279 The Fourth Phase Part 1

His junior in the Academy or now his friend would make a revelation today in the gathering of the top-ranking players within the Alien Invasion game. 

This Wallace only gave him a little glimpse of what he was about to reveal. It was too bad that those members of the Lucent Force needed to be handled immediately so he had to leave quickly.

After that, he had to deal with a lot of things, especially within the game. 

He had been busy as he was previously top 1 in the Leaderboard and now, he dropped to the top 19... 

Well, it was mostly due to the ineffectiveness of being a solo player but he wanted to at least reach a single digit in the ranking before the upcoming event planned by Wallace. He wasn't exactly sure but it seems that the higher rank you are, the better the reward you will get. 

Anyway, he clearly understood the benefits of having a team because he had failed to accept many important missions that require 3 or more players to be accepted. 

Luckily, the creator wasn't so cruel and still made quests for solo players but it was all very difficult as if telling them to find a team quest instead. 

But Aaron was different, he persevered throughout these difficult quests and achieved where he was at now... Although he dropped in the rankings, the Ancient Martial Arts he learned, the pieces of knowledge he acquired, the in-game weapons in his arsenal, and several other real-life items he received, were proof that he still benefitted a lot from solo playing for more than eight hours a day. 

"Young master, are you leaving?"

Aaron's daydreaming ended after the butler of the house asked him a question. The man seems to have noticed his attire.

There were no scheduled appointments as he was aware of and there were only a few security personnel at the house tasked to guard the house. He normally can't leave without a companion.

Aside from that, there were obviously no members of the Lucent Force arriving as well.

Apparently, Aaron's safety was a huge matter for the family. 

He can't get out without bodyguards or at least someone within the Force. After all, he would be inheriting his father's position in the future, and aside from his education, his safety was their utmost priority. 

"I'm fine. The city is safe now, remember? I'll only be visiting this Mt. Raven." 

The event was still in the afternoon but Wallace didn't mind having him in the morning so Aaron happily oblige. 

"Mt. Raven? The mountain and the forest that was being renovated?"

"Yes..."

"Do you need anyone to accompany you?"

The butler's intention was different. He wasn't really asking but reminding him that someone should accompany him.

Aaron was aware of it so he answered. 

"Very well... Have a safe trip, young master..." The butler really couldn't say anything else. 

Aaron sighed as he rode his own car to quickly arrive at the mountain. 

Since Wallace was expecting him, an automaton was already waiting for him to arrive and lead him somewhere else. 

He also noticed some changes in the vicinity. 

"Is that structure already finished?" 

Aaron knows that the automatons can answer simple questions so he pointed at the Mass Driver at the east side of the mountain. 

He felt that it was incomplete or something. It seems to be a road but only pointing up. 

'Wait... Is that the purpose?'

[ Yes. That structure has been completed five days ago. It is called Mass Driver. ]

Aaron thanked the automaton. He would surely ask clarifications with Wallace. 

After a few minutes, he unexpectedly arrived at the hangar instead of the villa as he was expecting. 

"You're early..." 

Ace suddenly said after meeting Aaron. 

"Well, someone put maintenance at the game I'm playing... So I have nothing to do at this time."

"Haha! That's only for a day. Anyway, maybe we can settle that after this event. You may be able to play again tonight..."

"That's good... But I'm more excited about your plans later... I'm very curious."

"I'm also excited... Right, since you're already. I'll let you see some of it..."

Ace led him inside the hangar and Aaron was surprised to see that the huge building was empty. 

"What is this place?"

"Well, you can say that this is partly a shipyard, a hangar, and where I build Mech Frames..."

The last words were said silently. 

"A shipyard? But there's nothing being built. Are you still planning on it?"

"Haha... No, not really. I already finished some. They're just moved underground for the Mass Driver..."

Aaron had a lot of questions and he believes that the other guests later would also have some, so he tried not to ask too many questions to avoid the event where Wallace had to repeatedly answer these questions. Anyway, he was still unsure about what would happen in the event later.

In the meantime, Wallace brought him around the place and asked his opinion about some of the places he wanted the others to show as well. 

***

Hilda Calem was a powerful magician. She had a lot of potential with her and was already considered as top magicians at the latest Fortune in Magic magazine. 

It was due to her suitable Mana Artifacts that could draw out the full potential of her abilities. 

The recently rescued Percival even offered her some private tutoring so she could be even more in control at her powerful mana that was being suppressed for a long time. 

"Thanks for the food... Mom, I'm leaving now! I'll be back at six... maybe."

She had just finished her light meal for lunch and was now heading at Mt. Raven for the upcoming event arranged by Traceless Hands. 

She was directly invited to the event due to her high-ranking status within the game. However, she mainly wanted to meet the Traceless Hands so she didn't hesitate to join the fun.

She wasn't ambitious about this at first as she just wanted to play together with her friends or even make new friends from it. 

However, after some recent updates and changes within the game. She realized that she had to treat the game seriously. She wanted to know what was the creator thinking when he created this game...

As soon as she arrived in the vicinity of Mt. Raven, she realized a thick form of mana covering the entire forest and mountain. 

Many people were already there waiting to be escorted in. There, she saw her fellow players and friends. 

Ray, Shirley, and the others were all waiting for her to arrive. They haven't entered because they were waiting for her.

"What took you so long?"

"Isn't it still a bit early?"

"You don't expect us to arrive at the cited time of the event right? We have to find a good spot."

"Oh, that's right. Very well, let's go..."

Hilda leads the way to go up the mountain. She was also really excited about the event already.

"Wait, why is there a lot of people down here?"

The lady suddenly asked after noticing a huge number of people. There should only be a limited number of people attending the event so she was curious.

"Oh, not really. Many of them were only waiting for a chance. Who knows, this traceless guy might change their mind?"

Hilda shook her head at this answer. 

After that, they saw that an automaton approached them. 

[ We need to confirm the invitation. Press your finger here. ] 

The automaton has a device to get fingerprints to identify the player's leaderboard ranking. As for the source of Avalon's fingerprint database, it was all thanks to the VR Pod they use everyday... 

After confirming their identity, they were allowed to enter the mountain, and soon, the magic used to tamper their vision was removed, they can now see the whole mountain clearly.

"What is that thing?"

Shirley suddenly asked catching everyone's attention. They were focused at the mana formation surrounding the mountain but as soon as they followed Shirley's gaze, they were similarly surprised to what they are seeing today..

"Oh my... Is this--"

"How is that thing floating..."

"No, wait... I think I know- we know, the answer..." 

"The Dorssian Empire?"