Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

                      Mark was tapping on his desk with his index finger while watching the footage of the battle between Ryan, the inhabitants of Peru, against the demons' army. He had already watched that dozens of times, but he still couldn't believe the outcome of that fight. Somehow, Ryan won against a demon that had magical powers that were close to nuclear bombs. While that was a relief, it wasn't a relief to know that the demon would resurrect eventually.

                      Suddenly, the door of his office opened, and Alissa showed herself. As usual, she didn't knock on the door. Mark was already used to it, but even so, he let out a sigh because it was troublesome to find a person who couldn't care less about his authority on the base.

"You are still at it?" Alissa frowned. "If you are really that bored, I can recommend you to watch some movies much better than that one."

"You still didn't tell me your impressions of this fight, Alissa," Mark said.

"There is nothing to say, really," Alissa shrugged. "If you have good eyes alone and a functioning brain, you can tell that despite having his ass kicked, Ryan survived against a demon that showed up on Earth under several restrictions."

"Restrictions?" Mark frowned. "He dropped dozens on ice meteors on Ryan. His first attack had power comparable to a nuclear bomb!"

"Those were the only spells he could use at the time," Alissa explained. "Also, don't you find it weird that a demon that can fly didn't move a single inch from the same spot?"

"Yes… I noticed that," Mark said.

"Also, your satellite didn't catch that, but the demon received some sort of energy," Alissa said. "The energy came from South in a straight line. Did you find something in that direction?"

"Ryan headed there, and he found the demons' dungeon," Mark replied.

"Then, there is no mistake, the dungeon master of that place decided to fight against Ryan and the others," Orgar suddenly jumped in the conversation. "That would explain the restrictions. Considering what we know, it was probably one of the generals of the demons' army."

Mark sighed… those names come so often this day that he felt that he was growing one year older whenever that happened. The thought that a weakened creature had the power of a nuclear bomb was that much disheartening. 

"Ryan keeps getting on his way, huh," Alissa nodded. "I hate to say this, but he has some balls to do that over and over again alone."

"Then don't say it with a straight face," Orgar said.

"Anyway, the Checkpoints are already installed on the dungeons you asked," Alissa declared. "As promised, I will leave one of my guys there to keep watching the place all the time, and the cost to use them will be five thousand coins. A lot of mana is used to use those things, and I can't let you use my powers for free."

"That is alright. I already warned everyone about the requirements. I assure you that you won't find any problems on our end," Mark said. "You have my thanks for helping us with that. You saved us a lot of time."

"I don't need your thanks. The payment in coins is all that I need," Alissa waved her hand. "Besides, my guys will also use them."

"At least you are learning something from Ryan," Orgar said. "I must say that act like cheapskate suits you well."

"Shut up… Anyway, I will install others eventually," Alissa said a bit annoyed and then sighed. "Flying around the country only to create those are too boring."

"I understand," Mark forced a smile.

                                      The plan to seal all the dungeon in the country was progressing well, but in the end, Mark needed something more to guarantee that mistakes won't be made and the life of his soldiers won't be lost. So, he asked Alissa if there was some method of fast travel that she could recommend. In the end, Alissa sold him the information about Checkpoint. In a spell that connected the space between two points, a lot of mana was used to use such a technique, but it was only natural since that was the lowest level of teleportation.

                                      However, Alissa wouldn't teach the skill for free, and aside from her and Zoe, not a single survivor in the base had enough mana to use the spell. So, he hired Alissa's services. Although she was reluctant at first, Alissa recognized the fact that her soldiers needed that method of transportation. Besides, it was too much of a pain to transport them around the country. Now thirty or so dungeons were connected to the military base, and fortunately, only Alissa and another person could effectively use the Checkpoints. So, there was no danger of the base being invaded through the Checkpoints. 

"Aren't you going to ask his report?" Alissa asked.

"No…" Mark replied. "I will let Ryan decide when he will give his reports. After that fight, I believe he wants to stay alone for a while longer."

"He will probably get pissed if he learns that you are that considerate toward him," Alissa said. "Where is he right now?"

"At the extreme south of the continent, hunting ice golems," Mark replied. "I believe he will stay there for a while. That area isn't appropriate to search for monsters, after all. Ice golems, huh… Suddenly I feel like eating some ice cream."

                                      Mark frowned when he heard that. Only someone like Alissa would connect ice golems to ice cream… then again. It wasn't the first time that her behavior made him frown. 

"You shouldn't worry too much about him," Alissa said. "Ryan is as resilient as he is stubborn. Besides, I can't imagine him being defeated even fighting against several dragons… unless they find a way to nullify his mobility."

"I also agree with that," Mark said. "I am more worried about the effects of the isolation on his mind. He is a tough lad that went through a lot… Still, there is only so much human's psych can endure alone. Men aren't islands.

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