n

n

nWallace opened his eyes but couldn't see anything within the dark place he was moved into. He felt weird and noticed that he was not standing on the ground but floating in an empty dark place.

nAlthough he was surprised, he didn't panicked and instead tried to absorb the situation he was in.

nAfter 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.

nAfter 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 place.

n

"Where am I?

"

nWallace asked but he wasn't expecting an answer.

nHe 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.

n

"Hmm... Is this mission complete?

" Wallace asked.

n***

nAs soon as alarms 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.

nThe man opened his eyes again after being sucked and saw the same bright place he had been staying at. The place had well-conditioned air, even grass and trees can still be seen in healthy conditions.

nThe dome had eight such entrances circling the place and it was connected by steel bridges. At the center of the dome, another large spherical glass was placed where a technologically advance aircraft was being held at.

nThe Mana concentration here was so dense that not anyone could easily adapt and work inside. Apparently, only six people are working within this place.

nThere are three more specialists and two battle mage level servants aside from this strong middle-aged serving as the main protector of this place.

nThe three specialists could only study this place 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 leak coming from the aircraft.

n

"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 black full-bodied suit approached Chalice and reported the situation.

n

"How about the body?

" Chalice asked a bit more concerned about one of the important discoveries within this place.

n

"It wasn't touched or anything. The bio-armor was still present and protecting it.

"

n

"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.

n

"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 place. One example of it was the successful 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.

n

"What can those old geezers do?

" Chalice answered coldly.

n

"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 island aside from this powerful magician in front of him. If something went wrong, they'll be needing a lot of hands to work.

nHe had watched the surveillance outside and saw Wallace's battle with Chalice a while ago and was worried that more of them would come.

nChalice looked at the man sternly but thought about the situation carefully before nodding in agreement.

nThe specialist sighed in relief upon hearing the agreement.

nChalice let the specialist contact the HQ and went to the observing deck near the spherical glass covering the aircraft.

nIt was now glowing with a beautiful light like it's about to come alive. The bluish light was pulsating from the aircraft, it was something he had first ever seen together with a certain individual decades ago.

nChalice sighed as he remembered all the work he spent on this project.

nIt was exactly 24 years ago when Chalice discovered unusual phenomena within the islands of Araceli.

nHe found out that the Mana beasts had started to gain more strength, life force, and even show signs of intelligence in some cases.

nHe tried to analyze the situation and found some ancient texts recorded about this similar phenomenon.

n

"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 accumulating 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.

nBased on the text, the evolution of Mana Beast could only be triggered with a small chance on places with high density of Mana but there has been a record stating that there were some weird occurrences in the world where the exposure of an ancient relic or lost technology could also trigger these phenomena.

nIt was never stated how many times this has occurred before but Chalice was sure that he could find the answer if he thoroughly looked within the group of islands.

nLuckily, although he was a new member of this secret organization, his ability allowed him access 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 island.

nIt took him a month to find the source of the problem.

nOn an island few kilometers away from the main island of Araceli, he saw an unforgettable sight that changed his life.

nIt 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.

nThe ship doesn't have wheels or probably hidden as it was docked using eight claw-like hands to support itself from the ground.

nThe ship looks damaged and accumulating 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.

n'Is this the lost technology that the ancient text mentioned?'

n

"Eh? W-What was that?

"

nHe saw a lying still humanoid figure in black armor that was also accumulating 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.

n

"Is that... Hahaha! Jackpot! This should be it.

" Chalice was so happy upon the discovery of this site.

nA few moments passed and after contemplating the situation, he braced himself as he activated all defense magic he could churn out and approached the place.

nAs he was about to reach the site, he was stopped by another person that was also observing the place. 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.

n

"Who are you?!

" Chalice shouted as he jumped away from the stranger.

nMagic was everywhere so he wasn't too surprised about the ability of this old man looking like a scholar. He's more concerned in his share of loot with this discovery.

n

"I got here first! This site is now a property of Z-Company! Leave this place now or you'll be executed.

"

nChalice warned as he sternly gazed at the old man but the latter was only staring at the aircraft and the black humanoid body near it.

nThe old man wore an eyeglass and had an oddly unemotional black eyes within. His lustrous black hair and arrogant smirk and the robe that belongs to only high-level Magic Craftsman was something he could easily identify.

nChalice was chilled upon seeing the figure carefully. He wasn't sure but this person was supposedly dead.

n'Impossible! M-Maybe they just look the same. That's right. That person even lives in a far country.'

n