Kyle and the three from the Alpha Team walked into the fortress.
The Captain walked down some stairs until they entered a huge hallway with a gigantic door at the end.
Kyle knew quite a bit about metals, and he could tell that this door was made of Rank A Materials.
'Still crazy to think that you can only get Rank A Materials from Metal Elementals. Wonder how many Metal Elementals were killed just to make this door.'
Metal Elementals were insanely powerful, and yet, all the powerful people in the Third Realm had equipment made out of Rank A Materials.
'I guess that's why the Forthings have so much money,' Kyle thought. 'They are probably one of the very few forces that can consistently farm Metal Elementals for their ore.'
Kyle was right.
About 80% of all Rank A Metals came from the Forthings, with the remainder coming from mining efforts headed by the Skysand Kingdom itself.
In front of the huge door stood a person, and Kyle had to take a deep breath when he saw him.
'Late Third Realm,' Kyle thought. 'Even more, his Ether is very even. That's probably a Late Expert.'
An Expert.
Someone in the Third Realm who had never undergone a ritual.
Reaching such a level without the help of a ritual was incredibly difficult.
Yet, instead of traveling to the powerful Expert, the Captain stopped in front of a smaller door to the side.
"Alpha Team, come with me," the Captain said as he opened the door.
When the door opened, Kyle could see a small meeting room behind it.
'Huh, they even have meeting rooms underground. Weird choice.'
The Alpha Team entered with the Captain, and the door closed.
Naturally, Kyle couldn't hear a single word from the hallway.
While the Alpha Team was talking with the Captain, Kyle just aimlessly looked around.
From time to time, he glanced at the powerful Expert.
One time, the Expert glanced back, and Kyle quickly averted his eyes.
At some point, their eyes met, and Kyle awkwardly looked away again.
From that point onward, Kyle avoided looking in the direction of the Expert.
'This is like being in the waiting room of a hospital,' Kyle thought.
A couple of minutes later, the door to the meeting room finally opened, and the Alpha Team walked out with the Captain.
The Captain walked past them and approached the Expert near the big door.
He handed a sheet of paper to the Expert, who looked at it.
The next moment, the Expert opened the gate behind him and entered, gesturing for the Alpha Team to follow him.
While this was going on, the Captain called over a guard.
"They are no longer part of the army. Escort them out as soon as they have their reward," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" the soldier said respectfully.
Finally, the Captain turned to Kyle.
"You have to wait here for a moment," he said.
Kyle just shrugged and leaned against a wall. "Sure."
The Captain walked up the stairs again.
Some minutes later, the big gate opened, and the Alpha Team walked out with a big bag that had the seal of the Skysand Kingdom on it.
Kyle felt dense Ether coming out of the bag, which felt quite familiar.
'Ether Crystals,' Kyle thought. 'Seems like the Alpha Team contributed quite a bit if they even got Ether Crystals. Based on the density, they probably got two.'
Together with the Chief and the Ace Team, the Stark Brotherhood would have nine people in the Third Realm soon.
That might be enough for the promotion exam to become a Four-Weapons Guild.
Martin nodded to Kyle as he walked by, escorted by the lone guard.
The huge gate closed, and the powerful Expert stopped in front of it again.
Kyle had to wait another ten minutes for the Captain to return.
However, the Captain didn't return on his own.
There were three people accompanying him.
One of them was the Colonel, the Late Royal Knight Kyle had seen when his shift started.
Beside the Colonel was the Lieutenant Colonel, the Early Grand Sorcerer.
Surprisingly, the third person was the Chief of the Stark Brotherhood.
The Captain respectfully opened the door for the others and let them enter first.
The Chief nodded at Kyle while walking by him.
Kyle assumed that he was supposed to enter as well and just walked after them.
The Captain entered last and closed the door.
The Chief and Kyle stood on one end of the table, while the others stood on the other end.
"Three people with an Aristocrat's Body," the Colonel said. "All in one small Three-Weapons Guild."
"Three?" Kyle asked with a raised brow.
"They know," the Chief said. "The army has ways to check for these things."
"Eh, I'm supposed to keep that a secret," Kyle said.
"Don't worry," the Colonel said. "The army is fair, and your identity will not reach the ears of anyone who isn't in this room."
Then, the Colonel looked at the Chief. "We do know that you're not a danger to the kingdom. Naturally, due to your identity, the Champion will vouch for you. "
The Chief didn't answer.
'Huh, they even know that he's Silvester's son,' Kyle thought.
"Selene Forthing's loyalty is also not an issue. The Forthing Family and the Skysand Kingdom are sewn together," the Colonel said.
Then, the Colonel looked at Kyle.
"But what about you? How can we be sure that you don't have greater ambitions than just joining the Skysand Kingdom?" the Colonel asked.
"I dunno," Kyle answered with a shrug. "How am I supposed to prove that? I can only say that I have no plan on destroying the Skysand Kingdom, becoming King, killing the General or Champion, and so on, but what use would that be? I could just be lying."
The Colonel looked at Kyle with furrowed brows.
"Mr. Freeman," the Lieutenant Colonel spoke politely.
Kyle looked over at the Lieutenant Colonel. "Yes?"
"Can you swear that you do not plan on hurting the Kingdom?"
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