Sahro stared at the mechanical prosthetic replacing his missing left arm, his eyes wide open and his jaw hanging on the floor. His lips were twitching, and Glenn could almost imagine, if not see the water welling up in the Black Heir's eyes.

"Fuck me..." Sahro gasped as he went and stretched his hand. The mechanical arm was moving exactly like one made of flesh, with the precision of a machine and the toughness of steel. Glenn grimaced and shook his head.

"No thank you. I'd rather have you fuck up those Celestial Bastards."

The Black Heir scoffed while Milena came and took a closer look at the arm, "Wow, this is really advanced. Did...?"

Glenn nodded, "Yeah, Liam and Janica worked their asses off during the night to make this. I wanted to see how good they were at first, but..." He looked at the mechanical arm and grinned, "...I never expected them to be that good already. I don't doubt they'll be able to make Liam a better mechanical heart by the time we head back."

Sahro remained silent, still playing with his new toy. Hesitantly, he drew out his sword and tried to use both hands to hold it. The fingers of brass and steel froze inches away from the hilt as if scared of it. Glenn and the others watched from the sidelines, giving him the space he needed.

Glenn couldn't exactly imagine what it felt like to lose a limb and learn to live without it, but hopefully, Sahro would be able to get over this hurdle—

"Alright, Liara, what do you think about trying this shit again?" Sahro firmly clenched with both hands, his crimson Aura flaring powerfully as his grin grew wickedly. It raged like a bloody tidal wave, crashing and mixing with the electrical energy contained in his mechanical arm. The blue lines turned into mystical, scarlet energy, brimming with power. Liara flinched and hurriedly hid behind Milena, who in turn hid behind Javier, who in turn... hid behind Glenn?

Javier's behavior did surprise Glenn a little, but it's not like he couldn't understand it. The aura that Sahro was giving off...It was almost—no, it was at the same level as his. And Glenn was certainly much worse with a sword than Sahro.

"...I apologize, but it isn't exactly the place to cause a ruckus," Veil remarked from the side, his arms crossed behind his back. Sahro seemed to regain his clarity and apologetically sheathed his sword back, smiling sheepishly.

"S—Sorry, I got a little too excited."

Veil smiled, before turning away to face the Dark Wall. Glenn's lips curved upward slightly when he heard Liara and Milena sighing in relief behind him.

"I'm warning you, but the Black Gate is home to one of the strongest military forces of the realm. Lord Noir and his Order of the Black Knights are the ones separating Munirp from the land beyond the Dark Wall, after all. They need to be that strong. On the other hand..." Veil grimaced under his bandages,"...they are not exactly the smartest of the bunch."

Milena laughed softly, "I heard that none of them could read or write."

Veil nodded, the corner of lips curving upward slightly, "That is true. They're the best with numbers, on the other hand."

Glenn frowned, "...How?"

Veil's grin widened, "...They need to be good with them since they compete in how many enemies they killed."

Sahro and Glenn exchanged a look. These Black Knights fellows sounded interesting. Veil turned back and went in the direction of the Dark Wall. Encased in the latter as if it had been carved out of the mountains was a fortress, completely black. There were no flags, no proof of what allegiance they served, or anything of the sort. The fortress simply stood there, imprisoned in the rock.

"That would be the Black Gate, I suppose," Milena commented. Veil crossed his arms behind his back, nodding.

Sahro smirked and leaned in Glenn's ear, whispering, "...They really like the color black here."

Glenn looked back at him with raised eyebrows, "You're one to talk, Black Heir."

Sahro grimaced and turned away, instead choosing to play a little more with his mechanical arm. Glenn kept on observing their surroundings as they walked. There truly was nothing here, besides the teleportation cabins and a large road leading to the Black Gate. It made sense, in a way. Who would want to live under the shadow of that massive chain of mountains? This side of the wall would probably receive sunlight for half a day, covering the surroundings in darkness past that time.

And the Dark Wall did feel a little oppressive, more so than King's Rise ramparts. It took them a dozen minutes to arrive in front of the Black Gate's fortress, standing in line with other similar individuals. Soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, Fixers, and Cleaners, everyone seemed interested in going beyond the Dark Wall to fight Munirp's war. Veil stopped and pulled out a red and white pocket watch, checking the time.

"...Good, the Cleaner's Workshop turn of entry is next. When they call for Cleaners and Fixers, step up and listen to the instructions. You will be given specific devices that will be useful to your mission, as well as intel concerning your possible targets. Of course, those are only crutches to get you going. Most things will be left to you to find out. And, if something appears more important than the original mission, don't hesitate to change objectives. Be flexible," Veil quickly explained before tightening the bandages hiding his face. Glenn and the others nodded in understanding.

Veil glanced at his pocket watch once more and shook his head, "I fear I must leave you to it, then. I bid you all good luck, and, please..." He smiled and bowed slightly, "...Come back alive with a lot of stuff for us to bargain with the realm. That would be the best."

Glenn sneered, "We will try not to die, yes. Farewell."

Veil smiled and walked away. Milena chewed on the inside of her cheeks, frowning, "...Is it only me who finds him creepy?" Liara shook her head and gently grabbed Milena's arm, probably to show her that she had the same sentiment. Glenn and Sahro shrugged, not seeing what was creepy in the man fully wrapped in bandages. Javier, as always, didn't seem to have an opinion to share. The team talked about all sorts of things while waiting their turn until a thunderous voice rose above the crowd.

"Members of the Cleaner's Workshop, Cleaners and Fixers alike!"

Glenn and the others exchanged nods before navigating through the crowd and reaching the source of the voice. Standing in an organized line were a dozen knights, their identities hidden under black, fully plate armors with black gems cast in the center of their cuirass. The gems seemed to change colors slightly, depending on how they interacted with the surrounding light. They all wore great helms with thin slits where their eyes were, completely hiding their faces. What struck Glenn the most was the kind of weapon they were using. Most if not all of them were using blunt weapons, such as mauls, war hammers, two-handed maces, or even large metal staffs. The only bladed weapons they had were the daggers hanging on their back to use as secondary weapons.

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"First of all, welcome to the Black Gate and the Dark Wall! We hope you won't die too quickly!" clamored the speaker, one of the Black Knights. The other Knights either yawned or looked away, not too interested.

"You're probably all aware, but there are strict measures to protect this place. If you break one of our rules, you die. Simple, right?"

Glenn, his team, and all the other Fixers or Cleaners grumbled in understanding. The speaking Knight looked over them before resuming his speech.

"We will fill you in team by team. Simply show your identification to us, and you'll be guided to a Squire who will explain everything to you. Any questions?" Someone raised his hand but the Knight nodded and ignored them, "Excellent! Team leaders, please come and show your identifications!"

Glenn glanced at his teammates before stepping up, his INK-DEF badge clenched in his right hand. Discreetly, he used Mana Sight, blinking as the magic surrounding him blinded him.

'That might not have been your wisest idea,' Diamanes mocked as Glenn rubbed his eyes. The latter grimaced and shook his head, holding his badge to the first Knight he found. The Knight spent some time staring at the badge, before clacking his tongue and leaning closer to Glenn.

"Say...The hell is written on this thing?" The Knight asked sheepishly. Glenn paused for an instant and restrained a sneer.

"...INK-DEF."

The Knight groaned and took a step back, before shaking his head, "Darn it, another of Veil's recruits. 'Right, call your team and follow me."

Glenn frowned and began to open his mouth, only to close it again and turn to his teammates and gesturing at them. They quickly joined him as he followed the Black Knight closer to the Black Gate. The fortress did not have a door or gate of such, only solid, impassable walls. The Black Knight huffed and kicked the wall open, the stone bricks moving out of the way to let him pass.

"Come on, we don't have all day," said the Black Knight as he headed into the structure. Glenn and the others carefully followed him in, the stone bricks moving back the way they were behind them.

They walked through the dark hallways, barely illuminated by magical lights hanging on the ceilings, before arriving at a simple stone door. It opened by itself, sinking into the ground with the Black Knight's presence, letting them enter a briefing room. A dozen chairs and a chalkboard were waiting for them, as well as sealed crates. The Knight ushered Glenn's team in before closing the door behind them, not entering the room himself.

"...So we just sit here and wait, then?" Milena asked hesitantly. Glenn shrugged and sat on the farthest chair out of habitude. The others sat where they wanted as well, waiting patiently. Only Javier was standing there, as rigid and silent as ever. The wall eventually shifted open to let someone in wearing a black leather armor, a sword hanging off his back. His black hair was done in a short buzzcut, military style. He cleared his throat and stood in front of the chalkboard, straightening his stature.

"Squire Johansson! I will be briefing you on the INK-DEF mission! It is a pleasure to serve alongside you!" He shouted proudly, earning a few frowns from Glenn's team. Johansson clacked his tongue and tapped on the chalkboard, a picture appearing on it. It was the map of the Land Beyond the Dark Wall, precisely on the Ink Dunes. It was mostly divided into two colors, the Dark Wall being colored in blue and the rest of the Ink Dunes colored in white. There were some red zones too, alongside some different pictograms scattered on every part of the map.

"This here is the target area. Red zones are the active fighting zones, where Munirp's armies are currently confronting those of the Celestial Gods. You can join these battles if you wish, but they are not your priorities."

He pointed instead at the white zones, which made the most of the map, "Those are the areas which we lack intel on. The map is updated every morning at five o'clock in the morning, thanks to the efforts of the Recon teams, which can be identified on their badges by the REC part, such as INK-REC, KYA-REC, or DRL-REC. You can also work on Recon, but again, this is not your priority."

Johansson finally pointed at the pictograms, frowning, "Those are identified strategical sites. Ruins, storage areas, hospitals, logistical centers, and so forth. Your mission will mostly be to raid those areas, capture or sabotage strategic weapons, execute or capture as many of their strategic personnel as possible, and come back with to a safe area..." He nodded at the blue zones on the map, "...which are all of these places."

Glenn moistened his lips and raised his hand, "How is it that we're so free of our actions? Isn't DEF in INK-DEF standing for Defense?"

Squire Johansson nodded in understanding, but shook his head, "Yes and no. You have been recognized as a versatile and skilled team by your backer, which means that you are free to do what you think will help our side the most. Not every team is aware of the locations of these strategic locations..." He said as he pointed again at the pictograms, "...to avoid any leak of intelligence. Also, you will each be given a recorder to prove the destruction of strategic locations or the execution of enemy officers. If you wish to receive rewards when coming back to camp for your efforts, those must be recorded. We have no way to verify your work, after all."

Milena clacked her tongue and leaned back in her chair, frowning, "Does that mean we need to constantly have the recorder on? That's annoying."

Johansson smirked, but the expression quickly faded from his face, "Military recorders are a little different from what you might be used to, " He crouched next to one of the sealed crates and opened it up, before picking something in it and throwing said thing at Milena, "Please, take a look."

Milena instinctively caught it. She yelped and threw it away, holding her hand in surprise.

"It—it took away some of my Mana!" She exclaimed. The item she threw away bounced off the floor and floated in the air. It was a tiny, steel pearl with brass-coloured lines, somehow moving in the air without a noise. Glenn raised an eyebrow and almost used Mana Sight to check the thing out, but he changed his mind after remembering how he almost blinded himself earlier with how much magic there was in this place. Milena hesitantly extended her hand out toward the pearl, and almost as if it was connected to her, it floated back to her palm, settling within it.

"As you can see, you simply need to connect to the Recorder, and it will start doing its job as long as you will it. We're aware there are some things you'd rather keep private, hence why it isn't recording at all times. You have complete control over the Recorder," Squire Johansson said, before taking one Recorder for himself from the crate and pressing it with his thumb, making a small screen appear above it, "Additionally, here's a magical retransmission of the map. As I said, it is updated every day at five in the morning."

Glenn and the others all took their Recorders, looking at their new toys curiously.

"Finally, be aware that if the one who connected to the Recorder dies or is too far beyond the enemy lines, such as in a captured scenario, the Recorder will auto-destroy. We'd rather not have the tactical map end up in the hands of the Celestial Gods, after all," Johansson warned as he dusted his hands off. Glenn all nodded in understanding, earning a smile from the Squire.

"Excellent. I hope you will all survive and bring us one step closer to victory against Munirp's enemies," He declared, before turning away and tapping against the chalkboard. The tactical map disappeared alongside the chalkboard, replaced by an opening in the wall. A hot wave of air entered the room, bringing with it the scent of danger and adventure. Glenn grinned widely and stood up, stretching and making his neck crackle. Johansson stepped away from the entrance and gestured at it.

"This will lead you to the Ink Dunes safe zone. Good luck."

The team entered the hallway, walking for a dozen of minutes before finally arriving at their destination.

'...That's a lot of hallways,' Diamanes remarked, before adding, 'We'll have to be careful with what we say around these Recorders. We never know if they didn't lie and are listening in all the time.'

To both these statements, Glenn could only agree. But as the distance between him and the black sand desert grew shorter, he could only think of one thing. This was the last hurdle. The last step before he could finally put an end to Baron Howard and bring Giselle's grandson back to her.

The first promise he made when arriving in this world, and finally he was about to fulfill his end of the deal.

Well, he still had a war to fight before that, but still.

It was nice to see the progress so clearly.