Death Mage with an SS-Rank Talent

Aaron, like many others from Rock City, was drafted into the Exploration team. Even Mary was part of this Exploration team.

Though he knew her, he kept his distance.

One, she seemed to be in disguise, as she changed her hair colour.

Second, her last name didn't seem to be what he remembered from the school.

When he heard her name from the official, who was taking note of all that would be going on this exploration, he was confused. For a second, he wondered if he remembered it incorrectly, but then it hit him.

She was here incognito.

If the people knew who she was, they would be swarming her. She, after all, awakened a SS-Rank Class, but no such thing was happening, which means no one thought that she was who she was.

So, he didn't try to interact with, afraid that someone might be keeping tabs on her, and he didn't want their attention on him, at least not now.

He was already at Rank-5, and as soon as he reached Rank-7, he would be afraid of showing his power. He can be however he wants to be. Of course, that would be true as long as his parents reached at least Rank-5, which he was sure they would reach, given the resources he provided.

Until that point, he would act as a cog in a machine, a mob character, unless it was required to act differently, as it did during the alliance exam and then at the tournament between the students from various academies.

The rewards are good, and he didn't want to miss out on such opportunities. If he missed them out, he would forever be living in the shadows. Though he didn't like to act out without reason, and likes a calm life, that doesn't mean he couldn't and wouldn't want to.

It was a temporary situation.

"Okay, everyone, now that all of you have arrived, please follow instructions, and don't do anything that we forbid you to. Okay, now everyone, get onto the buses", the official who was overseeing this exploration said.

There are over thirty that were assigned for the exploration. The security forces are already thin. Sending this many is already stretching the forces, and especially with what happened recently, they couldn't send any more out.

If an incident like that repeats when the security is low, then the damage would be very high, and the people would definitely blame the alliance for the failure.

What many forget in times of danger is that they are part of the alliance as well, and they have to do their part in the process.

Many don't think to sacrifice themselves to protect others, but they want others to sacrifice for them. They believe the soldiers of the alliance were created from the air. They always separate themselves from the alliance as they are not part of the alliance, but when danger happens, they expect the alliance to step in and save them.

It is what most people's attitude would be like, and there was nothing one could do about that, unless they want to teach them a lesson, which can only be taught by not responding to save such people, which means that most of the human population would disappear.

It would like giving the monsters a chance to wipe out humanity from the face of the world.

That would not be good, and so the governance carried on as it was.

As soon as the team members and supplies were on board, the vehicles left the city and were on their way to the Wastelands.

As they left, it caused quite a commotion. Though the mission itself was a secret, it couldn't be executed secretly.

Many in the city could see the vehicles passing through, but they had no idea what was happening; a few among the watchers knew exactly what was happening.

---

Far Away from Rock City...

"It was just as you said. The alliance arranged for an exploration team to search the Wastelands once again. The most likely theory they came up with was that we found clues regarding a key to enter the ruins, and in search of that".

"With the fake clues that we gave them, the alliance believes that it was real. They are sending a team, but the number was too small, which makes me not like this at all", Big Two spoke.

"Hmm", Big Three nodded her head, "They are either suspecting or expecting a trap. Well, if they weren't, then that would be concerning. We are not dealing with some young brat who wanted to showcase his strength to the world to fall into the trap without any precautions".

What she said is true.

The Alliance has many experienced powerhouses. They wouldn't just believe things as they appear to be. In this world, nothing can be taken at face value unless you personally verify that.

So, the members of the alliance, which had faced cultists again and again in the past years, wouldn't just fall without a backup plan. They wouldn't just concentrate on something just because the cult showed interest in it.

There were many scenarios where the cult left clues on purpose that led to traps, resulting in the loss of many alliance members, professionals of high talent and calibre. So, only when verified, the true power of the alliance would make a move.

"Well, it is as I estimated. The alliance may not be sending the entire force there, but their eyes are turned towards that place, which means the hurdles we would face would be fewer. In three days, we will enact the plan. The plan is simple. It would be like this", Big Three started to explain the second part of the plan.

"By the fourth morning, either the supreme is rescued or silenced forever. No, to the Kraken", Big Three announced.

"To Kraken", the other four announced as well, agreeing with the plan.

They had already agreed that when the first phase of the plan was implemented, and for their survival, they had to make sure that the plan succeeded.