prove this.


    Ferdie was in the first batch of Magicians that has arrived in the Moon Base. Then, he was assigned as a pilot as expected but he didn''t manage to get the Radiant Knight that he wanted, it was given to a genius magician named Hilda.


    He wasn''t mad or jealous about it as he was soon given a Mech Knight that is more suited for him.


    Avalon called it Issyl, a modified version of Lotus Mech Knight and embedded with interesting Mana Artifacts meant for fighting the Mech Frames simr to the Dorssia Empire''s machines.


    The Mech Knight was slim and focused more on its speed and maneuverability unlike the bulky ones with cannons and guns¡­ He didn''t like it at first but Avalon seemed to know him better than himself. After practicing or ying with it for several days, he has grown attached to it and found himself as one of the elite pilots.


    He was even offered to lead a Knights Division but decided not to since he''s not confident in leading a team¡­ Nevertheless, it shows how talented he was.


    Right now, they were given orders to fight the ck Sovereign Spaceship as Excellence and the Providence will support them will everything they got.


    He thought that it was such an absurd idea but he quickly realized that it wasn''t an impossible thing to do¡­


    [ All the Mech Knights Pilot of the 1st and 2nd Division, use an Arc Formation and ready the activation of Mirror of Trace. If you do not possess enough Mana, use the emergency Mana Filler. ]


    The message repeated twice as Avalon gave the coordinates to where they should position themselves.


    Ferdie followed the instructions but he firstmunicated with Ray Penber, their leader¡­ He wanted to rify some things¡­


    "What is it, Ferdie?"


    "Are we just going to use the Mirror of Trace and wait? We can still use the Binding Traceless Oscition once¡­ I think we can use it before our two spaceship attacks with their main cannons¡­"


    Ray didn''t immediately reply as he thought about his suggestion.


    "That''s a good idea¡­ But Avalon might be thinking of using it to stop the main fleet after they recovered¡­ Let''s not waste it for now¡­"


    "Alright, I understand." He just epted his exnation for now¡­


    They have several Magic Spells and although it isn''t very effective against spaceships, it might create an opening for the Providence¡­ They have a wide variety of spells so he wanted to at least utilize them.


    He''s sure that they have enough Mana Reserves to use some of them¡­


    ''Wait¡­ This might be one of Wace''s strategies as well¡­ By limiting our Magic Spells, it would delude them into thinking that our mysterious spells weren''t that diverse yet¡­ We may be able to use this to our advantageter on¡­''


    Ferdie mused while waiting for the signal. He no longer felt scared in front of the enemy spaceship now that they have clear instruction from the almighty A.I.


    As long as he follows them, he will definitely survive this¡­


    Whoozzsh!


    The Providence''s particle cannon fired at the two ck Sovereign!


    He didn''t notice it''s umting energy or detected any heatwave at all!


    It was such a stealthy particle cannon and Wace must''ve done something about it¡­


    This ispletely different from the Dorssia Empire! It is even more impressive in real life as it was assisted by various Mana Skills¡­


    Boom!


    As expected, a battle at this level is very dangerous for their small Mech Knights¡­ The size of that beam was perhaps enough for their whole Division to be wiped out¡­


    [ Activate the Mirror of Trace Now! ]


    As soon as the instructions were heard, none of them hesitated as they quickly activated the Mirror of Trace installed in their Knights¡­


    Then, they were subjected to pressure that they were even forced to move back¡­


    [ Thrusters at full force. Use the Mana-based boosters. ]


    No unnecessary words were made as they followed without any questions. They have already trained in this type of battle so they just have to possess a calm mind and avoid panicking¡­


    [ Switch to Close Combat Phase. There are iing 100 Enemy Mech Frames. The Excellence''s support will arrive in 3 minutes. ]


    Avalon reported¡­


    Ferdie smiled after hearing the news, he wasn''t afraid at all¡­


    He''s excited¡­ He was already getting frustrated as he can barely do anything against the ck Sovereign¡­


    However, those Mech Frames were different¡­


    "Finally¡­"

 Chapter 338 - Space War II

    If the enemy''s spaceship sent out their Mech Frames, this means that they won''t be able to easily fire their super cannons.


    At the very least, the Knights Division will notice if they are nning to fire one in.


    After all, it is very easy to have friendly fire in this kind of battle if they are not careful. This is a proven case within the virtual world.


    That is why their battle formation and angles of attack were extremely important. Of course, because both sides have superior A.I. assisting them, idents can be lessened or bepletely avoided.


    "Hilda''s team will stop the enemies approaching the Left nk¡­ We''ll handle the Right nk¡­"


    "Yes, Leader!"


    "Ferdie¡­ Your Mech Frame is on a different level, you can try to break away our formation if you''re confident!"


    Ray wanted to know Ferdie''s thoughts¡­ He knows that Ferdie''s Issyl was built differently and its speed is top ss.


    Aside from that, everyone in his team is an elite pilot¡­ They are more than aware of their own abilities so he wanted to get their opinion on such matters.


    "You''re right¡­ I''ll observe them first then I''ll see if I can outspeed them¡­"


    "Alright¡­ Do not hesitate to use all our Mana Reserves. We have our Magic Nodes and other Artifacts that will protect our cockpit¡­ Unless they have Mech Frames that can fire simr to the level of Grade 5 Magic Spells, there wouldn''t be a problem shing against them¡­"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    [ Activate Energy-Mana Shell ]


    Ferdie heard Avalon''s reminder as they got closer to the enemy Mechs.


    [ Iing Mechs Identified: 40 Wolf''s Sledger, 30 Dragon''s Warrior, and 30 Serpent''s Marauder. ]


    They then saw the Mech Knights divided as they headed towards the two Divisions¡­ It seems that they are thinking the same thing, to stop their Humanoid Machine''s counterpart.


    "Let''s go!"


    Ray Penber led his team as they activated their Front Barriers¡­ Because they are outnumbered, they needed to stick together unless they are confident with their skills. As for their Mech Knight''s capability, there was no way they''ll doubt its prowess. If they didn''t perform well, it is because they are limiting the power of the Mech Knights as theyck enough skills to fully utilize it¡­


    After all, they have seen a simtion from Avalon about the ideal method of piloting their Mechs before¡­


    With this in mind, they need to show that they are the Elite Magicians of the younger generation! Aside from that, they also know that Wace is recording everything that is happening right now!


    From the moment the Excellence has appeared, there should''ve been a live broadcast happening elsewhere and they can''t let them down.


    Boom!


    The sh between the Frames and Knights started with firing a massive number of bullets to gauge the response time, speed, and maneuverability of their machines¡­


    "Stay on Formation¡­ Once the bullets were spent, switch to Mana Swords!"


    His team already knows this but he wanted to stay connected with his fellow magicians¡­


    [ Danger: All Sledger Mechs were umting strong heat energy¡­ ]


    "Scatter!" Ray didn''t hesitate at all¡­


    The Mechs who shed against them were only the Warriors and Marauders¡­ They didn''t notice it at first due to the messy battlefield but Avalon didn''t fail to detect their strategy.


    It seems that they are only buying some time for the Sledgers to cast their secret weapon or something¡­


    Whoosszzh!


    A strong beam of light was suddenly sent out and was directed to the bunch of Mech Knights¡­


    Ray gritted his teeth as he poured his mana into his shield. Apparently, the direction they were escaping to was already calcted by the enemy Mechs and were waiting for them.


    Boom! They were directly hit by the enemy fire and their Mana Shields were slowly losing their energy.


    Luckily, the Shields they created can handle their energy bullets and explosives¡­ It means that as long as they have the mana supply, they will be able to defend against them¡­


    Unfortunately, their energy filler is not unlimited¡­ They will soon reach their limit so they have to quickly act.


    "I''ll try to disrupt them¡­ Coordinate with my movements."


    Finally, Ferdie decided to act after Avalon managed to calcte the enemy Mech Frame''s machine capability.


    Apparently, in terms of speed and mobility, his Issyl is superior to them. He''s onlycking with firepower but it can bepensated by his Archon Series Mana Artifacts.


    ''I can do this!''


    Ferdie activated his Mech Knight''s Arcanist Phase¡­


    The Arcanist Phase of his Mech Knight can onlyst for 3 minutes and it will spend 60% of his Mana Reserves.


    However, during this time, his Quantum Brainwaves Control System together with his Brain-Boost would further be enhanced as he would almost be one with the Mech Knight.


    During this time, he will be able to continuously use his Archon Series Magic Spells as if there was no medium being used.


    Ace had designed this Arcanist Phase for some Mech Knights that have a solid foundation and those without excessive armaments as it will hinder the Magician.


    Of course, he created this with Aeon Guardian in his mind. That magic or perhaps arcane technology that allows the magician to be almost invincible has truly marked on his heart.


    Unfortunately, only Wace''s body is capable of releasing that Guardian and benefit from it.


    Nevertheless, within the two Knights Division, only 5 Mech Knights can use the Arcanist Phase. He also didn''t want everyone to have this capability as he doesn''t have a solution to its bacsh yet¡­


    So there must be other Mech Knights who can cover for it after the Phase has ended.


    Haa!


    Ferdie with his Issyl Mech started his counterattack by casting a Mana Burst Spell against the group of Sledger Mech Frames behind the enemy formation.


    Boom!


    It was followed by an explosion as the Mana Burst destroyed three Mech Frames from the enemy!


    ***


    "Mom! Where is dad?! There is an emergency broadcast¡­ It''s from outer space! Hurry!"


    rice just arrived in their small town and was taking a rest within her room when she was notified about the current situation in outer space.


    Just like what the Mech Pilots has expected. The current battle between their vanguard units against the Empire''s forces is being shown almost everywhere to raise the awareness of people and clear up the rumors that they are only spreading lies and causing panic to people.


    Of course, they didn''t want the people to panic.


    That is why Wace has already conditioned their state of mind for quite a long time and even brought the Arians here as part of the n.


    If they were still panicking and terrified about the reality, then there is nothing much that he can do about it.


    "Is it from Wace or the other?" ine asked.


    Wace has already exined his body''s situation to his parents and even sent the picture he took together with Ace before. As a matter of fact, it is now framed and posted to the living room.


    "It is from Ace¡­ Look, there are aliens! Just like the game he made!"


    rice eximed as she showed them the enemy fleet and the Mech Frames of the enemies¡­


    "Huh? I never doubted my son when he told us the truth before¡­" ine replied as she nced at the device showing the current situation.


    She then left quickly and looked for his husband.


    Chase Ravencroft was busy admiring the transforming Mech Knight that rice has brought from Wace''s factory.


    Apparently, it flew like a jet to this town before transforming to a humanoid Mech Knight and kneeled on the ground in their backyard.


    It was such an amazing sight and if rice didn''t tell them earlier about this Knight, the town chief, and the Adept Mages would surely scramble to strengthen their town''s barrier¡­


    It would surely rm everyone and might even send an emergency distress signal to the nearest city.


    ''Haa~ I should''ve requested one as well¡­ If it''s capable of diving the ocean, then it''s better.''


    Chase mused for a bit but he knows that it is extremely difficult to have the Mech Knights working underwater.


    After all, the machine releases strong heat discharge on the surface, and it not good underwater as it would just create a steam explosion after vaporizing the water with high pressure.


    Unless Wace created a different type of core, then it would be possible. This is the reason why he didn''t want to request such a thing from his son¡­


    As he was trying to analyze the Mech, his wife arrived bearing bad news¡­ The alien empire from a very far is about to arrive here¡­


    His son, together with his trusted aides, is currently holding them off.


    This is such an amazing feat and he silently hopes that their research about the Inheritance Pill can be worked on faster¡­


    He wanted to be able to help the ordinary people by strengthening them as quickly as possible¡­


    Chase is clearly aware that his son''s spaceships wouldn''t have enough power to stop thempletely based on the enemy''s number.


    However, through this action, he may be able to dy the Empire''s arrival or hasten it instead if they were unlucky.

 Chapter 339 - Space War III

    "I did it!" Ferdie shouted after seeing the result of his surprise attack.


    The Arcanist Phase truly lives up to its reputation. When he first heard of this Mech Knight''s function, he didn''t think too much of it since it has a huge bacsh that could put his Knight''s Mana Reserves at a dangerous level.


    However, if he used it right, they can easily gain momentum and help the other Mech Knights lessen their burden¡­ This would increase their morale which is one of the most important things in this type of battle¡­


    Beep!


    [ 3 Warrior and 4 Marauder Mech Frames are approaching ]


    Ferdie was notfortable facing a lot of enemy Mech but he has no choice at the moment, as long as the Excellence reaches them, the situation will surely turn around. They just have to hold on until that time.


    Archon ¨C Mana Drill!


    Boom!


    The Mana Drill hit another Mech Frame as Ferdie decided to get close to them. He needed to maximize his Arcanist Phase and cast as many Magic Spells as he can while itsts.


    Archon ¨C Focus Shot!


    The magic spell created a mana-formed arrow that boasts extreme sharpness¡­ A single cast can create 10 arrows and it is perfect when fighting against multiple enemies. With the help of his Mech Knight''s calcting ability, he can easily target the enemies and avoid wasting his mana.


    Arcane Grip!


    Ferdie noticed that the Mech Frames were only dodging him and they were seemingly observing the unusual spells he was throwing even if they have to sacrifice their fellow pilots¡­


    He didn''t feel good about this so he immediately used the Arcane Grip¡­ It is out of the Archon Series and part of his Mana Artifact''s Exclusive Skill¡­


    This ability is meant to bind his opponents that are within his 300 meters range¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Unfortunately, the Mech Frames have enough power to break through the binding he made¡­ At the very least, Ferdie managed to weaken their assault¡­ Ray Penber and the other pilots were now starting their counter-attack¡­


    They can do it! The enemy Mech wasn''t as strong as they thought they are¡­


    Their Mech Knight Division uses the Archon Series as Wace has partnered with the Vector Organization for this. Other Series, like the Prime, Enchant, and Royal doesn''t sit well with their Mech Knights so it was decided to have this Spell Series instead.


    On the other hand, Wace''s Traceless Series does not have enough offensive magic spells to fight against therge Mech Frames. Most of his spells were meant for people or magicians and they could barely affect the machines except for its Traceless Oscition.


    Beep!


    [ Arcanist Phase: 60 seconds remaining ]


    As soon as Ferdie heard this, he rushed towards the enemy and showed them everything he got¡­


    ***


    Ace has been observing the battle near Providence''s coordinates while also keeping an eye on the immobilized 5 Conqueror Starship.


    Thetter''s captains had perhaps realized the disruption within its internal structure already¡­ However, they shouldn''t have a way to fight against the properly utilized Celestial Blood.


    Even if there is, it should buy them enough time to deal with the two ck Sovereign with a suspected Sacred Relic.


    Ace then noticed the activation of the Arcanist Phase from Ferdie¡­ It was followed by other units from Hilda''s team.


    Hilda, although has the same function in her Radiant Mech, decided to save it for now but she still used her Radiance¡­


    It is the same skill she used during the exam but it''s a stronger version.


    ''Mhmm¡­ Something doesn''t seem right¡­''


    He can see that the Knights Division is winning the fight¡­ It is worth a celebration but he finds it weird that the Mech Frames aren''t using the special feature of their machines.


    His Lotus Mech has Radiant Wave Technology, the Serpent Mech has Twilight Armor Technology, the Dragon Mech has Subspace ster Technology and the Wolf Mech has the Psionic Pulse Technology.


    If Ace would rate the danger level of those techs against their current Mech Knights, he would rate the Psionic Pulse as the highest¡­ As a matter of fact, he assigned Avalon to monitor the activation of the mentioned technology and have the Mech Knights retreat as quickly as possible if there are any signs of it¡­


    The Twilight Armor, on the other hand, can be quite scary since whenever it is activated, it can probably st through a spaceship leaving a hole on it and still undamaged.


    As per the information he read, it uses an extremely rare rock mined from a specific type of asteroid¡­


    They must also watch out for that.


    For the Subspace ster of any Dragon Mech, it can also be extremely troublesome if the Exclusive Skills of their installed Mana Artifact is not quickly activated. They have prepared for this but coordination and skills were still required to defend against it.


    This ster is a beam weapon that requires a special crystal. A crystal that could only be found on one particr owned by a minor race under the Empire''s rule¡­


    By streaming the Aether through this crystal, visible radiation would be directed as a beam towards a target¡­


    This radiation contains sub-atomic particles and it has a variety of effects when ites into contact with any materials.


    All of these technologies are extremely deadly and there was no way that they wouldn''t use them here!


    As he thought of this, Ace suddenly had an idea¡­


    ''Are they using these Mech Knights to see our limit?''


    He then chuckled a little after realizing this. It is simr to what happened in his dream where they would curiously watch the Magicians fight for their lives before killing them as soon as they gathered enough data¡­


    Ace could either use this as an opportunity to attack or perhaps decide to run away now while they haven''t seen all their Arcane Technology and Mana Spells yet.


    The young man sighed as he looked at the two spaceships seriously.


    "Avalon¡­ We''ll use all our cannons to destroy at least one ck Sovereign. We''ll use everything we got¡­ Locate the Cube of Paradox and let the Mech Knights retrieve them¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace really wanted to know whether it is the Cube or not as it may affect their future strategies¡­ So if Avalon did not detect the same frequency of the Cube of Paradox, he can consider backing away instead and retreat to the next line of defense¡­


    ''Mhmm¡­ However, if we manage to get their Cube, we may be able to increase Wace''s ess Level¡­''


    Ace smirked at the thought.


    That''s right¡­ This is what he immediately consider after realizing that there is a Cube of Paradox nearby¡­


    If Wace received this and manage to increase his ess Level, who knows whether he can get another Life Guarantee?


    It must be remembered that a broken cube from before had managed to increase his ess to a Knight Level¡­ What if it''s aplete cube this time?


    He might even be able to store a corvette-ss spacecraft within the ''space'' he can use to store inanimate objects¡­


    That would be really awesome. However, before he can even think of that possibility, they have to deal with the ck Sovereign first!


    ***


    The Arians stationed at the Omen IV were also watching the battle unfold. Although they are concerned with the Arians remaining on the not too far from them, they were more concerned about the stench of deathing their way.


    Shreguc Stoutsnarl, the previous captain of the warship, was flustered after seeing the massive enemy fleet¡­


    All of the spaceships are familiar to him except for the Imperial gship¡­ This is the first time that he had seen one and he truly felt that it is very special.


    He can even imagine that a part of the royalty is inside this spacecraft watching Wace struggle his way to them.


    ''Haa~ This is a disaster¡­ Look at the number of their spacecraft¡­ Even if only half of them fight seriously, I don''t think that we''ll have a chance to survive.''


    He didn''t want to admit it but he''s scared of the annihtion of his race if they lose their battle.


    "Leader, what do we do?" One of the elders asked.


    Shreguc looked at the Excellence readying its super cannons before giving his orders.


    "There is no choice¡­ Prepare the second line of defense¡­ Coordinate with the 3rd and 4th Mech Knight Division!"


    "Yes, leader!"


    He knows that Ace has prepared for this fight and created many strategies depending on the Empire''s actions¡­ He admires this part of him so he would do his part and achieve a victory against the Empire¡­


    Although he''s unsure whether they are effective, since Wace has nned it with confidence, he''ll just follow then¡­ After all, their group was defeated almost instantly with his tricks and proper use of their Mana Spells.


    He can still remember how their Omen was upied so easily and how they were captured in few minutes.


    "Veda¡­ We''ll need your help on this¡­"


    [ Of course¡­ Just do what Wace is telling you. I know when I should act. ]

 Chapter 340 - Space War IV

    Everyone who is watching the live broadcast in outer space has mixed feelings about the war that is happening right now.


    Nevertheless, one thing can be for sure, they all wanted the Magicians to win the battle.


    Luckily, their prayers seem to be answered as the Mech Knights casting various Mana Spells are dominating the fight.


    The unusual form of Mana must''ve confused the alien invaders within those gigantic spaceships. The Mech Knights and their pilots are doing well as they control the flow of the fight against the enemy''s humanoid machines¡­


    "Are we winning?"


    This is asked by a young girl while she''s watching the event unfold in front of the screen.


    A group of men was together with her inside the meeting hall... They are all part of the Ministry of Magic Education and were supposed to talk about the restructuring of their organization when the emergency broadcast urred.


    "Yes, Ezra... It looks like it. However, the enemy seems to be holding back... They have such a gigantic spacecraft, I''m sure that they have a trump card or something."


    "That''s right... But what''s more important now is our action after this skirmish... We must gather our resources and create a stronghold just like what Wace did in Mt. Raven... He made it an impregnable fortress!"


    "Haha... He has trulye prepared, isn''t he? I don''t think that it''s a bad idea. We can consider strengthening our base first and create a safe and hidden shelter for the VIPs..."


    "There should be one created in the capital..." One of the officials reminded them.


    "It is better if we have our own here... Although the capital has a strong barrier and magicians, we can do the same with our current resources."


    Several suggestions came up while the top officials including Hayden Fraser remained silent for a while.


    "I think it is better to supply Traceless Hand''s factory instead... If we did that, we can ask for his protection inside his stronghold if we''re in trouble..."


    This is suggested by Troy Webb, one of Wace''s acquaintances during the internationalpetition. He has been monitoring Wace''s move ever since then, so he was quite updated about the young man''s factory...


    "Well, I heard that he already stopped supplying VR Pods and Float System..."


    "That''s right... He''s now focusing on the production of Mech Knights and small-scale Spaceships..."


    "If that''s the case... then it''s the more reason we need to supply materials to him... He might consider creating a spaceship for us..."


    "Sir... We already requested the Veritas Group for the Airship..."


    "Oh... You''re right. But it doesn''t matter... We''ll proceed with the n."


    The recently popr Airship were quite expensive and luxurious... Everyone, including them, wanted to travel in the sky...


    It is such a valuable property that anyone would covet... However, the transatmospheric battleship that Wace has created was even morevish and beautiful. Not only that but it can also be considered as a flying fortress. There was no way that an airship could contend against that.


    His spaceship was also proven and tested even in the harsh conditions so they really have a good impression on this.


    They did not bother thinking of getting one spaceship before as the firepower it has was too strong and could be an issue with the security and firearmsw. Unless they have the intention of going up to space, they wouldn''t think about it...


    However, the invader Aliens has already arrived near their sr system... They were sure that exceptions can be made and even if they don''t have a license like Wace, they will be exempted and allowed to possess one.


    "Mhmm... We''ll request a spaceship once we settle the resources needed... We just have to agree to whatever conditions they''ll present to us. As long as we can have our spaceship, it''s fine even if we lose most of our funds..."


    "Yes, Sir Hayden!"


    Everyone in this room has a high position within the Ministry and has a lot of influence in many fields. This is one of the reasons why they are confident that they can supply Wace with a lot more resources.


    For sure, they are not toote about this decision considering that he is still continuing his production.


    They can only hope that Wace''s action to intercept the Aliens now, can dy their descent here on their.


    ***


    Ferdie and the other Mech Knight Pilots did an amazing job to destroy as many Mech Frame as they can without having a serious casualty.


    Luckily, their Mana Barrier was very effective and unless their Mana Reserves runs out, they were practically untouchable.


    However, as they were getting used to the Mech Frame''s attack pattern, Avalon had suddenly warned them of iing danger.


    [ Twilight Armor Tech has been detected. Avoid all the Serpent''s Marauder while the Armor is active. ]


    Avalon repeated the warning twice as they did their best to move away from those Mech Frames¡­


    The Twilight Armor''s activation gave a red glow to the Mech''s body like it is overheating!


    They are easy to recognize so they managed to react appropriately whenever they get near.


    Bang! Bang!


    Some of the Mech Knight''s pilots decided to shoot some Mana Spells on those Frame but it was still ineffective.


    They were like throwing water to a hot metal surface. Anything thates close to their machines would be evaporated¡­


    It is a very amazing armor and even the magicians are impressed about this.


    [ 30 seconds before the Excellence''s can cover our escape route. Save at least 15% of your Mana for your escape. ]


    "Alright¡­"


    Ferdie answered as he did his best to avoid the other Mech Frames from chasing him. Although most of them do not have the Armor Tech, they are still very annoying as they have Energy Shields that may also take some time to destroy unless they used Grade 3 and above Mana Spells.


    "Everyone, we will rendezvous with the First Mech Division. Cast the Infrasonic Rays and maintain for your position¡­ We will gather at the coordinates I''ve sent you¡­ Hurry!"


    Ray Penber suddenly connected. It appears that they were about to leave this ce¡­


    Ferdie then noticed that his team was stillplete and only about half of them had incurred heavy damages like missing limbs and weapons on their Mech Knights.


    They were very resilient with their Mana Spells protecting them¡­


    On the other hand, as his Arcanist Phase is still active, he made sure not to waste it and maximized it by protecting their Division from retreating¡­ Ray calcted this perfectly.


    Whooszzh!


    Whoosh!


    Series of beams,sers, missiles, and cannons were fired as soon as the Excellence was in range and in safe distance to avoid hitting the friendly units.


    Finally!


    The pilots were extremely happy as Providence''s burden has lightened after the Excellence arrived for their support¡­


    On the other hand, Hilda Calem, the leader of the First Division had also activated her Radiance Form and ordered their retreat while still firing back at the enemy¡­


    Unlike the other pilots, she became passive in this battle and barely shown her true skills¡­


    As soon as Wace saw that the Mech Knights are no longer in the way, he gave an order to Avalon¡­


    "Destroy the first ck Sovereign¡­ It doesn''t matter whether our Mana Reserves will fall to 15%... Just do it¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ] Avalon replied dutifully¡­


    With this order, the super A.I. controlled the Excellence to fire everything they got to destroy the spaceship¡­


    This will be a tough battle as they do not have plenty of time¡­ The Imperial gship would be able to move very soon¡­


    Who knows, it might be capable of moving already but decided to just watch them for now and see their abilities¡­


    Nevertheless, Ace remained calm in the situation as he gave an order to the magicians retreating to Providence.


    "Retreat to the second line of defense. Coordinate with Veda¡­ Try not to get in the way of the Arians!"


    Ace notified them as he didn''t wait for their reply and ended themunication link.


    Although Providence can also provide significant damage to the spaceship with Aether Force as one of its sources of power, Ace wanted to save it for now as they do not have unlimited Mana Reserves in outer space.


    They have to utilize it effectively and using it in the second line of defense together with the Omen IV would probably be the best in this situation¡­


    Anyway, they have more or less seeded at their surprise attack in this coordinate. They have already shown how threatening they can be as they immobilized their gigantic spaceships with only a few Mech Knights and a couple of Spaceships¡­


    "Now¡­ Let''s see whether you have the Cube or not¡­"


    Ace muttered as he red at the damaged ck Sovereign in front of him. He has already sent out the controlled Mech Knights to approach the enemy''s spaceship.


    Everything here is also happening while the Excellence is clearing up the Mech Frames outside their spaceship¡­

 Chapter 341 - Space War V

    The Excellence''s Linear Catapult has opened as the Mech Knights controlled by Avalon rushed out.


    They aim to get closer to the ck Sovereign and confirm the existence of the Cube of Paradox¡­ It is hard to scan the vessel with their current distance as the enemy''s ECM is still active and very strong.


    Of course, there is still another ck Sovereign on the side which is being kept at bay by the Excellence''s unending Mana Waves, Mana Bullets, Lasers, and their Impulse Cannon from time to time¡­


    It doesn''t matter whether they waste their energy right now as long as they can confirm the existence of their objective¡­


    In truth, a part of Ace''s mind is hoping that the Cube wasn''t in their possession and was just a mistake from their side¡­ After all, this can be a huge threat to them if they were unable to take care of it now.


    Boom! Boom!


    His Mech Knights were trying to destroy the finalyer of their Energy Barrier¡­ If they sessfully destroy this, Avalon''s scanners can sweep through the spaceship unhindered.


    However, as he expected it''s not going to be easy¡­


    [ Iing missiles detected. ]


    [ Intercepting with Centrifugal Mana Gun and Tri-Elemental Turrets ]


    The Tri-Elemental Turrets that he has were inspired by the Golden Trident Group''s Elemental Turret that was previously installed on his property.


    The main difference was that Wace''s turret can only cast 3 types of converted mana or elements, while the securitypany has about 5 or more¡­


    However, his turret can fire Adept Level Mana Spells while the other can only fire at a Battle Mage Level¡­ The power behind the two has a huge gap since Adept Level Spells could never bepared to a Battle Mage''s.


    "Monitor the heat¡­ Activate the cooling system if it reached 30%... We only need tost 3 or 5 minutes more¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    They have to avoid getting their main weapons overheated. Although this is being monitored by Avalon, the cooling system would only be activated if the heat integrity had already reached 10%... This is why Wace change the settings for the cooling system to be activated at 30.


    Boom! Boom!


    The missiles were numerous and it was even being followed by various beam cannons¡­ It is difficult to intercept all of the missiles. If not for their improved Mana Pulse Barrier they would be having a tough time right now¡­


    "Avalon! Hurry up!"


    [ Yes. ]


    The A.I. replied as it did its best to hasten the destruction of the ck Sovereign''s energy shield.


    Bang!


    [ Destruction confirmed. ]


    [ Initiating Veda''s Energy Tracer and Scanner¡­ ]


    [ Cube of Paradox identified¡­ 89% Match Rating¡­ ]


    "It''s real¡­ Very well¡­ We need to take it!"


    Ace shouted as he knows that they were running out of time¡­ He can see that the gship and the others have already dissipated the Mana Spells that are binding them temporarily.


    [ ¡­ ]


    [ Permission to Self Destruct 10 Mech Knights to make a hole in the Cube''s path. ]


    "Alright! Do it!"


    [ Permission Granted. ]


    [ Activating Mech Knight''s Mana Overload¡­ ]


    Ace did not hesitate at all even though this is a huge reduction to their current force¡­ Those machines aren''t just lumps of metal by their money but also a soldier that can take on 20 or so Adept Mages at the same time¡­


    Letting them self-destruct here pained his heart a little. However, he knows that Avalon has already calcted all possible scenarios and this should be the best course of action to take the Cube of Paradox with them¡­


    A few seconds passed after he permitted Avalon''s n¡­ He heard a series of explosions that greatly damaged the ck Sovereign. Due to the impact of the explosions, the other ck Sovereign was even pushed back as it tried to avoid getting caught in that explosion¡­


    "Hurry!"


    The remaining Mech Knights used Mana Spells meant to incapacitate people as they headed to the Cube''sst detected position¡­ The explosion disoriented the people within the spaceship but Wace believed that their multiple physical enhancements and gene modifications would allow them to recover quickly.


    They need to act fast¡­


    Beep!


    [ The Cube has been found. ]


    Wace then saw the live feed from the Mech Knight that managed to st through the spaceship''s hull¡­


    The Cube is in a room filled with fire and debris¡­


    It is contained within a special device meant to harness a part of its power¡­


    The Mech Knight quickly acted and tried to take the Cube¡­


    However, as it tried to lift it, Avalon detected an iing danger!


    ***


    Hilda left her Radiant Knight in the hangar to be taken care of by the technicians. Although she managed to return with her Knight in aplete piece, the Mech Knight''s internal structure appears to have overheated due to the opponent''s radiationing from their beam cannons.


    They have to ensure that it wouldn''t cause any problemster on. Nevertheless, this has also allowed them to learn the destructiveness of the beams that the enemies are using.


    In the meantime, she watched the Excellence''s battle against the enemy''s ck Sovereign through the live feeding from the nearest Observer Ward that Wace had initially ced before the battle even started.


    "Why is he looking so desperate?"


    "This is too reckless.."


    Hilda heard thements from the other pilots that were simrly watching the battle.


    She could understand them as she''s thinking the same thing.


    At this time, Ace should''vemanded Avalon to fall back at their second line of defense already.


    It would be very dangerous for him if he stayed any longer as the gship would surely stop him from escaping once it managed to remove their Mana Spells with its sheer force.


    "Wace¡­ You''re running out of time¡­" Hilda whispered as she prayed for the man''s safety. They could only hope that everything would be alright.


    Then, they saw the multiple self-destruction of the Mech Knights which surprised them a lot!


    Most of them were even unable to utter any words showing how shocked they are. None of them thought that Wace would sacrifice those Mech Knights just like that¡­


    However, this also made them rethink his current situation¡­


    ''There must be something going on¡­''


    ''What is his objective? Why is he so eager on destroying that spaceship?''


    ''Is it an act of revenge for something? None of the pilots died though? At most, some of us were injured and exhausted.''


    ''There must be a reason for his action¡­ He knows what he''s doing¡­ He''s a guy who nned too far ahead for this specific day. He wouldn''t make a mistake like this.''


    As they did their best to understand Wace''s current ns, they saw another huge explosion inside the ck Sovereign¡­


    For sure, that spaceship is done for. There was no way it would still be capable of functioning after all the damages it has endured until now.


    Whoosshh~


    They suddenly saw a huge beam almost eat up half of the Excellence''s body¡­


    It came from the gship!


    The Empire''s main fleet can now move and join the battle.


    Their Mana Spells bought them some precious time but as Wace said, it may not be as effective if they decided to use it again since they would surelye up with a countermeasure already.


    They have to assume that the Empire has superior A.I. so they can''t becent with their current sess.


    As they are starting to get worried for Wace, they saw the Excellence activating all its boosters whether Mana-Based or not as it hurried away from its current position.


    However, they are still quite worried as they watched the Imperial gship¡­


    They noticed that it didn''t chase Wace and instead stayed near the damaged ck Sovereign¡­


    On the other hand, the five Conqueror Starships that were first caught in their traps were also showing signs of being destroyed internally. The Celestial Blood must''ve done its job effectively.


    ***


    Wace''s face is filled with disappointment at the result of their attempt to take the Cube.


    Apparently, thest explosion inside the ck Sovereign was caused by the destruction of the Cube.


    The Empire has probably considered getting the Cube stolen so they''ve designed a unique setup for it¡­ Once the Cube was removed from the device it was ced on, an explosion meant for its destruction would be triggered.


    Ace thought that its pieces blown away might still be valuable once collected considering theirst experience with it, but the Imperial gship has already arrived and stopped him from taking further actions¡­ Its cannon was so huge that their Excellence was almost sucked in at its line of fire.


    It was such a shame to leave like this but there was no way that his precious spaceship would fight against the gigantic gship that is more than ten times its size.


    "I guess this is also fine¡­" Ace muttered as he epted the result of his actions.


    He should already be happy that the Empire could no longer use one of their Cubes of Paradox.

 Chapter 342 - Omen

    Ace understands that their previous assault against the Empire could no longer be repeated.


    Their usage of Mana Waves, Modified Traceless Oscition, and various Mana Spells would not be as effective as it is today¡­


    After all, their Super AIs would certainly work overtime to find the best way to handle such circumstances and most likely, the main forces would no longer just watch or observe them. Perhaps, they would be greeted by the Subspace ster and Psionic Pulse upon meeting them¡­


    There was no way they would be able to freelynd their Mana Spells at that time.


    "Avalon¡­ Continue retreating to the second line of defense¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Right, give me the casualty report¡­"


    Avalonplied as it provided him full details about the result of the recent battle.


    Aside from the 10 Mech Knights that had to self-destruct, 6 other more are destroyed due to the explosion inside the ck Sovereign and due to the stray bullets during the battle¡­


    It means that only 4 Mech Knights managed to return to the hangar and these four weren''t even in a good condition.


    However, their ambush is still a sess. They managed to destroy a ck Sovereign Spaceship and deal internal damage from the five Conqueror Starships acting as the fleet''s vanguard.


    This is all thanks to the existence of the unknown Mana¡­ It must''ve surprised them a lot and wanted to take as much information as they could¡­ That is why they mostly remained passive in that battle.


    Nevertheless, he couldn''t help but recall his dream about a single Conqueror Starship who managed to easily destroy their region and the vessel had even barely taken any damage...


    But this time, he managed to fight them head-on and didn''t lose that much.


    "This is not a bad result¡­ Although we''ve shown a lot of our secrets, they''ve taken huge damage¡­ And only two mid-size spaceships fought against them. They must be really infuriated by now."


    Ace muttered as he straightened his seat and rxed for a bit.


    "Right¡­ We need to resupply¡­ Complete the arrangements with Omen IV."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    They only have 18% left in their Mana Reserves which is still quite eptable considering the result of the battle.


    ''Mhmm¡­ We should expect an even more intense battle since they''ll be ready with our Mana Spells this time¡­ They didn''t use the Psionic Pulse or even Subspace ster¡­ They must be thinking of making it a surprise¡­ They have perhaps improved these technologies to a higher level¡­ We must be careful.''


    Since Wace is keeping a trump card, it is safe to assume that the Empire is simr.


    [ Should we end the live broadcast now? ]


    "Ahh¡­ Yes---Wait¡­ What''s being shown right now?"


    Ace asked quickly. He has forgotten about the live broadcast due to the intense battle.


    Avalon answered by showing the live feed being broadcasted to the people on the.


    It shows that the Empire''s fleet had started moving without any constraints as they remained cautious by sending out various smaller spacecraft and Mech Frames¡­


    The battlefield also has some scavengers, they are unusual humanoid Mech Frames and they appear to be interested in his Mech Knight''s parts.


    However, there is no way they will see anything valuable in that¡­ After all, the Mech Knights mostly rely on its core followed by the Magic Structure ced inside.


    As a matter of fact, even if his fellow Magicians decided to analyze his creation, they would find it difficult to understand¡­ Ace had used apletely different principle behind it as he copied some of the notes left by Prince Zaimphail.


    This is why he is not worrying about the broken part of Mech Knights they left on the battlefield.


    "Alright¡­ The Conqueror Starships seems to be having internal issues as we expected. This should buy us enough time for our ns in the second line of defense. You can cut the broadcast now."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalonplied and gave a message to the public, warning them that a Space Empire is arriving. The A.I. also reminded them not to panic as there are already preparations made to fight against these aliens.


    Then, as they have coordinated with Yumi, the top officials of the government had also made announcements to calm the citizens.


    ***


    "Haa~"


    ine and Chase sighed in relief after seeing the battle ended. Although the Empire is still there, it is a good thing that their son has a breather from that intense fight.


    "Those aliens look so strong¡­ I thought that my son''s creation is already at the peak of Magic Engineering¡­"


    Chase Ravencroft couldn''t help but be amazed after watching the broadcast.


    As an engineer himself, he became extremely fascinated by the creations of his son. It hasn''t been that long when thetter was still struggling on making a berserk potion, but this time, he''s already influencing the world with his machines and vessels.


    "But look at those gigantic spaceships¡­ I''m sure that they haven''t shown everything they''ve got. It''s a good thing that he retreated quickly." He added.


    "Yes¡­ But our son is really amazing¡­ I''m sure that he put a lot of considerations into that quick battle¡­ They''ve dealt a significant loss to the enemy''s fleet while leaving almost unharmed. It would surely destroy their morale and increase Ace''s momentum." ine said after analyzing their son''s actions.


    They were unsure about Ace''s clear objective but he definitely performed really well and lead his army magnificently. They are hoping that they could somehow help but there nothing much they can do in thisrge-scale battle.


    "I guess even if we use the Forbidden Light Dusts, we won''t be able to help him that much."


    ine softly said but Chase heard it clearly. He onlyughed at it but he understood what she was saying. The taboo spell may be able to help them kill any Magicians in the world but it is not meant to be used in a battle of this scale.


    ***


    Lacus and Yumi sighed in relief after seeing that the battle has ended for now¡­


    "Hisst maneuver was so reckless¡­ I wonder what he was thinking that time¡­"


    "He must''ve been infuriated by that spaceship, so he didn''t leave until it''s destroyed. However, I agree with you, that was too dangerous¡­ He doesn''t have any supports there."


    Yumi was really worried for Ace at that time.


    Nevertheless, the two continued with their work and proceeded to advertise the Mt. Raven where the Traceless Hand''s Factory and the Hangar are located.


    They are recruiting talented Mages around the world. Now that the broadcast was seen by almost everyone. There would be a lot of people who would willingly participate to save their.


    Some of them may not be Alien Invasion yers but even if they are not, Wace still has a use for them.


    "Wait¡­ Why did Wace assign this to us anyway?" Yumi suddenly asked.


    They just visited the man here to ask some questions but they suddenly ended up having some workload.


    Only rice, his sister, ended going back home to apany their parents.


    "Well, it is not like this is difficult¡­ We''ll just have to assign these people to work. Whether it is fabrication orbat training¡­ As long as they can help once the Empire descended here, that''s all that matters."


    Lacus exined.


    Wace is fully aware of how these magicians think. That is the reason why he set up a particr job for them in his factory. This would lighten the work of their automatons and improve their workforce.


    As for Miya, she continued ying the Alien Invasion game after watching the battle within the virtual world.


    There''s nothing much for her to contribute now that the battle is ongoing¡­ The most that she could do is to learn more about the aliens and perhaps learn how to pilot a Mech Knight.


    At this time, she''s looking at a pink Mech Knight that has a cool sword and shield. It is like a female warrior of ancient times and it really looks awesome for her¡­


    There are models like these holding cannon or guns but she prefers having a sword and shield for some reason.


    ''If I master this Mech Knights, I''ll request to have this in real life¡­''


    Miya visualized herself riding this in the real world¡­ she couldn''t help but feel excited.


    ***


    Ace finally arrived at Lagrange Point, their second line of defense.


    The Omen IV''s engine is active¡­ The 3rd and 4th Mech Knights Divisions are also in ce¡­


    On the other hand, the Providence is docked at the asteroid turned into their temporary base. The Excellence docked beside it as the automatons did their job to resupply and fix any damages from the spaceship.


    They were also followed by a group of Technicians overseeing the repair.


    "We left some trail for them to follow¡­ and they should be expecting an ambush but they will surely continue their path here. They will take their revenge but we''re ready¡­"


    Ace then closed his eyes as he recalled the Imperial gship''s movement a while ago¡­


    ''There''s definitely a member of the Royal Family there¡­''


    The young man spected as his face turned solemn.

 Chapter 343 - The Battle Of Lagrange I

    The Lagrange Point is quite far from the coordinates where theypleted the ambush¡­ It would take approximately two days with the speed of their Mid-Size Battleship¡­


    However, the preparation required toplete the second line of defense would also take some time for the Mech Knights and the Omen IV. This is the reason why Shreguc did not hesitate to start the Defense Phase of the Lagrange Point as soon as Wace''s forces started retreating to their coordinates¡­


    After all, it would be real trouble if even a couple of those gigantic starships chased them.


    [ The leader of the Arians wanted to speak with you. ]


    A genderless voice from a floating metal ball spoke.


    "Oh? Do I have to meet them?" Ace asked. He''s about to speak with the Providence''s Mech pilots when the A.I. informed him.


    [ No. ]


    Avalon replied.


    "Alright¡­ Just connect me through their channel."


    Ace finally said as he seated at the captain''s seat within the bridge.


    Since he can''t speak theirnguage, he will be using Avalon''s trantion system tomunicate with them.


    [ We wish to speak with the leader of your race¡­ ]


    Avalon started rying their words.


    "Ehem¡­ Hello? This is me¡­ What do you want?" Ace said as they appeared on each other''s devices.


    [ Oh¡­ Leader, we wish to send some of our young ones to your. Please, allow us to give them a chance to live. ]


    "Ho~ What made you think that they''ll survive on our¡­ What''s with the sudden request?"


    Ace wanted to know what going on with their minds right now.


    [ It''s impossible to beat the Empire''s Fleet here in space. You''ve seen their gship¡­ I know that you are aware that they haven''t shown a tenth of their power. Please, understand us. The old ones like us are willing to sacrifice our life to fight them, but please let the other member of my race live on your. ]


    "I understand your words. But wouldn''t it be the same if we can''t defeat them here in space? The Empire would just go straight to the anyway¡­"


    [ However, there is still a chance to live. The Arians are highly adaptive to the environment, as long as the Empire isn''t here to destroy the, we will find ways to live. ]


    Shreguc answered. The old and wrinkled Arian appears to be convinced that they''ll be killed in outer space once the Empire has arrived, so the guy is just hoping to let the others survive¡­


    Well, he''s probably aware of how scary the Empire can be. He wouldn''t me the old man for that. Wace had also limited the information he presented to them so they weren''t that clear about their forces...


    Nevertheless, he is right... He is not expecting that they''ll defeat the Empire with their meager forces. He didn''t have enough time to establish a grand space fleet or even make a gigantic spaceship... Aside from that, his shipyard is alsocking...


    "Very well, I''ll make arrangements with Avalon¡­"


    [ Thank you for your grace, Lord Wace¡­ ] Shreguc suddenly called him with such esteem.


    Ace then ended his conversation with him and headed to the pilots of the first and second Knights Divisions. He wanted to see for himself the mental conditions of these Magicians¡­


    Although he readied them for this day, he wanted to make sure that everyone''s state of mind is clear and try to remind them of their objective here in space.


    "How''s everyone?" Wace greeted the pilots who are now gathered within the room and talking about their recent battle.


    It is important to have discussions like these as the pilots would discover better methods of fighting or perhaps learn their mistakes by listening to the genius pilots... Sharing their experience would help them improve one another...


    Their most controversial topic is the Arcanist Phase and Wace arrived at the same time they are arguing about it...


    "Sir Wace! You''re here..."


    "We are all fine, Sir... It is an intense battle but our element of surprise worked really well..."


    "That''s true. Though I doubt that we can repeat the same tactic, I''m sure that they''ll be wary of our Mana Spells next time."


    Hilda greeted him first followed by the other Mech Pilots. They are already used to Wace''s presence so they are quite rxed when receiving him.


    "I see... Are there any issues with the Mech Knights? You should''ve felt the difference between their Mech Frames and our Knights... How was it?"


    Ace asked. He''s sincere with the question.


    Hearing their opinion about theparison of their Mech Knights and the enemy Mech Frames would allow him to improve them as well. Although they haven''t tried to pilot those Frames yet, fighting against them would surely give them an idea about its capabilities.


    "Mhmm... I can say that our Mech Knights are superior in terms of firepower... However, the enemy pilots have good coordination. They can hold formations and react really well..."


    "Well, we can work that out too if we hold more joint practices with our Divisions..."


    "Yes. I also noticed that their pilots are also quite patient. They only used the Twilight Armor Tech at a crucial time. Their Mech Frames are impressive but they seem to be restricting themselves for some reason¡­"


    They discussed a little more about the behavior of the enemy and the powers of their machines¡­ After this, Wace decided to leave them and visit the other magicians¡­


    "Sir Wace¡­ Wait, can I ask something about the Arcanist Phase?"


    Ferdie suddenly raised his hand to ask a question.


    "Arcanist Phase? Go ahead, I''ll answer if I can..."


    "Thank you... I just want to know whether we can install them in all of the Mech Knights that we have. That Phase would really provide a huge help to any pilots whenever they''re in a tough spot."


    Ferdie knows how valuable this function is and he''s also aware of its bacsh... However, he felt that there would be a lot more benefit to their Division if all the Mech Knights are capable of doing this...


    They can just n a rotation for the Arcanist Phase to be activated.


    Wace didn''t think too long for an answer as he also considered this before.


    "That''s true, but the Arcanist Phase is inefficient here on space... Anyway, don''t worry... I''m nning on cing this feature in all of the Mech Knights meant for our. After all, there wouldn''t be a problem with the supply of mana on the surface..."


    After the pilots heard this, they all became excited.


    He is right, the Arcanist Phase spends a lot of their Mana Reserves which is extremely valuable here on space. They have no ways of resupplying them unless the Mana Stones from the surface were delivered.


    However, if they can use it freely on their, then just like what he said, it would be more efficient for them.


    Ace spent his time confirming that all the Magicians are in good condition.


    He also made sure that the 3rd and 4th Mech Knights Division waiting for the Empire''s arrival has no issues whatsoever.


    Then, a small-size spaceship was sent out to bring the young Arians to Earth... He also contacted Yumi to help him make arrangements for their arrival. Apparently, Wace is busy doing something else with Aeolia and found out that he passed most of the administrative works to Lacus and Yumi...


    ***


    Beep!


    [ The Empire''s Fleet has reached the effective range of the Omen IV''s Hadron Cannon ]


    Ace opened his eyes after hearing Avalon''s reminder. Time has quickly passed and as expected, the Empire is not afraid of following their trail.


    Of course, this is what he expected from them already¡­


    He also noticed that the severely damaged ck Sovereign wasn''t left behind as it is being pushed by some machines with strong boosters behind it...


    As for the five Conqueror Starship that has been affected by the Celestial''s Solidified Blood, they were missing in front of the fleet as they stayed in the ce where Wace left them¡­


    ''Why would they bring the broken ck Sovereign and leave those five behind?'' Wace was a bit confused about their actions.


    Nevertheless, they have to continue with their n.


    "Avalon¡­ Help the Arians as much as you can."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    For the second line of defense that they have prepared, the core unit would be the Omen IV while the two mid-size battleships, Excellence and Providence, would act as support¡­


    The 3rd and 4th Mech Knights Division, on the other hand, was sortied earlier on as they needed to hide somewhere with their special devices¡­


    They know that the previous ambush they did would perhaps no longer work so they have a different jobpared to Hilda and Ray''s previous tasks.


    [ All Systems: Ready ] Avalon reported.


    They would no longer bother sendingmunications to them as they would let the Omen IV initiate the attack.


    "Give the signal to the Arians¡­" Ace gave hismand to Avalon.


    [ Affirmative. ]

 Chapter 344 - The Battle Of Lagrange II

    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The space mines were activated and exploded upon making a contact with the spaceships in front¡­


    However, they did not even scratch the Conveyor Spaceship in front of the fleet¡­


    Shreguc sighed as he saw the iing fleet of the Meredith Empire¡­


    If he has a choice, he would take his nsmen and run away from this ce. Although he knows that Ace has prepared for so long for this particr day, he just couldn''t see any chance for them to win¡­


    ''They have an ess to our A.I.''s database, they should be fully aware of the Empire''s true power. Why are they still not finding ways to evacuate or negotiate instead of trying to fight with their small number?''


    The old Arian couldn''t understand Ace''s line of thought. He felt that this is a helpless situation. So what if they managed to destroy a couple or two spaceships? The Empire wouldn''t be shaken by that¡­ Once a single Gically Enhanced Human managed to board one of their spaceships, he''s sure that those Magicians would barely be able to damage them¡­


    That''s right, although the machines and spaceships of the Empire are scary, their real problem lies with the enhanced humans that have already exceeded the normal range of their physical qualities, intellectual capacity, and moral characteristics by a huge parameter.


    Most of the citizens of the Empire have to live in a ce called Space Settlement, an artificial habitat built by humans to live in space, and although many problems may arise in such an environment, their gic enhancement wouldter solve all of them.


    However, human pursues perfection¡­ Throughout the many years of experimentations, scientists have developed sessful gic modifications through various molecr engineering techniques...


    This resulted in the advancement of the Empire and bing a major power in the universe.


    "Leader, Wace has given the signal. We have to begin the operation."


    Shreguc''s assistant reminded him.


    Thetter took a deep breath before speaking in their internalms.


    "We will be fighting against the strongest force ever known in the Universe¡­ They are considered a small fleet if we will talk about the whole Empire¡­ This is also the reason why we have a chance of winning¡­"


    Although he doubts that they''ll seed, he needed to increase the morale of his people as a leader¡­


    "Not even the Gctic Federation dares to cross the path of the imperial army, however, we have the magicians with us¡­ Do not be afraid! We will live to see the future!"


    Shreguc shouted.


    "We will live to see the future!" The people within the bridge repeated his words¡­


    He thenmanded¡­


    "Make them fear our name! Charge forward!"


    The gigantic Omen IV may not be asrge as the Imperial gship but it is stillrger than the other spaceships.


    Whoom~


    The Arian''s Battleship moved forward to meet the Empire''s forces¡­


    Of course, Ace is not sending them to suicide as he still has some ns along with their movement¡­


    [ The remaining Conqueror Starship is sending out hundreds of unknown small spacecraft. ]


    Ace heard Avalon and quickly confirmed its details. The small spacecraft appears to be the same size as the Mana-Based Observer Wards he ced around this region.


    "Monitor each of them¡­ We have to let the Omenplete its task without obstructions." Acemanded as he tried to guess what kind of task these small spacecraft has.


    [ Affirmative. ] The floating metal ball replied.


    The Excellence and Providence also approached slowly as they stayed behind the Omen IV¡­ They seemed to be waiting for something as none of their Turrets or Cannons are being readied. Instead, their Mana Barrier was fully activated, and their Mech Pilots are waiting inside their Knights.


    Thud¡­


    After a few moments, the Empire''s Fleet and the Omen stopped advancing¡­


    [ Heat Detected¡­ ]


    [ Activation of Mega-Particle Beam Cannon has been confirmed... ]


    Ace just listened to it and waited. He knows that the Omen would do something about it¡­ His job now is to grab an opportunity to deal a significant blow to the Empire''s forces.


    Shreguc noticed that the Empire is not willing to contact them as well as he gave his signal to his men to initiate their assault¡­


    Their opponent is perhaps thinking that the Omen IV is the gship of their forces¡­


    Anyway, their opponent doesn''t have Mana Wave and Burst that would make them disoriented like how they were first defeated. Right now, they should at least be able to release their weapons before being trampled by the Empire¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Series of cannons and turrets activated as their long-range weapons including their CIWS are activated¡­


    "Fire!"


    The old Arian ordered after seeing the lighting from the Empire''s fleet¡­ They have also initiated their attack.


    Whoosh!


    The Mega-Particle Beam Cannon of the gship was also fired¡­ It destroyed half the projectiles they''ve sent as they exploded along the way¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    As the beam headed to Omen, a shield activated in front of the spaceship and changed the course of the beam!


    This is not part of the Omen''s ability but it is due to the help of the magicians temporarily staying within the ship¡­


    Shreguc saw that they sessfully defended against that huge beam of light as he thanked the magicians controlling them.


    He then gave an announcement to his men and continued with the operation.


    "We can only use the barrier once¡­ Any more beams with that scale must be evaded. We have to execute the n!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The Magicians who controlled the barrier would also leave the Omen IV to join the fightter on¡­ Once they left the ship, it would be the first time that the Omen IV would be boarded by only their race ever since they were captured by Ace.


    After all, ever since they were sent to this Lagrange Point, they were always surrounded by the Automatons, Mech Knights, and Magicians.


    Shreguc also felt liberated but they are still in a dangerous position.


    Boom! Boom!


    He then saw that all their projectiles and beams were defended sessfully by the enemy. They have Forcefield and perhaps Aether Barrier activated. However, the explosions cause some concerns with the visibility on each side¡­


    This is within Shreguc''s consideration. He smiled at the result but he knows that this is not enough¡­


    Then, the 10 Invader Starship of the fleet started moving¡­ As expected, they are not going to release their Mech Frames easily¡­


    [ The two Mech Knights Division are in position. ] Their A.I. informed them quickly.


    "Good¡­ Release all of our remaining missiles¡­ Don''t stop firing the cannons and start the umtion of Non-Relic Destroyer''s energy!


    The leader ordered as they are using the projectiles not to destroy the fleet to buy them some time to get into a good position¡­


    Then, once they are all ready, they will use their specialized weapon called Relic Destroyer that is meant to destroy the Cube of Paradox once they''ve found it¡­


    However, since it is no longer meant to destroy the Sacred Relic due to being captured by Ace, they changed its name to Non-Relic Destroyer¡­


    This is the trump card of the Omen IV¡­


    ***


    Ace watches everything carefully afraid to miss any important detail¡­


    It seems that the small spacecraft that the Empire has sent out were meant to hunt any ambushers around and also meant to act as an ECCM¡­


    Ace expected this but he didn''t think that they have tons of this mini-spacecraft to act the part. It is also releasing some kind of energy that Avalon is still analyzing up until now.


    Nevertheless, the Omen is really acting like a gship of their fleet as it has sessfully drawn the attention of the Empire¡­


    ''We have to be careful¡­ They have tons of Aether for sure¡­ We can''t oust them with our limited Mana¡­ We have to deal with significant damage¡­


    Whom~ Whom~


    He noticed the Invader Spaceships advancing and felt curious about it. He heard from Avalon that these Invaders would normally act in close-range battles or at atmospheric battles¡­


    After all, its propulsion technology called Duality Drive is most suited in such an environment.


    "Avalon, make sure we are detecting any activation of their long-range weapons."


    Reiji ordered. Omen is waiting for the Non-Relic Destroyer to reach the critical point¡­


    But before getting to that point, it would surely not escape the Empire''s detection. After detection, they would have 15 seconds to respond before Omen could fire it.


    Of course, it is the same for Ace''s forces, that is why they could cast a barrier for that Mega-Particle Beam Cannon. It is very difficult to hide powerful cannons after all.


    "Something doesn''t feel right¡­ They shouldn''t be this passive after our ambush before¡­"


    Ace suddenly had a bad feeling.


    However, it didn''t take that long for him to realize the enemy''s n¡­


    He saw the supposedly destroyed ch Sovereign Spaceship moving extremely fast!


    It was somehow boosted by the Invader Spaceship and is heading towards the Omen IV!


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    Multiple sounds of rms were heard within the bridge as Avalon detected multiple heat signals from the ck Sovereign that is closing in!

 Chapter 345 - The Battle Of Lagrange III

    "Tsk¡­ They''ll use the ck Sovereign as their weapon? Seriously?"


    Ace saw the gigantic spaceship felt worried about the huge heat signaling from it¡­ At the moment, even Avalon is having trouble determining the source of those signals.


    They''re still unsure whether it is filled with nuclear bombs or any type of explosive, or perhaps they just Mech Frames hiding inside to have a surprise attack¡­


    "Scatter!


    Nevertheless, Ace ordered them to scatter¡­


    If they are just nning to ram that huge spaceship and self-destruct, then they would be at a huge disadvantage¡­


    They have satellite-ss cannon but it would just drill a hole on that ship instead of disintegrating it¡­


    There is also a problem with the casting time...


    As for the Non-Relic Destroyer that the Omen has, it is also not meant to be used inrge-scale bombardment¡­


    The Providence and the Excellence quickly moved aside from the ck Sovereign''s path while the Omen IV did the same as it elevated quickly to avoid getting hit¡­


    However, the ck Sovereign also started to move and chased the Omen¡­ Aside from that, the ten Invader Spaceships from the fleet had also started their assault as they got closer to the three main spaceships of Ace''s forces¡­


    "Tsk¡­ Not good¡­ They are trying to control the phase of the battle¡­"


    [ Heat Signal Identified¡­ ]


    [ The ck Sovereign contains Mech Frames carrying various types of bombs. Nuclear Fission, Antimatter, and Aether sh are the most abundant type of bombs detected. ]


    Reiji has Nuclear Jammer with him and Aether Disruptor but it would have problems impeding such arge amount of explosives.


    There was no way it could easily cover such great distance and affect all of them instant¡­ Although their Mana Spells are magical, it still requires to fulfill several conditions to be effective.


    The Antimatter bombs are also a huge headache as he doesn''t have a reliable method to sessfully defend against them.


    The best method that he knows is to dodge them instead!


    "I assume Shreguc is already informed about this¡­ Just let him decide the best course of action¡­ Excellence and Providence will continue the n, we can''t let them control the phase, the third and fourth Mech Knights Divisions are waiting for our signal¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace quickly said. Shreguc is the master of the Omen IV and he knows all of its abilities.


    It might not be good if he interfered with their decision-making.


    For now, Ace would trust him that he''ll be able to do something about it or perhaps get themselves away from the explosion¡­


    Anyway, they have a part of Avalon helping them in their calctions. He should trust his subordinates a little bit more.


    ***


    Hilda and the rest of the pilots were informed about the bombs that are being carried by the Mech Frames within the ck Sovereign.


    ''A suicide squad?''


    ''This is dangerous... They have to destroy them before they can get near.''


    ''I''m not sure how strong their nuclear bomb is but the one in the game is definitely scary...''


    ''Ugh¡­ I failed a lot on that task¡­ Perhaps Wace will order a retreat for now?''


    ''I don''t think so¡­ He must have some ns about this.''


    The pilots felt a bit restless after learning about ck Sovereign''s current path.


    As for the Arians at Omen IV, they are also fully aware of the dangerous position they are in...


    However, they are not losing hope since their propulsion technology has been improved by Avalon''s automatons who could create Magic Structures.


    Even if the ck Sovereign exploded now¡­ Their barrier should hold on and have them pushed back by its force instead¡­


    As long as they have a supply of mana with them, they''ll be able to do something about it for sure.


    But if the Sovereign only crashed on them without the massive explosion, they''ll be in trouble as the Mech Frames would sureunch out and surround them¡­


    "Destroy the ck Sovereign¡­ If they are really holding those bombs, we have to trigger it now!"


    Shreguc ordered and Non-Relic Destroyer was fired though it was still iplete¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Unfortunately, one of the Mech Frames suddenly appeared in front of the ck Sovereign. It went forward and triggered the bomb it was carrying! It is the same time that the Non-Relic Destroyer was fired¡­


    It canceled each other out and created a huge impact¡­


    Although the st didn''t push them too hard, it has obviously shaken the Omen IV.


    Then, due to the disturbance in the surroundings, their A.I. had finally detected numerous Mech Frames moving in front of the ck Sovereign!


    Although they are still in stealth mode, the disturbance allowed their A.I. to detect their presence¡­ It seems that they were apanying the ck Sovereign and willing to sacrifice themselves as they carry the bombs with them¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ Why are they fighting like this? This is not the style of the Empire¡­ Why are they sacrificing their pilots?! Are they insane?''


    Shreguc was truly surprised about this since each pilot that could join such a prestigious spaceship wouldn''t be an average person¡­ They were definitely a part of the elites!


    ''Ahh¡­ Wait!''


    He suddenly had an idea¡­ There is only one reason why these pilots are so willing to do this kind of tactic¡­


    He then fearfully looked at the Imperial gship. It is just silently watching the 10 Invader Spaceship and the ck Sovereign with countless Mech Frames ready to self-destruct¡­


    ''No way¡­''


    It is a different matter if there really is a member of the royalty in that spaceship.


    "Haa~ So this is how it''s going to end, huh¡­"


    Shreguc sighed and he appears to have given up at this fight¡­


    ***


    Ace also noticed the counter move of the Imperial Army¡­


    ''As expected of the Empire, they''ve already thought of countermeasure against our jammers and restrictive mana spells¡­''


    Ace immediately realized the reason behind the enemy''s tactic.


    It is extremely difficult to stop the manual triggering that the Mech Frames are doing right now¡­


    Perhaps if they send the nuclear bombs or other explosives through a projectile, they will have a chance to disarm them or contain its explosion¡­


    However, if it is being carried by a Mech Frame and being manually activated, it would be a different story¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ Shreguc, you have to think of a solution yourself¡­ I''ll have to deal with the Invaders Spaceship for now¡­''


    "Avalon, intercept the ten Invaders¡­ Coordinate with the Providence."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    The current battle is again being broadcasted throughout the entire continent¡­


    This is to make sure that everyone is also aware of the Empire''s power. Of course, this isn''t just to scare them but to make them realize the things that they should be doing instead¡­


    Aaron Schmidt, the young master of the Lucent Force, has arrived at the organization''s secret base¡­


    It is the underground facility located not too far from Dolu City, the capital of their country.


    He is apanied by Owl and Raven as he passes through various gates without any issues. They''ve seen different guards and workers but only a few of them bothered to greet him as everyone is currently busy¡­


    "Young master¡­ Are you sure about this? Even if the aliens truly descended here, I think that our current forces are more than enough to deal with them." Owl shared his opinion.


    "Don''t worry¡­ I''ve already considered everything¡­ I even received permission from my father¡­ I''m sure that he''s also aware of our true situation."


    Aaron smiled as he approached thest metal door blocking them.


    They are already at the deepest ce within this underground base.


    The metal door has a circr ss in the middle where the young man ced his hands on¡­


    [ Arcane Link¡­ Confirmed. ]


    Then, the door slowly opened as the air puffs out of the room¡­


    Thud! Thud!


    Light quickly turned on as a huge Iron Knight weed the three of them¡­


    This Iron Knight is unlike the ones that were shared by the few countries that discovered the blueprint of the core.


    This is the Lucent Force''s secret weapon, a humanoid machine with an 18 meters height. It is about double the size of the normal Steel Knights and has been the project of the organization for more than 5 years now¡­


    They have initially failed to make this machine an effective weapon as its functionalities aren''t that perfect.


    However, as they gained free assistance from Veda, they managed to resolve the issues they are facing and have now started manufacturing a few of these machines¡­


    Aside from that, Wace has also provided them the Lucent Knights they requested¡­ Those Mech Knights will also be a part of their elite units in their future operations.


    "It looks beautiful¡­"


    The humanoid machine in front of them isrger than any Mech Knights in the Virtual World and even in the reality.


    This is probably the reason why Aaron was quite excited about piloting this machine.


    As per Veda''s confirmation, there should no longer be any issues with this, and is already calibrated to be used by any Mana Practitioners.


    ''Alright¡­ This should help us increase the morale of our citizens¡­'' Aaron thought as he nced at the golden Mech Knight emanating a cold aura to its surroundings.


    Then, a piece of news rmed the three people inside the room...


    The battle located at the Lagrange Point has started and the Omen IV was blown up together with the friendly Arians in it!

 Chapter 346 - Vedas Help

    Aaron was rmed by the news as he quickly opened his device to know what was happening.


    He recalls that thest time Wace did a live broadcast of their battle, it ended really well as they have prepared a lot for their ambush¡­


    They have damaged the enemy spaceships while barely getting damage in return.


    They have acted in a very coordinated manner and swiftly executed their Mana Spells without mana obstruction.


    This created a false belief to many people that their Magic or Mana Artifacts would work really well even if the Empire descended here¡­


    This is the reason why Owl and Raven was thinking that it is not necessary to mobilize their Lucent Force''s secret weapon.


    However, if the topic is about the aliens or the foreign beings outside their world, he would only trust Wace¡­ The man who has achieved many incredible things in just a few years.


    "I just hope that this is within Wace''s ns."


    Aaron muttered as he viewed the broadcast.


    Right now, they can see that Excellence and Providence are exchanging fire against the 10 Invader Spaceships from the Empire.


    However, on top of them was the destroyed Omen IV that was previously acting as the gship of their fleet¡­


    As for the previous ck Sovereign Starship filled with Mech Frames, they are nowhere to be seen as they''ve detonated themselves and brought the Arians with them¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    The battle is continuing even if they''ve lost a crucial part of their team.


    ''He''s not giving up¡­ What are you nning, Wace? You''re outnumbered¡­''


    Aaron was trying to analyze the battle. If they have a strong Mana Spell or Mana Artifact they can use, they should''ve used it by now¡­


    However, it appears that Wace has something on his mind¡­


    ''This is dangerous for them¡­''


    "Owl, can we contact Veda?"


    "Yes. He has given us a special device tomunicate with them."


    "Great, bring me the device. I need to speak with Veda."


    Raven quickly called for someone to bring the device¡­ It seems that their young master has something in his mind again.


    Ever since he started ying the Alien Invasion game, he had shown impressive growth in his physical training and with his Arcane Link¡­ He became even more fitted to be the next leader of this country''s Lucent Force.


    ''However, if the Empire is really as strong as how Wace pictured them, then it is probably normal to experience a setback fighting against them.''


    Raven thought as he received the device from a worker in this underground base.


    Apparently, Veda has influenced their organization by a great deal¡­ Even this base was due to Veda''s suggestion "to maintain the secrecy of their untested weapons and other experiments" as per his words.


    Aside from that, the advancement of their facilities and research was also through the help of this mysterious database. So it is only normal that every worker here knows Veda.


    Of course, they were unable to speak with Veda before until the time when Aaron''s father reached high-level ess and got recognized by this being.


    "Activate it¡­"


    "Yes."


    Aaron knows that there is nothing he can do to help Wace in outer space. He knows that he can only watch and pray for him on the surface.


    However, it would apletely different matter once the enemy descended here¡­ His golden Mech Knight together with the Lucent Knights would create a huge impact against the Empire¡­


    He must do whatever he can when that timees.


    [ Aaron Schmidt identied. ]


    [ What business you have with me, the young master of the Lucent Force? ]


    Aaron and the other two were still within the room where the golden Mech Knights are located when they opened the device tomunicate with the database¡­


    "Before that, may I know whether you''re helping Wace as well?"


    [ Helping? Do you mean, right now while he''s fighting against the Empire''s Fleet? ]


    "Yes."


    [ No. He has a goodpanion with him. Are you worried about him? I can help him if you want. ]


    "Eh? Really? Will you help him?"


    [ Yes¡­ However, I need a massive supply of Mana Practitioners. I preferred criminal magicians if you know some¡­ Yes, I want people that wouldn''t matter if they died. ]


    Veda quickly replied as he listed the things he wanted.


    "Huh? What''s with that request? What are you thinking?"


    Aaron was the one surprised after hearing this being''s request. He had a bad feeling about this¡­


    He wanted to ask whether Veda is conducting experimentation about humans but Raven pointed something out¡­


    "Young Master, I don''t think that you need to request this. If Veda is willing to help, he would already help Wace¡­ As you know, that man is an apprentice with the Grand Arcanist. He should have ess to Veda or even if he doesn''t have, Lacus, his senior apprentice would surely ask for Veda''s assistance."


    Raven quickly said.


    This being is requesting something dangerous for their young master so he wanted to clear things up immediately.


    [ Oh¡­ ]


    Veda reacted. Nevertheless, he continued with his request.


    [ I know you have something to ask me and whatever it is, the price would be Mana Practitioners that doesn''t have aplicated background. Someone who can just disappear in this world. ]


    Veda didn''t bother correcting Raven and continued with his request.


    Aaron smiled wryly at this. It appears that Veda truly needed to have some Magicians he could experiment with¡­


    "Alright, I''ll do it."


    "Young master, where are we getting them?"


    "Don''t worry about it, there are still a few magicians from the Z Company that we''ve captured in the previous siege¡­"


    "Sigh~ I understand¡­"


    Raven gave up as he let Aaron do what he wanted.


    [ Great! You will be a good leader for the next generation of Lucent Force. Now, go ahead and ask me anything you want. ]


    "I need to equip our Mech Knight with the 7th Generation Mana Artifact¡­ Can you give us information on how to make it?"


    [ Do you know anything about the 7th Gen? ]


    "Not really. I only heard that it''s powerful. I''m not even sure where the rumor came from, but I know that it is existing¡­ So you have to tell me whatever information you have about it." Aaron replied.


    He doesn''t really know much so he decided to ask Veda. He also remained in this room to show the Mech Knight where he is nning to install the Mana Artifact if possible.


    But if the rumor is false, he''ll probably just be content with the 6th Generation that they''ve already arranged.


    [ I understand. To tell you the truth, the lives of those Magicians that I''ve requested will be used to create the 7th Generation Mana Artifact. ]


    "What?!"


    It is not just Aaron, even the two other members of the Lucent Force were surprised to hear such words from Veda.


    What kind of Artifact Forging requires the life of magicians? Is this some kind of cult that requires human sacrifice?


    [ I''m telling the truth. So you have to give me three Magicians in exchange for that information. ]


    "Young master¡­ This¡­"


    "I know, Raven¡­ Do not tell anyone about this¡­ Anyway, Veda¡­ I''ll give you five magicians if you tell me how many Artifact you can make with the five life---No, with a single life¡­ Aside from that, what''s wrong with this Artifact? Why does it need human life?"


    Aaron remained calm and asked the important details.


    [ It is very easy to negotiate with you. I like it. ]


    "Thanks."


    [ To answer your question, one life equals three Mana Artifact so far¡­ But future experimentation may allow us to avoid wasting them and create more than that. The name of the Artifact is Synthetic Mana Core¡­ ]


    Veda then revealed a few functionalities of the 7th Gen to Aaron and the others. The A.I. didn''t mind giving this detail since Aaron will be an aplice and Veda feared no one in the first ce.


    Aaron could only sigh after discovering about this¡­ Raven was even right that Veda is already coordinating with Wace about this.


    "I guess we''ll stick with the 6th Gen for now¡­"


    He muttered as he ended his conversation with Veda and checked Ace''s current situation in outer space.


    ***


    Wace clenched his fist after seeing the Omen IV explode together with the ck Sovereign Spaceship.


    They''ve really done it¡­ Without any care for their pilots, the Empire used the broken spaceship to crash it to Omen and used an incredible amount of explosives¡­ Due to its number, it no longer matters whether they have a jammer or not¡­


    Shreguc and all of the Arians inside the spaceship have perished¡­


    As for the pilots near the Omen, they were just blown away and had to use their Magic Nodes to survive¡­


    Their Mech Knights were also wasted so they have to rely on their spacesuit to survive.


    "Send rescue units to them¡­ Hurry!"


    Ace shouted after noticing that a detachment from the empire''s fleet of Mech Frames was hurrying in the survivor''s direction.

 Chapter 347 - Fighting

    There are 23 Magicians floating in space with their full-body spacebat suit.


    They also have their Magic Nodes activated as it hasn''t depleted the device''s Mana Reserves yet.


    As soon as they stabilized themselves after their Mech Knights were destroyed, they deactivated their Nodes to save some energy forter use.


    However, they were suddenly notified that a group of Mech Frames is moving in their direction¡­


    They quickly looked for the nearest spaceship but Excellence and Providence were on the left and right nk of the battlefield. It is due to the massive explosion of the Omen and the ck Sovereign as well.


    ''What do we do now¡­ We should have a minute or two before the enemy arrives¡­''


    One of the magicians tried to think of a solution.


    His name is Tetsuo and was previously ranked 50 within the Alien Invasion Game¡­


    He wasn''t panicking at the situation since he can see that the Excellence has deployed Mech Knights to save them and their Magic Node was also a very reliable mana artifact.


    Its ability to defend against the enemy''s suicide attack is more than enough to prove that it is the real deal¡­


    "Everyone¡­ Don''t scatter around. We need to stay together. Don''t use your mana recklessly we can do this¡­"


    He wanted to reassure his teammates. Although they know that they are in a bad position, they were already trained by Avalon in this type of situation. As long as they can calmly think and act, there is nothing they should be afraid of¡­


    "Do we have to hold until sir Wace''s rescue team arrives? Or perhaps we should just move this up to the Moon Base¡­"


    "That''s impossible¡­ Don''t worry, as long as a Mech Knight managed to arrive here, even if it''s alone¡­ There will be hope for us¡­ Just ready your Magic Nodes and Mana Artifact to defend yourself."


    "Alright, Sir¡­"


    Tetsuo is just a normal Adept Mage but he is currently leading a team filled with umon Adept Mages...


    They are Adepts who used the Cryptic Link Serum to advance and forcefully establish an Arcane Link.


    He has nothing against them and as a matter of fact, he envied them a bit since he can see how sessful they are and he even heard that they are capable of using forbidden mana spells without any bacsh.


    He wouldn''t want to be enemies with any of them.


    Speaking of which, they should be capable of blocking the enemy Mech Frames, right?


    "Guys, do you have any abilities effective against the Mech Frames?"


    Their spacesuit is equipped with their own Mana Artifact they''ve brought here in space. Aside from that, Ace had also equipped them with a lethalser gun and two Energy des. Both of which were made of advanced tech with advanced mana structure...


    Although they are powerful, it questionable whether they would work effectively against the Mech Frames.


    "We can use Shadow Embrace¡­ Though we haven''t tried using it against Mech Frames, it should buy as a minute¡ªNo, perhaps 30 seconds¡­"


    This statement was agreed upon by the other Adept Mages who were capable of executing the same skill¡­


    Tetsuo was actually quite clueless about this ability but he can guess that it is a restrictive mana spell based on its name.


    "Is that something simr to the Mana Chain?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "Good¡­ Just do it once they get near¡­"


    The Mana Chain can be a Grade 3 Spell depending on the Artifact used or the caster themselves¡­


    In the meantime, Tetsuo decided to use one of Mana Spells¡­ As long as the other Adepts managed to restrict the movement of the Mech Frames, he would have a chance to throw and hit their machines with his spell¡­


    "Don''t be afraid, let theme to us!"


    Tetsuo yelled to increase the morale of his team¡­


    Eight Warrior Mechs are going their way while carrying bulky devices on their backs¡­ They assume that it is rted to their method to perhaps cancel their Mana Waves or Burst and to remain unaffected¡­


    Nevertheless, they were about to use a forbidden spell and they shouldn''t treat it the same with their previous Mana Spells¡­


    "Ready your Magic Nodes¡­ Make sure to activate it on time¡­ It''s the only thing that would guarantee your life¡­"


    "Yes, Sir¡­"


    The group of magicians exploded with Mana as this is a matter of life and death¡­ There is no point in saving mana when their life is in danger.


    ***


    Ace saw that the surviving pilots were not giving up¡­


    They have a good mindset and that is something he wanted tomend them for. This should be every magician''s mentality in this war¡­


    As long as you have mana to use, you have to utilize them and be confident with it¡­


    A magician shouldn''t be someone who can be easily killed¡­


    "Avalon¡­ We only sent 5 Mech Frames to rescue them¡­ Don''t we have any more avable units?"


    [ If we will retreat now and cancel our ns with the 3rd and 4th Mech Division, we can send more Mech Knights to help them. ]


    The A.I. replied immediately¡­


    That''s right, those two divisions were still waiting somewhere within the battlefield¡­


    Although the empire dispatched several small spacecraft to scout the surroundings, there was no way for them to sense the mech knights division that has been waiting in their ce for two days now¡­ They didn''t move and stayed in ce as they coated themselves and slowly moved like a celestial body.


    This is their trump card from this fight aside from the Omen''s Non-Relic Destroyer¡­


    The Empire would surely look for the ambusher in stealth mode¡­ However, they can move everywhere or nt as many traps as they can but they will not easily suspect a rock as Mech Knight unless they have seen it before¡­


    Since they instilled in the enemy''s minds that they have stealth Mech Knights, they would surely look for them and create a that would capture any invisible objects¡­


    "I understand, there''s no other choice¡­ We''ll go ahead with our ns¡­ We can''t let the Arian''s sacrifice go in vain¡­"


    The death of the Arians, a Minor Race in the gxy, is a huge blow to their current forces¡­ Just the disappearance of the Omen itself is already a great decrease to their power.


    Nevertheless, the Arians were quite lucky as there are still other Arians who were currently living on Earth and others that were also about to descend there.


    "Dive down¡­"


    [ Affirmative¡­ ]


    The Excellence was, in fact, being pressured by the Invader Spaceship for a while now¡­ They''ve only managed tost this long because of the improved radiant wave technology that they''ve installed throughout the whole ship and their impressive supply of mana.


    Perhaps, only the enemy''s Subspace ster can easily prate his defense like it is nothing¡­ But that ster is a weapon meant for Mech Frames as it doesn''t have a very long range¡­ Only the mobile Mech can normally carry it as their deadliest weapon¡­


    "Are they following?"


    [ Five Invader Spaceship just started chasing. ]


    "Good¡­ Just continue with it¡­ Use our turrets to keep our current distance.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    The crowd watching the broadcast was devastated upon seeing the Omen being destroyed after the ck Sovereign crashed to it and self-destructed.


    They were unsure how many personnel or perhaps magicians are present in that ship but this must''ve spoiled Wace''s n to deal a huge blow against the Empire.


    They can see that they are the ones suffering instead.


    "Don''t give up¡­ You can do this¡­"


    "Look, there are survivors! They have to retreat and make another n!"


    "This is dangerous!"


    As they started worrying for the magicians, they saw that Excellence has sent out five fast-moving Mech Knights to save the injured¡­.


    This made them relieved as they observed the current battles of the two spacecraft¡­


    Whoom~


    They saw the Excellence and the Providence dive down at the same time¡­


    The enemy team was alerted by their actions but they didn''t find any umting power that was about to ambush them.


    So the empire decided to send a total of 5 Invader spaceships to see what the man is nning this time.


    However, as soon as the five chased them, the crowd noticed a light that has suddenly appeared in front of the Imperial gship!


    "What is that?"


    "Something blew up!"


    The light they saw was indeed a part of the third and fourth Mech Knight Division''s attack¡­


    Finally, the Mech Knights that were camouged as a huge rock have revealed themselves! Of course, they wouldn''t appear like this if their attack hasn''t been sessful!


    That''s right! The light they saw just now wasn''t because the gship managed to defend against it but because it is part of their huge n.


    "What''s going on?! They left those tiny Mech Knights in front of the huge fleet?"


    "T-that''s true¡­ This is a reckless strategy¡­"


    They couldn''t understand what''s really going on but they know that the Mech pilots are about to do something against the Imperial Fleet.

 Chapter 348 - Secret Tactics

    Lewis Vermont, an Adept Mage from the Vermont n, is the leader of the Fourth Mech Knights Division.


    After his and Skywalker n failed to put their spaceship out of their, they no longer bothered attempting to create another one especially after Wace conquered the Moon.


    Their final goal is just an orbital spaceflight but the young man exceeded that and even created a Moon Base¡­ No one would''ve ever thought of that during that time.


    The Mage Tower helping them also stopped supporting their ns as their best Sages and Arcanists disappeared together with the spaceship.


    In the end, he heard that some of the best Technicians and Arcanists even went to the Traceless Hand''s Company and applied for a job.


    Of course, he didn''t me them for that and even participated in his third batch of recruitment¡­


    He was able to pass the examinations and was appreciated enough that he managed to be a Mech Pilot and was promoted to a leader after only a couple of weeks¡­


    He knows that his job would not be easy once the enemy arrived and expected that it would endanger his life¡­


    However, he epted the task since there wouldn''t be anyone who will fight for their aside from them who are living there¡­


    "Everyone¡­ Wace has sent his signal. We will be moving once their spaceships dropped¡­"


    It is unfortunate that the Arians together with the Omen IV were obliterated by the Empire''s vicious tactic. Everyone felt a little frightened about this but none of them talked about it. After all, it might just trigger some people who are also feeling the same thing.


    It is best to keep quiet in this situation and focus on their mission. Especially after they learned that their fellow Mech Pilots at the back were in trouble¡­


    ''Just how long are we waiting here¡­ Do something about those Invaders already¡­'' Lewis grumbled for a bit as he had an impulse to disrupt the gship and throw off the other Mech Frames targeting their fellow magicians¡­


    Right now, their Mech Knights were still covered by camouge they made and appear like a small asteroid, they have to act in unison with the two remaining spaceships in order to execute their n wlessly.


    As their patience slowly runs out, Avalon finally gave its signal¡­


    [ Initiate Aether Execution n. ]


    As soon as they heard this, no more words were said as they started to enact the operation¡­


    Their camouge was destroyed and the 30 Mech Knights appeared in front of the huge fleet.


    From these thirty mechs, one of them is carrying an unusuallyrge cannon unsuited for a single Mech Knight.


    Whoosh~


    It shot a projectile instead of a beam orsers that one would expect¡­ The shot was even so silent as if the cannon is just a magic elerator.


    Their turrets tried to intercept their projectile but it was toote¡­


    Boom!


    However, the projectile was still blocked by the Imperial gship''s barrier¡­ It exploded on its shield and dissipated like it was nothing.


    The Mech Pilots celebrated a bit after seeing this¡­


    The first reason is that it wasn''t intercepted by the enemy''s CIWS at all¡­ This means that the projectiles that woulde from this cannon would hardly be intercepted again.


    It is a good start and their ns haven''t ended yet.


    The other reason for their celebration was also because of their sessful diversion¡­


    Their appearance and the shot they made allowed the other Mech Knights to disable a huge number of small sensor spacecraft that the Empire has sent out¡­


    After all, they will be quite troublesome if they didn''t deal with them early on.


    [ Heat Signature Detected¡­ ]


    [ Iing projectiles¡­ Evade ]


    Their small group is now being targeted by the gigantic spaceships and were fired upon¡­ However, they didn''t felt scared and continued¡­ The cannon started firing again and as usual, it was blocked by the enemy''s barrier.


    But this is all part of the n¡­


    "Detonate!"


    Whoosszshh!


    As soon as Lewis gave hismand, their Mech Knights burst with Mana and used activated their Artifacts.


    Extremely cold energy started to gather around the fleet as the ice started appearing as it slowly covered the entire fleet until they were all frozen¡­


    It means that aside from the 10 Invader Spaceship dealing with the Providence and Excellence, all the others were frozen with the dark ice...


    Ice Magic is a verymon spell that all Series would have except for the few specialized Artifacts¡­


    However, the ck ice they''ve used can be said to be a Magic that already approaches Grade 5¡­ After all, this is abination spell of Petrification and Ice Magic.


    Unlike the formless Mana that they''ve used to restrict the Fleet in the first ambush, they are now using converted mana to truly disrupt their spaceships¡­


    It may be impossible to defeat them using this, but isting them would be a huge factor to lessen the force of the empire¡­


    "We''re still not done¡­ We won''t stop until we emptied our allotted Mana, understand?!"


    "Yes, Leader!"


    Because of the sudden cold temperature and ice covering the spaceship, their turrets and cannons were unable to operate.


    Of course, they expected that they would have a countermeasure for this since extreme cold isn''t something new to the Empire¡­


    However, their ice ispletely different from what they were used to. It formed using aplicated Magic Structure and with such pure Mana at that.


    ''This should buy us some time¡­''


    Lewis felt satisfied with the result of their attack.


    This is all thanks to the cannon they''ve used to spread the mana around the spaceships and trigger them to create the ice that is covering them now¡­


    ***


    Wace drew the attention of the Invader Spaceship. He''s having a hard time dealing with them and his Excellence had already received a lot of damage¡­


    If not for the Enchanted Armor it has, they would''ve prated his ship already.


    Apparently, his Radiant Wave Tech couldn''t block all of its attacks as it has to endure numerous beams, missiles, other projectiles from the enemy ship¡­


    [ The two Mech Division is sessful. ]


    "Great! Launch them now, Avalon¡­"


    Ace shouted as the two spaceships on their side, released a massive amount of projectiles at the enemy¡­


    This Second Line of Defense can be said to be their Last Line of Defense in outer space¡­


    After all, Ace wanted to at least save their current Moon Base with the Arcane Tech that he arranged there. He clearly knows that if the Empire discovered it, the Moon Base would just be a target practice for the enemy.


    There was no way that their base could endure their bombardment¡­


    They may be able to defend for a few hours but it''s impossible to defend a stationary fortress for a prolonged period.


    This is the reason why he wanted to make this defense a sess to give them more time and for the Empire to hesitate a bit and think of recuperating first before attempting to descend to their.


    The projectiles he threw at the enemy weren''t simple Mana Artifacts and Devices he made¡­ It includes a Sealed Mana Artifact¡­


    A mana artifact that was said to possess a part of the Celestial Beings and the reason that he has this was due to Yumi''s help or her superior to be exact.


    This is the request that Yumi made when her Grandma Thea asked her about the things she could do to help Wace.


    It was really a good decision to let Yumi know about the Prince''s Logbook first. After he gave the tranted copy to her, she managed to work by herself and raise awareness to many high-ranking officials of the country¡­


    ''We were unable to run a simtion for this, but I hope this would work.''


    Ace silently prayed as he watched the projectiles explode one by one until the Sealed Mana Artifact was covered by these explosions.


    ***


    "Hurry! Continue destroying all their Sensor Spacecraft!"


    Lewis shouted as he pointed his Mech Knight''s Mana Based Guns at one of these spacecraft¡­ Their escape might get busted if these devices were not dealt with and are able to sense their movements.


    They must remove them now as quickly as possible. And even if they still have a lot more of these spacecraft, they would at least have enough time to deal move out of its range and disappear from their senses.


    Boom!


    After destroying one, the man looked at the Excellence and Providence situation and saw that they started firing to the Invader Spaceship with such a scary magnitude¡­


    He''s unsure about Ace''s n and he only knows that Ace is supposedly attempting to destroy the enemy¡­


    Beep!


    His Mech Knight suddenly detected something from the projectiles that were sent to the enemy¡­


    "Huh? Is he trying to start a Mana Cmity?"


    Lewis was a bit speechless and he has even forgotten to lead the mission to destroy the Sensor Spacecraft.

 Chapter 349 - Explosion

    The legend of Mana Cmity is quite mysterious and one couldn''t really tell what kind of disaster will happen with it.


    However, as far as they know, it would result in massive destruction ofnd or surroundings¡­ It would also create strange phenomena that couldn''t be exined just like the Illusion of the Venarian Town.


    Lewis and the other Mech Knights were unsure how Wace is nning to trigger the cmity but they can sense the strange vortex of mana happening¡­


    "We have to retreat now!"


    Their mission to freeze the fleet and cast Mana Spell to try to invade their internal structure can be considered a sess already.


    If they try to force themselves to further damage the gigantic spaceships in front of them, they would be in extreme danger.


    Even right now, they can feel that the Imperial gship is still exuding a threatening aura even after being covered by the ck ice.


    "We haven''t destroyed all their sensor craft yet!"


    "Tsk¡­ Avalon¡­ Where are the other sensors?"


    [ Six More Sensor Spacecraft remaining¡­ ]


    Beep!


    Avalon quickly showed the coordinates of the remaining sensors. They were a bit far and even if their cannons or bullets can reach them, it will just be nullified by its energy barrier¡­


    "Frostbite Seal¡­"


    "Frostbite Seal¡­"


    Lewis cast a Grade 2 Mana Spell that is not meant to destroy the spacecraft but to block or hinder its sensors instead. After all, these spacecraft doesn''t seem to have the capability of defending themselves from external attack, and at most, they could perhaps dodge projectiles¡­


    However, dodging a Mana Spell would not be easy if the target doesn''t have its own Mana Spell.


    ''That should be enough¡­''


    Lewis didn''t stop moving after casting those spells. He has to quickly leave the ce and gather at the rally point that was designated to them¡­


    As he wonders about the current situation of Wace''s trick to destroy the Invader Spaceship, he felt a force of mana pulling him in from the vortex that the young man has created¡­


    ''This is going is crazy¡­''


    "Activate your full thrusters, everyone¡­"


    He doesn''t have time to exin but he wanted his team to move faster. Perhaps, even Wace is not that clear about the devastation that the Mana Cmity can do¡­ However, he hoped that no one from their side would be implicated by this.


    ***


    Ace watched the Invaders destroy all the projectiles they sent to them using their turrets and other CIWS.


    They did not hesitate at all and this is what he expected as well. They have been throwing unknown spells to them that could hardly be defended so they have to be careful not to let any of their projectiles get hit their spaceship again or something weird might happen as well.


    His Excellence stopped moving continued firing at the enemy after he threw out the Sealed Mana Artifact.


    Of course, the five Invaders that were chasing him became cautious and fired their Hadron Cannon followed by their missiles and beams¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    The Excellence is getting hit by almost 40% of the shots from the enemy¡­


    [ Shield Integrity: 58%... 57%... ]


    [ Mana Reserves: 71% ]


    The shield''s power is steadily decreasing and it is not a good sign for them.


    However, Ace felt the vortex of mana umting amid the Invaders¡­


    It is a simr situation with Providence on the other side.


    "Good¡­ We just have to hold on for a bit more ¡­"


    Ace knows that the Empire''s A.I. would have a hard time detecting the Mana since even Avalon took quite a long time to get used to it.


    Their A.I. would also have trouble analyzing Mana since they were being mixed by their Advanced Tech as well¡­ Unless they have arger sample, they wouldn''t discover this immediately¡­


    [ Shield Integrity: 29%... 27%... ]


    [ Mana Reserves: 50% ]


    As soon as their mana reserves reached the 50 percent mark, Ace noticed that the vortex of mana created by the destruction of the Sealed Mana Artifact has taken effect¡­


    "Avalon¡­ We need to retreat¡­ Now!"


    Ace gave hismand as he understands their situation clearly¡­ The Mana Cmity that he wanted to trigger would most like affect 10 to 15 kilometers in radius¡­


    And this information came from Wace himself who had made a connection with Aeolia¡­


    "How about the survivors of Omen IV?"


    [ The rescuing Mech Knights were still dealing with the Mech Frames. They are not trying to kill the Magicians but to capture them alive with their equipment¡­ ]


    Avalon replied.


    Ace had a grim face at this as he remembers the Empire''s aim based on the information they''ve gathered¡­


    It is to create the perfect gene optimization fluid and it requires the blood of the Magicians from their¡­


    "Tsk¡­ Steer in their direction¡­ We have to save them¡­"


    If the Empire has captured even a single Magician, it wouldpletely destroy his other ns¡­ He couldn''t let that happen.


    Boom! Boom!


    Ace was interrupted by an explosion from afar. He immediately takes a look at it and found the source of the disturbance.


    The Invaders tried to fire missiles at the retreating Excellence but it somehow deviated on its path and hit the nearby spaceship instead.


    The Mana Cmity seems to be stopping them from getting away from the vortex and also making them incapable of sending out projectiles¡­


    ''Mhmm¡­ I guess this is fine as well.''


    It wasn''t as destructive as Ace expected but he was still satisfied after seeing that they are slowly being crushed by the vortex¡­


    He''s unsure how long this wouldst but it should be enough for them to save the survivors¡­


    ***


    Tetsuo and the other Adepts Mages with him braced themselves for a battle.


    As soon as the Mech Frame got into a certain range, it activated a device that seemed to pull them while restricting their movements¡­


    "Tsk! Guys, use it now!"


    He couldn''t wait any longer and gave amand. The restriction on their bodies might get stronger so they have to act now. Dealing with an unknown is a terrifying thing. Even Avalon could quickly process what was pulling them.


    "Shadow Embrace!"


    A forbidden Mana Spell that is supposedly capable of restricting a Sage for 10 minutes is being used against the Mech Frames¡­


    They would be happy if it could stop the Mech Frames for 30 seconds as it would be enough for the Mech Knights from the Excellence to arrive.


    These Mech Knights were very reliable and stable in terms ofbat power¡­


    If they acted in unison, they should be able to deal with the Mech Frames in front of them.


    Tetsuo noticed that the Embrace was quite effective so he continued pouring mana into his artifact¡­


    His spacebat suit may not be the best armor as it heavily relies on their mana reserves, but it is very bnced that he could easily use his Mana Artifacts installed on them¡­


    Electric Torrent!


    This is the Specialized Mana Spell of his Artifact.


    An attack made of electricity may not effectively work against the Mech Frame itself but it is very effective against the people using them. No matter how much gene optimization they have in their bodies, Tetsuo is confident that his spell would still sting them and paralyze them if he''s lucky¡­


    Zap!


    The range was quite far so he can not guarantee that his spell hit the pilot in full force.


    Electric Torrent!


    He cast the spell continuously as the other Mech Frames were trying to remove the bind on their Mech¡­


    Unfortunately for him, he can only cast the spell on a single target.


    Bang! Bang!


    The three of the eight Warrior Mech Frames suddenly fired using their mini guns installed on their lower body¡­


    They have expected them to fire in trade but what surprised them is their unique bullets¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ They''re really here to capture us¡­''


    The bullets weren''t meant to kill them but to spread some restrictive to them¡­


    ''Hmph! Dream on!''


    Tetsuo and the others increased the intensity of their Mana Spells until the Mech Knights from the Excellence arrived to help them¡­


    His team got extremely busy dealing with the eight Dragon''s Warrior Mech.


    They know that it would be their end once they''re captured¡­ Wace had already told them about this possibility and they know that being captured wouldn''t just disrupt their ns but will ultimately destroy their''s chance to fight against the Empire¡­


    Boom!


    The enemy took 40 seconds to remove the Adept''s Shadow Embrace. This exhausted the magicians but the Mech Knights found an opportunity because of this.


    Tetsuo finally felt satisfied after seeing the Mech Knights destroy the Warrior Mechs one by one¡­ However, a deafening st threw them off¡­


    Whoosh!


    A huge explosion urred and he suddenly had a bad feeling about this¡­


    He immediately looks in the direction of the explosion and found the Excellence was shattered into pieces¡­


    "W-what happened?! Avalon, How''s Wace?!"


    Tetsuo hastily asked the A.I. in hopes of hearing positive news.

 Chapter 350 - Excellence And Wallace

    Tetsuo was terrified after seeing the Excellence in pieces. He just left his eyes on them for a minute and it was already destroyed by the Empire''s Invader Spaceship?--No, it may not be the Invaders who managed to destroy it...


    He needed to know what happened from Avalon.


    Unfortunately, the Avalon installed to his spacebat suit would prioritize the safety of its user first...


    [ Warning: Activation of Subspace ster has been detected. ]


    "Tsk... Everyone, Fourth Defense Formation!"


    The Dragon''s Warrior Mech, as per Avalon''s data, has Subspace ster Technology that even Wace wouldn''t dare to ignore...


    It is as troublesome as their Radiant Wave Technology...


    "Yes!"


    Although the Adepts felt a bit tired after using their Shadow Embrace, they have to move or they''ll be obliterated by their ster cannon.


    ng! ng!


    The Mech Knights who are trying to save them fired some missiles and engaged into closebat battle but two of the Mech Frames weren''t shaken by this and continued aiming at them...


    ''Urgh... I thought you guys are capturing us? Why are you pointing that cannon to us?!''


    The man couldn''t help butin about their bad luck.


    "Our shield can''t defend against that thing yet... Quick!"


    Even if they are on their Mech Knights, they wouldn''t dare to take a hit from the Subspace ster. Especially now that they are in their spacebat suit.


    Whoossszzhhh!


    The first beam missed but this gave them the information they needed to correct the trajectory of their attack...


    They have formed a formation in which they would be able to easily avoid the shot without letting the others get in trouble in their stead.


    If they moved in a cluster, the Warrior Mech could easily fire at them and hit someone even without a high uracy...


    "Spectral Cloak! Now!"


    Their suit suddenly turnedpletely ck before disappearing on sight. This may not be as effective as their previous camouge, but this should be able to avoid their auto-lock systems.


    As long as they can trick the enemy''s A.I., they should be able to somehow avoid the manually targeting technique of the pilot.


    Whoossszzhhh!


    Another beam was shot and it was very close to one of the magicians...


    It affected his Mana Spell and was now revealedpletely...


    Luckily, the Mech Knights assisting them managed to disrupt the Warrior by emptying their missiles and charging towards the enemy without care for any damages.


    Since this is controlled by the A.I., there wouldn''t be a magician casualty even if it sacrificed itself...


    Avalon clearly understands this as the Mech Knights fight desperately...


    "We can''t just wait here... Help the Mech Knights!"


    "Yes!"


    ***


    The explosion of the Excellence didn''t just surprise the surviving Mech Pilots but also the people watching the live broadcast...


    No one had ever expected that he would have to sacrifice the very first spaceship sent to outer space in this battle at the Lagrange Point.


    "What''s going to happen now? Did he survive that?"


    "This is scary... How did it happen so fast?"


    "The Providence is still fighting¡­ They can do this!"


    The people that are watching from their homes could understand the implication of getting the Excellence destroyed¡­


    Its impact is definitely higher than the Omen''s destruction¡­ After all, Wace is also in that spaceship!


    That young man is the perpetrator of all of these ns to fight against the Aliens! It would be extremely bad if the person who knows a lot about these Aliens would die like this!


    Everyone could only pray that Wace had managed to survive just like the surviving Mech Pilots behind them.


    As this was all happening, the news of the Excellence''s destruction came to Wace''s ears¡­


    "Is there something wrong, young man?"


    An old man''s voice was heard as he asked Wace¡­ The man perhaps noticed that his body stiffened for a moment after learning about the news.


    "Mhmm¡­ It seems that the other me had gotten into some trouble¡­"


    Wace smiled wryly as he listens to Avalon who is silently giving him a report about the current battle.


    "Is that so? You should go and help him¡­"


    "Nah¡­ He can deal with it¡­ I''m sure that he still has something on his sleeves. That''s me, after all."


    Wace answered confidently.


    "Hoho~ Now that you said it¡­ You''re someone who can deal with the Celestials as well¡­ So, shall we proceed?"


    "Yes¡­ I need to learn this now¡­"


    Wace replied to the old man as he wanted to know more about this person''s secrets.


    That''s right, he''s together with Aeolia Schien and this guy wouldn''t stay that long within the southern continent¡­


    Aeolia only agreed to be here with Wace as thetter wanted to teach him more about the discoveries he made about the Mana¡­ Aside from the Seventh Generation that he is slowly learning, Aeolia still has another important power¡­


    It is to control the floating ind of the northern continent¡­ At the moment, he had to request the old man''s help to bring them here while he only assists on the sidelines.


    However, once the old man left, no one would be able to control these inds and would perhaps just roam around the southern continent wherever the wind blows.


    "You have an Astral Core with you¡­ I envy you. This would be easier than what you''ve thought¡­"


    Aeolia smiled as he let the young man in the deepest room of the floating ind.


    Apparently, each ind has simr rooms that this man has created in order to control them better.


    Although it can be done without this special room, it would be extremely taxing to the Mana Practitioners¡­


    Whooom~


    As soon as he entered the room, Wace was assaulted by a tremendous amount of mana¡­ It was like he''s being subjected to a cyclone attack or something simr.


    He then controlled his Astral Core for a moment and created a Mana Shell that ignored the effects of the rampaging mana¡­


    "That''s quite fast¡­ Anyway, that violent mana wouldn''tst for five seconds¡­"


    Aeolia smiled as he stepped inside the room.


    There is only one thing that is ced here and that is a blue sphere filled with unusual energy. Wace still couldn''t tell whether this is mana or not but he finds it quite familiar¡­


    "Oh¡­ Is this Zaimphail Reactor?"


    "You even know about this? You''re impressive¡­"


    Even without Avalon''s reminder, Wace managed to recall the core of the Iron Knights.


    The Steel Knights that are based with the Iron Brigade Unit or the Iron Knights, uses Molten Core as its main energy supply. They said that it is a copy of the Iron Knight''s core in which Avalon has recognized as the Zaimphail Reactor before due to its matching appearance that exceeded 70% on their record.


    That is also thanks to the logbook they tranted before.


    "How are you using this reactor?" Wace asked curiously.


    The cores like this are normally used to run machines or perhaps as a weapon itself. However, he''s curious about how it affects the floating ind itself.


    Aeolia obliged and exined how it works. He exined how the energy created from this core connects to the other floating inds and not only it helps him control the ind but also including the other inds with a simr reactor.


    However, this wasn''t discovered without a sacrifice¡­ The old man mentioned that there are tons of these floating inds in the past but were destroyed after he decided to try and control them¡­


    Of course, he''s not regretting it at all since the inds will now be used as a weapon to fight against the Empire.


    "Right, I heard that Master ine is still here¡­ Is that true?"


    Wace asked after Aeolia briefed him about the method to control the ind.


    "ine? That man is still practicing his Secret Art¡­ Haa~ He really wants to evolve it to a higher level¡­"


    Wace squinted his eyes in confusion¡­


    ''Secret Art?... Ahh¡­''


    "Did you mention something about how to improve the AOTL? You''ve already given us an idea before¡­ Is this a different one?"


    "Hoho¡­ Do you also want to know?"


    "Of course¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ Then, just ask the man himself¡­ He''ll be willing to teach you anyway. I''ve only nced at his AOTL briefly, so I can only give him some inspiration¡­"


    "Inspiration? Like what?"


    Wace really likes the power of lightning so he''s very interested in it.


    "I just told him the ws of the Secret Art''s final ability. It appears that he already found a solution and working on it¡­"


    "Final ability¡­ Is it the Roar of Thundering Destruction?"


    Wace muttered to himself¡­ The AOTL has many skills including Lightning Break, Thunder Fist, Lightning sh, and the final ability mentioned¡­ The practitioner can learn each skill depending on the stage of their understanding of the Art.


    This made him smile as he also got curious about this¡­ He thought that he already learned everything about this Secret Art, after all¡­


    "Let me see him now¡­"


    Wace said as he left the room after thanking the old man. Aeolia already taught him the method of controlling the ind and he only needed to practice for the next few days and he should be fine...


    ***


    While Wace is doing all of this, Ace woke up and found himself inside a small spacecraft heading towards the Moon Base¡­


    He was a bit confused so he asked his A.I.


    "Avalon, what happened?"

 Chapter 351 - Casualties

    [ Death Ray''s activation has been detected. ]


    Avalon gave a warning as soon as they were about to escape¡­


    They are nning to let the Mana Cmity deal with Invader Spaceships but it seems that they are not giving up and wanted to bring them together with their demise.


    "Evade!"


    Ace knows that Avalon can maneuver the Excellence to safety but he knows that the Death Ray has a wide and long range.


    However, a light connected to his spaceship and they were unable to evade it. The light itself has no damage but it is the link for the Death Ray to destroy.


    Boom!


    As the Excellence was trying to escape, the Death Ray was fired and hit it at the back¡­


    The Death Ray is considered a Beam Weapon. However, unlike the Subspace ster that only uses one crystal to create a beam, this Ray uses multiple of them at once¡­


    As for the light that was shot in the initial phase, it appears to be a new technology of the Empire to avoid missing the shot of their cannons.


    Not even the Mana Cmity managed to stop the shot from it!


    [ Shield Integrity: 12%... 7%... 1%... ]


    As soon as the integrity reached zero, the Death Ray hit the Excellence directly!


    Although he has confidence with the armors they''ve used, it was still impossible for them to not take any damage from that¡­


    His spaceship was shaken but luckily, the Death Ray''s energy was also consumed¡­


    "How''s the damage?" Ace immediately asked. He knows that they''ve taken a huge hit from that but he''s hoping that their main engine and cores were still working fine so they could escape into safety¡­


    Anyway, they''ve already released the Mana Cmity and the two Mech Knights divisions had also sessfullypleted their task¡­


    It should be fine for them to safely retreat and create another n¡­ They can''t push too hard since they have to control the gship in each battle¡­


    Ace admits that his spaceship is at disadvantage against the firepower of the Imperial gship¡­ He is clearly aware of the limitation of their strength¡­ His Excellence and Providence weren''t that strong yet to fight head-on against that gship. In the meantime, he had to rely on using many tricks to tie it down and target the vulnerable spaceships so he can weaken their forces¡­


    However, the reality is this¡­ Even though he was already being so careful, they were still hit really hard and had the Omen obliterated as well¡­ They were even about to be crushed as well¡­


    He can only ept that his ns can never be perfect¡­


    The Empire is coping up faster to his magic than he originally thought¡­


    [ Calcting¡­ ]


    Avalon had to spend some time to get all the information within the spaceship but before the A.I. finished gathering them, another explosion urred inside his spaceship.


    [ Danger! Evacuate as soon as possible. ]


    [ Forced Ejection Phase Launched. ]


    The Avalon didn''t even ask for permission and immediately proceeded with the protocol.


    The A.I. is clearly aware of what he can do¡­ After all, he is not Wace who has an Astral Core and unusual Mana Artifacts to save him in dangerous situations¡­


    He can only rely on his few devices and Avalon to save him from this trouble.


    "Do whatever you think is the best, Avalon¡­"


    As soon as he said this, he heard a huge explosion and his head hit something¡­


    This is what Ace could remember before he lost consciousness. Avalon can only do its best together with its automatons ready to save him from certain death.


    Luckily, they have prepared for such situations and Avalon only has to follow their ns¡­


    ***


    Ace woke up and looked around.


    He was a bit confused so he asked Avalon about the current situation¡­


    He can see that he is currently lying on a bed and felt that there is a weak artificial gravity activated. There are no wounds or pain in his body which is a good thing.


    He also realized that they are in his escape pod or cruiser-ss spacecraft and heading to the Moon Base¡­


    As he inspected his body, he recalled that he needed to know the situation of the Providence, the Mech Knights Division, and the surviving pilots that were left from the destroyed Omen IV.


    [ Five Adept Mages and all the Arians in the battle have died. Everyone else managed to survive and escape the battle. The Mech Knights Division cleared all the Sensor Spacecraft that the Empire initially released. They were unable to follow the trails of the Knights Divisions¡­ ]


    [ Only one Mech Knight managed to survive and save the pilots that are being captured by the Empire. ]


    "The five Adept Mages that died, who are they?"


    Ace had a grim expression on his face. The death of those Adepts was certainly a small number if they will look in the statistics. However, each Adept is an extremely valuable asset for them that arecking people. People that were not afraid of going to outer space and fight against the huge Empire...


    Although there are many who wanted to volunteer in this, it is not that easy to find someone that would fit all the requirements he needed.


    After all, they aren''t just getting everyone who applied¡­ They needed to pass certain tests before they can be allowed to participate in space operations¡­


    Aside from that, not every Mana Practitioner canplete the Arcane Link!


    That is why there''s a lot of Magicians that are staying as Fabricators, Security Workers, and others that don''t require much of their knowledge about the magic.


    [ They are the Adepts sent by Veda. ]


    Avalon showed him the pictures and other details of the people and found out that they are the ones who used the Cryptic Link through Veda''s experimentation.


    "How are their bodies?"


    [ As we have suspected that the Empire wanted to take blood samples from the Magicians, I decided to obliterate any of their traces through the remaining Mech Knight I can control. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ I understand. It''s a good call."


    Although it is better to take the body with them, he knows that the situation there must be extremely difficult and they have to keep moving¡­


    The dead bodies might be too hard to retrieve during that time. Nevertheless, he didn''t question Avalon''s decision as he also wouldn''t me the A.I. even if it had the chance to save the bodies too.


    "Where are they now?"


    [ They are traveling using the Fourth Escape Route we''ve made to avoid getting followed. ]


    "The fourth path? It would take time for them to return to the Moon Base. Are they going to meet up with the Providence?"


    [ No, the Providence is still being chased by the one Invader Spaceship that had managed to avoid the Mana Cmity they created. ]


    "I see¡­ Is there any chance that it can also use the Death Ray?"


    [ Yes¡­ However, the Providence managed to avoid the Initial Phase Light from being connected by creating a mirage¡­ ]


    "Mirage? The Arcane Tech work?"


    [ Yes. ]


    The mirage was definitely made of the Optical Phenomena Maniption Tech that they''ve installed. The Excellence also has one of these but they were unable to use them. After all, they have no idea about that light that came out of nowhere.


    It did not emit any heat so it was not detected by their sensors and failed to respond on time¡­


    However, since Avalon already learned its purpose after getting hit by the Death Ray, it immediately nned for a way to avoid getting targeted again¡­


    Although it caused the Excellence''s destruction to know this, it was still a good thing that this happened on Excellence instead of the Providence instead. If that happened, Hilda and the others from the First and Second Mech Knight division would''ve surely died¡­


    "No¡ªPerhaps the Magic Node can save them?"


    He''s unsure about this since they haven''t tried using the Node against the Death Ray yet. However, it should be able to hold them off for some time before being destroyed¡­


    That should be enough for them to escape and leave its line of fire.


    "How about the third and fourth Mech Knights Division?"


    [ After returning to the rally point, they camouge themselves as an Asteroid again. It will take 4 standard days before they can return to the vicinity of the Moon Base. ]


    Avalon replied. This is not a bad decision at all.


    "Haa~ This is a disaster¡­ I''ll let you handle Providence''s escape¡­ In case you''ll decide to counterattack, make sure that you can destroy the Invader Spaceship at once. Try not to utilize the pilots that you have¡­ If you really need the Mech Knights'' help, you should use remote ess even though it will not be that strong."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ How about the observers? The live broadcast?"


    [ The connection was cut off moments after the spaceship''s destruction as the Mana Cmity had also reached its peak. ]


    "Is that so? They must be worried then. You have to inform them that I''m alive¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]

 Chapter 352 - Arcane Tech Activation

    Ace wasn''t wrong when he said that people are worried about him... After all, his live broadcast is being aired everywhere that their technology can reach. Everyone who is watching is definitely aware of his identity or at least heard his name...


    His death would also create a huge setback to the current forces he has and the magicians here would be in a precarious situation...


    [ The announcement of your current status has beenpleted. ]


    "Good... Connect me to the Moon Base''s Command Center." Wace said to the floating metal ball.


    [ Affirmative... Connected. ]


    "Wace... Is that you? Can you hear me?" Escanor''s familiar voice can be heard. They only have an audio connection so he couldn''t see the person behind the connection.


    "Yes..."


    "Whoa! You''re safe... The live broadcast just ended after the massive explosion. Everyone is worried about you... Right, what can I do? Just let me know..."


    "Yes, I''m perfectly fine... How was your study about the Lost Technology?"


    "It was impossible if it''s only me, however, since it''s three of us working together, we managed to learn it quickly..."


    "That''s impressive... I''m thinking of hurrying to return andplete the Arcane Tech... But I guess you guys can trigger it there instead..."


    "W-we will do our best... But we haven''t tried this yet..." Escanor replied a bit worried that Ace is trusting him too much...


    He''s confident about his skills but it doesn''t mean that they can do it on the first try... Making mistakes is surely possible.


    "Don''t worry, Avalon will guide you. As long as you know the basics, you should be able to operate or trigger the device..."


    "I understand... We will not disappoint you."


    "Good... Avalon will give you the full details about the time you''ll trigger it... We have to make sure that the Empire will not detect our base..."


    After hearing this, Escanor finally understood what Ace is worrying about at this moment...


    "Do you think that you guys are being followed?" He asked. This is a very serious situation.


    "I''m not sure but we can''t eliminate the chance¡­ Well, they should be doing that if I''m in their position... That''s why I don''t want to return there instantly..."


    It is not that hard to imagine that the Empire would want to know the base or perhaps any dockyard of their spaceships in outer space.


    Although he trusts Avalon, his A.I. is not omnipotent... There might be a chance that they are still being followed at this time without them noticing...


    If he returned to the Moon Base without activating the Arcane Technology to hide it, the Empire might easily discover theirst Space Stronghold.


    One could just imagine what the Empire could do to a stationary target¡­ They would certainly receive a bombardment from the Empire and there would be no way to escape at that moment.


    "Very well¡­ We will go ording to your n. Be careful."


    They ended the conversation as Escanor ryed the information to the others. They are the ones to maintain the Optical Phenomena Maniptor they have and this is a very important task if they want to stay alive¡­


    ***


    ine and Chase watching the live broadcast were extremely worried about their son¡­


    The previous broadcast when they made an ambush ended really well although the young man was a bit reckless at thetter part¡­


    However, this time, the broadcast didn''t evenst half an hour before it ended with an extremely scary sight. The Omen was shattered into pieces while the Excellence suffered the same fate from the bunch ofrge-sized spaceships.


    The beam of light that was shot over to the Excellence was unimaginably powerful that not even the ship''s mana shield manage tost five seconds.


    That is definitely a power above Grade 5 Mana Spell and something that not even their Capital could stop at all.


    "Mom! What happened?"


    rice quickly looked for her parents after noticing that the broadcast already ended¡­ She wasn''t paying attention during the battle and when she looked again, the broadcast already ended.


    She has no idea about what happened.


    "Sshh¡­ Your little sister is sleeping¡­ Be quiet."


    ine reminded her daughter and exined the situation¡­ However, as rice was about to contact Wace or Avalon, an announcement was made everywhere about the safety of the leader of the Traceless Hands Company¡­ Wace Ravencroft didn''t suffer any injuries and was now headed to the Moon Base to rally all the magicians in outer space¡­


    [ ¡­The next action of the Imperial Army is to conquer the. Expect the descent of the Empire 3 to 5 days from now depending on their ns. Again, do not panic. Your government will also assist you on what to do next¡­ We wish for everyone''s safety¡­ ]


    The announcement ended with a long beeping sound before bingpletely¡­


    "This¡­ What should we do?" rice asked¡­


    "I''m sure that Wace already mentioned it to you, he has ns for our family¡­ Don''t worry, let''s just trust him for now."


    "Is that so? I think I forgot¡­ Anyway, the army is asking for my assistance¡­ They''recking some people with experience to Steel Knights right now¡­"


    "What? You don''t have that much experience as well, right?" ine asked in surprise¡­ She knows that her daughter handles the army''s spieswork that is focused on infiltrating their neighboring country¡­


    She wasn''t even the one doing the fieldwork and only working on the desk¡­ She heard this incidentally when her daughter was on her phone¡­


    "Well, I can ask for Avalon''s assistance¡­ I should be fine¡­ I already requested to use my custom-made Mech Knights. I''m sure that they''ll approve it."


    rice proudly said as she knows that her Transforming Mech Knights would surely blow the minds of those pilots in the army¡­ In truth, she can''t wait to see their reactions when they see this.


    "Well, as long as you get Wace''s A.I. to help you¡­ Then it shouldn''t be a problem."


    rice nodded as she left the room¡­


    Because of the abundant supply of Steel Knights recently, the army has decided to create a new Division for these pilots and not many of them wanted to be the pilots of these machines¡­


    Some were ufortable as they think that they couldn''t fully utilize the magic they''ve learned and some of them think that Steel Knights are for the weak.


    After all, they are considering it as an oversized armor of a magician.


    Nevertheless, there are still people who are open-minded and could ept these changes¡­ They were the ones who applied to be a Mech Pilot and rice is one of them¡­ Luckily for her, there''s not many who wanted to be a pilot so she received the slot quite easily¡­ With her position, it would be a miracle if she was prioritized to be a pilot instead.


    ''Alright¡­ I just have to practice with this¡­''


    rice thought as she headed outside to practice with her Mech Frame¡­


    "Right¡­ I should think of a name for this¡­"


    She recalled that Avalon hasn''t given a name for her Transforming Mech Knight yet...


    ***


    After Escanor ended his conversation with Ace, he immediately moved his feet and went to his colleagues¡­


    "We need to activate the Arcane Technology now¡­"


    "Eh? Can we do that now?"


    "Isn''t that a bit too early?"


    The two immediately shared their thoughts. They didn''t know that the young man already received instructions from Ace himself.


    "No¡­ I mean, we should try activating it first¡­ However, the real deal will happen a couple of days from now¡­"


    "A couple of days?"


    "Yes, the Optical thing should be activated before Sir Wace can arrive¡­ He''s worried that he''s being followed. We just have to ensure that our base would not be discovered by them¡­ We have to do this perfectly, so even though they think that we really have a base on the moon, they''ll spend a lot of time looking for it¡­"


    "Haha¡­ I like it! Let''s do this!"


    "Yes¡­ This is just a Lost Arcane Technology¡­ We should be able to execute this without a problem¡­"


    Escanor and the others started working to activate the devices that Ace has left behind. This is a very crucial part of their life as they could die if they didn''t do this wlessly¡­


    Even with their escape route, once they are discovered, it would be extremely difficult for them to run away unless they could outspeed the Empire when they decided to escape to their.


    ***


    A couple of days had passed and Wace''s corvette-ss spaceship has been detected by their system¡­ They couldn''t find any other spaceships following them so Escanor thought that Wace may just be a bit paranoid.


    Nevertheless, it is a good thing to be as cautious as possible when dealing with the Empire.


    "Escanor, can you hear me?"


    "Yes¡­ The Optical Maniptor Device is already activated¡­"


    "I thought as much¡­ I won''t be heading there for now¡­ Just observe my trail and see if someone is following¡­"


    "I understand. Be careful!"

 Chapter 353 - Empires Descent ( Part 1 )

    Escanor did as he was told and maintained his vignce.


    He coordinated with his colleagues as they monitored their sensors. It is natural that the Moon Base''s devices could not bepared to those that were installed in Ace''s small spaceship.


    "Make sure that we won''t miss anything¡­"


    "Yes, sir!"


    Ace''s corvette-ss spaceship passes through their base as they waited for any of their devices to see whether something was really tracking them¡­


    Everyone in themand center waited for a while¡­ Thissted for about half an hour before they decided to make a report that no one is following their boss¡­


    "Sir Escanor¡­ I think that it should be safe to say that it''s clear¡­ No one should be trailing them."


    "Mhmm¡­ I think so too¡­ Alright, give the signal to Sir Wace¡­"


    They are really being careful when contacting the young man as they used their Mana Artifacts instead. This way, they would be able to avoid having someone eavesdrop on their channel.


    Ace wants to assume that the Empire has such a device and be cautious.


    "Sir Wace¡­ It should be clear by now. We haven''t detected anyone following you."


    Escanor reported.


    "Mhmm¡­ I see¡­ Once my ship gets near, Avalon will give you further instruction."


    "I understand."


    It seems that their boss is also satisfied and felt that there isn''t any problem by now.


    Once his corvette-ss spaceship gets near to the Moon Base, he would have to let them open a small space for him to let him in.


    In the meantime, Ace activated his spaceship''s stealth mode and let Avalon control it to circle back to the Moon Base¡­


    However, as soon as he did this, amunication link from the Base immediately connected¡­


    "Sir Wace, we''ve detected a tiny capsule following your path¡­ This looks really small, about 3 meters in length¡­"


    Ace wanted to see the object but they are using Mana Artifact tomunicate for safety purposes¡­


    "I''ll handle it¡­ Just stay hidden there¡­"


    "Yes!"


    The young man decided to just destroy that thing himself¡­ However, he''s a bit curious how did it avoid his sensors.


    After a few minutes, the Avalon installed in his spaceship finally detected the small spacecraft¡­


    Just like what Escanor said, it is indeed very small ifpared to other spacecraft¡­ This is even smaller than the Sensor Spacecraft that they have seen recently.


    [ Identifying Spacecraft¡­. ]


    [ 2 Matches Found. ]


    [ Aether Tracking Device¡­ 90% ]


    [ Energy Waste Hunting Machine¡­ 73% ]


    Avalon''s record about the Empire''s devices is quite old already¡­ However, it could still find simrities to old technologies which is really helpful for them.


    After all, the Omen IV''s database is that helpful as well considering that the Arians have no method of acquiring information about the Empire.


    "Tracking Device, huh¡­ Destroy it, Avalon."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Target Locked. ]


    [ Mana ster Activated. ]


    [ Hit Confirmed. ]


    [ Target Destroyed. ]


    "Good¡­ Let''s head back now."


    Ace said as he saw the tiny spacecraft explode. He didn''t consider getting the device since it might be a trap. It is better to just destroy something that is sent by the Empire.


    It may contain self-destruction ability that could endanger their life. After seeing what they did to the ck Sovereign¡­ It''s not impossible for them to do it again. Especially if they found it effective against their forces.


    Nevertheless, even if they nned to attack him like that, Ace still felt that it would be easier for him.


    If they seek mutual destruction, he''s confident that the Empire will be the first to be defeated with that strategy.


    After several more minutes, their spaceship could finally dock at the Moon Base''s hangar¡­


    He was greeted by many magicians and most of them are the Engineers that were waiting for their return.


    "Sir Wace!"


    "It''s good to see you!"


    "Do you need any medical attention?"


    They immediately came to him after he entered the base¡­


    "Yes¡­ I''ll have myself checkter¡­" Ace didn''t reject the offer of getting someone to take a look at his body.


    He had to ensure that he''s healthy and there are no hidden injuries caused by the Excellence''s explosion.


    In the meantime, he was also asked about the situation of the others.


    Apparently, the Providence and the other Mech Pilots stopped theirmunication with the Moon Base to avoid getting their location pinpointed by the enemy.


    The ability to detect the source of themunication frequency may sound magical to most of them but this thing should be possible with the Empire''s technology.


    Even Avalon can create something simr if ever they decided to make one.


    "I see¡­ As long as they are safe¡­ It should be fine."


    "That''s right¡­ We''ll surely hear from themter."


    "The Providence would surely bring them back here. They have enough food supplies and mana¡­ They could even take a long vacation out of this."


    "Haha! That''s a good idea."


    Ace only smiled at this as he headed to themand center first.


    He didn''t exin further but the other Mech Knight Pilots that managed to survive the Omen IV''s destruction wouldn''t have such a luxury unless they decided to rendezvous with the Providence.


    Nevertheless, they have Avalon with them and Ace is confident that the A.I. would be capable of helping each of them.


    "Right, Avalon¡­ How long can their Space Combat Suitst?" Ace asked as they walked to the hallway leading to the Command Center. He already removed all his safety gear aside from a few pieces of equipment he needed to carry at all times.


    Avalon, on the other hand, is still a floating metal ball with a red light at its center like an eye and following behind Ace¡­


    [ If they didn''t spend its Mana Reserves elsewhere, it canst for 60 days. ] The A.I. replied.


    "Oh¡­ That''s quite a long time¡­ Even 10 days should be more than enough at this point. I didn''t know that it''s that reliable." The young man said in surprise.


    What he remembers is that their Space Combat Suit drains a lot of energy and during battle. It shouldn''tst that long in the first ce.


    [ There are 13 modifications made for this suit. They are mostly suggested by the Magicians after training with them for a couple of weeks. ]


    "That''s good to hear. You did a great job."


    Applying the suggestions of the Magicians doesn''t need to be approved by Ace as long as Avalon found it eptable. Only changes that would have certain bacsh would have to be approved by him to avoid causing problems in the future¡­


    As soon as he entered the Command Center, he was weed by Escanor and the others¡­


    Ace greeted them back and shared what he wanted to do for now.


    "We need to select create a small unit to conduct an operation¡­"


    He wanted to arrange a rescue unit, or perhaps reinforcement to ensure that the Providence would be able to return here safely¡­


    As he started discussing this with the three, Escanor suggested that they can actually consider bringing all of their remaining forces instead.


    After all, there isn''t much value in leaving other magicians here with their current Arcane Tech activated¡­


    Being detected at this point should be close to impossible already.


    "Very well¡­ Let''s do that instead¡­"


    Beep! Beep!


    As soon as Wace agreed to his suggestion, a warning from Avalon came in¡­


    [ Multiple Imperial Spaceships Detected. ]


    "Show it!"


    Ace ordered as he seated at themander''s chair¡­


    Avalon showed the spaceships on the main screen and found the Meredith Empire''s forces¡­ They are still very far and were only detected by their Mana-Based Observes ced within 10 A.U. of their Moon Base.


    There were 31 of them before but there''s only a total of 21 spaceships showing on the screen¡­


    They destroyed 1 ck Sovereign and disabled 5 Conqueror Starships. Then, they''ve also severely damage some of the Invader Spaceships that tried to deal with his Excellence and Providence.


    He can also think that the others were left behind to repair or protect the Conqueror Starship they left.


    "Avalon, can you tell me their path¡­ Are they heading to the¡­"


    [ Correct. ]


    "How many more days do we have?"


    [ Approximately 128 hours with their speed. They are moving at a slow pace. They''re matching the speed of the Mech Frames in front. ]


    "Mech Frames?"


    [ Correct. Maybe they are avoiding our ambush. ]


    "I see¡­ But we don''t have ns for an ambush anymore¡­ How about the space mines?"


    [ They are still in ce¡­ But there''s a hundred percent chance that it will be discovered by enemies. ]


    "Well¡­ That''s not surprising. Anyway, remotely detonate them if you noticed that they''re about to destroy them. We can''t let them have the satisfaction of removing our traps¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Escanor and the others who are listening were impressed by this. It seems that the young man is truly dedicated to irritate the imperial army. Not even giving them the satisfaction of disarming their mines¡­


    "Alright¡­ Broadcast the estimated time to the surface. Our mission here is over¡­ Once the Empire''s Forces descended, it would be up to them."


    Ace gave hisstmand as he slouched on his chair¡­


    Finally, it''s time for the Empire to experience the full power of the Magicians on their.

 Chapter 354 - Empires Descent ( Part 2 )

    Wace received Avalon''s warning about the Empire''s Fleet¡­


    "A hundred and twenty hours, huh¡­"


    He was a bit impressed considering the distance they have to travel.


    Their speed is actually extremely fast. The empire has surely improved its propulsion technology by leaps and bounds.


    After all, Ace was only able to achieve a faster speed due to the existence of Mana that he could use indefinitely.


    For now, he could guess that the Empire has found another method of harnessing the Aether aside from the GH Drive.


    "Right, you also mentioned that they are sending out Mech Frames from time to time?"


    [ Correct. We assume that they are conducting some anti-ambush protocols. ]


    Avalon replied.


    They already left the floating ind when they received the update about the Empire''s descent. They are now back at the Mt. Ravencroft where they are inspecting the Mech Knights that the factory has recently made.


    "I see. They are being careful. I hope they can act recklessly afternding here."


    It seems that the Empire would only stop in some coordinates that would appear to have a perfect spot for an ambush before moving ahead.


    For now, they are still unsure whether the fleet can already detect some remnants of their Mana.


    Wace sat on a chair at the side while he''s watching the automatons get busy assembling the Mech Knights'' parts that were just delivered.


    "Very well¡­ We are almost ready here as well."


    Their preparations may not be enough but this should bring them good results. At the very least, they wouldn''t be helpless once the Empire descended unlike what he had dreamed before¡­


    ''That won''t happen again¡­''


    As his thoughts reached this point, he recalled something important


    "Avalon, where do you think they''llnd this time? Do you think that it would be the same region?"


    [ Calcting the probability¡­ ]


    Wace waited as the A.I. would perhaps consider the rotation of their once the Empire gets closer or perhaps find a decent-lookingnd or sea near the continent¡­


    ''If theynded on the sea, it would be difficult for us tounch an attack it, but if it''s on the maind, it would create huge damage in the area instead¡­''


    Either way, the nearest people in the area of their descent would surely suffer first¡­.


    So Wace was a bit hoping that the Empire would decide tond in some mountain range rather than the far sea.


    [ Unable to calcte with the limited information we have. ]


    It appears that Avalon requires more data to draw some conclusions. Nevertheless, it is indeed extremely challenging to calcte such a thing.


    "I''ll be visiting my family, Avalon. If anyone would look for me, you can tell them to wait here¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace then stood up and used his Void Phase¡­


    After a few jumps¡­ He arrived at the Luna Lake of the Red Star Town.


    Theke is still serene with unique flowers growing around them. He can see a couple of wooden boats at the side and a newly painted sign beside it that introduces theke and the flowers beside it.


    Wace smiled seeing this¡­ He still recalls that this is the ce where his soulpletely merged with this body through the Cube of Paradox or Pathfinder''s help¡­


    After reminiscing for a moment, he headed towards the familiar house of his parents, a ce he could call his home on this.


    This ce, or this town, received several improvements on their Town Barrier through Ace''s sponsorship. It means that even if the Empire still decided to descend here, they would have enough time to prepare or even fight against them.


    Wace nced behind him and found the mountain range where the Empire descended in his dream.


    Most of the starships were focused in the Ste Region and a couple of Conqueror Starship that went in this direction seem like they were only tasked to clean up the area¡­ The forces of their fleet were still focused in that region if he remembers it correctly¡­


    Now that he thinks about it, he found it weird for them to descend here¡­ It''s not like they are actually looking for him¡­


    "Ste Region¡­" Wace muttered as he thought of something¡­


    "Son? You''re here? Why don''t you enter? Don''t just stand there¡­"


    Chase noticed the young man standing in front of their house looking at the sky¡­ He didn''t want to interrupt him at first but he thought that he was just being shy or something, so he decided to call him out.


    "Father¡­ Yes, I''m going in¡­"


    "Right, I heard you mutter about the Ste Region is there something wrong?"


    Chase has many questions about the situation of their and about his ns but he decided to ask about Wace''s words just now.


    "Ahh¡­ You heard that¡­ I was just curious about the Ste Region. Is there anything special there?"


    "There is¡­ Of course, I''m sure that you already know of it."


    Wace nodded slowly. His father is right, he knows what''s special in that ce¡­


    It is the only region where the Memory Crystals can be mined in the country. These Crystals can store a massive amount of knowledge and are now being experimented to be used as a medium to make normal humans be Magicians like them.


    "Is it a coincidence... Anyway... About the Seed Holdings¡­ How are they progressing, father?"


    "Haha¡­ So you''re interested in our work there?"


    Chaseughed and was about to exin the details of their job when ine, rice, and ire greeted him¡­


    "Wee home, Brother!"


    "Wace, why did just visit us now? Have you eaten yet?"


    "Ahh¡­ I haven''t yet." Wace smiled as he replied to her mother.


    "Let me prepare now¡­"


    The young man felt rxed being here as he felt guilty about Ace''s situation.


    ''Ahh¡­ I should bring him here next time.''


    Wace smiled at the thought as he brought out some gifts to his family. He used his dimensional storage space to store the 7th Generation Mana Artifacts that he received from Aeolia.


    He knows that these advanced level Mana Artifacts would certainly help soldiers or magicians in real battles¡­ Giving them to his people might be more beneficial if one would look at it.


    However, he wanted to ensure the safety of his family first.


    He lost his family in his previous life, but now, he wouldn''t let it happen.


    It is as simple as that¡­


    That is why he doesn''t think that it''s a waste giving them thetest generation of mana artifacts. He only wanted to provide them additional security.


    "What are these, Brother? Wait---"


    rice asked but she suddenly had a hunch about the item in front of her.


    "Is this the 7th Generation you''ve mentioned before?!"


    Even Chase and ine were shocked after seeing Wace''s gift.


    They could see a small bottle with ck liquid on it. They thought that it''s some kind of unique potion or perhaps some tonic that has been popr recently¡­


    "Son, is that true?"


    "Yes, mom¡­ This is the Seventh Gen¡­"


    "Haa~ I didn''t think that I would live until the creation of 7th Gen¡­"


    Chase muttered after hearing his son''s confirmation.


    His thoughts weren''t baseless considering the gap between the Fourth Gen and the Fifth Gen, then the Fifth Gen to the Sixth Gen Mana Artifact.


    Decades if not centuries would pass before another Generation was made¡­ They have just heard about the 6th Gen that has been a hot topic a few weeks ago¡­


    However, Wace is already introducing the Seventh Gen to them.


    "How does it work?"


    "You can say that it will help us magicians create a synthetic mana core, a sentient mana and¡­"


    Wace shared his knowledge about the 7th Generation and spend the whole day with his family.


    He discussed to them his ns, he told them the ces they needed to hide in once the Empire descended¡­ He also let his father exin the progress of their task about the Inheritance Pill.


    Finally, he left them a couple of superiorbat automatons that he pulled out from his dimensional storage space.


    "Right¡­ Onest thing, please don''t sacrifice yourself when we''re in danger¡­ You have to trust me¡­ I''m very strong, mother¡­ father¡­"


    Wace seriously looked at his parents before ncing at the rings on their finger¡­


    Chase and ine squinted their eyes after noticing this.


    They were a bit surprised but they also couldn''t hide the happiness in their eyes after seeing that Wace looks so reliable even at a young age.


    They nodded at their son and promised that they''ll trust him.


    The young man smiled and left the town after a while¡­


    He alreadypleted his arrangements for his family.


    ***


    Wace returned to hismand center within his territory at Mt. Ravencroft.


    "Did anyone look for me?"


    [ Yes. Charles Mavis visited once. He hinted that he discovered the floating ind you''re hiding and wanted to get into one. ]


    "Urgh¡­ Anyone else?"


    Wace understands the man''s curiosity but he can''t allow him there at this time.


    [ None. ]


    "I see¡­ How''s the situation above?"


    [ The Empire''s Fleet just passed over the Moon Base and is now heading here. Ace also wanted us to finish all the preparations. ]


    "We''ve been ready for several days now¡­"


    Wace smirked as he sat down on his chair and closed his eyes¡­


    Finally, it''s time for them to act.

 Chapter 355 - Empires Descent ( Part 3 )

    Wace looked at the Empire''s Space Fleet...


    If they have arrived before his expedition at the Northern Continent, he might be overwhelmed by their current formation.


    However, his ability has improved tremendously after he made a connection with Aeolia and the Celestial Beings...


    "Perhaps, I can already fight someone in the imperial family on a duel?"


    The young man pondered for a bit. Every member of the family had perhaps reached a tremendous height in terms of gic enhancements.


    It is not a secret that many citizens of the empire would not look like humans any longer. It is due to many mutations or perhaps gene enhancements they needed to live longer in space¡­ Aside from that, different types of disease that would be fatal to humans also appears in multiples or celestial bodies they''re iming for themselves.


    If they did not do anything to improve their physical bodies, they wouldn''t be able to survive for so long.


    Since the citizens and elite members of the empire have received incredible enhancements in their genes, it is not difficult to assume that the rulers of the Empire would have simr or even more impressive gene modifications.


    "What do you think, Avalon?"


    [ We arecking information about the Imperial Family. ]


    "Is that so? What do you have about them then?" Wace asked.


    [ Only written records about their appearance in some important events between the Federation and the Empire¡­ ]


    Avalon then provided him information about the records it has.


    They were not seen fighting at all.


    There was only one case when the current Emperor''s brother has to act against a space creature that could threaten not only the Empire but also the entire human race.


    The space creature itself was at the same size as one of the Empire''s Artificial Habitat. It must also be said that a single Habitat can have a poption of 2,000,000 humans.


    One could just imagine the size of such a creature. That creature was something that shouldn''t exist in the first ce¡­


    However, as the Empire was on the verge of destruction, a man appeared in their midst and fought against the creature for only half an hour before killing the creature and disintegrating itpletely leaving nothing behind.


    The man had surely exceeded the limits of what a human can attain during that time.


    This is also the one that triggered the Minor Races to join forces with the Meredith Empire or perhaps live under their rule.


    "Mhmm¡­ I think I heard about it¡­ However, there are no recordings of that event since the space creature was said to be capable of interfering with all types of energy..."


    Wace recalled the lessons he had when he was young through Avalon''s information. Many said that it was just an exaggeration and the creature wasn''t that big or that it wasn''t just the Emperor''s brother who acted against it but a fleet of soldiers.


    However, all these rumors have something inmon, a part of the Imperial Family had shown incredible results in the battle and it was so impressive that they managed to turn around a despairing situation into an optimistic one.


    "Well¡­ We will see about that¡­ They might be considered strong in outer space, but fighting against Magicians might be their bane¡­"


    He finally said before leaving themand center.


    There is nothing much to do since every preparation was alreadypleted. However, since they now have a better estimated time of the Empire''s arrival, he could just let the factory continue working until he thinks that it''s already enough¡­


    After all, it wouldn''t hurt to have more spare parts of weapons to be distributed to the public¡­


    "Contact Yumi for me."


    [ Affirmative¡­ ]


    He didn''t have to take long before Yumi connected to his line.


    "What''s up? If you''re going to send a rescue mission for your other self, I''m not going¡­ I don''t think I can survive there¡­ However, I can help you find someone that is willing if you pay the price, understand?"


    Wace was a bit amused by Yumi''s long greeting.


    Nevertheless, he made sure not tough at it and exined himself.


    "Don''t worry¡­ I don''t need to rescue him. He has things nned out in the beginning¡­ He''s also impressive as I am, you know?"


    "Oh¡­ Is that so? Anyway, I know that it''s hard to stay there¡­ I don''t think I can live there even if no invaders areing here¡­"


    "I understand¡­ Rest assured, I''m not sending you in space¡­ I just have a question about the distribution of the advanced weapons we''ve made¡­"


    Wace immediately went to the main topic.


    "Weapons? The one that was simr to the items that Chalice sent to us and to the game you''ve made?"


    "That''s correct¡­"


    It has been a while for the experts here in Zairus that are investigating those guns¡­ Theser guns and other things that Chalice sent to the front doors of the Congress to be investigated.


    When Wace had to retrieve his spaceship at Araceli Inds before, he also had to save his other body that was still wearing his bio-armor¡­


    That armor has missing parts and weapons¡­ These things were then sent to his country''s experts for further investigation and what was surprising about this, is that the one who sent them was none other than Chalice who is also a part of the Z-Company. The same person he had to encounter and fight during that time.


    "Most of them are already distributed. However, as you said, they are mostly distributed to non-magicians rather than the experts¡­"


    "That''s right¡­ The magicians already have Mana Artifacts with varying strengths. But ordinary people wouldn''t have a method to protect themselves¡­ So we had to bnce it even just by a little bit¡­"


    Wace added. Of course, he also ced several conditions that must be met before giving someone such a weapon¡­ If they did not pass it, he wouldn''t dare provide them such a dangerous weapon.


    He''s aware of the ns of their government to assist the civilians at this dangerous time. However, he knows that it will not be enough and many of them would still surely die in the process.


    He may not be able to save them by himself, but he would at least try to give them a chance to fight back and it might give them a miracle as well.


    "I know¡­ That''s why I helped in that project¡­ It was easy for me as well since I just passed most of the work to the right people¡­ Hehe¡­"


    "You''re still reliable¡­ Thank you for your help, Yumi¡­ You''ve contributed a lot in this¡­" Wace smiled as he sincerely thanked thedy.


    If not for her continued support to both him and Ace, they would perhaps have a hard time dealing with the administrative tasks and coordination with the government¡­


    "You''re wee, but if you want to thank me, you have to at least consider gifting me some of your exclusive creations¡­"


    "Don''t worry about that¡­ Just make a request, I''ll do my best to give it to you¡­"


    "Sounds good to me¡­ Right, what are the chances that those aliens would drop here in our country?" Yumi suddenly changed the topic. Her tone had also changed as she seemed to be worried about this.


    "Unlikely¡­ Unless they''re attracted by something here¡­"


    "I see¡­ It would be better if they descended in a less popted area."


    Yumi replied in a low voice. She already epted that they can''t stop the aliens from descending here on the surface¡­


    Her only hope is that they wouldn''tnd in some major cities or ces that have tons of people in them¡­


    "Yumi, I have ns¡­ Don''t worry¡­ My group and my weapons would be following their descent. Wherever they are, we will be able tounch an attack¡­ Just pray that they wouldn''t split up and that they''ll descend together instead¡­"


    Wace revealed his concerns.


    More than twenty spaceships are heading over here and it would be really troubling if they all descended in different parts of the continent.


    ''No¡­ If I''m themander of the fleet¡­ I wouldn''t let them descend wherever they wanted. Once I''ve seen the power of the spacecraft that ambushed us, I would be more cautious and avoid spreading out my forces¡­''


    Wace exined to himself. This is one of the reasons why Ace tried to show their power in outer space anyway.


    He wanted them to realize that there are still some beings that could threaten their life here and that they have to be careful.


    He can guarantee that Ace''s actions had surely influenced themander of the fleet.


    ''I might be worrying too much¡­''


    Wace ended his conversation with Yumi as he also gave a final call to his other friends.


    He''s unsure what''s about to happen once the Empire descended, so he wanted to make sure that they are in a good condition and have also readied themselves to meet the invaders of their.


    Finally, after waiting for long hours, the Empire is finally orbiting on their¡­

 Chapter 356 - Empires Descent ( Part 4 )

    Wace noticed that the Empire''s fleet wasn''t considering to descend yet¡­


    Of course, there are many reasons why they are waiting up there but they were most likely using their long-range scanners to see the situation below.


    Aside from that, the disappearance of the Excellence and the other Mech Knights may also be one of their concerns before descending¡­


    After all, their spaceships would be vulnerable to attacks once they started entering the''s atmosphere.


    ''Well, just stay there as much as you want¡­''


    The Mt. Ravencroft has Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun that could hit the Spaceships in outer space. So once they tried descending on theirnd, it would be the first one to wee them¡­ They wouldn''t be able to avoid that in their situation.


    The gun that they have is also called a Sattelite-ss Cannon to identify the level of the weapon they have.


    In total, they have made four Sattelite-ss weapons. One is here at the Mt. Ravencroft, another one is in the Moon Base, and thest two are with the Providence and Excellence. Since thetter was already destroyed, they only have three of these remaining.


    Beep!


    [ A person from the government wishes to speak with you. He identified himself as Hayden Fraser. ]


    ''It''s about time.''


    "Go ahead. I''ll speak to him¡­ or does he want to meet me?"


    [ No. ]


    "Alright then¡­"


    [ Connecting¡­ ]


    The monitor in from of him showed Hayden''s face. The old man greeted him and introduced himself¡­


    "I heard a lot about you, Sir Hayden¡­ Everyone in this country or perhaps in the continent knows you¡­"


    As an Enneadic Magician, he''s a very impressive practitioner around the world¡­ After all, Magicians could hardly control three Mana Artifacts at the same time. However, this man can control nine of them without having issues¡­


    He heard about him first while he was still studying and his name would alwayse up in their lessons. His influence on the world of magicians is definitely higher than Charles Mavis, or any Grand Arcanist in the world.


    "I''m ttered, Sir Wace, I heard about your situation from Yumi. However, it''s good to see that you''re really fine..."


    "Thank you for your concern¡­ May I know the reason for your sudden decision to reach me?"


    "Yes, of course¡­ Our government created a new council to respond against the Aliens¡­ I was appointed as the leader and I know that you''ve already instructed Yumi about the things you want to share with us, I would like to coordinate our actions with yours."


    Hayden exined¡­ The matter about the Empire''s descent concerns even the top magicians of this country. None of them could say that they could defeat the aliens¡­ Not even the Grand Arcanists and Grand Sages¡­


    Wace smiled after hearing this. Although they are veryte, it is still better than notmunicating with him at all. He thought that he would just have to use Yumi as his middle man forever.


    "That''s good to hear¡­ I''ll cooperate."


    If they still ignore the threat with all the pieces of evidence that Wace has provided, there would be no hope in this country.


    "Right, before we discuss our ns, do you have information about the ns of the other countries?"


    Wace inquired and Hayden doesn''t seem to be too surprised about that.


    "They are all doing well¡­ I heard that the mysterious being behind Veda was helping them to cope up."


    ''Mysterious being? He probably meant Veda... Are they still not aware that Veda is Artificial Intelligence?''


    Wace shook his head as it is not important to think about that now.


    Then, the old man continued sharing his knowledge about the preparations of the country.


    Apparently, each country has different actions about the imminent danger approaching their world. Their allocations of budget and military, itpletely different¡­


    The Republic of Maja was still doing the same thing, they still spent most of their budget on their top-ss Automatons. As a matter of fact, their soldiers can now take 5 automatons with them to fight together.


    They have also be even stronger especially after getting the secrets of other countries thanks to Veda''s help. There was also a leak about the Float Drive System that allowed their automatons to be even stronger and perhaps something that could rival an Adept Mage already.


    There are also signs that they''ve started developingrge-scale cannons to fight against flying aircraft¡­


    The ind country of Montego was still depending on their Mage Towers and as a matter of fact, they increased their number by 50% after they spread the information about the aliens. Their most powerful asset, Royal Court Magician Julian Esmeria, even created the tallest Mage Tower that was said to be capable of protecting its 100-kilometer radius.


    It is an extremely impressive tower and must''ve taken the country''s fortune by a huge chunk. Perhaps, if the Empire''s fleet decided tond there instead, the country would give them a good fight.


    Wace knows that a Mage Tower isn''t just a normal building but a ce with concentrated Magic Structures and Spells. They are definitely something different as every single stone used to build the tower can be considered as a mana artifact.


    Of course, the other countries were also doing preparations and have increased their defenses, and innovations of their engineers were also being revealed¡­


    Apparently, Seiji, perhaps the strongest nation on the continent has actually created an air fleet.


    It was finally revealed that the Zairus wasn''t the first one to create an airship¡­


    Seiji, a non-allied country, has a total of 300 airships that could amodate a hundred Magicians in each of them.


    If not for their massive preparation for the war against the aliens¡­ The allied nations of Zairus, Montego, Maja, and Virgan would be unaware of their power¡­


    The nations of Guwain, Kazan, Utara, and Seiji have truly hidden their strength very well¡­


    "Are there any talks about possible cooperations between the eight countries?"


    Wace wasn''t hoping much when he asked this but he wanted to know their stand about this idea.


    "Haa~ There are delegations sent but up until now, there are no conclusive discussions made. After all, there should be a leader in such union and none of them wanted the other to take the lead. There are also disputes about the borders and many other things. You should be aware of the history of Guwain¡­"


    Wace smiled wryly at this. He already expected this much but he still felt disappointed that the countries weren''t together in this battle.


    Once they realized that they have to cooperate, it would already be toote.


    They would perhaps start regretting the peace talks and requests for cooperation that they''ve ignored¡­


    "I wonder how long they wouldst¡­"


    Wace muttered softly after thinking about it. He''s not that worried about his country since his base is located here but the others would surely suffer heavy casualties¡­


    "Very well¡­ Let''s discuss the main topic¡­" The young and the old magicians finally started coordinating their ns against the alien''s descent.


    ***


    Aaron heard the news about Space Fleet''s situation.


    They have sessfully diminished a huge chunk of the Empire''s Fleet.


    "What about Wace?" Aaron asked Raven. They just finished installing 6th Gen Mana Artifacts on their huge Golden Mech Knight.


    "I heard that he safely arrived at the Moon Base¡­ If you''re referring to the other, he should be preparing for war as well. I bet that he''s even nning to hit the enemies before they descended here¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s not a bad idea. We are too focused on the idea of waiting for them tond here."


    Aaron replied. They are now about to go outside of the Lucent Force''s underground base and about to meet the pilots of the Lucent Knights that they''ve ordered from the Traceless Hand''s Factory.


    Raven nodded at Aaron''s reply but he has another idea.


    "I think that it''s normal, young master. We don''t have advanced technology to monitor our space. We are unlike Wace who can create almost anything in his mind. So we should just focus on what our forces can do and be the best at it¡­"


    Aaron wasn''t disappointed hearing this and even smiled at the guy¡­


    "You''re right¡­ We have to be the best on what we are special¡­"


    They are now in front of 10 Lucent Knights¡­ This is not all of their units but these 10 would be tasked to apany theirrge golden Knight.


    "How are the pilots?"


    "They have trained within the virtual world that was given to us by Wace''s secretary¡­"


    "You mean Avalon?"


    "Correct¡­"


    The virtual world is such a convenient technology that could simte the real world¡­ Aaron is thankful for such creation and hoped that he could see it evolve even more someday¡­


    Beep!


    Aaron noticed that there is a message on his device. It is an update about the situation of the invasion¡­


    [ One Conqueror Starship, Three Invader Spaceship, and One Conveyor Spacecraft have started descending. Their target is Kazan, the ind country in the east. They are expected tond within a few minutes. ]

 Chapter 357 - Empires Descent ( Part 5 )

    "Kazan? That''s a bit of a problem¡­" Aaron softly said after learning the location where the aliens wouldnd.


    That country barely has any connection to Zairus¡­ They are not even in any kinds of trade due to them allying with Guwain and being situated on a very far ind.


    "Raven, what do you think will happen to them?" The young man asked hispanion. He doesn''t have that much impression of that country.


    They do not have a strong military force buy they probably have the most cargo ship or merchant ship. Their main source of ie was their trades to their allies in the maind.


    "They''ll be destroyed, for sure¡­ However, they were allied with Seiji and Guwain¡­ They should be helping them at this time."


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s true¡­ Perhaps if they epted our offer, we could''ve done something for them as well."


    Since the ind country did not ept their defense treaty thinking that they''ll be safe in their inds, Zairus and their allies could only watch Alien''s Spaceships descend to theirnd.


    "I''m sure that Wace would still move¡­"


    "I wouldn''t doubt that, young master¡­ I''m sure that he already has a n in motion¡­ We just have to wait until our nation, or perhaps our allies get affected in their descent."


    The Lucent Force is currently scattered throughout their whole country¡­ It is to ensure that they would be able to respond to any emergencies in any part of the kingdom.


    After all, even though they have an army and mage battalions, the Lucent Force was still on a different level.


    Just a single squad of their force can already take on a rampaging Grand Sage¡­ Although it happened a long time ago, it is proof that their members were being trained differently.


    "Alright¡­ I guess we can only wait for the news then¡­"


    ***


    Somewhere in the rural town of Kazan, a group of young magicians was practicing with their newly bought Mana Artifacts.


    They are thetest Artifacts from the maind and were recently popr among the new generation of magicians¡­


    The Mana Artifacts with Baseless Series.


    Although it''s expensive since it was probably acquired through illegal means and copied most of the Traceless Series'' Mana Spells, they were still quite happy with all the new magic it has. There was even a free Magic Jammer Canceller included in the product¡­


    Now, they wouldn''t have to worry about those rich people that monopolized the few Lamat Stones¡­


    This group also has a young teacher observing the way they cast the Mana Spell, how well they control it, and how much Mana they spent in casting a single spell¡­


    If he finds something off with their performance, he would quickly try to correct them to achieve a good result.


    "Mhmm¡­ Good¡­ Try to target the dummies and use Laser Shot."


    The teacher instructed the 10 young magicians in front of him.


    Vedran just turned twenty-three and havepleted his Arcane Baptism two weeks ago¡­ He is now a genuine Adept Mage but he still has to teach these young elites of the country in order to gain connection and experience¡­


    After all, he came from a humble lineage and has nothing to show off aside from his talent as a magician.


    Boom! Boom!


    The dummies were utterly destroyed by the power of Laser Shot¡­ The Laser Shot is copied from Traceless Series'' Laser Focus.


    Aside from that, they also strengthened it by increasing the diameter of theser making it even more dangerous.


    uracy no longer matters as it is a weapon made to destroy anything on its path.


    "Good¡­ How was it?"


    Vedran asked his students.


    "Urgh¡­ I''m already tired, teacher. It consumes a lot of Mana¡­ A single shot of that can probably let me use the Archon Series''s spell more than 5 times."


    "That''s right, Sir! This is indeed powerful like the rumors say¡­ However, I don''t think this is meant to be used by magicians¡­ It''s not practical¡­"


    "It also takes some time before we can fire it. It is good against stationary targets but not in a battle that requires extreme speed¡­ We are no longer just in the Brain-Boosting Era, we have to consider the Physical-Boosting that other Mana Spells can offer."


    Vedran is very impressed with his students¡­ They quickly realized many things about the weapon after firing it a few times.


    It means that they have a good battle sense since they are considering things from the perspective ofbat magicians¡­


    Though none of them pointed to the amazing Mana Structure and technology behind the magic, he wasn''t disappointed but instead quite happy as he realized the concerns of his students.


    After all, it would be easier to teach some things if he knows their capabilities and preferences in their weapons.


    During the remaining time that he has to teach the young magicians, he decided to give them clues on how to properly use the Laser Shot¡­


    "Well, you don''t have to pour all of your Mana in it¡­ It is amon misconception that magicians need to pour more mana into their weapons to make them stronger¡­ For me, it''s not true, the real dangerous magic requires precision and not power¡­ It requires adaptability instead of inflexibility¡­"


    Vedran then held the gun-like Mana Artifact in his hands.


    There are still 5 dummies in front that weren''t targeted by his students a while ago¡­ After calcting a bit, he pulled the trigger on it.


    Whoozzsh!


    The mana spell activated¡­


    Unlike therge Laser Shot that the students fired, Vedran''s shot was only with the size of his finger¡­


    Bam!


    It created a hole in one of the dummies at the farthest left¡­ It is the human''s throat that was targeted on the shot¡­ However, the mana spell was still not disappearing¡­ I


    It had actually turned and hit the other four dummies on its right and pierced their necks¡­


    "What?!"


    "Teacher! Is that possible?"


    "It can do that too?"


    "Please, teach us how to do that!"


    The students were dumbfounded after seeing it the first time¡­ However, they quickly came to their mind and realized how awesome it was. They needed to learn the secrets behind it¡­


    "This is one of the Traceless Hands'' special features on their Mana Structuring¡­ As long as you created a thinser that you can control, you can direct it in another direction once. That is what happened, which is why I told you, strong power might be good but it might not be the best¡­ a simple power might just do the trick."


    Vedran then reminded them of his teachings before letting them realize the importance of listening to his lessons.


    After discussing a few more things with them, he ended the private ss with these young elites and decided to walk around the town to pass the time.


    The cool breeze in the air was quite rxing and he already wanted to take asleep even though he hadn''t eaten yet.


    However, as he was about to go to his house¡­ He noticed a huge shadow covering the sky¡­


    "Will it rain?" Vedran muttered as he looked at the sky¡­


    "Isn''t this a bit too dark?"


    He was about to ignore it but he suddenly noticed the shing lights from these dark clouds¡­


    He squinted his eyes to try as he looked above him and finally realized that the shadow was not a cloud!


    Wang! Wang! Wang!


    The siren that is meant to inform them about a disaster was heard throughout the whole town¡­


    "W-what''s going on¡­ Wait--- Don''t tell me¡ª"


    He finally realized what was the thing covering the sky and why the siren started going off even though there isn''t a tsunami or a storming¡­


    "This¡­ I knew it¡­ Wace is telling the truth. The aliens areing¡­"


    Unfortunately for them, Kazan is one of the countries that Wace and Avalon were unable to reach and set up an informationwork.


    The only method they have to inform them about the imminent threat was through their Virtual Pod.


    However, only about a hundred people in the whole country have the virtual pod from their over five million poption.


    Vedran has one of them. He felt his body shaking after remembering the virtual reality''s prediction and Wace''s revtion about the aliens¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    He suddenly heard marching steps from afar and found their country''s mage battalions spreading throughout the town¡­


    "We will defend this town from a possible threat from that airship above¡­ The soldiers from Seiji would be arriving soon to help us... We just have to hold on for a while¡­"


    Themander of the battalion shouted and everyone in the town heard him clearly. They are the quick response unit of the army and were spread out around theirnd.


    He then gave series of instructions to the two hundred magicians under hismand¡­


    However, a sudden light covered the whole sky.


    Boom!


    An explosion from one of the spaceships urred¡­


    It was a sesfful shot from Wace''s Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun!

 Chapter 358 - Empires Descent ( Part 6 )

    The soldiers of the State of Kazan were astounded by the sudden beam of light that hit one of the Alien''s Spaceships...


    They saw that the aliens used some kind of barrier to defend against it but they were still heavily hit by that shot.


    They can see smoke and fireing out from one of therge spaceships.


    "Awesome! Is that one of our weapons?"


    "Perhaps¡­ Wait--- Maybe our Grand Sage started it?"


    "I hope so¡­ A few more of those shots and we can easily destroy them¡­"


    "Haha¡­ This is good¡­ They''re probably scared by now. We just have to be firm and wait for the reinforcements from Seiji and we''ll surely clean them up¡­"


    The soldiers of Kazan celebrated for a moment after seeing the power of that beam of light. They were unsure about the origin of the attack but since it hit the enemy, they can conclude that the perpetrator of the unannounced attack is one of their allies.


    They have received information from their higher-ups and learned the ss or names of these spaceships...


    If they were not mistaken, the one that the light hit was the Conveyor Spaceship of the aliens.


    This spaceship doesn''t have that strong firepower but they are carrying powerful machines that they can use to fight on the surface. It was also noted that this spaceship carries various supplies for their entire fleet... It means that this is indeed a good target to cut off the supplies of the enemies.


    However, they waited for another one of those shots but it no longer happened¡­ The spaceships descended near an active volcano in their region.


    ''Tsk¡­ This is going to be difficult¡­''


    Themander of the army remained silent throughout the time since he''s the only one who''s fully aware of thecking of preparation of this country about the alien invasion.


    He knows that the powerful magic that hit the spaceship just now wasn''t their doing¡­


    They do not have such Mana Artifact or technology with them¡­


    Even their Grand Sage''s most powerful attack can only affect the enemies that are within his 500-meter radius¡­ There was no way for him to affect those spaceships that are still so high in the sky¡­


    Perhaps, their Grand Arcanist has Mana Artifact that could hit those spaceships above but it is still questionable whether they are that effective.


    After all, they were already old and the Mana Spells they''ve made were only effective against fellow magicians¡­


    If he is not mistaken, even a Steel Knight might perhaps overpower their Sages or Arcanists within this ind¡­


    They have been in a very peaceful era and barely participated in any war¡­ There was no way that they''ll find themselves creating destructive mana spells¡­


    Most of their Magic Structures, Secret Arts, Mana Artifacts, and Mana Practitioners were focusing on improving their living conditions¡­


    After all, the Sea Creatures living at the Southern Kazan Sea weren''t that aggressive¡­ As long as they control their sea activities like fishing outside their territory, these intelligent creatures wouldn''t bother on them.


    ***


    Vedran saw everything from the very beginning¡­


    The spaceships have sessfullynded in their region! Their menacing presence could send anything a chill on their bodies¡­


    Especially that Conqueror Starship¡­ It looks like a floating ind with a city on its top¡­


    ''This is bad¡­ I have to escape¡­ No, I need to inform the others¡­''


    His students were the elites of their town and their families must be informed about the situation.


    He can''t let them die like this.


    ''If the information I received from the virtual world is correct, these spaceships would send out smaller flying vehicles and even humanoid machines or Mech Frames tounch an assault against the natives or us¡­ I have to assume that they''re more unforgiving than the Dorssian Empire in the game¡­''


    Verdan hurriedly contacted the families of his students and told them his ns to escape¡­ He''s not telling them to escape with him but he wanted them to act immediately before it''s toote¡­


    "There''s no way our small town can stop a couple or more Mech Frames from the enemy¡­ We need to run away from this ce!"


    He doesn''t have time to exin the situation but he mentioned that he has an ess to Veda, a secretive informationwork used by privileged people, and that he learned the danger of this situation from this.


    Finally, he also did his best to inform the other people near him to escape as fast as they can¡­


    After doing all of this, he quickly went to his rented house to take his important belongings especially his Mana Artifacts¡­


    Although he learned manybat techniques in the virtual world, his presence alone wouldn''t affect the whole situation of the country or perhaps even just this town.


    Of course, if he has a Steel Knight or Mech Knight simr to the one in the game, he might have the courage to fight the aliens¡­


    Unfortunately, he doesn''t have that level of weapons with him and can only trust his Grade A Mana Artifacts to protect himself.


    He fled away from the opposite direction of the Spaceships¡­ The alien''s fleet was only about 4 kilometers away from their town and only Mount Flux, an active volcano, is blocking them¡­


    Luckily, the spaceships didn''t mobilize any of their Mech Frames, Destroyers, or even Marauders yet¡­ It appears that they were also shaken by that beam of light¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ Are they seriously not leaving yet?''


    He nced back at the town and didn''t see anyone fleeing other than him¡­ Aside from the families of his students, he doesn''t really know anyone within the town as he was just sent here to tutor those children¡­


    Then, after a few more seconds, he noticed a group of people going outside as they seem to be starting to flee as well¡­


    He realized that they''ve boarded their vehicles and carried a lot of things with them which was why it took them some time.


    ''Alright¡­ I can focus on running now¡­''


    Verdan didn''t bring any vehicles with him as he''s more confident with his Mana Artifact that could enhance his speed and even allow him to use stealth or many other escape techniques in case he was chased by the aliens.


    ***


    Wace has been observing everything from afar thanks to his satellites.


    He saw that the settlements, towns, and a city within the 10-kilometer radius of the Empire''s Fleet started their Defensive Phase.


    They''ve sent various magicians and readied their best Mana Artifacts to fight against the empire¡­ Although Wace doesn''t think that they''llst long, it was still a good response and it would surely trouble the Empire''s forces as well.


    "Mhmm¡­ Are they immune to mana suffocation?"


    He can''t see what''s going on inside their spaceship right now¡­ Perhaps they are dealing with the Mana Suffocation, or maybe they realized that the strange energy of this world blocks nuclear fission¡­


    After all, even though they have Aether as a source of their energy, it doesn''t mean that they are not using other forms of energy at all.


    Nevertheless, he found out that they''ve increased their defenses and sent out several androids to try fixing the damaged part of the Conveyor Spaceship¡­


    Wace smiled wryly at this¡­ He realized that they are being careful with his Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun after hitting them once.


    The enemy is not aware that he can only fire it at a certain distance above the ind due to their distance¡­


    Of course, if he really wants to fire another shot of a Satellite-ss weapon, he can ask Ace to mobilize one of his small-sized spaceships to bring the weapon near the orbit of the and fire at the enemies on the ground from their spot¡­


    However, that would certainly attract the attention of the Imperial gship that is still orbiting the¡­


    ''Ah¡­ They''re moving¡­''


    He saw the single Conqueror Starship send out a hundred Mech Frames at once together with more than 200 marauder gears¡­


    It seems that they''ve already settled the issue about mana suffocation¡­


    The sent-out imperial army scattered andunch an attack on the nearby viges, towns, and cities.


    At the very least, he noticed that there are still a lot of people who were trying to escape instead of blindly trusting the soldiers to protect them.


    "Avalon, can we do something for them? Our floating inds would still take some time before they arrive¡­"


    [ You can always use your Void Phase to reach the ce quickly. ]


    "I''m saving my Astral Energy for our counter-attack¡­ I can''t use it yet, Avalon¡­ or should I use it now?"


    Wace''s problem is that the Empire decided to send out only a part of their fleet¡­ If he showed everything that he got, his ns to destroy the Imperial gship might be thwarted.


    Aside from that, even if he used his Void Phase, he can only save one city or human settlement. The others would still be attacked and destroyed by the Empire.


    [ We can also wait for the Seiji''s army to arrive, Veda''s Experimental Soldiers from that country is also included in the forces that are about to arrive. ]

 Chapter 359 - Aliens Vs Magicians ( Part 1 )

    Veda''swork around the world is quite scary¡­ Maybe this is one of the perks of existing for a very long time.


    If he was not mistaken, Veda''s terminal was only being provided to selected people of each country¡­


    However, it appears that the super A.I. has decided to extend itswork to various organizations as well¡­


    He wouldn''t even be surprised if Veda is already cooperating with the various terrorists around the world aside from the Z-Company.


    "Experiment Soldier, huh¡­ They are different from those Adept Mage with Cryptic Link, right?"


    [ Correct. These soldiers were solely Veda''s Project. ]


    "What are your thoughts¡ªI mean, analysis about them?"


    It feels weird to ask what an A.I. thinks so he changed his words.


    [ Veda focused on altering and enhancing these people''s genes, amon practice of the Empire. They are physically strong Magicians with the natural power to fight even against Mana Spells with just their bodies alone. They will be decent cannon fodder. ]


    "Is that so?"


    Wace smiled wryly. He can only hope that he can arrive with all his weapons in time.


    He knows that casualties are unavoidable but he''s hoping he could still give them some help while the Empire hasn''t stabilized their power here¡­


    [ Yes. These soldiers have those 12 powerful individuals that yed the Alien Invasion game¡­ ]


    "Twelve powerful gamers?"


    Wace squinted his eyes as he tries to recall them¡­


    Luckily, before Avalon reminded him, he already remembered what the A.I. was talking about.


    "You''re referring to those people you reported as capable of practicing the Fyoran Race''s Martial Arts."**


    [ Correct ]


    Wace and Avalon decided to put real rewards by ying the virtual game¡­ There are potions, Mana Artifacts, Magic Structures, blueprints of advanced technology, different types of engines, and many otherpetitive awards.


    It includes Martial Arts from his previous life and most of them belong to the Gctic Federation and two of them were from the Fyoran Race, a minor race allied with the Federation.


    Their strength is unimaginable as a one-year-old Fyoran can turn a stone into dust just by grasping them tightly.


    This means that the Martial Arts they''re practicing is one of the hardest things to practice due to the weaker physique of humans.


    "If that''s the case, they might be really helpful¡­ But I don''t think they can still win against a Mech Frame, right?"


    [ Yes. Although theoretically, three of Veda''s Experimental Soldier should be capable of fighting a single Mech Frame. ]


    "Eh? Isn''t that impressive? Why would you call them cannon fodder?


    [ Because the Empire seems to be prepared. All the Mech Frames they''ve sent out are the Wolf''s Sledger. They have already seen our Magicians and they will most likely use the Mech''s Psionic Pulse Tech to deal with them. As long as the Psionic Pulse is not used, they can win against Mech Frames. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ Let''s just hope that Veda has ns for this¡­ Oh, you''ve already shared all the data we gathered with Veda, right?"


    [ Correct. ]


    "That''s good¡­ Let''s see what happens¡­ However, in case I decided to use my Void Phase to meddle with the fight, just go ahead and continue with our operation."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon answered dutifully as Wace stayed silent on his seat watching the current battles happening in the State of Kazan.


    ***


    Vedran ran far away from the town but decided to take a rest after findingrge trees around.


    He climbs up the tree and nced back at the town where he came from. He can still see the ce from above and was quite happy that nothing is happening yet. It means that there would be a lot more people who would have a chance to escape¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As he was trying to recover his mana, he heard the sound of tearing winds from afar¡­ It appears that the scouts of the aliens were targeting the small town¡­


    He can see two humanoid machines and eight small flying vehicles behind it¡­


    "Only them? I guess they are really here just to scout first¡­"


    Vedran believes that their town is capable of defending against Steel Knights or Iron Knights¡­ They have Barriers and skilled Magicians ready to fight them, after all.


    Perhaps if they were ambushed, they would have a chance of getting defeated. But now, they were all waiting for these aliens to arrive and they should''ve prepared their Grade 3 Mana Spells already.


    Boom! Boom!


    The humanoid mech fired a missile to their barrier but nothing happened. It wasn''t even shaken by that force.


    The two Mech Frames continued firing for 20 seconds but it was still not destroyed¡­


    "Oh... They''re holding¡­ They might really buy time until the Seiji''s Army arrives¡­"


    Vedran felt d that the barrier was quite dependable¡­


    However, before he could celebrate, a beam of light hit the Town and the barrier was unable to block any of it as the beam passed through the town''s houses and many other structures¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    It was followed by several explosions¡­


    "This¡ª"


    Vedran saw everything¡­ The floating city far away from the town sent another aircraft¡­ It was simr to the Dorssian Empire''s Destroyer Spacecraft within the game.


    These Destroyers have plenty of ws with their defensive abilities but they are extremely strong when their task is to destroy things¡­


    ''Help!''


    ''Someone! Help us!''


    ''Everyone! Use your Magic!''


    ''Do not falter!''


    Vedran could somehow hear the people from the town with his enhanced senses. The soldiers were visibly shaken but themander behind them was shouting orders as they slowly regain their senses¡­


    No one knows the exact time that the reinforcements would arrive¡­ So it was a bit difficult to increase their morale¡­ There wasn''t even a single Sage on their ranks and the strongest of them were just recently advanced Adept Mages with powerful Mana Artifacts sponsored by their country.


    It means that it was still questionable whether they can urately use the Artifacts to their limits.


    Soon, Vedran saw the Mech Framesunch their attack against the soldiers of the town¡­ The Destroyer above, on the other hand, remained watching and no longer fired any shots at the town.


    ''Tsk¡­ This is terrible¡­'' Vedran clenched his fist as he saw the town getting burned as the magicians were trying their best to protect the civilians and defend the ce.


    Then, he saw a group of town''s people running away as the Marauder Gears started firing bullets on them¡­


    "Primal Eagle''s Eye!"


    Vedran used his Mana Artifact to further enhance his vision¡­ He felt that something was amiss with those shots from the Marauder Gears¡­


    As expected, they seem to be paralyzing them instead of killing them on the spot!


    ''What are they thinking? Wait, they want to capture them?''


    Then, he saw a group of old men with their Mana Artifacts rushing towards the two Mech Frames¡­


    He can feel the undtions of Mana that are happening while these men charge towards the aliens¡­


    "Instrument Reversal!"


    It is a specialized Grade 3 Mana Spell that was cast!


    A beam of light hit one of the Mech Frames perfectly!


    After a couple of seconds, the machine started crumbling!


    "Whoa!"


    "We did it! We can do this!"


    "Loyal Soldiers of Kazan! Buy us some time to cast that magic again! Do not lose hope!"


    The group of old men appears to be the town mayor''s entourage. The people of the town were visibly happy as the Mech Frame was destroyed¡­ The small unit of Marauder Gears was also being overwhelmed by the numbers of Grade 1 and Grade 2 Mana Spells being thrown to them by the magicians¡­


    They just have to restrict the other Mech Frame with bulky armor and they would turn things around¡­


    Of course, the others were still doing their best to flee from the town to avoid being a casualty in the battle.


    However, as everyone was delighted at the scene, Vedran had a serious look on his face¡­


    Since he was quite far away, he can easily see things from his perspective¡­


    Just now, the Conqueror Starship of the Empire added a few more Mech Frames that are dealing with this small town¡­


    Thirty more Mech Frames were hurrying on their site!


    ''Tsk! You guys have to escape now! We can''t win this war like this! We have to join the elite forces!''


    This is what Vedran is thinking. As long as they gather their strength, they would have a higher chance of fighting against the Empire¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Just like what he expected, the town was immediately cleaned up after the appearance of the Mech Frames. It doesn''t matter whether they can cast Grade 3 Mana Spells¡­ It wouldn''t change the tide of battle if only one of them can use it¡­


    ''Tsk! They''re even chasing the people who are escaping! Heartless!''


    Vedran saw the Marauder Gears chasing the cars that were fleeing away from the town¡­


    He realized that he''s also in a dangerous spot so he decided to quickly run away deeper within the woods.


    Woom~


    However, before he could hide further within the forest, he saw an unfamiliar aircraft with the g of another country¡­


    Finally! It''s the reinforcement from Seiji!

 Chapter 360 - Aliens Vs Magicians ( Part 2 )

    Everyone was so happy seeing the huge airship rushing towards their location.


    Most of them were not aware of the existence of such technology but seeing the g allied to their country, their face immediately lit up, they finally found hope.


    Then, several other airships from their own country also arrived from different directions! Aside from that, they can see smokes from afar as their country''s army together with the Mage Battalions were hurrying to this ce.


    ''We can do this!''


    ''Just run! They aren''t using powerful guns anyway... We can do this!


    ''sh Bomb!''


    The town''s people hurried in the direction of the iing army¡­ Some of them even used a few Grade 1 Spells to at least dyed the flying vehicles that are chasing them¡­


    Some of them also noticed that the aliens seem to be quite inclined in capturing some of them instead of killing all of them.


    This is perhaps the reason that they aren''t going to aggressive in this battle.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, they saw the Airships of their country fired several high-grade Mana Spells to the humanoid machines and small flying vehicles in the sky¡­


    The alien''s beautiful barrier activated but the Fire and Lightning from those Mana Spell managed to deal huge damage to their barriers that the second shot shattered thempletely leaving the machines exposed to the Mana Spells¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    About 10 Mech Frames were destroyed by the continuous assault of their airship¡­


    Then, the airship sent out the Magicians boarded on it including the Steel Knights of their country¡­


    The citizen can a huge number of flying magicians as they started using their Mana Artifacts to cast their magic and destroy the many Marauder Gears and Mech Frames of the Meredith Empire!


    "Wooh!"


    "Kill them all!"


    The people started celebrating a little¡­ Although a lot of people and magicians died defending the town, they couldn''t help but be grateful for the arrival of these strong Magicians.


    They can see the strong spells like Petrification, Vacuum Grip, Wind Chain, Poison Dust, and other elemental spells affect the flying vehicles¡­


    Even though only a few of them were effective against the humanoid machines, if it''s cast inrge numbers, they would certainly affect them little by little until they sumb to the power of Mana¡­ It doesn''t matter whether they are made of some unnatural materials in outer space, their magic would surely do something about it.


    Vedran, who had seen everything from afar was also quite happy seeing the aggressive attacks of their magicians¡­


    However, he knows that the gigantic spaceships from afar wouldn''t just watch at this¡­


    ng! ng!


    As expected, he saw the spaceship that looks like a floating city send out many more Destroyer!


    They are now nning to fight seriously!


    Over 200 Destroyers sortied out!


    He felt like he was seeing bees going out of their hive as the Destroyers blocked the sky¡­


    However, Vedran was still not losing hope, these soldiers should know what they would be facing and they should have some ns for this¡­


    Boom!


    A massive explosion suddenly urred as one of the Airship of their country exploded!


    ''What happened?''


    Vedran didn''t see what happened, but a part of the airship just exploded without any signs whatsoever.


    He couldn''t understand why¡­


    ''Is it an internal problem? Urgh¡­ Why now?'' He can only try to guess. This is the closest possible reason, after all.


    It must also be noted that only one of the gigantic spaceships was doing all the work and sending out armies against their airships and magicians¡­


    It is not the time to have issues with their own weapons or vehicles¡­ What a failure!


    ***


    ''This is bad¡­ They are too close to each other¡­''


    Wace was still watching the whole situation in Kazan.


    Nevertheless, he''s hoping that Veda has ns about this¡­ He knows that it is a good chance to fire the Psionic Pulse and other advanced cannons by the empire¡­


    "Urgh¡­ This is no good¡­ Why is it too slow?" He muttered to himself referring to his secret weapon.


    This country is still quite far from the floating inds, after all, most of them were ced in the central area of the continent so he was getting a bit impatient now¡­


    Unfortunately, he won''t be able to do much by himself even if he goes there alone unless he could enter one of the spaceships and cause havoc.


    However, in case he decided to fight alongside the army, he may be able to destroy a lot of Mech Frames, Marauder Gears, and Destroyers, but that would surely consume his Mana and Astral Core¡­


    If the Empire decided to send out the mutated or the super-enhanced humans outside, even if he has magic, he would surely have trouble with them unless he decided to use his Aeon Guardian.


    Actually, he already has a hunch that they would send them once the Marauder Gears didn''t appear to be very effective anymore.


    For now, he can guarantee that the Empire is still gauging the magician''s current power¡­


    So it should be a good chance for the soldiers of Kazan to decrease the Empire''s forces¡­ They just have to be careful of the enemy''s Psionic Pulse.


    Boom!


    He then saw the airship of Kazan explode¡­


    "Avalon, what''s that?"


    [ A higher level of Psionic Pulse from a few Mech Frames targeted the airship. The attack is invisible to the human eye. ]


    "Tsk¡­ I knew it¡­"


    The Psionic Pulse Technology appears to have evolved. Although the weapon was still silent, it is no longer simr to Avalon''s record.


    "Did you record that?"


    [ Yes. ]


    After the explosion, he saw a lot of Destroyers, bombard the soldiers together with the Mage Battalions from afar¡­


    Various high-level Mana Artifacts with very strong defensive spells were used to protect themselves.


    However, many shields were still broken as they were crushed by the Empire''s bombers¡­


    Screams of pain and agony, together with many angry shouts can be heard as the soldiers were unable to do anything but defend themselves from the onught of the empire''s Mech Frames¡­


    Although they have tons of Mana Reserves with them, the pressure was still bearing down on them¡­


    "Ohh¡­ They''re moving¡­"


    Reiji saw the Seiji''s Army with Veda''s Experimental Soldiers charge towards the group of spaceships thatnded near the volcano¡­


    "Avalon, how many Experimental Soldiers are there?"


    [ We received a piece of detailed information from Veda stating that he sent 200 Enhanced Soldiers among the Seiji''s Reinforcements. ]


    "I see, Let''s see what they can do."


    ***


    Aaron is representing the Lucent Force at the council of war here in Zairus.


    Though his father was not retired yet, he wanted to let Aaron gain experience as he let the young man participate in the discussion.


    "The State of Kazan and the Aliens have started fighting on theirnds¡­"


    Hayden Fraser spoke to the people within the council¡­


    "What''s the situation?"


    Troy Webb, his disciple, and the representative of the Ministry of Magic Education asked¡­ None of them have methods of knowing the situation in that far away ce¡­


    "It''s not looking good for Kazan¡­ The Aliens seem to be using very advanced technology, almost simr to magic¡­ There''s a high chance that the country will fall within less than a week¡­ Aside from that, not even the whole Alien''s fleet descended¡­"


    "So, you''re telling me that they are just the vanguard?"


    "Hmm¡­ You can interpret it like that¡­ But if you''re thinking that the others would also decide to descent there, you should remove that idea in your head¡­ They will surely move to another area to increase the coverage of their limited Spaceships¡­"


    "It''s good that you have sources¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ I got it from Wace Ravencroft. Right, he will try to assist the ind country but we can''t expect that much from a single Magician¡­"


    "Of course¡­ We can understand that¡­"


    "The fact that he''s willing to go there already deserved my loyalty."


    Yumi Juria, the representative of NMTI, agreed with that¡­


    While they are all preparing for the time when their country would be attacked, there is actually a man that would willingly go to a far country to help them instead. It is such a selfless attitude.


    Then, Hayden Fraser used a device and showed them the current situation of the state of Kazan as they fought desperately against the Aliens of the gctic empire.


    They saw the volcano near the spaceships of the Empire was spitting out smokes andva¡­


    Thend within the 10 kilometers of the spaceships was in total destruction¡­ It was filled with dust and rubble¡­ All the trees were burned or turned to ashes and the buildings were turned into ruins.


    But despite that, they can see a few Magicians covered with powerful Mana Spell as they desperately fight against the aliens equipped with highly advanced weapons¡­


    "This¡­ It hasn''t been long since they descended, right?"


    "Correct¡­ This is all because of the enemy''s inhuman bombardment¡­ Haa~ I''m actually impressed that there are still a few Magicians left and are fighting to the death against the enemy¡­


    "Tsk¡­ So that was why you predicted that it will only take less than a week¡­"


    One of the members of the council sighed in realization. Only a few spaceshipsnded but this is already the result of the battle¡­

 Chapter 361 - Aliens Vs Magicians ( Part 3 )

    Thusiah saw the gigantic spaceship that they have to destroy toplete their mission.


    He could only smile at that thought since he couldn''t imagine that their airship''s small cannons and Grade 3 Mana Spells can prate the thick armor of that vessel¡­


    Of course, he was also not afraid of facing them since they still have a secret weapon with them, the mutated magicians or what they call Terror Mages that were sent by the Research Institute of their country¡­


    He looked at his men that are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world¡­ He is proud of them¡­


    He stood gracefully at the bow of the airship, despite his tough frame¡­


    "Everyone! You know why you''re here!"


    Thusiah shouted and was responded by the roars of the magicians. They were all from Seiji and were sent here to help the State of Kazan. However, they know that this country doesn''t have that much power as they were focused on the trade industry¡­


    This is why he wasn''t expecting much help from their people but at least help them buy some time¡­


    The man smiled after hearing his men and continued¡­


    "Destroy everything in your path! Do not show mercy on these Aliens! Charge!"


    As soon as he said this, all their airships fired at the flying vessels and humanoid machines of the invaders.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    They sessfully hit most of them but because they are scattered, they couldn''t help a lot of people that are being chased by the aliens¡­


    He signaled to Flying Mage Battalions to start their operations¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Over a hundred flying magicians came out of the airship and targeted the aliens¡­ They used the Seiji''s Exclusive Magic Series called Schr Series that could fight equally against the Royal and Enchant Series that is popr in Zairus.


    Various elemental spells were thrown as they looked so beautiful if being viewed above¡­


    If they are not in a war, Thusiah would surely appreciate such a view¡­


    He nced below and noticed that there''s a lot of people on the ground that are still dying due to the Marauder Gears of the invaders.


    They do not have soldiers to bring the citizens into safety as all of them are here to strike the invaders while they are still not used to the environment.


    The other units on the ground were still taking time to arrive as not everyone could fit in the Airship¡­ They should be arriving within 10 more minutes and they would surely help these escaping citizens.


    They just have to focus on fighting the invaders for now.


    Whoozzhh!


    A beam of light blinded Thusiah and as soon as he managed to adjust his eyes, he saw one of the airships not too far from theirs was shot¡­


    If he would make aparison, it was like Wace''s Laser Focus that the man introduced not too long ago that was also copied by multiple organizations. However, this Laser Focus used by the aliens is extremelyrge and the one that Wace made would be considered a cute one¡­


    Thusiah clenched his fist as he didn''t know whether they could defend against that if they were the ones shot instead.


    Nevertheless, he made another signal using his magic light, and the remaining soldiers boarded on the airships jump out!


    They are the Terror Mages!


    It doesn''t matter whether their airships would be destroyed¡­ No, it''s actually better if they decided to use it on their airship instead of using it on the ground with tons of people.


    "Terror Mages! Do not falter!"


    Thusiah shouted as he needs to get these mages near the spaceships¡­ Once they managed to do so, they would have a great chance of turning around the situation.


    Hemanded all the airships of their country and use everything they got to cover the Terror Mages on their charge¡­


    Of course, this means that they are also targeted by numerous turrets and cannons of the Empire¡­


    It would be a miracle if they managed to survive that¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    The airships were destroyed one by one but at the very least, they were sessful!


    The Terror Mages were just a hundred meters away from the spaceships! They did it!


    However, they suddenly noticed that one of the silent spaceships that were previously shot by the mysterious light from afar started umting energy on their cannons¡­


    "This¡­"


    Thusiah, who has been heavily wounded and lost two arms, saw the spaceship fire an extremely wide range attack as they were all covered by heat and light¡­ It was followed by various explosions as the whole ce was bombarded by the three Invader Spaceships.


    "I..."


    It was hisst word.


    A few momentster, thend surrounding the spaceships waspletely destroyed¡­ Only the Terror Mages with the powerful aura surrounding them had survived.


    ***


    Wace saw everything in the short moment that the Empire bombarded the whole region with various kinds of missiles and cannons¡­


    It was as if they are trying to see what kind of explosives is effective in thisnd¡­


    Perhaps they realized that capturing the natives is quite troublesome, so they decided to just destroy everything within their surroundings¡­


    He watched the recordings a few times to see how the Conveyor Spacecraft started the bombardment in the surroundings¡­


    As far as he knows, they shouldn''t have that much firepower since the spacecraft was meant to carry loads and not to act as the weapon itself¡­


    Nevertheless, Wace wasn''t too surprised since they should also have weapons to defend themselves. He just didn''t expect them to be as powerful as the one that the Invader Spaceship used¡­


    He saw the airships of Seiji and Kazan obliterated by the Empire''s powerful cannons andsers followed by various missiles to clean up the magicians on the ground¡­


    The magicians did their best to defend against all those heavy bombardments but perhaps, not even Sages would survive against the onught.


    He was really impressed that there are still some of them that survived¡­


    Various Grade 3 Mana Spells were used and some top-grade Mana Artifacts were sacrificed just to fend off a missile that woulde on their way¡­


    Finally, after all of this was done, the spaceships opened their linear catapult and sent out all of their Mech Frames to capture the surviving and weakened Magicians¡­


    "Avalon¡­ What can you suggest? Should I help them now?"


    [ No movement from the Imperial gship. No signs of nning to descend at this moment. We should wait for all of them to descend or we can try to help the State of Kazan a little. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ What kind of help?"


    [ You can just consider destroying all of the Mech Frames they sent out and leave. You can continue once the Floating Ind gets near¡­ You also have to watch your Astral Core''s energy. If they sent their Elite Soldiers out, it is highly rmended that you have to leave with the Void Phase. ]


    "I understand¡­"


    Wace nodded and epted the idea. He knows that even though he''s already very powerful, that is the standard of the Magicians.


    The Empire''s elites were all mutated humans and he wouldn''t be surprised if boarded on that spaceship were also from other Major Races of the gxy¡­


    No, that is actually what Avalon had considered that is why they are still being careful even at this point¡­


    Nevertheless, Wace has various Mana Artifacts, Secret Arts, and Mana Spells that he can use even without the Artifacts, so he would still consider himself as a very strong individual...


    Perhaps only a Celestial Being can beat him at this point if they fought straightforwardly.


    ''Well, I still don''t know how would I fare against the Khrusam¡­''


    Wace thought as he observed Veda''s Experimental Soldiers attack the Mech Frames.


    The Khrusam Race have simr qualities to a human but they have gold skin and a third eye on their forehead.


    They are certainly not a friendly race and they are known to be enemies with Fyoran Race. Because thetter joined the Gctic Federation, the powerful Khrusam Race decided to ally with the Meredith Empire¡­


    What''s troubling Wace is that this Race was capable of harnessing a very strange form of energy¡­


    Unlike the GH Drive, Raze Drive, and other technology to harness various known energy, the Khrusam Race uses a Corpse Furnace that incinerates ves for the Death Energy that they are capable of manipting¡­


    Then as if they can hear Wace, five figures left the Conqueror Starship and approached the surviving Terror Mages¡­


    The figures were simr to the Khrusam Race with their golden skin. They also have a slit on their forehead where their third eye should be.


    Wace stared at the screen showing the current situation¡­


    As he was considering what to do, Avalon informed him that Veda is contacting him on a private channel.


    He already has an idea of what the A.I. would say so he nodded at the floating metal ball.


    It seems that he really has to act now¡­

 Chapter 362 - Aliens Vs Magicians ( Part 4 )

    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The group of Terror Mages was thrown far away after the Empire''s massive scale bombardment¡­


    If not for their Mana Artifact and Armors made of Ancient Abyssal Alloy and ss, there was no way for them to survive even if they have the finest physique on this¡­


    Akhsar, the leader of their unit, nced at his surroundings. He could no longer recognize thend as it was ttened by the Spaceship''s cannons¡­


    However, he wasn''t scared at all¡­ It was weird¡­ It feels as though he was waiting for this moment of his life¡­ He wanted to engage more in battle and see who''s the strongest¡­


    He noticed his fellow Mages and realized that they are in the same mindset¡­


    Only 44 Terror Mages survived but none of them seem to be hesitating!


    Soon, they saw the Wolf''s Sledger Mech Frames and the Marauder Gears that were included in Veda''s report about their enemies¡­


    They know their technology called Psionic Pulse but they do not have any countermeasures with it but to just endure andunch an even more powerful attack against the enemy.


    Nevertheless, their physique can harness the high quality of Mana and their Arcane Link can be considered to have reached the peak¡­


    It means that they would be able to freely use all the Mana in the surroundings as long as their brain can handle it.


    "Move."


    It was just a single word but the Terror Mages acted as if they have heard series of instructions¡­


    They charged in formation and targeted the nearest Mech Framesing for them¡­


    After getting into range, they used their specialized Sword Mana Artifact called Terror de to sh the Mech Frames from afar¡­ Each Terror de contained a piece of Ancient Abyssal ss with such a mysterious form of energy and power¡­


    Hellion Break!


    This Mana Spell can be considered to be a Grade 3 after being cast by such powerful Mages¡­


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The Mech Frames didn''t idle and used their mini guns to shoot the small humans that are waving their des like children¡­


    nk! nk! nk!


    However, to their surprise, they were notified by their system that their Energy Barrier and Subspace Deflector was hit by something invisible¡­ Their energy supply was also cut by a huge chunk!


    They were visibly confused at first but med it on the mysterious power of the natives of this¡­


    After all, they were not new to a different race having unique traits or abilities¡­ Anyway, their mission remains as it is.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Due to the unusual attack of these natives, they decided to move around to avoid getting easily hit by the natives'' unknown superpowers¡­


    It seems to be quite effective as they were no longer notified by their system that they were hit by something.


    However, the natives weren''t done yet¡­


    "Petrification!"


    Akhsar and the two others who have the special Mana Artifact used them indefinitely!


    The Mech Frames flying extremely fast suddenly halted as their engines turned to stone¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Due to their momentum, the pilots were unable to remove themselves from the Mech Frames and they crashed together to the ground¡­


    The Terror Magicians continued their fighting method as they rely on their Ancient Abyssal Armor to take most of the bullets of the Mech Frames


    Whom~


    However, the Psionic Pulse of one of the Mech Frames activated!


    This weapon is supposedly meant to fight against spaceships!


    That''s right, the Wolf''s Sledger is a Mech Frame equipped with a weapon to deal with any spacecraft, specifically its crews inside¡­


    The Psionic Pulse is a form of missile or projectile that once it hit an object, will release a psionic wavelength that would slightly damage the object or perhaps spaceship and would severely injure the crews inside.


    It will result in debilitating agony that would almost never go away. It doesn''t necessarily kill, but the people hit by this will wish they were dead¡­


    Apparently, only the unique physique of the Empire''s people were capable of enduring this to arge degree¡­


    As for the elite imperial soldiers, they wouldn''t worry about such attacks as long as they were prepared for it.


    The Terror Magicians felt the pain and couldn''t do anything about it¡­ They heard about this and were only told to endure andunch a counter on the perpetuator.


    "Aaarrggh!"


    Akhsar roared as he gathered all his energy and threw his one-time Mana Artifact to the Mech Frame¡­


    It did not create an explosion or powerful force to destroy the machine, however, as soon as the Wolf''s Sledger was hit, ck chains started manifesting and slithered around the Mech¡­


    Despair Chains!


    Crack! Crack!


    The Mech Frame was strangled by the chains slowly until the machine could no longer take it¡­


    Boom!


    An explosion urred as the Mech was destroyed by the one-time Mana Artifact¡­


    The Terror Magicians can finally breathe even for a short time¡­


    ''Heh¡­ It seems like we''re being experimented on¡­ Are they testing our endurance here? Why are they not attacking all at once?''


    Akhsar noticed the weird actions of these Mech Frames. If they were attacked after they activated the Psionic Pulse, they would surely die on the spot. But the aliens decided to just watch them struggle and see how they would respond¡­


    Thud! Thud!


    They then heard something not too far from them¡­ They suddenly felt a chill on their skin¡­


    They nced at the source of the aura and noticed the floating city or the Conqueror Starship. They saw five figures of golden humansing at them¡­


    They are wearing long robes but Akhsar and the others can see their chest and face¡­ These gold-skinned humans don''t have hairs at all, not even eyebrows.


    Each of them is holding a staff and a bag which are also designed luxuriously like their robes.


    ''So, they''re the leader of these invaders?''


    This is what in mind of all the Terror Mages present. They noticed that the Mech Frames weren''t attacking and were all frozen on their spot¡­ It seems that they were beingmanded by this five¡­


    Nevertheless, this is a good time to take a rest and replenish their energy.


    "What now?"


    The Magicians nearest to Akhsar whispered¡­


    "We will die here¡­ However, we need to get as much information for Veda. Even if we sacrifice ourselves as long as we can force them to use their secret weapons, it should be worth the price."


    The leader resolutely said as he stared at the five figures¡­ They seem to be using a slim device to float and reach them quickly.


    As soon as they get into a certain distance, Akhsar heard them speak an unknownnguage. That was to be expected, they came from some other. He just smiled at them and said¡­


    "Get out of our! This is not yours!"


    His voice contained some anger in it¡­ Although the aliens wouldn''t understand it as well, they seem to have realized that he''s angry¡­


    The five aliens then decided tond on the ground as they were on equal footing.


    Whoosh!


    The five aliens suddenly waved their staves like they were doing a ritual.


    Bam!


    One of the Terror Mage with the weakest mana suddenly copsed!


    "Ottar!"


    The Terror Mages saw that their colleague just copsed and called his name.


    ''What?! Can they also use magic?!''


    Akhsar was shocked but he didn''t forget to act¡­


    Stone Wall!


    He decided to block their vision on them as his first move. He doesn''t know the trick behind the alien''s attack so they have to get away first¡­


    Anyway, it appears that the aliens can''t use their superpower from afar¡­


    Ice Spear!


    Wind Vortex!


    Water Ball!


    Other Elemental Mana Spells were used by his fellow Terror Mages as they distanced themselves from the five aliens¡­


    If the aliens tried to chase them, it means that they were already out of their attacking range¡­ or at least they would gain insight about the distance that the golden humans can use their unknown attack.


    However, Ottar suddenly floated and rushed towards the five!


    "Tsk! They are trying to capture him!" Akshar shouted as they decided tounch a full-frontal assault on the five golden aliens¡­


    "Charge!"


    If Ottar is conscious, he would surely consider using Mana Core Explosion to avoid being taken alive to the alien''s base.


    Veda has warned them on what could happen if they are captured by aliens so they know the danger that would follow¡­


    However, the aliens seem to be prepared as they waved their staff to signal the Mech Frames to attack them¡­


    ''Tsk! We messed up!''


    He noticed that the Mech Frames were about to activate their Psionic Pulse! It would be a disaster if this continues.


    However, as they were expecting themselves to be killed, a powerful auraposed of thick Mana and unknown warm energy appeared in their midst¡­


    They saw a small figure attempting to deal with the Mech Frame''s attack.


    They saw him raise his hands and pointed his palm at the Wolf''s Sledgers before grasping tightly on the air¡­


    It was such a simple move but Akhsar and the others can feel the energy used on that action. This was perhaps a Grade 4 Spell or higher...


    Crank! Crank!


    The Mech Frames suddenly crumpled as the young man clenched his fist¡­

 Chapter 363 - Aliens Vs Magicians ( Part 5 )

    The appearance of the figure that saved them from the certain death was very mystical¡­


    Akhsar and the remaining Terror Mages were unable to sense his presence until he released his energy in their midst.


    They didn''t sense any activation sequence of a Mana Artifact at all! It means the magic used by the figure was most likely his pure control of mana¡­


    If his control is already at this level, then the one in front of them was perhaps a Grand Sage or Grand Arcanist that they''ve heard about¡­


    Then, they heard the man utter some words while he was dealing with the Mech Frames and Marauder Gears around them.


    "Gather¡­ Hold each other''s hands, we will be leaving here¡­ We can''t fight them like this¡­"


    If a person equal to Grand Sage said that, then he must be right¡­ Anyway, it''s not like Veda wanted them to die here as well¡­


    Akhsar immediately signaled everyone as they gathered together and held each other''s arms¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Several explosions urred as the Mech Frames reached their limits¡­ They also noticed that the Golden-Skinned Humans were trying to do a ritual again and the Conqueror Starship is also readying their cannons!


    It seems that they really have to leave at this moment.


    Thud!


    The figure appeared in front of them as they finally recognized this person¡­ Their faces immediately lit up as they recognized him as one of Veda''s aplices¡­


    It seems that the mysterious being still cares about their group and sent someone to rescue them.


    Then, they saw the man touched one of the Terror Mage as their vision suddenly blurred¡­


    They closed their eyes as an instinct and before they even opened their eyes, they already realized that they are in a different ce¡­


    The cold breeze together with the warm sunlight and the smell of grass¡­ This ispletely different from the battlefield they were just in¡­


    "Where are we?"


    Akhsar asked after looking around¡­ The other Terror Mages were simrly confused as they looked around¡­


    Thud! Thud!


    The man who brought them here stepped forward and exined¡­


    "We are at one of my Floating Inds. You are all safe here at the moment¡­ Later on, we will be continuing our battle against the aliens¡­ This time, I would like to give you some other equipment¡­ I know that your Ancient Abyssal Armors and Artifact are already good. However, you can get stronger by using some of mine as well¡­"


    Wace said as he smiled at the group of Terror Mages. He didn''t want to borate about the new items since they were just additional weapons and would be exined further by Avalon¡­


    Before he used his Wide-Scale Void Phase, he was actually nning to catch one of the Khrusam''s mysterious attacks to gauge their power¡­


    However, after he crumpled the Mech Frames using his Astral Energy, he realized that the five Khrusam acted like they are also about to take him with them¡­


    He suddenly felt that he''s being pulled to them using some kind of gravitational force¡­ This is why he hastily activated the Void Phase as he may not have time to save the Terror Mages if he decided to try fighting the alien race.


    In the meantime, Wace decided to ask some questions to these Magicians¡­


    Before today, he thought that Veda is only working at the Cryptic Link Serum Project to create many Adept Mages in the country.


    However, the super A.I. actually extended its power in every country to create its own weapons against the Empire¡­


    Of course, Wace''s wasn''t mad at it for hiding its project¡­ After all, he and Ace didn''t really ask Veda about it¡­


    "Aside from being capable of wielding multiple Mana Artifact, what kind of changes were made in your body?"


    He wanted to ask the magicians instead of getting just a report from Veda¡­ After all, he wanted topare how different they are from his perspective as someone with an Astral Core¡­


    Akhsar, the leader of the group, stared at Wace¡­ He seemed to be hesitating to answer but after making considerations, he answered¡­


    "Most of them are physical enhancements. We are meant to be capable of fighting in close quarters against the alien race. We were told by Veda that the opponents within the spaceships would perhaps have an advantage when ites to the enhancement of their genes, however, our advantage is our ability to manipte mana¡­"


    "I see, you''re tasked is supposed to enter the spaceship? Is that right?"


    "Correct¡­ The Airships we have and the Flying Mage Battalion should hold the Mech Frames while we are finding ways to enter the spaceship. We are even prepared to make a hole in it if necessary using our Abyssal ss¡­ However¡­"


    "I didn''t go as nned¡­"


    Wace continued¡­ He already saw what happened as the Empire''s spaceship brutally destroyed the beautifulnd of their country.


    However, this allowed them to gauge the strength of the spaceships¡­ The record of the battle that has urred would be distributed to every leader of the country.


    This would give them an idea about the power of the aliens and perhapse up with a countermeasure.


    It may not be unlikely that they could find an effective way to defend against it, but at the very least, they wouldn''t be clueless about the things that each spaceship can do.


    "Very well¡­ Rest up¡­ The war isn''t over yet. Our next assault with these floating inds would be the deciding factor¡­"


    Wace said as he left them for now¡­


    He nced at the maind that couldn''t be seen by now as he recalled the Celestial Being who came here to the southern continent with him.


    The Celestial Being is currently hiding somewherefortable and wouldn''t join the fight unless he fulfilled some of its conditions. One of them is to find someone stronger than him in a battle and the other one is to bring him to outer space¡­


    Wace actually thought that there should no longer be a problem to send the Celestial to outer space. After all, theary Wide Shield that Prince Zaimphail made no longer has any purpose since the Empire is already here¡­


    It has already thinned out that it could no longer block the traces of the magical¡­


    "Well, should I ask it to destroy that one ck Sovereign?"


    Wace is referring to the spaceship that has a huge chance of possessing another Cube of Paradox.


    He was unable to destroy it at thest time because the Imperial gship and the others managed to get out of their restrictive Mana Spells.


    ''No, I should wait for Ace''s strategy¡­''


    Since the Imperial gship is currently orbiting their, it is still technically under Ace''s jurisdiction¡­ And as he knows himself well, he wouldn''t let this opportunity pass without trying to mess with them even once.


    For now, what he should worry about is the spaceships here¡­


    "Avalon, I think that they should know about the existence of other alien races aside from Arians. Release the information about the Khrusam Race."


    [ To the public or the leaders? ]


    "Mhmmm¡­ Give it to the council of war in each country. Let them decide what to do with it."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    ***


    Lacus is currently practicing the modifications that Wace made on their Secret Art: AOTL¡­


    She''s not sure whether she''ll use it against the Aliens but learning something new makes her feel better.


    After all, she felt that her power became stagnant¡­


    She was no longer improving and her talent as an Arcane Artificer had also reached a bottleneck¡­


    Aside from imbuing Electricity on her Magic Structures and have her Mana Spells contain them, she wouldn''t have anything new from her 6th Generation Mana Artifact.


    This was when Wace informed her that their most powerful technique can be improved again. He even mentioned that ine Allusia, the Grand Arcanist, and their master, was also mastering this technique for a while now¡­


    After hearing that, who wouldn''t be interested in it?


    She''s clearly aware of the strength of the Esteemed Grand Arcanist and it would be a great honor for her if they are actually both doing their best to learn it¡­


    It just motivated her and made her keep practicing¡­


    "Young Miss, we received a report about the current situation of the State of Kazan¡­"


    Clyne Troyard, the butler and manager of the Cloud Hawk manor, reported to the first apprentice.


    "What happened? Are they sessful?"


    "No, young miss¡­ It appears that millions of lives have been sacrificed for us to learn their unimaginable power."


    Clyne then ryed the information to Lacus as thetter became lost in thought.


    "Khrusam Race¡­ How terrifying¡­"


    Lacus muttered after reading the information that Wace distributed¡­ It contains the power of the said alien race and they seem to be very powerful and uses unique powerparable to some of their Mana Spells.


    However, the man at least provided them the weakness of the Khrusam Race, their third eye¡­ Though it is still questionable whether they can actually attack it¡­

 Chapter 364 - Greed

    Even Avalon barely has any information about the alien race that were together with the Empire aside from the information they have that was given by the Fyoran Race.


    After all, the Gctic Federation didn''t really wage war against the other race... When the Fyorans moved to the territory of the Federation, the Khrusams no longer attacked and decided to just ally with the Empire to have an opportunity once they got into a huge war...


    At the very least, the Khrusam Race still knows that it needed to respect the power of the Federation.


    The extremely advanced technology of humans was something that they could not easily imitate... Aside from that, the adaptability and resourcefulness of the humans was also something to be noted since many of the alien races'' technology that went into their hands became even more powerful once they decided to use them to their advantage.


    "Avalon... Why are they enemies with the Fyorans anyway?" Wace asked as he went further inside the Floating Ind.


    [ The Khrusam Race were previously ves of the Fyorans before they were awakened into a mighty species. ]


    "Oh... So they aren''t this powerful before?" It was quite shocking¡­


    Since he wasn''t good at other race''s history and focused on learning about Mech Frames and other stuff, he was quite baffled hearing that these powerful beings were ves before.


    [ Based on the records, that is right. They were ves for more than 400 years on their own before one of the Khrusams discovered the hidden potential of their bodies that lead to a massive rebellion and hunting of the Fyoran Race. ]


    "Four hundred years, huh¡­ They must be really angry then." Wace couldn''t imagine the long 400 years since he wasn''t that old yet.


    Nevertheless, he could guess how they are treated during those times to have such a deep grudge against their whole race...


    "When you said awakened, you mean their third eyes, right?" He rified.


    [ Yes... Their third eye made them see the so-called death energy that would allow them to manipte it to do their biddings... Their Corpse Furnace amplifies this power to arge degree and it could equal the GH Drive based on the reports. ] Avalon dutifully answered his inquiries.


    Wace nodded at this. It was enough to know something about the Khrusam Race. At this point, the information that they can only use was about their third eye and physique.


    He learned that they are also immune to any kind of hypnosis or perhaps spells that has simr effects¡­


    "I understand... Anyway, send someone to these Terror Magicians, we have to make sure that they are all in good condition before we continue the war."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    After making an arrangement with Avalon, Wace opened his Dimensional Storage Space... It contains many things like an inanimate bird, his Lotus Mech, a mini-Positron Impulse Cannon, a couple of thetest version of Elysiums, and many other misceneous things.


    After a few moments, Wace pulled out one of his suitcases...


    It contains one of his Bio Armors equipped with special knives made of a meteorite or alloy that he''s not aware of... He doesn''t really care about its name as long as it''s sharp and could slice many things.


    The reason he pulled this out is simple, it wouldn''t just protect his physical body but also various alien technology.


    It must be remembered that this is thetest technology of the Gctic Federation before he was sent here.


    He had also let Aeolia look at it to see if there''s anything he can do about it. Apparently, the old man simply soaked it in a pool simr to Mana Rejuvenation Spring but this time, it was the Northern Continent''s version.


    "How much time do we have left, Avalon?" Wace asked after readying the suitcase.


    [ ¡­Fifty-two minutes and forty seconds before we reach their sight. ]


    "Mhmm¡­"


    Wace doubts that the enemy can monitor their floating inds with their Cloaking Magic Array activated¡­


    Unless they''ve seen it on the horizon, they should not be capable of finding them.


    "That''s plenty of time. Connect me to the Kazan''s Council of War or perhaps the Seiji''s. Whichever you can contact¡­"


    The young man said as he would be conducting arge-scale operation¡­ There are three floating indsing their way and he must inform the authorities as they might think that he''s part of the aliens as well¡­


    It would be too much work if they decided to open fire at him as well.


    ***


    As per Wace''s knowledge, Seiji is a democratic country so he''s expecting that he''ll be able to reach agreements with them as long as he could sway the majority of their council.


    However, as soon as he tried contacting them, he was actually denied ess to their country!


    The old representative of the State of Kazan even shouted at him as soon as he stated his reason.


    "Hmph! They decided tond in our territory¡­ Now, you wanted to take them away from us?!"


    "Huh?"


    Wace was a bit dumbfounded at his words. He''s willing to help them fight the Meredith Empire¡­ However, they are refusing?


    He looked at the long table showing on the screen. There are about 12 council members right now and all of them are nodding their heads at the old man''s words.


    The young man was speechless as he looked at the man seated at the end of the table. His robe indicates that he''s from the Seiji¡­ It means that this guy must have thest say on this matter. After all, Kazan is just part of their weaker allies¡­


    The old man seems to have noticed his gaze as he simr stared at him¡­


    "You really want me to stay away? Are you capable of fighting the Empire''s soldiers? I believe that I gave you their information already¡­"


    Wace tried to convince them once more¡­ He actually wanted to cooperate with them since he can''t bring an army with him here¡­


    He''s nning to borrow their magicians so once he used his Floating Inds as his bombardment, their magicians would somehow clean up the remaining soldiers of the Empire for him¡­


    But at this rate, it seems that Wace is not wee to do anything for them.


    "The information was given by Veda¡­ But anyway, we are thankful for your service, especially for what you''ve done above... However, this is ournd, our¡­ They may be strong in outer space but we will take care of them here on ournd. Though there might be a lot of blood to be spilled, this is part of our duty¡­"


    The old man from Seiji replied. It was followed by cheers of the other men surrounding him¡­


    "This¡­"


    Wace was already thinking of just ignoring their request and continue with his ns to attack the spaceships of the Empire¡­


    However, he suddenly heard one of them saying something in a low voice¡­


    "Hmph¡­ Those spaceships will be ours¡­ You will no longer dominate the skies and moon once we get our hands on them¡­"


    Wace squinted his eyes after hearing this¡­


    It is now clear to him¡­ This is not because they are patriotic and wanted to take things into their hands, they are seeing the profit that these spaceships or aliens can give them once they managed to defeat them using their own forces¡­


    It is their greed that would bring the downfall of their countries.


    Well, it''s true that Wace would have the rights to take some of the spaceship''s parts and technology if they secured it after the battle¡­ However, he wasn''t interested in that!


    What he wanted is for the Empire to bepletely eradicated once they entered the!


    Taking their spaceships for himself or something like that wasn''t in his thoughts at all!


    ''Haa~ I''ve underestimated them.''


    The young man can only sigh after hearing this¡­


    He ended his conversation with them as he felt that it wouldn''t give him any good results anyway¡­


    Instead, he asked Avalon for his opinion.


    "What do you think we should do now¡­ Avalon? Should I still stick my nose in this?"


    [ You don''t have to hurry. Let''s wait for them to realize the power of the Empire. It appears that they aren''t taking them seriously even after what they''ve seen. ]


    "Does it mean that they have another trump card or something?"


    [ Most likely. Seiji is a nation that even the Four Allied Countries didn''t dare to provoke¡­ If Veda assisted them in other projects, they might have something aside from these Magicians with enhanced genes. ]


    Avalon replied.


    Wace took a deep breath as he wanted to think what is the best course of action right now¡­


    He might be able to save more people if he acted with them but¡­


    "I''m not a saint. This is the path they''ve chosen. I''ll respect their decision as a fellow magician. Avalon, we will stop the Floating Inds for now¡­ We will observe the situation and act after the two nations are defeated."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace then left the secret room of the floating inds¡­ He informed the Terror Magicians about the decision of the council to stop him from entering their territory¡­


    After hearing this, everyone has mixed reactions as they were torn whether they would request to return to the country or stay here with Wace¡­

 Chapter 365 - Confusion

    Akhsar wanted to clear his doubts from the news that Wace told them so he asked a few more questions.


    "Are they aware of our current situation?"


    The young man looked at the leader of the Terror Mages. The man still doesn''t look well even after receiving medicines and even health potions.


    Due to the modifications on their bodies, normal treatment isn''t that effective on them¡­ Wace took note of it before answering his question.


    "No¡­ I think that they are convinced that all of you have sacrificed your lives for them to learn the extent of Alien''s power."


    He answered truthfully. His conversation with the council made him aware that they were already nning to do something against the spaceships even without the Terror Mage''s help¡­


    It appears that Seiji and its allied countries were just truly curious about the power that the aliens could release afternding on this.


    They were fully aware of the casualties that could happen or the lives that could be taken. However, they are willing to gamble on it so they can take the spaceship''s technology and other resources.


    He exined to them the ns of the Council.


    "What? They want to take the spaceship for themselves?"


    "I-I can''t believe this¡­ I''m sure that Veda already informed how powerful they are."


    "That''s right¡­ There''s no way they''ll fight the Alien Empire after seeing their destructive power."


    "Haa~ They might have another trump card that we''re not aware of¡­ I think we should observe their actions for now."


    The remaining Terror Mages were all citizens and soldiers of the Seiji. Their loyalty remains the same and they wanted to help their country defeat the invaders.


    However, if they acted on their own, they might be a nuisance to their ns.


    "We need to contact them and learn about their ns first¡­"


    "No¡­ I think we should remain here and just observe¡­ We should''ve died in that ce if not for the Sir who saved us¡­ I think it is better to follow him for now until we fully grasp the situation."


    They all have varying opinions so Wace left them for now and told Avalon to let him know once they reached a conclusion¡­


    Anyway, he hadn''t provided them his Mana Artifacts and advanced tech weapons yet¡­ They can still back out if they wanted since he doesn''t want to force anyone into helping him.


    They would have a choice on how they would want to fight the Aliens¡­


    In the meantime, he returned to one of the secret rooms within the ind and decided to watch how the Seiji''s Allied Forces would fight against the Empire¡­


    He ordered Avalon to intensify its monitoring since he has a bad feeling about Seiji''s n. After that, he also ordered the A.I. to connect him to Veda.


    ***


    While Wace and the others on the surface were dealing with the Empire''s Vanguard that descended first on the, Ace continued observing the Imperial gship''s entourage as they orbited without taking any actions¡­


    They were perhaps monitoring the performance of the Invader, Conqueror, and Conveyor Spaceships that were first sent¡­


    It was a good move for them and this is what he didn''t want to happen. After all, this means that they were not feeling threatened by their forces in outer space so they dared to remove some of the battleships that are protecting the gship.


    ''No¡­ Are they trying to bait me?''


    Ace was a bit lost in thought¡­ The five Conqueror Starships are nowhere to be seen, several spaceships had also descended to the Magic Earth¡­


    ''This is perhaps their weakest lineup. However, they should know that Providence and the other magicians were still present and roaming around. They can''t be this careless¡­ Haa~ Perhaps they''re just confident that we won''t be able to do anything on them?''


    It wouldn''t be surprising if they are thinking that way¡­ They have perhaps made a countermeasure against their surprise attacks and annoying restrictive mana spells¡­


    ''Let''s just wait a bit more¡­ I need to be patient¡­''


    Ace said to himself as he tried to create a n on how to force these invaders tond together¡­ He clearly recognized the trouble and headache they can give if they decided tond just everywhere on the continent.


    [ The Captain of the Providence wanted to speak with you. ]


    Avalon suddenly notified Ace¡­


    The said mid-tier battleship was still not docked on their Moon Base to avoid getting noticed by the Empire''s forces¡­ They are still on standby and in their invisible mode not too from the moon.


    The currently assigned captain of this spaceship is Jared Faust¡­ He''s not a new person in his crew as he arrived on the moon base on their second recruitment process¡­


    This person was previously together with Wace when they take the apprentice examination in the Cloud Hawk Manor of the Grand Arcanist.


    "Sir, everyone has recovered, there are no serious injuries anyway. May I ask what''s the situation? We have closed most of our sensors aside from the ones powered by mana¡­"


    "I understand¡­ The Imperial gship is still orbiting the. We are to wait until they decided to descend¡­"


    "Are we not going to fight?"


    "No¡­ It''s difficult¡­ We lost the Excellence¡­ The Providence alone would bring us a lot of problems if they decided to use their full fighting force."


    "Very well¡­ The supplies here canst us for more than a month. So I think there shouldn''t be a problem."


    "That''s good to hear, Jared¡­ Tell the engineer to properly maintain the Mech Knights, in case we need to do an operation we''ll consider whether we can get some help from a few units."


    "Got it¡­"


    Jared replied as he reported that some of the Adept Mages had actually acquired parts of the Dragon''s Warrior Mech! They just found out about it a couple of minutes ago and immediately contacted him¡­


    At first, they thought that it was just a destroyed part of their Mech Knights but as they investigated further, they realized that the structure waspletely different from what they have.


    The Adept Mages who found it thought of just getting it to bring something to the engineers and salvage any parts that can still be used for repairs and reconstruction of the Mech.


    But it turned out to be a core of the alien''s Mech Frame that failed to explode when they attempted suicide¡­


    "Great! Let Avalon take a look at it¡­"


    [ I just received their report. I''m working on it now. ]


    "Alright¡­ I''ll leave it to you¡­"

 Chapter 366 - Traitorous Act

    This is turningpletely different from what he envisioned.


    Wace just found out that the Seiji and its allies were trying to negotiate with the Empire!


    They were actually nning to attemptmunicating with them and have some peace talks or perhaps even ally with them!


    This is absurd!


    "Avalon, can you rify the information you got?"


    [ Yes. As per your instructions, I monitored their actions and listened to their conversations secretly. Grand Sage Magnum, the leader of the Council of War, wanted to show off their real forces and power to the Empire¡­ They will not try to attack them as they are nning to offer half of the continent to the Empire, as long as their countries would be under their wing. ]


    To think that the nations of thisnd would have this grudge against another country that they are willing to sell thends to an unknown species from outer space!


    Wace had truly underestimated the greed and selfishness of these people. He thought that it was enough for them to learn the cruelty of the aliens through the Virtual World game called Alien Invasion.


    They''ve even seen Ace''s battle in outer space!


    However, instead of being afraid and joining forces with other nations, these people actually thought of joining the enemy to save themselves!


    Wace is expecting to watch the battle between the Seiji''s forces and the Empire¡­ He''s nning to assist them once they realized that they couldn''t fight them. But it seems that it wouldn''t work like that¡­


    He had to change his ns.


    "Tell me¡­ What should I do, Avalon?"


    [ Same. Fight the Empire. ]


    "Y-yeah¡­ But do you think that the Empire will help them?"


    With the advanced A.I.s of the Empire, they would surely easily learn thenguage of this world. As a matter of fact, they might even be aware of it already.


    It means thatmunication would not be a problem between them¡­


    [ Yes. However, they will just be used. Once they served their purpose, they will be eradicated or be ves. It has always been like that. ]


    "Thought so¡­"


    Perhaps, the Empire would also take some good bodies of magicians to be sacrificed and experimented with¡­ After all, it would be a perfect opportunity for them to capture an untainted sample since taking magicians through forceful means can be quite dangerous to their target as well.


    "Haa~ They actually added to my problems¡­ Should I just kill them?"


    [ Good idea. But initiating an internal fight is not a good image. You can consider waiting for them to truly establish some connection then eliminate them in one go. We would also have time to prepare a stronger force¡­ ]


    Avalon suggested after considering many things. Well, he still has to respect the internationalws even though they are in this crisis. If he''s the one who''s going to decide, he''ll just ignore it and fight the empire with his full force without care to the other nation''s opinion¡­


    However, because the nations haven''t fully realized the threat of their extinction that these aliens could literally do, the peace and order of these countries would just turn into chaos if he did things on his own without thinking of the boundaries of these nations.


    He can''t create more chaos now and deal with this one by one¡­


    ''Alright¡­ Since you want to join the Empire, I''ll let you¡­ Good luck on that¡­ However, once you joined them, you''ll be considered as my enemy as well.''


    Wace closed his eyes and visualized the various scenarios that could happen once they attempted to negotiate with the empire.


    ''I could probably eliminate most of the magicians excluding the Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists they have¡­ However, that would consume my Astral Energy¡­ I wouldn''t have enough energy to deal with the Khrusam¡­ It''s also too early to ask the Celestial Being to act¡­ Haa~ It''s even better if I asked him to just fly out and attempt to fight the gship in space¡­ No¡­ Perhaps, I''m thinking too much¡­''


    Wace suddenly had an idea on how to deal with this situation¡­


    He went silent for about five minutes before standing up from where he was seated¡­


    "Alright¡­ For now, Avalon, I need you to inform Zairus about the information. Make sure that only the higher-ups are aware of this¡­"


    [ You mean the Council of War? ]


    "That''s right..." Wace replied as he went out to meet the Terror Mages again to speak with them.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon did as it was told and revealed the information to the people that Wace trusts.


    Time quickly passed and Veda finally answered his request to talk with him.


    Wace had almost thought that the A.I. is avoiding him!


    "Veda... What''s going on with Seiji? Why are they nning to join forces with the Empire?"


    [ Join forces? Those idiots... ]


    ***


    Arge part of the Lucent Force has just arrived in front of Mount Ravencroft.


    They are weed by several automatons equipped with Mana Artifacts!


    Their movements were all human-like and they could converse really well with people which is quite scary¡­


    Some of them even had a thought that Wace had turned some of the yers in his game to be these automatons and trapped their souls inside.


    Nevertheless, they know that it shouldn''t be that exaggerated.


    "What now, Falcon? Are you sure that we should be following these automatons?"


    Falcon was surprisingly the leader of the group although he is the youngest of them all.


    "I have previous arrangements with Wace. It''s fine."


    Falcon said and he didn''t even nce at Owl who asked the question.


    Apparently, they were here not because they have problems with the Lucent Knights they bought from that man but because they needed a stronger airship¡­


    The Veritas Group can indeed provide them several floating airships powered by pure Magic to transport their Knights but it wasn''t as effective as Wace''s creations or needless to say, his mid-size transatmospheric battleships.


    These battleships were tons better than the airships though they are much more expensive¡­ However, if they get one of these, they would also have the means to visit outer space in the future as long as they were allowed by Wace to use his Mass Driver¡­


    Anyways, there was no way that they would be defeated by these aliens now that every nation is cooperating to fight them¡­


    Ring! Ring!


    Time has passed and as they reached the hangar where the Mech Knights and few Battleships are docked, hismunication device rang and it came from Aaron, the young master and currently the acting leader of their Lucent Force¡­


    Falcon is hoping for a piece of good news as he answered the call.

 Chapter 367 - News

    Veda seems to be unaware that the Seiji''s Alliance was nning to negotiate with the Empire.


    "Just what did you tell them? How did they get an idea that they can ally with the Empire?"


    Wace asked as he''s really curious about this. Veda is the one who mostly provided these people the information about the Aliens...


    After all, the A.I. has a much wider range ofworks than Avalon when ites to these nations


    [ I provided them information about the power of the Empire. That''s it. I showed them the advanced technology that they would have and the number of armies they can mobilize. I also included the possible gene enhancement they have so they''ll have a good grasp on their power. ]


    "How long was it when you stoppedmunicating with them?"


    [ Well, we mostly have one-sided information. They are asking me, I''m answering them. ]


    "I mean, about their ns to fight against the Empire¡­ They didn''t bother consulting you?"


    [ No. After I helped them with the Terror Mages, Earth Mages, and Metal Mages, I left the decision-making to them¡­ ]


    Wace smiled wryly at this¡­ It seems that Veda is truly unaware of the Seiji''s Alliance n¡­


    "So you still have other types of experimented Mages¡­"


    [ What do you mean? ]


    "The Mages aside from the Terrors¡­ Their survivors are on one of my floating inds."


    [ Is that so? They''re the perfected ones that we have¡­ The Earth and Metal Mages were a bit too unbnced. These Terror Magicians you have can activate multiple Mana Artifacts and even using the Ancient Abyssal items is possible. ]


    "I understand¡­ It seems that they''ll be using these mages to confront the Empire, then¡­ Do they have other trump cards they can use?"


    [ Of course. Seiji and Utara have abundant Fire Mana Beasts in theirnds. ]


    "Hmm?"


    Wace was a bit confused about the involvement of these Mana Beasts.


    [ This means that they have mountains of Fire Beast Cores. You should know its purpose. ]


    Wace blinked his eyes for a moment before understanding¡­ This A.I. is actually making him guess instead of answering. This Veda doesn''t feel like an Artificial Intelligence at all.


    "So you''re saying they have tons of Molten Cores or Steel Knights."


    Unlike Wace''s Mech Knights that uses the Reactor that he made with Avalon, the other nations use Molten Core as their source of energy for their Knights¡­


    It was a shame that the cores of the Celestial Army ¨C Iron Knight Brigade that was found in the northern continent can''t be replicated¡­


    If they could actually copy the Zaimphail Reactor used on the Iron Knights, the Steel Knights that they''ve made could surely equal his Mech Knights in terms of firepower.


    [ Correct. Especially the Seiji, they have turned a whole city into a Steel Knight Factory¡­ They are probably making 50 Steel Knights everyday¡­ ]


    "That fast?"


    [ Yes¡­ They are calling it Superior Knights which can be very embarrassing so I''m just calling it Seiji''s Mech Knights. ]


    Wace nodded at this. This A.I. is truly one of a kind.


    Nevertheless, it was good to know that Veda has a clear picture of the power of their Alliance.


    "Can you upload to Avalon everything you know about the four nations? Especially about their military prowess."


    Wace is obviously referring to Seiji, Guwain, Utara, and Kazan.


    [ Very well¡­ It''s done. What you only have to pay attention to is Seiji. The three nations were just supplying the country to create Mana Artifacts, Mech Knights, Airships, and other weapons for them. Although they have armies of their own, they weren''t that impressive and their Artifacts were already outdated. ]


    "I understand. Thank you for informing me."


    [ Is there anything else? ]


    "Well, do you have a suggestion? If they really helped the Empire¡­ I''ll be killing them together with Empire¡­ I''m pretty sure you''ve noticed the Khrusam Race, right?"


    [ Correct¡­ You''re right¡­ I don''t mind if you kill them. Just make sure that they really allied to the Empire so you won''t feel guiltyter on. ]


    "Of course. I''ll be the one observing them."


    [ Very well. If that''s all, I''ll continue with the creations of the 7th Generation Mana Artifact. This is not easy, you know? ]


    "Oh right¡­ How was the progress?"


    [ It''s looking good. But I need more time. ]


    "How many people have been sacrificed?" Wace asked in a low voice¡­ He''s not clueless about the life of the Magicians being taken for Veda to experiment with and create the 7th Gen.


    He knows it fully well that''s why he wanted the A.I. to finish it as quickly as possible. It''s not like there is an infinite number of criminal Magicians that deserve to die¡­


    The Lucent Force that is currently supplying them may soon run out as well.


    ***


    Falcon went silent after hearing their young master''s news¡­


    "Thank you for informing us, Young Master Aaron. You might be busy with the council works. I won''t take much of your time now."


    He ended the conversation as he stared nkly at the hangar filled with incredible creations¡­ He was lost in thought due to the sudden news.


    Owl, who was beside him, noticed the man''s unusual expression so he quickly inquired.


    "What''s the call about, Falcon? Don''t put suspense now, would you?"


    Thetter smiled wryly at his friend and ryed the news to him. Although he''s not supposed to spread the information, Aaron said that it''s fine for the top-ranking Lucent Force members to know of this information.


    After all, they are the ones mostly leading the operations to fight against the possible alien invasion in their country. They have many units of Lucent Force spread throughout the whole country and would act as the vanguard against the Meredith Empire.


    Aside from that, the Lucent Force has a spywork across the enemy countries and they would surely have more information about them in case they truly have to fight against them.


    "The Seiji Alliance would most likely betray us..." Falcon informed the man in a few words.


    "Betray?"


    "Yes, they might be nning to negotiate with the Empire and help them conquer the as long as they were spared."


    "What?! That''s absurd¡­ Who would negotiate with aliens?"


    Owl couldn''t believe what he just heard. Maybe because he yed the Alien Invasion, he''s ustomed that Aliens were synonymous with invaders of the others.


    It means that negotiating would be impossible unless they are on the stronger side.


    However, based on the power that the Empire had shown in outer space, they surely have an advantage in this fight.


    "Haa~ I don''t want to think about this for now¡­ I''m sure that the Council would do something about it¡­ No, perhaps Wace is already thinking of something to deal with this¡­ Let''s just do what we can for now until we confirmed that they really allied themselves to the aliens. Anyway, the Seiji is only nning their move at this time."


    "I hope you''re right¡­"


    Owl understood the gravity of this situation.


    If Seiji truly intends to cooperate with the Empire, all their secrets would be revealed. These secrets are numerous like the power of their Mana Artifacts, the levels of their Mana Spells, the restriction for using them, and many other things that should be an advantage for them if the aliens are not aware of it.


    nk! nk! nk!


    The automatons that are working to build another spaceship can be seen applying the enhanced metals to the structure.


    The Lucent Force looked at them and marveled at these automatons working nonstop.


    Owl and Falcon can only sigh as they came here to see the spaceship that Wace is willing to sell.


    They have to forget about the matters of the war in the faraway country for now and focus on improving the conditions of their soldiers.


    If they managed to get this deal, their Lucent Knights and Magicians would have a decent carrier and would perhaps help them improve their battle performance¡­


    ***


    In outer space, Ace and Escanor, who are at themand center noticed a sudden change in the Imperial gship''s movements.


    It is actually moving away from its entourage!


    The gship may be extremely confident of surviving an ambush or perhaps it''s just a technique to bait out the Providence and other magicians¡­


    However, as they were guessing of the reason, they suddenly notice a white light being emitted in one of the spaceships.


    It is the ck Sovereign to be precise.


    The same spaceship that has a suspected Cube of Paradox within.


    Ace squinted his eyes and tried to understand what was going in.


    "Avalon¡­ Do you have an idea?"


    [ None. However, emitting white light is not new. It happened before when the Last Cycle Protocol was activated in your previous spaceship. ]


    "Ahh¡­ I remember now¡­" Ace replied but he doubts that the ck Sovereign is about to fly at the speed of light.


    If he would guess, they are perhaps attempting tomunicate using the Dark Net or something simr.

 Chapter 368 - Threats

    Everyone within themand center started getting curious about the glowing ck Sovereign.


    It looks beautiful but at the same time, they know that it''s probably not good for them.


    Escanor looked at Ace to see whether he knows what''s happening as well but the young man seemed to be confused like them¡­ The alien''s actions was also not listen to Avalon''s information¡­ The closest one is that they are perhaps activating self-destruction but there''s no way that they would do that in their current situation.


    As they were guessing the purpose of this action, the ck Sovereign continued lighting up nothing happened after a while.


    "This¡­"


    The bright lightsted a couple of minutes before disappearing without doing any significant changes in the surroundings.


    "Are they experimenting on something?"


    Escanor asked but he''s not expecting to have an answer¡­ It''s not like they can see what''s happening inside the spaceship.


    "You''re probably right¡­"


    Ace muttered as he silently hopes that they haven''t learned how to ess the Cube of Paradox yet¡­


    "No, even if they have ess, it will still take time for them to get stronger using that item¡­"


    Ace recalled the time that was spent doing various missions to gain stronger and better rewards.


    After all, the item is truly meant to guide the members of Mayan''s Royal Family ording to the evolved Pathfinder before.


    It may even be good that they''ll use it like that instead of using it as a source of energy¡­ After all, the Cube has the power to create a barrier around the! Although the Magic Array made by the prince helped it from having a self-sustain function, it is still very impressive to have itst that long.


    In the meantime, Ace formted another n topletely finish off the five damaged Conqueror Starship¡­


    They just managed to destroy the core parts of these spaceships due to their limited Celestial Blood and hadn''t really killed anyone within those vessels.


    If they left them like that, they might be able to repair themselves after some time since he could guess that the Conveyor Spacecraft has already left them with enough materials to fix their spacecraft¡­ After all, that is the purpose of the multiple Conveyor Spacecraft in their fleet.


    If they managed to join the war on the, it would be very huge trouble to the magicians as even just one of them can perhaps invade a nation with any troubles.


    ***


    At Matze ins, about 10 kilometers away from the site where the Empire hasnded, a group of hundred thousand soldiers was gathered.


    They were all wearing the uniform of the Kazan Army¡­


    From these hundred thousand people, about five thousand of them are wearing blue armbands indicating that they are all Combat Magicians or perhaps Adept Mages of various levels¡­


    This is the main force of the State of Kazan as the one led by the Terror Mages of Seiji before was just their fast action units.


    Nevertheless, behind these soldiers were lines of various vehicles carryingrge-size Mana Artifacts meant for a siege.


    They are the best invention of the nation called King Turret¡­ It doesn''t just have the power of multiple elemental spells but can be said to be a mini mage tower that could create barriers for the Magicians within its range¡­


    This invention may have been around for three decades already but it had always been powerful¡­ They have even improved it a few times and increased its durability which was its main problem before.


    Their army is looking strong and the soldiers felt confident that they can win against the aliens even though the first group was wiped out¡­


    "We are to march on the Bam Region where the Aliens have descended! Do not be afraid! The goddess is watching over us!"


    The words of the generals were followed by the battle cries of the soldiers.


    Aside from the five vice-generals with him, no one is aware of the true ns of their leaders.


    Their soldiers were ready to sacrifice themselves for their country to fight the invaders but they do not have an idea that the council of war has already nned to negotiate with the aliens.


    Zephon, the general of these massive soldiers, sighed as he rid his battle horse¡­


    That''s right¡­ Although there are already vehicles and airships, the Sage decided to use his favorite horse and apany the foot soldiers.


    Not only was it because he''s confident about the power of his Mana Artifacts, but he''s also convinced that being with the steed would help him be calm and collected throughout this whole march.


    Zephon knows that if the negotiation failed, he would have to ensure that they''ll be able to defend themselves andunch an attack effectively using their Turrets¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ This is so risky¡­ Although our offers might be good, it is still a question of whether they would be satisfied with it or ask for more. Even if they epted it, what would happen after they destroyed the other nations, are we going to live with them peacefully?''


    The old general has many questions about the decision of the council¡­ He met the leader of the Seiji''s Army and knows that he''s an ambitious man¡­


    He probably wanted to join the Gctic Force and have free ess to the civilization outside their.


    It is indeed very enticing to such a man who had probably grown tired of this. They probably wanted to expand their horizons and be engaged with these aliens¡­


    However, for him, he would rather send away these aliens than negotiating with them. After all, aside from the information they received from Veda and Wace''s broadcast about these aliens, they know nothing about them¡­


    If they misjudged them, they would surely suffer a terrible defeat¡­ If their main force here was also wiped out¡­ Then he can say that this country is done for¡­


    The aliens would probably use this ind country as their base of operations before they would try to conquer the maind¡­


    ''I''ve already sent my family to Guwain¡­ I have nothing more to lose¡­''


    Zephon thought for a while as he leads the soldiers on the ground¡­


    They were followed by fifty more airships and hundreds of King Turrets as they marched towards the alien spaceships¡­


    Perhaps, their fate would be decided in just a few minutes but none of them seem to be afraid of dying as they marched filled with energy.


    ***


    "Can we really use this spaceship?" Falcon asked the automaton beside him. They are expecting a shabby-looking spaceship with the price they paid but what was in front of them looks even stronger than the first spaceship or Excellence.


    The one in front of them has three linear catapults and a lot more armaments¡­


    He nced at the other information as well to confirm its prowess.


    [ ssification: Transatmospheric Battleship


    Model Number: WMR-140


    Official Name: ze


    Overall Length: 410 m


    Propulsion System: 20 x Thruster ]


    [ Main Armament:


    - Positron Cannon


    - Primary Beam Gun


    - Secondary Beam Gun


    - Ground Missiles


    - Interceptor Missiles


    - 10 Enhanced Turrets ]


    [ Magic Armaments:


    - 2 Mana ster


    - 2 Mana Bomb Launcher


    - 5 Petrification Caster


    - 4 Laser Focus


    - 10 Magic Enhanced Turrets ]


    [ Equipment


    - Mana Battery - Power Generator


    - Space Booster ]


    Though it is still small than the spaceships used by the aliens, the one in front of them seems to be much more capable than the ones that were firstunched to outer space. It is muchrger and it also has a lot more magic-based damage dealers.


    It feels like they really considered the people who will be using the spaceship.


    [ This is the one designed by Wace himself. He said that you guys needed this battleship to fight here on the surface than space, so he decided to remove a few armaments meant for outer space and added more firepower meant onnd. ]


    The automaton, which is obviously Avalon, answered Falcon''s doubts.


    Wace didn''t mind spending more on these elite magicians since they will be a huge helpter on¡­


    Their increase in their power would also be an increase in his forces.


    "This is great¡­ I would like to test them now."


    [ Alright. Have youpleted reading the manual? ]


    "Of course¡­"


    [ Very well. Follow me. ]


    Falcon and the others followed the automaton. A few of them still can''t believe that such an intelligent creation would exist¡­


    Though they already heard about this from the others, seeing it for themselves was still quite different.


    They haven''t seen any other humans after entering this territory at all!


    This is such a magical ce but also quite creepy. Though automatons are very convenient, they have mixed feelings of just letting them be. If they are the owners of these magical machines, they would surely hire someone to look after them.


    "Falcon, allow me to be the captain for now¡­"


    Owl, who had been watching everything from the sidelines, volunteered on flying the battleship¡­


    The others smiled wryly at this as they allowed him to feel like a captain even for a while.

 Chapter 369 - Fate

    Ace assembled a group of smaller spaceships¡­


    Unlike the 360-meter long Excellence, these spaceships were only around 200 meters in length¡­


    It couldn''t carry a lot of things as it focuses on mobility or fast-paced missions.


    He looked at the six ck spaceships¡­ These ones were made here in the moon base and they don''t look like any other models of spacecraft as they were designed assuming that only Magicians were capable of using them.


    It was shaped like a rocket with four wings but there are no visible boosters or thrusters since it operates purely on mana stones¡­ There''s not even an option for other sources of energy like the aether force, nuclear energy, and electricity¡­


    "Avalon, do we have enough personnel?"


    [ No. Unless Providence managed to dock, we won''t have enough personnel for the six Chronos. ]


    Apparently, all the elite magicians were out of the moon base. Though there are still capable magicians here, they might not be good enough if they wanted to destroy the five Conqueror Starship left behind.


    They have already suffered casualties so they can''t just send anyone in this mission unless they''re confident toplete it¡­


    On the other hand, Chronos is the name they''ve given to this new type of small-size spaceship. The incredible thing about this is because a single Magician can operate this wlessly as they''ve added a Mana Artifact that enhances their brain, it is simr to the 4th-Gen''s Brain Boost but can also bepared to the QBCS that Ace is familiar with¡­


    It means that they wouldn''t lose out even if theypete in a spaceship controlled by Avalon¡­


    ''Mhmm¡­ Since we''re good here, we just have to force the gship to descent¡­ Wace, what are you doing down there? What''s taking you so long?''


    At the moment, they limited theirmunication to Earth since the Imperial Fleet might detect the frequency they are using and locate their Moon Base hiding somewhere in the moon¡­


    After all, the distance between the two ces was still quite far and requires strong energy to send or receivemunication here.


    Aside from that, there are also no other satellites or space stations orbiting the to ry information to the surface¡­ Everything ising in and out of the Moon Base''s centralmand.


    ***


    Zephon looked at the golden airship above them as they marched towards the Aliens¡­


    The airship carries the VIPs of the allied countries and a few Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists were also stationed there creating a powerful flying fortress¡­


    He could also stay in that airship if he wanted to but he''s not used to it¡­


    He wanted to be as close as possible on the ground so he could feel safer that way¡­ Apparently, most of the Mana Spells he mastered were rted to Earth Spells and Haste Spells that still require touching the surface of the ground.


    Though he can get an Artifact with Flying Spell, it would be too much for him who could only control two Mana Artifacts at the same time.


    Time has passed and they soon saw the figure of the spaceships thatnded near an active volcano¡­


    It was still quite far but they can already smell the burnt ground that the aliens did use their mightly cannons or technology¡­ Their firepower was more than enough to clear the ce and wipe out the first soldiers they sent to intercept them¡­


    Zephon look at the soldiers behind him and noticed that none of them were hesitating as they moved forward filled with energy¡­


    He can feel the Mana leaking on their bodies and with the number of the magicians behind him, the surrounding air is turning chaotic¡­


    It doesn''t matter whether they are aliens or not, they must''ve realized their presence with such power emanating through their bodies¡­


    The general raised his hand to signal the stop of the march¡­


    Thud!


    They all stopped as soon as the frontline stopped moving¡­ Then, they made a way for the vehicles that are carrying the King Turrets¡­


    These weapons were scattered throughout the lines of soldiers¡­ Some were in front, in the middle, and on the back lines.


    They made sure to cover all the magicians and soldiers by the barrier it could create¡­


    Zephon looked at the Spaceships and noticed that they weren''t even preparing their cannons or sending out those humanoid machines to intercept them¡­


    It was like they weren''t showing any threat in front of these gctic species¡­


    ng! ng! ng!


    A bell rang from the golden airship indicating the start of their operation¡­


    Everyone started moving forward at a slow pace¡­ It ispletely different from how a siege would normally proceed.


    However, this is all ording to n¡­


    Whom~


    The King Turret''s Barrier Field activated¡­


    The Barrier wasn''t really meant to defend againstrge-scale bombardment but to be used as a buffer for the Magicians¡­


    The King Turret''s main purpose of existence is quite obvious, which is tounch an attack on its targets¡­


    ng! ng!


    Finally, another bell rang with a different frequency¡­


    It is the signal to attack the Spaceships!


    A huge amount of mana started gathering¡­ The cannons from the airship, the elemental spells of the King Turret, the Grand Sage''s Grade 5 Mana Spell, and the Grand Arcanist''s powerful Magic Array¡­


    They were all about to beunched on the aliens that were still not responding¡­


    Fire!


    As soon as the signal was made, all the spells were released¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions thatsted for more than five minutes urred¡­


    Zephon watched everything and as he expected, most of the spells didn''tnd on the spaceship and targeted thend they were in.


    Even if spells are being thrown on the spaceship, it wouldn''t evenst for a couple of seconds before disintegrating to air.


    Its barrier is quite scary.


    The spaceships weren''t damaged and their barriers were still activated without any issues¡­


    ''Is this the Energy Force Field that Veda reported to us? This is much stronger from what he had described¡­''


    Zephon frowned but he needs to continue the n for this siege¡­ However, as he was about to lead the charge of his army, he was suddenly covered by a huge shadow.


    He looked up in the sky and noticed that the Golden Airship started moving forward. This is not ording to the n at all.


    He held his orders and waited for the Council''s n¡­


    The three thousandbat magicians and adepts behind him were all waiting for his order to charge, but he can only disappoint them for now¡­


    He then looked at the Golden Airshipnd not too far from the alien''s spaceship¡­


    ''Will this really work? Is that enough to show the power of our country? Wouldn''t they belittle us if we decided to negotiate now?''


    Zephon has many questions about the hasty decisions of these old men but had to keep it for himself¡­


    He can only hope that this would go ording to their ns and not waste their lives¡­


    ***


    Wace had a conflicted face after seeing Seiji''s move¡­


    He''s quite impressed by all the Mana Spells thrown since he felt that Zairus would certainly have a huge problem if they were attacked by such an army¡­


    Aside from this, he also felt that the mobile turret that they brought was a good move on their side¡­ It boosted their firepower and guaranteed that they wouldn''t lose out in terms of bombardment¡­


    The only problem is that they''re not serious about hitting the Spaceships and decided to make it as their warning¡­


    This is not a good idea since the Empire already learned the capacity and power of each of their weapons¡­


    Then, Wace looked at the Golden Airship that moved forward, the deck has twelve people in total and four of them look very important with their luxurious clothing, and the remaining eight appear to be the strongest Sages protecting the VIPs.


    As Wace wanted Avalon to confirm their identity, he noticed that the Conqueror Starship had actually removed their barrier!


    It means that they would most like hear what these natives have to say¡­


    Perhaps, if he didn''t interrupt their invasion and created a force to fight in outer space, the Imperial Army would surely ignore these people¡­


    However, due to various circumstances, they were probably curious about the existence of the spaceships around and the magic they are using¡­


    After all, they should''ve realized by now that the spells that the natives are using are simr to what their spaceships and Mech Knights can do in a battle.


    If Wace is the onemanding the spaceship, he would surely be interested in learning the secrets of the natives as well¡­


    ''But I''ll definitely send someone who is not afraid of facing the natives¡­''


    Thud!


    A couple of figures suddenly appeared in front of the Conqueror Starship¡­ As if they heard Wace, two members of the Khrusam race were sent out to greet them.


    Now, the fate of the Seijii Alliance is about to be decided¡­

 Chapter 370 - Another

    Wace observed the golden-skinned alien race as they approached the golden airship of the Seiji''s Alliance¡­


    He wanted to see how they would act in front of these magicians.


    ''They didn''t even bother sending one representative from the Empire¡­ Are they going to attack?''


    Technically, the Khrusam Race isn''t part of the Empire but allied to it¡­ They are most likely hired as the Empire''s vanguard while they are still unsure about the power of the magicians¡­


    After all, using an unusual power against an unknown power can be useful at times¡­


    Nevertheless, sending them out for negotiations doesn''t seem right at all¡­ After all, there was no way for them to decide for the Empire''s actions¡­


    On the other hand, the Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists on the airship were unaware of this¡­


    They just looked at the approaching aliens that are standing on top of a floating metal board.


    They have received information about the Arians so they were not surprised about their appearance. They know that aliens wouldn''t exactly look like them at all¡­


    Perhaps it was due to theck of nature''s air and water that was why they have evolved to adapt to their surroundings.


    Nevertheless, the magicians seem to be smiling as they are trying to appear as harmless as possible in front of the aliens.


    The negotiations haven''t started yet so they have to act their part¡­


    They can''t agitate them too much now that they''ve shown the power of their Magicians.


    Wace looked at the other spaceships beside the Conqueror Starship and noticed that a few more doors have opened and several people wearingbat spacesuits has appeared.


    [ Nero Bio-Armor ¨C 90% ]


    [ Lycan Battle-Armor ¨C 43% ]


    [ Jackal Iron-Suit ¨C 12% ]


    Avalon immediately scanned the newly arrived imperial army and rated it¡­


    The Nero Bio-Armor had most likely received a few more adjustments or improvements thest time they''ve got a record of it so it didn''t get a hundred percent simrity rate.


    "Give me information about their suit¡­"


    Avalon listed what they have on his device and found out this Bio-Armor was quite hardcore¡­


    It doesn''t matter whether you lost your limbs as the armor would make it for you¡­ As long as your head and torso are still active, the armor can do the work for you¡­


    "Whoa~ They have something like that? Why didn''t I heard of this?"


    [ The record that we have is when this bio-armor was still in thest stage of its development¡­ They have most likely perfected it a few years after and mass-produced them throughout the years that passed. ]


    Avalon answered and even included its guess¡­


    Wace was impressed by this technology¡­ After all, not only would it be helpful for soldiers, it would also greatly help in the medical field¡­ Especially for people who had lost their limbs and unable to continue with their jobs¡­


    "I want that Bio-Armor¡­"


    [ Should I formte a n to steal one of the Imperial Soldiers? ]


    "Yes¡­ That''s not a bad idea."


    This way, it wouldn''t just be the Empire who will benefit from this''s mana but they would also benefit from their advanced technology.


    ***


    The Golden Airship in front of the alien''s spaceship looks very small after getting near them.


    Minexis, the Grand Sage of Seiji, looked at the majestic Conqueror Starship of the Meredith Empire¡­


    He could only imagine how much resources and manpower was used to build this vessel with a size of a mountain¡­


    He looked at the old woman beside him that had also reached the level of a Grand Sage¡­ She''s the most powerful individual within the State of Kazan¡­


    Her presence here is also very important as her Secret Art would surely help them in case the Aliens decided to ignore their negotiation¡­


    "Eralles, I leave it to you¡­"


    Minexis said to the olddy. Thetter only nodded at him as she sped her hands and closed her eyes¡­


    The other two Grand Arcanists also noticed this and confirmed that the Grand Sage is ready to use her Secret Art anytime from now.


    The two held their finest Mana Artifacts in their hands as they waited for Minexis to deal with the alien race¡­


    They also saw the armored aliens that appeared outside the spaceships and noticed how they are not carrying any weapons with them¡­


    It seems that they wanted to show that they are not that harmless and also willing to negotiate. This is a good start for them¡­


    As soon as the two aliens floated about 50 meters away from the airship, Minexis waved his hand and started to speak. His voice was amplified so it can be heard even if they''re still at such distance.


    "We would like to settle this without having too many deaths on both sides¡­ I would like to know the purpose of your visit to our ind¡­"


    The Grand Sage said. He didn''t want to say too much since he''s still quite unsure whether the alien can actually understand him.


    He waited for a response but the golden-skinned race was just standing still on their floating piece of metal.


    Minexis looked at his side to see whether they have a suggestion¡­


    "Try to keep talking for now¡­"


    "They might be hesitating whether to tell you their reason here"


    "Very well¡­"


    The old man then continued with his talk¡­


    "There is a high chance that you wanted to take over this. I know that you are all very powerful¡­ However, you should know that there is no way you can conquer this with only your number¡­ You are strong but so as we¡­ If you considered negotiating with us, we might be able to help you on your conquest¡­"


    Minexis looked at the expression of the aliens but nothing seemed to have changed. He can''t read them at all.


    ''Haa~ It seems that they''re not capable of understanding ournguage¡­ However, the Arians seem to be capable of it¡­ Did they teach them beforehand? Or perhaps those aliens are fake?''


    The old man is getting impatient at the inactions of these golden aliens¡­


    He looked at the armored soldiers watching from the spaceships and they seemed to be waiting for something¡­


    In the end, he can only continue with his speech as heid out the benefits of allying with them¡­


    Even Wace, who''s watching everything secretly,mended the patience of the Grand Sage¡­


    Nevertheless, his tolerance paid off as the alien decided to wave his hand gesturing his intent to be followed!


    The aliens floated away as they seem to be returning to the Conqueror Starship¡­


    Minexis and the other Grand Sage and Grand Arcanists were quite shocked at this...


    They did it! It seems that there will be a piece of good news sooner orter.


    "Eralles, you stay here and wait for us¡­"


    Then, he looked at the two Grand Arcanists¡­ They were both unafraid of going with him but Minexis decided to just bring one of them and took three of their finest Sages.


    He still wanted to prepare in case they needed to run away¡­ He knows that his survivability would increase if he''s with the Sages since they are all willing to sacrifice their lives as long as he could live.


    He used his floating spell to everyone and brought them with him as they followed the alien race¡­


    He then nced at Zephon, the general of the main army, and signaled to him to stay put but remain on guard¡­


    Once he entered the spaceship together with the aliens, he wouldn''t be able to control whatever would happen on the outside¡­


    Nevertheless, it appears thatmunication with the aliens is possible¡­ Even if they couldn''t fully understand what he said, perhaps his message got through them¡­


    He held his amulet or his Mana Artifact tightly as they reached the Starship¡­


    Hom~


    The invisible barrier was removed and a path going inside was opened for them. The entrance appears to be a tunnel.


    Seeing that there''s a light at the other end, Manexis felt a bit excited as he wanted to see the internal structure of the spaceship.


    ***


    Wace saw the Grand Sage with his entourage enter the spaceship¡­ He couldn''t read the Empire''s actions now since they have perhaps acknowledged the threat of the Magicians together with the missing spaceship that fought them in outer space.


    This may be the reason why they have decided to approach this differently from what they have nned before.


    He wanted to wait and see what will happen before he would attack in full force but unfortunately, Avalon sounded its rm!


    [ The ck Sovereign with suspected Cube of Paradox is showing signs of descending on the. ]


    "What?! Why now? Where is it headed?"


    [ Montego. ]


    "Tsk¡­ It''s too far from here..."


    Just like what Wace feared, the spaceships of the Empire seem to be nning to descend in different regions of the world¡­


    This is extremely bad for them since the forces of each country would be divided.

 Chapter 371 - Confirmation

    The sudden news rmed the young man¡­ However, he had to proceed with the protocol.


    "Inform everyone that should know about this¡­ Montego is an allied nation of Zairus¡­ However, we can''t let the country send most of our reserve forces. There are still many spaceships above waiting to descend¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon immediately worked after Wace gave hismand¡­


    Now, he''s getting a bit worried since he knows that the Empire''s strategy will work really well against them.


    For his Satellite-ss weapon, the Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun, he''s unable to fire for now since he''s nning to do some adjustments with it¡­


    After all, the Conveyor Spaceship that was cleanly hit by this weapon didn''t take significant damage at all¡­ It means that their defense is higher than what he had expected.


    He can only try to make it stronger as quickly as possible¡­


    "Right, you can also inform the Terror Mages about the Empire''s descent at Montego¡­ They might be hoping that other countries would help Kazan if the negotiation fails¡­"


    [ Affirmative. I''ve sent the Elysiums to inform them. ]


    Wace sighed at this¡­


    Avalon has already created a calction, or perhaps prediction, about each country of the Zairus Alliance. The A.I. listed the possible result once the Empire decided to attack Zairus, Montego, Maja, and Virgan.


    This is because Avalon had managed to get their military information through Yumi''swork and other sources.


    Montego is an ind nation filled with many Mage Towers¡­


    These towers were fortress in themselves and almost indestructible. This is due to the Tower''s power to manipte mana to arger scale than what the magicians can do¡­


    Aside from that, casting Grade 5 Mana Spells continuously wouldn''t be a problem on those peak Mage Towers¡­


    Because of this, Wace somehow felt that Montego would really give them a good fight.


    Anyway, it means that they didn''t have to focus most of their military might in that country. As long as they can supply them with their needs to run the Tower, it will be considered as the best help they can provide.


    "Mhmm¡­ Avalon, do you think it''s safe now tomunicate with Ace?"


    [ Yes. We will be using Veda''s Terminal tomunicate in the Moon Base. The adjustments necessary were justpleted. ]


    "Veda''s Terminal? Very well, then. Where''s the terminal anyway? I haven''t seen it in a while."


    Wace asked. He can still remember the first time they encountered Veda¡­ He was almost attacked by that A.I. because of his body thatcks connection with the Gctic Federation¡­ Luckily he managed to work things out by quickly exining his situation to it.


    He couldn''t help but smile after recalling it. Perhaps, even if Veda would try to execute him now, he would no longer be afraid of it.


    [ It is still in the main factory at Mount Ravencroft. ] Avalon answered.


    "I see¡­ So you''ll just connect to it. Very well, I need to inform Ace about my n to force these aliens to descend quickly instead of doing this one by one¡­"


    The young man then gave detailed instructions about the way they''ll deal with the situation.


    After this, he had to wait for Ace to get ready¡­ The preparation might take some time but it''s better than doing nothing at all.


    At this rate, the Empire would be able to dominate the fight and he can''t let that happen.


    ***


    Manexis marveled at the futuristic ce in front of him.


    The rooms, the hallway, the full-body armors of their guards, and many others seem to be quite new to him.


    What he''s seeing isn''t just some luxury items but standard things for the alien race.


    Aside from this, it appears that the aliens are fond of fresh air. This way, everyone can breathe calmly.


    ''Just how long are we going to walk?''


    Manexis smiled wrily. However, he knows that he should already be thanking them for the treatment they received. After all, they were not being attacked and haven''t seen anyone show hostility towards them.


    It appears that negotiation was still possible.


    Time passed and the golden-skinned race brought them to a meeting.


    Finally, they will be able to start negotiating¡­


    The room they entered now doesn''t have any decoration aside from the long table and chairs that were ced.


    However, the other golden-skinned aliens that he was expecting weren''t present. In ce of them were full-body armored aliens and some were even pure machines¡­ He can easily recognize this as he practices the Spirit Arts as well.


    "What do we do now?"


    He asked. He wanted to know whether they should start speaking with them right now.


    Thud!


    Instead of answering, the two aliens just left the room and shut the door!


    ''Hmm¡­ They''re not included in this meeting¡­ Are you telling me that they''re just frontline soldiers?''


    Clink! Clink! Clink!


    As soon as the doors were closed, Manexis and the others noticed that the humanoid machines simr to automatons started moving.


    Then, a neutral voice was suddenly heard.


    "Hello, natives of this. I''m Raku, themander of this Spaceship. Forgive me if I can''t appear in front of you, but I want to let you know that I heard about your ns to cooperate with us. I''m d to hear that. Someday, you might be named as the savior of this."


    Raku said through the android.


    Due to the neutral voice, Manexis felt that he''s just faking it. Nevertheless, he didn''t point this out and waited for him to hear more about their thoughts.


    For sure, the Empire will request a lot of things from the top magicians of the country..


    However, epting their offer might be seen as losing to the natives¡­ So Seiji is willing to give a lot of things to avoid offending them.


    ***


    Ace just received the news from Wace¡­


    Luckily, they have one of Veda''s terminal here in outer space so there was no longer any problems¡­


    But as soon as he read the news, he waspletely shocked.


    "What? Seiji is nning to join the empire? How absurd¡­ That''s stupid¡­" Ace frowned after reading the report.


    [ There is about 8.50% chance that they''ll seed. ] Avalon replied.


    Although the four countries haven''t established their alliance with the Empire yet, Ace felt angry about their ns¡­


    This is clearly mocking their hard work and their sacrifice to keep them away from the.


    Of course, the young man also received various updates about the jobs that were left behind on the surface. It included the concern about the Lucent Knights and many others.


    Finally, there was a battle report that was included. This is when the Terror Magicians fought¡­


    "Khrusam Race?! They''re involved with this?"


    If that creepy foreign being were included in their spaceships, then does it mean that the other races were also present?


    He can''t ignore that thought¡­ They had to be very careful about this. They should create countermeasures in case the other races would also appear.


    As soon as he confirmed everything including the ns to send down the spaceships, he immediately made his preparation and informed everyone¡­


    "Avalon, make the adjustments to the Satellite weapon ording to this detail.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    He''s unsure whether their n would work but it''s worth a try.


    ***


    Going back to Wace, he''s still waiting for the Grand Sage''s entourage toe out of the Conqueror Starship¡­ If not, the remaining army of Seiji would most likely go to war to take them back.


    However, more than half an hour had already passed and there were still no signs of them.


    "What''s going on now¡­ Did they actually seed?"


    [ There is a high chance. However, they would just be used by the Empire. ]


    Avalon replied¡­ He knows this fully well. However, if they seeded¡­


    "It will be considered a betrayal¡­ I''ll act on them as a sample¡­"


    Wace muttered softly. It seems that he would have to show his prowess as an elite Magician.


    That''s right, if they truly allied themselves, then there would be no point in keeping them alive at this point. They''ll just be the Empire''s source of knowledge and he didn''t want that to happen.


    After all, he wanted them to struggle to look for such information. They shouldn''t be getting it just because it is being given by these magicians whock honor.


    Whom~


    The barrier of the Conqueror Starship suddenly opened as the Grand Sage''s group has finally gotten outside¡­


    They still look the same and they didn''t seem to have encountered any trouble. Their robes were still clean and sparkly like the others.


    Wace squinted his eyes after seeing them. They are apanied by the members of the Khrusam Race and three more androids.


    "Sigh~ So they were actually sessful¡­"


    [ Yes. Traces of happiness can be found on their faces. ]


    This means that Wace has to act against them.


    ''Should I give them a chance? Wait, I should just ask them directly¡­''


    The young man thought¡­ This would be very easy for him with his Void Phase.

 Chapter 372 - Towers

    Wace has no idea what happened inside the Conqueror Starship.


    However, he can already see that the Empire is not nning to attack the Seiji''s Alliance soldiers.


    They have certainly made a deal with the natives¡­ It''s not an action that the Empire would do but perhaps Ace''s actions in outer space triggered them to agree with Seiji''s offer.


    Anyway, they wouldn''t lose out on such an offer¡­ They can even lessen their attackers and establish their stronghold easily.


    He looked at the Grand Sage''s entourage as they returned to the floating airship¡­


    The soldiers on the ground were silent, as they await their announcement.


    Then, after a few seconds, a yellow re was lit up in the sky. It is a signal that confirms the sess of their negotiation and to halt any aggressive actions for now¡­


    "What?! That signal¡­"


    "What''s going on? There''s a negotiation for non-aggression?"


    "This¡­ They killed a lot of people!"


    "My home town¡­ T-they destroyed my hometown and killed all of my rtives!"


    "Why are we negotiating! We can definitely defeat them with our numbers!"


    "Argh! This is frustrating!"


    The soldiers that are unaware of the ns of the Council expressed their dissatisfaction about their decision.


    Many lives were taken and theirnd was destroyed by these aliens¡­ Why would they just ignore such atrocity and have peace talks this fast?


    Zephon heard them while he''s on his horse but he couldn''t do anything about it. This has been decided by the leaders of the four countries in the alliance.


    The State of Kazan may have been the one that suffered most but at the very least, the destruction and massacre would no longer happen.


    He knows that their forces right now are really strong¡­ However, he also knows that many of them would die here if they insist to continue with the war...


    ''But the question is how long this wouldst¡­''


    Zephon thought.


    It may be true that the aliens have agreed with their non-aggression pact, alliance, or whatever their deal was, but it doesn''t mean that it wouldst forever¡­


    ''Haa~ Perhaps if all the nations have allied, we could''ve overpowered these aliens and we wouldn''t have to resort to this negotiation¡­ What in the world are they nning now?''


    The general pondered as he looked at the golden airship¡­


    Then he heard sounds of engines being activated. It created a rumbling sound the seems to be echoing all over the ce¡­


    Then, the hidden Steel Knights surrounding the vicinity of the Spaceships appeared and backed off¡­


    Zephon wasn''t surprised about their sudden appearance¡­


    The country of Seiji changed one of its cities into a Steel Knight Factory. Perhaps they have the most number of Steel Knights in all the countriesbined.


    He can still recall that as soon as the Molten Core was invented, the leaders of the country didn''t hesitate to start a massive hunt with the Fire Mana Beasts everywhere¡­


    They have also created a lot of Steel Knights designs and improved them to the best of their abilities before mass producing them.


    The only problem was their method of transportation¡­ It was a bit difficult to bring them from Seiji to Kazan since they have to cross the sea¡­


    The airships were not that suited as a mode of transportation since the Steel Knights were too heavy¡­ Perhaps only three or four can be carried if they forced it.


    This is why they made adjustments to some Steel Knights that could tread water.


    These are the Steel Knights that they are seeing right now. They used magic to arrive here almost undetected to join the war¡­


    However, since the negotiation was sessful there was no longer any point in hiding and started moving away.


    The general then looked at the golden-skinned alien and did his best to remember them¡­


    "We''ll follow the Grand Sage''s decision. Let''s head back for now. I will confirm the details of the negotiation and fill you in with the details after."


    Zephon said to his vice-generals as they ordered them to retreat.


    He can only hope that this won''t end badly for them.


    ***


    Julian, the strongest magician of Montego, had a foreboding feeling since a while ago¡­


    He entered the core room of his Mage Tower and bathed with mana at the highest purity he could ever know¡­


    This ce is also the control room of the Tower and with the help of the glowing stone at the center of the room, he could cast a powerful Mana Spell within five kilometers of the tower.


    It was such an incredible creation that no other country could perhaps fight them as long as they are within the protection of their Tower¡­


    This was why they are not really afraid of anyone.


    Julian nced at the walls and ceiling of the room to calm his mind¡­ The whole room has an engraved Magic Structure on them and all of these have functions of their own, aside from a portrait hanged on one of the pirs in the room.


    "Mhmm¡­ It''s beautiful." He whispered.


    As a man who spent most of his life studying the art of magic structures, he''s always happy to see such incredible creations¡­


    He then nced at the framed portrait hanged on the pir¡­ It is actually the blueprint of this Mage Tower.


    The blueprint of this ce was found during one of their ancestor''s expeditions in the Northern Continent¡­


    Apparently, that ancestor is one of the few survivors of thestrge-scale expedition and he''s also a citizen of Montego.


    He then sold the blueprint to this country as they saw the value of it¡­


    Julian looked at the blueprint with words written on top of it¡­


    [ Mavis Tower - designed by Z ]


    [ In honor of thete Mavis-ss Spaceship that brought me here. ]


    The words were written in an oldnguage that is no longer being used. Apparently, the true name of the Mage Tower was Mavis Tower.


    This is only a copy of the blueprint''s first page¡­ However, seeing this was enough for the controllers of the Tower to remember everything they need to know about the power of this huge Mana Artifact.


    As Julian was lost in thought, he realized that someone is waiting outside the control room¡­


    The door to this room can''t be touched by just anyone so they couldn''t even knock to call for him.


    Well, it doesn''t really matter since anyone inside this room would have a boost with their senses. As long as someone stood outside, the magician inside would easily know¡­


    Apparently, only those who have the secrets of Mavis Prayer are allowed to enter the room.


    "What''s going on?"


    Julian immediately asked.


    If this messenger would just give him unimportant news, he would just write it and leave it in his workroom or perhaps wait for him until he arrives in his office to tell the news¡­


    After all, they know that they would be punished if they interrupted him with such trivial matters.


    "There are signs of the Alien''s descent¡­ The alien spaceship should be descending to Solis Region ording to Veda."


    Julian finally understood the anxiety he felt a while ago.


    "I understand. Since Veda''s words are urate, proceed with the protocol¡­ Tell Archer to handle the first contact."


    "Yes, your honor¡­"


    The man quickly left and used his Mana Artifact tomunicate with Archer. He''s one of the young elite magicians of this country and a disciple of Julian.


    After the messenger informed the man, he proceeded to inform the others about the descent of the alien spaceship.


    He needed to inform the nearby citizens since they might be a casualty if they didn''t take shelter to the nearest Mage Towers.


    Luckily, the Solis region has 12 Mage Towers in the surrounding area and this will allow them to minimize the damage that the aliens might do after their descent.


    On the other hand, Julian returned to the control room of the Mage Tower¡­


    "Every controller, get into position¡­ The Aliens are now targeting ournd¡­ We''ll proceed with the n!"


    He shouted.


    Apparently, through the Tower Core''s help, he can directlymunicate with the other controller of the Towers.


    He heard their answers and immediately made a n¡­


    Now that he knows where the enemy willnd, he wouldn''t just watch these aliens descend peacefully.


    Julian would do his best to stop their entry and even if he could not, he wanted to let them know that it wasn''t a wise choice to select thisnd to start their invasion¡­


    There''s a total of 420 Mage Towers within the country and 20 of them were at the highest tier, one that could contend with the Tower he built.


    "All the nearest Mage Towers, coordinate and try to destroy the descending spaceship¡­ Do not hesitate to use everything you got¡­"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    They replied to hismand and quickly found a dot in the sky¡­ It seems that the gigantic is getting near really fast.


    Finally, their time to fight the alien hase.

 Chapter 373 - Defense

    The council of war in Zairus just learned that another alien spaceship decided to descend on Montego¡­


    It is quite far for them so reinforcements and supplies wouldn''t arrive that fast¡­ The country would have to hold on for a while and try to defend against the spaceship¡­


    "They have the Magic Tower with them¡­ I think that they''re pretty strong even without our help."


    Marvin Cummings, the representative of the Congress,mented¡­


    Troy Webb and Yumi Juria looked at the man. They''re unsure whether he''s joking or not¡­


    Only the three of them were at the table right now and the others were just a projection as they are also quite busy with other matters.


    Aaron Schmidt, who heard Marvin, expressed his concern about the way he was thinking.


    "No matter how strong their Towers are, the powers of the aliens shouldn''t be disregarded at all. You''ve seen what happened in outer space¡­ Although Wace reported that some of their equipment may not work, their most powerful technology would still run without any problems..."


    "That''s right¡­ I think this is a good chance to destroy it and take their technology to study them. There''s only one spaceship in Montego and this might be a chance for us."


    Troy added after hearing the young man.


    He knows that the Lucent Force just acquired a spaceship from Wace''s factory and only their forces can move fast and send aid to the ind country¡­


    However, without the approval of the council, they have to remain within the borders of the country and protect it from possible invasions.


    "What do you think, Yumi?"


    Charles, the head of the council, asked. Because of her familiarity with Wace, she knows a lot about his ns.


    But everyone here has ess to Avalon already¡­ So she felt that it better to ask the A.I. instead¡­


    "Mhmm¡­ Let''s ask Avalon first."


    "Very well."


    They then summoned the A.I.''s presence to facilitate their meeting¡­


    "Avalon, how strong is that spaceship? Are they at the same level as the ones thatnded in Kazan?"


    [ No. The ck Sovereign that just descended is stronger than thebined forces of the spaceships in the State of Kazan. ]


    "What?!"


    Everyone was shocked after hearing Avalon''s report¡­ They are already thinking of exploring the spaceships but it seems that it will be very difficult for them.


    "Howe it''s that strong? I saw that Wace''s spaceship destroyed one of those spaceships¡­ Isn''t that right?" Hayden Fraser asked curiously¡­


    He''s not doubting Avalon''s calction about the power of the spaceship but he wanted to know the reason behind its rating.


    [ The attack in outer space is different. They have no prior knowledge about the power of our own spacecraft and the existence of various Mana Spells. However, they already have information about it and they would most likely stop probing the capabilities of the magicians. If they engaged in battle, there is a high chance that they''ll no longer reserve their powerful technologies and use them ordingly. ]


    Avalon tried to be brief with its exnation. After all, there is a country being attacked right now. They have to quickly make a decision on how to approach this war.


    "Thank you for letting us know, Avalon¡­ Do you think that Montego wouldst for long?"


    [ Yes, they have incredible Mage Towers that even Veda could not properly gauge. There are also numerous magicians on standby to engage in closebat. Even if the aliens decided to destroy them, it would still take a while giving plenty of time for its allies. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ You might be right, Avalon¡­ But do you know whether all the other spaceships would descendter today?"


    [ We are still unable to determine the purpose of their random descent. However, it would be better if you will still be ready in case they decided to descend here. ]


    "I see¡­ So we can''t find a pattern yet." Yumi muttered after hearing the A.I.


    It''s indeed difficult to guess since there''s only a couple of descents they could study right now.


    Nevertheless, after Avalon heard this, it decided to add Wace''s spections. Although it is still not urate, it might help the council decide on their next move.


    [ Wace has informed that the Empire might be looking for some strange energy on the aside from their ns to capture the natives. ]


    Avalon already informed them before that the Empire would most likely n to capture the native magicians of this.


    After all, it''s amon practice in invasion so it''s not that hard to guess.


    "A strange energy?"


    "It''s not a mana?"


    "Perhaps the Mana Cmity?"


    "That''s possible¡­ But why would they look for that?"


    Everyone has a guess but Avalon dismissed them.


    [ It is most likely simr to the energying from the Memory Crystal. The site where the spaceshipnded in Montego has Memory Crystal Mines a kilometer away from them. As for the site in the state of Kazan, we are still investigating since weck records on that country. ]


    After the A.I. said this, everyone went silent¡­


    ''If that''s true, then there''s a possibility that they will also descend in Ste Region.''


    This is what everyone thought. The Ste Region is the only ce in their country that has a mine for Memory Crystals. The Seed Holdings is the one currently supervising the mining project of such precious material.


    "Thank you Avalon for all of this information. In case you''re still keeping something from us, please tell them now."


    Charles said as he smiled wryly. If they aren''t asking the A.I., it wouldn''t give them such information aside from the basic ones they needed.


    In the end, Avalon no longer has anything to say.


    The A.I. just reminded them that Wace would still be dealing with Seiji and the Aliens from afar. After all, it would be disastrous if Seiji also decided tounch their attack on the allied countries of Zairus.


    "I think that we should send our reinforcements to Montego now¡­ The other countries may be sending them now as we speak."


    After Avalon left their meeting, Troy continued with his suggestion to send a unit of Lucent Force to help them fight the aliens¡­


    The man felt that even if an alien spaceship descends without the Lucent Force''s spaceship, they will be able to defend it until it returns.


    After all, not only do they have Wace''s support, they also have various Steel Knights, Iron Knights, the Grand Sages, Grand Arcanists, and incredibly powerful 6th Generation Mana Artifacts being used by their elite magicians.


    It means that they have enough power to avoid getting easily defeated by these aliens.


    After a couple more minutes of discussions, they decided to send their elites to Montego while sending most of their reserve forces to Ste Region¡­


    This way, they will be able to quickly respond if ever the aliens decided to descend here just like what Avalon suggested.


    ***


    Julian coordinated with all the controllers and confirmed that they fired Mana Bombs and Disruption Wave to the descending spacecraft¡­


    The two Mana Spellsck prative force but it doesn''t matter¡­ The spells were meant to attack all the personnel inside the spaceship.


    This is what they learned as an effective approach against the aliens from watching Wace''s battles in outer space before.


    They learned about the incredibly powerful defense of the alien spaceships so they wanted to fight them differently. By using Mana Spells that can ignore physical defense, they wanted to take down as many aliens as they can while they are still inside the spaceship.


    "How was the damage dealt?"


    "We are still unable to tell, Sir Julian. However, we can confirm that no external problems are showing at this point¡­ They''re really as tough as we thought they were."


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s expected. The environment in outer space is harsh for the spacecraft¡­ Celestial bodies might just collide unto you if you''re not paying attention."


    Julian said this as he felt that physical Attacks may not be as effective as they were. Nevertheless, he knows that the Mage Towers whounched their attacks haven''t used their full power yet.


    "Don''t let it control the pace¡­ Continue with the bombardment¡­ The magicians will soon arrive."


    He is referring to the top magicians of Montego¡­ They are hurrying to this ce as they speak to provide support.


    He knows that his country is powerful and they just need to have a very goodwork ofmunication¡­


    "It seems like mana spells that ignore physical defense is very effective. We''ll switch on using that for now."


    "Yes, Sir Julian¡­"


    As Julian was giving orders to everyone, he was notified about the ns of their allied countries to aid them.


    He''s thankful for them but he felt that they would still take a lot of time before they arrive. Perhaps, they have already overpowered this spaceship once the forces from Zairus and the others havended in the country.

 Chapter 374 - Beam

    Julian believed that the spaceships were indeed scary and powerful¡­ However, he felt that they would only have such strength as long as they are in outer space.


    Now that they are here on the, he''s not expecting them to perform really well¡­ He realized this after being informed about the aliens'' actions when they descended somewhere at the State of Kazan.


    He was informed that after theynded on a specific spot, they remained in that position and let the smaller types of machinery conduct the battle for them¡­


    "They''re unable to easily move¡­ It means that they''re justrger target practice."


    "Perhaps the gravity of our disrupts their technology¡­"


    "I heard that Mana is unique to our¡­ It seems that they aren''t used to it¡­"


    "Whatever it is¡­ As long as their spaceship will remain unmoving, then it will be our win."


    This is just a part of the discussion that urred during the meetings of the Tower Controllers. They do acknowledge the power of the Empire but they are also confident with their Mage Towers¡­


    After all, although other countries have something that they can call Mage Towers, their country has the original version of it, and it''s something that can''t be easily replicated unless they also have its blueprint.


    Time passed as the bombardment of the twelve nearby Mage Towers waspleted¡­


    "Let''s see what''s the result..." Julian smirked as he watched the spaceship got covered with various spells¡­


    Smokes and dust covered the area where the spaceshipnded.


    Most of the Mana Spell they used weren''t destructive but spells that are meant to attack the internal integrity of the vessel and the people within it¡­


    Of course, since they also have a copy of Traceless Oscition that Wace created, they used it as well to try and destroy the armors and the shields of the spacecraft.


    On the other hand, the reason why there are twelve Towers near this location is that the ce is quite important for them¡­ There are several ore mines in this area that must be protected. The most important one is the Memory Crystal Mine that is not too far from where the aliensnded.


    "Eight Pulse Wind"


    A Grade 3 Mana Spell was used to clear out the dust and smokes covering the whole site¡­


    However, as soon as they did this, the spaceship''s particle cannon fired at the nearest Mage Tower!


    Boom!


    The Tower''s Mana Shield managed to stop the alien''s powerful attack!


    The Tower Controllers who had seen this immediately went happy! They can do this!


    "Don''t be too happy this early! That''s just a single shot¡­ Coleen! How''s the damage?"


    Julian asked.


    The Tower Controller named Colleen was silent for a moment before answering¡­


    "Sir Julian¡­ It''s terrible¡­ The Mana Shield consumed 50% of our Mana Reserves. Another shot of that would destroy the shield and my Tower would be vulnerable¡­"


    "Tsk¡­ Minimize the energy consumption of your Tower¡­ Remove other functions aside from your shield. If you can control the shield to concentrate only on the area facing the spaceship, then it''s better."


    "Yes, I will do that, Sir Julian."


    "Very well¡­ For the others, try to do the same if you''re in trouble¡­"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The link between the Tower using its core is a very useful function in this kind of battle.


    Perhaps the Tower was actually made thinking that it would be in such a situation.


    Boom!


    A different Mage Tower was hit by the spaceship''s canon! Luckily, everyone was already prepared and concentrated their Mana Shield in front of the Tower¡­


    However, it is disastrous¡­ The surrounding area of the Tower was destroyed or burned by that huge beam of light.


    "Sir Julian¡­ I managed to defend against it and it took only 33% of my Mana Reserves¡­ Tsk¡­ This is a problem, we have to at least destroy their cannons."


    "You''re right¡­"


    Julian, then looked at the spaceship¡­ It looks like it hadn''t received any Mana Spells from them at all!


    Though there are remnants of elemental spells on its surface, it doesn''t seem to do anything on the spaceship at all.


    "It shouldn''t be able to fire that powerful beam continuously¡­ Those two shots might be its best shots¡­ Even if it can fire two or three more times consecutively, it doesn''t matter¡­ We''ll use our Main Weapons¡­ It doesn''t matter whether it damages the tower, we''ll have to destroy it."


    Julian encouraged his people as they continued with their ns. Aside from their bombardment of Elemental Spells, they still have another trump card that they can use in this situation¡­


    It is their Grade 5 Mana Spell called Territorial Order


    Once the spell was used, any selected target within the range of the Mage Tower would experience a controlled Mana Cmity!


    If only a single Mage Tower can attack the spaceship, perhaps it wouldn''t affect them that much with their powerful force field. However, there are twelve of them working together!


    Even if the spaceship is powerful, it shouldn''t be capable of defending against multiple controlled cmities!


    If it does manage to defend even at this, then Julian felt that there would be no hope for their country¡­


    ''No, it should be effective. Although we haven''t tried cooperating like this on a single target yet¡­ The effect should be multiplied by several times if we work together¡­''


    Julian knows the risk for this type of operation. After all, they haven''t tried doing this before¡­ It''s not like they can easily find such suitable targets to test their Mage Towers.


    They were also not being attacked by terrorists so their Towers really have no other purposes aside from protecting the surrounding people against the Mana Beasts especially to those mutated ones.


    Julian looked at the ck Sovereign of the spaceship¡­


    "I will destroy you¡­"


    The Royal Court Magician muttered as he clenched his fist. He wanted to provide some help to the Towers but he''s far away from the ce the enemy descended¡­


    If he moved now to take control of the nearby Tower, he would lose the Link while he''s traveling and he wouldn''t be able to give orders to the controllers and monitor the situation¡­


    In the end, he can only trust the magicians assigned to the Towers and the army that should be heading to the ce right now¡­


    ***


    [ The Council lead by Charles decided to send ze carrying the Lucent Knights to help Montego. ]


    Avalon reported to Wace.


    "I see¡­ It''s a good call¡­ The Empire will just probably watch the performance of the ck Sovereign."


    Wace muttered after thinking about it for while¡­ He just learned from Ace about the abnormal actions of the ck Sovereign before it decided to descend¡­


    There was a light that covered the whole spaceship thatsted for a few seconds¡­ It is suspected that it was due to the Cube''s power being used.


    In truth, the young man truly wanted to go and destroy that spaceship to remove another possible Pathfinder user.


    However, the matter regarding the Seiji''s alliance with Empire is also a pressing matter¡­


    If they didn''t take an action, the Seiji would surely start providing resources and information to the Empire to start its world conquest.


    If he allowed this to happen, the Empire will learn a lot of high-level information which can be very crucial to conquer many countries including Zairus.


    "I''ll deal with them at the same time then¡­"


    As soon as he said this, the floating ind they''re at suddenly moved forward.


    The Terror Mages noticed the movement of thend and looked in the direction they''re in. They are heading right now to Kazan!


    They silently celebrated as Wace finally decided to move!


    The floating ind may be slow but once it arrived at its destination, it would certainly be Wace''s trump card to destroy the spaceships¡­


    Of course, he wouldn''t mind including the army of Seiji''s Alliance in the process¡­


    [ ETA: 1 hour and 10 minutes ]


    Avalon notified¡­


    As Wace was about to go outside and inform the Terror Mages of his n, he was informed that the Zairus'' Council is looking for him.


    The young man saw Yumi''s face after epting themunication link¡­


    "Wace, we don''t want to spread our forces too much so we only sent a small unit of Lucent Force to help Montego¡­ Avalon reported that the Mage Towers are defending really well¡­ Do you think that your spaceship has simr integrity with the Mage Tower?"


    "Huh? What do you mean by that?" Wace asked.


    "Aaron sent their strongest Steel Knight¡­ It is inside ze that is heading to Montego¡­ They seem to be nning to fight the lone spaceship¡­"


    Yumi reported.


    "I see¡­ I''m unsure about the power of the Mage Tower since I haven''t experienced them yet¡­ However, based on what I heard, the Tower has its advantage as long as it has supplies of mana on them. We''ll see once ze truly encountered them¡­"


    "I understand¡­ Do you think we should send another unit to deal with the aliens there in Kazan?"


    "No¡­ I''m fine¡­ Let me deal with them¡­"


    Wace replied.


    Yumi nodded at this as she didn''t offer to help anymore and ended the conversation.


    The time then quickly passed and their Floating Ind is finally within the vicinity of the Conqueror Starship.

 Chapter 375 - Invitation ( Part 1 )

    Wace finally saw the familiar spaceships.


    There''s one Conqueror Starship simr to the one in his dreams, three Invader Spaceships, and one Conveyor Spacecraft.


    On the other hand, the forces of the Seiji Alliance were nowhere in sight.


    ''Why is it like that? What happened in that meeting?''


    The young man couldn''t understand why they just left like that after their confrontation¡­


    He took a deep breath before halting the five floating inds in his control.


    "Avalon, we''ll monitor from here for now."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The floating inds weren''t just covered by invisibility array but the clouds were also helping them to cover themselves.


    Aside from that, the Mana that is covering the whole spaceship


    Wace had a bad feeling about the decision of the Seiji Alliance topletely leave the ce after the negotiation.


    ''No¡­ Perhaps, the empire already received what they wanted? Isn''t that too simple?''


    The young man was unable toprehend their decision. Nevertheless, he wanted to ensure that he''ll be able to deal a critical blow once he started to act.


    The Floating Inds are expendables and he can even just drop them to the spaceships if he wanted. However, if he managed to be sessful on the first try and he truly ttened them, then what about the other spaceships above? They would certainly be wary and he may no longer repeat the same tactic.


    This is just like what happened in outer space where Ace''s ambush wouldn''t easily work the second time.


    "Avalon, connect me to Ace."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The young man doesn''t want to be impulsive because his actions here would certainly affect the Empire''s seeding actions against the.


    Aside from that, he also wanted to see what the Seiji Alliance would do¡­ Were they told to return to their base to get sample magicians to experiment? Perhaps, the empire wanted to have specimens like what Veda wanted?


    There''s also a chance that Seiji actually returned in order to organize their fleet and conquer the maind together with the aliens¡­


    If that happens, Wace wanted to expose them to all the other nations before exterminating them to set an example to those magicians who wanted to betray this and ruin it together with these aliens.


    ***


    Ace was seated at the captain''s bridge when he was suddenly notified by Avalon.


    [ Wace wanted to have a private conversation with you using Veda''s Terminal. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ What''s going on? Put him through¡­"


    Ace replied as he rxed on his seat¡­ They were trying to stealthily dock the Providence to the Moon Base¡­ Aside from that, they are readying their Chronos to be sent out on a mission.


    The six of these small-size spaceships were already on standby so once the elite magicians have returned, they can quickly start the mission to survey the ce where the Excellence was destroyed, and of course, to destroy the remaining Conqueror Starship they immobilized.


    This is why they were currently busy.


    [ Ace, we will be inviting the Imperial gship. I want you to force them to descend. ]


    Wace''s voice was heard from the terminal¡­ This is only an audio link since they are just using the Terminal at the moment.


    "Alright, I''m prepared for that¡­" Ace replied.


    His fleet of remaining Mech Knights together with a 10 Small-Size spaceship aside from that, Ace is ready to sacrifice his Transcendence Battleship.


    This is the strongest spaceship they have that is meant to protect the Moon Base at all costs¡­


    The Transcendence was made after acquiring a vast amount of Aether from Omen¡­ Its power is definitely not something that could be ignored.


    "Just notify me before you send that "invitation" you''ll send to the Empire."


    [ Of course¡­ You''ll have to see it directly¡­ Hehe¡­ ]


    Wace replied with a mysterious smile. They ended their conversation with this as they both have toplete their preparation.


    ''I''ll have to try and destroy their main engines¡­ But this will be a suicide mission.''


    Ace thought for a moment¡­ The problem here is that aside from having Aether''s power together with the excellent piloting skills of Avalon, they also have to fully utilize their Mana Spells to gain an advantage instead of just fighting on equal footing.


    However¡­


    ''Who''s ready for such a mission?'' He asked himself¡­


    "What do you think, Avalon? Who should control the mana spells and artifacts within the spaceship?''


    [ You can just ask for a volunteer. I''m sure that there would be some of them willing to do this. Besides, they still have the Nodes with them. It should help them survive for a while even after facing a disaster¡­ That''s plenty of time to use escape spells. ]


    Avalon gave its idea¡­ Of course, Ace has already thought of asking for a volunteer but he still wanted to find a better solution than this¡­


    In the end, it seems that it is the best option that he has.


    "Alright, let settle this once and for all."


    Ace said as they continued with their stealthy move and docked that Providence within the Moon Base¡­


    A couple of hours had passed before everything became ready.


    He was also notified by Wace that he will be taking action any moment by now.


    ***


    Wace stood on one of the floating inds as he spoke with the Terror Mage.


    He informed them about the situation and they have finally decided on what to do.


    "We will stay here with you, Sir Wace¡­ We will fight against the aliens!"


    "I think that they already brainwashed the alliance''s representative¡­"


    "That''s right¡­ There''s no way that they would side with them like that."


    "However, even if they are not brainwashed, the fact that they tried to negotiate with the aliens is already not befitting as a leader of a powerful nation."


    "Mhmm¡­ You''re right¡­ There''s already a lot of soldiers that died on their bombardment... We can''t just ignore that."


    The Terror Mages were truly honorable soldiers. Perhaps, this is the reason why they were selected as experimental subjects.


    "Very well¡­ I will have to move all of you to a different ce since this ind will be a little messyter on."


    Wace said to the group. He knows that Ace should be getting ready as well so he needed to settle everything on his side. Once he "invited" the gship, he may not have the time to move the Terror Mages, so he has to do it now¡­


    He used his Void Phase to carry everyone and put them somewhere away from the spaceship''s visibility¡­ They all used various stealth spells to hide their presence as they would have to wait for Wace''s next instructions¡­


    After doing this, the young man made sure that he replenished his Energy¡­ Later on, he would have to do a lot of things to deal with the Empire.


    "Avalon, can you help me with my positioning?"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace then brought out his suitcase¡­


    It contains his Bio-Armor. It is hisbat armor and also a spacesuit that was included in his previous corvette-ss spaceship.


    He opened the suitcase and let the bio-armor slither and cover his whole body¡­


    Clink¡­ Clink¡­ Clink¡­


    After a few adjustments, Wace was now ready to start his "invitation."


    ***


    Ace wasn''t told about how Wace would invite the Empire¡­ What he knows is that the man was perhaps about to do something incredible¡­


    All of his Chronos and Transcendence were now manned by both automatons and magicians that have volunteered. At this time, they just have to wait for Wace to act as the signal.


    ''I wonder what you''ll do this time¡­'' Ace pondered.


    As a copy of himself, he somehow knows what the man was thinking in this situation. Nevertheless, he''s not aware of the limitation that that body can do so he would surely exceed his expectations.


    Finally, the time for them to act has finally arrived.


    Ace remained seated on his chair within themand center of the Moon Base¡­ He''s monitoring the Imperial gship as Wace wanted him to¡­


    Beep!


    Soon, their surveince detected somethinging up from the surface of the¡­


    Escanor and the others immediately tried to analyze the object¡­ It doesn''t seem to be a missile.


    It is a small ck projectile heading towards the Empire''s Fleet! Just what could it be?!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Several missiles,sers, and various machine guns were fired at the approaching object¡­


    However, it wasn''t stopping the projectile! It seems to have sentience as it''s capable of dodging anything that was fired to it!


    Finally, the Empire took it seriously and used its secret technologies¡­


    However, as they were about to fire at it, the projectile stopped moving¡­


    Their sensors and camera have finally captured a high-quality picture of the very small object!


    It''s actually a person?!


    Everyone in the Empire''s spaceship must''ve been surprised by its appearance¡­


    However, they shouldn''t be afraid of this kind of showing off.


    They have seen several Major Races of the gxy and all of them have peculiarities.


    Nevertheless, Wace ispletely different from them.

 Chapter 376 - Invitation ( Part 2 )

    Ace saw Wace''s appearance with his Bio-Armor suit in front of the Imperial gship¡­


    "What?!"


    He knows that he''s about to do something crazy¡­ However, confronting the fleet with his tiny figure seems to be a bit too crazy!


    Wace''s body wouldn''t even cover one of the main cannons of the spaceships.


    He''s too small in front of the enemies!


    Nevertheless, he knows that the man wouldn''t act without any ns whatsoever¡­ There must be a reason for his appearance here¡­


    ''Seriously, how would you invite them like that?''


    Ace mused. Wace''s said that he''s nning to invite the Empire tond so Ace was a bit curious on how he would do it.


    Then, he saw the Imperial gship activate all of their CIWS. Wace would be in trouble if didn''t act now¡­


    Although Magicians are powerful with mana, there is a proper way of using it to fight against the enemies.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Another series of explosions urred as Wace received all of their attacks. The enemy doesn''t seem to have ns of sending out their Mech Frames or other smaller machines to fight against the man¡­


    ''They should''ve realized that he''s from the Federation by now¡­ I wonder what they''re thinking.''


    Ace muttered as he observes the current actions of the Empire''s fleet.


    Wace''s bio-armor is something that everyone in the Empire should be aware of. There was a time when the creation of such armor was celebrated by the whole Federation after its sessful development¡­


    It was then massively marketed to the whole gxy as the Federation created various ranks of bio-armors depending on their capabilities¡­


    Right now, what Wace is wearing has simrities of thetest and finest Bio-Armor of the Federation¡­ or perhaps thetest during that time before he was sent here.


    With this information, they should have some clues about his identity already¡­


    "Hmm?"


    Ace suddenly saw Wace burst with power¡­ It''s not like he can feel the mana from here, but he somehow knows that this is his Astral Core''s Energy¡­


    The power umting in his hands is quite scary. Even Ace, who is so far away can recognize this due to the space surrounding Wace started to distort.


    ''So this is a fraction of the Celestial''s power.'' Ace thought as he clenched his fist while watching the event unfold.


    He doesn''t know whether Wace will be sessful or not but whatever the result is, his power will definitely be recognized by the Imperial Army¡­


    A power that is not something that any human could have.


    The Empire''s cannons fired at Wace to try and interrupt the man from doing something with that power¡­


    However, the figure just ignored it! The Bio-Armor wasn''t even damaged at all. The man''s resilience was truly incredible!


    The soldiers of the Empire must be seething in anger by now¡­


    Ace then looked at the stealthy Transcendence and Providence moving towards the Empire''s Fleet¡­


    On the other hand, the six Chronos have started moving in the opposite direction since Ace decided to give them a different mission.


    He decided to just continue the original n of letting them destroy the Conqueror Starships instead of joining Transcendence to attack¡­ In their recement was the Providence that is now fully repaired and resupplied after docking at the base for a few hours.


    Soon, Ace noticed that Wace''s preparation wasplete¡­


    The young man, with his bright fist filled with energy, moved towards the Imperial gship!


    He managed to avoid almost every bullet andser of the spaceship''s closed-in weapons system.


    Wace clenched his fist tightly and punched at the gship''s Barrier!


    The Five Conveyor Spacecraft, the four ck Sovereign Spaceships, and the remaining Invader Spaceships were unable to do anything to protect the Imperial gship from the tiny man''s attacks¡­


    The target is very small and was very tough!


    They could only watch the spaceship get punched with that incredible energy¡­


    As expected, the barrier was slowly unable to hold on!


    The gship''s barrier is the toughest within their fleet¡­ Its destruction means that the other spaceships would be unable to defend it as well.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The Shield Generators started malfunctioning as they did their best to stop Wace''s attack¡­


    If the Shield was removed, the gship will bepletely exposed!


    Although it is made by the finest alloy in the gxy, they still can''t ignore the fact that their opponents have a weird method ofbat¡­


    They can''t take the risk of putting down their shield especially the Imperial gship''s.


    The most important person within their fleet is living there!


    Bam!


    The Barrier waspletely destroyed!


    Then, they saw that the figure''s attack hasn''t ended yet! He''s still ready to deal more damage to the Imperial gship!


    They have to retreat at this rate!


    The spaceships around can''t attack the young man since he''s too close to the gship. If they miscalcted their shot or perhaps missed the target, it would be huge trouble as they will just be helping the figure¡­


    As the other captains of the spaceships started getting worried, Wace was suddenly blocked by six huge humanoid figures¡­


    The figures were surely over 3 meters tall and what''s surprising about them is that they are not wearing spacesuits at all!


    Their dark skin and bulging muscles were exposed as they wore a sleeveless golden robe on their bodies...


    Ace, who had seen this through the screen within themand center, took a deep breath.


    Even Wace who had just exploded with power paused after seeing the figures¡­


    They know them¡­


    However, he didn''t back away with his strike and continued to hit the gship¡­


    Then, the energy in his fist was actually thrown and moved extremely fast to hit the spacecraft.


    Bam!


    However, the attack waspletely blocked by one of the tall figures¡­ He just actually pped that energy before vanishingpletely¡­


    The others then looked at Wace with their red eyes as they raised their hands to capture the man¡­


    Whoosh!


    Wace used his Void Phase to avoid their encirclement but he didn''t move too far¡­ He reappeared in a safe distance before speaking with them in theirnguage.


    "Alright¡­ I''m out¡­ Follow me on the surface if you want to continue our fight¡­"


    His words were simple.


    He doesn''t want to continue their fight here in outer space and wants to have it on thend. Aside from that, he must''ve also exhausted his powers to destroy the strongest barrier in the gxy¡­


    Whoosh!


    They saw Wace descend on the and he seemed to be looking at them while he''s doing that¡­ It appears that he''s actually waiting for them to descend!


    As the tall figures were watching the man disappear, they suddenly looked in a different direction¡­


    They saw a rain of missiles and beams of lighting at them! Their timing was impable!


    The figures quickly returned to the gship¡­ The other spaceships surrounding it should be more than enough to deal with the attackers¡­


    Ace is now watching the Transcendence and Providence''sbined attack against the enemy fleet¡­


    They are not hesitating to fire all of their missiles and cannons¡­ It doesn''t matter whether it exhausted their energy supply at all¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    The remaining ck Sovereign Spaceships are the ones doing most of the defense for the entire fleet.


    They seem to be doing well considering they were caught off guard by their attacks¡­


    However, one of the ck Sovereign''s main cannons suddenly started turning stone!


    It''s the Petrification Caster!


    It was followed by Mana Bombs that were slowly consuming the integrity of their shields.


    Their attacks are all doing well!


    Ace felt that this is a good chance for them to take out one or two of the Empire''s spaceships.


    However, his hope was short-lived as the gship that has no barrier, fire a beam of light that covered the two battleships¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Although they have defenses and mana barriers ced, there are still parts of the spaceship that was damaged by that beam of light¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ This is bad¡­''


    Ace thought after seeing that the gship decided to move forward and handle the two mid-size battleships by themselves.


    The six tall beings that appeared in front of Wace a while ago was definitely the Empyrean Guard¡­


    They are from another Major Race, the Terub Legion, that has decided to side with the Empire for a valid reason.


    He knows that their civilization was nearly wiped out by the Gctic Federation''s army because it was said that they are a threat to humanity during that time and that they must be killed before they show signs of madness¡­


    That''s right, this race should be uncontroble¡­ It was like that until the appearance of the Empire that learned how to use their race and be their exclusive Empyrean Guard¡­


    As far as Ace and Avalon know, these Empyrean Guard would not appear unless there''s a royalty around!


    This means that it''s already guaranteed that there is a member of the Imperial Family within the gship!

 Chapter 377 - Furnace

    The Providence and Transcendence must''ve received considerable damage after the gship''s unexpected burst of power¡­


    Luckily, the two spaceships were still able to hold on¡­ It appears that the Mana Artifacts were unaffected by their attacks¡­


    [ Calcting Damage¡­ ]


    It was then confirmed by Avalon that only their Primary and Secondary Beam Guns were no longer active¡­


    Even their Positron Cannon is heavily damaged due to that beam of light¡­


    Luckily, the space missiles weren''t affected by the attack, but the problem is that they are also unable to use them due to some minor damages to the external tubes or theunchers outside.


    At the moment, only a couple of their Enhanced Turrets can be used aside from the Mana Artifacts installed around the spacecraft¡­


    It is not good for their side but at the very least, they still have the Mana Bombs and Petrification Caster with them.


    The magicians piloting the spacecraft and controlling the Mana Artifacts were a bit worried about the situation. However, they''ve already expected this much so they continued with their operations¡­


    "Continue attacking until we spent all of our Mana¡­"


    Ferdie Sigma, the captain of the Transcendence, ordered everyone within the spaceship. He''s an elite Mech Knight Pilot but he decided to join the mission since he knows that he has a higher chance of survival.


    His Mech Knight that is on standby can use Arcanist Phase for a while¡­ With such a feature, he would be able to escape on time, and perhaps, he can even save his colleagues that are in trouble.


    On the other hand, the captain of the Providence at this time was Ray Penber¡­


    He gave simr orders to the adept mages controlling the installed Mana Artifacts.


    Though he''s being assisted by Avalon to run the spacecraft, he''s still the one giving the finalmand since he knows the limit of the magicians, Mana Arrays, and Mana Artifacts within the spaceship.


    Aside from monitoring the enemy, Avalon monitors the spaceship and its other functionalities. Ray Penber would then have to focus on the things rted to mana¡­


    "We can hold on¡­ We still have plenty of Mana¡­ Everyone, as soon as we exhausted everything, you to proceed to the final phase¡­ Hurry!"


    The magicians hear their captain as they did their best to cast Mana Spells tounch stop the gship. Thetter is advancing and relying on their closed-in weapons systems to overpower the spells they are throwing¡­


    After all, Magic is just a form of mysterious energy¡­ By detonating bombs, firing missiles,sers, and cannons, the gship is managing to disrupt the formation of mana attacking them!


    This is only effective if they are sending this massive amount of projectiles¡­


    They realized that proceeding with the final phase is the best way to end this battle¡­


    A couple more minutes had passed as the two spaceships slowly retreated while the gship is chasing them¡­


    Then, they saw the other spaceships trying to encircle them!


    "It doesn''t matter if we still have mana left! Proceed to the Final Phase! Now!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    As soon as their captain gave theirmand, they can only agree as they also realized that they are not in a good position.


    If they continued to defend their position, they wouldn''t have a way out sooner orter¡­


    ***


    Ace watched the battle nervously. He''s unable to act right now since the battle going on is on a higher level. Though he also hasbat skills, a fight between spaceships is different.


    The size of missiles,sers, cannons, would easily destroy him¡­


    At this time, only Avalon''s calction can help them¡­ The A.I. is definitely helping them control the direction of the spaceship to avoid being surrounded by the enemies¡­


    ''Are they going to do it?''


    Ace noticed the sudden change of the spaceships'' movements¡­ The attacks weakened even though they shouldn''t have exhausted their energies yet.


    He looked at the battle seriously and hoped that they will be sessful.


    The decision for the Final Phase would be on the captain of the ship¡­ Ace didn''t mind whether they have to do it as long as they will be able to survive this battle. After all, the Spaceships can be constructed again while the Magicians are irreceable.


    Soon, he saw that all the Thrusters of the two mid-size battleships rushed to the gship that is closing in! They were trying to crash on the gigantic Imperial gship!


    The gship doesn''t have an activated barrier due to Wace''s attack a while ago and was only relying on their armor and turrets to defend¡­


    However, the size of the two mid-size spaceships couldn''t easily be ignored. Even if they have multiple cannons, there was no way they could pulverize them in such a short time!


    It means that the gship that moved too forward in the formation was in trouble!


    There were also no other spaceships nearby that could help them as they were trying to surround these two spaceships¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The gship fired multiple missiles and it sessfully hit the spaceships trying to crash on them¡­


    However, the materials used for these spaceships were not simple as well¡­ A hastily fired space missile wouldn''t be enough to stop them¡­


    Ace watched the whole scene with bated breath. If they managed to heavily damage the spaceship, it would be a huge sess for them!


    Bam! Bam!


    Two Positron cannons were activated and fired at the side of the two spaceships, it seems that they are trying to at least minimize the damage on their gship by changing the direction of the two crashing spaceships.


    But it was not enough!


    The Spaceships had activated their Radiant Wave to protect them for a moment!


    The Providence and Transcendence were also so close to crashing on the gship¡­


    Ace wanted to see a huge explosion or something but he suddenly noticed two figures with golden spacesuits on them¡­


    Their surveince shows that they are from the Khrusam Race! Unlike the Terubs, they are still unable to live in space without having a spacesuit¡­


    Ace then noticed that they brought a huge object with them as they faced the crashing spaceships¡­


    "Avalon, what''s that?"


    [ Analyzing¡­ ]


    [ Finding Match¡­ ]


    [ 93% -- Corpse Furnace ]


    [ 13% -- GH Drive ]


    "Corpse Furnace?!"


    He''s familiar with the object since this is the Khrusam Race''s signature technology.


    That is why even though this is the first time he had seen it, he knows that it has incredible power that could turn around the situation¡­


    "The Empyrean Guards¡­ now the Khrusam Race¡­ This is not good¡­"


    Ace muttered¡­ He hopes that there are only two other Major races within their spaceships¡­ After all, the imperial army with mutated or enhanced genes was also a concern to him!


    These enhanced humans were definitely capable of matching up against magicians as long as they have their weapons with them¡­


    Their threat isn''t any weaker than that two other races.


    Whooom~


    Ace watched the Corpse Furnace lit up before creating a huge shadow¡­ It was like a ck hole eating up the two spaceships that are blocking its way.


    5 seconds¡­ 8 seconds¡­ 12 seconds¡­


    After reaching 19 seconds, the two mid-size battleships were nowhere to be seen¡­ The Corpse Furnace hadpletely obliterated them!


    "Impossible¡­"


    Ace wasn''t sure how to react to this frightening power. He knows that if that situation happened to him, his only path was to escape.


    Those two battleships should even explode once they made a contact on the gship¡­ However, theypletely failed!


    The Khrusams managed to use their mysterious Death Energy by harnessing the Corpse Furnace andpletely leave unscathed¡­


    Just how were they able to do it?


    It appears that the Corpse Furnace would cause a lot of trouble once they descended to the magician''s world¡­


    ''Urgh¡­ Good luck to them¡­''


    Ace said in his mind before looking at another screen¡­


    They are the magicians with invisibility magic cast on them.


    Perhaps, if they focused their sensors in their direction, the Empire would notice the abnormality created by their magic¡­ However, they just erased the two battleships and there is no longer any visible threat on them.


    They seem to have decided that there is no longer an enemy and gathered beside the Imperial gship¡­


    Ace sighed in relief after seeing this¡­ Though they lost Providence and Transcendence at the same time, they at least forced them to use their trump card.


    Now, Wace would be able to act once they encountered them on the surface.


    A couple of hours had passed and the Imperial Fleet has finally started to move¡­ It seems that they''ve already repaired the powerful barrier on the gship¡­


    [ They are now descending¡­ ]


    Avalon suddenly reported which made him look at the screen immediately.


    There, he saw the spaceships descend together somewhere in the maind!


    Finally! Only the broken Conqueror Starships remained in outer space! He should be able to deal with them now that Wace would keep them busy¡­


    "Haa~"


    Ace sighed as he looked at the that will soon experiencerger chaos.

 Chapter 378 - Reinforcement

    Julian Esmeria looked at the ck Sovereign Spaceship and nced at the ruined six Mage Towers that tried to destroy it¡­


    "How could it be?" The old man asked himself after seeing the disastrous result.


    He could no longer contact the controllers of the six Mage Towers.


    "Helen, can you contact the controllers?"


    The man asked one of the nearest Controllers of a Mage Tower surrounding the spaceship.


    "I tried, Sir Julian. No one is responding. But we have to continue attacking! I''m sure that the spaceship has spent most of its energy by now. There''s no way that it has unlimited power!"


    "Mhmm¡­ Good call! Let''s proceed with that n! Be mindful of their cannons, try to destroy their barrels."


    "Yes, sir!"


    They all answered in unison and executed their n.


    A few moments ago, the ck Sovereign burst with power destroying the six Mage Towers. It was such a disastrous battle that perhaps a few hundred of their forces died without a single corpse left behind.


    Their usage of Grade 5 Mana Spell called Territorial Order pinned the spaceship and received massive damage on its surface after a series of bombardments.


    However, the spaceship created a blinding light that removed the effect of the high-grade spell!


    It was the start of their struggle to fight against the lone spaceship¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ What''s going on¡­ Are they also capable of using Magic? No¡ªIt must be some kind of advanced technology that Wace and Veda are talking about.''


    Julian grumbled as he recalls the event before their situation turned south¡­ Their Mana Spell was definitely effective for a few seconds¡­ However, they have underestimated ck Sovereign''s technology that led to this disaster¡­


    ''So, is this is why they only sent a single spaceship on ournd?!''


    Julian clenched his fist after realizing their situation¡­ It appears that the Aliens thought that this spaceship is already more than enough to deal with them!


    It is an insult that he wouldn''t let pass!


    He quickly contacted the ground forces that are hurrying to their location¡­


    "General Enzo! When will your men arrive here? We need immediate reinforcement!"


    The general he called is one of the strongest Sage that is serving the country. Right now, he and his people are hurrying to the ck Sovereign''s location using various vehicles, including a few of their loaned Airships.


    "What?! You''re already unable to hold on? With so many Mage Towers there?"


    The man couldn''t believe that Julian was really asking for their help¡­ He thought that their job was only to deal with the remnants of the aliens or perhaps ensure that no one would be able to escape from the Mage Towers.


    However, it seems that the problem is quite serious considering how Julian sounded so desperate¡­


    "What do you think we can do if your Towers were useless against it!"


    General Enzo added as he yelled at the Royal Court Magician. He''s not afraid of Julian even though he''s being favored by their King.


    After all, he knows that he probably has more rallying power than the old man living in his Mage Tower for a long time.


    "We just need all of your Mana Spells to be concentrated on the spaceship¡­ It has already endured numerous Grade 4 Spells and they also fired their strongest attacks on our Towers¡­ This spaceship won''tst that long!"


    "Fine! We are already hurrying¡­ Just hold on!"


    General Enzo turned off hismunicating device as he ordered his men to pick up their pace.


    Though he doesn''t like the man, they were still serving the same country and they have to protect it to the best of their ability.


    He looked at the airships above and the numerous vehicles carrying the Mage Battalion¡­


    In truth, he knows that their magicians wereckingpared to the countries on the maind¡­ They werecking decent equipment or Mana Artifact because most of the budget went to the extremely expensive Mage Towers¡­


    The King of their country wanted to build every ind they have with a Mage Tower. He believed that as long as they have them, their country will flourish.


    However, Enzo felt that it was too much to spend all of their wealth on these structures. He wanted them to be like Zairus that invested most of their resources into developing Magic Structures, creating innovative Mana Spells, and crafting groundbreaking Mana Artifacts.


    He felt that they would only advanced if their magicians would also learn new things instead of relying on ancient Arcane Technology.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    As soon as General Enzo arrived in the vicinity of the battle, he saw the ck and menacing spaceship receiving numerous Mana Spellsing from Mage Towers a few kilometers¡­


    Beep!


    Hismunication device suddenly received an update about the war. It came from the headquarters that is handling themunicationwork of the whole country.


    ''Eight Mage Tower''s has fallen¡­ This is not good. It''s too fast¡­''


    The general muttered as he worriedly looked at the spaceship that is enduring the attacks without any problems.


    It was also predicted that after 10 or so minutes, another 2 or 3 Mage Tower would fall from the spaceship''s incredible firepower that creates a beam of light many times stronger than Wace''s Laser Focus before.


    It seems that Julian''s desperation in his voice wasn''t acting a while ago¡­ If they decided to stop the onught of their attack and let this spaceship repair and regain its energy, it would be even more troublesome for them.


    They can''t let it rest¡­ They have to use prative mana spells and at least deal with the people within if the alien''s alloy was too tough.


    "Everyone! Rain the spaceship with your Mana Spells! We can''t let it recover! Its shield is no longer working¡­ We can do this!"


    The Magicians left the vehicles as they made a formation to start their attack¡­ It is simr to the 15 airships above them¡­


    Though there is no cannon installed on them, it does have a single elemental turret installed. The turret should be able to help even for a little with this distance.


    He then let his vice generals lead the bombardment of spells on the spaceship¡­


    Instead of joining the attack, Enzo decided to open hismunication device and called for Julian¡­


    "What''s wrong with that thing? Why haven''t you destroyed it yet after getting 8 Mage Towers?!"


    "We have underestimated them. Enzo¡­ Try not to die¡­ I''m readying for a final attack¡­ We just need to buy some time."


    "I know¡­ I''ll deal with this¡­"


    The general answered and ended themunication. He knows that Julian is quite busy right now. Whatever the man is nning, he can only leave it to him¡­ If his final attack was still unable to defeat the aliens, then he probably wouldn''t be able to do so as well.


    ***


    Raven, a member of the Lucent Knight, was included in the group that was sent to help Montego.


    Though he doesn''t like this shady country that is hiding the members of the Z-Company, they still have to help them due to the existence of theirmon enemies, the aliens from outer space.


    He and his team are all confident about their abilities¡­ They have a reliable spaceship, powerful Mech Knights, and several 6th Generation Mana Artifacts on their bodies.


    If they were still scared even with all of that, then they shouldn''t be a member of the Lucent Force.


    "Raven, we received another update from Avalon¡­ It appears that Montego is having a hard time¡­ We were told to hurry and save them¡­"


    Eagle, the oldest in the group, reported to Raven¡­


    "I understand. But you have to let everyone know that we are hurrying. Everyone should be ready once we arrived at our destination."


    "You''re right¡­ Let me inform them. But Raven, are you sure that we have enough power to deal with the aliens'' spaceship?"


    "We have¡­ Don''t worry about it."


    Raven smirked for a moment after saying this. They have a secret weapon that they readied so he''s not afraid of the current situation.


    "The other countries will also send their elites¡­ So we should be able to deal with that one¡­"


    Eagle pondered for a moment before replying.


    "I understand now¡­"


    The state of Kazan managed to hold on for a long while, so he felt that they should be capable of doing so as well.


    Even though the country or the Seiji Alliance had betrayed and negotiated with the aliens, the Lucent Force do not have ns to copy them at all.


    They are here to punish the aliens which made Eagle quite d¡­


    "Hmm?"


    Eagle, themunication officer, received a sudden message from Avalon.


    He checked his device and read the message.


    Apparently, by the time they arrived in front of the spaceship, Wace''s super A.I. messaged him about ns of the remaining Alien Fleet to descend in the maind!


    "Why now?!"


    Eagle couldn''t help but get conflicted about their mission¡­


    He can only pray that the Alien Spaceships wouldn''tnd near Zairus.

 Chapter 379 - Alien Attack ( Part 1 )

    Most of the people on this hope that the alien Empire would decide to send their spaceships one by one¡­


    This is true especially after learning the power of a single spaceship against the group of magicians in the State of Kazan and now at Montego.


    No one can deny the fact that they are so strong that they have to bring all of their elite forces to try and stop them...


    Even the Grade 5 Mana Spell, known to be the peak of the Magician''s ability, was unable to deal a decisive blow against the spaceships¡­


    Perhaps, it would only be effective if it was used against their humanoid machines or smaller machinery.


    They were not aware of Wace''s n to have all of the spaceships descend at the same time so he could easily deal with them using all of his Floating Inds¡­


    "Team, we''ll have to quickly deal with this lone ck Sovereign and return to our post¡­"


    Raven announced to everyone¡­


    They''ve brought their Lucent Knights with them as they know that it will be able to assist the Mage Towers of Montego¡­ So he wanted them toplete their preparation and finish this in a short time.


    On the other hand, the ze Spaceship also has a powerful cannon and elemental turret they can use¡­


    "Raven, contact Julian for now¡­ We have to know whether they have other ns¡­" Eagle reminded their leader.


    Though they are already in front of the spaceship that is currently receiving bombardment from the remaining Mage Towers and their ground forces, they can''t just join their attacks and have to coordinate with their general.


    After all, there are cases that casting multiple magic may cause idents if they got too close with each other¡­ It would cancel their Mana Spell and perhaps affect the other attacks¡­ They can''t let that happen right now.


    "You''re correct. Order our pilots to enter their Knights for now¡­ I will join you after contacting Julian."


    "Alright¡­ Try to get as much information as you can¡­ We need to have a good grasp about the ck Sovereign''s firepower."


    "Mhmm¡­ I understand. Don''t worry about it."


    Raven contacted Julian as he quickly asked about the things they can help with. At the moment, he can see that the surroundingnd is a mess due to the spaceship''s missiles and cannons, however, they''re unaware whether Julian or the Sages of this country have other ns¡­


    "Finally! Help us pin down the ck spaceship¡­ The Mage Battalion can no longer hold on¡­"


    Julian immediately said after they connected¡­ Raven has questions about it but he first decided to signal his men about the n¡­


    They didn''t take long before they started helping the Mage Battalion on the ground¡­ The mid-size battleship had also started activating their ground missiles and petrification caster.


    "Julian¡­ What''s going on? Why can''t you beat this thing yet?"


    "Tsk¡­ Just look for yourself¡­ You''ll see." The man answered as he ended the conversation. It seems that he''s also busy on his side.


    Raven just shook his head and headed to his Lucent Knight. He''s not someone who would justfortably sit on his chair and watch everything unfold in his eyes.


    He wanted to be together with his fellow Lucent Mages and bring down these Aliens.


    A couple of minutes had passed as they have to stop their bombardment of mana spells¡­ Though they have impressive cooling systems, the umted heat from casting various spells can overload their Mana Artifacts or overheat their machines.


    On the other hand, the spaceship that is on receiving end decided to counterattack at this point!


    Perhaps it had also exhausted most of its energy, they have actually decided to send out their Mech!


    Raven smirked at this¡­ Although Mana Spells is not effective against therge spaceship with unknown space alloy, they''re sure that they''ll be able to handle the smaller Mech Frames.


    "Alright, Lucent Knights! We''ll deal with them! Be careful with your cannons! Don''t hit the allies on the ground!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    "Oh, right¡­ We have an A.I. to help us with that¡­ Just be mindful of the A.I.''s calction¡­ Consider it at all times."


    "We understand, leader." The other 9 pilots of the Lucent Knights answered¡­ They decided not tounch the Mech Knights they have in case an enemy got closer to ze. They will be staying within the battleship to protect in case of emergency.


    nk! nk! nk!


    Three linear catapults opened on the side of the aliens as theyunch 40 Mech Frames to fight against the Mage Battalion, their Steel Knights, and Lucent Knights¡­


    With this move from the enemy, the Mage Tower was unable to cast long-range spells as they might hit their allies¡­


    They have to deal with the Mech Knights themselves¡­


    [ Analyzing¡­ ]


    [ Dragon''s Warrior Mech Identified. ]


    The A.I. installed in the Lucent Knights scanned the Mech Frames of the enemies¡­ It then provided them the details of the Mech¡­


    "Mhmmm¡­"


    Raven noticed the problem with the Warrior Mech¡­ They have a technology called Subspace ster and as per their A.I., their Lucent Knight may be able to avoid it but not defend against it¡­


    As for the Mage Battalion on the ground, he could almost see them perishing once the Warrior Mech takes this battle seriously¡­


    On the other hand, the remaining Mage Towers were having a rotation on the bombardment against the ck Sovereign¡­


    They finally realized that they can''t put a dent in their armor so they focused on making the ck Sovereign stay on the defensive.


    Then, Raven looked at the Steel Knights from Montego¡­


    "Urgh¡­ They look terrible¡­"


    Their humanoid machines look fragile or perhaps, they''re junks of metal put together to form a barely functioning Steel Knight¡­


    It does have a rifle or mana artifact that looks like one but it seems that they haven''t learned anything from ying the Alien Invasion!


    Wace should''ve spread a massive amount of knowledge within the game that can be taken as long as youplete a certain mission.


    It wasn''t that hard to get them and it certainly helped a lot of people¡­ He thought that every nation that had supplies of VR Pods would be able to ess this knowledge and improve their current situation.


    The man shook his head as he ordered his team to move in the formation¡­ They can''t let the Subspace ster hit them so they have to be coordinated in this battle.


    "We can do this¡­"


    Raven said confidently. Not because they have a reliable ally but because their A.I. and Lucent Knight are built differently from the average Steel Knights of other nations.


    ***


    Bam!


    Wace appeared on one of his floating inds.


    He''s breathing heavily as he removed the Bio-Armor from his body.


    His brief battle against the Imperial Fleet consumed a lot of his Astral Core''s Energy¡­ Especially his attack on the gship.


    He didn''t expect that he''ll use so much energy for that operation¡­ He wanted to give up halfway when he realized its toughness but decided to push it through to shake the confidence of the Empire and perhaps anger them a bit.


    The Imperial gship''s barrier was tougher than what he expected them to be. He had almost used his Aeon Guardian toplete the task.


    Luckily, he had managed to destroy it and still have the strength to descend and use his Void Phase tond.


    "Whew¡­ That was crazy¡­"


    Avalon then appeared as a floating metal ball beside Wace.


    "How was it? Do you think that they''ll consider descending now?"


    [ The Providence and Transcendence are still fighting at the moment. If they can seed in this operation, the Empire will be more inclined to descend and follow your trail here. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s good to hear¡­"


    Wacemented as he seated on a nearby rock to rest for a bit¡­ At this moment, even if they have to sacrifice many magicians, he wanted to trap all of the Imperial Army¡­


    "Avalon, do you have an in-depth analysis of those Empyrean Guard? Aren''t they too strong? They''re not using any suit to appear in space?!"


    [ Negative. They would barely appear and act in a battle so even the Gctic Federation has no information about them. However, there were rumors recorded that a dozen members of the Terub race can fight equally against the Space Creature that attacked the Space Habitat of the Empire before. ]


    "Isn''t that just an exaggeration?"


    [ Unable to answer. I''mcking information about them, so rumors can''t be confirmed whether they''re true or not. ]


    "Oh, well¡­ We''ll just see once they get down here¡­" Wace said as he monitored the group of spaceships nearby¡­


    Apparently, they sent out tons of Mech Frames and Marauders Gears to perhaps survey the surroundings¡­ After confirming that there are no threats around, the Conveyor spacecraft decided to send out their builders!


    They are the androids tasked to build ground fortresses of the Empire!


    It seems that they are truly nning to make this ce one of their headquarters!

 Chapter 380 - Alien Attack ( Part 2 )

    Wace observed the builders that the Conveyor Spacecraft sent out.


    Compared to his Elysium that can also be used inbat, the android builders in front of them don''t have any functionalities meant forbat.


    Apparently, it is to avoid the possibility of Xeno Collective to try and control these androids and to be used to fight their creators. The threat of this race is already more than enough so they can''t give them a chance to infiltrate their defenses¡­


    The Xeno Collective is also another minor race simr to Arians but they werepletely made up of machines or artificial intelligence.**


    If not for their limited number, the Collective could''ve been considered as a Major Race¡­ Luckily, they were already satisfied at controlling twos and just decided to defend their territory.


    Well, as an intelligent machine, they have realized that being too greedy may result in a full-blown war and they would certainly perish¡­ They can''t be aggressive and decided to adapt to their situation instead.


    "I guess, they''ll waste their time building that instead of fully controlling thend¡­ Very well."


    Wace was quite happy that this group of spaceships decided to create a stronghold on this ind¡­


    Perhaps they are nning to maximize the opportunity that the Seiji Alliance gave them and settle down here while they collect all the data they needed on this.


    It is quite a good move considering there are still other spaceships that haven''t descended yet.


    "Avalon, I need to replenish by Astral Energy¡­ Monitor them for now. Inform me if they make a move, especially the Seiji Alliance¡­ Consider whether I should eliminate them as well."


    [ Affirmative. We haven''t removed the bugs we installed on theirmunicationwork yet. Veda is also actively monitoring them after being informed about their betrayal. ]


    "Veda? That''s good¡­ He has a widerwork on them¡­ You can just coordinate with him¡­ Alright, I''ll leave now."


    Wace said as he vanished on the surface of the ind and reappeared inside his secret room¡­


    He put down the suitcase he''s carrying as it has to regenerate after getting damaged a while ago¡­ The friction made by punching that barrier was a bit too overwhelming that the bio-armor could''ve copsed. If he didn''t properly control his Astral Core to strengthen it, he would have to quickly abort his mission and leave the space¡­


    ''Well, I guess I won''t be needing it from now on anyway¡­''


    After all, once the Empire fully descended here, what he would consider using would be his 7th Generation Mana Artifact.


    It''s true that he has plenty of Mana Spells or abilities he can use against the Empire including those he received from the Pathfinder like his Divine Sense.


    However, the 7th Generation was just too different as it creates a sentient Mana that can be considered as a cheat skill¡­


    The sacrifices of several magicians, especially those whopleted the Arcane Baptism, were a huge factor in the sess of this generation of mana artifacts.


    At the moment, Wace couldn''t think that Aeolia would be capable of surpassing this invention of his and create the 8th Generation within the next few centuries.


    The existence of the 7th Gen was just too incredible¡­


    ''It''s up to you, Ace¡­ Those two spaceships should be more than enough to trigger them¡­'' Wace thought as he seated on the ground to take a rest.


    "Hey¡­ What happened up there?"


    A familiar voice echoed in his head¡­


    He flinched for a bit as he was surprised by the sudden burst of Astral Energy connecting to his mind¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ This guy¡­ Can''t you control your energy and be gentle a little bit?'' Wace thought but he didn''t dare to voice it out¡­


    The one who spoke to him was the Celestial Being that should be hiding in one of the floating inds. Though he could survive fighting against this being due to his Aeon Guardian, it doesn''t mean that he would be unafraid of this Celestial.


    The problem in dealing with this being is that he''spletely unaware of what it was thinking. If not for this guy''s interest in his Divine Sense, he wouldn''t even be here.


    "I just greeted the creatures from a different¡­ They''ll being down here soon. Do you want to meet them?" Wace bravely asked.


    "No. Maybeter. I found some interesting creatures down here¡­"


    "Down where? You''re not in one of the Floating Inds?" Wace was concerned about this. The Celestial can''t just roam around the as it would certainly create chaos wherever it goes. Its mere presence is already suffocating to lower life forms, what if he identally massacred tons of people without it noticing?


    ''Haa~ I feel bad about this.''


    He didn''t dare to use his Divine Sense to detect the presence of the Celestial as it may offend him. This is the reason why he''s unaware of its location up until he mentioned it.


    Luckily, the Celestial wasn''t too far from him.


    "No. I dived into the ocean a while ago. I found some interesting intelligent beings here¡­ They look like you but with fish scales¡­ Very interesting¡­"


    The Celestial answered truthfully.


    This shocked Wace as he had never considered that this Celestial would be there! What in the world is he doing down there?!


    ***


    In outer space, Ace watched the Empire''s fleet descend on Earth¡­ or perhaps the Magic Earth, which he would like to call.


    He already confirmed the safety of the magicians who managed to escape from the Empire''s encirclement a while ago¡­


    They are all in good condition except for the fact that they''ve almost exhausted their Mana Reserves.


    Apparently, they have emptied their Mana Pool during the battle a while ago and only relied on the Mana Stones around them. These stones managed to supply them with energy to continue with the fight.


    "Good job, everyone! This mission is a sess!" Ace announced to lift everyone''s mood.


    "Yes! They finally descended!"


    "That''s right! Whew~ I''m sure that they can deal with them on the ground."


    "Hahaha! Of course¡­ Just think of the difference in number."


    "Yes. We also have our Grand Arcanists and Grand Sages waiting for them. They''ll definitely want to escape our once they realized their powers."


    "Hahaha¡­ That''s right¡­"


    The magicians celebrated as they felt that while they are gathering their power here at the moon, the magicians on the surface were also doing their best to find a way to defend against the aliens.


    Ace smiled at their optimistic thoughts¡­ He didn''t me them for that but he also wanted to remind them of something¡­


    "It may not be easy for those on the surface as well¡­ We just confirmed two other Major Races working together with the Meredith Empire¡­ They are the Khrusam Race and Terub Legion. You can get more information about Avalon regarding these two races¡­"


    "Major Races¡­ They should be forces simr to the Meredith Empire, right? Does it mean that we will be fighting against three super-powerful species of aliens?" Hilda Calem asked as she felt that this is not a good sign for them.


    If it''s true that they will be fighting three Major Races, then it can bepared with fighting against three Dorssia Empires within the Alien Invasion Game!


    Just a single Empire can conquer their based on the game! What if there are two more?


    The magicians finally realized the weight of the situation.


    However, since they saw that Ace was still smiling¡­ It means that they still have hope!


    ***


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions urred on the ground¡­


    As Raven had expected, the Subspace ster of the Warrior Mech would be unavoidable for the ground forces of Montego''s Army.


    Their thousand soldier and magicians died just like that¡­ They were also unable to protect them because the Warrior Mech were numerous¡­ They are also unable to rely on their ze as it has to deal with the ck Sovereign¡­


    "Raven¡­ We can''t let this continue¡­ The Montego''s Army is unexpectedly weak¡­"


    "I know¡­ But we arrived too fast, the other reinforcement from the two other nations will still arrive in a few minutes."


    "Do you think we can hold on? It''s already amazing that we were able to survive up until now¡­"


    Three of the Lucent Knights were capable of using the Arcanist Phase, this allows them to fight equally against the numerous Warrior Mech¡­ As a matter of fact, they have already managed to destroy 4 Warrior Mech in this brief encounter¡­


    [ Warning: Subspace ster Activation Detected ]


    [ Move away from the predicted path. ]


    Boom!


    The mountain behind the Lucent Knights exploded as it burned the remaining trees around¡­


    Haa!


    The Lucent Knights didn''t falter as they showed why they are the elite forces of the Zairus¡­


    They cast multiple Grade 4 Mana Spells¡­


    "Great Corrosion!"


    They know that the space alloy used by the aliens was tough¡­ However, they also believe that as long as they can cast an appropriate spell, they''ll be able to deal with it¡­

 Chapter 381 - Alien Attack ( Part 3 )

    As soon as Wace filled over eighty percent of his Astral Energy, he was informed by Avalon about the descent of the Imperial gship to the maind¡­


    "Where? Are theynding together this time? Or still scattered?" He immediately asked and hoping that they''ve decided to stay together.


    [ They were split into two groups. The Imperial gship''s group predictednding location is a mountain in the country of Guwain. The other group led by Invader Spaceships willnd at Ste Region in Zairus. Like what we predicted, they''llnd not too far from that Memory Crystal Mines. ]


    Avalon reported. The A.I. is currently in the form of a floating metal ball while reporting this. At the moment, there are only a few bodies or machines that Avalon can control within this Floating Ind.


    "I understand¡­ We''ve already predicted this much. Give me the current distribution of their forces."


    [ Affirmative ]


    [ Montego ¨C 1 ck Sovereign Spaceship ( with Cube of Paradox ) ]


    [ Kazan ¨C 3 Invader Spaceship; 1 Conveyor Spacecraft; 1 Conqueror Starship ]


    [ Guwain ¨C 1 Imperial gship; 6 ck Sovereign Spaceship; 2 Conveyor Spacecraft ]


    [ Zairus ¨C 7 Invader Spaceship; 3 Conveyor Spacecraft ]


    Wace analyzed the information that Avalon provided¡­ At this point, they should be able to confirm the target of these aliens¡­


    "Mhmm¡­ Did you get the information we need about the locations they selected?"


    [ Yes. All of the spots have Memory Crystal Mines. ]


    Avalon answered. The A.I. confirmed this information through many sources including Veda.


    "Is that so? Do you think it''s really a coincidence, Avalon?"


    [ No. There is a higher chance that they are targeting these mines. ]


    Wace nodded after confirming Avalon''s opinion. There was no way that they are doing this randomly. However, he''s unaware of what they were thinking. They aren''t Magicians or people that can control Mana¡­


    It must be remembered that the memory crystals were only allowed to be consumed by the Magicians a few times. After all, it greatly affects their brain and could cause serious damage if more than what was allowed was consumed.


    They also prohibited products for ordinary people as they would be unable to handle the process of transferring knowledge.


    This is why thepany, Seed Holdings, were doing their best to create a Memory Crystal that can be consumed by ordinary people and allow them to feel the presence of mana¡­


    They call it Inheritance Pill and as far as he knows, the project was still ongoing or perhaps requiring a lot more tests before being sent to the public.


    Nevertheless, this still confuses Wace as he''s sure that the physique of Khrusam Race, Terub Legion, and the Empire''s citizens was not used to Mana.


    ''Ugh¡­ It doesn''t matter for now¡­ However, we can''t just let them take these crystals if that''s what they''re looking for.'' Wace thought as he decided to inform everyone to try and destroy the mines if they are unable to stop the Empire''s Army¡­


    Anyway, he already informed them that they''ll most likely look for these mines. For now, he can only hope that they''ve sent a few people to guard these ces¡­


    "Avalon, you just need to proceed with the defensive protocol¡­ Don''t hold back with our satellite cannons¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Although Wace is here in the State of Kazan, he still has his mountain fortress somewhere in the Zairus¡­


    That ce is extremely important for him since that is where his Mass Driver is located¡­ There is no other ce with Mass Drivers aside from that ce.


    If it is destroyed, they would be unable to send supplies to the people in the Moon Base and it will be a huge problem.


    Of course, that can also be resolved by sending those magicians back on Earth. However, they still have to operate the remaining Satellite-ss weapon and use it on their next missions.


    After all, this is their chance to use an orbital weapon against these aliens.


    ***


    The Council of War in Zairus was having another meeting as they have confirmed the presence of the aliens in their airspace.


    "Everyone! We are now under attack¡­ We just confirmed a total of 10 Alien Spaceships are descending here¡­" Charles announced to everyone.


    "Ten?! That''s bullying!" Chester Cornfield, who just went out of hisboratory, was surprised upon hearing this¡­ He knows that there''s only a single spaceship that was sent in Montego and they were already struggling!


    It''s not fair!


    "Haa~ Why would they send a lot here? It''s not like we''re the strongest nation on this¡­"


    Troy could only sigh as he looked at his previous master, Hayden Fraser.


    The enneadic magician was already aware of this information so he wasn''t too surprised. He looked at everyone that is shocked by the news as he reminded them about their ns.


    "Do not worry, everyone¡­ We will be able to go through this. We''ve done a lot of preparations¡­ I will even lead the first Mage Battalion to wee these aliens¡­ You just have to focus on what you can do for our country¡­"


    The old man''s words were calm and unhurried. Though he can''t say that he''s the strongest mage here due to his age, he knows that he''s one of the best leaders they have when ites to arge-scale war like this¡­


    Though he was unable to y the Alien Invasion game for long he still managed to get an idea about the enemies they will be facing¡­


    He felt that it is now his time to prove that an Enneadic Mage shouldn''t be taken easily.


    Then, Charles showed Avalon''s broadcast on the spaceship''s descent¡­


    The targeted location was already evacuated since they were informed early by Avalon. The citizens living in the area where they willnd were already taken away by various flying airships and vehicles by the Magicians.


    They saw the ten aliens vessels, 7 Invader Spaceships and 3 Conveyor Spacecraft, enter the atmosphere¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Four consecutive shots from a huge beam of light weed the spaceships!


    "That''s Wace Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun¡­" Yumi muttered after seeing the attack¡­


    The power behind that beam was definitely incredible.


    Two Conveyor Spacecraft were directly hit after destroying their shields¡­ It created small explosions and smoke can even be seen from afar¡­


    They surely can''t ignore that attack¡­ Some of the members of the council were even hoping that they''ll decide to move away from the country after being hit by that¡­


    However, it seems that they are truly determined tond at Ste Region.


    They can only ept their fate andmence their battle ns.


    Perhaps, Yumi can say that their country is probably the most equipped and ready to fight the aliens. It is thanks to Wace''s early ns¡­ Now, they have to show their worth and let him watch that they weren''t just idling around and creating ns to destroy the aliens¡­


    "Yumi¡­ Were you also invited by Avalon to enter their Fortress at Mt. Ravencroft?" Aaron Schmidt suddenly asked while everyone is busying themselves contacting their subordinates.


    His Lucent Force was already dispatched under his orders so he no longer has to think of anything else and just wait for the result¡­


    Thedy looked at the young man and answered after pondering for a moment¡­


    "Yes¡­ However, I decline it since I have to help Grandma Thea¡­"


    "I see¡­ Is she doing well?"


    "Mhmm¡­ She''s still fine¡­ If I didn''t stop her, I think she''ll join Sir Hayden''s Vanguard¡­" Yumi chuckled a bit after remembering this.


    Aaron smiled at that as the Grandma Thea she''s referring to is her superior, and as far as he knows, she''s one of the survivors of the first expedition.


    It is quite amazing that thedy was still alive up until today even though she''s not known for having a strong and healthy body¡­


    "How about you? Are you nning to go there?" Yumi asked.


    "Yes¡­ I canmand the Lucent Force everywhere¡­ Aside from that, we already found the best pilot for our Golden Mech Knight so handling the chain ofmand would be a lot easier for me¡­"


    "Golden Mech Knight?"


    "Yes, it''s arge Steel Knight created with gold materials. I''m pretty sure that it wouldn''t lose out against the alien''s machinery¡­" Aaron smirked after saying this¡­


    He''s fully confident about the power of the Knight¡­ Now that they found an amazing Pilot hidden within the sea of magicians, its strength would definitely be multiplied.


    A good pilotbined with a good Mech Knight will surely give them a good result.


    "Ho~ You''re confident with your pilot, huh¡­ Let''s see how they''ll fare once the Aliens sent out their Mech Frames¡­"


    "Hehe¡­ You''ll see¡­"


    Yumi only smiled as she felt that if there''s a good pilot out there, Wace would''ve taken them already.


    Nevertheless, she decided to ask for its name in case it is someone she knows.


    "Oh, you might be familiar with him. His name is Ross Schien." Aaron answered and his words caught everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 382 - Resolution

    The Mage Battalion of the Montego was already wiped out by the ck Sovereign in front of them¡­


    Raven and the members of the Lucent were unable to do anything about it. The Subspace ster of the Warrior Mech was too troublesome that whenever it''s activated, they can only scatter and avoid the damage it would cause, or perhaps lessen it a bit.


    Luckily, their Lucent Knights were capable of speed flight and they could outmaneuver the Warrior Mech¡­ The Float Drive System of their Mechs was incredibly stable and they almost move the Lucent Knights as good as when they''re on the ground.


    On the other hand, the Warrior Mechs were also keeping up with them using their Gravity Engine. Though these Mech Frames were designed to fight within the airless vacuum of space, they have enough functionalities and equipment to allow them to move without any issues¡­


    What was amazing about their Gravity Engine is that it doesn''t matter whether the gravity in the they visited is strong or not, it will be adjusted ordingly to let the pilots experience no issues with theirbat performance.


    "Raven¡­ I think we should retreat for now¡­ The ck Sovereign is stronger than we thought. We can perish here but ze must not be destroyed here."


    Falcon, Eagle, and the other member of the Lucent have simr thoughts after fighting the ck Sovereign for a while.


    The reinforcement from the two other nations have already arrived but they were also unable to do much and could only take a few Mech Frames with their full force¡­ They were even at the disadvantage even after all of their preparations.


    Perhaps, if none of the magicians are using Mech Knights and Airships, they would''ve been defeated already.


    The sheer power that an Alien Mech Frame could muster was too incredible that even with all their high-grade Mana Spells, they could barely defeat any of them.


    Perhaps, if they can continuously cast Grade 5 spells, these Mech Frames would be easier to deal with.


    Unfortunately, they do not have that luxury and could only use whatever they have on hand.


    Raven weighed the situation¡­ Julian seems to be nning on making a move himself and was only waiting for other Grand Arcanists and Grand Sages to make a move with him. It seems that he''s thinking that it''s better to act together to ensure the sess of their attack.


    However, Raven doesn''t have that much time¡­ The ck Sovereign was too strong for them and they have to admit it¡­


    The worst thing was that they also heard that there was a high chance that some powerful aliens are inside that spaceship! These aliens were not even making a move yet and they''re already struggling! They have to revise their n and change their approach with these aliens!


    If they didn''t do so, they might not have a chance at all and die here¡­


    After thinking for a moment and considering the options they have¡­ Raven decided to contact the council to request an abort on their mission.


    He exined his thoughts about this and how Montego was too unprepared for this war. They were too reliant on the stationary Mage Towers that is extremely easy to be targeted by the Spaceship''s Cannons.


    There was no way to dodge the ck Sovereign''s missiles and cannons as they can only try to bear the brunt of their assault, which is not really a good option considering the power of the spaceship.


    There are already 8 confirmed Mage Towers destroyed and even if they have several more hundred scattered around the country¡­ There is really no point with that if they can''t reinforce each other.


    "If that''s the best option you have there, you can abort your mission and return here now¡­ Just inform Virgan and Maja about your ns¡­ Are you stillmunicating with Julian?"


    "Yes!" Raven replied.


    "Inform him that it''s the decision of the council. Suggest to them that they can consider abandoning the region for now and try to consolidate their forces first."


    "I understand. I will do so."


    Their conversation ended just like that as he did what he was told. Julian can only ept their decision since he knows that they are indeedcking and was too confident about the power of the Tower¡­


    "Very well. I hope that your country survives that massive attack of the aliens¡­" Julian said and Raven couldn''t find any emotions in his words.


    Nevertheless, it''s already good enough that he''s aware that his country is facing arger threat than Montego.


    Boom! Boom!


    "Tsk! Retreat now! Cover the two! Return to ze! Hurry!"


    "Yes!"


    Apparently, two Lucent Knights exploded after being hit by the Subspace ster¡­ Luckily, Wace created an ejectable cockpit that saved the lives of the Magicians.


    The Mech Frames were about to capture the two Magicians when the remaining Lucent Knights fired at them with everything they got¡­


    The two magicians all used their Mana Artifacts to use a smokescreen and to hide from the enemies as they returned to ze unscathed.


    Boom!


    "Haha! Take that! Let''s return now¡­ Let them handle this."


    Ravenughed after he managed to destroy an arm of the Warrior Mech chasing him¡­ The arm is carrying the ster which made the pilot stop on their chase.


    ***


    Wace nced at the five spaceships below him¡­ His n was simple, to drop the Floating Inds to these vessels!


    Right now, the other floating inds are currently heading their way to the site where the other spaceships are located¡­


    He has to wait until all of them are ready before dropping them at the same time¡­ After all, they will be wary once one of the spaceships was hit by the huge ind.


    [ The Seiji Alliance is starting to move. Ten of their Airships and more than two hundred Steel Knights started heading towards the maind. ]


    "Did you manage to capture any of their conversations?"


    [ Negative. They conducted their meeting in an extremely secluded room within the Pce. ]


    "That''s too bad. However, they might start a war against Zairus¡­"


    Wace pondered for a while.


    The Imperial gshipnded in Guwain, a nation allied to Seiji.


    Of course, the main reason was perhaps due to the Memory Crystal Mines located in that ce.


    However, he suddenly thought of another reason! It seems that the Imperial gship decided tond there because it is safe and that they will not be attacked by Guwain! This is due to the negotiation made by their council of war which would make sense¡­


    "Avalon, do we have a method to monitor the site where the Imperial gship descended?"


    [ Yes. Our Orbital Observer is still active. ]


    "Very well¡­ I need to see the situation."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon dutifully answered as it showed an aerial view of the site¡­


    The Imperial gship and the othersnded in a forest¡­ There''s also a massive ce that looks like a quarry not too far from them.


    Wace suspected that it is actually the Memory Crystal Mine.


    There are no signs of battle around the spaceships¡­


    "Find their army and see what they''re doing."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Searching¡­ ]


    Wace felt dismayed that the Guwain didn''t show any response against the Empire. It seems that his guess is right¡­ The natives or the magicians of this have truly betrayed their own ce just because of their greediness¡­


    He''s hoping that they will do their best to attack the empire but it seems that they will attack their own fellow magicians with the help of the Empire¡­


    ''Sigh~''


    Wace was already thinking of wiping of the returning forces of the Seiji Alliance when Avalon came back to him.


    [ The Mage Battalion, Mech Knights, Airships, and wheeled Elemental Turrets of Guwain is about 10 kilometers away from thending site. ]


    Then, Wace saw that the army was just camping and they seem to have no ns of attacking the empire¡­


    There''s not even a major movement from them at all.


    Wace clenched his fist after realizing what was happening¡­ This is not good. If the four nations would indeed observe on the back lines as the Empire stabilizes themselves on the, it would bepletely difficult to defeat in the long run¡­


    "Avalon¡­" The young man muttered in a low and serious voice.


    [ ¡­ ]


    "I want to destroy the returning army of Seiji Alliance. Find a good spot for me to ambush them."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Soon, Avalon found a perfect spot to eliminate them.


    It is a part of the sea¡­ A ce where there would surely be no witnesses¡­


    Wace surveyed the area. The Seiji''s fleet is predicted to arrive there in about an hour¡­ It is enough time for his floating inds to arrive at the three other sites.


    "Very well. You found a good spot, Avalon." The young man smirked as he waited for the time.


    Of course, he also checked several times that the state of Kazan and Guwain are truly not nning to attack the aliens.

 Chapter 383 - Appearance

    Charles and others saw the roughnding of the 10 Spaceships in the Ste Region.


    ''At the very least, the Imperial gship didn''tnd here.'' Charles thought after confirming the Invader and Conveyor Spaceships that have just arrived.


    Boom! Boom!


    Another explosion urred on the two Conveyor Spaceships that was hit by Wace''s Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun.


    It seems that it did more damage than what it shows outside.


    "It''s perfect time to start our attack¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ Our forces are already about to arrive."


    "Very well¡­ Avalon said that they''ll be sending out their version of Mech Knights to the nearby towns and cities¡­ So our forces are currently stationed nearby to wee them¡­"


    "Alright, our ze is also hurrying to return. However, our main force is just waiting for the signal."


    "I understand¡­ Our Airships and Wace''s Chronos would tie down the enemy''s spaceships once they sent out their Mech Frames."


    "Our Mage Battalion and Mech Knights would just have to deal with their smaller forces¡­"


    "Is there any question?"


    "Sir ine Allusia wanted to lead his elite forces once the spaceships released their ground soldiers. In case the Khrusam Race would go out, he wanted to deal with them himself, is what he said."


    "Hmm¡­ Isn''t that good? Allow him to do what he wants."


    The meeting finally ended as they started to surround the 10 Spaceships. The other towns around had also evacuated their people to the nearest shelter and some were even nning to visit the capital to ensure their safety.


    Of course, it includes Wace''s family living at the Red Star Town.


    Wace has prepared various shelters for them and even a spaceship in case they needed to escape the. Aside from that, Wace has one floating ind that will not be used as a sacrifice.


    Instead, Avalon reconstructed the surface of the ind and created a flying fortress.


    "Should we visit his factory first?" ine asked his husband¡­ They are currently in control of their actions¡­ Wherever they go, one of Avalon''s Elysiums would apany them¡­


    On the other hand, rice is with her transforming Mech Knight to fight on the back lines¡­ Although she has a powerful Mech Knight, herbat prowess can be a problem since most of her previous works are all rted to being a spy or managing spies in other countries.


    Of course, Wace had also considered this and created some ns for her¡­


    Chase and ine then brought their youngest daughter, ire, to Mt. Ravencroft. As soon as they arrived, they found out that Wace had also invited some people he knows to board one of his spaceships¡­


    This is a mid-size transatmospheric battleship like the Excellence and named Trance.


    Now that the Excellence, Providence, and Transcendence were destroyed, only Trance was the remaining mid-sized ship and the rest are all at the smaller size simr to Chronos.


    ine recognized some of them as Wace''s ssmates at the Academy, and some of them were distinguished individuals like Miya, Lacus, and Yumi¡­


    She knows that these three were always together with her son so she quickly recognized them¡­


    Yumi was the first one to noticed their group and greeted her¡­


    "Madam ine¡­ It is nice to see you here¡­"


    "Oh, Yumi, right? Thank you for taking care of my son¡­"


    ine said replied after recalling that this woman is together with Wace when they decided to explore the northern continent.


    "It''s me who should thank Wace for taking care of me¡­ Haha¡­ Right, this is Miya and Lacus, Wace''s close friends."


    Yumi introduced the two. ine greeted the two and wanted her husband to help her¡­ However, the man who was supposedly behind her was already looking closely at Trance¡­


    They heard him talking to one of the automatons assisting them¡­


    "So, we will use this spaceship to reach the floating ind? Is that correct?"


    [ That''s correct, Sir Chase. We are only waiting for a few more people before we take off. ]


    "I see¡­ After bringing us up there, will this be used to fight the aliens?" He asked.


    [ It depends on the situation, Sir Chase. Wace ordered that this spaceship will not be used inbat if it''s not an emergency. ]


    "I understand, that''s reasonable." The man replied while looking fascinated at the huge spacecraft.


    It seems that his son was truly a genius¡­ Someone that exceeded Aeolia''s talent¡­


    ***


    Wace used his Void Phase and appeared at the coordinates given by Avalon¡­


    Based on their calctions, the Seiji Alliance''s troops would still arrive in about 15 or so minutes.


    However, Wace calmly bathed in the ocean and stared at the sky like he was lost in thought¡­ He''s about to eliminate these magicians and he was thinking about whether to allow them to convince him about their decision¡­


    ''I guess I can ask them a single question¡­ If they are really on their side, I must also eliminate their council¡­''


    Wace had a resolution on his face.


    "Oh~ Are you also nning to enter their city here?"


    The young man suddenly heard a voice echoing in his mind¡­ He took a deep breath before he managed to stabilize his breath.


    "The Sea Creature''s City? I''m very interested, Sir¡­ However, I''m still unable to breathe underwater."


    Wace replied. Of course, he can use his spacesuit or his bio armor to help him survive underwater. However, he''s not in a mood in meeting another species right now¡­


    Perhaps, if this was offered before the Empire''s Descent, he would dly ept it and see what kind of creatures are they.


    ''Wait¡­''


    The young man suddenly had an idea¡­


    He nned to create a shelter in the sky but perhaps he can also arrange a shelter deep underwater?


    After all, his Trance is capable of being submerged as well. On the other hand, he''s also curious whether the city actually has breathable air¡­ This world is filled with mysteries and magic, it wouldn''t surprise him if the city is in a huge bubble underwater.


    "Sir, do you think that they are reasonable creatures?"


    "Well, they are kind to me¡­ They are even prostrating themselves."


    "I-is that so? I''m trying to think whether I can create a shelter there in case necessary we''re out of options¡­"


    Wace exined his ns¡­ The Meredith Empire is allied with three Major Races and he had only seen two of them right now¡­


    If the other race is just waiting for a chance, it means that this battle would be even more troublesome.


    Fighting the Imperial Army was already too much and if he added the three other races, they might really be in trouble unless the imperial army was fool enough to fight the Celestial Beings in the northern continent.


    "I see¡­ Let me speak with them¡­ Oh, are you going to fight this group of magicians heading your way?"


    "Ahh¡­ Yes¡­ Depending on their answers, I''ll have to eliminate them¡­"


    "Ho~ They look so weak¡­ You won''t enjoy killing them."


    "Sir, I''m not really enjoying that¡­" Wace replied before ending their conversation.


    However, he''s actually thinking about how this Celestial Being has be very talkative now.


    Compared to the first time they''ve met, it appears that he influenced their behavior even by a little.


    Whoosh~ Whoosh~


    The waves of the ocean can be heard as Wace faced the Seiji Alliance¡­ They have finally arrived. He emitted a powerful aura to let them notice that he''s there¡­


    They suddenly halted their advance as they surveyed the surroundings.


    After they realized that he''s a magician that is emitting powerful Mana pressure, they decided tomunicate with him.


    "Are you one of the Deep Sea Creatures... Let us pass peacefully and you won''t get hurt¡­"


    The voice came from the airship above¡­ On the other hand, the submerged Mech Knights were just observing and not doing any offensive action. After all, he''s alone and would be barely be a threat¡­


    However, theirmander inside the airship has thought of something. It seems that he considered Wace as part of the Sea Creatures and his fellow species was perhaps hiding under the sea.


    Well, Wace is too small and standing on top of the ocean so perhaps, he could easily be mistaken as a Sea Creature.


    Nevertheless, Wace achieved what he wanted and found themander of this fleet.


    He used his Void Phase and appeared in front of the man¡­


    "What?!"


    "How did you get here?!"


    ng! ng! ng!


    Wace appeared at the bow of the airship and met everyone. They quickly brought out their Mana Artifacts and pointed at Wace.


    The young man nced at themander of the spaceship. His clean and luxurious clothes allowed him to be recognized easily.


    "I see that you''re the leader of this fleet¡­ Tell me, what happened in the negotiation of your leaders? Are you nning to use the aliens to destroy the other nations?"


    Wace asked calmly.


    "Hmph! Why would I answer your question?! Tell me how did you manage to appear here!"


    As soon as he said this, he realized that there is no reason to tell it to him now since his subordinates are listening.


    "No, once I torture you¡­ You''ll be confessing everything¡­ Men! Capture him!"

 Chapter 384 - Truth And Lies

    Wace realized that having a conversation with them at this point is impossible. Perhaps, he has to show them that he''s not joking around and was truly looking for an answer...


    He looked at the 12 magicians activating their Mana Artifacts in front of him. Since they do not have enough time to prepare their magic, most of the skills they were about to cast were only Grade 2 Mana Spells which would barely do anything to his current body.


    At this point, only Grade 3 Mana Spells can perhaps affect him and deal some true damage.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t let them finish their skills and activated his Magic Jammer.


    "Ugh! Curse you!"


    "It''s a Magic Jammer!"


    "Use your swords!"


    As expected, they do not have a Jammer Canceller with them since they are expecting to face the aliens and not their fellow magicians.


    However, Wace wasn''t finished yet... He waved his hand and controlled his formless mana to kill the nearest magicians except to themander...


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The magicians'' bodies suddenly dropped without any resistance... The attack was invisible and they didn''t see Wace use his Mana Artifact at all!


    It means that his method ofbat was simr to ancient magicians! Maniption of the formless mana!


    Then, the young man looked at themander again¡­


    "Let me ask you again¡­ What happened in the negotiation? Did you betray the other nations?"


    Themander was sweating profusely as he realized that the man in front of him was probably stronger than their Terror Mages.


    The most problematic thing about his situation was that he''s unable to use his Mana Spells at all. Perhaps, if he has some time to prepare, he could forcefully cast a Grade 4 or 5 spell to throw at Wace.


    After all, the Magic Jammer that they know isn''t an absolute spell that would stop any magic¡­ There should still be a w in this type of artifact¡­


    For now, he thought of dying the conversation and find a chance to escape¡­ Perhaps, jumping out of the airship and regroup with the submerged Steel Knights is the best option.


    ''He''s not a Deep Sea Creature¡­ If I managed to escape under the sea¡­ He wouldn''t chase me for sure¡­''


    Then, he thought of letting the others destroy this airship together with this man once he escaped.


    The airship is an asset of their country and it is extremely expensive at ten times the Steel Knight''s price, however, it seems that he has to give up this in exchange for his life.


    "I don''t know what happened¡­ I only know a little. But can you tell us your name first? Ugh¡­ Men, don''t attack¡­ He''s a fellow magician he''s not allied to the aliens!"


    Themander instructed the remaining magicians beside him¡­ They were about to attack Wace using their swords but he couldn''t agitate the man any longer.


    Wace then raised his hand made a shing motion¡­


    --Ssak!


    Thud!


    A slicing sound was heard followed by an arm falling on the deck¡­ It took a second for themander to realize that his arm was cut off!


    "Aaargh!"


    He screamed in pain as he held his right hand tightly to stop the bleeding¡­ Although he can''t cast a mana spell, it doesn''t mean that he couldn''t emit his mana at all... He suppressed his bleeding arm by controlling his mana in his body¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Just like what happened a while ago, the magicians around him dropped dead after attempting another attack on Wace.


    On the other hand, the other airships surrounding them were also unable to do anything since theirmander is close to Wace¡­ They can''t take the risk of killing their ownmander at this point¡­


    At the moment, they can only watch as the event unfolds in front of their eyes. Nevertheless, the magicians on their side quickly prepared their Floating Drive System to get to theirmander''s side and rescue him as soon as possible.


    Unfortunately, Wace wouldn''t wait for them¡­


    "I will ask onest time¡ª"


    "Alright! Alright! No more! I''ll talk¡­ Just spare me. Haa~ Haa~"


    Themander is already breathing heavily.


    He had never felt this injury before so he knows that he has to give up already. He can only hope that the man would let him live after he revealed everything¡­


    "Very well¡­ Tell me everything you know..." Wace replied coldly at the bleeding man. He knows that Avalon''s information and analysis about their actions are almost a hundred percent urate already. However, there might still be a very slim chance that this is a misunderstanding and he wanted them to give the benefit of the doubt.


    "T-the negotiations went well with the aliens¡­ We were just told to return to Seiji and wait for further instruction¡­ B-believe me, that''s all I know¡­"


    Themander pleaded as he wanted to show his innocence about the current situation. Of course, Wace wouldn''t fall for that easily. The man is a high-ranking noble based on Avalon''s gathered data and he''s definitely included in the high-level meetings¡­ There was no way that the n to side with the aliens and negotiate with them was only nned in a day or two.


    Wace didn''t reply and only looked at the man, he raised his hands simr to his actions when he previously sliced one of his arms.


    "Wait! I remember now! Right, the leaders wanted to infiltrate the Aliens! They wanted to destroy them from the inside! Yes¡­ I must be right! I''m sure of it!"


    Themander did his best to make it sound like their country is doing something incredible. His voice sounded desperate as he exined himself to Wace.


    "Heh~ That sounded good¡­" The young man answered. However, his smirk was scary.


    "Isn''t it? We will surely defeat them once we learned everything about their powers¡­ The other nations may be a sacrifice during this time but we have a good intention! We won''t let their sacrifice be in vain¡­ Once we learned their weakness in a few years or so, we will be the ones who will be destroying the alienspletely! We will avenge all the magicians that will die in this war and perhaps we can even attack their home once we settled everything here!"


    Themander finished his speech as he looked at Wace. He''s trying to weigh whether his words are effective to this person.


    However, his lies were too obvious.


    The young man felt dismayed at this.


    "So you''re willing to sacrifice the people of other nations for the sake of the magicians that would be spared."


    "Yes¡­ This is for the sake of our future as well! We can''t all perish here¡­ You have seen the power of the empire! Even the genius who went to outer space was unable to stop them at all!"


    Themander tried to convince Wace¡­ He can see that his rescuers are getting closer so he decided to continue getting his attention by talking to him.


    "If we didn''t do that, there will be more magicians who will perish¡­ Do you have the confidence to defeat them at this point? Isn''t it better to live under their rule? Who knows, they might be benevolent and that man called Wace was just trying to put them in a bad light. That''s right¡­ We can''t judge these aliens based on the words of a single man!"


    As he kept talking, the discrepancies in his words get a lot easier to notice¡­


    At first, he said that they were nning to infiltrate the aliens, but now, he''s suggesting that it''s better to be ruled by these aliens to attain peace¡­


    "Right¡­ The aliens weren''t even nning to destroy our¡­ They want to get something here¡­"


    As Wace was about to finish him off since he was getting tired of his lies, the man finally said something interesting¡­


    However, the young man had to deal with the magiciansing to this airship first¡­


    His Divine Sense has been active all along so their sneaky moves wouldn''t go unnoticed to him¡­


    He clenched his fist as sparks of lightning covered his arms¡­ After concentrating for a bit, he punched the air in front of him.


    Bam!


    Roar of Thundering Destruction!


    It is the final technique of Awakening of Thunder and Lightning that he learned at Cloud Hawk''s Manor.


    This is the strongest long-distance technique of the Secret Art and as expected, all the approaching magicians were affected and were heavily injured by the technique¡­


    They trembled for a moment before losing consciousness as they plunged into the sea.


    Themander felt the power behind that technique¡­ He was lucky that it was not targeted at him¡­


    "I¡­ I¡­ I told you everything I know¡­ P-please, spare me¡­" The man begged in front of Wace as he realized that there''s no way out of his situation.


    Hisst ray of hope was defeated just by a single punch in the air¡­ This guy is probably stronger than the aliens! Just where did hee from?!


    ''If you''re this strong¡­ Why don''t you attack the aliens?! Why me?!'' Themanderined but didn''t dare to voice it out.


    Nevertheless, Wace looked at the man coldly and asked another question.


    "You said that they wanted to get something here¡­ Tell me more about it."

 Chapter 385 - Judgment

    ''This is hopeless¡­ Perhaps, I can''t even kill myself if I wanted to¡­''


    Themander said to himself as he steadied his breathing. He looked at the young man''s face but due to the sunlight, there is a shadow on the person''s face and it is stopping him from recognizing the man¡­


    Nevertheless, he did his best to sit up straight before answering the man''s question.


    "I heard from the leaders that the aliens were looking for several things right now¡­ But their top priority was searching for the mastermind of those ambushes in outer space!"


    Themander exined hastily.


    "Ugh¡­ Spare me, young man¡­ I''m just an ordinary soldier following the orders of themanders. If their orders offended you, there''s nothing I can do about it¡­ I also do not want to follow them in many cases. However, I have to save myself¡­"


    As Wace was pondering for a moment, themander continued persuading him to let him off.


    The young man was actually impressed by this person''s shamelessness. He could really make a lot of good stories just to try to save himself from his current predicament. It appears that he''s even willing to sell his country just to save his life.


    "Shut up! Just answer my questions with everything you know... Your life will depend on your answers. You don''t have to convince me."


    "Yes! I understand! Do not worry¡­ I won''t lie to you¡­ I''m not good at lying."


    "Tsk¡­ Tell me what your leaders did about that¡­ Did they foolishly gave information about him?" Wace asked the man. This time, themander did not feel his threatening gaze.


    However, he felt even more nervous about this.


    ''Of course! They gave everything they know about that Wace that is currently somewhere on the Moon!'' Themander thought of answering like this.


    But it feels like the man in front of him wouldn''t like such an answer and he might just cut his other arm in anger. So he decided to tone it down a bit.


    "I heard that they have no choice but to reveal the truth. I heard our leader''s conversation that they have to provide information about him toplete their deal. They gave information about Wace but at least, these details weren''t hard to discover if they made simple research. After all, everyone in the continent knows about his name, about the Moon Base he created, his creation of spaceships, his factory at one mountain in Zairus, including the members of his family, and about his rtionship with a Grand Arcanist¡­ I''m sure that they can get this information even if our leaders didn''t tell it first."


    Themander answered and his tone sounded like there was nothing wrong with their actions.


    ''You guys are hopeless¡­'' Wace thought as he shakes his head in disappointment.


    Of course, he knows that he''s unable to remain anonymous considering the Empire''s information gathering abilities.


    However, the fact that Seiji Alliance willingly revealed information about him pissed him off¡­ Themander was even trying to justify their actions with lies.


    He wouldn''t even be surprised if they actually offered this information at the start of their negotiation. After all, they saw how Ace caused some problems to the aliens at the battle in outer space. Their council of war was definitely aware that the aliens wanted to get vengeance for his actions¡­


    Wace only smirked at the man''s answer and decided to get more information.


    "What are the other things they wanted here?" He asked.


    "Right¡­ They were searching for three more things¡­ Y-you''re lucky¡­ I know all of this information since one of the council is my father¡­ So he told me everything and---"


    Bam!


    The floor beside him was suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning out of nowhere. He didn''t see how the man did it but it''s enough to say that he''ll be hit by that if he tried buying more time.


    "Just answer my question!" Wace was starting to lose his patience with this man.


    "Y-yes! They are looking for a magical Cube that they lost¡­ Then, I heard that they wanted to get some healthy natives of this... They are requesting to get about a thousand of them. Right, they were specifically looking for powerful Magicians¡­ Thest thing they were looking for was a medium to help them get used to this faster. The Council was guessing that some of the aliens are incapable of just leaving their spaceships¡­"


    Themander felt that Wace is closely listening and very interested. This is why his face lit up as he continued telling more.


    "Right! My father also noticed several species inside! It seems the aliens weren''t all looking the same!"


    Wace nodded at his words since this just confirmed his thoughts¡­ Nevertheless, why would the Empire reveal so much information to them?


    ''No¡­ If we consider the situation, it doesn''t matter whether they revealed their purpose foring here. It''s not like we can just stop them from doing so without defeating them. It alles down to a battle of superiority.'' Wace gave it a thought as he wanted to also know what this space empire is thinking.


    As far as he knows, they''re not someone who would just ept anyone as their allies without heavy reasons¡­ Or perhaps, they have changed their way of dealing with such matters after all these years?


    Is it really possible to make such changes?


    Wace was unsure about that but he knows that the empire is not taking action without any ns.


    "Alright¡­ Tell me about the appearance of the aliens inside the spaceship."


    "What? I can''t! My father doesn''t have time to describe these inplete detail¡­ He only mentioned it a little since he knows that I''m curious whether they''re human-like or not. I just know that he can tell that they are different species since they have varying appearances."


    For the first time, themander seems to speak without any hint of lies included. His panicking face was genuine since he truly doesn''t know the answer to that question.


    Luckily, the young man in front of him did not try to force him to spit out some information. If that''s the case, he might be forced to lie about their appearances instead and it may be even more dangerous.


    Themander couldn''t stop his body from sweating profusely¡­


    "So, what else do you know?"


    The man asked.


    ''What else do I know about those aliens?''


    This question made him froze¡­ That''s all he knows!


    Apparently, Wace noticed that he could no longer get more information from this person as he decided to pass his judgment.


    He moved away from the airship as if he''s already letting them go¡­


    However, he just wanted to get a wider view from his targets. In truth, he''s nning to eliminate them in a single move¡­


    Then, an item appeared in his right hand as he prepared his attack.


    Meanwhile, after the fleet confirmed that theirmander was still alive and was left alone in the airship, they quickly sent people to rescue him and to provide him medical attention.


    Aside from that, the submerged Steel Knights below also started aiming at Wace who''s currently floating using his Mana Spell.


    He dared to attack them and hold theirmander as a hostage!


    They were unsure how their leader managed to push him away from the airship, however, now that they have a clearer view, they wouldn''t miss this opportunity tounch a counter-attack.


    They have been waiting for this moment for quite a while now so they managed to fire their cannons and missiles faster than Wace''s attack¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Wace received numerous attacks from the Steel Knights below¡­ However, he just used his Void Phase to move not too far from his previous location and all of the projectiles missed their target and hit each other.


    The moment he reappears, he''s still holding his item, his pocket watch.


    This is his Fervor Timepiece and he''s about to use its Brain Burst to ensure he could hit all the moving targets at once.


    However, as soon as he released his Astral Energy, someone decided to disturb him!


    ''Ahh¡­ Why can''t you leave me in peace even just for a day?!'' Wace thought as he heard the Celestial Being''s void in his head.


    "Hey. Are you about to kill them?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "I see¡­ Anyway, the humanoid fishes below here said that they do not like humans. So although they can let them live in their city, they won''t allow it. They have some deep grudge on them¡­"


    "I understand. Thank you for letting me know."


    "Yes, they also haven''t eaten some fresh magicians for a while now¡­ So how about giving up your target to these creatures I found. I know you''ll just turn them into ash by that Astral Energy anyway¡­"


    Wace was genuinely surprised that this Celestial had changed so much from the first time they''ve seen each other.


    He became a reasonable fellow and could even have a conversation with the Deep Sea Creatures. He''s even requesting something for the sake of other species!


    Perhaps, their previous meeting with Aeolia again changed this Celestial Being a lot more than he anticipated.

 Chapter 386 - Dropped

    ine Allusia, one of the Grand Arcanists of his country together with his trusted aides, arrived in an abandoned town not too far from where the enemy spaceshipsnded.


    Because of Wace''s attacking from his fortress a while ago, the aliens became wary of any ambushes from the natives.


    As soon as theynded, they sent out their Destroyers, Marauder Gears, and Mech Frames to guard their vicinity¡­


    Then, they sent out their android builders to repair the damages done to the two Conveyor Spaceships.


    "Grand Arcanist ine, do you know when will Wace send his signal?"


    The one who asked is Dr. Mao. He''s one of ine''s friends who was included in thest expedition in the northern continent to obtain materials for his Arcana.


    "Let''s not hurry the young man¡­ He''s nning tounch a simultaneous attack on all the spaceships scattered around the continent. It won''t be easy." ine answered the doctor.


    At this moment, the only magician who had seen Wace''s true strength was this person.


    ine had seen the young man fight against a Celestial Being and was able to match the entity even for a short time¡­ It is something so impressive and he can guarantee that none of the magicians he knows can aplish the same feat.


    "Simultaneous attack, huh¡­ I wonder what he''s nning to do." Dr. Mao muttered as he looked at the alien spaceships from far away that were trying to stabilize their fortress.


    He can see the patrolling Mech Frames on the ground and the Destroyers circling the perimeter¡­ As for the Marauder Gears, they seem to be nning on checking some abandoned viges to survey or loot the ce.


    Nevertheless, Dr. Mao is unaware of the presence of the floating inds that Wace had brought here. ine had also kept quiet about it since he knows that it is top-secret information.


    At the very least, Dr. Mao still knows something else.


    "But Sir ine, what happened to those people you''ve brought before? What are they working on right now? They all look pretty strong¡­ Are they all Sages?"


    The doctor recalled a group of people that ine brought to his secret facility.


    "Sages? No¡­ They have the strength on par with the Grand Sages¡­ However, they are not used to this environment yet and they need to stabilize their mana¡­ After a week or so, they''ll get used to this ce already." ine smiled mysteriously at the doctor.


    The people that they are referring to are the natives of the Northern Continent that they''ve brought here in the Southern Continent using the floating inds.


    They weren''t here without any purpose as Wace had seen their abilities and thought of utilizing them to fight the empire. Of course, it only happened because of the benefits that Wace gave and will continuously give to them. Without such benefits, he doubts that they will even bother helping them at all.


    These natives of the Northern Continent may be living a dangerous life in their homes but they were already used to it and found methods on how to survive throughout the many years.


    Dr. Mao looked at the man with an incredulous face.


    He was a bit exaggerating when he said that those people were as strong as Sages. However, the Grand Arcanist just said that those hundred or so people are all at the level of Grand Sages?!


    Their whole country only has 3 Grand Sages! Aside from that, they are also already old and he wouldn''t even be surprised if he heard that they died due to old age.


    However, those he had seen before were definitely young people, and perhaps, they are only in their 30s or 40s.


    That''s impossible!


    "I can read your face, Doctor Mao¡­ I can''t exin everything to you but if you survived today, you''ll certainly have a chance to see them in battle."


    ine said after looking at his friend''s reaction. He couldn''t me him. He was also surprised when Wace informed him about their powers


    When they decided to stay for a while in the northern continent, he was always being left behind at Aeolia''sboratory toplete his Arcana¡­


    Well, as a Grand Arcanist who''s looking up to Aeolia since he was young, he was more than happy to live inside hisboratory filled with unknown technology and incredible creations.


    It is a heavenly ce for him as he got the chance to learn something new. He''s already quite old but he found himself filled with passion for studying. It made him really happy as he didn''t think that he would still have such desires.


    Of course, while he''s doing this, Wace, Aeolia, and the Celestial Being roamed the Northern Continent at that time to look for these natives and gather them to Aeolia''s Floating Inds after having a deal with them.


    Finally, after returning here, the natives encountered an issue about the difference in the purity of mana so they need to have some time to adjust themselves.


    It is not something that Wace has considered so he can only wait for them until they get better.


    "S-sir ine¡­ Look at that!"


    Doctor Mao suddenly eximed after a huge shadow covered thending site of the aliens.


    They all looked up and saw three huge pieces ofnd that were falling from that sky!


    [ Sir! This is Weis from the 1st Knight Brigade. We have encountered an issue with our systems. ]


    [ We have the same issues on the 3rd Knight Brigade¡­ Something is interrupting ourwork. ]


    [ This is the 6th Brigade¡­ ]


    ine suddenly heard the reports of his men as soon as the Floating Inds appeared.


    "Don''t worry¡­ It will only be temporary¡­ Just wait for it to function, then we''ll make a move. This is Wace''s signal."


    [ Yes, Sir! ]


    ine Allusia looked at the falling inds¡­


    He heard from Wace that the ind can naturally and randomly create a powerful jammer, or Electromaic Pulse, or a stronger version of something simr in the surroundings... This affects many machines within its range including Steel Knights even if they are fully operated by Mana.


    It is difficult to defend against and they can only wait until the pulse disappeared naturally.


    ***


    Finally, Yumi and the rest of the people within Trance saw the dropping inds towards the spaceships!


    Avalon did not forget to broadcast everything that is happening to the aliens from every part of the world. They have even shown a bit of the deal that urred between the Seiji Alliance and the aliens¡­


    Of course, they did not include Wace''s judgment at a certain part of the sea.


    "How did it get there?!"


    "That true¡­ Who can throw such a huge piece ofnd?!"


    "Is that some kind of Earth Spell?"


    "N-no way¡­ Even a Grade 5 Earth Spell can''t throw a hugend¡­ At most, they can move a hill a little¡­"


    "Then, how did they get there?"


    The people inside Trance that are currently watching from a live broadcast tried to understand what was going on.


    However, the screen where they are watching was suddenly divided as Avalon had shown simr attacks from all the alien spaceships around the world!


    This is incredible!


    Soon, they saw the spaceships activate their guns to fire at the huge inds that were about to tten them!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Beams of light and multiple missiles were fired from their cannons¡­ There was no time for them to activate their engine and move away!


    They decided to fire everything they got to destroy the inds that are getting closer every second. However, they noticed that these inds are being protected by unknown energy!


    Aside from that, there is also an umting power inside the inds and as it got closer, the aliens quickly realized what was going on!


    Luckily for the aliens, the inds weren''t falling rapidly that they were unable to react. The floating functions of the inds weren''t easily deactivated from 100% to 0%...


    As the drop didn''t happen in the blink of an eye, themanders of the spaceships managed to react¡­


    But as soon as they realized that their missiles together with their cannons didn''t work, they have decided to send out their secret weapon!


    It is something that Wace expected a little. However, after seeing them move out in huge numbers, Wace couldn''t help but sigh. This is really bad news for all of the magicians.


    Apparently, the secret weapon he''s referring to is the existence of other alien species¡­


    Wace learned from themander that the people from the Empire don''t seem to befortable moving out of their spaceships yet. This is the reason why the Khrusam Race was the one who invited them inside the Conqueror Starship.


    He thought at first that only a small number of Khrusam races have decided to join their expedition. However, it seems that he underestimated them a bit¡­


    Right now, Avalon still hasn''t confirmed the exact numbers of Khrusam Race since the numbers kept increasing as theye out of the spaceships one by one.


    However, with Wace''s estimation, there should be about 300 of them everywhere as they carried their Corpse Furnace with them.


    Wace looked coldly at the alien species as he prepared his follow-up attack.

 Chapter 387 - Against Alien Invasion ( 1 )

    The Khrusams with their Corpse Furnace appeared without any panic or worry on their faces.


    The Furnace allows them to harness the so-called Death Energy that is still a mysterious thing to humans.


    Even Wace and Avalon were unsure of the method on how to deal with such weird power.


    Nevertheless, if he thinks of it as another form of corrupted mana, then he knows that he shouldn''t be afraid of it. After all, it''s impossible that their furnace would have unlimited energy and it should be exhausted after being used for some time.


    ''Did they just sent out all of their Khrusams? Then it means that they''re taking this attack seriously... I can''t let this opportunity pass...'' Wace thought as he waited for them to try and stop the inds that he dropped.


    There are four aliennding sites so Wace divided his Floating Inds ordingly¡­


    He arranged four of them in each site and he expected that even if the enemies are the strongest mutated humans, they would still have trouble dealing with it. They might even sacrifice their spaceships and escape from the disaster.


    Unfortunately, these gold-skinned race have appeared and there''s about 90 of them in each site.


    As for their Corpse Furnace, there were 5 Khrusams in each of them so Wace can see 18 Furnace umting power to stop the inds.


    "Isn''t this a bit too strong?"


    Wace muttered after seeing that the Corpse Furnace appears to be inviting a thunderstorm¡­ Dark clouds umted above as the region suddenly darkened¡­


    ''Death Energy, huh¡­ How mysterious¡­''


    As he was observing the phenomena, he heard the Khrusams say something as they released energy from their furnace... They were inaudible so even Avalon was unable to trante what they are saying.


    The energy from each furnace gathered together in a single pir of dark light¡­


    Boom!


    The Floating Ind, which was also covered by multiple Defensive Arrays, was hit by the dark light.


    Wace then saw that nothing happened on the floating ind¡­


    ''Did they actually fail?'' He thought.


    He can see that the barrier was destroyed but nothing happened on thend itself¡­


    ''It shouldn''t be¡­ My Array shouldn''t be this strong. Perhaps¡­'' As he was guessing about the Death Energy''s effect, he heard a familiar sound¡­ It is sparks of lightning and it''sing from the floating inds!


    Bzzt! Bzzt! Boom!


    Huge snakes made ck lightning shortly appeared and slithered around the inds a few times before they exploded!


    The explosion of the snakes was followed by the ind''s explosion mid-air¡­


    "Tsk¡­ They triggered the explosion. Good move, Khrusams¡­"


    Wace uttered as he clenched his fist.


    He realized that his n to createrger damage backfired. He didn''t realize that they somehow had an ability to tap on the umting energy inside the inds before they get into a perfect range¡­


    However, this doesn''t mean that they would leave unscathed by triggering this¡­


    Wace then watched the Khrusams create a huge shield made of the Death Energy as the pieces of the broken ind started raining down on them.


    Though it''s easier to defend now that they''ve destroyed the ind, its remnants can still be very dangerous. After all, the explosion that urred just now added some power behind the rocks that are falling on their site.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The rain of falling rocks and debris from the ind continued for a long while.


    The young man couldn''t help but smirk for a bit after realizing that his guess was right¡­ The Furnace''s Death Energy is indeed slowly thinning as the Khrusams did their best to defend against the rocks and huge chunks of the remainingnd...


    ''I guess they''ll need a lot of corpses to refill that energy¡­ They''ll most likely try to hunt for sacrifices¡­''


    Wace thought as he decided to warn all the magicians on each site.


    He knows that the alien race uses death energy from the corpses though he''s unaware of how it works¡­ Since they needed the corpses, they either have to find one or create one¡­


    It means that they''ll be on the offensive in a while¡­ They have to be aware of it and not think that they''ll just silently try to recover after being attacked.


    ***


    Boom!


    Thest debris that came from the explosion of the floating inds dropped¡­ The curtain or shield made of the Khrusam''s Death Energy can finally take a rest.


    However, if one looked at it closely, the cover that they created had a lot of holes as they were unable to bear all the pieces ofnd and rocks that came on their way.


    At the very least, they managed to lessen the damage that the spaceships should''ve received.


    Wace then saw that the spaceships were not unscathed by his attacks¡­


    "Hoho¡­ They surely have a higher quality. Well done."


    Wace said referring to the rocks that came from the ind. He can still recall how the Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 spells thrown by the army of Seiji Alliance barely scratched these spaceships.


    Seeing the messed-up armors of the spaceships and the exhausted members of the Khrusam Race, he realized that those stones from the Northern Continent were even more powerful than those Grade 5 Spells!


    Perhaps it was due to the triggered explosion or because of the quality of the ind itself. It must be remembered that they are still formed due to a Mana Cmity¡­


    Wace then made a nce at Avalon''s report about the other sites¡­


    The one in Montego was not as sessful due to the existence of that Cube of Paradox together with the help of the Khrusam Race''s Corpse Furnace¡­


    The ck Sovereign was almost unscathed from the surprise attack. Luckily, a few Corpse Furnace didn''t seem to have enough Death Energy within, so theycked the strength to support the part that they have to protect.


    In the end, a part of their Death Energy Curtain copsed allowing a few pieces of debris to get into the ck Sovereign''s external armor¡­


    Then, he looked at the ones in Zairus. There are ten spaceships in the Ste Region, there will be a lot of troubleter on if they failed to suppress them.


    Luckily, three of the Invader Spaceships were actually heavily damaged!


    Because of the range being taken by the ten spaceships, the Khrusams were unable to cover all the spaceships with simr tenacity. Due to this, some of the Invader Spaceships can only try to protect themselves with their own armor technology aside from their missiles and turrets.


    The result wasn''t good but considering the dire situations, it is lucky that they didn''t suffer anything more than that.


    ''Not bad¡­ Charles and the others should give them some trouble.''


    Wace thought as he looked at thest report where the Imperial gship is included¡­


    Aside from exhausting the Khrusam''s Death Energy, two members of the Terub Legion had actually appeared to ensure that no spaceships would be damaged by the surprise attack.


    ''Hmm¡­ That should be enough¡­''


    The young man mused as he felt satisfied with this result. It confirms that only the Imperial gship at Guwain has members of the Terub Legion¡­


    It means that there shouldn''t be any members of the Imperial Family in other spaceships aside from that ce.


    "Avalon¡­ Assist all the sites to the best of your ability. This is a good chance for us to attack¡­ The Khrusams would no longer be able to help¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The A.I. answered as it dutifully worked together with the other sites through various means like using automatons, guiding the magicians through their Mech Knights, and even providing support within their airships.


    Then, just like what they expected, the spaceships started mobilizing their Mech Knights and Marauder Gears!


    They are most likely nning to hunt natives to be used in their Corpse Furnace!


    After all, if they used their spaceship''s missiles, turrets, or cannons, their targets would bepletely obliterated and they would not be able to find a corpse to charge their furnace¡­ That''s is obviously not what the Khrusams wanted to supply their Corpse Furnace¡­


    Aeon Guardian!


    Wace activated his ability as a quarter of his mana reserves were suddenly consumed in just a few seconds.


    Then, simr to the first time he used it, a huge magic formation appeared in front of him¡­ The formation was about 5-meter wide as it slowly turned into objects¡­ The formation became a mechanical gear or cogs of varying sizes turning like clockwork.


    Finally, a giant metallic snake emerged from it and coiled around his body before bursting into countless particles of light.


    But this is not yet over¡­ He held his Fervor Timepiece on his other hand and activated another ability¡­


    Dual Burst!


    This is thebination of Brain Burst and Physical Burst from the mystical item he got from the Pathfinder.


    Wace then looked at the hundreds of Mech Frames surging out as he made his move¡­


    ''Let me take you on¡­''


    The young man had an idea as he disappeared from his previous location.


    Meanwhile, the Terror Mages not too far from here also wanted to help the young man.


    However, they''ve felt the power released by this man so they quickly held themselves from asking more questions. Instead, they decided to get a little closer to see what he was about to do.

 Chapter 388 - Against Alien Invasion ( 2 )

    After the Khrusams dealt with the huge pieces ofnd thrown at them, they felt exhausted as controlling the Death Energy to defend is not an easy task.


    The Corpse Furnace is normally used to attack their opponents and not to protect someone. However, they had no choice as their spaceships were about to be ttened by those mysterious inds...


    They just appeared out of nowhere and when they detected it, they were already descending extremely fast... Perhaps, they were starting to have a feeling that the task given to them would not be easy.


    If not for their quick response, they would''ve suffered horribly from that attack.


    Soon, they felt a powerful presence approaching their stronghold.


    They were still building their fortress after negotiating with the nearest powers governing thisnd but they were not unprepared for this.


    Of course, they did not fully trust those natives as they still made preparations in case the local powers decided to just attack them¡­


    However, as soon as they saw the attacker, they realized that he''spletely different from the natives theymunicated with a while ago.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Their missileunchers, turrets, and cannons pointed at the figure that appeared above them¡­


    Bam! Bam!


    Wace''s Mana Shell was hit but it barely affected him¡­ He continued his preparations and as soon as he was ready, he waved his hands¡­


    The umting mana around the spaceships distorted! The power was unimaginable as if another Mana Cmity was about to be formed¡­


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Soon, the powerful Force Field protecting the aliens was destroyed! This is the Force Field that the Empire had relied on to defend against many alien races!


    Atst, they are nowpletely exposed¡­


    Wace rushed towards the spaceship as he was not nning on just sending external attacks. That is too troublesome and he''ll spend a lot of his energy destroying their incredibly tough space alloy.


    He wanted to get in and engage in them in closebat if possible¡­


    Wace had this idea after the representatives of the Seiji Alliance entered the Conqueror Starship¡­ He wanted to take control of this spaceship. However, he knows that it will not be easy so he also prepared himself to destroy the said spaceship instead¡­


    He rushed at the Conqueror Starship as he locked his eyes on the entrance that he had seen them use before¡­


    He wanted to use his Void Phase to directly enter the spaceship but it seems that the presence of death energy and another unknown force was stopping him from entering it without any issues¡­


    Perhaps, he tried forcing himself, he would be able to Phase enter the spaceship but he felt that it will unnecessarily injure his body¡­ He''s unsure about the level of damage he''ll get so he didn''t want to take the chance.


    Bam!


    The Khrusams outside can only watch as he sends a powerful strike to the Starship''s entrance¡­


    Because he was too close, the turrets and cannons were unable to do anything¡­ They have sent out their Mech Frames but they were also unable to do much since they might damage the spaceship as well¡­


    After creating a hole enough for him to enter¡­


    He decided to rush towards the bridge of the spaceship¡­


    ''Good¡­ No Terub Legion has appeared¡­ I can do this¡­''


    Then, Avalon started scanning the spaceship as they have now managed to enter¡­ Their scanners that were previously being blocked have finally be active!


    However, as soon as Wace entered, the Imperial Army inside the spaceships made their move¡­


    The hallway of the Conqueror Starship is huge. Wace can see five members of the imperial army wearing their bio-armors as they approach him¡­


    They have human-like figures but he knows that these people are mutated. Once they removed their armors, Wace wouldn''t be surprised if their skin and appearance greatly differ from an ordinary human.


    He didn''t waste his time as he nned on killing them quickly¡­ They raised their guns and firedser beams to his position¡­


    Thud! Thud!


    They missed their target as Wace appeared in front of them¡­ He gathered a bit of his Astral Energy at the tip of his finger and flick it to the soldier close to him¡­


    Boom!


    His body was blown away! If not for the Bio-Armor that was able to somehow bear the explosive Astral Energy, he would surely be torn to pieces by now¡­


    ***


    Deep under the water, a human-like figure formed with mysterious energy can be seen looking around the city of the Deep Sea Creatures.


    The city was built on what looks like a floating ind but was covered with a bubble made of a mana array...


    This means that humans can live in this ce using the air being created by the array, as long as they are inside its effective range.


    Aside from that, the city was unexpectedly human-like as it was simr to what the Celestial had seen in the southern continent¡­ There are roads, tall buildings, and various stalls around¡­


    Nevertheless, this is not the reason why the Celestial was curious about these creatures¡­


    Apparently, he discovered something that made him stuck here¡­


    It is the Deep Sea Creature''s possession of a body of another Celestial Being¡­ He can tell that the Celestial Being had lost their soul and thus, can be considered as dead.


    However, its body is not dissipating or perhaps, will not dissipate at all if it was taken care of with a generous amount of energy.


    The Celestial learned from Wace that a body part of a Celestial can be used to make a forbidden mana artifact or what they call a Sealed Mana Artifact.


    He wasn''t too interested in this since he felt that a living Celestial is way stronger than a weapon made by a dead body.


    However, after seeing the dead Celestial providing enormous power to the city, he felt that it would be fun to investigate the situation¡­


    Apparently, he learned that the dead Celestial Being had been here for more than a century already¡­


    It means that this one was probably one of Aeolia''s first Celestial Beings that have decided to run away from the Northern Continent but couldn''t wait until they learned how to leave the bindings of the region without harming them¡­


    "I want to see your treasure vault."


    "Y-yes¡­ Please, follow me."


    The Celestialmunicated to the leader of the Sea Creatures¡­ The leader has a body of a human with fish scales and with the head of an octopus¡­


    Anyway, they already captured the magicians that Wace was about to kill so they are quite thankful to the Celestial. It has been a long while since they were able to eat magicians with incredible powers¡­


    "Right, why haven''t you eaten the dead Celestial if you can gain strength from eating creatures¡­" The Celestial asked and unlike humans, the sea creatures don''t seem to have any issuesmunicating using their minds.


    "Ahh¡­ We and our ancestors tried it before¡­ However, even just a sip of the leaking energy would make us crazy¡­ If those with weaker bodies tried doing it, they''ll just explodepletely. This is why we decided to seal the body with an array to stop the energy from leaking¡­"


    The old sea creature answered without hiding anything.


    "I see¡­ You did well, I only managed to feel its presence after entering your city."


    The Celestial praised them as he confirmed that the array they made was indeed effective.


    Soon, the Celestial and head of this Sea City entered their precious Treasure Vault.


    As expected, the treasure vault was filled with natural treasures that can only be found in the deep sea.


    ***


    ine Allusia saw their chance after the aliens exhausted their powers to stop Wace''s surprise attack.


    The golden-skinned aliens, or Khrusams, appear to be quite exhausted as they kneeled beside their Corpse Furnace.


    Then, the Invader Spaceships sent our the Mech Frames as they seem to be worried that an ambush will follow.


    They are right¡­


    ine and the others just received a report from Avalon that the energy of the Khrusams should''ve been used up by now and they won''t be able to help in the defense. This means that they have a higher chance of sess now!


    ''Great move, Wace. If we attacked first, there would be a higher casualty among the magicians¡­ It''s good that they''ve wasted their power on that floating ind¡­''


    ine mused as he signaled his men to rush at the Mech Frames that are outside guarding the spaceship''s territory¡­


    All the spaceships would be unable to use theirrge-scale cannons because of the Mech Frames'' presence outside. At most, their turrets can be used carefully to assist the Mech Frames¡­


    ''We just have to worry about their Subspace ster and Psionic Pulse¡­''


    ine thought as he leads five Sages with him. They are moving stealthily on the ground to get closer to the spaceship¡­ They used their invisibility spell, haste spells, and other Mana Spell that would allow them to get near the spaceships unnoticed¡­


    Beep!


    It didn''t take long before they reached the shield protecting the Conveyor Spaceships. They had to stop and do something about it.

 Chapter 389 - Against Alien Invasion ( 3 )

    ine nced at the invisible barrier that is stopping them to advance. They needed to quickly do something about it while the alien''s Mech Frames and Marauder Gears are still busy with the Steel Knights acting as their diversion.


    Right now, instead of focusing on the numerous soldiers that the aliens would send out, ine was nning to do something to the spaceships.


    Perhaps even sessfully destroying one of them is more than enough for him to be happy.


    The man then pulled out a staff that he prepared a long time ago¡­


    He poured a quarter of his Mana on this Artifact and activated one of its Mana Spells.


    Traceless Oscition!


    The five Sages behind him noticed that Mana Spell as they looked at the Conveyor Spaceship''s barrier¡­


    Crack!


    They heard a few cracking sounds as the oscition seems to have affected their shield generator¡­


    Soon, it was followed by several small explosions as the spaceship''s barrier copsedpletely¡­


    Finally, ine and the rest were have reached the Conveyor Spaceship without anything blocking them¡­ However, they were also detected by the aliens since their actions of destroying the barrier could not be hidden at all¡­


    Even though they have various stealth spells activated, they seem to know their exact location as the Khrusams that are resting outside decided to make a move on them¡­


    "We have to hurry¡­"


    ine said as they jump to the Conveyor Spaceship¡­


    Their group of five was suddenly covered by a red ring as they rushed towards the tough armor of the ship¡­


    Boom!


    They seem to be nning to forcefully enter the spaceship!


    However, the armor seems to be tougher than they expected¡­


    ine Allusia noticed the uniqueness of the space alloy as he made his move¡­


    He clenched his fist and focused his energy on his hand¡­


    Lightning Fist!


    He smashed the spaceship with his fist as it created a hole enough for them to enter¡­ The man grinned at this result. He had finally found out the extent of the alien''s armor technology¡­


    He admits that they have the finest steel technology that he had ever seen, however, his Secret Art has the finest prative ability that made him a suitable counter for them¡­ This is an impressive discovery that he needed to share with everyer on¡­


    Perhaps, his Cloud Hawk Manor will truly grow even stronger from here on.


    Thud!


    "Ahh! Help!"


    Unfortunately, before they could enter the spaceship¡­ One of the Khrusams managed to get closer¡­


    The golden-skinned alien reached his hand inside the red ring they created to protect themselves¡­ The red ring obviously did nothing to stop Khrusam at all!


    The alien''srge palm grabbed one of the magicians by his head and pulled him out of the protection ring¡­


    His cry for help didn''t happen for long as the aliens squeezed him tightly until his head popped off¡­


    The sudden event had happened so fast that the Sages were unable to react¡­


    However, as soon as ine realized that their shield is not effective, he quickly used his Thunder Break!


    Boom!


    The closest Khrusam and the others that were rushing towards their spot were pushed away by the Secret Art¡­


    "You four, reserve your Mana until we reached the target location¡­"


    "Yes, Sir ine!"


    They answered with conviction as they gritted their teeth¡­ One of them just died so easily¡­ They were even unable to take revenge on his killer at all as they have to continue with their mission.


    Luckily, their mission only requires three Sages¡­ Two of them were just reserves in case an ident like that happened.


    Nevertheless, the effect of their mission would still be better if five of them had actually survived.


    Whom~ Whom~


    ine erected a couple of barriers around them and activated a haste spell and they moved inside the Conveyor Spaceship¡­


    ***


    Meanwhile, the war outside between the alien''s Mech Frames and Marauder Gears against the Mage Battalion of Zairus is still ongoing.


    "Dodge!" Ross Schien, a pilot of Lucent Force,manded after detecting that the enemy''s Psionic Pulse was targeted on their spot¡­


    His Golden Steel Knight was too eye-catching and perhaps, the aliens have thought that he''s the leader of this offensive force.


    Boom! Boom!


    Not everyone was able to dodge the Psionic Pulse as two Steel Knights were caught within the range¡­ They heard the pilots scream in pain before their bodies exploded inside their cockpit.


    Not even seat ejection could save them from such a cruel attack that ignores any defense¡­


    "Avalon¡­ Is there really no way to counter that Psionic Pulse?!"


    Ross asked the A.I. with exasperation.


    He found the technology too unfair as not even their Mana Shells and various high-grade defense spells were able to stop it¡­


    [ There is. A disturbance of energy at the level of Mana Cmity has a high chance of disrupting the level of their Psionic Pulse. ]


    Avalon answered after being asked.


    Apparently, all the Steel Knights are required to have devices that will allow them to connect with Avalon. This is to ensure that they are all well-coordinated in this war and of course, could help them with their decision-making.


    After all, even if they have received information about the aliens through papers and discussions in their meeting, it doesn''t mean that they''ll fully understand it¡­


    Avalon''s presence can help them remember everything they needed to know in case of emergency¡­


    ''Haa~ There''s no way to create a Mana Cmity¡­ Perhaps if I have a Sealed Mana Artifact, I can try doing it...''


    Ross mused as he controlled his Steel Knight to engage in closebat¡­ This is the only thing they can do for now¡­ They''ve learned that not even the aliens can defend against their Psionic Pulse without taking any harm.


    They found this as an opportunity and confirmed that staying close with them is the best decision they can make. For now, this allows them to avoid getting easily taken out but they know that they can''t keep up like this forever¡­


    They either have to destroy them first or learn how to defend against such invisible attacks.


    [ Warning: The ze''s Positron Cannon is about to be used. ]


    The A.I. suddenly warned as they provided the details of the line of fire.


    The Adept Mages, Steel Knights, and Airships quickly moved away from the line of fire¡­


    Whoozzsh! Whoozzsh!


    Apparently, two cannons were used at the same time! It hit a few of the Mech Frames and Marauder Gears that are unable to dodge in time.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Series of explosions urred as the Mech Frames exploded and created shockwaves¡­


    The Adept Mages on the ground that are controlling the mobile turrets were affected by these shockwaves¡­ They have to erect various barriers to protect themselves from being thrown away¡­


    Then, the positron beam fired by ze continued going to one of the Invader Spaceships!


    Bam!


    They fired a simrly powerful beam of light as it created another shockwave that destroyed the surroundingnd¡­


    The battle was so intense that the magicians were unable to tell how long this wouldst.


    ***


    Dr. Mao saw ine and the Sages he brought with him enter the Conveyor Spaceship¡­ They have lost one of the Sages but knowing ine, he knows that it will not go unpunished. He will definitely take an act of revenge for doing that.


    Nevertheless, none of them knows what''s inside the spaceship so Mao still felt a bit nervous.


    The only thing they could think of is that it is simr to the simtions within the Alien Invasion game made by ine''s apprentice.


    ''You survived the Northern Continent for a long time, I hope that you can survive this too¡­''


    The mage doctor prayed in his heart as he looked at the war happening in the sky¡­


    The Lucent Knights of their country were impressively capable of flight and battling in the sky seems to be working well with them¡­


    Luckily, they have requested Wace to enhance their flight capabilities¡­ Aside from that, the ze Battleship was also doing extremely well supporting them from the back lines¡­


    The Mech Frames of the aliens were extremely strong with their technology, but their Steel Knights weren''t that weak as well.


    After observing the situation for a while¡­ He went to the vige at the far back of the Ste Region¡­


    It is the Lyra Vige where all the injured are being transported.


    The Mage Battalion''s main task is to fight the Marauder Gears of the aliens¡­ Apparently, after the alien''s small flying vehicles are destroyed, the two people manning each of these gear could still fight on the ground and create trouble for the magicians¡­


    He entered the building filled with injured magicians.


    Then, he saw a familiar Automaton supervising the hastily made hospital¡­


    "Are you Avalon?"


    [ Yes, you can say so, Doctor Mao. How may I help you? ]


    "I heard that the magicians managed to defeat a few aliens riding the Marauder Gears¡­ I wanted to inspect them."


    [ You can do so after helping at least 20 injured. ]


    "So it''s a mission now, huh? Of course, I''ll help the injured even if you don''t tell me¡­ I just want to ensure that I get a chance to check them."


    [ Of course. Please treat the ones in critical conditions first. We arecking medical personnel. ]


    "Yes, yes¡­ I will work now¡­"

 Chapter 390 - Against Alien Invasion ( 4 )

    Dr. Mao is a Mage Doctor who specializes in the Alteration Path¡­ However, after his expedition to the Northern Continent, he realized that learning the other two paths was also very important in his career.


    This is why he decided to study the Enhancement and Mysticism Path after returning here.


    Though he didn''t have plenty of time to study them, he reached an intermediate-level in the study and achieved an incredible advancement in terms of his medical practice¡­


    Right now, he felt that as long as a magician is breathing, he would have a chance of treating them¡­


    He looked at the critically injured magicians that are being assisted by other medical practitioners. He also noticed that some automatons seem to have medical capabilities which surprised him a little¡­


    ''What was that?''


    He just saw an operation room fully operated by automatons or machines¡­


    One of the automatons, that seems to be a surgeon, has a human-like body except for its hands filled with smaller operating tools¡­ He can see its gentle movements as it removes the shrapnels inside the magician''s internal organs¡­


    ''This¡­ I didn''t think that we''ve advanced this much already¡­'' Dr. Mao thought as he suddenly felt that he is not needed in this ce. Though he has skills as a doctor, he somehow felt that the automaton can beat him in terms of working capabilities.


    After all, he also gets tired after a few operations while this Automaton would most likely be capable of working until it runs out of supply of energy¡­ and if that happens, changing the mana stones of these automatons can definitely make it work again.


    "How many Doctor Automatons do you have, Avalon?"


    He asked one of the normal automatons near him.


    [ We have 10 of them in total and only 2 of them are here. We can''t put them all in the same location as recreating such machines would take us a very long time. We need to ensure that we are safe from any danger first before putting them all together. ]


    "Hmm¡­ I understand¡­ If they can do such an amazing job, then building them is probably extremely difficult as well¡­"


    The man nodded as he proceeded to diagnose some unconscious patients in a special ward.


    Apparently, they are patients that couldn''t be saved through normal means.


    Even with Veda''s medical knowledge, saving them would not be a guarantee unless they could get thetest Medical Chamber that is popr throughout the gctic civilization. The Medical Chamber is a nanite-reproduction medical station that could probably bring anyone back to life as long as they still have an ounce of life on them¡­


    [ Can you treat the patients here? ]


    The doctor looked at the patients within the room and used his Spirit Arts to get a full picture of their current situation.


    "Mhmm¡­ It will be hard¡­ But I''ll do my best."


    [ Very well. I will leave them to you. You will be assisted by a few Apprentices. If you need anything, you can just call me. ]


    "Alright¡­ I understand."


    As soon as he said this, five medical practitioners greeted Dr. Mao. It seems that they''ve been waiting for him for a while now.


    Nevertheless, as soon as he confirmed the situation of each patient, he determined categorized each of them ording to their critical level. Then, after confirming the sequence of their treatment, he quickly gave instructions to assistants as he checked the operating table¡­


    "Everything''s prepared¡­ Bring me the first patient¡­"


    Doctor Mao said as he started working¡­


    ***


    Wace dealt with the imperial army quite swiftly¡­ They would probably cause a lot of trouble if they fought against their Adept Mages here. He wouldn''t be surprised if a single Imperial Soldier with Bio-Armor andplete weapons can kill five or Adept Mages at all.


    This is not because he''s underestimating the Adept Mages but because he knows that the weapons of these people would pose a threat to the magicians¡­


    Perhaps, only Adept Mages with forbidden spells were capable of fighting a soldier in a fair duel.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    He no longer cared whether he spends most of his Mana and Astral Energy as he attacked with an intention to fully kill or disable the soldiers¡­


    If he hesitates for a bit, they will just cause a lot more trouble to him. After all, a single soldier that is stationed in this Conqueror Starship had probably received 15 to 20 gene enhancements¡­ If they were allowed to use their long-range weapons and other advanced tech weapons, he might have to spend a lot more energy to defend against them¡­


    [ Failed to take over the A.I¡­ ]


    [ Failed to bypass the security¡­ ]


    [ Failed to connect to Veda¡­ ]


    [ Failed to create any connection outside the spaceship. ]


    [ The location of one of the main targets confirmed. ]


    Reiji heard Avalon''s multiple failures¡­ Anyway, he''s not expecting that it''s capable of hacking the system¡­


    Nevertheless, he was a little surprised that outsidemunication was blocked already¡­ It happened so fast.


    Anyway, the Avalon that he has is just a copy, so the mainframe outside will just continue doing their task even without receiving orders.


    At the very least, Avalon still managed to find their target after using their scanner inside the spaceship¡­


    The A.I. gave directions as he met stronger Imperial Soldiers with better weapons¡­


    Thud! Thud!


    Sounds of closing gates were suddenly heard as soon as he met five soldiers wearing weird Bio-Armor¡­


    Apparently, all the nearby airtight bulkheads of the spaceship were closed trapping Wace with the five soldiers in front of him¡­


    ''Hmph!''


    He used his used Astral Energy to destroy them again but this time, the Soldiers acted quickly and fully activated their Bio-Armor¡­


    Bam!


    One of them was hit by his concentrated energy but he wasn''t thrown away whatsoever¡­


    The five Imperial Soldiers are now wearing full-ck Bio-Armor which seems to have erged their bodies even more.


    They are now 5 meters tall as if Wace is facing a smaller Mech Frame!


    ''Aren''t you a bit too big in this narrow space?''


    Wacemented after seeing that he''s trapped with these soldiers¡­ Nevertheless, he thought of ignoring the five and make a hole at the bulkhead behind them.


    Bang!


    He used his fast movement to appear behind the enemies and strikes the 20-inch metal blocking his way¡­


    He expected that his power was enough to destroy the bulkhead but he was surprised about the energy covering it!


    Death Energy!


    ''Tsk¡­ Where did they get the Death Energy?''


    It''s not like there are other magicians outside that they could kill¡­ The Terror Mages should be hiding and the members of the Seiji Alliance shouldn''t be near this region as well¡­


    He then tried using his Void Phase but he realized that he''s unable to move outside!


    ''Heh~ Impressive¡­ So you really want me to kill these soldiers first¡­ Very well.''


    Wace took a deep breath as he looked at the imperial soldiers in front of him¡­ They are equipped with such an impressive armor technology that is probably focused on defense. Anyway, this type of soldier is probably in the other spaceships as well¡­


    Learning about them now might help the othernding sites as well¡­


    ***


    ''Mhmm? Did he just die?''


    The Celestial Being under the sea pondered for a moment. Apparently, he has been monitoring Wace''s life presence until now.


    He felt that the man just exploded with power and he thought that he''s probably fighting the aliens from outer space.


    Since he fought with the young man before, he knows that Wace hadn''t taken his fight seriously yet. After all, he forced the young man to fight in a life or death situation many times already.


    This is why he had a good grasp of the man''s current skills.


    However, the man''s life force just disappeared without any signs of weakening at all¡­ It appears as though Wace was just obliterated by something¡­ Of course, if there is such thing that could kill the young man, he would''ve surely felt this already and perhaps, made a move to save the young man.


    Before he learned the Divine Sense from Wace, he made a deal with the young man. And apparently, saving him a few times is included in it¡­


    "Is there something wrong, Lord Celestial?"


    "I will be checking something out¡­ I want you to line up all the treasure I pointed out. I will be inspecting them once I returned."


    "Yes. It will be done, Lord Celestial." The head of the Deep Sea Creatures answered while bowing his head.


    He didn''t dare to look directly at the Celestial''s figure as often even if they are close. He''s scared that he might offend the entity by making any disrespectful actions.


    Sshh~


    As soon as he straightened his body, he realized that the Celestial has already disappeared¡­


    "Haaa~"


    He finally heaved a sigh of relief as he called his subordinates to arrange the precious stones and items that caught the Celestial''s attention.

 Chapter 391 - Against Alien Invasion ( 5 )

    After Wace was trapped together with the five imperial soldiers, he didn''t worry that they''ll be capable of killing him at all.


    He acknowledges the power of their Bio-Armors and other weapons but his Mana Spells will certainly kill these people if they were directly hit even once. He only has to destroy their armor or perhaps use a Mana Spell that directly affects their body.


    At most, they could probably buy some time until the Khrusams managed to regain most of their strength¡­


    However, as soon as he nned to use one of his Mana Artifacts, or his Silver Sphere, he found out that his enemies have brought a Phantom Missile Launcher!


    The ground below them just opened up before the twounchers appeared!


    A missileuncher against a single person! They are desperate!


    The Phantom Missiles were suddenly aiming at him as he changed his offensive approach to a defensive one¡­


    Then, a Psionic Pulse from the Mech Frames from the outside had also activated!


    ''Wait¡­ Why would you use that with these five here?'' Wace thought while he endured the power of the Psionic Pulse and use his evolved Mana Shell to defend against the missile¡­


    The Psionic Pulse can be dangerous to his body so he has to focus on defending against it.


    As expected, the five people were also affected by the Psionic Pulse but they had enough time to trigger their missiles tounch them in Wace''s direction¡­


    They seem to be prepared to perish with him inside this enclosed room!


    Boom! Boom!


    Wace was caught in the explosion as he endured the impact¡­


    As far as he knows, the Phantom Missile is a very expensive construct but does twice as much damage as any other weapon ss of a simr generation.


    This missile is very good against ships without force fields, but can be easily interfered with through ECM or can be literally shot down with CIWS.


    Wace thought that they would no longer use such outdated weapons but it seems that these types of weapons were still dangerous if they are used correctly.


    Perhaps, if any other magicians were in his situation, they wouldn''t be able to survive this attack at all¡­ or even if they could, they would surely sustain heavy injuries in the process.


    Bam!


    Wace was thrown at the metal gate behind him as he failed to stand on his ground¡­


    However, he didn''t take too much damage in the process¡­ He then nced at the five imperial soldiers and noticed that their Bio-Armors are now crumbling into pieces¡­


    It seems that it could no longer endure the damages they''ve received¡­


    p! p! p!


    One of them suddenly started pping afterpletely removing the useless Bio-Armor in his body.


    Right now, he''s just wearing a normal spacesuit for the imperial army.


    "I didn''t think that you can still move after that attack¡­ So the rumors about the existence of a strong alien race on this are true¡­"


    Wace heard the man spoke using the Meredith Empire''s officialnguage¡­


    Of course, he''s also curious why he would think that he''s a native on this. After all, he''s wearing a Bio-Armor as well!


    ''Or can he not recognize that this is an old bio-armor?''


    Nevertheless, Wace is not here to have a chat with them. He realized that the Mech Frames with troublesome technologies would surely catch up to him¡­ He had to move quickly.


    Wace then saw the five pull out their photon swords¡­ It seems that they really think that they can handle him¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    They waved their sword around before rushing at him¡­


    Whom~


    His Mana Shell activated as he pointed his finger to one of the soldiers.


    Bam! Bam!


    Their swords managed to strike his Mana Shell first before he couldplete his casting. Their swift movements are truly impressive¡­


    However, it was their biggest mistake to get closer to him.


    Obsidian Surge!


    This is simr to the red lightning spell used during TMAC. However, Wace modified it to fit his Secret Art: AOTL¡­


    Lightning abilities or spells aren''t umon to a magician''s arsenal¡­ It''s just that using such spell drains a lot of manapared to other mana spells like elemental wind and water.


    Unless they have simr Secret Art like AOTL, it will be very taxing to their bodies and may not be effective in the long run.


    "Aah!"


    They screamed in pain as they couldn''t dodge the red lightning in time. In truth, Wace was even surprised that they weren''t instantly killed by the attack¡­


    ''Ahh¡­ Is it because of theirbat suit?'' He mused.


    Anyway, it doesn''t matter whether they have the finest gene enhancements, as the spell contains a million Volts and it would still fry them nheless¡­


    Thud!


    They all dropped on the ground as their spacesuits were unable to save them¡­


    Wace then looked at the thick metal gate that is blocking his way. He noticed that the whole room is actually being covered by Death Energy¡­


    ''So these five soldiers are members of the suicide squad?'' The young man thought for a moment as he started to slowly control his Astral Energy.


    His mana doesn''t seem to be very effective against the Death Energy of the Khrusams so he thought of focusing on his Astral Energy.


    ''Let''s see how much energy it will take me¡­'' The man smirked as he started his attack.


    ***


    Meanwhile, while Wace was trapped within the Conqueror Starship¡­


    A powerful figure appeared about the spaceships at the State of Kazan¡­ The figure they''ve seen waspletely different from any living creatures that the Empire had encountered.


    Apparently, what they''ve detected is the Celestial Being that was previously under the sea.


    "Hmmm¡­"


    The Celestial surveyed the surroundings¡­ He saw the five alien spaceships and about a hundred Mech Frames around. As for the marauder gears and builder androids, hepletely ignored them as they felt that they are too useless.


    Of course, he also noticed the Terror Mages but he was already aware of their rtionship with Wace so he just ignored thempletely¡­


    It didn''t take long before the Celestial found traces of Wace''s energy and found the covered spot where he could''ve gone into.


    The entity stayed mid-air as he doesn''t seem to n on attacking the aliens¡­


    However, for the imperial soldiers who had just been infiltrated by a single native of this, they were not taking the chance that this being would just stay there and watch them.


    They have to take the initiative¡­


    Nevertheless, they know that they can''t be too careless with their actions. They are aware that underestimating these natives might result in many deaths¡­


    Whom~ Whom~ Whom~


    Thirty members of the Khrusam race flew and surrounded the Celestial Being. Their actions weren''t rushed as they seem to be watching the Celestial carefully.


    Perhaps, they have already run several scans on this being but didn''t found anything¡­ After all, the being is purely made of energy¡­


    Zzzsshh¡­.


    A spinning noise was suddenly heard as a ck miasma appeared around the Khrusams¡­


    This is the Death Energying out from the Corpse Furnace that was just activated.


    The energy formed a as they rushed towards the Celestial Being. In truth, they have somehow realized that the Mech Frames will not be enough to deal with this entity¡­


    They''ve made negotiations with some natives of this a while ago¡­ The meeting took ce within a virtual world that can actually slow the time in the real world like Wace''s QBCS.


    In short, the 10 minutes of negotiation with the Seiji Alliance before was actually more than a couple of hours!


    During such a long meeting, the existence of the unknown entity called Celestial Being was discussed as well¡­


    The Empire had actually asked for the list of mysterious or powerful beings or entities within this that they have to be wary of.


    Apparently, the Seiji Alliance listed the Celestial Beings at the top of the list.


    It is followed by the unknown Veda that is controlling the''s underworld organizations, and the third is, of course, Wace Ravencroft¡­


    There are others on the list like Aeolia Schien, the Deep Sea Creatures, and Julian Esmeria in Montego who has made a dangerous weapon¡­ The Seiji Alliance has even warned them not to force the man to use the weapon as they believed that its power would also affect the whole world.


    They couldn''t tell exactly what this weapon is but they received this information through their spies and even Veda has confirmed that the man is hiding a mysterious weapon inside the first Mage Tower of the country¡­


    In the end, Wace''s existence was also confirmed by the Imperial Army¡­ The man who made the Spaceships, Moon Base, and the Virtual World possible appears very suspicious to them however they look.


    Nevertheless, they concluded that this being in front of them is probably one of those few mysterious beings on the so they have to be careful¡­


    They are unsure whether this entity is Veda, the Celestial, or even Wace, but they are determined to kill them at all cost.

 Chapter 392 - Against Alien Invasion ( 6 )

    The Celestial Being looked at the golden-skinned alien race surrounding him¡­


    They are emitting an incredible form of energy that is not simr to Mana or Astral Energy at all¡­ Their power ising from a mysterious source from their bodies and he can feel that it is being concentrated on their forehead.


    Whoosh~


    The made of the ck energy surrounded him but he decided not to dodge to see what it will do to his body.


    Though he''s unaware of what it could do to him, he''spletely unafraid to face it. After all, this is the first time he had seen such power and he wanted to experience it as much as possible.


    Meanwhile, the Khrusams celebrated a little after seeing that they''ve captured the Celestial¡­ They are aware that they are being underestimated by their enemy after they saw him just stood there without resisting.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    After the Celestial was covered by multiples of Death Energy, it formed arge sphere trapping the entity inside.


    They heard a pulsing noise as the trapped entity is probably attempting to free himself¡­


    ''It''s toote¡­ You won''t escape our Judgment Sphere.''


    ''Too arrogant¡­ He''s probably one of the strongest beings on this and he''s thinking that he''s still powerful in front of us.''


    ''Let''s not make the same mistake¡­ Let''s kill him now.''


    ''That''s right, let''s wrap this up¡­''


    The Khrusamsmunicated with each other as they find it quite easy to capture the Celestial. Nevertheless, if he was truly being careless, it is their chance to eliminate that being and handle the native that infiltrated their Conqueror Starship.


    Boom!


    The weak noisesing from inside the ck sphere started getting louder. The Khrusams have noticed that the Celestial was probably being desperate right now.


    They then held their Corpse Furnace tightly as they generated a stronger Death Energy¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    The noise is getting louder and louder as the creature that they trapped doesn''t seem to be affected by the corruption of their power¡­ He''s not weakening at all!


    They found it quite weird since there shouldn''t be any other race capable of fending off the Death Energy they have.


    The Khrusams looked at each other as they have decided to take this matter seriously¡­ There has never been an alien race that couldst more than 30 seconds within their Judgment Sphere.


    Then, as soon as they made their resolve, they sped both of their hands as they concentrated on their final attack¡­


    Hmph!


    They gritted their teeth as the slit on their forehead was slowly opened!


    Finally, it is time to use their third eye! They wouldn''t normally use this eye unless they are determined to erase someone''s existence.


    After all, even just the excess power that the eye gives to them was already enough to kill even the elite soldiers of the Imperial Army. It is such a terrifying power that made the Meredith Empire ept them as their equal in the alliance they made.


    Thud! Thud!


    As they were readying their third eye''s attack, they can still hear the entity trying to find its way out¡­ However, none of them thinks that it would be capable of aplishing such a feat¡­ At most, they are just worried that it takes a very long time before they can wear him out.


    They do not want to spend too much time with this being since another native of this is still inside the spaceship. They have to deal with this now¡­


    Haa!


    The Khrusams then released the terrifying power umting on their third eye as the Death Energy covering the Celestial Being grewrger¡­ There was also a tinge of radiating purple within the sphere!


    Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­


    They can still hear the entity inside the sphere but his attempt to get out is getting weaker every second¡­ until it finally disappeared.


    ''Hold it! We need to make sure that he''s already dead before releasing sphere¡­''


    ''Of course¡­ A couple of minutes should be enough¡­ There''s no way he could survive such a deadly attack¡­''


    The power that was released using their third eye wasn''t just to increase the strength of their Judgment Sphere. It is also used to add a higher level of Corrosive Energy that would surely eat up any living creatures.


    They know that their attack is effective and it''s only a matter of time.


    ***


    As the Celestial Being was being trapped by the Khrusam''s Judgment Sphere, the battle at Montego was already reaching its end¡­


    Apparently, the lonely ck Sovereign had caused massive damage to the small country¡­


    It was able to destroy the 12 Mage Towers close to the site!


    It means that there are no longer any powers that could suppress the spaceship. After all, any ground forces will be easily annihted without the Tower''s support behind them¡­


    Well, they can still consider building Mage Towers close to the site if they wanted to but there''s no way that the aliens would allow such actions.


    Nevertheless, the ck Sovereign wasn''t unscathed in the battle¡­


    After Wace dropped his Floating Inds and was stopped by the Khrusams, Julian Esmeria and his team didn''t let the opportunity be wasted as they sent everything that their tower could do to destroy the enemy¡­


    Earth''s Hallow, a spell that is approaching the limit of Grade 5 was used by multiple Mage Towers¡­


    Ice-Fire Tornado, a spell from a one-time use Mana Artifact of Julian was simrly used¡­ This is one of the strongest weapons that he made himself.


    This spell was thest trigger to destroy the ck Sovereign''s sixyered barriers.


    Finally, after confirming that the barriers were no longer functioning, he used a forbidden Soul Art, Soul Grip¡­


    The spell can target a whole area and any living beings will have their souls pull towards the caster''s Mana Artifact¡­


    It is such an unreasonable Mana Spell that even Julian wasn''t willing to use¡­


    After all, if he made a mistake casting the spell, not only his enemy will be affected but including his soul and his people''s soul will be pulled inside the artifact trapping them for eternity¡­


    ''This is weird¡­ Howe it is not effective against them?!''


    Julian was speechless after seeing that his Soul Grip was ineffective¡­ He couldn''t understand how it happened as he was sure that the aliens still have souls with them!


    He firmly believes that humans including other races areposed of three important things¡­ The body, the soul, and the spirit¡­ Without these three, they shouldn''t be able to live at all!


    ''What''s going on?''


    Julian asked himself in confusion. He then nced at the ck Sovereign with a bit of fear on his face.


    ''Are we fighting unkible aliens, after all?'' He thought¡­


    However, he noticed that the ck Sovereign became unresponsive after using thest spell.


    ''Ugh¡­ Though I want to attack, we no longer have any Tower¡­ On the other hand, they still have the Mech Frames with them guarding at the sides¡­''


    Julian sighed as he looked at the silent ck Sovereign¡­


    They are now in a stalemate¡­ The ck Sovereign seems to have exhausted their powers but they still have mobile units outside.


    Of course, their country still has a lot of soldiers and magicians but they are justrge in number¡­


    They aren''t elite forces that can change the tide of war or could handle those huge Mech Frames guarding the spaceships.


    Julian then noticed themunication device that was left to him¡­ This is the device he can use tomunicate with Avalon or perhaps the councils of the allied nations.


    He took a deep breath before looking for Avalon¡­


    "Avalon¡­ Our country might be doomed once the ck Sovereign decided to slowly destroy the Mage Towers one by one¡­ I already used my Soul Grip Artifact and it wasn''t effective¡­ Sigh~ Let the councils of the other nations know about our situation."


    [ I understand. However, an elite force from Maja will arrive in 15 minutes. Try to survive until that time. ]


    "From Maja?" Julian wasn''t too delighted with the reinforcements as that country is focusing most of its forces on the creation of automatons¡­


    ''Well, perhaps sending a thousandbat automatons might be effective.''


    [ Yes, they are from Maja. They are a strong group of 500 Magicians with 3000 Automatons. Try to assist them as much as you can. ]


    "That many? Alright¡­"


    [ ¡­ ]


    "Do you have anything else to say?" Julian asked after noticing that Avalon isn''t nning to end the conversation yet.


    [ Your Soul Grip may not be effective against the Khrusam Race, or the golden-skinned aliens, that you''ve fought with. They have the power that maniptes the Death Energy so it might be a good counter to your Soul Grip. ]


    "Is that true?" Julian suddenly stood up after hearing this from Avalon¡­


    He''s together with six other sages hiding not too far from thending site of the aliens¡­ The six know that Julian is already on the verge of giving up but they realized that the old man seemed to have regained his spirit¡­


    Finally, after Julian ended his talk with Avalon, he calmed his excited expression as he gazed at the Khrusams like they are treasures.

 Chapter 393 - Against Alien Invasion ( 7 )

    "We are getting near¡­ Everyone, get ready!"


    Folco announced in theirms after noticing that they are getting near to thending site¡­ He is themander of the second Battalion from Maja that was sent to assist the Montego.


    The first batch of Mage Battalion was unfortunately almost annihted by the aliens. Their survivors weren''t even in a good condition and they could still die at the medical facilities¡­


    Right now, he''s in a room within their airship together with his vicemanders as they just finished discussing the topography of the alien''snding site.


    "Haa~ This might be ourst mission..."


    Folco muttered as he prepares his mind.


    He has arge framepared to the other officers inside the room so anyone would easily recognize him. Aside from that, his mechanical right arm was also something that could catch anyone''s attention.


    This mechanical right arm was made through the advancement of their automaton''s study¡­ Of course, it is through the help of Veda, who would like to help each country depending on their needs.


    Nevertheless, their country isn''t the best for creating automatons for no reason. They truly deserve such a title even if it''s backed by Veda.


    As he was about to point something out about their rendezvous point with the Montego''s forces, they heard someone running outside¡­


    Knock! Knock!


    "Commander¡­ We just received a report that even Sir Julian''s Soul Grip didn''t work against the aliens¡­" The soldier reported after entering the room.


    "The Soul Grip? What''s that?" Folco asked as he couldn''t remember such Mana Spell, Steel Knight, Mana Artifacts, or weapon before. He has no idea what it is.


    "Ahh¡­ We previously received a piece of information from Veda that Sir Julian has a forbidden Soul Art that he can use against the aliens¡­ We just learned that its name is Soul Grip after Veda made another report¡­"


    "Hmmm. I remember now¡­ Even a forbidden Soul Art is useless, huh¡­"


    Folco muttered as he weighed the situation.


    "Did we receive a report about their current ns?"


    "No, Sir¡­ However, it seems that Sir Julian is waiting for our arrival as he was gathering his remaining forces."


    "Tsk¡­ They were too confident with their Mage Towers. Are they not nning to rebuild them?"


    "Ugh¡­ I wasn''t aware of any information regarding that,mander¡­ However, as far as I know, they would require at least a week or two to rebuild a single Mage Tower."


    "Mhmm¡­ Very well. You can go back now¡­"


    The officer then saluted to themander before returning to his post.


    Folco remained silent as he was trying to consider the fact that the aliens seem to be looking for something.


    They previously received information from Avalon that the aliens are most likely looking for the Memory Crystal Mines aside from the magicians that they could capture.


    They seem to have a use for the crystals that they were not aware of. Nevertheless, this means that they would need some workers or time to establish mining missions¡­


    If they used this opportunity well, they might be able to deal more damages to the ck Sovereign''s forces than just mindlessly charging towards that spaceship.


    They already have weaker firepower and they have to ept that¡­ If they try to force the fight in which they are at disadvantage, they would just lose more magicians¡­ They can''t let them die in vain.


    They have to learn new tactics to adapt to the alien''s fighting method.


    "Everyone, our Battalion isn''t that good to arge-scale fight between spaceships and airships. We have seen that they also have ground forces. We will focus on eliminating their Mech Frames and other smaller units¡­"


    "Yes, Commander¡­ However, we won''t be able to do that unless there would be something that would pin their spaceship¡­"


    "It''s alright¡­ We already confirmed the effective range of the ck Sovereign. We will just lead the Mech Frames in some areas and iste them."


    Folco then continued exining his ns.


    Unfortunately, the aliens still have a lot of ground forces so they have to be mindful of their actions. If they made a mistake, their 3000 automatons may just be wasted by a single positron cannon of the ck Sovereign¡­


    After a few more minutes, they arrived at the rendezvous point of their army and Julian''s remaining forces.


    Folco looked at the old man in his luxurious robe¡­ It feels like Julian is about to attend a ceremony instead of going to war. Thetter is currently together with 4 more sages that are also wearing a ceremonial robe¡­


    However, he knows that the robe has been enhanced multiple times and is probably tougher than their airship''s armor.


    This is also Julian''s first time seeing the man, so he was a bit surprised after seeing his Mechanical Arm.


    He had only seen such mechanical limbs with the retired and disabled soldiers before. He never thought that someone with such a disability can still serve in their country¡­


    ''I guess they don''t have many soldiers in Maja¡­ Ahh¡­ It seems that it is right since they are focusing on automatons¡­'' Julian talked to himself after seeing the man.


    He can tell that Folco is at the level of Sage and is the strongest in his group. Julian never failed to analyze the power of his fellow magicians so he approached the man and greeted him.


    "Thank for youing here¡­ Though my country is at a huge disadvantage, we still have a chance to win this war."


    "Ho~ You''re confident Sir Julian¡­ That''s what I like to hear¡­ Tell me about your ns."


    Folco didn''t bother with pleasantries as he gets to the point. If he didn''t like Julian''s n¡­ He would insist on what he thought to be the best for his men¡­


    He doesn''t want any of his 500 magicians to die in vain.


    It is fine for him even if the 3000 automatons are destroyed by the aliens. However, the life of the 500 Adept Mages of his country is irreceable.


    "Very well¡­ You should''ve heard about my Soul Grip already¡­"


    "Yes¡­ It didn''t work against the aliens, right?" Folco bluntly replied to the royal court magician¡­


    Julian smiled wryly upon hearing this and exined about the Khrusam Race''s specialty¡­


    "The Khrusams, or those golden-skinned aliens, have the power to manipte the Death Energy¡­ Avalon and Veda confirmed this information¡­"


    "Mhmm¡­ So their ability to control the energy can affect your Soul Art?"


    "Yes! That''s why we can probably treat the Khrusams as Magicians that have studied the Mysticism''s Path¡­"


    Julian seems to be excited as he was exining what he knows about the aliens.


    However, Folco does not understand where his excitement ising from. Learning about such a powerful alien ability shouldn''t be something he should be happy about.


    Indeed, Julian noticed that he wasn''t interested so he continued exining¡­


    "I heard that they are using a Corpse Furnace to properly control this energy¡­ I''m suspecting that they are also using a Soul Art in apletely different way¡­ After all, only Soul Art can fight against another Soul Art¡­ If I use that logic, then I can probably use my other forbidden art called Soul Explosions against them¡­ The only problem is that this is a difficult process even for me."


    The royal court magicians exined as he gave hope to their current despairing situation¡­


    "Only Soul Art can fight against another Soul Art¡­" Folco repeated as he looked at Julian¡­


    If the aliens are indeed using an unknown Soul Art, then it makes sense that they can defend against Julian''s Soul Grip if they follow that rule.


    "Very well¡­ Give me the details¡­" Folco asked as he felt that this is a good shot for them.


    Right now, he can only hope that the preparations require for this Soul Explosion Art isn''t to sacrifice his Magicians¡­


    ***


    Yumi and the rest of the people that are important to Wace have arrived at the Floating Ind meant to be their exclusive Shelter¡­


    The ce is surprisingly familiar as the building structures and facilities are simr to the Moon Base that they have seen in the previous broadcasts that Ace made¡­


    Of course, Miya noticed this as well since she yed the second season of the virtual game, the yer Invasion: Moon Project¡­


    The game allowed them to do some space missions and some battles in outer space.


    "Avalon, what''s the current situation of the war?"


    Miya asked softly after being left alone with an automaton¡­ Diana Humeray, her Manager, wasn''t together with her since they are watching the live broadcast at the gathering hall¡­


    Miya doesn''t like the crowded ce so she decided to just walk around the huge floating ind together with the automaton.


    [ Unfavorable to our at the moment. There are more than 8,000 confirmed deaths on our side¡­ and still counting. The highest casualty is the war happening at Montego followed by the one in Ste Region. ]


    "That''s so many¡­. How about the casualties on the enemy side?"


    Miya asked after hearing the sad news¡­ She doesn''t know the number of magicians and ordinary citizens in that count but it doesn''t matter.


    She knows that the aliens wouldn''t stop until they got what they wanted.

 Chapter 394 - Against Alien Invasion ( 8 )

    [ For the forces thatnded here on our, we have confirmed 58 Mech Frames have been destroyed together with 230 Marauder Gears. ]


    "That''s too low¡­" Miya uttered after hearing Avalon''s report. The casualty on the enemy side is too low considering that they are expecting more than ten thousand Mech Frames and more than a hundred thousand Imperial Soldiers from the Alien Species.


    Nevertheless, Avalon is unable to tell whether their Mana Spells that could''ve passed through the defenses of the spaceships had actually killed someone. Aside from that, Wace''s Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun had also cleanly hit some of the Conveyor Spaceship and deal visible damages to them.


    Those clean hits had mostly killed some aliens but they are unable to tell how many since they were quickly covered up.


    Aside from that, the report that Avalon gave doesn''t include the Mech Frames and soldiers that they''ve killed in outer space.


    "So we haven''t killed any golden aliens yet."


    [ Correct. ] Avalon replied.


    "Thank you for letting me know, Avalon¡­ Do you think there''s something else I can help you with?" Miya asked in a sincere tone.


    [ No. But if you ask Wace he may request you to encourage our soldiers? ]


    "Huh? How can I even do that? Do you want me to lead them to war?" Miya felt that encouraging soldiers should be Wace''s job or perhaps the strongest Magicians of their country¡­


    [ No. But you can consider singing for them. ]


    "Ugh¡­ I don''t have any songs for this kind of situation¡­ Sorry, I shouldn''t have asked."


    [ It''s fine. I just received a piece of news, you can also consider meeting with Miss Chamber now. ]


    "The Headmaster? Why?" Miya asked in confusion. It seems that this Avalon has a lot of ideas.


    Miss Chamber is the current headmaster of Leonhearts Academy and should be here on this floating ind as well. As a matter of fact, her group was thest one to board Trance as she had to manage a lot of things for the sake of their Academy.


    Currently, the magic academy was closed down and multiple defensive arrays have been ced to stop any trespassers. Perhaps, even if multiple Mech Frames and Marauder Gears decided to loot the ce, they would have some trouble entering it.


    ***


    Tap! Tap!


    Wace flicked his finger to feel the thickness of the metal gate blocking him¡­ Currently, he can ignore the corruption of the Death Energy surrounding him due to his Astral Energy covering his whole body.


    ''Let''s try another method then¡­'' Wace thought after realizing that the gate is being protected by the unusual Energying from the Corpse Furnace¡­ Perhaps, he can overpower this but that would be too much trouble.


    Whom~


    He opened his Dimensional Storage Space and pulled a bottle of ck liquid.


    That''s right, this is the Seventh Generation Mana Artifact courtesy of Aeolia Shien. This is a genuine Artifact that was made through the sacrifice of many magicians.


    Crack!


    He broke the bottle with his hands as the ck liquid poured out¡­ However, before hitting the ground, the ck liquid evaporated, or perhaps, it turned into ck smoke!


    Wace closed his eyes as he tried to feel the changes in his body.


    Currently, the ck smoke is restlessly circling on him as if it was trying to confirm whether Wace was the one who summoned it.


    Whoossh~


    The smoke finally calmed down after a while.


    At the same time, Wace opened his eyes inside his bio-armor¡­ He confirmed the formation of another Synthetic Mana Core inside his body!


    ''Aeolia¡­ You''re truly a genius¡­'' Wace thought as he waved his hand towards the metal gate.


    Then, like another Death Energy, the ck smoke or the Sentient Mana attacks the gate being protected by the Death Energy!


    Without any resistance, the Sentient Mana tore through the metal gate as Wace flew out of the entrapment!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    More metal gates or airtight bulkheads closed down after they have realized that Wace was able to escape!


    Bam! Bam!


    He destroyed two more bulkheads before he was stopped by a group of Khrusams¡­ Finally, they have decided to confront him directly.


    They have already realized that the Imperial Soldiers aren''t a match for him in closebat.


    ''Five Khrusams and two Corpse Furnace¡­ You''re not taking me lightly, aren''t you?''


    Wace smirked seeing the five aliens¡­ They are all wearing their robe just like before but what''s surprising to him right now was that they have already opened their third eye!


    He thought that they will only do this in some kind of emergency or dangerous situation but they have appeared in front of him while it is already opened!


    Then, he saw the five doing some hand gestures or perhaps a ritual to summon the death energy within their Corpse Furnace¡­


    Then, twelve ck tentacles made of the Death Energy came rushing at him¡­ He can feel the corrosive energy that it has and also the mysterious sensation of death reaching out for him¡­


    He couldn''t properly exin the aura of Death Energy but it does have a weird scent that seems to havee from the grave.


    Boom! Boom!


    The tentacles shed at his Sentient Mana.


    Wace felt that the pressure was too much even though he knows that he could defend against it¡­ So he decided to approach the group and targeted the Furnace using his Void Phase.


    Though he can cast multiple mana spells to try and destroy it¡­ He felt that using his physical qualities and Void Phase would be faster.


    Haa!


    He used his fist covered with his concentrated Mana to destroy the Furnace on his left.


    His reappearance using the Void Phase surprised the aliens. However, Wace still underestimated the third eye of one of the Major Races in the Universe.


    They are actually terrifying!


    Though the physical body and the consciousness of the Khrusams were unable to follow Wace''s movement, their third eye seems to have a life of its own as it stared at the direction where Wace would reappear using his Void Phase!


    It is almost like it''s predicting his movement or perhaps, it could see him pass through the Void with that eyes!


    Then, as he was about to destroy the Furnace¡­ A whirlpool made of Death Energy materialized at the spot of the Furnace where his fist is about to strike.


    Boom!


    His fist hit the Death Energy but he was unable to destroy it as expected.


    He decided to back away for now¡­ Of course, he didn''t stop his movements since the tentacles would try to catch him¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ What''s with that third eye? It can follow my movement. I thought it''s only used to increase their control with the Death Energy?!''


    This race was too mysterious. Perhaps, he had to reconsider his ns for now.


    ''Hmm¡­ Let''s see.'' Wace looked at the Khrusams as he suddenly had an idea.


    ''If we don''t know anything from you. I guess we should just study you for a bit.'' The young man thought as he rushed towards one of the Khrusams.


    Their Death Energy is indeed too mysterious. After all, this alien race has kept their secret too tightly¡­ Their Corpse Furnace is aplete mystery and their third eye is like a miracle¡­


    Even the Gctic Federation doesn''t have any information about it.


    Nevertheless, this might be a chance for Wace to learn about these aliens.


    ***


    Miya looked at Avalon curiously as she waited for the A.I.''s reply¡­


    [ Miss Chamber is currently investigating the Death Energy that the Aliens are using. ]


    "Eh? The Death Energy? I read that it''s the power of the Khrusams, right?" She asked in confusion.


    [ That''s correct. Due to multiple reports that we''ve received, we are trying to confirm whether the Death Energy has simrities with the Soul Arts of this. ]


    "Really?! That would be amazing! Wait, I mean that would groundbreaking! Perhaps, those who practice the Soul Arts can finally help to fight in the war."


    [ Well, not exactly. But it would benefit us if we know how their power works. ]


    "Yes¡­ Of course. However, it would be difficult to study their Death Energy¡­ unless you manage to store it and put it in a bottle or something?" Miya asked since before they could study the energy, they should have a sample of it.


    If there''s none, there''s no way they could progress on the study¡­


    At the moment, she''s thinking that Avalon collected some samples by taking the magicians, mech knights, or perhaps other objects that have been affected by the mysterious energy.


    [ No. Just a minute ago, Wace captured a living member of the Khrusam race and bounded it with him¡­ Aside from that, he also picked up twelve dead Khrusams as he was escaping¡­ ]


    "Wait, what? He already killed those aliens!" Miya asked in surprise. Those aliens are super strong! Even the huge floating ind dropping on them was not enough!


    However, Avalon immediately corrected her.


    [ No, someone helped him. However, the helper''s identity is one of the top-secret information at the moment so I can''t tell you. ]

 Chapter 395 - Investigation

    "Top secret?" Miya repeated after hearing Avalon.


    ''Why would their identity be a secret? Ahh¡­ Perhaps they''re actually criminal? Are they part of the Z-Company?''


    The young girl made an interesting guess. After all, there shouldn''t be a reason to hide Wace''s helper at this point. In fact, they should probably share it to increase the morale of their soldiers.


    Nevertheless, she decided to list the possibilities.


    ''If not, then it''s probably one of Kazan''s Magician¡­ After all, it''s too extreme to charge alone in that country¡­ He must''ve contracted some magicians there beforehand. However, since their government is thinking of surrendering to the aliens, Wace decided to hide their identity to keep them safe¡­'' Miya started imagining things¡­


    However, she recalled something important.


    ''Ahh¡­ They should also be capable of defeating those aliens?! Does it mean that he contracted their Grand Sage or Grand Arcanist?''


    She then doubted her second guess. Since as far as she knows, the strong individuals in Kazan wanted to ally with the enemies.


    Then, she recalled how Wace stayed in the northern continent for a long time!


    However, she only shook her head as she felt that it''s impossible. Anyway, this is not important right now.


    "Avalon¡­ Let me know where''s Miss Chamber. I will help with the investigation."


    [ Very well. I confirmed that Wace permitted you to assist. However, due to the dangers of the task, we have to wait for the two other Sages that we hired to ensure everyone''s safety. ]


    "I see¡­ How about you Avalon?"


    [ Don''t worry, Five Combat Elysiums will be present within the room at all times. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s good to hear." Miya felt morefortable with the strength of this A.I.


    [ They are now at Medical Room 4 - Building 105. Follow me. ]


    "Yes!"


    Miya replied as she tailed the automaton¡­ She had never expected to participate in this kind of study or experimentation so she felt a bit nervous and worried that she might mess something up.


    However, she knows that she has to do something instead of just watching their soldiers and magicians sacrifice their lives to fight for freedom.


    ***


    A few minutes ago, Wace managed to put one of the Khrusams unconscious after he used his Echo st and Infrasonic Ray against their group.


    He initially thought that they will be ineffective against the alien race¡­ However, he discovered that when they have opened their Third Eyes, they would actually be vulnerable to this kind of attack!


    As expected, these Aliens aren''t omnipotent and still have some weaknesses!


    Though they appear to be invincible with their third eye, they were actually incapable of defending against a spell that attacks their senses.


    However, as he was attempting to deal with another member of their group, they have realized that he discovered their weakness so they canceled the third eye''s power¡­


    After that, he could no longer affect them with his Mana Spells which is quite frustrating. They have learned when to activate and deactivate their third eye to deal with him¡­


    Of course, he still managed to capture the unconscious Khrusam and decided that it was already enough¡­ He used almost all his strength to get out of the bindings of the Death Energy and create another hole within the spaceship to escape.


    "Eh?"


    As soon as he got outside of the spaceship, he finally felt the presence of the Celestial Being!


    Due to the istion made by Death Energy, he''s unable to sense anything outside even with the help of his Divine Sense!


    So he was surprised at the presence of the Celestial¡­


    "Sir¡­ What brought you here? Are you finally in the mood to make a move? You have to be careful though, they have a unique ability. I''m not sure if your power is suited to fight against them."


    Wace said after seeing the Celestial floating in the sky. Thetter seems to be observing the spaceships and perhaps, trying to understand the enemy''s mysterious power.


    "Are you talking about them?"


    The being talked to his mind while looked at the ground below him.


    Wace looked in the direction he pointed and was surprised to see tens of Khrusams lying on the ground!


    ''What happened? I haven''t been away for a long time¡­ They''re already defeated?!''


    Wace was impressed at the Celestial¡­ As expected of the strongest being of this. He wasn''t disappointed at all¡­ If he can just control this Celestial, this war is probably going to be easy¡­


    ''No¡­ We should still be careful. The presence of Sealed Mana Artifact means that Celestials can still be killed if the conditions are met¡­'' Wace said to himself as he looked at being in front of him.


    "I''d like to take these Khrusams you''ve killed."


    "Go ahead. They stoppeding out after I killed a few of them. I think they won''t be living their vessel while I''m still here."


    "Is that so? You showed them how mighty you are. That''s no wonder. Right, are you unable to attack their spaceship?" Wace asked seeing that the Celestial is hesitant to move against the aliens if they aren''t living in the spaceship.


    "Mhmm¡­ I can destroy itpletely. But thisnd''s bnce of energy will be disrupted and might be simr to the Northern Continent¡­ You don''t want that to happen."


    The Celestial exined¡­


    ''Amazing!''


    Wace was surprised not because of the Celestial''s knowledge about the oue of his attack, but because he seems to be worried that the State of Kazan would end up like the northern continent!


    It means that Wace had truly influenced this Celestial after being together for a long time!


    "That''s a good call¡­ You''re right¡­ I don''t like that to happen."


    "Yes. Anyway, approaching the vessel directly is also not a good idea¡­ Their source of energy is too evil that it wants to corrupt anything it touches¡­ If I forced them, they might decide to release this energy everywhere."


    "Corruption? I understand¡­ I''ll be thinking about how to deal with them¡­ Anyway, these alien species would be the key to that. I''ll just need some time." Wace replied as he''s nning to let some experts study the power of the Khrusams.


    As long as he finds out more about their secrets, he would be able to create ns that may help everyone in the future.


    On the other hand, he decided to avoid directbat with their gship as he''s still a bit worried about the members of the Terub Legion¡­ He wanted to deal with them one by one.


    "Very well, I''ll be returning to the Sea City."


    The Celestial didn''t wait for him to reply as he immediately dived down to the see.


    ''Hmm¡­ I wonder what''s interesting there¡­'' Wace thought as the Celestial Being seem to be quite excited to return.


    Or perhaps, it was just his imagination.


    Nevertheless, he quickly ced that dead Khrusams and destroyed Corpse Furnace within his Dimensional Storage Space. Now that the Celestial was gone, they might think of sending out their forces again so he has to leave the ce.


    ***


    Miya was now in front of the golden aliens¡­


    However, because the sages haven''t arrived yet, she can only see the dead ones with the Elysiums and Miss Chamber''s team.


    There''s a total of 13 dead bodies and 5 Corpse Furnace within the room.


    "Miya! You''ve arrived." Miss Chamber greeted the youngdy as soon as she entered while being apanied by an automaton.


    There are two other faculty members of Leonhearts Academy that are simrly specializing in the Soul Arts.


    "Miss Chamber¡­ I''m here to help." Miya said politely.


    "Yes, Avalon already informed us. We''recking some personnel. However, are you alright with this? We will be investigating these corpses first together with their equipment." Miss Chamber said worriedly. A celebrity idol like her shouldn''t have any experience concerning this kind of job.


    Of course, she''s right about that and Miya didn''t actually feel well after seeing the corpses lying on the tables.


    "I''m fine, Miss Chamber. Thank you for worrying. It''s not like we will be dissecting them, right?"


    "Ahh¡­ Of course, we''re not going to do that. There will be a separate team that will study their biology."


    "That''s better." Miya smiled after hearing Chamber''s confirmation.


    She then looked around the ce and noticed the remnants of the Khrusam''s energy¡­


    "Hmm¡­ It seems that Avalon is right. I can feel familiar energy yet a different aura. Oh, it''s focusing on their heads, or perhaps, brain¡­" Miya added after observing.


    "As expected of the most talented Soul Art practitioner of this generation¡­ You''ve only entered this room for a few moments and already noticed it. Haha! It took us more than 5 minutes to feel that."


    One of Miss Chamber''s subordinates praised the youngdy''s perception.


    "You''re right, Miya. However, it is not their brain but their third eye on their forehead. At the moment, Wace wanted to know how they are operating or perhaps controlling the Death Energy¡­ He wanted us to find a way to stop them or at least disrupt them with their control."

 Chapter 396 - Forbidden Art

    Miya blinked her eyes after realizing that she''s about to see the Khrusam''s third eye¡­


    Since she''s actually feeling the presence of mysterious energy from the corpses, she''s imagining that these aliens have some sort of Beast Core within their bodies.


    "Miss Chamber¡­ I know that Wace wanted to learn how their energy works. However, can we really do this? Though we know the Soul Art, we''ve never tried using it to study corpses." Miya asked.


    "You''re correct. However, since we can still feel their remnant energy¡­ We will be experimenting with their behavior if we put them together with our Soul Energy. Since you have such a high sensitivity, it would be a lot easier for us¡­ Right, there will also be some Arcanists that will be studying the Corpse Furnaceter. They will help a little to find the traces of the Death Energy and we will be needed there as well¡­"


    Miss Chamber exined their ns for the day.


    The earlier they could get the secret of the Death Energy, the faster they could provide it to Wace and help him strategize against the aliens.


    ***


    Folco listened to Julian''s n.


    Thetter can use the Soul Art so he let him create the n. Nevertheless, if it''s true that the Aliens are indeed using another form of the same art, then Julian might be on something.


    They might be able to deal a huge blow on the aliens.


    They have suffered a lot during the short time they''ve descended here and they couldn''t attain any form of victory at all. This is why they have to find something new in dealing with these aliens.


    "Soul Explosion Art¡­ We will be at a huge risk if that art isn''t powerful enough, Julian." Folcomented after hearing the n.


    "Do not worry about it¡­ The stronger the concentration of energy, therger the explosion." Julian exined after hearing Folco''s concern.


    Julian doesn''t have his army anymore and he has to rely on Folco to supply him with the forces he needed to execute the n.


    Luckily, their automatons are already quite capable.


    Though they might not be as intelligent as the one that Wace was using, these automatons were still capable of executingplicated instructions and will be able to do Julian''s n easily. Anyway, what''s important is the timing of their attack.


    "Alright¡­ I guess we''ll have to take a risk. I hope that we can win this, Julian."


    Folco reached his hands as the two shake their hands to finalize their ns. He realized that with Julian''s help, their loss might just be about 2000 automatons and they will be able to destroy the enemy!


    If this worked, he would finally have a good report to be sent back to his country!


    "Let''s start preparing then¡­" Julian said as he''s the one who needed to take a rest as well. After all, casting a forbidden art is not easy at all.


    Fifteen minutes had passed after this as the ck Sovereign remained on the site theynded.


    Perhaps they thought that the natives would no longer attack, as they sent out some androids to the nearest Memory Crystal Mines to start taking their resources.


    "Hmmph¡­ They''re taking us too lightly¡­" One of Folcos'' vicemandersmented after seeing the enemy''s actions.


    "Isn''t that fine? We will be able to catch them off guard."


    Julian is now ready for their ns.


    He can see that none of the imperial soldiers was sent out yet. Based on the reports they received from Avalon, the enemy isposed of multiple alien races.


    The golden-skinned Aliens were just one of them¡­


    "I guess Avalon is right again. The imperial soldiers were still incapable of handling the Mana on this. Only the Khrusams and androids are capable of moving out their spaceships. Ahh¡­ There''s also those Mech Frames and Marauder Gears."


    "That''s correct¡­ This is a chance for us."


    Julian looks at the 30 or so Khrusams guarding the spaceship. They are all looking around but with their small number, they shouldn''t be able to stop him fast enough.


    Boom!


    An explosion urred not too far from the ck Sovereign.


    This explosion was an attack meant to destroy a batch of androids that was just sent out.


    Boom! Boom!


    It was then followed by other explosions as the automatons started clearing up all the androids.


    Of course, the Khrusams didn''t just watch as they brought their Corpse Furnace and targeted the moving Automatons!


    Then, the automatons made of enhanced materials were melted by corrosive ck energy that just suddenly appeared from where they stand.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Just like that, the fifty-five automatons who ambushed the androids were destroyed.


    Nevertheless, Julian''s n was sessful. The attack was just a diversion for him and his small group to get near the Aliens.


    They have used stealth and other mana spells to hide their presence but they are worried that they will still be detected if the aliens aren''t dealing with something.


    This is where Folco and his teame in¡­


    Their group has to take the ck Sovereign and the Khrusam''s attention to allow the Royal Court Magician to cast his Forbidden Art.


    Apparently, the Soul Explosion Art can only be cast in a short distance and its casting time would take about 15 seconds toplete!


    Once Julian Esmeria started casting his spell near the spaceship, he will definitely be detected by the enemies and will be attacked from all sides.


    This is why the four strongest sages of this country are together with him and ready to sacrifice their lives to protect him at all costs.


    It might be cruel to let them die in this mission¡­ but once Julian''s attack became sessful, their country would be the first one to defeat the aliens!


    ''Let''s stop¡­ We''ll wait for the second diversion¡­'' One of the sages ordered. They can''t rush with their movement as they will get easily noticed.


    Though it would be slow, as long as they reached their target, everything will be worth it.


    Soon, another group of 50 automatons charged on the other side of the spaceship!


    Then, another group of 100 attacked the mines where the androids had already started entering.


    In the end, the spaceship decided to release their remaining Mech Frames.


    Earlier, during the Mech Frames'' fight with the first batch of Magicians, Steel Knights, and Mage Towers, a lot of these Mech Frames were destroyed or heavily damaged.


    They are a strong force of the aliens and it requires 20 and above Adept Mages to at least hold down a single Mech.


    Seeing some of them being sent out worried Julian and the others a little.


    ''Mhmm¡­ Some of them are still damaged. I guess they don''t have enough time to repair most of them. It should still buy us some time.''


    ''Alright, let''s continue our move. Sir Julian, stay in our midst. We''ll protect you at all cost.''


    ''Yes, Commander Kyle. I trust you. But make sure to stay alive. I just need fifteen seconds, I need you to protect me with everything you got but do not think of sacrificing your life!''


    ''Of course. Just focus on your Forbidden Art, Sir Julian¡­''


    Commander Kyle, one of the Sages with Julian, knows the dangers of casting the art.


    Unlike the Cryptic Mages who were baptized by Mana using the Cryptic Link Serum, Julian was just a normal magician with tons of experience backing him.


    It means that he doesn''t have the perk where he can ignore the bacsh caused by casting a Forbidden Art. Nevertheless, the Court Magician is not afraid of using them multiple times for his country.


    He might be permanently injured in the process, but it would be worth the price as long as he takes down these aliens.


    ***


    The Celestial Being returned to the bottom of the sea and arrived at the city made by the Deep Sea Creatures.


    "You''re back, Lord Celestial¡­"


    The head of the city bowed his octopus head after seeing the Celestial arrive.


    It will also be noticed that the whole city became extremely silent afraid of offending the being.


    "Hmm. I guess you''ve already arranged the treasures."


    "Yes, of course¡­ Please follow me."


    The head then walked to the room filled with precious items¡­ All of them are types of rocks and gems with a very powerful aura like they are pulsating out of it.


    The Celestial Being nced at them and waved his hands¡­


    The stones were suddenly pulverized as they scattered in the air before gathering in front of the Celestial!


    Just like that, the treasures they are taking care of for many generations had disappeared within a matter of seconds.


    However, the head of the city didn''t make any noise as he let the Celestial do as he, please.


    "I think you have a visitor¡­"


    The Celestial suddenly talked to his mind.


    He quickly checked the surroundings but he didn''t find any of his subordinates¡­ Then, he heard the sound of an rming from the guards of the city!

 Chapter 397 - Forbidden Art ( 2 )

    The Celestial Being heard the sound of the bell creating a melodious chime.


    The sound spread throughout the whole city rming every Sea Being living inside¡­


    "The Sea Kings¡­" The leader of the city muttered after hearing the chime.


    "So, are they your visitors?" The Celestial asked.


    "No, Lord Celestial¡­ They''ve beening here once in a while after we acquired the dead body of one of your kind."


    "They''re attracted to it?"


    "It appears so¡­ I think that they wanted to take it for themselves. Lately, they''reing at us inrger numbers and we''re worried that our defenses won''t be able to hold on."


    "Then, why don''t you just give it up?"


    "It''s not easy, Lord Celestial. That body has been protecting our city from any attacks¡­ That may be from humans or the Sea Kings just like them."


    The leader further exined that every time these Sea Kings arrive, they would try to use everything they got to m their barrier and it would create tremors that would look like their city is about to be ttened.


    Even if they give up the body, it''s not a guarantee that the Sea Kings would leave them be.


    "Let me take a look."


    The Celestial said before disappearing beside the leader of the city.


    He appeared at the edge of the City''s Barrier as he looked at the six Sea Kings¡­


    They are actually huge sea creatures the size of a mountain. The six of them don''t even resemble a fish but some huge snakes and smander on the surface.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The six of them started mming on the city''s barrier just like the octopus-head leader said.


    Whoosh~ Whoosh~


    Two soldiers of the Sea Creatures arrived beside the Celestial.


    "Lord Celestial¡­ It is dangerous here. Although our barrier can''t be destroyed, the vibrations may injure us if we stay here for long. We must quickly go to our shelter¡­"


    The Celestial only looked at the two before ncing at the lively city¡­


    The humanoid sea creatures are indeed gathering at some ces that he suspected to be their shelter.


    Nevertheless, the Celestial remained standing there which made the two sea creatures feel awkward.


    "The two of you! Don''t bother the Lord! Quickly get back and help the others!"


    Finally, the leader of the City arrived as he reprimanded the two.


    Nevertheless, the Celestial still ignored them as he watches the Sea Kings attack.


    Bam! Bam!


    The barrier was indeed shaking and anyone would think that it''s about to shatter.


    Nevertheless, the Celestial wasn''t worried as he decided to no longer hide his aura.


    Soon, a powerful pressure was felt by both the Deep Sea Creatures and the Sea Kings as they all had to urge bow down in the presence of such a mighty figure.


    ***


    "Sir Julian! The next attack would be the final diversion¡­ Please get ready¡­"


    Commander Kyle reminded. Several hundreds of automatons have been sacrificed already and they are getting closer to their targeted spot.


    "I understand¡­ I''m ready¡­" Julian replied as he looked at the Khrusams standing above the ck Sovereign.


    Boom!


    The final batch of the automatons meant to be a distraction started their assault!


    At this time, all the androids sent out by the ck Sovereign have been cleared out by the relentless assault of the automatons. After all, they are willing to self-destruct to cause more damage to the enemies so not even the Mech Frames were able to stop them.


    Tap. Tap. Tap.


    Everyone moved swiftly.


    It didn''t take long before they got into a distance where Julian can use his Forbidden Art¡­


    Whom~


    A powerful aura suddenly appeared while Khrusams and Mech Frames are busy with the automatons¡­


    They nced in the direction of the menacing aura where it''s starting to gather¡­


    They finally found the group of natives that have gotten closer to their spaceship!


    However, as they were about to deal with them, they felt another explosion of energy not too far from them! It''s the group of the remaining automatons together with the 500 elite magicians of Maja.


    Now that Julian is about to use his forbidden technique, they have decided to finally show themselves.


    Folco and his team pulled out their Mana Artifact connected to the automatons and controlled them in a way to distract the Mech Frames and Khrusams.


    It doesn''t matter how many automatons will be destroyed in the process as long as they can give the time that Julian needed to cast his Soul Explosion Art¡­


    Meanwhile, Commander Kyle and the three other Sages braced themselves from the iing attack of 5 Mech Frames¡­


    Five beams of light fired in their direction as they cast their barrier!


    "Now!" Kyle shouted.


    They then threw 10 One-Time Mana Artifacts to create 10yers of barriers to protect themselves from the Mech Frames'' attack¡­


    BANG!


    The beam of light is simr to theser focus that they''ve studied before but the intensity is just stronger.


    Nevertheless, they have One-Time Mana Artifacts that could cost 30 million Credits each and should be enough to bear the brunt of the enemy''s assault!


    Crack! Crack! Bam!


    The first barrier onlysted for 2 seconds before being shattered¡­ However, the beams of light haven''t disappeared yet as expected! They even became more powerful!


    Boom! Boom!


    As soon as 10 seconds had passed only two barriers remained!


    Bam!


    As soon as another barrier was destroyed, Kyle was ready to use his life force to empower the final barrier!


    However, the beams of light disappeared! Finally!


    "It''s not over yet!"


    One of the sages noticed that ck energy started gathering around them and it seem to be sucking their energy!


    This is the Death Energying from the Corpse Furnace of the aliens! Its corruption is extremely scary that it could ignore the remaining barrier.


    "Mana Wave!"


    They are unsure how to stop the Death Energy and can only use their Mana to forcefully push out the mysterious energy.


    Luckily, although it wasn''t as sessful, this halted the power of their corruption!


    But they do not have time to celebrate¡­ They noticed that the ck energy keeps spreading as it moves unhindered around them!


    Their Mana Wave wouldn''tst that long so they have to think of something¡­


    "Forbidden Secret Art: Soul Explosion!"


    Finally, they heard Julian''s voice as he finished casting the forbidden spell!

 Chapter 398 - Real Motive

    Julian was still aware of the fightings in his surroundings while he''s casting his spell. However, he was unable to do anything and could only watch his subordinates struggle.


    He can feel that they are already weakening as they started kneeling on the ground due to their mana being depleted.


    If that happens, they would have no choice but to use their country''s Secret Art that allows them to manipte their life force in exchange for obtaining a temporary burst of power.


    But if that happens, they would most likely die in the process¡­


    ''Faster!''


    Julian''s body was still not in perfect condition even after resting for a while. His Soul Grip has taken a lot of toll on his body than he expected.


    Nevertheless, he decided to push his limits and hasten his final forbidden art.


    "Forbidden Secret Art: Soul Explosion!"


    As soon as he released the skill, the umting soul energy around his body started spreading¡­ It was like white smoke spreading everywhere¡­


    However, this energy seems to possess intelligence as it ignored the other moving enemies and allies and targeted the ck energy that the Khrusams are controlling, especially the Corpse Furnaces where the concentrated Death Energy ising from.


    The Khrusams and Mech Frames realized that they are not the target of the attack but noticed something happening on the Death Energy¡­


    They are slowly retreating as if afraid of the foggy aura released by the one native¡­


    As the Khrusams controlled their Death Energy to fight back, they realized that the aura was actually a dangerous ability!


    They wanted to use their Third Eye''s power but it was toote!


    They have to retreat!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    They quickly jumped away from their Corpse Furnace!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions urred as the Furnaces started exploding!


    Apparently, any Death Energy that the aura would pass through would somehow be isted and the Khrusams were unable to control it!


    Boom! Boom!


    Another set of explosions urred as the Mech Frames near them were also hit by the st!


    The Soul Explosion Art was effective against the alien''s mysterious power!


    Julian saw the explosion as he smirked for a bit¡­ He then lost his consciousness due to exhaustion¡­


    "Guh!"


    "Aargh!"


    "Commander Kyle! Take Sir Julian away! We can''t hold on!"


    Kyle heard the other three sages as he didn''t waste his time to save the Royal Court Magicians. If he dyed any longer, the sacrifice of the three would be wasted.


    The three had actually defended their group using their life force¡­ Apparently, they were included within the Soul Explosion Art that was released. It is due to the existence of the Death Energy surrounding them.


    If they were not prepared for this, they would''ve definitely died together with some of the aliens that were caught within the explosions.


    "Haaa!"


    Commander Kyle shouted as he carried the unconscious Julian¡­ He covered their bodies with a powerful Mana Shell after the three created an opening for them.


    Bam!


    As soon as they got out¡­ The barriers of the three sages copsed as they were burned alive together with the Khrusam''s Death Energy.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    He then saw a group of automatons and magicians approaching them. They are here to rescue the two¡­


    At this point, even Commander Kyle could no longer take the exhaustion of his body as he copsed on the ground. He couldn''t remember what happened after but he knows that the people from Maja saved him


    ***


    "They actually seeded¡­"


    Folco muttered as he saw the sessful explosion of the Corpse Furnace killing numerous Khrusams that are unable to react quickly.


    Multiple Mech Frames were also affected as they are near to some Death Energy being controlled by the gold skin aliens to fight the magicians and automatons.


    "Hmm¡­ That Julian is better than we expected, Sir¡­"


    "That''s right¡­ Is he already dead?"


    "I think that he''s still breathing¡­ It was reported by one of the Magicians assigned to tail them. What should we do, Sir Folco?"


    One of the vicemanders asked. If they didn''t heal him quickly, the court magician will die.


    Folco didn''t answer quickly as he looks at the ck Sovereign¡­


    Apparently, before the spaceship was affected by the explosion, it emitted a powerful aura that protected itself from being damaged.


    Whom~


    Then they suddenly heard the engine of the ck Sovereign be active!


    A few more Khrusams appeared and took the remains of the Corpse Furnace scattered near the spaceship.


    Other armored aliens had also arrived as they helped the wounded Khrusams and taken care of the corpses¡­


    It seems that they are being careful of living their traces behind.


    Nevertheless, even if they wanted to interrupt them, the cannons pointing at them stopped them from their advance.


    Now that the Mech Frames and Khrusams are retreating, they would no longer hesitate to fire their missiles and cannons at them.


    It didn''t take long before they saw the spaceship flew above and vanished from the sky¡­


    "Avalon, have you seen where it''s going?" Folco asked.


    [ It''s going in the direction of Guwain where the Imperial gship is located. ]


    "Understood. Thank you, Avalon."


    After Folco replied, he turned off the device that they are using tomunicate with Avalon.


    He then faced his vicemanders and gave orders¡­


    "What do you think is the best thing we should do to him?" He asked while looking in the direction where the ck Sovereign left.


    He''s referring to Julian.


    His vicemanders looked at each other before giving their thoughts.


    "I think we should just kill that Julian, Sir Folco. Now that their forces are pretty much useless, they won''t be able to help us in the uing war." As soon as one of them voiced their thoughts, the others immediately followed.


    "That''s right. It''s better if we take all their resources here and help us supply our soldiers."


    "Hmm... Wait... We can also bring Julian to our secret facility and get the secrets of his Forbidden Art¡­ Let''s just report for now that he died in the war. We can slowly take control of this country once we send more of our soldiers. In the meantime, we will first takemand of their remaining military forces. I can work on that, Sir Folco."


    Everyone nodded at the suggestion of the youngest vicemander. They might as well learn the Soul Explosion Art as some of their magicians might be able to learn it for them and help them in the war.


    "Very well, take custody of that court magician¡­ Don''t let him die yet. Kazimir, I order you to take control of thisnd''s remaining military forces. I believe in you."


    Folco then gave his instructions and let the man who gave thest suggestion take responsibility.

 Chapter 399 - Changes

    After Wace dropped the corpses of the Khrusams together with the one he captured, he only rested for a while before using his Void Phase again to check out the situation of the other sites.


    He wanted to see the Imperial gship since Avalon''swork and even their satellite viewer can no longer be used. It seems that they have a device that is blocking any spying device on them.


    However, he was also curious about the situation at Ste Region.


    Since it is closer to him, he decided to check them out for some time and see if there''s anything he can help with.


    Whoosh~


    His Void Phase activated as he appeared in the ce not too far from thending site¡­ He felt a significant decrease in his energy by using that Void Phase.


    It just shows that he didn''t have enough rest.


    As soon as he appeared, he saw a massive explosion on one of the Conveyor Spaceships! The explosion that urred almost destroyed the spaceship!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    It was then followed by several more explosions as he saw a group of people leaving the said vessel.


    He used his Divine Sense and quickly recognized that it was his master, Grand Arcanist ine, leading a group as they escape towards his direction.


    Whatever they did to the spaceship, they seem to be sessful as they essentially destroyed one of them.


    ''Hmm? They''re being chased¡­''


    Wace finally noticed a group of Khrusams and other Bio-Armored Soldiers chasing their group of three.


    He can see that ine and the others are quite injured and weren''t moving fast enough. They will definitely be captured by the Empire at this rate.


    ''Alright. It''s time to help¡­'' He wouldn''t just watch it happen so he quickly manipted his Astral Energy to save them.


    However, as he was about to release his ability, he noticed a golden Steel Knight,rger than his Mech Knights and alien''s Mech Frames, rushed towards ine''s group to save them!


    ''Interesting¡­''


    "Avalon¡­ What''s that Steel Knight? Where did ite from?" Wace asked curiously. He can''t monitor everything that is happening in the country so he wouldn''t have an idea about the country''s forces unless he saw them or if he asked Avalon directly.


    Bam!


    Therge Steel Knight used Fire Wheel and was blocked by the Bio-Armored Soldier''s Force Field.


    However, it was followed by Petrification Caster that caught most of them!


    It was an impressivebination attack.


    The only problem is that the Khrusam''s Death Energy seems to be capable of disrupting the petrification that was cast on the others. It didn''t manage topletely petrify them but it bought enough time for ine and others to escape.


    Boom!


    The Golden Steel Knight was mmed by two heavily damaged Mech Frames! It seems that they''ve been waiting for the Knight to get closer to their spaceship!


    However, the pilot seems to be very impressive as he managed to shake them off and even finished them off by firing his Elemental Turrets mounted on the Knight''s shoulders.


    Thud! Thud!


    The Mech Frames didn''t explode but they dropped on the ground after being hit.


    ''He''s skilled¡­'' Wace thought referring to the pilot''s abilities.s


    [ That Steel Knight is a project made by Lucent Force funded by the government since the Traceless Hands is dominating the creation of Mech Knights. The model name is Hero-X01. ]


    "Who''s the pilot of that Knight now?"


    [ Pilot Name: Ross Schien. ]


    "Ross?! That''s amazing!"


    He remembers his ssmate in the Academy since he''s a very talented person as well. Aside from that, he''s rted to Aeolia Schien too.


    Wace smiled a bit after learning the pilot''s name. However, it''s not the time to think of that as the war is still going on.


    ine is already moving into safety as they stayed on the ground moving with their feet. On the other hand, Wace remained floating in the sky to a clearer view of his surroundings.


    He can see Mech Frames attacking some Steel Knights while the Adept Magicians are moving in a group as they fought against the Marauder Gears¡­


    They are so impressive as they know the weakness of the Gears and know how to utilize this advantage.


    "Good¡­ I changed it. We can do this."


    Wace muttered to himself. He''s referring to his previous dream about the descent of the Empire. It was no longer the same as before.


    He can recall that they were too helpless at that time and no backup arrived until they were all killed.


    However, right now, they are almost fighting equally against the aliens that should''ve overpowered them in the first ce.


    Nevertheless, he knows that the Empire was still not showing its full force. After all, the genuine soldiers of the empire hadn''t shown yet.


    Based on Avalon''s calctions, they are most likely dealing with the Mana Suffocation as of the moment.


    Perhaps, they needed a few more minutes, a day, or perhaps a week topletely adapt themselves.


    ***


    Percival leads a group of strong magicians to fight the aliens at Ste Region.


    "Everyone! Stay on your guard!"


    Their group''s task is to ensure the safety of the Elemental Turrets transported to this ce including a few Mana Bomb Launchers they have.


    He thought that the task would be easy considering the number of Steel Knights or Mech Knights they have.


    Aside from that, they will be at the furthest back since they could fire the turrets andunchers from a great distance.


    However, the Marauder Gears of the aliens were moving quickly and their high-powered turrets were unable to hit them.


    In the end, they had to rely on the skills of the Adept Mages that yed the Alien Invasion Game to stop their advance.


    Apparently, he learned from them that the Marauder Gears are fast but their mobility was a bit terrible when moving at such a fast pace. They were unable to easily turn and they could exploit it if they timed their attacks.


    Because of the information, they did very well in the battle until a few Khrusams managed to get closer!


    They hid inside the Marauder Gears to get closer to their group!


    It was such a good move as they were unable to fight the Death Energy that suffocates them!


    Percival started cursing as he doesn''t have any ability that could fight this energy. He''d rather take their Psion Pulse or Positron Cannon than facing this!

 Chapter 400 - Appearance

    ''Tsk! What kind of power is this? Is this simr to what the Celestial Being has?'' Percivalined after realizing that he''s weakening due to the mysterious ability of the Khrusams.


    It was just giving a lot of pressure to their group but it feels like it''s sucking their energy¡­ or perhaps, their life force!


    They tried to use their Mana Artifacts to create multiyered barriers but unlike the sages of Montego who have a Secret Art that allows them to manipte their life force, they were only able to manipte Mana which doesn''t seem to be enough to deal with them¡­


    Thud!


    Suddenly, as Percival was despairing due to his helpless situation, a simple Mana Bullet was used by someone from far away and hit the head of the Khrusam in front.


    The bullet passed through his head killing the alien instantly!


    Bam!


    His body dropped to the ground unmoving¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Several more Mana Bullets were used but this time, the aliens were able to react quickly and manipted their energy to defend their whole body from an almost invisible shot by a magician¡­


    Finally! The suffocating pressure and energy-sucking ability of the aliens were interrupted! They can finally move again!


    Percival didn''t know who helped them but he quickly ordered his men to cast their Mana Spells¡­ They can''t allow the aliens to regain their momentum!


    "Archon ¨C Ice st!"


    "Fire Enchant ¨C me Pir!"


    "Earth Enchant ¨C Stone Prison!"


    "Archon ¨C Double Ice Lance!"


    The multiple mana spells from their grade 3 Mana Artifacts starteding out as they were thrown in the direction of the aliens.


    "Do not stop! They need to concentrate to control their Death Energy! We can''t let them have that!"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The Adept Mages worked together as they pinned the Khrusams¡­


    Aside from that, the Mana Bulletsing out of nowhere wasn''t stopping at all!


    ''Someone''s helping us¡­ Whoever he is, he must be really strong¡­ I can''t even tell where the bullets areing from.'' Percivalmented as he did his best to cast multiple spells at the same time.


    He might be unlike Hayden Fraser that could use nine Mana Artifacts at the same time, but he can still use three of them without having to worry about the quality of the spells.


    Archon - Rage Lightning!


    Archon - Rage Lightning!


    Archon - Rage Lightning!


    Just like that, Percival used three Archon Series Mana Spells that interrupted the Khrusam''s control with their Death Energy.


    He also noticed that the lightning seems to be working well even if they can defend against it.


    ''Wait--They are struggling to defend against the lightning?!'' The previous headmaster thought.


    He wanted to confirm it quickly so as soon as his Mana Artifacts are ready, he did his simultaneous cast again.


    Boom!


    He noticed that the Khrusams were indeed being pushed back unlike when Petrification, Fire Magic, or other Elemental Magic aside from Lightning was used.


    ''It seems effective¡­ but¡ª''


    The problem is that not all Mana Artifacts have Magic Structures for a lightning spell.


    After all, the spell was tooplicated and consumes a lot more mana than other spells.


    Nevertheless, he continued casting his spells as the other magicians controlling the turrets finally had the time to target the Khrusams!


    Fire!


    He heard the voice of the controllers and soon, he noticed the Elemental Turrets and Mana Bomb Launchers raining the group of Khrusams as they retreated on the back lines.


    They did their best to defend against the assault. However, due to the close distance of their fight and the previous mana spells that weakened them¡­


    Their shield made of Death Energy copsed!


    Bam!


    Three Khrusams were hit directly as they dropping on the ground!


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Their death was still a question but this is a good start!


    These aliens have definitely overestimated their powers and thought that they could kill them with their small numbers!


    Unfortunately, the other Khrusams have a familiar advanced technology that they had seen within the Alien Invasion Game. Apparently, all the other Khrusams managed to activate their Force Field in time to barely defend against the explosive power of their turrets.


    Whom~


    As they were preparing to cast another set of spells, they noticed that the temperature around dropped significantly.


    Soon they noticed that the third eyes of the aliens were fully activated!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Three adept mages close to them just died! ck energy came out of their mouth as they entered the Corpse Furnace of the aliens!


    It happened too fast!


    Aside from that, the Mech Frames who defeated some of their Steels Knights and Airships were going in their direction!


    The ze Spaceship was unable to stop them at this point since there might be a friendly fire happening. They can only wait for their remaining Steel Knights to try and block those Mechs for them.


    "Sir! Most of us only have thirty percent of our mana¡­ We need to take a rest¡­"


    "How about the Mana Stones?"


    "Only ten of them are remaining. Most of the stones are for the Turrets and Launchers'' energy supply."


    "Tsk¡­" Percival knows that they need to have more energy to continue with the fight. After all, they are unsure if the Khrusams would continue retreating even after activating their third eye.


    However, as he thought of taking their turrets'' supply, he noticed a ck figure appear in front of the Khrusams¡­


    He appears to be a magician like them but Percival knows that he''s not Hayden Fraser¡­ After all, the old man is on the other side suppressing the androids and other Khrusams that the alien spaceships dared to send out.


    Then, as he was nning to order a retreat, he felt a familiar aura bursting amid the golden-skinned aliens!


    This aura¡­ He can''t mistake it¡­


    "Wace!"


    Finally, that man is here¡­ He knows how strong this person was based on what he had seen at the tower and of course, through the stories told by Yumi and ine.


    He''s unsure if he already dealt with the aliens at the State of Kazan but he''s happy that the man can finally lighten their burden in this war.


    Sure enough, Percival saw the battle and the man appears to know how to fight against the Khrusams even if he''s facing multiple of them at once.

 Chapter 401 - Terub Race ( 1 )

    Ssak¡ª


    A Khrusam''s head flew off the sky while its body dropped to the ground. He''s one of the aliens in front who was caught off guard by Wace''s sudden appearance.


    Thetter''s Void Phase is not just a quick movement but instantaneous movement using unexinable magic.


    Even if they have their third eyes opened, they would still miss his sudden appearance if they weren''t prepared at all.


    Aside from that, since Wace was using his full strength at the start of their battle, they didn''t have time to gather enough Death Energy from their Corpse Furnace.


    Boom! Boom!


    Wace targeted the Furnace after realizing that they were easier to deal with than the aliens in the spaceships at the State of Kazan.


    ''Hmph! Want to escape?'' He saw the three remaining Khrusams move back to their spaceships while the Marauder Gears and Mech Frames are covering them.


    Apparently, due to the destruction of one of their Conveyor Spaceships, tons of Khrusams and Bio-Armored Soldiers starteding out of the Invader Spaceships.


    Wace started to feel that they are now nning to send out all of their forces any minute now¡­ Because of that, he wanted to at least kill these overconfident Khrusams who charged at their backlines thinking of destroying their Mana Bomb Launchers and Elemental Turrets.


    This time, he used his Silver Sphere and unleashed a series of his own Mana Spells.


    Because of their shield generator, just by using his Astral Energy wouldn''t be enough unless he''s at the level of a Celestial Being.


    He had to rely on the power of his spells to deal with them.


    He used Traceless Oscition to test the integrity of their shield followed by Echo st and Infrasonic Rays to fully expose them before using his final mana spell, a simple Mana Bullet.


    He doesn''t need to use his Mana Artifact since the bullet doesn''t need a Magic Structure at all.


    It is just a simple use of Arcane Link to form the mana into bullets and sending them off to his enemies.


    Of course, shooting them wasn''t easy. If this was done by other Adept Mages, they wouldn''t travel fast enough to deal significant damage to their opponents.


    However, because of Wace''s Astral Energy, he could use his burst of power to send the bullets flying and create an explosive result.


    Bang! Bang!


    The Khrusams flying away did their best to keep their distance after getting hit by his Mana Spells. However, they were inevitably hit by his bullets since they are focusing on fleeing instead of confronting him.


    Luckily, through the use of their mysterious third eyes, they manage to sense the danger and shift their bodies at the most crucial time.


    Though they were still hit, they''ve managed to avoid a critical injury and survive until the Mech Frame''srge body moved in front of them¡­


    Then, they pointed theirrge guns and cannons at the magicians around including Wace.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    "Protect the Turrets and Launchers!"


    Wace ordered. Avalon heard this and let the magicians nearby know.


    The young man realized that although their guns and cannons are pointed at them, they are still looking for a chance to destroy their siege weapons.


    Percival quickly acted as they ensured that the weapons would not be easily destroyed while they are charging for another set of attacks.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    As expected, the Dragon''s Mech Frame used their High-Energy Beam Rifles and targeted the Elemental Turrets that are causing a lot of trouble to the Marauder Gears.


    Due to the range and the fact that the turrets andunchers are stationary, they have to defend against those beams¡­


    "Come!"


    Wace''s aura covered the entire battlefield as he unleased his remaining Astral Energy¡­ He will be weakened after this but he would surely eliminate numerous Mech Frames from this.


    Bam! Bam!


    Multiple cannons and rifles were fired as they targeted the magicians and siege weapons¡­


    Haa!


    Wace changed the directions of the beams aiming at the Siege Weapons but he was unable to save the others that were hit by the cannons and some missiles mixed in.


    He can only move forward to get closer to the Mech Frames and deal with the pilots¡­ Their Mech Frame''s Armor Tech is quite tough so he can only try to eliminate the pilots with his magic.


    [ 15 Mech Frames lead by Troy Webb ising to help our side. ]


    As he was approaching one of the Mechs, he heard Avalon''s report about Troy Webb''s arrival.


    Then, he felt a powerful gathering of mana as the man finished casting a very powerful Mana Spell.


    "Heaven''s Treatment!"


    Warm energy spread around the area as Avalon reported that the injuries of the magicians were almost instantly healed and they were even rejuvenated and ready for battle!


    This is his signature skill!


    "Amazing¡­ As expected of the elites¡­ I wonder if the other Grand Arcanists would make their move as well."


    Wace muttered as he genuinely admires the man''s Mana Spell.


    Nevertheless, he remembers that ine already made his move and essentially destroyed one of the Conveyor Spaceships'' engines. So it should be right to think that the other Grand Sages and Arcanists would make their move as well.


    [ Beep! ]


    [ Over 3000 Bio-Armored Soldiers just came out of the Invader Spaceships and still increasing. ]


    [ Over 350 Khrusam Soldiers with more than 200 Corpse Furnace followed and still increasing. ]


    [ Beep! ]


    [ A projectile from the Imperial gship ising in this direction. ]


    [ 5 minutes 34 seconds ETA ]


    [ Beep! ]


    [ Projectile Confirmed. A member of the Terub Legion ising. ]


    "This¡­"


    Wace was speechless. He looked at the numerous bio-armored Soldiers.


    They are still fewpared to their soldiers but each of them is certainly strong. He already fought five of them at the State of Kazan and learned how troubling they are if he fought them without using his Astral Energy.


    Aside from that, if they have taken stronger gic mutations or enhancements, Combat Magicians or perhaps, even inexperienced Adept Mages would be killed while dealing with them.


    "This is starting to get serious¡­ I don''t even want to fight the Terub race for now¡­" Wace muttered but he had to prepare for the worst.

 Chapter 402 - Terub Race ( 2 )

    A single member of the Terub Race can take his full-powered attack using his Astral Energy. His brief confrontation with them in outer space allowed him to gauge their strength.


    If the ordinary magicians tried fighting against the Terubs, it wouldn''t end well for them.


    For a race to live in outer space without the help of any form of spacesuits is already incredible. Wace couldn''t imagine what would happen to these magicians if they tried to fight head-on against them.


    "Avalon¡­ How''re our forces here?"


    [ We have less than 800 Magicians, 300 Steel Knights, 80 Airships, and 1 Mid-Tier Battleship ze. ]


    [ Rmending to order a retreat. ]


    Wace knows that this number is not good enough, they seem to have suffered more casualties than he expected.


    [ Beep! ]


    [ More than 2,500 more Mech Frames areing out of the spaceships. ]


    [ We have to gather our forces before attempting another attack. ]


    "How about this region?"


    [ Evacuation has beenpleted an hour ago. We can consider giving up thisnd for now. ]


    "I see¡­ Let the officials of the council know and let them decided on our next actions." Wace gave his instructions. He didn''t want to take charge of this and let the higher-ups decide for their actions.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    In the meantime, while the Terub was still on its way here, Wace had to at least control the situation and assist the magicians. He can see that they are starting to get overwhelmed so they have to move as quickly as possible.


    Whoosh~


    A magician suddenly appeared beside him.


    He''s Troy Webb and he just finished healing most of the magicians at the back lines.


    "Wace, there''s a lot of enemies. They seem to have finished adjusting. We have to retreat first. ze and the other Airships will cover our retreat."


    The man said without pause. He wanted to respect Wace''s presence here since he''s aware of the young man''s exploits.


    "Very well. I''ll assist them. I''ll take their attention for now. Go help the magicians that are retreating."


    "Alright¡­ Be careful. Even Sir ine is heavily injured and now being treated. He has a report about what he had seen inside one of those Conveyor Spaceships. I think you got to hear it."


    "Oh? Is that so¡­ I''ll be checking on himter. Thank you!" Wace replied feeling a bit curious about what the old man had seen there.


    Troy just nodded after hearing his reply as he descended to help the retreating magicians.


    "Avalon¡­ Make sure that Master ine will recover."


    It didn''t take long before the young man ordered the A.I.


    [ Affirmative. Doctor Mau is already treating him. Doctor Chester is also hurrying to the medical facility. There shouldn''t be a problem. ]


    "Good¡­"


    As soon as Wace grasp the situation. He started his fight against the thousands of Empire''s Soldiers.


    Aeon Guardian!


    Dual Burst!


    He didn''t hesitate as he quickly used his most powerful abilities and charged at the sea of enemies. He wasn''t afraid to fight them for these few seconds with the activated abilities.


    As a matter of fact, the aliens should be worrying about themselves!


    Wace wanted to defeat as many aliens as he can before the Terub arrives here!


    ***


    Troy saw Wace burst with incredible powers and vanished in a blink of an eye. That person is no longer just a genius Magic Engineer but a genuine Battle Sage!


    ''He''s too strong¡­ I wonder what happened in the Northern Continent¡­''


    The man pondered.


    In truth, their council and high-ranking officers were still surprised about the appearance of the Floating Inds dropping on the spaceships.


    They were not aware of that attack as they only know that Wace would give them a signal. No one had expected a signal of that scale!


    They''ve immediately sent experts to determine what was going on and could only rte it to the Northern Continent.


    After all, the first floating inds were found in that ce. Aside from that, there''s already a theory about the Buk teau, where the Lamat Stone can be found, had also floated away just like what happened to the inds in the northern continent.


    The only question now what how Wace managed to control these inds and dropped them at the same time.


    This young man was truly mysterious in many ways. Some of them are even starting to specte that he''s actually an alien as well.


    Unfortunately, his background and involvement with the Mavis and Ravencroft n show that he has unquestionable ties to this world.


    "Sir Troy! There''s a lot of injured soldiers in the third and fourth Mage Battalion¡­ We need your help."


    He suddenly heard a voice on hismunication device. He recognized the magician on the other side as one of Hayden''s trusted soldiers.


    Since he didn''t mention anything about his master, it means that thetter is still alive.


    "I''ming there. Just hold on." He answered.


    At this time, he''s not allowed to use offensive mana spells or any spells that would consume most of his mana unless it''s for treating the injured.


    Right now, he has the most powerful healing abilities and he can''t waste his mana reserves at this time.


    Apparently, most of the Mage Doctors don''t have fighting capabilities so they can''t stay on the battlefield.


    Only a few magicians like Troy have the power to save themselves from danger if really necessary.


    Thud!


    Troy descended to the ce where the injured magicians are being transported. He realized that most of them have critical injuries after getting heat by the beam rifles of the Mechs and even the enemies'' positron cannon.


    Their injuries would be difficult to heal with just a Mana Spell.


    However, he still did his best to control the situation.


    Time quickly passed as he can feel that the battle is getting intense¡­ They are constantly moving to thest line of defense as the Bio-Armored Soldiers started their advance.


    However, another problem came after they realized that an alien race from the Imperial gship has joined the battle.


    Whom~


    A suppressive aura covered the entire battlefield as a huge humanoid alien race covered with majestic armor arrived and looked down on the magicians.

 Chapter 403 - Terub Race ( 3 )

    Troy and Percival noticed the alien''s arrival even before the entity reached their back lines.


    They can see the fully armored three-meter tall figure emanating a killing intent that could probably freeze anyone who doesn''t have a powerful will.


    ''One of the Terubs, huh¡­''


    They recognized the alien since it is included in Avalon''s report about their enemies. Aside from that, this being is included at the top of the most dangerous list so there was no way for them to forget them.


    ''This is bad¡­ Based on the report, a single member of their race can fight 50 Mech Frames at once.''


    This is the first thing they can remember since it is the description of their power given by Avalon.


    They weren''t too overwhelmed when they saw the number before but after fighting tens of Mech Frames. They have finally realized how powerful a Terub was.


    With that power, it wouldn''t be surprising if a single Terub upied a couple of major cities at all.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Several explosions urred on the Mech Frames'' position as they noticed that Wace had actually used his mysterious powers to stop their advance.


    The finishing attack was thenpleted by the Golden Mech being piloted by Ross Schien!


    That Mech Knight was also being closely followed by 20 more Lucent Knights!


    These Knights are the most powerful humanoid machines in aerial battles. Their incredible flight module and float drive system allowed them to dominate the skies together with their Magic.


    Each of these Lucent Knights has 6th-Gen Mana Artifacts and it wouldn''t be a problem for them to cast Grade 5 Mana Spells as long as they have the Mana Reserves to supply them.


    What''s even scarier about these Knightspared to the other Steel Knights was their possession of several One-Time-Use Mana Artifacts that is probably all the treasures of the Lucent Force.


    In this war, there is no point in saving their most effective weapons. They have to use whatever weapons or Magic they have to stop these aliens.


    Perhaps, their only problem now is that they are still being overwhelmed by the numbers of these Aliens¡­


    If they probably have 5 or 10 years of preparation, they could''ve manufactured more Knights, Turrets, Battleships, and Mana Artifacts to fight against them.


    However, these aliens arrived when they are still starting their development and they haven''t even adjusted their minds about the existence of their Moon Base. Some of the magicians were not even thinking that it''s true and telling that it was actually faked by Wace to get more money from the investors.


    [ Beep! ]


    [ The Lucent Force will take care of the aliens that are chasing the retreating magicians. The ze Spaceship and other Airships will continue to harass the Alien Spaceships. Hayden Fraser and his team will deal with the remaining Khrusams that are trying to sneak an attack. All other Magicians are to retreat at Point B where the allied forces are waiting. ]


    Avalon announced to theirms giving them clear instructions and an overview of the situation.


    However, the announcement wasn''t finished yet.


    [ A single Terub Race is watching us. Wace will make his move on this alien so just ignore him. ]


    "Haha¡­ I''m happy to hear that." Percivalmented after hearing thest bit.


    "But does it mean that Wace has the strength of 50 Mech Frames?" Troy muttered. He wasn''t expecting anyone to answer but this also made Percival think.


    Nevertheless, they are in a hurry so they quickly lead their group to safety.


    ***


    ''I still have enough strength¡­ Though I may not defeat this being. I should be able to stop him at the very least.''


    Wace looks at the 3-meter ( 9.8 ft. ) tall alien floating above. Unlike the first time Wace saw their race in outer space, he''s already wearing thick full-body armor. He''s unable whether this is just abat suit or a bio-armor.


    They have probably realized that there are powerful existences on this, unlike the many worlds they conquered.


    His brief appearance and action of destroying the Imperial gship''s barrier must''ve rmed them a bit.


    Void Phase¡­


    Wace appeared behind the Terub and weed him with a palm strike filled with Echo st¡­


    Bam!


    He managed to sessfully hit his back! However, the alien''s barely budged on that strike!


    He expected that his attack would be defended but he didn''t think that the Terub wasn''t thrown away by that force. He only moved a little in mid-air!


    There was no ground to resist the impact of that Echo st so it felt incredulous!


    This means that the power of this Terub is incredible¡­ He didn''t even look at him at all.


    ''Tsk¡­''


    Wace then swiftly moved away to get some distance from the alien. This time, Terub turned to face him.


    "Are you the same guy before?" The Terub asked using the Federation Language.


    He was wearing his ck bio-armor when he appeared in outer space before so he wasn''t recognized yet.


    ''Hmm¡­ Does he have a deep grudge against me? I barely fought with them during thest time.'' He thought.


    Anyway, Wace decided to dy his answer to buy more time.


    ''Well, talking to him is probably the best option for now.''


    "What if I''m the same guy?" He asked.


    "Then you need toe with me. The one who will conquer this is asking for your presence. If you do not follow me, we will no longer bother conquering this."


    The Terub replied and even gave a warning.


    By telling that they are no longer bothering to conquer this, means that they are ready to destroy this ce instead.


    However, Wace wouldn''t easily fall for that.


    The Empire has been looking for this ce for a long time. Now that they are here, they wouldn''t miss this chance.


    They wanted something in this world and it''s impossible to just throw it away just because he declined to appear in front of the conqueror. He wasn''t that important after all.


    Nevertheless, he went silent and acted like he was thinking about it while observing the magicians move away using his Divine Sense.

 Chapter 404 - Terub Race ( 4 )

    Wace has no idea why the Empire wanted to meet him. However, he''s not foolish enough to follow them obediently and get himself captured inside the Imperial gship.


    He trusts his abilities but there''s still a limit on what he can do by himself.


    Perhaps, if he''s together with the Celestial, he wouldn''t hesitate to agree with their request. This is at least what he thought after hearing it the first time.


    Bam!


    The Terub''s aura collided with his Mana Shell and it created a disturbance in the surroundings.


    ''Tsk¡­ So strong. Just what kind of power is this?!'' Wace grumbled in frustration.


    Just the aura of the alien can already put pressure on any individual and if you''re probably any weaker, you wouldn''t be able to survive just by getting near him.


    Nevertheless, Wace managed to endure the Terub''s incredible presence by circting his Astral Energy.


    The young man realized that this Empyrean Guard is now being serious. Their brief exchange in outer space wasn''t anywhere near to the power they are showing right now.


    [ No records about their source of power. Failed to analyze the target''s source of energy. ]


    [ Rmended to directly use Divine Sense on Terub and learn their physical and spiritual qualities. ]


    Avalon suddenly said after being unable to probably gauge the Terub''s power.


    Wace did as suggested and use his Divine Sense on the armored being.


    Hmph!


    As expected, a powerful being can somehow sense the Divine Sense even though they can''t see or touch it.


    Wace only managed to confirm the qualities of the Terub''s armor before he was interrupted by the Terub''s punch.


    Whoosh!


    He managed to dodge the strike but he can tell the power behind that punch¡­ If it hit the ground, the surrounding ce would probably turn to dust.


    ''At the very least, the Terub doesn''t have the mysterious Death Energy.''


    Wace thought after considering his current situation. He''s lucky that he''s only facing one of the Terubs so he can put all of his attention to him.


    Apparently, the alien can only manipte that intimidating aura aside from possessing unexinable strength that not even Mech Frames could attain using thetest technology they have.


    ''That armor¡­ It''s not a simple Bio-Armor as well¡­'' Wacemented. Though his Divine Sense was unable to prate the armor, he at least realized that this armor is specially made to increase the power of their killing aura aside from boosting their strength and defense.


    ''He doesn''t have any weapons and only relying on his physical qualities. Completely different from the imperial soldiers and the Khrusams¡­''


    "I have no choice but to take you by force¡­" The Terub said as he opened his huge palm to grasp Wace''s head.


    ''Tsk! You''re obviously trying to kill me with that strength!'' Wace thought after seeing the Terub''s hand covered with a powerful aura.


    His skull would probably be popped off if the alien truly managed to grab his head.


    Void Phase¡­


    He vanished and appeared not too far from Terub. He wanted a distance that was enough for the alien to see where he reappeared.


    After all, he wanted to keep the alien''s focus on him and let the others escape without worries.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    The Terub Race and Wace appear to be ying tag as he continuously avoided the alien while thetter chases him endlessly.


    The alien doesn''t seem to be getting tired!


    On the other hand, Wace is spending a lot of energy when he''s using his Void Phase. This is not a good sign¡­ If this continues, he would end up getting exhausted and defeated.


    Luckily, most of the magicians are already at thest line of defense as they were safely retreating together with the allied forces. He just has to wait for a few more minutes and he should be able to retreat as well.


    As for the Bio-Armored Imperial Soldiers, they seem to have set a distance to where they can chase the magicians. They appear to be afraid of getting too far from the spaceships.


    Anyway, he couldn''t me them for that since their ze Spaceship is still going strong and giving them a hard time.


    Although that Battleship is also meant in space, it was still mainly designed to be used here on the. It has a huge Mana Gathering Array that essentially allows it to have an unending supply of Mana as long as it wasn''t interrupted by external factors. Perhaps, it could also be ineffective if they were in the Northern Continent where mana is quite violent and couldn''t easily be controlled even with Adept Link.


    However, they are in the Ste Region of Zairus. There is plenty of mana in the surroundings and they wouldn''t experience any shortage of mana yet.


    After all, even if their gathering array was no longer effective, the battleship still possesses many Mana Stones to supply it with energy.


    "Hmmm¡­ I''ve already analyzed your strength. Let''s end this. You''ll being with me."


    Wace heard the alien as soon as he reappeared about 50 meters away from him. It seems that he''s about to get serious.


    He nced at the Terub who should be far away from him but he suddenly felt a presence behind him!


    ''Tsk! He''s just faking his previous speed.''


    He didn''t have enough time to reactivate his Void Phase so he covered his body with Mana¡­ He then clenched his fist and waved his hand behind him.


    Whoosshh!


    He didn''t hit anything! He only saw a silhouette of the Terub as the alien reappeared in front of him!


    ''So fast!''


    Bam!


    Wace was hit on his body but he managed to endure it. As a matter of fact, he had also hit the Terub''s arm that punched him¡­ It was an Echo st!


    It is his best mana spell to defeat any armored individuals.


    Anyway, these quick actions were thanks to his Physical Burst and Brain Burst as he managed to see everything so clearly and avoid getting heavily damaged at thest moment.


    "You''ve surprised me¡­ I guess I''ll disobey the orders this time. You won''t being to me. I''ll kill you now."


    The Terub said in a low voice as he finally realized the threat of this young man.


    The beings in the gxy that could follow the serious movements of a Terub could only be counted in one hand. However, this young man didn''t just manage to see hisst movements but also managed to counter-attack although it was negligible.

 Chapter 405 - Terub Race ( 5 )

    Finally, the Terub started to take things seriously. He''s no longer nning to just disable Wace and is now willing to kill him!


    Boom!


    Wace was hit by the Terub''s palm¡­ The force behind it was so strong but he realized that the alien was just aiming to destroy his Mana Shell.


    Crack!


    The force behind that strike threw him to the ground. His Mana Shell copsed just like that.


    Thud¡­ Thud¡­


    He had to put force on his feet to avoid being smashed to the ground.


    ''Incredible¡­ So this is an Empyrean Guard. I already used Physical Burst and have multiple enhancements to my body and I''m still being overwhelmed.''


    Wace''s physical strength may not be the best in this world but he should be nearing the peak considering his further enhancements after forming his Astral Core.


    Hmph!


    He noticed that the Terub disappeared in the sky again¡­


    Bang!


    A kick filled with his opponent''s strength hit Wace''s arm. Again, he was thrown away by the force but was followed by the alien.


    Nevertheless, Wace remained calm in his situation. Thanks to his Brain Burst, he can still think clearly and not being overwhelmed by the Terub''s speed.


    He realized that if he uses his Mana Shell to cover his whole body, the Terub can easily crush it with a single palm strike.


    However, if he concentrated and focused his Shell on the impact point of the Terub''s strike, he could actually defend it.


    The only problem is that it takes everything he has to do this. Though it is effective, it is inefficient. He''s unable tounch a counter-attack and could only defend.


    Although he''s only buying time, he needed to at least pose some threat to this being.


    "Haa!" Wace clutched his mana artifact and activated his Traceless Oscition.


    He wanted to destroy the alien''s armor.


    He could notpete with their physical strength so he had to do something. The armor that the Terub is wearing is very annoying. It enhances his strength and increases his defense that is already quite terrifying.


    Wace wanted to at least remove this advantage for now.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    He increased the intensity of the spell but after creating a few cracks, the Terub backed away.


    ''Good, it''s effective in close range. A few more direct hits of that spell and I''ll destroy it!'' Wace felt d seeing that Mana Spells were still doing their job.


    However, something happened after the Terub moved away.


    Clink¡­ Clink¡­ Clink¡­


    In just a matter of seconds, the armor repaired itself! The previous cracks on the ck armor disappeared like it was never damaged before.


    ''Ugh¡­ It doesn''t look like it but it''s actually another version of Bio-Armor.''


    It feels like Wace is fighting a small Mech Frame¡­


    "You''re tough¡­ However, I can feel that you''re energy is running out." The Terub said as Wace prepared for another bout.


    "Hmph¡­ Don''t be too confident. You''re just lucky with that Armor¡­ Remove it if you dare!" The young man shouted but the Alien only chuckled before rushing at him.


    Wace expected that he''ll be ignored as he used his Void Phase again. His Brain Burst and Physical Burst are already over so he has to rely on his skills and instincts.


    [ The Magicians and Mech Knights have reached the safe point. The remaining automatons, airships, and the battleship will stay on the battlefield to cover everyone until they managed to retreat outside the Ste Region. ]


    Avalon gave a piece of good news. Finally, Wace no longer has to worry about them. Perhaps, he just needs to fight this alien for a couple more minutes and he can also consider retreating.


    However, as he was ying tag with the Terub again, Avalon gave another piece of news rted to the events at Montego.


    ***


    The Council of War at Zairus was just notified about the result of the battle at Montego.


    "They won?!"


    Aaron, the man handling the internalmunication, asked in surprise.


    Julian and the reinforcements from Maja had actually defeated the ck Sovereign thatnded at Montego!


    It was such a piece of good news that would raise the morale of everyone!


    "Wait¡ªJulian died?!" The man was even more surprised after reading thest information.


    "This¡­" The others in themand center were also speechless.


    Julian is like a legendary figure in Montego and well respected in every country because of his power and control of the Mage Towers within the whole country.


    His achievements in the study of Magic and Technology were uncountable and every magician who reads books about magic would know of his name.


    However, this strong magician, that seems to be untouchable, had sacrificed himself to kill hundreds of Khrusams in exchange!


    Though the ck Sovereign managed to escape in the end, the spaceship probably has only a few remaining personnel due to Julian''s final attack.


    It was only thanks to the spaceship''s mysterious barrier technology that they were able to escape.


    ''What kind of barrier is that? It could almost make them invincible.'' Aaron thought after reading the report.


    The hundreds of golden-skinned aliens that are known for their use of Death Energy exploded after Julian used a forbidden Soul Art.


    It was too bad that they could no longer use the same technique since the owner had never passed down the technique but it doesn''t matter.


    The aliens have definitely been scared off and they wouldn''t act recklessly again.


    "Hmm¡­ It''s such a shame that we can''t even make a proper burial on his body¡­" Aaron muttered.


    The others nodded at this since Julian can be considered a hero in this war. However, they could understand this as well since the Forbidden Art must be so powerful that his body was integrated by the sheer power.


    ''It must be an intense battle¡­''


    They weren''t in Montego and they haven''t seen the fight, but they are sure that the battle there was chaotic.


    They could imagine the scene where Julian used the Forbidden Soul Explosion Art and have the Corpse Furnaces and Death Energy explode within a few seconds.


    "Spread the information to the public. They need to know the current situation."


    "Yes, Sir!"


    In this despairing situation, news of a victory will help everyone''s mind to calm down and see a beacon of hope in this current war.

 Chapter 406 - Taken

    ''Hmm? They won?'' Wace was surprised after hearing Avalon''s report.


    He knows that the ck Sovereign in that ce was the one with the Cube of Paradox. Aside from that, they also have Khrusams that are hard to deal with!


    He was curious about the full details of the war that had happened there. However, he''s still facing the Terub here and he can''t be distracted.


    ''Let me deal with this guy first¡­''


    Wace made a decision as he fought the Terub with an intention to kill. He''s done probing the alien and he wanted to try killing him.


    Of course, if the alien is still hiding a trump card, then it would be best if he could force him to use it.


    The young man is fully aware of Terub Race''s physical prowess and intimidating presence. However, aside from this superficial information, they werecking vital information about them.


    There would be a lot of Terubs they have to deal with someday and they have to be prepared.


    As a matter of fact, this is the first time he learned that this alien race can move this fast.


    Bam!


    Their fist collided mid-air as it created a huge impact in the surroundings¡­ If one looked at Wace''s small frame, anyone would think that he''s at a disadvantage in this exchange. However, one would notice with their every sh, the armor of the huge alien is having cracks and would look like they would break.


    It was just being repaired so quickly after pulling back his hands or retreating for a moment.


    [ Wace, you can retreat now! We''re already at the safe point! Be careful! ]


    This is Troy Webb''s voice informing him about their current status. He couldn''t reply to the man but he acknowledged his words.


    Wace continued his move to force the Terub to show everything he got or else, he would probably die from his next move.


    "Take this!"


    The young man shouted as his body was suddenly covered by ck mana. This mana started umting on his fist before striking the huge alien.


    Wace had finally used his Synthetic Mana Core, the 7th Generation Mana Artifact!


    He looked like he was using Death Energy to deal with the alien but in truth, this Sentient Mana can be more dangerous depending on his opponent¡­


    Soon, the ck Sentient Mana started slithering around the Terub''s body as it entered the gaps within his Armor!


    That''s right! The recovery of the armor could no longer keep up with the damages it received from Wace!


    It''s a perfect opportunity to use the power of the 7th Gen!


    "Hmm?"


    The Terub appears to be confused at the Sentient Mana coiling around him. It does have simrities with Death Energy''s appearance but its aura ispletely different.


    "Haa!"


    The alien tried releasing a powerful aura to try and break free from the bindings of the Sentient Mana.


    However, this Mana is made through the sacrifice of many magician''s life. It wouldn''t be easily destroyed by an aura!


    Wace didn''t hesitate to make his move while the Terub is busy dealing with the Sentient Mana. He used his Void Phase and appeared behind his target.


    He opened his palm and pped it on the Terub''s back¡­


    Pah!


    The sound of that strike resounded throughout the battlefield.


    Aside from that, Wace heard the Terub grunt in pain. This is the first time he had seen him get affected by his strike!


    ''Finally!''


    His palm strike was filled with his Astral Energy and he even felt that he spent too much of his energy that his Void Phase may onlyst for three or four more times.


    He has to be careful from now on.


    Beep!


    [ Another projectile was sent out by the Imperial gship. ]


    [ Identifying¡­ ]


    [ Projectile Confirmed. ]


    [ They have sent another Terub Race. Rmending to retreat. ]


    ''Tsk¡­ I understand.''


    Wace may not have seen everything the Terub can do but this should be enough for today. After all, he also needs to escape as he doesn''t have an unlimited supply of mana.


    "You will stay here¡­"


    The young man suddenly heard the alien''s voice as if it can hear what he was thinking!


    The Terub''s hand tried to grasp Wace''s arm ignoring the Sentient Mana and the pain in his back!


    The young man tried to move away but he suddenly realized that the intensity of the alien''s pressuring aura had focused on his body!


    The previously scattered aura just converged at one point and stopped Wace''s movement!


    He''s in trouble!


    It only stopped him for half a second but it was enough for the Terub to grab him!


    ***


    Troy and Percival lead their team into safety.


    Right now, there are no longer any magicians within a 30-kilometer radius of the alien''snding site.


    However, it doesn''t mean that they couldn''t monitor the aliens and the spaceships.


    Due to Avalon''s invisible Observer Ward floating in the sky, they can still see what was going on using their devices.


    "What''s going on?"


    They were just watching the ze Battleships and the few Airships cover their retreat when they noticed that Wace was actually in trouble!


    They found him being grasped by the three-meter-tall alien!


    ''This is bad!''


    Troy and Percival looked at each other. They have to make a move!


    They wanted to help the young man but they weren''t even stepping out of their hidden shelter when the two immediately vanished!


    Wace disappeared with the huge Alien!


    They either used an invisibility spell or perhaps an instantaneous movement that Wace has been using for a while now.


    "Let''s still try."


    "Alright¡­ There should be remnants of his Mana. We can track him."


    "Got it¡­ We can also try to see if he left some blood around. I know someone who can track people just by getting some of their blood. Wace should also be aware of it."


    "That''s good¡­"


    They were about to go out but a beeping tone interrupted them.


    That''s right! Avalon is with him! They can still track the whereabouts of the young man!


    However, before they could get excited and ask Avalon, thetter made a report.


    [ Wace is captured by a Terub. Before I lost connection to him, they were moving in the direction of the Imperial gship. ]


    ''This is bad!'' The two suddenly thought as they worriedly looked in the sky.

 Chapter 407 - Taken 2

    The news about Wace being taken by the alien quickly spread everywhere.


    They have to find a way to rescue him as quickly as possible. If he was sessfully brought to the Imperial gship, it will be harder to rescue him.


    However, the problem is that none of them can even find their whereabouts at the moment!


    They know that it will take time for him to be sent to the country of Guwain but they can''t do anything about it!


    Percival and Hayden were already exhausted fighting the enemies while Grand Arcanist ine was still being treated at the medical facility.


    The other Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists, on the other hand, are protecting the leaders of this country and some major locations that they can''t just leave without any protectors.


    There are also others guarding the border of their country in case of another invasion.


    After all, they learned the news about the betrayal of Seiji and its allied nations. It wouldn''t be surprising if they''ll try to take this opportunity to steal their important Sealed Mana Artifacts, Lost Technologies, Secret Arts, and other precious items while they are dealing with the aliens.


    Aside from that, they can''t put all of their main forces in one ce in case aplete annihtion would happen.


    They couldn''t take that risk as they need some leaders and magicians that would continue their legacy even if they will be defeated today.


    "Avalon, is there something we can do?" Troy asked immediately.


    Perhaps, they could ask the other three Mage Battalions on standby. However, they know that the strength of the Terubs is so powerful that it could content against Mech Frames, so the least they could do was to send their ze Spaceship carrying their hundreds of Steel Knights to rescue the young man.


    [ Negative. Rescuing Wace in your current situation will just endanger everyone. There''s already a group of Automatons and Mech Knights on the way to rescue him. You just have to know that he won''t be able to help or provide any advice for now. I''ll also be handling all questions rted to the operations that will be taken from now on. ]


    "I see¡­" Troy nodded after hearing Avalon.


    It seems that Wace left a reliable secretary that will continue with the operation even if he''s gone.


    Anyway, they are aware that there is still another Wace on the moon that is probably already aware of the situation.


    For now, they just have to trust the man and focus on dealing with the aliens.


    "Very well, let us know if you managed to rescue him and if there''s anything else we can do."


    [ Understood. ]


    After Wace and the Terub vanished, they noticed that the Khrusams and Bio-Armored soldiers near the spaceships had also calmed down and retreated.


    Today''s war is finally over¡­ They need to recuperate and gather their forces again before they could try to attempt anotherrge-scale operation like this.


    ''We still have to heal all the injured.''


    "I''ll be helping at the medical facility. Sir Percival, please takemand for now."


    "I understand."


    They haven''t confirmed the casualties at the moment but there are definitely hundreds of Steel Knights that were destroyed and pilots that are killed today.


    On the other hand, the Adept Mages and other soldiers had also taken huge casualties. They have to quickly treat them especially those who were critically injured by the Khrusam''s Death Energy.


    Apparently, their power has the essence of corruption like a poison that would slowly deteriorate their bodies.


    ''We didn''t even face their full strength and we are still defeated by this much.''


    It must be remembered that the full force of the Invader Spaceships was only released at the ending phase of the war where they retreated quickly.


    If they faced that more than three thousand Bio-Armored Imperial Soldiers and over two thousand Mech Frames at the beginning of the war, it wouldn''t end well for them.


    Perhaps, ine wouldn''t be able to get inside the Conveyor Spaceship and destroy it from within.


    "This is not good¡­ We should''ve brought Magicians that could wield the Sealed Mana Artifacts." Percival muttered after seeing the situation of his men.


    At the moment, these Sealed Artifacts were being hidden by the government as they have incredible powers that could kill the magicians that will use them.


    Aside from that, only those at the peak of Adept can use the weakest Spell that the Artifact can release.


    So if they wanted to not waste its power, they have to use Sages or magicians above their level.


    The man can only sigh in regret as he requested to bring the Sealed Artifacts to his location. He can only hope that the council can understand his reasoning.


    ***


    "Leader! Give us your order!"


    Escanor and the other magicians working at themand center of the Moon Base spoke to Ace.


    They just received Avalon''s report about Wace being captured by the aliens.


    This is not a good thing for them and they know that Ace is also worried. Since they know that they are heading to the gship, they can try tounch their attack now and intercept the Terub from bringing Wace there.


    "Do we have enough forces to rescue him?" Ace asked calmly. He was trying to analyze the situation.


    He knows that Wace made a contract or something to the Celestial Being, however, he couldn''t tell their agreement so he''s unsure whether he should ask for the Celestial to interfere.


    For now, he wanted to see what they can do to help his other body.


    "Ugh¡­ Most of our elite forces were still on the way to the Conqueror Starships. We don''t have enough forces aside from a few Mech Knights and our Satellite-ss Artifact that is orbiting the."


    "Leader, we also received a report that the remaining force of Seiji is making their move. They already realized that someone annihted their forces. For now, they are suspecting that it was done by the countries outside of their alliance."


    One of the staff reported.


    There are also suspicious reports about the event that urred in Montego. Though they have defeated the ck Sovereign into retreat, the event that urred afterward was quite dubious and requires some thorough investigation.


    Anyway, there are many concerns going on right now but Ace knows that he should first focus on rescuing Wace.


    ''Tsk¡­ I''m not sure if this is the best thing to do¡­ but I have no choice.''


    Ace is nning to attack the Imperial gship using their remaining force.


    However, as he was about to give his orders, he received a report from Avalon.


    [ The Celestial Being went out of the water. ]

 Chapter 408 - Another Day

    Atst, the Celestial Being finally decided toe out.


    "Show me his location now..." Ace ordered. He''s hoping that the Celestial would follow Wace''s traces.


    At this time, he was still unsure how Wace and that Celestial aremunicating with each other. He wasn''t even aware of their deal, nevertheless, he knows that this being would be helping Wace if he learned his situation.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The A.I. immediately controlled one of the monitors at themand center and showed the Celestial''s position using their satellite.


    Escanor and the others who had never seen the Celestial before gasped in surprise.


    The being is probably even more mysterious than the aliens that have arrived here to conquer their. They are seeing it floating above the sea and it does have a figure of a human but it doesn''t have an appearance close to a living being!


    It is just a form of blue energy and for sure, it wouldn''t have any gender.


    Based on the reports, it talks through the mind of people which is not surprising. The Celestial doesn''t seem to have any vocal cords after all.


    "So, that''s a Celestial, huh¡­"


    "I read that they killed tons of our greatest Magicians before."


    "Do you think we can contact him or her or whatever that being is?"


    "Haha¡­ Good luck with that¡­ Wait, look at the sea!"


    One of the staff noticed something unusual below the Celestial. With their satellite vision, they could easily see the anomaly.


    Apparently, there are several huge shadows below him! If they looked at it closely, they could easily tell that they are moving!


    "This¡­"


    "What kind of creatures are those?!"


    "Deep Sea Creatures?!"


    "No, those sea creatures that I''ve found written in a book weren''t this big! They were only a little big bigger than humans¡­ But those shadows are the size of a mountain! There''s no way they are simr!"


    Escanor immediately added.`


    "Avalon, what are those?" Ace asked.


    [ No matches found. ]


    [ Our knowledge about this''s sea is limited. Even Veda barely has any records about the creatures living underwater. ]


    Ace can only give up since Veda''s informationwork around the world is the best among others. Since even the A.I. wasn''t aware of this, there was no way for him to find it out so easily.


    Anyway, Ace was about to instruct Avalon to track the movement of the Celestial from now on.


    However, they noticed that the Celestial was actually looking above!


    He''s looking at the Satellite Camera to be exact!


    "Cancel the tracking!" He shouted. He had a bad feeling about the situation. Unfortunately, before Avalon could turn it off, a problem urred on the Stellite Camera.


    Bzzzt!


    The monitors turned blurry before bingpletely ck¡­ Nevertheless, Avalon quickly acted and rebooted the Camera.


    They lost the Celestial!


    "What happened?"


    [ An unknown Energy disrupted our satellite. We can no longer detect the Celestial Being. ] Avalon answered after scanning the surrounding area again.


    "Haa~ That''s fine. Let''s not look for the Celestial again. Consider it as his warning."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    He doesn''t want to anger the Celestial so he decided to just let him be. As for Wace, he can''t do much either and could only hope that the Being would rescue him.


    Anyway, Wace has Void Phase and if he found an opportunity, no one would be able to stop him.


    ***


    A day had passed after the start of the war against the aliens.


    There have been so many deaths in the countries where the Meredith Empire''s forcesnded, especially in Montego.


    If not for the reinforcements from the allied nations, they would''ve probably copsed by now. As a matter of fact, there''s already a mass migration happening as they decided to hide on some secluded inds.


    However, most of them have decided to go to the maind to seek refuge from the remaining powerful nations.


    Now that their strongest Magician, Julian Esmeria, has perished, they were unsure about the future of the country.


    "Is there any news about Wace?" Charles asked the council of war. Both the aliens and their nations are recuperating from the previous sh so they finally have the time to conduct another meeting.


    Well, this is probably good news for the imperial soldiers as well since they could peacefully mine the memory crystal that they''ve upied.


    "We didn''t hear anything from Avalon. I also tried contacting Ace but he couldn''t give a definite answer at the moment. Anyway, they have a mysterious connection with each other and he feels that Wace isn''t dead yet. I think we shouldn''t worry about him for now." Yumi reported her investigation.


    "I see¡­ I just hope that he can still return safely."


    "He should. Let''s just believe in him. For now, we will discuss the recent activity of Seiji Alliance and the Secret Art that thete Julian Esmeria used to fight against the Khrusams." Charles Mavis said as he looked at the members of the council.


    They all nodded after hearing it since this topic is very important for them.


    Aside from Charles, all the members of the council aremunicating using a hologram as they are in different facilities.


    Some of them are even injured so the old man couldn''t force them to visit the headquarters to discuss this in person.


    [ We have confirmed that Seiji Alliance gathered their forces and were now nning to attack the Republic of Maja. ]


    Avalon reported.


    ***


    In the meantime, Ace watches the Chronos approach the five Conqueror Starships.


    At the moment, they can see that the unmoving starships have several thousands of android builders fixing the external part of the Starships.


    Apparently, they seem to be having trouble finding the main problem of their Starships.


    He couldn''t me them for that.


    They have no idea or information about the existence of Sealed Mana Artifacts or Celestial Beings and the things that they can do.


    "Hmm¡­ With these five starships, how many Khrusams do you think they have there?" Ace asked Avalon.


    [ There should be more than 2,500 Khrusams if wepare it to the Conqueror Starship whichnded at Kazan. ]


    "That many, huh¡­ They have to be decisive in their first attack then." Ace muttered.


    He is referring to the surprise attack that the Chronos would do in a few more hours.

 Chapter 409 - Changes

    The Chronos stealthily arrived not too far from the coordinates of the five Conqueror Starships.


    They have turned off their engines and only used a bit of mana to get closer to them as stealthily as possible. ??


    [ Beep! ]


    [ Space Mines detected¡­ ]


    [ Scanning¡­ ]


    Hilda heard Avalon''s warning. Every Chronos halted on their tracks as they waited for the A.I. to locate the specific spots where the mines are located.


    This has urred about five times already so the magicians are already used to it.


    They just silently watched Avalon and waited for its confirmation.


    [ Space Mines located¡­ ]


    Then, their screens showed the exact coordinates of the space mines within their 5 kilometers. They just have to avoid its range or perhaps iste it using their magic depending on the situation.


    Nevertheless, it is easier for them to move with such impressive scanning abilities.


    "Alright, avoid the space mines. Be careful."


    Hilda ordered her subordinates. She''s one of the captains of the Chronos that were sent to destroy the Conqueror Starship.


    "Thank you again, Avalon¡­" The youngdy whispered.


    Her leadership skills were undeniable and everyone acknowledges her abilities. However, she knows that she wouldn''t be able to lead them appropriately if not for Avalon''s assistance since the beginning.


    Anyway, she''s about to monitor the other Chronos to see if they have encountered any problems.


    Beep!


    As she was preparing tomunicate with the other captains, she was then notified that one of the captains is already trying to reach her.


    She opened hermunication device and found a familiar person.


    "Ferdie? Is there a problem?" Hilda asked.


    Ferdie Sigma is one of the best Mech Knights Pilots and he''s piloting a Knight based on the Lotus Mech called Issyl.


    This Mech is one of the best Mech Knights that has a special feature called Arcanist Phase that would enhance their machines significantly.


    As far as Hilda remembers, all the pilots boarded on his Chronos have Mech Knights with Arcanist Phase installed. In short, they are important pilots or valuable magicians that would y a huge role to destroy the Starshipster on.


    "I think it''s better to attack them with our Mana Spells first before we use our Positron Cannon¡­ What do you think?" The man asked.


    Their original n is to get near the Starships and fire their cannons as their surprise attack.


    Then, the Mech Knights would protect the Chronos during the process and would follow up after firing their cannons.


    The reason they decided to do this was to ensure that their barrier or force field would be destroyed first before their Mana Spells were activated.


    "Mana Spells first? What made you change your mind?"


    "Ugh¡­ Well, I just read the report about what happened on our¡­"


    "Ahh. It''s about that. I would like to hear it. Though it might be better if you discuss this with everyone. Is that fine?" Hilda replied.


    The man agreed with her offer as they made a quick conference to discuss their n again.


    "What''s the problem now, Ferdie?" Lewis Vermont, the previous leader of the Fourth Mech Knight division and now a captain of the third Chronos Battleship, asked with a bit of irritation.


    Their ns were already set and they only have less than an hour before they''ll engage in battle.


    He felt that there is no time to change their tactics now.


    Aside from that, he''s also confident that they''ll be able to defeat the aliens since their Starships aren''t working properly, thanks to the Celestial Blood Net that Ace used to disable them.


    "Sir Lewis, let''s just listen to Sir Ferdie''s suggestion for now. I''m sure he''s aware of our situation as well. He might have thought something better." Tetsuo replied. He''s one of the 23 survivors after the Omen was destroyed by the ck Sovereign''s sacrificial attack.


    Right now, he''s also a captain of the Chronos and leading a group of elite Mech Pilots.


    "That''s enough everyone. Let''s listen to Sir Ferdie now."


    Finally, Hilda interrupted everyone as she leads the conversation.


    "Ehem¡­ Thank you for giving me a chance to exin. So I won''t take much of your time. I read the reports about the Khrusams on our and we are expecting that we will face them here as well." Ferdie started.


    Everyone nodded at this since they''ve also read the reports. Nevertheless, it shouldn''t be enough to cancel their current n and create a new one. They felt that the n was still more reliable.


    "I read about the rtion of the Death Energy and the Soul Arts. Veda¡­ or perhaps Sir Ace and Avalon, have the same conclusion. After all, Sir Julian Esmeria managed to win their war at Montego using a Forbidden Soul Art¡­ So I think that we can exploit this."


    As soon as he reached this, the captains were confused as they asked their questions.


    "Does anyone here knows a Forbidden Soul Art?"


    "Right, we can''t bepared to that legendary magician. Even if we know that soul art, I don''t think that we can use it like how he used it against the aliens."


    "I agree with that. I learned a bit of Soul Art but I don''t think that it is easy to reach Sir Julian''s level. He''s in a different league."


    Lewis and the other captainsmented.


    "That''s right¡­ However, we have magicians in my team that aren''t normal as well. They have advanced to Adept using the Cryptic Link Serum and they have unique Soul Spells that they can use. I think that we can try using them."


    Ferdie then exined his ns to the other captains.


    The meeting took just about 15 minutes since they are nearing the starship. Nevertheless, the man managed to get everyone''s approval to let his team of Cryptic Mages do the initial attacks.


    ***


    [ The Chronos Fleet made changes on their approach due to the recent report about the effectiveness of Soul Arts. ]


    Avalon reported to Ace at the Command Center.


    "That''s fine. It''s good that they are learning to adapt. They already know the power of our battleships and the limitation of our magic. They are also aware of the strength of the aliens by now. I''m sure they made a lot of considerations to do this. Just help them as much as you can, Avalon."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace knows that the magicians he sent are capable enough to strategize their ambush, so he let them be and allowed them to n it ording to whatever they think the best.


    For now, he would rather study the results of the experimentation started by Miss Chamber together with Miya.


    It seems that they have discovered some interesting things from the corpses of the Khrusams.

 Chapter 410 - Dead

    Although Ace remained in the Moon Base, he needed to monitor the''s status now that Wace is missing.


    Beep¡­??


    [ Grand Arcanist ine Allusia wanted to speak with Wace. He hinted that he discovered something inside one of the Conveyor Spaceships that he and his team went into. ]


    Avalon made a report.


    "Hmm? What happened?" Ace was curious as he checked the logs. He knows that the old man''s team managed to heavily damage or perhaps destroy one of the Conveyors, however, he didn''t get all details about it as he was also busy with other things.


    "So it''s like that¡­"


    Apparently, before ine was brought to the medical facility, he ordered his men to inform Wace about something. It seems to be top-secret information that only he should hear about it.


    Unfortunately, the old man is still unconscious and he''s not aware that Wace was captured by the aliens.


    "How is his condition? Why hasn''t he woken up yet?" Ace asked.


    [ His condition is no longer life-threatening. However, he spent his life force and was almost killed by the Death Energy of the Khrusams. Doctor Mao from Cloud Hawk Manor confirmed that he''s already stable and only needed some rest. It was noted that he''ll most likely wake up within 2 or 3 days. ]


    "I see¡­ It''s good that he''s fine. I wonder what he had seen in there. Do you have any idea, Avalon?"


    [ No. ] The A.I. replied without any hesitation.


    There are too many possibilities that narrowing it down wouldn''t be easy. What he discovered could be another species or another Major or perhaps Minor Race hiding inside¡­ Well, he might''ve also discovered the real faces of the Imperial Soldiers and wanted to share it.


    After all, although they are still human, they have mutated a bit due to gene enhancements and he might be thinking that it''s another race that is not within the report Avalon gave them.


    Of course, ine may have also found something incredible inside the spaceship, like their Engine Room, the GH Drive, Cloning Facility, or perhaps, a Space Beast¡­


    ''A space beast? Hmm¡­ There''s no way they''ll ce it inside a Conveyor Spaceship. Even if they brought one, it should be in the gship¡­''


    Ace mused after considering several things.


    However, now that he reached this thought, he couldn''t help but be curious about what ine had seen inside.


    ''Ugh¡­ I hope it''s not the Space Beasts¡­ It would be a huge trouble if they brought them here. There''s a lot of water on this which they like to consume. It would be a huge problem.''


    There are many types of space beasts or creatures that can be found roaming the gxy¡­ However, whatever space beast they could be, they all like to consume one thing and that is water.


    Even the gigantic space beast who attacked the Space Habitat of the Empire is said to be attracted to their water reserves. Ace remembered what he read about why the space beast went to the Empire''s territory.


    ''Hmm... Anyway, if they can fit inside the Conveyor Spaceship, it shouldn''t be a problem.''


    Ace thought as he calmed down.


    Right now, he would no longer be surprised if the Imperial Army brought all their aces to secure this.


    The fact that a member of the imperial family is here is already more than enough to prove that they are serious about taking over this ce.


    "Avalon, let me check the reports made by Miss Chamber''s team¡­ Ah, hold on¡­ Escanor, I''ll leave themand center to you. I''ll take a rest in my room for now."


    "Yes, boss!" The man answered followed by the other staff.


    Right now, Hilda''s team is far away from the Moon Base and he wouldn''t be able to help them as well.


    The eradication of the Conqueror Starship will be up to them and in case of emergency, they could only rely on their Magic Nodes and Avalon''s assistance.


    Anyway, Ace wasn''t too worried about them since he knows that the starships were still fixing their systems.


    Thud!


    As soon as he entered his room and closed the door, Avalon showed to him the result of Miss Chamber and her team''s study.


    [ The Death Energy is the souls of the dead. ]


    This is the first sentence written in their reports.


    Ace was already quite aware of this considering that the aliens can gain power by using their Corpse Furnace. He knows that these furnaces burn the bodies or corpses to collect the so-called Death Energy.


    Then, the Khrusam''s unique trait allows them to manipte it and their third eye''s ability amplifies their control over it and creates miraculous powers.


    [ The Soul Arts of this word affects the living souls, but the Khrusam''s powers affect the souls of the dead. They have simrities in the aspect that they both affect souls but they have different areas of control. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that they can still affect each other. ]


    ''Amazing¡­ They''re only studying them for a day and already learned so much¡­''


    Acemented as he continued reading.


    [ The Death Energy that the Khrusams uses dissipates after not being controlled in about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the strength of the dead soul. However, this Death Energy can stay forever as long as they are using the Corpse Furnace to trap the dead''s soul within. Even if they were used several times, the Energy will just return to the Furnace without any problems. ]


    [ In the end, we''ve made several theories on how to interrupt their control of the dead''s soul but none of them can be tested yet. ]


    [ At this moment, Miya is developing a new Soul Art that can probably help us respond to a Death Energy attack. ]


    "Very good¡­ It seems that it''s a good decision to let them handle this."


    Ace was satisfied with their study. Perhaps, within just a week or two, they''ll be able to find out more about the Khrusams and their weakness.


    Right now, they can''t rely on the Forbidden Soul Art of thete Julian Esmeria. He wanted to take a look at that Art but he, unfortunately, died with the technique not being passed down.


    "Avalon¡­ I want to make sure that the allied countries were helping Montego and not exploiting their resources. Secretly investigate the current situation down there."


    [ Affirmative. ]

 Chapter 411 - Progress

    Avalon did as it was instructed and conducted a thorough investigation about the situation of Montego.


    During the battle between the ck Sovereign and the allied forces yesterday, the satellite vision they have was disrupted and the A.I. was unable to monitor the event until a few hours after.??


    What it had only seen was the aftermath of the battle between the two forces and can barely help determine the events that urred.


    Perhaps, if the ck Sovereign did not use the power of the Cube of Paradox, Avalon wouldn''t have such problems.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Three top-ss Elysiums suddenly dropped not too far from thending site of the ck Sovereign.


    They are here to investigate under the orders of Ace.


    Whoosh~


    In the sky, the engine of Trance sounded a bit before disappearing. Trance is the remaining mid-size Battleship on this and its mission was to bring the three Elysiums here.


    Then, it stealthily returned to Zairus or Mt. Ravencroft to be exact. It still has to defend that ce after itpleted its transportation mission.


    A couple of seconds after the Elysiumsnded, they separated their ways and went to three paths.


    The first Elysium is going to Folco, the leader of the current allied forces stationed here at Montego.


    Folco and his team were the remaining survivors of the battle against the ck Sovereign and the A.I. wanted to rify some information with them.


    Apparently, Folco and his team weren''t turning on theirmunication device where Avalon can connect so it was probably destroyed or they''ve forgotten about it.


    [ Scanning¡­ ]


    [ 25 Lifeforce detected. ]


    Beep!


    [ Confirmed Unarmed Civilians¡­ ]


    The first Elysium didn''t take long before it found some survivors while it is on the way to Folco. It seems that the A.I. was also nning to get information to these people as the Automaton approached them.


    On the other hand, the second Elysium is going to the remaining officials of Montego.


    Now that Julian and his team have perished, Avalon no longer has any method tomunicate with the remaining royalty or high-ranking officials of the country.


    If Ace wanted to stay connected with them, they have to find another Julian or representative of this country.


    Nevertheless, the Elysium is moving extremely fast to visit the nearest city. Apparently, Ace also wanted to conduct some investigation about the Forbidden Soul Art and find traces of it if possible.


    It was too mysterious and powerful and they might find some clues if they send someone to investigate.


    After all, not everything is written in records or saved online for Avalon and Veda to see¡­ There are cases that it might be a piece of information that is only saved in the memories of certain people.


    Beep!


    [ 2 Kilometers Away from Gerety City. ]


    The Elysium calcted the distance as it moved extremely fast.


    Finally, thest automaton was tasked to visit the battlefield.


    It needs to try and find any materials from the ck Sovereign or perhaps, anything rted to aliens that were not found by allied forces.


    It had to make sure that there aren''t any suspicious things left behind in the fight.


    After all, it might be dangerous for the scavengers or people that will try to find their luck on the battlefield.


    ***


    "Miya, Ace already read the report and he''s telling us to continue with our research. He also said that we can ask for any rewards."


    Miss Chamber said after meeting the young Soul Arts Practitioner on the floating ind.


    They barely had any sleepst night as they had to make some quick investigation on the bodies of the Khrusams before they start rotting.


    "Reward? I''m doing this to help our front-line soldiers. There''s no need for a reward. As long as he can already send away these aliens, then I''m happy with it¡­"


    Miya replied after hearing Chamber. She''s notcking anything in terms of wealth.


    She already earned a lot of money just by bing the advertiser of the VR Pods so she could basically purchase anything she wants.


    "Haha¡­ That''s what I''m thinking too¡­ Anyway, let''s focus on the second stage of our research."


    "Miss Chamber¡­ Aren''t we going too fast? I think we should check first if it''s safe or not."


    "Ahh¡­ Don''t worry about that. I already requested a couple of people that would willingly help us with this."


    "Eh? Isn''t that illegal? Who would participate in such a dangerous mission? We might be killing them¡­ Did you inform Ace about this?"


    "Yes¡­ Don''t worry¡­ He knows about this. But anyway, if there is really a chance for the testers to die, then these people could lessen it by several times."


    "Really? What kind of Soul Arts Practitioners are they?" Miya asked.


    Miss Chamber then brought three Adept Mages who actually advanced through an incredible method called Cryptic Link Serum.


    They are magicians who weren''t being affected by bacsh whenever they use forbidden mana spells or arts. This includes the Soul Arts.


    Miya already heard about their existence. As a matter of fact, he heard that the Council will also work with them to lead the fight on their next offensive against the aliens at Ste Region.


    "Haa~ It doesn''t matter then¡­ I just hope that they can stay strong even after our experimentation." The young girl muttered.


    Due to the number ofplete or undamaged Corpse Furnace they''ve taken from the battlefield, they are nning to use their own Soul Arts Practitioner to wield them¡­ if it''s possible.


    After all, if they ever did this, they would no longer be afraid of the Khrusams.


    The problem is that they are yet unsure about the effects of Death Energy on the practitioners. They could even die in the process so they have to be careful in this.


    [ Don''t worry. I''ll be assisting in your research from now on. ]


    The automaton working within the room suddenly joined their conversation. Miss Chamber and the others looked at it and noticed that there''s nothing new on this automaton except on the blue light on its eyes.


    It is normally red when Avalon is talking to them.


    "Avalon? You''re helping us?" Miya probed. The one who spoke to them has a different tone of voice. Nevertheless, Miya decided to call out if it''s indeed the A.I.


    [ I''m not Avalon. You can call me Veda. I''ll be assisting you in your research from now on. ]

 Chapter 412 - Situations

    "Veda?"


    Miss Chamber, Miya, and the rest of the team have heard of its name for a long time now. However, none of them has a Terminal or device to get ess to it. ??


    "Veda¡­ Are you rted to the Database that we''ve heard of?"


    Miya asked after getting surprised. Just like what she thought, there was something different to the automaton who suddenly spoke to them.


    It has different light and tone when speaking.


    [ That is correct. I am that database. Anyway, are you going to start studying them now? ] Veda answered.


    Miya looked at the rest of the team to confirm whether they will indeed start researching now.


    "Hmm¡­ We''re already prepared. But I would like to ask something first, Veda¡­"


    [ Of course, Miss Chamber. Go ahead and ask anything you''d like to know. ]


    The A.I. replied with confidence. Miya had realized that this Veda doesn''t seem to speak like an A.I. at all. It feels like they were speaking with another human! It was such a weird but fascinating feeling.


    "How can you help us with this research? It''s not that I''m underestimating you¡­ I just want to know how will you aid us. As you know, we need to study Death Energy using our Soul Arts¡­ If you''re unable to detect them, you won''t be able to follow our study." Miss Chamber exined.


    [ That makes sense. However, you don''t have to worry. Studying this energy is much easier than the previous tasks I''ve had. ]


    The A.I. answered and started exining¡­


    [ I''ve already sessfully developed the Seventh Generation Mana Artifact and Wace''s factory is now starting to mass-produce them. Let me tell you, that project is much harder than you think. ]


    "What?! The Seventh Gen?"


    "Is that possible?"


    "Wait, I haven''t even heard about its existence yet!"


    "That''s true. The Sixth Generation''s Spirit Forging Magic was just released to the public. Howe there''s already a Seventh Generation?"


    Everyone, except Miya, was surprised upon hearing the existence of the Seventh Gen. After all, its existence is considered top-secret information since it can be used as a trump card against other nations.


    However, now that the war against the aliens is ongoing, there is no point hiding its existence anymore as everyone would still know about itter on once the elite magicians were already allowed to equip them.


    At the very least, only the method of its creation will remain unknown to the public.


    Well, it can be said that Wace doesn''t have any ns of revealing the method to the public even if the leaders of all nations would beg for it.


    The method was just too cruel and it shouldn''t be used unless they are facing extinction like what is happening right now.


    If they couldn''t eliminate the aliens now, they will certainly face death or very for eternity.


    [ Don''t be too surprised. The Seventh Gen Mana Artifacts will be used to fight against the aliens. As soon as we''ve manufactured enough numbers, we will be starting the second offensive against the aliens. ]


    Veda exined. The team of soul arts practitioners asked a few more questions before they started heading towards the research room.


    They do not have plenty of time so they need to start their research already.


    ''Amazing¡­ So aside from learning the secrets of Death Energy and finding ways to counter it, there are other ns set up by Wace.''


    Miss Chamber mused after talking to Veda. She thought that the Moon Base, Mech Knights, Spaceships, the Floating Inds, and the assistance in the production of the Sixth Generation Mana Artifacts were already the limit of Wace''s preparations.


    She only realized now that the young man still has backup ns.


    "It''s good that we still have plenty of things we could rely on. I just hope that once we learned how to use the Corpse Furnace, we can already finish this war and eliminate these aliens."


    Miss Chamber muttered.


    [ Well, I don''t think that it will be enough. Even if we learned how to use the Corpse Furnace or even learned how to use Julian''s Forbidden Soul Art, there is no way we could defeat them. ]


    "Eh? What do you mean, Veda?"


    Everyone had a confused expression after hearing the A.I.


    If all of those were still not enough, then what do they have to do to defeat these aliens?!


    Apparently, they were not aware of the natives from the Northern Continent somewhere in Zairus bidding their time.


    There''s also the existence of the Celestial Being which even the council of war is not aware of. Of course, Grand Arcanist ine Allusia was an exception to this. After all, he''s together with the natives and the Celestial in the Floating Inds when they crossed the continent.


    [ Don''t worry about it. You just have to know that Wace still has ns even if we failed in this second offensive. You should also know that ine''s Arcana is already starting as well. ]


    "Ahh¡­ I''ve heard about that!"


    "I remember now¡­ He went to the Northern Continent because of that, right?"


    "Ohh¡­ Now that you said it, I heard that it will help the non-magicians adapt to the existence of Mana. It is histest Arcana."


    "That''s true¡­ It seems that they no longer have to wait for the trials of the Inheritence Pill to be a magician."


    Miya heard everyone which made her confused. She wasn''t aware of ine''s Arcana. She was probably too busy thinking about the war that she had forgotten to listen to other news.


    Anyway, she knows that the Grand Arcanists are all doing their best to help the citizens of this nation so she wasn''t too surprised that they are also doing incredible things like Wace.


    As a matter of fact, they should be the ones leading the innovations and not the young man.


    Speaking of which, she remembered some important things.


    "What about the other Grand Arcanists and Grand Sages, where are they? They did not participate in this war at all!" Miya voiced out her thoughts. There was even a hint of irritation in her tone.


    Tons of magicians have sacrificed their lives while the other powerful magicians of this country are nowhere to be seen.


    The others agreed with her sentiment.


    Nevertheless, Veda answered her withplete information.


    [ 06:07:58 ¨C Grand Sage Gildarts and Grand Sage Morris engaged in a battle against the advanced forces of the Seiji Alliance. ]


    [ 07:33:05 ¨C Grand Arcanist Aura arrived at the border of Guwain to ensure that we wouldn''t encounter a surprise attack from the Imperial gship. ]


    [ The other Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists are staying at Dolu City guarding the leaders of this country. ]

 Chapter 413 - Arcana

    "What? So the war against them has already started?"


    "This¡­ Howe we didn''t hear anything about it?"??


    The Soul Arts Practitioners asked.


    They heard about the attempts of the Seiji Alliance to side with the aliens. It all happened in Kazan where the aliens firstnded.


    They also know that they have sold information about the other countries in order to gain their trust.


    In the end, the spaceships at Kazan were almost untouched if not for Wace''s decision to attack them.


    [ Well, the attack happened so fast as if Seiji just wanted to show to the aliens that they are also willing to assist them. You don''t have to worry about their forces right now. Luckily, Wace dealt a heavy blow on their main force. They wouldn''t be able to easily replenish their forces. ]


    Veda replied hinting about Wace''s actions. The A.I. is referring to a certain location somewhere in the sea where he defeated the main army of the allied forces and gave them to the Celestial Being.


    The Soul Arts Practitioners were not aware of the man''s actions but it seems that everything is still ording to his ns.


    "So, does it mean that Wace''s whereabouts were already confirmed? Where is he?"


    [ Not sure. However, you don''t have to worry about him for now. If he died now at this point, it means that everyone here would not have the ability to survive against the aliens at all. What we should worry about is finding a better way to defeat the Khrusams. Most of the Magicians are still vulnerable to their Death Energy. There''s also a probably with their Mech Frame''s Psionic Pulse and Subspace ster Technology. ]


    "Haa~ You''re right¡­ We have to start now¡­" Miss Chamber replied as she leads the team to the research room.


    After a while, the Cryptic Mages had also arrived to help them with their study.


    Hopefully, it wouldn''t take too long before they discover the secrets of the Corpse Furnace.


    ***


    "Doctor Mao, how''s Master ine?" A youngdy asked after seeing the old doctor getting out of the patient''s room.


    The doctor of the Cloud Hawk Manor looked at the youngdy and greeted her with a smile.


    "Miss Lacus¡­ I didn''t know you''ll be here. Don''t worry, your Master is in stable condition. He just needs to take a long rest to recover."


    Doctor Mao answered.


    The Grand Arcanist doesn''t have visible injuries on his body because he was attacked by the alien''s Death Energy and took most of his life force.


    "Can I see him for now?" Lacus asked.


    "Of course¡­ You can get in. There will be two automatons standing in the room, if you need anything, just let them know."


    "Yes, doctor¡­" Lacus then thanked the old doctor as she entered the room.


    They weren''t on the floating ind at this time and they have arrived at Dolu City where the best medical equipment and potions are located. If the Grand Arcanist couldn''t recover here, they wouldn''t be able to think where else they can heal the man.


    As soon as Lacus entered, she saw an old man with wrinkled skin and white hair sleeping on the bed.


    "Master¡­" She muttered after recognizing the man.


    The previous young appearance that makes him look like he was only in his thirties was no more. Because of the power of the Khrusams, the Grand Arcanist could no longer maintain his youthful looks and revealed his real age¡­


    Lacus wasn''t surprised after seeing this since her Master is one of the survivors of the first expedition in the Northern Continent. It wasn''t a secret that the man was older than her grandfather.


    Nevertheless, she couldn''t help but be emotional after seeing the vulnerable appearance of the Grand Arcanist.


    "Just recover for now master¡­ I assure you, I will take revenge¡­" She whispered.


    She has been practicing the revised final stage of the AOTL and she was able to create small sess. She''s developing the skills little by little until she can use them in realbat.


    Aside from that, she still has to help Wace''s factory that is currently making some Mana Artifacts from 5th Gen to 7th Gen for the soldiers of Zairus.


    Apparently, Wace had really good control of his manpower.


    The thousands of magicians who were unable to join the Space Fleet are actually hired to work in the Artifact and Mech Factories at Mt. Ravencroft.


    Aside from that, he also made a small Private Army working for the Traceless Security Company.


    Lacus even heard that he already bought the Golden Trident Group who was previously the owner of the solidified blood or parts of the Celestial Being.


    The youngdy then stayed within the patient''s room for about half an hour before leaving. She can now rest assured that his master''s life wasn''t in any danger and she just needed to rest.


    ''Very well¡­ I''ll be managing your Arcana in the meantime, Master¡­ I can''t let it go to waste. I will make it sessful, I promise.'' The youngdy vowed as she headed back to the Cloud Hawk Manor.


    Right now, the Second, Third, and Fourth Apprentice of the Grand Arcanist is managing the Arcana made by their master to aid the normal people to feel the presence of mana.


    Tranquil Mind.


    This is the name of the Arcana made by the Grand Arcanist. Unlike the Inheritance Pill that the Seed Company has developed, the Arcana that the old man has made is actually considered a Mana Artifact with a unique Magic Structure.


    The Arcana''s appearance is simr to a Jug of water. It has many intricate designs or magic structures embedded on the outside.


    It looks like an expensive jug to please the eyes of nobles. However, its outside appearance isn''t just what''s attractive¡­


    The mystical ability of this Jug is that it can convert the surrounding Mana into magical water¡­ If a cup of it was consumed by normal people, they will be able to start feeling the presence of mana after about an hour!


    Right now, about three thousand people have already benefited from this Arcana!

 Chapter 414 - Preparations

    Lacus arrived at the Cloud Hawk Manor¡­


    There is a building specifically for the provisioning of the Tranquil Mind to normal people. ??


    She can see the other three apprentices working to help everyone get used to the presence of mana¡­


    Apparently, once they consumed a cup of mystical water, there will be a chance that they will be overwhelmed by the pressure of mana.


    However, it is not life-threatening since their bodies were already adjusted to mana. After all, they grew up here on this and their only problem is that they have a very affinity to mana.


    They were always experiencing its existence but they can''t manipte or control them.


    "Are there any issues, Sir Clyne?" Thedy asked after entering the manor.


    The old man in front of her is Clyne Troyard, the trustworthy butler working for the Manor before she was even born.


    "There were no issues at the moment, young miss. Miss Farah and Sir rk are managing the provisions of the Tranquil Mind to the citizens really well. As for Sir L, he''s taking care of those people who just consumed the water. It seems that his Artifact is helping them to calm down."


    "I see. That''s good to hear¡­ How about their decisions to participate as helpers in this war?"


    This time, Clyne smiled before answering. It seems he has good news.


    "They are willing¡­ Most of the citizens that participated in our provisions are people from the Ste Region that were evacuated here in the city. Right now, they wanted to quickly end the war so they wanted to help as much as they can."


    "Haa~ I see¡­ How about the Congress, did they mention anything about our project?"


    Clyne shook his head after hearing the question.


    "They have a lot more problems now that the Seiji Alliance decided to attack us too¡­ Right now, they are letting all the ns and Manors get more power to fight against all our enemies. It''s not like the Congress of Magicians has many leaders with them¡­ Most of the powerful Magicians were all tied to their ns or Organization."


    "It''s good that they have no problems¡­ So how about the Mana Artifacts prepared for them?"


    "We are stillcking, Miss Lacus¡­"


    "I see¡­ I''ll work on that." The youngdy replied.


    At this moment, the magicians working for the government were indeed numerous but the top and the strongest ones were mostly the protectors of their n or their organization.


    In the end, the Congress, Ministry, and the Lucent Force have to work together to be even stronger and lead the fight against the aliens and Seiji Alliance.


    However, they still have to cooperate with these private organizations in order to lessen their burden. This is why they are letting their Cloud Hawk Manor gain more influence.


    Anyway, Farah Carlos, the Second Apprentice of ine wasn''t just activating the Arcana and giving water to the citizens, she has another Arcana that allows her to see the potential of the humans she''s interacting with¡­


    The spell is called Sacred Sense, which was her submitted Arcana that allowed her to be an Arcanist.


    On the other hand, rk Gates, the Third Apprentice was actually helping the normal people to easily adapt to the presence of Mana¡­


    Apparently, he''s also practicing the Spirit Arts that allows him to affect the spiritual qualities of the people near him.


    Finally, L, the Fourth Apprentice of Sine is the one who will decide whether the people here will be helpful or a burden to their Manor. He''s currently in control of one of ine''s Arcana that pressures everyone into kneeling and helps them transform their bodies.


    Lacus smiled after seeing her fellow apprentices working together to help the Manor.


    Now that their Master is not in a good condition, their enemies might take advantage of their position and take their authority. So they have to remain strong and gain more power until their master can lead them.


    Of course, they could easily get assistance from Avalon in case necessary but the A.I. still has a lot of things to worry so they have to bear this themselves.


    "Are there any requests from the Congress to send our Adepts?" Lacus asked as she entered the room where many automatons are ced.


    "Don''t worry, Young Miss, because of what Sir ine did to one of the Conveyor Spaceship, our manor is exempted in the second offensive. We can just focus on gathering our forces for now."


    "I see¡­ That makes sense."


    Lacus nodded at this as she looked at the new designs of their automatons. She couldn''t tell whether this is stronger than Wace''s Elysiums but this Carnage Series of Automatons made by their Manor would be their main forceter on.


    Once they have plenty of new magicians from these people they are helping now, these Carnage Automatons would be able to show their full strength.


    ''I just hope that many would pass the synchronization rate¡­''


    In the meantime, they also have to wait until they have a solid method to fight against the Khrusam''s Death Energy¡­


    Right now, she felt that there is nothing to fear if they will fight the imperial soldiers, marauder gears, and mech frames¡­


    Their only worry for this war is the Khrusams and the power of their spaceships'' cannons. At the moment, only Wace''s Spaceships were capable of defending against their Positron and Hadron Cannon.


    ***


    While Lacus is busy managing the Cloud Hawk Manor, the other forces of the country had also started gathering their forces.


    Because of the first offensive, they managed to get a glimpse of the strength of the aliens and learned a lot about how to deal with them.


    Right now, they are finally readying their Secret Arts and Lost Technology¡­ or the Arcane Technologies that they''ve kept for a very long time¡­ Most of them have never thought that there will be a time to use them.


    However, due to the current circumstances, many Forbidden Arts and Technologies will finally resurface in the world.

 Chapter 415 - Cleaning Mission

    Grand Sage Maze, the owner of the only Mage Tower in Zairus, read the report detailing what has been happening within the country.


    After losing her elite apprentices due to the failure of their space shuttle, she had stayed within her Tower most of the time to train new sages that would hopefully be her next sessors. ??


    Luckily, she found many promising magicians and it would only be a matter of time before these Adepts would turn into Sages.


    However, the war against the aliens suddenly happened. Her Tower is not prepared to fight against the enemies. They have powerful Mana Spells and Artifacts but after seeing the battle in outer space and realizing the scale of their powers, she knows that there was no way for her magicians to win against them.


    At this moment, she can only remain in her tower and pass all her legacies to the young mana practitioners. She knows that she can''t avoid the war for long so she has to ensure that her legacy wouldn''t end here.


    "Lillian¡­ Is this all the reports?" The Grand Sage asked. She looks a bit olderpared to herst appearance in the public because of the stress and problems brought by her apprentices'' death.


    Right now, her tanned skin shows some wrinkles and her head is getting full of white hair.


    Lillian, one of her two remaining Sage disciples, looked at her master before replying.


    "There are other reports about the current situation in Montego and Kazan. Would you like to check them now?"


    "Hmm¡­ Don''t bother. Let''s just focus on these twonding sites. I''ll check them if I have time."


    "I understand, Master¡­ Are you going to teach the apprentices now?"


    "That''s correct¡­"


    The Grand Sage stood up as she walked out of the door. Lillian followed behind her as they walked to the training ground.


    There are about 30 Adept Mages within the training ground and they have simr tasks with them¡­


    They are trying to master a Killing Mana Array¡­ It is difficult but it''s possible.


    They have realized that normal Mana Spells can be endured by the armored Imperial Soldiers and the Khrusams.


    Though the aliens are also taking damage, it wasn''t to the point that they''ll be unable to fight back.


    This is why they needed more.


    Maze realized that they have to create a decisive spell, a technique that would immediately kill their target making them unable to fight back at all.


    This is where their Eight-Wave Ice-Fire Arrayes in¡­ It is a modified version of one of the Lost Technologies and they have been unable to use it before.


    Apparently. they can''tplete the true technology called Ice-Fire Bomb due to several issues in the stele of the technology.


    "How''s their progress?" Maze asked.


    "Only five of them were have mastered it¡­ I think it will take time for the others¡­ If you''ll do the same method of teaching again, it might hasten their learning."


    "I understand¡­ I''ll be helping everyone again¡­"


    Grand Sage Maze sighed as she greeted the young Adepts.


    The teaching method that allows her to share her senses with her targets can greatly help these magicians¡­ The only problem is that she can only use this once a week or it will affect her senses permanently.


    Lilian smiled wryly after hearing her Master. It appears that Maza was truly in a hurry to train these magicians.


    She couldn''t me her for that. The current situation at the border is not good even though two Grand Sages were already handling the forces of Seiji.


    It would be long when their Tower would be ordered to take part in the war on the frontlines.


    Beep!


    [ The Council of War is looking for Grand Sage Maze or her representative. It is about the Cleansing Mission. Please coordinate with the council immediately. ]


    A message from the council arrived.


    Lillian expected this already but she didn''t think that it would arrive now. She sighed silently before answering their summon.


    The Cleansing Mission being referred to is actually an offensive mission aiming to attack the headquarters of Seiji and destroy theirmunicationswork.


    Apparently, the allied forces of Zairus, Maja, and Virgan wanted to quickly eliminate their threat while the aliens were still recuperating or being ominously silent.


    They can''t have them attacking at the same time so they have to remove Seiji from the picture as quickly as possible.


    Lillian can only ept her fate as she handled themunications with the Council.


    ***


    In a certain mansion owned by one of the prestigious ns in Dolu City, a group of powerful individuals was having a small talk while drinking a cup of tea.


    They are the high-ranking Magicians of both Vermont n and Skywalker n, the two ns that worked together toplete the Space Shuttle.


    "I heard that you have recently recruited some decent magicians from Montego¡­ Are you not willing to share some of them? I heard that your Vermont family doesn''t have enough space for them."


    "Hahaha¡­ I''m not sure about that, we have enough space to amodate them. Anyway, I heard that some of them participated in some internationalpetitions and most of them were just Adepts. I don''t think that you have to be so concerned about them¡­"


    Two middle-aged men wearing luxurious clothes were chatting on the balcony of the mansion. As they were so rxed and carefree, it doesn''t feel like there is a war going on somewhere in their country.


    "Haha¡­ Don''t be like that¡­ I heard that they are the Magicians who made the Mage Towers¡­ I think it will benefit both of us if we can talk about it."


    They were people who extended help to the people of Montego who wanted to flee from their country. Especially, the Vermont n who only helped the elite magicians of the country.


    They continued their small chats regarding their ns about these magicians until they received a notification from the Council¡­


    It seems that they will also participate in the Cleansing Mission and they have to send their Adept Mages and Steel Knights.


    "Hmm¡­ Wait¡­ The one who will lead us in this mission is an A.I.''s automaton? What''s going on?"


    Torfinn, the Adept Magician from the Vermont n couldn''t help but exim in surprise after seeing the brief details of the mission.

 Chapter 416 - Reappearance

    Torfinn couldn''t understand why an Automaton with Artificial Intelligence would be the one leading their mission. He had to rify some things to the Council right now¡­


    "Wait¡­ The other ns and organizations weren''t included here¡­ Do you know where they are assigned?" ??


    Arnt Vermont asked after noticing that the participating organizations in the mission were only four not including the military force of Zairus.


    The Grand Sage Maze''s Tower, the Skywalker n, the Vermont n, and the Veritas Mage Organization.


    There were d to have the Tower''s magician by their side but he was quite unhappy that a small organization would be joining them.


    The Veritas Mage Organization is still a young organization that doesn''t have that much power with them. As far as he knows, this organization made by the Veritas Company only has a few hundred magicians with them and most of them weren''t even Adepts.


    Their presence in such an important mission was quite questionable.


    "Hmm¡­ The others were probably assigned to deal with those in Ste Region¡­ Would you rather go there?"


    "Eh? N-no¡­ But why do we have to be with this small organization?" Arnt replied with a question.


    Torfinn was also a bit unhappy about them but he tried to find the reason. He quickly asked the council for rification and found out that they will be using the new airships made by the Veritas Company.


    Those airships will be used to transport their army including their Steel Knights.


    He also learned that Avalon, the A.I. that will lead them, was the best leader right now since they areckingpetent magicians after the first offensive against the aliens.


    Nevertheless, he stillined about the Veritas Mage Organization that will only send a total of 100 magicians¡­


    It was at this moment that the A.I. was the one who responded to him.


    [ Their group will be using a Forbidden Mana Spell to deal with the Seiji''s Forces. Your n''s task is to protect them at all costs. ]


    Avalon replied. He finally realized that the organization was actually more important than them in this mission.


    Torfinn and Arnt can only hope that the total 2,000 mages for the entire mission will be enough to attack Seiji''s headquarters.


    If they haven''t heard that the main force of the Seiji was obliterated in the sea by the Deep Sea Creatures, there was no way that they would agree to this almost impossible mission.


    "Very well¡­ We''ll work on it."


    After they epted their fate, they immediately coordinated with their ns and have their forces ready.


    The council is only asking for them to send 400 magicians and some Steel Knights¡­ It is up to them whether they will be sending Combat Magicians, Battle Mage, Adept Mage, or even Sages.


    These many magicians are already a quarter of their n''s forces so they have to ensure that most of them will be able to return.


    Considering their number, they would ept at least a 60% survival rate. If it''s below that, it would not be ideal for them.


    Anyway, they can only hope that Avalon is a bettermander. Since the Council chose the Artificial Intelligence, it must''ve shown some skills during the previous battle.


    ***


    Unlike the Cloud Hawk Manor''s exemption to the current missions, the other camps were busy organizing their Magicians.


    The Cloud Hawk''s allies, the Sky Raven Manor and the Luxford n were tasked to participate in the Second Offensive¡­


    This is much more dangerous since they will be facing the aliens¡­ The aliens whom they barely know.


    The Cleansing Mission, on the other hand, was much easier since Avalon and Veda''s information about their current force was crucial.


    The council is already aware of the ces they have to be wary of, the formation of their army, their supply route, their current movement, and even theirmunications werepletely seen through by the two A.I.


    The magicians just have to exploit them and ensure toplete the mission.


    But because they have to do it in such a limited time, Avalon has to lead them to avoid wasting time and keep most of the magicians alive.


    Luckily, they can stillmunicate with Ace at this moment and he approved various tasked that they''ve asked for Avalon to do.


    Grand Arcanist Hallgrim of the Sky Raven Manor arrived at the temporary headquarters where the other leaders are already waiting.


    His red robe with the insignia of the Sky Raven and his staff or mana artifact allowed the others to know his identity even without asking.


    "You''re here¡­ We''re now just waiting for one more person¡­" Charles greeted the Grand Arcanist.


    "I see¡­" Hallgrim then sat on his chair as he looked at everyone.


    There are already 8 people including him within the room and as far as he knows, this should be everyone.


    Aaron Schmidt from the Lucent Force¡­


    Yumi Juria, the sessor of the previous Saintess Thea¡­


    Hayden Fraser, the Enneadic Magician from the Ministry¡­.


    Marvin Cummings from the Magician''s Congress¡­


    Troy Webb, the current General of the Mage Army¡­


    Grand Sage Alice, of the Luxford n¡­


    The legendary mage doctor, Charles Mavis from the Mavis n¡­


    The eight of them should be enough to decide the second offensive so Hallgrim was a bit curious. However, he stayed silent and waited like the others.


    He doesn''t want to appear clueless right now. Anyway, they were served tea and snack while waiting for thest person.


    Finally, after waiting for about ten minutes, they heard many footsteps outside the room.


    "Hmm?"


    Hallgrim used his senses and found something interesting¡­ He couldn''t properly sense one of them¡­ It is like being blocked by some kind of barrier.


    At his level, this wouldn''t be something normal.


    nk!


    The door finally opened and found a group of magicians escorting someone wearing a spacebat suit that he had seen in broadcasts.


    ''Ho~ So it can block my Mana Sense? That suit looks more interesting than I thought¡­'' The old man mused as he waited for Charles to begin the meeting.


    However, instead of the legendary mage doctor starting the important gathering, he saw the suited person stand at the center of the round table and introduced himself.


    "I''m Karfu Malthu, a member of the Arian Race and now one of Wace''s subordinates¡­"

 Chapter 417 - Lost Contact

    Most of the leaders present were surprised except for Yumi and Charles who are already aware of their visitors for today''s meeting.


    ''An alien, huh¡­ This is getting more interesting than I thought¡­'' Hayden Fraser looked at the armored alien standing in front of them. ??


    ''So, we will get some help from another alien race? I guess it''s not a bad idea.'' Hallgrim surveyed the alien''s body and confirmed that his senses couldn''t really prate it even if they are already this close.


    ''Sir Karfu? I didn''t think he already learned how to speak fluently¡­ As expected of a race from a different. They can learn really fast.'' Aaron mused. He already met with the groups of Arians who were sent here by Ace. After all, his Lucent Force was part of their securities at the start of Ace''s project to experiment on them.


    It was only after Veda fully took over the project that they were reassigned to a different task.


    On the other hand, the others also showed their surprise but one could see traces of a smile on their faces.


    They realized that if they would be getting help, it is indeed not a wrong decision to consult them.


    Everyone here knows about the organizations or powers in the gxy thanks to Avalon and Veda who were extremely helpful in sharing information they got from these Arians.


    Of course, they heard that they also got some information from the records that were said to be found in the northern continent rted to these aliens.


    They know that the Meredith Empire who are attacking them have three other Major Races they were allied with.


    Two of those were the Khrusams and the Terubs.


    As for the Arians like the one in front of them, they were part of the Minor Races or those weaker beings that has to be subordinate to the Major Races of the gxy and could never hope to stand equal with them.


    They then heard Charles exining the situation.


    "Just like what you''ve heard, he is from the Arian Race, a Minor Race in the gxy and previously working under the Meredith Empire until Wace took care of them. For the Second Offensive that will happen three days from now, their small group will assist us in this battle. I know you have many questions, but please wait for now until we finished discussing what they''ll do to help us¡­"


    Charles said as he looked at the other leaders. After seeing their nods, he allowed Karfu Malthu to continue.


    "Destroying their Spaceships using external means is close to impossible unless you have plenty of spaceships at the level of ze Battleship¡­ Unfortunately, mass-producing such battleships is not easy even with all the resources that Wace has. It takes a lot of time to make and it''s better to focus on small battleships and Mech Knights since we will not even go to a space battle¡­"


    Karfu started speaking in the fluentnguage of this world.


    Anyway, they have already realized this fact as well so they just remained silent and waited for his next words.


    "Because of this, destroying the internal structures of the aliens seem to be the best option¡­ However, after our first offensive, we only managed to destroy 1 Conveyor Spacecraft and damage 3 Invader Spaceships."


    The number is low considering there are 7 Invader Spaceships and 3 Conveyor Spacecraft.


    Aside from ze, they have used thousands of soldiers, magicians, artifacts, Steel Knights, and Hayden Fraser including the Grand Arcanist that have participated in this mission!


    In the end, they even have to rely on Wace''s presence to stop the enemies from further destroying them. Right now, even that young man was missing!


    "With that in mind, our strategy for the Second Offensive will be different, we have confirmed that these aliens were in search of something and theynded on ces where these ''things'' were abundant. Our strategy this time is to bring the fight on those ces so the aliens wouldn''t dare to use their Positron and Hadron Cannon to obliterate us."


    Karfu paused for a moment to let the others think. He continued after confirming that everyone is listening¡­


    "This is where our helpes in¡­ We brought an item from our home and we call these things Mind Stones¡­ Through Veda''s help, we managed to find a method on how to use them in a better way..."


    The Arian said as he signaled to one of the escorting magicians to bring the suitcase he''s carrying.


    The magician ced it on the round table and opened it in front of them.


    The Mind Stone came from Omen IV. During their transport here, Ace simrly sent the precious materials or items in the Omen like Mind Stones, hi-tech weapons and essories, and even a copy of their A.I.


    Ace knows that the war against the Empire is dangerous so he has decided to keep them safe on the.


    In the end, his decision was right as the Empire has probably recognized that the Arians have betrayed them and angrily rammed their ck Sovereign on it.


    Karfu then continued to exin how the Mind Stones will be used in this second offensive. Finally, the faces of the leaders of the various organizations lit up after hearing theplete n.


    It seems that Wace was truly in control of everything. They were thinking that he had calcted this since the beginning! This is why he decided not to kill the Arians and use them instead!


    ***


    Ace was taking a rest in his room at the Moon Base as he knows that he''ll be very busy again after a while.


    Unlike Wace, he doesn''t have an astral or celestial-like body so resting is important to him.


    However, as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Avalon''s notification.


    [ We have lost contact with Investigator Elysium 3 ]


    [ Reason: Unknown ]


    "Hmm¡­ What task that Elysium has taken?"


    Ace lost his sleepiness after hearing the report. Losing contact suddenly without it being able to pass information to thework was quite bizarre.


    Unless it was taken out in a blink of an eye, this incident shouldn''t happen at all. At this point, he wouldn''t believe that it''s a signal issue or a malfunction.


    Then, he heard Avalon''s answer...


    [ It is tasked to investigate Julian Esmeria''s death. ]

 Chapter 418 - Second Offensive I

    Three days have passed and the Second Offensive operation has finally begun¡­


    Right now, the main forces of Zairus, Maja, and Virgan have arrived in an abandoned town, now turned into their headquarters, to fight the remaining aliens near the mines at Ste Region.??


    The army of Zairus isposed of 15,000 Magicians¡­ They are at the level of Combat Mage, Battle Mage, Adept Mage, and a few Sages.


    About a thousand of them were magicians at Engineer''s Path¡­ They are the Magic Engineers and Arcane Artificers that would act as support of the front line magicians¡­


    Aside from that, they have 1 Transatmospheric Battleship, 50 Airships, 300 Steel Knights, and 20 Iron Knights on their side.


    This is already thebined forces of all the powerful ns and organizations in Zairus.


    Of course, Wace''s forces are not included in this count.


    "Only fifteen thousand, huh¡­ We''re still short."


    "It doesn''t matter¡­ We still have to let the others defend our borders and our key cities¡­ This should be enough."


    Aaron and Troy were both inside the ze Battleship observing the situation below. They then looked at the other countries'' forces who have just arrived in theirnd.


    The Republic of Maja brought 20 Airships filled with 1,000 Battle Mages and 100 Adepts.


    Their numbers are small but their automatons about 8,000 in number¡­ As expected of the country that put most of their budget to Automaton Factories, they seem to be capable of making 200 to 300 of them per day!


    Of course, each of these Automatons was expensive, so they also didn''t want them to be destroyed as much as possible in this war.


    "Hmmm¡­ Their general is only at the level of Sage¡­ It seems that these forces they''ve sent were actually expendables."


    Troy muttered after seeing the forces from Maja. If they are truly valuing these magicians and automatons, they should''ve at least brought one of their Grand Sages or Grand Arcanists¡­


    This way, they would be able to have a chance to refuse in case they were ordered to do some life-threatening actions.


    Anyway, it''s not his position to tell them that so he just let them be¡­


    Finally, the forces from the other neighboring country, Virgan, were actually quite strong¡­


    They didn''t bring a single airship and only send 3,000 Battle Mages, 500 Adepts Mages, 5 Sages, and a single Grand Sage.


    However, what''s impressive with these magicians are their Mana Artifacts¡­All of them are at the highest grade possible. Troy even heard that they can perform massivebination attacks that require 100 Magician''s Mana in a single attack.


    This is something that their army iscking¡­ Most of their forces'' mana spells were for a single target or for a single user.


    They do not have Mana Spells that can be used by a group of magicians to amplify its powers¡­


    Except to the ns and organizations who were nning to reveal their Forbidden Mana Spells, Forbidden Mana Artifacts, and Forbidden Secret Arts today¡­


    At this moment, the Cleansing mission to destroy the headquarters of the Seiji Alliance should also be starting by now.


    "It looks like we can now begin¡­ Have you seen Karfu?"


    Troy asked after seeing that everything is ready.


    "Yes¡­ His team should be heading towards their assigned task¡­ I''m not exactly sure if that Mind Stone is effective but we''ll see¡­" Aaron muttered as left the room.


    This ze Battleship will be heavily targetedter on and it has a high chance of being taken down¡­ The leaders and other important individuals shouldn''t stay here during the war.


    It is too huge and it will be an easy target for the aliens.


    "Our concern now is those Terubs that might decide to help them¡­"


    Troy said following behind Aaron.


    They have a high chance of eliminating the aliens in this region or at least, force them to retreat like what happened in Montego.


    But based on Avalon''s report, they do not have any magician that could fight one of them at all!


    This is something that they would never believe if they didn''t know what happened a few days ago to Wace.


    Nevertheless, they couldn''t attack without a n¡­


    For now, they have decided to let the 10 strongest magicians they have to deal with it in case one of them would trulye¡­


    They might die in the process but their sacrifices wouldn''t be in vain if they managed to kill most of the aliens in the region.


    ***


    Ross Schien took a deep breath as he visualizes his team''s operationter on¡­ He is currently in the cockpit of his Mech and waiting for the mission to start.


    Currently, his golden mech together with 20 more Lucent Knights would be in the most dangerous position in aerial battle.


    He could die any second once the war started.


    He only has a small unit with him as their task wasn''t just to fight the enemy Mech Frames that will be sent out but to also try their new Mana Artifacts.


    These Artifacts were just recently created so only their small team can equip them as only a few of them were made as of yet.


    Apparently, in the few days that they were at peace, a team of Soul Arts Practitioners managed to create a Mana Artifact to defend against the Khrusam''s Death Energy!


    Aside from that, that same team modified the Corpse Furnace that they''ve collected from the previous battle and made some Cryptic Mages use them for this war!


    ''Haa~ It''s impressive how they managed to create it in such a short time¡­ However, I hope it will be effective or my team would sacrifice in vain..''


    The young man thought as his team''s mission is to protect the airship of the Cryptic Mages that will control the modified Corpse Furnace!


    Their new Mana Artifacts together with the Mages'' Corpse Furnace¡­ they are hoping that they could surprise the enemies and create an opening for the other magicians.


    It is such an ambitious mission but they can only trust the best Soul Art Practitioners of their country.


    Time quickly passed as Ross heard the signal to start the operation¡­


    [ Second Offensive Operation will begin in 30 seconds. ]


    He then saw the countdown timer starting as all the Mech Knights docked in ze Battleship activated their engines¡­

 Chapter 419 - Second Offensive II

    [ The Strugglers Elimination Mission was sessfullypleted. All the five Conqueror Starships were destroyed by the Chronos that were sent out. ]


    "How''s the casualty, Avalon?" Ace asked after hearing the good news. ??


    He was impressed by Hilda and the others whopleted the task but there were definitely casualties in this.


    [ Only two Chronos with 30 Magicians have survived in the battle. All the Mech Knights were destroyed. ]


    "This¡­ That''s too many¡­ Did they force themselves? Ugh¡­ Give me the list of those 30 magicians¡­"


    There should be about a hundred Magicians in total in that operation.


    With such a low rate of survivors, it can still be considered a failure on their end.


    Ace clenched his fist after noticing that Ferdie, Ray, and even Lewis Vermont were not on the list of survivors¡­


    He made a calction with Avalon and made sure that even if they couldn''t aplish the task, they would have enough power to retreat into safety. He didn''t want to sacrifice their lives to kill those thousands of Imperial Soldiers and Mech Frames!


    They also possess Magic Nodes and various Artifacts that could help them survive and escape even if their battleship was destroyed!


    "What happened? Give me the full details."


    [ Yes. I suggest you watch the battle instead. It onlysted for about 10 minutes. ]


    Avalon suggested.


    ''Only ten minutes? Isn''t that too fast?''


    Considering that they''ll be facing 5 gigantic Conqueror Starships, he wouldn''t be surprised if the battlested for a week!


    "Very well¡­ Let me see what happened."


    Ace then decided to watch the battle and easily noticed that the imperial army seems to have prepared themselves to be ambushed and attacked recklessly without caring for their safety!


    They wouldn''t even hesitate to use their Mech Frame''s self-destruction to kill their magicians and destroy their Mech Knight''s pilots!


    It was such a crazy battle! Although the imperial army suffered heavily from their surprise Magic Attacks, they didn''t lose their morale and fight like robots.


    It was no wonder that the battle didn''t evenst for an hour.


    The magicians couldn''t retreat after engaging in battle as the army had no intention of retreating even after suffering casualties in their initial attack.


    It was such a disastrous event for the mages¡­


    At the moment, he can only imagine the current feelings of the young magicians that were in that battle. The Alien Invasion game may not be enough to help them condition their mind with the deaths of theirrades. It will still certainly create psychological trauma for them.


    However, this is the truth about this war. They have an option to let the aliens conquer this world and pray for their safety or they could fight with his help and stop the aliens from doing whatever they wanted for the sake of this''s future.


    Right now, the remaining survivors were being led by Hilda as they were about to return to the Moon Base¡­ They deserve to have a long rest after this fight.


    ''Perhaps, it''s better not to let them join in any more wars.'' Ace thought after considering the battles that they were put into.


    He''s nning to let the remaining magicians stay here until the war on Earth is over.


    "Avalon¡­ It''s time for me to return."


    [ Affirmative. ] The A.I. replied and quickly readied the spaceship that Ace would have to use to descend on Earth.


    ***


    As soon as the Mage Battalion led by Troy saw the signal to start the Second Offensive, the multiple mobile elemental turrets and all their long-range mana spell activated¡­


    His mage battalionposed of thousands of magicians revealed their presence and removed their cloaking skills that hide their presence¡­


    Though they were detected by the Alien''s sensors after showing up, their spells and turrets were already thrown and bombarded the mining site destroying hundreds of workers androids, and imperial soldiers around¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of explosions urred as they cleaned up the ground forces of the aliens around¡­


    "Charge!" Troy gave hismand.


    He noticed that the Mech Frames and Marauder Gears of the aliens have started showing up¡­


    They were about 500 meters away from thending site of Alien Spaceships so it wouldn''t be long before more reinforcements woulde. They have to eliminate the forces in this mining site as quickly as possible.


    Thirty Airships from Zairus appeared from the sky and started firing at the Mech Frames¡­


    "Scatter!"


    Grand Arcanist Hallgrim, the onemanding the 30 Airships, noticed that 10 Mech Frames were about to fire their Subspace ster¡­


    These Dragon''s Warrior Mechs were too troublesome to deal with¡­


    Whom~


    The Subspace ster cleared the sky¡­ However, the force behind those cannons was still too powerful and broke their formation. The nearby airships that were near the line of fire even have their machines malfunction!


    They would have to do an emergencynding at this rate!


    "Attack them now!"


    Hallgrim shouted¡­ There Mech Frames were not invincible¡­ Firing an extremely powerful Subspace ster would still overheat their Mechs¡­


    They have to take this opportunity and destroy them.


    As expected, the remaining Lucent Knights and Iron Knights of the Sky Raven Manorunch abined assault on the group of Dragon''s Mech¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    They are carrying Mana Bomb Launchers and decided to use them against the Mech Frames¡­


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t sessful¡­ They just saw a moonlight aura emanating from various Mech Frames before their Mana Bomb Launchers were made useless¡­


    "Retreat¡­ That''s the Serpent Mech''s Twilight Armor Tech. You have to proceed with the n¡­ Just trap them here until the reinforcements from the Invader Spaceships arrives¡­" Hallgrim said after noticing that not only the Dragon Mechs were here but the Serpent Mechs and Wolf Mechs have also arrived.


    "Affirmative!" The leader of the small Knight Division replied.


    If the Wolf Mechs joined in the fight with their Psionic Pulse Technology, they would have an extremely tough battle here and they could easily lose the whole fight in a single exchange.


    Unless they get help from Wace''s Lotus Mechs with their Radiant Wave Technology, they couldn''t fight them directly.

 Chapter 420 - Second Offensive ( 3 )

    The Mage Battalion started their assault against the android miners and their protectors¡­


    While this is all happening, Avalon''s forces were also riling up the Imperial Army to bring the fight near the mining site.??


    The forces were made of automatons and Mech Knights fully controlled by the A.I.


    The only downside with the A.I.''s army was that they were unable to use any Mana Spells or Mana Artifacts installed in them.


    However, it was still enough to create troubles for the Imperial Army¡­


    Their Hadron Cannons and Radiant Wave can still damage the alien''s spaceships and destroy their Mechs. As a matter of fact, it was a bit more effective since the aliens were expecting Mana Spells to rain on them.


    They seem to have adjusted their barrier to defend the spells but it backfired to them.


    Beep!


    [ 190 Mech Frames and 314 Khrusams Detected. ]


    [ Prepare to transition into Phase 2 ]


    [ Prepare to transition into Phase 2 ]


    Avalon repeated to ensure that the whole army is aware of the uing battle.


    [ Special Arians Team, remain on standby. ]


    [ Virgan Mage Battalion, proceed to encircle the Invader Spaceships. ]


    [ All automatons from Maja, clean up the remaining androids and marauders gears onnd. ]


    [ Golden Mech Team, protect the Fourth Airship at all costs. More Subspace ster Cannons will be fired. ]


    Avalon did its best to control the situation. However, it is still up to them to fight against the aliens. Their skills and magic would still matter in a close-range fight against the imperial soldiers.


    Ross Schien looked at the situation below and as expected, the Airships above started getting attention.


    It is only a matter of time before the Mech Frames would be sent to destroy them. Their team has to protect the airships especially the Fourth Veritas Airship where the Cryptic Mages are currently waiting.


    Whom~ Whom~


    He then noticed that the most troublesome Mech Frames called Wolf''s Sledger started flying towards their spot.


    These Sledgers have bulky brown armor tes and are carryingrge cannons on their arms. Aside from that, they are capable of creating a powerful active force field that allows them to defend against their Mana Spells.


    Finally, their Psionic Pulse that ignores their Mana Shells and defenses were too powerful¡­ Luckily, they only have to buy some time to fight them and a few Mech Knights controlled by Avalon will also help them a bitter.


    "Everyone!"


    He didn''t have to say more as the Lucent Knights with long swords and guns on their arms went into their formation.


    They wouldn''t allow them to get near to the Airships.


    "Charge!"


    There is no point engaging in longe range battle against the Sledger Mech Knights. They would be at a disadvantage if that happens. They were already aware that the Psionic Pulse can also affect their Mech Frames so it is better used against enemies from afar.


    This is why they brought out their swords and forced them to engage in closebat.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    One of the Lucent Knights managed to hit the armor of the Mech Frame but instead of them being sliced, their sword weapons were destroyed!


    "Aah! Helped!"


    Ross heard a member of the Lucent Force and immediately took a nce to see what was happening.


    He saw another Lucent Knight managed to destroy a cannon meant to fire the Psionic Pulse¡­ It was indeed a sessful task but unfortunately, the Wolf''s Sledger Mech wasn''t just good with that technology¡­


    He saw the Mech Frame opened its burning palm and crushed the Lucent Knight blocking its way.


    Their Mech Knights were melted and destroyed by such a powerful technology!


    They have never used this before in the First Offensive!


    "Tsk! Everyone, do not let the enemy Mech touch you with their palms. Be careful!"


    Ross could no longer save the pilot but he can at least warn the other Mech Knights fighting with him.


    ''We can''t be overwhelmed here¡­''


    [ The enemy reinforcements will be here in 40 seconds. ] Avalon reported which gave him hope¡­


    They just have to survive for a bit longer and the Cryptic Mages and Wace''s Mech Knights with Radiant Wave would be able to help them¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    He then saw the automatons from Maja and the Mage Battalion from Virgan started engaging against the Bio-Armored Imperial Soldiers.


    The soldiers were visibly stronger like a mini Mech Frame as they can kill all the battle mages and automatons blocking their way¡­ It looks like a one-side battle to him.


    If this continues, those on the ground would be annihted.


    However, he doesn''t have time to worry about them¡­


    "Dodge!"


    He detected the activation of Subspace ster thanks to his enhanced senses¡­ However, a few of the Mech Knights were still caught by the ster obliterating thempletely¡­


    The ster didn''t even end there and still managed to hit the hull of one of the airships above them¡­


    Luckily, the Fourth airship was quite far from the line of fire.


    Ross then continued casting various mana spells to deter the enemy mech frames¡­ He wasn''t that talented in terms of casting spells but he could at least dual cast.


    Casting a Fire Arrow using one of his Mech Knight''s Mana Artifacts while casting a Mana Bullet on the other was still something he could do so easily.


    The other members of his team and do the same as they started pressuring the enemies¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    Two of the Mech Frames near him suddenly exploded after a red and ck wave passed through them¡­


    ''Radiant Wave!''


    He easily noticed the special technology of Wace''s Mech Knights as he looked in the direction where they came from.


    He saw ten of these Lotus Mech Knights as they rushed to their help¡­ Because they attacked from behind the Sledger''s they were unable to properly dodge as they quickly cleaned up their forces.


    On the other hand, the Dragon''s Warrior Mechs were currently dealing with the bombardment of 20 or so Airships from the sky¡­ It will not be easy for them to fire their Subspace ster again¡­


    ''Since they are already here¡­ The enemy reinforcements should be arriving¡­''


    Ross thought and looked behind the Lotus Mechs¡­


    As expected, hundreds of Khrusams together with Mech Frames were chasing them¡­


    Finally, it''s time for the Cryptic Mages to use their newly-acquired power.

 Chapter 421 - Forbidden Magic

    "The Imperial Soldiers areing¡­ Activate your Mana Shells!" A man from Virgan shouted as he struck the ground with his staff.


    The staff is one of his three Grade A Mana Artifacts and its mere presence increases the morale of his troops.


    He is the only Grand Sage sent here to takemand of the troops sent here to Zairus. Beside him are 10 Adept Mages acting as his support.


    Apparently, the five Sages that went here with him were tasked to takemand of their own unitposed of 100 Adepts and 500 Battle Mages.


    Thud! Thud!


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The Mages answered as the battle in the sky already started. They didn''t bring any Airships or Steel Knights with them so they have to let the forces from Maja and Zairus take care of the air supremacy.


    They only have to focus on the ground forces of the aliens.


    "Hey¡­ Avalon. Give me the timing to use our Forbidden Mana Spell."


    [ Yes, Sir Ferhad. Just let the Mages that will participate stay on your back. ]


    "Hmm¡­ Very well¡­ We''ll ughter these fodders first from the Empire then."


    Ferhad Hawraz, the second Grand Sage of Virgan, appears to be in his forties. He doesn''t have a muscr body but his Robe that protects his body can probably endure a few hits from the alien''s beam cannons.


    Their country is famous for creating top-quality Artifacts and each mage here has the highest quality of Artifacts suited for them.


    "Petrification!"


    "Petrification!"


    All the frontline Mages cast a simr spell¡­ It is petrification magic that is categorized as a Grade 3 Mana Spell.


    Crack! Crack!


    The armored soldiers started turning into stone! Because of the prior information they received, they have realized that Petrification Spells works well against the armored soldiers and Marauder Gears.


    On the other hand, it is ineffective against the Mech Frames with powerful forcefield and Spaceships with a unique armor made of space alloy.


    Most of the spells being thrown to them were just being dispersed or their effectivity would barely affect them.


    "Hmm?"


    Ferhad noticed that a hundred or so Imperial Soldiers were hit by the petrification spell. It was sessful and they started turning into stone¡­


    However, the other soldiers behind them would just hit their fellow soldiers with a beam of light from their guns and the spell would be canceled!


    ''They didn''t use this technique in the first offensive¡­ Tsk¡­ They''re adapting too quickly.'' The Grand Sage doesn''t know what kind of gun they have but it seems that their technology is a grade higher than what he had thought.


    Soon, he noticed that the armors of the Imperial Soldiers would change their forms. They would fire their guns and rifles to the magicians but once they''ve gotten near, their armor would change to a closebat form.


    There would be spikes and des appearing that could deter the Magicians from battling from close range¡­ Then, the soldiers would pull out a glowing sword and a single sh of their de can cut the magicians in half!


    Their Mana Shells couldn''t even affect the speed of their swings.


    ''Magic Defense is not effective? This is bad¡­''


    They have to avoid being hit by that sword until they learned how to counter it.


    [ They are using Photon Swords. Closebat is not advice. Sending Automatons on your side to assist. ]


    [ ETA: 35 seconds ]


    Avalon quickly acted after noticing that the enemies have brought out the swords.


    During the first offensive, this weapon wasn''t used by many. Perhaps, the Empire is also worried that these advanced tech weapons would be in their hands.


    However, it seems that they are no longer thinking of that as they are finally showing most of their weapons.


    Boom! Boom!


    The Imperial Soldiers were unstoppable at this point. They could fire their Mana Spells, be it Fire Balls, Wind des, Earth Hold, and Water Vortex, they weren''t able to see their expected results.


    [ The enemies have entered their range. Both Maja and Virgan''s special magicians can now use your Forbidden Magic. ]


    "Finally!"


    The Grand Sage then gave his signal to start activating their forbidden spell.


    It will take them a minute to aplish this and would easily garner attention. It wouldn''t be surprising if the soldiers, Mechs, Khrusams, and Marauders Gears would focus on the group of mages.


    Ferhad knows about this that''s why he''s been holding himself to cast any spell since the start of the battle.


    He needed to protect the magicians during that time and if he can, but the enemies were in the effective range of their spell.


    "Earth''s Grip¡­"


    "Wind Wall¡­"


    "me Tower!"


    Three spells were cast at the same time. He might be unlike Hayden who could cast 9 spells at the same time, but the power that his magic could make is still considered a lot stronger.


    The aliens realized that they could no longer advance forward¡­ They are even enduring the heat of the me Tower that the Grand Sage cast.


    "Whoa~ Finally!"


    "The Grand Sage made his move!"


    "Everyone, gather here!"


    "Heaven''s Treatment!"


    As soon as Ferhad used his skills, his soldiers know that the casting of the Forbidden Spell is starting.


    They gathered together and one of the sages who have healing magic quickly used it to treat most of the injured.


    Nevertheless, although Ferhad''s skill could cover about six hundred meters in range, there are still other aliens who were now rushing to the 500 or so magicians casting the taboo magic.


    "You will stay here!"


    "Earth Wall"


    The remaining adepts blocked the path of the soldiers.


    Boom! Boom!


    However, their magic is weakerpared to the ones cast by the Grand Sage. The armored soldiers were able to ignore their attacks!


    ''This is bad! They''ll reach the mages!''


    They have to quickly block them!


    They tried casting various spells and even started blocking them with their bodies!


    Luckily, before the soldiers reached their forbidden spell casters, a group of powerful automatons and two Lotus Mech Knights managed to block them!


    Avalon''s help arrived in time!


    They quickly used their Radiant Wave to deter the enemies and let the magicians continue their attack¡­


    Finally, after sessfully buying time, they have finished casting the spell!


    "Twilight Invocation: Mana Storm!"


    "Mana Haunt: Life Drain!"


    Atst, the two forbidden spells from Maja and Virgan were finally released!

 Chapter 422 - Returning

    As the name suggests, the forbidden magic called ''Twilight Invocation: Mana Storm'' can create powerful and violent mana simr to the level of Mana Cmity or perhaps, even stronger¡­


    After all, this spell was activated by 500 magicians cooperating in a single goal.


    Whoosh~


    A huge wave of mana threw off the Imperial Soldiers and even the Marauder Gears and Mech Frames near the ground were caught in the disaster¡­


    Crack! Crack!


    The Mana Storm continues as the trees including the ground lifted¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The chaos created by the spell was incredible¡­ About 300 Imperial Soldiers were caught in that attack¡­


    Finally¡­ The magicians from Virgan have some time to breathe. They were already losing hope when they realized that their Grade 1 to 3 Mana Spells were unable to even dent their armors, however, it seems that they just have to use somebination spells to increase the power of their attack to defeat them¡­


    "Attack!"


    Fehradmanded his team and charged towards the immobilized aliens and finished them off.


    They are already injured and their bio-armors were heavily damaged. It would be easy for them to deal the finishing blow.


    "12-Waves Echo Punch¡­"


    It is a simple Grade 2 spell with many variations. It is not meant to destroy the armor of the enemies but to target the person inside.


    This spell damages their opponents'' internal organs and effectively killing them. Even if they somehow managed to survive, there was no way that they would still have enough strength to pose a threat to them.


    Their pacing is going well¡­


    On the other side of the battlefield, the automatons of Maja managed to fight against the aliens with equal terms after using a Forbidden Spirit Art¡­


    The "Mana Haunt: Life Drain" targets a whole area and disturbs the spirits of all living things. The Imperial Soldiers has greatly weakened and were unable to fight back at all.


    Perhaps, if they can continuously cast the spell, the war will be an easy win for the magicians. Unfortunately, learning the forbidden spells takes a lot of time, and not even every magician can pull it off.


    Aside from that, those who finished casting the spell would receive a bacsh¡­ In short, they will be incapable ofbat for quite a while, which is not a good idea in this kind of war.


    "This-- Not even those spells are enough to kill these invaders¡­ Just how strong are they?"


    "Don''t give up¡­ They''re still alive but it''s just because of their unknown armors."


    "Focus! Don''t waste your energy chatting! Just listen to yourmander''s instructions!"


    The Mages couldn''t believe how the aliens were still able to survive with those two spells.


    If they were inside the Life Drain and Mana Storm''s area of effect, they would surely die even with the highest rank of Mana Artifact they have.


    This is why many of them were surprised about how tough they are.


    ***


    Ace has been monitoring the war happening on the¡­ the war against the Seiji Alliance in the border, the special forces assigned to eliminate the headquarters in Seiji, and the Second Offensive which appears to be going well after the forbidden spells are cast.


    "This is going well¡­ However, the Terubs and most of the Khrusams aren''t making their move yet¡­"


    Ace touched his chin as hemented on the current state of war. It looks like they are at advantage but he knows that the aliens still have a lot more to offer.


    "Hmm?"


    Avalon suddenly highlighted the attacks made by the Cryptic Mages against the Khrusams that are moving in the mining site''s direction¡­


    "They used the Corpse Furnace!"


    The young man saw that ck energy appearing from the furnace. They were used by the Cryptics and not the Khrusams! The energy sessfully targeted the Khrusams including the marauder gears behind them¡­ They must''ve been surprised by that!


    At first, he was a bit worried that the aliens would be able to control the Death Energy they have released but it appears that they couldn''t freely do so.


    "Incredible¡­ I wonder how Miya and the others did it."


    Ace mused after seeing its effectivity.


    Then, Avalon switched the highlighted live feed and turned to the moving Arians¡­


    These Aliens were supposedly sent to Earth to raise awareness to people and make them Veda''s experiment¡­ Ace didn''t think too far ahead about the assistance they could provide in this war.


    However, it just happened that the things they''ve collected from Omen were still quite useful.


    They still have plenty of mind stones with them and they can finally be put to use. Ace didn''t care whether they would be all consumed in this war since this thing shouldn''t really exist on this.


    He ordered them to use the stones as they see fit as long as they could fight the aliens.


    "Avalon¡­ I want to see the effectiveness of the Mind Stones against the Imperial Soldiers. Focus on them."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The A.I. has been switching the highlighted video based on what it deemed to be a crucial part of this war.


    Finally, Ace saw the group of armored Arians. They are wearing their spacebat suit as it helps them filter the surrounding mana.


    Apparently, though they managed to get help from Veda to get used to the surrounding mana, they still have to lessen the intensity of it.


    It is perhaps simr to the Imperial Soldiers that''s why they can''t remove their armors yet.


    Ace then saw a wand or perhaps staff being pulled out by the Arians. He can easily see an embedded Mind Stone at the tip of the weapon¡­


    They were able to get near to the spaceships thanks to the luring that the army has done for them.


    "This¡­"


    As soon as the Mind Stones were activated by the Arians, it created a blinding light in the surrounding area. The light doesn''t appear to be harmful but anyone who could see that light seems to create a simple effect of hypnosis¡­


    Even Ace, who''s only watching from afar felt a bit of this though he managed to quickly wake up from it¡­


    "Mind Stone¡­ Just what kind of power is this?" Ace felt a little lost.


    It seems that he really has to remove all kinds of alien things after this war. The secret of mana is already enough for this world.


    Ace smiled wryly as he looked at his window¡­ His spaceship is still on its track and on its way to Earth and it will probably take a day before could reach its orbit.

 Chapter 423 - Planetary Invasion ( 1 )

    Ace felt a little rmed by the incredible effect of that light.


    He didn''t think that he, who was only watching through a screen, was also slightly affected by the mind stone¡­ It was incredible and quite terrifying to imagine.


    Luckily, he wasn''t the targeted party so he was let off so easily.


    "Avalon¡­ What was that mind stone''s effect? Veda didn''t include a report about this kind of power."


    Ace only used the mind stones in outer space simr to how the Arians are using them in their explosives. It creates confusion to the enemies and once injected by mana, it actually creates stronger destruction in the surroundings.


    [ Analyzing¡­ ]


    Avalon perhaps found something from that light and quickly extracted information.


    [ Analysis Complete. ]


    [ Encrypted messages in low-frequency sound were included in that light¡­ ]


    "Encrypted message?"


    [ Yes. The burst of light from the Mind Stone wasn''t just a normal light. It includes an almost inaudible voice or messageing from the Arians. ]


    [ I''m unable to analyze the message but it is probably a form of suggestion or hypnosis being amplified by the Mind Stone. ]


    "That''s---That''s incredible, Avalon. I didn''t think that you''ve managed to catch that." Ace praised the A.I. a little.


    [ Yes¡­ It appears to be a message at a frequency that a human ear can''t pick up, but enough for the mental perception to do so. This makes the target unaware of the hypnosis message they are getting. I could no longer analyze it further than that. ]


    "Hmmm¡­ I see¡­ So sound a bit dangerous then¡­ I hope it''s effective against the aliens."


    Ace pondered as he observed the Arians on the screen. The target of that light is the aliens inside the spaceships in that region.


    Of course, the other soldiers and Khrusams nearby had to also endure that attack.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Series of explosions suddenly urred inside the spaceships!


    Their hypnosis is effective!


    Ace doesn''t know what''s happening inside but it''s not hard to guess that the burst of light from the mind stones was actually effective!


    However, as everyone on the battlefield was about to celebrate, they noticed that the Khrusams weren''t affected by the light.


    It appears that only those armored soldiers were affected!


    The Khrusams advanced with a much stronger force as each of them started activating their Third Eyes!


    They are no longer here to probe the natives but to eliminate them¡­


    Aside from that, the Invader Spaceships including the Conveyors had finally released their Destroyer Battleships!


    These battleships are those that only carry explosives¡­ They are meant to be used for bombardment!


    Avalon immediately warned everyone on the battlefield!


    However, there were still too many Mech Frames around so they couldn''t easily retreat. Turning their backs to the enemies would just help the aliens kill them quickly.


    On the other hand, the Death Energy of the Khrusams with opened Third Eye is stronger than the energy released by the Cryptic Mages¡­ They are at disadvantage!


    Bam!


    The bombardment against the Mage Battalions including the Airships and Arians has started!


    ***


    Ace realized that it is not looking good. It seems that the Imperial Army is ready to go all out at this moment.


    Beep!


    [ The 6 ck Sovereign Spaceships in Guwain started moving. ]


    "What? Where are they going?"


    [ They are all moving in different directions. ]


    Avalon then showed the path of the six. They have left the Imperial gship with the two Conveyor Spaceships!


    The ck Sovereign seems to be headed to other countries!


    Beep!


    [ Their targets may be the mining sites or locations where memory crystals can also be found but in a very small amountpared to their first targets¡­ ]


    Avalon added its report. Luckily, they have long gathered all the information of other mining sites so it''s now quite easy to predict their moves.


    "Memory Crystals again¡­ So they are just scanning the surroundings until this time?" Ace muttered as he looked at the six mining spots highlighted by Avalon.


    [ It appears so. However, it seems that they are also in a hurry. Perhaps, the Imperial Soldiers they have don''t have enough time as well. ]


    Ace quickly understood what Avalon was trying to say.


    The memory crystals are most likely an item that will allow their Imperial Soldiers to withstand the Mana Rejection in their bodies. If it''s not for that, it doesn''t make sense how they are prioritizing taking them instead of conquering thend with their incredible firepower.


    Perhaps, they are reserving their spaceship''s energy and thinking of moving out of the if they couldn''t get the crystals they needed in time.


    "I couldn''t think of a reason¡­ However, this is the only exnation why the Imperial Soldiers look so weak¡­"


    Ace muttered after analyzing a bit.


    The Bio-Armored Soldiers carrying advanced tech weapons seem to be having a hard time. They weren''t like how he imagined them to be. In the end, he can only me the environment they were in so they are unable to show their full strength.


    As for the memory crystals that they are collecting, Ace including the two Artificial Intelligence wasn''t aware of how it works. So it was a bit surprising that the Empire have prior knowledge about this¡­


    ''Haa~ The Empire will probably have control over three more countries after this¡­''


    Right now, the Imperial Army has fully taken the State of Kazan.


    The citizens of Guwain had also started moving away since they have realized that the aliens weren''t that friendly to them¡­


    Any Airships, Steel Knights, and Magicians nearing to them would be shot down without any questions. It is only a matter of time that the aliens will start attacking them.


    For now, Ace can only pray that Wace and the Celestial Being would make their move soon.


    ''Just where are those two anyway?''


    Ace can feel that his other half is still not dead¡­ However, aside from that, he no longer has an idea of what''s happening to him.


    If he didn''t make his move yet, the entire would probably sumb to the Empire.

 Chapter 424 - Planetary Invasion ( 2 )

    The Second Offensive against the aliens didn''t go well as they have expected.


    The tenacity of the Imperial Soldiers was something that they have miscalcted. Even after they managed to attack them using the Cryptic Mage''s Death Energy, they can still strongly resist as they use theirser rifles to deal with the magicians.


    Though the Magicians have Brain-Boosting Magic that allows them to react faster than an average person, the aliens had also received several enhancements! And aside from that, the aliens only have to pull the trigger of their weapons, unlike the magicians that still require a certain level of concentration to sessfully cast their spells.


    That dy is enough for the aliens to take advantage of and pressure them¡­


    At this time, even the Destroyers joined the battle and wiped out a huge number of their mages.


    Boom! Boom!


    Huge explosions created by Aether Bombs urred!


    The magicians including the aliens were being thrown away by the sheer force of the explosion. At this point, even if they have the presence of mana acting as a neutron jammer, they are still unable to escape the power of Aether.


    This type of energy is something that even Avalon couldn''t carelessly touch. The knowledge it has to control aether is not enough. They would need the technology and materials simr to what GH Drive has to even try to think of making this level of Aether Bombs¡­


    "Retreat! Retreat!"


    "We''ll wait until they finish the bombardment. Take cover for now!"


    It doesn''t matter which country they are in, the order is absolute and they have to follow if they wanted to survive.


    Their Mana Shells and other Mana Spells they know couldn''t defend against such bombing.


    Perhaps, if they have set up arge Array, they might be able to defend against it. However, it is not the case and there''s no way that the aliens would allow them to build such an array near them as well...


    Boom! Boom!


    The series of explosions continued as 12 Airships were already taken down!


    They have a slower movementpared to ze Battleship that can agilely move. Aside from that, it can also use multiple CIWS to trigger the explosion of the bombs before getting near them.


    [ The Arians will be using their Mind Stones again. This will be thest time they can use it and it will no longer be effective against the aliens. Please use this chance to kills the aliens and destroy their spaceships. ]


    Avalon reported after a while.


    The effect of the Mind stone could onlyst for about 30 seconds. During their first attempt, they did manage to cause internal issues but the extent of damage wasn''t that great as they could still start such heavy bombardment.


    Nevertheless, it is still quite effective than just forcefully destroying their forcefield and their armor.


    "Very well¡­ I''ll take the lead¡­" Hallgrim looked at the surroundings as replied to Avalon. There''s no longer any grass or trees around.


    There''s only a barrennd after the series of explosions.


    Though many of his troops managed to survive¡­ More than 40 percent of them suffered injuries and they must be treated quickly.


    At the very least, it seems that the Destroyers have already used their bombs and they have to resupply in their spaceship to do it again.


    There''s no way that he would let them do as they please!


    He ordered some of his men to bring the injured to safety while the remaining men to get ready.


    He needs to wait until the hiding Arians activated their Mind Stones again¡­ The first time they did this, they quickly retreated to a safe ce to make sure that they will still have thisst chance¡­


    However, for this second time, they will be joining the fight against the aliens.


    If they didn''t act now, the aliens might think of gathering together and increasing their force.


    It would be disadvantageous for them especially if they have to deal with the Terubs.


    Hallgrim nced at Hayden and Troy''s Battalion and they seem to be aiming for the remaining Imperial Soldiers as well.


    He knows how they feel, these armored soldiers that they thought as fodder were actually all strong.


    Their closebat abilities together with their advanced tech weapons are very hard to deal with even with their Grade 3 Mana Spells.


    If they wanted to win, they have to move together and cast Grade 4 or even Grade 5 spells to obliterate them.


    Unfortunately, casting such powerful spells normally takes some time as it requires plenty of mana aside from its requirement of having top-ss Mana Artifacts.


    Soon, a bright light covered the entire battlefield as the Arians sessfully activated their mind stones¡­


    "Attack!"


    Hallgrim shouted¡­ They have prepared a Mana Spell to stop the light from affecting them. So they were able to quickly react and attack the Khrusams and Marauder Gears in the sky.


    Atst, the ze Battleships had also fired its Positron Cannon and targeted the spaceships!


    The spaceships may have a forcefield activated but this also stops them from firing their cannons!


    On the other hand, the Destroyers above were targeted by the remaining Airships and Mech Knights!


    And this wasn''t over¡­


    Trance, thest mid-tier Battleship at the level of Excellence appeared above the spaceships¡­


    It is carrying the Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun as it targeted one of the Conveyors on the ground!


    Even the magicians of the allied forces weren''t aware of its presence until now!


    As soon as the gun reaches a critical point¡­ A red tower of light pierced through the Conveyor !


    Finally! Another was Conveyor was spaceship was destroyed!


    There is a total of 7 Invader Spaceships and 3 Conveyors in the Ste Region. One of the Conveyors was destroyed by Grand Sage ine while the second one was destroyed by Trance!


    Boom!


    It created a huge explosion as it affected the nearby Invaders!


    Apparently, ine Allusia has already woken up and was able to speak with one of Avalon''s Elysiums. He was finally able to ry his message to Ace¡­


    Right now, Avalon has discovered that the Conveyors were actually carrying infant Space Beasts!


    ****Read Author''s Notes.

 Chapter 425 - Planetary Invasion ( 3 )

    The Trance Battleship that was previously used as a transportation vessel also has tremendous firepower in its arsenal.


    It has particle beam cannons, elemental turrets, mana bombunchers, and others¡­


    However, these weapons don''t have the strongest prative power. This is why Ace has to instruct Avalon to mount the Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun in order to deal with the Conveyors Spaceships.


    If it is used in a closer range, it would have a much more devastating power that even with his current technology, he would have difficulty stopping it.


    Right now, all the crews inside Trance were all automatons controlled by Avalon.


    Boom!


    Another explosion urred after the Conveyor Spaceship was destroyed. It means that there is only a single Conveyor remaining in Ste Region!


    "Haha! Take that!" Hallgrimughed after seeing the destruction.


    Their Magicians were still having a hard time fighting the Imperial Soldiers but seeing the result of the Altitude Gun''s attack made him feel slightly better.


    This also increased the morale of the troops!


    Nevertheless, the battle is still not over as the Trance Battleships must also destroy thest Conveyor. Ace is aware that once the Space Beast managed to wake up, this will be in huge trouble¡­


    Bam! Bam!


    Multiple missiles and bullets hit the barrier of Trance. Right now, all the Invader Spaceships are aiming at the Battleship in the sky. Thetter is unable to fire its Altitude Gun again as it has to defend against them¡­


    It wouldn''t even be a surprise if it is taken down after a few more seconds.


    "Target the Invader Spaceships! Lessen the burden of the battleship! Hurry!"


    "Alright¡­ We''ll switch our target now!"


    The remaining Cryptic Mages who have control with the Corpse Furnaces started aiming at the Spaceships¡­


    They already know the effectiveness of the Death Energy against the Imperial Soldiers or even the Khrusams¡­ However, they haven''t tried it with the spaceship yet so it''s a good time to experiment as well.


    Of course, it''s also a good thing that the Arians have already dealt some damages to the spaceships with their Mind Stones¡­


    ***


    ''This is bing chaotic¡­'' Ace muttered as he continuously observers the battlefield.


    He saw the heated battle and noticed how his Trance is receiving attacks in all directions¡­ Though he didn''t mind that it will get destroyed, he still felt that it could still do more as long as it manages to escape from here.


    Unfortunately, it seems to be too difficult to happen.


    He can even see that the Invader Spaceship''s engines are activated and ready to fly and chase on it. Even if Trance manages to avoid being destroyed by their bombardment, being chased by such a huge spaceship will be simr to its execution at this point.


    Beep!


    [ Independent Avalon #77 Detected¡­ ]


    [ Poor Connection¡­ ]


    [ Reconnecting¡­ ]


    [ Connection Established¡­ ]


    "Avalon, what''s going on?" Ace asked in confusion. He was just suddenly notified by the A.I. but he has no clue what it''s talking about¡­


    [ You asked me to give you a real-time report once I managed to find the Avalon that Wace brought with him. ]


    As soon as the A.I. said this, Ace''s face immediately lightened up and understood what was happening.


    "Haha! Finally¡­ That took a lot of his time¡­ Was that more than three days? Just what happened to him?"


    Ace muttered as he looked at the screen giving full details about the location where Wace was sent into¡­


    "Eh? Isn''t that in Guwain? Wait¡­ They''re facing the Imperial gship?! What''s going on?!"


    ***


    Several days ago, when Wace was captured by the Terub during their fight, he realized that he still has enough power to just use his Void Phase to escape.


    Aside from that, he still has another ability that can help him survive. Some of them were the Secret Art: Awakening of Thunder and Lightning and his 7th Generation Artifact or his Sentient Mana Core.


    Then, he alreadypleted all the missions that the Pathfinder can give during his stay on the Northern Continent.


    Due to this reason, he was already rewarded with the Essence Reconstruction which is why it would be very difficult for him to die even he wanted to.


    Though he would probably miss the Pathfinder, he already reached the limit of power that the Cube of Paradox can provide to a Knight Commander like him.


    Perhaps, he can get more rewards if he managed to get the other Cubes of Paradox. After all, he started with his Knight-Level ess and was promoted to Knight Commander after finding the broken pieces of another Cube before.


    Bang!


    Wace and the huge Terub passed into a distorted space and he was dropped on a steel ground.


    ''Void Phase? No¡­ It has simrities but it''s different. What was that?''


    He wanted to ask Avalon but he realized that powerful energy simr to an EMP was activated in his surroundings.


    Nevertheless, he thought of how this Empire has the technology of creating wormholes in outer space so it was probably simr to that¡­ He''s just unaware of the condition needed to fulfill to use it.


    Wace then started observing his surroundings.


    He''s currently at the bottom of such a tall room¡­ All the walls are made of ss but he can feel a sinister auraing from it.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t alone in the room as he''s still together with the Terub who brought him here.


    ''What now? I thought I''ll be meeting some members of the inquisition¡­'' Wace mused as he looked at the Terub.


    He then saw another distortion in space and noticed that the huge Terub started vanishing¡­


    ''Whoa~ Incredible¡­ It looks much better than my Void Phase.'' Wacemented in his mind without getting worried.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    He then heard several footsteps above the tall room and realized that a group of aliens is looking down on him¡­


    From this group, one of them is a man wearing a robe indicating his noble status. Wace can see that the man looks beautiful and charismatic as the other aliens behind him were being overshadowed¡­


    He has an intimidating aura of a leader as he looks straight into Wace''s eyes.


    Thetter smiled and greeted the venerable person.


    "Finally¡­ I found you, Imperial Prince¡­"

 Chapter 426 - Planetary Invasion ( 4 )

    The Imperial Prince of the Meredith Empire¡­ He is someone that even most of the citizens of the Empire had never seen.


    The members of the Imperial Family had seldom shown their faces to the public. Only when it''s time of crisis they would normally appear.


    Aside from that, there are cases that if they n to conqueror a, they wouldn''t even participate and will just let their trusted subordinates do it for them.


    However, Wace is now facing one of the members of the Imperial n!


    Though he''s unsure which prince was this guy, he recognizes their feature.


    The man has white hair and green eyes, a feature of a pure-blooded Imperial descent, unlike Prince Zamphail¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Wace suddenly noticed that they''re walking away!


    "Hey! Aren''t you going to say something?! Why did you evene here?... Wait-Why did you capture me in the first ce?!"


    He thought that he could get some information from them but unfortunately, they have decided to walk away after observing him for a while!


    Wace was a bit flustered by that. He was already prepared on what to say and made several scenarios in his head.


    ''Ugh¡­ Nevermind¡­ Let''s wait for now and see their n¡­''


    Though he might seem bragging, he knows that he could escape here if he really wanted to. The empire might have powerful weapons or technology, but it doesn''t matter since he has some Mana Spells that defies logic.


    "Hey! Are you not going to feed me?!" Wace asked after waiting for about an hour.


    He thought that they must be observing his every action so he decided to call out. Whether they responded or not, it wouldn''t matter.


    He waited for half an hour but nothing happened.


    ''Well, this prison room is indeed filled with traps and powerful barriers. So it is probably not that easy to send some food for me¡­'' Wace made an excuse for the alien as silently sat on the floor.


    Now that he realized that no one if nning to disturb him here, Wace decided to investigate the whole Imperial gship¡­


    Divine Sense¡­


    It is truly a powerful ability andpletely different from the Artifact''s abilities that can be created by the Magic Engineers.


    The Divine Sense lives up to its name as it helps him analyze his surroundings and feel the presence of life around him.


    ''Hmm¡­ Their barrier managed to block my senses as expected¡­ However, it''s not enough!''


    Wace mused as he continued increasing the intensity of his ability.


    Soon, his Divine Sense can finallye out of his prison. It''s a good thing that no one can actually notice what he was doing thanks to their carelessness.


    ''Are they thinking that I''m not aware of how magic works?'' Wace suddenly had an idea. Since the Empire has fought against the magicians already, they should suspect that Wace knows a thing or two about magic.


    Nevertheless, they had probably put too much trust in their barrier¡­


    ''Let''s see¡­ Five Imperial Soldiers¡­ Eight... Twelve¡­ Fifteen¡­'' Wace counted the nearby enemies. He didn''t sense any Khrusams which he finds weird at first.


    However, as he expands his Divine Sense, he found three Terubs guarding not too far from his room! They are in a triangle position and ready to take him on if he ever managed to break out of his room.


    ''Ugh¡­ Since I''m captured by a single Terub, shouldn''t they maintain that number? Why would they suddenly increase¡­'' Wace thought as he continued scanning the surroundings.


    However, he noticed that there are many ces or rooms where his Divine Sense couldn''t prate!


    Perhaps the energy in that ce is too chaotic or they truly have a special device that can block his ability that they are also unaware of.


    ''Wait¡­ Is that--?!"


    Wace finally found another Major Race that hasn''t acted yet since the beginning!


    "Yorian Race! They''vee here¡­" The young man couldn''t help but be surprised. The Yorians arergely an Aquatic Race!


    They wouldn''t normally leave their which is covered mostly by water. Even though they have done it a few times through the empire''s help, it wouldn''t be such a long journey!


    Aside from that, the advancement of their race isrgely through the help of the Empire¡­ Perhaps, their race would just be happy living on their asrge as the Earth''s Sun if the Empire did not coerce them to conquer a few moresrgely covered by water.


    "Anyway¡­ It''s a good decision for them since this''s sea is still not being explored." Wace muttered after sensing the intelligent aquatic race.


    There''s quite a number of them but they are not that difficult to deal with. They would just normally rely on guns and other advanced tech weapons to fight onnd.


    However, they would be dangerous once the fight was brought in water.


    There was no way that the magicians or even Grand Sages could win against them if they are in their territory.


    Perhaps, only those with Secret Arts or Arcana would be capable of dealing with them.


    ''Hmm¡­ It''s good that there are only Yorians¡­ But¡­ what''s this?''


    Wace suddenly noticed arge room like a hangar within the gship.


    He thought that he would sense some Mech Frames or Destroyers inside¡­ However, he found a huge sleeping creature tied by several huge chains!


    There was no way he could mistake this! His divine sense can sense the life of his target! He knows that it''s still alive!


    ''They really brought a space beast here?! Crazy! This would be a disaster¡­ Is this really an invasion?! Or are they nning to destroy this?!''


    Wace doesn''t need Avalon''s calction ability to realize the problem that this could result in. The Imperial gship is huge and perhaps, 50 timesrger than his Excellence¡­ He wouldn''t be surprised if there are five or so tentacled Space Beasts inside!


    Anyway, it''s a good thing that they are still not being taken outside.


    Perhaps, this creature was also experiencing Mana Suffocation¡­


    If that is the truth, they really have to stop the Empire from collecting those Memory Crystals!


    "I can''t stay here any longer¡­ I need to get out¡­"


    Wace canceled his Divine Sense and stood up.


    He''s nning to use everything he had to escape here¡­


    However, as soon as he was about to use his Void Phase, he heard a voice in his head. The Celestial Being is looking for him!

 Chapter 427 - Planetary Invasion ( 5 )

    "So you''ve been hiding there¡­"


    The voice rang inside Wace''s head. It was the same painful but familiar voiceing from the Celestial Being!


    "Sir Celestial¡­ So you can still find me here?" Wace asked since he knows that this vessel disrupts any form of detectioning from the outside.


    This means that the Celestial has probably entered the spaceship or it is just capable of bypassing the defenses that the Empire has made!


    "Hmm¡­ It took a while since something is blocking my powers but it can still be done. This very interesting, human¡­ What kind of ce are you in?"


    The Celestial was surely curious about this Imperial gship.


    Anything that could restrict their powers is definitely something noteworthy.


    "I let myself be captured to investigate their ce¡­ and I guess I did the right thing¡­"


    "Ho~ Are you talking about the huge creatures hiding inside?"


    "Ahh¡­ That''s right¡­ I''ve only detected one of them but how many of them have you detected?"


    "There are four of them. They are as big as the Sea Kings under the sea."


    "Four Space Beasts? They''re really mad¡­ Anyway¡­ What''s this Sea King you''ve mentioned?" Wace asked curiously.


    He knows about the Sea Creatures but the Sea King was something he had heard just now.


    ''Is that a title given to the leader of the sea creatures?'' He thought.


    "You heard it right. They are huge creatures guarding this world''s sea. Well, they are quite an interesting bunch. I wonder if the creatures near you are part of their family¡­"


    The Celestial seems to be genuinely pondering so Wace quickly replied.


    "No, I don''t think so Sir Celestial. Though they look like something that woulde out of the sea, they are actually Space Beasts that roam the gxy. Once they matured, I heard that they can even swallow a star¡­"


    Wace said though it is probably an exaggeration since there was no recorded incident that they truly swallowed one.


    Nevertheless, he''s aware of how powerful they are even with their current state.


    "Sir Celestial, can you take care of them?"


    "I can do so¡­ However, they have a powerful being inside as well¡­ Perhaps on par with a Celestial like me¡­"


    "What, that powerful?! Maybe it is really another Celestial?"


    "No, I don''t think so. The being has a different form of energy. I can tell it''s not simr to the Astral Core¡­"


    The Celestial still sounded neutral. He doesn''t have nervousness or excitement upon discovering the powerful being.


    "I see¡­ But I guess it''s a good thing that there''s only one of them¡­" Wace still couldn''t believe this but he made sure to act calm in the situation as well.


    "What are you nning to do now, Sir Celestial?" The young man added after noticing the silence of the Celestial.


    "I would like to meet this powerful being."


    "I see¡­ That would be great. Please take their attention while I''ll do something about the Space Beasts¡­" Wace replied since he''s not too worried for the Celestial. If someone can truly kill this Being from the Empire, then perhaps, this is truly fated to be conquered.


    The Celestial did as he said and appeared in front of the Imperial gship!


    Boom!


    A powerful aura covered the whole spaceship! Nevertheless, it only happened for a few moments before another aura collided with it!


    It came from the being guarding the spaceship! Wace was unsure who this being was but it is definitely not the Imperial Prince¡­


    Aside from the gship, the surrounding spaceships were also hit by the powerful impact of the two auras.


    They are probably gauging each other''s strength before they n to attack...


    ''What now? If they truly fought here¡­ Perhaps, thend and the spaceships would be destroyed as well¡­'' Wace mused as he waited for them to fight. Once it happened, he would probably have a chance to try and do something about the Space Beasts¡­


    If there''s nothing he could do, he can only retreat and create a n to kill the beastster.


    As Wace waited for them to sh, he heard the voice of the Celestial Again.


    "Hmm¡­ The being is inviting me to fight somewhere else. They seem to be capable of manipting the fabric of space. I will follow him in the distortion he made. He probably wanted to bring the fight elsewhere. I will leave you now. I don''t think that you need my help there anyway."


    The Celestial said before cutting off their connection. He didn''t even wait for Wace to reply.


    ''Sigh~ So it''s like that, huh¡­''


    Wace wryly smiled after hearing the Celestial.


    Because of this, he decided to just continue investigating the structure of the Imperial Spaceship and memorizing them.


    Thanks to his Divine Sense, this task wasn''t impossible to make.


    After three days had passed, Wace realized that the Imperial Prince was truly just nning to wait until they have collected enough Memory Crystals!


    Apparently, he found out that the collected crystals were going into a furnace creating a special liquid that is being given to the Imperial Soldiers to consume!


    "So our guess isn''t wrong¡­ All the Soldiers who consumed started going out even without wearing their Bio-Armor¡­"


    Wace muttered after realizing this¡­ The liquid was perhaps something simr to Inheritance Pill but even more effective.


    "Well, I guess it''s time to move out¡­"


    He wanted to kill the Space Beasts at first since they truly poses threat to the world''s poption.


    However, they seem to be incapable of moving or they are unable to move at all due to the presence of mana.


    With this in mind, Wace decided not to waste his time trying to kill them since he didn''t even know if he could prate their skin.


    This is when he detected the furnace or the device that allows the Imperial Soldiers to move freely in this world!


    He needed to destroy that!


    If he failed to do so, there would be a lot more trouble for all the magicians once they faced these soldiers.


    As soon as he made up his mind, Wace stood up and ced his hands on the wall of his room¡­


    "Traceless Oscition¡­"

 Chapter 428 - Planetary Invasion ( 6 )

    Wace no longer needed his Mana Artifact to cast this spell.


    Thanks to his Synthetic Mana Core, his body has basically be a medium to cast spells.


    This is simr to everyone who had decided to consume the Seventh Generation Mana Artifact Liquid that is made from the life of other Mana Practitioners.


    As soon as activated the Mana Spell, it caught the activation of the three Terubs who are faithfully guarding him¡­


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The prison that was meant to trap him started copsing. It seems that the intensity of a magician''s spell is something that the empire has miscalcted¡­


    "What are you doing?"


    The Terubs arrived while he was trying to destroy the wall¡­


    One of them asked in a cold voice as he clenched his fist. It seems that he''s ready to fight against Wace if he decided to continue.


    The young man ignored him for a moment and looked at the cracks on the wall.


    ''I can copse it but it takes quite some time, huh¡­'' Wace thought as he quickly made his calctions. Perhaps, he would need about 40 seconds to destroy the walls of the room.


    He can also try using his Void Phase but he had a feeling that it would be better to not show it to them.


    Right now, the Terubs are only thinking that his Void Phase was some kind of fast movement instead of using the void to travel¡­


    If he showed that he could move outside the room without touching the walls, then they would be able to understand the principle of his ability and he somehow didn''t like that.


    He felt that he should be the one learning their limitations and not them studying his powers.


    "Well¡­ You''re not giving me food so I''m nning to get one myself."


    Wace said as he stopped his Traceless Oscition for now.


    He then saw that the walls started repairing themselves after he stopped his spell. It was quite an interesting site and it was probably rted to nanotechnology.


    He can''t be too sure since Avalon''s terminal is deactivated.


    "Don''t do something unnecessary. We are still analyzing your body Your food will arrive in an hour."


    "Alright, thank you! But did you say you are analyzing my body now?" Wace asked as he realized that they are probably using some kind of x-ray.


    "Yes¡­ Your secret will be revealed in a few hours so don''t do something stupid."


    The Terub was surprisingly talkative after all this time. He was even informed about what they are doing now.


    ''Interesting¡­ Are they trying to see my reactions? Perhaps they are waiting for me to try and do something about their x-ray? Wait--Do they want me to release another mana spell? Hmmm¡­''


    Wace was lost in his thought as he tries to understand what these aliens are nning now.


    When he was told not to do something, it feels like he was actually being challenged to try and do something within the room.


    It feels like whatever he does, they are nning to watch and study it with their technology¡­


    Now, the question is that would he try to do something or just silently wait here?


    ''I can''t detect any kind of device that is watching me. They have hidden it so well, huh¡­ What kind of technology is this¡­ Oh! It''s the Yorians!''


    Wace suddenly guessed how they are observing his movement without using their technology.


    Since Avalon is not working, it means that any other technology is probably not functioning within the room as well.


    With this in mind, Wace could guess that it was done by the Aquatic Race. As far as he knows, they are some kind of experts in Mystical Abilities¡­


    ''Well¡­ Let me use my Divine Sense again to confirm¡­'' Wace thought for a moment.


    Right now, the Celestial is most likely still battling somewhere far away against the most powerful being of the Empire''s Fleet.


    He''s unsure how long their battle wouldst but he doesn''t have the time to wait for them. Their battle couldst for a week or even a month.


    With the amount of energy that the Celestial has, he wouldn''t be surprised if that truly happened.


    ''Alright. I should just focus on making a n. At the very least, I only now have to worry about these Terubs¡­'' Wace then continued using his Divine Sense to ensure that he had foundpletely understand the blueprint of the gship that he made in his head.


    A few days had passed just like that and he was fed with a familiar nutrients bar from time to time. Though it wouldn''t matter if he doesn''t eat for a long time due to his Astral Core, he still decided to eat them after confirming that they aren''t harmful¡­


    After he had confirmed that he has nothing more to learn about the Imperial gship. He decided to move out¡­


    His first target is the Furnace that is capable of converting the Memory Crystal into some kind of magical fluid to help the imperial soldiers.


    This is time, as he walked and touched the wall with his hands, the Terubs didn''t immediately act.


    They have seen him doing this from time to time so already.


    However, this time is different. He''s nning to seriously create chaos within the gship now! Especially right now since he just found out that the other Invader Spaceships alongside the gship had decided to move out!


    ''One more time¡­ This time¡­ I''ll end this quickly¡­ Traceless Oscition!''


    As soon as he activated the mana spell, a powerful vibration urred as the wall was suddenly cracked into pieces!


    Since he has been waiting for this, he had increased the intensity of his Mana Spell. It only took him about four seconds toplete the task!


    Whoosh!


    This time, he finally used his Void Phase¡­


    "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! The Prisoner has escaped! The Prisoner has escaped!"


    Wace heard the spaceship''s inte as he continued moving¡­


    He decided to jump or use his void phases about three times before he appeared near the Furnace¡­


    It is guarded by the Imperial Soldiers and they were all surprised by his sudden appearance¡­


    "It''s the intruder!"


    "Stop him!"


    "You''re not escaping!"


    They all pounced at him as soon as they realized his identity¡­


    However, it was toote for them since he has been prepared all this time¡­


    ''Mana Bomb!''

 Chapter 429 - Planetary Invasion ( 7 )

    The Mana Bomb that he used was so concentrated that even Wace wouldn''t want to face it himself¡­


    He decided to quickly use his Void Phase to avoid the explosion!


    Boom! A powerful urred which made the gship tremble.


    The soldiers guarding the furnace were unable to do anything as the explosion happened too fast¡­ They focused on capturing the young man instead of defending against his attack!


    The furnace is a crucial part of their invasion¡­ Its destruction will surely affect their schedule in conquering this!


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The explosion in that room triggered several more explosions in the nearby facilities. Finally, all the forces within the gship were alerted and they quickly locked down the whole spaceship. They can''t let the man escape!


    "You will stay here!" Wace suddenly felt someone behind him.


    Since he still wanted to do something with the Space Beasts, he didn''t leave the gship yet and appeared near the creature.


    However, it seems that the Terubs managed to read his move as one of them caught up to him.


    Wace concentrated his Astral Energy in his fist as he punched the palm trying to grab his head¡­


    Bam!


    "Aaahh!"


    It created a hole in the Terub''s palm as he backed away by three steps! Apparently, Wace realized that explosive force doesn''t work on this alien.


    He had noticed this since their first meeting in outer space and their recent fight in Ste Region.


    So he decided to attack him with a powerful pration force instead¡­


    ''Haha¡­ So it''s effective as I thought!'' Wace celebrated a little. As long as he concentrated his energy to a sharp point, it seems that he''ll be able to fight with the Terubs.


    If he knows this from the beginning, he wouldn''t be struggling to fight them before.


    Nevertheless, he learned that it didn''t matter if he uses his Mana or his Astral Core, he would still be able to fight a Terub using the right method¡­


    Whoosh~ Whoosh~


    Two figures suddenly appeared beside him¡­ They are the two other Terubs and this time, they have activated their Bio-Armors and created a ded fist¡­


    Bang!


    Wace dodged their punch as the floor was destroyed.


    It seems that they don''t mind destroying this gship at all. They are emitting a powerful aura as they seem to no longer n on capturing him¡­ They want him dead!


    Perhaps their observation is already over or no longer needed.


    "Hmm?"


    Since Wace''s Divine Sense has been activated as soon as he saw the Terub, he could feel what was happening around him.


    The Terub''s quick movement was still quite tough to deal with, and using his Divine Sense allows him to follow them without using his sight. However, he discovered something else. Ten Khrusams are heading his way and they brought five Corpse Furnaces with them.


    "Tsk¡­"


    Wace can fight against their Death Energy with his Sentient Mana or his Seventh Gen Mana Artifact. However, fighting against the three Terubs might be a bit dangerous.


    ''No¡­ Perhaps I can still do this.'' Wace quickly calcted. It''s true that fighting them all together might be difficult but it''s not like there is no guarantee that he can win.


    As a matter of fact, he has some confidence that as long as he eliminated the Khrusam''s Furnace, he will have a good chance against all of them.


    "Very well¡­ I''ll give everything I got."


    Wace smiled as he looked at the two Terubs near him. Their bio-armors could change shape ording to their desire.


    He might have to put a bit more effort to destroy it but it''s not something impossible.


    Wace then tried to use his mana spell but realized that the mana within the spaceship had all disappeared!


    As he realized this, the Terub has already gotten closer to him as they gave him their strongest punch¡­


    ''Don''t think too light of me!'' Wace circted his Astral Core and epted their punch head-on by sending his own punch!


    Bang!


    It created a small impact that affected even the sleeping Space Beast inside the room. Luckily, the creature didn''t wake up as it seems that it is being restricted by the chains all over its body.


    Wace then noticed that his Sentient Mana defended against the Death Energying at him¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Wace moved away quickly and decided to finish off the Terub who was healing his palm.


    ''I have to move faster!''


    He had to constantly move since being attacked by the five Corpse Furnace was still too tough for him. He can''t stay in a single ce for long¡­


    Aside from that, the Mana within the spaceship had also disappeared since they have locked down the vessel and perhaps used something simr to Magic Jammer that stops the mana from entering the spaceship¡­


    This is why he was interrupted casting his mana spell a while ago so he decided to use his Astral Core instead. It seems that they are nning to restrict his power by not letting him ess the world''s mana.


    ''They already discovered this much¡­ We can''t let them stay for too long¡­''


    Wace then continued fighting against the Terubs and Khrusams with everything he can.


    ***


    On the other hand, as soon as Wace came out of his prison room, Avalon had actually connected to its mainframe quickly.


    Because of this, the people outside managed to understand his current situation. The people who have been worrying about him finally heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that he''s alive and still fighting against the aliens.


    However, the current war outside is not going well¡­


    The other Invader Spaceships have started moving as they finally found other sources of Memory Crystal around the world. As a matter of fact, some of these ces weren''t even discovered by the owners of thend!


    It appears that they have a better technology that allows them to find crystals in every part of the world.


    Soon, there will be a lot of Imperial Soldiersing out of the spaceships.


    "I need to hurry¡­ Avalon, instead of sending me to Floating Ind, change the course to Mt. Ravencroft. The other Mech Knights should be finished already, right?"


    [ Correct. ]


    "Very well¡­ Since the natives of the Northern Continent are also getting ready, I should be able to join them."


    Ace muttered as he watches the monitor in front of him. At this time, he can see a cloud of smokeing out of the gship and it seems that Wace is still doing his best fighting against the imperial army alone.

 Chapter 430 - Planetary Invasion ( 8 )

    "Avalon¡­ Do you think we should send help to Wace? Your connection was lost again, right?"


    [ Correct. However, no request for help was requested and the independent A.I. only focused on sending the information they''ve gathered. They must not be in real danger with all the clues they left. ]


    The artificial intelligence answered. Right now, Avalon is in the form of floating metal beside Ace¡­


    They are hurrying toward Earth so they can help with the fight against the aliens.


    As for the other magicians, they all remained in the Moon Base since they have already done their part and as a matter of fact, they have done a lot more than any country could do.


    "Is that so? Then tell me about the Space Beast that was reported by Sir ine¡­"


    [ Yes. The space beast he had seen is most likely a type of Scy. A Nosferu Space Creature known for their hundreds of ck limbs around their body¡­ ]


    Apparently, there are several types of space beasts in the gxy. The one that Avalon mentioned was unfortunately one of the most dangerous ones.


    He heard some of the weaker space beasts were like those with a dinosaur-like body but made of unknown stones, some three-headed canine-like beast, a fiendish type of beast, and other unexinable creatures.


    "We should kill them while they are still not adapting to this world''s mana¡­ Get them Northern Army ready to help me destroy all of the Conveyor Spaceships¡­"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace is referring to the natives of the northern continent. Right now, they can probably be considered to be the finest magicians¡­


    "Right, did you give them enough Mana Artifacts?"


    [ Yes. We received help from the NMTI so we managed to quickly gather them. ]


    "I see¡­ So Yumi helped us this time¡­ Send my regards to her."


    [ I will. ]


    Apparently, these natives were all multicasters! They could use 4 Mana Artifacts at the same time with extreme uracy¡­


    They could probably increase it to five but the effectiveness would lessen a lot so Ace decided to just let all of them have at least 4 Mana Artifacts to help them in the fight.


    The Mana Artifacts he requested should at least have a single Grade A Mana Artifact to ensure that they can show their true abilities. It means that equipping a few hundred would be very expensive and difficult as well.


    If not for the NMTI''s help, Avalon would probably need a lot more time to gather them.


    Ace couldn''t help but feel excited. He knows that they are not in a good position right now but at the very least, they are not hopeless.


    ***


    Hallgrim is starting to get exhausted in this battle.


    The numbers of the Imperial Soldiers just keeps increasing and what''s even more troubling about this is that these aliens would no longer retreat whenever they destroy their armors!


    In the previous offensive against them, these soldiers will retreat to their spaceship whenever they managed to greatly damage their Bio-Armors¡­


    However, they no longer care whether they have armor or not!


    ''Tsk¡­ This is probably because of the memory crystals they collected. We should''ve acted sooner.''


    The old man thought but he knows deep inside that if they acted sooner, the forces from the two neighboring countries wouldn''t arrive on time and they would have to face the full strength of the Aliens alone.


    Aside from that, the Cryptic Mage''s control with the Corpse Furnace wouldn''t be possible as well since Miya and Miss Chamber''s team wouldn''t have finished the study of the Death Energy yet.


    The Grand Sage then nced at his precious students¡­ They have all reached the Sage level and they are all equipped with three Mana Artifacts. They are handling five to eight Imperial Soldiers alone but it wouldn''t be long before they''ll get overpowered.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The Automatons from Maja arrived to help his struggling team¡­


    ''Good timing¡­'' Hallgrim nced at the leader of Maja''s Army and nodded at him to give his thanks.


    Apparently, the automatons were too fragilepared to the armored soldiers, this is why they have changed their tactics to self-destruction mode.


    The Automatons would run towards their target and trigger their explosives once they are within the range of the soldiers if they could cling to them.


    [ Get ready. The Terubs from the gship areing. There are three of them this time. ]


    Avalon suddenly gave a report.


    "This is not good. Who would handle them?" The Grand Sage muttered as he looked at the battlefield. His Mana pool was almost emptied and he needed at least 10 minutes to recover a significant amount of mana.


    "Don''t worry¡­ The Cryptic Mages together with Sir Hayden will handle them. Though we didn''t expect that there would be three of them at the same time, they should be able to buy us some time¡­"


    Troy Webb suddenly appeared beside Hallgrim. He then ced his palm on his back and poured a rejuvenating Mana into his body.


    ''Impressive¡­'' Hallgrim felt satisfied with the man''s help. However, it seems that Troy has another thing to give him.


    "What''s this?"


    Hallgrim asked after being handed by a red vial of liquid.


    "That''s a berserk potion. Though only the battlemages and the adepts were given at first, you can try using them to help in the battle. The Trance Battleship together with all the other Airships will try to destroy the remaining Conveyor Spaceship¡­ Once they managed to destroy them, it can be considered a sess and we can retreat¡­"


    Troy reported to the Grand Sage.


    "I understand. Go ahead and help the others." Hallgrim nodded at Troy before thetter took off and arrived near a struggling Sage to back him up.


    ''It''s good that we have a clear n¡­ Now, how long does it take to destroy the Conveyor?''


    As the Grand Sage thought of this, he saw the magicians in the sky jump off their airships!


    He thought that these airships were invaded by the aliens so they had to escape!


    However, he soon realized that these airships were now being used to crash the Conveyor Spaceships!

 Chapter 431 - Planetary Invasion ( 9 )

    "So it really came to this point, huh¡­" Hallgrim muttered as he saw the airships targeting the Conveyor Spaceships on the ground.


    It must be remembered that Wace already tried the same thing but it was still defended by the aliens for the most part. During that time, it barely did damage to them so the Grand Sage was a bit skeptical about this strategy.


    That''s right, the tactic they are using now is simr to the one they did before¡­ Aside from that, the dropping of Wace''s floating inds to the spaceships seems to be more devastating than the airships right now!


    After all, the size of the Floating Inds that he used before is about 10x the size of an airship!


    The Invader Spaceships then quickly acted as they opened theirunchers and cannons¡­


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A barrage of missiles and beams of light weed the airships that were crashing down.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    However, these ships made by the Veritas Organization weren''t that easy to deal with. The missiles were detonated before getting near to the airship while the beams were deflected by a powerful Mana Shield¡­


    "Haha! So it''s not the same thing! You guys have prepared for this! Well done!"


    Hallgrim eximed after seeing the magnificent defense of the Airships.


    Not only did it managed to survive the onught of the empire''s missile system, it even managed to crash on the spaceship''s barrier!


    Boom! Boom!


    As soon as the airship touched the barrier, it created a series of explosions and mana waves spreading throughout the battlefield!


    It was then followed by a group of Lucent Mech Knights attacking the Conveyor Spaceship with their Grade 3 Mana Spells!


    A stream of lightning bolts struck the spaceship as the Lucent Force used up their one-time Mana Artifacts to deal extreme damage to the spaceship¡­


    Whatever is inside that thing, they are confident that they have been fried up by their spells¡­


    nk! nk! nk!


    As they have gotten near to the Conveyor, they were quickly targeted by the enemy Mech Frames! They were attacked by their Subspace ster!


    Boom!


    About 10 Lucent Knights were unable to dodge in time as they were caught by the powerful alien tech.


    Their Mechs were unable to do anything after being caught by the subspace ster as the pilots died without being able to even scream for help.


    This is bing very disadvantageous to them as time goes on¡­ Most of the Airships are gone, the Mech Knights were also slowly being taken down.


    On the other hand, the Automatons are the fastest ones to be destroyed as they are the ones leading the charge against the Imperial Soldiers.


    If this continues at this rate, the battle would be decided in a few more minutes.


    "Is it not destroyed yet?"


    Hallgrim muttered as he looks at the Conveyor Spaceship.


    Though it was heavily damaged by the Lucent Knights'' Mana Spells, its central part still appears to be perfectly fine¡­


    If Avalon did not consider this as mission aplished, then they still have to do something about it.


    As he was worried about it, he heard another battle behind him. Three powerful Aura covered the whole battlefield catching everyone''s attention


    "The Terubs are here¡­ Tsk."


    Since they do not have Wace to help them anymore, they have to deal with these powerful aliens through whatever means they could use.


    "Avalon¡­ Is there anything I can help to deal with the Terubs?"


    Hallgrim asked. Although he was still recovering is mana¡­ He would be able to cast a Grade 5 spell as a Grand Sage once he''s ready.


    However, he doesn''t know what could be the best Mana Spell he could use for this situation.


    He has a spell that can give buffs to all their soldiers on the battlefield. He also has a spell to perhaps deal with the damaged Conveyor Spaceships and another spell that could perhaps trap one of the Terubs¡­


    He exined his Grade 5 Spells to Avalon before the A.I. gave its suggestion.


    [ Use your Doom Absorption to the Conveyor Spaceship. The spaceship no longer has an Active Defense system and only relying on the surrounding Invader Spaceships to defend itself. The sess rate to destroy the spaceship is higher than other possible tasks you''ve mentioned. ]


    Avalon dutifully replied.


    Though the A.I. has a massive database about the magicians, most of them are those people who used their VR Pod¡­


    It means that they don''t have information about the powerful magicians who had ignored the VR Pod since the A.I. didn''t have a chance to scan and monitor them.


    So after knowing the three Grade 5 Spells of the Grand Sage, Avalon quickly calcted the best course of action.


    As Hayden Fraser and his group were struggling to fight against the Terubs, Hallgrim quickly activated his Doom Absorption as soon as he recovered enough Mana to cast the spell.


    The skies suddenly turned dark as the man focused his mana in his gloves, dark energy gathered around it and swirled extremely fast as it created a vacuum-like surrounding¡­


    Apparently, one of his hidden Mana Artifact is his pair of gloves embroidered with golden lines representing the artifact''s magic structures.


    The Khrusams and the Imperial Soldiers saw him casting due to the effects in the surroundings.


    However, none of them had spare time to rush on him and stop his casting¡­


    Because of this, Hallgrim used this opportunity to strengthen the Mana Spell even more!


    As soon as he reached the peak of his spell, he used one of his Mana Artifacts again as he arrived near the damaged Conveyor Spaceship¡­ It is a simple sh Step that allows him to travel to a designated ce where he ced his traces of mana before.


    "Let''s end this¡­ Doom Absorption!"


    Hallgrim finally released the spell to destroy the target spaceship¡­


    Boom!


    He was caught in the explosion but he expected this. He spent all his Mana to cast that spell so he no longer has the ability to defend himself.


    However, as he resigned to his fate, he saw a flying jeting to him! It then transformed into a beautiful Mech Knight, a design he had never seen before!


    Nevertheless, before he waspletely covered by the explosion of the spaceship, the transformed Mech Knight managed to grab his body as they escape from the destruction caused by the Grade 5 Mana Spell!

 Chapter 432 - Planetary Invasion ( 10 )

    rice was part of the Cleansing Mission in Seiji¡­ However, her mission there was only to scout the headquarters with her Mech Knight and drop powerful Mana Artifacts or perhaps Magic Jammer on some key ces of the country.


    Apparently, her jet-like Mech is considered to be the fastest flying aircraft in Zairus at the moment.


    Avalon had truly spent a lot of resources to make the best Mech Knight for Wace''s older sister. Because of this, rice had to do some special tasks that aligns with the capability of her Mech Knight.


    She also thinks that it is not a bad idea since she felt that she''s really the best option that their country has.


    Since she hadpleted the mission quite easily, she had plenty of time to return to Ste Region and help them against the aliens¡­


    "Avalon, is there something I can do? What''s happening there, right now?"


    rice asked as she piloted her Mech.


    [ Yes¡­ A squadron of magicians is currently facing a group of Terubs, you can fire a particle cannon to distract the aliens. I will warn the magicians so you can let them all out to the target. ]


    "That''s good!"


    rice enthusiastically replied. She doesn''t have a clear picture of the situation but she knows that the war that is happening must be very chaotic right now.


    Her Mech Knight then neared at the group of Terubs as she fired all of her missiles¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    She doesn''t have a reason to save them anyway¡­ She then nced at the monitor showing the grateful faces of the magicians as soon as her missiles hit the aliens.


    Many of them are injured and some of them even have missing limbs. It wouldn''t be surprising that they would be so thankful for a breather that she gave to them.


    Though it may not kill the Terubs, that should still stop them for a moment allowing for the magicians to recover for a bit¡­


    Beep!


    [ Save Grand Sage Hallgrim... ]


    [ Hallgrim''s trace located¡­ ]


    [ Follow the flight path and take the Grand Sage into safety. ]


    "Understood¡­"


    rice then controlled her Mech Knights and activated her booster made of Mana Artifact¡­ It is somewhat simr to Arcanist Phase but instead of the whole Mech Knight receiving a boost, only the thrusters being used would experience the changes¡­


    "Found him!"


    She realized that a devastating explosion was triggered just behind the man!


    She then grabbed the man and used her Mech Knight''s Mana Shell to cover her mech and the Grand Sage from the explosion¡­


    "Ugh! I need to go away!"


    The Doom Absorption or the Grade 5 Mana Spell that Hallgrim just used was so strong¡­ Not a single Khrusam or Imperial Soldier had expected the powerful spell as they were caught by spell¡­


    Nevertheless, they seem to have be really angry as the Invader Spaceships started activating their engine!


    They are ready to fight the aerial battle which isn''t going to be good for the Mage Battalion since they do not enough forces to match their air supremacy.


    [ Retreat! All forces retreat! ]


    [ We have achieved our objective of destroying all the Conveyor Spaceships. ]


    [ Retreat! All forces retreat! ]


    Avalon repeatedly announced on their radio. However, this is not the same for the automatons brought by the three countries.


    They would have to remain to ensure that the Khrusams and the Imperial Soldiers would be busy chasing the magicians who were all trying to retreat.


    As for the Mech Frames and Destroyers around¡­ They would have to deal with the remaining Airship where all the Cryptic Mages controlling the Corpse Furnace are located.


    ***


    Three hours had passed after the announcement of their retreat as the joint forces of the three countries returned to Dolu City, the capital of Zairus.


    There, the injured were all treated and the dead bodies of the magicians they managed to take with them received a proper funeral.


    On the other hand, Charles Mavis didn''t have time to rest as he had to gather all the leaders of the country together with the representatives of the two allied countries who helped them.


    The three Terubs really hit them hard and all the Cryptic Mages who fought them were all killed. Aside from that, the Corpse Furnaces that they have were almost destroyed leaving only four of them that remain operational¡­


    Of course, an Elysium representing Avalon is included in this meeting giving urate reports of the second offensive¡­


    [ The Space Beasts inside their Conveyor Spaceships were all still alive. However, they do remain inactive for some reason. Perhaps they are also requiring the liquified Memory Crystal to adjust in this world''s mana. ]


    Avalon made this guess after getting the information from the independent A.I. together with Wace.


    If not for the brief connection they''ve had, the mainframe wouldn''t have information on the Imperial gship''s current situation.


    "So, it''s really like that, huh¡­ Do you know any method to kill these Space Beasts?" Troy Webb asked.


    Though the Imperial Soldiers were quite troublesome to deal with since they have bodies that could match the Sages, they can still deal with them using their Grade 3 Mana Spells.


    The Khrusams, on the other hand, can now be dealt with by the Cryptic Mages who are capable of understanding the secrets of the Death Energy.


    [ The Space Beasts can be treated as a powerful Mana Beast that has probably gone under multiple evolutions. Though most of them do not possess capabilities simr to magic, they have tough bodies that should be capable of ignoring even the Mana Cmity so we have to be careful. ]


    "Even the Mana Cmity? It''s that strong, huh¡­" Hallgrim weakly muttered after hearing Avalon''s report... No one doubts the A.I. anymore as it had seen a lot more about the aliens than them.


    Right now, they have to n on how to deal with this problem¡­


    "Wait¡­ Before that, how''s the situation with those other Invader Spaceships that went to other countries?" Marvin asked since he''s concerned about the border defense of their country.

 Chapter 433 - New Problems

    Through Avalon''sprehensive report, they have realized that the aliens have started to expand their operations around the world.


    The ck Sovereign Spaceship and the Invader Spaceships scattered in different parts of the continent would cause a huge problem to them in the long run.


    After all, they need a massive army to destroy or fight against a single Spaceship!


    Moving such an army would not be easy. There is also a concern that once they have mined enough Memory Crystals, they would start to really target some popted ces to hunt the natives of this.


    It would be a disaster if there''s not enough soldiers or magicians guarding a city.


    "At the very least, we managed to send some of them away¡­" Charles muttered referring to the Invader Spaceships that flew away from the Ste Region.


    From the previous seven active Invader Spaceships, only two remained in Ste Region and they seem to be protecting the destroyed Conveyor Spaceships.


    [ The Space Beasts inside might still be alive. ]


    "Should we n for the third offensive? However, we no longer have enough airships and Mech Frames. Most of our one-time Mana Artifacts with destructive power were also mostly used by now. It would take time to reproduce them."


    "That''s true. We also have to consider the Automatons that were used in this battle¡­ They are an essential part of our offensive as they would allow us to get near the Imperial Soldiers."


    "I''m sure that the factories were working twenty-four hours to create them. Even Traceless Hand''s factory is creating them. We should have enough Automatons within 72 hours."


    The leaders of the country started discussing their ns.


    However, as they were doing this, an earthquake suddenly disrupted them¡­


    "This¡­ It''s not a normal earthquake¡­"


    "This powerful aura¡­"


    [ The Space Beasts has awakened. Three Space Beasts have been detected in Ste Region¡­ ]


    [ Energy Level: Unknown. Unable to take more data. ]


    "What?!"


    Yumi eximed after hearing Avalon.


    They weren''t prepared on facing such powerful creatures yet! They couldn''t even fight against the Terubs properly! And now, they have to deal with the Space Beast?!


    "Avalon, what should we do? Do you think we can stop them?"


    [ Unable to calcte. The Space Beast has just woken up so there is a possibility that is it still weakened. However, even a weakened one should be more than enough to kill hundreds of Khrusams at the same time. ]


    "Ugh¡­ That''s not a good sign, was it?" Yumi smiled wryly as she looked at everyone in the meeting hall.


    "For now, we should avoid getting in contact with the beast unless we are prepared to die¡­" Yumi said in a low voice which made everyone agree.


    They haven''t seen the Space Beast yet but they couldn''t ignore Avalon''s warning. If they didn''t trust the A.I. for this kind of information, then they wouldn''t be able to find another¡­


    ***


    While the war in Ste Region calmed down, Wace was still fighting against the Imperial Soldiers...


    He had a really close battle against the Terubs and the Khrusams¡­


    He was able to hold on for about half an hour by focusing on defense. Of course, he knows that he can''t continue defending against their attacks as his Astral Energy will be wasted. After all, he formed his Astral Core not to be a turtle but to help him increased his offensive power¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ This Death Energy is too annoying¡­ It eats up a lot of Astral Energy to push it back.''


    Luckily for him, his Divine Sense is still working perfectly so he''s able to easily grasp his whole situation inside the gship.


    He can read the movement of his opponents¡­ Aside from that, they couldn''t use their powerful tech like Subspace ster or Psionic Pulse since they would increase the damages inside the gship.


    Wace then pulled out his Silver Sphere¡­ He knows that mana spells at the level of Grade 2 or 3 may not do that much against the Terubs, however, he still has some spells that can be useful in his situation¡­


    "Echo st¡­ Infrasonic Ray¡­"


    Wace activated his two signature mana spells. It wasn''t a dual casting but a consecutive casting. His activation sequence is quite faster than most magicians so he was confident that it would distract the aliens again¡­


    However, they have decided to endure his attack!


    It seems that they have already assessed the power of his mana spells and calcted that his attack wouldn''t do much¡­


    ''Hmph! I''m not aiming for you guys anyway¡­'' Wace then used his Void Phase again but this time, he already wanted to leave this ce. He had epted that he couldn''t kill the Space Beast at all!


    The Terubs were too annoying that he couldn''t concentrate and umte enough Astral Energy to disturb the beasts¡­ If he just attacked them halfheartedly, he knows that he wouldn''t even be able to prate the beast''s skin!


    In the end, he weighed his situation and decided to move out¡­


    ''Ugh! As expected I can''t just use my Void Phase to get out!''


    Wace finally noticed that something is blocking him from going out. Instead of going outside, he just arrived at the edge of the gship¡­


    There seems to be a barrier blocking anyone from going out. It has simrities with Death Energy so he''s thinking that this is some kind of Special Technique made by the Khrusams. However, it doesn''t matter, he just needs to destroy the exit! Or perhaps, create his own!


    After deciding on what to do, Wace clenched his fist as he prepared himself to create a path¡­


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    It took three powerful punches to destroy the thick wall of the gship!


    ''Ugh! That emptied my mana¡­ I need to get away.''


    Though he probably has the fastest mana recovery ability, his mana pool was still not thatrge...


    Wace had also felt the presence of the Khrusamsing at him. He then noticed that only one Terub is pursuing him as the two were actually left to guard the Space Beasts!


    It seems that they thought that he''s just luring them away Well, he would probably try doing that if he has an unlimited supply of mana.


    As he quickly dashed away from the gship, he suddenly felt the space around him get twisted!


    "It''s here!" Wace said as he thought that they are about to use their spatial technology to him, however, a familiar figure came out of the cracked space!


    It is the Celestial Being!


    "Come here!"


    This is the only thing Wace heard as he was grabbed by the blue Celestial as he was dragged inside the void!

 Chapter 434 - Invader Spaceships

    Ace''s spaceship docked on his base at Mt. Ravencroft.


    His entry on this was done as stealthily as possible but he knows that the Empire must''ve detected his spaceship.


    This is why he decided not to immediately visit his base and docked somewhere else before using his stealth mode.


    After using this mode including his Arcane Technology or Optical Phenomena Maniption, he then considered that it was already safe to go to his base.


    He didn''t want to engage in battle against the aliens yet so he has to be careful.


    "Avalon¡­ How many Mesospheric Altitude Guns were made by now?"


    [ Three. Because we have shifted our priority with building enough mid-ss Transatmospheric Battleship, the creation of Sattelite-ss Weapons slowed down. ]


    "Hmm¡­ I can understand that. Anyway, I guess Veda is still manufacturing those Seventh Gen?"


    [ Correct. At the moment, there are already 75 Adepts and Sages who had received them. ]


    "Seventy-five? That''s not a lot but considering the limited time it had, it still quite impressive. Is it just focusing on that project?" Ace asked as he alighted from his spaceship.


    There wasn''t anyone to wee him since the people close to him were all on one Floating Ind and the people here are all fabricators or Magic Engineers working on his Float Drive System and Mana Artifacts.


    [ No, Veda is also helping with medical concerns everywhere. Without the A.I.''s help, the casualty in this war would probably increase by 15%. ] The A.I. answered.


    "Ahh¡­ You''re right, Avalon."


    Ace nodded as he was reminded that the A.I. was indeed made as a medical assistant.


    Though this world has some advancement in the medical field with the Mage Doctors, Veda''s knowledge about medical science is still iparable with the doctors here by a few centuries.


    "I heard that Wace disappeared again, is there any news about him?"


    [ No. However, we were able to briefly detect that he was together with the Celestial Being before he vanished. ]


    Ace paused for a moment. Though Wace and the Celestial''s existence is very important to win the war, they seem to be doing their best to handle the main force of the Empire.


    After all, he noticed that although the Empire have gathered a lot of memory crystals already, the gship was still not making its move to conquer the.


    "Alright, as long as they are doing something to help us¡­ It doesn''t matter. Let''s just do our part."


    [ Correct. The Council of War has already decided to avoid the Space Beasts for now. It appears that they are also not fully awakened yet as they decided to move to Luna Lake.


    "Lunake? Isn''t that the one near the Red Star Town?" Ace recalled the beautifulke in their town.


    [ Yes. ]


    Ace sighed after confirming it. This means that their town had mostly like turned into ruins by now. Though the people there have been evacuated to other cities, the fact that their previous home was now totally destroyed would still feel bad.


    "I see¡­ Anyway, the council didn''t have ns on attacking the Space Beasts?"


    [ Yes. They would leave it to your advanced tech weapons and with the help of the natives from the Northern Continent. ]


    Ace smiled wryly at this. In truth, he doesn''t have that much confidence in defeating such powerful creatures. He would most likely need some kind of powerful Secret Art or Forbidden Mana Spell to kill them.


    Nevertheless, since these Space Beasts weren''t those gigantic ones that he learned in his school, he should be able to do something with them.


    He then proceeded to contact the people he needed to speak with to create a n to defeat the aliens within the country.


    Right now, he can''t deal with the reports he received from the investigator Elysiums that he sent outside the country.


    He can''t spend his time worrying about the real situation of Julian Esmeria


    ***


    As Ace is nning to kill the Space Beasts and the remaining aliens at Ste Region, the other countries are all in chaos as the Invader Spaceships who were supposedly just gathering memory crystals started sending out thousands of Mech Frames to create havoc in the region.


    Warren, an Adept Mage living in a small town in Maja, noticed a huge shadow covering the sky¡­


    Of course, he also heard the loud sound of the engine creating vibrations even within his small shop.


    He''s selling the materials he acquired in his recent hunting. There were lots of Mana Beast Cores and parts needed for low-ss Potion Brewing.


    Boom!


    A powerful bomb seemed to have exploded just outside their town!


    "We''re under attack!"


    The siren within the town finally rmed everyone. The shadow blocking the sky is actually one of the alien''s spaceships!


    "We already called for help before outsidemunications were cut off! Our Town''s Barrier wouldn''tst long! Everyone who can fight, take your weapons! The others will go to the shelter!"


    Warren heard the town chief''s announcement. However, it doesn''t seem that they have enough time!


    Boom!


    A powerful beam of light destroyed the barrier protecting their town.


    The attack didn''t even stop there!


    It continued hitting several buildings and melting them including the people inside!


    "Aaagghh!"


    "Help!"


    Warren realized that the situation is dire¡­ He doesn''t have powerful magic to stop the beam of light!


    Aside from that, he can also see the Mech Frames descending from the Spaceships! This is not good!


    "Ahhh!" He then thought of an idea and used hisrgest Mystic Fog Mana Spell¡­


    It will at least block the vision of the aliens and Mech Frames as they try to escape.


    ''It would at least buy us some time¡­ Ten seconds or even twenty seconds are valuable!''


    Warren thought as he quickly took his Mana Artifacts before running away from the town.


    The Town Chief and other magicians who saw his Fog thought that it was a good idea as they simrly cast the spell.


    However, though it indeed blocked their vision, the Mech Frames'' Life Detection Device would still allow them to find their whereabouts!


    They were quickly hunted by the Mech Frames and this is happening in every town or city where the Invader Spaceships hadnded!

 Chapter 435 - Invader Spaceships II

    The Invader Spaceship''s active hunt on the natives of this has started.


    While some key ces of each country are well protected by powerful Magicians. There are still many viges, towns, and cities that do not have enough capacity to defend themselves against two or three Mech Frames!


    If they were unlucky and faced even their Destroyers and several Marauder Gears, there was no way they could get away at all.


    Just the incredibly powerful Psionic Pulse of the Wolf''s Sledger Mech Frame is already enough to decimate a group of powerful Adept Mages.


    If they do not have a capable Mech Knight, Mage Tower, or perhaps a well-nned Array to fight against the Mech Frames, there was no way for them to win!


    "Why is this happening?" Warren despaired as he saw his previous lively town decimated by the Mech Frames.


    He was quite lucky since he still has a Mana Artifact that allows him to move faster and hide his presence¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    His path was suddenly hit by a beam of light as the road crumbled and debris flying around hitting innocent people¡­


    He could no longer help anyone since he was also in a tragic state¡­ His Mana Shell was shattered by the powerful impact of stones hitting him.


    His left arm was broken but at the very least, his right arm carrying his Mana Artifact is still fine.


    He immediately continued running away ignoring his pain.


    "Ahh!"


    "Help!"


    "Don''t stick together! You''ll attract their attention easily!"


    "Just scatter!"


    "The rescuers will arrive soon, just stay strong!"


    While there are many of them started panicking, some Magicians who had battle experience tried to stay calm as they instructed the citizens.


    It may not be that helpful but at the very least, they would still try to survive, and perhaps, they could reallyst long enough for the rescuers to arrive.


    "Petrification!"


    "Archon ¨C Water Wall!"


    "Archon ¨C Lightning Vortex¡­"


    Warren noticed some powerful spells being cast by the remaining magicians¡­


    He knows that these spells wouldn''t be able to stop a single Mech Frame but at the very least, it was enough to attract their attention and let the others continue with their escape.


    "Enchant -- Wind Haste¡­ Royal ¨C Stealth Movement¡­"


    The man used his two important Mana Spells as he managed to leave the Town¡­


    At this time, he can see the Mech Frames killing thebat magicians while the aliens boarding the Marauder Gears were using some kind of tranquilizer to stun their human target¡­ After stunning three to five people¡­


    These Marauder Gears woulde down and take the immobilized people with them!


    He''s unsure about the fate of these unlucky people but he knows that nothing good woulde to them¡­


    These aliens just suddenly destroyed their Town''s Barrier and started fighting them. There was no way they would do something good to them!


    ''The Capital has Steel Knights and strong Airships¡­ As long as they cane here in time, we should be fine¡­''


    Warren was still hopeful that someone will save them.


    He knows that the government should''ve been aware that his town is already under attack. They must be hurrying to rescue them.


    As he managed to get far away from the town, he realized that he finally managed to get away from the alien''s ECM.


    "That was dangerous¡­ I need to know the situation now¡­"


    Warren quickly used hismunication device to get information about the current situation of their country.


    However, as soon as he managed to connect to the informationwork, he was bombarded by messages from his rtives and friends.


    He finally realized that it wasn''t just his town¡­ Multiple attacks are happening right now!


    The aliens have started their n to conquer the world!


    "This¡­ I thought that the government has nned something?! Why is this happening?" Warren couldn''t believe that three of the fivergest cities of Maja has already fallen!


    "Gigante City should have a Grand Arcanist and more than 30 thousand automatons¡­ The Dominio City is where we manufacture the Airships¡­ There was no way it could fall so easily. Aside from that, Capas City is where the five Mage Battalions are¡­"


    The man was aware of this since it was being boasted by their government that their fiverge cities would be imprable even by the aliens.


    However, three of them have already fallen so quickly!


    They didn''t evenst for several days!


    Right now, he doesn''t know where to go. He can consider avoidingrge settlements since the aliens will most likely target them¡­


    However, he first needed to get supplies if he wanted to live hidden from the eyes of the public.


    Warren could only sigh and hope that this war will be over after a few weeks or months.


    "Right¡­ There should still be someone who can fight against them. Please, deal with them as quickly as possible." The man prayed in a soft voice as he recalled the man who made interster travel possible and reach the moon.


    If there is someone who has a powerful army and Arcane Technology, it must be that guy.


    After all, he had also nned for this to ensure that the Alien Invasion game wouldn''t happen in real life.


    As the man thought of this, he immediately calmed down as he looked away from his town that is now being ravaged by the aliens.


    ***


    A week had passed after the Second Offensive and the territory of the humans has been lessened by more than 15% already.


    Perhaps, if not for the Invader Spaceships that need to collect humans or magicians for experiments, the destruction of the cities or settlements would''ve been faster.


    Nevertheless, after Ace managed to gather his forces he started dealing with the remaining Invader Spaceships in Ste Region.


    It is through the help of the Northern Continent''s Native Magicians who are all multicaster and has an abundant supply of evolved mana.


    Ace could even feel that they could create a Mana Cmity of their own¡­ Aside from that, these Natives were also equipped with his precious Seventh Generation Mana Artifacts making them three times stronger.


    Right now, all Veda''s creations will be supplied to these people so Ace could effectively use them¡­


    In the end, he managed to almost destroy the Invader Spaceships in Ste Region¡­ Perhaps, if they have five or perhaps four more Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun or Satellite-ss Weapon, they wouldn''t be able to escape at all.

 Chapter 436 - Invaded Planet

    Two months had quickly passed after the Alien Spaceships descended on the.


    At this time, the Meredith Empire established full control in many countries¡­


    The Seiji, Kazan, Guwain, Utara, and Virgan were fallen into the hands of the Empire.


    At this time, only the Country of Maja, Zairus, and the worn-out Montego, hasnds that were still unupied by the Empire.


    Apparently, the four-country alliance made by Seiji has be fully ves of the Empire¡­ Though many of their citizens are still living, they are now considered as the Empire''s Test Subjects as they study the method of using Mana for their benefit.


    The study of Mana is not that easy since even Veda predicted that it would probably take at least 10 years for them to have an eptable affinity to wield the mana.


    Because of this, the council of the remaining countries at least doesn''t have to worry about the swarm of the Imperial Soldier capable of wielding mana.


    They only have to worry about their unique physical qualities, hi-tech guns, and bio-armors.


    On the other hand, the alien Mech Frames were at least something that the Mech Knights were capable of dealing with.


    Though they have advance techs like Subspace ster, Twilight Armor, and Psionic Pulse, the Mech Knight Models named Lucent, Radiant, and Issyl has an Arcanist Phase that was now strong enough to deal with such technology.


    This is of course thanks to Avalon''s help since they have finally analyzed these technologies after several weeks of studying.


    It allowed them to create a Magic Structure capable enough to at least bend them off orpletely defend against it.


    Right now, the refugees from the conquered countries were divided into two nations¡­


    Apparently, Montego couldn''t ept refugees due to the condition of their country as well. It is to the point that even the Empire has probably lost interest in it.


    Aside from that, traveling to that country proves to be very dangerous as well since the Destroyers of the Empires would normally patrol around the areas they havepletely conquered to collect magicians and memory crystals¡­


    "Haa~ This has turned extremely bad than I expected." Ace muttered as he arrived at a temporary barracks where a group of Battle Mages is currently staying.


    These Battle Mages will soon receive a Cryptic Link Serum to advance to Cryptic Mages¡­ They have no choice but to force their advancement to help in the war. Of course, they are all still volunteers from different countries.


    Once they havepleted the advancement, they will receive Grad A Mana Artifacts or perhaps, practice their affinity with the Death Energy as they will be tasked to use the repaired Corpse Furnaces that they have collected.


    "The Terubs are still a huge problem¡­ Even the Northern Natives couldn''t fight them equally."


    Every time the Terubs arrive in a battle, 10 Sages would have to deal with them and it is guaranteed that at least 5 of them would perish in their hands.


    On the other hand, if the Northern Natives would try to fight them with their Seventh Gen Mana Artifacts, it would still require 8 of them with 1 or 2 casualties.


    [ The supply of Cryptic Link Serum has arrived. ]


    Avalon gave an update.


    He soon noticed a group of automatons bring cases filled with the notorious serum.


    In truth, there are still a lot of questions about the serum since it didn''t officially pass the safety tests from the NMTI yet. There could be some hidden side-effects from its usage that haven''t been discovered yet since it wasn''t that long when the serum was "perfected."


    However, because of the war, there was no point in thinking about this as long as they could help the war against the aliens.


    As a matter of fact, these Cryptic Mages have contributed a lot in terms of dealing with the Khrusams¡­ Even if they were using their Third Eyes, these mages were still capable of wrestling with their Death Energy and win against them many times.


    Ace watched as the 210 Battle Mages received a dose of the Cryptic Link¡­ They have to undergo a 30-minute mana purification and another hour for their stabilization.


    This is an extremely quick process considering that the Arcane Baptism to advance to an Adept requires days to bepleted.


    "Avalon, do they have enough Corpse Furnaces?"


    [ No, we only have 43 more unused Corpse Furnaces. Manufacturing them from the scratch is still impossible at this point. ]


    "Hmm¡­ I see. Since we''ll have a few more batches of Battle Mages to receive the serum, we will have enough to send some to the floating ind. Is that right?"


    [ Yes. I would suggest sending 30 to 50 Battle Mages to protect the Floating Ind. ]


    "Alright¡­ Just send 50 of them."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    The Floating Inds that they have are probably the safest ce in the world right now.


    The inds are about 10 kilometers ( 6.2 miles ) off the ground and it also has an Optical Phenomena Maniption array activated.


    Aside from that, they have natural ECM which has been known ever since Wace and Avalon had found one in the Northern Continent.


    It is a perfect ce to hide but it can also be vulnerable once the aliens had managed to detect it for some reason.


    This is why they have to at least send capable magicians or flying crafts that are strong enough to deal with spaceships.


    "Haa~"


    Ace sighed as he recalled the troubles they''ve had in the past few weeks. It has not been easy for them. Though Zairus is still holding on, they would soon sumb to the mighty force of the Empire if they don''t do something about their situation.


    As the young man was nkly staring at Battle Magesplete their transformation, the floating metal ball beside him interrupted his thoughts.


    [ A message has been received from Aeolia. ]


    "Aeolia?! What is it about? Tell me."


    Ace excitedly asked. That man should have an idea of what to do against these aliens.


    They have to at least dy the alien invasion until Wace and the Celestial Being returned!

 Chapter 437 - Invaded Planet ( 2 )

    As the is slowly being conquered by the Meredith Empire, Wace was actually resting deep underwater.


    Inside the Deep Sea Creature''s city to be exact!


    "How long we''ve been trapped here, Avalon?" Wace asked his A.I. Luckily, he has this independent Avalon with him at all times.


    Right now, his bio-armor suit was still under self-restoration so he couldn''t use it¡­ He wore his normal suit like he''s attending a business meeting.


    He has no visible injuries but one can see on his face how exhausted he is¡­


    [ A total of 65 days and 12 hours. ]


    "Tsk¡­ That long, huh¡­ This is bad. Do you think they''ve managed to deal with the Terubs above?"


    [ ording to the n, the Northern Natives would have to deal with them¡­ Aside from that, the Traceless Hands factory should be creating Mech Knights non-stop to further assist them. ]


    "Haa~ I guess the Space Beasts are the real trouble, huh."


    [ Correct. However, they are all infants and they would need plenty of time to adjust to this mana-infested world. ]


    "Do you know exactly how long?"


    [ No. However, if they are simr to the records we got from Veda. It will perhaps require 1 to 6 months. ]


    Wace wryly smiled after hearing this. At this point, he''s unable to help them since he and the Celestial has to hide here in the underwater city¡­


    Apparently, the strongest being inside the gship isn''t the prince of the Empire but the King of the Yorian Race who had decided to join this expedition!


    That''s right, the King of one of the Major Races is present here!


    Their opponents in this war are the Mutated Humans from the Empire, the Khrusam Race, the Terub Legion, and finally, the Yorian Race!


    The three Major Races allied with the Empire are here!


    Wace had never expected that the Empire would actually bring these four races with them¡­ He somehow expected the Terub Legion if there is a Royal Family included but the other two races left him speechless.


    They truly wanted to conquer this at all costs.


    Even Avalon barely has any record in its database about the gathering of these four forces at the same time.


    It means that once it happened, it''s guaranteed that some big event is about to happen and in this case, it is the invasion of this.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Wace then heard the echoing sound of the city''s barrier¡­


    "They''re going at it again¡­" The young man muttered as realized what that sound is.


    He''s currently inside the castle so he can see the whole situation outside.


    The previously lone King of the Yorian Race brought all his men and surrounded the city.


    They couldn''t get in thanks to the dead Celestial Being''s power empowering the barrier¡­ However, Wace was also unable to get out because of this.


    Even if he tried to use his Void Phase, he couldn''t phase through outside of it.


    The King, who appears like a humanoid toad, had also used some kind of a space lock around the city¡­ Well, it can also be through the help of gship''s technology but he knows that the Yorian King was able to control the space lock for some reason.


    Wace sighed as he heard the banging sound stop.


    It seems that the alien aquatic race decided to temporarily halt destroying the barrier.


    He then left the balcony and entered the castle.


    Inside the special room where the dead Celestial and his Celestial friend are resting, Wace felt his Astral Core rejuvenized.


    Apparently, when the King and the Celestial fought together, thetter was surprising at disadvantage¡­


    It wasn''t because the Celestial wascking in power but because the Yorian King has brought the Celestial deep underwater where the Aquatic Race can get stronger almost every minute he stays here¡­


    Every time the Celestial destroys the King''s body, it would just turn into water and reform after a second¡­ The King will bepletely healed as if he didn''t fight a decisive battle against the Celestial.


    He was basically immortal under the sea.


    It was so unfair but there''s nothing they can do. It''s not like they can also kill the Celestial Being.


    Nevertheless, this is why the Celestial did its best to find the space crack they used to bring him underwater and reuse it to go back! He was sessful in doing this and found Wace outside the gship¡­


    When the Celestial felt that he was about to be forcefully moved again, he decided to bring Wace with him in case he has a method to defeat the Yorian King.


    Unfortunately, both of them have no idea how to kill it¡­


    They ended up retreating inside this protected city thanks to the previous preparation made by the Celestial when he took some items within the Treasure Vault of this city.


    Apparently, he managed to mark this cepletely, and even strengthened the barrier or array used to protect thisnd.


    "Do you have any method to kill that annoying water?"


    Wace then heard the voice of the Celestial inside his head.


    "No, Sir... However, we know that once we bring the battle on thend, we should be able to defeat that creature."


    "Should I try to evaporate all the water in the sea?"


    "Eh? No, I don''t think that''s a good idea even if you can do it."


    "Hmm¡­ Have you thought of a method to stop them from using the Space Crack to bring us wherever they like?"


    "Haa¡­ In truth, I''m also unsure about its principle. However, it doesn''t seem to be omnipotent since it couldn''t do anything about the city''s barrier. I think it is due to the dead Celestial''s remaining power. In any case, how was your Core?"


    "I''m perfectly fine. Perhaps two to three more weeks and it will bepleted."


    The Celestial announced. Apparently, their current n is to overload the Celestial''s Astral Core before they''ll try to fight the Yorian King again.


    They are thinking to overpower the spatial ability of the Empire through their brute force.


    "Very well¡­ I''ll do something about the remaining aquatic race outside¡­" Wace said as he clenched his fist.


    Lightning sparks started surrounded his fist creating a bright light within the room.

 Chapter 438 - Invaded Planet ( 3 )

    Wace wasn''t idling here in the city during the past few weeks.


    Aside from exploring the city and learning about the Deep Sea Creatures, he started practicing his AOTL since he knows that they are extremely effective against the Yorian Race.


    Though they most likely have a level of resistance against lightning, it shouldn''t be at such a high level where it could defend against his Lightning Break¡­


    He trusts the Secret Art''s power and he couldn''t wait to show it to them.


    Wace returned to his room. He was brought here by the leader of the Deep Sea Creature.


    The humanoid creature still has an octopus head and they can surprisinglymunicate to people.


    "Haa¡­ What a weird ce¡­ I''ll consider conducting research and some explorations here if not for my current situation."


    Wace muttered as he sat on his bed.


    His room has a stone bed and onerge window, or perhaps, hole on his wall. It doesn''t have any cover or even a curtain at all.


    Well, he''s not expecting a luxurious ce of living in this underwater city anyway.


    He can see the silent city outside as most of the sea creatures stayed in their homes. This city is using light stones powered naturally by mana so it is quite bright here.


    ''I wonder how strong these sea creatures are¡­'' Wace mused as he thought of recruiting them for a moment.


    However, he quickly shakes this off his mind since they do have arger problem right now.


    Anyway, heter learned that the reason why this ce is silent was because of the Celestial''s presence and of course, the Aquatic Alien Race outside.


    The Deep Sea Creatures don''t have any problems even if they did not eat for more than a week. So staying in their houses tinkering on some stones or other things was their hobby.


    He then saw one of the elite soldiers of the Deep Sea Creature¡­ He appears to be patrolling the small castle.


    He has a blue trident in his hands as a weapon and is equipped with chainmail. Aside from that, he also noticed that most of these soldiers were actually human-like sharks with muscr bodies.


    Based on how they look, he realized that they have simrities with some Yorian¡­


    ''Are they perhaps rted to each other? They might be able to negotiate¡­''


    Wace mused.


    It is an interesting idea but he didn''t give much thought to this since he knows that the Yorian Race should be unrted to them given that they havee from a different.


    As he was having some random thoughts about this city, he noticed that someone is approaching his room.


    Using his Divine Sense, he could tell that it''s the octopus-head leader of this city¡­


    He didn''t wait for him toe into his room as he decided to meet him outside. He''s hoping that he''ll provide good news.


    "Sir Wace, we have tried to attract the Sea Kings but we really couldn''t bring them back. I''m afraid that they''ve also perished after confronting the alien race."


    "Haa~ Alright, I''ll let him know. In any case, are you sure that the Sea Kings couldn''t defeat them as well? He told me that they should be able to give them a good fight."


    Wace replied. He is referring to the Celestial.


    Apparently, the Celestial Being mentioned to him that the Sea Kings can be a good opponent against them so he decided to order these sea residents to find a way to bring all the Sea Kings in this vast ocean.


    Wace trusted the Celestial a lot so it was quite surprising that this Sea Creature''s Leader suggested that they could be dead already.


    Anyway, it''s not his position to judge him since he hadn''t scanned or confirmed the strength of the Sea Kings yet.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Wace then heard the Yorians again trying to break their city barrier. They are doing this routinely to perhaps scare them or they are truly dedicated and wanted to kill them as quickly as possible.


    "Do not worry, Sir Wace. The barrier protecting us can never be broken unless the Celestial''s body has vanished."


    The sea creature said as he probably thought that he was worried.


    Nevertheless, Wace replied politely.


    "I understand. However, do you think you guys canmunicate with them as well¡­ I know that you''ve seen most of them¡­ They are Nagas and other humanoid aquatic races as well."


    "Hmm¡­ I''m sorry Sir Wace¡­ We can understand their behavior and feelings but directmunication or even negotiation is not possible."


    "Behavior, huh¡­ So, are they quite unhappy now?"


    "They''re not, Sir Wace. Though they also do not appear to be annoyed by the barrier blocking them. They even feel indifferent about this situation right now."


    The octopus-head leader answered. He also appeared to be serious in this making Wace believe his word.


    Anyway, he''s unsure about their true purpose for joining this expedition in the first ce.


    After all, their race isn''t one with invasive tendencies. They would normally be happy as long as they stayed within their.


    ''Well, there''s no point in thinking about this.''


    Wace said as he decided to continue enhancing his AOTL¡­ Once the Celestial is ready to fight the Yorian King again, he would have to join him in the battle and exterminate them¡­


    Of course, in case his lightning abilities were unable to kill their elite Yorians, he would have to ask assistance from the Deep Sea Creatures to fight them. After all, they can''t be underestimated as well since they are still considered the rulers of the sea if the Sea Kings aren''t present.


    ***


    While Ace is busy handling the resistance against the alien races and Wace is still trapped in the underwater city, something has happened within the Moon Base!


    Apparently, Escanor, Hilda, and the rest of the Space Team are celebrating something!


    Through the help of Veda and Avalon, they have finally acquired almost all of the remains of the broken spaceships here¡­ Especially the Conqueror Starships!


    It means that the Moon Base''s shipyard has enough resources to create several more Spaceships!


    They no longer need to have their base at Mt. Ravencroft to supply them!


    "Avalon! You did great! I hope this can help everyone onnd¡­" Hilda excitedly hugged the Elysium beside her.


    [ This was only possible through everyone''s effort. I''m sure that once wepleted the spaceships, it will be a tremendous help to everyone. ] Avalon answered.


    Everyone in the moon base is actually worried about the current situation of the¡­ especially their countries. They know that their small number could not affect the whole war but the spaceships can lead them to victory¡­ hopefully.

 Chapter 439 - Space Beasts

    The Moon Base''s shipyard worked non-stop to build the spaceships needed to help their.


    Hilda Calem, the Ace Pilot of the First Mech Knight Division, started helping with the tuning of the Mana Artifacts created by the Arcane Artificers here¡­


    Apparently, many of the finest magic engineers of Zairus were all here in the Moon Base working for Traceless Hands.


    Together with Avalon''s help with the advancement of their technology, they all worked together and created the best spaceships they could ever make¡­


    "It''s beautiful¡­" Hilda muttered after seeing the finished product. She''s hoping that Wace would actually see this spaceship that they''ve made using the part they got from the Conqueror Starship.


    A few months ago, Hilda and the rest of the Mech Knights Division, managed to destroy the five Starships using their Chronos and the sacrifice of many talented magicians.


    It wasn''t an easy battle as most of the magicians who managed to survive were traumatized after seeing the death of theirpanions.


    Even Hilda was affected since many of her seniors died in just a single beam of light from that Starships¡­


    "Hilda! So you''re here. I''ve been looking for you. Are you nning to join the operation this time?"


    Escanor arrived at the shipyard where several Spaceships are docked and being made by the Automatons.


    "Yes¡­ I''m nning to join them. You know that I''m already considered as Ace Pilot. With my Radiant Knight and experience, I think I''ll be able to help a lot."


    "Haa~ The battle here and on thend is different¡­ The gravity there wouldn''t allow you to perform those difficult maneuvers you are used to."


    Escanor advised as he was truly worried about this youngdy. During the Alien Invasion game, she actually has the highest death rate among their team since she would always fight to her limits and would like to save everyone who''s in trouble.


    They didn''t really mind it before since it was just a game and they only have to worry about failing their mission.


    However, this ispletely different from the game and there are already many times where Hilda had almost died.


    If not for the Magic Nodes they have, she would''ve probably died for about three times already¡­


    "I heard that the Magic Node aren''t effective against the Death Energy of the Khrusams¡­ It wouldn''t be easy to survive there¡­ I think we should just wait for Sir Wace''s instructions. He''s not looking forward to a reinforcement anyway. They just need the spaceships, right?"


    Escanor said as he wanted to discourage Hilda from moving away. They know that the situation on the is grim.


    If the Celestial Being wouldn''t be able to help them, they would have trouble surviving there for long.


    Aside from that, they heard that there are already six Space Beasts roaming around the continent. These Space Beasts are just consideredrger Mana Beasts at this point but they could grow stronger the more nutritious their food was.


    "I understand your worry¡­" Hilda smiled after seeing Escanor being concerned about her.


    What he said was right and her presence there wouldn''t affect the overall situation of the.


    However, she wanted to help as much as possible. If the aliens had truly conquered the, they would no longer have a home to return to.


    She didn''t want that to happen.


    "As long as there''s hope, I will fight back."


    The youngdy clenched her first as she decided to participate no matter the cost.


    Anyway, she heard that the soldiers of the Zairus aren''t giving up as well and they are actually fighting hard not to sumb to the alien invasion.


    "Haaa~ I really can''t change your mind." Escanor smiled helplessly after realizing that she''s truly determined to return to the.


    Escanor would also like to help but he''s not a good pilot and not even a strong magician. What he''s best at is his Magic Engineering skills and perhaps his knowledge about many things like Arcane Technology¡­


    "Very well¡­ Before you guys will leave, I''ll give something to you¡­ I hope it will help you down there."


    As soon as he said this, Escanor left the shipyard. He wanted to start making a Mana Artifact as quickly as possible.


    He quickly found the best Artifact Forging Box in the Moon Base and started working¡­


    He may not be able to directly participate in the war, he would at least be happy if one of his creations would be able to help someone important to him.


    ***


    A siren woke up Yumi from her long sleep.


    It wasn''t easy to get a good sleep nowadays so once she managed to find an opportunity, she would be happy to take a rest.


    "Ugh... What''s going on now?" Thedyined after being interrupted in her sleep again.


    She quickly fixed herself as she got outside of her room.


    She''s currently staying at the Dolu Capital where most of the strongest magicians are staying at.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    She heard many footsteps outside. Many people are returning to their homes as soldiers and magicians started approaching the city walls.


    She''s currently staying in arge hotel together with other members of the NMTI under her.


    "Chief Yumi! One of the Space Beasts is heading this way! We have only had about 45 minutes to prepare!"


    One of her subordinates noticed that she came out of her room and informed her of the situation.


    The movements of the Space Beast are quite erratic and they aren''t actively searching for the magicians, unlike the Empire.


    Nevertheless, their threat level is still higher than the Terubs since they aren''t nning to recognize the borders that they''ve set up.


    At the very least, the Aliens would recognize these borders or barriers since they would always receive an extremely powerful attack from their Mage Battalions.


    It would end well for them if they tried forcing on moving within their borders.


    At the moment, the Empire is avoiding the country''srge forces and continuously expanding outside the Zairus'' Territory¡­


    "Space Beasts, huh¡­ They shouldn''t panic, right? If I''m not mistaken, Grand Sage Mage and Gildartz had found a way to at least deal with them¡­"


    "That''s correct, Chief Yumi¡­ However,pletely killing the beast with the size of a castle would still not be easy."


    As Yumi was thinking of what to do, she suddenly received a message on her device which made her smile¡­


    [ Ace and his group of Northern Continent Natives woulde to help within an hour. ]

 Chapter 440 - Discovery

    Yumi heaved a sigh of relief after learning that Ace woulde to help them!


    In truth, even though this is the capital, she''s worried that the preparation by the Grand Sages was not enough to deal with the Space Beasts¡­


    She wasn''t underestimating the two since they''ve dealt with the magicians of Seiji recently, however, the strength of these beasts is on a different level.


    They appear to be immune to physical attacks and they also have extremely high resistance against Mana Spells.


    They''ve noticed that only spells at the level of Grade 5 would actually reach them and deal a bit of damage to their scales or skins.


    However, it is obviously not enough to kill them since they could easily regenerate whatever wound they inflicted.


    Aside from that, their usage of Grade 5 Spells was costly and they couldn''t use them in session.


    "We just have tost until Ace and his teames¡­ I''m not sure about his n but this is better than nothing." Yumimented as she pocketed hermunication device. She has to let the Grand Sages know about their reinforcement so they wouldn''t give up protecting the city.


    They may also use this to increase the morale of their soldiers so she hurriedly wore her uniform and went to the city walls.


    "Chief Yumi! Where are you going?!"


    Her subordinates called for her as they followed quickly.


    Yumi is not just a chief of NMTI and a member of the War Council but she''s also the sessor of Grandma Thea or also known as Saintess Thea¡­


    At this date, Yumi is the only practitioner of the Secret Art: Body Transformations.


    The first stage of this ability is to allow her to control her body age to a certain extent¡­ This is what she had masteredpletely while the second stage and third stage were at an advanced level of master.


    It can be said that the difficulty of this Art is at the level of Wace''s Secret Art: Flowing Spirit!


    Of course, this is still above his other Secret Art which is the AOTL.


    Nevertheless, it means that her life is extremely important and her subordinates were there to ensure that she would live even after this war is over.


    "Just follow me¡­ I need to discuss something with the War Council."


    "Got it¡­ We will follow you." Her loyal subordinate nodded as he made a few hand gestures to signal the other group of people watching her.


    They are serious about protecting her life so many of them are assigned to ensure her security.


    ***


    Miss Chamber and Miya have just finished their morning routine and were about to visit theboratory here on the Floating Ind when they suddenly heard Avalon''s report.


    During the past few weeks, they have been researching the best method to share their affinity with the Soul Arts or particrly, the Death Energy.


    [ Ten newly advanced Cryptic Mages have arrived to assist in your research. ]


    "Wait, you''ve promised to give is thirty of them! What happened?" Miss Chamber asked in confusion.


    This is probably the first time that Avalon didn''t keep their words¡­


    [ The Alien activity has increased by 24% in the past 72 hours. The ground soldiers require more help. At the moment, only these mages were capable of overpowering the Khrusams and they are crucial in each battle. ]


    Avalon exined. Miss Chamber could only keep silent with that reason. She knows that the situation below wasn''t that good anyway¡­


    Miya only smiled helplessly at this as sheforted the Headmaster.


    "Do not worry, we''ll do something about it. Though arger sample is better, we can still work with this smaller with higher efficiency¡­"


    At this moment, their research requires newly advanced Cryptic Mages since they could easily see the changes that have happened within their bodies.


    Their link with mana would still be very obvious or perhaps exposed to their sight, whenever they use their Soul Arts.


    With this technique, they would be capable of analyzing the difference between the Arcane Link and Cryptic Link¡­


    If that happened, they would perhaps discover the secret why they are not being affected by any bacsh whenever they use any forbidden magic!


    That''s right!


    The other aim of this research is to find a way to avoid the forbidden magic''s bacsh on magicians and share it with everyone who is qualified!


    If they have sessfully found a method for this, they would no longer need to sacrifice their elite magicians and they could help with the burden that the Cryptic Mages are shouldering right now¡­


    "Haa~ Alright, we''ll on it. Thanks, Avalon."


    [ You''re wee. ]


    Themunication device then turned off as they headed to theirboratory.


    Miya had actually gotten used to her current job right now¡­ She would work on her research until the afternoon, then meet many important people that were living here on the floating ind, eat healthy food, and she could even rx in some recreation areas if she wanted to refresh her mind.


    She had never used her Soul Arts like this before and she even felt that she''s gradually improving as well¡­


    She even discovered a technique simr to Wace''s method of sensing things¡­ Avalon mentioned that is called Divine Sense when she asked.


    It wasn''t a secret since the A.I. have discovered that no other magicians were actually capable of doing it.


    Apparently, it only works with magicians with soul energy that is twice the normal¡­


    She''s unsure how Wace achieved that but she knows that it should be a natural thing to him since there was no way to increase the soul energy. The practitioners like her can only manipte it through their Soul Arts¡­


    nk!


    As they opened the door of theboratory, they found that their helper is already present.


    "Sir Charles! You''re early!" Miss Chamber greeted the old man who is currently interviewing the 10 Cryptic Mages who have just arrived.


    His expertise with the Spirit Arts is extremely important so Ace had to bring him here and help in the research instead of helping in the War Council¡­


    "Haha! You guys arete¡­ I think I found it! The secret of not having any bacsh! Kekeke!"


    The old manughed excitedly as he approached thedies with ardent eyes.

 Chapter 441 - Discovery ( 2 )

    Miss Chamber and Miya were surprised after hearing the old doctor¡­


    They have been looking for this secret for a while now and they couldn''t even tell whether they are already reaching it.


    However, his announcement tells them that he had discovered this secret just after chatting with the Cryptic Mages!


    "Well¡­ It''s also because you guys did great in your research¡­ I was able to narrow down that possible cause of this." Charles calmed down as he found a seat to rx.


    "What do you mean? Tell us everything now!" The Headmaster demanded as she''s extremely curious.


    Miya just remained silent since they are both older than her. She wanted to just let them have their conversation while she listens.


    She looked at the 10 Cryptic Mages and they don''t seem to have received any kind of treatment from the famous doctor.


    ''I wonder what kind of trick are we missing¡­''


    She couldn''t wait to hear what the doctor is about to exin.


    "Alright¡­ Listen, I just reviewed the biggest difference between the Cryptic Link and Adept Link¡­ We all know that the Cryptic Link Serum that is needed to trigger the transformation is made of special chemicals provided by Veda¡­ We focused too much on finding the effects of these chemicals in their bodies and we missed something important."


    Charles started to exin as he looked at the twodies in front of him. The two didn''t speak and waited for him to continue.


    "Well, to make it short, the reason why they aren''t receiving bacsh whenever they use Forbidden Magic is because of the impurity of their Mana¡­"


    After saying this, Chamber and Miya frowned and doubted his words.


    They know that powerful spells require powerful mana to cast¡­ It means that the higher the purity, the better¡­ After all, high-quality mana can allow them to cast the spell with uracy and it will also help the Mana Artifacts from gradually losing their durability.


    Any Mana Practitioners would say that the purest mana is the best possible medium to use!


    "I know this is very surprising¡­ However, this is the reason why we can''t find the secret. All of us are thinking the wrong way. There are pros and cons to having impure mana. Of course, there are a lot more disadvantages if we''re going to make a list of them."


    Miss Chamber went silent for a moment as she considered the possibility.


    "Is it because forbidden magic is too dangerous that having impure mana is better to survive from it?" She asked in a low voice. She''s unsure about this theory but this is the only thing he could think of as of the moment.


    Miya nodded at this since she had the same thought.


    She looked at Charles''s confident expression and it seems that he was quite satisfied with Miss Chamber''s guess.


    "Well, you could say that¡­ But to exin it clearly, it can be attributed to their control of impure mana¡­ Apparently, whenever they release such Mana Spells, the Forbidden Magic would filter their mana and the impurities will take the bacsh from them¡­ Once they are removed, the magic that they cast will have the same effect as the Adept Mages. Haa~ This is why we are having a tough time finding the secret¡­"


    "Ugh¡­ That''s true, it''s difficult to discover this without letting them cast the spells¡­ But how did you know of this when you guys are only chatting?"


    Miss Chamber asked¡­


    "Haha! It''s just a perk of my Spirit Arts¡­ Their body remembers their actions so I could take a look at it easily¡­ If you want to learn this, I can give you two a lesson for free."


    Charles joked at the two since he knows that they were both unfitted with the Spirit Arts¡­ Though there are cases that a magician has an affinity to both Arts, these people can be counted by hand.


    To prove that, within this Floating Ind filled with talented people, only Charles is actually talented enough to learn the two paths¡­


    Because of this discovery, they thought that it may be better to coordinate this with the best Arcane Artificers or Arcanists so they could create a Mana Artifact to help them¡­


    There was no way for them to make their current high purity of Mana be impure, but their Mana Artifacts can perhaps act as a medium to take care of the bacsh for them¡­


    Now that they learned how the impure Mana helps, this should be easier for the Engineers to study and develop a magic structure to assist them.


    "Alright, let''s see how urate this is¡­" Miss Chamber then decided to continue with their research.


    Miya agreed as she couldn''t wait to test Charles''s theory about this¡­


    They finalized their research by conducting a few more experiments. As soon as they confirmed everything, they quickly called for the Magic Engineer''s assistance.


    ***


    As the elite researchers in Floating Ind discovered a way to help the magicians cast the Forbidden Mana Spells without any negative effects, the magicians in Dolu City started their desperate attempt to fight the huge Space Beast outside their walls!


    Yumi is standing at the balcony of the Royal Castle¡­ She was nning to help with the evacuation of the leaders of this country but it seems that she was already toote as they left the city using the underground tunnels.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The castle walls are barely standing on their ground as the Space Beast would m their limbs or perhaps tentacles to the wall¡­


    The Magicians were barely defending against it as they would cast whatever defensive magic they could cast¡­


    Apparently, before the Space Beast managed to get closer, they already fired their multiple cannons, a couple of Forbidden Mana Spells, and even Wace''s enhanced Laser Focus was used¡­


    However, none of it did damage to the Space Beast aside from halting its movement for a few seconds¡­


    "Ugh¡­ This is bad¡­ This beast is desperate to attack us¡­ Is it hungry?" Yumi muttered.


    "Haa~ I think so¡­ How can we survive this?"


    Bryson, her subordinate in NMTI, heard her. He agreed with her about the Beast being hungry since their soldiers have encountered Space Beasts before, it was during their rescue missions in several ces in the country...


    As far as they know, bombarding them with powerful spells would annoy these creatures before they would move away.


    However, it is no longer effective!


    "We still have to wait for 37 mins¡­ This is bad.." Yumi frowned as she waited for the time until Ace would arrive to help them.

 Chapter 442 - Core

    "The Great Mana Barrier Array wouldn''tst for long¡­ We need to at least divert its attention."


    Grand Sage Maze is currently holding the core of the Array.


    By doing this, she would be capable of controlling where the Mana or the Energy must be focused on the barrier. Currently, about 200 magicians are currently supplying mana to the barrier together with thousands of Mana Stones that they have acquired.


    They are confident that this couldst for a while but they are not happy about this!


    After all, they need the Space Beast to be killed or perhaps, to move away from this ce. They can''t just defend here forever!


    "I''ll do something about it¡­ Stay here and focused on strengthening the Array." Grand Sage Gildartz took his cane and mmed it on the ground¡­ He then vanished like he mist before reappearing above the huge Space Beast.


    "Mana Break¡­"


    A grade 3 spell was released just by a wave of his cane.


    The spell didn''t do much damage but the Grand Sage wasn''t surprised about it¡­


    Bam! Bam!


    The Space Beast continued smashing the barrier and ignored himpletely.


    "Mana Break¡­ Mana Break¡­"


    The old man continued casting the simr spell with at least 5 seconds dy in each spell.


    "Graaah!''


    Finally, after hitting the beast for the thirtieth time, a defeaning cry suddenly stunned everyone¡­ The Space Beasts was hurt by that spell!


    However, the Grand Sage didn''t stop and continued casting it!


    "Mana Break!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At this time, the Space Beast sent four huge tentacles to try and catch him¡­ It happened extremely fast and the Grand Sage was hit!


    Puff!


    However, the man that was hit was just a mist from one of his spells!


    He reappeared behind the Space Beast as he observed its body¡­


    "I see¡­ So Mana Break can really weaken you." The old man muttered¡­ Apparently, everyone had been trying to find its weakness but none of them could find it.


    It was then suggested by Avalon to try and drain the Mana within the beast''s body. Well, even the A.I. is unsure about this suggestion.


    Nevertheless, it seems that the space beast requires a lot of energy to control its body, and taking its mana or energy away from them would be disastrous. After all, they could crush their own body if they didn''t have enough mana to support it!


    The battle was intense and a lot of Magicians are already reaching their limit¡­


    Apparently, not all the limbs of the beasts are aiming for the Grand Sage¡­ Many of them were still trying to break the barrier in the city!


    Ace, who had been traveling with their Chronos, is currently watching the battle take ce.


    Perhaps, if not for theirck of vessel, they would be able to arrive there a bit earlier. Currently, there are five Chronos and five Airships from Veritas that are moving to send reinforcement in this ce.


    In truth, even if Ace arrived here with his five Chronos, they wouldn''t be able to do that much either. They need everyone to arrive so they could change the tide of battle.


    What they needed right now is a group of powerful magicians that can activate a powerful array to kill the space beast and stop its natural growth¡­


    "I can''t let it kill more magicians¡­ Avalon, we have to hurry!"


    Ace said in a frustrated tone. Their n to fight the Empire before it couldpletely settle on this and have fewer casualties has already failed¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ Everything is not going ording to n¡­ We should at least kill this beast today¡­''


    It is extremely frustrating for him since ever since he dreamed about the arrival of the Empire, he had done his best to prepare this to fight against the Empire.


    However, though he managed to put up a good fight, it was still not enough¡­ Many magicians have died and thends on this still ended up on their hands.


    ''Ugh¡­ I can''t think like this¡­ If I lose hope, everyone would follow suit. I need to give them hope¡­ But what do I do if this n failed again?''


    The Montego''s Mage Towers are ineffective, Maja''s Automatons were only good enough as cannon fodder, the Virgan''s Mobile Turrets were only capable of stopping the advance of the Bio-Armored Soldiers, and even with the help of Zairus''s Airships and Mech Knights, they were still unable to fight the empire equally.


    ''I guess without Veda''s Cryptic Mages, we would be in an even more tough position.'' Ace mused as he considered their current situation¡­


    Right now, they are only dealing with the outside forces of the Empire¡­ Their Elite Terubs were no longer getting involved as they seem to have stayed within the gship for some reason¡­


    [ ETA: 10:01 ]


    [ The Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists from other cities are also hurrying to the Capital. ]


    "What? Isn''t that bad? What if those cities get attacked?"


    [ They said that they will deal with it if it really happens. ]


    "Haa~ Very well¡­ Let''s just do what we can here."


    Ace sighed as he looked at the huge Space Beast on the screen. The walls of the city were already broken as the beast started creating havoc everywhere¡­


    Multiple spells like petrification, traceless, oscition, fireballs, and many other elementals spells were being used. However, none of them seem to hurt the beast at all!


    Luckily for them, one of the Grand Sages was capable of interrupting the mana supply of the Space Beast¡­


    Ace looked at the Beast thrashing the nearby magicians as he thought of something¡­


    ''Now that the Space Beast managed to adapt to this and can use Mana¡­ Does it have a Beast Core this time?''


    He had a serious look on his face as he thought of this¡­


    It must be remembered that the Steel Knights use fire-type beast cores to run as their engine¡­ Now that there is a beast here that could possibly have a core, wouldn''t they be able to create something out of it?


    Perhaps a stronger and even the best ever version of a Steel Knight that they could make?

 Chapter 443 - Plan

    Ace had a serious look on his face after reaching this thought.


    It is true that their Mech Knights, Iron Knights, and other versions of Steel Knights made by other organizations have somethingcking.


    It is their energy¡­


    Their Mech Knights are strong, their Mana Spells can be destructive, and perhaps, the best Mana Artifacts are already attached to them¡­ Unfortunately, the main problem that they have to face is the supply of Mana or the process of supplying it to them on arger scale.


    They have Mana Gathering Arrays meant for powerful spells but the gathering speed wasn''t enough. This is not because they arecking but because this is the limit of the Array itself.


    Even their genius magicians couldn''t do anything about the slow speed of the Array.


    Nevertheless, there are things that can be used alternatively to avoid such problems¡­ It is by using another item that has a better effect!


    One of these is arge Mana Stone, the Molten Core, or perhaps, this Space Beast''s core!


    Even if the core is extremelyrge after getting it, they can just use the same method they used to create the Molten Core of the Steel Knights to deal with it!


    ''That''s right¡­ I think this is possible! The only problem now is to kill it¡­''


    Ace made up his mind and thought of a n to deal with the space beast. He felt that their current n is not that effective. At most, it will still allow the space beast to run away¡­ However, he didn''t want that.


    Now that the Grand Sages will also help him to protect the capital, he might as well use them to their limits and kill the Space Beast. Not only will he benefit from it, but he will also raise the morale of the remaining people fighting for their freedom.


    [ ETA: 59 seconds ]


    Avalon reminded him of the time as he confirmed that every unit leaders are already prepared to engage in battle.


    "Everyone, you need to survive! This is just a single Space Beast and we will have to kill several more at ater date! If you are injured, get healed by the Mage Doctors we''ve brought! Use the Magic Nodes if you''re in a pinch! That''s all! Let''s kill this arrogant Space Beast!"


    Ace announced using their inte. He didn''t hear their response but he knows that he managed to send his message to them.


    Graahhh!!


    It didn''t take long before Ace saw the huge Space Beast ramming on the walls of the capital¡­


    "Avalon¡­ Send the Mech Knights out!"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    [ Launching Mech Knights Sequence Started. ]


    [ Linear Catapult Clear. ]


    [ Mech Knight Guiding System Activated. ]


    [ Launching Mech Knights. ]


    It only took a few seconds before the Mech Knights were sent out from the Chronos¡­


    Most of the Mech Knights are actually piloted by their recruited Adept Mages and even Arcane Artificers who had also yed the Alien Invasion. These people were the ones who didn''t get a chance to join the Space War mission.


    Nevertheless, it doesn''t mean that they have poor skills. It was just that they didn''t have enough time to practice during that time. However, this time is different, they had plenty of time to train inside their base at Mt. Ravencroft and have achieved an expert level thanks to the VR Training and Avalon''s guidance.


    "Charge!"


    The model of the Mechs they have is based on his Lotus Mech!


    It means that there is one they all have a powerful technology with them¡­


    The Radiant Wave Technology!


    Initially, this technology was only good as a closebat as it is meant to destroy other Mech Frames as quickly as possible. It is a weapon of war made to dominate the Mechs battles¡­


    However, due to several improvements, it can now be used to attack in long-range and even be used as a shield.


    "Now¡­ Try cutting those limbs!" Ace ordered to them. They already know their task but reminding them feels necessary¡­


    Some of the pilots appear to be overwhelmed by the huge size of the Space Beast¡­ They look like they were stunned by it.


    Anyway, Ace continued giving instructions to them¡­


    Apparently, the limbs will just regenerate even if they managed to cut them using their Magic. It is because the Space Beast has already adapted to Mana making it even more dangerous.


    However, using their Radiant Wave and its toxicity can possibly stop it from regenerating. It wouldn''t be included in the top four Mech Frames if it''s not powerful.


    The Serpent''s Marauder Mech with their Twilight Armor Technology¡­


    The Dragon''s Warrior Mech with their Subspace ster Technology¡­


    The Wolf''s Sledger Mech with their Psionic Pulse Technology¡­ and finally,


    The Lotus''s Radiant Mech with their Radiant Wave Technology. These four are the Mech Frames that have reached their peak in terms of their technology.


    Though they do not have the technology of the three other Mechs¡­ the Radiant Wave should be capable of at least inflicting damage to the Space Beast¡­


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Ace heard several explosions as he watches everything from the Chronos.


    They are firing their Hadron Cannon from the distance to cover Mech Knights as they try to cut off the Space Beast''s limbs.


    He then saw the Grand Sages below as they heaved a sigh of relief after their appearance.


    The city is already in a terrible state, perhaps, if they didn''t arrive on time, half of the Dolu City would''vepletely fallen already.


    "Avalon¡­ We need to tell them about our ns. They can''t rest yet."


    [ Affirmative. ] Avalon replied as the A.I. ryed the n to the Grand Sages in charge of the current battle¡­


    Their n is simple¡­ they need to stop the Space Beast from regenerating. They need to cut off its limbs and cut off its connection from the surrounding Mana!


    That''s right¡­ Now that the Grand Sages or the forces in the capital had seen the strength of the Space Beast, they have to follow his orders.


    His order is for them to utilize their Lamat Stone or their Magic Jammer. The capital possesses almost all the Lamat Stones that can be found within the whole kingdom.


    As long as the Grand Sages heed his orders and he took possession of all the Lamat Stones, this battle would end in a few more minutes.


    Ace smiled at this thought as he watches the Space Beast struggling to fight the Radiant Mech Knights.

 Chapter 444 - Small Victory

    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Several limbs of the Space Beast dropped to the ground that it shake the ground¡­


    It created a huge impact as the ground vibrated.


    Ace saw that the Lotus''s Radiant Mech Knights managed to cut the Space Beast''s limbs as expected!


    Though it took three Mech Knights to cut a single limb¡­ This is still a huge sess.


    "Graahh!" The space beast cried in pain or perhaps, anger but the Mech Knights were able to dodge its attacks.


    Their float drive system has been improved about five times already and it has probably reached its peak at this point.


    "Good¡­ Just continue pressuring it! We have to wait until we gather enough Lamat Stones¡­"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    His fellow magicians answered as they fought bravely in front of the space beast.


    "Avalon, ready my Mech Knight."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace then left the bridge to Avalon. The A.I. should be able to at least keep their Chronos safe.


    They have limited spaceships at the moment and they can''t allow the beast to destroy even one of them.


    nk! nk! nk!


    The airtight bulkheads opened for Ace as he arrived at the hanger where his Mech Knight is. He''s not a very strong magician but he can say that he''s one of the best pilots on this.


    After all, he received years of experience piloting them and was even taught in his ss before.


    Aside from that, he''s well aware of how to fully maximize Avalon''s potential when he''s in battle.


    It didn''t take long before he arrived in front of a ck and red Mech Frame or perhaps, Mech Knight¡­


    This humanoid machine with over 9 meters in height and about 30 metric tons in weight exude a very dangerous aura.


    Instead of using his MN Reactor or Molten Core for this Mech, he is actually using a modified version of Zamphail''s Reactor that is being used by the Iron Knights.


    The reason for this is simple, it is because the Reactor itself was designed by Aeolia¡­ It perfectly utilizes the Mana around the world as its energy.


    Apparently, the Iron Knights were only considered weak because of the machine or their equipment being used. Maybe because Aeolia doesn''t have a lot of resources that was why the design of the Iron Knights has to be at the limit of the''s current technology.


    However, the core has a lot of potentials since it was designed to also utilize other types of energy. It means that if he has an Aether Force, he would be able to use it as well and benefit from having two sources of energy!


    Thud! Thud!


    The Mech Knight kneeled as the cockpit opened to let him pilot it.


    This machine is equipped with an Integrated Float Drive System, a Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun, Radiant Wave Tech, a couple of Six Gen Mana Artifact in a form of Armor, and an active Seventh Gen Mana Artifact or Sentient Mana on its arm¡­


    Though it is still impossible to fight a Terub in a one versus one fight, it could still be capable ofsting for an hour or perhaps even escaping if needed.


    [ All system ready. ]


    [ Catapult Clear. ]


    "Ace, ck Radiance, Launching out!"


    As soon as he said this, his path to the Space Beast created a ck smoke catching everyone''s attention¡­


    However, this is not meant for decoration but it is due to the byproduct from the two types of energy working together.


    [ The Grand Sages needed four more minutes to gather all the Lamat Stones and form an Array to trap the Space Beast. We need to stop it from leaving this circle during that time. ]


    Avalon then showed on his screen the circle where the Space Beast should stay at.


    "I understand¡­ Let''s do our best."


    Ace said as he used his Altitude Gun in a closer range to target one of the twelve eyes of the beast¡­


    This beast is truly impressive as it is capable of adapting to any environment it was ced. Instead of being killed by the sudden introduction of mana, it managed to evolve its body and even learned how to use it for its convenience.


    It is a terrifying ability and it suited its name as a Space Beast.


    Boom!


    Ace sessfully hit one of its eyes but the beast didn''t falter and it even get angrier! It can be healed in a matter of seconds anyway.


    "Graaahh!!"


    Ace didn''t dodge and trusted the other Radiant Knights to cut the limbs off for him. He''s nning to attack again¡­


    Then, he was notified that the Chronos and the Airships will bombard the Space Beast so he quickly moved out of the way¡­


    The battle continued for four minutes as they did their best to suppress the huge beast¡­ The ground soldiers together with the Lucent Force assigned to the capital used everything they got just to ensure that the beast will not move from its ce.


    "We''re ready!"


    Finally, Ace heard Grand Sage Maze''s words. They can finally cut off the beast''s supply of mana¡­


    "Great! Please activate it in my signal!" Ace said to the Grand Sage¡­ He was obviously relieved that they can finally do this.


    He didn''t have much interaction with Maze but he remembers that she''s the master of the Sages that have died together with the space shuttle they''ve sent prior to his Spaceship Launch.


    Nevertheless, he knows that she''s a capable Array specialist since she''s the only Grand Sage who has an Original Mage Tower¡­


    "Activate it now!"


    As soon as he said this, the array made of Lamat Stones activated as the giant Space Beast started weakening¡­


    This is the greatest problem of a beast who had fully resigned its fate to Mana!


    Without its support, the beast started crushing its own body!


    Thirty seconds¡­ It then turned a minute¡­ Two minutes¡­ Four minutes¡­


    As soon as it reached eight minutes, everyone confirmed using their sensors that the beast has lost its life!


    "We won!"


    Grand Sage Maze shouted as everyone cheered the death of the gigantic Space Beast.

 Chapter 445 - End Plan

    Everyone couldn''t help but shout in joy after confirming the death of the Space Beast.


    They all have teary eyes as they have finally found a way to deal with them. They know that repeating the same task to others would be much more difficult but this sess means a lot to them¡­


    Not only did they managed to save the capital from its certain destruction but they also gained hope to end this war.


    They know that Avalon or Wace has ways to deal with the Terubs and Khrusams and the Space Beasts were the real problems.


    Now that they killed one of them, they could continue with this momentum and take back thends that were previously taken by the aliens.


    "Treat all the injured¡­"


    "Bring the Mage Doctors here if there are critical patients!"


    "Hurry up! Repair the barrier!"


    "We can''t let our guard down!"


    The Grand Sages who were tired of the recent battle has to continue ordering the magicians. The recent fight they had might''ve attracted the enemies after all.


    "We can''t fix the barrier. Three cores of the barrier were destroyed. We need three to five days toplete this." One of his vice generals reported.


    "What do we need to fix them quickly?" Grand Sage Maze asked. Her people were all experts in terms of Array and creating Magic Structures.


    Since her vice general concluded the difficulty of fixing the barrier, she would trust his report.


    "Perhaps if we have enough Adepts and Array Specialist¡­ We might be able to do it in two days. However, most of them have been scattered all around the country to support the other cities¡­"


    As soon as he said this, a group of people arrived at the ruined walls of the City¡­


    It is Ace''s group followed by a couple of Northern Natives.


    These natives have lean bodies and white hair. They also appearrger than other people here and their aura is clearly different from everyone else. They have a savage aura that was perhaps influenced by the chaotic mana in the Northern Continent.


    "I will be able to help you with the repair. I brought special automatons to help in case this happens."


    As soon as he said this, the Grand Sage and other magicians doubted him.


    They know that the automatons were just puppets that are given life through a set of instructions provided by the engineer.


    There was no way it is capable of learning how to fix a magic structure or even use the Mana.


    "Don''t worry. Just watch¡­" Ace said as he ordered Avalon to drop the Elysiums from the Chronos above them.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    A total of 10 Fabricator Elysiums dropped to the ground and created dust everywhere.


    Ace dusted off his suit with his hands before giving orders to the Elysiums.


    "Analyze the huge barrier and try fixing it. If there''s a problem you can''t solve just report it to me." The young man said to them but in truth, he was just talking to Avalon.


    These Fabricator Elysiums weren''t normal. They are the ones who had received Memory Crystal with imprinted Divine Sense in it!


    This is why Ace is confident about its capabilities. They have gained enough experience working at the factory and doing this task shouldn''t be as difficult unless they are requiring a special type of materials.


    "Incredible¡­ So you''re telling me that those machines are capable of doing what magicians can do?" Grand Sage Maze asked in a very amused tone. If she was probably not tired, she would request to take one of them to be analyzedter on.


    However, she will be too busy with this war. She still has to deal with the aftermath of this battle and will have to report to the leader of this country¡­


    "That''s right. Don''t worry¡­ You will see how capable they are soon."


    "Of course. I trust you, young man¡­"


    ''Haa~ I hope this will be the start of our rise¡­'' The Grand Sage thought as she felt that using this momentum to fight the Aliens might be a good idea.


    If they didn''t act soon, they would surely be in a disadvantageous position. Ace is probably aware of that as well so she didn''t say anything for now and would ask himter about it.


    ***


    ''Space Beasts are this huge, huh¡­ I thought we can only find them in the Northern Continent¡­''


    Pavel, one of the Northern Continent Natives wearing a bio-armor suit, mused after seeing the beast''s carcass.


    Thanks to the supply from the Moon Base, they have acquired hundreds of Bio-Armor from Omen IV and even better quality ones in the Conqueror Starship that they''ve looted and destroyed.


    Because of this, almost all of the Northern Natives have Bio-Armors and are considered elite soldiers of Wace¡­ or perhaps his twin named Ace¡­


    They were confused at first after learning the two''s identity but they at least learned that one of them is a clone.


    Nevertheless, it doesn''t change the fact that they will follow him to fulfill the promise they''ve made with him and Aeolia.


    "Sir Ace¡­ We would like to inspect the body of the Space Beast. We might learn something from them. We will also look for a possible core." Pavel whispered to Ace as they entered the ruined part of the city.


    On their side was a huge mountain-like corpse of the space beast. The body doesn''t smell at all but the aura it exudes were still present.


    They have to deal with it as quickly as possible as ordinary people might have trouble living with its presence.


    "Right¡­ Try to look for the Beast Core and take possession of it. Exin that I will use it for something important¡­"


    "Yes, Sir¡­"


    The two then disappeared and reappeared near the Space Beast to investigate.


    On the other hand, ACe decided to meet with the higher-ups in this city to persuade everyone to have their magicians that are experts in Soul Arts work for him during this war¡­


    Right now, even though brute force is a good method to fight the Aliens, they have to maximize the use of their magic, their Soul Arts or perhaps even Spirit Arts.


    Those two arts seem to be the best way to showcase their difference with the aliens right now as he nned to end this war in a couple of weeks.

 Chapter 446 - End Plan ( 2 )

    "The other Space Beasts, are they still at the Luna Lake?" Ace asked Avalon.


    He''s about to meet the other officials of the country to persuade them to go with his n.


    [ Correct. Four Space Beasts have gathered in that ce due to some unknown reason. ]


    "I see¡­ It''s good that they''ve gathered there. It will be easier for us."


    It didn''t take long before Ace was brought to a room within the pce where he met several familiar people and several officials that is running the country.


    Apparently, they decided to scatter most of their magicians to ensure that they will not be wiped out in case something bad happens.


    However, Ace felt that this is quite a bad decision as it just weakened their forces even more. Anyway, it''s not like they would be able to find apletely safe location with the alien technology capable of detecting life.


    Even if they found an isted ind to preserve their bloodlines, it wouldn''t guarantee their safety at all.


    At the very least, the four Grand Arcanist''s Manors were still knowledgeable enough to gather their forces together and defend their territory¡­ It means that there are still ces in this country that are rtively safe aside from the ces that he''s covering.


    Even if the Empire could find its base, it wouldn''t be easily taken down.


    "Sir Wace¡­ Thank you foring to save us! If not for your help, this city would''ve beenpletely destroyed."


    "That''s right¡­ I heard that you have also sent a group of specialists to fix the barrier. How can we repay you?"


    Ace heard the two old men who appear to have a high status in the kingdom. Avalon then confirmed that they are ministers.


    One is from the Ministry of Defense and the other is from the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry¡­


    "Sir Stoller and Sir cher¡­ There is no need for repaying for my service. We all have amon goal of eliminating the invaders." Ace said with a smile as he didn''t want to make this big.


    Though he doesn''t like these people as they are the ones who are stopping his expansion ns before, he had to forget these concerns and move on.


    That''s right, they are the government officials who were previously against his ns when he was still starting with his VR Project and also during his creation of Spaceships¡­


    He learned all of this from Avalon and Veda who know the inner workings of the government.


    Ace then nodded at Yumi who was looking at him with an apologetic smile.


    "The reason I came here is to n the end of these invaders¡­ We have enough numbers of Lamat Stones to create an Array to kill the Space Beast¡­ We have the Northern Natives to deal with the Terubs¡­ We have a continuously increasing number of Cryptic Mages to deal with the Khrusams. I think that this is the best time to destroy them!"


    Ace said decisively.


    Grand Sage Maze and Grand Sage Gildartz were impressed by his determination.


    Though the head of the Council of War is not present, everyone here can basically influence the whole council as long as they agreed with him.


    Aside from that, there was no way for the council to disagree with his words as well. The reason why he was telling this to them directly is to ensure their cooperation and directpliance to him¡­


    Grand Sage Morris who had just arrived after moving the monarch of this country to a safe ce and Grand Arcanist Aura who has been defending the internal structures of the Capital looked at each other.


    They were both aware of their country''s situation. Their monarch is just a figurehead who barely knows anything about magic and only knows how to use money.


    The monarch is just relying on the powers of the four Manors and twelve Families that are keeping the bnce of this country.


    But now that the peaceful times are over, what they need is not a benevolent or innocent leader but a strongmander that will lead them to victory.


    It seems that they have to use Ace as their beacon to have all the families and manors unite and fight this final battle.


    "You are going to lead us to victory?" Grand Sage Morris asked while caressing his long beard. Instead of a question, it seems that he is showing his doubt for a moment.


    "I don''t think it''s a problem. You have already proven your skills several times. So I know that you are already more than qualified to lead us all."


    Grand Arcanist Aura who is wearing a white and luxurious robe said with a serious tone. He appears to be in his fifties and his aura seems to be very cold.


    It ispletely opposite to Maze with a fiery aura¡­


    "Well, I guess you''re not telling this to us to ask permission. Tell us what you really want to happen?"


    Gildartz said in a cold tone. He doesn''t seem to mind the idea of having a young magician lead them.


    "Of course, what I want to happen is to have all your Spirit Arts and Soul Arts Practitioners. Though we already know how to deal with the Space Beasts, we need to ensure our victory against the other species. We can only do that through their help¡­"


    Ace then told them about hisplete n to eradicate the scattered enemies.


    Due to the n to drop the floating inds to the spaceships before, they already learned how powerful their defenses are¡­


    So directly attacking their spaceships with brute force is no longer an option. They couldn''t repeat the same mistake.


    "Soul Arts and Spirit Arts Practitioners¡­ Very well, since you already gather several Forbidden Techniques¡­ Then it''s worth a try¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ And you said that someone had found out how to avoid the bacsh of casting Forbidden Magic? That''s incredible¡­ It means that the burden of the Cryptic Mages will lighten!" Aura eximed with a smile.


    Ace nodded in satisfaction after hearing their positive response.


    He has to thank Charles, Miya, and Miss Chamber''s team for their hard work. Without everyone''s help, this war would probably take even longer.


    Everyone has agreed with Ace''s n and the mission to end the Empire''s reign has finally started.

 Chapter 447 - End Plan ( 3 )

    A day had passed quickly and the Array Specialists with the help of the special Elysiums hadpleted at least 80% of the reconstruction of the barrier.


    Instead of just repairing, they have even decided to add severalyers of another defense to ensure that it will no longer break after three or five strikes of the Space Beast.


    At this point, Ace can already take his automatons with him and let the others continue with the project¡­


    "Ace¡­ I won''t be able to join you guys¡­ I need to go with the other officials." Yumi said in a low voice after seeing that he was about to return to his Chronos.


    Ace smiled at the middle-ageddy¡­ She''s really suited to have this figure instead of the teenager or the young one who seemed like a kid.


    He already knows through Veda that this influential and beautiful woman isn''t just a simple official of the NMTI and is actually a sessor of the 24 Survivors or Saintess Thea¡­


    It means that she can''t just participate in open battles when her main skill is rted to espionage and assassination.


    "Of course. I could understand that.. Don''t worry¡­ If you are nning to return to the floating ind, just tell me and I''ll let Avalon handle it."


    "Alright¡­ That''s better. I might consider returning there if I could convince Grandma Thea toe with me¡­"


    Ace nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.


    The two of them are the remaining practitioners of a Secret Art rted to body transformation and he''s more than happy to help them preserve their life on the floating ind.


    Then, Ace looked behind him and saw the four groups of magicians waiting for hismand.


    Grand Sage Maze with her 5 Sages and 10 Adept Mages.


    Grand Sage Gildartz with his 5 Sages and 10 Adept Mages.


    Grand Sage Morris with his 10 Sages.


    Grand Arcanist Aura with his 12 Arcanists¡­


    These are the addition to Ace''s current forcesposed of Northern Natives and Automatons¡­


    As for the talented magicians with Soul Arts and Spirit Arts knowledge, they will be sent to the floating ind to have Miya and Charles train them with their newest magic to deal with the aliens.


    Right now, his other forces areposed of the Arian Race, Cryptic Mages, and the Terror Mages he took with him from the State of Kazan.


    They are about to meet with them from a ce not too far from the current location where the Space Beasts are.


    "Wace, would you be asking ine toe with us? I heard that he has already recovered and was recently transferred to your facility." Aura asked in a low voice.


    Though they know that he''s not the real magician Wace, they are still calling him with that name as they are probably confused or thinking that they arepletely the same anyway.


    "I''ll contact him but for now, I think that our team alone can aplish this¡­ Once we eliminated all of the Space Beasts, many magicians would be able to move freely. We''ll just get stronger after finishing this mission." Ace replied as these space beasts that they are targeting are basically limiting their battleships or airships'' movement.


    It means that massive movement of magicians would be difficult with their presence.


    After all, once their vessel came into these creatures'' range, they will be followed and destroyed with the long tentacles or limbs of this beast.


    They have to stop them from doing this so eliminating them should be a top priority.


    "I will need to have the other members of the council to have the imperial soldiers busy with their presence while we kill the space beasts¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ That''s right¡­ They might consider helping these beasts if we''re nning to kill them."


    "Well, they haven''t shown interest with these gigantic beings after they sent them out. I doubt that they will provide help to them but anyway, you''re the leader. Justmand us whatever you think is the best way to end this war."


    Maze and Gildartzmented as they analyzed the situation.


    None of them wanted to prolong this war so they had epted Ace''s conditions.


    Since he just started leading them personally, they would wait for the result of his leadership first before they willment about it.


    ***


    "I think that we should just stay here for now. Sir Ace will be dealing with the remaining Space Beasts and he wanted us to ensure that the Imperial Army wouldn''t disturb them¡­"


    Hilda ryed the information to the First and Second Mech Knight Division that she''s currently leading.


    While Ace and his group are moving to Luna Lake as quickly as possible, the two knight divisionsposed of 40 Mech Knights are moving in group and patrolling the borders of their territory.


    They have to do this since even though Avalon can monitor the alien''s position through their satellite, reacting to their sudden attack might be difficult if they are far away¡­


    This is why they have conducted a patrol from time to time to ensure that the aliens wouldn''t dare to carelessly enter their territory¡­


    "What should we do then? I''m pretty sure that the battle between them and the space beasts would berge¡­" The currentmander of the Second Division asked.


    His name is Martin Moroff and one of the Cryptic Mage Pilots¡­ Because of the death of many talented magicians like Ferdie and Ray Penber, this man has to take over the vacant position though he wasn''t that trained to be a leader.


    Hilda thought for a moment and was about tomand them to secure the perimeter of the battlefield when she was suddenly contacted by Avalon.


    Beep!


    [ Traces of Wace and the Celestial Being was detected at the southern sea of the State of Kazan. You and your team have a mission to ensure Wace''s safety. ]


    "Ha! Finally! It''s been months since they disappeared! Just what kind of monster did they fight?!" Hilda couldn''t help but exim after hearing the news.


    After making a quick celebration, she quickly ordered her team to move as quickly as they can to find Wace''s whereabouts.


    This person has a lot of exining to do since they''ve been struggling to fight the aliens for a while now!

 Chapter 448 - Yorian Race

    Hilda and her team hurried to the patch of ocean that was marked by Avalon.


    It is thest ce where Wace''s traces was found.


    "Everyone, scatter and look for any traces of battle!" She said in the inte.


    "Yes, Leader!"


    Her team answered in unison.


    There was no way that Wace would go missing without any reason. He was either caught in a trap or perhaps, fighting someone that would probably take a long time to be defeated.


    As for him being dead, there was no way that would happen so they didn''t even think about it.


    ''There are rumors about the existence of Deep Sea Creatures¡­ I wonder if that''s something to do with his disappearance¡­'' Hilda thought as she controlled her Radiant Knight to get close to the ocean..


    She barely knows anything about the Deep Sea Creatures. As a matter of fact, she had only learned about their existence through Avalon''s piece of information.


    "Avalon¡­ Do you know what his current situation is?"


    [ No. There was only a little time to trace him so I was unable to exchange information with him. ]


    "I see¡­ Maybe he''s just trying to tell us that he''s fine and we shouldn''t be worried?"


    Hilda made her guess after not finding any of his traces.


    Nevertheless, they continued searching the area with their Mech Knights but it seems that Wace had probably already moved away or perhaps, he had decided to hide underwater¡­


    "Is it possible that he''s together with the Deep Sea Creatures? He has a Bio-Armor right? I''m pretty sure he can survive there¡­"


    [ There is a high possibility that it is correct. ]


    "Hmm¡­" Hilda smiled after hearing Avalon''s approval.


    She thought of continuing with the search for another half an hour before ending the mission. However, she soon heard one of her colleagues reporting an unusual phenomenon¡­


    "Leader! This is the 2nd Unit. There are hundreds of sea creatures floating! They all seem dead! I will send you my coordinates¡­"


    "Hilda, this is the 4th Unit¡­ We found some dead humanoid fish. They might be those rumored Deep Sea Creatures. Based on their injuries, they probably have fought an expert¡­ Perhaps, a sword or de user¡­ Oh! Sorry, one of our Adepts just confirmed now that the cause of death is a sharp Mana Spell!"


    "This is the 5th Unit¡­ We also found hundreds of dead Humanoid Sea Creatures. They were all cut into pieces¡­ I think that Wace is up to something."


    Hilda listened to their reports. They could easily guess that this has something to do with Wace since this was hisst known location.


    "Ugh¡­ It''s difficult for us to search underwater¡­ We haven''t even tried that within the game. Avalon, do you think we should go ahead and dive down?" Hilda worriedly asked.


    Though she knows that their Mech Knights can move underwater, it is stillpletely different from moving in vacuum space.


    [ All the Mech Knight''s spells and weapons would weaken by 20-40% if used underwater. The possible enemies are also Deep Sea Creatures that are extremely strong within their territories¡­ I suggest that we select a few pilots that are experienced with the Arcanist Phase to search at least 1000 ft underwater. ]


    Hilda nodded after hearing the suggestion. She had forgotten about their Arcanist Phase!


    Well, all theirtest Mech Knights indeed have the Arcanist Phase feature installed in them but not all pilots have tried them in battle yet.


    So selecting a few skilled pilots would increase the chance of their survival if they met a powerful sea creature.


    Anyway, they are also unable to find life whenever they scan the water using their Mana Spells¡­


    That''s right! They couldn''t detect any living beings in the search area which is already quite suspicious. They should at least detect some signs of lifeing from the fishes, right?


    This only means that there is something blocking their magic or perhaps, there are really no living beings down there. They were all probably killed at this point¡­


    ''But that''s weird¡­ There''s no way that the Sea Creatures were only a few hundred in numbers¡­'' Hilda thought as she ryed Avalon''s idea to the group.


    It only took five minutes before a group of six Radiant Knights was selected to search underwater.


    This is a very dangerous mission and they have to quickly retreat if they have encountered a strong foe or perhaps, a mythical beast that is equal to a Space Beast underwater. It is not impossible to have such a creature like that considering that they barely know anything within the sea.


    The ones who are selected are the leaders of each small unit including Hilda.


    "Alright, everyone¡­ Though there was no way that the one we will be facing here is stronger than that Spaceships we fought in outer space, we can''t be too confident! Stay on alert!"


    "Yes, Leader!"


    The five others replied with enthusiasm¡­ They soon activated their Mech Knight''s Mana Shell to move unhindered in the water.


    Finally, the six of them dive down to search for Wace''s traces or anything that could give them clue about the cause of death of these sea creatures.


    Mana Sense¡­


    Heat Detection¡­


    Echo Tracing¡­


    Mana Spells including the radar system of the Mech Knights were used to find something out.


    "Nothing¡­ We''ll continue heading down."


    Hilda announced using their inte as they go deeper. It didn''t take long before the sunlight can no longer reach them as they met with darkness.


    They can only use their Mech Knight''s installed lighting system or their Mana Spells to bring out stronger light.


    Beep! Beep!


    Soon, their Mech Knights detected several movements below them!


    [ Mana has been detected. ]


    [ Astral Energy has been detected. ]


    [ Humanoid Sea Creatures have been detected. ]


    [ Connection to Wace''s Independent A.I. has been established. ]


    [ Transferring information¡­ ]


    "Finally! Wace should be here! There seems to be a battle below! Be careful!"


    Hilda reminded everyone. They couldn''t really see well even with the lights they have. They can only rely on their radar to find the location of the living creatures below them¡­


    Beep!


    [ Wace''s location has been found¡­ ]


    As soon as this was announced, the radar that was previously filled with red dots finally had a blue dot referring to Wace''s location!


    Then, Hilda heard a continuous beeping sound on the system as thousands of Yorian Race has been detected! They are now fighting a life and death battle against Wace!

 Chapter 449 - Saved

    "Ugh! What''s going on?"


    "Hilda! I think it''s too dangerous going down there. There are too many of them!"


    "This must be a trap! I think they''re using Wace''s locator as bait!"


    Hilda''s teammates saw the numerous red dots indicating enemies in front of their screen. The blue dot, which is supposedly Wace, is surrounded by these enemies!


    He either needed some help or perhaps, it is indeed a trap set up by the sea creatures.


    "No! He''s still fighting! However, it''s difficult tomunicate with him now. At the very least, I managed to connect with his Avalon."


    "What do we do? We will just get swarmed by their numbers. Even if we have Mana Shells and Magic Node we will still be overwhelmed."


    Hilda understood this very carefully.. However, she noticed that they are not being targeted by the sea creatures yet!


    ''This is a chance!''


    "Let''s just use our Arcanist Phase¡­ If it''s about to be over, we have to quickly retreat to the surface. The Phase should at least protect us from any harm."


    "Ahh! You''re right¡­ There shouldn''t be a problem then!"


    "Fine¡­ Let''s get this over with and bring Sir Wace back!"


    As soon as they regained their confidence, Hilda started charging forward¡­


    They were soon noticed by the Sea Creatures and started using their bodies to block them!


    How absurd!


    They are currently piloting their Mech Knights! There was no way their tiny bodies could stop thisrge machine!


    "Be careful! It must be some kind of Water Magic¡­ Don''t collide with them your current armor! Use the Arcanist Phase now!" Hilda ordered.


    The others didn''t have to answer as they followed hermand. As soon as they activated the phase, they were surrounded by a red aura like the Mech Knight is overheating¡­


    During this time, their machine''s magic capability and armor would increase by 100%. Not only that, their synchronization rate should surpass 90% at this point making them feel like they are moving their own arms and legs as they move to their target!


    [ 200 meters from Wace. ]


    [ He''s currently being suppressed by unidentified Water Magic and couldn''t fully use his full ability. ]


    [ Rmending to use Magic Jammer or something simr to stop whatever is interfering with his power. ]


    "What? We didn''t bring a Magic Jammer with us!"


    [ Rmending any spell that could disrupt an Array or any Binding Magic. ]


    "Ugh! Is there anyone who has an idea?" Hilda asked her team as she gets near Wace''s location.


    They thought of using Traceless Oscition as it has a powerful ability to disrupt the surrounding structures or arrays¡­ However, if that can be done, surely, Wace has also tried using it considering that he''s the creator of that magic.


    "We can probably try using brute force to help him¡­"


    "My spells are bounded to Grade 3 Spells from Royal and Archon Series. I don''t think that could help."


    "How about we try to just move him first without destroying that spell that is binding him?"


    Her subordinates started giving their opinion as they get closer and closer to Wace''s spot.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    They used their Arcanist Phase to forcefully ignore the wave of water spells and bodies that are ramming at them just to stop their momentum¡­


    They truly are desperate!


    Beep! Beep!


    They then received a warning about an explosion happening not too far from them! It seems that there is another fight going on¡­


    "What''s that Avalon? Is that another enemy?"


    [ No, it is Wace''s helper. A Celestial Being is currently fighting against the King of the Yorian Race or the Alien Sea Creature Race that was brought by the Empire. ]


    "A Celestial Being? Ugh¡­ Let''s leave that for now. I need to focus on saving Wace. Are we going to get caught in their fight?"


    [ Probability is low since the Celestial is already aware of our presence and purpose foring here. ]


    "That''s good to hear! Alright, everyone, we only have 40 seconds in our Arcanist Phase¡­ Someone grab Wace and we have to quickly head out. Avalon, let the others above know of the situation."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    "Alright, I''ll take care of Wace''s escape¡­ Focus on disrupting these annoying creatures¡­" One of her subordinates answered.


    Hilda ns on drawing the attention of the Sea Creatures which is a very good decision. Currently, she has the toughest Radiant Knight as her Mech Knight was fully modified by Avalon''s Elysiums in their Moon Base''s Shipyard.


    It is not just using the space alloy they retrieved from the battlefield, but it is also using the Enchanted Material that they have sent here from their country.


    Soon, they saw Wace being bound by a string of ck water as numerous alien races were trying to sap out his energy!


    "Activate the Magic Nodes¡­" Hildamanded as she used pulled out her gun.


    The gun doesn''t use gunpowder or electricity but mana¡­ It created a wind st bullet that exploded around Wace¡­


    Though it is powerful, she''s confident that Wace can endure it!


    ''This guy¡­ So he really has a weakness¡­'' Hilda was actually surprised seeing how Wace is struggling out of the ck water.


    She had seen him before as an extremely powerful magician that knows almost everything and his moves are all calcted.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As she created a huge disruption, the alien race started focusing on her as expected¡­ She then let her subordinates help Wace as she continued casting her wind spells¡­


    Fire, Earth, and Water Magic seems useless at the moment but the Wind and Pure Mana Magic that she can use seems to be quite powerful considering that her Mech Knight is still in Arcanist Phase¡­


    Boom! Boom!


    But it''s not enough¡­ Once her Arcanist Phase was removed, she will surely suffer here¡­


    "I need arger explosion¡­ Hurry up and take Wace away!"


    She then waited for them to take Wace away while he was still trapped in the string of ck water.


    As soon as she noticed this, she finally made up her mind and use her most powerful Fire Element Mana Spell!


    She wanted to create the strongest Steam Explosion while her Arcanist Phase is still active!

 Chapter 450 - Saved ( 2 )

    Wace looked at the uncountable members of the Yorian Race waiting for them outside the Deep Sea City¡­


    Then, he looked at the Celestial Being beside him who is now ready to fight the King of the Yorian Race.


    The King, or the Humanoid Toad, uses some kind of space lock around the city that stops them from using instantaneous movement.


    At this time, the Celestial is nning to break it forcefully and have Wace escape or at least, get the attention of the king''s soldier so he can focus on dealing with the troublesome King¡­


    Whom~


    The Celestial Being floated and arrived near the barrier that is separating the city and the deep ocean.


    The Barrier has weakened quite a lot since they have failed multiple times to kill this King.


    That''s right. It is not their first time attempting to leave this ce but their fourth time¡­


    Unfortunately, they always have to retreat to the city since they couldn''t handle them! The king seems to be immortal as long as he''s remaining in the water. It is a cheat-like ability that even the Celestial would have to prepare before facing him..


    "Avalon¡­ I''ll try to get away as quickly as possible, use everything you got to connect in the outsidework, and transfer the gathered data to the main database."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Boom!


    Wace heard an explosion and realized that the Celestial has already removed the space lock temporarily¡­


    "Void Phase!"


    As soon as he used his spell, he managed to get out of the city barrier¡­ However, he didn''t manage to get far away and his spell was canceled¡­


    He was already expecting this so quickly used his Bio-Armor defensively and created arge Mana Shell to protect himself from the Nagas, Murlocs, Mermen, and other sea creatures controlled by the king.


    ''I can do this¡­''


    He activated his Fervor Timepiece''s Dual Burst and spread out his Divine Sense¡­


    ''Where are those Sea Creature''s Magicians?'' Wace asked himself as the cannon fodders were just nothing to him with his armor and mana shell.


    The real troublesome soldiers of the king are those with talent in Magic and not just their racial talent in controlling water¡­


    As he spread out his Divine Sense, he soon found a group of 50 Yorian Magicians lurking behind the fodders.


    ''Found them¡­ They''re hiding really well this time¡­'' Wace praised them a bit.


    During their previous attempt, he killed quite a lot of these aliens as they didn''t bother hiding their threatening abilities from him.


    They are probably confident before that they''ll be able to catch him and end this battle. But they didn''t know that they''ll get ughtered instead.


    Now, they seemed to have learned their lessons and covered themselves with stealth magic¡­


    ''Hmph! I can''t deal with you now¡­ I''ll get my revenge!''


    Wace is still in his ck Bio-Armor and it suddenly glowed red¡­ It is the activation of his Astral Energy to the limit!


    Since he found the location of the Yorian Magicians, he also found their weakest area of protection! He''s not nning to fight them yet and he''s looking for a path to escape!


    He used his maximum speed thanks to his Physical Burst¡­


    Unfortunately, the water in the sea seems to be so thick and it is pulling him down just like his previous attempts¡­


    ''Tsk¡­ Even after using my full Astral Energy, it''s still dragging me down¡­ Howe they''re so strong?'' Wace grumbled as he continued moving.


    His use of Mana Spells was mostly for defensive purposes as his offensive spells consumed too much Mana especially when he''s trying to resist the power that is pulling him down. It means that he has to be careful when using them.


    ''A little bit more¡­'' Wace muttered as he was nning something to fight back.


    He understands that he needs to save his energy so if he has to attack them, he should be able to at least deal thergest damage he could do¡­


    As soon as he gained a bit more distance from the chasing Yorian Race¡­


    He started activating his Secret Art! The Awakening of Thunder and Lightning!


    The enemies had already seen him use this before but this time, the scale of his spell will bepletely different.


    "Lightning Break!"


    He didn''t hesitate to use his Secret Art as soon as he get into a good position!


    He formed a fist in his hands as it created sparks of electricity!


    Thanks to his Bio-Armor and Mana Shell, he has a high level of immunity with the element. It doesn''t matter whether he''s also in the water as it wouldn''t affect him at all.


    Soon, the lightning he released managed to fry hundreds of his enemies except for the area that the magicians are protecting.


    Nevertheless, it created a space for Wace so he could finally escape!


    Whom~ Whom~ Whom~


    As he was about to swim away, he suddenly noticed that the surrounding ck blood of the dead Yorian Race around started moving and binding his body!


    He didn''t think too much of their blood before aside from viewing it as an octopus ink!


    ''Crap! They have this ability?!''


    Wace was frustrated a bit as he did his best to get away from it. However, the blood binding him was too strong, especially that it came from hundreds of dead Yorians!


    He didn''t know how much time had passed as he continuously failed to get out of the bindings¡­ At the very least, they seem to be incapable of further harming him which is a good thing.


    They are probably already too exhausted just by maintaining this restriction.


    Beep!


    [ Connection to the nearest Terminal has been established. ]


    [ Information exchangepleted ]


    [ Six Mech Knights areing in our direction. ]


    Wace felt d that a new variable in this underwater war has finally arrived! Whatever changes they could do to help him will be very much appreciated.


    He then recognized Hilda''s familiar Aura and realized that his First Mech Knight Division was the one rescuing him!


    It didn''t take long as they created chaos and he was pulled up by one of the Radiant Knights while the blood of the Yorians was still clinging to him.

 Chapter 451 - Saved ( 3 )

    Finally! Wace saw the sunlight and realized that he was already out of the restriction that is stopping him from using his Void Phase indefinitely.


    Unfortunately, the ck ink or the blood of the Yorians were still slithering around his body like chains.


    It is trying to suppress his ability and even trying to pull him down!


    ''Ugh¡­ This is such a terrifying ability¡­ If other magicians were caught by these, they would probably not be able to survive.''


    Wace smiled wryly as he let himself get carried by the Radiant Knight.


    On the other hand, the steam explosion that Hilda has created helped them to quickly ascend and increase their distance away from the aliens or the Sea Creatures.


    "It''s Sir Wace! Is everyone alright?"


    "Leader, is there something we can do about this ck thing?"


    "What are those creatures nning to do now?"


    Wace heard everyone''s confusion as theymunicated in an open channel..


    "I''ll exin everythingter. For now, we have to at least eliminate most of the Yorian Race underwater or we might have trouble killing all of them in the future. Just wait for me to deal with this thing."


    "We understand¡­ The other Radiant Knights are just waiting above and ready to take action."


    "Good¡­ But we require magic skills for this. Hilda, are you alright? That steam explosion was huge." Wace asked as he noticed that Hilda''s Radiant Knight suffered some damage.


    "I''m still fine¡­ I only had external damage on my Mech¡­ Everything still working well."


    "That''s good to hear. Alright, I have to focus on getting out of these bindings then we''ll head out to help the Celestial. We need him to end this war."


    As soon as he said this, everyone became excited.


    They already know from Avalon that there is indeed a Celestial Being helping them but being together with such a legendary being had nevere to their mind.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The mech knights started getting out of the water as they were greeted by the two Mech Knights Division of their Space Fleet.


    Then, Wace did his best to analyze the bindings on him¡­


    [ Wace, it''s been a while. ]


    While Wace was trying to focus, hismunication channel in his Bio-Armor was suddenly contacted by Veda.


    This A.I. has a unique voice from Avalon so he wouldn''t make a mistake identifying them.


    "What''s going on Veda?" He asked. He wouldn''t get contacted by this A.I. if it''s not important since Ace should be here handling them.


    [ I received Avalon''s report about your current situation so I checked you out just now. I noticed that you have an interesting problem. It looks like a curse simr to the Northern Native''s special ability. ]


    "A curse?"


    Wace repeated. Since he killed hundred of the Yorians at the same time, he must''ve fulfilled the condition to be cursed like this.


    What a mess!


    "Do you know a method to remove this? I already tried using my Astral Energy to the limit but nothing is happening."


    [ Unfortunately, no. Perhaps even the Natives will also be unable to help you. However, you should consider letting the Sentient Mana work on it and it may prove useful. ]


    "The Seventh Gen? I already tried before¡­ Anyway, let me try again just in case. Anyway, do you have anything else to say?"


    Wace asked the A.I.


    [ Yes¡­ You might want to consider hurrying up as the world has already been divided while you are absent. About 70 percent of thend is already under the Empire''s rule. Only about 30 percent remains being controlled by the magicians. If they continued taking all the resources they needed, you might get forced to leave this altogether. ]


    "I won''t let that happen. I''ll speak with Ace about thister on." Wace replied in a serious tone.


    He had already seen the limit of what the Empire can do. The King of the Yorian Race is their strongest card while the Space Beasts would follow.


    Then, it would be the Terub Legion that is protecting the imperial prince that he had seen before.


    ''Right, they''re not invincible¡­ As long as we defeated the immortal Yorian King, the tides of the battle will turn.''


    Wace felt confident with his assumptions. After all, he has been inside the Imperial gship so he had seen almost everything there.


    They have nothing to be afraid of once the Celestial Being managed to win. As a matter of fact, if Aeolia managed to bring another Celestial from the Northern Continent, they will surely win this war without any question.


    Unfortunately, convincing them toe here will never be easy. They are not obligated to help the human race and perhaps, only when the empire tried to mess with them would they act and punish these aliens¡­


    After Veda ended the conversation, Wace let the Mech Knight Divison guard him.


    He activated his ck mana or the Seventh Gen''s Sentient Mana within his body.


    ''Now¡­ How to remove this thing¡­''


    Wace closed his eyes while the Radiant Knight carrying him allowed him to sit on the Mech''s arms.


    His Astral Energy and Mana are indeed being suppressed but surprisingly, the Sentient Mana can move freely.


    The only problem is that it is too weak to remove the Cursed Blood of the Yorians¡­


    ***


    Hilda looked below them to see if something would pop out from the ocean.


    They flew up high as they thought that the Sea Creatures would follow them. However, it seems that they couldn''t move out of the water after all. Well, it was not surprising after thinking about their race


    ''Haa~ Are we going back down there?'' The youngdy worriedly mused.


    The swarming sea creatures with red eyes chasing their group were quite scary. Especially when they are deep in the ocean where lights could barely be seen.


    She nced at Wace and noticed that he seems to still be troubled with his current bindings. There is nothing she could do to help him right now and only wait until he dealt with it.


    In the meantime, she decided to read the reports they just received from Wace''s Avalon¡­


    Apparently, the information about the Imperial gship, the Space Beasts in the gship, the Yorian Race, the Deep Sea City, and others were finally uploaded to their database.


    Now, everyone can see Wace''s gathered data in a long time he was stuck underwater.


    Of course, aside from this information, Hilda also keeps herself updated with the current mission of Ace''s team regarding the Space Beasts staying near Luna Lake.


    Luckily, they seem to have seeded and killed three Space Beasts in total!

 Chapter 452 - Attempt

    Ssh!


    The remaining Yorians'' blood was finally removed as they dropped on the ocean. It happened after Wace tried absorbing them instead of cutting them off using his Sentient Mana!


    Unfortunately, he spent almost an hour doing this and he didn''t even manage to consume them all as they copsedpletely after a while.


    ''Ugh¡­ Mr. Celestial, I hope you''re still doing fine.''


    Wace quickly used his Divine Sense to feel the presence of the Celestial. The humanoid toad or the Yorian King is basically unkible as long as he can stay underwater.


    This is a huge problem that even the Celestial is having trouble dealing with it¡­


    "Found them¡­"


    Luckily, the Celestial appears to be fighting the immortal up until now! It is really impressive considering how they remain in a stalemate..


    "Hilda, I need everyone''s help to defeat the Yorian King."


    "Of course. We''ve been waiting for you to say that. Everyone''s ready!" Hilda immediately replied after hearing Wace''s voice from the inte.


    "We need to move the King out of the water. If we''re unable to do this, even the Celestial would not be able to win at this rate."


    "I understand¡­ However, we don''t have any tools for catching a target. All we have are destructive weapons." Hilda replied as the Radiant Knight was indeed designed for the purpose of decimating the aliens without holding back.


    "You''re right¡­ I''m nning to use everyone''s Magic Nodes for this. Avalon has full details on our n and just looks into it¡­ Anyway, I will be the one engaging with the King."


    Wace replied as he already has ns for this.


    The Magic Nodes, or perhaps one of the keys in creating a powerful shield simr to a city-level barrier, can actually create a protective air space¡­


    This is made with that kind of mana spell as it is supposedly a life-saving Artifact that can be used in outer space!


    As a matter of fact, this has been the case during their attempt to stop the fleet from the Empire.


    The Magic Nodes have saved many lives in the vacuum space when the pilots were forcibly removed from their Mech Knights¡­ After all, there are cases that their spacesuits would not be enough to protect them from space debris and these nodes have truly done a huge part for their survival.


    "We understand¡­ We''ll act ording to Avalon''s instructions."


    Soon, the two Mech Knights divisions, or a total of 40 Radiant Knights readied themselves to deal with the Yorian King¡­


    Hilda looked at the water below and aside from the floating corpses of the Yorians, none of them could see or even feel that battle going on underwater.


    For some reason, anything that is happening down there is being suppressed by some kind of magic.


    After all, the extreme battle by the two powerful beings should be creating huge waves and explosions by now.


    "Alright, I''ll head down now¡­"


    Wace said before reequipping his Bio-Armor and jumping on the water¡­


    He immediately used his Void Phase though it is suppressed and requires a longer time to activate. Anyway, there are no longer sea creatures disturbing him¡­


    It didn''t take long before he saw the battle of the Celestial and the humanoid toad!


    "I will have to retreat again if this continues for long¡­" A familiar echoing voice in his mind suddenly interrupted Wace''s thoughts.


    "Sir Celestial, I have a n on bringing this toad in the air¡­ Do you think you can defeat him quickly if I managed to do that?"


    "Of course. He has a blue core on his chest. I know that it is the one keeping him alive. However, even after destroying that several times, it just turns into water and reviving him."


    "A blue core? I understand. We''ll still proceed with the n to iste it since it can''t be destroyed as long as it''s within the water."


    "Yes. I tried to remove the water using my Astral Heat as well but it seems that he can also produce water and not just rely on it, so keep it in mind."


    Wace nodded at his advice. He wasn''t too surprised about it and he was more concerned whether destroying the blue core would truly be enough.


    Nevertheless, as soon as he confirmed from Avalon that the Knights are ready¡­ He immediately ordered them to initiate the fight¡­


    Traceless Oscition¡­


    Wace activated his signature mana spell within the water¡­ It pushed off all the iing sea creatures as some of them even went unconscious.


    Apparently, he''s worried that killing too many of them would create another binding curse to his body. That would be a disaster considering their situation.


    This is why he made a simple solution, avoid killing most of them by limiting his abilities.


    As soon as he noticed that the wave of Yorians was taken by surprise, he immediately used his Void Phase though it appears very slow.


    The Mech Knights behind him followed with a trail as they headed toward the Celestial''s location¡­


    Bam!


    The Celestial Being exploded with power and decimated the Toad King for the sixth time today.


    A blues core remained as it slow materialized¡­ Based on the Celestial''s words, it will only take about five seconds before the King could return to normal.


    Nevertheless, it is more than enough for him¡­ He reappeared near the core and activated his Magic Node¡­ Aside from that, he also tried bringing him inside his Dimensional Storage Space!


    Technically, the core isn''t a living being so he should be able to take it with him¡­ This n just came into his mind a few seconds after the Celestial mentioned the core.


    "Eh? Where did you hide it?"


    The Celestial was confused as the blue core disappearedpletely! He had tried incinerating it and even tried wrapping it with his Astral Energy but it had never been sessful!


    As the Celestial looked at Wace, he realized that the young man was also surprised!


    "It worked!"


    Wace celebrated as the Mech Knights'' pilots following him were confused about what had just happened.

 Chapter 453 - Targets

    The disappearance of the blue core was indeed an unexpected result¡­


    Wace had never done anything like this before in a battle.


    There were times that he would take some items out of his Dimensional Storage Space like his guns, grenades, Mech Knight, Bio-Armor, or others¡­ However, it never urred to him to snatch something out of his opponent until now.


    The idea only came after what he heard from the Celestial about the existence of the Core¡­


    ''Well, I guess our n was canceled.'' Wace thought as he wryly smiled at this sudden event.


    "Hilda¡­ Something happened as you can see¡­ We will move out now."


    "I understand. Finally, we will be moving forward with our ns, right?"


    Hilda asked as she doesn''t really care how they defeated that sea immortal. She''s more worried about the numerous viges and cities being destroyed by the Mech Frames, Marauder Gears, and Destroyer Ships right now..


    "That''s right. I will be doing something together with the Celestial to end this war."


    "Great! Just give us your orders!" Hilda excitedly said as shemanded her team to ascend again.


    The other pilots, on the other hand, were quite excited to follow Avalon''s n to use the Magic Nodes, so they were a bit flustered for having it canceled immediately. Nevertheless, this seems to be a better result as they no longer have to sacrifices their life-saving item,


    While they were all ascending, Wace was actually thinking of something¡­.


    Currently, he is considering whether taking out other items from his Storage will affect the Yorian King''s Core¡­ Aside from that, he felt a bit worried that it could actually reform his body inside and destroy all his pressure belongings!


    Luckily, he didn''t have to wait long to know the situation inside his storage space. As using his unique connection there to observe what was happening.


    The blue core remained unmoving which is good and he could also take things in and out of his space without disturbing the core.


    His only concern is that once it was taken out, the Yorian King would probably reform its body¡­


    ''I guess I can just make preparation and throw it in the sun someday¡­''


    Wace smirked as he finally decided to face the Celestial. He would have a lot of options to dispose of this creatureter on.


    "Sir, we need to end these Aliens¡­ We''ve already taken out their strongest fighter."


    The young man said as soon as they got out of the water.


    "Hmm¡­ I guess cleaning them up is necessary¡­ They possess otherworldly power and this world might get destroyed by this."


    "That''s right!" Wace agreed as his invitation to the Celestial here wasn''t really for the sake of eliminating the Empire.


    It was just to satisfy the Celestial''s interest in unknown things like how he wanted to learn his Divine Sense before. Nevertheless, he knows that he will be able to persuade him as soon as he learned how dangerous they are on the.


    "Avalon¡­ Where''s the nearest camp of the Empire? We will eliminate them¡­ Ahh! Wait, are there any emergencies that we have to see first?"


    [ ¡­ ]


    [ No¡­ The Space Beasts are being dealt with by Wace''s team while the other groups led by Council have been avoiding direct confrontation with the Empire''s Crystal Miners. ]


    "The situation is under control then. That''s good to hear."


    [ No. There are Marauder Gears and Mech Frames that are moving in small groups and decimating viges and towns near their mining site. At this point, the council can only help the people evacuate from their ces. ]


    Wace nodded as he could surmise that something like this will indeed happen. At the very least, these people shouldn''t be difficult to evacuate as they have been probably educated about the cruelty of these aliens.


    "Alright, show me where the nearest camp we can take."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon then immediately pointed an area at Kazan¡­


    This is the ce that was first invaded by the Empire and the nearest camp indeed.


    "So they haven''t left the ce, huh¡­ Are they still mining the Crystal?"


    [ That is correct. It seems that they have a very slow Crystal Conversion Machine. ]


    Avalon replied.


    The Crystal Conversion Machine is just a name they invented to call that device they''ve seen in the gship. That device was capable of liquifying the Memory Crystal for their own purpose so they easily made such a name.


    ''I see¡­ So mining isn''t the problem but their conversion.''


    "How many spaceships remained in Kazan?"


    [ From the previous 3 Invaders, 1 Conqueror, and 1 Conveyor, only a single Invader Spaceship remained in the country. The others have moved to a ce not too far from the gship. ]


    "Alright¡­ This is a good chance for us."


    Wace then ordered Hilda to head towards Seiji where the next nearest camp of the Empire is located.


    "Wait for me. Don''t attack them yet and just maintain a safe distance. I can move there quickly once we finished dealing with the spaceship left alone in Kazan."


    "I understand. Don''t worry, I think that our Mana Spell still works perfectly. We can still avoid being detected."


    "That''s perfect. We''ll part from here then¡­"


    Wace said as he signaled to the Celestial to move now.


    After a few seconds, the two powerful beings of the disappeared in front of the two Mech Knights Division.


    "Amazing¡­ Sir Wace can actually order around that Celestial!"


    "That''s true¡­ I couldn''t even speak because of his aura. How scary~ That is no longer within the limits of human bodies. I guess that Celestial is really from outer space as well."


    "No¡­ I heard they were originally here on the before humans had even existed."


    "What? So they are really immortals?"


    "Sshh! That''s enough gossiping¡­ We don''t know anything about their history. Just ask Wace if we''re no longer busy."


    "Yes, leader!"


    Hilda was also curious about the Celestial Being but it is not important right now.


    "If everyone''s ready, we''ll move now¡­ Turn off all the other functionalities of the Mech aside from the float system,munication magic, and optical phenomenon maniption¡­ We have to move as stealthily as possible."


    The group then moved towards the nearest camp of the Empire, it is actually in the capital of Seiji!


    As far as they know, their enemies there wouldn''t just be the Aliens but it includes the magicians who had allied or were brainwashed by the aliens to join them!

 Chapter 454 - Counterattack

    Wace and the Celestial arrived above the Invader Spaceship¡­


    The huge elongated ship filled with many turrets and cannons doesn''t seem to be active but Wace knows that it is just the surface.


    Invaders are normally used for a surprise attack so they are made to look like this.


    Thud! Thud!


    Nevertheless, he can see that not too far from the spaceship, there is a built camp where multiple imperial soldiers including a few Khrusams seem to be enjoying their free time.


    They are ying around with some captured magicians as they ordered them around to use magic like fireball and water ssh¡­


    ''How carefree¡­ They seemed to have thought that this is already in their hands.''


    Wace thought as he nced in another direction. The ce is another camp where the worker androids are continuously mining the Memory Crystals and other precious stones they could find.


    Finally, there seems to be another camp where arge number of humans were taken captive..


    He could guess that it is where they are keeping some useful natives¡­


    "Sir Celestial, let''s avoid killing the innocent civilians¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ Differentiating them is easy. It can be done."


    ng!


    Wace was about to thank the Celestial when he heard the sound of a bell followed by a loud, high noise thates from inside the spaceship.


    It is a siren informing about the presence of their enemies¡­


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    It seems that they already noticed that someone had invaded their air space and moved their cannons and turrets¡­


    ''That took a while¡­'' Wace smirked at the slow response of the Imperial Army.


    Then, they immediately aimed at the two and fired their weapons without giving any warning!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Of course, the two didn''t bother to dodge these Legion CIWS that the spaceship hastily used against them.


    This is just their way to buy some time for their main weapons and fighters to get ready.


    The Celestial Being just raised his hands a bit as all the bullets fired on them missedpletely.


    nk! nk! nk!


    Finally, several hatches from the spaceship opened.


    The battle immediately started heating up as the Invader Spaceship released the Mech Knights and Khrusams to intercept them¡­


    On the other hand, the Bio-Armored Imperial Soldiers remained on their grounds as if they are expecting an attack from other directions.


    It seems that they couldn''t believe that only two flying natives are trying to attack them!


    "Sir Celestial, let me handle some of those Khrusams and the Mech Frames¡­ Please focus on destroying the spaceship."


    "Very well."


    Whoosh~


    Wace vanished from his previous position and reappeared behind a couple of Dragon''s Warrior Mech that is about to use their Subspace ster.


    Unfortunately, he doesn''t have the power to take them head-on yet, especially if there are multiple of them firing at once. There


    "Lightning Break!"


    He used the most effective secret art against these machines¡­ Though they possess a level of resistance, his technique isn''t just a simple electric discharge as it has mana into it destroying the internal parts of the Mech Frames¡­


    Bam! Bam!


    The two Mech Frames that were hit exploded as they dropped to the ground!


    This happened about three more times before they have decided to change their tactic¡­ Now, there are two Serpent''s Marauder Mech Frames guarding each Warrior Mech.


    Apparently, the Serpent''s Armor Technology called Twilight Armor is still something that is considerably tough to deal with¡­ Wace would no longer be able to one hit them...


    ng! ng!


    Wace hit the Twilight Armor really hard but he only managed to cause some damage¡­ Perhaps, if he could hit them with Lightning Break 8 or 10 times, he would be able to break their armor¡­


    ''Impressive¡­ I really want to get this technology.'' Wace thought as he was suddenly warned by Avalon about the traces of Psionic Pulse being activated.


    The warning allowed him a valuable three seconds to move away from his position.


    ''Tsk¡­ I can probably endure it but that would exhaust me a lot.''


    Aside from the troublesome Twilight Armor, the Psionic Pulse that directly attacks the target''s body and could ignore most of the defenses is also problematic to Wace.


    Nevertheless, he knows that he still has an advantage.


    As long as he could attack before they could activate their weapons, he would be able to destroy them¡­


    "Hmm?"


    Wace suddenly felt a chilling sensation behind him as he activated his Sentient Mana¡­


    Whoosh~


    It is the confrontation of the Khrusam''s death energy and his seventh-gen artifact.


    He looked below him and saw a group of 20 Khrusams using their Corpse Furnace to attack him¡­ Aside from that, he noticed that they have actually activated their third eye already!


    It seems that they have recalled who he was¡­


    There was no way that his face wasn''t reported after what he did in the Imperial gship in the first ce.


    Aside from that, he looked at the group of imperial soldiers on one camp as they wore their bio-armors and hi-tech guns.


    Severalsers fired at him as he did his best to defend himself using his Astral Shell¡­ A variation of Mana Shell that is made of his Astral Core.


    "Hmph! Bring it on!"


    Wace was fire up as he unleashed his strength¡­ He activated his Aeon Guardian making him invincible for a few minutes¡­


    While he is in this mode, he can basically cast any mana spells he likes without any limits. It also includes casting forbidden magic without any bacsh¡­


    Nevertheless, he decided to instead use this time to activate the final skills of the Secret Art: AOTL.


    Soon, everyone heard a deafening roar followed by several explosions on the ground!


    This is the Roar of the Thundering Destruction which is considered as the final stage of the Grand Arcanist ine''s Technique!


    He used this technique not just once or twice but more than ten times before he managed to destroy most of the Imperial Soldiers, Khrusams, and all the Mech Frames.


    Wace then heard another series of explosions as he saw the Celestial Beinging in and out of the Invader Spaceship.


    It seems that he actually enjoys tormenting the imperial army inside¡­

 Chapter 455 - Soldier

    "Finally! Let me have my final evolution!"


    Darius eximed after hearing his name being called.


    He''s about 6 ft. tall with a huge physique and he''s currently patrolling within the vicinity of the spaceship. Apparently, he has been waiting for a while now to receive hisst gene optimization fluid.


    nk! nk! nk!


    He removed his Bio-Armor as he needed to enter the medical facility to get injected.


    The 12 inches thick metal doors opened up for him as he arrived in the medical room after about 2 minutes.


    "Darius from the Third Infantry Division?" One of the doctors within the room asked as soon as he entered. There was no need for any other kinds of greeting..


    "Yes!"


    "Very well. Sit here¡­"


    Darius nodded as he approached the doctor and sat at the chair gestured to him. There are five other soldiers beside him who will also receive their final serum today.


    "This will be a bit painful and you won''t be able to work for about six hours. Are you aware of that?"


    "Yes, Doctor. I''m ready."


    Darius said as some of the members of the Third Infantry Division had already received their dosage. Apparently, the soldiers who had received their first serum are those with higher immunity or stronger physique.


    He is in thest batch to receive the gene optimization so the doctor is probably worrying about the possible side effects in his body.


    The doctor, who had his face hidden by aboratory mask, nodded his head as he proceeded to use the fluid on Darius¡­


    "AAahhh!"


    "My body¡­ Doctor! I think I''m melting!"


    "I¡­ I¡­ I can''t breathe¡­ Please stop this for now!"


    "No¡­ Help!"


    The men beside him also started feeling the pain of that optimization fluid!


    They have learned that this is the final stage to receive a transcendent body so they have to persevere!


    Nevertheless, they can endure pain several times more than normal people because of their enhanced bodies but this fluid wasn''t just causing pain to their muscles! It was as if something is scratching their bones and piercing them with sharp weapons¡­


    It was no wonder why the other wouldn''t be able to work for a while after receiving this¡­


    Darius gritted his teeth as he endured the pain without letting out a scream.


    ''I can do this¡­ I can do this¡­'' Darius chanted in his mind. He has already gone through a lot of things and his sheer will has brought him to his current position.


    ''Ugh!''


    He had an urge to pass out due to the pain but he had a feeling that once he did that, he would most likely be unable to wake up forever.


    The painsted for about 10 more minutes and as soon as it stopped, his mental strength has finally been drained as he dropped on the floor.


    Darius opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. It seems that he was still in the medical facility. He immediately sat up on his bed as he started to feel strange on his body.


    He didn''t know how much time had passed but it doesn''t matter now¡­ Something incredible is in his body!


    ''What''s going on?'' Darius looked at his hands, he can subtly see the presence of blue smoke around his body¡­


    "Officer Darius, you''ve woken up." One of the doctors entered his room. It seems that they were immediately notified as soon as he regain consciousness.


    "Doctor¡­ What''s going on now?"


    "You''re lucky, Officer¡­ It seems that you have a very impressive affinity with mana. I''m sure that that prince will be happy with that. Only about 30 of us had reached the highest grade of affinity. Soon, all of those with this level of talent will meet his Highness to form a special unit under his directmand. For now, you need to take a rest and explore your current power."


    Darius couldn''t believe what he just heard. He had never thought that he would be one of the most sessful soldiers toplete the gene optimization with the highest grade!


    "Amazing! Don''t worry, doctor! I''ll take care of myself."


    The man replied as he asked questions about the existence of mana.


    He hadn''t been too interested in this before since he had never thought that it will be rted to their final enhancement.


    Many days had quickly passed as he had gotten used to the existence of mana¡­ Aside from him, 12 more others in his division managed to reach the same level.


    Once all of them received the gene optimization, they will then be sent to the Imperial gship to answer the prince''s call¡­


    However, it didn''t go ording to their n¡­


    Their camp has been attacked by two powerful natives of this.


    Bam!


    Darius dropped to the ground. His body filled with cuts and bruises¡­ He could no longer feel his bleeding right arm and his broken legs.


    ''W-what''s with these guys? Not even the Khrusams and the Mech Frames can stop them!''


    Darius looked at the corpses around him¡­ Many of the imperial soldiers died without even knowing how they died.


    The glowing humanoid being could simply crush them in few seconds! If they are not wearing their bio-armor, perhaps the being can annihte them in the blink of an eye!


    "What''s going on now?"


    The battle happened too fast¡­ They weren''t even able to hold until their reinforcement''s arrival!


    "You''re thest guy¡­ It''s impressive that you can already use your mana so effectively even though you just learned how to use them."


    Darius heard the young man in front of him¡­ The man has gray hair and his ring eyes frightened him a bit. For sure, this man is exhausted with the recent battle but he can feel that he''s still beaming with power!


    Aside from that, this person just destroyed multiple Mech Frames alone and he saw it with his own eyes! There was no way he could fight a single Mech Frame let alone tens of them at the same time!


    Right now, Darius is in his weakest state, and even his Bio-Armor is no longer working. He could only try to survive for now.


    "W-what do you want from me?" He did his best to ask while looking up. He couldn''t even sit up in his current state.


    Of course, he noticed thenguage he used but he could no longer be bothered to ask how this man know how to speak the Empire''snguage.


    He knows that this person didn''t kill him purposely so he must have a use even if it''s a little.


    The young man looking down on him smiled at his question.


    "It seems that you''re easy to talk with. Very well. I want information¡­ I hope you have them."

 Chapter 456 - End Plan ( 1 )

    Wace decided to capture one of the Imperial Soldiers in order to get information about their current ns. Though it is highly likely that they would remain silent, he still wanted to try since the Celestial has a bit of power rted to controlling his target''s minds.


    That power isn''t that weak considering that the Celestial canmunicate just using their thoughts so it might be worth a try.


    "Tell me your name¡­" Wace asked. He wanted to see if he could make him talk first.


    The man he captured seems to have a strong life force and had a very high affinity with mana. He couldn''t measure it specifically but he could tell that the mana gathering around his body has such a high purity¡­


    The man can probably be considered as an Adept Mage or someone who established an Arcane Link.


    The person looked at him with dead eyes as he remained silent. Wace knows that this person is already expecting his death toe so he tried to clear things up for now..


    "I won''t kill you if you answer my questions. You may not believe me but I have no desire to eliminate all of the Imperial Soldiers. I just don''t like how you guys are indiscriminately attacking us. We may even be able to coexist¡­"


    Wace said as he tried to convince the man. It was as if he had forgotten that they were the first ones who attacked them in outer space.


    Of course, he wouldn''t mention that while making negotiations.


    Wace continued to try making him speak until he finally decided to say something after making several promises¡­


    "If you can heal me now¡­ I will answer your questions."


    "Oh? You are still brimming with energy. I thought that you''re not affected with these kinds of injuries¡­"


    Wace muttered before taking something out of his Dimensional Storage Space. It is one of his Mana Rejuvenating potions that he previously received from Pathfinder.


    "Alright¡­ Take this and get healed."


    The man looked at the potion curiously before he unhesitatingly consumed it. There was no way he would receive poison from this man.


    If he really wanted to kill him, there was no need to use such an borate n and he can just end him by stomping on his head.


    Gulp! Gulp!


    Soon, the man felt better as he slowly recovered thanks to the rejuvenating mana filling up his entire body.


    "Thank you. I''m Darius¡­ Just a normal soldier from the Empire until I managed to take thest gene optimization and be this talented with the mana¡­" Darius introduced himself as he resigned to his fate.


    "So, what kind of information do you want? I don''t have any high-level information I could share so I hope you can keep your promise." He added.


    He stared at Wace''s eyes. He knows that Wace didn''t have to keep his promise but he still wanted to try.


    He finally recalled this person in front of him as he was included in the information they received from the natives here. Thanks to them being scared of the spaceships or the power of the Empire, they received plenty of information rted to Wace and other dangerous beings on the!


    That''s right, they have confirmed Wace is one of the most dangerous magicians on thisnd!


    Right now, since he''s facing such an almighty figure, Darius decided to try his luck. Anyway, the Empire wouldn''t know of his betrayal. Aside from that, he trusts that whatever information Wace could get from him, it wouldn''t affect the entirety of the Imperial Fleet''s n.


    "Ho~ It''s good that you''re cooperative. Then, Avalon¡­ I''ll give him to you."


    Wace said as he pulled out an Elysium from his Dimensional Storage Space. Apparently, Avalon is not capable of hacking through the spaceship''s system as the empire has one of the most advanced A.I. out there.


    He knows that even if they take the spaceship for themselves, they wouldn''t be able to control it as long as their A.I. is still present. This is why Wace just allowed the Celestial to destroy the Invader Spaceship.


    At most, its parts can be usedter on once the war is over.


    [ You have been injected with gene optimization fluid that you''ve mined from here. Is everyone capable of receiving them? ]


    Avalon started getting information from the man.


    "No¡­ Only those who received the fifth gene enhancement are allowed to take them. Anyway, most of us have taken the fifth stage so there''s no problem with that."


    Darius answered. He''s also observing the Automaton in front of him capable of speaking the Empire''snguage. He can finally connect the dots as he realized that the rumors were actually true!


    One of the half-blood princes of the Empire had indeed taken refuge to this!


    That will exin why there were powerful spaceships and magical Mech Frames on this!


    In truth, many of them were very confused about the level of civilization in this world. They barely have skyscrapers, but there are amazing bridges, ships, and numerous cars. There doesn''t seem to have nes but they have airships and flying battleships.


    There are no nuclear weapons or any nuclear-powered machines¡­ There aren''t any tanks but there are mobile turrets¡­ The old castles and stone walls in the city are still existing and there are still a lot of people living in wooden houses based on their previous patrols.


    It feels like the advancement of technology on this was forced by an external factor. If this was done by a group of small individuals from a gctic force, he would then be able to exin everything here.


    "You¡­ Are you a descendent of Prince Zhaeus Zamphail?"


    Darius suddenly asked after realizing this.


    Wace, who was just watching on the side smiled after hearing Darius. It seems that the soldier still has time to specte things while being interrogated.


    Anyway, they just ignored the soldier as the A.I. continued asking questions.


    About 15 minutes had passed before they managed to get everything they want from him.


    They finally found a clue to easily handle this war. Though killing the prince is the easiest way, there is also another method that they could use to ensure their victory!

 Chapter 457 - End Plan ( 2 )

    Hilda and the rest of her team finally arrived near the Empire''s camp at Seiji.


    This time, there are two Invader Spaceships docked not too far from the Crystal Mine and they immediately noticed hundreds of Mech Frames guarding the area.


    As a matter of fact, they could see thousands of flying vehicles called Marauder Gears and they seem to be busy transporting something from the mines to another camp.


    Hilda helplessly sighed after seeing this.


    "This is too much¡­ Even the current main force of the Zairus would have trouble dealing with this number." She muttered..


    There''s a huge difference in their numbers! They haven''t even counted the Imperial Soldiers and the Khrusams that are scattered everywhere!


    It appears that these aliens are no longer being affected by Mana Suffocation thanks to whatever they are doing to the Memory Crystals.


    "Avalon¡­ Where''s Sir Wace now?"


    [ They would be arriving here in at least five more minutes. ]


    "That''s quick? They already dealt with the aliens upying Kazan?"


    [ The main camp in that country has been destroyed with barely any survivors. ]


    "Amazing¡­ They really finished them off so quickly. However, they must''ve exerted most of their energy or mana. They should take a rest first instead of heading to another camp, right? Don''t you think this is too dangerous, Avalon?"


    Hilda worriedly asked. She knows that although Wace and the Celestial Being are powerful, she had seen them struggling fighting under the sea. They''ve been trapped there for weeks or months and couldn''t get away until they havepletely grasped the enemy''s weakness.


    They did manage to get out of there with barely any help but it took them quite a long time still.


    [ There is nothing to worry about. They are constantly regenerating their used mana while breathing. They both have a different physique from normal magicians. ]


    Avalon answered referring to their Core¡­ The Magicians would have an Adept Link to connect with the world''s mana while the two have modified Astral Core and perfect Astral Core that is inhibiting within their bodies.


    "I guess I''m worrying for nothing... I hope I can see them in action then." Hilda smirked after realizing that those two seem to be more powerful than she thought at first.


    She would probably give up disturbing this camp if there''s only her group dealing with them. However, since Wace will join them, they would definitely have a better chance to win this.


    "Avalon¡­ Give me the topography and the exact positions of the aliens. I want to at least grasp the whole situation and create a n."


    [ Of course. ]


    The A.I. then assisted Hilda to make ns. They are currently hiding in a forest away from the Empire''s scanner.


    Thud! Thud!


    As the Mech Pilots were observing the empire''s forces through Avalon''s surveince system, they noticed two figures appearing in their midst as if they have teleported.


    "Everyone¡­ Are you ready?" Wace asked using their inte. None of them could see his face since he''s wearing his ck bio-armor. He looks like a small Imperial Soldier with his current attire.


    "Wace! You''re here. We''ve been waiting."


    "Leader¡­ Just tell us what you need us to do! We''re even nning on creating a powerful magic array while we''re waiting. The number of enemies outside reaches more than five thousand¡­ We can assume that there are others that are still inside those spaceships. We have to be careful."


    "That''s true. I think that bombarding them with our current Mana Spells isn''t enough. We have enough references or experience that they are not effective."


    "Only Forbidden magic works extremely well if I''m not mistaken."


    Wace heard their concerns as soon as he arrived. Their worries are all valid considering how many failed attempts they had in previous skirmishes.


    "That''s alright. We won''t need arge array. I already thought of a n to destroy the spaceships. I will first try it out to see if it works."


    "Oh? So you already have a n? We''ll wait then, leader."


    "Alright, we''ll act ording to your instructions..." Hilda said as she let Wace exin their n.


    Soon, their group moved out of the forest.


    However, only Wace and the Celestial will face the group of Aliens while the Mech Knights Division would be their backup in case their n failed.


    The Mech Knights will be in a formation to fully utilize their Radiant Wave Tech to protect each other and also eliminate their enemies faster.


    ***


    Wace looked at the bustling camp of the Empire''s forces. They have settled themselves really well and he wouldn''t be surprised that they would be able to build an epic fortress in another month or so with how fast they are working.


    Perhaps, if they are not prioritizing their mining and conversion of Memory Crystals, they would''ve definitely built a more powerful base filled with incredible weapons as their defenses.


    However, right now, their camps were just hastily built walls of metals and could only be called a shelter.


    Anyway, their living conditions are not important with the threat of Mana Suffocationing at them.


    "Sir Celestial, let''s try it now. I will guide your Divine Sense to its location."


    "Go ahead."


    The Celestial replied as they both activated their Divine Sense.


    Apparently, their n was simple. They wanted to trigger the Nuclear Energy stored within these spaceships and use it to their advantage.


    Right now, because of the natural canceling effect of the mana on the, the Nuclear Energy they have could not be used. However, it is still existing within the spaceships.


    As soon as these spaceships passed through the atmosphere made of Mana Cmity, their nuclear power has been canceled, and only their Aether Force can be used.


    It has been like that ever since they''ve arrived.


    On the other hand, their A.I. could not do anything about it since none of them knows the principle of Mana on this. They have probably considered that this is a natural phenomenon or a naturalw of this world.


    This is what Wace wanted to do, to destroy their spaceships from the inside!

 Chapter 458 - End Plan ( 3 )

    It didn''t take long before they managed to find the Nuclear Weapons of the spaceships. They even managed to find several nuclear warheads being kept in high security.


    Right now, they are safely being stored in some kind of barrier to ensure that the mana existing on the would not corrupt it aside from disabling it.


    Of course, these barriers weren''t that effective to mana since none of them knows how mana works as of yet. They also didn''t dare to have any natives of this touch these things or even allow them to have a look.


    After all, this is something extremely critical to the empire right now.


    "This form of energy is interesting." The Celestialmented after finding them through Wace''s guide.


    This would not be possible if Wace did not spend several months teaching the ability to the Celestial.


    "So you want me to create arge barrier to stop any mana from entering these locations?"


    "Yes. I will do the rest once the mana has been dealt with. Ahh¡­ In case I need help triggering them, I might ask for your assistance."


    "Very well."


    There are two Invader Spaceships right now and they can''t trigger all their targets at the same time. They decided to choose the nearest Invader Spaceship first.


    "Let''s begin."


    Wace whispered as he focused his mind.


    In truth, what he''s nning is quite dangerous.


    After all, he can''t just trigger the Nuclear Weapons using his mind. He has to forcefully enter the spaceship and cast a spell that will trigger these weapons in a nuclear explosion. He would then have to escape using his Void Phase to avoid being heavily injured or even being killed.


    He trusts his Magic Nodes and Magic Defense but he had never tried them against Nuclear Explosion. So it is better to create severalyers of defense for his safety.


    As for his Bio-Armor, there''s no way it could withstand the explosion of this level. Just considering the massive size of this spaceship, the number of their nuclear warheads would exceed a thousand at this point.


    There''s no way that he would risk defending against that.


    The two worked together as Hilda and the others waited on the side.


    They are actually a bit worried once the battle started. They trust that Wace and the Celestial could survive the onught of these aliens but it doesn''t mean that they are also confident surviving this fight.


    "Avalon¡­ Assist me with your guiding system once the battle started. I need to ensure save as much mana as I could."


    [ Affirmative. Aim Assist will be activated. ]


    The youngdy then clenched her fist as she noticed something happening from the spaceships. Once the signal from Wace appeared, they would have to activate their Arcanist Phase to do their task.


    The Phase wouldn''tst very long but this is their only way to ensure that they will be useful in the uing battle. Without the boost that it gives, it would be extremely difficult for them to survive and deal significant damage to their enemies.


    As the Mech Pilots waited in bated breathe, they noticed an incredible heat umting in the spaceship followed by a single powerful explosion¡­


    "Activate the Arcanist Phase, now!" Hilda immediately shouted using their intes.


    She could somehow tell that the umting energy wouldn''t just end here.


    Boom!


    Her intuition was right! It was also followed by a series of explosions as they were blinded by a light and felt the powerful earthquake that came after.


    "This¡­"


    "What kind of magic is this!"


    "This is much more powerful than our Satellite-ss Weapons!"


    "Ugh¡­ Can we hold on with our Arcanist Phase?! Aren''t we too near?"


    "We should be fine! Just don''t deactivate it!"


    Luckily for them, the deafening st was filtered out by their Mech Knights so they didn''t have to worry about being deaf for a while.


    As everyone started getting worried about their safety, they suddenly recalled the Khrusams, Imperial Soldiers, Mech Frames, Marauder Gears, Androids, and Destroyers in the enemy camp.


    They must''ve suffered incredible damage by now!


    So this means that they really don''t have to worry that much against them after all!


    "Get ready¡­ We will soon attack once the st is cleared out¡­ It''s still too dangerous going in there." Wace suddenly said using their inte.


    It seems that he wasn''t injured or anything after creating such a powerful attack.


    Wace can tell that there would still be many survivors after this explosion. The Khrusams who managed to immediately defend with their Death Energy, the Mech Frames with Twilight Armor Tech, and perhaps Imperial Soldiers with incredible tech equipment would definitely survive in this predicament.


    After all, the A.I. of the Spaceship must''ve warned them after noticing the problems inside the Nuclear Warheads storage.


    They waited for a while and as Wace was about to order them to attack, they suddenly noticed a group of Mech Frames rushing towards them!


    Because of the smoke and disrupted scanners, they didn''t immediately notice them!


    They seem to be very angry as they rushed towards their group even though many of them are heavily damaged.


    "Hmph!"


    Wace is about to just charge when he was suddenly notified by Avalon.


    [ They are about to explode. They have triggered their self-destruction system, be careful. ]


    "What?! No! Let Hilda and the others know! Have them retreat quickly!"


    Wace was a bit worried since the explosion triggered by self-destruction is different. It would be extremely powerful and something difficult to contain.


    [ Information has been ryed. ]


    "Good¡­ I will handle them together with the Celestial in the meantime."


    Wace said as he no longer waited for the A.I. to reply and attacked the Mech Frames with the Celestial Being!


    Boom! Boom!


    Wace used his Lightning Break and Roar of Thundering Destruction to finish off the Mechs that are about to explode. On the other hand, the Celestial started destroying them by waving his hand filled with Astral Energy¡­


    They have to destroy them while keeping a safe distance.


    They made it look so easy! But in truth, not even a Grand Sage is capable of doing this!

 Chapter 459 - End Plan ( 4 )

    The destructive Nuclear Explosion that has urred has been detected by the Imperial Army. This size of the explosion is extremely difficult to hide after all.


    Even the magicians from various countries had sensed the incredible change in the atmosphere.


    "So they already made their move. Avalon, what about this Nuclear Explosion? Will it cause some problemster on? We can''t destroy the, please remind Wace about that." Ace said to the A.I. beside him.


    He wasn''t sure about Wace''s n as Avalon isn''t providing information to him in real-time. In most cases, he would only know when he decided to ask about him.


    [ I will ry the information. ]


    [ Radiation problems can naturally be solved by mana ording to Veda. However, observation will continue as per Wace''s instructions. ]


    The A.I. answered.


    "I see¡­ That''s good to hear."


    Ace nodded as he lead his team to dismantle the Space Beasts they had just recently killed. As nned, they wanted to acquire their cores and have their best Arcane Artificers produce the best energy core for their Mech Knights or even for their Battleships. Though they weren''t sure how to do this yet.


    The Space Beasts possess incredible power and they can only be killed by restricting them usingplicated Mana Arrays empowered by Lamat Stones.


    It means that possessing their core gives them an incredible source of energy that can be used against the Empire.


    Apparently, they can''t use the same method they implemented to kill the Space Beasts against the other Aliens since Lamat Stones and Arrays can be easily defended by a group of intelligent beings.


    They are unlike these Space Beasts who only rely on their raw power to crush their enemies.


    "Ace¡­ I think that using these Cores is too dangerous. None of us can even touch that thing directly. How can we even create something out of it?"


    Grand Sage Maze worriedly asked. The cores of these space beasts must be coated by severalyers of mana arrays before someone can hold them.


    This also means that it will be difficult for the Arcane Artificer to create an energy core since the method they used to create the Molten Core of the Steel Knights requires physical contact!


    "That''s fine. We will just have to create a different method to create a new core. We can''t use the same method with the Molten Cores with these powerful objects anyway."


    Ace said as he wasn''t too worried about this.


    If a Grand Sage has no idea what to do, it''s not something that he''s worried about. After all, they have Grand Arcanists that should be capable of doing this.


    He then looked at Aura, the old Grand Arcanist within their group, as he nodded in response. The old man doesn''t seem to worry as he even looks very interested in trying this out.


    He may not have a clear method right now but researching this shouldn''t take that much time considering that they have plenty of references to use.


    "Alright¡­ I guess these people will be busy for a while." Maze sighed helplessly. In truth, she didn''t want this core to be turned into an energy supply for a Mech or Spaceship. Instead, she wanted it to create a powerful Mage Tower!


    Of course, she didn''t dare mention that for now but she''s nning to have one of these cores once the war is over. She knows that it will not be impossible considering her number of contributions to this war.


    Beep!


    [ Once Wace and the rest finished off the Empire''s Camp in Seiji, they are nning to return to Zairus to bring arger force to deal with the Imperial gship at Guwain. ]


    "That fast? We''re still not ready though¡­ Even though we already dealt with the Space Beasts, it would still be difficult for us. Just remember the Terub Legion. If five or ten of them showed up at the same time, it would be a disaster to the magicians."


    Based on their calctions, there are about 200 thousand Imperial Soldiers including the Khrusams scattered around the world right now.


    He''s confident that his elite Northern Natives, Terror Mages, Mech Knight Divisions, and Veda''s Cryptic Mages will be able to somehow fight them but the normal soldiers of the country would definitely be cannon fodder at this rate.


    [ Yes. However, Wace is nning thisrge-scale attack to force the Empire to gather its forces in a single ce. This way, it would not be difficult for the Celestial to find them. ]


    "Ugh¡­ That makes sense¡­ But this is too dangerous for Adepts or even Battle Mages that don''t have Bio-Armor, Mech Knights, or powerful defensive abilities. I''m pretty sure there will be a rain of Psionic Pulse and Subspace sters on the battlefield."


    Ace thought for a while but he couldn''t really do anything about it.


    Once Wace gathered arge force, it would indeed be detected by the Empire and would gather their forces as well in return. It is a good n but it''s also risky.


    Right now, they have at least 5 Mid-Size Transatmospheric Battleships thanks to his factory that is working nonstop.


    They were hastily built in the past few weeks with the help of magicians they have gathered during the war.


    Aside from that, the Veritas Wing had also produced 30 more Airships silently and were ready to operate.


    In short, they can indeed repeat the previous great offensive they did when the Empire had just recentlynded.


    If this really happened, this would be their Third Great Offensive after more than a couple of months.


    Beep!


    [ Miya and her team just reported that they havepleted training thest batch of magicians who are learning the Soul Art: Death Energy Control. ]


    [ We now have a total of 280 Magicians who can operate the Corpse Furnace that the Artificers have reconstructed. ]


    "Ugh¡­ Fine. Let''s gather everyone then¡­ This would be Third¡ªNo, perhaps the Last Offensive that we will operate."


    Ace smiled helplessly as he messaged the various leaders of the country, including the remaining forces of Maja and Virgan...


    They now have to get ready for the final stage of this war.

 Chapter 460 - End Plan ( 5 )

    Hilda watched Wace and the Celestial Being finish off all the Imperial Soldiers while also holding off thebined forces of the Mech Frames.


    She saw how the two beings forced the fight into close range to limit the Empire''s Mech capabilities¡­


    ''Incredible¡­ This is no longer within the limits of Mana Spells.''


    She just saw the Celestial stop the Psionic Pulse heading their way by waving its hands. Though they couldn''t see the destructive pulse with their bare eyes, Avalon had detected it and warned them of this attack.


    Boom! Boom!


    Several Mech Frames dropped to the ground and exploded as they lost control after being attacked by the Celestial.


    These Mech wouldn''t normally explode even with Mana Spell attacks so they could easily tell that the Celestial''s attack is indeed very different from them.


    "There are still more¡­ Just how persistent are they¡­ They should be retreating by now."


    "That''s true¡­ There aren''t even any Mech''s trying to escape¡­" She was a bit surprised since the Nuclear Explosion that Wace triggered just a moment ago should''ve destroyed their formation and killed almost half of them at the same time.


    To see them still fighting with high morale baffles them a bit.


    "Are they waiting for something? There shouldn''t be any reinforcementsing at this rate." Hilda muttered but after giving it some thought, she can''t really say that she could predict the Empire''s actions.


    They are too focused on mining the Memory Crystals. If she''s the leader of these invaders and has powerful soldiers under hermand, she would surely try to eliminate any threat that maye at her before mining these things.


    "Leader! There are Mech Frames flying over 20 thousand feet above us¡­ They must be nning something."


    Ste heard one of her subordinates and he was indeed correct. There are about 20 Dragon''s Warrior Mechs above them and they seem to be the patrol group that is guarding the perimeter of the camp.


    They have obviously returned as quickly as possible after the Nuclear Explosion.


    "Hilda. I''ll let the Mech Frames above to your group. This is going to be a sky battle and way different from your space battle so be mindful of your mech''s limits."


    Wace reminded them out of worry since he wasn''t sure whether they have enough experience yet. Anyway, he had juste out of the sea city so he wasn''t really entirely aware of the recent battles that have urred.


    "Of course! Don''t worry about us, Sir Wace¡­"


    Hilda then ordered her group to reactivate their Arcanist Phase to face the Dragon''s Mech Frames.


    Beep!


    [ Iing Missiles Detected. ]


    Avalon then warned them about the tens of missiles sent on their way. It seems that these Mechs realized their n.


    "Radiant Wave Shield¡­ Activate."


    Whom~


    As soon as they activated the special feature of the Radiant Mech, a red wave that formed a perfect shield appeared in front of each Mech Knight.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    It managed to sessfully defend against the missiles and they were not even pushed back at all as they approach the Mech Frames with a fast speed.


    "Charge!"


    Hilda then started pointing her Mech''s Laser Rifles to the enemies creating a beautiful blue line directed at the enemy position.


    The Laser Rifles are of course from the same principle of the Laser Focus that Wace has patented before. Each shot from the Rifles dealt heavy damage to the Mech Frames as they were even unable to activate their Subspace ster!


    As soon as they have gotten near, they had to start fighting in close range as they drew their swords and staves.


    Unlike the Mech Frames'' weapons, Hilda and her group are actually usingrge Mana Artifacts at the level of at least Grade A or B.


    They were certainly tough enough to destroy the Mech Frames even without infusing it with their own mana¡­


    "Do not mind their Subspace ster! We are already too close, just hit them quickly!"


    "Alright¡­ We have activated our Arcanist Phase anyway¡­ Nothing to worry about."


    Luckily for them, those Mech Frames with Twilight Armor System have already self-destructed and have been dealt with by Wace and the Celestial already. It means that it would be easier for Hilda and her team to destroy these Dragon Mechs.


    As of now, normal Grade 3 or 4 Magic has no way of even scratching the Empire''s Twilight Armor. It is something that was infuriating for the Magicians but they already expected this at some point.


    After all, when they yed the Alien Invasion where the Dorssia Empire was the invader, they have already been made aware that there are alien techs that they could never defeat with their current abilities.


    ***


    Hilda and her group continued battling the Mechs in the sky for more than fifteen minutes before she suddenly received a message from Wace.


    "We''ll help you¡­ You can retreat now."


    Hilda didn''t say any more words as she lead the retreat after only destroying four Dragon Mechs. It is quite an embarrassing result of their charge but they are still quite satisfied considering that these Imperial Pilots have perhaps more than a decade of experience in the aerial of Mechs.


    Bzzzt~


    As soon as they started descending to give way to Wace, she suddenly heard Avalon''s warning followed by a sound of the electricity umting behind them.


    Before she could even understand what was going on, they all saw a lightning bolt striking and destroying a couple of Mech Frames at the same time!


    It was Wace''s Lightning Break!


    The powerful spell was so strong that it almost blinded them. Thanks to the filtering capabilities of their Mech Knights, they avoided getting blinded by that strike and saw the next event¡­


    The Celestial Being appeared in their midst and controlled a mystical blue and red energy piercing the Mech Frames.


    Hilda had previously thought that the Celestial''s power is all about an invisible force that he could control by his mind. However, it seeing the manifestation of energy made him realize that the Celestial is quite simr to Wace who has an unknown form of energy living inside his body.


    "Alright¡­ We have to hurry¡­ Ace and the rest are waiting." Wace announced in their private channel.


    "They''re waiting? I heard that they set off to kill the remaining Space Beast? Are there any problems on their side?" Hilda asked as shended her Radiant Knight on the ground.


    "No. We will continue our momentum and end this war. This will be the final stage¡­ Or Avalon called this as the Third Great Offensive."


    The man chuckled a little as hemunicated with the Celestial and ryed his ns.

 Chapter 461 - The Third Great Offensive ( 1 )

    "Oh¡­ So these cores arerger than the previous ones. Too bad there''s not enough time to put them into use."


    Ace muttered after seeing the Space Beasts'' cores being transported by an Airship. He didn''t think too much of it when it was taken out of the beast but seeing it being carried carefully by a couple of Magicians made himpare it from the other cores.


    The core is actually about three times the size of an adult''s head! Its enormous size is truly incredible. Those engineers working for this would definitely be surprised at its sheer size.


    They are now headed to one of the floating inds where the best Arcane Artificers of the country are currently waiting.


    Their task is to make an array or a device that can effectively utilize its energy. The task is extremely difficult but Ace believes that with their extensive knowledge and help from Veda and Avalon, it shouldn''t take them that long to research this.


    "Well, maybe if Julian Esmeria is alive, we could easily make use of it."


    Grand Arcanist Aura said after hearing Ace. Julian Esmeria is the Royal Court Magician of Montego.


    Unfortunately, his whereabouts are currently filled with mystery. It was first reported that he was dead but clues discovered by Avalon''s Investigators show that the old man should still be alive.


    Anyway, that old man is also the only one who has the original method of creating a Mage Tower that uses incredible kinds of array to utilize the world''s mana.


    With his knowledge, he should also be capable of helping them with the Space Beast Core. It is indeed too bad that they couldn''t borrow his knowledge right now.


    "Well, let''s leave it at that. Wace and his forces should be arriving by now." Ace announced to everyone.


    The soldiers including the Grand Sages and powerful individuals here sighed in relief after hearing the man''s arrival.


    Wace''s influence is truly on a different level.


    He wasn''t just a powerful Magic Engineer but a great leader in their minds. After all, none of them would be even aware that aliens areing to invade them without his help.


    "Don''t worry, we have already called all the scattered forces to gather at the abandoned Cove City."


    "That''s right. The Lucent Force, the Seven ns, the Four Manors, the joint forces of Virgan and Maja, the remaining 12 Battalion of Mages, including the Z Company would be gathering here."


    Grand Sage Maze said as she approached Ace. They are all outside waiting for everyone''s arrival.


    "Wait, the Z Company? Did I hear it correctly?" Ace raised his brows and asked in confusion.


    "Yes, they have many powerful magicians. One of them is Chalice. It seems that he has gotten a lot strongerpared to thest time I met him."


    Maze answered and the look on her face appears like she was trying to recall her previous lover!


    As far as Ace could recall, Chalice is the name of the powerful magician that was previously guarding his spaceship somewhere in Montego!


    Thest time he heard about the man was when he sent the stuff like Laser Gun, Daggers, part of the Bio Armor, and other information about the spaceship to the Zairus'' Magician Congress.


    It seems that after he did this, he had actually trained really hard to get the Grand Sage''s praise. And there seems to be a story about the two!


    Ace could only nod for now as he wasn''t in the mood to pry too much about their story.


    In the meantime, he secretlymunicated with Avalon to find out more about Julian Esmeria''s situation.


    "Avalon¡­ Do your best to find that old man¡­" Ace said as he continued giving instructions.


    The Elysium Investigators that Avalon had sent must do everything they could to try and save the man or perhaps confirm his death if that was really the case.


    [ Affirmative. Switching the priority task of the five Investigators in the region. ]


    "Good¡­"


    As soon as he finished talking with the A.I., he noticed that the Grand Sage was looking in the eastern direction.


    He decided to take a look as well to find out what was going on, however, he didn''t find anything until Avalon reported what''s happening.


    Beep!


    [ The Airships including the Trance Battleship of Lucent Force are arriving. ]


    [ The other remaining forces scattered around the Kingdom are also about to arrive. ]


    Ace smiled after hearing the A.I.''s report. Once their forces are gathered, even if the Empire decided to attack them in full force, they would surely be able to intensely fight back. Especially now that most of the magicians have now fully understood their enemy''s fighting method.


    ''We have all the forces here¡­ but¡­ Should I ask for reinforcement from the Moon Base?''


    Ace pondered as he wanted to create a "n B" just in case something went wrong in their calctions.


    Right now, the Moon Base has been silently building Spaceships in their only Shipyard.


    "Avalon¡­ How many Mid-Size Transatmospheric Battleship has been made in the Moon Base by now?"


    [ Three Unnamed Mid-Size Battleships. They also have 20 Small-Size Battleships ready. ]


    "Hmm¡­ It might take quite a while but can youunch them just in case we need their help?"


    [ It''s possible. However, The Battleships has to be manned by several magicians. ]


    "That''s fine. There''s nothing to worry about any external enemies at this point anyway. Just send anyone who can assist you."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon replied and immediately contacted Escanor in the Moon Base who is currently enjoying his meal.


    Ace now felt satisfied and couldn''t think of anything that he could''ve missed for thisst battle.


    "Wait¡­ About the people that are in the shelter and the floating ind, I assume that there are still enough guards protecting them, right?"


    [ Of course. The security force of the shelters is currently under themand of Reguc, one of the remaining Arians. They are the ones who have extensive knowledge of advanced equipment so they are now assigned with the job. ]


    "I see¡­ That''s good to hear then."


    Ace was d that this minor race can still be useful. Apparently, their forces have collected hundreds, if not thousands, of advanced weapons from the Imperial Army. These things aren''t that easy to operate so most of them are just being stored away.


    After all, the magicians even the automatons are using their Mana Spells in battle.


    The advanced tech weapons they looted aren''t being used so in the end, these Arians decided to put them into use in several guarding missions.


    As Ace is watching the groups of Magicians, Airships, Battleships, and several trucks carrying various things arrive in the city, he suddenly heard the A.I. about another group of people that areing.


    Beep!


    [ Wace and the Celestial Being including a group of Mech Knights are also about to arrive. ]

 Chapter 462 - The Third Great Offensive ( 2 )

    Finally, Wace''s group arrived above the Cove City.


    They of course noticed the Radiant Knights following behind them but one thing that caught their attention was the humanoid light beside him.


    Then, they suddenly felt some kind of energy pressing down on them! It wasn''t too strong but enough to give them a surprise.


    Luckily, most of the people here are all quite experienced so none of them kneeled to the ground.


    Nevertheless, they easily recognized the difference in their current strength.


    "This sensation¡­ How powerful."


    "What''s going on? It''s getting difficult to breathe¡­ Is it reallying from that person above?"


    "Yes, just steady your link to Mana and you''ll be fine."


    "That creature beside Wace¡­ Is that---"


    "Yes¡­ The Celestial Being!"


    Grand Sage Maze, Grand Arcanist Aura, and the others finally recognized the Celestial after giving it a thought!


    The being made of energy is definitely the legend of the Northern Continent! They are the strongest beings on the called the Celestials and seeing them here is already a great honor for them.


    "Incredible! I''ve never thought I''ll see them in my lifetime!"


    "This¡­ Are they really going to help us?"


    "Then, we can win this war with their assistance, right?"


    "But, there''s only one Celestial. What can he do?"


    "Hmph! Don''tpare him to the Terub Legion. The Celestials are definitely stronger than those golden-skinned and purple-skinned aliens!"


    The various magicians couldn''t help but awe in front of the Celestial. The pressure also started subsiding as the Celestial retracted his aura.


    They then saw the two descend on the ground as Ace stepped forward to greet them.


    The two has finally met again after a very long time.


    "It''s been a while. I heard from Avalon that you had trouble beating those members of the Yorian Race."


    Ace said as he recalled how Wace took such a long time to get out of the ocean. There''s already a lot of things that had changed after he managed to get out.


    Wace smiled at his other self as he boasted about their aplishments.


    "That''s true, but we dealt with the Yorian King, their Strongest Fighter¡­ I''m sure that this will be an easy win now. Only the Terubs will be the ones we have to be careful about. We need to make sure that they''ll be fighting the Celestial instead of our Sages and Adepts."


    Wace revealed his obvious n to ensure that everyone will know their priorities.


    "Hmm¡­ That makes sense. Don''t worry. We have time to make several ns. You''re not thinking of just charging to the gship, right?"


    Ace then nced at the Celestial. He wanted to speak with the Celestial Being but he felt that he shouldn''t speak to him casually.


    He wanted to be introduced first so he signaled to Wace


    Thetter noticed his actions but as he was about to introduce him to the Celestial, the being started dissipating!


    Then, Wace heard the Celestial''s voice telling him that he would just be exploring theke that is not too far from here.


    "Ahh!"


    "He disappeared!"


    "Is that only an illusion?!"


    "He looks so real though!"


    The magicians behind Ace eximed as soon as they saw the Celestial vanishing. It happened so suddenly so many of them were confused.


    Anyway, Wace exined that the Celestial just wanted to see ake around here. From his guess, it must be the Luna Lake beside tje Red Star Town where the Space Beasts were previously camping.


    ''Is there something special there?'' Wace pondered.


    As far as he recalls, aside from the redstar flower that is only able to grow in that ce, there is nothing more special about it even after he searched the bottom of it with his Divine Sense.


    Everyone was of course curious about it but none of them mentioned it since it involves the powerful being. They do not want to pry too much in case the Celestial became irritated with them. They do not want that to happen.


    Anyway, it wasn''t important now as they also have a lot of things to do.


    Ace decided to introduce him to the Grand Sages, the Grand Arcanist, and various leaders of the army so they would know the hierarchy of their newly established forces.


    Right now, the true leader of thebined forces would be Wace since he''s the trusted magician of the Celestial.


    Obviously, their movement would heavily rely on the Celestial Being and only Wace canmunicate with him. It means that their Third Great Offensive or the final stage of the war would not happen without the two''s leadership.


    Wace then allowed the Grand Sages to form their battalion by restructuring the current Mage Battalions that has be quite weak because theyck some strong leaders.


    They have a total of five Grand Sages so they have formed five battalions.


    As for the Grand Arcanists, he wanted them to focus on supporting their mage army by helping them with their Mana Artifacts and supporting them by using their Arcana. After all, most of the strengths of the Arcanists rely on the Artifacts or Arcana that they''ve made.


    Grand Arcanist ine is just truly different since he has obtained a piece of tablet containing the Secret Art or the Awakening of Thunder and Lightning. Without it, he could only rely on his various treasures or his creations to fight a battle.


    Anyway, the Terror Mages had formed a different group just like the Northern Natives, Cryptic Mages, and the Z-Company.


    The only thing is that they will still be following Wace''s instructions on how they will join the battleter on.


    The mages then organized themselves and familiarized themselves with their current unit.


    In the meantime, Wace decided to see battleships they have to ensure that they would be able to perform ording to their ns.


    He had also decided to check the Airships that the Veritas Wing made and he even met with the mysterious creator of the Airship.


    "I''m Madoka Khurleigh. I''ve finally managed to meet you, Sir Wace."


    Madoka is a middle-ageddy who seemed to be quite haggard with her unkempt hair and her robe filled with creases.


    It feels like she had just woken up from her sleep.


    Nevertheless, he could feel that she''s a hard-working person considering how she designed the Airships that most of the countries are using now.


    That''s right, she had apparently sold the blueprint of her standard Airship to other countries in hopes of strengthening their forces against the alien invasion. After that, she had also created various orginal designs after getting some inspiration from his Transatmospheric Battleship to make a Flying Fortress and not just a normal passenger Airship.


    "It''s my honor to meet you. However, the creation of the Battleship should be credited to Ace."


    Wace said as he pointed at the man beside him.


    Those two then chatted together as they discussed about the improvements they''ve made in the airship.


    In the meantime, Wace noticed that someone is approaching him.


    Using his Divine Sense, he no longer needed to look behind him and realized that Chalice, the current leader of the Z-Company, is actually looking at him with a smile on his face.


    It seems that he formed a weird connection to this person.

 Chapter 463 - The Third Great Offensive ( 3 )

    Wace had previously fought against this person when he was still quite weak.


    During that time, he has to avoid front confrontation as much as possible since this person''s Mana Spells and even his amount of mana ispletely on a different level.


    Without the abilities provided by his Pathfinder during that time, he would not be able to save himself at all.


    "It has been a while¡­ I''ve never thought that we will be battling together for our''s survival."


    Chalice still has his deep voice and cold aura as he greeted Wace.


    "That''s true. I heard that you went to explore the Northern Continent. I wonder what happened to you there. I can feel that you have gotten a lot stronger."


    Wace replied. He could tell that the man''s power is well hidden. He is showing the strength of a normal Sage based on his mana capacity and control but in truth, Wace knows that he''s at the same level as the Grand Sages here.


    He shouldn''t be capable of having that strength in such a short amount of time unless he found some treasures or had lucky encounters in the Northern Continent.


    "Haha! After seeing such technology that is not possible in this current era, who wouldn''t get curious about that? I can only think that it''s rted to the rumors in that continent. And you''re right, I benefited a lot thanks to my curiosity."


    Chalice said as he even briefly showed his Mana Shell to him. It only happened for about three seconds but Wace could tell the changes on his level.


    It was this person who had opened his eyes to make changes in the current Mana Spells that are existing instead of just focusing on creating an original one.


    Chalice''s Mana Shell is the first mutated spell he had seen that was several times stronger even though he''s only using the same amount of mana.


    Apparently, it was all about the technique and method of how to manipte the mana.


    After Wace acknowledged that the man in front of him had truly gotten stronger, he asked him if there''s anything he could help with... He''s sure that Chalice wouldn''t just greet him to boast about his powers now.


    "Well¡­ Although I know that it might not be the right time to discuss this, I want a reward after this war. In exchange, the higher-ups of the Z-Company inlcuding our battalion of Cryptic Mages would fight to the death. We are nning to use several forbidden spells after all. Even if we have immunity to it, we will weaken a lot and will be an easy target after. I''m sure that many of us would perish after this."


    Chalice said calmly but Wace could tell that there''s more to it.


    He is indeed ready to die in this battle which also made Wace very curious. It is quite impressive that the previous terrorist-like organization would actually be willing to sacrifice so much for the.


    "I can feel your sincerity. Tell me what kind of rewards are you looking for." Wace asked.


    Chalice took a deep breath as he looked at the man with a serious face.


    "I want to explore the gxy, the outer space. I have managed to get a level 5 Authority on Veda''s Database and learned a lot about these Aliens that are attacking us. It''s incredible to think that there are other worlds aside from ours. So I want to explore them¡­"


    "You want to leave this? Alright¡­ However, you have to survive first."


    Wace answered after thinking for a moment. Anyway, it is not that hard to sell them an independent A.I. based on Avalon''s system and of course, a few Spaceships shouldn''t be that expensive for this underworld organization.


    They should be quite rich considering that their whole organization is deeply rooted in the eight different nations of the southern continent.


    "If I really can''t survive, then my rtives or even my son would be happy to continue our wish... This is all something that our members had agreed on."


    Chalice answered with confidence in his words.


    "I wonder¡­ What made you and your members think like this?" Wace asked as he looked at the transatmospheric battleships that started docking not too far from the city. It seems that they are letting the Mech Knights board them for transportation purposes.


    On the other hand, Chalice didn''t answer immediately as he carefully choose his words.


    "The Z-Company is made to reach the peak of our existence¡­ This is why we did our best to create the Serum that evolves the magicians. However, discovering something new is still the dream of many of us. Wouldn''t exploring other worlds be the best feat that our race could do?"


    Wace only smiled wryly as he didn''t really want to think too much of this at this time. After all, it is not that easy to travel in space. Perhaps, he would have to create another virtual game for that and let them y it for a couple of years before allowing them to travel.


    "Fine¡­ Let''s talk about it after finishing this war."


    Ace said as he startedpleting the arrangements to ensure that there wouldn''t be any problems with the chain ofmands.


    After several hours had passed when he''s ready to consult Ace to start the war, he was reminded that they only have five doctors with them!


    Their numbers reach tens of thousands and they only have four doctors that could help them? That number is too low! They needed to have arge medical facility with many doctors in this kind of war. If not, many of the magicians that can be saved would most likely die instead.


    Wace and everyone else wouldn''t want that to happen.


    [ Most of the doctors are currently residing at the Floating Ind. ]


    Avalon suddenly informed him before he could even ask.


    "I see¡­ Ace, what do you think about the doctors. I heard that we arecking." Wace asked. He is currently inside Trance and is checking the Lucent Knights and their Golden Knight.


    He was only informed about theck of doctors by one of the pilots working here.


    "Ahh¡­ I indeed noticed that. I already asked Veda for assistance."


    "Will it be that A.I.''s machines?"


    "That''s correct. However, there would be about five Apprentices that will assist the machines so there is nothing to worry about. We will basically have a floating Medical Facility since I asked Madoka for help as well."


    Ace immediately answered as soon as he received Wace''s call.


    Finally, after several more hours had passed, their troop now started marching towards Gawain where the Imperial gship is located!

 Chapter 464 - The Third Great Offensive ( 4 )

    Wace doesn''t know how these magicians behind him are feeling right now.


    The final battle is getting closer and they might be nervous about the result of this battle. If they lose, there would no longer be any force within the that could fight against the Empire.


    There might be Celestials in the Northern Continent but the ce is too chaotic with the existence of Mana Cmity and Mana Void appearing almost everywhere at any given time.


    It is wishful thinking that the Imperial Army would decide to suicide there. In short, their current united army right now is the only force they could put their hopes to.


    ''I''m not good with speech or giving encouraging words¡­ Ace should be better at this.''


    Wace thought as he nced at the man. They are currently using one of the Transatmospheric Battleship named Magnificence.


    The other battleships behind them are named Trance, Excellence 2.0, Providence 2.0, and Transcendence 2.0.


    They have decided to use this spaceship as their gship since it has the most number of Radiant Wave Generator or in short, it has the strongest defensive capabilities among the five battleships.


    The others had focused too much on their offensive powers with the mounted satellite-ss weapons like the Super Mesospheric Altitude Gun and others.


    "Ace¡­ We only have about 20 more minutes before we reach the border. You''re supposed to give the final encouraging words to them, right?"


    Wace took Ace''s attention who is currently monitoring the surroundings using the Spaceships'' System Interface.


    The man squinted his eyes after hearing Wace. He has no idea that there would be something like that. However, after thinking about it, it indeed makes sense to have some kind of battle cry before the start of the battle.


    It will increase their morale and it would greatly affect the battle.


    "I think that you can do better than me." Ace replied. Before Wace could even reply, he added.


    "I already did something simr in the recent battles that we''ve had. It''s your turn now. Anyway, as long as the both of you charged in front, I''m sure that everyone''s morale would go high."


    Ace smiled at him as what he said was indeed correct, Wace''s presence alone could greatly affect the morale of their magicians.


    Not even his master, Grand Arcanist ine, would have such influence in front of such a mighty force.


    "Haa~ Very well¡­"


    Wace sighed as he decided to just ept the task. Anyway, this is thest thing he could do since he had disappeared for quite a long time after all.


    Right now, their number had actually exceeded his expectation.


    Apparently, they are expecting to have at least 150,000 Magicians in their midst afterbining the forces of every country that are still willing to help.


    Their expectation is this small considering that plenty of magicians have decided to just stir away from the alien''s path. It is unfortunate but this is what they decided in order to achieve a way of survival.


    If he''s not mistaken, millions of citizens and perhaps even magicians have perished in the past few months after the Empire was able to freely roam around the continent except Zairus.


    This is mostly done by their Destroyers or their spaceships that carry only explosives or weapons of mass destruction.


    These Destroyers only have a single task and it is to erase any location or target that was pointed to them.


    After seeing how powerful they are, it wouldn''t be surprising to see that these magicians would get scared and decide to save themselves and let the patriotic soldiers do the work.


    Perhaps, even if they have the courage to fight them at first, they would easily cower in front of these terrifying spaceships. For sure, if they could use nuclear weapons, these Destroyers would''ve probably erased half of the continent already.


    Wace isn''t ming them for that. Especially now that over 300,000 mana practitioners have actually decided to join them!


    He had really underestimated their influence because as soon as he made a call to gather everyone, many magicians who has been hiding everywhere in the continent started gathering in Zairus and met up with their group. Most of them only took a few hours to move here!


    Aside from that, more than 50,000 of them had just arrived using Airships made by Utara and Seiji¡­


    Apparently, they are the rebel faction or the Magicians that were against the King of Seiji to work under the Meredith Empire.


    Looking at it now, their decisions were right.


    All the Magicians who are working for the King died in the hands of Wace and Ace''s scheme.


    Before they could even heavily affect the tides of war, Wace destroyed their main army in the sea with the help of the Sea Creatures while Ace ordered a couple of Grand Sages together with their Mage Battalions and a few Spaceships to destroy their main headquarters.


    "Fifteen more minutes¡­ If I''m not mistaken, the Empire should''ve detected us by now. Avalon, is there any movement from the enemy?"


    [ Yes. The Androids around the continent stopped working in the mines as they all focused on building structures for defense instead. Other than that, the Invader Spaceships and other main spaceships started activating their engine. They would probably fly here quickly as soon as we get closer to the gship. ]


    "Mhmm¡­ That''s good to hear. It wouldn''t be good if they ignored us after all... They have toe here so it would get easier for us."


    [ Should we send a battalion to eliminate the androids and soldiers that will remain in their camp? ]


    "No need¡­ Once we killed everyone here, cleaning the dregs wouldn''t be difficult. It''s better if our forces won''t be divided at this point."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon answered and remained silent for now. As for Wace, he''s even thinking of slowing down their march to ensure that all the spaceships of the Empire would gather already.


    Luckily, he no longer had to wait for long as the spaceships of the Empire started to silently surround their army as they got closer to the gship. Not only that, even the gship had actually started moving closer to them!


    "It seems that they are already prepared¡­" Ace said after seeing the movement of the enemies.


    He then looked at Wace and gestured at him to initiate the beginning of this final battle.

 Chapter 465 - The Third Great Offensive ( 5 )

    Avalon reported the exact locations of the surrounding Invader Spaceships and ck Sovereigns.


    He immediately gave an order to maintain the distance where they could safely evade or defend against any Subspace ster and Psionic Pulse.


    Anyway, those two powerful weapons don''t have a very long range with them and are just normally being used to fight crowds or clusters of Mechs.


    ''Avalon mentioned that we already have Mana Artifacts capable of defending against them. However, it''s better to be safe and limit any exposure from those terrifying attacks.'' Wace mused as he monitored the position of their forces.


    He knows that those weapons are the creation of a civilization that has reached its peak. So Wace didn''t want to take too lightly of them even with their advancement of Magic.


    Finally, after confirming that they are at a safe distance. He activated his inte and spoke to their private channel.


    Every magician with amunication device can now hear him speak.


    "Everyone! Shall we allow our audacious enemies to vite with impunity the territory of us, Magicians?! Will you permit these aliens to escape which has carried terror into your families? We will not! Let''s teach them what happens to those who vite ournd! We shall be victorious!"


    Wace shouted as he ended his pre-battle speech.


    It was followed by battle cries that he heard through multiple channels.


    "For the freedom!"


    "For thend!"


    "No mercy!"


    The morale of the magicians reached its peak¡­ They are now nning to execute their battle strategy when they suddenly received notifications of the heat that was detecteding from the enemy''s spaceships.


    [ Missiles Launch Detected ]


    [ Activation of Psionic Pulse Detected ]


    [ Activation of Subspace ster Detected ]


    [ Activation of Positron Beam Detected ]


    Thanks to Avalon''s abilities, they were able to detect any small changes that is happening in the spaceships.


    It would give them enough time to deal with it.


    Nevertheless, they heard Avalon speak that they do not have to defend or dodge these missiles and beams.


    Some of them who are so excited to fight felt a bit flustered but soon, everyone realized what Wace is nning.


    A figure glowing in blue light appeared above their main force.


    The Celestial Being finally made his move!


    His aura covered the entirety of their army and he''s also emitting a powerful presence throughout the battlefield.


    Everyone''s eyes were glued to the Celestial Being as soon as he made his presence known¡­


    Suddenly, they felt a powerful wave of wind enough to move them back for a little bit before vanishingpletely.


    However, aside from that, the missiles and other weapons fired at them have been blocked and exploded before even reaching their army!


    It created chaos on the Empire''s side since many Marauder Gears, Mech Frames, and Imperial Soldiers were affected by the sudden explosion of missiles and particle beam cannons near them!


    The magicians had of course cheered after seeing such a sight! They haven''t even made a move and the empire''s forces are already at disadvantage!


    "So it''s true! The Empire doesn''t have anyone at the level of the Celestial Being!"


    "Haha! Isn''t that obvious?! Even those Terubs wouldn''t be capable of doing this for sure!"


    "Finally! It''s time for us to counterattack!"


    As soon as they received the signal from Avalon, the Magicians, Airships, Automatons, Mech Knights, and other ground forces like the Mobile Turrets started advancing to the Spaceships that they were assigned to.


    However, their advancement was only a way of distraction¡­.


    Right now, Wace has been using his Divine Sense to find the sealed Nuclear Weapons of each spaceship!


    The reason is obvious, the internal explosion from the enemy spaceship is a sight to behold. Wace wanted to see that and their army are excited to see this.


    Based on their n during the meeting, Wace said that he will first create some trouble with the spaceships of the enemy that woulde near them.


    Whether there are one or more spaceships, it will not matter to him and Wace would still do it.


    The Magicians pulled out their Mana Artifacts as they all exploded with powerful mana¡­ They seem to be about tounch an attacking causing the Imperial Army to be hesitant with their next move.


    However, instead of sending powerful spells to the aliens, they create arge barrier protecting them from external harm!


    This confused the leaders of the Imperial Army since they would have never thought that they would n to do a turtle strategy right now!


    It wouldn''t make sense since the momentum of the battle favors them!


    This only made them nervous as they are unsure what will happen next. At the very least, another volley of hadron cannon was fired to the army of magicians.


    This time, the Celestial allowed it to hit therge array that they have created and sessfully defend against it.


    Boom!


    The impact of several beams of light hitting the defensive array created a powerful vibration on the battlefield.


    This is indeed not a good time for a battle between Mech Knights and Mech Frames yet¡­ Theserge and powerful weapons must be dealt with first!


    Finally, a few seconds passed and the Celestial received Wace''s signal!


    They have found the location of Nuclear Warheads! There''s no way that they''ll miss this opportunity!


    However, even after finding it, it would still take a few seconds to trigger them with their abilities¡­


    The spaceships still managed to fire their weapons and cleanly hit the barrier they made.


    [ The Protection Array''s Durability have decreased to 44%... 41%... 32% ]


    The power they saved for the Array is slowly depleting.


    However, as soon as it reached the 20% mark, Wace has finallypleted his n¡­


    A deafening st and extremely bright light consumed the spaceships and the nearby Imperial Army!


    The four Invader Spaceship was destroyed and six ck Sovereign sumb to the power of the nuclear explosion as well!


    [ The Protection Array''s Durability have decreased to 15%... 8%... 1% ]


    Since they are close to the explosion, the Array is extremely important to protect the army¡­ Luckily, as soon as the Array crumbled, the explosions are over and they only have to protect themselves with their Mana Shells to protect them from the heatwave.


    "Don''t give them a chance to recover! Attack now! Destroy the gship!" Wace shouted as the melee battle started.


    He then eyed the Imperial gship and soon, he saw the 20 Terubs looking coldly at the iing Magicians.

 Chapter 466 - The Third Great Offensive ( 6 )

    A single member of the Terub Legion was able to tie down Wace before.


    That ratio alone made the others extremely fearful of this race. They know how powerful Wace was especially after he returned from the Northern Continent.


    Thus, many magicians would rather fight hundreds of Imperial Soldiers or tens of Khrusams than face a Terub alone!


    During the past few months that they''ve fought against the Aliens, the Terubs managed to kill the two Grand Sages of Virgan and three from Maja.


    This shows how powerful and terrifying they are.


    If Grand Sages couldn''t even handle them, how could the Battle Mages or Adepts hope to fight against these monsters?


    "The Celestial will deal with all the Terubs¡­ I will help him in case someone tried to pull some tricks! We go ording to n!"


    Wace immediately noticed the magicians'' worry and spoke to them through their open channel.


    It''s true that the Terubs were indeed unmatched but the sacrifice of the Grand Sages of the two countries wasn''t for naught. They have somehow forced the Terubs to reveal their real strength so they now have a good reference for how strong they are.


    In truth, even if the Celestial would not join them in this fight, the Grand Arcanists led by ine Allusia had created a powerful Arcana to at least keep them busy or perhaps, permanently trap them.


    The Array-Type Arcana that they''ve made hasn''t been tested yet but this means that the magicians weren''t idling at all.


    "Master ine¡­ Please monitor the Celestial''s fight and act ording to your judgment." Wace said privately to the Grand Arcanist.


    Right now, ine and Aura, two of the three Grand Arcanists of Zairus were inside Excellence 2.0¡­ They are together with several magicians that are meant to be a "n B" in case the Terubs were able to somehow deal with the Celestial.


    Of course, Wace wasn''t worried about the Celestial but the enemy might do some trick again to tie down the Celestial.


    "Don''t worry about us, Wace. Be careful on facing those Khrusams. Once their third eyes are opened, they can be really annoying." ine replied giving some advice to his outstanding apprentice.


    When ine managed to infiltrate inside the Conveyor Spaceship before, he had faced several Khrusams in his path before he discovered the existence of the terrifying Space Beasts.


    He had barely gotten passed through them by using his Final Stage of his AOTL and a couple of his support-type Arcana including the one that he used to put pressure on his surroundings.


    "I understand. I''ll keep it in mind." Wace replied as he was notified that the Mech Frames are nowing for them.


    Their protection has already crumbled and the real battle begins now.


    Although most of the Spaceships were already destroyed, the Imperial Army''s number still exceeds 130,000¡­


    They were outnumbered by the magicians but a single Imperial Soldier would not lose in a fight against the Adepts¡­


    After all, once the magicians used up all their Mana, they would have no choice but to retreat. There was no way they could defend against the photon swords orser guns of these soldiers wearing bio-armors¡­


    Normal Spells like fireballs, water shots, wind des, earth spike, or other Grade 1 Mana Spells would not even scratch these bio-armors.


    Onlyplex spells at the peak of Grade 2 can at most push them back. If they wanted to really kill the soldiers, they have to use most of their Mana to cast special Grade 3 spells and kill them in a swift manner.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    As soon as the Mech Framesunch their attacks, the Mech Knights including the Iron Knights and Steel Knights started moving forward and firing their guns and artifacts.


    Unfortunately, only the Mech Knights can be trusted in aerial battle as the Iron and Steel Knights with ancient technology remained fighting on the ground dealing with the soldiers and Khrusams that has survived the explosion.


    They do not have the finest flight system that could make them fight equally with the Mech Frame after all. So it''s better for thetest Mech Knights to deal with the Mech Frames of the aliens.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The battle between the Celestial and the Terubs had also started¡­ ording to their n, the Celestial would have to bring them away from the crowd of magicians to avoid any unnecessary casualties.


    Wace looked at the Terubs and saw several ancient markings or perhaps runes glowing on their bodies as they fought against the Celestial¡­


    ''As expected, they''re not really taking me seriously when they caught me before.'' Wace couldn''t help but shudder after seeing that the Terubs were able to fight equally with the Celestial Being.


    Luckily, he didn''t fight against these Terubs directly and he was using his Void Phase to run away.


    This was probably the reason why they weren''t using the runes during that time.


    Since it was a matter of speed or teleportation, perhaps the runes weren''t that effective.


    ''Tsk¡­ They didn''t even use it against the Grand Sages¡­ How cunning¡­ If we don''t have the Celestial and rely on Master ine''s array, we''re really done for.'' Wace still felt lucky with their current situation.


    Soon, he saw several glowing Mech Knights charging towards the Mech Frames and fighting them using melee weapons¡­


    They have finally used their Arcanist Phase to pressure the enemies¡­ After all, they have to force the fight in close range since they can''t let the Dragon''s Warrior Mech or Wolf''s Sledger Mech.


    ''It''s time¡­''


    Wace then looked at the Imperial gship¡­ After seeing the engagement of the humanoid Mechs, he knows that they have to step up with their n.


    As the battle between the Adepts and Soldiers was happening everywhere, the Airships and their Transatmospheric Battleships were flying higher in the sky.


    Right now, the Meredith Empire only has 2 Invader Spaceships and 2 ck Sovereign Spaceships. Apparently, these spaceships do not have any Nuclear Warheads with them that he could trigger with his ability.


    On the other hand, all the Conqueror Starship has already been destroyed.


    As for the Conveyor Starships, they have all remained in their camps around the continent since they do not have a strong offensive power.


    With this in mind, Wace is nning now to directly attack the gship!

 Chapter 467 - The Golden-Skinned Aliens ( 1 )

    Ace had been observing the movement of Imperial gship ever since the start of the battle.


    He actually wanted to contribute to the fight outside but he needed to stay in their gship to take care of themand.


    After all, Wace would have to go outside and the Grand Sages who are good atmanding on the battlefield can''t stay here either.


    All the abled fighters must participate in this war. As for him, he only has strength simr to an Adept and he''s mostly relying on his advanced technology equipment to fight.


    In short, it''s better for him to stay in themand center inside the Magnificence.


    "The enemy gship had sent out more than a thousand Khrusams! They are carrying Corpse Furnaces. Terror Mages and Cryptic Mages, it''s your turn now!"


    Ace immediately said as soon as he noticed the golden-skinned aliens appearing like a flooding out of the gship.


    The Khrusams outside already number more than 5,000 and are currently being dealt with by more than 10,000 newly trained Soul Arts Practitioners.


    They are Miya and Miss Chamber''s students that had trained in the Floating Ind for several weeks.


    Luckily, because their number surpasses the Khrusams outside, they were able to fight with the control of the Death Energy.


    That''s right, thanks to the research group''s relentless efforts, the secrets of the Death Energy have been discovered and could now be controlled by this''s magicians as long as they received the teachings made by Miya''s group.


    However, the Imperial Prince noticed what was happening and quickly sent all of their Khrusams outside.


    These Khrusams with their Corpse Furnace will definitely be able to snatch the control of the Death Energy.


    "Yes, Sir!"


    The Commander of the Cryptic Mages and the Terror Mages replied in unison. They were both tall and charismatic men and wielding guns as their weapons¡­


    Of course, these weapons aren''t firing bullets orsers but instead, Mana Spells.


    They are both trained by Miya''s group as well regarding the matters of Death Energy. However, the difference about them is that their group was also trained by Lacus, the Arcane Artificer under Grand Arcanist ine and Wace''s fellow apprentice.


    That''s right, the group that researched the Corpse Furnaces left by the Khrusams on the battlefield was Lacus'' team.


    She and the other apprentices of all the Grand Arcanists of the country worked together to study the Corpse Furnaces and create a Magic Structure that will allow them to imitate it and even simplify using the wonders of their Arcane.


    Right now, the guns they are holding are the result of the simplification of the Corpse Furnace. Unfortunately, even with all their efforts, they could only create more than 600 of these Mana Artifacts enough to equip a small group of Terror Mages and Cryptic Mages.


    "Hector, I''ll leave it to you." Ace said to the leader of the Cryptic Mages.


    "Don''t worry¡­ We will show you a satisfying result." Hector smiled as he answered Ace. He and his group''s airships then moved forward to engage with the Khrusams who had juste out of the spaceship.


    His full name is Hector Newman and was one of the TMAC''s participants before. Unfortunately, because of the war, he was forced to advance as a Cryptic Mage.


    He was unable to break through using the Arcane Baptism and couldn''t form an Adept Link.


    There was no problem with this during normal times as he would have to just wait for three to five years to advance as an Adept. However, time is not with him. The aliens have arrived and many magicians and ordinary people were killed.


    He couldn''t wait for several years to advance as an Adept.


    In the end, he was forced to participate in the mass injection of Cryptic Link Serum to be powerful soldiers to fight against the Aliens.


    He no longer had a chance to advance normally and he might just be stuck as a Cryptic Mage forever without any hopes of advancing to a Sage.


    This is the same case of many members of the Cryptic Mages but since it''s for the sake of the, they have to sacrifice their life and their future as Magician.


    At the very least, he no longer has to worry about any bacsh even if they cast forbidden magic.


    ***


    As soon as Hector finished his conversation with Ace, he made a serious face and looked at the battlefield.


    Wace and his team of elite magicians started charging towards the flying Imperial gship. If he wasn''t mistaken, the people together with him were the mysterious Northern Natives.


    They are exuding a violent aura that is almost simr to the Mana Cmity.


    No, perhaps they are even able to trigger the Cmity itself. After all, they barely knew anything about it.


    Anyway, they are traveling by running swiftly on the ground and they even cast several concealing spells. He can only see a shadow of them moving quickly to attack the bottom of the spaceship. However, they are definitely going to face a thousand Khrusams once they reached their destination.


    As for the numerous Imperial Soldiers and Marauder gears on the ground, the Mobile Turrets and the Battle Mages are dealing with them at the moment.


    Whom~


    Hector suddenly felt a thick Death Energying from the direction of the newly arrived Khrusams.


    ''Hmm? They are not using the Death Energy from the recent deaths¡­ It feels different.'' Hector pondered as soon as he recognized their Death Energy.


    Of course, his small army had also noticed this so they were a bit curious. But as they were pondering, they heard a familiar voice in their inte.


    "It must be the Death Energy of their fellow race¡­"


    The voice said and they immediately recognized her.


    "Miss Miya¡­ So you are also here." Hector felt a bit surprised but he immediatelyposed himself.


    "Yes, the Floating Ind is being used to treat the patients. We can''t go too far."


    "I see. Then this Death Energy is from the dead Khrusams? It seems to be special."


    "That''s right. I noticed that as well during our research. This Death Energy is harder to control. So don''t waste your time and just destroy their Corpse Furnace instead ofpeting with them."


    "I understand. We''ll use the surrounding Death Energy instead to fight these aliens." Hector confidently answered as they charged at the golden-skinned aliens.


    During this time, several bullets andser guns were also being fired at their airship. There were also a couple of particle beams that were aimed at them¡­


    However, a small part of the Lucent Force and their Mech Knights made their move.. They did their best to protect their airship until they were in a distance where the Empire would have to reconsider firing to avoid hitting their allies.

 Chapter 468 - The Golden-Skinned Aliens ( 2 )

    Wace arrived at the area below the Imperial gship.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The Khrusams and Imperial Soldiers guarding the ce noticed their group that had suddenly appeared. They immediately fire their weapons and hit the barriers or mana shells of the magicians.


    Even with their concealing mana spells, as long as the imperial soldiers managed to get closer to them, they would still reveal themselves to the others.


    After all, even with all their magic, the Life Energy Sensors of this advanced civilization are still very impressive. At most, it could fool their system for a short time.


    "Hmph!"


    Wace snorted as he punched the air and created sparks everywhere¡­


    Lightning Break!


    It was then followed by the native''s Cmity Wave!


    It may not be considered a spell but a technique to control their Mana and create a chaotic mana to their targeted location.


    It is somehow simr to the creation of Mana Cmity¡­


    Wace smiled after seeing how effective their ability was. However, before he could celebrate, the Khrusams opened their third eyes as they controlled their Death Energy to cover their whole group like a huge nket¡­


    If they managed to wrap them up like this, it would surely be difficult to get away from it.


    Nevertheless, none of them are afraid of this technique¡­


    Pah!


    The Death Energy scattered away surprising the Khrusams. They couldn''t believe what had just happened!


    After all, they are aware that they have Mages capable of controlling Death Energy as well. They are the Soul Arts Practitioners and they''ve faced these aliens multiple times already.


    However, those mages would still struggle fighting over the control of the Energy. It means that as long as they have enough numbers and Corpse Furnace, they should be able to stop the other party from messing with their Death Energy.


    But what happened just now ispletely different from what they expected. There was no struggling whatsoever and their carefully manipted Death Energy Net was destroyed just like that.


    "Let''s try again! I don''t believe that they can do it repeatedly!"


    "Yes!"


    The Commander of this Khrusam Battalion ordered and they immediately regained control of the scattered Death Energy.


    However, since their formation was destroyed, they have to synchronize with their Corpse Furnace again, and even with their Third Eyes opened, it would still take at least 10 to 20 seconds to create a simrly powerful formation of Death Energy.


    After all, just the normal suffocation and corruption power of the energy aren''t enough to easily kill the magicians at the level of an Adept. It is only effective to battle mages and would take a lot of time if used against magicians with a higher level.


    It is enough for Wace and his group to counterattack. Even if they are being blocked by the Imperial Soldiers, they quickly dealt with them and pushed them back to attack the golden-skinned aliens.


    Pah!


    The same thing happened!


    The newly converged Death Energy Net was destroyed as soon as it formed in front of Wace''s group.


    The Khrusams that are assigned here were the elites of their race and they were specifically tasked to block any natives of this from any intrusion to the Imperial gship.


    After all, they know now that the gship''s turrets and defense system don''t work for these high-level magicians.


    If they allowed this group to board the spaceship, the ns of the Imperial Prince may not be sessful! They have to buy more time!


    Although they didn''t know what had just happened, they know that they have to stop Wace and his entourage!


    "Do not fear them! We have opened our Third Eyes! Engage in closebat!"


    The leader suddenly shouted as he created a sword made of death energy¡­ As soon as he did this, the others followed suit and created their weapons using the energy!


    Wace was surprised seeing this since this was never in Avalon''s database and even from Veda. This is the first time they''ve seen something like this.


    ''So they really have other use for the Death Energy¡­ However, this is our chance!'' Wace''s eyes'' glinted as soon as he saw the Khrusam charging at them.


    In truth, he could no longer scatter the Death Energy Net if they still tried to cast it once more. They will be forced to retreat and avoid the Energy. Luckily, he managed to scare them by scattering the Formation of Death Energy using his Astral Core!


    sh! sh! sh!


    "Ahh!"


    These golden-skinned aliens were actually impressive fighters! They managed to behead some of the natives who were trying to stop them from their advance!


    The natives were well-versed in closebat so seeing them losing this way surprised Wace for a moment. After all, the Mana Beasts that are living in the Northern Continent seemed to be more troublesome than these Khrusams in closebat.


    The northern natives should have much more experience fighting this way. Although they have just learned how to use Mana Spells to fly, they still are capable of fighting with almost a hundred percent of their abilities.


    Beep!


    [ Weak Frequency of the Psionic Pulse has been detected. ]


    Wace then heard Avalon''s notification and realized what was happening. His body is already too strong with his Astral Core¡­ Because of this, he wasn''t even slightly affected by the weakened version of the Psionic Pulse!


    Unfortunately, only after it umted for a long time did the A.I. manage to detect its presence.


    ''It''s most likelying from the Imperial gship¡­ Tsk¡­'' Wace mused as he immediately thought of using the Void Phase¡­


    Bam!


    Unfortunately, he was still being blocked by the mysterious force that is probably left behind by the Yorian King¡­


    ''Hmph!''


    Lightning Break!


    Roar of Thundering Destruction!


    Wace used the Secret Art continuously since this is the only Mana Spell that he has with destructive AOE damage.


    Most of his other spells like Laser Focus were only for single targets and not really that good in this war.


    Of course, he still has Echo st, Traceless Oscition, many other abilities but they aren''t powerful enough against these golden-skinned.


    Nevertheless, the battle onlysted for 8 more minutes as the corpses of aliens guarding this area finally dropped to the ground because they have ways to easily replenish their energy, unlike these aliens.

 Chapter 469 - The Imperial Prince ( 1 )

    Wace and his small group were finally unobstructed as they rushed to the gship!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Several explosions urred not too far from them. The Mech Knights and Mech Frames nearby were battling with their lives on the line.


    All their weapons were used as they are moving extremely fast in the sky¡­ Many humanoid machines dropped to the ground and some of them even exploded to bits. Only a few pieces of them were left as they were almost disintegrated by powerful particle beams or mana spells.


    The battle of these machines appears to be on equal grounds but considering the number of Mech Frames, the Meredith Empire should hold the upper hand. Their advanced technology or the explosive power of their weapons were too destructive¡­ Not only to their targets but also to the environment.


    It even feels like the empire did not suffer the nuclear explosion triggered by Wace.


    Bang! Bang!


    Wace forcefully created a hole in the barrier of the Imperial gship. He used almost a quarter of his Aster Core''s energy to do this which frightened him a bit. After all, he knows how much power it was!


    It is equivalent to him casting ten Roar of Thundering Destruction which is the final stage of his Secret.


    With such a powerful move, his action was obviously noticed by the Imperial Army. However, there''s nothing they could do but watch Wace and his group enter the Imperial gship.


    "I will now move alone¡­ Everyone, create as much chaos as you can. If you think that you have done enough, escape immediately." Wace said to the Northern Natives. These guys were truly a blessing for Wace.


    After all, the reason why they wanted to leave the northern continent was that it was getting too dangerous and bing more difficult for their younger generation to survive.


    His offer to bring them to the southern continent using the Floating Inds, was supposedly for them to live a better life. However, while they are traveling, Wace exined to them the invaders wille to the to destroy everything here.


    Instead of thinking of going back to theirnds, they decided to help them fight the invasion as long as Wace would promise several things for them about the future of their race.


    With Aeolia''s help, he managed to get their full trust and is now willing to do this kind of suicidal mission for him.


    Of course, they were all equipped with Bio-Armors from Arians and high-tech weapons aside from their Mana Artifacts and unique fighting methods.


    They have a much higher chance of survival ifpared to other magicians.


    The closest to them in terms of capability is the Cryptic Mages which has a different mission in this war.


    "We won''t disappoint you, Sir Wace. Please kill the imperial prince¡­"


    "Be careful¡­ Even if you fail, do not die. As long as the Celestial could kill the Terubs in time, our chances of killing the prince will be higher."


    The two leaders of the natives said before they scattered around.


    As they have gotten close to the gship, the CIWS of the spaceship started aiming and shooting at their group.


    They can''t stay too close to each other or they will just be easy targets for the enemy''s weapon system.


    Wace nodded at their words. He no longer said anything as he entered the gship by creating several holes on the surface of the gigantic gship.


    He could just directly use the Void Phase to enter the spaceship but the Natives would have difficulty entering the ship.


    This was why he had to create several entrances first before deciding to meet the Imperial Prince¡­


    Whom~


    He soon appeared in front of what it seems like a throne hall inside the spaceships.


    The pirs in the room were all made of gold and exquisite designs on the surface¡­


    A scarlet rug runs from the throne down through the center and splits into two paths leading out while forked banners with embellished corners swing gently from the walls.


    ''Impressive¡­'' Wace praised the throne hall after observing.


    Between each banner hangs a torch, some of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the depictions ofte rulers below them.


    Vast, stained ss windows of intricate mosaics are enclosed by drapes colored the same scarlet as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with gilded linings and fine patterns.


    Then, Wace nced at the throne where a man was sitting and was coldly looking at him.


    ''Imperial Prince¡­''


    The dignified throne of carved rock sits beneath an almost entirely close baldachin.


    The throne is covered in symbolic sculptures and fixed on each of the wide armrests is a carved head of a legendary creature, a space beast if Wace would guess.


    "You''ve finally arrived."


    The imperial prince''s voice sounded calm as he observed Wace. He doesn''t seem to be worried that he managed to enter the room unobstructed.


    ''The Prince shouldn''t be weak. He has all the resources he needs in the gxy¡­ However, he shouldn''t be as strong as the Yorian King, right?'' Wace thought as he ignored the prince for now.


    He then used his Divine Sense to check the surrounding situation again but he didn''t find any Terubs or other aliens hiding in the corners.


    His gazended at the handsome prince again and he couldn''t understand what''s happening.


    ''Even if you''re powerful, there should be some Imperial Soldiers or Terubs that are guarding you, right? Why are you so confident?''


    Wace frowned as he had never expected that the prince would decide to face him alone.


    He decided to test the waters.


    He used a simple Echo st to destroy the throne and readied his Void Phase to move away immediately.


    Boom!


    The throne shatteredpletely but Wace felt danger behind him¡­ He quickly used his Void Phase and moved out of the way¡­


    Bang!


    The ce he was just standing at was destroyed by the Prince''s punch!


    ''So fast?!''


    Wace felt like the prince had just teleported behind him!


    Then, he suddenly recalled the machine that the Imperial gships has!


    ''It must be the spatial device they used to capture me before!''

 Chapter 470 - The Imperial Prince ( 2 )

    Wace looked gravely at the Prince¡­ There''s definitely something wrong with the current situation. He could easily tell it by seeing how confident that prince was.


    ''Let me see¡­''


    He then decided to go out of the throne hall using his Void Phase. However, he immediately appeared in the same position.


    As expected, he''s locked inside this hall together with the prince.


    Now, no one can interrupt their battle! But at this point, the prince should be the one worried!


    Wace frowned as he didn''t know where this person get his confidence to face him alone. He should''ve seen him fight a Terub before. Aside from that, this prince should also be aware that he uses magic! Their gene optimization should not be enough to fight against the existence of Mana!


    "Are you afraid?"


    The prince suddenly asked as he showed his face to Wace. The handsome prince gave him a mocking gaze and even waited for him to attack.


    "Why would you think I''m afraid of you?" Wace smirked as he retained his half-kneeling posture. His left palm is currently pressing on the ground as if he''s trying to gain support from it.


    However, the truth is that he''s casting his Mana Spell! His Traceless Oscition!


    He wanted to destroy the throne hallpletely! He doesn''t feel good that he''s unable to use his Void Phase after all. So his instinct is to escape immediately!


    Wace somehow feels like this is an borate trap to take him out.


    Unfortunately, the prince seems to have noticed his actions.


    The man just snorted and his Oscition Magic was interrupted.


    Wace then looked at the ground and noticed that some kind of force field is protecting it. Even Avalon couldn''t understand what type of barrier it was. It seems that this is some kind of secret technology of the Empire.


    "What''s this exquisite barrier? I''m very impressed."


    Wace decided to ask calmly. Since he can''t escape with his Void Phase, it means that he either has to destroy the ce forcefully¡­ Of course, he would also try to kill the prince if he really could.


    "Haha! Are you buying time now?" The princeughed as he doesn''t seem to be worried at all.


    He didn''t wait for Wace to reply as he added mockingly.


    "So, now that you realized that you''re trapped here with me. Do you think that you''re going to get rescued?"


    "Not really¡­ I''m just interested. I hope that I could learn how to make this as well." Wace responded with the same tone.


    "Oh~ Don''t worry¡­ Once we extracted your soul, you will learn our secret¡­ and we will also learn yours."


    The prince suddenly had a sinister smile as he snapped his fingers.


    Wace had no time to think about how they would extract his soul when he saw several smaller versions of the Corpse Furnaces above him!


    The ceiling had actually opened and reveal more than 30 furnaces!


    He didn''t want to know what these things are capable of as he quickly circted his Astral Core and focused the energy in his palm¡­


    Ha!


    Without waiting for the furnaces'' attack, he sent a powerful strike on them to destroy thempletely!


    However, it was toote! His strike didn''t do anything as his Astral Energy was unable to get out of his body!


    He then suddenly felt pain like someone was tearing his soul!


    It is highly simr to when he was on a table and Charles was using the Secret Art: Flowing Spirit to him!


    During that time, that peak Mage Doctor tore a part of his soul and inserted it into his previous body!


    He would never forget that pain as it was even more painful when he cultivated his Astral Core in his body.


    ''This¡­ Soul Magic? The Empire doesn''t have this kind of magic¡­ Tsk! So it''s really that Khrusams¡­ How annoying!''


    In the end, his strongest opponent was still the Golden-skinned Aliens!


    Bam!


    As he was trying to suppress the pain in his body, the prince didn''t just stand and wait as he kick Wace''s abdomen¡­


    Thetter flew into the air as hended on the ground several meters away¡­ He even rolled more than 10 times before stopping.


    "You¡ª"


    Wace wanted to say something but he vomited some blood. This is not because of the powerful kick but because of the tearing in his soul¡­


    His body has already received the finest body modifications that the Pathfinder could give.


    He wasn''t worried at all about being injured. In truth, even if the prince decided to cut his limbs, he''s not worried at all.


    Although the Pathfinder could no longer give missions to him as it ended already afterpleting all possible missions during his trip to the northern continent, it had given him the first stage of the True Celestial''s path.


    After the Pathfinder rewarded this to him, he could no longer get any mission as he basically achieved the Path he had chosen.


    The only problem right now is that this is only the first of the three stages of the True Celestial. This is why his soul was still his weakness.


    For sure, the Prince doesn''t know that it was his weakness¡­ He was just very lucky that he has Khrusams on his side¡­ If there are no Khrusams around, it is only a matter of time to destroy the force field and to find a way to destroy the spatial maniptor device that they have.


    ''Tsk¡­ My soul couldn''t hold on¡­ It hasn''t been fully mended yet when it was torn to revive the other body¡­ This is bad.''


    Wace cursed the prince in his mind.


    He then looked at the handsome man and saw something quite horrific¡­


    The prince''s body is actually starting to mutate!


    ''Berserk mode?''


    Wace thought.


    Apparently, Wace didn''t know that the kick he received just now was the prince''s full-force attack. Normally, anyone that he kicked with that force would be torn to pieces.


    However, Wace was still quite active as he squirms in pain. This infuriated the prince as he decided to trigger his bloodline''s ability!


    "I only need your soul! I will destroy your body now!"


    The prince coldly said as his eyes including his skin started turning red.

 Chapter 471 - The Imperial Prince ( 3 )

    Wace was still trying to defend against the Corpse Furnaces'' attempt to rip off his soul.


    He couldn''t even properly manifest his Mana at this point. The only thing that he could use to defend against the prince was his Bio-Armor and his natural Astral Energy that is protecting his body with or without his control.


    Boom!


    As the Prince''s body became twice asrge as before, Wace expected that he would be slower!


    However, this man just appeared behind him as Wace was kicked and was smashed on the wall¡­


    ''Ugh¡­ That''s painful!''


    Although there were no visible injuries on his body, that kick had targeted his organs¡­ If not for his enhanced body, his hearts would''ve been crushed already.


    The prince didn''t stop moving as he grabbed Wace''s legs before he was smashed on the floor.


    Boom!


    An impact more powerful than the previous attack had shaken Wace¡­


    "That''s enough!" Wace shouted as he decided to just spill out his mana forcefully.


    Since he couldn''t control his mana properly, he decided to just send them out around him instead of using them to cast a Mana Spell.


    It can be seen as wasteful but if he didn''t make a move, this prince would just continue to harass him.


    Hmph!


    The prince then snorted as he waved his hand to push away the sharp manaing at him.


    Ssak!


    He was stabbed by the mana force!


    The prince was obviously surprised as he thought that with his current body, not a single magic should be capable of prating his skin!


    They have studied this already after capturing thousands of magicians and experimenting with them in the past couple of months!


    He frowned in confusion but it didn''tst long.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    He decided to use his equipment''s Force Shield to defend instead. Although it was still destroyed in the end, it was still enough to avoid getting gurt from Wace''s burst of mana des.


    Although the mana used weren''t converted to elements, Wace''s mana purity had almost reached perfection¡­ This was why the prince shouldn''t be using the statistics he gathered from weaker magicians when battling him.


    "Aaahhh!"


    As the prince backed off, Wace cried in pain as he forcefully controlled his Astral Core to target the Corpse Furnaces above him¡­


    Thick orbs of red energy came out of Wace''s body¡­ Then, they all quickly moved like they have their own consciousness and targeted the Furnaces!


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Many of them were immediately destroyed but three Furnaces were still active!


    However, this was enough for Wace to regain his momentum!


    ''Hmm?''


    He felt somethinging to his face as his Divine Sense started working¡­


    Pah!


    The prince just punched him with full force. He failed to raise his guard on time as his head smashed on the ground.


    "You---"


    Wace immediately used his Mana to fight the Prince!


    Now that he can finally move and ignore the remaining Furnaces, it''s time for him to repay the price for hurting him!


    There''s no way that this prince would get away with it!


    "Hmph! You''re tough but this is already your end."


    The handsome prince looked down on him. Then, Wace saw his enemy gathering Mana in his fist!


    This person can already control mana and even used it to attack!


    Wace was a bit surprised but since he knows about the memory crystal fluid they made, he wasn''t flustered at all as he pulled out his gun¡­


    Echo st!


    Echo st!


    Echo st!


    Three continuous spells was used! There wasn''t even a second of dy when Wace did that!


    Aside from that, he also controlled his explosive Astral Energy to slowly destroy the throne hall.


    He actually felt the presence of two Terubs just now when the Prince used his Mana¡­ Perhaps it was because he destroyed the Corpse Furnaces already that the two were rmed and ready to help their prince.


    At this time, they might actually be waiting for an opening tond a killing blow on him once and for all.


    By destroying this hall, he would be able to perhaps use his Void Phase and freely move¡­


    Bam! Bam!


    The prince took his attack using his Mana¡­ However, he doesn''t seem to be injured as he started umting more mana in the surroundings.


    Crack! Crack!


    Suddenly, the prince''s bio-armor started making a cracking noise before shattering into pieces. This must''ve been the effect of Wace''s three Echo sts¡­


    Then, Wace didn''t stop using his Gun Mana Artifact and used the Echo st on his surroundings aside from targeting the prince.


    For a couple of minutes, Wace would not be able to use this Mana Artifact as it was overwhelmed with the number of spells that was used.


    "It''s useless!" The prince shouted as he suddenly moved and left behind an afterimage¡­


    The bulky prince then appeared in front of Wace reaching his palm on his head!


    He was about to crush Wace''s head!


    "Since I can''t take your soul, you should die now!"


    The prince was curious about Wace''s identity so he wanted to search his soul. He must''ve realized during this period that Wace was the one who started the Moon Base Project and created several Spaceships to fight against their fleet.


    It was no wonder why he was interested in his secrets.


    "Tsk!" Wace snorted as he weed the prince''s attack with his fist¡­


    Boom!


    As soon as the palm and fist met, a huge st urred in their midst destroying the floor of the Hall¡­


    Wace''s eyes squinted while he defended against the Prince''s attack. He couldn''t use his full mana and Astral Energy just now because of the two Terubs¡­


    As expected, as soon as he met the prince''s attack, the two figures a couple of meters taller than him appeared behind him!


    These two are much taller than the previous Terubs he met! Calling them giants wouldn''t be an exaggeration!


    Their fists were already covered with blue and ck energy and ready to kill him!


    However, Wace was prepared for this!

 Chapter 472 - The Imperial Prince ( 4 )

    Activate Magic Node!


    Wace willed his mind to trigger the small Artifact in his bio-armor.


    This Magic Node is capable of saving him even if he was about to get hit by a Particle Beam at point-nk range!


    ''Come!'' Wace shouted in his mind.


    The Node''s Magic Structure has been used by many cities to create a barrier before he improved it for his own use. Then, it was further enhanced by Ace''s team and it was now capable of defending against the Empire''s powerful cannons.


    Aside from that, he didn''t need to focus his mind to activate the Artifact.


    Because of that, Wace has enough time to use his Mana to attack the Terubs.


    Right now, conventional Mana Spells wouldn''t work on them¡­ The Terubs'' body was too tough for a fireball or wind de to affect them.


    It is useless to cast such Mana Spells as they might not even scratch their skins.


    ''Whatever energy you''re using, you are all still creatures with flesh and blood!''


    As soon as the fists of the Terubs were about to hit him, his gathered mana on his feet was finally ready to be used.


    Wace stomped on the ground as his Magic Node received the full brunt of their assault. As he did this, he also used a snake-like form of mana to pierce the Terubs'' eyes!


    Bang! Bang!


    The punch was so powerful but because of the destroyed floor, Wace didn''t have to remain in his position as heunched himself forward and crushed the prince with the barrier he made!


    The prince was actually nning to follow up an attack after the Terubs sent their firsts¡­ However, because of their position, Wace decided to use the prince as a cushion while also targeting the Terub''s eyes¡­


    "Aahhh!"


    The Terub''s eyes were probably the most vulnerable part of their bodies. No matter how tough their body was, their eyes wouldn''t have that much strength to protect themselves from being pierced by his mana.


    With Wace''s Divine Sense, even without looking to the enemies behind him, he can see them clearly and observe even their slight movement.


    There''s nothing they could hide from Wace!


    Boom!


    The Magic Node that was protecting him exploded because of the pressure from the three enemies.


    However, it also canceled their attacks giving Wace time to retreat on the side and recuperate.


    ''That was dangerous.''


    Although he was protected by the Node, the unusual energy that the Terubs had used seems to have prated his body¡­


    ''Runes, huh¡­ I have no idea how it works but I don''t have time to study them. I can only pressure them and kill them as quickly as possible.''


    Wace made up his mind. He can still see the rune markings on the bodies of the Terubs. They are still glowing telling him that the Terubs were still fine and capable of fighting¡­


    Anyway, the Terubs should have powerful senses as well. They shouldn''t be stopped from a mere loss of sight.


    Crack! Crack!


    As Wace was about to start attacking again, he heard some noiseing from the Prince¡­


    The berserk mode was still not lifted and looking at it now, it seems that it wasn''t over yet and he was still transforming!


    Something wasing out of his back!


    No! He can''t let the prince evolve anymore!


    Wace felt some danger at the prince''s transformation. He felt that if the princepleted it, he would have a hard time suppressing him and he might even have to flee!


    "Gaahhh!"


    The two blinded Terubs charged at Wace without caring for anything!


    "Scram!"


    Wace shouted as he incorporated his Roar of Thundering Destruction in that voice.


    It created huge pressure on the Terubs as they had no choice but to get out of the way¡­ The Throne Hall trembled as cracks started appearing everywhere.


    It seems that another use of that ability would be enough to destroy the cepletely.


    Wace then charged at the transforming Prince to stop him and perhaps, kill him in the process¡­


    Unfortunately, because of the short battle he made with his enemies, he had missed the right amount of protection in his body as the Corpse Furnace started pulling his soul again.


    Although it wasn''t as strong as before, it was enough for Wace to halt his movement and focus on stabilizing his body.


    It was enough for the prince toplete his transformation!


    As soon as Wace saw the prince, he couldn''t help but be surprised!


    The prince just sprouted two more arms on his back!


    ''Just what kind of gene modification did the Empire use on their people?!''


    Whoosh!


    Wace then noticed the two Terubs rushing at him, he also felt that he was locked down by the spatial device so he can''t move immediately!


    ''This is bad¡­''


    It seems that after halting just now, the operators of that spatial device managed to create a trap to keep him in ce!


    As soon as the Terubs'' attack got near him, the spatial lock was released and he had no choice but to receive their fists!


    Bam! Bam!


    Using his bio-armor and mana to protect his body, Wace was still thrown away by the impact as he vomited some blood.


    Luckily, his regenerative ability was still impressive so his organs should be healed as long as he managed to circte enough mana¡­ It would rejuvenate his body and heal any external or internal wounds.


    ''Tsk¡­ So annoying¡­''


    The Terubs are too tough... It was no wonder that the Celestial was unable to kill them immediately. Aside from that, the Celestial was also facing more than a dozen of them at the same time!


    Wace could only try to sneakily pierce the Terubs'' eyes again and put enough force to ensure that he could destroy their brains.


    However, at this time, the four-armed Prince appeared behind him. The aura and pressure he exudes no longer feel majestic but demonic instead.


    Their battle continued as Wace was forced to defend¡­


    Finally, after battling with them for 10 more minutes, he managed topletely destroy the Throne Hall!


    He can now use his Void Phase again!

 Chapter 473 - The Imperial Prince ( 5 )

    Although Wace''s Void Phase had evolved several times already, the technology that the Empire was using to lock the surroundings was still too powerful.


    Well, the fact that they have a device to forcefully open a wormhole was proof of the device''s prestige.


    Unless he chose the Star Traveler path instead of the True Celestial path, he would probably be able to defy thews of space as well.


    Apparently, his Void Phase was just an entry-level celestial ability and he still has a lot to learn.


    Boom!


    The floor where Wace was previously standing shattered into pieces as the Prince stomps heavily.


    He was indeed no longer a human at this point. The changes in his gene have been too much that he can be considered a beast now.


    Wace can feel several aurasing from different Major Races in his body, he can even feel that the Terub''s aura in him was the strongest one!


    In short, the prince''s physique is now a mixture of all the Major Races in the gxy!


    ''How ambitious!''


    Wace appeared at the corner of the Throne Hall¡­ He was still being chased by the two Terubs while the Prince locked on him.


    Thetter seems to be umting some power in his four fists again. A single clean hit from him would probably end Wace''s life at this point.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t too worried, he can feel that his Void Phase ability is getting stronger and stronger¡­


    He first sent out three Mana Bullets to the remaining Corpse Furnaces¡­


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    They all exploded as soon as he hit them with his mana spell. It was not because they are fragile and incapable of defending themselves but because he also used his Void Phase to send those attacks!


    That''s right, this is thest level of the Void Phase ability that he has¡­ He could now send any object to his targeted location even without him apanying the said object.


    Thest stage of his Void Phase didn''t allow him to cover more distance or perhaps carry more people with him¡­ However, he was very satisfied with this gift! Wace could think of many useful things he could do with this ability!


    His Astral Core Formtion and his Void Phase Ability were the best gifts that Pathfinder gave him.


    Although he also received knowledge about the True Celestial''s ability, he hadn''t learned them yet as heck resources¡­


    Anyway, he can now rx his soul for a bit as it is no longer being pulled or torn by the Corpse Furnaces.


    ''Ugh¡­ These guys are tough¡­ Should I go out for a bit? Perhaps I should wait once the Prince berserk has worn off?'' Wace thought as he avoided the two blind Terubs.


    ''There''s no way that he could keep that form forever, right? There should be a time limit or it would be cheating.''


    Wace''s Aeon Guardian and Dual Burst have time limits and cooldown. Those abilities might be able to contend against the prince but he wasn''t sure if he would be able to defeat him. That''s why he held off from using the two powerful abilities for now.


    He didn''t want to waste it fighting against the doped Prince.


    It would be better to use it once he learned their weakness or when he at least fully understood the secrets of the Empire''s Fleet.


    "Hmm?"


    Wace then felt the presence of 20 or so Khrusams rushing at this location. They are probably the ones who were previously controlling the Corpse Furnaces.


    Now that their magical items were destroyed, they would have to show themselves up and control the Death Energy with their Third Eyes instead.


    As he was being surrounded, Wace had no choice but to retreat for now. The prince was still overflowing with power and he felt that he wouldn''t be able to damage him as of yet.


    In truth, Wace can even see that the space around the Prince was being warped! It was such a scary sight!


    It feels like if he got near to the prince, he would be distorted by the chaotic space around him!


    ''Ugh¡­ I didn''t know that the Empire has this power¡­ No wonder they could conquer many gxies. This is no longer just an advancement of technology.''


    Wace bitterly smiled as he could sense that the prince is getting stronger and stronger. He truly deserves to be part of the Imperial Family.


    ''Alright¡­ Time to flee.''


    Of course, he wouldn''t just leave without giving them a parting gift¡­


    He dodged the Terubs with his Void Phase as the Prince coldly gazed at him¡­ He also notices that a huge of Death Energy is about to capture him.


    Luckily, it seems that the Terubs couldn''t tear his soul without their Corpse Furnaces. As long as he uses his Sentient Mana or the Seventh Gen Artifact in his body, he would have nothing to worry about.


    With this in mind, he focused some of his attention on his right fist.


    It then took him more than ten seconds to umte enough energy for his "gift".


    Mana Bomb!


    As simple mana spell that any Magicians is capable of using with or without Mana Artifacts as a medium.


    Of course, this Mana Bomb isn''t the same¡­ It should be called Astral Mana Bomb!


    Two intertwining types of energy gathered on his right arm and sent it to the Prince!


    The two Terubs felt the incredible power contained in that ball of energy!


    They instinctively wanted to protect the prince as they jump on the ball''s path! The runes in their bodies glow brightly as they expected to be hit by a powerful attack.


    Their guess wasn''t wrong!


    As soon as they tried to stop the ball of energy, a powerful explosion urred inside the Throne Hall as it affected the huge Imperial gship¡­


    Boom!


    The spaceship trembled but it didn''t show any signs that it will fall down.


    However, the explosion from the gship attracted the attention of the soldiers and magicians outside!


    After all, the Imperial Prince is there and Wace had also infiltrated that ce! Many of them are worried since they don''t know who is winning in their fight.


    Whoosh~


    Soon, Wace appeared outside andnded on top of the gship''s bridge.

 Chapter 474 - The Imperial Prince ( 6 )

    As soon as Wace appeared on top of the gship, the magicians who are paying attention to any changes within the gships were immediately delighted!


    "Haha! It''s Sir Wace! He seeded!"


    "Did he kill the prince?"


    "Ugh¡­ I don''t think so. He''s still looking at the explosion."


    "He doesn''t seem to be injured. However, he appears to have taken a beating¡­"


    Ace mumbled as he nced at Wace''s figure. Unfortunately, Avalon''s device equipped on thetter''s body stopped working as soon as he had gotten near the gship.


    It was obvious that some kind of force field was blocking their connection so he couldn''t ask Wace directly about his current situation. They can only trust him and the northern natives to deal with the gship.


    Ace then nced at the part of the sky where the Celestial is currently battling the glowing Terubs¡­


    He couldn''t help but frown after seeing how they can somehow disintegrate the Celestial Being''s attack after sacrificing their bodies¡­


    Their flesh and muscles would be burnt and even cut off at some time¡­ However, their skeletons were too tough and they don''t seem to be getting used to pain!


    Aside from that, they are already blinded as well but they could still fight the Celestial! They were like zombies at this point!


    Then, after about five minutes or so, the Terubs who were almost skeleton already would regeneratepletely!


    It was an endless cycle!


    Although the Celestial wasn''t receiving any kind of beating, these Terubs were too annoying to handle.


    Beep!


    [ Activation of Psionic Pulse Detected. ]


    [ Targeting Mech Frames¡­ ]


    [ Particle Beams are ready to interrupt the Pulse ]


    "Fire!"


    Ace then gave an order. Soon, all the Transatmospheric Battleships fired their Particle Beams in the direction of the clustered Mech Frames.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The Particle Beam was blocked by a group of Mech Frames using their Twilight Armor¡­


    ''As expected of the peak armor technology of the gxy¡­ Even the modified particle beam wasn''t enough.'' Ace bitterly smiled after seeing how their attack was stopped by these small Mech Frames.


    Nevertheless, he kinda expected this result. After all, it was still enough to stop some of the Mech Frames from casting the Psionic Pulse that could directly attack their Mech Pilots inside their Mech Knights!


    That is still considered a crucial move from them.


    "Avalon¡­ Just charge the cannons and fire them to interrupt the enemies. You don''t have to fully charge them. As long as it gathered 30% or 50%, just fire them!"


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace then observed the other battles in the ground and sky¡­


    Though the leaders are constantly reporting about the situation of their troops, as an observer, he might see more details that might be helpful in this battle.


    It didn''t take long before he realized that he''s right!


    "Tsk! Grand Sage Maze! A group of stealthy Dragon Mechs ising your way¡­ There''s about 30 of them, be careful!"


    "Master ine, the Imperial Soldiers are rushing in your location. Do not retreat, I already ordered a group of Lucent Knights to help you."


    "All the Medical Personnel! Mage doctors! Do not get too close! Allow the Terror Mages to cover you before taking the injured! You can''t be injured as well!"


    "Assist Grand Arcanists Aura on the ground¡­ The Magicians who just used Forbidden Magic must retreat to recover their mana! Do not stay in the front line!"


    "Ross¡­ Monitor the 10th Mage Battalion for me. They are getting too deep in the enemy''s formation. Command them ordingly."


    Ace gave a series of orders as he had fully grasped the battlefield. Then, he heard several reports from the leaders.


    "Ace, this is Charles. We just treated over 200 Adepts. They are ready to be sent in the front lines again. Should we send them to Aura?" Charles reported. He''s currently working as a Mage Doctor assisting their limited medical personnel.


    In truth, the number of A.I.-controlled doctors was more than the Mage Doctors itself! If not for Veda''s impressive ability, the casualty rate in this war would''ve surely increased by 50%...


    "Alright¡­ I will let Avalon guide them. Make sure that they''re equipped with Grade A Defensive Mana Artifacts. If not, they would just get beaten up by the Imperial Soldier''s photon swords and guns."


    "I understand!"


    After their conversation ended, Ace also listened to other reports about the situation of the Airships, Battleships, the First and Second Space Mech Knight Divisions, the Iron and Steel Knights Divisions, the several Mage Battalions in air and on the ground, the Terror and Cryptic Magicians, and of course, the Northern Natives¡­


    Apparently, the Imperial Soldier''s armors were just too tough¡­ they caused too much trouble with the ground forces! Based on the reports that Ace received, They can only be ughtered once they have spent all their bullets and the energy of their swords.


    As for the Khrusams, their battle against the Cryptic Mages and others was somehow in a stalemate. A Mech Knight or two must join in the battle just to put the bnce in their favor!


    Nevertheless, Ace suddenly heard a very ominous report from the First Mage Battalion in the front lines!


    "Ace! The Aliens¡­ I mean, the Imperial Soldiers that we''re fighting now can use Mana!"


    Ace immediately had a bad premonition about this.


    ***


    Wace looked at the site of the explosion and he suddenly felt that he is being locked down by the Spatial Device again.


    ''Ugh¡­ So annoying¡­ I couldn''t even find this device with my Divine Sense¡­ They hid it really well.''


    Wace frowned as soon as he felt that the space around him started locking him.


    He swiftly used his Void Phase to avoid beingpletely trapped again.


    Apparently, it appears that the Prince''s horrific evolution affected the power of spatial devices near him¡­


    ''Being near the prince will stop the Spatial Device from locking on me¡­ However, if I get away from him, I''ll be targeted by the device. Tsk¡­''


    Wace thought as he continuously move to avoid being locked by their device. Then, he suddenly felt something wrong with the Prince''s aura¡­


    "Mana?!"

 Chapter 475 - The Princes Offer

    The Prince''s Mana exploded and Wace, who wasn''t too far from the gship, felt itpletely.


    There was no way he would make such a mistake. He was too familiar with it¡­


    ''This¡­ How can he control this much mana already? He didn''t even go through Arcane Baptism.''


    Wace frowned. He had no idea how could the prince just suddenly explode with powerful mana.


    He had used his Divine Sense a while ago and he had never noticed a single whiff of mana around him!


    Then, as he was surprised by the sudden changes of the prince, his Divine Sense caught several bursts of Mana in the enemy''s turf!


    These mana bursts didn''te from their Mages either!


    ''Tsk¡­ Is this your final trump card?'' Wace thought as he nced at the battlefield. The magicians on their side were also surprised that some of the Aliens were capable of using Mana Spells!


    It was too sudden and they have never thought of it.


    Nevertheless, Wace noticed they were at least capable enough to change their tactics immediately.


    Previously, they only have to worry about the alien''sser or explosive guns, photon swords, and their bio-armor.


    However, right now, they also have to actively sense the presence of mana from their enemies as they might miss their mana spell casting and would affect their current battle formation.


    ''Ace should be able to do something about that¡­ Right now, I have to kill the Prince.''


    Wace then returned his gaze in the throne room. The smoke has already receded and he can now see the four-armed prince below.


    Then, he also nced at the Terubs and realized that they have already healed their blinded eyes and can now see again.


    ''That was fast¡­ No wonder they''re part of the Major Races.'' Hemented. He was sure that his strikes with these Terubs were enough to kill the young Space Beasts¡­


    However, here they are, calmly looking at him from the throne hall and waiting for him to descend.


    "Are you not going to follow me up here?" Wace taunted with a smile.


    "Heh¡­ Wasn''t your mission to kill the leader of this fleet? Why don''t youe down instead."


    The prince answered with a mocking tone. His voice was deeppletely different from before.


    "Haha¡­ So you guessed it." Wace said as he used his Void Phase not too far from that prince.


    Sure enough, the spatial locking device that they are using stopped working immediately. Hee was no longer being targeted.


    Wace then observed the prince and just like before, the prince''s surroundings, or about 6 inches around him, started warping from time to time.


    It was as if the prince was so difficult to contain in this world that the space started warping on its own.


    "Young man¡­ Why don''t you just join us instead¡­ I''m nning to make this one of our colonies. It will be a blessing for you and your people. Not only will we protect you from another invasion from different gctic civilizations, but you will also benefit from the advanced technology that we will be sharing with all of you."


    The prince offered calmly which was a pleasant surprise for Wace.


    He had actually thought that they will immediately pounce on him as soon as he descended. He was already prepared to counterattack and fight them with all his might.


    "It''s a nice offer. But why do you want to conquer this anyway? This ce should be very far from your Empire''s jurisdiction."


    "Hmm¡­ So you really know about the situation of the gxy. That''s better then¡­ You should know how powerful our Empire is. The distance doesn''t matter! As long as this is not a territory of the Federation, we can im even a gxy!"


    The prince said as he stepped forward. He then continued with his words as he tried to persuade Wace.


    "We aren''t even the strongest fleet out there. We have billions of soldiers ready to invade this if we wanted to¡­ so you have to make a wise choice. Only our fleet was sent here since we''ve never thought that an anomaly like you would be forcefully advancing these ants'' technology."


    The prince said slowly. Of course, it wasn''t just Wace who had advanced this world''s technology¡­ It was mostly done by Aeolia Schien and he did it too abruptly as well. That was why the technology here is too unbnced or not suited to the current era.


    "So, you''re telling me that even if I kill you all today, the Empire would still send another fleet?" Wace asked as he squinted his eyes. It''s true that it would indeed be troublesome if fleets after fleets would disturb this.


    Unless all the remaining Celestial would work together and he was given enough time, there''s no way they could stop them at all.


    "That''s right! If you know our Empire, you should know how powerful we are. I can make you the governor of this. We only needed the intelligence stones here anyway. As for the people here, it doesn''t really matter whether they live or not¡­ However, since you have forced me to this state, I am acknowledging your strength and giving your this offer."


    The prince said as he offered one of his right hands to Wace...


    ''Intelligence Stones? Is that the memory crystals?'' Wace thought.


    Anyway, the prince had indeed given him so much importance already. As far as he knows, the Imperial Family disdains talking to insignificant people, so Wace should be honored that he''s capable of standing with the prince and even having a conversation at the same time.


    Of course, Wace is different. But he didn''t immediately speak even though he already has a reply.


    He first decided to focus on his Divine Sense to ensure that he felt something correctly. As soon as he made sure of it, he could no longer stop himself from chuckling.


    "Haha¡­ Thank you for your offer, prince¡­ However, I don''t think that I could agree with your words."


    As soon as he said this, a human figure made of blue light appeared on top of the prince.


    Finally, the Celestial Being has eliminated all the Terubs outside!

 Chapter 476 - Unfortunate Events

    "You!"


    The Prince was visibly surprised as soon as the Celestial Being appeared. He had gathered enough information about this being from the magicians who had pledged their allegiance to the Empire.


    He was told that this figure is the strongest on the and was treated simrly to a deity.


    Supposedly, they have only existed in the legends but Wace had somehow managed to bring them out of their seclusion.


    "Get down!" The prince ordered as he doesn''t seem to like how the Celestial was floating above him.


    Of course, the Celestial didn''t listen to him. He was about to attack the Prince but he suddenly noticed the Prince''s aura as it starteding on him.


    The Celestial wasn''t bothered by the Prince''s attack and didn''t move. He seemed to be enjoying whatever the prince was trying to do to pull him down.


    The Prince frowned seeing that he couldn''t make the Celestial move.


    "How did you kill King Toneq?" The prince asked coldly. He doesn''t seem to be afraid of the Celestial even after all of this.


    Nevertheless, the two Terubs already moved in front of the prince to ensure his safety.


    ''King Toneq? Is that the name of the Yorian King?'' Wace thought as he recalls how he used his storage space to halt the King''s resurrection ability.


    Well, they didn''t really manage to kill the King but only stored his core. If he decided to pull it out, King Toneq would probably reappear.


    The Celestial didn''t answer the prince as he waved his hand to free himself from the Prince''s invisible but useless bindings. He used his pure Astral Energy to attack and created an unstoppable force!


    Boom!


    A huge explosion urred as the gship trembled forcibly¡­ It seems that the damages were quite significant as the gship even started to descend slowly!


    Though the engine is still working, they know that a high-level battle is happening inside the spaceship. They had to ensure that it wouldn''t be toote to descend. After all, it would be a huge disaster if it was forcefully taken down instead and destroyed most of its parts.


    Although they have thousands of Androids stationed in the Conveyor Spacecrafts which could repair the spaceship, it''s better to minimize the damage while they can.


    "Hmph!"


    The prince harrumphed and the cloud of smoke scattered instantly... The Terubs that were previously in front of him had already disappeared.


    However, Wace noticed two holes on the floor so he could easily guess that they were forcibly sunk there. Whether they are alive or not was still a question.


    The Prince have a grave expression as he probably realized how troublesome this Celestial was!


    Of course, Wace was already celebrating in his mind as soon as he saw the Celestial. Once they killed this Prince, they would definitely win this war!


    As for possible reinforcements from the Meredith Empire¡­ That wouldn''t happen for many years.


    After all, they should''ve sent all of their Cube of Paradox in this expedition already. Without that item, they shouldn''t be able to discover this.


    "Wait¡­ Speaking of which, the ck Sovereign that has the Cube is not making arge movement yet."


    Wace immediately noticed something out of ce.


    The first Cube of Paradox was already destroyed by Ace''s force in outer space.


    As for the second Cube, the ck Sovereign that is containing it had unfortunately survived the Nuclear Explosion.


    The threat of the Cube is still there!


    ''Is it their trump card?''


    Wace frowned after realizing this. He had almost forgotten about that Cube since the Imperial Army had barely used it before.


    They only used it once when they decided to conquer the Montego Archipgo.


    The ck Sovereign activated the Cube at the crucial moment as they managed to flee and join the Imperial gship''s forces in Guwain.


    Aside from that day, Avalon had never reported any events that the Cube''s power was triggered by the Empire¡­


    Boom!


    The Prince and the Celestial suddenly engaged in battle¡­


    Wace saw them exchanging moves but they aren''t even touching each other. They were both covered with invisible energy as they shed with each other¡­


    ''As expected of the four-armed prince¡­ He doesn''t just look strong. He really is a force to be reckoned with.''


    Wace praised the prince as he decided to also make a move. It is not to fight the prince but to utterly destroy the Imperial gship!


    Now that the prince is tied with the Celestial and all the Terubs have been dealt with, no one can stop him anymore!


    Waceughed aloud as he unleashed his full strength¡­


    Dual Burst!


    Aeon Guardian!


    The two abilities that he received from the Pathfinder were finally used as he wreak havoc everywhere!


    The Khrusams tried stopping him but there''s no way they could fight him with his Aeon Guardian activated!


    ***


    While Wace was facing the remaining forces of the Empire in the Imperial gship, Ace had received several bad news from Avalon.


    [ Grand Sage Morris has died. The Third Mage Battalion is now beingmanded by his sessor, Sage Philip. ]


    [ Grand Sage Gildartz has passed out. He''s heavily injured with a missing arm. He can''t return to battle. The Fourth Mage Battalion is now beingmanded by Z-Company''s Sage Chalice. ]


    [ Grand Arcanist ne has died. The Cloud Hawk Manor''s soldiers are now being led by Lacus Minerva. ]


    [ The Medical Facility is under attack¡­ Combat Elysiums has now been activated to intercept the enemies. ]


    [ The Floating Ind has been found by the surviving magicians of Seiji who pledged allegiance to the Empire. The Arians who are protecting the people inside are now engaged inbat. ]


    "This¡­"


    Ace has heard several unfortunate reports but thest part jolted him.


    The Floating Ind is where his family at!


    There''s no way that he would allow the remnant forces of Seiji to seed!


    "Avalon! Do everything you can to kill all the enemy magicians surrounding the Ind. If self-destruction is needed, do not hesitate!"


    [ Affirmative! ]

 Chapter 477 - Floating Island

    Chase noticed that several automatons were moving hastily as they carried various weapons and passes through the hall...


    He''s currently watching the battle of his son from a live feed within the gathering hall when they made such movements. It rmed everyone as this was quite unusual.


    He was used to seeing this ce getting busy because many injured soldiers and influential people are being transported here.


    However, he had never seen the Elysiums acting like this before.


    ''There''s something wrong¡­'' Chase frowned as he assessed the situation.


    There is a small floating ball beside him so he immediately contacted Avalon.


    "Avalon, what''s going on?" Chase asked softly. He already had a guess but he don''t want the others to start panicking.


    They are currently on the floating ind and this ce is considered a safe haven. With the current advancement of their Magic Technology, the Aliens had no way of detecting their presence here. Aside from that, they shouldn''t be expecting them to have a shelter on top of the clouds in the first ce!


    [ Remnant forces of the Seiji Alliance who pledged allegiance to the Empire started to target this ce. ]


    [ A total of 310 Elysiums has been deployed outside and 30 Radiant Mech Knights have been sent out to intercept them in the meantime. ]


    "Tsk¡­ I knew it. What''s the current number of enemies?"


    [ They have 18 Huge Airships and we are suspecting that they have more than 150 Steel Knight or Iron Knights. ]


    [ The number of magicians shouldn''t exceed a thousand. ]


    "Ugh¡­ Aside from your controlled machines, do we have enough magicians?"


    [ No. However, we have enough Arians to assist in the fight. ]


    Avalon replied as it reminded Chase about the orange-skinned Aliens living on this floating ind.


    The Arians are equipped with advanced tech weapons and it should be good enough to face the magicians.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Several explosions suddenly urred as the Floating Ind trembled.


    Many people who are currently staying here started panicking as they immediately asked the nearest A.I. about the situation.


    Luckily, Avalon started using the ind''s inte to make an announcement and to allow everyone to hear the whole situation.


    [ We are under attack by Seiji Alliance. We have enough strength to defend against them. Do not panic. The explosion just now is the destruction of two Airships that are trying tond on our territory¡­ ]


    [ We are under attack by Seiji Alliance¡­


    Avalon repeated the same announcement a couple of times to ensure that everyone would hear them.


    "ine, rice, ire¡­" Chase called the names of his family¡­


    Though Avalon ensured that they will not be harmed, he still couldn''t help but worry. ine seems to have simr thoughts as she carried ire and decided to stick together.


    "Mom, Dad¡­ Don''t worry, I personally saw the Mana Defense Array that was arranged here. Not only that, but the orange-skinned aliens had also used the best barrier of their race to protect this ce. That''s a technology that came from outer space! There''s no way those magicians could destroy that."


    rice said as she doesn''t seem to be worried, unlike her parents. If not for ine dragging her inside, she would''ve watched the battle outside already.


    "Barrier from the aliens?" Chase asked curiously. He didn''t know anything about that.


    "That''s right¡­ They are using some kind of nodes simr to the Magic Nodes that Aelia introduce in the past. However, they aren''t emitting any form of mana at all. They just needed to be powered by either electricity or aether and everything will work."


    rice exined excitedly as several explosions urred while they are discussing this.


    They didn''t notice that there are also several people listening to their conversation. They were previously worried about their situation as well but after hearing rice''s excited voice, they couldn''t help but be affected as they started calming down.


    Anyway, it''s not like they are hopeless as well. They are also Magicians and they have brought their finest Mana Artifacts and treasures here after all.


    Everyone is in the same situation so they have brought all their treasures as they are worried that it will just be looted by the Empire if it was left in their territories.


    "That''s true¡­ Look, the Automatons are clearing up those flying magicians¡­ Ugh¡­ They are actually too strong. No wonder those bio-armors are too expensive." A man in his forties said while looking at the window.


    They are all currently in a hall at the entrance since many rooms are being used as hospital beds at this time.


    The man who was speaking is the previous headmaster of Leonhearts Academy, Percival Duro. He was previously injured in the battle and could no longer participate in the current war.


    He had lost his right arm, which is his dominant arm, and he could no longer fight like before as his Mana Core was damaged. He might still be considered a strong magician but in such a high-level battle, a stray bullet might just kill him instantly.


    Many of the people here recognized him as they looked at the battle outside through the windows. Avalon seemed to have noticed this as it decided to open it for them to watch.


    As soon as they saw the massacre happening in the sky, they couldn''t help but admire the power of those Elysiums and Arians.


    "Ugh¡­ Those guns are too scary¡­"


    "Wait¡­ Are they shooting lights? How can it destroy those defenses made of mana and elements?"


    "It could even put a hole on those Airships!"


    Thesers and bullets could actually prate the defense or the Mana Shells of the Magicians!


    It was indeed no wonder why those Bio-Armors are always being looted in every skirmish against the Empire.


    Without these extremely tough armors, the magicians would actually be helpless against these advanced weapons!


    "So strong¡­" Chase couldn''t help but admire the sight in front of him. As a Licensed Magic Engineer, he had always dreamed of making such a powerful weapon that could help their country.


    However, it seems that there is no longer any need for that since Zairus, with Wace and Avalon''s knowledge, is already considered extremely strong.

 Chapter 478 - Ending The Invasion ( 1 )

    Ace monitored the battle that is currently happening near the Floating Ind. He couldn''t find a team that could assist the ind at this crucial point.


    Everyone is too busy and no one has spare time to be deployed to another battlefield.


    Even there were, they are those who were injured and just received some treatment from the hardworking doctors.


    Apparently, as soon as the Imperial Soldiers exploded with the power of mana, they have managed to suppress many magicians! They were talented to the point that many Adepts thought that they were truly the natives here and not the aliens!


    By alternating the use of advanced tech and mana, the soldiers managed to properly deal with the mana spells that is attacking them in all directions.


    Aside from that, the imperial soldiers seem to have be an embodiment of mana as if their bodies have been blessed by the world. The mana that they could contain in their bodies was almost endless!


    It was too frightening to bepared with them!


    Even the Grand Sages and Grand Arcanists were defeated because of this unending manaing from them!


    It was too difficult to deal with such aliens and they were also caught in surprise. They were unable to properly respond until clear instructions from Avalon came.


    The only thing that made them able to hold them back was because the number of these Imperial Soldiers wasn''t that a lot in the first ce.


    With Avalon''s grasp on the battlefield and strategies stored in its database, they were able toe up with several formations to handle the situation.


    Fifty Adepts should be able to deal with a single aberrant Imperial Soldier.


    Because of the difference in number, the magicians were of course capable of trapping them with their skillful usage of Mana Arrays and killing spells that reach Grade 4 to Grade 5 even.


    If not, there would be Cryptic Mages who would willingly cast Forbidden Magic together with other newly trained magicians to kill them.


    "Avalon¡­ Just let me know if there''s some other trouble here. I''m monitoring the Floating Ind."


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Ace noticed that although the situation on the ind is stable, he can see that the Seiji Alliance was really desperate. There are already four Airships that have beenpletely destroyed but they are still not thinking of going back!


    "They''re persistent¡­"


    Ace frowned as he watches the battle with a hint of worry¡­


    ***


    "You guys¡­ This is your end!"


    Wace focused on destroying the gship, the sign of the Imperial Fleet''s hope and power.


    If he destroyed the gship, even if the Prince was still alive, their victory would be guaranteed.


    ''This again?!''


    Wace frowned as he felt the space locking on his position again.


    "Ugh! I will find you!" The young man shouted as he used his Void Phase aggressively. He appeared randomly within the gship as he was trying to find that device that is capable of altering space.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Of course, the Imperial Soldier and Khrusams were all chasing after him. Some battles are inevitable so he had to teach them a lesson.


    His, Aeon Guardian and Physical Burst have a longer effect now anyway¡­


    He basically has infinite mana at the moment as he could cast whatever spell he wanted.


    Of course, the destructive Lightning Break and Roar of Thundering Destruction were his favorite. Not even the Space Alloy being used could withstand the power of his mana spell.


    Fires and smokes filled the entire gship¡­


    "Found you!"


    Wace had an ecstatic face as soon as he luckily found the spatial device he was looking for!


    It is shrouded by a powerful force field that even his Divine Sense couldn''t pierce through at all!


    It is being manned by twelve Imperial Soldiers who all surprisingly have four arms as well.


    They seem to have mutated using the same path that the Prince had taken. However, their aura was less evil and they seem to be capable of holding this transformation forever.


    Now that he took a closer look at it, it was unlike the Prince''s four arms that seemed to be only temporary.


    ''Are they some minor race in the Gxy that I''m not aware of? Perhaps, they are real humans that had just mutated as I thought originally?''


    Wace was curious for a moment but he immediately changed his thought.


    ''Nevermind. You guys will all die today.''


    He then approached the Force Field blocking him as he ced his palm on top of it under the terrified gaze of the mutated people inside.


    Traceless Oscition¡­


    The powerful magic was activated with his Aeon Guardian¡­


    It was boosted by several more times as the Force Field trembled before shattering into pieces and vanishing like a popped bubble.


    Without ncing at the 12 mutated people managing the Spatial Device, Wace waved his hands as a sliver of his Astral Core''s energy pierced their bodies.


    He was like a true Celestial in front of these weak people.


    Boom!


    It didn''t take long before he managed to destroy therge device that is annoying him for a long time¡­


    "Finally¡­ No more nuisance¡­"


    Wace said as he even wanted to celebrate. After all, the Celestial Being outside was also being targeted while he was battling with the four-armed prince.


    Now that the prince has no support from the space-locking or wormhole-making device, the Celestial should have an easier time killing him.


    "Hmm¡­ I want to take the glory of killing an Imperial Prince¡­ But I guess I''m still not strong¡­" Wace bitterly smiled as he used his Divine Sense to monitor the battle.


    As expected, the Prince is already dying¡­ The previously four arms were now just a single left arm. He was just barely holding on with his impressive vitality.


    "Alright, let me finish here as well."


    He used his Void Phase again and appeared on the bridge unhindered.


    He killed everyone there as well without destroying any important devices this time. Then, he suddenly heard a notification from his small terminal.


    [ Link Connected. ]


    [ Avalon, at your service. ]


    "Oh! Good timing. Connect to the gship''s database before I destroy everything here!"

 Chapter 479 - Ending The Invasion ( 2 )

    [ Affirmative. ]


    Avalon replied to Wace''s instructions.


    Wace then saw Avalon''s terminal opening a small hatch and sending out a robotic spider. The spider then continued moving to the nearest station as it connected to the gship''s Database¡­


    As for the A.I. guarding it, Avalon can only try and do its best.


    Wace has no way to help his A.I. at this point.


    He left Avalon to deal with it as he used his Void Phase to continue eliminating everyone here on the spaceship¡­


    Once he did this, he would be able to help the Magicians outside.


    ''Hmm? What''s that?'' Wace noticed something.


    ''Tsk! I need to be faster¡­''


    He realized that several battle stations within the gship is preparing something.


    If he did not use his Divine Sense just now, he would probably be clueless about this until theypleted whatever they are doing.


    Apparently, he sensed that several soldiers are arranging several escape capsules within the gship. They are even located in different parts of the huge gship which is quite troublesome to deal with.


    The capsules don''t seem to contain any life at all but whatever it is, he can''t just let them do as they please!


    "Avalon¡­ Just in case, order the Moon Base to intercept that¡­" Wace ordered. He also wanted to order some people outside but he knows that they aren''t in a good position too.


    In the end, he had to rely on the Moon Base''s manpower.


    [ Affirmative. ]


    Wace no longer hesitated as he appeared in front of the capsule that was about to beunched. One of the hatches specifically for this vessel has already opened and made a path for it.


    However, before it could escape, Wace destroyed everything with his Lightning Break and Mana Explosion¡­


    He did it to five more capsules with his Void Phase but he ultimately failed to stop all of them¡­


    "Three escaped¡­ Those things are fast!"


    Wace''s Aeon Guardian is already over including his Dual Burst¡­


    He felt some tiredness in his body as he looked at the vessels that disappeared in the sky.


    He wanted to use his Void Phase but with the current distance, he would need a longer time to cast and that''s already toote.


    "What are those things?"


    [ No avable data. ]


    [ Cracking the gship''s A.I. is still in progress. ]


    "I understand¡­ Just keep trying." Wace said as he kneeled on the floor to take a breather. Even though his mana and Astral Energy are abundant, the stress in his body has already umted.


    If he didn''t take a break, he might destroy himself instead. It would be terrible to die in his own carelessness after all.


    Anyway, the gship is basically not going anywhere without their prince. He knows that the gship is tied with the Imperial Prince. The spaceship that came with the Prince has no right to return to the Empire without him.


    It is punishable by death. They have to live with him or die together with him.


    Wace used his Divine Sense to see the condition of the Prince¡­


    Surprisingly, the Celestial Being has weakened a lot for some reason!


    On the other hand, the Prince had actually healed himself!


    "Wait¡­ He was dying just a moment ago¡­ What''s going on?"


    Wace perked up as soon as he noticed what''s going on. He thought that the victory was already in the bag. But there was something like this?


    He immediately used his Void Phase to arrive on top of the gship near a hadron cannon.


    The prince looked terrible but he was brimming with life.


    On the other hand, the Celestial Being was still the same Blue Figure but with a dimmer radiance. Wace can also feel that the Celestial''s presence had somehow weakened.


    This is not something he was used to seeing!


    A Celestial Being is always at the top of the food chain!


    ''What''s going on, Sir Celestial?''


    Wace decided to ask.


    ''Hmm¡­ He has some kind of magic that can absorb energy. It''s interesting¡­''


    ''Absorbing energy? Where did thate from?'' Wace was shocked as he had never heard something like this before.


    "Avalon, Veda¡­ Do you know anything about the Imperial Family''s power to absorb energy?"


    [ No idea. I''ve never encountered such an ability before. ]


    [ Negative. ]


    Veda and Avalon immediately replied. Wace frowned as he has no idea how to deal with this situation.


    "If that''s true, he''s a difficult opponent indeed. However, I think that he has to fulfill certain conditions before he can perform it." Wace advised the Celestial.


    He made such a conclusion since he should''ve died when he faced the prince if he used that same technique on him.


    If the Celestial has no way to resist this energy drain, Wace should also be incapable of doing anything against it.


    Since the Prince didn''t cast it to him, it only means that before he could use this energy absorption technique, there must be some kind of condition he needed toplete.


    ''There''s no need to be concerned. I''ll let him take as much as he wants¡­'' The Celestial confidently said as he burst with unimaginable power!


    The surrounding area started heating up and Astral Energy was umting in his body as if the world is giving power to him!


    It was such an incredible sight!


    The Magicians, including the Aliens on the Empire''s side, couldn''t help but take notice of this. The power is just too disturbing as they could feel the changes on the battlefield!


    Wace looked at the Imperial Prince to see his reaction¡­


    However, instead of being scared, the Prince looked ecstatic as he approached the Celestial and ced his recovered four arms on the Celestial''s body!


    "Die!"


    The Prince shouted as he activated his energy absorption technique¡­ Wace indeed realized how the prince started getting powerful while the Celestial''s Energy started diminishing at an rming rate!


    ''This¡­'' Wace doesn''t know whether he should follow the Celestial''s words or not.


    It''s not that he does not trust the Celestial Being but none of them should have encountered this kind of power at all.


    However, as if the Celestial noticed his hesitation, he spoke to Wace again.


    ''This is his final struggle.... Let him be.''

 Chapter 480 - Ending The Invasion ( 3 )

    Wace was stunned as soon as he heard the Celestial''s voice.


    However, he immediately understood what he was trying to say so he decided to just keep his distance and allow the Prince to do his final struggle¡­


    ''Very well¡­ Let me help the other magicians.'' Wace then disappeared to assist the magicians in the chaotic battlefield and finish off the remaining soldiers of the Empire.


    Boom! Boom!


    The Celestial and the Prince are both emanating with destructive power as the Imperial gship is being burdened by the two¡­


    Several explosions within the spaceship urred¡­ Violent mana, chaotic Astral Energy, corrupted and demonic energy, these energies started gathering in a single ce as everyone could feel that an explosion, several times more powerful than the Nuclear Explosion is about to happen.


    [ Beep! Warning! Warning! Excessive umtion of Energy Detected! ]


    [ Signs of Massive Explosion is being detected. ]


    [ Evacuation is rmended! Follow the emergency procedure! ]


    Avalon started warning every magician. However, since the aliens are still attacking them, it is not so easy to evacuate!


    These aliens seem to have decided to die with the Imperial Prince!


    Wace took a deep breath as he assessed the situation. It was obvious that retreating will be bloody seeing how the aliens are so desperate on chasing them.


    Nevertheless, the magicians only needed a brief of time to escape using their Magic Nodes¡­


    With this in mind, Wace no longer hesitated as he used his Roar of Thundering Destruction while targeting the aliens from behind¡­


    "Come at me!"


    He taunted as he killed the nearest Khrusams and Soldier Magicians near him. Though his Aeon Guardian and Fervent Timepiece are still on cooldown¡­ His body can still release a huge amount of mana and Astral Energy.


    He''s confident that he would be able to get their attention.


    His guess was right. It seems that these aliens also know his identity¡­ They wanted him to die as soon as possible!


    Wace smiled seeing how they are focusing on him as he wee them with open arms!


    His aura covered the whole battlefield as he struck every ce where the aliens are gathering¡­


    In truth, he had already discovered that many familiar auras has disappeared on the battlefield. He''s unsure whether they are still alive and needed treatment or perhaps, already dead.


    This realization made him want to kill more aliens on sight!


    "There''s no point holding back against you guys¡­ Come!" Wace said as he used his Void Phase to appear on a nearby group of Khrusams!


    "Die! Soul Rip!"


    "Soul Rip!"


    The Khrusams opened their Third Eyes and forcefully tried to tear apart Wace''s souls without the help of their Corpse Furnaces. This caused their eyes to bleed! With this power, it feels like they are ready to never use their ability again as long as Wace would die!


    "Haa!"


    Wace may not have practiced the Soul Arts deliberately but because of his body''s situation and his Divine Sense, he has a stronger defense than many others.


    Nevertheless, he knows that he can''t let them do as they please¡­


    Lightning covered his whole body as it interrupted everyone who was trying to tear his soul¡­


    "I knew it¡­ Lightning looks effective against your soul techniques¡­"


    With this in mind, Wace took care of the Khrusams with his mana spells for a while.


    Though he may not be able to kill them with one or two spells, they were still heavily injured and wouldn''t be able to join the battle for a while. He immediately became the focus of the aliens as they tried their best to kill him at all costs!


    Bzzt! Bzzzt!


    Severalser guns fired at himing from the Imperial Soldiers below¡­.


    However, he decided to ignore them as he realized that he now barely has time to escape!


    The Prince is about to explode!


    ''I guess the Celestial is really being helped by the world, huh¡­'' Wace thought as he felt that the Celestial Being was still continuously umting his power while the Prince is absorbing everything on him.


    He observed his surroundings and confirmed that most of the magicians have already retreated.


    He also noticed that there are many corpses of magicians and Mech Knights on the ground but there''s no time to retrieve them.


    He could only nce at the Prince and the Celestial onest time before using his Void Phase to flee.


    As soon as he did this, a bright light covered the whole continent as it created a powerful explosion¡­


    A gigantic mushroom cloud appeared where the gship was previously located¡­


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The explosion was so powerful that many magicians were still caught by the wave of energy and debris flying around.


    Many of them are injured but thanks to the help of many Mech Knights covering their retreat, they didn''t suffer fatal injuries in the end.


    "It''s over¡­"


    Wace muttered as hended on the nearby Airship that had also started docking somewhere safe.


    Only three Airships and one Transatmospheric Battleship remained after the battle.


    "Wace¡­ Are you alright?" A familiar voice approached him from behind.


    "Ace¡­ You''re still alive¡­ Good." Wace smiled as he looked at his familiar figure.


    Ace smiled bitterly as he didn''t know what he should say.


    "Yes¡­ However, there are so many¡­" Ace wanted to tell him about the casualties but he didn''t continue his words as Wace patted his shoulder.


    "I know¡­ We have to remain strong at this point."


    Wace sighed as he already used his Divine Sense¡­


    Inside the Providence Battleship, was several familiar magicians who are in a dying state.


    Veda''s several workers and many mage doctors are doing their best to save as much life as they can¡­


    Wace saw that Lacus had a missing arm¡­ Ross Schien just breathed hisst, familiar figures from the Lucent Force had also perished, Troy Webb passed out after trying to heal everyone near him, Aaron seems to have his soul energy sucked out, then¡­ Wace noticed that Hilda Calem, his junior, seems to have been blinded and has a deformed face as she remained unconscious.


    Wace clenched his fist as he looked at the clouds¡­


    He remained silent and his thoughts were unknown.

 Chapter 481 - The Aftermath ( 1 )

    Almost half an hour had passed before Wace decided to check the previous battlefield which is now a huge crater.


    The aliens, the spaceships, the corpses, almost everything that was left behind had vanished.


    He extended his Divine Sense as much as he can to find the Celestial and Imperial Prince but¡­


    "I can''t find them¡­"


    Wace muttered as he looked around. He wasn''t surprised if the prince had actually perished but for the Celestial to die with him?


    Wace feels like that shouldn''t happen.


    As he was nning to continue with his search, he suddenly received Avalon''s report regarding the capsules that has managed to leave the.


    [ One of the Escape Capsules was captured. One was destroyed andst one has managed to escape. ]


    "How did thest one escape?"


    Wace asked in confusion.


    Before the Third Great Offensive had even started, he ordered Avalon to send the three Mid-Size Battleships and 20 Chronos to orbit the. This is why he wasn''t too worried that the capsules would be able to fully escape.*


    It was only a small capsule! Even if it wanted to escape, it wouldn''t be able to! The small vessel would need massive energy to outmaneuver the spaceships in outer space after all.


    However, Avalon''s answer cleared his doubts.


    [ It was reported by the magicians that they''ve seen a wormhole appear in front of the capsule before they both vanished. ]


    "Tsk¡­ So they still have that final trick, huh¡­" Wace sighed.


    There was nothing that he could do about that so he can only ept the reality.


    "Alright¡­ That''s fine¡­ But just in case, have some of the Chronos to search at least a hundred A.U¡­ That wormhole''s other end may not be that far from here."


    [ Affirmative. The twenty Chronos will be operated by a total of 40 Automatons and will handle the task. ]


    Wace was not hoping to find it but he wanted to at least try before giving up.


    "Also, carefully investigate the content of that capsule you captured. Make sure to do it somewhere safe. It might be a trap so keep it in mind. Right, if the crews on Moon Base wanted to return here. Just let them be."


    [ Affirmative. The order will be sent to Manager Escanor. The investigation will proceed after apletely safe environment was established. ]


    "Mhmm." Wace nodded as he was satisfied with Avalon''s arrangement.


    "By the way, did you manage to download everything from the gship?" Wace then recalled how the spiderbot tried to crack the database of the gship.


    [ Negative. I only managed to copy 65% data before the explosion urred. ]


    "Sixty-five? That''s already impressive. I''ll look into itter--Wait, is there anything rted to Zymeth Spaceship?"


    Wace suddenly tensed up after recalling this. He immediately asked Avalon with hopes of hearing some good news.


    [ Yes. Collecting information now¡­ ]


    [ Beep! A total of 52 people from the Zymeth Spaceship have been captured alive by General Solon to extract all the information rted to the Cube Artifact. However, the information about their whereabouts including their names has been sealed and it requires Level-9 Authority to gain ess to it. ]


    "Fifty-two people only?" Wace was of course happy that some of them survived. However, the Zymeth Spaceship should have at least a thousand crew.


    Wace sighed again as he tried to focus first on the current situation of this. After calming down, he recalled what he has to do, he returned to a temporary camp set up by the remaining magicians where they rested and get treated in the meantime.


    The previous mighty Lucent Force of Zairus only has about a hundred members now. Most of them were even the Lucent Knight pilots.


    The Four Manors had also suffered heavily as their Grand Arcanists had either perished or seriously injured.


    The previous 12 Mage Battalion of Zairus couldn''t even form a single battalion now.


    The Cryptic Mages of the Z-Company had been erased and only a handful of them had survived.


    The thousands of Automatons from Maja have all been sacrificed. The forces from Virgan had suffered as well and only their Grand Sage and a few of his apprentices had survived.


    The Northern Natives had also suffered a lot killing more than half of them during the war.


    They have indeed won and managed to kill the Imperial Prince¡­ However, none of them is in the mood to celebrate. The heavy atmosphere is suffocating¡­


    The temporary camp is surrounded by the remaining airships and a battleship. Everyone is either groaning in pain or keeping their silence as they received treatment from the mage doctors and Veda''s mechanical doctors.


    However, Wace couldn''t do anything about it. At the very least, he can only try to wrap everything up by dealing with the remaining enemy forces.


    "Wace¡­ We still have to finish the war."


    A familiar woman''s voice suddenly attracted his attention.


    Wace nced in the direction of the voice and saw his Senior Apprentice Lacus.


    He looked at Lacus'' missing right arm as he nodded.


    "You''re right¡­ I''ll take care of it. Just recuperate for now."


    "Alright¡­ Just don''t treat me as an invalid person, okay?" Lacus chuckled trying to lift up his mood.


    "Don''t worry, we can make a decent prosthetic arm for you."


    "If you''re the one who''s going to make it, then I''ll look forward to it¡­" Lacus said with an excited face. Although she has bloodied bandages wrapped around her torso and arms, her beauty as she smiles could still not be hidden.


    "Of course¡­ Look forward to it."


    Now, Wace has to deal with the aftermath of the war.


    ''Everyone is exhausted¡­ I can only ask Avalon to work harder to finish the remaining Aliens with me.''


    Wace is aware of the remaining three Conveyor Spaceships in different parts of the continent.


    After these Conveyors released their Space Beasts, they have been sent to other parts of the Continent to collect Memory Crystals before transporting them to the gship to convert them into some kind of serum.


    However, now that they have destroyed the gship, these Conveyors whose main task is only to carry massive types of equipment and thousands of Worker Androids would be easily captured if he was given time.


    "Alright, I can''t let them escape¡­" Wace said as he hurriedly used his Void Phase to visit them.

 Chapter 482 - The Aftermath ( 2 )

    Wace swiftly dealt with the remaining forces of the Empire.


    It had be easy to eliminate them due to the loss of theirmand center. They were unable to act and had nowhere else to go.


    Together with Avalon''s forces, it only took them more than three hours to settle everything.


    The worker androids were now under Avalon''s control and the Conveyor Spaceships are now being repaired and will be under his care from now on.


    He didn''t want to waste such valuable materials. These Spaceships would still be very useful to him and for this considering how he wanted to further advance the technology of this.


    After doing all of this, Wace finally decided to visit the Floating Ind and reunite with his family.


    The war may not havested for a year but the destruction and trauma it caused wouldst for generations.


    Time gradually passed and Wace appeared above the Floating Ind. He realized that this ce had actually be a battlefield.


    ''Since Avalon didn''t give a report on its own, then this means that everything should be fine.''


    Wace thought as he knows that he would be informed by the A.I. if something happened to his family on the ind.


    As expected, as he spread his Divine Sense, he felt the presence of his family and they are all safe and sound.


    His parents are helping the doctors treat the patients while rice is together with ire moving around the ind and observing the Mech Knights docked everywhere.


    "ire¡­ They look amazing, right? Once you grow up, you should be a Mech Pilot, understand?" rice said as she holds her sister''s hands.


    "Mhm! I will fly them and shoot the bad guys!" ire replied with determination.


    ire had seen the battle a while ago and she couldn''t easily forget such an event.


    "Hey, sister¡­ Isn''t that too early for her? Who knows, she might be talented in Soul Arts or Spirit Arts as well."


    The two sisters were startled but as they recall the familiar voice, they immediately looked behind them with an excited face¡­


    "Wace!"


    "Brother!"


    The two immediately run towards Wace and hugged him. It has been a while since they''ve met.


    Wace has already removed his Bio-Armor and is in his casual clothes.


    "I noticed that this ce seems to have be a battlefield. Are you guys alright?"


    "Mhmm! Yes! They are no match against theserge Mech Knights! Brother, sister rice said that you can make them. Can you also make me one?"


    "Haha! Sure¡­ Just grow a bit more and I can give you as much as you want." Wace replied with a smile.


    They chatted for a while before deciding to visit his parents.


    Overall, he just wanted to rx and calm his mind. He didn''t want to disturb his parents that much so he only showed up for a bit letting them know that he''s doing well.


    ***


    A year had passed after they have defeated the Meredith Empire''s invading forces¡­


    Only less than half of the continent''s poption have survived the war¡­ Even the most powerful being on the, the Celestial Being, was still missing.


    Furthermore, the countries of Seiji and Utara have beenpletely erased from the map and theirnd is now being upied by many powerful Mana Beasts.


    Perhaps, the arrival of the aliens has triggered the evolution of many Mana Beasts making them extremely strong and deadly.


    It seems to be simr to what has happened when Wace left his spaceship on an ind for a long time. But this time, the effect was much faster and the power of the Mana Beasts increased by more than ten times!


    It is extremely dangerous for the non-magicians if they ever encountered them so there has been a lot of new policies being passed to ensure that everything would be under control.


    Of course, the other countries had also suffered a lot. Especially in those regions where the Space Beasts had rampaged.


    It appears that these Space Beasts have left some wisp of their energy and affected the environment¡­ Right now, many residents of Zairus, Maja, and Virgan had reported many sightings of Chaotic Mana, or perhaps Mana Cmity, being formed in several regions.


    Fortunately, the war seems to have benefited the magicians as well.


    There have been many Battle Mages that were promoted to an Adept Mage after a sessful Arcane Baptism! These people that have been stuck for many years benefitted a lot thanks to the changes in the world.


    "Am I seeing the dawn of a new era?" Wace muttered as he reads Avalon''s reports in his office.


    Apparently, the magicians now have be extremely strong and there are even signs of 8th Generation Mana Artifacts beingpleted.


    The previous Forbidden Techniques that can take the life force of magicians as a side effect was no more.


    There''s also a discovery of Spell Fusion that allows the magicians tobine their Mana Spells to form a powerful one.


    Veda even reported that there are magicians in hiding that were actually studying how to create a Grade 6 Magic or even higher! They seem to obsess about creating a Mana Spell that is as strong as Hadron Particle Beam that they''ve seen in the war.


    Aside from that, the death of the many Great Sages this war seems to have triggered many Sages as many of them got promoted in less than a year and became renowned Grand Sages¡­


    "Avalon¡­ What do you think about the information we got from the capsule?" Wace asked.


    [ All the information we extracted has at least 98% uracy based on the clues we''ve found. It should be safe to assume that everything in the report is real. ] The A.I. replied.


    Wace smiled as he closed his eyes¡­


    He''s currently in his Fortress in Mt. Ravencroft. Although the is undergoing several changes, he remained here in his Fortress developing many practical and groundbreaking technologies that would benefit the.


    He is pretty muchpleting Aeolia''s n to advance this world''s technology.


    Well, most of this task is being handled by Ace anyway.


    After a while, Wace opened his eyes and gazed at the Floating Metal Ball beside him¡­


    "Based on the information you extracted from the gship and the Escape Vessel that was taken, it will take at least 300 more years before the Meredith Empire can trace this¡­"


    [ That''s correct. ]


    After hearing the A.I.''s confirmation, Wace took a deep breath and made a decision.


    "Well, I guess I can take it easy and let the future generations handle them."


    Wace faintly smiled after contemting for a very long time.


    <em>*** Fin</em>


    <em>****Please read the author''s notes about the n for the side stories****</em>


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