Chapter 1588: Small Thing

Without wasting any more time, Erend headed straight for the basement. The special Magic unit occupied one of the larger wings beneath the military base.

After completing their training long ago, the twenty members had been stationed here permanently, where they carried out their duties under the cover of a conventional special forces unit.

Officially, they were simply highly trained soldiers assigned to special operations. Their ability to use Magic remained classified, and most of the military personnel outside their command had no idea what they could actually do.

When Erend entered the basement, he found the team spending their free time in their usual way.

The wing was large enough to give them plenty of room even when all twenty members were present.

It had been designed as both a training area and a place where they could rest between assignments, so the atmosphere felt more like a comfortable common facility than a military basement.

A few soldiers were playing basketball on a small court at one end of the room, while others sat around a table playing chess or cards, and other groups had chosen quieter activities and were reading books on couches or against the walls.

One soldier lay back with a book resting against his chest, another soldier sat near a windowless wall and quietly turned through the pages of a thick book.

The sounds of bouncing basketballs, casual conversation, laughter, pieces being placed on a chessboard filled the large room.

Erend stopped for a moment and simply watched them. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked at the people who had once been injured during the Magic Assimilation Project and had since grown into a capable military unit.

They no longer looked like experimental subjects or injured candidates. They looked like soldiers who had found a place where they belonged.

Seeing them relaxed and enjoying their ordinary lives gave Erend a warm feeling in his chest. After everything he had seen in other worlds, this simple scene felt strangely precious to him. There were only twenty soldiers spending their free time together.

Several of them noticed him soon afterward.

Their conversations gradually stopped as they turned toward the entrance. A few stared for a moment before recognizing him. Then one soldier immediately stood and saluted.

"Sir!"

The others followed almost at the same time. The casual atmosphere disappeared for a moment as the entire room straightened and saluted Erend. He returned the gesture with a small nod.

"At ease," Erend said.

The soldiers relaxed again, although several continued looking at him with obvious interest even when they were used to seeing his clone around the base.

One of the soldiers near the basketball court asked with a grin, "Sir, Want to play?"

Erend looked toward the court and saw the basketball lying near the edge. "No, thanks," he said.

Erend smiled because he remembered that from the memories he had received from his clone. Apparently, the clone had joined them several times during his free hours and had become a regular opponent on the court.

The atmosphere quickly returned to normal. Erend felt another small warmth in his chest as he realized that his clone had not simply performed his military duties. It had also maintained his relationships with these people and allowed them to feel as though their commander was still around.

Before the conversation could continue, two familiar figures approached from another section of the basement.

Billy and Adrien walked toward him. They had already met the real Erend after his return and spoke with him about what had happened. They knew that the man standing before them was no longer the clone.

The three of them exchanged a few more words with the soldiers before heading toward their private room. Once inside, they closed the door behind them and sat around a small table.

The room was much quieter than the main area, with only the faint sounds of the other soldiers occasionally reaching them through the walls.

"There’s something we need to talk about," Adrien said, and reached for a tablet on the table and placed it in front of Erend.

"We received a report this morning from Thomas about a strange Magic disturbance on the outskirts of a small town."

Erend’s expression immediately changed. He picked up the tablet and looked at the report. "What kind of disturbance?"

"That’s the problem," Adrien said. "They couldn’t identify it yet."

Billy leaned forward. "The local monitoring equipment detected a sudden increase in Magic energy. It wasn’t strong enough to trigger a national alert, but it was pretty unusual."

"Did anyone investigate?"

"Not yet," Adrien replied. "The location is far enough from the nearest military facility that we don’t have a dedicated team there. The local police don’t have the equipment or abilities to properly investigate something like this."

Erend continued reading the report. The amount of Magic involved did not seem particularly high, but something about the situation still bothered him.

"How long ago did this happen?"

"Several hours ago," Billy answered. "The disturbance appeared for a short time and then disappeared. Since then, the monitoring equipment has detected smaller fluctuations in the same area."

"Then we should send someone," Erend said.

Adrien nodded. "That’s what I was thinking."

"Who do we send?"

"We could send a small team," Billy said. "Cody with three or four people should be enough to investigate it. If they find something dangerous, they can call for reinforcements."

Erend looked at both of them for a moment. He knew that the disturbance could turn out to be nothing more than an unusual concentration of Magic. But, it could also be something much worse. After everything he had encountered in other worlds, he had learned that strange Magic disturbances couldn’t be ignored.

"You should send them, Captain," Erend said. "But tell them not to take unnecessary risks. I want them to investigate first and report what they find before they try anything."

Adrien nodded. "Right."

Billy picked up the tablet again and began checking the available personnel.

Erend leaned back in his chair and looked toward the closed door. His expression remained calm, but a faint concern settled in his mind.

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