Emperor Aragon, Lady Silvia, and Yohan had sent me off as I was teleported again.
I had a small backpack filled with necessities on my back and Scamander's tome within my hands as I walked in through the doors.
What welcomed me something out of my expectations, it was a small camp within a dark forest. The camp was around 50 meters in diameter and was surrounded in wooden fences that were made from giant logs.
I was standing near the center of the camp and was soon approached the people who had been sitting around a nearby campfire.
There were 4 people in total, the woman who looked like she was the leader walked forwards and introduced herself and the rest. "Ah, you must be the new magus recruit we heard about from the colonel. I'm Captain Espera, head of the 2nd assassin team."
"Hello. I'm Deus, ranked Lieutenant. Nice to meet you. I wasn't put in a team so..." I put down my bag, which was quite heavy for my untrained body, by my foot and gave the best military salute I could think of.
"None of that will be needed here. Though we respect each member's ranks, we are almost like a family here. These people will be the ones watching your back as you will watch theirs." Espera spoke out. "Also, you'll be with us. I heard your skills aren't the most discrete but could come out to be useful."
"I wasn't told much about the intricate details of the Special Corps, could you explain them to me?"
I asked after hearing about the '2nd assassin team' from Captain Espera.
"Sure, come sit by the fire. The Colonel is still out on a mission and should be back by nightfall." Espera and the crew led me towards the fire as she spoke.
"Nightfall?" I asked as I sat down. "Isn't it already nigh...Wait it was almost noon when I went through the portal..."
"Haha. The trees are so densely packed here that not a single beam of light touches the forest ground. It's dark throughout the entire day." A nearby man chuckled. He had a strange leather outfit that seemed a bit too tight for comfort and a tiny pair of daggers, each around 2 fingers long, strapped to his right arm.
"That's Rosco, he's the shadow assassin and a captain as well. Though he looks cheerful on the outside, he can appear behind you like a ghost." Espera spoke as I turned to look at her as well. She wasn't the most beautiful woman but had a charm of her own. She was like a sharp knife, ready to cut open anybody. She had a strange tool on her back and as well as an equally strange case on her side.
She seemed to have noticed my gaze as she smiled and retrieved the mechanism on her back.
Kachak!
With a small shake, the mechanism sprang out and turned into a longbow.
"It's a special bow crafted by dwarven masters. I paid my life's fortune for it. As for this case, it's my quiver. It holds... Unconventional arrows so it needs to stay sealed." Espera explained.
"Poison. The entire case is filled with poison as all the arrows are soaked in it completely. If you notice the gloves on her hands they are brand new. She replaces them after each use of those arrows." A female, whom I could not quite see the face of due to it being hidden behind a mask, spoke out from the side as well.
"Haha, I'm a sniper. With this bow, I can hit a target with my poisonous arrows over 10 kilometers away. I could hit targets further away but the strength of the arrow falls off heavily past that point." Espera explained.
"I'm Cherry, captain rank. I'm a necromancer." The woman with the mask spoke out.
"More like a witch keke." Rosco chuckled from the side as he poked the fire with a long stick.
"Hello Deus." The last woman, who wore a magi's robe, spoke out. She had long black hair that descended into his back and as a pair of large red eyes stared at me. She was a beauty, nothing less. Something about her seemed to have charmed me for a moment when we met eyes. "I'm Samantha. I'm the scout of the team."
"She's a vampire. Her bat form has been proven to be useful for scouting so she has been placed as such. She's actually a major rank but for some reason, refuses to lead the team. So I do it in her stead. She's still the leader on paper." Espera explained from the side.
"It's because that's a lot of work hehe... Anyways, introduce yourself to us, Deus. Its best if you can explain your abilities so we can give you a fitting role. As you can see, everyone gets a role here. I'm responsible for scouting, Espera is our long-range sniper, Rosco is our close range assassin and Cherry's summons are utility based." Samantha giggled as she spoke.
"He-Hello. I'm Deus and I'm an Aether Magus. I've recently become a Magi and currently proficient in Light, Water and a little bit of Earth magic." I responded. "I don't know if I can be useful in a team of assassins... Most of my abilities are flashy and loud..."
"Wait." Samantha spoke out. "Aether Magus? The legendary Aether Magus?"
"What!" Cherry pulled her mask off, revealing a shocked face of a teenage girl's.
The entire team's mouthes had opened wide from shock. It seems this aether element truly is rare...
Instead of explaining myself, I pointed my palm towards the fire before us. I pulled out a bit of the fire elements within it and quickly converted it into a ball of aether and then into a blob of water. This all took less than 10 seconds.
Silence swept through the group.
"This is... Perfect!" Espera cheered
"We don't have to fear the Magi anymore!" Cherry followed up.
Confused by their cheers, I asked. "What do you mean fear the Magi? And what's perfect?"
"Let me explain." Espera calmed herself down as she spoke. "Yes, assassins inherently are the natural threat of Magi but that's only when we're hidden. If the enemy finds out about us and then starts bombarding us with magic..."
A solmen look appeared upon the members.
"That's how 3 of our members died." Cherry spoke out in dejection.
"Stop sulking. The colonel told us that death is always within our shadows." Rosco scolded.
"He's right. Anyways, the latest member was also a magus. But his defenses could not withstand the bombardment of hundreds of other magi and his barriers were crushed. He got hit by a fatal attack during that state and died." Espera continued.
"But you." She then turned to look at me in the eyes. "If you know the destruction portion of your element, you should be able to convert all the incoming mana and protect us!"
"Theoretically yes. But if the amount of mana exceeds the rate in which I can destroy them... Then I wouldn't have an option either. As for how much that amount is, I do not know. I don't really go around testing this you know." I replied with a hint of worry.
"Don't worry, all in due time. You've got a month of training and 2 months of basic missions. All in due time." Espera smiled.
Cherry put her mask back on as her surprise subsided. Shame, she was quite pretty too.
I couldn't resist the curiosity and asked. "Mind if I ask something? Why the mask?"
Cherry faced towards me and spoke. "Why the book?"
"Ah."
Well that cleared up everything, these were both artifacts.
"Now now, let me show you to your lodging and get you settled in before the colonel returns. Follow me." Espera stood up as she spoke.
I picked up my bag and followed through the makeshift camp. I could see other members in various areas. Some training, some were eating and others were simply sleeping on the ground.
A strange place this was.
Well, it'll be my home for the next year so I should get accustomed to it I guess...