Chapter 1589: The Signal

Thomas and Conrad were in Thomas’s room right now, standing in front of a large monitor that displayed the latest report from their monitoring system.

The room looked more like a small research laboratory than a military office. Several computers covered one side of the room, unfamiliar devices, cables, and pieces of equipment filled the tables around them.

Most of them had been built or modified by Thomas and Conrad during the past few months as they continued developing their understanding of Magic.

Thomas had become the leading engineer in the special unit when it came to studying and applying Magic-related technology, while Conrad had worked closely with him on the technical side. Their knowledge had grown that they could now create equipment.

The device currently displaying the report was one of their latest creations. Thomas had designed it specifically to monitor unusual Magic activity across the surrounding region and detect signs of creatures or other beings entering their world from outside.

Something like this had happened before and they did not want to be caught completely unaware if it happened again.

For several months, the device had produced almost nothing. Its readings remained low and stable, showing only the ordinary traces of Magic that already existed in their world. But this time the screen showed something very different.

Thomas stared at the fluctuating lines on the monitor with a serious expression. The signal rose and fell in an irregular pattern that did not match any normal Magic activity they had recorded before.

The location itself made the reading even more concerning. Magic should not have existed to this scale under normal circumstances.

"This isn’t normal indeed," Thomas finally said.

Conrad stood beside him with his arms folded across his chest. He studied the data for several seconds before answering. "No. It’s not. But it could be nothing."

Thomas adjusted several settings on the screen and brought up older records for comparison.

He placed the new reading beside months of previous data. The difference was obvious. The earlier readings remained relatively stable while the new signal appeared suddenly and fluctuated far more violently.

"The device has been running for months," Thomas said. "We’ve barely picked up anything significant until now. Which means something really happened."

Thomas just nodded, slowly. They didn’t need to say the most obvious possibility.

The device existed because they knew their world was not completely isolated. Unknown creatures from other worlds had entered before, and the possibility of another intrusion was possible.

Thomas had created the monitoring system specifically so they would not miss another event. Now the system had finally detected something significant, and that raised a question: what if now something had already entered their world?

Thomas leaned closer to the monitor and examined the signal again and asked, "Do you think it’s a portal?"

Conrad remained silent for a moment before answering. "It could be. We don’t have enough information to say for certain."

Thomas sighed.

They had already discussed several possible explanations. The worst-case scenario was that something had already crossed over and was currently somewhere in their world. They did not know what it was, how powerful it might be, or whether it had arrived alone.

"I already reported this to Major Jessica," Thomas said.

"Then there’s nothing else we can do for now. Except wait."

"Yes."

A knock suddenly came from the door.

Thomas and Conrad exchanged a brief glance.

Conrad pushed himself away from the table and walked toward the door with his usual expressionless face. He already had a good idea who it was. Someone from the special unit probably came to check on the report.

He opened the door and saw Erend stood on the other side.

Conrad nodded. He had already become accustomed to seeing Erend’s clone around the base. He and Thomas didn’t know the truth.

"Lieutenant, you are finally here," Conrad said. "Come in."

Erend stared at him for a few seconds before stepping inside.

The sight of Conrad immediately brought an old memory back to his mind.

Conrad was the man who had caused the disaster years ago because of his love for an Elf. Erend had once believed that stopping him was the best solution available at the time. Yet because of that decision, Conrad could no longer see the person he loved.

Erend had accepted that choice for a long time without questioning it. Now that he saw Conrad standing in front of him again, however, the memory returned. A quiet sense of guilt settled inside him.

"Maybe I should have found another way?" The thought came and disappeared almost as quickly.

Erend pushed it aside. This was not the time to talk about it. They had more important things to deal with.

He walked farther into the room and looked around.

The laboratory was much larger than he expected. Machines covered several tables while computers displayed different sets of information.

Cables connected some of the equipment to larger devices along the walls.

Some machines contained glowing components that Erend could not understand. He recognized only a few pieces of ordinary technology among all the strange equipment.

They really made all of this in just a few months. Thomas and Conrad must have been working on their understanding of Magic while he was away. Seeing the result in person made it clear just how much progress they had made.

"Lieutenant," Thomas called. "Please look at this. I think a portal opened in this area."

Erend walked toward the large monitor. Thomas and Conrad assumed he had already received the basic report from Jessica, so there was no need to explain the situation from the beginning. What mattered now was the detailed information they had gathered.

The monitor displayed a satellite image of a small town and the surrounding region. Thomas zoomed in until the area where the signal appeared became clearly visible. It was a large plain covered in tall grass beneath the shadow of a mountain. No houses stood nearby. There were no visible roads or civilian buildings in the immediate area either.

Erend studied the image in silence.

The signal did not look large enough to suggest a major invasion, but that did not make him completely comfortable.

After everything he had experienced across different worlds, he knew that dangerous things did not always announce themselves with overwhelming power.

He slowly exhaled. "Captain Adrien already instructed a team to go there and check it out," Erend said. "You should receive their report before long."

Thomas nodded. "That’s good."

Conrad gave a small nod as well.

Erend looked at the monitor one more time. "I hope it’s nothing serious."

Thomas glanced at him. "You think it could be?"

"I don’t know." Erend paused for a moment. "But we’ve seen enough strange things to know that we shouldn’t ignore something like this."

Neither Thomas nor Conrad argued.

Erend turned away from the monitor and looked toward the equipment surrounding them. His expression remained calm, but his thoughts had already moved elsewhere.

He still had one more world to visit.

He, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven still needed to find the Dragonborn legacy they had been searching for. Their journey was not over yet, and Erend did not want another major problem to appear on this world while they were preparing to leave again.

For now, all he could do was wait and hope the strange signal was nothing more than an unexplained fluctuation.

If it was a portal, however, he feared he might soon have to deal with it before he could continue their journey.

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