The Tomes were a starting boost. They were an advantage that people would gain in the Second Realm only.
In the Third Realm, everyone had the same abilities, just with different levels of power.
Naturally, people in the Third Realm could also use their Souls to remotely infuse their surroundings with Ether, but that was also subject to the powers of their Aspects of Power.
Kyle had already known all of that. The only thing he hadn't known was how the Beast Masters actually stored their beasts in such a comparatively small Soul Space.
While Kyle had been listening to Theodor's explanations, the group stopped in front of the gates of the gigantic fortress.
"Only the leaders of each team are allowed to enter the fortress," the Captain said. "Everyone else has to stay outside the base. This is our strongest and most fortified base in the entire Western Front. Due to its significant size, the enemy most likely also knows where it is."
"Sir, why are we keeping it hidden then?" a member of team Mountainwall asked.
"The enemy knows where the base is," the Captain said, "but they don't know who is inside. If they want to strike, they have to strike blindly. There could be ten people in the Third Realm here or a hundred. As long as the barrier is there, they won't know."
"Leaders, follow me!" the Captain ordered.
Kyle nodded to his team and followed the Captain into the fortress with the other leaders.
"You are not part of the army," the Captain said while leading them through the fortified hallways. "That means you will not receive direct orders. Experience and time have shown that ordering unaffiliated teams around ends badly."
"We will be giving you general orders or guidelines. Your job is to follow these guidelines and deliver results."
While the Captain was explaining, he led everyone into a small meeting room.
There was a huge map on the table with many different symbols on it.
"You are not allowed to share the details of this map with anyone, including your team," the Captain said.
"Yes, sir," everyone said.
For the next moments, the Captain explained the details of the map and what everything represented.
The information contained in the map was quite detailed, but Kyle was sure that the truly important information wasn't on the map.
The most significant symbols on the map represented the fortress and a similarly sized enemy fortress.
"Don't even think about going there," the Captain said. "You won't even be able to get within a hundred kilometers of it. There are sentries in the Third Realm almost everywhere. Naturally, we have our own sentries, but their locations will not be shared with you."
When the Captain was done explaining the map, he looked at the four leaders in front of him.
"Alpha Team, I want you to focus on the frontlines to the west of the Ether Essence," the Captain said. "As you can see, there are a lot of fights near that area. Be careful of enemy sentries."
"I've been there several times, and the secret to surviving is timing. Chances are, the enemy sentries will spot you but won't be confident in killing your entire team on their own. You have a Grandmaster, and that is a big deterrent."
"When a sentry spots you, they will call for other sentries. When enough sentries gather, you will die. This gathering will happen in secret, which means you won't know if they have already seen you or not."
"You have to charge forward to make any gains, but you have to retreat just as quickly. I will be teaching you an easy technique that will alert any nearby sentries in case you need help."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Martin answered.
Just as expected, this was not going to be easy.
Every time the Alpha Team would move forward, they would be playing with their lives.
However, the gains were also incredible.
The teams were being paid for working with the army, but they were also paid for every kill and territory conquered.
"The minimum requirement for these three months is to kill ten Peak Second Realm enemies. If you can do that and deliver the corpses, you will have successfully fulfilled your mission. If you finish early, you can continue working or stay near the fortress," the Captain said.
Ten Peak Second Realm enemies.
Naturally, this didn't mean that Mid or Late Second Realm enemies were worth nothing.
There was a chart of values for an enemy's power.
Ten Peak Second Realm enemies were worth one Initial Third Realm enemy.
One Peak Second Realm enemy was worth two Late Second Realm enemies.
One Late Second Realm enemy was worth two Mid Second Realm enemies.
Theoretically, the Alpha Team could also deliver 40 Mid Second Realm enemies to fulfill the mission requirements.
"Team Mountainwall, team Rapidstream," the Captain said. "You will be fighting between the World Peak and the Ether Essence. This is the closest battlefield to the World Wyrm, and it has the lowest chance of containing anybody in the Third Realm."
"Each team has to deliver two Peak Second Realm enemies. Everything clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the two leaders answered.
"Team Sandstorm," the Captain said, looking at Kyle. "You will be…"
The Captain stopped talking as he furrowed his brows.
"Sir?" Kyle asked.
"The other teams leave the room and start their mission," the Captain said. "Team Sandstorm stays."
The other three leaders threw a glance at Kyle.
Was this a good or a bad thing?
The other three left, leaving Kyle alone with the Captain.
The next moment, the Captain looked at Kyle with interest.
"Are you five familiar with mining ore?" he asked.
Kyle's brows rose in surprise. "Yeah, how did you know, sir?"
"The flow of information is confidential," the Captain answered. "Is my assumption correct that all five of you know the basics of mining and the dangers of Elementals?"
"We have had our run-ins with Earth Elementals," Kyle said.
The Captain nodded.
Then, he pointed at the Ether Essence.
"Retrieving an Ether Essence is a monumental undertaking that requires the full power of a Kingdom. You are not strong enough to do that."
Then, the Captain moved his finger a bit to the south of the Ether Essence.
"But what you can do is retrieve the Ether it exudes."
"Your goal is to retrieve two Ether Crystals."
"If you succeed, you get to keep one of them."
"Any additional Ether Crystals will be given to the Kingdom, but you will be reimbursed with 80 Ether Gems per Crystal."
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