Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

"WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

"Intruders!"

"Call the boss!"

Their hideout was being attacked. Seeing that happen, a bunch of people rushed out of the door. 

They held their weapons tough and ran towards the intruders.

They had to stop them from destroying the barrier.

They couldn't lose the protection barrier at any cost.

But it was too late for them to do anything.

Because the barrier was already destroyed.

. . . .

What they saw after the whole thing was taken down was a big, tall, and sturdy-looking building.

Surrounding the building were tall, thick walls. 

The inside of the yard was nothing comparable to the dry land outside. Benches placed here and there, gardens, flowers, and even a small fountain. 

The building was so eye-catching that one would wonder how nobody had noticed something like this in the middle of plain and dry land.

How did they even manage to build this thing here without being noticed?

There was a big gate on the walls right in front of the building's entrance and there were a bunch of people lying down in the space between the gate and the entrance. 

The unit members were obviously standing outside of the gate.

They couldn't see any of these things before the barrier was taken down. It looked like nothing was there just a few seconds ago.

Team leader Dains raised his hand and shouted.

"Attack!"

There was no need to hesitate. 

It was obvious that they had attacked the right place. It was obvious just by looking at the uniforms they had.

Some wore uniforms, some wore masks, some wore headbands, and some wore armbands. 

These symbols on those items of clothing were too familiar.

They were Philoms' uniforms.

As soon as the word left his mouth, magic attacks rained down on the people who were rushing at them. 

It wasn't Kairen who cast the spell though. 

It was the work of unit 6's agents, which were now climbing the walls of the yard.

The attacks hit the enemies in no time, knocking them down all.

"Argh!"

"W-what?"

The people inside the building stopped running out after seeing their friends who rushed out of the hideout getting killed or disabled.

"Don't let them enter the building!"

"Why didn't anyone notice them coming."

The building was in chaos. 

Team leader Dains looked at their enemies then glanced around. He looked at the people who were climbing the walls. 

"Have you checked the area?"

He was talking through the communication device.

-Yes. We've checked the surroundings. There are no traps on the walls, but we are not sure about the yard. We won't move further inside until we are not sure about the traps.

"Good."

Team leader Dains turned to Alan after hearing Kain's words.

"Are there any traps inside?"

Alan frowned and clicked his tongue, before looking inside the yard and nodding his head.

"There were some thingies that exploded when you stepped on them."

He frowned even more and stomped the ground with his foot as if he just remembered a painful memory.

"That's it?"

"That's all I know."

While the two of them were busy talking, Kairen was staring at someplace inside the yard.

'What is this?'

There was nothing to see, but he senses something from underground.

His heart was beating fast and his back was cold with cold sweat.

He started sensing something from underground as soon as the barrier was completely destroyed. 

It felt familiar, yet unfamiliar.

He looked at the others, but no one was paying any attention to that spot. 

No one seemed to have sensed it.

It was Kairen's first time sensing something like this, but he knew one thing for sure. 

'There is something dangerous here.'

Why?

Because every time he sensed something that the others couldn't notice or noticed later than him, something dangerous happened.

And that scary feeling got, even more, scarier by any passing second. 

'Ah, damn!'

Before he knew it, he was casting a shield. 

It would be better if he told the others to get away from this place, but there was no time and he wasn't sure that they would listen to him.

Casting a shield was the best thing he could come up with at the moment. 

He would never repeat the mistake he did when he faced the giant centipede. He would never wait without doing anything until he made sure that there was a danger after having such an iffy feeling.

It was better to be safe than sorry. Even if he was mistaken, there would be no harm in having an extra shield around you.

The shield was completed in the blink of an eye. It hadn't even been a minute since Kairen first sensed the weird feeling, but he had already cast his shield.

The unit members were looking at him in confusion. The newbie mage had suddenly cast a shield around them without even asking the team leader But Kairen was too focused on the weird thing underground to even mind the reaction of the others.

'It'll be fine. I cast a shield. I just have to tell them to move back-'

It was just then that he remembered something.

They were not the only ones on this mission. 

Kairen looked up. He could see a bunch of people climbing the walls or standing behind them.

He could also see a familiar face among them who was talking through the communication device.

Would they be safe?

The feeling got even more intense as the seconds passed.

'Fuck!'

Kairen extended his arms closed his eyes and spread out his mana everywhere around him as fast as he could.

'What the hell am I doing?'

He didn't even know what he was doing. Why was he wasting his mana like this instead of casting a proper shield?

"What are you-"

Reyan stepped forward and tried to grab Kairen's arm. However, before he could take even a single step towards Kairen...

BOOOOMMMMMMM

The whole place blew to the air.

"ACK!"

"Whoah."

The yard exploded.

Everything before them exploded.

"Wah-"

Kairen was pushed away by the impact of the explosion as if he was a powerless worm facing a storm.

He felt his body move in the air before hitting the ground and rolling a few times and finally stopping moving.

"Argh!"

A groan left his mouth.

It hurt.

He hit the ground too hard. His whole body hurt.

His uniform must've protected his body. If he didn't have that on, he would be now laying on the ground with his whole bones fractured and broken.

Still, it hurt a lot.

'Argh! Why? Didn't I cast a shield?'

Why was he pushed back like this when he was being protected by a shield.

Kairen opened his eyes and looked around. His eyesight was blurry and his head felt light.

He had used up a lot of mana before the mission started.

'Why did such a thing happen? Man, I thought team leader Dains was too through and all! I nearly died!'

Kairen rubbed his eyes and looked at the place where he was standing just seconds ago.

All he saw were flames.

The yard was destroyed. It was destroyed because of the explosion.

The walls were ruined. Debris fell here and there while burning.

And instead of the walls, a wall of flames was surrounding the hideout.

'My god! What kind of a trap is this? Won't it damage themselves more than us?'

He couldn't see the building as it was surrounded by flames, but he was sure that it wouldn't be safe after such an explosion. 

'What did they want to do? A suicide attack or what?'

And it wasn't only the explosion. The heat was just too much. 

Kairen could feel the heat even while he was standing far away from the flames.

It was as if he was in hell. He felt like he was getting vaporized or something like that.

'I don't think even the team leader would expect them to do such a crazy thing with their own lives on the line...'

Kairen looked at the flames again.

They were too hot and dangerous. Even if they had some kind of a protective barrier, this would still be too much for the people inside.

But it wasn't the time to get mesmerized by the flames. They were facing their enemies and he had used a lot of his mana for nothing. He didn't have the time to lay down and look around.

Kairen raised his sore upper body and looked around.

'Huh? Wait?'

He looked down at himself after realizing something.

'I'm not burnt?'

The only wounds on his body were the ones caused when he fell down to the ground. There weren't any burnt marks on his body or clothes.

'Was it the shield?'

Was the shield only capable of blocking the flames and git destroyed after that?

He was curious about the reason, but he had to first find the others before thinking about anything else. 

He couldn't see anyone around him. Actually, he couldn't see much because of the amount of dust in the air.

'The others must be also safe if I'm safe.'

His shield must have protected them all. Also, they didn't have weak bodies like Kairen so they must not have been injured much because of the impact.

Kairen moved his body to stand up. 

Drip Drip Drip Drip

'Ah?'

Something warm was wetting his clothes and the ground. 

Kairen's whole face was covered with the mask, so he couldn't really see or touch it, but he knew what was happening.

'Argh! A nosebleed? But I don't have a tissue!'