From the 29 members of the Special Forces, only 6 of them managed to survive… This is a frightening ratio considering that it only happened in a single mission.

"The Dark Elves… How are they so strong?" Rufus asked curiously.

​​

If he understood it correctly, the members of the Special Forces were all Arcanists… Though he's unaware whether they are mostly Common-Rank users, they should still be capable once they grouped up and perhaps used other Magic Items with them.

"Haa~ Of course, they're strong… We are in their territory. There was no way to overpower them with our Arcana. They have placed various Arcane Circles almost everywhere in their base. They then waited for us to enter deeper before they decided to reveal themselves. So hateful! If we know that we're entering their cave, we would completely ignore them and prioritize our safety."

Boss Ma lamented as he led him to a large building within the fortress. There's an emblem of the Northern Army displayed outside, so Rufus can guess that this is their headquarters or a property owned by the army.

"Hmph! Now, at least we know the location of their base. The buffer zone between the two kingdoms is quite large… We haven't fully explored the land yet so we still benefitted even a little."

Rufus smiled wryly at the man's positive thoughts.

"You said that we'll no longer have missions related to that place and the Dark Elves, is that right?"

"Yeah… We won't get close to them… We'll avoid treading on their path for now. They have a better grasp of the place's topography while we are all just relying on our sight."

"So we haven't created a full map in that region yet?" Rufus asked curiously. If the buffer zone was still not mapped, he wanted to at least know the places that have been explored by their team already…

"We do have a map since someone has tamed a huge Crimson Eagle and created this map for us… However, the beasts and races living in some regions were still a question mark to us…"

"Mhmm… That makes sense… However, I also want to know the beasts that would normally appear there…"

"You're really excited, huh? I like that! Haha!"

Boss Ma laughed after hearing the young man's question. It seems that he was really unafraid even after knowing the result of their previous missions.

He truly found an excellent Arcanist this time!

"Don't worry… You will learn everything you need to know… For now, I have to introduce you to other members…"

Since there are only 6 members in the special forces unit that have managed to survive against the Dark Elves, then they must be very strong and Rufus wouldn't mind meeting them…

"Very well… I would like to meet them…"

They entered a room filled with a fragrant smell from tea. Rufus even gulped as he suddenly wanted to drink tea.

He wasn't someone who always drinks tea but the fragrance right now made him want to brew some.

Then, he saw the man enjoying the tea while seated on a couch…

There is only one person in the room and he's wearing a long-sleeved, furred jacket that covers his tiny frame… The jacket has a round neckline which reveals part of the rough shirt worn underneath. His pants are simple and narrow that reaches his leather boots…

In short, he doesn't look like an Arcanist or even a soldier at all… It feels like that one in front of him was a 2-Star hunter or something…

Perhaps, the only thing that makes him Arcanists was the plain white mask he's wearing…

'But how are you drinking the tea with that?! Or are you just smelling it?'

Rufus wanted to ask he did his best to restrain himself from asking…

On the other hand, Boss Ma directly voiced out his thoughts.

"Silban! How are you going to drink that tea?! Are you stupid?" The boss of the special unit yelled at the man but he didn't bother removing the mask for his subordinate. Instead, he seated beside him and poured a tea for himself…

"Hey, Rufus! This fool won't be able to drink this… Let's have some before it gets cold…"

'Is this really already?' Rufus thought… Nevertheless, he saw the man's serious face and Silban's attitude so he decided to just go with the flow…

'I guess I have to adjust with their mindset, huh… Master Reiji is no longer beside me. I have to adjust by myself…'

Rufus thought as he peacefully drank the tea that Boss Ma served to him… It has been a long while since he felt so comfortable.

As soon as he emptied his cup, Boss Ma started his explanation about the Special Forces.

Apparently, the masked guy in front of him has the highest-ranked Arcana in their group. It is an Epic-Rank Flute Arcana that he managed to summon at Erliente Dukedom when they are still open to the citizens of the kingdom.

'A flute? So we can summon an instrument?'

Rufus was not aware of this bit of information. He thought that the Revolver that he had seen before was already the rarest Arcana he would ever find… But there is actually a flute Arcana with such a high rating!

An Epic Rank! That's similar to the Rank he summoned!

"Have you awakened you Arcana, Sir Silban?"

Rufus suddenly asked after learning about his Arcana. Luckily, the man behind the mask didn't mind such conversation as he answered with his deep voice.

"I haven't awakened it yet. I'm worried that it might be destroyed… I don't like to take the risk."

"I see… There's indeed a problem with the success rate of the awakening. I won't blame you for that."

Rufus said as he looked at Boss Ma. He wanted him to continue introducing the other members.

The man obliged as he continued introducing the others even if they are no present.

They have a lady in her twenties that has an Arcana that allows her to use camouflage, a half-elf half-human man who managed to summon a common-rank Arcana through luck, another man in his 20 twenties that has a lamp Arcana, and finally, an ex-hunter whom they called a swordmaster.

"Right, if anyone from us decided to challenge you to test your abilities, you have to accept them… It will help you easily become part of the group… Though the two of us here would challenge you since we're too strong… Kekeke"

Boss Ma said confidently as if he had already seen through Rufus' abilities.

Nevertheless, they should have the right to brag since the six of them managed to survive the Dark Elves' encirclement…

Rufus then smiled at him as he didn't mind having a duel against some elite Arcanists… He thought that even if he lost, he would learn a lot of things from them. As long as they are not using guns, he would feel confident fighting those people.

He couldn't wait to meet them in person.

Later that day, Rufus completed all the documents he needed to sign in order to be part of the Special Force.

He was given a place to stay in the building since there was a lot of vacant already… After all, there are only six of them sharing the place right now.

***

In a secret chamber within the main building of the Fortress, a group of high-ranking officials is having a meeting.

"The King doesn't want to you act recklessly, Lord Julian… He's thinking that once you disappeared from this site, the Losea will use this as an opportunity…"

"Hmph, do they think that I can't act in time? What's the point of having undeveloped land between the two countries? Isn't it there so we can't easily conquer each other?"

Julian said in exasperation. He wanted to see the situation on the western border and perhaps deal with the traitors and invaders.

However, he has to follow the King's command to avoid further internal problems… The betrayal of the Greiner Family was already a huge setback to the nobility. It is now very difficult to trust even their fellow nobles!

There were rumors telling that some nobles are actually working for the Dukedom already and were just waiting to get the signal from the Grand Duke before they'll execute their plan.

This is not an exaggeration because the Greiner Family, which is prestigious within the kingdom, actually did such a thing already.

"We have to get ready for the Winter Beast Wave as well… This might be stronger than what we thought… We barely managed to hunt down their numbers in the past few months… I'm sure that we'll experience a larger beast wave this time.

One of the officers within the Fortress added.

After a while, their discussion moved to another important topic. It is about the Special Forces that are still lacking some people.

"Are they still looking for members?" General Julian asked.

"I haven't heard from them in the past couple of days, however, someone told us that they've found someone interesting."