The programmers—a group of brilliant minds—had greatly contributed to the advancement of technology and arts that the Dragon Roar Faction possessed today.
When establishing the faction, Elder Rooney and the others recognized that raw strength wasn't the only power one could wield. Influence and knowledge were also forms of power. In many cases, knowledge could even be seen as the most powerful force in existence.
Because of this, when building the faction, Elder Rooney and the others didn't just focus on strengthening their physical power. They also expanded their influence in the outside world by developing technologies that should not have existed in this era.
To achieve this, they sent out many of their members—those who couldn't advance much in evolution—into fields like politics, banking, law, and the military. These members held various influential positions around the world. This approach allowed the faction to influence events in the outside world without encountering too many obstacles.
As for the technology sector, they created a team of scientists, alchemists, forgers, and other skilled individuals. By combining these people's knowledge and understanding of complex ideas with the wisdom of the Pendragon Book of Knowledge, the faction advanced far beyond what others could imagine. Most of their inventions were kept hidden from the public.
Things became even easier for them with the Pendragon Book of Knowledge. With the information it contained, they only needed to find the right materials to create an item. After that, completing the process was as easy as a walk in the park for them.
According to what Alex had been told, his new weapon was crafted from the weakest stage of beast evolution. By itself, the weapon only had the ability to heal from damage. Any other effects were added through various magical enhancements from the programmers.
Items could be enchanted to give them magical effects, and Alex's beast weapon had been enchanted with several unique abilities. One effect allowed Alex to call the weapon back to his hand. Another amplified any skill used with the weapon, as long as it was related to the weapon's powers. Then, there was the upgrade effect.
Whenever the weapon was used to kill a living being, it absorbed their lifeforce. This energy would accumulate, and when it reached a certain point, the weapon would evolve to the next stage.
Because of this upgrade effect, Alex chose to name the weapon "Death." It felt as if he were holding another living being in his hand—one that could evolve alongside him.
[The name Death has been chosen for this weapon. Host can now call their weapon back by simply saying its name.]
"Alright, buddy, you're going to be with me for life," Alex thought to himself with a smile.
Not long after, everyone had gathered everything they needed. Tamsin held two katana blades and one of the cannons Alex had seen before. The same went for the other two, Gwen and Merrick, though Merrick didn't carry any other weapons besides guns. They were stacked all over his body, making Alex wonder if Merrick could even move with so many weapons on him.
Aside from the guns, Gwen had two whips hanging at her sides and a bow strapped to her back, though there were no arrows in sight.
"I believe everyone is ready," Caspian said. "Now, let's head to the departure point."
Soon, they arrived at another large room. Alex recognized this place; it was the room filled with circular devices he'd come to know as portal devices. However, out of the ten or so portals in the room, only one was active. Three vans were parked in front of it, ready to go through.
Alex also noticed that they weren't alone. A group of teenagers around their age—both male and female—were also present.
For the longest time, Alex thought that Tamsin, Merrick, and Gwen were his only peers in the faction base. That was until he'd been introduced to these other recruits.
Alex had since learned that these teens were the ones he would have been training with if Elder Rooney hadn't deemed him an anomaly.
Even so, Alex had sparred with some of them before and knew they weren't to be underestimated. The weakest among them was at stage two, while the strongest was at stage five—pretty much the same level as the triplets.
As for where they all came from, Alex had learned that many members of the faction were family-oriented. Some members preferred to keep their children out of the world of Paragons, while others brought them in, saying it was for their protection. Of course, the children had to agree first.
There was also another way these teens ended up in the faction. Alex heard that some were adopted by a group of criminals and were rescued by the faction. These kids either had no family to return to, so the faction took them in, or they were trained for a while before being returned if they had any family left.
Peter explained that the faction has a tradition: when children raised outside reach a certain age, they're invited to join. Many accept, strengthening the faction's numbers. This is how the faction has continued to grow. Even now, there's a group of ten-year-olds undergoing light training to prepare them for future roles.
Alex and the others took their places in a line behind the group already assembled. Shortly after, Peter and Stan entered the hall.
"Alright... I believe everyone needed for this mission is gathered here," Peter said, scanning the lines in seconds.
"Now, I'll explain what this mission is about," Peter continued. "A group of clans has decided to attack one of our portals, aiming to steal our resources. Your job is to get there and ensure they fail. They'll be strong, but I believe you're stronger and tougher. Make sure to keep your identities hidden."
As Peter spoke, a mask began to form on everyone's face, covering it entirely. The masks all took on a lizard-like appearance and extended down into nano-mechs that wrapped around their bodies. The nano-mechs didn't cover them completely but altered their clothing and extended down to their hands, forming glove-like coverings.
"Keep those masks on if you want to live peacefully in the outside world. If not, there's always room for you back at the base," Peter said with a slight smirk.
"These masks will hide your face and block scanners from capturing your eyes or seeing through them. The gloves will prevent you from leaving any prints behind in case an investigation happens, though I doubt it will come to that," Peter explained further.
"With everything set, board the vehicles and prepare for departure," Peter instructed.
As the masked individuals began filing into the long van, Stan stepped over, suddenly appearing beside one of them.
"Alex, I want to warn you... This mission can be extremely dangerous. This might be your first mission, so let me make one thing clear. The enemies you'll be facing won't hesitate to kill you. They'll do whatever it takes to end your life. I'm telling you this so you understand: do whatever you must to survive. If you need to kill, don't hold back—and don't feel too guilty about it," Stan said firmly.
The masked figure looked at Stan for a moment, nodded, and then entered the vehicle along with the others.
One by one, the vehicles began vanishing into the portal, heading toward their destination.
---
Meanwhile, in a stark white-lit room, five individuals stood in front of the Triple G's: John Wyndham, Jake Wyndham,and Jim Wyndham. Lucius Vanderbilt was also in the room.
"What's the latest update?" asked John, the eldest and father of Jake and Jim, turning to Lucius.
"According to my sources, one of our target's portals is under attack. This is the perfect opportunity for us to make our move," Lucius Vanderbilt replied, eyeing the five men clad in battle attire.
"You five—you're heading to Egypt," Lucius announced, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.