266 Visitors Part 1

Ace wasn't in a hurry to meet the visitors outside the mountain's perimeter. He only tasked Avalon to observe the group for now and only instructed it to act once they trespassed his property. 

In case they have an evil intention, this would be the first battle that Ace would have after waking up in this body. 

It must be remembered that he hasn't completed his Arcane Baptism yet. It means that he doesn't have an Arcane Link and his mana purity was still poor compared to the Adept Mages. 

Anyway, he doubts that he'll actually need to take it on his hands considering that Avalon had several improvements already. His previous house has been attacked by several mages before and Avalon managed to hold them off swiftly. 

But it didn't stop him to be curious about how he'll fare to the mages here.

The Meredith Empire's main army was also composed of humans just like him or maybe a bit more genetically enhanced than him. It would be a good comparison of how they'll fare if they fought with him instead of just Avalon's automatons and it'll help stretch his muscles too. 

Ace went to the hangar's secret room where plasma screens were installed. The main screen at the center was now showing twelve silhouettes of unknown people.

They wore their hooded robes just like a member of a suspicious cult so he was unable to identify them. But looking at their swift and coordinated movements as they run just outside the perimeter, he was sure that they were trained professionals. 

The leaves, grass, and branches of the trees they passed were seemingly unaffected by their movements which awed Ace at the sight. If not for Avalon's highly advanced camera, he would not be able to capture them at all. 

'Interesting... Who are these guys?' Ace muttered as he observed the people that seem to be trying to find a good entrance. 

"Very well..."

Ace readied himself to meet the group as he took the Bio-Armor delivered by one of Avalon's automatons. 

"Aahh... It's been a while..." The young man felt some nostalgia after seeing the briefcase in front of him.

This is one of the proofs that the previous Wallace exists. There were only a few things that were brought here in this world from outer space aside from Avalon itself. So he really values this Bio-Armor made by the Federation. 

"Avalon, entertain Yumi for now... I'll be going out."

[ Affirmative. ] 

***

The group was running around the mountain and they could sense that several mana arrays and formations were placed almost everywhere.

They were sure that if they entered unknowingly to the territory of this place's owner, they will surely be detected and their plan will fail.

They brought six experts of mana formation here so they were confident that it wouldn't take long before they completely studied this place's defense system.

"How is it, Howard?"

"Just a little more... I already understood the pattern... I just need to see a few more formation to confirm the best method we should use."

"I understand. We'll keep moving then..."

The leader of the group decided as they went to whatever direction Howard pointed. 

Howard was a specialist when it comes to Mana Formations and Arrays and although he was considered weak when it comes to combat, he was always being desired as a teammate due to the many conveniences he could create during missions like this. 

After a few more minutes, Howard suddenly frowned which didn't escape from the leader's eyes. He quickly asked for any problem. 

"There's no problem... But I noticed that the Mana Formation used here was centralized one which is very inefficient since the place being protected was too big..."

"Centralized? What do you mean?" 

"Oh... It's about the Formation's power source... It seems that there was only one energy source which is very unconventional considering the size of this mountain... Normally, placing arrays or formation in this type of land would be a Clustered power source... Anyway, I already found a way to enter the place. But keep in mind that we'll only have three seconds to enter without raising an alarm."

Howard explained which satisfied the other members of the group who were unaware of the things about the formations. 

"That's more than enough." 

The leader was already getting excited to complete this mission and instructed the specialists to work on their job.

***

Ace was now fully equipped with his bio-armor and was ready to meet the people lurking around his property. 

He sets it in a speed armor mode which looks like a black skin-tight armor.

After stretching for a bit, as he was first trying to get used to the armor, he directly ran through the forest to arrive not too far from the visitors. 

Avalon has reported that they were already attempting to open up their own entrance so he was hurrying to meet them.

Ace was actually not proficient when it comes to creating these mana formations, he only selected and studied the most convenient one that he found within Veda's terminal.

He still has the Terminal given by Lacus which was a part of the gift from him being an apprentice of the Grand Arcanist. 

Since he was already 'friend' with Veda itself, the previous level 1 access that he has was already changed to the highest level possible. 

There, he found many useful formations and arrays but he was unable to build them due to the resources required, and due to the limited size it could create. 

The mountain was too large and so it was difficult to find even a simple design that would cover the whole place. 

"There you are..."

Ace realized that six robed figures were doing something on the supposedly invisible mana formation he had placed as a part of the first line of defense in his property. 

It was just used as a simple shield and to trigger his combat automatons and other defense systems like laser focus, centrifugal guns, or drones to activate. However, even if they could successfully bypass this, there was still another surveillance system which was Avalon itself. 

"It seems that they were about to successfully enter..." 

He was planning to wait for them to enter before he would act together with Avalon's automatons that were stationed near this area... 

"Almost there... ready yourselves..."

Ace heard one of the magicians that were working on the formation. The others perked up and readied themselves to enter. 

"Now!"

As soon as it was shouted, the hooded magicians quickly entered the space they created. It only lasted for three seconds, but twelve people managed to enter swiftly. 

Ace believed that they've used Grade 3 Magic Spells to enhance their movement speed based on the fluctuations of Mana. It was nothing compared to the spells used by the students during the TMAC at all!

'Ugh... These people seem to be tougher than I expected.' 

Anyway, he was still confident in his and Avalon's abilities. 

He waited for a while before he flicked his fingers to signal the automation's entrance and also to get the attention of the twelve people. 

Soon, the intruders were surrounded by twenty automatons equipped with Grade A Mana Artifacts and another ten automatons holding high-powered guns while equipped with Float Drive System version three.

Yes, the ten were floating above the trees while they pointed their guns to the group.

Ace noticed their surprised expression as he announced his presence. 

"Welcome to my place, mysterious visitors..." 

Ace said and as he was wearing his bio-armor, his voice had changed to a deeper tone.