"Solaria Ruins, It's my first time hearing about it in both my lives. But given that system itself responded, it must be useful" Aldrich put back the map, ready to prepare for the mission.
Meanwhile, a figure in The Crom Family Hall could be seen seated on the throne. The man had a tall and bulky figure. He held a greatsword in one hand and looked towards two men grovelling at his feet.
"How could you lose the map? You had just one job. You disgraceful shit", the man stomped on Andre's face, who was wailing on the floor.
"f-father, I am sorry. The man threatened me",
"Why! Why didn't you die then? And what were you doing" he slapped Andre and looked towards the man supposed to escort Andre.
"Master, we followed the guy who ran with the map. He led us into a store; when we entered the store, all we could see was an old man who clasped his hands, and the next thing we knew, we were teleported."
"You need to get back the map for Emperor's Legacy in any way possible. Put up a search for the guy who took the mask.", The head of the Crom family glared at the escort.
"Now go away, Andre. Your academy will start sometime; you better not disappoint me again."
Andre looked towards the head of the family before rushing out of the hall.
"Tch, you also go and find out who took the map". He flicked his hand as a shadow moved in the background.
Inside the Drakewind Mansion, Aldrich entered his room to find a package waiting for him.
"Oooh, he is fast" Aldrich opened the box to find a card and a skin mask inside it, along with a piece of paper wrapped inside it.
"They are top quality", he examined the two items. One of them was a new identity for Aldrich, and he had decided to go with the name Alder. He then put on the face mask, trying to imagine a face that wouldn't stand out much and then finally decided on a face with standard physical features and black hair.
"Remi, come in", he ordered as Remi entered the room.
She noticed it was not Aldrich but someone else and instantly took her daggers, throwing them towards Aldrich.
"It's me" Aldrich stopped the incoming Daggers with the tip of his fingers.
"Why are you changing your appearance? Do you have to go undercover?" Remi had used many such artefacts and could tell that the one Aldrich had was of high quality.
"Yes, it's a mission from a friend. Would you like to join me?" Aldrich knew Remi's spying skills would be helpful to safely escort the subordinate back to Brent.
"I will; my skills have become lousy serving you anyway", Remi said as she left her room to prepare for the mission.
Aldrich looked at her leaving figure and thought, "Don't worry, I will turn you into the strongest assassin in the world."
He went downstairs to know his father had gone out to work. He ordered the maids to inform the family head that he was going out to get stronger and would return before the time of the entrance exam for the Academy.
"This should be a good excuse."
He took out the sheet of paper inside the box containing some mission details.
"The Location is the Territory of Count Ash, and the main mission is to retrieve the body of Brent's subordinate, dead or alive. It also has a list of people who might provide us with information. Why did he give this mission to me, a one-star? Knowing Brent, he wouldn't send me to my death. There must be some other solutions." Aldrich handed the piece of paper to Remi to ask if she knew some of these people.
She carefully went through it for some time and noticed the stamp at the end,
"You are working for an organization really high up in the underworld. Even I couldn't get missions from them. I do know some of these people, but looking at the situation, the guy we have to recover is a three-star warrior. Do you think we can save him from someone even he could not defeat?" Remi had not worked much in a group, but she knew Aldrich was stronger than her, and he might have a plan.
The two took a carriage, as it was the fastest way to reach there without tiring themselves.
"It will take 2 days for us to reach there. We can take turns to act as the guard.", Aldrich said to Remi.
Meanwhile, inside the Mansion of Count Ash, a young man sat on the throne as a cloaked figure approached him. "Hope you will keep your promise, Count, and we shall help you reach the position of Duke in no time."
Count Ash looked towards the cloaked figure and said, "Yes, everything will be for the glory of the Demons. The preparations have been nearly complete. We will begin the ritual in 2 days".
Count Ash's lifeless eyes looked towards the people present in the hall as the shadows of the people revealed images of gruesome demons.