Chapter 606: A Familiar Place, New Faces

The sound of soldiers’ footsteps, iron wheels rolling over the stone pavement, and the occasional roars of monster carriers could be heard throughout the wide area of Base #3.

A blue light appeared in the base’s transportation area, and a few seconds later, four people emerged from it.

Lian stepped forward and looked around.

The huge stone walls, the guard towers, the Awakened moving in small groups past the military buildings, and the staff checking newly arrived supplies.

Everything was familiar.

Unlike the academy, where a large part of the student body was currently in the Ruined Realm, Base #3 was still full of activity.

He stood still for a few seconds, thinking about how much had happened since the last time he was here.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Those were some interesting times.

"Lian."

Instructor Silas’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

The instructor was standing a few steps ahead with Rindo and Roderick, and he looked at Lian.

"We don’t have much time, first we need to complete the registration process."

Lian nodded.

"Okay, Instructor."

Then he followed them toward the Expedition Coordination Building, a special building for expeditions located in the eastern part of the base.

It was a large building with several waiting halls, permit inspection rooms, and a dedicated area for people who had received permission to enter restricted areas of the Ruined Realm.

When he entered the main hall, his eyes moved across the people present, the people who would be joining them on this trip.

There were very few of them, though this was not particularly surprising.

The Land of First Dawn was considered one of the most important areas under their country’s control and influence, a place where access to its resources was subject to strict regulations.

Even most powerful Awakened could not enter without a permit, and during this period, only ten people had received the right to explore the area.

Three people from their own academy.

Two representatives from the Twelve Ancient Guilds.

Three people from the French National Academy.

One person from the London Academy.

And the last person had come from Germany’s Adler National Academy.

In fact, only those three were supposed to participate, but their country’s government had decided to allow a limited number of talented students from several other countries to enter in order to strengthen international relations.

As Lian entered, he felt several curious gazes on him.

Some people openly examined the Ancestral Dragon Mark on his hand, while others only gave him a brief glance before returning to their own business.

Roderick walked toward the document inspection area with a straight posture and a calm manner.

Rindo also handed the academy’s documents to the receptionist without wasting any time.

The young Vorhelm preferred to wait in a corner for the time being, so he sat on one of the chairs beside the window and looked at the people present.

In terms of appearance, most of them were not very different from the elite students at their own academy, but the way they carried themselves showed that they were not ordinary Awakened.

Of course, he could not use his system to see their levels or traits.

The information the system displayed about monsters was not available in the same way for human Awakened.

Therefore, the only way to properly understand these people was to observe their behavior and evaluate their strength in real situations.

His gaze remained on two people sitting in the far end of the hall.

Both of them had symbols belonging to Ancient Guilds.

Interesting.

If even two Ancient Guilds had received only a limited number of spots for an expedition like this, then the value of this area must be much greater than what the public reports said.

At that moment, a young man with brown hair and blue clothes walked past the reception desk.

He was holding a long, folded umbrella that looked more like a decorative item than a piece of equipment for an Awakened.

However, the umbrella was not what caught Lian’s attention.

While talking to one of the staff members, the young man noticed that the woman needed help moving several small boxes.

Without waiting for her to ask, he placed his umbrella against the wall and picked up two boxes.

"Where should I put these?"

The staff member looked surprised for a moment before pointing out the place.

The young man carried the boxes over with a smile, picked up his umbrella again, and returned toward the hall.

On the way, he noticed one of the foreign candidates sitting alone on a chair.

He spoke to him for a few sentences, and when he realized that the other person was not very interested in talking, he nodded without insisting and continued on his way.

Then his eyes settled on Lian and Rindo, his smile grew a little wider, and he walked straight toward them.

"Hello! You two are from the academy in this country, right?"

Lian raised his head, while Rindo, who had just finished the document inspection, gave the young man a brief look.

"Yes."

"Great!"

The young man held out his hand with a friendly smile.

"Noah Laurent. I’m from the French National Academy, nice to meet you."

Lian stood up and shook his hand.

"Lian."

Noah paused for a moment. Then he looked more closely at his handsome face.

"Lian... Vorhelm?"

"Yeah."

Noah’s smile widened.

"So I’ve finally found you!"

"You were looking for me?" Lian raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly." Noah laughed. "But when I found out you were joining this expedition too, I got curious and wanted to meet you in person, I’ve heard your name a lot lately."

His gaze briefly fell on the Ancestral Dragon Mark on Lian’s hand.

However, unlike most people who knew about him, he did not start asking a series of questions about the events in Verendal.

Instead, he turned toward Rindo.

"And you must be Mr. Rindo, right?"

Rindo gave a slight nod.

"That’s right."

"It’s nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Noah waited for a few seconds, but when he saw that Rindo had no intention of continuing the conversation, he smiled without showing the slightest sign of annoyance.

"Well, now I’ve met two more people."

The young Vorhelm looked at him.

"Are you asking everyone for their names?"

"Of course! We’re going to spend a week in the same caravan before entering an area where we’ll probably have to trust each other, wouldn’t it be better to get to know one another now?"

He thought for a moment and then nodded.

"That makes sense."

Noah smiled.

"I’m glad you agree."

Then he picked up his long umbrella from beside the chair and walked toward the two representatives from the Ancient Guilds.

Lian watched him leave for a few seconds.

What an interesting guy.

Rindo said nothing, as he was busy checking a short report he had received from the expedition staff.

However, Lian noticed that Noah was not only friendly toward them.

The young Frenchman spoke to almost everyone in the hall with the same respect and friendly attitude, from the candidates to the staff members.

At the same time, he had enough social awareness to stop bothering people when they showed no interest in talking.

Some time later, Silas entered the hall, and the scattered conversations slowly stopped as the ten candidates turned their attention toward the instructor.

He spoke without any introduction.

"The initial permits have been approved, but preparing the caravan will still take a few hours, the defensive equipment and support supplies must be fully checked."

Several people looked at one another.

"Until we announce the departure, you can move around within the permitted areas of the base. However, I want to make one thing clear, no one is allowed to leave the base without informing the staff."

He then looked at Rindo and Roderick.

"You’ll receive the final gathering time through your communication devices."

Rindo nodded, while Roderick also gave a short reply without any objections.

Lian stood up.

A few hours of free time?

For someone who had many memories of this base, it was a good opportunity, so he decided to visit some old places before the journey began.

The mission hall of Base #3 was still as crowded as he remembered.

The Awakened stood in front of large boards, talking about their recent hunts or the available missions.

The sounds of mission registration devices, the movements of the staff, and scattered conversations filled the hall.

Well, he had never actually come here before and had only seen it from a distance, he was not the type of person who liked doing missions very much.

He mostly preferred to explore freely.