Desolate World

Ace's days after that were calm but busy. He couldn't roam around the forest for a few days. With Sofia and Sampson, he tried to formulate how to run the night guards. However, formulating such an intelligence division wasn't a simple matter. So it would take some time. 

Fortunately, all people had focused on the construction of the town, so he had much time to understand what he needed to understand and build the foundation of the division without hurrying.

He also invited Jordan to give him suggestions. Because, from Andrea, he was a qualified spy. Just a few weeks before, he had just come back from Iron Gate fortress to gather information. He had followed the higher up of the fortress 24 hours for a month without being found out. The result was, they could get the information about the withdrawal of the undead from the Misty Forest. So the shadows dared to cross the prairie to migrate to the South.

Ace had a new understanding of the shadow stalkers from Jordan. He told the guardian that the shadow stalkers were different from the shadow priests and the shadow knights. Although all shadows had a trait that enabled them to enter the shadow realm, only the stalkers had a skill to travel through the shadow realm. 

Ace didn't understand it at first. Because he thought that the shadow realm was a standalone different dimension that was different with this world. Jordan said his understanding was not quite right. It was true and wrong at the same time.

He then explained that the shadow realm, like its name, was a space that was created in a dark area or shape produced by objects coming between rays of light and a surface. 

A shadow could enter the shadow realm by diving into the dark area. But as there were the dark areas, there were also the bright areas that weren't covered by objects. The bright area made the shadow realm fragmented and unstable. When the objects that obstructed the rays moved or disappeared, the shadow realm that was created by the dark area would disappear along with it. So the shadow that had entered it would be ejected to the surface. 

The bright areas also prevented the shadows from traveling through the shadow realm because of its fragmented and unstable characteristics. Because of that, the shadows prefer to live in the cave or underground, as there was a small possibility of a bright area to be created. So they had a wider space to live.

But, these limitations posed no problem for shadow stalkers. As they could forcefully create a dark spot out of nothing and traveled with it for a short time. It could be said that they could take a shuttle to travel from one space to another space in the shadow realm unhindered.

However, it was not a perfect skill. As it was quite unnatural. To make Ace understand, Jordan took him to the road in front of Ace's house. He then entered Ace's shadow. A second later, from Ace's shadow, a dark spot left it and moved through the road to a shadow of a tree not far from there, at a very fast speed. Jordan then emerged from the shadow of the tree.

Ace then understood what Jordan meant. It was indeed quite unnatural for a dark spot to move through the bright area. Everyone would think there was a problem with it.

Jordan added, if an attack was launched to the black spot, he would suffer damage because of it. So, this skill should be used cleverly so the people around it didn't realize it.

Ace understood the drawback of this skill. So it was almost impossible for shadow stalkers to travel through the savanna in the daytime, as it could easily be spotted by anyone, including the undead.

What made Ace confused was why Jordan explained them to Ace. Wasn't he afraid Ace would use it against him?

With a smile, Jordan said that he trusted Ace. He believed the guardian would never betray him. It made Ace instantly touched. He then promised to not tell this information to other people.

The other reason Jordan said them was because he and many shadow stalkers would work for Ace in the future. He should understand the characteristics of them, so he would use the information as a consideration to decide missions and the details of them.

Ace nodded. He understood and thanked Jordan to remind him. The intelligence division was not a department that relied on rough power but it needed mature preparation and deep consideration. 

Then Jordan left Ace's house. Ace believed that he heard enough to understand how the shadow stalkers operated. And that was what matters for Ace for the time being.

Although Ace knew that Jordan held much information about the undead, Ace decided not to ask him about it for the time being. At least until he finished constructing the foundation of the night guards, he didn't want to be distracted by the information. He was afraid if he knew it, he would recklessly start the operation of the night guards.

Next, Ace decided to talk with Noah. He wanted to determine the relationships between the two divisions. As later he needed to consult with Aria too, he decided to talk with the two of them. But, it seemed he had to wait for a few days, as the two were busy with their own businesses.

***

Ace actually wanted to meet Gon who spent his day and night digging the tunnel. With the arrival of the dwarves and gnomes, instead of becoming more relaxed, he became busier. Because after the two races joined the goblins to dig the tunnel, the progress of the project became much more rapid. 

According to Sampson, who actively participated in the building of the town, Gon couldn't leave his post as he always got an update on an hourly basis. There were often reports about the findings of some iron ores at some spots, that indicated that there was a rich iron ores concentration in there. 

There were also findings of other natural tunnels and underground rivers that forced Gon to change the planned route of the tunnel. In short, he had almost no time to rest. 

As Ace just knew that dragons couldn't learn a job, he also didn't have any more reason to meet the earth dragon.

***