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nWallace has been searching for a safe place to land for a couple of minutes. He wanted to make sure that no other traps were present on the island.

nHe glanced at the eastern part of the land and used his Divine Sense to monitor and avoid alerting the guards.

nAs Wallace descended in an isolated area near the shore. He noticed that the dome at the center of the island was lighting up from time to time. Although it wasn't that bright, it was enough to see them during this dark night.

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"They're still working during the night, huh. I wonder what it looks inside.

" Wallace mumbled as he was getting nervous and excited at the same time.

nHe chose an area opposite of the dock to avoid the stationed battleship and as soon as he landed, his Divine Sense felt some connection coming 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.

nAs soon as Wallace locked into him as a target using his Divine Sense, the latter seems to have also noticed Wallace's presence.

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"Tsk. He's coming.

" Wallace 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.

nHis armor glinted a bit before it silently vanished. No traces like footprints can be seen due to an auxiliary magic he placed on the armor. Though it can only be used when Cloak mode was activated, it is very convenient to use at this time.

nNow, he plans 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 place. It wasn't too far from where he landed but he had to be careful and constantly use his Divine Sense, never leaving it off to avoid any mistakes.

nJust thirty seconds after Wallace left, the middle-aged man that Wallace detected using his Divine Sense arrived where the latter descended.

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"Was that my imagination?

" The man said to himself. He was contemplating the fluctuation he had felt a while ago. It seems that the relic they found here on the island had just transmitted some connection around here and attempted some form of communication. But due to special materials of the dome that blocks surveillance magic and communication technologies going in and out, it seems that the relic hadn't been fully successful. He had barely detected where the communication attempt happened but looking at the place, there were no traces of someone being here.

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"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 place and there shouldn't be anyone capable of reaching the shore without their notice.

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"Well, I should still report it just in case.

"

nThe man didn't investigate further and returned to his position guarding the vicinity of the dome.

n***

nWallace 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.

nHe doesn't want to be overconfident as he activated his Enhanced Magic Jammer that is also capable of disrupting radio signals. Wallace 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.

nAs soon as he confirmed that the guard would be incapable of sending out information stealthily, Wallace 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 placed on his Silver Orb and this Silence Wall was just part of the third 5th gen he placed.

nHe 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.

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"W-who are you?

" The person asked upon seeing a black humanoid monster. Although his head was grasped by its cold metallic hands, he can still see the glistening black 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, necklace, rings, and even his Mana artifact hidden within his mouth but something seems to be stopping them.

n'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.

nThe red eyes coming from this monster was really scary, but even though he felt weak compared to him, he could still call for someone else's help.

nHe 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, Wallace had come prepared.

nNo sound, magic, and any radio wave signal will be sent out here.

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"Are you done?

" The voice coming within the full-bodied armor sound so deep and eerie.

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"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 to complete those things.

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"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.

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"Tell me everything you know about this place, Brylle?

" Wallace asked and as he noticed a name tag attached to the guard's uniform, he mentioned his name as menacingly as possible.

n'Eh, you're infiltrating this place without knowing what's in here?' Brylle said in his mind after hearing the question.

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"I-I'm just a lowly guard here. I don't know any vital information, we were only tasked to guard the place 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 Wallace was only looking for some basic information.

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"Oh, then you seem to be useless now.

"

nWallace 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 Wallace himself. Wallace 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.

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"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.

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"I'll tell you all I know! Please, let me live!

" Brylle gave up as he gasped in pain. Wallace released his hand and the man slumped on the ground grasping his head.

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"I've only been a guard for this place for two years. The operation within this island was rumored to be a top-secret that the Z-Company had been conducting for almost two decades or even more.

"

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"Two decades?

" Wallace tried to confirm the years.

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"Y-yes. There was a rumor that there's an Ancient Relic being studied within the place. But some said it was one of the Lost Technology that was large enough and could not be moved in normal terms, s-so the organization built the dome instead to study it here.

"

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"The dome seems to be a bit special.

" Wallace calmly said.

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"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 island especially the Mana beasts.

"

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"Continue...

"

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"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...

"

nWallace silently contemplated what the guard had said.

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"This is not simple.

" He sighed and glanced at the man slumped on the ground. He needed to infiltrate the dome and thought of something.

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