Edward, Ana, and Aloe were the only members of their group.
As an elite, small unit, they covertly reached their target destination with some degree of ease.
Of the nine groups that were allocated tasks, their team had the fourth largest load. While it was not comparable to the first three, it was still way higher than what the others were expected to do.
Many would ponder how students in their first years would be able to handle such responsibility, but Jared had already put all those factors into consideration.
According to his explanation, they would have close to no major problems handling their mission.
Also, since their designation was the farthest from the Middle-Class Dorm, a small team needed to undertake it.
While it was still doubtful to many people if it was best to give First Years that role—wouldn't it be better if a few Rankers were assigned instead?—no one questioned their leader's rationale.
"The Rankers are needed to direct the students. For better coherence, it's best to have them serve as unit leaders rather than placing them in an entirely separate unit."
Sure, Rankers were qualified for the role, but Ana and Edward weren't qualified for the roles of the Rankers.
They had no leadership qualities and were merely First Years.
Very few would actually trust them and obey them as was needed. It was an emergency, but human nature couldn't be so easily changed.
To prevent friction, Jared simply chose the safest route.
Besides, the three had no reason to fear. Not only had Jared given them the appropriate gear needed, but they also had three Automatons—the most out of all other teams.
Finally, Aloe Vida was with them!
She was a staff who was currently the most powerful of the Dorm Masters present.
Not only was she specialized in Light Magic, but thanks to Jared's intervention in her death, she was phenomenally more powerful than before.
Miss Aloe Vida had skipped so many Core Grades and was now in the 8th Level—the Silver Core Stage.
She was just a step away from being a Gold Core Grade.
If anyone had asked how this was possible, even she would be unable to respond. She was a mere Orange Core Grade before her death, after all.
Still, that was plenty strong for someone of her age.
For her to have reached a Silver Core Grade—a realm of expert Mages who could perform Original Magic—was nothing short of a miracle.
With this newfound power, Aloe was confident that she could be of more use in battle. She had to!
Her life was lost, yet she was given a second chance. She intended to do her part and fight her hardest.
There was one major issue, though.
While Aloe Vida's Mana Core Grade had risen, her skill and knowledge hadn't.
She couldn't use Advanced Spells at will. She could perform one, but it took too long. As a result, she relied mostly on intermediate Spells.
Even now, with her abundance of Mana, she had no choice but to rely on her existent knowledge.
'I have one Trump Card, though...' Aloe smiled as they neared their destination.
A Spell that was an exception to the ranking system.
'If I use that with the current Mana I have in stock, then I should be able to be even more useful!'
*******************
>WHOOOSSHH!<
They arrived close to the entrance of the facility, observing the area as they kept their guard up.
The building in front of them was the Academy Museum.
It contained Artefacts and objects of power. These items had Mana imbued in them and could also be called Magic Items.
As a result, they were quite valuable.
Still, most were used for decorative, historical, and cultural purposes, so they weren't too dangerous.
If they had been extremely powerful, certainly more Demons would have converged in their location.
According to Jared's hypothesis, one of the Forbidden Zones had to contain Magic Items with incredible power, while the other Restricted Area was probably related to Magic development and technology—perhaps in the terms of alchemy, Automatons, etc.
Then the General Library had a wealth of information.
These three locations had been swarmed with the most Shadow Demons, so Jared theorized that they had the highest value.
As for this location, it contained objects of both information and power.
While not as critically important as the other areas, it was still of great importance—resulting in it being swarmed with enemies as well.
"I can sense them... my god," Aloe mumbled, her eyes widening slightly.
Since she had the highest sensory prowess among the three, her range allowed her to detect the number of enemies around.
They were at least fifty of them waiting outside—and more were bound to be within the museum.
The Dorm Master gulped slightly, recalling her past trauma for an instant before shaking the useless thoughts off.
There was only one thing she needed to do now... and she sure as hell wasn't going to back away!
"There are 55 of them scattered around the entrance. If we make any careless movements, they'll attack." She whispered to the young ones with her.
They nodded, instantly telling her they understood.
Usually, they would be sneaky about infiltrating the Museum, but there was no need to do so.
Their opponents were vigilant, and there was only one entrance. That meant they had to storm their way in.
Of course, doing so without proper preparation would be foolish.
As such, the team readied themselves and the invisible Automatons above them also moved in accordance with their instructions—protect Edward, Ana, and Aloe.
That was why there were three of them.
"[Light Dome]" Aloe cast her Spell, causing a golden illumination to cover them.
It was an intermediate-ranked Spell, but Aloe boosted it to the highest level with her surplus Mana, making it extra sturdy.
The bright light was bound to draw attention in the deep darkness around them, but the squad had far passed the point of worrying about such trivialities.
They had to strike—and fast!
>WHOOOSSHH!!!<
In an instant, they all launched themselves toward the entrance of the Museum. Their movements were in sync and they moved at nearly the same pace—having a triangle formation to cover for their blind spots.
Before they got very far, however, the Shadows surfaced.
The black creatures of malevolence surrounded them, readying their blades as they prepared to strike.
