"Those over there are the brutes from the 2nd Warrior Team." Espera pointed towards the half-naked men training with punching bags and dummies. "As for the 2nd Magi team, they're probably within their tents studying or researching."
"Magi team? Why aren't I part of them instead?" I asked as I followed Espera through the camp.
"Just because a team is named 'magi' or 'assassin', it doesn't mean it only consists of those members. The magi team also has a scout and a warrior, just in smaller proportions. The name of the team is basically to assign what kind of jobs that the team would mainly do." Espera explained.
"Is that why I'm part of the assassin team then?" I replied.
"Precisely. Ah, here we are." Espera stopped before a few small tents and pointed towards the three on the left.
"This area is where we lodge, those three on the left are...Vacant." A hint of sadness could be felt as she spoke these words. "Pick any of them, report to the large tent by sundown. You'll be able to tell the time when it gets brighter."
Must've been the tents of the previous members...Wait, brighter on sunset?
"Alright, I'll just pick the one on the very left." It was the furthest tent away from the main area and the smallest as well. "What do you mean brighter? Isn't it just always dark here?"
"You'll see." Espera responded nonchalantly as she left. "I'll come get you if you're late but you'll be able to tell."
"Ah...Alright." I responded to Espera as she departed and then walked into the tent.
It was a small tent of around 8 cubic meters in size, 2m in each of the sides. It was a bit wider than its length but it was small nonetheless.
It had a small bed. Well, it was just a blanket that was suspended in the air with metal rods but it seemed comfortable enough nonetheless. A small foldable desk lay folded up upon the side of the tent.
I put my things down and walked out of the tent to roam around the camp.
But at that moment.
[Analyzation of artifact is complete. Here are the details]
A vast window of words appeared before my eyes as the information appeared before my eyes.
'Ah... So you can get rid of the side effects of the tome?'
[Yes, but it requires an additional 3 pages to be written on and assimilated onto. The symbols within the tome are still being researched but initial research shows that the ink used is a special one. There is a large amount of mana infused within them. It is likely that the ink is either the blood or other internal bodily fluid of a powerful monster.]
'Hmm... So I'll need to hunt a powerful monster to write the pages down. Another one for the checklist. Any other progress?'
[...This may not be a game-world doctor.]
'Hmm? What do you mean?'
[...Though a lot of the structures, beings and other lifeforms have signs of being made out of data, sometimes there are abnormalities. Beings or objects that have no data within them but still exist.]
'Okay so... What does that mean.'
[Further research is required but, there is a chance that... There may be an error with my sensory equipment. Or something worse.]
'...Well, what should I do? What do you need from me?'
[Continue adventuring as much as you can doctor. The more cases and information I can gather to research with, there'll be more conclusive evidence.]
'Alright...'
-----
"The target's aura has gone missing from the capital. Suspected to have either died or escaped." Hela wrote on a piece of paper before attaching it to a bird's leg and sending it off.
"Hmm..."
-----
I walked around the camp and met various other soldiers. All of them seemed to welcome me and were in shock. It seemed the news about my aether element has already spread.
But as I was loitering around and talking with a few people from the 3rd scout team.
Sssss...
The entire forest seemed to have lighted up as bright blue lights appeared all over the forest ceiling.
"Woah..." I was in awe.
It was beautiful.
[The light is coming out from tiny insect-type monsters that emit light from their wings as they are awake. It seems they are nocturnal and sleep during the day.]
It was truly a beautiful sight, like thousands of small lightbulbs had been attached to the branches and leaves.
"Ah, the sun must've set." One of the scouts spoke out.
"Right! I have to go to the main tent! Goodbye for now!" I stood up in revelation and bid my farewells and ran towards the main tent in the middle, afraid of being late.
I quickly made my way to the main tent and found Espera standing outside.
"The Colonel is inside and ready to meet you, good luck!" She smiled as she sent me in.
I walked into the large tent which just had a large desk in the middle covered in various maps. It seemed like it was the logistics area.
A very frail but handsome looking man stood behind the table. He had light brown hair down to his eyebrows and a pair of large round glasses.
"Hello Deus." A pleasant voice was heard as the Colonel introduced himself. "I'm colonel Basturo and the current leading officer of the special corps."
"Lieutenant Deus, reporting for duty!" I did another military salute, realizing what Espera had reminded me right afterward and awkwardly loosened up to a bow.
"No need for all of that. I'm just another magus who happened to have been in the army long enough." Colonel Basturo smiled as he sat down on a nearby chair. "Here, sit."
I sat upon the opposite side of the table in a stiff manner, clearly uncomfortable at meeting such a high ranking member of the military.
Which was strange coming from the disciple of the strongest Magus in the entire Empire who had met the Emperor himself as well as other higher-ranking people.
Silence.
Colonel Basturo stared at me as we sat in silence.
"Aether Magus of the 1st order." He then spoke out. "Correct?"
"Y-Yes. Wait, what's 1st order?" I replied.
"Ah, Magi are discerned between 'orders' in terms of how much mana their body initially possesses. Those with the highest amount of mana and can create over 90 stars are of the 1st order and descends in increments of 10 stars until the 9th order." Colonel Basturo explained. "The majority of Magi are around the 7th to 5th order. I'm a bit higher at the 3rd order."
"Ah... Those stars from the testing orb..." I remembered.
"It's called a mana detector, we have one here too but we don't use it often. Only for captured enemies maybe." Colonel Basturo continued. "Though having more mana in the body is good, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Magus is strong. Even a 9th order magus can easily defeat a magi of the 1st order as long as they're more proficient in various things."
"Proficient? Like what?" I asked in curiosity. How could someone with more mana lose?
"You might've noticed by now but... The environmental element is very important to the Magi. Follow me." Colonel Basturo stood up and walked out of the tent as I followed suit.
Once we were outside, he pointed towards the top of the forest and spoke. "What do you feel Deus? Which elements are rich here?"
"...Water. There is a lot of humidity in the air. There's also a lot of light from the insect monsters up top. And of course, nature all around us." I replied as I sensed the mana particles within the air.
"Good." He smiled before raising his right arm
"EVERYBODY WITHIN THE CAMP, EVACUATE FROM THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CAMP" Espera suddenly seemed to have realized something as she issued an order.
Then.
Various people started to run away from the direction Colonel Basturo was facing.
Suddenley.
Shk! Shk! Shk! Shk! Shk! Shk! Shk! Shk!
Hundreds, if not thousands, of wooden spikes shot out from the ground. Extending away from Colonel Basturo in a straight line of around 1m in width as he then clenched his hands.
Shk! Shk! Shk!... Boom!
A whole new tree grew out from the ground and rapidly grew in size, quickly approaching the size of other giant trees within the forest.
Wait. This tree...This camp...
I looked around at that moment in revelation. The tree that had suddenly grown was too similar to the other trees...
Gulp.
"Colonel Basturo...Is this forest... Is the entire thing..." I failed to finish my sentence from utter shock.
"Yes." Colonel Basturo smiled at me. "It was entirely created by me. Welcome to the Basturo forest. A giant forest that stretches dozens of kilometers in each direction and was entirely created by me over the years."
"Basturo the Guardian of Nature." Espera commented from the side. "He's probably the most talented and powerful Nature Magus alive."
"How...The mana... There's so much mana here..." I couldn't escape from my shock. How could a single man create an entire forest all by himself?
Colonel Basturo continued to smile as if waiting for Espera to explain.
"Colonel Basturo is... Not human. He's actually the king of dryads. Dryads are tree nymphs who naturally accumulate nature element over time and use it to grow plants or trees. Colonel Basturo is just an extreme version of that." Espera explained as she looked at the new tree that had grown. "He grows a tree of this size once every few days, depending on how much mana he gains."
"Hahaha, the entire forest took over 2 centuries to create. It wasn't made overnight. At first, it was just a few trees to house me but then it slowly grew over time. Eventually, I joined the military and was stationed here." Colonel Basturo chuckled.
"I'm actually just a temporary leader of the special corps until a new leader is decided and sent over." Colonel Basturo said. "My true job is to maintain this forest, it's a strategic barrier you see. The Basturo Forest borders the dwarven kingdom to the west side of the Empire."
"Wha...I see." I woke up from my stupor as the wooden spears started to slowly descend onto the ground. "This... Is amazing."
"Haha, I'll take it as a compliment." Colonel Basturo chuckled. "Come on, let's go back inside. I'll explain what you'll do over the next few days."
Colonel Basturo walked back into the tent as I glanced at Espera who shrugged at me.
...If someone like Colonel Basturo is not the strongest Magus, how strong is Lady Silvia truly?