Kang Jin-Ho deeply scowled at the sight of an endless desert stretching below him.

This desert initially looked rather spectacular when viewed from an airborne light aircraft. However, staring at the same scenery and the same stretch of horizon for a while led to an eventual build-up of sheer boredom.

“We still have some ways to go, sir,” said Willie Reese, a wry smile on his face. He seemed to have noticed Kang Jin-Ho’s mood. “Due to our country’s immense size, traveling to a remote location will always take some time. This isn’t something we can change, unfortunately.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sat forward and asked as if his interest got piqued just then. “You guys have your martial art facility out in the desert?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then... Is it Area 51?”

“No, it’s not that place. Admittedly, we did use it temporarily as a training base, but not anymore. It now serves a different purpose.”

“Hmm...? So you guys did use it once upon a time.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head while listening to this conversation. “Area 51? What’s that?”

Lee Hyeon-Su enthusiastically replied, “It’s a super-secret military base in the middle of the Nevada desert, sir. Not only is it in the middle of nowhere, access to it is heavily, heavily restricted, which makes it an ideal target for all sorts of conspiracy theories. And the most famous theory is that Area 51 is where the American government experiments on aliens.”

“Oh, I see. But it was merely a base for American martial artists?”

“It sounds like it, sir. What a letdown that is.”

“I guess so.”

Willie Reese listened to this exchange, which was surprisingly in English, and grinned gently.

You two are more otherworldly than some aliens, okay?

In the eyes of ordinary people, Kang Jin-Ho’s group and aliens should all look equally freakish. So, for such people to act so disappointed about the lack of aliens...

Willie Reese chimed in. “As I’ve said before, we only used the base temporarily. As for what purpose it serves now... Well, none of us is privy to that information.”

“Hmm...? Doesn’t that mean the possibilities are still there?”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed in relief.

“I didn’t think you were interested in aliens and conspiracy theories, Mister Lee,” said Willie Reese.

“Oh, that. Well...” Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged. “I’m sure you already know this, but martial artists are naturally disinterested in things like the supernatural or the occult due to the unique nature of their existence.”

“Mm, yes. That’s true.”

“So you could say the sole ray of hope is stuff regarding aliens. No matter how strong a martial artist is, they can never reach the actual stars, after all. Who knows, there might be some other unexplained mysteries out in deep space just begging to be uncovered, right?”

Willie Reese helplessly shook his head.

Lee Hyeon-Su turned his attention away from the American, only to notice Kang Jin-Ho pondering something in solemn silence. “Sir? What are you thinking about?”

“Mm... I was wondering about how strong aliens could be.”

“...”

“...? What?”

Lee Hyeon-Su pondered his answer for a bit before nodding. “I’m not sure, sir. Traveling through space to reach Earth means your civilization must be scientifically advanced, so it’s possible that their individual combat strength isn’t all that high. Besides, you can’t be all that strong if the Americans could capture you and perform all sorts of experiments on you.”

“Oh. Then I’m not interested.”

“...Understood.”

Willie Reese sighed in relief when Kang Jin-Ho seemed to have lost all interest in Area 51. He would’ve been in deep trouble if Kang Jin-Ho insisted on visiting the restricted military base, after all!

While thinking that, Willie Reese glanced at an elderly Caucasian gentleman sitting next to Kang Jin-Ho. That was... England’s Knight, Wiggins.

If Colonel William Reese was being honest, he found Wiggins harder to deal with than Kang Jin-Ho.

While Kang Jin-Ho was like a king from a faraway land, Wiggins felt like a highest-ranked aristocrat from the country right next door. Obviously, Kang Jin-Ho possessed greater authority or power than Wiggins, but the Englishman possessed the... ability to see through all the little mistakes Willie Reese might make.

That was why Willie Reese found himself tensing up more in Wiggins’ presence.

Wiggins slowly turned his head and glanced at Willie Reese. It seemed he had sensed the American’s gaze on him.

A cool smirk floated up on Wiggins’ face. “Have we met before somewhere?”

“I’m not sure if you remember me, but I used to tag along to a few conferences between the Round Table and our people, sir. Of course, I was too low-ranked to even get a chair to sit on back then.”

In other words, when Willie Reese was a fresh-faced rookie, Wiggins was already Britain’s representative Knight.

To think such a big shot was with Kang Jin-Ho!

Willie Reese already knew this information, of course. Still, seeing Wiggins in person, right beside Kang Jin-Ho no less, reminded him of how incredible Kang Jin-Ho actually was.

Wiggins furrowed his brow slightly. “My apologies for not remembering you. Unfortunately, I’ve run into so many people over the years, you see?”

“No, I understand, Knight Wiggins.”

“I’m not a Knight anymore.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, that was a slip of my tongue. Forgive me, Mister Wiggins.”

Wiggins grinned. “I didn’t expect our sides to break the ice this way. Still, I look forward to how things develop between us. Of course, I’d be more... grateful if you go through proper channels next time. We usually don’t allow anyone to approach the Assembly Master directly for a discussion of such important nature.”

Wiggins sounded unhappy just then, forcing Willie Reese to fake-cough slightly to hide his embarrassment.

He was right, though; if the Americans wanted to hold a formal discussion with the Martial Assembly, they should have contacted the organization rather than directly approaching Kang Jin-Ho.

“My apologies,” said Willie Reese.

“As long as you understand. Please refrain from repeating this mishap the next time.”

Wiggins beamed affably. But that smile did not put Willie Reese’s mind at ease. Not even close. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t even look directly into Wiggins’ eyes after the hidden sharpness in the Englishman’s smile painfully stabbed him.

It’s only one extra person, so to think the pressure has gone up so much!

What disturbed Willie Reese the most was that someone as accomplished as the former Knight Wiggins was merely one of the four directors in the Martial Assembly.

Which means there are potentially three more people on Wiggins’ level...!

Willie Reese didn’t think all three of them could rival Wiggins. But the fact that three other people could hold the same important-sounding title as Wiggins...! It could only mean that the Martial Assembly was a powerful organization, indeed.

After all, Knight Wiggins used to stand at the top in the Round Table through his excellence alone, didn’t he?

“We’ll be landing soon!”

The pilot cried out, prompting Willie Reese to discard the distracting thoughts and address his passengers. “Please put on your... I guess it’s meaningless to ask you to put on your seatbelts, then. We’re almost here, everyone.”

Wiggins casually shrugged.

The light aircraft gradually slowed down while getting closer and closer to the ground. It looked as if the American government didn’t bother to build a dedicated runway, but simply flattened the ground to use as one. Doing so made some sense, though, as this was literally in the middle of a desert, anyway.

The plane eventually landed safely and stopped near the end of the make-shift runway. The passengers opened the doors open and began disembarking one by one.

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes and stared at the scenery outside the door. Just where were they?

Flying for so long had robbed him of his sense of direction. Worse still, all he could see was the endless stretch of brown desert. Guessing his location using geographical features was out of the question. He could roughly guess that they were still in the Nevada desert, judging from how long they had been flying, but...

I guess this place won’t show up on any map.

If one was curious about something, one should confirm it for themselves, no?

Lee Hyeon-Su finally stepped outside the plane and scanned his surroundings. He really was standing in a barren desert and couldn’t even see a single cactus, which surprised him a little.

It’s... seriously desolate here, isn’t it?

Other than brownish ground and some pebbles, he literally couldn’t see anything else, except for...

...Foreboding tall wire fencing, with barbed wires on top, stretching seemingly forever behind him.

“Follow me, everyone. It’s this way.”

Willie Reese took the lead and guided the trio. They approached the fence until reaching the barricaded entrance. The sentries saluted like well-trained soldiers at Willie Reese, then quickly raised the barricades.

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes once more at the sentries.

They have guns, huh...?

He couldn’t help but notice their rifles. He never really had a problem with firearms in general until recently, but the experience in China had changed his mind somewhat. Even the sight of items similar in shape and size to guns made him flinch a little these days.

Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow in dissatisfaction at the sentries before stepping past them.

Beyond the entrance was yet another wide-open desert, although the brown scenery was broken up by several small, single-floor structures.

Hang on? Is that all?

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned deeply. He had been looking forward to today’s demonstration of strength by the Americans, but this...? Those structures were so tiny that they wouldn’t even be able to fit a hundred people combined.

That’s weird. I don’t think this is where only the elites have gathered, so what’s this...?

“Hoh-oh?” Wiggins suddenly spoke up. “I see. Underground, is it?”

Willie Reese nodded. “Correct, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su went, Ah!, and clapped his hands. “Right. The Round Table was also underground, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed, it was. Such large facilities will attract too much attention, especially when they must continuously expand their scale as more and more martial artists join the ranks,” said Wiggins. “The only way to avoid public scrutiny is to go underground. Literally.”

He then looked at the ground in silence for a few seconds.

“...Mm. As expected.”

When Wiggins nodded in understanding, Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly voiced his dissatisfaction.

“What the... Stop being mysterious and share with us what you’ve found, master!”

“It’s nothing to lose your head over, Mister Lee. How about we work on your mana detection skill once we return? I give you my word that you’ll master it properly.”

Lee Hyeon-Su stumbled just then. “N-no, wait. You don’t have to...”

“No need to fret, my dear disciple. A week should be enough to fix you right up.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su was convinced that Wiggins had deliberately omitted the bit about the week in question being filled with torture and blatant human rights violations!

Trying to be the funny man of the group only landed him in hot water, so Lee Hyeon-Su desperately turned his attention to Kang Jin-Ho for salvation. Unfortunately, his boss was utterly disinterested in his underling’s fate.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Willie Reese. “So? Are we supposed to head to one of those buildings?”

“Yes, Assembly Master. This way,” said Willie Reese.

The group reached the building closest to the entry point. When they entered through the steel doorway, though, an interior just as barren as the desert outside welcomed them.

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “There’s nothing here, though?”

“Oh, no. It’s this way.”

Willie Reese walked up to a wall, then tapped on the surface a couple of times. The wall panel suddenly slid down silently, and a small safe-like device popped out. He typed his access code into the number pad, causing the safe door to open.

However, that wasn’t the end of the procedure. He slipped his hand inside next and pressed his palm against the hidden sensor.

Clack!

The distinctive uncoupling noise came from the wall before it slid up, revealing a large elevator.

Wowsers. This is so cool!

Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes sparkled like an excited child’s.

Invading the Round Table back then also required him to enter through a secret doorway, but it was opened through magic. Which meant it wasn’t as memorable as Lee Hyeon-Su had hoped.

But this series of events was like...

Like I’m a part of an espionage thriller or something!

His pulse began racing a little when it felt like he had become a character in a big-budget spy adventure movie.

Rumble, buzz...

The elevator’s door slid open automatically. Its interior wasn’t as modern as he expected, however. In fact, he could even say it was rather old-fashioned. But that was charming in its own right, no?

While thinking that, Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly stepped inside. And rather unwisely, he just had to say something.

“Maybe I should have brought a pistol along or something.”

Willie Reese tilted his head a little. “Do you know how to handle a gun, Mister Lee?”

“Hahaha~! It seems you’ve forgotten about all Korean men receiving basic military training, Mister Reese! Of course I know my way around a gun.”

“I see. But do you know how to use a pistol specifically?”

“...No, I’ve never handled one before.”

Maybe he should’ve said a rifle instead of a pistol?

Once everyone had climbed inside, the elevator’s door slid shut with a loud clunk before slowly descending to the depths below.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced around the interior. “Looks like we’re going pretty deep underground.”

Willie Reese nodded. “Yes, we are. This facility wasn’t originally built to accommodate martial artists, you see? No, its purpose was to test nuclear weapons underground.”

“Huh? Wait, are you saying the American government tested nukes on its own soil?”

“Yes. It used to be a common occurrence in the past, actually. Especially in the Nevada desert; at one time, this place was seen as the de facto nuke testing ground, you see? I’d wager that more nukes went off in this place than in every other nation on Earth combined.”

Willie Reese chuckled helplessly.

“Once such tests have become obsolete, we simply took over unused facilities and converted them into our bases and practice halls. Of course, we had to expand the size of the facilities somewhat.”

The elevator continued to descend for a while. However, it eventually stopped.

Willie Reese turned around to face his visitors. “Welcome to Area H27, gentlemen.”

The elevator door slid open almost at the same time as he spread his arm theatrically. And the trio saw what waited for them in this vast underground space.

“...! Wow!”

Lee Hyeon-Su reflexively cried out. The space here was so vast that he couldn’t believe they were still underground.