"Good."
David turned to the side, looking at the woman still sitting on his motorcycle. It was Hilda, the woman trapped in the Dark Pillar Tower five years ago.
The man told Hilda to take Aaron to the Night Liberation Group Headquarters. David wanted her to deliver Aaron first, then return here to pick up the others.
Hilda nodded, fully understanding the 32-year-old's orders. Hilda approached Aaron and took the young man's hand, leading him to her motorcycle.
Aaron mounted, wrapping his arms around Hilda's waist. An uncomfortable Hilda squeezed Aaron's hand firmly, startling the young man.
"Behave normally, dude. Don't touch me!"
"A-Alright. I'm sorry."
Hilda and Aaron left the place on their motorcycles at high speed, heading down the black sand dunes and passing several small lakes with pitch-black water that could not be consumed.
"How long have you been stuck here?" Aaron asked.
"Five years."
"Have you ever tried to go down to the second floor?"
The woman chose silence instead of answering, focused on her motorcycle. Aaron sighed, sensing that they were hiding something.
Aaron saw an iron fortress standing firm from the forest with four men guarding the two gate towers. They didn't seem to carry any weapons, just their levels and talents.
The gate opened, the presence of Hilda and Aaron immediately attracted many people's attention. They stopped their activities and focused their eyes on Aaron, the new person in the Night Liberation Group.
A man in a typical mercenary uniform stepped up to Hilda, "Where did you find a sucker like him?"
"S-Suckers? What do you mean, dammit?!" said Aaron, not liking being called a sucker.
Aaron didn't hesitate to confront the man even though he knew his level must be higher than his. The man laughed grinningly. His hand seemed to bring up a magic spear with dense wind energy.
"Come here. Let me show how weak you are."
Aaron jumped far back as his right hand stretched out to the side, trying to intimidate him in other ways before using his talent.
Purple energy appeared in the form of flames, startling many people into lining up behind the man with spears, ready with their magic circles. Hilda tried to break it up.
"The element of darkness? Does he have the blood of monsters in this place? How can he bring forth such terrible power!" the man asked, staggering in shock.
"Captain David invited him directly. You know what that means, don't you?" said Hilda, glaring at the man with the spear.
Hilda sent the other members off on their bikes to pick up the two men on the hill outside the base. She couldn't leave Aaron here alone, especially after noticing that people already knew about his dark elemental powers.
"We can't accept that. He could have bad intentions towards the Night Liberation Group!"
"We'll see his behavior later. Can you guys get rid of your talent magic? You too, Aaron!" Hilda insisted.
"I'll remove it if I no longer feel threatened."
The man with the spear sighed, then deactivated his talent. This was followed by the people behind him. Hilda could let out a sigh of relief. At least no conflict had to happen at the headquarters of the Night Liberation Group.
Not long after, David and the others arrived at the base. David's arrival with the others was immediately greeted with a respectful salute to him, except for Aaron.
"Aaron. Come with me," David pleaded, Aaron cleared his throat in response.
David and several of his aides stepped through the crowds. They opened the way for David so he could step easily without being blocked towards his house. The sardonic gaze was still fixed on Aaron when the young man passed right in the middle of the crowd.
"How was it? I hope they all welcome you here, Aaron," David said.
"They tried to kill me. What's wrong with them? Why are they so aggressive?" Aaron asked.
"You've been on the surface for a while. It's because of the hard environment in this place that shapes their personalities."
"I see."
From afar, David's two-story house was clearly visible. There, a woman wearing a nightgown stood on the second-floor balcony, welcoming David's arrival while smoking a cigarette.
The woman smiled as she exchanged glances with Aaron, David's aide in the back whispering something to Aaron regarding David and the woman's relationship.
"That's Captain David's mistress, Isabella. You'd better not get close to her since Captain David loves her so much," David's male aide whispered. Aaron was shocked and still tried to remain calm.
David and Aaron entered the house, sitting together over drinks. Although they were trapped here, they had gotten many supplies sent from the 10th floor of the Dark Tower.
"There's quite a supply of fresh food here. Isn't this place a rotten one?"
"Our advantage is that we joined the Night Liberation Group. They always send food supplies from the nearest floor, the 10th floor of the Dark Tower," David explained, pouring cheap wine into two glasses.
"Is that so?"
[ANNOUNCEMENT!]
[Monster Raid in Dark Pillar Tower will open soon]
[All adventurers are requested to prepare]
[Countdown until Monster Raid Gate opens]
[00:11:59:43]
Not only Aaron but David and the others also got the same notification pop-up. David took a deep breath and then exhaled; there was disappointment and resignation on the man's face.
"I didn't expect the Monster Raid to be held twice in a week," David said.
"Are we sending our team to the pillar?" asked one of David's aides.
"Our Monster Raid team is recovering. I can't send them."
"You're right, Captain. However, if we don't send any more, I'm afraid the Sky Sword Group and the Justice Dimension Group will underestimate us."
"We also need the resources kept there, of course, to help defend our base and strengthen our members' abilities."
Aaron looked confused by the conversation before him. It seemed that the monster raid in this place was quite different from the raid in the Pillar Tower on the surface, where he could raid monsters every day.
"What exactly are the qualifications for being able to join this Monster Raid?" asked Aaron.
David and his aides turned their heads forward, watching Aaron with a careful look in their eyes. Aaron's words were no joke. Aaron had to participate in this monster raid to gain abilities and increase his level.
"The minimum participant level is 35 with a minimum CP of 30,000. However, there aren't many people with such abilities here," David replied.
"I meet those qualifications. Can I go?" asked Isabella, coming down from the second floor with a long coat covering her nightgown.
David turned around, surprised to see Isabella with her dark hair flowing down her shoulders. David stood up and stepped closer, asking her to return upstairs and wait for him.
"Although my level has not yet reached 35, I meet the minimum qualifications for CP."
David's aide gasped at Aaron's words. David also seemed to draw his attention back towards Aaron from Isabella.
"Don't be kidding, Aaron. No one can meet the CP qualifications if their level isn't 35."
Aaron didn't want to lie and spread a bad perception about him. He pressed his system watch and pressed the Abilities Status menu. A blue panel appeared above Aaron's system watch, visible to David, Isabella, and the rest of David's aides.
[Status Abilities]
[Name: Aaron Lewis]
[CP: 33693]
[STR: 14]
[AGI: 15]
[INT: 18]
[LUK: 9]
[DEX: 16]
[Ability Point: 20]
David was surprised to see those numbers, not because they were big, but about how Aaron could get such a large CP if his other statuses were less than 20 points.
"Your status is less than 20. If I look through my simple calculations, you might only get CP in the range of 10,000-15,000," David replied.
"Let me guess, it must be your talent that helps your CP a lot, right?" Isabella asked.
"That's right, Ms. Isabella. My talents affect my CP a lot."
"What is your talent rank?"
"SSS-R"