"My beloved, have they come yet?" Elvira's voice slipped through the air as she appeared behind Ben, her smile satisfied and warm.
Ben, still seated on the wall with his eyes locked toward the horizon, didn't turn. "Not yet," he replied.
"But I felt a few more mana bursts after that red lightning. Looks like they're still busy tangling with the Ravagers."
His senses weren't perfect—not yet—but after so much practice, he could at least read the atmosphere. And the tremors in the mana told him enough.
He could even recognize some of the signatures. His lips curled into a grin.
"Pretty sure the alpha's dead. That bastard didn't last long against our new guests."
"One less target for us," Elvira said smoothly, stepping beside him.
Ben nodded, unfazed. There was no fear in him. If he had to face that alpha again? He could say it now without hesitation—he'd crush him.
No tricks, no backup. He'd win, straight and clean.
"How's your side?" he asked.
"I finished reworking the magic circuit," she answered. "If I stay within the formation, I can tap into my full strength. But only for a while."
Ben's brow rose. "How long is 'a while'?"
"A full hour," she said, almost proud.
Ben turned fully to look at her. "An hour? That's it? Even after farming all those white gemstones?"
He had expanded the mines recently. Mountains of white gems—stacked high in the storage—enough to build a small fortress with.
But even with that, just one hour?
Elvira smirked. "What can I say? I'm not a regressor for nothing."
Ben clicked his tongue.
"Then don't use it unless it's absolutely necessary. Start with ten percent. If we're going to fund a war against a whole kingdom, we can't waste the fuel now."
Elvira wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, my beloved. I know. We're building our war chest, not blowing it on fireworks."
Ben didn't push her away this time. In fact, if anything, he leaned slightly into the touch—not that he'd ever admit it. "So… that's it, then. Everything's in place."
"Well, not everything," Elvira teased with a soft chuckle.
"If you're talking about the Ruin," Ben said dryly, "I'm not going back there. Not yet. We still don't know how strong our new enemy is—and if something goes wrong, we can't afford to get locked inside."
"Which is exactly why you made it our escape plan," she said with a knowing look.
Ben nodded. "That ruin's solid. We could hole up there for a while if it comes to it.
The reward's good, yeah—but it's better kept as a fallback. Safer."
The forge he'd gained from the first trial was already proving its worth.
Magical gear, even if rare, gave his forces a serious edge. Ten pieces so far—enough to outfit his elites like One. And in this world, even a single enchanted weapon could shift the tide of battle.
"Let's see where they are now," Elvira said with a confident smile, opening a shimmering portal of space in the air beside her.
Her hand slipped into the void, rummaging through unseen shelves until she pulled out a strange device—flat, and black. It looked like a tablet from Ben's old world.
"What's that?" he asked, brow raised.
"It's still just a prototype," she replied, pressing her mana into the device.
"It's not like the tablets you had before—it doesn't show everything. It's a localized interface, connected to the magic circle that covers this base.
I built it to monitor mana fluctuations in the surrounding area. With it, we'll get a much clearer read."
The tablet hummed as it powered up. Thousand of colored dots appeared on the screen each one a different size.
Elvira's fingers tapped across the display, filtering out background interference until only a handful of dots remained.
"They're coming," she said simply.
Ben stepped forward, his gaze narrowing as one particular dot moved at a breakneck speed. He didn't need a label to know who that was. His pickaxe appeared in his hand.
Elvira returned the tablet to her storage space. Then with a snap of her fingers, a massive magic circle flared to life around the fortress—an intricate weave of runes glowing bright blue.
Ben didn't hesitate. "One, bring all Krell inside. This fight's not for them. Seven—take a squad to the ballista. Aim for two o'clock. Load ice bolts only."
The fortress responded like a living thing.
The magic barrier shimmered to 50%—enough to block incoming projectiles but still allow selective attacks to pass outward.
Seven, a Krell unit supervisor, moved instantly. Eight Krell Scouts followed him, their movement little more than a blur. Rather than running, they blinked from spot to spot teleporting short distances with uncanny speed.
Upon reaching the tower, the unit split into formation.
Seven watched the horizon. Two Krell handled the ballista, angling it precisely while another loaded the bolt.
The rest guarded the area and fetched fresh ammo.
Lightning tore through the air.
The Magus approached, fast as a lightning. The ring on his finger now shimmered with three stones—one void-dark, one multicolored flame, and now a third, a crackling purple gem.
He locked eyes on the stronghold in the distance, a wicked grin stretching across his face.
'Seem this traveler won't dissapoint.'
He hadn't come here for Ben—his real target was the relic Earth have. But feeling its mana converging on this location, he decided he might as well deal with both problems at once.
He thought it would be an easy picking. But now? Now, he knew this battle wouldn't be simple.
And that will made it fun, as this mean he can test out many things.
Twin streaks of blue ripped through the air, ballista bolts, trailing freezing mist in their wake.
The Magus tilted mid-flight, weaving through the sky. The first bolt barely missed, whistling past his ear. The second followed a split-second later.
He smirked. "Too slow—"
The second bolt detonated midair.